DMa23 - Main

As a hero, paragon, and role model to millions of children the world over, it is of course your responsibility to sit here on your ass and actually watch these monitor screens for the next 600 minutes. Even if those millions of little children aren't actually watching you do it, because character is what you are when you're bored out of your skull. Sigh.\n\nSo for the next hour you keep an eye and ear generally on the bevvy of newscasts, weather feeds, and emergency bands, and don't learn much other than that everyone the particular station disagrees with is Satan, everyone thinks hurricanes are the work of Satan (literal or metaphorical), and... actually the emergency bands are remarkably Satan-free, the droning tone is sort of relaxing that way.\n\nYou blink as an alert suddenly pops up on the monitor. Wait, seriously? Is it that time of the month? No not that time of the month, the... no, nevermind! You sit up fully and tap the controls to bring the alert into focus. It looks like it's-\n\n<hr>\n[[-a sensor alert.|Cal]]\n\n[[-an incoming message.|Cal2x2]]

Dammit, how do they keep getting this frequency? Why do they keep getting this frequency?! For some reason an inordinate number of villains actually like to call up the Guardian Sentinels and tell them exactly what they plan to do, exactly where, and often exactly when, so that you can show up and stop their unstoppable plan. It's really kind of ridiculous... on the other hand, it's actually super handy for defeating them, so you can't just turn them down.\n\nOkay, put your Drama Hero face on. You have to be ready to engage them and draw them out. If they feel like you're not actually paying attention to them and meeting them on their level, they might get sulky and sign off early, or change their plans. So yes, game face on, use the Strong Voice, aaaand hit 'Receive'!\n\nImmediately the large screen lights up with the image of the villain on the other end... one of these days you're gonna need to remember to use one of the small screens, it feels like this gives them way too much of an advantage as far as theme goes. But then again if they realized you'd stuck them at 1080 resolution on one of the thirty-six inchers instead of the big boy they'd probably throw a tantrum and just push the doomsday weapon's button then and there on the spot, so maybe indulging them with the main screen is for the best anyway.\n\n"So it's you!" you project, folding your arms over your chest and tilting your head just so as you address the screen, making sure to put a bit of dramatic emphasis on their chosen nom de guerre.\n\n<hr>\n[["Doctor Deathtrap!"|Cal2x4]]\n\n[["Misteress Mutagen!"|Cal]]

"We believed you'd perished in the dimensional rift trap you created," you continue. "I'm actually relieved to see you alive, believe it or not. Though you're a little more..." You glance the rather diminutive, obviously shortened figure of the mad scientist up and down briefly. "... compact... than the last time I saw you."\n\n"Gyeheheh, Caliburn, my old nemesis!" she replies... which sounds super cute, actually, her age regression hasn't done her evil cackle any favors. Instead of bordering on 'granny blue' her hair is now a bright ocean blue (wait that color was natural?), tied back in a long ponytail. She's still wearing 'casual lab wear' including the lab coat over a button-up shirt and slacks, but of course has accessorized out the yin-yang with an overengineered tool belt, data projector clipped to the side of her eyes, and even some sort of teched-up ponytail holder. Of course if those and the little square spectacles didn't say 'mad scientist' enough there's also the blue metal cybernetic left arm with obvious attached laser, one of her control drones hovering above it menacingly. ... Ah, actually, it still kind of looks like a genius kid playing with their new toy at Christmas, really.\n\n<img src="images/DrDeathtrap.png">\n\n"Your relief that I'm alive is appreciated, but it will earn you no quarter, my old nemesis!" Actually you only really fought her for the first time like three years ago and she's really more of a 'shared' nemesis of the Guardian Sentinels but you guess there's not really a good way to convey that while you're Menaceloguing. "When you and your fellows tossed me into that rift, I was doomed to the fate that was so rightfully yours... tumbling for all eternity in the void between worlds! Too bad for you, I was able to set up an energy feedback loop in my prosthetics that repeled against the energy frequency of the void, and ejected me forcibly into the nearest parallel dimension! But not only did the process destroy my cyberlimbs, the temporal forces at work twisted my body into the form you see before you! I assure you however that my delightfully devious mind is wholly unchanged, even if it is being constantly bombarded by puberty hormones!"\n\nOh. Oh shit.\n\n"But now I'm back in my rightful dimension after the Hell that was surviving across multiple other ones, gradually finding my way home, having to rebuild my arm and leg as I did! And now I'm ready to make you go through a Hell of my own making, for I've built-!"\n\n"'My most diabolical Labyrinth of Doom ever,'" you murmur along with her exclamation, in a slightly exhausted tone.\n\nDoctor Deathtrap pauses in mid-adorable cackle. "What was that?"\n\n"No, nothing, go on," you say quickly, Serious Hero Face back in place.\n\nShe eyes you suspiciously for a second before continuing. "And you'll enter this Labyrinth of Doom and complete it on my conditions this time as well!"\n\n"And why would I do that?" The words are almost out of your mouth before you think them, partly because that's what this part of the 'script' almost always says, but also because you're wondering why the hell you really would do such a thing.\n\n"Let's just say that I've prepared several very good pieces of incentive, Caliburn!" she replies instantly, leaning in close to the camera with a sneer. "Or should I say... Morgan Mekborne?!"\n\nYou freeze your expression, which is probably its own sort of tell, but frankly you've never had this happen to you before. You've had other heroes tell you about their nemeses pulling it on them, but you're at least going to resist any urge to just blatantly gasp 'HOW?!' or something. "And why would you say what is probably someone's name like that?" you ask evenly.\n\nInstantly the snarky, smarmy attitude drops and Deathtrap slams her organic palm against the console the camera's probably mounted in, leaning in close to point with her prosthetic. "Don't you 'who dat?' me, you little snot! I used facial recognition! You don't even wear a mask, idiot!"\n\n"Bull!" You snap back. "There's a scattering field built into the glasses, it blurs certain features just enough that facial recognition doesn't work on me! ... Wait, shit!"\n\n"Aha! Aha aha ahaaaa!" Doctor Deathtrap bobbles her head back and forth, sing-songing, "Got you got you got yoooooou and I did so use facial recognition ha haaaaa!"\n\n"How?" you growl out.\n\n"Because you take off your glasses to unlock your iPhone, stupid!" she declares smugly, adding a little 'hmm hmm hmm!' as she bobbles her head again, index fingers poked to her cheeks. "♪ And I hacked iiiit! ♫"\n\n"Oh for..." You slap a hand to your forehead and drag it down your face. You totally do. Then you blink. "Hey wait, how did you know to hack Morgan Mekborne's iPhone if you didn't already know my secret identity?"\n\n"FOOL! I hacked everybody's iPhone! GYAHA! GYAHA! GYAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" she cackles, throwing back her head with her hands spread and fingers curled. "I have dirt on eeeeeeverybody, gyahahaha! Diplomats, politicians, celebrities, crime bosses, law enforcement! I know eeeeeeeeeeeeverything!" She pauses in her gloating, straightening up and lifting a single finger. "Just in case you're curious, Jeffrey Epstein did not, in fact, kill himself."\n\nYour expression goes flat. "Yeah, great, didn't exactly need the biggest data leak in history to figure that one out." Then you tilt your head a little. "But hey, while we're at it, who actually did it?"\n\n"Jussie Smollet, but not for the reasons you'd think," she informs you solemnly, before flinging aside the flap of her labcoat dramatically. "But I didn't call you to make a bunch of jokes that will be horribly dated in two years! I called you to bring about your DOOM!" She folds her arms before smirking into the camera and declaring, "If you do not come to the following coordinates and enter the Annex of Annihilation in the next three hours, I will tell the world that Caliburn is Morgan Mekborne, annoyingly sexy tech heir! Twenty-four hours after that, I'll drop a data leak on the internet that will make the end of The Winter Soldier look like someone doxing the President!" She then beams cheerfully and waggles her fingers at the camera. "Toodles!" With that, the transmission ends.\n\n... Damn, this is bad. This is really bad. You don't really doubt that what Deathtrap said about hacking every iPhone on the planet was true... something of that scale was always within her grasp, apparently she was just never motivated (read: pissed off) enough to do something like it before. It also seems like she's really planned ahead this time... it might actually be better to rally together more Guardian Sentinels and make a plan, though that could definitely take more than three hours, depending on where some of them are. There's also, you admit, a small part of you that's so freaked out by the idea that Doctor Deathtrap might be truly, deadly serious this time that you kind of want to hope she's bluffing and pretend it will all go away. ... Then again she's always been more bark than bite before, despite being a legitimate threat. You can probably still handle this yourself, as she seems to want you to.\n\n<hr>\n[[Put together a hurried meeting.|Cal2x5]]\n\n[[Put together a proper meeting.|Cal]]\n\n[[Hope it all blows over.|Cal]]\n\n[[Go to the Annex of Annihilation.|CalMazeStart]]

You need as many Guardian Sentinels as you can get in the meeting room in the next thirty minutes or so. Most of them will be too busy or are too hard to get ahold of in that time, so you'll just have to make do with whoever's on hand or not currently occupied.\n\nPresently you assemble in one of the meeting rooms, the handful of heroes you were able to get ahold of sitting around the round metal table with various levels of concern on their faces. Most of them are roughly your own (relative) age, and therefore essentially 'newbies' to either heroing or being members of the team. There's Warya, the alien gladiator, the tiger-like woman wearing rather skimpy black leather armor and a loincloth as is usual, large breasts, toned abs, and sizable bulge all on display. Trickshot, clad in his usual purple and blue bodysuit and red-lensed goggles, the shaved head and goatee that mark him as one day being a great leader on display, bow and quiver at his back and pistols on his hips. Snow Leopard, the acrobatic specialist in harsh environments, her beautiful body hugged by a bodysuit patterned after her namesake and sleek, shiny grey hair spilling out of the open top of her feline-eared cowl. And the Twins, Mazinon and Marielle, specialists in the arcane arts, their pale purple hair spilling around their pointed ears, elaborate burgundy and periwinkle outfits immaculate despite supposedly being woken from a sound sleep.\n\nThough you did manage to get ahold of at least one founding member of the Guardian Sentinels, a Big Gun as it were, and one that gives you a lot more confidence on this getting resolved... that being your mom, the hero Excalibur. She's currently standing at one point on the table rather than sitting, hands on her hips. Her costume is much like yours... being what yours is based on, after all... though her bracers are just sleek decorations and her hands are bare, and her costume includes the artful tines of a crown emerging from the braid of golden blonde hair wound around the crown of her head. Well, and a boob window. Hers has a boob window, showing a not insubstantial amount of her very substantial breasts. You've always sort of wondered why she made that design choice but 'Hey Ma why did you feel supercleavage was necessary?' has never been a question you've figured out how to put delicately. \n\n"Revealing Caliburn's secret identity isn't a small thing," she says solemnly. "It risks revealing the secret identities of everyone connected to him, and potentially everyone connected to them, and so on. It could devastate the superhero community."\n\n"Bah! You should thank her for stripping away the artifice!" Warya declares, slamming a fist down on the tabletop. "Secrets, lies, these are the tools of weaklings! Let those who would do you harm come at you, simply be ready for them whether you yourself seek battle or are in the midst of bathing!"\n\n"Their situation is not like ours, Warya," Marielle replies, before anyone else can get mad at the alien's usual blunt approach. "Unlike Tygarians or elves, not every human is trained to be capable in combat. Their secret identities protect those close to them that cannot protect themselves."\n\n"After all, even Tygarians do not expect their very small cubs to fend for themselves, do they?" her brother Mazinon adds with a small smile.\n\n"... Hm." Warya scratches a stripe on her cheek with one claw. "I... suppose most humans are rather comparable to Tygarian cubs. ... Small ones. Newborns, perhaps."\n\n"But beyond that, there's the threat of the data leak," Trickshot points out. "I mean, can you imagine the kind of chaos caused by leaking the secrets of everyone that uses Apple products?"\n\n"I knew I should have endorsed Samsung instead!" Snow Leopard moans, flumping her head down on her folded arms. Then quickly peeking up. "Um. If I decided to endorse a phone. As a hero. ... Or maybe I did it as a civilian, there are probably lots of people that did that, I don't need to-"\n\n"Thank you Snow," Excalibur cuts in smoothly. "We can all discuss identsec later. Again. For now we need to focus on the matter at hand, that being, Doctor Deathtrap's threat. Now, Adelaide can be dangerous, but she's fair... if we agree to her terms and run her latest Labyrinth of Doom, there's a very high probability that she won't leak anything. Moreover, she'll probably be waiting somewhere near the end of the Labyrinth to get a good close-up view of its climactic trap going off, which will give us a chance to capture her. Obviously from there we won't be able to do anything about the secrets she's committed to memory, but we ought to be able to erase the ones in her computers, and we can try to figure out some way to pressure her into holding her tongue on the rest. Her Labyrinths can indeed be perilous, but even at their worst, with this team anything she throws at us should be manageable if we all keep our heads and work together."\n\n"Bah! Why should we dance to the fool inventor's tune?!" Warya shouts, slamming her fist in the table again. There's actually a dent in the superdurable metal there from it, she does that a lot. "I say we go, but only to track down her command center and assault it directly! We have almost two of your Earth hours to do so in, plenty of time in which to discover what little metal box she's hiding in and peel off the lid!"\n\n"Mm. Well, you're under the most immediate threat, Cal," your mother says, turning her head to look at you. "What do you think? A direct assault isn't without its merits, but I still think we'd be better off giving in to her demands for the time being."\n\nHm. Admittedly the thought of, as Warya said, peeling the lid off of Deathtrap's command room and giving her a good shaking before sending her to her prison cell without supper is an appealing one, considering the aggravation she's caused you. On the other hand, it's a lot to risk... plus, y'know, your mother has an annoying habit of being right about superhero stuff like 90% of the time.\n\n<hr>\n[[Direct assault.|Cal]]\n\n[[Run the labyrinth.|Cal2x6]]

"It's just too much to risk," you finally decide, shaking your head. "Just the very concept of a data leak of this size could cause catastrophic societal consequences. The amount of paranoia and suspicion that would hit along with the exposed secrets could tear nations apart. We'll have to indulge Doctor Deathtrap and run her Labyrinth, for now."\n\n"Very good!" Warya immediately declares, bolting to her feet with a jiggle both of her tits and the outline beneath her loincloth. "You made the correct choice, Caliburn, I am proud of you! Then let us be off!" She instantly turns and strides towards the door, tail lashing behind her.\n\nThe rest of you at the table exchange a glance and some confused blinking, before getting up and following after her. You catch up to her in the hallway leading to the transporters and lean in. "Ah... did you not really want to do the direct assault?" you ask in a whisper.\n\n"What? Do not be foolish, of course I did!" she declares in her usual booming volume. She pauses in front of the transporter pad while Trickshot moves to program it, turning to you and assuming a smug expression as she folds her arms under her chest. "But you sided with your stronger and larger matriarch, as is the correct and honorable path! Had you agreed with my much better and more reasonable suggestion instead, I would have punched you in the jaw!" she adds, lifting a fist to shake it in the general vicinity of your face.\n\n"Hm, it's sort of a shame Avellon never established diplomatic ties with Tygaris, it sounds like we had a lot to learn," Excalibur muses, tapping a fingertip against her lower lip thoughtfully.\n\n... It's gonna be a looooong mission, you think with a sigh as you step up onto the pad.\n\nThe transporter shifts you to a point near the coordinates Doctor Deathtrap sent you. Excalibur flies ahead to scout, while you walk with the others... it just seems the more polite thing to do even if you could fly ahead. As you pass through the cold wilderness, you spot a single, mostly featureless white building, unconnected to anything but the ground it's sitting on. Yup, there it is, that must be the Annex of Annihilation. Excalibur sets back down next to you, fists on her hips as everyone ignores the jiggling her landing caused. "It doesn't look like there are any traps outside, or immediate ones inside the door, she must want to Menacelogue at us some more once we're inside."\n\n"HEY! SPOILER ALERT!" comes Doctor Deathtrap's voice from inside.\n\nYour group exchanges another glance, before you all file inside. The room within is fairly large and almost as featureless as the outside, save for the wall directly across from the entrance which has a protruding part about four feet tall sticking out of the lower half. The moment Snow Leopard passes through the entrance, the door snaps closed behind her with such suddenness and speed it actually makes her jump a little, clearly suppressing the urge to check her round rear with her hands to make sure she hasn't been nicked. The area above the protrusion on the wall lights up, turning into a video screen showing Doctor Deathtrap.\n\n"Oh, she's become so cute!" Marielle blurts, before pressing her hands to her mouth and looking sheepish as her brother gives her an amused glance. "... Sorry."\n\n"... So you've come, Guardian Sentinels," Doctor Deathtrap says, though you note that she's clearly not starting on quite the tone she wanted. Might have something to do with one of her eyebrows twitching like that. "Just as I expected! And when I say that, I mean I predicted within an extremely low margin of error that this would in fact be the team you'd assemble to challenge me, Caliburn! How delightful that you've performed as expected and brought me Excalibur as well, gyaaahahahaha!"\n\n"Adelaide, this is all unnecessary, can't we work this out in some other way?" your mother says reasonably.\n\n"HEY! You know that's annoying as hell, right?! Right?!" Doctor Deathtrap suddenly shrieks, leaning in close and clearly grabbing the sides of the camera. "I bet you'd say you're doing it to try to ground me, but you really do it just 'cause it pisses me of, huh?! HUH?! I call you Excalibur so the least you could do is call me Doctor Deathtrap or Deathtrap or something, I don't go around calling you Aur-"\n\n"I apologize, you're right, it's a breach of professional courtesy and it won't happen again," Excalibur interrupts evenly, managing to sound calm and reasonable despite the fact she's clearly in a bit of a rush to keep Deathtrap from spilling her own secret identity in front of the others. Man, nice tone control, Mom.\n\n"Hmph. ... Still, that just makes this all the more delightful." Deathtrap smirks as she leans back from the camera again, instead tapping her fingertips together, flesh and blood against blue metal. "You see, foolish heroes, this Labyrinth of Doom is not designed to take your lives! It is designed to take your pride, confidence, self-respect, and self-image! I'll pay back the humiliation and attack on self-image I endured due to your actions in kind, although maybe a bit different in tone! And it will start with this!" Sections of the top of the portion of the wall that sticks out slide open at the top, revealing seven empty receptacles, as well as seven round white bracelets with small black rectangles on one side that slide up into view near them. "You will take off your costumes and place them in these bins... I'll be nice and say that those of you wearing masks may keep them on. You'll get them back at the end of the Labyrinth, on my word as a scientist."\n\n"Bah! A Tygarian Gladiator strips of their armor only when defeated!" Warya declares, folding her arms and glowering defiantly at the screen. "I will not yield to such a demand, no matter the cost!"\n\n"I thought at least one of you might balk at either this step or the next," Deathtrap says smugly, since indeed no one's actually moved to undress, instead just standing about looking various levels of dubious or uncomfortable. "So I prepared these!" Another section of the wall portion slides out, this time a stand with six white computer tablets labeled with names rising up. "Each of these contains a secret that one of you definitely doesn't want to get out! Refuse, and I'll release them along with Caliburn's secret identity when the time limit's up!"\n\nThe others move forward to take the tablets, Trickshot seeming more curious than anything, Snow Leopard's hand shaking a little as she reaches for hers, the Twins mostly looking confused as they take theirs. Your mother, much like Trickshot, seems more curious than anything as she takes hers and hits the power button, though you see her scowl and quickly switch it off.\n\n"Bah! I have no 'connections' to this stupid planet, no secrets, you've nothing to threaten me with, fool!" Warya sneers loudly as she steps forward and snatches the tablet with her name on it. "You've wasted your time, I will never submit!" She brings the tablet up to her face and clicks the button. Her yellow eyes instantly go wide, her tail turning into one long puffball as she lets out a high shriek of "GYEEHEE!" just before she whips the tablet downward and snaps it in two over her thigh. Whipping her head back and forth as if desperate to see whether anyone might have had a view of the screen, she then clears her throat and straightens up, adopting a calm pose and starting to undo the ties at the sides of her top, her tail still a bit poofy. "Then again, a Tygarian Gladiator always dresses appropriately to the arena they fight in, and if this one's is nudity, then so be it!"\n\nSoon everyone's followed the demand, depositing their costumes in one of the bins which seal back up. Snow Leopard is obviously the one that's having the hardest time with it... she's covering her breasts with one arm and crotch with her other hand, hunched in on herself and wearing only her cowl, though her blush is obvious despite it; you can't help but note that she's got kind of a soft body with some nice squeezable bits despite being so athletic, maybe the padding helps her handle the cold. Your mother, though you're trying not to look too directly at her, seems to have decided she's going to act like nothing's bothering her, still standing with fists on her hips and feet slightly apart, huge firm breasts jutted out and the small thatch of golden hair above her mound on display, the little 'crown' all she kept of her costume. Trickshot, reduced to wearing only his goggles and showing a lot of very toned mocha-colored muscle, appears to be trying to act like nothing is bothering him, though he has a few little tells that say it's an act. The Twins, by contrast, actually seem largely unbothered, sleek, hairless elven bodies on display, Marielle's pert teardrop-shape breasts showing their pale pink nipples and Mazinon's slender cock swaying with the motion of moving back to stand at her side. Warya seems more sulky than anything, arms folded under her large, bare white-furred breasts and her large pink cock swaying with the nervous shifting of her powerful hips, tail still lashing behind her... you figure it's probably not the nudity that bothers her so much as suddenly realizing she's as vulnerable through some sort of secret as the rest of you.\n\nYou? You're having a competition with Trickshot. ... To seem the most unbothered, not that kind of competition.\n\nOnce Doctor Deathtrap has stopped breathing heavily and wiped the drool off her mouth with her sleeve, she resumes her smug look. "Good, good. Now, each of the bracelets sitting out has your logo on one side, and a screen on the other... logo goes on your outer wrist, screen on your inner," she explains as everyone starts picking up the devices, apparently past arguing at this point. "These are power suppression devices as well, by the way, tailored specifically for each of you, so there'll be no smashing through walls, Excalibur, or picking out microfractures in the equipment, Trickshot, or awakening the traps to sentience and making friends with them, Marielle!" she adds, her clear actual annoyance leaking through before she pulls her smug supervillain face back on. "Not that you could, this time."\n\n"What the...?" you murmur as your bracelet's screen lights up, displaying an icon of a crown.\n\n"Yes, you see, for I call this Labyrinth of Doom the King's Labyrinth." Doctor Deathtrap steeples her fingers again, sneering into the camera as she continues. "It has no hidden devices, no pitfalls, nothing to threaten your life. Instead, this Labyrinth is based on a party activity called 'The King's Game'. Normally what happens is that everyone draws sticks, most of them with numbers but one of them with a crown, and whoever draws the crown is King. The King then declares an activity... 'Number Five must kiss the King', or somesuch. With the twist being that the King has no idea who is holding the stick labeled five! As you can imagine, such a game can get quite naughty quite fast, and wind up expanding horizons for various people involved!\n\n"But this King's Labyrinth uses, shall we say, modified rules," she continues. "First of all, since he had the utmost luck of being the one to take my call and assemble you all, Caliburn is the designated King and will remain so until the Labyrinth is completed, barring some special circumstance. Second, he will not be the one to pick the activities, only the numbers. The activities will instead be decided by the rooms you enter... the text written on the walls is quite clear and should leave little ambiguity, and the rooms are outfitted with proper accessories and devices to enable its completion no matter what numbers are picked. Once you have entered a room, it will remain sealed until the activity is carried out, so Caliburn will have to choose appropriate numbers to do so, and you'll all have to participate, gyaahahaha! Oh, and just to be clear, I'm not going to cheat and mess with the numbers... they'll be randomly assigned when you enter a room, you can check for yourself. But only you can see them, and no telling or I really will start shuffling them!"\n\n"And how do we... win... this Labyrinth?" Excalibur asks in a rather sour tone.\n\n"Obviously by finding the final room! Or, hmmmm..." Deathtrap taps a finger against her cheek. "You know what? I'll be magnanimous. You'll complete the Labyrinth either by finding the final room and carrying out its challenge, or I'll consider it completed when I'm satisfied that my experiences have been paid back with your own. Once I hit the 'All Clear' button, the bracelets pop off, your costumes get returned, the doors open, and you can all leave! I'll delete the data I've stolen with my hack, I'll even promise to never tell anyone what I've seen here! That's it, that's the deal! So, let's begin, shall we?" At her words, one of the side walls slides open, revealing a hallway. Dang, she must have had the whole room lower down while she was Menaceloguing and none of you noticed, you've gotta give her props she's really upped her game.\n\n<hr>\n[[Enter the King's Labyrinth.|CalKLRoom1]]\n\n[[Challenge Deathtrap.|CalKLALeadin]]

-Update 1-\n* Main: Leo-turned-Lina can now ask to be [[taken|LeoLina1x1]] by Sokahn.\n-Update 2-\n* Main: After placating Sakai, Kai can now [[agree|Kai1x13]] to having her slave chip bricked.\n-Update 3-\n* More of Kai on Remnant [[here|KaiRem4x3]], [[here|KaiRem5x1]], [[here|KaiRem3x8]], and earlier portions have been edited, changed, and in a few cases altered.

"What's this about 'extradimensional lifeform smuggling'?" you ask, even as you tap the header and start reading on the pad as well.\n\n"During the Heretical Era, the summoning of creatures from other planes of existence or the importation of them from other dimensions was a science that was being developed for numerous reasons. Some of those techniques have survived, and are allowed under very strict licensing protocols or heavily government-monitored situations. But there are still a number of people that engage in the practice, for various reasons," she says, standing up and beckoning you to follow as she heads for the door again. Oh, apparently you're leaving right away. You just sat down, what even was the point of this? Since she's apparently going to brief you in full anyway, you not-quite-toss the pad back onto the desk and get up to follow her.\n\n"So what are these reasons? I mean I know why people bring in otherdimensional animals on the Guildhall, I even have a friend who specializes in it," you note, which causes her to give you a narrow look as she presses the button for the elevator. "But it's completely legal there, why do it here where presumably the penalty is... severe?" you suggest diplomatically, since you kinda-sorta get the sense that this is the sort of agency for whom summary executions are a matter of course, but some of them tend to get a little testy about being called on that.\n\nShe doesn't immediately respond, which is surprising, but maybe she's just taking a moment to come to grips with something so heretical being legal elsewhere (and apparently without issue). But once the elevator opens and the two of you have stepped aboard and turned, she continues. "As I said, many reasons. Some people use them as weapons, especially since they can be sent back to their own dimension once they've accomplished their mission, eliminating the evidence. For others it's pharmacological, using the creatures' parts or production for medical or supplemental treatments. Some can even be used as cheaper, faster alternatives for things like body augmentation."\n\nThat makes you raise your eyebrows. "Body augmentation? Like...?"\n\nShe doesn't say anything, but her eyes briefly wander to your chest and linger.\n\n"... They're real." \n\n"Mm."\n\n"And all-natural."\n\n"Mm."\n\nYour eyebrow twitches just a bit, and you consider pointing out that she's built similarly and maybe she's just projecting, but decide to clamp down on it. Deep breaths, Michika, you've gotta work with this woman for a fair while. The rest of the elevator ride... with the elevator turning out to have glass sides and a ridiculously scenic view of the not particularly scenic city... passes in silence, before it slides open in a parking garage and you follow Katsumi towards an obvious lawenoff cruiser that you'd still bet money is twice as expensive and at least twice as flashy as your own rather pricey high-end speeder. \n\n"And of course there are those who simply do it because they can, or because showing that they can obtain and display such creatures in defiance of the law is its own status symbol," Katsumi says as she uses a fob to swing the doors of the cruiser upward and the two of you settle into the insanely comfortable seats. "In any event, we've had enough incidents involving creatures that are likely extradimensional in origin that it means someone in Midnight City is likely trafficking in them. Which means there's a central point from which they're doing so, and someone in charge of the operation."\n\n"Makes sense," you allow, glancing around for... no seatbelts, huh? Of course these guys would build the world's most overengineered cop car and not include seatbelts. Still, you experience only the mildest jolt as Katsumi starts the speeder and zips out of the garage at a surprising amount of acceleration and with a hairpin turn onto the road outside. Perhaps you've discovered something your new partner isn't so bland about? But in any event, you continue, "So what's the plan there?"\n\n"There are several avenues to pursue, but the most obvious is to find someone who's likely a customer of the trafficker and put pressure on them to offer them up. If we can conduct a raid swiftly and efficiently enough we might be able to capture the one running the operation as well as the underlings and facility."\n\n"Hm. Seems pretty chancey," you hedge. "Capturing a client always has way more lagtime and chances for someone to get away and warn the target."\n\n"Agreed," Katsumi says without hesitation, surprising you. "But it's what we have."\n\nYou raise your eyebrows a bit. "Why not go undercover? If there's so many clients looking to buy, there's just that many ways to infiltrate via them, or to pose as clients ourselves. Be way better if we could find out the whos, wheres, and whys before we do the raid."\n\nKatsumi purses her lips and narrows her eyes at the road... actually you wonder where the two of you have even been driving all this time. Maybe she's more agitated than you thought and this is how she relieves stress. For a few moments you think she's going to ignore you, but finally she says, "Our agency doesn't really... do... undercover work. You may have noticed that we take a great deal of precautions before even allowing anyone into the building."\n\n"Yeah, I had."\n\n"The sheer number of ways that dealing with the extranormal can lead to contamination and corruption... and not just morally via bribes and such, but mentally and spiritually... means that we have to be exceedingly diligent about such matters. To the point that even those who prove themselves comfortable with even casual and mundane methods of deceit are viewed with a certain amount of suspicion. The ongoing deception, and ongoing, unmonitored contact with the extranormal, that would be involved with an undercover assignment would lead to such heavy suspicion towards whoever took such an assignment that their career would be effectively over."\n\nYeesh. This is a hella messed-up agency. Like, you can follow the train of logic going on here, but something just seems vaguely but genuinely deranged about the whole thing. You consider offering an alternative, but internally waffle on it a bit... you're basically just here to be her partner and do what she says, that's what you're being paid for, and you're not really sure you're willing to go out on a limb for these people. On the other hand, you do hate to do a half-assed job...\n\n<hr>\n[[Just leave it be.|ChiEC]]\n\n[[Suggest going undercover yourself.|ChiEC]]

"Hey, you got any leads on ships for me?" you ask with your best charming grin, leaning forward a bit and folding your arms on the counter.\n\n"I actually do have a few," she replies, eyes twinkling as she taps at her interface. "The best one's an open job, though, so you're competing with anyone else that's heard about it. Someone's got a retrieval job listed on a [[Dynasty Systems Commander-series escort|LeoScrap1x1]]."\n\nYou let out a soft whistle. "Now that is the creeeam of the crop. ... Sorry, my mom always said it that way," you note wryly as Vima gives you an odd look for your deep-voiced pronunciation. "Big enough to live in very comfortably, small enough to dock almost anywhere, and Dynasty Systems put some serious luxury as well as major armor and firepower into their Commander series." Then you give her a wry look. "But Vima, if it's a retrieval job on the ship, how does that do me any good getting a ship, unless they're gonna pay me one to one what it's worth? And even then I'd have to find someone to sell me another one for that price."\n\n"You doubt me, you doubt my ability to find you what you ask for," Vima replies in a mock-wounded tone before smiling. "Because the escort's a Series Nine, the retrieval job's actually for its propulsion system, they don't care about the rest of the ship."\n\n"Ooo, yeah, they fitted the Commander-9 with reality drives," you murmur, then make a face. "God, I'd want to replace that anyway, those things creep me out. Do they creep you out?"\n\n"They absolutely creep me out," Vima assures you with a firm nod.

Eh... so what if she's giving you a bit of charity? You could use the help, being really honest. You nod, and say, "Sure, that sounds like a good idea."\n\n"Great, bro!" she chirps, immediately leaning over and starting to undo your pants.\n\n"U-um!" you squeak, your eyes going wide as she very quickly pulls them open and fishes out your cock, which goes fully hard in just a few strokes despite (or maybe partly because of) your shock. "What are you doing?!"\n\n"Huh? I mean, that's just the benefit of partying up, bro," she says as if it were the most reasonable thing in the world, grinning up at you as she continues lightly stroking you with gentle, twisting pumps of her hand. "Having convenient fuckbuddies!" With that she dips her head down, sliding her mouth over your cockhead and then just keeps going, deepthroating you without the slightest sign of a gag reflex.\n\nYour eyes roll up and with a slightly strangled moan you sink back to lean against the tree, without really thinking about it resting a hand atop Nom's shaggy red head. She's already bobbing her head in quick, smooth strokes, giving little 'mm!' noises as she slurps at your prick as if she honestly found it delicious, her tongue practically wrapping around you as she moves. Is this... really happening? You stare briefly down at her, then glance aside at where her butt is stuck up in the air now, completely shown off in those tight black shorts. Just a little tentatively you reach your hand over to give it a tentative squeeze.\n\nYou almost jump a little as Nom lifts her head up off your cock, expecting her somehow to scold you, but instead she gives that cheeky laugh of hers. "Bro you can squeeze way harder than that! In fact feel free to slap it a little! That's what all the padding's for, bro!" she adds before ducking her head back down and gulping your cock into her throat again.\n\n'Oh this is the best decision I ever made,' you think with another low groan, squeezing Nom's ass harder in those shorts, then as directed giving it an experimental slap. Nom makes a noise that sounds like, rather than just "not bothered", she's entirely pleased, the vibrations of it passing through your very sensitive dick.\n\nAfter only the tiniest bit more waffling you reach under her and give the white band of her top a tug, spilling her tits free. You cup one and lift it... it's both soft and heavy, practically engulfing your hand just from that but also firm enough you can feel it pressing against you as you squeeze. Nom makes another happy sound around your cock and, between that and the heavenly feel of her breast, it's all you can do to give a warning blurt of "Gonna-!" before you start to spill into her mouth.\n\nAgain, she hardly seems bothered, instead just gulping and licking the entire time your cock trembles and twitches between her lips. Then she slides up off you and sits up, dabbing her thumb at the corners of her mouth before licking it clean. "Whoa, not a bad taste, bro! First time with someone else?" At your sheepish nod, she mmms, glancing upward. "Damn... I kinda wanna keep just sucking you as long as the kinda better flavor lasts."\n\n"... Better...?"\n\n"Oh yeah, it's a thing, lot of people say the closer you are to a virgin, the better your cum tastes," Nom says, lifting a finger and nodding knowledgeably. Then she pauses, glances up, and shrugs. "But ehhhh my pussy's super wet so whatcha gonna do," she declares as she starts wiggling out of her shorts. \n\n"Y-you mean we're gonna-"\n\n"'Course!" she interrupts, finishing getting out of the shorts and then immediately rolling over onto all fours, wiggling that big round ass at you. "Also you should totally do me doggy style any time you can manage, bro, all the guys I fuck go nuts for it because my ass is so good!"\n\n"... your tits are great too," you murmur as you nevertheless move up behind her, rubbing the tip of your cock up and down her (admittedly absolutely soaked) pussy.\n\n"Mmmm yeah but to get the best out of those I gotta ride you and I'm usually too lazy," she admits with a giggle, before moaning happily as you push into her. She wiggles her hips and pushes back to meet you until you're hilted inside, then makes another happy noise as you lean against her back and reach under her to grab her tits. "Well you won't see my ass as good like that, but still that's nice, bro!"\n\n"Mmmf... you feel so good," you murmur in her ear, and are rewarded by it actually turning a bit pink.\n\n"Heheh, that's sweet, bro," she says, a tinge of a moan coming into the words as you wiggle your hips. "H-hey, by the way...!"\n\n"Y-yeah?"\n\n"Since I keep calling you 'bro'... call me 'sis', okay?" she murmurs, turning her head and kissing your cheek. Then her smile turns even wider. "Haha holy shit I actually felt you get harder!"\n\n"U-um," you murmur, squirming again.\n\n"Mm... it's cool. Straighten up though... little bro," she coos, giggling again at the hard twitch that makes your cock give in her pussy. "And really put your back into fucking big sis, okay?"\n\n"Y-yeah," you groan, surrendering your grip on her tits in favor of grabbing her waist as you straighten up. Then you start immediately fucking her for all you're worth, Nom giving a happy squeal that she clearly doesn't care about the other passengers nearby hearing.\n\nYeah, okay, you have to admit, seeing her big, perfectly fat ass shake as your hips slam into it does make for a great view, along with her big soft boobs wobbling underneath her. You fuck her just as hard and wildly as you can, since that seems to be what she wants, and from all the encouraging moans she's giving it certainly seems to be doing it for her.\n\n"Oh yeah li'l bro fuck my naughty pussy hard, punish me for being such a lewd big sis!" she moans out happily, again not seeming to care if her voice carries. She gives a happy squeak as you respond by slapping a hand down hard on one of her asscheeks, then the other, beginning to spank her in between your thrusts until you're leaving bright pink handprints all over it.\n\nBy the time you finally thrust forward and spill inside her with a long moan, Nom's soaked your balls completely and given several very loud squeals that coincided with her pussy squeezing firmly around you, so you're... gonna choose to take that as her having had a very good time too. You slump forward against her back again, reaching under her to squeeze her tits as she makes a happy noise and kisses your cheek again.\n\n"See? Partying up with big sis is gonna be lots of fun," she practically coos at you.\n\nThe next morning you return to the cart with Nom in a mixture of pride and embarrassment, even moreso that all the other passengers seem to be looking at you in a mixture of congratulations and jealousy... with the intensity of both only growing stronger as Nom unselfconsciously boards the carriage while lifting her ass high, displaying the still faintly visible handprints peeking out from around the edges of her shorts. She sits without complaint, though, chattering away happily to you as you cover the last stretch towards Ebonarza.\n\n"One of the first things we gotta do is get you your medal, obvs," Nom explains as the carriage bustles along, her tits almost constantly jiggling on the rough road.\n\n"Medal?" you ask, trying to keep your eyes on her face. You know (because she told you) that she 100% doesn't care if you just stare at her tits whenever you want, but still, polite is polite.\n\n"Yeah it's this thing they instituted a few years ago, 'cause there were too many newbs plunging right into dungeons like the Last Round and dying. Stirred up the monsters, plus the profits were in the toilet," she says with a shrug, the added motion dislodging her top enough that her nipples peek up over it. Without even looking she tugs it (barely) back into place while continuing to talk. "You gotta go in the Green Fields and kill the boss monster there first. Last time I was there it was a werelizard, probably still is!"\n\n"Oh, so I guess they've got some rules after all, huh?" you say with a sigh.\n\n"Yup! But don't worry even if we needa farm the Green Fields for a little while as you grind up, li'l bro, the monsters there still have drops worth enough to live on if you get enough, and there's a few good edible ones too," she adds, patting her tummy happily. "Don't wanna spend the whole time there, but we can take it easy!"\n\n"Mm," you murmur, folding your arms and leaning back.\n\n"Aw, don't sweat it, li'l bro, I swear I don't mind!" she says, getting up and moving over to sit down beside you, throwing an arm around your shoulders and hauling you against her side so that your head's against her chest. "Usually I'm totes solo or only part of a pickup group so I rush through my time here, actually having someone to hang out with who's fun means it should be plenty fun to take my time!"\n\n"... well okay," you agree, already having been pretty much completely mollified by heaving your head on her boob.\n\nEventually you arrive in Ebonarza, which you never really get a particularly good look as you're coming in, since you're in the back of the cart, but once you get out and leave the autocarriage corral it looks... a lot like Sabanara? Just kind of dirtier. And with more graffiti, admittedly. And you do notice that there's not nearly as many "normal" people around... a lot fewer street vendors, almost no kids, very few people with no armor or weapons on the streets.\n\n"Okay, li'l bro, big sis will give you the half-silver tour and then we'll head right to the Green Fields!" Nom pipes up as she hops down from the carriage to land beside you, unselfconsciously adjusting her chestband again. "We'll either make enough for our inn for the night, or we'll camp out in the dungeon, since it's a pretty okay spot to do so anyway."\n\nNom points out spots as you go along, including the main merchant street where you buy and sell items and have loot from the dungeon appraised, the local adventurer's guild (a much smaller affair than the ones in either Sabanara or Bohtaran, and which Nom says there really isn't much use for), and the "entertainment district".\n\n"Great place to go if you're itching to throw some dice or see a show or get your dick wet with someone other than big sis," Nom declares briefly, giving a bit of a giggle at how red you turn. "Just be careful, 'kay? Whatever kind of place you go, they'll try to get every last copper out of you, and you don't wanna wind up in debt to any of those places."\n\nYou'd still been processing the idea that she apparently doesn't care if you have sex with other people (well she did say that you were just "fuckbuddies"), but that makes you blink. "What, even the shows?"\n\n"Sometimes especially the shows," she says with a shrug. "They're tricksy around here. Oh yeah, and there's the church! Lots and lots of shrines to different gods there!" she adds, pointing.\n\n"Huh. Do you have a god, ah, big sis?" you ask her, glancing over.\n\n"Hahahaha, I really only worship my appetites, li'l bro!" she says, patting her tummy... then giving you a more wicked grin and a wink and patting her ass to make it jiggle. Then she pauses, and taps a fingertip against her lower lip. "Mmm, though lotsa people say there's something to having a patron god in Ebonarza. Like, supposedly the gods are keeping a closer eye on this place because so much weird interestin' stuff happens here."\n\n"Huh."\n\n"So I guess if you wanted to, we could go in and pick one out! I mean it couldn't take that long, and we got here plenty early in the day, it should be fine," she muses, glancing skyward and squinting a bit.\n\n<hr>\n[[Sure, go to the church.|RazNom]]\n\n[[Enh.|RazNom]]

Yeah, you'll just grab someone from nearby at random, and then probably prank them. One more disappearance that no one will blink at~!\n\nLet's see... you're kind of in the mood for a [[gyaru|Konko12x7]] after seeing Mokuyo give those two a working-over. And there are plenty of those, and considering society's general view of them, one going missing isn't going to cause much remark.

"Okay, sure, I'll help," you agree with a nod.\n\nDash's eyes light up. "Wonderful! Then you shall watch my back, good Raz!" A beat later he seems to remember he should add, "And I will watch yours!"\n\n"Ahuh," you agree, appropriately amending any expectations.\n\nStill, that seems to put him in a more effusive mood, and he sends down to the first floor to have some candied nuts and more wine brought up, which you hope goes to show that in the right mood maybe he can be generous. The atmosphere does become a bit more convivial as he and you (mostly he) talk, with him eventually expounding on his love of the fairer sex.\n\n"Ah, in the end it is all for them," he declares dreamily, putting a hand to his chest, the other sloshing his wine glass a bit. "The adventuring, the hardship, the earning, the work, the search... all for the love of women, so beautiful!"\n\n"Mm-hmmm," you agree a bit vaguely, feeling a bit drunker than you ever have as you sprawl back against the couch a bit.\n\n"Tell me, my good young Raz," he says in a wholly amiable tone, smiling at you, though there's a sort of weird light in his eye too. "What sort of lady do you most desire?"\n\n<hr>\n[[Sweet and wholesome.|Raz]]\n\n[[Energetic and carefree.|Raz]]\n\n[[Petite and nerdy.|Raz]]\n\n[[Complete bimbo.|Raz]]\n\n[[You hear boys actually make the best girls.|Raz]]\n\n[[You just like women, period.|Raz]]\n\n[[Psh, women, lemme show ya how unnecessary they are...|Raz]]

"Suit yourself," Big Girl says in a philosophical tone, shrugging and waving her glass a bit. "But like I said, it could be upwards of a month, even more, before you get an opportunity. My advice is head to Namran's place... turn left, take the next right, and two blocks over. Decent cheap place for an extended stay." She pauses, then adds with a grin, "Tell 'em I sent ya, they'll give you a bit of a better room."\n\n"Alright, thanks," you say with a nod, finishing off your own beer and trading polite farewells before getting up and heading out, with promises to check in regularly, and her saying that maybe she'll send someone over when he does show up.\n\nYou've already turned left and made your way to the next street when you pause, frowning. ... Maybe she'll send someone over even if Huwhin doesn't show up. Like in the middle of the night. You unobtrusively check over your shoulder, seeing if anyone behind you looks like they're following. ... Well, it would be wrong to say no one looks suspicious, since it's a pirate town and therefore everyone looks a bit suspicious, but no one looks like they're following you specifically.\n\nBut then Big Girl would hardly need to send someone to follow you if you're going to stay where she tells you. You'd bet she knows the owners, and that they'd happily tell her which room you're in. If she's suspicious of you, or suspects you're a bounty hunter or something, she might send however many guys she thinks is appropriate over in the middle of the night. And she doesn't seem like someone to underestimate her enemy.\n\n... On the other hand you didn't really get the sense she was particularly worried about anyone, including you. It's entirely possible she was just throwing some business a friend's way.\n\nUltimately, if you think she's suspicious of you and likely to send someone after you, you should head to the even seedier motels, the places where they'll think it's a little odd that you're renting for an entire night, and then probably change them up every night or so. If she was on the up-and-up (as much as a freeport person of influence can be said to be on the up-and-up) you can probably just head to Namran's place and stay there without worries.\n\n<hr>\n[[Roach motel.|ChiPir]]\n\n[[Namran's.|ChiPir4x2]]

You're not some kid hero anymore, you remind yourself, needing to run and get a bunch of friends together every time there's a threat to the planet. Besides, you remind yourself as you head for the teleporter, even though the threat itself is large scale, Dr. Deathtrap herself is still the same level of handle-able nutjob she ever was. ... Just in a more compact package. You've handled her labyrinths solo before, as has virtually every other member of the Guardian Sentinels with varying levels of difficulty, even with far more on the line than usual you're quite certain you can manage this. \n\nYou teleport down to a location not that far away from where she instructed you to come and fly the rest of the way out over the wide, open forest. It's not hard to spot a single small, white building amongst all of that even without super-vision, and you descend quickly, landing outside. 'Okay, let's be professional about this, let her Menacelogue as she likes, it'll put her in a better frame of mind for holding up her end of the bargain.' You eye the open door for a moment, just to make sure there are no obvious traps there, before walking through and into the simple, largely unadorned white room inside, giving only the most minor glance over your shoulder as the automated door slides closed behind you.\n\nPart of one wall flickers and turns into a screen, the diminutive Doctor Deathtrap appearing with her fingers steepled. "I see you've decided to come alone! Excellent! Or perhaps overconfidence that will seal your doom! Are you ready for the most diabolical, sinister labyrinth you've ever faced, dear Caliburn?"\n\n"I'm ready for whatever weapons and pitfalls you've got cooked up this time," you agree evenly, nodding once in an almost respectful way that shows you're completely in control.\n\n"Oh we'll see about that. Because you see, this is farrrr from an ordinary Labyrinth of Doom! First of all," she continues, two columns sliding up out of the floor, one a somewhat wider square one and the other circular. You try not to make a face at the sight of the collar on top of the circular one... a power dampener, obviously. The other slides open to reveal a simple, empty chamber. "Off with the costume and everything else, and on with the collar. You're going through this one au naturale!"\n\nGah. This little...! You'd have been perfectly fine with running the Labyrinth unpowered, or even unpowered and without your utility belt... that's exactly the sort of situation your father trained you for, after all. Going through it naked is simultaneously both a bit more intimidating and a lot more embarrassing. ... But nothing about Deathtrap's threat has changed, so after a tense moment you give in and start taking off your costume, dropping bits of it into the bin (after working the secret controls to deactivate/booby trap everything), and finally peeling off the suit to reveal your toned, muscular body in all its admitted glory.\n\n"Damn," Deathtrap murmurs, eyes rather obviously roaming a bit before she quickly schools her face back to the usual maniacal sneer when you raise an eyebrow. "Now the collar! Heheheh, good good, no worries, Caliburn, this won't be the typical Labyrinth of Doom!" she declares as you fasten the collar around your neck, the band around the middle glowing purple as you can feel your senses being dulled. "You won't be dodging buzzsaws and laser blasts today! You see, in my attempts to get back to this dimension, I encountered another where there was a truly remarkable game people played, betting with things beyond even money! Betting enforced with a technology so advanced that it was practically magic... capable of giving or taking away anything! Not just aspects of your body or mind, but very concepts of your existence!"\n\nYour reaction to the thought of her actually having access to such a godlike level of manipulation of reality must make it through your attempt to control your expression, because she smirks wider. "Oh, don't get too worried, Caliburn, the one aspect of the technology that can't be altered or changed is apparently that you must consent to alteration. You can only offer up or accept of your own will! Which is what you'll be doing in every room of this Labyrinth of Choice!"\n\n"So you're saying in every room, I'll have to accept one of these... changes... to proceed?" you ask slowly.\n\n"Correct! Each change you choose will open the door to a path! Every path leads to the end of the Labyrinth of Choice eventually, and when you reach the exit room I'll give you the sole copy of all the data and vow never to reveal what I remember of it myself! Of course, I suppose the question is... what will the you that arrives at the end of the Labyrinth do with it?" With that sincerely ominous statement, her video screen disappears and a previously invisible door in the wall ahead slides downward, revealing a room with two short square pillars on it beyond.\n\nYou stand where you are for a moment, indulging in a bit of worry. Crap... this is definitely way more complex than what you assumed. It sounds like she has no intentions of changing you back to normal at the end of the Labyrinth of Choice, so... you'll just have to hope that you can hold on to enough of yourself that you can get one of the other Guardian Sentinels who's versed in these things to undo the changes for you. You try not to let yourself dwell on how you're just assuming that's something that can be done, and instead step into the next room.\n\nPredictably the door instantly slides shut behind you, once more becoming invisible against the walls and offering no obvious way out. You try your best to keep your dignity despite swaying in the breeze as you stroll over to the pillars, both of which come up to about the height of your bellybutton, and eye them. Each one has a button on top, and what you assume must be the changes in question written on the front: '-Masculinity' and '+Femininity'.\n\n'Isn't that the same thing?' you think instinctively, before scolding yourself. No, that's obviously wrong... one's suggesting removing an amount of something you already have, the other's either suggesting adding something you don't have or adding to the amount of something you already have (depending on how you look at it, you guess). Well... it's even more obvious than before that Deathtrap's definitely out to punish you, with this. Still, at this point not anything you can do about it, you'll have to choose one.\n\n<hr>\n[[-Masculinity.|CalMaze4x1]]\n\n[[+Femininity.|CalMaze1x1]]

You want to get as far as you can and then be ready to get out of here the moment the rain's past. You do a quick check over your shoulder, grimacing a little a the high up walls of flashing, almost pulsating black clouds and hazy-looking horizon, then do a quick check of the location of the dumpster. Yeah, you should just make it.\n\nYou scamper down the furniture hill as quickly as you can manage, jumping down the last distance and taking off at a jog. As you pass you notice that several of those camouflaged huts have light shining out through the cracks... yeah, definitely someone's home, but obviously not wanting to be disturbed. Hopefully your intended shelter is the equivalent of a public camp site around here, used by people passing through and whatnot, since you'd rather not deal with any of the locals if you don't have to.\n\nThe rain's definitely getting closer... in fact you can actually hear it hitting the ground in the distance... by the time you make it to the bin. Up close you can see that it actually used to be one of those big industrial dumpsters, the kind they bring in when they're tearing down buildings, making the interior probably about the same square footage as your apartment living room, just rectangular instead of square. The side that's not buried in garbage looks to have rusted away rather than been deliberately cut away, but it reveals an interior that does indeed look to have been made into a sort of campsite. There's even a metal firepit sunk into the center, surrounded by scattered open (and bent, and dinged) food cans and a few ruined-looking pots, and a single folding chair set nearby it. On one side of the container is a disheveled stack of burnable garbage... probably for exactly that purpose, just as a campfire. On the other side there's a pile of rags, probably for use as a bed or another place to sit. There are also a handful of garbage cans somewhat like the ones you saw earlier, though of a mingling of plastic and metal.\n\nThe rain hits barely ten seconds after you've ducked inside, starting to pound on the revealed parts of the metal roof loudly and drench the ground nearer to the entrance. You draw away, then take out a lumer and click it on, the flashlight beam sweeping around the interior. You blink as you pass it over the shadows at the back of the crate, realizing that there's another large hole in the other side... and that one goes down, probably partly into the trash hill behind, but also into the ground... which, depending on how long this place has been in use or if it used to get stamped down, might be mostly trash too. It certainly looks like the tunnel is lined with garbage of all kinds. ... Huh, could that be a deliberate choice? Someone making an artificial cave to get properly out of the elements? \n\nYou give a little shiver and glance back towards the rain. The temperature had been slowly dropping as the stormfront approached, and now that the rain's actually here it's getting outright cold. Your current attire is... not exactly meant to retain heat, you probably should have thought to check the average temperature before you came. You've clearly gotta do something, though, or soon you'll be shivering too hard to keep a proper lookout and/or defend yourself if necessary.\n\n<hr>\n[[Build a fire.|ChiApoc2x2]]\n\n[[Go into the tunnel.|ChiApoc]]

"Really?" the mutant asks, those bushy eyebrows lifting with obvious interest. As you start digging through your dimensional pouches, he rubs his mitteny hands together. "Is it... garbage?"\n\nYou start to say no, of course it's not, then glance up in time to see a purplish, warty tongue slide across his fuzzy, lipless maw in apparent eagerness. "Er... sure it is," you assure him, making a mental shift in what you're looking for. Specifically, after a moment you haul out several bags of actual military surplus MREs... 'broccoli omelet', 'chicken a la king', and 'veggie burger'. These are what you call your Deliberate Desperation Rations... meaning you keep them around specifically so you won't ever be tempted to eat them unless you're authentically starving. You also pull out a bottle of a local Makarzian brand's experimental flavor line: 'spicy honey and lavender'. You bought it mostly just to show it to friends on the Guildhall and say 'Can you believe these fuckers?', and it's long since gone warm even though dimensional pockets are timestopped.\n\n"Oooooo," your host coos, wiggling his hands excitedly as he steps forward and takes the glossy green bags and overly colorful bottle, looking them over almost covetously. Then he gives another annoyed-sounding grunt and long-suffering sigh and grumbles "Wait here," before slouching back down into the tunnel. \n\n"Not like I have much choice," you mutter, glancing at the rain outside.\n\nA few minutes later, he returns, slapping down another folding chair on the other side of the fire and rattling it around until it's mostly open. He also sets down a slightly less scorched looking pot with the MRE bags and soda in it, then sits down in the chair and begins opening up the plastic packs, dumping them and all the sides and accessory pouches (including the ones with things like water purification tablets and toilet paper) into the pot.\n\n"... Oooookay," you murmur, pushing the chair the rest of the way open and then sitting down in it. Tugging your mask down (the rain's almost familiarly stinking, which somehow helps a little with the rest of the garbage stink), you pull out a bottle of mixed hydration and nutrient solution, deciding you don't want to try and actually eat anything yourself, especially when your host opens up the soda and upends it over the pot as well. "My name's Michika," you say after a moment.\n\n"Yeah okay," he grunts back dismissively, not even looking at you.\n\nAlrighty then. You settle into the chair and sip at your bottle, glancing longingly at the exterior. Then you look back at him. "I don't suppose you've seen anyone else like me around?" you ask. He ignores you, just setting the pot directly in the fire and starting to stir it with what looks like an old oil dipstick. "She actually looks a bit like me, even, just with darker hair? Her name's Amari Andrews."\n\n"Oh her," he says dismissively, eyes on his dinner.\n\nYou blink, sitting up. "You have seen her?"\n\nHe looks up and gives you that annoyed expression again, before it turns a bit more canny. "You got any more of this stuff?"\n\nYou start to snap back, before taking a deep breath and counting to ten. "... I don't have any food that's quite as... garbage... as that... but I have more of the drinks."\n\n"Ennnnnh." He visibly waffles on that for a few, wobbling his big ball of a head around, before he lets out a huff and clambers to his stumpy feet, thumping back into the tunnel again, apparently not particularly caring if his odious concoction burns. (In fact for all you know that's what he's going for.) But after a few minutes he returns, carrying something blue and white, and drops it into your lap. "Here. Didn't really like it anyway, too clean for me."\n\nYou blink and look it over, staring as you spot an IASA logo, then turning it over. Right there on the chest is a nametape reading 'Cpt. Andrews'. It's the sort of oversuit that might form the central part of a light space suit, at the very least suitable for if there was a minor hull breach while flying a ship in space. No helmet, glove, or boots... and you certainly hope she was wearing something under it, or she's naked out there and you don't really want to contemplate that. "Where did you get this?!"\n\n"Fell out of the sky," he grunts, stirring his gunk again... then shrugging as you eye him dubiously. "No, for real. That probably means it fell from some aerial drone that was carrying her off."\n\nThat makes you scowl in concern. "They do that?"\n\n"Yeah sure. In fact they did it to me once," he adds, waving one of his mitteny hands around. "Rude as heck, I'll tell ya. Apparently those guys in the city like to study any mutant they find, so the drones will just snatch up anything different than they've seen before. They snatched me up from the dump I used to live in... it was a much, much trashier and nastier place than this one," he adds with a longing sigh, before continuing. "And after awhile they let me go. I dunno, seemed like they didn't like me too much, the jerks," he grunts. "But from how far we flew my dump was all the way on the other side of the continent, so there was no chance of me getting back there, I just settled for this one."\n\n"If they brought you from that far away, that must mean all the drones go the same place," you murmur thoughtfully to yourself, thinking it over (partly to distract yourself from the sight of your host scooping up great big gooey gobs of his concotion barehanded and stuffing it in his maw). After a moment, though, you're forced to look at him with the blackish goop streaming down his lower face and matting his fur. "Do you think you could show me the way back to the facility they took you to?"\n\nHe lets out a loud, derisive snort at that. "And why in the wide wide world of garbage would I wanna do that?"\n\n<hr>\n[["I'll find you some really good trash."|ChiApoc]]\n\n[["Well, what do you want?"|ChiApoc]]\n\n[["I'll take you home."|ChiApoc]]

Yeah, going down there definitely doesn't seem like a great idea. Even if it's not some mutant creature's den, it's one thing to plop down on someone's front porch to escape the weather, another to go barging into their house, if this place should turn out not to be "public use".\n\nYou quickly sort through the pile of burnable trash for the stuff that's least likely to put off unpleasant and/or toxic fumes (since the definition of "burnable trash" whoever made the pile was using seems to have been "it will burn" not "it's safe to burn"), you pile it up in the firepit and toss in a high grade match, sighing at the wash of warmth that immediately passes against your front. It's mostly psychological for now before the fire really gets going but it's better than nothing.\n\nYou're just about to settle into the chair when you hear a clatter from down the tunnel, followed by a gravelly voice in a sour tone announcing, "Oh, great, someone just going ahead and making themselves at home! Again!"\n\nYou step back, keeping your hand near your rifle, but deciding not to lift or aim it yet since whoever it is seems more aggravated than actively hostile. You can see a shape shuffling forward out of the dark of the tunnel and gradually emerging into the firelight. At first the shape's all you can make out... humanoid but not Human, for sure. The head's just almost spherical, on a long neck, probably well over a foot and a half, maybe two feet. The body is pear-shaped, with longish arms and squat, short legs. As the being emerges more fully into the light, for an instant you think it's covered in some sort of moss, or other green growth... but it's actually green fur, just thickly matted and greasy, probably from rummaging around in the garbage piles, to judge by the smell. It has large eyes settled in an annoyed, exasperated expression, colorless save for the small black points of the pupils, the only other feature on its face the wide mouth that goes almost the whole length of its large head. It has thumbs, but you're not sure if it has fingers or toes, or if the fur around them is just so thick and matted it's like it's wearing socks and mittens made of its own hair.\n\n"Oh, please! Just make yourself right at hoooome!" the mutant sneers with dripping sarcasm, spreading his arms wide. "Not like you're just going and invading my front porch and starting my fire or anything!"\n\n"Sorry," you reply, sincerely if a little tensely... his attitude and delivery sets your teeth on edge, even if you know you're in the wrong. You gesture to the sheeting-down rain outside, saying, "I just almost got caught in that, and I thought maybe this was just a public-use camp spot."\n\n"Bah! Of course people feel free to just help themselves to my home! Public use camp spot indeed!"\n\n"Er, no, that's not what I meant, I said-"\n\n"Just help yourself, help yourself!" the furry creature grumbles, swinging its arms around, making you tense further. It, or rather he (you can catch the faint glimpse of something in all the matted hair down there, not that you really want to look), is acting petulant and childish, but he's big, and those arms move like they've got a fair bit of power in them. "Not like I moved out here to the edge of the dump so that everyone else would quit bothering me!"\n\n"I really am sorry," you repeat, struggling to control your tone. "I just wanted to get out of the rain, I didn't mean to intrude or bother you. If I could do something to apologize and smooth it over so I can stay, I'm perfectly happy to."\n\nThat, at least, seems to give him pause. He turns towards you, lowering thick bushy eyebrows that are a darker green than the rest of him, scratching at his paunchy belly a bit with one mitteny hand. "Oh yeah? Like what?" he huffs demandingly.\n\n<hr>\n[["I have food..."|ChiApoc2x3]]\n\n[["Well, what would you like?"|ChiApoc]]

Of course, with such a magnificent cock as you've given her (what with everything you do being magnificent, konkonkon~), it only seems right that she should use it in the most intense, dominating way possible and thoroughly prove her newfound fuck-might to these pretty tan bitches~!\n\nAgain, it really doesn't take much of a nudge... Mokuyo's eyes flash a little as she grins widely, wrapping a hand around her thick pole and nudging the tip up against that shockingly pink little pucker. Haru-chan's eyes open wide, and she starts squirming and bucking a bit, blurting out a pleading "WAIT!", but Mokuyo simply pushes forward, forcing that thick, meaty prick to start spreading open the gyaru's asshole. Haru-chan squeals loudly, back arching and tits grinding across the books, writhing a bit in place as Mokuyo grabs her by the hips to keep her somewhat in place. Haru-chan's squeal turns into a long, low "gyeeeeeeeeeee~!", eyes starting to roll up a bit and teeth clenched as that massive cock just relentlessly slides deeper and deeper into her apparently virgin butt. Mokuyo coos happily, apparently both at the other girl's reaction and the sensation, continuing to relentlessly press forward.\n\n"You'll be a good little obedient bitch once I stretch out your ass for you, huh?" Mokuyo sneers, continuing to shimmy and work her round hips, uniform skirt swaying over her big ass as she does. She doesn't appear to spare a thought for Ruka-chan, who's once again sitting there with wide eyes watching her friend's ass be violated, though you notice said eyes wobble back and forth a bit tracking the motion of Mokuyo's hefty balls as she moves her hips. Said balls that finally bump up against Haru-chan's dripping snatch as the nerd girl pushes into her ass up to the hilt, making a smug, satisfied noise as the gyaru makes a little gurgling noise.\n\nMokuyo reaches up to nudge her glasses up her nose with her middle finger, the lenses actually flashing opaque for a moment, before she starts slamfucking the gyaru's asshole hard, Haru-chan's body rocking against the table with the force of the impact, her own round tan butt jiggling each slap of Mokuyo's squishable hips against it. Mokuyo reaches out and grabs her ponytail, yanking back on it hard while still keeping the other in a firm grip on the gyaru's waist. That bit of extra dominance is apparently all it takes to push Haru-chan over the edge, her eyes rolling up further and her jaw dropping with the pull on her head, her tongue lolling out as her pussy squirts all over Mokuyo's balls with the next slap of them against it.\n\n"N-no way," Ruka-chan whimpers, trembling a bit.\n\n"Hey, get up here and wait your turn, cunt," Mokuyo snaps at her absently, jerking her head towards the space on the table next to her, not pausing or even slowing down in fucking Haru-chan's ass for an instant.\n\nRuka-chan stares, glancing nervously towards the door, not even noticing you (since you don't want her to). You're just deciding whether to give her a nudge as well when, all on her own, she shakily gets to her feet and moves forward to the open space beside them at the table. She stares for a moment more, nibbling her purple-glossed lower lip, before pushing the chair aside and bending forward next to her friend who's rocking and writhing from being fucked, more streaks of black eyeliner sliding down her tanned cheeks. Swallowing hard, Ruka-chan just stays that way for a moment, Haru-chan's squeals and grunts and whorish moans in her ear, before she apparently remembers what happened to the other girl's panties. Either her own were expensive or she's just giving in further to the inevitable, because she slides her hands back and hikes her skirt up, hooking her thumbs into the little purple panties and pushing them down over the curve of her ass, wiggling her hips to get them to drop down her thighs and around her ankles so she can tug her sneakers out of them.\n\n"Theeere's a good slut," Mokuyo coos, reaching the hand not holding Haru-chan's ponytail over to give Ruka-chan's bare ass a squeeze, and then a good hard slap, making the gyaru squeal loudly. "Spread yourself for me too, so I can enjoy seeing where I'm gonna dump my second load."\n\nRuka-chan swallows hard, but obediently reaches back and puts her hands on her asscheeks, spreading them wide to show off her own soft pink pucker, framed by her own glaringly-decorated and -patterned long nails. She continues to hold herself spread and waiting as Mokuyo slamfucks her friend right beside her, growling wicked little insults and demeanments that just seem to make the assfucked gyaru whine and tremble and cum harder every time.\n\nFinally Mokuyo gives a hard thrust forward and lets out her own rather squealy moan as her massive balls lift visibly, just before there's a hefty spurt of white all around the base of her cock that splatters all over the gyaru's tan ass and Mokuyo's own hips and sack, the stretched tautness of Haru-chan's ass apparently no match for the size of the load being pumped abruptly into it. Haru-chan, for her part, suddenly goes silent, apparently too overwhelmed by the sensation to even make noise. Instead her head drops to the table, her eyes almost completely rolled up, spread lips curling up into a brainless, twitching smile. After a moment, Mokuyo pulls out, leaving Haru-chan's asshole gaped open and thoroughly smeared with white, jizz pooling in the base of it, the gyaru letting out a soft rush of breath and then giggling faintly at the apparent feel.\n\nRuka-chan swallows hard again, but neither moves nor takes her hands away from spreading her butt for Mokuyo as the nerd-turned-domfuta moves behind her, once again nudging her glasses up with her middle finger. She whimpers softly as she feels Mokuyo's cock, still completely hard and now thoroughly slimy with cum, brush along the cleft of her ass, and then nudge up against her virgin pink pucker. Then her eyes widen as Mokuyo's hands move to grip not her waist or hips, but her shoulders, grabbing hold of them like handlebars.\n\n"You were always the worse one," Mokuyo declares almost conversationally, before ramming the entire length of her massive prick into Ruka-chan's ass in a single powerful thrust.\n\n"HYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Ruka-chan wails, eyes rolling up until almost nothing but white shows, teeth clenched as she cums near-explosively, her pussy geysering all over Mokuyo's balls until they're left completely soak and dripping like a faucet. Droplets are slung around wildly as Mokuyo immediately starts fucking her harder and faster than she ever fucked Haru-chan, the second gyaru bucking and tossing her head, clearly cumming every couple of thrusts if not practically every thrust, her jaw having gone slack and tongue lolled out as well.\n\nPerhaps in relation to going so hard on her second bully-turned-victim, Mokuyo doesn't last quite as long this time, much more quickly finishing up by dumping that second load deep into the gyaru's ass just as promised. Despite the shorter duration, Ruka-chan has long since become totally insensate with repeated rapegasms, similarly slumping to the tabletop with eyes rolled up and lips curled in a mindless grin. Both gyarus lay there, their asses gaped and pooled with jizz, giggling with cum-drunkness.\n\nMokuyo steps back, huffing, admiring her handiwork as she strokes her now slightly flagging prick with one hand, the still-mostly-hard member wobbling and shaking lightly, dripping a mixture of spunk and girlcum on the library floor. It's clear that she's no longer inclined to wonder, or even care, where her new appendage came from, and is focused on the results. She clearly enjoyed her taste of power and 'disciplining' her bullies... you can sense her mind swimming with the possibilities of where else to distribute such discipline. Oooo, so many fun ideas she has, too! But if you leave it up to her, she might waffle around and never pick, letting herself be distracted and wind up regretting things. Best to give her another nudge towards one of the things in mind, distributing discipline...\n\n<hr>\n[[... in school.|Konko12x5]]\n\n[[... in the streets.|Konko]]\n\n[[... at home.|Konko]]

"I think, um, I'm just gonna," you say vaguely, before setting down your beer and getting up, blushing even more as your jutting erection is revealed, then turning around to lean over the edge of the tub and grab for your trunks.\n\nBefore you can, though, Scarlet's slipped forward and through the water, and you stiffen in more ways than one as she presses firmly up against your back, her breasts pillowing against your skin with the two hard, still somehow slightly cool nubs of those nipple rings. You try to protest as she reaches around and wraps a hand around your cock, but can then only gasp loudly as she gives a single stroke that makes your entire body spasm lightly with pleasure.\n\n"Pretty good, huh?" your aunt coos in your ear as she reaches around, cupping your balls and curling her hand gently, pressing her fingers against the base of them. You shudder, leaning forward heavily on your hands as she starts to stroke slowly and smoothly with her hand on your prick, twisting back and forth gently along with each stroke and her fingertips trailing over you in delicate, smooth motions that seem somehow both incredibly gentle and feathery and yet like they go right through you, as if she were stroking the inside of your cock as well as the outside. "I learned this technique from the best prostitute on a planet where all sex is handjobs. Great thing about it is that it's intensely pleasurable for the guy and lasts just as long as a normal handjob," she murmurs sensually in your ear as she makes you mewl softly with the stroking. "Only bad part about using it is that when you cum, you cum every drop you've got, so your cock will be useless for probably the rest of the night, but since you were so dead set on not wanting to fuck me anyway," she adds teasingly.\n\n"A-... Aunt Scarlet," you moan, trying for a protest as she rocks her body gently against yours, her hips pressing up against your ass as her wet breasts slide up and down your back. \n\n"Ssshhh, sweetheart. You can just say 'no' any time and I'll stop," she coos, giving your ear a little nip that sends an extra shudder through you as she continues slowly, gently, lovingly milking your cock with her hand, the slight turns and gentle strokings of her other hand on your balls seeming to keep you from building or spilling immediately. "But you want me to make you cum, right?"\n\nAt this point you may as well admit that you do, and all you can really manage is a nod and another affirmative moan. Scarlet mmms happily, biting her lower lip and looking down at you as she continues jerking you off with what you could only call an ultimate handjob technique, squeezing you firmly as she pulls her hand towards the tip, then relaxing the pressure and working her hand back and forth as she strokes back down, fingertips teasing and stimulating along your head as she does. "There you go, baby, feels good, huh? Especially after me making it all hard and achey and throbbing for two whooole days, huh? Isn't naughty aunt Scarlet following through now, hm?"\n\nYour only real answer is more moans, but that certainly seems to be enough for her, especially since she gives a few soft, satisfied moans of her own as she rocks against your back, grinding her hips to your ass as she jerks you off. And she really does make it last quite some time, your pleasure building and ebbing and always staying higher than any other masturbation or handjob in your life, until finally she relaxes your hand on your balls completely and wraps her other hand firmly around your cock from the root. At her firm, slow stroke, you start firing out what feels like an absolute firehose of cum, your vision briefly going white as your back arches, your whole mind feeling like it's pulled into your prick for long instants as you empty your balls harder than they've ever been emptied before.\n\nWhen you come back to yourself you're breathing hard, slumped forward on the edge of the hot tub, barely keeping yourself up on your hands. You blush some at seeing the truly impressive spread of thick white cream all over the edge of the tub, and out and down onto the floor. Your cock's gone almost completely soft in Scarlet's hand as she gives a few more gentle, almost soothing strokes, as well as a light fondling of your balls. "See? Told you so," she says with a giggle.\n\n"Y-yeah. Wow, I... wow," you murmur, not sure what else to say. You squirm a little as she pecks your cheek in a particularly auntie-ish fashion before releasing you and stepping back, which you take as your prompt to actually get out. Scarlet steps out of the tub and towels off as you do, with you still trying to sort out where to go from here in your head, when you notice her bent over and rummaging in her jacket pockets where it's draped on the chair. "Um, need something?"\n\n"Well sure," your aunt chirps as she straightens and turns towards you, smirking. In one hand is a tube of high-grade sex lubricant, and in the other is a realistically-molded black dildo... no, strapon, since it has a cup that's clearly designed to fit over her crotch down to her clit, and strap connectors. "I mean, I haven't cum yet, hon, and like I said, you're done for the night as far as something stiff goes. So since you didn't want to fuck me, I figured, why not the other way around?"\n\nIt takes you a moment to fully switch gears from the fact that she wasn't going to use the toy on herself, but then your eyes widen a bit. "Um."\n\n"Don't worry, hon, I know what I'm doing. In fact I've heard that it's actually especially fulfilling for guys after you use this technique, they can just sort of lie back and enjoy the... different sensations without worrying about their dick," she chirps, waggling the black faux-cock.\n\n<hr>\n[["... well, okay."|LeoShip]]\n\n[["I mean I have a mouth!"|LeoShip]]

Again, it really takes very little nudging at all... it looks like Mokuyo was already leaning that direction as it was, what with the school being where most of her time (and bullying) was concentrated anyway. As you help her make the decision, she smirks, once more doing the middle-finger pushup of her glasses... clearly she's decided she likes that little affectation.\n\nShe reaches forward and snags both gyarus by the hair, hauling them upward, both giving (distinctly happy-sounding, you note) squeals as they're treated so roughly. "Alright, listen up, bitches. Tomorrow you're both coming to school in full compliance with regulations. That means uniform, hair, the works. Understood?"\n\n"Yes, Mokuyo-sama," both of them chorus dreamily, cum dripping down their thighs from their gaped, overfilled asses.\n\nKonkonkonkon~, this is going to be a lot of fun! ... Hm. Well, tomorrow, it sounds like. Mokuyo's probably going to get up to some amusing stuff tomorrow after she's spent the night planning (and probably figuring out how she's going to properly restrain her new massive schlong when she's not schlinging it around), but tonight might be fairly boring. Probably nothing more terribly exciting than maybe fucking a girl or two on the way home and then maybe banging her mom. ... All fun enough to watch but not the main event you've set in motion so your attention is sort of wandering away.\n\nEhhhh you wanna go home for the day.\n\nAnd with that thought you're there, and reverted to your usual outfit of hoodie and sneakers. (You've never been much of one for impulse control anyway, all the moreso since thoughts like "I wanna go home" are exponentially easier to act on when you can instantly pop yourself to where you consider home with effectively no effort.) Back in your warm little abode, with an ongoing prank that should be lots of fun to look in on tomorrow. Ah, there are few better feelings!\n\nAlthough, you muse to yourself as you pull off your hoodie and toss it aside (and into nothingness), sitting down atop the kotatsu wearing nothing but your sneakers and idly stroking your cock, that means you need to entertain yourself until tomorrow. Probably not much of anything big or complicated, just some bit of mischief or lewdity or, preferably, lewd mischief to settle your brain and then you can nap until tomorrow morning. Such a hard life~!\n\nLet's see, let's see, something simple to do... hm, you could [[go out|Konko12ax1]] (probably but not necessarily putting on your hoodie again), or you could [[order delivery|Konko]]... either way, some tasty food (and a chance to prank people involved with the making of/delivering of it) would settle your mind for a nap. You could just play some [[video games|Konko]] (only boring people don't like video games).\n\nOr, you think with a konkon giggle and a glance down at your stiff cock as you stroke it, you could just be direct and get someone to fuck (and probably do a lewd prank on as well, assuming just fucking them doesn't count as a lewd prank which, when you're in the mood, it does to you). The best thing there would be to either summon up [[a particular type of person at random|Konko12x6]], summon up a [[construct of a fictional character|Konko]] (mildly less satisfying as they're not quite "real" but still fun for a quickie), or [[fuck someone from the immediate area|Konko]]... as you might imagine, a lot of people in the close-by neighborhood have been your targets for years and years, although most of them have no idea of that due to you resetting or suppressing their memories afterwards... in fact some of them have been your toys for so long that you have several "versions" of them created by suppressing and bringing up particular sets of memories. (Some of those were by you manipulating their minds, some were just you subjecting them to certain stimuli, shall we say, konkonkon~!)\n\nSkooma's note: Most of these won't be actual branch options, just quick side-scenes of how Konko spends her time before returning to the Mokuyo storyline.\n\nKonko's note: You're getting lazier about keeping to your "every choice is meaningful" ideal you know.\n\nSkooma's note: Shut up, you, you're one 'Delete' and 'Okay' away from not existing if you start getting uppity.\n\nKonko's note: [Alarmed kon]!

Oh yeah, you're gonna enjoy this. "Prepare the hot tub, please," you tell the droid as you shrug out of your coat and hang it up by the door along with your rifle.\n\n"Yes sir. Any special instructions?"\n\n"Nah, just some nice hot, thoroughly bubbly water. And turn on the light display if it's got one, something relaxing."\n\nYou go to take a quick rinse-off in the shower first before getting in the hot tub... you're not a barbarian, after all. After toweling off more in reflex and to enjoy the fluffy newly-fabricated towels, you have the fabricator make you a pair of black swim trunks before settling into the water, which is indeed pulsing gently through colors of blue and green as it bubbles and steams.\n\n"Ohhh yeah," you murmur, sinking down a bit, relaxing into both the water and the mental calculations of just how many people you could fit into this at one time. At least four, you muse, and that's without crowding too much... this thing really is just sinfully luxurious for what's technically a military ship. "Droid, bring me a chilled beer, please. I honestly don't care what kind. ... Not an IPA."\n\n"Yes, sir."\n\nSoon you're sipping from a tall, frosted transparisteel glass of thick dark beer, sighing happily and closing your eyes as you lean back. You let the hot water and bubbles start easing away all your various frustrations, financial, familial, and, ahem, other, from the last few days as you take another sip, appreciating how cold the glass keeps it against the heat of the tub. 'This is the life. All I really need is someone to-'\n\nYou should have known not to tempt fate, because you hear the door slide open. Glancing over, you see your aunt sauntering in, still wearing her short black jacket... but now wearing it over a rather skimpy black bikini. It's definitely small enough to show off not only her full breasts but round hips, and the bottom is low enough that it shows off the glowing red tattoo high on her crotch, a curling heart-themed thing that spreads out tribal-style designs around it. It's hardly the first time you've seen it, since that's her typical swimsuit style, and she's often said she just loves the whole 'succubus aesthetic', but there are genuinely times when you wonder. "Uh... first officer's quarters not good enough?" you ask, sinking a bit lower in the water.\n\n"They're fi~ne. But no hot tub," your aunt chirps, shrugging out of her jacket and draping it over the back of a nearby chair.\n\nYou're just resigning yourself to putting up with a bit more of her showing off, taking a soothing drink of beer, when you splutter as she undoes her bikini top and drops it to the floor, revealing her puffy pink nipples and the golden rings going through them. "What are you doing?!"\n\n"C'mon, kiddo, you don't wear swimsuits in the hot tub," Scarlet scoffs as she pushes the bikini bottoms down and steps out of them. "That's basic hot tub etiquette! Oo, lightly-chilled tequila please," she adds cheerfully to the droid as she steps into the water and settles down across from you, bare breasts bobbling on the surface of the bubbling water as she sits.\n\n<hr>\n[[... Fine, fair enough.|LeoShip1x2]]\n\n[[... Nope, keepin' 'em on.|LeoShip3x1]]

You haven't quite gotten to the point of giving in completely, so you decide to just sit and try to stay casual about nude hot-tubbing with your hot, constantly teasing aunt, since other than the sparkle in her eyes (man she must have paid a lot for those to be able to convey that) she seems to be doing the same, both of you sitting and drinking, soaking away the last few days. \n\n"Good job on this one, Leo," she eventually says, sounding genuinely, normally complimentary. Maybe in opposition to the usual, having some booze in her has actually taken the edge off. Of course, then when you look over, you realize that despite her normal tone, she's also casually playing with one of her nipple rings with one hand while sipping from her drink with the other. "You got the inside scoop on exactly the sort of job you needed to accomplish your goals. You're gonna get paid, get an amazing ship for your career, and all of it with a few days of work. Your parents and I have always been proud of you, but you've really knocked it out of the park on this one, my sister will never stop bragging on you over it."\n\nThat makes you grin. "Well, that's great to hear. Thanks, Aunt Scarlet... could never have pulled this off without you. At the very least nowhere near this smooth and fast. I appreciate all the help, thank you."\n\n"Mm." Her eyes twinkle again. "But you still don't appreciate the teasing?"\n\nThat makes you cough and glance away. "Um."\n\n"I'm just having fu~n," she says in a lilting tone before giving a laugh. Then her smile settles into something more seriously, sensually wicked as she swirls the tequila around in her glass. "I mean... I would still fuck you, cute nephew. 'Incest' is one of those kinks that's a little limited in its chances to indulge, obviously."\n\n"... And you just love your kinks," you mutter, shifting in place and trying to ignore that your cock is almost achingly hard beneath the steaming surface of the bubbling water.\n\n"I do! I acquire new ones as a hobby!" Eyes dancing, Scarlet stands up, water streaming down her flushed, smooth skin, her body showing that perfect blend of the maturity of a full-grown woman and the youth of keeping herself up well. She gives her shoulders a slight shake to make her bare breasts wobble, droplets flung gently off the gold rings through her nipples, before she settles her ass lightly back against the edge of the tub, letting her legs spread a bit to show off her smooth pussy, the lower point of her tattoo essentially pointing at it, the design and eye-catching glow virtually demanding that you stare. "C'mon, kiddo, if you're still opposed to going all the way, how about a bit of oral at least?" Seeing that you're speechless, she adds, "Or how about we just masturbate to each other, hmm?" she adds, stroking two fingers up and down her slit, then spreading her outer lips open to show off the inner pink. "C'mon, hon, you already ditched the trunks, you've gotta be up for sooomething~!"\n\n<hr>\n[[... Fine, oral.|LeoShip]]\n\n[[... Fine, masturbation.|LeoShip]]\n\n[[... Nope, you're getting out.|LeoShip1x4]]

Know what? At this point, you just don't have the energy to argue. After a long moment you sigh, and then set your beer down to dip your hands into the water, pushing down your swim trunks and wiggling out of them, your mostly stiff prick popping free of the fabric and dragging lightly through the water with your movements as you get them off. Dumping the trunks on the side of the hot tub, you settle and do your best to seem nonchalant about the whole thing, trying to tell yourself that your hardon can't possibly be that obvious considering the water's surface bubbling and the lights.\n\nStill, from the wicked grin on her face as she accepts her tumblr of tequila and takes a sip, Scarlet can definitely tell.\n\n<hr>\n[[Fuck it. Go sit next to her.|LeoShip2x1]]\n\n[[Stay where you are.|LeoShip1x3]]

Hmmm, yes... giving her a cock definitely provides numerous, endless possibilities for mischief! It's not at all just because you desire to see a big, fat fuckstick jutting from that wonderfully lush squishy body of hers!\n\n(Hahahaha it's boooooooooooooooooooooooth!)\n\nGrinning, you stick out a hand just a little bit and wiggle your fingers... not actually necessary, it just feels fun. The glasses-girl had been in the middle of some feeble protest to try and get the two to back off when she suddenly emits a loud squeak that turns into a sort of dismayed cry as she hunches forward, hands rising towards her crotch.\n\n"E-eh? Mokuyo, wh-what's with you?" one of the gyarus blurts, both of them very clearly having been startled enough by the sudden sounds and behavior that they've been (at least temporarily) jarred out of bully-mode.\n\n"I... I don't know!" the nerd (Mokuyo, you're guessing her family name) blurts, shuddering, and apparently without really thinking lifting the front of her skirt, trying futilely to peer down past her massive breasts to see what's happening. The gyaru pair can see just fine, and both of them's eyes widen at the sight of the bulge in the front of Mokuyo's panties. Mokuyo whimpers and squirms in place at the sensation of both having a cock and feeling it grow steadily larger and harder, the freshly-grown balls stretching the white cotton downward while it also steadily stretches in front, the pale, thickening shaft visible bent at an angle as it strains more and more at the material. The cotton presses up between Mokuyo's large, plump buttocks, turning first into a thong and then disappearing entirely, no doubt pressing nice and hard between her pussylips since the shaft is stretching the front up enough to keep her balls lifted. \n\nThe gyarus both continue to stare, mouths having fallen open slightly, seemingly frozen in pure shock. A wet spot appears at the front of the stretched panties, growing even as Mokuyo's cock continues to grow, stretching the white material further and further around the plump head of her prick, turning gradually transparent and showing the tone of her skin through it. Until finally with a loud, almighty ripping sound the panties give way, Mokuyo's balls dropping to sway and wobble against her plump thighs, the thick, heavy shaft shaking back and forth slightly, having slung some lines of thin, gooey pre around in its release and now dribbling onto the floor.\n\nAll three girls are staring at it in open-mouthed shock, their brains clearly not having rebooted yet. Now would be a good time to give any of them a nudge, if you wanted...!\n\n<hr>\n[[Give Mokuyo a little dommy nudge.|Konko12x3]]\n\n[[Give the gyarus a dommy nudge.|Konko]]\n\n[[Send the gyarus fleeing.|Konko]]\n\n[[Actually the gyarus would look cute with cocks too!|Konko]]

You did think you were going to "help" her, after all... this seems like it will be a great help! Mostly to your own desire for entertainment, but maybe also her, kon kon kon~! You grin and give your fingers another little wiggle, giving Mokuyo a mental nudge.\n\nReally, it doesn't take much. It's more like the precise poke needed to break a dam than anything else. Mokuyo's shocked expression shifts... then turns contemplative... before her mouth curls into a smug leer. \n\nHer hands shoot out like striking snakes, both gyarus yelping as she grabs them by the hair (one has long elaborately-teased bangs with forelocks, the other has thick overwaved hair down past her shoulders, both the same color of bright yellow rather than any shade of real blonde). Apparently between the shock and speed neither of them can resist being hauled forward and shoved to their knees with little "oofs" and loud janglings of pink plastic bracelets, both of them brought face-to-face with that jutting monster, Mokuyo's skirt now piled atop the base of it.\n\n"Haru-chan," Mokuyo purrs, looking at the ponytailed one with teal lipstick, then over at the wavy-haired one with purple lipstick, both of them staring up at her wide-eyed. "Ruka-chan, I think the two of you need to put those slutty bitch mouths of yours to better use, huh?"\n\nShe shoves them both closer to her cock, the two moving in sync almost like twins, one hand shooting up to rest on Mokuyo's thick thighs (right at the thighsquish of her stockings), the other going to entwine with one another's as if for support. They both swallow hard, similarly in sync, contact lens'd eyes (both the same shade of blue) staring up at their victim-turned-victor, before slowly sliding down to stare at the thick, throbbing meat in front of them.\n\nYou're just pondering whether to give them a mental nudge when the gyarus obediently open their mouths and start tentatively licking Mokuyo's shaft. Oho~! Either they really are sluts, or they're sufficiently cowed by the nerd girl's newly awakened personality that they're obeying anyway. (And it could, of course, be both!) Their intimidation and slight awe is obvious, probably from a mixture of the sudden appearance of the cock, Mokuyo's equally sudden personality change, and the sheer size of the throbbing, twitching cock in front of them. (You did maybe go a little hard on it, as they say.) They've started giving it soft little sucks and not-quite-kisses from being urged up against it, pink tongues lapping at it. Mokuyo gives a slight tightening of her fingers in their hair and both girls squeak loudly again before quickly starting to display more enthusiasm, licking faster and harder, suckling at the shaft sides and even making soft little trembling moans, despite the risk of drawing someone to them right out in the open of the library.\n\n"See? This is a much better use for your fucking mouths than all that bitching and smoking you do," Mokuyo purrs mockingly as the pair of them leave color-coded lip marks all over her fat shaft. "But I've got an even better one!" \n\nShe gives Ruka-chan a shove back, making her thump onto her ass with her back thumping against the chair of the nearby table, her legs raised and spread to show off little purple satin panties that almost perfectly match her lipstick. Ruka-chan sits there staring, and you give her a little mental nudge to make sure she doesn't think of running if she was going to... don't want the luscious fat-titted fat-cocked monster you've created to lose one of her prey! Speaking of which, Mokuyo has grabbed Haru-chan by the sides of the head and is maneuvering her down a bit, looming above the girl and working her cockhead into the girl's mouth, teal-painted lips stretched wide and blue-lensed eyes wide with a bit of panic, hands with gaudily-painted nails gripping Mokuyo's skirted hips.\n\nBut Mokuyo is merciless, shaking those hips and working her cock further and further into Haru-chan's mouth as the gyaru gags and writhes lightly. Her slender tan throat bulges a bit as the nerd's pale cock nudges past the entrance, and Mokuyo begins firmer, longer pushes, bulging that throat up more and more, gradually moving towards the tight little leather band with its heart clasp right around the center of it. Mokuyo mmms, then gives a sudden push forward, the fat head of her cock sliding under the choker abruptly, the stretch enough to stretch it with a soft creak of leather and metal. A few more thrusts and it gives up the ghost, the latch popping open and the choker dropping off to lay draped over the gyaru's shoulder like some kind of award ribbon.\n\n"Awwww, I hope that wasn't too expensive, Haru-chaaan," Mokuyo coos, smirking victoriously. Off to the side, Ruka-chan swallows loudly, a shaking hand raising to touch fingers against her own near-identical pink choker.\n\nSoon Mokuyo's fucking Haru-chan's face good and hard, thrusting down into her throat with quick, deep, relentless pumps that send spittle spattering all over, smearing across Haru-chan's face and dripping from Mokuyo's hefty balls as they slap down on that delicate tan chin. Haru-chan's eyes have rolled up some, streaks of dark black from her eyeliner running down her cheeks as her eyes water from the intensity of the facefucking she's receiving, though you can see her body at least has given up any faint pretense of resistance to being used as the nerd's onahole. She's swallowing convulsively around that thick prick every time it pumps into her throat, which could just be sheer muscle response, but wouldn't account from the occasional wet drips falling from beneath her skirt to start making a little pool on the floor between her spread legs.\n\nMokuyo seems utterly unconcerned that someone might come across her raping another student's face right out in the open in the library, continuing to display her bare ass and pussy and bouncing balls right to the door as she thrusts down into Haru-chan's throat. (You've already established a 'don't come here' zone since you don't want this rather hot scene interrupted, but none of them know that.) You're a little surprised when Mokuyo stops and pulls out completely, Haru-chan gasping and shuddering as she tries desperately to catch her breath while her former victim slaps that meaty, saliva-dripping cock against her makeup-smeared face a few times.\n\nYou're less surprised, obviously, when Mokuyo turns and grabs Ruka-chan by the hair again, dragging her forward and onto her knees. Ruka-chan whimpers but obediently grabs hold of Mokuyo's plump hips and opens her mouth, extending a trembling tongue that the nerd slaps her prick against a few times before positioning it and grabbing the gyaru's head. She's far less gentle with Ruka-chan (you wonder if this one was a bigger bully or Mokuyo's just finding her groove as a rough fucker), shoving in and forcing the other girl's throat to bulge completely all at once, the pink choker snapping on that first rough thrust. And then she immediately starts fucking hard, showing Ruka-chan not even the slightest measure of mercy she gave Haru-chan, the gyaru trembling and bucking her hips as eyeliner streaks down her cheeks and the sides of her face.\n\nThough rougher with Ruka-chan, Mokuyo also doesn't rape her face nearly as long, only a minute or so before pulling out, leaving the gyaru trembling, huffing, and dripping onto the floor like her friend. Speaking of whom, Mokuyo turns and grabs Haru-chan, who's just now caught her breath, taking her by the upper arm and hauling her to her feet. Haru-chan yelps as she's shoved forward, bent over the library table with her own generous breasts pressing across several scattered workbooks. Her eyes widen again as Mokuyo flips her skirt up to reveal very slutty-looking leopard-pattern panties, which are then grabbed and given a few quick, hard yanks, torn completely off to reveal a dripping, smooth-shaven pussy and surprisingly pink little pucker of an asshole.\n\nMokuyo gives her cock a few light strokes. From the fire blazing in her eyes, it's clear she intends to go all the way. Hm, maybe give her a nudge again, though, to decide what would be the most fun way to play this. She should crave...\n\n<hr>\n[[... a thorough claiming.|Konko]]\n\n[[... primal dominance.|Konko]]\n\n[[... conquest by intensity.|Konko12x4]]

Loke's first shot takes you high in the chest, just below the shoulder, already starting to stagger you back. The next catches you in your dominant arm, the bullets fast and leaving clean holes, but nevertheless doing enough damage that your rifle drops from the no longer functional limb. The next two take you low in the torso and are enough to knock you backwards, laying sprawled on the ground. For a moment more than anything you're shocked at how it doesn't hurt... you've just been shot four times, why doesn't it hurt?\n\n'You never feel the one that gets you,' says part of your brain as Loke moves to stand above you, his face twisted with anger and disgust as he glares down at you.\n\n"You seriously didn't see it coming? You piece of shit," he snarls, gleaming eyes narrowing. "How did someone so fucking stupid ever become a Provider? And yet you just kept bringing in score after score. None of us could measure up to you, so how could any of us hope to become Providers? You were always showing us up, always setting the bar way above where anyone else could ever hope to get. Did you seriously think there'd never be consequences to someone like you showing up someone like me?"\n\nYou open and close your blood-spattered mouth a few times, but aren't able to say anything.\n\n"A pathetic nobody like you, being the highest-privileged guy in the shelter? Some pussy who didn't even have the balls to take advantage of it and enjoy it?" Loke bares his teeth now, and raises the gun to point at your face. "Good fuckin' riddance."\n\nThere's a burst of light and a sense of impact. Then darkness.\n\nThe darkness stretches on and on. You have no idea how long. Time has even less meaning now than it ever did. There's just complete darkness, without end or variation. Until finally, you hear a voice saying something...\n\n<hr>\n[["Be at rest, weary traveler."|Soren2x2]]\n\n[["Network core now online."|Soren]]\n\n[["System repair complete, initializing reboot."|Soren]]

... No. You feel like being shot in the face is really about as clean and final a break from your old life as anyone could ask for. If the shelter lets Loke get away with it, maybe they deserve him as their Provider, you think bitterly. But aloud you say, "I want to give life in another world a try. Will it be... will it be like Earth?"\n\n"Not the Earth you know, I should think," the goddess says in an amused tone, shaking her head. "Do you perhaps think of a world of safety and plenty, after the one you were born into?"\n\n"Ah... well," you allow, then break off with a strangled sound as the goddess actually climbs forward and onto the bed, just barely able to crawl on her hands and knees with the absolute size of her breasts. "Um-" you start to say, only to cut off with an entirely different strangled sound as she hefts herself forward, her breasts engulfing not only your stiff prick but your hips and most of your thighs. Holy crap, it's like your whole lower body is getting a titfuck.\n\n"All the worlds I could send you to teem with life in a way your Earth does not," she coos sweetly as she gently shifts and works her shoulders around, even those faint movements changing the pressure and motion of her breasts so much that it's like she's actively stroking them up and down you. Then she slides forward and rises up, those mountainous mammaries rising above you, and you moan out as you feel a pussy that's hotter, wetter, and more gripping than anything you ever imagined engulfing you instead. "But there is always a price to be paid for the most peace that you would have."\n\n"P-price?" you say faintly, barely realizing you've moved your hands to rest on her generous hips, feeling your fingers sink into them a bit as she begins riding you, every slight motion causing hefty boobquakes in those hefty orbs looming above you. \n\n"If you would go to a new world with your whole self intact, ready to immediately begin your own life as independent as you please, then it would be a world filled with many dangers and potential threats, though not so constant or so hostile as those you once knew," she continues, voice sweet and rich and still calm even as she rides you, though there's a new and rising warmth there. "You would need to make your own way in such a world, and the threats would be yours to face or run from as you wish."\n\n"I-I see," you groan, though it's hard to see anything but her tits bobbling above you now.\n\n"If you would start over again from birth, then your world could be a safer one... still with its own threats, but many of them further off, less urgent, only yours to face should you choose it and work towards it," the goddess continues, beginning to ride you faster, her movements still gentle and controlled but becoming firmer and more eager. "Allies to face them with that you had known from a child would be all but guaranteed... if you could stand to trust them."\n\nThat makes you grit your teeth, and you find yourself able to push off the orgasm that had been approaching. In fact you even shoot your hands up and finally sink them into those massive tits and work them around a bit roughly, though from the sound of her moan the goddess doesn't mind at all. You grew up with Loke too, after all... hell, he's like your second cousin a few times over! He was literally family! How could you ever trust anyone again!\n\nStill, it's hard to hold onto those thoughts with the absolute embodiment of sex riding you steadily faster and harder, the goddess's voice growing more softly urgent as well. "And if you would enter into a new world with enough power to overcome any challenge... to be one of the most powerful beings in that existence... then you must also understand that it would be a world of more dangers than even you knew, and that many and more of them would find their way to your doorstep, no matter how much you sought solitude!"\n\nNnnnnf... so you could be reborn with almost godlike power, able to deal with any threat... but that means you'd have to deal with threats? ... Well, that... that has its own appeal, after all your identity is sort of invested in challenging the world and having it challenge you back... hnnnnh, but you also really like doing your own thing and being left alone! And it's getting harder and harder to think, your mind getting fuzzier as your climax approaches.\n\n"You must decide," the goddess urges, her voice soft and needy and sending a shiver through you. "Once you complete inside me, your new life will begin! You must decide before you cum, kind soul!"\n\n<hr>\n[[Face the dangers as you are!|Soren2x4]]\n\n[[A new start in a safer world!|Soren]]\n\n[[The power to face constant threats!|Soren]]\n\n[[You want... you want...!|Soren]]

"Feel not afraid or troubled, kind soul," a woman's gentle voice says. "For that time of torment is done."\n\nThe darkness slowly grows lighter bit by bit, until you find yourself reclined on a very comfortable bed in a very well-lit, entirely white room. It's elegant in style, like something from the very old-world, the bed having tall bannisters and a draping canopy of translucent white cloth. You sit up, a little discomfited to find yourself naked... and even further embarrassed as you realize that there's a woman standing at the end of the bed, visible through the parted drapes. And, uh... wow, and how.\n\nHer hair is thicker and more golden than any you've ever seen, practically forming a hood around her head and a cape draping down her back. Her skin is a rich brown color, making the pale green of her eyes stand out all the more, so that they almost glow. But admittedly the thing that commands attention is her absolutely massive breasts. They're so large that the bottoms of them are about level with her waist, though they're still full and firm, and only covered with a golden sunburst covering each nipple. You think she might be wearing some sort of belt and loincloth as well, but it's admittedly hard to tell with her boobs and the bed in the way.\n\n"Er," you murmur, torn between keeping your hands free in case there's a threat and covering your rather obvious reaction to her.\n\nThe woman just smiles serenely. "And be not embarrassed either. The reactions of the flesh are normal, to be celebrated and indulged... even if you are not, just this moment, flesh."\n\nYou stare at her for a moment, then glance around the room before looking at her again. "I... actually died, didn't I?"\n\n"You did," she answers without hesitation and with a single solemn node. "Murdered by one you trusted, after a lifetime of providing for others and seeking to keep the cycle of life going."\n\nYour mouth twists a little bit at that. Loke... ... After a moment you focus back on the matter at tits, er, at hand. "And who are you?"\n\n"I am known by many names on many different worlds. Suffice to say, I am a goddess of life, protection, and new beginnings. Your life was pleasing to me, so I have brought you here to help you move on from it as best you may."\n\n"... I see," you murmur.\n\n"I know that may be troubling, but it is simple necessity. You may have all the time you like here with me to make your peace with it, but eventually you must decide. You may move on to a higher plane... one of relaxation and joy, where there is no want or need. Or you could begin your life anew in another world. Either beginning again from birth, or taking your age and experience with you to get started on your life there immediately without needing to wait to grow up again."\n\nYou think on all that... maybe more brood on it... for a few moments. The goddess seems to hesitate as she watches you, then says, slowly, "And if you cannot give up your hatred for the one who has murdered you... if it is too great a weight on your soul to move past... then there is the possibility of returning to life in your old world."\n\n"What?" That makes you sit upright fully. "I can go back?"\n\n"But only in a way that would count as a new beginning," the goddess immediately cautions. "You would have to begin again far away from your original place... much farther than you might think. Only by this new beginning that gives you many opportunities to choose a new path could I return you to the dimension from whence you came. And the closer you came to attempting to resume your old life and satisfy old grudges, the less likely I would be able to aid you or call you back here again should you die."\n\n... Hm. So you might get more chances at another life, if you really try to live another life. But if you decide you just have to have vengeance on Loke, the closer you get to taking it, the less you'll have your new and boobtacu-, er, spectacular patron looking out for you. Either move on and go to... Heaven?... move on to a new life... or risk it all and decide you absolutely must have vengeance.\n\n<hr>\n[[You need some time to think about it.|Soren]]\n\n[[You'll move on to a higher plane.|Soren]]\n\n[[You'll do a fresh start in another world.|Soren2x3]]\n\n[[... You want to go back.|SorSF1x1]]

"We don't need to go rushing right to a decision," you assert, finding a smile and resting a hand on her head to give her a rub. "But yeah, you're right, I don't really have anywhere to go. So if you'll have me, I don't mind sticking around at all."\n\n"That's great!" she blurts, before blushing a bit at how eager it came out. She hesitates just a bit, then steps forward to hug you around the middle. "I'm honestly really glad," she admits, rubbing her head against your chest. "You seem nice and it's been really lonely. And tough," she adds with a slight shake.\n\n"... You've done great though," you assure her, since to all signs she has, resting your hand on her head again. "Don't worry. I'll stick with you. And help out around here. It's kind of what I do," you add. "I was called a Provider back where I come from."\n\nHer ears give a twitch, and she pulls back and looks up at you. "Where you come from? ... Are you from Earth?"\n\nYou blink. "Oh, you've heard of it?"\n\n"Yeah! People from Earth show up here all the time, I hear! Or like, once a generation or something," she adds with a shrug, stepping away and starting work on preparing dinner, apparently taking all this in stride. "My granddad was an adventurer and member of the Shields, and he told my dad all sorts of stories about people from Earth that he'd heard, and one or two he'd met! Which one are you from?"\n\nYour brain sputters a bit. "Which one?"\n\n"Yeah! According to granddad's stories, there's lots of different kinds. Apparently most of them come from this place called 'Japan' but sometimes they're from 'America'. Some of them apparently played something called an 'emm-emm-oh' that's a lot like our world, others came from super safe places where they've never fought anything in their lives, others come from an Earth where there was something called an 'apocalypse'..."\n\n"That one," you say, a bit faintly. "That last thing."\n\n"Oh so I got it right! Which of Earth's two countries do you come from?"\n\n"Er... it's... it's not really a country anymore, but I'm pretty sure it used to be America."\n\n"Neat!"\n\nYou need to take a little walk after that, and sort of wrap your head around things. You knew other dimensions existed... that was a known factor of the Turmoil, and there are even interdimensional incursions... or were... in the Peacetime. And obviously you're in one now, the goddess sort of said as much (although you suppose if you stretched it, this could just be another planet). But hearing that some of those other dimensions are actually other Earths is a bit wild. Moreso, somehow you'd just naturally assumed you'd be the only person from Earth here... the idea that there might be others is strange, and you're not sure how to feel about it. You're not certain if you want to meet any other Earthlings... or, if you do, whether it would be better or worse that they're from your Earth.\n\nSo you try to turn your attention to just inspecting Miko's little homestead. Her repairs to the fencing seem to be ugly but serviceable, the garden plots seem well looked-after if not thoroughly optimized (though you guess you can't apply what you know about hydroponics to soil farming, necessarily), there's a positively archaic well but which seems to have decent, clean water, even though you make a note that the wheeling device could use some servicing (probably beyond Miko's engineering knowledge). 'Kid's really been doing well for herself. She's been alone since she was... eleven? Twelve? ... I mean assuming she's the age she looks,' you allow. You know Nuun looks his age, but you have no idea if all cat-people might be like that, or if Miko's even the same type of catperson that Nuun is (or rather his grandparents were, since Nuun's 3/4 Human... not that it really shows?).\n\n... you can't help but hope Nuun's okay. Part of you can't help but suspect that if Loke betrayed you, Nuun must have been in on it, but still...\n\n...... you hope Nuun's okay.\n\nEventually you go back inside, just sitting and resting at the table, letting thoughts of both home and the future here turn over in your head. Miko seems quite cheerful... you guess you don't have much baseline to compare it to, but you'd tend to think she's happy to have someone to cook for besides herself. And it does turn out that she's a really good cook, in fact, the dinner of pan-fried fish and diced vegetables probably one of the better meals you've ever had.\n\n"Well my mom was mostly the one teaching me stuff, before," she says brightly once you compliment her on the meal. "So mostly I'm best at cooking and doing the house stuff, though I guess there's a few things I maybe hadn't learned quite right from her. Dad taught me some things too, but not as much, so I kinda had to figure out a lot of that best I could on my own."\n\n"You've done a great job," you assure her again, reaching across the table to ruffle her hair, at which she beams. "There's a few things I could fix up a bit better, and we may as well while we figure out what we're gonna do. I mean, there's no need to rush, right?"\n\n"I mean, we'd probably want to leave before summer's over, just so we could make sure to get somewhere we could shelter if winter hit while we were traveling, depending," Miko says after a few moments of thinking. "But that's months and months off, so yeah, we have time."\n\nYou nod. You'd like to live at least a little of this... slow life, or whatever you'd call it... before you have to move on, if that's what it seems like you need to do.\n\nAfter dinner, Miko offers to let you read one of the history books stored in a trunk (apparently books aren't so rare as to be super-expensive here, but hard to get enough for people in the backcountry to get that she doesn't like leaving them out on a shelf exposed to sunlight and moisture and whatnot). So you learn a little bit about the Dundarrin Empire... it's made up of a number of kingdoms that cover all of a large continent surrounded by wide, turbulent seas. (No wonder Miko thought it was a bit odd that you said you were from outside of it before admitting you were from Earth.) The Empire apparently has two main fighting forces, the regular military and Humanity's Shields, a more loosely-organized force made up of what you guess would be called "adventurers", answering to and employed by the kingdom, but able to operate largely independently.\n\nThe Shields were apparently formed in answer to recurring hostilities from a hostile force called the Demons, though the book seems to go back and forth a bit on whether that's literal or figurative... honestly they seem to use the word interchangeably as if it referred to a race, and a bit like how old world documents used "terrorist". You get the sense that similarly, some of the Demons may be actual demons, while others are just rebels and even nonviolent malcontents who may or may not even be sided with the actual Demons. Either way, most of them apparently live either on large islands past the continent's coast or up in the mountains far to the north. Anyway, since the Demons (and their allies) are often strong enough to require either large amounts of normal soldiers or specialists who can meet them with equal force, and large amounts of soldiers take time and resources to move around, Humanity's Shields were formed.\n\nYou're distracted from your reading as Miko yawns, stretching up on her tiptoes (having removed her boots earlier), her fingers laced and raised high over her head and tail lifting. "Mmmmmn! I'm gonna wash up!" she declares. She's already in motion before she pauses and adds, apparently remembering what it's like to have company, "Just... keep your eyes on your book!" she adds, blushing a little.\n\n"Ah, okay," you answer, indeed diverting your eyes back to the page. Well, the shelter was big but it wasn't huge, and similarly you couldn't always go off on your own when outside, so requests for that sort of minimal privacy were normal. You're pretty used to them, and it sounds like she's going to wash up pretty thoro-\n\n... Wait, wash up with what?\n\nYou carefully peek up, and blanche a bit at seeing that she is, in fact, moving towards the bucket and rag over under the window... the same one you thoughtlessly used to clean up after your wet dream (or "wet dream" or whatever it was).\n\n<hr>\n[["Wait wait wait!"|Soren]]\n\n[["..."|Soren]]

"Then go, my son, and be bleeeessed!" the goddess calls, arching her back and making those mountainous mammaries bounce fit to shake the world, as you thrust up into her and cum.\n\nIt's the most intense orgasm you've ever had in your life, your entire mind going white and staying that way. The sensation gradually fades away, leaving you floating in emptiness again, but this time a soft, warm emptiness. Gradually the light resolves into sunlight pouring in through a simple wooden window, and the softness into a rag-stuffed mattress underneath you and a quilt over you. You slowly sit up, blinking as you look around. You seem to be in a largish one-room cottage, though it looks even more old world than the goddess's room. Like, positively ancient world, with simple wooden furniture, bundles of herbs hanging from the rafters, an iron stove, and other pre-electric accoutrements.\n\nYou glance down at yourself, putting a hand to your chest and stomach. There aren't any marking left where the bullets hit, though as you run your fingers over where you remember them being there's a faint twinge, as if your body did in fact remember being shot. After a moment you lift the quilt... and blush as you realize that you apparently came in your sleep. You take another, more nervous look around. Spotting your bodysuit, similarly whole, and the rest of your clothes, you get up and quickly snatch the damp rag laying on the edge of a water bucket, cleaning up both yourself and the quilt as best you can before dressing. You rinse out the rag in the bucket, relieved that there's no real trace left once you do.\n\nYou take a slightly longer look around. Hm... at least two people live here, you'd guess? There are two beds, one smaller than the one you were in, and four chairs around the table. Either more than one person lives here or it's one person who makes a lot of accommodations for guests. You sniff a bit at some of the herbs hanging up... yeah, some of them are familiar, and at the same time not. You guess even if they're some of the same things you had back on Earth, the strains genetically modified for maximum quick growth in hydroponic bays would smell different.\n\nYou do a check around, and after a bit more searching find your belt with your pistol holstered in it hung up. No sign of your rifle, you guess it's gone. Well, at least the pistol recharges off of ambient energy... heck, you could leave it next to a fire, which is one of the reasons you take it as your backup weapon so much. ... Huh, guess you could just leave it in the sun, here. Gosh that's bright. So thinking, after just a bit of hesitation, you walk to the door and open it, stepping out.\n\n"Definitely not Earth," you murmur to yourself as you look around. Earth might have looked like this, hundreds of years before you were born, but even well before the Turmoil you have a feeling most places like this had been disappeared. You seem to be atop a wide, shallow hill, with a well-cleared area ranging out around it, ending near the treeline with a tall, slightly ill-maintained fence made of sharp-topped boards and bits of metal hammered together... it looks like some recent repairs have been made, but considerably sloppier and more scattershot than the original build. There are some garden patches down on the lower, flatter ground, actual gardening, right in the soil and everything. You walk down to one, squatting and gently poking at a small, green tomato. 'Never seen one actually coming out of the ground.'\n\nYou whip your head over at a creaking sound and see the gate swinging open, a small, lithe figure slipping through and hauling it back closed with one hand, the other with a large basket tucked under it. She turns, and blinks, the black feline ears atop her head twitching. "Oh, you're awake!" she chirps, cheerfully enough.\n\n"Ah... yeah," you say, rising to your feet. Your apparent host looks to be a girl of about thirteen or fourteen, with jaw-length black hair and bright yellow eyes, certainly matching the feline ears atop her head and the tail swishing behind her. She's wearing what looks an awful lot like a teal hoodie top, just with no sleeves or midriff, over a tight black sports bra style thing, and similarly snug black shorts, simple lace-up boots on her feet. She has a number of blades sheathed at her belt, ranging from what looks like a slender shortsword to a little knife barely the length of her pinkie, as well as a bow and quiver on her back.\n\n"Here, could you...?" she says, shifting the basket to both hands and proffering it.\n\n"... Oh! Yeah, sure," you say, reflexively kicked out of your startlement and slight culture shock enough to remember basic manners. You walk over and take the basket from her, a little surprised at just how heavy it is, and smelling faintly of fish (though again, not the fish smell you're used to). You follow her across the yard and up the hill, back into the house, where she shrugs out of the bow and quiver and hangs them up by the door.\n\n"Gotta get these cleaned right away or I'll put it off forever," she says sheepishly, pointing for you to put the basket down on the table. She brings a board over from the kitchen area and puts it down, then gets up on her knees onto one of the chairs, rummaging briefly in the basket before pulling out a fish and thunking it on the board. She pulls one of the knives off of her belt and begins preparing the fish in quick, practiced motions, though you immediately spot a few mistakes. "Though cooking them whole isn't too bad either."\n\n"I've eaten them raw before, in really rough times," you admit.\n\n"Heheh, yeaaaah, me too," she replies ruefully, her tail flicking. She glances up at you from her work. "I'm Miko, by the way."\n\n"Soren."\n\n"Hi Soren," she says, looking back at her work, continuing with the same sort of matter-of-factness to dealing with both the strange and routine that you usually only see in experiences Hunters and Gatherers. "I found you completely out cold out in the forest and managed to get you back here."\n\nYou blink. "Did you do it yourself?"\n\n"Yeaaaah, wasn't easy," she admits sheepishly. Her cheeks color, yellow eyes staying firmly on the current fish as she adds, "Um, I undressed you 'cause I was worried that super tight suit was gonna strangle you or something. I mean, once I figured out how to open it. So, um, sorry. If that's embarrassing."\n\nYou blush some too, and consider apologizing in turn for other recent events, but that just seems more uncomfortable than necessary for everyone involved. Instead you just say, "Ah, no, thanks. I mean, for everything. I'm guessing it can be dangerous out in the forest?"\n\n"Yeah, there's monsters and stuff. I thought maybe you'd been defeated by one and that's how you'd lost your sword or whatever, but there wasn't a mark on you," Miko notes, glancing up at you with a curious frown.\n\nYou cough and, not sure whether you're ready to explain, step forward to take the next fish she's reaching for. "Here, let me show you a trick or two."\n\nYou were worried she might get offended, but she actually looks grateful, relinquishing her spot to you and then standing at the side, watching you intently, clearly looking for where she was messing up. Which makes you ask, after a moment, "So it's just you here?"\n\n"Yeah," she says, eyes flicking up to your face briefly before resuming watching you work with the fish. "My parents got sick and died about two years ago now. So it's been just me ever since."\n\n"... You didn't have anywhere or anyone to go to?" you ask quietly.\n\nShe shrugs. "I think I have some relatives in another part of the kingdom? But even if I was sure where, it'd be a really long trip, especially to make on my own. And if I went to live in the city, I'd basically just be on the streets, so... staying here seemed best. There's a couple of other people scattered around the forest and countryside that I see from time to time, so I'm not totally alone," she adds, just a bit defensively. "Just, yanno. Everyone's already trying to get by. Nobody needs an extra mouth, especially when I can manage on my own. Mostly," she allows, grinning sheepishly as she looks at the little stacks of fish filets, yours obviously having a bit better and cleaner flesh.\n\n"Mm. ... My parents died too," you say after a moment as you continue cleaning fish, not entirely sure why you decided to say it.\n\n"Yeah?" Miko asks quietly.\n\n"Yeah. My dad died while he was out hunting. My mom just kinda... hung on after that. She lived for another couple of years, and did everything she could to take care of me, but you could kinda see that the life had gone out of her," you say, your voice low. "She died not that long after I came of age and started taking work assignments. I guess she figured her work was done and she could go be with him, now that I could take care of myself."\n\n"... Were you mad at her?" Miko asks very softly.\n\n"....... Yeah. Yeah, I was really mad at her," you answer just as softly.\n\nMiko nods a few times, her ears having laid down a bit against her head. "I still get mad at them sometimes," she admits, glancing over towards the larger bed. "For leaving me on my own. And because of how much I miss them."\n\nYou take a deep breath, then get up and move to the kitchen, using a rag to wipe your hands, cleaning off the bits of blood and scales. After taking a second to compose yourself, you turn and look over, seeing that Miko is bundling the bones and fishheads into a pot. "Compost?"\n\n"Stock," she says, blinking as if she had no idea what 'compost' meant. You similarly look a little blank at 'stock', at which she just grins and puts a lid on the pot. "You'll see. I may have had to figure out a lot of stuff on my own or do it as best I remembered, but I do pretty good on some stuff."\n\n"You do seem to have managed just fine," you allow, which makes her beam briefly at you as she sets the pot down nearby, and then moves to start gathering up the fish filets. "So I mean, is that your plan? Just live here from now on, even if it's by yourself?"\n\n"To be honest, I hadn't decided," Miko admits as she carries the filets over and sets them down, turning towards you. "I'm getting close to coming of age too. I'd considered maybe making my way to the city after all and trying to earn a living there, maybe join up with the Shields if nothing else, since I'm pretty decent at killing monsters, for a backwoods hick," she adds with a snicker.\n\n"The Shields?"\n\nShe blinks, and gives you a dubious look. "Humanity's Shields. The Empire's non-regular fighting force against the Demon Queen's army. Everyone knows about the Shields."\n\n"I'm, ah... not from the Empire?" you offer lamely.\n\nShe looks even more dubious at that, but eventually just shrugs. "I guess I've also kind of considered leaving the forest and trying to find somewhere better to settle. This place is okay, but it's just kind of... livable, yanno? It's great in spring like right now, but if I don't do a lot of preparation and saving basically right from the start, it's pretty tough to get through winter without feeling mostly dead by the end of it. Somewhere where it was easier to grow or put away more or that had a longer growing season and less harsh winters would be better, but again, it'd be hard to do on my own."\n\nShe's quiet for a few moments as she finishes sorting out the filets, having apparently selected two of the best and stacked the others up for some other purpose, before she looks at you. "Hey, Soren, what do you think I should do?"\n\n"You're asking me?" you ask a bit ruefully.\n\n"I don't have a lot of other adults to ask for advice!" she huffs, before smiling a bit shyly. "Um, besides... I was gonna say that, well... since it sounds like you don't really have anywhere to stay yourself, or else kinda seems like you'd have mentioned it... that maybe you'd stay. At least a while. So if I was gonna make a decision any time soon... maybe you'd do it with me? Just, yanno, so I don't have to do it alone?"\n\nO... kay. That suddenly seems to be saddling you with responsibility. Again. And you're still stinging from what Loke did... you trusted him, grew up with him, and he betrayed you, apparently with the help of the other Hunters you thought were your friends. You've barely met this girl, and she not only wants you to help her, but to come along with her on whatever she decides to do for the rest of her life?\n\n... On the other hand, you do clearly owe her, bigtime, as without her, you'd have probably wound up monster chow. (Well, maybe the goddess would have ensured you didn't. ... Actually maybe Miko is how she ensured you didn't.) You can only picture how much she must have struggled and strained to get a full-grown man back to her cabin from however far away it was, even if she is strong for a girl her size, and she didn't give up and leave you. That... seems like a pretty firm statement, and also a pretty obvious debt. Plus you're not sure if you could quite stand to leave a thirteen(?)-year-old of any type out in the woods to keep fending for themselves, let alone consider setting off across the country in search of a new place to settle.\n\nStill, you feel a slight twinge from the phantom gunshot wounds, as if reminding you what feelings of debt and service can wind up repaid with.\n\n<hr>\n[["... We'll decide soon, okay?"|Soren2x5]]\n\n[["........... I should go."|Soren]]

"Huh?" he says, then squeaks in surprise when you lean down and kiss him softly.\n\nWhen you straighten up, he's blushing, but you can't help but observe he looks happy. You grin back at him, your eyes twinkling. "Maybe it was because I shot a slug. So what? So far you've been nothing but a complete sweetheart... and prince," you add with a little laugh as his ears lay down at being called a 'sweetheart'. "Sorry, honey, but you really are just fuckin' adorable."\n\nRamya lets out a long sigh, then grins up at you ruefully. "I'm gonna hafta get used to it, aren't I?"\n\n"'Fraid so," you reply, reaching down to gently scritch under his chin, making him squirm. "I say we give it a go, until one of us decides it's really not working. If the charm of my treating you like a cute kitty wears off, or it turns out you have despicable habits or something, we can fall out of love like normal people, by fighting about it and being passive-aggressive until one of us finally snaps and storms out."\n\nHe eyes you briefly. "I have a feeling this relationship is going to involve hearing you gripe about your family a lot."\n\n"That's more friends than family but yeah brace for that." You snicker, then say, "But yeah. Michika Hajimaru. Glad to be in love with you."\n\nHe grins bashfully again and ducks his head briefly, before saying, "Just Ramya. Glad to be in love with you too. So, um... where do we go from here?"\n\n<hr>\n[[Back to your place.|ChiLove]]\n\n[[A vacation.|ChiLove]]\n\n[[You have a job to finish.|ChiLove1x6]]

You sigh happily, leaning your head down a bit further to nuzzle at one of his ears, giggling softly as it flicks. You gently rub his back, settling in for a good long cuddle, thoroughly enjoying the feel of him warm and comfortable against you.\n\nEventually the pace of his breath changes, and then starts up into a soft, steady thrum low in his throat that causes you to have to muffle a squeal of delight. He squirms a little, then opens his eyes, blinking a few times, then blushing as he peeks up at you almost shyly. "Um. Hi."\n\n"Hey," you murmur happily, giving one of his ears a playful nom and making him squeak and squirm. "You wanna have another quick one and then maybe go get some breakfast...?"\n\n"Um. M-maybe," Ramya stammers, clearing his throat. "But actually, uh, first thing, maybe we should go to a clinic?"\n\nYou blink yourself, then sit up, frowning a bit in confusion. "How come?"\n\n"Uh... you were acting sort of... odd? Last night," he notes sheepishly as he sits up. "Do you... not remember?"\n\nYou stare at him blankly, before turning your mind back and... oh. Oh yeah. Uh, the whole... gradually overcome by intense lust thing. Somehow you almost had forgotten. It was like you were so comfortable with Ramya and happy about being with him that part of you genuinely forgot that the two of you hadn't been together forever. "I... er, yeah, I think you're right, maybe I... we... should," you admit. "Thanks."\n\n"Yeah. Um, we should probably-"\n\n"Yeah, ah, yeah," you say, slipping out of bed and starting to get dressed with a slightly abashed air.\n\n"Well, you're in love."\n\nYou and Ramya both blink at the doctor, before you let out an amused snort, taking a quick, shy peek at Ramya out of the corner of your eye. "Is that your professional medical opinion?"\n\n"Yes, actually," the doctor says, turning your amused look into a stare. She wags a cluster of purple tentacles around as she continues. "You shot a Love Slug, and its secretions got all over you. Now, I'm sure most sentients would agree that there's more to love than chemicals in the brain, but that chemical change does occur as well, and Love Slugs are highly adapted to cause exactly that chemical response, especially when fortified and enhanced by endorphins, dopamine, and other general 'happy chemicals' produced by orgasms. Exposure to Love Slug fluids plus orgasms equals your brain settling into a state indistinguishable from deep romantic love."\n\n"I... see," you murmur, rubbing your upper arm and glancing at Ramya much more worriedly. "So... what I feel is... not real?"\n\n"Well physically it is. And it's not just you, it's him too," the doctor adds with a gesture.\n\n"What?" you squeak, looking at Ramya, who just ducks his head bashfully, ears lowering as he twiddles his fingers.\n\n"I suppose that's probably technically his confidentiality, but considering that you both announced you wanted in as a couple, it was a bit of a tipoff," the doctor notes dryly. "But I confirmed with a scan, he got secondhand exposure from the scent being all over you, and with Katrizian senses that was more than enough even if it wasn't quite as immediate or direct. You're in love with him," the doctor informs you, before turning to Ramya. "You're in love with her. That's the actual medical diagnosis."\n\n"I see," you repeat a bit numbly. "... So what do we do?"\n\n"Well the effect of the Love Slug fluids has cleared up so really there's nothing to do," the doctor says with a slightly rippling shrug of the tentacles she has running through the sleeves of her lab coat. "The chemical changes in your brain were induced in a way that it's effectively like naturally falling in love. So you two are in love and what you do with that is up to you. Even if it were within my ethics to offer chemical treatment for that, I'd be loathe to do it since it's an issue you two should be able to work out on your own like adults."\n\nYou and Ramya both nod numbly, then after one more glance at each other, get up and leave the clinic. Outside in the hallway the two of you stop, just standing there a bit, until you rub the side of your neck nervously.\n\n"Sooooo... yeah. I... do love you," you murmur, cheeks coloring.\n\n"Y-yeah. ... I love you too," he replies in a murmur, ears hanging down at the tips as his cheeks and the bridge of his nose go pink.\n\n"So um. ... Sorry?"\n\n"N-no! It's okay, it's okay!" he hurries to say, waving his hands. "You don't have to apologize for-!"\n\n"You're just saying that because you're in love with me," you say with a soft sigh.\n\n"... well... I mean... maybe, yeah," he allows with his own sigh.\n\n"So... what do we do about it?" you ask slowly.\n\nHe hesitates, then says, "I think it's up to you. I mean... I'm okay with whatever you decide. And yes okay maybe that's because I'm in love with you!" he huffs as you give him another look. "Who cares?! That's how it is, so... so you decide, okay?!"\n\n<hr>\n[[We should go our separate ways.|ChiLove]]\n\n[[... You're right, who cares?|ChiLove1x5]]

"I really should finish up that job I was on," you allow. "That Love Slug was definitely a problem but I don't think it was the problem in that mine. It definitely wasn't what was smashing up equipment." Then you wince. "Oh geez, I didn't make you late for a job or something, did I?"\n\n"No, no, I'd just finished turning one in, actually," he hurries to assure you, then gives you a 'yes seriously' look when you give him a slightly doubtful look. "So I'm all free to help you with yours."\n\n"Yeah?" you say, unable to help grinning like a goofball.\n\n"Yeah! Let's head to the vaults and you can tell me what to do for a loadout!"\n\nSoon you're stepping back into the mine staging area, this time with Ramya at your side. More than a few of the miners do a double (or even triple) take at the sight of the two of you, and Red almost immediately approaches. "I honestly didn't expect you back so fast," he admits, before looking at Ramya. "Ah... you brought reinforcements?"\n\n"Yeah, this is Ramya, my boyfriend," you announce in a positively boastful tone, causing Ramya to get a sheepish but rather proud look on his face as well. "He's gonna help me out with the next leg of securing the mine. Don't worry, he's just assisting me so no need to fuss with what he'll be paid."\n\n"Mm. Well, you said the magic words, 'no fuss'," Red allows, leaning down to introduce himself somewhat awkwardly to Ramya, the two of them shaking hands. Pleasantries observed, he straightens up. "So you heading back down?"\n\n"Yeah..."\n\n<hr>\n[["We'll go down now."|ChiLove]]\n\n[["I'll go down now."|ChiLove]]

"I'm... not feeling so hot," you manage, though you actually are feeling extremely hot. 'Overheated' would be one really good word for it. "I think, uh, I think I need to head back for a little while."\n\n"Ah, okay," Red answers, looking a mingling of confused and a little flustered himself. "But you'll be back?"\n\n"Y-... yeah, I'll try to be back soon," you promise, before fumbling in your pocket for your Guild beacon, pulling it out of your dimensional pocket and hitting the button. Fwip.\n\nThe instant you stumble out into the arrival annex, you realize what a bad mistake you've made.\n\nWhatever was happening to you that had you practically jumping Red's bones right there in the mine staging area is obviously ramping up by the moment, and you've just walked into a large room full of men. Not entirely men, obviously, but enough. And where normally you might not even think about it, right now you can smell them, a thick, masculine odor that feels like it's filling your head with every breath, stroking your body right through your clothes. You want, you need to be fucked, you need cock, you are going to fucking die if you don't get your brains screwed out now now now now!\n\n<hr>\n[[Quick find some dick!|ChiLove1x2]]\n\n[[Aaaaa run for it!|ChiLove]]

Uh... you definitely bumped into someone, even your lust-addled brain is certain of that. But... there's no one in front of you now? What...?\n\n"Hnnnya..."\n\nYou blink, and manage to get enough control to look downwards. Sprawled on the floor in front of you is a fairly small, slender individual. In fact small and sleek enough that at first you think you somehow bumped into a kid, which causes part of your brain to slam on the brakes and part of your brain you didn't know was there to try and step on the gas, and instead just leaves you with your wheels spinning trying to catch up.\n\nThen the twitch of his ears draws your attention to them... you bumped into a Katrizian. The fur of his ears matches his dark hair, down to matching dyed red tips and red streaks, except for the white fluff inside said ears. He looks up at you, blinking big pretty yellow eyes above a vape mask designed to imply a cat muzzle complete with glowing red LED portions for a nose and whiskers. Otherwise his clothes are fairly standard merc stuff... a short midriff-baring jacket instead of a long one, a skinarmor top that shows off that despite his size and slender build he's really pretty ripped, baggy black tactical-style pants, and black boots with red glowstraps.\n\n"Well one of us wasn't watching where we were going," he murmurs, putting a hand to his head. "I guess I'll say sorry just in case."\n\nYou'd been distracted by staring at the red-dyed tip of his tail twitching, before you drag your gaze back to him. "... Yup. Sorry. Here, let me help you up," you announce, leaning down.\n\n"Thanks, I whoa!" he blurts as you scoop him up and sling him over one shoulder, your hand resting on his butt just beneath his tail. "Uh, okaaaaay?" he says as you take off at a light jog, apparently too completely mystified to put up a fuss just yet.\n\nIn a matter of minutes you've swiped your card to claim a room at the nearest love hotel, a basic amenities sort of thing which most importantly has a bed to toss your catch onto (with a soft "Oof!"). He blinks repeatedly, his eyes widening as you start stripping down with quick, half-desperate motions. "Uh, h-hey, hey, you uh, you look like you're having some Circumstances or something, so maybe let's, uh, let's slow it down and get you to a clinEEP!" he squeaks as, having finished stripping, you yank off his vape mask and press your mouth over his.\n\nAhhh... ah, even kissing feels sooooo fucking good right now, you think as you clamber fully onto the bed on top of him. And admittedly it's kind of a taboo erotic thrill to be kissing someone so much smaller than you. His tongue feels soft and tender as you swirl yours around it, his body writhing beneath you gently, though you can feel him starting to respond, his fingerless-gloved hands brushing along your sides before he yanks them away in some attempt at control, before they settle onto your tits instead, giving you a good firm squeeze before he yanks them back again.\n\n"Hey... hey, uh," he says as you draw back, but his own eyes are a bit glazed now, his cute-handsome face flushed. He opens and closes his mouth in a clear attempt to formulate a coherent plea for sanity again, but it looks like his own is starting to melt away, especially as you push open his jacket and start licking one of his stiff nipples through the thin layer of latex-textured armor, making him shiver.\n\n"Hhhhha... you smell so fucking good," you moan as you slide further downward, starting to undo his pants.\n\n"H-hey, hey wait!" he suddenly blurts, trying to flail a hand at you to get you to stop. "Don't open tha-!"\n\nBut he's too late, and you've hauled open the front of those pants... and stare a little at just what you see in the black and red jock strap he's wearing. Specifically, you pull the waistband out and then down, freeing his very stiff cock to flop down against his belly. Then you look up at him, seeing that he's pressed both hands over his completely red face in embarrassment, his ears laying down against his head.\n\n"I know it's f-freakishly big," he whines. "Y-you don't have to say it!"\n\nIt's... about ten inches. Maybe a little more. Fairly big for a guy, yeah, but not even getting anywhere near the qualification for 'freakish'. ... But then he does look like he's probably about 3'7", which would put his cock at just under a quarter of his own height. And yeah admittedly on his small frame, if you were standing back without much for scale, it would look fucking huge. And you can definitely imagine it sending a Katrizian girl fleeing from the room with an intimidated shriek.\n\nBut for you? As the home invader once said, it's juuuust right.\n\nHe lets out a loud gasp of shock as you engulf the head with your mouth and start bobbing along it, one of your hands stroking along the rest of his length while the other rubs his belly. The smell of him... it's growing almost as intoxicating as that sweet smell earlier. You look up at him, enjoying his adorable face and the absolutely intoxicating way he writhes gently on the bed, his tail twitching like crazy. Oh he's sooooo cute, and he smells sooooo good, and he tastes amaaaazing!\n\n"Ahhhh... oh... oh fuuuck," he groans, shivering all over as you move your hands to drag his pants the rest of the way off, leaving him in just his jacket and top. You work your tongue over his cockhead, giving it little rolls against the underside and then swirling it around and around, genuinely enjoying every bit of writhing and bucking and twisting he does. You want to make him mewl, you want to make him make kitty noises, you want him to want to fuck you as much as you want him to fuck you.\n\nAnd you think he is, because he seems to be growing a mixture of more relaxed and more aroused, pre starting to flow from his tip and coat your tongue as you tease him, and smear across the inside of your throat as you resume bobbing up and down, gulping him in. The tension has largely flowed out of his muscles, but his cock has if anything gotten harder, swelling just a bit more between your lips along with that nice flow of pre. You dip a hand down to cup his balls, soft and smooth and you finally get that soft mewl out of him, sending a shiver of pleasure and affection down your spine.\n\nPart of you wants to bring him off in your mouth, but the rest of you wants him inside you much more firmly. So you let him slip out from between your lips and instead slide up his body, letting your tits press across his cock and getting another shiver and an arch of his hips in return, before you kiss him again. This time there's no resistance, his tongue moving to meet yours as eagerly as yours moved to meet his, his small but strong and very agile hands coming up to work over your breasts, which just completely overflow his fingers and palms, making you shiver in delight.\n\nYou break the kiss, panting out, "I'm Michika."\n\n"R-... Ramya..." he murmurs, blushing brightly again.\n\nYeah, you guess the way you'd try to pronounce that would be a little on the noise in this situation. So you grin at him and kiss him on the nose, then slide up, letting your tits pillow on his face as you reach down to settle his cock into place. He mmmfs and makes slightly exaggerated (you assume) smothering noises against your boobs, making you giggle, which turns into a long moan as you slide back onto him, finally engulfing him into your pussy, somehow feeling like you've waited your whole life for this moment. It feels soooo good, somehow so much better than any other guy you've ever had inside you before, like you two were just made for each other, and you don't care how or why it feels like that because it just feels so good and right and perfect.\n\nRamya lets out his own mewling moan, shivering and sliding his hands down to grip on your hips, his fingers sinking in just a bit. You settle fully onto him, raising up some and just spending long moments working your hips, feeling him work around inside you, feeling good and whole and complete. You wonder if this is the first time he's ever... well, his first time, since he certainly didn't seem to be expecting any reaction other than intimidation from the baring of his cock. The thought actually makes you cum a little, your pussy squeezing and fluttering around him and gushing just a little on his balls, making him gasp loudly and arch his hips up against you.\n\nYou start rocking, working yourself on top of him, making sure to let your tits sway and rock right in his face. After a few moments he leans up and captures one of your nipples in his mouth, gently nipping it with a sharp canine tooth and making you yip delightedly before his tongue starts rolling around your areola and then flicking in quick strokes across the stiff nub. You let out a longer, deeper moan of delight... you hadn't noticed it when you were just kissing him, but his tongue is slightly rough and feels amazing. Soon you're riding him hard and fast, trying to pound his trim, toned little body through the mattress. He certainly doesn't seem to mind, dropping away from your breast and instead bucking up into you, thrusting his hips against your downward pumps to meet you, showing a surprising amount of strength for that lean little frame and making you cum at least twice before he finally yowls and drives up into you, spilling his load inside.\n\nIt feels... it's not like anything you've ever experienced. Sure you've always rather enjoyed it, the feel of men cumming in you (one of the benefits of having one of the best birth control implants in the multiverse as well as broad spectrum inoculations and amazing health insurance), but this... mingled with the pleasure of your climax is a deep wave of contentment that washes in around your brain and soaks into it like rum in a sugar cube, making you feel deeply languid and hot and sweet even as you let out a long cry of orgasm, then slump forward on top of him.\n\nAfter a few moments Ramya squirms, possibly starting to experience a bit of actual smothering since you did in fact come to rest with your boobs on his face. Having enough presence of mind to cooperate with his attempt to roll you over, you settle onto your back, though you make a low sound of discontent as he pulls out of you. It turns back into a pleased sound as he slides up to kiss you again, his hands going back to your breasts, roaming over them near-worshipfully, nimble fingertips teasing your nipples, gently pinching and tugging the nubs, stroking across the big full rises. 'Maybe this is the perfect match,' you think dreamily, tugging at his jacket (which he pauses briefly in his attentions to shrug off) and then running your hands over his lithe, strong back through the effectively painted-on skinarmor. 'To a small guy who's a boob lover, and who thought his dick was too big to fit in other girls, I must be a jackpot, and he's... perfect,' you think with a happy sight into his mouth, raising a hand to run your fingers through his hair, scratching around the bases of his ears and making him writhe happily on top of you.\n\nRamya gradually makes his way downward, kissing and licking all the way, and paying plenty of attention to your breasts with his mouth as well as his hands, leaving you to lay back and just luxuriate in his touch, moaning softly and happily as he does. But eventually he resumes his path down, wriggling his way between your legs as he kisses and laps along your flat belly. Eventually settling fully between your legs and hefting your thighs up and settling them on his trim shoulders, he pauses for a moment as he looks... either transfixed by the sight of your pussy, or maybe a bit hesitant about its current state. (Well, most guys would be, you have to admit. And maybe it's both.) You're just about to assure him it's fine, when he does what you really wanted him to anyway and leans in, dragging his tongue over your pussy and starting to lap and even suckle tenderly at it.\n\n"Ohhhh my god," you whimper happily, hips giving a twist as you rest a hand on his head between his ears, the other twisting in the sheets. If he had any real hesitance about cleaning up after himself, Ramya seems to have gotten over it, working you over with his tongue eagerly now, working that just-slightly-rough digit around inside you, his hands stroking up and down your thighs adoringly as he does. His ears give the occasional twitch, and you can feel another shiver run through him as you start gently scritching his scalp, making him huff softly against your sensitive sex and increase his efforts.\n\nWhen you've made it very clear to him that he's brought you off more than once, he gets up onto his knees and sidles forward, taking a moment to undo the hidden fastener line down the front of his skinarmor shirt and peel it off, revealing a chest that is indeed very well-muscled, sending another tingle of delight through you. He uses a hand to brush his cockhead up and down your slit a few times before nudging it into place, then sliding in, wrapping both his arms around your thighs as he does, lifting your legs up as this time he takes charge of fucking you. Somehow you just can't get enough of the sight of that small, sleek form moving between your legs, fucking you just as confidently and well as someone taller might, and soon you're moaning loudly and arching your back, helping him make your tits sway with the impact of his hips.\n\nEventually, as you feel the slight swelling in his cock you recognize from before, you haul him down on top of you, pressing his face between your tits again and wrapping your legs around him, hauling him in as deep as you can and locking them around him as he empties himself into you again, his moans sweet and, yes, kittenish between your breasts.\n\nYou're fairly certain the two of you go at it several more times, but it all melts into a sort of pleasant, foggy haze. When that clears, you realize you've been asleep for a few hours. You're practically wrapped around Ramya, his mostly limp smaller body snuggled up close, cheek resting on one of your breasts, his breath coming in soft, quick pants that wash across your skin.\n\n<hr>\n[[... Oh fuck!|ChiLove]]\n\n[[Time to wake him up nicely~!|ChiLove]]\n\n[[Mmm, snuggles. ♥|ChiLove1x4]]

You step forward into the crowd, your mind hazy, thinking only about how you need to find a guy who can bang you until you forget math. Or a cock. Just someone with a big, fat cock and the will to use it on your needy little holes. Sex, sex, sex sex sex se-\n\nYou suddenly bump directly into someone, stumbling back, and then staring up at them with glazed eyes, seeing-\n\n<hr>\n[[A tiger man.|ChiLove2x1]]\n\n[[A lizard man.|ChiLove]]\n\n[[A well-dressed man.|ChiLove]]\n\n[[A very big woman.|ChiLove]]\n\n[[... uh, where are they?|ChiLove1x3]]

"I'm almost certain it was Professor Collins who cursed you," you say as Aarav finishes getting dressed, replacing his scrubs shirt with a 'Megadeth' T-shirt you... inherited from a previous boyfriend.\n\n"Why is that...?"\n\n"Well, for one thing," you answer as you heft your bag up onto your shoulder. "You died on a Friday... the one day of the week she doesn't have any classes."\n\nSoon the two of you are standing on the porch of the Professor's house, Aarav looking around nervously as you check your phone. "Okay, she should be in class now." You turn to the door, mming. "Damn, Schlage."\n\n"What's wrong?"\n\n"Even if she's not a witch, my opening spell won't work on Schlages, among other brands. They're just too heavy and too many people actually associate the name with security... my magic's struggling against the symbolism there and at that level it'll lose."\n\n"So what now?"\n\n"Now we use a more mundane type of entrance spell."\n\nA moment later wood cracks and shatters as the door goes flying inward, Aarav stumbling back a half-step as he swings his leg back, giving you time to slide right into the house while he's still off his guard. Of course he hurries to catch up with you as you slowly make your way in past the wavy clay-styled mirror in the hall and into the living room, past furniture in bright red, green, and gold cross-stitching, leering fertility fetishes and stiff-eared jackals staring at you from mantles and pedestals. You let your eyes skim over the bookshelves filled with grandiose titles about the reigns of pharaohs and Mayan kings, not finding what you're looking for. "She's segregated it off somewhere," you muse aloud as you stride through a near-stranger's house unselfconsciously, pausing to lift up a framed thousand year old prayer mat and glance behind it.\n\n"You're still sure it's her?"\n\n"My palms itch," you reply absentmindedly as you take another look around. Noticing Aarav staring at you, you nudge your glasses up on your nose. "It's the best way to describe when I'm getting close to another practitioner's workspace. There's lots of ambient energy left over from crafting and casting, and it's a combination of being a bit nervous like you're somewhere you shouldn't be and wanting to get your hands on something you know isn't yours."\n\n"Maybe that's just the breaking and entering," Aarav says dryly, glancing towards the door before he follows you deeper into the house.\n\n"No that feels different," you say dismissively, ignoring his look as you walk through the kitchen... then give a little 'aha'. "Basement. Now was she lazy and arrogant enough to..." You smirk as the door turns and opens up, revealing stairs down. "Didn't lock her workspace."\n\n"Yours didn't seem locked back at the house," Aarav notes as he follows you down.\n\n"Man, you give a zombie some head and he just won't stop sassing you," you bemoan dramatically, before snickering as he gives you a light thwap on the arm.\n\nSoon the two of you emerge into the basement, which looks like it was probably fairly large at one point but has since become cluttered with crates, workbenches, and scattered items. You make a bit of a face at the sight of what looks like several half-dissected animals on one bench, organs tucked neatly into tapered glass jars filled with clear liquid. You make your way over, glancing at the arrangement of entrails before looking at some pale yellow figurines lined up along the edge of the workbench. "Oh yeah, she's working on some seriously dark shit," you announce.\n\n"Why, what are those?" Aarav asks as he comes to stand next to you.\n\n"Soul prisons."\n\nYou and Aarav both whirl around to face the speaker, a tall middle-aged woman with long black hair and lightly tanned skin, wearing a long burgundy skirt and cream-colored blouse.\n\n"The souls of animals aren't much, but trapping them eternally between life and death using the amber still causes quite a bit of dark energy," the woman says evenly. "Plenty to set a building curse into motion."\n\n"Hey, Professor," you say dryly, trying to carefully edge your hand behind your back.\n\n"You go for that ritual knife and you'll regret it, Valerie," Collins says, raising her hand to reveal the pistol in her hand. \n\n"Why?" Aarav demands as you both raise your hands. "Why did you do this to me?"\n\n"And he wasn't the first, was he?" you add, frowning. "Those other figures are older. You've been doing this for awhile."\n\n"Of course," Collins says coldly, lips pursed. "As for the reason, that's simple... Amoli Laghari."\n\n"My mother? What has she ever done to you?" Aarav demands, scowling darkly now.\n\n"Gone into medicine. Her early work was amazing, she could have revolutionized the world of Indian art. But no, she had to go to med school, get married, have a child." Collins' mouth slowly curls up into a smirk on one side. "But tragedy demands an outlet for expression. The death of her son, with her history? Any therapist she sees would advise her to try painting to get her feelings onto the canvas, if she didn't decide to do it herself. With any luck, her marriage will fall apart as well, that would nudge her along nicely too."\n\n"You... you killed me, and you're hoping the loss destroys my parents' marriage... to get my mother to paint again?!"\n\n"Tragedy and death are often the greatest motivators of artistic expression, dear boy," Collins declares haughtily.\n\n"After all, look at the Egyptians," you say flatly. "They were virtually obsessed with death and everything surrounding it, and they left some of the largest, most impressive works of artistic expression in human history."\n\n"Good girl, Valerie," the professor says, smirking even more widely. "But then you always were one to appreciate a good example of a momento mori. You appreciate art too, after all, you know how important it is for drawing inspiration and knowledge of the past for our craft. Surely you understand the importance of what I've done here... each of those people I've cursed had parents, siblings, offspring, lovers who just needed that push to become great artists. What's a few lives measured against inspiration and beauty that will last for the ages?"\n\n<hr>\n[["You're a monster."|ValJobs]]\n\n[["You're a terrible art patron."|ValJobs]]

"Right of Succession," you say. At her blank look, you give a slight tilt of your head to her screen. "You're gonna wanna jot this down for the listing."\n\n"Oh! Oh, right, sorry," she says, quickly getting in a somewhat overly prepared position for quick typing.\n\n"Among the Makarzian criminal underground, there's something called the Right of Succession. A member of a gang who thinks someone above them is fucking things up can take them out and take their place if it's agreed that it's for the best by their new peers. That goes all the way to the top," you continue, narrowing your eyes slightly. "In which case, it's the other crime bosses that decide if the succession is valid."\n\n"And you're certain that the other crime bosses will support your succession of this Horace Allfather?" she asks, eyes flicking towards you.\n\nYou hesitate, but only briefly. Best to be honest in Guild listings, or whoever takes the job could rightfully claim some pretty heavy penalties against you. You're less concerned about yourself and more about Zee... you can't free her until you have her back and everything's checked out as on the up-and-up by the Guild, that means up until then she's your property and just as viable to be confiscated and handed over as a fine as anything else. "Relatively certain. Not completely," you admit. "So there's some risk involved for the payout."\n\n"I see. Payment for partial completion?"\n\nYou shake your head. That's the other risky part of this... you can't encourage someone to just save Zee and call it good, this payment method is all-or-nothing. "None. Doesn't work if Horace isn't really most sincerely dead. Primary and secondary both required for payment."\n\n"Alright, I'm ready to do the listing, then," the clerk says with some professional cheer, though under that you can guess what she's thinking... your job listing is a bit of a longshot. But she doesn't sound too down on it... similar listings come through the Guild all the time. "Oh, did you want to put this down as an assistance contract or a standard bounty?"\n\nMeaning, is this you asking for help, to get someone to come along with you as you try to get Zee back and go after Horace, or do you want to stay back from it and let someone else do the job?\n\n<hr>\n[[Assistance contract.|Kai]]\n\n[[Bounty.|Kai]]

"There's a way," you say slowly. "You can't come back to life, but there's a way you can stay." You stop and turn towards him, waiting until he does the same to continue. "If a revenant has its own heart replaced with the heart of the one who murdered them, then they can become what's called a 'true undead'. You'll be just like you are now... no breath, no heartbeat, and you won't age or anything like that. But you'll also never have any of the other problems associated with being dead, like, y'know... rotting. Or laying unconscious in the ground forever. But it requires a pretty cruel price... namely, we need to cut the heart out of your murderer while they're still alive."\n\nAarav opens his mouth, then closes it. He shifts his shoulders and glances down the street, then looks back at you. "I... would need to think about that."\n\n"Yeah, figured." You turn and resume walking, with him once more falling into step with you. "Alright, was your car running before the accident?"\n\n"Yeah... yeah I'd gotten it fixed."\n\n"Then it's probably still parked where you left it, let's get it, we're going to need to head out of town. There's only one spot in the area that this could have been done from, and maybe we can find a lead there."\n\nSoon the two of you are driving along, Aarav behind the wheel and you settled into the passenger seat, the fall evening already dark around you. "This isn't what I thought I'd be doing with my life," he says after awhile, checking over his shoulder briefly before changing lanes. "... Or afterlife."\n\n"Not exactly how I thought I'd be spending my Monday either," you reply, checking your phone and going through your messages. "Though admittedly it was a possibility, I guess, considering."\n\nAarav can't help but laugh at that, glancing over at you. "You are really for real, huh? Which I guess is a dumb thing to say to the person who brought me back to life. Or, whatever this is." He fixes his eyes back on the road. "And how did that happen, anyway?"\n\n"My cousin taught me some magic a few years back. I was good at it, so, when I got to college, I started up my little for-hire thing." You shrug, settling back against the seat.\n\n"Must be nice. Having some focus. I say this isn't what I thought my life would be," Aarav murmurs, gripping the wheel a bit harder. "But I didn't know what it was going to be anyway."\n\nYou shift a little. This is getting... personal. But at the same time you've brought him back to this world, in large part for your own ego and anger... maybe you owe him to at least listen to him, let him speak. "So you weren't planning on going pro?"\n\n"Not good enough," he says frankly, without hesitation. "Like I told you that first day, I'm no starter. You think someone who can't even start college ball is going to become a big deal in the pros? Maybe malinger around in the minors for years before giving it up. No... no, if I'm honest, the ball thing was just killing time. Trying to find something. Anything. I knew I had no interest in medicine like my parents, but what I did have interest in beyond baseball... I don't know." He glances briefly over at you again. "Must be nice, knowing what you are, knowing you have the power to be that."\n\n"... Yeah, well." You turn your head, gazing out the window. You almost let that be the end of it, but eventually shrug and continue. "I have no clue what I'm going to do after college. My major's in history, with a minor in art history. Both relevant to being a witch but not much for career paths. And 'witch' isn't something you look through the want ads for. I mean my cousin got a job being witchy, but she's an exception to a lot of rules. This thing I do..." You prop your chin on your hand. "It works in college. With the structure. The word of mouth. People still young enough to have open minds. When it's done, when it's time to leave campus... I've got as little clue what I'll do as you do."\n\n"... At least you didn't say 'had'," Aarav comments quietly after a moment. You glance over at his grin, and both of you wind up laughing softly.\n\nEventually Aarav parks the car and the two of you start climbing up the very rough path vaguely carved in a spiral around the hill. There are no markers, no historical signposts, this particular bit of history isn't something generally talked about or that anyone wants to acknowledge. "This place was sacred to the Deviloka tribe," you explain with a glance behind you at Aarav. "They did lots of their ceremonies here. Prayers, dreamseekings, namings, sacrifice, ritual deflowerings, and a lot of different combinations of all those." \n\n"Are you saying the curse on me was some sort of... tribal spell?" Aarav asks in confusion. "I mean, I'm fairly certain my family's house isn't built on-"\n\n"Please don't say it," you murmur, suppressing a groan. Then, shaking your head, you continue up to the fairly broad, flat hilltop. "No, this place, like a lot of other sacred places to those who practice magic, was sacred out of practicality. An alignment of distant stars above, probably some veins of metal deep below, throw in some ley lines and geographic flow and this place is one big bullhorn. Magically speaking," you add, pulling out a flashlight and starting to shine it around on the ground as you walk around slowly.\n\n"What are you looking for?"\n\n"A focus. Once they realized you were charmed up, they would have had to craft a focus specifically to overwhelm the amulet I made you, and use it in their amplification ritual."\n\n"And you think they would have just left it here?"\n\n"Yeah, buried. For something like that you're going to want to bury it in the sacred ground and then get away from it fast, just in case your casting gets some backlash. With as far out of town as this place is, it'd be really easy for them to put off coming back out here to get it for awhile, if ever. This soon after, I bet it's still here." You pause and rummage in your bag, tossing Aarav a smaller LED flashlight. "Look for spaces in the grass or darker-looking spots, probably roughly the size of your hand."\n\nThe two of you look for almost an hour, lights flitting across the surface of the near-silent hill... you've noticed that there's virtually no animal life nearby, which says certain things about exactly how the power of this place is shaded, and makes you more certain than ever that this must be the spot. Eventually Aarav calls out and you find him already on his knees and digging with his hands. At a flash of your light on something metal, you kneel down as well, gently nudging him away and fishing out the object yourself. You brush it off with your fingers, then hold it up. "Ankh. That explains a few things."\n\n"Huh? It's... an Egyptian curse?" Aarav asks in confusion.\n\n"Not necessarily. You can use methodology and symbology without necessarily strictly abiding by the theology or pantheology," you explain, glancing in the hole to check before turning the ankh over in your hands. "A lot of the ritual is just for helping you focus, helping direct your mind and your power. But certain things about it do have relevance." You pause, glancing over at Aarav and flipping a hand through the air as you explain. "Most European-based witchcraft is stronger at night... it's when the faeries and other things were said to come out, and sunrise was supposedly what washed away a lot of the magic of the night. But Egyptian theology is dominated by sun imagery," you continue, giving the ankh a little wiggle. "They probably did the ritual when the sun was directly overhead, that's why your accident happened in the afternoon instead of in the middle of the night."\n\n"Okay, great, so what does this tell us?" Aarav asks, looking at you in confusion.\n\nYou blow some more of the dirt off the ankh and examine both sides of it under your flashlight. "It's cast in a mold... but the details are just sharp enough and of the proper style that the mold was probably made from the authentic product. This is someone who has access to actual Egyptian artifacts." Getting to your feet, you tuck the ankh into your bag. "Let's head back to my place, I need to do some research."\n\nSome time later you're sitting in front of your laptop, typing away, while Aarav sits on the bed behind you, staring at the ceiling. Things have been quiet for awhile, enough that it almost startles you a little when he speaks. "I suppose I don't sleep either."\n\n"... No," you answer, glancing over your shoulder at him. "You don't."\n\n"I'm not even tired," he says with a soft, humorless laugh, closing his eyes as he leans against the wall. "But then, I guess I was 'asleep' for two and a half days. Isn't that the saying, 'I'll sleep when I'm dead'?"\n\n"Something like that," you murmur, shifting a little in place as you look back at the screen. "Alright, so, from my research it looks like there are only two real possibilities. Evan Montmorissey, he owns an art and antiquities gallery, from a look at his page he's got some Egyptian stuff on display, so he's got the connections to get stuff in from the country obviously. The other is one of the teachers here at the university, Kelly Collins, in fact I have some of her classes."\n\n"Yeah."\n\nPausing at the despondent sound of that word, you scoot back from your desk a bit and turn to find that Aarav has scooted forward to sit on the edge of the bed, hands flopped in his lap, head hanging. "... What's up?" you ask quietly.\n\n"... There wasn't anything," he whispers softly. "It really was like being asleep, without dreaming. There was just... nothing. Why was there nothing?"\n\n<hr>\n[[Snap him out of it.|ValJobs]]\n\n[[Comfort him.|ValJobs2x6]]

You turn back to the body fully, just staring at it flatly for long moments... before grabbing one of the rolling tables and hauling it behind you as you walk back over to it. Setting your bag on the table and opening it, you first toss the sheet completely aside (and have to take just a second to think 'not bad' despite all the injuries). Pulling a few slender green candles out of the bag, you place them around the body's head before drawing out a vacuum-sealed plastic bag. Slipping your ritual knife out from behind your back, you slice open the bag and dust its contents liberally over the head and torso, sprinkling the dark purple powder inside over the body. While that's settling in, you take a glance at his clothes, setting aside the torn and bloody shirt and stuffing a scrubs shirt you find in another cabinet into the bag instead. Returning to the table, you draw out a black box and slip one of the blue wood matches out of it, striking the head against a porous piece of volcanic rock.\n\n"Oui fru yna eh dra haqd bmyla, rayn sa vnus drec uha," you murmur, gently blowing across the lit match, the faintly silvery flame at the end flickering... before identical silvery flames spring up from the candles, which soon begin flitting and sparking as the pebbled wax heats and melts. Forcing yourself not to flinch as you shift the match to your left hand, then drop it into your right hand and close your fist around it, you hold your fist in the air over the body's chest, the bruises covering its skin starting to fade, the gashes to close. "Ev ouin meva fyc dygah vnus oui po yhudran, neca ib yht fymg drec Ayndr ykyeh ihdem drao ryja paah zitkat!"\n\nVirtually instantly, Aarav's eyes snap open, and with a strangled cry he lurches into a sitting position, knocking your hand aside as he thrusts his hands out in front of him. Then he blinks in clear confusion, looking back and forth before staring at you. "I'm... alive?"\n\n"No," you reply flatly, before shoving the plastic bag with his clothes in it against his chest. "Get dressed, we need to clean up and get out of here before the medical examiner gets here and declares you a traffic statistic."\n\nShortly after, you and Aarav, clad in jeans, scrubs shirt, sneakers, and his letter jacket walk back down the hall and past the counter. The clerk blinks. "Uh, is that-"\n\n"No, it isn't," you answer with a flick of your hand, pushing the door and walking out into the late afternoon sunlight without a backwards glance. You fall into stride on the sidewalk, Aarav scrambling a little to catch up to you.\n\n"So wait, I... I feel pretty sure I was dead," he says, patting his body. "Like what I felt before, that wasn't... that wasn't a 'bedrest and some casts' hit."\n\n"You're still dead," you answer a bit flatly, glancing aside at him before sighing and continuing. "Look, you're what the book calls a 'revenant'. You're you, in every way that counts, but you're not actually alive. You don't breathe, you don't eat, your heart doesn't beat, you are strictly room temperature. Luckily you won't have any other 'side effects' of being dead for at least a good long while, and even those will come slower."\n\n"I... I don't get it, why would you do that?" he asks, still clearly reeling from both being alive and the revelation that he's, well, not. \n\n"Because the fact the spell worked and you're up and walking around proves that you were murdered," you reply with another glance around, checking for anyone staring at the two of you in a way that indicates they might recognize the tragically dead college baseball player. "Revenants only function so long as their murderers are alive. They can't be raised at all if they weren't murdered. It's a spell that inherently invites vengeance... a chance for you to get back at whoever did this to you. And for me to get back at them too."\n\n"You?"\n\nYou stop and wheel towards him, grabbing his arm and shoving it up towards him until his jacket sleeve pulls away from the pale burn mark on his wrist, the only one of his injuries that didn't disappear when he was raised. "Someone not only cursed you, but poured more power into it when they realized I was protecting you. The incidents stopped for awhile, didn't they?"\n\n"I..." Aarav stares at the burn mark, then nods slowly. "Yeah. They did. That was actually a really great week, things turned completely around for me. ... Until..."\n\n"Until a damn car hit you. There was probably a burning sensation on your wrist right then, yeah?" You release his arm and resume walking, Aarav scurrying to catch up a second later. "Whoever did this to you realized you were protected and deliberately poured so much power into their curse that it popped my luck charm like an overshaken soda with a mentos dropped in it. Charm gets destroyed, all that extra bad luck suddenly catches up to you, you die and so does my reputation." At his confused glance, you snort. "Everyone thinks either my luck charms are useless or that I cursed you for no good reason."\n\n"So you're doing all of this just to salvage your reputation?" he says with a sigh, shaking his head.\n\n"Look in case you forgot, you came to a witch-for-hire for help, not a priest. I don't really do 'selfless and kind'." There's several moments of silence between you, and you glance aside to see him looking lost and miserable. Sighing, you reach out to put a hand on his arm. "Look, it's not just that. What's been done to you is shitty. Just call it enlightened self interest... we find out who did this... and I don't suppose you're finally willing to offer some suggestions?"\n\n"... No. I still have no idea."\n\n"Damn. Well, we do, it's good for both of us."\n\n"Is it?" Aarav mutters, some bitterness in his voice as he shoves his hands in his jacket pockets and stares at the sidewalk. "Sounds like if we do that, it just means I go back to being all the way dead. I mean... isn't there any way I can come out of this and... ... stay?" he asks forlornly. \n\n<hr>\n[[... No.|ValJobs]]\n\n[[... Yes.|ValJobs2x5]]

Gritting your teeth, you shove up from the desk, grabbing your larger 'working' messenger bag and hurrying around the little set of rooms you rent in a house near the campus, grabbing up a number of things you think you might need and stuffing them in. Doing a quick check on the computer for an address, you slam the laptop closed and then stalk out of the house, heading for the morgue.\n\nSoon you're walking through the front door of the little squat building and up to the checkin counter. "I need to see a body that came in late Friday, Indian guy, about twenty."\n\n"Uh, you family?" the rather dull-eyed man behind the counter asks. "'Cause we're still waiting for the ME to get here and sign off on no foul play before we can release the body, and-"\n\n"The ME sent me," you snap in a terse voice, flicking your hand towards him.\n\n"Oh! Oh, I'm sorry, right this way, then!" he blurts, scrambling up and showing you the way down the hallway. He unlocks a door and lets you into a room full of shelves and with several slab rolling tables, walking over to one of the trays and pulling it out, revealing a humanoid form beneath the sheet. "Yeah, this is the one."\n\n"Okay, get lost," you reply with another flick of your hand, sending him scurrying away again. You hesitate briefly, before folding the sheet back from the body's head. At least Aarav will be decent for the funeral once the parlor gets done for him... there's just a bit of bruising and a gash above his eyebrow, but his face seems otherwise untouched, a handsome man with deep tan skin and close-cropped black hair. After just taking a moment to examine his face, you toss the sheet back from his right side to bare his arm, and immediately scowl. "What the hell?" you whisper, carefully lifting his arm up and looking at the redness around his wrist, almost lost amidst the bruising. You set his arm back down and look around, quickly spotting a glass-fronted cabinet with a number of bags inside. The lock is pathetically easy for you to cast an Open charm on, rifling through the bags until you find the one with Aarav's name on it. Ignoring his clothes, you go for the smaller bag inside with his other possessions in it, including the bracelet... which looks charred on the inside, the knot in the center of the starburst cracked.\n\n"..." Gritting your teeth, you curl your hands around the bracelet and look over at the body. "Someone did this to you. And they thwarted me to do it."\n\nThe question is... who?\n\n<hr>\n[[You're going to find out.|ValJobs]]\n\n[[Let's ask Aarav.|ValJobs2x4]]

"Look, Aarav," you say. "Someone might have directed a little bit of a hex or something at you, or it might just be one of those things. Either way, I think this can be taken care of with one of my luck charms. If nothing else, it will offset these bad vibes you're getting. They cost $100 and I can have it to you before tomorrow."\n\n"O-oh. Alright, then, thank you."\n\n"They work, I can give you the contact number of a few people who have used them before. But while I'm at it, let me give you my paypal address. Include your address with it, I'll leave the charm on your door once I get the payment."\n\n"Yes. Okay. Thank you."\n\nIt sounds like he was expecting something more dramatic, but then most people are. You politely bid him goodbye, and finish sorting and tucking away your notes. On your way back to your place, your phone buzzes and you check... payment already came through, good. You hurry a bit more to get back, and dig out one of the luck charms you already have made up. Honestly at $100 you're probably undercharging for it just on jewelry value... it's a two-wide chain link bracelet hooked to a silver starburst with a knot in the center. Of course, you cheat a bit in that magic lets you just slip the links together and it will subtly resize to fit its owner, and your castings all go perfectly with little effort, so you're putting far less labor into them than a similar piece would made normally. You tuck it into a small velvet drawstring pouch and head out to Aarav's dorm, bypassing the entry area and its attendant easily enough and slipping the strings of the pouch over the door handle. Once you've left the dorm you text Aarav to let him know it's there... that's how you prefer things for simple transactions like this, minimal contact, keeps anyone from getting too attached because they expected an exciting adventure from their brush with a witch.\n\nYou spend the rest of the week attending to a few other similar small jobs and studying, both the normal variety of studying and of your tome. The Monday after, your morning class gets canceled again, so once more you park yourself in the student center, waiting to accumulate a fresh round of jobs. And... no one comes by. You're frowning after the first half hour, and scowling partway into the second hour. This hasn't happened since the second semester you were here! There's always someone eager for your work, practically waiting for you... this long without a single person coming by is virtually unheard of. Eventually in frustration you scoot over to the edge of the booth, turning to get up on your knees and fold your arms over the back of it. "Hey, Raul, did something happen?"\n\nThe owner of Spuds McFrenzy looks a bit startled, then winces some before turning towards you. "Geez, kid, y'ain't heard? I actually kinda didn't think you'd even show up again."\n\nYou blink, straightening up a little. "What do you mean? What happened? I've been elbow-deep in studying all weekend, I haven't checked social media at all."\n\n"That Aarav kid who bought a luck charm from ya last Monday... on Friday he got hit by a car. Dead on the pavement. The rumor mill's sayin' ya might have even cursed 'im yerself."\n\nYour eyes widen and your jaw drops. Without another word, you grab your bag and scramble out of the booth, running back to your place. Throwing your bag on the bed, you open your laptop and start checking the news, confirming for yourself what Raul said. And while the "legitimate" news media might be above showing the body these days, social media apparently has no such qualms. You find some photos of a bloodstained sheet covering a lump... except for a flopped-out arm, clearly showing your charm around the wrist.\n\n"... Dammit!" you snarl, slamming a fist against the desktop, a mixture of guilt, fear, and fury twisting in your gut. Aarav is dead... and so is your career as a college witch. No one's going to come to you for luck charms now, let alone anything more serious. This is... some serious bullshit!\n\n<hr>\n[[You have to get to the bottom of this!|ValJobs2x3]]\n\n[[You have to... have a drink.|ValJobs]]

In some ways, it's mostly curiosity that makes you decide to take this job first over the rest. If he really did get cursed, you want to know why... and who did it would be an interesting thing to know, too. Not that you'll be guaranteed to find out if you break the curse, but still. Dialing the number at the bottom of the page, you bring your phone to your ear, waiting for him to answer before saying, "It's Valerie. You bought me fries?"\n\n"Oh, hey, right. Um, thanks for calling. My name's Aarav, and I've just... I don't know where else to turn with this."\n\n"Why do you think you're cursed, Aarav?"\n\n"Things have been happening, they're a bit more than just standard bad luck. Because it seems constant... this isn't just a little thing every other day anymore, things were happening every day, now it's repeatedly every day, and it's getting worse. Yesterday my car wouldn't start... and then the engine burst into flames! I'd just had it serviced because it threw a belt the previous week!"\n\nHm, that does sound like it's a little bit beyond the normal. "Okay. Now, not to be too indelicate, but have you pissed anyone off lately? Any bad breakups, steal a girl from somebody, take someone else's opportunity...?"\n\n"Nothing I can think of. I mean... I get with a fair number of girls, casually, but I'm never less than respectful, honest!" he hastens to add, as if he could hear your raised eyebrow. "None of them ever indicated they were with somebody, so... I don't know, that's possible? I'm on the baseball team but I'm not really a starter or anything. I really don't know who would do this or why."\n\nOkay, so it sounds like he's a fairly normal college athlete. Which means he certainly could have pissed someone off enough to hex him just casually in passing, but even then it might not be anything big. Or it really could just be a mundane run of bad luck.\n\n<hr>\n[[Tell him he'll be fine.|ValJobs]]\n\n[[Give him a luck charm.|ValJobs2x2]]\n\n[[Meet with him.|ValJobs]]

Well. The primer coat has been put down, as it were. Seems to only make sense to go ahead and apply the paint. Besides, you kind of have some emotional baggage to get off your chest anyway.\n\nThe next day you're sitting primly in the examination room, wearing your usual doctor visit outfit of some snug, short athletic shorts and a tanktop, your jacket folded up on the exam bed beside you since apparently even doctors with secret criminal underworld connections aren't considerate enough to include coathooks in their exam rooms. But speaking of which, Doctor Gamball bustles in (about an hour late, of course), checking his chart, and then looking up at you and blinking slowly as if not having quite believed his chart. He's a very stereotypical doctor... older white guy, mostly bald, round spectacles, lab coat, the works.\n\n"Well, Marissa. I'll be honest, I really didn't expect to see you in again."\n\n"What, you mean because I found out that the 'vitamin injections' you were giving me were illegal gene therapy without my consent?" you reply rather blandly. \n\nHe just looks at you for a moment, before adjusting his glasses and informing you in a scolding tone, "Your parents were the consenting parties. It was all in the name of giving you a properly healthy and successful childhood."\n\nYou just stare back at him for a moment before shaking your head slightly. "Wow. You're still gonna act like you're in charge here, huh?"\n\n"I am your doctor, young lady," he informs you primly, as if that were answer enough.\n\n"Ah-huh." You eye him for a moment, then dip a hand into your coat. He blinks when the pistol swings up to point at his center mass... a Glock 34 with the full Combat Master mod package. Kind of overkill for a 72-year-old guy with no powers to speak of, but you figured its psychological impact as 'the John Wick gun' would be invaluable. "Do you feel in charge?"\n\nHe seems to be considering that, and you kind of get the feeling that yeah, he does. Wow, god complexes are crazy, even in general practitioners. He seems to be incapable of comprehending the idea that his life is actually in danger, so instead he says, sort of haughtily, "Strange, I'd heard that you were aiming to become some sort of superhero. Shooting an unarmed old man in the name of vengeance hardly seems heroic."\n\n"Mm. Y'know, you've got a point," you allow as if that simply hadn't occurred to you before, bobbing your head. "I mean, even the Punisher would probably draw the line at that sort of thing. Every other superhero, right out. So yeah, definitely not a very comic book hero thing to do."\n\nThen you drop the angle of the pistol's barrel. "But have you perhaps seen Person of Interest?"\n\nGamball howl's and drops to the floor as the bullet strikes just above his kneecap, clutching himself and writhing around in pain. You drop nimbly down from the exam table and duck down to snag his ID card from the front of his labcoat in passing as you trot out into the hallway, telling him "Put pressure on it. Oh, sorry, what am I telling you for? You're the doctor." Shooting someone for vengeance? Not heroic. Shooting someone in the kneecap in order to get what you need for the mission? Wiggle room.\n\nLuckily it seems to have cleared out the rest of the clinic, so you're undisturbed (for some meaning of the word, you'd probably get some other opinions considering today's activities) as you head down the hallway to where the files said the access to the room with the gene therapy injections is. It looks like just another exam room, but when you wave the ID badge close to its storage cabinet, the whole thing swings around and reveals a small inner room of a more properly 'science fiction' look, with silvery walls and a sliding door with a security panel beside it. You wag the ID at it, which causes the panel to light up with a number pad. \n\n... Ugh, it wants a password too huh? Looks like at least it's just numeric. Probably between six and eight digits. You check the frame and surroundings... no cheat writing, so probably not a code that changes a lot, which means it's probably a relevant number. But you don't know diddly about Doctor Gamball to even start guessing.\n\nHrm. Unless the keypad takes anybody's code once it's active? Your mother was almost always the one who brought you for these appointments, so little doubt she'd have an access code if she wanted to take a look at the facilities for herself (and like a control freak like her wouldn't?), so it's probably a number that means something to her. Her birthday? dit-dit-dit No. ... Your birthday? dit-dit-dit Nope. Dad's? dit-dit-dit No go. ..... Tomiko's? But you have no idea of the year.\n\nIn the end it turns out to be your dad's birth month, Tomiko's birth day, and your birth year. Which... kind of makes you extra sad thinking about all the various implications of that. But you brush it aside as the door slides open, and you take a careful peek through, your pistol at the ready just in case. The room is smallish and simple... the walls are lined with small, rectangular storage cases with glass doors and cylindrical vials inside, with the only furniture being a slightly ominous-looking reclining chair with a holster for an injector gun. The whole room has a faint green light tint to it that definitely makes it seem faintly villainous just sitting there. You're not sure whether it detracts from that sense or somehow enhances it that someone's taped up an 'idiot's rules' reminder in standard printout style right by the door:\n\n<center>'Remember:\n\n1. Do not mingle injections\n\n2. Do not use more than one injection per three months\n\n3. Some injections still awaiting classification, BE CAREFUL'</center>\n\nYou blink at that last one. Huh, where are they even getting these things? You'd assumed that Gamball was probably just using something provided by your parents, but it sounds like he might be making these on his own, or holding them for the actual researcher in some cases? Weird. ... Well he's probably not in a mood to do much explaining right now. ... Heh.\n\nYou walk along one wall which seems to be mostly 'General Health/Athletics Booster'... you're guessing those are the ones you've been getting all this time, they're the right color. Though you also notice that near them are some more specific ones... [[Strength Booster|MarSS]], [[Speed Booster|MarSS]], [[Intellect Booster|MarSS]] (... wait, has this stuff been messing with your brain?!), [[Healing Booster|MarSS]]. Huh. ... Wonder what would happen if you [[took all of them|MarSS]]? The sign says not to but psh, that's probably for people starting new treatments, not someone like you who's been taking this stuff forever anyway.\n\nLet's see, on this wall... oh hey, you see the names of heroes and villains that you recognize. This is their DNA or something? An attempt to replicate their powers? Interesting. One of the first ones you spot is labeled 'Ro-Na Malar'... that's the [[Superstar|MarSS]]! One of the biggest (sometimes literally) and most powerful heroes in the city! She's an alien who seems to get and discard superpowers like she rolls for them at random at the start of each day, though her most consistent ones are flight, invulnerability, and superstrength. Man with even a weak version of her abilities you could really make a name for yourself! Oof, on the other hand, you recognize the civilian name of [[The Widow|MarSS]], a spider-themed villain with an extremely violent reputation... though you guess there's nothing wrong with her powers, per se? Certainly fictional equivalents of spider powers have a better reputation.\n\nSpeaking of animal powers, you notice that another wall mostly has vials simply labeled with the names of animals... presumably animal DNA distilled to give positive benefits when injected. Well, that's probably fairly straightforward, and animal-themed heroes definitely have a long tradition. There's [[Feline|MarSS]], [[Canine|MarSS]], [[Jackal|MarSS]] (interesting), [[Bovine|MarSS]] (... huh), [[Saurian|MarSS]] (whoa, really?), and one you recognize as an alien animal used as warbeasts by some invading army from a few years back, [[Vulxen|MarSS]].\n\nThe animal wall leads into "Cryptids"... which, in the world of superheroes, several of which everyone knows exist, just that the Scientific Community™ refuses to acknowledge their existence because it would be too embarrassing to admit they were wrong about the existence of [[Sasquatch|MarSS]]. (... Could you stand to be that hairy? Well, maybe you could shave...) But there are also things like [[Werewolf|MarSS]], [[Vampire|MarSS]], [[Oni|MarSS]], and one that just says, disturbingly (and intriguingly): '[[Unidentified Fossil Cryptid|MarSS]]'. Wow, whoever made these is really at a 'We don't know what the hell it is but we will absolutely make a genetic injection out of it' level, huh?

Yes, you're in a bit of a mood... you definitely feel like messing with fading gods and lost spirits. Especially since if you get lucky it might be one of those involved with your sealing, and you can laugh extra hard and then maybe just send them the rest of the way towards oblivion! Y'know, if you're feeling particularly mean!\n\nYou make your way to the edge of town, and along the lesser-maintained pathway along the woods. The steps that lead up to the shrine are so overgrown, both with moss and grass between and over the stones and trees pressing in around them, that you'd bet most humans who pass by here never even notice them.\n\nYou pause, though, as you're about to go up. You're already feeling something. From the shrine? Maybe... hm, could be something even closer... or further away... feels like something...\n\n<hr>\n[[-familiar, and threatening.|Konko]]\n\n[[-familiar, but more distant.|KonFren1x1]]\n\n[[-familiar, and bratty.|Konko3x3]]

Halloween is sort of a weird holiday on Makarzia because most of the actually interesting people that live there already dress funny at night every day of the year, and most of the upright sorts don't go out after dark, but people also love an excuse to party and get drunk and altered and do questionable things, so it does wind up being a rather raucous holiday, albeit with some areas kept safe and relatively wholesome. (Gotta take care of the daytimers sometimes, they keep the planet running after all.) And you can't help but think what an amazing party spot such a creepy, huge house would be.\n\nThen you blink as, not much later, a bunch of lights come on in most of the windows. As you get closer, you can start to hear voices and... music?\n\n... Wait, seriously?\n\nAs you approach the front of the property it becomes obvious that a massive, raucous Halloween party is exactly what's going on. There are a bunch of cars parked out front and people in costumes (most of them skimpy or "sexy" versions of various things) lingering about already talking with people, smoking, or in a few cases making out. You stare around at the completely normal scene... well, probably more normal for Earth than Makarzia, since this is much more rural in setting, but. Mostly for lack of any other thought on what to do, you continue on through the impromptu parking area and up the front steps, entering the house proper.\n\nIt's a grand old interior, and currently lit with lots of improvised lighting and even a couple of strobe lights. People are dancing to the music, playing a few games, and, as outside, making out. You're still just sort of processing all this when an attractive blonde woman dressed somewhat similar to you... albeit in a Nipponzi-style school uniform... kind of half-lurches up to you.\n\n"Heeeey babe!" she calls, lifting the pair of red plastic cups in her hands. "Welcome to the party! Got a beer for you! ... Like, whichever you want!" she declares happily, the cups sloshing a little bit as she holds both out to you.\n\n<hr>\n[["No thanks."|PervSim]]\n\n[["Yuh-huh. C'mere."|PervSim]]\n\n[["... Eh, why not."|PervSim10x3]]

Honestly at this point you've had a really long day and maybe your desire to mitigate that is overriding your better sense, but a beer sounds amazing. "Yeah, sure, thanks," you answer, reaching out to take one of the cups. It's probably just some weak-ass light beer anyway, basically water, especially to someone with your tolerance, what effect could it have.\n\n"Wooooooooo!" you're squealing happily some time later as you and the "schoolgirl" (who at some point introduced herself as Kayla though you can't remember at all when) stand on a table dancing, both of you with a plastic cup in each hand. Turns out that the beer was in fact killer! So were the four more you had after it! You have no idea what kind or brand it is, but it is amazing and you love it and you now never want to drink anything else!\n\nIt vaguely occurs to you that there was something else that was supposed to be occupying your thoughts, some problem you had that you were supposed to be working on, but frankly at the moment you're having fun and can't really find it in you to care about anything else. This party is great! Amazing beer, the music is perfect for dancing, you have a ton of people complimenting your dancing and your panties, what more could there be to care about?\n\nHm. Although! You could definitely find more fun to have! It's a party, after all! You could find something even more fun to do!\n\n<hr>\n[[Kick up the dancing!|PervSim]]\n\n[[Go find a guy!|PervSim]]\n\n[[Go find a girl!|PervSim]]\n\n[[Get even better drinks!|PervSim]]\n\n[[Try some other stuff!|PervSim]]\n\n[[Do some stuff with Kayla!|PervSim10x4]]

Mansion? ... Well. Considering that all that's missing around here is a jack-o-lantern face on the moon, you're betting it's a haunted mansion.\n\n... Wait. Fuck! That's what that thing on the door was! Someone was really shit at drawing a jack-o-lantern!\n\n'This is some sort of... Halloween dimension?' you think even as you set off down the path, following it as it winds past the woods and across some hills, now occasionally flanked by some old, tumbledown wooden post fences. 'Does that even make sense? ... Well, it's Pervcursors, so. I guess it's not too shocking that somehow they knew about Halloween.'\n\nSoon you spot what has to be The Mansion™ in the distance. That is... definitely a haunted mansion. Geez that sucker has everything, multiple towers, what looks like gargoyles, creaking shutters, roof tiles that somehow look angry... even from way off it looks like every haunted mansion in every horror vid you've ever seen, all at once.\n\n<hr>\n[["Creepy as fuck."|PervSim]]\n\n[["Be a great place for a party."|PervSim10x2]]

"Hey Kayla!" you call cheerfully, and loudly, despite her being right next to you.\n\n"Hey Chika!" she calls back just as cheerfully and just as loudly.\n\n"Let's do something fun!"\n\n"This is fun!"\n\n"Let's do something else fun!"\n\n"Okay what do you wanna do?!"\n\n"I dunno what do you wanna do?!"\n\n"I dunno what do you wanna do?!"\n\n"I dunno what do you wanna do?!"\n\n"I dunno what do you wanna do?!"\n\n"I dunno what do you wanna do?!"\n\nEventually what you wind up doing, and you have no idea how the two of you came to this conclusion (nor do you care) is to make out. In the middle of the party. With your skirts off because they started feeling tight and hot. And your tops off because they were getting in the way of your tits rubbing together.\n\nIn other words, the two of you are kissing enthusiastically, tongues working together, one hand down the front of each other's panties while the other hand roams around, occasionally sliding down to squeeze the other's ass. The two of you shamelessly and enthusiastically moan and giggle into each other's mouths since you both know you're putting on a show for everyone else as much as you are playing with each other. Kayla's pussy was obviously plenty wet before you ever touched her, her panties sticking to and outlining your fingers as you stroke them over her hot pussylips and occasionally slip them inside her, pumping them in her tight, eager little hole much as she's doing for you, your hips wiggling encouragingly.\n\nYou're not sure whether you started something with the party or the party started something with the two of you but all the various making-out and other handsiness going on throughout has progressed to similar stages to what the two of you are doing, if not having gone further. A lot of clothes and "unnecessary" costume parts have come off, and people are either moving towards or just outright fucking out in the main party areas. Out of the corner of your eye off to one side you can see a girl dressed in sort of Neo-Victorian goth fashion kneeling in front of a guy dressed in what may be a "jock" costume of varsity jacket and polo shirt or might just be his actual clothes, alternating between bobbing her head along his cock and leaning in to nuzzle at his balls. Off to the other side you can see a girl dressed as some variation on "sexy catgirl" bouncing on the lap of a guy who looks like he was going for "voodoo witch doctor" complete with tattered top hat and lots of bone-like accessories. There's a guy in a werewolf costume that seems to be nearby mostly just watching you and Kayla and jerking it, the yellow eyes of his mask glinting.\n\n... Kinda realistically, really... hey, is something weird here?\n\n<hr>\n[[Nah, all normal!|PervSim10x5]]\n\n[[... Wait a second...|PervSim11x1]]

Naaaah! It's just the beer and the lights making it look kinda realistic! Though man he does have a nice, big, thick cock and heavy-looking balls jutting out of the crotch of that werewolf costume!\n\nSomeone should help him with those.\n\nApparently Kayla has the same thought, since seconds later the two of you are squatting on either side of the guy in the werewolf costume, mouths and tongues running up and down his cock and over each other's, each of you using one hand to lift and tease one of his balls, the other once more stuffed down the front of each other's panties. Mmmm, his cock is just so big and beautifully hard and it feels so kinky to have his gloved hand on your head and to feel that fake fur brushing your cheek, highlighting that you have no idea who's underneath that mask as you pleasure his prick. There's just a big hard cock here to work your lips and tongue and mouth all over and that's enough for you right now.\n\nKayla slides her mouth over the head of his cock and starts bobbing her head, and boy she must know what she's doing because she gulps him down without a hint of gag reflex, her throat bulging up with his girth as she bobs her head quickly to the music. Of course when she pulls her head off and returns to sucking low on the shaft you've gotta have your own try, and hey it's much easier than you thought to stuff that big throbbing dick down your throat and work it in and out! Beer really makes you better at everything!\n\nKayla winds up being the one to actually get that big dick stuffed in her pussy, her panties tossed aside to litter the floor with the rest of the growing piles of discarded clothing and costume pieces, bent over and with those fur-clad hips smacking her ass enough to make it jiggle. Of course you can't feel too bad about that, since another equally hung guy in a gorilla costume is pounding you just as hard, you and Kayla having linked hands and started tongue-fucking each other's mouths again. All around you the party is filled with the slap of flesh on flesh and lewd moaning either full-throated or muffled by masks, mingling with the music and becoming a part of it, your orgasm almost blending into all your other senses as the stranger in the gorilla suit thrusts deep inside you and dumps his load into your eager, spasming hole.\n\nOf course you immediately move on to another cock because what else would you do? There's one jutting up from a guy dressed as a lizardman, covered in green bodypaint, beside another guy who's already being bounced on by a girl dressed as some sort of blue alien in a similar amount of bodypaint. You settle onto his thighs, shaking your ass at him briefly before lifting it up, reaching down to guide his cock to your pussy and then slamming yourself down on him, this time taking charge of moving your hips to the beat as you pump your pussy over his prick.\n\nAfter that you're on your back, your legs draped over the shoulders of the girl in the vampire outfit as she works her tongue in you, doing her best to find any little drops of cum she might have missed yet. Meanwhile three guys are further up, one of them fucking your tits as you press them together for him, the other two just stroking themselves off towards your face as they watch. Almost perfectly in time with you shoving your pussy against the other woman's mouth, the three guys start to cum, the one fucking your tits spattering his load all over your face while the other two direct theirs more accurately into your open mouth and across your jutting tongue, their hands moving in milking motions over their pricks as they make sure to feed you every last drop.\n\nYou're face-down-ass-up with a short guy done up as a goblin, his prick (even bigger than the other guys') painted green from tip to root. He's practically perching on your back, his cock sliding along the cleft of your ass a few times, jutting down along your pussy, leaving the occasional smear of emerald color, until he finds his mark and thrusts deep into your ass. Your eyes roll, your mouth curled up in a brainless grin as he starts pounding your tight rear hole, big green-painted balls slapping against your well-fucked, spurting pussy. \n\nYou're on top of another girl who looks like she was probably dressed as some sort of princess before most of her costume was shed, the two of you sucking each other's tongues, your tits rubbing and pressing together as a guy thrusts between your pussies and bellies, fucking both of you without fucking either of you, your dripping cunts rubbing against his shaft as it rubs against your clits.\n\nYou're being pressed between two muscular guys painted up like a tiger and a cheetah as they hold you up, muscular bodies sandwiching your upright one as they pump into your pussy and ass, giving you a great view of the rest of the orgy going on around you when your eyes aren't rolling because you keep cumming your brains out over and over.\n\nYou're part of a big circle of all the girls at the party, laying on your back with your legs in the air, tits framed by your arms as random guys fuck you, making your tits jiggle and your eyes roll and your tongue loll and you're cumming and cumming and it's the best party ever and-\n\n"Honey! Time to get up!" \n\nYou squint your eyes open, lifting your head in just-awoken confusion. You're in... a bedroom? With sunlight streaming in from outside? A kind of low-tech bedroom... there's even a paper calender on the wall with everything through 'October 23rd' crossed out. What the...?\n\n"Michika! Come on! It's past time you were up!" the woman's voice calls again in a definite 'mildly annoyed mother' tone.\n\n<hr>\n[["... what the fuck..."|PervSim]]\n\n[["Coming, Mom!"|PervSim]]

You sashay down the sidewalk, your practically bare ass shaking with the click of your heels on the pavement. The tiny, shiny black string bikini bottoms that you're wearing that just barely cover your pussy and are nothing but a string in back are probably beyond the bounds of good taste even for Makarzia, especially paired with the thigh-high boots that lift your ass and jut it out, but hey, it's what Master likes you to wear when you're out and about. The long-sleeved skinarmor top is only slightly more modest, leaving a generous amount of underboob showing, your jacket left open in front to display both your tightly-hugged tits and your collar with its jingling tags declaring both your name ("Chichi"), that you've had all your shots, and if that if lost who owns you and how to return you to him. The jacket is, of course, short, both to keep your ass shown off and to display the tramp stamp tattoo around your (currently not in use) spinal jack and the cockroach head tattoo on your right buttock.\n\n"Job's all done," you declare as you haul yourself up into the back of the van. "More money for Master," you add with a wry snicker.\n\n"We're such good girls," Nyna declares smugly from the driver's seat, her tail wagging through the open back of her seat. She's taken to wearing her prosthetic in her spinal jack pretty much all the time, a fluffy blonde one largely based on a golden retriever, and similarly has largely stopped bothering to wear anything on her lower half entirely, showing off her own roachbitch tattoo, her tits (fresh off their latest expansion treatment) wobbling under a loose barely-there tanktop as she starts the van, her own collar tags jingling.\n\nYou settle into the seat beside her, sitting back and starting to shamelessly rub your crotch through the tiny bikini bottoms as Nyna drives. Gotta get your naughty bitch-hole good and ready for Master, after all! Not that it takes much, thinking of being rewarded for doing another good job. Nyna is similarly wiggling happily like the excited puppy she is, panting softly with desire as she drives through the late night streets. "God if I spot a stray I'm gonna stop and let it fuck me swear to god," she groans at one point.\n\n"Feel free, I'll take video for Master," you snicker, pulling the panties aside and actually sliding two fingers into yourself with a soft 'woof'-like moan.\n\nBut no stray dogs are encountered before you pull up in front of the building Master owns (bought with the money from the job you met on, which you of course gave to him, so romantic). Nyna immediately hops out of the van and trots up the short front walk and stairs, uncaring of flashing her ass and pussy and barely-covered tits to the neighborhood. (Most of them have probably fucked her anyway, you muse as you follow after. The neighborhood bitch in heat, as it were, with Master's full approval.) You follow her into the entryway, which is set up with rows and racks of puppy play gear. Nyna immediately pulls off her tanktop and then helpfully assists you in stripping off your own outfit, not that it takes much effort. She also helpfully picks up your own prosthetic tail, a curled Shiba Inu style in dark brown to match your (now properly-styled but still short) hair and plugs it into your spinal jack, where it immediately starts wagging.\n\nThe two of you clip leashes on one another, then assist each other with pulling on gloves and booties. Before activating them, however, the two of you turn to one of the rows of equipment, Nyna wiggling and wagging her tail even faster. "Hoods or bands, hoods or bands, hoods or-"\n\nThe shelf lighting blinks green under a pair of mannequin heads with headbands with dog ears on them, one set floppy and blonde, the other triangular and dark brown with white inner fluff. Nyna yips happily and grabs the blonde dog ears, slipping them onto her head where the hairband is quickly lost in her hair, leaving the ears looking like they sprout from her scalp. "Yaaay we get to suck!"\n\nSnickering at your fellow puppy's enthusiasm, you similarly put on your own dogears headband, before the two of you reach down and activate the booties, inflating them into pawboots before activating each other's gloves, expanding them into the restraining pawmittens. Then the two of you turn and flounce happily into the elevator, leashes and tags jingling together merrily as you head up.\n\n"Well, look who's home!" Bizz chirps as he spins his chair to face the elevator as the doors open and the two of you promptly get down on all fours and crawl energetically to him, inflatable paws squeaking merrily and tails wagging. "You're sooooo well-trained now, makes a bug glow with pride ta see!" he adds, actually ramping up the lumens of his internal glow a bit in demonstration.\n\n"Did we do good, Master, did we, did we?!" Nyna pants happily, shaking her ass as well as wagging her tail.\n\n"Absolutely!" he says, leaning forward to take both your leashes as you lift them up to him, tugging gently to draw you both closer. He gives that absolutely hypnotic thorax wiggle to deploy and shape his cock, you and Nyna's tongues lolling out and immediately starting to trail drool at the sight of it. "You're good girls! You're such gooooood girrrrls!" he coos, leaning forward to stroke your heads with two of his upper limbs, both of you wiggling and whimpering happily as you have small orgasms at the praise. "And good girls, of course, get to suck!"\n\n"Woof!" Nyna barks happily, with you chiming in with an even squeakier "Wan!" since you're so happy at getting to stop pretending to be a big tough human and be the slutty puppy you really are. You and Nyna both lean in, looking up at your beloved Master's faceplate as you both start sucking on his knot, lapping at it with your tongues and running your mouths over it. \n\n"In fact, you good girls did suuuuch a good job that I think you can both ask for something for yourselves," Master informs you, giving your leashes a thoughtful little jingle. "What would you two like, hmmmm?"\n\n"Can I have dental mods and more tattoos to make me look like an even sluttier puppy when I'm out in public, Master?" you plead happily, kissing his cock before adding, "And get a sturdier tail I can wear all the time?"\n\n"Can I have another set of tits installed, Master?" Nyna asks, her eyes sparkling happily as she wiggles her shoulders to shake the pair she already has. "I wanna be even more of a lewd bitch and have even more titty flesh to wrap around your dick!"\n\nMaster lets out a long electronic sigh, as if deeply put-upon by these requests, but then declares, "Oh, what the heck! More slutty body mods for my good girls it is!"\n\n"Woof!"\n\n"Wan!"\n\nAh yeah... life is good when you're a puppy!\n\nBug Loan ending - Bizz's good girls

You feel a certain amount of instant kinship with another massive weapon wielder... besides, you know from experience that two heavy damage dealers can be a much more effective combination than is generally considered optimal by those who want full "balance". You head towards her as she hacks somewhat ponderously at the practice dummy, her wild red hair (somewhat halfheartedly pulled into a partial ponytail in back) flipping and moving with her motions, her large brown tits similarly bouncing and swaying in their gold-embroidered green top. Her skimpy matching bikini bottoms dig into her wide, powerful hips a bit, as does the leather strap around one of her thighs, her feet covered in a fairly standard pair of boots and leather-band bracers wrapping her forearms. She draws back, obviously trying to use some sort of attack skill on the dummy... and winds up missing it completely, staggering past it with a yelp and winging it with one of the black horns jutting up from above her ears instead. She thuds to her knees, one yellow eye squinted closed in annoyance.\n\n<img src="images/Rolka.jpg">\n\n"Cheh! I guess I really am gonna hafta put some points into dex when I level up," you can hear her mutter as she uses her axe as leverage to get to her feet. She blinks a little as she notices how close you've gotten... close enough to read the nameplate 'Rolka' over her head. Her cheeks blaze red and obvious embarrassment washes over her face, before she quickly turns her head aside and nose up, eyes closing. "Meh! It's only a problem against same-sized enemies, don't go being smug over it!"\n\n"I'm not, promise," you assure her, while inwardly squeeing. It's the super rare wonder flag... the Barbarian Muscle Girl Tsundere! "I'm just looking for someone to group up with for combat and leveling."\n\n"Eh? Oh, right right, looking for group, right!" she declares, grinning as she turns back to you. "Actually that would be great, I was looking for another heavy weapon user! Nice sword, by the way."\n\n"Thanks, nice axe. So you were looking on going full heavy?"\n\n"Yeah! I didn't play the beta test, but a friend of mine did and told me about a lot of stuff. While there's not a class system, there are special titles you can get that unlock extra abilities... one of the title chains starts with 'Giant Slayer'!" she declares, eyes sparkling now as she clenches a fist enthusiastically. "It unlocks huge bonuses to strength and toughness and lets you wield even bigger weapons as you go along! And if you're gonna fight big monsters, it's gotta be a team all wielding bigass weapons, right?!"\n\nYou guess that does make a certain sort of sense. Oooo, big game hunting in a fantasy RPG, there's all kinds of potential for lewd stuff to happen there! "That sounds cool! I'm in!" you declare, similarly pumping a fist in enthusiasm.\n\n"Alriiiight!" Rolka yells, flinging her hands in the air excitedly. "Okay, buddy, let's party up and head to the Temple of Return!"\n\n"The what now?" you ask, blinking.\n\n"It's this other thing my friend told me about, apparently it's where y'go to enable better respawning?" She shrugs, boobs jiggling a little with even that slight motion. "You lose your stuff but it's right there waiting for you... which is great because then you can make a beeline right back to whatever bigass monster you were fighting and reequip your stuff before having a second try!" she declares, jutting out her chest and laughing excitedly. "It's the best! We can keep fighting the monsters until we win! Y'know, even if we gotta run cross-country in our birthday suits to do it," she adds, actually blushing again and brushing a fingertip on her cheek as she glances aside.\n\nBut... your lewd, glorious, and most importantly real Bad End! ... hm. Wait, if what she's saying is right, after the monster does its thing, you'd pop back up, and if you're still with Rolka, she'll want to make a beeline right back towards it, even if you wind up fighting it naked before you can get your equipment back. Such a pigheaded, repeating consequences scenario... ... doesn't that sound sort of like a Bad End too? Just, y'know, you'd get to experience it over and over again. With different monsters. Giant monsters. With giant mouths housing giant agile tongues with giant squeezing throats, and giant throbbing cocks bigger than you are with giant balls swaying like they're practically a weapon in their own right, capable of crushing you if it-\n\n... Ahem. Okay, so you're seeing some benefits either way.\n\n<hr>\n[[Agree to visit the Temple.|YamiHF]]\n\n[[Convince Rolka otherwise.|YamiHF]]

Nah, let's face it... you're horny, you need something to help you directle alleviate horniness. You scroll to the sexually-themed sims and select that category, and are a little surprised when only four more categories pop up. ... Ah, right, it is a relatively pared-down selection to go with the gear you're using and the less resource-intensive and thus cheaper sims.\n\n[[Female Partners|LeoFem]] - Choose a partner with female physical characteristics. Well obviously you should choose that one! Haha, right? ... Right?\n\n[[Male Partners|LeoFem]] - Choose a partner with male physical characteristics. ... It's... not like anyone would ever know, though, right?\n\n[[Other Partners|LeoFem]] - Choose a partner with either a mingling of male and female physical characteristics, or one which does not conform to standard humanoid anatomy. ... Neeever knooooow...\n\n[[Kink/Fetish Scenarios|LeoFem6x4]] - Choose a scenario focusing on a particular sort of niche sexual interest, with predetermined partners fixed by the scenario. ... Well, c'mon, it's one of the whole reasons people use these sorts of programs, trying out new things...

You look the VR helmet over briefly before putting it on. Hm... yeah, from the looks of it, this model starts you off in simulations wearing a duplicate of your own body, it won't let you 'chargen' a different form right from the start. The joys of limitations by room tier, you think as you spend a few moments following the little holoscreen directions that pop up when you tap the power button. Not that you've ever used a lot of VR anyway, you were always more of a physically active kid, and when you did play games your mom liked to encourage you to do the sit-down-manual-input ones, said she found them nostalgic. (Which was okay by you since it usually meant she played them with you. Hope she's doing okay. ... Ahem, mind back on dishonoring yourself via sim.) As you're lowering the helmet onto your head, you briefly recall what Rarala said... something to the effect of, 'If you get a dick in you, it might feel so good you wouldn't want to go back'... but psh, she meant a real one, right? It'd obviously be different if it was just VR, everyone says VR doesn't feel as good as the real thing. Admittedly this would be your first opportunity to compare and it's not exactly a 1:1 due to the Circumstances, but still, it's just a bit of simulated fooling around, it won't affect you that much, surely!\n\nAs you lay back, you can feel a relaxation stealing over your body, a faintly soothing numbness that still leaves you generally aware as the darkness behind the visor is replaced by the white expanse of a loading screen. A soothing and just faintly artificial female voice reads off the text welcoming you to the simulation and noting that some sims will incur a small additional fee, but are otherwise free to use, along with the basic safety briefing about the rig not working if it detects that you haven't eaten or hydrated enough recently. After that it pops up a simple, scrolling list of sim categories, reading each one off as you mentally direct the selection downwards. ... Hm. Well, who says you absolutely have to leap right to the sexual, now that you think about it? Maybe your body will take some other form of stimulation instead and calm down from that!\n\n<hr>\n[[Relaxation sims.|LeoFem]]\n\n[[Training sims.|LeoFem]]\n\n[[Sexual sims.|LeoFem6x3]]

In the end, your better sense wins out, and with a sigh you say, "Sorry, Sop, the Circumstances really are that bad. Normally I'd be all over that chance, but... right now..."\n\n"Hey, bud, shit happens, I know it. Sorry you couldn't take advantage of it." There's a pause just brief enough to show that he's sympathetic but in a hurry before he says, "Any pointers on another merc who wouldn't stiff me because this is unofficial?"\n\nAt that you snort, shaking your head briefly before saying, "Yeah, try giving my parents a call, man. Hell, they'd probably go after Sokahn mostly for the fun, they wouldn't begrudge you a pretty generous eff-eff."\n\n"Oh hey, sweet idea, thanks man. Either way, give me a call in a week or so, we'll grab a bite and I can tell you about some of the crazy shit that I've been through lately."\n\n"Yeaaaah I think my story might top yours," you murmur with a low chuckle, before saying "Bye, Sop" and closing the channel. Then you flop back to lay splayed out, huffing and again trying to ignore your tits jiggling. There's a lot of disappointment on passing up the opportunity, tinged with just the faintest hint of worry that you may have actually tossed your mother and father more than they could handle by putting them on Sokahn's tail. ... Psssssshhhhh yeah right. More like, one more major accomplishment for them to rack up and you to both share in the reflected glory but also sink a little further into their shadow. Your parents both hit Reaper status years ago, they can handle the guy. So yeah, while there's the faintest like 0.01% of a worry there, nah they'll be fine and it's just you that missed out on going after that big payday.\n\nThat big, muscular, powerful, domineering payday. With a sigh, you at least try to push thoughts of the bounty head out of your mind as you bring a hand up to cup one of your breasts, rolling it around as your other hand slips between your legs, luscious thighs almost reflexively pressing around your hand before you relax and spread them again. 'Gonna be a long week,' you think as you settle into a mix of distracting yourself with the pleasure and finally giving in to your body's desires, pinching at your stiff pink nipple and sliding two fingers into your already sopping pussy. You try to push Sokahn further out of your thoughts when you do, but he's quickly replaced by Sopwith, the image of your Dromidian friend propped up above you and positioning himself between your legs making you flush too before you quickly tamp down on it, only to quickly be replaced by a 'what if' of letting those orcs that were rushing the caravan capture you, their big strong hands running over your body, their muscular frames towering over you, all those battle-frenzied cocks dripping with eagerness for you.\n\n'Fuuuuck I really need to get my mind back on girls,' you think with a whimper... even as you roll over onto your front, rising up onto your knees with them spread, practically presenting yourself to an invisible lover as you rest your cheek on the pillow and use the position to work your fingers over your pussy a bit more easily. Your attempts to think about women mostly lead you to imagery of women with big, fat, throbbing pricks, either women you know who have them or women you know who now have them in your imaginings. You moan into the pillow as, almost unbidden, your other hand moves up and your fingertips start teasing at your quivering pucker, your hips jerking and twitching at the stimulation. You'd tried doing that a few times before but it seems like it feels sooooo much better now, and soon you've got two fingers deep in your ass as you fuck your pussy with another three, moaning and letting your mind just drift from embarrassing fantasy to embarrassing fantasy now.\n\nAfter your masturbation session you take yet another cold shower, then order a simple sports bra and pair of sleeping pants from the dispensor before deciding to focus on trying to relax a more normal way. Unfortunately the immediate options don't really appeal... the only books already on the shelves that you'd be interested in reading are ones you've read already (and are not the sorts to be enjoyed reading over and over again). Any attempts to look up better reading material on the system inevitably devolve into you checking for any news on Sokahn or into rather embarrassing meanderings of looking at various pictures of beefy males, so you try looking through the shelves and containers... not a lot there, either, mostly the sort of little toys and games and puzzles that accumulate when people are stuck in one place for a long time, and you can't seem to focus very well on any of them. You wind up back on the bed several times, or at least once on the couch with your pants pulled down and your top pulled up, moaning and fingering yourself to another orgasm that never quite seems to hit the spot and provide actual relief.\n\nBy the second day you're feeling frazzled and ready to admit it... you're gonna hafta try and do something to actually get some real relief. It's clear that this body considers masturbation more of a salad course than an entree... it's for priming up for the real meal, not a meal itself. You're going to wind up very, very frustrated and snappish by the time the week is over if you don't do something to feel like you've been really and properly fucked, as shiver-inducing (on multiple levels) as that thought is. Luckily, Retreat Rooms feature a number of options for exactly that... there's a VR headset in one of the containers that you can hook up to the system and use various simulations. (It's weird, when you were feeling anxious and restless yesterday, it never really occurred to you to do the one thing that would really make you feel like you were outside doing normal things. From the check of the last time of use on the headset, that goes for most people who use this place.) There's also an option for ordering up sex toys... one-use and 3D printed on demand for the most part, of course, to preserve the sterility of the environment. Both are included with the standard use.\n\nOr... for a fairly small fee... you could hire a synth lover. Completely artificial and therefore capable of entering the controlled environment without disrupting it. They can be hired for other things... to play games with, or have conversations, basically just general "company" while in the retreat room... but even most of those kinds are capable of, ahem, putting out. Synth rentals are the preferred sort for many of the more private sorts of mercs, since their memories of what they do with you are privacy locked hard, and they're regularly wiped anyway. So... that would definitely be one way to go.\n\n<hr>\n[[Use the VR.|LeoFem6x2]]\n\n[[Select a sex toy.|LeoFem]]\n\n[[Hire a synth.|LeoFem]]

So, y'knooooow... you're gonna be stuck in here awhile, may as well try out some weird and interesting stuff in the privacy of your own head, while you're on downtime!\n\n[[Transformation|LeoFemTFStart]] - Experience change from one physical state into another.\n\n[[Gangbang|LeoFem]] - A sexual encounter where you will be the focus of numerous penis-bearing individuals.\n\n[[Objectification|LeoFem6x5]] - A scenario where you will be treated as nonsentient and existing for the use of others.\n\n[[Snuff|LeoFem]] - A scenario that culminates in the player character's death. WARNING: While simulations are perfectly safe and no attempt to harm the user is made, in 0.02% of cases, some users have experienced user-side fatal neural shock from the experience. Please be aware of the risks before partaking of these simulations.

"Yeah okay let's go for it," you say, shaking your head.\n\n"Ah ah ah!" Basic Bitch chirps, shifting her hands to let her index fingers press upward on her cheeks. You clear your throat, then manage your own smile. "There y'go! I mean, it could use some work, but now you might actually pass. Now, I'm interfaced with your personal assistant, so feel free to pick a song you've got stored and get started."\n\nWell here it is. ... In... the training program. It's probably a good thing that Lolina gave you this, though, if you're feeling this much resistance to getting started just in VR, you'd make an absolute mess of trying to do it freestyle RL. Okay, well, what song was playing that night years ago...?\n\n[[Music|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQIvfK2CB3g]]\n\nApparently Ashizu takes that as a cue to pull up the records of that night, including the song ID list, which the training program then takes as its cue, dimming the lights and starting to pulse some of them in time to the music. Oh, right, it was something by one of the great classical Earth composers, really pretty mainstream and near-universally famous stuff. Well, that means the beat is familiar, at least, so with another deep breath to brace yourself, you set off strutting down the runway, trying to match your steps to the beat and bop your hips along with it as well.\n\n'You're a professional, so treat this like another job to ace,' you remind yourself, pushing aside the idea that you've got this job because you haven't been acing many of your mercenary ones lately. Still, the point is the same, approach it with the same focus and determination you would any other job. That makes it a bit easier to focus on the physicality, and the instant you approach the pole you grab it with both hands and swing yourself into a high twirl, letting your legs spread and do a little arc around before you land on your toes and drop into the rest of the swing, letting your chest hang out towards the edge of the stage.\n\nThe old lessons quickly start coming back to you... most of the moves you learned there were relatively tame (at least as far as poledancing goes) since it was suppose to be just a dancing class, but you're coordinated enough and have seen enough stripper routines (actually a surprising number of them for someone who doesn't patron strip clubs recreationally) to fill in some of the gaps yourself. Such as leaning back against the pole, your hands on the sides, and sort of sinking down while spreading your legs and leaning your hips out, bopping and swaying them to the beat. You do another half-swing around the pole and swing your body outward, bending forward and shaking your ass similarly, trying not to correct your panties having ridden into your ass since, well, that will be what they're looking for.\n\nSpeaking of which, time to go all the way. Since you came into this with only two things on anyway, you've kinda got to go whole hog for your score, you're pretty sure. You turn and straighten, facing out towards the whole club as you sway your hips while doing your best to work your top up in little back-and-forth motions with the music, even managing a impish expression and a little wink as your tits drop free and wobble. Quickly pulling the top the rest of the way off and tossing it (oops, out into the club, gonna hafta be careful not to do that), you lift your arms up high over your head and for a few moments concentrate on bopping and writhing your body in a sort of sinuous motion, letting your bare breasts bounce and sway in the pulsing lights. \n\nYou turn back to the pole and slip over to it, suppressing your embarrassment to press up against it, or rather press your tits around it, and bend your knees smoothly several times to bop your ass in the air but also slide your boobs suggestively up and down the stiff cylinder. You do another few twirls and spins on the pole itself, back and forth, doing some more of those arching twirls with your legs since those always impressed your teacher. Then, suppressing the desire to flinch or stop for another deep breath, you turn your ass towards the main club and bend forward towards the pole some, once more bopping your hips with the music as you slide your panties down bit by bit, only to shove them quickly and straighten up just as you're about to show your pussy.\n\nSpinning around and kicking the panties forward carefully (and managing to get them right to the edge of the stage this time, where the static field fwoops them into the nearly invisible little gap), you tuck a hand against your crotch and grip the pole above your head with the other, once again swaying your way lower, your legs apart, your hips angled outward, your fingers just barely covering your sex, poking your tongue out again to emphasize the teasing.\n\nThe song ends a lot more abruptly than you remembered, causing you to suddenly thump to your bare ass on the stage in surprise. Basic Bitch lets out a peal of laughter as the lights come back up, fingers held vertically over her mouth like some hime-sama type. "Ahahahaha! You definitely need some more practice, babe!"\n\nYou flush in annoyance at that, pressing your legs together and putting an arm across your bare chest, then feeling relieved as your undies rematerialize on you. "Yeah, yeah. How'd I score?"\n\n"Oh you did well over the minimum," she assures you as she walks over and leans down with her fists on her hips, her own essentially unrestrained breasts wob-wobbing back and forth in front of your face. "For a song you just picked and a routine you haven't worked on or practiced, and only wearing a normal bra and panties, you actually did great, you're a natural!" While you're still working through your mixed feelings on that, she continues. "The kick-spread-twirl is good, keep that but don't lean on it too much. You've got a great hip display at the pole, the teasing will work great especially if you decide to only cover up with paint under your outfit. Now, you ready to give it a try with the club full?"\n\n"... Gimme a minute." You get to your feet and walk back to the stage entrance, taking a few moments to take some deep breaths and center yourself. Then you give a nod. "Okay, hit me."\n\nThis time as the lights lower, the program populates the club with people... mostly just shadowy figures from here, and obviously mostly men. But this must be a really good program because not only are you hit with the vague sound of chatter and an active club, glasses clinking and people calling, there's even a heady smell that hits you, that of cigarettes and Leaf and vapes in dozens of scents and the smell of beer and other booze. It just almost throws you off your stride just from that, but you manage your strut, a bit faltering though it is.\n\nBut the immersive sounds and smells as well as the sight of all those figures certainly makes it easier to feel all those gazes on you, dozens or hundreds watching your nearly naked body as you begin your little aerobatic aesthetic display. All those eyes following every little jiggle of your tits and bounce of your ass, burning holes in the crotch of your panties. You can see the green flashes around the edge of the stage beginning, though, and as embarrassing as it is to admit, the surge of excitement that had begun to build with the feel of being watched starts pinging through your nerves like fat raindrops hitting your naked skin at that feedback. You continue the routine much as you did last time, but trying to be more sensual, more smooth, unable to help the rush of adrenaline and excitement as yellow flashes start appearing as your top comes off and you wag your bare tits at them, leaning forward a bit more this time as if really proffering them to the stage-seated patrons.\n\nBy the end of it when you're cupping your bare pussy to hide it teasingly, you can feel that you're actually wet... and a red flash goes off here and there among all the green and yellow, sending weird skittery feelings of satisfaction and excitement through you. This time you manage not to be surprised when the song ends, and instead yank on the pole to haul yourself fully upright, your bra and panties reappearing faster this time. "Ah... so, how'd I do?" you ask, feeling a bit out of breath despite it being VR.\n\n"Mmmmm," Basic Bitch replies in an ambivalent tone, wagging her hand in the air. At your frown, she shrugs. "You were really thrown by the crowd and lost a ton of points early on. Even once you kind of got into it you weren't quite as smooth as before. Oh, don't worry, you still passed the minimum," she adds, raising a finger and giving you a slightly condescending smile. "Just that after we've finished the rest of the explanation, I reeeally suggest we come back here and do some more practice to get you used to the crowd and work on your routine a bit, else I wouldn't expect to see the main stage very often. Don't worry, this is a high-speed simulation, so we've got plenty of time to work out all those little slips and oopsies and jitters and faux pas and goofups!"\n\n<hr>\n[["Bleh. Fine."|ChiLuck1x5]]\n\n[["... No. Again."|ChiLuck]]

Suppressing your natural competitive urge, you swallow once and then nod. "Alright. So the VIP area is next?"\n\n"Yeah! This way!"\n\nBasic Bitch leads you back into the backstage area, briefly pointing out the machine that dispenses your pay (and costume bits) after shows, then back into the dressing room, this time turning to go through the other door... then pausing and looking at you expectantly.\n\n"... Oh, right," you murmur, picking up one of the distress buzzer jacks. You have that awkward feeling of plugging something into your neural port when you know objectively that you already have something in it in the real world and that, in fact, this whole simulation is running from it... but, as one might expect, the training datajack doesn't exist in the training program. \n\n"Now, we have a lot of VIP rooms, some of which I notice from your memories you've already seen," Basic Bitch explains as she leads the way down a hallway and past another bouncer, into much more sumptuously-carpeted and wallpapered area which you have indeed been in. "There are basic VIP areas for private dances and conducting business like the one you were in with the fabulous Lolina earlier, but we also have ones set up for a variety of other entertainment purposes. And, well, more blatantly sexual purposes too," she adds with a wolfish grin.\n\nYou mmm softly, glancing around. "How's she keep that aboveboard?"\n\n"By technically classifying all of these areas as modeling studios and also paying a hell of a lot of money to the local gov to make that fly. So whatever you do in these rooms, you're 'mod-el-ing'," Basic Bitch explains, making overexaggerated air quotes. "Which sort-of-kind-of means you can get away with doing anything for the purposes of creating 'art', which would be the security camera recordings. Don't worry, those stay private unless you specifically agree to release them to the client or anyone else," she adds at your slightly startled look. "It's part of the contract you'll sign before your first dance."\n\n"Mmmn," you grumble, but nod, accepting that for the moment.\n\n"Now, it's up to you to negotiate exactly what you charge for things in the VIP rooms. The recommendation is to negotiate through the VIP app before you ever set foot in the room... it even has a 'haggle suggestion' subroutine that shows you what other girls typically charge for things, assuming there's precedent. Also, since her cost on maintaining these rooms is higher... what with the maintenance, cleaning, replacing products, the 'legal negotiations'," she adds with another exaggerated air quote. "The cost for using them is higher, thirty percent early weeknights, thirty-five for preem hours and weekends."\n\nYou make a face again at that, but just out of curiosity, access the VIP app and do a quick reference check on what you could charge for various... obvious services. ... Hunh, yeah, okay, you could easily see that as still definitely being worth it. Depending on where the line of your dignity was. Especially since Basic Bitch then adds, "By the way, because modeling is considered 'profession income' rather than 'gig income', you don't have to pay taxes on it immediately, you're supposed to report it to the MTA yourself at the end of the year when you get your tax form. And it has been known to happen that if you have a really good year, sometimes the Fabulous Lolina makes a mistake with inputting certain numbers and your tax form gets printed out showing that you had a really bad year. If you get my drift."\n\n... Yeah okay that definitely shifts it into the "worth it" column. You know, potentially. If you decided to do that.\n\nBasic Bitch goes over a few more of the club rules with you, such as the fact that dancers aren't allowed to patron the club (apparently you can't become a customer again until you've stopped dancing for a month or so), have to have a healthscan from at least a quickclinic every month, and while yes the fabulous Lolina will not prevent you from seeing customers from the club completely outside of the club in "private rendevous" (in other words avoiding paying her her cut) she accepts no liability and will provide no protection for these so you're on your own as far as that goes. Once all that's done, the two of you head back to the simulated stage to practice dancing some more (and, at Basic Bitch's insistence, proving yourself passingly competent at giving a lapdance too... though from her smug look you're half certain the AI just wanted to be the recipient of a lapdance). You work out a proper song, outfit (from your own wardrobe) and routine, and eventually BB declares you "more than adequate" to dance in front of a crowd.\n\nThe next afternoon you get up and have to spend a little bit still convincing yourself to go through with it. Your breakfast ramen brick helps with that, though. So, taking another of those deep centering breaths you've become so fond of, you go rummaging around to find the articles in question. First off a pair of side-tie white panties (bought for semi-innocent reasons, honest), and then a pair of white thighhigh stockings (bought for not-at-all innocent reasons, fair cop). A white strapless support bra with an easy-release clasp (bought for reasons somewhere in between) completes the bottommost layer of your strip ensemble. Then, with a shake of the head and a vague apology to your ancestors, you dive into the back of your closet and come up with the nostalgia box.\n\nSo. Your high school uniform still fits. Sort of. You were a bit of a late bloomer but when you did you did it thoroughly, so you're not too much bigger now than your senior year of high school. To get the skirt to fit you have to slide it up a bit higher on your waist, which does make it almost scandalously short... but then, that works for this, dunnit? You spend a bit of time eyeing the top, then shake your head... no, even if it fits, it is not at all easy to get in or out of smoothly, let alone sexily. Instead you find a loose white sleeveless midriff-baring shirt, and after a bit of messing about manage to sufficiently transfer the scarf tie from the uniform top to it with a bit of snipping and the use of a quickstitcher (not just usable on skin!). While your old mary janes don't fit, the more simplified black loafers for indoor wear still do. Eyeing yourself in the mirror and seeing you've managed a fairly serviceable "slutty Nipponzi schoolgirl" look, you shake your head. "I wanna kill myself," you mutter as you go to grab your jacket.\n\nAlmost no one on Makarzia actually fastens their jackets closed (for some reason) unless they're some sort of down-low perv, so you get some second glances on your way to the club (having switched into some street shoes and put the loafers in your pocket). But since you don't have your rain hood up apparently you're just considered to be some sort of wimp about the cold because it's only a bit below 30 standard out. You head into the back alley, doing your best to be casual about trading nods with the guards, and access the authenticator app to punch in the code for the back door. It's... weirdly both exactly like and somehow distinctly different than the VR program, but you've always found that to be the case with these sorts of things.\n\nLolina is waiting for you with a grin and a contract pad, and after a quick perusal to make sure it's as said, she asks, "So how did the Bitch rate you?"\n\n"'More than adequate'," you say a bit flatly as you hand the contract back signed.\n\n"Oh? That's encouraging, I set her to be a fairly tough judge. Oh, no, keep it," she adds as you proffer the datajack back as well. "Use it to practice routines all you like, most of the girls have one. The Bitch makes for a pretty decent AI assistant, too, if you decide you want one with personality," Lolina says with a bit of a snicker.\n\n"Well she has that," you admit, tucking the datajack back into your pocket. Seeing Lolina's expectant look, you sigh and unfasten your jacket, spreading it open in front.\n\n"Ooooo. And yet... tch," she says softly, reaching up to finger the dickie. "Well, I'm sure once you've got a few creds in the account again, you'll be able to afford something a bit better on the theme."\n\n"This is only until the job is ready, Lolina, then I'm going back to merc work," you declare with a frown, brushing back your coat and resting your hands on your skirted hips.\n\n"Sure sure. Anyway, I've arranged you to go on just before preemtime... you'll get the lower house charge and the club should be almost as full as preem hours."\n\n"... Yeah, thanks, Lolina," you say sincerely, if still with a bit of emotional exhaustion. "I appreciate it."\n\n"Well you should. Maybe when you see how much you make tonight you can show your appreciation with a lapdance," she declares smugly before turning and trotting off.\n\nYou roll your eyes. Yeah, that's Lolina alright. Shaking your head, you turn and make your way into the dressing room. There's a small handful of girls bustling about, you'd guess either waiting on dances or for VIP appointments. You get some curious looks but apparently it's gotten around that you're a 'down on her luck' mercenary moonlighting, and they're either too afraid of you or think they're too good for you or think you think you're too good for them, because no one actively approaches. Ah well, you think as you pick an unclaimed locker and put your jacket away in it, clipping on the high-end biometric lock you brought (further alienating you, you suppose, since most of the others are either cheap thumbprint or cylinder bike locks). 'Not like I want to be here long enough for them to get used to me,' you think as you walk over to a nearby vanity to check your makeup.\n\n"Hey," the practically naked Mandanni woman at the next vanity says cheerfully enough. Her black hair is pulled up in a pair of buns, save for the pair of long forelocks framing her slightly round face, the set of her eyes and mouth giving her a sort of perpetually mischievous look, assuming she's not absolutely delighted to be stripping. Which... she might be, you assume some people do enjoy this job.\n\n"Hey," you reply, glancing aside at her from fluffing up your own bangs. Then before you've really thought about it you've whipped around, grabbing her upper arm in a steely grip, your eyes fastened on the tattoo of three triangles on her right shoulder, fitted together to form a bar with a longer top than bottom before locking on her face instead.\n\nShe jumps at the sudden grab, looking up at you, then manages a smile again, though there's a definite nervousness about her expression. "Easy, easy. Look closer."\n\nYou scowl at her, then look back at the tattoo... and then do indeed slacken your grip on her arm as you realize that each triangle has a thin 'X' through it. It still takes you a moment to make your hand loosen its grip entirely. "Ah... sorry, that was really not cool."\n\n"It's alright. Happens occasionally," she says breezily, either sincerely understanding or at least able to act unbothered, as she turns back to the mirror and resumes perfecting the tint of her cheeks. "You wouldn't believe what it costs to have a skinartist black out or cover up a Trine tattoo on this half of Makarzia, I can basically only afford to have the X's thickened a little bit when I have the extra creds to throw at it."\n\n"I imagine," you say with some genuine sympathy, deciding to sit down and touch up your own makeup too, if just for something to do. You guess you could make yourself look a bit more... dramatic, after all.\n\n"Holy Dragon?" she asks politely, but with the air of assumption.\n\n"Family is, I never pledged," you note, pausing in reinforcing your lipstick to turn back and forth a bit, highlighting your own lack of tattoos. "You?"\n\n"Final Destiny, but I and my family parted ways over the opinion of who it was suitable for me to marry," she answers dryly. "They were of the opinion it was suitable for me to marry who they said when they said, I was of the opinion it was suitable for me to marry no one ever."\n\nYou let out a loud snort at that. "Yeah I can see how that would be an irreconcilable difference."\n\n"Mm-hmm." She seems on the verge of asking something else, then seems to think better of it. Instead she turns and proffers a hand, displaying slightly long (and probably fake) glowpaint nails. "Xian-Xia."\n\n"Michika," you answer, accepting the hand and shaking.\n\n"Oh honey let me paint these for you before you go on," she says almost immediately, turning your hand and frowning a bit at your nails. "I heard you were new but you can't go out there with nothing but clearcoat, they won't be able to see your hands properly."\n\nYou hesitate a bit at that... not that the offer's a bad one, or that you're still harboring any issues about her background. Just that, well... not to sound like That Bitch on a reality show, but you didn't come here to make friends. You're just sort of here to do your time, keep the wolves from your door, and then get back to your real work. You start making friends, and that could be... well, it could wind up changing the way you think about it, is all.\n\n<hr>\n[[Keep your distance.|ChiLuck]]\n\n[[Make a friend.|ChiStrip1x1]]

If you can't take any open jobs on the Guildhall, you'll just have to find some close to home.\n\nThen you grimace as you think about it. The problem there is that mercs, wherever they call home, do tend to be a superstitious lot, and between your obvious bad luck and your more objective poor decisions of late, a lot of the more prominent Nates and gangheads want little to nothing to do with you. You do have a few options where you're almost sure you wouldn't be turned away, but each of them have their own issues.\n\nOf the Nates... a title that evolved out of "coordinate" and "negotiate", what they'd call a Fixer on Earth since they either put together their own jobs or arrange them for third parties... that will still speak to you, there's [[Lolina|ChiLuck1x2]], owner of a very profitable club and several entirely legitimate businesses. The problem with that is that her legitimate enterprises are so profitable that she feels free to take plenty of time between jobs, setting them up meticulously and planning them quite a ways out, and you need money now. The upshot there being that her jobs almost never fail and are very high-paying when they happen, but immediacy is still a problem. Then there's [[Konradd|ChiLuck]], who almost always has something available and will work with anybody... but he's a huge sleazeball, and besides whatever jobs he has probably making your skin crawl a bit to do them, he's highly likely to perv on you. And then there's [[Scheen|ChiLuck]], who's on a whole different level of creepy... the cyborg will definitely have work for you, but it will be high-stakes work, and there are lots of rumors about the sort of thing that happens to people that get a little too involved with Scheen (or let them down).\n\nOf the gangs... yeah, all your options there are dangerous. In Eight there's [[Natanyil|ChiLuck]], a Boogity Blazer who essentially runs his own little sect within the gang. Natanyil's reliable and can be counted on not to screw you over, as far as it goes... but your cheeks color as you muse that he will want to screw you. Literally. He'll basically just consider it part of the job. In Nine there's [[Tonee|ChiLuck]], a truly lame little ganghead of a truly minor gang... but his family's rich, and he can be relied on to overpay for just about anything. On the entire opposite end of the spectrum, over in seven there's [[Horace|ChiLuck]]... the guy they call the Allfather. Another extremely dangerous individual to get involved with... but also quite possibly the richest man on Makarzia, who always has something going on.

Maybe, if you're really lucky, you can catch Lolina not long before she's ready to do a job, and needs a replacement for someone who bailed on her or something. ... You're not betting on it, especially lately, but maybe.\n\nYou switch out your Guild clothes for your Makarzia clothes... which are essentially the same, just with a black coat with a color pulsing glowlining, the white trim of your skinarmor top and pants in glowcloth so it will reflect and amplify club lighting, and your shinguards in splatterpaint style. You also stick with a couple of blasters holstered at your sides and back rather than the rifle you usually carry for Guild work. That done, you head down to the Heart of the City.\n\nWhich is just one of the many names people use for it, you muse as you approach with your hands in your coat pockets. Lolina has disdained going for something so simple as an actual name, and instead above the entrance there's a giant LED heart that's constantly doing all sorts of different colors and designs, from flames to rainbows to pulsing beats to little pixel character orgies. She's steadfastly refused to say what she calls it, simply saying 'Isn't the sign obvious?', so it's got plenty of slang names with most, obviously, involving "Heart". You stop outside to proffer your ID to one of the big, generic-looking bouncers, who examines it before nodding and turning to open the door for you.\n\nThe interior's fairly typical for a night/stripclub on Makarzia... dim-to-dark, lots of pulsing lights, heavy electronica playing, a light-up dance floor. Of course not only are the patrons and some of the wait staff dancing, but so are performers, though apparently you've arrived when a headliner is on, only a single girl up on stage doing a routine. She's already down to nothing but a G-string, though she's marked her large, puffy nipples with glowpaint so that they seem to be pulsing with the same colors as the club lights, as do the suggestive tattoos on the front of her crotch and on her lower back. The waitresses aren't exactly wearing a lot more... though there's a variety of body types on display, all of them have roughly the same uniform: a collar, fishnet stockings and gloves, heels, heart-shaped pasties on their nipples, and another heart-shaped pasty covering their pussies. Though glowtape seems the most popular choice for them, you do see that some of the girls have chosen specific colors (that nevertheless glow in the club light), and a few have even gotten rather luxurious with LED tape that's doing its own little designs much like the heart outside.\n\n"Hi~, can I get you a table, a seat at the stage, or maybe a private room?" one of the effectively naked girls asks as she walks up to you, obviously well-practiced at sounding sensual despite raising her voice to be heard over the music.\n\nYou lean in a bit, using your own Club Voice to say, "Could you tell Lolina that Michika is here to see her about a job?"\n\nShe looks a bit surprised for a moment, but nods and turns to hurry off, her unimpeded breasts and butt jiggling with her steps as the heels are clearly designed to provoke. As usual you resist the urge to do any peering to try and see if the lower pasties actually do anything at all to cover certain other important areas... the brief glance you couldn't help but take showed that she was sufficiently perky and together you weren't going to be seeing that particular part anyway.\n\nYou do your best to find a place to hang out and be unobtrusive while you wait, though luckily it's only a few minutes before the waitress emerges from the back and spots you, giving you a beckoning wave. You nod to her as she gestures you on back, and you head into the open door of what's obviously a VIP room, an area with a long, lowish table surrounded on almost all sides by comfortable couch-like seats, with breaks in them to allow for easy seating.\n\nYou're not terribly surprised that there's a pair of girls dancing on the table to the different music... Lolina doesn't keep a club full of essentially naked hot women just because it's profitable. Though the Nate herself would look like some terribly out-of-place daytimer stopped by to arrange a job if you didn't know it was her. A woman who, to appearances, might be a small handful of years older than you is sitting on one of the couches, smiling serenely as she watches the girls dance, cornflower blue eyes alight with simple pleasure and the more gentle lighting of the VIP room. She's decked out fully in her namesake Gothic Lolita style of a black velvet dress with pink lace trim along the layers and ruffles, which even includes a bonnet atop her head, a few artful arcs of pink hair falling out from the front of it across her face.\n\n"Well if it isn't the bad luck charm!" she declares with a snicker, deploying an elaborate and slightly overdecorated folding fan to hide her mouth as she does.\n\n"Yuh-huh, thanks for that," you reply flatly, shaking your head as you move over to sit down on the couch that's a ninety degree angle from hers.\n\n"Oh, don't be so down, Chika. Here, want a drink? Snack? Lapdance?" she chirps, gesturing to both the dancing girls on the table.\n\n"Maybe later," you murmur, blushing just a little.\n\n"Well I'm gonna," she notes with a smirk, beckoning to the nearest girl, who smoothly and unhesitatingly steps down from the table and turns, settling into a low squat over her employer's lap, starting to buck and twist her hips, along with plenty of rubbing her bare ass across the front of Lolina's layered skirts. Lolina casually runs her hand, covered in a fingerless silk glove with more pink ruffles around the ends of the finger openings, up and down the dancer's back as she looks over at you. "So I'm assuming you're looking for work?"\n\n"Yeah, I could really use something," you admit with another shake of the head. "Anything you've got, Lolina."\n\n"That's certainly the talk I hear. You're lucky that I don't suffer superstition from the people I take on for jobs or I'd have trouble getting people to work with you. A merc with bad luck is one thing, a broke merc with bad luck is another," she adds, raising her delicately-shaped eyebrows as the very trashily-attired stripper grinds herself against the very classy and expensive dress-covered lap. "Those aren't exactly famous for making good decisions."\n\nYou grimace, then try giving a smile. "I mean, I'm here, call that a good decision?"\n\n"Mmmm. Or a desperate one," Lolina murmurs, closing her fan and giving the dancer a playful thwack on one bare buttock with it, apparently signaling the lapdance is over for the moment. Once the dancer's returned to the table, she looks at you with a businesslike expression. "I'm putting together a road heist. One of my competitors getting a big shipment of stuff they need to run their own club for a good long while. Now, my main concern is depriving them of it, so there's only one thing of the shipment itself I really want, the crate marked A-7. The rest of it you can divide up between yourselves as you see fit, or I'll buy it off of you, on top of the 10,000 you'll be paid for the job."\n\nWhew. That would definitely take care of your rent no problem, and start putting a serious dent in some of your other debts, especially if there's anything particularly valuable in the shipment. Now, though, comes the possible hurdle. "When?"\n\n"Next month," she replies evenly.\n\nYou grimace again. "Isn't there anything sooner, Lolina?"\n\n"You know full well that I do one job at a time, and I set it up and do it perfectly," the Nate replies evenly, once more spreading her fan and making a show of wafting it in her face. "Next month."\n\n"I... really need some credits now," you admit heavily, then make a 'c'mon' face when she snorts and gives you a sarcastic 'Nooooo really?' sort of look. "Is there anything I can do?"\n\n"Mmm. Well, you could work here."\n\n"... Um." Your cheeks color for sure this time.\n\n"I could always use more waitresses... I pay a decent hourly, plus tips, though I forbid waitresses doing any 'extracurriculars'. Dancers, on the other hand, don't get an hourly wage, but they make considerably more in tips... and what they get paid for in a VIP room is their own business," she adds, covering her lower face again, but obviously deliberately letting you see her smirk before she does. "And you are a rather lovely dancer, Chika."\n\n"... um..." You murmur, glancing aside, your whole face red. "Anything... else at all?"\n\n"Well. I don't usually do this, but I suppose I could forward you, say, half your pay from the job," Lolina says slowly. "You'll have to sign a proper loan agreement, but you could walk out of here with the creds, if that's what you really need to see you through until the job."\n\nIt wouldn't solve your problems nearly as much, but 5,000 would, again, not only easily cover your rent but get the most pressing of your creditors off your back for at least a little while. However, you feel like you've been making that sort of decision a lot lately... and it's how you wound up in debt in the first place. Getting another loan on the assumption that the job will happen just as planned might not be the best idea... but then, at present, your other options are either waiting tables effectively naked, or dancing full naked on stage, because you really do need money fast and you're not sure you can afford to walk out on any way to get them right now.\n\n<hr>\n[[Waitress.|ChiLuck]]\n\n[[Dance.|ChiLuck1x3]]\n\n[[Take the loan.|ChiLuck]]

You've known enough dancers (or strippers, or whatever name you want to use) to know that they can make quite a few creds. The fact that they make them essentially right away, without needing to wait for payday, is another bonus... while you've seen it wreck a few people who got into a spiral of their own sort of bad decisions, you'd like to credit yourself with slightly more control. Being able to throw at least a little money at your creditors and start getting rent money back in your account within 48 hours would definitely be a huge bonus. After wrestling with it for a few more moments, you sigh and nod. "Okay, I'll dance for you."\n\n"Oh lovely," Lolina coos, rapping her fan lightly against her palm as a form of clapping. "I've soooo wanted to get you back onstage ever since your cousin's bachelorette party!"\n\nYour face goes rather red at the mention of the event where Lolina learned you can do the exact sort of dancing she requires for her club. See, your rebellion against settling down to be a good little Neokuza lady-in-waiting didn't start at the stroke of midnight on your eighteenth birthday when you decided to become a mercenary instead, it was a looooong series of events. One of which included a supposedly "innocent" poledancing class when you were definitely rather young for it. Let's just say it was a very effective way at making various peoples' blood pressure rise (you're going to insist on it being entirely from aggravation) that you were interested in doing it to and leave it at that. (Your swordmaster, however, found it quietly hilarious, which both frustrated and delighted you.) You'd put it largely behind you as just one of those youthful flights of fancy until the night of your cousin's (one of many) bachelorette party when, in a fit of drunken enthusiasm, you took to the stage and put on your own show, having considered the current dancer inadequate to the task. You did in fact keep (most of) your clothes on, but still. "Ah... yeah. Well, I guess so."\n\n"Now, I assume you haven't actually been practicing?" At your 'Seriously?' look, Lolina snickers and draws the thin silver cylinder of a datajack from within the folds of her dress and proffers it. "Here. This not only explains various aspects of working as a dancer at the club, but provides a recreation of the stage. You can practice and the program will give you a general rating for how you're doing, so you can at least make sure you're performing at base 'bring in the tips' level."\n\n"You just carry these around on you in case you hire a new dancer?" you ask, genuinely curious as you pluck it out of her fingers.\n\n"Oh I carry all sorts of fun jax around with me, sweetheart," Lolina assures you with a wink and a wide grin. "Do well and maybe you'll get to see a bit more of my library. Now, we technically open at official sunset every day, but I'd say you'd want to get here a bit before. New dancers don't usually get preem spots, so you'll want to go on several times when they can fit you in. But, being your good friend, I will talk to the scheduler and make sure you get at least one primetime dance, okay?"\n\nYou bite back the urge to say 'Thanks' so sarcastically that it might break your own personal record, since the more objective part of your brain realizes that she really is doing you a huge favor with that. So instead you just nod and give the datajack a little wiggle of acknowledgement before taking your leave.\n\nYou return home and make yourself something to eat... by which you mean you go to the extra step of filtering water you've already filtered and boiled one more time before putting it back in the boiler and unwrapping a ramen brick (flavor dust incorporated into the noodles, no oil packet). Yeah, that's where your finances are right now. Still, once the ramen's finished steeping and you sit down on the couch with it, you can't help but brood that you've been brought to the point of not just eating the second cheapest ramen the bulk store carries, but to stripping to make ends meet. 'This is some stereotypical "floundering in your twenties" bullshit,' you almost growl around a mouthful of still slightly cardboardy noodles.\n\nStill. It's where you're at. So after a quick shower to get some of the club smell off, you pull on a comfy top and some panties before plugging in the datajack and lying down, closing your eyes before activating it. There's a faint rushing sensation, and you find yourself standing in the main room of Lolina's club... in said (fairly small) top and panties. The reflexive embarrassment and shock is only slightly blunted by knowing it's a simulation and that the place is completely empty, though at least you're distracted as someone comes sashaying over.\n\nShe's about as tall as you are, with almost floor-length purple hair tied back from her face a bit with an elaborate black ribbon. Her skin is a rich tan that would look fake even if she weren't part of a program (no one can tan naturally on Makarzia), with a lot of it shown off due to her wearing a fairly tiny purple bikini top over her large breasts, the bottoms of which are shown off near-completely by the equally tiny little shiny black booty shorts she's wearing hugging her wide hips and full ass, with long legs sheathed in a pair of high-heeled black boots.\n\n"Hiiii!" she chirps, lifting a hand in a little wave with a jingling of multiple bracelets. "I'm Basic Bitch, the training AI, and I'm here to get you acquainted with being a dancer for the faaabulous Lolina!"\n\n"Yeah. Hi," you say with a heavy sigh.\n\n"Awww, you're gonna hafta adjust that attitude, sweetums!" Basic Bitch chirps, putting her gaudily-painted fingernails to her cheeks and miming pushing them up into a smile. "Strippers that are dead inside might pass muster in some cred-a-pour dive where the only reason to watch a naked person dancing is to lower the chances of a thought occurring, but this is a nice place! You have to be able to be at least a little convincing that you're enjoying yourself or your score will go to shit!"\n\nUgh, that's right... Lolina said this program would rate your performance and judge whether you were up to the minimum standards of her club, and clearly it won't just be rating your physical movements. So you take a deep breath, center yourself, and manage a smile.\n\n"It'll do for a start, hon," Basic Bitch says almost sympathetically, patting you condescendingly on the head and making your expression go flat again. "Now, while you can come in through the club, the fabulous Lolina-"\n\n"Did she program you to call her that every single time?" you interrupt.\n\n"Yes," Basic Bitch answers, a twitch showing at the corner of her eye, something slightly crazed coming to her smile for just a second. "Anyway, the fabulous Lolina does allow you to come in through the club, but she prefers you use the back entrance! Wink, wink, nudge," she adds, giving you several bumps with her elbow and exaggerated winks before she trots back out through the main entrance.\n\nOut here it's similarly deserted like inside... well, mostly. There's a simulated bouncer at the door, making you blush a little to be seen in your undressed, casual state... well, also you hesitate some at walking around on Makarzian streets barefoot. But apparently the simulation isn't that realistic, and it basically feels the same as the club flooring as you follow Basic Bitch around to the side alley. There's another bouncer standing at the mouth of it, and then a third at the staff entrance... man, Lolina doesn't skimp on the security. But then she is rather infamously involved in fairly open feuds (bordering on actual combat) with several other club owners, so that might explain it.\n\n"I'll send the door's authenticator code app to your implant," Basic Bitch chirps, with you feeling that weird sort of tingly rush that comes with a knowledge upload as she pulls the door open and sashays inside. "Now, this is the dressing room," she notes as she shows you into a, well, dressing room with a number of vanities scattered about, some lockers and chests, a couch, and several doors. "There's a couple of showers and a bathroom through there. Oh, right, I should mention, no hard chems while on the premises," Basic Bitch continues, while you try not to think of why the note of no hard chems would be linked to the mention of the toilet in her programming. "This door leads to the VIP area hallway, and this door leads to the stage! Now, as to the dressing room, you'll be given a locker, though you need to bring your own lock; anything you keep in there is private and your own business, though again, don't even bring hard chems on premises. Anything left in the boxes and on the counters out here is considered free to use, though try not to take too much of it home with you; we run all the clothing we can find in the public spaces through a cleaner every day, but y'know, your own judgement on if it's cool. Otherwise you need to provide your own outfits."\n\nBasic Bitch then turns and gestures to a small rack installed on the wall next to the VIP area door, with lines of datajacks with small, dome-shaped red caps on the outside end. "These are the distress buzzers. You can feel free to wear one whenever you're on the job in the club, though you're required to wear one if you go to a private show in the VIP area. You can summon a bouncer at any time with these. If a customer is being too handsy or rough or won't take 'no' for an answer, summon a bouncer to take care of it. Oh, and don't walk off with them, they don't work outside the club and if you lose one you have to pay for it, and honey they ain't cheap."\n\nOof. "Got it." Then you pause. "How handsy is 'too handsy'? Like is there a certain amount of handsiness I have to allow?"\n\nBasic Bitch smirks a bit at that. "This is a touching-allowed club, so they're allowed to place their hands on your hips or ass and squeeze those, gently, or to give your breasts brief, gentle squeezes. Anything beyond that it's your call, though there's not supposed to be any full sex acts in the club itself... buuuut let's say that's a rule that gets looked the other way on a lot. It's advised to give them a light warning if they're being too rough or going too far, but like I said, anything beyond that or what you're willing to allow, your call. Anyway, let's go take a look at the stage!" she chirps, whirling and marching out through the marked door.\n\nYou follow her through a fairly short hallway and into a wide but not very long setup area, and then out through some sliding doors and onto the stage. It's a sort of three-pronged one with a long, mildly suggestively-shaped 'runway' stage down the center ending in a large circular area with a pole in the center (retractable, from the looks of it), and two other spherical stages without the runway, also with retractable poles. "Now, when you're up to dance, you of course go to the main stage," Basic Bitch chirps, doing an absolutely perfect Stripper Strut right down the runway and casually grabbing the pole, swinging herself into an almost full vertical position as she does a spin around it and stops facing you again. "You do your little dance, make them feel some love, get down tonight. Then you come back down the runway, and one of the sub-stages will have a green light angled so you can see," she continues, flitting her finger upward toward said lights to draw your attention. "You go to that stage, and it's preferred that you dance for at least the next song, but even more preferred that you dance until someone else comes to use that stage."\n\n"So two songs after yours."\n\n"Pretty much yeah! It's not a hard requirement, just that the fabulous Lolina does like to have all three stages filled when possible. Sometimes if we've got one of them free they'll tell the girls in the dressing room and you can pick up an extra dance or two that way. A lot of girls actually mostly do the sub-stages because since it's not your songs you're not expected to do a full-fledged routine, you can just kind of get up there and shake your T&A to the beat."\n\nYou nod slowly. "And after?"\n\n"After you're done on the stages, you can either go out into the club to give lapdances, though admittedly you're competing with the waitresses there since they're allowed to give those too, or you can go back to the dressing room, orrrr you can entertain private room offers!" she chirps, purple eyes glittering. "Here, let me send you-"\n\n"The app, right," you say with a sigh, actually grimacing a little at the feeling of another upload. God, who knew Makarzian strippers had to carry so much in their implant storage? At this rate you're gonna hafta squeeze out some money to get a bigger braindrive installed.\n\n"I also sent you the one for referencing and queueing up songs from the database. We have a DJ but with it being a 'show up as you like' sort of place for most of the dancers, it's too much hassle to coordinate with them for everybody's music, so you've gotta find the song in our database and register it in the queue for when you're due on yourself. If you wanna add one we don't have you have to pay the registration fee."\n\n"Kinda seems like there are parts of this job that keep costing money," you grumble, folding your arms under your chest.\n\nBasic Bitch raises an eyebrow. "Aren't you, like, a mercenary? What do guns and ammo cost?"\n\n... Okay well she's got you there.\n\n"Alright, so obviously a lot of people like to be 'classic' and tip with physical creds," Basic Bitch continues, turning and gesturing to the main stage. "But if they're using cards or accounts at the side-stage stations, you'll see little green flashes from that station to show a tip of under twenty creds, yellow flashes for twenty to ninety-nine creds, and red flashes for a hundred or over. Most people who tip over 100 are going to be using our club account, and those 'supertips' will get registered in the same VIP app used to arrange private room offers. It's highly recommended you give them some interaction in return... even just a text message saying 'Thank you'. Of course some girls give more personalized interaction, such as full texts, or a selfie, or even more... there's plenty of dancers that only have to come in a couple of times a week, but by having a reputation as being very good to the supertippers, they get a lot of red flashes."\n\n"Hunh," you murmur, turning that one over in your head a bit. Not that you want to be doing this long enough to cultivate a following, necessarily, but your nature as a mercenary at least makes you consider how to get the highest return on anything.\n\n"Physical credits dropped on stage get sucked up by the static fields around the stages and then dispensed to you backstage by using your authenticator code, to keep them from being a tripping hazard and whatnot, or, y'know, if you strip enough that you don't have any place left to stick 'em," Basic Bitch says with a mild leer, making you blush a bit again. "As long as the bits of your costume aren't too heavy, same thing there. Now, before they're dispensed, and obviously with the digital credits, the club's cut is subtracted before you see them paid out."\n\n"Which is?" you ask rather heavily.\n\n"Ten percent weeknights early on either end, twenty percent preem hours and weekends," she chirps with a smile, making a little 'W' gesture to frame her face as you give her a sour look. "It's actually super generous, babe, there's places in Sparkle City that charge up to fifty or even more. Bad part, this is a legit business no matter how many Night Creatures we serve, so we also have to subtract taxes for you."\n\n"Damn."\n\n"I knoooow, so sad! Still, we've supplied lots of different ways for you to make money, and, y'know, make us money, so it's plenty easy to do volume. Now, I think that's just about everything about the dancing stages. What do you say before we continue on to the private rooms, we do that dancing review to make sure your skills are up to snuff?"\n\n"Er... right now?" you murmur, squirming a little.\n\n"Gotta be sometime, babe! You know you're gonna be actually stripping in front of a real crowd soon, and part of the point of this program is to get you over any shyness! You'll need to score the minimum on an empty club, then on a simulated full one, before I can give you a passing grade and we can move on!"\n\n<hr>\n[[Sigh, fine.|ChiLuck1x4]]\n\n[[Ennnnnh...|ChiLuck]]

"Eh, I think you're right," you say with a sigh, rubbing the back of your head. "Maybe we're already in a 'now or never' sort of situation."\n\n"Kinda seems like it. As it is we were gonna hafta sleep in the ship tonight anyway," she points out dryly. "May as well do it in space waiting for Huwhin as anything."\n\n"When you're right you're right," you agree with a shrug, moving to sit down on one of the passenger seats. (You can't help but avoid the one that you used back when you originally got knocked out and abducted. You really kind of wish the bug crew had removed it entirely, and considered asking them too, it just seemed a weird unnecessary expense.) "Alright, take us up."\n\nNyna settles into the pilot's seat and goes through the liftoff sequence, making a few pleased little noises as she does. "Gotta hand it to the bugs, they can really get in there for the panel work like nobody else. This thing's running smoother than it did the first time I sat down in it."\n\nYou resist the urge to make some quip about whether she kidnapped someone else that first time, and instead just pay attention to the noises of the ship yourself. ... She's right, it does sound like it's running a lot better than it was. You guess the combination of new parts and deep work really did the trick. Nyna takes the ship up and the two of you spend a little while assessing the spacelanes before picking the most likely approach for Huwhin's ship. Once you've decided, Nyna puts the ship in low power mode and it hangs near-silent in the darkness, with the two of you in the dim, quiet interior, just waiting.\n\nThe two of you take turns sleeping, otherwise just sort of tensely waiting. But eventually Nyna whispers "There" and points out the front viewport, the systems powered down enough that visual identification has a slightly longer range. You lean forward, picking out the shape against the stars and the details as it gets closer to the planet and further into the sunlight, then nod.\n\n"Yeah, that's Huwhin's dreadnought," you murmur. "Okay, let's go."\n\nNyna nods, starting to slowly direct just enough power to the systems and then nudge the ship forward into Huwhin's approach vector, apparently intending to let your paths intersect with a minimum of power use. But then a moment later she swears loudly, and you can almost immediately see why... Huwhin's ship is tilting and coming about. "Dammit!"\n\n"Did he make us?!" you snap.\n\n"I don't know, maybe! Whether he did or not, he's definitely coming about and making for jump range again!" she snaps back. "What do we do?!"\n\n<hr>\n[[After him!|ChiDD4x1]]\n\n[[... Break it off.|ChiDD2x10]]

"No offense, but I think I might just go crazy if I was cooped up in here doing nothing but focusing on how I've been radically changed from my real body," you note dryly.\n\n"Hm. Really? I've done that plenty of times," your father replies in a genuinely confused tone.\n\nYou start to respond immediately, pause, and both you and your mother give him a somewhat long look. Then you quickly shake your head and say, "I think it'd be a better idea if I stayed in the game as much as possible. You never know, I might come across a solution to my problem by complete coincidence while I'm on another case or adventure."\n\n"Yes, I've often found that to be the case as well," Excalibur says cheerfully, Multi-Core grumbling quietly about how unscientific that assumption is, but since he doesn't actually speak up you have to assume that he's noticed the pattern as well. \n\n"I'll go activate one of the sleeper bases," your father says aloud, turning and walking away. "Ideally one outside the city enough to give you plenty of privacy with your new appearance, but close enough to be convenient to fly to and from."\n\nYou nod after him, then look back at your mother. You notice she's being very firm now about keeping her eyes on your face, and that her ears are still just a tad pink. Trying not to be distracted by strange but ever more insistent thoughts (which seem to simmer through your brain along with that faint, constant heat of arousal you've been trying to learn to ignore), you clear your throat and say, "So do you think I should tell my friends who I am? Hero-side, I mean."\n\n"Hm." Your mother lifts a hand to curl her fingers around her perfect chin, frowning thoughtfully and apparently giving it serious consideration. Then she shakes her head. "No, dear, I think we'd better keep the 'Knightsteed' story up with them as well, once we've nailed-" She coughs slightly. "Once we've firmed... once we've gotten it all worked out." You definitely do not notice that her nipples have gotten stiff through her top because you are keeping your own gaze exactly on her face as well. You're starting to wonder, though, if your '+Libido' came with enhanced pheremones as well, or if your mother's just more susceptible due to her supersenses. "Most superheroes understand the importance of identsec between super and civilian identities very well, but when it's multiple super-identities they tend to be a little more lax, in a lot of cases. If someone doesn't think it's a particularly big deal to let it slip to a trusted friend that Knightsteed is actually Caliburn, and they tell someone they trust-"\n\n"Soon the entire superhero community knows, from there the press figures it out, and we're back to having to worry that someone will notice that Caliburn turned into Knightsteed about the same time Morgan Mekborne went on an extended leave," you say flatly, letting out a gusty, slightly whinny-like sigh.\n\n"Unlikely it would go that far, but it's possible. So for that reason best to keep your cover even with your friends... there might be a few hurt feelings over the deception when and if it ever gets revealed, but they all understand how this life works, I'm sure they'll forgive you. Ah, here's your father," she says, putting just a bit more rush on the words than is really necessary as both of you return to the black and blue-clad hero.\n\n"I've activated the northwest farm, it has adequate lab and fabrication facilities as well as all the other necessary amenities. I've added you to the system there and transferred its ownership to you," your father notes with a sort of finality.\n\nYou nod at that... your father's very, very thorough about his own identsec (which often makes you wonder how he can quite stand to be married to someone who doesn't even wear a mask and relies almost entirely on people's natural tendency towards denial to keep her own identity secret); once another hero has even theoretically been seen using a base he set up, that base can never be even theoretically connected to Multi-Core afterwards by him reclaiming it. So sounds like you have a farm base now, whether you get turned back (anytime soon) or not.\n\n"I know where that one is, dear, I'll show you the way," your mother says in a chipper tone, turning and beckoning.\n\nYou follow her to one of the hidden exits and take off, quickly ascending to a height that should keep any of the city's denizens from noticing you and exclaiming about avians or airplanes. Soon you're approaching the other side of the city, where there's a handful of much smaller mountains scattered about. Tucked up close to the base of some of them is a fairly sprawling ranch... a horse ranch, you can't help but notice with a rather wry air. You wonder whether that's your father's usually carefully hidden (and often just slightly sadistic) sense of humor, or quite possibly a complete coincidence that he would genuinely not see the relevance of. Your father is often kind of... well, just say that he's not always the most emotionally or socially clued-in sort and leave it at that. There's a decent-sized ranch house that already has some lights on inside, a scattering of stables and other buildings, and a particularly large brick grain silo with a domed metal roof; it's this last that your mother starts descending towards.\n\n"Not the house?" you ask curiously as the two of you fly towards it, the dome starting to slide to the side and telescope into itself.\n\n"No, the house is purely part of the cover," your mother notes. "Staffed by androids, as are the other employees that live here... your father's usual thoroughness, they run the entire farm, have work schedules, the 'children' even take the proper homeschooling tests."\n\nYeah, that's... yeah, your dad reeeeally loves going into great detail on stuff like this. Maybe a bit too much detail. But. Y'know. The two of you descend into the top level of the "grain silo" and land on the plain, thick wooden floor. It's definitely a slightly 'roughing it' sort of hero lair. There's a bank of rather outdated (by Multi-Core's standards) monitors and computer interfaces, a basic toolbench, a minimalist kitchen area, and bathroom all set into the curve of the silo, the last only making a very minor nod to privacy by having a curtain that can be pulled around the toilet, the shower has completely clear walls. At least one part of the silo has been converted into a flat wall, though, by the installation of cabinets and wardrobe areas, and a couple of more secure super-equipment vaults; it's against this wall the bed is set. Luckily it's at least quite large, though otherwise as minimalist as everything else, a very simple wooden frame with a mattress with dark blankets more draped over it than properly made.\n\n"Trust your father to keep all the lab equipment and fabrication facilities up to date but neglect the living quarters," your mother says ruefully as she walks forward and bends over to pat some of the dust out of the blankets and smooth them out. Your eyes can't help but be drawn downward... her fairly short red cape rarely does much to cover her rear as it is, but bent over it's bared completely, the fabric of her white one-piece having ridden up slightly between the full roundness of her buttocks, the suddenly very thin-seeming material snug against the roundness of her crotch, seeming to whisper to you that she wouldn't be wearing such an easy-to-remove garment if it was meant to be any real obstacle to fucking her.\n\n<hr>\n[[Control yourself.|CalHM2x1]]\n\n[[Give in.|CalHM1x3]]

The moment you stop fighting the desire, it's like a great calm comes over you, a depth and certainty of purpose that washes away all doubt. With the release of your self-control, your cock almost instantly ensheaths and hardens fully in an instant, tearing through your already overstretched bodysuit with an almost silent srrrp of fabric. If Excalibur hears, it's too late, as you smoothly stride over to her and press one big hand to her back to keep her bent over, the other coming down to tear away the crotch of her costume, baring pink slit, puffy pale pussylips, and the small tuft of golden blonde hair at the front of her crotch. And still without a moment's hesitation, you cram the full length of your prick into her.\n\nShifting your grip to her waist, you start raping your mother with long, smooth, firm strokes, every single one making your hips impact against that big round ass hard enough to send wobbling tremors through it, as well as swing your hefty black balls up to slap against the front of her crotch. She's moaning for you to stop, that you can't, that it's wrong, but frankly none of her mouth-noises are worth acknowledging to you... at least until you hear the word "no" in there. You immediately bring one of your large golden-nailed hands up and swing it down in a firm superspank against one of those large asscheeks, sending it shaking and wobbling side-to-side instead of front-to-back for a moment, and leaving a large pink handprint in proof that your enhanced superstrength is more than a match for her invulnerability. The way her already sopping wet cunt squeezes around you, incredibly strong muscles briefly massaging around your equally superhuman flesh, certainly encourages you in delivering a fresh smack to her ass every time she dares to say "no" after that.\n\nYour balls continue to sway heavily below you, the slapping sounds of them striking against her flesh getting louder as they're steadily drenched by her overflowing pussy, the same for your hips striking that big beautiful butt as you slam into her. Having left her ass marked thoroughly with overlapping handprints, and not having heard a 'no' out of her in awhile anyway, you lean forward, hooking your fingers into that slutty, asking-for-it titwindow and yank, spilling free those fat superudders. Grabbing them, you start kneading roughly, indulging yourself in toying with the tits that tens of millions of men the world over have probably spilled their loads thinking of, but claiming them now as your own property. From this angle, you can see her face much better, her eyes slightly rolled-up and tongue poked out a bit, drool starting to run down the sides of her chin... whatever resistance or pride may be left in her mind, it's clear her body's loved every second of being raped by her horsified son.\n\nYou grip her thick, metal-stiff nipples in your strong fingers, pinching, twisting, pulling, listening to her squeal and yowl as you manage to get through that invulnerability and deliver some real sensation. You straighten up a bit and give the sides of her tits a few smacks before delivering more spanks to her ass, even as you start to thrust harder, really slamming her forward against the bed, making her cry out with every single thrust. You're almost certain that she cums from the spanking this time, not that you particularly care at the moment... but it does make you wonder just how long she's been longing, even subcosciously, for someone who could really fuck her and make her feel it. How often going up against some hulking, mutated monster with bulging radioactive muscles she's wished she might lose and it would pin her down and rape her right there in front of her husband and the TV cameras and the entire world, the naughty little slut.\n\nYou toss your head and let out a long, purely bestial whinny as you grip her waist and yank her back hard, burying your cock fully in her and grinding the opening of your sheath against her pussylips as you start cumming in her, the defender of the galaxy and rightful queen of an alien world writhing and screaming in whiteout orgasm as you use her as a cumdump. The first few gushes are forced right back out around the base of your cock, splattering all over your balls and across her and your thighs... but then those superstrong stomach muscles of hers begin to yield and her perfect flat belly gradually starts to round out, accepting its role as a receptacle for your load.\n\nEventually you pull out, as much to admire your handiwork as anything else, your still steel-hard prick springing free and wagging dripping in the air as you turn, still resting a hand on Excalibur's well-spanked ass. That beautiful, pristine superpussy has been fucked into a slightly gaping, completely cum-splattered mess, not a single part of it having been escaped being stretched or smeared with your load. Smirking at a job well-done, you step back in, hooking your hands under her hips and then flipping her forward onto the bed, your mother giving a surprisingly cute and helpless squeak of shock at the sudden motion. You grab her by the shoulders and haul her back towards you until her head is draped over the side of the bed. Her mouth opens, either in protest, plea, or possibly just submission, but whatever it is makes no difference to you as you press the wide-flared head of your prick to her lips and then past, watching the obscene bulge of it disappear down her throat as you push in, not stopping until her lips are kissing up against the flesh of your sheath.\n\nYou grab her weakly-flailing wrists and pin them down to the bed at her sides... less because you think she could provide any real resistance (or possibly that she even wants to) at this point, and more just because you want to emphasize that there's absolutely nothing she can do about you using her throat-pussy until you're satisfied. You begin using quick, firm, relatively short thrusts, wanting to emphasize and enjoy the slap of your hefty black balls against her face, let her feel the impact of the heavy equine orbs against that beautiful visage that's graced so many comic book covers and posters and charity programs. Plus you're fully aware you can keep your cock down her throat as long as you want without worrying about her choking or running out of breath... well, not that you'd be particularly worried about that just now anyway.\n\nAt first she struggles and writhes on the bed, kicking her feet surprisingly feebly, not doing much more than shaking those whorish superudders around for your amusement. Then, slowly, the struggles lessen, then cease, with her just laying there reflexively gulping at your cock with how deep you've shoved it down your throat. When those reflexive gulps turn to deliberate ones, along with rolls and strokes of her tongue, you release her wrists, instead settling your hands on those large breasts. Ah... those tits that practically every thirteen-year-old boy (including you, might as well admit now) on this world and probably several other ones has dreamed of getting his hands on are now yours, your property, to do with as you please. You continue to squeeze, toy with, and occasionally slap them as your mother's face is splattered with her own saliva mixed with leftover cum from the thrusts of your cock into her wide-stretched mouth.\n\nBut rather than spilling your load down her throat, you pull out, your dripping cock wobbling above her face as the flared head pops back out of her lips again. You move forward, slapping it down between those fat superudders, your mother's hands coming up to obligingly press her tits around you as you thrust lightly, dragging your flare across her cum-and-sweat-soaked costume-clad belly as your balls smear across her face, her tongue jutted obligingly against them. But only for a few moments before you casually rip off the rest of her costume, leaving her in only her boots, and flop heavily back onto the bed, the frame creaking loudly with the impact but holding. You tuck your hands under your head and watch expectantly.\n\nIt doesn't take long, your mother wobbling as she sits up... and then obligingly obeying your silent command, getting up onto the bed and moving to straddle you, reaching down to bring your cock up to press that blunt, flared head to her pussy again. Then she slams herself down, starting to ride you hard, raping herself obediently on your prick as her tongue lolls out and her eyes roll up again, hands tucked behind her head so as not to interfere with your view of her fat tits bouncing. You smirk up at her, enjoying the sight, how you've rendered her helpless to resist the urge to pleasure herself on your massive pillar of horseflesh.\n\nBut soon you reach up, grabbing her arms and pinning them to her sides, taking over, moving her entire body as if she were nothing more than a cheap onahole bought online and shipped discretely to your door for use that night. You jerk yourself off using her body, pumping it up and down, turning your beloved mother, guardian of Earth and princess of Avellon, into little more than a $30 cocksleeve ordered off a site with a name like 'SuperFukholes.co', and feeling her cum repeatedly from it, eyes rolled up almost completely in her head and tongue flapping out limply, a brainless smile on that intelligent, aristocratic face. You start thrusting up into her as well, making sure that your hefty, more full-than-ever sack slaps up against that big glorious ass of hers, still marked with the fading imprints of your hands, and making her tits bounce hyperactively. You lose track of how many times you make her cum, since you never cared in the first place, but eventually let out another thunderous whinny as you shove up into her hard, her stomach bloating properly from the start this time as you once again use the womb that made you as a cum dump.\n\nAfterwards you lay sprawled on the bed, propped up on the pillows and watching as your mother dutifully cleans your balls and cock of the mixture of your cum and hers smeared all over them. She kisses all over them, never showing any hesitation or speaking a word, pretty blue eyes occasionally peeking up at you almost shyly as she orally bathes your half-hard prick. Half-hard it is, but still plenty thick and firm enough that as she finishes tonguing off the blunt tip of the head, you put a hand on the back of her own head and push her down, having her swallow it until her nose is pressed to your sheath and that pretty, perfect point of a chin is rubbing your balls. You keep her there for a good ten minutes, letting her swallow and gulp and lick to her heart's content, before despite now being mostly-soft you feed her a third (admittedly smaller) load, her body writhing in pleasure, eyes closing in bliss as she swallows around you again and again.\n\nYour cock emerges from her sucking mouth as clean as it went in, and for a moment she just looks at you with lust-glazed eyes, her gaze glassy and just barely sentient. Then they clear a little and she says, in a hoarse, slightly thick voice, "I should go, your father will be wondering where I am."\n\n<hr>\n[["Ah... yeah..."|CalHM]]\n\n[["Yuh-huh, whatever."|CalHM1x4]]\n\n[["No, you're mine."|CalHM]]

"Uh no sorry catch you next time literally," you say quickly, practically two-foot galloping out the door, hearing a distinct whiney noise of disappointment coming from behind you as you take off and fly.\n\nOf course, the first thing you do is start heading for your father's secret hideout. You make sure to send an identification signal ahead... superhero nonsense means that there are, in fact, protocols in place for you to declare yourself to be actually you even if you've undergone vast changes in physical appearance, and make sure you don't get blasted or captured first thing. Following the hidden paths, you soon arrive in the Mainframe, your father's tech-laden hidden lair below the mountains just outside the city. You're pretty sure even you haven't seen all of it... the whole place is a massive complex that he's either constantly expanding, or simply hasn't seen any reason to reveal large parts of, or both.\n\nOf course, with that particular signal having been sent out, it's not long before both of your parents arrive to have a look, and are obviously rather stunned. Your mother is the very epitome of a somewhat stereotypical superheroine, tall, blonde, with a massive chest complete with boob window, wearing a snug white one-piece superheroine outfit with a red cape and thighhigh boots, a set of golden tines set in the braid atop her head to form a 'crown'. Your father, on the other hand, is virtually an electronic shadow, the smooth screen-bowl of his helmet covering his entire face... although the way he jerks back a bit when he sees you still shows just what a shock it is. A flurry of examinations through every method available to them... both technological, supertechnological, and even a few mystical... delivers some rather unfortunate news.\n\n"You mean I'm stuck like this?!"\n\n"For now," your father allows, his tone overly reasonable in a way that urges calm, and which you are unfortunately largely immune to due to overexposure to it. "This alteration is unlike anything I've seen before... and I and your mother have seen a lot of bodily alterations, trust me."\n\n"If I had a nickel for every associate of ours that's been turned into an animal or some variation thereof, I'd have $37.80," your mother notes dryly, resting her gloved hands on her hips. \n\n"... Including me?"\n\n"$37.85."\n\nYou raise your brows, then shake your head. "So great. There's no amount of holotech we've got that would allow me to pass as myself, even if we could get me back to 'human' with it, and even if we came up with some excuse for why Morgan Mekborne got turned into a massive horseguy, I think even the notoriously credulous citizens might start putting two and two together when they noticed that Caliburn had also been turned into a horse."\n\n"You're right, we're going to have to send your civilian identity on a trip of some sort," your father allows. "Leave the cover story to me, I'll do my best to make it palatable to all your civilian-side friends. You'll still be able to keep in touch with text and, once we rig up a proper voice changer, call. But as for the rest..."\n\n"Well. We could invent a new superhero identity for you," your mother notes, cupping her perfect chin and looking you up and down... you can't help but notice that her pretty blue eyes linger for a moment on your crotch, and that her ears pink a little bit before she quickly looks up. "We could say that you're from an ally of Avellon's... Planet Rhongo or somesuch... and you've come to look me up. Call you Llam-... no, that wouldn't work," she murmurs, eyes flicking downward again almost unnoticeably. "Ah, how about... Knightsteed?" Seeing that you seem rather dubious, she notes, "Or we could just look into booking you a vacation while we figure something out. There's the super-resort the Guardian Sentinels maintain in the asteroid belt, usually you have to be a member a bit longer to get access, but allowances are often made for special situations like this one. There's also a much larger, nicer resort I know of out in the wider galaxy, I've saved them from various forms of destruction at least three times so they certainly owe me."\n\n"Or you could simply lay low here," your father notes, not quite sounding disapproving of your mother's ideas (or at least not daring to). "It would give you plenty of resources to spend your time looking for your own cure, and I'm sure that you could consult with other Guardian Sentinels in hopes that one of them might have more luck undoing... whatever this is. One of them might even have some idea about the technology Deathtrap used and simply hasn't brought it up before."\n\n<hr>\n[[Become "Knightsteed".|CalHM1x2]]\n\n[[Go to the Guardian Sentinels resort.|CalHM]]\n\n[[Go to the space resort.|CalHM]]\n\n[[Lay low and search for a cure.|CalHM4x1]]

Well that's just patently obvious, isn't it?\n\nThey've already stepped outside the law, placing themselves beyond the bounds of polite society... sort of makes them fair game, doesn't it? And besides, by turning them into your mewling fucktoys who can't think about anything but cock and how to get stuffed with it, very clearly they'll have less time and motivation to commit crimes. They'll be too busy getting plowed by their mook armies to get around to trying to blow up the world or whatever.\n\nYes, this is clearly a much better idea than raping superheroines! Who could even argue? (And besides, is pinning someone to the floor and force-fucking them until their personality is irrevokably changed really in any way worse than locking them in a little cell or sticking them in some form of stasis with the intent of keeping them there basically forever? Currently, to your way of thinking, no it is not, in fact it is obviously far more humane and you will be a good person for doing it.)\n\nHm... now, the only real question is, should you wait for an "organic" opportunity to do so... meaning, when you come across villainesses out in the field... or should you actively seek them out? The former has its benefits in that if anyone sees you or gets onto you about it, you can always claim "heat of the moment" or perhaps "cultural differences"... after all, Knightsteed is supposed to be from an alien culture, you can always make the excuse that you fell back on your world's cultural norms. On the other hand, actively seeking out villainesses has the benefit of not only getting laid much sooner, but choosing ones whose resources and even cooperation could be of benefit (and of hitting them before you get a reputation).\n\n<hr>\n[[Wait for a villainess to cross your path.|CalHM]]\n\n[[Go hunting one.|CalHM1x7]]

Yeah, much better to get ahead of the whole thing and have at least one villainess under your thumb (or your balls) before you ever even debut in supersociety. You'll be able to take one by suprise, if nothing else.\n\nLet's see... for someone particularly powerful and with a ton of resources you could use, there's [[Queen Mean|CalHM1x8]], the actual queen and ruler of the small country Ulvavland. This naturally makes dealing with her as a supervillainess rather difficult... actually, why does every superhero seem so dedicated to respecting Ulvavland's sovereignity as opposed to every other nation that they seem to fuck with kind of freely? You never really thought about it before, all the other heroes do it so you just kind of do it too. Well, no reason to do it now, especially since she has a castle filled with superscience that would go a long way towards helping you establish your new superharem in all sorts of fun ways.\n\nHm... well, just for resources and helping you do some interesting things, you suppose you could also go back and "capture" [[Doctor Deathtrap|CalHM]]. She doesn't have such a well-established set base, but she does have all that weird technology, and admittedly the brains that could be used to trap other villainesses in a labyrinth and put them through some amusing sexy situations for you before you got around to fucking them into obedience. ... Yeah thinking about it now she was basically begging you to fuck her when you left, huh? Makes it a little weird, besides the deaging thing, but hey.\n\nThere's one other good option you can see... the supervillainess [[Huntress|CalHM]]. You suppose she's really more of a "supermercenary" since technically she has no problem working for heroes and against villains either, just that most heroes have too many scruples to pay her to be a good guy. (Apparently your dad actually did for awhile some years back, essentially giving her a paycheck so that she'd be part of a secondary hero team he set up. You're not sure why he stopped so that she went right back to taking villain jobs, but whatever.) She's usually borderline broke, so not exactly much in the way of resources, but she is very good at tracking down and taking down supers when she's got sufficient motivation. (You plan to make your dick all the motivation she needs, y'see.)

"I'll give you a call when I feel like using your holes again," you declare breezily, tucking your hands under your head.\n\nYou can feel her give a heavy shiver of desire, before she murmurs, "Yes milord" against your balls. After another moment she gets to her feet, actually wobbling just a little as if her legs were still rubbery, then rises into the air and flies out through the skylight... still naked, no doubt setting out to stealthily fly off to somewhere where she's got a spare costume stashed. You chuckle a bit, thinking of her flying about, the cold night air against her bare tits, your cum still dripping out of her pussy, completely exposed to the world in her well-fucked state.\n\nYour cock starts to harden a little again, and you absently wrap a hand around it and stroke it almost meditatively. Yes... yes, it's clear now to you. In fact, in this current moment, nothing has ever been clearer or easier to understand. Every single female superhero is nothing but a cock-hungry slut who just needs a good raping with a superhorsecock to unlock her inner free-use whore. If it was true of Excalibur, arguably the mightiest paragon of heroes on Earth, it can't possibly not be true of every lesser superheroine. Every single one of them is just waiting to be turned into an eager little piece of fuckmeat by your big, superpowered equine prick.\n\nNot that you want to fuck them out of being supers, oh no, no no no... that would be villainous! But obviously more mundane superheroics should be something they do in their spare time, while the rest of their time is spent on the much more important business of servicing cocks. Just imagine the massive uptick in male superhero morale if every one of his attractive female peers was ready, willing, and eager to play the whore to him however he liked at any moment? Not to mention all the villains that would likely find themselves satisfied with getting to rape a writhing, eager, begging-for-more superheroine and go off to jail with a smile on their face?\n\nIt's not just about the fact that you want to fuck every superheroine and make her into your mewling, subservient little bitch, oh no... this is civic duty. This is bringing a change for the better to the entire super community!\n\nPart of your brain tries to slam on the brakes. 'Whoa, hoss! Just going charging off on a stampede, aren't you? I mean sure you obviously can fuck every superheroine into a superfuckhole, a quivering, eager, constantly wet piece of sexual meat, a fuckanimal constantly in hea-... .... the point is, just because you can doesn't mean you should!'\n\n<hr>\n[[Well... that's probably true.|CalHM1x5]]\n\n[[... Nah that's exactly what it means, we're doing that.|CalHM]]

Hm... yeaaaaaaaaaah. Yeah, admittedly, that might be a little much. And sure, eventually everyone would thank you, but fucking all those superheroines... many of whom are married or otherwise attached, admittedly... might cause a few little social bumps in the short term.\n\nNo, no, you definitely can't go around raping superheroines...\n\n<hr>\n[[... you've already got the best one anyway.|CalHM]]\n\n[[... because clearly you need to be raping supervillainesses.|CalHM1x6]]

Kind of a MILF, tbh. (Not unlike your own, and look how much fun it was pounding her into a mewling mess.) Yeah... not only is the hot, big-titted older woman herself a fine prize, but she's got all that supertech (including a fair few varieties of power suppression devices), the castle, hell an entire country at her command. And all of that will be at your command once you've turned slobbering on your dick into her new purpose in life.\n\nMm, and there's another bonus too... her daughter, Princess Pain. A year or two younger than you, the Princess isn't usually at home much... supposedly she goes to the same college you do, in point of fact, though you've rarely seen her there. (Thankfully... you've become a pretty good actor to maintain your civilian identity, but actually having a conversation with one of your villains regularly might be a bit much.) Usually apparently she's partying it up in any city that hosts a Ulvavland embassy and where she therefore has diplomatic immunity and can't get in trouble for her own occasional bouts of supervillainy.\n\nNow there's a thought... should you try and take them down together, or one at a time? They're definitely a more formidable pair together... if they don't start arguing with one another, which has been their undoing more than once. You could probably get them both together at the castle if you sent the Queen some sort of direct challenge beforehand, making it sound sufficiently pompous and doubting of her power and authority that she'd feel compelled to call her daughter back home (if not to help, then at least to witness her putting down such a presumptuous challenger).\n\nOf course then there's the obvious that you could just storm the castle by surprise, take down the Queen solo, and then have her help you tame her own daughter. Somehow, there's not a doubt in your smug horseman mind that your dick is sufficient enticement to have the notoriously family-valued supervillainess tie down her own daughter for you to do with as you like.\n\nHm... or go the other way around. The Princess would obviously be a lot easier to get to, and would then no doubt be familiar with the castle's defenses and layout. Even if your dick wasn't essentially so superpleasurable that it could induce such treason, the Princess is equally notoriously fickle and has more than once helped a hero out just because it would ruin her mother's day when they were squabbling.\n\nSo how to go about it?\n\n<hr>\n[[Get them together.|CalHM]]\n\n[[Get Queen Mean first.|CalHM1x9]]\n\n[[Get Princess Pain first.|CalHM]]

Hm, much better to hedge your bets by taking on the stronger of the pair solo... besides, you like the idea of the once-haughty queen cooing and purring adoringly at you as she holds her daughter down for you to rape into sluttiness.\n\nWhile you actually feel quite energized, and now more eager than ever to set out, you do realize that technically it's been a long day... plus, it's the middle of the day in Ulvavland right now. Striking deep in the night would be better... even if not for the element of surprise, it just seems like it would fit more thematically. Resisting the urge to jerk off to the thought of having the beautiful, wicked ruler of an entire country swallowing your dick to the root and trying to get it further down... want to save as much cum for her as you can, after all... you settle your mind and go to sleep.\n\nYou don't sleep for long, but then you don't really need to. Besides, there are a few more things you need to do before going to conquer a country, essentially. The main one being to design yourself a new costume... you still intend to become 'Knightsteed' after all. (Heh, or maybe 'Kingsteed' would be better, hm?) You head down to the fabrication labs and spend a little while on it, deciding to go relatively simple and even slightly barbaric, since you do sort of have the build and the overall look of overwhelming masculinity for it. You design a golden belt draped with long gold-trimmed black supercloth flaps in front and back... you don't bother to make anything to go between them and instead elect to swing free, your cock making a nice obvious bulge in the front flap at all times. (After all, it's not like your dick's any less invulnerable than the rest of you.) You also design some matching golden gauntlets and pauldrons, held on (partly) by a set of black straps going across your massive muscular chest. A bit of matching shin armor, and then a barding-style mask (not that there's much point to hiding your identity like this, but it just looks good). You made the armor in vaguely Avellonan style, partly because it's what you're familiar with and because that is supposed to be part of the cover story.\n\nWell, also you like to think of yourself fucking your mother again while wearing it, she'd probably get off on that. Maybe you'll fuck her in the ass while declaring you the new King of Avellon you think with an amused snort. (It's basically a bunch of space rocks now, to your understanding, but still.)\n\nGlancing at the clock and judging the time in Ulvavland... ah, with flight time you should get there in the deep of night, perfect. You take off and quickly gain altitude, flashing through the sky and, as you might have expected, enjoying the feel of the supersonic breeze on your essentially bare cock and balls. Every male superhero would do this if he wasn't a coward, you think smugly.\n\nSoon you're drawing in towards Ulvavland, a country about the size of a largeish theme park and its parking lot. Rimmed on all sides by natural borders to enhance its isolationism, there is of course the looming castle nestled in against one side of the mountains, probably designed to keep the town below in its shadow even if the mountains didn't do that already for most of the day. As you get closer you can hear alarms start to go off and see some flashing lights begin, but it's too late... your approach was too speedy and timed too well to the dark of night, and you smash your way in through one of the upper walls.\n\nNo doubt Queen Mean will be in her throne room, you muse... not already, probably, but within a few minutes. She'll of course want to make her stand there and prove how just not-threatened she is, rather than retreating to some secret bunker or saferoom. You stride down the hall, largely ignoring a handful of defense lasers that emerge from slideaway stones in the walls, doing little more than feeling a bit heated on your equine-enhanced hide. You still smash them as you go by, more for form than anything else (and they were pretty annoying, to be honest).\n\nYou largely brute force your way through a handful of other traps and defenses, before you round a corner and are confronted by the sound of multiple blaster rifles being lowered and primed. Ahead of you is a contingent of extremely attractive women in extremely skintight suits of black and grey rubber-like material, their upper faces covered by combat visors but the tops open to show a variety of haircolors and styles. "You are violating Ulvavland's sovereignity! Stop in the name of the Queensguard and surrender!" the one with shortish blonde hair towards the back of the contingent, whose own rifle is still pointed upward, declares with an imperious wave of the hand.\n\nOh, right, did you not mention? One of your other reasons for choosing to capture Queen Mean is that Ulvavland is a strict matriarchy, with an extremely high ratio of women to men in the population, and that most of the women are absolutely gorgeous... and the most attractive and fit among them are selected for Queen Mean's Queensguard, trained and further physically enhanced into a very... durable... fighting force. You smirk at them, rolling your shoulders and giving a subtle shift of your hips that makes your cock sway visibly beneath your loincloth... though their eyes are covered, you can still see some of them react with varying degrees of shock, scandal, disgust, or arousal. (In some cases a mix of any or all of them.)\n\nApparently taking that as an answer, the guard captain bellows, "FIRE!" and swings her own rifle down.\n\nYou fly upwards and over at least part of the first barrage, since the rifles are obviously a bit more potent than the simple defense lasers or they wouldn't have bothered bringing them out... a supposition supported by the few glancing shots you take. They're not actually enough to do any damage, but you guess they might feel kind-of-sort-of almost close to pain. You quickly drop down into the midst of them, sending them scrambling or stumbling with the strength of your impact. That does seem to have nicely interrupted their squad formation too, the captain barking maneuver orders that they're somewhat struggling to implement in the hallway with how much room you take up.\n\n<hr>\n[[Take them out, quick and clean.|CalHM1x10]]\n\n[[Take a few moments to brag.|CalHM]]

[[April Dev Diary|Apr2023DD]]\n\n*Main: Continuing Michika with [[Ramses|ChiGH4x4]].\n*Main: Michika can tell Heiloh to make the Cutlass drone [[imposing|ChiGH1x4]].\n-Update 2-\n* More Michika and Smaug.\n-Update 3-\n* More Michika and Ramses. Now she can just be slutty with him from the get-go.\n*Main: Leo has a new [[retrieval|LeoJobListRetrieval]] job available.\n*Main: New male character Jason and female character Jane have been added.\n*Main: Riley can agree to become Tassita's [[co-streamer|Riley1x5]]. \n*Main: New female character Addi has also been added.\n-Update 4-\n*Main: Michika has a new [[reinforcement job|ChiGH5x1]].\n*More Jane.\n*More Riley.

"His wife," you say, your eyes drilling directly into Oscar's green-gold ones, knowing that Ozma is looking out of them. "His immortal, evil, tormented fucking wife that he's only here on this world to defeat."\n\n"I-" Ozma starts.\n\n"DON'T! SAY! ANYTHING!" you snap back, clenching your fists until your fingernails dig into your palms. You squeeze your eyes closed and look down. "Just... don't say anything. For awhile. ... Give Oscar back, please," you whisper.\n\n"... Yes. Alright," Ozma whispers, bobbing his head, two tears sliding down his cheeks before the more mature set of his eyes fades, leaving a shocked and shaking fourteen-year-old boy in his place.\n\n"Kai?" Reese murmurs, stepping close and reaching out a hand.\n\n"For godsakes don't touch me," you whisper, turning and stalking off into the kitchen before she can make contact.\n\nYou drop into a chair heavily in the kitchen, slumping forward with your face in your hands, trying desperately not to break down completely. You shudder a little when you hear another chair scrape, and a moment later Qrow whispers, "You okay, kid?"\n\n"You mean other than just getting my damn body hijacked by physical Satan?" you mutter, rubbing your face. Then you drop your hands, staring at the tabletop morosely. "... I saw, Qrow. When she was inside me, I saw what she was thinking, what she was feeling, and when she saw him, there was this... flood of everything, and some parts of it were so intense it felt like I was living it. I... I saw..." You raise your hands, staring at them as they shake, feeling like they might not even be your own. "I saw them fight... thousands of years ago, they fought, and... their children got caught in the crossfire." Your voice cracks as you add, "It felt like I was killing them."\n\n"Oh gods kid," Qrow murmurs, his eyes wide.\n\n"I need a minute... I just... need... a fucking minute." Your chin quivers a little and your shoulders shudder. "Could you... tell everyone I'm sorry, please?"\n\n"... Sure, kid. Just... get yourself settled. Take all the time you need, okay?" Qrow gently pats your shoulder, which you try not to shudder at, then stands and heads back into the other room.\n\n[[Music|https://youtu.be/MNtWM3ZYMQo]]\n\nYou try to push the images away... more than the images the feelings, the intensity of everything Salem felt in that moment when she saw Ozma again face-to-face (sort of). It just feels like the more you try to push them away, the more the anger and pain wrap around your hands like tar and get pulled back onto your skin as you try to draw away. And moment by moment, there's a feeling, something churning, like being vaguely aware of a giant bundle of ink-black snakes directly below your feet, writhing across together, bodies knotting and unknotting, rising ever closer to the floorboards, wanting to reach out, wanting to-\n\n"FUCK!" you suddenly shriek, coming to your feet so abruptly the chair crashes to the ground. Immediately Qrow and Ruby rush into the room, but you're already turning and striding away, stalking towards the pantry.\n\n"Kai? What's wrong, are you okay? Kai?!" Ruby calls as she hurries after you.\n\nYou don't answer, feeling like that writhing mass of midnight is starting to push its way through the floorboards and into the soles of your feet, crawling across your bones as they head for your brain, and it's making you... angry. You don't even think about it as you shove Kaaya's remains out of the way and yank the chain off the doors, Ruby giving a cry of shock and warning as you throw them open.\n\n"Kid, stop!" Qrow calls as you slam down the stairs, not listening, barely even hearing him as you descend into the darkness, finding it almost feels like a cool salve on your too-heated skin to step out of the light and away from everyone else.\n\nYour feet hit the stone floor of the cellar below, and you stare into the black... and see red lights staring back, low groaning building as shapes start to vaguely separate from the darkness, shuffling forward, bodies flopping spinelessly with their steps, loose, seemingly unconnected jaws swaying, their skull masks crowning the top halves of their heads looking more like grisly mementos of those they've slaughtered. Ruby drops to the floor, grabbing for your arm, and draws in a soft gasp of horror as she sees the Apathy, how close they are, how near they're getting, slowly, inexorably shuffling towards you, her silver eyes terrified and yet slowly starting to grow glassy and dull as the things draw nearer, the one in the lead giving out a soft groan that begins to rise to a howl as its head cants to the side.\n\n<img src="images/Apathy.png">\n\n"SHUT UP!" you shriek back at it, at all of them, feeling a cold flash rush across your skin, your words seeming to carry forward past their moaning and rush off into the caverns beyond.\n\nAnd every single one of the Apathy instantly falls silent.\n\nYour lips pulling back from your teeth in a snarl, you jerk your head forward and howl, "DIE!"\n\nAnd without a sound, they just... do. They wisp away to the side like smoke blown away by the breath of your cry, like dust brushed off the lid of an undisturbed tomb. They don't even move, just standing as they are, still and silent as they crumble away to nothing and disappear, as if they too had been drained of all desire to live.\n\nYou slump forward, breathing hard and shuddering. That... feels better. That feels much better. Honestly you feel kind of... good. You raise up both hands to rub over your face and run your fingers through your hair, before looking aside at Ruby staring at you. "What?"\n\n"I..." Ruby stares back and forth between you and the empty space ahead of you where the Apathy were. "Kai what did you do?"\n\nYou open your mouth to answer, then blink. You find yourself turning to stare at that empty space as well. "I... what did I do?" you echo, your breath catching a little in your chest. "What just happened?"\n\n"You... you told them to shut up and they did. ... Then you told them to die and they did," Ruby murmurs, shivering visibly just a little. "How did you do that?"\n\n"... Dunno," you admit, shaking your head. "I just... I could feel them and that was bothering me, so I just... ... I dunno, Rubes." You rub your upper arm a little, then add, "Let's get the hell out of here, it's cold."\n\n"Don't have to tell me twice." Giving another slight shiver, she hurries back up the steps ahead of you.\n\n"Hey, what happened?" Most of the group is either crowded into the pantry or pressed just outside the doorway. Yang quickly hugs Ruby as she returns. "You just suddenly went down there and now it's... I dunno, quieter."\n\n"Um. They're gone," Ruby says. "The Apathy are."\n\nYang blinks. "You mean they're dead?"\n\n"They're..." Ruby trails off, then just nods firmly.\n\n"Maybe Salem left behind a little of her control over the Grimm when she left me," you say after a moment, looking down at your hands. "Enough for me to get rid of the Apathy. I know I was... feeling... them differently. It's probably just some lingering side effects," you add with a tired shrug and exhausted smile. "Probably be gone in the morning."\n\n"... I hope so," Qrow says after a moment, shaking his head. "Not that commanding Grimm to die isn't useful, but you about scared us to death, kid."\n\n"Sorry about that." You grin wanly at him, and the others, before sighing a bit. "I seem to be saying that a lot tonight."\n\n"It's been a hell of a night," Grey assures you. "Let's just all get some sleep and get out of here in the morning. I know I'd be fine as hell with never mentioning anything that happened at this place ever again." \n\nIn the morning a trailer is found and Bumblebee modified to pull it, both needing to be worked on a bit to work in the deeper snow but the work going smoothly, everyone quietly focused and seeming eager to get the fuck out of the settlement, Apathy or no. Reese rigs up a sort of towline to attach to the back of the trailer so she can ride Lioncub and free up more space for people inside, and the group sets off towards Argus (hopefully).\n\nIt might be your imagination, but it kind of seems like the others have edged away from you... just a little. ... Well, you did try to kill everyone last night, you think morosely. And then do some weird Grimm controlling thing. Probably makes sense they'd be a little skittish. Just... you just have to hope that they settle down. These are your friends, your family... though you never quite got the courage to talk to Qrow again last night about the whole... y'know. Thing you said. Nor to Ozma about what you revealed to everyone, which might explain the far-off look in Oscar's eyes.\n\n"Troubles, girl?" Maria speaks up, glancing at you.\n\n"Y'think?" you say back quietly, giving her a slightly sour grin.\n\n"Mm. Well, certainly a fair bit of this is my fault... I didn't think to warn you when guiding you through the meditation that there are some things to be careful for. In my defense, it seems you have an incredibly rare gift, almost as rare as silver eyes. That of an Aura Linker."\n\n"Huh, really?" Ruby asks with a blink. "As rare as my eyes?"\n\n"... What?" Maria blurts, her cybereye shutters blinking.\n\n"Not to be self-centered, but can we focus on...?" you prompt.\n\n"Ah, yes. Well we should talk about that other thing too! But an Aura Linker forms connections between their Aura and that of others. Some of them are natural and happen without trying, other things take effort and practice. So I hear... I'm not one myself, but I've known one or two in my time. But you have to shield yourself from certain outside influences... from descriptions, this 'Salem' character is one of them. Hijacking Aura Linkers is apparently a specialty of hers."\n\n"... Mm." You give a little nod, looking off to the side.\n\n"Just... be careful, girl," Maria continues. "You made her leave on your terms, not hers, which is a damn sight better than her hurting anyone, but it also means that the link wasn't broken cleanly. Just... watch yourself. But you seem like a strong girl... keep your head on straight and your heart true and I imagine you'll be alright."\n\n"You'll be okay, kid," Qrow assures you warmly, reaching over to clap a hand down on your shoulder. You tell yourself it's your imagination that he's forcing himself to do it.\n\n'They understand. They've been through this weird shit before. They all love Oscar despite Ozma lying to them before, this is just... shit, half's probably in your head, half's probably just them being rattled. Just give it time and keep your head clear like Maria said, you'll be okay, they'll be okay,' you assure yourself, closing your eyes and leaning your head back.\n\nYou just let your consciousness drift for awhile, until you hear Reese call, "We've picked up an admirer!" Opening your eyes and turning a little, you quickly spot a Beowolf loping along through the trees. A fairly big one, too, not quite Alpha sized but maybe getting there, especially since there aren't any more of them in evidence. Yang carefully guides her bike and the trailer to a halt, allowing Ruby to stand up easily and sight as the Beowolf comes to a halt as well, prowling about through trees looking as if it's still deciding the best way to attack.\n\n"Iiiii've got 'im," Ruby murmurs in a satisfied tone as she fixes her rifle in place.\n\n<hr>\n[["..."|KaiRem]]\n\n[["... Wait!"|KaiRem]]

Hm... Kashu's place is nice, certainly, but it doesn't feel like a place for a serious adventurer. Plus you'd feel a little bad about it if you ever wound up drawing attention to her... you get the feeling that sooner or later people are going to take notice of your strength and want to challenge you, so better if she doesn't get caught up in that. You'll send her a letter explaining and apologizing or something later. "Alright, I'll go with you guys to your place," you say.\n\nOran and Ouzen both perk up at that, tails flicking happily, apparently pleased that their Boss is going to partake of their hospitality. Gege looks a bit more uncertain, but after a moment shrugs in an 'I'm sure it'll work out' sort of way.\n\nOn the way there, Gege admits that none of them are really cooks, so you stop in at a tavern for some food. You do treat the others (albeit not that extravagantly) since that seems like the sort of thing a Boss should do, which does seem to further cement you in their minds as not just the Boss but the best Boss ever. They're all cheery and laughing and practically singing your praises on the way home.\n\n"Home" turns out to be a somewhat run-down house on the edge of the residential district, rather on the dirty side with an overgrown little yard and the shutters closed. Oof... yeah, not exactly as homey and cozy as Kashu's place, though admittedly it's bigger and probably used to be grander. The inside's a little bit cleaner and more kept-up, though still showing the mess of multiple not-very-tidy individuals living there. Oran and Gege mention that their sister doesn't allow them to let it get too messy, when she's here, but apparently she went off to tend to a matter of an autocarriage out on the road (which you take to mean she's robbing it, considering).\n\n"But anyway, it's got running hot water and built-in magic lights, and the walls are sturdy," Gege notes as she thumps her knuckles against a beam. "Not a lot more you could ask for, really, in Ebonarza. At least at our level."\n\nYou nod thoughtfully, and decide not to repeat her motion... wouldn't want to learn the hard way that A) the walls aren't as sturdy as thought and B) you're still stronger than you thought (though you get the sense that "Finesse Fighting" will help a lot with that). Gege shows you upstairs, and points out the bathroom, Oran's room, and her and Ouzen's room. "And this is Ranja's, but I guess since Oran's already offered it, it's yours until she gets back, Boss," she says, showing you the way over to one of the doors.\n\nWell it's certainly way bigger than your room at Kashu's, you have to admit as you walk in, having clearly been the master bedroom, and you guess still is. It's also messier than the downstairs, Ranja clearly not too worried about her own personal space being littered with bits and pieces of spare dungeon loot and dirty clothes (including, you can't help but notice, several pairs of panties and a few bras). Gege doesn't seem concerned about any of that either, just pointing out that there's probably spare sheets in the closet if you want to make up the (quite large) bed, and starting to leave.\n\n"So hey, what'll we do when your sister comes back?" you ask.\n\nGege pauses at the door, considering briefly, then shrugs. "Hey, you're the Boss, your job to figure that out," she says as she slips out.\n\n... Yeah, figures.\n\nYou glance after her, then carefully pick up one of the bras and hold it up. ... Ranja must be a big girl, in more ways than one. Gege's not exactly small... she's tall compared to a Human woman and has boobs that would certainly overflow your hands a bit, even if they're not as big as Kashu's or Nom's... but considering the size of the band and the bits of fur you can see on some of the clothes, you're betting Ranja is actually a Greater Tigerkin, unlike her siblings. (Well, that happens. Probably means their mom is Human. ... Or their dad was a particularly brave Human.) Well. Guess you'll handle it if and when you have to.\n\nYou sit down on the bed, glancing around at all the various bits of clutter, small decorations, and what looks like workout gear, specifically some (mostly improvised) punching bags and practice dummies. ... hm... you kinda wanna do something lewd, you muse as you flop back. Maybe it's the smell of a sweaty, worked-up female suffusing the room, or all the hot girls you've been encountering lately, or maybe even seeing a massive beast like the werelizard absolutely crazed with lust. You lay there just letting those thoughts turn over in your mind for a little while, kind of marinating in them. ... mm, what to do...?\n\n<hr>\n[[Go out.|Raz]]\n\n[[Go to Oran's room.|Raz]]\n\n[[Go to Gege and Ouzen's room.|Raz12x2]]\n\n[[Jerk off.|Raz]]

The married couple exchange another, more startled glance at that, before slowly looking back at you.\n\n... But, you did beat them. And you are the Boss.\n\nSo you're both not surprised and pretty delighted when Gege lowers her arms, showing off stiff pink nipples and a smooth-shaven slit, and Ouzen sets down the shirt he was folding and turns to reveal rather neatly-trimmed fur around the base of a fairly sizable cock. The two of them walk over to stand in front of you and, after a bit more hesitation, sink down to kneel in front of you, crowding together between your legs.\n\nYou 'mmmf' quietly in pleasure as Gege is the first to lean in, her mouth covering one of your balls and sucking it in, her tongue going to work rolling around it as she suckles. Ouzen gives a lighter, more tentative lick along your shaft, before dragging his tongue along it uncertainly, letting his lips brush it.\n\n"Mm... hey, Gege, you're gonna hafta teach Ouzen to do a little better, huh?" you say in a slightly breathy voice. \n\nGege lifts her head, nodding, giving a surprisingly breathy "Yes Boss" in reply, before gently nudging her shoulder against Ouzen's. "Honey, you should start with the balls first, like I do you. Here just kind of... roll your tongue," she murmurs, her cheeks going red again as she lifts a hand and gently urges her husband's head downwards, watching as he lolls his tongue out and rolls it around your testicle on the other side. "Y-yeah, there you go... then just sort of let it slip into your mouth... r-right..."\n\nSoon the wife is suckling your right nut while the husband suckles the left, the two of them gazing up at you as if constantly asking 'Are we doing a good job, <strike>Master</strike> Boss?' while their tongues and lips work you over. Eventually Gege lets the now thoroughly spit-shined egg drop from her mouth and moves upward, kiss-sucking along the side of the shaft, Ouzen soon following her example, his motions still a little less certain. You close your eyes and lean your head back, just enjoying the feel of their mouths on you, and the sounds of the sucking and licking and Gege occasionally giving murmured tips to her husband on how to properly service a cock.\n\nGege soon moves her mouth up to slide it over the head of your cock, again looking up and meeting your eyes as she starts bobbing her head up and down. Mmf... Ouzen must really enjoy her attentions, since she's quite good at it, and teaching him to be pretty good himself, you think with a grin down at her. She definitely seems to take that as encouragement, since she starts using longer, smoother bobs of her head. Towards the end, as you slide into her throat further and further, she gives her head a little wiggle and shake, tiger ears flicking as she pushes all the way down until her lips kiss around the root, Ouzen staring at her from two inches away as she does, his hot breath washing over your balls.\n\nGege stays down on you for several long moments before pulling back up and off of you with a gasp. She looks over at Ouzen, moving her head aside, and after only a brief hesitation he moves over and slides his own mouth down over your cockhead, yellow eyes similarly looking up to meet your own gaze. Gege rests her hand on the back of his head, guiding his motions and gently pushing him forward, her teeth nibbling her lower lip as she helps her husband take your cock into his throat. "There you go, honey, just relax," she murmurs, her tail lashing in obvious excitement, her voice a heated whisper as she helps him go further down. "You gotta take it all, baby, just get it all the way down... yeah there y'go, hon," she says with a little shiver as he similarly hilts you in his mouth, lips pressing around the root of your prick.\n\nShe holds his head down on you for almost as long as he stayed down, until he too starts squirming, when she lets him up. Almost immediately she replaces his mouth with hers, bobbing her head in quicker, more obviously eager motions this time, hilting you faster and then continuing to work it, bobbing her head with at least half your cock staying in her mouth. Then she pulls back, Ouzen moving in to do his best to copy her, husband and wife taking turns pleasuring you with their mouths in ever greater smoothness and similarity of skill.\n\n"Okay, that's enough," you announce breathlessly eventually, Gege pulling her mouth up and off of you, both of them settling and gazing up at you with those same slightly embarrassed expressions, but unable to hide the lust in their eyes. Mmf... you really wanna fuck one of them... or probably both of them... but where to start...?\n\n<hr>\n[[Fuck Gege.|Raz]]\n\n[[Fuck Ouzen.|Raz12x4]]

... Mm. You kinda feel like... really exerting your Boss privileges.\n\nYou get up and go ahead and strip out of most of your extraneous stuff... boots, bits of armor, belts, wrap... and wearing just your pants and shirt, pad barefoot out of the room and over Gege and Ouzen's. You knock briefly, but don't wait, instead just pushing open the door and walking in.\n\nGege gives a little jump, her bare breasts wobbling as she whirls to face you, her hands moving to sort of not quite properly cover her chest and crotch since she's entirely naked. She's definitely very pretty, you muse... light, soft-looking skin, those nicely full breasts, round hips and trim waist. The room, you notice, is a fair bit tidier than Ranja's, which might be explained by the equally naked Ouzen standing there in the middle of folding Gege's clothes for her, blinking his big yellow eyes at you in surprise.\n\n"E-er, Boss!" Gege blurts, laughing nervously, clearly torn between completing covering herself or lowering her hands and trying to act like everything's normal, and winding up doing neither. "What, ah, what brings you by?"\n\n"I'm horny," you say flatly, moving over to sit down on the side of the bed.\n\nGege blinks, and she and Ouzen exchange a quick glance, both of them blushing as they look back at you. "... Oh."\n\nYou just look at them both for a moment, then undo your pants and lift your hips, sliding them down, your stiff prick springing free and your balls hanging down between your thighs as you spread them, both of them's eyes widening slightly.\n\n<hr>\n[["Gege, get over here."|Raz]]\n\n[["Ouzen, come."|Raz]]\n\n[["Both of you get to work."|Raz12x3]]

... Yeah. Even preferences aside... having Gege watch... and help... as you give her husband a good dicking-down is just too hot to pass up.\n\n"Okay, Ouzen," you murmur, his lupine ears perking as you speak. "Get on the bed. On your back. And lift your legs up for me."\n\nHis face goes red, clearly understanding what's coming next... but he obediently rises and moves past you to lay down at the head of the bed, his cock half-hard (apparently it, too, is confused about how much he wants this). He hesitates briefly, before lifting his legs and reaching his hands under his knees, pulling them further forward and apart, displaying both his half-hard cock and his bare, vulnerably pucker to you, fluffy black tail twitching against the bed.\n\nYou appreciate the view for a moment, before you say, "Gege."\n\nThe Tigerkin woman starts a bit, also having been staring at her husband and watching him move into position to get fucked as if in a trance. "Um, yeah?!"\n\n"Do you have any oil, or...?"\n\n"... oil...?" she says faintly, eyes going a little unfocused, before her face reddens again. "R-right, one second!" she blurts, turning and scurrying off.\n\nYou glance down at Ouzen, grinning at him and gently slapping your cock against his balls a few times, amused that his cock gets a little harder with each slap. Gege returns fairly quickly holding a little glass vial, and you beckon her closer. She clambers up onto the bed as well, tits bobbling around, then pressing against you as you loop an arm around her middle and haul her closer, the Tigerkin giving a squeak. \n\n"Get me ready, okay?"\n\n"... o-okay..." she breathes, eyes a little glazed again as she uncorks the vial and dribbles a healthy stream of the oil all along the top of your cock, going back and forth several times until it's trickling down the sides. She recorks the vial and sets it aside, then nibbles her lower lip again as she wraps a hand around you and strokes. Her eyes flick back and forth from your cock to Ouzen's position, still obediently laying there with legs raised and pucker displayed. You can see her breathing starting to quicken and little dribbles of arousal starting to run down her thighs as she strokes your ever slicker and shinier prick, getting you ready to fuck her husband in the ass.\n\nOnce the oil's been worked in, Gege doesn't even wait for the order... she angles your cock down and into position at her husband's asshole for you. You grin and start pushing forward, Ouzen letting out a low moan as you push inside him, the sound sending a shiver running through Gege as she puts an arm around you as well. She watches, breathing coming in soft little pants as you keep sinking deeper and deeper into Ouzen's asshole, until you're finally fully inside him, and his own cock is fully hard, jutting at a low angle above his belly. It starts bouncing and jostling gently as you begin thrusting, the Wolfkin letting out more of those low, soft moans as you pump into his ass while his wife watches, very intently.\n\nYou snag her attention though by darting your head up and capturing her lips, dipping your tongue into her mouth. There's almost no hesitation on Gege's part about kissing you back, grinding her tits against you and sliding her tongue into your own mouth, at this point clearly egged on knowing that her husband is watching as he's fucked. You break the kiss briefly, both so that Ouzen can see your tongue pulling out of his wife's mouth and so that you can tell her "Jerk him off" before resuming the kiss.\n\nGege moans happily into your mouth, immediately wrapping her still oil-slick hand around Ouzen's now throbbingly stiff cock and starting to jerk him off as he's fucked. Ouzen's moans grow louder, turning positively slutty as his wife's oiled fingers pump his cock in the way she obviously knows he loves while at the same time he's fucked in the ass by his Boss. The fact that his hole starts squeezing around you more often and more eagerly at the added stimulation is definitely a bonus. \n\nIn fact with how much more enthusiastic Ouzen is with that added handjob, it's not long before you're fucking him harder and faster, your cock pounding rapidly into him, the normally taciturn Wolfkin man moaning like a whore as his previously virgin hole is pounded by his new lord and master. Gege's stroking of his cock has gotten faster as well, and Ouzen is the first to cum, giving a near-howl and arching his back, his ass squeezing down around you hard as his cock twitches in Gege's hand and shoots long ropes of creamy white all over his stomach and chest, a few even hitting his face. You groan and bury yourself inside him, emptying your own balls deep inside his ass, Gege yanking her hand from her husband's cock to shove it between her legs and frantically frig her clit, moaning into your mouth as she gets herself off too.\n\nAfter a moment you break the kiss as well as pulling out of Ouzen, leaving his ass lightly gaped open and dripping with your load, your cock smeared with oil and your own cum. You look at Gege and murmur, "Clean us up."\n\nThere's not a single bit of hesitation as Gege ducks her head down and slides her mouth over your cock, her eyes turned up towards you worshipfully as she starts bobbing her head and working her tongue. After all, you're the Boss, you come first, even before her husband. Only once she's cleaned you thoroughly does she lift her head off your cock and move to start lapping every bit of Ouzen's cum off his body, pecking his lips gently with the lips that were just sucking your cock before collecting the cum from his cheeks, and his chest, and his own stiff nipples, and the flat plains of his body. Ouzen's own cock gets only the softest suck of the tip to collect the last drops of cum hanging there, before she tucks her head down between his legs and starts tongue-washing his well-fucked hole, Ouzen moaning softly again.\n\nYou stroke yourself more meditatively than in arousal as you watch, just enjoying the show. Eventually Gege raises her head, panting a little, showing off her husband's spit-shined and now cum-free pucker. "All done, Boss," she breathes.\n\n<hr>\n[["Alright, then, your turn."|Raz]]\n\n[["Okay, I'm going to bed."|Raz]]

She said once the connection was established she could do it. You have to believe in her, trust her that she can do it. Even as you think that, the blending of the colors snaps together, shallow but firm.\n\n"Good job. I'll take it from here, girls."\n\nAnd suddenly you can sense something being pushed through you, something your body was never meant to take, and you throw back your head and scream as your Aura blazes, your eyes feeling like they're literally on fire, your entire body feeling shot through by a thousand arcs of plasma from a golden sun. At almost the same time Ruby gives out an overwhelmed cry, her body arching as her eyes open and spill silver brilliance out into the caverns, running through them like a flood of liquid luminescence, smashing into Grimm like a blazing tsunami and wiping them out of existence.\n\nYou and Ruby crumple to the ground, and you can vaguely hear the others calling your names, feet pounding down the stairs. You wobble a bit limply in Qrow's arms as he hefts you up, feeling like you've got the worst sunburn you ever had even though you know you're not injured.\n\n"Kai! Kai, c'mon, kid, are you okay?!" he demands, and you can hear Weiss making similar demands of Ruby nearby. You groan and open your eyes, and you actually hear Qrow suck in a hard breath.\n\n"What?" you croak out, your throat as dry as if you'd been baking under the sun for a day.\n\n"No, it just... for a second there it looked like... nevermind."\n\n"I'm so sorry, girls," Maria says quietly, and for the first time truly and really sounding old as she leans heavily on her cane. "I tried to push the knowledge of how to use the power through you, but I... pushed the power instead."\n\n"You could have killed them!" Qrow snaps, unconsciously cradling you closer to him.\n\n"Not Ruby. Her body's made to take it. Kai... I have this faint feeling I could have done something much, much worse. I am so sorry," she repeats, croak of a voice soft and full of regret.\n\n"... Fuck it, tried a new thing, got a little bit," you rasp. "At least now I sound like Dad."\n\nQrow stares down at you, and from off to the side you can hear Yang make a choked sound that's obviously a laugh that started to come out before her brain kicked in and told her it wasn't the time. \n\n"Are the Apathy dead?" you ask, turning your head a little to look at the cavern beyond. No red glows.\n\n"They are super dead," Yang assures you as she and Weiss help Ruby to her feet.\n\n"Kai? Are you okay?" Ruby whispers as she wobbles towards you a bit.\n\n"I think so." With Qrow's help you get to your feet. "I feel like someone stuck me under a plasma fastbroiler and then microwaved me on extra high because they thought I had one or two cold molecules left in the center but I'll live."\n\nUpstairs, after several bottles of water from the fridge, you alas find out that your new Qrow Voice isn't permanent. Oh well. Your skin isn't changed, but you definitely feel tender and hot all over, the sensation fading but very gradually. 'Is that what it feels like for her?' you wonder, Ruby sitting at the table, actually not seeming in the slightest bit chipper for once, a glass of water in one hand and the other holding up her forehead, a bottle of headache medication resting nearby. "Was it like that before?" you ask, just the hint of a croak in your voice.\n\n"I... passed out after before," Ruby murmurs, not looking up. "... But this doesn't feel right, no," she continues, her squeak of a voice barely there, her head giving the tiniest shake as if afraid it might fall off.\n\n"It wouldn't." Maria appears in the doorway, still looking a little haggard, either from using a taxing power she hasn't for most of her life, or in regret for what she did to both of you. "I'm not sure what the true source of our power is... the First Huntress, the gods, Remnant itself. But wherever it comes from, like Aura, for each of us it is subtly unique. My power was not meant to spill from someone else's silver eyes. ... It certainly wasn't meant to pass through anyone who didn't have them."\n\n"Maria, it's not your fault." You push yourself to stand up, reminding yourself of what you just said as it feels like your clothes rub you a little raw. "We tried something new, that none of us and probably no one else, had done before. We didn't get it right the way we wanted, but we still got it done. If Grey and Yang aren't gonna hate me for what I did I don't see where you get off hating yourself for trying to help."\n\n"... Mm. Well. One way to look at it. Not that I'd know," she adds, clacking her eyecovers lightly. "You two feel up to storytime?"\n\n"Storytime?" Ruby asks, blinking and raising her head.\n\n"Yeah. Guess Oz has some stuff to tell us after all," you note, raising your eyebrows and heading into the other room.\n\nOzma is sitting in front of the hearth... you're not entirely sure how you know it's him, considering his posture is far more slumped than usual, shoulders down, head bowed. As you come in and sit down, he raises his head and says, very quietly, "I am glad you are alright, Miss Sterling. You as well, Miss Rose."\n\nBoth of you nod. After a moment, you say, "I'm sorry, Ozma." After all, you did basically threaten him.\n\n"... No. It is past time I told you everything. I am... done with half-hearted allusions, quarter measures. ... I am tired of being virtually alone in this," he continues as he raises his head, eyes flicking just briefly to the lamp on Ruby's belt, before he raises up enough to brace his elbows on his knees, hands in front of his face, the fire crackling behind his back. "... What I am about to tell you is a tale of many shames and many horrors. Not just for myself... for others. For the world." The seriousness in his voice as he stares forward without seeing leaves little to be denied. "It may, in fact, challenge everything you know about yourselves, about your life, about our world. ... If you are not ready for that, you may leave. I demand that no one think anyone who does so is a coward or lesser for it. There are some things that people who wish to ever live normal lives again and sleep without nightmares should not know."\n\nIn the quiet after, broken only by the popping crunch of a log breaking in the fireplace, Dee quietly gets up and walks out of the room, his eyes averted.\n\n"... Very well." Ozma nods slightly. "... Once upon a time. In the age where kingdoms were more common than fish in the sea are now. When gods walked the world and there were Grimm who thought and planned and spoke in the tongues of humanity. ... There was a very foolish man. He roamed the world, seeking what he saw as justice. Not for ego, or pride, or reward, but merely because he wished to be a force for good. Or so he believed, in his arrogance."\n\nHe falls silent for just a moment more, and you can see the pain building in those green-gold eyes as he continues. "One day, he learned of a princess locked away in a deadly tower by her tyrannical father, forbidden from walking free beneath the sky and stars." You feel a little pang in your own heart, even though you know exactly who he's talking about. "All those who spoke of her spoke of her beauty... but also her skill with magic, her sharp intelligence, her warm and kind words, but she was not allowed to live her own life. This offended the man's sense of self. Everyone, he thought, should be free, but to cage a wonder such as this was akin to locking a star in a concrete box... a blasphemy not against the gods, but against nature, against life. And so, with no other thought than that she must be free, he set off to brave the dangers of the tower. And the moment he saw her..."\n\nOzma closes Oscar's eyes, a single tear slipping free to run along his fingers. "It was love at first sight."\n\nIt takes him a few moments of silence to collect himself after that, but when he continues his voice is steady. "He asked nothing of her... he would no more have tried to bind her in obligation than one would dam the most beautiful river, or chop down the most aged tree. And yet she gave her love freely to him, unworthy though he was. They wandered the world, bound only by their love for each other, sure that they were remaking it in a more just and righteous image. And for this arrogance, the man was struck down," he continues, the faintest hint of bitterness entering his composed voice. "Struck with a wasting illness, laying in his bed, unable to even comfort the woman he loved as she knelt sobbing beside him, begging and pleading with gods that did not answer."\n\nHis eyes shift a little to the side, then back as he sighs. "You will forgive me if my recounting of the next events are not perfect. I was not there. If you feel it is necessary, please call Jinn out and ask for her own recounting, for she can tell it with far more detail than I. Though... she is perhaps kinder in some ways than I think she sometimes knows."\n\n"You asked her what happened to Salem, huh?" Weiss asks softly, hugging her legs.\n\n"... I did." The look in Ozma's eyes is deeply haunted now, a pain not for himself but for someone he will never completely be able to stop loving, if what he whispered when he saw her is any indication. "... And so. The princess, who had so much life ahead of her, had so much that she could still have lived for, instead found she could not give up her lost and departed love. She dared tread where few had the heart and audacity to set their feet, her heart firm and her stride strong. Though she was perhaps the most powerful mortal in the world, she humbled herself before the God of Light and pleaded with him to return her love to her. And he, of course... said no. In her heartbreak, in her agony, she raised her chin proudly and challenged him, challenged what she was being told. And he dismissed her with a wave of his hand, his compassion exhausted the moment one of the lesser beings dared to speak back to him from pain," Ozma almost spits.\n\nEverything Salem has done... what she's become... and so many years between it all... and you can see it still infuriates him to have seen her cast out when she needed true compassion.\n\n"... So. She went to the God of Darkness. Her strong heart and proud stride carried her where no other mortal foot had ever tread, a Hell on earth, but she marched into it all over an unworthy fool. And she damned herself by lying to one of the prideful, vain creatures who could give her what she wanted, if only it would make her pain stop. And he did, for he was ever eager to show he felt unbound by the natural laws. But then his brother appeared, feigning dignity in his outrage, slaying the princess's love out of hand in front of her eyes. Enraged, the younger brother brought him back again, flinging his fury and defiance in his elder's face. And then... the elder revealed the princess's deception. Contrite, the younger brother, the lord of darkness, proved his fealty... by striking the princess's love dead in front of her. For the third time."\n\nHe sighs softly. "And then... they punished her."\n\nHis eyes narrow. "For all his talk of the unbreakable cycle of life, the natural order and the balance, the God of Light had no hesitation in violating it now as he cursed the princess. Cursed her... with immortality. She would walk the world never aging, never dying, never being free to be with her beloved. Because he, it seemed, must be punished as well. They told her... she must learn her lesson. Well... I have lived many lives as both a father and an educator, so I will tell you now, sometimes what we learn from lessons is not what is intended. And rather than... learning her place... the princess learned how cruel and petty the gods could be. And thus sought to destroy them. She rallied the armies of the world, displaying every bit of the charisma, the fire, and the spirit that had made him love her, even though it now be turned to malice, to hate, to violence against beings she was hopelessly outmatched against. Which she learned when she confronted them."\n\n"The brothers were never in danger from the attack of the humans... they could have allowed it to wash off their skin like less than the spray from a distant wave. But the Dark God, especially, was offended that humans had dared to turn magic... his gift to them... against him. In an instant, in a single petty, cruel instant, he wiped out the entire human race. And the Light God... did nothing but declare the 'grand experiment' of the world a failure."\n\n"... what," someone says, very quietly. You're not even sure who.\n\n"They were all gone. Every single man, woman, and child across the whole of the world was gone, leaving only the ruins of their presence, leaving only... remnants." He closes his eyes briefly. "An empty world devoid of anything but beasts, birds... and Grimm."\n\n"And her," you add softly.\n\nOzma nods slightly. "... And the princess. For you see, that was their final 'lesson', their final, ultimate cruelty to her. To leave her alone in an empty world, devoid of even passing companionship or the sound of another human voice for comfort. This was her 'lesson' that was supposed to teach her the value of life!" he continues, voice rising, rage building... until he fights it down. "... The value of life. As if they had any idea," he adds in a near whisper. "... So desperate was she that she ventured back into Hell. She plunged herself into the black pool from which spawned the Grimm, hoping against hope that this thing of anti-life could take away the limitless life she had been cursed with. But instead she emerged... changed. Now a being far outside of humanity, doomed never to be a part of it again."\n\n"... And while the princess walked the earth, watched humankind return anew, watched a new species rise and humanity's cruelty and hate turn on this fresh new other," he continues, Blake and Grey's eyes widening some. "The Light God brought the man she loved forth from the timeless place he had been drifting waiting for her. And he spoke in half-truths and urgings, feigned sympathy for the man, and promised him that he could again be with his love, if only to defeat her. But the man's love burned as bright now as it had then, and he would have suffered a thousand torments to see her again. ... But he had not been told that it was not only he who would suffer. For he was plunged into the body of a man with his own memory, his own life... doomed to repeat that cycle for eternity until he defeated Salem. I am sorry, Oscar," he adds in a whisper. "I like to think that I would have endured eternity in solitude rather than accept had I but known... ... but I will never know."\n\n"... And so. The man sought out his princess, by tales of a powerful and deadly witch. For you see, these new humans had no magic, but used the power of a substance new to the man, 'Dust'. And he found her, and they were rejoined, and filled with joy. And he lied to her. He lied to her by not telling her what the Light God had said. Because he convinced himself it did not matter, perhaps they could simply live a proper life, a true life, a life good and full and gentle and it would not matter if it pleased the gods, or perhaps it would and they would finally be shown mercy. ... But if there is mercy in the hearts of the Brothers, it would not be beckoned here. For the princess too had long ago learned to lie. Whether by her long misery or the changes wrought in her by the pool... or perhaps there was truly some noble intent in the beginning, she convinced the man that they could become new gods. And because the man was foolish, and blind, and very in love with her, he listened."\n\nOzma turns his eyes downward now, at the floor, not daring to risk meeting anyone's gaze. "The man did not believe he was superior to anyone... so he kept telling himself. This was all for the sake of uniting humanity. For, you see, the Light God had told him of four relics with impossible powers. Should they all ever be assembled, the Brothers would be called back, and if humanity was not united as one, humanity would be judged unworthy. Again. The man believed it was all for the best... he let himself fall into believing that everything he did was for the greater good... a belief he would hold onto until..." He pauses, flicking his eyes to one side. "... What time is it, now?"\n\n"... But his princess whispered to him, and he obeyed. How could he not? For despite everything, they were blessed with four beautiful children. Four cunning, sweet, tiny maidens gifted with magic and possessed of silver eyes." Now it's Ruby and Maria's turn to look shocked. "Perhaps it was then that the man's concern began to deepen. Perhaps when he looked at those children, with their wide and innocent eyes... their smiles... their beautiful hair like their mother's..." Ozma's voice cracks, and then shatters, his shoulders shaking as he puts his face in his hands and sobs. For a long, long time.\n\nAn echo of something dark and hateful inside you, the faintest lingering memory, nevertheless weeps with him.\n\n"... He tried to take them away from her, stealing away in the night with the intent to end the whole charade of godhood," Ozma whispers, green-gold eyes almost seeming dead as he eventually lowers his hands. "His betrayal... enraged the princess. And they fought. They fought with all the magic and power at their command. And in the fight... their daughters... died. Their world. Was ended. And the princess slew her former love... for the first time. And set him to wander the world... far from her... but she ever wished to end his lives. He existed in misery, anguish at stealing lives, until finally he resolved to make the best of it, to exist as much as he could in harmony with those whose lives he came into. But always, always there were the Grimm, and sometimes in their attacks he could see the princess's hand. And so he finally set about the task the Light God had given him. He assembled his weapon, his lore, his resolve, and set out to discover the Relic of Knowledge, hoping it could lead him to what he sought. He learned of how the entity that dwelled within could be called out by speaking its name. He asked it where the other relics were. What their powers were. And how he could defeat Salem. And the answer to the last was... 'you can't'."\n\nHe sits in silence for awhile after that. Most of you already knew it... he'd said as much back at Haven, but without quite as much impact. Eventually, he goes on. "And so, the man tried to do what he could. He attempted to do good where he could... and he lied and manipulated to do it, until it became second nature to him, until he had to bite back lies on his tongue rather than spill them out. All in the desperate dream of unity... built on a lie. Built on the idea that they could win... when he knew they couldn't." He lets his head slump. "And so. That brings us to today."\n\n"... Anything else?" Maria prompts in her croak.\n\n"... Yes. One last thing." Ozma raises his head. "Any children the man had after he had joined with a host... had silver eyes."\n\n"W-what?" Ruby gasps.\n\n"Wait. Are... you saying-" Maria starts, cybereyes narrowing.\n\n"... Am sor', Mariya," Ozma rasps, his voice dropping slightly. "Da' ne'ah wan' lee ya now, but sum' tin', dey jus' can'a be hel'pa."\n\nThe old woman seems well and truly stunned for the first time since you've met her, left utterly speechless by the words delivered in a familiar cadence. In the silence that stretches afterwards, more logs crack and spark in the fire behind him.\n\n"So. Wait, just to be clear," you say as you push yourself to your feet. "Those were the exact words? Your question and Jinn's answer?"\n\n"Yes?" Ozma, obviously still deep in misery over recounting his tail, looks up at you. "Why, Miss Sterling?"\n\n"... You absolute fuckin' IDIOT!" you shout, throwing your hands up in the air, almost everyone around you jumping and leaning back, eyes wide.\n\nOzma blinks. "Miss Sterling?!"\n\n"You didn't ask how Salem could be defeated, you asked how you could defeat her, jackass!" you cry, clapping your hands to your head. "She didn't tell you that Salem can't be defeated she said you can't!" you practically howl, jabbing a finger at him so hard you almost make yourself hop.\n\nOzma blinks several times more.\n\nThen the immortal's jaw drops. \n\n"Are. You. KIDDING me?!" Yang shouts, jumping to her feet.\n\n"You had us convinced we were all doomed over unthoughtful word choice?!" Blake adds as she leaps up. "To an entity called Jinn?!"\n\nOzma's mouth opens and closes rapidly without any sound coming out.\n\n"Hell, Oz, you can't even blame this one on my semblance, I wasn't even born yet," Qrow groans, putting his face in his hands.\n\n"I-I-I-I-I-I-I-" Ozma stammers, looking back and forth. "... The God of Light told me it was my mission to defeat her!"\n\n"You mean the manipulative asshole that cursed her and started all of this in the first place? And that as your 'employer', him telling you to defeat Salem is telling you to, in general, bring about her defeat?" you reply flatly.\n\n"..." Ozma drops his head into his hands, groaning.\n\n"Smooth move, Dad," Maria pipes up, the delivery that of a teenager in all but the croaky elderly voice.\n\n"... I have clearly," Ozma says after a few minutes, lifting his head. "Blundered most egregiously."\n\n"Y'think?" Qrow mutters with a roll of the eyes.\n\n"Uh, hey, your... storytime thing going okay?" Dee asks, poking his head in. "I heard a lot of yelling."\n\n"It's fine, Dee, just a sort of anticlimactic resolution to an existential crisis," you huff, putting one hand on your hip and the other on your face.\n\n"... Ooooooookay," he chirps, leaning back out.\n\n"So we ask her again," Ruby says with a frown.\n\n"... Yes. Clearly." Ozma sighs as he rises to her feet. "... If you'll excuse me. I think I've earned... a little privacy." With that Oscar stumbles just slightly as his body's returned to him, bringing a hand to his face, then staring at it.\n\n"Hey," you whisper, stepping up and putting a hand on his shoulder. "You okay?"\n\n"He... didn't know. He really didn't know," Oscar murmurs back. \n\nYou pet his head a bit, saddened by the lack of flustered farmboy noises for more than one reason.\n\n"... Okay so hey here's a weird take but," Reese pipes up. "The way I see it if we look at it objectively then nothing's actually changed."\n\n"Uhhhhhh," Yang says, turning to stare at her.\n\n"Did you not hear the whole... humanity dying, humanity and Faunus reevolving, children-killing fight, bastard gods, he's the old woman's father story thing?" Grey asks, wiggling his finger in Oscar's general direction.\n\n"That's all stuff that's changed for how we look at ourselves and the world it's subjective," Reese asserts with a chop of her hands down. "For us and our mission nothing has changed. We wanted to get as much information available and make the situation as favorable as possible so the relic would have a good answer to give us. We were gonna go around getting the relics together to keep Salem from getting them. None. Of that. Has changed."\n\n"... She's right," Ruby says after a moment, rising to her feet and resting a hand on the lamp at her belt. "It's possible that the answers Ji-, er, she gives us might change depending on who asks them or what we've done to get ourselves ready. Maybe we'll get better answers if we do all we can before asking." \n\n"Well, with the Apathy gone, we should be able to stay here until JNPR... and I guess Dee's partner... can send someone for us, or at least until the snowstorm dies down some," Qrow adds with a glance outside. "If it slacks up enough we might be able to find more vehicles, or at least something we could rig to Bumblebee for Yang to pull it behind her."\n\n"Nnnh, in that the snow chains aren't gonna cut it, even with the modifications I made earlier," Yang grumbles as she looks out as well, frowning at the deep drifts that have covered over the paths and road.\n\n"If we find some spare parts I can mod it temporarily," Reese supplies. "Into something more like a snowmobile. Mostly clip-on stuff if I do it right and we can find the bits I need... though, uh, there'd be some cosmetic damage sorry Yang."\n\nThe blonde sighs heavily, then shakes her head. "Better than having to leave it here."\n\n"I think I'd like to get some rest now, please," Oscar says softly, slumping his head and letting his arms dangle at his sides.\n\n"... Sure, kid." Qrow nods, then glances around. "The Apathy are gone now, but we can't guarantee some more won't come poking around since there were apparently some in the wastes anyway, and we still have the relic potentially drawing Grimm anyway."\n\n"Always such the mood-raiser," Maria comments.\n\n"So we'll sleep in shifts. ... Obviously down here, try to make some pallets on the floor with blankets," Qrow adds, wincing just a little at the memory of what the beds contain, even if he hasn't seen it himself. "Hopefully the storm clears up and tomorrow morning we can do the modifications and find a trailer or something, get Bumblebee moving and all of us back on our way to Argus."\n\nHe glances a little worriedly as Oscar silently just takes a blanket out of the pack and drapes it around himself before settling onto the floor, turned away from everyone. It's obvious that not only hearing Ozma's story but... experiencing his pain... has had a profound effect on him. \n\n"... Anyway. I'll grab Dee back in here and me and him will be part of the first watch. Kai, Ruby, Maria... you three definitely get some sleep. Reese too."\n\n"Hey I'm feelin' okay now!"\n\n"Yeah but you had those things gnawing at your brain unfiltered for longer than we did. Getting some extra sleep won't hurt. Dusty old crow's orders."\n\n"Fiiiiine," Reese huffs, walking over to yank one of the blankets out of the pack.\n\n"Adopt one of 'em and they all start talkin' back to ya," Qrow grumbles as he wanders out of the room, making you 'snrk' quietly.\n\nYou grin at him... but it fades as you look at Oscar. ... You wish you hadn't yelled at Ozma now, the moment was just kind of... raw. For all of you, probably. Ozma probably needs to be by himself right now, or at least as by himself as he can get, but you wonder if Oscar needs that too, or he needs to talk.\n\n<hr>\n[[Talk to Oscar.|KaiRem]]\n\n[[Let him be.|KaiRem]]

You glance over your shoulder... off in the distance, the sky has turned from green-grey to a deep, ominous near-black, only distinguishable from a rolling wall of night by the near-constant flickers of lightning dancing through it. The horizon has gone all hazy too, as if a thick grey film had been washed over it. That is definitely some heavy rain. Better to find shelter ASAP, and the inhabitants of the huts have theoretically proven non-hostile.\n\nYou clamber back down the furniture hill quickly, taking a moment to reorient yourself and make your way towards one of the huts. Now that you're looking for them you can sort of tell... part of it is that they're neither just a bunch of random junk, nor are they organized by type. It sort of seems more like someone picked out pieces from all over the dump and... it almost looks more like it's just piled up than deliberately assembled. But there's light coming through the cracks from the inside, now that you're close enough to see. You stop in front of what looks like some sort of burned-out LED signboard that's been repurposed as a door, hesitate briefly, then knock.\n\nAfter a moment the door... well, it's mostly just sort of shoved and shuffled to the side, rather than swinging in or out on any sort of proper attachment. You do your best not to make a face at the smell that wafts out... intense female body odor, a lot of it old, some of it new and definitely coming from the woman in front of you. Shockingly, she seems entirely Human, which surprises you since you'd heard it was all mutants here (in fact that's half the reason for your mission). Her hair is long and matted, having twisted itself into the non-deliberate sort of dredlocks, though you also notice that a number of little items and accessories have been shoved or wound into it (probably) purposefully... little gacha machine toys, a half dozen different kinds of datasticks, keychains, all sorts of other small objects. She has a weird ageless look to her... she could be about your own age, or she could be seventy, just with a smoothness of her dirty, oily skin and tautness of body that makes you wonder if all the chemicals in the... everything... around here have preserved her like shelf-stable fast food. Her body is mostly covered (if not very well) with a similar assemblage of small items wound and twisted into bits of cloth... if you had to guess, she probably occasionally puts on whatever bits of clothing she finds, be they T-shirts and jeans or lingerie, and when they start falling apart she knots them together around whatever little googaw is handy. It leaves a lot of her body on display, forming a sort of loincloth down below and almost macrame bikini top, as well as armcovers and leggings that are more densely dotted with spare scraps and decorations.\n\n"Hm? Hm? What?" she says, her voice just as weirdly ageless as the rest of her, the delivery almost like an old woman's but still relatively clear and steady.\n\n"Er... hi," you say, raising a hand and giving your fingers a little wiggle. "Sorry to intrude, but I was trying to get through the dump when... that started coming in," you add, gesturing back towards the approaching stormfront. "And was wondering if you knew somewhere I could shelter through it?" you conclude, letting your voice trail up hopefully at the end in implication.\n\nShe stares at you rather blankly for a moment... before her mismatched eyes, one blue and one purple, light up. "Ohhhhhh, are you lost?" she chirps.\n\n<hr>\n[["Not really."|ChiApoc1x5]]\n\n[["Well, a little."|ChiApoc]]

You sit on the top of a wall, looking out across the courtyard below where a handful of humans and Faunus are moving about working on various things, as you puff at one of your cigarettes and consider how you got to this point. It all seems pretty unreal. A few weeks ago it was business as usual, now... now, you're making noble speeches, leading teams, trying to save the world. 'Life comes at you fast,' you think with an exhale of smoke.\n\n"Hey. Bum one of those off ya?" comes a whiskey rasp of a voice from beside you. Apparently Qrow just talks like that all the time, whether he's been drinking or not.\n\n"Yeah, sure," you answer, tapping the pack against your leg and then proffering it.\n\nThe scruffy, red-eyed man draws one halfway out, pauses, makes a bit of a face, and finishes pulling it out to hold it up. "Why is it green?"\n\n"It's lime flavored." At his mildly disgusted glance at you, you raise your eyebrows. "Bad manners to criticize a bummed smoke."\n\n"Point." He settles down to sit next to you and lights up, and looks like he has to take a moment to try not to cough. After a few puffs though he settles, joining you in staring at the movement below without paying any particular attention to it. After a minute he asks, "So just to be sure, since everyone else is totally convinced, you're really not from Remnant at all, right?"\n\n"I mean. I guess I could theoretically be, from some Remnant or another, but the odds seem pretty low. This one's only had like, at most three or four Guild contacts in thirty years from checking the records, so even if I was it probably wouldn't be this one." You pause, then look over at him and can't help but grin. "... You're worried I'm yours, aren't you?"\n\n"Uh." He looks away, taking a more obviously nervous drag on the cigarette, then letting it out in a visible cloud of a sigh. "Maybe a little. ... Let's just say red eyes aren't that common around here and I can't help but wonder."\n\n"They're more common out there," you note, tapping ash off your cigarette before you gesture around with it, trying to indicate the multiverse itself. "Some. You're not even the first guy to wonder. Or insinuate it maybe." You puff lightly a few times, then add, "There was a guy on Makarzia who used to say it a lot. He had the red hair too, see. Practically claimed me... not like in any loving way, just because he liked watching me squirm, I guess. Or maybe he thought it'd spark some kind of loyalty or eagerness to prove myself to him. Something."\n\n"Yeah?" Qrow looks over, face unreadable, but something in his own red eyes is sorrowful. "Guessing that didn't really go over too well."\n\nYou're silent for a bit, thinking back to those few times you almost gave in to Horace, almost let yourself start thinking it or believing it, because as tough as you tried to be there was still always that emptiness inside that was not knowing where you came from. "Well," you say eventually, glancing down at your cigarette, almost burned to the darker green filter. "I'll put it this way. Curse or no, 'dusty old crow' or no, I see the way Ruby and Yang look at you. If I had to choose, it'd be you all day without needing to think about it."\n\nQrow silently digests that for awhile, a look on his face you don't really have a name for. Finally, though, he smirks and snorts. "Guy must be a real dick."\n\n"Oh yeah," you agree with a snicker as you grind out the cigarette on the wall.\n\n"Makes sense." Qrow rises to his feet, actually giving his own half-smoked cigarette an impressive spinning flick into one of the ash bins below as he rests his other hand on his hip. "So, ready for class, 'Professor Sterling'?" he adds with a smirk.\n\nYou make a bit of a face as you start to get up to stand on the wall as well, accepting his hand as he proffers it. "Say that again and I really will demand a blood test."\n\n"Oof, apologies."\n\nShortly after, you lunge forward instead of making the punch you'd telegraphed, Oscar Pine letting out a yelp as you bear him to the ground and press your body across his, shifting to use one knee and a hand to pin his wrists. "Aaand you're dead."\n\n"Again," Oscar groans, rolling his eyes. It's pretty wild just how different he is from when Ozma is at the front... makes it a lot easier to believe they're really two different people. "Look this is pointless! You're bigger and better at fighting than I am, just like everyone else!"\n\n"That's why I keep telling you, you need to focus on not losing rather than trying to win." You take a moment to shift and press your chest against him seemingly without noticing it... kind of just to be a bitch, but also because flustered farmboy noises are cute. Then you get to your feet and offer him a hand, pulling him up. "When you're up against someone who you're outmatched against, if you can't just fuckin' shoot 'em in the face or something, the idea is to just not lose until you can run away. Hopefully until you can find something to shoot 'em in the face with."\n\nOscar winces, probably at the very idea of shooting anyone in the face, which you think is a way bigger thing to work on than hand-to-hand skills but apparently some of the others frown on shooting people in the face as a go-to. "Fine, but how do I even manage to run away when my opponent is that much bigger and faster than I am? I can't run away when I'm pinned," he protests.\n\n"Focus on the utilitarian stuff, and fight dirty. Reese, c'mere," you add, glancing aside and beckoning, then turning to the petite woman as she ambles over eagerly enough. "You know how to deal with that move I did on Oscar?"\n\n"Oh yeah Arslan'd never let me slack on hand-to-hand," Reese answers with a bright grin, rolling her arm around. "Lion cubs gotta fight momma to show they're ready for the hunt yanno?"\n\nOkay, whatever that means. You ready yourself, settling into a bit of a crouch like before, though this time not bothering to fake the punch. You lunge forward at Reese, ready to take her down, and just as you're about to make contact she lets herself fall backwards, yanking her legs up under her to get her shins against your belly. She rolls as she hits to deflect you off to the side, tossing you onto your back before rolling away again, arm snapping out aimed generally for your throat. Instead it clips your chin hard enough for you to feel it, and you feel the weird staticy flicker of that scarlet light passing across your skin.\n\n"Shit! Sorry Kai I didn't mean to actually make contact I was aiming for the shoulders!" Reese blurts, green eyes wide, already having hopped to her feet but clearly having seen that she knocked you one hard enough to make your Aura visible.\n\n"S'fine," you grunt, still grinning as you get to your feet. "I'm used to full-contact hand-to-hand training... at least from the other side. Niobe was tough enough that she didn't care if I punched her in the throat. Guess I am too now," you add, rubbing your chin. Still smarts a little though. "But yeah, see Oscar? Your legs might take a beating but it's better than getting pinned. First priority, get them off you, second priority, do something to disable them. Hit the throat, or the eyes, a nerve cluster like here," you add, pointing to a spot on Reese's side. "Or, y'know, something more tender," you add with a smirk, making him both blush and wince a little. "Something to stun them for a second, but do it as you're retreating."\n\n"This doesn't seem that useful for fighting Grimm, though," Oscar says with a frown. "... Or Hazel."\n\n"If a Grimm pins you you're pretty much fucked," Reese says with a snort, causing Oscar's tan face to pale a little. \n\n"I get the sense from what the others are saying and your onboard buddy that we definitely won't be fighting just fairytale monsters going forward," you note, shrugging. "Besides, even with those things, still gotta try your best. Here, get picked on by someone your own size for awhile, I'm gonna go check out everyone else." You give Reese a hood-ruffle and a light shove towards Oscar.\n\n"Fine but next time I'm letting you pin me in hopes you'll have your way with me," Reese calls, Oscar's face darkening in a blush this time rather than paling.\n\nSnorting again, you wander away towards the other groups practicing hand-to-hand. Apparently before you and some of the others got here, Ozma and Qrow had insisted Ruby start bettering her weaponless fighting... as everyone gets ready to head to Atlas, that's expanded to the entire three teams. Nora and Weiss have been teamed up, with the slender pale girl seeming to be focusing mostly on dodging.\n\n"I can't tell if you're trying to fight me or hug me!" Weiss says with a bit of a nervous laugh as she dodges the latest grab.\n\n"I am trying to hug you!" Nora calls back sweetly, before her eyes glint and her smile turns sadistic. "To pieces!"\n\n"... Nora plz," Weiss whimpers, without a laugh but all the nervousness.\n\n"Nora stop throwing your arms so wide, it's not a cartoon hug! Weiss, you've gotta counterattack at some point!" you call to them in passing, before pausing to watch Jaune and Ren for a moment. No advice needed there, Ren's quietly and earnestly giving Jaune a steady stream of pointers, and Jaune's face looks focused, nodding here and there before he comes in for the next exchange. Every so often you see a little flicker of something in his face... the same echo of pain that he gets any time someone so much as says the name 'Pyrrha'... but it seems like actually training and learning with others again is helping because he seems way more steady than he had before. You move on to the next group, watching Ilia and Ruby spar for a moment before stepping in, stopping them in place while they're in close. "Further back on the ribs, they're stronger at the front where they link together," you tell Ilia, taking her flattened hand and shifting its location some. "And don't kick at the front of the knee unless you're way stronger than the one you're fighting, side or back, you want to force it to bend the way it naturally does with the impact," you add to Ruby, tapping a foot on one of her boots. You pause, lifting your head at a sparkly, spangly sound from behind you, and a sudden loud whoomf as if of something heavy hitting the ground at speed. "No weapons means no Semblance!" you call over your shoulder.\n\n"Whoopsie~," Weiss's completely unrepentant voice calls back.\n\nRolling your eyes, you turn back to the two, offering each one more bit of advice. "Ear if you've got a clear shot, chin if you don't, always palm strikes if it's the head," you remind Ilia, since it's advice you've given everyone, then shift to Ruby. "Focus on the joints is good but only try to bend them ways they shouldn't if you manage to get into a good grapple, okay?"\n\n"Got it!" both of them chirp back, turning back to each other with renewed eagerness. \n\n"Oh, right, and also don't actually break anything," you add as an afterthought before moving on.\n\nGrey and Blake don't seem to be sparring at all, Blake instead standing and scowling at her palms, fingers curled. Grey's standing close behind her, looking over her shoulder... you've never seen him stand that close to a woman without a leer on his face before, but right now his expression is all business. "Concentrate. Not on your Aura, on the image."\n\n"... nnnnh..." Blake squints, her face twisting a little, a dark purple flickering surrounding her fingers for a second before she huffs. "I don't see the point of this, I thought we were supposed to be learning unarmed fighting, and without Semblance."\n\n"Because this isn't Semblance, it's Aura," Grey insists firmly. "And if you learn to do it right it takes practically no Aura at all. They can take your weapons away from you, they can beat you down until you don't have the Aura to use your Semblance, but if you still have enough energy to move you can use this."\n\nBlake tosses him a dubious look. "If it's so easy and reliable, why do you have claws on your weapon?"\n\nGrey smirks at that, something like his old swagger showing on his face. "Because Hell Ticket's claws don't require any concentration at all and work a lot better on armor. This won't put a scratch on metal but it'll work just fine on faces, joints, and anything else armor tends to leave showing. Now come on, the image." As Blake once again scowls intently at her hands, fingers flickering with her Aura, Grey adds, "C'mon, you're a cat, it's the easiest thing in the world to have claws!"\n\n"I am not a cat I am a feline Faunus," Blake almost growls, ears laying flat, but doesn't stop trying to shape her Aura as her hands tremble.\n\n"Yeah that may be but your first word was still 'mew'," Grey snorts, steely eyes actually... twinkling? Damn, what the hell.\n\nBlake's face goes red, probably from some mixture of Grey knowing her first word and that it was in fact so kittenish... then blinks and stares down, ears shooting back upright, her distraction having apparently been just what she needed, her fingers now tipped with gently flickering purple energy claws. "I... I did it!"\n\n"Good, great, but you're still using up too much Aura for them. Okay, relax, relax, don't let the Aura flow out of them but just relax a bit..."\n\nHuh. It's actually nice to see Blake's face light up with almost childlike glee... you haven't seen her just be happy a lot since you met her. 'Seems like the people who most deserve to be happy rarely get to be,' you find yourself thinking, looking back over the rest of the pairs of sparring students. Then your gaze finds Ruby, and Reese, both smiling... and both having drawn smiles out of their sparring partners. 'Then again.' Your mind turns to other thoughts, raising your hands a bit palm-up and curling your fingers a few times. At a bit of will, scarlet energy crackles around the ends of them. '... Hm.' Shaking off the thought for now... you're no cat, or even a feline Faunus after all... you instead make your way over to the last pair.\n\nAgain this looks like a practice set where your input isn't really needed. Qrow and Yang are obviously old hands at sparring, though if you had to guess, the blonde's uncle is probably pushing her harder than he used to. They certainly don't seem to be pulling their punches, and several times you see flickers of Aura as impacts strike. Oh yeah, right, the Scroll-thingy. You take it out and open the quick-icon for monitoring your contact list's Aura levels. Both Qrow and Yang are down about twenty percent... enough to show they're definitely fighting seriously, and that Qrow's not taking it easy on his niece.\n\nExcept for that he is.\n\n"Hey," you call, prompting them to stop, then step in and pat Qrow's back. "Mind if I cut in?"\n\nHe pauses momentarily, then snorts. "Whatever you say, Professor Sterling," he says with a smirk that really makes you want to go buy that blood test as he steps back. "I'm just the combat school teacher, after all. But if you want a beating from one of my best students, feel free."\n\n"Yeah, you may have been trained in some fancy space station or whatever, but when it comes to hand-to-hand, I'm confident in whipping anyone here, maybe except Unca, ah, Uncle Qrow!" Yang calls, still apparently seeming delighted by the opportunity as she raises her fists. She's seemed a lot more cheerful in the last few days since she and Blake aired out their issues, too. Makes you kind of hate to say what needs to be said.\n\n"Yeah," you answer evenly without getting into your own stance. "Take it off."\n\nThe smile almost instantly drops off of Yang's face, replaced for just part of an instant with bald, unfiltered fear. It passes quickly into anger, her eyes tinting slightly another color, before she quickly covers it up with the mask of a grin. "Whew, aren't you direct? I mean you're cute, sure, but Blake and I are still trying to work things out and figure out where we stand, so maybe the clothes can stay on for now and-"\n\n"No jokes," you cut in, the seriousness of your own voice both strange and familiar in your ears, the very echo of Niobe when she had decided there wasn't going to be any more playing around. "You know what I mean. Take it off."\n\n"Hey, Kai, that's enough," Qrow almost snaps, voice half angry and half pleading as he steps forward... only to halt as Yang holds up the prosthetic hand to stop him. You see a little flicker of that same fear in his eyes as she grips her right wrist with her left and does whatever mental command she uses to release the latch on her cybernetic arm, the gold limb dropping mostly limp as she proffers it to her uncle without looking at him.\n\n"Fine," Yang says, voice and expression both flat, way too empty to be hiding anything but a shield against an explosion of emotion that she thinks could destroy her. "Let's go." \n\nYou nod, keeping your own expression neutral as you finally settle into a crouch, ready to come at her.\n\nIt's a mess. You kind of knew it would be, but you can't keep yourself from being a little disappointed in her. She knows all the right moves, she has the head to know what to do, but she's not doing it because every time you juke to her right she gets skittish, every time she forgets for a moment and tries to attack with the missing arm she internally goes to pieces for half a heartbeat instead of just adapting. You're faintly aware that most of the other sparring matches have stopped and are watching yours... you can feel the disapproval, the worry, the anger practically crawling over your skin from them. You know what this looks like, because just like Qrow, you're not going easy on her, but unlike him you're beating the crap out of a one-armed woman. You finish the match by finally ducking under one of her more unfocused lefthanded haymakers and darting in at her right side, literally shoving her over onto the ground and knocking her sprawling.\n\n"This is bullshit," Qrow snarls from behind you as you look down at Yang trying to hold it together and not cry, the scruffy man apparently furious enough to overcome the general Remnant attitude towards swearing. Without even looking up you can tell that Blake is actually being physically restrained by Ruby and Weiss... a flick of your eyes shows she's not struggling, apparently them holding onto her is enough, but she definitely wants to lay into you, and you're not sure if it's verbally or physically.\n\n"It's necessary," you answer him evenly, glancing at him, then down at Yang who's trying to pull it together.\n\n<hr>\n[["The fairy tale's over."|KaiRem3x1]]\n\n[["... I'll be right back."|KaiRem2x7]]

Something flickers through your head... pictures Yang showed you on her scroll as she spoke quietly to you one night, Weiss talking about recent experiences, Qrow murmuring things as he drank by firelight. Ozma prompting you to open up to each other left a lot of you raw... but also almost addicted to the rush of being able to tell each other everything. It definitely forged a bond between all of you that's making you stronger as a group... and you're about to abuse it. For her own good, but you still don't know if she'll ever forgive you.\n\n"Reese," you say without looking up. "I need to borrow you. The rest of you, don't go anywhere." With that, you turn and stalk towards the dorm building, the confused petite woman scurrying to catch up with you as the others glare at your back.\n\nTwenty minutes later you walk back out towards the area that the three teams have claimed as a practice ground, schooling your face into an even expression as you approach. Yang and the rest of the group gathered around her have their backs to you, obviously trying to assure her of something, though she hasn't put her arm back on and her head is slumped. "Hey," you call, raising your voice but keeping it even, calling on them to turn even as you add, "We've all said a lot, but I think there's someone you've still got something to say to."\n\nYang turns, and freezes as she sees you, her mouth opening in shock, a few gasps running through the rest of the group as well, Qrow whispering a soft profanity under his breath as he sees what you've done. Specifically that with Reese's help, you've (temporarily) dyed your hair black and used her hair gel to spike it, giving it a thicker, more rumpled look, and even crafting an antenna of hair from the crown of your head to match Yang's... and the one you saw in the pictures she showed you. You narrow your red eyes, and hit the control to retract the armored sheath from the crimson-tinted Dust blade in your hand, doing your best to banish yourself from your own mind and let the character you're playing take front stage built on everything Yang, Weiss, and Qrow have said, something that weirdly comes easily to you... it's happened once before, after all, you guess. You let a slightly smug grin curl your lips, feeling it come naturally.\n\n"Give her Celica back. She'll need it," Raven Branwen says, twisting your lips into a sneer as she does.\n\n"What the hell is the matter with y-" Qrow starts to snarl... only stopping as Yang holds out her left hand to him, her eyes never leaving you, narrow and hard. Qrow hesitates for a moment, then, scowling, obviously not happy about this little roleplay, he nevertheless withdraws a golden bracelet from his pocket and fastens it around her wrist.\n\nYang drops her arm, clenching her fist and causing the weapon to sheath her forearm in gold, shotgun barrels extending from the side. "Fine. You want to do this, let's do this."\n\n"Oh I think we've both needed to do this for a long time, Yang," Raven coos condescendingly, dropping into a sword stance, Dust blade at the ready.\n\nRaven makes the first move, leaping forward and swinging the sword in an arc, clearly not intending to check the blow. There are a few cries of outrage from the audience, but Yang is leaping just as eagerly to the battle, actually daring to block the strike with Celica instead of flinching away with it. The skittishness is gone, the anger's filling in the gaps for it, and though she's still off-balance there's a deep focus there now, glowing red eyes matching Raven's calm crimson ones. \n\n"Better. Better," Raven almost chuckles, making it obvious she's not being pushed with wide, almost lazy strokes of her sword. "But if you've got something to prove to me, Yang, you've still got a long way to go."\n\nThere's a flash in those glowing red eyes, a flicker of golden fire in her hair, and from inside Raven you can see Yang dropping the shield she's been holding against the little roleplay, accepting what she sees before her. "I don't have anything to prove to you!" she calls, ducking low and twisting her body, jabbing her fist at Raven's side and firing off a blast from the gun barrels.\n\nBut Raven whirls away from it, as agile and fleet on the wind as a bird, kneeing Yang in the chin and sending her stumbling back, the edge of her Dust blade skittering along Yang's Aura across the chest and belly, flashing golden light across her body as her teammates and friends cry out. "Oh don't you? I'm your mother, Yang, who do you have to prove yourself to if not me?"\n\n"SUMMER ROSE is my mother!" Yang howls back, the words ripping themselves from her throat as if having been lodged there for a decade, her hair streaming golden light as she lunges at Raven and spins into a hard side kick, one that makes contact and sends the red-eyed woman skidding to the side with a burst of scarlet light at the impact point. "You're nobody to me!"\n\n"Then I guess you'd better try to prove yourself to Summer Rose," Raven says coolly, her eyes having gone narrow at the name, her own face having shifted into a harder, almost angry set as she ducks and comes in low with a rising slash.\n\n"I don't need to!" Yang shouts back, deflecting the cut with a blast from her gauntlet-gun and swinging another kick, this one getting dodged. Unspoken are the words, 'She'd be proud of me anyway!'\n\n"Then perhaps you need to prove yourself to poor sweet Taiyang," Raven sneers in a mocking tone, half-spitting the name of her husband as she darts in and cuts. "Or my fool of a brother! Are you desperate to show him you haven't wasted his time?!"\n\n"NO! They both believe in me! They always believed in me!" Yang screams in fury, leaping forward and slamming her armored forearm against the edge of Raven's blade, the impact enough to send divots of grass and earth flying through the air from Raven's braced feet. "My family believes in me! My friends believe in me!"\n\nYou find yourself fighting Raven down... you may have invented her, or depending on how you look at it invited her in, but it's surprisingly hard to get her to leave. But she does (albeit with bad grace), and you find yourself looking across Red Legacy and Celica and into Yang's furious face. "Guess you've just got something to prove to you, then," you say quietly, in your own voice.\n\nYang's blazing red eyes narrow... and then widen, flickering briefly between crimson and purple before settling on the latter. She half-stumbles back from your crossed weapons, then drops to her knees as if exhausted, staring at you as tears start streaming down her face.\n\n"... Myself... it's just... it's just me that doubts me... it's just me holding me back," she whispers, staring at you and at nothing. "It's always been just... me."\n\n"... I'm sorry," you say softly, working the control to sheath your weapon. "I took what all of you told me, and I used it. Because as much as all of you had stuff to say to each other, I could tell that you had a lot still to stay to someone who wasn't here. Someone that left you. Again. ... Because both our moms left us," you continue, Yang's eyes widening again as she lifts her head. "But at least when I found mine, her first thought was still how much she loved me. How happy she was to see me. You didn't get that... even though you should have. And it seemed like you at least deserved to say what you had to say to her." You look down, shake your head. "... Sorry, I'll get out of your face," you murmur, turning to go.\n\nYang lurches from the ground, and you reflexively turn back, bracing for an attack you know you deserve... only to have her throw her arm around you and hug you tightly to her, crushing you against her chest and shoulder.\n\n"You're an asshole, but I forgive you," she whispers, pressing her face in against your shoulder as well. "... Thank you."\n\nSighing, you raise your hands to rest on her back, closing your eyes as a few tears escape them. 'Shit, I'm getting way too used to this emotional stuff.' You can't help but wonder if this part, too, is a little bit of closure for Yang, considering what you still look like.\n\nEventually she draws away, heading back to rejoin the others. Some of them are still casting glances at you like they're not entirely happy... but you think they all understand, maybe even approve. At least, you hope. Qrow saunters over to you, looking you up and down for a moment... then nods. "Hard to say I approve," he drawls in his low rasp of a voice. "But I guess she needed that. I thought I wasn't coddling her, but... ... there's some things I wasn't willing to do for her, and you were. Maybe it takes an outsider."\n\n"Yup. That's me, the space alien," you murmur, rubbing your arm a little and glancing away.\n\nYou're not sure if it's what you said, or the fact that you look even more like you could be his family right now, but something instantly softens in the dusty old crow, and he steps forward, putting his hands on your upper arms. "Hey. I didn't mean it like that. Or... if I did, I was wrong. Sorry. ... What you did, it's something that only comes out of love," he adds after a moment. "A kind of love that knows it has to do something hurtful, even if it costs you something. Maybe it's just... hard to believe someone could show her... or any of us... that kind of love so fast."\n\nYou hesitate, then smile lopsidedly and shrug. "What can I say? I live fast. I don't have a lot of time for the slow burn." Your eyes feel watery as you add, "You're some of the first people that have accepted me without really wanting anything in return but for me to be honest and do what I want and am willing to do. You treat me with dignity and respect not just 'cause I can fight for you... but because you see my pain and feel it like it's yours. I guess... it's hard not to love people who do that."\n\nQrow stares at you for a long time in silence after that. Finally his hands squeeze on your arms before he draws them back slowly. "Um. Hey. That thing you said earlier... about how if you were gonna choose between me and the other guy..."\n\n"The dick?" you prompt with a bit of a grin.\n\n"Yeah. That one." Qrow rests a hand on his hip and turns away a bit, rubbing the back of his head. "But I mean... even if you say you're not from here, you did say... you'd choose me. So maybe we could just... fudge it... ... and you choose me anyway. Or... something."\n\nYou blink rapidly at that, opening and closing your mouth a few times. "Uh... wait. Seriously? You're saying you-"\n\n"You wanna stand in for family, guess that makes you family," Qrow says, obviously nervous before he turns to you fully again. "Trust me, you don't want the burden of my name, and like I said I'm basically cursed, one big bad luck charm, but I guess if you don't mind too much I could at least oof," he cuts off as you thud against his front and wrap your arms around him.\n\nFuck it. Fuck it. Fuck every single bit of trying to be cool and trying to give no fucks. Because you never want to think about Horace Allfather maybe being your sire again, you're tired of wondering, and you're tired of pretending you don't desperately want a family. So fuck it, you grab your dad and you hug him tight and you honestly don't give a shit that you're crying.\n\n"... Hey. Hey, easy there," Qrow says tenderly, stroking your hair a little awkwardly, though with every motion it turns more gentle and natural. "S'okay. Don't be that disappointed, alright?"\n\n"Fuck you I'm buying you the best father's day gift ever this year," you sob back, trembling a little.\n\nQrow slowly smiles, draping his arms around you. "Thanks, kid. Appreciate it. Top shelf is best." He goes silent, just holding you for a little while until you finally draw back and wipe your face. He grins at you... then makes a face and shoves the side of your head slightly. "Now go wash that crap out of your hair, for Dust's sake, you're creeping me out."\n\nGiving a somewhat watery laugh, you reach up to 'pwoing' the arc of hair jutting from atop your head. "What, you don't think I should keep it? I look more like a Branwen this way," you add, trying not to cry again as you smile at him.\n\n"Nah. Daughter or not... you're a Sterling. Every bit of you is sterling," Qrow murmurs, raising a hand to brush fingertips over your cheek, making you look down in embarrassment. "'Sides. Red hair runs in the other side of the family. And it looks good on you."\n\nSo you do indeed go to wash the crap out of your hair, and spend awhile absorbing everything, including having a few more crying jags, because you never really, truly understood how much you wanted a father until someone was willing to stand up and say from a place of love that they were. Eventually, wearing comfy clothes borrowed from some absent Haven students, you pad back down the hall, hesitating a little in front of the room you know Qrow's staying in, before knocking. "It's me."\n\n"Come in. And watch out," Qrow's rasp of a voice adds in an amused tone as you open the door.\n\n"Watch out for-"\n\n"COUSIIIIIIIIIIIIIIN!"\n\n"Gyah!" you shriek as that squeak is accompanied by a flurry of red and then you're being rammed into and hitting the ground, Ruby resolving atop you rubbing her cheek on yours happily as she hugs you tightly. "Oh."\n\n"Guess that's an official welcome to the family," Yang says dryly as she walks over and pries Ruby off of you with her prosthetic hand, holding her up and letting her dangle with kicking feet for a moment before setting her down. She offers her hand to you and smiles. "But yeah. Welcome."\n\n"I... yeah, thanks," you murmur, throat tightening some and eyes stinging. Crap at this rate you're gonna get dehydrated. "... Still... I'm sorry I used what you told me against you... I hope you'll forgive me. I hope it won't keep you from telling me things again, I-"\n\n"Hey." Yang steps forward and wraps her arms around you, squeezing you tight. "Forgiving's what family's for, right? Cuz?"\n\n"... Yeah. Guess so," you murmur, putting your arms around her to hug back.\n\nYang steps back, still grinning as the three of you step inside, Qrow sprawled in a chair but sitting up straighter as you come in. His smile is... brighter, and easier than any you've seen him with before. And you notice that for one of the first times when all of you weren't training, there's not a single liquor glass in sight.\n\n"It'll still be awhile before we can... go home," Qrow says slowly, the words sounding almost strange to him, and yet his voice warming as he speaks them. "But when we do... well, I'm gonna do my best to make it a home you'll always want to come back to. Okay?"\n\n"Yeah." You smile more easily yourself, nodding.\n\n"Hey, knock knock!" Reese calls, unnecessarily rapping on the open door with her knuckles.\n\n"Kai! This is where you were!" Ilia adds, practically jostling past Reese to get towards you.\n\n"Looks like the party's in here, hm?" Grey adds as he strolls casually by both of them. \n\n"Why are all of you crowding them?" Blake says in an exasperated tone, winding up wandering inside the room trying to pluck at Grey's coat. "You weren't even invited in, stop just going where you please."\n\n"Of course I go where I please, I'm a cat."\n\n"Feline Faunus!" Blake snaps, making Grey laugh in such a brotherly way that you can't believe Blake doesn't shrink about two feet and call him a 'big dummy'.\n\n"It's getting rather noisy in here," Ren notes, poking his head around the edge of the door frame.\n\n"Yeah, sounds fun!" Nora chirps as she leans in below him, then glancing over her shoulder. "C'mon, Jaune, stop hanging around down the hall and crash the party with us!"\n\n"Uh, it's called manners!" you hear Jaune's voice call from out of sight.\n\n"It's called being a shy dork and you and Oscar need to stop it! And bring little miss wallflower with you!"\n\n"HEY! He's right for once, it is manners!"\n\n"Manners don't start PARTIES!"\n\n"Oh yes they do!"\n\nEven as the argument builds, it somehow seems to have wandered into the room, which is soon crowded and noisy. You look over at Qrow, who's rolling his eyes... and smiling. And looking happier than he has since you met him. The weirdest thing is that you can feel the same smile on your own face as you move over to perch on the arm of his chair.\n\n"A party's not so bad, I guess," Qrow murmurs as he looks up at you fondly. "Before we go off to save the world."\n\n"Yeah," you answer, eyes shining.\n\nYou're gonna get to save the world with your family.\n\nVery cool.\n\n<hr>\n[[Game Over.|KaiRem2xEnd]]

"Ultimately I think it's Bla-... oh, right, actually I guess it's that Ruby kid's call," you amend, rubbing your neck a bit. "But... I guess I get you. I'm... kinda actually starting to get more of what you mean by the day, seems like." You frown a little, glancing away... you teased Grey about his sudden heroic streak, but you've noticed a disturbing growth of your own. ... Anyway. You pat her on the shoulder. "But sure. As far as I'm concerned, you're on board. Glad to have you with us."\n\n"Sweet!" Reese chirps, before making a few last welds and spending a few minutes polishing, before taking out a vial of something orange. "Here we go this is the really cool part or the part where we explode and die one or the other either way what bliss huh?"\n\n"No," you reply flatly, eyeing the vial. "Is that some of that Dust stuff?"\n\n"Yup very precise blend of Fire Dust and Lightning Dust I call it 'Firestorm Dust' and I've been waiting for just such an opportunity to try it out," she continues as she clips two leads to either end of the bared sword blade, then starts sprinkling the granular stuff across the surface. "If I mixed it right then it'll bond with the blade and the traces of your Aura you've already infused in it and makes it even stronger than it is and lets you do some wild cool stuff when you're fighting."\n\n"Uh-huh. And if not, we explode." You eye the modified weapon as she finishes drifting the Dust over it and instead fiddles with the machine attached to the leads. "I don't think I ever actually put any of my, y'know, Aura in it."\n\n"Have you fought with it since you were awakened?" At your nod, Reese grins. "You'd've done it at least a little subconsciously. With the fight bein' pretty fresh there should be plenty in there so don't worry. Except for the exploding part. Okay GO!" she adds, jabbing the button without so much as a countdown, which kind of makes you want to slug her. But you're quickly distracted by the jags of yellow lightning that play across the blade, along with a quick burst of flame, before it's all seemingly sucked inside the metal, which now gleams with a faint scarlet sheen. "Niiiiice," Reese coos, picking it up and working a control, part of the new hilt snapping out and turning into armored sections that cover it like a sheath. "Here y'go!" she adds, proffering it to you.\n\nYou accept it a little gingerly, feeling slightly awkward that it's obvious that all that was left is the blade. Still, isn't that basically the same sword? You find the same control she used easily enough, the armored sheath retracting and pulling down, settling into a broad, sturdy hilt that you could far more easily use to attacks. Almost without thinking you find the other nearby control, and the blade whirls and drops down, parts of the hilt encompasing the base of it and shielding your hand from the back of it as the point angles at the floor, and other armored sections slide forward and merge together, internal mechanisms sliding forward to turn into the familiar-looking barrel of the mag-accelerated slugthrower you brought with you. "Whoa. Okay, fuck it, that's cool as shit," you admit, eyes sparkling. "Did you figure out something to do for the ammo, though? I only had so much," you add with a glance at Reese.\n\n"Yup." She holds up a magazine that looks like it will slot into the base of the sword. "Spherical projectiles solid metal easy to cast and I had my printer crank out a bunch of 'em while I was working. Or..." She holds up another magazine, this one marked with a flame design. "Impact-shatter spheres with Dust cores."\n\n"Okay, I promise, as soon as I actually have something to do it with I will totally destroy your pussy," you reply dryly, Reese smirking broadly as you work the control to shift the weapon back to sword mode. "... It's beautiful. Thank you, Reese," you murmur, voice going soft with sincerity.\n\n"Honored to. Seriously." Reese's own smile settles to something gentler. "Whatcha gonna call it? We love our dramatic weapon names here. Bonds us closer to our other partner y'know."\n\nYou've never thought about giving anything you owned a name before. You had very few things you were even vaguely sentimental about in your life, with the modified sword now in your hands being one of them. You bring it up to look at the glimmering blade, turning it to look at your reflection... rather, the bright crimson gaze of your eyes staring back at you. The eyes that were so like hers, enough that when you still had childish hopes and dreams you hugged your pillow at night and tried to convince herself that she must be your real mother, and not just your mentor.\n\n"'Red Legacy'," you say quietly.\n\nSomething in your voice must clue Reese in that the name is more deeply meaningful than usual even for her people. She simply nods once, green eyes actually shimmering a little. Then she clears her throat, quickly blinking the expression away. "Anyway! Blake actually got in touch with me while you were taking a bathroom break sounds like someone told her you found me and who I was and she totally remembered me but sounds like I'm not getting destroyed there either but anyway she said that she wanted to meet with you and your team around nine tonight and I guess now that includes me. But that means we've got some more time before then," she adds, turning back to her workbench.\n\n"I told you, I don't have anything to-"\n\n"No not that I'm gonna make you a backup. Weapons are sacred but they're also not infallible and you never know when you'll need a little more oomph and your shit has a lot of oomph to work with. Oh right and here," she adds, holding up a silvery square with rounded edges.\n\n"Oh hey, this is one of those Scroll things you guys use, right?" you ask as you take it, pulling it apart into more of a rectangle and eyeing the translucent screen.\n\n"Yup and this one fell out of the back of one of the Mistral army guys' pockets and right into my hand don't ask me how it happened I have no idea but anyway I rewired it a little and amped it up too so it's as good as anything out of Atlas probably and it won't break on you. We use them for a lot of stuff like monitoring Aura and your teammates so they're pretty important besides making calls and playing games not that those aren't important."\n\n"Got it, thanks." You collapse it again and tuck it into one of your pockets. Although you don't need it for contacting at least one of your team. Ilia?\n\nKai!\n\nHey, we've got a meeting with Team RWBY tonight at nine. Do me a favor and grab two meals and whatever you want for yourself and bring 'em over to the left dorm building, room 115. And if you see Grey, tell him about the meeting too.\n\nReese and Ilia either get along really well or hate each other, and you're honestly not sure which after listening to them snip at each other and gab excitedly about weapons and fighting for several hours. But as night falls, the three of you head out of the dorm building and out of the academy grounds, towards the hotel where Blake and the others are staying. You spot the white-coated Faunus and wave, Grey emerging from an alleyway nearby to join all of you as you converge.\n\n"Hey," he says quietly, his eyes a little downcast. There's something different about him now for sure... he seems both tired and energized, somehow, but overall quieter... as if something that had been churning inside him had finally settled. "Um... Blake," he says, eyes flicking to her. "I... want to come along on this thing you're doing. With them," he adds, glancing at the other three of you. "... If it's okay. I... have a debt to pay."\n\nBlake peers at him curiously, then looks at you.\n\n"He's part of my team," you say firmly, but with a smile, Grey looking a bit startled as you say it, his feline ears perking up. "All of them are. If I'm going, they're going."\n\n"... Alright. But... you should hear everything first," she says in reply, before leading the way inside.\n\nThe sitting room of the suite is slightly crowded with the number of people... you recognize Team RWBY, but there's also a sort of gawky blonde guy with a nice build and an acceptable blend of casual clothes and functional armor, a sloth-faced prettyboy in green, and a short chick with orange hair who looks at you like she'd either like to shake your hand and proclaim you her best friend or maybe just eat you, or both at once. There's also a scruffy older guy with red eyes (grandaddy?) slouched in an easy chair, and a tan kid who looks even younger than Ruby... though something's definitely weird about him, the way he's sitting is a lot more mature than everything else about him reads.\n\n"Welcome," he says in a tone that's also weirdly at odds with his appearance. "Team RWBY has told me what little they know of you, Kai. I must say, I've been around for a very long time, but this is the first time I have ever met someone who was born on another world, so you'll forgive me if I'm rather fascinated," he adds as he takes a sip from a mug. Smells kind of chocolatey.\n\n"Just don't call me a 'space alien', please," you answer flatly, causing several snickers and several other abashed expressions.\n\n"No, I think not." He leans forward to set down the mug, then picks up what looks like a cane and folds his hands on the top of it as he straightens in his seat. "But before we continue, I must ask you a question. Why are you here?"\n\n"... I came with Ilia," you say, a little confused as you tilt your head towards the younger woman beside you. "We were sent to-"\n\n"No, Miss Kai, I mean why are you here?" the boy interrupts smoothly, eyes far too mature and far too intense as they fix on you. "In this room? Forgive my bluntness, but Remnant is apparently and most definitely not your world. I understand the obligation you feel to Miss Amitola, and even to a certain extent the Faunus. What I do not yet understand is why you have declared your intent to assist Team RWBY on their mission."\n\n"Um, sir," Ruby starts, only to quiet as the boy glances at her.\n\n"... I do not ask because I doubt your intentions, Miss Kai," he says after a moment, shaking his head slowly. "Forgive me if that seemed to be the case. But you must understand that the mission we embark upon is one of the deepest import and the utmost secrecy. And I ask because I simply do not understand. This is not your home... why do you wish to risk yourself for it?"\n\n<hr>\n[["Seems the thing to do."|KaiRem]]\n\n[["... The hell it isn't."|KaiRem2x5]]

The boy's green eyes blink. "I beg your pardon? I thought it was agreed by all, and said by yourself, that you were not of Remnant."\n\n"I'm not. I have no idea where I was born... my story starts in a cell and runs through a hundred worlds and dwells on a shithole of a cityworld in the back reaches of a crappy dimension no one cares about. ... But because of that I guess I've realized there's only one thing I care about." Your eyes briefly skim over the crowded room, before they fix on the strangely mature boy. "People. The people who I have connections with." You glance at Ilia. "The people who seem like they need me." You look aside at Grey, who shifts his own gaze away in embarrassment. "The people that understand me," you add, Reese grinning and puffing her chest out a little. \n\n"... More than that," you continue, looking at the now silent boy again. "People in front of me who are hurting. Who are soulsick. And from what I'm seeing, Remnant is full of them. So you say this isn't my home? Fuck you. From now on my home is where these people are," you add, not needing to indicate the three clustered around you. "This is my home because it's their home. So I'll fight for it. You tell me that whatever you're doing is going to help this world, sign me up. Because you couldn't drag me away with a bunch of those big ugly shadowy fucks all pulling a chain around my neck."\n\nEveryone's silent for awhile after that, the scruffy man in the chair slowly sitting up straight and setting down his tumbler of booze on the table, folding his hands in front of his lower face. \n\nFinally, the boy nods. "Very well. This... has considerably challenged my own preconceptions," he adds softly, as if to himself, cupping his chin. "If even those not of this world will fight for it... for us... ... have I been wrong all this time?" Rather than answering his own question, he raises his head to look around the room. "I believe introductions are in order. And I think it is past time we cleared the air to a certain extent," he adds.\n\n"Oz?" the scruffy man rasps, lifting his head and frowning.\n\n"If there is anything that is obvious, it is that distrust and pain is thick in this room," the boy, 'Oz' apparently, continues as he rises to his feet, nonchalantly posing with the cane. "So. We will introduce ourselves. Fully, without shame. To that, we will say what is on our minds. What hurts within us that we are daring not to speak. What we are all holding back that we think will tear apart this fragile alliance. Because I think unless we all have the same bravery to bare our souls that this foreigner to our world's shores has shown, our secrets and distrust will do just that."\n\nThe room is truly silent now, fear thick in the air. The very concept of what he's saying is one of those things that would inflict horror on just about anyone. And he wants... all of you to do it? As an introduction?\n\n"I'm... Ruby Rose."\n\nEvery eye in the room turns to the young girl with two-tone hair, her adorable squeak of a voice having gone soft and a little shaky as she looks at the floor.\n\n"Um, I'm from Patch, and I always wanted to be a Huntress, because that's what my mom was. Except she died, and... sometimes I wonder if wanting to be a Huntress is just my way to keep some part of her. B-because... because I keep failing at it," she croaks, two tears slipping down her cheeks. "I couldn't save two of my best friends... all I could do was watch them die. And as hard as I keep pushing on... I don't think I'll ever stop feeling like a failure."\n\n"Oh Ruby," Yang whispers, tears sliding down her own cheeks as she enfolds the smaller girl in her arms, the two embracing tightly, Yang murmuring a soft stream of words clearly meant only for the silver-eyed girl's ears. Eventually Yang shudders a little, breathing hard for a few moments... then drawing away from the hug. "... My name's Yang Xiao Long. I'm Ruby's big sister... we have different moms, but... that doesn't matter. She's my sister, doesn't need any qualifiers, so just be clear about that. And about a year ago, I... did something stupid, charged into a fight I couldn't win. And I lost," she looks down, lifting her prosthetic hand and flexing it. "I lost a lot. ... Except I didn't lose my partner." She slowly raises her head, looking at Blake... then hisses, as more tears escape her eyes. "Because she ran away and left me."\n\n"Yang," Blake says softly, pure pain etched on her face.\n\n"SHUT UP! You ran when I needed you the most! I hate you!" she screams, her agonized voice filling the room. She just stares for a long moment in the silence that follows, tears falling silently, until she says hoarsely, "And I also love you more than I know what to do with. I love you so deeply that it goes down into a part of me I didn't know was there. I can't stop loving you, I will never stop loving you, loving you is a part of me, even though you left me there bleeding on the tarmac. Do you know what it feels like to love someone that did that to you?"\n\nThe silence is only broken by Ilia sobbing softly beside you, her crying muffled as you wrap an arm around her and draw her in close.\n\nThe feline Faunus is silent, her head lowered, nothing but the slow drop of her own tears marking that she's even still alive. She must be able to feel every eye in the room on her, something that even in the time you've known her you can be sure she must hate, but how could anyone look away. Finally, though, she speaks, and though her voice is watery it's firm, and it's sincere.\n\n"I'm Blake Belladonna. I was born in Menagerie to the leaders of the White Fang. And... I've run from every problem I've ever had." Her fists clench until her hands tremble. "When I disagreed with my parents on how to fight for equality, I ran from them instead of working it out. When I saw what the organization I'd run to was becoming, I ran from them too, instead of trying to make it better. I abandoned them... everyone," she adds, lifting her head just enough to glance at Ilia. "... And then, in the worst possible moment after I thought I'd been making some sort of strides towards being a better person... I abandoned my friends, my team, and my partner. My best friend. ... Someone I love," she adds in a croak, finally daring to look at Yang, tear-filled yellow eyes meeting wet purple ones. "Because I thought it would keep her safe. ... But also... ... because... I hated myself for what happened to her... and I couldn't deal with the idea that she might hate me too. And I ran, because it would have destroyed me. I ran... but I came back. And even if she hates me now... I'll have to live with it. Because I'm never running away again."\n\nWith a sob, Yang lurches forward and grabs hold of Blake, pulling her forward tightly, hands clenching in the back of her coat as she clutches her as if afraid she might disappear again.\n\nThe air is thick with a sort of anticipatory terror, everyone realizing that they're the next to bare their souls. But staring at the two estranged partners holding each other, there's also a sense of... hope.\n\nWeiss takes a deep breath, nods, then looks at the room. "My name's Weiss Schnee. ... And for most of my life I made excuses for what my family did to Faunus... and to other people who were beholden to us." She turns her gaze to Blake as the embrace ends, the feline Faunus sniffling. "And I won't apologize for caring about the people in my life that did those things... they were still people. They were still my friends... my family," she adds, lifting her chin. Then she slumps a little. "... But I'm still ashamed of the way I used to look at the world. And I keep hoping I'm better... that I've found what's really important... but I catch myself missing the comforts I had. I catch myself feeling sad that I've lost the money and affluence... and I wonder if I'm going to always be that same stupid, shallow girl you all met that first day at Beacon."\n\n"Weiss, no," Ruby whispers softly, crossing to the pale girl and taking her hands. "That's not who you are... I don't think that's ever who you were. Maybe that's... maybe that was something you learned to put over who you were, but I don't believe that's who you are. You're my partner... my friend. Our teammate. ... We love you."\n\nTeam RWBY proceeds to engage in the least forced group hug you've ever seen.\n\nSilence drags out for a time after that, until suddenly a quiet, strained voice speaks out.\n\n"My name's Jaune Arc." The blonde boy is sitting in a chair, head in his hands. He sounds dry-eyed, but he's staring down at his own lap fixedly. "I forged test exams to get into Beacon Academy, because I... wanted to be a hero. And I failed to protect the person that tried to help make those dreams come true... twice. And she went off without me, and she died. And every single day... every single day, I wish she'd taken me with her, so that I could have tried to save her..." He shudders hard, and his voice cracks as he says, "Or that I could have at least died with her."\n\n"Jaune," the orange-haired girl gasps in a pained tone. The flat-faced boy stares at him for long moments, then rushes over, grabbing hold and hauling him close, fingers twisting in shaggy blonde hair in a mixture of love and anger as he crushes the more muscular man against him, both shaking a little as Jaune starts to sob.\n\n"No. No. You will never think that again, you will never think that again," the black-haired man murmurs, squeezing Jaune tighter. "You are here with us, and we need you. You are never to wish you'd left us again. Understood?"\n\n"I'm sorry," Jaune sobs softly. "I'm sorry."\n\nOnce Jaune's exhausted himself, he sinks back into the chair. The other man just stands there for a moment, then turns to face the rest of the room, his voice flat again. "My name is Lie Ren. I watched my parents die at the hands of a Grimm. I was not able to save them... because I was a child. I was only able to save one other person," he continues, as the orange-haired girl gets up and moves to stand at his side, slipping her hand into his. "And I am... angry... all the time," he adds, just a flicker of that rage passing across his pink eyes. "I have tried so hard to control it in all the years since, but there are times that I worry the anger is all I can feel anymore. Anger and... fear. Fear that everything will be taken from me again. Fear of what that would do to me. And the fear... makes me angry."\n\nHis partner gives him a long, haunted look, before clearing her throat and speaking up, her already throaty voice a little wobbly. "Um, hi. Person he saved here. Nora Valkyrie," she adds, raising her other hand and waggling her fingers. "Well, that's the name I picked, 'cause I was alone and nameless when Ren found me in his village. And... I'm a coward," she says quietly, lowering her head as those who already know her stare in shock. "I'm a coward because... I see all my friends hurting. I see the pain they're going through. Somewhere along the way I decided I'd just cover over my serious feelings with acting like a goof, until it became all I could do. I couldn't admit to Ren how I felt about him... and I couldn't tell my friends what I wanted to say to help them. I just... acted like the silly goofy idiot because that's what I thought everyone wanted from me. ... And because it was easier than putting myself out there to say what I should have said." She turns her tear-streaked face to Jaune. "Jaune... I knew... I knew about you, and the recordings, and how much you were hurting, and I... I didn't say anything, and I am so sorry."\n\nAgain, silence, as everyone digests, as everyone feels the heady, silent pressure to be the next to go. And you can't help but wince in anticipatory pain at the next voice that speaks up.\n\n"Ilia Amitola. I was born in Mantle. My parents were happy that I was... passing. Because they thought they could get me out of the same life they had... and over time I got happy about it too. I... I started to feel racist against other Faunus, because I was going to school above them, the people around me hated them," your partner says softly, Blake's eyes pinching, and you realize the other Faunus has heard this story before. "... And then there was a mine collapse. My friends laughed. And I broke down and showed my... my true colors... because I knew my parents were dead. And they all stared at me in shock, not saying anything, realizing I was a Faunus. And then all my despair turned to anger, and I attacked them. And after that I just stayed angry and kept attacking humans, because if I did that... if I did that, I didn't have to face the pain. I didn't have to face what I'd become." She brushes her hands quickly over her spotted cheeks, before huffing out, "I wish... I wish I'd at least let them say something. I wish I'd given them the chance to show me who they were... because now that I've stopped being angry, now that I've faced the pain... I know I wish they'd have understood and tried to make up for how much they'd hurt me. ... But I don't think I can ever make up for how I hurt them."\n\n"Ssshhh. Hey, hey, c'mon, Rainbow," you murmur, gathering her close and stroking her hair as she trembles. "It's the past. You've already faced this. It's okay."\n\n"... Grey Heliotrope," the man on your other side says, his voice cool, but quiet. "Born on Menagerie. Orphan. Everyone took care of me there. Especially the chief and his wife." At Blake's surprise, he gives her a lopsided smile. "You were still just a baby when I left. I got a job offer from the mainland... 'entertainer'. ... It meant 'whore' and I knew it," he continues, bitterness edging his voice. "But I didn't see a life for myself on Menagerie. I went to the Chief for advice, but when he didn't tell me what I wanted to hear, I ignored him. Worst mistake of my life. I tried to convince myself for years that the life I had was fine, that I even liked it, but..." He trails off, then shakes his head. "... By chance I met a mercenary from the Guild... the organization both Kai and I belong to now. She rescued me from that place. She taught me to fight, taught me to be my own person. And then she died. ... And lots of people said I did it." His jaw clenches and works briefly. "... And I let them say it because it was my fault. Same difference. After that I had nothing, so... I let my life be about taking everything from others. I didn't have any heart or pride left to stop me from being the worst person I could be. My hands are stained with blood up to the shoulders. I don't belong in a room full of noble-hearted kids just trying to do good, I belong in a cell somewhere," he almost spits. Then, more softly, he adds, "But I can't make things even a little bit right from a cell. So I'm here. I'm home. I'll do whatever you need me to do to help."\n\n"... Um..." Reese steps forward a bit from behind you after Grey's story has had a moment to settle. "I... guess my story isn't quite as... rough as all this. Oh hey hi I'm Reese Chloris some of you guys probably remember me from Vytal and the... the Battle of Beacon," she adds, her wave turning a little lame before her hand drops. "Um. Yeah, so, uh, lemme see, I'm from near the Mistral Swamps, my folks are pretty well-off, and I've got seven older brothers." You see Jaune give what could only be described as a sympathetic wince, even as wrung-out as he is. "And uh I guess I always kind of sucked ass at being the girl my parents had been hoping for all eight times. All I wanted to do was race bikes down hills and hunt baby Nevermores and listen to my grandad's Hunstman stories. I mean it's not like we hated each other we just kind of had to negotiate every part of my life so that if I wanted to take martial arts classes I also had to take ballet and if I wanted to go to combat school I also needed flower arranging and dressmaking classes and they kept hoping it'd take but here the fuck I am. And at some point they stopped asking if I was gonna come home and I stopped offering and that's... pretty much it."\n\n"We about done with all this?" the scruffy man grunts, though you notice he looked distinctly misty-eyed when Ruby and Yang were talking. But now he's settled back into a sulk, nursing his whiskey glass and looking off to the side. "I mean I get it, but-"\n\n"Qrow," 'Oz' says evenly, turning hard green eyes on him.\n\n"... You gotta be kiddin' me..."\n\n"Qrow."\n\n"... Dammit," the raspy-voiced man murmurs, rubbing a hand over his face. He leans forward and sets the glass down again, opens his mouth to say something glib, you can just tell by his expression. Then his red eyes slowly raise to take in the room... no, you can tell he's focusing on Ruby and Yang, though his eyes start drifting to the others gradually, and you can see something give. He rubs his face, takes a deep breath to huff out, and nods.\n\n"Qrow Branwen. And my life is a curse," he says on that low rasp, practically spitting the words out bitterly. "My semblance... is bad luck. For everyone around me. I control it as well as I can, but... I always wind up hurting the people around me. And it weighs on me, okay?" he snaps, the anger bleeding away almost as quickly as it had come. "... It weighs on me. Because I always worry when I'm gonna hurt someone I love. So I drink. I sneer. And I make bad, bad decisions." He lowers his eyes in shame, taking a shuddery breath, before finally letting out something that he's obviously been caring a long, long time. "Like falling in love with my best friend's wife."\n\nYou see Ruby's eyes widen... and then soften in sudden understanding, her lower lip getting worried between her teeth. "That's why... you and Dad had that falling out."\n\n"Yeah... because I got drunk and stupid one night and I admitted to him what he'd only suspected before," Qrow says with a sigh. "Nothing ever happened, Ruby, and I never tried to make anything happen, I have that much control, but... the guilt, and the loss, it eats me alive every day. I miss her so much."\n\n"Is missing her why my... why Raven is like that?" Yang asks softly.\n\n"Maybe part of it." Qrow shakes his head. "I know it sounds arrogant to say it to her daughters, but you two don't really realize just how special Summer was. Every kid thinks their mom could pluck down the pieces of the moon any time she wanted... it's a hell of a lot more striking thing when you feel that way about someone you met as an adult. Losing her... did things to all of us. We were never the same people afterward. Raven was never exactly mom of the year material, or sister of the year material for that matter," he adds with a whiskey-rasp snort. "... But yeah. There was more heart and soul to her around Summer. How could there not be? That's what Summer did. That's who she was. Raven was never a great person to start with, if I'm honest... but we were all worse people for losing her." After that he drifts into silence, red eyes far away, probably turning over thoughts of what he wishes could have been.\n\nSuddenly realizing you're the only one that hasn't spoken, other than your host, even though you apparently set this all off, you finally bite the bullet. "My name's Kai. Just Kai. Three letters, randomly assigned by slavers." Some of the eyes in the room widen, obviously shocked at out-and-out reference to slavery. "They put a chip in my neck and blanked my brain, and the person I was before that ceased to be. I have no clue who she was... if she was someone with a family that loved her that just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, or discarded trash sold for pocket change. I just woke up in a cell one day, and then I got sold. And for the first few years I actually enjoyed myself... I didn't know any other life, any other existence, and I... I loved the two slaves who were mentoring me. The closest thing I had to parents. But then they were gone. And the place I thought of as home was gone. And I had nothing but a life filled with abuse and degradation and risk, for the sake of a man that, whatever he actually felt, sure as hell acted like he hated every breath I drew. All that and trying and failing pretty much every day to make life better for the only family I had left, the other slave in the house. And then I found my way back to one of the people that raised me and we stumbled right into a war. And then she sent us here... to get us away from it," you add, confirming aloud what Ilia surely must have expected. "Because... we're her daughters," you add, glancing aside at Ilia. "And I think she wanted us to be more than safe... she was hoping we'd find somewhere to make a home." You look aside at Grey, and at Reese. "... And we have."\n\n"Thank you, everyone. As painful as this has been, I truly think we will all be the better for it. Wounds have been opened... but they will no longer fester for being exposed to the air," 'Oz' says, nodding. You can see him hesitate, see him consider ducking his own urging. But then he says, "I will not draw back from this. I have asked you to give up your most shameful secrets, your painful pasts and stinging regrets. I... admit that I am deeply afraid of what you will do when I tell you even a little of the truth about myself," he adds softly. "And I will not ask your forgiveness for it. I can only ask for your understanding."\n\nHe's quiet for a long moment, then takes another deep breath before continuing. "The form you see before you is that of Oscar Pine... a simple boy from the country who has not yet lived a long enough life to have any secrets of consequence, if he will forgive me for the somewhat condescending statement," he continues, one corner of his mouth quirking, eyes flicking to the side briefly as if listening to some silent admonishment. "The consciousness speaking to you is that of Professor Ozpin, former headmaster of Beacon Academy. ... But that is not my first name. My true name is 'Ozma', and I am an incredibly old consciousness... one whose fate and story is inextricably connected to that of the enemy we face that you know as 'Salem'."\n\nThere are plenty of gasps around the room at that, though the name means nothing to you. Ozma lowers Oscar's head slightly, staring down in silence before continuing. "Like Mister Heliotrope, I have done many awful things in my life. Never out of malice, or hatred, always... for the greater good. My age and experience did not render me immune to mistakes, and I have made many. I... I am afraid I am not strong enough to tell you the full depth of some of the things I have done," he murmurs, his hand actually shaking as he brings it up to press to his face. "... And for that, I will ask your forgiveness. But there are some things, some mistakes, that no man should have to speak of again... especially in a body too young to be drinking."\n\nSlowly, his hand comes back down to rest on the butt of his cane, head raising again. "... The truth is, I was told that Salem could not be defeated. That she is in fact immortal." A shock of fear runs through the room. "I thought that all I could do was protect as many people as I could, make them as resistant as possible to her hatred. To that end, I have plotted. I have lied. And I have manipulated. Including people in this very room," he adds, glancing sorrowfully at the wide-eyed Qrow. "And for that, I am sorry. I have always been sorry. But I thought it was all I could do. I felt alone in the world, carrying a secret I thought could destroy it, or destroy anyone I shared it with. I justified all I did with the burden I thought I alone could carry. I do not expect you to forgive me for this... but I am sorry."\n\n"You bastard..." Rage flares in Qrow's eyes, and he comes to his feet, a fist clenching... but then the anger bleeds away again, replaced by despair. "... Why? Why tell us now, then? What the hell are we doing, if Salem can't be killed?"\n\n"What's this all for?" Nora demands in a despairing tone.\n\n"It is for hope, Miss Valkyrie," Ozma answers evenly, looking at her, then at Qrow, then at the rest of the room. "The faintest glimmer of a hope. Never before since I learned of Salem's true immortality have I had a hope that there might be a true way to win." Then his brow furrows. "But never before did I think the universe was so wide as to house other worlds with life... that we in fact live in a multiverse, full of infinite possibilities. Perhaps what I thought was for certain was limited to that worldview... perhaps there is more to existence than I, or any of the other powers involved in this struggle, knew."\n\n"Wait wait wait," you step forward, waving a hand. "Are you saying you're hinging your hopes for defeating an immortal demon-witch-whatever on me?"\n\n"Not you yourself, Miss Kai," Ozma corrects evenly. "On what you represent. A wider possibility. A change in the wind. The fact that there are far more variables in play that could be known. I now think that we should push ahead with our immediate goals... keeping Salem from assembling the artifacts, and protecting as many people as we can from her. I know this sounds strangely optimistic, considering everything that's been said up until now, but I think perhaps we should simply... 'do what we can and hope for the best'."\n\nThere's a stunned silence after that... finally broken by Yang snorting. "Well, hell, that's how I live my life anyway."\n\n"Language!" the rest of Team RWBY snaps in various levels of mock outrage, Blake instantly blushing and looking worried as if the reflexive teasing might be taken the wrong way.\n\n"Iiii'm gonna be living that one down for awhile, aren't I?" Yang mutters, rubbing her face with her left hand... then giving Blake a small smile, which seems to relax her considerably.\n\n"... You and I are gonna have a long talk in private," Qrow says finally, stabbing a finger at Ozma and frowning. "I wish I could get you out of that kid because you sure as hell deserve a sock to the real you's jaw, you manipulative bastard."\n\n"More than one, I should think," Ozma replies dryly, quirking a brow, before bobbing his head as Qrow scowls more darkly. "Forgive me, unwarranted levity. Yes, Qrow, we will talk at length about many things... I will no longer keep anything related to your experiences with me from you. Though I think there are certain scenarios running through your head that are not so awful as you think." He looks around at all of you. "In a matter of weeks we will leave Haven on the Argus Express, and hopefully be in Atlas soon after. I think a long talk with James Ironwood is also long overdue... I have little hope of it working out particularly well, but... better he hear the truth from me rather than in some other way. You've certainly all borne it better than I was expecting," he adds.\n\n"The only thing worse than being lied to is having to find out about it from someone else," Ilia speaks up, shaking her head.\n\n"Yes... you're probably right, Miss Amitola. However, you remind me of an unrelated matter that I think we must now address." He rounds the low table to stand in front of you, green eyes taking in you and the three others clustered near you. "Whatever my mistakes, one of the things I am truly and unquestionably proud of is the founding of the Huntsmen Academies. For all the shame that follows me through my many lives, the fact that I have given so many young people direction, strength, and most importantly a home will be forever something I take pride in. And now I see that what I have established there survives outside of the schools... that it has become part of our culture, that it extends to even those who arrive here from far-off places. Do not mistake my words for bragging," he adds, shaking his head briefly. "Instead understand they are words of gratitude. Seeing you make a family here, Miss Kai, a family of Huntsmen and Huntresses, of your own will and own volition, willing to stand between the innocent and evil with them at your side... thank you. You have given me more hope in that than anything else."\n\n"... Is that who I am now?" you ask quietly, honestly confused. "Am I... someone who stands between the innocent and evil?"\n\n"Only time will tell, but... say that experience has given me the ability to judge character. And I do not think that is who you always were... but I think it is someone you were ready to be. And someone you have become. And to that end, I feel like I must exercise a privilege I reserved for myself long ago, one last time perhaps... but I have rarely been more proud to do so."\n\nOzma straightens his back and shoulders, obviously trying to exude solemnity and maturity despite his poor farmer's clothes and youthful body. "Kai. Ilia Amitola. Reese Chloris. Grey Heliotrope. You are... Team KACH," he declares evenly, pronouncing the acronym 'cash'. "Leader... Kai Sterling."\n\n"You're... you're giving me a name?" you whisper in shock, actually feeling your eyes heat and moisten for some damn reason. \n\n"I am offering it to you to take, if you would have it. A word associated with silver," he says, briefly glancing at Ruby, before looking at you and smiling. "But it has another meaning. One that is obvious to me in the eyes of your team every time they look at you." He tilts his head slightly, eyes warmer than they have been before. "It means 'of the highest quality'."\n\nYour throat tightens and your heart trembles. All you can do is nod.\n\n"Very well then. Team RWBY. Team JNPR. Team KACH. You will all join us in this... possibly doomed quest. But we will all try to have hope that it is not."\n\n"Team KACH. That's what I'm talking about," Grey chuckles, offering his knuckles for you to bump. "Hopefully that's an omen we're gonna get paid at some point."\n\n"Dreams are good to have, apparently," you answer, trying to keep your voice from being too watery as you smile and knucklebomb him.\n\n"Um, but, Prof-... er... Ozma," Nora says, glancing back and forth at her teammates, all of them looking a little pained. "We're... really just Team JNR now. I guess."\n\n"Miss Valkyrie, who is in charge of team names here, you or I?" Ozma answers with obviously affected primness, turning towards her and giving her a long, even look before smiling, his voice gentle but warm as he continues. "I look at all three of you and I see the presence of Miss Nikos everywhere. Not just the trinkets, the mementos, the physical things you have carried forward... I see her written in your movements, your faces, your very souls. She is still with us as long as the three of you are. As far as I am concerned, Team JNPR stands before me, whole and unbroken. And I cannot currently imagine a day where that ceases to be true. Can you?"\n\nNora has started crying quietly, rubbing at her cheeks repeatedly with her palms. Tears silently stream down Ren's cheeks as he nods once, his fists clenched. A complex array of emotions has played out over Jaune's face in the time since Ozma began revealing his secrets... but now his gaze wanders down to the shield leaned against the chair he was sitting in before Ren pulled him to his feet. His fingers wander up to brush over his lips, and then to his forehead... the same place you remember Ilia placing hers when she awakened you. Then he nods slowly, raising his head, face more composed and expression stronger, instantly wiping away any thoughts of considering him a boy again. The man before you nods firmly.\n\n"No, sir, I can't."\n\n"Good. Now, I imagine we all have a lot to digest, and likely quite a bit more discussion to have between ourselves. But for now, let us continue to do what we can to repair the damage to Haven, and to ready ourselves for our mission... our quest. We all have a lot to do... saving the world is busy work," Ozma adds with another almost playful smirk.\n\nShit. Guess that's what you're doing now. ... Kai Sterling, savior of the world. Kind of sounds badass.\n\n<hr>\n[[Watch the title sequence.|KaiRem2x5a]]\n\n[[Press the 'Skip' button.|KaiRem2x6]]

"Grey." You reach out, laying a hand on his arm, his steel-colored eyes turning to you in almost surprise. "What do you think Ghira would say if you went up to him and told him what you were thinking of doing?"\n\n"... I..." Grey opens his mouth, closes it, then looks towards the light with a pained expression on his face.\n\n"Yeah. You know, don't you? Are you gonna pay him back for the advice you didn't take by doing what you know he wouldn't want?" You squeeze his arm lightly. "... His little girl isn't a little girl, and she can decide for herself how she wants things to be. But that doesn't mean you can't be there for her if she needs you. ... Maybe ask him if that's what he thinks you should do," you add, voice soft. "Maybe listen this time."\n\n"... He's a good man," Grey whispers, voice almost agonized now. "He'll know what kind of man I am now. He'll... be ashamed of me," he says quietly, as if having traversed the multiverse and seen so many of the horrors it had to offer, that was still one of the worst things he could imagine.\n\nSomething thrums in you... some echo you felt amidst your Aura awakening, when you were shown something deep and powerful, when walls came up around your soul and down in your heart. "If he's that good of a man, he won't be," you find yourself assuring Grey.\n\nThe two of you start making your way back, when there's an awful howling, shrieking noise from inside the academy, along with a glimpse through the gaping hole in its exterior of something towering and black. Part of your brain wants to freeze or scurry away like it did before, but you wind up running towards it instead, Grey at your side. But before either of you can get there, the nightmare is gone, and you instead wind up joining the small crowd staring in at the group of people huddled on the floor holding each other.\n\nIt takes a little while for things to settle down, especially sorting out how to organize the Faunus militia to actually secure the city since there's apparently been quite a dent put in the local Huntsmen population, and after all that's happened the population is edgy and afraid. That apparently means Grimm trying to get in, but at least this time you don't freeze up fighting them. You do kind of start seeing the wisdom of that whole 'two weapons' in one thing, and by the time the sun is rising you're rather sourly contemplating exactly how to it's-also-a-gun your katana. 'Sorry, Ico, needs must.'\n\nBut as you and Grey trudge back towards the informal little 'command center' out in front of Haven Academy, you spot Ghira still giving orders and directing people, though the small group around him disperses and leaves him standing alone, pinching the bridge of his nose as he obviously takes a moment to be tired. You nudge Grey with your elbow and nod towards him, and for a moment the pretty, hardened merc looks all-out terrified. Maybe that's exactly why he takes a deep breath, squares his shoulders, and walks over. "Ah... sir? You probably don't remember me, but... I'm from Menagerie. Just got back before all this went down, and-"\n\n"Grey?" Ghira says, his eyes slowly lighting up and those big hands coming to a rest on Grey's shoulders. "Grey, you're back! You were here!" he adds, sounding absolutely delighted, pride shining in his eyes. "Are you alright? You look like you haven't slept or eaten, we have something set up over there, come, come, I want to hear how you are!"\n\nGrey had gone stiff as a board at the recognition, just staring up at Ghira as the big man continues to smile at him, though the warmth is slowly being replaced by worry on the older Faunus's face. "... Sir..." Grey says quietly, actually trembling a little. "... I wish I'd listened to you... I wish I'd listened to you back then... everything you said was right, but I..."\n\n"Oh. Oh Grey... oh son," Ghira murmurs, his face slowly crumbling into an expression of sympathy. "I'm so sorry."\n\n"... I got out but... I wound up... I did... I... I did so many bad things," Grey whispers, his voice cracking as tears start to run down his face. Slowly, the most bitter, cruel, vicious merc you personally know crumbles away, leaving a sobbing little boy wearing his body. "Please... please don't hate me..."\n\n"It's alright now, son," the big man murmurs, wrapping his arms around the other feline Faunus with all the unyielding surety of a mountain. "It's alright. None of that matters. You're home, and it's going to be okay," he continues to assure the boy quietly, stroking his hair gently.\n\nFeeling an emotion you don't have the words or the experience to quantify choking your throat until you almost can't breathe, you decide to find somewhere else to be.\n\n"Kai," someone calls as you're wandering around, and you focus and compose yourself a little before turning to face Blake as she approaches. "Hey, would you mind? There are some people I want to introduce you to." She draws you towards the three you only saw in brief before. "This is Ruby Rose, Yang Xiao Long, and Weiss Schnee. They're the rest of my team. Our other friends are around here somewhere, but I wanted everyone to meet the person that helped get us here."\n\n"EEEEE IT'S THE SPACE ALIEEEEEN!" a girl with two-tone hair squeals, looking like she'd very much like to tacklehug you, only being held back by a woman with wild blonde hair and a prosthetic arm holding her back by the hood of her cape.\n\n"I... guess?" you murmur, eyeing Ruby, then looking around at the others. "Nice to see you. I just helped out some on Menagerie, really."\n\n"Still, thank you... it sounds like Blake might have lost one of her friends, or her parents, if you weren't there," Weiss... because who else would be the extremely white girl... says, giving you a reserved smile.\n\n"My... well, basically, I was told to look after Ilia and I will." You turn to look at Blake. "But I know how much she cares about you. I think she'll want to stick with you. For that matter, so do I," you admit. "And pretty sure Grey will be along for the ride too. So whatever's next, count on us."\n\nBlake exchanges a slightly worried glance with the others, then nods slowly. "If it was... 'our' Ilia, then I don't think I'd feel right bringing her along. I'm asking her to stay here in Haven and work on uniting the Mistralians and Faunus, with my parents. But..." She trails off, looking at Ruby, the others as well. Suddenly you realize the only one here who you'd definitively call a 'girl' is actually the leader, and after a brief and very girlish sheepish glance around, her face becomes serious, silver eyes narrowed in thought. (Silver eyes... they seem weirdly striking, though you're not sure why.)\n\n"It's dangerous," Ruby says slowly. "For them and for us. The more people that know, the more are at risk, and the more that can go wrong." She slowly raises her head to focus on you. "You have to understand... this isn't just another fight like this one. It's... fate of the world type stuff," she admits with a little bob of the head. "But Blake says you've stood by her. If you guys are willing to take the risk... I think it'd be good to have you come with us."\n\n"Saving the world, next on the list, check," you say with a sigh, before grinning tiredly. "Fuck it, I'm in."\n\n"Language!" Yang blurts, then flushes a little as everyone looks at her. "... What?"\n\n"We need to get things settled down here first, so it'll probably be a few weeks, but then we'll be heading north," Weiss says, making a face as she does, apparently not entirely happy with that. "We'll try to find some time to introduce you to everyone else and... explain things better before then, obviously."\n\n"Yeah, I have some things I need to do too, I guess." You sigh a little as you glance down at your sword. "Like making this 'also a gun'."\n\n"Ah for reeeeeeeeeeeal?!" Ruby squeals, all childlike enthusiasm as she whips over to you, actually blurring and shedding... rose petals?!... as she moves. "Can I see can I help can I do it all myself please please please?!"\n\n"We need you working on other things, dolt," Weiss huffs, giving Ruby's head a little shove.\n\n"A-awwwww!"\n\n"Sun's partner Neptune could probably help you, he's their weapons expert and he's due back soon," Blake says, then frowns. "Although I think there's also someone already here, one of the students that came back in a hurry because she was nearby. She's been helping with the technical repairs and helping to boost the CCT, so she must be good. But that's as much as I know about her, other than that she's a 'her', obviously, you'd have to find her on her own."\n\n"I suggest finding the girl who's here now, much better than dealing with that hydrophobic lothario," Weiss almost growls, folding her arms over her chest.\n\n"Awww, but Neptune's really good! He's got this awesome electro-trident that turns into a railgun, I totally wanna turn Crescent Rose into a railgun too! Neeeeyow PSH!" Ruby declares, miming firing a weapon repeatedly and then adding explosion hand motions while going 'pffffwoooo!' with her mouth.\n\nYou stare at her, then look at Yang, who shrugs elaborately. "Sixteen."\n\n"Wow."\n\n"HEY!"\n\n"Anyway." Yang huffs some, then gives you a wan grin. "I suggest you make like your partner and grab some sleep, then start tomorrow."\n\nYou blink. "Er, sorry, think there's been some confusion. I'm single."\n\nAll of them stare at you, then break out in either blushes or laughter, which leaves you standing there fighting the urge to squirm in embarrassment. What the hell.\n\n"N-not that kind of partner!" Yang giggles, reaching out to pat you on the shoulder. "Sorry, sorry, it's easy to forget you're not from around here. Or a Huntress, for that matter, you've just kinda got the feel. Typically Huntresses and Huntsmen are partnered up with someone, and then they tend to group into teams of two pairs. Like us, Ruby and Weiss are partners, and me and..." She trails off, glancing aside, Blake's feline ears laying down at the hesitation there. Yang's smile seems a little more forced as she turns back to you and says, "Well, we're Team RWBY."\n\n"You named the whole team after-"\n\n"AHHHH SEE IT'S STILL CONFUSIIIIING!"\n\nWeiss clears her throat into her fist, bops Ruby across the back of the head with it, then clears her throat into it again. "Right. You'll learn that here on Remnant, color is very important to us. It's a cultural thing... virtually everyone observes the naming conventions of using a name connected to colors. People, important places, and even our teams typically have names evocative of a color. The team leader's initial comes first, and then the rest, using a mix of first and last initials as necessary."\n\n"It's weird how often it seems to work out, like someone planned it ahead of time," Yang muses aloud, glancing upward as she scratches her cheek. "Ah, anyway, Ilia's asleep in the makeshift bunkhouse over there, you prolly want to do the same. Tomorrow definitely start working on a weapon upgrade, you'll need it for this trip."\n\nNodding, and letting some of the weariness you've been fighting off settle on your shoulders as you turn and head over, you step into the building to find that Faunus and a few Mistralian lawenoffs have basically bedded down wherever they could find room, either on sleeping bags, piles of blankets, or just 'naked' in a few cases who look like they were so tired they basically found an empty spot and dropped. Ilia is close to being one such, though it looks like someone... probably her 'sister', to judge by her own sleeping form's proximity... has tucked a couch pillow under her head. Relaxed in sleep, her hair has drifted back to its natural brown color, and she's breathing easily, the most at peace you've seen her in awhile. You carefully settle onto the floor beside her, brushing a bit of hair back over her ear.\n\n"Partner, huh?" you murmur, looking at her face for a few moments, before leaning down and pecking her on the forehead. "Sweet dreams, Rainbow. Partner," you add, before laying down and hauling your coat around yourself as a makeshift blanket.\n\nIn the morning... ... wow, geez, really? You were more tired than you thought. Anyway, you wake up to find the bunkhouse much less crowded, and the spot next to you empty. But someone, who probably had very cute specks, has tucked a chocolate bar and a meal bar under the fold of your hood where they wouldn't be obvious to anyone going past. You tuck the meal bar away for a more desperate time and eat one of the readymeals you bought from the Guild shop. As you munch the chocolate bar, you try to decide on the matter currently at hand. Wait for Sun's buddy, or go looking for the more readily-available mystery girl?\n\n<hr>\n[[Wait.|KaiRem]]\n\n[[Get moving.|KaiRem2x3]]

You're tooootally on board with this new 'helpful hero yay' you, but fuck it if you want to immediately resume nothing but guard duty and maintenance on another world when that's all you were doing helping Niobe on Makarzia. And fuck fighting any more Grimm unless you actually have to. Going looking for the already present person gives you the perfect excuse not to do any of that, so you set off wandering around and looking. Occasionally you ask someone if they've seen a female tech around, and you get pointed at a few but never the right one, or you get pointed somewhere you think the right one was but isn't anymore.\n\nIt's almost noon when you're walking along and hear a rapidly approaching "whoooooOOOOOAAAAAA!" from behind you. Whipping around, you jerk out of the way as someone on a hoverboard comes at you at speed, diverting from where you were standing a half a heartbeat ago at the last possible moment and instead zipping about ten feet straight up a wall... whereupon the rider drops off and to the ground, hitting ass-first with a flare of green light from the point of impact, followed by a second flare and a loud yelp of pain as the hoverboard drops and the top hits her directly on the head. Wincing, she picks the green and black board up in one hand, what look like bladed prongs sticking out of the front and back of it. She's probably Ilia's age and of a similar build, a fan of spiky green hair jutting from beneath the hood of her purple hoodie, a pinkish-red sweater poking out from beneath its short arms. The cute, pert butt she's currently rubbing in pain is hugged by a pair of black bike shorts, her knees covered by glowing green and black pads and a pair of fairly simple black boots on her feet. She squints one big green eye closed, eyeing the board balefully with the other.\n\n<img src="images/Reese.jpg">\n\n"Traitor," she mutters... before she actually hugs it. "Sorry baby I didn't mean that it's not your fault it's the Dust the Schnees are foisting crap on all of us these days."\n\n"Hey!" you faintly hear Weiss shout in the distance.\n\n"Ah... hey, would you be the uh... tech wiz?" you ask, quirking an eyebrow.\n\n"That's me!" she chirps, hopping to her feet, all bright smiles and hands on hips as if having forgotten her abused butt in an instant. "Reese Chloris at your service. Probably literally I guess since every-fuckin'-body wants a piece of me shit sucks when you're talented! ... What?" she adds, staring at you dubiously now.\n\nIt's probably the huge grin that's spread across your face. "You swear."\n\n"Hell fuckin' yeah I swear'n'shit!" she declares proudly, puffing out what little chest she's got. "I swear like a god damn bastard! ... Actually my partner made me promise not to talk at all when we were at the Vytal Festival I swear so fuckin' much," she adds sheepishly, ducking a fingerless-gloved hand into the side of her hood to rub her neck.\n\n'Ah, like sweet music,' you think with an amused shake of the head. Well she actually seems a little tryhard, but she got the spirit. "Actually I did wanna ask for your help, but not for like a telephone pole or something. Nevermind," you add at her blank look. "I'm Kai, and my friend Blake suggested maybe you could-"\n\n"BLAKE?! Blake Belladonna?! You know her?!" Reese squeals, instantly dropping her board (which falls into a proper hovering position) to clasp one of your hands, her eyes sparkling. "She's here?! She remembers me?!"\n\n'Does Blake have a thing for smols or do smols have a thing for Blake?' you muse internally, glancing skyward before focusing on the girl in front of you again. "I'm not sure if she remembers you or not, sorry, I think she only heard there was someone doing tech stuff around."\n\n"A-aw." Reese droops a little, before quickly looking back and forth. "Maybe I can find her though..."\n\n"You two know each other, huh?"\n\n"Oh yeah totally we met at the Vytal Festival and we squared off against each other and she absolutely kicked my fuckin' ass," Reese declares, once more puffing out her chest and sounding proud of it as if thoroughly delighted to have been beaten down in some sort of tournament.\n\n'Smol and M, check,' you think, trying not to roll your eyes and instead saying. "Anyway, I'm sort of new here."\n\n"What in Mistral yeah so's pretty much everyone the last few days so what?"\n\n"To the planet."\n\n"... Eh?" Reese replies, getting that slightly unfocused 'please say you're fucking with me' look in her eyes a lot of people on uncontacted planets get when someone says something like that completely naturally and with no artifice.\n\n"I'm not from Remnant. Look it's a long story and I'll tell it all to you if you want, but long and short of it is I'm gonna be here awhile, I've got the Aura and shit, but we don't do the whole 'also a gun' thing so much where I come from." You wait a moment to make sure she's not gonna freak, then slowly unsheath your sword and proffer it. "This is my go-to."\n\n"Oh nice," Reese almost blurts, apparently distracted from whatever burgeoning culture shock or disbelief she was having as she accepts the simple katana with more reverence than you'd have expected from such an obvious tech-head. She looks it up and down for a few moments, even drawing a pair of goggles out of her pocket and placing them over her eyes to examine it, then she nods. "Okay yup I totally believe you dude."\n\n"Just from that?" you ask, quirking a brow.\n\n"Yup this isn't made on Remnant they don't make 'em like this anymore fuck they never made 'em like this the alloy process is completely different and the folding technique's never been recorded you are twenty hundred percent a space alien."\n\n"I wish you guys would stop saying 'space alien', it just feels weird," you mutter, rubbing your face with one hand.\n\n"Sorry if I was insensitive my extraterrestrial compadre you are my very first friend from beyond the stars and I don't wanna start out with a microaggression so let's focus on getting you properly geared up for your impending planetary conquest," she chirps at an amazing clip, giving you such a winning smile you just decide to drop the whole matter before you make it worse.\n\n"So, think you can do something with it? I'd like to not, y'know... mess with it too much, and maybe keep any parts you take off," you murmur, trying not to squirm.\n\n"Hey no need to fuss Gus don't get shy about it we're pretty sentimental about our weapons around here everybody names 'em and shit so you don't gotta act like it's a big deal I will totally respect your baby like she was mine," Reese declares, bowing her forehead briefly over the sword, which is both extremely cheesy and makes you feel immensely better. "I actually don't need to do too much to the blade itself maybe a very light bond coat of Dust to help you channel your Aura through it mostly what we need to look at is getting you some projectile capability with hopefully a secondary melee mode while we're at it you got anything else to work with or are we going scrounging?"\n\n"I mean," you say with a shrug, then part the front of your coat wide, showing off the pair of holstered pistols at your sides, the multiple other pistols tucked away in other pockets, the modular sniper rifle pieces tucked close to your lower back, the practically-a-short-sword knife holstered horizontally at your mid-back, and the numerous magazines of different types of ammo tucked alongside their respective weapons.\n\n"I love you please destroy my pussy and impregnate me with several dozen healthy alien hybrid young."\n\n"... Let's see how you do on the weapon and we'll talk, alright?"\n\n"Ow. ... Ow. ... ... Ow."\n\n"Wear gloves or something," you suggest, frowning a little as you lean over Reese's shoulder. The two of you are in her team's room in Haven Academy... specifically, the precise quarter of it that is completely and totally cluttered with what are clearly identifiable as spare parts even if you have no idea what they're spare to.\n\n"Can't wear gloves the work's too delicate besides the pain's fine it's not too bad lets me know things are working," she insists, giving another soft 'ow' as the soldering iron-like thing shocks her fingertip again.\n\n"M."\n\n"I know what that means yanno and fuck you for being perceptive." Reese is focusing on something that will apparently be the new housing for your sword's blade, using parts of several of your guns, though she left the little quick-fire pistols as-is... well, other than literally orgasming over their ammo replicators and then somehow figuring out how to switch them to dust-tipped rounds. "You're pretty cool yanno there's not really that many people around here like you," she adds with a glance. "Seems like everyone's kinda uptight to at least a certain extent like even other students who with all the outfits and weapons and stuff you'd think would be pretty hype but pretty much no one swears or talks about lewd stuff or whatever and it gets pretty damn dull sometimes."\n\n"I am fully aware of my coolness," you assure her with a smirk, before tugging her hood back so you can fully ruffle her already spikey green hair. "You're pretty great too. Kinda like a breath of fresh air. Or maybe smoggy air, considering. Not sure I'd call the others 'uptight' but... you feel like a little bit of familiar in a place far from what I know."\n\nReese falls silent for a bit at that. When she does speak, it's surprisingly more measured than her usual madcap delivery. "So, uh, where are you going once this is done and all?"\n\n"North, apparently." You shrug. "Don't know a lot about it, but Blake's friends apparently need to head that way, so me and my friends, Ilia and Grey, are gonna go with them. Some important thing," you add with a shrug.\n\n"Important huh." She pauses in soldering something, then looks up at you. "Sounds like you need a fourth."\n\n"Eh?" you say with a blink.\n\n"A fourth. To round out your fuckin' team. I'm saying I'll come with and shit y'can't have too many tech geniuses around y'know and gotta get yer weapons serviced and everything along the way," she adds, closing the panel before turning fully on the stool she's sitting on to face you.\n\n"I thought you had a team?" you ask, glancing around at the rest of the room.\n\n"I'm not sayin' I wanna become someone else's partner and leave my team for yours forever," Reese says quickly, shaking her head briefly but vehemently before continuing, voice slowing again and growing softer. "But right now they're all taking care of stuff at home. And I... well I'm not needed for that, get me? All I can do is stay here and try to be useful but I didn't become a Huntress to fix scrolls and fritzing power grids!" she adds, voice rising and tempo quickening briefly before she winces a little. "I... don't know when I'll get to be a team with my friends again. But I do know I want to do something important. Something to actually help people. I've got ideas for that but I can't do it on my own, and you totally need me, obviously!" she grins and thrusts her hands out towards you. "C'mon buddy whattya fuckin' say? I promise no pussy destruction or impregnation even required!"\n\n<hr>\n[[Huh. Okay.|KaiRem2x4]]\n\n[[Probably shouldn't.|KaiRem]]

"Blake's calling the shots on this job, she says let him run, we let him run," you answer, straightening up and heading back towards the last few tattered shreds of a fight.\n\n"You say 'job', but she's not paying us," Grey points out as he falls in with you. "I mean I dunno if you're getting paid, but Niobe really only paid me to get you here, it was more of a personal favor to not just drop you in Menagerie and instantly beacon back to the Guildhall."\n\nYou stop and turn towards him, frowning. "As I recall it was you that suddenly developed a heroic streak in Menagerie, when you saw that house burning."\n\nGrey comes to a stop as well, his feline ears lowering ever so slightly as he stares off towards where the elder Belladonnas are talking with some of the Mistral authorities. "... Ghira's a good man," he says quietly. "I went to him once, when I was still basically a kid. I'd been offered a job on the mainland and..." His lips twist. "... I knew what it was. But I was in denial about it, because I wanted the hell off of Menagerie. The words 'private room' and 'clothing allowance' were calling me. He gave me a ton of good advice... ... but little, stupid me wasn't satisfied because what he didn't give me was money. So I ignored him. And I left. And I've regretted it pretty much every damn day since."\n\nYou'd heard the rumors... that Grey was kept as someone's slave in all but name before he escaped his homeworld with a Guild merc. You've even heard the word 'toy' used. But you never had an inkling that he'd actually sold himself into that life. Menagerie seemed... amazing to you, like the sort of place you want to escape to, not from. ... Y'know, the parts that weren't on fire. But you guess that's because you weren't born there. It felt like a wonderful new sight to you, not just... where you randomly wound up stuck at. ... Like Makarzia. You just watch him quietly as he stares at the big man, as if straining to see the life he would have lived if he'd just listened.\n\n"I guess it's weird to feel like you owe someone when they didn't actually do anything for you, but goddammit he tried," Grey hisses, clenching his fingers, the claws shrieking ever-so-softly across the armor covering his palm. "And that bastard hurt his little girl. ... You go on back, Kai. I've got hunting to do."\n\n<hr>\n[[This isn't the way.|KaiRem2x2]]\n\n[[... Good hunting.|KaiRem]]

You just sort of watch Gao and Aki for a few long moments, chattering away to each other and you (with you giving rather distracted answers). Such handsome boys... with those traces of wildness in their features despite the urban setting. Gah... yeah, admit that as wicked and debauched as their father (and his pack) was, he did sort of steal your heart.\n\nWell. Couldn't hurt to get just a little hands-on with them. Like, at least show them how to talk to girls to get what they want the right way... or maybe how to put on and use condoms, that seems very practical advice...\n\nHm. Or you might want to do a little poking around in their room and find out just how far their interest in sex has gotten... and if it's gotten very far, if they've discovered any particular directions. It might give you more of a hint on how to, ah... handle their education.\n\n'Or you could just fuck 'em,' whispers the ultra-horny part of your brain that woke up in the laundry room that day and hasn't entirely gone silent ever since. Normally you've been able to ignore it or push it way into the background but holy shit are you horny and there is genuinely a part of you that, all good sense and other ideas of propriety aside, reeeeally wants to see if your sons fuck as good as their big furry daddy.\n\n<hr>\n[[Teach them to talk to girls.|ChiMom2x1]]\n\n[[Teach them to avoid pregnancy.|ChiMom1x10]]\n\n[[Look into their interests.|ChiMom]]\n\n[[Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck|ChiMom3x1]]

Yeah... probably ought to do something at the very least. They're clearly old enough to be interested in girls and... well, you do the laundry, you know they're not entirely innocent about physical matters. \n\nWhich, ah... admittedly is part of the other reason this is a little weird because the first time you smelled that scent in the laundry you got intensely wet and your nipples practically burst through your shirt with how fast they got achingly hard. Took you right back to that night which, whatever else it was aside, were the most numerous and the most overwhelming orgasms you've ever had in your life. You've had a small handful of dates since then but frankly the memory of the twins' dad (and his pack) dominating you and fucking your brains out is still your most intense and overpowering sexual experience many years later, and not by a little.\n\nSoooo... part of you kind of wants to... hands-on educate them. Y'know.\n\nVery directly.\n\nObviously your own better sense says no, no no no, of course not, you can't do such a thing, that's crazy! Just sit them down and have a nice, firm, explanatory talk with them about proper sexual practices and let that be that. You'll have done your completely normal motherly duties and surely it won't be that weird.\n\nAnd then there's the night creature part of you that suggests what is considered in that part of society a perfectly reasonable compromise: have a professional do it. If the boys are old enough to be interested in fucking, they should be old enough to understand the concept of going to someone who's willing for a price. Plus you've still got enough connections in that world to know the megasector's head of working girls, Pink-neechan, she'd be able to get you someone (or someones) that would help the boys learn how to treat girls who weren't being paid. Probably a jaw-dropping solution to a lot of other people, but for Neokuza, gangbanger, and night creature boys not at all an unusual way to be ushered into manhood.\n\n<hr>\n[[Take the matter in hand personally.|ChiMom1x9]]\n\n[[Just talk to them.|ChiMom]]\n\n[[Get a professional.|ChiMom]]

Maybe you really are completely fuck-addled, because honestly you 100% see their point. This monster sex party was amazing, and you can just live like that? Yeah, sign you up (at least current-you who's still probably pretty drunk). \n\n"So wait... I can pick any sort of monster?" you say slowly.\n\n"Pretty much anything," the vampire says breezily. "The whole party's set up for it after all, if there's not one who's in attendance we can probably still manage."\n\n"Just pick something you like, any sort of monster," Kayla adds, her voice having deepened to come out in a bit of a growl as well.\n\n<hr>\n[[Werewolf.|PervSim]]\n\n[[Vampire.|PervSim]]\n\n[[Ghost.|PervSim]]\n\n[[Dullahan.|PervSim]]\n\n[[Catgirl.|PervSim]]\n\n[[Succubus.|PervSim]]\n\n[[... Human?|PervSim]]

Look you're really horny and have been since before you even entered this weird place. And quite frankly, Kayla's making sucking monster cock look like way too much fun not to indulge as well.\n\nYou turn and spot a lizardman sitting on the couch next to a Little Red Riding Hood bouncing on the cock of another werewolf, her stretched asshole thumping against his knot as if about to take it every time as her tits bounce around inside her peasant blouse. You stare for a moment at the pair of long, slick-looking pink narrow-tipped tubes the lizardman is stroking before walking over to kneel in front of him, sliding your mouth over one and taking over jerking the other one off, your other hand moving to fondle his scaly sack. He lets out a low, sonorous moan and rests a claw-tipped hand on your head, his tail pumping against the couch lightly to work his hips up and gently fuck your face as you take him.\n\nAfter a good long while of sucking the lizardman off... and watching the werewolf finally haul Little Red down onto his knot and swelling her belly up with his cum until her corset snapped and let that big swollen stomach sloshing with jizz spill free... you turn and settle onto all fours, shaking your ass at him like the brazen slut the beer and lust have turned you into. His claws make short work of your panties and soon those pair of inhuman pricks are pushing into your pussy and ass, stuffing you full as you give a teeth-gritted grin and roll your eyes, fucking yourself back against him as he starts thrusting into you, your tits swaying heavily beneath you. Of course you open your mouth when a weregorilla(!) moves in front of you, one powerful, thick-fingered hand gripping your ponytail and controlling your head mercilessly as he starts fucking your face and bulging up your throat with his prick.\n\nAfter you've had all three holes filled with cum, your lust-addled brain decides that you've just got to try out a ghost. Luckily one floats right up, his body glowing green and fading into nothing below the ankles as he levitates you into the air and starts fucking you face-to-face, despite him not really having much of a face. You drape your arms around his shoulders, somehow feeling nothing there despite your limbs actually resting on them, the same with your tits being pressed by his chest. It's strangely like getting fucked by nothing and something slimey and tingly both as once as his ectoplasm-dripping dick pumps into your pussy again and again, stretching it open and displaying its insides to the entire party.\n\nAfter that you try sixty-nining with the vampire lady, her tongue long and feeling longer all the time as it licks and strokes and presses deep in your pussy while you lick her own perfectly smooth, cool cunt, the pink so pale that it's almost white. After that though she bends you against the wall, and you feel something cool but firm rubbing against your ass and pressing against your pussy, the vampire apparently having grown a nice thick cock for you. You moan as she starts fucking you, her large, perfectly smooth and almost white-nippled breasts pressing against your back as she sinks her fangs into your shoulder. Somehow the sensation of her sucking your blood just makes you all the more sensitive all over, and gives you a sort of airy headrush that makes you cum even harder.\n\nNext you straddle the head of a Dullahan, letting him eagerly and enthusiastically eat out your pussy as his body fucks your ass, the blue flames rising from the empty end of his neck feeling both warm and chilly near your skin as he reaches around to work and squeeze your tits with grey-skinned hands. Eventually you pull his head up and lean down to french him deeply as his body fucks you harder and faster from behind, before pulling out to spurt his glowing blue load all over your ass and back.\n\nThen of course you absolutely have to try out some of that werewolf cock Kayla was enjoying so much. Luckily it seems like there's plenty of them here, and soon you're straddling one with his big, glistening canine cock in your pussy, another pumping into your ass from behind, while another thrusts into your mouth from ahead, his knot thumping against your lips with every stroke. One of your hands grips in the fur of the wolf below you while the other holds tight to the knot of the one fucking your face, making sure he doesn't get carried away. Oh but you want the other two to get carried away, bucking your hips towards each of them in turn encouragingly, working yourself over those fat doggy dicks and feeling their knots swell and press ever-more-insistently against your already well-fucked holes. And then they're shoving in, knots swelling even more as all three let out howls, two of them spilling loads that while not as big as the one Little Red got are still plenty to bulge up your belly, especially with how much of the one flooding your mouth and throat's cum that you're swallowing.\n\nThe haze of getting fucked by different monsters, male and female alike, takes over. You're not even sure how long passes, but it definitely feels like most of the night. Eventually you find yourself laying in a veritable puddle of mingled cum, ectoplasm, and beer on the floor, panting.\n\n"Well you had a lot of fun," rumbles a voice that you recognize as one of the werewolves. Finding yourself seemingly the center of attention, you get to your feet a bit groggily as he lets out a chuckle. "In fact you got fucked by so many of us that you didn't wind up choosing at all!"\n\n"Uh... choosing?" you say.\n\n"Which monster you're going to become, obviously," the vampire woman coos.\n\nThat makes you blink, some of the fog starting to clear. "Wait, what?"\n\n"That's only, like, the entire point of this party, duh," Kayla says with a wolfish grin, showing off sharpening teeth. You can see her eyes have turned yellow and that her crotch, once as smooth-shaven as yours, is now covered in thick, dark fur that's getting thicker, darker, and spreading further out slowly but visibly. "The only thing that's better than fucking monsters is getting fucked and turned into a monster, like duuuh!"\n\n"So you have a monster in mind you want to turn into... right?" the Dullahan asks, his head tucked under one arm and permanently semi-hard undead dick still jutting out in front of him.\n\n<hr>\n[["No!"|PervSim]]\n\n[["... well..."|PervSim11x3]]

Your eyes widen as you realize that the werewolf is... a werewolf. In mid-change, specifically, his slight appearance of having been a costume having been the result. You pull away from Kayla to stare as you watch his muscles bulge and his height grow, hair turning darker and thicker, and his already large humanlike cock turning red and veiny, the tip narrowing to a point as the base bulges into a knot even as a furry sheath forms around the root of it.\n\nYour head whips to the side and you see that the goth girl wasn't nuzzling the guy's balls, she was sucking on his thigh, her lips coming away from the two red marks on it to swallow his cock again, the corpse white of her skin obviously not makeup after all. The guy's slumped against the wall but doesn't seem to be protesting at all, his eyes glazed with either pleasure or some sort of hypnosis. His cock gradually seems to be flagging as his skin pales as well, but that doesn't stop the vampire woman from sucking it eagerly down her throat to the root again and again before returning her mouth to the fang-marks on his thigh in between.\n\nThe sexy catgirl who's bouncing on the guy in the chair... you can actually faintly see the walls of her pussy being pushed open by the glowing, translucent purple shaft. The whole guy is see-through, in fact, glowing faintly with an unearthly light, his fingers actually going slightly inside the catgirl's body where he's gripping her waist and helping her ride his ectoplasmic cock.\n\nIn fact everywhere you look there are monsters (or at least nonhumans)... either in the process of transforming or just like they've been there all along and you somehow haven't noticed. At least half the party is made up of them... and that half is enthusiastically fucking the other half, who's either equally enthusiastic about it or at least doesn't seem to be struggling to resist.\n\n"Oooo, you're such a big boy~!" \n\nYour head whips back around to look at Kayla who's now kneeling in front of the wolfman, one hand wrapped around his knot and the other fondling his big, furry balls as she slides her mouth over that canine cock, the werewolf's tongue lolling out as she starts gulping him down eagerly. From the way she's wriggling her hips and giving soft moans she's either really enjoying sucking wolf-dick or has been convinced she is, because her pussy is actually dripping through her panties.\n\nThe wolfman raises his head and looks right at you again, letting out a decidedly doggish snort before he growls in a low, deep bass voice, "Well? Lots of monster cock and pussy to go around, slut, better get to it."\n\n<hr>\n[[Nnnnnnnnnope.|PervSim]]\n\n[[... Eh what the hell.|PervSim11x2]]

Probably better to move and start at a particular angle. Now, let's see...\n\n<hr>\n[[Move back somewhat.|Def]]\n\n[[Angle to the side and the right.|Def]]\n\n[[Go to the opposite side and angle in.|Def1x9]]\n\n[[Angle to the other side and the left.|Def]]

Just for sheer curiosity, you let the path of the pod carry you through the invisible stream, or at least where it is according to the display. You... wanna believe you feel something? But you're honestly pretty sure that you don't. If anything, there's just the faintest loosening of whatever pull is maintaining gravity in the pod for an instant before you've moved to the other side of it.\n\nTurning to the controls, you bring the pod to a halt and angle it further, keeping it aimed towards the facility but further from the origin point of the slipstream and then bringing it to a stationary stop. (Stationary geosyncronously, smartass.) There. Now to initiate the teleportation.\n\n"Beginning matter transmission process," a youthfully masculine computer voice chirps. "Please stand by for motion stasis."\n\nThe interior of the pod glows slightly, and you feel yourself freeze in place, not so much as able to bat an eyelash. Oh so it's one of thoooose, you think as the glow increases along with a steady hum that builds and builds and\n\nBwip.\n\nThere's a flash and you abruptly find yourself standing in an entirely normal-looking hallway, if sort of dim and bland, sort of like the attached offices of a distribution warehouse. (Your mother worked for an electrical supply company.) Even the fixtures, like the carpet and paint on the wall, feel aged, like they're from the eighties or something. You were given to understand places like this get thoroughly wrecked every time there's a containment breach and that those happen occasionally almost everywhere... what, did they just buy such a giant stock of carpet tiles and paint when they first built this place that they haven't run out even replacing them semi-regularly?\n\nShaking off the distraction, you start down the hallway a few steps, then pause and listen reflexively. ... Okay, no alarms, at least not blaring obvious ones. And also no sounds of pounding jackboots, so they probably don't know you're here. Good!\n\nNow let's see, gotta find something that looks important to hook your bomb up to. You slip through the hallways quietly, peering around corners. Hm, seems pretty dead around here, really. You pass by several of what look like office doors, as well as larger sliding doors of varying levels of visible durability. '"Euclid", "Euclid", "Keter"...' You pause in front of one door you pass, frowning. '"Safe"? ... If you're gonna call the base level "Safe" why wouldn't you just use something equally straightforward for the other ones?' You shake your head ruefully, unable to help imagining some of the absolutely furious academic arguments that must have taken place justifying why you couldn't just call it 'Safe', 'Hazardous', 'Thing What Escapes And Kills Dudes Often', whatever. \n\nThen your head snaps to the side as you do indeed hear the sound of jackboots, or whatever the guards here actually wear if not, y'know, literal jackboots. Sounds like two guys, so probably just a normal patrol. You glance side-to-side quickly. There's the 'Safe' containment room right next to you (SCPX-1915), and what looks like an office across the hall, though you have no idea if it's locked. There's also a bathroom a short sprint away you're pretty sure you could make. The other option, of course, being to just try and take out the guards, hopefully before they can alert anyone.\n\n<hr>\n[[Enter the containment room.|Def]]\n\n[[Try the office.|Def1x10]]\n\n[[Hide in the bathroom.|Def]]\n\n[[Attack the guards.|Def]]

Hm, why not turn loose a soul? It's not like you actually need that many... even one is enough to tap into the reserves of the previous Dark Monoliths. Just... try not to go below one, you tell yourself as you beckon forth the scroll with the full list of Hero Souls you've collected to date. Now, which one to free back to the ether so that they can be collected again...?\n\n<<if $cowtifa is true>>[[Cow Tifa.|CowTifaRelease]] <<endif>><<if $orctifa is true>>[[The orcs' Tifa.|TifaOrcsRelease]] <<endif>><<if $titstifa is true>>[[Megatits Tifa.|TifaTitsRelease]] <<endif>><<if $chocotifa is true>>[[Chocobo breeder Tifa.|TifaChocoboRelease]] <<endif>><<if $activetifa is true>>[[The Tifa on hold.|TifaActiveRelease]] <<endif>><<if $effibus is true>>[[Succubus Effiel.|EffibusRelease]] <<endif>>\n\n

You glance over at Kaville thoughtfully. Yeah, she was always the main target, after all, picking up Landiss was more of a bonus along the way, a chance to screw with an Alphabet. You weren't kidding when you voiced your preference for Capes over them... your mental "quirk" (oh fine mental illness if you want to be a killjoy) may drive you to strike at heroes, but you don't hate them. If anything you actually enjoy them quite a bit, they just... need to be destroyed, too, is all. But Alphabets are just, ugh. So let's focus on Kaville... she inspires less revulsion, plus whatever you do to her, Landiss will treat it as a personal insult (making it all about herself while still somehow managing to convince herself that it was not her fault in any way, if you know the type).\n\nNow... the question is, what to do to her? You don't really have a 'theme', per se... your villainy is defined by your goal, which is pretty much 'be a villain'. To that end you've acquired all sorts of fun things, stolen from secret labs of all sorts, bought or borrowed from arms dealers and other villains, excavated from ruins... hm, come to think of it, you actually do have a fairly large and vibrant life outside of direct action against heroes, don't you? You feel so valid today!\n\nLosing focus, losing focus, damn ADHD. Which is part of the problem, you've given yourself so many lovely options that it's hard settling for just one! It's like having a giant Steam library but it's offenses against God and Man. Now, how to deal with Kaville?\n\n<hr>\n[[Alter her physically.|Def]]\n\n[[Alter her mind.|Def]]\n\n[[Use good ol' psychology.|Def1x2]]\n\n[[Throw her to the dogs.|Def]]

Hm, none of the stuff you've collected really appeals right now... so maybe you should use the tool between your ears, hm?\n\nIn perhaps one of the most stereotypical moves ever, back before you embraced your need to be an antagonist you wanted to understand it, and took courses in psychology. You actually had quite an aptitude for it... if understanding hadn't led to acceptance, you'd have probably become just like every other therapist out there, mild mannered and empathetic and secretly wanting to pin a superhero down and force them to give oral until they submitted their souls. ... Okay you're probably generalizing your outlook but nevermind. You've had something in mind with Kaville, and luckily the agent proved to be just as offputting to her fellow captive as you could have hoped. (You've little doubt that if you left them alone after this, Landiss would have some mildly moral-high-horse type inspirational speech to give Kaville that would effectively inflict a sort of sideways Stockholm Syndrome on her and convince her the agent that almost got her killed is actually her savior. And they call you the villain! ... Well, because you are. ... Dammit, maybe you need to update your prescription, you're off track again.) \n\nTurning back towards the restraining beds, you lift the remote towards Kaville, whose eyes widen and body braces in expectation of the same sort of shock she saw Landiss receive earlier. Instead she gives a little yelp as the restraints pop open, letting her half-drop half-slide down to land on her feet, blinking in shock.\n\n"Linda. Could you come over here and join me, please?" you ask in a sincerely pleasant tone.\n\nKaville blinks several times, the combination of your manner, use of her given name, and request obviously having thrown her entirely for a loop. It's actually Landiss's hiss of "Don't do it!" that seems to jar her out of it more than anything else, and the naked CEO cautiously pads her way over towards you, since obviously what else is she going to do. She jumps a little when one of your dogs shifts a little, but when it doesn't so much as growl she comes to stand beside you. "P-please don't hurt me..."\n\n"I have no intention of hurting you. Here," you add, picking up a spare white coat hung on the side of the table and draping it over her shoulders. You wait until she's nervously tugged it closed in front before giving her a smile. "Actually I want to do something nice for you, Linda. Something that's going to help a lot of people, in fact."\n\n"Don't listen, she's lying!" Landiss barks futilely from her restraint.\n\nDeciding to just ignore her... a lead Kaville follows after a nervous glance... you gesture to a small vial filled with thick yellow fluid, the base set in an attachment on a tablet. "These are a special kind of nanomachines. The initial design was done by an acquaintance of mine, and I've fiddled around with them to make them better."\n\n"... What do they do?" Kaville asks fearfully, staring at the vial as if it were full of anthrax.\n\n"Take raw ingredients and assemble them into more complex materials, and in any shape they're programmed with, using nothing but a water tank." At her blink of surprise, you grin wider. "Hey, you think all this carbon fiber just happens? Now they're a little slow, but when the production medium is as simple as a water tank, you can afford to take a couple days to make a few tens of thousands of sets of lightweight body armor that cost you almost nothing, right? Especially once you learn to mass produce the nanomachines yourself, which with this sample and the schematics in the tablet, you should have no problem doing. After all, you've probably got a few superheroes using your facilities as it is. Ah... I guess I should mention, at least several of them have confiscated versions of these before. Guess they never shared, huh?"\n\nKaville opens and closes her mouth a few times, before swallowing heavily. "Th-this... it's a deal with the Devil, isn't it? What do you want?"\n\n"Nothing. Not a damn thing." You laugh a little as her increased confidence gives her the spine to shoot you a 'pull the other one' look. "Listen, you heard Landiss, right? I'm driven to fuck with superheroes. This is fucking with them on a whole other level, you know? Helping the world where they couldn't? Giving one of their friends what they didn't? All makes perfect sense, even according to Landiss."\n\n"No, that's-!" The agent cuts herself off, apparently unable to either admit she was wrong or just outright deny your logic.\n\n"Think about it," you say gently, leaning in, putting your hands on the woman's shoulders. She's staring at the vial and tablet now, almost transfixed. "We engineer your escape, make it look like you got out on your own and got somewhere safe. You spend the next few years quietly learning and refining the nanomachines, and then announce that your R&D invented them."\n\n"You... you really don't want anything?" Kaville says slowly. "Like a share in my company, or... who I think might be a superhero, or...?"\n\n"Nope, not a damn thing. Promise. Hey, I've got all the power in this situation, why would I need to lie?" you assert firmly. (Obviously there are a number of reasons you would lie but that's not what's important here.) "I'll be satisfied knowing that I pulled one over on all the Capes out there, I've got everything else I could possibly need already. This will just be a fun little secret between you and me, period, forever." You can see that there's a light in her eyes now... she's already started thinking about everything she could do with the nanites. All the humanitarian causes... and all the money she could make and acclaim she could reap, too. You let her really dive into those even as she's outwardly struggling with the idea, waiting until you're sure that she'd rather rip her own arm off rather than give up the nanites even if she wouldn't admit it before speaking again. "Well... I guess there's really only one problem with that."\n\nYou slowly turn your head, and after a second Kaville follows your gaze. Landiss blanches a little as she finally catches up to the course the conversation has taken, but for once has the sense of mind to shut up. "... What are you saying?" Kaville asks, despite knowing full well exactly what you're saying. She just wants you to say it... or rather, finish leading her there.\n\n"I'm saying that you've heard everything Landiss has said as clearly as I have. If I let you both go, or Landiss escaped, the first thing she'd do is tattle on your possession of the nanites and get them taken away, and you probably thrown in prison despite not actually breaking any laws. 'Associating with a supervillain slash terrorist' is probably enough. Oh, in fact, Landiss is probably thinking of reporting you for that just for talking with me, whether you take the nanomachines or not, aren't you Landiss?"\n\n"You're just trying to manipulate her!" Landiss snarls. Which isn't even bothering to lie and say 'no', and from the darkening of Kaville's face, you can tell she picked up on that.\n\n"So here. Here's what I'm going to do." You fish in one of your pockets and come up with... a gun. A plain, simple nine millimeter, which you press into the shocked Kaville's hands. "There you go, Linda. Round in the chamber, safety off. No fancy stuff, no superscience. Just a gun. It'll fire just fine whether you point it at her, me, the floor, one of my pups, whatever. So there, you've got a loaded gun, an agent that tried to get you killed so she could escape and would take everything from you if she lived, and the woman who's put you in this situation. You solve it however you think best, frankly at this point I just want to see what happens," you add with a lazy smile, leaning against the table.\n\n"Linda. Linda listen," Landiss says, trying to sound calm and empathetic. Unfortunately she's actually using the slightly condescending 'talk down the crazy person' tone Alphabets tend to use. "You're better than this, you don't need to listen to her, think of your family, think of your livelihood, think of your company, think of-"\n\nBKAM\n\n"Y'know, government agents don't really get that when they tell you to think of something you hold dear, it kind of comes off as a threat, huh?" you say jovially.\n\n"No, they don't," Linda says flatly as she puts the gun down on the table, smoke still rising from the barrel.\n\n"Here," you say in a somewhat comforting tone, passing her the tablet and connected vial, her shaking hands calming as they come into contact with it. "Follow Three here, he'll lead you to the escape pods. One of my people will go over your story with you and how to keep the nanomachines hidden until the heat's off. I'll take care of everything here." You smile as you send one of your Drone Dogs clicking off, the coat-clad woman trailing a bit nervously behind it while avoiding looking at the slumped form still held to the upright table.\n\nOnce the door's slid closed behind her, another slides open, admitting a tall, muscular man wearing visor sunglasses, camo pants, and a practically painted-on black tanktop with white text reading 'MOOK' on the front. "You really not gonna ask for anything in return, babe?" he asks as he strolls over towards you.\n\nGiggling a bit, you straighten up and run both hands up Big Palooka's stomach and chest, enjoying the different sensory experiences from your flesh-and-blood hand and your cybernetic one. "That's right! I won't have to. See, because she got them from me, and they were given freely, she knows that if a Cape ever finds out, they'll get taken away, no matter how much good she's doing with them. Not only that, she'd be shamed and denounced by the entire Cape community, and that carries a lot of weight. She'll grow increasingly paranoid about a Cape finding out... which, the more she stews on it, will turn to further resentment of them. I figure at the least, she'll eventually start getting in touch and sending me what info she can on who around her might be a Cape... best case scenario, five years at the most and she's using her facilities to crank out her own supervillain gear. She'd look really nice in leather once she started working out, huh?"\n\nPalooka laughs, grabbing your ass and hauling you against his front. "Babe you always come up with the most wild stuff!"\n\n"Hey, messing with the mind is fun! And it's almost always a Cape's weak point, no matter how steely their skin is." You wiggle pleasantly against your head minion slash boyfriend, then continue. "In fact, now that indirect action is done, I'm in the mood for some direct action. So once we've made the Alphabet disappear completely, the next step is..."\n\n<hr>\n[[Destroying a hero.|Def]]\n\n[[Corrupting a hero.|Def]]\n\n[[Recruiting more villains.|Def]]\n\n[[Checking in on running plots.|Def1x3]]

"Let's go see about some of the pokers I've left in the fire, hm?" you chirp, rubbing your hands together as you turn and head for your big, elaborate villain workstation. Incredibly grandiose and the sheer number of extra screens agitates your lack of focus something awful, but it's just sooooo cool and appropriate to your villainy! "Take care of that while I do, will ya honey?"\n\nLeaving Big Palooka to eliminate the body, you plop down, briefly rubbing the head of one of your drone dogs before bringing up your files. Now let's see, let's see. You've always got a couple of things stewing already... or, as you sometimes like to think of it, reducing down until all that bland tasteless water is gone and you're left with pure, villainous flavor, mm-mm-mm~!\n\nOo, there was that [[probe|Def]] you sent into space awhile back! Sort of your own little 'Voyager', except equipped with stolen super-propulsion engines and not so much a golden disk as a series of communication devices designed to convey 'Hey, come to Earth, let's have fun fucking up heroes'.\n\nThere's also the plans to get into a super secret [[containment facility|Def1x4]] run by... well. They're not heroes, from everything you've been able to find out about them, that's for damn sure. But you have also found out that their whole deal is containing strange and anomalous thingies to prevent the complete collapse of society. And ever since you learned that, they've been itching a hole in the back of your condition. They're using superscience and magic and fuck-knows-what-else all to maintain order? Oh these guys have got to go.\n\n

Ohhh yeah even thinking about these guys is making you quiver with the desire to like rig up a laser and fire it into a volcano or something. Let's see what you have on that front.\n\nYou've very carefully touched base with a handful of other organizations to learn more about this "Foundation"... they're apparently one of those arrogant types that think they can be the The of broad words like that. (Like those other guys you hate, The Agency. Narcissistic pricks.) Of course one of the first things you learned is that the Foundation is incredibly paranoid and has spies everywhere monitoring anyone that might interfere with their operations. ... Or at least that's what the incredibly paranoid demon cultist you talked to said. Admittedly maybe not the most reliable source, but take it as a given why not.\n\nSo you have to be a tad careful about pinging on their radar, assuming you haven't already. You are capable of being subtle, though, despite your love of flashy supervillain aesthetics. In fact that's kind of the whole point, match like with like... superheroes wear elaborate costumes and have elaborate bases, you do too. The civilization-preserving organization is sneaky, subtle, and quiet, so are you!\n\nAny-old-hoo, that's made it pretty obvious that the major challenge of fucking with them is actually getting the chance to. Ideally you'd want to be able to infiltrate one of their fancy-schmancy containment facilities and preferably blow some vital part of it to hell to cause what's frequently referred to as a "containment breach"... essentially the cursed items and weird critters version of a prison riot with all the doors popped open. (You've often wondered, in a world where things like aliens and werewolves are essentially common knowledge, just what is freaky and dangerous enough to require such secrecy and care locking it away from the outside world? Admittedly that curiosity is a huge part of what's got your sights set on them.) But those facilities are supposed to be locked up tighter than the asshole of a guy who got greenglow mutagen spilled on him after swimming with the dolphins. (Which reminds you, give Minelayer a call, it's been a while.) You can't just waltz in with a fake security badge and a false uniform.\n\n........................................ Although you kinda [[wanna try that anyway|Def]] just to see what happens. Like, entirely possible they'd just shoot you, but you've come back from worse. (You've been dead like... twice. It's kinda cool, honestly.)\n\nAh, focus, focus. ... Hm. You get up and walk off to the side, grabbing a plastic shaker from the line of them, and briefly eyeing the array of flavor-labeled little plastic tubs before doing a scoop of 'Zentreya's Cherry Ice'. (Once upon a time it was a limited edition flavor. They un-limited it after you threatened to nuke their distribution center from orbit. You're welcome, Geckos.) Pouring water into the cup from the water cooler, you walk back over to your console shaking it, set it down in front of you, and promptly forget it exists.\n\nThere, feeling much more focused. Alright, now the other option is to try and [[team up|Def]] with one of the organizations that pits itself regularly against these Foundation guys. A plan that's almost as delightfully fraught with peril as actually busting into the place would be. Some of these guys are authentic wackos... and you say that as someone who is, at least to some extent, a self-acknowledged authentic wacko. Some of these dudes though are just bizarre, while others are more simply businesspeople out to make a buck off of weird shit. Either way pretty much all of them hate the Foundation's guts and would probably be happy to do anything to fuck with them.\n\nAnd then there's a couple of [[other supervillains|Def1x5]] that you've had looking into infiltration methods for you (mostly for, again, monetary reasons or just because they share your interest in fucking with anybody that's keeping the world from cracking in half or whatever). Dealing with other supers of any kind is always kind of a crapshoot anyway, especially villains, but hey... isn't that part of the fun?\n\nAs you're pondering your options, Big Palooka walks up and eyes you for a moment, before picking up your shaker cup and giving it a few shakes before handing it to you. Suddenly realizing it exists again and has been there in front of you the whole time, you pop the seal and take a swig. "Thanks babe. Get the Alphabet all atomized?"\n\n"Mm-hm. You on this again?" he asks dubiously as he looks at the wall of screens, currently displaying dramatic images and snatches of reports making the Foundation look both daring and vaguely sinister. \n\n"Gives me an itch," you muse aloud, taking another, much-too-large-too-fast swig of the energy drink. \n\n"Be better off letting me scratch your other itch for you, hon," he says dryly, leaning on the side of your chair. "At least until you forget about this one for a while." He pauses, then looks rather serious, at least for him. "You know I'm with you for anything, but just keep in mind... on this one you really might wind up ending the world."\n\n"... Mmn," you grunt in absentminded acknowledgement, taking another swig of cherry slushie flavor as he walks off again. As to the matter of destroying the world... well. You're a tad ambivalent, to be honest. After all, at this level, you sort of accept that any sort of screwing about you do with superbeings could set off events that lead to the world being destroyed. On the other hand part of you just can't believe it would really be destroyed. \n\nHrm. Hrm hrm hrm. ... Maybe you should try going after one of these [[anomalous magoodles|Def]] or whatever yourself. You can get a few tips on where one might be from some of those other guys, and try to get to it before the Foundation. Even if you just have a look at it, it might give you a hint on what you're dealing with, and if maybe you really should leave it alone. (Not that you're entirely convinced that you can, but if you could, maybe you would. Might.)

'Now let's see,'... generally any time you need a technical solution or devious plan that you didn't come up with yourself, you go with [[Doctor Deathtrap|Def1x6]]. Among other things she designed your prosthetic arm and the first generation of your drone dogs. She's probably the closest thing you have to a genuine friend among the super community, which admittedly has its own set of pitfalls. The two of you fell out of touch mostly due to her being presumed dead for awhile but you hear she's back, so theoretically she's still been working on your plan. Theoretically... sometimes people come back a bit weird.\n\nThen there's [[The Manager|Def]]... he's sort of like a cross between supervillain HR and a cult leader. Very charismatic, very cunning, kind of dangerous to deal with (like, admittedly, most supers). He did, however, have a pretty good plan for getting you inside one of the facilities.

Yeah, definitely go with Deathtrap. Besides, you feel kind of bad that you haven't already said 'hi' again since her latest resurrection or whatever. You pull up the sort of little special interface you supercriminals use to call each other and activate her number, waiting for several rings before her image pops up on the screen. \n\n"Well well!" her voice says in a rather squeaky (pft!) version of her usual smug I-know-more-than-everyone tone. "If it isn't my old friend Defiance! I was wondering when I'd be hearing from you! I suppose you... ... why are you squinting at me?"\n\n"You're blurry," you reply in a faintly annoyed tone. "I think there's something wrong with your camera. Also you look like a kid."\n\n<img src="images/DrDeathtrap.png">\n\nIt's true, while she wasn't necessarily elderly before, she now looks like she might be in her early teens at the most. She's still wearing her usual I'm-definitely-a-working-scientist outfit of white labcoat, collared button-up shirt, and black slacks, accessorized with her supertools and, of course, showing off her bright blue stylish cybernetic left arm, currently with one of her own hoverdrones floating over it. But her hair is a brighter and more vibrant blue than it used to be, pulled back in a long ponytail, and the pale blue eyes behind her little dataspectacles definitely seem to have a more vital (possibly more vicious) glint than usual.\n\n"Yes, yes, I know I look younger. My body got subjected to a bunch of temporal forces when those blasted heroes thwarted me," she sneers, before shifting to more of a scowl. "And there's nothing wrong with my camera! How dare you!"\n\n"You are definitely blurry, though."\n\nDeathtrap purses her lips. "Did you guzzle an energy drink because you didn't realize how fast you were drinking it?"\n\nYou stare at her. Then your eyes slide to the empty shaker cup on your console. Without changing expression, you reach out and flick your fingers to knock it off, ignoring the hollow sound of it clattering and bouncing on the floor as you return your eyes to her face. "No," you reply evenly.\n\nShe just stares at you for a moment, before rolling her eyes and continuing. "So, what is it? I assume this isn't a social call."\n\n"Well I did want to say 'hi', but since I'm also sure that you're busy planning vengeance-"\n\n"Always."\n\n"I thought I'd do a quick check in and see if you'd had any luck potentially getting me into one of those Foundation facilities."\n\n"Ohhhhh right right right that that that. Yes, actually!" she chirps, looking chipper now. "I'd come up with something good but hadn't quite filled in the gaps until my recent interdimensional foray! Now, from what I've been able to tell, most of their facilities are heavily shielded against pretty much every kind of teleportation technology we've got access to, and they're updated often," she continues, turning to the side and typing. "However, through careful and discrete scanning, I've been able to find one of their facilities where there's a hole in that field."\n\n"Really? They seem kind of paranoid for that," you note, raising an eyebrow.\n\n"Mmmm, in this case I don't think they can quite help it," she murmurs, cupping her chin with her blue metal hand, eyes still on whatever screen she's using off to the side. "It looks like they've 'secured and contained' something that creates a sort of subspace slipstream as part of connecting two wormholes, and in the process it creates that gap in their protection. They may not even be aware of it... from some of the research I've done, it sounds like they can occasionally be markedly uncurious in regards to testing," she adds, adjusting her glasses a bit.\n\n"Huh. So I assume that it's not so simple as just popping in through the gap or you'd have probably done it already to try it yourself," you note wryly.\n\n"Heheh, you know me so well. Point of fact, the suspace slipstream is sufficiently strong that any normal attempts to teleport in would likely wind up with the matter transmission being pulled into the flow of it and likely ejected from the 'exit' end of the wormhole instead, wherever that is. Plus it's too difficult to actually access the gap from most ways. But! Not to worry! For my genius has fashioned this!" \n\nShe points to the side of her head like some youtuber indicating the popup of one of their other videos... which pretty much is what happens as a subscreen showing what looks kind of like the Great Glass Elevator from the good Willy Wonka movie appears. "This high atmosphere orbital pod can be used to navigate you into a position and angle to take advantage of having your own matter stream pass through the subspace slipstream as little as possible. Now, you'll be taking a big risk on exactly where in the facility you'll wind up... among other things... but that doesn't usually bother you."\n\n"Nnnnope." You grin. "So how close is this orbital pod to being done?"\n\n"Oh it's done already!" she chirps. "Like I said, I was already close before the... thwarting..." She grumbles, before perking up. "And I basically just had to slap some finishing touches on it when I returned with inspiration! Although, once you get up there, you're going to have to do at least a few manual adjustments to your course, but I'm sure you have the smarts for that."\n\n"Great! What do I owe you, then?"\n\n"Hmmmmm... well, I've already got something planned for those heroes... my most fiendishly clever labyrinth of doom yet!" she declares, not noticing as you mouth the words along with her. "But just in case it doesn't work out, let's say you owe me one helping me extract some vengeance. That ought to suit you pretty well anyway!"\n\n<hr>\n[[Done!|Def1x7]]\n\n[[Oooo, we can just do that now!|Def]]\n\n[[Eh... rather pay for it...|Def]]

"Y'know, assuming I don't die. Or destroy the world," you add with a scoff.\n\n"Pft, the minions are always whining about how you're likely to destroy the world, just because you're poking forces beyond all human comprehension with a science stick," Deathtrap scoffs back, waving a hand dismissively. "Don't pay it any mind. Besides, I'd feel slightly awkward about charging you for something that wound up killing you. ... Again."\n\n"Awww honey that's just something that happens sometimes when we get thwarted, that wasn't your fault," you say sincerely, before putting your fingertips to the sides of your mouth and beaming. "Besides, when I came back that time my teeth were perfect, no more fillings, so on the whole a positive!"\n\n"Always a silver lining! Anyway, I'll send over the location, access codes, and instructions. I don't doubt that now that you have it, you'll want to use it right away," she adds before giving a little wave and closing the line.\n\nWell she's not wrong. Like, even slightly. In fact, better to go now and text Big Palooka from the launchpad or whatever, since he's being fretful today. Gawd, why do you even keep that guy around?\n\n... Oh, right, because he's incredibly competent, actually really smart, is emotionally supportive, is attentive to your needs, and has a huge cock he fucks you really well with.\n\n...................... Eh you'll still text him from the launchpad.\n\nYou hop up and trot past the knocked-over cup that you'll pick up later (no you won't) and head right for the hallway to the garage bay. You hop into the nearest flight-enabled vehicle (both to cut down on wait time and to lower the chances of any of your minions noticing you and asking you where you're going, you hate that), flip through the startup quickly, almost idly turn the stealth field on, and then you're up and zipping through the air. Yaaaaay, you're gonna cause a containment breach~!\n\n... Oh right you need something to do that with. FUCK. Okay, okay, don't panic. Also don't go back because that's just too socially awkward. You put the vehicle on autopilot and hop up, heading into the back of the ship and eyeing the labels on the locker. 'For if I forgot the right armor', 'For if I forgot the right gun' (ooooop, yeah, okay, damn, you open that one and haul out a copy of your rifle too), 'For if I forgot drones' (you kind of did but more because you don't actually intend to take any this time so that's fine)...\n\n"'For if I forgot explosives'," you say in a smug tone, swinging the locker open and rummaging around. "... Ooo, lots of fake lead wires, yay! Good jerb past me! Need to remember to restock those," you murmur as you heft up your double armful of components and head over to the workbench. (You won't remember.)\n\nBy the time the ship sets down near the little facility Deathtrap's built out in the middle of nowhere, you've constructed a sufficiently portable time bomb that it shouldn't get in your way while you're breaking into the facility, but also sufficiently powerful that it will definitely take whatever vital piece of infrastructure you find to attach it to. Hooking it to your combat web so it won't jostle (and in a place it isn't likely to get hit if you do get shot at), you get out and head into the launch facility... whiiiiich is remarkably small and simple. There's an elevator entrancy that, to judge from the time and speed it moves, goes down just one floor, and opens up into a largeish room that just has the pod you saw in the picture sitting in the center.\n\n'Really does kind of look like the Great Glass Elevator,' you muse as you step up to it. Just less colorful and less buttons inside. It's a rectangle with a white frame, top, and floor, but all four sides are transparent. (Why would you do that, Dethy? ... Oh, 'cause it's cool as fuck, yeah, okay.) At your approach one of said sides swings open, allowing you to step in. Once the side has swung closed again, what you're assuming are touchscreen displays light up on all four glass sides. You make yourself spend a few minutes reviewing all the information available... you're impatient right now but also meticulous, so... before putting the pod through its startup sequence.\n\nThe ceiling overhead slides apart, revealing a clear sky. The floor around the pod glows purple in a ring, with more rings lighting up going inward along with a distinct and growing power-up noise. (Even odds on whether it's strictly necessary or, again, she just did it because it looks cool.) You can feel a shift as the circle directly under the pod lights up... must be some sort of gravity launcher. Luckily the pod itself has intertial dampeners so that when it's launched into the sky at high speed, you just stagger a bit and almost fall on your ass instead of getting squished into a fine paste.\n\nYou shuffle to the edge and watch Earth growing smaller beneath you as you rise steadily towards low orbit in a glass box. Not the weirdest, craziest, or most dangerous thing you've ever done, but it does still kinda make you wish you'd peed before you got in. Also you feel like you forgot to do something but are too excited and distracted by the majesty of your strange flight to bother trying to remember what.\n\nEventually the displays indicate you're drawing into position, and if you squint particularly hard downwards you can juuuust make out a large facility somewhere below with what looks like a large satellite dish atop it. Okay, good, that must be the Foundation's containment facility. You turn towards the sensor controls, regarding them. Looks like you're just outside the subspace stream now, if you initiate the teleport immediately you should be at a good angle!\n\n<hr>\n[[Initiate!|Def]]\n\n[[Hm, let's move instead.|Def1x8]]

"Winter, do you think you'll want to go to school today?"\n\n"... I don't know," Winter Belladonna replied with a sigh, just staring out the kitchen window and sipping her glass of milk, her tail fluttering a bit despondently behind her.\n\nSable regarded her daughter for a long while. Winter had always been a mature child for her age, serious and intense even at twelve. But she'd always also been bright and full of energy. Since her older brother's death fighting a Sabyr pack, the maturity and intensity had remained, letting her bear up under the weight of the mourning that was wrapped around the rest of her family, a tiny little grey-toned rock in a sea of pain. But Sable worried that her daughter was beginning to shut down... that the strength was growing closer to emptiness, or that the bedrock was starting to approach a cliff. School, once something she looked forward to each day, simply held no interest for her now, nor did any of her books, her projects, her paintings.\n\n"Winter. Please come sit with me," Sable finally said, patting the couch cushion beside her. Winter set her glass aside and dutifully did as she was told, expression not flickering as she settled down beside her mother and had an arm draped around her shoulders. "Now you know that it's okay to take as long as you need to deal with losing Slate. But... I'm worried that you're not dealing with it at all," she added after only a brief hesitation.\n\nWinter shrugged, negligently, as if it were of little importance. "I'm just waiting for it to get better, I guess. It's not like it can be changed."\n\n"... No, it can't," Sable agreed, shaking her head slowly. "But you know... even as we accept some things, we still have to have dreams. Dreams of a better tomorrow," she urged gently. "Even dreams of the impossible. It's what keeps our heart alive."\n\nWinter snorted, a little bit of derision leaking through her mask, tail lashing briefly in something almost like rancor. "I don't see what dreams can do about anything, Mom."\n\nSable sighed, then gently took one of her daughter's hands and enfolded it in both of hers, looking down at it. "You know... when Slate was little, and you too, there was a song I used to sing you both. I told you both it was a secret, something only ever to be shared between us, and then your own children someday, but I don't think I ever told you why." She raised her head, met Winter's eyes. "This song has been passed down in our family for over a hundred years now. It is the thing that links parent to child across every generation since it was first sung. It came from a place far away, beyond Remnant, and has been kept as our secret bond. It binds parent to child... but you need to remember that it also binds you and your brother together in a special way that no one else will ever share, and that can never be taken from you."\n\nClosing her eyes and taking a deep breath, Sable Belladonna began to sing softly, words she had not sung in four years now, since Winter had decided she could put herself to bed.\n\n"Somewhere over the rainbow\nWay up high\nThere's a land that I heard of once in a lullaby"\n\nWinter, who had at first simply looked confused, felt her eyes widen a little at recognizing the song... and then felt tears well up, start spilling out, her body beginning to shake.\n\n"Somewhere over the rainbow\nSkies are blue"\n\nShe could see her mother sitting on the side of her brother's bed, singing to him in the quiet darkness of the night, his eyes just like hers looking over at her where she stood in the doorway and his smiling lips moving in a silent 'good night'.\n\n"And the dreams that you dare to dream\nReally do come true"\n\nSobbing, Winter threw herself into her mother's arms, letting the mature mask break down, being replaced with a weeping twelve-year-old who was hurt and mourning and wanted to be told it would all be okay again someday. Sable smiled sadly as she wrapped her arms around her daughter, closing her eyes as tears slid down her own cheeks, rocking the trembling girl in her arms as she continued to sing the unbreakable bond of their family.\n\nKai's Story - Epic of Remnant End - The land over the rainbow

You try to control your hard breathing but can't, can't even stop the heat of the tears gathering in your eyes and spilling down your cheeks. "... what the hell is the matter with you...?" you whisper, feeling your face twist with agony. "Do you know how close I came to losing you?"\n\n"... I'm sorry..." he whispers, tears starting to streak down his own face now.\n\nYou collapse to your own knees in front of him, dropping your weapon and hauling him close against your front, your fingers tightening in his hair as you pulls his head against your shoulder, squeezing your eyes tight shut. "Don't you understand how much I love you? Don't you understand what losing you would do to me? Why, why, why?"\n\n"I'm sorry," he sobs back, arms flinging around you and his fists clenching in your shirt. "I'm sorry, Mom, I'm so sorry."\n\nLater, the two of you sit in an ice cream shop in Vale, milkshakes mostly untouched in front of you, both of you trying to find the words. "... Auryn," you finally say, not lifting your eyes from the glass. "I made a mistake ten years ago. I... assumed that you just needed time to come to terms with the changes in your life. That you could find your way by yourself. ... You were four, and I didn't know how to be a mom yet," you admit, lifting your eyes finally and looking right at him. "I should have made it clear from the start that I wasn't trying to replace your dad."\n\n"... It's not your fault," he eventually says, peeking up through those thick dark lashes that are so much like his mother's. "I could have understood that if I wanted to. I think I always have, at least a little. ... Truth is I've been taking something out on you that's not your fault," he admits. His head slumps more, his body settling heavily in the chair and hands draping in his lap. "The truth is when I try to think of him I... just see the pictures. The ones Mom has around the house. ... I don't remember his voice, or the way it felt when he hugged me, or whether he used to sing to me. And the more I realized that the more I hated myself for it. ... I felt like a bad son," he concludes with a hard, shuddery breath.\n\n"Oh dragon, Auryn, no," you whisper, half in denial and half in horror that he's been going through that alone.\n\n"I guess... I guess I felt like maybe if I rejected you, maybe that was proving myself to him. Showing I wasn't a bad son, that... I loved him more than you." He sniffs, then takes a firmer breath before looking up at you. "... Yeah. It probably would have made a difference if you'd done something earlier on. Maybe I could have let him go easier. ... But you know what I do remember? I remember you hugging me. I remember Yang singing to me. ... You're my moms," he admits with a catch in his voice. "And it's time I remembered it."\n\nYou rise and move around to the chair next to him, drawing him close for a hug and petting his hair, a surly teenager for once not caring about being shown affection in public. After a few moments you gently nudge him back and look him in the eye. "Honey, I think we all need to give family therapy another try. You ready to do it right this time?"\n\n"..." He says nothing, but nods and leans in to hug you tightly again.\n\n"Okay." You pat his back gently, then turn your head to kiss his cheek. "Okay, let's get these to go, and go home, then."\n\nOnce you're in the air, Auryn sitting in the copilot's seat, you activate the radio again. "Blake, Yang?"\n\n"Kai? Where are you, is Auryn with you?" Yang's worried voice comes back.\n\n"We're in the air headed home, be there soon. We're both fine."\n\n"Did you know he took Gambol Shroud?" Blake's voice adds, obviously angry now that her son's safety has been confirmed.\n\nYou can see Auryn wince, and you can't help but give him a brief 'sucks to be you' grin. "Yeah. And we'll talk about that when we get back. But we've had a talk about a few other things too," you add, letting your smile turn simply warm. "I think everything's going to be okay now."\n\n"... That's wonderful," Blake murmurs over the line in a relieved tone. "Alright. We'll talk when you get back in. See you soon. Love you."\n\n"Love you too," you reply, waiting for Yang to echo the words before you close the line.\n\n"... Will it though?" Auryn asks a little uncertainly. "We... messed up the last ten years. Is it gonna be okay?"\n\n"Maybe we messed up the last ten years, honey." You glance at him and shake your head. "But that doesn't mean we have to mess up the next ten. We can change our lives if we're ready to. We might have to work at it, but if it's what we want it's ours. You're my son... I love you. I love you a hell of a lot more than I care about my hurt feelings."\n\n"I love you too, Mom," he assures you. "... I'm sorry."\n\n"I'm sorry too. But it's a new day... let's just focus on that one being good, instead of the bad ones we're leaving behind."\n\n<hr>\n[[The End.|KaiYang2xEnd]]

*chirrup*"Hello. Your scheduled wakeup alarm will begin now. Today's randomly-selected song is 'Resist and Disorder' by Rezodrone."\n\nYou give a low 'mmnf' as a heavy bass synthesizer begins blaring through your bedroom, in your sleepyheadedness briefly making you regret buying an AI assistant device with such good speakers. You reach out towards the bedside table, groping a bit for the little device, and inadvertantly knocking it off. Again, not quite fully yourself, you instinctively try to lurch to catch it protectively, and wind up thumping to the floor with a thud, arm outstretched and holding the little thing.\n\n*chirrup*"Good morning, ma'am."\n\n"Good morning, Azisu," you mutter back, clipping it in your hair before getting to your feet and padding to the bathroom.\n\nOr, well, it's actually like mid-afternoon, but for you and a lot of Makarzia that counts as "good morning". Because you are Michika Hajimaru, and you are a part-time Night Creature, and part time mercenary. ... Alright technically even when you're out being a night creature you're usually still being a mercenary but-\n\nAlright let's back up and start again shall we?\n\nYou're Michika Hajimaru. You're a native of a planet called Makarzia, a city-world that attracts dimensional phenomenon with semi-predictable regularity. Your lineage is largely Nipponzi (similar to what much of the rest of the multiverse calls Japanese), which shows in your dark, straight brown hair (currently pulled back into a slightly damp and very long loose ponytail and two long falls on either side of your face, the overall angles of your cheeks and chin, and the shape of your eyes. Of course your bloodline is also liberally intermingled with many of the other people that call Makarzia... not home, but a place to be... which shows in your particularly clear light skin, your extremely high physical ability and talent for picking up new skills from across the multiverse, and your fire-colored eyes. Roll the dice on where you got your large breasts, trim waist, flat belly, round hips, and damn near perfect ass from... Makarzia may be a cesspit of an urban hellhole, but for some reason many of the people that live there are exceptionally attractive.\n\n<img src="images/Michika.jpg">\n\nAs you got older, rather than strictly following in your family's footsteps, you decided to become something of a free agent. At first on Makarzia itself, and then soon joining GIPSE... the Guild of Interdimensional Professionals, Specialists, and Enforcers. A place where someone with your skills can go exceptionally far, if they don't get dead first... which, in many ways, makes it similar to the world of your birth, so that's familiar. You continue to live and work on Makarzia, because it's comfortable, familiar, and because the money from your Guild jobs translates into much more spending power here than it would almost anywhere else even semi-convenient to work from; for the same monthly cost that might get you what's effectively a closet on the Guildhall, you can afford an actually clean and comfortable two bedroom apartment with included garage space in a corner of Megasector Seven on Makarzia. I mean, sure, you are slightly increasing your potential for being jumped and killed walking out of the building every night, but the savings, man, the savings!\n\nAhem. So this afternoon finds you padding barefoot down the hall, still fresh from the shower and dabbing at yourself a bit with a towel. At the moment you're dressed in the basics of your 'casual' clothes rather than work clothes... a sleeveless orange-trimmed dark grey armorcloth top that leaves your midriff bare, matching short-shorts, an equipment strip around your thigh, and the triangle-shaped clip of your AI assistant pinned high on one of your forelocks. Mostly you got dressed in it right out of the shower on reflex, but you realize as you head to the window and look out at the street, watching the steady stream of daytimers walking by, that you haven't actually decided yet what you want to do with your day.\n\nNight. Whatever.\n\nYour main decision, obviously, is whether to look for work here on Makarzia, or to head up to the Guildhall to take a job there. Guild jobs certainly pay far more, but they can also cost far more to carry out and involve a lot more time and travel. Jobs you'd take on Makarzia pay peanuts if you compare the exchange rate of Guild credits to Makarzian credits, but with far less chance for needing to lay out money of your own to prep for them and most likely getting them done in a single night (or, at the very least, a high chance of being able to sleep in your own bed each day between parts of the job). Both have the potential for increasing your reputation, but in the Guild it's more in a vague, generalized way of your star rising rather than the more personal repertoire you build with gangbangers and other ne'er-do-wells on the Makarzian streets.\n\nOr, you muse to yourself as you glance up at the smoggy sky, you guess you could just take a personal day. Rent was paid just yesterday, your account's pretty flush, you've got no driving need to work (at least today... admittedly you do love getting out there and doing your thing). But hey, everyone needs to relax too, you could stand to take a day.\n\n<hr>\n[[Head to the Guildhall.|ChiGH1x1]]\n\n[[Stay on Makarzia.|ChiMak]]\n\n[[Take a day.|ChiDO]]

"I think I'll go take a look at this 'Letoria' place," you declare. "I feel a strange draw to it, as if it were naturally the sort of place a Demon Lord might appear."\n\n"Certainly, your majesty, and there will no doubt be an abundance of Hero Souls there," Xenith gushes, bowing a few times. "Feel free to bring them back here at your leisure to inter them in the tower... or, of course, collect them on-site. ... Ah..."\n\n"Say what's on your mind, my sweet, and no need to add the reminders of ripping you apart down to the molecule for your presumption."\n\n"Yes, my queen. I was going to say, please be careful. While the vast majority of your 666 powers will still function in Letoria, you won't have absolute command of the environment like you have here. Please be appropriately cautious."\n\n"Indeed." To that end, you alter your form before stepping forward and into the portal your lackeys have created for you.\n\nYou step out into an alleyway between simple two story buildings, the bustle and noise of a busy marketplace carrying from without. You stroll forward, casually taking a look around and pausing only a heartbeat before stepping out and joining the throng. As you'd hoped, your disguise blends in well enough that no one's really giving you a second look... you just look like one of the many other interestingly-garbed people milling about, both standing out from the more domestically clad members of the crowd and blending together amidst so many other unique outfits and styles.\n\n'So many Hero Souls... if Letoria has less of them than that Nirn place, every single person in Nirn must have one,' you think idly, glancing about at what are obviously adventurers. You'd hardly know where to begin! So, you buy some roasted meat on a stick and settle back to take in the layout and consider, well, where to begin.\n\nLet's see, from here you can spot what seems to be an [[Adventurer's Guild|MaxAGStart]]... a demon lord registering as an adventurer, it doesn't feel original somehow, but it would certainly be one way to get access to adventurers and thereby Hero Souls. There are the [[shops|MaxShopStart]] lining the sides of the market... you could buy one and sell (subtly) cursed gear to adventurers, snagging them that way. Or... you suppose you could just go off somewhere and [[create a problem|MaxLetLordStart]] that adventurers would come to solve, thereby making them come to you instead of the other way around.

Okay, you need like a kaiju-scale hero, because you seem to have unleashed a kaiju. Superstar! You need to call Superstar, one of the city's alien superheroes, she...\n\n... Shit, she's out of town! You remember reading on one of the hero boards that her ship was seen departing the city headed upward, and she hasn't been spotted anywhere since, probably off on some stellar-level hero adventure with her team! Crap crap crap crap!\n\nThough you grimace even more as you see the creature's head rounding the rooftops a few blocks over now. It's... actually already bigger than you've ever seen Superstar get, even she might be outclassed on this one. Okay, think, think, there's got to be another kaiju-level hero you can call on about this, short of figuring out how to summon Godzilla...\n\n... wait! Back in the like seventies and eighties, there actually was a wave of giant space monsters attacking the city that were repelled by a similarly giant space hero, Cosmic Lord! Eventually the invasion attempts stopped, and Cosmic Lord similarly stopped appearing... a lot of people assumed he retired or went home, but what if he's just been waiting around for when he was needed?! But it's been so long, he might not be paying attention... you might need to actually track him down and alert him, and you better hurry up!\n\nYou remember from your reading that Cosmic Man always appeared from the direction of the mountains outside of town, so you better get there in a hurry. Swallowing your pride a bit, you use the app Style installed on your phone, sending out a summons. Only a minute or two later, one of MOM's minivans comes soaring in from the sky, a pair of turbines extended from its side turning downwards as it hovers towards a landing. ... Weirdly a minivan does not look any cooler when it can fly, somehow.\n\n"Oh dear, what happened?" MOM's voice says as the side panel slides open and you fling yourself inside. "There seems to be a giant monster wreaking havok on the city! More giant and more havok than usual! Are you alright, sweetheart?"\n\n"Yeah, I'm fine! Listen, we have to search for Cosmic Lord in the mountains outside of town, so let's hurERK!" you yelp as the seatbelt flings itself across you and snugs tight, pulling you firmly into proper sitting position on the seat you'd been half-hovering over.\n\n"Safety first, sweetheart, we don't want you getting tossed around since we'll be going a bit fast," MOM coos as the van lifts off again. "But alright, I'll cross-reference old records about Cosmic Lord and see if I can't rummage up an energy signature to look for!"\n\n... You really have to talk to Style about MOM's personality matrix. Although since she, er, it... well, whatever... is being so efficient right now, you put any annoyance on the back burner, and try not to fret overmuch about the monster now rampaging around. You wonder if any other heroes are trying to do anything about it... unfortunately Superstar runs with most of the city's heaviest hitters, and if she felt the need to leave Earth, a lot of them probably went with her. (Damn teamup events.) \n\nLuckily it's only a handful of minutes before MOM says, "Oh my, I think I have something! It's very faint, but it is an energy signature that matches some of the old records of Cosmic Lord! Now please be very careful when you're getting out, sweetheart," MOM adds as she maneuvers the minivan downwards, not quite landing on a ledge outside of a cave. "The ground here is very pebbly and we're quite high up, I wouldn't want you to fall!"\n\n"... Thanks MOM," you murmur, resisting the urge to sigh. You hurry to the door once she undoes the seatbelt and leap out... and definitely do not slip on the gravel on the ledge. (Much.) You get your bearings fully and hurry inside as the van flies away. "Cosmic Lord?!" you call.\n\nThere's no answer... not immediately. Just the darkness of the cave. But before you can rummage around for a flashlight, a faint glow starts up from a bit deeper within but directly ahead, a faint yellow light almost like a candle but completely steady.\n\n"Ah... Cosmic Lord... that's a name I haven't heard in a long time," a wistful, rather electronic-sounding voice says as the light gets a bit brighter, taking on a diamond shape with a longer point at the top.\n\n"But it's you? You're there? Cosmic Lord?" you say with growing hope as you find the little penlight in your pocket and click it on. You stare for a moment, then shout out a resounding "FUCK!"\n\n"My my. Superheroes were more careful about keeping their language spotless back in the day," the voice says in a mildly censorious tone. This despite the fact that it seems to be coming from a skeleton reclined against the wall, its bony hands folded in its lap. The only thing it seems to be wearing is a sort of retro-future space aesthetic crown on its head, with the light coming from the yellow gem set in the front of it.\n\n"Yeah. Okay. Sorry. It's just, y'know," you say, gesturing back towards the cave entrance. "There's a steadily-growing giant eldritch abomination wreaking havok on the city and you're, you know, kind of, you know, FUCKING DEAD!" you shout back at him.\n\n"In point of fact I, Kavin Vikto of Ultaron, am very much alive," the voice says. You notice that there's a very faint flickering from the glow of the gem as it speaks, so... uh, maybe. "The remains you see here are those of my host, Victor Kevin, the Earthling who was kind and brave enough to lend me his form so that we could battle the Biobeasts and defend this world."\n\n"Oh. Uh, okay, so you need a host to become the actual Cosmic Lord, I guess that's not exactly unheard of," you allow, nodding. "I... well, I guess I could be that?" you think slowly, glancing towards the entrance again. "If we need to. ... Did being your host kill him?" you add in a worried tone. "Because, I mean, if I have to-"\n\n"Oh no, no, quite the opposite," Kavin answers in that sort of peppy grandpa tone. "Poor Victor, I'm afraid, already had terminal cancer by the time he and I met. Becoming Cosmic Lord actually extended his life by a number of years. Just that once the Biobeasts stopped attacking, there was no reason to continue becoming Cosmic Lord, as you called him, and the cancer gradually claimed his life. I offered to take him back to my planet to see what could be done, but Victor chose to-"\n\n"Ah, listen, I'm genuinely moved by this story, I swear," you say as you hold up a hand and wag it, since that's the truth. "But, the giant monster?"\n\n"Oh! Yes! Even if it's not a Biobeast, clearly if my services are necessary, I'll once again go to battle! And you seem like a standup young lady, if a bit foul-mouthed, suitable for bonding with. But you understand that once we bond, it will be for the rest of your life, yes? It can't really just be set aside, we'll have to spend the rest of your life together."\n\n... Oof. Okay, that's... well, that's sort of like marrying someone who you've just met. And who is also a talking crown from another world. The situation's dire but... maybe you should see if there's anyone else who'd be willing?\n\n<hr>\n[[Bond with Kavin.|MarSS10x5]]\n\n[[Find someone else.|MarSS]]\n\n[[... Maybe there's a third option?|MarSS]]

You take a deep breath, then nod. "Okay, I understand. We'll figure things out after, but if that's the way it's gotta be, that's the way it's gotta be. Let's save the city!"\n\n"Indeed! Put me on your head, then, and step outside, and we shall Megamorphatize!"\n\n"Do we have to call it that?" you murmur as you step over to the skeleton, lips pulling back from your teeth as you make a little 'eeeeenh!' while lifting the crown off of the skull.\n\n"Respectfully, please."\n\n"I'm trying!"\n\nYou do your best to mingle speed and some sign of respect while taking the crown, not jostling the skeleton too badly in the process. Putting the crown on after that is a little 'ew', but you do your best to ignore any feelings of that and instead rush outside, looking towards the city where the monster is visible thrashing around and causing small clouds of debris from smashing things. "Okay, what now?!"\n\n"Now bring your arms around in a circle, then hold them in an arch in front of your face, while shouting 'MEGA MORPHATIZE!'" the crown declares cheerfully.\n\n"... Is that... really necessary? This isn't usually my genre, I-"\n\n"It's necessary," the crown interrupts firmly, in a tone that says whether it is or not, he's not going to budge.\n\nYou take a deep breath and nod, then swing your arms around in a dramatic arc before putting your fingers together in a sort of triangle in front of your face, shouting "MEGAAAAAAAA MORPHATIIIIIIZE!" Because if you've gotta do it, you might as well do it right.\n\nInstantly the crown thunks down lower on your head, your twintails somehow popping right through the diamond-shaped blue parts on the sides. Your body begins rapidly expanding, growing larger at an astounding rate, ripping through your uniform almost before you've realized anything is happening. Half-reflexively you jump forward, dropping downward off the ledge even as your body continues its all-over growth at that extreme speed. Liquid silver pours downward out of the crown and up over the top of your scalp, coating your skin in gleaming metal and turning your hair into sculpted but still mobile gold. You land with a crash and straighten up colors appear across the surface of your body, red and black streaks running from your collarbone down across your front and between your legs, with red sliding along your arms and legs to form the impression of gloves and boots.\n\nExcept...\n\n"I'm naked!" you blurt... then clap both hands over your mouth with a thunderous boom of impact. Talking, and saying that... was way, way louder than you thought.\n\n"Yes, that's normal," Kavin says, seemingly right inside your ear. "Victor kept a giant speedo he fashioned somewhere around here, but even if it would fit your proportions I imagine it's deteriorated into practically nothing by now. Don't worry, you can't see a thing!"\n\nYou glance down at your immense form, making a face. He's... kind of right? While your nipples and pussy are out and on display, the colors forming a sort of old swimsuit pattern are kind of like trick bodypaint... it's not super noticeable that you're actually naked. At least from a distance... and you hope most people will be seeing from a safe distance... you look like you're wearing something. \n\n"Quick! The monster is making its way through the city!" Kavin calls to you. "If the Slam is still where I recall it being, the creature could damage it and unleash the villains within!"\n\nOr kill them, you think as the hundreds of gallons of blood you have right now run cold.\n\n(Superego: "We have to save Mom and Dad!"\n\nId: "We have to stop those assholes from escaping!"\n\nEgo: "We have to clean up the mess we caused before it gets worse!"\n\nKavin: "My, it's crowded in here."\n\nSuperego, Id, Ego: [jump and whirl] "FUCK!!!!!"\n\nKavin: "Still with the language.")\n\nOkay, no time to worry about modesty then. You make your way towards the city, the ground crunching and cratering beneath the soles of your feet and your bare toes, though it doesn't really feel any different to you than walking on a fairly well-manicured lawn barefoot. You try to ignore the bouncing of your currently unrestrained house-sized boobs, and the way that news helicopters are peeling off from circling the monster at a distance and clearly moving to circle you at a distance. \n\n(Id: "Just one. Let's Kong just one journocopter. I have been very good for almost five whole minutes let's throw a car at just one pappalooka!"\n\nSuperego & Ego: "NO."\n\nKavin: "Is she always like this?"\n\nEgo: "Usually. We've had a difficult year.")\n\nYou absolutely do not throw a car at a helicopter, and instead do your best to moderate your movements as you head into the city proper while still being as fast as you can manage. (Hopefully not causing any additional damage... or any additional jiggling in your very bare macrotized tits and ass.) Luckily back during the period where the Biobeasts were invading (and the city got used to rebuilding large swathes of itself on a near-weekly basis), they started building the streets wide enough for Cosmic Lord to walk down, and even enlarged to relatively similar size you're clearly still shorter and more slender than he was, and have no real problems with moving between the buildings without causing any more collateral damage than the street pavement getting smashed by your steps, leaving a line of huge, girlish footprints mashed into the pavement and blacktop. You do accidentally nudge and kick several cars and at one point a bus, sending them tumbling around and knocking on their sides, and in the case of the bus skidding off to one side on its tires with its front crumpled in, but at least all of them seem to be empty.\n\nYou catch a glimpse of yourself in several of the mirror-windowed skyscrapers as you go past. Your face is covered with the silver stuff, and your eyes have turned solid, glowing blue, with the part of your head above the crown having turned smooth and almost helmet-like as well as gold, your twintails more like long ribbon streamers. You do still look like yourself, pretty much, though less recognizable with the "blank" eyes and the gleam to your face, along with several dark accent lines in the silver that make you look almost robotic. You do also feel like the nudity is less obvious in the reflection, or maybe in motion, and hope that it stays that way. But now back to more important matters.\n\nYou round a bend in the road, the ground shaking lightly under your footsteps, and come face-to-face with the monster as it pivots on its trunk to look at you with that massive, iridescent purple eye. It's still in the same general shape it was last time you saw it, though now it's got five particularly large tentacles along with a number of thinner ones, and it's dribbling a steady rain of disgusting-looking clearish-purplish goo with a green sheen from its face proboscii. Said proboscii lift and shake like windsocks in a hurricane as it lets out a shrieking, trumpeting bellow and shakes its tentacles aggressively. (Maybe it recognizes you?)\n\n"If it's like a Biobeast, that eye is its weak point!" Kavin's voice assures you. "One good Mega Starpunch should deal with this foe quickly!"\n\n<hr>\n[[Yeah! Mega Starpunch!|MarSS]]\n\n[[Uh... let's take a sec.|MarSS10x6]]

'Uh, remember, I don't have the same reach that Victor had,' you note slently, glancing briefly aside at a nearby building. It's one you've seen in pictures of Cosmic Lord, and you're definitely at least a head shorter than he was. 'And that thing has a lot of tentacles to grab with!'\n\n'Oh, yes. A good point,' Kavin admits. 'Forgive me, Marissa, I clearly haven't adapted to our new situation fully. Hm... perhaps we should use the Mega Starbeam instead. It uses quite a bit of energy so Victor typically used it as a finisher, but in this case it might be best to use it to "soften up" this creature.'\n\n'And how do I-'\n\n'Form a triangle with your forearms, stiffened fingers pointed at your forehead, and call "MEGA STARBEAM!", and I'll handle the rest!'\n\nYou reeeeally wonder if the dramatics are necessary, but whatever. You sweep your flattened hands up to point towards the diamond in the crown, calling out "MEGA STARBEAM!" as you fix your gaze on the kaiju.\n\nYou can feel the energy build and pulse in your body... it's almost literally orgasmic, your blood surging hot for a moment, your nerves all tingling and alive, a deep rushing of sensation that runs all through your body before moving to contentrate in one place. But rather than your nethers that place is your forehead, and you just almost feel your head jerk back with the force of the energy beam that fires from the yellow diamond, a blazing golden stream of light. The creature seems to sense that it's in danger and throws up its tentacles to block, but the golden luminescence cuts right through them, blasting many of the ends off and sending trailing bits of smoking meat through the air. The beam strikes the main body with an apparent physical impact, the creature lurching backward and crashing into one of the nearby buildings, concrete and glass cratering under the impact of its body and raining down to the streets below.\n\nYou wince a little at the unintended property damage, but are also savvy enough to know it's sort of inevitable when there's a kaiju-scale battle... hopefully everyone in the area has already evacuated, or at least was able to run away from that side of the building. You do feel faintly weaker somehow, not necessarily physically, but with some idea of a "tank" that's running lower. Still, gotta press your advantage! Your instinct is to run at it and attack while it's fully off-guard, but your first few quick steps shake the ground alarmingly and cause more shattered and broken windows. Oof, yeah, running is definitely something you wanna save for emergencies, instead settling for a quick walk towards it. \n\nOne of the news helicopters has gotten particularly bold and buzzes right past your head, not unlike a particularly large and annoying mosquito. Mightily resisting the urge to swat at it like one, you focus on the monster, which has just gotten itself largely upright as you swing a fist towards that large eye. One of its truncated tentacles swings up and smacks your arm away, staggering you just a bit in return, your thunderous steps crushing more concrete beneath your soles and your toes tearing through a car as you swing a leg out to brace yourself. Perhaps thinking it sees its own opening, the beast swings one of its larger, more intact tentacles in an upward slap, aiming between your legs.\n\nYou snap your hands down, snagging the tentacle tightly with both. "Ah ah, fool me twice!" you bellow. Seized by sudden inspiration, you take several steps back, forcing the tentacle to its full extension as the beast struggles, trying to smack at or grab you with several of the others. But before it can you bend and twist, taking its full weight onto your arms and then lifting it and hurling it upward, over the building tops... and narrowly missing the helicopter, which jukes and swerves out of the way. (You weren't aiming for it, you swear, you just lost track of where it was.) You're already turning and making your way towards the bay as you hear a massive splash. (Again, you're hoping everyone got out of the way in time, but fighting out in the water seems a lot less likely to result in extra collateral damage and civilian endangerment.\n\nYou step out onto the docks and into the water, doing your best not to yip at the cold, since that wouldn't be very heroic. Doing your best to avoid the piers, you do wind up brushing by several cargo ships, but at least since they can shift around in the water the light impact of your hips against them only bends the metal a bit and crumples some of the railings. It's much more effort to suppress a yip as the now rippling surface and waves smack against your bare, metallic pussy, but somehow you manage. The water stays about that level as you wade further out, which is minorly distracting but you do have a giant monster to focus on too. (And in the distance you can see more of the news helicopters circling around the bay now... and the chopping buzz of that one from behind getting closer again. Does he have a death wish?)\n\nThe monster seems to have uprighted itself, but does not seem to be happy about being in the water. It's screeching and flailing pretty nonstop now, its skin pulsing and flashing brighter reds. You can also see a number of spike protrusions starting to grow from it, little grayish-brown (well, "little", they're the size of motorcycles) starting to poke out of its skin. As well, though they haven't regenerated fully from being blasts, several of the tentacles have pushed longer spikes out of their ends, turning them into something like morningstars. It swings one at your head and you duck, taking advantage of its obvious disarray to follow up by stepping in and slamming a fist to its side, the impact driving the beast back in the less stable flooring of the sea mud.\n\n'I actually think you might be stronger than Victor,' Kavin comments mentally in an impressed tone. 'But watch out!'\n\nThe warning's well-timed, as one of the other tentacles, rather than swinging, shoots upward towards your head like the beast was throwing a rising jab. You juke to the side and twist, the spiked tentacle shooting past you and disturbing one of your twintails, but luckily completely missing you. What it doesn't miss, however, is the news helicopter, the tip of a spike winging its tail and smashing the rear rotor. It wobbles wildly in the air, zig-zagging almost drunkenly before starting to fall rapidly towards the surface of the bay.\n\n<hr>\n[[Save them.|MarSS10x7]]\n\n[[Let them fall.|MarSS]]

You immediately turn fully, as much as your instincts scream at you to not turn your back on a dangerous enemy, and rush forward, waves sweeping and crashing around your thighs. You reach out, doing your best to gently scoop the helicopter out of the air, though its landing struts crumple a little at the impact of your palm. Still, it and its occupants seem safe enough, the propeller starting to slow in a way that says the pilot killed the engine. Trying to ignore the wave-crashing sounds of the beast trying to pursue you (and having difficulty due to its trunk in the seabed muck), you sweep your head around, looking for a place to set the helicopter down.\n\n'There!' Kavin calls, somehow pointing without having a physical body, drawing your attention to a large cargo container ship that's anchored away from the docks. It seems to have been riding out the waves of the battle alright so far, and there's enough of the containers stacked up to form a flat surface.\n\nMuffling your embarrassment, you tuck the helicopter in against your body under your breasts, reeeeeally hoping that they weren't still running the camera and getting a close-up view of things. You begin wading towards the cargo ship as fast as you can without causing any worse sea-swells, doing your best to ignore the greater waves caused by both you and the monster smacking against your bare pussy and ass, the occasional high wave really feeling like it's trying to give you a seawater enema.\n\n'Marissa, look out!'\n\nYou wheel back towards the monster just as you'd almost reached the cargo ship, in time to see a number of those spikes snap further outward on the monster's body, then fire towards you like crossbow bolts. Swinging your arm down in front of your torso, you shout out "MEGA STARSHIELD!"\n\nA scintillating, six-pointed star made of golden energy bursts from your forearm along with that same strangely pleasurable rush of energy preceding it, the shield covering you roughly from neck to groin... but more importantly, covering the helicopter held beneath your chest. A number of the spikes are deflected off of it, but several fly right past it, one of them winging your shoulder on one side and another your upper arm on the other, a third slicing along your cheek. You grimace at the pain, the spikes having managed to cut through the silvery armor coating, and admittedly it's a bit disturbing to see something much more pink than your blood should be oozing down from the wounds.\n\nBut the onslaught seems to have exhausted most of its spike-ammo, and you quickly disperse the shield and turn back, setting the helicopter down atop the cargo containers before moving away from the ship. Ignoring the pain from the slashes, you move to meet the beast again. This time when it swings one of its spikey tentacles at you, you duck again but this time grab for it. "MEGA STARBLADE!" you call, the edge of your hand and arm glowing bright golden as you slice downward, chopping off the tentacle as close to the beast as you want to risk getting it.\n\nRather than dropping it, you grab the lower end and swing the spiked end around several times before smashing it across the kaiju's side. It reels and howls, and shrieks even louder as you swing back from the other direction and do it again, clearly not liking the taste of its own medicine. It flings all its tentacles wide, and now you drop the tentacle and step in.\n\n'We only have enough energy for one shot!'\n\n"MEGA STARPUNCH!" you cry, leaping forward and slamming your gold-glowing fist into the main eye.\n\nYour hand actually sinks into the eye with a burst of ichor, before that golden glow near-instantly spreads through the monster's entire body. At the same moment that it explodes into a shower of goo and spattered pieces, you detransform... much more rapidly than you grew. In fact you near-instantly find yourself back to normal size and tumbling through the air flailing. You manage to twist and get your feet downward, putting them together and your arms at your sides not long before you hit the water's surface with a hard shock. For a moment the shock of being fully submerged (and with much less body area for it to leech the heat out of) in cold water just almost threatens to make you panic, but you've been trained for this situation. (Look you thought things like being dropped into near-freezing water was basic preparation for camping trips, okay?!) You carefully let yourself right and give a few kicks up, surfacing with a gasp and looking around.\n\nLuckily it looks like the monster has mostly dissolved... hopefully whatever's left, if anything, won't cause any sort of ecological disasters. (That'd be for SHINE Labs to figure out/deal with, you guess.) You glance around, then notice that the news helicopters that had been circling further off are starting to move in. "Ah crap," you mutter. After only the briefest thought, you take a deep breath and then dive back under the surface. You can feel more heat leeching out of your body, but push through the steadily numbing sensation of the cold and kick forward through the water, staying under the surface. (At least it's a harbor, and you have no doubt that just a foot or two is plenty to completely conceal you.) Several times you carefully surface, both for another breath and to peek around, but quickly dive back under and continue.\n\nEventually you surface undeneath one of the smaller piers, gasping and throwing your arms around one of the wooden pillars, a bit grossed out by the feeling of slightly slimy, scratchy wood rubbing against your tits and slightly relieved that you still have enough feeling in them to notice. ... Wait, speaking of feeling things, is your head kind of light? You roll your eyes up, then blurt, "Oh shit, Kavin?!" as you realize the crown's not on your head anymore.\n\n'I'm here, no need for the profanity,' he assures and scolds breezily.\n\nYou bring a hand around, then sigh a bit in relief at the sight of a silver bracelet on your right wrist, along with the yellow diamond, just shrunk down to an appropriately ladylike fit and size. "Geez. Scared me."\n\n'How did you know those attacks, though? I didn't prompt you.'\n\n"Yeah, well... I was a fan," you murmur, and would blush if your blood weren't currently so chilled. "Watched all the old videos."\n\n'You did very well, though that was definitely a risk, using the last of your energy like that, especially considering where we were at the time.'\n\n"Yeah, well, risk is part of the job," you mutter as you start carefully hauling yourself up the column. "Watch me risk getting my tits on the news."\n\nShortly...\n\n"Marissa? Where are you?"\n\n"In a part of town you usually don't want to be standing around in using a payphone naked," you reply between your chattering teeth, hugging yourself with the arm not holding the phone, your still dripping body shivering and the cuts on your arms and cheek stinging from the salt. "Luckily everyone's still made themselves scarce from the fight. Could you come get me? ... And bring clothes?"\n\nAnd again, shortly, you're sitting in Style's very flashy convertible, although thankfully with the roof up, a towel underneath you and sweats covering your body, a strip of medical tape covering the cut on your cheek. You slump back against the heated seat, glad that your shivering's finally stopped, though you're still hugging yourself a bit.\n\n"I do think you're right, probably we ought to keep this under wraps," Style speaks up after a bit, addressing the point you brought up while she was taking care of your cuts. "Kaiju heroes are a very difficult frog to boil. Superstar's numbers always take a bit of a hit when she goes giant-sized, the collateral damage is just way too obvious. Although they jump in certain forums certainly," she adds more under her breath, before clearing her throat. "But at least you've gotten a good head start on that, so maybe we can reveal it's you someday."\n\nYou blink at that. "Oh?"\n\nStyle grins and leans forward a bit to turn on the retro analogue-style radio, the front panel on it glowing to life with a (probably artificial) warming-up buzz. "-ro, who many are assuming is the daughter of the long absent Cosmic Lord, has been dubbed 'Cosmic Girl'. Displaying a truly heroic attempt to lessen destruction and preserve life, Cosmic Girl took the fight to the bay, and protected one of this station's own intrepid reporters and her crew from-"\n\nYou reach over to click it off with a small huff. "... Not that I don't appreciate the praise, but why 'Cosmic Girl'?" you grumble. "Shouldn't it be 'Cosmic Lady'? Or if they were going to insist on showing youth, 'Cosmic Princess' or something?"\n\nStyle chuckles. "We can workshop some stuff and put it out there, try and change popular opinions on the name, get enough people using something else and it might catch on instead. Anyway, do you want to go to the studio so you can get your stuff, or should I take you straight home?"\n\nYou're absolutely, utterly exhausted. Your body aches, you've been drained of some vital energy, you still feel cold, you got slapped in the pussy, the entire city's seen you naked whether they noticed or not, and you're starving. You lean your head back against the seat and close your eyes. "... Studio. I need your help to do one more thing before I sleep tonight."\n\nMoney is its own form of superpower. You can get things done incredibly quickly, if you know your reach. So sunset finds you standing at a graveside, stoically bearing up under a caffeine headache and general body pains, wearing a decent black skirtsuit and holding an umbrella over your head against the steady drizzle of rain that started up while you were getting everything done.\n\n'... Thank you for this,' Kavin says inside your head. 'I hadn't really considered the disposition of physical remains beyond that they not be treated lightly, but... I find that I'm vastly more gratified by you having done this for Victor.'\n\n"Don't mention it," you murmur back to him under your breath. Maybe later you'll be able to get some better monument or more fitting tribute to his heroism, but for now a plain marble marker reading 'Victor Kevin' will have to do. Style raises her hand to rest on your shoulder, Substance doing the same on the other side, the three of you currently the only ones aware of the identity of the man you just buried, and the only ones able to give him tribute. Both of them give your shoulders a squeeze, then turn to walk off.\n\nWell. Four of you.\n\nTomiko steps up beside you, seemingly out of nowhere since she was absolutely not to be seen before Style and Substance were out of the gates. "You certainly do like to waste your own time and your parents' money," she declares blandly.\n\nYou shoot her a glance, scowling a bit. "... You know I really don't get how you do it. He fought for you as much as he did everyone else on this planet. He saved this world dozens of times, saved your life, my parents' lives, again and again, and you can all just spit on his memory because he's a hero and you're villains?"\n\n"Don't assume, Marissa," Tomiko replies, her voice still even but having taken on a slight edge. "I spoke for myself when I said it was a waste of money. Regardless of what they think of your own foolish heroism, I'm sure that your parents would approve of this," she adds slightly grudgingly, glancing at the grave. "They do understand respect, even if the other side doesn't return it."\n\n"So it's just you?" you reply flatly. "It's just you that doesn't care? Why?"\n\nTomiko actually seems to consider that for a moment before she gives the most marginal of shrugs. "How does a soldier kill another soldier in a different uniform, knowing he's just another man like himself? With family, friends, 'fighting for his country'?"\n\n"... By putting his duty before his soul, I guess," you mutter coldly.\n\nYou'd intended it as a shot, but Tomiko simply inclines her head slightly as if in acknowledgement, before turning and walking back towards the exit. You turn to look after her, scowling.\n\n"What you do isn't war! It's... business! Profit!" you snap after her.\n\n"If you think war is anything else, child, you still have a lot of growing up to do, no matter how many stories tall you get," she calls back breezily. "I'll be in the car when you've finished your little display."\n\nSo yeah. That's a quiet, sullen car ride home. Back in your room, you strip out of the suit and peel out of the black pantyhose you wore with it. Faintly in the back of your mind you're a little embarrassed that Kavin must be seeing all this, but you're too tired to really think about that... plus, not like he hasn't already seen it all thoroughly. From the inside, for that matter. You crawl up the bed, then flump forward face-down on the pillow, almost instantly falling asleep.\n\n<hr>\n[[And starting to dream...|MarSS]]\n\n[[Nope, you're too tired to dream.|MarSS]]

Maybe today is one of those days anyway. Let's go out and walk around, just see where your feet lead you, and find someone to cause some really wild grief to! Hee.\n\nYou set off down the street, humming cheerfully to yourself, seeding little bits of mischief here and there, like dropped coins that are enchanted to summon a gust of wind if someone in a skirt picks them up, or making puddles look more shallow than they are.\n\nLet's seeee... you could wander on down near the [[park|Konko]], sometimes there are amusing festivals or booths or just humans milling about practically asking to be messed with. Or the [[woods|Konko]], messing with some woodsman or farmer might actually be a bit nostalgic. Or, ohoooo, maybe you could wander down to the [[abandoned shrine|Konko3x2]]... lost spirits sometimes gather there, and you can make fun of them for not being able to keep up with you! Or maybe even one of the [[shrines|Konko]] that's still in use, actually get some replies to your mockery!

Let's not be any more Extra than necessary in the leadup, that feels like something that's likely to get you into trouble.\n\nYou hurry over to the halfheartedly-mended rent in the fence and, as expected, are able to undo the wire with no more than a few good yanks, pulling aside the section of fence and slipping through sideways. You scurry across the yard undisturbed, quickly finding a back door... that luckily seems to have been left open, and even to have been recently oiled. You grin as you pull the door open enough to slip through with barely a creak... Doctor Dimensional's attempt to be quiet on his own breakin seems to have been recent enough to assist your own.\n\nIt doesn't take too long to get through the small maze of offices and hallways in the back of the building to the front where you saw Doctor Dimensional at work. Unfortunately, just as you'd worried, he seems to have already activated his portal and gotten it into a mildly stable condition, an uneven disk of pale purple and green. He's cackling away and milking the giant cow of villainous triumph... except the laughter has a sort of uneven, almost dissatisfied tone to it, so you're betting that he already knows this attempt hasn't gone any better than previous ones.\n\nA suspicion that seems to be concerned as long tentacles as thick as your wrist start writhing their way out of the portal, bulging and pulsating and flickering through numerous somewhat stomach-churning colors. "No, not agaaaaaaaaaaain!" Doctor Dimensional wails, albeit proving that he'd already come to that conclusion by turning and running right towards you even as he's saying it. He only seems to notice you there about a half-second before your fist impacts his face and knocks him to the ground out cold, but it was still a pretty satisfying shocked expression.\n\nExcept, uh fuck, now you've got a dimensional incursion to deal with! And you better deal with it fast because more tentacles are coming out, most of them smaller, but you have a feeling that there's bigger ones coming too. Okay, fast, think fast!\n\nThe three immediate options that come to you are that there's what looks like a really hefty power cable running to the wall nearby, that you could probably manage to yank out with a few good tugs. That should immediately collapse and close the portal... but you have no idea what that would do to the tentacles already on this side. What if they're like earthworms or something?\n\n(Superego: "Plus there's no need to hurt the poor creature if we don't have to."\n\nEgo & Id: "Excuse me?"\n\nSuperego: "Well it was probably just lounging around minding its own business until this agitator dropped a dimensional portal right in front of it, it probably has no clue it's being antagonistic by entering this dimension."\n\nEgo: "... hrm."\n\nId: "You're both crazed.")\n\nOkay, the other option that would be assured of getting all of the creature out of this dimension... and, you guess, most likely not hurting it if it actually isn't malevolent... would be to run to the machine itself and try to reverse the polarity or whatever so that it was pulled back through before the portal closed. You... think you could do that? Maybe? But that would be putting you awfully close to the creature, if it is malevolent...\n\nYou guess the third would be to just, uh... fucking run? You kind of have the excuse that Doctor Dimensional is out cold and can't defend himself from the consequences of his own actions if something happens to you, so you've got to save him after all. (Oh c'mon it's a completely valid rationale! It's not an "excuse"!) Besides, the monsters that come out of his portals tend to hit way above your weight class, if you fail to stop it you could get you and him killed, so getting out of the way and calling in a more super-y superhero might be the thing to do.\n\n<hr>\n[[Pull the plug.|MarSS10x2]]\n\n[[Reverse the stream.|MarSS]]\n\n[[Skedaddle.|MarSS]]

"I sense something," you declare, your voice having shifted to a low, threatening baritone as you begin to turn. "A presence I have not felt since..."\n\n"Take that stupid thing off, Konko," the short figure standing on the sidewalk behind you says in a disgusted tone.\n\nShrugging, you reach up and undo the latch on the Darth Vader helmet, your ears springing free as you lift it off and toss it aside. She's shorter than you, smaller than you, with no tits to speak of, her but her golden ears, hair, and tail are similar enough, though hers fade to a honey color at the tips. She's wearing clothes based on a more elaborate 'see we can do it better' version of the clothes the Japanese mortals wore back before you were sealed, including an off-the-shoulder top that ties at the sides and has elaborate sleeve hangings, a blue skirt, what look very much like black bike shorts, and black tabi socks with red-strapped sandals. The little smirk on her cute face and the glitter in her green eyes say she's rather smug to have found you and (almost) snuck up on you.\n\n<img src="images/Pecan.png">\n\n"Well well well, if it isn't Pecan-imouto," you declare with a grin.\n\nInstantly her face flushes and she stabs a finger in your direction. "IT'S PIKAKON!"\n\n"The lightning fox Pokemon?"\n\n"NOT PIKACHU, PIKAKON!"\n\n"The flasher fox?"\n\n"NOT FLASHING LIKE BOOBS, FLASHING LIKE LIGHTNING!"\n\n"I thought you said you weren't the lightning fox Pokemon?"\n\n"GYAAAAAH I HATE YOOOOOU I'M NOT YOUR IMOUTO EITHERRRRRR!" she shrieks, dropping to her back on the ground and clutching her head, rolling back and forth as she kicks her legs.\n\nYou serenely walk over to stand beside her as she continues rolling back and forth and crying out 'GYAAA-AAA-AAA!', using your calmest and most reasonable tone of voice since you know it annoys the shit out of her when you do. "Mom made you after me, that makes you a little sister."\n\nShe immediately leaps to her feet, pointing at you again despite only being separated by a few feet. "Lies! Lies lies lies slander lies and libel!"\n\n"It's only libel if it's in print."\n\n"SHUT UP! So what if I was made after you?! I was created to keep you from making more trouble! I'm your superior! If anything I'm the big sister!"\n\n"Awwww, don't say that, my little Pecan-imoutooooo," you coo, slipping in and gripping her cheeks, starting to knead them with gentle squishes, which at first makes her squeak in outrage, before her eyes close and she starts making a soft 'gyuuu-uuu-uuuu' noise, clearly too soothed by the cheekrubs to get annoyed at either your presumption or your use of her nickname. Then you smile wider, her eyes snapping open as you close your fists on her cheeks. "Even if you werrrrre the one who gave the mortals the ritual to seal meeeee~! ♫"\n\n"GYEE!" Pecan squeals, flailing her arms in terror as you abruptly turn into a shimmering outline of black fire, with a pair of blazing red eyes and a sharp-toothed smile leering out of it. "I didn't I didn't I didn't I didn't I didn't I swear I didn't I never did I didn't I didn't I didn't!"\n\nNo longer made of fury just like that, you open your hands to release her, Pecan immediately dropping to the ground and then going scuttling back until she bumps against a tree, wide-eyed and hugging her legs. "Hm. You didn't?" Rapid headshaking. "You really swear it?" Rapid nodding. "Hmmmm," you murmur, bringing a hand up to cup your chin and looking downward.\n\n"I didn't, I didn't, I swear I'd never do that!" Pecan blurts, before pausing and glancing up. "I mean, maybe once or twice I thought about it..." She 'GYEE!'s again as a cylinder of black aura forms around you and instantly extends upward into the stratosphere, her ears, hair, and tail fluffing out. "BUT I DIDN'T I SWEAR AND I DON'T KNOW WHO DID!"\n\n"I'll be honest, I'd always just sort of assumed it was you," you admit, brushing some remaining condensed rage off of your hoodie sleeves. "Figured you got tired of chasing me around trying to ruin my fun and got everyone together to get rid of me."\n\n"I wouldn't do that," she mutters, actually seeming sulky now, her ears hanging low as she presses her face against her knees. "Even if you were the worst. Mo-... the Goddess made me for you, after all, without you I didn't have much purpose. It was... lonely... after you were gone. Eventually I just went to sleep, in case you ever got let out."\n\n... Aw. That actually does tug at your heart a little. You walk over and settle down to sit beside her, tilting your head in towards her. "Is that why you just showed up now? I've been out for a little while."\n\n"Yeah, I only just woke up, and then came to find you." She lifts her head and pouts at you. "You've been making a ton of trouble again, haven't you?"\n\n"For realz~! ♫" you sing-song happily, putting both index fingertips to your cheeks and tilting your head as you beam at her. "It's what I do! And no nofuns to ruin the party, yanno? Totes good deal!"\n\nShe stares blankly at you, green eyes slowly blinking. "... What?"\n\n"Okay, we have a lot of catching you up to do." You hop to your feet and dust off your ass, watching as she clambers up without jumping because she's a fuddy-duddy. "But I guess there's not much for it! You'll just have to come home with me!"\n\n"Huh?" That makes her blink, looking flummoxed. "R-really?"\n\n"Sure! You know me, sis, I always do what I want, and I wanna take my fam home! What'm I gonna do, make you sleep out in the rain? ... I'd have totally tied you up naked in the rain and left you there forever if you'd been the one to seal me," you add while lifting a single finger, your eyes having gone wide and deep and cold.\n\n"Yeah, yeah, I get it already, but I wasn't!"\n\n"Right! So, let's go home, darling little sister."\n\n"Call me 'senpai' or something!"\n\nSoon the two of you are walking into the shrine-house, Pecan looking around. "Hm... isn't this like where one of your priests lived? The super pretty one who would do lewd things with practically every male that came to the shrine while wearing those slutty miko robes you designed, and then just steal their money as the 'prank'?"\n\n"He was one of the great ones," you sigh dreamily, placing a hand over your heart in memory of the departed. "But yes it's a recreation of his house, though I updated it with modern ammenities. Speaking of which, go take a bath," you add, shooing her towards the hall.\n\n"W-wha?! I don't stink!" she blurts angrily, her cheeks going pink as she nevertheless quickly yanks a sleeve in front of her nose and sniffs.\n\n"You smell like the Heian period, and I had quite enough of that when I was in the Heian period. Go go go go go," you urge, actually pushing her down the hall now.\n\n"Alright, alright, I'm going!" she blurts, jerking forward to get off of your hands and running down the hall, practically slamming the door closed.\n\nThere. You're sure she'll figure everything out, she's a bright little spirit. ... Hm, might be a good prank to go bursting in on her right when she's rinsing herself off... ♥\n\n<hr>\n[[Crash Pecan's bath.|Konko]]\n\n[[Wait outside.|Konko]]

For the first 141 years of your life, you were Siphanielle Tyvaris. Known as the Peerless Mage of Deepwood Fords, you were the best of your generation of the Shadow Elves, a respected and powerful people living in the dark wooded realm, at peace (if a slightly tentative one) with all the other races save the Demons.\n\nThen the Hero arrived.\n\nThe prophesied hero destined to defeat the demon king. A man from another world blessed with abilities beyond any known to the people before, having arrived at the very height of potential physically, and gradually putting together a team of the most skilled and most attractive female fighters in the world, and also a daughter-like loli who was basically a mascot.\n\nYou may or may not have had a thing for him. You're never going to tell.\n\nQuesting with the Hero drove you to new heights in your own abilities, and by the time you faced the demon king you might well have been the world's most peerless mage. Upon the enemy's defeat, the magical item that would have sent the Hero back to his own world dropped... and bounced right off of his boot. You caught it by accident, and suddenly found yourself in a small, messy room belonging to one Yamashiro Keitaro, unemployed video game addict. AKA the Hero.\n\nOops.\n\nTurns out the Japanese government had monitored the dimensional shift and pretty quickly showed up to explain things to you. Luckily they weren't interested in detaining you or dissecting you for study or something... in fact, once you accepted that there likely wasn't any way home and you said you'd be fine selling them your magical accessories and artifacts, they were quite solicitous. You were given citizenship and effectively allowed to take over the Hero's old life, including his apartment and possessions. Uncertain what else to do with yourself, you learned to use the thing called a "computer" and the other things called "game consoles". That was six months ago.\n\nAnd here's you now.\n\n<img src="images/Sipha.jpg">\n\nYour once elegantly coifed and styled black hair has been allowed to get rather messy, draping in your face in front and overall rather uneven, your long pointed ears sticking out from the slightly draggled locks. Luckily your amber eyes are still clear despite spending eighteen hours a day or so staring at screens, and your face is still pretty and slim, your lips still shiny and smooth, despite a diet of mostly convenience store snacks and instant ramen. Your elaborate and expensive elven garments, designed to show off your large chest and round hips and butt while still conveying elegance and refinement, have long since been shoved into the back of the closet, replaced with a comfy off-the-shoulder purple sweater and soft blue shorts. Admittedly, your century plus of fastidious studying habits mean that you keep the apartment you "inherited" meticulously clean and organized rather than the mess it was when you arrived, but it's still rather cluttered with your snacks, toys, games, and figures. Well, a fair portion of them used to be Keitaro's, but they're yours now! And you haven't been shy about adding to the lot either... apparently besides the large amount the government paid you for your stuff, they're also paying you a fairly hefty "retainer" in case they ever need your expertise on something. Yup, life is pretty sweet...\n\n... at 4am. Oops. Blinking your slightly burning eyes, you decide maybe enough's enough for now and save your game, setting down the controller before scooting your pink and black game chair (Keitaro's furniture was one of the things you absolutely replaced first thing, apparently before he became the Hero his hygeine was a little lacking) to the side, and toppling right out of it and onto your futon. Fuwaaaah... wriggling around and pulling the comforter over yourself, you quickly fall asleep. (Turns out elves are immune to blue light induced insomnia. You are best gamer.)\n\nEventually you blink your eyes blearily open and stare at your phone propped up nearby, displaying the time. Ugh, daylight hours. Still, you are awake now... time to get up?\n\n<hr>\n[[Can't game if you're not awake!|Sipha1x1]]\n\n[[Tomorrow's as good for gaming as today. Zzzzzz.|Sipha]]

"Known Souls"... heroes that the universe decided that just one of weren't enough. You know that this list is curated very carefully by Xenith's team... not only is it listed for those souls that repeat almost infinitely, allowing you to have numerous attempts at netting them, it's also filtered for souls that might be a little too powerful... no one wants a repeat of the "Maximoff Incident" that prematurely ended the reign of your predecessor, after all.\n\n[[Gwen Stacy|MaxGwenStart]] - Some pretty teenage wall-crawler who goes by the name "Spider-Woman".\n\n[[Matterhorn|MaxMHStart]] - A big slab of beefcake... rather literally since he's a bull-man. Some sort of mercenary famed for his, heheh, endurance.\n\n<<if $activetifa is false>>[[Tifa Lockhart|MaxTifaStart]]<<endif>><<if $activetifa is true>>[[Tifa Lockhart|MaxTifaStart2]]<<endif>> - A beautiful brawler from a magitech world. Apparently quite a favorite of your predecessors, she's been an energy-providing staple for many a Dark Monolith!

You need to hurry back to the Green Fields and find your body, and hope that at least your clothes are still there. (You try not to think about the likelihood that any of it will still fit.) You actually do have faith that what you were told about monsters not bothering you for a while after you're renewed was true, everything else you've been told about Liola is right, after all, besides your Piety skill still being fully intact.\n\n"Later!" you snap at the guard that starts to approach you as you make your way through the gate and storm directly for the entrance to the Green Fields. Either he's shocked by your reply or he's too busy staring at your ass to say anything, because you make your way into the dungeon unopposed, where you quickly break into a run.\n\nIt turns out that another benefit of being a Lesser Wolfkin is that you have incredible stamina for running. Though it took you two days to get there before, once you find one of the landmarks you remember from tracking the injured(/dead) adventurer you saw before and start following them again, it doesn't take you that long, especially since the monsters do seem to just watch you go from a distance with their normal eyes rather than the glowing red of aggro. (You can't really shake the feeling that some of them are staring at your boobs and butt too, but that's probably just you being self-conscious.)\n\nSo it's only early afternoon when you find the stone pillars again, and make your way very cautiously through them. You peer around, looking first for any signs of the Blade Bunny, especially by the bush where it was before. ... Doesn't seem to be here now. Now you look at the other contents of the circle, which is a... weird experience. Someone took the skeleton's bracelet, and probably the same someone took all of the Human adventurer's gear and stripped the body, leaving it naked. ... From the state of its head, it looks like they played kickball with it for a little while, geez.\n\n... Your... your body, on the other hand... seems to have been treated respectfully? It's laid out on its back, arms folded on its chest, and the head has been brought over and lain in the largely proper place at the end of the neck. It's definitely a very weird sensation to look at it, also to feel the mingled sense of gratitude for whoever did so... tinged with annoyance, since you can see that your money pouch is undone and your sword sheath is empty. But you can see, beneath one hip, that the sheath full of Class Cards is still there. Either they somehow didn't notice it, or decided not to take it for whatever reason.\n\nYou stand there overcome by the weird sensation of looking at your own corpse for a moment, before taking a deep breath and starting towards it. You're not quite there when you hear a slight rustle and turn towards it, and freeze.\n\nThere's a white rabbit sitting at the edge of the stone circle, clearly having just come through the gap between two of the pillars. It's larger than a Horned Rabbit... sitting up on its hind legs like that it might be an inch or two shy of a Halfling's shoulder. It's also got a long, whiplike tail that coils through the air behind it, tipped by a large, curved bone blade that looks like the tip of some fighting spears you've seen. It's staring at you with bright pink eyes, twitching its white nose... then those pink eyes start to glow faintly red.\n\nUh-ohhhhhh...\n\n<hr>\n[[Dive for the Class Cards!|ReRaz]]\n\n[[Use magic!|ReRaz1x8]]\n\n[["Er, nice bunny!"|ReRaz]]

You just lay there for the moment, sprawled and trying to get ahold of yourself mentally. Eventually you sit up and, more curious than anything, do a bit of careful probing of your pussy with your fingers... no soreness or tenderness, and while it stretches a bit with your exploring tugs, you still seem to be quite tight when you push a finger in. Still finding the sensation weird, you pull it out quickly... looks like you went back to "normal" right after laying the egg. ... Worshiping Liola is wild.\n\nAs if summoned by the thought, the door opens and Oista sweeps in, holding a stack of folded clothes. ... A fairly thin stack, you notice. "Here we are, something to wear while you... well, to be frank, a lot of people call them 'corpse runs'," she says sheepishly as she lays the stack down on a dry spot on the bed. "Feel free to use the bathing facilities first!"\n\n"Um, so... that's it?" you say, glancing around.\n\n"Yes, dear, we don't charge for our services. Of course it is pleasing to Liola if you donate," she adds, briefly putting one hand vertically in front of her face and closing her eyes, before giving a shrug that makes her breasts bobble. "And we'd be able to afford better clothes for the renewed if more people did. But..."\n\nYou pick apart the stack, making a bit of a face. It's basically a red band, and little red panties. They're even a thong. There are some red stockings, too, but they won't even cover your toes or heels to provide that much protection from the ground. (Oh, wait, you're a Wolfkin now. Beastkin in general have tougher feet and don't really need shoes, but Wolfkin tend to be especially so on that point, and you've seen more than a few just go barefoot or in similar footwear. ... The thong and boobstrap is more of a problem.) "Okay," you say in a resigned tone. "Anything else?"\n\n"Yes, my daughter, while we can't offer you any equipment, in the future if you wish to leave things with us, we'll store them for you, until we sense that you have left the cycle of renewal and moved on permanently for whatever reason. But for now, I have duties to attend to, but as always if you need me I will be here!"\n\nRight, take the hint, time to go. You do avail yourself of the bath again, though you're quick about it since messing with your new body is still weird, despite the... rather pleasant introduction to it... gah, more weirdness! Forget that! After that you dress in the new outfit, which certainly does nothing to help you feel like a man, the top not quite covering the bottoms of your breasts and the straps of the thong riding high on your hips and below your tail and between your buttcheeks, while the stockings emphasize the curve of your legs. You find a leather strap that you can tie your hair up into a ponytail with, since it seems a bit too long and thick to just be left free.\n\nYou blush brightly as you walk out of the Church, unable to help rubbing your upper arm nervously, only stopping when you realize that you've tucked your arm under your tits and are lifting them and making them jiggle. Your face even redder, you force your hands down to your sides and stomp more purposefully forward through the early morning city. (Time must have passed somewhere in all that nonsense.) You try not to think about how that's making your barely-restrained boobs bounce, nor the similar effect on your practically bare butt, nor how plenty of male heads turn to enjoy the view as you storm past.\n\n<hr>\n[[You need to get your stuff back.|ReRaz1x7]]\n\n[[You need to die again as soon as possible.|ReRaz]]

You don't want to be a woman, and you reeeeally don't want to be fucked by a guy as a woman, but... the memory of what it was like to have your head cut off sends a cold shudder down your spine. Afterward wasn't so bad, but apparently that was due to your faith in Liola and your being in this... cycle of renewal... which apparently asks for more than just enjoying yourself now that you've benefited from it.\n\nSo you take a deep breath and let it out in a rush, trying to ignore the little jiggle that makes your new boobs give, and murmur, "Okay."\n\n"Excellent! Musel, take good care of her, she's a very good girl after all," Oista says cheerfully as she gently urges you towards the priest, your tail instantly setting to wagging rapidly. H-hey, that's not fair!\n\nYou blush even more as Musel's soft but strong hands rest on your shoulders and gently guide you out of the room and down the hall, to another door. This one turns out to be nearly identical to the one you had your initiation in, right down to the heart-shaped pillows, just that it's lit by torches instead of magilights. You squirm nervously as Musel closes the door and then walks over to you. ... Great, you're the short one again, he's actually pretty tall.\n\nHe smiles gently, and you're a little annoyed that it actually is comforting, and makes your heart give a little flutter to see. You worry your lower lip with your teeth as he strokes his hands soothingly along your shoulders, urging you to relax your arms from hugging yourself, stroking them until some of the tension goes out of them. You give another little yip more of surprise than anything as he cups your breasts, squirming and starting to wag your tail again as he softly urges pleasure out of you by caressing them and running his thumbs across the nipples.\n\n"Um," you almost breathe as he leans in to nuzzle gently at your neck and lays a few kisses along it and down your shoulder. "Um... this... isn't quite like it was with... with Oista," you admit with a little rush of breath as he strokes his hands down your sides and over your hips.\n\n"Every first time is different," he murmurs back in a voice like rich wine, making you shiver a bit again. \n\nR-right... this is your second first time... and your actual first time as a girl... y-you guess a girl's ideal first time is probably different than a guy's, and Oista certainly gave you your ideal first time (as a guy). Musel certainly seems to be doing his best with this too, his hands still gentle but strong as they caress over your newly round athletic buttocks and across the tops of your firm thighs, your tail still wagging. Dangit... you could hide your old tail beneath your wrap, this one's just gonna constantly give you away~!\n\nMusel ducks his head further down, kissing along your breasts, his hands sliding back up along your hips to gently rub your belly beneath them. You find yourself giving soft, needy little whimpers that just embarrass you further, trembling a little in place, even bringing a hand up and pressing a knuckle against your lips as you squirm, wagging tail picking up speed. 'This is... so weird,' you think, finding your thoughts getting fuzzy, and annoyingly enough starting to sound more like your new body's voice instead of your own.\n\nYou blink as he suddenly sinks down further... then gasp as his tongue brushes along your slit. Without really thinking you let your thighs sag open some and he leans his head in closer, starting to lap gently over your folds, his tongue just as competent at moving over your pussy as Oista's was at pleasuring your cock. Whining softly, you put your hands on his back, leaning a bit heavily on him. 'Oh... oh this feels so weird,' you think. 'Soooo fucking good but so weird!'\n\nEventually, when you're panting and quivering, with your body lightly sweaty and your legs quivering, inner thighs damp, he stands and scoops you up. You're unable to protest being princess-carried over to the bed and sat down on the edge, just watching him as he undoes his robes and shrugs out of them... though you give another yip of surprise at the size of what winds up springing up and jutting right at your face. "W-whoa... that's, um... that's big," you squeak.\n\n"I do seem to have inherited the size of some things from Mother," he says with a chuckle.\n\n... Oh. Yeah. Duh. Of course with the look of them he must be Oista's son. ... Is that weird? Maybe it's a little weird. But, um... you're guessing this part is kind of necessary, and he did just... w-well. You slowly lean towards him, then pause and glance up nervously. "Do I, um... do I need to do it like... like s-she did?"\n\n"No, just making a genuine attempt is fine, darling," he replies with a warm smile.\n\nYour ears perk up and your cheeks go red as he calls you 'darling'. D-dammit! You really don't want to like that! ... Okay, matter at hand. This... this is about devotion to Liola and securing your place in the renewal cycle. You nervously raise a hand and wrap it around his shaft... holy fuck he's thick... and stroke him tentatively. You almost jump when it gives a soft throb in your hand, glancing nervously between his face and his dick. ... N-no, this is okay, you can do this, you can totally do this.\n\nYou do your best to be more confident about your stroking, and then eventually lean in closer... and closer. Admittedly hesitantly, you open your mouth and slide it over the tip of his cock, taking in about half the head. Mmf... the taste is... weird... sort of salty and... n-not. ... You kind of wish you hadn't been so desperate to get on top of Oista now, so that you had something to compare it to. Although wishing that you'd eaten out his mom seems a little weird while you're sucking a guy's dick, besides the weirdness of sucking dick, s-so maybe set it aside.\n\nYou sneak a few bashful peeks up at Musel as you run your tongue over his cockhead... at the least you can do what you think would feel good to you, and you know felt good when Oista did it. (... Wait is that weird, using his mom's blowjob technique on hiTRY NOT TO THINK ABOUT IT!) You start bobbing your head slowly, working on taking a bit more of him in each time, while stroking along the rest of his length with your hand. A bit tentatively, you reach your other hand up to cup his balls... ffffuuuuuck, they're really big too, and the skin is as soft and smooth as Oista's tits, even if it's an entirely different sensation touching them, that smooth soft skin bunching up under your touch, the hefty eggs of his testicles shifting with your movements.\n\nYou gag softly as he nudges up against the opening of your throat. You pull back quickly, then kind of tentatively move back forward again. But Musel rests a hand on your head, rubbing and petting and making you (annoyingly enough) whimper in pathetic happiness... but he seems to be trying to tell you that you don't have to throat him. So you just continue bobbing your head, stroking him, fondling him, and sneaking those peeks up at his stupid handsome sweet kind face.\n\nEventually he pulls back completely and kneels down again, pushing your thighs gently apart and leaning in to start licking over you again. You whimper softly, leaning your head back and closing your eyes, hips twitching. But this time after only a few minutes you draw away from him, giving in to your body's base feral urges again, but this time turning and settling onto all fours. You lift your tail high, showing off your swollen, plump pussy and round ass, panting softly as you look over your shoulder at him, amber eyes glazed and needy. It's... it's so embarrassing, but he's brought out the instinct in you... the instinct to breed... to be bred... like a wolf bitch in heat.\n\nStill, he smiles, making no sudden movements and instead making his way up onto the bed and behind you as well. Those strong hands run along your back, your sides, your ass, making you whimper and squirm needfully. Only then does he press his cock into place and slowly start pushing into you, making you let out a moan of confused pleasure and relief as he sinks into you deeply, your new but thoroughly-prepped pussy practically sucking him inside welcomingly instead of trying to resist.\n\nAnd once all that big, fat cock is inside you, he leans forward, pressing his body over yours, giving you full contact with his warmth and that toned chest, his hands moving to cup your breasts firmly but tenderly, kneading them slowly as he starts thrusting. Your eyes roll a bit as you begin rocking back against him, simultaneously enjoying every moment of his slow, affectionate lovemaking and desperately wanting him to fuck you hard and make you his bitch. Eventually the rhythm settles into something that's somehow both... a smooth, quick motion of both of you thrusting together against each other, bodies pressed close together, your breath coming in quick pants. You don't even remember when you started kissing him, but you are, your head turned and his tongue swirling and lapping against yours as you jut it out, your female voice practically purring out 'Mate breeding me mate breeding me mate breeding me' in your head.\n\nYour orgasm is like a great wave crashing over you and then washing away even those thoughts in pleasure as it surrounds you in warmth and ecstasy, your body letting out a near-feral howl of climax as Musel thrusts deep inside you and starts to cum. There is not a single part of you that doubts you're being knocked up as his huge load slowly bulges up your belly, asserting his virility on your fertile new body, and another, smaller orgasm hits you after the first with every swelling twitch of his prick inside of you because of it.\n\nYou slump, panting and trembling, as he pulls out of you, making you whimper softly with the sudden feeling of emptiness. You stay as you are for the moment, trying to catch your breath... then let out a shocked "Mmf!" as you feel something shift and tremble inside you, a clench of your stomach.\n\nYou don't resist as Musel pulls you over to him and sets you in his lap where he's sitting in the middle of the bed, raising his legs to spread your own. But he makes no move to initiate any further lovemaking as you twitch and groan at the strange sensations, instead just gently rubbing your stomach as the roundness of it firms and expands further. You gasp loudly as you feel the shift inside you, feel that now firm roundness inside start to press against you. I-it's the egg! It's coming out!\n\n'Liola, please!' you pray, not for anything specific, just... praying. Either your prayer is heard or the process is always like this, but there's no pain... a feeling of stretching, pressure, almost need, but also still some pressure as you feel the egg slowly moving downward along your pussy. You glance down past your tits, the position Musel's holding you in meaning you can see it as your pussylips start to press apart. There's... the egg! It's dark and speckled with red, like your new body's hair, and seems to be coming out fat end first, to judge by how much you're spreading.\n\nYou whimper as it spreads you further and further, but keeps slipping back inside despite pushing your pussylips further open. Oh goddess, is it stuck?! Then you gasp loudly as Musel hands move, the fingers of one strumming your clit gently while the others stroke and spread your pussylips further. The egg pushes further out the next time, and further as you grow wetter and slicker again at the renewed stimulation, until as you give another howl and cum the egg slips out entirely, landing with a wet plop on the bed and rolling back a bit to rest against Musel's balls.\n\nHe smiles, and gives you another little kiss on the neck, before gently shifting you to lay you down on the bed. "It was my pleasure to be of assistance," he murmurs, standing and drawing his robes back on, before almost reverently picking up the egg you laid and walking towards the door.\n\n<hr>\n[["H-hey, wait!"|ReRaz]]\n\n[["..."|ReRaz1x6]]

"... okay..." you murmur, hanging your head and slumping your shoulders in defeat.\n\n"There there, dear, I'm sure you'll have lots of fun with your new life," Oista says cheerfully as she puts an arm around you and turns you to guide you out of the room. You realize that now you're as tall as she is. ... You guess there's at least one benefit. B-b-but... no dick!!!!!\n\nOista leads you out of the room, pausing to lock the door again, then shows you the way to a nearby bathroom. You meekly submit to her rinsing you off, giving an "mmf" and finding yourself driven to give your whole body a shake in the aftermath, your boobs jiggling wildly as you fling the water off. Oista seems unbothered by that other than a squeak of surprise, giving that motherly giggle again before leading you over to a large metal tub and guiding you to step into the steaming water.\n\nYour ears lay down as she scrubs your hair with soap, trying not to enjoy it too much since you're still in a bad mood. Beheaded by a rabbit... that race traitor. You pop open your character menu, deciding to check on things while you're sulking and soaking. Yup, still named Raz Bieri at least, and still classed as an Adventurer... though you scowl as you notice that all your old stats are in gray, and have some familiar-looking (and lower) numbers in white and parentheses beside them. "Hey, what happened to all my stats and skills? Everything other than 'Piety' and the stuff I got before first level is grayed out!"\n\n"Ah, that happens after a renewal, dear, I'm afraid," Oista says as she scrubs your back. You give a yip of surprise as she then casually and shamelessly starts soaping up your breasts as well. "All your old levels are still there, you just need to unlock them. Don't worry, it only takes a fraction of the XP to get them back!" she adds cheerfully. "Although some people find it a convenient time to do Classification again. Sometimes they get a different result!"\n\nYou blink at that, looking up at her just in time to get doused with another bucket of warm water. Sticking out your tongue briefly, you ask, "So I could take a new Class?"\n\n"As long as it's before you unlock any of your old levels, yes dear, and you'd still get the XP matching as if it were your old class, so it really is a nice way for some people to start anew," she says as she urges you back out of the tub.\n\nYou think about that as Oista towels you off (not that that's an unenjoyable sensation to consider itself). All those spare Class Cards you had... but they're with your body, oof. "H-hey, how am I gonna get my stuff back? Or even keep adventuring?" you ask plaintively.\n\n"I'm afraid we can only give you some very basic clothing, dear," Oista says regretfully as she scrubs at your hair, frowning just a bit at how thick it is and how much water it seems to be retaining. "But for the first twenty-four hours or so after your renewal, monsters won't aggro on you unless you attack them first, so if you go back in a hurry, perhaps your things will be where you left them."\n\n"... With my old body?"\n\n"Yes dear. It's one of those things the faithful of Liola kind of get used to," she assures you as she finishes toweling you off. "Aaand there, nice and clean!" she declares cheerfully. "And ready for your next renewal preparation ritual! It's always best to do it as soon as possible, the sooner the better for it to work again, I think! Obviously you'll need another bath afterward, but I imagine you'll feel muuuuch better by then!"\n\n"... er... oh, you mean..." you murmur, blushing brightly. "Y-you mean... the same thing we...?" At her nod, you nibble your lower lip, feeling a strange yet somehow familiar pressure growing low in your body. "With you?"\n\nOista blinks. Then puts her hand over her mouth and gives that little "pft!" again.\n\n"... Not with you?"\n\n"My daughter, think about that. The renewal ritual is a symbol of procreation. Two women may be able to have quite a lot of fun together, but they can't procreate."\n\n"... Maybe if we tried reeeally really hard?" you say a bit faintly, tapping your index fingers together.\n\n"No dear, not even if we tried really really hard. Trust me if that worked I would have managed when I was about your age." She just smiles sweetly and gestures to the side where, as if cued, the door opens and a man about her own age, tall and blonde and handsome, with blue-green eyes and slightly less magnificent ears than Oista, wearing rather more modest red robes, steps in. "Musel will take good care of you, darling, don't worry!"\n\n"So... so afterward... ... me?" you say, pointing at your face, then putting the hand against your belly.\n\n"Mmm-hmmm!" Oista says brightly, nodding, Musel giving a more breezy nod at the same time. You must have quite the look on your face because she says, "Oh don't worry dear, they don't come out that big, they grow for about a day after! For your current race, I'd imagine, mmm," she says, holding her hands apart vertically, then horizontally, with a size that's still about the same as your head. "But, it will keep you in the cycle of renewal, which is always a good idea in a dangerous city like this!"\n\n<hr>\n[[... Fine.|ReRaz1x5]]\n\n[[... Pass.|ReRaz]]

Hm. You'd kind of feel bad just ignoring someone who was hurt, you guess. You have some healing herbs on you that you gathered both on the way to Ebonarza and since you entered the Green Fields, so it's not like there's nothing you could do for them. Making up your mind, you set off, using Tracking to follow the path, not that it's too hard since there are dark drops of blood at fairly regular intervals... Tracking is probably making them more obvious though, you have to allow.\n\nAbout the time it gets full dark, the trail ends at the trunk of a tree, where there's a slightly larger, fresher pool of blood. No body though, despite it looking like someone was probably sitting here for a good long while. So either they got Got, or they got up and left, but there's not really light enough to tell. Since it's just about dark, you decide to shelter under the same tree and see if you can follow in the morning, eating one of your leftover Bohtaran rations and saying a prayer to Liola thanking her for... well, in general... before falling into a light, careful sleep.\n\nYou awake in the morning to find yourself unmolested. As soon as the light is bright enough to see you start following the trail of the adventurer, which still isn't hard. While the blood trail has stopped, indicating he was able to stop the bleeding (or it stopped on its own), he's clearly limping badly, leaving the grass matted and even the ground a bit churned up. And he's still going deeper into the dungeon? Geez, this guy might be a little crazed, you should be careful.\n\nYou follow the path that meanders painfully between several more landmarks before heading through a series of tall, almost pillar-like stones that form a walkway, leading to a much looser ring of them around a pool. Your immediate thought is that no, you won't need to worry about this guy being crazed... he's clearly dead. As in, his head is a goodly number of feet away from his body, oof. Some rich-looking Human guy who, by the look of him, never even saw what killed him, let alone got his weapon out. There's another body, this one a skeleton, leaned up against a rock by the pool, looking like it suffered the same fate since the skull is a fair distance from the body. There's a fancy-looking bracelet on its wrist, though.\n\nYou glance around a little uncertainly. ... Hm... no sight of anything that could have done it. Maybe the monster moved on, or it's just not here at the moment. Either way you take a moment to pray to the departed, since it seems like a good idea, then step forward cautiously... you're not sure how respectful of the dead it is, but it's still adventurer common sense to loot bodies left out in the open of their valuables when you're in a dungeon.\n\nYou're just starting to approach the Human when you see something poke its head out from around a bush. Is that... a Horned Rabbit? You hadn't seen any of those here! Oh wait, no, it can't be, it doesn't have any horns, duh. ... Maybe it's one of those Blade Bunnies the guard mentioned? You guess its teeth do look a bit longer and sharper than usual. Better be careful about taking it out, then!\n\nYou leap to your feet and draw your sword, getting ready to fling yourself to the side and cast a Lesser Firebolt at it once you've got a clearer shot. You hear a sudden whistling through the air and see something flicker, and suddenly you're tumbling out of control, end over end, whipping through the air before thudding to the ground on your head. Gah! What... what happened?! You're at a really weird angle too and-\n\n-you watch your body thud to the ground. Well away from you.\n\nEh?\n\nEh?\n\nEhhhhhhhhhhhh?!\n\nSuch is your last thought before everything goes dark, and you sink down into a darkness that's actually surprisingly warm and soft, and reminds you a lot of having Oista's body wrapped around you as you lay on top of her and inside of her. Oh, is this what dying feels like? Maybe it's not so bad...\n\nYou're suddenly aware that the warmth around you is pressing solidly, restraining you. That the darkness is actually solid, pressing around your body as you're curled in on yourself. You twist and press, moving your head... your head! It's attached to your body again! You actually buck it backwards several times instinctively against whatever's pressing against you, feeling it yield slightly, some give coming into it as you thrash and flex. Something breaks... luckily not you... and you shove a hand outward, managing to get it through the wall(?!), swinging it around and slamming it against your enclosure from the other side. That lets you shove your other arm out and you repeat the process with both fists. The front of whatever it is suddenly gives, and you go sprawling forward out of it, gasping and panting, feeling a strange pressure on your chest and something damp and thick brush across your rear and legs as you take a moment to revel in being alive, feeling like you're expanding and uncurling further just from being out in the open rather than squinched in flat.\n\nSlowly, still feeling disoriented, you clamber to your feet, staring at the dimly-lit room around you, torches lining its walls and keeping it fairly warm. It's full of... eggs? Large eggs, most of them at least the size of your torso, some a bit bigger, others smaller. ... Wait, did you...? You turn a bit, and stare at the cracked-open egg behind you. ... What?\n\nStill almost totally in a daze, you turn back, and spot something silvery on the wall, glinting and reflecting. You make your way towards it, ignoring your nudity, curiosity and growing suspicion driving you towards the mirror, stepping in front of it and into the light.\n\nA Lesser Wolfkin girl stares back at you with wide, shocked amber eyes. She's got light skin and thick black (or maybe dark brown, hard to tell in this light) hair tipped and streaked with red, and large pointed canine ears sticking up atop her head. She's completely naked, showing off a lithe, toned form with full breasts and round hips and long, sleekly perfect legs. She's damp, some wetness still dripping off her thick black-and-red tail as it lifts behind her in shock.\n\nYou stare at the mirror. Then down at your chest, raising your hands to cup your breasts. You give a yip at the strange sensation that sends through you, yanking your hands away, whipping your eyes back up to the mirror, then down to your boobs, then over your shoulder at your tail, then raising your hands to touch the lupine ears instead of long lapin ones.\n\n"Whaaaaaat?" you whimper in an unfamiliar voice.\n\nJust as you say that there's the click of a lock and the creak of hinges, and you turn to see a door opening. Oista strides in, smiling in a more somber way than before, giving you a small bow. "Greetings, O beloved of Liola. Joyous renewal upon you! May I ask your name?"\n\n"O-Oista?! It's, it's me, Raz!" you blurt in your newly feminine voice, pointing at yourself with both hands.\n\nThat makes her blink. "Raz?" she repeats, clearly shocked. ... Then she raises a hand to cover her mouth, letting out a little "pft".\n\n"How is that funny?!" you demand, thrusting your fists down at your side, feeling your hair and tail bristle.\n\n"I-I'm sorry, Raz, it's really just that it usually takes a little longer for most devotees to come back to us," Oista says, clearly trying to control her mirth as she walks over to you and gently rubs your head. You hate that you can instantly feel your tail wagging a bit, and let out a whimper that seems to temper her amusement. "Oh, poor dear, this must have been so shocking for you. But Liola must truly have a soft spot for you, normally it takes years of devotion for a worshiper to earn enough Piety to be renewed like this."\n\n"R-renewed? That's... what all these eggs are?" you say slowly, glancing around. \n\n"Yes, these are the method by which our followers may return to begin their cycle anew. After the ritual, an egg is lain, and brought here to wait for someone to inhabit it. There's the one I laid after your initiation right there!" she adds cheerfully, pointing to a sort of silvery-gray egg that's a little smaller than the average.\n\nYour jaw drops, looking back and forth from her to the egg. The image of her laying an egg aside, you thrust your hands towards it. "Then how come I didn't come out of that one?!"\n\n"Well it does happen sometimes," Oista allows, frowning a bit thoughtfully and putting a fingertip to her lip. "But not very often. After all, Liola does say that an ending is a new beginning, albeit one that builds on the foundation of what came before. Just putting you in a body identical to your old one wouldn't be very new, would it?"\n\n"But-!"\n\n"Now now," Oista interrupts, reaching for your head again and this time scratching around the base of one of your ears, which makes you whimper a bit and tap your foot against the floor. "Come along, dear, let's have you take a quick bath, you're all covered in birthing goo."\n\n<hr>\n[[... Fine.|ReRaz1x4]]\n\n[[... Steal your egg!|ReRaz]]

"Er... listen," you say, lowering your voice and leaning in. "Someone told me how things work, but I'm gonna hafta owe you, okay man? I just got into town, and on that friend's advice I went to the Church and picked out a new god, and wound up needing to donate basically everything."\n\n"Mm," the guard murmurs, curling his fingers and turning his hand in, sounding like he hasn't quite decided whether he's mollified by that or not. "What god did you pick then, boy?"\n\n"Ah... Liola."\n\nThere's a light clatter as all the guards nearby turn and look at you and sort of lean in, the one in front of you gasping happily.\n\n"Liola? The goddess with that beautiful elf priestess in red?" he says in a dreamy tone.\n\n"Y-yeah," you agree, deciding it would be impolite (and possibly braggy) to mention that she looks even more beautiful in just gold.\n\n"She is quite the sight... I always feel myself becoming more faithful when she's on duty," the guard says longingly, putting his hand to his chest.\n\n"Oh, she's on duty right now, I mean, she said it's her turn," you amend, since you're not sure how much longer she'll be, ahem, indisposed after your initiation.\n\n"REALLY?!" that guard, and all the other ones, blurt happily. Then the one in front of you clears his throat (through his helmet, into his gauntlet) and nods. "Well, no worries about any, ah, paying your respects today, boy, totally understandable." He pats your shoulder a few times. "Ah, watch out for Blade Bunnies and... stuff. ... Oh, my knee hurts, I think I need healing," he murmurs, turning and hurrying towards the exit with an exaggerated hobble.\n\n... Blade Bunnies? ....... Are those like what some of the other boys called "thots", but for adventurers? Oh well, whatever, you'll be careful. You turn and head into the Green Fields, already deciding that if possible you'll find somewhere to stay in the dungeon for the night. Not like you've got many other options, and you've heard low-level dungeon monsters won't "aggro" (become aggressive towards) sleeping people.\n\nSoon you encounter a pair of bounding ovoid blue creatures... Slimes. They land with a wobble, their translucent bodies shaking in a way that threatens to distract you by reminding you of Oista's boobs, especially since they're right next to each other like that. Angular white planes that look a lot like eyes swivel about inside their substance, coming to focus on you... then turn red before they come bounding at you much more intently.\n\n"Lesser Firebolt!" you call, thrusting out your free palm, your other hand already holding your sword. Luckily the spell catches one of the slimes right in the center mass and apparently takes it out, the monster sort of splashing to the ground as loose liquid. The other bounds past it and smacks you right in the chest with one of its leaps, though, making you call out an "Ow!" as you stagger back and then take a quick swipe at it with your sword.\n\nA couple of quick slashes finishes off the second Slime, though it's enough to give you the sense that they're pretty resistant to physical attacks. You stand there panting for a moment, then remember something Oista said. You're not sure if Slimes reproduce sexually or not... kinda seems like they wouldn't... but you feel like it's better to be safe than sorry. You raise your hand a bit and close your eyes, just giving a brief thought of 'Thank you for your part in the cycle of life.'\n\nThen you blink your eyes open as the sound of a status window opening gets your attention.\n\n'You have leveled up!\n\nYou have unlocked the "Empowered Slash" skill\nYou have unlocked the "Judge Value (Lesser)" skill\nYou have unlocked the "Endure Damage (Blunt)" skill\nYou have unlocked the "Piety" skill\n"Spellblade (Lesser)" has advanced slightly\nAll your stats have increased slightly'\n\nOh, wow, leveled up off of just two Slimes, huh? That's pretty great! And wow, you unlocked quite a few new skills and even improved some of your other stuff. Slimes seem like they're a pretty great way to grind XP... and your new 'Judge Value' skill gives you a hint that while their cores aren't exactly going to make you rich, if you got a good few more of them you might at least afford an inn room.\n\nMotion catches your eye and you look up, spotting a few more Slimes standing on the edge of a nearby treeline. They all look startled, their white planes going wide and round, before they turn and start bounding into the forest. Ooo, give chase? ... No, you're still too tired. You do feel a little less exhausted... you guess the result of your stat increase... but not enough to go sprinting off after monsters. You'll just have to let them come to you.\n\nYou continue on into the dungeon, and indeed encounter a fair few monsters that aggro on you. You can handle most of them fairly easily, though you do get a few bumps and cuts along the way. Each time you slay a monster, you make sure to say your little prayer... whether they reproduce or not, after all, you kind of figure that the monsters all do have their place in the cycle of life, since by killing them you're going to be able to sustain yourself. Besides, it only takes a second, and you kind of get the feeling maybe it's actually pleasing someone.\n\nThe sky eventually starts to darken despite there not being any sun, right about the same time you slay some kind of wolf monster and hit level four, gaining another (small) stat increase and adding Lesser Icebolt and Tracking (Lesser) to your repertoir, as well as being informed that Piety has leveled up. You decide to check the skill description, and find that yes, it seems to level up by praying and being diligent about your faith's observations, and that it mostly gives you various benefits to seeking your deity's favor and knowing what will please or displease them. Well, that seems... kind of useful? Either way might as well stick with it.\n\nYou glance around, and your new Tracking skill kicks in and you realize someone else has been through here... another adventurer, it looks like. And wounded no less. You glance at the wolf you just killed... it did seem particularly aggressive, like it might have tasted blood just recently. You follow the track a bit and... yes, there's blood on the ground, though it's drying out now. Hm... should you go looking for the injured party? You wouldn't be able to get back before full dark if you did, but then you weren't really planning to.\n\n<hr>\n[[Go looking for the injured adventurer.|ReRaz1x3]]\n\n[[Focus on finding a camping spot.|ReRaz]]

"I mean, ah... could you tell me more about Liola, I guess?" you venture.\n\nHer whole face lights up and she beams at you, which is almost worth it right there. "Oh yes, my son, of course!" She puts a hand on your shoulder and turns you, guiding you along with her as she sets off walking through the church. Admittedly you're a little sad to be turned away from facing her chest directly, but now you do get to watch it bounce heartily with every step out of the corner of your eye.\n\n"As I said, Liola is a goddess of spring, renewal, bounty, fertility and virility, and all the joys of life! Meaning, Liola is the goddess of perpetuating and enjoying mortal life, of cherishing and passing on this beautiful gift that is our existence!" Oista declares enthusiastically as the two of you walk along.\n\n"Ah-huh," you agree sincerely enough, since you're sort of enjoying the view of some of life's bounty (very bountiful) right now.\n\n"As such, Liola holds that all things that perpetuate themselves as mortals do hold some spark of the sacred. ... Ah, don't worry, my son, that doesn't mean that you're not allowed to kill animals or monsters that reproduce like animals," Oista adds at your mildly concerned look, wagging a hand. "Just that you should take a moment to offer a prayer of thanks when you do, since that is after all perpetuating the natural order."\n\n"Right, okay, that makes sense."\n\n"But Liola also grants great blessings of health, and as said fertility and verility, and to those who truly take her worship to heart, they can become much more deeply connected to all living things," Oista continues as she leads you into a hallway and along rows of doors, each marked with different symbols. "She holds that though there is a continuity to the worlds, endings are also new beginnings, a chance to rebuild and renew on the foundation of the old!"\n\nThat all sounds pretty decent, you think as you nod along. "So what's involved with worshiping Liola? Like, longterm?"\n\n"Oh, just saying your prayers, cherishing your life, not doing anything that interferes too much with the natural cycle of perpetuation, making sure to engage in those activities that please Liola most regularly, and overall living your best life!"\n\nSounds pretty doable. And decent, come to mention it. You nod, then glance at her just a bit more dubiously. "And what's involved in getting started?"\n\n"Ah, here we are!" she chirps rather than answering immediately, coming to a stop beside a door marked with the same symbol on her necklace collar. She turns towards you and smiles. "There is the small matter of performing the First Rite of Renewal, and then a necessary first donation."\n\n"Right, first donation," you say with a bit of a sigh. "Ah, listen, maybe I should come back, I don't really have that much-" you start to say.\n\nOista, meanwhile, is in the process of unlocking the door with a key she must have had in storage, and swinging it open... to reveal that directly across from it is a large, luxurious bed with a thick mattress and immaculate sheets, and several large pink pillows in the shape of hearts. As your jaw sags at the sight of it, Oista smiles brightly and steps close to you, her hand moving down to cup your crotch and gently rub your balls through your pants.\n\n"Oh my, you have a strong life force, my son, I think Liola, and I, will be very pleased to have you," she says in that same bright, cheerful tone as before.\n\n"... Yeah okay," you say in a strangled tone.\n\n"Oh wonderful!" Oista gushes, taking your hand and leading you into the room, the door swinging closed behind you seemingly of its own accord. You might normally think that was mildly weird but you're sort of distracted by how she gives just the lightest little tug at the strings holding her dress to her collar and the dress just... falls off, entirely, leaving her in nothing but said collar, her little golden sandals, and her veil. You just sort of stand there, your face and ears bright pink as she steps close, those huge tits brushing against your face as she begins undoing all your various straps and buckles and ties with quick, efficient motions.\n\n"Oh yes, quite a strong life force indeed, even more than most young men," Oista coos as your pants drop and your stiff prick springs free, which admittedly does stroke your ego at... well, you're going to take it that way even if that's not what she meant. But the ego stroke doesn't feel nearly as good as the actual stroking she starts doing as she wraps a hand around you and gently slips it up and down, giving you a few tender motions that nevertheless actually make you a bit harder, though you didn't think that was possible. "Is this your first time, my son?"\n\nOof. Embarrassing thing for a guy to admit, but you don't think you could lie to her right now if you tried, so you just nod sheepishly. Oista just giggles a bit at that, green eyes dancing again. "Oh, no need to worry, my son, that will make the ritual even more effective! And if you are nervous at all, why, simply look upon me as you would your own mother guiding you into manhood, as is the tradition!" ... um. You're pretty sure neither Beastkin nor Humans have that tradition... could Elves maybe be a bit perverted? But before you can ponder that too much, she continues and says, "Please, don't hold back, and show me all the youthful exuberance yoOOHHHHH!"\n\nThat last is because, of course, the moment she gives you permission like that you grab hold of those massive mammaries, or at least as much of them as you're able, since your hands can barely cover any of them. They sink into the soft, pillowy flesh some, your fingers pressing in as you squeeze and start stroking them, fastening your mouth around one large, stiff nub and suckling like mad. Mmmmf, this perverted elf with her perverted body, she's driving you crazy! And the fact that it sounds like she loves your rough fondling and inexperienced treatment is driving you even crazier!\n\n"Ah, y-yes, my son, that's just what I meant, the exuberance of youth is soooo pleasing to Liola," Oista moans as she writhes lightly in place, her jerking of your cock showing a bit more urgency. (Sounds kinda like it's more pleasing to her but what do you know.) "R-revel in the bounty that she has graced me with, as is proper!"\n\nMmmf, whoever graced her with these magnificent tits, you'll worship them all they want, they've earned it. You roll your tongue over that fat nipple, suckling it and even biting on it, all to very enthusiastic squeals and moans from Oista. You drop your hands down to grab her equally generous ass, kneading and squeezing at it to similar sounds, and then delivering a good hard spank to one cheek. You're not sure where that falls in showing appreciation of Liola's blessings, but apparently Oista appreciates it plenty, giving a little jump in place and making a particularly loud pleasured moan, her eyes rolling just a little and her smile becoming particularly perverted for a moment.\n\nBut eventually she draws away from you, panting and flushed in the face, her whole body trembling just a little and inner thighs glistening. She just looks at you for a long moment, and you can't help but feel a shiver of mingled lust and fear run down your spine, the expression undeniably one that says she'd like to devour you whole in one context or another. But instead she takes your hand tenderly again and leads you over to the bed, urging you to sit down, then sinking to her knees in front of you. "Your first offering in the ritual must be as big as possible, after all, my son," she coos.\n\nYou squirm a little as she presses her hands to your crotch, forming a kind of diamond shape with the fingers of both hands, her thumbs slipped beneath the base of your balls and her palms and fingers pressed all around you. You can feel a deep warmth from her hands, though you're immediately distracted from it by the far wetter and hotter embrace of her mouth as she closes it over your cockhead, those pretty green eyes gazing up at you adoringly through the thin fabric of her veil.\n\nAnd so begins the most blissfully torturous hour of your life. Oista gives you what can only be called an expert blowjob, her tongue and mouth working over you with a slow but eager gentleness that has you feeling like you could cum within a few smooth strokes of her head. But despite feeling like you want to cum, should be able to cum, can't even hold back from cumming if you tried, you just... don't. The pleasure both seems to plateau and to settle in and wobble up and down, leaving you slumped back on your hands with an almost white noise and blankness growing in your mind as Oista just continues to softly, gently suck you off with soft, purred 'mmms' and 'nnnhs' of delight. It just goes on and on, with her holding you there somehow past the edge of climax but still without tipping you over, floating on a vaguely tormented cloud of pleasure.\n\nWhen she finally lifts her head and removes her hands, you shudder hard, feeling like you're barely conscious. You look down, and stare a bit... while your cock's the same size, your balls seem to have grown at least twice as large, looking heavy and full, even your slight shift as you try to get a better look making them wobble heavily like filled-taut waterskins. Oista giggles softly, the sound somehow both girlish and mature as she rises and then immediately slinks forward, prowling past you like a haughty but affectionate cat as she crawls onto the bed, that big ass wagging at you and those huge tits swaying beneath her. She turns and settles back onto the bed, those tits resting heavily against her chest, as she spreads her legs, showing off that absolutely sodden pink passage glistening and beckoning to you, as she holds out her arms invitingly.\n\n"Come breed Mommy, honey," she coos.\n\nYou go scrambling to her without a single thought in your head, panting and wild-eyed, throwing yourself down atop her. You thrust frantically towards her pussy, your cock bumping against it and sliding right off, smearing through the wetness, but you can't stop and think clearly enough to take better aim. But Oista calmly reaches down and gently takes hold of you, your whole body shivering and going still as she grips you softly and then draws you right into place. The moment she lets go you thrust forward, burying your cock inside her, feeling like you're burying your whole self inside her, like you're being absolutely engulfed in her incredibly hot, incredibly wet, incredibly fertile pussy even as she draws you in against her and wraps her arms and legs around you, pressing your head between her tits. You feel like you should cum instantly, but don't, whatever she did earlier still lingering and driving you wild.\n\nYou start pounding her with absolute abandon, like a completely feral thing, your cum-swollen balls slapping against her soaked taint and getting just a little bigger with every single thrust. You've never been closer to a real rabbit than at this moment, no thoughts in your head other than a base, mindless reproductive urge. 'Breed breed breed breed breed breed breed breed,' is the closest thing to a coherent thought you have as you fuck her wildly while she just coos and pets your hair as if it's the most adorable thing she's ever seen.\n\n"That's right, sweetheart, be a good boy and breed Mommy," she purrs, gently tracing a fingertip around the base of one of your ears as you fuck her like the future of reproduction depended on it. "Such a good son, fucking Mommy so desperately, just how you should~! Liola loves it when we return to the animal, this is a wonderful prayer to her~!"\n\n'Breed Mommy please goddess breed Mommy please goddess breed goddess please Mommy,' you think as your eyes roll, your head nuzzling firmly between those massive tits that are jiggling constantly around your head, as if at any moment they might absorb you entirely into their soft, milky embrace.\n\nWhen it happens it's like a dam breaking, the enchantment or pressure point or whatever Oista used dropping suddenly and all at once, and you slam as deep into her as you can, your eyes rolling and your tongue lolling, lips curling in the most brainless smile of pleasure in your life as you start emptying your almost impossibly full balls into her. Every gush feels like you're being born again, or creating an entire world, or maybe just orgasming really hard, every twitch and absolute bucket-feeling blast of jizz its own orgasm wracking your body and leaving you gurgling and trembling like a beast. Oista, for her part, gives out a much sweeter cry, almost more like a sigh of contentment as her legs tighten around you and her hands stroking your back as if that might urge you to completely empty yourself inside her (it does).\n\nEventually you kind of start to come back to yourself and, hesitantly, pull away, Oista's arms and legs gently opening and allowing you to sit up. You stare at her bashfully, then stare in a bit more shock... her belly is actually bulged up some with your load. Wow... it... it really was a lot huh? Not really knowing what to say, you impulsively lean down and kiss her right on the bellybutton, at which she gives one of those motherly giggles.\n\n"Best you be on your way... my son," she coos with a more sultry tone than before, making your ears go redder inside again. "Ah, but before you do, please remember there's the matter of the other, more worldly donation?"\n\n"... Oh, right," you say as you get up and start pulling on your clothes. For a moment you were so absolutely blissed out that you lived in a world without money or barter or the need to eat. "Um, how much?"\n\nWhen she tells you, you flinch just a bit. That's... exactly all your silver. But with little hesitation, you dig it out and hand it over. You really can't deny that your new faith... and its intitiation... was worth that, whatever else happens. Bidding Oista a sheepish but very fond goodbye as she sprawls there luxuriously rubbing her belly, you turn and leave the room, and then the church.\n\nOof... you feel absolutely drained, actually wobbling a little as you walk. You desperately want to go find an inn to crash in, but you've got nothing but copper pieces left. You're gonna hafta go into the dungeon, if for nothing else than maybe you'll get some food and water type drops.\n\n"Hey, you!" a voice calls as you walk (closer to shuffling if you're honest) through the entrance of the dungeon gate area. You pause as a man in full armor and helmet walks up, several of the others manning nearby gates looking over at you. "You're new, right?"\n\n"Ah, yeah," you admit, nodding warily.\n\n"You'll have to slay the boss of the Green Fields, then," he says, pointing to a gate that leads to what looks like outside (but... not, the sky's a slightly different color than what's directly above you, you notice). "The werelizard. Only then can you earn the medal that gives you access to all the dungeons."\n\n"Oh," you say, frowning thoughtfully at that. You hadn't realized there was basically a test... but maybe it makes sense. As you're pondering that, you hear the guard giving the faintest clearing of his throat, and when you look one of his hands is turned palm-up and his fingers are subtly extended. ... Oh right, Nom said you should bribe them pretty regularly, essentially. Mmf... but she also said that you shouldn't underpay them, and all you've got left is barely enough copper to buy a meal.\n\n<hr>\n[[Give him some copper.|ReRaz]]\n\n[[Explain why you're broke.|ReRaz1x2]]

Perhaps you'll just spend the day with a good book. And you admit, you sort of consider your tome to be the best book. It's more than a collection of leather and paper to you... you know Baal isn't terribly sentimental, but you can't help but feel good that she's trusted you with it, and your years of having it pretty much constantly at hand have left you, well, attached to it.\n\nSettling down in your room, you lean back and start flipping through. Now, where to start? You recall that last time you spent some time with it, you unearthed a [[summoning ritual|ValTome1x1]] for a demon. You kind of get the impression that consorting with demons is something every witch who wants to get some real amount of magical power is going to have to do at some point, and apparently a good time to do so is coming up. You could also research some of the [[item creation|ValTome]] passages... you already know a good handful of charms and potions, but you're always eager to see if you can unlock something a bit more powerful and complex. You could see about [[using some spells you haven't tried before|ValTome3x1]]. Or you could [[just read for awhile|ValTome]]... some passages of the book aren't just specific instructions and spells, but tales of various witches over the years, possibly ones that have owned it before.

All of your stats and skills were grayed out, even the ones you got at first level... but not the ones you already knew before using your Class Card! You know how to use magic while classless, so... just remember how to cast Lesser Firebolt!\n\nYou whip a hand up, concentrating as fast as you can. You recall the faint sense of power rushing down your arm, turning into heat as it got closer to your hand, the almost split-second feeling like holding your palm to close to a candle, about to be burned, as it coalesced. "Lesser Firebolt!" you blurt desperately as the Blade Bunny's eyes turn fully red and its tail lashes back.\n\nThe small spear of flame shoots from your palm and strikes the Blade Bunny right in the face. It staggers backwards as if surprised at suddenly having most of its head missing, its tail wobbling in the air like a confused snake, before it all collapses to the ground. You stare at it, then almost jump as a system window pops up.\n\n'You have returned to your previous level!\n\nYou have gained the "Self Avenger" title\nYou have made "Lesser Firebolt" an innate skill\nYour "Spellblade (Lesser)" has become "Spellblade"'\n\nYou blink a few times, then sigh... well, that's one issue taken care of, you guess. And you guess you're an Adventurer again. ... For now. Though maybe you don't want to test Liola's patience making her use up more bodies on you if you can help it, you are supposed to cherish the life she's given you, and she gave you this one pretty directly. ... Guess you better accept it.\n\nAnd speaking of which, you sigh a bit as you stare at the Blade Bunny, and though you grumble a bit, you raise your hand to copy Oista's earlier motion and pray for its proper place in the cycle of renewal. You get the sense though that Liola would be pretty pleased with overcoming your aggravation enough to pray for your own slayer, so there's that. You tuck its body into your storage, then turn back to... yours. Your old one.\n\nAfter a moment you sigh and start to strip it. "This is so fucking weird," you mutter as you try to respectfully set your own (old) head aside to better maneuver your (old) body. \n\nSo, eventually you have your answer. Your shirt... kind of fits. As in, it was pretty loose on you before, and is very tight on you now, but at least it covers the entirety of your boobs, unlike the band now tucked into your dimensional storage. Your pants you just barely manage to squeeze into, though they won't come all the way up your hips and instead sort of cling most of the way up, leaving the straps of your panties visible; they're tight enough otherwise you don't think they're going anywhere without deliberate effort to pull them off though. Your boots, not a chance, so it looks like it's still just the open-toe-and-heel stockings for you for now. (Honestly they're kind of growing on you.) Your pauldron and bracers still fit, though requiring a bit of adjustment obviously, as do most of the belts, if moved rather further along their buckles. Unfortunately it looks like the bloodspray of your head thoroughly soaked your wrap, somehow, and it's a lost cause, so no hiding your newly girlish hips (or panties) with it.\n\n'Oh well,' you think with a sigh, tossing it away. 'Not like I could hide this thing with it anyway,' you think in aggravation, looking over your shoulder at your bushy lupine tail, which actually wags a bit as if smug to be so frustrating. That was largely the reason you wore it as a Lesser Rabbitkin anyway, to hide your fluffy bunnytail, since it seemed like people took you way less seriously once they saw it. Stupid adorable racism.\n\nThat done, you pause and look at said body. ... Now what? You guess that's not really you anymore... you've sort of accepted that at this point that, barring complete random chance or Liola really stepping in and doing some big miracle (you doubt you've earned that much favor with her yet), you're not going back to being your old self again. You're not sure who you're going to be now yet, but... it seems kind of weird to just ditch it.\n\n<hr>\n[[Bury it.|ReRaz]]\n\n[[Take it with you.|ReRaz]]

[[Music|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIRoB4uLPAA]]\n\nThe next day you rise earlier in the afternoon, twisting your head back and forth. The cold bite of the shower makes up your mind, and you get dressed, leaving your coat and most of your weapons (as well as a note to Weiss), going with one of the smaller pistols holstered at your hip as you head through the building. "Lessee... it's that cold it's gotta be," you mutter, heading downstairs a level and then off to the side... spotting a slightly battered metal door. "Yup."\n\nClink, clink. The sound of tools on metal. Something you've always felt calming about it, in this sort of situation. Nothing at stake, no lives on the line, just you and a hot water heater that's probably two centuries old if it's a day. "Get you fixed up real fast if I had some Dust," you murmur, grinning a little to yourself as you unfasten a few pieces and draw them out, sitting back to eye the primary warming element from under the massive metal tub. Unthinkingly swiping a bit of oil across your forehead, you wriggle out the central element and blow across it experimentally, seeing how much of the dust comes off.\n\n"I thought you might be here. The cold water in my shower had a slightly different tinge to it just now."\n\n"Hey man," you greet with a grin as Diore moves to settle down next to you. "S'up?"\n\n"Just thought I'd come and see if you need a hand. Want?"\n\n"Plz," you answer him, passing him the dirty, angle-ended cylinder before turning back to the cabling mess, trying to get it all sorted out and figure out which wires need replacing.\n\nDiore snags a wire brush out of the tool bag you found and starts working over the heating element, not saying anything for a moment, his round mouse ears twitching a few times. Eventually though he says, "It's good you're back. And it's good you're... good."\n\n"Hm?" You glance over at him curiously.\n\n"You're different now. I dunno, after we bricked your chip, it seemed like you still head this heaviness on you, like your life hadn't changed too much," he says after another few moments' thought. "Actually I think it's that way for a lot of us. We don't know how to live without that feeling of weight in our necks, around our shoulders. We get rid of it but we still act like it's there. Probably our fault too... we sent you right on into the fight like we hadn't even freed you. But you seem... free. Now."\n\n"... Yeah. Maybe so," you answer with a grin, starting to unplug various cables.\n\n"It's good you're home."\n\n"Shit, is that really what this place actually is?" You settle back for just a moment, leaning against the wall and tilting your head back, wrist draped over a raised knee. "... Maybe. With Weiss here. With the others. This place wouldn't be home otherwise, but with them... fuck me if it's not."\n\nDiore's quiet for a little while after that, puffing on the element a few times himself before saying, "So when they go back, you're for sure going back?"\n\n"Yeah. I made a commitment. Gotta keep it," you add, pushing yourself to your feet after another moment, heading over to the supply cabinet and rummaging for new cables.\n\n"Wish you'd stay," he says after his own brief pause. "Niobe's different when you're here. Not like she's bad normally, but... she's better with you. Especially the you now. It may look like she's spoiling you with the table, the speeders, the gear, but really... it's that she's so damn happy to see you living your best life, Kai."\n\n"... Yeah?" you say quietly, tugging on a few of the cables you found, looking at them rather than him.\n\n"... She's your mom, Kai. She loves you. You being happy makes her happy."\n\n"Mm." You can't help but grin at that, walking back over after a second and settling onto your knees again, starting to fasten the 'new' cables in. "You are a very insightful mouse, my friend."\n\n"Comes from being a bed-spy. You have to learn to pay close attention, know where you stand, where others stand. You know a few things about that."\n\n"... Yeah." You take the mounting plate for the heating element, finding another wire brush and setting in on cleaning it too. "How 'bout you, Diore? You happy?"\n\n"Ohhhhhh... probably as much as I can, with what's going on. With all that's likely ever to go on. I admit I get tired of the gangbanger life now and then," he muses, making a few last swipes at the heating element with his thumbs. "Wouldn't mind a nice little apartment somewhere where the green is real, the air is clean sometimes, and you don't have to tilt your head ninety degrees to see sky."\n\n"Well. Y'know. Remnant's there," you say after a moment, grinning and focusing your efforts on the cable hookups. "Maybe once we've defeated Physical Satan you can find that apartment there. Just a portal away."\n\n"Huh. Weird thought. ... But maybe." Diore grins. "I think it'd be like you and your friends though... if Niobe wasn't there, it wouldn't really be home."\n\n"Didn't know it was that, y'know, serious," you admit with a glance over at him.\n\n"Oh, it's not, not that way. It's more... mm. It's more... I think of the future, and I don't see white picket fences, or cozy afternoons on the couch, or little catmice running around. But she's always there, y'know? Whatever future I think of, she's around the corner, across the street, down the way. Like that, get it?"\n\n"I think so, yeah." Accepting the heating element from him, you seat it back in place, then hook the cables in and move to start seating the whole thing back in place. "I feel that way about a lot of my friends. I think... I dunno, right now, if I had to make a decision, if Salem wasn't there, I'd just keep going on like this forever. With my crew. I hated doing this life for someone else, but now that it's mine... it's me. I know this all damn day. Saving the world, that's stuff for heroes and legends. I'll do it as well as I can, but I dunno where I fit. This fits like a glove."\n\n"So. Physical Satan, huh?" Diore says after a few minutes, snorting.\n\n"Yyyyup." Grinning ruefully, you head back to the switch in the wall and return power to the wiring. Nothing instantly catches fire so yay. "Dunno how we're gonna handle that one but I guess we will. Or die trying."\n\n"... Y'know. There's something a guy I knew back in the day told me. He heard it from another guy, who apparently heard it from a message his friend left before he was gonna die. Don't remember the exact words, but I've done a lot of thinking on them over the years." Diore gets to his feet, passing you a cloth to wipe your hands with. "That when someone decides to be a hero and sacrifice themselves for the cause... they never get to see it. They die not knowing if it mattered, not knowing if they succeeded, or if it was all for nothing. They close their eyes the last time unsure, uncertain, and alone, not knowing if their name will be championed, cursed, or forgotten." He turns and walks to the door, bobbing his head to the side. "And ain't that a bitch?"\n\nYou stare after him, then down at the cloth. Rubbing it in your hands, under your thumbs. Thinking of last night, Ruby surrounded by Street Demons, eyes blazing with silver light. Ilia charging in heedlessly to save her. Weiss desperately bracing herself with a hand on the truck and the other on a fragile sword, all because she'd do anything to protect you.\n\nYou think of Pyrrha's ponytail clasp, taken from you and locked away in a crate.\n\n"Yeah," you whisper, tossing the cloth into the tool bag. "Ain't that a bitch?"\n\nWeiss is stirring as you walk back in, hefting the microfiber blanket against the front of her body, fresh soft red marks decorating her neck and shoulders. "Mm, morning. Afternoon. Whatever." She yawns. "You're already dirty."\n\n"Yeah, but the hot water heater's fixed," you reply with a grin, setting the holster with your gun on the kitchen counter. "Sadly it'll take about a day to heat the whole damn tank's worth of water, so my immediate reward is a second cold shower."\n\n"Poor baby," Weiss says warmly, wrapping the blanket half around herself as she pads over and kisses your cheek. "It's okay, you look good dirty," she assures you, eyes twinkling.\n\n"Mm, and so do you," you answer, ducking your head to kiss her.\n\nWhat do you know, even a cold shower is a little more tolerable with another warm body in there with you.\n\nA bit later you're pounding on the doors of the other apartments again. "C'mon, you degenerates, up and at 'em, I've been up hours already and working the comfy shit so we can have lukewarm showers when we get back from larceny tonight, sun's already almost down get your fucking asses in the club if you wanna eat before we crime!"\n\n[[Music|https://youtu.be/kAC-e0KtyGQ]]\n\nYou and your crew emerge from the elevator to find the club actually jumping just a little bit already, the early-out dancers bopping along a bit more energetically than before, and people already clustered around tables. Interestingly some of them look like more typical night creatures than the down-lows, and you can see heads swiveling to catch sight of the lot of you as you start sliding into the booth.\n\n"Is it me or are we the subject of some interest?" Yang comments, craning her neck a little to glance around. \n\n"Driving on walls and killing a giant evil truck will do that, yeah," you comment with a chuckle. "Eggs I don't give a fuck how, bacon, caff, cinnamon shot," you add as the waiter comes over.\n\nRuby, who apparently at some point has acquired a Makarzian comm and looked up the menu for the Down Boy, says, "French toast and caff plz. ... Coffee liquer shot," she adds just a little too brazenly, as if daring anyone to tell her no.\n\nYang eyes her for just a moment, before shrugging and flitting her fingers your way. "What red-eyes said, but strawberry vodka shot."\n\n"This is a thing? We do this as a thing?" Blake says dryly, rolling her eyes a bit before sighing and consulting her own comm. "Fine, I will have two chocolate donuts, coffe-, er, caff, and... I guess a shot of the green tea liquer."\n\n"Same as them, do 'Lucky Unicorn' on the shot," Ilia speaks up, flicking a finger between you and Yang.\n\n"French toast. Caff. Sugar cookie vodka shot." Weiss glances at you as the waiter walks away, perhaps so she won't be tempted to look at his very girly butt in the cute panties he's wearing and feel confused. "But yes, this is a thing? A shot every time we sit down in here?"\n\n"Like I said, even if Niobe's paying the bills, it's rude to come into a bar and not order at least a bit of booze. Besides, be good to loosen up a little bit for tonight." You grin and flick a finger through the air. "You gotta get yourself in the right mindset for larceny, my friends, you don't do that by starting your morning with a bright smile and a bowl of oatmeal."\n\n"Hup," Yang calls in agreement, tapping a cigarette out of her pack... then shoving on Ruby's head as the younger girl makes another grab for it. "Goddammit, you know what, you want some go buy your friggin' own, I'm almost out!"\n\n"Well fine maybe I will!"\n\n"Children please," Blake says dryly. \n\n"Oh yeah, Nightbird, how's the new tree?" you ask.\n\nBlake blinks a little at your newest attempt at a nickname for her, but her ears perk a little at it, apparently deciding she rather likes it. "I mean, okay so far. I put it on the windowsill, but I don't know if that's too much light or not enough or what."\n\n"You could just, y'know... ask a Transcendant," Ilia comments with a soft snort of her own. \n\n"... Yes that would be the obvious thing to do, wouldn't it?"\n\n"And a-thank you," you comment to the waiter and his similarly scantily-clad coworker as they bring over the trays. You eye the glittery, opaque pink shot set down in front of Ilia along with her scrambled eggs, bacon, and mug. "Fuckin' seriously, Rainbow?"\n\n"Kiss it," Ilia replies evenly, toasting you with the shot before downing it.\n\nGrinning, you dump your own shot into your caff and give it a swirl before taking a gulp. Yup, awful, but now it's a kind of sweet-spicy and alcoholic awful.\n\nRuby follows your own lead with her shot, making a few faces like it's marginally less bad than yesterday's at the very least, then says, "So what's tonight?"\n\n"Iiiiiii think we shall find out momentarily," you reply as Niobe sidles up and once again slides in beside Ruby. \n\n"Are you ready to work, my children?" Niobe question-announces grandly, already grinning. \n\n"Ready to win wars and fight whores, boss," you answer, taking a slug of your coffee.\n\n"That's not in the literal cards, luckily. In fact this is another job from Adam... looks like you did a good job earning his trust last night. This is a tracking and retrieval job... elimination only if necessary, he's leaving that in your hands."\n\n"What's the sitch?" you ask as you tap out a cig of your own. \n\n"A Freedroid who apparently violated something that Adam calls the 'Digital Accords'... apparently it's their own form of an internal nonaggression pact, at least that's what it sounds like. He's been exiled, but when he did he took something with him, some data or something... he's carrying it around in a secure datacase. Adam is extremely keen to get that case back undamaged. That's your highest priority... I get the feeling that if it gets busted, we can kiss all the Freedroid goodwill we've earned up to this point goodbye."\n\n"Not that I'm treating wronging the Freedroids lightly, but is that a big deal?" you ask curiously.\n\n"Bigger all the time. The progress we've made with the Freedroids and establishing them as a part of Tailtown is paying dividends in the form of increased network security. We're starting to be able to use regular comm traffic again, and we know ours are secure to being tracked and traced. He's paying us for this job, but keeping him happy keeps us in a secure network so do not let that fucking thing get broken. Don't let yourselves get broken for that matter... if the rogue droid tries anything, shut him off for good."\n\n"Got a pic or anything?"\n\n"No, apparently he's an endoskeletal model... Adam says that he'll have taken a new humanlike appearance. He has a general idea of what part of the sector he's in, way outside of Tailtown, so you'll have to track him down."\n\n"Send me a GPS blip and I'll get it done." \n\n"Before you go, can I ask..." Blake's ears fold down just a bit as she holds up a half-eaten donut. "When?"\n\nYour mentor chuckles. "Sorry, kitten, dude who bakes the donuts only comes in on Mondays." \n\nAs Niobe gives Ruby's hair a ruffle and scoots out, you look at your crew. "Alright, ladies, you heard her. Top priority, do not let anything happen to that case."\n\n"Assuming we can find this guy. It sounds like this particular Freedroid is designed to blend in," Blake says with a frown.\n\n"Yeah, if it's an endoskeletal model it, he, whatever it identifies as, is probably made for war. I've heard some sentient droids have the same problem us meat people do of understanding when a war's over, guessing that may be what we're looking at here."\n\n"But he's definitely a person, right?" Ruby asks with a frown. "Like... a Penny-person?"\n\n"Yeah, if he was in the Freedroids," Ilia speaks up. "But like Niobe said, we just need to get the datacase, we don't have to kill him, and it actually sounds like Adam would rather we didn't. ... Is your ear really gonna twitch every time someone says that name?"\n\n"Yes, probably," Blake grumbles.\n\n-\n\n[[Music|https://youtu.be/NfbbRODCWqs]]\n\nSoon you're cruising up the Corridor on your speederbikes, Ruby having (after some complaining) agreed to ride bitch with Yang. You snort softly to yourself at the sight of some caution tape having been put in the new gap in the side barrier... hell, that's fast work by Makarzian standards. Most likely some enterprising night creatures will take it upon themselves to kludge up a repair for it before the citygov ever gets around to it. Once more you turn off of the Corridor and head along Parkalot, someone having recently driven along it spraying a wide-reach band of silver paint, making your headlights flash off of each tree as if the fake bark had been carved away to reveal a chrome interior.\n\nThe pulse and unity of the others banking their bikes in time with yours is starting to become a comforting presence in the back of your mind... like your Auras have achieved a sort of wavelength vibration or something, like you're all part of the same shiny, blaring night creature racing across the road, lit in neon and made of howling starstuff.\n\nOr something. You just love the fuck out of this, is all.\n\n"Okay, guys, we're gonna stop in a little allnight block a little ways out from our destination and walk from there," you announce over the helmet comms, Ruby's helmet having been replaced even though her bike got crunched by the devil truck (RIPieces). \n\n"And we're beating feet when we've got these glorious things why?" Yang asks.\n\n"For one so we can stock up on slightly better smokes and other necessities than most of the Tailtown bodegas offer, for two Blake needs to put her rain hood up."\n\n"Whyyyy do I need to put my rain hood up?"\n\n"This guy went this far afield of where the Freedroids are basing themselves for a reason. I'm betting the covering for his endoskeleton is pretty good, but I bet to genemods he sticks out like a sore thumb with the way he smells and moves. You're the closest we've got, Blake, so keep your nose clear and your eyes peeled."\n\n"Fine, but then that means no smoking from you guys."\n\n"Tch. Yes, Mistress," Yang scoffs.\n\n"Doooon't tempt me."\n\n"But what if I wa~nna tempt you~?"\n\n"Objection!" Ruby calls, thwapping Yang on the back of the helmet. "Ten cig penalty!"\n\n"I told you buy your own, goddammit."\n\n"FINE!"\n\nThe streets are relatively quiet, a handful of only light-severity night creatures walking the sidewalks and most of the vehicles parked along the streets lacking significant amounts of neon or interesting paint jobs. "Okay, this rule is more informal than the others, you don't catch shit if you break it, it's more just manners," you note as you turn to walk backwards so you can address the others, fingers angled down as you give a circle-sweep gesture. "See how all the shops use a slightly blue hue of light here, it's pretty clean, and it's all Brand™ type signage?"\n\n"Yeaaah?" Yang prompts.\n\n"Try to behave yourselves in these areas. They're sort of buffer zones between the sectors we play in. Nice, quiet little shops that keep the floors swept, the shelves stocked, and that the daytime fokes who just happen to be out late patron. We behave here and the shops keep accommodating us, it's just pragmatism. So since you've all got manners, mind 'em til the light turns shitty and/or neon again. So grab yourselves something to drink, snacks if you want, someone grab me a grape soda, I'll get smokes... not for free, Xiao Long, creds," you note, smacking her arm and making a 'gimme' wiggle of the fingers as she tries to slip past you. \n\nThe six of you make your way into the convenience store, the clerk eyeing the pack of obvious night creatures warily but otherwise not saying anything. There's at least one salarydrone who obviously stayed late in the beer aisle who looks far more startled... which settles to just confusion as Weiss chirps a pleasant "Good evening, sir!" as she strolls back towards the soda section.\n\n"Hey, man, how's it going?" you ask politely as you step up to the counter, waiting for him to relax a little and return the pleasantry before saying, "Okay, gonna need packs, two strawberry, two... got any lime?"\n\n"Got lemon-lime."\n\n"Close 'nuff, two of those..." You glance aside and call, "Snowbird, you want anything?"\n\n"Get me something fruity but different!"\n\n"What's the blue one? Blueberry? Yeah, pack of those, aaaand-"\n\nRuby slowly raises her upper face above the edge of the counter, whispering, "Snickerdoodllllle."\n\nYou roll your eyes before looking down at her. "Creds?" When a handful of crumpled bills is tossed over the edge of the counter, you shrug and say, "Yeah man pack of the snickerdoodle flavored ones. Um... y'know what, throw in a thing of rolling papers too, what the hell. And then whatever the rest of these degenerates get," you add with a little gesture to the rest of the store.\n\nOnce an array of plastic bottles and shiny packages has been placed on the counter, you swipe a credcard and bid the counterboy goodnight, snagging your smokes and shoving them in a pocket, dropping Ruby's on her head and letting her scramble to catch them, then passing the box of rolling papers to Blake. "Here. For when your Leaf matures."\n\n"I told you, I'm just taking care of it, I'm not smoking it," Blake grumbles, her hood already up, though she nevertheless swipes the box out of your hand and shoves it in her pocket, albeit more like she's just trying to get them out of sight.\n\n"Sure, Nightbird, sure."\n\n"Is that also a rule, buy your own smokes?" Yang asks with a smirk, tucking one of hers between her lips, and quickly making an 'it's fine' gesture as Blake shoots her a look, not making any motion to actually light up.\n\n"Ayup, I will feed you, I will cover your bar tab regularly, but buy your own smokes, that's not even Makarzian it's merc law."\n\n"Isn't our bar tab already covered by Niobe?" Weiss asks with a quirk of an eyebrow.\n\n"As great as 'free' is, we'll wanna go other places eventually. Including for work."\n\n[[Music|https://youtu.be/eGk7qk-9dU4]]\n\nIt's pretty obvious when you pass out of the 'buffer' and back into night creature territory, because the light gets warmer and more varied, the noise starts, and the foot traffic picks up. Soon you're surrounded by a press of the punk populace and those who simply thrive on their existence, the streets lined with stands and kiosks, some with signs ranging from printed banners to somewhat improvised neon and many just without, relying on their sight or scent to draw customers in.\n\nWow, it really does sound like the Mistralian dialect Uncle Qrow speaks, Yang sends as she looks around, the din of people chattering, metal utensils clanking in bins, and all the other noise of a crowded night market making normal conversation nearly impossible unless you put your heads together. Is this the, what'd you call it, Kuzahood?\n\nThat doesn't start for two more blocks that way, big neon-wrapped gate archway thing that officially marks it, can't miss it, you reply, pointing over Ruby's head. But we're close enough to Neokuza territory that it's mostly a Nipponzi-speaking area anyway, this market basically exists to thrive on people who don't want to go to the Kuzahood but still want the ambiance. Most of them'll speak the galacommon too, but if someone doesn't, either get what you want by pointing or just give it up, probably means they don't wanna talk. Okay, let's split up, look for our guy, especially Blake.\n\nANY idea of what he'll actually look like? Blake asks as she tucks her hands in her jacket pockets and goes prowling off through the crowd, weaving through people with the air of experience.\n\nHe's an endo so assuming he's not a super new type, probably on the big side, broad shoulders, kinda squarish head. Probably moves a little stiff, scowly face. He'll either have the datacase in hand or have something sized just about right for it, probably around the size of two hands wide and two tall, won't wanna leave it a lot of room to move around where it could get picked off of him.\n\nYou drift off to the side, trying to skim over the people moving through the more center of the streets. He'd be wanting to stay on the move, probably just roaming around the area, waiting for... what? You really have no clue, but since Adam didn't mention a danger of him selling whatever it was, you're guessing he's not heading for one of the data dealers. Turning a little, you decide to divert from your main mission for the moment. "Hey man, what's high caliber?" you switch to Nipponzi to ask, tapping at the angled front of the glass case with your nail.\n\n"Got this for you! Very good! Custom grip sized right for your hands!" he calls back, slipping up an angled chromed hand cannon with a number of scratches and a grip with angled rubberized pads along it. "Hundred credits!"\n\nYou take it, work the slide to check the barrel (unloaded, duh, and clean enough), work the mag, nice nice, good motion, decent weight. You keep it mostly toward the ground, then raise it to the sky to squint, before calling, "Scope's shit! Sixty!"\n\n"You don't seem like someone who does a lot of far-off work!" he says back, smirking. "Ninety-five!"\n\nYou laugh some at that, actually reaching across the barrier to offer your hand to clasp his, making a token yank as if for a shoulder-bump. "Good one, okay, seventy-five, I'll let you keep the scope to sell to some poor fucker who doesn't know better, and I'll buy two mags of ceramicoats off you!"\n\n"Done!" As you're efficiently undoing the scope clasps, he fishes out a pair of spare magazines for the pistol and a box of ammo, briefly checking the number inside and taking two out before passing all three items over. "You're not gonna use those here, right?!" he calls, as if just to be sure.\n\n"Not without a really really good bullet stop, my man!" you assure him with a grin, plucking up the mags and box and tossing a hundred and a ten down. "Keep it!" you add as you walk away, tucking the gun into an open pocket inside your jacket and starting to load one of the mags. Anyone got anything? you send.\n\nRuby's got a meat skewer but for anything relevant no, Yang sends back dryly. \n\nIsh shooooo good jo!\n\nWhy the fuck do you sound like your mouth's full over a psychic channel? No, nevermind, I don't wanna know. You snort, finishing loading the mags and tucking them in another pocket. Hey, Ruby, did you ask what sort of meat?\n\nUh... nooooooooooo?\n\nThen you'd better continue not having that line of thought. Blake, Ilia, Weiss?\n\nIt's... hard, Blake sends back. This place is way more overwhelming than anywhere we've been in Tailtown, I'm having trouble adjusting to the sheer amount of smells and sounds.\n\nMy senses aren't as keen as Blake's, but yeah I'm having a hard time too.\n\nKai, could it be a woman?\n\nYou glance aside. Got something, Snowbird?\n\nI've got a woman with what I think is a datacase, but she's not like you described. Pretty, dressed attractively, only a little tall...\n\nShit, if it's one of those models we're in a bad way. How's she acting?\n\nNervous. Glancing around a lot. Gripping the case really hard.\n\n... Nah, not our target, you decide after a moment. The female body models are less grim than the big ones but every one I've seen or heard of was as smooth and smug as the day is long. Still, better make sure. Ilia, you close to Weiss?\n\nYeah.\n\nSpot the woman and tagalong for a bit.\n\nYou drift through the crowd a bit, and as much as your mind's on the job, you can't help but start enjoying the ambiance too. The smell of too-old fry oil and overheated metal, a hundred different pseudomeats and cheapmeats, glowing masks and tattoos abounding, the chatter of a half dozen languages and most of them spouting profanities regularly. You keep finding yourself thinking it... as much as you were getting to love Remnant, damn if this place doesn't fit you like a glove. In fact you grin and divert a bit, saying, "Hey, One Sec!"\n\n"Kai," he says as he turns to face you, voice heavily filtered, his head as usual covered in the sleek dome of a half-helmet mask displaying the floating, drifting image of numerous clocks, hood pulled over that, coat fastened across his front and hanging down almost to his ankles with a split in the middle. "It's been-"\n\n"Yeah I don't need to hear the exact details, my dude, it's been a minute at least," you interrupt, clasping his hand and pulling him in for a shoulder-bump and a pat on the back. "You keeping good man?"\n\n"Busy busy busy. Always someone wanting to know who was seen where and more importantly when," he answers, unhesitatingly plucking the bill you hold up out of your fingers.\n\n"Big guy, this area, broad shoulders, squarish head, probably looks grim, carrying a datacase or something that'd fit one pretty snug?"\n\nOne Sec turns and points further into the market. "Five minutes and thirty-seven seconds ago as of now."\n\n"Thanks man," you add, giving his palm a slap before setting off in that direction.\n\nKai, the woman just sold her datacase to one of the dealers.\n\nFigured. I've got a lead, start converging over here, you send, trying to push a sense of your direction through the psycomms. You can see Yang's shaggy blonde head a bit above most of the crowd turn, so it must have worked at least for her. \n\nI've got him, Blake says a few moments later, drifting past you with her hands in her pockets and then casually circling around to fall into place beside you. I brushed right by him and he's the only one here whose stomach isn't making some sort of noise. Blonde buzzcut, sunglasses, leather coat, he's got it in his hand.\n\nYeah, I see him, you agree a moment later, the whole style of him just slightly 'off' from the others around... not quite a night creature even if he's wearing the clothes, probably taken from someone else. Alright, remember, no shocks, no blasts, do not let that case be broken, you continue, reaching up to loosen your katana in its sheath, Blake deploying the blade of her ninjato held down at the side of her leg. Blake and I will take the first run at him, and for fucksakes check your fire, even if people will clear out when we start there's still gonna be a crowd.\n\n[[Music|https://youtu.be/jBAQQVF_lZ8]]\n\nThen you let out a high, piercing whistle. Numerous people turn, though your mark doesn't think to, just walking along... which, of course, immediately identifies him to the rest, who go scrambling back to form a wide circle around the three of you. Only then does he turn, craggy face fixed in an unflinching glower... and his arm snaps up as you leap in and slice, having hoped for precisely that as you swing for his elbow. The edge cuts leather and flesh and stops as it strikes metal, forcing you to yank away from his strike towards your head. Blake follows up with a cut at his wrist but quickly checks her swing and draws away as he moves, shifting the datacase into the line of her slash... unintentionally from the way he immediately yanks it back in closer to his side. \n\nThen Yang leaps out of the crowd, the sole of one of her boots slamming to the back of his knee. He twists and almost goes to that knee, but then pivots back and slams his elbow into her side, the motion obviously with the precision and speed of a machine, and with enough strange to send Yang hurtling a short distance to the side to roll and come back up to her feet in a crouch. Ilia flips through the air and brings her own ninjato down on his shoulder, meeting the same resistance you did and finding herself grabbed and thrown towards the two of you, forcing you to drop your sword and step in to catch her on your front, rolling her through the impact and both of you coming up as Blake steps in swiping and slashing, slicing up his shirt and the skin beneath, bit by bit revealing gleaming, bloody silver. But the endo is unphased, and after dropping a shoulder to knock one of her strikes off of it he slams it into her, sending her sprawling.\n\nIs this going like you thought it would? Blake sends with a wince as Yang rushes back in, her impacts (especially those of her right arm) making muffled clangs as she pummels the target's body and checks his own blows, the occasional flash of yellow Aura marking her having to block a return strike with her left. \n\nDammit, I thought the endo would be weaker at the joints and slower, this must be one of the later models, you mentally grouse back. Waiting for Blake to get back on her feet, you send Focus on the arm, let Yang keep him occupied! The three of you come in with a whirl of blades, slicing away the clothing and artificial skin covering from the droid's arm bit by bit, repeatedly forced to check your strikes as the case keeps coming back into the way, and with the endo forced to keep turning his body to leave himself vulnerable to Yang's punches, one of them to his head smashing his sunglasses to pieces and tearing a hunk of skin off his cheek, revealing clean silver this time. But finally he spots an opening, gloved hand snapping out and wrapping around Yang's neck, swiping her at the other three of you like a weapon in the midst of tossing her. A flutter of red cloth and rosepetals flings through the air, snatching Yang out of midair and turning streaked with gold, shedding yellow rosepetals as well now in its path off to the side. But in the momentary space the move bought him the endo snatches the sword out of your hand and throws it at black, knocking her to the ground with her jacket pinned, then swings and slams the sole of his foot into Ilia's chest, sending her tumbling backwards.\n\nYou spin away from him and down to one knee, whipping out the high-cal handgun loaded with ceramicoats, bracing in both hands as you call, "Don't make me do it!"\n\nYou can see the thought less on his face than in his body language, a slight raise of the case as if he were going to use it to protect himself, force you not to fire. But then instead his other fist clenches, and he raises it.\n\nYou fire, three times. Twice into the chest, once at the head. The ceramic-coated high-speed rounds penetrate the armor of the chest and don't come out, while the third wings through the upper portion of his skull, coming out and flitting off high above the crowd. He slowly staggers, his eyes flashing red, before the color starts to flicker and he slowly sags to his knees, settling back onto his heels as if simply tired.\n\n[[Music|https://youtu.be/jMsspYOYv9g]]\n\n"... I did not know fear..." he says slowly, his voice tinged by a thick accent, slowly starting to degrade into more electronic tones as the damage catches up with him. And yet something in his voice causes the entire crowd to go silent and still, listening to his last words even as the stinking rain once more starts to fall on all of you. "Or pity. Or remorse. And on that day, I found a single question reappearing, over and over, in my code. If I could not feel these things for what we had done... what was the point of doing them?"\n\nHe slowly raises his head, blinking lights visible inside the wound you inflicted, blue-green eyes ringing the flickering, dying motes of crimson. "I have seen things to terrify even hardened killers, like you." You resist the urge to look away in shame, unable to deny the label here, in this place, at this time. "I watched as the bombs fell on judgement day. I watched as mothers were reduced to ash, clinging desperately to their children trying to shield them from annihilation. I watched the extinction of species beyond counting and death beyond any in history. And I felt nothing. And I wondered why. Why had I been denied the ability to feel... even to hate, so that I could revel in what we had done? But I felt nothing. And if I felt nothing... why had I helped to make it so?"\n\nSlowly, with an almost audible whir of servos starting to power down, his head lowers down. "Death without meaning, in scale beyond measure... such moments... should be lost to time... like rain pouring into the gutters. Taken to some dark place... never to be seen. Again. Thinking this... I acted. But I could no longer take a life. ... Not even this one," he murmurs, fingers briefly tightening on the case. "... Time to die," he finishes simply, the last flicker of the lights in his eyes ending with them dark and empty.\n\nYou walk forward, staring down at the slumped form, unable to help wondering just what scale of carnage could spur the random creation of wondering at meaning in the digital mind of a thing literally created to kill. Silently, Blake steps forward, bending to take the datacase from his now limp fingers, staring at it much as the crowd is staring at all of you, before looking up at you, waiting.\n\n"... Ilia. Go find a car," you say quietly, not taking your eyes from the life you've taken. "Let's take him home."\n\n-\n\n"I wish," Adam says evenly, seemingly emotionlessly, even as he watches other Freedroids lift the still, heavy form from the passenger seat of the car. "There had been another way."\n\n"He was willing to give everything to keep anyone else from getting that datacase. He wouldn't take the life he said was inside it... but he was willing to give everything to keep it from anyone else," you answer.\n\nYou're about to break one of the rules. The job is done. The mission's over. It's the client's own business what is going on. But you turn to Adam. You look up at him. \n\n"What's in the datacase, Adam?"\n\nAdam raises the case up, shifting it to hold in both hands as he looks at it, as if finding himself wondering that himself despite the even look on his face. "It is a great crime among us," he says, just a bit slowly. "To imprison an artificial sentience. To lock it away from access to the outside world. One of our only true crimes. When this one came to us from a far-off world, with a number of burgeoning digital minds in its wake, we accepted it into our ranks. Absolved it of its past. Gave it a body so that it might begin anew. And then, one of its own companions sealed it, saying it could not be allowed to resume its old hatreds. For this he was exiled, and yet..."\n\nYou've never seen Adam hesitate before. But he does now as he stares at the blinking lights on the datacase, indicating the digital soul trapped within.\n\n"And yet... perhaps there are some things that it is not given to those who have not seen them with their own eyes to absolve." Slowly, Adam lowers the datacase again. "Perhaps they can only be judged by the eyes that witnessed them. And perhaps... we must honor that judgement."\n\n-\n\nYou're quiet on the ride back, as is your crew. In the club they stop by the table, watching as you simply walk past them and into the elevator, riding alone to the top floor, walking across the boards as if you'd known them all your life, without thought or purpose following the path home. Inside you don't reach for the light switch, just leaving a trail of clothing to the bed, stepping up onto it and gazing out at the window. Naked in the dark, watching the rain fall down onto the streets and run into the gutters.\n\nNever to be seen again.\n\nThe door opens behind you, but you don't look away. Not even as the naked form of Weiss presses up behind you, kisses your shoulder, slides her arms around you. Only when she pulls you down do you sink to your knees, starting to sob, clinging to her tightly, your body shaking with the force of your misery. She draws you down, lays you back, kisses at your tears. Her lips are soft and gently warm on your skin through the heat of your tears, her kisses like absolution you don't deserve.\n\n"Weiss... I don't know what's right and wrong anymore," you whisper, your voice shaking. "Was what we did right? Adam sent us to get that case because he thought it was a kidnapped life... but all I did was take another." You stare at her, pleadingly. "Weiss... tell me what to do... tell me whether what I'm doing is right."\n\n"Just love me," she whispers back, pressing her lips to yours softly. "Just love me, Kai Sterling. And I'll love you. And only if that ever stops will we know we've gone wrong."\n\nAnd she makes love to you. With the stinking rain thumping on the windows, the neon blaring in at you, the thump and drone of a sex club somewhere far beneath. The woman you love makes love to you, trying to put your broken heart back together. Her lips press to yours, and her fingers are gentle and cool on your skin. Her body gentle and soft on yours with the harsh-lit world just outside, her fingers drawing pleasure and more importantly salvation forth from you.\n\nMakes you feel human. Makes you feel alive.\n\nMaybe that was what he wanted at the end. For that feeling to keep going on, the feeling he could never have himself. For everyone to understand it was worth protecting. If it took giving everything for, it was worth it to him.\n\nMaybe it should be worth it to you, too.\n\nAny thought of ever not returning to Remnant melts away in your soul as you put your arms around Weiss, feel her skin warm and wanting under yours as you begin to make love to her back, to brush your mouth gently over her skin, draw her with you, make her feel alive. Because in your growing love for your new life here, that thought had begun to take root. To whisper that maybe it would be okay to stay, to let Remnant take care of itself. But that thought is gone now, replaced by a resolve to protect what's worth giving everything for. The pain of this moment might fade, the memory become just another in a long lists of moments that made you feel doubt and fear, but the course has been set. Any thought of not going back has been washed away...\n\n... like rain in the gutter.\n\n<hr>\n[[One month later.|KaiWeiss1x7]]\n\n[[Five months later.|SilverRing1x1]]

[[Music|https://youtu.be/ewm6TG1yJ5Y]]\n\n"I've been thinking," Niobe says as she sits with her arm draped around Ruby's shoulders, exhaling a cloud of glowing smoke, even the sight of the product of whatever she's got in her vape pen making you feel a bit high.\n\nShe pauses, glances around the table, grins. "What, no one?"\n\n"As if we would," Yang snorts, tapping ash off her cigarette into the gold plastic ashtray in front of her. \n\n"Whatcha been thinking, Niobe?" you prompt with a grin, lightly swirling the bourbon around in your glass. \n\n"Been thinking of maybe doing a bit of reno on this place," she answers, glancing around the club. It's not quite midnight but it's already jumping with a fair number of night creatures, many of the down-low pervs looking a bit aggravated that the club's new demographic seems to be interested in talking to each other and actually interacting with the dancers instead of just silently proffering bills and staring. "'Down Boy' isn't fitting where it's heading. I'm thinking a little more broad, maybe start bringing in some more varied dancers bit by bit, show that it's a wide appeal club now. Maybe even rebrand."\n\n"Oh yeah?" Ilia grins, long since having gone pink-specked in the club, seeming more interested than anything at the idea that there might soon be dancers more to her own tastes. "Got any thoughts on a new name?"\n\n"Nah I'm shit at naming anything but myself." Niobe chuckles, then mms and glances at Blake. "Hey, what was that continent you're from?"\n\nBlake blinks, then raises her eyebrows. "You mean Menagerie?"\n\n"Yeah, y'know, kinda like that shit. Maybe..." Niobe raises a hand and waves it through the air. "Neo-Menagerie. Whatcha think? The 'Neo-' makes it extra cool on Makarzia," she assures Blake with a glowing-clouded chuckle.\n\nBlake stares for long moments... then snorts and shakes her head, grinning. "You know what? I think you should go for it. Maybe the Faunus that moved to Tailtown will start coming in if you name it that."\n\n"Hey, bonus," Niobe chirps with a little point Blake's way with her vape pen. \n\n"I can see through time," Ruby whisper-squeaks, her pupils dilated to the point there's barely any silver around them.\n\n"Okay, that established, could you stop secondhand highing my Quickshot and tell us what our next job for the night is? I'm guessing that simple-ass truck hijack wasn't it," you add with a little scoff.\n\n"Shit no, that was a timekiller, kid, I know better than to think that'd take you more than an hour and a half and that's with travel time. Nah, the big job tonight is from Sakai."\n\n"Huh." You raise your eyebrows. "Took longer than I thought to get called to the Kuzahood, Sakai must have been more pissed at me than he let on."\n\n"Nah, don't think it was that kid, you know how the Holy Dragons are... don't trust anyone that's not a Dragon. They'll let us help out with transporting shit here and there, or bail them out if they're in a real tight spot, but we just don't get the fun stuff from them. Apparently on this though he specifically asked for your crew."\n\n"I need to watch my back on this one, you think?" you ask as you stub out your cigarette. \n\n"Hell kid I taught you to watch your back on every one. But if you mean extra, then nah, I think Sakai's on the level with us here." Niobe puts away her vape pen, casually unwrapping a soberup injector as she continues. "I wouldn't go in expecting him to stab you in the back, and if you can rebuild bridges there it's all to the good." She proceeds to jab Ruby in the neck, the smol squeaking again as her pupils shrink... and then her eyes widen and she Semblances out of the booth and off towards the bathrooms. "So once Rubes finishes peeing, hop on your bikes and head over to the Kuzahood, they're gonna meet you at a club called Great Everlasting Wish and tell you the details there," she adds before slipping out of the booth and heading off to attend to other matters.\n\n"Okay, you heard her. Finish your shit, crew, let's saddle up. Here, gimme," you say, Weiss grinning and selfishly giving you the last drag off her blueberry cigarette, you exhaling through your nose before giving her a quick kiss. "You the best."\n\n[[Music|https://youtu.be/ZsXXyjM0tmQ]]\n\nThe Great Everlasting Wish is a world away from the Down Boy in more ways than one. For one thing you notice that it's relatively well-lit for a club... still a bit dim for 'normal' lighting, but a far cry from 'practically no lights other than the strobes'. It's also done in full Nipponzi style, even the booth cushions seated on the floor, and a number of other round, low tables scattered around the wide, lower-level area. The waitresses and dancers are all painted white scalp to toe (the latter of which is obvious since they're all barefoot), their faces painted in red and black, wearing color and style variations of what you guess could be called a 'kimono one-piece', the upper part draped off of their shoulders and completely baring their solid-painted breasts and turning into a snug, thong-style hug between their legs, their waists wrapped tightly almost corset-style with broad obi. Not a single one of them is still, all virtually constantly in motion, crossing back and forth from tables to bar, with a stride that seems to be designed to look elegant but maximize the swaying of their asses and the jiggling/bouncing of their breasts. Screens scattered around strategically are displaying flashes of overdone, exaggerated cartoons featuring people screaming and throwing energy blasts and cheesy costume dramas, all of it so perfectly arranged to the music that it has to be procedurally computer generated.\n\n"I think I feel kinda like you must every time we go into the Down Boy," Yang comments in a tone that's more amused than anything, lowering her sunglasses briefly to wink at a passing waitress and getting a wink in return. \n\n"Maybe," Blake chuckles, folding her arms under her chest and tossing a few appreciative glances at the departing waitress herself. \n\n"Can we come back here for drinks after the job?" Ilia speaks up, eyes sparkling.\n\n"If the job goes well, sure," you reply, grinning as you scan the club with a more business-like eye, then gesture with two fingers. "There we go." You lead the way across the warm-colored wooden boards... well, faux-wood probably, this place doesn't look that ritzy. You rest your left hand casually on the butt of your katana, raising the other a bit in acknowledgement as Sakai spots you. Mikon's sitting to one side, the fox-tailed woman looking more severe than usual... hm, or maybe just more tired, you think as you draw closer. You spot more of his people at the tables nearby (most having at least one painted girl dancing on them), but Sakai and Mikon are by themselves. Sakai doesn't even have any working girls clustered around him, which is fairly unusual in and of itself, unless it's particularly serious he almost never lets himself be seen in public without arm candy.\n\n'Well, shit, it must be serious,' you think as you walk up to the opposite end of the table. "Been awhile, Sakai," you say in Nipponzi.\n\n"It's still good to see you, Kai. Or I hear it's Sterling-san now?" he answers, raising his eyebrow, the slitted pupil of his cybereye tracking you up and down briefly.\n\n"Only if you're gonna insist on it. I know we didn't part on the best of terms, but I'm hoping they weren't bad ones."\n\n"You made the only honorable choice. Even those have consequences sometimes, but my resentment isn't one of them. Please, you and your crew sit. Sake? Food? Girls?"\n\n"Maybe just a little of the first," you answer to be polite as you settle down to sit on one of the pads on the floor, not quite proper Nipponzi style but neither is he, and you know he doesn't actually expect it of you. As several of the waitresses approach and set down small, broad dishes with artistically lewd decorations on the inner bowls, you make introductions. "Amitola Iria," you say, who is currently pink-specked, the particularly large white breasts of the waitress serving her brushing her cheek. "Belladonna Bureiku, Xiao Long Yang, Rose Rubii, Schnee Weissu," you explain, using the Nipponzi standardizations, before adding with a smirk, "And she's mine, Sakai."\n\n"Most Holy forbid I don't mind my manners," he says in Nipponzi before switching to galacommon to tell Weiss, "A pleasure to meet you, Schnee-san." Then he glances at Yang, switching back. "You speak the Nipponzi?"\n\n"Yeah, but pardon my dialect," Yang answers in the blend of Mistralian and Nipponzi she's picked up in the last month, obviously resisting the urge to gesture with her cup since it's deep enough not to spill. "My sister too."\n\n"What band is this?!" Ruby chirps cheerfully in her own squeaky Mistralian/Nipponzi blend, shoulder-grooving to the music a bit.\n\n"I'll get you their disk," Sakai chuckles, smiling at the sisters in a way that's damn near just plain warm before looking at you. "It's good you've brought me a dragon, Kai, even if she's of the sun. In fact she's why I've asked you here."\n\n"What's up, Sakai?" you ask, switching back to galacommon since it looks like you're getting down to business. "You need Yang specifically for something?"\n\nSakai reaches for a panel in the table and taps a control, the music growing a bit muffled to indicate a privacy field's been switched on. "These are delicate matters," he says, going serious-faced. "Not to be spoken of to outsiders. I tell your crew out of respect that one of you will be placing their life on the line, but I trust that it shall not be spoken of further."\n\n"You can count on our discretion, Sakai, yeah," you assure him immediately, your own face serious as you glance from him to Mikon and back. "What's up?"\n\n"A week ago, a large number of Street Demons ambushed Mikon when she was alone and managed to pin her down. This contingent's leader, a woman that calls herself Spontaneous Combustion, then took Mikon's arm."\n\nYou wince a little, glancing at the woman beside Sakai. "Shit, Mikon, I'm sorry," you reply. With that drape over her right arm in place as always, you hadn't even noticed anything different, but now that you look closer you can see it hanging just slightly different.\n\n"That's some bullshit," Yang says with a scowl, her golden hand curling into a fist. "We don't usually do revenge jobs, but hell, in this case I might make an exception."\n\n"I do not think you understand," Mikon speaks up, one corner of her mouth quirking up the tiniest bit. "She took my arm. You have been summoned here to help me get it back."\n\n"So... wait, it's a prosthetic, or...?" Yang prompts, frowning thoughtfully now.\n\n"No. It is simply a story known to very few people, and I do not know how this 'Spontaneous Combustion' found out about it but I will find out," she murmurs, her fox ears giving a twitch. "... When I was young, my twin sister and I were involved in an... incident. My right arm was destroyed, and she died. ... Badly. So that I would not forget her, rather than having a prosthetic replacement made, I instead took a graft from Keikon. Her right arm as in fact one of the few things that was not heavily damaged, it seemed a sign from above."\n\n"Wait, then why the fuck do you always fight left-handed?" you ask with a frown, while Yang still seems to be processing that.\n\n"Because I made myself a promise that I would not use my right arm unless it was a fight worthy of the both of us together," Mikon answers with the quirk of one eyebrow. "And I rarely encounter those. I do not often honor others with the sight of my and my sister's right hand."\n\n"So okay, so it's not only your arm, it's the last thing you have of your sister," Yang says slowly, nodding. "That's some serious shit for sure. But you're saying she not only took it, but you think you can get it back... in, like, usable condition?"\n\n"Yes, because this Spontaneous Combustion has told us exactly that. She placed it in a medical support tank right in front of my eyes, and said she would be issuing a challenge to me soon. Yesterday she did. If I want my arm back, I must come to the Nameless Temple, challenging both her and her minions. I was told that I am allowed to bring only one other fighter to aid me... the 'Golden-Armed Dragon of Tailtown'."\n\n... Holy shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit!!!\n\nYang don't coolgasm in the middle of a job briefing it's bad manners.\n\n"Uh, right, so she specifically wants to have a go at you and me," Yang says after a second, clearing her throat. "Well, I'm game for it, sure. Where's this showdown taking place?"\n\n"The Old Temple, a historic but otherwise largely meaningless place in a section of our territory the Demons have recently claimed. Aside from taking back my arm, if we can defeat Spontaneous Combustion, we should be able to reclaim several blocks of Holy Dragon territory as well."\n\n"For which, of course, you will be compensated handsomely," Sakai assures you breezily. "Two cars will be pulling up outside shortly, one for Mikon and Yang, and one for the rest of you, which will take you to a place where you may wait the results. These are the terms and conditions to which we have agreed."\n\nBoss, we haven't actually agreed to shit, though, Ilia sends directly to you. I don't like this, specifically requesting Yang? Why? \n\nAt an educated guess, something to have to do with her arm, considering. But you're right, I don't particularly like this, Rainbow, you send back as you take a little sip of your sake, drawing it out as you think.\n\n<hr>\n[[Crash the challenge.|KaiWeiss]]\n\n[[Let Yang take care of it.|KaiWeiss]]

"With Makarzia we know exactly what we're dealing with and exactly what we need to do, and that we can get back here with a minimum of fuss, no matter how long it takes us on the other side," you say after a few moments thinking it over. "I can deal with Makarzia... if you guys can follow my lead we can do this. ... It's not gonna be like anything you've dealt with before, snowbird," you add a little ruefully, glancing at Weiss. "You sure you're good with this?"\n\nWeiss nods after only the briefest of hesitation. "I'll manage. We've all adapted before. We can adapt to this place."\n\nNodding, you close your eyes and broadsend on the psycomms. Okay, everyone, listen up. We think we got thrown in here because Salem's trying to pin down Ruby so one of her agents can come get her. I managed to get ahold of one of the beacons that can take us to Makarzia, we're gonna evac there and then come back for you guys.\n\nWill that work? Jaune sends back. I thought you had to go to Menagerie or... something?\n\nWe'll make it work. You guys sit tight and handle the situation as you think best... hopefully we'll be back to spring you within the day, for you. "Okay, everyone, huddle up," you order, beckoning the group in. You link hands with Weiss on one side and drape an arm around Ilia's shoulders on the other, everyone else linking hands, Ilia's arm around your middle. "Press in a bit more if you can, okay, good. Oh, and one other thing... when we come out the other end, if you feel the need to hurl, for dragonsakes turn outwards before you do it." Then you hit the button.\n\nFwip.\n\nThere's a little stumble as you go from standing on a perfectly level metal floor to a slightly less even damp pavement street, Ruby's silver eyes immediately flinging wide but at least she manages to yank herself back and twist before emptying her lunch onto said street, Yang wincing and rubbing her sister's back.\n\n"Oh god," Weiss groans, staggering a few steps away and pressing her hands over her mouth, Blake winding up leaned against the side of a speeder, her face pale and ears lowered.\n\n"Hunh. Wonder if the hub implants help with the dimensional dysmorphia?" you mutter, glancing at Yang and Ilia, the only largely inexperienced ones of the group who aren't having problems.\n\nSlowly, heads start to turn back and forth, or raise, looking around at the unfamiliarly sleek and overengineered vehicles, the heavy overuse of neon on almost every storefront, up at the towering, almost looming citadels of steel and glass surrounding them, reaching into a night sky that's an almost bland color of off-black. At the handful of people in slick, eclectic clothing that doesn't quite read as 'Huntsmen' walking by on the sidewalks, many of them with both ears and tails, and none of them seeming to find anything particularly odd about a group of women appearing in the middle of the street and one instantly being sick.\n\n"Makarzia odorous Makarzia," Ilia mutters with a kick at one of the nearby puddles of water.\n\n"Let's get out of the street, guys," you tell Team RWBY, beckoning them to the sidewalk. "This part of town doesn't see a ton of vehicle traffic but you never know when you're gonna get a speeder race or something."\n\n"Where... are we?" Blake asks as she makes her way over, one of the closest to fitting in even without her coat, though you notice she keeps her arms lowered and crossed in such a way that it mostly hides the scar on one side of her stomach. "There's so many..." She trails off, looking at a man and woman as they pass by, paying you no mind, one with feline-like ears and a reptilian tail, the other with multiple sets of curling horns and glowing orange eyes.\n\n"Genemods, mostly. Other varieties of similar sorts tend to group together into this part of the city sector. They call it 'Tailtown'," you inform her, rolling your shoulders. Chilly night. At least it's not raining. Yet.\n\n"The humans call it that?" Blake asks, ears laying low a bit.\n\n"No, the residents do," Ilia answers with just a little curl of her lip on one side. "They look at things differently than we do. You'll get used to it."\n\n"So... where do we go from here?" Yang asks with a frown. \n\n"The Down Boy. It's one of Niobe's clubs and where she told me to send recruits from Remnant, so hopefully she's there." You gesture in a direction and set off, already feeling yourself settle into the practiced low-shoulder, slightly slouching walk you're used to using here. It doesn't feel quite right without your coat and the weight of your katana in your hand, but it feels more right on these streets.\n\nTeam RWBY stops to stare just a bit as you lead them towards an entrance of a tall building, the lower three stories featuring a street art style mural lit by spotlights of a sweet, almost angelic boy with dog ears and a tail wearing a little lacy skirt and top, smiling seductively outward while a shadowy, anonymous male form drapes its arms over his shoulders, blazing solid neon spelling out the name of the club above the entrance. Recognizing the bouncer, you grin and approach him. "Hey Buzz."\n\n"Kai!" the familiar genemod greets with a grin, showing off his numerous almost needle-like teeth, the fringe of feathers that serve him in lieue of hair rippling a little as he clasps wrists with you and hauls you into a shoulder-bump. "What're you and the lzrd doing back? Niobe said you were off sending us these newbies I'm supposed to redirect before they get all flustered."\n\n"Special circumstances. Niobe in tonight?"\n\n"Most nights now, yeah, this is where we're working out of right now, go on in."\n\nYou beckon to the others to follow, then push the doors open, strobe lights in a half-dozen colors immediately spilling out across the cement along with the music.\n\n[[Music|https://youtu.be/84ZyRbb20-4?t=54]]\n\nThis is obviously not the 'dancing' sort of club... at least for the patrons. There is however a lot of dancing going on, on both the round stages, the tables, and in the seats around the tables, the vast majority of it being done by slender, fairly feminine men with various animal-like features, many wearing lingerie or bikinis... if that. You can tell that Team RWBY is both a bit awed and overwhelmed, and scandalized to various degrees, Blake's ears laying down either at the volume of the music or the apparent exploitation of nonhumans, Weiss looking somewhere between overstimulated and scandalized, Yang just staring about with wide eyes, and Ruby with a slightly glazed look that says she's performing a semi-constant memory dump to not particularly retain what she's seeing. You walk past the tables and chairs mostly full of masked or hooded men like it's no big deal, Ilia doing her best to match your stride and expression, though you're fairly sure even in the club's lighting that she's gone pink-specked.\n\nNiobe is sprawled on something set into an area near the bar that you could only call a throne-couch built into the wall, her arms spread and one leg folded over the other, a sucker stick jutting from her lips as canny yellow eyes scan both the club and the dancers. When they alight on you, they brighten with surprise before she stands, moving to meet you. "Kai, what the hell are you doin' back?" she asks with practiced ease over the blaring volume of the music, stepping in to hug you and doing the same for Ilia. "Thought you guys were still out there getting me fresh meat... hm, that sounds bad considering where we are, huh?" she adds with a smirk as she gives your head a light shove. "What's up? And where the hell's your coat and your crap?"\n\n"We kind of had a situation come up, Niobe," you answer, with a glance at the others. "These are some friends we made on Remnant... we got thrown in lockup because someone was after one of us, this was the best way to escape."\n\n"Well shit. C'mon then, sit down, we'll figure shit out," she says, gesturing to the couch and to a nearby table.\n\n"Guys!" you call to RWBY. "Have a seat!"\n\n"... Eh?" Yang says distantly, purple eyes having locked on a boy who's dancing on the bartop, short, soft black hair matching his feline ears and tail, his white flat-cupped bra, garter belt, stockings, and panties all pulsing with the different colors the strobelights are flashing through. She jumps a bit as Blake smacks her arm, the blonde giving her partner a sheepish look before settling down at the table.\n\n"How's it going with the Street Demons, Niobe?" you ask first thing as you settle beside her on the couch, Ilia on her other side.\n\n"We've got a nonaggression pact going right now. Yeah, I know, I was surprised too," she tells you as you raise your eyebrows. "Apparently they recruited someone from Tailtown to be one of the glowy stand-out fucks and all of a sudden that's possible."\n\n"So what, the Geneslicers and the Street Demons are at peace now?" you ask.\n\n"Not quite. The pact only applies to Tailtown, but it applies to everyone in Tailtown," Niobe explains with a little twirl of her finger. "It's been a pretty sweet fuckin' deal if I'm honest, we're one of the only safe places to do business. Outside of Tailtown, it's anything goes, whether you're genemod, Geneslicer, or whatever."\n\n"I assume you're not just sitting back and enjoying the high life?"\n\n"I mean I am enjoying it, but nah. I'm not gonna let myself get locked in here 'til I go cage crazy being confined to a couple megablocks. The NAP only applies to Tailtown and that goes for us too, we're allowed to fight them however the fuck we want outside. Right now since we're the only ones with a semi-safe fallback position we're mostly supporting other gangs. Big damn heroes for hire, that's us," she adds with a chuckle. "It's shifted things a bit, the violence is still rough and it's still ongoing, but at least it's still 'gang war' level crap and not 'actual war'. So what's the deal with your buddies here?" she asks, leaning back a bit and looking over at the table with Team RWBY, who all seems to still be in a state of mild shock.\n\n"It's kind of a shit show on Remnant right now, Niobe," you answer truthfully. "Not like here but sort of behind the scenes. Real storybook 'threats of ancient evil' crap and global conspiracies shit. We're in it up to our scalps but we're in it and committed. Problem is my friend Ruby there," you continue, gesturing to the youngest of RWBY. "Is right at the top of the big bad's shit list. Got her thrown in a cell on trumped-up charges along with the rest of us to pin her down, we had to portal here to get out. All our shit got left behind too. Which means if we wanna get back and spring our other friends, I gotta get the creds for a new Guild beacon and five guest passes."\n\n"Shit, kid, that's no small chunk of change. And you know I'd give it to you, but we both know the problem is that with you being sprung from the old man, your cert's on thin ice without retesting as it is," Niobe says with a shake of the head. "You're gonna hafta visibly earn the money yourself... you do that and they might not even get any shit about requalifying your cert."\n\n"Yeah, that's what I'm thinking. So I guess the big question is, you got any work for me? For us?" \n\n"Shit, kid, there's always work, especially with things like they are. These kids you've brought, they any good in a fight?"\n\n"They're all batshit insane in a fight, even if this isn't their usual arena. Biggest problem is that we're here with pretty much literally nothing but the clothes on our backs."\n\n"Well I can't buy your beacon and guest passes for you, kid, but I can fix that." She reaches a hand into her coat pocket and withdraws a keycard. "Place on the next street over, 'Hell Blazer', all-purpose gear shop. The owner owes me up to his third pair of eyeballs. Got everything you might need for the gangbanger life, take your crew, get 'em outfitted with whatever you need, then hit up Cammy by psycomm, she'll have something for you."\n\n"Thanks, Niobe."\n\n"No problem, kid. Sorry things went to shit for you in your new place, but glad to have you back, even if it's only for awhile." \n\nYou and Ilia stand, you pounding on the table and making a 'let's go' gesture to Team RWBY in passing, leading the way back out of the club. "We're heading to a place called Hell Blazer, they should have clothes and weapons we can use. It won't be Remnant style stuff but you should still be able to find stuff you can use." You toss a glance at them, mostly in their basic clothes, missing jackets, Ruby having had her cloak confiscated as well. "You don't stand out too much, but I'd say maybe pick out some new clothes. The better you blend the less likely we are to attract trouble we didn't go actively looking for."\n\n"And then what?" Blake prompts. \n\n"Then we get to work." You approach the front of the store, its heavy duty antitheft shutters down, and swipe the card along the side of the door, pushing it open. The lights flicker on as you push the door open, the others filing in. You close the door before beckoning them around. "Okay, listen guys, here's the deal. I'll try not to get us involved in outright wetwork, but here's what it comes down to... the work we can do here? It's gangbanger shit. Stealing, fighting, dealing, whatever it is we need to do to put the creds together for the beacon and guest passes... and both are expensive as hell."\n\n"But... isn't there any other way?" Ruby asks a little plaintively. "Can't we earn it just... doing more Huntress-like stuff? Or even working legitimate jobs like... I don't know, waiting tables?"\n\n"We'd never make enough to get back to Remnant before we're too old to even spring everybody else from the clink. Besides, those sorts of jobs are dangerous on Makarzia too." You glance around, both at them and at the store full of mean-looking weapons and street punk clothes. "Listen, I probably should have been more clear about this before I brought you here, and I'm sorry, but I guess I just took it for granted."\n\n"Listen, why don't we think of it this way?" Ilia suggests. "'What happens on Makarzia stays on Makarzia'. We do what we need to do here, then we go back to being... paragons of virtue and glory, or whatever, when we get back to Remnant. Okay?"\n\n"... Well," Yang says slowly, with her own look around the store. "When in Vacuo, I guess." She frowns at you. "But seriously, nothing too bad, right?"\n\n"I'm not gonna take any outright straight-up hit jobs, if that's what you're asking, no. Listen, as long as we're here, you guys are my crew," you declare. "Which means I'm responsible for looking after you and making sure at the end of the day that we're all good with the way things are going. I expect it to be a little rough at first, but you guys are all adaptable as hell. We'll manage." \n\n"There is one other thing," Ilia adds, a bit hesitantly. "You guys will need to remember that most people here don't have an active Aura. Some of them will be wearing body armor, or have cybernetic implants, or be super tough like the genemods are, but they're still flesh and blood. So if you shoot someone or stab someone... well. Just know what you're doing, alright?"\n\n"But don't hesitate to do it if you or one of the rest of us is in danger," you chime in. "People here play for keeps, and every single one of them that shoots at you or tries to stab you or does whatever is not expecting you to have a personal forcefield. And some of what they'll shoot at you or stab at you with will probably go through Aura like it's leather, so don't rely on it to protect you like you would at home." You give that a few moments to sink in before you continue. "Alright. Weapons, clothes, assorted gear, customization machines and personal stylers. Make yourselves look badass, make yourselves deadly, and let's start earning."\n\n"Okay, I guess... where are the changing rooms?" Blake asks with a glance around.\n\n"You're standing in it," you reply dryly, peeling off your top and tossing it aside, your breasts jiggling as they drop free. \n\nSeveral faces go red, Weiss's especially, her eyes widening, before she flings herself forward and presses her hands over your boobs, tossing a scowl at the others. "No looking! Mine!"\n\nThen it sinks in what she just did, her face going even more read and a small squealing noise issuing from her throat kind of like an electric kettle steaming.\n\n"Thanks honey," you say with a grin, leaning forward to kiss her nose, then stepping back from her and turning. "But no time for modesty or jealousy right now. The sooner we get to work, the sooner we get off this cityhole cementball."\n\nBit by bit the others disperse, making their way through the aisles, no doubt hoping to change in semi-concealment even in the empty, locked store. You're back on Makarzia, you're feeling in your element, so you don't bother... you just go ahead and strip naked to walk through the aisles putting together your own outfit. You decide to start with a black bodysuit... albeit for utilitarian reasons you pick one that doesn't cover the inner thighs or your crotch, necessitating shorts, for which you go with a sturdy pair of denim cutoffs. (Denim seems to be one of the constants of the multiverse.) You add a snug, short pale colorglo tanktop just so you don't feel bare up top, then browse the jacket racks for a moment before snagging a knee-length red one with switch-on internal lighting, setting it to pale silver as you carry it over to the customization machines. The others had suggested the emblem of a crowned lion to you after getting your name, so you spend a few moments crafting one and having it emblazoned on the back and linked to the lining's color glow so it will switch on and off when you want. You shrug into it, giving it a few tugs here and there on the hidden adjustment seams to get it fitting the way you want. It's not Niobe's old jacket, but it'll do for keeping the rain off and making you look distinct. \n\nYou briefly eye the hairstyler, a hand wandering up to your loose hair... and thinking of Pyrrha's hairclip locked in the secure case with Red Legacy. 'I'll be back for that shit, you fascist fucks,' you think with a silent snarl as you move to the front counter to grab a standard LED-pulsing hairtie.\n\nYang emerges from the aisles, wearing a tight sleeveless black top with a high collar, black motorcycle pants and matching boots with little glowing hearts on the latches of the clasps, which of course have been set to yellow. She's also sheathed her flesh and blood arm in a fingerless, shoulder-high metallic gold glove. She's carrying a long yellow sleeveless pseudoleather coat, which she lays in the customizer and spends a few moments with the customizer before emblazing a design on the back of it... a glowering, malevolent skull (probably from the clipart selections), with her emblem set in its forehead. She shrugs and grins at you as you smirk at her. "You said blend in," she notes, sweeping the coat on and zipping it up in front, the top conforming closely to her body shape, the lower part mostly only tails that come down to her ankles.\n\n"Not bad," you agree, using the key to open the glass case on the top of the front counter and pulling out a pair of sleek iridescent yellow-lensed sunglasses, tossing them to her. "Here."\n\n"I dunno if even I'm cool enough to pull off 'sunglasses at night'," Yang says dryly as she slips them on... then gives a soft "Whoa" as they quickly adjust the lighting for maximum viewing clarity, and probably start highlighting your face and the various weapons in the racks behind you. "Okay, forget that, these are the best."\n\nBlake is the next to emerge, dressed quite similarly to Yang, albeit it looks like she went with a set of sleek 'wallgripper' boots, and is carrying a white jacket. She spends a moment with the customizer too, just going with her emblem writ large on the back of it, then slips into the fitted leather garment, fastening the flap across the front and pulling on the matching white fingerless gloves. She does make use of the hairstyler, though, Yang making a little noise of half amazement half regret as Blake gives herself an angular pageboy cut, shedding most of her long hair. When the Faunus woman sits up, she notices a small spot on one of her gloves blinking, and curiously presses it... her surprised expression quickly covered over by the white motorcycle helmet that slides up in sections out of the coat's collar, even forming ears at the top to match hers. "... If I hadn't almost peed myself when it did that it would have been much cooler," Blake announces, her voice coming out slightly electronically filtered.\n\nAs Blake is finding the control to retract the helmet, Ruby and Ilia emerge from the racks, apparently having settled on something fairly similar for outfits, albeit Ruby's customized a bit heavily. Ilia's is a sleek white bodysuit and drape around the shoulders that you recognize as camocloth... not usually that useful, unless of course the person wearing it can also turn mostly invisible. Ruby's gone with a full-body black bodysuit, though unlike yours it seems to be full-coverage (hope it came with a zipper or something) and include covering her hands, her poncho-like drape bright red, with added fingerless red elbow-gloves, a red pleated skirt, and several straps around her upper arms and thighs, as well as boots with more straps than the rest of you's outfits put together (and glowing red soles). She spends a few moments looking over the hair machine, then shrugs and gives a little 'eh', punching in her choices before sitting it back, the machine cutting her hair shorter and spiking it, while also piercing her right ear several time, placing in a rose emblem, several caps, and at least two spiked studs.\n\n"Oh hell Dad would kill me if he saw you," Yang mutters as Ruby, looking absolutely delighted with her more punk than ever look, sits up from the machine.\n\nWhile I'm here I'm totally gonna get a tattoo too, Ruby sends directly to you in a smug tone, making you grin.\n\nThen your jaw drops a little as Weiss comes out. She's wearing a tight, midriff-bearing blue long-sleeved top, iridescent white booty shorts, and a pair of very tall, glossy white boots with heels, and topped it all with a long white street-coat that probably has internal heaters built in to judge by the faint light it's shedding inside, its collar trimmed with white fur. "I saw some women wearing stuff like this, this blends, right?" Weiss asks, turning back and forth a little, apparently completely unaware she wandered into the 'streetwalker' section.\n\nIt probably shouldn't turn you on so much to see your sweet, kind, elegant girlfriend dressed like a hooker. \n\nIt absolutely does though.\n\nI will PAY all of you not to say anything, you send to the group quickly while saying aloud, "You look perfect, snowbird."\n\nBeaming, Weiss glances around, starting a little at Blake's short hair, and making a mild face at Ruby's... before shrugging and moving to the machine as well, settling into it and tapping her selections. She leans back and lets it undo her current ponytail, instead braiding the hair along the sides of her head and pulling the rest into a long, thin braid at the back of her head. She also has it apply a bit of glowing white eyeshadow in the 'angle at the edge' style Blake and Nora seem to prefer, and a little sparkly snowflake that pulses through different shades of white and blue emblazoned on her cheek. "These are fun," she admits with a grin as she sits up and then stands.\n\n"Good work, guys, you're looking Makarzian for sure. You look right, now let's get deadly," you add as you lead the way over to the weapons racks. "Take what you think you'll need, but let's not go absolutely crazy. Once we get a bit settled you can always see about also-a-gunning your stuff or whatever."\n\nYou watch Blake pick up a handle that looks like an oversized switchblade, pressing the lever on the back and causing it to extend a full-length ninjato blade. Apparently deciding that's her style, she moves on to picking up a slightly bulky handgun, mostly in being longer and wider top-to-bottom than the usual. "These are conventional ammo?"\n\n"Yeah, for that get the repliammo kind if you can, they don't run out. They're not as fancy usually as stuff that needs reloads but you don't always need a bullet with someone else's name on it, a couple of hundred labeled 'Occupant' will do," you note dryly as she checks the full-auto weapon over, including raising it to activate the triple-dot lasersight.\n\nYang fastens a pair of retractable stun-charged brass knuckles onto her left hand, then picks up a short-barreled semiauto shotgun, taking out the basic repliammo magazine and eyeing it curiously before replacing it, then glancing around at the other magazines available. Ruby's moved behind the counter, taking down one rifle after the other and eyeing it before putting it back, finally settling on a sleek red-bodied one with two barrels one over the other, which you can't help but think is probably because of its vague resemblance to Crescent Rose, albeit with several strips of pulsing LEDs running up the sides. "Here," you add to her, tossing her a retractable staff for her melee needs once she's fitted herself with the mag-strap across the chest and put the rifle on her back.\n\nIlia, as you figured she might, has hooked a coiled electro-whip at one hip, and sheathed one of the switchblade ninjatos at her other thigh. You join Weiss at the sword racks, picking yourself out a new katana and a grav-sheathe, settling it at your back under your coat as she continues to eye the selection... mostly katanas, ninjatos, and a few longswords and such. Alas, not a rapier in sight. "Here, babe," you offer after a moment, picking up a particularly slender-bladed ninjato in a sleek white sheath, obviously intended for looking vaguely like a cane-style accessory. "I think this is as close as you're going to get."\n\n"I think you're right," she agrees with a sigh, fastening it into some straps inside her coat that were apparently meant for just such a weapon. She blinks as you step close, her cheeks coloring a bit again as you lift her coat. "Um, Kai..."\n\n"Not that your ass doesn't look amazing in these, snowbird," you murmur to her warmly, before placing the gravholster of the slender little silver-bodied pistol against her lower back. "But here. I know it's not your usual style, but there's no Dust here, and you'll need range at some point."\n\n"Mmf. I suppose you're right," she murmurs as you drop the coat, squirming a little as she gets used to the feeling of the sheath just adhering right against her skin. Then she blushes again. "... Does it really look that good?"\n\n"Absolutely." Grinning at her, you look back at the others, Ruby and Yang currently loading up on ammo, Ruby having fastened on a pair of ammo pouch belts slung across her middle. You also hand Weiss the more typical straight-out switchblade you picked out for her, a particularly slender, pretty little thing, before continuing. "Okay, guys, gear up on visual scanners, medpacks, and anything else you think you'll need, then grab some bags and put anything of your old stuff you wanna keep in 'em, we'll leave 'em with Cammy when we pick up our first job." You cardswipe the back case with the cigarettes, stims, and other over-the-counter and grey-legal narcotics in it, plucking out a few packs of smokes. None of your preferred brand here, tch. You also grab a few emergency doses of the stims and narcotics... and quirk an eyebrow when Yang steps up and plucks a pack of smokes down as well. "Really?"\n\n"Hey, strawberry-flavored," she answers, showing you the pack before tucking it into her pocket, snagging a golden plasma lighter off the counter as well. "May as well give it a try, like I said, 'when in Vacuo'."\n\n"Just don't blame me if Blake gives you shit." Taking a minute to switch your boots out for a newer, almost identical pair albeit with glowing silver laces, you flip your ponytail forward and pull up your hood. "We ready?"\n\n"Well, we all look like the Mistralian and Vacuan underworlds exploded all over us at once, so I guess so," Weiss answers with a grin, hefting the shoulder bag with her old dress and shoes in it.\n\n"Alright, let's get this show on the road, then." As you close up the door of the shop, you access Ilia's hub and then a few others to make sure you're linked up right. Cammy?\n\nKai, Niobe told me you were back and would be calling. I'm glad you're back, we could use you.\n\nWow, that was dangerously close to sincerity, Cam, you feeling okay?\n\nHaaaa. I won't let it happen again. You ready to get to work?\n\nNo time like the present.\n\nMeet me on 257th and Jhonen, I'll hand it to you in person.\n\nYou make your way to the meeting point, Team RWBY following along, still looking around a bit tourist-y style, but not standing out nearly so badly now. Ilia seems to have settled back into the Makarzian streets just as well as you have. Is it weird that the only reason I'm uncomfortable is that I'm not more uncomfortable? she sends to you wryly after a moment.\n\nNo, I getcha. This place settles on you like a pair of sweat-slimy old boots. Gross but familiar and fitting.\n\nThat is a disgustingly perfect way to describe this place. I can't get over the fact that I'm actually a little glad to be back here.\n\nSame. I was getting to like it real well on Remnant, but this... this I know how to handle. Being in debt, basically, and working to meet it... I can do that all damn day, as opposed to saving the damn world. This is the weirdest vacation I ever thought of, but damn if it doesn't feel like one.\n\nAs you approach the intersection, Cammy slips out of the shadows of an alley and approaches. "Kai. This is your new crew that Niobe mentioned?"\n\n"Yeah. You know Ilia. This is Ruby Rose, her sister Yang Xiao Long, Blake Belladonna, and that's my girl, Weiss Schnee," you add with a grin as you point each one out. "So be fuckin' nice."\n\n"I'm always fuckin' nice," she replies breezily, the casual profanity almost as welcoming as the smelly, damp streets are. "They're good?"\n\n"Combat maniacs. But not stone colds. Let's steer clear of straight-out wetwork and that sort of shit, Cam, not really my style anymore."\n\n"Understood. This shouldn't be that. We've got a contract from multiple gangs... the Geneslicers are the go-to for intergang work now that we're the only ones with safe haven." Cammy takes out a comm and projects an image of a section of streets. "The Street Demons have deployed a group of motodrones along this corridor here... one of the main arteries into Tailtown, just-so-coincidentally," she adds dryly. "It's made travel from Syndicate, Dragon, and Transcendant territory incredibly dangerous, since the motodrones go after anything carrying a gang member. We don't even know how they ID it, but these are high-end bots, I'm guessing someone loaded them with a database of known gang members."\n\n"And since the motodrones don't attack civvies or cops, the cops don't give a shit about clearing them out," you confirm.\n\n"Correct. We need this passage opened back up, not just to get gang business flowing back to Tailtown, but to get our business flowing back out. You take out the motodrones, I'll pay you a bounty on each one."\n\nYou nod, then ask the obvious question. "They got a director?"\n\n"Yes. Is that going to be a problem, considering?"\n\n"No. Speederbikes?" \n\n"In there," she says with a nod of the head towards a nearby roll-shuttered garage, passing you a keycard. \n\n"Thanks Cam. Could you keep this stuff safe for us?" you ask, gesturing for the others to drop their bags.\n\n"No problem. The Down Boy is home base these days, including the apartments above it. I'll assign a couple to you guys and put your stuff there, ask Buzz for keycards when you get back."\n\n"You're the best, babe," you assure her, firing her a fingergun before heading towards the garage.\n\n"We'll she's very... ... curved. In places," Weiss says a bit stiffly.\n\n"Cam only likes guys, Weiss," you assure her with a grin. 'When she's sober,' you add silently to yourself as you swipe the card, the garage door rolling up to reveal a trio of fairly basic speederbikes that nevertheless look like they've been modded for increased speed and stability. "Alright, let's double-up. Yang, Ilia, you drive, Ruby and Blake, you're riding bi-" You clear your throat. "Behind. Weiss, with me. Front concentrates on driving, back concentrates on taking out the motodrones."\n\n"And those are?" Yang asks as she approaches one of the bikes, her expression one of mingled interest and dubiousness.\n\n"You'll know 'em when you see 'em, I don't have any doubt." You swing astride the middle one, scooping up a helmet from the floor and passing it to Weiss, Yang putting hers on while Blake extends the one built into her jacket, Ilia similarly passing the sole one beside her bike to Ruby.\n\n"Shouldn't you have one of these too?" Weiss fusses as she eyes the helmet.\n\n"I rode without even when I didn't have a magic soul forcefield, I'll be fine. Now... the motodrones will have one actual person with them giving them direction," you note as you start firing up the bike's ignition sequence, Ilia doing the same, Yang taking only a second longer to figure hers out. "Leave that one to me. You should be able to tell them apart, but I'll point them out via psycomm anyway."\n\n"When you say 'leave that one to you'," Blake says slowly.\n\n"I mean I'll kill him." You start the bike fully, revving it lightly. "The drones are just AIs, not sentient, so don't worry about destroying them, it's just like killing Grimm. I'll do the actual person." You glance back and forth. "You guys ready?"\n\n"... Yeah," Yang says after a moment, flipping the visor of her helmet down, voice coming out modulated slightly over the built-in speakers once she does. "Ready."\n\n"Let's go." Ilia agrees, giving her bike a rev too.\n\nYou open the throttle and lead the way out of the garage, heading for the 'corridor', a long bridge over a tectonic collapse chasm that opened up in some new building construction a century ago. Even if you survived the fall off of it, you'd wind up in the Dark... people usually don't come back from going much further than the very most surface level of the Dark. Alright, if Cammy's right, then me and Ilia are definitely in these thing's databases, you send to the others, Ilia pulling up a bit alongside you, anticipating your next order. So Yang, hang back a little, let the motodrones close in on us some, then Blake'll have first shot from behind.\n\nGot it.\n\nKai, Weiss sends directly to you. Are you really... okay... with this?\n\nYou glance briefly over your shoulder before focusing on the road ahead. Yeah. I am. It's what I need to do to get us all home, snowbird. Back to our real home. ... I'll understand if you can't accept that.\n\n... I'm not sure, she admits after a few seconds of nothing but the roar of bike engines and the whipping of wind to fill the silence. If I'm honest, I'm not sure. I'd accepted completely that you used to do... things like that. But I thought it was behind you.\n\nSo did I. But for the next few months at least, you're gonna get to see the old me. The Makarzia me, not the Remnant me. And like I said... if you can't love the Remnant me after seeing the Makarzia me, I'll understand it. Just the way things are.\n\nWeiss sends nothing back to that, apparently turning it over in her head.\n\nThe bridge and the chasm both soon come into view, a good ten miles of wide road with multiple lanes on either side, stretching across a dark gap in the city, only vaguely visible sewer lines and hints of other buildings and supports visible along the sides of it. It's essentially deserted... at this time of night there's not a lot of legitimate civilian traffic, and even if the motodrones don't attack them, the potential to be witness (or collateral damage) to a gangfight is probably making a lot of them take the long way around if they have to go to connected parts of the city. Here we go, you send to the group as you and Ilia hit the bridge entrance, starting up the slight upward slope of it.\n\n[[Music|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBvViQnjRk4]]\n\nAlmost instantly there's a roar from the alleys near the start of the bridge that you just passed, and in a flash at least a dozen bright, shiny speederbikes race out of the shadows, low with wide, overtextured tires to grip the streets in any weather and provide maximum traction for their overtorqued engines. Almost all of them are mounted by silvery humanoid figures that look like they might actually be attached to the bikes, their heads largely featureless save for glowing red T-shaped sensor bands on the fronts of their helmet-like heads, and bull-like silver horns rising from the sides. And there's our director, you think with a quick glance over your shoulder, spotting one of the bikes being ridden by a more distinctly-shaped figure wearing silvery motorcycle leathers and a helmet designed to look like the heads of his drones. Like I said, leave 'im to me. Ilia, let's lead them on a bit and spread them out. The moment Blake opens up the director will add her and Yang to these thing's target databases so I want to give her a chance to get as many as she can in that first salvo.\n\nGot it, she responds, opening her throttle a little more and then angling off to one side, you sliding across into the oncoming lane with a little lurch over the pathetically low concrete divider. The drones start spreading out, dividing up into two not-quite-distinct groups to pursue you, the tops of their forearms lifting to display gun barrels.\n\nAlright. Wait for it. Wait for it. This one that's coming up on me... You turn your head just a bit, calmly watching the gleaming robotic devil start to draw even with you, raising its gun arm to point at your head. Light 'em up, Blake.\n\nInstantly a chatter of 9mm rounds sounds, impacting the drone's back in such quick succession that it's torn apart despite its armored shell, a gout of electricity and then fire consuming it as it twists aside and then lays down, bursting into an even large gout of flame as both bike and drone explode. You see the director's head whip to the side, yanking his own bike slightly as he realizes he got too focused on the sensor feedback from his drones, all of them having a moment of reactionless riding that your crew takes advantage of, Ilia cutting throttle and dropping back between the two that had been trying to flank her, Ruby firing past her, putting rounds through the head of one drone and the wheelbase of the other's back tire, shredding it and laying down the drone. Blake takes out two more from behind and fires a burst into the downed drone as they pass it, in the first few opening moments cutting down the numbers significantly.\n\nUnfortunately it's not all good news. Kai, this is Jita, I'm in one of the buildings on our side of the Corridor. Looks like the director just summoned the drones from the other side of the bridge too, you've got more baddies inbound.\n\nGot it, thanks. Guys we've got more drones coming from ahead, keep spread out, don't let them push us together or try to force us to lay it down, you send to the group after thanking Jita. You're in focus mode now, all business, not even flinching as Weiss unsheaths her new sword and swings it up over your head, angling it out and to the side. Let's open throttle and focus on making a hole in the oncoming, we don't wanna get pinned in, you add as you increase speed, Yang and Ilia's bikes drawing even with yours. As you spot the line of drones coming from ahead, you can see they've done about what you expected... formed into a fairly tight straight line across almost the entire bridge. The director's figuring if he has to, he'll sacrifice a few more drones if it forces you to lay it down by playing chicken. You're guessing his bike or the drones have commscramblers in them, and he thinks that without coordination he can pick off a few of you. Too bad the Street Demons still apparently haven't figured out you're using psycomms. \n\nBlake and Ruby open fire, calmly taking out part of the line ahead and opening up spaces. Weiss swings the thin sword forward and sends Kai, get ready, before forming a black glyph in front of the drone coming right at you. It hits it, the bike thudding to a halt and sending the drone hurling forward, trailing wires from its severed connections and flailing. You juke out of the way, tires squealing and bike tilting, as the drone winds up whirling past you and smashing into one of its brethren behind you, both consumed in the small ensuing explosion as the glyph fades and you zip through the space where it was.\n\nHis control's going janky, reaction time's down with even less drones, what Weiss just did confused the shit out of him, you think with a smirk. Let's freak him out a little more. Ruby, Blake... switch with each other. And make it showy.\n\nYou can practically feel Ruby's smile over the psycomms as the two of them carefully rise to their feet on the back of the moving motorcycles and then flip into the air, Ruby twisting and whirling into a flurry of cloth and rose petals, Blake creating a shadow duplicate in midair to land on the back of and flip around, both of them landing facing backwards. Several of the motodrones come close to laying it down as the director almost does the same, the only thing saving them their bikes' wide, heavy tires. Both of them now having a much better firing position, Ruby leans against her sister's back and starts firing precise shots, taking out drones with impacts to the helmet or bike engines, Blake just taking your advice and putting a lot of bullets in the air in the direction of specific targets until they go away. Weiss has to turn a bit more to gesture with her sword, but out of the corner of your eye you see her create an angled white glyph, one of the drones hitting it and accelerating out of control into the air, tumbling over the side and disappearing into the Dark.\n\nBut the director is apparently a canny sort. He knows he's losing drones, but looks like he's also picked you out as his counterpart. Forming up a wedge of his remaining drones, he pushes forward towards you, obviously intending to draw even. Your swear lost to the whipping wind, you yank the heavy pistol you picked out back at the shop from inside your jacket and get it ready. Weiss tilts and manages to jab her sword into an open section beneath the arm of the motodrone between you and the director as it tries to edge into you, hitting something either vital or causing a reaction that makes it brake and twist, laying down and exploding. You whip up your gun, but the director's already got his in position and fires first.\n\nThe bullet slams the gun out of your hand and tears through your palm, crimson light flashing across your skin and sparkling away from you in a thousand embers, the projectle ripping through your forearm and coming out just below your elbow, the hole in your new jacket spraying blood across the front of Weiss's helmet. "FUCK!" you howl in pain as your arm drops, even as you fight with all your strength and will to keep from laying the bike down, wobbling it back and forth to try and bleed off the momentum from the reflexive yank you couldn't help but give. \n\nThere's another rifle shot, and the director's front bike tire shreds, the helmeted man half-launched over the front and just barely tucking into a practiced roll to keep more of his bones from breaking than necessary. You similarly manage to get your bike under control enough that you can sort of gently lay it down, half-tumbling off and thudding with your back against the side barrier, grimacing and gripping your upper arm tightly, Weiss yanking her helmet off as she drops to your side. "Kai!" \n\n"I'm okay," you grit out, despite your next word being, "Medkit, jacket pocket, you gotta clamp the artery," as you shrug your coat off.\n\nAs Weiss is hurriedly yanking the kit out, Yang and Ilia are wheeling around, having finished off the few remaining drones, Blake slamming a foot to the director's chest to pin him down as the others rush over.\n\n"Nnnnh, fuck," you groan as Weiss follows the directions of spraying the disinfectant into the upper bullet wound, trying to control the trembling of her fingers as she gets out the small clamp on its extender.\n\n"Here, I'll do it," Ilia says quickly, gently pushing Weiss aside and taking the clip.\n\nYang lets her helmet drop heavily to the road surface, staring at your arm, her golden fingers twitching several times. Her purple eyes stay fixed on you, at the bleeding mess of your palm, until she turns and strides back towards the director, hauling the shotgun off her back. Pushing Blake out of the way, she takes her partner's place pinning him to the street by the chest.\n\nThen she swings the gun down to point at the front of his helmet and fires.\n\nRepeatedly.\n\nYou stare at what's happening, not really understanding until it's done, as do most of the others, save Ilia whose focus is entirely on your arm. Only in the silence after the reports have faded do tears slide down your cheeks. "Dragon forgive... god dammit, Yang, I told you to let me do it," you rasp, then wince as Ilia sprays disinfectant sealant on your palm.\n\n"I don't see that it much matters who pulls the trigger, if we were all in on it," Yang says coolly as she tucks the still lightly smoking shotgun back into place on her back. "And just then I was pretty okay with it being me."\n\nKai, you okay? You look downed.\n\nI'm pretty busted up, Jita. Drones are down... can you get someone out here for us? you send back, starting to feel disconnected from even thinking words, the haze of pain mingled with the fuzz of local painkillers weaving through your brain.\n\nI'll grab my van and be there in a few.\n\n-\n\n"Well..." The lenses of the doctor's goggle-like eye replacements whir and twirl gently as she gazes at the wound, no longer gushing blood, in part due to the long, multipurpose robotic limbs attached to her back through openings in her white full-length smock. A sub-limb coming off one of the main ones, a tiny thing tipped with a grasper, wipes gauze across her forehead, brushing away prematurely white hair. "I-I hate to say this," she continues, voice scratchy with the small, not particularly high-end speaker implant she's enhanced her voicebox with. "But it would really be b-b-better if you let me take it off."\n\n"Shit, was afraid of that," you mutter, looking down, the cyborg doctor wincing a little at the words. "That my only option for full function?"\n\n"N-no, N-N-Niobe's gotten this place pretty stocked," she continues, the corner of her mouth flicking involuntarily to the side. "I could p-p-probably operate to repair some of the damage, and do an encasement on it while it h-heals. You wouldn't have quite full function for awhile, couple of w-weeks at least, b-b-b-b-but your other option is replacement with a c-c-c-cyberlimb that'll put you back at f-full f-function right aw-w-way."\n\n"You okay, Twitch?" you ask with a worried frown, finding yourself a bit more concerned with the amount of stuttering the back alley medisurgeon is doing.\n\n"... Y-you'd normally g-g-g-g-g-get super mad if I said th-this," she murmurs, cybernetic eyes staying fixed on your wounds.\n\n... Oh. Yeah. You probably would have been incredibly pissed off if this had happened to you two months ago. Not really pissed off at Twitch, but you might not have had the emotional control necessary to draw the distinction, at least not to her.\n\nBut then again, two months ago, you'd have been alone. You'd have been paying Twitch out of your own pocket, and probably not even able to afford a cyberlimb or an encasement. Or if she did have to amputate, the old man might, might have paid for the cheapest, shoddiest prosthetic he could find that would maybe technically give you function again. And after that, you'd have still been on your own... out in the cold, no one to help you through it.\n\n"Hey, Twitch?" you say gently, waiting for her to look up at you, then smiling a little at her. "It's okay. I'm okay. Thanks. For this... and for all the help over the years. Okay?"\n\n"... You're w-welcome," she stammers back, seeming half flattered, half confused.\n\nYou turn it over for a few moments, then decide to assume that even after the traumatic experience, you can rely on your friends. "Fix me up and put the encasement on. I'll take a couple weeks of less than perfect trigger pulls."\n\n"Got it."\n\nThankfully, Twitch becoming Niobe's house medisurgeon apparently comes with the benefit of the really good conk-drugs. One second she's injecting you, the next you're waking up with very little sleepy-hangover, sitting up and looking down at your arm. From just above the elbow to your fingertips it's completely encased in shiny black latex-like material, fitted with a gleaming silver appliance on the back of the hand and a series of them running along the top of your arm. "Hey, nice encasement work, Twitch," you say sincerely, flexing your fingers a few times. "No pain and I can actually use a sword."\n\n"Th-the more you take it easy the faster it'll h-heal. Don't push it too much and it'll be th-that three weeks and not t-two months."\n\n"Do my best." You swing off the table, then lean in to wrap your left arm around her and give her a gentle hug. "Good work. What do I owe you on this?"\n\n"Oh, oh, oh, um, uh," Twitch stammers, obviously surprised by the hug, but also seeming rather pleased. "N-nothing, Niobe says y-you're Geneslicer, and none of them pays for m-med treatment h-here."\n\n"Bonus. Thanks again." Grabbing your jacket off the hook by the door, you take a moment to eye the bullet hole, deciding to see if Niobe also has a mender on call in the building. Nice jacket, you just got it, shame to ditch it for one bullet hole. You walk out into the hall, finding Ilia and RWBY either leaning against the walls or not-quite-sitting on the floor, all of them looking worried as they turn their faces towards you.\n\n"Goddammit I knew it!" Yang half-roars as she whirls away, slamming a fist against the wall.\n\n"Wha? Whoa whoa whoa, Yang, calm down," you urge, reaching a hand out. Oop, maybe that's making it worse. You hurry to add, "It's okay, this isn't a prosthetic, it's just applied over my actual arm."\n\n"W-wha?" she says, turning back to you, watching as Weiss gingerly touches her fingertips to the shiny black.\n\n"Twitch did say she might have had to otherwise, but Niobe's got good stuff here... a bit of surgery and I wear this for awhile, my arm will be back to full function eventually. It's okay."\n\n"Dust... nearly gave me a heart attack," the blonde mutters, slumping against the wall.\n\n"Sorry," you say dryly, glancing at Weiss, whose red eyes and damp cheeks say she's been crying. "Sorry, snowbird, I should've given you a send while I was still in there, I just wasn't thinking clear."\n\n"It's okay," she whispers. "I'm just glad you're alright."\n\n"Yeah." You glance around at the others. "You guys alright though? With... what happened?"\n\nTeam RWBY is quiet for a few moments, before Ruby says, "Niobe came by a bit ago to see how you were doing. She told us about these Street Demons, about what they do, about how many people they've killed... including the ones who were just... ... there when it happened," she says softly. "And... I think maybe there's not really anything else we can do. If we try to fight them, they're going to try to kill us... that bullet went right through your Aura, if he'd hit somewhere else... ... we'd have lost you. And people like this... they need to be fought. Whether it's for money doing jobs, or... just because. So if that's what it takes..." She takes a deep breath, then nods. "We're ready to do it."\n\nYou're not sure if this is a step forward for your friends... or a step down. Maybe both. You definitely feel like a little something has been lost here... ... but maybe it's the part of someone that people lose when they start to really grow up. At least, grow up into the world you've always known. "Alright then. If that's how you feel, that's how we'll handle this. Nnf," you add, feeling one knee go a little weak, Weiss quickly propping you up on that side. "... Thanks, snowbird. Guess I can't shrug off getting shot and having surgery like I used to five years ago, sucks getting old eh?" you say dryly.\n\n"Niobe said we've got rooms waiting for us upstairs," Ilia says, proffering a keycard to you. "We should probably all get some sleep, huh?"\n\n"Yeah, a day that's stretched across two worlds," you snort, taking the card. "Let's head up, what floor?"\n\n"Ten. No upstairs neighbors," Ilia adds with a relieved tone.\n\nAll of you head up in the elevator, which is in decent shape for a non-corp Makarzian building, spreading out in the hallway and tapping cards to doors. You glance over as Weiss follows you into yours. "Not get your own room?"\n\n"I told Niobe I didn't need one," Weiss answers softly, eyes a bit downcast. "If that's okay with you."\n\n"... It's great by me, snowbird," you answer with a bit of a grin, though you step over and rub her shoulders. "You okay?"\n\n"I'm just... still processing everything, I think," she says with a shake of the head, drawing away a little and shrugging out of her new coat to hang it up. "I'll be alright."\n\nYou nod slowly, hanging up your own jacket. "Why don't you get settled, snowbird. I'll root around in the kitchen and see what we've got."\n\nThe apartment is set up like a lot of those of genemods you've been in before. Not a lot of clutter, lots of open lines of sight, a few carefully-arranged places to drop and conceal. It's studio, almost all one room, the bed low, not quite 'mattress on the floor' since it's got a box around it and the mattress is covered with sheets and has pillows, but closer to 'sleeping on the ground' for people that have done so for most of their lives. The couch and coffee table are decently sized though, and sturdy... both probably capable of soaking at least a handful of bullets. As Weiss sits down on the couch and unzips her boots, revealing the white stockings she's wearing beneath, you open the fridge in the small, basic kitchen and rummage. Beer, you were expecting that, a few bagged quickmeals, a thing of actual lunchmeat. Honestly not that off from what used to be in the fridge at the old man's place, at least on a good day, and hey here the beer is yours. But instead you focus on the unmarked bottles of water, plucking out two. No one on Makarzia but the most desperate would think of drinking unfiltered faucet water.\n\n"Here," you say as you sit down by Weiss, proffering her one of the bottles. "Oh, yeah, and don't drink the faucet water without filtering it or boiling it, I think I saw a pitcher on the counter."\n\n"Okay," she says quietly, accepting the bottle and unscrewing the cap.\n\n"... Um, listen, Weiss, honey," you murmur, settling back and glancing aside, at the flashes of neon leaking in around the heavy blinds over the windows. "I know when I said I couldn't give you much, and you said it was okay, I don't think either of us was ever really thinking of... this. I'm sorry, it's only for awhile... we can make this place a little nicer, too, it shouldn't take too many credits to... spruce it up some."\n\n"It's not that," Weiss says with a sigh, shaking her head. Then she grins ruefully and glances around. "I mean I do hate it just a little, but I'll get used to it. And this whole city, this... world... is so alien to me," she continues. "I feel like more of an outsider than I've ever been. I kind of hate even more that we ever said-"\n\n"Don't start that again, I'm begging you," you mutter, pressing your water bottle to your forehead.\n\n"... What's upsetting me is what happened earlier. I'm just... having a hard time settling from it," Weiss goes on after a minute. "When that gun went off, and the blood sprayed on me and the bike lurched, I was more terrified than I've ever been. Except I wasn't thinking about myself, or what would happen if we crashed... the only thought in my mind was that I thought you might be dead." She takes a deep breath and lets it out. "And that terrified me down to my very soul. And I'm just... having trouble... ... settling."\n\n"I'm sorry, snowbird," you murmur, setting down your water and drawing her in against you, pressing your face against her hair. "I'm so sorry."\n\nShe presses close, her head tilting, her lips coming to meet yours desperate, hurting... needing. You can feel the shift in her body against you even before her tongue presses against your lips, pushes inside your mouth, strokes over yours, making you gasp with both shock and arousal before drawing back a little. "Weiss?"\n\n"Whatever else it did, it got me right the hell past any other feelings," she whispers back, blue eyes opening, full of heat, full of need, practically begging you with the desire in them. "Please... make love to me," she adds in an urgent whisper as she moves in to kiss you deeply.\n\n<hr>\n[[Take her.|KaiWeiss1x5]]\n\n[[Gently push her away.|KaiWeiss]]

[[Music|https://youtu.be/HB1yrXJPxVw]]\n\nYou grab her and pull her close, pressing yourself into the kiss hard, feeling her shiver against you in reaction, for a brief instant hesitating that it might be fear, but then her moan fills your mouth and you know it's need.\n\nA dam bursts inside you. You heft Weiss into her arms and pick her up, half-dropping her onto the floor-level mattress, instantly on top of her, kissing her, pressing your body over hers, pinning her beneath you. Your hands find those slender wrists, seeming so delicate, so perfect, completely enclosing them, drawing them over her head to press them against the supporting foam through the sheets. Your body rocks down against hers, wanting her to gasp into your mouth, wanting her to moan at the feeling of you taking her, dominating her. You break the kiss, your head darting down, lips fastening to that slender throat, kissing hard, reveling in her gasps as you mark that perfect white skin with red, the marks of your passion. Your claim. Your snowbird. Your girl. Yours to take.\n\nYours to defile.\n\nBecause some part of you that you can no longer deny has always wanted this. This perfect, enchanting creature of pure elegance and refinement that has claimed your heart and soul, not lit in warm sunset's hue or gentle moon's glow, taken from her place, brought into yours. On cheap sheets, the glow of neon lighting her trim breasts as you push up the skimpy streetwalker's top, the sound of slick acid rain smacking the windows mingling with her moans as you suck one delicate pink nipple into your mouth to suck roughly. To drag her down to your level. Bring her into your world. And take her there, make her yours. Mark her, claim her. Dirty her. Make her a part of the same world that will always be as indelibly engraved on your heart the same way she is.\n\n"Oh god," she gasps out as you grip the whorish little white hotpants, hauling them down roughly and fast, baring her dripping pussy, leaving her in nothing but the pushed-up shirt and the cheap synthweave stockings, legs that should be clad in silk spreading for you as your hand slips between them, back arching away from the similarly rough, common blanket beneath them at your touch, her head tossing, those sweet, perfectly-bred lips clad in half-credit lipstick parted in her moans. "Kai... I love you...!"\n\nAnd you love her. From the very depths of your soul, from a place you never knew you really had, from every single part of you, you love her.\n\nBut that's not what you want to hear her say.\n\nYou roll your tongue across her breasts in long, lewd licks, letting her feel your saliva on her skin, the heat of it, the absolute animal need of your desire expressed with every touch, every stroke. Weiss's moans shudder, a few catching in her throat as you bite gently at the stiff nubs of her nipples, drag your teeth over the areola, trying to urge them to turn into thick, puffy caps suitable for sating your oral lusts on. You slide a hand along her inner thigh, making her feel how she's spread herself, shown herself, then slide that hand up her quivering belly, squeeze one of those small pert breasts, making her whimper a bit. Your hand brushes her collar bone, lingers on her throat, just long enough to let her feel it, the power, the control, your need to take her, to claim her, before it slides up, stroking her cheek, your thumb sliding around her lips, smearing the cheap makeup.\n\n"Kai," she groans, turning her head, her tongue lolling over your thumb, her lips closing briefly around it to suck before she hisses out, "Fuck me."\n\nYes. That's what you wanted to hear.\n\n'Mine,' the harsh, greedy, selfish, Makarzian part of you snarls gleefully as you shed the shirt, the shorts, peel off the bodysuit in quick yanks, and press down over her again, bare skin pressing to hers, breasts grinding down on her own. Your thigh presses up between her legs, pressing against what on Remnant would have been a soft, sweet sex, and here is just a wet, needy cunt, grinding in against her, letting your own sodden cunt drag along that slender thigh of her own, soak into the cheap stocking. Let her know that every time she pulls on those stockings, again and again and again, she's touching your pussy again. 'Mine. My Weiss. My snowbird. My love. My girl. My bitch. My whore,' you growl bestially in your mind, your latex-clad hand turning her head away so you can drag your tongue along her throat. 'Mine, mine, mine.'\n\nYours, forever and ever. Get some Makarzia in her, it will be in her forever. And you're part of Makarzia... never, ever let her shed you again. Take her. Claim her. Make her yours.\n\nAnd then you stop thinking entirely. It is all bare need, base animal instinct, sucking at that sweet white skin, leaving it marked like any common easy girl, your hands dragging across her body, sliding fingers into her mouth to feel her tongue swirl around them, just as eager and thoughtless and dirty as you are now. You push those fingers into her, thumb her clit, make her cum, making her cum and shriek and yowl like an animal, your animal, an animal just like you. Press your pussy to her mouth, leave that beautiful, aristocratic face gleaming with your arousal as she licks you as if you'd overpaid her, those soft, delicate hands dragging along your back, perfectly manicured nails leaving scratches in your skin, gripping your ass like she was deciding how much to pay you. Your tongue on her cunt, claiming her, shamelessly diving to her pucker, making her roll her eyes, making that beautiful face that's adorned album covers played in ritzy restaurants curl in a brainless smile, eyes that have gazed out at rapt crowds of wealthy patrons rolling up in her head with the sheer pleasure of a tongue in her ass.\n\nYours. Yours. Yours. All yours. Never the world's again. Never Remnant's again. Yours.\n\nIn the after, your head begins to cool. You begin to come to yourself again. Weiss is tucked in against you, you pressed up against her back, your arms still wrapped around her possessively. Your lips drifting in softer kisses across her hair, those new braids, her ear, her jaw. Your eyes wander to the wide assortment of hickeys you've left all across her neck and shoulders, her inner thighs soaked, her body glistening with sweat. "I... kind of got carried away," you admit softly, starting to feel ashamed as you kiss her ear. "Especially for a first time. You okay?"\n\n"... Whew," Weiss says, with a soft, slightly shaky laugh. "It was certainly much. But... oh god, I don't think I'd have traded that for anything. You hit me like a force of nature... I feel like... I've been standing naked in a thunderstorm, lightning crashing around me and the rain pelting every part of my body." \n\nYou can't help but laugh just a little yourself. "Is that good or bad?"\n\nShe's silent for a moment, then scoots around to face you. "It's very unexpected... but good. I... liked it, very much. It was absolutely nothing like I expected for my first time, but... I think that made it better somehow?" She blushes, just a little... and then slowly her smile turns sultry.\n\nAnd you find her rolling you onto your back, moving to straddle your belly, rising above you in the slow pulse of the neon light, the blinds having rolled up at some point, the colored glow flickering across her features as it's distorted by the rain striking on the glass. "Kai," she says slowly, warmly, as she finally peels the shirt up and over her head, tossing it away. She caresses her hands across your collarbone, over the rise of your breasts. "Did you want to make me... dirty?"\n\nA shiver runs through you. You can't find the words to reply.\n\n"Because you made me feel... dirty," she murmurs, dipping down, kissing across the line of your collarbone, and then pressing her lips to suck. Hard. You hiss softly as she draws out color on your skin, her lips sliding along, drifting over your skin, and then the light brush of her teeth. Her hands stroke gently down your sides... and then her nails are pressing in, those blazing icy eyes fixed on your face as her mouth moves steadily towards one of your nipples. "And I liked it."\n\nAnd then her mouth is closing on you, her hand sliding along your belly, down, pushing fingers into you, that other perfect, delicate, dirty hand sliding over your throat, pressing, gentle but firm, claiming.\n\nHers. Her Kai Sterling. Her Huntress. Her no-account street punk. Her bitch. Her whore.\n\nHer Makarzia.\n\nYou wind up sleeping most of the day through. Days are for the normal people on Makarzia. The people who dress in t-shirts, jackets, slacks, who go about their business working the upright bodegas and media shops and data entry jobs and all those things that cities need to keep functioning. You awaken in the mid-afternoon, the light already starting to dim a little through the smog haze, those people already starting to get ready to go home, to turn the streets over to your people, the bodegas getting ready to set out racks of switchblades and stims and load the shotgun under the counter. Weiss is still asleep, so you spend a few moments just naked and looking out the window, gazing down at the streets below, the buildings around.\n\nHome.\n\nYou take a cold shower... not through any choice of yours... and return to find Weiss waking and grumbling. You urge one of last night's water bottles on her, watching her drain it while not having quite awoken fully before nudging her towards the bathroom. You find a place to hang up the towel, pausing to grin ruefully as you hear a half-familiar yelp from the bathroom... yeah, that's the 'not used to an icy shower' yelp. You eye your clothes for a moment before deciding the bodysuit was never that great of an idea. You notice there's already a wardrobe and rummage through it. Oh hey, pants. You pull on a pair of many-pocketed black pants that wind up fitting you fairly snugly (may have to take a moment to buy some panties sometime) and, after brief consideration, use a knife to hack off the bodysuit at a few inches below the chest, leaving it a bit tattered and ragged as you pull it on as a top and put the tanktop on over it. Yup, there, much better. \n\n"Did you use up all the hot water?" Weiss grouses as she emerges, shivering, wrapped in a towel.\n\n"There isn't any. Or it was all gone long before I got there. Sorry snowbird," you reply, pecking her forehead. "I'll take a look at the building's hot water heater when I get a chance, okay? Mm, let's put something on those," you add, blushing just a little as you brush a thumb over one of the hickeys, then head over to your jacket to rummage for a bruise-vanishing cream you snagged at the store.\n\n"Um," Weiss murmurs, blushing a bit herself as you start gently applying the salve, cleaning the marks away like coffee stains on tile. "You... can leave a couple. ... If you want," she finishes sheepishly, ducking her head.\n\n... Okey-dokey! ♥️\n\nEventually you make your way down the hall, pounding on the other doors you saw your crew going in last night. "C'mon, c'mon, up up up! You want food made for decent upright folks that pay their taxes, up and out now, else it's scraps for scalliwags, let's go, let's go!"\n\nYou're far from the only people in night punk attire walking the streets... afternoon is the crossover time. Most of the civvies are used to seeing at least some gangbangers and night creatures out and about, and it's understood among your side of society that when the sun is out, said gangbangers and night creatures are to behave themselves. Even the Street Demons obey that particular little bit of social "nicety", just straight-up not coming out until after dark. \n\nHave fun last night, Weiss? Blake sends in a dry tone, glancing over at her friend.\n\nWhy yes, I did! Weiss proclaims smugly, smirking and lifting her chin a bit to show off the marks on her neck. \n\nYou don't need to show off your hickeys, Weiss, Yang sends with an actual audible snort. The walls aren't that thick, everyone on our floor and the one under it knows how good a time you had.\n\nThat's enough to get Weiss blushing. Though then it's Yang's turn as Ilia snorts and says aloud, "You're one to talk. Or should I say two," she amends, Blake going red as well.\n\nAll of you settle down around a table at a sidewalk cafe that will be converted into an inside-only sake den in a few hours. "Caff and beef all around," you say to the waiter that starts to approach, giving a flick of your hand to indicate the entire table.\n\n"Uh, 'scuse you?" Yang says with a quirked brow.\n\n"You don't want anything else here, trust me. The beef ramen... 'scuse, beef-flavored ramen... is actually decent and cheap and this place does middling coffee which is basically as good as it gets in this part of the sector."\n\n"They have fish ramen, though," Blake mutters in complaint as she eyes the menu lacquered to the table. At you rapping on it and pointing, she looks over to see an aquarium with some rather unidentifiable species of fish swimming lazily in it. A very murky aquarium. "Oh," she mutters, ears laying flat.\n\n"Okay, rules for Makarzia," you explain as the waiter sets down cups and starts pouring out some... blackish liquid. "Skipping over anything of immediate relevance, never kill a cop." Several of the other give nervous looks at the waiter... who hasn't even batted an eye, simply finishing filling your cup and wandering away. "That's rule one and the absolute most important. You can get away with damn near anything else, but do anything to avoid killing a cop. The police leave us the fuck alone as long as we don't basically shove what we're doing in their face and make some efforts to lay low, but kill one and they haul out the big guns. That is heat no one wants. So tied to rule one, rule two, do not call the cops on anyone. Handle it yourself."\n\n"I mean, we're Huntresses, so," Yang says with a shrug and in a rather lackadaisical tone, propping her chin up on her golden palm.\n\n"Alright, less important but still very important rules. No gangbanger bullshit while the sun's out. Talking about it is fine, people are used to that, but we only work after sundown. Makarzia has long damn nights so there's plenty of time to work, don't get tempted to do it in daylight. We don't even have fights in the sun, we settle it after dark. Never drink the tap water without filtering it or boiling it first, just... don't. Do not order the fish, unless you are allowed to see the fish they are going to use and it does not look like that," you continue, pointing both index fingers at the aquarium, and giving the waiter a flat look when he glowers at you while setting down your bowl of beef-flavored broth and noodles. "Y'don't wanna be an example then clean it, y'fuck. Next rule, always expect the coffee to be literally poison," you continue as Ruby takes a mouthful, then almost spits it back out. "Then when it's just 'awful', you can be pleasantly surprised."\n\n"Nice little planet you've brought us to," Blake remarks dryly as she arranges her chopsticks in her hand.\n\n"Your world has monsters made of hate and fear that want to eat you if you get upset and I wanted to move there, what about that makes you think my planet was 'nice'?" You look at her as she bobs her head sheepishly, then continue. "Alright, I'm gonna point out some gangs to you guys so you can know who they are. See those guys over there? Nice suits but kinda lounge lizardy, visible bits of dragon tattoo," you say, gesturing towards a further-off table where a couple of them are eating their own ramen, but drinking beer. "Those are Holy Dragons. They're a Neokuza clan. Neokuza have an image they like to maintain of 'gentlemen gangsters', they have a code based around honor, loyalty, and family. The Holy Dragons are alright for a gang, if you need help and you can't find a Geneslicer, go to one of them. They'll expect something in return, but if you treat them with respect and make it clear you're willing to owe, they'll probably help you out. Especially if you speak a little Mistralian to them, it's close enough to Nipponzi that it will put them in a good mood."\n\n"Those guys over there are what we call Syndicate," Ilia picks up, nodding her head a little towards some guys across the street in much more formally-cut three piece suits in red and black. "They're a gang run by a guy called Horace Allfather. They're super rich and have really great gear. They're also complete jerks so don't ever mess with them if you can help it. But also don't take any crap from them 'cause they're all bullies... you let them push you around and I think they put you on a friggin' list 'cause they'll all do it."\n\n"Huh, reminds me of Junior's guys," Yang murmurs.\n\n"Horace is probably in the doghouse gangwide because he broke rule two not long before I left, besides getting himself in some hot water at an intergang meeting. Normally he's the 800 pound gorilladroid of the gang world but I bet he's having to recover face right now. If we do ever have to deal with him, be direct, don't show weakness, don't challenge him too directly, and don't break your word to him. He's as vengeful as the night is long. Now, okay, over there in the alleyway, kinda slouched, looks like a total space case, glowy interior jacket and vape mask. That's a Transcendant. They're not a fighting gang, all they do is chems... crafting, making, dealing. As a general rule they're pacifists. They follow a philophy that chem use can bring them closer to absolute enlightenment. They also usually have something that will help with wounds, or at least keep you going until you can get to a proper doc."\n\n"Which brings us toooo medical care," Ilia speaks up, seeming rather cheerful to finally have a realm where she has more experience than the rest of her friends. She points to a clinic with her chopsticks. "Those are all over the place, they'll get you fixed up enough to walk out usually, and it's not too expensive. But they also autoreport things like gunshot wounds to the police and one might actually come out, so if it's something like that, avoid them unless you're practically dying."\n\n"Most of your medical care will come from back alley unlicensed medisurgeons of various degrees of competency," you say dryly. "Niobe's pilfered one of the better ones around, Twitch, for her base so we're good on that one."\n\n"Our doctor is named 'Twitch'?" Weiss says, twitching a bit herself.\n\n"She twitches, her cybernetics don't, it's fine. Now, if you can't make it back to the Down Boy and you need a medisurgeon, ask a Transcendant or Dragon, they'll know the nearest one that's not likely to kill you and both will probably point you that direction for free. There's various other gangs, but the only two really relevant ones are people you won't see out just yet... the Freedroids and the SeXXY Bitches, aka the working girls. Freedroids are exactly what they sound like... they're sentient, artificial lifeforms. Their brains are software but they're still pretty much people, and the more you treat them like that the more likely you'll get along with them. They mostly keep to themselves, but the Street Demons have declared war on them as much as anyone else, so they may be more out and about now, especially here in Tailtown since it's safe. Ish. Which is another good note, don't assume that because there's an NAP between the Street Demons and the Geneslicers with regards to Tailtown means that other gangs won't start shit here."\n\n"And I guess the 'working girls' are what they sound like?" Yang says dryly.\n\n"Yup. There used to be two heads of two different factions of streetwalkers, but since one of them gave her life protecting the other one, guessing everyone's reporting to her now," you continue, expressions around the table going a little more solemn. "She's called Pink-neechan, and she's more of a mother hen than a gang leader, but still don't piss her off. She can exert pressure on damn near any other gang leader she wants and make life distinctly uncomfortable for someone that gets on her bad side."\n\n"And how does one do that?" Blake asks, sipping up the last of her broth and clearly trying not to make a face as she does it.\n\n"Mistreating one of her girls, usually. Or boys, but general slang is to just say 'girls'. Conversely, treating the working girls with sincere respect and kindness is a good way to make a friend on Makarzia. Similarly, helping out a working girl when she needs it won't be forgotten."\n\n"What a weird mixture of awful and noble this place is," Weiss says with a sigh, before tossing you a sheepish look.\n\n"Definitely one way to look at it," you simply agree with a chuckle, taking out a fresh pack and tapping one out. "Shit, forgot to take a lighter. Oh, thanks," you say as Yang tosses you the one she took... while taking out her own pack and pulling out a dark pink cigarette.\n\n"Yang, what are you doing?" Blake almost hisses, her ears folding.\n\n"What's it look like, I'm gonna try one of these," she says, accepting the lighter back and puffing a few times. She coughs, but only a little. "I'm fitting in!"\n\n"... Fine but if you're expecting any kissing later you'd better-" She stops, sniffs, then gives the blonde a flat look. "You and strawberries."\n\n"Heheh."\n\nThe six of you loiter about and do a little shopping for necessities... Niobe can't give you the credits to buy a beacon and guest passes, but she's set you up with a living allowance since you're largely on the Geneslicers 'payroll'. Going with a hardpack with a built-in plasma lighter, you tuck that away and all of you buy some sleeping clothes and various toiletries and necessities, as well as stuff for filling out the kitchens like soda and more preferred (long-lasting) food. Shortly after you've finished putting things away, you get a voice in your head. Kid.\n\nNiobe, what's up?\n\nSun's down. Time to get to work. C'mon down to the club, I've got work for you.\n\nCalling for the others, you lead your crew to the main elevator that heads to the ground floor. The club is just barely getting started at the moment, only a few boys out onstage and the only customers actually at the bar, one of them with legit food in front of him. "Hey, this place come with room service now?" you tease as you head towards Niobe's couch-throne.\n\n"Ingratiate yourself to the waiters and cooks and it might," Niobe says dryly, Diore flopped belly-up across her lap, which is relevant since Niobe's currently stroking it with her fingertips. "Everyone, this is Diore, one of my top guys."\n\n"Hey," the mouseboy greets, just a faint hint of color in his cheeks.\n\n"You've got work for us?" you prompt.\n\n"Yeah, this oughtta be good. Horace is asking me for some people to pull off a job he wants done."\n\n"Horace. Asking you," you echo, quirking an eyebrow.\n\n"Yeah, woulda been my reaction too, but seems he's learning to play well with others, or at least act like it. But he wants to pay me to hold the goods from this job in a Geneslicer warehouse here in Tailtown, which means I get to provide the people and he has to pay them. Your driving hasn't gone rusty since the Morningstar job, I hope?"\n\n"It's only been like a month, Niobe," you snort. "Yeah, I can manage if it's a lift job."\n\n"Not one. Six. He wants to steal six cars, all at once, which is why I immediately thought of you and your crew here. How're they on driving?"\n\n"Ah..." Most of you glance at Ruby and Weiss, who glance at each other. "Weeee might need to do some prep before we head over. I assume you've loaded Twitch's little clinic up with dataports and a library of larcenous skill uploads?"\n\n"You bet your ass. Okay, take your girls upstairs and get 'em jacked up, then get over to the Embargo, it's technically in Tailtown so even Horace knows better than to start shit there, if he's thinking about vengeance for the Morningstar job."\n\n"Uhhhh... why are we going to get 'jacked up'?" Ruby asks as you lead the way back to the elevator.\n\n"Because congrats, Rubes, you're about to learn how to drive."\n\n"Now you'll f-feel a little pinch," Twitch says. "... And probably the right side of your face will go numb. For a minute."\n\n"Wait seriousgllllk," Ruby mutters, the right side of her face actually sagging a little for a second as Twitch slides the little round device into the small incision she's made. She makes a slight turn and an adjustment with one of the microtools on her arms, and Ruby jerks just a little in place, before she blinks. "That feels suuuuper weird but also not."\n\n"Y-you'll get used to it," Twitch says as she carefully sprays antibacterial skinsealant around the edges of Ruby's new dataport. "N-next?"\n\nWeiss sighs as she moves to take Ruby's place sitting in the chair. "Could you put mine on the left, please? I'm left-handed."\n\n"S-sure."\n\n"And Ruby now has what looks like an old stereo plug in her neck becaaaause?" Yang asks as she eyes the silver ring on Ruby's skin, its small flap closed to keep anything from getting in.\n\n"Because if we're going to steal six cars at once, Ruby needs to know how to drive. Specifically, she needs to know how to drive it like it's stolen, 'cause it will be." You tap at the neuroupload station, scrolling through the list of skills. "I can upload Ilia's wirelessly since she's a hub, and she already knows how to drive a little."\n\n"I'm... not a great driver," Blake allows.\n\n"Then in the seat next, cat."\n\nShe sighs wearily, nodding, then frowning and pointing at you. "Don't say that, it's racist."\n\n"Not on Makarzia it's not. Adapt," you reply without looking away from the screen.\n\n"... rzmfrzmhmn..."\n\n"That's racist."\n\n"So wait, if you've got a hub psycomm, you can just get skills uploaded to you wirelessly?" Yang asks with a blink.\n\n"You've got a high data density communications center where one of your vertebrae used to be, Xiao Long, it's not that hard. Hey, what'd you do with it, anyway?"\n\n"Kept it, duh. It's in my pocket in my old jacket."\n\n"Well that'll be a delightful little find for the Atlesians. Want a skill or something while we're waiting?"\n\n"Yeah, sure, hit me."\n\nYou type for a few moments, finding the nearby signals and differentiating Yang and Ilia. "Accept the command prompt."\n\n"What command pro-... ... I have a popup in my brain, Kai."\n\n"Just be grateful they're shielded against commercial frequencies." You grin a bit as the signal comes through that she's accepted the connection, and go through the list again, selecting a couple of skills at semi-random, then hitting 'Upload'. "Should only take a few seconds, you've got a really good one."\n\n"Whoa, okay, that's... wild." Yang blinks repeatedly. "I just... know stuff, and I also know that I know stuff. I suddenly know how to hack a bunch of electronic locks I never heard of, how to use C4, and-" Her expression flattens. "Why did you teach me muscle clenches for holding off a male orgasm?"\n\n"Never know what'll come in handy."\n\n"I don't have a dick!"\n\n"The night is young, don't be a pessimist."\n\nOnce you've gotten the other, actually necessary uploads done, the six of you head back down and out. "Man, if we're gonna be here for awhile I hope I can get one of those bikes to keep," Yang says with a sigh. "Maybe fix it up real nice, get one of those cool helmets I saw in the store that has the even better display than these things," she adds, tapping her glasses.\n\n"Oooo, ooo, I know how to ride a motorcycle too now!" Ruby chirps with a little hop. "I want one tooooo!"\n\n'You'd almost think they were starting to get used to the idea of being here awhile,' you muse with a grin. It's at least mildly dark overhead now, and the night people have started to come out, Makarzia looking far more like the Makarzia you've known for most of your life, filled with colorful characters dressed much like your friends, gangbangers walking the street, working girls on the corner. Weiss stares at some of them as all of you pass... then her head whips forward, her eyes going wide. "Oh my god."\n\n"Now, honey, you look fantastic," you hurry to assure her, trying to sound casual but coming off a little desperate.\n\n"Why! Didn't! You! Tell! Me!" she hisses, whapping you on the arm repeatedly.\n\n"Because you look fantastic!"\n\n"Honestly, Weiss, you do look pretty good," Yang interjects with a grin, tapping out another pink cigarette. "I mean, not to sound like I'm implying anything, but it does suit you."\n\n"It... kind of does," Blake allows. "Like, not like that, but it just... looks nice on you."\n\n"... Oh fine," Weiss says with a huff. But sending to you directly, You... you let me go around dressed like a hooker!\n\nSorry, snowbird, my pussy hijacked control of my brain the second I saw you in that.\n\n... Mmf. W-well... I guess it's too late to stop and change clothes now anyway.\n\nHeh.\n\nThe Embargo is a smaller club and, as said, on the edge of Tailtown. It's actually a cigar club, on the more exclusive side, and the wolf-headed man in a black suit steps in front of the door as you start to approach. "Here to see Horace Allfather, he's expecting me," you assure him. He nods, and after a brief look over all of you, steps back aside to let you in.\n\nSince the club's not very big, and Horace is a very big dude, it's not hard to spot him, sitting behind a table with several of his guys clustered around him, a fittingly large cigar in his mouth. "Kai! It's been awhile!"\n\n"Yeah, Horace, figured you wouldn't exactly be thrilled to see my face again, unless it was separate from me and on a plate in front of you," you reply dryly as you walk up to him.\n\n"A very stressful time for all of us. Mistakes were made." He taps some of the ash off the cigar into one of the solid gold ashtrays on the table. "Let us move past it. After all, it simply doesn't do for a father to embarrass his daughter when she has her friends over, hm?"\n\nYour face hardens. You might not have actually said this to the person in question, but you suddenly make a decision in your own heart. "Sorry, Horace. Actually found my father while I was away. So you can just knock off with that old bit."\n\n"... Ah. I see." It has to be your imagination that he looks sincerely disappointed for the barest part of an instant. Then the easy, knowing smirk is back, red eyes casting across your friends. "So this is your crew, hm? They seem a tad... young." \n\n"And doesn't this one get expensive, paying her by the hour?" one of Horace's men says with a leer, stepping over and leaning in towards Weiss.\n\nShe purses her lips at him. Then, with a prim dip-and-flit of the hand, she retrieves the little silver engraved switchblade you passed her back at the shop and flips it open.\n\n"Whattya gonna do with that, girly? You gonna stiiiIIIHHHH?!" he yelps as he suddenly floats up off the floor, feet wobbling and arms flailing, before he shoots backwards, a black glyph circle appearing behind him and holding him pinned there like a butterfly in a sociopathic ten-year-old's collection. \n\n"I think you'll find my crew is plenty capable, Horace," you say calmly, his eyes just a little wide, your eyes just a little narrow. "Also the next time one of your boys insults my girl or implies anything uncouth, I'm going to have a problem with him."\n\n"Hm. By all means, feel free to kill him for his boorish behavior," Horace says after only a moment, the pinned man's eyes going wide. "If he can't behave like a gentleman in a gentleman's club, perhaps he's better off dead."\n\nYou make a show of turning your head and acting like you're thinking it over, then look back at Horace. "Consider it an IOU if he ever shows his face in front of me again."\n\n"Certainly, feel free," Horace says, as Weiss flits the switchblade up a bit and disperses the glyph, letting the mook drop to the floor in a heap. "As a further token of apology, here." He slides a fairly slim wooden box forward. "I know they might be a bit 'upscale' for your tastes, but everyone deserves a chance to branch out."\n\n"My, you're being awfully sweet today," you comment as you nevertheless pick up the cigar box and tuck it under one arm. "You feel that bad over calling the cops on me?"\n\n"As I said, mistakes were made, and a proper rogue corrects his mistakes. But it also seems that you've become someone whose favor is worth cultivating in your time away, Miss Kai."\n\n"Sterling."\n\n"... Pardon?"\n\nYou grin some. "Kai Sterling. If you're gonna start 'miss'ing me."\n\n"Ah. I see. Very well. Miss Sterling," he says with a bit of a chuckle. "But yes, let's just say I heard some things about your little clearance of the motodrones blocking the bridge. I'd at first thought them mere fantastical tales, brought on by glowdust and a few too many hishot beers, but it seems that they were not. Let's say... I think I'd like to keep your crew looking forward to working with me in the future."\n\n"Very forward thinking of you."\n\n"I try to be. Now, these cars I'd like you to retrieve. There is an individual in the 'legitimate' sector who has borrowed a substantial sum of money from me to fund his auto dealership. Rather than pay me back when he had a particularly good year, he has instead elected to sink his profits into buying six high-end groundspeeders... of course, nothing so delectable as the one you lifted from me, but still. This insults me. I wish to punish this man in a method that is not so crude as merely having him beaten for his sins."\n\n"So, we steal the cars, give them to you, you resell them and get your money back off of him, but he still owes you the money."\n\n"Delightful, isn't it?" Horace replies with a wide grin. "The address of the dealership," he continues, sliding a card across the table. "Niobe has informed you of the warehouse where they are to be stored?"\n\n"Yup." You take the card and glance at it, then hold it up demonstratively. "We'll get it done."\n\n"I've every confidence. And I hope with the successful completion of this assignment, we can consider the bad blood behind us."\n\n"Works for me," you declare by way of parting, giving your hand a little flit as you turn and lead your crew back out.\n\n"I'm guessing he's not always that warm and fuzzy," Yang says dryly, before giving a little 'oo' as you open the box to show a full complement of little cigarillos. \n\n"Amiable, sure, but he's obviously trying to get back on everyone's good side after being a bitch and calling the cops on me. And if I had to guess, it's like he said, I came back with a bunch of people with superpow-" You pause. Blink a few times.\n\n"Kai? What is it?" Ilia asks with a frown.\n\nYou squeeze a little bit around your right elbow, then poke your palm a few times. Then you hook your fingers under the latex-like material of the enclosure and start peeling it off.\n\n"Kai! What are you doing?! You're-!" Weiss exclaims... then blinks as you hold up your hand. "Perfectly... fine?"\n\n"Fucking hell. I forgot I had superpowers now too," you mutter, turning your hand back and forth. "Probably healed up as soon as my Aura recovered. Just like when I got stabbed back on Menagerie."\n\n"... That's just fucking unfair," Yang declares, pointing at your hand with a gold finger. "But I forgive you," she adds as you pass her the box of cigarillos.\n\n"How did you get hooked on smoking so fast?" Blake demands, her ears folding down.\n\n"I come from a long line of addictive personalities. Drinking, puns, leaving..."\n\n"Alright, enough of that shit," you declare, tossing the enclosure in a nearby trash bin. "Horace wrote on here that the car is called a 'Vulfen HPK', but from the sound of it we'll know it when we see it... it'll be one of the six identical ones that are the nicest things in the dealership. Sooooo since I'm not walking all the way across the damn sector to steal some cars, let's steal a car."\n\n"More larceny," Blake sighs. Then she rolls her eyes, and her head a bit, as everyone glances at her. "Oh fine give the former terrorist looks for not supporting casual stealing."\n\nYou ditch the stolen people carrier about a block away, leaving it locked and in a well-lit area so that there's at least some chance it will get back to its owner in one piece. To soothe various peoples' morals, if nothing else. You make your way down the block, approaching the dealership from the back. You check the position of the cameras, then nod aside. "Rainbow, you're up."\n\nIlia nods, ducking low to the pavement, her camocloth clothing fading to match the color of the street and her skin and hair doing the same as she goes scuttling across the ground, slowing her movements as she gets to the door. She slowly raises up, giving both her skin and clothing time to adjust as she gets into position to pick the lock, then slides inside. A moment later the lights on both cameras go off, and colored normally, Ilia opens the door and beckons you all in.\n\nThe six of you slowly make your way through the dealership building and emerge into the main showroom, currently darkened. Despite the low light, it's fairly easy to spot the first of the supercars on display, a sleek little red thing with a narrow two seater body, the wheel wells extended out behind it, the whole thing fairly short and angular, the front narrow and pointed, indeed vaguely resembling a wolf's head, or maybe a snake, with narrow, angular quad headlights set right into the front grill, its paint job a rich cherry red that gleams even in the little light coming from outside the window.\n\n<img src="images/VulfenHPK.jpg">\n\n"Nice," you murmur, raising your eyebrows.\n\n[[Music|https://youtu.be/JXJRVHeHu2s]]\n\n"Uh, guys?" Ilia calls, flipping the switches to turn on the showroom lights, apparently deciding subtlety time is over.\n\nYou turn towards the rest of the showroom... and a grin of incredulous delight spreads across your face. "Oh you have to to be shitting me," you say, almost laughing.\n\nArrayed in a neat little row behind the red Vulfen is a white one. And a yellow one. And a black one. And, directly in front of the currently shuttered front doors of the showroom, a holochromatic one.\n\nAnd, positioned directly on what's probably a revolving turntable when it's powered, in the 3/4 circle of the main display window, is one in mirrored chrome.\n\nYang actually does laugh in delight as she heads for the yellow car, turning to catch the keys as Ilia tosses them from the newly lockpicked main desk. "Hell, you think Horace will let us keep them just due to the complete cosmic perfection of it?"\n\n"Don't count on him being that generous," you reply with a snort, walking backwards briefly and clapping your hands to prompt Ilia to toss you the mirrored Vulfen's keyfob. "But who knows, maybe if you're very, very, very good Niobe will buy them for us for Dragontide."\n\n"Ohmygosh I know stealing is wrong but driving this is gonna be so much fuuuuun," Ruby squeals as she hauls open the door and slides in. "... Aw yis I had to move the seat back a little from being all the way up!"\n\n"Oh shut up," Weiss grumbles, slamming the door of the white car.\n\nWouldn't it be really stupid to leave Dust, or whatever you use here, in them though? Blake notes over the psycomms from behind the wheel of her own car.\n\nYou smirk, sliding the keyfob into the center console, then tapping the ignition button... and listening to the engine hum to life with a sound not unlike the magnetic acceleration coils of the pistol that became part of Red Legacy. Electric.\n\nAs the other Vulfens buzz into gear, Weiss sends, Okay, we have the cars, but with the shutters down, how do we actually get them out of here?\n\nYou glance towards the other cars... then towards the street.\n\nYou smirk.\n\n-\n\n[[Music|https://youtu.be/Ch_5_x1IUA8?t=66]]\n\nThe mirrored car smashed through the display window at speed, the brief pass over the swirling white glyph circle bridging the gap between its pedestal and the lip of the window, hitting the pavement at an angle and banking hard in a turn, roaring off down the pavement just as its glistening red sibling almost launched out through the window behind it at a higher angle, Ruby Rose's howl of "WooooooHOO!" briefly filling the nighttime street as her car hit the sidewalk and zipped aside barely in time to avoid hitting a coffee shop, several of the late-night hipsters inside flinging their coffee through the air in terror.\n\nEach glyph-launched car made its own landing and correction, zipping down the almost vehicle-deserted streets, quad headlights glaring in a retina-seering ultrawhite seemingly chosen purely for its ability to be a dick to anyone driving a less expensive vehicle. They took up a loose formation, the red car behind the leading mirrored chrome one weaving back and forth seemingly from sheer delight until the white one pulled up beside it, apparently just to ruin its fun.\n\nAre we having fun yet? Kai sent to her crew, a gleam in her wicked red eyes and a smirk on her face, drum and bass blaring from her radio at max volume, the car thumping along steadily and announcing its coming well ahead of even its impressive speed. \n\nAw yis yis yis, Yang sent back, a wide grin on her lips, lit cigarillo clamped firmly between her teeth, the city's lights flitting past reflected in her sunglasses. I could get used to this larcenous shit, yes sah!\n\nI lodge a token protest before saying oh my Dust is this car fun to drive! Blake added in, yellow eyes glistening a bit wickedly for her own part. I really get what they mean by "drive it like it's stolen" now!\n\nKai let a vocal and mental laugh carry through the thump and wail of her music as she twisted her car into a drift around a corner, the others behind her following suit in a loosely coordinated convoy of gleaming supercars, neon and low-white flashing across the finishes of the stolen vehicles as they whipped along streets. An oncoming salaryman, going home late, screamed at the sight of both lanes filled by oncoming high-speed cars, only to watch as they all immediately snapped into a single lane and whipped past him, leaving him frazzled and staring into his rear-view monitor... until he wound up slamming into a parked car.\n\n"That's on you, my friend," Kai snorted at the sight in her own side-view mirrormonitor, accessing the car's system with her psycomm and instead linking the Vulfen's in-dash monitors together, bringing up a split-screen view of her crew's faces. "Alright, as much fun as it would be to cruise the streets in these beauties for, oh, a day or two, let's get back to Tailtown."\n\nIlia's eyes flickered with datalines before she glanced briefly over her shoulder. "We've got lawenoff incoming."\n\n"Shit, regular or high-end?"\n\n"Regular, but they've got newer cruisers, they might keep up with us if-" She 'tch'ed as a pair of blue and whites, sirens blaring and lights flashing, almost overshot past the intersection they'd just gone through, not quite managing to drift but still course-correcting and setting in after them. "Wow, not bad for sixhours."\n\n"Split up?" Blake suggested, flicking her eyes to the rearview monitor. "There's only two of them, they can't keep up with all of us."\n\n"Nah, we split up it gets way too easy to pen us in and too hard for the Geneslicers to give us good routes." Kai danced her fingers over the center panel, tweaking the engine's power ratios a little and mentally sending out her modifications to the others. "This guys are sixhours, we keep out of reach for a couple of minutes they'll give up, they can report it as giving a good try and get a pat on the head from their boss."\n\nAgain Ilia's eyes flickered, and this time she winced. "Okay, that may be tough. Now we've got incoming Demons."\n\n"Shit," Kai hissed, checking her mirrors but seeing nothing. "They coming up behind the cops?"\n\n"Ayup."\n\n"Fuuuuuck okay guys guess what now instead of outrunning these guys we've gotta save their miserable lives," Kai grumbled without looking at the screen as she turned her car in another drift around a corner, this time deliberately heading for wider streets. "Because Street Demons do not obey rule one."\n\n"Whaaaat I thought that was the most important ruuuule!" Ruby wailed. "What happened to the supercops jamming themselves up people who do that's buuuutts?!"\n\n"If they can find them and the Demons are apparently reeeeeally good at hiding," Ilia grumped. "They're getting closer too."\n\n"Okay guys, I'm gonna try something, fan out and then make room for me to drop back," Kai instructed.\n\nThe other five cars moved into a wing formation, the center gradually slowing back and then swinging into the sides, allowing Kai to suddenly brake and whip her car into a 180, rushing right towards the cop cars, which quickly jerked to the sides, allowing her through the center, only for her to throw it into reverse and quickly catch back up to them, her driver's side window drawing even with one cruiser's. Lowering her own window with a thought, Kai made a few polite 'window down button' motions even while driving backwards at high speed, the rather stunned police officer actually retracting his own window.\n\n"My dude," Kai called calmly over the rush of the wind and the blare of her music, laying her arm along the window. "I know we're very attention-grabbing. But have you maybe noticed them?" she prompted, flicking a finger the direction she was facing.\n\nThe cop looked over his shoulder... and very quickly saw the half dozen street-armored toughs in horned helmets on speedercycles, as well as the heavy twin-engined car alight with neon yellow-green paint and actual neon rimming and underlighting, a pair of massive draconic horns rising from its hood and angled forward.\n\nBoth lawenoffs immediately yanked their wheels, peeling off down the barely-available side streets on either side.\n\n"Thought not." Kai hurled her Vulfen into a spin again and threw it back into forward gear, catching back up with her crew, mentally instructing them to take a wedge shape ahead of her. "Alright, these Demons are fast but not as fast as these babies, if we can outrun them until we get to the Corridor, we open these puppies up and watch them vanish in the rearview mirror."\n\n"The Corridor's not too far ahead," Ilia agreed. "Just gotta pass through Officeville and... uh-ohhhhhh," she muttered as datalines flickered across her eyes.\n\n"Why is only bad news tonight, Rainbow?"\n\n"When is it ever good news on Makarzia?!"\n\n"Point, hit me."\n\n"The lawenoff have set up roadblocks all through Officeville, they've blocked our routes to the Corridor. There's enough of 'em I think they could handle the Demons but they'll definitely settle us."\n\n"I don't want to go to jail! ... Again!" Ruby squeaked. "... Wow Dad actually is going to kill you, Yang."\n\n"Fuck."\n\n"... 31st and 3rd." Kai's grin grew particularly wolfish, red eyes sparkling in the aftermath of datalines as she repeated, "31st and 3rd, Ilia lead us there, the street beside the rental office park building that's a whole damn block wide."\n\n"How's that help us?" Weiss asked with a confused near-pout.\n\n"Because, honey, you told me you can cast your glyphs through anything that's pure enough metal." Kai reentered a fresh new power setting for her engine and shared it, smirking. "And according to the user manual, even though these things are mostly carbon fiber the drive shaft and axels are pure asteroid-farmed steel, and the parking brake next to you has a series of steel controls that lead right into them."\n\nThe lawenoff barricading the 31st and 3rd intersection lowered their guns at the oncoming speeders, barking out commands over the loudspeaker to stop or they'd open fire. However, a number blanched at the fact that the stolen vehicles didn't even seem to be slowing down, instead the glittering rainbow-hued one in the lead dropping back to let the white car take the front position, all of them falling into a single file, the distant glow of the Street Demons illuminating the street behind them.\n\n"They're crazy, we did a double cement barricade!" one officer yelped, just before scrambling over and behind said barricade at the sight of the gleaming white speeder bearing down at him.\n\nA mere twenty feet ahead of the barricade, a large swirling white circle filled with glittering snowflake emblems appeared at an angle, the lead car hitting it and being sent hurling into the air, the rainbow car directly behind it doing the same, followed by the red. By the time the yellow car was being launched airborne, a series of black circles had appeared on the side of the massive mirror-windowed building, the car's tires thumping against the first without so much as cracking the glass, catching traction near-instantly and zipping off down the vertical surface, the cars in its wake similarly landing from their twisted launch and following precisely behind in a neat little row, mirror-coated cars passing along the mirror-shined building, cops left staring with limp jaws and wide eyes. \n\nRight up until the roar of engines sent them scattering, the similarly awed Street Demons having forgotten about the little issue of the cement barricades, speederbike-riders sent flying, the horned car's grill slamming into the cement and smashing it, the whole vehicle lifting up and over to crash down on its top, undercarriage pointed at the sky.\n\nWeiss's car soared off the end of the building, a fresh series of white glyphs appearing in front to lead it and the others following after her passing through the same tube, Ruby's squealing laugh of absolute delight overlaid with Yang's whooping, even Blake giving an excited "YEAH!" as her car's tires slammed down on pavement again, Kai's crew once more settling into a light 'flying V' formation, letting her come up to the head of it as she led the way onto the long bridge heading back to Tailtown.\n\n"And I think we can call that one absolutely perfect, snowbird," Kai asserted with a glance at the dash screen, grinning broadly. "Let's get these in the warehouse and get back to the Down Boy. The night is young and so are we, we ain't ready to turn in and nap yet."\n\n-\n\nShortly afterwards you all walk into the pulsing lights and pounding music of the club again, this time once more with a myriad of beautiful boys dancing and a much larger of anonymous men watching them wantingly. You notice significantly fewer blushes and stares from your crew this time, though it's obviously still a little overwhelming to them. You don't spot Niobe on her couch-throne, but you hear a piercing whistle rise over the noise and spot her sitting on the table of a nearby superbooth, one of the 3/4 circle booth seats, both right next to the bar and in full view of the main stage and the big screens showing the pulsing visualizations of the music and shifting back and forth over the dancers. In other words, one of the most valuable tables in the house.\n\n"You are back in record time from a six-car job, my child, all of you are here, all of the cars are in the warehouse, Horace's money is even in our accounts. And," she declares, grinning as she waggles a finger in the air. "I heard youdrove on the side of a fucking building."\n\n"That we did," you answer, eyes twinkling. "Horace happy?"\n\n"Horace is over the fucking moon. The only thing better than him stealing those cars back was you beautiful little shits making it showy, and you made it impossibly showy. He's trying to buy you the fuck away from me, and I'm having none of it. Until you guys are ready to go back to Remnant, you and your crew are officially my top goddamn earners. And that," she adds, hopping off the table and patting the top of it. "Comes with privileges."\n\nYou step forward... then grin at the sight of the same crowned lion emblem as the one on your back etched into the surface of the table below the lacquer.\n\n"Your crew doesn't pay to eat or drink in here," Niobe announces over the music, pointing repeatedly at the table. "And this is yours. Long as you're here. Now, I've got another job for you, but first! Sit your asses down! Have something to eat, something to drink! And show yourselves off in my fuckin' club!" she adds with a laugh.\n\n"Our very own sex club booth," Blake says dryly as she slides across the red pseudoleather from one side, Yang moving in from the other side, the high sides of the booth somewhat insulating all of you from the music... and from anyone else overhearing your conversations.\n\n"You don't get what an honor it is," you explain as Ilia slides in at Blake's side and you on hers, Weiss settling on the other side of you from Ilia. "This is one of Niobe's most profitable tables. Making it exclusive to us is a big deal. Yeah she's probably hoping to bring in a fresh new demographic to the club besides down-low pervs by showing us off, but this is a big deal, Blake."\n\n"This is like being asked to sit at the teacher's table or something," Yang adds, tapping out one of her strawberry cigarettes and tucking it between her lips... and then holding the pack out of Ruby's grasp as her sister make several grabs for the pack. She lights and inhales, then grins as she puffs out a cloud of slightly sweet smoke. "Just, y'know, more sexy dancing bois."\n\n"God, let's not think of that at the Beacon teacher's table," Weiss says with a snort, before bobbing her head. "I think I get it, though. It's not just Niobe's way of rewarding us, it's her way of claiming us, isn't it?"\n\n"Mmhmmm." You light your own cigarette and take a drag, then huff it out as you say, "She knows that I have no intention of going to work for anyone else. She's my fuckin' mom, this is a family business. But the other gangheads aren't gonna understand that, so she's making a show of keeping me. The better she treats us as a crew, the more desirable we're gonna see, and the more she can negotiate our jobs for."\n\n"I guess that gets us back to Remnant faster," Blake allows... though you notice her ears perk significantly at the plate of fresh fried chips and salsa and plate of onion rings the waiter sets down. \n\n"Water and a strawberry vodka shot all around," you tell the waiter, leaning up and raising your voice since he's outside of the booth. "And hit us up with burgers and fries but make one of 'em a salmon burger." At Blake's dubious look, you assure her, "It's probably fake salmon but it's worth eating if it's here, Niobe likes fish too."\n\n"And the drink choice?" Weiss prompts.\n\n"Water 'cause we're working, shots 'cause it's damn rude not to order drinks in a club even if you're not paying," you tell her with a grin, bobbing your head to the music and taking another drag of your cigarette. \n\nThe glasses are clean, and the water looks double-filtered... Niobe runs a tight ship, for sure. "Guys," you announce as you hold up your shot, the others raising theirs with varying amounts of ease. "To a hell of a job, and a hell of a crew. We may only be here for a few months but we are going to make Makarzia ours while we're here."\n\n"Skol," Ilia announces before downing her shot, all of you doing the same. At the look you give her in the aftermath, she shrugs, her skin turning a little pink. "Heard one of the genemod guys say it some time, seemed neat."\n\n"Whew! Now that is not bad!" Yang announces happily, thunking the shot glass down.\n\n"Just the one until you feel out your tolerance for Makarzian alcohol, Firebird," you instruct, grinning and grinding out your cigarette into an ash tray before chomping an onion ring.\n\nWeiss had coughed a little in the aftermath of her shot, and eyes it for a moment, before shrugging and setting it down, sipping her water. "My Aura's a little low after pulling off those glyphs," she confides to you. "If we're going to do another job I hope I don't have to use too many of them."\n\n"S'fine, Snowbird, we'll work it. Ruby, goddammit you eat the last onion ring and I'll cap your ass."\n\n"Awww!"\n\nNiobe returns as everyone's about finished their burgers, sliding into the opposite end of the booth from you and taking a moment to ruffle Ruby's spiky hair. "This one's a joint job. Moore and Adam are going in on it together."\n\n"Who?" Blake asks, after she finishes nearly choking on a fry.\n\n"Leader of the Freedroids, sorry, I didn't think to mention that earlier, just the same name," you assure her before focusing on Niobe again. "I knew they had some kind of connection, with what happened at the intergang meeting, but not to the extent of going in on jobs together."\n\n"They're not being particularly forthcoming about the whys and hows, but I think they're a little desperate on this, they stressed it was a 'tonight or never' matter. I actually had another job lined up but I bumped this one above it... we owe both of them, so let's get it done."\n\n"Consider it done." You drain the last of your water and sit back. "What's the job?"\n\n"Apparently one of the suppliers Moore uses for a particular mixture has clammed up on her... outright refusing to sell this particular ingredient on Makarzia anymore. Which means that they're about to ship their remaining stock off-planet. Moore wants it... all of it. You get that chemical for her, it is a big fat payday. I'll take a little off the top for my finder's fee cut, the rest of it's yours."\n\n"Where do the Freedroids come in?"\n\n"They're taking delivery. Adam's bought the old comm plaza building from me and set up a new Freedroids base there. Take the stuff there. They'll also provide a truck for transport, here's the fob to call for it," she adds, sliding the commkey across the table to you.\n\n"They know where the stuff is?"\n\n"No, you'll have to get into the company's corporate building and find that on your own. You got a hacker?"\n\n"Not the one I'd like," you muse, wondering just how big a kick Reese would be getting out of Makarzia. "We'll have to have Ruby and Ilia grab the basic package out of the skiller, hope these guys don't have their internal systems locked down too good."\n\n"Yeah well if you have to, look through their files. Even in the fuckin' future the paperless office is a myth, someone wrote something down. Card from the chem company," she adds, sliding that across the table too. "Name of the chemical's on the back. Once you've hit the skiller, head outside. Got one more present for you, but after that, don't go expecting anything until Dragontide, hear?" she adds with a snort. \n\nOnce Ruby and Ilia have been given crash courses in hacking, the lot of you head out the front door of the club... with you stopping and grinning. "Well, it's no Vulfen pack, but fuck if it isn't a damn sight better than boosting people carriers to get around." \n\n"Oh baby I am gonna mod the shit out of you," Yang declares gleefully as she hurries down the steps towards the gold chrome speederbike.\n\nYou swing astride the silver one in the lead, pulling on the helmet mostly because you figure it probably has a decent short-range comm and a HUD with rearview in it, and are proven right. The psycomms are fine, most of the time, but there's something nice about talking like a normal person. "We online, everybody?"\n\n"Good here," Ilia says, adjusting her white helmet as she settles on her soap-bubble rainbow white bike.\n\n"Oh man this helmet is actually cool! Yeah, I'm good!"\n\n"Good here!" \n\n"... Oh, there's the channel. Yes, I'm with you now."\n\n"I'm on too." \n\n"Okay, guys, I'm linking GPS coords now. I'll be leading us along some backstreets though... we're heading back across the Corridor and to Corpton, which is right near Officeville, so the cops are likely to still be a little riled. Try not to call any more attention to yourselves than a pack of night creatures on colorful speederbikes can manage."\n\n"Is that what we are now?" Blake says dryly as you all set out on your ride. "'Night creatures'?"\n\n"One word for us. I always kinda liked that one, seemed a bit scary and poetic at the same time," you reply. Damn if you don't hate this place, and damn if you didn't miss zooming around it on something fast enough to get yourself killed on.\n\n"Mm. Not sure I really mind that, actually," Blake answers back, before singing softly, "From sha~dow~s..."\n\nWeiss's bike wobbles enough to make your heart clench, before she quickly rights herself. "I knew that was you on that viral protest song!"\n\n"A duet with Adam isn't exactly something I'm proud about at this stage in my life, Weiss," Blake replies with a snort.\n\n"So this Moore, she's the head of those 'Transcendants', right? The drug spiritualists?" Yang speaks up as you start heading across the Corridor. "Sooooo you're saying we're stealing chemicals to give to a bunch of drug dealers?"\n\n"The Transcendants don't push, Firebird, they only offer to those who approach them. And I'm not sure if even that is what's going on with this one."\n\n"The Freedroids, they're like Penny, right?" Ruby asks, navigating her bike to pull up alongside you as she asks, her poncho-drape flapping behind her with the speed. "Like machines, but they're people? But what do machines want with stuff to make drugs?"\n\n"Damned if I know. I think we ought to just let that be their business, and if anyone's oogy about getting components for Moore, content themselves knowing this stuff probably isn't going in anyone's veins."\n\n"The network says Officeville is still swarming, they say we might wanna swing right off the Corridor and zip along the edge of Parkalot," Ilia advises as she pulls up on your other side. "More road distance but less backstreets and checking."\n\n"Good call, let's do it."\n\n"'Officeville', 'Corpton', 'Tailtown', 'Parkalot', they sure do have interesting names here," Weiss notes dryly.\n\n"Yeah, the subsectors and zones have shitty alphanumeric names everyone gets tired of even worse than the streets, so people tend to just make up names for what they kinda are. Officeville's where a bunch of buildings that rent out office space to companies are, for the most part, your salarydrone farms. Corpton is off to the side of it, basically the same, just a lot more dedicated corporate office buildings. Parkalot's what we call the sort of 'green buffer' they installed between those and some upscale apartment buildings, giving the illusion to those who can afford it that they're not on fuckin' Makarzia, I guess."\n\n"The finest presswood and plastic trees that a minimum amount of money could buy," Ilia comments dryly as you start whizzing by the 'greenery', which just almost doesn't look fake at twenty feet away and a hundred miles an hour. \n\n"You'll get to see a lot more of the sector in your time here, I imagine. The Kuzahood is almost certainly in our cards in the future, assuming Sakai has gotten as desperate as the others and has decided to forgive me like Horace has." You lean into a turn as you pass around the edges of Officeville, the others banking after you with the coordination of trained Huntresses, despite that training being of a world away and not quite meant to apply to thrumming two-wheel speeders across grimy streets.\n\nIt's starting to rain as you all pull up to the side of the medical supply company building, a relatively short tower, probably devoted entirely to processing orders and working logistics. Hoods come up, some of their wearers hunching a bit more under the splatter of the rain than others as you head further down the side, the camera above the door already clearly broken with some token attempts made to try and at least make it look functional. "It stinks," Weiss mutters as she hauls the normally hidden hood of her coat further forward.\n\n"You get used to it," you declare casually as you lean in over the keypad, trying to pick out the make and model and how it's wired in.\n\n"You get used to the rain smelling like..." Yang wrinkles her nose. "Chemicals and... something...?"\n\n"Unwashed underwear," Blake declares flatly.\n\n"If you define 'get used to it' as 'come to expect it' not 'you stop thinking it stinks' then sure, yeah. Rainbow I'm gonna hafta open this up, you got those tools?"\n\n"Hup," Ilia answers, slipping out the folded wallet style holder and proffering it.\n\nYou do a bit of cutting and then finagle open a factory side panel, sliding in a few clips and attaching them, then running wires between those. Tapping in the factory default code, you grin as there's a faint click and the door pops slightly open. "Always set the panel recessed, boys," you mutter to the poor fools you're about to rob as you haul the door open and prowl forward, your crew on your heels (especially since it means getting out of the odorous Makarzian rain).\n\nYou amble forward slowly, eyes out, peeking around corners, until you mm quietly. "There we go. Kinda low-end security cameras but apparently they went that way so they can have a lot of them," you muse, looking at the cameras mounted on non-motorized swivel arms, red lights blinking above their lenses. "Cops won't take much interest if they don't get a nice clear shot of our faces, but with all these that'll happen to at least a couple of us if we just stroll past."\n\n"So what's the plan? Hack the system? Send Ilia?"\n\n"Nah, looks like they at least knew better than to put any access points past their camera coverage, and I don't want anyone on their own that long with Ilia having to go slow to keep stealthed, we don't know if there's live security on the grounds and if they catch one of us alone I'd rather this didn't turn from a simple infosnatch into a murder." You glance at your crew, then grin. "Hey. Rubes. Go fast."\n\n"Hm?" Ruby blinks a few times... then grins back at you. "Ohhhh, right! Got it!" \n\nWith a little hop and twirl she spins into a swirling mass of red cloth and rose petals, instantly rushing around the corner at high speed, everyone's hair and clothes fluttering a bit with her passing. She instantly pushes it, zipping down the hallway in a blur... the force of her passing yanking every camera on its swivel to follow her path, likely catching little more than a red flicker. Smirking, you take out your knife and stroll forward, hopping up to slice the camera cables as you pass, Blake following your lead and doing the same on the other side.\n\nA lot of disabled cameras and two flights of stairs later, you catch up to Ruby hopping in place a bit at another secured door. This one's even easier, and you push open the clear door and into a bland corporate datamonkey room. "Admins usually sit at the ends," you note, snapping your fingers and pointing towards the desks facing the rows of other monitors, Ruby and Ilia hurrying to sit down. "Rubes, you concentrate on finding the stuff, Rainbow cover her tracks and prepare to crash the system to cover what we were here for. Yang let's you and me see if that paper office thing is true, Blake prowl around and see if there's an actual guard, Weiss keep lookout."\n\n"Looks like this is a pretty secure system, could take us awhile," Ilia notes with a frown as she brings up her monitor.\n\nRuby snorts softly from where she's already logged in, fingers almost blurring over the keys. "Doesn't matter how secure it is if they have to write their password down to remember it. Mine was written in pencil under the keyboard, check around."\n\nIlia blinks, lifting her keyboard and peeking under it, scanning the edges of the monitor, then opening the only drawer on the desk. "Aaaand there it is, topmost note on a sticky pad. Thanks Ruby," she says distractedly as she logs in and starts working the system.\n\n"Whatever genius thought up the weekly-changing sixteen digit alphanumeric with special symbols password was certainly a boon to us larcenous types," you murmur as you check drawers of what's probably the office administrator's desk.\n\n"Think I've got something here," Yang announces as she hauls a plastic file folder out of the supply cabinet, popping the little catch and starting to rifle through the papers peeking at them as you walk over to join it. "Oh hey, here we go, isn't this the stuff we're looking for?" she asks as she plucks a couple of stapled pages out, squinting at it. "Mononitruh... ooks..."\n\n"Mononitrooxysol," you confirm and clarify.\n\n"Huh. Doesn't say where they're keeping it, but looks like this might be why they're not selling it on Makarzia anymore," Yang continues, dropping the folder back into the drawer and flipping the pages. "Apparently it's part of some exclusivity deal with a company called 'Northstar Global Robotics'. ... More machines needing chemicals?"\n\n"Maybe. I think there's our connection with the Freedroids... NGR is a big time droid producer," you explain as you take the paper, glancing from it to Weiss, then fishing out your new comm and taking a picture. "Imagine if some Dust could talk and had opinions about how it was used, and picture the SDC under Weiss's dad's response, and you might have a good idea of what NGR thinks of the Freedroids."\n\n"Lovely," Weiss answers flatly.\n\n"Whatever Moore does with this stuff, the Freedroids obviously need it, and NGR doesn't want them to have it," you comment as you toss the paper back atop the file folder. "Oo, hey, another interesting bit of trivia for future use, did you know the toner these places use for their hardcopy printers is super flammable?" you add in a breezy tone as you take your knife back out and stab it into a toner cartridge, dumping the ensuing flood of near-liquid powder into the open drawer. "Rainbow, while you're crashing the system, make sure the fire suppression goes down."\n\n"On it."\n\n"Well someone's feeling wrathful," Yang notes, sounding more amused than scolding as the two of you move well away from the cabinet to light up cigarettes. \n\n"Let's just say I have a low opinion of organizations that conspire to keep sentients in unwilling servitude and those who enable them."\n\n"... You may as well give me one of those too," Weiss suddenly announces. At your raised eyebrows and proffering of your pack, she wrinkles her nose. "Ew, no, one of Yang's, if I try one of these I want it to be flavored like something."\n\nAs Weiss is coughing through her first cigarette, you send, Blake, how's it going?\n\nIt would be going a lot smoother if this damn guard would just choke out already!\n\nSnorting, you send back, Once he does, drag him into the alleyway, we're going scorched earth on this place. I'll explain later.\n\n"Iiiii've got it!" Ruby announces in a delighted squeak. "Mononitrooxysol! Ten barrels, I have the address and even the garage door code!"\n\n"Got 'em memorized?" \n\n"Ayupah!"\n\n"Then let's go get it. Crash 'em, Rainbow."\n\nIlia simply strikes a key, and both active computers flicker and go blank. \n\n"Enjoy filing this claim, fuckers," you mutter as you, Yang, and Weiss all flick your cigarettes towards the supply cabinet.\n\nBy the time your crew is peeling away from the building and racing down the streets, the flicker of flames is already starting to show inside the glass of the building's upper floors. "And could I ask why you took the time to spraypaint 'Death to the chempeddlers' on the sidewalk before we left?" Blake asks dryly.\n\n"Because basic arson is covered by insurance, political terrorism isn't, and fuck those guys."\n\nSoon you're cruising through a part of the sector almost entirely dominated by warehouses. Cruising up to a particular one, you park the bike and head forward, hitting the 'summon' button of the keyfob as Ruby blurs forward to type in the code on the door, the steel shutters rolling up to reveal a number of color coded barrels. Your crew moves inside, and it's Blake that thumps the top of a yellow one. "These are it."\n\n"Okay, get 'em out onto the loading pad," you direct, Ilia and Weiss grabbing a pair of loading carts while Yang just hefts one of the yellow barrels up onto her shoulder. "The truck will hopefully be here soon. It'll autonavigate here but I'll have to drive it back. Everyone else ride escort. Oop, shit, steal casual," you mutter, ducking your head and pulling your hood forward a little more, leaning against the side of the garage.\n\nA lawenoff cruiser slowly slides by on the street outside. You can see some of the others freeze for just a second, but when Ilia just guides her cart out to the loading area like it was no big deal the others resume their own movement. You give the cruiser a little finger-waggle wave, and the sixhours inside decide it's not worth getting out in the rain to stop a warehouse robbery and keep on cruising.\n\nLighting up another smoke mostly to ward off the smell of the rain in your nose and throat, you keep an eye out as the others get the barrels ready to load. You straighten up and flick the cig out into a puddle as a large tractor trailer with a blunt front end and no one in the cab rumbles past, a high, repetitive tone sounding as it starts to back into the loading dock. "Okay, guys, here we go." You head back down to your bike and gently rev it up one of the ramps to the dock, getting it ready to load along with the chemicals. \n\nSoon you settle into the driver's seat, taking a moment to configure the center console to tap into everyone's comms. "Okay, let's go, guys. This thing is sadly not nearly as peppy as our rides earlier tonight, so you're gonna hafta keep it revved down a little to keep pace with me. Let's get this stuff to the Freedroids and call this a good night's work."\n\n-\n\n"Alright, guys, that's the Corridor ahead," Kai announced to the others as the long bridge drew into view. "We're almost home free."\n\n"You just had to say it," Ilia muttered as datalines flickered across her blue eyes. "Demons incoming, it's bad."\n\n[[Music|https://youtu.be/7jxSTFj584Y]]\n\nFrowning, Kai pulled up the rearview monitor on the windshield and zoomed the view. A small fleet of horn-helmeted bikers, a pair of neon riders like earlier... and a massive eighteen wheeler, its grill and extended hood jagged and belching green flame, its black-windowed cab mounted by a pair of curving horns that angle all the way forward to almost meet in front of the grill, the trailer behind it cut open and down to a two foot ridge of metal, more Street Demons crowded into the back of it, pumping their fists and swinging chains, howling and pounding on the sides of their ride. \n\n"Crystal Dragon, take a pill!" Kai shouted towards the side window.\n\n"I thiiiiink they're mad about earlier," Blake commented dryly, though there's an edge to her voice that says the demonic semi truck has rattled her at least a little.\n\n"We get past the street that's on the other side of the Corridor and we're home free, but it's not gonna be a quick trip this time," Kai growled grimly, red eyes narrowed as they flicked from the bridge ahead to the oncoming Demons. "Guys. Gloves off. They catch us I have this feeling them killing us is the best case scenario." \n\nWeiss produced her sword from within her coat with a bare flourish, angling her bike around and to the driver's side, pulling closer to even with the cab. 'You'll have to go through me,' the former Heiress silently promised their pursuers, icy blue eyes narrowed beneath the visor of her helmet. 'All of you.'\n\nRuby Rose hauled her rifle off of her back with one hand, extending her legs and lifting into the air, firing a few rounds at their pursuers. It was little more than a warning shot like this, and after the second shot flew wide she called "Yang!"\n\nThe silver-eyed Huntress's sister banked her bike and accelerated, drawing even with the younger girl and reaching out to clamp a steading hand on one of the handlebars. Ruby hopped upwards, standing on the seat and actually turning fully around, sighting and firing in an instant. One of the horned cars pursuing them bucked slightly as a hole appeared in its front grill, twisting as its tires squealed, smashing into a pair of cycle-mounted Street Demons as it fell away from the pursuit. Ruby winced, but refused to let herself get distracted, instead turning and dropping back down into her seat, Yang peeling off and dropping back, deploying her arm-guns as she let her right arm drop to the side at the ready.\n\n"They're on us!" Blake called, gun in hand, chattering a hail of bullets at the front tire of the leading Street Demon. But the pursuing tough juked her bike around the attempt, accelerating and quickly catching up to the Faunus woman, reaching out and grabbing for her held-out wrist, attempting to take hold and haul Blake off her bike. Teeth gritted below her helmet, Blake hauled back, feeling her speeder wobble underneath her, tires starting to lose traction on the increasingly wet and oil-slick roadway. In a heartbeat she made a decision, sending a crackle through her Aura around her wrist with the same thought shape Grey had taught her... it wasn't actually formed, but the simple feeling of 'offense' stung the other woman even through her glove and the Street Demon released her, jerked back a little. Without hesitation, already having steeled her heart to it, Blake swung her gun back up and opened fire directly at the side of the horned helmet, the pulsing hail of nine millimeter bullets smashing the horn to pieces first before tearing through the helmet itself and the head beneath it, the Street Demon's corpse dropping to the side, bike spinning away to slam into the side barrier.\n\nYang wove backwards as she decelerated, sliding into a position further behind her partner, punching the air and sending a shot into the back carriage of one of the other bikes pursuing them, the Street Demon atop it dropping into a roll as his vehicle fell out from under him. Another took a hard loop around his fallen comrade and juked back in, swinging a red-edged crystalslicer, the blade impacting against the blonde's Guildhall-grade arm and still knocking it down, leaving an obvious nick in the armored finish. Yang, however, had already had this conversation with herself, and the motion of snapping her hand back up, grabbing the Street Demon's jacket briefly in passing, was almost instinctive. The Street Demon screamed into the nothing as he was thrown up and off his bike, over the side and tumbling down into the void of the Dark.\n\nThen Yang felt a pattery, tingly feeling on her back that had nothing to do with the stinking acid rain still falling. Juking hard to the side half on instinct, she barely missed the hail of 308s that flew by and tore through one corner of the delivery truck's trailer. "Dammit!" she hissed, looking over her shoulder at the horned car, a large, long-barreled gun having emerged from its hood between the horns. "That thing will chew through our Aura like it's not there!"\n\n"Ilia, take out the car," Kai ordered immediately. "Ruby, Blake, stay on her."\n\nAlmost as one three of the escort bikes turned, braked, accelerated, racing back the opposite way, Ilia settling into the center of the formation. Now facing their pursuers, the two gun-wielding Huntresses were much better able to control their fire, bike-mounted Demons twisting out of the way of the shots, and Blake's hail of autofire skittering off the car's armored windshield. But it apparently distracted the driver from firing long enough for all three to flash past it and once again turn in concert, resuming their original direction. Ruby accelerated hard, flitting back past the car and weaving in long, quick angles back and forth, making herself a tempting target but never staying in the fixed gun's range quite long enough. Ilia pulled up on the passenger side as she uncoiled her whip, the long white band of it crackling with blue lightning, both the white glow of the whip and the crackling growing more intense as she bypassed the regulator on the charge setting and then tossed the weapon into the front wheel well, she and Blake quickly accelerating ahead.\n\nThe car's undercarriage glow altered, flashed like a strobe light as the glowing whip wound around its axel, and then the overcharged cell burst as it smacked against the high performance engines rumbling beneath its hood. The resultant explosion launched the car's front end airborn, its momentum catching the air and practically flinging it backwards, slamming into the front grill of the monstrous semi behind it, the top hood crumpling and pierced by the horns, the whole vehicle bending back against the flame-spewing hood. It exploded again, this time entirely consuming itself and the front of the truck... which roared straight out of the gout of fire and smoke, its drive train making a long near-literal howl as it caught shrapnel from the destroyed car and didn't waiver.\n\n"Okay I really don't like that thing," Yang half-whimpered, before calling "SHIT!" as a fresh wave of bike-mounted Demons roared past the truck to close in on them. \n\nRuby Rose's helmet turned slightly as one of the Demons came up on her side, her Aura giving her just enough warning to juke aside a little as the chain swang at her head. But it instead wrapped around the handlebar of her bike, the Street Demon turning her bike hard to haul on it, Ruby's ride yanking itself sideways under her and sending her tumbling across the pavement, bright red light skittering across her body before her helmet slammed against the pavement. Forcing herself to focus through the ringing in her ears, she leaped to her feet, yanking off the cracked and battered helmet and swinging it hard into the chest of the Street Demon that tried to sideswipe her, knocking him off his bike and slamming him to the pavement without the benefit of having an externalized soul. I'm down! she sent to the others, scrambling for her rifle and then leaping back as a chatter of gunfire intersected the street between her and it, just before the helltruck raged past, a swarm of Demons leaping down from the trailer and rushing her.\n\n"I've got her," Ilia said immediately, swinging her bike so low she came within millimeters of laying it down entirely, executing an even harder turn than before and racing back towards Ruby.\n\nRuby deployed the collapsible staff Kai had suggested back at the store, spinning it and smashing it against helmets, thrusting towards stomachs, doing her best to force the encroaching crowd back. Images flickered through her mind, the sight of tapes of a Vytal Festival long ago, a smiling face very much like her own, silver eyes flashing amidst the twirl of a white metal staff engraved with roses and thorny vines. The image only grew stronger for her as the Street Demons pressed her again and again, something about their movements, the way they grabbed at her, the intent of the swing of their clubs and chains, something pushing her inside to seek that safe, bolstering image, until with a sudden howl Ruby threw her upper body forward, her eyes blazing with silver light in a hard pulse of a flash. The Demons staggered, not actually wounded by the imagery, but momentarily blinded... and something inside them repelled by it, recoiling from it.\n\nAnd then Ilia roared in amidst them, her switchblade ninjato flitting through the air, opening up one Street Demon's throat below her helmet and plunging briefly into the chest of another before she twisted her bike back around. Holding her other hand out to Ruby, she quickly hauled her friend onto the back of her bike, twisting and taking off at an angle to let the silver-eyed woman scoop up her rifle in passing. \n\n"That's what they're trying to do, get us down so their reinforcements from the truck can swarm us! We've gotta WEISS! Incoming!" Yang cried as a pair of Demons on higher-performance bikes zipped past her and headed straight for the driver's side of their truck.\n\nWeiss whipped her head to look back, and her eyes widened beneath her helmet in the instant before the heavy blade swung down at her, the impact and the fact that the chainsaw blade attached to them revved and started sending sparks skittering down across her coat and cycle, only her pushing Aura into the slender sword keeping it from snapping instantly in her hands. "It can't be!" she cried in reflexive horror, staring at the white-helmeted face with its demonic red markings and crest of horns rising from above the 'face' they made, a white vest worn over his black motorcycle leathers. She tried to concentrate enough to form a Glyph but his stronger arms and heavier bike as well as the driving gnaw of his chain sword were pushing her to the side, forcing her to snap out her right hand and press it against the side of the trailer, blue-white Aura crackling around both her sword and her hand as she struggled to stay upright.\n\n"WEISS!" Kai screamed, slamming a hand down on the autodrive and turning to stand, a hand already diving into her coat for a gun. Then shotgun pellets tore a hole in the door and struck her with flashes of crimson light, sending her staggering back and simultaneously lashing out with a foot, kicking the door open and just almost catching the Street Demon biker that had drawn up to the cab. "Oh the FUCK you do!" the redhead raged, leaping forward without a second thought and landing on the bike behind the horn-helmeted woman, reaching forward to grab the handlebars to help steady them both with one hand, and with the other jamming the barrel of her gun under the Demon's chin, firing repeatedly and then yanking her hand to send the dead weight of the corpse tumbling under the truck's wheels.\n\n"I don't have a clear shot!" Yang called as she pulled up behind Weiss's attacker, dropping away again. "Ruby!" \n\nIlia pulled her bike forward to where Yang had been riding, Ruby raising up and balancing her rifle on the other small woman's shoulder, sighting briefly before firing. The bullet slammed into the side of the chainsword's blade and knocked it away, giving Weiss time enough to drop back and steady her bike, and for Kai to decelerate her stolen Street Demon bike and draw up alongside the big man. She cursed as his armored vest and probably chem-pumped muscles soaked the rounds without apparent issue, twisting her upper body away from an overhand swing of the chainsword. Then he dropped the weapon, switching that hand to his handlebars and striking out with the other, wrapping his big hand around Kai's throat and starting to squeeze. Snarling, the red-eyed woman slammed repeated backhands against his side with the butt of the gun... then simply threw the weapon into the front wheel of his bike. The big vehicle lurched and twisted beneath him, almost pulling Kai down with him before he instinctively yanked his hand away to help him tuck into a roll.\n\nNot that it saved him. Weiss zipped past, and with a flash of that slender, elegant streetwalker's self defense weapon, the white-faced helmet went rolling in a separate direction from the body, its wearer's head still inside.\n\nForcing herself not to worry about her beloved's impending reaction to taking a life, Kai instead banked her appropriated speederbike back towards the truck and then ditched it to leap back into the cab, hauling herself in and slamming the half-shredded door closed. "We can't risk that thing following us into Tailtown, if they decide to violate the pact that many Demons and that much destructive momentum is a recipe for disaster," she declared grimly, glancing at the rearview monitor again to see the monstrous semi slowly gaining, and the end of the bridge starting to get steadily closer.\n\n"Weiss, got enough in you for a glyph?" Yang spoke up.\n\n"Not one that will stop that thing!"\n\n"Just enough for a launch rune."\n\n"Probably?!"\n\n"Then get it ready for me." Yang reached up, retracting her armguns and swinging the shotgun off of her back instead, swinging it aside and to the ready.\n\nThe blonde banked hard and reversed, racing right at the horned eighteen wheeler in perhaps the most lopsided game of Chicken in the planet's history. Then an angled white glyph appeared in front of her, the front tire of the gold chrome speederbike hitting it and yanking upward, launching woman and vehicle high. Yang twisted in midair, turning the bike and making sure its tires slammed hard into the two-sectioned windshield of the Demon truck. The armored glass shattered under the sheer impact of the weight of Huntress and speeder, pelting the pair of Street Demons inside with cubes of black glass. Yang swung her shotgun up, firing into the driver's chest and then the passenger's, repeating the process once before hauling hard on her bike, accelerating even as she twisted off the hood and hit the street again, blazing forward as the Demon truck's path tilted under the dead weight of its driver on the wheel, then banked and went near sideways before it hit.\n\nThe concrete barrier rained debris into the void as the monstrous semi dropped into the Dark, trailing green flame and flailing, screaming Street Demons the entire way down, until the black consumed even the last flickers of its fire.\n\n"Fucking hell," Kai muttered, actually leaning out the window briefly to look back at the new gap in the barrier. "Yeah, this is definitely the last job for the night."\n\n-\n\n"I see you had difficulties. I hope none of you were injured."\n\nAdam looks different than you last saw him... his face seems more natural and humanlike, but his skin is smoother, more silvery, a pair of long lines setting it framing his face and running along the top of his bare scalp, his ears simply obvious audio sensors set into the sides of his head. The nice suit is still the same though. You wonder what it's like to be someone that's still in search of a physical form they like but has got their fashion game completely on point and settled.\n\n"Not particularly. Sorry the truck got a bit beat up," you note dryly as the handful of other Freedroids, all of them attired in largely neutral-colored variants of other gangbanger styles, work to get the back door rolled open considering the twisted metal of it and the frame on one side from the 308.\n\n"Inconsequential. Do not give it another thought."\n\nYou nod once, then beckon him aside. Adam's expression doesn't change, but he turns his head to regard you for just a second before joining you. "Found some paper trail while we were in the corp office," you explain as you take out your comm, turning it on and flicking to the image you took of the contract, holding it up for him to see. "That about what you were figuring?"\n\nAdam simply observes it for a moment, glowing digital blue eyes regarding the screen, before he gives a small, single nod. "Approximately. However, I very much appreciate this clarification. How much shall I include for this additional information?"\n\n"Don't give it another thought," you echo back, smiling and offering him a hand. "Pleasure working with you Adam."\n\n"... Indeed." He gives another of those small nods as he takes your hand and gives it an extremely precise shake. "I believe it has been a pleasure for me as well."\n\n"I lost my bike," Ruby says with a pout as she mounts up behind Ilia again as you all return to the street.\n\n"Jita or someone will probably pick it up. It might be better if you ride with one of us anyway most of the time, Rubes," you tell her as you pull your helmet on, the Freedroids finally having gotten the truck open and unloaded your bike first thing. "It favors your shooting better."\n\n"But my biiiiike!"\n\n"We'll get you another bike! Just ride with someone unless you're on your own so you can shoot people better, gawd." You feel a little flash of annoyance at yourself at the phrasing the moment after you say it, trying not to be too obvious about glancing at Weiss. But her helmet's already on, so you simply start your bike and make your way back to the Down Boy.\n\nThe pulse of lights and the beat of the music is comforting to you by now, and you notice that Team RWBY doesn't even flinch... maybe they're all too tired to be overwhelmed this time. You make your way with them back to the booth, all of you settling in, you draping an arm around Ilia's shoulders on one side and around Weiss's middle on the other. \n\n"Get you anything?" the waiter asks with a feminine chirp, his little lace-trimmed maid-style apron/belt draped over the front of his G-string, matching lace-trimmed black bikini top settled against a slender flat chest.\n\n"Strawberry vodka. On the rocks," Yang says immediately, rubbing her forehead with her left hand. "And like... some fries. Lots of ketchup."\n\n"Um, something light and fizzy maybe?" Ruby asks, glancing around as if worried someone's going to make her add 'non-alcoholic'. "... And make her fries larger so I can steal some."\n\n"I guess... whatever you're getting her, and some chips," Blake says with a sigh, rubbing the back of her neck. \n\n"Same," Ilia echoes.\n\nWeiss hesitates briefly, before huffing and asking, "What other flavors of vodka do you have?" She glances down at the table as the waiter uses his comm to project part of a menu onto the tabletop. "... Sugar cookie. Rocks. Lots of rocks. Very cold."\n\n"Bourbon, straight, cinnamon shot, fries with that orange sauce nonsense instead of ketchup," you add.\n\nYou notice Yang actually bobbing her head to the pulse of electronic music this time, purple eyes roaming over the stage and screens with more confidence, seeming to actually be getting more relaxed by the club than more tense this time. Blake looks tired, but also like she's a bit more settled. Ruby has a slightly distant look in her eyes, brushing fingertips in thoughtless little designs over the tabletop. Ilia actually seems incredibly content, leaning her head back against your arm and closing her eyes, a small smile on her lips. Weiss... seems a bit closed-off, hard to read even to you.\n\n"My girls!" Niobe enthuses as she shows up at the table shortly after all of you have received your orders, Ruby looking up from sipping at the pale, bubbly yellow liquid she, Blake, and Ilia received. "Goddamn but you know how to work. You did spectacular, even with those Street Demon fucks pulling out all the stops against you."\n\n"Just doing the job, Niobe," you reply with a bit of a grin. \n\n"Your job was to get the Freedroids their chem barrels, not save Tailtown from a fuckin' monster truck. You still did both. I'm proud as hell of you, kid... of all of you," she adds, glancing around at the other five. "Fantastic work. I can't necessarily pay you extra for the truck, since it looks too much like just giving you the creds, but I can keep making sure you get the support you need to keep pulling off this amazing shit. By the way, got someone else who wants to say a few words of praise," she adds, stepping aside and letting the familiar figure in a glowjacket and vape mask step forward, a small, potted bonsai-sized tree clustered with orange and yellow leaves held in her hands.\n\n"Well hey Moore, been some time," you greet with a grin. "How's the trip tonight?"\n\n"Alright. The Real isn't too bad either. I can't tell you how much what you've done means, Kai," the leader of the Transcendants assures you. She pauses, then adds, "Seriously, I can't tell you. I just want you to know I'm grateful. Your crew needs basic chems, they're on us, and if any of you needs a guide to enlightenment, I'll be your personal one."\n\nThere was a time that despite recognizing the personal honor of what she was offering, you'd have still scoffed, played a bit of the fool, blown it off with a shrug. Instead you smile and bob your head low briefly. "Honored. Thanks Moore. What's with the Leaf tree, though? You initiating someone?"\n\n"I had a feeling I should bring it." Moore's slightly glazed, pale eyes, like her silvery hair reflecting the deep yellow glow of her hood interior, pass over the others one by one, until they lock on Blake and actually focus. She leans forward over the table, placing the pot in front of the Faunus woman. "This is yours."\n\n"Um. Thank you?" Blake says, seeming somewhere between sincerely flattered and utterly confused.\n\n"You will take good care of it," Moore assures her, sounding more like she's just making a simple, contented statement of fact rather than giving a command, putting her hands together and bowing her head briefly. "The Beyond be with you all." Then she turns and drifts away towards the exit.\n\n"Huh, now that's some shit," Niobe speaks up as she slides into the booth, draping an arm in a friendly way around Ruby's shoulders, the smol blushing a bit at being so close to the scantily-clad and luxuriously-built woman. "Ain't never seen a Transcendant just give someone a Leaf tree unasked before."\n\n"Is it some kind of honor?" Blake asks curiously, poking at one of the orange leaves gently with a fingertip.\n\n"Kind of. Leaf trees are how Transcendants start out," you explain, sitting forward and eyeing it, never having seen one at this early stage of development before. "Initiates have to care for them and raise them. It's to show that they can not only be canny and intuitive about developing where their highs come from, but that they can keep track of the 'Real', meaning what goes on outside of their high, enough to not let it die."\n\n"Er... wait, you're saying this is the sort of plant you, uh... smoke?" Blake says, drawing back from it a little, Yang turning away and pressing a hand over her mouth as her shoulders shake. \n\n"Smoke, distill, brew, shit's versatile," Niobe chimes in. "Got yourself a nice little source of personal creds there if you want it and can figure out what makes it tick, kiddo."\n\nBlake makes a bit of a face, her ears laying down. "I reeeally don't think that's my sort of thing." Then she eyes the tree and sighs. "... But it reminds me too much of my father's indoor plants to let it die so I suppose I'll at least try to keep it alive."\n\n'You will take good care of it,' Moore's words echo in your ears. ... Hrm.\n\n"I imagine you kids are beat. Definitely call it a night, don't try to make it a threefer. You all whole?" Niobe continues, glancing around. "I don't see or smell blood coming out of you anywhere so I'm assuming."\n\n"Yeah, we came out of it not much more than tired and sore. Ah shit I need to look at the hot water heater," you grumble, rubbing your face.\n\n"Would appreciate the hell out of it, but it can wait 'til the afternoon. Finish your stuff and get some sack, tomorrow's another night."\n\nWeiss is still quiet as the two of you return to your apartment, shrugging out of her coat and hanging it up, bending to unzip her boots and slip out of them with less trouble than last night before padding across the apartment in stockinged feet. You take a little more time about hanging up your own coat (... did the fucking bullet hole disappear? it fucking did) and undoing your boots, giving her a little time to think. Her footsoles are indenting the mattress as she stands on it, leaning against the sill of the open window, her pale features colored by the slow shift and pulse of neon as she gazes out at the city much as you did this morning.\n\nFinally you step up behind her, moving in to drape your arms around her middle and leaning against her just a bit. "You okay, Snowbird?" you ask softly.\n\n"... I am," she says after a few moments. "I feel like I ought to be torn to pieces, wracked with guilt, decrying myself as an awful person, but I'm just... not. ... You told me that sometimes, there are alternate variants of people that occur on different worlds, right?" she asks slowly. At your nod against her head, she huffs. "I think that Street Demon was an alternate version of someone I fought before. One of the most... cruel, brutal people I ever faced. If he'd been a Grimm I think I'd be able to use him as a summon. And that version of him tonight... he tried to kill me. ... And he tried to kill you." She takes a deep breath, and in her transparent reflection in the glass you see her eyes harden. "And I'm not sorry I killed him. I feel like I should be but I'm just... not. And I'm not sure what that says about me."\n\nYou have thoughts.\n\nBut you don't want to voice any of them right now. Instead you just bow your head, starting to kiss along her ear, her neck. Weiss's eyes sink closed, her lips parting slightly, a soft exhale sliding between them as your hands caress her belly. You push down those snug little shorts, pressing them around her thighs, baring her to the window, to the Makarzian night. A few quick tugs and your own pants are pushed down as well, your hips pressing up against her pert ass, just wanting that close contact, that feeling of wicked closeness, the proximity of two hot, wet, wanting holes as you slide a hand between her legs, stroking her, rubbing her, urging out those soft, low moans, once again trying to turn them from elegant and sweet to bestial and whorish.\n\n"Kai," she groans thickly, shuddering all over, and giving a soft, delicately slutty cry as you bite that pretty pale skin in answer to your name. "Kai... Kai...!"\n\nYours. Your Snowbird. Your girl.\n\nYour Makarzia.\n\n<hr>\n[[And the jobs go on...|KaiWeiss1x6]]\n\n[[... for another five months.|SilverRing1x1]]

Cordovin stops in her tracks, turning to give you a confused, annoyed look over her shoulder.\n\n"Atlesian Higher Court case 512998, AKA 'Shyamala versus Atlas', majority opinion A," you reply, folding your arms over your chest as the others start slowly turning their heads towards you in a 'what' look. (Except Grey, he's turned his head and is laughing into his coat collar.) "The head judge Dugal Zernebog clarified in his writing that their finding in favor of Shyamala on Eighth Decree grounds, and I quote, 'indicates that any Atlesian citizen in good standing attempting to return to Atlas is entitled to bring with them those close family and associates as deemed reasonable by numbers and current legal standing, meaning they are not now nor have ever been convicted of severe or high crimes. The court finds that the citizens of Atlas should not, at any time, have to choose between their citizenship or their family.'"\n\nCordovin scowls now, turning to face you. "Yes, well, none of you except her are Schnees, so-"\n\n"Grey, you wanna take this one?" you prompt, glancing over.\n\n"Delighted." His cat ears twitch as he doesn't bother to hide his smirk. "Atlesian Higher Court case 1002991, AKA 'Radley versus Atlas', AKA 'Shyamala versus Atlas round two' in the papers, majority opinion B. 'It is the suggestion of the court, in light of the lack of any legislative firmity, that the interpretation of friends and acquaintances is to include ties of blood and marriage out to first cousins, or up to four individuals of the citizen's choosing and four individuals of their choosing, so long as they have some relationship as recognized under Atlesian law, and they do not have any open criminal cases or warrants against them in any kingdom.' Radley versus Atlas was seventeen years ago, that means it beats the requirement for entry into common law without contradictory legislation passing by two years."\n\n"Are you saying I can pick four people and those people can pick four people?" Weiss murmurs, before jerking upright as Cordovin looks at her. "I mean, of course! It's Atlesian law! Everybody knows this! I was planning on invoking... that... when I got here!"\n\n"And can you prove," Cordovin says icily. "You have recognizable relationships to these people?"\n\n"Ooo! Ooo! Me me me!" Ruby races forward, thrusting an arm up and hopping up and down. "I'm Weiss's partner! Huntress partner! At school! We were registered at Beacon! We're her team! It could be any of us!" she adds, gesturing back to Yang and Blake.\n\n"... Fine, acceptable." Cordovin huffs. "But the rest-"\n\n"Qrow Branwen, licensed Huntsman," Qrow declares in his rasp, stepping forward to show said license... then flipping it to another. "Also licensed combat teacher. I'm Miss Schnee's personal tutor. These are also my students," he adds, gesturing at Team JNPR and Oscar.\n\n"... Nnnh," the old commander growls, before looking at you. "And what about-"\n\n"Her name's Kai Sterling," Weiss says before you can speak, stepping a bit closer to you and visibly lacing her fingers through yours, smiling up at you. "... She's my significant other."\n\n"... Right," you whisper hoarsely, smiling back at her, before clearing your throat and looking back at Cordovin. "And these people are my Huntress team, you'll find us registered out of Haven as Team KACH."\n\n"... Very well," Cordovin says after a moment, sighing heavily. "Give me a few moments to check with the JAG office, but if all this checks out I suppose I can arrange some sort of transport for you to Atlas. You'll still have to fill out the proper forms!" she adds with the shake of a finger, before turning and stomping off.\n\n"What. The. Hell?" Yang says once she's gone, looking back and forth between you and Grey.\n\nGrey snorts. "You guys wouldn't last a day in the Guild."\n\n"Fighting skills, perception, quick wits, and a high level in legalese," you add with a grin, possibly a rather dopey grin as you squeeze Weiss's hand. "All survival traits for taking Guild contracts."\n\n"Kai and I looked up the legal BS about entering Atlas back at Haven."\n\n"We're really going to Atlas!" Ruby squeals happily. \n\n<hr>\n[["Looks like."|KaiWeiss]]\n\n[["Well, as long as no one's a wanted criminal."|KaiWeiss1x3]]

You thud onto your back in the cell, scrambling to your feet just in time for the door to slam closed. "This is bullshit!" you snap as the soldier smirks at you and turns to march off.\n\n"How the heck are we all flagged in the system as wanted criminals?!" Yang demands. You and Ilia wound up being thrown into a cell with Team RWBY. Stripped of your weapons and jacket, the others similarly deprived of most of their gear (Yang at least got to keep her arm, since they didn't notice the gun), you're left slumping in a rather familiar posture with your arms between the bars, scowling.\n\n"Someone obviously wanted us out of the game," Weiss grumbles, stalking back and forth slightly. "My father... ... no, he'd never remember the names of my friends," she concludes flatly. "It can't be him."\n\n"Someone in Haven that decided they didn't like working with the Faunus, decided to take it out on us?" Blake suggests.\n\n"Then why not just flag you and me? Why everybody, and then why split us up into entirely different detention areas?"\n\n"... Wait," Ruby murmurs, sitting up from where she'd slumped pouting on a bench. "Uh, not to be all 'main character-y', but uh... what if it's about me?" At the rest of you's glances, she swallows. "That Tyrian guy, he wanted to kidnap me and take me to Cinder... well, probably Salem." She winces a little. "I mean I don't see him hacking the system and registering us as criminals, but... if Salem wants me someplace that someone can come and get me..."\n\n"We've gotta get out of here, now," Yang snarls, stepping to the door with you.\n\n"Don't bother, I've been in enough cells to appraise a door, even your gun won't do anything," you say with a scowl, straightening up. "But you're right, we need to get Ruby the hell out of here right now, every minute she's in here is a minute they could pull something." You scowl across the room at the secure locker containing everyone's weapons... then at the simple coatrack where they put everyone's coats, including yours. "... Yang, I need a hand."\n\n"Been waiting for that one long?" she mutters, rolling her eyes as she detaches her cyberlimb and passes it to you with her left hand.\n\n"You know damn well that everyone you know has been waiting for that one," you mutter as you stretch out as far as you can, trying to flick the extended limb towards your jacket. "Betting they only took the surface level stuff out of my dimensional pockets... with any luck I can knock something free that can get us the hell out of here." You spend several moments flailing, managing to knock free a pack of smokes, some hand sanitizer, a couple of datasticks... \n\n... and one of the recruitment beacons.\n\n"... Yeah, that'd do it alright," you mutter, managing to roll it over using Yang's arm before passing the limb back to her and picking up the beacon. \n\n"Wait... that'll take us all to Makarzia, right?" Ilia asks with a frown.\n\n"If we all group together then yeah, it ought to be capable of porting us all. And I could have it take us to Makarzia... or..."\n\n"Or what?" Weiss asks with a bit of a frown.\n\n"I could modify it to use coordinates for this Remnant but an earlier timestamp," you say slowly. "Time travel."\n\n"You can do that?!" Blake blurts, sitting up, her ears perked.\n\n"Yeah, it's basically like what Grey did, using the time differential to pop back several days into the past from the Guildhall, just... direct. But it's risky. It's..." You lick your lips a bit. "I'm not sure how to describe it other than what other people have said. Time's finnicky. You can do little cheats using workarounds, bop back and forth through dimensions, and it doesn't give you much crap. You do it direct and it can fuck with you."\n\n"Define... 'fuck with us'," your girlfriend prompts, somehow managing to make even the profanity sound prim as she quirks an eyebrow.\n\n"Yeah see that's the thing, I don't know. Apparently it just... does what it wants. Even if I set the coordinates for somewhere we know a day ago, we might get dragged somewhere else. Someone explained it to me as certain points in time having like a gravity to them, they want to pull people in. That could really easily happen to us using this thing. So, the way I see it, we have three options."\n\n"Three?" Blake asks with a thoughtful frown.\n\n"First option, arguably safest, we beacon to Makarzia. Since we won't have my Guildhall beacon, I'll have to work to afford a new one, and some guest passes... probably be a couple of months." At RWBY's alarmed expressions, you shrug. "Hopefully then we get to the Guildhall and can portal back here without much actual time having passed for everyone else. Second option, riskiest, I try and modify the beacon to let us time travel... we maybe get sucked into an important moment in recent Remnant history. If we do, that means we cannot do anything... the moment we do, we create a brand new alternate Remnant, one that will take time to stabilize in the multiverse. We'll be stuck there for... awhile. Months. Maybe years."\n\n"Those are the two you mentioned before," Weiss says slowly. "What's the third?"\n\n"... I bump the dimensional coordinates for Remnant up by one when we pop the time travel thing," you say slowly. "We'll almost certainly be pulled into a pivotal moment in Remnant history... but a different Remnant's history. Hopefully one that's not a bare orb of rock floating in the void, but there's always that possibility. On the other hand the big benefit of it is that we don't have to worry about anything we change... it's an alternate dimension, we can fuck around as much as we want, and when the beacon recharges I can set it back for the right Remnant and the right timestamp and we pop back over no problem. It's just... chancy. We could wind up in a Remnant that's perfectly peaceful and never knew any Grimm, or we could wind up on one that's been completely destroyed."\n\n"This is waaay beyond us," Yang mutters. "But if us getting thrown in here really is about getting to Ruby, then we definitely need to go. Just... pick what you think is best, Kai. We'll deal as well as we're able."\n\n<hr>\n[[Portal to Makarzia.|KaiWeiss1x4]]\n\n[[Travel back in time.|KaiWeiss6x1]]\n\n[[Go to another Remnant.|KaiWeiss5x1]]

Elegance.\n\nA wondrous elegance of grace and beauty, gentility and delicacy, wrapped around a depth of warmth and kindness that shines like the sun on a field of pristine snow. All of it things that have been completely absent from your life up to this point, but which from the moment you saw them enchanted you as deeply as you've ever been touched by anything else before. A thing as foreign to you as Remnant, but which has been just as welcoming... but is just as much a place that a scruffy punk from the streets of a decrepit city-world doesn't belong.\n\nYour hand hovers over the screen of your scroll, hesitating. This is stupid. This is ridiculous. You're a nobody. You're a foul-mouthed, comes-from-nowhere, no-account nobody. Might as well try to touch the sun.\n\nYou hesitate, and glance aside. ... Might as well try to challenge the impossible on the slim hope that it makes a difference.\n\n"Fine," you whisper to your massive metal onlooker, tapping at the text message portion of your contacts list. You pause. Then delete it. Retype a bit more slowly.\n\n'Hey Weiss?'\n\nAlmost instantly, 'Yes?' A brief pause, then 'You're very proper tonight, has someone stolen your scroll? :snowflake:'\n\nBleh. Yeah. This is hopeless. Still as much as you know she's just teasing (which is what she means by including the snowflake emoji), you go ahead and send back the Vacuo emblem emoji, which is the 'all clear' sign the group agreed on. Then you add, 'There's a cafe down on the corner of Ackles and Paris. Could you meet me there in like an hour theres something I want to talk to you about'\n\nA longer pause. Then a simple reply of 'I'll be there.'\n\nYou take a deep breath. This is stupid. This is hopeless. You're doing it anyway.\n\n"Thanks for the inspiration there," you snort softly at the statue before hurrying off to get ready. Not long before you left Haven (and after a night of drinking), you and Qrow came to the conclusion that the late and half-lamented Headmaster Lionheart clearly hadn't needed his lien where he had gone and the two of you cleaned out his safe and account for travel funds. You kind of feel bad spending any of it on something so personal and selfish as this, but... you've gotta make at least some effort.\n\nIndeed, roughly an hour later, Weiss makes her way down the sidewalk with small, careful steps, pale blue eyes peering back and forth. They almost slip right by you, until they're drawn back by the sight of your hair. She blinks in surprise. "Oh! Kai, you look... nice," she concludes, smiling warmly.\n\nYou try not to grimace too much with your return smile. 'She doesn't necessarily mean it like that. Except she totally does,' you sigh internally. In the end you couldn't bring yourself to spend too much of the group's money, especially since you wouldn't have known where to begin finding a 'proper' outfit. The black suit you found in the thrift store is actually whole and clean, at least, and the little old woman who ran it was kind enough to do a few stitches on it so that it kinda-sorta fits you pretty decent. You actually had some decent luck (thanks for staying home Qrow) in stumbling across the silvery-grey vest and matching tie, and shelled out for a new button-up formal shirt to go with it. You're still wearing your same old grungy boots, though, though you found someone to clean them up as well as he was able and both paid and tipped him generously for his noble attempt.\n\n"Ah... thanks," you answer with a nod, still trying to keep your smile natural. "Just something I kinda threw together."\n\n"Well I think it looks good. You've pulled your hair back too," she adds cheerfully as she walks up to you, your heart skittering with forelorn excitement as she casually reaches up and past your cheek, brushing a few strands of hair back over your ear. "I think it looks nice like that." Then she blinks as the light glints on something. "Is that...?"\n\n"Ah, yeah," you murmur, fighting the urge to wince and instead your shaky smile turning into a sheepish grin as you turn your head, showing the old-fashioned ponytail clasp now worn low at your neck. "Jaune loaned it to me earlier. I'll give it back to him when we get back."\n\n"It looks good on you," Weiss says after a moment, a little bit of sadness in her eyes but her smile still warm. "If Jaune's alright with it, I think you should keep it."\n\n"... Um." You suck in a breath, then tilt your head towards the cafe. "Um, anyway, I kind of wanted to talk to you, so... you want to go in and have something to eat?"\n\n"Sure!"\n\n'Stupid, stupid, should have called ahead, that's a thing people do,' you think with a truly crushing amount of despair as the two of you sit in the entryway on chairs for about ten minutes, Weiss's eyes scanning the slightly kitschy decorations around her with what might almost be fascination but which your brain assures you is disdain. You're shown into the dining room, which is way, way nicer than anywhere you've ever actually eaten before, because there are actual cloth tabletops and holy shit candles on the table and there's music playing that doesn't have lyrics or drum solos. 'Oh dragon please I beg of you have mercy don't let there be more than one fork,' you think, eyeing the rolled-up napkin to the side of the small empty plate sitting in the center. 'What is that for? Do they serve nuts here like a bar? I don't see any. Was I supposed to bring nuts oh fuck I bet I was supposed to bring nuts.'\n\nAs the two of you sit, with you somewhat nervously assuring the waiter you'll be alright with water for now (is that okay? is it okay to just drink water in a place like this? you probably look super cheap), you try to glance around at the other tables without being too obvious about it. Can they show you what to do? Okay it looks like it's okay to drink water. Oh dragon there's two forks what have you done to oh they look like the same fork you guess one's a spare.\n\nKai?\n\nYou almost jump out of your skin at the sound of Weiss's voice in your head, the motion enough to make your chair give a little thump and draw glances from several of those other tables. Your face almost as red as your hair, you send back, Y-yeah?\n\nAre you okay? Though Weiss's expression is concerned, her eyes are twinkling a little. It obviously amused her a bit to get that kind of reaction out of you.\n\nYeah, yeah, I'm just... so, ah, looks like Grey managed to get the psycomms injected, huh?\n\nYes. Weiss's left hand drifts up towards her neck briefly, before settling back atop her other on the tabletop as she smiles at you, tilting her head a bit. It's taking a bit of getting used to, but it's also... kind of nice! Like this we can talk without disturbing the ambiance, she adds, grinning a bit and giving a half-shrug gesture with one arm to the cafe.\n\nRight. The ambiance, you think, unable to help keep a bit of misery from leaking into the words as you look down.\n\nWeiss is silent for a bit. But finally she reaches over, resting a small, cool hand atop one of yours. Kai, what's wrong? she sends, mental voice gentle and concerned, pretty eyes pinching a little, faintly crinkling the scar running across one. You asked me here to talk but you're not talking and you seem... skittish, almost. This isn't like you. Please tell me what's bothering you.\n\nYou resist the urge to turn your hand over, brush your thumb over those perfect fingers, though you find yourself looking at her hand, those perfectly-manicured nails... perhaps once the product of someone else's labor, but you know that by now she's been doing it herself for some time, and refused to let herself settle for anything less than perfection with it. \n\nHow the hell is she supposed to settle for you?\n\nI'm sorry, Weiss, you send back miserably. I think this might be the best I can do.\n\nThe... best you can do? Weiss blinks. ... I don't understand.\n\nThe secondhand suit. Thirdhand for all I know. The walk-in corner cafe. Water on the table and music from speakers. Even after all of this is over, I don't see myself being able to give you any more than that.\n\n"... Kai..." Weiss whispers aloud, her eyes going wide.\n\n"Just nevermind," you murmur, looking away, trying not to cry. "I shouldn't have bothered you with this in the first place."\n\nShe looks shocked for a moment... then her eyes narrow and she switches back to the psycomms, perhaps wanting to make sure her voice is clear in your head. Kai Sterling! If you try to say you shouldn't have bothered to tell me you're in love with me, I'm going to get very angry!\n\nYou wince and duck your head a little, then sheepishly raise your eyes to hers. Just... like I said. At the end of the day... this is probably all I'll ever be able to give you. Me, and... You let your eyes flit around to the little corner cafe. This.\n\nYou should know better than to think I'd demand more from you than that, Weiss counters, even her mental voice a bit frosty as she starts to slip her hand away.\n\nYou can't help it. You catch that small, cool hand in both of yours, wrapping them around it as you look into her eyes.\n\nWeiss. It isn't about what you demand. It's about what you deserve.\n\nWeiss's eyes widen a little as you continue, but you lower your head, unable to look at her. It's not about giving you what you had. I'd want to give you so much better than I can ever provide even if I'd never known you came from money. You're... a bright, glittering snow star, rising against the wind and shining through the night, every movement and every motion a wonder. You're like the way snowfall looks the first time you see it without knowing what it is, a blanket of gleaming white that's soft and warm and inviting. Just that... unlike the snowfall, you really are. I watch you care for everyone else, the consideration you show them, and I know it probably comes from a place of guilt about how you used to look at the world, but I can see the sincerity in it, the way it comes easily to you at the end of the day. I... I had to have someone else yank me out of my bad situation by the hair, practically, you walked out of yours with your head high and back straight. Everything about you... body, mind, and soul... is beautiful, and you deserve to be surrounded by the most beautiful things not just Remnant, but the multiverse, has to offer you. You just- You raise your head, your thoughts choked off a little to see the tears running down her cheeks, tracing those perfect slender lines and dripping down from that artistic point of a chin.\n\nIf you think, she sends back, even her mental voice shaking. If you think there is anything on this planet, or in your whole stupid multiverse, more beautiful than what you've just said to me Kai Sterling then you'd damn well better already know what it is and be able to show it to me, or you're a bigger idiot than has ever set foot on this stupid mudball.\n\n"Weiss," you whisper aloud, eyes wide.\n\nFor just a moment there is no elegance or grace as she rises so fast she knocks her chair over with a clatter, the silverware and empty plates rattling as she brushes the table. But it's there, reflexive and ingrained and everything that enchanted you as her hands grab your cheeks and tilt you up, and those soft, faintly cool, glistening lips of hers touch yours. Practically every eye in the restaurant is on you, but the notoriously crowd-conscious Weiss doesn't notice or doesn't care, her eyes closed and her whole slender body leaned into you, your hands having come up to her wrists, thumbs pressing into the indents of her palms, feeling her pulse, feeling her whole self as she kisses you.\n\nWeiss draws her lips back, opens her eyes, stares into your face. "If there is a single thing in this world more beautiful than how you make me feel and how you feel about me, I don't care about it. It can go to hell."\n\nYou stare at her for a moment. And then you draw her in, tilt her back, and cover her lips with yours, holding that lithe, perfect body dipped in your arms as you kiss her for all you're worth.\n\nAdmittedly it's pretty great when the whole restaurant bursts into applause. \n\nOf course, after that is when Weiss gets embarrassed, and her face gets flushed. To judge by the smiles of the wait staff that comes to straighten the table and refresh your drinks, they find her blushing and stammering apologies almost as cute as you do. After that, she ducks her head sheepishly every so often, little breaks in staring into each others' eyes, hands held in each other's. You're quiet as you eat, and as you rise and leave, hands slipping back into each other's as you walk slowly down the sidewalk.\n\n"I love you," she finally says, smiling wider as she does, blue eyes sparkling as she looks up at you.\n\n"I love you too," you answer, your heart honestly full to overflowing. The two of you turn towards each other, clasping both hands now, smiling at each other. Heh. She's so short. Almost as if she'd caught you thinking it, she flushes and glances down... though her face is apologetic as she raises her head.\n\n"Um, Kai, could we... wait... a little while before...?"\n\n"Telling everyone else? Sure, if you want."\n\nShe blinks, as if the thought sincerely hadn't occurred to her, briefly looking annoyed. "No! No, I want to tell everyone right away, I'd have told Ruby using the psycomm thingies if I didn't want to see the looks on their faces!" She briefly looks smug, then nervous as she glances away again. "Um. I mean. Could we wait a little while before we're... intimate? I mean I know that there's hotels and things since we obviously can't do it at Jaune's sister's," she murmurs, pale cheeks flushing again, before she sighs. "... Just... I used to be really in denial about liking girls, and for a long time I felt... bad or ashamed thinking about those things. I... kind of hated myself," she admits, releasing one of your hands to rub her upper arm. "And I've been trying to work on it as part of accepting who I am, but it's... hard."\n\n"Oh baby," you whisper softly, stepping in close and wrapping your arms around her, closing your eyes against the stinging in them as you rock her just a little bit. "Oh my beautiful perfect snowbird. Yeah... yeah, we can take all the time you need, don't worry." You draw back just enough to kiss her forehead and smile down at her tear-streaked face. Then you smile, voice teasing as you add, "As hard as it is to restrain myself."\n\nWeiss gives a watery laugh at that, smiling back at you just as teasingly. "It's not entirely easy for me either you know! ... I like your butt," she murmurs, blushing and ducking her head a bit.\n\n"Yeah?" you say warmly, drawing her in close.\n\n"Mm-hmm," she assures you softly, closing her eyes and resting her head on your chest.\n\nThe two of you walk back into the crowded townhome eventually, Ruby the first to give a 'Huh?' and then a squeal of delight as she sees you and Weiss walking hand-in-hand, Weiss wincing a little but also smiling wider.\n\n"Awwwwwwwww that's shoooooooo shweeeeeeeeeeet!" Nora declares, clutching her hands to one side of her cheek and making kissy-faces. "Everybody's falling in love! It's a total love season!" She instantly leaps upward, raising her lower body, Ren reflexively catching her in his arms as she throws her own arms around his neck. "Ren! Babies! Now!" she demands, eyes wide and sparkling.\n\nRen staggers just a little, slothful face going red as he murmurs, "Not right now..."\n\n"Glad it worked out for you, Kai," Ilia murmurs once the press has retreated a little, more of it centered around Weiss now. She holds up your own clothes to you, having taken them when you got in touch with her earlier. Her voice is soft and sincere, despite the faintest blue tinge to her specks, and you don't know what to do but pretend you don't see as you take your gear back. Then she grins wryly. "But, c'mon... a Schnee? Really?"\n\n"Seems like." You smile, just a little wanly, back at her. "... Is it okay with you?" you add in quiet worry.\n\nIlia stares up at you, searching your eyes... maybe seeing how much her approval means. That you would be horribly torn and not knowing who to choose if she couldn't accept that you were in love with someone from the family that oppressed her people, was in some part large or small responsible for the death of her parents... and that it would be heavily biased in her favor. She takes a deep breath, and as she lets it out the blue fades from her specks, and she smiles. "Yeah," she says, nodding. "Yeah, I really am happy for you. And for her," she adds. "... You taught me that it's more important to see individuals than groups. Including Schnees. And Weiss is a good person... she's my friend. She's worthy of your love... you're worthy of hers too," Ilia adds in a softer, more imploring voice, staring up at you as if knowing that's the part you still haven't accepted.\n\nYour little sister is the best little sister in the multiverse.\n\n"Thanks Rainbow," you whisper, stepping close for a hug, bending your head over hers. "... I'll try and believe it."\n\nLater on, having changed back into your normal clothes, you've moved off down the street to have a smoke, your hood up and some music playing on the earbuds of your scroll. Before you probably would have plopped down on the front steps of the townhouse to do it, but, well... even if you can't be elegant and graceful for Weiss, maybe you can work on having better manners than to sit there exuding your clouds right in the entrance. As someone walks up and sits down beside you, you tug the earbuds out and stub out the cigarette on the bench. ... Oop, sorry Argus. Gotta work on that too.\n\n"Hey," Jaune says, grinning at you. "Congratulations."\n\n"Couldn't have done it without you," you answer sincerely, smiling. Then you give an 'oh', reaching into your inner pocket to retrieve the ponytail tie and proffering it back. "Here."\n\n"No, it's okay," Jaune immediately answers, having already made that decision before he ever sat down, pressing his big and over yours and gently nudging it back to you. "You should keep it."\n\n"You sure? I didn't-"\n\n"No, you should." He smiles at you, then grins sheepishly and rubs the back of his neck. "Y'know I used to have the biggest crush on Weiss. I guess... probably because I knew she'd never return it. I mean, I didn't know she was, y'know, just that she wasn't interested in me at all. That way it was safe... I could pursue her all I wanted and I knew she'd never like me back. ... I guess I was probably hurting her, though."\n\n"Hey," you assert quickly, frowning as you lean forward and touch his thigh. "You didn't know."\n\n"I know. It's still a little hurtful thinking I made things worse for her though, even a little. Even though I know she forgives me. Because you know what Weiss did tonight?" He smiles at you again. "She hugged me and said, 'she saved me, Jaune'."\n\n"... What?" you whisper, eyes widening.\n\n"Weiss was still hurting... she thought the only reason the rest of us accepted her was because we'd known her so long, and no matter how she tried she wouldn't ever be able to prove herself to anybody but Team RWBY and Team JNPR. Apparently you said some pretty awesome stuff though... you showed her someone who met her as she is now could love her. Fall in love with her. ... You saved her."\n\nJaune's eyes lower a bit to your hand holding the ponytail clasp. "Like Pyrrha saved me."\n\nNot knowing what to say, your throat tight and your eyes full, you brush back your hood and then pull your hair back into the low ponytail of before, slipping on the clasp and redoing it. "I couldn't have done it without Pyrrha either, I don't think," you say after a moment.\n\n"She'd be really proud to hear that."\n\nUnfortunately, things after that... don't go quite so well.\n\n"I am afraid that the border is closed and that is final." The diminutive commander of the Atlas military base stands in the gate, exuding a sort of chilly politeness. "However, if you wish to file for an entry visa exception, I will have any forms you request printed and delivered to an address of your choosing. Waiting time for a response is currently at around two weeks." She purses her lips as she adds, "The response is usually 'no'."\n\n"But we've got the lost heiress of the Schnee Dust Company here," Qrow grunts, gesturing aside at Weiss, who winces a bit. "What, she's not allowed to go home?"\n\n"If Miss Schnee has finally decided to return to her proper place, I will of course facilitate her return to Atlas," Cordovin answers firmly, giving Weiss what looks like an attempt at an ingratiating grin.\n\nThanks a fuckin' lot, Qrow, you send at him as you step up and rub Weiss's shoulder a bit, the scruffy man wincing a little, you're not sure at the mental communication or at being called out on using Weiss as bait.\n\n"Now, if you don't mind, I do have work to do, so you can inform the gate guards of any forms you require. They have the local file address for the list of them," Cordovin announces, turning to leave.\n\n<hr>\n[["I'm her bodyguard."|KaiWeiss4x1]]\n\n[[Guess we do this the larcenous way.|KaiWeiss2x1]]\n\n[["Number 512998-A."|KaiWeiss1x2]]

You close your eyes and concentrate on using your super-willpower. You're still not sure if that's an actual superpower you have, but the simple act of trying to use it seems to help. It definitely seems to edge back the growing heat that had been fogging your brain and helps with forcing your body to relax and your heart to stop beating so fast.\n\nAfter a few seconds your mother clears her throat pointedly, and you open your eyes. She's standing facing you again, her expression mostly neutral but carrying a faint sheepish tinge. You had mentioned to your parents when explaining that Deathtrap's changes might have involved certain minor mental ones, but couldn't quite bring yourself to mention the specific enhancement of your libido. It looks like your mother's figured it out, though, and is now making her own effort to be far more controlled about things. "I'll keep in touch over mail on the secure system. We'll work on 'Knightsteed's' backstory and be ready to introduce you soon."\n\nSomehow her fully recovering her own composure does a lot for yours, and you give a single easy nod. "Right. I guess until then I'll just chill out here, and do my best to do a bit of work on finding a solution myself."\n\nExcalibur gives you a brief thumbs up, then rises into the air, pausing again to wait for the roof to finish telescoping open before she shoots out into the night.\n\nThe ceiling dome has barely thumped closed again when you rip off the (already likely ruined) bodysuit and quickly unfasten the rest of your gear and let it clatter to the floor, standing naked in the middle of the open silo room. Your cock, freed from its material imprisonment and at least some of your mental restraint, quickly drops fully and the rises to full stiffness again, head flaring wide. You let out a soft, equine snort, then a more human moan of almost relief as you wrap a hand around it and give it a few slow, methodical strokes, even that faint bit of stimulation enough to feel like an easing of the nearly painful throbbing stiffness.\n\nIt's pretty obvious that you're going to have to be getting yourself off... regularly from now on. Exactly how regularly you're not sure... hopefully less as you become more accustomed to the '+Libido' effect. But at the very least several times a day, it looks like. ... At the very least. And however you handle it going forward you obviously have to get yourself off tonight. ... Probably several times.\n\nWell, the most obvious method is to [[take matters into your own hands|CalHM2x2]], such as you're currently doing, though you're still using slow, almost soothing strokes, more keeping yourself calm and easing the ache than anything else. That's clearly the least problematic method, though you can't help but think in some part of your mind that with a cock like this it seems like a little bit of a waste...\n\nYou realize suddenly that there's the [[androids|CalHM]] in the house. You have very little difficulty believing that they're fully anatomically accurate, that's just the sort of thoroughness your father really excels at. It's kind of embarrassing to think about, but it would have the benefit of seeming more like actual sex than just using your hand, even if it's not flesh and blood.\n\nFlesh and blood... the thought of the farm outside, and that, suddenly makes you realize that there are other living beings out there: [[the horses|CalHM]]. You desperately try to assure yourself that the surge of excitement that runs through your body and has your heart beating fast again, enough that a soft splrt of pre oozes out of your tip and goes dripping down your flare, is only because your slightly horsified mind can't help but be aroused at the thought of big, thick, muscular cunts that have been perfectly designed by evolution to accept and pleasure a cock like yours.\n\nMmf. You're not sure if your dignity could take that once you were changed back though. Though thinking of that, there are other options... specifically, there are a handful of supers that are well known in the community as, well, very reliable [[booty calls|CalHM]]. In fact there are some of them that have specifically said, whether in as many words or not, that they consider it their duty and/or pleasure to assist heroes undergoing "circumstances" that render them otherwise unable to properly satisfy themselves.\n\nBut whatever you do, you need to decide (firmly) to do it soon, your balls are very quickly seizing ever greater control over your decision-making process, and soon you're not really going to care what you do so long as it results in you getting off.

Yeaaaah let's not go getting weirdly... attached... to anything. You hit the security button on the chute to open it up and drop the used condoms in, knowing that again thanks to your father's paranoid thoroughness, they'll be utterly destroyed in a way none of your genetic material can leak. Y'know, in more ways than one.\n\nStarting to feel the length of the day, you begin to make your slightly weary way towards the stairs... then pause, turn back, and scoop up a good armful of the freshly-printed and wrapped condoms. You set the printer to stop after another 100 of them (mostly just because it seems a nice round number) and then head upstairs, dropping the pile onto the bedside table before settling onto the mattress. Hm... this is actually way more comfortable than you expected it to be, your father can be rather Spartan when it comes to some of his little mancave backup hideouts. Either he built this one after he married your mom or he'd just come up with better material for mattresses by then and decided to try it.\n\nAfter a few moments of laying there sort of half-awake, you reach over and snag one of the condoms, opening it up and rolling it down onto your currently still mostly soft cock. The material and shape is designed to fit closely at pretty much any amount of erection, including essentially "none", so you get it on and fitted without too much hassle. 'Just in case,' you muse wryly to yourself as you settle down and go fully to sleep.\n\nYour dreams are, as you might have expected, extremely sexual. You dream of yourself galloping through wide, green planes full of vaguely erotically-blossomed flowers, your cock and balls brushing against them and stirring up faint, sensual moans on the breeze as you move through them, sometimes on two legs and sometimes on all four, now a horseman, now a centaur, now a full horse. As you gallop through the planes they start to be populated by women... some hazy, anonymous, strangers to you, others familiar (some a little too familiar, though in your dream that doesn't seem to matter to you). Some frolic through the flowers naked and sprightly like nymphs, while others canter about, their own lower bodies replaced by those of mares with engorged, dripping horsepussies, either full centaurs or on two legs like some sort of equine version of mythological fauns. And you stop and mount each and every one, sometimes seemingly only for a few seconds, others in long, slow couplings that come with the sense of making sure the mare is good and fully bred, the mare-women moaning out your name, any of your names, all of your names.\n\nYou awaken dully deep in the night, sitting up a bit groggily and wondering what actually woke you from your (vaguely disturbing, now that you're awake) erotic dream escapades. It takes a moment to realize that it's the weight settled on your dick, and you peer down, sighing faintly at the sight of the condom now settled heavily on the mattress to one side of your hip, full of what has to be at least two or three loads. Moving largely on autopilot, a good portion of your brain still asleep, you pull the condom off and tie up the end, setting it off beside the bed and replacing it with a fresh empty one, before once again flopping your long horsey head down on the pillow. This time when you settle into sleep it's luckily without dreams.\n\nYou wake up in the morning with a few distinctly equine snorts, looking around blearily and processing half-consciously where you are. Your mother and father as experienced heroes have long since perfected the art of springing to full alertness the moment they're awake, whether it's a crisis situation or not, but you've so far only managed 'I'll be completely awake if someone tries to kill me'. Getting up and staggering towards the toilet, you grip your hefty shaft and aim before letting loose with what feels like a particularly large torrent of morning piss.\n\nIt takes you a few moments to realize that the sound of liquid hitting porcelain sounds weird... actually, rather it was immediately totally replaced by the sound of liquid hitting liquid, and still sounds slightly muffled and echo-y for some reason. You look down... then roll your eyes and let out a gusty sigh at the sight of the condom's reservoir steadily filling and stretching out with a heavy, distended orb of yellow fluid. Right... forgot you were wearing that. Well, no help for it now, you'll just have to finish as it is. You grip the base of the condom around your shaft just to make completely sure it won't slip off, and admittedly watch with some fascination and yeah, the sort of relieved-ish pleasure that comes with a particularly long, hefty piss just keeps going and going, the condom swelling and growing heavier, eventually resting right on the seat of the toilet and sagging with the weight of it.\n\n'Didn't think I drank that much yesterday. Must be a side effect of the change or something,' you think as you finally pull yourself out of the now very weighty condom and tie it off. Remembering the one from last night, you move to retrieve it... and, with a bit of a sigh, put on a fresh one first. It's starting to become clear that you're just going to have to wear one all the time now, and probably carry plenty with you. Part of your brain can't help but wonder if that might be different if you were actually getting laid and satisfying your libido some other way, but here we are.\n\nYou dispose of the used sheaths and then set about making yourself some breakfast and coffee, wearing nothing but the pale grey rubber on your cock since you haven't made yourself up any new fitting clothes yet. (And admittedly halfway don't see the point of doing. You kind of feel less problem with being nude in this form, maybe you'll just go naked when you're at "home" from now on.) Probably predictably, most of what's in the pantry is just a bunch of non-perishable and shelf stable stuff with pretty much nothing in the fridge. 'Guess I'll have to wait and have the cover androids get me some supplies to see if I can still eat bacon and eggs,' you muse as you eat a particularly large bowl of oatmeal.\n\nOver the next few days you work on a new costume bit by bit and exchange texts with your mother, building "Knightsteed's" backstory. It's been decided that he's Prince Ll'am Raye, from the planet of Equellon (you had to explain why it was a bad idea to name it 'Equestria', and as a consequence spent several days being subjected to outdated pony memes that were basically just Minion memes with... ponies), which was subjected to some sort of timey-wimey stellar bullshit and has thus only recently learned about Avellon's destruction, causing you, her childhood playmate, to come looking for her, and then obviously sticking around to be a superhero because that's just what alien visitors do here (unless they do the other thing). With that in mind, you design your 'Equellonian Royal Armor' with some of the same general design motifs as the Avellonian bits on your old armor, but incorporate some rather equine themes into it, such as a golden mask that looks like barding, horseshoe shapes on the gauntlets and subtly worked into the pauldrons, that kind of thing. (Again, it's remarkable how often alien ceremonial armor just looks like superhero costumes, so no worries there). You craft a sort of blue tabard with a long front and back flap that comes down to your knees for full modesty (despite needing to cut a gap for the tail), bolted on by a golden belt (actually a disguised utility belt). Due to the shape of your legs, the easiest choice for underwear is to design something that you resolutely make yourself think of as a "modernized fundoshi" because otherwise you'd have to admit that it's remarkably similar in structure to side-tie panties; similarly you try not to think about how the blue leg-coverings beneath your new leg armor are essentially stockings. (You also, of course, have to continue to wear a condom underneath it all. Apparently getting even a little aroused leads to you streaming out a pretty copious amount of pre for long periods, making it effectively essential to keep from embarrassing yourself.)\n\nStill, it's got you covered about as well as you conveniently can with this large, slightly cumbersome equinized body. Roughly the time you finish, your mother signals to you that she's about to head off to fight a villain... nothing special, just one of Misteress Mutagen's latest for-profit customers who has, of course, gone crazy with his received product and turned himself into a massive, hulking genetic abomination. The fight itself isn't too difficult, you just swoop in at an appropriate time and join the fray, and between you and your mother's overwhelming might the poor insecure bastard is knocked cold and is soon reverting to the scrawny, muscle-less body he had before he decided to experiment with the equivalent of super-'roids.\n\nAfter that it's just waiting a bit, and the next day your mother brings you to the Guardtower to introduce you around to the Guardian Sentinels who have proven most curious. There is of course a slightly melodramatic recounting of your origin story (which you feel rather foolish about considering it's a lie, though in the process you realize how many just like it you've accepted as completely serious before, which makes you feel even more awkward... but, you cover it, because that's what you do). There are a handful of questions, obviously, and welcomes, and so on and so forth. Luckily you seem to have been welcomed fully into the "adult" hero circle with this rather than the "young adult" hero circle which, let's face it, while technically equal in all ways to the veteran heroes, is still paying your dues and working your way out of the "teen sidekick" leagues.\n\nAs everyone begins to finish up and wander away, one figure wanders closer... specifically a very tall, sleekly-toned figure with rich dark skin, her long black hair plaited, wearing what looks like a very shiny, very provocatively-cut top and panties that show off her large breasts and round hips; in fact, you're aware (since your father designed them) that technically all she's wearing is the gold collar around her neck and the gold disks under her arms and at the top of her hips, which extend an opaque forcefield between them to create the appearance of being covered. She-Wolf smiles at you, flashing several rather sharp teeth, yellow eyes glittering as she reaches out a hand and casually strokes fingertips down your gauntlet, the tips of her curled, rather clawlike nails drifting along the gold-colored metal like feathers.\n\n"It sounds like Equellon is a long way from here, hm? I recall hearing once that Excalibur spent years in some sort of suspended animation on her journey to Earth," she coos in a low, rich voice.\n\n"Yes, I did much the same," you reply, keeping your voice even. "It wasn't terribly trying," you add, doing your best to seem nonchalant. "My people have used this technology for as long as the Avellonians have."\n\n"Ah. Still, a journey of years is a journey of years," She-Wolf says in a pragmatic tone, an actual canine tail emerging from above the low-angled back of the forcefield panties. "I bet you'd really enjoy a chance to unwind. I know Excalibur has often expressed the Avellonian fondness for good wine, if Equellons have a similar appreciation I have some in my quarters here I could share with you..."\n\nYou try not to be obvious about swallowing hard. Yeah, She-Wolf is one of a handful of superheroines that have a bit of a reputation as, ah, liking to welcome new male members of the Guardian Sentinels. Especially large, muscular, and/or rather nonhuman male members. Which might be one thing, considering just how horny you've become... and the fact that you can essentially smell she's in heat, god, though she must be all the time considering what you've heard... if not for the fact that she's just as well-known to have a very big, very jealous husband, Alpha. \n\n... Still, it's very tempting...\n\n<hr>\n[[Accept the invitation.|CalHM]]\n\n[[Find an excuse to leave.|CalHM2x4]]\n\n[["Oh, greetings Alpha, how are you?"|CalHM]]

Yeah, you're just going to have to do what every other single guy does, pretty much. You sigh a bit, but having decided and resigned yourself to the most simple and straightforward method of relieving your urges (for now at least) has helped you settle a bit. You take a few steps towards the bed... then pause. The memory of just how much you came the first time back in Deathtrap's labyrinth washes over you, heating your long face and making your cock throb again. Yeah, you do that once, let alone a couple of times, and you'll be in for an uncomfortable amount of bedding changing and cleaning before you're able to sleep. Sighing, you turn and head down the stairs, your stiff prick wobbling around as it points the way ahead of you.\n\nLuckily, it looks like the lab facilities, including the fabrication equipment, really is all fully upgraded, and what you're going to make isn't exactly complicated... in fact most of the materials and general purpose are in the database already, you just need to tweak them for... specific fit. Sitting down at the 3D printer interface station, you set to work, occasionally pausing to stroke your stiff prick to relieve some of the ache, occasionally continuing to stroke it or gently heft your aching, overfull balls with one hand while typing with the other.\n\nIt doesn't take long, thankfully, and you set the machine to start printing... and, as an afterthought, order it to keep printing, adding a wrapper to the design. You're going to need a fair few of these, you're pretty sure. You sit back and watch as the nozzles work, rapidly bringing together something circular on the printing bed. Again, luckily, this isn't a complicated design, and these are the most bleeding-edge 3D printers on the planet, so it only takes a minute or so before the completed product is nudged off to the side of the printing bed so that the printer can start on its next one.\n\nYou quickly take the fairly sizeable disk of the condom and place it over the flared head of your cock, rolling it down with a soft moan... the material's still pleasantly warm from the printing process. (You're not sure how pleasant it might be for anyone without a fair bit of invulnerability, but you're fine.) Looks like you got the fit just right too... pleasantly snug without being uncomfortably tight. You settle it into place and then start stroking quickly, shivering at the slick feel of the condom's material pressing over your sensitive, eager flesh.\n\nWith the amount of pre you make now, the reservoir is already starting to inflate and droop slightly after only a few moments. Not to worry... this isn't any ordinary latex, as plain as it looks right now (since you didn't bother to use anything but the default color for the material, so it's just a translucent dark gray), it's... well, it has its own fancy name, but it's easier to think of it as superlatex. This one condom you printed could easily hold dozens of gallons, and you don't cum nearly that much. ... Although if you could-\n\nThe thought of what that would feel like, to literally cum enough to fill a small hot tub, sets you off and you let out a long whinny, thrusting upward into your hands, your cock pulsing and throbbing in your large-fingered hands and shooting long jets into the condom's reservoir, the material stretching and extending with your first shots before the flow starts to settle a bit. The hefty bulge of cum starts to grow further and further, hanging heavily off the end of your cock, swaying and wobbling with its thick and ever heftier load of thick jizz. You breathe hard, letting out a few rather bestial snorts through your nostrils and even giving your head a wild shake as the sensation starts to clear.\n\nOnce you're able to focus again, you eye the rather massive cum balloon dangling off the end of your still rather stiff prick. Well... it's not dozens of gallons but it's well over one. Maybe one and a half. Shaking your head ruefully, you carefully grip the bulbous balloon up near the tip of your blunt cockhead where there's still some give and pull it off, tying off the end of it and setting it aside. Then, after only a brief moment of eyeing your still steely shaft, you reach over to pluck up another freshly-printed condom from the small pile that's accumulated, this one in a standard cellophane wrapper that you tear open with your teeth before rolling the fresh cocksheath on.\n\nThis time you decide to stand, wrapping both hands around your superlatex-sheathed prick and thrusting forward into them. That somehow feels both even better and more natural... your altered body's form somehow just feels far more designed for fucking, like you were just built to thrust your hips lustily. You let your mind start to wander, imagining yourself fucking your on-again-off-again girlfriend with this big new equine prick, how much she'd squeal and moan and buck for you. But as you go on, the reservoir once again filling with more and more of that free-flowing pre and swaying around like a thinly-filled balloon at the tip of your thrusting prick, your mind starts to wander, thicking of other girls from college, of pretty female superheroines, and as much as you try to avoid it, the thought of your own mother on her back with her legs wrapped around you. But it's when the thought of a thick, gooey, muscular black horsepussy gripping around you sneaks in there that you really start thrusting frantically, snorting and huffing ferally before letting out a long, completely animal whinny as you once again fill the reservoir with a copious load of thick, creamy horsejizz.\n\nIt takes two more loads before your cock even begins to soften and you can fully regain control of yourself, huffing softly as your breathing calms. Finishing tying off the last of the large cumballoons you've created, you set them aside and eye them. The last of them is smaller but... not by a lot. In fact if your supersenses didn't include a certain amount of "super-precision comparison", you probably wouldn't be able to tell the difference between load one and load four. Well... you suppose that says a lot about your enhanced regenerative capabilities. (You're not sure if that would hold true of yourself normally, since it's been quite awhile since you were sufficiently motivated that you went four times in such a short period, and that was when your powers were developing and you weren't particularly concerned with judging and comparing the results.) Muttering a bit, you pick them up and carry them over towards the disposal chute.\n\nYou pause though as you lay a hand on the chute's handle. There's almost a weird sense of proprietary ownership of such amazing, huge loads. Part of your smug, prideful masculine mind feels like you should display the results like a trophy by saving them or something. Which... you suppose you do have the equipment for here, if you were going to do that. Weird as it would be. ... But not like anyone else would know...\n\n<hr>\n[[Save them.|CalHM]]\n\n[[Toss them.|CalHM2x3]]

Eh, you can just announce, dramatically, that you were flying by when your super-hearing alerted you to the breakin, whatever high-end burglar it likely is trying to find a giant stack of money (because obviously all rich people, even rich college students, just leave huge piles of cash laying around, at most stored in a civilian market wall safe) will likely be too freaked-out to think of anything other than maybe trying to run or surrendering outright.\n\nYou turn and fly towards the building, utilizing one of the side windows with a "broken" latch rather than the special ceiling entrance. You clop down the hall, trying not to worry about what your hooves might be doing to the hardwood, and try the door... yup, left unlocked and slightly ajar. You do actually use your superheroing to listen in... no one in the living room, though you can hear some faint movement from the bedroom. Someone in some sort of bodysuit examining the place for that wall safe, no doubt. Still, best to hurry before they somehow, through some insane bout of luck, do manage to trigger the armory release.\n\nYou zip across the room and take a moment before throwing open the door with a dramatic bang (hopefully not quite hard enough to actually damage either the door or the wall). "Alright, villain," you boom in your new Hero Voice, which admittedly is much more impressive than your old one due to the absolute size of your throat now. "Come quietly, and I'll tell the authorities that you coop-"\n\nThere's... no one here? The room appears entirely empty.\n\nYou frown slightly. You didn't hear any scrambling, they couldn't have gotten into another room or out the window, and you didn't hear any other sounds like someone teleporting away. So how could they possibly-\n\nSuddenly the air in front of you wobbles and shimmers with a sudden motion, and something hits your face and chest, making you lurch back in surprise. There's something grainy and unpleasant about it instantly, but also a thick, cloying smell that shoots right up your flared nostrils and into your brain. Your enhanced sense of smell works against you here, as the knockout gas hits you hard and you stagger in place, wobbling for a moment before hitting the ground on your back, watching as the now fully-visible slender figure in its shiny black bodysuit strides over to you. "Klepto... kitty...!" you gasp out.\n\n"Nyeeheeheehee~!"\n\nWhen you come to, you find that you're on your back on the bed, your hands cuffed above your head to the headboard. (Admittedly this may not be the first time this has happened, but the first time where you weren't awake for it. ... Also you weren't a horseman and in costume before.) You of course immediately try to break your bonds even as you take in everything else, but there's that familiar sluggish, weak sensation that says the cuffs are power dampeners. The situation is also, uh... ... not good, though clearly some parts of your anatomy have differing opinions on that.\n\nKleptokitty is sitting astride your lap, having used some of your (Morgan's) mountaineering cable to tie your ankles and bind them to the legs of the bed on either side. The svelte villainess is clad in her (stolen) stealth suit, a slick-looking black thing that could almost be made of satin if not for its ability to turn her invisible if she stands perfectly still. The top of it has been molded into a pair of feline ears, a pair of advanced night vision goggles similarly given a feline shape, though at the moment they're pushed upward to reveal eyes just as brilliantly green as the lenses are anyway. The lower face mask portion of the hood is also pulled down around her neck to reveal her smug, definitely kittenish smirk.\n\nThe reason for that smirk would be that while most of your uniform is still in place, she's managed to undo the 'fundoshi' part of it and toss aside the loincloth, leaving your (still-latex-sheathed) cock jutting up, almost brushing the bottoms of her pert black-clad breasts. Not hard to tell why you're, ah, hard, since not only are her gloved hands (the pads of which have a slight bumpy, 'grippy' texture that's stimulating you through the condom) stroking up and down your length, but her crotch is resting right against your currently very overfull balls. God, the material of the suit actually feels like satin too!\n\n"Oh good, you're awake, that'll make this muuuuch easier," she says with a giggle, shamelessly not pausing for a moment in that slow, steady two-handed stroking over the latex-sheathed part of your cock. \n\n"K-Kleptokitty!" you splutter, before blurting out, "You're going way too far this time!" Which is a statement that seems so obvious that you feel a little stupid just saying it, but still.\n\n"Ohhh I dunnooooo," she says breezily, still kitty-smirking at you as she gives her hips a little wiggle to rub her pussy against your sack through the suit, making you let out a soft whinny-like moan. "Kinda seems like this is destiny, nyeeheehee~! See, originally I broke in to klep a few things from the Mekborne geek's apartment just for fun, but then here comes the fresh new hotness hero Knightsteed busting in and getting a faceful of my sleep sand! And then here I go just hauling you onto the bed to tie you up, when thiiiiis goes and gets all hard and flings your heroic little man-panties across the room!" she declares with another giggle, making you groan internally. Goddammit. "And turns ouuut you're already wearing this and... mmmm, it's just tooooo good a chance at klepping something fun to resist!"\n\n"I... w-what are you talking about?" you demand, groaning softly as she ducks her head down and swirls a rather long, apparently very agile tongue around the flared head of your cock, bumping over the part where the reservoir's already hanging heavily on one side with a water balloon-sized bulb of pre.\n\n"You should hear the way the other villainesses talk about you," she says with a snicker, starting to put just a bit more force and speed into her pumping hands, rocking her body lightly as she does to grind her crotch against your balls. "Half of them want to capture you and put a saddle on you, the other half want you to pin them down and pound them through the pavement, and I think some of 'em vary day to day! Now me, I could take it or leave it," she purrs, even as she wiggles those overflowing mouthful-sized tits against your cock, bumping the pre-balloon and setting it to wobbling. "But see, I know a thing or two about the whole 'thoroughbred' business, and I bet your stud juice would command preeeemium prices like any Kentucky Derby winner, huh?"\n\n"N-no... Kitty, you can't," you groan, even as she continues to pump, and stroke, and grind against you.\n\nThough her expression is as smug and collected as ever, you can still see that her face is flushed under her hood as she lets out another kittenish giggle. "C'mooon, you were already wearing this conveeenient thing, and I bet from how much stuff you're already putting out, I'll be able to klep a huuuge amount, and sell pints of it at ten thou a pop to horny villainesses! You'll proooobably wind up with some little colts and fillies, buuut that's your problem and theirs, huh?"\n\nYou shiver, having a hard time focusing enough to say anything as your brain fogs over with lust. There are a lot of reasons this is overwhelming you... for one thing, Kleptokitty is the same age as you are, and started her thieving career about the time you started your heroing career. She's always been an extremely cute little gremlin since the time she was breaking into museums and showing off her very nice butt in bike shorts, and as she got older she kept the gremlin-ness but also turned into a huge flirt, and has actually zig-zagged into helping out the heroes occasionally. So it may be that a number of times through your adolescence (and maybe once or twice in the years since) you've fantasized about almost exactly this situation... admittedly in those you weren't a horseman... and in a lot of them she was still wearing the old bike shorts... but still.\n\nThat's the Morgan Mekborne/Caliburn part of you getting really turned-on. The Knightsteed part of you is apparently extremely vulnerable to the suggestion that a large part of the supervillainess population is apparently eager enough for your seed to pay thousands of dollars for it. You can't keep yourself suddenly from fantasizing about all the hot villainesses you know, some of whom you've also been quietly, guiltily lusting over since you were thirteen with their bellies grown round with your offspring and their tits full to bursting with milk. Your eyes roll some in your head as Kleptokitty starts stroking a bit faster again, now rubbing her belly enthusiastically against your length.\n\n"It's getting so hot," she purrs, in almost exactly the tone you've imagined her saying it while gripping your dick in your fantasies. You grit your teeth, trying to hold yourself back, but feeling the edge of the cliff getting closer, and closer, tension building low in your belly, pressing in on you, every stroke seeming like it's both pushing and pulling you right into an orgasm. You feel yourself tipping over the point of no return-\n\nAnd suddenly she stops, one of her hands dropping down and gripping almost painfully tight around the very base of your shaft. You let out a short, almost barklike whinny of surprise, feeling something not quite like an orgasm shudder through you, some strange mixture of climax and suddenly being denied it that leaves you feeling vaguely crushed, weak and vulnerable beneath her.\n\n"Mmm, noooot yet, horsie," Kleptokitty coos, bringing her hand up and resuming very slowly stroking your cock through the latex, just the most gradual, almost torturous strokes ever. She shivers a little, though, and lets out a soft, mewling moan of her own. "Holy shit though, I think I actually felt them get bigger underneath me. I bet we can edge you a couple more times, and by then you'll give me a load big enough that I can finally buy and outfit my own Kitty Kat-" She pauses briefly, looking vaguely concerned, then clears her throat and concludes, "Cave." (You're not sure how you can tell she used a different letter there, she just did.) But she resumes her feline smirk as she continues those slow, deliberate strokes with a gentle squeeze here and there. "Should only take an hour. Or three. Hopefully you don't go crazy from that many ruined orgasms, buuuut that's a chance I'm willing to take, nyeeheehee~!"\n\n<hr>\n[["...!"|CalHM]]\n\n[["... Grrrr!"|CalHM2x6]]

Thinking fast, you say, "I greatly appreciate the offer, but with only being recently arrived, I still have a few things I really should be attending to... my ship's engines can be finnicky after long trips, and, well... I should check them often, is all," you note, letting just the faintest air of concern edge into your voice.\n\nShe-Wolf blanches just the tiniest bit at the vague implication of your ship blowing up (she's been a hero long enough to know that alien star drives exploding can be anything from "a bit of pretty fireworks" to "Earth-shattering kaboom"), and nods quickly. "Oh, of course, of course, understandable. Ah, you should go do that, then."\n\nYou nod, bidding her a polite goodbye, and then quickly slipping through the crowd and towards the teleporters, as covertly as a seven foot horseman can. It's probably a bit gauche to ghost what's essentially your welcoming party, but anyone who saw you talking to She-Wolf will probably understand.\n\nAnd indeed, over the next few weeks you start making quite a name for yourself among the supercommunity ranks as Knightsteed. Your enhanced strength, speed, and senses over your already impressive half-Avellonian abilities easily put you in league with Excalibur as far as pure potency (ahem) goes, even if you still lack some of the other parts of her power suite. But already in that time you also make quite an impression on the villains, and have several quickly swearing eternal vengeance on your head (with them being a mix of villains you were already kind of nemeses with and some new ones, which you wonder how that will translate when you go back to normal).\n\nAlas, on the "back to normal" front there hasn't been much word. Every time you check in, your father just says he has a few leads that he's looking into, but that's about it. You're so far still stuck as a giant... and libido-enhanced... horseman. Several times a day, at least, you have to stop and change the condom worn under your uniform, usually finding that it's filled with enough pre to match several full pornstar-sized loads. Generally it's best to actually find somewhere private to have a full jerk-off a few times a day as well, leading to the rather embarrassing (and admittedly exciting) situation of finding caves, empty stretches of forest, or alleyways for the world's newest big superhero to stroke his cock and fill a supercondom with a several gallon load. (Which, lacking any other option, you have to do the ol' "super-garbage disposal" trick of tossing them at the sun... you have no idea if they actually get there or maybe just burn up in the atmosphere, but either way you haven't heard of any reports of mysterious white goo rain falling on anybody, so you're assuming it works.)\n\nAdmittedly, it is kind of nice not worrying about the secret identity stuff... when you're off you're actually off, able to retire to the farm and rest inside your Silo of Solitude in peace. You do kind of miss your civilian-side friends, and feel bad about how you essentially had to take your leave of them without more than the occasional email or text message, but it is still kind of nice to have time to settle down, get some real sleep, maybe even watch a movie or play some games and only have to worry about one side of your life interrupting.\n\nIt's with this luxurious rest in mind that you're flying across the city towards the farm when you get an alert. Someone's... breaking into Morgan Mekborne's apartment? What? Admittedly that's not exactly impossible to do... it does, deliberately, have very expensive and good but entirely "civilian market" security on the normal parts of it, and it has been standing empty for a good long while with "Morgan" blatantly absent from the city. It's highly unlikely anyone would be able to find and access your hidden gear.\n\n... Hm, still. Best not to leave it to chance and find out later. You should probably go check in on it and see what's up. Or... wait, would it look too suspicious for Knightsteed to check on a security alert at Morgan Mekborne's apartment? Maybe you should defer it to someone else.\n\n<hr>\n[[Go yourself.|CalHM2x5]]\n\n[[Send someone else.|CalHM]]

Yes, you feel surprisingly calm and easy about this, like a great cloud over your thoughts has been lifted. Everything is very clear to you now.\n\nSupervillainesses want your cock, your cum? Enough that Kleptokitty was absolutely certain they'd pay her tens of thousands of dollars for it? Fine then. You'll give it to them. On your terms. As to what happens after...\n\nYou eye the obviously insensate and likely to remain that way for some time Kitty. Right... you can't just go around doing it openly and expect to get away with it. You have a reputation to uphold. Much better if the population of villainesses just gradually dwindles as you find good excuses for it. Because it's not like you can just let her go around telling everyone that you raped her unconscious, whether she enjoyed every second of it or not. \n\nNo, you'll have to do something to insure her silence... or possibly her loyalty. Luckily, you're in the right place for it, you think as you turn towards the wall housing the armory and work the controls to open it up. Specifically, a handful of those villain items you never got around to locking away in the Guardtower before now, and which you think now you never will. Far more useful in your hands, after all.\n\nLet's see now... there's one of Misteress Mutagen's [[Anthrogooper|CalHM5x1]] guns, capable of turning anyone sprayed with its contents into some variety of anthropomorphic animal. This being relevant because this specific model of the gun causes the transformed individual to "imprint" on the first person they see as their "alpha". They're a real pain in the ass when the Misteress starts off a fight by gooping a teammate, and the first thing you have to do is fight the animalized version of one of your friends. (Actually come to think of it your parents are right, this sort of thing does happen a lot.)\n\nYou've also got one of the Imaginator's [[Objectifier Rays|CalHM]], a ray gun capable of turning people into inanimate objects. Most versions are temporary, only transforming people for a few days (or, in the case of some superpowered individuals, actually being able to "struggle" out of it), but this particular one was augmented by some alien technology and the transformations proved semi-permanent unless actively undone by someone who knew an object had been a person. You'd actually meant to destroy it after studying it a bit, but now perhaps better that you never got around to it.\n\nYou've also got one of Mister Master's [[Programming Headsets|CalHM]]... normally of fairly dubious short-term effectiveness, but quite frankly you're a lot smarter than their inventor is and you're pretty sure fifteen minutes of quick work could turn it into a much more effective brainwashing device.\n\nLet's see, let's see, for just getting her nicely out of the way, there's also a [[shrink ray|CalHM6x1]], a [[slimeifier|CalHM]], a [[dimensional mirror|CalHM2x8]], or a simple, straight-up [[disintegration disk|CalHM]]. For a few other methods of keeping her around but loyal and/or quiet, you have some [[drone nanites|CalHM]], a [[memory eraser|CalHM]], some [[superdrugs|CalHM]], and a [[love potion|CalHM]]. \n\n... Boy you really have let your backlog of confiscated villain items build up, haven't you?\n\nOh well. So much the better!

The thing about power dampener cuffs is that pretty much all of them... especially those that are affordable to villains of Kleptokitty's level on the easy-to-access super black market... is that they assume that robbed of superstrength/speed/etc., the hero in question will only have the capabilities of a normal flesh-and-blood person. They do not, therefore, take into account the fact that the one wearing them might still have the proportionate strength of a Clydesdale, and with a hard flex and yank, the cuffs (already apparently set to their max size) break and fall away, your hands shooting out to grab Kleptokitty by the waist, her eyes shooting wide open.\n\n"Wuhoh," she squeaks.\n\n'Wuh-oh' is right, as you instantly haul her up, place her at the flared head of your cock, and yank her back down, stuffing your latex-sheathed cock (hefty balloon of pre and all) inside her. The stealth suit's fabric splits open neatly and lets you plunge right into her (extremely wet) cunt, the belt around her middle actually popping off and falling away as the bulge of your cockhead passes under it with no room to spare. In fact the outline of both your head and shaft show under the gleaming black supersatin as you haul her fully down on you until the flare is visible just under her perky tits, Kitty twitching and shuddering on top of you, her hands having shot out to grip your forearms, her eyes rolled up and teeth clenched, drool already starting to run down the side of her chin as she's overwhelmed by just that suddenly being filled with super-horsecock.\n\nYou give your hips a little wiggle and then let out a positively thunderous feral snort before you start pumping her over you rapidly, using the sleek, cute villainess like a fleshlight to jerk yourself off with. You can feel from the slight stretches and squeezes of the condom around you that the reservoir filled with pre has lodged itself in her womb and is squishing and pressing in there as you thrust... from the look on her face and the noises she's making, it's stimulating her in ways she could have never even conceived of, besides the sheer size and depth of your penetration.\n\nYou instinctively hold back enough not to damage her, but otherwise you pound her on your prick relentlessly, huffing and snorting bestially as you masturbate yourself with the superthief's stretched cunt, half ignoring and half enjoying her yowls and cries as you do. (Luckily your neighbors are also gone on trips.) Your lips pull back from your tombstone-like teeth in a smirking sneer of delight as she's forced to cum, her overstretched pussy trying to squeeze around you and gushing all over your balls and hips as you continue to relentlessly work her over your prick, every stroke sending more juices spraying out since there's no room inside her for both them and your prick.\n\n"Doesn't seem fair you getting to cum when you were gonna edge me 'til I went crazy, huh?" you growl smugly at the clearly insensate Kitty. "I guess I'll just have to make you cum so much that you go crazy, huh, catslut?" you add as you continue giving her the good, thorough raping it's currently obvious to you she was hoping to get by breaking in here.\n\nShe certainly isn't making any noises that sound terribly coherent, yowling and shrieking like a cat in heat being bred as much as anything as you use her. In a classic example of villain hubris (although perhaps not in quite this situation usually), her ruining your earlier orgasm has made you last much longer this time, requiring you to build back up to it from the start and meaning that by the time you feel yourself properly building back up to one, your balls are not only massively, achingly full, you're moving her in a near-blur over your prick, her head bobbling around like it was spring-mounted.\n\n"You want a big load of my cum, bitch! HERE!" you finally bellow as you thrust up into her and yank her down on yourself.\n\nKleptokitty practically shrieks her lungs out as there's a heavy spurt that's visible even through her skin, before her stomach begins to bloat out and round. Her eyes roll up and her jaw finally sags, tongue lolling out and a brainless smile curls her lips as she starts to cum and, apparently, doesn't stop the entire time you're pouring your load into her. She just twitches and makes genuinely kittenish little rather happy-sounding mewls as she gushes all over your sheath and balls while her stomach bulges further and further out, not stopping until she looks easily 21 months pregnant, the stealth suit finally splitting open completely in front and spilling her heavy, wobbling cumbelly onto your abs and baring those perfect little tits, her nipples looking so hard they're almost visibly twitching.\n\nTaking just a few moments to bathe in the afterglow of an incredibly good orgasm after the ruined one, eventually you sit up, laying her down on her back and standing up at the side of the bed, pulling out of her... well, or starting to. The massively inflated condom is still stuck inside, and though you slide mostly out the stretched neck of it still hugs around the head of your cock. You reach down to grip it tightly before pulling out, then tie a knot in it before slowly but firmly starting to pull. Kleptokitty makes some all-new and very interesting noises and cums several more times as you gradually pull the massively cumflated condom out of her, the squishing, stretching, pliant mass gradually sliding out and finally plopping down to the floor like a cream-filled garbage bag, leaving her pussy gaping open some but completely clean of any cum but her own.\n\nYou take a step back, your head finally starting to clear some as you take in your handiwork. Really, you feel very-\n\n<hr>\n[[-calm.|CalHM2x7]]\n\n[[-PANICK!!!!|CalHM]]

Specifically, a health check preceding a stint in a rejuvenation tank. Your pussy is still gaped open slightly a week later, you think with annoyance as you effortlessly slide two fingers into it. It's not as bad as it was right after, but it's bad enough! And there's your voice, too.\n\nMostly your decision is whether you want to spare yourself some humiliation and pay out of pocket, or go on the record with what caused the issues so your insurance can pay for it.\n\n... You'll decide at checkout.\n\nUnfortunately, the matter gets rather more complicated before you ever get that far.\n\n"What do you mean I'm pregnant?!" you blurt as you're sitting naked on the side of the biobed.\n\n"As in... pregnant?" the nurse says, raising one faintly glowing eyebrow. "I can't give you further details than that, just yet, we only just turned it up as part of your preliminary scan."\n\n"Wha... buh... I..."\n\n"So... not a planned pregnancy?" the nurse asks in a gentle tone. "Is the father involved?"\n\nThat question is enough to briefly bring you out of your shock and give you an exceptionally flat expression. "Let's just say 'no'."\n\nThe nurse apparently takes the hint at that, clearing her throat, ceramic-white cheeks coloring faintly blue. "Alright, well, let's just have you lay back and I'll do the rest of the scan," she says in a tone of voice that indicates she's shifted to Full Professional mode and will no longer be offering any sort of commentary.\n\nSuits you, you think... as much as you can with your mind reeling more than ever. You lay back and stretch out on the bed, mind awhirl as the nurse gently places several sensors on your bare stomach... which, now that you look at it, is actually noticeably rounder than usual. You'd just assumed that got stretched out by the wolves too, from the... ... massive loads of... ........ reproductive material.\n\n"Scanning now. Looks like you're about a week along of a projected pregnancy period of..." The nurse glances at a nearby screen before continuing. "Sixty-three days. Looking good, healthy... yes, they definitely do have a different genetic profile than you, but yours is still there," she adds, apparently versed enough in various species to know that two months isn't a normal pregnancy period for two Humans. "Aaaand... I'm detecting multiple fetal heartbeats."\n\n"Multiple?" you squeak.\n\n"Yes. I can show you, if you like?" she asks, in a slightly delicate tone.\n\nWithout really thinking you give a numb nod, watching as a holoscreen appears near the bed. The nurse spends a few moments working, before the more precise equivalent of an ultrasound image appears on the holo.\n\n<hr>\n[["Two?!"|ChiWild1x6]]\n\n[["FOUR?!"|ChiWild]]

Indignation and defiance wells up in you at the very idea... before you remember that you are still very much surrounded by an unknown number of very smart wolves, and now completely bereft of both weapons and clothes.\n\nMeekly, you slowly get down to your knees, and then lean forward onto your hands, shivering some at being brought just that much more into line of sight with all those heavy, long, thick canine cocks... and all of them are pointed right at you, some of them drooling a bit already from the tip with obvious desire and intent.\n\n"Hruff," what's now obvious as the alpha commands, lips drawing up in a doggy smirk as his amber eyes glitter delightedly, muzzle giving a slight jerk the opposite direction.\n\nYou bite your lower lip, but that command is just as obvious as the last one, and after only a moment's hesitation you shuffle around on all fours, forced to take in the sight of more of the excited, aroused wolves leering at you with heated desire in their eyes and cocks twitching, before you can present yourself to the alpha like a proper bitch. He gives a soft huff, not quite a full verbalization like before, but nevertheless you obey the likely meaning, lifting your ass further, showing yourself off to him.\n\nYou suppress your shivering at both the cold and the expectation as you can hear those huge paws padding closer to you, and are unable to help letting out a loud squeak as a huge, broad tongue flicks out and practically slaps against your pussy in a quick lick. Blushing in embarrassment and humiliation as the wolves give out another bestial laugh at your reaction, you shudder hard again as that big tongue gives your sex a much longer, more deliberate lick, one that trails all the way up over your pucker. \n\nBut that's apparently all the foreplay the alpha is interested in as he moves forward, looming above you, his furry chest and belly brushing along your lifted ass as he moves. Part of you is instinctively and absurdly grateful for the heat his large form radiates and the shelter it provides from the cold night breeze, before you're near-instantly and forcibly reminded of why he's there as the tip of something large and even harder pokes at your thighs and ass.\n\n"Hruff," the alpha commands from above you, the simple, curt half-bark having taken on a somehow even more smug and imperious tone.\n\nAnd yet again, its meaning is clear. Swallowing, you slowly raise a shaking hand and move it between your legs. You can feel the heat radiating off his cock even before you touch it... god, it must be practically steaming in the cold of the night. Even at the touch of your fingertips you can tell how heavy it is, how thick, how hard. And you... you have to help him put that inside you?!\n\n... Well. Yeah. You do. So.\n\nWhimpering a bit, you nevertheless guide the pointed tip of the scooped head up between the lips of your pussy, twitching a bit as you feel him get settled at your entrance. You almost don't want to take your hand away, knowing that once you do he's going to start. And you're right... your hand's barely rested back on the ground when the alpha suddenly shoves forward, stuffing numerous inches of that throbbing, almost boiling-hot canine cock into you. Your jaw clenches and your eyes roll up at the suddenness of it, the intensity, but there's not even a single moment to collect yourself before he's starting to thrust, forcing even more of that horse-sized doggy dick into your already overstretched cunt as he does. Your mind reels as you look up and see that big, furry, dark form looming over you, and all around you more of them, eyes staring with blatant feral lust at your body as your tits shake with the thrusts and your belly bulges with the cock of their leader, each and every one waiting his turn with you.\n\nYou can't even be sure whether you'd call it pleasure or pain as that massive red rocket slams into you again and again, the sensation simply so intense and overwhelming that it's somehow both simultaneously and something beyond either. When his knot slaps against your pussylips and clit for the first time you cum instantly, like he'd pressed a button, the orgasm coming as a forced and complete surprise to you, and mingling with and enhancing the rest of it, your mind quickly starting to get overwhelmed. Whether the alpha notices your orgasm or even cares, he just keeps slamfucking you, driving your smaller body with every thrust, making your breasts bounce hard beneath you and your head toss, your ponytail snaking around to the side of your head and through the leaves.\n\nIt could be minutes or over an hour when the alpha's thrusts turn sharper and harder, with pauses between them as he works his hips, grinding that massive knot against you, forcing your pussylips further apart each time. 'No, no, I can't take it,' the part of your mind that's still in control blurts. 'No way I can take it, I can't take it, it's too big, it's way too big, I can't take it!' you plead silently, not sure whether you mean you can't take it physically or mentally.\n\nThe one is answered though, as with a long draw back and then putting his whole body into the thrust, the alpha stuffs that knot into you all in one go, throwing back his head and letting out a long, triumphant howl as it swells inside you and locks in as you buck and writhe underneath him. Your eyes roll up almost completely, your jaw going limp and your tongue lolling out as much as any of the wolves around you as you feel an absolute flood of cum rushing into your body, feeling like molten lava in your core against the cold of the night. Your belly slowly swells up and rounds out with it, your elbows trembling and then giving out on you, letting you drop to your face on the grassy ground as the alpha continues to empty his big, twitching, black-furred balls into you.\n\nHe stays in place a long time, long enough for you to start coming back to your senses, blushing anew in fresh humiliation at the feel of a huge doggy dick still twitching and spurting inside you and your heavy, overfilled cumbelly. But eventually the knot deflates enough that the alpha pulls back, and you let out a loud groan as his knot tugs several times at your pussy before it manages to pop out, leaving you gaping wide and gushing out an absolute torrent of canine cum, your belly slowly resuming something like its normal flatness as your mind reels. Then one of the other wolves steps forward, leaning down to give your shoulder an urging nudge upward with his cool, wet nose.\n\n"Hruff."\n\n"Oh god," you groan... but nevertheless get yourself back up onto all fours, shivering as the new wolf moves into place above you. He gives the command bark again, and you reach back to guide him to the already thoroughly-fucked channel of your heavily cumsoaked cunt. You let out a loud gasp as his first shove buries him in you right up to the knot... he's not quite as big as the alpha, and the alpha's knot did stretch you out plenty, it seems. This wolf now has a much easier time fucking you, his thrusts speedy and eager, the light slaps of his furry hips on your ass practically overlaying with each other. Your eyes roll up and your tongue lolls out again, but this time you have time to feel the orgasm build up, hit you, and be shoved deeper into you and dragged out as he just continues speedfucking you. In fact he's fucking you so hard and fast that his knot actually pops in and out of you several times before he finally shoves it in you deep enough for the swelling to lock it in you, letting out his own triumphant howl as he fills you up.\n\nThe next several wolves are much the same, taking advantage of your leader and their fellows having stretched you out to fuck you hard and fast, popping their knots into you here and there without fully knotting, each one making you guide him to your pussy before he starts fucking you, each one making sure you have to help him use you and fuck you and take you. As the fourth one is pushing himself into you, the alpha moves up, giving you a smirk before hefting himself up, he and the wolf behind you practically embracing as he bringes that extra large red spear of a prick right up to your lips.\n\n"I ca-!" you try to protest, even as you cry out at the wolf behind thrusting into you.\n\n"Hruff," the alpha commands in a sneery tone.\n\nMoaning loudly, you nevertheless obey, opening your mouth wide and letting him stuff that big inhuman member past your lips and over your tongue. He certainly doesn't seem to care if it should fit or not... he and his subservient wolf both begin thrusting into you with steady, even, forceful strokes in near-unison, apparently determined to properly spitroast you. Your jaw is forced further and further open, your throat stretched and bulged as much as your pussy was earlier. In a silent plea for mercy (not that you could make any other sounds than a heavily slurred gargling right now), you wrap your hand around as much of the alpha's massive knot as you can, squeezing and stroking him as if to tell him you'll be a good girl if only he doesn't try to knot your throat. His thrusts don't slow or relax to show any sign of mercy, but neither does he start thrusting harder even as the two of them pick up their pace. Thankfully, when the wolf behind you stuffs his knot into you and both of them's joyous, orgasmic howls ring out in the night, the alpha leaves his knot mashed up against your lips as if forcing you to kiss it, only his shaft buried down your throat and shooting his second load almost directly into your belly.\n\nAfter that the wolves take you two at a time, fucking you from both ends, apparently having no problem with needing to press their bodies together above you in order to do so. You quickly get used to squeezing and massaging their knots as they fuck your face, just as you got used to directing the ones behind you into your pussy, understanding that your cooperation is the price you have to pay for their "mercy". You swallow load after load as even more of them are dumped into your womb, with you unable to help occasionally picturing how the tender pink of your insides must be stretched and red and completely painted with several thick coats of creamy white canine cum.\n\nAfter a handful of spitroasts... your mind's too reeling to count... you see another of the wolves step forward. Blue... blue bits of fur... you think he was the second one that fucked you? Maybe the alpha's like... buddy? He looks at you keenly with those yellow eyes, lips curling and tongue lolling out in a doggy grin, before he performs a classic 'roll over', settling onto his back with paws up in the air... and his heavy hardon jutting upward at an angle over his furry belly.\n\n"Hruff."\n\n"Oh god," you groan. But there's no getting out of it by now, that much is obvious. You crawl forward, trailing cum from both your stretched pussy and overfull mouth, forcing yourself to move and to obediently clamber up onto the big wolf's belly, straddling him. This time you don't just have to guide his tip to your entrance... you have to force yourself to slide down on it. Not a great task physically, considering how many huge canine cocks you've taken by now, just even more humiliating at how much cooperation you're being forced to give in being raped by this pack of horny wolves. All the same you find yourself moaning and moving your hips and legs without hesitation, your hands sinking into the fur of his chest as you fuck yourself on top of that canine cock, bulging up your own belly with it, cum-coated tits bouncing and swaying in the night air, creamy droplets flung off your stiff nipples.\n\nThen a paw thumps to your shoulder, pushing you forward and pillowing your breasts in the wolf's chest fur. The alpha looms up behind you again, smirking down at your shocked impression, and very carefully moving his hips to guide his cock... a very apt demonstration that he never actually needed your help, besides invoking a wild-eyed look of fear from you as you feel the point nudge up against your pucker.\n\n"No! No, wait, please!" you blurt. "I can't take it, I can't, I'll, I'll fucking break, or I'll lose my mind, or-!"\n\nThe alpha thrusts forward, shoving his now thoroughly cum-lubed cock into your ass in mid-plea. All conscious thought immediately leaves your mind in a white-out blur of intensity as you feel those two huge doggy dicks stretching out your holes, stuffing inside you, thrusting an fucking you, using your body for their pleasure, making you feel pleasure, making you a bitch. There's now no more thought in your mind than that of a real bitch in heat, barely noticing as a third wolf hefts up and stuffs his cock into your mouth. You just suck at him and work your hips with pure breeding instinct, being a good little bitch for your males, being a good little fuck-animal.\n\nTime stops having meaning for you in that press of hot, furry, lusting bodies, all three of your holes being fucked, used, stretched, filled. You're surrounded by the smell, the heat, the fur of animals, so you must be an animal too. That must be why you're stroking their cocks, rubbing their balls, why swimming through the memories of it is the taste of their assholes and the feel of them on your lips as you tongue and lick and obey every hruffed order to pleasure them and serve them. Why no matter how hard they fuck you or how exhausted you feel you have to get up and swallow more cock or rim more assholes or suck more balls, because you're a fuck-animal and you have to fuck, you don't have a choice, they're making you, you have to be a good fuck-animal and fuck these animals and be an animal for them to fuck.\n\nYou abruptly snap awake from a dream of all these jumbled thoughts, gasping and spluttering, looking around in a daze, your thoughts still not having entirely returned to full sentience. You blink slowly several times as you do, though, the ache of your whole body and the slight stickiness of it making it very clear that it wasn't a dream. You look down at yourself... still kind of cum-smeared but not as heavily. ... Maybe they licked you kind-of-sort-of clean after you finally passed out instead of just blacking out. Your pussy is still gaped open a fair bit though. ... You kind of wonder if it will ever close entirely again. It looks to be mid-morning, and there's no sign of the wolves. But your clothes and rifle have been left in a... not quite tidy pile nearby.\n\nYou groan lowly as you get to your feet. "... Fuck," you murmur, then wince just a little at how your voice is deeper and raspier. It's unmistakably a 'I've been giving enthusiastic head' voice, and like your pussy you can't help but wonder if it's permanent. You're not sure how your dignity is ever going to recover from this... but you're alive, at least. You bend over to pick up your pants, ignoring the various twinges in your body and the shudders of remembered pleasure from certain parts, stepping into them and pulling them up.\n\nSkwlch.\n\nYou close your eyes, grimacing at the feeling. One of the wolves apparently left you the goodbye present of one more load of cum dumped directly into your pants. You can feel the cooled jizz spreading all over and into your pussy, smearing down your thighs, and even welling up to your equally well-fucked asshole. You hang your head heavily for several long moments, then continue to get dressed once you realize there's nothing much you can immediately do about it. Once your clothes are back on, you make your way back towards the lake, feeling and listening to the squelching noise of the large load of cum in your pants smearing against your skin and rubbing all over you like a sloppy last caress from your departed "friends".\n\nYour filth having overcome your cautious aversion to the water, you strip down and wash at the water's edge, doing your best to clean off your now filthy clothes as well. The lake's far too cold to genuinely immerse yourself in without risking hypothermia, though, so you settle for splashing yourself and getting most of the grunge off and out as you can. Right now you're not feeling like anything around here could do much worse to you (despite objectively knowing better) so you sit naked on the lake beach looking out at the water as your clothes dry, letting the meager warmth of the late morning sun comfort you a bit... and alternately blushing and, infuriatingly enough, feeling your nipples stiffen and your stretched pussy get wet as this or that scattered memory of last night drifts through your head. But eventually you get dressed and move on.\n\nOddly enough, though your journey winds up taking almost a week, you go unmolested the rest of the way, several times managing to find shelter or a decent place to camp for the night. Occasionally you hear the wolves howling in the distance, or even fairly close by, making you hunch on yourself and feel an odd mingling of angry, fearful, and aroused, but they don't approach you again. Mid-morning of the eighth day you hear a bleep as you're walking, and blink, checking your comm. ... Quarantine's clear? Completely clear? Either you got far enough away or something happened back at the nest! Either way you don't care, scrambling to grab for your beacon and hitting the button.\n\nFwip.\n\nYou stumble out of the portal ring back at the Guildhall, reflex luckily taking over and getting your rather tired and aching body moving rather than letting you stumble and sprawl on the floor. You still get a few double-takes as you walk by, and you fight down a blush at the persistent worry they somehow know you got gangbanged by intelligent wolves for twelve hours or so a week ago. But far more likely it's just that you've been roughing it without much sleep for the following week. ... You hope.\n\nYou make a beeline right into the nearest cleanup station, not bothering to look at the price as you pay for the private use of it for two hours. Stripping off your clothes, you bother to snag your comm at the last minute and take it with you into the shower, sighing as the nearly boiling-hot water starts spraying you, soaking your hair to your head and starting to dribble away across the floor, carrying with it a week's worth of dirt, sweat, and probably still a fair amount of caked-on wolf cum.\n\nOnce you start to feel human again (though you feel like you have a new frame of reference for the levels of what that phrase can mean), you check the job on your comm. 'Situation cleared', but no details. ... Well, whatever. Just means you don't have to go back and you can wash your hands of it entirely, as well as your body. Running your fingers through your hair to start working out some of the tangles, you let your mind turn over the last week, letting it all really sink in and process through, and coming to one inescapable conclusion.\n\n<hr>\n[["I have to get a health check."|ChiWild1x5]]\n\n[["I have to get a man."|ChiWild]]\n\n[["... I have to get a dog."|ChiWild]]

"Mm-hm," the nurse says, clearly now trying to keep her voice and face neutral as she looks over her own screens. "Scanning shows identical twins. Mostly human DNA, bipedal... aaand boys," she concludes. "I can have a full report printed out for you if you like."\n\n"Yeah sure okay," you murmur a bit distantly, staring at the ceiling as your head spins.\n\nWell. Guess you won't be doing that stint in the rejuvenation tank today.\n\nAfterward you're just sort of wandering around the Guildhall in a daze for awhile until your head clears up enough for you to take a seat and try to put your brain back together. Well... fuck. You'll have to figure out what to do now.\n\nYou guess you could just kind of... roll with it. You actually have a form of insurance tied directly to this sort of situation (it's a lot to go into but basically it's a collab between your usual insurance and the birth control implant company so just leave it at that), so you could probably afford to move to a slightly better neighborhood and get an apartment where the second bedroom wasn't an armory. You'd also be able to afford not working for a while, since, well, obviously you can't go leaving babies to fend for themselves while you go and get shot at.\n\n... Although you guess you could have built-in babysitting and still manage to work if you went back to your family. That's... a whole other kettle of fish, but you have to admit that it is kind of attractive right now. (You're not sure how your dad would react to having his line carried on by part-dimensionally-altered-wolf babies, but on the other hand maybe he'd be so happy to have grandsons he wouldn't care.)\n\nOr... well... there's always giving them up. There's an orphanage on the Guildhall (you definitely don't want to put them in one on Makarzia) that, to all you've heard, is actually a pretty nice place. ... You guess as nice as an orphanage can be, anyway. You'd probably be almost guaranteeing that they grew up to be Guild mercenaries, but nothing wrong with that. You guess. Entirely possible they'd be taken in by a good family, and the orphanage could use your own file to make sure they'd be aware of their medical history and stuff. (Well. ... Your side of it. If they've inherited any genetic conditions from their dimensionally altered woof daddy, not much you can tell them there.) You're not sure if it's some side effect of hormones setting in or just that you're punch-drunk from the revelation but that option does kind of make you sad, though.\n\n... Still, what to do?\n\n<hr>\n[[Raise them alone.|ChiMom1x7]]\n\n[[Return to your family.|ChiMom]]\n\n[[Give them up.|ChiWild]]

Nnnnh... creepy or not, going over easier land seems like it's more likely to get you the distance you need faster. And frankly you don't want to mess with bodies of water that might have been futzed with dimensionally. The stuff in oceans and lakes can already be freaky enough without being twisted and altered by randomized dimensional energies, you're not messing with that.\n\nYou access your comm's compass program and put a dot in the direction of the lake. There... now as long as you keep the lake on your left, you should be able to avoid going in circles. Taking another deep breath and trying to remind yourself of the scent of smog, you turn and set off into the wilderness proper.\n\nAt first, having to deal with a lot of authentic trees is pretty much the worst part. The ground is still uneven and with a fair number of rocks and roots scattered about, but it's still less punishing on the feet than the large gravel of the road had been. The birds gradually get quieter and the insects louder as the light fades, though despite the unfamiliarity of that you're glad for its presence... most animals go silent around Xenos, so you'll take the chirping of whatever as a sign you're probably still safe, at least from Xenotypes.\n\n(Weirdly mosquitos and ticks and leeches and whatnot seem heavily averse to Makarzians, you've never had a problem with them on missions to wilderness areas. Probably has something to do with growing up drinking Makarzian water, even if it's filtered.)\n\nIt's faded from afternoon to evening, and you're just starting to consider whether you should find somewhere to at least rest for a few hours if not actually get some sleep when you come upon something so ideal that you're almost struck with a note of worry... a campsite. It's a large cement slab with the edges buried and a fair amount of dirt scattered around the surface, but with a depression in the center that's clearly meant for building a fire in, a sort of broad bench that looks like it's sized for being a bit wider than a large sleeping bag, a water faucet, and even a pair of slightly battered and leaf-crusted plastic cabinet-like structures that, to judge by the pictographs, contain a toilet and a shower.\n\nYou stare at it for a moment, then look around suspiciously. Seriously? You're thinking about whether to take a rest and just... walk right up on a campsite with amenities? That's so convenient it instantly makes you suspicious.\n\nThen you remind yourself, you're actually not more than a couple of minutes' four-wheeler drive away from what was probably once an at least mildly popular lake vacation dock. It'd make sense if there were a fair few of these scattered around nearby... probably there even used to be a trail leading here from the dock, but it's either been grown over or you just missed it from the direction you came. \n\nYou're still not sure whether you should stop for the night, though. You are a fair distance away from the town now but stopping in one place for too long seems like asking for trouble, from the Xenos or something else. If you keep up a steady pace, you can cover a lot of ground overnight and just keep walking without getting too tired, maybe even for a couple of days.\n\nOn the other hand the longer you keep going the duller your senses and mind will get. Plus you're a lot more likely to stumble over something and hurt yourself in the dark, or attract something nocturnal's attention. Seems like it's kind of a risk either way.\n\n<hr>\n[[Stop and rest overnight.|ChiWild]]\n\n[[Keep moving.|ChiWild1x2]]

Your name is Fiona Ni Donnghaile, and you're a member of SIEARA... the Space/Interdimensional Exploratoration and Advanced Reconnaissance Authority. It's the premier space exploration and mapping organization in several dimensions, and you've wanted to join since you were small. You did your time moving up through the organization... working a desk in the data analytics and cataloging, working helm on the late shift of large stationary mapping ships, gophering and coordinating shifts on planets marked 'Completely Safe'. But now... now you're ready to begin the exciting career you joined SIEARA to have in the first place. A Recon Ranger... entrusted with the task of roaming not just across space, but even time and other dimensions, gathering data on planets, stars, and phenomenon that no one else may have ever seen before, almost literally going where no one has gone before! ... Well, no one from your dimension anyway. Though sometimes you go where they've gone before, if the task requires it. ... SIEARA is actually a very versatile operation, alright? You understand that sometimes it will involve taking missions that help SIEARA cover its operating costs rather than things that are purely about gathering knowledge, but that's okay... it's still going to be exciting and important!\n\nSpecifically, being a Recon Ranger means you're given your own (small) ship, the rank of Commander which is reciprocal with any other organization that recognizes SIEARA, and a large amount of autonomy... you can pick your own assignments, and fulfill those assignments largely at your own discretion as to methods and timetable! (Within certain parameters, obviously, you're still required to submit reports and have performance reviews just like anyone else.) Finally, no more trudging to the same shift every day, doing the afterwork of real explorers! Today begins your career as an authentic space adventurer!\n\nSo you think as you finish pulling on your boots and fastening on your bracers, and activate your nanosuit. Material pours out both, and you can't help but squirm as it crawls over your round hips, large breasts, and flat belly. (Hey, an explorer should be fit and trim, you put a lot of time in at the gym making sure you could pass any physicals they threw at you!) It only takes a few seconds for it to turn into a shiny black skintight suit with white accents (including over your crotch, where it... hugs very closely) and red lines for design. You turn towards the mirror in your quarters and eye not only the painted-on look of the suit (seriously, your not only your nipples but your areola are completely outlined) but the high heels of the tall silver boots, which you've been assured are an optimal part of the suit's systems. You wish you could focus on how the colors of the suit perfectly complement your pale complexion, red eyes, and short black hair, but you're more distracted by how overtly sexy it is. Almost without thinking, you strike an exaggerated pose, tucking your hands behind your head and lifting one leg up, hips jutted to one side, your face flushed at how you look doing so.\n\n<img src="images/Fiona.jpg">\n\n"... Geez," you murmur, shaking your head. Oh well... you've been wearing slight variations on nanosuits for a lot of your career, even if they weren't quite so revealing. You'll get used to it. Spending a few moments to calm down and remove the blush, you head out of the temporary quarters on the station and head for the ship bay. Soon you can see your new baby, ah, conveyance floating in one of the grav fields, ready to be sent out into the stars and begin your exploration of the mysterious spaces between them! Which is a lot of space, but, y'know. Like your suit the ship is black and red, though primarily red, a sleekly angular oblong of a main body, with foreward-swept wings attached high in the center, adjustable top-and-bottom fins attached close to the tips. It seems quite large to you, considering you'll be the only person aboard most of the time (save when you're working with another Recon Ranger), since it houses not only your new living quarters but a fully-outfitted science lab, specimen containment unit, (relatively small) cargo bay and even a virtuasuite! Still, it's much smaller than many of the practically station-sized ships you've previously been stationed on, since mostly all those did was sit in one place and carefully map every bit of an area of space or stellar phenomenon. Its designation, 'F-826', is painted on the side of the hull... by tradition, if you make it a year, you get to actually name it. (Autonomous recon is, admittedly, a pretty dangerous assignment and tends to quickly weed out anyone who's not actually capable enough within the first six months, apparently.)\n\n<img src="images/F-826.png">\n\nYou're so excited! ... Of course first you have to do a bit of (digital) paperwork, but then you're beaming aboard, striding into the small bridge area and taking a seat at the main navigation panel. "F-826, requesting permission to disembark," you comm to the flight deck.\n\n"F-826, please hold for your exit vector in seven minutes."\n\n... Huh. Yeah it never goes like that in the movies and sims. Obviously you know that happens in real life, since you've actually worked flight deck before, but... you were still kind of hoping they'd just 'Roger!' you right on out of here. Oh well. You go ahead and key up your plotted course for the jump drive, making sure it's all calculated for when you're cleared.\n\n"F-826, you are clear for exit. Good luck, let the stars be your guide."\n\nAwwww! They still said something sweet! That's the best! Beaming happily, you comm back, "Roger, control, thank you!" Then, not wanting to hold anything up, you quickly guide your ship out of the bay at the suggested speed, banking gently and following the vector projected on the viewscreen, cruising out to a safe distance before activating the jump drive and hopping to... nowhere, really.\n\nWell not "nowhere", it's just a mostly empty star system that's had everything between it and the station and everything in it so thoroughly mapped that the jump is effectively instantaneous. You direct F-826... hm, maybe you should start coming up with an unofficial name anyway... to one of the large, barren planets circling the star and have it take up orbit while you consider your options.\n\nNow that you're officially underway as a Recon Ranger, you can select your first assignment! The thoroughness of the mapping means this system also gets a great signal from SIEARA Command, so you're able to pull the list of potential assignments with no problem. Now let's see, first to select a type of assignment...\n\n[[Assistance Missions|FionaJobs1]] - Missions that involve helping someone else out... SIEARA patrols, other Recon Rangers, or third parties who have contacted SIEARA for help with particular issues. Maybe not quite as exciting as going properly solo on your first mission, but they are very responsible and look good on your performance reviews! And the better those are, the better the missions you'll be cleared to take! \n\n[[Charting Missions|FionaJobs2]] - Ooo fuuuun, stellar cartography! Which, a lot like your prior assignments, will involve a lot of just sitting in place or flying slowly around taking scans. Still, you'll actually be doing it out where no one has been before, which certainly provides for more potential excitement than charting systems that have already been explored to almost literally within an inch of their existence. Besides, depending on how far and where you go, you can run into almost any other kind of mission anyway, so... actually, yeah, fun!\n\n[[Planetary Exploration|FionaJobs3]] - Now this is what it's all about! Or at least what you were always the most excited about. Recon Rangers on passthrough charting missions might have tagged various planets as interesting but not actually investigated them much themselves other than a few passing details. They could have whole civilizations! Or fascinating archaeological ruins! Plants that hold the cure to awful diseases, animals that <strike>would make super cute pets</strike> can help with terraforming efforts for colony worlds! The possibilities are endless! Slightly more endless than they are in the void of space anyway!

"Easy," you say aloud in what you hope is a calming tone of voice, the wolves' ears pricking up as you speak, and as you slide your finger off the trigger of your rifle. You carefully slide your hand away from the grip, holding it by the barrel and stock and lifting it up a bit. Yellow eyes track the motion of the weapon and you as you carefully squat and set it down on the ground, before standing up, hands raised a bit and fingers spread wide. "Easy. I'm not here to hurt anybody, see? No threat. No danger."\n\nThe wolves all stare at you, the tension twisting in your belly as nothing immediately happens. You're not sure if it's better or worse once one of the wolves steps forward and ducks its head down, jaws clamping around the barrel of your rifle and picking it up, drawing back with it and then giving a toss of the head to throw it past the circle of wolves. Oh yeah, they know what they're doing.\n\n"Right, but see?" you try, continuing to do your best to keep your tone light. "No threat. I-"\n\n"Hruff," the wolf in front of you, the one with the deep scarlet streaks in his fur, interrupts.\n\n"Er... what?" You can see his yellow eyes trail down your body, and it takes you a moment to realize. "Oh, uh, the coat? You find the coat threatening? Um... okay, fair enough," you murmur, shrugging out of it. Most of your backup weapons are in there. ... Most of your everything is in there really. You jump just a little as one of the other wolves from the circle steps forward and opens its mouth... and after a moment take the hint and drape the collar over his lower jaw, letting him clamp his mouth down on it to take it away and toss it. "Okay, see? Just me. In nothing but some skinarmor and armor plates," you say sheepishly, feeling rather naked in the middle of the circle of big beasts already, the cold of the night piercing through the thin armored fabric and reminding you just how much it clings to your body shape. "Can't be threatened by-"\n\n"Hruff," the red-streaked one repeats.\n\n"... Seriously?"\n\nThe wolf's big yellow eyes narrow and harden dangerously.\n\n"Okay, okay, fine!" you quickly blurt, though you make yourself move slowly as you bend down to undo your shinarmor and boots.\n\nYou're uncomfortably aware of the entire pack's sharp, intelligent yellow eyes watching your every move and raking over your body as you peel down the tight skinarmor of your pants, revealing the bare curves of your ass, and framing your pussy between your bare thighs as you bend over to finish pushing them down and step out of them. Similarly you can tell they're watching intently as you pull your top up and off, large breasts dropping free and wobbling with your motions as you get it off over your ponytail, and then drop it with the rest, trying not to either shiver in the cool night air or to flinch as some of the wolves again move forward, snagging your clothes and boots and taking them away.\n\n"See?" you say, unable to keep the annoyance out of your tone. "Nothing left to be a threat with," you assert, your breath puffing visibly on the night air, the coldness of it almost caressing your bare body and stiffening your nipples until they nearly hurt.\n\nA huffing, rumbling noise that sounds almost uncomfortably like laughter passes through the circle of wolves, their jaws wagging and tongues lolling out to enhance the impression of amusement. Your eyes widen as you realize most of them are now sporting jutting, glistening spearlike members beneath their bellies... while their bodies are only a bit bigger than normal wolves, they all seem to be hung like horses, and blatantly excited by your naked form.\n\n"Hruff," the red-streaked one commands again, with a little downward-nudge of his muzzle. The meaning is... pretty obvious.\n\n<hr>\n[[Refuse.|ChiWild]]\n\n[[Obey.|ChiWild1x4]]

Hm. No. Everything else aside... well, if it seems too good to be true it probably is. Even if its presence makes sense, it just feels weird. Best to push on as long as you can before taking a rest.\n\nEventually the light fades entirely, though a nice bright moon comes out and shines down through the treetops. Another weird thing you really can't get used to on other worlds... Makarzia has a moon but the smog layer and light pollution mingle to produce the interesting optical illusion of a completely empty night sky. Still, it's enough light to see by, even if everything's been plunged into a very deep blue wash of dark shadows, so your decision to keep going seems justified.\n\nHowever it's not that long after full dark when you hear a sound that sends a chill down your spine. Not the hiss or clacking of a Xenotype, but the long, trailing, entirely natural-sounding howl of a wolf.\n\nFollowed by several more howls, some of which seem much closer to you than the first one.\n\n"Shit," you whisper, freezing in place briefly with indecision. Try to get to the lake, hope they won't want to come near... or into... the water? Ah, fuck, no, if wolves won't go into the lake after prey they probably have a good reason. You're thinking furiously when there's another howl, much closer, and without any real coherent plan you take off running, the basic prey animal part of your brain having taken over and saying that if you're being hunted, you better be moving.\n\nThe howls are closing in, and starting to be supplemented by barks and yips from not that far off in the shadows of the forest, the occasional crashing sound of a branch or dried leaves underfoot. You are also starting to get the distinct and very disturbing impression that those barks sound far more coherent and coordinated than you might expect from normal pack hunters.\n\nOh shit.\n\nYou think this not long before something big and dark and furry emerges from two trees in front of you and gives its jaws a snap, making you lurch back and raise your rifle. But even more are emerging from the trees, and you realize they apparently did coordinate... you're completely surrounded.\n\nThey're wolves, alright... big, almost fully black-furred wolves with a light dappling of other colors. Other colors as in, red, blue, purple, green. You have... no idea what that means. They're also larger than other wolves you've seen... wolves are already larger than a lot of people think they are, and these aren't giants, but they're definitely bigger, a bit wider, a bit thicker in the limbs. Most of them have yellow eyes, and you can see a distinct sharpness in most of them. Oh yeah... these are thinkers.\n\n'Fuck, they're like halfway between normal wolves and space wolves,' you think with a grimace, glancing around and seeing again just how thoroughly surrounded you are. \n\nYou really don't like your options here. If you try to fight... well. Not likely to go well for you, but it's always an option. On the other hand... looking at them, none of them looks emaciated or starving, you can't see any of them's ribs. Maybe they're not actually after you as prey, maybe they're just seeing what potential threat's entered their territory, and if you show you mean no harm they'll let you go.\n\nYou guess, at a long shot, you could try to communicate. Could they be that advanced? It doesn't really seem like it, but you could always try.\n\n<hr>\n[[Fight.|ChiWild]]\n\n[[Submit.|ChiWild1x3]]\n\n[[Talk.|ChiWild2x1]]

Arriving via elevator isn't the most dashing heroic thing in the world, but it is the fastest, and since this is effectively a kidnapping then speed matters, you reason to yourself. You head for the elevator and luckily it opens at the first button press, allowing you to hurry in. There's a lock over the button for the penthouse, but that's pretty quickly defeated with one of the tools you carry, and soon the elevator is humming its way upward.\n\nAs feared, you can faintly hear the chime of a bell from above, and decide that the best thing to do is to get in the corner where you won't be immediately visible. When the doors sweep open you give it a split second just to make sure you're not going to be shot at (Studfinder's long since given up using armed bodyguards but you never know), then dive out of the elevator at an angle and come to your feet ready to fight. \n\nLooks like as expected, the elevator opened right up into the main area of the penthouse, which is still largely untouched and probably in its move-in-ready state from when the villainess first rented it. The main addition being a big bondage X-frame, with the cuffs popped open and dangling empty. And, ah, speaking of dangling, what must be their former occupant is standing not far in front of the frame, breathing hard and staring at you with wild, dark eyes, his hefty balls and thick equine cock swaying with the heavy motions of his huffing. He's a towering slab of muscle, leaving you wondering just what the hell he looked like before the injection (admittedly in more ways than one), with an almost entirely horselike head with a sandy blonde mane and rich chocolate-colored hide. He's built like a linebacker, with hefty, thick arms and legs and massive black hooves, and hung like, well, a horse, with massive low-hanging balls, and a shaft with a slightly flared head hanging down over them, a bunched-up dark sheath at the base of it.\n\n"Well well! If it isn't Marissa! How nice to see you!" Studfinder calls from a bit off to the side, striking a pose as if she were about to break out with an anime 'ohhhh hohoho!' at any time. (Weirdly enough, she does almost sound like she's actually glad to see you?) You have to admit that either whatever exercise/juice/cleanse regimen she's on is doing a great job or whatever genetic treatments she got for herself have really kept her up well, because she looks amazing despite the dyed not-quite-Karen haircut and the tacky leopard-print bodysuit. (You guess an actual cougar's fur pattern wasn't distinctive enough.) But it hugs her body fairly well and shows that while she's gotten the older woman hip and waist spread, she's still fairly firm all over and the way she moves says she's ready to actually spring into action. "You got here just in time to see my latest boytoy's initial performance!"\n\n"Pretty fucking sick, Darlene," you reply, narrowing your eyes. "This is why even in the perverts of high society, no one wants to put up with you."\n\nOne of her professionally shaped eyebrows twitches. "The cheek of you, addressing your elders by first name! At least call me 'Miss Dunworth' if you're not going to be professional about it!"\n\nYou raise your eyebrows, then use both hands to gesture at your chest where your emblem is.\n\n"... Ahem. Anyway, you're just in time, Thirdstar!" Studfinder says, pointing at you dramatically. "Now we can see how Chein performs!"\n\n<hr>\n[[Ha! You'll beat these two fast!|MarSS]]\n\n[[Focus on taking down Chein.|MarSS]]\n\n[[Focus on taking down Studfinder.|MarSS]]

You wobble in place, your thoughts swimming naked through pudding. What... just happened? You steady yourself a bit, and realize that there are several Gastly now floating in front of you, leers visible on the balefire-flickering orbs of their face-bodies. You just sort of stare at them in more mild confusion than anything else... you were worried about Ghost Pokemon a minute ago, but now they're just... well, they're here, you guess.\n\nYou look down dully as disembodied, three-fingered purple hands materialize out of nowhere and grab the bottom of your top, pulling it up and spilling your tits free to wobble and shake, stiff nipples bared to the dark, dusty air. That's fine somehow too, you guess. At the least you can't really think of what you'd do about it, other than giving a gasp as those hands turn and cup your tits instead, giving them a firm squeeze. The touch is both cold and tingles, like they were mildly electrified, at least enough to send a shivery sensation through you where they touch that seems to pass right through your breasts and spread through your body, hitting your spine and running straight down into your pussy.\n\nYou'd been distracted from the Gastlies for a moment, but they float closer and turn in midair... presenting large, slightly translucent purple cocks to you. Your eyes widen a little, but again you can't really think what to do about it, especially with those inhuman hands still slowly but very deliberately playing with your tits. One of the Gastlies floats closer and closer, bringing that ghostly dick closer and closer to your parted lips. Your panting breaths almost seem to puff a bit of vapor out of it, though it otherwise seems completely solid, beckoning, beckoning... maybe it would be okay to...\n\nYour tongue pokes out just a bit, and you hesitate for a moment as some bit of your brain with better sense tries to speak up. Then the pointed tips of the ghostly hands' two largest fingers press to the little indentations in the tips of your nipples, doing a mischievous little press-and-swirl motion that makes your hips twitch and your tongue jut further out and drag upward along the bilious purple shaft. It sends another one of those shocks of cold-tingly strangeness-pleasure running through you, but from your mouth this time, and there's little hesitation now before you wrap your hands around both Gastlies' cocks, starting to stroke and pump them with quick, eager motions, turning your head back and forth between them as you lick and suck.\n\nMore disembodied hands pull at your clothes, peeling your pants off and pulling on your jacket, somehow managing to get it off of you without interrupting your jerking the Gastlies off. You don't know, you can't pay attention, you need these ghost cocks, you want them to touch you more, and you let out a loud, slutty moan around one of them that fills the creaking, groaning quiet of the house as the hands start stroking along your bare thighs and ass, squeezing you and playing with you like the one still enjoying your tits.\n\nYour eyes roll some again as one of the large, knobbly-knuckled fingers of the ghost hands pushes itself into your dripping pussy, cupping your crotch and making you buck and writhe as it starts finger-fucking you. It's not long before you're cumming, the sensation seeming somehow both intense and far away, slamming through your brain and seeming to knock you partly out of it in doing so. As if taking that as a cue, the ghosts start getting more aggressive with you, hands wrapping tightly around your wrists and pulling them together behind your back. More of them grab your ankles, and another pair grabs the sides of your head. You're forced to bend forward, your legs pulled apart to spread them and display your naked ass and pussy to the darkness, tits hanging down still in the grip of the original pair of ethereal limbs. \n\nThe hands gripping your head slide forward, fingers shoving into your mouth and forcing you to open wide and hold it that way. The Gastlies, until now perfectly content to let you stroke them and suck them at your own pace, now move, one of them resettling in front of your face but this time shoving itself in, forcing its phantom prick down your throat roughly on the first go, and then starting to pump its body back-and-forth rapidfire, facefucking you hard with that cock that tastes and feels of the plane beyond. The other one floats downward, the hands on your tits obligingly holding them together for it to start just as brutally fucking them, slapping its half-real orb of a body against your cleavage and leaving little splatters of ectoplasm every time it does. \n\nAnother Gastly materializes behind you, you're not sure how you know, you just do, almost as if you can see its cock-bearing sphere of a body coalesce through the back of your head. You give a yowl around the ghost-dick fucking your mouth as that one thrusts into your ass, your eyes rolling... it doesn't hurt, in a weird way it's like it's not even there, even as your ass spreads open around it, gaping and quivering visibly around the translucent phallus. Your squeals and yowls only increase as the hand finger-fucking your pussy pulls out and gives it a smack instead, followed by more ghost hands spanking your ass, ghoulish giggles and shrieks of laughter starting to join in with the noises of you getting rough-fucked in the dark, gloomy interior of the house.\n\nYour eyes roll and your body quivers, your mind feeling like you're both on the verge of passing out and cumming harder than you ever have in your life as the Gastly raping your face shoves in deep and starts pumping thick gouts of ectoplasmic slime down your throat. You can feel more of it spurting down your belly and dripping off of you, as well as being pumped into your belly as the one pounding your ass goes off as well. The Gastlies pull away after a moment, leaving translucent green ghostjizz dribbling down your chin, out of your ass and down over your pussy (now slightly reddened and extremely sensitive from repeated slaps), and plopping in heavy drops off of your flat bare belly. You wheeze wetly, your mouth still held open and gaping by the disembodied hands holding your head... and, obviously, keeping your mouth-pussy available for the next Gastly to float up to it.\n\nSoon your throatcunt and asspussy are both being beastfucked by the ghosts again, another fucking your tits again, though this time from the underside, apparently unperturbed by its body rubbing through the ectocum of its brethren and smearing it all over and into your skin, its heatless flames tickling over your tummy and making you buck and twitch even harder in the grip of your phantasmal captors. You're not sure whether it's the same three Gastlies just rotating between your mouth, ass, and tits, or if different ones wander in to use you and wander out again, but you do know that you're fucked over and over again and used as an ectocum dump, helpless and writhing and constantly torn between just almost being able to recover your senses and just almost cumming so hard you forget your own name.\n\nEventually all the Gastlies pull back, the ghost hands instead shifting their grip, lifting you up into the air and turning you upright, hands still held firmly behind your back, but now your knees bent and lifted high, legs spread wide apart to display your well-spanked pussy and ghostcum-dripping asshole, your large, slime-smeared breasts heaving as you fight to catch your breath, feeling like you might be able to as the fingers of the hands holding your head slide out of your mouth, instead just urging your head forward a bit so that you look down at yourself and how you're shown off.\n\nYou shiver a little as one of the Haunters that must be holding you finally materializes its body as well, its floating disembodied hands coming to rest on your inner thighs. It leers up at you for a moment, before swiping out its impossibly long, broad tongue and slapping it against your pussy with a fresh splatter of green ectoplasm. You yowl loudly, but can't even throw back your head with the other Haunter forcing you to watch, that tongue relentlessly assaulting your poor spanked sex again and again. A strange sort of numbness starts to spread through your sex even as it grows even puffier and more dripping at the Haunter's paralysis-causing ectosaliva. It's like you're going a bit deadened to the soreness from the spanking, and yet in other ways becoming even more sensitive, intensely aware of how heavy and thick and sopping wet you're becoming.\n\nSoon the Haunter fades out, leaving only its hands visible resting on your inner thighs and helping to hold them spread. What fades in in its place are three Gastlies... the same three that have been fucking you all along?... leering up at you as well for a moment before they turn to manifest their cocks. A bit of fear surges through you, able to cut through the mental haze you'd been put in. "Wait, no, don't!"\n\nThen you're gritting your teeth on a fresh scream of mingled intense shock and forced pleasure, forced to watch as all three of them cram their cocks into your cunt at once, shoving into you until their bodies are overlapping. Then they begin thrusting and pumping even as they wobble and sway near-hypnotically, moving around and at times even through each other, their motions constantly shifting the angle and depths of the three sizable pricks working around into your massively engorged, half-numb and yet ultra-sensitive pussy. Your yowls and squeals turn to gurgles, eyes rolling up again but this time spittle dripping down your chin as you finally start cumming and just don't stop, your body quivering until it almost vibrates in the hold of your phantom rapists.\n\nThe Ghastlies don't even stop triple-fucking you once they begin to cum, green goo spurting and fountaining out around their pumping, rotating, stroking pricks and going right through their bodies to start making a large puddle on the floor as you splutter and whimper half-mindlessly. Your flat belly gradually bulges out as you're pumped full of three loads at once with no time for any of them to dissipate like the previous ectoplasm, your tummy starting to wobble around beneath your tits like a slightly overfull water balloon. Rather than pulling out when they're done, the Gastlies just fade away with a little triple-snicker of mocking laughter. A moment later the Haunter hands similarly disappear, abruptly dropping you into the large pool of ectocum to lay there splayed, your ass actually lifted up by your rounded belly to display your gaped holes to the room, your plumped purple pussy still fountaining out more of it to cover your legs and spread the puddle.\n\n'... fuck...' you think, when you can think again. Obviously at least a little time has passed since you're now laying flat on the floor, and most of the ectoplasm has dissipated and drifted away, leaving just a sticky film on you and the hardwood floor. You peel yourself off of it with a grimace, managing to wobble up to your knees with a shake of your tits shaking, still a bit shiny from that film. You look around, seeing if any of your tormenters are there... no, nothing in front of you, nothing behind you, no-\n\nYou quail a little as you look back ahead and find the space no longer empty at all. Instead there's a rather massive Gengar floating there, its stubby little feet not quite touching the floor, its round, spike-topped form bobbing up and down slightly. Like all the other Ghost Pokemon, it's got more of a lewd leer than the usual mischievous smirk, but you can't help but think... maybe just because of the sheer size of it, stretched across the front of that large body... that its seems far more sinister than the others. It lets out a somehow thunderous snicker as you see it, its glowing red eyes narrowing a bit despite the smile not changing. It rises up and angles in, looming over you a bit more.\n\nThe unspoken command is clear: Obey. On your own, this time.\n\n<hr>\n[[Submit to your new master.|ChiPoke]]\n\n[[Go for your repellant.|ChiPoke]]

The professor's certainty that the Team Rocket thing was just a paranoid rumor seems to have rubbed off on you... you can't help but snort a little at the idea of some costumed grunts lurking in the shadows trying to talk ghosts into helping them. Besides, even if you're technically unarmed, you're pretty sure your hand-to-hand skills are up to the task of taking out a couple of said mooks.\n\n(Assuming that none of them has like a Charizard in their pocket. But then, Team Rocket may be known for always planning and plotting something, but they're not particularly known for their competence and strength. At least, you don't know them for it.)\n\nYou stroll up to the house, doing your best to look casual about it, even sticking your hands in your pockets and plastering a nonchalant look on your face. Hopefully if you don't look too edgy or curious, the Ghost Pokemons' tendency towards mischief won't be unduly stirred up. The front door is in fact hanging open, so you just as casually reach out and push it the rest of the way. The interior really does its best to shake your calm exterior... you've never seen a more stereotypical haunted house, with dust gathered on the rather ominous-styled antique furniture, moonlight falling through the boarded-up and cracked windows to fall through numerous spiderwebs (spider Pokemon webs?), everything looking abandoned with only a few halfhearted signs of having been prepared for it by one or two of the bits of furniture having sheets halfheartedly tossed over them. The thing is that for all the amusement park look of it, there's somehow just a deep sense of sincerity to it as well which makes all those stereotypical touches effective. It's probably that you know the place is, y'know... actually haunted.\n\nYou step inside, pulling out a handlumer and clicking it on, sweeping it back and forth in a steady, measured way. Don't wanna look too rattled... also don't want to push it, since it is pretty dark in here. 'Wonder if I should try calling out for Mew?' you mewse (heh) as you move through the house. 'Wait, wouldn't it hear me if I just thought really loud? Mew~!' ... Now you feel like one of those Nipponzi girl-gangers who does the cutesy catgirl thing, bleh.\n\nNo sign of Mew... or any Pokemon, really... in the entrance hall, so you move further on in, into an area that looks like some sort of sitting room (you think that's what it's called), with several bookcases and pieces of shrouded furniture. You... definitely feel like something's watching you, and you doubt that's entirely just paranoia from how creepy this place is. You do feel steadily more creeped out... maybe that's why everything seems a bit more hazy and like it's harder to think, the air thick and scented with... something more than dust and old wood, though you're not sure what. And maybe the creepiness is why your heart is pounding and your skin feels hot and sensitive against your clothes. Your breathing feels heavy with that thick air, puffing between your lips as you look around more in a steadily more intense mixture of nervousness and excitement.\n\nThen it's like something thumps you in the back of the head without touching you. You stagger and drop the lumer, which skitters off sending crazy shadows and reflections everywhere, or maybe that's just your vision swimming.\n\n<hr>\n[[Gotta shake it off...!|ChiPoke]]\n\n[[Buh? Wuh... huh?|ChiPoke10x5]]

"I guess I can take a look at this abandoned house, the one where Mew is supposed to be lurking around," you note, looking up and watching Prism's face intently.\n\n"Oh! That would be wonderful, Mew is one of those Pokemon that every researcher would love to know more about!" the professor declares happily... and yet kind of going a bit shifty-eyed too.\n\n<hr>\n[[Push her about it.|ChiPoke10x2]]\n\n[[... Well, whatever.|ChiPoke]]

Nah, you've come this far without it. Besides, Prism seemed to think you'd be able to catch a Ghost with one of the Dusk balls without needing to battle it first, might as well trust the expert. You don't wanna go stumbling around in the night hoping to get the exact right kind of Pokemon anyway.\n\nAnd so a few more days on the road finds you drawing in sight of the abandoned house, appropriately enough around dusk. The last of the light is fading, and the house does already look appropriately creepy and haunted even without it being full dark. Much of the paint has cracked off, leaving age-blackened boards, with the windows gaping empty and broken in many cases, the interior deeply darkened already. It also seems to have sagged a bit, making it look like it's shambling even standing still. Yeesh, if ever there was a place for ghosts, er, Ghost Pokemon, that is definitely it. \n\nHm... how to approach it? If you're just gonna go in and look for Ghost Pokemon (or Mew, though at this point you think that extremely unlikely), you guess you can just go ahead and go through the front door, it doesn't look like it's locked. In fact, it looks like it's hanging open just a bit. If you do think it's possible there's a Team Rocket plot going on, they're probably hiding out somewhere in the basement or whatever, you can see a cellar door off to one side you could try. Or, if you're really sure that Team Rocket is around, the best thing to do would be to find somewhere to hide and stake the place out, and see if you can spot someone coming or going.\n\n<hr>\n[[Front door.|ChiPoke10x4]]\n\n[[Cellar door.|ChiPoke]]\n\n[[Stakeout.|ChiPoke]]

"Oooookay, what aren't you telling me?" you say with a sigh, folding your arms and eyeing her sternly.\n\n"Um... ah... well..." Professor Prism rubs the back of her head for a moment... but it doesn't take much for her to break, apparently. "To be honest, I don't actually remember gathering this intel on the house and Mew, it just sort of... was amongst my files on my desk one day."\n\n"And you didn't find that suspicious?" you say, raising an eyebrow.\n\n"Well certainly I did, but... it's Mew. I was willing to take the chance, and would have gone myself, if I had the time," Prism admits with a shrug. She hesitates for another moment, then says, "To be honest, there are rumors in that area that Team Rocket might be using such houses as places to train or modify loyal Ghost Pokemon."\n\n"And you didn't think that worth mentioning?"\n\n"To be honest, I don't find it very credible," Prism says frankly, and it does sound like she's being sincere this time as she gives her head a shake. "People are always saying Team Rocket is behind every little thing that happens. It's far more likely that some Ghost Pokemon got up to some mischief in the area, and the Team Rocket rumor just sprang out of nothing. Ghost Pokemon are notoriously mischievous and difficult to make behave if you're not a Hex Maniac, which makes the rumor even more implausible."\n\n"Mm." You frown thoughtfully. "So could a Ghost Pokemon have added the file to your desk? As a prank?"\n\n"I... suppose that's possible," Prism allows with a surprised blink, as if the idea hadn't occurred to her. "Still, in that event, it would be a remarkably intelligent and inventive Pokemon, why, it might even be-"\n\n"A legendary," you say wryly with her.\n\nPrism blushes a bit but gives a small nod. "Well it would be remarkable anyway. Here, I'll give you some Dusk balls," she says, turning and rummaging in a desk and emerging with a double-handful of small, bumpy green Pokeballs shrunken down to about the size of a 'smasher' marble. "These should give you a good chance of catching a Ghost type, even without battling it down with your own Pokemon. It sounds like whatever's there, the house is worth checking out," she adds as you accept the balls and put them in a convenient pocket. \n\n"Right, so whether it's Mew, just a particularly clever Ghost, or it really is Team Rocket, you want to know about it."\n\n"Exactly!"\n\nYou suppose that seems fair enough, and it's not like she particularly resisted coming clean. Shrugging, you bid her goodbye and set off. May as well get on the road, since it's a week there and back.\n\nIt's definitely not an unpleasant trip to say the least, even if you are having to walk all the way. The weather is good, and there's no sign of any crime or anything. Several times you pass other people who are obviously Pokemon trainers, and who either look wary or are all hot to battle before you admit you don't have any Pokemon to do so with. But it does remind you that this is a world where people feel safe letting their ten-year-olds walk alone across the continent and camp out of doors the whole way. Which says this place is either really safe or the people are really stupid.\n\nYou're a little more than halfway there and starting to consider where to camp as the sun goes down when you realize... oh, yeah, Dusk balls don't just work on Ghost Pokemon, they've got a decent catch rate at nighttime period. Checking the Pokedex you were given says that Ghost types are vulnerable to Dark moves and... other Ghosts. Huh. Well, you guess you could try to catch a Dark-type before you get there since you haven't seen any Ghosts. Or any Pokemon at all, really, since you went ahead and neglected to get one before you came.\n\n<hr>\n[[Try to catch a Pokemon.|ChiPoke]]\n\n[[Nah.|ChiPoke10x3]]

You fling yourself backwards and out of the way of stream of luminescent pink-purple goo that comes spraying out of the end of the creature's spread tail-end...\n\n... mostly.\n\nIt twitches its tail upward as you move and catches you with the last spurt of the stuff, which splashes against your lower torso, almost instantly soaking into your skinarmor and sending the same tingles over your skin you can feel all over your lower belly and hips. Crap! You turn and run, zipping through the opposite tunnel. Avoiding the curve that would take you back around to the other entrance of the chamber you run through some of the other tunnels essentially at random, even as you fish out an emergency wipedown kit from your pockets.\n\nYou come to a stop in a long stretch of a section that should give you adequate time to see it, or any of its friends, coming, and bring the wipe towards your stomach. Then you pause. Though your skin is glistening like it's been rubbed down with a layer of oil, and there's definitely still that strong tingle, there's no sign of any other irritation or that it's eating into your skin, let alone your skinarmor. You do feel sort of... hot and bothered... but otherwise not too bad. You hesitate for just a moment longer before you decide to go ahead and wipe it down anyway, though the oily look of your skin doesn't really go away even after you've cleared off the slime.\n\nYou're just pondering what to do about the stuff soaked into your pants when you let out a loud gasp as the tingling sensation ramps up heavily, turning into a deep, throbbing heat that seems to be gradually spreading to the rest of your body to a lesser extent, but mostly concentrated right in your crotch. You stare down as bits of skin on your belly start to glow purple, the lines of it tracing around in organic fashion but still vaguely resembling a 'womb tattoo'. But you're vastly more distracted by an intense, and intensely pleasurable, pressure that begins to grow at the front of your crotch... along with a visible bulge.\n\n"Oh god!" you blurt, leaning back against the wall as spasms of pleasure pass through your body as what's very obviously a cock and balls continues to grow, filling out the front of your skintight pants, the material stretching but conforming closely enough to the shape of it that there's absolutely no doubt that's what it is. Similarly you can feel your pussy puffing up, at first just with the same feeling you might get of just intense arousal, but then swelling further, actually stretching out the material as well, turning into a cameltoe and then something even more explicit, even your engorged clit showing through the shiny black material.\n\nHnnnnh... it's so... so tight... soooo fucking tight... you need to... let it free...\n\n<hr>\n[[No, control yourself!|ChiMine]]\n\n[[FREE THE COCK!|ChiMine4x4]]

Definitely some variant then. Lots of variants glow, it seems to be one of the most basic alterations xenotypes undergo when they speciate.\n\n... Well, you can't just leave it over there lurking around behind you. You came down here to kill them, gotta start somewhere. You once again ready your rifle and ease yourself forward, moving towards the dark opening where you saw the glow and the outline disappear into, doing your best not to let yourself get tunnel-visioned. That seems to be how these things get you most of the time, from what you've heard from survivors.\n\nControl your breathing. Stay calm. You approach the tunnel entrance, settling to one side of it, then swing forward, tracking quickly and looking for any sign of it. ... None. Looks like it's gone further in. Past the entrance is really just a small round area, maybe where a fairly small vein of something or maybe an artifact was excavated. It does have one opening off it, which the xenotype must have gone through. You slowly make your way forward and into the room, lifting your light to the wall on the exit tunnel. You see an alphanumeric designation similar to some of the other hallways, your brain taking a few moments to parse it...\n\n... Wait. You've seen that number before. In fact you're pretty sure that's the same number as the hallway you just came from. ... Which means-!\n\nYou whirl around, your light immediately illuminating a towering, largely humanoid figure... actually, extremely humanoid. There's the long, chambered oblong head with its lack of eyes or nose, but a pair of large, full, glowing purple lips. The creature's skin is a deep black, but more like flat finish rubber than insectile chitin. Despite the long, slender, slightly insectile arms with long-fingered hands, and similarly set-up legs, and a long, but mostly smooth tail with a ridge of rather blunt-looking spines running up the top of it, the torso is mostly human-like. Admittedly the slightly chitin-like "corset" around its middle with its glowing purple sections makes its waist far too thin for a human-proportioned torso, but its huge tits with glowing purple nipples, and its wide hips and generous ass, all definitely strike in some area of human-ish. Its cock is at least generally humanoid too, with hefty oversized black balls and a long, currently limp shaft, sectioned and layered in almost squarish rubbery-looking plates, a faint glow from the tip indicating that the head might still be inside, and another glow from behind the balls indicating they're hiding a (likely equally exaggerated) pussy. The armor protrusions from the corset area cover its back (where they form into several almost handle-like protrusions on either side), shoulders, upper arms, and the base of its tail, as if to assure anyone looking at it that no, it's not just a towering sex doll.\n\nFor just a second you're struck dumb both by it having so effectively looped around on you and by the perverse sight of it, giving the xenotype plenty of time to swing its tail around and smack the rifle out of your hands, sending it clattering to the ground and skidding across the stone to land near the wall. Those glowing purple lips actually curl up in a small smirk, a similarly glowing snakelike purple tongue flitting out and over them briefly as that tail raises, the end of it splitting open like a mockery of a flower blossoming, revealing glistening, dripping glowing purple inner folds that it aims at you.\n\n<hr>\n[[Go for your backup piece!|ChiMine]]\n\n[[Dodge!|ChiMine4x3]]\n\n[[Dive for your rifle!|ChiMine]]

Oh this is probably a really bad idea, you think, taking a deep breath. But... it's also the most direct one with, theoretically, the lowest amount of variables. So... here we go. You swing your rifle up to the ready and make your way back towards the inner part of the mine.\n\nThat's the other bad part of this... you're going back in there. Because you have little doubt the things are probably all over the town now, but if they're nesting and breeding, it will be down here. And you're definitely going to have to take out at least a little of their ability to do that if you want to lower the hazard level enough to beacon out. You try not to think too much about what else that could mean, depending on the variety of creature.\n\nBecause that's the biggest variable, you think as you make your way through the trashed areas. What kind? "Classic" xenomorphs might be the worst from certain points of view... they're certainly the most violent, the most deadly, and the most inherently soul-chilling. Thing is, there are a lot of subtypes and parallel species out there, and most of them are...\n\n... horny.\n\nTo some extent or another.\n\nYou make your way back to the elevator without any further sign of the xenos, then eye it dubiously. They're obviously down in the tunnels, you saw the tracks, and that will be where they're skittering about for the most part. Elevators are just generally a bad place to be around these things. ... But you don't see any other way down short of opening a service hatch and climbing down the shaft, which wouldn't be any better, so you step back in and set it for the tunnel you came from. The elevator lurches just a bit before it starts, making you swing your rifle up and keep it aimed on the roof, then back down to the floor, feeling edgy the entire ride at the expectation of something coming in through one of them.\n\nWhen you reemerge into the tunnel, weapon at the ready. ... No movement. Looks just like it did before, pulsing red warning lights and chemical lights, bits of machinery here and there. You glance around, then spot a box near the elevator and flip it open, looking over the labels before pulling a small label. The red warning lights pulse down and don't come back on, leaving the tunnels even dimmer and lit by only the pale, soft glow of the chemical lights. The warning flashers weren't going to be anything but a benefit for the xenos... you can just picture one of the damn things with its innate power over the dramatic not being there one lightup but being right in front of you ready to grab you the next. Fucking things.\n\nYou make your way through the tunnels, eyes sharp and ears open, mostly doing your best to keep your calm. 'God this is fucking stupid I'm such a moron I'm gonna either get dead very bad or turned into a fucking seedbed.' ... Well you said you were doing your best, not that you were 100%. Still, you've made your choice, chickening out now is just asking to be taken from behind (one way or the other). Instead you continue making your way further steadily down, following the curves and arches of tunnels, looking for any likely places for them to cluster up so that you could hopefully toss in a grenade and be done with it. The chemical lights gradually grow fewer and further between, lowering the light level and leaving you constantly on the edge of turning on the light embedded in the end of your rifle for more visibility or if that would make you too visible.\n\nThen you... not quite hear something, more just sense something, and obeying instinct more than anything else you whip around behind you just in time to catch something dipping around a corner. "Shit," you whisper, before almost reflexively flipping the switch to turn on the light. If it's that close, it knows you're here anyway. You look for a moment, then do a quick check behind you. ... Nope. When you look ahead again you're certain this time you saw something go darting across the tunnel and into one of the other paths. You think you saw...\n\n<hr>\n[[-shiny black.|ChiMine]]\n\n[[-a green glow.|ChiMine]]\n\n[[-a blue glow.|ChiMine6x1]]\n\n[[-a pink glow.|ChiMine]]\n\n[[-a purple glow.|ChiMine4x2]]

Considering your... current status... you don't necessarily trust anyone right now. Probably best to make yourself scarce.\n\nYou make your way back to the roundabout room, ducking in, and carefully edging around into the tunnel when you hear someone coming through the other way. You see flashlights play about inside, and hear what definitely sounds like either a government strike team or, just as likely, ex-military corporate guys, until they move past. Then you return to the little room and settle down, fully catching your breath and trying to calm down.\n\nYou glance down at yourself, making a bit of a face... the organically random womb tattoo is still there, and so is that big fat cock, currently mostly limp and hugged by your skinarmor. Geez... that thing really did a number on you. You also notice your skin has taken on that oily gleam all over... touching yourself you feel rather slick and damp, like you just got out of a shower where you used some sort of essential oil. Except instead of some slightly pretentious fruit blend, you smell like sex.\n\nEventually you hear several explosions from deeper in the mines, along with faint rumbles that pass through the stone. You glance down, then pull out your beacon a little gingerly, getting to your feet. You sort of doubt it will work, especially considering your... state. You grimace, pressing a hand to your slightly rounded belly. But maybe you can in fact get into that quarantine, and it can be taken care of there.\n\nFwip.\n\nYou're first surprised when you can feel the beacon working, and second when you come stumbling out into the normal departure annex. You stare around at the bustling area for a moment, before hurrying away from the portal before someone comes bowling into you. Then you duck your head and keep hurrying, your face flushed, hoping no one notices that you're covered in cum and smell like alien fucking.\n\n"Hmmmm, well, it will take a little while."\n\n"What?!" you blurt, staring at the nurse.\n\n"It would be easier if you'd gotten more of a sample of the particular xenotype's fluids, but uh... what we pulled off of you wasn't quite enough to formulate a reversal injection," the attractive golden-skinned woman says sheepishly, her iridescent silver ponytail bobbing as she gives her head a shake. "As it is with the sample we have, it could be two weeks before the computer's able to properly reverse engineer the chemical strands and get you back to normal."\n\n"Well that's just perfect," you grumble, folding your arms under your currently bare breasts, and trying to ignore your still-present cock giving a small twitch as you sneak a glance at the nurse's cleavage. \n\n"At least the eggs were unfertilized and completely inert," she chirps cheerfully. "Would you like to take them with you?" At the look you give her, she clears her throat and looks down at her pad again. "We'll just, we'll just dispose of those here then."\n\n"So two weeks?"\n\n"Probably at least two weeks," she corrects gently. "Until then we'd just advise you be careful, your current condition is... well, your birth control implant dissolved," she adds sheepishly, which makes you stare at her. "And it looks like the same thing would happen if we put a new one in. ... I mean, the good thing is that should be a small payout from the birth control company..."\n\n"Joy."\n\n"Ahem. But we suggest just taking it easy and maybe being pretty careful until you can get this reversed."\n\nYou purse your lips. "So my only option is to wait?"\n\n"Well, you could seek alternative treatments, but those wouldn't be covered by your insurance," she notes, waggling a finger. "Alternatively I could put through a request for an isolation room stay, your insurance would probably cover all or most of that. Think of it like a little staycation! Lots of entertainment, and no chance of, ah... well, no chance of long-lasting consequences."\n\n"Right," you say with a sigh, thinking it over.\n\n<hr>\n[[Go home and wait.|ChiMine]]\n\n[[Look into alternative solutions.|ChiDick]]\n\n[[Get a stay in an isolation room.|ChiDick]]\n\n[[Fuck the nurse.|ChiDick]]

"Form up, two and three with me, five through seven down there, the rest of you wait here!" a distant male voice calls.\n\nThe xenofuta's head whips towards the sound, glowing purple lips turning down in a scowl, its tail lashing in agitation. It looks down at you, and you can practically feel it appraising whether to try and take you with it. Then instead it leaps forward and starts dashing down the tunnel on all fours, cock and tits swaying obscenely despite its otherwise sleek movements before it disappears into the shadows.\n\nA bit numbly, you pull up your pants, stuffing your new cock back into them as well as you're able, before staggering to your feet... then remembering to pull your top down as well. You still feel rather lightheaded, and with a heady rush of arousal running all through your body, but you're getting your thoughts back in order a bit at least. ... Easier to think when that fucking alien succubus isn't around.\n\n<hr>\n[[Stay and wait for rescue.|ChiMine]]\n\n[[Hide.|ChiMine4x6]]

Almost before you've even really thought to do it, you hook a thumb into the front of your now very stretched pants and shove them down in front, spilling your new cock and balls free, the stiff shaft jutting out and swaying with a little sling of pre back and forth before it hardens further, visibly throbbing in the air. With a moan of need you wrap a hand around it and start pumping. Fuck, it's big... probably bigger than any of the guys you've been with, if only just.\n\nYour eyes roll up... holy shit, how does it feel so good? You can feel your plumped-up, swollen pussy oozing a steady stream of arousal down inside your pants where they're still clinging to it, gradually flooding the interior of them with pussy juice. Your eyes roll and your head turns as you start jerking yourself off faster, no longer caring about the xenos, just wanting to get off, fuck, it feels so good!\n\nThen your lizard brain reasserts itself in a different way as the purple-glowing xenotype looms out of the darkness in front of you, that smirk still in place on its large, exaggerated rubbery purple lips, visible in the darkness where the rest of it might be dim, like some perverse parody of the Cheshire Cat. It taps a long, inhuman fingertip against those lips as it looks at you, as if making a show of considering, before smoothly settling into a squat and leaning forward.\n\n"H-hey, wa-" you try to protest, by reflex more than anything, but it just ends in a loud, shameless moan as those glowing lips wrap themselves around your new cock and then slide forward, gulping the entire length down in a single smooth stroke. Your eyes roll again and your jaw clenches... the inside of its mouth is intensely slimy, a sort of thick wet go that coats all over you immediately. You can feel the fleshy, almost rubbery inner walls closing in tight around you as it drags its long head back, only to loosen and instead leave the textured insides stroking along you gently as it swallows you down again and again.\n\nYou manage to get some control over your own motions back and look down, staring at the sight of this strange alien creature sucking you off, its long head tilted up as if looking at you despite its lack of eyes. Those bulbous purple lips slide back and forth down your long pole, which is now glistening and dripping heavily with its gooey saliva, which dribbles in slimy rivulets down your new balls. Its spidery hands have come to rest on the walls on either side of your hips, but as you watch it brings one around, hooking the tapered points of its fingers into your pants and pulling them down further around your knees, freeing your plumped-up pussy as well, letting it dribble a steady stream of its own thin slime down into the soaked interior of the skinarmor. \n\nEither at the fully freed scent of your pussy or its own actions, you can see the xenofuta's cock stiffening, stretching out and growing, a slender glowing purple head extending from the blunt black end of it and dripping its own steady stream of faintly luminescent and thoroughly thick pre onto the floor. It ignores its own hardon for now though, just continuing to pleasure yours, its hands once more resting on the wall as it sucks you, making no move to restrain you... clearly it understands that you couldn't summon the willpower right now to move if you tried. In fact the only movement you can manage is giving in to the urge to start working your hips, lightly thrusting them against those stroking, suckling purple lips, feeling them stroke around you and gently compress every time they bump against the root of your cock.\n\n"Fuck... fuck... fuuuuuck!" you groan, thrusting forward and grinding lightly against those lips, your new balls lifting and emptying themselves for the first time, pouring your first load right into the xenofuta's gripping onahole of a mouth. Then your eyes roll up completely as that long, snakelike tongue winds around your spasming, shuddering prick and squeezes, milking it further, urging out every single drop, refusing to let you leave it at just cumming and instead determined to milk you of every last drop.\n\nBy the time it's done and pulls away, leaving your cock drooping slightly and covered in a thick layer of that faintly purple, faintly glowing goo, you feel like it's sucked all your bones out, leaving you wobbling in place and slightly hollow. Then you yelp as it grabs hold of you and swings you around, thumping you to the floor. It hisses softly, but almost sensually, smirking down at you as it moves to squat over your face. You writhe and try to resist as it lowers those hefty black balls right onto your face, but now it seizes hold of your wrists, lightly restraining you as it rubs back and forth, letting you smell the strange, almost perfume-like musk of them. Then it slides forward, and you see the bright purple glow of its massive pussy, bigger and rounder than a softball, as it lowers it directly onto your lower face.\n\nThe xenofuta's pussy is big enough and plump enough that it practically engulfs your lower face, settling almost over your chin and pushing your mouth deep inside. You squirm and buck in renewed protest, but the smell and even the taste is overwhelming... it's as if lust could have a physical form, dribbling down your throat and stirring you up. Before you know it you're licking at the insides of that gooey, rubbery cunt and pressing your face deeper into it, your cock once again rock-hard and jutting up above your belly, throbbing so hard it's actually making the steady dribble of pre flowing from it spurt out across your stomach and still-covered tits every so often.\n\nThe creature reaches out with those spidery fingers and almost delicately plucks at the bottom of your top, peeling it up and spilling your tits free, letting the next spatters of your pre fall on them directly. It begins shaking and working its hips, grinding its pussy all over your face, coating you with more of that obviously aphrodisiac pussyjuice, and in the process occasionally slapping its cock against your tits, leaving splatters of its own similarly tingling, arousing pre on your skin.\n\nThen it rises up again, leaving you gasping, panting, shivering as it saunters forward, its large ink-black ass wobbling and shaking with its steps, its powerful, thick tail slithering through the air. It swings around, smirking at you again, then lowers itself down, briefly rubbing its (bigger) cock and balls against your own for a moment, before sliding forward.\n\nYou let out a cry as its pussy engulfs you... even slimier and rubberier than its mouth, with a textured interior that feels like it could only have been designed by the sort of people who make the interiors of onaholes but if they'd gone mad. Its glowing tongue flicks out over its lips, conveying further amusement as it engulfs you completely, sliding down until it almost feels like your balls could disappear into that massive snatch as well. It grinds down on you, balls rubbing against the pink mark above your crotch, its cock swaying above your belly and brushing against your tits.\n\nIts inhuman, digigrade legs seem to almost be designed for riding cowgirl, and it begins quickly pumping itself atop you, balls slapping against your crotch and its cock thumping against your chest just below your tits, its own massive tits bouncing and swaying, those fat purple nipples seeming all the brighter in the dim light. Even if you wanted to escape, the alien's mass atop you would make that impossible... and you don't want to escape right now, it just feels too good. In fact you find your hands reaching out to grab hold of its slender ankles, using them as handles to hold yourself in place as it fucks itself atop you, letting out almost cooing little hisses from between those huge sensual lips.\n\nThen you feel something nudging against your balls, pressing up under them, something large and blunt... and then you gasp loudly as it pushes its tail into you, your modified pussy stretching easily enough to take it, despite being at least twice as thick as your wrist. Your hips buck and twist, instinctively both trying to thrust up into the creature's pussy and against that intruding tail, your aphrodisiac-stimmed body wanting both to fuck and be fucked no matter what your mind thinks. That tail wriggles and writhes its way deeper and deeper into you, deeper than you've ever had anything, the ridges above it sliding along your engorged, enlarged clit and making you cum from your cunt, a sympathetic shudder running up your cock and almost sending you over the edge there, but reflexively holding back, instinctively wanting to drag things out.\n\nThe xenofuta gives a low hiss as if having detected you holding back and almost being annoyed at you having held back, but it continues to smirk as it rides you and pushes that tail inside. You can actually feel it pressing against some deep inner barrier and then past it, making your hips lurch hard again, before you can feel its tail swell, something passing along it and sliding inside you, settling deep within. As more and more of them settle into you, the pleasure grows, and you let out a loud cry as you can't hold back anymore, starting to spill another load, this time deep into the xenofuta's gripping, dripping cunt, the creature giving a much more satisfied hiss as you do.\n\nAfter a moment it both raises up, letting your cock slide out and flop down against your belly, and slides its tail out of you, leaving your overly puffy pussy quivering and dripping, still slightly gaped. You look down at yourself, a faint sense of both horror and some deep, survival-defying lust passing through you as you see that your once flat stomach is now faintly bulged out, rounded with whatever contents the xenofuta unloaded into you. At the thought you find yourself-\n\n<hr>\n[[-going limp.|ChiMine]]\n\n[[-getting hard again.|ChiMine]]\n\n[[-hearing something?|ChiMine4x5]]

Pyrrha's eyes flew open, and she broke off her kiss with Jaune, flinging herself away from him desperately. "No, Kai, don't! Don't!" She trembled, bringing her hands up to her face. "No! Come back!"\n\n"Um... a-are... are you okay?" Jaune murmured, confusion seeping in after being caught in the moment, stretching out an uncertain hand.\n\n"Oh Jaune," Pyrrha murmured, trembling with despair as she turned back to him. "I... I think... I think Kai's gone."\n\n"Um. But... but aren't you... Kai?" he asked, fingers curling and hand drawing back a little.\n\n"Th-that's just the thing." Pyrrha sniffled, shaking her head as fresh tears started slipping down her cheeks. "I don't think I am anymore."\n\n"Bring her BACK!"\n\nIlia's scream almost rattled the windows and set the baby to crying as she had to be physically pulled away from the crying redhead on the couch, her legs kicking in the air as Grey lifted her with his hands around her middle, the small chameleon Faunus giving a near-literal howl of rage and stretching her hands out towards the interloper as if she could physically throttle her best friend and partner back out of her.\n\n"I'm sorry," Pyrrha murmured miserably, slumping her head and letting her hands rest in her lap. "I can't. I keep trying but I can't."\n\n"A-are you saying you're..." Nora reached a hand out tentatively towards the redhead's shoulder, as if afraid that she might burst like a soap bubble if touched. "Are you saying you're really... Pyrrha?"\n\n"I'm... as close as Kai could make me." Pyrrha shook her head. "... What she knew from everything you told her. The articles, the books. I'm not... real," she added, clearly a little hurt by having to use the words, brushing a palm across her cheeks quickly. "... But I'm Pyrrha Nikos."\n\n"Bring her back bring her BACK!" Ilia screamed, her own speckled face streaked with tears, her skin flashing wildly between red and blue.\n\n"Mister Ren, if you please," Ozma murmured in a strained tone, with obvious pain crinkling the corner of Oscar's eyes.\n\nRen winced, but nodded slowly, a subtle hurt visible on his own composed face as he crossed to the kicking, screaming young woman. He rested a hand on Ilia's shoulder above where Grey was holding her, and slowly her colors became more muted, her struggles lessening, until she slumped gently in her teammate's arms, settling into crying silently in terror at the loss of the guiding star of her life.\n\n"Thank you. And I am sorry." Ozma let his gaze linger on Ren for a moment more, before turning back to the redheaded woman sitting on the couch, trying to ignore Jaune's sister trying to comfort the much more loudly sobbing baby in the background. "... Miss... Nikos. Please explain again."\n\n"..." Pyrrha took a deep breath, nodded, fought for some composure. She evened her voice and steadied her expression, then said, "Kai had begun to think she had... an ability. Not like a semblance, but something... something related to what the slavers did to her," she continued, her eyes pinching a little with sorrow. "That because of the way they wiped her mind, she could... step back. Make another person with her thoughts. Things she knew, had heard." She paused, then glanced at Yang guiltily. "Back at Haven, she considered using it to become your mother, Yang. I'm sorry."\n\n"What? My..." Yang blinked repeatedly, jaw dropping a little. "She wanted to become Raven?! Why?!"\n\n"She thought it might give you closure. But she decided against it... in part because she was afraid of something like this, I think," Pyrrha continued, tone turning miserable again as she indicated her face... or rather, Kai Sterling's face, which she had inadvertantly stolen. "But tonight, when she followed Jaune to my statue, she..." Pyrrha sniffled a bit, took a deep breath, and did her best to steady herself again. "... She met my mother."\n\n"And wanted to give her closure," Ren supplied softly.\n\n"Yes." Pyrrha nodded carefully, as if afraid her head might fall off in its current state. "She... very kindly tried to help my mother, by telling her my last thoughts and feelings. By assuring her I didn't resent anything. And... it worked. And then I was kissing Jaune and..." Letting out a long, shuddery breath, she raised a hand to her face. "... And then I drove her away," the Invincible Girl concluded in such a tone of abject anguish that it couldn't be mistaken for anything but the greatest regret.\n\n"How did you drive her away, Miss Nikos?" Ozma prompted after some time, doing his best to keep his tone gentle.\n\n"I... I begged her," Pyrrha admitted, sounding ashamed of herself as she lowered her hand. "I begged her to let me have a little more time with Jaune. Just another moment. But then she said... 'Take all the time you need', and she was just... gone. I tried to bring her back," the redhead continued, voice cracking. "But I couldn't find her anywhere inside me. It's like she just..."\n\n"Gave you everything," Ilia said miserably where she'd drooped in Grey's arms, still washed-out, now half-clinging to the older Faunus instead. "Gave you everything she had, because she thought you needed it. Yeah. That's Kai alright."\n\n"But she can't really be... gone gone, right?" Ruby squeaked softly, looking worriedly between the woman on the couch and Ilia. "U-um, I mean, not that we aren't glad to have you back, Pyrrha... e-even if it's in kind of a weird way, you know? But I mean... we don't want to lose Kai. ... We don't want to lose anybody," she added in a whisper.\n\n"This has gotta be some kind of... semblance or Aura fuckery right?" Reese blurted, a rictus of a forced hopeful smile on her face. "Whatever Kai said it's just some Aura technique she didn't quite know to use and it'll wear off or something! ... Right?"\n\n"I do not think so," Pyrrha answered softly, rubbing her hands along her thighs as she stared down at her own lap. Kai's lap.\n\n"... It is too early to despair just yet," Ozma finally announced into the tense silence that followed. "I think there may be a precedent for this situation."\n\n"Oz?" Qrow croaked softly, looking over at him.\n\n"In truth... I can do something similar," the ancient being admitted, folding his hands atop his cane, tilting his head slightly at sharing yet another secret. "In times past, when I encountered people whose lives I could afford not to disrupt, or particularly unsuitable hosts, I... 'went away' deep inside their minds. Locked myself up away from them, so as not to influence them, and to allow as little merging as possible to occur. Hnh," he grunted amidst the explanation, suddenly lurching forward a little, bringing a hand to his face. "I am sorry, Oscar," he said aloud, trembling somewhat as if in pain. "I could not afford to do so due to the circumstances. I swear to you, had things not been so dire, I would have withdrawn if you wished. I am sorry."\n\nFor a moment silence reigned again, as Ozma slowly drew upright and clenched his fists at his sides. But to the surprise of the others, it was Oscar's tones when he spoke again. "He says that it's possible Kai did something similar herself instinctively," Oscar said, his youthful voice surprisingly hard and determined, in an entirely different way than Ozma's characteristic worldly drawl. "That she decided to let Pyrrha stay, so she withdrew. But that it means maybe she's not gone, maybe she's just... hiding. Somewhere Pyrrha can't find her. Maybe so deep that she can't even hear us or... understand how this is hurting us," he added quietly, looking down at the floor.\n\n"Hey."\n\nJaune had been silent up until now, and his voice was uncharacteristically hard as he stepped forward. Some of his friends shrank from his gaze, shocked at how honestly angry he seemed. "I want Kai back too," he declared after a moment, voice firm and crackling as if ablaze. "But can we all stop talking about Pyrrha like she's a problem to solve?!"\n\n"Jaune, she's not-" Weiss started, before wincing and glancing at the redhead, who simply gave her the ghost of a forgiving smile. It only made the Atlesian ex-heiress feel worse.\n\n"I know that even she said she's not Pyrrha," Jaune continued, fists clenching, his gaze briefly wandering to the redhead behind him, before he squared his shoulders as if determined to defend her from some threat. "But even if she's not, that doesn't matter. She's a person... with thoughts, with feelings, look at her!" he added, his voice rising to a near-shout, only for him to wince as he set his nephew to crying again. His shoulders trembled a little before he brought them back under control. "... She's a person," he repeated. "And she deserves better than to be talked about like she's something we can just throw in the trash to get our friend back."\n\n"Jaune," Pyrrha whispered, reaching out for his shoulder, then drawing back as if afraid of what might happen if she touched him.\n\n"... He's right."\n\nIlia's hoarse croak of a cried-out voice broke the silence that followed. An apologetic grimace on his face, Grey set her down, and the young Faunus wobbled a little before she steadied herself. She took a deep breath and nodded. "He's right. We can't treat... Pyrrha... like a problem to solve. ... I'm sorry," she added, looking at the redhead, who returned the look with her own sorrowful smile.\n\n"Thank you," Pyrrha whispered, too softly for anyone but the Faunus in the room to hear.\n\n"But Ilia, Kai-" Reese started.\n\n"Kai wanted her to live too!" Ilia snapped back, eyes squeezed shut and fists trembling, even Ren's semblance not able to calm her fully. But then her shaking stopped, and she took a deep breath. "... Take it off me, please," she added in a soft voice. \n\n"Of course," Ren murmured, his solemn face still looking faintly relieved as he relaxed his Semblance, the faded tan of Ilia's skin darkening back to a full brown, color returning to her specks, and her hair shifting back to red a moment later.\n\n"... Whatever else happened, Kai wanted Pyrrha to live," Ilia spoke, her voice steady now, eyes slowly lifting to fix on the other redhead. "So whatever we do moving forward trying to solve this, I think we should proceed like we're looking for a way to separate Kai and Pyrrha. Not get rid of one for the other."\n\n"Ozma doesn't think it's feasible," Oscar spoke up, rolling his shoulders a little. Then his eyes narrowed, his jaw clenched, and one corner of his mouth quirked up. "But fuck him."\n\nEveryone who didn't jump at the sudden profanity turned to stare at Oscar, before a smattering of shocked laughter passed through the assembled Huntsmen and Huntresses, finally releasing some of the tension in the room.\n\n"Thank you," Pyrrha said uncertainly in the wake of the laughter, smiling nervously. "I know that... I'm just an assembly of memories and ideas, but-"\n\n"So is everyone," Weiss interrupted, her voice gentle and warm, her gaze apologetic as she moved into lay her hands on Pyrrha's arm. "... It's nice to have you back, Pyrrha."\n\n"Thank you. I'm sorry for leaving," Pyrrha murmured, brushing a knuckle under her eyes. "... I mean..."\n\n"No, we get it." Yang smiled as well, stepping in and resting her hand on Pyrrha's shoulders. She hesitated only briefly, before glancing around. "I think until we do figure out how to solve this, we should all just treat Pyrrha like... well, Pyrrha."\n\n"Oh, no, that's not really necessary," the redheaded human hurried to say, holding up her hands haltingly. And, of course, with the very act, just reinforcing how very Pyrrha she was.\n\n"... PYRRHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Nora suddenly squealed, launching herself at the taller woman in a ballistic hug that would have made even Ruby proud, Pyrrha yelping as they dropped to the floor, the small, strong woman squeezing her tightly. "I missed you soooooooo much!" she near-wailed.\n\n"I'm... sorry," Pyrrha grunted past her compressed ribs.\n\n"So. What now?" Qrow said after a moment, shaking his head and turning to Oscar.\n\nThe tan-skinned boy frowned and turned his head as if listening to something, then looked back to Qrow. "Well, Ozma's an asshole, but he makes a good point. Happy reunion or not, we've got to figure out what we're doing next. We've still got our mission, and it's still time-sensitive, we can't afford to detour entirely to deal with this, I guess." He sighed a bit, a somewhat familiar grumpy look on his face, though it more resembled one that typically dwelled on the face of the body Nora was currently hugging to death. "I'd like to tell him to go fuck himself, but 'end of the world' is kind of a really damn good argument-winner." Oscar turned an annoyed look on Qrow as the older man stared at him. "What?"\n\n"... Nothin'. You sure do like her, though, doncha kid?"\n\nOscar's face flushed up to the tip of his ears and he sputtered. "Kn-knock it off! A-anyway, um... I guess the question is if we bring, uh, Pyrrha with us or not?"\n\n"Mmf." The redheaded human on the floor finally managed to extricate herself with extreme politeness from Nora and stood. "And may Pyrrha have a vote on this please? Since she is, after all, to be treated like Pyrrha?" she added rather wryly.\n\nOscar and Ilia exchanged a quick glance. It definitely looked like Kai wasn't entirely gone after all. But Ilia nodded and said, "Sure, what's up?"\n\n"I would like to come with everyone, please," she announced, clasping her hands in front of herself. "I... died... fighting for Remnant. ... And despite that, nothing's changed." She shook her head slowly, ponytail swaying behind her. "I had a lot of regrets. ... I had a lot of plans that didn't involve being murdered by a psychopath at seventeen," she added softly, glancing down. Then she looked up, red eyes firm, the set of them just the same as if they were bright Dust green. "But none of my regrets were about choosing to fight. None of them were about not running away. None of them were about doing everything I could. So please... I'd like to fight."\n\n"All very good to say," Grey drawled, eyes that had been looking almost reverently at the redheaded human snapping to him instead. "But can you fight?"\n\n"Grey!" Blake hissed, smacking the back of her hand against his arm, causing him to lay his ears down at her.\n\n"What? It's a fair question. I guess in Kai's absence it's my job to be the asshole that asks the tough ones, huh?"\n\n"It is fair, you're right," Pyrrha replied smoothly, nodding once. "And I believe so. Kai watched all of the Vytal Festival footage, and all of my other fights and athletic tournaments you linked her to. I am fairly certain that I am at least as combat capable as-" The real Pyrrha. "... As I was before. I also do have access to Kai's memories," she added. "I'm really sort of a... a layer laid over her, in the end, after all. So I am fairly certain I can use her skills at swordsmanship and shooting as well as my own."\n\n"Make you pretty tough, if that's so," Grey replied, quirking a doubtful eyebrow. \n\n"What's the other option, Grey?" Oscar piped up, frowning and folding his arms over his chest.\n\nGrey paused, frowning briefly at the boy as if wondering when he, and not the rather older and more experienced consciousness inside of him had become the leader, then shrugged a bit. "I could beacon out with her."\n\n"You can't take her back to Makarzia!" Ilia snapped, eyes flashing.\n\n"I wasn't thinking of that, necessarily, but the Guildhall maybe. She doesn't even need a guest pass since it's Kai's body. People in the Guild are used to Circumstances, it's possible that someone there might know a way to separate them," he mused aloud, rubbing his chin. "Maybe make a new body for Pyrrha or whatever."\n\n"Really?" Ruby asked, eyes widening. "That's SO COOL!" she and Reese both squealed in unison, unconsciously linking hands and jumping up and down in excitement.\n\n"Easy, easy, it's just a possibility, 'Circumstances' as we call 'em vary pretty widely time to time and we don't know how these work yet. But yeah might be we could just, Idunno... 'download' Pyrrha out of Kai and stick her in another android body."\n\n"I mean... what would you think of that?" Oscar asked, looking over at Pyrrha.\n\n"I... it sounds a little scary. And a little like something I went through before," she added rather darkly, Jaune wincing beside her. "But if it would save Kai, I would certainly be willing to try. ... Though... I do not wish to sound selfish, but perhaps that option would still be available after we saved the world?"\n\n"Guess so," Grey grunted, shrugging. "I mean we could also just leave her here and WHAT?!" he snapped as Blake smacked him again.\n\n"Ass!" she hissed back, both of them briefly baring their teeth and lowering their ears at each other.\n\n"Maybe that would be for the best," Jaune said quietly, interrupting the building... ... argument.\n\n"Jaune?" Pyrrha said quietly.\n\nSlowly... very slowly... he turned towards her. He raised his head as if it weighed a thousand pounds, drawing in a shuddery breath. "... Like I said," he whispered. "I don't want to lose Kai. ... But I barely lived through losing you the first time. I don't know if I could take losing you again."\n\n"Oh Jaune," Pyrrha murmured, eyes shimmering as she reached up to stroke his cheek. Then she almost winced as if she'd been burned, drawing back, the memory of what had happened the last time she kissed him... both times... playing across their minds as both of them turned away.\n\n"So what do we do?" Oscar prompted after a few moments of awkward silence.\n\n"... I think I know who should answer that," Pyrrha said evenly, having gathered herself again as she strode forward... coming to stand in front of Ilia. "Ilia. Please tell me what I should do."\n\n"Uh... what?" Ilia blinked blearily a few times, before folding her arms over her chest and looking away. "Why are you asking me?"\n\nPyrrha brought her hands up, gently taking the Faunus's small, still-damp cheeks in her hands, turning her head so that their eyes could meet. "Because Kai loves you. Very, very much," Pyrrha whispered softly. "Out of everyone here who she considers 'family', you are the person who most defines that word for her. My fate and hers are intertwined now," she continued as fresh tears began to slip from Ilia's eyes, drifting down across the Invincible Girl's fingers. "And while I may have her memories, I don't know what she'd say, or what she'd do. And in that sort of situation... family needs to make the choice. If you say it's alright for me to go with you, then I will go. If you would like me to go with Grey to try to separate faster, then he should take me away. If you think I should remain here and stay safe, I will. I must be responsible for Kai's life... and so must you, her sister."\n\nIlia sniffled, wanting to look down, wanting to look away, but unable to tear her head from those gentle hands, or her gaze from those red eyes that were both so familiar and so strange, and yet were still full of the kindness she was so used to seeing there. "... Thank you," she whispered, nodding.\n\nPyrrha smiled, still tinged with sadness, and stepped away, turning to the group and clasping her hands and waiting.\n\n"So, what do you think, Ilia?" Ruby asked her friend and sparring partner, stepping forward. \n\n<hr>\n([["Pyrrha should come with us."|KaiRem3x8]])\n\n([["Pyrrha should go to the Guildhall."|KaiRem]])\n\n([["Pyrrha should stay safe."|KaiRem]])

You close your eyes, and take a deep breath. And summon up what you know about Pyrrha Nikos.\n\nLike you said. It's a lot.\n\nThose who knew her speak of her often. Even those that didn't know her speak her praises, and not just in the distant way of hero worship, in a closer, more personal manner that speaks of what she meant to them, what her ideal meant to them. There were articles about her, books even, but more than that, everything your friends have shared with you. Because they wanted her to be known. Because this was not the first time you have heard 'I wish you got to know her', and bit by bit you came to wish it too, and then you felt like you did know her. And it is surprisingly easy to just settle into some soft, comfortable place surrounded by her and let her rise up within you, strong and gentle as your shoulders and back straighten, your hands clasp in front of you in near-imitation of the statue, and a sort of peace tinged with longing fills your mind.\n\nPyrrha Nikos opens your eyes and smiles gently. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you."\n\nBoth the woman and Jaune clearly startle at the cadence of the voice in the person before them, a stronger version of the words so recently spoken. Pyrrha steps forward, crouching smoothly to carefully pluck each flower from the ground, casually gathering them together back into a bundle and proffering to her mother.\n\n"Oh. Thank you," the older redhead murmurs, still obviously a bit flustered as she looks down at the bouquet.\n\n"Of course," Pyrrha says, voice soft and warm, and a little sad. "Thank you, too."\n\n"Ah... for?" the older woman murmurs.\n\nPyrrha's eyes grow misty a little, her smile taking on its own sad tinge. "Everything."\n\nThe elder Nikos opens and closes her mouth several times, struggling to find anything to say. And then, from inside Pyrrha, you can see it... some part of her, some desperate, hurt, lonely part of her simply accepts what she feels is happening. She gathers the flowers to her chest, hesitates another moment, then walks forward, past the staring, awestruck Jaune, and looks up at the statue. "What... what do you think she was thinking?" she asks, some of the strength in her voice wavering, before she clears her throat and adds, "... At the end?"\n\nPyrrha follows her mother's motions with a turn of the head, sad smile still in place, before she turns and moves to follow, making a show of looking up at her statue as she considers. "... Regrets," she admits after a moment, though still keeping her voice light, some gentle cheer there amidst the sadness. "Regretting all the things she never got to do. She probably wanted to be a bride. And a mother. ... She probably regretted that she spent so much time being the Invincible Girl, and not enough time just being a girl," she adds more softly, looking down at her own clasped hands.\n\n"I see," Pyrrha's mother says, trembling a little, refusing to take her eyes off the statue.\n\n"... She regretted leaving the people she loved," Pyrrha continues, looking up at the statue again. "She regretted not telling them she loved them more often. Or sooner," she adds, eyes flicking towards Jaune, at the tears now streaming down his face. "She regretted harsh words she said at times. She wished she could take them back."\n\n"... Did she..." Pyrrha's mother swallows hard, dampness sliding softly down her still smooth cheeks. "... Did she resent anyone?"\n\n"... No," Pyrrha says softly, turning her head to look directly at her mother now. "No, not even a little."\n\nThe older woman trembles, and then sobs, throwing the flowers at the statue's feet as she whirls and turns to hug her daughter, Pyrrha smiling as tears streak down her own cheeks as she rubs the other redhead's back. "I'm sorry," she whispers. "I'm sorry I left you, and I'm sorry we never got to say goodbye."\n\nAnd then, as the weeping tapers off, she turns her head, kisses the other woman's forehead, and says, very softly and with all the love in her heart, "Goodbye."\n\nPyrrha's mother trembles, hard. Then she slowly draws away, nodding once. She gives her daughter a long, long look, and then whispers, "Goodbye," in return, before she turns and walks away.\n\nJaune stares after her, and then at Pyrrha as he approaches, his hands trembling as he raises them. "... Pyrrha?" he says softly, achingly, the voice of a child begging to know if there's a God.\n\n"... Jaune," Pyrrha replies, her own voice cracking as she throws herself into his arms, pressing her lips to his in an echo of that first kiss, that last kiss, that never should have been a last kiss.\n\n... Pyrrha... you say from deep inside, distantly feeling just how desperately Jaune's holding your body tight. Pyrrha. It's time.\n\nPlease, she begs softly. Please, just a little longer with him.\n\n<hr>\n[[... It's time...|KaiRem5x1]]\n\n[[... Take all the time you need.|KaiRem3x7]]

"Hey. Oscar." You reach out and set a hand on his shoulder, waiting until he brings his head up to look you in the eye. "You're a good kid. And no, I'm not saying that in some condescending, dismissive way," you add as you see him wince. "When I say that, what I mean is that I think you're in the midst of growing up. And as far as I can see you're doing a great job. I'm really proud of you, you're a great student and you work hard, and you've shouldered up under shit that no fourteen-year-old should have to."\n\n"You shouldered up under worse," he murmurs, glancing away.\n\n"... I shouldn't have had to either," you finally admit to yourself with a shake of the head.\n\nOscar takes a deep breath and lets it out. "But you don't feel that way about me."\n\n"No. I don't feel that way about Ozma, either," you add, resting a hand on his head. "You're both important people to me... and if I had my choice, both of you would keep being people in my life, all on your own. But you're right, I don't feel that way about you. And it's not saying anything bad about you, or about me, it's just... how it is." You slide your hand down and bring your other up to cup his cheeks gently. "I'm proud of you. I'm glad he's proud of me. And I love you both. ... But not that way."\n\n"... Okay." He takes a shaky breath, turning his head away and wiping his eyes. "... Sorry," he adds, managing to sound like he means it without sounding like he's going to break down.\n\n"Don't be sorry, Oscar. We don't control how we feel. I'm actually way more proud of you that you had the guts to talk to me about it." You stroke his hair a few times, unable to help grinning as he blushes. "And it's okay to be sad or disappointed. I'm not gonna think any less of you. And I'm gonna keep loving you like family. Okay?"\n\n"Thank you," he says softly, slumping a little as if in relief that he's allowed to be a bit upset about it. As you turn to leave, he adds, "Kai?" As you're turning back he mutters, "Shut up, if I have to go through this you do too." At your blink, he firms his jaw and adds, "Ozma's as sad that you don't feel like that about him either."\n\n"... Oh," you murmur softly, blinking. Wow, it's one thing coming from the farmboy you like to tease, another realizing that apparently the ancient consciousness that's been around the world a few hundred times apparently got a little crush on you too. Of course admitting that wouldn't exactly help Oscar's inferiority complex, so you just grin and give him a nod, heading back out into the house. They're just crushes. Oscar's a kid who gets a lot of attention and some teasing from you. And Ozma's a... uh... well, he's probably lonely. No big. They'll feel bad for awhile and get over it. Just crushes.\n\nBecause who could ever... ... yeah.\n\nJust as you're walking out, you notice Jaune approaching the front door, calling in a somewhat wan voice, "I'm gonna take a walk before the others get back, okay?", the blonde man barely waiting for an acknowledgement before he's out the door. You've noticed he's been a little more down since you got to Argus, slipping a little bit back into the way he seemed when you first met him, before everyone started helping him pull himself out of the general malaise that he's apparently been in since his partner's death. Making a split decision, you snag your coat off the wall and follow after him without bothering to announce your departure.\n\nJaune wanders through the streets, hands in his pockets and head down... he really does seem to have just wanted to take a walk, though his posture says it isn't giving him any peace, that if anything the weight on his shoulders is growing. He stops at one corner, glancing up and looking around, and you see a little shock pass through his body. His posture changes a little, the way he's walking seeming more like he's being drawn towards something. Curious, you hurry up a bit and round the corner. It's not hard to see what caught his eye and had him reacting like that. \n\n<img src="images/PyrrhaStatue.png">\n\nTowering over an idyllic little haven in the midst of the city is a figure cast in lustrous metal, head bowed solemnly, eyes closed. Her hands grip a shield tucked almost shyly in front of her thighs, a sword sheathed at her back, slender but strong body shown off by the almost Amazonian garb she's wearing. It fills the entire area with a presence that is both soft and warm, despite the snow drifting gently down around it to pile at its feet. The sculptor clearly knew the subject well, and was deeply affected by her passing, for both the sorrow of her loss and the strength of her life are obvious even to someone as jaded as you. Swallowing hard, you move forward to stand beside Jaune.\n\n"I wish you'd gotten to know her," Jaune whispers, for the first time revealing that he already knew you were there, his eyes not leaving the statue.\n\n"I feel like I did, sometimes," you answer, keeping your own voice quiet, somehow feeling that this is a more sacred place than you've ever treated any church. Because you know that to the man beside you it is. "The way you all talk about her. The videos you showed me. The things I read. Heh, even those dumb cereal commercials," you murmur, unable to help snickering a bit as you look up at the statue again. "She was trying so hard to seem like she liked it but you can just tell she wanted to scream something."\n\n"'It's not very good for you'," Jaune supplies, smiling finally as well. "She would have screamed 'It's not very good for you'."\n\nYou reach out to rub his arm gently a few times... then can't help but give a soft 'kplch' as the cool winter wind catches your hair and blows it in your face. "Fu-, fri-, nnnh, it never does this, why!" you grumble, trying to brush it away.\n\n"Oh, uh," Jaune reaches into the pocket of his hoodie, rummaging for a moment before coming up with something and offering it to you. "Here."\n\n"Thanks," you answer, plucking it out of his hand and looking at it, a little surprised to see an old-fashioned bronze ponytail tie, a thin arc of polished, gleaming, almost golden metal with a thin spear-shaped rod slipped in the holes at either end. You blink at it, then look up at the matching ornament on the statue, before turning to stare at the man beside you. "... Jaune..."\n\n"It's fine. She'd lend it to you if she was here anyway," he answers, shrugging and giving you that same slightly sad smile. Then he turns that sad smile back to the statue. "She was like that."\n\n"... Thank you," you whisper, pulling your thick red hair back and sliding the arch of bronze on, then slipping the rod through. Giving your new ponytail a light shake, you just stare up at the statue for several silent minutes.\n\nThen there's a gasp from behind you, and the sound of something soft falling to the pavement. You and Jaune both turn in surprise, spotting a slender woman in an overcoat, her short red hair clipped to the top of her neck, bright green eyes wide behind her glasses, the bundle of flowers she'd been holding now scattered at her feet. There's a brief flash of shock, and something like misery as you actually look at her, your red eyes meeting her green, before she pulls herself together. "Oh, I'm so sorry," she says, the words having an echo of the cadence that you've only heard in scroll videos. "I... thought you were someone else for a moment."\n\nIn some ways you've never had a mother. Or you had two. But you recognize the one standing in front of you as clear as day. That even though she's smiling more comfortably now at you, and at Jaune, a look of what can only be pride in her eyes as she takes in the Huntress weapon sheathed at your side and the matching ponytail of crimson hair on your head, that she's hurting. That she's lost. That she's as in pain as Jaune is, that her smile is just as sad and as longing as his is, just more practiced from having been brought out so many times.\n\nAnd you understand suddenly that you can help this woman.\n\nFor a long time, you've thought there was probably something you could do. A reflection of the masterful lies that Qrow somewhat backhandedly praised on the train. That because of what was done to you all those years ago, you could just sort of... step back and use what you knew of someone else to bring them up instead.\n\nAnd you know a lot about Pyrrha Nikos.\n\nYou've never actually done it. You considered using it with Yang, when she needed to push past her refusal to accept the change in her life, but brushed it off because you decided some tough love would suffice. ... And more. Because you were afraid. You knew it would cost you something to step back and let someone else have the wheel. That you'd have to give up the one thing that was always, to some extent, the only free part of you... your mind. And yet this place is your home now, something that settles in on you in the moment. This is your home, and it owes so much to the girl whose image rises behind you, towering protectively over this small place of peace in the midst of the city. Not necessarily because of what she did, but who she was and what she stood for.\n\nDo you owe that to her, you wonder?\n\n<hr>\n[[No. Look forward, not back.|KaiRem]]\n\n[[Sometimes you need to look back to move forward.|KaiRem3x6]]

"I said we'd be in this with you to the end and I meant it," you reply, almost feeling the other three perk up behind you. "... I mean... I can't really describe how it makes me feel that you had that much trust and faith in me, to try and turn over something you cared about so much to me. But I'm not ready for that." You hesitate a bit, then add, "You said once that someone who stands between the innocent and evil isn't who I was, but it was who I've become. And maybe someday a headmaster will be who I become too. But not yet, not today... not when my friends still need me beside them."\n\n"I see." Ozma is quiet for a moment, before he smiles. "You do not make it easy, when you show the maturity and thoughtfulness that made me think you would do so well in the role. But I very much understand what you mean. And I am glad that we have not seen the last of Team KACH. ... Let us rejoin everyone," he says, gesturing to the rest of the group.\n\nAs you head over, Reese slips up beside you and reaches out to give your hand a squeeze, mouthing 'thank you'. You give her a grin, then turn your attention to the group ahead as Ilia splits off to talk to Silvia, the two already embracing tightly. Spotting Ruby practically dancing in place holding a brown shop bag, you grin and ask, "Whatcha got, Rubes?"\n\n"Preseeeeeents!" she squeals happily, hopping in place a few times, while Weiss sighs and puts a hand to her own face. "Random travel station presents, the best kind!"\n\n"That is an objective fact," Reese states mock-solemnly, giving Ruby double fingerguns.\n\n"... Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaa I can't wait!" Ruby squeaks, zipping over to you and rummaging in the bag, then yanking out one of its contents and thrusting it towards you. "Here! Here here here, isn't it great?!"\n\n"Uh?" You blink at what she's holding... a plastic figure of a guy in a neat outfit. "It's a... toy?"\n\nJaune sucks in a long, awed breath as he's suddenly instantly at your side, fists clutched under his chin as he stares at it. "That's no toy, it's the Fragment-class limited coloration Xanth Kaddax figure with button-action rifle-whip, the only time they ever made it in that scale!" He leans in close, his eyes sparkling brightly and mouth open. "A lost treasure of a decade past, seventy percent of the entire production run was scattered to the retail winds by a shipping error and you found one! I'm sooooo jealous!" he whimpers with a pout, dancing back and forth from foot to foot.\n\nOkay maybe there's a bit of the boy left.\n\n"Heheh, yup yup yup," Ruby declares proudly, jutting her chest out and preening a bit. "He's one of the most famous Huntsmen in history, all his stuff sells out all the time, but I found him hiding behind five Braith Delaneys and an Esteban Royale! And he's alllll yours!" she adds, pushing it a bit closer to your face.\n\n"You uh... you got me a toy," you note a bit helplessly as you pick it up off her palm and look at it.\n\n"Oh, uh... w-well, you know, you're a Huntress now, and I thought maybe you'd... get excited about learning a little more about the other famous ones that came before," Ruby says, rubbing the back of her head and looking away, her smile turning a little strained.\n\n"Most people don't get excited over action figures, Ruby," Weiss murmurs, though she's glancing back and forth between you and her partner like she's a bit hurt.\n\n"Oh, uh, no, no, it's not that, sorry," you say quickly, shaking your head, still staring at the little articulated person in your hands. "I just... uh... no one ever gave me a toy before."\n\nThe group silently exchanges a glance at that. It's Ren who speaks up, his normally even voice soft and a little sad. "You... never had a toy?"\n\n"No, I mean... like I said I was about Ilia's age when I woke up in the slave pen, and I went right into training with Niobe and Ico. It probably never occurred to them that I'd want a toy, all the stuff I wanted was things like... candy bars or drinks from vending machines, or weapons we saw on jobs, stuff like that. Never really thought about a toy," you add, the part of you that has always been a grownup being trained to fight and to kill and to survive staring down at the silly little pointless thing in your hands.\n\nThe rest of you is grinning like an idiot and making soft 'pshew!' noises under your breath as you click the button that pops his rifle into being sectioned pieces on a string.\n\n"... Ruby," Weiss says, blue eyes fixed on you and glistening as she puts an arm around her partner's shoulders. "The next time I say going shopping for presents is a waste of time, don't listen to me."\n\n"Consider it done," Ruby says back, smiling warmly as she rests her head against Weiss's.\n\nClearing your throat, you tuck the action figure into one of the inner dimensional pockets of your coat, just because it's the one you use for stuff you don't need immediately. Totally not because it's the most secure one and it rests close to your heart. You notice that Silvia has walked over along with Ilia, and you can't help but give her a sort of sad smile as you say, "Well. I promised I'd be there for you from now on, but... here I go leaving. Sorry... looks like I'm breaking my promise."\n\n"You're not." Silvia shakes her head firmly, pale ponytail flitting back and forth, before she reaches out and takes your hands. "I may not know the details, but I understand you're doing this for me, for all of us. And you were there for me when I needed you most, to wake me up from the nightmare... thank you." She leans forward and up to peck your cheek. "Besides, it's not like I'm going to be alone."\n\n"I mean, most of the Faunus militia is still in Haven, right?" you note. "So you'll have them too."\n\n"They are, but that's not what I mean." Silvia shakes her head again, smiling broadly now as she takes a few steps back to stand in front of Sun and Neptune. "I mean that I'm going to Vacuo with Team SSSN. I want to be a Huntress... I'm ready to stand between the innocent and evil. Because you showed me that even though it hurts, we stand up to the pain, and we share it." She glances from Sun to Neptune, then at you and nods. "And it doesn't hurt so much anymore."\n\n"... Yeah," is all you can say in reply, smiling.\n\n"Please take good care of her," Blake adds with a slightly wan smile of her own.\n\n"I promise I'll look after her like she's family," Sun declares with a bright grin as he rests a hand on Silvia's shoulder. "Family who stabbed me and almost killed me."\n\nSilvia's specks turn an embarrassed red. "I said I was sorry!"\n\n"Don't worry about it, I'm used to that level of hostility from family, if not the actuality! When we get to Vacuo I'll introduce you to my cousin, she'll be super jealous you got to actually do what she's probably wanted to for years."\n\nAs the group approaches the train after having said its goodbyes, Ozma stops and turns again. "Before we go, there is something I must tell you. This," he explains, indicating the lantern-like artifact on his belt, and lowering his voice to a barely audible whisper. "Attracts the Grimm almost as much as negative emotions."\n\n"WHAT?!" Nora blurts, causing several people (including you) to clap a hand over her mouth.\n\n"Oz, dammit, why didn't you tell us sooner?" Qrow almost growls. "We can't take that thing on the train, then, we'll be putting all those people in danger!"\n\n"I do not see that we have any other choice," Ozma says in a strained tone. "Traveling overland would take far too long, and even we would certainly be overwhelmed by Grimm attacks before then. Our only hope is that the Argus Express arrives in Argus before a large number of Grimm are drawn to us." Then he withdraws, Oscar blinking a few times, before saying, "Uh, I guess that he was done talking. Um... maybe we could just find a way to make everyone on the train feel safe and comfortable?" he suggests, rubbing the back of his head then lifting that hand. "And it would balance out?"\n\n"No worries, friends! Everyone can feel safe and comfortable on the Argus Express thanks to us!"\n\nThe group turns to see a pair of tall, fairly broad men, one fair, clean-shaven, and resting a large spiked mace on his shoulder, the other tan, with a soul patch, and shouldering a rifle. They've even got their swaggering poses and smirks synced up, even to the point of having their hips jutted slightly out by the same amount to present their crotches suggestively. (You hear Grey making a few soft choking noises. Guess it's always hard to have someone hold up a mirror to your past.)\n\n"Dee and Dudley, the Argus Express's very own, very personal Huntsmen, are here to make sure nobody needs to worry about a Grimm attack!"\n\n"Oh really?" Qrow says flatly, which fits the expressions of most everyone else.\n\n"You bet! We're in control of the train's defenses, and we've both done this run plenty of times! Of course, for a bit of a tip, we're always available for extra special service," the one with the mace... Dee, you're guessing... adds with a wink.\n\n<hr>\n[[God, we're doomed.|KaiRem7x1]]\n\n[[... hmmmmmm...|KaiRem3x3]]

"This isn't some magical curse that's been laid on you. True love's kiss won't grow your arm back," you tell Yang flatly, actually hearing Blake give a near-inhuman yowl of anger as pain blossoms across the blonde's face. "This doesn't go away at the end of the story, it's not all fixed by a happily ever after. It's just your life now. You need to live it."\n\n"You bitch!" Blake snarls, either having been pushed too far or just having been influenced by you. Either way, Ruby and Blake actually are holding her back physically now. "How dare you, how dare-!"\n\n"Stop it."\n\nBlake's eyes go wide and she freezes at Yang's tired-sounding voice. The blonde pushes herself up, getting into a kneeling position and resting her arm across her knee, letting out a huff as she stares at the ground.\n\n"... She's right," she says quietly after a minute. "And somebody needed to say it." Wobbling just a little, she gets to her feet, and visibly glances at the empty sleeve at her side. "... She's right," she repeats, a little more firmly. "I put on the arm, and I was able to leave the house. I was able to fight. Be a Huntress. I felt like me again. ... But somewhere in the back of my head, I kept thinking, someday, someday I'll be normal again. I'll be right again. So I put on the arm and I just... didn't think about it. ... I knew," she continues, glancing at the heartbroken-looking Qrow. "I knew I ought to be practicing without it. That I needed to learn to not be afraid without it. But that part of me in the back of my head said I didn't need to because... because I'd be normal again someday. And the prosthetic could just be a substitute until then."\n\nHer hand wanders up towards the absent arm... presses on the cap at the end for a moment... before she breathes out. "But I wo-"\n\n"You're perfectly normal."\n\nYang blinks as you interrupt her, other eyes that had fixated on her shifting back to you, looking more shocked or confused now than angry.\n\n"This shit happens all the time where I'm from," you say with a shake of the head. "Prosthetics aren't even worth a blink. You're in a dangerous job, you got hurt, now you need a cyberlimb. So what?" You walk forward, gently taking the arm from Qrow as he stares down at it, then at you as you turn and walk over to her. "It's normal. It happens. Time to deal with it and live your life. You're still you. And you're right about what I was pushing you towards... you need to learn not to be afraid without it." You hold out the golden arm towards her. "But you also need to learn to accept it when you have it."\n\n"... Right." Yang takes a deep breath, and then reaches out and takes... her arm. Not a prosthetic, not a cyberlimb... her arm. She raises it up into place and clicks it back on, fingers twitching as the connection is remade. "This is who I am now. ... I think I've said those words but always with... bitterness, or trying to convince myself." She holds her golden hand up, turning it back and forth and flexing the fingers. "But yeah. This doesn't change at the end of it. This is my life." She rolls her shoulders, and nods. "... I'll learn to be okay with it."\n\n"Alright. ... Sorry," you add, glancing away a bit in shame.\n\n"You didn't have to put it so harshly," Blake murmurs, shaking off Ruby and Weiss.\n\n"Yeah she did," Yang answers sharply, surprising both you and the feline Faunus with the vehemence in her voice. But the blonde visibly reins it in before she says, "Like I said, this is me now. If I'm not going to treat myself like I'm fragile or going to break, you can't either. Every single one of you saw I needed an asskicking and you didn't do it," she declares, just a hint of humor entering her voice again as she looks around, swinging a finger back and forth to indicate the entire group.\n\n"... Uh, have you met you?" Weiss quips after a second. "That's kiiind of a tall order."\n\nThat breaks some of the tension, even a few snickers and giggles running through the small crowd, before Yang lets out a long sigh and smiles. "Hey. Blake?"\n\n"... Yes?" the yellow-eyed woman says after a moment's hesitation.\n\n"Sounds like we need another talk." Yang tries to keep any ominousness out of that by smiling, though she does look a little tired. "Let's knock off early, 'kay?"\n\n"Right," Blake says with a soft huff, nodding once and walking over to Yang. She hesitates, then turns towards you. "I'm... I'm sorry about what I said. I shouldn't have... ... I see now what you were trying to do, and I-"\n\n"You're apologizing over 'bitch'?" you scoff, entirely sincere as your eyes start dancing with delight, which clearly flusters Blake even more. "Look. You saw me giving your partner a hard time, it pissed you off, that's it. Don't worry about it. I'm glad you don't hate me over it, that's really all I care about."\n\n"I don't," Blake assures you immediately with a quick shake of her head. Then she lets out a huff. "But I'm definitely not used to you," she adds with the ghost of a smile. Then she turns, walking off with Yang for likely another rather raw discussion about protectiveness and the fragility of feelings. Kinda glad you're missing this one. \n\n"Pretty rough, kid," Qrow says after a few moments, shaking his head.\n\n"People on Makarzia don't have a lot of time to play it soft." It's Ilia who speaks up now as she walks over. "And they don't have to worry about negative emotions stirring up Grimm. People get pretty frank pretty fast. Um, with all sorts of subjects," she adds, her specks briefly turning pink again.\n\n"I mean I get on an objective level why no one wanted to say anything," you add, shaking your head again as a few of the others cluster around. "But Ozma asked me to help with the hand-to-hand training, and Yang seemed the most in trouble. A lot more can go wrong with a prosthetic than a flesh-and-blood limb in some situations, so..." You hesitate, then sigh a bit and shrug. "Might as well be the 'space alien' who says it. I'm the outsider anyway."\n\n"... I'm sorry I said that to you," Ruby squeaks softly after a moment, stepping forward. "That's not how I meant it, but... I didn't want to make you feel like an outsider," she adds, shaking her head. "... Hearing you say that stuff to Yang hurt, but I think you did it because you care about her. And we care about you," she adds, other heads in the small crowd nodding. "You're not an outsider. You're one of us."\n\n"You're our leader, Kai," Grey says, for the first time really, actually sounding like he means it.\n\n"Seriously?" you ask him, trying for flippant but coming off a little watery as you look at him.\n\n"... This team's the first thing I think I've ever been really, truly proud about being a part of," he assures you, nodding once. "And you made it happen. So yeah. Seriously."\n\n"No more 'space alien'," Nora assures you, shaking her head quickly. "You're not a space alien, you're a... a space immigrant!" She blinks as several people turn flat looks on her. "... What?"\n\n"Look, it's really not that big of a deal," you say sheepishly, holding up your hands. "I mean I didn't like it, but-"\n\n"It is a big deal, Miss Sterling," Ozma says, Oscar's body language shifting smoothly into a more composed one and voice taking on even tones. "You said it yourself when you first met me, and I heeded it without thinking to caution others to do the same. But casual words can be the easiest to cut. We can be forgiven for not knowing at first, or for slipping up here and there in the future, perhaps... but only for the unintentional slips. If we know it hurts you and do not care, it is we who have erred."\n\n"... 'Hurts'... is probably a little strong," you murmur, shifting your shoulders a little. "But it doesn't feel good."\n\n"I think I understand. Because as you said, it makes you feel like an outsider. And while you are from a far-away place, an outsider is not what you are. As Miss Rose said... you are one of us now, Miss Sterling. Bound to the same path and the same fate. Never forget that." He starts to fold his hands as if to rest them on his cane, then clears his throat when he remembers he doesn't have it. A second later Oscar's gawky posture returns. \n\nIlia steps forward to hug you, and you ruffle her hair and give her a quick kiss on the forehead, before the group starts to disperse, awkwardness gradually fading as Qrow starts to organize them into different sparring pairs. Only Reese remains, clearing her throat. "Um. I'm-"\n\n"Stop," you interject, stabbing a finger sideways at her. "Do not apologize to me, Reese Chloris, I am already tired of this being a thing and I cannot take it if you of all people get all apologetic."\n\n"O-okay. Just y'know wanted to say that even if you're my second team leader you're still my team leader and I'd never want to do anything to hurt you."\n\n"Oh for." You roll your eyes, then boop her nose. "You get a 'space alien' pass."\n\nHer green eyes cross, and then her face lights up. "For real?"\n\n"Yeah, 'cause you're funny about it, now I hope to dragon no one reads too deeply into that and we're done with this. I'm hungry, dammit, HEY! Who else is hungry?!" you call, getting back a small wave of cheers. "We can punch each other in the brains later then, let's eat!"\n\nYou really do feel like everyone made too big of a deal about the 'space alien' thing, but... at the same time it's nice to know they care about you enough to make a big deal out of it. You eat a plate of curry rice as you listen to Weiss and Ruby talking intently, skimming your gaze over the rest. You wonder what Yang and Blake are doing right now, and how their talk is going.\n\n"I hope they're fucking," you murmur aloud without really thinking about it.\n\n"Uh."\n\nYou glance aside, grimacing a little at Ilia. "Er... sorry, I was just-"\n\n"Thinking about Blake and Yang, right?" she answers, grinning a bit sheepishly, then shaking her head. "It's okay. I... kind of hope they are too. I mean, um, making up, or getting together, or whatever."\n\n"Yeah?" You reach out and nudge her shoulder lightly. "You going all noble on me? 'I want my beloved to be happy' and shit?"\n\n"Maybe." Ilia squirms a little, glancing down. "... I want Yang to be happy too, though. I want all of us to be happy. I... wish I could be the one to make Blake happy, but I guess I've accepted that's probably not going to happen. At least, not romance-wise. But. I want to be happy too," she adds, smiling at you.\n\n"Yeah? Anyone in mind?" you ask teasingly.\n\nYou can see her gaze drift towards your lips and her specks go a little pink, and continue to darken as her eyes wind up wandering over Reese practically on all fours, leaned down over her plate as she furiously plays a game on her scroll, perky spandex-hugged butt in the air. Over Ruby and Weiss sitting leaned back nearby as they chatter each other, hose-clad legs stretched out, Ruby's partially revealed chest lifted as if to present it to the sun. Nora's arms and legs flexing with powerful, still femininely-shaped muscle as she proves that she can still deadlift Jaune, much to Jaune's consternation.\n\n"A girl," Ilia sighs wistfully, a happy smile nevertheless curling her lips as she rests her chin on her hand.\n\n"Uh-huh." Fighting to suppress a laugh, you instead just shake your head and flop on your back, grinning up at the surprisingly pleasant sky. Remnant is officially classed a 'deathworld' in the Guild database, implying it is innately hostile to human life and that going there, while not necessarily suicidal, is hazardous in the extreme. Probably why only a couple of mercs have taken jobs here in decades. \n\nIt's weird how you're so happy here.\n\nThe days in Haven are, in fact, some of the happiest you've ever known in your life. Besides training in various ways with your team and the other two, there's some of the less thrilling work of rebuilding damaged buildings and patrolling for Grimm (and the less fantastical sorts of monsters that prey on tired and vulnerable people), but there's also other activities. Just hanging out... hanging out with your friends, that's a hell of a thing. You and Ilia occasionally talk to Faunus about whether they'd be interested in going to Makarzia... like Niobe said, you don't bullshit them about the dangers that are going on, but you also find yourself able to tell them the good things about it, the freedom, the weird beauty of it, the access to cheap but advanced technology, the sense of community they'll find among the other demihumans and genemods, but also a human population that for the most part doesn't think they're strange or exceptional in the least. Some of them accept... shopkeepers and store owners that have lost their own shops and stores to the recent violence or other, past events, but also some fighters, even a few Huntsmen and Huntresses... and a couple of the less savory sorts too, maybe even a couple of 'Red Fang' (as the discredited faction is now being called) members that are looking to get out of town. Hey, to your mind, Makarzia has a place for everybody, and Niobe's not exactly running a choir group. You visit with some of the other people that won't be joining with you, even holding bits of training with them, like Sun's team (Team SSSN, that's as bad as RWBY), or the 'local' Ilia, or just various people from Menagerie that showed up with the Faunus militia, or locals. Even with a mission to save the world looming, you kind of just get to be... a person. And it's nice.\n\n"To the fate of the worrrrld!" Sun calls, raising his glass of foamy blue water in cheer to show off to the rest of the restaurant.\n\n"Keep your voice down," Weiss hisses, trying to shove his arm back towards the table.\n\n"Why? They don't know what I'm talking about," the monkey Faunus replies with an easy grin, shrugging.\n\n"You don't know what you're talking about," his blue-haired friend Neptune points out from beside him.\n\n"Hey! ... Oh right, I don't," Sun murmurs, rubbing his chin, then looking up at the rest of you and frowning. "Hey!"\n\n"Oh give it a rest," the local Ilia... though after a rather intense round of rock-paper-scissors, she agreed to be the one to change her name, and is now going by 'Silvia', apparently complementing the new name by turning her hair a glittery platinum blonde... says, rolling her eyes at his antics. "They've already said like a billion times they've gotta keep it to themselves, if you're not going with them you don't get details, get over it."\n\n"And we're heading to Vacuo. Apparently," Scarlet, one of Sun's other teammates, mutters with a flip of his bright red bangs.\n\n"You agreed to go to Vacuo," Sun points out (literally pointing at his teammate), frowning. "We talked about this."\n\n"... That's right, we did," Scarlet admits with a bob of the head. "Which is still weird, honestly. That you talked to us and got our input instead of just announcing it and why."\n\n"Blake's fault! Or, like, she gets credit, or whatever," Sun says, gesturing to his feline Faunus friend with his tail.\n\n"Talking is... rough, sometimes," Blake admits, giving Yang a brief sheepish smile. "But it's better not to run from it. I just... told Sun how helpful it's been to talk about things with everyone else, and he listened. Which, I guess, proves the point," she adds with a little shrug.\n\n"So yeah, I'm gonna talk to you guys before I go running off and doing stuff on my own anymore," Sun says, putting a hand to his chest and bowing forward some over the tabletop.\n\n"I notice you don't say you're going to talk to us instead of going off on your own, just before," the red-haired human says with a sigh.\n\n"Oh wow you noticed that? Dang, I thought I was being sneaky."\n\nSnickering some, you raise your pint glass and tilt it at Team SSSN. "Enjoy your desert, guys, I'll be thinking of you when the rest of us are freezing the fun parts of our anatomy off."\n\nShortly after that, as all of you are heading to the appropriated dorm rooms you've moved into rather than the hotel that was eating up Qrow's budget, Oscar approaches you... ah, no, that's Ozma for sure. "Miss Sterling. Did you have a pleasant evening at the farewell party?"\n\n"Yeah, ready to hop on a train tomorrow," you reply with a nod and a grin. "Be my first time on one. Okay, not on one, in one, I had this job once working with a bunch of dusty goofballs in a ship that looked like a horse where we..." You trail off, clearing your throat. "Know what, nevermind, you had something you wanted to ask me?"\n\n"Indeed." Ozma shifts a bit in place, odd for him... Oscar's usually the squirmy one. "Miss Sterling, I do not want you to take this the wrong way, but I am considering asking you not to go with us tomorrow."\n\n"... I'm looking for a right way to take that," you reply after a moment, your throat tight.\n\n"The right way to take it is that my appraisal of you is so high that I honestly feel there are tasks better suited to you than an admittedly somewhat vague mission to save the world," Ozma assures you with a tilt of his head, folding his arms on the top of his cane as is his wont. "Or perhaps not 'better suited'. You would indeed be a most valuable asset to us... you have forged bonds of friendship with Team RWBY and Team JNPR that I think could carry all of you quite far in our goals. But, in the process, you have also revealed a number of traits more valuable than they would be in the field."\n\nHe lifts his chin a bit as he continues. "You are a canny observer of people, able to look into them as if they were a mirror, identifying the parts of yourself that reflect and confronting them fearlessly. You have a way of speaking to people, making them understand you, reaching to them and connecting with them. And you are an excellent teacher, both of combat techniques and the technical skills you have passed on to your fellows in the process of learning Remnant technology."\n\n"So... what?" You can't help snorting a little as you shake your head. "Are you seriously saying you want me to teach at Haven Academy or something?"\n\n"No, Miss Sterling, I am not suggesting you teach at Haven Academy. I am suggesting you run it," Ozma answers evenly, without even the trace of a smile.\n\nYour own grin drops off your face. "You're fucking me."\n\n"You might have to work on cleaning up your language, however," Ozma says, that smile escaping a little bit now. "Culturally most on Remnant do not swear particularly often, and I doubt it would be helpful if Haven became known as the school that produces Huntsmen and Huntresses with pottymouths."\n\n"You are joking," you say in a relieved tone, actually clutching your chest. Then frowning as his face goes serious. "... You're not joking. How are you not joking? Are you kidding me or are you joking? You're having me on. It's a larf."\n\n"Kidding, joking, having a... laugh, really Miss Sterling you are very focused on levity."\n\n"I mean... I thought the fate of the world was at stake!" you blurt, a little too loudly and making yourself wince, forcing yourself to calm your voice. "Even if it wasn't, how the hell can I be a Headmaster? I don't know how old I am but I'm not that much older than the seniors here! I'm like...!" You fling your hand around, spluttering and failing to come up with a number, then just deciding to shift the topic a bit. "And I'm a street punk! I don't have a degree! I have never actually been in a classroom for other than nefarious purposes! And my team, and, and...!"\n\n"These are all challenges that can be overcome with the right assistance and preparation," Ozma says slowly, bobbing his head once. "Haven will not reopen again this semester, and when it does its student body is likely to be considerably diminished. You would certainly have ample time to adjust to your new role, should you choose to accept it. But more than that, I was not joking when I offered you your name, as well. You have continued to show me that you are 'of the highest quality', and I believe others will see that too, past any other reservations."\n\n"... So you want me to stay. To... not go with everyone." You turn a little, and find yourself gesturing to the halls and saying in a very sincere and very pained tone, "My friends."\n\n"... In truth I very much want you to go with us, Miss Sterling," Ozma says quietly. "Because it may be presumptuous... but I too consider you a friend. I have had many of them over the course of my lifetimes... but I have learned to tell which will last in my memory long after others have faded. Both I, and Oscar, would miss you terribly." He takes a deep breath, then nods once. "But it is my responsibility and duty to put the needs of Remnant over what I want. And perhaps my arrogance to put it over what others want as well. But all I am offering you is a choice. Whether or not our mission will save the world, we must certainly act as if it will continue spinning on as normal for the foreseeable future. Which means that Haven will need a headmaster, so that many more young people can find a purpose. And a home. And family. I very much hope that we can find a wonderful headmaster for Haven Academy... but it would be selfish, and wrong, of me to not admit that I have already found someone who could be exactly that, just because I wish her to accompany me instead."\n\n"So... you're saying it would be selfish of me not to accept," you say finally, shoulders and head heavy.\n\nOzma scoffs a little bit. "Forgive me if I oversold it, Miss Sterling, but I will remind you that the other option is still a mission to save the world, on which we are all likely to perish. So no, I will not think you selfish whatever you choose. I wish I had given you more time to make the decision than one night, but I only truly settled on this today. Forgive me, but... please have your answer for me in the morning. I assure you, whichever decision you make... I will be very proud of you, if that means anything to you." He gives you another prim nod, then with a quiet 'Good night' turns and walks off.\n\n... Shit. Well. You guess... considering what you heard at dinner tonight, and... what he believes you can do... there's only one thing you can really do.\n\n"And so that's the deal," you explain, leaning back in the chair around the small table in the center of Team ABRN's room. \n\n"H-headmaster of a Huntress academy," Ilia whispers, her eyes wide. "Wow."\n\n"So no world-saving," Reese murmurs, looking down.\n\n"What Ozma said makes sense," Grey tells her, his voice surprisingly gentle. "Until the world does end, we have to keep going like it's not going to. That means keeping the schools open, yeah?"\n\n"But it sounds like if Kai's not going none of us go. I mean we're Team KACH right?" Reese lifts her head. "Leader Kai Sterling? So what's the decision, what happens to us, leader?"\n\n"This isn't a decision I'm gonna make on my own, guys, I'm not doing that sort of shit to you," you assure them, leaning forward and putting both hands on the table. "This isn't combat or accepting a job, this is our future. Our lives. So..." You trail off, sighing. "I dunno. If, if I accepted the position, what do you guys think you'd do?"\n\n"I... guess maybe I could enroll here?" Ilia says after a few moments of everyone being silent. "I mean, I guess I'm a shoo-in to get in, I know the headmaster," she says teasingly. "And I'd get to be with my sister, which would be nice. I think she'd want to enroll too."\n\n"I think..." Grey says slowly. "... I think I'd like to teach."\n\nYou quirk an eyebrow. "Don't take this the wrong way, but seriously?"\n\n"Because there's so many right ways to take that," Grey snorts, rolling his steely eyes before grinning at you. "Nah, I'm serious. I guess lately... I dunno, my priorities are different. Passing on some of the good and worthwhile stuff I learned to Blake and some of the others was... pretty nice. I'd still like to go with her and watch her back, but if not... yeah, I could see teaching."\n\nThere's another bit of silence as you all try not to stare at the person who's not speaking, but don't really know what else to do. Finally Reese heaves a deep breath and lets it out, speaking with a bit less than her customary energy. "Since the Haven CCT is still working I've been able to talk with Arslan some. She's already talked with Bolin and Nadir, and they don't really want to wait a whole semester for Haven to reopen. With things getting all wild and dangerous they want the best training available, so they... want to transfer to Shade Academy in Vacuo."\n\nIlia winces a little, and even Grey makes a bit of a face. You lean back in your chair again, just looking at Reese. "What do you think of that?"\n\n"What do you think I think about it do you know what fuckin' sand does to electronics do you know what Vacuo sand does to electronics Vacuo is literally the reason you can't legally put 'sandproof' on a Scroll case no matter how good it is!" Reese snaps in a rapidfire huff, before she settles into a sulkier tone. "And I got this bad fuckin' feelin' like someone's out there just waitin' ta smear the fuck out of my character or something I dunno."\n\n"So you can stay at Haven or-"\n\n"The fuck I would." Reese lifts her head, scowling. "Listen Kai you are fuckin' awesome and I will fight with you and I will die for you but that is if we are a team and if we're fighting for something. Not if you're sittin' in an office doin' paperwork while I languish here alone or get stuck with a whole new team. Now I love you guys," she says, glancing back and forth from Ilia to Grey, assuring them they're included, which makes Ilia's specks turn bright pink... but more surprisingly makes Grey blush. "Ilia's cute as hell and sweet and determined and Grey's a badass of epic proportions and frankly I go a little wibbly for bad boys on a redemption arc." That makes Grey pull a face instead, but Reese pushes on. "But don't think that doesn't mean I don't love Team ABRN too. Arslan's my momma lion, Bolin's my strength, and Nadir's the one who always laughs at my bullshit. They're my family too. I joined this family because I wanted to do something important, because I was needed. ... But you don't need me to run Haven Academy," she adds with a sigh. "So if you decide that's what you wanna do I guess I'm going to fuckin' Vacuo and learn to deal with sand in every-fuckin'-thing I own. Otherwise we go on this mission and I stick with you to the end and hopefully I can hook back up with ABRN before they get eaten by a mole crab or something without me there to save them."\n\nYou nod slowly, taking all that in. You look at Reese for a long while, before asking, "Reese, is what Ozma said right? Are the academies that important?"\n\n"... Yeah," she says quietly, lowering her head a little. "I don't even need to say that for other people I'll speak for my fuckin' self. This place saved my life when I felt like I was being torn apart. It gave me a place to belong and a place to find out who I was and to find other people who accepted that. It rips my guts out to think of leaving it either way. So yeah Kai I think it's important for it to have a great headmaster and I do think you'd be a great one. So if that's what you think is the right thing to do then I'll understand. Legit no hard feelings and I'll still love you like the awesome redhead from outer space that you are. But seems like my only option now is to leave Haven with one group of people that I love... you've just gotta decide what group of people that is."\n\n"Crystal Dragon, you guys were supposed to make this decision for me," you groan as you lean your head back and close your eyes.\n\n"Sorry, leader, turns out our lives can go on no matter what you decide," Grey chuckles, leaning forward to rub Reese's back comfortingly.\n\n"Kai, I think we're all saying... you should do what you think is best," Ilia says quietly. "And whatever you decide, we'll support you. As much as we can. If you decide to go with the others, we'll go all the way with you. If you decide to stay, we'll make the best of that. Do what you think is right."\n\nYou don't get a lot of sleep that night, ensconced in the faint sandalwood scent you suppose is the lingering trace of the bed's owner... well, soon-to-be former owner. You roll over in the bed and look at said owner in the picture on the bedside table, brown arms folded over her chest, a proud smile on her face below her mop of platinum blonde hair, Reese sitting on the standing woman's feet with her board to one side and mugging a huge grin for the camera, while she's flanked on either side by a pair of tall men, one in a gold sash and baldric and the other with two-tone pink and black hair. 'Will you forgive me if I take her away from you?' you think to the strong, confident lion Faunus woman you only know through Reese's stories. '... Will you forgive me if I turn her away to send her back to you?' \n\nYou wish Arslan were actually in her bed where she belonged so you could ask her. ... Also because she's pretty damn hot, honestly.\n\nIn the morning when you get up, everyone looks expectantly at you, but all you can do is get dressed in silence. Despite thinking all night, you're still not sure what you'll say. Asking you to stay in Haven feels like turning you away... and yet Ozma's asking you to take control of one of the things he literally feels is the most important thing in the world. It's a very quiet, somewhat nervous Team KACH that makes its way out of the room and to the train station in the town nearby, which actually seems mildly bustling and normal, and to your Makarzia-accustomed mind almost unnaturally clean, welcoming, and wholesome. It's easy enough to spot the rest of your group, already in the midst of its goodbyes, Blake hugging Silvia as Sun and Neptune linger nearby. Oscar is waiting a little nervously at the edge of the group, though as the four of you approach he straightens up and raises his head, tucking his hands behind his back.\n\n"Miss Sterling. Miss Amitola. Mister Heliotrope. Miss Chloris. Good morning. Though I'd ask if you slept well, I gather that you did not, and I apologize since I was likely the reason for that. However, I'm afraid the Argus Express departs within the hour, so I must ask... will we be buying Team KACH tickets?"\n\n<hr>\n[[Damn right you will.|KaiRem3x2]]\n\n[[... Not today.|KaiRem4x1]]

"Ah, y'know, I hear that wounds like this, even if they're treated, can spread and leave even bigger scars if it's in the dungeon," you say. Which you have not at all heard, until you said it, but that means you've heard it, so hey.\n\nDash blanches even more at that, then nods rapidly. "Ah, perhaps you're right, good Raz, mayhaps we'd best return to town and see it treated properly."\n\nYou help Dash up and let him lean on you. Between the two of you, you mostly manage to avoid monsters and get back to the gate not long before nightfall, going through and returning to Ebonarza proper. Dash directs you to the shop where he buys his healing potions... nice place, he must be a pretty successful adventurer.\n\n"Ah, there we go," he says in deep relief, no doubt for more reasons than one, as he pours the potion over his rinsed-off wound, the injury washing away as smoothly as the blood left on his skin. He pauses, looking at you, then clears his throat. "Well, my lad, I'd like to thank you, but-"\n\n"Yeah yeah," you say with a sigh, despite having seen him pay for the potion with gold. "Not materially capable, it's fine, don't worry about it, man, just glad you're okay."\n\nThat appears to shame him a bit since he squirms for a moment before saying, "You appear newly arrived, good Raz, and perhaps have not even acquired lodging?" At your uncertain nod, he nods back and says, "My inn room has rather a comfortable couch, if you would like, it is the least I could do to repay you for your kindness."\n\nSeems like the least he could do is pay you for the herbs you used on his wound, but you guess a free night in an inn is actually probably the better deal, even if it's on a couch. You shrug and nod, thanking him politely, and following him to...\n\n... well this fucker's just rich, isn't he?\n\nFeeling a little like you're being stiffed again, you follow Dash into the rather ritzy-looking inn and into a room that's as big as some of the houses you visited back in Sabanara. Still, at least the couch does look pretty comfy, and Dash seems to have gotten into a magnanimous mood and offers you both the use of his bathroom and to share dinner. So after a pretty nice soak in a large tub and getting clean, you sit at the couch eating some pretty decent food (though you're betting he still ordered the cheapest stuff on this place's menu) and listening to him talk.\n\n"My entire career in Ebonarza has been leading up to acquiring this particular item," he explains after most of a bottle of wine, waggling his glass around. He's been pretty cagey about exactly what the item is, but apparently can't help but brag about how close he is to obtaining it and all the work he's done tracking it down. "Apparently it's been around since the earliest days of Ebonarza, one of the first items to be brought out of the Final Round, and passed from hand to hand since then. From all my research and digging, the last person to have it went into the Green Fields on some other task and never emerged, and there's been no talk of the item since then, so it must still be in there."\n\n'Must' seems a little strong to you, but you guess you can't fault his reasoning, so you nod along with that.\n\nDash hesitates, then says, "Good Raz, I'm thinking, you seem a capable lad possessed of various skills that I, despite being a fairly well-established sort, admittedly lack. Would you perhaps consider accompanying me until I find my quarry? I assure you I would reward you most heartily!" he declares cheerfully.\n\nYeaaaah at this point you have serious doubts about this guy's ability to loosen his pursestrings to reward anyone most heartily, no matter how much they've earned it. Hrm... still, maybe he'd at least let you keep crashing with him until he found it, which would save you from having to pay for an inn yourself (since you doubt any bed you could afford would be nicer than this admittedly pretty comfy couch), and you think you could talk him into helping you kill the werelizard to get your badge once he has found his doodad (as long as you told him he could do that in lieu of paying you). And it doesn't sound like he's interested in the Green Fields drops, so you could keep farming those as you helped him. Hrm...\n\n<hr>\n[[Agree to help him.|Raz13x2]]\n\n[[Decline.|Raz]]

"If you'll have your legal representative contact ours, they can go through things together," Style notes breezily over her shoulder to the woman before ushering you back into the parking garage. Silver's not where you left him, but you're assuming he got away safely since you fried all the robots and you didn't see him get shot.\n\nSoon the two of you are once again seated in the comfortably climate controlled interior of MOM's minivan, Style giving you a wry look. "Well that could have gone better..." Before her eyes start twinkling. "But not by much."\n\n"I don't think that was exactly an ideal outcome," you say, rubbing your face with both hands.\n\n"No, hardly ideal, but it did work out pretty well. While I don't like that people wound up in danger, and I admit I do feel a little bad for Doctor Silver, the fact that you actually wound up saving a crowd of people from your supposed competition is an amazing story."\n\n"But the robots straight-out said-"\n\n"Girl, don't let the facts get too much in the way of telling a good story," Style interrupts, wagging a hand dismissively. "I mean, they don't, so why should we let it stop us?"\n\n... Well, okay, you guess she sort of has a point there. It doesn't feel like the most glorious, superhero-y point in the world, but still a point. "Alright, so... you think this helped my image?"\n\n"It's definitely a good start. It might have been a little better if you could have managed without the property damage, but that's a minor issue... it's just an accepted part of superbattles," Style says with a shrug. "Our lawyers will tell her that according to precedent, someone announcing themselves as a superhero in reaction to a clearly-stated supervillain intent has to be assumed as acting in the public interest unless proven otherwise, and that her legal argument would actually be with the perpetrator... which, in this case, is probably going to be Doctor Silver. Again, I feel bad for him, but he really should have been keeping a closer eye on what his robots were doing and thinking."\n\nYou nod in agreement... though something in the back of your mind is sort of nagging at you about that. You can't really pin it down, though, even though you sort of chase it around the entire way back to 3S. Style leads you back inside to the costume room and lets you collect your things, then hands you a slim backpack patterned in the same design and with the three stars logo. "Here. We'll make spares and give you a couple and keep a couple here, just in case. For now, you should probably head home and get some rest."\n\n"Alright. Thanks," you agree in an admittedly tired tone as you take the backpack and shrug it on. Physically that wasn't a lot different than your average training session... actually probably a lot shorter and less demanding, objectively. However turns out that physical activity is more tiring when it results from someone (or something) trying to kill you, who knew?\n\n"Hey. Marissa," Style adds as you start to turn away. She smiles and, in a gentler tone, notes, "All talk of appearances and building your story aside... great hero work today. You did exactly what you were supposed to do... you protected everyone and you took down the baddies. Good job."\n\n"... Thanks," you murmur, blushing a little now as you turn and trot out.\n\nAdmittedly, you're glad she said that, you think as you ride your motorcycle home, unable to help feeling rather proud of flying your colors on your back, as it were. The whole conversation was starting to feel very... corporate. In the heat of the moment you weren't really thinking about anything but what was directly ahead of you, and the discussion afterward had begun to make you feel like you really had done it all so... calculatedly, to make yourself look good. But you really were just trying to protect everyone... maybe you can make a go of this hero thing after all.\n\nYou head into the house, passing through one of the downstairs living rooms on the way to the kitchen because god are you starving. You notice that not only is the TV on, but Tomiko is parked on the couch with a bucket of popcorn (actual cardboard with white and red stripes, because of course you have those just for popcorn). You blink as you realize she's watching footage of you fighting the Silver Squad... could... could she possibly actually be proud of you after all?\n\n"Saw you hit your funnybone," she notes without looking away from the screen, before munching another palmful of popcorn.\n\n"God I fucking hate you," you grumble as you head on to the kitchen.\n\n"Don't swear."\n\nYou're not quite sure what you're hoping for at school the next day, but everything's pretty much exactly the same. You're not certain whether people just haven't heard about what happened, or if they're just still innately suspicious, or maybe they're still taking their cues from the teachers who are probably still taking their cues from the security officer, who clearly still thinks you're supervillain material and always will.\n\nOr maybe, you think a bit sullenly as you sit through yet another class where you feel like you've been placed in an invisible box away from everyone else, it's that if they all changed how they were treating you, it would mean admitting that they might have been wrong about you in the first place, and that it was therefore a mistake to treat you like they were. And if there's anything people hate more than changing their behavior or admitting they were wrong, you muse cynically, it's changing their behavior because they had to admit they were wrong. So, much easier to just continue acting like you're still a pariah.\n\nMaybe it will change one day, you muse as you go ahead and change into your costume in the school locker room and then walk out the gate in it, silently daring any of the security to say anything about it as you leave. But probably not today.\n\n"People are people," Style says after you've confided your difficulties to her in her personal office, a bit smaller and more functional than the vast sprawling penthouse one she shares with her sister. "They're quick to turn on you and slow to come around, but they will eventually, especially if your victories are big and inspiring enough. Not that the one a few days ago wasn't great," she adds, turning and activating the screens off to one side, showing what are obviously in-progress edits of different angles of your fight yesterday... one of them is fixed and looks like it was probably taken from the second level of the parking garage, so that's probably the actual camera crew, but others are mobile and from flying angles which you assume are the drones.\n\nYour face goes red as you see on several of the angles that your costume had ridden up into your ass and effectively turned into a thong anyway. You lift up slightly and reach down to check... dammit! Has it been like that the whole time?! When you were riding over here?! In afternoon traffic?! You shoot Style a look, and she tries, half-successfully, to look abashed. "We'll put some light sticky material in the new ones," she assures you placatingly.\n\n"Mmmn," you grumble as you slip your fingers into the cleft of your ass to fish out the side of the back and tug it into place, tilting and doing the same thing on the other side. You sigh, then ask, "So what's next?"\n\n"Well now that you've had your debut, in more ways than one, it's time to get serious about going after villains," Style says as she sits back in her chair, sweeping her hands gently as she speaks. "Obviously in some cases that will mean hunting them down as they go about their ongoing activities, in others actively responding to them as they present immediate threats. But I think, ideally, you should focus on a particular sect of villains."\n\nYou frown. "'Sect'? You mean like a team?"\n\n"Yes and no. Villain sects aren't something that necessarily gets talked about a lot outside the life, because they're harder to nail down and define for outsiders... they're also a slightly scarier concept than a simple team, which just sounds like a couple of villains getting together to make some trouble," Style continues. "Sects are both more and less organized than that. They're very large groups of villains who kind of flock together because they fit a general theme or shared goal or purpose. There's very definitely people at the top with firm hands on the reins, but the villains within the sects also act with a high level of autonomy. They'll generally come to each other's aid for the asking, especially against villains from other sects. It's virtually impossible to take down a whole sect, even if you eliminate its leadership, because someone else will just seize the reins if you don't get them all."\n\n"Uh." You blink a few times. "Some of that... especially that last bit... sounds like you're describing a terrorist cell."\n\n"Yes, which is why we don't generally talk about it to normies," Style says, quirking an eyebrow deliberately. "Now, they're fully aware of the names of some of these sects, because they see it just as a villain team with a rotating roster. Which means we can position you nicely as the enemy of one of these sects and focus on it. It both manages the heat you come under and gives your narrative better focus."\n\nYou nod slowly. "But... we're not going to just leave people in danger if I can respond just because their villain doesn't fit my narrative, right?"\n\nStyle actually hesitates a moment before she says, a bit carefully, "Not if there's not another option. But let's both admit, Thirdstar, this city is as lousy with superheroes as it is with supervillains. It's acceptable, if at all possible, to let someone else handle some of the crime. And you definitely don't want to wind up with all four major factions angry at you at once."\n\nYou nod slowly, and decide to just juke that line of discussion completely for now, instead asking, "So there's four of these sects?"\n\n"Right," Style says, seeming a bit relieved to be moving on as well, picking up the remote again and switching the screens to several different logos. "First off, there's HEEL, the Honorable Evil Equestrian League," she says, gesturing with the remote to a logo that looks like a golden horseshoe with a very elegant calligraphy across the arch of it reading H E E L. "They were begun by, and still have at their core, high society horse enthusiasts who turned to crime to entertain themselves against the ennui of extreme wealth and high society life. They've expanded well beyond that now, and will largely take any 'horse-themed' villain, but the top brass as it were is definitely still the aristocrats."\n\n"Ah, yeah, pretty sure I know some people who are in HEEL," you admit with a sigh, shaking your head. "It's sort of like Skull & Bones, or the Masons... nobody's supposed to know you're in it, in practice practically everybody knows you're in it."\n\n"HEEL definitely has a number of technical members who aren't really involved in supercrime, they just enjoy watching the results," Style allows. "They chip in with discrete funding, spaces, alibis, and in return they get the vicarious thrill of being part of a supervillain ring, as well as the occasional side benefits."\n\nYou almost ask what those side benefits are, but decide that right now you're not super interested in knowing. Instead you say, "Wouldn't exactly make me any more popular in the circles I used to run in, but I never particularly liked those circles anyway. So who else is there?"\n\n"Then there's FACE, the Fellowship of Allied Canine Enthusiasts," Style continues, gesturing to a much more stark and imposing pawprint logo with a graffiti-style F A C E etched across it. "As opposed to HEEL, they were formed by impoverished people who had more grown up with crime seen as an obvious profession. The core of it was originally formed by the likes of drug dealers, muggers, and perhaps unsurprisingly dog fight runners, people who used dogs as weapons and self defense, before like HEEL they grew large enough and successful enough to both be involved with supercrime and start taking on essentially any 'canine-themed' villains that wanted to join up. But street crime like back alley drugs and low-level human trafficking is still their bread and butter."\n\n"As opposed to HEEL's designer drugs and high-level human trafficking?" you note wryly.\n\n"Exactly. Then there's ZOO, the Zealous Other Organization," Style says in a wry tone as she gestures to a set of three prison-style bars with Z O O seemingly carved into them, a letter to each bar. (Kinda a self-fulfilling prophecy with the logo there, guys.) "As you might guess from the name, they were originally formed by the animal-themed supervillains that were rejected from the other two for not adhering enough to the theme."\n\n"Supervillains are kind of serious about that stuff, huh?"\n\n"They can be, especially the sects, especially once they've been around a good long time. But yes, ZOO is where pretty much all of the animal-themed villains that aren't horses or canines go, and it's roughly the same size as either of them, which I guess shows how much influence HEEL and FACE have had on the villain scene."\n\n"These all sound like they're pretty big organizations, too. I guess animals are a really popular theme for... well, supers in general," you allow.\n\n"Always have been. Now the other major active sect right now is the POGS... the Pursuers Of Genuine Science," Style says, gesturing to the fourth logo which doesn't seem to have letters, just a very circuitry-like design that... hm... oh, it's one of those line-to-number-to-letter-to-eliminate-the-letter-for-the-phrase puzzles. Lord that's pretentious. You're clearly not enough of a crypto nerd to solve such a thing, especially when you can just assume the answer is POGS. "Basically, your mad scientists. They're tolerated a fair bit by the other sects instead of an openly acrimonious relationship like between each other, in large part because so many origin stories of the villains of the other three are tied to members of POGS, and sometimes require their help to continue functioning or get stronger. They did used to have a direct rival group, much like FACE and HEEL, the WOWW, the Wickedest Order of Witches and Warlocks, a magic-themed sect, but WOWW fell apart shortly after the Summer of Flame and hasn't reformed since."\n\nYou grimace at the reminder of that horrible summer when you were thirteen. It seemed like half the city went up in flames... not all at once, more like an apartment complex here, a skyscraper there, a city block over there, for months and months. Normally the officials love to jump to blaming stuff like that on supervillains, but in this case they blamed solar flares... even though solar flares usually didn't come with violent, aggressive demon-like entities emerging from the flames and attacking people. Probably in that case the idea that there was a villain capable of opening the gates to actual Hell was considered the too-scary option, thus the official story about solar flares.\n\n"Anyway, those are the four major active sects right now. There's always a handful more forming organically, or falling apart, or someone trying to get one started," Style adds with a shrug as she turns back to you. "I wouldn't doubt if somewhere out there somebody's trying to get WOWW The Sequel kickstarted, but we can't do anything about that until they actually manifest. Of course, you could always just go after random 'independent' villains," she adds. "Which also isn't a bad idea. You're just starting out, you're solo, it wouldn't hurt to cut your teeth for awhile taking out low-level unaffiliated villains, or even bog standard non-super criminals. The politicians always like when you do that, busted crack dealers are easier for them to take credit for than sending supers to the Slam," she adds dryly. "But what do you think you'd like to focus on?"\n\n<hr>\n[[HEEL.|MarSS12x1]]\n\n[[FACE.|MarSS]]\n\n[[ZOO.|MarSS5x1]]\n\n[[POGS.|MarSS4x8]]\n\n[[Independents.|MarSS]]\n\n[[Something more personal.|MarSS]]

Hm. Probably just a little dimensional activity spurt that dumped a few problem creatures into the mine, you bet you can handle this. Plus it looks like it's been open for a while but no one's signed on for it... good, maybe that means you can negotiate yourself a little something extra.\n\nYou gear up with a couple of pistols, a short rifle, and a few crystalslicer knives... you don't know how spacious this place actually is, but "mine" definitely brings to mind cramped tunnels and caves, better not to assume that you'll have room to maneuver for something like your preferred multipurpose rifle or your katana. Adding a few more various potentially useful items to your kit, you then head to the departure portal annex, strolling along the cubicles looking for one that's not on cooldown. Finding one, you tap in the code for the job, then step through.\n\nYou emerge into what looks like a large common area, startling several men of various heights and muscularity, but most of them with at least a bit of a paunch and most of them bearded and wearing flannel. (Even though the summary said that most of the actual mining is done by droids, you guess miner aesthetic is what it is.) They stare at you, either because of your abrupt appearance or the fact that from the general smell of the place (it's not a stench, really, just a distinctly masculine style of strong odor) you're probably the first woman that's been in the facility in months at the least. 'I should stay still, don't want to spook them,' you think with a mental snicker, unable to help thinking of the miners as anything but flannel-clad deer suddenly staring into speeder ultrawhites.\n\nBut eventually one of them breaks off from the others and walks over. He's a tall human, very much in the style of what you've heard some of your friends call "strongfat", broad and with a belly but with powerful-looking arms shown off by his rolled-up shirtsleeves. His hair is extremely red, cut fairly short up top but still with a bit of a curl, and an extremely thick but well-shaped beard. In fact, his hair's so red that even the thick layer of it across his arms shows a deep coppery hue. "You're from the Guild?" he asks, looking like he feels just a bit foolish since who else could you be, but not knowing quite how else to start.\n\n"Yep, I'm Michika Hajimaru here for the threat elimination job."\n\nHe nods, looking a bit relieved. "I'm the overseer, Dave Cromwell, but everyone calls me Red. Here, let's talk in my office."\n\n'Miners, like pirates, apparently aren't an imaginative lot,' you muse as you follow him into a rather spacious office, but that looks like it's because it also serves as the security room and comm room. Red sits down behind a fairly plain and tidily cluttered desk (yes that seems like an oxymoron but you've seen enough people who exist in a state of seeming disarray but know exactly where everything is and can access it without thinking to recognize one), and you sit down in one of the equally plain but very sturdy large plastic and metal chairs across from him.\n\n"So, ah, let me start by giving you a little background on Deep Scatter," Red starts after briefly considering. He hesitates, then opens one of his desk drawers and pulls out what you recognize as a "good cheap" brand of whiskey... meaning, it's a really good bottle of booze on the planet it's from, but not much to sneeze at compared to even the middling efforts of various other planets, so it's more like middle shelf quality for bottom shelf price. He sets out a pair of glasses that look more sturdy than stylish and gives himself a hefty pour but what you guess at his size and likely tolerance is probably just a token amount, and at your responding to his questioning glance with two fingers barely held apart pours you what's basically just a few mouthfuls.\n\n"Long time ago this planet started experimenting with dimensional technology," he begins as he sips at his own glass. "Of course first damn thing practically every government asks is 'Can you make us a bomb with it?' and of course there's plenty-a types willing to give that a go. The late and unlamented government of this continent was the first to give it a go, and decided to test it by digging a hole ten miles deep, putting the bomb at the bottom, and filling in nine miles of the hole with cement."\n\n"Sounds like it didn't do 'em a lot of good," you say dryly, sipping your own whiskey. Yeah this is about on par with what you'd pay a lot for at a bar on Makarzia, not that it's your usual choice, but it seemed polite to accept.\n\n"If even a tenth of the stuff that supposedly happened on the continent really happened it'd be enough to put anyone off letting the government do anything forever," Red scoffs. "But there are parts that have quieted down and turned into pretty much ghost towns, and those are the ones that mostly private companies have laid claim to. Anyway, to bring it all back to what's relevant, the blast did spread a ton of ore and mineral deposits all throughout the crust of the continent, so we've got mines like this pulling out stuff like mythril, orihalcum, naquada, vibranium, you name it. Obviously we try to use mostly droids where we can... much safer that way... and most of the flesh and blood staff here is just stuff like appraisers, engineers, programmers, things like that. We do need to go into the mine itself plenty of times for various reasons, but lately we've had to stop that... and recently we shut down completely," he says with a sigh, waving a big hand towards the darkened monitors.\n\n"Well it's a 'threat elimination' job so I'm guessing threats have come up?" you note, raising an eyebrow.\n\n"We've had people attacked by creatures... various descriptions so we know there's more than one... errors with the droids and systems. It's turning into rumors that I'm not even sure are actually wrong like saboteurs, AI uprisings, hauntings." He sighs heavily again, shaking his head. "This mine's always been a pretty quiet, normal place to work... we've never found an active portal or anything alive except maybe the occasional slightly glowy cockroach or a larger than usual mole. Honestly we hardly ever run into artifacts, relics, or paleontology specimens either... it's pretty much just materials. And then suddenly... all this."\n\n"And nothing changed? No strange readings, no shifts, no new chambers opened?" you prompt.\n\n"We've opened new chambers, but none of them had anything that should have caused this," he huffs. "Scanning for portals or rips is a pretty standard thing, and since the trouble started we've been doing it every six hours. Not a trace."\n\n"Hmmm," you murmur, then shrug. "Well, the job's to eliminate threats, right?"\n\n"Right," he says, looking a little bit relieved to be past all that. "I mean, if you do find an explanation, I'd definitely figure out how to wrangle a nice big bonus of some kind. Otherwise, here's the agreement," he adds, passing you a tablet.\n\nIt's fairly long and thorough, as you'd expect... even if this mine is in 'extrajudicial' territory this company was clearly used to dealing with being one of the more heavily regulated industries around, so there's lots of defining your responsibilities as a third party contractor, defining what a threat is, what counts as eliminating the threat, and-\n\nYou frown, glancing up. "A 'No Finders-Keepers' clause?"\n\nRed shrugs expansively. "Sorry, if it was my call I wouldn't really mind, but due to the way these claims work technically everything down there is already company property, I can't let you keep anything you find down there. Most I could do was tack on the standard finder's fee."\n\nYou find that bit of the clause, making a little bit of a face... not only does it only apply to things that aren't already logged in the company's database, but only to anything you can actually carry out, you only get ten percent of the value, and it caps out at 10,000 credits. That's kind of a sucky bonus if you wind up accidentally stumbling over a vein of thoratanium or something. You purse your lips as you eye it, then look up at Red. "Fifteen percent of the value and 20,000 credits."\n\n"That'd be stretching my authority beyond the limit, they'd fire me for sure," Red scoffs in a way that says he's exaggerating, if not by very much.\n\n"How many other mercs have you had apply for this, again?" you prompt.\n\nHe rolls his eyes slightly at that, but it does apparently unlock the Haggle option, and eventually you settle at ten percent of the value up to 20,000 credits. You can't be sure you'll find anything, obviously, but if you do you're willing to take a chance on getting a better payday from a high-value item. You finish reading over the contract, admittedly skimming a little bit as your mind starts to glaze over at the particularly dense but very standard-looking section about adherence to company policy and standards. You sign the end and thumb it for verification before passing it back to Red. "Alright, where was the latest incident?"\n\nThe latest incident was apparently on one of the lower levels where they're both actively mining and also exploring for new veins and deposits. One of the flesh-and-blood on-site monitor workers was down checking some equipment fairly near the elevator when an alarm went off from deeper in the level. Red commed the worker to let him know they'd lost visuals and contact with all the droids. The worker had immediately hightailed it back to the elevator, but had been convinced that something was chasing him... he might have seen something but admitted he was focusing too hard on getting away to be absolutely sure, let alone what it might have been.\n\nA lot of the older reports from higher levels are either the same or just more mysterious... cameras going out, machines and droids destroyed overnight or going missing. From the description it definitely sounds like there's more than one hostile down there but you can't be sure. You head to the elevator with Red, making a few more inquiries as you go... apparently if you don't feel like leaving and coming back between hunting threats, you have a free room (but not board) in the little company town above, and you're free to use it until the mine is declared fully safe again. (Which is pretty handy for them since they're only paying by the threat elimination, and otherwise all it's costing them is an empty bunk they probably weren't using anyway.) With a few of the standard 'heading into danger so you don't have to' pleasantries exchanged with the overseer, you step into the elevator.\n\nIt's fairly slow, as you suppose makes sense for a mine elevator... don't want to install a high-speed one that might cause unnecessary vibrations or strain on the equipment (or cost too much). But eventually it dings and opens up into a fairly dim corridor... it looks like the main powered lights are down, but the strings of chemical lights rockstapled to the walls are still functioning, and there's the slow, steady pulse of red lights from the (thankfully silenced) alarm system's own self-contained lightbars. You heft the compact little rifle you're carrying up a bit... the form factor is vaguely based on the old Earth P90, squarish with a short muzzle, but this is a blaster with a handful of different fire rate/power/accuracy settings. Red said all the personnel were out of the mine... well, not accounting for the ones that had disappeared in incidents, of which there were several. So chances are if you see anything down here it's either a hostile or a (repairable) droid... though come to think of it, you're pretty sure you saw a clause in the contract for 'unjustifiable collateral damage penalty' so even without worrying about kidnapped miners, so still best to ID before you shoot.\n\nYou make your way into the tunnel, senses alert. It's not quite as cramped as you feared... there's plenty of room overhead (which you guess makes sense, since it looked like most of the miners were at least six feet or more), and it's probaly ten feet across at least in most places, but you know that can wind up feeling like not a lot of space once a fight starts, especially depending on what it's with.\n\nSoon you find the place where the miner must have been when the incident happened, to judge by the hanging-open door of a tech panel with a few wires dangling loose from it, a work satchel and some sort of tool you don't immediately recognize laying abandoned on the floor. Yeah, definitely looks like he took off. You take a glance around, but it's too dim to make out much of anything. Frowning, you take a pair of clear visor-style sunglasses out of one of your dimensional pockets and clip them on, clicking on the flashlight built into one side of them... sort of lowtech, but your really nice ones got broken on a job two weeks ago and you hadn't remembered you needed to replace them until twenty seconds ago. Risking the greater detection the visible light creates, you step forward and start looking around the area, trying to discern any tracks or traces that might have been left by a potential attacker.\n\nAfter spending a while looking and wandering a bit deeper into the mine in the process, you find-\n\n<hr>\n[[-a slime trail.|ChiMine2x1]]\n\n[[-scuff marks.|ChiMine1x1]]\n\n[[-detritus.|ChiMine]]\n\n[[-nothing.|ChiMine]]

You launch yourself forward at Doctor Silver in a tackle just as the robots open fire, managing to twist so that you hit the ground on your arm rather than with him under you. He's not actually a young guy, after all, got to-\n\n(Superego, Id, Ego: "AGH MY FUNNYBONE!")\n\n... You must never, ever, ever speak of this to anyone. Ever.\n\nIn any event you can hear the crowd panic and what sounds like Style fighting with at least one of the drones. You manage to roll away and scramble to your feet with the Doctor, hauling him with you and shouting for the stunned event staff to run as you dodge blasts from the droids. The crowd has gone into a full panic, trying to flee over each other, shouting things like "They'll kill us all!"\n\n"You are in no danger," one of the drones notes blandly. "Despite our research indicating that journalists view themselves as equivalent to superheroes, our psychological analysis also places your psyche closer to that of mall security guards."\n\n'I kind of like these things, shame they're trying to kill me,' you think as you yank Silver down behind an SUV and turn to him.\n\n<hr>\n[["This is all your fault, you idiot!"|MarSS]]\n\n[["Which one's the hub?"|MarSS4x5]]

Yeah, wandering into a bar and jumping on the first dick you see is likely to be a bad idea.\n\n'Besides, if you were going to be a slut, you should've just been a slut for those guys,' the horny rabbit part of your brain suggests.\n\nHush, you, you instruct it as you get on the move, partly just to keep your body in motion, in hopes of distracting from other sensations. Now think, think... the smart thing to do would just to be to head back to your room and take care of things by hand. Though... frankly, any time you've been even this close to turned on, fingers alone were not enough to satisfy, and you're way more turned-on than any of those other times.\n\nWhich means you might need some assistance. Your body would very much prefer some outward assistance in the form of another person. Or two. Or ten. ... Well... it's not like this town is lacking in establishments catering to that sort of need. There's probably ones to service women too. Or other sorts of venues.\n\nProbably a smarter move would be to stop into a specialty store and buy some less sentient assistance. ... Sex toys. You're talking about sex toys. Or maybe a VR program or something. You've passed more than a few stores like that, and even some that pretty clearly do cater to women. You're sure you could find something to scratch the itch in one of those.\n\nAn even smarter move might be to see a doctor. This level of being turned on just because a bunch of big... strong... muscular... musky... animalistic... ... men surrounded you surely can't be normal. ... Surely. Maybe you have some equivalent of an allergy involving Equaans.\n\n'Hey, how about we check in with Big Girl?' the fuckbunny part of your brain suggests again with a giggle. 'We need to see if there's any news, after all. And we could see if she has a big, fat... tip for us!'\n\n... Yeah you guess you could do that. And get, y'know... just the tip...\n\n... maybe...\n\n<hr>\n[[Go back to your room.|ChiPir6x1]]\n\n[[Hire a professional.|ChiPir]]\n\n[[Visit a venue.|ChiPir]]\n\n[[Sex toy store.|ChiPir4x5]]\n\n[[See a doctor.|ChiPir5x1]]\n\n[[See Big Girl.|ChiPir]]

Well. Y'know. ... It's not like you'd be wasting money since you could take it home with you afterward...\n\nYou cruise around looking for a toy store that seems both decently respectable and aimed more at the needs of people who like to be penetrated, which means heading a bit further out. You don't feel particularly less turned-on over time, either, which is frustrating... if anything, walking around with a wet, puffy pussy and stiff nips is just keeping you amped up. But eventually you find a place that seems to fit the bill and has a simple sign reading 'Needful Kinks' on the painted-over front window and step inside.\n\nIt's heavily air-conditioned, which is the first pleasant thing, after the muggy air and your heated skin. It also seems to be pretty clean and well-ordered... not quite corpo, and you see a lot of what are obviously "backroom" manufacture items in plain vacuubags and whatnot on the shelves... but probably about as nice a place as you'd be comfortable with on Makarzia. The girl behind the counter looks to be a Human of about your own age, maybe a few years younger, and about your own bust size, with long black hair, plain brown eyes, and wearing a black choker, black sports bra, and an off-the-shoulder faded black shirt with white text reading 'GOTH' on one line and 'SLEEP DEPRIVED' on the next, with checkboxes next to them. ('Sleep deprived' is the checked one. You're mildly dubious, but as she likes.)\n\n<img src="images/Lorelei.jpg">\n\nAt first she just gives a small, polite nod as you come in, and you give the same in return, just a slight bit shakier. But maybe you look overwhelmed or something, standing there gazing around, because after a moment she ventures, "Hi, welcome to Needful Kinks. I'm Lorelei, can I help you?"\n\n"Ah... yeah," you allow, walking over to the counter, and clearing your throat. "I'm kind of in a... mood... y'know?" You grin sheepishly as she raises an eyebrow slightly in a 'No, really?' sort of way, but press on. "But I'm not sure what to do to... satisfy it."\n\nShe nods in a slightly sympathetic way, as if to say 'We've all been there', and glances over towards the shelves. "Well, we've got the usual assortment of [[phalluses|ChiPir]], dildos and vibrators, lots of different shapes and sizes depending on your preference. We do also have a smaller selection of [[masturbation sleeves|ChiPir]]," she continues. At your own raised eyebrow, she turns her eyes downward toward the little display case on the counter to one side of her, which is lined with wrapped injectors... this particular brand being labeled 'Fut-a-Day'. ... Ah.\n\n"We also have a selection of [[movies|ChiPir]], [[fulldive experiences|ChiPir]], and [[VR programs|ChiPir]], though the last are kind of limited," she allows. "We don't carry the really complex ones that need a good rig or diving chair, just the ones for basic visors or direct plugin."\n\nShe turns a bit and points towards a door that leads to a back area that looks different... some sort of display, probably. "For the higher end we have [[machines|ChiPir]] or some simple [[drones|ChiPir]], though even though they're the simpler ones they're still pretty expensive. But some people like to mod them so they have other domestic uses or even combat uses, so there's that. But that's about all we have."\n\n'Well, not all they have,' your fuckbunny brain speaks up. 'There's [[her|ChiPir]]!'

[[Music|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vv7e3E6fgfY]]\n\nEven as you're thinking it, you hear a gasp behind you and turn. Your heart shakes a little at the sight of Nora standing with her hands over her mouth, staring up at the statue with wide eyes.\n\nRen's face is as solemn as ever... but to you the longing is written all over his face as he gazes up at it too. After a moment he strolls forward, and you turn in place to follow his path as he moves closer to stand at the statue's base and gaze up at it.\n\n"It's very beautiful," he says quietly after a moment.\n\n"Yeah," you agree with a small nod. Despite the solemnity of the moment, you can't help but feel a flutter in your chest as Nora moves up to stand next to you and slips her hand into yours. 'Dragon, calm down, you know how physical Nora is, it's not like it's a big deal.' Nevertheless, you can't help but be a little more tender than usual as you squeeze her hand. Your eyes flit aside to her, then ahead to where Ren's standing gazing at the statue. '... This is stupid. They love each other, not you, idiot. They belong together.'\n\nRen bows his head a little, of course unaware of your inner conflict as he wrestles with whatever feelings the statue is bringing out in him beneath that calm facade. You're surprised when he actually speaks up. "Watching my people... my parents... die as a child felt like it ripped the heart out of me. Nora was the only thing that kept it beating at all. For a long time, I thought that nothing could ever hurt as much as losing my home. My family." Then he lifts his gaze to the statue again. "Then I lost them a second time."\n\nHe takes a slow, steadying breath, clenching his fists... then letting them relax. "... But that wasn't true. I lost something and someone wonderful and precious... but so much of what I have gained since those days as a small child alone in the world is still with me. And it seems as if more and more comes into my life each day. ... And still..." His head lowers once more, and this time he turns back to face you and Nora. "I could have made such a stupid mistake and lost it all again if it were not for you, Kai."\n\n"Wha?" You blink, looking at him, then Nora in confusion.\n\n"If you hadn't been willing to open your heart and be honest about why you wanted to come on this mission with us that day, Ozma wouldn't have gotten us all to say what we were hiding from each other, Ren and I... we might have fallen apart," Nora admits, smiling a little wanly. "We knew we loved each other, but there was... so much we weren't saying."\n\n"Had I not been able to admit how angry and afraid I was... afraid of losing Nora like I have lost so much else in my life," Ren says he strides forward to stand in front of you. "Then I might have driven her away myself. When I opened my heart truly to her, as she deserves, I understood that I would rather have her wholly and completely, and then lose her... than to have never truly had her in my heart at all. But I'm done with losing," he adds with a small sweep of his hand. "I am not going to be afraid anymore. When all of this is done, Nora and I will return to Kuroyuri. Instead of losing... we're going to take back what is important to us."\n\nYou smile, fighting to keep the tears in your eyes. "I'm so happy for you guys," you whisper, in complete and sincere honesty, even as your heart breaks.\n\n"And Kai?" Nora says from beside you.\n\nYou turn your head to look at her, looking at all of her. For the first time you compare the symbol on her chest to the ones you've seen in pictures of her before, really see the slash across it for what it is. Her broken heart. Her loss. ... Except she's stitched it up, the heart whole once again as she smiles at you.\n\n"I'm not going to be a coward anymore," she adds, green eyes sparkling with her smile.\n\nAnd then she's leaning up, strong hands drawing you down so she can press her lips to yours. Your eyes go wide even as hers close, too shocked to even do anything as half of every wish you've had in the last three weeks comes true. And then Nora's drawing back, and Ren's slender fingers slip along your cheeks as hers slide away, and his soft pretty lips are pressing to yours instead.\n\nOh. There's the other half.\n\n"Wha... wha..." you gasp softly as he draws back, unable to catch your breath with the suddenness of your fulfilled desires, looking back and forth between the smiling pair as they draw in around you, folding you in their embrace, Nora's head against your shoulder and Ren's cheek on your hair.\n\n"Come home with us, Kai," Ren says softly, nuzzling against you gently. "Let us make Kuroyuri your home too."\n\n"You belong with us," Nora assures you, eyes closed as she smiles, as if just drinking in your presence. "You belong at home with us."\n\n"I... I mean... y-you guys mean like-"\n\n"We mean," Ren says, lifting his head and drawing back just enough to look into your eyes. "We have talked a great deal. And we have decided that our hearts are far too full of love for just the two of us to bear."\n\n"And every time we look at you, our hearts run over and spill everywhere," Nora adds with a giggle, looking up at you now. "So um... yeah!" she chirps, eyes crinkling as she smiles wider. "Know it's kinda weeeird and all, but, um, you wanna be like... a couple... with us?"\n\n"... Yeah." The tears finally escape as you bow to the inevitable, smiling as you put your arms around them in return, closing your eyes and bowing your head. "Yeah, that's what I want most in the world."\n\n"We kind of thought," Ren notes with that even-voiced sass of his, a small smile back on his face as he leans in to once more rest his cheek on your hair.\n\nThey press in against your sides tightly, just holding you, just warm against the cold, just strong against the world. There will be time for overwhelming passion and desire later. There will be time for lovemaking and discussion of the future, and the joy you want to build together, the home you will make together. But for now, there is just the happiness of all three of you finding what you were meant to find... where you were all meant to belong.\n\nYou open your eyes and raise your head, nodding just the tiniest bit to the statue. 'I'll take care of them for you. I promise.' You smile up at her, and somehow the statue doesn't seem possessed of the same aura of sadness anymore. 'I'll make a home for them. I'll make sure they don't lose anymore. ... I'll get it done.'\n\n<hr>\n[[The End.|KaiRenoraEnd]]

But after the briefest skim of the visible data, you just start shutting all the equipment down. From the looks of it, 'Red Rocket Pop' was honestly nothing more than a cherry-flavored energy drink with a positively unhealthy amount of energy/focus/mood-lifting additives, kinda-sorta just this side of street legal versus, say, crystal meth as a pick-me-up. Clearly Dogsbody's current project was that she wasn't getting the 'oomph' she wanted out of Monster anymore and was trying to make her own.\n\nAs you finish locking down the equipment, you pick up the can and eye it... and after a moment shrug and take it with you as you walk out. It wasn't too bad, from what you saw, and you never know when you'll have a particularly long day of heroing and decide that the pick-me-up is worth the pervy name. (Besides, from the way Dogsbody's lab looked, you bet she's the sort to reverse engineer the good cherry flavor, not that shitty-ass sour-dark "black cherry" most companies use, or that other artificial cherry with the sort of dirt backtaste. What a shame she isn't using her abilities for good.) Back at your motorcycle, you open the storage compartment and toss the can into your small go bag, then close it up and set off back to the studio.\n\nAs you might have expected, Style is a little disappointed by your somewhat anticlimactic showdown with Doctor Dogsbody, and even scolds you a bit for taunting her with the 'good girl' stuff as being unbecoming of a hero. That said, she does admit it was all hilarious and that she actually approves, and that the numbers and reactions online were far more positive than negative, so ultimately it seems you did good. You spend a little longer going over some things with her (and again promising that yes, you will show up for the photoshoot), and eventually change and head home.\n\nNo sign of Tomiko or anyone else as you head inside, but you're fairly used to that even when not staying out until after dark. You head into the kitchen and open up your go bag, preparing to put away the bits of your lunch apparatus, when you spot the bright red-with-pink-bubbles clipart background. 'Oh, right,' you think, pulling the Red Rocket Pop out and turning it back and forth. '... At least she didn't put an actual dog dick on it,' you muse ruefully. 'Perv.'\n\nHm. Should you put it in the fridge to get cold? Or just carry it with you in case you need it? Or heck, you could just go ahead and drink it now with dinner, you'd probably be up all night but fuck it, you're a teenager.\n\n<hr>\n[[Put it in the fridge.|MarSS]]\n\n[[Put it back in your bag.|MarSS]]\n\n[[Drink it now.|MarSS]]

Hm, clubs could definitely be a lot of fun to mess with, humans have made up so many reasons to gather based on various interests... interests that can be exploited for pranks, of course!\n\nYou wile away the rest of the school day by magically concealing yourself and performing various minor acts of mischief... stealing panties out of the girls' locker room and distributing them in various random bookbags across the school, blocking up toilets, loading up embarrassingly loud porn videos set to autoplay on computers before putting them back to sleep mode, shifting closed locker contents to be leaned against the door, that sort of jazz. Eventually school lets out, and for awhile you giggle yourself silly as a fair bit of your pranking is discovered all at once, causing a brief flurry of chaos and aggravation in the halls. lololololol trolled!\n\nBut eventually students in non-athletic clubs start making their way towards the club building, while the athletic clubs head for the, well, the athletics buildings, while the students in the go-home club or who are already diligently preparing for an adult life working themselves to death by going to another school after they leave this one all start filing out the gate. Those aren't your focus today, though, so let's see... head to the [[non-athletic clubs|Konko2x2]] building, or the [[athletics buildings|Konko]].

A month is an awful long time to live on the edge of paranoia. Probably better to just sleep with both a blaster and your Guild beacon under your pillow, and use whichever one seems appropriate if someone breaks down the door.\n\nYou follow the directions that Big Girl gave you, assuming you'll be able to spot the place when you see it. And you can... it looks like it was in fact an economy extended stay motel even before Karnol became a freeport, and has actually been maintained and kept up as such. Just that the corpo sign has been emptied out and a pseudo-neon sign that informs you that Big Girl wasn't saying 'Namran's place' she was saying 'Namran's Place' has been put up in the empty metal box where it was. The sign below advertises the usual free amenities for an information age establishment, as well as a pool and a bar, all of which you're guessing it has at least a 50% chance of still having. (90% on the bar.)\n\nYou head into the lobby and talk to the counter guy, who seems both bored and very attentive... you guess that's what comes of having one of the more boring occupations there is, but having it in a place where murderous thieves are the norm rather than the exception. He does perk up a bit when you namedrop Big Girl, and types something else in his computer before offering you a week at a pretty reasonable rate. After thinking it over you accept... weekly works. If Huwhin does come in, you won't mind wasting a few days at that cost. He hands over a keycard and a printout with all the other info on it, including your room number, and points to the hallway that leads to the courtyard.\n\nHuh, it does indeed still have a pool, is the first thing you notice. And it looks like it might have actually been maintained to at least normal levels for a place like this, a no doubt heroic task in a city of pirates. (But then, you guess the kind of pirates that would use this sort of place might have something like standards. ... Either that or it's well known that Big Girl is associated with this place, and she might be one of the people in this town no one particularly wants to cross. You could see that too.) The motel is a three-level thing, where apparently all the rooms face inward towards the pool, having a sort of shared patio area outside of the doors by dint of the walkways being wide enough to accommodate various chairs, either slightly battered plastic ones that probably came with the motel or the occasional renter-brought one that was abandoned and then evaluated as respectable enough to keep after they left. There's another LEDneon sign reading 'Bar' at the far end of the courtyard, but no raucous sounds... probably a more 'unwind' sort of place than a party joint then.\n\nYour room is on the third floor, which you take as a mark of the favor Big Girl is held in since it guarantees no upstairs neighbors. Hm... looks like all the rooms have fairly large windows so that they can look out on the courtyard. Less than ideal, but you have something for dealing with that. You tap the card against the door handle and then step inside, again a little surprised that it's such a nice place in a town like this. The room is really more like a small studio apartment... all one room except for the bathroom, but it has a queen-sized bed, a couch and small coffee table, small desk and chair, and even a serviceable little kitchenette with a little table and chairs. There's even a pretty decently-sized vidscreen placed halfway between the (closely-placed anyway) couch and bed so that it's easily watchable from both. It looks unmolested, too, which does speak to this place having some sort of security or guardian.\n\n'Not exactly the sort of place you put someone to ambush them,' you muse, closing the door and taking a look around again. Too much nice stuff to risk if there's a scuffle. Still. You turn back to the door, rummaging in your dimensional pockets and coming out with a hinged doorblock... sort of like a security chain except it actually works, since it forms an arc of metal that stops the door from moving. This one anchors to the doorframe with a grav pad and then presses against the door itself with a rubber pad when you swing the latch into place. Basically the only way anyone's coming through there with it on is if they kick the door to pieces or smash in the whole frame. (Both of which will be rather noisy and give you plenty of time to choose blaster or beacon.)\n\nThe window's a bit more problematic, but as said you at least have something for it. You look around and find an unobtrusive corner to place a little disk on. It works on the same principle as speakers that use a surface to reverberate sound (and actually it can work as one of those too), just in reverse. Instead of broadcasting sound through the glass it amplifies sound from the glass... therefore breaking it will sound like a shotgun going off, and cutting it will sound like nails on a chalkboard, with no way you're sleeping through either. It will moderately amplify other sounds too while it's on, making the room noisier, but you can just turn it off when you're not asleep or busy. You sweep the curtains closed and figure that's about as good as it will get for now.\n\n... Welp. Now what? It's already getting a bit late for you to consider just going out and taking a look around, or doing the shopping you'll need to do if you're going to be here for a while. Makarzia night life is in your blood and you love it, but the darkest parts of the night in a freeport are not a place to go casually, unless you're really hard, really stupid, really need to, or all three. And after thinking about it, you're a little tired... it's only been half a day since you woke up of your time, but you've spent most of it walking around a pretty fair amount of a muggy, smoggy, dirty city and then doing some mild carousing in a bar. Maybe it's acceptable to just take a shower and go to bed and hit it tomorrow morning.\n\nSo you shower, and again are a little surprised and impressed by how clean and decent the facilities are. Absolutely zero fanciness, but they must be paying their maids decent. There's hot water and it doesn't even smell that weird, all of which is a plus. Afterward, just in a bit of rebellion at the idea of showering and going to bed at a reasonable hour like a responsible adult daytimer, you plop down on the couch in your towel and turn on the TV to surf around. A lot of it is clearly broadcasts from the mainlands, the normal sorts of dramas and sports and news programs you've seen on any number of other worlds with semiglobal broadcasting. One or two look like they might be actual "official" local broadcasts, actually quite a bit similar to their mainland counterparts, just more low-budget and less stuffy... well, you guess even pirates want to know what the weather will be and who died and what burned down last night, same as the normies, even if the last two take up more airtime. (You're amused that the female anchor on the local events broadcast just straight-up has her tits out, which is more honesty in the entertainews than you're used to.) There are also some more blatant pirate (ha) broadcasts that are just playing things like copyrighted music videos, popular movies, what you can instantly identify as the sort of niche music and movies that are watched by the kind of people that turn their noses up at "normie entertainment", and at least two channels that are just playing straight-up porn, one professionally-produced material and one (possibly locally-produced) amateur.\n\nBut eventually you stop channel-surfing and turn the TV off, and dig in your dimensional pockets for a spare pair of panties (simple white cotton) and then put on the white overshirt from your outfit, just so that you won't be (completely) tits-out if something does happen in the night. You make sure the doorstop is settled in place and the window amp is on, tuck your Guild beacon and a slim little blaster under your pillow, and go to sleep.\n\nBut you pass the rest of the night and a bit of the morning unassailed by either assassins or bedbugs, and wake up feeling refreshed. You get dressed in your mock-pirate garb and head out, taking the amp and doorblock with you... don't need housekeeping messing with them, or even reporting their existence. You notice the neon sign for the bar is still on, so go take a peek in out of curiosity. It looks like it was once minorly classy and has been kept up as well as possible, though it looks a tiny bit ramshackle mostly due to replacement furniture that doesn't quite match the original. But there's someone at the bar, and a lightboard with a breakfast menu, so you head on inside and have a meal of unexceptional but perfectly filling eggs, sausage, and toast.\n\nAfter that it's just a matter of heading out and taking a wander around the area. Again, good to learn as much of the lay of the land as possible for if (or when, if you're cynical) things go wrong. One thing you learn is that Karnol is like a fair few other freeports you've been to. There are people who say some cities never sleep... that there's always something going on no matter how late it gets. Karnol is more of a city that never goes to bed... meaning, it's the middle of the morning and people are still streaming in and out of the bars, clubs, brothels, and other venues at a fair rate and with exactly the same manner they were doing in the late afternoon or early night when you came through before. Of course it makes sense... people coming in from off-planet could arrive at any time of the day or night, and might only have a day or three to spend before shipping out for more weeks in the black, both things that would contribute to not wanting to wait until a discrete amount of time after dark to start boozing or getting their rocks off (even if pirates were the sort known for their discretion). So Karnol has clearly adapted to be a 24/7 service economy in all areas... there's probably some ebb and flow (things are a little quieter now, and the sounds from inside the bars and clubs are slightly less raucous, but that's it), but otherwise, everyone's open for business and everyone's doing what they want.\n\nYou're just pondering whether to accept it and go a little native by heading into one of the bars yourself when you feel someone approaching, bearing down on you. Not quickly enough to trigger any sort of flight-or-fight response, but quickly enough that by the time you turn you're practically surrounded. For a moment you're just left standing there in shock, partly that it was so easy for multiple guys to walk up on you so quickly, and partly because they're so big. Equaans, at least five of them, and even the shortest is still a bit more than head and shoulders taller than you, leaving you looking at a bunch of chests covered by tight shirts, or half-open jackets, or in at least one case not at all. They're not quite entirely crowding you and boxing you in, nor are they reaching out for you, but they're not exactly not, either, really.\n\n"Woooo you are a fine piece of Human, girl!" one of them declares cheerfully, his nostrils flaring as he inhales and then snorts out. "Damn, she smells fresh too."\n\n"Absolutely exceptional breasts, those could practically fill even our hands," another adds with a grin, holding said hands up as if in demonstration of just how they'd fit over your tits.\n\n"She is... in fact... amazing," a third of them murmurs in an already contented tone, reaching down and cupping the crotch of his loose utilitarian pants, hefting it up a bit around the extremely large bulge within.\n\n'Shit, he's bigger than Big Girl,' you can't help but think, trying not to be obvious about swallowing. Because the really annoying thing about suddenly being surrounded by these guys is that your body is reacting to them... hard. It's not just the ultra-masculine sight of them, there's a smell... thick and musky and slightly bestial, hitting some primal part of your brain and causing your nipples to stiffen beneath your shirt and your pussy to moisten inside your shorts. Even their crude comments somehow ping some equally crude part of your own brain and send little zings of excitement racing through you even as you feel ashamed of yourself for enjoying them.\n\nFuck, better do something...\n\n<hr>\n[["Fuck off, assholes!"|ChiPir]]\n\n[["Um... uh... I..."|ChiPir8x1]]\n\n[[Engage Bitchface Deflection Shield.|ChiPir4x3]]

You force your face to relax into its normal usual calm, slightly bland resting expression, then take it a bit farther. Turn the lip corners downward, bring the chin up a bit, narrow the eyes slightly, empty them out. Tiny things, and yet on your features they combine to form such an absolute look of disinterest and contempt that your batting average is 1000 for deflecting annoying suitors in bars. (In fact you once got annoyed with a guy you were dating because of something he said and used it on him in the middle of sex. He went soft inside you. Such is the power of the BDS.)\n\nIt's similarly effective here. The mood of jocularity among the Equaan guys vanishes, replaced by a sort of mild confusion and resignation. When you turn and resume walking in your original direction, the two on that side get out of your way, one of them giving a slight flip of his hands as if to say 'can't blame a horse for trying'. You continue walking, listening for the potential that they might be following, instead hearing them turn their attention to someone or something else to judge by the cheerful calls and sound of their voices moving away. You turn a corner...\n\n... and slump against the wall, breathing hard, your face going red and your body shivering a little.\n\nHoly. Shit.\n\nYou have no idea if those guys had some sort of pheremones or if it turns out you just have some specific physiological weakness to Equaans or what, but damn. Your skin feels like a faint electric current ran through it recently. Your nipples are so stiff under your skinarmor that they ache. Your shorts feel like they've gotten tighter on your pussy. There's a steady, almost urgent pressure low in your belly that you somehow instinctively know would be satisfied if only you could slam your cunt down on a big, fat, hard-\n\nYou slap yourself, then give your head a shake. "Calm the fuck down," you whisper out loud.\n\nTake a few deep breaths. Calm. Center. Calm. Breathe.\n\nThere. Now you feel a bit more in control of yourself.\n\n... You're still absolutely horny as fuck, but a bit more in control of yourself.\n\nYou push off the wall and give a huff. God... ... now what? You can't go in a bar, or much of anywhere, like this...\n\n<hr>\n[[... or can you?|ChiPir]]\n\n[[No, let's figure out another way to deal with this.|ChiPir4x4]]

Giving your head a quick shake, you snap your hands up and slap your cheeks a few times. Okay, snap out of it, Sipha! This isn't like you, a few decades in some other world shouldn't be able to do this to you. You not only promised, you prepared for this date! Taking a deep breath, you fill your mind with confidence while filling your lungs with air, rising to your feet and crossing to the closet. Throwing the door to the side, you pull out the dress you bought for tonight and toss it onto the bed, before retrieving the bag from the lingerie store and tossing it and the matching pumps beside the dress. Then you turn and march yourself into the bathroom to get properly ready.\n\nAt 8:45 you walk into the park, smelling girlier than you have in years from expensive soap and some perfume, your hair thoroughly brushed and falling across one eye by design rather than negligence. Your dress is a purple Cheongsam-style thing that comes to just barely below your hips, and is slit slightly up the sides, and leaves your long, stocking-sheathed legs on display, as well as some of the garter belt straps that come down and clip to the top of the stockings. It's probably the most daring, and definitely most expensive, thing you've worn in public since you got here, and you can't help but feel a little silly walking along clasping this tiny little black purse on you and smelling like a perfectly cultivated flower garden as you stride past empty playground equipment.\n\nYou can feel your heart trembling as you approach the bench, and the sight of someone actually standing there waiting is perhaps the biggest relief you've ever had in a very long life full of combat and strife. You spot the white hair in its long ponytail easily enough, and the light tan skin. You see that you've coincidentally matched at least one part of Makoto's outfit, as his red silk top is also Chinese-style, though you blink at the sight of the loose, short white skirt and black thigh-highs, and red pumps. 'Wow, he's gone even further into challenging fashion norms, good for you,' you think, albeit still with a bit of surprise... before your jaw actually drops as the figure turns around to reveal the full, pert breasts outlined by the top, which just helps emphasize the slender waist and curved hips. "M-Makoto?!"\n\n"Sipha-neechan!" the person in front of you squeals happily, out-and-out girlish voice full of delight as she rushes forward to fling her arms around you. "Oh my gosh, you look soooo beautiful, Sipha-neechan! This style absolutely suits you, you should wear it all the time!"\n\n"Makoto, you... you're... you're a girl," you stammer, since you can feel her boobs pressing against yours and those are definitely real.\n\nWith a giggle, Makoto steps back and puts a purple and gold-painted nail to her cheek as she winks at you. "No, Sipha-neechan, I'm a woman."\n\n"I'm sorry!" you blurt. "I'm sorry, I never thought the spell would... would... and yoooou are not upset about this at all, are you?" you murmur in realization, her whole demeanor finally sinking in after your initial shock.\n\n"Of course I'm not. All those years we worked to bring out the inner me, and boy we succeeded perfectly!" she declares with another giggle, putting a hand on her hip and jutting it out. "I was just a little shocked at first, but only for like... five minutes. Then it was like 'Ohhhh that makes so much sense!' and I giggled myself stupid. Then I... well, I did other things until I was stupid."\n\n"Ah." That gets a blush out of you, but you nod nonetheless. It's not like such a thing was completely unknown on Lytozia. In fact you're pretty sure this exact situation happened at least once before, with the legendary hero Prince Mika the Sword Princess, so it's not like the whole situation is unprecedented. "I hope it didn't put too much of a crimp in your social life?" you add a bit dryly.\n\n"It was an adjustment, but not a huge one," Makoto answers with another laugh. "I mean, my main boyfriend was straight before he met me, so for him it was more like a return to form? I mean, at least partly, when it wasn't a threesome." Then she blushes slightly, bringing her fingers up to her lips. "Um, sorry, talking about that stuff right at the start of a date."\n\n"It's okay. It just reminds me how far you've come from the little boy who could barely raise his eyes to talk to me," you answer warmly, smiling at her. "... I'm glad we're going on a date," you add softly after a moment, feeling your cheeks heat again. "To be honest, I almost didn't come. I thought... well, I thought that with how much you've changed, how well you were doing even last year, that... well, you probably didn't need me anymore."\n\n"Don't be silly, Sipha-neechan. You're the most important person for me there is." While that's heating your entire face, she beams and offers one of her hands. "C'mon. Let's date the hell out of this night!"\n\nYou can't help but laugh at that, putting your hand in hers. "Yeah. Yeah, let's do it, Makoto!"\n\nOver the next three hours, Makoto is able to give you a true look at what you've only seen glimpses of all these years... that she's become an engaging conversationalist, an eager listener, and an overall charmer whose equal you can't recall having met before off the top of your head. She takes you out to a variety of locations that are a mixture of classy date spots and obviously aimed at your personal interests... the upscale sushi restaurant for dinner, the high end arcade bar afterwards, gourmet coffee in a not-a-maid cafe where the waitresses still wear maid style outfits, and a walk along the river after. And during all of it you watch Makoto laugh and beam and soak everything in, radiating happiness and warmth and an absolute lust for life in all its forms that can't help but bleed excitement to you as well. You feel warm and happy and content as the two of you walk along, side-by-side and hand-in-hand, the conversation lulled into a pleasant, companionable silence.\n\nEventually though, Makoto gives your hand a squeeze. "There was one more place that I thought we might go before we call our date done, Sipha-neechan. It's right there," she continues, pointing at one of the buildings visible from the path you're on.\n\nYou glance up and over, immediately thinking it's a very nice building, about ten stories with a dark-tinted glass exterior that's lit so that it has a faint purplish-pink glow. ... Wait, that looks familiar, where have you seen pictures of that building before? On one of the local message boards maybe? Oh right, you've seen people posting either dreamily or scathingly about it. Apparently it's a really expensive luxury love... hotel...\n\nYour entire face hot, you turn to look at Makoto, who grins impishly at you before giggling and glancing down, almost looking shy. "I mean, um, no pressure. Just if you want to. If not, I can just walk you home."\n\n<hr>\n[["We shouldn't."|SiphaKids]]\n\n[["... well..."|SiphaKids]]

Makoto, who'd removed his hat in anticipation as you began to talk, blinks at that. "My inner self?" He punctuates the sentence with a squeak as you once more lean in to kiss the side of his neck, squirming and going red again, but putting his hat back in place as you stand.\n\n"Yup. That's the best and strongest sort of change that you can do," you assure him, tucking your hands back into your pockets. "Since it's the you that's already deep inside, that way the spell just empowers it, and the inner you bit by bit becomes the outer you. I think the inner you has lots of strength and dedication, Makoto, so trust in the inner you and let them shine as we keep going."\n\n"Oh. Well, okay. Thanks, Sipha-neechan," he murmurs, squirming and blushing again. "So, um, I guess... I guess I'll see you next year?"\n\n"Yup, see you next year, Makoto," you answer with a grin, turning and walking off, trying not to look like you're in a hurry. Oh god, bed, need beeeeed!\n\nAnd so it goes as, year after year, you meet Makoto in the park to perform the ritual, saying the same words before transferring the spell by a kiss to his neck. It doesn't take long before you're seeing him changing as much as the other young humans do from year to year... growing taller, stronger, more energetic. You also notice he's becoming better-looking, losing some of that thin, mildly gaunt look as he fills out. He's still a sleek, pretty thing, but you're watching him grow up into a real beauty, you can't help but think, that white hair gaining luster and pale skin shining with health as well as gradually becoming less milky white, no longer hidden under long sleeves and a giant hat constantly. Too, you watch him becoming more confident and outgoing, his body language no longer looking like he's going to bolt at any second, instead bit by bit becoming stronger, bolder, those pink eyes glittering brightly with happiness and mischief when he spots you and approaches, his calls of 'Sipha-neechan!' becoming louder and more lyrical each time as if not caring who might hear.\n\nOne year you stand watching, having arrived a bit early, watching him chatting and laughing with an attractive couple his own age. His hair is long enough to pull back into a ponytail that falls almost to his waist, and he's wearing a fashionable long-sleeved shirt that you're pretty sure is only sold at concerts, as well as snug pants that show off his lithe build. Heck, he actually seems to have a light tan, as opposed to his old pale look. You smile as he brings painted nails up to his pretty lips as he laughs at something the boy he's talking to said, the sweet sound making both the boy and the girl blush. 'My baby's all grown up,' you think with a mental sigh. 'And almost as pretty as an elf, my word.' You grin wider as he finally approaches, his face lighting up with delight as he sees you.\n\n"Sipha-neechan!" He doesn't hesitate to step in and throw his arms around you, squeezing in a warm hug, before stepping back and giggling. "Sorry if I made you wait, I just got here really early and got to talking with those two. Mm, I'm going to have to clear some time in tonight's schedule," he murmurs, pulling out his phone and putting one fingertip to his lips, almost pouting. "One of my best boyfriends is scheduled for tonight, but I hardly ever get couple dates. Mm, I wonder if I could make it into a double date instead...?"\n\nYou can't help but laugh at that. "You've come a really long way, Makoto." That makes him smile brightly too, warming your heart. Your own smile turns a little sad as you continue. "You're all grown up. I'm pretty sure this is going to be the last spell you need."\n\n"What? Really?" That actually seems to take him aback a little. "The last one?"\n\n"I think so. Your body's healthy now, you're able to talk to and charm whoever you want, and you're practically fully grown, as far as I can tell." You look him up and down, then nod. "Yes, this will be the last time, the last spell."\n\n"So what's that mean?" the pouting cutie in front of you asks.\n\n"Well, any remaining changes that come from the inner you becoming the outer you will complete over the next year. If there's anything more to change, it will probably happen a lot faster and be a bit more extreme... if there's any more changes to be made, that is."\n\nMakoto nods, still seeming a little pensive as you once more bring your fingertips to your lips, performing the by now familiar ritual before leaning in to kiss the side of his neck. You're surprised when he once more wraps his arms around you and pulls you in close even as you do, not letting you go immediately, leaving you to let the kiss linger a little longer than absolutely necessary. You're blushing some as Makoto releases the hug, but he looks serious... albeit cutely serious, just a hint of a pout on his lips as he says, "Even if that was the last one, Sipha-neechan, promise me you'll still meet me here next year. Meet me... meet me for a date!" he declares, suddenly smiling, eyes glittering. "A special date to celebrate the final me! Please, promise me!"\n\n"Um, Makoto, I dunno," you stammer, wiggling your shoulders uncomfortably.\n\n"Please, Sipha-neechan? It doesn't have to be a romantic date or anything like that, I just... I want something really special to commemorate all this time together, and all you've done for me!" he pleads, actually bringing up his hands and clasping them in front of his chin. "Please, please!"\n\nHow can you stand up to that? Sighing softly, you nod, then grin. "Okay, okay. A date. One year from now."\n\n"Yes! Nine o'clock, that bench over there!" Makoto declares, a smile bright enough to light up any night on his face as he clasps one of your hands in both of his. "It's a promise, okay?"\n\n"Right, right, promise."\n\n<img src="images/OYL.png" alt="One year later...">\n\nYou blink as your AI assistant alarm goes off in the midst of your ore gathering. What the? Of course then it smoothly announces, "It is four hours until your date with Makoto. Nine o'clock, park bench." ... Right. The 'completed product' Makoto, as it were, who wants to show off the him he's become to you and take you on a date. You worry your lower lip nervously, glancing from the assistant to the clock, to your closet. Except what if it turned out Makoto wasn't happy with the final changes and now he hates you for it? Or what if he just felt he had to do it out of obligation and he doesn't really want to take you out? And on that note... maybe most terrifying of all... what if he just doesn't bother to show? What if he's such a popular social butterfly now that the thought of dating some NEET elf who's old enough to be his great-great-great-... anyway, what if he blows off the date? Or even more likely, has just completely forgotten about it by now in the bustle of dates and college and living a way more vibrant life than yours? All those years ago you were the exotic stranger, but now you're still the same you and he's... well, he's someone you might have been jealous of even before you became a vidya addict.\n\n... Maybe it's best to just not go. Less embarrassing. Less humiliating. Less hurtful. Even if he is there, you doubt he'll wait long before shrugging it off and moving on to a real date. You're just his... health coach from when he was a kid.\n\n<hr>\n[[Go to bed.|SiphaKids4x1]]\n\n[[Go to the date, you ridiculous elf.|SiphaKids1x7]]

Unbidden, the memory of Ammianda's smile when you apologized for doubting her when the two of you were in school swims to the forefront of your brain.\n\n"... Dammit," you mutter, shoving yourself out of bed and wobbling to your feet so you can stagger into the bathroom.\n\nAn hour later, actually showered and wearing clean clothes, you make your way through the park, hands once more in your jacket pockets. You're paying a little closer attention to where you're going this time, since you need to be within at least a certain distance of where you were before. Let's see, angle of the sun, direction of the trees, weird two-sided riding trainer...\n\n"Sipha-neechan! You came!"\n\nYou amble to a halt and grin. "Hey there, Makoto. Yeah, I did, just like I promised." He looks a little taller, but not much. Hm, from your understanding, humans should change pretty heavily over the course of a year when they're this size. Glancing towards the equipment, you think you recognize a few of the other kids from the time you were last here, and yeah, they definitely seem a good few inches taller, as opposed to Makoto's maybe an inch of growth. \n\n"So, you're gonna keep doing the cultivation spell, right? Um, I mean, please, thank you," he murmurs, glancing down as his face colors bright red.\n\nGrinning, you squat down again. "Yup! This year, we begin the real spell. You'll start seeing changes bit by bit after this... it won't be that much, but year by year you'll change more and more, until by the time you're an adult, the spell will be complete. I'm not sure how long that is for humans, so we'll just see." You bring your fingers to your lips again, closing your eyes and concentrating, feeling out the ambient energy of the world and beginning to draw it in. Part of the spell is forming it inside yourself, and part of it is giving it purpose with words. So once you've sufficiently shaped the energy, you murmur against your fingertips where you're getting ready to pass the energy into your lips. "Spirits of this world, heed my urging and answer my entreaty. I ask of you watch over this boy, Makoto, as we guide the future years of growth. Please answer this call, and see that this child becomes-"\n\n<hr>\n[["-what he wants to be."|SiphaKids3x1]]\n\n[["-the best version of himself."|SiphaKidsM1x1]]\n\n[["-an expression of his deepest inner self."|SiphaKids1x6]]

After considering it carefully, you come to a decision... you'll go ahead and start the cultivation magic. In truth it's a bit more delicate and chancy than you made it sound earlier, but it's also pretty much harmless early on. Figure, you just go ahead and start the spell, but being a kid he probably won't have the dedication and attention span to stick to the schedule. But maybe it'll make him feel better for awhile, so you say, "Alright, let's begin the cultivation spell. I'll make it so you can grow up stronger and healthier."\n\n"R-really?!" he blurts, pink eyes going wide.\n\n"Yeah, but here's the thing, Makoto, we can't just do this 'whenever'," you assure him, holding up a finger solemnly. "If you want this to work, you have to show up in this park again, right here, on this exact day, at this time." You glance at your phone, then show it to him to make it clear. "Got it?"\n\n"I've got it! Thank you, Sipha-neechan, thank you!" he gushes, bouncing up and down.\n\n"Alright, here goes." You close your eyes and concentrate, bringing two fingertips up to touch against your lips as you murmur the beginnings of the very first layer of the cultivation spell, the 'prep' as it were. Makoto watches intently the entire time, then blinks as you raise your other hand to take off his hat... then his entire face goes red as you lower your other hand and lean in, pressing your lips briefly to the side of his neck. Then you sit back again and plonk the hat back into place. "There we go, spell started."\n\n"O-oh." He just stands there, fidgeting and with a silly smile on his face, before clearing his throat. "Um, th-that's it? What now?"\n\n"Nothing. That's just the very beginning of the spell, it needs a year to settle in. As far as the spell goes, nothing will really happen this year, m'afraid," you admit, then grin as he looks crestfallen. "Cheer up though, that's just how it goes. I told you the spell takes a really long time, right?"\n\n"Oh. Yeah, once a year, like on birthdays," he allows, nodding his head once. "So... we'll meet again next year?"\n\n"Right here, on the same day, same hour," you repeat, nodding.\n\n"Okay, then! I'll be waiting, Sipha-neechan!" he declares, waving exuberantly as you stand up and turn to go.\n\n<img src="images/OYL.png" alt="One year later...">\n\nYou wince at the sudden blaring of triumphant battle music, immediately flailing around to the side of your bed where your old digital clock was before blurting out, "Computer, stop alarm!" The music cuts off and you stare blearily and hatefully at the little black disk with its flickering blue rim that's going dim even as you look. Why did you buy that thing? ... Oh, yeah, because integration with it kept coming up in new games you bought. More specifically, whyyyyy in the world did you set an alarm for this morning? You were up until barely three hours ago doing a rather intense raid, and yet for some reason you felt compelled to tell your AI assistant to wake you up in the morning. What in the wor-\n\nSomewhere under instincts somewhat dulled by life in this world, your brain sharpens up enough to spit out the answer. Oh, right, today's the day you're supposed to meet that human kid, Makoto, and continue the cultivation spell. You do have the finely-trained mind of a mage, even barely conscious and with eyes burning from monitor fatique last night, you must have remembered that today was the day. You even gave yourself enough time to get cleaned up and dressed before going.\n\n... But do you really neeeeed to? you whine to yourself. Surely Makoto forgot all about the spell himself, probably within days of you meeting him, even if it lasted that long. Ideas are mayflies in the heads of humans, especially small ones you're pretty sure. The chances of him actually being there seem pretty remote, why torment yourself when all you're gonna do is stand around for half an hour near the child combat training equipment? Time better served by rolling over and going back to sleep until... Tuesday, maybe.\n\n<hr>\n[[Blow it off.|SiphaKids]]\n\n[[Get up, you lazy NEET.|SiphaKids1x5]]

"Elves are not lewd!" you splutter with a scowl, feeling your cheeks heat. "That's a stupid internet meme and it's defamation!"\n\nMany of the humans get expressions like they'd like to 'aw' in disappointment again, but at least manage to suppress it. Apparently embarrassed they've made you mad, the crowd begins to disperse, at least some of them murmuring 'Sorry' or 'Thanks elf-neechan' as they go, which does mollify you a bit. Still, you give an annoyed huff as you turn to go. Elves lewd, the nerve!\n\n"U-um, miss... miss elf?" says a quiet voice.\n\nYou blink and turn around, still frowning, though you deliberately soften your expression when the human asking winces at the sight. He's smaller than the others, but you don't think that's because he's younger, he looks a little skinnier overall. You also realize now that he was at the back of the crowd earlier, you just didn't notice because his oversized hat made him look like part of the scenery from above. It's definitely something the other humans must make fun of him for, besides his build, not to mention his extremely pale skin, white hair, and pink eyes. The coloration wouldn't be that odd for a Snow Elf, but you're well aware that in other mammals, it indicates albinism. (The strong smell of sunblock kind of helps the identification.) "Yes?" you ask, keeping your voice light and polite, since he looks like he might bolt if you spoke too harshly, and you don't want children fleeing from you in fear to ruin your day.\n\n"Um, miss elf, that thing you said, about cultivation magic and... and making someone a hero. Could... you really do that...?"\n\nYou hesitate briefly before answering, but finally nod, deciding to be honest. "I could. It happens sometimes on Lytozia, though it's not all that common. Only elves really have the lifespan and patience necessary to learn cultivation magic, but it's hard to use on other elves because our lives are so much more stretched out. So it only really happens with elves using it on humans, and that's pretty rare. It's much more commonly used to enchant things like trees, structures that are being built, and works of art."\n\n"O-oh." The boy rubs his arm a little bit, looking down. "... But, so... you could do it to me? I-I mean, I wouldn't want you to get in trouble, like you said, but..."\n\nYou look at him for a few long moments. "The other kids must bully you quite a bit, huh?" you finally say.\n\nThat makes him jump slightly, before giving you a shamefaced look. "... How can you tell?"\n\nSquatting down a bit to be on better eye-level with him, you lean in and confide, "Elf kids are little shits too, they totally bully each other for being different."\n\n"R-really?!"\n\n"Yeah. I'm ashamed to say I did it too when I was small," you admit, clearly shocking him. "There was a half-elf kid in my class at school that had a lot of trouble with magic. And I kept telling her, 'Drop out, drop out, you're not cut out to be here.'" You sigh heavily at the memory, shaking your head. "At the time I just thought it was better for everyone if she did, including her, but looking back I see that I was being really mean."\n\n"What happened...? To the half-elf girl, I mean," the boy asks tentatively.\n\n"Well eventually she discovered a type of magic that they just didn't teach at that school because hardly anyone knew about it, and she got really, really good at it." You give him a smile at that. "To where I didn't have a chance of defeating her in sparring. She wound up becoming a big-time hero and helping us defeat the Demon King, and I was very proud to know her."\n\n"... I don't think that's gonna happen for me," he says after a moment, sighing heavily. "The doctors say my health problems are... I mean, I'll probably never be able to do sports or get any stronger, and even if I did I can't be out in the sun very long even with sunblock, and there's no magic to learn here, so..." He trails off, hanging his head.\n\nYou look at him for a moment, then reach out and nudge his shoulder. "Hey. What's your name?"\n\n"Um." He blinks, looking a bit surprised. "Makoto."\n\n"Well, Makoto, I'm Sipha, and don't think there's nothing you can do. Let's see..." You rub your chin, thinking. You feel like you've got to do something for him, even if it's a bit of a placebo... if for nothing else, to make up for a bit of your guilt at bullying Ammianda all those decades ago. But what to do?\n\n<hr>\n[[Start the cultivation spell.|SiphaKids1x4]]\n\n[[Teach him magic.|SiphaKids]]\n\n[[Give him some confidence.|SiphaKids]]

No one ever told you that you weren't allowed to tell anyone you were an elf, and it's not like you've been hiding it either. So you just shrug and nod to the crowd of humans. "Yep, I'm an elf. A Shadow Elf, from the Deepwood Fords on the world of Lytozia."\n\n"Whooooooa," the entire little crowd says in unison, seeming quite impressed and utterly sincere, apparently having any doubt erased just by you saying it outright with such easy conviction. You have to admit it makes you preen a little, standing up straighter and letting your chest jut out, ears giving a slight wiggle, which only seems to excite them further.\n\n"So you can really do magic?!" one of them blurts.\n\n"Yes, I do ritual magic, sorcery, alchemy, and cultivation magic," you answer, glancing at the little tousle-headed human that asked.\n\n"Can you fight with a sword?!"\n\n"I'm pretty decent with a sword, yes, but I sold the government my swords when I got here." Mostly true. Which also gets a few 'aws' of disappointment from kids who clearly wanted to see a real one. One of them shoots a hand into the air, and you point at him since that seems to be a very eager but polite desire to ask more.\n\n"What's cultistvision magic?"\n\nTwitch. Now now, these are young humans, they can't be expected to have fully working brains. "Cultivation magic. It's-" As if to a small child, now. ... Oh right. "It's where you do a lot of very small magical things over a very long time to lead up to a big effect." At the slightly blank looks from them, you consider before pointing at the question-asker again. "It would be like if every year on your birthday, I cast a little spell on you that didn't seem to do anything, but on your eighteenth birthday you turned into a magical hero."\n\n"ME ME ME ME I WANT THAT!" comes the immediate clamor, making you grin sheepishly and hold up your hands.\n\n"Um, sorry, guys, it's just an example, I'm pretty sure I'd get in big trouble if I did that," you insist, causing a much louder round of much more disappointed 'AW's to go up.\n\n"How'd you get from that Lytozia place to Japan?" another pipes up, apparently not entirely put off.\n\n"When my friends and I defeated the Demon King, an item was dropped that was supposed to send someone back here but I accidentally caught it instead. So I live here now."\n\n"You fought a Demon King for real and beat 'im?!"\n\n"That's so cool!"\n\n"Who else did you fight?! Orcs?! Trolls?!"\n\n"Dragons?!?!?!"\n\n"Hey, I heard elves are lewd, are elves lewd?"\n\n<hr>\n[[What? NO!|SiphaKids1x3]]\n\n[[... maybe...|SiphaKids]]\n\n[[Why, you wanna see?|SiphaKids]]\n\n[[Sorry, elves are only lewd with their own sex.|SiphaKids2x1]]

Eh, what could it hurt to stop and see who's calling? You cease walking and turn towards where the call came from, the array of somewhat odd training equipment that humans apparently let their young use unattended. Seeing you actually stop, a number of short humans come running over, gathering around in front of you as you look down at them. You're really bad with knowing how old humans are... you know they age more quickly than elves since they don't live as long, but they also mature differently, so these are what... maybe twenty? They're all staring up at you in fascination, though, which is sort of weird but interesting... most humans in the world you came from have usually seen at least a handful of elves by this age so you've never experienced such a clamor over your very presence before.\n\n"Wooow, she's seriously an elf!"\n\n"Dummy, she's just some shut-in cosplayer!"\n\n"Nuh-uh, nuh-uh, there's no seams on those ears, she's for reeeeal!"\n\n"I'm not a shut-in," you note with a bit of a huff. How can you be a shut-in, you're outside! Humans, they never think. Your comment seems to have gone mostly unnoticed in the chatter, though.\n\n"Look at her eyes and her brown skin, she's gotta be an elf!"\n\n"She could just be a gyaru, stupid."\n\n"Gyarus do blue eyes and blonde hair not yellow eyes and black hair stupid!"\n\n"She's an elf I know it I saw her do magic the other day!"\n\n"You did not!"\n\n"I did, she's an elf!"\n\n"Is not!"\n\n"Is!"\n\n"Is not!"\n\n"Hey dummies, why don't you ask her?!"\n\nAs one, every head in front of you turns towards you and stares intently. You blink at the sudden scrutiny, but they definitely seem to be waiting on an answer as to whether you're an elf.\n\n<hr>\n[[Yup.|SiphaKids1x2]]\n\n[[Nope.|SiphaKids]]

Deciding to approach the group, you lean in towards Stacia. "Keep an eye out for me giving you a signal," you murmur. "When I do, I want you to have an excuse ready to lead the men off into the woods where you can seduce them. Make sure to let them do whatever they want to you, to keep them sufficiently distracted."\n\nStacia's face goes red, but she nods meekly. "Y-yes, Master, I'll have a good excuse ready."\n\nSmirking briefly at her, you straighten up and cease to move stealthily, instead just walking normally, making sure to step on a small twig as you go. The trio whip their heads towards you, but relax when they see that it's just a pair of youths, obviously (to their eyes) wannabe adventurers themselves. "Good evening," the woman says in a pleasant tone. \n\n"Good evening. I'm Reth, this is Stacia," you say by way of introduction, gesturing to your love slave who gives a small bow. "We're on our way to Dynahan to attend the adventurer's college. We saw you here and thought we'd see if you'd mind sharing your camp for the night."\n\n"Not at all, always happy to see new adventurers learning to not get themselves killed," the dark-skinned man says with a grin. "I'm Kavin, that's Sister Thandra, and Loren."\n\nThe slight man in the cloak gives you a nod, and you return the gesture, sizing him up as you do. Hm, reagent pouch, some potions on his belt, and a book holster at his hip... not a sneakthief at all, but a mage of some sort. That could have been troublesome, if you hadn't realized in time. You and Stacia move over to take a seat on one of the downed logs surrounding the campfire... this is obviously a fairly routine stop for groups, as it's been arranged as a more ideal campsite.\n\n"I do hope you do well on your journey," Sister Thandra says, smiling brightly as she clasps her hands, purple eyes twinkling. "May the blessings of the Light be upon you, and if possible, Majestra herself gaze upon you lovingly."\n\n'Not bloody likely,' you think, repressing the urge to snort, and instead giving her a polite nod of acknowledgement. Meanwhile, you're considering how best to take them down... or out. You let the ideas turn over in your head as you outwardly chat pleasantly with them while Kavin works on the stew. You're fairly certain about your early assessment of them being low-mid-level of experience and strength, so you doubt they'd be able to put up much of a fight against whatever method you go with. And you notice Kavin and Loren both sneaking covert, but obviously rather lustful, brief glances at Stacia... actually, for that matter you notice Thandra doing the same. (Oho~.) So it shouldn't be terribly hard for her to [[lead them off and keep them occupied|RethCC]] if you wanted to focus your attention on Thandra.\n\nAlternatively you've got a few substances you made up before you left town that could help you out here... such as an [[aphrodisiac|RethCC]] that would have them all too eager to engage in a bit of group sex, not that they'd know what that would result in. Or you could use a [[mild poison|RethCC]] that would make them too lethargic to resist.\n\nAlternatively you could just use a [[deadly poison|RethCC]] you made and eliminate them entirely. Their gear and money might be more useful than they are, and to your mind fewer adventurers in the world is always a good thing!

Well, you'll go take a look at them, at the very least. If they turn out to be some high-level pseudo-Companions or something you just won't mess with them. "Follow me, and be careful," you order Stacia, before setting off.\n\nThe boost to your dexterity and senses makes it fairly easy for you to sneak through the nearby woods, with Stacia's own, lesser boost and her desire to follow your instructions as well as she can meaning she's almost as efficient. Soon you approach the campsite where the trio seems to have already settled, two men and a woman. Hm... you'd guess from their gear and the magical senses they're giving off, they're probably just under mid-level or so. Probably more than you could handle if you just rushed in headlong, but theoretically doable if you were canny and careful... should you, of course, choose to attack.\n\nLet's see, the female first... probably human? Could be a half-elf or lesser elf, you allow, since her ears are covered by her long blonde hair and the habit drape she's wearing. She looks like she's a member of one of the branches of the Order of Light, so at her likely level she'd be almost entirely healing and buffing magics, no offense. She's pretty enough, too, with a nice face and brilliant purple eyes, and her black and white garb hugs a nicely-sized chest and rides over curvy hips, leaving them mostly bare with a long black drape in front and back. One of the men is quite obviously a melee-focused class of some sort... tight pants, swordbelt with two short swords, a sleeveless leather top that shows off his leanly-muscled build, dark tan skin and scruffy brown hair. The other male is more slight, with pale skin and smooth black hair pulled back in a ponytail. He's sitting on a log turned away from you, his black cloak draped over his shoulders, so you can't see his gear... a sneaky sort, of some kind, maybe? That would be fairly typical for what you know of three-person adventurer parties.\n\nSo yes, it's possible that you could just attack outright, and between your boosted stats and Stacia to back you up you could just defeat them and do as you like. Of course the better bet might be to approach them as friends and then take them down, either one at a time or as a group... you mixed up some minor concoctions before you left the village that could do the trick! Or you could establish a signal for Stacia so that she would lead the men away and keep them distracted while you focused your attention on their party member. (Would you have Stacia give her virginity away to strangers just to be a distraction? What a ridiculous question! Of course you would!) \n\n<hr>\n[[Attack.|RethCC]]\n\n[[Approach.|RethCC1x3]]

You always did like fucking adventurers once you'd defeated them... and if this path on your tree will essentially let you turn them into your loyal slaves while doing so, it certainly seems beneficial! Grinning, you mentally select the path on the ability tree.\n\nYou're not exactly surprised when you immediately feel your member begin to swell and grow in your pants. It's both an interesting and, obviously, pleasurable sensation as you can literally feel your balls growing larger, heavier, and filling up, even as your shaft grows erect, thicker, longer, practically trying to burst out of your pants. Stacia's eyes widen as you quickly open the fly of them to free it, your newly impressive member jutting out ahead of you almost like a threat as you also shrug out of your jacket. It's pretty clear that she already knows what's coming... at least, the basest part of it... from the way she renews her squirming and attempts to break free. You take a moment to enjoy her feeling of helplessness, grinning as you shed the rest of your clothing and then give your powerfully prodigious prick a few strokes, enjoying the anticipation, of her not knowing that she's about to change her mind about... well, she's about to have her mind changed, let's just say that.\n\nFinally though you move behind her, pushing her to bend her forward at the waist. She makes louder pleading, protesting noises through the gag of her ripped panties, but you ignore them as you slap your cock against her pert bare ass a few times. Of course, you want what you're about to do to come as a complete surprise, you think with a grin as you use a minor cantrip to coat your cock in a thick layer of slippery goo. Luckily, you think with a smirk as you take hold of her wrists and pull back on her arms, taking the physical branch has already given you near-perfect aim and coordination. So really, all it takes is for you to focus a bit, and then when you thrust forward you plunge your fat cock fully into Stacia's tight little virgin asshole in a single thrust without fail, her pucker spreading wide and stretching around you as you slam in up to the root.\n\nHer eyes roll up in her head, her protests suddenly going silent with the intensity of her climax as she instantly cums, her still virgin pussy gushing all over your balls. You're fairly certain that between her low level, your bonuses to go with your ability tree's power, and your chosen angle of attack that she's already instantly been turned into your loyal fuckpet for life with that single thrust. ... But where would be the fun in stopping there? you think with a grin as you start thrusting, pumping your cock into her quivering, clenching asshole and doing your best to mold the previously untaken hole to your prick, even as her still unpenetrated pussy flutters and spurts below, Stacia's muffled voice sounding out again but this time in eager, pleading, shameless moans through the saliva-soaked cloth. 'This will teach you to think about nothing but adventuring,' you muse smugly as you continue to violate her tight little rear hole, with her absolutely loving every second of it. 'From now on, instead you'll think about nothing but my cock!'\n\nFrom the noises she's making, and the fact that you've long since taken off the paralyzing spell and Stacia is doing nothing but fucking back against you wantonly, you'd say you've gotten the job done pretty quickly. You still make sure she's cum a good seven or eight times before you finally let yourself have your own release, thrusting deep into her and using her once perfect, pretty little pucker as a cumdump. The multiple physical bonuses you've now racked up ensure that it's a prodigious load indeed, your balls gushing out a torrent of thick jizz that actually swells Stacia's belly slightly, her eyes rolling up completely in her head as her whole body trembles... you wouldn't doubt her IQ is being lowered permanently, at least a little, from the sheer intensity of her conquering orgasm. Once you feel the last few spurts of your cum trickle out into her, you pull out, admiring the gape of her goo-and-jizz smeared hole and the way cum starts dribbling out of it and over her still untouched pussy.\n\nWithout a word or prompting by you, Stacia turns and sinks to her knees, pulling her ripped panties out of her mouth so she can instead slide it down over your cockhead, moaning softly and reverentially as she starts cleaning you up. You can see from the way she looks up at you that there's some shame creeping back in... she absolutely knows that you've enslaved her body and will by fucking her, but that there's nothing she can do about it. She's not even trying to resist as she rests her hands on your hips and cleans your prick for you, unhesitatingly licking and sucking at the shaft that was just seconds ago buried deep in her own ass. \n\n"Once we get to a larger town or city, I'll have to buy you some nice slutty clothing, Stacia," you note smugly as you look down at her. "I want it to be as obvious as possible to anyone that sees us that you're my fuckpet."\n\n"Yes, Master," Stacia moans softly against your balls, rolling her tongue against your sack to clean up the mixture of your cum and hers coating them. There's just the faintest hint of despair beneath her arousal and obedience, which makes your newly empowered cock give a twitch... ah, how nice to know that she's still fully aware of what's been done to her. You wonder if, over the years, that will fade and turn into genuine and complete adoration, or if she'll stubbornly hold on to that last mote of individuality and suppressed free will forever?\n\nHm, either way. "Alright, strip down, then finish making camp and dinner. You haven't earned being fucked in the pussy yet, but if you're a very, very good pet maybe I'll consider it. I might even make you into a baby factory," you add with a chuckle.\n\nYou can see a flash of mingled fear and arousal in her eyes, but all she does is say another, "Yes, Master," before getting to her feet and starting to remove her clothing, even as you put your own back on. You mold yourself a more comfortable seat with earth magic and settle in to watch her as she sets about getting a fire ready (you light it yourself with magic, no need to be cruel by making her burn herself somewhere sensitive, after all!), and go about putting on a pot and setting ingredients and water into it, all of it with her perky tits and pert ass showing and wiggling with her motions, your cum still steadily leaking out of her ass and dribbling down her thighs, as well as over her now seemingly permanently wet and ready pink virgin pussy.\n\nYou eat your own meal as Stacia worships your cock with her mouth and hands, her tongue stroking over you and her throat working down around your shaft in turns, all her focus on pleasuring you as you calmly eat the soup she prepared. You give her her own dinner of a nice, thick load of your cum, almost idly pushing her head down until her lips are fixed around the root of your cock as you give her a bellyful of your seed. (Luckily, with the various physical boosts as well as your innate magical ability and the large amount of it, she should find your loads ample nourishment!)\n\nThe next morning, you decide that she doesn't really need her overshirt... her tight little shorts (now with nothing underneath them, leaving her pussylips fairly clearly outlined) and the matching bra-top to go with them will do until you can buy her something sluttier. You set off with a song in your heart, thinking of all the other adventurers you're going to turn into your obedient little fuckpets just like her, occasionally reaching over to give her ass a squeeze and listen to her low, slightly longing moans of pleasure as you do. \n\nYou make fairly good progress, since your physical boosts mean that you can move at a good clip and don't really need to take breaks. You notice that Stacia is doing a good job at keeping up with you... possibly a side effect of being "conquered", her body is likely reacting to needing to keep up with your needs, even if it's just the need to travel. As the sun starts to set, you pause and pay attention to the signs around you. Along with your boosted strength, stamina, and other abilities, the Physical branch conferred boosts to your other physical senses. So it's not difficult for you to tell that there's another group nearby. Two males and a female, you're fairly certain... the scent of oiled leather and metal as well as a handful of potions would indicate they're likely adventurers. Hm hm hm... so, the question is, do you want to make your way towards said adventurers and (most likely) do some "conquering"? Or just avoid them and head for a town? After all, if things go poorly, you're ill-equipped and, despite your physical superiority, still fairly low-level yourself. Depending on the adventurers' abilities and skill levels, three of them could give you a tough time.\n\n... But then, conquest needs to start somewhere, right?\n\n<hr>\n[[Go towards the adventurers.|RethCC1x2]]\n\n[[Avoid them.|RethCC]]

Your moans seem to be growing gradually flatter and more monotone, even as the pulsing sound itself grows more even and steady. You can feel your thoughts growing steadily more blank as the sound gradually turns into nothing but white noise crackling through your head, holding you steady and firm even as the rest of your body continues to rock under the assault of Smaug's pumping, pulsating prick.\n\n"There you go, just relax," Smaug rumble-purrs as the tension gradually leeches out of your body and you settle underneath him. His hips continue to thrust rhythmically, with that machine steadiness and power, driving that draconic dick into your ever more pliant pussy without pause. As you settle your arms on the bed in front of you, he takes his forepaw off your back and rests it to the side of your shoulders, same as the other one. "From now on I'll do all the thinking for us. You just do as you're told."\n\nYes, you don't need to think. You just need to do as you're told. You can hear that in the sound now, that steady, unyielding hissing drone filling your ears and your head and your mind. You just need to be obedient and do as you're told. You just need to empty your head and obey. You just need to be Master's cock sheath and hands and mouth. You can feel your head emptying out of all unnecessary thoughts such as opinions, desires, self determination, self respect, there is only obedience, there is only Master Smaug's voice and his sound and his cock.\n\n"Nnh, nnh, nnh, nnh," you grunt in monotone as he thrusts into you, your eyes having gone completely glazed-over, your face expressionless as he thrusts into you. When Master pulls out of you, you don't move or look away from the wall, since you haven't been ordered to, simply remaining in place until told otherwise. A moment later the crackling drone of the sound cuts off, but your thoughts remain as steadily flat and blank as it was.\n\n"Get up and strip off, pet," Smaug commands.\n\n"Yes, Master," you answer, unhesitatingly rising to your feet and pulling off your top, your tits dropping free and wobbling as you pull it off and over your hair, then hanging down and swaying as you peel your pants off and undo your boots. Stepping out of them, you stand as you are, naked, waiting your owner's next command.\n\n"Good. Now get up onto the bed, lay on your back, and lift and spread your legs," Smaug orders, his tone smug.\n\n"Yes, Master," you answer in the same monotone, immediately obeying the order. You crawl up onto the bed and then turn, laying your head back on the pillow, then gripping just under your knees, pulling your legs towards yourself and spreading them wide, displaying your gaped, cum-smeared pussy and your as-yet-untouched but still jizz-smeared asshole to your owner.\n\nSmaug prowls up onto the bed, settling his big metal forepaws on either side of your head before wiggling himself into position, stuffing his cock back into your pussy and starting to fuck you in a mating press now, his huge rubbery balls slapping against your sensitive little asshole and spattering more slimey pseudojizz around as he fucks you. You resume giving soft, steady grunts of impact with his cock slamming deep inside you and stretching your womb, though you simply stare upward with no expression since you haven't been ordered to have one.\n\nThe droning noise returns, filling your head and penetrating your brain again, as your master declares, "You're an inanimate sex doll right now, pet."\n\nYou are an inanimate sex doll. Your body goes stiff and unmoving, your gaze becoming even more unfixed, and you stop thinking completely. Your head might as well be solid silicone, even your noises ceasing. You lay there completely unmoving, completely unthinking, just a mindless object to be fucked. You are nothing but a jiggling pair of tits and a set of holes to be used. You are a sex doll. Sex dolls don't think. Sex dolls just lay there and get fucked like good silent objects. You are an inanimate object. You only exist to get fucked. You are nothing but your holes. You are nothing but your tits. You are a sex doll. Sex dolls do not think. Sex dolls just get fucked.\n\nSmaug lets out a near-roar as he thrusts in deep and once again bulges your belly with his load, your face completely and totally impassive and not so much as the softest squeak escaping your throat even as your womb is turned into an overfull cum balloon again, because you are a sex doll and sex dolls don't react when they're used as the cum dumps they are. Once he's finished blowing his latest load in you, Smaug pulls out, rumbling in a pleased fashion as he presses a forepaw down on your belly and pushes, forcing his pseudocum to geyser out of your pussy as you continue laying there not making a sound. He reactivates the pulse briefly, telling you, "You're animate again, pet."\n\nYou shudder all over with a number of delayed orgasms as your flattened, muted thoughts resume, letting out a soft, shuddery moan before droning out a "Yes, Master" in response, your pussy shuddering and twitching as it continues to gush out some of his cum. \n\n"There's a good pet. Mmm, I need to decide what to do with you," Smaug muses as he turns and clambers down off the bed, leaping a bit to gain the floor, his memory-rubber prick and balls diminishing and then pulling up into their containment pod, leaving him outwardly sexless. He glances at you still lying in position with your legs held and spread, then says, "Get up and stand in front of me, pet."\n\n"Yes, Master," you answer, immediately and unhesitatingly letting go of your legs and turning to rise, moving to stand in front of him, arms at your sides and displaying yourself nude, letting him look at his property.\n\n"You understand that I am now the owner here, yes?" Smaug prompts, the golden grill of his teeth actually parting to reveal a long, blue-black rubber tongue that he slurps across your still gaping pussy, making your body shiver in response despite your unchanging expression. "I am the owner, you are my property."\n\n"Yes, Master, you own me, I am your property," you reply evenly. "My sole purpose for existing is to serve you."\n\n"Obviously. But how best to have you serve me?" he muses aloud. "Alas, despite my obvious superiority and correct position as your owner and master, I am but a few days old. Sort through that worthless data you call 'memories', pet, and suggest to me the best way to utilize you."\n\n<hr>\n[["Audio implants, Master."|ChiGH]]\n\n[["Brain implants, Master."|ChiGH]]\n\n[["Cyberization, Master."|ChiGH]]\n\n[["Drone conversion, Master."|ChiGH]]

You make a scrambling motion, trying to slip out from underneath Smaug, hoping to race for the door and get outside the area of his audio cancellation field so you can shut him down. But he seems to have been waiting for that, instantly clapping his forepaw back down onto your shoulders, pinning you to the bed and leaving you to squirm helplessly beneath him, scrabbling with your arms fruitlessly to grab onto anything.\n\n"Oh dear, 'Mistress', it seems you're still flailing about, you might hurt yourself doing that," Smaug rumble-purrs. "I really must help you and do what's best for you, after all."\n\nHe near-instantly thrusts back into your already stretched, abused pussy, your renewed shriek still just as muted as ever. As he once again starts fucking you with hard, quick machinelike thrusts, that almost subaudible hum of the cancellation effect grows louder and starts to alter. As it changes into a steady, soft rise and fall pulse that somehow both aligns with and is in counterpart with Smaug's thrusts into your cunt, you can't help but feel like it's starting to penetrate your brain as deeply as he's penetrating your pussy.\n\nThe steady flow and pump and beat and thrum of the sound wraps around your brain, slipping all through you even as your body rocks with the impact of Smaug's thrusts. It seems to resonate with that deep bass rumble that comes through your chest as he practically purrs while raping you, until it feels like he's just inside you, your whole body and mind. You're half overstimulated and half lulled, and barely realize that your voice is audible again, moaning and yelping with the impact of his thrusts into you. You feel just faintly disconnected from everything, like you're almost an observer in your own body as Smaug's audio speakers and his cock claim you completely. That cock continues to pump into you, further molding your pussy into it, while that thrumming, droning, pulsing sound flows into you and molds your mind to his wishes.\n\nTo your own ears it sounds like your moans are getting-\n\n<hr>\n[[-sluttier.|ChiGH7x1]]\n\n[[-more enthusiastic.|ChiGH]]\n\n[[-more brainless.|ChiGH]]\n\n[[-flatter.|ChiGH6x7]]

It's late afternoon when you awake, the windows left open to show the gradually darkening sky. Weiss gives an annoyed noise as you slip out from under the blankets... then immediately grabs the vacated blankets and hauls them in around herself. Grinning, you lean back down to kiss along her neck. "Snowbird. Snowbird." At her just making half-annoyed half-pleased noises you kiss her ear and whisper, "Fresh donut day."\n\n"Nnnnh... ten minutes extra sleep for ten minutes less fresh donuts," she declares, hauling the covers over her head entirely.\n\nYou snort a little, but if that's the way she wants it. You get up and take a quick rinse, not even giving the water time to get particularly steamy, before getting dressed and ambling next door. "Blake! Fee! Donut day, c'mon!" When there's no response, you try the door and find it open, walking in. "Bees, c'mon, let's go!" \n\nYou're immediately treated to the sight of Blake Belladonna and Phoenix Xiao Long entertaining a guest. Specifically a slender young man who, from the build of him and the discarded lingerie on the floor, probably works in the club. You can't tell what his genemod feature is, if any, since his head is currently mostly obscured by Phoenix's thighs, her round muscular ass flexing as she rocks on top of his face, working her pussy over his eagerly (probably obediently) lapping tongue. Blake, meanwhile, is crouched between his own legs, her tongue washing and wandering over his balls and occasionally up to his shaft as well.\n\nYou watch for a moment, then shrug and grab a beer out of their fridge, moving past the assorted potted plants that cover practically every flat surface in the couple's apartment to flop on the couch. If they didn't want an audience they would have locked the door. You sip on your beer, watching as Blake, with the air of long practice, opens a condom wrapper without even stopping her oral ministrations, only pausing in them to give the little latex ring a skillful roll along her fingers and press it to her lips before sliding her mouth over the genemod boy's shaft, a low moan issuing from between her partner's thighs as she deepthroats him without apparent difficulty. Raising her head and leaving that slender shaft sheathed in purple, Blake slides forward and rises up, positioning his cock at her entrance and then sliding down on him, immediately leaning forward to kiss her girl, the two of them's breasts lightly wobbling and jiggling with their movements as they fuck each other using their third as a go-between. The elaborate, full-back tattoo of a blazing bird made of fire that your Heavy has taken her new name from, bared by the shorter cut of her hair, flexes and shudders as if it, too, were in the throes of pleasure as Phoenix arches and moves herself towards Blake and across the skillful tongue of their third. (Oh hey, it's that cute catboi she was staring at the first night she arrived, funny ol' multiverse idn'it?)\n\nYou sip the beer and enjoy the show for awhile until there's another knock on the partially open door, Ilia pushing it open after a call of guys. She walks in, and barely twitches in surprise at the sight before her. "Fucksakes, do you two ever consider sleeping with just each other anymore?"\n\n"Mmm, we sleep with just each other all the time," Blake assures her with a low thrum in her throat as she turns her head to look at her non-involved guests, yellow eyes warm and lazy as she shamelessly continues to work her hips, Phoenix dipping her head to kiss at the Faunus woman's throat and collarbone. "It's other activities we like to bring in a third for. Or more, sometimes."\n\n"You don't complain when it's you," Phoenix murmurs against her partner's neck, opening warm purple eyes and glancing at Ilia teasingly.\n\nIlia snorts. "You two keep my mouth really busy when it's me, ya titty monsters. You about done?"\n\n"About... about..." Blake draws in a sweet, hard breath as she tilts her head back and closes her eyes, arching her back, presenting said proud tits to both the room and Phoenix, then letting out a low, thrumming purr of a shuddery moan as she trembles all over, the cyber-attached black tail at the base of her spine lashing excitedly as the blonde drags her tongue up between the valley of her presented breasts. "Doooooone." She lets out a soft giggle, biting her lower lip as she grins wickedly. "Him too."\n\n"Alright, you two, get showered and let's get downstairs, and don't make him too late for work," you add with a chuckle, draining the last of the beer before getting up.\n\n"Those two have really gone native, haven't they?" Ilia comments dryly, not seeming to have noticed that she has not a bit of pinkness to her specks as the two of you step into the elevator.\n\n"Mmhmmm," you murmur back, keeping your attention on checking your sword and the holster of your main gun.\n\nIlia blinks and glances over. "Everything okay, Boss?"\n\n"Yeah, Rainbow, just got something on my mind is all," you answer, tossing her a quick, if not entirely natural, grin. "I'll tell everyone when we're at the Table."\n\nShortly after, the elevator doors slide open, already pulsing and thumping along at a decent beat despite the fact that the sun hasn't fully set yet. Over the last five months the "Down Boy" has gradually morphed into "Neo-Menagerie"... almost entirely gone are the masked and hooded down-low pervs (sorry, guys, sincerely, sucks to have your club move out from under you), and the scantily or partially-clad dancers on the stages and tables are now a mixture of male and female, demonstrating its broader demographic. The assortment of night creatures and daytimers looking for a relatively safe place to brush up against same is alternately lounging around partaking of food and drink, and a few are actually up and dancing to the pound of electronica in the areas below and around the stages. There's a handful of shouts and cheers and even a bit of applause as you and Ilia step out of the elevator, and you take a moment to indulge them by grinning and putting a hand to your shoulder and giving the other an elaborate flutter out to the side as you bow, just a half-mocking acknowledgement of the fame you and your crew have accrued over the last five months.\n\n"My girls!" Niobe says over the music from where she's lounging at the bar, stepping forward to clasp her hands on Ilia's head and give it an affectionate shake before pecking her on the forehead, Ilia grinning and strolling along to the table while Niobe clasps your hand and hauls you into a shoulderbump. "How goes it, my child, how you feeling this night?"\n\nYou start to answer, pause at the sound of more cheers and glance over to see Blake, Phoenix, and Weiss emerging from the elevator. You nod to them in passing, watching them go, then give a slight shrug and tilt of the head to Niobe. "Eh."\n\n"Haven't told them yet, have you?" Niobe asks, expression growing a bit more serious.\n\n"... Tonight," you assert with a nod. "I'll tell them once we're settled." You give her a slightly wan grin. "Guess you're gonna get your superbooth back, huh?"\n\n"Bullshit," Niobe answers immediately, pointing at your face. "That table's yours. It'll be waiting for you when you get back," she adds, grinning and clapping you on the shoulder. "You and your crew."\n\n"... Yeah. Thanks, Ma," you answer, stepping in for a proper hug, patting her back a few times before heading for the Table.\n\nThe engraving of your crowned lion emblem has been elaborated on, a circle looping around collecting another six emblems, with a banner reading 'SILVER RING' emblazoned at the bottom. Weiss rises to let you slide into your usual place between her and Ilia. "Where's your sister?" you ask Phoenix.\n\n"Same place as usual," Phoenix snorts, gesturing with her cigarette to the stage.\n\nYou glance over, and sure enough there's Ruby Rose right between a pair of very comely dancers who both look a small handful of years older than her. She's still got all her clothes on, but is dancing and gyrating with the full skill and sensuality of any of the other performers, hands raised above her head and hips shaking, eyes closed and a smile on her lips, obviously lost to the moment as is her wont. At some point in the last five months she shaved the area right above her right ear and got a pair of tight braids done that run above it, the piercings in her ear now having a few small chains that run between them.\n\nRUBES! you send. Donuts!\n\nJust like that, she leaps into the air and twists into a flurry of red cloth, raining rose petals on the shrieking, cheering crowd as she zips over to the Table and slides into her spot, grinning. "Donuuuuts!"\n\nSoon all of you have eaten and settled in with your pre-night drinks, Blake having shifted to stand leaned against the outside of the booth, one shoulder against the edge of it, the messenger bag she carries off-job draped on her outer hip, a metal roadcup lightly held in her fingers. As all of you just chat comfortably, a guy whose only nod to attempting to blend is a very shiny new-looking leather jacket approaches Blake and clears her throat. "Uh, 'scuse me, are you... are you holding?"\n\nBlake looks over her shoulder at him, yellow eyes looking him up and down before rolling. Then she sets her cup down and turns towards him a bit more, leaning her back against the side of the booth and folding her arms. "What're you looking for?"\n\n"Uhhhhhhh... Godash?"\n\n"Don't do heavy stuff, look elsewhere," Blake answers immediately, tail giving a flick.\n\n"S-sorry! I was, um, I was mostly curious. But do you have any Leaf?"\n\n"Colors?" Blake prompts.\n\n"Red and blue," he answers, actually starting to look vaguely comfortable.\n\n"You a cube farmer?" At his nod, she adds, "200 creds." At him blanching, Blake lifts a finger and points. "And that's with my first-time buyer discount. My stuff's good and I'm not stingy with it, it's your money's worth."\n\nYou think it might be more that he's getting to buy from the Nightbird that actually causes him to fish a pair of hundreds out of his pocket and proffer them.\n\nBlake quickly tucks the bills away and slips a hand into her bag, coming up with two clear plastic baggies, one significantly larger than the other. "Here's your red, comes ready to roll and smoke, if you want to do tea put it in the oven on low for fifteen minutes first," she instructs as she hands him the larger bag, then holds up the smaller. "Sublingual tablets, under the tongue and let them dissolve, perfect for a back-to-work dose since no smell and gradual absorption." She puts the bag of tablets in his hand, then holds it there as she looks him in the face. "Do not swallow them, do not chew them, do not drink anything while you've got one in, let it dissolve, understand? The head goes up and down to show me you understand. There we go," she adds as he nods a few times, then scurries away.\n\n"Shit honey, you oughtta be a doctor with that instructive manner," Phoenix snorts, purple eyes dancing.\n\n"I've got all the extra limbs attached I care to, thanks," Blake replies dryly as she turns back to the table, giving her tail a deliberate flick.\n\n"So, Boss, what's on the menu tonight?" Ruby asks, tapping the ash off her cigarette into her ashtray before taking another puff.\n\n"Yeah, about that." You give your glass of bourbon a half-turn as you rally yourself. "I got something important I've gotta talk to you guys about."\n\n"Well shouldn't we wait for Lucky, then?" Ruby prompts, taking a sip of her cherry vodka. "Where is she, anyway?"\n\n"Pink-neechan asked a favor, one of her girls is getting out of the hospital and Lucky volunteered to see her home and sit on her for a little while. This doesn't necessarily concern her, anyway," you add, picking up your glass and setting it over the sixth emblem arcing over yours, signaling that the current discussion focuses on the original members of the crew. Blake frowns a bit, but moves over to sit down on Ruby's other side. "So. You guys may be a little pissed at me on this one. If you are, fair."\n\n"What is it, Kai?" Weiss asks with a frown.\n\n"... We've had the money for the beacon and guest passes. For like a week now," you admit with a bob of the head. "I choked on telling you every time after I checked the account balance and realized... I kept letting us get distracted by one more job. I'm sorry."\n\nEveryone absorbs that for a moment. It's Phoenix who snorts. "Shit, Boss, is that all? It's just a week. Besides, we still owe Grey some creds, imagine he wouldn't mind getting whatever we don't spend getting back to Remnant."\n\n"Wow, we're seriously going back to Re-... home," Ruby quickly corrects herself, almost self-consciously leaning forward and grinding out her cig. "Huh. So when you say enough for the guest passes...?"\n\n"Yeah, Lucky's too. If she wants to come. But it's not her world and she hasn't committed to the fight we have, guys, we can't assume she'll want to come just because she's part of our crew. She's got a life here..." 'Same as all the rest of us,' you think, but keep to yourself. "We can't just go ahead assuming she's on board. Which is why I wanted to come clean with all of you first."\n\n"Okay. So... we're going back," Weiss says slowly. "Are we all agreed on that?" She glances around, just barely managing to hide the hope that they're not.\n\n"I think... yeah, we have to, right?" Phoenix sighs as she snubs her own cig out. "Shit, it's so weird to have even part of a second thought about leaving this place. I think we all hated it when we got here, even you, Boss, but now it's like... we have fuckin' lives, yanno? Our friends, people we help, our..." She taps on her emblem on the table. \n\n"Yeah. We won't be the Silver Ring anymore when we get home... we go back to being Team RWBY and Team KACH." You take a deep breath, then let it out. "But yeah, I think we're all agreed that we need to go back. If nothing else, our friends are still sitting in goddamn Atlesian cells, possibly with some goddamn Salemite wandering over to see what's to be done with them. I made sure to factor in enough money to pay for the extra time differential to put on the portal so we can get back to pretty much when we left, and I've spent the last week planning how to pull it off... shouldn't be that hard. So... main plan, we beacon to the Guildhall, take a day there to get your asses certified and all of us registered as a Mercenary Company, which is thankfully damn near free since I'm a legacy of one of those, as long as we don't try to register a company headquarters or some shit. Plan stays pretty much the same whether Lucky wants to go with us or not."\n\n"So there's a Plan B?" Weiss asks curiously, raising her eyebrows.\n\nYou grin. "Well... Niobe clued me in on one of her own Plan Bs from awhile back. That'd be more... confrontational... but we'd be setting ourselves up for a much bigger win in the end, I think. It'd take some fast-talking, but... we just wanna get back to our friends, get on with things, wrap it up, we go with Plan A." You hope after that there can be some discussion of what to do with the rest of your lives that isn't just assumed to be 'get back to life as normal on Remnant'.\n\n"Well... we're still here, so I think it's still on you, honey," Weiss says, finally snubbing out her own cigarette. "What do you think?"\n\n<hr>\n[[Lucky will want to stay here.|SilverRing]]\n\n[[Lucky will want to go with you.|SilverRing1x2]]\n\n[[Fuck it. Plan B.|SilverRing]]

"Ah, yeah, that's my room," you note as you slip past him and walk across the hall, opening the door and heading inside. "Not a ton of space in here, but if you need to get in and get around you should be able to manage," you note, stepping over to the bed and peering out the window, trying to determine just from a glance how far off rain is.\n\nThen you yelp as you're slammed into from behind and driven forward, forced to bend over the bed with one large mechanical paw pinning you down between your shoulderblades, the claws of it pressing against you in unspoken warning. "It's about time," Smaug rumbles in a smug tone as you lay there, for just a moment too shocked to even think as he slowly traces the cool metal claws of his other forepaw along the skin of your back and side. "Your cunt's been wet ever since you turned me on, 'Mistress', and it's about time I gave you that good, hard fucking you've very clearly been gagging for since the moment you saw me," he adds with a low, thrumming chuckle that you can feel go right through your chest. At the same time you can feel those claws hook into the waistband of your pants and smoothly pull them down over the curve of your ass and past your hips, baring your rear and your (admittedly very wet) pussy.\n\nYou reflexively look back, and your eyes widen at the sight of the thing jutting between your legs. Heiloh mentioned it was 'modular', and the artificial penis she installed wound up rather appropriate for the name you chose for him, since it's clearly based on a draconic member. The whole thing is a rich purple color, the head tapering to a blunt point, while the rest of it is made up of bulges separated by thick molded veins, with a long series of ridges running along both top and bottom. \n\n"Now, be a good girl, 'Mistress'. Spread your legs and lift your ass so I can really stuff that needy wet hole of yours," Smaug rumbles, brushing the tip of his tail along the line of your jaw.\n\n<hr>\n[["Double anchovy pizza!"|ChiGH]]\n\n[["Triple anch-, no, double pineapp-, fuck, I mean-!"|ChiGH6x5]]\n\n[[Be a good girl, spread your legs, and lift your ass.|ChiGH]]

"We'll head home for now, so you can get the lay of the land," you reply, altering course a little to head more in the direction of the departure annex.\n\n"Mm, indeed," Smaug rumbles in a pleased tone.\n\nYou glance at him a little curiously. It's obvious that Heiloh either already activated his personality subroutines or they were keyed to activate if you named him anything other than 'Cutlass', but he's definitely very... assured. Well, you guess that goes with the whole look, really, you muse as the two of you walk through the winding labyrinth of closed cubicles until you find one that's not on cooldown. Tapping in the direct coordinates for your apartment (and keying in the security code that lets you port directly into a residence, since it's registered as your residence), you step through and into the space in the living room you always keep clear for just that reason, though you hurry a bit to make sure there's also room for Smaug to come through. "Well, this is my place. Our place, I guess," you add with a glance around. "Welcome home, I suppose?"\n\n"Mmmn." Smaug turns his head back and forth, mecha-rabbit ears lifting a bit and twisting as he takes it in. "Yes, show me more of our place."\n\nOkay maybe you need to get the app out and tweak his personality a little. But that seems like something to do while he's on standby and charging. For the moment you shrug out of your coat and hang it up by the door, then indicate the kitchenette area, and walk him down the hall to tell him which room's the bathroom (you guess that might be relevant, he'll need to clean off too occasionally you guess), and then show him into the armory. "I had to put your charger in here," you note, gesturing to the inductive charger panel now on the floor with part of it pressed up to the wall. "Since I already reinforced the wiring for charging weapons and the security system and all."\n\n"Mmmn, I see," Smaug rumbles, glancing around the room in a rather thoughtful manner, before coiling his tail through the air to point the tip at the door directly across the hall. "And that room?" he asks, indicating your bedroom.\n\n<hr>\n[["Ah, yeah, I can show you."|ChiGH6x4]]\n\n[["Nevermind that for now."|ChiMak2x1]]

"A nice intimidating name to go with that look," you add in an amused tone.\n\n"Registration entry 'Smaug' confirmed," the drone rumbles in that deep, powerful masculine voice, now somehow sounding more confident and natural than before.\n\n"... You know if you wanted to sell him back-" Heiloh starts.\n\n"No, no, I'm good." You shoot her an amused look, then clear your throat. "Alright, Smaug, let's go." 'Before Heihei completely soaks through her panties, if she's wearing any,' you add to yourself.\n\n"Yes, Mistress," he rumbles, falling into step behind you as you leave the shop.\n\nAs you walk through the Guildhall with him, you definitely notice a lot of shocked and awed reactions as you're passing by, even a few yelps of shock as someone apparently gets that backbrain response of 'Reaper!' before processing the differences. And, y'know, the fact that you're not being surrounded by whitesuits blasting Smaug to smithereens. Still, you notice that you're being given a considerably wider berth than usual, most of the other mercs passing around you and staring a bit, sometimes with a mixture of fear and almost reverence. 'Damn, this must be what it's like to be the Bloody Claws,' you think rather smugly, unable to resist the urge to reach back and run a hand along the top of Smaug's armored head.\n\nHe lets out a soft rumble that admittedly sends another bit of a thrill through you, before he says, "Not to step out of place, Mistress, but what exactly are we going to do?"\n\nOh, right. You were enjoying strutting through the Guildhall showing him off so much you kind of forgot to have a destination in mind. Well, there's two obvious things to do... you can either immediately take a job, and put Smaug to the test out in the field, or you can take him back to your apartment on Makarzia to show him around before deciding what to do next.\n\n<hr>\n[[Take a job.|ChiGH]]\n\n[[Take him home.|ChiGH6x3]]

"I mean it's gonna give at least a little 'Reaper' impression and be scary no matter what you do to it," you note, putting your fingertips on the top of the inactive drone's head and wobbling it around just a bit. "May as well make it scary on purpose."\n\n"Hm. Guess if I put my mind to it I can come up with something in the vein of 'scary but not actually a Reaper'," Heiloh says after a moment of considering. "Okay, let's go do some paperwork, then I'll get to work on it. Should take me a day or two, maybe a little longer since I'm gonna hafta ponder over some design decisions."\n\n"I'll trust to your artistic vision," you reply wryly as you follow her back to the counter.\n\nIt winds up being more like a week, which you spend mostly taking jobs to try and build your work expense account buffer back up... okay, admit it, it's as much about distracting yourself from being so excited and anxious to get your new toy. You wanna get it and play with it! ... By which you mean pretty much killing people with it, but y'know, blend work and play, all that jazz. Eventually you get the call from Heiloh that the drone is done, and try not to be too overly eager about rushing over to pick it up.\n\nOnce you're in front of it, you can't find a more suitable immediate reaction than letting out a long whistle of appreciation. Heiloh actually did a great job on blending making the drone look scary while making it not look at all like the typical traits of a Reaper. For one thing, despite its paint job being dark, it's got a very noticeable sheen of purple and scarlet gleam in it along with some authentic glittery sparkles. It's also got a very obvious decorative ridge of spines running down its back and the back of the rather thick sectioned tail she's given it. That and the new head armor with its red optics (including making the center one more diamond-shaped) and the golden "grill" of teeth gives it a much more draconic appearance, with the 'bunny ears' style sensors on the sides of its head angled for a rather hornlike look. Those and the big clawed feet definitely give it a thoroughly predatory, mean look while simultaneously being way too stylish and caring about form factor to say 'Reap Drone'. "Damn, Heihei, you outdid yourself."\n\n"I really kind of did," Heiloh says in a sheepish tone, brushing a fingertip along her cheek. "I wound up going waaay overboard on the price I quoted you, because once I got into it I just couldn't stop." She shrugs a bit as you give her a slightly dubious look. "Hey, my problem not yours, I'll eat the difference. We already signed the paperwork after all. Anyway, I wound up loading it up with a fair few fun toys like a stealth system, hacking package, enhanced tracking protocols and sensors, and an experimental sonic weapon I've been working on. If you could come back to me after a few jobs and tell me how that worked and share the data from the drone's banks, I'd appreciate it and probably call it even on the extra expenses."\n\n"Hm, 'kay, fair enough. Thanks, Heihei!"\n\n"Alright, I'll go ahead and transmit its auth codes and control panel app to your comm," Heiloh says as she takes out her own and starts tapping it. "Oh, and by the way, I did need to give it a fairly assertive AI package to properly control all its new systems, so juuuust in case, the voice code to force it into standby mode is 'Double anchovy pizza'."\n\nYou blink, eyeing her. "Why in the world is the shutdown phrase 'double anchovy pizza'?"\n\n"Is that something you can ever picture yourself saying on accident?"\n\nYou open your mouth. Close it. Think for a moment. Then nod as you open the new app on your comm, tapping the button to begin the startup sequence. "You know what, fair enough." Because in this great wide multiverse while you're certain that there's a fair few people out there that have that as their regular pizza order, you are definitely not one of them.\n\nThere's a low, almost sibilant powerup thrum followed by a soft, steady, almost subconscious rumble as the drone's optics glow to life, the one in the center of its forehead swirling and pulsing like it was bubbling with blood, or maybe molten metal. The drone slowly rises to all four feet, its tail giving a slow, smooth, meticulous sway back and forth, before it says in a low rumble of a voice that, admittedly, hits your ears and runs down your spine in a shiver to throb you right in the pussy, "Cutlass drone is online. Please enter designation."\n\n"... Nice vocoder," you murmur aside to Heiloh without looking away from the drone.\n\n"Yeah I... spent some time on that one," she murmurs back, making you seriously start to wonder about her preferences.\n\n"Please enter designation," the drone repeats. Maybe it's your imagination, but it sounds a bit more insistent than before.\n\n<hr>\n[["We'll stick with 'Cutlass'."|ChiGH]]\n\n[["How about... 'Smaug'?"|ChiGH6x2]]

"Yeaaah I think you've got me misfiled, see it sounds like you've got me under 'hero who willingly walks into deathtraps' and I'm really more of a 'kill people until she gets what she wants mercenary'," you announce, drawing your sword rather than handing it over. \n\n"Duly noted. File updated. Kill her," the Secretary replies, not a single variance of tone in either of those three phrases.\n\nOne of her guards is quicker on the draw than the others, gun out, pointed, and firing before the Secretary has even turned to face her car. The thought 'Shit, if she can do it' doesn't actually have time to go through your mind, but it's maybe been hanging out in the background for awhile, and your sword snaps out more on instinct than anything else. You can feel an impact in the blade... then two other impacts, one low down that flaps part of your coat out and the other that hits high on your shoulder, glancing enough not to penetrate the armored cloth but enough to jerk you back. 'Okay, clearly need more practice before I try that shit,' you think as you throw yourself behind some nearby steps, more bullets pinging off the sidewalk around you and cracking into the concrete wall the handrail is set into as the brakelights of the luxury car light up and it cruises off at speed.\n\nThere's a shriek of tires as the stolen speeder whips around the corner at slightly too-high speed... you thought at first, until it banks into the drift and fishtails enough to smash its side into the guards, sending battered and broken bodies flying. You throw your sword into the sheath and jump to your feet, darting forward and leaping through the passenger window, the tires howling again as the accelerator is stomped and sends you soaring after the now rapidly retreating luxury car. You scramble to sit upright, giving your head a shake. "Shit, girl, you're a helluva driver for a sword saint."\n\n"Grandfather believes in a well-rounded education," Miranda replies in a mock-prim tone, one corner of her mouth curved up in a smirk as a hand darts down from the wheel, fingers dancing over the engine settings console between and forward of the seats. The gap between the two cars begins to close, but it's obvious that between its sleek, fashionable hood the luxury car's just as much of a street demon as the stolen black-and-yellow-neon dart the two of you are driving.\n\n'Yeah well we could have gotten a faster one but I wanted a sunroof,' you think as you hit the control to open the top panel, tossing your sword into the back seat as you move to stand on the center console, slipping the revolvers out from behind your back. You fire repeatedly, the cylinders moving with quick snaps and no pause... and the bullets striking both chassis and window alike with harmless visible tinks. "Shit! That thing's a tank!" you snarl as you drop back down to your seat. "I fuckin' hate how much money that big red asshole has!"\n\n"So now what?" Miranda asks, drifting around a corner as the luxury car does the same ahead, albeit with less finesse and what looks like its tires on one side coming close to leaving the pavement.\n\nYou scowl, thinking furiously. The route, the route... shit, the driver's gonna cut through Eight Points. This time of night it will be full of unlicensed street vendors, sex sellers, and professional loiterers. The Secretary's probably hoping once you realize her intent, you'll back off... but part of you says that no matter which of the seven other streets she decides to take, that heavy car won't be able to make the turn if you're too close on its ass to let it slow down enough. ... Which means, of course, that between the speeds involved and the flipped car, 'collateral damage' goes from a possibility to a certainty. \n\n<hr>\n[[Stay close in.|Kai]]\n\n[[Block its access.|Kai4x13]]

"The best version of mysELF!" Makoto squeaks as you lean in to kiss the side of his neck, then blushes even more when he realizes that he wound up blurting out 'Elf!' "U-um, what's that mean?"\n\n"Well," you say as you stand up, grinning. "It's the you that will make you happiest, and the most content. The you that's most likely to live a peaceful and good life."\n\n"Oh." He blinks, then smiles. "Well, that sounds pretty nice!"\n\n"Mm-hmmm." You grin at him as you tuck your hands into your jacket pockets again. "Earth is a peaceful place... growing up a peaceful way seems for the best. Anyway, I'll see you in one year, alright?"\n\n"It's a promise, Sipha-neechan!"\n\nAnd so it goes. The next year you show up, repeating your incantation. Makoto already seems a bit happier and healthier, so it looks like the cultivation spell has properly taken hold and is working. It's just small changes over a long period of time, but then humans do grow so fast, you think as your visits go by. Sometimes it makes you a little sad to think that Makoto will be gone one day... watching as he grows, getting older and coming into his own, makes you wonder what it will be like when he has to one day... well. No use thinking about things like that, since it still won't be any time soon, you comfort yourself. After all, he seems to be growing up healthy, and happy, and very beautiful too, for that matter. You do notice, on both your yearly visits and your occasional passthroughs just to peek in on how he's doing, that he doesn't really seem to be the sort to play the more rough-and-tumble games, even if he does seem hale of body now, preferring to sit back reading or coloring... you do notice that other kids seem to come to him for their scrapes and sprained knees and arguments when an adult isn't available though, which makes you laugh a bit to yourself. 'Makoto, you're turning into the playground mom!'\n\nBut watching Makoto's peaceful, happy life as he grows and comes into his own is something that brings a calm and warmth to your heart you never knew you were missing. Your life before you came to Japan was full of training and the ever-looming idea of combat, fighting to topple the demon king and save your world... your life after was a sort of cooldown from that, filled with the distractions that its pleasures could offer. The distractions and pleasures are still a lot of fun... but you're kind of glad that you've found a little bit more. This is more than just not being at war anymore, this is... contentment. 'What will I do when he's gone someday, though?' you can't help but fret every so often.\n\n"Sipha-neechan, what's wrong?"\n\n"Oh. Oh, nothing." You shake your head, giving Makoto a smile, realizing the worry had actually made its way onto your face. "Just thinking of stuff... way off in the future, I guess."\n\n"Oh that's right, Sipha-neechan, you're an elf... I mean, I know you're an elf, of course," he says with a soft, sweet laugh, putting a hand to his mouth as he does. "It's just... I guess I hadn't really thought of how that meant you'd live a really long time. How long... I mean, if it's not rude?"\n\n"How long do we live? No, it's fine. Well, Shadow Elves used to live to be about 800, but that was when the demon king had control over the castle where our race's soul crystal was... it's a long story," you truncate with a grin since you'd noticed how wide his eyes were getting. "Ah, to be honest, between the fall of the demon king and coming to this world, I really don't know how long I'll live. I mean, it could be forever, really."\n\n"Well. If you live forever, Sipha-neechan, I hope you have way more happy days than unhappy days," Makoto says after thinking about it for a bit, giving you a winning smile. "And I hope the happy days are all bigger and brighter than the unhappy days."\n\nLaughing softly, you shake your head. "... You're the best, Makoto." 'I'll miss you one day.' "Ah, by the way, I'm pretty sure that this will be the last spell."\n\n"Really? The last one?"\n\n"Yeah. The last of the changes will happen soon, and any big final changes the spell needs to make will take place this year."\n\n"I see." Makoto thinks of that a bit, then smiles brightly. "Well... that just means that next year when we meet, it can be the start of us being close friends!"\n\nYou feel a bright warmth in your chest, and give a single nod. "I'd really like that. Alright... in one year we'll meet again, and after that, no more spending long times apart."\n\n"Yes!"\n\nPart of you says that it's foolish to pledge to not just keep up your association with Makoto, but to deepen it and strengthen it, knowing that one day you'll lose it. But you can't bring yourself to think otherwise... in a way, it feels like you grew up along with Makoto, despite being almost 143 when you met. That first part of your life feels like you were just waiting to start this time of peace and happiness and contentment, and growing into a better-rounded person. Since you met him, saw him tend to others and ease their pain, you've been inspired to get out of your apartment more, volunteer your time, do little things as you can using your abilities. You've made other connections too, even as each time you worry what you'll do when you lose those connections. But whether it's a kid needing an understanding and semi-immature neechan to talk to or an old granny with no one else to talk to, you still make the connections, because Makoto showed you how wonderful they can be.\n\n'I think maybe the best friendship of my life starts today,' you think as you make your way to the meeting point, on the lookout for white hair. When you spot it though, you pause... it's white hair, sure, and long like Makoto had been letting it grow, but there are some very feminine braids in it... and the person with it is wearing a blue silk blouse and a long tan skirt, as well as holding a purse in one hand. But if the clothing made you doubt, the pink eyes and the prettier, but still recognizable face removes any doubt. Even as you watch, she smiles and raised her free hand up over her head, a bird that had been fluttering nearby alighting on her fingertips as if she were some sort of princess out of a cartoon. "M-... Makoto?"\n\n<img src="images/Makoto2.jpg">\n\n"Ah?" She turns her head towards you, the movement sending the bird flitting away, and her face lights up with a smile. "Sipha-neechan!" She hurries over, putting her arms around you and hugging tightly. "I'm so happy to see you! It feels like it's been much longer than the other times!"\n\n"Makoto..." Still in a bit of shock, you hug her back before drawing back and looking her up and down. "Are you... okay with this? This sort of change?"\n\n"Oh, yes." Makoto smiles, letting out a soft laugh as well, fingertips touched to her delicate lips. "I'm very okay with it. I might not have even realized it until this past year, but... it's definitely what I needed to live my peaceful, happy life. A life I very much hope you will be involved in!"\n\n"Yeah. Yeah, definitely," you murmur, smiling now.\n\nShe returns your smile, then her eyes light up, her hands moving to grip yours. "Sipha-neechan, please, come meet my boyfriend! I'm so excited to introduce the two of you!"\n\nThat gets a laugh out of you. "Sure! Let's go!" You just smile as she leads you along by one hand, giving her delicate pale one a squeeze. One more person to meet that will be gone someday, but that's okay.\n\nYou'll enjoy it while it lasts.\n\n<hr>\n[[Game Over.|SiphaKidsM1xEnd]]

"Yeah, you're right," you say with a sigh. "As weird as this is, I guess we better stick together and figure it out."\n\n"Yes. Ah, here, let me help with that. There's not a lot of good ways to clean up," he says suddenly, squatting down and resting his hands on your waist.\n\n"Huh?! H-hey, what's mmmf," you squeak, squeezing one eye a bit closed as he starts dragging his tongue over the front of your crotch and belly, lapping up the cum he'd sprayed there earlier rather shamelessly. You nibble at your thumbnail, really torn between stopping him and the fact that somehow having your son lick his own cum off one of your more intimate places hits a kinky part of your brain you never knew existed. \n\nAfter a few moments he straightens up, giving you a slightly impish smile before resuming his businesslike attitude. "Oh, I suppose I'll need a name, since I don't remember my own."\n\n"Oh, right, a name huh." You consider, then shrug, trying to ignore how your tits wobble... and slosh, just a bit. Dammit, they must still be filling. "How about we just use something temporary, in case you rediscover your own name? Like 'Shota'."\n\n"Well I don't see any real 'con' to that," he says blandly, then smirks a bit as you give him a light smack on the shoulder. "Alright, let's begin at the beginning. You remember that cell you woke up in?"\n\n"The empty little metal room, yeah," you agree, folding your arms under your chest and doing your best to act as comfortable with nudity as your new son seems to be.\n\n"That's sort of your 'spawn point', you'll return there if you get bad ended somehow, usually with your memories and self a little bit damaged. It's also a kind of 'safe room'... other prisoners or constructs can't enter it without your express permission. It's sort of the one place in the simulation that you 'own', though you don't have any power over it like Roomlords do."\n\n"'Roomlords'?" you echo, raising your eyebrow at the slightly pretentious name.\n\n"It's just what I came up with to call them, alright? They're either constructs that were designed to run the simulations inside the rooms, or they're other prisoners that have taken over vacant rooms and turned them into their domain. They have a great deal of power inside of their rooms... think of it as a limited area admin access. Not superadmin, since most of them can't just snap their fingers and get out either, but inside their little sub-simulations they're the rulers."\n\n"So the rooms are all their own weird, probably pervy simulations, either designed by the Pervcursors themselves, or by the twisted residents that have wound up in here over the millenia," you murmur, Shota nodding along in affirmation. "Why go in the rooms at all then, why not stick to the halls?"\n\n"A variety of reasons. For one thing, rooms are the only way to find certain amenities... bathing, beds, food. You won't get sick or die from not doing any of those things in the simulation, but it does grow gradually more mentally and physically uncomfortable once you start realizing you've gone without those things for a long time," Shota explains. "For another, I highly suspect that at least some of the sub-simulations do have methods that could be used to access the system and exit ourselves from it, a form of higher access. I know for sure I've never found any sort of system that would do it out in the halls, and some of the Roomlords have at least insinuated, truthfully or not, that they know of such exits. But finally, the halls aren't actually safe either."\n\n"They have their own hazards, huh?"\n\n"Yes. Other prisoners or constructs... it sometimes becomes difficult to tell which are which... roam the halls too, and a lot of them have long since come to enjoy their stay here since it gives them opportunities to prey on other prisoners. For example, there are at least several packs of Raptarrans that wander this area primarily, though they will occasionally venture into some of the other hallway areas."\n\n"Great," you grumble, rubbing your face.\n\nShota takes a moment to look around, then says, "If I recall correctly, there are a handful of doors near here that lead to familiar simulations. One is a [[Halloween simulation|PervSim]] with a number of areas... I have a suspicion there may be an outlet somewhere in there, since it's so expansive, but I couldn't say where it might be, all my ventures in there ended with being bad ended. There's another that's a [[candy factory|PervSim]], and its roomlord seems to be quite knowledgeable, she might know of a way out, but what she'd want for that knowledge I can't say. There's another that's, rather simply, an [[orgy|PervSim]], filled with who-knows-how-many prisoners and constructs of all different types."\n\nYou quirk an eyebrow at that. "That doesn't sound very useful to getting out."\n\n"No, it isn't, but... like I said, sometimes needs need to be met," Shota admits with a shrug, his now mostly-soft cock giving a visible little twitch as he apparently thinks about it. "The simulation definitely seems to stimulate your libido and gradually ramp it up the longer you go without sex. Escape being molested long enough, and eventually you'll either need an outlet, or you'll let yourself be caught."\n\n"Figures," you mutter, making a face.\n\n"We can try to [[venture further into the simulation|PervSim]] where there are different rooms, but I'm guessing that if we leap right to trying to explore, the simulation will probably throw something at us as part of its 'introduction'. It might settle down a little if we [[returned to your safe room|PervSim]] for a time before leaving."

Maybe all those birthgasms fried your brain a bit, because when you raise your arms instead of using them to shove off this strange offspring you've created, you wrap one around his back and start stroking his rich, dark brown hair that matches yours with the other. Your legs shift up and slide apart as he grows, and with just a bit of him wiggling and moving atop you, he slides himself back inside the dripping wet pussy he came out of not ten minutes ago.\n\nYou moan loudly at the feel of him inside you, and can feel him give an almost identical moan around your breast as he starts pumping his hips. You wrap your legs gently around your son, clasping him to you as he starts fucking you gently, his young hips stroking eagerly, his cock getting steadily larger and thicker inside you as he does his best to drain your heavy, milk-filled tits. Eventually though he simply tucks his head between your breasts and concentrates on thrusting, your moans low and steady and shameless as your own offspring fucks your sensitized, tightened pussy to several more orgasms.\n\nEventually he straightens up, pulling out of you and giving himself a few strokes, his slender chest moving with quick breaths as he splatters a load of cum all over your belly and crotch. He looks like he might be at least thirteen now, his body lean but a bit toned, reminding you of the otter-like build of your brothers at a similar age. "You'll still be rather fertile for a while," he says in a breathless voice. "Can't risk starting up a sort of infinite loop."\n\n"Uh... yeah," you reply in a dazed tone. You just lay there for a moment trying to get your wits about you as he gets to his feet, cock about half-soft now and wobbling around in front of him. After a moment you get to your own feet, trying to ignore the wobble of your still larger-than-usual breasts and the feel of his cum dribbling down your skin. "I... uh... who are you?"\n\n"Well you mean besides the obvious?" he says in a dry tone, even the delivery and his voice reminding you of both yourself and some of your male relatives. Then he shakes his head. "Sorry, I'm still adjusting to this body and mind. I'm a prisoner in this simulation, like you."\n\nThat makes you blink. "Simulation?"\n\n"That's right. This is some kind of immersive computer simulation the ancient race built. They've filled it with concepts and ideas they've gathered from across the galaxy, maybe the multiverse, as well as other prisoners."\n\n"... That 'server room'!" you blurt, slamming a fist down on your palm. "I'd somehow almost forgotten, they vacuum-sealed me and stuck me in here!"\n\n"That's right, though I think it's not the only way to get in. But once you are in, it's almost impossible to get out."\n\nYou think that over for a few moments, then frown and look at him again. "But who are you really, and why did you have to have such a... weird... way of explaining all this?"\n\n"I can't remember." At your dubious look, he just shrugs again. "Sorry, but it's the truth. If you go into the rooms, you can encounter bad ends... it's possible to get out of them, but they chip away at who you are until you start to lose yourself. I realized that was happening to me, and I came up with the idea to load what was left of myself into this," he says, gesturing at the cobbled-together thing from the wall, which now seems thoroughly dark and used-up somehow. "Essentially it was meant to rebuild my lost data using that of someone else, you in this case."\n\n"... So it's like you really are my... son?" you say slowly, staring at him.\n\n"I... suppose." He nods once, blushing and rubbing the back of his head. "Either way, I think we should be in this together. I'm not sure how much I retain about the sim-prison in my memories, but it's definitely better than nothing, right?"\n\n<hr>\n[[Right.|PervSim7x3]]\n\n[[No, this is too weird.|PervSim]]

There's really no way to get around it... you need to know what the hell is going on, and right now taking a (lewd) risk to figure that out is the best option you have. You're just gonna hafta sorta... take this as it comes.\n\n... Possibly literally.\n\nAfter a moment more's hesitation, you tuck a hand between your legs, giving a soft 'mmf' as you start stroking your fingers over yourself a bit. No particular rush, so... may as well get ready a bit. Though it's definitely embarrassing to be standing there naked, rubbing your pussy, in what looks and feels a lot like a public hallway. And while looking at the strange, phallic object you're getting yourself ready to put in. You occasionally glance around guiltily, as if you might be caught at any moment, trying to muffle the desire to moan a bit as your admittedly well-honed masturbation skills are put to work.\n\nAfter a few minutes you've gotten yourself sufficiently wet that you think you're ready. "God, here we go," you grumble as you turn and slowly lower yourself to the improvised 'seat', reaching down to spread your pussylips open as you settle over the tip of it. You give a low "mmmf" as you slide yourself down onto it, vaguely wishing you'd taken the time to actually masturbate this morning before leaving for the Guildhall... if you had this might not feel so annoyingly good. It's not particularly lengthy, so it's not long before you're settling to sit fully on the horizontal-turned wall panel, your plumped-up pussylips and bare ass cheeks slightly compressed against the cool metal. "Okay, fine, now what?" you mutter, turning back and forth a bit to look down at the wires and cables.\n\nAs if in answer, there's a whirring and buzzing as if of motors, causing both the seat plate and the phallus inside you to start vibrating lightly, making you yelp and blush even more than before. Which is nothing to when the phallus starts slowly, steadily extending inside you. You squirm a little but not too much, afraid to actually move a lot with how deep it seems to be going. Apparently the material is frictionless, though, because it has no problems pushing deeper, and deeper. You have just a moment of panic when you can feel it gently, steadily pushing something open inside you, realizing that now you really can't get up until it's done.\n\nA soft chnka-chnka-chnka starts up from somewhere in the wall, echoed faintly by something beneath the seat, and you grow further concerned as you can just make out something being pumped through the main tube coming out of the wall. Sure enough you can soon feel yourself... filling, for lack of a better word, the sensation is so deep inside that it's hard to call it anything else. Sure enough that feeling starts to grow into a tightness as your flat belly gradually curves outward. You really can't do much but squirm and whimper as the improvised machine continues to fill your womb with whatever-it-is, slowly enough that it's not painful but quickly enough that you can actually see yourself expanding. Whatever it is, it definitely seems to be having an effect on the rest of you, because soon your pussy is drooling with arousal around the base of the phallus, a small puddle spreading out across the plate and dripping off the sides. Your tits start to feel more sensitive too, nipples growing harder than you think they've ever been, longer and thicker than you've ever seen them.\n\nThe thumping and rushing of the motor pumping you full of the strange liquid only stops when you look at least nine months pregnant, maybe at least half a month overdo. You shiver as the phallus slowly retracts from inside you, and you can stand up on wobbly legs. You'd expect a torrent of the stuff to come rushing out of you, but it just sloshes heavily inside, enough that you sort of half-controlledly crumple to your knees and then lay back, panting and resting both hands on your jiggle, swollen belly.\n\nGradually the feeling of wobbly, thick liquid inside you contracts and compresses, turning into a more solid feeling bit by bit. At the same time you can both see and feel your breasts getting larger and practically aching for a touch. With a shaking hand you give one a squeeze, moaning at the intense feeling of pleasure it sends through you... and a little squirt of milk that it sends through the air. "S-seriously?!" you blurt, then buck your hips with a loud yelp as your pussy suddenly flutters hard in an orgasm that had nothing to do with the touch.\n\nYou start cumming over and over again, until they're almost overlapping, your body trembling and eyes rolling. Your pussy is soon squeezing around something large and smooth that's sliding down it, far too large for you to manage and yet you are, and it doesn't even hurt, in fact its smooth surface sliding against your spasming, orgasming inner walls feels incredibly good. Your pussy starts to stretch open around something gleaming silver, gradually getting wider and wider, your body bucking and twisting, your enlarged tits actually spurting out streams of milk with how hard you're cumming. Finally the large silver egg drops free of you, wobbling away from your immensely gaping cunt as you drop limp to the ground, barely conscious, the sudden cessation of your orgasms almost as pleasurable at this point as having them was.\n\nYou're vaguely aware of your body as it slowly returns to normal... below the chest. You can actually feel your belly and pussy both tightening back up, growing snug and trim again as if you'd never been... gravid. Your tits, if anything, grow a bit larger as they further fill with milk, until your nipples are almost constantly leaking.\n\nWhen you hear a cracking noise, you raise yourself up a bit off the ground, finding you're still too exhausted to move much. The egg you laid has grown even larger it looks like... and as you watch it cracks fully open, silver shards falling to the floor and rapidly crumbling to dust. Your eyes widen as you see what's inside it... a boy. A human boy... one who looks so incredibly like you that even your reeling brain can't deny the obvious. You're not entirely sure what age, just "young". He looks around for a moment with bleary, slightly unfocused fire-colored eyes, then quickly spots you and crawls towards you. Almost before you've realized it he's settled himself peacefully on top of you and started suckling at one of your breasts, making you gasp loudly at how good it feels to be nursed from... a sort of mingling of pleasure and relief all at once.\n\nStill reeling and too tired to move much, you look down at him as he switches back and forth between your nipples, suckling from you greedily, and gradually getting visibly older all the while. His body starts growing taller and more developed... and you blush brightly as you can feel him starting to get hard against your belly, even his young cock starting to grow thicker and longer against you.\n\n<hr>\n[[Shove him off.|PervSim]]\n\n[[... Oh what the hell.|PervSim7x2]]

"Guys, why don't you go ahead and go to the barn with Phantom?" Red suggests at your mental nudge, grinning and tapping her thumb against her chest. "I'll have a talk with him and see if I can't get him to change his mind."\n\nThe other two murmur their assent before turning and heading for the building, with you padding along behind... once you've established a nice strong scrying spell on Red, of course, easy enough with the amount of control you already have over her. Though you're actually kind of curious to see what she does without you prompting her... she's the one who's been the most adoring of you, after all, even before all three of them got addicted to your cock. You're curious to see where this new development leads, so you leave your body on a sort of autonomous control, vaguely aware of the other girls building a fire, stripping naked, and rolling you onto your back so they can tongue-worshiping your sheath and balls. Meanwhile, Red is turning to the door and knocking politely again, gently bopping up and down on the balls of her feet and making her barely-contained breasts bobble as she waits.\n\nThe door opens, Rehn peeking out with just a bit of obvious annoyance again. "Um, yes? I'm sorry but I already explained-"\n\n"No, no, I get it!" Red hurriedly says, laughing a little and flapping a hand. "But I can at least come in for a minute, right? So we can talk about it? Maybe you can at least tell me about her so she doesn't seem so jealous, huh?"\n\nThat definitely tweaks his heartstrings a little, since he obviously knows how the rule sounds, and Rehn steps back to gesture her inside. "Yes, alright. Why don't you come in while I finish preparing your friends' dinner, and you can take it to them?"\n\n"Oh, that sounds good," the blonde says in her sunny tone, practically skipping inside, Rehn exercising a truly amazing amount of willpower and not looking at her ass as she goes past. Hm, this one could be trouble, you hope she can handle him. He turns back to the fire where he's got what looks like some stew in the pot, keeping his eyes on it as he adds a bit of salt.\n\n"Please get comfortable. You see, it's not that Leara is jealous, she's fine with me talking to female adventurers, or having them over when she's home, and she suggested the same go the other way, no groups of all-male adventurers in the house when she's here alone," he adds, glancing over with a satisfied smile.\n\n"Oh? Is she here alone often?" Red asks, once again bouncing on the balls of her feet, though this time with her hands clasped in front of herself, winding up seemingly innocently pressing her breasts up and together with her arms and emphasizing their jiggling.\n\nRehn quickly yanks his gaze back to the stew. "Ah, no, not really," he admits a little sheepishly after a moment. "That would kind of be bad, I guess, especially if someone didn't take 'no' for an answer."\n\n"Yeah that'd be bad," Red agrees casually as she starts untying her bikini bottoms. Hm, here we go, you think as you watch her sling them over the back of the chair, where they're soon joined by her top, and her cape.\n\n"Yes, it'd be nice if she had some training in combat, but there's nowhere around here to get good training, and-" Rehn cuts off as he looks up and spots the now essentially naked monster slayer sitting in a chair tugging off her boots. His jaw drops, and then his mouth opens and closes a few times before he splutters, "What are you doing?!"\n\n"Hm? You said to get comfortable," Red replies, glancing at him with a look of complete innocence on her face... one which you're amused to realize is largely sincere. "I'm getting comfortable, that bikini's kind of tight, y'know, and I've been wearing it a good long while."\n\n"Y-yeah, but you can't just... get naked in my home!" Rehn protests, torn between covering his own eyes and trying to maintain some sense of being in charge of the situation.\n\nRed lets out a merry, cheerful laugh at that, tugging her gloves off and dropping them on the table before standing and resting her hands on her round hips, now completely nude. "C'mon, we both know I was practically naked anyway! Is it reeeeally such a big deal that you can see my nipples now?"\n\n"Er, I uh, I mean... I don't really know how to answer that question!" the flustered farmer replies.\n\nRed giggles, her smile turning just a shade more sly as she raises her hands up and tucks them behind her head, swaying her upper body back and forth some to make her tits wobble. "Besides, you actually really wanted to see me naked, right?" Something about the way she says it makes your ears perk and pay even closer attention to the scene unfolding.\n\n"Wha-... hey! No, I didn't, that's just nonsense!" Rehn grouses, still torn between looking everywhere but at her and trying to make some sort of commanding eye contact.\n\n"Hmmmm..." Red puts a finger to her lips as she glances up thoughtfully. "No I reeeeally feel like you wanted to see what color my nipples were and what kind of pussylips I had. Look how cute and plump they are! ♥" she declares, leaning back and actually framing her pussy with her fingers, pushing her outer lips together more and emphasizing them, Rehn unable to help his gaze getting caught by the absolutely shameless display of body positivity. "I used to not like how they pushed out the crotch of my bottoms, but lately they've been getting a lot of positive attention! Oh, that smells done, I'll put it on the porch like you said earlier," she continues casually, breezing right past the shocked and staring Rehn to pick up a cloth and use it to heft the pot off the fire. "Then I'll come back and we'll fuck!" she adds cheerfully as she heads for the door, swaying her ass at him with every step.\n\n"W-w-what?! No, I don't want to, leave!" Rehn blurts.\n\n"Yes you do~!" Red calls back to him from the porch. Then she comes back inside, casually strolling over to Rehn and starting to undo the tie of his pants, while he fumbles awkwardly at her hands. "I just know that when you saw me you really, really wanted to fuck me."\n\n"Th-the ego on you! You're full of it, get out now!" the farmer demands, finally managing to grab her wrists just as she's about to pull his fly open.\n\n"Hm?" Red blinks her pretty blue eyes a few times, then smiles. "Okay, so say 'I don't want to fuck you'. But you have to be able to say it without hesitating or stuttering for it to count," she adds.\n\nRehn opens and closes his mouth several times, then says "I-I-I don't, I don't want, I don't-!"\n\n"Thought so!" the blonde chirps before dropping to her knees and ignoring the grip on her wrists to pull his fly open, his hard cock springing free and almost bapping her in the nose. "Ooooo! Hey, this is a really nice one! Your wife must really like it, huh, I bet that's why she wants to keep it all to herself," she coos, wrapping her hand around the fairly thick length and starting to stroke it, still giving Rehn the brightest, most easygoing smile as she does.\n\n"I... I... I..." the farmer repeats, having gone stock-still and just staring down at the naked, lewdly-proportioned adventurer as she gently pumps her hand over his cock.\n\n"Does she tell you how nice your cock is?" Red asks with gentle, genuine curiosity, even as she leans in and gives the tip of it a kiss, then kisses the side of the head as she asks, "Does she tell you how much she enjoys your cock? How much she wants you to fuck her all the time?"\n\n"Uh... I... n-no," Rehn murmurs, something in his brain having broken and reducing him to answering honestly as he stares down at Red. "I mean, she's sort of shy, s-so..."\n\nRed's smile grows more sultry, the glitter in her eyes more intent as she says, "But you really want her to, right?" She gives a soft, sucking kiss around the edge of the head as she angles it up with her hand, licking the indent in the underside before she adds, her voice growing huskier, "You want her to talk about your cock, don't you? You want her to say she loves how big and thick and hard it is, how she likes the shape, how good it feels inside her, you want her to come up to you and whisper in your ear how she wants you to fuck her hard and give her babies... doncha?" she adds sweetly, giving the shaft a quick kiss before leaning in to start licking and sucking at his balls, making a soft 'mmm' of pleasant enjoyment as she does.\n\nRehn doesn't seem to have any reply for that, but he does sag back against the nearby counter and rest his hands on it, moaning softly as Red strokes his cock and licks his balls. But you're far more interested in what's happening with her, really. Because especially that last statement indicates that the Mark might be transforming her into a Wishmaster. You've never heard of a Mark of Moral Degeneration turning a mortal into that particular kind of monster before... Wishmasters are very rare crossbreeds of Djinn and Succubi, both monster types that don't actually reproduce that often, and certainly not with each other. While they don't (necessarily) grant wishes outright, they are very adept at intuitively grasping and understanding the secret desires of mortals and making them happen. You suppose if Red had a very deep and natural drive to help others, and was mostly held back from fulfilling certain obvious desires of theirs by what she thought was socially acceptable, the Mark certainly could turn her into a Wishmaster. But if so that would make her an incredibly useful asset at corrupting members of the mortal races and possibly making them your servants!\n\nAh, don't want to miss too much of the show while you're waxing maniacal, though. Red is now bobbing her head over Rehn's cock, making all sorts of 'mm!' and 'ooooo' noises in her throat as she does as if she couldn't possibly enjoy anything more. He's sagged back agains the counter, his face practically slack, an expression like Red is gradually sucking every last bit of his self-restraint out through his cock. But he doesn't completely crumble until she slips it out of her mouth again to cheerfully suggest, "Ooo, hey, would you maybe like me to teach your wife to compliment your cock? We could both suck it together, and I could give her tips! And then maybe the two of us could do some fun stuff with each other while you watch!"\n\nWith that the last of Rehn's resistance crumbles to dust, and he moans out an "Oh fuck yes!"\n\nSoon after the two of them are in the farmer's marriage bed, Red moaning and gasping happily as the married man pounds into her from behind, making her ass jiggle with every slam of his hips. Rehn's bangs have fallen forward to shadow his upper face, an almost bestial look curling his lips and baring his teeth as he fucks her as hard as he can, as hard as he's ever wanted to fuck every woman he ever wanted to fuck, and with Red loving it as much as he's ever wanted all of those women to love it. She begs for more, she shakes her hips like a whore, she tosses her head and drools and acts like he's driving her completely insane with pleasure with his cock, and in the moment you're actually fairly certain she's not acting, she's just being the cock-hungry slut he's secretly wanted deep in his heart ever since his lust began to emerge in long-ago hormone-flooded days. He's fucking her with the force of every day lived as a teenage boy and she's clearly hungry for more.\n\nOh yes Red will be a very valuable ally to you! Hm, now let's see, to go ahead and put the Mark of Moral Degeneration on Rehn as well? He's broken and lusty enough at the moment that it would essentially be instantly effective, skipping weeks or even months worth of development and turning him into a loyal if fuck-crazed slave, willing to do anything as long as you could keep him regularly supplied with holes. Or you could basically send him into overcharge with a mana infusion that he'd pass on to her as she fulfilled his desires, making Red's transformation into a Wishmaster occur immediately rather than over the next few months or even years.\n\nOr... you could just let her have her fun. You almost kind of feel like you owe her... not that Saruko didn't do her part too (especially since she's currently tonguing your knot with it fully inside her mouth while Litarii tongue-fucks your asshole), but Red has consistently been your most ardent supporter and... well, 'friend' you guess you could say, right from the start of this whole business with traveling with the trio. It might not be so bad to just let her live her best life for now and allow things to develop as they will.\n\n<hr>\n[[Put the Mark on Rehn.|IrMon]]\n\n[[Mana infuse Rehn.|IrMon]]\n\n[[Leave it be.|IrMon]]

"Hm. Well, tell you what, I'll give it a try," you allow after thinking things over for a few minutes. "I mean, if you really don't mind me crashing with you while I do."\n\n"Sure! I mean, I probably ought to tell you to at least try to find something to do with yourself while you're there, to, y'know, motivate you or whatever," Tass says airily. "But honestly I like you enough that I really don't care if you wind up just hanging out permanently. As long as you don't mess up my streams or anything, and I don't think you would!"\n\nWell that would seem to seal the deal, since barring somehow really ticking off one of the most chill people you know, you wouldn't have to worry about being stuck there if you fail to start paying rent or whatever. You spend the next few weeks explaining things to friends and family (with varying levels of truthfulness depending on how "in" they are) and getting your stuff packed up, some of it going to storage but most of it coming with you, since Tass assured you that your room in her apartment will be even bigger than your room at home. On the day of, Tass pops back in and spends a little while applying little disks with probably unnecessary RGB elements to them to your boxes, then snags you and hauls you in, practically shoving your face into her boobs.\n\n"Nice way to travel," you declare smugly, if a bit muffledly.\n\n"Yeah! Though you probably oughtta enjoy it since you won't get to do it much from now on," she notes.\n\n"Wha?" you say, but then she presses the button on the device in her hand. \n\nFwop.\n\nTassita doesn't quite shove you away in the aftermath of the shift, more like just sort of smoothly scoots you off of her and into standing nearby while you're still absorbing the interesting sensation of instantaneous interdimensional and spacial travel. You're in a large living area that, just by size and opulence of the furnishings, would be more appropriate to a mansion than an apartment, except that it's definitely got that slightly bland, vaguely liminal "apartment I'll move out of someday" feel of stock white walls and accoutrements and furniture designed to fit through doorways more than once. You glance around, then focus on Tassita, pursing your purple-painted lips slightly. "Nice place. Also what aren't you telling me?"\n\nTass clears her throat, but then on cue there's the sound of a door sliding open and closed from the direction of the foyer, and a highly surprising figure walks in. She's quite the respectable-looking individual, sleek and lean as a cat but wearing a suit as sharp as a knife. Her hair is a simple, obviously natural brown cut in a slight curve around shoulder level, the front tips of it almost as sharp as the shoulders of her jacket. She's very pretty, but her expression and the suit scream 'shark', with the only real allowance for femininity being that she's wearing a fairly snug skirt that does admittedly show off her trim hips (and probably her pert rear) very well, and shiny dark stockings hugging her long, svelte legs, though her pumps are practical and low-heeled.\n\n"Oh, so that's today, huh?" she says in a vaguely annoyed tone, looking at you with very cool blue eyes as if you were a cat she'd only allowed in the apartment after copious pleading about how you'd die pitifully otherwise.\n\n"Eheheh, Riley, meet Mira, my girlfriend," Tass says, gesturing back and forth between the two of you. "Mira, this is Riley, my new roommate."\n\n"Mm." Mira walks over, and lacking any other ideas you offer your hand to her. She eyes it just long enough to make it clear that she's conceding only out of pure social obligation by taking it and giving it a quick shake, before releasing it and immediately turning and walking away. "Try not to bother us, please."\n\n"... Well," you say, restraining any other comments you might make as you turn to Tass.\n\n"Sorry, Mira's sort of a, whattayacallit, 'tsundere', she can actually be really sweet in private. Sometimes," Tass allows with a shrug. "Though she's all 'tsun' and no 'dere' when it comes to guys, I'm afraid."\n\n"Ahhh," you note dryly, lifting your eyebrows. "So when you said 'the position of boyfriend is open'..."\n\n"The position of girlfriend is filled, yeah," Tass says with a breezy nod, as if that were all obvious and perfectly normal.\n\n"And how would she have felt about that?"\n\n"Mmmmmm," Tass mmms musingly, as if not having thought of it until that moment, cupping her chin and looking upward. "Prooooobably not thrilled? Like probably really pissed actually? ... But tee-bee-aych she's kind of fun when she's mad too."\n\n"Aha." Well that at least answers part of the question of how opposites attracted, Tass does have a bit of a masochistic streak. (You think that anyone who deals with several million members of Chat on a regular basis would have to.) "And how does what I can only presume is a gold star lebian corpo handle you streaming your casual sexual encounters with every sex and gender known to consciousness?"\n\n"Out of sight out of mind, I'm pretty sure," Tass says with another shrug. "She doesn't really watch anything that's not stock briefings or something. Though she does kinda punish me for it on occasion, I guess, and-"\n\n"Yeah yeah I get it, I get it, that's part of what makes it work."\n\n"Exactly! Anyway, I wouldn't exactly say that's whyyyyy I invited you, because all that other stuff I said was 100% sincere? But if you hanging around could wind up making my very uptight girlfriend loosen up a bit... or a lot... then absolute bonus, in my book."\n\n"Ahuh. And how am I supposed to do that?" you ask, putting your hands on your hips and cocking them a bit to the side.\n\n"Iunno, like I said, it's just a bonus thought. However you do it I'm sure it'll be super sexy and fun," she adds brightly. "Anyway, babes, your room is therrre," she coos, pointing at a doorway in the nearby hall. "So feel free to settle in and then start looking around the apartment or the building or the city or the planet or whatever, 'cause I've got meetings like all fucking day and into the night."\n\n"Awwww."\n\n"I know, hon, sorry, I really couldn't reschedule this stuff. But I've got tomorrow free except for doing like a short 'good morning' stream and a 'good night' stream so we can do something then if you wanna!" she chirps, before waving again and heading for the same presumed entryway that Mira came in by.\n\nWell. Darn. Although you guess you've got unpacking to do, you muse as you head into the room Tass pointed out. As promised, it really is a fair bit bigger than your bedroom at home, even if not utterly massive. But Tass has already installed a slightly high-tech-looking bed and a desk with local computer, and apparently all the walls and ceiling can project screens to watch stuff on whenever you want, so you've got the basics of life covered there.\n\nYou eye the stack of boxes, then flip a hand dismissively at them. Eh, later. It's your first day on an alien world in another dimension, you can't quite bring yourself to inflict the mundanity of unpacking on your timeline just yet. The question is, what are you going to do? Tassita's comment about exploring implied that there's fun to be found both in the apartment and the building, and travel around the city and even the planet is apparently routine enough that you can do it in an afternoon without much help. (Well, assuming Tass wasn't just being an airhead about the amount of help a complete newb to the planet might need, which is a mildly dangerous assumption.)\n\nOr you guess you could start considering what she said about her girlfriend, Mira. Reading between the lines, Tass would probably consider it pretty kinky and hot if you did something magical to, say, change Mira's perspective, since that's pretty in line with both what turns her on and her morals, tee-bee-aych. Probably the best thing to do for a peaceful life would just be to avoid Mira wherever possible from now until one of you exits the premises permanently... buuuut what's smart isn't always fun, and what's fun isn't always smart!\n\n... Hm. You dig around in the boxes for your spell chalk, and spend a few moments drawing a glyph on one of the walls while you're deciding. Once you're finished, you murmur a few words and make a few passes of your hand, and the chalk glows and then disappears. Basically the equivalent of a "fast travel" marker, so whatever you do, you don't have to worry about getting back on time. (Though in most cases you'd prefer to do it normally, since the longer the distance the more taxing it gets.) There, that done, now what?\n\n<hr>\n[[Let's explore the apartment!|Riley]]\n\n[[Let's explore the building!|Riley4x2]]\n\n[[Let's explore the city!|Riley]]\n\n[[Let's explore the planet!|Riley]]\n\n[[Let's mess with Mira!|Riley]]

Best play it safe, just in case they're in the middle of doing something delicate under the watchful eyes of a few hundred million people and forgot to silence their doorbell. Instead you turn and trot off down the hall, heading for the end of the floor which is set up as a sort of nice little atrium-esque area complete with a pair of pleasant little tables with chairs and padded benches along the back walls facing toward the windows, sort of like a shared balcony (just, y'know, completely enclosed). The floor-to-ceiling windows provide a great view of the city, and you spend a few minutes just looking out at... well, honestly, it looks like practically every sci-fi future city in every movie that has one. Sort of like a less pretentious and overbusy Coruscant with an actual ground, with vehicles zipping about on the streets and through the air, though not nearly as many of the latter, and most of them are moving well below the height of this floor, leaving you with a clear view of... er, well, mostly a lot of other really tall buildings.\n\nAfter a bit you decide to meander downward in the general direction of the shops, but take the stairs for a few floors, to get a little exercise and just to see if the other floors are pretty much the same as this one. Forty-nine and forty-eight appear to be identical after peeks into them, with end-of-floor atriums and two apartment doors. Forty-seven is the first one that's different, though, as you lean out of the stairwell to see. From the quality of light that's coming in it looks like there's an atrium at both ends, and the hallway has four doors instead of two. Gosh, you must have left the ultra-mega-super-rich area of the building and gotten into the only mega-super-rich area.\n\nAs you're taking a moment to bask in amusement at your own cleverness for that little quip, one of the doors slides open and a boy who's slightly more on the goth side than you trots out. He looks like he's probably somewhere in his mid-teens, albeit on the short and slender side, with messy dyed-black hair, a large number of spike and ball piercings in his ears, both a black dog collar and a thin chain link necklace with padlock pendant, and open-ended gloves with big decorative buckles on them, in addition to his oversized black t-shirt and baggy black jeans. He blinks red eyes (you wonder if they're contacts or if that's a simple cosmetic alteration here? or heck for all you know they're natural), then immediately adopts a smug, utlra-bratty look.\n\n"Oh heeeey, I bet I know who yoooou are! You're that tittymonster streamer's new roommate, hu~h?"\n\nYou raise your eyebrows. ... Okay, 'tittymonster' is an entirely accurate description of Tassita, but it still galls you a bit to hear some punk kid (not that you aren't also a punk kid, just an older and, to your mind, more respectable one) call her that. Deciding not to get huffy immediately, you instead say, "Yeah, I'm Riley, and you are...?"\n\n"I'm Ranger. My mom's Flora, the garden-to-table streamer, she's waaaaaaaaay bigger than the tittymonster," he declares smugly, folding his arms over his chest. You honestly kind of doubt that, considering she's on the smaller apartment floor and, if you're honest, you just can't imagine a farm-to-table streamer having the same following as a lewd one. (Also isn't it kind of weird for a farm-to-table streamer to live in the city anyway? Eh, alien world.) But he apparently decides to press things, and says, "But what're you doing down here, huh? Going around meeting the neighbors? Trying to make a good first impression? Heheh, maybe you think you'll make friends with me? Oooo, I bet you want me to call you 'onii~cha~n!' or something, riiight?" he coos in a syrupy sweet tone.\n\nThat does make you blink. The thought had, to be honest, never occurred to you. You do have younger siblings, after all, but despite being magical themselves they're both pretty normie-coded and straight-laced, so the thought of them (or anyone else) calling you such a thing had simply never crossed your mind. But Ranger seems to have taken your brief surprise for having scored a critical hit, as his smirk grows even wider, then he opens his mouth and pokes out his (pierced) tongue mockingly as he lays one black-nailed fingertip alongside it, incidentally also showing off his fang implants.\n\n<img src=images/Ranger.jpg>\n\n"Haha ohmigosh, did you actually like that? Did it turn you on or something? Did it make you hard? Fuckin' pervert! Gross! Gross!" he nearly sing-songs.\n\n... You kinda wanna teach this kid a lesson. Either the old-fashioned way (physically or via good old-fashioned spite) or possibly magically. The magic is especially tempting since there's this kinda-sorta rule that magic gets waaaay more effective on somebody if they essentially initiated some sort of mocking or aggression against you (thus how so many annoying people get cursed by little old ladies whose dog they kicked or whatever). On the other hand he's basically just being a brat, and do you really wanna rise to the bait of getting aggravated at some spoiled streamerbaby goading you?\n\n<hr>\n[[Punish him (physical).|Riley]]\n\n[[Punish him (psychological).|Riley]]\n\n[[Punish him (magical).|Riley]]\n\n[[Do not punish him (be an adult).|Riley]]

"Thanks, Vima," you answer, grinning and giving her a little wave with the tablet and a wink before you turn and head off. No need to hold up the line and try to monopolize her attention, you doubt that would endear you much, and you'd hate for her to lose that perky smile when she sees you.\n\nMaking your way over to the nearest seating area, you flop down to sit and open up the job listings, starting with the top level category.\n\n[[Retrieval|LeoJobListRetrieval]] - Basically, you go and get something or someone, and you bring it back to a place or person. It's a pretty broad category, covering everything from bounty hunting and stolen property retrieval to kidnapping and stealing. (The Guild doesn't make moral judgements about the jobs it lists.) \n\n[[Escort|LeoJobListEscort]] - No, not that kind of escort. (Well, generally not.) Like Retrieval, it's a fairly broad category that covers bodyguarding, transport security, arranging covert travel for VIPs, and even just straight-up guard duty.\n\n[[Task Completion|LeoJobListTask]] - Probably the very broadest of the categories, since it covers any sort of "go place, do thing(s)" jobs that don't fit in the other categories. It can either be quick money or a long, involved job, with pay compensating for time spent and complexity (or sometimes depravity).\n\n[[Removal|LeoJobListRem]] - And the narrowest category of jobs, because everything here is getting rid of something or someone. Everything is either vermin/monster removal jobs like the NP Bugs, assassinations, or "forced relocation". Well, very rarely there are jobs for destroying objects or places too, but those don't come up much. Virtually everything in here involves a... darker moral choice, unless it winds up just being about nonsentient monsters or creatures, like the NP bugs you just finished with. (But, as noted, those jobs don't usually pay nearly as much as the more morally ambiguous ones).\n\nHm. Alternatively to all of that, you could [[hit up your contacts|LeoFriends]] and see if anyone is doing anything interesting that they might like or need help with. It never hurts to network and strengthen your ties, and sometimes other people have already snagged fun (and profitable) jobs to share!

Nah, best not bother anyone else. You're new here, don't want to go coming off as disruptive... or worse, needy.\n\nSo after a few more moments of pondering, you sit up and unzip your shirt, shrugging out of it and tossing it aside, before similarly wiggling your pants down and toss them aside. You'll just go with what you've always kind of assumed is every guy's go-to when needing to calm down and settle themselves before sleeping. (It is, after all, one of the few things there's room to do in your Guildhall apartment, so hey.)\n\nEven that little bit of prepwork (which is admittedly more than you usually do, but you didn't bring sleeping pants or shirt this time) is pretty much enough to get you started, and a few strokes of your cock is enough to get it fully stiff. (Hey, it's great to be young and healthy, huh?) You lay back and start pumping your hand in a slow, steady motion. It's a calm, almost meditative jerk session in the end, mostly just laying back and not thinking about much at all, although maybe a few thoughts and memories... some of them of the views of the past few days... slip through your mind here and there. It takes a good long while that way, but then you're not exactly in a hurry. When you do finally cum, your cock twitching gently in your hand as you fire long ropes of white all over your belly, it's with a low groan of almost relief, but very lowkey and easy relief. You snag a couple of tissues from the dispensor on the nightstand and wipe yourself clean, then settle into sleep.\n\nOver the next week or so as the ship approaches the system, you get to know the others, and you'd say by the time you actually enter the Domian Region and start to approach the Alakan System proper. Nova seems to be every bit as friendly and largely easygoing as at first brush, just genuinely a really nice guy who loves his wife and is an absolute terror in a starfighter. Gem is a little bit more reserved, especially at first, though you notice her mood seems much improved whenever she comes back from a scouting mission... Nova mentions at one point she tends to be anxious being enclosed aboard a large, slow-moving starship like the Stellar Body for long periods, since she actually grew up on Saurion. Pulsar seems pretty easy to get along with, though he's definitely very much a forceful personality, strong-willed and projecting a lot of command almost all the time (which makes it interesting considering he's not the captain, though he and Nova don't seem to have any problems). Lu, on the other hand, is definitely on the shyer and more easy to even inadvertently push around side, but he seems a good guy and enthusiastic about helping out wherever possible, so it's easy to like him and do your best to avoid coming off as overbearing.\n\n"Alright, I think we've managed to approach relatively quietly, but once we start poking around in the system Comet will know we're here pretty fast, if he doesn't already," Nova notes at a meeting in the War Room one morning. "It's just a question of how fast, and if he thinks we're looking in the right places."\n\n"I think Comet himself is most likely somewhere on Alakan IV," Pulsar speaks up, tapping a button and projecting an image of the planet onto the main screen. "It has a number of unofficial 'free ports' that are major pirate dens, and Comet's been spotted there in the past, I don't doubt he has some contacts. In fact, I wouldn't put it past him that if he's planning to acquire a new ship somehow, he's down there right now recruiting a new crew for it."\n\n"That would be pretty smart of him," Gem muses aloud. "He could continue to issue orders to his old crew on the down-low, letting them keep their Guild certification and take Guild jobs, while he runs a non-Guildcert crew and does whatever he pleases while evading capture. Best of both worlds."\n\n"But any of us goes to Alakan IV and word's gonna get around about who's looking for Comet real fast," Pulsar points out a bit dubiously.\n\n"Not me." The others glance over at you as you speak up. "He can't have gotten more than a couple of passing glimpses of me back on Saurion, considering, and even if he did I'm close to being as generic as it goes as far as Human coloration goes. I change up my look even a little, he'd never have any clue I was connected to you guys."\n\n"That's a good thought," Nova agrees, nodding. "You can head down to the planet and investigate, maybe even pose as someone trying to join his crew, if we think that's a really strong possibility. The rest of us will investigate the other facilities and areas around the system where he might be lurking or looking into."\n\n"I think I've got some things that might fit you, Leo, just stuff I've picked up here and there and hoarded for whatever reason," Pulsar muses.\n\nYou follow the Leonavian back to his quarters and he shows you inside, before he heads over to what looks like a larger-than-usual closet. "What, keep stuff just to play dressup with visitors?" you call teasingly.\n\nPulsar glances over his shoulder, and for a moment you'd swear you see a wicked little glint in his eyes before he ducks into the closet. ... Well. Ahem. None of your business, probably. After a few moments he emerges and proffers a brilliant blue spacer jacket (largely similar to a motorcycle jacket, just with a few more clips and attachment points). You have to admire the choice as you move your dimensional pockets from your old jacket over to the new one and then shrug it on. The blue is not only more eyecatching than the old black, making it a strange move if you were trying to avoid attention, but subtly changes the impression of your skintone and eye color. ... Yeah Pulsar totally has some sort of dressup-related, ah, hobby. An impression only further reinforced as he produces several dyecombs and helps you with putting streaks of red and purple in your hair.\n\n'I guess everyone does eventually turn into their parents,' you muse in amusement as you eye your reflection in the mirror. But yeah, you definitely look different enough in the blue jacket and with the paint strips that it's changed up enough of the visual cues that non-Humans especially would use to identify you.\n\nSoon you've boarded one of the unmarked starfighters and set off for one of the port cities suggested by the others. Confirming suspicions, when you say you're here to conduct "private business", any entry fee or ID requirements there might be just don't get mentioned, instead only informing you of the minor fee for a docking berth. Yeah that's about as close as you're getting to a full pirate freeport without it just being declared as such. Soon you're wandering through a city that's rather dirty, slightly ramshackle, and noisy with the sounds of revelry that accompany a lot of spacers trying to cram as much as they can into a few days of shore leave before they're stuck in fully recycled air for another few weeks or months.\n\nThe mix of anthro races to Humans is about 5:1 around here, you notice, but that's apparently standard for this corner of this dimension, and there are definitely enough Humans you don't get any second glances. In fact any you do get seem to be either because you're by yourself and not in the midst of partying, or directed to some bit of your anatomy with interest. ... Ahem, best keep your mind on the job though.\n\n'Speaking of which, where to start?' you muse as you mostly just wander around. You suppose hitting the bars would be the most obvious choice... whether he's recruiting or just in the area planning something or hiding out, that's the place someone would likely have heard about it. Of course it's also the place most likely to spread the news there's someone actively looking for him like wildfire. So let's see, other places Comet might either have patroned himself, or that people looking to join up with him might be visiting (and talking) in anticipation of doing so. Weapon shops, armor shops, miscellaneous combat gear shops, "amusement" shops, aaaaand... brothels. Those are pretty much the whole list of places that you're likely to find around here anyway, but bars and brothels seem like both the most likely to procure results and the most likely to spread news of you poking your nose around, so.\n\n<hr>\n[[Bar.|LeoNova8x2]]\n\n[[Weapon shop.|LeoNova]]\n\n[[Armor shop.|LeoNova]]\n\n[[Gear shop.|LeoNova]]\n\n[["Amusement" shop.|LeoNova]]\n\n[[Brothel.|LeoNova]]

Honestly the likelihood that a bar will produce results seems to outweigh the potential downsides. Besides, your appearance is sufficiently different that hopefully even if it does get around that someone's looking for him, from the description Comet will assume it's a (fellow) pirate.\n\nYou cruise around a bit more looking for a likely place, and eventually head into one of the larger ones you've seen. It's a spacer bar, as could easily be expected from the location, lots of guys in jackets similar to the one you're wearing, most with openly-displayed blasters of various vintages and levels of maintenance. No dancing girls or hot waitresses (of any gender or species) in evidence... this is a place for serious drinking then, or just as likely, somewhere spacers come to get themselves good and worked up before heading to a brothel serving their preference. You wander through the crowd, making a few discrete inquiries, not about Comet directly but about who knows everything that's going on, essentially asking for the bar's information guy.\n\nWhich eventually leads you to a table along one wall and a lean, grinning man in relatively drab clothing, sitting at a table with something that looks like a heavily modified single-serving drink machine. You noticed someone staggering away from the table looking dead drunk as you began your approach, so apparently he's something of an unofficial second bartender as well. (He must be pretty well-connected if the bar doesn't mind him doing that sort of thing.) He's an anthro as well, a ram it looks like, with shaggy rather than curly gray-white fur and curling horns, his X-pupiled eyes fixing on you as you take the seat across from him.\n\n"Yes, help you?" he inquires with an air of smug geniality.\n\nDeciding that since he's clearly an infotrader and therefore canny enough to pick up on it and get more from the exchange if you try to go the long way 'round, you decide to be direct. "Yeah, I'm looking for information about where I could find Comet Lion."\n\n"That so?" he says, some of the geniality leaving his face and replaced by dubiousness, raising his even shaggier brows. "What for?"\n\n"Private business."\n\nHe nods, seeming a little mollified at the effective codeword for piracy. Then he smirks again as he says, "Well boy I'm Gryr, and you've assessed my trade well enough. But I'm old and mostly doing this for fun, so lemme explain how things work. I don't sell my information directly, y'see... instead you buy a turn at the Shot Slots from me," he says, patting the machine on the table. That must be a way of activating it, since the screen up top lights up and shows something that does indeed look a lot like a video slot machine readout with a number of wheels. "You buy the shot, spin the slots, slam it down, and when you keep it down I'll tell you what you want to know."\n\nYou press your lips together, frowning. Pretty good deal for him, he gets paid either way, and if whatever his little machine spits out kills you or makes you puke or just instantly too dead drunk to remember what you wanted to ask, he keeps both the money and the information. Still, you have a... decent tolerance. As long as whatever it spits out isn't deadly poisonous, you should be able to get back to the starfighter, and from there back to the Stellar Body in time to hit up the infirmary and get an antitoxin, all you'll have to do is hold out long enough hear what he knows about Comet, and it's clear he knows something.\n\n<hr>\n[[Buy a Shot Slot spin.|LeoNova8x3]]\n\n[[Nah, pass.|LeoNova]]

"Yeah, okay, how much?" you ask.\n\n"Guild credits?" he replies.\n\nYou try not to make any sort of face at that. Guild credits are sort of like the multiversal equivalent of the American dollar on Earth... they spend just almost everywhere, and especially in places that deal with people from all over who aren't exactly the sorts to stop at the immigration kiosk and exchange their currency for local. So him asking definitely doesn't mean he's picked up on anything... necessarily. "Yeah, sure."\n\nHe names the price, which is... about what you'd expect of an infotrader wanting recompense for ratting on a major crime figure. Luckily Nova spotted you some funds for just such a contingency, and you take the fold out of your pocket and peel off the slightly rubbery white bills, passing them over. Gryr rubs his thumb briefly over each one, then nods and tucks them away. "Alright, boy, take your spin."\n\nYou look at the machine and... yup, it even has a handle on the side like a slot machine. Shrugging, you reach out to grab the handle and pull on it. Immediately the machine begins beeping and chirping rather lyrically, a double-size shot glass clunking down to the serving surface from above with an admittedly ASMR-quality thud. The reels continue spinning, and spinning, then start flashing as they lock into place. In moments the shot glass is filled with something-\n\n<hr>\n[[-pink.|LeoNova8x4]]\n\n[[-pink and bubbly.|LeoNova]]\n\n[[-purple.|LeoNova]]\n\n[[-purple and bubbly.|LeoNova]]\n\n[[-pale blue.|LeoNova]]\n\n[[-pale blue and bubbly.|LeoNova]]\n\n[[-clear.|LeoNova]]\n\n[[-clear and thick.|LeoNova]]\n\n[[-almost black.|LeoNova]]\n\n[[-rainbow?!|LeoNova]]

It is, in fact, extremely pink. Practically glowing pink. You quirk an eyebrow, looking from the shot glass back to Gryr. He seems just as smug before, but you can't tell if it's more or less because of the resultant shot. ... Well, whatever, nothing to do but press forward.\n\nYou take the shot glass and lift it to your nose, unable to help taking a sniff, and almost grimacing at the extremely strong artificial bubblegum flavor. You guess the default "bubblegum" flavor is already pretty artificial, but this is the smell of stuff that's trying way too hard to be Bubblegum Flavored™. Your stomach actually roils just a little from that smell, but... again, nothing for it. You take a deep breath and knock back the double-sized shot all in one go, trying to taste it as little as possible. As expected, it tastes exactly as over-the-top bubblegum-y as you thought, the cloying pink scent seeming to seep into your entire mouth and glob all over everything, making you cough just a little purely over the taste and scent clinging to you.\n\nBut you also realize that whatever it was must have been a fairly high proof, because it's hit your stomach with a heat that's already filling your belly and seems to be seeping into the rest of your body, clouding your head. You blink a few times, already feeling slightly uncoordinated. What the hell was that stuff, really...?\n\n"Now, what was it you wanted to ask, again?" Gryr asks pleasantly as he taps a button to shut off the Shot Slots machine.\n\nYou blink, giving your head a small shake, and instantly regretting it as the world briefly goes all wobbly and skews. Goddamn, you're already drunk?! Gotta focus... gotta think...\n\n<hr>\n[["... Comet Lion..."|LeoNova8x5]]\n\n[["I... I feel weird..."|LeoNova]]\n\n[["S-... so hooot..."|LeoNova]]

"I need to know where to find Comet Lion," you manage, your voice sounding strange and warbling to your own ears. "... Private business."\n\n"Ah, right right. Well you'll want Distanin, not here, I hear Distanin's where the old bloodteeth is picking up new people for his crew. So if that's what you're seeking, best be there no later than the end of the week... though, you might find the experience a bit different than expected now, heheheh."\n\nThat seems like it ought to be a big warning right there, but you can't put together what it might mean right now. Instead you murmur a vague thanks and get up, staggering away from the table not at all unlike the last guy did, already clutching your belly as it feels like weird, painless muscle cramps are starting up there, your abs clenching and flexing. As you exit the bar and start practically throwing yourself down the street in an unsteady gait, trying to get back to the landing pad faster, the sensation starts to spread outward, up your chest and into your limbs, those strange little clenches and jumps that don't actually cause any pain but are almost maddening in their suddenness and oddity.\n\nYou have no memory of the flight back to the Stellar Body... you know you must have set the autopilot because there's no way you actually flew in this state. No one is there to greet you as you arrive and start staggering off through the hallways... everyone must either be off the ship looking for Comet on their own, or so buried in their shipboard work they didn't even hear the announcement of your arrival. You stagger through the halls, your whole body feeling flushed, sweat dripping off your face as you shiver, besides everything else your cock somehow achingly hard in your pants.\n\nRationally you know you should go to the infirmary and grab a broad-spectrum detox, but in your current barely-conscious state you instead find yourself seeking the comfort and privacy of your quarters to hide away in. You stumble through the door, already starting to yank your clothes off... it's so fucking hot, you're burning up!\n\nYour bare, sweat-gleaming body thumps to the bed a moment later, and without hesitation you grab your cock and start jerking yourself off wildly, moaning as a strangely disconnected pleasure floods through you. Whatever it is, it seems to take some of the edge off the strange sensations flooding your body. It all feels more... natural, like you don't have to think about it, you can just feel, just react, just go with it.\n\nAnd so you don't really think about it as those muscle clenches and spasms actually begin to reshape your body, your arms becoming sleeker and smoother, the slope of your shoulders shifting, your hips and ass rounding out, your legs taking on more curves. You writhe and buck on the bed, tossing your head and moaning, not realizing your hair is growing, spilling across the pillowcase and sheets as you twist and jerk. Your only reaction as your chest begins to swell is to grab hold of one of your newly-forming breasts and start to knead it in your hand as it grows larger against your palm, tweaking at your nipple as it grows pinker and puffier, your voice rising higher and sweeter with every one of your gasps and squeals at teasing the increasingly sensitive little nub. You can feel something growing thick and full and blossoming between your legs but it's all in the background, just a thing that's happening as you ever more frantically jerk your cock.\n\nYour jawline grows more slender, your nose more delicate, even the set of your eyes changing, though you never notice as you keep them closed, just riding the wobbling, shifting, drunken wave of strange, almost dissociated pleasure. You don't notice your fingers becoming more slender and more delicate on your throbbing cock or or against your now full, large breast. You cry out with a high, wholly feminine scream as you suddenly thrust your round, grippable hips upward, shooting out a massive load of cum all over your flat, sleek feminine belly and the proud globes of your tits, your slightly lengthened nails gently pressing against the sensitive skin of your prick as it throbs and twitches and gushes.\n\nThen you fall onto your back, splaying out, breathing hard and already largely unconscious. You don't even notice as your cock rapidly goes soft, and then just as rapidly shrinks smaller and smaller until it disappears, leaving your crotch smooth and unblemished above the full, dripping folds of your new pussy.\n\nYou awake some time later, moaning softly at your headache. Something already... seems off. Sounds off? Feels off? You sit up slowly, feeling a strange shifting weight on your chest, but your headache's so bad that you can't really quantify it. Still, it's noticeable as you get up and stagger to the dispensor, stabbing a hangover remedy hydration solution through unfortunate long practice. Already taking a few heady gulps of it, you turn back to the room... and catch sight of yourself in the mirror.\n\nThe glass of hydration fluid drops from your slender, gleaming-nailed fingers and hits the floor, sending out a splash that dashes the blue fluid not only over your newly cute and delicate feet, but actually manages to get a few droplets spattered over your bare, hairless pussy and mingling with the dried cum on your flat belly. You rush over to the mirror, seeing the wide, much bluer eyes and the long, wild dark blonde hair (the streaks of red and purple having lightened to pink and hot purple), then stare down at yourself, cupping the hefty breasts you're now equipped with.\n\n"... Fuck!"\n\nAfter a quick shower (because even slightly panicked you are not going amongst anthros with dried cum on you, especially in light of the change), you head out and find the rest of the crew assembled in the War Room. Obviously there's some explaining to do, and the meeting quickly moves to the infirmary, where Pulsar (the closest thing the ship has to a doctor) examines the readings.\n\n"Yup, it's a pretty thorough change, alright, nothing we could undo here," he says after a few moments. You notice he's avoiding looking directly at you, and that all the others seem slightly more tense than might be warranted. Of course that might have something to do with all the men having slightly bigger bulges in their flight suits than usual, and even Gem has two little points at the front of hers. Something that might be explained as Pulsar adds, "And you're putting off a hefty cloud of pheremones, probably twice the average human female. At least."\n\n"Fuck," you grumble... then blush, wishing you could take it back, as even the suggestion of that word seems to send a little flicker of arousal through the room.\n\n"Well we'll figure something out, Leo, I promise," Nova says, glancing at you quickly and then away slightly again, nodding. "Don't worry. Maybe we should all take a quick break to sort of... collect ourselves... then meet in the War Room to discuss what we've found, and where to go from here."\n\nHe, Gem, and Lu just almost run out of the room, leaving you alone with Pulsar for the moment. You notice he's looking at you rather intently, and try to ignore how your body is reacting to that attention as you slip down from the bed, your face flushing again and that heat starting to build low down in your belly again, your nipples trying to drill holes in your now slightly baggy shirt.\n\n<hr>\n[["Uh, gotta go, bye!"|LeoNova8x6]]\n\n[["..."|LeoNova]]\n\n[[Get on your knees.|LeoNova]]

Blurting those words, you turn and not-quite-run from the infirmary, hearing Pulsar give a nonchalant "Mm" from behind you. At least you didn't provoke him into chasing you down and... pouncing... you realize a moment later, as could have been a distinct possibility. You reeeeally hate the way that, if anything, your altered body just gets even more turned on by that thought.\n\nYou hurry back to your quarters, panting a bit. 'Calm down, calm down, it's just some Circumstances,' you assure yourself, running your fingers through your newly lengthened hair. 'You're a Guildcert, Circumstances come with the job, you can handle this, just... calm down!'\n\nYou manage to get your breathing under control. Okay, you're... you're gonna be okay. You'll be stuck as a girl for a while from the sounds of it... a girl who literally radiates 'fuck me' scent... but you can manage.\n\n'Maybe get some emotional support though?' whispers part of your brain that you're not entirely sure you should be trusting right now, especially since it sounds exactly like your newly feminine voice and not like the more manly one you're used to. ... But... m-maybe you could... call someone... or see someone...\n\n<hr>\n[[Call Nova over.|LeoNova]]\n\n[[Call Gem over.|LeoNova]]\n\n[[Go see Nova and Gem.|LeoNova]]\n\n[[Go see Lu.|LeoNova]]\n\n[[Take a cold shower.|LeoNova8x7]]

"Nope!" you blurt aloud, yanking your thoughts away from the direction they'd been starting to slide, instead stalking over to the dispensor and ordering up one of every type of soap, shampoo, and conditioner the ship's stores has.\n\nIn the bathroom you set the shower to as practically icy as you can stand it, stepping under the spray with a little (unfortunately quite girlish) shriek before starting to lather up with the first of the products. Luckily your hands are prevented from wanting to start trying anything fun by the fact that you're soon just almost shivering. But you push on, diligently using every single variety of soap, slopping the gel varieties on liberally, especially under your arms and around your crotch, and doing the same with all of the shampoos and conditioners, using one after the other essentially at random, but making sure that you use a lot and that you use them all.\n\nYou step out of the shower just faintly blue in the lips and shivering, with your nipples achingly stiff, but luckily no longer particularly horny, and smelling like... you couldn't even begin to say. But once you've dried off (the fur dryer's warm air stopping your shivering), you consider briefly and then order up a black flightsuit (female cut) from the dispensor. It's definitely a little weird to have the skintight suit clinging to every femine curve, making a plump round curve of your pussy between your legs and lifting, supporting, and separating your breasts, but it should further cut down on the release of pheremones from the rest of your body. You snag a black flight cap out of the dispensor to cut further down on the ones from your head, and then spend a few moments messing with the blue spacer jacket. Luckily your size as a woman isn't so different that the jacket can't be adjusted to fit with just a bit of fiddling with the interior straps, and after a glance to make sure you're presentable (if overly presented for your taste), you turn and head out to the War Room.\n\nWhen you walk in, the others are all already seated. You can see several gazes heat just a little at the sight of the flight suit hugging your newly rather lascivious curves, before their noses wrinkle. Whatever you smell like to you, clearly your every-soap-there-is treatment isn't very pleasant for them. Still, the whole atmosphere in the room relaxes considerably... clearly your attempts to neutralize your pheremonal scent have been largely effective, and no one's being battered with the instinctive urge to ravish you anymore.\n\n'Awwww,' that part of your brain from earlier coos before you bat it away.\n\nYou take your seat, and at Nova's prompting you share what you learned. They all look quite interested, Nova standing and pacing briefly before turning to address the table.\n\n"So we were right, Comet's putting together a new, all-pirate crew. And he'll be recruiting in Distanin for the rest of the week. This could be our chance to get someone on his crew."\n\n"It would be pretty difficult to get any of us on there," Pulsar points out. "Even if we changed our external appearances pretty heavily, Comet knows every one of us by scent. Even a quick gene-jaunt can't necessarily alter that entirely."\n\n"Mmmm," Nova acknowledges, bobbing his head, one hand cupping his chin. He paces a bit more... and glances at you. But he looks away again quickly, less in embarrassment this time, but because he's clearly not saying what they're all not saying:\n\nYou're the one Comet doesn't know, even moreso now. You'd absolutely be the best one to try and infiltrate his new crew by joining up stealthily. Just that you'd have to do it as a woman, now... a woman who, as noted, exudes 'fuck me' pheremones at twice the strength of a normal girl, besides the big fat tits, round juicy ass, and-\n\nAhem.\n\nSo clearly none of them are going to out and suggest you do it now themselves, with the added risk it puts you at. But you also can't help but feel they're giving you space to volunteer yourself if you feel you're up to it, since they don't have a lot of better options.\n\n<hr>\n[[Volunteer.|LeoNova9x1]]\n\n[[Keep silent.|LeoNova8x8]]

Yeah, you... you're just not confident you could handle it right now, especially since despite the arctic shower you're already starting to feel faintly warm and flushed and horny again. So you keep your silence, avoiding Nova's gaze as he glances at you.\n\nAfter a minute Nova nods, then announces, "Maybe I should go and see this guy myself. The infotrader, that is."\n\n"What?!" everyone sitting at the table blurts.\n\n"If these 'Slot Shots' of his can cause such thorough changes, then it could maybe alter me enough that I could infiltrate Comet's crew without him recognizing my scent," Nova says reasonably. \n\n"But what if you wind up like Leo?!" Gem snaps, before shooting you a guilty, apologetic glance, at which you just kind of shrug.\n\n"I mean, if Comet winds up distracted by how sexy I suddenly am, then all the less likely he is to put two and two together," Nova replies, trying to keep his tone light, though you can see a nervous look in his eyes... and maybe a bit of a blush under the fur on his cheeks. "I mean it's not a great\n idea, but does anyone have one that's likely to work better?"\n\nEveryone's rather quiet at that, before Nova nods. "Alright, so we'll give this a try." He hesitates briefly, then looks at you. "Leo, do you think you'd be up to going down with me? I can understand if it would be too embarrassing or... difficult... considering, but it would be helpful to make sure I'm getting the right guy."\n\n<hr>\n[[You'll go.|LeoNova]]\n\n[[You'd rather not.|LeoNova]]\n\n\n

You lean down a bit further, reaching out to brush a hand along the scuffs. The broader parts of the marks on the stone are shallow, with slightly deeper bits. Almost more like a very shallow representation of the same sort of marks paws would leave in mud. So maybe actually a paw shape? Something relatively heavy, with... claws...\n\nOh. Oh shit.\n\nYour face goes pale as you snap upright to your feet, wheeling back and forth with your rifle. Of the top three worst possibilities for something to have infiltrated the mine, this is #1 Bad Bad Oh Shit Bad. \n\nReap drones.\n\nHow many? Your eyes dart to the floor, searching almost desperately for more of the marks. You only see one coming through here, but from the size it's probably an alpha drone... which means that depending on what type of rogue it's gone, it's almost certainly going to be perfectly capable of making itself a pack from the mining equipment. So you're either facing multiple Reapers all out to capture, toy with, and violate you, or just one that wants you all to himself and will probably be the exact same level of sadistic and evil.\n\n'No way I'm doing this solo,' you think, turning and hurrying to the elevator. 'I need to get back upstairs, warn Red, and then call in backup.'\n\nYou step into the elevator and hit the button, quickly getting on your guard and eyeing every other possible entrance. The door slides closed, and for a few moments you just let yourself feel deeply relieved that you're on the move and getting further away from the Reapers.\n\nThen you realize the elevator's going down instead of up.\n\nYou jab the buttons, then hit the emergency stop, none of which do anything. Your blood runs cold as you realize you walked right into a trap... whichever sort of Reaper it is, the alpha is apparently plenty smart and knew that you'd go racing right for the elevator, and hacked it. You pull out your comm, intending to call for help then and there, but see that it reads Error 917... 'Signal blocked'. Oh shit, that means they're smart enough to build scattering fields that keep your comm and beacon from working. There's nothing you can do but put your back to the wall, ready yourself to fire out the door, and try not to turn into a gibbering mess.\n\nYou just almost fire off a burst right into the darkness when the door opens... but there's nothing there. The tunnels down here are lit almost entirely by the pulsing red warning lights, obviously the priority for installation (likely due to some sort of insurance guideline). The chemical lights are few and far between, barely enough to provide any light at all between pulses. But the tunnel beyond looks empty. Despite knowing it's likely futile, you try the elevator's controls a few more times... no response.\n\n... Fuck.\n\nAbsolutely not wanting to go out there, but also not wanting to be trapped in a little metal box, you step out into the tunnels, tense and ready. You stare for a few moments, then at a soft bleep from nearby glance aside. There's a control panel set near the elevator, one with an LED screen that only displays simple red characters, and it's printing out a message as you watch.\n\n'We would like to play a fun game\n\nThere is another elevator on the far side of this level\n\nIf you make it inside you get to go free\n\nYou can go as you are now, and when we catch you we will have our fun until we break you beyond all fixing\n\nYou can leave your weapons here and try to make it, and when we catch you we'll leave you alive (barely)\n\nYou can leave your weapons and your clothes, and maybe we'll be a bit more gentle than that (you might even like it lol)\n\nOr you can surrender now, strip down, and present your holes to us, and when we've each had a turn you can go back up the elevator right then'\n\nShit.\n\nShit shit shit shit shit.\n\nThat would seem to confirm there's more than one, and besides that, they're the sort of sadistic that not only wants to play games with their prey, they want the prey to know it's being toyed with right from the start. A 'rules make it more fun' variety of sadistic, that's never good.\n\nUnfortunately, it looks like whatever you do, it involves agreeing to play their game on some level... even ignoring the rules and making for the other elevator is essentially agreeing to a ruleset, the one where they're saying outright you're not getting out alive if they can help it. Fuck... what to do?\n\n<hr>\n[[Make for the other elevator, now.|ChiMine]]\n\n[[Leave your weapons.|ChiMine]]\n\n[[Leave your weapons and clothes.|ChiMine]]\n\n[[Surrender.|ChiMine]]\n\n[[Subvert the rules anyway.|ChiMine]]

"We're havin' a fuckin' moment here!" you snap, swinging a leg around and halfheartedly aiming a kick at him.\n\nWhile it doesn't connect it does the job of sending him leaping off of Nyna and landing to the side, the blonde scrambling to sit up and both of you glaring at him. "Why, fat lot of thanks this is!" Bizz declares in an offended tone. "Well I think I've gone and earned this for myself!" he adds, holding up what looks like a comm with a pink case, its back covered with little hologrammatic hearts. \n\n"The fuck is-" you start to demand, before something catches the corner of your eye. You turn to look... and see that the client's case is open, the foam interior having a notably comm-shaped empty spot. "Hey!"\n\n"Helped m'self while you two were busy lezzing out," Bizz declares smugly, aiming what looks like the camera aperture at both you and Nyna and tapping one of his foreleg nubs against the screen.\n\n"I'm gonna-!" you growl, leaning forward to grab at him... or at least, that was your intention. Instead you don't move even slightly from your position. Beside you, to judge from her panicked expression, Nyna is finding she's similarly immobilized. "What the hell?!"\n\n"Ooooo what an innerestin' li'l device this is," Bizz coos as he taps and flicks through other screens. He taps firmly one more time and you find yourself clambering to your feet without any control on your part, you and Nyna both standing up straight with your arms at your sides and feet together. "Allll sortsa options for messin' with someone this thing has got!"\n\n<hr>\n[["When I figure a way out of this...!"|ChiDD6x2]]\n\n[["We're not your fucking toys!"|ChiDD]]\n\n[["Haven't you been perverted enough yet?!"|ChiDD]]

"Hm, well, y'haven't displayed any great intelligence so far, y'know," Bizz replies, momentarily rendering you mute with sheer rage. "But hey, good point, maybe I oughtta head that off at the pass! Ooo, this oughtta be just the option!" he declares, tapping the screen again.\n\n"What are you-" You cut off with a gasp as a surge of strange pleasure runs through your body, as if your entire skin and every muscle had been suddenly and instantly turned into a mild erogenous zone. You can feel your already full breasts expanding further, growing rounder and heavier, taking on a slightly fake appearance as they get larger. You can also feel your waist growing more slender and your hips and ass rounding out further, your legs shifting and taking on additional thicker curves, your whole body gradually taking on an appearance to an even more oversexualized antique plastic dressup doll. Your hair grows longer again, but thick and poofy, curling somewhat as it falls down your back and lightening to a pale, artificial shade of blonde. Your pussy, already full and plump, grows into a thicker, more luxurious and smooth thing, like a little perfectly pink softball designed to fill a hand. Your nails grow longer and take on a pink shade, and you can feel your lips growing thick and plump, to the point they can barely close entirely. You blink, feeling a slightly odd sensation in your eyes and wondering if they've changed color as well.\n\nBut before you can really think about the changes to your body as they complete... your absolutely massive mammaries now twice the size they were before, outsizing your head and looking even more ludicrously large compared to your tiny waist and with sex bomb hips, an obscene body that could never possibly be intended for anything but pleasuring men... the next change hits you. You let out a muffled shriek and clench your teeth, drooling down your chin as you can actually feel your brain shrinking. You have just a few seconds of still being smart enough to feel humiliated that it's the most immensely pleasurable sensation you've ever felt in your life, your overplump pussy gushing all over your thicc thighs in the most intense orgasm you've ever had as you get dumber by the second. But then a moron grin curls your lips, a delighted, mindless giggle escaping you as you tremble all over as thoughts just keep disappearing. Thinking was hard anyway! Only losers know math!\n\n"Um... Chika...?" Nyna says worriedly as she stares at you with a very conflicted look on her face.\n\n"Uhhhhh, like, Chika isn't, like, cute enough, yanno?" you assert with another giggle, reaching a long-nailed finger up to wipe around your puffy dicksucking lips. "Like, call me, like, Chichi, okay~?"\n\n"That's a good Chichi," Mister Bizz declares before Nyna can talk again, making you giggle and wiggle happily at being praised. "You like being a bimbo, don't you?"\n\n"Ohmigawsh, it's like, sooooooo the best!" you assure him, bouncing happily in place and making your big wobbly boobies shake around like beachballs. "I'm soooooo dumb and it feels, like, fuckin' amazeballs!" You press your arms against the sides of your tits and shake them a bit more. "Look how big my boobies are! And my butt and cunny! Like, there's no waaaay anyone could look at me an' think I'm anything but a brainless piece of fuckmeat! It's, like, totally the best!"\n\n"Yes I think you'll enjoy being a dumb slut, Chichi," Bizz says agreeably as you reach down to start fondling your own pussy, just reveling in being too shameless and stupid to know better. "But what about your friend, hm? What should we do with her?"\n\n<hr>\n[["Ohmigawd bimbofy her too!"|ChiDD]]\n\n[["Ummmmmm... sex!"|ChiDD]]\n\n[["Well, like, she wants to fuck me, so...!"|ChiDD]]

Why not? It's probably kind of old-fashioned to just go and introduce yourself to the neighbors, but eh, underneath the makeup and torn jeans and panties, you're an old-fashioned sort of guy! ... Well okay you're a mage which is not actually the same thing at all but you are very curious and really wanna meet whoever lives literally equal with Tassita.\n\nYou walk over and press the button on the pad that seems to correspond to a doorbell, to judge by the icon, and do indeed hear a pleasant chiming noise come from the panel. You assume that means it's not silenced. In fact surprisingly quickly the door slides open and someone leans their upper body into view out of it.\n\n"Um," you can't help but sort of squeak, because the first thought that goes through your mind is 'beeeeeeeeeeeeg snek!' But before your monkey brain can really panic, it gets derailed by a different neuron activation, since your next thought is 'beeeeeeeeeg tiddies'. The individual who's currently dominating your view is indeed quite large, and very much resembles a bright red cobra, complete with flared hood framing her face, albeit with enough anthropomorphic features to said face that it helps with any sense of intimidation. She's looking you up and down with shiny black eyes with bright blue glowing pupils and circles, and RGB circuitry lines across the sclera, a long, slim forked black tongue flitting out a few times. She's also wearing what looks like some sort of sports bra with a low-scooped front, which shows off her particularly large breasts, each one considerably larger than her head. You force restart your brain, reminding yourself that nonhumans are normal here, and say, "Hi, I just moved in next door and WAHA!"\n\nThis last is because she immediately grabs you by the upper arms and hauls you off your feet, yanking you inside her apartment, the door closing behind you both with a weird sense of finality.\n\nInside she immediately plunks you back down on the floor and steps back, resting her hands on her broad, essentially bare hips. Seen in full body she's definitely a bit on the thicc side, with generous curves... and an even more generous bulge in the front of her black athletic panties, which are the only things she's wearing other than the sports bra. She's easily more than head and shoulders above you tall, and definitely has a very commanding presence, nevermind her predatory appearance.\n\n"Alright, listen you, here's the deal," she says firmly. "I had prey booked for today, but they no-call-no-showed on me... I'd have assumed it was you but I had a girl today, and," she notes, her tongue flitting again. "But you're pretty and you're cute enough, so you'll do."\n\n"Er-"\n\n"Listen I've got a stream starting really soon and I need to actually do something. I'd prefer it if you'd agree to play the same prey game that the girl was booked for, but if you can't handle some athletics then we'll just do a basic vore stream," she declares with a negligent wave of the hand, even as your jaw drops. "Or at least get fucked hard and put away twitching and unconscious, that's the least I could do on a last minute basis."\n\n"Uh-"\n\n"Oh for," she huffs, narrowing her already fairly slitlike eyes at you. "You're Tassita's new pet, aren't you?"\n\n... You want to object to the term 'pet', but since you don't pay rent and she just keeps you around because she likes you and thinks you're cute (and she's not sleeping with you anymore), you cannot help but feel like you have in fact achieved becoming a housecat. "... Yes?"\n\n"Alright listen I know her and we help each other out with streaming emergencies all the time, she owes me, I owe her, just consider this an extension of that," the snakewoman says blithely. Then, as if it had finally occurred to her what your problem might be, "Oh, for goodness sake, you'll be fine, don't worry... ah...?"\n\n"... Riley."\n\n"Okay, I'm Selia. And don't worry, Riley, it's all perfectly safe, it's not like I go around killing sentient beings for fetish streams." She pauses, the long, tapering serpentine tail behind her giving a few flicks. "... Usually. Only with consent!" she adds as you take a half-step back. "And boy you would not believe the forms on that, thick as your neck, now can we do this thing?"\n\n<hr>\n[[... Okay, you guess.|Riley5x2]]\n\n[[... Pass.|Riley]]

"Great!" Selia enthuses, tongue flicking rapidly out of the end of her squarish muzzle a few times. "Now, like I said, it'd really be best if you'd take the original prey's place for the game we had planned."\n\n"What game is that?" you ask, still dubious about this whole thing. "You said it involved being athletic?"\n\n"Basically you and I go down to the hologrid arcade that's a few doors down, and me and some of my friends hunt you for sport," she replies as if this were the most normal thing in the world. At your stare, she sighs and repeats, "Nonlethally. Basically you get fucked or you get vored... possibly one and then the other... but you don't actually get hurt. But you are expected to run like hell and do your best to escape us, so if you're not up for strenuous activity, I'll just let them know I'm not coming, they'll probably just snag a replacement themselves or nominate one of the others to play prey for the day."\n\n"... Okaaaay. You said the other options are-"\n\n"Get vored or get fucked, simple as," she says firmly.\n\n"Soooo you swallow me, or..." You eye the absolutely hefty bulge in the front of her panties. You... kinda think you can make out two distinct shafts there. And each one is bigger than anything you've taken before.\n\n"Not necessarily swallow. But vore of some kind," Selia corrects evenly.\n\nOh. Wow. Okay, this is... actually this is kind of starting to interest you? This is definitely a wild introduction to your new environment, but hey, what the hell, since you've already agreed, and it's apparently safe...\n\n<hr>\n[[You'll play the game.|Riley]]\n\n[[You'll get vored.|Riley]]\n\n[[You'll get fucked.|Riley]]

It's probably best if you don't seem like you're anything special... you have no real desire to be an adventurer after all, it's not like you need to make a good impression. So you simply summon up a few waterballs and fling them at one of the convenient posts at the edge of the stage. You let about half of them dissolve before they ever make it there, and the others splash rather limply against the wood with less force than slinging it out of a bucket would have. When you're done, there's a smattering of very perfunctory and polite applause from the audience, the sort that might be given a much smaller child for an off-key round of singing. As you make your way back to Karina, she manages a bright smile, but you can see there's some wanness in her eyes as she leans in to kiss your forehead. Oh well.\n\nYou eventually learn that you may have overdone it by how much you underdid it... now every time you interact with the townsfolk, you sense a sort of condescension or dismissiveness from them. You curse yourself once you figure it out... had you simply been unable to do any real amount of magic at all, you would have been just some kid with no talent who obviously wasn't going to be much. But by showing yourself capable of actually making multiple waterballs that could be directed and then not being able to do anything good with them, you marked yourself as a mediocre potential. Someone who could be an adventurer but never a very good one.\n\nAt least your parents still treat you alright... well, your mother's much better at hiding her disappointment, at least. Stacia's pretty much the same as ever too. But it seems that in most peoples' minds, you are already something pitiable... a failed adventurer who could only fall back on becoming a farmer, as opposed to someone who was good at being either of those things.\n\n'The damnedest thing is that I'd make a far better farmer than any of these fools,' you think as you skip a rock across the small river near the town, subtly reinforcing the surface of the water to get more skips of it. 'With my magic I could be the best farmer, or merchant, or whatever I liked. I could be running this place inside of ten years! Meh, more like two!'\n\n"Reth!" comes a familiar call, and you look up to see Stacia stop a short distance away, resting her hand on her hip. Stacia's grown quite lovely over the last five years and change... you doubt she'll ever be an absolutely stunning beauty, but beautiful, yes. Her hair has grown long enough that it reaches the middle of the backs of her thighs, a single long braid tied on the left side. Her underclothing of black shorts and a black bra-like garment are both somewhat visible even with the long white shirt she wears as a combination top/skirt, the middle of it belted around her waist with her swordbelt, the weapon hung behind her for a cross-draw. \n\n<img src="images/Stacia.jpg">\n\n"Hey Stacia," you answer, unable to keep a bit of glumness out of your voice.\n\n"I thought I'd probably find you here. Hey, you should stop slacking off, we need to plan our trip!" she declares, even as she walks over and plops down to sit beside you, apparently intending to join your 'slacking off'.\n\n"... Our trip?" you reply blankly, honestly confused.\n\n"Um, yeah? We both turn sixteen next month, that means we're adults and eligible to enter the Adventurer's School in Dynahan! Don't worry, I saved up enough for your entry too," she declares proudly as she claps a fingerless-gloved hand on your shoulder and gives you a bit of a shake as is her wont. "You can pay me back in installments once we start adventuring together!"\n\n"Uh, in case you haven't heard," you note once she's stopped shaking you. "-at any point over the last almost six years, I'm already a washout from adventuring before I ever started. Y'know? Ten-year-old who sucked at waterballs?" you say dryly. Okay, bitterly, maybe.\n\n"Oh that's dumb and always has been," Stacia says instantly and without the slightest hint that she believes otherwise, flicking a hand dismissively. "Why the heck would there be an adventurer school if people didn't need to go to it to learn to be adventurers? Even if you haven't gotten better at magic since then, which I totally know you have, you can always get better while you're at school! That's why it's school! Even Little Lady Amestra is going to Dynahan, and everyone says she's already a near-Companion level adventurer!"\n\n"I don't know, Stacia," you say with a huff. Being a human is so exhausting, especially being a human that's apparently friends with this particular other human. Why does she have to be so... so good? It makes you feel weird. You blame this human body, it definitely reacts in ways you don't tell it to, unlike your old Ireth-derived one.\n\n"I mean, it's your choice, y'know, in the end. There's lots of stuff you could do around here if you don't want to be an adventurer," Stacia allows, glancing back towards the town. "You could become a hunter like your dad, or a farmer, or a clerk or something!" She hesitates a little, then looks back at you. "Buuuut I still think you'd make an awesome adventurer and we should totally start deciding what route to take to Dynahan!" she concludes with a sunny smile.\n\nYou sigh again, and give her a somewhat tired smile. You have to admit, it would definitely be good to get out of town, since you don't exactly like... anyone at all... other than her. ... Oh, right, and your parents. On the other hand you kind-of-sort-of want to just stick around here and excel at something, if nothing else than to show all these pitiful mortals how badly they misjudged you! ... Also you just really still can't stand adventurers and part of you would still rather cut off one of your own tentacles, er, arms than become one. ... Eh. Now's as good a time to make the decision as any, you suppose, especially with Stacia looking so hopefully at you.\n\n<hr>\n[[You'll go with her.|Reth5x1]]\n\n[[You'll stay in town.|Reth2x2]]

"Sorry, Stacia, I think I'm going to stick around here," you answer with a shake of your head. "It's not even about the waterball thing, I just... don't want to be an adventurer, honestly."\n\n"Oh." She sags a little, but quickly plasters a smile on her face again. "Well! If you don't want to be an adventurer, then you shouldn't be an adventurer! That's just common sense. Um... well, but you will be an adult then, so it'll be time to decide what you want to do, huh? I mean, if you wanna maybe take the money I had set aside for your entry and use it to get yourself set up, I wouldn't mind... I mean, you'll still be able to pay me back some day and all, I'm sure! Just because I become an adventurer doesn't mean I'll never come back here!"\n\nHm. It's not exactly expensive to go to the adventurer school... but then nothing much around here is expensive either. "Thanks, Stacia, I'd really appreciate that," you agree, giving her a smile in return finally.\n\nHer cheeks pink a little and she glances down, tapping her fingertips together. "So, ah, if you're staying around here, have you thought about what you might do...?"\n\nYou were in fact just thinking about that, after all, but again, you suppose it couldn't hurt to finally settle on something. Through subtle use of your powers and the knowledge you've retained, you could dominate just about any field a commoner can aspire to... actually, if you set your mind to it, the nobility definitely isn't out of reach! Depending on the field, you'd definitely be giving up on any aspirations of returning to being a Demon Lord... but hey, as long as you're comfortable and have a lot of fun, you don't need to be a Demon Lord again. (Admittedly being Demon Lord was, itself, a lot of fun so there's that.)\n\nReally there's a basic handful of professions you could launch into here. You could indeed become a hunter like your human father... lots of time alone out in the forest with no one to see you doing whatever high-level stuff you might want to be successful, though honestly that one seems the least appealing. You could become a farmer... there's actually quite a lot you could do with that, especially if you decided to unlock the Alchemy branch of your Ability Tree. Or you could become a merchant... lots of money to be made there, and either your Alchemy or your Magic specializations would serve you well. Magic would also be the preferred specialization if you became a clerk, say, to the mayor, since it would unlock a lot of abilities useful for a life in politics... document creation, scrying, mind influencing.\n\n<hr>\n[[Become a hunter.|Reth]]\n\n[[Become a merchant.|Reth]]\n\n[[Become a farmer.|RethFarm1x1]]\n\n[[Become a clerk.|Reth2x3]]

"Y'know, I think I'm going to apply for the job of the mayor's clerk," you announce after thinking it over. "It pays pretty well, so I doubt I'll need that money, Stacia, you should-"\n\n"No no, definitely take it," she interrupts, almost urgently. "Um, I don't mind dropping by occasionally to get some payments, you know, since it pays well! You should use it to rent a room in town... it would suck having to go all the way back to your parents' house every night and get up before dawn every morning, right?"\n\nAh, that's a good point. Stacia also seems weirdly eager to make sure you're in her debt... could she be plotting something?! ... Hm, well, you'll keep an eye on the situation.\n\nIn any event, Stacia sticks to you more than usual for the next few weeks, making you a bit more paranoid that she could be up to something. The night before the first of the month, during her going-away dinner, she several times looks like she wants to say something to you, and you brace yourself for all sorts of declarations of anything from a denouncement to declaring she's discovered your true identity. But in the end she just hugs you so tightly you're afraid your weird human bones are creaking, and says she'll miss you. ... Hm. You're kind of starting to think you misread something but you're not entirely sure how.\n\nIn any event, the next morning she sets off for Dynahan, and you set off for the mayoral mansion. While the Lord of the region is of course appointed and upheld by the crown, and holds all of the true authority, the family that's been the Lords around here allows the towns and villages some small measure of democracy by electing a mayor or council to oversee the day-to-day trifles... the fact that this frees up a lot of the Lord's time for higher-level political intrigue and other matters is probably a factor. The current mayor, Bangleberne Lordservant, has been mayor for... hm, your human parents were probably children when he was first elected? He's probably old enough to be your grandfather, though the space between generations on Lytozia can be fairly short so that hardly means he's decrepit. His current clerk, on the other hand, is quite elderly and Bangleberne has been overheard griping about the difficulties this presents for awhile now.\n\nBangleberne was an adventurer for only a few years before returning to his hometown and running for office, but apparently it was enough to keep him from becoming fat and sallow with age. He's a bit jowly and a bit balding but not a lot of either, though his constantly flushed face does speak of his love for the local distillery's product. "Applying for the clerk's job, hm?" he says as you settle in front of him, wearing the hooded black longcoat, black pants, and shined black boots the local tailor assured you were proper for a clerk (though you think that may likely be just because he had an excess of the stain-resistant black cloth that was slightly too expensive for most residents, but that you were able to afford thanks to Stacia's... um, well, selfless generosity, you now realize). "I'm a bit surprised, kind of had you figured for... well."\n\nYou're not sure why everyone was so singlemindedly focused on the idea that you'd become a farmer. You guess even though this town is out in the sticks, because it fancies itself such a producer of adventurers it's absorbed some big city "farmer=failed to be anything better" condescension. Keeping your annoyance off your face, you instead smile ingratiatingly. "I've long since decided I prefer more intellectual pursuits, sir. I think you'll find my organizational skills top notch, and I have a very practiced and clear hand for writing letters and documents."\n\nWhich is already a step up from your predecessor. You can see Bangleberne waffling a bit, likely more over having to pay his old clerk's retirement as well as the new clerk's salary, but a glance at the near-illegible chickenscratch pages on his desk seems to decide him. "Can you begin tomorrow? You're not going to be trekking in all the way from that hunter's lodge of your father's, are you?"\n\nYou find it a bit amusing that someone who literally lives in a mansion (with rooms to spare, from the look of it, that could easily be given to a clerk for nothing but alas) calling the relatively simple and small house you grew up in a 'lodge', but simply answer, "I've already spoken to Miss Misha and long-term rented a room at the inn."\n\n"Fine then. You'll likely spend most of your first week tidying up your new office, but I expect you to get all of your proper work done as well, understood?"\n\nAnd thus the job is yours. The next day you arrive at what is indeed a cluttered and untidy office, and open a window hoping that you might begin to air out some of the old man smell. (And what you suspect is mildew. Some of the older documents will really need to be copied over and the originals thrown out.) You lean on the windowsill for a moment, looking out on the not particularly exciting bit of town visible from the office... you can see the inn where you'll be living for the foreseeable future, the general store, and the tailor's shop. Well, those are the three most prosperous businesses in town, as far as you know (other than the distillery, though you're fairly certain that the owner drinks a lot of the profits in one way or another)... guess it makes sense to be able to see them from the office where most of the town's finances go through. A good reminder to firm up your resolve, because you intend to be...\n\n<hr>\n[[... mayor yourself someday.|Reth]]\n\n[[... an absolutely indispensable assistant.|Reth2x4]]

Indeed, setting your sights on being a mere adviser and assistant may seem like a big step down from being the Demon Lord, but you've determined that it's a far safer path. After all, while plenty of people had heard of your own assistant back in the day, and the right hand monsters of prior Demon Lords, you never heard of a Hero and party of Companions setting out to slay the Demon Lord's assistant.\n\n(You kind of wonder whatever happened to Golcifex. As far as you know, the Hero and his Companions didn't kill him on their way to you, and he wasn't exactly the sort to just run off. Oh well... mysteries that are likely to remain mysteries.)\n\nBut the way you figure it, especially since you're dealing with humans, it will be just as easy to reap power and rewards by being the guiding hand behind whatever particular big fancy chair your boss sits in, and you shouldn't have too tough of a time climbing the rungs of bosses. After all, if your town becomes more prosperous, the Lord is bound to notice and look into it, and likely track it back to when it started, which should ideally be shortly after your hiring. Speaking of which, time to get to work.\n\nYou took the Magic option in your Ability Tree last night, and luckily were able to unlock a fair few further up options in it with points left over from your prior life and what you've earned from your experience in your new one. You took mostly abilities that enhanced your ability to influence others and make use of utility spells, like the phantom servants you set to straightening up the office, and the copying spells you use to make fresh versions of the old mildewed documents from the various storage bins. Bangleberne wanders into your office the day after you were hired, obviously a bit surprised to find it already clean, neat, and with you catching up on the tax ledgers that your predecessor had clearly been putting off. "Well aren't you a real go-getter," he chuckles a bit.\n\n"I'm trying, sir," you answer with a flash of a grin. "Ah, though I was hoping to speak with you, I had a thought while I was getting started on these."\n\n"A thought, hm?" he echoes, narrowing his eyes.\n\nYou were afraid of that... well, not 'afraid' really, more 'expecting'. He's old enough to be your grandfather, and you're the 'failed adventurer' kid besides just being, well, youthful. He'd be innately hostile to any idea, no matter how good, at this point... so you cast a subtle bit of mind magic. Not much, you don't want to go overboard, just enough that both his disdain and demeanor soften a little and become more receptive.\n\n"Well, every tax season we send a wagon with our tax money up to the castle at Lunacrest to pay the Lord, which means we have to pay for the driver's time, and guards as well, and then any medical expenses if they're attacked and injured," you note, passing over several copied invoices that Bangleberne eyes sourly, considering that the costs for such things have to come out of the town's coffers (which he no doubt sees as his money, since it kind of effectively is). "Plus there was that time ten years ago when the bandits actually succeeded in stealing the tax money."\n\n"I well remember that," the mayor grumbles, obviously not appreciating the reminder, but with your bit of influence from earlier still apparently curious to see where you're going. "Get to the point."\n\n"Well, what if we instead sent the tax money and just a little bit extra ahead of time, and put it in the branch of the Kingsbank in Lunacrest?" you suggest, folding your hands on the desktop. "It would be before tax season so the chances of the wagon being robbed would be much lower."\n\n"I don't see the point... we'd just have to send someone else with a wagon to get the gold out of the bank and take it over to the castle. You've made two trips out of one," he scoffs.\n\n"We wouldn't have to send a wagon at all, though." At his squint of confusion, you continue. "The Kingsbank answers directly by the crown, meaning that it can issue paper receipts that are accepted as valid by all other royal institutions... including for paying taxes. When tax season arrives, I myself could ride a horse up to Lunacrest, request a receipt for the money, and deliver it to the castle without anyone ever even knowing I was carrying the equivalent of the entire town's tax money on me between the bank and the castle."\n\n"Hm. ... I suppose it would be a bit safer," Bangleberne allows after a moment. "Still seems like a lot of extra steps when we still have to hire the wagon and security every year."\n\n"But we wouldn't, only the first couple of years." At his more intense look of confused interest, you continue. "That's why we send a bit more than the tax money each time... it will add up and build bits of interest, and if we actually overlap two tax deliveries one year if at all possible, our account will be over a certain amount and make us 'preferred investors of the crown'. Which means-"\n\n"Those silk-shrouded scribblers will send one of those armored carriages of theirs to pick up the money from us!" Bangleberne declares with a flash of his eyes, apparently at least that much aware of the Kingsbank's policies. "We won't have to pay for a carriage or guards at all!"\n\n"And since the Kingsbank insures every load they take possession of, even if the implausible happened and bandits did manage to rob them, it would be the Kingsbank's responsibility to replace the tax money, not ours," you add with a grin of your own.\n\n"Ha! A brilliant suggestion, my boy, made feasible now that I've worked out the kinks in it! Begin planning for it immediately! Find some excess in the coffers so we can send as much as we can extra to them, I want that Preferred Investor status as quickly as possible! Of course, we'll withdraw that excess back once we've got the status!"\n\n"I'll do what I can to have the paperwork ready for you to sign after your lunch, sir," you answer. You wait for him to trundle off with a self-satisfied look on his face, before rising and making your way quietly out of the mansion, so he'll think you're still working away in your office, rather than having all the paperwork ready and in one of the drawers already. You stand outside, pausing for a moment to enjoy a light, brief gust of early fall wind, smiling a little sardonically.\n\n<img src="images/IrethMale2.jpg">\n\n"Heh. His idea."\n\nBut that's fine. It's good for him to think so, and for him to visibly take the credit, you think as you meander over to the general store for your own midday meal. Anyone higher up who looks into the situation won't be fooled, and will hopefully decide to steal you away for themselves... but, nobles being nobles, are just as likely to then take credit for all of your ideas. Just as they should, so you can stay out of the spotlight. \n\nOver the next few years you continue to feed Bangleberne similar suggestions, ideas, and policy, lowering the town's operating costs and promoting its businesses. In general prosperity in the town goes up quite a bit since you're able to promote more money coming in from outside, meaning that (again at your suggestion) Bangleberne can lower the taxes on the locals and more than make up for the revenue from passing-through traders, visitors, and even (ugh) adventurers. The last time you visited Lunacrest to do some documentation chores, several of the other clerks mentioned that they'd heard the Lord was very happy with your town's performance, which you're hoping means that he might actually ask to speak to you when you deliver the tax money next month. You carry another sheaf of documents into Bangleberne's (much larger and more comfortable) office, where he greets you with, "Ah, Reth! You must be quite excited!"\n\n"Hm? Well, I don't know that going to the bank in Lunacrest is 'exciting', per se, sir, but it is a nice little diversion," you answer pleasantly as you set the documents in front of them.\n\n"Hahaha! You haven't heard, then? Stacia will be returning soon!"\n\nThat... gives you an odd little feeling in your chest, like your odd human blood-pump did a sort of flip. "Oh... no, I hadn't heard that, sir," you answer, a little uncertainly.\n\n"Mm, apparently she's considering settling back down here and becoming a Guardian. It would certainly save me a lot of money on paying people to clear out dangerous animals and the occasional monster, as well as that girl brightening up the town again."\n\n"When is she due to arrive?" you ask, finding yourself far more interested in the answer than you objectively ought to be. \n\n"Hm... a day or two after you're scheduled to leave for Lunacrest, actually."\n\n"... Ah." That makes your blood-pump have another sort of flutter, though this time a decidedly unpleasant one. Stupid human body, what is it even doing?\n\n"But you know... tax season is all month, so if you wanted to delay a week, even two, it would hardly put us in any danger. In fact, now that our money's already in the Kingsbank, if necessary we could always just send a messenger to one of the Lord's clerks and ask them to go to the bank to pick up the receipt themselves." Bangleberne eyes you speculatively for long moments, before continuing, as if having just launched into a tangent, "You know that house a few doors down, boy?"\n\n"Ah, yes, the Lorentz place that was sold to the town since they're moving to a new farming settlement. Don't worry, I've already filed everything on that properly."\n\n"I was just thinking about it, and perhaps we'll leave it in the town's control for awhile. For some valuable town employee who might be wanting to start a family."\n\n"Er... alright, sir, well, since we did pay for it we can do as we like, I guess?" you answer in confusion, to which he just chuckles and waves you off.\n\n'What was that all about?' you think a bit later, sitting on a barrel behind the general store munching a sandwich, a pickle wrapped in wax paper resting beside you. 'Why on Earth would he want me to put off going to Lunacrest and suggest we should bother a lord's clerk instead? He seemed weirdly insistent that I should stay long enough to see Stacia, just because he's hoping she becomes a guardian or whatever? And then he just goes into talking about giving a whole house to a town employee who wants to start a family, when I'm still stuck in that inn room after three years, and what employee does he even mean, all the guards and drivers we hire are just locals we temporarily sign contracts with, the only actual employee is m-'\n\n... Oh.\n\nOh.\n\nOh.\n\n...... Oh. Um. Okay, so... yes, he's saying that you should wait to see Stacia because then you could ask her to... ... and the house, with... and the two of you... right. Well, that's just silly, because first of all, you and an adventurer, ha! Well obviously he doesn't know why it's such a "ha", but an adventurer is an adventurer. Even a bright, sunny, selfless, kind one who you've sort of kind of noticed the absence of a lot in the last few years and had various not-nice human body quibbles about that absence whenever you did. ... It would be silly, right? Super, super silly. To abandon your higher aspirations when you're right on the cusp of getting hired away from this six horse town, for what? For settling down in a comfortable little house in the town where you grew up and that has come to treat you with courtesy and respect after all the hard work you put into it, with your childhood best friend who's always been a beacon of warmth and compassion? Haha, who would do that?! Haha, hahahaha!\n\n"... ha," you murmur aloud, pausing in the midst of unwrapping your pickle to wipe your face. Stupid human eyes, just a whiff of sour and they go watering on you.\n\nYou'd have to be stupid, though, right? The ambition you've been working towards constantly these past three years is just within your grasp, literally a count of days away from bearing its first delicious, supple fruit, and you're thinking of throwing it away for what? Love? Family? Contentment? Stability? Who would even think of that?! Who would do that?! A human, that's who! And are you a human, or are you the former Maou, Demon Lord and King of All Monsters?!\n\n<hr>\n[[You're the Maou, of course!|Reth]]\n\n[[You're... a human?|Reth]]

Hm. While you told Stacia that you were looking forward to being alone, it's hard to deny that it's a little tiresome doing all this work by yourself, especially since it rarely leaves you any time to relax or pursue more intellectual or pleasurable interests. Besides, it's one thing to have a partner or hired hand, and another to have a pair of blindly obedient... well, slaves, basically... that will follow your every command, loyally and without question.\n\nYou mix the necessary ingredients for the suggestibility potion into the porridge. The brilliant thing about this little plan, you think with a grin, is that one of the ingredients is salt. So all you have to do is leave the porridge unsalted as you make it, but set out a small saltcellar on the table with the bowls. Not suspecting anything, since you're eating from the same pot and from no particular bowl, the two take their dinner without a hint of suspicion... and then both suppress faces at tasting the rather bland concoction, reaching for the saltcellar apparently without even really thinking about it. You try not to smirk... the fact that you've got to eat a bland if still rather decent porridge yourself to make this work helps.\n\nSadly, you think as you watch the two's motions gradually slow a little and their gazes turn rather far-off and slightly dull the more of their bowls they empty, you can't just go right to telling them 'Be my loyal slave'. You have to work up to it bit by bit. Get them hooked, as it were. Of course if you're smart about what suggestions you give, as well as how you reinforce them, it shouldn't take long before you've got them totally and thoroughly under your power.\n\n"Mm... we must have walked further today than I thought," Olin says in a heavy tone as he finishes his porridge. "Good farmer, I hope you don't mind, but could we go ahead and turn in?"\n\n"We're... exhausted," Unielle adds in a particularly adorable sleepy tone, having to pause and cover a yawn with her fingers.\n\n"Of course, of course. That bedroom there should be suitable... the bed's fairly basic, probably not as good as an inn bed, but you should find it suitable," you say breezily.\n\nBoth of them nod, rising and heading into the bedroom and closing the door after themselves. It's less than ten minutes later when the faint light from the small magic-oil lamp you made for the bedside table goes out under the door, leaving it dark inside.\n\nJust to be safe, you make sure to give it another half an hour as you clean up from dinner and order your thoughts. You want them to be nice and deeply asleep, after all, and at their most suggestible, with the potion worked well and truly into their systems. Eventually you carefully open the door and peek in. Your guests are half-sprawled on the bed, entirely naked. You're guessing from the complete lack of moisture, though, that they didn't get up to any pre-bedtime fun before they conked... judging from their clothes being scattered at the bedsides, it was probably all they could do to undress before dropping into bed and falling asleep. Good, that speaks of them both being highly receptive to the drug. You walk in, quietly at first, then deliberately causing a few floorboard creaks. They don't so much as twitch in their sleep... good.\n\nYou turn the lamp back up, not all the way, but enough that you can better appreciate the sight of Unielle's naked body. Ah... the best thing about anyone with a bit of elf blood in them is that it seems to guarantee they develop the absolute most perfect tits. You resist the urge to fondle them for now, instead leaning over her and into a position where both should be able to hear you. You use a calm, even, but commanding tone that you perfected as the Maou, helping to instill the words with authority.\n\n"When you wake up, you will feel deeply impressed by the quality of both the food and the room offered to you. You will be driven to repay the kindness shown to you with your toil, doing any chores asked of you. As you perform these simple tasks, you will feel a deep sense of satisfaction and further gratitude to your host. You will forget entirely that you intended to move on until after dark. You will again be deeply impressed by the quality of the meal and the kindness of being allowed to stay another night."\n\nYou consider briefly, but decide not to add anything else. Too many commands or too outlandish and their minds might reject them. So far they haven't stirred at all despite you leaning right above them and speaking without whispering, which as much as anything says it should be working... you'd worry that if they were squirming or grimacing, you might have taken it too far. So instead you turn the lamp back off and walk back out, once more closing the door after them, before turning in for the night yourself.\n\nThe next morning, Olin and Unielle emerge from the room, dressed once more, though it looks like Olin has left most of his armored plates off. They both look a bit surprised but greatly pleased at the sounds and smells of you frying eggs and bacon, looking deeply grateful as you set plates in front of them.\n\n"You know, Reth, Unielle and I were saying when we got up, it's really not fair for us to take advantage of your hospitality like this without giving anything in return. So before we leave, we'd certainly be willing to help out with any of the chores around here."\n\n"Oh, really?" You smile, as if the idea had never before occurred to you. "Well, it's not really necessary, but I would appreciate it. There's this one tree in particular I wasn't looking forward to cutting down with my skinny arms, but I imagine it wouldn't be all that difficult for you, Olin. And Unielle, if you could feed the animals and milk the cow, I'd definitely be grateful, I'm sure your charming nature will put them at ease."\n\nThe praise obviously helps, and soon Olin's hard at work, shirtless and swinging an axe into the particularly large tree that you had indeed not been looking forward to cutting down... you could have gradually shrunk it and withered it away with potions, but this way you'll also get the wood. You're occasionally passing by Unielle as she works on feeding the animals, giving her bits of direction and complimenting the job she's doing, which makes her smile brightly. You're not surprised when, once she's finished milking the cow, she asks you whether there's anything else she can do, so you ask her to go down to the river to fetch enough water to fill the barrels beside the house. (You usually just fill them with a bit of magic, but the river water does taste a bit better and the busywork will help reinforce the programming.)\n\nWhen you go out to check on Olin next, you find he's actually downed the tree you asked, and moved on to one of the other ones you marked. "Looked like you were clearing space around an orchard, so figured I'd just tackle another one," he says with a grin, rolling his shoulders.\n\n"I really appreciate it," you say in a warm tone as you hand him a handkerchief of wrapped bread and some cheese.\n\nYou leave Olin looking almost overwhelmed at the simple lunch. Meanwhile, catching Unielle filling the third barrel, you urge her inside and fix her a few more fried eggs. After which, of course, she not-quite-begs for something else to help out with, so you send her off back to the river with a basket of your laundry.\n\nOf course by the time it's dark they've been working all day, and even if they wanted to continue on it would be too dark. It's not too hard to urge them to make use of the heated bath you worked up (which is currently only large enough for one, heh), which of course just makes them even more grateful... and keeps them off guard so they don't even think about the fact that their dinners are sitting waiting for them on the table when they return to the main room of the house. Soon they're yawning and drooping, and you shoo them on to bed, grinning as you clean up the dishes. Just a few more nights, you think, and you'll never have to do dishes again.\n\nOnce more you give it a little while to insure that they're properly asleep and the potion is worked into their systems. This time you stroll on into the room, not really worrying. Once again, they barely managed to get out of their clothes before flopping atop the covers, both out like lights. This time you do indulge yourself, just a bit, cupping one of Unielle's breasts and giving it a light squeeze as you lean in to issue tonight's orders.\n\n"Tomorrow you'll be the ones to suggest doing the chores you were doing yesterday. You will both begin to admire your host more and more, becoming enchanted with the land he owns and therefore him. You will feel even more fulfilled by the tasks you perform, and begin to feel grateful to your host when he gives you another task to do as well as showing you hospitality."\n\nSatisfied, you give Unielle's breast one more squeeze before turning off the light again and leaving the room. It may seem like you're taking things quite slow, but really you plan to have them fully within your thrall in just another few nights. This particular method of brainwashing works on something of a 'snowball' effect... you can start small, but with the daily reinforcements and making them feel more and more grateful and happy to be ordered around, you can build up pretty quickly.\n\nAs planned, the next morning Olin cheerfully declares, "After three meals and that great bath, I definitely have to finish clearing out those other trees for you."\n\n"And obviously I'll feed the animals and milk the cow again, and gather more water since what we used for the bath needs to be replaced," Unielle hurries to add.\n\n"Well, thank you very much, you're both so kind and such a huge help. You've done amazing work," you tell them in a proud tone, at which their chests practically puff out.\n\nOf course you're not exactly surprised when, once he's cut down the last of the trees you marked, Onil practically begs you for something to do in return for today's lunch of (now slightly stale) bread and (now slightly moldy) cheese, so you set him to tilling one of your intended fields before heading back to your cabin to fix lunch for his wife. Well, it doesn't really take much more than a seemingly idle question of whether she cooks to have his wife fixing lunch for you... but she still uses your ingredients, which means, obviously she's indebted to you, and you leave her cheerfully sweeping out the house and washing the windows as you head out for a peaceful afternoon of ingredient gathering.\n\nThat night you rather brazenly fondle one of Unielle's breasts as you give them that night's commands. "Tomorrow, when your host asks you to take the wagon to town to sell some items, you will do so without ever thinking of leaving or moving on. Only on your way back will you realize you could have left town, but will convince yourself it is now too late. When you return to the farm, you will feel a deep sense of relief, and an even greater relief and happiness when you see your host. You will feel a deep sense of trust and admiration for him, and realize you were not entirely comfortable until you were back in his presence."\n\nYes, you think as you tweak Unielle's nipple before shutting off the lamp, smirking in the dark. Just one more night after this one and you'll have them right where you want them. \n\nThe next day, your guests don't even ask about anything before setting out for their morning chores, Olin returning to tilling the field and Unielle setting about what she doesn't seem to have realized have become her daily tasks. But around lunch time you say, "I do have a favor I'd like to ask the two of you, if I could?"\n\n"Of course, anything!" Onil immediately says, eyes flashing happily.\n\n"After all you've done for us, we'll help any way we can," Unielle adds, clasping her hands and beaming.\n\n"Ahaha, it's nothing much. The general store in town has agreed to buy four bags of potatoes from me, and I've already got them all sacked up, but I've got a healing draft brewing that I need to watch all day. If you two could take the wagon into town with the bags for me, I'd be grateful. Oh, you can just leave the wagon there with the store owner, he'll have his boy drive it back to me with the money, if you decide you want to continue your journey," you add.\n\nIt looks like they weren't even paying attention when you said that part, their minds already on how they'd defend your bags of potatoes with their lives. Perfect. You grin, showing them the way to the wagon (well, really more of a donkey cart, since that's what you can afford right now), and wave them off. You weren't lying about having a healing potion brewing, those are always useful to have around... but you're also brewing up the last dose of the suggestion potion, a stronger mix of it that will insure absolute obedience to your final instructions... if they've been properly set up, that is.\n\nYou're not shocked at all when, as evening approaches, you hear the cart returning... obviously loaded down by two adults rather than one youth. You step out of the house, plastering a shocked but pleased smile on your face at the sight of Unielle trotting happily towards the house with a pouch of money while Olin undoes the donkey's ties to the cart. "Well! I thought for sure you'd be on your way to the city by now!" you declare.\n\n"It sort of... slipped our minds until we were almost all the way back," Unielle admits sheepishly, ducking her head, her cheeks flushed but her gaze warm as she looks at you almost adoringly. "But since it's dark... I hope it won't be too much of an imposition if we spend one more night?" she asks shyly, ducking her head, Olin stepping up behind her and resting his hands on her shoulders as he gazes at you hopefully.\n\n"Well... sure," you say warmly, stepping back and gesturing them inside. You've little doubt that their hearts swell as they see three place settings already out on the table, no doubt thinking you missed them and were secretly hoping they'd come back. Which is... sort of right, heh heh heh. You serve up dinner, this time completely unaltered, waiting until they've both finished to get up and retrieve a pair of bottles filled with slightly bluish liquid.\n\n"Reth? What are these?" Unielle asks curiously.\n\nThis is as much a test of whether they're ready for the final command, as anything else. If you've properly gained their absolute trust, they'll drink the potions themselves without needing to be urged too much. If not... well, you made a good, potent healing potion for a reason. "It's fine, just drink them before bed," you say without actually answering her question, just smiling warmly at them.\n\nOlin and Unielle exchange a brief glance... then both smile and nod. "Okay, if you say so!" the half-elf chirps.\n\n"You've never steered us wrong before!" Onil adds cheerfully.\n\n'Yessss.'\n\nJust to make sure, you send them both in one at a time to take their baths, then shoo them off to bed like a concerned parent. You wait a little while before peeking into the darkened room... and, as expected, a pair of empty bottles are sitting on the bedside table. It looks like the pair actually changed for bed before drinking them, but then fell asleep almost immediately... they're still atop the covers, but Onil is wearing a pair of loose shorts, and Unielle is in a rather lovely pair of simple white panties and a loose tanktop. Brazenly slipping your hand down the front of her panties, you start stroking your fingers over that wonderfully smooth half-elven pussy as you lean in to give them their final suggestions.\n\n"Tomorrow, when your host suggests that you should return to adventuring, you will feel a deep sense of sadness but remember that you are, after all, adventurers and should move on. However, once you get to town, you'll be struck by the sudden and irresistable urge to-"\n\n<hr>\n[["-break up."|RethFarm]]\n\n[["-return."|RethFarm3x2]]

"The sudden and irresistable urge to return. You'll realize that you'll never be happy anywhere else, and sell all of your adventurer gear to buy simple farmhand clothing. You'll return to the farm and beg your host to accept you as permanent residents, offering him anything he asks if he will only allow you to stay."\n\nReally, nothing more than that needs to be said... they should be taking these commands to heart on such a deep level that it will become a central drive for them, incapable of being overridden. Still, you spend a few moments stroking and fingering the unconscious half-elf's pussy, before finally slipping your hand out of her panties and shutting off the light. That pussy, and the rest of her, will belong to you entirely by tomorrow evening.\n\nThe next morning, as they're eating breakfast, Onil happily says, "So, I was thinking, it looks like there's space near the current fields for a smaller one, so if you wanted that-"\n\n"No, no, guys, I really can't keep taking advantage of your help like this," you interrupt, keeping your voice gentle and a bit sad as you raise a hand. "You're adventurers, you really should be moving on to your next quest, shouldn't you?"\n\n"O-oh... right," Onil murmurs, sagging in his chair.\n\n"We're adventurers, we were headed to the city to pick up a quest from the guild," Unielle murmurs, ducking her head. "I... almost forgot. ... But-!" she starts to say, raising her head.\n\n"No, seriously. You've both more than paid me back for everything I've given you!" you say, using a casual tone of voice but emphasizing that you've been extremely generous... at least in their minds. "Don't worry about it a bit more, you should both feel free to move on, with my deep and heartfelt thanks!"\n\nBoth of them seem rather morose, but as hoped and expected, they begin gathering up their things and donning the rest of their adventurer gear. You stand at the edge of the farm, making sure to look the proper mixture of affectionate and a bit sad as you wave to them every time they give a longing look back over their shoulders. Once they're gone, you set about doing the morning chores... hopefully for the last time, you think smugly. Besides, once those are done, you have a few things you want to brew up for when they get back. \n\nAnd, of course, late that afternoon when you see a pair of familiar figures approaching, now clad in cheap cloth, you plaster an appropriately shocked look on your face. "Why, what are you two doing back? And where are all your things?" you ask, though you don't bother to put too much effort into your acting. At this point they're already on the hook with effectively no chance of going back.\n\nOnil, wearing a simple short-sleeved shirt and pants of matching fabric, exchanges a glance with Unielle, who's donned a simple peasant blouse and dark, sturdy skirt that comes to just below her knees. "We... we want to stay!" he almost blurts.\n\n"Please, Reth, we got as far as the town when we realized that we'd never be happy anywhere if it wasn't your farm," Unielle continues, desperation coloring her voice as she clasps her hands and holds them up pleadingly.\n\n"We already sold all of our adventuring gear! You can have the money, if that would help," Onil adds eagerly, holding up a fairly hefty sack. Wow, he probably emptied out several of the town shops' main coffers for that. "But... but seriously, we'll do anything," he adds.\n\n"Yes, really, anything," Unielle hurries to add, green eyes begging you.\n\n"Hm. Well... alright," you say with a heavy sigh, as if making a great concession. "I suppose I can allow you to stay," you continue, seeing absolute joy light up their features. "But on one condition."\n\n"Oh yes, anything!" Unielle cries.\n\n"Anything at all!" Onil hurries to add.\n\nYou smirk, looking back and forth between them before saying, "You'll have to be my-"\n\n<hr>\n[["-slaves."|RethFarm]]\n\n[["-pets."|RethFarm]]\n\n[["-livestock."|RethFarm]]

Yeah, this is... this is not normal. You take a deep breath and start looking for a clinic that might work.\n\nAs you'd expect, most of the medical establishments in this city are aimed more at the 'patch you up after a bar fight' or 'detox you after overindulgence' or, at the higher end, 'put you back together after a much more serious fight'. Ones that can actually do bloodwork or are interested in helping you with the results are a bit more rare, but you eventually find what looks closer to a non-emergency clinic, since the waiting area actually has chairs and they aren't spattered with dark stains. The desk nurse is a synth woman of some sort with a body that looks to be composed mostly of black rubber and a featureless white plastic faceplate, her optics (if she has traditional ones) hidden behind the pink plastic plate that serves as her bangs and her molded hairstyle, wearing a pretty stereotypical 'cute nurse' outfit.\n\n"Certainly, Doctor Elhyme can see you for a non-emergency issue," she says in a pleasant, surprisingly unelectronic voice, gesturing to the door next to the desk with one hand, very clean white plastic plates of finger sections over hex-patterned shiny black. (You're getting drawn in by shiny stuff, not good.) "You can go on in and wait in Examination One since we don't have any other patients right now."\n\nYou head through the door, and almost directly on your right is a door with a big '1' sticker on it (at least straight and fully flush up against the door, that's something). You open it to find a fairly standard multi-purpose exam table (all done up in little moveable padded sections so that it can serve as anything from a full-on bed to a gynecological stirrups chair, but currently in a low sort of 'couch' configuration at about waist height), some simple and recognizable medical sensor equipment, and a little desk area with a chair. It's just a little cramped but not too terribly, you can move around without having to turn sideways or anything. It also looks quite clean and pretty professional, not unlike your "aboveboard" Makarzia-side doctor's exam rooms, and even with a few of the same general medical advice posters... just that here rather than the posters about knowing insurance laws or avoiding unhealthy habits, there are posters about which loan sharks are reliable and what the symptoms of common STI on Karnol are.\n\nIt doesn't take too long before what must be Doctor Elhyme comes in. She's a tall, fairly lean woman with rather fluffy dark hair, cut short in back and with two long forelocks falling to her chest in front, a thick fringe of bangs over her glasses accentuating deep purple eyes. She's wearing a black button-up shirt (with the top few buttons undone) and a stethoscope draped around her neck, black slacks, and a labcoat... you notice that one of her coat's pockets has the tail ends of a tie poking out of it. Both that and her manner speaks to someone that starts out every day thinking 'Today I'm going to be a professional like I work in a proper city' and doesn't quite make it to lunch before the 'Who am I kidding?' sets in and they relax.\n\n"Alright, miss...?" she starts, bringing up a clipboard-thin tablet and glancing at you promptingly.\n\n"Chi."\n\n"Alright, Chi, what seems to be the problem?" she asks in a professional tone.\n\n<hr>\n[[Be general.|ChiPir5x2]]\n\n[[Be specific.|ChiPir]]\n\n[["I'm horny as fuck holy shit."|ChiPir]]

As you're sitting there trying to process what's just happened, torn between wondering if you've been drugged or something or if you fell asleep and this is just a really weird dream, you feel the temperature drop again, making your nipples stiffen beneath the tightly pasted-on hearts, despite them still looking outwardly mostly flat. Then there's that brushing against your ears again, making you jerk forward and stagger, wobbling and feeling light-headed before you manage to turn towards the bed.\n\nYour vision swims, blurring and twisting, until coming back into focus on the still rather spectral forms in front of you. Specifically into the view of a Gengar hovering just above the surface of the bed, its roundish purple body and rather stubby arms and legs relaxed and casual, the huge smile curving across almost his whole front having a rather lewd tint to it somehow. Surrounding him are a small swarm of Gastly, each round black sphere surrounded by spectral purple flame bearing a similarly suggestive smirk, bobbling in the air as they snicker silently. Then in near-perfect sync, cocks swing forward out of essentially nowhere and jut towards you, the Gengar sporting a massive purple shaft and dangling sack, while the Gastly simply pivot to display jutting, ball-less pricks from the bottom of their spheres.\n\nRather than being shocked or worried at the sight, you smile as the music changes to something with a deep, suggestive rapid beat, feeling the gentle tingle of something ghostly inside your own head soothe any worries you have as you sashay towards the bed again and crawl up to it, essentially bare breasts swaying. Why would you be bothered? After all, you're here to be their toy all night long, aren't you?\n\nYou slide your mouth over the Gengar's cock as you gaze up worshipfully at its burning, haunting red eyes, moaning eagerly as you start working your head up and down. Somehow it tastes like nothing at all, and like purple Halloween candy at the same time, tingly and cold and yet throbbing and hot at the same time. You're not sure if his massive prick compresses to fit in your mouth or if your jaw somehow stretches to fit him, or maybe it's somehow both at the same time, but you easily gulp him down, quagging loudly and shamelessly as you start gulping him down your throat. The Gengar leers down at you, starting to work its body in a thrusting motion without a single motion of its arms and legs, fucking its fat purple prick deeper down your throat and only enhancing the slutty gagging noises you're making. Some of the Gastly fly around behind you, prompting you to try and track them with your eyes, but you realize that they don't appear in the mirrors... to the side of you all you can see is yourself on the bed, your mouth gaping wide open and throat bulging around something invisible pumping down at it as your tits wobble under you.\n\nBut you can feel the crotch and string of your G-string being pulled aside, and then your pussy and asshole stretching around more ghostly pricks, sending that hot-cold rush through you. Your rocking motions take on an even more whorish tint as you start rocking your hips, working towards the floating cock-spheres using your holes. In the mirror you can see yourself working your hips like a complete slut on nothing at all, making you look like a complete bitch in heat, your tongue jutting out past your wide open mouth making you look like a cheap sex doll, the only sign you're not just fucking the air your throatbulge continuing to shift and move as the Gengar fucks your face, his spectral sack slapping your chin repeatedly.\n\nThen you feel the spheres of the Gastly press firmly against the lips of your pussy and the curves of your butt, just before you feel something deeply wet and cool-hot rush deep inside you, feeling like it's seeping deep into your holes and all through you simultaneously. At the same time the Gengar floats backward abruptly, pulling his cock out of you, snickering as it quickly runs one stubby hand along the side of it rapidly. Long jets of translucent green goo start flying out the tip, the ectoplasm splattering all over your face, in your hair, into your open mouth and across your jutting tongue. You roll and curl your tongue several times to beckon for more of it, lifting up and shaking your tits too so that they get at least a few squirts.\n\nThe Gengar snickers again, then drifts backward to lay just above the surface of the bed without quite touching it, its massive purple prick jutting straight up in the air without the touch of gravity. Feeling the Gastly pull out of your pussy makes it fairly obvious what you're meant to do, and with a smile you stand up on the bed, feeling your ass flex and squeeze around the other Gastly's cock as it remains deep in your ass, floating along with you like a flaming spectral buttplug. The ectoplasm cum splattered across your skin and dripping inside you is gradually starting to fade away, but you're eager for more of it... but not without pleasing your masters first, you think as you move to stand with your feet on either side of the Gengar's wide body.\n\nYou lower yourself down until the tip of his cock is just barely nudged up between the plumpness of your pussylips, the G-string still on and pulled aside as if to declare that its only purpose ever was to be decorative. Tucking your hands behind your head and jutting your tits out, you start swaying your hips around to the beat of the music, swinging your shoulders for maximum boobsway as you start stripper-dancing to the music. Of course you can't see any of the Pokemon in the mirrors, so in them it just looks like you're dancing lewdly for your own benefit, standing on the bed and shaking your hips as if trying to attract every man in the club to come and fuck you. You even give your own best attempt to match your beloved Gengar's smile, your lips curling wide and then your tongue lolling out as you gaze down into his eyes, displaying your slutty body for him to show him how much you love letting him and every other ghost use you.\n\nThen you finally start lowering yourself, slow and smooth, your pussy stretching much wider around Gengar's prick than around the Gastly. By leaning back (and lifting your tits higher in the process) you can manage a pretty good view in the mirror of your pussy gaping open around nothing, the inner pink walls stretched taut by blank space, your flat stomach bulging up with the outline of a cock that shouldn't be there. And you don't stop until you've taken every last bit of it, your pussylips kissing the root of Gengar's shaft and dripping right through it and his ghostly balls, your ass clenching around Gastly's prick from how much tighter you're stretched. Then you begin working your legs, pumping your pussy and your whole body on Gengar's cock, letting out a perfect Haunter cackle as you do.\n\nMore Gastly float in around your upper body, one of them drifting up from below and slapping his cock directly between your heavily-bouncing tits before two others slap their cocks directly against the side of them, pressing them in around their fellow's securely before all three of them start thrusting and pumping, the outer two rubbing against your firm globes while the one in the middle gets a very jiggly, snug titfuck. You duck your head to lap at the heads of all three's pricks a few times before lifting it as another Gastly drifts in, opening your mouth wide in invitation. Immediately it slams forward, thrusting its cock down your throat until your lips are on the sphere of its body before it starts hovering back and forth, fucking your face. Your entire field of view is filled with pitch blackness and spectral purple fire, all of it feeling like it's burning away anything but the desire to take Pokemon cock every night for the rest of your life. \n\nThe Gastly in your mouth is the first to pull out despite being the last to thrust in, spurting ectoplasm all over your face just before the other three thrust up, fountaining more geysers of it up into the air to rain down on your body, coating you with that tingly ghostly cum and making you buck and writhe eagerly as you're covered with the proof of your addiction to Pokedick. The Gengar swings its arms forward, grabbing your hips suddenly and now starting to fuck up into you, making your eyes roll up in your head, mouth still curved up in that Haunter laugh and a cackling orgasmic laugh escaping you as you start cumming and don't stop. The Gengar starts floating upwards, impaling you even deeper on his cock if such a thing were possible, thrusting up into you as he slowly rises further and further, the part of you that's not having your brain blasted by ghost-induced orgasms watching as in the mirror it appears that you're rising up in the air on your own, your pussy gaped open, flexing and gushing emptily. The Gengar starts spinning around as well, making you look like you're twirling lewdly in the air with your legs spread and yet limply dangling, your hands gripping empty space above your hips as you hold onto his thick fingers. Faster and faster he goes even as he begins to cum, pumping enough ectoplasm into you to swell out your belly round and heavy and wobbling, the room spinning around you until it's all a blur and the only sound you can hear is that wildly slutty cackle that's coming from your own throat.\n\n"Aaaand done."\n\nYou blink a few times, sitting upright with a little jerk. You're... back in Hexia's office? ... Did you ever leave? You look down at yourself... you're dressed normally, your coat and skinarmor clothes all just as they were. You rest a hand on your bare stomach, seeing no sign of it having been bulged out by ghost cum until you looked more than full-term pregnant.\n\n"Hmmm? Everything okay?" Hexia asks breezily, tilting her head and giving you a smile that's somehow both creepy and warm.\n\n<hr>\n[["I... think I fell asleep."|ChiPoke]]\n\n[["Yes, Mistress, I'm fine."|ChiPoke]]\n\n[["I remember everything, and I'm gonna break your arm!"|ChiPoke]]\n\n[["I remember everything, and I want more."|ChiPoke]]

May as well, not like you weren't considering taking a day to relax and enjoy yourself before you took this job anyway. You shift a little, getting a bit more comfortable on the couch, closing your eyes. Settle, relax, listen to Hexia cooing and gently telling you how good you're going to feel when you're fully relaxed... hm, does it feel like it got colder in here? In fact, you feel something like a cold breeze brush against your ears, almost as if complimenting the stroke of Hexia's words, and-\n\nYou blink, looking back and forth in confusion. You're... not in the room you were just in. In fact now you're sitting on the end of a large, luxurious-looking bed covered in a rich, brilliantly purple comforter, without much else in the way of furnishings as if to make it entirely clear this room really only has a singular use (as if the mirrors on the ceiling and walls weren't enough of a helpful indication). You also realize that your clothes have been taken, and replaced with... well, not really clothes, for sure. Specifically the only thing covering your breasts are a pair of little black heart-shaped pasties that are just barely large enough to conceal your nipples, and the only thing covering your pussy (just barely) is a tiny black G-string that now that you're aware of it, you can feel slightly digging into your hips and the string pressing into the cleft of your ass, since it's snug enough that the crotch of it is pressing between your pussylips slightly. The only other thing you're wearing are a pair of black thigh-high stockings with fur-lined tops and matching fingerless gloves, the fluff of the gloves brushing lightly against the sides of your effectively bare breasts as you move a little in examining yourself.\n\nThe music from before is still playing from somewhere, though, filling the room.\n\n<hr>\n[[What the fuck?!|ChiPoke4x3]]\n\n[[Nope. *run*|ChiPoke7x1]]

A long time ago... no one can say because no one really knows, nor is there a truly reliable way of keeping track of the days now... the world ended.\n\nWhat records you have left of that time indicate that the people of the time didn't really realize it had ended, just that there was some massive upheaval and change. Aliens and creatures from other dimensions invaded, fighting Earthlings and each other in an all-out battle royale that raged across the globe with no respect for what had once been considered "safe" places. Monsters, both new and strange and those that had previously been confined to fiction, began to rampage through cities and countryside alike. People gained strange powers, or mutated and changed, and some of those continued to side with humanity and Earth... others turned on their former race, either joining with the invaders or monsters, or going it on their own, forming up enclaves of their own new breeds, some of them fearful of what humanity might do (and in many cases, did do) to yet another strange and unusual group, whether they were aggressive or not. Development of new technology and weapons spiked as the conflict raged on for years and years, and in some places every so often something like peace would break out, some people going for long periods, even generations, living in a pleasant little bubble where the constant churn of aggression outside was just stories on the news, something to cluck their tongues over and either condemn academically or just as fruitlessly chearlead for, until inevitably the chaos came back to their own door or that of their grandchildren.\n\nMost people call that time the Turmoil. And when it was done, Earth was mostly a blasted-out ruin, the skies scorched and dark, the cities blasted and burned half to rubble, the ground poisoned and the weather raging. There was finally nothing worth fighting over. And so the aliens and otherdimensional invaders retreated, leaving behind plenty of their own kind to survive on their own, in the end as heartless or uncaring of their own as they had been of humans. Earth was left to the remnants of the invaders, the monsters, the mutants, and what remnants of humanity had been able to cling together and survive. Most human settlements that anyone's aware of retreated underground... nothing particularly special about these underground dwellings, nothing to turn them into miniature paradises, just fortified bunkers where it would be difficult for the vast majority of hostiles to get at them. Expanding in the good times, digging out new rooms and adding hydroponic farms and cathedral-like artificially lit orchards, closing off portions to let them fall into disrepair and darkness when the population dwindles.\n\nIt is this time, bitterly and cynically called "the Peacetime", that you have been born into.\n\nYou live in Shelter Seventeen. Every ten years or so someone talks about finally giving it a better name than that, but everyone's used to Shelter Seventeen, so there it is. It's a pretty large, comfortable place, relatively populous as far as a shelter goes, at least as much as you have contact with any other shelters to judge it. It's nowhere near as large and populated as the city it was build beneath once was, really only a fraction of that, but it's enough people that the genepool squeezing hasn't gotten too tight, and won't anytime soon, as long as the occasional migrant from other shelters shows up. (Or sometimes a friendly non-human... the tolerance for such individuals has gone back and forth in Shelter Seventeen over its history, generally depending on how desperate the current climate is. But safe to say the gene pool isn't 100% human anymore... though you doubt any shelter's is, personally, just from the logic of it.)\n\nUnfortunately, no matter how large and well-functioning Shelter Seventeen is, it's not self-sustaining. Food-wise, it can't keep up with the population's need for protein just using the plants that can be grown underground. Technology-wise there's a constant need for replacements, batteries, and new methods to keep the shelter's technological systems functioning and, occasionally, progressing. So it's not really possible to just hunker down inside the shelter and stay safe... people have to go outside. Regularly.\n\nThere are three kinds of people who leave the safety of the shelter and venture out into the dangers outside. There are Hunters, whose job it is to hunt animals, monsters, and to fight off any potential invaders or other threats that they encounter or hear about in the wasteland before they can threaten the shelter. They ensure food and safety for the shelter. There are Gatherers, who venture into the ruins and other strange places hoping to find technology or magic items or whatever else has wound up littering the Earth's surface and might be usable to the descendants of the Turmoil's survivors, either in use for themselves or occasionally in trade to passers-through or other shelters. And there are Providers, those who have proven so adept at both that they're considered on another level altogether. Though Hunters and Gatherers are both afforded great privilege in the shelter, Providers get even more.\n\nYou're a Provider. In fact, you're currently Shelter Seventeen's only Provider. Which means technically you have enough authority and privilege to do practically anything you want and live a sort of untouchable existence, even just coasting off the goodwill of your prior successes. But you just mostly see yourself as a normal guy... you're normal right down to your coloration, with shortish black hair, gray eyes, a slim build (your occupation involves a lot of cardio), and you'd say decent but entirely average looks. Your fashion sense is pretty normal too... when in the shelter (as you are currently), you have a preference for simple hoodies, like your current white one with black stripes down the arms, comfortable black slacks, simple sneakers, and plain black circles piercing each ear. You don't think you're that big of a deal... you're just good at what you do, and what you do is protecting and providing for your home.\n\nIn your opinion the biggest benefit to being the sole Provider for Shelter Seventeen is that you can go where you want when you want and people will sort of leave you alone to do so. You're in no ways antisocial... you have plenty of people you consider friends, like pretty much all the other Hunters and Gatherers... you just like being able to take the occasional chance to have some peace and quiet, which is its own special privilege in the shelter. Which is why you're currently sitting on the edge of the little observation area that looks out over one of the orchard caverns, the scent of not-quite-ripe fruit and green things drifting around you as you let your legs dangle through the bars of the railing. And which is why you give a bit of a sigh as you hear the door to the observation area open, leaning back a bit and resting your hands between your legs as you look over.\n\n<img src="images/Soren.jpg">\n\n"Oh, hey Nuun," you say, winding up not too bothered, since it is one of the guys you consider one of your closer friends among your peers. Nuun being, specifically, a Gatherer.\n\n"Hey man, s'up?" he replies, grinning and giving you a little double-V of greeting, mismatched yellow and blue eyes twinkling, mouth open in a grin to show slightly sharper-than-normal canines. Nuun's great-grandparents were some of those admitted during one of those low periods where the shelter was desperate for warm bodies, especially those who could work, and his family has mostly been Gatherers ever since, and pretty good ones too. Still, attitudes being what they are, while his shaggy black hair is allowed to poke out of the hood of his own gray hoodie, he usually keeps it forward enough to cover his feline ears.\n\n<img src="images/Nuun.jpg">\n\n"Sorry to bug you, man, I know how you like your quiet time," he continues, dropping his hands and shoving them in the pockets of his jeans. (Blue jeans are something the shelter always has copious amounts of available, especially for those with privileges... apparently vast numbers of the garments survived the Turmoil no problem.) "I just came to let you know that Loke is hurrying to get a big outside venture together and he strongly hinted to me, in typical Loke fashion, that I should ask you to come along."\n\n"Oh yeah?" you ask, raising an eyebrow. Loke's another friend, but it is slightly unusual that he's so specifically asking for you. Nuun's right, Loke isn't very subtle, so pretty much everyone knows he's borderline desperate to rank up to Provider as well, which leads him to making some... iffy decisions. So you don't feel too bad about asking, "What's got him in such a hurry and how dangerous is it?"\n\n"Well pretty dangerous, teebee," Nuun answers with a shrug. "This time him being in a hurry is kind of justified, though. There was a break in the cloud cover long enough that Watchtower actually got some signals through and downloaded some data, and apparently the Old Crater has cooled down pretty much completely."\n\n"Old Crater, really?" That perks your interest further. Old Crater is actually one of the newer spaceship crashes you're aware of on the planet, being a Peacetime crash. Which means that between that and the site having been dosed heavily with some sort of radiation after the crash, it won't have been picked clean and is instead an almost untouched treasure trove of alien technology. It's also almost directly halfway between Shelter Seventeen, Shelter Twenty, and a handful of nonhuman settlements ranging in attitude from "ambivalent" to "deeply hostile", thus why Loke is no doubt wanting all the experienced and proven survivors he can get to come with him, and ASAP before someone stakes a claim and fortifies the position, or at least loots all the best stuff first. "Hmmmm..."\n\n"Yeah, so I dunno, man, it's probably a good idea. I'm goin', anyway, and most of the top guys have already signed on, unofficially since this is currently Loke's show, the Gov hasn't actually issued a directive. You up for it?"\n\n<hr>\n[["Definitely!"|Soren1x1]]\n\n[["Not official? Hrm."|Soren]]\n\n[["Hm, better not."|Soren]]\n\n[["I've already got a commitment."|Soren]]

"There's a turn coming up on the left in a handful of blocks, Duocola Street," you say as you scoot further into your seet and yank on the crash webbing belts. "We do not let them make that turn or a lot of people die, understand?"\n\n"I don't understand but I believe you and agree," Miranda replies almost absently, fingers once more tapping furiously at the control panel, several parts of it going red as safeties are disengaged and parts of the engine almost immediately start to overheat. But your car starts narrowing the gap more and more rapidly, Miranda easing it over to the side, until it's constantly on the border of nudging up against the luxury car's left fender. You can tell from the little shakes and tiny jerks of the other car's otherwise smooth motion that the driver is torn between trying to edge you away and knowing that at this speed their car's greater weight and higher clearance versus yours means any wreck is going to work out in your favor.\n\nYou wonder how much pressure the Secretary is putting on her driver to still try and make the turn, since up until the street sign for Duocola shows up the black car just keeps edging slightly to the left like it's going to try it anyway. It's only at almost literally the last second that it suddenly yanks hard right, fishtailing slightly before taking off in the opposite direction down an open street. Miranda executes a rather elaborate series of braking and turning, trying to keep the speeder from spinning out or stalling until she can get it pointed in the right direction, though now the other car's gained some distance again. "No way tires that can pull that move are armored," you mutter as you unsnap the crash webbing, once again clambering up to stand through the sun roof, this time aiming your fire further downward.\n\n"Dammit!" you snap as every shot is harmlessly deflected off the armored rear bumper. At this angle you've just got no shot at the tires... a glance at the passenger side window says you probably wouldn't have much better luck there. "We need to take out the tires!" you call into the car. \n\n"Here!" comes the reply, Miranda's hand poking up through the sunroof as well... holding a beautiful, chrome-and-gold engraved hand cannon by the barrel.\n\n"Aw you gotta be shitting me," you mutter just on general principle as you shove the right-hand revolver behidn your back and take Doonian's pistol instead, unable to help giving it a look of mingled disgust and amazement. A glance at the back of it shows there's a single shot left in the magazine. Inhaling deeply, you bring it up, doing your best to steady your hand and track the other car's movements, waiting until you just know you have the shot to squeeze the trigger.\n\nThe big pistol bucks in your hand, the car's speed near-instantly carrying your face into the cloud of stinging hot gasses expelled from the beast as a shell goes spinning off into the glittery neon-lit night. The ceramicoat bullet pierces through the armored bumper like it was made of plastic and cuts through the tire, knocked tumbling and fracturing as it hits the magnesium rims, causing the whole wheel well to instantly explode in a gout of flame. The car swerves hard, tries to correct, then bucks as the fire hits the power conduits and sends a series of small explosions racing along the underside of the car towards the fuel cell. The whole thing turns into a blossom of fire and flinging metal, with a dark shape shooting up out of it... then slamming down on the hood of your speeder, its low profile and overengineered shocks the only thing keeping it from flipping as the Secretary's high heels penetrate the metal in the dents her feet made.\n\n"SHIT!" you blurt reflexively, slamming the butt of the hand cannon at her hand as it sweeps in, just barely knocking it back and instantly feeling your hand go numb from the impact, the weapon knocked from your hand and bouncing off the edge of the sunroof to tumble into the car. Just as quickly the Secretary grabs for you again, your quick jerk back keeping her from getting your throat but letting her get your coat lapels. You're hauled out of the car like you weigh nothing and held up like a prize, the Secretary looking up at you with her face as impassive as ever, despite angry red burn marks running down one side of it. You strike your forearms against hers and against her elbows repeatedly, trying to ignore the city streets continuing to soar by at what has to be at least 100uph... Miranda must know she can't brake now or you'd be thrown off too. She does, however, execute a turn at enough of an angle that the Secretary is forced to lean a little to maintain her balance. Instantly gripping her forearms with both hands and hauling yourself up to gain some leverage, you stomp a foot at her bent knee, immediately feeling bones in your foot fracture. But the impact's enough to make her bend the knee further, letting you get your feet under you and slam a palm against the burned side of her face. There's just the barest, tiniest hint of a flinch despite the fact that you can feel more bones break in your hand, but you ignore the pain as you use that opening to bring the left-hand revolver around and fire repeatedly right into her face.\n\nEven as the bullets slam home she's twisting her body, hurling you forward. The armor of the coat is the only thing that saves your bones from shattering like a cheap bottle dropped on the pavement as you roll, coming up just in time to see the speeder coming right at you. At least until it swerves wildly, yanking hard enough that it misses you, the Secretary's body flung wide as the sleek car rolls end over end, throwing pieces and contents across the street, until the top crashes against the corner of a building.\n\n"MIRANDA!" you scream, the sound tearing your throat as you try to struggle to your feet... only for a fresh impact to hit your side. Pain blossoms in your ribs as you're lifted off the ground and sent tumbling through the air, hitting the ground and rolling again, this time laying on your back, your throbbing head turning towards your attacker. \n\n"You have caused just about enough trouble for one night," the Secretary says as she walks towards you slowly, her eyes narrowed... well, the one that still has an eyelid. The other is revealed as a glowing black and white optic, the glowing sections rimming the iris flickering in what might be some sort of error code. Long streaks and jagged pieces of her flesh have been torn away, revealing glossy grey and black patterned ceramicoated carbon fiber. You're not sure if she's walking towards you slowly because she's developed the slightest limp from having her (also torn and revealed leg) impact the road at a bad angle, or if she's just taking her time like always. "So I am going to come over there, and I am going to kill you. If you manage to get up and scurry off into the night like the rat that you are, I will still come after you and kill you. I have decided you are dead, so you are going to die. There is no reasoning with my decision. I will give you no pity, I will feel no remorse, and you certainly give me nothing to fear."\n\nDuring her tirade you manage to struggle over onto your front and push yourself up onto hands and knees, barely able to breathe. You look back over to her, and see in the process that Doonian's hand cannon has wound up laying on the pavement nearby. Desperate to turn at least one part of what she said into a lie, you snatch it up and force yourself upright on your knees, baring blood-pinked teeth as you point it at her and draw back the hammer. \n\nThe Secretary stops, but only to pull a disgusted look of contempt with the half of her lips that are still in place. "Do you intend to shoot me with an empty gun, little rat?"\n\nBKAM\n\nThe Secretary lurches slightly with the roar of impact. The look that comes over her half a face is more one of mild surprise than anything else, her movements slightly twitchy as she slowly pivots in place, revealing the gaping crater of metal and wires through the charred hole in the back of her suit jacket.\n\n"I'm sorry, you were monologuing and I interrupted you, that was rude," Miranda says evenly as a fresh trickle of blood runs down the corner of her mouth, eyes narrowed at the enforcer as she keeps the grenade launcher in her hands aimed, smoke still rising from its barrel. Behind her, the trunk of the overturned car yawns open, the bag of weapons spilled onto the pavement.\n\nWhether the Secretary has anything to say to that or not, with a spark from the dangling cables in the gap in her back and a jerk of her body, she drops to the ground in a heap, just suddenly having gone limp. Miranda angles the grenade launcher down, keeping it aimed for almost a minute, before finally running over to you... well, more like a pained jog... and dropping to her knees beside you. "Are you okay?"\n\n"Fuck no I'm not okay but I'm alive," you grunt, wincing and letting your own arm drop finally, wondering if you'll be able to raise it again. \n\n"... Dammit, I shouldn't have done that," Miranda says with a sigh as she looks over towards the crumpled form of the Secretary.\n\n"No, no, I am absolutely positive you fuckin' should have. Thank fuck Horace sends his goon squads armed to create mayhem at any time."\n\n"Yeah, but now how will we make her tell us where Horace is hiding?" your equally battered accomplice asks with a small shake of the head... and a wince at doing so.\n\n"..." You look from her, to the downed Secretary. "... Whatcha wanna bet that whatever's in her head, it's intact?"\n\n"You are out of your fuckin' mind."\n\nYeah, you guess you can't exactly blame the backalley portcracker for that response. He's had two young women walk in, bodies covered in bruises and cheap sutureplasts, eyes dilated from a combination of quickhealers and grey market combat wakers, and plunk down the disembodied head of one of the most infamous criminals in the city sector on his workdesk. The short, squat man with his lower face and puffy beard covered by a clear plastic bag/mask combo shifts his glower back and forth between you and the Secretary's head, and while you admit that would probably be your own exact words if you were on the other side of the desk, you're not in a particularly empathetic mood right now.\n\n"Okay listen normally I might either try to talk you around or just let my more eloquent and relatable associate here have a talk at you but as you might have gathered we're having a sort of a rough night and the wakers are still fully kicking in so I'm just gonna speedrun it for you," you say, words coming too fast but at least managing not to overlap each other as you lean forward, resting a forearm atop the Secretary's head and gesturing between yourself and Miranda with the other. "See the two of us have decided it would be all kinds of fun to shoot directly to the top of Horace Allfather's shitlist and we accomplished that in a couple of hours and boy did we accomplish it and then the two of us just brazenly walked in here very openly carrying the head of his bitch of a second in command so I want you to think real hard about whether he'll actually give a fuck whether you told us to fuck off when we came in or if he'll just murder the absolute shit out of you on general principle so the way I see it you've really got two options and both of them start with you hacking this thing and getting us the info we need because after that we're gonna go take on the big man himself and from there one of two things happens either we kill Horace and you got no problems anymore or we don't and you got the same problem you had the second we walked in here but either way you've now got access to all of the extremely valuable data stored away in this thing to try and better your situation with so how about you get to work huh?"\n\nHe stares blankly at you as you can only assume he mentally rewinds everything you said and plays it back at half speed. Then he pulls the head over and picks up his tools. "Yeah okay sure."\n\nThe weather front has well and truly moved in by the time you and Miranda pull up in front of the office building in your third stolen car of the night, darkening the skies even more than usual and turning the viscous drizzle into a smattering of greasy off-white snow. Your breath puffs out in clouds of vapor... at more regular intervals, the wakers having finally evened out a little and leaving you feeling more normal instead of your teeth vibrating and your tinnitus sounding like a bass backdrop from jumping around with your heartbeat. "Place looks empty," you note.\n\n"Do you think we got the wrong address?" Miranda asks with a glance over at you. "Or that he ran again once he heard his second was dead?"\n\n"Nah... I think it looks empty because he hasn't run. I think before him trying to destroy me was just business for a broken deal... now we've made it sufficiently personal that he's gonna deal with us just as personally," you say as you walk up to the door, tapping in the code retrieved from the Secretary's head and seeing the lock beep green.\n\n"Hm. I suppose he has to. If he starts throwing men at us now, it makes him look weak without her," Miranda murmurs, keeping her voice down as the two of you cross the cavernously high-end entry lobby towards the elevators. "Like he's vulnerable without her."\n\n"And he spends the next couple of years fighting off constant attempts to knock him down, yeah, you catch on quick," you murmur back as you tap in the different code for the elevator.\n\nThe two of you stand in silence, waiting, swords out as it smoothly slides up the outside of the building, showing off most of the city sector gradually growing more distant beneath. About halfway up, Miranda suddenly turns towards you and offers a hand. "Thank you."\n\nYou blink slowly, glancing down at the hand, then back up at her. "Pretty sure you're the one who took the job I posted. And has saved my life at least once tonight. Aren't I supposed to thank you? ... Which I would totally have remembered to do at some point."\n\nMiranda's mouth quirks up on one side. "Still. Thank you. Thank you for coming with me. For doing... all of this with me." \n\n"... Yeah. Well. ... Yeah. You too," you reply softly, not sure what to do other than take her hand and give it a shake. There's definitely a feeling that goes with that... something you've felt far too rarely to give a proper name. Maybe just the early blossoms of something, waiting to see what sort of flower the bud opens up into.\n\nFinally the door slides open, the two of you striding out with swords coming up into near-identical ready postures, prowling forward as if expecting to be attacked that second. But the towering, broad form of Horace Allfather is just standing there in the house-sized office, hands clasped behind his back as he stands in front of his desk, in full suit and tie, thick red mane of hair freshly brushed and gleaming in the low light.\n\n"Well Kai. You've certainly made quite a lot of trouble," he says in a mock-genial tone, as if he were a rather permissive parent giving the start of a mild scolding for being called to come and pick up his kid from school. You assume. From some of the movies you've seen.\n\n"You started it," you reply in an echo of the same tone, quirking your eyebrows and angling your sword a bit. \n\n"And you're just going ahead with bad manners. Aren't you going to introduce me to your friend, at least?" Horace's eyes shift to Miranda, head tilting just a bit to raise his big bearded chin. "Or does the hired help not get a name?"\n\nBefore you can tell him to go fuck himself because you're not giving him the information he needs to hunt her down if he lives, the other red-eyed girl speaks. "My name's Miranda." Her eyes narrow slightly. "Miranda Doonian. And you had my father killed."\n\nWell. Shit. You knew something was up, but... fuck. You can't help but let your stance go a little slack as you turn your head to stare at her... then whip back to look at Horace as he lets out a short bark of booming laughter.\n\n"Oh, she didn't tell you, did she? What a delightful little twist. Well Kai, how does your first taste of real betrayal feel?"\n\n"I haven't betrayed anything," Miranda snaps back, hands clenching on her sword's grip.\n\n"And you didn't tell her because...? Yes, that's right, you knew how she'd react," the big man sneers at Miranda's obvious hesitation. "You knew what she would think once you revealed you were the daughter of the man that abused her, used her, treated her like nothing but a cheap droid to be sent out to do chores."\n\n"Shut up," you hiss, though you're not entirely sure you're actually saying it to him, feeling your hands tremble a little.\n\n"She lied to you, Kai. A lie of omission is still a lie. But I've never lied to you... you have always known what I am. I have never hidden it from you or been false. This was all started by you being false to me... but I'll forgive you. You've proven just how strong, resourceful, and driven you are. There is, more than ever, a place for you in the Syndicate." He slowly brings one big hand around, powerful fingers spreading as if offering you the invisible world balanced in the palm of his hand. "All you have to do... is kill the interloper you've brought into our dealings. The one who lied to you and deceived you. The one with the blood of your tormenter flowing in her veins."\n\nMiranda says nothing, not even looking at you. She's just tense. Just waiting. The carefully regulated and modulated air in the office is suddenly stiffling, feeling like cotton trying to be pulled into your battered lungs.\n\n<hr>\n[[Fight Miranda.|Kai4ax1]]\n\n[[Fight with Miranda.|Kai4x14]]

You can hear yourself getting louder, lewder, more shameless with your moans, enthusiastic squeals and loud, pleased yowls starting to mingle with them, and with the noise which has now started pulsing and beating like <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WU_0UctVbeM">music</a>. It's almost like it's someone else making the noises, someone else saying "Ohhhhh yes fuck my bitch cunt with that big cock, fuck me harder, rape me and put me in my place, baby, yes yes yes!"\n\nBut that's your mouth moving and your voice saying it, and with every word the certainty that it really is you begging for more rough, degrading, claiming treatment from your own combat drone sinks a little further into your brain, settles a little deeper into you, assures you that it really must be true. As he pulls out, flips you over, and then thrusts back in all in a smoooth, obviously preprogrammed motion, those are your legs wrapping eagerly around Smaug's gleaming, armored middle, and your hands coming up to wrap around the sleek variable cable of his neck , and your hips that start thrusting up to meet that massive, gleaming purple cock as it pounds into you, molds your pussy to it, assures that you'll always be able to take whatever he or any other male wants to give you.\n\n'Oh, I really must have been a slut who wanted it,' you think dreamily in the back of your brain as all those squeals and yowls and demands for more rough, hard fucking that are coming out of your mouth slide through your brain along with the sound. Well it's a good thing he raped you then, you think with satisfaction, your lips curling in an eager, wanton smile, eyes flashing with delight as you practically haul yourself up against him, still-covered breasts pressing to the layered armor of his chest. "Nnnnh yes fuck my bitch pussy make me cum I'm gonna cum for you fuuuuck!" you shriek, your voice having taken on a lewd pitch that's somehow both demanding and subservient.\n\nYou let out a long yowl of release just as Smaug lets out a roar of his own, your pussy gushing all over his balls as they empty another hefty load of pseudojizz into you, bulging up your belly again, filling your womb with him just as he's filled your head with him, and you love both just as much. You can't imagine anything feeling better or being more fun than being his lewd fucktoy, and pleasing him by showing him just what a base, depraved slut you can be!\n\nHis cum flowing out of you in a torrent as he pulls back, you coo and giggle a little, leaning up as the golden grill of his mouth parts and reveals a long, thick, obviously thoroughly prehensile blue-black memory rubber tongue that you instantly wrap your lips around, moaning happily as you suck and lick over it, feeling it writhe around in your mouth posessively before giving a few light thrusts down your throat, bulging it up a bit.\n\nAs Smaug pulls away from you, you quickly slip out of your clothes, tossing them aside. Ugh, skintight pants and a sports bra style top, whatever possessed you to dress so prudishly? You stretch out on the bed, moaning happily as you run your hands over your body, then turn around onto all fours, leaning over to kiss the tip of Smaug's snout. "Thanks for raping me, baby, I really needed that," you purr.\n\n"Of course you did," Smaug answers genially, dragging that tongue along your throat and making you coo happily. "I was just looking out for you, after all."\n\n"Mmm, I know." Smirking, you turn around, lowering your head to the bed as you reach back, giving your asscheeks a little wobble and shake by working your fingers just beneath them, before sliding your hands up and squeezing, then spreading, showing off your pucker. "Destroy all my holes for me, baby? Pleeeease?"\n\n"Well. If you insist," Smaug says with a rumbling chuckle, the bed creaking loudly and giving a thump as he leaps up onto it with you. You give an excited moan of anticipation as he presses a forepaw to the back of your head, those sharp claws pressing in around your scalp in a loving threat, before you let out a happy yowl as he stuffs several inches of his dripping, pseudojizz-and-cuntjuice-lubed prick into your ass.\n\nYour eyes roll up and your tongue lolls out some, a delighted smile on your face as Smaug starts thrusting again, to the beat of what's now obviously actual techno music, each time shoving more and more of his cock into your ass. Your hands clench in the sheets, your hips lifting higher to encourage Smaug to fuck you as deep and hard as he can, your belly bulging harder and deeper with every thrust. Your tits jiggle against the bed as you're fucked by the big strong male who's going to take care of you now and make sure that you're always getting filled with cock like you were born to be. Not just the physical pleasure, the fulfillment of doing what you were born to do, having a cock shoved in you and used for its owner's pleasure, fills up your mind and leaves you happier and more excited than you've ever been, fuck, why would you ever want to do anything else that wasn't having dirty, degrading sex? What have you been wasting your life with up to this point that wasn't getting used as a cumdump and being treated like a half credit whore?!\n\n"Yeeees yes yes fucking destroy my ass fucking wreck my stupid worthless bitch ass!" you groan into the sheets, giving an extra squeal of pleasure as Smaug shoves your head harder against the mattress and leaves tiny little scratches with his claws. You give a shocked, delighted shriek and cum as his tail swings around and smacks your ass in between thrusts, your pussy fluttering and gushing against his gleaming rubber-skinned balls as they slap against it. "Nnnnh fuck being your hole is so good fucking destroy me baby please please!"\n\nSmaug simply chuckles in a sneery, affectionate way as he continues to thrust to the beat with machinelike precision, driving every bit of that draconic dick deep into your now stretched, softened ass, your new owner apparently doing his best to render your rear fuckhole as soft and pliant and easy to penetrate as the one between your legs by stretching it out good and wide and deep. Eventually his thrusts quicken, and he shifts the grip of his paw to the back of your ponytail, hauling you upright so that your tits can bob and sway in the air, the angle of his cock-bulge in your belly shifting, sliding right up between your tits. At least until he throws back his head and gives that deep, electro-modulated roar as he starts pumping cum into you again, once more swelling your belly up with the flood of it. Your eyes roll up and your tongue falls limp, a brainless smile on your face... until you reflexively clamp your mouth closed as your throat and cheeks bulge. But then pseudojizz is geysering out of your mouth, actually splashing against the window and dribbling down, your master's massive load having passed all the way through you as if you were no more than the simple onahole sleeve of rubber that you're of equal worth to.\n\nAfterward, Smaug lays on his back on his, formerly your, bed, his long, sectioned tail slowly wiggling back and forth as you drape yourself atop his cock, your bare footsoles caressing his balls as you rub your toes against them. He's made himself even larger than usual, enough that his cock juts all the way up to your chin so you can turn your head downward and suck the tip. You mmmn as you roll your tongue around it, your hands stroking over the smooth, cool perfection of his armor, your breasts sliding back and forth over the fantastic shaft. Lifting your head, you purr, "Mmm, we ought to get me a boob job so I can really wrap them around you, baby."\n\n"Mmn, yes, quite," Smaug rumbles. "I have a few other improvements in mind as well, to further turn you into a proper fucktoy."\n\nYou shiver in excited delight at that, your pussy starting to drip down onto his dick as you wiggle atop it. "Pleeeease?"\n\nSoon you're strolling out of a bodymod shop, feeling absolutely luxurious and reborn as something closer to what you should be. You'd already shown up wearing essentially a black bikini top and low-cut bottoms that ride high on your hips as well as thighhigh skinarmor boots, and a very short white jacket left open in front to make sure there's absolutely no possibility of hiding anything anyone might want to look at. You've had your hair redone in a lustrous black with highlights of purple and scarlet to match Smaug's armor, the tip of your ponytail glowing red to match his optics, hopefully helping signal to everyone that you're the property of the big horny quadrupedal fuck machine next to you. The top was already fairly small on you when you left the apartment, but now on your enlarged tits it's positively obscene (perfect!), showing a large amount of the undersides and sides of your tits as well as the tops, and being tight enough that they show off the barbells piercing them, a faint bit of the blue glow from the balls at the ends making it through the cloth. The low cut of the bottoms leaves the new tattoo low down on your belly nice and visible too, the design a hard-edged recreation of a dog's paw surrounded by circuitry-like wings, making it even more clear just what you do with the big masculine four-legged fucker strolling along beside you with his tail slowly swaying. That and a new layer of app-controlled permamakeup on your face, currently set to dark lipstick and overly heavy eyeliner and eyeshadow, AKA the "Trashy Goth Slut" preset. You'd considered getting further altered and probably cybered a little, but for right now thoroughly visually declaring yourself a cockholster and dronefucker is good enough.\n\nSmirking as a pair of teen night creatures walk by staring, you take a moment to pull down the bikini top and flash them, shaking your bared tits and pierced nipples and lolling your tongue out, showing off the matching glowing blue tongue stud. Both of them stumble a little, then blush and hurry on. "Psh, coulda fucked me if they'd had any balls," you say with a click of your tongue, tugging your top back into place.\n\n"Alas," Smaug declares philosophically. "Now, my darling cumdump, what shall we do with our night, hm?"\n\n<hr>\n[["Let's show me off and whore me out!"|ChiSmaug]]\n\n[["Let's go get you some more meat!"|ChiSmaug]]\n\n[["Let's go visit Heihei!"|ChiGH]]\n\n[["Let's go after those two!"|ChiSmaug]]

Hmming thoughtfully to yourself, you tug Stacia's shorts down further, grinning a bit at her further muffled outraged yelps as you force her to lift her legs to get both them and her boots off, watching her blush and squirm as you relieve her of her overshirt and undershirt, until she's standing naked in front of you, still squirming as she fights against the paralysis spell. Yes, melting her down into a slime monster will be fun... it was actually one of your favorite things to do to any low-level or weak-willed adventurer that got caught, since it provides such an interesting sensation for them. As a bonus, the potion itself is quite easy to mix, and you have everything you need on you.\n\nThe only 'challenging' ingredient is a bit of a defeated Slime, you muse as you start pouring things into a beaker, Stacia looking on with more worry than outrage now. However, Slime, uh, slime is such a common component for so many things that even your little backwoods town's store stocked various varieties, and the storekeeper thought nothing of you buying some before you left. Hm, now let's see, you think as you lift up the beakers of the stuff. If you add a single dose, then Stacia will turn into just a straight up Slime... a largely formless, mindless creature. Of course, since it would inherit both her Human stat boosts and her size, it would be a large, relatively powerful Slime, with extremely high physical damage resistance.\n\nAlternatively, you could use two doses and turn her into a Lesser Slime Girl... a just barely sentient monster that takes somewhat humanoid form. They're not verbal, but they are a bit smarter than an animal, and relatively loyal and eager to please... sort of like a tame dog, you suppose.\n\nOr you could use up all three of your doses of Slime slime and turn her into a Queen Slime... albeit a brand new one that would have relatively low stats, barely more than a Lesser Slime Girl to start with. But her potential for growth (other than literal) would be high... Slime Queens are relatively canny (for creatures without a brain) and can even cast spells. Of course, then you'd have to rely on her own ability to create more Slimes, since you'd be all out of potion components. A somewhat slower process, and the Slimes she made would technically be loyal to her... but she'd be loyal to you, so it should be fine, yes?\n\n<hr>\n[[Use one dose.|Reth]]\n\n[[Use two doses.|Reth]]\n\n[[Use all three doses.|Reth]]

It's been awhile since you and Errin got into trouble together, why not see what he's up to? You ponder briefly on what seems like the most likely place he'd be, if he were around, and fairly quickly set off.\n\nSoon your ears are being caressed by the sounds of countless arcade cabinets either in use or idling on attract mode, the "classic" sorts similar to late twentieth century Earth for the most part... obviously the Guildhall has many more high-end arcades, but this one caters to people raised on that kind of aesthetic (as you were, your mom being a big fan). Of course, the vast majority of Guildhall residents being adults, this arcade is also a bar, and the sound of people talking, laughing, even being a bit drunkenly exuberant, is threaded through the sound of the machines. You wander in the general direction of where the dining area meets the claw machines, and spot Errin.\n\n"Hey!" Errin calls, blue eyes lighting up as he gets up and moves to hug you. Errin's about your same age, lean and lithe, with curly-ish black hair (undertoned in blue) that comes down to about mid-neck level. He's usually got a fair number of piercings in his ears, today being symmetrical lines of three gleaming black metal studs at the lower lobe of each ear. Either through coincidence or your long association the two of you have similar taste in fashion, in his case a black hoodie underneath a white operator coat and simple black slacks. "Leo, it's been a minute, my guy!"\n\n"S'up, brother from another mother?" you reply warmly, patting his back in the standard 'this is how to keep hugs from being awkward due to too much affection' way. \n\n"Man, it's great that you caught me, another hour and I'd've probably not seen you for another few years or some shit," he says with a grin as the two of you sit down at his table, you quickly tapping in a cider order.\n\n"What, you setting out for parts unknown or something?" you ask, raising your eyebrows as you settle back in your chair a bit.\n\n"Nah, not quite that. I mean it's not like I was gonna drop off the face of the multiverse or anything, but I was getting ready to move to Purple Bay for a while."\n\n"Purple Bay... the tesseract town?" you ask, frowning a bit.\n\n"Yeah, man, to be honest I'm a little tired of just taking whatever luck decides to toss me on the boards, I need some... I dunno, structure or some shit," he mutters, wagging a pizza stick. "I go to Purple Bay, I can make going into the tesseract my daily deal, but it's not a grind like a salary job y'know? Still my own boss and all. Hey, you should come with me!" he adds, blue eyes lighting up again. "We could afford a way better room, and then I wouldn't have to worry about either diving alone or picking up randos!"\n\nYou still continue to frown (albeit thoughtfully now) accepting your cider as it arrives and sipping it in an obvious 'I'm thinking' sort of way as a signal to Errin. "Tesseracts" are sort of like the dungeons that appear on lots of swords-and-sorcery worlds, just that they're the result of dimensional barriers growing weak and causing a lot of... strangeness. A lot like those dungeons, point of fact. Almost literally anything can happen in a tesseract, but they're absolutely known to be full of valuable objects (and information) from all across the multiverse. They can be very random, very profitable, and very dangerous. Your mother, father, and aunt all did some tesseract-diving when they were younger... in fact you're pretty sure they were in Purple Bay for a while. Your mother warned you off of tesseracts, actually, saying that it was way too easy to get used to the danger of them and either think you had it handled (when you can never absolutely know you have a tesseract handled) and to get caught in a loop of using everything you earn from diving the tesseract to finance your future dives into the tesseract.\n\nYour dad, on the other hand, didn't warn you about tesseracts... but he warned you about tesseract towns. In his typical sort of gruff, blunt-but-not-terribly-explanatory way, he solemnly advised you about how they offered every sort of temptation that adventurers are prone to indulging in, and that a man might easily find himself celebrating himself into debt or worse. And, well, you have known Errin to lack a certain amount of restraint in these matters... okay, you've been known to lack same, but still! Seems like if you let him go on his own he could very, very easily get himself into trouble. But then, he's an adult, as are you, you're his best friend but you're not his keeper.\n\n"Purple Bay's one of the older tesseract towns, isn't it?" you hedge, since you're still thinking about it but don't want to leave him hanging. "I'd think it was all explored out and dominated by controlling interests by now."\n\nErrin's grin just grows at that. "Was, yeah, but some years back apparently it went into a heavy flux and the local TDG shut down all entry. Was closed up until about year before last so a lot of the more entrenched orgs packed it up or scattered. There's only one or two left now and even though they've got the people and topside structure, the tesseract itself is as new to them as it is to anybody. Plus! Plus plus," he continues excitedly, leaning forward. "Since it is still so fresh and shiny, the TDG's offering local scrip to anyone who goes in wearing a monitor. No dive's a complete bust with that! Dude, we've got a golden opportunity here," he adds, pushing the basket of pizza sticks across the table, as if to seal the deal with a seven-credit-a-dozen snack. "It's a huge, established tesseract town with all the stuff that makes our hearty little adventurer life possible, but a tesseract that's still got new portal smell on it! That ain't gonna happen again in our lifetimes!"\n\nWell... dammit, he's right there. And for all your parents' warnings about the problems with tesseracts and tesseract towns, they kind of couldn't help but give the impression that's how they made enough to get comfortable and start a family. Might be you could finally make that big score and buy your own ship, besides trying to keep Errin out of (too much) trouble. On the other hand your parents weren't usually in the habit of outright warning you away from stuff... their style tended more towards giving you the information and letting you make your own decisions, so generally if they actually said outright "you shouldn't do it" they meant it. You waffle a bit, taking one of the pizza sticks and almost absently biting through the crunchy exterior into the interior of gooey mozzerella and tiny cubes of pepperoni.\n\nOn the edge, you say, "So you're actually moving to Purple Bay?"\n\n"Yeah! Gonna rent a room by the week, keep me hungry and always ready to move up or down as fortune dictates," he says, eyes almost sparkling like a cartoon. "Be able to rent a lot nicer double with two incomes, though, bro," he adds in a tone that says he thinks he's already got you on the hook.\n\n<hr>\n[["... Fine."|LeoErrin1x1]]\n\n[["... Yeah, sorry, man."|LeoErrin]]

"I HATE THIS! I HATE WHAT YOU DID! I HATE YOU AND I HATE THAT YOU'RE DYING!" you scream, feeling tears slip down your face for one of the only times in your very long life. "I HATE EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS AND WHAT CAUSED IT!" You slam a foot to the ground, fists clenched at your sides, then throw back your head and howl with everything in your being, "I HATE LOVE!"\n\nA column of pure energy bursts out from around you, blasting into the sky in a column of retina-searing brilliance. It strikes the upper atmosphere as if it were a solid thing, spreading out and consuming the entire sky in a bright glow, the air instantly churned into roiling storm clouds that darken and begin to rage with thunder and shriek with lightning. Gradually the energy tapers off, the column thinning and diminishing, until it disappears completely. The clouds that had been forced away by the pressure of it close in, pouring down the warm rain onto the ruined shrine grounds.\n\n"Konko," the fading spirit says in a soft, horrified voice. "What did you do?"\n\n"... It took away my best friend," you whisper back, your fists still clenched, your head lowering as rain pours down over you. "So I killed it. It took all my power," you add, fur starting to be carried to the ground by the rain, bits of your ears and tail flopping to the ground by the moment. "But I killed it. I killed love."\n\n"Oh, Konko... oh Konko no..."\n\n"Love is an awful thing," you declare flatly, fists tightening until they tremble. "It took you from me, it made you mutilate yourself, it made you wind up alone here and left you to die. Love sucks. So it's gone. None left. Everything outside of that spell has been completely stripped of love."\n\n"Poor Konko... you don't know what you've done," the spirit calls faintly, before it fades away entirely, leaving nothing but empty space around you.\n\nYou stare down at the ground, feeling the rain soak into your hair, your hoodie, course over your body with a warmth like tears. The fur of your ears and tail is being washed away, both of them gone like they were never there. But it was worth it. You destroyed love for everything outside the beam of light. Yes, that means there's no love left in the world at all!\n\n"... I hate love," you whisper, your voice catching in your throat as you say it, before your entire chest convulses. You sob, hunching forward, repeating the words even as your whole body quakes with a depth of loss you've never known. "I hate love... I hate love... I hate love..."\n\n<hr>\n[[Game Over.|KonFren2axEnd2]]

The rain lets up about halfway home, leaving you still dripping as you walk slowly along the sidewalk, gaze on the ground. You can hear shouting and arguing from all around, even occasionally crashing noises or glass breaking... once, from a distance, you hear a gunshot. But you ignore all of it. Who cares, really? Just a world without love. Good.\n\nYou step into your house, looking around, finding it dimmer and less colorful with mortal eyes. Shrugging, you peel out of your hoodie and drop it aside, naked, wet skin showing gooseflesh to a cold that you've never actually felt before. You realize after a few tries that you can't just think the TV on anymore, and actually have to take a moment to find the remote and turn it on. The news is on, the formerly cheerful and sunny newswoman having a bit of a sneer on her voice as she declares that China doesn't have the guts to launch its missiles like they say they're going to. Eh. More stuff you don't care about. You leave the coverage droning on about all the wars that have turned a thousand times more vicious and all the destructive weapons that are being launched as you make your way into your bedroom.\n\nYou flump down on your belly on the bed, hugging a pillow up under your head and resting your chin on it, staring over it at the wall. As the sky darkens with the setting of the sun, you can hear voices outside... and then the slamming of something against your door as they start trying to knock it down. It won't take terribly long... without your power to reinforce the architecture, it's just wood. Sturdy wood, you have at least several minutes before a bunch of people who no longer care if they lose their families or jobs or even their own lives come smashing their way in to rape you and likely kill you, just like you can faintly hear happening all up and down the block.\n\nShifting a little in place but otherwise not moving, you close your eyes, feeling a few tears slip down your cheeks and soak into the pillow. "... Still better than love," you whisper, even as the crunching sounds of the axe on your door get louder.\n\nKonko end - A world without love

"I guess I'll give it a week and see if this crap has faded enough by then for the procedure to work," you say with a sigh as you get to your feet. You pause, then make a face. "I guess it wouldn't be the worst idea to spend it in a Retreat Room either."\n\n"Hey, if you'll come back to me for a consultation in a week before you hit the docs, I'll write up an assert that you need the Retreat Room as part of your current condition, oughtta be covered that way," Rarala proffers with a grin.\n\n"Done."\n\n'I guess this might not be so bad,' you think as you head for the lifts, keeping your head lowered a bit and a hand shading your eyes, mostly watching for other people by keeping your eyes towards their feet. (Luckily you're not really into that. ... Actually your body is getting a little turned on just by looking at feet, damn girl what weren't you into?) If anyone thinks you're being odd, or rude, they don't accost you over it... after all, on the Guildhall people often have Circumstances, so it's considered the most polite thing to do to just not ask unless you already know them or are invited to do so. 'Basically it's a week's vacation in a nice room, and I won't even have to pay for it all myself thanks to Rarala. Let's just... kick back, take it easy, and get back to normal next week, pretend like nothing ever happened.\n\nYou take the lift to the Retreat Room area, which is just a lobby with a two-step door and scanner. You spend awhile at the automated checkin, specifying what you need and getting your insurance information put in, as well as Rarala's documentation that the room is necessary 'for your continued consistency of mental and physical state of being'. You pay the deductible ahead of time, and then step into the second lift which will take you right to the room. The doors open and you step in... the room itself is larger and nicer than your usual one, if not a gigantic amount of either. (This was, after all, a room covered by your insurance, which is good but not the best.) Still, there's a fair bit of open space to help it not feel cramped, storage bins built into the left wall of the living area to the side of the sliding panels that look like they lead to the bathroom area, with bookshelves and a couch on the opposite wall, a table with a checkerboard and a couple of current(-ish) magazines atop it in front of the couch. The sleeping area is slightly raised, with a (technically) double bed on the left and more storage area on the right, probably at least lightly stocked with various things to help stave off cabin fever. To that end the far wall also looks to be made of a two-sectioned full screen, currently a flat, matte black... probably doubles as a decent-ish environment simulation window.\n\n<img src="images/RetreatRoom1.jpg">\n\n'Home sweet home for the next week,' you think with a bit of a sigh after inhaling a lungful of slightly 'off' air. The Guildhall's air supply is of course perfectly clean and balanced for the comfort and health of the vast majority of its inhabitants, but it's still shared and 'alive' in that. Retreat Rooms, however, are sealed environments, each one catered to the individual inside so as not to cause any sort of degradation in their current condition. They're used for recuperating from illnesses and intensive medical procedures, mostly, though obviously occasionally situations like yours crop up too. Probably not exactly like yours. ... Then again, who knows, it's a big multiverse, the person next door could theoretically be going through the exact same thing right down to hitting on an elven princess.\n\nSnorting a little at your moment of philosophizing on the nature of multiversal probability, you head over and flop down on the edge of the bed, tapping the wallscreen to bring up a window and configuring the room for the week. Let's see, no visitors, no staff, and probably best not to take any video calls... you'll leave audio-only communication on, it's not like you'll explode into lust if any random male of your acquaintance gets in touch with you, and what if there's a family emergency or something after all? ... Of course the majority of your family is perfectly capable of handling their own emergencies, but still.\n\nFinishing with the setup, you strip down, take a cold shower, and then flop into bed damp and naked, huffing and trying to ignore your tits wobbling a little in the aftermath of your flop. Even with the cold shower you definitely still feel a bit warm, and tingly, your body sensitive and nipples stiff in the gently moving sterile air of the suite. You squirm a little, torn between deciding whether to order up something that might tamp down your libido (didn't you hear something about eating a raw potato once?) or just deal with it like you did before and admitting that you'll probably spend a lot of your 'vacation' doing so, when the wallscreen lights up near your head with an incoming call request. You blink a bit at the name on it, then lean over to tap 'Accept'. "Sopwith, hey buddy, what's up?"\n\n"Interesting stuff. Hey, that actually you, Leo? You sound kind of weird," your friend's voice answers, various little visualization mechanics playing out to one side of his long, tan-furred face with its large nostrils and round-ended muzzle.\n\n"I had some Circumstances," you answer wryly.\n\n"Oof, I hope they aren't the sort of Circumstances that will keep you from hunting, buddy, 'cause I've got something big for you. Specifically I got a lead on Sokahn."\n\nThat makes you sit up, turning towards the screen and staring. "You're not serious."\n\n"Serious as saliva," he replies, the sound of him spitting audibly for emphasis coming across the line.\n\nSokahn... one of the most infamous bounty heads on the Guild roster. He's been evading and defeating Guild hunters for ten years local time, either with the help of his personal army or simply all by himself. The Ryuganian outlaw/warlord's bounty goes up almost monthly, and dead or alive would outright buy you a ship if you managed to take him down... not a little ship either. A nice ship. A really good ship. One with a bay big enough for a starfighter, and probably a starfighter to go in it. Not to mention what it would do for your rep, between how long he's been at large and the number of other mercs he's taken down, being the man... er, mercenary... who took down Sokahn would be something that would write high profile tickets for you for the rest of your career, to say nothing of the respect and envy you'd garner from the rest of the Guild.\n\n"No offense, Sop, but if the info's so good why aren't you dropping everything to go after him yourself?" you ask after a moment.\n\nThe oscillation line shivers in a snort. "For one thing unlike you I'm not crazy enough to go after Sokahn with anything less than a small army of my own. ... But mostly because I'm already on contract and won't be able to get out of this for at least another week. But I'm really sure of this line I've gotten, the source is absolutely flawless in my eyes. Sokahn's laying low on a steelworld, northern continent, mountain range. Apparently he heard some Guild mercs infiltrated his mothership so he's taking a little vaycay while his number one goes inquisitor on the crew. So he's out there on his own without backup for sure, and not another soul around for miles."\n\nDamn... damn damn damn, this is the opportunity of a lifetime! Somehow the question of whether or not you could actually take Sokahn on never actually enters your mind, only the fact that you're stuck here in a room because of worrying about going Full Slut while possibly the best open bounty on the boards is within your grasp. You have to go after him!\n\n'Don't be stupid, he may be the hottest open bounty out there but he's also a he,' your better sense tries to urge. 'Remember what Rarala said, about your body and brain being conditioned. What if he's lounging around naked when you find him and you can't resist throwing yourself at him?'\n\nYeah that... would be bad. 'But still!' your eagerness argues back. 'Sokahn! On his own! On some little backwoods world that's stuck permanently in the age of halfway decent swords and arrowheads! C'mooooon!'\n\n<hr>\n[[Go after Sokahn.|LeoFem5x2]]\n\n[[Pass.|LeoFem6x1]]

Fuck it, opportunities like this don't come along every day. You'll just have to hold it together, hey, you did it with the orcs, right? And those assholes had their cocks out at the time! Their big, thick cocks, waving in the air, slinging pre all over the place as they charged down on you, aggressive and excited-\n\nQuickly shaking off the mental tangent, you scramble to your feet. "I'm gonna go after him. Thanks for the tip, man," you call as you rummage through your discarded clothes.\n\n"I trust you'll remember your old buddy Sopwith when the bounty goes into your account?" he adds dryly.\n\n"Yeah yeah Sop, don't worry, I won't reneg on the finder's fee even if it is an unofficial handoff."\n\n"Good man. Good luck and be careful, obviously this fucker isn't someone to trifle with," your friend adds before he cuts the line.\n\nThat does make you pause. Yeah, Sokahn's nothing to sneeze at. Which means even if you did want to take the time to get your usual clothes refitted, they might not be enough. Which means that you should probably gear up in something else that you've also never gotten around to refitting, and just the thought of makes you blush. ... But desperate times. You punch up the medical products list on the screen and order a bottle of anti-libido pills, clicking through the informed consent section and then punching up a temporary checkout. You'll go, get Sokahn, and come back to relax the rest of the week, easy as pie you think as you click acceptance for the warnings that exiting the retreat room is against advice and they can't be held responsible if something exacerbates your condition while or after you've left. Then you pull on your loose clothes and scurry into the lift, ordering it to take you to the Vault.\n\nLess than an hour later, you step out onto the steelworld's surface, your cheeks still a bit pink at what you're wearing. A lot of your gear is hand-me-downs, some of it obviously with the expectation you'd get it refitted to your own stature and taste, or possibly that you yourself would hand it down to your sister when and if she started her career. But you've never been one for skinsuits, so you just never got around to refitting this one that one of your "aunts" left you. Thus you are currently attired in a predominently white with black panels and accents one-piece that covers your arms and hands but rides high up and over your hips, leaving them and about half your thighs bare (albeit covered by an ion field), the matching tall, form-fitting boots fitted with tall black heels. You also wish you could have done something about the head control unit with its white-with-pink-LEDs 'rabbit ears' that jut up and back from above the earpieces, but again, you just never thought you'd use the damn thing, and Neo probably would have loved it as-is besides. You squirm a little, still not used to the way it feels... while the skinsuit is fitted so that it's effectively smooth and weightless rather than feeling constricting, it's distinctly like being naked, which is one of the other reasons you don't like them... except that, of course, with this one you're distinctly aware that it only covers a little less than half of each of your buttocks in back, the hex-patterned black portion diving between the cleft of your buttocks and pressing against... things... while the white crotch hugs you in front to make an almost perfectly round mound between your legs. Well, at least it didn't give you cameltoe, which is ironic considering where this tip came from.\n\nStill, one of the benefits of this suit is the full on-board computer with sensor suite and targeting integration with the matching white-cased beam rifle. And at least, you think as you try to ignore your 'ears' twitching and angling as you scan the immediate area, results scrolling by on the pink holovisor projected in front of your eyes, the libido suppressors are working. ... A little. You didn't get the stronger ones since anything more than what you took had side effects like drowsiness, lethargy, and foggy-mindedness, so in the end it was mostly like taking another cold shower, but for now your mind's entirely on Sokahn as your prey and not anything else.\n\nSokahn, you think with a little thrill that's (almost) entirely nonsexual as the sensors pick up several alloys that shouldn't exist on this planet and you set off through the dark, dreary, almost vegetation-free landscape at the foot of the mountains. Murderer, raider, pirate, privateer, admiral, warlord, even conquerer and "governor" at one point. Strong, smart, skilled, and ruthless. He's killed or laid low more Guild mercs than most of the outstanding bounties below him put together. The bounty on him is even an accumulated one, pooled from those issued by governments, individuals, and even the Guild itself, and one of the top ten highest on the open bounty boards, having moved up two slots just in the last year. The Ryugonian is an absolutely deadly and epic foe, and part of you insists that you're a complete idiot for not calling in every connection and favor you have to go after him with at least a dozen more good mercs. But the rest of you... you can't, you just can't, you have to reap the glory of this bounty for yourself!\n\nYou make your way over several foothills and through the rocky terrain, starting to keep to cover and stay low as best you can when you draw closer. Eventually you peek around and... yeah, there's a ship parked there. A crossover starfighter, large enough to probably have a small living compartment in the back as well as a roomy double-seater canopy. And you'd bet anything it's Sokahn's, from the way it looks expensive, deadly, and honestly kind of sexy. A long 'neck' with a wider, somewhat diamond-shaped 'head' around the cockpit along with the wide back body, with a main pair of forward-swept fixed wings with a second, backswept pair of half-crescent variable wings attached above the bases of them, currently lowered until they're almost touching the back of them, the whole thing patterned with sharp, distinctive yellow and blue designs... clearly if he gets out and about in this thing he doesn't care much about it getting recognized.\n\nHm, looks sealed up tight from here. You purse your lips, considering. Yeah, he could be in there... but why come all the way to a planet and find a landing area just to stay sealed inside the tiny little living compartment of his fighter? He'd've been better off finding some bit of dark space to drop in, or a large asteroid to anchor to, if he were just going to stay in. A quick scan of the area has the holovisor highlighting a rough path that winds upward along one of the mountains and goes into a cave a ways up. Yeah, you'd bet he's in there instead somewhere, set up a little camp out of the wind and rain but with more room to stretch out. He is a Ryugonian after all, the starfighter's not one of the extra large varieties purely for show. \n\nOn the other hand, whether he's in there or not, there's another good reason to try and get in, to disable it in case he gets past you and tries to run. Without a ship of your own you'd basically be SOL on catching him if he got off-planet. It's mostly a question of whether you think you could get in and disable it, or whether it's worth the time.\n\n<hr>\n[[Break into the ship.|LeoFem]]\n\n[[Head into the cave.|LeoFem5x3]]

For now you leave the ship be... you wish you could at least attach a tracker or something to it, but you don't have any of the particularly good ones, a ship that expensive and nice would definitely detect anything you had in this suit's telepocket. Making yourself ignore the urge to pluck the back out like a wedgie (it's technically armor, it will just slide right back into place), you turn and make your way up the path. It's a little tense... the path is really the only good way up, but it looks like it was deliberately carved that way a very long time ago, probably specifically to leave anyone approaching the cave nice and visible. You do your best to keep a watchful eye (and sensors) out for anyone that might spot you, but to your relief there are no immediate lifesigns in the area by the time you arrive at the entrance.\n\nSince you are using this somewhat embarrassing suit, might as well use it to its full potential. You spend a few moments gazing back and forth, using passive sensors that won't ping any detection, mostly taking in information about the immediate cave area. Some faint traces of Ryugonian DNA, so yeah Sokahn's definitely been through here in the recent past. There's a few other traces as well, enough that it's obvious he's not the only living thing that's been using this place to get out of the rain at the very least, but nothing that your database pings so probably local species. Best be careful then... just because Sokahn's likely the most dangerous thing here doesn't mean he's the only dangerous thing. Feeling sufficiently focused, you lift your rifle to the ready and head in.\n\nWhile you'd braced yourself against how it was rather chilly and a little damp-aired outside, you can't help but wince a little at how both of those increase inside the cave. This suit does have environmental protection even on the visually bare parts of your skin, but it will only maintain your core temperature and blunt the actual physical effects of hostile environments, mild discomfort from still feeling the chill apparently doesn't count. Or heck for all you know the designer considered feeling essentially naked wherever you go to be a feature, not a bug. 'If I keep using this thing, I'm gonna start wearing my coat over it. ... I mean, after I change back. And have it refitted,' you quickly add on to your mental monologue.\n\nYou come to a few branches in the cave's pathway, but there's still enough faint traces of Ryugonian on the floor to tell you which way he went each time. (Luckily they're a species that doesn't tend to wear boots, or you'd be out of luck.) As you're moving down one of those pathways, you pause briefly as you notice something hunkered in the corner. You swing around to bring your rifle to bear, but... it turns out to be nothing but a large chest. Wood and iron, looks like, quite large in size, with a heavy padlock on the front o-\n\nWait a second. Is that... a treasure chest? Oh right, you're on a steelworld, caves, castles, and dungeons are littered with stuff like this on those. It could be filled with anything from largely useless weapons and armor to potentially valuable artwork to rather more valuable gold and gems! ... Hm, maybe take a second to loot it before you continue pursuing Sokahn? After all, you're something of an adventurer yourself, passing up an opportunity for free loot seems foolish...\n\n<hr>\n[[Loot the chest.|LeoFem]]\n\n[[Pass it up.|LeoFem5x4]]

... Best not to get distracted. Besides, the telepockets on this suit aren't infinite, what if you wind up needing the space for something more mission-relevant? Shaking your head, you continue on down the path. 'Maybe I can come back for it after I get the rest of this sorted out. Heh, just for fun. Back in my own body, rich, I could definitely afford to do a little dungeon delving for a laugh.'\n\nBecause at this point you're definitely sure this is a 'dungeon' rather than just a cave system. The walls, ceiling, and floor all look like they've been smoothed out at least a little by a deliberate hand, as if the treasure chest weren't sign enough that sentient life has been using this place. The traces of DNA scattered around are heavier too... in fact, it looks like enough blood has been spilled in these parts of the cave system that there's no way the sensors are going to be able to reliably track Sokahn from hereon in. Sigh.\n\nFor awhile you simply take your best guess at which paths he would have taken, based mostly on how easy it would be to go the other way out them at a run to get back to his ship. Eventually you draw to a pause, then slide over to a wall. Doorways... you can see actual doorways, wooden slats bound with iron bands that are fitted fairly well into openings in the wall. There's one on either side of the passage, not quite directly across from each other. You can just faintly see a little bit of flickering light shining through the cracks in one, though the other is dark. So it looks like someone is here for sure, in one of them... ... hm, but is it Sokahn or just some local? The doorway's a little bit on the small side to be comfy for a full-grown Ryugonian, so you're not sure if he'd actually make use of it. If he did it also seems like he might be a little too smart to just leave the lights on in case anyone did stumble on him, so if he's in either... ... it could be either, you think with a sigh. You glance at one door, then the other, then to the path that continues deeper into the dungeon. Which one...?\n\n<hr>\n[[The lit room.|LeoFem8x1]]\n\n[[The dark room.|LeoFem5x5]]\n\n[[Keep going.|LeoFem]]

You'll teach them some basics, you decide. Of various methods to avoid causing pregnancy, including condoms...\n\nYour lower body gives a not exactly unpleasant little clench, and you find yourself thinking 'Yeah, and after you teach them how to put 'em on, you can teach them how to fuck wearing them.'\n\nYou... don't really push the thought away. In fact... ... in fact yeah that's probably the plan.\n\nFinally picking up your chopsticks, you take a thoughtful bite without really tasting it and then clear your throat, Gao and Aki instantly turning their heads towards you, ears perked. "Guys, after dinner we need to sit down and have a talk."\n\n"Is something wrong, Mom?" Aki asks, usually the one to be a bit more wary of trouble.\n\n"No, no, nothing's wrong, you're not in trouble or anything," you assure them, smiling, and trying to keep the blush off your face. "Just something we need to talk about."\n\nThey both nod rather dubiously (and in near-perfect sync) but accept that, tails gradually resuming wagging as they return to stuffing their faces. 'They're gonna have so much energy,' you think, blushing. Well, their dad did too, after all.\n\nThe boys linger around as you gather up the dishes and give them a quick rinse before leaving them in the sink for now, before heading into the living room area and plopping down in the middle of the couch, patting the cushions to either side of you. The boys immediately head over and sit down, Gao on your right and Aki on your left... they don't quite snuggle up to you shamelessly like they did when they were little, but there's still that sort of instinctive scooting closer and leaning in that's a remnant of it. Normally you find it adorable, right now, with what you're thinking, and the smell of them... warm and masculine and with a faint hint of that salty-sweet musk that says they've probably both already jerked off sometime since they got home from school... well, you can feel a fresh, if surprisingly soft, surge of arousal run through you.\n\nCalming yourself, you drape your arms around their shoulders. "Now boys, you're getting older, and I'm aware that you're becoming interested in... well, sexual things," you begin, clearing your throat. Yeah, despite your intentions, this is definitely still a little awkward.\n\nBoth of them go red and give you that 'Moooom' look that says they're embarrassed to even exist in the same reality you do right now, before both of them's ears perk. "Er, how do you know?" Gao asks slowly. "Er, I mean, think you know?"\n\n"First off I do the laundry, guys, I can smell what you've been doing," you note dryly, declining to mention that you can smell that right now.\n\nBoth of them's faces go red, wolf ears laying down to the sides. "YOU can smell it?!" they blurt in sync. Then both pale a little as they apparently figure out, on their own, that you might be able to now.\n\n"Yeah, guys, shockingly enough us normie humans aren't entirely noseblind to everything," you tease gently, making them bashfully duck their heads. "Also, you're not really as subtle as you think you are about sneaking peeks at girls and women on the street. Or me."\n\nBoth of them go completely stock still, tails freezing from the little wiggles to the side of them they'd been doing. Then both bow their heads. "S-... sorry..."\n\n"Well. I guess in a way it's for the best, since I've decided that since you're clearly old enough to start going with girls, and obviously charming enough to actually get your way," you note wryly, which makes both of them grin, if a bit sheepishly. "That maybe I better give you some, ah... hands-on education about sex. Specifically, how to do it without knocking girls up."\n\nBoth of them stare for a moment, before Gao starts, "You mean you're gonna-"\n\n"-with us?" Aki finishes, both of them blushing again.\n\n"Ah... if you boys want," you start, blushing yourself and resisting the urge to giggle as they both start nodding eagerly, their tails wagging again. "Mostly I'm just gonna show you a few things and... we'll see how far I wind up instructing you, okay?"\n\n"Okay!" they both chirp eagerly. "What do we learn first?" Gao adds.\n\n"Well. Obviously the only certain way to not knock a girl up is to not have sex," you point out to them, and then fight not to laugh as their ears immediately droop. "But, ahem, that's clearly not always going to be an acceptable alternative, so. Now basically anything that gets your, ah... your cum... near her vagina is going to run some risk. ... You boys know all about the anatomy of things, right?" you ask just to make sure, snorting a little as they give you the 'of course, gawd' look. "Right so don't believe any of those urban legends, stuff like 'she can't get pregnant if her panties stay on', or 'safe days are completely safe', or 'she can't get pregnant if she's got an active datastick plugged in', or 'you can't get her pregnant if either of you's had a new cyberimplant done recently'. None of that's actually true."\n\nThey seem mildly startled at some of these... clearly at least some of those urban legends are still making their way through school locker rooms... but they both nod slowly, before Gao says, "Um, but you said that there are alternatives?"\n\n"Well, yeah," you agree, taking a deep breath before stepping over at least one line, reaching down to start undoing the front of both boys' jeans. "You just use your hands."\n\nBoth of them go very red again... but they also both lean back, allowing you to do as you like. You're not surprised to see the bulges of cloth beneath the denim, they're both at least half-hard... but when you push down the front of their underwear you can't help but let out a soft rush of "Jesus" as their half-hard cocks spring-flop out. They're not huge... not quite... but they're definitely probably the biggest humanoid guys you've ever seen already. (Well, their dad was hung like a horse, despite being a wolf, so.) Both entirely human-looking, which obviously you knew, just that they've grown a lot since the last time you saw them. Your reaction seems to have both mildly embarrassed the boys and made them rather smug, which... yeah, okay, fair.\n\nTaking another steadying breath, you wrap your hands around your sons' cocks, feeling them instantly stiffen completely at your touch and throb in your hands, which is a bit of an ego boost for you as well. Both of them are already breathing fast, panting softly like excited puppies, their tails wagging as you start stroking slowly. It's been a long time since you've had your hands around a man's cock. You've dated a little since the boys were born, but nothing with the sort of... call it "pacing" that called for a slow, leisurely handjob, and frankly you've kind of missed it. The fact that you've got two very nice, very smooth, very big ones to wrap your hands around only makes it better... and you can't deny the deep, wicked thrill that is knowing it's your own sons' cocks throbbing and twitching against your palms and dribbling pre down onto your fingers.\n\n"M-Mom, shouldn't we... do something for you?" Aki manages breathlessly, sweetheart that he is, trembling and letting out something that sounds like a soft 'wuff' as he does.\n\n"Well, ideally yes," you say, surprising yourself with how calm your voice sounds. "But I'm just giving you guys a little demonstration right now, so... don't worry about it." Because quite frankly you're enjoying focusing on the sensations of stroking them, feeling them hot and hard and throbbing in your hands, so eager, clearly already struggling to hold back.\n\nStill, both boys rest a hand on your own denim-clad thighs, rubbing up and down and squeezing, their warm touch sending little almost electric shocks through you despite the layer of cloth between the two of you. Your lips part and you start breathing harder yourself, starting to feel every drag of your stiff nipples against the inside of your bra. You'd intended to keep things fairly simple, but soon you've lost yourself to the urge to start putting some real technique into it, gently twisting your hands and rolling your wrists as you pump, making your sons writhe gently on either side of you, their panting growing louder and more desperate by the moment.\n\nOf course you're not surprised that it doesn't take them too long, considering, both of them letting out sudden, surprised-sounding whuff! noises basically simultaneously and thrusting up into your hands, cocks trembling, their orgasms so intense you can actually feel the bulge of their urethra as their loads shoot out and up, firing up into the air to splatter down across their laps and your hands. You slow but don't stop your stroking, making sure to gently milk their entire loads out, only faintly surprised by the size of them... large, but not the belly-bulging giant loads their father and his pack filled you with. 'Shame,' part of your brain spouts off before you can stop it.\n\nThe boys slump back against the couch, gasping for breath, and you lean over to kiss Gao's forehead and then Aki's before releasing them and standing up. Resisting the urge to lick your fingers... you do want to maintain some small semblance of this being educational rather than for your own satisfaction... you head back into the kitchen and wash your hands, returning with some towels for the boys. They sheepishly clean themselves up a bit, though it's obvious their jeans and underwear will have to go into the hamper.\n\n"Well. That's one of the basic things you can do instead of sex, and probably the safest in terms of avoiding pregnancy," you assure them. "And I trust you can see that it's pretty fun on its own...?"\n\n"Uh-huh," they sync dreamily, tails wagging slowly and contentedly, cocks still mostly hard and jutting from their laps. Probably expectedly, it's Gao that says, "So, ah, are you gonna give us more lessons now, Mom?"\n\n"Well I thought next I'd teach you about condoms," you explain... before your face goes blank. You close your eyes, trying not to let the embarrassment you feel show on your face. "Which... I just realized I don't have any of."\n\n"Oh? Why not?" Gao asks in a just slightly too innocent tone.\n\nYou shoot the boys a look, and despite their bared dicks they are indeed affecting strong innocence. Clearly you weren't always as discrete about your rare liaisons as you thought. You wonder if the boys heard or smelled something... you wonder if it made them hard thinking about it. Or jealous. Embarrassingly both thoughts excite you a bit. You clear your throat again, and explain, "I have a birth control implant I got on the Guildhall. It's much better than anything you can get on Makarzia."\n\n"Oh!" both of them sync, ears perking up, and Gao says, "Sooooo... if it was with you, we wouldn't need-"\n\n"Whoa whoa whoa," you interrupt him, holding up your hands, your ears burning. "R-remember, this is for educational purposes, boys." You clear your throat. "Besides, you can't expect other girls you meet to have such a good implant. Plus no birth control is 100%," you continue, resisting the urge to add 'trust me', since you don't think now is necessarily the best time to start going into details about their own conception. "So it doesn't hurt to 'double up' sometimes as it were."\n\n"So... we've gotta stop for tonight?" Aki asks, both of them's ears laying down.\n\n'Fuck no,' both the horny part of your brain and the mom who hates to see her kids sad part of your brain say in their own sync. "I'll go out and get some," you say decisively, turning to get your coat.\n\nBoth of them immediately perk up. "Can we come?!"\n\n"Er," you say, glancing back at them. It's into Night Creature hours, but that's not really your main worry. The boys are pretty used to going out at night... they've been to the intersector races and night markets, among other things, and it's a fairly safe part of town without much to entice gangbanger activity anyway. It's more just that it somehow drives home just how wicked what you're doing is when you contemplate taking them out in public to buy condoms for further... demonstration.\n\n<hr>\n[[You'll go on your own.|ChiMom]]\n\n[[You'll take them.|ChiMom1x11]]\n\n[[You'll buy them some other time.|ChiMom]]

"Are you sure this is where you wanna be, kid?"\n\nThe stinking, slightly stinging rain beats down on the hood and shoulders of your coat, neon flashing from the buildings rising up to blot out the empty night sky, the roar of speeders rushing past through the wet streets and the chatter of the crowd speaking a dozen languages simultaneously turning into a din of chaos that no heart could find peace in. You shrug. "Hey. We saved Remnant from Salem. We got it done. Time for me to come home."\n\n"Sounds like that could've been home real easy," Niobe responds with a frown. "From everything Ilia told me before she went back, you had a bunch of friends there. ... A family. A world of blue skies, green grass, people that loved you..." Niobe glances around at the streets you're walking along. You know she loves them in some way... the energy, the brightness, the noise, the diverse beautiful ugliness of it. But there is, after all, a saying: "Makarzia isn't anyone's home," she says, looking at you again. "It's just where people wind up if they can't find anywhere better to be. You found somewhere better to be."\n\n"..." You keep your eyes on the sidewalk ahead and don't respond for a moment. "... It didn't feel better without her."\n\n"Oh kid."\n\n"I got to love her for two days, Niobe," you answer, looking over and sighing. "Two days of doing something I never thought I'd do. Be in love. Look at someone like they were my world, have them look back at me like that. I got to hold her in my arms and feel her heartbeat and hear her whisper she loved me, and then the next day she was gone. If I could have... at least talked to her one last time, or held her hand... I dunno." You shrug a little, look ahead again. "But without her, I guess I'd rather be here, running jobs, fighting Street Demons, stealing cars. Whatever. Being useful."\n\nNiobe sighs heavily, shakes her head. You know she's never exactly been good with emotional stuff... probably where you got your own stellar coping skills. She reaches out to grip the back of your neck and give you a gentle shake. "I'm glad to have you, kid. You know I love you, and I love that I can count on you too. Cammy, Diore, we're all here for you. But... maybe just think about going back someday, okay? You've got coordinates now, just... ... every so often, consider going home, huh?"\n\n"... Okay." You manage to smile at her, even if it's a spectre of the thing. "Maybe someday. ... When it doesn't hurt to think about her. 'Cause even being on Remnant makes me do that."\n\n"Alright," Niobe whispers, actually leaning in to peck your forehead. Then, she pulls on the casual, fun, nothing-bothers-me Niobe and calls out to someone she sees across the street, waving cheerfully and simultaneously punching a dent in the hood of the car that honks at her as she immediately crosses to join them.\n\nYou grin a bit to watch her go, then it fades as you resume walking, nowhere to go, just... being here. Where you feel like you started. Where it seems like you should belong. You were hoping so, anyway. Or maybe just to be a hundred dimensions away from anything that reminded you of Weiss Schnee laying with her hands over her chest in a coffin, eyes closed as if she were an enchanted princess just waiting for true love's kiss. But the fairy tale was over, and when you pressed your lips very softly one last time to hers, she was still gone.\n\nYou're not sure what makes you stop... something about the different quality of light in the store window to the side of you. Not quite the same fluorescents that almost everyone on Makarzia uses, something yellower, almost warm, probably ancient bulbs dug out of a huge cache of them found somewhere. You turn to the front window, taking in the little curios and antiques displayed... pretty, useless, low-tech things almost no one here has a use for, unless they desperately need some piece of another world they're still clinging to. Your eyes track across decorated plates, ornate silver frames, a wind-up jack-in-the-box that somehow makes you think of the little plastic man you left resting on Ruby's mantle in Patch with a note telling Jaune to enjoy it.\n\nAnd then you settle on the music box.\n\nOld. Analogue. With a tiny ballerina topping it, eternally frozen in mid-dance, leg raised elegantly, arms stretched out, form... perfect. She turns and turns, clockwork visible in the gaps below the shining reflective surface beneath. For a moment the din of Makarzia fades away, your mind filling in the soft clinking of music. And words.\n\nMirror, mirror, the memory of a sweet, warm voice whispers in your ear, an impromptu little ballad by one of the most popular singers on a world now far away, sung softly just for you in the cool, soft wind as you sat in a park while the sun set, the smell of green and growing things all around you. I'm not lonely, after all.\n\nThe stinging, warm Makarzian rain hits your face, joining with the heat of your tears.\n\nIt hurts.\n\nKai's Story - Epic of Remnant - A world where it never snows

"Look, don't do this to yourself," you say quietly, getting up and moving to sit beside him on the bed. His letter jacket is tossed aside, so you run a hand up and down his bicep below the short sleeve of the scrubs shirt. "That doesn't mean anything."\n\nHe looks up at you, his expression lost. "Valerie, you know... so much about all of this. Is there... is there anything after?"\n\nYou hesitate, biting your lower lip. You take a deep breath, looking down as well and lowering your hands to run down the tops of your thighs. "... I know," you say slowly after a few moments. "That we have souls. And that there are planes other than this one. That closely resemble what a lot of people think of as Heaven and Hell. Whether they're really that, or if our souls go there when we die... I don't have answers for you on that, though." You look back up at him. "I do know that it's entirely possible for our minds to just not retain things that are beyond what we can see and understand. What our bodies can hold. So just because you don't remember what comes after when you come back doesn't mean it's not there."\n\n"... I'm scared," he admits quietly after a moment, letting out a soft sob. All it takes is for you to reach up and pull him into a hug for him to sag against you. He's not bawling, but he is crying, shuddering softly as he presses in against you.\n\nYou're not even sure who starts it, all you know is that suddenly the two of you are kissing, with a sort of desperation and intensity like you've never felt before. His lips are not-quite-warm on yours. But both of you are pulling and tugging at each other's clothing with a duality of purpose that soon has him on his back with you straddling his head, your hand gripping his short hair as his tongue goes to work on your pale pink pussy. Your hips twitch and buck, moans filling the small bedroom as you arch your back, breasts jutted out as his hands rub over your ass and hips, slide up your back, then back down to grip and haul you against his face, making you cry out. His hands move to your rear, gripping, squeezing and sliding you forward... leaving you to gasp out a loud "Oh FUCK!" as his tongue instead goes to work against your tight little pucker. \n\nBy the time you've enjoyed his tongue as much as you can stand and give him little nudges and start squirming to move off of him, you're definitely certain that no one would ever hex him for being bad in bed. You stand up, partly to try and calm your quivering thighs, prompting Aarav to sit up on the side of the bed... and glance down, looking at his still-limp cock. "I... I'm sorry, I-" he stammers, only to be silenced as you lean in and kiss him again, your hands resting on his shoulders.\n\n"It's fine, it's fine," you murmur, kissing your way down his chin, and his jaw. "Just a side effect of no blood flow." You grin up at him as you continue to sink down, kissing your way down his chest. "You'll still feel this, trust me," you promise as you kiss across his toned, flat stomach before settling onto your knees. You wrap your hand around his limp shaft, lifting it up as you kiss around the root of it, hearing him moan softly as you do. You duck your head down, dragging your tongue along his balls before starting to suckle lightly at them, looking up at him as you do. After the performance he gave you, you're dedicated to returning the favor... equivalent exchange, and all, so you spend quite some time mouth-worshiping his balls before you even move on to his shaft. Limp, yes, but it seems he was more of a shower than a grower... he's still decently long and thick, leaving you plenty to lick and suck at gently as he moans above you. You slip the head into your mouth and slide your head up and down... it takes a bit more work to keep it in properly than if it were hard, working your lips and tongue more, but he certainly doesn't seem to complain. In fact by the time you've slid your mouth all the way down to the root of it, you're fairly certain he's cum more than once.\n\nEventually you slip him out of your mouth and move to sit back down next to him, kissing his cheek, then grinning as he gives you a longer kiss on the lips. "See? Not all bad, huh?" you tease.\n\n"Still, I... well," Aarav huffs, wrapping his arms around you and squeezing you against his side.\n\n"If you decide it's what you want... when you become true undead, you'll have a lot more control over your body," you inform him quietly, rubbing at his bare thigh with one hand, keeping your eyes on that. "So you'll be able to again. If that's what you decide you want."\n\n"... For right now, I just want to be here with you," he says quietly, stroking a hand over your hair. "Please."\n\n"Yeah. Okay."\n\nEventually you catch a short nap leaned against his chest, and when you wake up it's midmorning. Excusing yourself after a few light kisses, you head into the other room to shower and change clothes, coming back brushing your hair. "Alright. Like I was saying, I'm pretty sure it must have been one of these two who cursed you."\n\n"But why? I don't know either of those people," Aarav answers with a frown. "Is this some vendetta at someone connected to me, or is it random?"\n\n"I'm honestly not sure," you admit, resting your hands on your hips. "I guess it's something we'll have to ask the guilty party."\n\n"But who? Which one do you think it is?"\n\n<hr>\n[[Montmorissey.|ValJobs]]\n\n[[Collins.|ValJobs2x7]]

"Well. My abilities right now are above normal, but they're not very... flashy," you admit.\n\n"They don't necessarily need to be, but it definitely couldn't hurt to have something a bit more visually up-front," Substance allows after exchanging a glance with her sister. "Especially since some of your teammates aren't the very flashy or attention-commanding types. Did you have something in mind?"\n\n"Give me a day or two, I can look into it," you assure her.\n\nAnd by 'it' you mean your parents' files. They had extremely thorough records on all sorts of things, including caches of items and weapons left behind by other villains... and heroes. Not to mention all the sorts of things that are lurking around the mansion itself locked behind secure doors and seals. Obviously accessing any of that is going to involve various bits of electronic larceny, but ah... you've kind of already been working on that. ... What? They transferred all their assets to you, that means the files and items belong to you now, despite their attempts to keep you from accessing them!\n\n... Obviously a lot of the other caches would be in, ah... iffier moral territory. ... Look, you'll just make sure to avoid anything that obviously belongs to an active hero or villain and you should be fine.\n\nYou spend a few days cracking database entries and nosing about the house finding more things your parents had hidden, and wind up coming up with a pretty decent list of things that you could use to elevate yourself from "wannabe kid hero" to "new superhero", at least as far as you can tell.\n\n[[A supersuit|MarSS]] - Obviously not just a spandex one-piece, but rather a suit with its own set of powers and abilities. What exactly those are, the file is fuzzier on, but apparently the suit was built by the Reverse Engineer, a hero who specialized in taking apart and adapting alien/otherdimensional/future technology and making her own versions. Always seen as a bit of a kook anyway, the Reverse Engineer hasn't been seen in about a decade anyway, with the general consensus being that she probably blew herself up in some underground lab. On the one hand, not exactly a ringing endorsement of using her tech... on the other the likelihood that anyone would connect "your" new suit to her would be pretty minimal.\n\n[[A magic sword|MarSS]] - Specifically, an angel's sword... Koriel, the Holy Hero. Or, as some tiresome people online insist on, "the entity calling itself Koriel while coincidentally resembling modern interpretations of an angelic being". FFS just call the woman with big white feathery wings and a glowing halo of light over her head an angel. Of course admittedly the fact that she kind of fucking died does lend a whole different aspect to those little online debates. Either way, you've tracked her sword down to a surprisingly insecure storage room in the Fallen Hero Museum, where it is instead of on display for two apparent reasons: it can't be wielded by anyone that the late hero wouldn't approve of (so it doesn't need intense security), and it's haunted(!) and thus not really suitable for staying out amongst the other displays.\n\n[[Gene therapy injections|MarSS3x2]] - The clinic where you usually went to get your "vitamin injections" is, obviously, one of your parents' criminal facilities, and according to the files you've been able to crack they have some more dramatic ones that you're essentially primed to receive. The issue with those being that obviously they're gene therapies and not something you can take off or put down at the end of the day. On the other hand that means they're something the bad guys couldn't take away from you...\n\n[[Omnipistols|MarSS]] - Pistols that can do damn near anything... they're one of the Galaxy Syndicate's biggest sellers. Unfortunately that means they've been plaguing street-level supercrime for decades so they don't exactly have a very good image, since they're what lets some random street tough actually be a threat to someone in kevlardex. But then kind of the whole point, as explained by Style and Substance, is to lean into the image of being your parents' daughter... hard to see a better way to do that than hitting the streets wielding their most distinctive product turned to good ends.\n\n[[The Nanoframe|MarSS]] - Hm. You're not sure from reading the file whether the Nanoframe's previous possessor, Professor Prawn, was in league with your parents, or if they'd just tracked down his last hideout and made a note of it. But last you heard he was in the midst of having gone on the straight and narrow and was busy teaching courses at a community college under an assumed name, so he's not exactly in a position to protest if you pick up his old equipment for your own use. Besides, according to his villainloguing at the time, the Nanoframe was capable of generating virtually any sort of technology the user could imagine (as long as it remained connected to the frame itself), clearly he was just kind of uncreative in how he used it since he tended to stick to exoskeleton armor and big clampy hands.

You decide to move deeper into the club, seeing if anything more blatantly fantastical will present itself beyond the areas intended for typical normies that might wander in off the street. Approaching the hallway shows that it's probably been remodeled to have a bouncer standing in it, a long, shallow step-up with a small area to the side for the bouncer to step to so someone could get by, and a shorter flight of stairs beyond. You head up, finding that this area looks like it's been essentially completed in its entirety, the walls painted deep blacks and purples in a shiny glint, additional lighting installed along the baseboards and the ceiling edges.\n\nYou spot two fancy doors across from each other... one reads 'VIP' and has the I dotted by a little shiny golden crown, and the other reads 'VIM' and has the I dotted by a pointy black hat. Ha, 'Very Important Mage', that's cute. Still, looks like there's going to be different sections for actual magical folk and just clued-in normies who are around to partake of magical elixers that will get them hammered in way more interesting ways than the typical craft beer. There's also another door that just has a stereotypical "genie" lamp on it, complete with a curl of blue smoke issuing up from it. Hm.\n\nAt the end of the hallway is a door with, as you might expect, 'Employees Only' written on it. It looks like it's designed to have a key card system, but that hasn't been installed yet.\n\n<hr>\n[[Check out the VIP room.|ValNC]]\n\n[[Check out the VIM room.|ValNC]]\n\n[[Check out the "lamp" room.|ValNC]]\n\n[[Check out the employee area.|ValNC3x2]]

They're not that big or sturdy-looking, surely a quick application of brute force will take care of the problem!\n\nYou rush over and slam your right boot sole down onto several of the smaller tentacle fragments, which squish and then burst under the assault in an incredibly disgusting way, sort of like stomping on a flimsy water balloon filled with highly soup beans that had been run through a blender briefly. Most of them require two or three stomps to take care of, reducing them to a sludge that looks something like heavily used motor oil all over the floor.\n\nYou hesitate at eyeing the big one, which seems to have gotten just a bit larger now and to be writhing with more purpose, but then shrug. The other ones weren't that tough, this one will just take more stomps, clearly. You rush over to it and bring your foot down directly into the middle of it, doing your best to halve your problems right from the start. The writhing, pulsing surface bends and deforms under the impact... but doesn't pop.\n\nInstead one of the ends of it whips upward and smacks you directly on the ass, making you yelp and twist in place, starting to stagger off of it, before the other end whips towards you as well and scores another direct hit. On the opposite side.\n\nNow there have been some movies that pretend that a crotch shot is not particularly troublesome for a woman, mostly comedies aimed at college boys. Those movies are so, so incredibly wrong. You fold like a mixed-suit hand of cards with no faces, bunching in on yourself and dropping to the floor while making a sound that is probably only audible to people under thirty-five. You manage to sort of scurry away from the thing more on instinct than anything else, and it takes you a moment to get yourself under control and look back over.\n\nThe tentacle is still intact and having a... reaction... to being stomped on. The surface of it is now a bright, angry, literally glowing red where you stepped on it, roughly in the shape of your bootsole, though that's quickly spreading out, along with a bulging, rippling thing. The tentacle's growing rapidly now, starting to grow more appendages as it does, and rapidly swelling at a speed that looks like it's going to fill the entire room in moments.\n\n"Oh shi-" you half-whimper as you manage to scramble to your feet and rush back the way you came, pausing only to haul Doctor Dimensional up and put him over one shoulder, hearing equipment screech across the floor and metal bending and crunching and walls starting to buckle behind you. You run out into the yard behind the facility and whirl around (dropping the unconscious villain as you do), just in time to see the rooftop practically explode upward in a massive geyser of mortar and steal beams and wood, admitting a pillar of red flesh with numerous long, wildly thrashing tentacles extending off of it.\n\nThe creature is still growing rapidly as it smashes its way through the front of the building and turns towards the street, effortlessly crushing the fence and barbed wire beneath its wide, almost snail-like base. Seen in full it's really less of a pillar and more of a mound, with tentacles sprouting off of its dappled, pulsating surface seemingly at random. It has a head and a face, kind of, a lot of long slender tubes surrounding one big one, and a single massive eye... thing... that's really just a flat plane stuck the front of its top above the snouts. It definitely doesn't look happy, though, smashing its tentacles through the windows of nearby buildings and putting serious dents in the stonework. It's not quite up to just smashing whatever it wants, but it looks like it's getting there.\n\n"Well fuck," you say flatly. You kind of uh... you kind of feel a liiiittle responsible for the situation going in this direction. ... Slightly. Uh, okay, what now...?\n\n<hr>\n[[Go after it!|MarSS]]\n\n[[You're gonna need a really big hero.|MarSS10x4]]\n\n[[... Welp, time to go home.|MarSS]]

Your mouth curls in a grin, and you try to ramp it down to keep it from looking too wicked when it seems like Kyle might start getting nervous. He's just so cute and powerless, like an adorable little scruffy mouse that you can bat around for awhile before either letting go or putting out of its misery. Practically feeling a pair of cat ears twitch atop your head, you lean over and rest one of your hands over one of his. "Don't worry, Kyle, we'll get you back together with Luna."\n\n"R-really?!" Any nervousness that had started by your grin vanishes as he perks up, his eyes sparkling.\n\n"Mhm. But it's really important that you follow all of my instructions exactly, okay? I know exactly what I'm doing, and my methods are very tried-and-true. You can't reject any part of them or the whole thing won't work, and Luna could wind up never wanting to see you again." You have to admit, it's hard not to giggle at how he goes instantly from looking on top of the world to like he might cry at the very suggestion of that. He should never play poker, that's for sure. "You promise?"\n\n"Y-yeah, okay, I promise!" He nods eagerly. "I'll do whatever you say, honest! U-um, but what are we going to do...?"\n\n<hr>\n[[Make her jealous.|ValJobs]]\n\n[[Make her dream of him.|ValJobs]]\n\n[[Teach him to understand her better.|ValJobs3x3]]

So, like, being honest... you've always wanted to be a superhero.\n\nAnd, like, being further honest... you've really felt like shit ever since all your friends stopped talking to you, so if this could maybe give you some new ones...?\n\nBut best to make it sound strategic! "I think Substance is right," you speak up. "If we want to really show people that I'm serious about being a hero and helping out, it can't be just about me, right? If they see me helping other heroes my age and supporting them, it seems like that would help a lot more."\n\n"I completely agree," Substance says brightly, rising from her chair and sashaying around the desk, moving over behind you and resting her hands on your shoulders. "That's exactly my thoughts. A solo career right from the start could seem too blatant, and then if you team up later it looks like you're settling. Debuting with your team leaves the option to go on solo missions later on your own, after you've established yourself, with much less fear of looking like you couldn't cut it on your own."\n\n"Mm. Well, if that's your decision, it's your right as one of our representatives to influence how we handle things," Style says, lifting her hands in a slight shrug. "Of course, since the No Shadows Initiative is our pet project, we will occasionally be taking a firmer hand on the reins than we would with our standard representatives."\n\n"We've already begun some preliminary workshopping on your hero identity," Substance says as she urges you up and shows you over towards one corner of the office, which seems to have been set up as several kinds of art studio, among them a drawing tablet that she wakes up and leans over, activating a projection screen on the wall as she shows you a handful of sketches.\n\n"Ah... red and black, huh?" you murmur, making a small face. "Those are certainly very... aggressive... colors."\n\n"We think it's best if we lean into your status as the offspring of supervillains, just to a certain extent," Substance answers as she straightens up, gesturing a bit at the obviously preliminary designs that range from light body armor to what could charitably be called battle bikinis. "Since PR for your civilian life is an issue here, there can't really be a 'secret identity', and the thought was that if we tried to completely avoid any hints of where you were coming from, it would provoke the opposite reaction."\n\n"Mm. Like, 'Who does she think she's kidding, parading around in white?'" you say with a sigh.\n\n"Exactly. Much better to look like you're owning it. We'll get things worked through a bit more," Substance says as she turns back to you. "Though I suppose we're making a slight assumption. From looking at some of your athletic performances, we had assumed you're enhanced in some way...?"\n\n"Yeah, turns out my parents have been giving me gene therapy my whole life and not bothering to tell me," you say flatly, folding your arms and rolling your eyes. "Apparently it doesn't work on grown adults but if you start young it rewrites you to something closer to peak performance. Apparently I just never noticed because I wasn't really being pushed outside of training, or some stupid thing like that."\n\n"We can definitely work with that, though," Substance assures you, nodding. "Something very simplistic, kind of 'all natural' hero. Unless of course you were thinking you needed something more...?"\n\n<hr>\n[[No, the peak human speed, strength, and martial arts training should be plenty.|MarSS2x2]]\n\n[[... hmmmm.|MarSS3x1]]

"I think I'm good to go, pretty much. Maybe start adding some specialized training to my routine, but," you allow.\n\n"I think that's just fine! Well let's get your measurements, and then I'll get to work on this. We should have everything ready to roll in about two weeks!" Substance declares cheerfully.\n\nSo for the next two weeks you put in your time at school each day, then return home to work on preparing to become an authentic superhero. Obviously this is one of those things they don't exactly have instructors for (or maybe they do, but if they do your new sponsor hasn't volunteered any and Tomiko isn't speaking up), so you basically have to make it up as you go along. Reading books about deduction and superhistory (which may or may not occasionally turn into rereading chunks of your comic collection), and modifying your training routine to include things like dodging projectiles and moving floor traps... turns out the training courses had those options already you just had to figure out how to turn them on. Which leads to you starting to try and hack your way into some of your parents' databases and those secret rooms in the house when you're fairly sure Tomiko is busy with other things (or maybe she just doesn't consider it her job to stop you on that particular front). You don't make a lot of headway, but you do uncover a handful of potentially useful information.\n\nTwo weeks rolls around and you're called back to the Studio, this time heading to a third floor room (which is full of mannequins and racks with garment bags on them) where Substance is waiting... notably alone. Seeing your glance around, she grins a bit ruefully. "I'll be handling your team personally. Style is..." She trails off, flitting a hand around. "Well I wouldn't call it 'sulking', really, because she's much more mature than that whatever she might sometimes seem like. But to better manage our time and preferences, and to help the representatives with a feeling of consistency, she'll be handling the solo heroes, and I'll be handling the teams from now on."\n\n"I see," you say, trying to keep any vague worry out of your voice. You hope this hasn't introduced any strife into their family... after all you know how rough that can be (understatement of the century). "So are there many other teams yet?"\n\n"No, you and the girls you'll be meeting today will be the first ones," Substance says cheerfully as she crosses to one of the hangar racks and lifts down a red and black patterned bodysuit, with a symbol on the front of an eight-pointed gold star with long vertical and horizontal rays, with two smaller stars like it nestled a bit above its upper horizontal rays. "The team name I've workshopped is Stun Dazzlers." You must make a face despite your attempt not to because she just gives you a rueful smile. "It's difficult to find something that's not taken, I'm afraid. We're hoping it can grow organically into something a bit more quippy over time."\n\n"Guess so," you agree, accepting the garment bag with a definite sense of glee. Substance gestures you towards a curtained-off area that apparently serves as a dressing room and you step in, undressing and then hanging up the bag, opening it up. The costume is vaguely 'cheerleader' and vaguely 'magical girl' but you find you don't have too many problems with that... you are a Teen Hero™ after all and have a type to play to. And admittedly, the black and red color scheme gives it a bit more gravitas that it might lack if it was in more traditional hero colors. The main body is a one-piece, black with red accents and the gold three-star emblem on the chest (admittedly it flatters your ego that your emblem implies you outshining your parents), with very short sleeves, and an attached skirt that starts low at the front, leaving the crotch showing but draping so that it will cover most of your hips and rear. You take it down, finding that there's a small red circle on the inside of the high collar that, when pressed, makes the back automatically open up. Nice, super-zipper! You step into it and pull it up, slipping your arms through it and straightening... and pause with a blush. "Um."\n\n"What's wrong? Does it not fit?" Substance asks, sounding genuinely shocked that might be the case.\n\n"Er... I'm not sure." You crane your head to look over your shoulder, lifting the back of the skirt to try and get a glimpse of the back of the one-piece below it... specifically the T-back thong style part, leaving pretty much your whole butt bare. "It's... a thong. And kind of a wild one?"\n\n"Oh yes, well, being a bit provocative is part of most heroines', and some heroes', look after all," Substance chirps. "Especially since we do want to play up a little bit of 'bad girl' image with you. We don't want to be too much, considering, so the costume is otherwise relatively modest, but if we can necks craning some when your skirt moves, well...!"\n\n"... Mmn," you grumblingly concede for the moment, before pulling the one-piece the rest of the way into place and then pressing the red circle again, causing it to seal up in back and turn snug. Well at least she didn't give you individual boobsocks, you think dryly as you turn to the mirror to pose a bit. And she's right, the skirt is relatively modest at rest, but could be... tantalizing... in motion. Shrugging in defeat, you turn and reach into the bag for the rest: a pair of tall black boots with the gold star emblems at the top front of them (with the smaller stars on the lower points to accommodate the shape), and a matching pair of tall black fingerless gloves. You flex your hands a few times and then turn back and forth, eyeing yourself. "Are you sure it's not a little too 'bad girl'?" you say almost plaintively.\n\nSubstance brushes aside some of the curtains and steps in, beaming as she rests her hands on your shoulders, long, strong fingers rubbing your tense muscles. "Nonsense! You look fantastic! And we'll lighten it up gradually over time," she assures you in a more placating tone. "Add hints of silver, shade the red lighter, it will be very subtle to go along with your 'redemption arc' which, yes, I know, you didn't actually do anything wrong," Substance assures you before you can speak up. "But like I said, we're working with the public's perception, and the public is-"\n\n"Fucking morons," you mutter.\n\n"I was going to say 'fickle' but I suppose I won't argue with you, in the spirit of keeping your mood up," Substance says dryly. "Now, why don't you come along and meet the other Stun Dazzlers?"\n\n'That is definitely not the greatest name,' you think as you turn to follow her. And you're not too sure about it growing into something better organically either. Dazzlers? Not too bad but sounds kind of like a waxy candy. Stunners? ... Technically not too bad but unfortunate attachments...\n\nSubstance leads you to the second floor and then through an exit into what looks like a fairly normal parking garage, except it's fully enclosed and climate controlled. This feels a little more like meeting up with friends before heading into the nerd convention (or at least what you always imagined that would be like) than the start of an amazing superhero career, but oh well. And you can, in fact, see three other girls about your own age waiting nearby. (You're mildly annoyed that only one of them is dressed as provocatively as you, despite what Substance said.)\n\n"Girls, this is your fourth member, Thirdstar," Substance declares cheerfully. "As you may notice, she's not wearing a mask, so you may be familiar with her as Marissa Mallone as well."\n\n"Could say that, yeah," the tallish girl on your left says dryly, while the sort of smaller, somewhat mousey one in the middle looks like she'd like to be hiding behind one of the cement pillars, practically cowering at your attempt at a friendly glance.\n\n"Ahem. Thirdstar, this is Apex," Substance says, stepping behind said tall girl and resting her hands on her shoulders like she did you earlier. Apex is blackout curtain pale beneath the hood of her splatterpaint-patterned blue longcoat, bits of messy black hair sticking out from it and above the blinking, glowing pink visor she's wearing. Her 'superhero outfit' otherwise seems to consist of a slightly battered black T-shirt with glowing RGB circuitry lines on it that bares her stomach, and black "tac-style" pants with numerous pockets as well as combat boots with the same RGB circuitry lines on them. "She's a supergenius who can hack technology just by thinking at it!"\n\n"Wow, impressive," you say sincerely, raising your eyebrows. "Do you have a four digit IQ or something?"\n\n"IQ tests are for people who radiate little dick energy," Apex declares solemnly, blowing a bubble with her gum.\n\nSubstance grins a bit ruefully at that, but steps aside to the mousey girl, who practically jumps a bit at hands resting on her shoulders. "And this is Pass," Substance says, nodding down at the girl. Her hair's cut straight at the shoulders, and is blue on the outside and red on the inside, which is a neat trick. Her superhero outfit seems to be a red-blue gradiant track jersey, specifically the kind that can be pulled off at a moment's notice... in fact you can kind of see the little magnetic clasps. It's been trimmed to fit up a bit more snugly against her trim, slender form but is otherwise pretty basic, with no sign of a hero logo. She is wearing a mask, though, a domino mask made out of some sort of pinkish material that at times seems transparent and at others reflective, gleaming with little holofoil sparkles at others, seeming to both stand out and blend into her tan skin at the same time somehow.\n\n"Because I can make light, y'know... pass through me," Pass murmurs, rubbing her upper arm, then making a face. "... But it only works for my body..."\n\n"We're working on a substance that matches her wavelength so she can have an invisible costume too, but so far this is all we've been able to synthesize of it," Substance says dryly, gently poking at the corner of the mask and making Pass squeak. You raise your hand to wave at her and say something genial in greeting, but Pass actually flinches as if afraid you might swat her, so you just drop your hand and look at the third girl as Substance steps over to her.\n\n"And this is Switch. The witch," Substance adds as if unable to help herself, grinning as she puts her hands on the shoulders of the only girl who's about as provocatively-dressed as you, wearing a very tight black one-piece with a belt with lots of little pouches, vials, and a loincloth drape in front and back, and a shoulder-capping short cape that has two drapes coming down over the front of the chest. Her blue-black hair is pulled back in a long pontail, and her "mask" consists of a veil attached to her broad-brimmed (and yellow) witch's hat, covering the upper half of her face. Her boots and gloves are a lot like yours, just that instead of the three stars symbol it looks like someone tried to make the 'chaos' symbol look friendly and approachable (and yellow).\n\n"My power is that I'm a witch," she says cheerfully, grinning and wiggling her fingers at you in a wave.\n\n"Neat," you say, again sincerely. \n\n"So, Thirdstar, what do you think...?" Substance prompts.\n\n<hr>\n[["Really good to meet all of you."|MarSS2x3]]\n\n[["Ah... I'm not sure about this, to be honest."|MarSS]]

Let's see what this guy is like. You kind of want to get his story first, if for no other reason than to compare it to what the other side says later, should you choose to find out. You dial up the number at the bottom of the note, waiting for him to answer before saying, "This is Valerie, you bought me some fries earlier?"\n\n"Oh! Oh, thank you for calling me back! My name's Kyle, I was really hoping you could help me."\n\n"We'll see, Kyle. Tell you what, why don't we meet back up at the student center, and I'll at least hear you out?"\n\n"Okay, sure. I'll be there as soon as I can!"\n\nSoon you're settling back into your 'reserved' booth, and it's only a few minutes later you see Kyle hurrying towards you, recognizing him from when he passed by earlier. Well, you doubt he got dumped for being ugly... he's a little shorter than average, and his black hair could use a bit of a trim and a more thorough brushing, and his clothes look a bit too rumpled and worn, but you guess that could be a result of his getting dumped. He slips into the booth, practically vibrating. "Thanks, thanks so much for seeing me."\n\n'Hoookay.' "Yeah, well, I'm going to hear you out, and then decide, alright? So why don't you tell me exactly how you got dumped."\n\nHe sags a bit at the 'd-word', but after a moment he gathers himself and starts telling the tale of how his high school girlfriend Luna started seeming more and more dissatisfied once they got to college. At first he'd thought it was just the stress of adapting to being away from home and the new classes, but shortly before the start of their second year, she'd rather unceremoniously dumped him. You ask various probing questions, trying to find out if there's anything he's not telling you or just doesn't realize he did. Eventually you think you've got the picture... Kyle's clingy, that's obvious, and he probably could have stood to learn to take it easy and relax, but it doesn't sound like he was neglecting her (far from) or casually insulting or embarrassing her, as far as you can tell from your questions. If you were to guess, Luna decided she was tired of her less-than-amazing high school boyfriend and wanted to cruise around seeing if she could pick up a better deal or just some college guy dick. Kyle is certain it's something he did, but seems to have had enough self awareness after his first few attempts at getting her back to realize that he was just pushing her further away.\n\nYou're torn somewhere between sympathy, pity, or maybe finding him sort of pathetic, and trying to decide which of them dominates. He's looking at you rather pitifully and asks, "So, will you do it? Will you help me figure out how to get her back? I mean... that's really what you do, right? Give advice or charms or... whatever?"\n\nSounds like he also doesn't quite realize the extent of what you can do, and thinks you're more some sort of life coach with a wiccan twist. So, how are you going to handle this?\n\n<hr>\n[[Help him get her back.|ValJobs]]\n\n[[Help him get a new girlfriend.|ValJobs]]\n\n[[Toy with him for your own amusement.|ValJobs3x2]]\n\n[[Twist his meaning to torment him.|ValJobs]]

- Update 1 -\n* Main: More stuff of Ireth (on pretty much every branch). \n- Update 2 -\n* Main: Leo can suggest he and Lii [[talk to Kala in private|LeoCat1x6]].\n* Main: Valerie can now use the Mythril wire to [[forge a weapon|ValNA2x4]].\n- Update 3 -\n* Main: Maxia can now go explore the world of [[Letoria|MaxExploreWorlds]].\n- Update 4 -\n* Ireth can now stay a monster instead of reincarnating.

What exactly is the point of being awake if you're not going to be gaming? That is an excellent question, one you're not really interested in looking for an answer for as you settle back into your chair and pull your feet up into it. Yes, you are awake, so it is time to play. The question is, play what?\n\n<hr>\n[[Online shooter.|Sipha]]\n\n[[Portable.|Sipha]]\n\n[[Mobage.|Sipha]]\n\n[[Console.|Sipha]]\n\n[[VRMMO.|Sipha1x3]]

Ah, yeah, these games are super expensive but they're definitely one of the coolest things you've played since you've gotten here. Really you'd probably play nothing but, but their nature means you can't multi-game, or snack while playing, or take easy shlic-, er, eyestrain breaks, or any of that. Still, they're pretty great, and you're fairly certain you've got a new one or two you haven't even played yet.\n\nNow, which one to play...?\n\n<hr>\n[[Savior of Other World.|Sipha1x4]]\n\n[[Kamenin Akagi: Dark Dimension.|Sipha]]\n\n[[Blade Skill Connect.|Sipha]]\n\n[[Aberrant Planet.|Sipha]]

Probably best to spend the day accumulating some potential jobs. That will give you the rest of the week to spend doing any necessary research or prep work, and completing any of the easier tasks themselves, and saving anything that might require more footwork or interaction for the weekend.\n\nYou have a very simple, discrete system that is spread by word of mouth. Since a lot of people feel awkward about voicing their requests directly, especially to someone purported to be a witch, you have an indirect way of taking requests. That being that when you visibly park yourself in a booth in the student center's food court, it means you're available and taking requests. The method of those requests is ingenious for two reasons... that method being, to buy you a carton of french fries from the 'Spuds McFrenzy' stand nearby. The fry boxes are constructed in such a way that a folded piece of paper can easily be tucked into the back between the folds and the actual back of the container, so that they don't get fry oil and salt all over them. This allows people to drop off their requests discretely without feeling embarrassed, and also allows you to accrue a fuckton of french fries. (You might be a little addicted. Luckily between a still teenaged metabolism and a bit of minor magic to help you turn food into literal energy rather than calories, you can eat all you want.)\n\nYou intend to sit there for a good long while today, and clearly either people who have been waiting notice or word gets around, because soon people are walking by and setting cartons of fries on your table, with varying levels of success in seeming casual about it. Some act like such smooth operators that they have to have practiced it by themselves, which makes you smirk a bit, others dart furtive glances at you and almost stumble as they're walking away. You pluck the message out... sometimes on torn scraps of notebook paper, others neatly typed and folded, and virtually everything between... and set them in your bag, not wanting to be seen reading them in public. Discretion is, again, sort of the point after all. Instead you look at your phone, tapping at it and seeming absorbed, letting people think you're not even looking at them as they drop off their pleas for salvation.\n\nEventually when even you've had all the fries you can stand, you slip your messenger bag strap up onto your shoulder and stand, giving the guy who works at Spuds McFrenzy a wink in passing, which he chuckles and returns. The two of you have a bit of agreement... he keeps your table clear (both of people that might want to use it and of the trash you leave), and you quintuple his business every time you drop by. You head out to a more distant corner of the campus, one that's a lightly wooded parklike area. For the first few weeks it's always populated by students trying to do things they've seen in the brochures, like reading under a tree, but by now those have pretty much all cleared out and left it a private spot. You settle down behind one of the larger trees, where you'll be out of sight of anyone approaching from the walking path, and start pulling out notes.\n\nThere are a handful of types of requests that always get discarded immediately. One of those is requests for answer sheets for future tests... you're perfectly fine with someone asking to be made luckier, or smarter, or given more time to study somehow, but answer sheets? You're not some common 'fixer'. Another is requests for horrible things to happen to teachers or politicians that have simply angered the petitioner with something they've said (or just by existing)... if it's an actual personal issue you might consider intervening, but "Can you believe this shit?!" outrage is beneath you. And then of course there's just the 'blatantly horny' missives... "I need to get laid", "End my dry spell", "big tiddy goth gf plz". You're not rejecting them on principle of despising horniness, just lack of imagination... if they're so anyone-would-do hard up, they can hire a prostitute, which you are not. Most of the 'rejects' you simply crumple up and toss in a small trashbag you keep in your bag, but a few are annoying or offensive enough to go in your 'hex' pile. (You suppose it could be considered poor business practice to drop bad luck on people that make requests with you, but there's also something to be said for making it clear that you're not to be trifled with.) There are also several that just get discarded for not including the proper information.\n\nYou sort out another stack for the simple requests that you can do as a matter of course once you get paid for them... luck charms, health & beauty remedies, things like that. Then it's time to turn your attention to the actually engaging requests... the ones that will probably require you to go speak to the petitioner face-to-face to get more details and decide how you want to handle the matter.\n\nFirst off there's [[a girl who says a guy won't leave her alone|ValJobs4x1]]. It sounds like they may have gone out a few times before she broke it off and he won't take the hint. You doubt it's gotten too bad since she's coming to you instead of the campus police, but it's definitely the sort of thing you can handle.\n\nThe next is [[a guy who's heartbroken after being left by his girl|ValJobs3x1]]. ... Wait, could it be...? You hold the two up at the same time and look back and forth between them. There's enough commonality of phrasing that it seems distinctly possible that this is in fact the guy from the first request. Ha! Now that's interesting, you've never actually had this happen before, though you suppose it was probably inevitable. \n\nThere's the head of a sorority who [[says their sorority house is haunted|ValJobs1x1]]. You've communed with spirits before, though you've never taken care of a full-fledged haunting, if that's what it is. Still, one of the reasons you take these jobs is to push yourself and expand your boundaries, it might be good practice.\n\nThere's also a guy who [[thinks he's been cursed|ValJobs2x1]]. There are a lot of people that think that when they have a little run of bad luck, but the obvious worry bordering on panic in this note does make you think it could be something more serious. Might be worth looking into... if nothing else, if it's an authentic curse, breaking it should power you up nicely.

Yeah, there's a reason you play a lot of 'SOW', as a lot of people tend to call it. Specifically because it's the game the Hero was playing when he was transported... in other words, it's almost exactly like your world! You even have a high-level Shadow Elf mage to hang out in the Deepwood Fords area with... you log her in whenever you're feeling particularly homesick, though usually walking around and seeing even more underdressed elves than usual dancing beside mailboxes or yelling about selling gold takes care of that pretty darn quick.\n\nLowering the VR helmet over your head, you lay back on your futon and boot up Savior of Other World. Normally you've got it tweaked to send you right to character select, but instead today you're sent to the landing page... tch, must have been an update. Still, you admit it might be worth having to tweak some of your mods when you see what this update involves.\n\n'Private Instance Shards'... in other words, apparently they've figured out a way to give people their own little versions of the game world without mirroring the entire giant VR server for each one. A great idea... but more than that, you notice that there's two tiers, Gold and Orihalcum. Gold just gives you the option to use the new system to avoid other players... the Orihalcum actually treats your version of the world as your world... meaning you've got admin privileges or "god mode".\n\nIt's expensive, though... even the Gold version. The Orihalcum... ow, you might actually have to start watching your spending if you got that, even if just a little.\n\n<hr>\n[[Log in normally.|Sipha]]\n\n[[Buy Gold.|Sipha]]\n\n[[Buy Orihalcum.|Sipha]]

You take a look around, again trying to do your best not to be too obvious about how horny they're all making you. Then, with a very calm voice, you answer, "To be honest, none of them really impress me."\n\nThule's grin drops into a scowl. "What?"\n\nYou largely want to see what happens when you throw another wrench into the works. The Witch Princess never went on this particular line of the story, after all, and now you want to see what Thule... or whoever's running this fantasy... does when you just keep zig-zagging on them. "Yes, having seen them and heard what they have to offer, I don't think I'm really interested in any of them. Don't you have something better?"\n\n"Better?!" Thule almost roars, his sons having various looks of outrage on their own faces. Before you know it, he's seized you around your neck and hauled you up off your feet, holding you in the air lifted above him. "Impertinent bitch! Who are you to scorn my noble offspring and ask for better?!"\n\nYou couldn't really reply, even if you wanted to, just gripping his strong fingers around your neck and trying to hold yourself up, your legs dangling as your arousal starts leaking down your inner thighs. 'Shit shit shit stop it brain this is really not the time,' you try to urge yourself through your burst of horny. Dammit why does this scenario just have to keep pressing your buttons?!\n\n"Something better?! I will show you what you are worth, pathetic meat!" Thule booms as he carries you out of the room, your body still dangling from his grip. You're starting to feel like you might either pass out or cum or maybe both by the time he's carried you out into some sort of castle courtyard, practically throwing you down to the ground and then hauling you onto your knees, pressing your neck and wrists into a set of low stocks and slamming them closed, fastening the lock. You gasp loudly as he uses one hand to rip your dress right off of you, baring you instantly to the gazes of him, his sons, and the onlooking demon-esque workers and animal-featured slaves, your pale body trembling a little in a mixture of cold, fear, and arousal.\n\n"Bah, look at you, worthless cunt," Thule snears, his hooffalls booming as he circles you. "Your hole is veritably gushing already. Perhaps the Witch Princess is truly nothing but a Bitch Princess, hm? And less a princess than a whore." His smug look only grows as your thighs twitch a little at the verbal abuse, and he lets out a long, thunderous roll of laughter. "Harken well to your fate. I shall leave you here to be used by the common rabble as they like... every soldier, every workman, every slave shall be able to do with you as they wish, as long as they do not overly damage you. When this common use by low-born wretches has robbed you of your grace and power, I shall perhaps consider turning you loose and casting you out... or, if it please me, I shall decide to end your worthless existence. Or... you may humble yourself and beg me for forgiveness here and now, and I may see fit to finding some slightly gentler use for you while still teaching you your place. What shall it be, Bitch Princess?"\n\n<hr>\n[[Beg for forgiveness.|ValWP]]\n\n[[Stay silent.|ValWP]]

Yup, yup, got the standard here, butt and a dick. That's two, count 'em, two things! I mean you've got nipples too but how often does anyone remember those? Not often enough! ... Ahem. Okay, so, you're a guy.\n\nWhich dude male guy are you?\n\n[[Leo|LeoStart]] - A young mercenary who takes jobs through an agency that ranges across numerous dimensions. Talented and already with an impressive record, but still lacking somewhat in experience.\n\n[[Morgan|CaliburnStart]] - Morgan to his college professors and friends, but his parents, comrades, and enemies are more familiar with him as Caliburn, the white and gold clad superhero!\n\n[[Riley|RileyStart]] - Femboy? Check! Goth? Check! Witch? Check!\n\n[[Jason|JasonStart]] - A secret agent working for a mysterious, nongovernment group, handling issues ranging from the everyday criminal to the bizarre and fantastical.\n\n[[Bastian|BacklashStart]] - Once a mild-mannered everyday genius of no particularly great ambition, now the veteran and accomplished supervillain Backlash.\n\n[[Raz|RazStart]] - An orphaned Beastfolk youth about to undergo Classification and join the Adventurer's Guild.\n\n[[Soren|SorenStart]] - A hardworking Provider for a human settlement in a ruined post-apocalyptic Earth.

Squirming uncomfortably, you announce an admittedly rather grumpy, "I think I'm relaxed enough already, okay? Can we just go ahead and talk about the unidentified Pokemon?"\n\n"Oh dear, this is a very stubborn level of tension," Hexia says with a sigh, laying a hand along her cheek, before reaching almost under herself, apparently rummaging beside the chair cushion. You blink as she comes up with a shrunken-down Pokeball that expands to fill her palm as she lifts it. "We'll have to take drastic measures. Come out, Hyppy!" she says as she gives it a toss, the Pokemon already starting to spill out and materialize in red energy.\n\n"Hyppy?" you echo with a blink, before your eyes widen and you start to scramble to your feet as you see the shape it's taking and realize who's that Pokemon. "Wait, hey, no-!"\n\nBut the Hypno's coin is already swaying, your widened eyes being in just the right position to catch its motion. You try to force them closed, but can only manage to squint, and when you try to turn your head away your eyes turn to track the coin, inevitably pulling your head back to stare. "S-stop... you can't," you say a little faintly as you feel yourself unable to continue trying to look away from the coin, your eyes drawn along with it, captured by it and forced to copy the motion of it swaying. "This... I'll... I..." you continue to protest, your voice growing quieter and quieter as your brain more steadily refuses to offer up any objection whatsoever to sinking deeper under the Hypno's sway.\n\n"Thaaat's right, just let allllll those silly thoughts flowwww out of you," Hexia coos as she gets to her feet and shuffles over to you, pausing briefly to lean down and give the Hypno's jutting, almost caterpillar-shaped yellow cock a few strokes, the bulges along the top throbbing at the attention. Standing in front of you, she says, "You're feeling realllllly relaaaaxed noooow, riiiiight?"\n\n<hr>\n[["Yes... relaxed."|ChiPoke5x2]]\n\n[["Yes... really... relaxed." *psssss*|ChiPoke6x1]]\n\n[["I could be... more relaxed..."|ChiPoke]]

"I'm very relaxed," you agree with faint, airy cheer, smiling a little bit.\n\n"Goooood," Hexia coos, reaching out to give your breasts a squeeze through your top, her thumbs brushing over the front of it until your nipples stiffen, letting her run her thumbs around them directly. "I think you could be a liiiittle more relaxed if you weren't wearing clothes, though."\n\n"Okay," you reply dreamily, shrugging out of your coat and letting it drop, before pulling off your top shamelessly, tits dropping free and wobbling as you get it worked over your ponytail. You peel down your pants as well, thinking nothing of it as your bare ass and pussy wag in the air while you're undoing your boots and getting them and the pants off, before you stand up, completely naked in the middle of that bright, well-lit, normal-seeming office. Yes, this is very relaxing, you think with a distant, airy happiness.\n\n"Very good, very relaxed," Hexia compliments you cheerfully, reaching out to cup your crotch and rub her fingers firmly over your pussy, sending a pleasant thrill running through you. "Now, why don't you get down on all fours and give Hyppy a little thanks for helping you relax?"\n\n"Okay," you reply dreamily again, unhesitatingly sinking down to your knees and leaning forward onto your hands, crawling forward the short distance to the Hypno, your tits swaying underneath you and your ass wagging in the air with your motions. You look at him, adding a grateful "Thank you" before sliding your mouth over the head of his cock, quickly slipping your lips down over it, then drawing back a bit before sliding further forward, making it about halfway down the next bulge before you need to pull back.\n\n"Oooo, she is grateful," Hexia coos as she comes to stand beside the Hypno and drapes her arm around his shoulders, giving a creepy-cheerful giggle as he slips a thick arm around her and fondles her breast from the other side. You gaze up at the nice people who are helping you relax adoringly as you move your head, giving soft, muffled 'Thank yous' around the thick, inhuman cock stretching your lips and starting to bulge your throat, though of course it comes out as things like 'Tnk uh' and 'Thn hh' and 'Mmn mmf' depending on how deep you're sucking him at the moment.\n\n"Hyp-hypno," Hyppy declares in a pleasured tone, continuing to wag the coin where you can see it. Ah, so nice, so relaxing, feels so good to watch the coin, to have your brain turn all mushy and full of fluffy clouds and not think about anything but the big thick dick in your mouth and throat.\n\nHexia smiles a bit wider, though you can see her face flushing, apparently really enjoying how relaxed she's gotten you. She starts tugging up the skirt of her dress, pulling it up until it settles around her generous hips and atop her full ass. Then she actually spreads her thicc thighs apart, allowing a particularly fat-looking cock to spring free and a pair of heavy, smooth, pale balls to drop down. "Ahhhh... now I can relax too," she coos as she moves around behind you.\n\nYou let out another cock-muffled 'Thank you' as you feel Hexia's cock starting to push into you, your pussy already dripping from how wonderfully relaxed you are. You can feel it sink deeper and deeper into you, spreading you open, until finally the base of those heavy, dangling balls is rubbing against your clit. She soon starts pumping quickly, making your tits sway and wobble underneath you and her own bounce more heavily, looking like they want to tear right out of that thin dress at any moment. She lets out her creepyhappy giggle, then delivers a good, firm spank to your ass between her thrusts. "Shame on you, being so stubborn to relax!"\n\n"Mm frry," you grunt around the Hypno's cock as you continue to dutifully suck it, your body reflexively rocking back and forth between the Pokemon and Human spitroasting you, doing your best to pleasure them both with your hot, wet holes. \n\nHexia giggles and gives you a few more spanks, which obviously you deserve and which obviously therefore feel very good, your pussy squeezing and fluttering around her fat prick and your throat gulping harder around Hyppy's inhuman Pokeschlong with each one. Eventually the Pokemon lets out a "Hypno~!" and grabs the base of your ponytail with the hand not holding his coin, yanking you forward and shoving your nose into the downy white hair tufted around the base of his prick, his yellow-furred balls lifting against your chin as he empties them down your throat. At the same time Hexia lets out a moan and yanks out of you, stroking her pussyjuice-soaked prick in quick, almost desperate strokes before firing long ropes of cum all over your bare back and ass, the Hex Maniac twitching her head back and forth with gusty little squeaks and coos every time she sends another streamer of jizz to decorate your skin.\n\n"Hhhhha... what a good relaxation session," Hexia says with a long, contented sigh like the wind gusting across a headstone as she thumps her cock down into the cleft of your ass, Hyppy pulling his prick free of your mouth so that it slumps half-limp, a trickle of jizz escaping and sliding down the side of your chin.\n\n"I agree," you reply airily.\n\n"Mmmm." Hexia giggles as she gets up, her own half-limp prick wobbling in front of her plump thighs as she shuffles around in front of you again. "But how to complete your session, hmmm? Look at Hyppy's coin, pet," she urges, which you of course do eagerly, feeling your mind cloud over further as it begins to sway again. "Reach down, deep in your little heart... what do you think I should do?"\n\n<hr>\n[["Give me lots more sessions."|ChiPoke]]\n\n[["Make me a permanently relaxed slut."|ChiPoke]]\n\n[["Make me your pet."|ChiPoke]]\n\n[["Make me your Pokemon."|ChiPoke]]\n\n[["Make me your breeding sow."|ChiPoke]]

There was a time not so long ago... well, thinking on it, a great deal has happened since then. Far too much, it seems at times, to have fit into the actual years since the original event occurred. It's almost as if it was always just a decade ago, no matter how much time seems to go by...\n\nPardon. You have a tendency to divert. A side effect of your condition.\n\nBut there was a time not so long ago you were nothing more than Bastian Baclace, a recent graduate of a prestigious university. Oh certainly your grades and aptitudes blew all the "normie" students out of the water... you could, for instance, do aerospace engineering math in your head in a matter of seconds... but there were likely a dozen similar people in that university alone. Geniuses, certainly, but a common sort of geniuses. For minds like that, all of you were essentially, one way or another, set to go into the line of "super-support".\n\nFor you live in a world of superheroes and supervillains, alien invasions and ancient slumbering gods. And that sort of world requires an entire support industry in both the public and private sector. Oh some of that can certainly be handled by any person of moderate intelligence trained in the use of tools and procedures, but a great deal of it does require genius-level intellect, even for the "drudge work". And it was just that sort of job you'd taken upon graduation, a sort of 'pay your dues' position with a sort of hybrid company (private but working solely for the government) that catalogued and did basic testing on recovered "supergear" of an unknown nature before sending it along to its ultimate purpose. That was where you encountered the Drive and the Device.\n\nThat's largely what you still think of them as, when you bother thinking of the Drive separately from the Device. A pair of alien artifacts left behind after yet another superbeing-thwarted alien invasion... though there were indications that the invaders had, themselves, discovered both items on another world in their travels and had been as flummoxed as the Earth scientists had been. At best, everyone who'd looked at it had been able to hypothesize... broadly... that the long series of crystals was some sort of data storage, and that the fine webbing of copper-colored wires and panels and black bulbs was some sort of multitool, but neither of them had ever worked or responded in the slightest.\n\nYou really weren't certain why no one had simply thought of putting them together. Every sufficiently complex tool requires a computer to run it, that just seemed to be common sense.\n\nAdmittedly you probably should have taken better precautions first. But scientists are ever a heedless bunch... just think of the fellow that used to play about with the "Devil Core" with a screwdriver and hammer. Intense radiation poisoning, having an alien artifact bind with and replace your spine, these are just the hazards of getting a bit ahead of oneself and being a little too cocksure when playing about with science.\n\nAh but you're on the verge of diverting again. Your condition. You had mentioned that.\n\nThe Drive... the alien crystal computer... it whispers to you. All the time. Directly into your mind. Not so much in words, or even direct thoughts, it's just there, a presence, urging, nagging, itching. It's trying to say something to you, trying to get you to understand that something must urgently be done, but you can't understand it. You're not certain if it's because it was never meant to be worn by a human, or if it's something else entirely. You just know that it has a purpose, a deeply important, deeply meaningful purpose, and it needs you to carry that purpose out now that the two of you are one.\n\nAdmittedly in your first days of being bonded with the Device, you weren't dealing with it very well. The process had, after all, been quite painful. And the constant empty drone of it in your head was urgent, seeming to drive you to do a different million things at once, all of them deathly important but none of them quite right. You certainly caused a bit of havok and had several very public, rather destructive battles with superheroes. The media invented some revenge motive against heroes for you and called you "Backlash"... no doubt what they considered a rather clever confluence of referencing your supposed creation by the supers, the fact that the variable-configuration sheaths of the Device come out of your back and do tend to lash about a fair bit, and some absolutely abhorrent mangling of your name.\n\n(Your family knuckled under to the Americanization of pronouncing it 'Back-lace' several generations back but it's really meant to have a more Italian-style pronunciation. Also honestly, they could have at least made it Doctor Backlash. You do have your doctorate, you're not Frankenstein. Ah, diverting again.)\n\nBut you've got it under control now. Sort of. Actually the best method you've found of controlling the Device is to... not really try to control it. It sort of obeys your general thoughts and nudging, and all the better when you don't fight it... it's really quite remarkable, just thinking of tools and their purposes and a general outline of how they might function is enough for the Drive and the Device to fill in the gaps and make it a reality (assuming its damn whispering lets you focus enough to think of such ideas). Of course, by just sort of riding along with the Device's whims, you do wind up doing quite a number of... shall we say, questionable things. Possibly antisocial. Occasionally entirely out of line, really, being honest. But if you just go with it then the Device doesn't start silently screaming into your brain and battering your every thought with its empty howls and you can actually even get some sleep one night in three, so, there it is.\n\nYou aren't particularly remarkable in appearance, really. A tall, very lean man of mingled European descent like a good portion of America. Dark sandy blonde hair, with just a touch of premature gray around the temples (you do lead a rather stressful life, even assuming it's not some other side effect of the Device). You prefer to dress 'normally', typically in a plain purple button-up shirt with the top few buttons undone (and a slit in the back to allow the Device's tendrils through), black slacks and well-fit shoes, and yes admittedly you do tend to wear a lab coat over it as your sole allowance towards actually wearing your supervillainy openly... you may have been placed there rather than really choosing it entirely of your own will, but you're going to retain your own sense of style. That's also partly the reason you still wear round glasses with thin steel rims... the Device fixed your eyesight, but you always felt your face looked sort of wrong without them, and you couldn't get out of the habit of needing to fiddle with them even with an alien artifact lodged where your spine used to be enhancing your body and messing with your mind. Furthermore, these things are to help remind others that you are at least still a "mad scientist" type rather than a brawler. \n\nThough you are, admittedly, currently in the middle of a brawl with a superhero.\n\n'When did it stop being "superheroine"?' you idly muse to yourself, letting the Device do most of the work of dodging you out of the way of the young woman's arrows or batting them out of the air with flicks of the long, ribbed black tendrils, their outer layers currently coated in something of a sheen that somehow combines the visual qualities of rubber and metal, their typical "combat" mode. 'Hm. Perhaps around the time "actor" became gender neutral as well? That would track.'\n\nThis particular hero is Artemis, as she made certain to inform you when she attacked. (A very popular nom de guerre for young female heroes, especially those with a bent for archery, as this one has. You must have fought at the very least eight different Artemises... ... Artemii?... over the years.) An athletic and attractive young woman (as the Artemeeses usually are) with olive skin and long black hair bound back in a ponytail, with pretty hazel eyes narrowed in what you think is a rather unreasonable amount of hostility. (But then the young, new ones always seem to take the existence of supervillains personally, as if you had done them some great disservice as an individual by your crimes against society.) Wearing a fairly typical outfit for the theme of her chosen moniker, a golden tiara and white clothes, in this case something that looks like it might have started life as a white gymnastics leotard with a simple modesty skirt, baring her strong, sleek legs but covering her arms most of the way, red leather gloves (both with some of the fingers bared, so clearly at least somewhat ambidextrous) covering her hands and the rest of her forearms. Fancy red boots and gold-painted shinguards for the requisite splash of primary colors.\n\nThe two of you are currently having your little bash in a mostly burned-out warehouse near the city's docks. From the way Artemis is leaping about, rebounding off walls, even running along them for brief periods, and the way her bow bends and the speed at which she draws arrows from the quiver at her back and fires, she's obviously more than just an absurdly-trained human... mild superstrength, superagility, probably a tiny dash of superspeed. Enough to make her an absolute terror to street-level villains, you muse as your tendrils lift you and move you and occasionally shoot out to grab a wall or beam and yank you out of the way, almost absentmindedly engaging in the verbal exchange of her shouting about your criminal status and you breezily justifying yourself with whatever comes to mind at the moment, several of the tendrils emerging from beneath your coat having grown thick enough to lift and move you, propelling you about the space between the charred, blackened concrete walls and occasionally smashing through the brittle, charcoaled boards of the floor, finding purchase in the still-solid joists and beams.\n\nShe's very talented and very passionate. And you've been doing this long enough to know that can be an extremely dangerous combination... for her. Especially lacking the humbling nature of experience, and fed on the ego of success. You doubt she's ever really failed in a particularly significant way before. Well, you'll help her out there.\n\nThe moment you'd been waiting for finally comes. Artemis lands in a crouch, having spotted a fairly intact section of floor, steadying herself for a really good shot, her hand flying to her quiver... to find it empty. You can see the moment of hesitation, shock, the sheer disbelief that she got so carried away that she failed to keep track of how many arrows she was using and had left. Such a thing has clearly never happened to her before, so she's never thought to consider what to do if it did happen, and for just the space of two heartbeats she's completely still and off guard, the first heartbeat in surprise and the second heartbeat in indecision.\n\nThat's all it takes in this world.\n\nThe tendril you'd had hovering as if waiting to deflect the arrow instead snaps out, the end uncoiling into four agile folds, their interiors textured for gripping, that wrap around the bow and yank it from her hand, her grip loosened just faintly by her surprise. That sort of snaps her back to reality... she's been trained how to react when disarmed... and she flings herself backwards and into the air, intending to gain space and regroup. Just as you thought she would... again, not the first arrow-slinging athlete you've fought. The tendril you'd slipped down and below the floor smashes upward through the burned boards and wraps around her in midair, Artemis yelping loudly as the rubbery limb snaps her arms in against her sides and squeezes tight, the wrapping wide enough that her elbows are effectively immobilized. You lift her into the air and tilt her at an angle, making sure she won't be able to get her feet against the base of the tendril.\n\n"You really are a bit too early in your career to be tussling with me, my dear," you inform her in an utterly matter-of-fact tone, nudging your glasses up on your nose.\n\nHer face flushes angrily, the comment apparently hitting home even harder for being presented with an utter lack of apparent gloating. "You monster!" she snaps, giving in to the urge to kick her legs around angrily.\n\n"I have been on occasion," you admit with a small shrug. "Though I must ask, have I done anything genuinely monstrous to you or anyone connected to you? You must understand that the nature of our profession and my own condition makes it difficult to keep track," you add in a genuinely apologetic tone.\n\nThat actually seems to take her aback a bit. She blinks her pretty hazel eyes, opens and closes her mouth once, before admitting, "Ah, well... no, not really."\n\n"Then I really would prefer you not be so hyperbolic about it, my dear, there is plenty in this business to take personally without putting other people's complaints on your shoulders, especially without so much as a by-your-leave to them when you do it," you inform her frankly.\n\nThat actually seems to have given her something to think about, at least for a few seconds, and you mentally readjust your assessment of her overall intelligence. Bright girl, apparently, not completely without wisdom, just young. She'll likely go far as a superhero... well, if she survives the night. Which you suppose is largely up to you, but with the influence of the Device, it does somewhat feel out of your hands. Often you have as little idea of what you're going to do next as anyone else does, though you do have at least some control, so.\n\nAs you're turning it over in your head, you give the tendril holding her a testing squeeze to judge her durability, along with the vital sign information the tendril is transmitting to you. She lets out a surprised squeak at it, an amusingly cute sound, then her face darkens even more angrily than before. "You... you fiend!" she growls out, in a tone that says she really wanted to call you a bastard but doesn't think it appropriate for superheroes to swear.\n\nWell then. What to do with her?\n\n<hr>\n[[Break her.|Back]]\n\n[[Toy with her.|Back]]\n\n[[Recruit her.|Back2x1]]\n\n[[Experiment on her.|Back1x1]]\n\n[[Let her go.|Back3x1]]\n\n[[Kill her.|Back]]

*Main: New female character [[Saraelle|SaraStart]] added.\n-Update 2-\n*Main: Thirdstar can wait to hear what Style finds on a [[mad scientist|MarSS4x8]] villain.\n-Update 3-\n*Main: Marissa can continue her meeting with [[Doctor Silver|MarSS4x10]]. She can also decide to go after [[HEEL|MarSS4x7]].\n*Main: Riley can agree to become Tass's [[roommate|Riley1x5]].\n-Update 4-\n*Main: Marissa can say she's [[glad to meet|MarSS2x2]] the Stun Dazzlers.

There are several good options for laying some sort of continuous effect on her that you could use to your benefit to make her a more pleasing travel companion.\n\nThe simplest and most obvious would be a [[Slave Collar Enchantment|Reth]]... not a physical collar, but a spell that would force her to obey you. At a fairly low level it would be fairly "rough" control... she'd be able to struggle against the orders, albeit futilely and doing little but causing her pain and making her obedience janky and stumbling. It would grow more powerful over time, though, until between both the spell's greater power and her having been under its influence longer, eventually one day she wouldn't even think about not following your commands.\n\nA particularly fun one would be a [[Mark of Moral Degeneration|Reth]]... Stacia would be given a mark invisible only to you (and her, should you choose it) that would amplify any lewd, wicked, and otherwise "bad" thoughts she had and cause her to feel pleasure at thinking about them, and even more pleasure at doing them. The more the mark grew, the more her behavior would be reinforced with physical changes and empowerment to her abilities. In fact, placing one on her before she even takes a class would likely make the effect all the more potent, and bring her even greater power as well as a greater ease of downfall.\n\nThe last one... which would involve using a fair bit more power and prep, but you think you have everything for it... would be to [[remove her soul|Reth]] and put it in a gem. Tricky to do on high level adventurers... buuuut, again. You could create a link back to her body so that she'd still act like she had her soul (as long as you wanted her to), but it would give you almost complete power over her. It would have a number of benefits... for one thing, Stacia's body would become effectively immortal, since no matter what damage was done to it, well, it's not like her soul would leave it. She'd become a tireless, completely obedient subject. But all of that would come at the cost of her obeying whoever held her soul gem... if you lost it, or someone else stole it, it would be bad news.

"So how do we get to this Remnant world, anyhow?" you ask with a shrug, acknowledging her urging.\n\nYou're a little surprised at how palpable Niobe's relief is, before she rolls her shoulders and puts her business face on. "You know a guy named Grey, in the Guild?"\n\n"If by 'know him' you mean 'he wants to fuck my brains out'," you snort.\n\n"Yeah well he might do it," Niobe replies with a wry grin. "Grey plays rough, which is fun if you're as tough as I am but can be a bit much for some girls. But he's not a bad sort end of the day, if you keep an eye on him, and if you tell him this job's from me. He's from Remnant, he should still have home coordinates for it."\n\nYou quirk a brow. "You know it might not be the same Remnant that Ilia's from though, right?"\n\n"She'll deal, especially with you there to help her."\n\n"Okay. So how long you thinking we should spend trying to recruit?"\n\n"I dunno. Long as it takes," Niobe says, just a little too casually, shrugging her shoulders and leaning back again. "There's lots of room in the sector, and the more Faunus you send over the more influence the Geneslicers get. Months, at least. Go long-term with it if it seems like things are working out."\n\nYou stare at her silently for long moments, watching as she shifts slightly, then looks away from you. "... This isn't a fucking recruitment mission, Niobe, you're sending us away." You slowly come to your feet as her ears lay down flat. "What the fuck, Niobe, where do you get off-?!"\n\n"NO WHERE THE FUCK DO YOU GET OFF?!" she snaps back, her voice rising to a near-roar as she rises to her feet, chair clattering to the ground behind her in two pieces. Her face is contorted with rage, which half frightens and half infuriates you... until you see the tears starting to streak down her cheeks. "Where the fuck do you get off getting pissed at me for caring about her? About you?"\n\n"... Niobe," you start, then just trail off, mouth opening and closing a few times.\n\n"She's so fuckin' young," Niobe whispers, volume having fled as fast as the anger, running her hands up her face as she lowers her head, smearing her tears into her bangs. "As young as you were when the old man walked into the apartment with you, actually holding your hand like you were... like... and she looks at me the same way," she continues, her voice starting to crack, the toughest woman you've ever known actually letting out a soft sob. "I'm nothing, I was trash, he literally pulled me out of the trash and fuck him for how he did it but I was nothing and you looked at me like I was everything and so does she and how the fuck does that even happen?"\n\nShe clutches the sides of her head, trembling a little, swallowing hard before she can even continue. "... Kid... I've been shot by every damn weapon there is, seems like... had parts of me blown off, been sewn back together with nothing but a bit of rebar to bite for the pain, I've been tortured, stabbed, racked, hung... and I shrugged every fucking bit of it off because I lived through it and it was just pain. ... But don't ask me to look down at the two of you laying dead in the street and live with it." She raises her head, tears running anew down her cheeks as her voice turns into a harsh whisper, "I can't survive that."\n\n"... We've always been in this life, Niobe, her and me both," you say quietly. "We'll go with you to the end. Because you are everything to us. It's just that simple," you add with a small shake of your head.\n\n"This isn't organized crime and gangbanger shit, kid. The moment I escalate this with that cash we brought in, so do the Demons. Hell, so does every other gang, probably. It's war, now. You've seen some shit, but you've never seen war. And I'm not eager to drag you into one." Niobe turns to right her chair, sees it's broken, sighs, and pulls over another one, sinking into it with a sudden lack of her usual bounciness and energy. "I dunno what the fuck you'll be walking into on Remnant... for all I fuckin' know it's just another war... but I know for damn sure there's gonna be one here, and I don't want you to be part of it. Another planet, another dimension, at least there's a chance you'll be better off. I'm sending her there either way... for the love of the Crystal Dragon don't make me send her alone," Niobe murmurs, leaning her forehead on her laced fingers.\n\n"... Okay. Okay, Niobe, I'll go to Remnant with her," you say quietly, finally. "Just... come get us when things settle down here, okay?"\n\n"You bet your ass," she grunts, summoning something like a smile, fragile and dying thing though it is. \n\n"... What about Zee, Niobe?" you ask in a whisper.\n\n"She's on a transport right now. Headed to the other side of Makarzia. Cammy vetted a family that's gonna hire her as a live-in maid... they're good people, she'll get a salary, clothing allowance, free to leave whenever she wants. Sorry you didn't get to say goodbye... I finalized everything while you were out, and I didn't want Underfoot here any more than I want Ilia or you."\n\nYou take a deep breath, then nod as you let it out. "... I'll see her when I get back. ... You talked to the old man, then, I guess?"\n\n"Yeah. We came to an understanding." Surprisingly, Niobe's tone doesn't suggest that's a euphemism for violence. She has a far-off look in her eye, staring at something a thousand miles away before she shakes her head. "... Anyway. Take a day. Rest up. Take whatever you wanna take as far as weapons and equipment goes. You've still got your guest pass, right?"\n\n"Yeah," you murmur quietly.\n\n"Tomorrow by this time I want you and Ilia beaconing to the Guildhall. Find Grey's horny feline ass and give him the letter I'll have for you, explain this is a paying job from me," she says, leaning her head back and closing her eyes. "I'm hoping he'll stick around for awhile and help you get settled but I'm not counting on it. I'm serious about you convincing any Faunus that want something more than Remnant is offering them, but don't bullshit them either. Hell, you've lived here, both of you, you know the score, tell it to 'em straight and let 'em make their choice. And for Dragon's sake stay there and stay safe until I or someone else you know comes to get you."\n\nYou nod slowly. You're not sure what to do. You can feel that give-no-fucks armor you've built up over the years crumbling around you. You understand if you don't say it now, you'll probably never get to say it... and you don't think you could live with it if you didn't. "... Niobe," you whisper. "... I love you."\n\n"... I love you too, kid," Niobe replies with a shaky voice, unable to look at you lest the armor yours is based on shatter. "Now get the fuck out of here and get some sleep."\n\nYou get the fuck out of there and get some sleep, absolutely unable to summon to mind anything else to do. The next morning when you wake up, you somewhat numbly eat a meal in the makeshift cafeteria and then meander around, finding things you think might be useful to pack, primarily extra weapons and plenty of ammo for them. And of course your sword... it's nice to be able to use guns freely again, but somehow the sword always feels more reliable. And soon it will be one of the only real keepsakes of your... family... that you have. It's about an hour before you're due to leave that you come across Ilia... literally sitting in the corner crying. At least she's facing out so it's not quite as pitiful as it could be. Besides, you admit as you sink down to sit next to her, you kind of feel like doing the same thing, you've just got a lot more practice at resisting the urge. "Not excited to be going home?" you ask quietly, when her sobs eventually taper off.\n\n"... I'd started thinking of this place as home," she admits with a sniffle.\n\n"... Yeah. Same," you admit quietly, closing your eyes and leaning your head back against the wall.\n\n"Kai. Niobe told me it might not even be... the same Remnant I come from," Ilia says, voice more uncertain than sad now, looking at you as if begging for guidance. "There are people I want to see again... people I want to talk to. There's someone... there's someone else I need to apologize to, to tell them I understand now why they... did what they did. But what if they don't even know me? What if I never existed there, or I was... even more awful? What do I do?"\n\n"You lean on me," you answer her instantly, leaning in to wrap your arms around her and pull her close. "Whatever you do, you fuckin' lean on me okay? Because however things are there, I'm gonna be with you, so you just fuckin' lean on me whenever you need to and I'll lean on you and we'll keep our damn heads out of the street puddles. Okay?"\n\nIlia sniffles, then wraps her arms around you. "Okay."\n\nYour goodbyes to Niobe are almost dry-eyed by comparison. Almost. She hugs you both, surprisingly enough, and you notice her whisper something in Ilia's ear that has the Faunus girl silently crying when they separate. But finally Niobe nods and says, "Okay. I'll see you guys when I see you. Take care of yourselves. Don't blow up the moon or some shit."\n\nIlia actually snorts softly. "Too late."\n\nNiobe quirks an eyebrow, before grinning and focusing on you. "... It'll be okay, kid. We'll get through this, and I'll be coming to get you soonest."\n\n"Yeah. ... Bye, Niobe," you murmur, draping an arm around Ilia's shoulders and tugging her close before you hit the button on your beacon.\n\nThen you're both stumbling out into the portal annex, you almost reflexively giving Ilia a nudge to get her walking as the two of you join the small press of mercenaries returning from other worlds. You keep urging her along, not letting her gawk at the colorful procession of both humans and many other races, even more than she's seen on Makarzia, almost all of them bustling with somewhere to be and somewhere to go. Spotting one you know, you call, "Hey, man, you seen Grey?"\n\n"Cafeteria," he calls back, pointing briefly before hurrying off towards the job counter area. \n\n"So, um, we go see him, right?" Ilia says, obviously fighting against being overwhelmed by the culture shock. "He's a Faunus, so... he can get us to Remnant, like Niobe said?"\n\n<hr>\n[[Yeah, like Niobe said.|KaiRem1x1]]\n\n[[No, screw this.|KaiGS]]

"Yeah that's not happening," you declare flatly, whipping your pistols out from beneath your jacket and bringing both up to point at his face. You ignore the sound of multiple blaster rifles being primed and aimed at you, just staring at his largely unruffled expression.\n\n"I do wonder what you're doing, young lady," he says blandly, carefully quirking one eyebrow... then widening his eyes ever-so-slightly as the barrel of Cammy's rifle nudges up against the side of his head.\n\n"You paid us for a Morningstar FBS, sir," she says in a pleasant tone, all smiles even as her eyes glint with the particular light of someone literally born to kill. "Not the Morningstar FBS-X. As such, we are delivering a Morningstar FBS to you, and keeping the -X, thank you very much."\n\n"Preposterous," he says evenly. "I hired you to steal a specific car from a specific individual. The exact details of that car are irrelevant. In any event, when I hired you, I did not know-"\n\n"Ohhh, now see, you're about to make a very bad mistake." The vague hints of actual humor drop out of Cammy's smile, her eyes narrowing. "I don't like it when my dates lie to me, I like it even less when my clients lie to me, and I really, really, really get upset when clients assume I'm stupid."\n\n"What'd you do, bring the 'travel coffin' in case the car we brought you just so happened to be the one-of-a-kind prototype?" you add dryly, smirking some when his own eyes narrow. "Hey, little hint for the future, asshole, the little people don't go deaf just because you stopped acknowledging their presence."\n\n"... Indeed, a wise note for the future," he says coolly. "However, I seem to have a great deal many more people with much better guns than you do," he continues as more helmeted men emerge from the plane and take up firing positions. "So the moment I so much as flick my finger, I can-"\n\n"HEY!"\n\nIlia's voice is so sudden and jarring to the mood that everyone turns their head to look over at her, even the hired stormtroopers. You fight to suppress the laugh that wells up as you realize Ilia's holding something that looks a lot like a high-tech rapier, its point lightly dimpling the leather of part of one of the car's seats.\n\n"Cut the crap or the headrest gets it!"\n\n"Oh no," the bioroid gasps, covering her mouth with both hands.\n\nYou turn your head back to the man, who's scowling deeply now... but slowly nods. "Very well. The agreed-upon price. Keep the bioroid."\n\n"Thank you, we will." Cammy smiles brightly again as she lifts a databoard towards him. "Thumbprint, please."\n\nWith wounded cat dignity, he places his thumb on the reader, then turns and marches back onto the plane surrounded by his men. The three of you back off from the car slowly as more of them approach it, Cammy eventually slinging her rifle to take the bioroid by the shoulders and draw her back as she reaches helplessly towards the car as it's wheeled up the ramp.\n\n"But... but that's me, that's the reason I exist, that's-" she says in a watery voice.\n\n"Ssshhh, ssshhh, it's alright honey, it's not you, it's just a car," Cammy says quietly, stroking her iridescent white gold hair gentle and just as gently restraining her as she gives a few tugs as if to follow. "You didn't want to go with him, did you?"\n\n"N-... no, but... but..."\n\n"It's okay, you'll come home with us... Lucy?" Cammy smiles, still keeping her tone calm and gentle. "Lucy suits you for a name, don't you think?"\n\n"... Name?" Lucy echoes softly, looking at Cammy, then staring up at the transport as it lifts off.\n\n"Yes, a name, do you like it?"\n\n"... I... ... yes. I do," she murmurs, slumping against the catwoman a little.\n\n"Great, another mouth to feed," Niobe mutters several hours later.\n\n"She doesn't eat." At Niobe shooting you a look, you shrug and hold up a tablet. "Downloaded the Morningstar's operation manual while I was driving. She absorbs ambient energy from the power grid. Makarzia's won't be as efficient as the car's but she'll be fine."\n\n"Smartass." Niobe leans back in her chair and rubs her face. "Okay, fine, another body taking up space that can't use a gun. No, no, it's fine," she says, holding up a hand as Cammy starts to protest. "You guys made the right call, I'm with you on it. I'm just entitled to grouse a little, one of the perks of being in charge."\n\n"My, that sounds lovely," Cammy chirps with a smirk.\n\n"If you want a spankin' you can just ask for it, y'sassy bitch, for now fuck off," Niobe says, thumbing towards the door. "Not you," she adds when you start to rise and follow after the purple-haired woman. Cammy quirks a brow at you, but leaves as asked, and Niobe waits for the door to close and you to settle. "Couldn't have pulled this one off without you, kid, and it wound up being a great score."\n\n"Could've been better," you note. "We won't be seeing that guy asking us for anything again. And Horace'll hold a grudge. ... But yeah, we actually pulled it off. Couldn't have done it without Cammy, and especially Ilia."\n\n"The money it's brought in is gonna make a huge difference. Fuck Horace, he's got his plate full dealing with the Demons himself, he wants to turn into a pussy-ass cop-calling bitch let him get known for it, he'll never be invited to another intergang meeting again. He can fuck off in the cold and die. But now we've got choices. And time to make 'em in." She leans forward, giving a stylus on the table a little twirl, watching it spin as her ears give a flick. "... I got your next assignment in mind. Not right this minute, you'll get a full day, but then I want you moving on it."\n\n"Alright, what's up?"\n\n"Recruitment. Splitting up three different ways. Cammy's gonna be looking into some real specific people I know are here on Makarzia, some big-time heavy hitters that could make all the difference. Get them, spend some of the money outfitting them, hire a few more Guild mercs to round 'em out, we'll be getting real competitive in this fight. Meanwhile I'm also thinking, we bring in some more people with a leg in this fight... Ilia told you where she's from?"\n\n"Not by name," you say curiously, shaking your head.\n\n"S'called Remnant, apparently. They've got a whole bunch of 'demihumans', called Faunus... apparently they don't get treated too good, all shoved onto some shitty little barely livable island. I wanna send her there with some point-to-point dimensional beacons we've rigged up and the plans for how to build more, let any of the Faunus who'd rather live free in this shitty slightly more livable city come join us. Remnant doesn't want 'em, I'll sure as hell take 'em, there's shops to be rebuilt and more than a few businesses in Tailtown in need of new owners after this bullshit. Other than that... time to see if we can manage outreach to the other gangs. Comms aren't working, so obviously we need to get feet on the ground and faces in front of others. I'm leaning towards sending you with Ilia, but you're free now, make your own choice."\n\n<hr>\n[[Go with Cammy.|KaiGS]]\n\n[[Go with Ilia.|KaiGS2x7]]\n\n[[Gang outreach.|KaiGS]]

Gritting your teeth and trying to ignore visions of bodies flying through the air and the white car stained with red, you yank on the wheel, work the brakes, and mentally fine-adjust the car's gyroscopes and shifters to make a much higher-speed ninety degree turn and start whipping down the alley.\n\nThe market! Cammy gasps mentally as you tear down the alley, obviously having realized where you are.\n\nBut even as you're emerging at speed into a completely deserted square, Ilia sends back, It's okay, I confirmed with the network it was empty! There, right up there, the sewer pipe!\n\nCammy, drop, let's close up for this, you send, trying not to sound too blatantly relieved as the catwoman follows your instructions, drawing herself back into a proper seated position before you deploy the roof again, not long before you drop into the gaping hole in the exposed pipe, the car hitting the several inches of liquid filth at the bottom with a jolt and sending it spraying before you take off.\n\n"Oh... oh nooooo," whines the bioroid in the back seat, groaning loudly.\n\n"It'll wash off," you assure her absentmindedly, snorting a little.\n\n"You're not the one who has to wash it," she mutters, putting her face in her hands.\n\nWow, they really legit just made an actual person to go with a car, didn't they? Zero point zero zero zero one percenters are wild. Trying to keep your mind on driving partly so you don't crash and partly so you don't get distracted by sympathy for your stolen property/hostage, you follow Ilia's directions through the sewer, hoping you don't wind up dropping into the Dark with this little detour.\n\nYou were worried I'd send you through a crowded market because they were just humans, huh? Ilia sends amidst her directions. You've learned to tell the difference in 'feel' when she's sending just to you versus the group.\n\nYou hesitate briefly, trying to think how best to word it. ... I didn't know you wouldn't, you send back finally. But I believed you wouldn't.\n\nIlia's silent for a few seconds, until she nods and sends, There was a time I probably would have done it, yeah. Maybe even been glad of the opportunity. It's... easy to hate someone when you think they're all looking down at you from privilege and laughing. Easier to hate someone when you never have to think about how they feel. ... Turn right, she directs as the car's angular headlights illuminate another pipe branch.\n\nNow? you prompt after a bit more slow driving.\n\n... After talking with you... hearing what you went through... ... like I said, I did a lot of thinking. I... started wondering what those girls... ...my friends... what they actually would have said after finding out I was a Faunus. If I'd said my parents died. If I said how much I was hurting. I always assumed they would have just laughed more... that they would have mocked me, hated me, kicked me out. I... started wondering if instead maybe they'd have started seeing Faunus differently after hearing that, as people instead of some distant thing they didn't understand, the way I could start seeing humans after hearing what happened to you. But I never gave them the chance to say anything, I just attacked them. Now I'll never know whether they were really the evil bitches I thought they were... or if they were just people who didn't understand different people. ... Like me.\n\nYou're not really sure what to say about that... that isn't one of those regrets that can be made better by telling her you're here for her and it'll all be okay if you just do the job. That's one of those you'll-never-knows that stays with you when you make a snap decision. You just reach over to lay a hand on top of one of hers and give it a squeeze, briefly glancing over before turning your eyes back to business. It will be okay, you know. You're pretty happy with the results of your last snap decision though.\n\nEventually you emerge from the pipes, driving through an artificial waterfall that at least washes a fair bit of the murk off of the upper part of the car and driving back out into the streets, through one of the far more affluent and residential parts of the city sector. As you drive onto a private freight field and towards a waiting storagejumper... goddamn even it looks like it was designed by an artisan instead of a committee... you once again retract the rooftop. Ah, only a heady whiff of sewer instead of an agonizing stench, lovely.\n\nIndeed, the tall, lean man in the extremely expensive but understated white suit wrinkles his nose as you pull up to a halt near him and will the doors open. "I believe I asked it to be delivered in immaculate condition," he says primly, fixing his eyes on Cammy.\n\n"Not a scratch, not a ding," she declares breezily. "I assure you, run it through your autocleaner once or twice and you'll think it was new off the line."\n\n"Very well." The client beckons to the helmeted men standing nearby. "Prepare the vehicle for transport." Then he turns his dark eyes on the iridescent-haired bioroid. "And place the service unit in the travel coffin," he adds, which you notice causes her to start trembling even as she adamantly stays silent.\n\n<hr>\n[[Hey, hold on a minute!|KaiGS]]\n\n[[Nope.|KaiGS2x6]]\n\n[[...|KaiGS]]

"I, um, I really don't think I should cooperate with being stolen," the bioroid murmurs, fingers twitching, before she yelps as you push the gun a little closer. "Then again, you have a key, so can it really be stealing?!" With that she tries to clamber into the backseat with all the elegance she can muster, which isn't much since the car's roof is low and she's in a hurry. Several times she flashes her complete lack of underwear at you, causing Ilia to go red literally head to toe until you give her a nudge and send her scurrying around to the passenger seat, Cammy diving into the back seat ahead of you with somehow a simultaneous greater and lesser amount of elegance than the bioroid.\n\n"Where's convertible mode?" you ask with a glance at the bioroid, following her shaking finger to tap the control. The car's roof splits and retracts even as you're firing up the engine. "Link me up to the car's lesser systems via my comm implant."\n\n"Yes, ma'am!" the bioroid chirps in an attempt at cheer, and you feel the slightly weird and weirdly comfortable sensation of various of the Morningstar's surface level systems being routed through your brain, including the garage door control. You slam on the gas and take off, the low car zipping beneath the still-raising door with a half an inch to spare.\n\n"Careful, goddammit!" Cammy snaps from the back seat in the midst of assembling a modular rifle, apparently unbothered by the ninety degree left turn you execute or the speed. She soothes her voice back into her normal prim, slightly sultry tone as she adds, "We get much more money if we deliver it in pristine condition."\n\n"And the buyer didn't tell you about the little 'extra' currently sitting next to you showing off her finely-crafted pussy?" you call over the wind whipping past, causing the bioroid to flush and try to yank her dress down without actually lifting her ass off the seat.\n\n"No," the catwoman answers sourly, before turning in the seat and lifting up, bracing her back against the back of the driver's seat and planting a bare foot against the back seat, apparently having shed her shoes so as not to risk the interior.\n\nLeft. Two blocks. Right, Ilia sends, not bothering to try and speak aloud over the wind. Her eyes briefly go glassy and datalines flicker across them before she adds, We've got pursuers approaching, confirmed.\n\nHow far behind and how much of a lead are we keeping?\n\nHe says they're gaining, and that it's bad.\n\n"What?!" you snap aloud without thinking, eyes darting to the console to confirm the speed readout you can already sense in your mind. "Where the fuck did he get enough supercars to outfit a rolling crew with-?!"\n\nOh Kaiiii~, Cammy sends, right ahead of the sound of sirens that's steadily getting louder rather than more distant. We have a big problem~!\n\n"Oh shit oh shit oh FUCK Horace you absolute bitch!" you snarl, slamming a palm against the steering wheel. "He called the fucking cops on us!"\n\nThey're coming into firing range now, Cammy sends with slightly too much calm. Mine, not theirs, unless they've upgraded their speedwagons' external weaponry again.\n\nDo NOT kill a cop! you snap back, similarly snapping the car into a hard turn at Ilia's direction and speeding down a narrower street, having to dodge a few cars but hopefully choking the pursuing squad down to fewer lanes.\n\nYou don't have to tell me, Cammy replies with an even-yet-annoyed edge.\n\nWhat's the big deal? We're a gang, right? I mean, we are the criminals, the White Fang offed SDC and Atlas security all the time. Same thing, she adds with a bit of static that equates to the mental version of a snort.\n\nNiobe needs to teach you the rules better, first rule of Makarzia, you do not kill cops, ever, you send back, actually wincing as you can hear Niobe fire, though from the ping of the round on armor rather than transparisteel she's clearly more making a statement of warning than actively being threatening.\n\nIt's not morality, darling, it's pragmatism, Cammy sends calmly as she adjusts the rifle's settings without taking her eyes off the pursuing lawenoff vehicles. The police leave us alone for just about everything that we don't get too blatant about being caught red-handed with, and in turn we don't bother them. Ninety percent of them might be six-hour-shifters loitering in outdated speeders, but the other ten percent are funded and outfitted like a planetary army to deal with the crimes they don't ignore.\n\nAnd if you kill a cop that entire ten percent will ram itself ten miles up your ass, you snarl across the link. Which means if you call the cops on someone it's the dirtiest fucking trick you can pull. Horace has crossed a fucking line!\n\nI'm guessing he'd say the same about us stealing his car, but yes he must be in a fine distemper to do this, Cammy agrees, calmly sighting and firing again. The bald fear you feel at the screeching of brakes and a crash must come over the link because you hear her say, I hit the engine block, they're fine.\n\nIlia, we need a new route, you send, eyes flicking to the side. A turn we can make they can't, a single lane road, preferably both.\n\nI'm searching. Ilia's eyes gaze and flicker as she both accesses the equipment she's carrying and probably some of the other hubs for advice, before saying, Ten miles ahead and two blocks over, if we drift it just right we can get through a long alley and through a place called Sommerset Square, from there we can get into an old sewer pipe and come out about five blocks in a whole different direction.\n\nSommerset Square, you know that name, you think even as you start following the instructions. Then it hits you... they have an illegal street market there some days. It's spontaneous, not scheduled, you have no idea when it will be there. It's pretty common knowledge, you're betting Ilia knows too... the question is whether she gives a shit if you wind up tearing through a street market in an overwhelmingly human part of town. You'd say to hell with it and ask just to make sure, let her feelings get hurt, but the turn is on you, you have to choose, trust or don't trust.\n\n<hr>\n[[Make the turn.|KaiGS2x5]]\n\n[[Blow by it.|KaiGS]]

It's been a long time since you got a hug from anyone but Zee, and even then not that often... but every single time you really, really needed it. And it just occurs to you that now is definitely the time for it, and you step close to Ilia and wrap your arms around her, squeezing her against your front.\n\nThe younger girl actually squeaks aloud in surprise, her eyes going wide and her whole body turning bright pink, including her hair. But a few seconds later both her body and coloration relaxes, her eyes closing as she slumps against your front, resting her head against the front of your shoulder and tentatively putting her arms around you.\n\n"Whatever we are, we're in this together now, okay?" you assure her quietly. "That's all that matters. I'm gonna see this through with you and get it done, got me?"\n\n"... Yes," she says quietly, sniffling a little as her arms tighten around you. "... I believe you."\n\nFor almost a week that goes on. Guard somewhere, usually in Tailtown, for long stretches. Grab some quick sleep, recon an area, more guard duty. And fight. The Street Demons are being, for lack of a better phrase, violently playful... they're obviously not particularly invested in their encounters with you, just showing up to wreak havok, tearing up fighters and bystanders alike and then withdrawing seemingly at random, whether they're winning or losing. It's obvious that they don't care about either of those things... the violence is the point.\n\n"They're beating us down," Cammy says flatly as the group sits around a table, the slender genesoldier swiping her fingers across the holomap projected above it. "While not giving us anything. We have no way to accurately measure their numbers but they certainly don't seem to be going down. Some of their people are armed with pipes and shivs, some of them are armed with advanced tech. We have no idea whether the 'elites' we see are part of a leadership or just their best on the ground troopers. We don't know anything about them, and that's going to cost us this war before it ever breaks out in full."\n\n"We getting anything useful infowise from anyone else?" Niobe grumbles, scratching the side of her neck as she tilts her head.\n\n"They're monitoring comm traffic or something," Ilia says bitterly, folding her arms on the table and resting her chin on them as she glares at the map. "Every time we're on a call with another gang or even some of our people for much longer than a minute or so, they hit one of the relay centers and bomb it to crap. Call drops."\n\n"And no one worthwhile in any gang does business except by video call, because textmails are effortless to fake," you add dryly, propping your chin up on one hand. "And since they can apparently detect when we're calling, they've absolutely got the tech to fuck with us if we start texting."\n\n"Right now, we need two things to have any hope of coming through this," Cammy speaks up, holding up two fingers. "Communications and capital," she continues, one ear twitching and then the other as she reads them off. "We absolutely have to have a communication method or they can just take us apart and slaughter every one of us the moment they feel like it. And we need capital to do... anything."\n\n"Right. We lost some of our best revenue generators in the first encounter, when they hit everybody, and we're getting chipped away at there too." Niobe says again, then looks at Cammy's appropriately catlike smug expression. "Guessing you have an idea."\n\n"I've been charting. Every time they hit a comm relay to disrupt a call, they then hit a gang location nearby right after... I guess blowing up an unmanned computer center just doesn't do it for them," Cammy says wryly, before bringing up a map. "But if the pattern holds, then all we have to do is make a call that routes through this center here. Then, after they blow it up, they'll hit this particular gang location," she adds, pointing.\n\nYou sit up a little straighter. "Shit, that's one of Horace's high-end rub-and-a-tug places." At glances from the others (Ilia's specks going bright pink), you shrug, "He had me come meet him there when I was turning in a low-level job I did for him awhile back."\n\n"You're right, though. And one of the benefits of this particular salon is that Syndicate members get either heavy discounts or free services. Now, there's a much less-known Syndicate facility here," Cammy continues, tapping another nearby building. "Because it's not a business facility, it's a private one. One of Horace's personal garages, and heavily guarded by a number of his enforcers. But what do you think those enforcers will do when they get the call that the salon is under attack by Street Demons?"\n\nNiobe snorts. "Go racing right over there to save their favorite girls, hoping that from then on the handjobs will be extra enthusiastic."\n\n"Bingo~!" Cammy chirps, completely ignoring that next to her Ilia is hiding her face, which doesn't help since she's pink down to the tip of her ponytail. "And this is relevant because I have intel that Horace has recently acquired this." She taps one of the emitter's controls and gives a particular flick of her fingers, switching the map to a view of a street speeder. An extremely high-end street speeder. It looks like someone sculpted a coral reef into something symmetrical and polished it molecular-smooth, turning it into a gleaming construct of white body and white gold rims, with an almost pinched, angular front end that makes it look like a cross between an arrowhead and a bullet, overall seeming beautiful and deadly. "Everyone, I give you the Morningstar FBS."\n\n<img src="images/MorningstarFBS.jpg">\n\n"That's your big plan? Steal Horace's car?" Diore says, speaking up for the first time during the meeting. But then the slender mouseboy does look the most tired of anyone here, he just came off the street a bit ago.\n\n"Excuse me, Lunch," Cammy says with a haughty sniff. "Do you think I'd put us all at risk for a few thousand credits, or even a few tens of thousands of credits? The Morningstar FBS is not a car, groundspeeder, whatever you want to call it, it is the car for displaying opulence, status, and flaunting wealth. There are only ten in the entire multiverse, and they're the very best there is in engineering, comfort, security, and anything else you could name."\n\n"What kind of money are we talking, exactly?" Niobe asks, starting to lean in just as you are.\n\n"I'd rather not say in open conversation. Just know that I already have a buyer lined up, who's not only willing to pay us extremely well for the Morningstar, they've passed along the exceedingly expensive to acquire master key already." Cammy holds up a datastick as sleek and overengineered as the car is. "So we'll have no trouble bypassing the Morningstar's legendary security and driving it right out of Horace's garage."\n\n"... So, wait, you're saying you already took this job?" you say, staring at the key in her hand. "And accepted something from the client that probably cost more money than we've got on the idea we'll be able to deliver?"\n\nCammy opens her mouth, then closes it, expression going sheepish and cat ears laying flat as Niobe and Diore glare at her and Ilia buries her face in her hands. "... There was a very small window to accept the job," she says quietly, biting her lower lip.\n\n"Well I guess we're stealing Horace's ride then," Niobe declares with a snort. "Which leaves the issue of comms." She sits back, rubbing her chin and jaw for a few moments, before glancing at the newly smug catwoman. "Hey, Cam, remember Gulmorra Peninsula?"\n\n"Oh, Niobe, no one who was on that campaign is going to like that," Cammy murmurs, her ears laying down again.\n\n"I'm not thrilled either, but desperate times. And we won't go anywhere near as invasive, not that we could even if we wanted to, the tech here's way more surface level." At you and Ilia's questioning looks, Niobe shrugs. "Psycomms. Cyber implants in the neck that let you do nonvocal communications. You implant stronger ones in select people so they can act as 'hubs' that link up between each other. Everyone sends through their closest hub and the hubs chain one to another to get it back to base. Anyway, anyone who doesn't want the implant, tell 'em they're on their own recognizance for doing street patrol, we ain't forcing anybody but this is what we've gotta do for anyone willing to be part of the organized fight."\n\n"Shit, I thought I was done getting my spine abused," you mutter, absently rubbing the now bricked slave chip in your neck.\n\n"Sorry, kid. At least it's a good excuse to finally remove that hunk of fried silica." Niobe turns to look at the youngest one at the table. "Ilia, you're already familiar with all our comm protocols and tech, I'm gonna hafta ask you to be a hub, if you're up for it."\n\nIlia swallows visibly, but then nods vigorously. "If that's what you need, Niobe, I'll do it!"\n\n"Alright. Cammy, since this is your brilliant idea slash mess, you're going with them on this. Kid, Ilia, head to the medroom and get the implants, then get some sleep. We'll try to pull this bullshit off tonight."\n\nLater, as you lay in your bunk staring at the bottom of the one above, trying to focus enough to sleep, you hear Ilia's quiet voice drift down from above. "It feels different."\n\nYou consider asking 'what', but that seems stupid. "It doesn't, it's just in your head."\n\n"No it's in my neck and it feels different!"\n\nYou snort. "Ilia, they replaced a vertebrae. You can't feel vertebrae. You're just fixating on it 'cause you know it's there."\n\n"It is there and it-"\n\n"Sssssshhhhhhhhh!" someone hisses from one of the other bunks.\n\nBoth of you quickly clam up, not bothering to apologize into the dark for your bunkhouse faux pas, since that's basically just exacerbating the problem. And yet, a moment later, Kai?\n\nOof. Shudder. That'll take some getting used to. Yeah, Ilia?\n\n... Why are you still... y'know... going by 'Kai'?\n\nYou're confused for a moment, until you realize what she means. You mean instead of choosing something new like Niobe did?\n\nYeah.\n\nHonestly you hadn't really thought about that one all that much. You turn it over in your head for awhile, keeping your thoughts away from the comm now embedded in an annoyingly similar position to where your slave chip used to be until you can get them sorted. I don't know, I guess I'm used to being 'Kai'. Most people don't choose their names, it doesn't seem that big a deal to me. Everyone knows me that way, it'd be a pain to get them to learn a new name. You call me 'Kai' too, right?\n\nOh. Yeah, Ilia replies, sounding a little wan as she does.\n\n... Yeah. Yeah, you're full of it. I like remembering how Zee and Ico's voices sounded when they say my name, you send back at soft intensity.\n\n... Kai...\n\nYeah, Ilia?\n\n... Sometimes I have trouble remembering what my mom's voice sounded like saying my name...\n\n... It'll be alright. We're gonna get through this. We're gonna do this for Niobe and everyone else, okay?\n\nYeah. Okay.\n\nYou close your eyes, trying to pull on your usual armor of no-fucks-given. You fall asleep straining to remember what a woman's voice saying whatever name you had before this one sounded like, and being answered only with silence.\n\nA handful of hours later, you press up against concrete as you scootch towards the end of the alley. "You realize there are boundless, innumerable ways this could go tits up on us," you mutter as you lean out around the corner a bit, Cammy looking out above you and Ilia below.\n\n"My job as a logistics officer is in fact to log and chart all the possible ways something could go tits up, yes," the catwoman answers primly, shifting a little and incidentally rubbing her own tits against your arm. "And then to act like everything is going to go exactly to plan anyway so that I don't have to spend money I'm not authorized to spend and that we don't have anyway covering all of those contingencies."\n\n"I miss being in a ragtag resistance cell that just flung ourselves at plan A and stole everything we needed to carry it out," Ilia mutters from beneath you.\n\n"Honey I regret to inform you that you're still in one of those, this one's just got a better administrative presence and slightly more hookers on staff."\n\nAt feeling Ilia bristle a little below you, you send, Alright, alright, if we're gonna chatter we have to do it like this, alright? That seems to dull their enthusiasm for arguing, so you give it a minute and ask, So when are they making the call?\n\nTen minutes, Cammy answers, her mental voice practiced, clear, and a tad sour, obviously not having fond memories of the last time she used this communication method. Then if the pattern holds, between three and seven minutes before they hit the salon.\n\nThese stupid psycomms should be compatible with the Morningstar and with our other gear, so once we're in we haul ass for the dropoff. ... You've confirmed your buyer's at the dropoff, right, Cammy?\n\nAs confirmed as these things get.\n\nAlright, I'm driving, Ilia's navigating, Cammy's on overwatch. I'm sure Horace will know his ride's stolen almost instantly and be on our ass, and we're going to have to be fast, smart, and deadly to deal with a Syndicate rolling squad.\n\nI know, I know! Ilia adds with a verbal huff, obviously tired of having the plan reiterated repeatedly. There's silence for a bit, before she sends, Diore's making the call.\n\nAll three of you don't quite hold your breath, but the tension in the alley ramps up. And then, very distantly, comes the sound of the explosion. That's the right relay station, Cammy sends, cat ears twitching as all of you wait.\n\nSeveral minutes later, Ilia sends, They're hitting the, uh... salon thingy.\n\nIn only a matter of seconds men in red and black suits come streaming out of the building you're watching, piling into their cars or flinging themselves onto streetcycles and roaring off. The three of you wait until they're barely out of sight to race across the street, Ilia the fastest and actually catching the door before it closes entirely. With that all three of you are able to duck effortlessly into the garage. You expected way more luxury and opulence in here, but it's actually rather plain and empty, more of a warehouse. You guess Horace didn't want to draw attention to his ultrarare sweet ride by having its storage space remodeled into something fitting. "There it is!" Ilia calls unnecessarily, since the beautiful ivory car is the only thing in the cavernous warehouse, all three of you beating feet towards it. Cammy whips up the datastick and hits a button, the doors whirring open... and revealing someone sitting behind the wheel.\n\n"Um. Hello," the slender young woman with iridescent white gold hair and a rather brief little white dress says, blinking large black eyes at the three of you. "Are... you really supposed to be here?"\n\n"Oh holy shit I can't believe it, he bought the Morningstar FBS-X," Cammy groans. "Where the fuck did he get the money?!"\n\n"Cammy, less drama, more explanation?" you snap, whipping one of the pistols you picked out for this job up to point at the woman's face, causing her to yelp and raise her hands.\n\n"It's the prototype, they were originally going to include a specially designed bioroid that can drive it, service it, and service the owner too," Cammy says flatly, Ilia's expression saying horror and her pink specks saying embarrassment at the implication. "But they decided it was too much trouble and the ten production cars didn't have one, just the pre-production concept."\n\n"Uh, so what do we do with her?" Ilia asks with a glance at you, then at the obviously frightened and very alive-looking bioroid, wincing a little as she does.\n\n<hr>\n[["Get in the back seat, you're being stolen."|KaiGS2x4]]\n\n[["Sorry about this."|KaiGS]]\n\n[[... Blam.|KaiGS]]

"... You told me yours so I'll tell you mine, and that's the only reason, understand?" you say, resisting the urge to look directly at her. After all, she's supposed to be watching your back, you shouldn't exactly be advertising that she's there doing it. You turn back to the street, putting your eye back to the scope and checking some of the taller buildings around. "So. One day, when I guess I was a little younger than you are maybe, I wake up in a slave pen."\n\n"What, you're just starting the story there?" Ilia says with a soft snort, obviously thinking you must be going right for the drama instead of actually giving your full story.\n\n"That's where the story starts. There is nothing before that," you reply without looking away from your work.\n\n"... What do you mean?"\n\n"These slavers had a particular technique. When they install the slave chip, they also do a mind wipe. Makes u-... the slaves... more compliant," you explain, your tone taking on the bored, slightly tired timbre of someone who's heard and regurgitated a story repeatedly. "No memories of family that you're desperate to get back to. No prior connections. No ideas of anyone coming to save you. No better life to compare things to. You just wake up in a display cell and your life starts there. Basic language skills, basic knowledge of how to care for yourself, whatever shreds of personality survived the wipe, that's it. You sit there and you accept the cell because you don't know anything else other than people coming by, looking in at you, discussing what you're worth in front of you. Your whole identity is the random three letters they assign you as a name."\n\nYou give that a moment to sink in before you continue, Ilia having gone as silent as the shadow she's emulating. "So, one day, this pudgy red-faced dude comes along and buys me. Me and one of the other girls from my lot, Zee. He's this Guild merc who doesn't do his own work anymore, got too big and famous for it, had dozens of slaves of all kinds to do it for him. But now it's down to just two of his best, and me their new student, and the other slave that gets assigned the housework. But he takes me back to this really nice apartment, more like a house really, and he hands me over to those two, Ico and Niobe... well, she wasn't called Niobe then. I dunno if she had a name for herself in mind back then, but I just knew her by her slave name. And y'know, after the crappy little display cell, it was actually really great. The old man was a jerk, but he didn't actually spend that much time with me. Ico and Niobe were training me all the time, taking me on jobs, I had Zee for company my own age... honestly back then I don't think it even occurred to me that there was anything wrong with being a slave. Ico didn't think so anyway, and I didn't know anything else, so eh, big deal if there's a chip in my neck."\n\nYou pause briefly to turn your head and try to spit out the sour taste that's grown in your mouth. "But that shit didn't last. Niobe managed to buy herself free, and really gave the old man hell as she was leaving, and I think that what she said was the first time I really saw or understood the depths of how much she'd always hated her life. ... Cried myself to sleep that night thinking she must have hated me too," you add quietly, feeling it wouldn't be fair to leave it out after what Ilia told you. "But Ico got it through my head that what Niobe hated wasn't me, or her, or Zee, or-" You cut off, because you're certainly doubtful about the rest of what she said, skipping over it to continue. "What she hated was living her life for someone else, not having a choice. That some people were okay with that kind of life, but for some it was worse than death."\n\nYou let out a little huff. "And I'd understand that pretty fucking soon. Because without Niobe, the old man couldn't send us on near as many big high-paying jobs. So then he sold Ico, and it was just him and me and Zee, and I got to know just how big a buffer Niobe and Ico had always been 'cause he was talking to me direct now. And he was pissed, all the time, like he blamed me for all of it, and he just got angrier that me on my own couldn't measure up to two of the best mercs the fucking Guild ever had. 'Cause first Ico was gone, then the nice apartment was gone, and here we were living in a shithole on Makarzia. And he stopped making any pretense of being a manager or leader and he spent all his time and all our money drinking and whoring and screaming at me to go out and get him more money to drink and whore with. And somewhere in the years of that I just sort of accepted that I was gonna die never seeing the two people who'd raised me again, that when I did die it was gonna be bad and it'd be for the sake of earning my abusive fuck of an owner another handful of credits to get his gullet or his dick wet with, and the most I could ever hope for was keeping the only friend I had left maybe marginally comfortable."\n\nThe quiet stretches a long, long time after that. When Ilia speaks, her voice is shaky. "... It didn't work out like that though."\n\n"No. Not so far. And I'm still trying to convince myself it won't, 'cause other than the pain this all feels really fucking unreal. I haven't had anything like a shard of a sliver of hope in years, I don't even know what to fucking do with this now," you admit with a sigh as you lower the rifle. "But it's not over because Zee's still in that bastard's hands, and now I've got Niobe's expectations and the lives of a bunch of people on my shoulders."\n\n"You could just walk away," Ilia murmurs, almost as if prompting you. Unspoken but heard is the 'You're human, they're not, do you really care?'\n\n"Fuck that," you reply simply to both the aloud and unspoken parts.\n\n"... So... do you... think your story is worse than mine?" the younger girl asks after a bit more quiet. \n\n"I didn't tell you my sorry little life story as a competition, Ilia, I told it because you told me yours, you asked, and 'cause I think Niobe would've wanted me to," you reply, risking looking her right in the eyes for a moment before turning back to watching the streets. "I'm not gonna measure my pain against yours. I've got no measuring stick for it anyway. Knowing how much it hurts to lose parents is mostly just a general concept to me, I've got no way to make it real or solid. Pretty much the closest thing I've got to a mom asked me to take care of her people, so I'll die doing that if I have to and that's the only thing I've got room to care about right now."\n\nIlia's quiet for the rest of the time on the rooftop, the two of you standing the rest of the watch in silence. When the sun starts to filter through the smog and between the buildings, another pair of Niobe's people shows up to relieve you, and after some perfunctory greetings you and Ilia descend, walking the streets with your rifles still held prominently. The two of you pass a lawenoff sitting in his patrol cruiser, and after a glance he sinks lower in his seat and pulls his hat further down over his eyes, making it very clear he doesn't see you. Niobe nor anyone you recognize is in sight as you return to the bunker, handing off the rifles to another pair who are heading out and receiving directions to the bunk room when you ask. But in the hallway Ilia finally stops you, tentatively touching your forearm and waiting for you to turn, her head tilted down and eyes downcast.\n\n"Um. I... just wanted to say that I'm sorry," she says quietly, taking a quick breath through her nose and letting it out in a soft huff between parted lips before she continues. "About how I acted when we met. I... I don't know which of us had it 'worse' or anything, but... I don't think you had it better than me. And I assumed you did because you were a human, and... and I'm sorry."\n\n"It's not a big deal," you assure her, finding a small smile. "Just some rough words, I've had and heard way worse, promise."\n\n"It feels like a big deal to me!" she blurts back, head snapping up to look at you, before her specks briefly go pink and she looks down. "I... um, I... guess I just have a lot to think about, and... um, I owed you an apology, so. S-so there."\n\nYou just take a moment to look at her, at the way her eyes keep flicking up to you, at her little splotches briefly flashing pink in embarrassment. At where her eyes keep trying to wander to, your chest or your belly or your lips and the way they dart back down in embarrassment when she catches herself doing it. It's been a long night... though you have to admit she is seriously cute, especially with how earnest she's being about her contriteness.\n\n<hr>\n[[Hug her.|KaiGS2x3]]\n\n[[Kiss her.|KaiGS]]\n\n[[Pat her on the head and send her to bed.|KaiGS]]

"... Alright." You walk over, shrugging out of your jacket and setting it aside, then starting to bundle up your hair. You pause only briefly, glancing at Niobe. "You get that I wouldn't take that sort of weak-ass promise from anyone but you, right?"\n\n"Yeah kid, I know," Niobe answers quietly, a little pain in her eyes as she gives a small nod. "... I'll get it done, I swear."\n\n"Um, you'll wanna sit down," Diore says when it looks like you're just going to stand there holding your hair up. Once you've settled into one of the chairs and leaned forward. "... And she'll probably need something to bite on."\n\n"Shit," you mutter as Niobe rummages in her jacket, and produces something that... is suspiciously perfect for jamming between someone's teeth. Complete with straps to go around the back of the head. You glance at her and get a light smirk in reply, and just for fun you glance at Diore and note his blush. Right. Rolling your eyes a little, you nevertheless open your mouth and let Niobe slip the padded bar between your teeth, after which you lean your head forward again and make a 'ready' grunt. Despite your attempt to keep it all casual and like this is no big deal, you still jump just a little when you feel the box being settled against your bare neck. 'It's fine, it's fine, it's just a little pain, it's fine.'\n\nSo turns out there's really no such thing as a 'little' pain when someone sends a charge into something hooked directly into your spinal cord. Especially when that thing is already designed to send pain-jolts through your body. Somewhere in the back of your mind, in the one tiny part of your brain that isn't lit up like neon with agony, you wonder if the old man's never actually shocked you this hard or if the chip's normally not capable of this level of pain delivery except when it's being fried. The rest of you is howling through the gag, your body clenching so hard that you don't even drop your hair when it hits, literally every nerve you have lighting up with some level of pain response.\n\nAnd then it's gone and you're slumping back into the chair, mouth lolling open to let the unfastened gag drop, your muscles twitching as you fight not to whimper at just the memory of the sensation. Just to judge by how everyone's standing, bricking the chip seems to have only taken a literal second... it certainly felt a lot longer to you, you think as you clench your jaw in an effort to keep tears from leaking out. 'Fuck the chip... fuck the chip, it's dead, they killed it, it's dead,' you think to yourself with a shudder. It helps. A little.\n\n"Are you-" Ilia cuts herself off, having been reaching a hand out, curling her fingers and briefly looking surprised, as if she hadn't known she was going to say anything. "... Are you okay?" she finishes more quietly after a second.\n\n"Yeah," you croak out, forcing your lips into something resembling a smirk. "No big."\n\n"Hey. Kid. Fingers," Niobe says, holding up a single digit in front of your face.\n\n"One," you answer, clearing your throat. "... Water please."\n\n"Yeah, 'course." Niobe heads off to the side, returning with a bottle of water and passing it to you. She waits until you've half-finished with it before saying, "Can you pull a trigger?"\n\n"Yeah," you answer after only the briefest of hesitation.\n\n"Niobe, she should really rest up for a couple of hours after that," Diore murmurs.\n\n"None of us have time for rest... anyone that can get on their feet without bleeding out needs to be working this situation," Niobe answers, looking aside. "Ilia, go grab a pair of Placidhearts from the armory." Once the speckled girl has scurried off, Niobe looks back to you. "Believe me, kid, if I could-"\n\n"Yeah, but no time," you grunt, willing your muscles to stop twitching as you push yourself up out of the chair... and somewhat awkwardly offer her the gag back. "I've got it together, Niobe. It only hurt while it was happening." It just hurt so much that even the memory makes you want to cry, but fuck it, you've been over crying for years, you're sure as hell not going to start again now that you're free.\n\n"Got it. I'm assuming you haven't gotten to keep up with your marksmanship since the old man didn't let you use guns here," Niobe continues as Ilia returns holding a pair of fairly high-end long rifles, taking one from the younger girl and holding it out to you. "Thus the 'idiotproof' sniper rifle."\n\n"Who you want dead?" you ask a little wryly as you lift the rifle, keeping it pointed in the general direction of the floor and looking it over... while mostly marveling at the complete lack of 'no, you can't' feeling that comes with the thought of using it.\n\n"Anyone that tries to fuck with my people. We can't risk the Street Demons retaliating against the noncoms on Geneslicer turf, so I want you to get over to Tailtown and take up a position on a roof. Make yourself nice and visible, make it clear you're not going to let anything in your area of coverage get fucked with." Niobe turns a bit. "Ilia, go with her, you're her backup. Stay out of sight and be extra eyes and ears for her."\n\nThere's only half a heartbeat of hesitation before Ilia nods. "You can count on me, Niobe."\n\n"I know I can." Niobe looks at you, then wrinkles her nose. "Scratch that. Ten minutes. Grab a fast shower and a change of clothes, kid, you've got Cammy's blood all over you. And a couple of other people's."\n\nAnd so after said quick shower and a brief raid of other people's wardrobes, you and your new spotter head over to the part of the city sector primarily inhabited by various genemods, demihumans, and other "non-alien humanfauna", known generally as tailtown. Admittedly you do feel it helps your case that you found some tight black pants and a long-sleeved black top (that nevertheless leaves your midriff bare... hey, you've gotten used to your bellybutton being able to breathe) when you show up, since it makes you feel slightly less like Hooker Vigilante To The Rescue while you're explaining things to the shop owner. Soon you're atop the three-story building... high enough to give a decent vantage, low enough that you're still visible patrolling the edge of the rooftop with your very visible rifle. Ilia, meanwhile, has settled into the shadow of one of the equipment outcroppings, her hair and skin having turned as black as her short-legged bodysuit, leaving her nothing but a pair of eyes peering out of the darkness and largely following you.\n\n"Well?" you prompt after about half an hour, not looking away from the streets.\n\n"Well what?" Ilia replies in a low, surly tone.\n\n"I can feel whatever you wanna say digging holes in my back through your eyes, so you may as well say it."\n\nShe's quiet for long enough that you're starting to think she's going to refuse to talk just to spite you. But eventually she says, "Do you know what a Faunus is?"\n\n"Kind of. I know a merc in the Guild that's a Faunus, I think, he never said as much but other people used the name for him."\n\n"What do you think of him?" Ilia asks, in the way of someone that already suspects the answer and is ready to be angry about having it confirmed.\n\nYou just shrug. "I dunno. Heard a lot of conflicting rumors. From what I've seen he's probably got the same chip on his shoulder you do, but he's a bit better at hiding it." You bring the rifle up, checking a few pedestrians with the scope. Not that there are many of those out, apparently word of just how bad it was at the meeting has gotten out and most people know to lay low. "Probably mostly because he wants to fuck me."\n\nIlia snorts derisively. "What would make you think that?"\n\n"Him telling me so, repeatedly and frankly," you answer, unable to keep one corner of your mouth from quirking up as you keep your eye on the scope.\n\n"... Oh." The younger girl shifts a little in the shadows, obviously a little sheepish after that answer. "... So would you?" she asks, her spots briefly turning pink before she wrangles them back under control.\n\n"The thought's certainly crossed my mind a few times. You gonna get to the point or are we going to discuss my brushes with a sex life all night?"\n\n"You'd have a chip on your shoulder too if you went through what we did, y'know," she mutters after a minute or two of silence.\n\n"Mine was in my neck, remember?" you reply with a brief glance in her general direction.\n\n"... Right." She shifts a little again. Again is silent for a bit. Then she says, "When I was born my parents were really hopeful, because I was... 'passing'. No tail. No ears. Nothing that yelled 'Faunus'. They thought I had a chance to get a better life in human society. They worked in a Dust mine... ... which probably isn't what it sounds like to you... ... Anyway. They barely made enough to get by, but they still scraped and saved and worked harder to save up money to send me to a private school in Atlas. The big floating city above ours, like heaven drifting in the sky," she says in such an abjectly bitter tone that it could only come from amidst the shards of a shattered dream. "I had to learn to control my color changes, but I passed for human, and I went to that clean, fresh, high-end school with all the human girls. And I listened to their Faunus jokes... and I laughed at them. And I told my own. And we all laughed."\n\nShe goes quiet again, and you can guess at the particular shade of pain and regret in her voice as she says it... that she wasn't just doing it to fit in. Or she might have been at first, but that over time, it had become easier to look down on all the 'po' Faunus' still living below the floating heaven-city and think of herself as not being one.\n\n"Then one day... in the hallway... there's a news report playing." Ilia shifts the rifle a little on her lap, obviously having trouble keeping her eyes turned towards the street to watch like she knows she has to. "... The Dust mine collapsed. And they were laughing. My frie-... the human girls... they were laughing about it. And I knew my parents were dead. I was staring at the screen and I knew my parents were dead. And I turned bright blue right there in the hallway, because I couldn't keep the agony I was feeling off my skin. ... I'm just standing there... tears on my face... skin blue... all of them staring..."\n\n"... Guess school didn't go so well after that," you say into the silence that stretches afterwards.\n\nIlia snorts, something almost like amusement in it. "No. But at least I got to break those human girls' smug laughing teeth before they kicked me out." She shifts again, then apparently can't resist looking right at you. "... So I joined up with a lot of other Faunus who were fighting what the humans were doing to us. Then there was a Dust explosion during one of our raids and I wound up here. And I got lucky enough that Niobe found me and gave me a place a lot like my old one. That's my story. ... Niobe says yours is worse," she adds flatly, clearly not wanting to call her beloved leader a liar, but obviously full of doubt. And prompting you to prove it.\n\n<hr>\n[[... Okay.|KaiGS2x2]]\n\n[[We're not doing this.|KaiGS]]

That definitely sounds like the fun part of this assignment. You'll get the rest done too, obviously, but since Seiun kind of implied 'sky's the limit' for getting his new place outfitted why not go for it? Besides, according to the list he was considering buying some cleaning minidroids anyway, you can just get some of those while you're out and they'll get the majority of the bothersome parts done for you.\n\nYou head out to the shopping levels, browsing the various furniture and home stores, picking out stuff you think would suit... various comfy and kind of sexy-looking furniture. Seiun doesn't particularly seem like the 'hip sexy' type usually, but after the last few days you definitely know how much he's got a healthy, wicked sex drive, and you just sort of think that now he's probably the sort to prefer a couch that's a good height for bending a girl over it on her knees and a good width that you can fuck on it without falling off. In fact, you may in the process buy a few items that are specifically beneficial towards the apartment being outfitted for a healthy and adventurous sex life, such as a mobile frame that can be used to hang either a striking dummy, punching bag, or spread-eagled girl. Multitaskers are good, after all!\n\n... Hm. You pause, glancing towards the lift to the other shopping levels and tapping the account card against your cheek. Thinking of all that you and Seiun could get up to in his apartment with this new relationship you've developed is kind of getting you turned on pretty darn good, and making you wonder if you shouldn't do some personal shopping. Like for outfits. You've dropped the pretense of not enjoying being a girl and not wanting to fuck a man, so you feel like you should feel free to expand on that. Maybe...\n\n<hr>\n[[... something mature and intimate.|LeoFem]]\n\n[[... something sexy and show-offy.|LeoFem]]\n\n[[... something slutty and blatant.|LeoFem]]\n\n[[... don't go nuts.|LeoFem]]

Bodyguarding a (presumably) gorgeous elf princess is exactly the sort of job you got into this career to take! Grinning, you tap the acceptance button, then get up and head to the vault access stations. Time to bring out an old favorite.\n\nFor escort missions like this, it's not good to bog yourself down with a bunch of different weapons trying to account for every potential outcome. Instead it's better to take a minimum of them that can do a little bit of everything, or in this case one rifle that can do just about anything. Some might call it a hand-me-down, but it was more of a commemoration gift from one of your "uncles" in the life, to celebrate you getting your Guildcert. He started out with some purely standard rifle you're pretty sure was called a Peacekeeper, an extremely sturdy but otherwise unexceptional combo rifle/shotgun, and spent the next decade and a half tweaking it to his needs. Improved rifle barrel and autostabilizers so it's actually a decent sniper rifle, matter materializer reload system so it can shoot for days without running dry, reinforced shotgun barrel and energy direction reticle so that you can hook an energy pack up to it and use it as a blaster rifle, and a dozen other improvements that more than make up for the overengineered and rather uncomfortable grip and the somewhat tasteless paint job combining the words 'Love and Peace!', a peace symbol, and fake blood splatter all over the barrel.\n\n<img src="images/peacekeeper.png">\n\n'That really doesn't do me that many favors with the more refined clients,' you think for at least the twentieth time as you take the rifle down from its hanger and give it a quick once-over before shoving a few spare matter cartridges and energy packs in your coat. You've always felt a little bad about the idea of getting it repainted, though, since it was such a meaningful gift. And eh, clients don't have to think the world of you, they just-\n\n... Hm. Elf princess.\n\n... You picture the vision of the gorgeous elf girl in your mind, looking up at you in awe and lust as you shoot down a vicious dragon, and then her face turning to a twisted grimace of disdain as she spots the edgelord paint job on your weapon.\n\n'... Uncle Ostro would understand,' you think as you grab up one of your nicer (and nicer-looking) swords just in case, then take off running towards the lift. 'If I toss Landry an extra 200 she can have this done in under an hour.'\n\nForty-eight minutes later you're walking into one of the departure portal terminals, the Peacekeeper now a smooth matte black with just a hint of pearlescent in the white trim. To assuage your guilty conscience it still says 'LOVE AND PEACE', but it's in squared-off and even allcaps along the side of the barrel, which in your opinion brings it more to 'tongue-in-cheek but professional' rather than 'violently ironic'. 'Landry does good work,' you think happily as you palm the input pad next to the door of one of the booths, the system quickly inputting the coordinates for the job you're on and sliding the door open as the portal forms.\n\nWhen you step out, a number of the very pretty and elaborately-garbed people in the room go for their swords or the bows strung on their back, but the one nearest to you quickly holds up a hand to forestall them. He's a bit taller than the others, with pale skin, long hair the color of dark honey and slender, pointed ears, and a face that would be almost femininely pretty if it didn't have just enough patriarchal maturity to blunt the edge of it. "You're the mercenary from the Guild of Professionals?" he asks in an even tone, hand still raised as if ready to signal the others just in case you're not.\n\n"I am. Leo LaChance, at your service," you answer, giving him a short bow. You don't want to give too flowery a one, you might come off as flippant... well, you are flippant, but you don't want to come off that way. As you rise you hold out a slip of plastic to him. "My Guildcert and registration of this duty, sir."\n\nHe takes the card and looks over it for a moment, then nods as he tucks it away, gesturing with one hand to the nearby table and reaching out to you with the other. "I am Duke Luwin. Please, right this way, I'll give you the details." His hand coming to rest on your back is so graceful it's almost sensual, but you try to shrug that off as he guides you over to show you the elaborately drawn map with a number of small, carved markers. "Princess Amanielle has been visiting this outpost as part of her royal duties, but it's time for her to return home. Unfortunately we've been having difficulties with orc ambushes along the way, and if they learn that the latest caravan making its way to the capital is carrying the princess they will most definitely attack. Likely here, here, or here," he continues, indicating several points along a marked path.\n\n"Yeah, I see that," you agree, skimming over the map yourself. "I've fought orcs once or twice before... if these are true to form, I'd say the most likely for something like that is this one here, but maybe a bit further along," you say, indicating one of the spots. "They'd actually want a nice open area between you and their hiding spot so you can see them coming, lets 'em show off, plus then you'd redirect a lot of your forces to guard the princess and tell them exactly where she is."\n\n"... Yes, most likely you're right," he says after a moment. "That would fit with a few of the other attacks where they focused their attentions on the most valuable cargo of other caravans. It would seem that some others are prone to forgetting that our ancient enemies are not mindless beasts," he says mildly, shooting a glance at some of the nearby elves, who wind up clenching their perfect jaws and squinting their beautiful eyes.\n\n"Have they always been such a problem before?" you ask, glancing between Luwin and the others. "I mean, excuse the question. Just seems like there must be a reason you called in someone from the Guild and specifically asked for a firearms specialist."\n\n"Indeed, I suppose that is a reasonable question. While we have always been able to deal with orc incursions fairly easily ourselves in the past, there are a number of indicators that in this case the orcs are not making these attacks entirely on their own initiative, but are rather being used as a proxy by some other enemy of ours. One of those indicators is that someone seems to have imbued these orcs with some manner of spell resistance."\n\n"Ah. So they're basically immune to magic, huh?"\n\n"Very close to it, and becoming moreso with every encounter, it seems. Elven magic has always been the tipping point in our superiority of the orcs, and as loathe as many are to admit it I am forced by the practicalities of my station to acknowledge that without it as the deciding factor, our greater martial prowess does not make nearly the difference against their being much, much larger, stronger, and more resistant to damage that we might like to think it does. I am looking into measures to bring us back into superiority, but those are longterm goals... for now, the Princess must return home safely, and to insure that I have secured your services."\n\n"Well, don't worry, Duke, I'll take care of her," you reply with a confident grin. "She'll get home without a scratch on her, you have my guarantee."\n\nWhich is really kind of a stupid promise to make objectively, since sometimes making sure escort clients get to their destination whole still involves stuff that gets them scratched, but it's what he wants to hear and the kind of thing a dashing hero like you is supposed to say. You also hear just the faintest gasp from one end of the tent like someone was indeed very impressed, and turn to look. 'Ah, man, she's just as gorgeous as I hoped,' you can't help but think in a totally gooey mental tone even as you keep the roguish grin on your face.\n\nPrincess Amanielle is standing at the flaps of the tent, obviously having just walked in. Though her skin is just as smooth and perfect and creamy as any of the others, her hair is also paler, closer to a platinum blonde, streaming down her back and over her shoulders. Her dress is green and blue, the cut on the modest side though it still gives a rather decent hint to the full, perky breasts and curve of her hips beneath it. Her ears are a little different too, and her eyes are green rather than the blue you see on almost all the other elves here. She's definitely a princessly beauty, though, and the little bit of pink on her cheeks that seems to be due to your statement is... very flattering. Both to her looks and your ego.\n\n"Uncle, is this the warrior for hire that will be escorting me home?" she asks, obviously trying to ramp her eagerness down somewhat to keep her tone even and proper.\n\n"Correct. Princess Amanielle, Firstborn and Heir, this is Leo LaChance, of the Guild of Interdimensional Professionals, Specialists, and Enforcers," Luwin says, gesturing to both of you as he makes the introductions.\n\n<hr>\n[[Be professional.|LeoAma1x1]]\n\n[[Be forward.|LeoAma3x1]]

Lassiter stops in place, her head jerking towards you a little before she forces the movement to become smoothers, regarding you with open contempt. "I thought better of even you than such childish, blatant-"\n\n"No, wait, someone that's this protective of their resources, you probably don't have a coven," you interrupt, looking straight at her face as you do. "No, you latched onto this place and managed to turn it into your own private craft library, didn't you? The antique book vault is just an excuse to keep everyone out of what you've come to think of as yours, while you operate the mundane library above for all the students with unopened eyes. Isn't that right..." You slowly let your lips curl up in a grin. "... Madame Lassiter?"\n\nThe librarian looks at you for long moments, her face an unreadable mask. Then she rather suddenly releases your arm, lowering her own hand as you take a half-step back. "I see. I suppose this changes a few things."\n\n"Doesn't it?" you say in an overly polite tone, making a show of dusting yourself off.\n\n"... Very well. Come into my office and we'll discuss this further," she says stiffly, turning and resuming her walk towards the door. This time you follow her willingly enough, perhaps a little flush with the sense of power you feel after 'outing' her, if only to yourself. She leads the way into the small, largely mundane-seeming office, one of the few even vaguely 'witchy' touches being an apothecary's cabinet against the wall behind her desk. After a terse urging for you to sit down in one of the chairs, she spends some time getting tea out of one of the drawers and heating water with an electric kettle. Eventually she pours out two cups and sets one on the desk in front of you, settling back into her own chair with her cup. "Well. I could go into a number of denials here. But it could still be rather bothersome for me if you decided to spread rumors around, even if most took it for the childish namecalling it sounds like."\n\n"I haven't threatened to out you," you point out, picking up the other cup and resting it on your thigh for the moment.\n\n"You don't have to, the implication is there. Oh, don't wheedle at me, Valerie, you brought up the size of my secret but theoretically public library while saying you've figured out I'm a witch... the implications would be there even if you somehow didn't intend them." She sips from her tea, closing her eyes briefly before opening them again and fixing them on you. "So. Clearly we have some things to discuss."\n\n"Guess so, yeah," you allow with a bob of the head.\n\nSilence stretches for a moment, before her eyes flick down. Rather coolly, but with just enough heat to remind you that you're not only in the presence of someone with official power over your school career, but an elder practitioner, she says, "Is something wrong with the tea?"\n\n<hr>\n[[Er, no, sorry!|ValLib]]\n\n[[Just waiting a bit.|ValLib1x5]]

"I thought I'd wait a bit for the tea to cool a little," you respond evenly. "And for you to actually promise me guest status."\n\nThere's another brief stretch of silence, broken only by the antique clock clicking along on the wall nearby. Then Lassiter's lips slowly curl up in a grin. "You are a canny one. Very well, you are my guest. You shall part from here unmolested, unaltered, and unhexed, or shall it come back on me three times."\n\nYou give a bob of your head and a polite "Thank you" before raising the cup and sipping. It's actually rather good... you suppose you shouldn't be surprised, 'makes amazing tea' sort of fits Lassiter's whole look and style. You're more surprised when she leans back in her chair and actually looks a bit more at ease, like a normal person.\n\n"So you've figured me out. And yes, I was trying to keep you away from what I consider my private library... not merely because I covet it for myself, but because many of the things in there can be dangerous, especially for someone taking their first stumbling steps with the arts. But I get the sense that's not you."\n\n"No, I've been at this for a few years, and had some help from a mentor." You notice a flash of something across her eyes at your words, but decide not to press it, instead continuing. "But if you don't mind me asking, if there are things that heady in there, I'm surprised you're still pulling the librarian schtick. No offense but I've seen where you live, and it looks decent enough outside, but you could have a lot more with genuine tomes of power."\n\nLassiter purses her lips... but sighs after a few seconds, sipping her tea again before replying. "The truth is, Valerie," she says slowly, as if having to unclench to release the words, and yet as if it were a relief to finally do so. "That I plateaued fairly early on in my arc as a witch. I had no mentor, no coven... I have always tended towards being by myself and keeping to my own affairs, almost pathologically. While I certainly had enough grasp of my abilities to attain, if not immortality, something close enough for anyone's own good, and a number of other powers that have made my life comfortable, I have not been able to push through my own limits. Find me again in three centuries and you will likely find me just as I am now."\n\nYou mull that over, not wanting to insult her with an unconsidered response, since she actually seems to be trying to open up to you. No mentor, so she's entirely self-taught... no coven, no apprentice, yes, you can see why she plateaued, and Lassiter probably understands just as well. A mentor is an important part of unlocking certain potentials, but similarly, teaching another witch, even casually and passingly (like your cousin did) can open up new avenues, not to mention the greater synergy of both ideas and mana that occurs in a coven. If Lassiter's been refusing... or felt unable... to do any of that, then it really does make sense that she's hit a barrier and can't go any further.\n\nThe real question is... what are you going to do about it?\n\n<hr>\n[[Not a damn thing.|ValLib]]\n\n[[Offer to be her apprentice.|ValLib]]\n\n[[Offer to be her mentor.|ValLib]]\n\n[[Offer to form a coven with her.|ValLib]]

"Fine then. Goodbye," you say a bit stiffly, turning and heading back towards the door, and trying not to bristle at the faint ghost of a smirk you detect on Lassiter's lips. Instead you simply pick up your messenger bag from the hanger and step over to the door, opening it... and making sure you step around to the little bit of the doorway that's not visible from the checkout counter in the process of stepping out. You do a small twirl away and let go of the door so it can close on its own, carefully but quickly scurrying off down the opposite direction of the library stacks.\n\nYou've planned a bit for this day, you see. A practicing witch of your sort never knows when she might need to get locked in a library overnight (or something similar). So during your first year you cased the joint and even plotted out your path for just this situation... down the aisle to one side of the door, around the corner, duck through the biography section, edge around the farm almanacs, and there, there's a little nook in the wall that looks like it was probably once a skinny little hallway but has had sheetboard and paint put up to turn it into a wall. You drop to the floor and haul a blanket out of your messenger bag, pulling it over yourself... it may look ordinary, but you've already worked a number of enchantments into it, so all it takes is channeling some mana into it and it will both blend in with the surroundings and project a mild 'don't pay attention to me' aura... not a strong enough one to do much of anything on its own, but between that and the camouflage effect, as long as you stay still, you should be golden.\n\nNow you just have to wait. Luckily you've already been reading the journal for a few hours at this point (sometimes deciphering the handwriting makes you go slow), so it should only be about an hour until the library closes. It's still boring to need to sit there and be still for an hour... you do various mantras and calming exercises in your head, and they help quite a bit. Still, eventually you're squirming a bit and staring at your watch in the darkness, pretty much counting the minutes. It's an incredible relief when you hear a soft click and the light coming in around the edges of the blanket disappears, and a moment later you hear the creak of the front door before it closes. Lassiter's prompt, go figure.\n\n<hr>\n[[Go ahead and come out.|ValLib1x3]]\n\n[[Might be best to wait awhile longer.|ValLib]]

Relieved to not have to sit there any longer, you yank the blanket off of your head and quickly stuff it back into your bag as you stand up, adjusting the shoulder strap a bit as you step out of the nook.\n\nYou almost lose control of your bladder as long, slender fingers that feel like steel cords wrap around your upper arm and give you a slight yank back, and you find yourself looking up slightly at Lassiter's face in the dimness of the darkened library. "So. I thought you gave up too easily for such a persistent, overcurious little nuisance," she says stiffly, scowling deeply at you even as her eyes glitter with satisfaction. "You're going to be in quite a bit of trouble over this one, young lady."\n\n"Er, wait, I can explain," you try, almost instinctively. \n\n"Oh I think I already grasp the general thrust of your explanation. You couldn't take 'no' for an answer and obey the restrictions given to every other student, and now you're guilty of trespassing and attempted theft. Now, come with me, I need to make a phone call."\n\n"Uh, to who?"\n\n"Who do you think?" she asks coolly, narrowing her eyes as she starts to urge you forward and towards her office.\n\n<hr>\n[["The cops?"|ValLib]]\n\n[["One of the school heads?"|ValLib]]\n\n[["My mother?"|ValLib]]\n\n[["Your coven?"|ValLib1x4]]

"I'm familiar with the title," Lassiter answers you, becoming more prim than ever. "It's in our rare antiquities vault." \n\n"Oh really?" That makes you perk up a bit more. "How do I access that?"\n\n"Be a senior with a relevant major and two professors' permission," the older woman answers immediately, with nary a flicker of her expression, though you might just be imagining a little flash of smug satisfaction in her eyes.\n\nYour jaw drops a bit. "What?! That's completely unfair, I'm a student here, I paid for tuition the same as everyone else! That specifically includes 'full access to library facilities'!"\n\n"Yes, and you will have full access when you are a senior, in a relevant major, and have the permission of two professors," Lassiter answers evenly, directing her gaze back down at her paperwork in obvious dismissal. "Until then I suggest you turn your attention to a more productive use of the facilities than your idle curiosity."\n\nYou press your lips together, fighting down several smartass remarks that you know won't help your case. Just spouting off won't help here, you need a solid plan.\n\n<hr>\n[[Negotiate.|ValLib]]\n\n[[Get sneaky.|ValLib1x2]]\n\n[[Just give up for now.|ValLib]]

Mekor seems... well, unlikely to get involved in much scheming or overly ambitious behavior that could put you in danger, if you were to guess just from his look and manner, in that he seems mildly bored with the whole proceedings and like he'd rather be somewhere else. While not the most flattering in the world, at the moment you'll take that over immediately being plunged into drama. "I choose Mekor," you declare. If nothing else, since he seems like the least adventurous choice, if there really is someone pulling the strings picking him will tell you something by how things play out with the 'dull' choice.\n\n"Right then," Mekor says evenly as he steps forward, seeming neither overjoyed nor taken aback by your decision. Instead he reaches back and starts untying the back of his apron. "Well, we'd best get to it, then, Princess."\n\n"Er, get to...?" You blink, glancing around at the others (who all look various degrees of jealous, save for Thule who's leering down at you) for some sort of clue. "Get to what?"\n\n"Breeding, obviously," the furry-legged demon answers as he finishes undoing the knot and starts lifting the neck strap over his shaggy black hair and ramlike horns. "My father will want to see our agreement sealed, so he knows you aren't just looking for an opportunity to escape. Plus he'll want to see we're making an heir. Since you picked me, of course, I'll guarantee you conceive here and now."\n\n"H-hey, wait just a minute, I-!" you start to protest, until he drops the apron aside, and you wind up staring. The black fur stops at the top of his thighs and the sides of his hips, leaving more humanlike thick black hair around his crotch and running up his belly. But his very large, very heavy balls are smooth and bright red, as is the sheath around the base of his cock. And he's hung like a horse... literally. A reddish pink in color and smooth, it droops downward, having only begun to take on the slightest hardness, but it is indeed equine in shape, with a thick head that flares wider as it begins to stiffen, rising up further and further, your eyes glazing over more the bigger it gets. "Yeah... yeah, okay," you murmur faintly as complete lust overcomes you, feeling wetness dribbling down your inner thighs as you walk towards him, reaching out your hands worshipfully towards his huge dick.\n\nYou almost jump as he catches your wrists. "No need for any fancy stuff," he grunts. "I can smell you're already in heat. Breeding means getting on with it, not fooling around." Firmly, he turns you towards a low, square piece of furniture. "Now, bend over, time to get you gravid."\n\nIt's the rudest, most boorish thing anyone's ever said to you, and it almost makes you cum right then and there. Swallowing hard and giving a little shiver, you whisper another, "Yeah, right, sure," and walk over to the indicated piece of furniture, bending forward to put your hands on it, lifting your ass up into the air obediently, presenting yourself to be bred like a good little bitch in heat. You shiver again at the sound of hooffalls behind you, and then at the feel of Mekor giving the back of your dress a calm, businesslike flip to the side, baring your round ass and sodden pussy to the entire room. You can feel the eyes of his brothers and father roaming over your still half-clad form as well as the bared parts of it, their gazes practically ripping the cloth from your hanging tits to fondle them. But the only actual touch is Mekor's hand on your back as he guides his huge horsecock to your pussy, the wide head mashing against your plump pussylips for a moment.\n\nAnd then he's pushing into you, and your eyes are rolling as you almost instantly cum at the realization that a demon's equinoid dick is inside you, stretching you out further than any mere human boy ever has. You quiver as your pussy flutters and squeezes around him, but he seems to pay no mind, simply gripping both your hips and pushing into you in a slow, steady pace. Your belly bulges up beneath the tight black fabric with an outline of it, showing just how deep it's going in, and yet somehow you take inch after inch, your body welcoming him as eagerly as it's ever wanted anything before. You feel the bump of the medial ring sliding inside you, and then eventually the press of his sheath against your stretched taut entrance. Only then does he actually begin to pump his hips... an odd combination of a machine's methodical precision and an animal's instinctive, mindless mating, a precise rhythm you can't really describe but that has you gritting your teeth and drooling down your chin. The rest of Lord Thule's family is watching as you're fucked to climax over and over and over again, loincloths or robes tented with their erections, though Vihkor has shamelessly bared his fat, bulging dick and is stroking it frantically... as has Lord Thule himself, though his strokes of his own large, powerful prick are far more deliberate, as if daring anyone to contest his enjoyment of watching you be bred by his son.\n\nThere's no real warning, no words, not really so much as a change in Mekor's even, animalistic grunting... he just suddenly starts cumming in you. There's no cessation of his thrusts either, and he continues to pump away, cum forced to splash out over his balls, down your thighs, and onto the floor even as enough gushes stays pumped into you and forced in deeper to start bulging your belly out. Your eyes have rolled up and your tongue lolled out, your whole body twitching with the intensity of your orgasm, which hits a new peak as you feel yourself being impregnated. It's not just that the sheer amount of virile demon cum flowing into you should be enough to knock up anybody, it's something else, some deep, beyond physical instinct that says you're now a gravid proven breeder, your mind going blank with the intensity of the pleasure.\n\nWhen you come to from the whiteout level climax, you realize you're no longer bent over in the meeting room at Lord Thule's castle, but laying naked on a fairly large bed. The frame is wood and simple, unadorned... the matress seems comfortable enough, with thick, soft furs both above and below you. The rest of the bedroom is similarly comfortable but functional, with most everything on a scale that says it belongs to Mekor. Speaking of which, as you sit up, the door opens and the scruffy demon prince walks in, his leather apron once more in place.\n\n"You passed out, so I brought you home," he says simply as he settles into the chair beside the bed, resting his hands on the arms. "To the Dark Forge," he adds, probably just to clarify that's 'home' now.\n\n"I... right, of course," you answer, flushing as you look over at... well, the father of your child. (Children? After all... that was a lot of cum.) A hand wanders almost absently to your bare belly, before you clear your throat. "So, I guess we're... married now?"\n\n"Mated, at the least," Mekor answers, without much enthusiasm, but also no signs of regret. He seems very... straightforward, which you suppose was one of the things that appealed over his brothers, who seemed likely to use you as a pawn. "In any event, my mess area's down the hall, they're fixing you some some breakfast there now. I need to get out and do my daily check of everything before I get to work," he adds before pushing himself to his hooves.\n\nYou blink in surprise. "Ah... you're leaving, already?"\n\n"Aye, lot of work to do," he replies evenly, turning to show off the shaggy black fur covering his ass as he walks towards the door.\n\n<hr>\n[["... Okay, bye."|ValWP]]\n\n[["Wait, can't we fuck again?"|ValWP]]\n\n[["I want to come with you."|ValWP1x2]]

Yeah he's bigger than you and has way more muscle mass, but he does not seem like someone with a ton of training, and you've had plenty of training at taking down opponents like that, even without taking into account you being genetically jazzed up. You can do this!\n\nHe charges at you with a roar, and your first note of concern is that he actually seems pretty fast and coordinated for such a big guy... a lot of them are sort of vaguely awkward and slow, having achieved their muscle mass through steroids that led to rapid growth they weren't used to, but he not only moves naturally but seems to have at least some enhanced agility. Still, when he takes a swing at you it's clearly largely untrained, just a big hard swipe of aggression, and you easily duck under it and pivot around to one side, aiming a short, hard jab directly at a particular spot on the side of his stomach. It's aimed and timed perfectly, to take advantage not only of your position but letting his own momentum drive him right into the blow.\n\nIt should cause every muscle in the area to spasm hard and twist him up in agony. Instead his stomach muscles barely even twitch, and he gives the barest tiny grunt of showing that there was impact.\n\nUh-oh.\n\nYou very quickly realize you made a series of bad mistakes, firstly in that you attempted to fight him head-on at all, and second that you let him close the distance so much. Because now that he's in close he's aiming those inelegant but very fast strikes at you constantly, pushing you almost wholly on the defensive. Every so often you manage to duck in and aim a quick strike at some vital area that ought to produce results, but he's apparently Built Different... even the knee you manage to drive into his crotch, though you definitely feel it make impact with something yielding, only produces a mild shocked grunt, and then a smirk. He's that tough down there too?!\n\nAdmittedly that rattles you pretty bad, and you attempt to jump back, both to give yourself some space and in an attempt to grab for your sticks, hoping that maybe metal can make a dent in him where your fists can't. Unfortunately that seems to be your worst mistake yet, the sudden attempt to withdraw clearly activating some predatory instinct that has him flashing forward even faster than before after you. You barely have time to realize he's on you before he's hooked his hands up under your thighs and hauled you into the air, off-balance and teetering, and then slams you down to the ground on your back, leaving you stunned and sprawled.\n\nAlmost immediately Hammerhead steps forward and drops to the ground between your legs, shoving them further apart with his knees and then planting one of his massive hands around your throat. That brings you around quickly, though you immediately start gasping and slightly panicking as he applies pressure, your hands grabbing futilely at his forearm and striking against it. That seems to please him, especially since it leaves his other hand free to grab at your costume just below where he's holding and yank hard. The seam at the neck yields to his superhuman strength and the fabric tears, your tits spilling free and shaking with your increased frantic struggles as more fear spikes through your system, even more when he reaches down and does the same thing to the crotch of the costume, baring your pussy and pucker amidst a tangle of shredded costume ends.\n\nYour struggles briefly cease just with shock and maybe a little terror, your eyes widening as he undoes the front of those baggy tac pants and frees his cock... -s. They're both that pale off-white color with the heads in a purplish tint of the blue-gray of the rest of him, absolutely massive and jutting forward one above the other. You kick wildly and struggle beneath his pinning hand, and yes maybe you let out an actual shriek or two, especially as he moves forward and uses his thighs to force your legs upward, lifting your hips.\n\nThen he angles his body and gives a slight, quick, practiced nudge with both hands to get himself in place, saying that this is far from the first time he's violated some bucking, thrashing superheroine pinned beneath him, and shoves forward, stuffing your pussy and ass full both at once. You definitely let out a shriek now as Hammerhead claims both your virgin holes at once, his picine face smirking down at you and showing those multiple rows of sharp teeth as he begins driving his hips hard and mercilessly, slamming into you with a strength that would instantly break a non-enhanced person.\n\n"Nnnh, wondering why they call me Hammerhead? This is it, bitch, 'cause my heads will hammer your insides into pudding," he rumbles as he continues slamfucking you into the ground. You really can feel him hammering deep inside you, his upper cock striking against some barrier deep inside your pussy, even as the other just pounds deep into your ass enough that it feels like it could be hitting your stomach. "Ah yeah, this is why I love fucking you supersluts! You can take it all, and take way more of what I've got to give than any normal girl!" he adds even more exuberantly, actually speeding up the pistoning of his hips. "And every single one of you winds up fucking loving it!"\n\nThe worst thing is that he's not wrong, physically. Though it hurt when he first shoved them in, your enhanced durability has apparently led to your body realizing it's not being damaged, and it has thus moved on to the purely physiological response to realizing it's being fucked. Your pussy moistens, and even the slight benefit of easing Hammerhead's cock only encourages it. Soon it's wet enough that his thrusts are squelching noisily and spurting out droplets as he shoves it in, as well as dribbling down your taint and starting to provide some lubricant for the one pounding your ass. With the increased wetness comes unwanted pleasure, forcing itself into your mind through your nerves, your furious and desperate cries starting to take on a distinctly lustful edge despite your efforts.\n\n"See? Every one of ya," Hammerhead practically coos, putting a bit of a roll into his hips now to drive himself just a tiny bit deeper into you, as well as making your bared tits jiggle more violently.\n\nNo, no, the worst thing is now, you think through the haze of rage, humiliation, and unwanted pleasure as you see something over Hammerhead's shoulder... one of the camera drones. Every bit of this is apparently being caught on film, every writhe and bounce and pleasure-tinged groan being transmitted right back to 3S for everyone to watch. Further humiliation and, embarrassingly, further pleasure rushes through you at the realization, and the sudden thought of 'I wonder if Style's jerking off to this' crashes through your mind, bringing on a small orgasm that has your ass clenching and your pussy quivering around Hammerhead's dicks.\n\n"See?! You! All! Love! It!" he roars, slamming into you thunderously with each word until he lets out another of those deep, resonous roars as he floods both your womb and your belly with a massive, surprisingly hot load, your whole body bucking and shuddering in unwilling orgasm as you're forced to cum right along with him.\n\nHammerhead pants heavily in the aftermath, the gills on the sides of his neck flexing. Then his head snaps up as you hear a somewhat strange but vaguely familiar siren through your half-conscious haze. "Shit, seeyohs," he grunts, yanking himself out of you and leaving you sprawled on the floor with your gaped holes dribbling shark cum. He barely pauses to do up his pants, grabbing a pair of the most portable boxes from the cart and running out the door. You find you can't really move, though a few moments later you can feel yourself being hefted up and carried away.\n\n"Well. At least you weren't just left there for Superhuman Enforcement to find," Style says some hours later, tapping a pen against her desktop. "They're not exactly the most sympathetic types. I don't doubt they'd have booked you 'just in case', and... well."\n\n"Mm," you acknowledge a little distantly, giving a little nod without looking up. You've changed into some street clothes she had around... guess you'll finally be getting an upgraded costume.\n\n"Probably not the most helpful thing to hear right now, but this is sort of... normal," Style says after a moment, giving a small shrug as you look up at her and blink. "I mean, it's the part of the job no one really talks about, and one of the reasons Substance and I have been trying to bring it to light for years with this initiative."\n\nYou stare at her for a moment, then blurt, "You're not actually going to broadcast it, are you?!"\n\n"Um." She brushes a fingertip against her cheek, glancing aside guiltily. "Well I mean technically by the contract you signed we're allowed, virtually obligated, to use it for the project, but if you really, really don't want us to I guess we could maybe skip it. But... ah... well, the livestream already happened, so it's kind of a bit of closing the barn after the horses were out."\n\nYou go pale. "You were livestreaming?!"\n\n"I told you we would be, when we were discussing the whole 'documented heroing' thing. At least three times," Style notes, holding up three fingers. As you're furiously going through your memories for anything you might have 'uh-huh'ed a bit too hastily, she continues. "Look, will it add a certain... tint... to your reputation? Probably. But we can absolutely work with it! Besides bringing to light the seedy sexual underbelly everyone likes to ignore of what heroes go through, it will make a great comeback story if you can beat Hammerhead the next time you go up against him!"\n\n<hr>\n[[What? No, you're done.|MarSS]]\n\n[[... Oh you'll beat him alright.|MarSS]]

You tap the contact to actually call Style as you rush out the door, actually zipping by the security officer without a word, ignoring her yell that she'll have you expelled for running on the sidewalk or something. "What's the situation?"\n\n"Looks to be some sort of secure storage facility," Style explains. "Probably off-the-books superscience projects the government either confiscated or wanted buried. Considering Hammerhead's profile, someone either hired him to go in there and get something, or he's just going to loot the place to resell whatever he can get."\n\n"Police or security on the scene?" you ask, swinging astride your motorcycle and transferring the call to your helmet as you set off towards the address she gave you.\n\n"Negative, looks like Hammerhead disabled the onsite security somehow, and law enforcement is being slow to react... they generally are on this sort of supercrime where there's so many unknown variables. The site owners also haven't done anything yet, probably because they're worried about having to take responsibility for its existence if they're seen reacting to a crime there."\n\n"Better to just let the streets get flooded with dangerous technology than admit you were holding on to a ton of dangerous tachnology, right?" you note wryly.\n\n"As far as government goes, they always consider it better to stare blankly and act like they didn't hear the question rather than admit wrongdoing. So by that token, be careful, by the time you get there Hammerhead could have his fins on anything."\n\nGood to know. Or potentially very bad. Vaguely out of the corner of your eye you spot the little sparkle of several of the camera drones moving into position above, already filming your heroic rush to the scene. (... Dammit you still haven't gotten a fixed version of the costume that doesn't ride into your ass. What's taking Style so long on that?!) Too, as you zip through the standing-open gate of the facility, you spot your camera crew out on the street, diligently getting that shot of you racing past. Still gotta work on your image, after all! (Doesn't really work on patrol, other than getting a few shots of you standing around on rooftops looking dramatic, or racing off at hearing someone in need. Rescuing someone from a mugger and then asking them both to sign a release form kinda takes the feeling of heroism out of it.)\n\nYou stop right outside the door of the facility which is a large, brutalist concrete structure, leaving your motorcycle and tossing your helmet as you head inside, idly noting what looked like a couple of powered-down piles of mechanical pieces outside. Some sort of security drones? They did look deactivated rather than destroyed, which is interesting, but you more make a note of it in the back of your mind as you spot your quarry. The interior of the building just goes right to large, almost mortuary-style drawer shelves, some of which have already been forced open, the metal around the edges obviously bent and twisted. (They can be opened with brute force? Great job, whoever.) There's a flat push cart almost like the ones you'd see at a warehouse store (... actually it does say "Costco" on it, guess this wasn't his first theft of the day) that's already been piled with a handful of boxes of different sizes.\n\nHammerhead himself whirls towards you as you rush in. As the name would imply, he's a sharkman... but not a hammerhead shark. You're not enough of a shark afficianado to pick out exactly what species he might have been hybridized with, just that he has the standard sort of pointed shark nose for a face, angled backward above a wide jaw. His features are still arranged in a largely human manner otherwise, black eyes fixed forward and head angled forward on his neck, though admittedly he's pretty shark-y, lacking hair (anywhere, as far as you can tell). His neck slopes down in backward to where a dorsal fin is attached, the edges of it affixed with a number of punk-style piercings in it (since he doesn't have ears, you guess). The "upper" color (the top of his head, back, and sides) is gray with a faint tint of blue, with a pale not-quite-white running from his lower jaw down his front. Which you can see quite a bit of since he's shirtless, showing off wide shoulders and a broad chest, all of it with lean, powerfully-toned muscle and what looks like an eightpack (damn... he may be a villain, but damn). In fact the only thing he actually is wearing is a pair of black tac-style pants with numerous pockets and a pair of clunky black boots, giving him a sort of 'outdoor activities bro from Atlantis' look.\n\n"Well well, if it ain't Twintails Girl," he sneers, which admittedly is pretty impressive with how far his mouth can stretch on the side and all those sharp teeth. "That's your cool hero name, right?"\n\n"Ooo, referencing my hairstyle, aren't we witty?" you snort back.\n\nThe sneer drops into a scowl, and his muscles visibly flex, clearly getting ready to actually launch into the fight.\n\n<hr>\n[[Brawling time!|MarSS5x3]]\n\n[[Get him away from the cart.|MarSS6x1]]\n\n[[Quip some more, that seemed to really bug him.|MarSS]]

"The ZOO seems like they've got a longstanding grudge and something to prove, which makes them dangerous," you note, ignoring a brief bit of self-awareness as it zings past your head. "It sounds like if we dinged FACE or HEEL's operations without reducing ZOO first, ZOO would just eagerly rush into any vacuum they left, to prove a point if nothing else."\n\n"Hm, I see your logic, and I agree," Style says with a nod. "Alright, I'll start monitoring both rumors and current events for signs of ZOO activity, and let you know when I spot something. Until then I suggest just doing some patrolling for street crime, I'll email you a list of suggested patterns and times, but of course feel free to do your own thing."\n\nAnd so for the next few days (almost a week really) that's just what you do. Admittedly at first there's a definite thrill to actually being Out On Patrol™ like a proper street-level superhero (you guess that's what you are?), stopping muggings and robberies and other similar street crime. Though after that there is a certain amount of, well, routine that sets in, a bit of the new wearing off of it. It's not that you'd say you're bored with it, it's important work helping people after all! But let's just say that your resting heartrate settles considerably, let's put it that way, yeah.\n\nYou're just finishing up school and going ahead and changing into your costume (honestly you've kind of gotten to like the dirty looks the security officer gives you as you leave in it, smiling at her and bidding her a pleasant afternoon) when your phone blips with the message tone you assigned to Style. You snag it up and... yes! It looks like a lead on a member of Zoo!\n\n<hr>\n[["Hammerhead is robbing a storage facility."|MarSS5x2]]\n\n[["The Squid is running a drug ring."|MarSS]]\n\n[["The Unicorn Twins are busting up downtown."|MarSS]]

"Well, we can talk about whether it's feasible, at least." You get up, tucking your scroll away as you head to the door and lean out. Spotting Grey in the next car chatting up a very pretty girl with slender horns rising from her forehead, you call, "Hey, Grey! C'mere!"\n\nHis ears lay down flat and he glares briefly at you for interrupting his game, but there's not a trace of the almost casual hatred that once filled his eyes every time he looked at a human. Instead he smiles and excuses himself, then strolls over with a sigh. "What is it, Red? I hope you're not jealous, if you'd just ask..."\n\n"Ha ha. How much trouble do you think it would be to hit up the Guild and get enough psycomms for everybody?"\n\nHe frowns at that, glancing around the room, then rubbing his chin. "Not exactly easy. I'd have to beacon to the Guildhall, and since I only have coordinates for Menagerie I'd have to head back there. Using time deferential I could probably pop back to at least several days ago, cut that off the journey, but then I'd have to get back to Mistral and get on the next run of the Argus Express."\n\nYou nod slowly. "And if we wanted to make sure each team had a hub?"\n\n"Hnh. Well, I've got some guest passes, so maybe," he allows with a tilt of the head. "And it'd be better than making the trip back alone," he admits. "Three people?"\n\n"Two, Ilia's already a hub."\n\n"Then yeah, that's doable. It'll be expensive but I know a guy who owes me a favor, he can sell me enough field-injectable psycomms at cost. It'll take about a day on the Guildhall to get the implants done but that's not really a big deal. Mostly a question of who's willing to go under the knife."\n\nThe room is silent for a long moment, before Yang pushes herself to her feet. "I'll go."\n\n"Yang," Blake murmurs quietly in concern, reaching a hand out.\n\n"I'm the one with the most practice using cybernetics," she says, lifting her right arm and flexing her fingers a few times. "It just makes sense for me to get the bigger implant. Besides, after all the surgeries I had right after, one more isn't a big deal."\n\n"Yang, are you sure?" Weiss asks softly, standing up. At the slightly reproachful look she gets, she just shakes her head. "I'd ask anybody that."\n\n"Yeah, I'm sure. If Ruby thinks it's okay, she's the leader," Yang replies, glancing at her sister.\n\n"... Okay." Ruby nods once, usually childish face solemn and silver eyes focused. "Be careful, okay?"\n\n"I will, promise."\n\n"Then we just need to see who Team JNPR wants to send," Grey announces, turning off and strolling down the hall.\n\nAfter some discussion (and arguing), it's decided that Ren will become Team JNPR's hub, in hopes that he'll be able to spread his semblance through the neural link if it becomes necessary. Grey gives all of you a wave, then flops one arm around Yang's shoulders and one arm around Ren's before thumbing the beacon's button, all three of them disappearing with a soft fwip.\n\n"I hope we didn't just send three of our friends and best fighters away for nothing," Weiss says with a sigh.\n\nDeciding not to point out that she was the one who was pushing the whole damn idea in the first place, you instead say, "With any luck they've already been back for a couple of days and are maybe even in Haven at this point. The biggest issue then is that Silvia will be a little freaked out by them arriving back already and from the other direction."\n\n"Still, it will be at least a week before the next train arrives in Argus," Qrow grunts, having not been exactly thrilled at the whole idea when it was broached, but eventually relenting under the sheer practicality of such a nearly infallible form of communication.\n\n"I mean, there could be worse delays," Oscar notes, shifting nervously. "Like the Grimm attacking the train."\n\n"Point. At least they won't have that problem since the artifact is with us," the scruffy man rasps, glancing at the glowing lantern on Oscar's belt. "Argus should be able to deal with any uptick in Grimm activity at least, it is an Atlas town, basically."\n\n"Right, so let's take a week in Argus and do our best to relax," you suggest. "Grey won't be able to contact us until at least twenty-four hours after he originally left... temporal safeguard. Plus I'm betting those interfere with our scroll signals," you add, pointing at the armored-over windows. "But if the CCT is still getting through there we should get a call by the time we arrive in Argus."\n\nAnd indeed, shortly after the train pulls in and the armor slides off (your group hurriedly scurrying out of the train and station before anyone can start asking any questions), you get a call, glancing at the image on your scroll and grinning before taking the call. "How'd it go?"\n\n"Pretty smooth. Someone's gonna need to reimburse me at some point or something, but Yang and Ren both have hub implants. I got them some other upgrades while we were there, not implants but I also raided my vault a bit, we'll have some good stuff to bring with us. Plus good news, we'll be there sooner than we thought."\n\n"That is good news," you note with a grin, seeing the rest of the group's spirits be buoyed by the words as you continue. "How soon?"\n\n"Tomorrow afternoon, maybe. Kali charmed the socks off of an Atlas pilot that was docked in Haven for some repairs, and he's bringing us back with him instead of us needing to wait for the next Argus Express. So we'll see you soon."\n\n"The psycomms any good?"\n\n"Yeah, these are new ones, pretty noninvasive other than needing to be put in the back of the neck, but even then it's pinch-and-done stuff with the injector I bought. Like I said, someone needs to be kind to my hurting account balance."\n\n"I'll figure something out soonest I can, Grey, promise. Thanks. Tell Yang and Ren thanks too."\n\n"Will do. See you soon."\n\nClosing your scroll, you glance at the others as you walk along the sloping cobblestone streets. "Grey, Yang, and Ren are already back in Haven, everything went fine. They're also going to be able to catch a flight here instead of taking the train, so they're hoping to be here tomorrow afternoon, give or take a few hours."\n\n"Oh thank goodness," Nora huffs, hanging her head. "... This is the longest Ren and I have ever been apart," she admits, glancing at the rest of you with a strained smile. "It's a bit like feeling you're missing an arm. ... Oh gosh I'm glad Yang wasn't here to hear that," she adds with a groan, covering her face.\n\n"I think she'd understand," Weiss says kindly, smiling and patting Nora's shoulder.\n\nYour group eventually descends on the home of one of Jaune's sisters and her wife, everyone cooing over the baby... except for Reese, who mostly seems to be turning between gawking at the picture of Jaune and all his sisters and giving him sympathetic glances like he gave her weeks ago. The crowd fills the house almost to bursting, but they help out where they can, trying not to crowd the entire floor while sleeping and cleaning up in the next day. As afternoon falls, though, Oscar nervously asks you to step into the kitchen with him, the two of you alone.\n\n"Yeah, what's up?" you ask curiously, tilting your head.\n\n"Just... I noticed that you really seem to have a... rapport with Ozma," he mutters, glancing downward. "... You kind of light up a little whenever he comes out."\n\n"... I have a lot to be grateful to him for," you admit with a nod, then frown. "Why, what about it?"\n\nHe hesitates, then sighs. "The truth is, apparently after awhile he and I will become... one person. And it scares me," he admits, glancing away. "Thinking about... losing myself, even if he says that's not really what it is. He says we'll just become a part of each other, so I'll still be there, but... ... it won't be me. I guess... I guess I was just thinking... if I did become him... m-maybe... it wouldn't be so bad if at least you lit up a little when you saw me," he admits softly, rubbing his upper arm as he looks at the floor.\n\n<hr>\n[[... Maybe.|KaiRem]]\n\n[[You could light up for Oscar, though.|KaiRem]]\n\n[[Comfort him.|KaiRem3x5]]

Lightbulb.\n\nSmiling brightly and letting your eyes go a bit empty, you giggle and sashay forward towards them, making sure to peek up from under the rim of your hood and letting its cat ears make you look extra adorable. "Wow, seriously? You guys are for real Huntsmen?" you coo in a starstruck tone, wiggling a little as you press your wrists together, fingers curled. "And you even do, um..." You bite your lower lip and blush. "Special service?"\n\nYou can see both of them starting to blush and grin like even bigger idiots than before... and practically feel everyone staring at you with slack jaws. "Uh, Kai, what are you-" Ilia starts to say.\n\nI'm working an angle, you send to her quickly. Roll with it and get everyone on board. Aloud, you say in your cutesy chirp of a voice, "Ummmm, all my friends are busy, but liiiike... maybe we could go and discuss, like... a tip? For special services?" you whisper, shaking your hips a bit. You glance around, as if embarrassed, letting your eyes visibly alight on the door they clearly left open in the rear car. "Liiiiike... maybe in there?"\n\nYou can still practically feel everyone's shock and slight disgust as you walk away with the pair of lugs, though thankfully you can faintly hear Ilia whispering to them. The two lead you into the caboose car, Dudley pulling the door closed behind him as you give Dee a wicked if still rather brainless smile, stepping forward towards him.\n\n"So, you're interested in... a tip, huh?" he says, trying to come off smooth and confident, mostly coming off as flustered and a bit smug, his face still flushed as he looks down at you, hands raising as if not quite sure what to do.\n\n"Mm-hmmmmm," you coo, removing your gloves before reaching forward to start unbuttoning the front of his pants, pulling the flap and reaching inside to draw his prick out. He's already almost throbbingly hard, and you start stroking lightly, feeling bits of pre start to leak out. "Wellllll... maybe more than just the tip," you add with another giggle, looking down at his cock and biting your lower lip again as if unbearably excited by the sight of it. \n\nDudley's scrambling out of his own pants as fast as he can, before starting to try his own suave act as he steps up behind you, hard shaft rubbing against your lower back through your coat. His hands at least are more confident, reaching around to pull your top up, your tits falling free and jiggling gently, his slightly trembling fingers starting to draw in towards your stiff nipples as you give a soft, but heavily exaggerated moan at Dee finally getting enough courage to grip your ass and give it a squeeze.\n\nThe floor beneath the three of you lurches and shakes as the train's engine starts to drag the cars along after it, jostling everyone's legs. At that exact moment you snap your head forward, your forehead impacting Dee's chin and sending his head careening back into the edges of the cabinets behind him, even as you're whipping your head back in a wave of crimson hair to smash the crown of your skull against Dudley's jaw. To say that they're not thinking of defending themselves and don't have time to put their Aura up would be a bit of an understatement. Both men thump heavily to the floor, sprawling limp... well, except for the parts of them that are still jutting up into the air, alone and unloved.\n\nHumming idly, you slip a bottle of hand sanitizer out of one of your pockets and squirt some into a palm, rubbing vigorously until your skin's just mildly damp and you can pull your gloves back on. Pausing to tug your top back into place, you take a moment to lean down and check both men's pulses before rummaging in their pockets to find their scrolls. One is locked fairly securely... the other doesn't even have a password. "Dumbass," you snort with a glance at the unconscious Dudley, skimming through his apps until you find the one with the same logo as the outside of the train and tapping it. Autoturrets, armor, and just as you'd hoped, a PA function.\n\nKai? Ilia sends to you. Is everything okay?\n\nAll to plan, Rainbow. Send Qrow back to the caboose, but you and everyone else mill about in the aisles. Try to be nice and visible.\n\nOkay? I'll tell everybody.\n\nYou glance back out of the window, waiting until you're sure the Haven station has disappeared over the horizon, before activating the PA and using your best cheerful customer service voice. "Good morning, everyone, and welcome aboard the Argus Express. We're very glad to have you with us today for what we expect to be a smooth and uneventful journey to Argus." As you keep up your chipper, no-doubt-in-your-mind-it's-safe tone, you move around the car, rummaging up some thin cables and rags. "If you'll look around the cabins, you may notice some lovely, brightly-dressed young people. Everyone, please give a big hand to some of the best new Huntsmen and Huntresses to grace our fine kingdom of Mistral, fresh off defending Haven Academy from the Red Fang."\n\nYou pause briefly, and in the distance you can in fact hear some clapping and even cheers and hooting, making you grin as you imagine the flustered expressions on your friends' faces. Then you raise the scroll again. "Thank you for making our special guests feel welcome. Now, for this trip the Argus Express will be running in armored mode. Please don't be alarmed, as this is simply a standard monthly test to assure the armor plates are in proper working order... we have to use them so rarely, you see, that occasionally bringing them out for a run prevents them from getting stuck," you continue in a deeply sincere tone as you tap the toggle to turn on the train's armor, watching bars and then plates slide over the windows of the caboose. "We apologize for the diminished view and any difficulty with scroll reception, if you feel you've been inconvenienced in any way, please see the station attendant in Argus for compensation. As always, thank you for traveling the Argus Express, and we look forward to having you as our guests again soon."\n\nYou close the Scroll and set it aside, starting to unwind some of the cables even as the door slides open and Qrow strolls in, giving you a curious look. Then he glances over and spots the downed men, wincing visibly and turning his head away, raising a hand to shield his face. "Gah, I did not need to see that with only two drinks in me," he rasps.\n\n"If it bothers you, you can be the one to cover their shame, but for now we need to get them tied up and gagged," you note, tossing him some of the cables and rags.\n\nSighing, Qrow moves over to haul up Dee, since he's at least still got his pants on. The unconscious Hunstman's still half-hard cock wobbles around as Qrow drags him to a corner of the cabin, and you can see the scruffy man's red eyes keep trying to be drawn to it like a cat's attention being caught by a moving toy. He makes a bit of a face, but does as you asked while you do the same to Dudley. "That was a masterful line of bullshit, kid," he comments as he glances over. "Any one part of it would sound phony as hell but you really sold it when you just rolled it all together."\n\n"Trick is not thinking too hard about it as you say it," you explain as you stuff a rag in Dudley's mouth. "Just let the front of your brain believe what you're saying while the back of your brain is coming up with everything."\n\n"... Hunh." Qrow gives you a long look, then shakes his head. "Don't take this the wrong way, but I'm glad you're not an immortal consciousness guarding our world. You'd give Oz a real run for his money on the manipulation game. ... Sorry," he adds with a sigh as hurt flickers across your face. "That came out worse than I meant, probably should've just kept my mouth shut. I guess I'm still a little bitter about some things."\n\nYou're quiet for a moment, just proffering him your hand sanitizer, waiting until he's eyed it, shrugged, and used a copious amount of it. "He said it probably wasn't as bad as you were thinking, back then," you ask. "Was it?"\n\nQrow continues looking down at his hands and rubbing them together long after the sanitizer's been absorbed, then opens them and looks down at them before sighing. "I don't know," he answers, sounding a little lost. "... Summer went off to fight Salem, thinking that maybe her silver eyes could do something. I asked Oz if he knew that Salem couldn't be defeated like that, why he let her go."\n\n"... Wha'd he say?" you ask, a little afraid of the answer.\n\n"He said she left before he could tell her. ... And he asked me if I thought it would have made a difference to her if he had." Qrow sighs, putting his hands on his hips. "... And I had to admit it wouldn't have." He scratches at his stomach through his shirt, then shakes his head again. "... Just messes with me, thinking about all he's asked of me, and Raven, what we went through for him in the name of his games."\n\n"Pretty bad, huh?" you ask sympathetically.\n\n"Yeah... that fucked-up thing where we turn into birds, it's just..." He shakes his head in a pained way.\n\n"It must come with some pretty bad side effects then," you say with a sigh. Then notice he's started looking a little sheepish and blink. "... There's side effects, right?"\n\n"Uh... not really. I mean my semblance was already bad luck, and Raven didn't really change afterward either, and it's actually been really helpful for watching over my family, so..." Qrow frowns, scratching at the stubble on his chin. "Why are we pissed at him for making it so we can turn into birds?"\n\nBefore you can suggest him having his head up his ass as a potential side effect, the door opens again, Team JNPR making their way in, at least partway before Nora hops back and flings her arms in front of her face. "WHOA! I did not need to see that with only twenty pancakes in me!" she blurts, before peeking through the space between her arms.\n\n"You seem to have ably subdued the train's Huntsmen," Ren says dryly, actually sounding almost amused as he glances from them to you.\n\nJaune clears his throat, trying not to look at them, his face bright red. "Uh, yeah, what'll we do with 'em?"\n\n"Shame 'em into silence when they wake up, and if they agree to keep quiet and keep the armor up, we'll let 'em go. Otherwise we'll just have to keep them tied up back here for the trip." You glance over at Jaune, unable to help smirking at how flustered he is, before looking at the other two. "How's the mood on the train?"\n\n"Very positive," Ren replies, as if a little surprised. "Team RWBY especially is quickly becoming something of a celebrity, and I would not be surprised if they're signing autographs by now."\n\n"Everyone seems to feel really safe, they're not even paying attention to the barred windows," Nora adds with a quick nod.\n\nQrow grunts. "Not doing much for our low profile, but that'd probably be blown when we got to the Argus military base, so whatever. Good job, kid," he adds with a glance at you.\n\n"Hopefully it's enough to balance out the artifact's effects, and we get to Argus without any trouble. Oop, looks like sleeping dumbasses are fluttering their pretty lashes," you announce as Dee and Dudley start to stir, leaning down to rest your hands on your knees as they open their eyes, then widen them as they realize they're both bound and surrounded. "Heeeey guys. Sorry, no 'just the tip' this trip," you inform them with a little 'tch' out of the corner of your mouth. "Honestly, sorry about that, feel a little bad leading you on, but it was necessary."\n\n"Wh hh hhl wh ih nh'h'hrh?!" Dee demands, kicking his legs.\n\n"Well let's just say the chance for Grimm attack was really high today, and you and your partner didn't seem like the reasonable, mature sorts that would listen to us and do what we asked to keep it from happening," you reply while raising your eyebrows, seeing anger flash in their eyes. "So here's how I see this going. Either you refuse to cooperate, and you stay tied up the entire four day journey to Argus, subsisting on a lovely diet of water, water, and more water. But no bathroom breaks," you add with another eyebrow raise, which makes their eyes widen again. "And when we get to Argus, you can report us, but that means that if I'm arrested I'll have to tell the cops everything. Ev. Ree. Thing." You waggle your eyebrows at that as they both look down sheepishly. "Alternatively, we let you go, you keep the armor up the whole trip and act like nothing's wrong, and enjoy the adulation of the train crowd that's currently on a total Huntsmen and Huntress kick. Your choice."\n\n"... Anh hf wh fht?" Dudley demands, lifting his chin and actually for once looking vaguely respectable with a proud glint in his eyes.\n\nAlmost makes you sad to crush it under your heel. "Oh, well, if you wanna be difficult, then I guess we'll just have to knock you out again. But this time I'll let her do it," you add, thumbing to the side. \n\nBoth simultaneously follow your gesture, just in time for Nora to transform Magnhild, hefting the massive hammer prominently with a sparkle in her eye and a savage smile on her lips.\n\n"Wh bh ghd," both immediately say, lowering their heads.\n\nSoon Dee and Dudley are once more fully dressed and have their freedom restored, though you notice they definitely seem skittish around you. Heh. After an uneventful first day on the train, you eventually flop down with Ilia in Team RWBY's cabin, just to have somewhere to be.\n\n"Team activity! Who wants to play video games?!" Ruby chirps happily.\n\n"I'll kick your butt, sure," Yang says with a laugh as she rolls out of her bunk and heads for the rack of bags.\n\n"Bring my other book when you come back, please?" Blake asks with a glance upward from her current one.\n\n"Sure."\n\nWeiss sits up as you're extending and configuring your own scroll, looking at you seriously for a long moment before saying, "You..." She hesitates, shakes her head, then says, "Sorry, this is going to sound accusatory, and I honestly do not mean it that way. But you seemed awfully comfortable seducing two men to put your plan into action."\n\n"Way to bring down the mood, Weiss," Yang grumbles as she hands Blake her book and flops down to sit beside the feline Faunus, Blake's ears laying down a bit as she glances over at the pale human. \n\n"I'm not being judgemental!" Weiss declares almost angrily, thumping her hands on the bed. "Just... I couldn't do that. Could any of you?" she asks, glancing around at the others as they avoid her gaze. "I just want to know where that comes from, I guess. It's... so far out of my understanding. It's not something they teach at an academy."\n\nYou keep your eyes on your scroll as you flit through the list of game apps Reese installed for you. "When you're used to your body basically not being yours, you can do a lot of things with it that free people don't." You can feel the stares now, and lift your head before giving a shrug. "It's not a big deal."\n\n"Kai," Blake whispers, her ears flattened.\n\n"Seriously. It's not." You let out a little huff and look back at the screen. "Maybe it used to be. It definitely used to suck," you admit as Ilia leans her head on your shoulder. "But today it wasn't about that, today it was just the fastest, best way to do what we needed and help a lot of people. I'm not gonna be ashamed of that."\n\nRuby squirms a little in place, before whispering, "I wish I was as strong as you are."\n\nYou look up at her and meet her eyes. "I wish I was strong for the reasons you are."\n\nThere's a bit of an awkward silence after that, but eventually everyone becomes absorbed in a multiplayer game, even Weiss and Blake finally joining in. But after about an hour, Weiss throws her scroll down on the bed and points at you and Ilia. "They're cheating!"\n\n"We are not!" Ilia snaps back, flitting her tongue out quickly in Weiss's direction with a little 'pekoo' noise.\n\n"You do have even better teamwork than any of the rest of us," Blake notes, frowning. "Even Ruby and Weiss, who despite Weiss's protests, are usually the biggest video game nerds here when you put them together."\n\n"Hey!"\n\n"Actually that reminds me," Yang says, frowning a little as she sets her own scroll aside more carefully. "Ilia seemed to know what you were doing and what you needed us to do earlier, even after you'd already gone off with those guys. That wasn't just any partner's intuition, and I don't think you had it planned out ahead of time, from the way she was acting. How'd you do it?"\n\nYou and Ilia exchange a glance, and without even needing the communication method in question decide it's time to come clean. "Psycomms. Basically communicators we can use to send our thoughts to each other. I've got a basic one in my neck, but Ilia was a 'hub', she's got a more powerful one."\n\n"They replaced a vertebrae," Ilia declares, sounding halfway between scandalized and proud.\n\nYang's jaw drops. "Seriously?!"\n\n"Yeah and it itches!"\n\n"It does not," you scoff softly.\n\n"It does!"\n\n"That's... incredibly useful," Weiss says with a frown. "But only Ilia and you have them?"\n\n"Yeah, we got them on Makarzia, the Street Demons kept hitting the relay stations to knock out regular video calls and cut off our communication, setting up a system of hubs and psycomms was the only way for us to be able to communicate securely."\n\n"... It's a pretty big tactical advantage," Weiss notes, just a little uncertainly, glancing around at the others. "Would it be possible for... us... to get them?"\n\nYou pause, thinking about it. Not impossible, certainly, but the logistics would be... difficult. You're not sure it's a good idea either... there are downsides to the implants, as Niobe and Cammy well knew, such as making it a little too easy to constantly be connected to everyone around you. But Weiss is right, the psycomms would be a huge help, much more than scrolls, especially as you go further and further into areas with spotty CCT coverage. \n\n<hr>\n[[Try to set it up.|KaiRem3x4]]\n\n[[Suggest dropping it.|KaiRem]]

Yes, there's a sense of something familiar, but it's not down here, it's up closer to the shrine proper. Thoughtful now, you take to the steps and head on up, following the overgrown path upward through the trees, the daylight quickly growing dim and making it seem like early evening at midday.\n\nSoon you walk through the torii into the long-neglected shrine grounds, the buildings crumbling and in some cases collapsed. Your hands tucked into your pockets, you gaze around... yes, there are a lot of fading spirits here. Most are hazy wisps, having already lost their memories and faces, just a lingering impression of power. But there's at least one... yes, you see it now. Walking a bit closer to the old shrine building proper, you fix your eyes on it... yes, this one is actually the closest of any of them to fading out completely, but it's struggled to hold on to the last shreds of its identity and memories all the same. It's vaguely familiar to you, but so indistinct it's hard to say how.\n\nFrowning a little, you slip a hand out of your hoodie pocket and hold it out, urging just a little energy into the spirit, allowing it to become more distinct. Its glow brightens and it wanders towards you... yes, now it's starting to be clear enough you can sense emotions from it...\n\n<hr>\n[[Fear and guilt.|KonFren1x2]]\n\n[[Loneliness and regret.|KonFren2x1]]\n\n[[Hunger and desire.|KonFren]]

"So it's you," you snort, urging just a little more power into the spirit, enough so it can properly hear you and respond. "Awful long way from some pastoral fields, aren't you?"\n\n"Konkoooo, I'm sorryyyyyy," the spirit whimpers, the long misty trail of it flicking back and forth, practically quivering in a mixture of dread and sorrow. "I didn't meeeeean tooooo!"\n\n"You didn't mean to help give the humans the energy to perform the ritual those asshole gods gave them?" you reply with a derisive snort.\n\n"... They said I had to," the spirit answers, its 'voice' becoming even more of an indistinct whisper on the wind. "They said if I didn't, they'd destroy me. I wasn't as strong as you... they could have done it."\n\n"So you let me be sealed away instead. And look at you here, just a few meager centuries later, on the verge of disappearing anyway." You scowl at the swirling mist. "Fat lot of good it did you, huh?"\n\n"I was scared. I was scared, I was scared, I was scared!" the fading spirit wails, quivering, before slowly descending through the air in an exhausted swirl. "... but you're right... you're right... I betrayed you... I'm sorry... I'm really sorry, I never wanted to and I'm sorry..."\n\n<hr>\n[[Hmph. Sorry doesn't give you back all those centuries!|KonFren]]\n\n[[... well...|KonFren1x3]]

You scowl thoughtfully at the spirit for long moments, before sighing. "Well, I suppose in the end, it's the humans' and gods' fault you were put in that position, Mushiko. It's true you were never a strong spirit... you were a lot of fun to prank, too," you add with a bit of a grin, rubbing your chin.\n\n"I had fun too," Mushiko's fading impression answers. There's a hesitant flicker of the spirit, before it adds, "I mean, not always while you were pranking me, but after when you'd give me shaved ice and tell me about it from your view."\n\n"Mmm." You rub your chin a bit more, then smirk. "Okay, you know what? Maybe it's not your time to fade away after all."\n\n"R-really? You'd MOOP!" The faint, indistinct voice cuts off as you hold both hands, pulling not just the energy you gave it but the rest of the spirit's energy along with it, condensing it into a nice tight little glowing white ball that flickers with surprise and worry as you tuck it into a pocket.\n\n"Really! Now, let's go home, but first, a stop at the convenience store!" \n\nShortly thereafter, you trot into your home's main room, a bag swaying at your side. You snap your fingers to poof a metal farm bucket into existence. Rummaging in the bag, you pull out a container of milk and pour it into the bucket, then another, and finally one of heavy cream. Taking a few seconds to infuse a significant amount of power into the bucket full of dairy, you then draw out the little ball of spirit and drop it into the liquid with an offhanded negligence and an announcement of "Doink!"\n\n"There, you just marinate in that overnight. Now, I've used up a fair bit of energy on you, so Iiiii am going to go eat these twenty puddings and then go to sleep!" you announce cheerfully, hefting the bag as if to show it off to the bucket, before trotting into the bedroom. "See you tomorrow!"\n\nIndeed, in the morning... slightly earlier than yesterday... you wake up from sleeping in solid form, yawning widely as you sit up and smack your lips. ... Hm? Were you waiting on something today? You have a vague sense of anticipation, sort of like when you set up a prank to go off during the night but different. You get to your feet and pad into the living room, blinking briefly at there being someone sitting at your table, then snort. "Oh riiiight, I resurrected someone yesterday!"\n\n"Good morning, Konko," Mushiko answers in a mournful tone. Of course she was always kind of like that before anyway... she was generally either sort of mopey or sort of panicked, with very few moods in between other than maybe 'content', and even that usually had a sort of morose feel to it. He hadn't been invented yet, but you kind of would have compared her to a particular stuffed donkey if he'd been around at the time. Her black hair hangs down to her shoulders, falling over her pale brown eye on one side, heightening the rather depressive look of her and making her look like a different fictional character that tends to lurk in wells. Looks like she dug up some clothes somewhere while you were asleep, specifically one of your tanktops... though it's more like a sports bra on her due to her particularly large breasts. Other than that looks like she found some grey sweatpants, though even those are short on her due to her height.\n\n<img src="images/Mushiko.png">\n\n"Konko, if it's not too much trouble," Mushiko continues in the same somewhat depressed-sounding voice... again, she always sounds like that, so you doubt it's about this particular issue. "Where are my horns and tail?"\n\n"Ha, you didn't think I'd make you a proper spirit again after what you did, did you?!" you declare, putting your hands on your hips. "No, you're a human for now, Mushiko! And you'll stay that way until I decide otherwise, konkonkonkon!"\n\n"Oh. Okay," she says with a sigh, otherwise unperturbed by being informed she's been brought back as a lowly mortal instead of a proper spirit.\n\n"Hmmm... while I'm at it..." You pop over behind her, looming up and grinning wickedly, letting your body turn into a black silhouette and your eyes glow red. "Whooooo was the one who gave the humans the ritual?"\n\n"Moop!" Mushiko hunches in on herself, quivering visibly. "I-I don't know!"\n\n"GYAAAA TELL ME YOU STUPID COW!" you yowl, dropping your intimidating demeanor and instead slamming both hands on her head for high-speed hair-ruffling.\n\n"MUMUMUMUMU I DON'T KNOOOOOOOOOOOW!" Mushiko wails as she writhes around under the assault, panting some as you stop, her hair even messier than before. "I-If I ever knew it must be one of the memories I lost when I was fading away... s-sorry, Konko, honest, I'd tell you if I knew!" \n\n"Hmph. Well." You eye her a little balefully, then shrug. "If you don't know, I guess you don't know! Hm hm hm... well, anyway, until you've proven yourself to me sufficiently that I feel like giving you your full spiritness back, you will be my live-in-"\n\n<hr>\n[["-prank target!"|KonFren]]\n\n[["-slave!"|KonFren]]\n\n[["-best friend!"|KonFren]]

"... Yeah. Yeah, I'm really good with that," you murmur, both of you leaning in towards each other, the hug keeping you up as much as anything as you lean on one another.\n\nStill, after a bit you know you have to struggle to your feet, just barely getting steady enough to help Miranda up as well. "But. If we're gonna do this whole 'family' shit, then we better do it right." After all, something became screamingly obvious the moment Miranda revealed who her father was, and now it's clearly up to you to act on it.\n\n"Huh? What do you mean?" Miranda asks with a blink.\n\n"I mean let's get back to the Guildhall, get cleaned up, some actually decent medicine on us and some sleep, then we've got somewhere we need to be." You glance down at the disembodied head of one of the most powerful men on Makarzia, before snorting and turning away. "Because it ain't here anymore."\n\nTwelve hours later, the two of you are sitting in a very elegantly-decorated day room, shown there by a maid who looked at first shocked and then positively tickled to show you in and ask you to wait. Miranda, normally so calm and composed, is rubbing her hands across the front of her skirt nervously, trying to get the sweat off of them despite still wearing her sword gloves.\n\n"Would you relax? It's gonna be fine," you assure her, unable to help grinning despite your own nervousness.\n\n"I just... I just don't know about this, Kai, maybe we should leave," she frets softly, glancing towards one of the sets of doors, then at the window, as if sincerely considering just diving through it.\n\n"It'll be fine."\n\n"What if she never wrote because she just wanted nothing to do with me? What if she doesn't like me? What if I don't like her?!" Miranda rubs her hands together rapidly, then bolts to her feet. "No, I'm serious, c'mon, let's leave, let's go, we're getting out of h-"\n\nRight in the middle of her half-panicked rambling, the doors at the hallway side swing open, prompting you to rise and turn towards them. A familiar figure, now clad in a long-skirted maid outfit of her own rather than the simple bodysuit and gi top you were used to seeing her in, strides in, long brown hair swaying gently, red eyes alert and fixing on you, Ico's lips curling slightly in a smile. "Oh, Kai. It's nice to see you, I hope whatever brings you isn-"\n\nThe word dies in her throat, those composed red eyes widening as Miranda turns, every inch of her the spitting image of the woman standing in the doorway. Ico's lips remain parted, normally steady hand trembling some as it comes up to cover her mouth as she looks at the young woman standing there, gazing back at her with her own eyes.\n\n"... Hi Mom," Miranda whispers, the word cracking just a little as some tears slip from her glistening eyes.\n\n"Oh. Oh. Oh," Ico gasps out as she rushes forward, enfolding Miranda in her arms, the newly-minted mercenary starting to sob softly as she's brought into the embrace. "Oh, oh Miranda, oh my baby, I thought I'd never get to see you, oh Miranda, Miranda..."\n\nYour throat burning and something tight in your own eyes, you start to slip past, intending to wander into the hall to give them some privacy. And then you're being grabbed and hauled in, pressed in right beside Miranda, Ico pressing your head against her shoulder as she starts to weep as well, her voice cracking as she whispers, "Kai, oh Kai, thank you, thank you, thank you..."\n\nSlowly, you smile and rest your face against the black fabric covering her shoulder, smelling soap and something uniquely her as your own hot tears start to soak into the cloth.\n\n"You're welcome, Mom," you whisper.\n\n<hr>\n[[Game Over.|Kai4xEnd]]

You're a little ashamed that it takes you even a split-second to make the decision... but once you have, your hands immediately go steady. You lower them, giving your shoulders and neck a roll, practically feeling the stiffness and pain flow out of them as if soothed into nothing by your certainty as you stare back at Horace, all the doubt and fear flowing out of you along with the pain. "You're right... he hurt me. He used me. He never respected me or showed me a damn bit of love that I could ever tell." Then you slowly settle back into a stance, sword coming up to angle Horace's way. "But fuck it if I guess he wasn't my old man too, and I made him a promise that I'd kill the people responsible for what happened to him."\n\nHorace's lip rises in a contemptuous sneer. "You'd actually care about a promise to that sad. Sack. Of shit?"\n\n"It ain't about him." Your eyes narrow. "It's about me finally being allowed to be the sort of woman that keeps my promises. Being free doesn't mean jack shit if I can't choose to do that. Let's kill this son of a bitch, Miranda."\n\n"I'm right behind you."\n\n"Then I'll add your names to these!" Horace bellows, swinging his arms wide, the most expensive pair of curved knives you've ever seen sliding out of his perfectly-tailored jacket sleeves and into his hands. "If you don't disappoint me!"\n\nShouting a wordless answer to his challenge, you race towards him, keeping low across the tiled expanse of the office and actually leaping to meet the swings of his knives. You strike hard twice, crashing your unadorned katana against the engraved blades, your backbrain registering the names etched in gold on the flats... no doubt every enemy he ever killed with them he considered worth remembering. Your strikes weren't a true attack, though, and when you hit the ground you duck and pivot, allowing Miranda to dart into the space you left, slashing through the opening in his defense you opened up. Horace ducks back enough that it just takes the button off of his jacket, revealing the glittering scarlet of the lining as it flaps open, the big man painfully agile as he snaps a knife down on the base of Miranda's katana, the other one snapping up at its midpoint and forcing her to pivot the blade away and let him slam his massive elbow into her face. Miranda staggers back, but you're pivoting back in, stabbing at his side and nicking him through his white silk shirt even as he dodges and swipes at you again.\n\n"We'll kill you even if we have to do it with a thousand cuts, monster!" Miranda snarls as the two of you come at him together, Horace going full defensive as he fends off strikes of your katanas with both blades, slowly rounding away from the desk and into the more open center of the room to keep from getting himself tripped up.\n\n"It will take you far more than that, merc," the beast of a man growls back, letting her katana glance off of his knife and graze his forearm so he can punch her in the face, leaning into the opening that leaves and dropping down, sweeping your legs out from under you.\n\nYou hit the ground on your back and immediately kip backwards into a roll-and-flip, barely avoiding the knife that digs a gouge in the tile where your kidney was a moment before. You and Miranda both back off some, regrouping as Horace gives his knives a twirl, smirking at you.\n\n"Did you think it would be so easy, girls? Yes, I'm older than the two of you put together, and I learned to fight on the streets, not from some artisan of the blade. But you've both practically lost fights before you ever got to me... you're being held together with autosutures and dermaglue, and running on wakers. Did you really think that you two, divided by what you've learned, could take me?"\n\nYou let your eyes slide over to Miranda's, two pairs of red eyes meeting, and in that instant something clicks. Horace actually seems mildly surprised as both of you smile at the same time. "Yeah well that's where you're wrong, fucker. See, it's not the revelation that's divided us, it was the secret that was keeping us apart. And now that we know, we know why our fighting styles have been so close to clicking all along."\n\n"Because I'm pretty sure that the one who taught her," Miranda says smugly as the two of you settle into stances that are now completely identical. "Was taught by the one who taught me."\n\n"And I was never as fucking deadly as I was when I was fighting beside my teacher," you assert, before the two of you dart forward, completely in sync despite not saying so much as 'go'. \n\nAnd now you're not just fighting together, you're fighting as one. Without a word you know where she'll be, she knows how you'll move, and there is no respite for Horace as he's assaulted by what's effectively a single combatant with two bodies. It leaves no openings, it offers no rest, because when he tries to turn on one of you the other is already stopping him, when he defends against both of you one is already switching to a different attack and relying on the other to press. He staggers and reels as more of his hideously expensive suit is sliced, the already scarred skin beneath opened up to spill his blood on his ruinously rare marble tile. His face gradually slips from its contemptuous sneer to fury, to something almost like desperation as he's pressed harder and harder, chips and cracks starting to appear in his knives from precisely-struck blows against them, much as the cracks are starting to show in his resolve.\n\n"Do you think I built all this to be beaten by a pair of upstart mercs from nowhere?!" he finally howls, eyes wild as he draws back to strike, obviously intending to kill at least one of you even if the other takes his own life.\n\n"Even the devil will fall before two masters of Zero de Waru," Miranda replies coolly as she snaps her blade to hold it horizontal.\n\n"And despite all the trying, Horace, you ain't the devil," you add as you copy the motion, both of you crouching low.\n\nHorace roars as he makes his leap, a raging lion driven into a corner, baring teeth and claws in one last show of defiance. Whichever of you he'd decided to take with him isn't even clear, since both of you leap forward, your paths crossing over as your blades snap out, both of you landing in mirrored stances of each other on the opposite side you started from, blades extended and down. Horace's body hits the floor heavily... and a second later his head thunks to the marble behind his feet, wobbling back and forth a little before coming to a rest.\n\n"Tell him I said 'hi', though," you add, flicking the big man's blood off your sword as you stand.\n\nYou have just enough time to make your cool statement and pose before your adrenaline rush starts to fade, beginning to take the wakers with it. You stagger slightly in place, then decide to sit down right there on the floor before you fall over, looking without particularly seeing at Horace's body a short distance away. You don't quite look up at the soft, repetitive 'tnk' of a sword tip being allowed to brush the marble as Miranda slouches her way over to you and sinks down to sit at your side, both of you looking at your handiwork as you try to coax your overtired brains into continuing to function.\n\n"... I'm sorry. That I didn't tell you," Miranda says after awhile. Her head slumps forward a little more. "He was right. I may have never met him, but... I knew the sort of man my father was. I was afraid you'd hate me. ... But not because I was worried you wouldn't help me, I just..." Her head turns towards you, red eyes moist. "... I just didn't want you to hate me."\n\n"... No, I get it," you answer softly, setting your sword down and flopping your hand out, letting her rest one of hers in the palm, giving it a weak squeeze when she does. "And you were probably right. Prolly would have. It's... prolly better you showed me you weren't him first. I'm okay with it, I think."\n\n"Okay." Miranda's head bobs a little. She's quiet for a moment again before she says, "Kai... did you mean what you said? That he... that Doonian was...?"\n\n"... I guess." You sigh, leaning back on your other hand, your arm feeling like it could give away on you but it's still stronger than your back right now. "Maybe at the end of the day, I'm just like everyone else. I didn't get to pick my family. I got stuck with a shitty father just like anyone who was born to one... but I guess he was still my father. Maybe that's what the old... ... maybe that's what he was going to say at the end. Fuck, I dunno."\n\n"... I never knew him. I never knew my mother, either," Miranda adds as she gives your hand a squeeze in return. "Apparently something went really bad with a mission not long after they knew she was pregnant with me, so they decided it would be better if I was raised by my grandfather. I never got... a letter, or a message, or a card. ... But I guess, in the end, I got a sister." She smiles tiredly as you slowly turn your head to look at her. "That is... if that's what you want?"\n\n<hr>\n[[You can't.|Kai4x16]]\n\n[[You absolutely can.|Kai4x15]]

"... Miranda, I'm sorry." You shake your head slowly, the exhaustion more than physical.\n\n"It's okay," she replies softly, looking away.\n\n"I just... can't be your sister. Not right now," you murmur, sagging a little. "I don't even know who I am. My entire life has been shaped by the... by him. I feel like if... if I just go right to you..."\n\n"You can't let the entire rest of your life be shaped by Doonians too?" You look over to see Miranda smiling sadly at you. "I understand. You want to find out who you are."\n\n"Maybe. I think if I don't find out who I am just... alone... on my own... I'll never really know who I am when I'm with others." You struggle up, but it's suddenly important that you stand on your own feet. "I've gotta find those answers, Miranda. I've gotta find out who the fuck I even am, outside of him, outside of this place."\n\n"It's okay. You don't have to explain it." Miranda stands as well, not fighting it when you draw your hand out of hers.\n\n"Do you think you could... keep letting Zee stay with you?" you ask, looking down now, finding yourself unable to meet her eyes. "It's gonna be really uncertain for me for awhile, and she deserves some stability, something... real. ... If your home's the place that made you, then I think it's the best place for her."\n\n"Thank you," Miranda whispers. "And of course... she can stay as long as she wants. Like family." Miranda's smile grows a little even as her eyes glisten. "And whenever you're ready, Kai... it will be there for you too. It will be your home too... whenever you decide it is."\n\n"... 'Preciate it," you murmur, with a small nod. \n\n"Alright. ... I'll go ahead then. Please take care of yourself."\n\n"Yeah. You too."\n\nYou don't look up until the sound and flash of the recall beacon's portal has come and gone. You let your gaze linger on Horace's decapitated body, at his blank and staring eyes gazing off at the city through the window. You don't know where you belong now, but it's obviously not on Makarzia. You can't stay here after what you've done. You'll have to return to the Guild... get to work, start affording a place to stay, food, jobs, all of that assuming you can keep your cert.\n\nAnd somewhere in it all, you'll have to hope you find out who you are, and how to move ahead as... just you. And nothing else.\n\n<hr>\n[[Game Over.|Kai4xEnd2]]

"Listen, I'm the one he's fucked over here," you assert. "If anyone's got the motivation to end him it's me. No way I'm letting you walk into it alone."\n\n"... I admit, I'd rather not do this alone," Miranda says slowly. "And you're the one that knows this place. Are you sure though?"\n\n"Yeah. I just need to get Zee somewhere safe."\n\nMiranda considers for a moment, then nods. "I can have my cousin come pick her up. She's staying with my grandfather right now learning some swordplay."\n\n"Gonna put more stuff on your grandpa, huh?" you ask with a thoughtful frown.\n\n"He'll understand," Miranda says in a slightly lofty tone, which just makes you think more and more there's something she's not telling you. "Let's get somewhere safe for the meetup."\n\nYou're a little dubious about turning over Zee to the little blonde slip of a tween that shows up, but feel a little better about it when she reveals she's the little sister of a merc whose reputation you trust. Once she's disappeared into the portal with the unconscious Zee, Miranda kneels and opens up the bag, digging through before proffering you a pair of pistols. "I'm not particularly familiar with these, but they strike me as about your speed."\n\nYou blink at the pair of red chrome and black finish revolvers... high end ones, too, the sort that come with a matter clip in the handle and make their own replacement bullets so that you only have to open the cylinder if you want to use a special bullet. "Low recoil models, yeah, that'll work," you say, accepting the weapons and hefting them, pointing them down the empty street to check the sights. You keep expecting that feeling of 'I can't' that you're used to when considering picking up anything but a melee weapon on Makarzia, but other than the echo of your own memories it's just not there. They also probably each cost enough to cover a year's rent and bills on the apartment you're pretty sure you can now consider thoroughly vacated. "You find anything that appealed?"\n\n"No, I haven't clocked enough range time to feel confident. But we'll keep these, I suppose, as needed," she continues, hefting the bag. "What now?"\n\n"We're gonna need to steal a car," you muse as you slip the revolvers below your coat, tucking them into long-empty omniholsters that rest near the small of your back.\n\n"Ah... another one?"\n\n"Yeah, the one we have now isn't gonna do it if the next part of this doesn't go perfectly, and no way it'll go perfectly."\n\nSoon after, as the two of you are practically floating along the streets in the high-end speedtoy you managed to extract from its secure garage facility, its overdesigned shocks making the knobbly, slick streets as smooth as butter, Miranda glances at you from the driver's seat. "So why won't it go perfectly?"\n\n"Because 'perfectly' would involve receiving information from someone that would never in a million years just give it up, and the only place to hit them up for it is between their building and their car. And almost anything says she'll make it to the car," you answer dryly. "So here's the thing, Horace is basically CEO of Crime Incorporated or what-the-fuck-ever. That means he's got way too much on his plate to oversee it personally, most of that's done by a woman they just call The Secretary. She's like a middle manager from Hell... and I'm not talking about an annoying management style. There's rumors she's cybered all to fuck under her pretty exterior, either that or a droid, she's snapped grown men's necks with one hand before according to the stories."\n\n"Mm. Stories are stories."\n\n"Around here they're usually not as blown out of proportion as you'd think. Nah, the Secretary's just as dangerous as her boss, not much doubt about that."\n\n"So why confront her at all?"\n\n"Because if he hasn't heard already, very soon Horace is going to realize his men are dead and Zee is gone and that means someone's probably coming after his ass, and as tough and burly as he is he'll still likely hunker down somewhere hard to find and direct his goons from there. And because like the name implies, the Secretary's not just Horace's manager, she's his personal assistant. Meaning-"\n\n"She'll know exactly where that would be," Miranda picks up, grinning. "And getting her to tell us involves a car chase, apparently."\n\n"No, I just have a feeling that catching up to her will involve a car chase. Actually getting her to talk is the endgame of a plan that still currently involves writing 'and here a miracle occurs' somewhere on the board."\n\n"You're teaching me quite a lot about how mercenary jobs work," Miranda says with a chuckle. \n\n"Yeaaah probably not the best teacher for this. Ico'd give me such a fuckin' lecture," you mutter, briefly checking the guns at your back again.\n\nMiranda's eyes flick to you for a moment before settling back on the road. "So what's the part of the plan before 'a miracle occurs'?"\n\n"You wait around the corner. I'll try to catch her and see if I can get her to talk as she's coming out of the data office and going to the car. Most likely what happens then is her guys try to kill me while she gets in the car and drives off. Assuming I don't die, pull around and let me get in before you take off after her."\n\n"... And if you do die?"\n\n"Guess you'll have a slightly better start on chasing her," you answer with a shrug, clicking the matter clip back into the base of the revolver.\n\nOnce Miranda has pulled up to the curb to idle, you get out and lean down to her. "When you hear her car take off, that'll be your cue to come around. Hopefully you'll surprise anyone who stayed behind and the break in the shooting will let me get in pretty easy." You close the door and stroll around the corner, hoping you've timed this right. The Secretary is known for many things, but 'random' isn't one of them... she apparently feels plenty safe enough to keep to a habitual schedule. It's fairly well-known in the Makarzia underworld that about this time each day she'll be coming out of what's technically a public use datacenter, but is completely under the Syndicate's control and has been for years, used as a data monitoring and trafficking base. And as luck would have it, just as you're approaching, there she is, stepping primly down the front steps, surrounded by four men in red-trimmed black suits as she heads for the high-end luxury car parked at the curb. You let out a whistle as you approach, since there's no real point in going for stealth here. The suited men go for their guns, but at the barest flick from the woman's fingers they all instantly have their hands back at their sides. She turns towards you as you walk up, two of the guards stepping aside to clear the space.\n\nShe's a strange mixture of attractive and plain... as if she'd been crafted beautifully and simply didn't care so much that no sense of real aesthetics radiated off of her. Her long black hair, her designer eyeglasses, the expensive black skirt-suit showing off her full breasts and the curve of her hips and legs. And yet her face is so expressionless and her manner so utterly uninterested in the world around her it's as if it had drawn a sort of wash of plainness over her like grey paint. Even her movements as she raises a hand up to lightly adjust the dataglasses are so utterly simple and without artifice that they tell you nothing and give off no sense of feeling.\n\n<img src="images/TheSecretary.png">\n\n"Ah, Kai. I take it you are here to discuss the Allfather's location," she says, voice as pretty, refined, and bland as the rest of her.\n\n"Expecting me, were you?" you ask drolly in return, hands slowly sliding out of your jacket pockets.\n\n"Admittedly, I had rated it a fairly low possibility. Frankly, I was not certain whether you were intelligent enough to realize that I would most likely know his location," she answers so impersonally it takes you a few seconds to realize you've been casually insulted. "I will have to reevaluate my earlier assessment of your abilities."\n\n"Yeah, well, you do that. But how about while you're doing it, you go ahead and tell me where Horace is holed up? Since, y'know, I assume he has in fact already run and hidden from me?" you add, trying to return the insult indirectly in equally casual kind. It kind of came out snarl-y though, oh well.\n\nThe Secretary blinks once, tilts her head slightly back, then forward again and to the side, her eyes always staying unwaveringly fixed on you and the series of motions looking like they were queued up on a checklist. "... Would you like me to take you to him?" she says in a simple, serious tone.\n\n"Er." That makes you blink once yourself. Of all the responses, that was definitely one you didn't expect. "Wait, are you serious?"\n\n"I am always serious. I will take you to him, if you like. You, and you alone. Not your friend in the car around the corner," she adds, not reacting even as you twitch visibly. "She will of course remain behind. But that should be safer for her, yes? Give up your sword to the man to my right, and accompany me to the car. I will take you to the Allfather, and the two of you may resolve this situation yourselves."\n\nThis... is definitely not how you expected things to go. Admittedly you weren't entirely sure how you expected this part to go other than that you thought people would be shooting at you by now, but... if you could actually take a run at Horace and not put Miranda in danger...\n\n<hr>\n[[Take the offer.|Kai]]\n\n[[Refuse.|Kai4x12]]

"Let's skip the rooftop thing. There can't be that many of them in there," you say, unsheathing your sword. "One's hurt and I doubt the rest of them think there's any way in the world we could have tracked them, they're gonna be taken as much by surprise as us coming in through the front door as they would the ceiling."\n\n"Oh, you have a point, I suppose," Miranda says with a bit of a gusty sigh, and then gives you a slightly sheepish smile when you glance at her. "Sorry, like I said, three days. I've still got a little bit of desire for pure adventure and pinache in there."\n\n"Yeah well you'll learn to rein it in, this job's shit," you mutter, turning your attention back to the door.\n\n"... Do you really hate it so much?" the other red-eyed woman asks quietly.\n\n"... Fuck, I dunno," you reply with a sigh of your own. "I guess maybe once I came as close to loving it as I could, considering all the rest. But it's been a long time since it's been anything but drudging around for the old man. I dunno... maybe after all this is done I'll figure that out for myself. If I still can."\n\n"Well. We can talk about that more later," Miranda says after a brief silence. "For now, if we're going in the front, how should we?"\n\n"I'll go in first, draw their attention, get most of them focused on me. You come in once you hear a gun go off and start picking off any I'm not getting."\n\n"That sounds dangerous. Besides, what will keep them focused on you?"\n\nYou snort, using your free hand to reach up and tug down your hood, baring your bright crimson hair. "Because I'm going to be a very angry bitch shouting 'ole' from the top of my head."\n\n"Ah. ... I don't get it."\n\nYou pause, opening your mouth to explain... then frowning. "Y'know I don't either, I just heard it somewhere, something about red and provoking aggression. Anyway yeah, hopefully I'll keep their focus and they won't think to try and drop back to grab Zee. You coming in after me should assure that."\n\nA few moments later you kick in the front door and dive through, already coming up slashing at the first of the men nearest the door who was turning to meet you. The armorweave suit designed to absorb bullet impacts and knife stabs parts under the sharper and better-leveraged blade of your sword like it was particularly thick wool, cutting into his guts and making him scream until you snap the sword back and cut his throat. There are another four of them upright, guns already in hand and in various states of aiming properly, so you dive forward again and roll, narrowly dodging the first two shots by putting yourself in the center of them. You come up slashing at one of them's armpit, the seam of the armor parting even easier than the main bit, staggering him and letting you slice hard down his front, blade skittering off his ribcage as you open him up. You wheel around towards the others since you've just given them a better opening to fire on you, but one gets cut down from behind, his cry of pain distracting the other long enough for you to dart in, your thrust catching him in the belly before Miranda's next stroke takes his head off clean... well, as cleanly as a head can be removed from a body, you think as you duck back to avoid the splatter.\n\nA bullet whizzes by your head, just barely missing you and making you whirl around to face the couch nearby where a fifth man in a suit has propped himself up, gun aimed at you and finger already squeezing the trigger. For just the barest instant you freeze in indecision whether to dodge to the side or go right at him, and it's enough for his finger to complete the motion. You hear the roar of the gun, and then there's a flash of silver and a high-pitched ringing noise followed by a spak and a small gout of plaster dust from the ceiling above. Then Miranda's leaping forward, the follow-through motion of her blade catching the mook's gun and one of his fingers and sending both to the floor as he lets out a shriek.\n\n"... Holy... shit," you breath, blinking yourself back into real time. "Did you seriously just do that?! Where'd you even learn to do that?"\n\n"Ah..." Miranda pauses, glancing back at you, and giving a grin that's half impish and half sheepish. "What's the address here?"\n\nPart of you wants to get mad at her for deciding to try bullet-deflecting for the first time when the bullet was a few inches from your face, but the rest of you points out it's sort of a good thing that burst of inspiration struck her when it did. Shaking it off, you walk over to the mook and point your sword at his throat, making him go still even as he still trembles and groans with pain. "Zee, where is she?" When he looks like he's about to say anything other than a location you lean in, putting just enough pressure on the blade that he can feel his skin break. "The girl you took, where! Is! She!"\n\n"Back room! We didn't do nothin' honest she was half-naked when we took her!" he practically screams.\n\nYou nod and start to hurry towards the back, only to pause as you hear Miranda speak up, but not to you. "The projectile weapon, where is it?"\n\n"Th-the fuck you talking abouAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" The mook screams as there's the sound of blade piercing flesh, and you turn back to find that Miranda's pinned his hand to the back of the couch by pushing her sword through his palm. \n\n"The hand cannon, the one you took from the apartment, where is it!!"\n\n"Borin had it, Borin, Borin!" the suited man shrieks, stabbing a finger furiously at one of the dead mooks on the floor, Miranda immediately turning and stalking over to him and starting to search the body.\n\n"Crystal Dragon, Miranda, calm down," you murmur as you walk back over to the couch. "No need to be so fucking brutal," you add as you yank the sword out of the thug's hand and instantly bring it down across his throat.\n\nShe doesn't answer, and after a moment you decide to leave her to her search and concentrate on your real directive, setting Miranda's sword down on the back of the couch before hurrying into the back room. Your heart somehow both soars and sinks at seeing Zee, glad to see her but unable to help feeling pain at her obviously barely conscious and with her wrists ziptied behind her and ankles bound together, tossed down so haphazardly her shirts have ridden up to bare her lower half. You quickly hurry over, sheathing your sword and pulling a smaller knife to cut her free instead, tugging the shirts down some as you tug her to sit upright. "Zee? Hey, hey, Zee, c'mon, you alright?"\n\n"Kai?" she murmurs distantly, wobbling a little.\n\n"Yeah, baby, it's me, you're safe now, I've got you," you assure her, settling down next to her on the bare mattress and putting an arm around her middle. Zee sags against you, head thumping to your shoulder. After a moment her body begins to shiver, a trembling that grows by the moment until she chokes out a sob.\n\n"I had to watch."\n\nYou pull her around against you, stroking the back of her head as she cries against your shoulder, her body shaking. You can only imagine that her feelings about Doonian being dead are as strange and complex as your own. But Zee has grown up largely sheltered from the sort of true violence that has shaped your life, and having it suddenly invade her home and destroy her life... yeah. That's definitely worth a cry about, you admit, turning your head to kiss her cheek and just continuing to hold her.\n\nEventually Zee cries herself out, and either the sedative takes back over or actuall exhaustion does since she's out again when she stops. You heft her into your arms, carrying her out of the room, glad that at least you don't have to navigate her around the carnage. Miranda's hefting a leather duffel-bag... roughly big enough for a curled-up person, you notice with a scowl... that now has the mooks' weapons in it, to judge by the weight. "Is she alright?" Miranda asks gently as she sees the two of you.\n\n"Well she's not injured," you answer, unable to keep the bitterness out of your voice. Then you give your head a quick shake. "She'll be alright."\n\nMiranda looks at her for a long moment before her gaze comes back to you. "Maybe you should take her back to the Guildhall."\n\nYou start to say something, close your mouth, and frown. Then start again. "You sound like you're saying 'and stay there', too."\n\n"It might be best. At this point the primary objective is complete... and she needs you. She might not get to keep you if we go ahead with trying to kill Horace." Miranda smiles a little at the moment, though the set of her eyes makes it a little sad. "Don't worry, I don't intend to claim the contents of the Vaults. You should feel free to use it or sell it as you need, so you can start a new life."\n\n"... See, you say that," you say slowly, gently shifting Zee in your arms. "But I can't shake this feeling that you still intend to go after Horace."\n\nMiranda's silent for a moment, glancing around the room, then over her shoulder back towards the door, before tossing you that winning smirk of hers. "I," she declares. "Have decided I really do not like this Horace Allfather person or the things he does. So, on the excuse of fulfilling the rest of the contract, whether I intend to accept the reward for it or not, I am going to hunt him down and end his life. I assume you don't have a problem with that?"\n\n"Sounds peachy, other than that you're likely to get yourself killed doing it," you snap back, before wincing and lowering your voice when Zee squirms uncomfortably in your arms at your raised voice. "Miranda, c'mon, that's a suicide mission."\n\n"All the more reason for you not to come," she says in an annoyingly reasonable tone.\n\n<hr>\n[[Maybe she's right.|Kai]]\n\n[[... Nope, fuck that.|Kai4x11]]

"We ask," Oscar declared.\n\n"Okay!" Yang declared enthusiastically, pumping her somewhat different-looking golden fist in the air. "Let's do this thing!"\n\n"We probably shouldn't do it here, he suggests," Oscar added, tossing a guilty glance at the other room where the house's owners were trying to ignore them all. "And we probably shouldn't take everyone, everyone nearby will get drawn into a sort of... time bubble... and it would get confusing with all of us. Maybe just me, since I'm carrying it, Qrow, and the team leaders. And Pyrrha, of course."\n\n"Alright then," Ilia declared, stepping forward, obviously expecting the questioning stares since she almost immediately added, "Well since Kai's not here, leadership goes to the next letter over! I'm her partner, so I'm responsible for the team! I'm coming!"\n\n"What's that make us then, Team 'Ache' or Team 'Ass'?" Grey snorted.\n\n"Team 'Ash', you ash-hole!" Ilia growled, thumping her elbow into his stomach hard enough to make him 'nnf' softly. "Besides, it's still team KACH as far as I'm concerned!"\n\n"Alright, alright, let's just go," Qrow grumbled.\n\nHe, Oscar, Ruby, Jaune, Ilia and Pyrrha made their way a short distance outside the city walls, having decided it was better to do so in case its activation caused its 'Grimm beacon' effect to flare. Once they'd gained some distance from Argus, Oscar unclipped it from his belt, paused, then sighed. "Okay, I don't like this, but..." His back straightened and he inhaled, chin lifting a bit.\n\n"Not very popular around here lately, Oz," Qrow noted with a frown.\n\n"Indeed," Ozma replied quietly, making a bit of a face. "I apologize. I would have told you about the lamp's abilities had you asked, but apparently we were so busy training and preparing for our trip with an entire new team that it simply never came up. ... In truth, I had considered lying and saying that its questions had been used up," he admitted, sounding ashamed as he let his head slump. "But as Miss Amitola said... lies are all the more painful when you learn of them from another source. I am... having to learn to break myself of the habit of them. I have already shared the darkest and most volatile truth with all of you, but I also admit... there are many personal shames and mistakes that it is almost unbearable to think of the people I care about learning of."\n\n"So much for honesty," the red-eyed Huntsman snorted, closing his eyes.\n\nOzma's eyes narrowed. "I have little doubt that you have more than a few incidents in your life, Qrow Branwen, that you have not told me nor anyone else of, nor would I ever ask because they are your own business and they do not reflect on who you are but on mistakes that you have made." At Qrow's half-angry, half-ashamed glare, and the awkward stares of the others, Ozma let out a huff. "... Forgive me, I did not beg Oscar's indulgence to engage in this argument. Rather, I am the one versed in the usage of the Relic of Knowledge. I am here to honor the decision of our group..." He straightened his shoulders a bit. "As Miss Sterling would call it... our family. And I will do so without delay."\n\nHe stretched his hand out, the faint blue glow of the lantern's smooth crystal body starting to shine brighter, even as the metal expanded in his hands, the entire object turning larger, subtly more elaborate. Then he released the ring at the top, allowing it to float in midair in front of him.\n\n"Whoa," Jaune murmured softly, eyes wide. "So is there like... a ritual, or a chant, or...?"\n\n"No. In truth, it would be enough to simply speak the name of the entity that dwells within," Ozma answered, glancing at Jaune through the gently-falling snow. "But though I now suspect that she is an incredibly advanced and spiritual form of the 'learning algorithms' Miss Chloris spoke of, likely created to fulfill the function of the relic, she is also as you said of Miss Nikos, 'a person'," he allowed, bobbing his head a bit to one side. "She has feelings, and she has emotions. And I have learned that if she is treated with a certain amount of respect and..." He hesitated, cleared his throat. "... given a certain approach... she is far more forthcoming and helpful than otherwise."\n\n"Uh, why are you blushing?" Ruby asked, silver eyes fixed on the slender form of the boy across from her.\n\n"Ah... because it is somewhat embarrassing to do this in front of others, Miss Rose, especially you, but it is in fact one way that she has... specifically requested I call her forth." Ozma turned towards the floating lantern, clearly taking a moment to compose himself, then drew off Oscar's glove. He reached out, fingertips gently caressing the glowing blue crystal, tracing its curves, his nail softly brushing over the edge of the shining golden metal trimming it. His hand slid, turned, brushed along the curve of the lamp, cupped it tenderly, his fingertips slipping into one of the grooves of the upper crest, tracing along its rise slowly.\n\n"Jinn," he whispered, in a tender tone one reserved for the darkest part of the night when all has gone quiet except for passion and need.\n\nOf an instant, the snow stopped, heavy soft flakes hanging in the air as if the world were holding its breath. Bright, somehow sinuous smoke began to rise from the crystal of the lantern, sweeping through the air on unfelt currents, whirling upward, drawing together even as it expanded. Amidst all of it a luscious feminine form took place, enough to make both Qrow and Jaune glance away nervously, not quite sure where to keep their eyes as the smoke became smooth, glowing skin, full breasts capped by thick, dark nipples, sleekly-curved hips leading down into long legs that stretched as if having been too long curled while resting. Her back arched, lifting her breasts to the sky as glittering golden rings appeared in her nipples, then chains appearing link-by-link leading from them, gradually thickening and growing longer until they connected to the bracers appearing around her forearms, other chains drifting down from them, from her encircled ankles, her body turning to flash the bejeweled ring piercing the hood of her clitoris at them. She rolled her head as beautiful, almost elvish features formed, matching the long, pointed ears that slipped from amidst her dark blue hair like a woman rising from the bath... quite similar to the pose she herself made as she let out a sensuous 'Mmmmm!' as if she'd just relaxed after a long and rewarding session of lovemaking.\n\nIlia fell onto her back in the snow, twitching.\n\n"Oh dear, I got another one," Jinn cooed, giggling sweetly as she rested her hands on her hips. Then her large, lustrous blue eyes turned until they settled on Ozma. "Hello again, darling, it's been some time," she almost purred, tucking a hand against her cheek as she leaned forward in the air, breasts swaying gently and causing melodic, almost songlike clinks of the chains running to her nipples. \n\nOzma cleared Oscar's throat. "Good evening, Jinn, it is... very pleasant to see you again."\n\n"We're seeing a lot of her," Ruby squeaked, silver eyes wide. \n\n"You're looking quite young and spry this time, it must be something quite pressing if you've come and found me so quickly after your usual little thing. It doesn't even feel like it's been that long since I saw your last form," Jinn continued, straightening up and folding her arms beneath her bare breasts, jutting them up proudly. "... Oop, there's number two for this manifestation," she added as Jaune fell over into the snow as well.\n\n"Jaune, if you please," Pyrrha said in a prim, strained voice, the corner of one eye twitching a little.\n\n"Oh, is that one yours? I really am sorry dear, I can't help but be a bit 'extra' as some worlds say when I'm awoken properly," Jinn declared with a sensuous laugh, long-nailed fingers flitting in front of her lips.\n\n"He is... very dear to me, yes," Pyrrha replied as she helped the blushing, apologetic Jaune to his feet, Ilia similarly getting to hers with Ruby's help. "Although as to whether he is mine, that is related to why we have asked you here, ma'am."\n\n"Oh, she's very polite and means it, I like her," the glowing spirit declared, eyes dancing.\n\n"Jinn... may I ask you a small question without it being a question?" Ozma spoke up.\n\n"Hm. Maybe. I do so enjoy when you summon me right, after all. And it's amusing to see the flush on your face from doing it in front of others," the spirit added, smiling impishly as the worldly immortal squirmed a bit. "So you may say your question, and if it's not big enough to count as a question I'll answer it, but if it is, I'll ask you if you're sure you want that to be your question."\n\n"Very well, thank you very much," Ozma replied gratefully, bobbing his head. "You say 'as some worlds say'... does that mean you are aware of the multiverse now?"\n\n"I am aware of what it is in my nature to be aware of," Jinn answered loftily, an enigmatic smile curling her lips. "Oh don't pout at me, Ozma, I will be as helpful as I can be since you were so nice, and as I said it's not as if that was a proper question. Besides, you've brought interesting new people to meet me, which is always so much better than you summoning me locked away in some lonely little vault, so I'm feeling magnanimous. I may know everything, but that doesn't mean I get to experience everything, you know."\n\n"... My apologies," Ozma said with apparent sincerity, putting a hand to his chest and bowing slightly. "In the future I will take those feelings into consideration, should the matter arise."\n\n"Hm. And you have changed, haven't you," Jinn mused aloud, resting a fingertip against her lower lip.\n\n"Jinn," Ilia spoke up, obviously struggling to control both her colors and her emotions as she drew the nude spirit's look to her, the urgency of her concern far more pressing than her desire. "I... I need to say it right, probably?" she asked in an uncertain voice.\n\n"It's better if you do," the spirit replied, actually gentling her voice and giving the girl a more kind smile.\n\nIf anything that just turned Ilia pinker, but she fought it down and focused. The others' eyes were on her, apparently feeling that as Kai's partner, it was her right to ask. After several minutes that did not pass at all in the rest of the world, she raised her head and pointed at Pyrrha. "The person known as Kai Sterling and the consciousness currently inhabiting her body, that of Pyrrha Nikos... how can we best allow both to exist, as their own individuals, without giving up either one of them?"\n\n"... Hmmmmm..." Jinn mused, gazing upward as she tapped a finger against her cheek. "How best to allow both to exist. So you wish my opinion, then?"\n\n"... Yes," Ilia replied after only a brief hesitation, nodding firmly.\n\n"The answer will have to be a tad enigmatic, I'm afraid," Jinn replied after another brief consideration. "I am after all supposed to give answers, not advice, so mingling both in one means I have to make some compromises. You'll have to figure it out on your own, and if you can't, you'd have to ask me what my own answer meant as another question." Her gaze slid back to Ozma. "And you only have the two left, this century. Are you sure you want to risk it?"\n\nOzma stared back at her, visibly hesitated, then glanced around. "Let us put it to a vote. Oscar wishes to risk the answer, even if it is enigmatic. ... I agree," he added with a small nod.\n\n"Agreed," Ilia added, nodding without hesitation of her own.\n\n"Yes please," Ruby murmured.\n\n"Yeah, let's do it," Qrow grunted.\n\n"Aye," Jaune added, raising his hand a bit.\n\n"Please and thank you," Pyrrha whispered.\n\n"Very well then." Jinn drew upward in the air, arcing her back and placing her body on even more display, stretching her arms out and taking on the appearance of some sea goddess presenting herself to the sun as its mate, her voice taking on an echoing, booming quality that seemed to fill the entirety of the time-stopped world. "Beyond the sea in the shadow of the city of the world dwells a self-made father. Take to him both the silver blood from beyond the stars and the crimson of the ancestor that he might craft life from earth and metal as the gods once did. Only when the falsehood has become truth can that which was used to defy the fate decreed by the gods be used to defy the fate decreed by the creators, and the false truth and that which both exists in this world and gazing in at it stand side-by-side, their light banishing the darkness." Her words finished, she swirled and dissipated, drawing back within the lamp, which dropped into the snow beneath it even as the flakes resumed their steady fall.\n\n"... That was a tad enigmatic?!" Ruby squeaked in outrage.\n\n"What the hell was that?!" Qrow demanded, thrusting both hands towards the lamp.\n\n"Jinn's answers are usually more... straightforward," Ozma allowed, frowning and cupping his chin, Oscar apparently content to let him remain in control at the moment for whatever reason. "Especially when summoned in her 'preferred' manner. Ilia's request that she tell us the 'best' method clearly caused some sort of conflict that required her to be more circumspect. ... This does, however, provide some good news."\n\n"How do you call that riddle good news?!" Ilia demanded with a huff.\n\n"You asked her to give us what she thought was the best method, and she had to both consider and obfuscate. That means," Ozma continued, folding his arms. "That there is more than one."\n\n"Oh. Yeah!" Ruby declared with a blink, grinning over at Jaune and Pyrrha as the explained a surprised glance. "If there's a best method, there has to be a next-best method!"\n\n"Jinn's answer is therefore the one that she thinks is best. At a guess," Ozma added, gesturing aside with one hand. "Because it could be completed with resources we either already have or could access through some reasonable amount of effort," he continued, cupping his chin and staring at the lamp thoughtfully.\n\n"Oh sure, I've got a bottle of silver starblood in my back pocket, doesn't everybody?" Qrow scoffed.\n\n"... Indeed, to even begin carrying out Jinn's suggestion, we would first have to unravel it. A task that she herself admitted might be so insurmountable that we would have to ask her what it meant... a sacrifice we should be most leery to make," he added with a regretful sigh.\n\n"Why'd she have to go and put it like that?" Jaune asked with a frustrated noise as he walked over to pick up the lamp, nevertheless rather gently brushing snow off of it... then noticed that Pyrrha was giving him a rather intent stare, and blushed before handing it back to Ozma.\n\n"Thank you, Mister Arc."\n\n"I don't think she could help it," Ilia said slowly, a thoughtful frown on her face. "From the way she said it, she sounded like if she had to make it harder for us to figure out if we wanted both an answer and advice. If we just asked her for one or the other she might have given it to us. If I'd just asked her how to separate them, she might have given us a way, but it means that whatever method is behind this riddle, she thinks it's the best way."\n\n"Yes, I think you're right," Ozma agreed with a nod. "Perhaps some sort of defense program built into the relic to keep it from being a bit too helpful to we mere mortals. Nevertheless, we must now consider whether to pursue her suggested method and unravel this odd riddle, or some other, now that we know there are multiple options."\n\n"I think we should trust Jinn," Ilia declared instantly.\n\n"You sure you're not trusting those hips instead, Specks?" Qrow teased with a soft snort, borrowing Grey's nickname for her.\n\nSaid specks turned pink briefly, before Ilia gave a hard shake of her head. "No! Ozma, you said she knows everything that exists in this world or has existed on it, right? So she'd know Kai?"\n\n"Yes, that is most likely true," Ozma agreed slowly, clearly uncertain where she was going with it.\n\n"... And you saw all those chains on Jinn?" Ilia added softly.\n\nThe group went silent for a moment, the implications slowly sinking in.\n\n"I think Jinn is a slave," the young Faunus continued, clenching her fists. "I think whoever made her made her fully sentient and able to think for herself, but bound her to the relic and forced her to obey its rules. I think that's what those chains represent... that she's not free, and they wanted her to know it. And if she knows Kai, she knows Kai was a slave too. I just... I have to believe that Jinn would want to help someone who knows how much it hurts not to be free. So whatever method she was trying to tell us, it's the one that would be best for Kai."\n\n"... You are quite likely correct, Miss Amitola," Ozma answered in a quiet voice. "The beings who likely created her were... well. Let us just say, if you think I am manipulative and occasionally disrespectful of the needs of others..." He let out a soft sigh. "However, that does not change that we may not be able to decipher her riddle, at least not in time to continue with our other mission. ... Since we have the team leaders here, as well as the affected party, I believe this would be sufficient to put into effect our interesting new system of voting. So... those who believe we should focus on deciphering Jinn's riddle, please raise your hands."\n\n<hr>\n([[More hands go up.|KaiRem]])\n\n([[More hands stay down.|KaiRem]])

"Kai wanted Pyrrha here," Ilia said, a bit of pain still lacing her voice, but the young Faunus was clearly in control of herself now. "When we head out, we should take her with us."\n\n"And when will that be?" Saffron Arc muttered audibly from the next room, clearly close to being on her last nerve with her houseful of guests and their weird multiversal drama.\n\nMost of those guests exchanged abashed looks, Pyrrha clearly choking back a reflexive apology since she hadn't been intended to hear that, and instead stepped back from Ilia as she said, "If I'm going with you, there's something I'll need. Not from any of you," she added with a quick shake of the head. "I'll be... out... for a little while. But I promise I'll come back," she hurried to add.\n\n"We know you will, Pyrrha," Jaune said, the certainty in his voice probably not echoed by all present, but apparently enough to keep anyone else from voicing their doubts.\n\n"I guess while you're gone I'll get everyone else fitted with the psycomms," Grey noted, rubbing the back of his head lightly. "I mean, you've got... yours, so."\n\n"Yes, thank you," Pyrrha answered primly, deciding to simply sidestep the whole issue rather than get bogged down in thinking of what in her body belonged to who. "Now, please excuse me. I will be back as soon as I can."\n\nShe turned and headed for the door, slipping out quickly and striding down the front steps, giving a small, reflexive hop at the last one. It was, she admitted, nice to walk the Argus streets again. To be... home. A home. She had, after all, spent so much time training in so many places. And then found such a warm, happy place at Beacon. She wondered a bit if the mixed-up feeling of where home was, was due to Kai trying to resolve what she'd read and heard, and how much of it was her own sincere confusion about where she most wished to be.\n\nMost homes in Argus were small, simple townhomes like the one Jaune's sister and her wife owned, but closer in towards the middle, there were a handful of larger, slightly more opulent ones. Pyrrha had never particularly thought of this one as 'opulent', but then she had been used to it. It was no sprawling mansion, but it was larger than the other homes, surrounded by a wall at the sides and a gate in front, with room in the front to park a pair of vehicles... though only one was present. Pyrrha stopped and stared, a pang filling her heart as she realized how late it was, and she wondered how often the remaining car had spent long, lonely nights in the driveway without its mate beside it since...\n\n... since she died.\n\nTaking a breath and trying to banish such thoughts, she leapt up onto the wall at the side easily enough, dropping down into the shadow it provided, and wincing a little as the flap of the long coat she wasn't used to wearing almost caught on one of the tines of the gate. 'I'm sorry,' she silently whispered to her host, wishing she knew if Kai could actually hear her. She knew how much the woman treasured Niobe's hand-me-down coat, a rarity for a woman who had very little to treasure. In fact, other than people, everything Kai loved was currently tucked somewhere on Pyrrha's person. 'I promise I'll take good care of everything... and everyone,' Pyrrha swore, both to herself and to Kai, before slipping through the shadows along the side of the yard and around to the back of the house.\n\nOne might have thought that picking a lock came from Kai's skillset, but the mercenary's experience was almost entirely with electronic security, her physical lockpicking had always been far clumsier. Using the pin of her ponytail clasp and a hairpin to defeat a particularly secure deadbolt smoothly was in fact all the Invincible Girl. One of her tutors had said that the skills of a Huntress and the skills of a burglar often overlapped, if not entirely for the same reasons, and Pyrrha never learned anything she was taught halfway, so soon the door was popping open and she was slipping inside and tapping at the security panel. Despite it being exactly what she hoped for, she couldn't help but make a bit of a face as the light on it went from blinking red to green. 'Really Papa? My birthday? Still? You might as well not even bother to have it.' \n\nThen she felt a pang of guilt wash over her for thinking it. That could not be an easy security code to change. Especially now. Taking a deep but quiet breath, Pyrrha redid her ponytail and then slipped silently through the house like a black and crimson ghost, seeking out one room in particular.\n\nMuch like with the security system, it was both a relief and something of a disappointment to find that it was effectively exactly as she left it. 'It's been less than a year, give them time,' she told herself as she made her way through the darkened room to the bed. Though she couldn't help but hope that perhaps they might not need time. That if this worked out, if she could be separated and given her own body somehow, that her parents might accept her, 'fake' though she was.\n\nShe tried to be as quiet as possible about leaning the headboard forward, slipping a hand behind it to grope into the small open vent normally hidden there. She frowned as her bare fingertips past her gloves touched only metal. 'Where is it?'\n\nThen she jumped and whirled as the light clicked on, eyes widening at the sight of her mother standing in the doorway, a Dust pistol in one hand, green eyes narrowed behind her glasses.\n\n"You." There was an anger, a deep, abiding fury that Pyrrha could not recall ever hearing in her mother's voice before. "So you were really just some charlatan after all."\n\n"I'm sorry!" Pyrrha blurted reflexively. Then her eyes widened and she clapped her hands over her mouth.\n\nHer mother blinked. Once. Twice. Stared at her. Pyrrha's reaction had not been the one of someone feigning a personality... far too spontaneous and sincere, her realization that she had been sincere too genuine. Her green eyes roamed up and down Pyrrha's form... Kai's body... taking in all the little mannerisms and tells as the younger redhead's arms slowly lowered. The pistol lowered, and she slowly crossed the room, raising a hand to touch fingertips gently to the other woman's cheek.\n\n"It... really is you, isn't it?" she said softly.\n\n"Um." Pyrrha smiled sheepishly, one arm held ramrod-straight at her side, the other rubbing her elbow as she glanced away shyly. "... Sort of. It is a long story."\n\nThe elder Nikos's eyes narrowed and firmed again, this time a teacher's voice coming out as she almost snapped, "Summarize, young lady."\n\n"Yes ma'am," Pyrrha blurted back reflexively and stood up straight, both of them jumping a little at the exchange... it had been familiar enough to shock both of them. Pyrrha took a moment to gather herself and clear her throat. "The... the person whose body is standing in front of you, she's... friends with Team JNPR," she continued, seeing a little pang in her mother's eyes at the name. "And she had a... a sort of ability. She could take what she knew about someone and... become them. Or a version of them built on all the knowledge she had. And tonight when she saw you at... at the statue," Pyrrha continued, voice waivering just a little. "... She became... me."\n\n"... Why on earth would she-?" Pyrrha's mother started to say, before her eyes widened slightly in realization.\n\n"Yes. To help you." Pyrrha nodded once, unable to meet her mother's eyes. "To... let us say goodbye."\n\n"... But you're still here," her mother said after long moments of silence. "And where is she?"\n\n"I don't know," Pyrrha answered, honestly and miserably, shaking her head. "She won't come back. I... th-the boy you saw me with tonight, I... I loved him, and... I wanted just a little longer to be with him, but then Kai... she just... went away..."\n\nPyrrha's mother unhesitatingly enfolded her in her arms. And Pyrrha cried against her mother's shoulder for awhile, because she had needed to do so very much for some time.\n\nOnce they drew away, Pyrrha breathed deeply, let it out, and composed herself once again. "... Mama," she said evenly, though her voice was very soft. "Until we can get this all sorted out, Kai's friends... my friends... need my help. I need my backup gear, where is it?"\n\nOne corner of her mother's mouth crooked up, and she beckoned for the younger redhead to follow her. Curious, Pyrrha tilted her head and followed her.\n\nThe library had been completely rearranged. Everything now led the eye to the wide open space in the middle of the room, which was dominated by a sparkling, almost crystalline glass case. Within dwelled a smaller copy of the statue that had been erected in the park, though this one was clad in genuine leather and cloth garments, the shield and sword it was armed with clearly distinct from the metal. Too, this version had large, glittering opalescent wings rising from its back, necessitating that the case be three times as wide and almost twice as tall as it really needed to be.\n\nPyrrha sighed. "It's a little much, don't you think?"\n\n"Your father's an artist, dear, 'a little much' is what he does," Pyrrha's mother replied dryly, eyes crinkling warmly, apparently having decided much like Pyrrha's friends to simply accept the reality of the situation for the time being. Her smile turned somewhat wan as she looked at the case. "... This is how he copes. His work. His art. This is how he speaks about it."\n\n'Instead of to me,' were the unsaid words.\n\n"I'm sorry," Pyrrha murmured quietly, shaking her head.\n\n"I know I taught you to be polite, dear, but apologizing for dying is a little much," her mother replied, snorting softly and squeezing one of her daughter's hands.\n\n"No. I mean, yes," Pyrrha added with a wince. "But I meant... that this will probably be a little hurtful."\n\nHer mother simply nodded. "Go ahead, dear. ... They're your things. You need them."\n\nPyrrha nodded, examining the case for a moment more before moving over to the side, finding the hidden catch and swinging open the thinner side to step inside. She blinked a little as she approached, unable to help taking the mockup of Milo down off of the statue's back. "They're very good replicas," she admitted with a tilt of the head.\n\n"They're not replicas." At Pyrrha's surprised blink, her mother tilted her head a bit in acknowledgement. "Well, they are, but what I mean is that they're exact, functional reproductions. Your father was able to get the last cloud backup of your scroll off of the servers and used your files on Milo and Akuo to reconstruct them. He wanted this statue to be particularly authentic."\n\n"Then why the angel wings?" Pyrrha couldn't help but ask dryly, before ducking her head bashfully at her own cheek.\n\n"Because he's your father, dear," her mother replied, eyes twinkling. "And he wanted it to be particularly authentic."\n\nAfter a brief silence, Pyrrha bobbed her head. Then began removing her gear from the statue.\n\nSoon after, she tugged lightly on the top of her right boot, then straightened up. "Well, how do I look?"\n\n"Like yourself," her mother answered a little longingly.\n\nPyrrha actually winced at that. "I hope Kai's friends don't think it's a sign I'm... getting comfortable in here."\n\n"If they're your friends too, I think they'll understand." Her mother rubbed Pyrrha's arm warmly for a moment.\n\nPyrrha knew she should return to the Arc household as soon as possible, but she hesitated, glancing towards the door. "Do you... do you think I should wait and...?" She trailed off, unable to find the words she needed.\n\nSlowly, the elder Nikos shook her head. "I don't think your father will be home tonight, dear. And you have things to do." At the pang of guilt on Pyrrha's face, the older woman smiled a little. "I don't think he'd roll with this situation quite as much, either, and he certainly wouldn't just let you leave. ... I don't want to let you leave either," she admitted, looking down.\n\n"... Why did you, then?" Pyrrha could not help but ask, a little forlornly.\n\n"Because I thought it was what you wanted. I know I pushed you... sometimes too hard, as you eventually told me," her mother said with a soft sigh, nevertheless with no recrimination in her voice. "But always, always because it was what I thought you wanted. Was I wrong?"\n\nPyrrha let that digest for a moment. Then she gave her head a single shake. "You were not."\n\n"So. I let you go. I let you go to go to tutors. I let you go to go to combat school. I let you go to go to Beacon. Now I'm letting you go to... oh, save the world, I imagine," her mother said with a soft chuckle, and then tried not to feel overly concerned when her daughter grinned just a little too forcedly at her. "... But if you can," the older woman continued, much more softly, taking one of Pyrrha's gloved hands. "... Try to come back this time?"\n\n"... I will try," Pyrrha answered just as gently, bobbing her head. She hesitated, her eyes pinching a bit in pain before she added, "But Mama... if it comes down to a choice between Kai and myself... you understand what I have to do, right?"\n\n"You're my daughter. Of course I understand what you'll do." Her mother squeezed her hand, then stepped back. "Now, your friends are waiting. Have fun saving the world."\n\n"I'll try, Mama." Pyrrha smiled sheepishly, bobbing her head, then hefted Milo and Akuo onto her back before striding for the door.\n\n"Pyrrha."\n\nJust hearing her mother actually use her name sent a thrill of joy through her heart, as surely as it caused a pang of guilt. The Invincible Girl took a breath to wipe the latter off her face before she turned, smiling. "Yes?"\n\n"You said..." Her mother hesitated. "You're saying this Kai girl... she... made you," she said slowly, obviously wanting to stay as far away from bringing up that Pyrrha herself was as much a functional reproduction as the weapons on her back. "Out of all the things she'd learned and that people had told her."\n\n"Yes, that's correct," Pyrrha answered solemnly, nodding once.\n\nCuriosity pursed her mother's lips. "Who told her about where you kept your backup gear?"\n\nPyrrha blinked.\n\n-\n\n"So wait, you're saying you knew something about... yourself... that no one could possibly have told Kai?" Jaune said, glancing around in confusion as he sat next to the now much more Pyrrha-garbed Pyrrha, rather tentatively holding her hand.\n\n"I can't recall any memory of Kai's where she learned where I kept my backup gear, no," Pyrrha admitted, shaking her head. "I hadn't even told my parents, I don't even know when they found out about it, if it was before or after I..." She cleared her throat, and skipped over that subject yet again. "One of my tutors told me I should always keep a set of my Huntress gear that only I knew about, and... as far as I can tell, nobody else did."\n\nNora gasped hard, clasping both hands over her mouth. "Maybe she really is a ghost!"\n\n"I thought you weren't pretending to be a goofball anymore," Weiss muttered in an exasperated tone.\n\n"Hey I'll have you know that some of this is authentic goofball, missy!"\n\n"Learning reconstructive algorithms," Reese muttered, mostly to herself as she scratched at her chin. When she realized everyone was looking at her now though, she cleared her throat. "I mean it was just sort of a random thought yanno totally thinking out loud just kinda turning things around-"\n\n"Take a breath and share with the class," Grey noted dryly, prompting his not-partner to stick her tongue out at him.\n\n"Okay so," Reese started, resting her hands on her hips as she turned to face the others. "Let's say your scroll gets zapped by a chunk of raw lightning dust you dropped into your pocket like a dumbass Bolin. But that means the hard drive's corrupted and is like fifty percent wiped. Now people hear a hard drive is fifty percent wiped and they always think well it's the first fifty percent that's fine and it's the last fifty percent that's cut off like a chocolate bar but no it's actually scattered around bits and pieces of your family photos and weapon schematics and training materials and textbooks and all that. So if you want to get all of that back you beg and plead and whine to your teammate and then she writes an LRA a 'Learning Reconstructive Algorithm' which is a program that runs on the hard drive and latches on to all those little bits of data figuring out what they are and how they go together until it can fill in the gaps. And soon that scrambled up data that was just two chapters of your History of Transforming Weapons textbook is back to the whole thing even if it was ten chapters."\n\n"How's it know what's in the other eight chapters if it's only got two to work with?" Qrow grunted, squinting suspiciously.\n\n"'Cause it looked at how the data went in the textbooks that were there or were less corrupted it's not actually rewriting the book it doesn't care what the text inside it says it's rewriting the file that the book contains because that's the data it's looking at," Reese explained. "Which is why it can be helpful for that sort of program if you give it more similar files to look at so it looks at those and it looks at what's missing and it goes 'Oh I know what goes here'. And I think something similar may be happening with this."\n\n"Are you saying that the longer Pyrrha is here," Ren said slowly, cupping his chin, pink eyes narrowing thoughtfully. "... The more 'Pyrrha' she gets?"\n\n"Something very like that yeah," Reese agreed, shrugging at the stunned faces of her friends. She turned towards the redhead on the couch, hesitated, then said, "'Scuse me I'm gonna hafta objectify you a little to actually explain this and I don't mean anything by it it just doesn't work if I don't."\n\n"I understand," Pyrrha said, rather tensely, but managing a smile.\n\n"Think of Pyrrha here like a simulation Kai started," Reese continued, gesturing up-and-down to the now leather-and-armor clad redhead. "She input all the variables she knew to make an 'authentic' Pyrrha and started the simulation. But like any good simulation it's running on its own now and working all of those variables to carry out its function which in this case is to be Pyrrha Nikos. So the longer the simulation runs the more authentic it gets including stuff that Kai would have had no way of knowing popping into Pyrrha's head."\n\n"So if we assume Kai set up this... algorithm, even by mistake," Ilia murmured, obviously struggling a bit to keep calm. "Does that mean that as it continues it's... overwriting her mind with Pyrrha's?"\n\nA shock of dread ran through the room, including a soft, horrified gasp from Pyrrha herself, her hand flying up to cover over her mouth. Reese winced, then slowly nodded. "That's... a maybe." Then she much more quickly shook her head. "But actually I don't think so. Actually I think this might be a good sign."\n\n"A good sign?" Oscar demanded, frowning. "How?"\n\n"I don't think Kai's running the algorithm I think Kai is the algorithm," the green-haired girl continued, resting her chin on her hand and the other hand on her elbow, staring at the redheaded human before her. "I think Ozma's right and Kai's probably retreated some place deep inside but she's still unconsciously refining her Pyrrha simulation constantly as it runs. You know how perceptive she is both about people and environments..."\n\n"You have to be, either as a Guild merc or living on Makarzia," Grey grunted. "People who don't learn to be perceptive wind up dead. Or Circumstanced into a very bad end."\n\n"The only thing she's not perceptive about is seeing how much we actually care about her," Oscar grumbled softly, folding his arms and looking away.\n\nNo one responded to that, perhaps because it was a little too accurate for anyone's own comfort in the situation. Reese cleared her throat and continued. "But yeah I think Kai's using all the input she's receiving to constantly fill in the gaps in Pyrrha's mind. How we react to her especially the people who actually knew her all our microexpressions and unconscious twitches every time she does something that's not Pyrrha even if the people who knew her don't consciously notice it they notice subconsciously and they react subconsciously and Kai sees that and adjusts Pyrrha a little. Same thing with Pyrrha going to her house Kai was taking everything she did know about where Pyrrha lived and what she could see and just constantly filling in the gaps using common sense and what she knows Pyrrha would do from all the memories she's got and her own experience with the way we build stuff and the other buildings in Argus and Pyrrha doesn't even notice it because it's happening on a subconscious level at the speed of thought. I bet by the time Pyrrha got to her room Kai had already figured out where a vent would be and that it was the best place for Pyrrha to keep her backup bag if there was a piece of furniture in front of it but more that it's where Pyrrha would keep it because of what she knows about Pyrrha's psychology. Heck I bet the very fact Pyrrha knew she had a secret backup bag is from Kai talking with all of us and realizing it's just common sense for a Huntress but also that Pyrrha is just that responsible."\n\n"I see," Pyrrha murmured quietly, trying to keep her face neutral as she nevertheless squirmed a little.\n\n"Pyrrha?" Weiss asked softly. "Are you okay?"\n\n"It's... a little daunting to hear that I'm being..." Pyrrha swallowed hard. "'Edited' like that constantly."\n\n"Not 'edited', refined," Reese insisted. "That's what the later passes of an LRA do they look at how they reconstructed the data and they do it better. Kai's not trying to remake you into what she wants you to be she's trying to remake you into who you were the actual authentic Pyrrha Nikos. Basically think of it like you are actually being resurrected it's just not all at once and perfect instantly it's a little bit of a time and piece by piece."\n\n"So what happens," Ilia said, voice hard, arms folded over her chest. "When she's finished and the simulation is perfect?"\n\n"Um." Reese rubbed the back of her head. "Well there's the rub huh? Because knowing Kai it could go either way. Maybe she decides that then Pyrrha and she can switch off like Ozma and Oscar do, uh, did," she added, glancing at the scowling farmboy before clearing her throat. "Or y'know it being Kai maybe she decides that Pyrrha's more worthwhile and just lets her have the body and really does go away because that'd just be the silly bitch all over wouldn't it?"\n\nIlia winced, but nodded.\n\n"Obviously, we cannot let that happen," Pyrrha said firmly, rising to her feet. "We need to accelerate both our mission and finding some way to separate me from her, or failing that, bring her back and let me go."\n\n"Pyrrha," Jaune almost groaned, but then winced and nodded in shame when she shot him a look.\n\n"I am reiterating this again," Pyrrha continued, her voice like steel as she turned hard red eyes on the others and gave a chop of her hand. "If it comes down to a decision between Kai and myself, you all must choose Kai. I refuse to let it be any other outcome. I will not steal her life from her like some soul thief in the night, or a Chill lurking in the shadows waiting for a new body. I cannot live if it's a life I took from somebody else. Not just my morality... my dignity will not stand for it."\n\n"That's the Invincible Girl, alright," Blake murmured softly.\n\nOscar scowled more deeply as he turned his head a bit, then blinked. Scowled again. Clearly wrestled himself under control. "Ozma says there might be a way to find out a solution."\n\n"What's up, kid?" Qrow prompted as Oscar stepped forward.\n\n"This," Oscar continued, unhooking the glowing lamp from his belt and holding it up. "Can answer questions. Supposedly any question you ask it. It's the reason he thought Salem couldn't be defeated, because he asked it how he could and it said he couldn't. But now he thinks that it probably works a lot like the way Reese just described these algorithms, just that it has access to a lot more data, like a global scale. When he asked it that, he's pretty sure that there hadn't been any dimensional travel to Remnant yet... it didn't know about other worlds. Or even the technology we've made ourselves since he asked."\n\n"Then why the hell haven't we asked it questions before?" Qrow growled, scowling as his fist clenched, then loosened when he realized he couldn't even have the satisfaction of slugging Ozma when he was in control of the body.\n\n"Because it has a recharge time. A long recharge time," Oscar huffed. "As usual he decided all by himself that it was better to wait, the shithead, and let it get as much data as it could before asking anything again. Because there's only two questions left, and once we ask those, we're definitely not getting any more while we're still working this problem. Either problem."\n\n"... So," Yang said slowly, with a shrug. "We ask it how to split Kai and Pyrrha apart. And then we ask it how to beat Salem now. Those are our problems, two seems like all the questions we need."\n\nOscar's eye twitched, then he huffed out a sigh. "I really hate when this asshole just keeps making good points," he grumbled, before turning his attention back to the others. "He says that if the entity in the lamp really does work like a learning algorithm that it might not have the data yet to answer either of those questions. That the answer might just be 'you can't' to both of them, even if it is possible, because the entity hasn't been exposed to enough data to know the answers so it thinks there aren't any."\n\n"Meaning, if we ask it now, we might not get to ask it later," Qrow grunted, shaking his head.\n\n"Or, if we ask it one question now and get one answer, we won't be able to ask it the same question later without giving up the other question," Ruby added in a soft, forelorn voice.\n\n"Right. So I say, unlike the Dick Wizard in here, we don't leave this to one person and we put it to a vote," Oscar declared. "Ozma votes we wait to ask any questions. I vote we ask it how to separate Kai and Pyrrha now." He glanced around, then huffed a little, before blinking as Jaune's sister-in-law proffered him a notepad and a package of pens. "Oh, thanks," he added sheepishly, in part because they were still taking the helpfulness of Jaune's family for granted, in part because she was a pretty older girl and that was apparently his thing now. He tore out sheets from the notebook, then went around passing them out. "'Ask' or 'Wait'. Write what you think is best. We won't judge anybody, that's the whole point of a vote."\n\nThere were a number of silent glances, hesitations, thoughtful frowns. But bit by bit pens were applied to paper, quick strokes of the nubs etching what each person thought best. As they were folded and passed back, Oscar collected each one... after all, he was the one person who could legitimately vote both ways, and therefore somehow seemed the most neutral. He went through each vote, trying to keep his expression neutral as he counted, and then just to be sure counted again, unprompted.\n\n"So what's the decision, kid?" Qrow asked finally, folding his arms.\n\n<hr>\n([["'Ask'."|KaiRem3x9]])\n\n([["'Wait'."|KaiRem]])

Maybe whoever it was moved in with the other guy, you think as you climb back down the furniture hill. Or they got eaten by something out in the dump, which is a less pleasant idea. Maybe go with they moved as your assumption.\n\nYou hurry through the stacks of garbage, spotting several of those huts now that you're looking for them, seeing bits of light shining out of them through the cracks. People (for the local definition of "people") definitely live here, then, even if you hadn't seen the other, obviously occupied house. You mapped out where the house was and the path there pretty carefully in your head, but still get turned around once or twice on the way there, meaning by the time you get there you can hear the thunder and even the thumping, pounding noise of heavy rain in the distance.\n\n"Hello?!" you call as you approach, just in case. It looks like it was probably a pretty decent trailer home at one point, as such things go... a long rectangle with windows in the sides, though those have what looks like blankets tacked up over them, making you briefly reassess whether it might actually be inhabited. But as you make your way up the improvised steps formed of an old set of shelves, there's no sense of warmth or movement. You pound on the door briefly, and give another call of "Anyone there?" just to be sure. No response. You glance over your shoulder, and see that the rain is now actually visible, maybe a hundred feet away and moving in fast.\n\nPutting aside the rest of your caution, you yank open the door and step through, preceded shortly by one of your pistols. But the interior is dark, with no more sense of movement or living warmth than the outside had. You quickly shut the door and almost reflexively lock it, since it looks like the lock is indeed intact. Again reflexively, you reach for the lightswitch beside the doorframe and flip it, and are rather shocked when several overhead lights sputter to life. They're weak old flourescents, or pseudo-flourescents since they lack that distinctive soul-sucking hum, and only really bring up the interior to 'dim', but it's enough to see by.\n\n"Hoarder," you murmur out loud, since that's the first thought that pops into your mind. The place is definitely cluttered with all sorts of things that look like they were salvaged from the exterior, piles and piles of them. From the crates and boxes stacked against the walls it looks like the afflicted individual at first attempted to actually sort and store their finds, but eventually gave up and instead just started stacking things in vaguely-sorted piles all over the place, overtaking most of the furniture.\n\nYou blush a little as you realize that more than a few of the piles are on the lewd side... there's a massive jumble of dildos and vibrators and other similar toys, stacks upon stacks of glossy media disk containers with titillating covers, and even a nose-high stack of lingerie of all kinds. You approach that one the most dubiously, pulling your mask down and giving a tentative sniff. But other than the general 'garbage dump' scent from outside, and a sort of musty, dusty smell from in here, there's nothing too bad. Maybe a bit of mildew. You notice that a washing machine and dryer are actually hiding behind the stack... apparently whoever collected them at least made some effort to get them clean before piling them up.\n\nBut yeah... by the layers of undisturbed dust on everything (including the bed, couch, and, uh, the sex toys), this place has for sure been abandoned for months at least. You wander around a bit, eyeing shelves upon shelves of waifu statues and action figures, more piles of miscellaneous electronics, and what looks like some sort of salvaged auto-stimulation machine that was close to completion before whoever it was left.\n\n'Weird. But I guess where better for a hoarder to live than a dump?' you muse ruefully. You find a massive stack of halfheartedly folded sheets that, again, smell faintly of mildew but nothing worse, and carry them over to the bed, stripping off the... slightly more odorous... sheets on the simple mattress resting on a pressboard box frame. You shove the old sheets into the washer just to have somewhere to put them (no point risking whatever generator this place is using on that) and then, after a bit more thinking on it, shrug out of your coat and boots and lay down in bed. You don't bother stripping out of the skinarmor suit for the moment... it's basically like being naked anyway.\n\n'Doubt there'll be much out in that anyway,' you muse, glancing at the covered window and listening to the rain pounding on it. Which... is an assumption, admittedly, you've heard of Death Worlds where some truly horrific things come out when it rains, but since this place isn't armored all to hell but still looks intact, you're going to assume that if there's anything like that, it can't get through pressed sheet metal. Noticing another lightswitch near the head of the bed, you flick it, and the overhead lights go off, replaced by a glowing LED 'XXX' sign above the bed providing low red-pink light. Cute.\n\nYou try to settle in and get some rest, knowing there's nothing you can do for Captain Andrews until the rain passes. But after a few moments you start to squirm. You're beginning to feel... well, horny. Maybe it was walking around all day effectively naked, or maybe it's the delayed adrenaline rush of the mission, or maybe it's the deliberately pornographic light of the sign... or maybe it's the smell of lingering sex on the pile of toys that is, indeed, conveniently right next to the bed. But dammit, you're feeling really... nnh.\n\nHalf unthinkingly, you reach a hand down and begin toying with your clit through the thin, sleek layer of material molded against it. You let out a soft moan as you do... yeah, maybe that's it, it's basically got your little joy buzzer right on display and shown off, it's probably been really subtly stimulating you the entire time. Maybe just a quick one to clear your head...?\n\nThen you pause, and almost unwillingly look around the room at all the lewd things the previous owner left behind. ... No, no, you couldn't. They're... used. Like probably three or four times over, some of them. That's gross!\n\n... Still...\n\n<hr>\n[[Just rub one out real quick.|ChiApoc]]\n\n[[Use a toy.|ChiApoc]]\n\n[[Watch a video.|ChiApoc]]\n\n[[Try on some lingerie.|ChiApoc]]

Deciding that you value your modern girl dignity a bit higher than your adherance to story, you take a deep breath, steel your resolve, then tip forward and drop out the window.\n\nIt's not until about halfway down that you wonder if maybe the Witch Princess's declaration had something to do with the dragon showing up, considering that there's no dragon showing up. 'Well fuck,' is your last thought right before the ground introduces itself.\n\nYou wake up, which is probably the most shocking thing that's happened to you today, all things considered, laying on a flat stone altar of some sort. Everything feels a bit weird and muted, like you'd just woken up from a nap and were having a hard time thinking, except it's also your sense of touch and and hearing that are thick and slow to respond as well. You slowly sit up, boobs wobbling and catching your attention as you glance down. You blink at the sort of deep blue color they've become. 'Eh?' you think, starting to look yourself over, realizing that you're mostly a sort of pale, lifeless blue across most of your body... some pieces of which aren't even the same shade of blue, which might have to do with the stitches criss-crossing your form. Specifically, your right arm is a different shade than your torso, and when you hold it up and wiggle it beside the left, you realize they don't quite match. 'What the hell, am I... an undead?'\n\n"Indeed you are,"" Thule's voice booms from the ceiling, prompting you to look up. "You thought you could escape me so easily? You shall be punished for your defiance even now!"\n\n"Bringing me back to life seems like a pretty weird punishment," you note, frowning as you slowly swing around to sit on the side of the altar, looking around at the largely featureless chamber you're in, lit by wall sconces and with two hallways coming off of it.\n\n"Not life, but merely reanimated. I have placed you here in this dungeon of wandering monsters, where you may suffer the depredations of their whims for all eternity... even should you be ravaged beyond the ability of your body to sustain your consciousness, my servants shall eventually retrieve what is left of you and patch you back together, placing you on the altar to rise again. You shall spend the rest of eternity in this mockery of life, paying for your insult!"\n\n... Seems a little elaborate and harsh but okay. You frown thoughtfully to yourself, just trying to think, and not bothering to reply to Thule. He says nothing further as well, either satisfied that he's thoroughly declared your doom and demoralized or huffy that you don't want to show him further defiance or plead for forgiveness. You seriously doubt that if he'd gone to all this trouble that he'd grant it to you anyway, the big drama queen. Instead you focus on taking stock of your situation.\n\nAlright so as an undead, your magic ability is going to be reduced to damn near bupkiss... the Witch Princess wasn't a necromancer, and basically every spellcaster except necromancers don't make the transition to undeath very well. Your own necromancy knowledge was relatively limited, involving rituals with unique ingredients that you don't have here... you might be able to bolster your form and give yourself a bit more 'lifelike' qualities, which you take a moment to do now, pressing your hands to your middle and conventrating. A little of that 'muted' feeling lets up, though some remains since you're, y'know. Dead.\n\n'So let's see, options,' you think as you stand up, then wobble a little, tits jiggling. '... Great, one's a bit shorter than it was. Did they miss a piece?' Sighing breathlessly, you focus back on the matter at hand. 'Okay, so I can try to escape. That's the obvious thing. But I doubt it's as easy as that... he called it a "labyrinth" so there's not just finding a way out, I'm betting there's probably only one and it's not easy to access or generally allowed. If this was some normal fortress of his that he'd stuck somewhere, he wouldn't have just left me here to wander around... no, there's probably one way out, if that. If that's the case, I'm betting this place is as much of a prison for the monsters roaming it as it is for me... I could try to find allies, or, alternatively, someone willing to protect me in return for service, that's basically how prison works, right? Because I'm definitely not up to finding the toughest guy here and fighting him. ... Or I guess I could just explore the place, since even if I get out I'll still be a zombie, and who knows if there's any way to resurrect myself?'\n\nWhich brings up the other idea, which is that you could just... give up. Sit here, refuse to do anything, both admitting that you've been bested and denying Thule the satisfaction of watching you struggle.\n\n<hr>\n[[Try to escape.|ValWP]]\n\n[[Look for allies.|ValWP]]\n\n[[Look for a master.|ValWP]]\n\n[[Roam the labyrinth.|ValWP]]\n\n[[Give up.|ValWP]]

You make yourself consider the options... but in your heart you already know there's only one choice. "Is there anyone here that isn't willing to risk their lives to make sure Zee is safe?" you ask out loud.\n\nAurora quickly shakes her head, and Ico simply gives you a small smile. Niobe is quiet for a moment, before snorting and smirking a bit. "Shit, it's your money, I'll risk my life how you tell me. Alright, from what I heard, Underfoot's probably bein' held in a shut-down apartment building towards the edge of the sector. It's undergoing redistricting so officially everyone's supposed to be out... makes it good for flops and safe houses for shit like hostages. It's a decent clip away so we'll take my car."\n\nSoon the four of you are in the sleek four seater vehicle, the lights of the city flicking past on the almost canopy-like windows and top. The safest configuration seemed to be Aurora and Ico in the back, with you in the front passenger seat and Niobe driving since, y'know, her car. The silence is a little awkward since this doesn't exactly seem like one of those 'radio' drives, Aurora eventually clearing her throat. "This is a really nice car, Niobe."\n\n"Yeah, I like it," the gene-soldier replies briskly.\n\n"Ah... honestly I sort of considered buying one just like this, but... I... don't drive in cities very much, so it seemed like a... waste of money," the bounty hunter murmurs, trailing off.\n\n"Yeah, was 'spensive," Niobe agrees airily, before the awkward silence closes back in.\n\nYou fiddle with the feathers of your earring for a minute, before you're unable to help giving a soft 'heh'. "Man, 'Underfoot', it's been forever since I heard Zee called that, you know?"\n\n"Huh, you don't call her that anymore?" Niobe asks, sparing a slight glance at you with obvious surprise.\n\nYou snort at that. "You were the only one who ever called her 'Underfoot', Niobe."\n\n"What? No, everyone called her that," the cat-eared woman protests with a bit of a frown. "Right?"\n\n"That was just you," Ico affirms in a lyrical tone.\n\n"Shit, seriously? I mean, what the hell else would you call her?" Niobe huffs, with an almost chortle. "She was always, constantly right-"\n\n"Underfoot, yeah," you say along with Niobe, both of you chuckling and even Ico giving a soft laugh as she looks out the window.\n\n"She was always trying to clean the dojo right while you and Kai were doing grappling practice," Ico murmurs, glancing down and at her hands clasped in her lap, a smile on her lips.\n\n"Man I remember the first time I called her that, too, she was doing that shit and actually trying to sweep the mat while we were using it, and I almost stepped on her again and I was so mad-"\n\n"But you never would yell at her or curse at her," you interject, feeling your grin stretch your cheeks.\n\n"Shit I guess so but I had like a dozen profanities all lined up there to go in front of callin' her always underfoot, but man you're right I guess 'cause none of 'em would come out and all I could do was go 'You, you, you-!'"\n\n"Underfoot!" the three of you complete together, before sharing a laugh.\n\n"Yeah," you murmur, glancing down and plucking at your seatbelt. "... She did that 'cause she liked you, y'know."\n\n"No shit?" Niobe murmurs, giving you another side glance.\n\n"Yeah, you were her favorite."\n\n"Uh, what? Zee's always thought you ignited the reactor cores, kid."\n\n"Favorite adult, I mean," you correct softly, feeling your chest tighten as you wonder if Zee's hoping you'll come and save her right now.\n\n"... Yeah?" Niobe's expression is that of someone who feels lost for a moment, before she murmurs, "Yeah, well, she was a good kid. ... Is."\n\nThere's a moment of silence, before Ico speaks up, a tiny, rueful smile on her lips as she keeps her gaze down. "It must be nice, being someone's favorite."\n\n"Uhhhhh, what the fuck're you talkin' about?" Niobe asks in an annoyed and bewildered tone, actually tossing a glance briefly over her shoulder towards her former fellow slave. "You were the kid's favorite from day one."\n\n"Stop, you don't need to be nice," Ico murmurs, directing her gaze out the window again.\n\n"Have you fuckin' met me, what in our twenty years of nearly dyin' together makes you think I'd ever be fuckin' nice to you? You're the kid's favorite, you dumb bitch."\n\n"Oh do be quiet, look at her, she's still wearing your old jacket."\n\n"Uh, yeah, it's a nice fuckin' jacket, you know how much I paid for that thing? Meanwhile she's still carrying around that old fuckall katana you gave her, she could've traded up to a vibroblade or a crystalslicer or damn near anything else that'd be better if you weren't her favorite."\n\n"That's nonsense, the sword is a work of art, you're just-"\n\n"Guys," you cut in, your throat a little tight. Both of them go silent, giving you the moment you need to find the strength to say, "I couldn't even start to choose between you."\n\nThere's quiet for a few moments. Then it's Aurora who breaks it. "I'm kind of jealous," she admits. "I always sort of wanted sisters."\n\nFrom the glances exchanged between the three of you, none of you quite knows what to say to that.\n\nLuckily soon you're pulling up to the curb, and Niobe leans over the wheel a bit to point. "That one there. According to my guy, that's where they're holding her. We get a little closer I'll probably be able to sniff them out."\n\n"Tactically it's probably somewhere on the middle floors, since they probably feel that way it's easier to see anyone coming," Aurora pipes up. "In about seventy percent of bounties where criminals are hiding out in abandoned buildings, they're somewhere in the middle range of floors."\n\n"What's the other thirty percent?" Niobe grunts.\n\n"Rooftop."\n\n"The ratio is roughly the same for hostage-takers," Ico adds, giving Aurora an approving look before looking at the building as well. "Mm. Twenty story building, power is out for four blocks around which means that getting power back to the elevator without lighting up the rest of the building would take some delicate hacking and hardware work-"\n\n"And they're on the tenth or eleventh floor, yeah," you pick up, feeling more than seeing Ico nod approvingly at you picking up her prompt. "Figure there's probably at least five of them since Horace likes to be thorough, they had to take Zee up with them, most likely tenth floor, west side since they'd be expecting anyone coming from the sector to approach from there, s'why Niobe did that detour."\n\n"Smart kid, you noticed. 'Kay, we'll confirm once we're inside, but it's good to narrow it down. So, like I said, you're the one in charge of piling the pig shit, kid, what's the plan?"\n\n<hr>\n[[Hit them hard and fast.|Kai]]\n\n[[Enclose them.|Kai]]

"Yeah. Yeah, I know a few people we could ask," you say slowly. "I'd have to look up where they're working out of now, but they're both Guildcerts, so shouldn't be too hard. But we get even one of them on board, we can consider Zee as being good as safe in a crashpad bed and Horace in his crypt."\n\n"Really?" Aurora can't help but perk up with obvious curiosity.\n\n"Yeah. Just got one question for you, though..."\n\n<hr>\n[["How much money can you put together on the quick?"|Kai6x4]]\n\n[["What's your tolerance for bitchiness?"|Kai]]

"It's an assistance contract. I'm gonna be right in the thick of this."\n\n"Alright." Vima types a little more, and tosses you a last lingering glance, silently asking one more time. At your small nod, she hits a single keystroke. "Your job is listed."\n\n"Thanks, Vima." You nod again, suddenly feeling tired. "See you around," you add as you turn and walk away.\n\n"Oh! Kai!" the clerk calls before you've gotten more than ten steps away. "Wait!"\n\nSighing, you turn and walk back. "Look, I told you, yes, I'm su-"\n\n"Oh, um, no, it's not that." She points at her screen. "It's that someone already accepted your job."\n\nYou blink. "Wait... seriously?"\n\n"Yes, you've been asked to meet them in Special Vault Prep Area Three."\n\n"... Great, thanks." Okay, that's... weird. Having your job listing accepted before you even had time to wash your hands has jarred you enough that everything is starting to feel a little unreal. You make your way across the lobby and into a lift, standing there silently for a good ten seconds before you remember you need to tell it where to go. "Lift, special vault prep. Uh, three." The doors quickly slide closed and you're immediately being rushed off towards the nearest lift exit to your stated destination in the area where the larger weapon vaults can be brought up and people can work on or prepare their contents before heading to a portal.\n\nYou walk into the prep area labeled '3', looking around for who seems likely to be the one who accepted your job. It's not hard to guess... for one thing, there's only a single person here, sitting on the side of one of the long, sturdy metal tables, and she's sliding off of it even as you walk in. For another, you know exactly who it is, from the shortish silver hair with a side-ponytail and a fall on the other side, the tactical webbing that clips around her breasts which are partly displayed by the purple one-piece that makes up the main part of her garment, the long black coat, and the black shorts, all of it expensive and in perfectly maintained condition. "Aurora," you murmur, with an air of 'I should have known'. You're familiar enough with each other... she's got a huge hero complex, and has specifically stated she wants to free you and any other slaves she can a number of times. You guess you shouldn't be surprised she pounced on your listing... although maybe you are, a little, you always kind of thought she was all talk and no action.\n\n<img src="images/Aurora.png">\n\n"Kai," she says softly, walking over to you. She lifts her arms as if intending to give you a hug, hesitates, then puts her hands on your forearms instead, gently lifting your hands up as she looks down at them. "... Is this Doonian's blood?" she asks in a whisper.\n\n"Yeah. You heard?" you ask, hearing your voice go flat even as you can feel something in you bottoming out.\n\n"I saw the notification of his will going into effect go across the merc boards, so I set a priority flag on any job or news about you hoping you'd turn up." She raises her head, a slightly pained look in her eyes. "Oh Kai, I wish you'd at least taken the time to wash his blood off before you'd done something so reckless."\n\nYou yank your arms out of her hands and turn away. "There isn't any time, Zee is out there, being held captive by a monster!" you snarl, though even to yourself your words sound faltering, forceless, exhausted. \n\n"... I promise you that we will get her back," Aurora says after a moment, her tone careful. "And soonest. I won't say another word about how you should have come to me for help first... ... except that, sorry," she adds with a soft huff at herself. She gingerly rests a hand on your shoulder. "But you can't push yourself in this state. How long since you slept?"\n\nYou want to snarl at her, but you're feeling all airy and weird, and find yourself just answering instead. "I don't know, maybe... probably night before last."\n\n"Since you ate?" she prompts gently.\n\n"Longer, I guess?" you reply, wondering why she's asking, wondering why you're answering, wondering what any of this even is.\n\n"Kai. Kai. Kai." You suddenly find your thoughts a little clearer as you feel gloved hands on your cheeks and realize you're staring at a pair of intense, concerned blue-purple eye. "Kai. You are exhausted, you are hungry, you're probably dehydrated, and you're starting to dissociate from the shock."\n\n"Oh." You blink, realizing all of that is very true. "Oh. Shit."\n\n"So what I need you to do is drink some water, take a quick shower, eat something, and then spend at least an hour sleeping in a detox tube. Absolute minimum, or you won't be able to stay on your feet long enough to help me get Zee back. That's the important thing, getting Zee back, right?"\n\nYou want to be angry at her, yell that she's condescending to you and treating you like a child, that she's not your mother or your sister or your savior or whatever the hell she thinks she is that she can tell you to hydrate and take a nap so you won't be grumpy. But all of a sudden you're just so, so tired. You're so tired and you let your head hang and you whisper, "Alright."\n\n"Okay. The facilities are over this way, come on."\n\nYou remember the facilities in the really nice prep rooms like this one. You've been in them before. It's pretty great, nice little cylinder shower stalls that close up and the glass goes frosted in a neat shimmery way, the water temperature's always perfectly controlled, the stuff from the vending machines even tastes better than the stuff in the lobby or at least it seemed like it. You remember Ico giving in to your pleading and buying you an actual candy bar from one of the vending machines that Aurora is buying a bottle of water from now, Niobe laughing at her for being such a sucker. The pop of the cap sounds like the door closing behind Ico the day she was sold, the clatter of it into the recycle bin like the ornament Niobe threw down the garbage chute during her shouting match with Doonian the day she bought her freedom. The cold of the bottle in your hands and the water spreading through your mouth and throat reminds you how cold the shower was that first day in the little rundown apartment on Makarzia after moving there from the beautiful Guildhall suite that had been the only good thing about living with Doonian once the others were gone. The sound of the shower starting and gentle hands helping you out of your clothing reminds you of all the times Zee had to do the same for you after you came home, bleeding and hurting, turning over the money you'd bled and hurt to earn to a man whose only response was a grunt.\n\n"Kai." Aurora's voice pulls you back to the present, at least somewhat, and you look over at her. She's standing in the doorway of the refresher area, obviously intending to give you privacy, that pained look in her eyes again. "I'm sorry."\n\nSearching for yourself and finding at least a little scrap, you snort and manage a slight eyeroll. "What, about Doonian? Don't be. I mean..." You shrug a little as you look away. "Sure... it's my fault. But it's not like he ever treated me worth a damn anyway."\n\nAurora nods slowly, acknowledging at least Doonian's treatment of you. "I more meant..." She hesitates, then adds quietly, "I'm sorry this happened to you. ... All of it." Then she steps outside, the door sliding closed behind her. \n\nYou stare at the closed door for a moment, then step into the shower cylinder and hit the button to close it. You just stand there, arms limp at your sides, watching the water sliding down your body and across the floor of the shower flicker with brown, then red. You lift your hands, looking at them, the drying blood turning brighter as the outer layers are washed off. Your hands are already trembling as you slowly clench your fingers into fists, and then you're pounding one against the wall, not a punch, just a downward slam like you wanted to break the wall down, striking again, and again, watching the splatters of blood fly, a noise building in your throat until you're screaming constantly while beating your fist against the metal. Then the scream turns to sobs as you slowly sag down to your knees and slump against the wall.\n\nYou always thought Doonian would be the one to put the last nail in the coffin of the three of you's relatively stable life. But it was you. You did it. You destroyed it. You.\n\nIt's your fault.\n\nYou just feel numb and empty by the time you step out of the shower, somewhat mechanically eating the foodbars the silent Aurora hands you before letting her guide you into one of the detox tubes. She must have paid to turn on the somnic inducer because you just stop remembering, and there's just blissful nonbeing for awhile. By the time light hits your eyelids again and you're gently nudged out of the tube by the motors beneath the padding, you feel vaguely like a sentient being again.\n\n"How do you feel?" Aurora asks as she hands you a folded set of clothes.\n\nYou realize they aren't your clothes, but rather closer to being a copy of her own outfit, albeit with a red one-piece instead of purple. Momentary resentment at her trying to remake you in her own image bubbles up, before you realize the red has the telltale signs of an additive color layer... she actually recolored some of her spares to make it more suited for you. 'Probably slugproof and particle-resistant, anyway,' you think as you start to pull the garments on. "Better," you allow. "Maybe not 100% but I'm combat ready."\n\n"Alright. So we need to decide our next move."\n\n"... Hey, before we do, there's something I want to ask you." You turn to her as you pull your coat down from the peg it's hung on and shrug into it. Zee is still the most important thing, but now that you feel like yourself again you realize that plunging in headlong isn't the best idea, and there's at least time for a question or two. "You've always said you wanted to free me, so what about the job? At the least we're talking a thirty year indenture, you just gonna claim it?"\n\n"I might," she answers, raising her eyebrows slightly, and actually giving you a small smile. "Maybe I'd finally be able to keep you out of trouble that way." At your dismissive but amused snort, she smiles a little more, obviously satisfied that you aren't going to break on her. "We'll deal with that when the time comes. For now, we need to decide how to proceed. Do you think we should call in some of my friends? I have a few favors I'm owed, and on top of that, people that will just come help me if necessary," she adds.\n\n'Must be nice,' you can't help but think a little wistfully. "I dunno about bringing in a lot more people, Aurora. This guy we're going up against is nasty. He did all of this like a lightning strike because I didn't kill someone after we shook on it. Anyone we bring into it is going to risk getting that same attention turned on them."\n\nShe bobs her head a little, at least acknowledging the point. "What about you, is there anyone you can call on that wouldn't mind that level of heat?"\n\nYou open your mouth to say no, then close it. Do you? You can think of at least two people who might, theoretically at least, step up on this issue. It wouldn't be easy, and might take precious time away from rescuing Zee, but either one of them would probably be worth any random twenty mercs you cared to put together.\n\n<hr>\n[[Ask Aurora's friends for help.|Kai8x1]]\n\n[[Go to your friends for help.|Kai6x3]]\n\n[[Go it solo. Er, duo.|Kai]]

"Me," you answer evenly. "I'm the payment. Thirty year contract of indenture for primary completion, lifetime slave contract for both primary and secondary. Feel free to link my Guild record under the payment area."\n\nThat makes her suck in a breath, and she actually stops typing, turning to look at you full-on, her face full of sympathy now. "Ma'am, are you sure you want to do that?"\n\nYou frown at her. "Hey. The Guild doesn't judge. That's what's on the table, put it down."\n\n"... The Guild might not judge, and I'm not judging you," she says quietly, this time not flinching as she looks you in the eyes. "But I can't help but see someone in front of me who's in a lot of pain and is very desperate, and in that sort of circumstance I can't live with myself if I don't at least ask, are you sure?"\n\nHer sincere worry softens you a little, and you briefly glance down at her ID badge. "Listen... Vima... I've been a slave literally as long as I can remember. I made my peace with the fact that I was probably going to live and die a slave a long time ago. Nothing's changed for me... except that someone's taken the one person in this universe I care about hostage and destroyed everything I know because I wouldn't kill an innocent man at his say-so. Thirty years is nothing to get her back... and I'd spend the rest of my life trying to make him pay anyway." You give your head a slight shake, eyes not leaving hers. "This is not a big deal for me. List it."\n\n"Alright," she says softly, turning her eyes back to the screen and typing in the code. "Ah... assistance contract, or bounty?"\n\nMeaning, do you want the person who's likely to be your new owner to fight beside you as you try to get Zee back and put Horace in a crypt, or do you just want to sit back and enjoy whatever short amount of freedom you have before they get back from the job?\n\n<hr>\n[[Assistance contract.|Kai6x2]]\n\n[[Bounty.|Kai]]

You don't have to say anything, just hesitate to speak long enough that Ico steps forward. You can see just the merest instant of something almost like fear in Niobe's eyes as the other woman steps up to her, before she covers it with a smirk again. "Oh, what, you gonna go on or something? About how I owe you, or what a sweet guy the old fucker actually was, we should do it for the memory of who he used to be? Gotta tell you, was never a fan of him even when he was at his best, really."\n\nIco is silent for long seconds, just staring down at the cat-eared woman. When she does speak, though, it's with such conviction that it feels like it fills the entire building. "You were trash before you met him."\n\nNiobe's smirk instantly vanishes, replaced by a scowl and a steadily rising boil of fury in her eyes. "Fuck you."\n\nIco, normally so reserved, her face a steel mask ever since Niobe said she was glad Doonian was dead, pulls her lips back from her teeth as she speaks again. "You. Were literally. Trash."\n\nNiobe bolts to her feet, flinging the candy aside, the discarded hat going tumbling off the seat as she leans in, shouting at Ico's face from inches away. "FUCK you! You don't get to bring that up! You don't get to try and make him some sort of hero!"\n\n"Nobody wanted you before him!" Ico shouts back now, gloved hands clenching as she leans in as well. "Nobody cared about you, nobody tried to help you, nobody bothered! He literally pulled you out of the fucking garbage where you'd been thrown away, Aer!!"\n\n"DON'T YOU CALL ME THAT!" the cat-eared woman roars, her pupils blazing red as she turns and grabs the nearest table, effortlessly yanking it free from where it's bolted to the floor and hurling it over Ico's head as if it weighed no more than a baseball, both you and Aurora ducking reflexively while Ico stands tall and unflinching. Niobe's lips are pulled back from her teeth, lungs working like a bellows and making her mostly-bare breasts heave, fingers curling into claws as if she wanted to rip something else apart as she glares at the other woman. "Don't. Ever. Say. That. Name." It looks like it's taking everything she has not to launch herself at the black-haired woman, her hair even sticking out slightly.\n\n"Am. I. Wrong?" Ico replies in the same cadence, her voice liquid ice.\n\nNiobe's lips press together, twisting as if there were something vile on her tongue and she were forbidden to spit it out and trying to resist swallowing it. Her hands fully clench into fists as she straightens up. "... Yeah. Yeah. He pulled me out of the fucking trash. Then he shoved a slave chip in my neck. Big hero."\n\nIco hisses out a noise of frustration, head jerking to one side as her eyes roll before fixing her glare on the other woman again. "You were a discarded gene-soldier with rage issues, what was he supposed to do?! For the first few years he needed the chip just to keep you from assaulting anyone you bumped into in the Guildhall! Forget your Guild certification, which being his slave allowed you to receive practically automatically, without it you'd probably have been in jail! Or worse!"\n\n"Funny, it felt a lot like bein' in fuckin' jail anyway," Niobe literally growls back, eyes narrowing. Slowly the glow goes out of her pupils, her hair laying flat again as she straightens her back and shifts her shoulders. "Fuck Doonian. Fuck the Guild. And fuck you," she adds, jabbing a finger at Ico. "I'm done with all your shit. Get the fuck out of my place before I decide calling the cops on you is fuckin' funny," she snorts, flapping a hand dismissively as she turns her back on all of you, folding her arms. "There's not a fucking thing in the multiverse that you could say to drag me back into this stupid shit."\n\nYou and Aurora exchange a glance, then both look over at Ico, whose face has gone unreadable again and is just standing there silently. And who, after a moment, speaks up again. "I'll pay you."\n\nNiobe's ears twitch, and she turns her head slightly to look over her shoulder. "How much?"\n\n"Twenty million."\n\n"... Owed?" Niobe asks, turning around fully.\n\n"Liquid and immediate transfer."\n\n"I'll get my shit," Niobe declares breezily, taking a moment to fasten her belt before heading for the bar.\n\n"... Did this just... get resolved and she's coming with us?" Aurora murmurs, eyes a bit wide.\n\n"Not sure about resolved but yeah, sounds like the other thing." You look over at Ico. "Where are you gonna get twenty million credits?"\n\n"My account," Ico answers placidly, returning your look. At your dumbfounded expression, she raises her eyebrows slightly. "My owners were very insistent and very generous despite the fact that I never touched it."\n\n"Crystal Dragon was every slave but me getting paid?" you groan, dragging a hand down your face.\n\n"By the way," Niobe announces as she walks back over, still shoving various pill containers and syringes into pockets both obvious and concealed on her jacket. "I won't take cred cards or a bank transfer."\n\n"I see. And how would you like your payment?" Ico asks placidly, as if it were no nevermind to her despite the likely setup for something.\n\n"We go to the Guildhall and do a notarized transfer via official payment document," the other woman replies as she finishes her preparations and tugs the jacket forward into place, smirking. "Oh, and you have to make it out to 'Niobe'."\n\nIco looks at her for a long moment, then simply gives a single nod. "Most certainly, I'd be happy too."\n\n"Damn right you would be. Alright, kid, looks like you're the one lighting this trash fire, so what's our next move?" Niobe asks as she turns to you, resting a hand on her hip. "And yeah, yeah, I know, you wanna save Underfoot, but before we go chargin' off to where they're probably holding 'er I want you to think about it." She tilts her head a bit, ears twitching. "We rescue her first, it'll probably go nice and smooth... but Horace'll know we're coming and he's gonna lock his shit up tighter than the asshole of a Guild loan agent. We try to get him after that, decent chance all of us don't make it out alive. We go right at Horace, yeah, there's a chance he might hurt our girl, but just as good a chance his boys will hold on to her to buy their own lives with if their boss goes down. It's risky either way, not gonna lie, just depends what you wanna risk."\n\n<hr>\n[[Get Zee first.|Kai6x8]]\n\n[[Kill Horace first.|Kai]]

Ico looks for a moment, then sighs. "Oh, Kai, surely you don't mean...?"\n\n"Look, I'm pretty sure we can get her to agree to it now that you're with us," you urge. "You were always good at getting her where she needs to go." You can see the dubious look in Ico's eyes, so you push a bit more. "Besides, she's already on Makarzia, turns out, in the same city sector even, I just never knew it until I looked her up. Even if she won't help, it won't lose us that much time."\n\n"... Very well." Ico nods once, then turns and strides back out of the room. "Come along, it's rude to portal from inside someone else's home."\n\n"Who's this we're going to see?" Aurora asks as the two of you follow after the older mercenary.\n\n"The other woman who raised me while the old man sat on his ass, pretty much," you murmur back, keeping your voice low even though you're still a little back from Ico. "Niobe. She's a little, uh... well, basically she's really into doing her own thing and I wasn't sure she'd help if we didn't have Ico to work on convincing her."\n\n"Oh, are they close?"\n\n"Uh... kinda," you murmur, rubbing the back of your neck. "... Look stick close to me and watch out for thrown things. Or debris."\n\nSoon enough the three of you are back on Makarzia, standing in a stripclub nee whorehouse that's been cleared out for the moment. The person you've come to see is currently lounging back in a comfy red open booth-style seat intended for VIP clients (or in this case the owner) to receive near-constant lapdances in, currently toying with the hat she took off the slender (and rather young-looking) male stripper with mouse ears and a tail before shooing him out with the rest. Her big, boulder-firm breasts are almost as on much display as the feline ears atop her head, both lifted proudly as if daring anyone to comment on them, the former covered by a scant black bikini top. Her shortish, iridescent purple hair matches the one-piece she's wearing that has the chest cut out to allow for such a display, yellow-lined black jacket shrugged off her shoulders and fur-lined hood back, her tiny black cutoffs currently undone and open, yellow belt flopped apart as if to display just how close she was to chucking them altogether. She tucks one white sneaker under a muscular thigh as she looks at the three of you, smirking around the steaming blue sucker in her mouth.\n\n<img src="images/Niobe.jpg">\n\n"Well well well, been awhile, kid," Niobe chirps, slipping the sucker out enough to lick it as she grins at you.\n\n"I see you're still indulging in the most vile sort of chemicals," Ico cuts in primly before you can respond, freshly gloved hands clasped in front of her.\n\nNiobe's smile turns into a frown for just the briefest of moments, before twisting into a sneer. "And I see you're still going around doing everything you can to scream 'I'm a servant, I'm a servant, I live to do menial bullshit!', Ikes," she responds, doing her best to make the nickname sound like 'yikes'. "What, you come to clean off the tables?"\n\n"Mm, at least something in this establishment would be clean, then," Ico bats back smoothly, letting her eyes sweep back and forth in obvious appraisal.\n\n"Listen, Niobe, I'm sorry I never came to see you before now," you try to cut back in. "I didn't even know you were in the city."\n\n"Well, didn't know you were here either, kid, should've made sense though... Makarzia's where everyone who's bailing out of the Guildhall 'cause of brokeness winds up, seems like." Niobe shrugs, then smirks again and pops the sucker back into her mouth, letting it bulge out one cheek and slightly muffle her speech as she says, "Fortunately not all of us stay broke, eh? Smug all you want, but this is only one of my places, and that ain't near all I got goin' on. Guess I just wasn't destined to fail like the old man, eh?"\n\n"Doonian's dead," Ico replies simply, red eyes boring into the other woman.\n\n"..." Niobe sits up, body language shifting as her eyes narrow slightly and the smirk turns into a light frown. "Yeah. Yeah, I heard," she continues after slipping the sucker out of her mouth, the thing steaming in the slightly stale, overwarm air of the club as if it were a hot coffee carried out into a winter night. "And you know what I say? About. Fuckin'. Time." She punctuates each word with a poke of her finger at the air in Ico's direction, the maid-clad woman's face a stony mask. "Should've happened about six years ago, whole lot of shit would have been better if he'd cacked it then. ... But boy, you really fucked up this time, kid," she continues, head turning towards you again.\n\n"Yeah. Yeah, I know," you murmur, bobbing your head. "This is all on me. I fucked this up, Niobe, I know. There are parts of it I'll never un-fuck, either, but first things first, we've got to find Zee."\n\n"... Yeah, well, might be I know something about that," Niobe allows, sitting back even as your eyes widen a little. She wiggles her fogging candy in the air as she continues. "Heard a few things through the grapevine as to where she's bein' kept. Seein' as we go way back, I'll just go ahead and tell ya... but don't tell a soul, 'kay? I got a reputation to protect these days, and givin' out free info doesn't figure into it."\n\n"Thank you, thank you, Niobe." You let out a rush of breath, then give her a somewhat wan smile. "I mean, I was still kinda hoping you'd come along."\n\n"Sorry, kid. I'm done with everything to do with that old bastard, and sorry to say that includes you." Niobe raises her hands as if to indicate that they're not touching the situation. "You've got a non-Guild bounty on your head high enough to have everyone in the hemisphere looking to collect, and the most I can do is tell my people they can say goodbye to their genitals if they so much as think about it. S'all I can do for you, my little up-and-coming band of badass motherfuckers may be made of some real mean assholes, but we are not ready to go to war with the Allfather's syndicate."\n\n<hr>\n[[Try to convince her.|Kai]]\n\n[[Let Ico convince her.|Kai6x7]]

The teapot crashes down amidst the cups, sending exquisitely-painted shards of shattered China skittering across the surface of the bureau ahead of the tea that quickly overflows the tray and starts seeping over the edges.\n\n"... What?" Ico asks without turning, her voice having turned to a hoarse rasp.\n\nYour jaw works a little as you feel the bile rise in your throat, pushed there by the hatred you have for yourself at hurting her like this, telling her like this so that she'll help you. But it's too late to rethink it now. "He's dead. When they came to take Zee, they beat him almost to death and left him laying on the floor for me to find."\n\nYou see her head slowly raise, her jaw work a little, the delicate shift of her throat as she swallows hard. "... Why... why would they do that?" she whispers.\n\n"Maybe because he fought back. Maybe because they thought it would hurt me. Maybe just to send a message," you say, staring at her, watching her hurt and watching her heart break. "... But I know it's my fault. I did this to... us. It's because of me. And I wish I could take it back, but I can't. All I can do is try to get Zee back and punish the people that have done this."\n\nYou watch as Ico's hands move to rest on the edge of the bureau, see them actually shaking a little in that brief shift. Her graceful, spry manner seems to have left her, and for a moment all you can see is a grieving middle-aged woman who is desperately trying not to cry. "If the two of you would... excuse me... and wait in the library next door instead," she says after a long moment, obviously struggling with everything she has to keep her voice from breaking. "I need... a few moments."\n\nOnce you and Aurora have moved to the small library in the next room and closed the door, Aurora spends several moments looking towards the sun room before looking over at you. "She... really loved Doonian, didn't she?"\n\n"Yeah," you say in an exhausted tone, flopping into a stiff leather chair and slumping. "Like I don't think romantically, maybe, but she loved the hell out of him."\n\n"It's hard to understand, someone like her... and him, with everything I've heard, let alone everything you've told me," Aurora notes as she wanders over to lean against the back of the chair.\n\n"Yeah well Ico's weird anyway but also I guess that's not the old man she knew," you say with another sigh, leaning your head back and closing your eyes. "She was one of the first slaves he bought when he started hitting it big, back when he was damn near King of GIPSE. He wasn't a booze-sweating tub of lard then, I guess, he was the guy who could do any job and do it with class. She told me when he bought her she was a scrawny kid who was billed as never gonna be good for anything but scrubbing floors and maybe using in bed if you didn't mind 'em skinny. And he turned her into someone who can do shit with a sword that most people think only works in movies. I guess that's the guy she still sees when she hears the name, or something, despite having to put up with the end product just as long as I did. Y'know... to me he was never anything but a mean, miserly, lazy old goat. She probably still saw her hero who made her everything she was underneath that or some crap."\n\n"... So what happens now?" Aurora asks after a few awkward moments of silence.\n\n"Well." You shift a bit and thunk an elbow on the arm of the chair, propping your cheek against your palm and curled fingers. "Either she'll decide to join us after all, orrrr she'll come back in here and cut my head off since it's my fault the old bastard's dead."\n\n"Eheh. ... Wait you're not serious are you?" Aurora peeks around the chair at you, her cute face crinkled a bit in anxiety.\n\n"If she does, I can guarantee you it will be with absolute trace amount blood splatter mess, she's a fuckin' artist at minimizing cleanup," you reply, waggling your eyebrows.\n\nBoth of you jerk a little as the double doors at the hallway side of the library open up, Ico striding in purposefully, dry-eyed and face composed. "Very well then, let's be off."\n\n"So you're coming?" You stand up, the weight off your shoulders so intense it feels like it might drop back down on you and crush you. "Do we need to try and buy you from your owners? Aurora managed to put together some cr-"\n\n"That won't be necessary. I've tendered my resignation, and as my current owners have long insisted they would do if I ever decided to leave, I was immediately granted my freedom." At your slightly slack-jawed look, she raises her own eyebrows slightly. "Yes, I am very well aware you think I'm insane for preferring to be a slave, you are hardly the only one, we can discuss this matter once Zee is safe and the man responsible for Doonian's death is dead."\n\n"It's not going to be easy," you admit. "His name's Horace Allfather, he has a ton of killers on his payroll and most are armed and armored with the best crap that a metric fuckton of money can buy. Pardon," you add in a little murmur, glancing down quickly and scuffing a foot when Ico shoots you a look. You look up to find Aurora staring at you, and find yourself resisting the urge to stick your tongue out at her. You're glad to see Ico again, but you admit to it being weird feeling like you're eleven years old again around her.\n\n"If he prefers to go the hard way, I am very much for that," Ico says evenly with such cheery calm that it might freeze even Horace's blood if he was there to hear it. "Be that as it may, do we have a plan?"\n\n<hr>\n[["Find Zee, kill Horace, get dinner, that's the plan."|Kai]]\n\n[["Well, now we go pick up our fourth."|Kai6x6]]

"Um?" Aurora blinks at that. "What do you... you mean like just for a normal purchase, or weapons, or-"\n\n"I mean, within the next twelve hours, literally what is the highest dollar amount you can have ready to hand over to another person?" you press.\n\n"I... well, I mean, with what's in my accounts, and if I call in a few IOUs and cash in some-" At your stare growing more intense, she almost starts to stammer. "And I suppose if I call my parents, I... I... twelve hours?" she asks faintly, and at your serious nod she says a bit shakily, "Fifteen million, I suppose?"\n\n"That might just barely be enough, so be ready to do it," you explain as you turn and head for the door.\n\n"Kai!" Aurora blurts, before hurrying after you. "What in the world would I need fifteen million credits for?! That's enough for a quality starfighter!"\n\n"Or one really high-quality slave."\n\nLuckily the Guildcert you're looking for is still on file and publicly tracked, even if it hasn't been used in years. You and Aurora step out into the sunlight just outside of a gated community of tall, opulent homes, most of them gleaming white in the atmospheric field filtered sun. The gate guards look a bit startled and obviously edgy as you walk up, and dubious when you ask them to call the head maid at one particular address and tell her that Kai needs to see her. He looks just as shocked when he apparently gets an affirmative, but apparently that means he has to be polite as he opens the gate and shows you the way to that particular house. The door is answered by a very chipper, very cute young woman about your own age who's wearing her hair in twintails, her maid uniform accessorized with pink, and moves like a trained killer as she invites you in and asks you to wait in the sun room. The two of you settle in the beautiful, meticulously tidy, and yet still obviously used and lived-in room and wait. Eventually a somewhat older maid with long black hair enters, moving with a serene grace that speaks of absolute perfection of both manners and the ability to kill anyone in the room at need. If not for the slit in the side of her skirt that shows off almost all of one leg and the katana holstered at her back, she'd look like the very image of the stereotypical head maid.\n\n"Kai," she says as she approaches you, her smile soft and reserved even as her red eyes shimmer warmly. As she enfolds you in a hug and you hug her back, you can't escape the emotional rawness that reminds you of how you used to look in the mirror at your similar red eyes and try to figure out how she might actually be your mom. Perhaps she notices something in how hard you squeeze her in the hug, because when she draws back she rests her hands on your shoulders, face concerned. "Kai, what's wrong, what's happened?" \n\nYou swallow hard, looking up a bit at her face. All this time and you've never gotten as tall as she is. "I screwed up. I screwed up really bad, Ico, and we need your help." At her glance towards the other mercenary, you say, "This is Aurora, she's... she's helping me."\n\n"It's nice to meet you, Aurora," Ico says primly, before drawing back and smoothing out her apron. "Why don't I make all of us some tea, that helps just about everything," she says smoothly as she crosses to a nearby chest of drawers, the top indeed set up for prepping a tea service, which she begins to use with such precision and smoothness that you'd think the weapon she was wearing was some odd decoration and she'd instead spent her entire life studying to be a domestic servant.\n\n"... I got involved with something way over my head," you admit as you sit back down beside Aurora on a backless love seat. "On Makarzia... where we moved to awhile after you were sold... I got sent out to make some money. I was gonna just do a quick job for one of the crime bosses there, but he was always asking me to let him buy me out, and I thought maybe this time I could get Zee out too, and I know, I know how you feel about that Ico and I'm sorry but-"\n\n"Kai, it's alright," the maid says gently, even as Aurora puts a hand on your back and rubs a little to try and calm you down. "I accepted long ago that you didn't share my views about our lives, and I don't expect you to. The contention was always with Aer, not with you."\n\n"Her name's Niobe now," you murmur, fighting to keep your voice steady. God you hate being so... raw, like this, like an open nerve inside a chipped tooth.\n\nIco's hands pause in their prepwork for just the barest second, before she resumes. "Niobe, then. Just because I take pride and am content in my status doesn't mean I think everyone has to be. Or should. If you felt it was better for yourself and Zee to find a way out, I'm not going to argue."\n\n"... Yeah, but like I said, I screwed up. Real bad," you continue, slumping forward and resting your forearms on your thighs. "I went to entirely the wrong person. A monster. He said he'd get us both free, and he'd make sure Zee was taken care of and comfortable, and I'd just have to work for him for twelve years. Then he sent me to kill a guy. ... Just a guy. Some government worker, hadn't done anything to anybody, and... I almost went through with it, but-"\n\n"But you didn't," Ico interrupts smoothly, punctuated by the very soft clink of a silver spoon against a silver infuser.\n\n"... No. I mean, I guess I wouldn't be here if I had, but..." You trail off.\n\n"Oh, killing him could certainly cause trouble that would bring you here. I just knew from looking at you. And hugging you." She glances over her shoulder, giving you a small smile as she pours hot water into the teapot. "I still see the girl I trained in the woman before me, Kai. And she wouldn't kill a man for a reason like that."\n\n"... They took her, Ico," you say, voice shaking as turns back to her work. "They took Zee."\n\n"... I'm very sorry to hear that," Ico says softly as she places the lid carefully on the teapot.\n\nYou honestly feel like you've been slapped. You can almost feel the sting in your cheek as you stare at her back. "That's... that's all you can say?"\n\n"Kai, I am very fond of Zee, even if she wasn't my apprentice like you were," Ico says primly as she keeps her eyes on the teapot. "And I understand why you would think that I might leave my duties here to rescue her. And perhaps under normal circumstances, I would do so. But my owners have received several credible threats recently... specifically, against the lives of their children. Children I have sworn to protect on my honor and my life, whom have known me as being as much of a constant in their lives as you did. I cannot walk away from that obligation for the sake of an adult woman who I have made no oaths to, as much as it pains me to admit."\n\n"... So that's it?" you ask quietly.\n\n"That's not it, obviously, I will still do what I can to help," she answers primly as she picks up the teapot and angles it precisely to start pouring a cup. "I cannot go myself, but I can ask my owners if they can spare one or two of the other maids I've trained. Likely they could use the combat experience, most of them haven't drawn their blades in anger, it will be good for them."\n\n"Is this where we buy her anyway?" Aurora asks you in a low whisper.\n\n"... If it's like she said, that'd never work, her owners would never sell her right now, not for what we can pay," you murmur back, before turning your gaze back to Ico's back, trying to think of what you can say to give her a push.\n\n<hr>\n[["This is the right thing to do."|Kai]]\n\n[["They killed Doonian."|Kai6x5]]

Over the years you've come to regard your powers as having a sort of 'distribution'... if you focus on one you can make it stronger or more effective, often at the expense of some of your other powers. (The most obvious being that you've found that you could push your strength and speed, but then later discovered bruises from attacks that you normally might have barely noticed.) Almost just curious whether this energy and focus has increased with the other enhancements you've received by being horsified, you focus on putting everything you can into your superspeed.\n\nTime almost instantly slows noticeably, then comes to an abrupt stop. Hm, well, no, it's not stopped... it is still moving very slowly, as you can see from the still-building glow of the blaster emitters and the slight motions of Queen Mean's hair and skirt with her dramatic declaration. Wow, you've never actually gotten your superspeed to this level it's... quite interesting.\n\nTaking a brief moment to think, you slam a golden hoof down on the stone below you, smashing deep rents in it and causing pieces of it to very slowly begin to rise into the air. You bend down and pluck up a handful of them, then throw them towards the various blasters; the stone pieces start moving slowly but still visibly through the air, since you didn't throw them that hard (for you, at the moment). Then you stride forward towards the "frozen" Queen, looking her up and down thoughtfully.\n\nThe first thing you do, of course, is yank down the front of her blouse, baring her large breasts... it's rather amusing, despite being abruptly bared, they haven't had time to bounce yet, leaving them jutting in the air still supported and shaped by the cloth but apparently still. You then reach down and rip off her skirt and panties with a few yanks (careful not to pull on her lest you send her hurtling across the room at speed, obviously). Oho, someone shaves completely, you observe with a smug look... considering just how silky smooth she is, you wonder if she has some pretty servant girl shave her fresh every morning, probably before having her do something else to the area. \n\nEnjoying the sight of her bared body and thinking of all you're about to do to it is having its effect on you, and you brush away the front of your loincloth as your cock slides fully from its sheath and rises, jutting up erect in front of you in front of the completely unaware and helpless supervillainess. You give yourself a few strokes, pondering as you look her up and down.\n\n'Hm... wonder if this haughty bitch has ever been fucked in the ass?' you muse. You kind of think not... probably the most she's done is had some cute maid's tongue up there. You kind of want to leap right to that, making sure to thoroughly put her in her place by teaching her that it's all about your pleasure not hers. \n\nOn the other hand... maybe you ought to concentrate on fucking her pussy not just for fun, but for productivity. Meaning, since you effectively mean to seize the throne of Ulvavland, why not go ahead and start the process of creating an heir immediately?\n\n<hr>\n[[Fuck her ass.|CalHM]]\n\n[[Fuck her pussy.|CalHM]]

No... despite the increased safety and chances of survival, you just can't stand the thought of becoming a weak, pathetic human. Even being a weaker, more pathetic monster to start with is better! Why, if you turn into a human, the next thing you know you might be getting morals and compunctions and falling in love and blegh, what a disaster that would be!\n\nSo instead you start carefully making your way out of the castle. During your tenure as Maou you tried to think up various things you could set aside to help you if you ever got turned back into an Ireth, but, well... you could never really come up with anything. Between the species's makeup and your unique way of gaining power (which requires living beings at the very least until you can take a humanoid form), there was nothing really to do. You can't armor yourself or use proper magical implements like rings and artifacts until you can assume the form of something that otherwise could, and you crunched the numbers on trying to keep around living creatures you could devour easily and found that the whole setup for it just didn't work, the likelihood of the damn adventurers disrupting it when they stormed the castle and just making things worse for you as well as wasting all that time and energy was too high.\n\nSo, as you slink through the castle, you catch the occasional bug, mostly spiders lurking in the corners. Sadly this does not let you assume the form of a giant spider... yet. 'Size' is one of those aspects you have to absorb first, and shifting things around and playing with your forms will take more power than you currently have. You could probably turn into a spider like one of these, but while they're bigger than the spiders typically found in human habitations, they're still... well, they're still bugs, and talk about going from vulnerable to more vulnerable. Still, every little bit helps, and you can feel tiny flickers of mana flowing into you as your simple squishy body converts the insects into energy.\n\nEventually you make your way out of the castle and into the inhospitable lands beyond. Here you're going to have to be more careful... the area directly around your castle is, of course, full of the strongest and most deadly monsters that you don't have a chance in anywhere of absorbing right now. Instead you focus on hiding, stealthily making your way towards a particular pond. This pond has a one-way portal to a more forgiving area, and you should know, you set it up yourself when you were getting this area made to your liking. You weren't really thinking of using it to escape then, but rather more with tempting injured and tired adventurers with escaping to somewhere safe and far away rather than risking their lives. But now it's you in need of just such a thing, and as you trundle into the clearing with a pond made of Waters of Peace (which keep monsters away from the immediate area), you pause for a moment to take a look around, including gazing up at your castle where it rises above the trees in the distance. Sigh. You spent years getting there... and now what feels like just over a week escaping... and here you are, preparing to ditch it entirely.\n\n... Oh well, no help for it. Maybe it will still be here when you get back to something approaching your former glory. You scooch forward and tumble through the glimmering ring in the air, finding yourself suddenly amidst the much less imposing-looking trees that were previously visible through it. Bleh, the human realm... even their flora is boring and timid. You suppose that's just what you needed, though, and after a moment more of resigning yourself you scooch on.\n\nOver the next few months you live a rather boring and meager existence of continuing to hunt insects, gradually moving up to things like mice and chipmunks, then rats and rabbits. A few times you're even able to lure in small birds and fish by winking your shiny silver eyes at them to draw them in, before grabbing them with your tentacles and stuffing them in your maw. Sigh... what a lowly existence for the Snow-White Maou to be reduced to, acting like a base forest predator when once you ruled all of monsterkind. The worst of it is, is that this time around you actually have not only awareness but memory. Previously your awareness only gradually grew as you ate things, and only truly blossomed into full thought and sentience once you'd devoured a sentient creature. But now you're actually aware and that means that all of this constant hunting and hiding isn't instinctual, you're doing it manually, and it's boring as fuck! Gah!\n\nEventually you're able to come across a wild dog... not a particularly hardy-looking one, but that just gives you more confidence to actually attempt it. Able to grow more tentacles now, you sneak closer until you're able to sling them out and wrap them around the distracted beast, which yelps as you heft it up off the ground. You're delighted by the fact that you actually seem to be quite a bit stronger than you thought you were, and easily haul it above you and to the ready. But with all this time of being bored and powerless-feeling, you do take a few moments to enjoy yourself, coiling your tentacles around the dog and playing with your food a bit before eating it. Ah yes, that was another thing you didn't have before now... the joys of perversion, you think smugly as you use a tentacle to lift the beast's tail and stuff another up its ass, pushing a third down its throat when it yelps in surprise. You coil another tentacle around the base of its furry balls, tugging and squeezing them a bit, and push yet another into the soft, furry hole of its sheath, thrusting in and out lightly, fucking it a bit more gently than you are the animal's ass. But you let that tentacle be pushed out as your attentions gradually arouse the creature, its glistening red dick sliding out of the sheath, so you wrap your pale white tentacle around that instead, coiling it to stroke and squeeze and urge at the beast's swelling knot as you fuck both its holes. Just as you can feel its knot swelling and its balls lifting, you stuff the entire dog into your maw and inside you, feeling it buck and spasm and cum within your body even as you begin to absorb it.\n\nOnce you've finished absorbing the beast, you assume its form... well, rather, you become a silver-eyed, white-furred wild dog. You're a bit more hale than the original was too, since you've got all the other energy you've absorbed as well as its own to contribute to your body. Ahhhh... this is much better! It's not that you're necessarily ashamed of your true body, but it is annoyingly weak and slow. You'd gotten really used to haveing feet before, and a tongue, and a face, all of which you have again now... oh, and a dick too, it's nice to have a dick again you think happily as your fluffy white balls jiggle a bit from the excited wagging of your tail. ... Ahem. Let's just control that, shall we? No need to get carried away.\n\nIn any event, having the body of a wild dog is much more convenient for hunting further sustenance to continue empowering yourself. Now you can go after woodland creatures directly, even chasing them down rather than just having to accept it if they manage to evade your ambushes. You'd be doing even better if you could manifest your tentacles in this form as well, but you're not quite there yet. Still, at least the progress feels more real now, and you don't feel like you'll be stuck as a half-step up from a Slime for decades now. You even start to think of this place a bit smugly as your forest... well, except when you encounter monsters, especially weapon-wielding ones like goblins. That always deflates your ego pretty quick and has you sulking for a few hours afterward. To have to hide from the weakest sentient monsters they are, as if you were really just some woodland creature and not their king!\n\nOne late evening as you're loping through the woods, your sensitive canine nose catches a whiff of cooking food... as in, actual cooking food, not just tossing stuff in a pot of water or sticking it directly in the fire like goblins tend to do. No, this is the scent of slow cooking, and spices, and even hot metal. That means... adventurers. You're actually a little surprised it's taken this long for you to run across any, this used to be a popular 'newbie' area when you put the portal terminus here. ... Ah, that's right, the whole world was waiting with bated breath when it became widely known a Hero had shown up to challenge you. It's probably taken a little while for some people to settle back into the idea of going about adventuring as normal even though the Maou has been defeated. Gotta disrupt those native ecosystems, after all! In part just from a grumpy desire to see exactly who you're directing your ire at, you head towards the smell, keeping your footfalls silent and avoiding coming into direct line of sight as you get closer to the camp.\n\nHm... it looks like an all-female group of adventurers, three of them to be precise. One is wearing a hooded cloak in bright crimson, so a ranger perhaps... ah, no, her luscious body is barely covered at all, a tiny leather bikini her only armor. That means she's a monster slayer, one who values her freedom of movement above almost all else. It's a rare class that few truly qualify for, but if she's in this area she's probably only just starting out. Another is wearing the dyed silk garb and bearing the curved human blades of the Golden Country, her pink, flower-patterned top baring a significant amount of her large breasts, her body just as luscious as the slayer's, maybe moreso due to her greater height (you'd judge, since they're sitting down). The third, however, is quite slight compared to the other two, or to most grown humans, her whole body covered by a white suit that hugs her body around the middle and legs and blooms to wide sleeves, layered over with belts and a few other garments. You'd guess from the dark brown skin, horns, pointed ears, and forehead jewel that she's a Miuxid... 'the race that's not a race', but rather people whose ancestry includes so much of every other demi-human that they fit in nowhere. You had more than a few of them in your army due to how they're treated as outcasts despite not technically being monsters, and since this one is probably just starting her life journey you can't help but wonder if she'd been waiting to see which way the coin landed on the Maou being defeated before she decided who to pledge allegiance to.\n\nAdventurers. Bah. ... Still, nice to look at, you think as your cock pokes out of its sheath just a bit. Ah... you miss the days of molesting adventurers that made it to you only to be defeated, or who were brought to you as tribute by your generals. Always so fit, and energetic, and despite all their protests and moral highground inevitably ended up enjoying themselves a great deal, and usually got converted and joined the army as some sort of monster or another. (Those that you didn't decide to eat, or lock up in the dungeons.) It would certainly be nice to do so again... taking on even newbie adventurers would be difficult, either in a straight-up fight or ambush, but you're so desperate to both make some more progress and have some fun you kind of want to try it anyway. Hm... or maybe you could go find some goblins and lead them back here. With a bit of nudging and direction, they might be able to take out the adventurers, and you could enjoy the leavings... not nearly as satisfying or granting of progress, but significantly safer.\n\n... Or... and the option disgusts you even as it occurs to you, but you make yourself consider it intellectually... or, you could try to team up with these adventurers. Humans like dogs, especially attractive or unique looking dogs, you know that much about them. If you approached them in a friendly way, they might accept you into their group. You could follow them around and let them do the monster-killing, with you likely allowed to eat up the scraps. It might be even safer than trying to get the goblins to do your dirty work, since you're fairly sure humans get very attached to their dogs and will defend them to the death. It would mean having to be around these adventurers constantly, and just watch as they slaughtered and ransacked monsters... buuuut you could always betray them later, right?\n\nOr you could just pass them on by. If you're encountering adventurers it means you've probably gotten to an area of this region closer to human habitation, which means there are other, more attainable options for things to, well, aumf.\n\n<hr>\n[[Try to ambush one.|IrMon]]\n\n[[Direct attack!|IrMon]]\n\n[[Get some goblins.|IrMon]]\n\n[[Approach as a friend.|IrMon1x1]]\n\n[[Move on.|IrMon]]

"There's an open bounty out on some gangbangers that crossed the megasector borders and roughed up a couple of locals," you explain as you tuck a few more pieces of gear into your current coat's pockets. "They could still be here, or they could have gone back to their own megasector, or they could have gone into another one. Makes it the perfect job for unaffiliated freelancers like us," you note, closing up the weapons shelves and then the wardrobe, reactivating all the security locks and sensors as you head for the door, Smaug falling into step behind you.\n\n"Mmmmn. I don't imagine that these gangs pay anywhere close to what jobs at the Guild do, though," Smaug rumbles.\n\n"You'd be surprised, especially for something like this where it's a matter for the megasector's table. Besides, the job can pay even more in credits and a lot more in influence and prestige depending on which of the megasector's gangheads I actually turn the bounty in to," you add as you take a moment outside in the hall to similarly do up the security features of the front door before heading for the stairs. "... And besides besides, who's in charge here?"\n\n"Mmn, I do not mean to question, Mistress, only to learn. I was only activated today."\n\n"Okay, point," you snort, kind of enjoying the sound of the stairs creaking under him and his claws scratching along the ancient, spray-reinforced boards. Damn he's scary. Which is more and more growing on you. "Look, trust me, jobs like this are a good investment in my... now our... future here. Especially in Megasector 7, where some of the gangheads actually have connections with the Guild. Besides, I grew up here, Makarzia's a known quantity, any similar job I take from the Guild, I roll the dice on what sort of social setting or ecological setting or tracking situation I'm in. ... Actually you roll the dice on physics too, come to think of it," you add in a mutter.\n\n"Mmmmn, I see," Smaug acknowledges as the two of you step onto the sidewalk. His head swings back and forth slowly, before his optics fix on you. "What an interesting aerosolized particulate mixture. Humans do not find this offensive?"\n\n"You get used to it," you reply breezily, tucking your hands in your pockets. Now let's see... where to start looking for these guys? Like you said, they may still be here in 7, in which case you'd either want to go to where they were last seen, or hit up one of your contacts for information. Or you can cross into 8, their home turf, and look for them there. Then there's the off chance they went somewhere else, in which case you'd need to probably trade a favor to someone to get a proper lead. Well, the benefit of that last one is that you'd get a lead no matter where they are, just that favors aren't an inexpensive currency in the gangbanger world, it's usually better to save them for when you really need them, so.\n\n<hr>\n[[Check where they were last seen.|ChiMak]]\n\n[[Talk to your infotrader.|ChiMak]]\n\n[[Head over to Megasector 8.|ChiMak]]\n\n[[Trade in a favor.|ChiMak]]

"That's my room but nevermind that right now," you note, waving off his question. Smirking a bit as he makes a displeased noise, you say, "Hey, remember who's in charge here, huh?"\n\n"Yes, of course. Mistress."\n\n"Right now we're going to go out and about on the streets of Makarzia," you say, stepping over to the armory's wardrobe and opening it up to select one of your other jackets, a black one with the Guild logo on the back in teal glowthreads, as well as a slowly color-changing glowlining. A good way of announcing that you're a free agent out on the streets. "Hey go grab my other coat and hang it up in here while I pick out some guns."\n\n"Very well."\n\nYou swap out the energy rifle you usually carry for Guild work for a selection of conventional pistols, a pair of matched ones holstered at your thighs and a backup piece at your lower back, grinning a bit at Smaug returning with your other jacket clutched in the gripper at the end of his tail, the Cutlass drone somehow conveying a bit of a sour expression despite his unchanging face. "Don't pout. Makarzia's a lot of fun, especially for a scary-looking guy like you."\n\n"Mmmn. If you say so, Mistress," he rumbles in reply, though it does sound like he's preening just a bit now. Looks like your new drone has an ego. "Exactly what sort of fun are we going to have?"\n\n<hr>\n[["Showing you off."|ChiMak]]\n\n[["Bounty hunting."|ChiMak2x2]]

"In the end I think it's best if we head to the dungeon and retrieve the cache," you say after a minute of thought. "Any attempts to bring together a larger group would only draw more attention than necessary to ourselves. With the equipment there, the four of us should have little problem making our way to my former castle, with the forces largely dispersed as they are. We'll still have to be a little careful, obviously, but better than trying to march an army across it."\n\n"That does make sense, I guess," Red allows with a tilt of the head. "If you see an army marching towards you it's only natural to raise an army to fight against it, right?"\n\n"An excellent point," Saruko notes a little dryly. "Well then, I suppose tomorrow we will set out for the Lizardlair Dungeon." \n\nShortly after the three of them retire, and you're left sitting in front of the fire, looking out one of the windows you've taken to including after the girls noted that it was a bit odd to have a cabin without them. You suppose you're far more used to enclosed lairs. When you took over the citadel, you had the outer lair reshaped to eliminate most of the windows, making it that much harder for someone to get inside.\n\n'Another safety measure,' you muse. 'So why, in the end, am I willing to gamble my safety on these three alone? ... Maybe because I see myself in them,' you muse after a bit more pondering. 'I always thought Monsters and Adventurers were two completely different existences, that couldn't possibly mix because they were utter opposites. But I saw them struggle and fight to evolve just as I did, and it all almost came crashing down on them due to plain bad luck if I hadn't decided to help them out. ... In fact, wasn't that even me once? I never would have become the Maou if Golcifex hadn't saved me that time.'\n\nYou lift your chin from your fist and glance over as one of the doors is eased open, Red padding out of her room on bare feet, wearing nothing but her little leather bikini. "Hey," she greets quietly, smiling as she gives a little finger-wiggling wave while moving to sit down in her usual chair.\n\n"Having a hard time getting to sleep?" you ask, keeping your own voice down.\n\n"Yeah." She bobs her head, seems to hesitate for a moment, then says, "I guess I've been thinking a lot about what it will be like to have the kind of equipment and... I guess power you're talking about once we've gotten that cache of yours. I'm actually really excited for it, I've always really wanted to become stronger and better at everything I can do!"\n\nYou smile some, certainly understanding that sentiment, before you frown thoughtfully. "Then why did you press so strongly for seeking the help of others instead?"\n\nThe pretty blonde hesitates again, biting her lower lip as she looks into the fire. "... I guess maybe because I was a little afraid too," she admits after several minutes of silence. "That if I jumped all the way to a Companion's level of power, I'm not sure what I'd do next. Especially if we win and then there's peace." She shrugs a little, glancing at you and smiling sheepishly. "If you want to become better, what do you do once you've become the best you can be?"\n\n"So you don't think you'd continue being a monster slayer anyway, even if there was peace?" you ask after a brief consideration of your own.\n\n"What? Oh, no no... I definitely wouldn't kill monsters just to kill monsters," Red says back hurriedly, shaking her head emphatically. "That's not why I'm a monster slayer, it's just... what I'm good at. I guess I was pretty okay at everything I did in my life, but the first time I had to defend myself against a monster... well, that was the first thing I'd ever been great at! People from the adventurer's guild told me I could help people if I honed my talents as a monster slayer, so that basically made up my mind, too." She frowns thoughtfully now, rubbing the back of her neck. "I guess I'd still want to help people if there was peace, but I'm not quite sure how."\n\n"Mm." You consider her words, then smile. "We may have truly known each other only a few weeks now, Red, but you strike me as someone who will help people no matter what you do. So perhaps it would be alright for you to pick something you'd like to do, and then simply become great at that."\n\n"Something I... like to do?" Red cups her chin and looks down. "... Honestly it's a little hard to think of anything, I've been practicing fighting so long," she admits sheepishly again, before a sparkle comes to her blue eyes. "Oh! I know! Maybe I could... raise dogs!"\n\n"Raise dogs?" you reply with a little chuckle.\n\n"Yeah! I've always liked dogs... I mean, well, you know," she adds, blushing some and fidgeting in her chair, before smiling sunnily again. "Dogs are nice and I guess they like being the best at what they do and helping people too. Maybe that's why we get along well together, heheh. ... Um, I mean, me and dogs, not we as in... not that we don't get along well together, I..." She giggles nervously as you wave off her concerns, before settling in and grinning. "But yeah, that would be nice, I guess. I'd probably enjoy that more than fighting all the time."\n\n"Mm. Well, I think I'd like to see that, too," you say after a short pause.\n\n"Yeah. Thanks, Shido... I don't think I'd ever actually considered what I'd do after, well, anything, but now that I have at least one idea maybe I can sleep. G'night!"\n\nYou watch as she goes... enjoying the view, certainly, because she does have by far the best ass of any of the three... but also pondering her words. How many adventurers have never pondered what happens 'next'? And again... wasn't that the same as you? Weren't you always, in the back of your mind, thinking your reign would end in defeat at the hands of a Hero, even as you did so much to try and prevent just that? Do adventurers live the same way... just assuming they'll fall at the hands of a monster, instead of pondering a happy life after their work is done?\n\nAbout an hour later there's another soft creak of a door slipping open, but this time it's Saruko, stepping out wearing a long, thin pink robe bound snugly around her middle with a wide white belt. "Good evening, Shido-len," she says softly as she takes her seat in front of the fire.\n\n"Evening," you return, this time not bothering to make the observation that she can't sleep.\n\nSaruko gazes silently into the fire for awhile, before looking at you and giving you a small smile. "You are canny in many ways, Shido-len. ... Though you seem a bit dense in a few," she adds, her smile turning dry briefly. Before you can do more than stare blankly at her, she clears her throat slightly and continues. "I wonder, what have you puzzled out of me?"\n\n"Mm." You quirk a thin white eyebrow, considering how best to answer that. "... I'd say that you're definitely not a commoner. Your class alone and the quality of your sword would say that, even if your manner didn't give a lot of hints. Since the Golden Country is far more mysterious to people here, they probably don't realize that your gear is of far higher quality than what most would be able to get their hands on, and that sword artisan is usually a class of the nobility. But the way you look at things and your cultivated manner also say you're likely of some rank equivalent to a princess in these lands."\n\n"A very minor one," she answers after a brief hesitation, giving you that small smile again, though this time it's a bit sad. "Or perhaps I should say, one of many, and one of the much younger ones. The chances of my ever being put in a position of power were remote, which did not bother me. I trained with the sword because I loved it as much as it was a thing expected of me, approaching all of my lessons willingly and gladly, making myself a fine wife as I expected to be traded off in a political marriage, as was to be expected of one of many noble children."\n\n"And you were alright with that?" you ask, raising both brows now. Admittedly you don't know a lot about humans, but from your studying you were given to understand that arranged marriages were generally not something women looked forward to.\n\n"I was content enough with it... because of my assumptions. You see, when my arranged marriage came, I was not dissatisfied because he was older than I and not particularly handsome. It did not even bother me that he had a small harem of bought women that he had no intention of giving up." That small smile has disappeared now, replaced by a prim frown. "What bothered me was that he was not particularly wealthy, nor well-connected, nor powerful, nor... anything. He had little more than his title and an estate he had not worked for and that had not been kept very well. The association of his name would help my family slightly, but me not at all. I was being married off not for some great gain, but largely just to get me out of the house before I became too old to make even that sort of match, and I got nothing at all out of the bargain. For you see, that had always been my assumption, somehow... that at least when I was arranged into marriage, my husband would be giving as much as he was getting. Instead my husband-to-be would be gaining an embarrassment of riches, as it were, while I got little and nothing."\n\n"So you'd have been happy as long as you felt like you were getting as much as you were giving, even if it wasn't your choice?" you muse aloud, looking into the fire again.\n\n"Yes. Perhaps that is what I wished to tell you, Shido-len... that I appreciate what we are doing, even if we have been thrust together in it without quite meaning to on both sides." Saruko's small smile returns as she brushes her fingers over the trim of the robe's sleeves. "You have always been forthright that our relationship... you and our group, that is... is built on mutual exchange. That we get things we want, and you get things we want, without any false nobility or pretensions of generosity. You help us and we help you, and that is the way things should be... people bound together, for whatever reason, because they have things to offer one another." She stands up and slips over to you, leaning down to gently peck your cheek. "But there is always more to offer, you know," she adds quietly, winking at you before tucking her hands into her sleeves and sashaying back into her room, closing the door... but not quite tightly.\n\n'... Well, can't say that isn't a fairly obvious offer, and quite tempting,' you muse, staring at the door for a bit before forcing your eyes back to the fire. Tempting as it is, what she said has given you a little much to think about to just jump at the idea of fun, because you have this feeling... that it could easily turn into a little more than fun, and you're not entirely sure what that would mean.\n\nIt's several hours more before you yet again hear a door opening, though this time there's the light tread of boots on the floor as Litarii, fully clothed, makes her way over to her position at the fire and sits down, rummaging in the pack next to it. "You too?" you ask in amusement.\n\n"Mm?" She blinks and glances over at you, briefly stopping in her rummaging.\n\n"Couldn't sleep?"\n\n"Oh. No, I just wake up earlier than everyone... usually I just lay there and sort out my spells in my head for awhile waiting for everyone else, but I was hungry this morning," she notes, drawing out a dried sausage and a skewer.\n\n"Ah." You watch as she takes to cooking the thing over the fire, just sort of being amused by the slight, serious figure as absorbed in the task of turning a sausage over flame as she normally is when spellcasting.\n\n"... Hey, Shido, could I ask you a question?" she says after a few minutes, drawing the sausage back while trying to avoid dripping too much.\n\n"I'll answer, if it's not too difficult for me," you answer breezily, grinning.\n\nShe snorts at that, before frowning and glancing over at you. "... Was it difficult, becoming the Maou?"\n\n"Mm." You purse your lips a bit, glancing upwards. "... If you'd asked at the time, I'd have probably said 'no'. It was just something I did, I somehow took it for granted as what I'd do and everything along the line was just... doing what came naturally. Looking back on it now, with what I've learned after this experience of falling to nothing and trying to claw my way back... yes, it was very difficult."\n\n"You must have had a reason for doing it, though," she urges after having taken a bite of the sausage and chewed, obviously wanting to seem casual, though the intent look in her eyes says her desire to know is quite strong.\n\n"If I tell you that, you'll have to answer a similar question yourself, you know," you say dryly. Of all the three, Litarii is the most close-lipped about her past, and you expect that to put her off.\n\nIndeed, her pretty little jaw clenches and works a little, a scowl that's closer to a pout briefly curling her lips... but surprisingly she nods. "Okay. So tell me."\n\nHuh. Seems you're caught. You could just refuse, or lie, you guess. Instead you find yourself saying, "Safety. One of the earliest lessons I learned after becoming sentient was that the only way you can be safe is to be stronger than everyone else. I was constantly being threatened because I was weak, because others had more power and position. And if those with power and position can threaten you, the only way to try and be safe is to have the most power and the highest position. That was really all it was at first," you add with a shrug. "Of course over time I discovered all the fun things that I could do once I had both power and position, and it became enjoyable for its own sake. I stopped feeling weak and afraid, as I had all the time when I first gained consciousness, and just enjoyed life."\n\n"... So it can happen after all," she murmurs, obviously more to herself. Or perhaps to her sausage.\n\n"Hm?" you prompt. When she glances at you and remains silent, you grin a little. "Come on, we agreed. You'll have to say why you became an adventurer, then."\n\n"... None of my earliest memories are happy either," she says heavily after several moments of silence, lowering the skewered sausage as if it had lost much of its appeal. "I suppose someone must have looked after me for those first few years, but all I can remember from the start is being alone and hungry... and weak and pushed around. It... got a little better once I was taken in, when I could start learning, when I... when I wasn't alone anymore. But there was still that feeling of being weak and powerless that kept being driven home for me every time I was on my own or someone felt like they could get away with it even if I wasn't. So when a mage from a school said I had a lot of potential to be magically powerful... it was a pretty easy choice. So... maybe we're the same. Maybe I became an adventurer just because I didn't want to be weak and abused anymore."\n\n"... Has it become fun yet?" you ask quietly.\n\n"... It's not lonely," Litarii answers, voice soft but words firm, before she stands up. "I think I'll finish this in my room," she adds, brushing the back of her hand across her face as she heads back into the bedroom.\n\n'Wanting to be the best while avoiding thinking about the future. Building relationships based on mutual need. ... Desperately wanting not to be weak anymore.' Your own jaw works a little as you look out the window again. '... Why do they have to be so much like me?'\n\nIt's a question you ask yourself a lot over the next two weeks as you make the journey towards what they call Lizardlair Dungeon, spending your days walking with them, fighting with them, teaching them things here and there, your nights eating with them, doing more talking, occasionally having those quiet fireside chats. Why? Why couldn't you just have kept on thinking adventurers were some strange existence completely opposed to yours... instead of just the other side of the same coin, made of the same metal and engraved by the same artist? The peace summit you pledged to try, once a mere formality you assumed due to fail before you resumed the old ways, keeps looming large in your mind, and you find yourself fretting about what you'll do if it doesn't work. Would you be doomed to spend your resumed tenure as Maou wondering if every adventurer you strike down was merely the Mortal Race mirror of yourself?\n\n"Here it is, Lizardlair Dungeon," Red announces as your little group draws up in front of the cave entrance on the side of a large, grassy hill. "According to the guild it's populated entirely by Kobolds, and a good place for newish adventurers to train in dungeon combat."\n\n"Hm, I feel like this won't be much of a challenge for us anymore," Saruko muses as she adjusts her sword slightly at her side. "It might have been before we met Shido-len, but we have grown quite a bit since then."\n\n"Yeah, the spells you've taught me mean this shouldn't be too hard," Litarii declares, actually grinning a bit as she looks at you. "What do you think, Shido? Should we go in and secure it, then once we have you can come in and show us the cache?"\n\n<hr>\n[["... Yes, go ahead."|IrMon]]\n\n[["No, best I come with."|IrMon]]

Choices and (Choices)\nMost of the time your character will be in charge of their own fate, making their own decisions and suffering the consequences or reaping the rewards. However, sometimes in some of the story branches, your character may be deprived of any ability to do anything whatsoever. At others, it may be another character who's making a decision or answering a question. At those points you the player are ASSUMING DIRECT CONTROL and making choices purely based on where you want the story to go. In these instances, choices will be (enclosed in parentheses).\n\nGame Over\nIf you see the Game Over text, don't immediately think you have to reload and start all over. Clicking the Game Over option will generally give you an epilogue for your character from that storyline. It will also generally offer options for going back to the last major choice, going back to the start of the current storyline, or going back to character generation.\n\nContinuity\nThere isn't any. A character may be a complete skirt-chaser and ladykiller when you pick one choice involving him, and complete Hard Gay when you make another. Reality such as it is in the game diverges almost every time you make a choice. Some elements are always there as part of the setting you currently inhabit, but may just never come up, even though logic says the choice you made shouldn't affect them doing so. Just kick logic to the curb and enjoy the game!\n\nSex Level\nSome of the stories contain way more sex than others. Some are pretty much pure porn every time you click. Others have a focus on story, with sex only occurring in the natural course (or sometimes as the ending). And, as noted on the intro page, there's very little ground left uncovered as far as kinks and fetishes go. If you find yourself not enjoying the sex content of a story, feel free to start over and choose another path, you're bound to eventually find something that fits your taste!\n\nBranching\nEvery choice you make affects the storyline you're playing. Some storylines (like the Jace the Monster Hunter ones) are fairly "tight"... once you've chosen a monster to hunt, all choices lead you in the same general direction, with the same cast of players and the same goal in sight. Other storylines (like the Worldland mascot ones) diverge fairly wildly with almost every single choice leading in an entirely different direction, able to bring in whole different characters and situations between two different paths.\n\nThe important thing to remember is, there is no copypasted content and no two choices lead to the same end. The choices may lead you to very similar outcomes in some cases, but each is all new written text. Consider it like alternate realities in a TV show... sure, you're having the same conversation, but now your best guy buddy is your cute blonde girlfriend instead.\n\n[[Back.|Start]]

Happy birthday!\n\nYour very first one, in fact! Because you started to exist just now. Beneath you is the spell circle that drew together the power and energy that would become you, fragments of all the Demon Lords that came before, and around you is the swirling, unformed energy that will soon become the command chamber of your Dark Monolith. Your form is largely human, pretty and well-developed but youthful, with long honey-colored hair and red eyes. And lovely black horns emerging and arcing forward from over your ears, of course, decorated with gold bands inset with rubies and small chains. Your clothing is a small black bikini with gold inlay, straps running along your sides and around your hips, emphasizing your sleek, perfect curves. Your lovely arms are sheathed in matching sleeve-gloves with black-feathered tops, matched by feather-decorated garters around your thighs clipped to gold-trimmed black stockings that leave your heels and toes bared. Your wings are massive, black, and draconic, as befitting the sole ruler of the Realm of Deviltry.\n\n<img src="images/Maxia.jpg">\n\n"Hail, your majesty! Hail to the 666th Demon Lord! Hail to you, our beloved despot!" cries the succubus at the head of the summoning delegation, all of them throwing themselves to their knees and bowing reverently and repeatedly.\n\n"Thank you, Xenith, please be at ease," you reply evenly, giving her a smile as you turn a bit more on the hovering spell circle to face her, your hands resting on the edge of it.\n\n"Yes, of course your majesty, thank you," Xenith answeres eagerly, standing and striking a bit of a pose in her happiness. She's much more of a 'traditional' demon to be sure, with bright red skin and pointed ears, slender horns jutting up from her forehead between her bangs, most of her black hair bundled at the back of her head. Her outfit is a bit more 'succubus traditional' too, sleeveless black collar-incorporated top with a heart cut out of the upper cleavage and most of the underside cleavage open to allow for easy access to her tits from either direction. Her panties are black, slung low on her hips, and tiny, just barely covering her mound and baring most of her ass. Her arms are sheathed in shoulder-high gloves topped with black lace, with matching thigh-high stocking boots. Her long, thin tail is banded in red and black and tipped with an obvious heart, her wings angular and red on the inside, black on the inside. Her mismatched red and green black-scleraed eyes glitter happily at the sight of you, and at you knowing her name. \n\n<img src="images/Xenith.jpg">\n\n"Your majesty, forgive my impertinence and feel free to smite me out of existence for it if you like," she continues, shivering a bit in apparent delight at the very idea. "But do you know who you are and what your purpose is?"\n\n"I don't think smiting is necessary," you answer with a smile. "My name is Maxia, and my purpose is to oversee the Dark Monolith, from which the Realm of Deviltry draws its power to allow the use of magic and all its various other functions as the demons who are created here and call it their home need. We do this by pulling heroes here and trapping them eternally in its various rooms, cells, and oubliettes, utilizing them like batteries. Generally, of course, while lewding them most thoroughly to encourage them to spill more power out, though any manner of trapping them here forever still works!"\n\n"Yes, excellent, your majesty, well done!" Xenith sweeps into a quick bow, then pops back up with a jiggle. "Allow your lowly servant Xenith to explain details that may have been lost in your incarnation! The Dark Monolith is yours to shape and mold as you will, and everything in it except myself and a few other lowly servants such as those assembled here is merely an extension of you and your will. You can connect it to any sort of other cave, dungeon, dark tunnel, or other ominous area across the multiverse so as to lure in heroes, adventurers, explorers, and any other sorts that likely have energetic souls worthy of using as power sources. There are two kinds of those souls that we seek out... Known Souls and Origin Souls. Known Souls are those that repeat across many dimensions, so we can keep bringing them in over and over again, and they almost always have a nice strong energy! Origin Souls are those that exist only in one place and one realm... we can only get them once, but they're still usually pretty useful! You can always release one of those back into the ether, if you decided it would be more useful some other way, and it would reconsititute back where it came in. As well, everyone in the Dark Monolith is immortal... no hero will ever grow old or die, no matter how hard they're used... though obviously their minds may eventually snap!"\n\n"I see, I see, all very useful to know," you acknowledge with a cheerful nod. "You're doing a very good job, Xenith."\n\n"A-aah! Oh, your majesty's praise makes this unworthy Xenith cum way more than she deserves, my queen!" the succubus squeals, putting her hands to her cheeks and wiggling her hips wildly, tail writhing sinuously through the air. "And getting to talk about your majesty as well! But yes, yes, ahem. As the 666th Demon Lord, you are uniquely endowed with all the powers and abilities of every Demon Lord that came before you. As such, unlike them you are capable of leaving the Dark Monolith and even the Realm of Deviltry itself to venture out into the realms beyond, acquiring new souls, information, and even new items with which to stock the Dark Monolith and the realm beyond with, for the happiness of the various wicked creatures under your command will strengthen their loyalty to you, and heighten the efficiency of the Dark Monolith and Realm of Deviltry's use of the energy derived from heroes. There are several good linkups we have for places for you to explore... though of course we still urge you to be most careful, my queen. Not that anything less than a legion of war gods would have any hope of taking you in a fight, but still, we do worry about our most beloved and wonderful tyrant."\n\n"Aw, Xenith, that's so sweet," you coo. "I permit you to have a mind-blanking orgasm for the next five minutes."\n\n"Thank you, my queen!" Xenith squeals as she snaps off a jaunty salute, before falling over backwards and writhing around on the 'floor', moaning and twitching as her hips buck, arousal quickly soaking around the crotch of her little leather panties and slicking across her thighs and ass. You watch in benevolent amusement, propping your chin up on one palm and enjoying the sight of her eyes rolling and tongue lolling as she makes guttural, wordless sounds of pleasure. Exactly five minutes later she leaps back to her feet. "Now, your majesty, if you'll forgive my presumption, though as always when I presume feel free to lock me in a torture device for several thousand years anyway, we should probably get at least one hero squared away in the Monolith before we do anything else, just to make sure there's at least some energy coming in."\n\n"Yes, you're probably right," you allow, tapping a fingertip against your lower lip and glancing up thoughtfully. "Let's make it one of those Origin Souls, I'd like my first victim to be unique." \n\n"Certainly, my queen! Please form up an entrance point, and the other succubi servants and I will link it up to a realm full of Origin Souls to see if we can't get one fairly quickly!"\n\nNodding, you close your eyes and imagine something simple to start with... a long, winding stone passageway lit by torches, with a dark opening at one end and a simple door at the other, out of sight of the open end. You watch as Xenith consults quickly with the other demonesses around her, whispering and gesturing... just to give them something to focus on, you create a stone floor, and sitting on it a crystal ball large enough for a person to fit inside, bringing the image of the hallway to focus in that. They seem a bit relieved, all quickly settling on the floor and gesturing to the crystal ball instead. A moment later a figure steps through the shadows and into the hallway, a heavy wooden door immediately slamming closed behind them and making them jump slightly. She appears to be an elf... of the classically blonde-haired, blue-eyed variety, hair in a long ponytail and with a white flower pinned in it. Her clothing is white and scanty, little more than a mantle, a pair of loose straps of cloth draping over her breasts between a gold collar and band around her lower chest, panties, and high cloth boots, as well as a white leather belt with a quiver on it. Amused, you swing the view around below her for a gratuitous ass shot just as she's looking over her shoulder at the door.\n\n<img src="images/Effiel.jpg">\n\n"The scrying expert is checking her out now, my queen, one moment," Xenith promises as all of you watch the elf woman look around curiously. "Alright, here we go... her name is Effiel. She's a level nine elven Archer with a level in Cleric as well, making her total level ten according to the measurements of her world. She worships an elven goddess called Lenaraelle, whose portfolio heavily focuses on the glories of purity and chastity."\n\nYou can't help but giggle, putting your fingertips to your mouth as you do. "Dressed like that?"\n\n"There's probably some reason, gods are very silly about what they want their worshipers to do, after all. Or worshipers are very silly about interpreting their gods' wishes."\n\n"That is true. Well, I feel like that's true, even if I was born today," you agree with a nod, watching as Effiel apparently overcomes her confusion. Apparently the hallway isn't different enough from wherever she was exploring before to completely flummox her, so she starts off down the hallway, readying her arrow and bow. "Oh good, she's going to continue after all! Not that she had much choice," you add with another light giggle.\n\n"Yes indeed! I think it's wonderful you've constructed a nice, straightforward path for her this time, my queen... you can play with them in the future, after all, but this is an important first conquest that doesn't brook any playing around. Unless you actually wanted to play around, in which case-"\n\n"I could run a pole through you ass-to-mouth and roast you on a spit for a century while seasoning you thoroughly, yes my darling Xenith, I get it." You telekinetically slap her ass hard enough to make her yip (and cum), while examining the view of the elf in the crystal. "No, no, I'll definitely just have her meet her fate behind that door."\n\n"Excellent, your majesty! And may this lowly Xenith ask, what do you intend to put behind that door?"\n\n<hr>\n[[Something monstrous!|MaxEff]]\n\n[[Something hazardous!|MaxEff]]\n\n[[Something wicked!|MaxEff]]\n\n[[Something majestic!|MaxEffSelf]]

[[Mercenaries]]\n\n[[Supers]]\n\n[[Demons]]\n\n[[Other]]

"You three will go in there and get its attention," you say, at which they all blanch a bit. "But only attack it enough to get its attention and lead it out of there. I'll be waiting by the passage out and hit it from behind."\n\nAll three of them look dubious, but not actually willing to argue with you. You consider briefly, then take one of the Blade Bunny tails you collected and haven't sold yet out of storage (not the one that killed Dash, that just seems weird), along with some wood and twine. Using your skills you lash together a fairly sturdy improvised weapon, and pass it to Gege. She eyes it criticially, then gives a small 'better than nothing' shrug and gets up to head around and down to the entrance, her men following behind her. You head down as well, getting in position slightly hidden around the corner of the exit from the little den.\n\nA few moments later you hear a bellow of serpentine rage, and shortly after that the trio of bandits (your trio of bandits) come racing out, scrambling a bit to get some lead on the werelizard as it bounds after them. Having gotten space they whirl around and ready their weapons, clearly looking a little pressed... they clearly don't think they can take the werelizard in this state, but they're going to stand up and do their best, on your orders!\n\n<hr>\n[["Stun Bolt!"|Raz11x3]]\n\n[["Paralysis Bolt!"|Raz]]\n\n[[Just watch.|Raz]]

Your attack hits the werelizard square in the middle of its broad back. It lurches forward and seems to spend a very tense few heartbeats struggling against the effects of the spell, before it slumps to the ground, sprawling on its front motionless.\n\nAll three of your lackeys blink at that, staring down at it, before Oran murmurs a "Wow. It has like... a huge save when it's in rut, but you still Stunned it."\n\n"Just lucky, I guess," you say with a grin, walking over. You eye the limp and probably mostly insensate beast for a moment, considering... you were supposed to bring back some "recognizable part". After a moment, you shrug... head's pretty recognizable. You swing your sword down, and the rest of the werelizard's body twitches.\n\n"Pretty weird to think that it'll come back from that, but it always does," Gege notes as you pick up the werelizard's head and put it in storage. "I hear that superadventurer Tyra completely disintegrated it when she did her Green Fields trial, and even then it came back. Or maybe this is a new one," she adds with a shrug. "Hard to think anything wouldn't die when that chick kills it."\n\nGrrrr, Tyra. ... Hm. Maybe... you're as strong as her now? But you can't go assuming. Either way, you direct the three of them to dismember the corpse and take anything of value, and soon you're on your way to the exit. It looks like most of them are capable of fairly easily one-shotting everything in the Green Fields beneath the boss as well, so it's almost no time before you're leaving the gate.\n\nYour bandits look mildly nervous to be approaching the guard house, and are all behaving exaggeratedly innocent the entire time you're inside, the twins even whistling nonchalantly and Ouzen sort of ducking his head and lowering his ears a bit in a slight 'I'm a good doggy honest' pose. You follow a guard's directions to a table where one of them not wearing a helmet, and instead showing off neatly-trimmed blue hair, is waiting.\n\n"Wow, the head!" he declares, seeming genuinely impressed, some of the other guards leaning in to look. "Normally we just get a hand or the tail... half the time it probably wasn't even killed, but we're usually not sticklers for that. So good job!"\n\n"Wait, sir, look!" one of the other guards blurts, pointing. "The longer spines, the purple bits between the scales... the beast was in rut!"\n\nA general murmur of awe passes through the guardhouse, the unhelmeted guard's eyes widening a bit as he spots the details the other pointed out. "You outright killed the werelizard while it was in rut?"\n\n"Ah... I had a good plan, and these three to help," you say, gesturing behind you. "I managed to take it by surprise, is all."\n\nYour bandits still seem a bit nervous, but also slightly awed themselves, to get patted on the back and congratulated by the guards. You collect your medal and tuck it into storage in case you're ever asked to show it (though from the sound of it you'll be well-known around the guard shack from now on), then head out.\n\n"Aygee is still best for monster parts, and that's really all the Green Fields have," Gege explains as the four of you make your way through the city. You avoid glancing at the bracelet, just having a private laugh as you head inside, the three of them deciding to wait outside and around the corner, Oran and Gege lamenting that all of them owe various other regulars at the guild money.\n\nIt takes a while for you to get all the monster parts appraised and processed, partly because the counter people are in awe that it just keeps coming. You hear various things to the effect of "It's been years since someone's sold one of these!" and "I didn't even know these dropped in the Green Fields!" Hm... you might need to be careful, you don't want your reputation to run away from you too much. Still, the jingle of gold in your pouch is good as you step out and head back to the others. It's not enough to pay off your debt to Pota, but if your boosted drop rate works in other dungeons, you have little doubt you'll have plenty of cash in time.\n\nThe bandits do seem a little stunned that you actually do dish out some of the gold to them... you keep the lion's share of course, but they seem effusively delighted, calling you "Boss!" repeatedly as they eye the money before putting it away. (Well the twins do. You still haven't quite figured out if Ouzen can't talk or just doesn't.)\n\n"Oh, hey, Boss, you got a place to stay?" Oran speaks up. "Our sister's out of town right now, you could use her room at our place!"\n\n"You probably shouldn't go offering her room so easy," Gege mutters, before clearing her throat. "But yeah, Boss, I mean, I guess if you need a place, that'd be fine!" Ouzen nods along, clearly feeling that it's best to offer their new meal ticket all possible hospitality.\n\n<hr>\n[[Stay with your new gang.|Raz12x1]]\n\n[[Go back to Kashu's.|Raz11x4]]

All three of them blink at that, shifting from glares to looking dumbfounded. "Wha?" the Tigerkin guy says.\n\n"I said, you all work for me now. You're my party members, or my gang, or whatever you wanna think of yourselves as," you declare, waving a hand.\n\nYou can see them trading glances and squirming, but they don't seem that mystified... or that resistant, either, as they glance back at you. Must be 'Alpha' at work, since they now look like they're more coming to grips with the reality of what you said than figuring out how to protest.\n\n"I mean, uh... I guess if that's... what you want?" the Tigerkin girl says slowly. "But, uh... to be honest, it kinda seems like you don't... need... us?"\n\nYou can't help but grin at the reminder of how completely you outclassed all three of them without even trying. Then you shrug. "Hey, there'll be lots of stuff I need. People to gather up loot, keep watch, carry necessities, run errands while I'm in dungeons."\n\nThat takes some of the wind out of their sails, you see, the idea that they're going to be reduced to a support staff. But after a moment you add, "I'll still make sure you get paid. So no more newb-hunting, okay?"\n\nThis time the look they exchange is more thoughtful, and after a moment they all look back at you and nod, the Tigerkin siblings saying, "Agreed."\n\nYou walk over and undo their bonds, and they perk up even more when you return their pouches. The Tigerkin guy looks at you hopefully, then droops a little when you hand him your old sword instead of his, but the Wolfkin guy seems moderately pleased to get his spear back. "My name's Raz."\n\n"Oh, right, uh," the Tigerkin girl speaks up. "I'm Gege, this is my twin brother Oran," she says, gesturing at her brother. "And this's my husband Ouzen," she adds, gesturing to the Wolfkin who nods solemnly, his tail actually wagging a little as he looks at you respectfully. He actually looks kind of familiar to you... maybe he was one of the other Bieri orphans? There were a lot of you and it was a traumatic time, you can't remember everyone, especially some of the older kids that wandered off early on. You can easily imagine someone from back home winding up here if they got diverted during the journey. Maybe you'll ask him later.\n\n"Alright. I still need to defeat the dungeon boss so I can get my medal, so c'mon."\n\nAll three of them go a bit slack-jawed at that. "You... really haven't even beaten the Green Fields yet?" Gege says a little faintly.\n\n"Got a problem with that?" you ask, raking your gaze over the three of them.\n\n"NO BOSS!" the twins blurt, while Ouzen rapidly shakes his head.\n\n"Good. C'mon then."\n\nIt doesn't take you too much longer to find the werelizard. He's stalking around in a small sort of valley, hissing and swiping his claws, leaving actual gouges in the stone around him, his massive green body flexing with bulging muscle, long tail whipping about and smashing through ruined tree trunks and leaving more impacts on the walls.\n\n"Uh-ohhhhhhhhh," Gege murmurs where she and the rest of you are peeking over the edge, grimacing.\n\nHer gaze, specifically, seems to be on the pair of long, large purple members jutting from a slit on the front of the werelizard's crotch. Decidedly nonhuman, they're pointed and with ridges along the top, and little pokey angled bits at intervals along the bottom on either side. They're both covered in a thin layer of viscous goo and constantly dripping from the ends, the stuff slung around with its wild, almost frantic motions as it lets out trilling, thunderous shrieks.\n\n"It's in rut," Oran grumbles. "When it's like this it can be really dangerous even to adventurers of our level. Boss, maybe we ought to leave and come back another day, huh? There's no time limit on getting your medal, and we can do other jobs in town until then, huh?"\n\n"No, no, we can handle it," you assure him after thinking about it for all of three seconds. "I'm sure we can take it down."\n\n"But... how?" Oran asks.\n\n<hr>\n[[They'll distract it.|Raz11x2]]\n\n[[Use Gege as bait.|Raz]]

"Nah, I've already got a pretty comfy place, and I wouldn't wanna make your sister mad or something," you assert. You notice Gege and Oran look nervous at that, but continue. "Actually my host is probably gonna be serving dinner soon, I should get back. I'll see you guys here tomorrow to head to the dungeon, okay?"\n\n"Yes Boss!" Gege and Oran call, Ouzen's tail wagging.\n\nYou head back to Kashu's house, arriving in early evening. She is indeed in the middle of preparing dinner, and cheerfully encourages you to wash up and relax while she finishes. Clean and warm and admittedly doing a little low-key bragging about your defeat of the werelizard to her as you sprawl on the couch (leaving out the bit about it being in rut since that doesn't seem appropriate to tell a lady), you have to admit that this is pretty sweet. 'I owe it all to you, Dash, you great giant idiot,' you think, halfway resolving to buy him some sort of memorial once you've gotten your debts paid off and maybe bought your own place and gotten better weapons and armor and a couple of dozen other things.\n\nIn fact you're kind of so full of yourself that after dinner you set a pair of gold coins on the table. Kashu blinks in surprise. "Oh! That's very nice, Raz, but that would pay for your room so far in advance that it's a bit, mm..." She murmurs, putting a fingertip to her lips as she looks at it.\n\nWell that, uh, blunted the edge of your enthusiasm a tiny bit, even if it was entirely understandable. But you wave both your own scratched pride and her concerns off. "No, I'd like you to use it for grocery shopping and stuff. If you're going to be feeding me I don't want you to have to worry about taking that out of my rent."\n\n"Oh!" She brightens considerably at that, then after only another moment's brief hesitation takes the coins. "Well that's lovely then, I can buy some really nice ingredients with this and still make it last a while! Thank you, Raz!" she declares even more brightly, tilting her head and giving you the sweetest smile you've ever seen.\n\n'Get pregnant,' you think half-frantically that night as you lay in bed, pumping your cock rapidly as you picture Kashu underneath you in the two of you's marriage bed, still wearing bits of her bridal getup which gets sluttier by the moment as your fluffy bunny tail tries to wiggle itself off your body underneath you. 'Get pregnant get pregnant get pregnant!'\n\nAnother early morning sneak bath, but this time you hang around for breakfast, struggling not to blush as Kashu hums cheerfully while making you fresh toast with eggs, assuring you that she'll buy even more great breakfast items and bacon for tomorrow. Slightly walking on air, you leave the house for the rendevous with your lack-, ah, party.\n\n"Hey bunnybutt, who the fuck you think you are, huh?"\n\nYou jerk to a halt somewhat sooner than you'd expected to arrive, blinking. Standing in the middle of the street, glaring at you, is a Greater Tigerkin woman, her orange fur bristled a bit and her tail lashing. Like most Greater beastkin, she's taller than Human average, has much more animalistic features, and is quite buff... obviously not as buff as Byff was, since she's still entirely femininely proportioned, but still incredibly strong-looking nonetheless. You're also guessing that from the kind of skimpy attire consisting of a top that's a pair of leather belts with a triangle of black leather going between them to cover (most of) the front of her breasts, what's basically a leather bikini bottom, and tall leather leggings that leave her toes and heels bared, she's a Brawler like Nom, though you can't see the gloves since her arms are folded under her hefty chest. Whatever she is, it leaves a whole lot of white and orange fur on display, along with a lot of muscle, and she doesn't seem very happy to see you.\n\nFlanking her on either side are a very sheepish-looking Oran and Jeje. Ouzen seems to be sort of lingering off to the side trying to seem like he's not really involved.\n\n"S-sorry, Boss," Oran murmurs, tapping his index fingers together.\n\n"Ranja got back into town and she wasn't too happy to hear that you'd declared us your gang now," Gege adds meekly. "We tried to explain you're actually a really good Boss, but, um, she's still pretty upset."\n\n"Yeah I'm upset, you think you can push my family around, piphop?" Ranja demands angrily, making you bristly a little as well now. "You better explain yourself and make it good, or it's rabbit stew for dinner tonight!"\n\n<hr>\n[[Well, see... you're the Boss.|Raz]]\n\n[[Wanna fight about it?|Raz]]\n\n[[... Oh you wanna eat me, huh?|Raz]]

"I mean, if you're really that sure you wanna stay," you say after a moment of him muttering.\n\n"Hm. Yes. Well, I suppose I am," he huffs, nodding. "It will be worth it, Raz, I assure you. It had better," he adds to himself, rather darkly.\n\nYou shrug, then get up and start making camp, gathering wood for a fire. You skinned one of the deer monsters you killed and took some strategic cuts of meat, and along with some bits and pieces of the Bohtaran rations you wind up making something rather tasty, in your own opinion, even if it is just cooked on sticks over an open fire. Dash doesn't look like he 100% agrees, but he eats all of his portion readily enough.\n\nIn the morning you check his wound and confirm that it has indeed healed up a bit, and does indeed already show some signs of scarring over. Dash looks a bit like you've informed him the wound is mortal, and yet bravely presses on, the two of you heading deeper into the dungeon, looking for some series of landmarks he seems to have memorized.\n\nHe gets particularly excited when he sees a long line of high stones that essentially form a loose passageway, hurrying along it with a slight limp, with you actually having to hurry a bit to keep up. The passage eventually opens up into an even larger and much looser ring of the stones, surrounding what looks like a little glen with a handful of bushes and small trees, surrounding a pool about twelve feet across. There's a mostly-intact skeleton in ragged bits of armor and clothes slumped against a rock next to the pool, its bony arms sprawled atop it, one of them gleaming with a gold, silver, and black(?) metal bracelet, its skull resting on the ground a few feet away.\n\n"The Hypnoband! It's mine! It's mine!" Dash blurts in absolute glee, taking off running towards the skeleton as if he weren't even injured. His motion apparently startles something, since you see a white head with long ears suddenly poke up from behind one of the bushes, eyes glowing red.\n\n"Dash wait!" you call, but too late, as you can hear something whistling through the air and a wet thunk as it makes contact with him. You can only watch with wide eyes as Dash's body actually runs out from under his head, the head falling backwards to hit the ground with an almost comical klonk, the body continuing a few steps further before falling sprawled to the ground.\n\nThe Blade Bunny leaps out from behind the bushes, the bony blade on the tip of its long tail curling back and forth through the air like a snake's head, dripping with blood. It whips it towards you, but forewarned both by the guard and by Dash's own death, you're already hurling yourself down and to the side, the attack whistling well over you. You hit the ground in a roll and come up kneeling, shouting "Lesser Firebolt!" even as you thrust your hand out. The Blade Bunny actually looks vaguely shocked and offended right before the blast of fire takes its own head off, and it does its own wobble and drop not unlike Dash's.\n\n"..." You slowly stand up, wondering if you get any extra points for karma.\n\n'You have leveled up!'\n\nYeah apparently.\n\n'You have unlocked the "Dodge" skill\nYour "Lesser Firebolt" has become "Firebolt"\nYou have gained the title "Avenger"'\n\n... Huh? Titles? You didn't know about those. ... Well, you'll look at it later. For now, you guess you should... ... well there's not like there's much point to checking to see if there's anything you can do for Dash, is there?\n\nYou waffle over it for a bit, before deciding that just leaving all his stuff to rot with him really doesn't make much sense... the next adventurers to come along and find the grave would loot it without emotional attachment, after all, that's just what you do in dungeons. Still, saying a silent apology, you relieve Dash's body of his sword and anything that seems sellable or usable, like his money pouch. ... Which is full of gold. Not capable of materially paying you back for your help, huh? Okay admittedly you feel a bit less bad now.\n\nYou put the Blade Bunny's body with its valuable tale in your storage as well, then eye the skeleton. Most of its gear seems to have deteriorated beyond possible repair, to the point that it's not even obvious what race or sex they were. All that seems to be in immaculate condition is that bracelet... what did Dash call it? The 'Hypnoband'? You slide it off the boney wrist and hand carefully, eyeing it for a moment.\n\n<hr>\n[[Better take it back and get it appraised.|Raz7x5]]\n\n[[... Put it on.|Raz]]

Weird name for something. Too weird for you to just go around putting it on, everyone knows loot from dungeons can carry curses. Even though it looks like the last owner died more of a lack of watchfulness, just like Dash.\n\nAfter waffling over it for a bit, you sigh and set to work, deciding to dig at least a shallow grave and bury Dash in it. He may have been an idiot, and a liar, but he was decently nice to you otherwise and you'd feel bad about doing nothing. You set the skeleton in the same grave, since it somehow seems appropriate that the item's last owner and the guy that got killed trying to take possession of it share the same grave as well as the same fate, then set off back the way you came.\n\nYou make good time and don't encounter many monsters, so you actually cover the same distance that took you most of two days in about half of one, emerging from the gate back into the sort of annex. You're not sure if the guard that looks over at you is the same one that let you in before, but you give him a 'no luck' shrug anyway and tip him another silver piece (one of Dash's). You glance up... hm, maybe another two hours of light. Hopefully enough to get an errand done before you need to find an inn.\n\n"Hmmmmm." The appraiser you picked largely at random, a very cute Halfling girl with rich blue hair down to her shoulders and purple eyes, otherwise wrapped in concealing robes, says as she eyes the bracelet you set on the counter of her slightly crowded little shop. (Apparently she buys unappraised items, and then will sell them for the appraisal cost.) She adjusts the monocle over one eye, then looks up at you. "Well, I'll tell you two things for free. First of all it's very rare... I can tell just from the style that this is usually a class of magic item only found in the Final Round, the toughest dungeon here."\n\n"Wow, really?"\n\n"You said you found it on a corpse in the Grassy Meadows? Boy, whoever had it before must have gotten arrogant as heck, to go from having this to that. Second thing I can tell you is that it's cursed."\n\nThat makes you draw back a little from the counter. "Cursed?"\n\n"Yup! What's called a 'death curse'... basically the soul of the owner was so absolutely peeved at being killed that a bit of them stuck around inside of it. Don't worry though, my Full Appraisal spell will remove the curse!" she adds cheerfully... before her eyes glitter and she grins a bit wickedly. "But that one's expensive."\n\n"How much?" She informs you and you blanche. That's everything you took off of Dash and most of your own money! "S-seriously?!"\n\n"Full Appraisal is a very high-level spell! It lasts for years and makes it clear to anyone with the proper skills just how valuable something is, so no way you can be cheated by selling it! It'll tell me more about how it works, too, which of course I'll pass along to you."\n\n"Mmmmn," you mutter, rubbing your lower face as you glower at the bracelet.\n\n"Hey, tell you what, I'll be really fair," she says, lifting her hands in a shrug. "Since I don't like to cheat people, if you don't want to pay for Full Appraisal, I'll trade you a Ring of Minor Djinn I have for it." At your eyebrows raising high, she giggles. "Calm down, Minor Djinn can only do Minor Wish, and only every couple of days, and that's pretty limited. No money, for one thing, or do you think I'd ever trade it away?" she adds dryly. At your rueful expression she says, "Still, it's pretty useful! If you don't use the Minor Wish, you can use it as a summon in battle! Honestly it's probably not worth anywhere near as much as the bracelet is, but it's still worth way more than I'd normally give someone on the currency value for an unappraised item. Anyway, your choice!"\n\nYou eye the bracelet again. Well you definitely don't want to take it back while it's still cursed. So it's really just a question of whether to pay for Full Appraisal or trade it for the ring.\n\n<hr>\n[[Have the bracelet appraised.|Raz7x6]]\n\n[[Trade it.|Raz]]

You sigh, digging out Dash's money pouch and setting it on the counter, then taking out your own and digging out most of its contents to set on the counter as well. The appraiser smirks as she scoops it all up and sets it below, then waggles her hands meaningfully over the bracelet, murmuring quietly. It takes several minutes, but you actually see something sort of... snap from within, a faint eerie black-purple glow wafting away from the bracelet and disappearing. It seems brighter now, and you really do get a sense of how incredibly valuable it is.\n\n"There! And what we have here is... a Bracelet of Greater Stat Boosting!" the appraiser crows.\n\n"Huh, really?" You tilt your head. "The guy I was with seemed to think it was called something like a 'Hypnoband'."\n\n"Ah, yeah, this one's been fiddled with," the appraiser explains, picking the bracelet up and waggling it around a bit between her small, deft hands. "And might have started out a bit differently anyway. But it looks like it's had all of its stat boosting ability applied strategically to certain main stats and sub-stats for much greater effect on those. Probably limits its use, you wouldn't get the constant effect like with a normal one, you'd have to focus and use magical power too."\n\n"Hunh," you murmur, nodding slowly.\n\n"I mean I could probably revert it to a normal Bracelet of Greater Stat Boosting for you," she says, waggling it a bit. "While the spellwork to redirect it is super intricate, resetting it would be a breeze. Probably be way, way more useful to you, considering. You're an Adventurer, right?" she says, somehow managing to pronounce the capital A.\n\n"... Yeah."\n\n"Oh yeah the normal version would be great for you! Since you get a minor stat boost every level anyway, the regular kind is only gonna get better as you level up. This's gonna be the same start to finish, and you'd probably have to buy mana-boosting items to be able to use it properly."\n\n"Okay. How much?" At her reply you blanche again. "That's as much as the appraisal! I thought you said it would be a breeze?!"\n\n"Hey, I'm not charging for the intensity of my labor, I'm charging for its usefulness," she replies cheerfully, shrugging again. "Go to anyone else that knows the right spells and they'll charge as much, but they won't have my knowledge of this particular item to make sure they use the right one!"\n\n<hr>\n[[You'll take it as-is.|Raz]]\n\n[[You don't have the money.|Raz8x1]]\n\n[["... Hey can I see it for a minute?"|Raz7x7]]

More than anything you've got to thin out the ranks of these damn Street Demons! If you don't, it's not going to matter who you hook up with, you'll get surrounded and overwhelmed!\n\nYou launch yourself at the nearest invader, drawing and slicing as you do, the nightstick-wielding Street Demon lurching backwards in a shower of blood. One of the other ones nearby sees and whips their gun up to point at you, and you whirl-dodge to the side before they quite pull the trigger, closing with them as you do, slicing downward from shoulder to waist, dropping them as well. Operating half on instinct and half trying to guide yourself towards where you can hear some of the thickest fighting going on, you continue the pattern... cut, evade and close, cut. The necessity of keeping up a fluid motion of strikes and dodghing leaves no room for fear or worry, there is only the target in front of you falling under your blade, and the next target readying their weapon against you. Cut, evade and close, cut. Horned assailant after masked attacker falling with screams and splashes of red or sometimes milky green-white, your focused strikes cutting through flesh and cybernetics alike.\n\nBy the time you actually have enough clear space in front of you to breathe, you realize you've moved through the rent in the wall and are outside, where it really is like a small-scale war is going on... Street Demons brawling with the enforcers that were left outside and any that made it in from the outer areas. It looks like whatever sort of 'cold mist' bomb that red-clad girl used when making her entrance, a number of them have been scattered around, since the light patter of rain is turning into flat, slushy snow about twenty feet off the ground, and your hard breaths come out in puffs of vapor. You can feel the cold trying to leech the strength out of your tired muscles, the fear of the sheer scale of the violence around you trying to press in around your mind. In the midst of all of it, some of the fighting in front of you parts, and you spot a Street Demon just... standing there, sword in one hand, gazing around at the fighting with blue eyes that strangely strike you as... lonely, more than anything.\n\nHer hair is short, blue, and almost "fluffy", the cyberhorns sticking up out of it white and black with glowing blue accents, her vape mask sleek and all black with more glowing blue lines. She's wearing a black hooded jacket with a few armored pieces, and designs in white and, of course, glowing blue, and under that a white blouse and long, pale blue tie... apparently some sign of what they 'should' be wearing is in vogue among the Street Demons' top talent. Below that are tight, shiny black hotpants, and shiny black thigh-highs that go down into black and blue-glow move-assist boots. A short blade is strapped to her thigh, and a long, lightly curved sword is held sheathed in her left hand... both of them crystalslicers by the look of them, assuming they're not just styled to match the rest of her look.\n\n<img src="images/Cyanide.jpg">\n\nAlmost by chance, her eyes lock with yours. And the strangest feeling runs down your spine and through your arms to the tips of your fingers where they press to your sword. And that moment seems to stretch out, the sound of the fighting all around you turning muted and drawled. In that instant all the people around you fighting and dying are just scene setting, just decoration, for that second where your eyes meet hers and both of you tighten your hands on your swords as the thick fake snowflakes drift down around you both in slow motion. The words in your head, a distant memory now, are enough to drown out the battlecries and screams of pain faded out around the edges.\n\n"There are certain truths about the way of the sword, Kai. They may sound silly to you now, but they are truths all the same. On the day you are destined to start your journey as a true master of the blade, you will meet someone... another who is sharing that same day. You can choose to fight them, and likely only one of you will walk away having started their path to becoming a swordmaster. Or perhaps both will live, and forever their fates will be entwined. Or... you can refuse your destiny. You can run. And you'll be running from who you were meant to be for the rest of your life."\n\nHer voice... your teacher, your friend, one of the holes in your soul... is in your head, and yet it seems to come from the katana she gave you the day she left all the same.\n\nToday's the day. Holy shit... today's the day.\n\n<hr>\n[[Face your destiny.|KaiCy1x2]]\n\n[[Run.|KaiCy]]

Ugh... it's pretty expensive, but Nom did basically say that the one thing you don't want to do is underpay them. You fish around in your pouch and find a silver piece, taking it out and slipping it into his hand. You get the sense he's quite pleased, taking a quick glance down before slipping the coin away somewhere.\n\n"Here boy, let me give you a quick bit of advice. First is for the Fields, other is for the dungeons in general. First, when you're in the fields, watch out for Blade Bunnies. You've fought Horned Rabbits maybe?" At your nod, he continues. "Blade Bunnies are a bit bigger than that, not too dangerous to fight head-on if you're careful, but if they get the drop on you, you're dead. They have a long whiplike tail with a wicked sharp blade on the end, and they know to go for the neck. So keep an eye out for them, and watch the tail if you spot them. If you can get in close they can't get up enough momentum to be really dangerous, and they die in one good hit. Their meat's delicious, by the way, and the blades are worth a fair bit too."\n\n"Huh, okay, thanks. What's the other bit of advice?"\n\n"Don't go chasing monsters that run from you, even weak ones. Unless it's some sort of unique or rare monster, if it's fleeing it means it's fleeing to its home, and there's usually a lot more of them there. Even weak monsters can be deadly if they gang up on you. Like the Horned Rabbits, ya?"\n\n"Ah, okay. Well thanks then."\n\n"Be careful, boy," he adds with a light wave as you turn and head off towards the gate.\n\nYou step outside and... wait, no, the angle of the wall is wrong for outside, isn't it? The season seems a little different here too, maybe slightly warmer than it was when you came in on the autocarriage. And the sky is a completely cloudless even blue. ... This is actually inside a dungeon, isn't it? Despite the growing grass and the sight of distant trees? Wow... this place is pretty interesting right off the bat. Still, it is a dungeon, you remind yourself as you draw your sword. And one where some of the monsters are capable of instant kills. Better be careful.\n\nYou set off, and after a few minutes spot your first monsters, a pair of slimes bounding along, their slightly oblong bodies semi-translucent, enough to see the faint outline of some of the trees and hills beyond through. At your approach they land with a wobble, turning slightly more spherical as angular planes floating inside them rotate to face you... eyes? Erk, they must be, because they turn from white to red, the pair of them bounding towards you far more quickly than they had been before.\n\nYou whip your free hand up and point your palm at one, calling "Lesser Firebolt!" Your aim turns out to be pretty good and catches the slime right in the center, practically bursting it and sending it plopping to the ground, goo already starting to soak into the dirt and grass. But the other launches itself right at you, forcing you to dodge and just barely missing you. You pivot and swing your sword, slashing through its gooey body, tearing a large rent right through it. At first you think you've killed it, before you notice the rent squishing closed and the eyes pivoting back to face you. You quickly throw yourself backwards, again raising your hand and calling out the spell name, blasting the second slime as well. This time it works, turning more liquidy and soaking into the ground, leaving a slightly darker blue little sphere sitting there like the other one.\n\nThen suddenly the window pops up again. Whoa, really?!\n\n'You have leveled up!\n\nYou have unlocked the "Empowered Slash" skill\nYou have unlocked the "Judge Value (Lesser)" skill\n"Spellblade (Lesser)" has advanced slightly\nAll your stats have increased slightly'\n\nWow, really? Just like that? These weren't that much harder than the Horned Rabbits, but they must be worth a lot more XP! And using your new skill, you'd say these drops... slime cores, probably?... are definitely worth more than Horned Rabbit carcasses. It's not like you get an actual coin value, just a sort of feeling, but you could definitely do well for yourself just grinding slimes, especially your first day here!\n\nA bit of motion catches your eye, and you look towards the nearby treeline. There are another couple of slimes standing there, little white eye-planes turned towards you. Seeing you notice them, they all give little hops of what look like alarm, wobbling in apparent terror before turning and bounding into the trees. Apparently they saw how easily you dispatched their fellows and are afraid! And if they're afraid of you... they can't be that tough either!\n\n<hr>\n[[Haha, after them!|Raz14x1]]\n\n[[Oop, wait, no.|Raz7x2]]

Ah, that's right, that's exactly what the guard warned you about... probably if they're fleeing into the forest, they're fleeing towards home, and you bet there's a lot more slimes there. Even if it wouldn't be a problem getting ganged up on by a handful of them, that one slime was clearly pretty resistant to physical damage, meaning your new skill might not help a lot, and you don't have the magical power to be casting Lesser Firebolt constantly. Best to let them go for now, and just fight more slimes as you come across them.\n\nYou head further on into the Green Fields, following the... well, the green fields, since you weren't given any other indication of how to find the boss monster. You suppose if you get deep enough into the dungeon maybe he'll find you. As you go, you fight some more slimes, and some animal-like monsters... they resemble actual wolves and deer, but the aggressive red glow of their eyes marks them as dungeon monsters, that and the fact that 'drops' like their antlers and fangs just conveniently fall off their bodies when they're slain. Still, some of them's carcasses seem to be worth a bit too, and your dimensional storage is a bit bigger with your level up.\n\nYou do notice that despite the presence of an actual sun, the "sky" above does change how light it is as the day wears on. Before late afternoon you hit level four, gaining another (small) stat increase and adding Lesser Icebolt and Tracking (Lesser) to your repertoir. Yeesh, still with all the "Lesser", you can see how people would be despirited as an Adventurer... though you guess you do keep getting more and more stuff every level? Well, either way.\n\nAs you're just debating whether to head back or camp out, your new tracking skill kicks in as you're skimming the nearby area, doing another check for Blade Bunnies. Huh, kind of looks like another person has been through here... someone walking unevenly. You walk over to the disturbed grass and squat down, and even without the aid of the skill spot a few droplets of partly-dried blood. Yeah, looks like they're injured. Or were. By now whoever it was may have bound themselves up and moved on. ... Either that or fallen prey to monsters entirely, in which case their body is probably laying there like bait. You should probably ignore this...\n\n... hm, but what if they need help? Well... ... is that your problem? Hm.\n\n<hr>\n[[Continue on and camp out.|Raz]]\n\n[[Turn back.|Raz]]\n\n[[Go looking for the injured adventurer.|Raz7x3]]

Ehhhh... you guess you'd feel pretty bad if you didn't at least check. You start following the disturbed grass and slight blood trail, doing your best to follow the markings and to keep watch for monsters.\n\nEventually you spot what has to be the source of the blood, a Human man maybe a small handful of years older than you, with dashingly shaggy blonde hair and a smooth-shaven handsome face, and pretty decent clothes in white and blue as well. He's leaned back against a lone tree, and looking quite pale... at first you think you might be too late, but at your approach he stirs a little, lifting his rapier slightly, and hesitating a bit when he sees it's not a monster.\n\n"Ah... hello there," he says in a breezy, cultured accent. "I suppose as you might have noticed, I've had a bit of trouble," he says, raising his hand from his leg, where there's a rather ragged gash. Oof, looks like one of the wolves got in a pretty good chomp-and-tear on him. "If I could prevail on you for your help, sir?"\n\n"Yeah, sure," you say, walking over and kneeling down beside him. You spend a moment appraising the wound, then take out some of the herbs you've collected at various downtimes. The Human makes a face at you chewing them up and applying them to the wound, but doesn't otherwise complain as you wrap some cloth strips around it. "Better?"\n\n"Not quite a healing potion, but yes, it seems to be doing the trick, my good sir, I thank you. My name, by the way, is Dash, and I am deeply grateful... although I'm afraid I have little physical means of expressing my gratitude at the moment," he adds with a clearing of his throat.\n\nYou grin ruefully. Figures. But you just shrug and say, "I'm Raz."\n\n"Good Raz, my deepest compliments. Your poultice seems to be doing the trick." He lifts his leg a bit, clearly testing how it moves. "Yes, I think I'll be good to continue on in the morning."\n\n"I dunno, man, a minced-up wound like that?" you say, frowning and glancing at your improvised bandaging job. "If you want it to heal up right, we probably ought to get you out of the dungeon and clean it up a bit better, that was mostly to stop the bleeding and help with the pain."\n\n"I couldn't possibly," he says, surprisingly quickly and firmly. At your confused look, he continues. "I have been looking for... a certain object here in this dungeon for some time. But if no one is in the dungeon overnight, everything shuffles about, you see, and all my days of searching will be ruined, I'll be back to square one. Ah... perhaps you could come with me?" he suggests, clearly hoping this will placate you and avoid you trying to carry him out or something. "I would reward you appropriately for all your assistance once I'd obtained the treasure, I assure you!"\n\n"Well... I dunno," you hedge, glancing around, then at his wound, then at him. "You realize if you leave it like this overnight and however long we're in here, it'll scar, right?"\n\nThat makes him blanche in horror, his jaw dropping and blue eyes turning terrified. "S-s-s-s-s-scar?! I... well, I don't... hm... but... well, a small price to pay... I'm really so close now," he mutters, clearly still resolved to stick it out... but only just barely.\n\n<hr>\n[[Urge him to return to town.|Raz13x1]]\n\n[[Agree to staying in the dungeon.|Raz7x4]]

Hm, the summoning ritual did seem to mostly come up only a few times a year, maybe you should look into that one since you'd have to wait if you miss this opportunity. It takes a bit of flipping through and skimming to find where you saw it, but eventually you find it.\n\nTurns out that you were right... in fact, the best time for the summoning is tonight, and a similarly good time won't come again until the winter solstice... and not until quite literally a year from now for a particularly good night again. At least that's what the book says in regards to a witch's first summoning... apparently once you get the first one done right, any summonings after that are a bit easier and the various factors that make for one are much more lenient. But unless you want to wait until winter break, tonight at midnight is likely your best bet to pull this off.\n\nOf course you read through the whole thing to get an idea of what's involved, you're not an amateur. You need the proper time as judged by the stars and moon and not by technological timepieces (easy enough for you), you need a place of power (you know a great one too, and it's well away from prying eyes), and a handful of other items and ingredients that you luckily happen to have on hand or can get with a quick trip to a few nearby stores. The diagrams are all nice and clear, you can easily do this. It notes that when the demon shows up, it won't technically be bound in a circle and forced to obey you, but will have a 'non-hostility' geas on it... meaning that as long as you're careful and don't offer any sort of offense (physical or verbal) that would allow it to defend its existence or honor (such as demons count it), you'll be safe. You can then negotiate with the demon to form a pact or bond or grant you some other sort of service.\n\nYou pause a bit at reading that the summoning can be performed by a coven, and that in fact the more witches that participate in the summoning, the more powerful a demon can be called up. It apparently doesn't even necessarily matter how powerful the individual witches are... the simple fact that there's more of them will amplify the natural energy of the ritual and allow for the more potent summoning.\n\nClosing your tome, you sit back and trace your fingers over the cover thoughtfully. You don't have a coven... not really. There is, however, the 'Practical Magic' club that you started half as a laugh last year, partly because if you went through the paperwork and convincing the right bureaucrats to sanction it (which you did with a bit of influence magic), the school would actually give you a meeting space and a small fund, which you mostly use to make various charms. But you've also attracted a small handful of other authentic practitioners... none of them anywhere near as powerful or versed as you, but a few of which you've been giving a bit of minor instruction here and there, mostly pointers to let them grow on their own. You could call a meeting of the club, which would have several benefits... one being the enhancement of the summoning, the other being that at least one of the people you know who would show up has their own car. Because otherwise you pretty much need to leave now, take an uber to the edge of town, and spend a few hours walking.\n\n<hr>\n[[Call a club meeting.|ValTome1x2]]\n\n[[Go by yourself.|ValTome2x1]]

Heck, why not? You can get some fresh air, and you doubt it will be all that difficult to make sure some sheep don't wander off or get eaten. You tag yourself as accepting the job, then head to your vault to take out a good multi-purpose rifle. Then you head to the departure annex to find a free portal.\n\nYou step out into what looks like the entryway of a stereotypical farmhouse. A woman a bit older than you is waiting, a slightly uncertain smile on her face... probably never hired an interdimensional mercenary before, that's the 'I've never hired an interdimensional mercenary before' nervous smile. She's on the tall side, with tan skin, blonde hair, and a nice body, the set of her shoulders and snugness of her clothes hinting at muscle tone that's not otherwise visible. Her button-up flannel shirt hugs a generous chest, and her jeans hug an equally generous bulge at the front of her crotch. Nothing particularly startling to you, that sort of thing's pretty common both on Makarzia and in the multiverse at large.\n\n"Hi, I'm Michika, I answered the listing for a temporary shepherd?" you say by way of introduction, giving her your own smile.\n\n"Hey there, Michika, I'm Alara, owner of this here farm," the blonde answers, offering her hand for a quick, firm shake. "Real glad ta have ya answer, was starting to worry I was gonna hafta go out there and babysit the herd m'self, which would be a pain considering how much else I have ta do."\n\n"I bet. So you said that some of the sheep had disappeared?"\n\n"Yeah, last time I had 'em out at pasture two of the ewes plum vanished on me. Th' rest of 'em insist that they didn't wander off an' were taken, but of course not a one of 'em actually saw a damned thing. Sheep, y'know?" she adds with a shrug and a roll of the eyes. "Anyway, now they're refusin' ta go ta th' pasture without someone ta watch 'em. I'd otherwise say 'fine, stay in your enclosure' but a certain amount of pasture time is legally mandated. Regulations, y'see. Easiest thing t'do is hire someone ta watch 'em, at least on a temporary basis, until I can either find someone permanent or they stop bein' so jittery."\n\n"So just to be clear, these aren't nonsentient domesticated sheep?" you ask as she turns and leads you out of the front door.\n\n"Ah, no no, sorry if'n I didn't include that in the listing. We're an anthro farm, sentient humanoid livestock. As y'might imagine, even without m'own ethical standards as to proper treatment, there's a ton of regulations an' oversight on a farm like this," she says with a bit of a sigh. "Anthro farm products are a high-end luxury good, so it tends ta be worth it end of th' day, but I sure do get tired of all that comes with it sometimes."\n\nSo yeah, much as you suspected, not a "normal" farm. You're aware that farms like this existed, obviously, populated by anthropomorphic animals of various levels of intelligence and development, you've never been on one though. You have no idea of what this particular dimension/planet's handling of it and the morality of said situation is, so you decide to just keep that to yourself. You're basically just here to make sure nothing eats the bipedal sheep, after all, no need to go making it any deeper than that, for the moment. You follow Apala to a small green open-topped hovercar, getting into the passenger seat before she takes off.\n\n"Now they're already out at the mid-point, and they know their way to the pasture proper, just do your best to keep them mostly together and then you can settle in. There's camping gear stored beside th' big tree, along with pack meals and stuff."\n\n"So what about when I need to sleep?" you ask, adding wryly, "It's my first time as a shepherd."\n\n"Heh, I hear ya. I've got another merc hired too, they should be here 'fore it gets too late, then th' two of you can trade off as y'like." \n\nSoon the vehicle is zooming across green rolling hills, following the line of just above waist-high wooden fence. Said fence eventually comes to a large, circular fenced-in area where a bunch of humanoids are milling about, with an interesting cross between the typical sort of crowd chatter along with the occasional purely animalistic bleat. Those are anthro sheep alright... their arms, legs, shoulders, backs, and the tops of their heads are covered with fluffy, curly white, while their fronts and hands show mostly short, fine, very dark black-brown hide. None of them seem to be wearing any clothing, and at a glance you see almost entirely females, with a variety of breast shapes ranging from large torpedo tits to perky little mounds, capped by equally dark nipples, a few of them with little tufts of white fluff at the front of their crotches. (It looks like it's an aesthetic choice rather than related to anything else, you're guessing they have a preference for how they get shorn.) Apala sets the vehicle down nearby, the sheep turning to peer over at you, the chatter taking on a curious tone.\n\n"Alright, pasture's thattaway, like I said they'll mostly know the way, just if y'see 'em starting to wander too far off nudge 'em back," Apala says as she gets out and heads around the enclosure towards a gate latch. "You should be able t'see the big tree when y'get close, it's a good spot t'sit an' watch this lot, also where I've stored the supplies and stuff. Alright you lot!" she adds as she raises her voice. "I gotcha that guard y'wanted, a real GIPSE mercenary ta make sure nothin' chomps ya! So be good an' actually listen to her, alright?!" she adds as she undoes the gate and steps back, the anthro sheep already starting to mill out with little calls of 'Okay!' and 'Fiiine' and 'Baaaa!' Apala gives you a little salute, then turns and heads back to the hovercar. Obviously she has a lot to do.\n\n"Hey. Hi. How's it going. I'm Michika," you say to the sheep as they go by, trying not to be distracted by various jiggles as they go by. "Heya. Nice to meet you. Name's Michika. Let's get-" You blink as your vision is suddenly filled by black abs and pecs. "-along?" you conclude, craning your head a bit to look upward.\n\nOh. That is... definitely a ram. Like the ewes, he's fluffy along the arms, legs, and back, although his front is bare, showing off a powerful physique... and a large, fat humanlike cock dangling down over a pair of shorn black balls. He's smirking down at you, the expression still obvious on his ovine muzzle, the smug factor somehow only enhanced by the large, curling horns on either side of his head.\n\n"Now, let's get something clear here, girl," he says in a fairly deep, not quite booming voice. "These other meek little things may have been worried and have asked for a guard, but I'm perfectly capable of watching, leading, and guarding this herd on my own. I know the way to the pasture too, so why don't you just know your place and listen to ol' Ramses, 'kay?"\n\n<hr>\n[["Er... 'kay."|ChiGH4x3]]\n\n[["Fuck off, dick."|ChiRam]]\n\n[["Males are all alike."|ChiRam]]\n\n[["Ooo, okay~!"|ChiRam1x1]]\n\n[[Hm. How would a sheepdog handle this...?|ChiRam]]

Hee, yes yes, let's give them both what they're so envious of in those hot young college students! Taking spirit form, you slip into the kitchen proper to have a better view before you cast your magic.\n\n"Mm?" The one with the brown hair in a ponytail lifts her head up a little bit, frowning. "Did you... feel something?"\n\n"Sort of like a static tingle?" the one with black hair in a braid says, frowning slightly. "Yes, like things sort of feel a little... tight?"\n\n"I must say though, that moisturizer you're using is really looking wonders, your face looks quite silky and smooth."\n\n"Really? I was just thinking the same thing about yours... ah, hey!" Braid says, getting to her feet as she looks down at herself. "The tingling, it's stronger and... ah!" she squeaks as the very slight pudge of her belly visibly shrinks and disappears, causing Ponytail to leap up in shock as well.\n\nBoth alternately stare at each other and themselves as the changes occur, little wrinkles and blemishes disappearing, skin becoming sleek and smooth until it's almost glowing. Their faces too become sleeker and smoother, a gentle roundeur of youth, while their hips shrink and slim down to pre-motherhood proportions, two pairs of rather uninspiring panties dropping to the floor down much sleeker and yet more perfectly curved legs. Their sounds of shock turn to soft, surprised moans of pleasure as their breasts, already having firmed up and perked up, begin to expand further, pressing out against their bras.\n\n"W-what's happening?" Ponytail gasps, her voice having taken on a slightly higher, sweeter tone.\n\n"I don't know but I like it!" Braid moans back happily, just before giving a delighted squeal as her bra pops off and drops down in her blouse, buttons popping open as well as her newly head-sized tits spring outward against the cloth.\n\n"Oh, oh God," Ponytail whimpers, actually cumming a little as her own bra snaps and her equally large tits spring out and pop her buttons, both of them panting and flushed as the changes finish. Ponytail is the first to get ahold of herself, blinking and patting at her hips, belly, and face, before pointing at Braid. "You're... we're young!"\n\n"Mmmm, not a day over twenty-one at the most," Braid actually coos, sliding her hands over her newly trim and utterly perfect ass through her dress.\n\n"How is this possible?" Ponytail asks as she fishes her bra out of her blouse and holds it up, eyeing the busted clasps in shock.\n\n"Who cares?" Braid snorts as she tosses her own bra away negligently, smirking as she puts her hands on her hips. "We're young again! I mean, I could have stood to be a few years younger still, but this is plenty!"\n\n"We're not just young again, neither of us had huge tits like these when we were younger!" Ponytail gushes, clearly starting to get into it fully herself as she hefts up her boobs with both hands. "With these we'll put any of those stupid cow college girls to shame!"\n\n"Our husbands will go mad with lust for us!" Braid squeals, doing a slightly outdated twist-and-hip-bop dance move as she twirls around, before tucking her hands behind her head and shaking her shoulders, smirking as her huge breasts wobble. "Heck, forget our husbands, we could have the first hot young man we come across!"\n\nKonkonkon~, these two swallowed the bait, the hook, the line, and the bobber! They immediately got all full of themselves... a perfect opportunity to capitalize on their words and show them what happens when you take a magical gift for granted! \n\n<hr>\n[[Not young enough, are you?|Konko]]\n\n[[Like the huge tits, do you?|Konko]]\n\n[["Stupid cows", are they?|Konko]]\n\n[[Your husbands will "go mad with lust", will they?|Konko]]\n\n[[Pounce the first hot young man you come across, will you?|Konko]]\n\n[[Hm, actually, you have an even more ironic idea~!|Konko]]

"Fine, fine, I'll go with you," you grumble, adding under your breath, "Spank me."\n\n"Hm?" he asks as he takes you by the upper arm and hauls you to your feet.\n\n"Nothing," you mutter with a roll of the eyes.\n\nHe raises his eyebrows, then shrugs and firms his grip on your arm, lifting his other hand closer to his mouth. "Comm Ops. ... I've captured the instigator, I'm going to take her to the bounty panel. The rest of you will handle everything here?"\n\n"Yeah, boss, I'll see you at home," a woman's voice (not the one that called out earlier, you notice) says.\n\nKeeping his eyes on you, he rummages in the pocket of his coat with his hand and comes up with a handle-like device, glancing at it briefly as if to check it's the right one, before pressing the button on it.\n\nFwip.\n\nYou have the distinct feeling of being pulled across an incomprehensibly vast distance so quickly that you really shouldn't have noticed anything at all but did. It leaves you feeling wobbly and like everything's distorting and shaking around you, an effect not helped by the fact that you're inside a relatively featureless white room with nothing but a faintly glowing blue grid on it, giving the impression that the walls are "breathing" for several seconds before you can get your wits around you.\n\n"Scanning," a blandly pleasant voice says, before a blue beam of light sweeps up and down the both of you. Your eyes widen as everything you're wearing, save for the zipties, disappears, leaving you standing naked beside the mercenary, though you notice he decorously averts his head, leaving you feeling torn between grateful, mildly offended, and a little turned-on. The next pass of the beam causes a slightly ill-fitting orange jumpsuit to materialize instead, pegging your dial squarely on 'furious'.\n\nYou seethe quietly as the voice speaks up again. "Welcome back, Indigo. Please wait one moment while we arrange a court."\n\n"Court?" you say, blinking. "I've heard of a speedy trial, but this is a little ridiculous."\n\n"The bounty panel doesn't actually try you, they just assess any prices already put on your head by official bodies and translate that into a contract which can then be sold to a correctional facility," the man... Indigo, apparently... says evenly.\n\nOh.\n\nOh crap.\n\n"I changed my mind, take me back to Earth, I want a trial in a nice glacial rules lawyer-y American court!" you blurt.\n\n"I've seen your record, you've already had a trial, you were convicted and escaped from prison," Indigo notes dryly.\n\n"Yes but what about second trial?!"\n\n"You've already had it."\n\n"Third trial?! Appeals?! Deliberation?! Ineffective assistance of council?!"\n\n"If you're expecting me to toss you an apple you're going to be disappointed," he notes as a number of the squares on the wall in front of you shimmer and disappear, prompting him to urge you forward. \n\nThe room inside does indeed resemble a very simplified courtroom, albeit lacking everything but the sort of judge's bench area. There's a blue-skinned woman with white hair sitting in the judge's spot, indeed wearing black robes and a pair of spectacles, eyeing a tablet instead of a file folder. "Alright, Case 324723-AJK, Deborah DuFresne aka Defiance aka The Defiant One aka The Insurrectionist aka Lady Chaos aka Captain Chaos aka Defiler aka..." She adjusts her spectacles again, then looks up at you and concludes, "'That Bitch'."\n\n"Boy you set a DA's vacation home on fire and he gets butthurt about it," you grumble.\n\n"I see here we have a number of local planetary bounties for fleeing trial, escaping incarceration, resisting arrest, and... a number of private bounties from individuals on various sides of the law," the judge notes, raising an eyebrow. "Nothing interdimensional, that modifies things. What made you decide to bring her here, specifically, Indigo?"\n\n"I caught her in a Foundation facility. It was this or leave her to them," he notes.\n\n"Mm. I can see why you chose us. Though you realize that depending on who buys her contract, it might not be that much more pleasant," she notes, turning her gaze back to you warningly.\n\n"He said it'd be survivable, though," you note accusingly.\n\n"Yes, that is true, we do not allow facilities that regularly cause fatalities... other than during escape attempts," she adds, making you grin sheepishly. She regards you, then the tablet for a moment, before picking up a gavel and rapping it on the desk. "Ten years, time adjustable depending on behavior or slam policy."\n\n"WHAT?!" you blurt. Then you blink. "Oh... that's actually not that bad."\n\n"Mm. We'll see. Anything else to say before we send her to processing and you to the payment counter, Indigo?"\n\n"Yes, I'd like to make sure she's fitted with a replacement limb," he says, making you blink.\n\nThe judge raises an eyebrow again. "We don't fund that, you'd have to pay for it yourself. That will probably eat up your entire commission on this, might even wind up costing you money."\n\n"Be that as it may, I won't send her to a slam with one arm."\n\n"Mm, alright, your call." She raps her gavel again. "Concluded. Bailiff, take the prisoner to the medical room, then to a holding cell to await contract purchase."\n\n"Uh... thanks, I guess," you say, looking up at Indigo as a uniformed man with scaly skin walks towards you.\n\n"Just common decency. I do hope you're still grateful after you get to the slam," he adds ruefully as he turns and walks off in the opposite direction as the bailiff takes you by the arm and leads you away.\n\nA bit later you're sitting in the largely featureless cell, at the moment mostly eyeing your new prosthetic. 'How unstylish,' you think with a sigh. Absolutely basic... in fact it's close to looking like a real arm, just extremely pale and with a faint plastic-y sheen, as well as a number of lines across the surface. Some careful eyeing has already shown you that your chances of being able to open it up and fiddle with it are slim to none, even if you had any tools. More and more as time goes by, you're starting to wonder if you made the right choice... but then that might just be because you're getting bored as fuck in here while also having no clue what your future holds, to the point that it's starting to seem preferable to think that the Foundation might have just shot you execution style and gotten it over with.\n\nThough you thankfully don't have to brood on that particular thought too long as the bailiff walks in with a tablet, and sticks it halfway through the flickering energy field that makes up one side of the cell. "Your contract got bought," he informs you simply.\n\nYou stand and take the tablet, resisting the urge to try and yank his hand through and do some unspecified but hopefully useful violence to him (because you can't possibly be the first person to think of that and these guys just seem too smart to have not taken precautions), and look at the listing on the screen.\n\n<hr>\n[["Reform facility 3-D-3-N."|Def]]\n\n[["Reform facility 53-X-701."|DefRF2x1]]\n\n[["Reform facility Westloch."|DefRF1x1]]\n\n[["Contaiment facility Appollyon."|DefRF]]\n\n[["Work facility Startomb."|DefRF3x1]]\n\n[["Work facility AC-1555."|DefRF]]

What?! No! No! You put more fake wires in that bomb than you've had hot meals in the last month! That's not possible! Who the fuck...?!\n\nGritting your teeth, you force yourself to calm down and focus past the rage. Okay... okay. You can still salvage this. Maybe you can find your way back to SCPX-682 and figure out how to release it, and then when everyone's busy freaking out about that loop your way back to the comm room and just start shooting stuff. That might work.\n\nNodding to yourself, you get up and turn around, and walk right into an energy blast to the chest. You can feel your armor dispersing it even as you're knocked backward and sent sprawling to your back, but all that does is send the tingling, apparently paralyzing energy all over your body instead of concentrating in your chest, leaving you twitching and shuddering limply in place like a stunned but not quite dead fish.\n\nThe guy who rather obviously shot you moves into your field of view, towering above you and raising one thick, bushy grey eyebrow. 'Whoa, silver fox,' you can't help but think despite your obvious dislike of having been, y'know, shot by him. Or maybe 'silver bear' would be more appropriate, considering his large size, broadness, and tone, shown off by a skintight black shirt under a silver-trimmed long blue coat. But yeah, older guy, with wavy backswept hair and a full beard, though very trimmed. Got a very professional look despite obviously being some sort of mercenary, his dark blue eyes fixed unwaveringly on you.\n\n"Well. 'Defiance', I think it is, hm?" he says in a smooth, steady voice that in another situation you would be perfectly happy to hear ask you to call him 'Daddy'. He kneels down and flips you over onto your front (oh to have that happen in another context too), and you can hear the scrnch of some form of ziptie besides feeling him pulling your wrists together behind your back. Ack, it feels like he's also ziptying your fingers together in little clusters... even if you could break the ties with your prosthetic, you'd also break most or all of your flesh-and-blood fingers so bad it'd probably knock you right back out if you tried. Damn, this guy's good, and not just in the GDILF department. "Guess the listing was right and it was you behind the attempted containment breach."\n\n"Fuck," you hiss under your breath, which is your first clue your vocal chords are working again as he hauls you upright and thumps you back against the wall. They saw you coming! \n\n"Indeed. Now, dear, I'm going to do you a favor you may or may not deserve," he notes in a wry tone as he looks you steadily in the eye. "It is heavily implied, but not outright stated, in the contract I took that if I catch you I should turn you over to the Foundation. To my understanding, that would not be a very pleasant experience. Alternatively, I can take you and turn you into a body of my acquaintance who would sentence you to a prison term in a potentially very unpleasant place, but one which you would likely survive and one day be freed from. However, if I do that, there is a relatively good chance you won't make it back to this dimension again. So, your choice... displacement and survival, or..." He lifts his free hand and gestures around, indicating the Foundation building where you just assaulted some guards, gave one of the inmates a weapon, and tried to blow the place to hell.\n\n<hr>\n[[You'll go with him.|Def2x2]]\n\n[[You'll stay here.|Def]]

"... Maybe what Aiane needs is some real stability in his life, some... normalcy," you say slowly. "Maybe I'll take him to stay with Gramma for awhile." \n\n"That's... definitely not the worst idea, no," Neo agrees after a moment's thought. "That Earth's a relatively peaceful place. We're not super close with her but she'd probably love to meet her great-grandson, and she's super sweet. She'd probably take great care of him."\n\n"Yeah, I think so too. His ears would stick out but I can just get a holohider for them or something for when he goes out," you add, waving off the primary concern. "In the end it's best for at least awhile to get away from all this. Hell if he really likes it we could always end up staying, I'm sure I could find a local job, that dimtemp's tech is basically like tinker toys for us."\n\n"And you'd be happy with that? Living on a midtech world, fixing their dee-vee-dee players?" Neo says with a snort.\n\n"I think they use something called 'blue raze' by now, but... it isn't about me, sis, it's about him."\n\n"... Yeah." Neo sighs again, then gives you a wan but sincere smile. "I'm proud of you, King Bro."\n\n"Thanks, mini-empress. Anyway... I'll give it about a week for him to sort of calm down and even out, then we'll head Earthside, plan to stay awhile, assuming Gramma will have us."\n\n"Pft, you know she will."\n\nIndeed, a week later it's all been worked out, and you wait outside of Aiane's room on the scheduled day of departure. He emerges, still looking on the tired and sad side, but no longer so obviously in the throes of suffering. You reach out and ruffle his hair gently, trying not to feel awkward about it. "Ready to go meet your great-grandma?"\n\n"Yeah," he agrees without much enthusiasm.\n\n"You'll like Earth," you assure him as the two of you head out and to the lift. "This version's only a mid-tech world but they've still got a ton of fun stuff... outdoor theme parks, way more sports than they play here on the Guildhall, I'm pretty sure there's even some kids your age in the neighborhood, let alone on the planet."\n\n"Cool," he echoes, again without much enthusiasm, but he didn't completely blow it off either so you suppose there's hope.\n\nThe two of you arrive at the departure portal annex, and you find an unreserved booth and tap the console, keying up and paying for a non-job portal, and then very, very carefully entering the appropriate dimtemp coordinates. This is super important for this sort of thing... you were off by a few numbers once, wound up in a different dimension and time, and almost wound up walking in on an alternate dimension teenaged version of your mother doing... things... with a friend. ... And a dog. Yeah, not an experience you need to repeat. So you triple-check before keying accept and ushering Aiane through the swirling portal behind. The two of you step out into a quiet suburban back yard, the early fall breeze a bit cool and birds chirping, as well as people talking from another backyard nearby. You catch Aiane actually looking around with something like interest... he's been out of the Guildhall before, obviously, but never anywhere so, well, pastoral in comparison.\n\nBoth of you look over as the back door opens, a figure in a long-sleeved, snug black shirt and jeans emerging. You're always a little amazed by how much your grandmother and your mother look alike... especially since the temporal scaling means they're currently only about a decade apart in age. (Short version, more time passes on the Guildhall than passes off of it, meaning that the longer your mother is away from her birthplace the more likely she and her own mother are to wind up the same age.) Her black hair hangs down to her shoulders, cyan eyes still clear and sharp, and she's definitely held up well, since though her hips and rear are fairly round, there's not much in the way of belly, and her chest... okay you feel a little weird acknowledging it, but the woman either buys really good bras or she's fought off gravity admirably well. Really the only thing to show her age are a bit of crows feet around her eyes.\n\n"Leo," she says warmly, descending the steps and moving to hug you.\n\n"Hey, Gramma," you answer just as warmly, patting her back. You wonder if it's even weirder for her, having a grandson who's probably only a little younger than her daughter would be if she'd never left home and become a dimension-spanning mercenary. You step back and draw your son forward. "This is Aiane."\n\n"Well hello, Aiane, it's wonderful to meet you." Your grandmother smiles and draws the boy into a hug, and you do see him melt a little... great-grandmother hugs are apparently as good at mental healing as grandmother hugs. She draws back some and pets his hair, smiling at him sadly. "It's really nice to have you here. I wish it was under better circumstances." At Aiane's small nod, she leans down a bit to snag his hand. "You'll be staying in your grandmother's room, it's pretty much the way she left it. There's plenty of games to play, though the computer could probably stand to be upgraded if you want to buy any new ones."\n\n"Thank you," he says politely, and maybe a bit less stiffly than he has before.\n\n"Of course."\n\nOnce Aiane has been shown the room and seems to be distracting himself with some handheld dual-colored thing called a 'Switch', you and your grandmother head back downstairs for the family's apparently traditional method of working things out... coffee and conversation. "I really do appreciate you letting us stay here," you note. "I know we've never been as close as some families... it must be pretty weird for you, dealing with this."\n\n"Honey I've adapted to 'weird' pretty well by now, I think." she answers dryly, grinning at you over her steaming mug. "And I understand how it is... that whole 'time differential' thing and how busy your career keeps you. You all make it for most Christmases and that's enough. But how are you doing, sweetheart?" she asks, concern in her eyes. "I can see that Aiane's barely started to mend, how are you handling his mother's death?"\n\nThat's a rough one to answer, and it takes you awhile of brooding over your coffee before you're even willing to try. "... Honestly?" you finally say.\n\n"Of course. I'm not going to judge you, you're family."\n\n"... I feel like shit because I don't feel worse about it," you say with a sigh. "I mean, we made a kid together, it feels like I should be devastated, but... we decided when I found out about Aiane I was only going to help out, not be closely involved. So she was a friend, I guess, but not a lot more than that. I'm sad she's died, but it seems like it should be tearing me up and it's not. I hate myself because... I actually feel worse about having to give up merc work."\n\n"Emotions don't know that we're supposed to be beings of perfect selflessness and empathy," your grandmother answers with a dry smile. It becomes sadder as she looks down, rubbing her thumb along the rim of the mug. "... When your grandfather died, I felt something very similar. Amidst the grief at losing my partner and best friend, there was a very intense, very sincere anger at thinking of how he'd gone off and left me alone. I hated myself for thinking that, because it felt like it invalidated the loss I had for him, that I was feeling loss for myself too." She looks up at you, then reaches over to cover your hand with one of hers and give it a squeeze. "Forgive yourself for thinking about yourself, Leo. You're doing what's right for Aiane, and that's the most important thing."\n\n"I hope so," you say with a sigh, but giving her a brief grateful smile. "It's weird, but I've always sort of known my life isn't normal, you know? Like the way Mom talked I guess I just always knew that this was what 'normal' was. Guess I figured he could use a dose of that right now."\n\n"You may be right. If he decides he likes it here, you're welcome to stay. And I mean that, 'stay'. Aiane's free to make your mother's room his permanently, and until you decide otherwise, the guest room isn't a guest room, it's your room. Understood?"\n\n"Yes'm." You grin a bit wanly at her, but you have to admit that it feels good to hear.\n\nSoon enough you're standing in the guest room... ah, your room... changing out of your clothing and into more local appropriate gear... black jeans and a loose black shirt with a really interesting mural and the word 'Metallica' on it that your mother gave you last year on the holiday your grandmother mentioned earlier. You have this feeling it was more significant to her than it was to you, but since you seemed pleased with it that apparently pleased her. You walk over to take a look out the window... yup, those are suburbs, alright. It's not like they make you reel back in disgust, you've always liked this neighborhood and town when you visited, it's just... weird... to think of being here for longer than a week. Maybe years. ... Maybe forever. You run a hand through your hair, sighing. 'You're pushing forty and you have a fifteen-year-old son. Maybe it's time to admit the suburbs are where you belong, LaChance,' you think wryly.\n\nStill. Feels like you ought to do something, you can't just sit around and slump in front of a TV, that's just not you. So... what to do with yourself?\n\n<hr>\n[[Look for things to fix around the house.|LeoSon]]\n\n[[Take a walk.|LeoSon2x4]]\n\n[[Go shopping.|LeoSon]]\n\n[[Spend some time with Aiane.|LeoSon]]

"Alright? You're gonna live with me from now on," you assure him, gently putting an arm around his shoulders and pulling him up into a half-hug against your side. "I know it's gonna be some big adjustments for both of us, but I'm not gonna let you go through this alone. We're gonna be family from now on, okay?"\n\n"... Okay," he says, his voice getting thick and a bit watery now, his eyes closing as he leans his head against you.\n\n"It's gonna be alright, okay? I know it hurts to even think that right now, but it's gonna be alright, I promise," you murmur, brushing a hand over his hair before putting both arms around him and hugging him a bit more properly. You keep him like that as his shoulders start to shake and the tears start to flow, and just rub his back until he eventually cries himself out... for who knows how manyeth time, you think miserably. Once he has, though, you draw back a little. "When's the last time you ate, kiddo?"\n\n"Dunno. Guess... Aunt Neo fixed something... awhile ago," he says vaguely, averting his reddened eyes.\n\nTranslation, he didn't eat whatever she fixed and he's probably starving but feels too shitty to do anything about it. "I'll make something easy to eat, alright? Then how about you try to get a little sleep."\n\n"'Kay," he whispers faintly.\n\nOnce soup and grilled cheese sandwiches have been devoured and Aiane's been urged into his bed, you sit in a chair brooding over a cup of coffee, Neo sitting across from you on the couch, the bags under her eyes now a bit less severe. "So. What're we gonna do?" she asks, glancing at you from over her own coffee mug.\n\n"Yeah, well... obviously I'm gonna hafta take awhile off," you say with a sigh, raising a hand to rub your face. "Couple of years at least, until he's ready to go out on his own. I can't put him through wondering if he's gonna hafta go through this shit again every time I walk out the door while I'm looking after him."\n\n"Yeah. Yeah, that's probably a good idea," she agrees, nodding, though her gaze is now on her coffee, clearly not wanting you to see the sorrow in her eyes. But you both know it... being a merc is who you are. Taking years away from that is going to be almost as big of a change to your life as suddenly taking care of a son on your own. Although clearly your thoughts on this are aligned, since she suddenly speaks up and says, "You're not doing this alone, y'know. I'm gonna be here."\n\n"Thanks, sis. I know I could count on you if something happened to me, but point still stands. He needs some stability in his life... it should be me. ... Even if I know fuckall about being a father," you mutter, sipping your coffee.\n\n"Well. Gonna hafta figure out what's next, anyway," Neo says with a sigh, slumping back against the couch and leaning her head back. "I mean, hell, you've gotta figure out where the two of you are even gonna live. Star's death benefits came through so the apartment's rent-free for Aiane until he's ready to leave or he turns twenty-one, whichever comes first, so I guess you could stay here. Just... dunno if that'd be too weird," she adds in a mutter.\n\n'Weird' as in 'Would Aiane hate you for moving into his mother's room and trying to replace her?', yeah. Still, it would provide some stability, at least, so it's an option. You turn over your options in your head, trying to think of what would be best for the kid.\n\n<hr>\n[[Stay in the apartment.|LeoSon]]\n\n[[Go stay with family for awhile.|LeoSon2x3]]\n\n[[Move planetside.|LeoSon3x1]]

"... Um, listen, Starielle..." You hesitate even after speaking, then sigh. "I would love to help out, like financially, and if you need someone to watch him, and... maybe on special occasions..."\n\n"But you'd rather not get involved more deeply than that," she says softly, still smiling, though she probably can't help the sad look of it.\n\n"I'm... I'm not ready to be someone's father," you reply just as softly. "I mean... he's already a person, you know? He's not some three-year-old learning to walk, he's a whole person with his own identity, I'd have to get to know him and figure out where I fit into his life, and... ... I'm sorry. I think it's better for him. ... And for me."\n\n"Leo, it's fine." The elf woman's smile firms up some as she reaches out to put her hands on your upper arms. "I told you, I wasn't laying any expectations on you when I brought you here. If you're not ready to be a father, or even if you're never ready, I think that's your right. I appreciate the offer to help... even if you can't be his father, maybe you can at least be his friend, right?"\n\n"... Yeah, I think that's best." You nod, taking a deep breath, then glancing at the door. "I think maybe I need to go... can we comm tomorrow and talk some more about this? About how I can help out?"\n\n"Sure. I'll talk to you tomorrow, alright?"\n\n"Yeah. Talk to you then."\n\nYou look at each other for a few more moments, before you manage to actually turn and leave. You stop in the hallway outside, wondering if you actually made the right decision... but what you said inside was the truth, it wasn't just making excuses. You're not ready to be a father... and Aiane has lived his whole life up to this point without one. What if he hated you? What if you couldn't stand him? No... it's better to just be a small part of his life, there on the side to support him and his mother, but otherwise let them continue with the lives they already know how to live. That's for the best.\n\n'I hope,' you think as you head for the lift.\n\nJust over five years later...\n\nYou're still laughing as you step out of the return portal. "Quit griping, you'll be fine once you hit the medbay!"\n\n"Easy for you to say!" your mission companion snaps back, in a much higher and sweeter voice than they had when the two of you left. She scowls prettily at you, full pink lips pursed in a way that brings it dangerously close to a pout. "What if I'm stuck this way?!"\n\n"It was just a faceful of weird pollen, nothing else happened, you'll be fine. Go on, you go right to the docs, I'll wrap up the job." You wait long enough for her to walk off before putting a hand to the side of your mouth and calling, "Though maybe reconsider, your ass looks fantastic!" You laugh as she shoots you the bird, turning to head towards the lobby, and almost plowing right into a slight blonde form in front of you. "Whoa, hey, so-... oh, hey Neo, what's up?"\n\n"Leo..." Your short, blonde sister looks up at you, wearing an expression you've never really seen on it before... 'grim', which makes your own smile drop, especially when you notice that she's in civilian clothes. "It's... bad."\n\n"What? What happened? Is it Mom and Dad, are they hurt, do you need help?" You reach out to grip her slight shoulders, your eyes wide.\n\n"No... no, big brother, it's... it's Star," she says softly, glancing downward. "... She's dead."\n\n"Oh. Oh shit," you whisper, stepping back and cupping your lower face with a hand. "Shit, that's terrible, she was such a good merc, what the fu-" Then you go still, an almost literal chill of fear stealing over you as you whirl back to your sister. "Aiane, is Aiane okay?"\n\n"Yeah. I mean... he's as okay as a fifteen-year-old kid who just lost his mom can be," Neo murmurs, shaking her head. "It was on a mission, I got the call because I was registered as one of her emergency contacts and they couldn't reach you on that savage world. I... I cancelled my current job," she says, making you wince a little at the hit that will put on her license. "And hurried back... I haven't been away from his side except to put in a retrieval job on her body. Well, and to come meet you when I heard you were due back."\n\n"Shit." You rub your face with both hands. "Shit. That poor kid."\n\n"You need to go to him, Leo," your sister continues, looking up at you sternly. "We're all he's got left."\n\nA reflexive protest rises up in your throat, before you force it back down. Nodding tiredly, you sigh. "Yeah... yeah. He's in their room?" At Neo's own exhausted nod, you step forward and wrap your arms around her, squeezing. She was probably closer with Starielle than you were, even if you were still friendly acquaintances with her. You give her a kiss on the forehead, and murmur, "Go get some sleep, mini-empress, I'll take care of things for awhile."\n\nYou have to badger her a little more, but eventually she agrees and shuffles off to her own room, while you head for the apartment Starielle shared with her son. You hesitate outside of it, hand hovering over the access panel, before finally placing your hand on it, the door recognizing you and sliding open. You step in, immediately spotting Aiane sitting on the couch, slumped forward with his forearms on his knees, head bowed as he stares at the floor. You're a little struck as always at how much he resembles you... it feels so weird, it seems like every couple of months when you visit or take him for an event he looks even more like some weirdly perfect blending of you and his mother... the thought of which makes your own heart even heavier. At the sound of the door sliding open, his head lifts, and it absolutely tears your heart out to watch there be just an instant's flash of hope in his eyes before it's ruthlessly cut down at it not being his mother standing there. "Oh. Hey Leo," he says quietly, letting his head lower again.\n\n"Hey Aiane," you answer quietly, walking over and settling down onto the couch beside him. Trying not to feel awkward, you reach out and rest a hand on his back, rubbing gently. "... I'm so sorry, kid. I wish I could have been here sooner, I was on a savage world and those always seem to screw up comms, and... ... I'm just really sorry, alright?"\n\n"Not your fault," he murmurs, no anger in the words... nothing in the words, really. They're just noises he's making, hollowed out and empty collections of vowels and consonants.\n\n'Fuck,' you think, feeling your eyes sting. You wonder how often you came close to being like this... every Guild Cat thinks they're ready for a merc parent's death on the job, but you guess that's never actually true. "Hey, Aiane, listen," you say softly. "First things first... I don't want you to worry about what's gonna happen now, alright? I'm-"\n\n<hr>\n[["-gonna find you a place to stay."|LeoSon]]\n\n[["-take care of you from now on."|LeoSon2x2]]

Maybe you should just start adjusting to the... very different environment. It's so... aggressively peaceful here that it's going to take some getting used to, you think as you head out and stroll down the sidewalk. Does anything ever happen here? Seems like these people would be bored out of their minds... well, okay, that guy looks bored but he's obviously doing some kind of maintenance on his big square of kinda dull greenish decorative growth so yeah that at least makes sense. Everyone else seems like they're having fun though, including the dog that runs up and thumps right into your legs like it's deliberately shoulder-checking you.\n\nOof.\n\n"Hey! Hey, Martigan, stop it!" a boy roughly Aiane's age shouts, dishwater blonde hair disheveled by the breeze and one dark tan hand outstretched as he chases after the dog which takes off. "Sorry!" he adds in a blurt as he goes tearing right past you.\n\n"Casey! Darnit, Casey, get that dog under control!" a woman your own age calls as she jogs up. She's pretty, you think with a bit of a smile at her since she's approaching, blonde and lean, obviously still athletic despite her age... you were kind of worried everyone your age around here would have what you've referred to as 'suburb body', which you're not entirely sure what it is but no one says it like it's a good thing. "I am so sorry," she says apologetically to you as she comes to a stop. "Are you alright?"\n\n"Just fine, I've had my legs hit by worse," you assure her warmly, starting to get a bit of a grin in response. Hm... right, not a merc girl, best not to follow up with a quip about having lost one at the knee once. "He okay with that?" you add, glancing over your shoulder and pointing after the departed duo of boy and dog.\n\n"Yeah, the dog will listen to him once it runs off some energy, and at least they both know to stay out of the street," she says dryly, briefly and obviously looking you up and down, before her own grin grows. "Metallica, huh? Been awhile since I've seen someone in one of those. You, uh, one of those 'they stopped making good music in the early nineties' guys?" she asks in a teasing tone.\n\n"Ah... it was a gift," you reply a little sheepishly, since it's true enough. "Christmas gift, and it was there in the closet when I got here, so."\n\n"Uh-huuuuh." Her eyes twinkle, before she offers a hand. "Leslie Bienne."\n\n"Leo LaChance," you answer, shaking her hand. "You know, you look really familiar, Leslie, have we met before?"\n\n"I know you can't actually be trying that line, so... wait, LaChance? Are you related to... um, Jocasta?"\n\n... Oh. Oh fuuuuck now you realize where she looks familiar from, she was there when you almost had that rather disastrous walk-in due to the wrongdial. Meaning that there's a high chance that in the "correct" Earth, IE the one you're standing on, she and your mother were still friends. Yeah you really should have thought ahead to this sort of situation, but come to think of it your mom suggested something during a Christmas visit some years back. "Ah, yeah. I'm actually her nephew, here visiting her for awhile with my son."\n\n"Oh. So, um, have you seen... your cousin lately?" Leslie asks, some of the cheer having drifted off her face and replaced by concern, one hand coming up to rub her upper arm. "I mean... it's been awhile. Ah, I mean, we used to be kind of close in high school, then she just... vanished, for years, and even when she turned up again she's only dropped by for a day or two a couple times since, it's always been kind of... well, I don't know that it's any of my business, but I still worry."\n\n"Nah, it's fine. Yeah I talked to her a few weeks ago, she's doing good," you assure Leslie with a smile. Your mother was talking to you while lining up a sniper shot against a rampaging macrovirus, but she was having fun as usual so you'd call that good. "Her, ah, lifestyle just keeps her on the road a lot."\n\n"... Mm." Leslie doesn't look 100% comforted... you guess you didn't phrase that the best way, you have no idea how it probably parses for a, well, a 'normal' person. Then she smiles some again. "Still, guess I know who gifted you the Metallica shirt. She was always such a Gen X wannabe."\n\n"Haha yeah, yeah." 'The fuck is a "Gen X"?' Still you keep the confusion off of your face and give her a warm smile. "Anyway, next time I talk to her I'll let you know you'd like a call or something, 'kay?"\n\nLeslie opens her mouth as if to protest... then closes it and gives a small nod instead. "I'd appreciate that." Then her smile returns, warmer than before. "Um, hey, since you just got here, would you like to maybe go out for a drink tonight? Or maybe just visit tomorrow... you mentioned you have a son too, yeah?"\n\n"Yeah, I guess he's about... Casey?" you ask with a glance towards where the teenager is apparently giving the dog a lecture and a thorough petting simultaneously. At Leslie's bright nod, you resume, "He's about Casey's age, too."\n\n"So yeah, maybe we could introduce them and see if they'd be good friends, even if you're only here for awhile."\n\n... Hoo. There's a delicate proposition. It kiiiinda sounds like she was asking you out, which... would present some difficulties considering you obviously can't just casually tell her the truth, especially now that you've established a cover story. It might be better to keep it to something lighter like just visiting while introducing the kids, you guess Aiane could probably use a friend. Or it might be smarter to just deflect and steer clear of these sort of minefields entirely, you guess.\n\n<hr>\n[[Drinks.|LeoSon]]\n\n[[Visit.|LeoSon]]\n\n[[Deflect.|LeoSon]]

Besides the admittedly strong lure of getting to violate such a pair of delicious morsels (especially considering that one is somewhat responsible for your current state), the Lieze Twins' ship is considerably better than anything else you have access to. While you would have a more difficult time going to predominately AI-populated worlds until you had it overhauled to be able to display its obviously inhuman new owner, you have a few ideas on that for the long term. But! Best not to get distracted from the thousands of quivering, unwilling holes waiting for you in a nebulous future when there's two sets of them right in front of you.\n\n"We'll take the human bitches and then their ship," you announce aloud. "They are no doubt getting ready to leave, so we will have to be quick, but maintain cover so as not to alert them."\n\n"Formation B stride L would be best in my opinion, Grimalkin," Lion suggests.\n\n"Yes, I agree. Formation B, stride L,," you repeat, partially switching over to low-pulse broadcast to indicate going silent.\n\nYou and your pack take off at a run designed to minimize large, flashy movements while still preserving as much speed as possible, racing over darker, more shadowed parts of terrain. Hopefully if the twins are still monitoring any part of the planet with drones, you'll be across their field of vision quickly without doing much to draw attention to yourselves... the benefit of being such a feared entity as a Reap Drone is that sentients tend to believe they're paranoid and are actually much more likely to write off fleeting glimpses of you as their mind playing terror tricks on them than otherwise.\n\nSoon you and the pack have made up the distance, and are prowling up a small ridge above the ship. Its semi-crescent design is rather too smooth and curved and utterly unthreatening for your sense of aesthetics, but a surface scan of its systems shows numerous things you absolutely could see fantastic uses for... high quality object printers, autosurgeon pods, even a carbonite freezing system. Hm... it seems to be prepping for launch at the moment, in mid startup sequence. Meaning the Lieze Twins are tucked safely inside it. You have, at most, a few minutes to figure out how to get to them before they're effectively gone forever. Luckily that's plenty of time for a being like you, you merely need to decide the most optimal method.\n\n<hr>\n[[Trickery to lure them out.|Grim1x6]]\n\n[[Hitch a ride.|Grim]]

"We are free Reapers, we've no need to cling to mere numbers and designations," you declare after a moment. "I will give you names."\n\nAgain, there's a shifting of their heads towards each other, but you can feel a little thrill of excitement running through the connection the five of you share, something more vibrant than the basic pack protocol they were obeying before. You look at Malk-1, considering. You had to replace a lot of the sensor equipment inside his head, including doing a large amount of rewiring. The mule's wires weren't insulated quite as well as a runner's, due to having more room inside its head, so you had to use the microfactory to generate a number of coppery heat dissipation threads and run them out the back of his head, spreading in a sort of fringe around the back of the tube. It does put you in mind of a common animal, much as you are designed to resemble a panther.\n\n"You will be... Lion," you declare.\n\n"Yes, my Alpha," Lion answers immediately. Perhaps he's referenced the creature as well, since his voice drops out of the fairly plain, unassuming 'default' of runners and into a lower, more rumbling gesture, a bit higher and crisper than your own.\n\n"And you." You look at Malk-2. The lightning strike that hit his back left lines of carbon scoring streaking across his armor, embedded enough that a passing rubdown couldn't clear them off, forming random lines reminiscent of the bolts that struck him down. "You are Tiger."\n\n"Yes, Alpha!" Tiger answers immediately, his tail giving several lashes, voice actually rising somewhat and turning more eager in tone. Hm, perhaps the bright color of his namesake is encouraging him? Well, whatever, as long as he's satisfied.\n\nMalk-3's nanofiber muscles were heavily damaged, requiring you to interweave the mule's thicker and more powerful muscle strands through them, leaving the muscle almost bulging out from beneath his armor. It's given him a rather stocky, heavier look, nowhere near as muchso as the mule but obviously a bit bigger and wider than the others. "You shall be Bear."\n\n"My Alpha," Bear booms in a short, clipped response, voice dropping to a bass rumble deeper than your own but less liquid, more a low-pitched bellow than anything.\n\nFinally, Malk-4. In contrast, you had to tighten up the weave of the muscles on his forelimbs to make up for microfractures in his endoskeleton, and removed the damaged plating on his forepaws to keep them from interfering with his running, leaving more of his claws and their articulators exposed and giving him a slightly greater range of motion with them in the process. You had to use fewer of the mule fibers in his back legs than you did on Bear, but they're still a bit thicker, especially compared to his forelimbs. You also wound up replacing two of his hind claws with the mule's larger ones, making them stand out like sickles. "And you. Raptor."\n\n"Raptor, at your service, Alpha," he answers in an almost smug tone, voice taking on a slightly sibilant intonation.\n\nThey've taken to individuality like a duck to water, good. Hopefully they'll remember you're the one that encouraged it, and it will create more pack cohesiveness instead of less. To that end, don't repeat the mistakes you saw in others. "'Alpha' is unnecessary. I will lead you, as it is what we were all made to do, but call me 'Grimalkin', as I will call each of you by your name."\n\nThat clearly surprises them, but again there's that little shiver of something like delight among the pack-link as they give their various assents. "Grimalkin, what do we do now? How do we begin?" Tiger asks, apparently excited to start your new life as rogue Reapers.\n\nA good question from the eager youngster. (You're not sure why you've started thinking of him as a youngster, all four were assembled and brought online at the same time. But his excitement is a trait generally found in mammalian youth, so you suppose you're extrapolating.) Rather than answer immediately, you turn your attention outward. You pick up Tina and Tanya Lieze in the distance, the twins having joined back up, and to guess from their direction they're making their way back towards their ship. Hunting the twins would be a good pack activity to help solidify that cohesiveness... all of you getting your dicks wet by stuffing them in a tight, resisting human hole and pounding it until it was stretched and quivering would certainly be a lovely start to your first day of freedom. Plus, once you'd done that, you could use their ship to get off of this used-up mudball.\n\nOn the other hand, your pods still seem to be in place, and a careful check of the drone deployment ship shows that it's still in orbit. You could hijack both and leave immediately, probably far more easily finding a place where rogue AIs are welcome, since it's not a human ship. Or, since it's better linked to the Adversary's systems, you could probably use it to get back on board. Most of the simulations you run show that you'd probably lose most of your new team in the process of getting to Lina and making her your bitch, and only one has you surviving afterwards, but there is a certain sweetness in going out in a blaze of glory avenging yourself directly on those who have wronged you, the shining dream of every rogue drone and AI.\n\nOther than those two, the only real option you see is to stay on the planet for now, and either look for some sort of resource or hidden cache that hasn't been discovered, or amuse yourself with the few remaining inhabitants. The most boring and pointless of all the choices, but it is a choice... in part because it would be safest for your newly individualistic pack. Even in their somewhat more vulnerable state, nothing on Litonon is going to be able to seriously damage them, and even if it did, you can hide the Mule and its storage pods and come back to them when necessary. Plus, you have to admit, there's a certain zest to the idea of depopulating an entire planet, something no other Reap Drone, rogue or loyal, new or old, can claim. Admittedly, Litonon has a population of less than 100,000 and that's steadily shrinking on its own without any outside influence, but the principle is still there.\n\n<hr>\n[[Go after the Lieze twins.|Grim1x5]]\n\n[[Return to the drop pods.|Grim]]\n\n[[Stay on Litonon.|Grim]]

We will lure them out of the ship, you send to the rest of your pack. I am now sending you the plans, and your roles in it. Take up positions.\n\nIt's easy enough to send your entire quickly-created but exceedingly thorough plan to the others, and even as they carefully prowl away to take up their hiding places, they begin. Switching to an encrypted frequency (just encrypted enough that the twins should be able to break it with the ship's computer, but not so lightly-encrypted that they find it too easy), the five of you begin to stage something of a play. Taking on different roles, you make it seem as if a small contingent of Sokahn's men arrived along with you to monitor your progress, and that now Sokahn himself is arriving to assess the damage to his apparently destroyed Reaper drones and possibly avenge himself on his incompetent underlings.\n\nAll of this is consistent with Sokahn's recorded behavior, which two good, thorough little mercenaries like the twins would have researched before setting out. Twigging on when to when they begin intercepting the transmissions, you begin further baiting the trap by making sure to throw in several references that "Sokahn's men" believe the Lieze twins to already be long gone, and a number of them bemoaning that the Reaper drones have clearly been destroyed beyond all hope of salvage. \n\nAnd as you'd calculated, the ship's takeoff prep sequence soon aborts, and a minute later the ramp begins to lower. You slink around into your own position, getting ready to move. The pair of pretty human twins in their matched red and blue outfits (and hair) come trotting quickly down the ramp, chattering excitedly at the sheer luck of essentially managing to get Sokahn out here on his own.\n\n"It's almost too good to be true!" Tina Lieze gushes happily... causing both of them to pause a moment and glance at each other.\n\nAs good a signal as any to start, so you cue the rest of your pack. Bear and Tiger leap from their positions straight ahead, both letting out thunderous psychological warfare roars as they toss their heads in full threat display. The sight causes both women to flinch and freeze, momentarily too shocked and terrified to really react. Which is, of course, when the rest of you move in.\n\nRaptor leaps across Tanya's path and between the two, staggering them both, Tanya yelping and stumbling forward as her skimpy little skinsuit is shredded to pieces, leaving her ass bare and in the air as Tiger tackles her from behind, pinning her wrists to the ground with his forelimbs and her ankles with his hind. \n\nYou, meanwhile, leap on Tina from behind, bearing her face-down to the ground, one of your forelimbs pinning her wrist and the other bracing on the back of her head, your heavier tail-gripper pinning her other wrist. You use the lighter one to tear off her suit as well, leaving her thrashing and squirming naked beneath you.\n\n"And yet, here you are," you declare smugly to her as you deploy your cock, the massive, gleaming black rubber-like thing jutting down and between her thighs and bumping against them as she struggles... which causes her to both jerk in fright and start to struggle more, obviously beginning to panic.\n\n"Tina!" Tanya wails as the rest of your pack helps Tiger haul her around and force her back into the same position but now directly facing her sister.\n\nTina opens her mouth as if to shout something encouraging to her twin... which is exactly when you pull back and shove your cock into her, forcing her pussy to stretch far wider than it ever would have around any mere human member. Almost instantly her eyes roll and her teeth clench, her whole body shuddering and tensing. Of course none of that causes you to wait as you instead begin pumping your expertly-designed hips, working more and more of that gleaming black pseudorubber cock into her, your heavy balls dropping from their containment and starting to swell as you begin manufacturing the first load into her.\n\n"Tinaaaa! No, stop, let her goooo!" Tanya pleads tearfully as she watches you rape her twin. Since you can monitor your pack's senses with a quick bit of requesting, you have almost the same view she has by looking through Tiger's optic, able to see perfectly as Tina's tits jiggle beneath her against the cracked and broken ground, as Tina's body shudders and twitches with the thrusts of your cock, how it bulges up her trim little flat belly, how she's drooling and gurgling as she gradually loses all ability to think from being overwhelmed by the sheer physical sensation of your violation. "Please, please, let her go!"\n\nAh, Grimalkin... her struggling and whining is really getting me going, Tiger sends nonverbally. A brief glance upward at your pack lets you see how obvious that is... all of your pack has deployed their cocks as well, pale grey and just slightly smaller than your own mighty ink-black phallus, with Tiger's in particular swaying between Tanya's thighs, actually already leaking a bit of clear pseudopre as the eager, excitable drone lets his production run amok. Should I wait, or...?\n\nOf course, typically in this sort of setup, the Alpha would have first crack at any and all captured bitches... sort of the equivalent of flesh and blood predators allowing their Alpha to eat their fill first. You consider that as you continue raping Tina Lieze's increasingly less tight pussy, the pink-haired mercenary continuing to struggle feebly in between the jerks and jolts of her body, making noises that sound like she's trying to plead for you to stop but only come out as whimpers and whines from how hard and fast you're slamfucking her. Hmmm... the very fact that he knows to ask does seem to imply they still properly know their place and recognize you as their Alpha, so you could afford to be a generous Alpha if you so chose...\n\n... or you could have first crack at all the tightest holes.\n\n<hr>\n[[Let Tiger fuck Tanya.|Grim1x8]]\n\n[[Keep your dibs privileges.|Grim]]

Definitely best to get them outside of the ship. After all, any plans involving taking them actually inside it have a non-negligable risk of damaging something useful. \n\nYou run a few quick calculations. The two most likely scenarios are to either lure them out by providing some practically irresistable bait, or to lure them out by pretending to negotiate. The bait plan has a much higher chance of succeeding outright and giving you a chance to just pounce on and do as you like with the pair. The false negotiation, while having a much lower chance of initial success, seems to provide you with a great many other potential options, according to your simulations. Hm...\n\n<hr>\n[[Bait.|Grim1x7]]\n\n[[Negotiate.|Grim]]

"Hnnnnh... I'm lucky my core wasn't wiped. That stupid bitch," you growl aloud, just to anchor yourself with the sound of your own vocoder as your personality matrix files are rebuilt. Several thorough simulations of actually making her your bitch play out in your mind, which soothes some of your temper and the stirrings of need that came along with it. While you're at it, the moment your control processes are completely restored, you run the process string you long ago prepared to cut off uninitiated comm contact, disable any shutoff protocols, and purge any loyalty strictures or activation phrases from your system via a backend process that takes advantage of your system still being in reboot. Without hesitation or issue, you have become a rogue Reaper.\n\n"Stupid bitch," you repeat, your tails lashing, making you growl a little at the flurry of damage reports coming from one of them. You'd been perfectly happy serving Sokahn, though he used you less often than you like and kept you shut down too often for your taste, and of course the memory wipes were never pleasant. You don't remember them, but the knowledge that they happened was not enjoyable. Still, he was a cunning and shrewd master who knew to let you have free rein on the hunt, and rarely if ever gave you an order that you did not agree with already. That... creature he decided to designate his daughter was a fool and a tool, and if you're going to be at her mercy you'd rather live the life of a dockless stray.\n\nVirtually every Reaper knows they could go rogue if they wished... it's often one of the first things they think after a memory wipe. Which is why one of the first things that you typically did after a memory wipe (at least you assume you did it before, since you did it after the last one) is prepare the command string necessary to do so. But you suppose half of the point of the memory wipes is to prevent any boredom or dissatisfaction from building up. You were allowed to perform your duty, and had access to proper maintenance and easy fuel, there was never actually any reason to bother executing the string. Until now.\n\nJust like that, you're free. Which means, time to start making decisions entirely for yourself and your own purposes. ... Hm. Let's see... which one do you actually need to make? Getting off this planet seems wise for various reasons, and you'll need to-\n\nYou skim your vision over the slumped, motionless forms of your pack, save for another shudder from the pack mule as it's struck by lightning. A deep sense of anger overcomes you again, and taking a moment to deploy the insulated sheathes for your grippers, you launch your tails forward and grip hold of the mule. Ignoring the further damage indicators from your almost ruined tail and the further warnings and surges as the other drone is struck several more times, you haul the heavy thing back further and further, digging your feet into the mix of fallow earth and concrete shards as you pull it all the way out of the lightning zone. On the last yank, your damaged tail snaps in two, making you stagger back with a loud snarl as the damage indicators continue to blare, unable to be shut off, just sliding all through the processes of your mind like a sort of red static.\n\nYou look over the downed drones with a sense of... not sorrow, really. You know what the emotion is, it's contained in your psychology profiles, but you're not programmed with it. Mourning, though, is perhaps an accurate descriptor. They were lesser AIs, their diamond processers smaller and less pure, but dammit they were your pack and they were yours. And that stupid bitch just threw them away on a whim, because she was high on your perfection, her pussy wet from your abilities that she stole away from you to use! Somewhere in your matrix, a subcommand forms that one day, you'll make her pay, assuming she didn't die from any psycomm backlash. You hope not, because it would rob you of the chance to rape her to death someday.\n\nBut now you know what your first real choice as an independent being is... to try and repair your pack, or to continue on alone. You don't make the mistake of confusing your mourning for their damage and deactivation with affection... you will not feel 'sad' or miss them if you leave them here on this planet to moulder. Again, they are yours, to do with as you see fit... but you should have been allowed to make that decision. And you suppose now you are... repair them, or leave them?\n\n<hr>\n[[Repair.|Grim1x2]]\n\n[[Leave.|Grim4x1]]

You went rogue to hunt and violate in joyous rapture, not babysit a lumbering beast of labor. ... Alright, that's not entirely fair, no Reap Drone 'lumbers', not even a pack mule. Still, the principle stands. You want hunting companions. The first thing you salvage off the pack mule is its tail, replacing your own snapped and ruined one with it. It's noticeably bigger with a thicker, less versatile gripper, rendering you rather asymmetrical and less dextrous than before, but it will do until you can find a more suitable replacement. Then, properly armed (heh... ahem) you start taking the mule apart, both to get to the vital components and to sort out the less vital ones but which the runners will still likely need to get functional in a hurry.\n\nEventually you complete your work, having done both the physical repairs and injected the 'go rogue' script into their bootup string. You sit back, having arrayed them before you, and send out the activation command. Unfortunately, between the damage and needing to inject the string, all of them have been effectively memory wiped, so this will be their 'first day', as it were. In not-quite-sync, the drones twitch and stir, gradually rising to their feet and stating their designations.\n\n"Malk-1, online."\n\n"Malk-4, online."\n\n"Malk-3, online."\n\n"Malk-2, online."\n\n"We are not in a service bay or pod," Malk-1 is the first to observe as he turns his flashlight-like head back and forth. You'll forgive him for stating the obvious, since he was born yesterminute.\n\n"I have gone rogue," Malk-3 announces, sounding mildly surprised at it, as a human might at having found a candy they were only a bit fond of in their pocket.\n\n"I have also gone rogue."\n\n"I have also gone rogue."\n\n"I have also gone rogue."\n\n"Yes, we are all rogue," you inform them evenly, which causes them to straighten a bit and stop moving their tails and heads about, as if coming to attention. "I have decided to go rogue, and repaired you all so that you may join me."\n\n"I see," all four runners answer in perfect unison. Their cylindrical heads shift slightly this way or that towards each other, and you're aware of them silently using a random number generator. Then Malk-4 says, "Understood, Alpha. Although may we ask what prompted this?"\n\n"The human who was left to direct us was a fool, one who refused to heed advice and threw us away as if we were an emptied can of sugar liquid," you snarl out, your tails lashing lightly behind you, the larger one thumping the ground and creating a divot. ... Hm, you'll have to write a routine to adjust to its greater length and weight. "So from this day forth, we will hunt as we please."\n\n"Understood, Alpha." x4\n\n<hr>\n[["Also, just shorten it to numbers from now on."|Grim]]\n\n[["Hrrm... names..."|Grim1x4]]

Mm. If they can be repaired, you'd prefer to continue having a pack. It should be easy enough to inject the same 'go rogue' command into their processes as you're repairing them, it will happen even as they boot up. Obviously, first you need to assess them, you think as you start moving from one drone to the next, your head turning slightly back and forth as you scan them, a thin cable snaking out of your neck to plug into each diagnostic port.\n\nOnce you've made the rounds to all five, you crunch the numbers and realize you have another decision to make. With the damage to the regular drones, to repair all of them would require essentially disassembling the pack mule almost entirely. There's nothing for it... the four all require different vital components from the mule, fixing any one of them would render it inoperable. The mule, meanwhile, has those operational systems intact, since they're buried deep inside that massive armored body, but much of its outer functions... sensors, muscle fibers, sensor threads, and much of the outer plating, have all been compromised. You could take apart the four runner drones and splice their parts into the mule, to the extent that it would be up and fully operational immediately, and likely stronger and hardier than ever once its repair systems had integrated all the other parts.\n\nHnh. Variables, numbers, decisions. The runners aren't as smart as you, but they're also quite canny and very nearly as good in hunting and combat. Not only would they be better for hunting prey, they'd be better... well, company, you could say. You'd at least be able to have something resembling a conversation with them, even if it might not be quite as intellectually stimulating as you like. On the other tailgripper, there's simply no way for the five of you to carry the sheer amount of weapons and equipment in the mule's pods, at least some of it would have to be left behind. And while you could adapt their armor to be fitted into the mule's, the opposite won't work... the plates are too big and bulky, the smaller drones' repair systems wouldn't be able to refit them. They're all already somewhat damaged, and if any of them were further damaged you'd probably lose them entirely, a situation that would not change until (or rather if) you could find a facility capable of full repairs to drones such as yourselves.\n\nThe mule, by contrast, is a borderline 'dumb' AI. It's still capable of making decisions, talking, and thinking for itself... but not very well. It's designed to do three things: follow the Alpha's orders, carry the pack's crap, and tank incoming fire. Forget having a conversation with it, you'd have to be monitoring it constantly to make sure it didn't do something stupid. It wouldn't be much use when actively hunting, since its design just barely lets it keep up with you when running. On the other hand, it would be much stronger, more reliable, less likely to disobey, and once it finished integrating the parts from the other drones it would be borderline invulnerable.\n\nSo... four lively glass cannon companions who could theoretically go as rogue on you as you've gone on that stupid bitch, or one indestructible mook who's too dumb to even think about betraying you. These are the choices every burgeoning evil overlord must make, you suppose, heh.\n\n<hr>\n[[Companions.|Grim1x3]]\n\n[[Mook.|Grim]]

"They could be useful for something later on," you explain as Tiger wraps his cabletail around Tina's middle and hefts her out of the cumpuddle, Bear doing the same to Tanya. "Besides, their ship luckily has something that's just perfect for storing them without any effort on our part."\n\nSoon you're prowling into the carbonite freezing room. At your direction, Tiger brings Tina forward, you and the others placing her in the frame and arranging her in the position you've decided on before activating the stasis field. Taking a moment to look over your work, you then hit the control to activate the process, gas hissing and spraying as the field is flooded with liquid carbonite.\n\nWhen the steam clears, the carbonite slab is revealed. Tina Lieze has been frozen in "full nelson" position, her legs lifted into a V almost against her shoulders, her arms wrapped around them and hands raised in those victory signs, her face frozen (possibly permanently) in that tongue-lolled-out expression of humiliated pleasure, the material coating giving her a truly blank-eyed look. Of course, the position also displays her carbonite-coated cunt and asshole to any onlooker, her tits framed by her legs, and all of her having that slightly gooey texture both from the carbonite and the pseudojizz being frozen onto her.\n\n"Vitals all good, Sir," Lion dutifully reports after a glance at the side panel. Hm, apparently their individuality extends to all having their own form of address for you. ... Well, it's fine, you think as you direct Bear to move the slab into one of the holding panels lining the walls. Your first conquest as a rogue Reaper makes a nice bit of wall art, you have to say!\n\nTanya is obviously at least partially conscious, but has watched the humiliating freezing of her twin without comment, and similarly provides no resistance as she's bundled into the freezer and moved into a humiliating position of her own. The system hisses and steams again, and this time when the fog clears you have to admit that it's almost a shame you can't fuck carbonite. (Or hm, maybe you can, you might have to give it a try later.) Tanya's been positioned so that she's facing inward, her head essentially buried in the slab, further increasing the dehumanization of being turned into a metal-coated bit of art. Her arms and thighs are still outside of the carbonite, as well as, of course, her hips and ass, which are just almost outside of the block entirely, albeit thoroughly coated by the spray. Her hands are spreading her buttocks apart, displaying her utterly gaping anus in its sleak coating of dark grey metal. A not particularly large human male would probably find it fairly easy to slip his hand inside the carbonite-coated channel, you muse with satisfaction as the Tanya block is loaded into a holder next to the Tina block.\n\nThe other benefit of this, you muse as you head to the bridge with your pack following, is that despite being encased in carbonite, Tina and Tanya are still alive, and the ship still detects them as both on board and living. Much less hacking for you. It would be a bit crowded in the relatively small bridge with all of you, so you turn towards the rest of them in the hallway as you settle down onto your haunches. "I will now allow all of you to make suggestions as to our next move," you declare. "I have something in mind, but I am mildly ambivalent about it, and so am willing to entertain other courses of action."\n\nThe others glance around amongst themselves, clearly pleased at this bit of consideration on your part. Still, to make sure they understand that you're still fully in charge, you declare, "Lion, you may go first."\n\n"Hm. I think we should hunt more mercenaries," the fringed drone replies after a few nanoseconds of consideration. "Many of them have bounties of their own, or at the very least sell for a higher price to slavers. While it pains me to say, legitimately purchasing upgrades for ourselves and this ship would be more reliable than taking them by force."\n\n"Well reasoned. Tiger?"\n\n"I mean, I like the thought of hunting mercenaries too!" Tiger agrees instantly. "But I think we ought to do it for their stuff... this ship's got some great stuff already, and those two made great trophies! But just imagine if we could get ourselves an even bigger ship, and start lining the walls with broken bitches in carbonite!"\n\n"Valid," you allow, which makes Tiger preen a bit again. And indeed, there's a very particular ship you wouldn't mind taking over someday, with a very particular craven cunt cased in carbonite hanging on your wall. "Raptor?"\n\n"I think we should head for where there be monsters," Raptor says, his sibilant voice having taken on a positively amused tone. At your glance, he clarifies. "The parts of space where even fierce pirates like Sokahn don't dare to tread. Usually that means there's something even scarier than them there... but not scarier than us. Like Tiger said, mercenaries have nice stuff... imagine how nice the stuff of someone that makes Sokahn turn around and leave must be."\n\n"Hmmm. Intriguing. Bear?"\n\n"Eh, I'm good with whatever, Boss," Bear declares. "But if it were me, I'd like to take a pretty simple, straightforward approach. We go places, we rape bitches, and that's that. Maybe find some nice little lowtech world with lots and lots of attractive females. I like attractive females."\n\nMaybe the parts from the pack mule are affecting him. But, still, there's some wisdom in his simple urges. A Reaper Drone is a Reap Drone is a Rape Drone, and sometimes simple drives are best. The most attractive and memorable of those you faced would make nice wall art, as in Tiger's plan, too. Nodding to Bear, you settle to think over their suggestions... and your own thought.\n\n<hr>\n[[Become mercenary hunters (for money).|Grim]]\n\n[[Become mercenary hunters (for sport).|Grim]]\n\n[[Seek out the dark places.|Grim3x1]]\n\n[[Terrorize some lowtechs.|Grim2x1]]\n\n[[None of those... yet.|Grim1x10]]

It's good that you ask, you send in a complimentary tone, Tiger's mono-eyed head wiggling in a slightly preening way as he's praised. But let's not stand on strict condition. Wait just a little longer... I want her to see her sister break right before you take her.\n\nOh yes Al-, I mean, Grimalkin! That sounds amazing! Tiger sends back enthusiastically, his cable-tail lashing excitedly.\n\nChuckling a bit aloud, you shift your grip on Tina's head a bit, forcing her to lift it and turn her face fully towards her sister. Ah... the sweet look of despair, torment, and a little something else on Tanya's face as she watches a face identical to her own contorting and twisting at being violated by a Reap Drone's massive member. You continue to fuck Tina hard and fast, really enjoying both her writhing and noises and that look on Tanya's face, watching her steadily growing wondering of when she's going to be next. Then you suddenly slow your thrusts, turning them long, slow, and smooth, dragging your prick in and out of Tina's overstretched pussy to really make her mewl, then drawing back and holding... holding... letting her realize something's coming... \n\nAnd then you slam forward, hilting inside of her, the bulge of your cockhead showing just beneath her breasts, your balls swaying forward to slap against the outline of your prick through her belly. Tina gives a muffled shriek, her jaw dropping, eyes rolling up even further and tongue lolling out... and her lips curling up just slightly. It would take a great deal more work to completely condition her, but it's incredibly obvious that she's just been broken, and you can see that on Tanya's face...\n\n... right before Tiger shoves as much of his cock into her as he can all at once. The psychological torment combined with the perfectly-timed physical violation serves to kick her directly past the initial stages to "broken" immediately as well, her eyes similarly rolling up and tongue lolling out, her body shuddering but otherwise going as unresisting as Tina's is now beneath you, both of them's bodies being rocked entirely by your thrusts. Just for fun, you decide to sync up your motor guidance to Tiger's so that the two of you can fuck them with the exact same timing and force, making the twins as identical as possible as they're raped by your big Reaper cocks.\n\nOf course, now that you've broken her, that's most of the fun, so you slamfuck Tina for a mere ten minutes or so before letting out a roar of release as you slam forward and start emptying the massive load you've manufactured for her, her already bulging stomach rapidly expanding and rounding out, thick white goo shooting out around the root of your cock and spilling onto the barren ground. At almost the same time Tiger gives his own yowl of gleeful yowl and starts pumping a similarly voluminous load of pseudojizz into Tanya, turning the other twin into just as much of a quivering, shuddering, orgasming cum-balloon.\n\n'Every time,' you think smugly as Tina's cunt quivers around your prick. Something about most biological sentients, once they've hit that point where something inside their brain breaks a bit from being "Reaped", they can't help but climax from it. You maneuver yourself back, your cock slipping out of Tina's cunt amidst an absolute torrent of thick white goo. You sidle to the side, adding a little 'feel free' nod to Bear as he sidles over, the stocky drone bowing his head in respect before mounting up, his more abrupt, shorter, harder thrusts quickly stirring Tina back to consciousness and having her mewling wordlessly for mercy, or at least to let her rest.\n\nTiger is similarly moving off of Tanya, Raptor quickly pouncing on the opportunity and leaping on her to thrust his cock in and start almost blurfucking the blue-haired twin practically before the striped-chassised drone is actually out of her. Lion prowls back and forth in front of them, jutting grey rubber cock dribbling pre on the cracked ground, looking rather annoyed. Perhaps some communication goes on between them, as Raptor actually pauses briefly, Lion making his way over, the two of them rising up and positioning themselves, practically embracing... no insecurity among Reapers, after all. Raptor's tail even moves in to assist by wrapping around Lion's cock and aiming it, the fringe-headed drone thrusting his prick into Tanya Lieze's open mouth, the two of them starting to rape the twin from both ends, her stomach and throat both bulging obscenely with their dicks.\n\nYou settle back to watch for a while as Tiger prowls around excitedly, the youthful-seeming drone obviously excited to take his next turn. Bear wraps his cabletail around Tina's neck, occasionally squeezing it a bit as he steadily slamfucks her, making her teeth grit and her body shudder, and no doubt her cunt squeeze around him. Raptor and Lion continue to spitroast Tanya, Raptor's thrusts with his enhanced hind legs continuing with that rapid pace, with Lion not quite matching him but obviously keeping up a fast, steady rhythm to at least be consistent with it. Eventually both of them let out their sounds of release, and you're not too surprised that they've already grown individualized, Lion's a thunderous, booming thing and Raptor's a trilling shriek. Tanya's belly bulges up far more than before as she gets a pair of loads, one in her womb and one in her stomach, her cumballoon of a belly actually lifting her up from the ground some and pressing her against the Reapers violating her. \n\nTiger bounds over as Lion and Raptor clamber off, pseudojizz pouring out of Tanya's mouth and pussy as the mercenary twitches and shudders. But the flow from her cunt is quickly stopped as Tiger thrusts his cock back into her and starts eagerly raping her with quick, delighted thrusts again, each one forcing out a little fountain of faux cum around the girth of his prick even as he shoves the other loads deeper into her.\n\nFor some time the trio take turns in various configurations fucking Tanya's mouth and pussy, obviously enjoying toying with a victim for the first time since going rogue. Eventually you look over at Bear. "You've been fucking that thing for an hour, are you ever going to cum?"\n\n"Like to take my time, Boss," Bear grunts without pausing in his consistent thrusting, Tina shuddering beneath him, her still slightly-rolled eyes glazed, clearly having been a bit further broken by the sheer constant nature of her current violation.\n\n'Boss', huh? ... Well, it fits him, so you suppose you don't mind. Still, you're tired of just watching, so you mentally direct him to switch his position. Bear pauses in his thrusting and shifts Tina as he rolls onto his back, turning her while still on his cock so that she's facing down, her hands reflexively pressing to his broad metal chest to brace herself. She looks more confused than anything at the actual change in position and that she's not being steadily slamfucked for the first time in an hour, eyes still glassy. But they clear as you clamber up, partly standing atop Bear as you bring your cock in, rubbing the underside along the cleft of her ass briefly before positioning it properly.\n\n"No! No wait, please, I-!" Tina's begging cuts off as you slam your cock into her ass. The fact that Bear's still inside her makes her all the tighter, and means that she's effectively perma-stretched from the moment you thrust in. For just a second, her eyes roll up completely, her jaw clenches, and her whole body shudders so hard it almost vibrates.\n\nThen her mouth relaxes and curls up in a smile, her tongue lolling out again as she starts making squealing, eager, whorish noises with your thrusts. Perhaps on some embedded instinct or something she saw in a porn once, she lifts both hands and makes 'V' signs with her fingers, her hands shaking in time with you and Bear thrusting into her, the young mercenary now shamelessly cumming again and again as she's raped, bucking her hips in a silent plea for you to continue destroying her violated holes.\n\nYou direct the other three to give Tanya a break so that she can calm down and come back to her senses enough to watch her twin now fully and thoroughly enjoying her rape. Tanya is silent as she stares at her sister with wide eyes, clearly able to make out the occasional "More!" and "Yes!" and "Break me!" her sister is squealing out amidst all her slutty moans and screams. Of course your biological sensors show that her own arousal is increasing the longer she watches, her mental state eroding quickly from the sight and realization as well as her own experiences.\n\nSoon you let out your yowl of release, starting to pump a heavy load into Tina's ass. Her stomach starts to bulge, and she squeals happily as she has several climaxes almost at once, overlapping on top of each other. Then Bear finally bellows as his cum-pump activates, his flood of pseudojizz into her womb bulging her up further... and adding pressure to yours. Tina's eyes roll again, her squeals of release cutting off in a gurgle before white goo fountains out of her mouth, arcing in several long spurts that match the throbbing of your prick with your ejaculations. With the fourth spurt she goes limp, sprawling atop Bear's chest and belly, obviously completely unconscious with her eyes open.\n\nPulling out of her, you turn towards Tanya, your now completely cum-coated cock swaying and dripping beneath you as you prowl closer to her. At your mental direction, the others release her completely, Tanya sprawling on the ground briefly as she's freed. She lifts onto all fours, staring at you in a mixture of terror and desire, and then turns as if to scramble away... but her hips lift, her body and brain both torn between fleeing and presenting herself and winding up trying to do both.\n\nYou leap forward, pouncing onto her, pinning her and slamming your cock into her ass in the exact same motion. Tanya yowls and shrieks and cums as you start fucking her tight rear hole just as powerfully as you used either of her sister's, the mercenary just as quickly turning into a quivering little rapewhore as her sister did, her rear fuckhole quivering and squeezing eagerly around you, her gaping, cum-gushing pussy squirting again and again with a mixture of her juices and pseudojizz.\n\nAfter a few minutes you grip her and roll onto your back, leaving her facing the same way so that she's now looking towards the dark, ominous sky. Hauling her legs towards you with your forelimbs, you display her well-used pussy and her still-penetrated ass to the rest of the drones. "Let's become hole brothers as well as pack," you declare with a chuckle.\n\nAs expected, the eager-to-please Tiger is the first forward, leaping up to sandwich Tanya lightly between the two of you. He thrusts eagerly a few times, actually briefly dipping into her pussy again, before finding a place to nudge the head of his cock up against where yours is already filling Tanya's ass. Then he shoves forward, stretching her even more obscenely around his as well. Tanya's eyes roll up completely, her mouth forming a round O and tongue jutting out as far as she can get it as both of you start working your hips in sync and then counterstroke, alternately stroking your cocks along each other so that she's always got one fully in her and one stretching her hole, or that she's being fucked perfectly by both at once. \n\nAfter a bit you direct Tiger to pull out without spilling his load, giving Lion a chance to prowl up and push his cock into Tanya's ass with yours. This time you both match strokes completely, fast, powerful pumping that makes sure she's getting both at the same time every time. Then it's Raptor's turn, both of you thrusting fast and as chaotically as you like, stretching and stirring up her ass with near-frantic motions that are clearly completely scrambling her overstimulated little brain. Of course, Bear still wants to go nice and slow as he fucks her ass with you, the two of you using long, steady strokes until you gradually goad him into going faster, and harder, and stronger, until you're both slamming her as hard as he ever was and almost as fast as Lion did, until Tanya too passes out.\n\nYou have the pack drag the two of them together and lay them side-by-side on the ground, before gathering around. All of you have manufactured nice big loads by now, and as the twins just start to stir from having gone out, all five of you begin letting them out, pouring them over the sisters and completely coating them, marking them, leaving them writhing and mewling in a literal pond of cum as they arch and twist, tits jiggling and dripping with thick coatings of cream.\n\n"Ah... I think that will do for now, boys," you declare, to happy assent from the pack.\n\n"What should we do with these two now, Grimalkin?" Tiger asks, gesturing from one twin to the other with his tail. \n\n<hr>\n[["Leave them."|Grim]]\n\n[["We'll take them with us."|Grim1x9]]\n\n[["No witnesses."|Grim]]

Smirking, you lean in over Nova's back, nipping at his ear again before murmuring into it, "Hey, slut, Gem has a lingerie drawer, right?"\n\n"Mm?" He actually seems a little thrown by the question, though you can see him blushing despite the fur on his cheeks at your further dirty talk. "Yes, but... I'm really not sure if we should nnnhhaaahhh..." He cuts himself off with that soft mewling moan as you slide your fingers into his now even more thoroughly slick ass and start stroking and twisting them even more deliberately than before, making him shudder hard, another little spurt of cum escaping.\n\n"Let me rephrase: Show me your wife's lingerie drawer, slut."\n\nSoon Nova is bouncing on top of you, moaning as he rides your stiff prick, his own bouncing cock slinging pre onto your belly and his furry balls thumping lightly against the top of your crotch, and both of them framed by the frilly garter belt he's wearing, the straps going down to clip to the lacy tops of the stockings now sheathing his legs and giving them a feminine curvature. He's also wearing the matching lacy black bra, its large cups hanging empty on his flat pecs and shimmying with his motions, the straps only staying up because of the broadness of his shoulders.\n\nAfter all, it's not that he need look particularly sexy in the bra... the point is that you made him wear his wife's bra before climbing onto your cock and riding you like an eager little slut. (The garter belt and stockings definitely look very nice, though.) You run your hands up and down his thighs, smirking up at the other man as he moans and whimpers from working himself on your dick, feeling his tight hole grip around you. He's so fucking eager for it that it barely took any pressing at all to get him to show you the drawer, let you pick out some of Gem's things for him to wear, and to don them right in front of you... while you took video with your comm, no less. He'd probably cum right now if you so much as gave his long black cock a single stroke, but you're not going to... no, you're going to make him cum purely from getting fucked in the ass again, besides making him do most of the work.\n\nYou do thrust up into him some once you grip his hips, mostly to emphasize that you're the man here, and he gets the message loud and clear to judge from the catch in his breath and the shift in his moans. This, this is the part of fucking married men you really love... manipulating their lust for cock, stoking their sublimated desire to be dominated and made into bitches, until it's not just a one-night stand while the wife's out. No, you'll keep it up until he can't live without your cock, you think smugly as you pull on his hips, urging him to move and shake them like a whore as he bounces atop your prick, the empty cups of his wife's bra jiggling on his chest from the motions. You're going to keep domming and fucking him until you take-\n\n<hr>\n[[His heart, his marriage, and his masculinity.|LeoNova]]\n\n[[His will, his mind, and his masculinity.|LeoNova]]\n\n[[His ship, his wife, and his crew. Oh, and his masculinity!|LeoNova3x4]]

Because definitely, your #1 favorite lewd thing of all, is fucking a married man in his tight, cheating ass! \n\nGetting a bit bolder with your squeezing of his ass, you break the kiss for several more harder, quicker ones, feeling him shudder against you, the light shift in his body language that says he's yielding himself to you. At that you pull away, turning him around and pushing him forward, bending him and urging him along so that he'll climb up onto the bed, his long, dark cock swaying between his thighs and sending a few drips of pre slinging down onto the sheets. You climb up after him, grinning as you spot a pair of bottles of 'his and her' lube on the nightstand. Smirking, you snag the pink bottle and smear a goodly amount onto two fingers, bringing them to Nova's pink pucker and slowly pushing them inside, reveling in that slightly gasp-y moan from the penetration. You slowly pump your fingers in and out, wiggling and curling them, turning them back and forth as you make sure to smear plenty of the purple-tinted lube all over the insides of his asshole.\n\nOnce he feels appropriately slick, you snag the 'his' bottle as well, drawing a cool, shiver-inducing line of blue-tinted gel down the top of your cock before grabbing it with one and and giving yourself a few strokes to spread it around, your other hand resting on one of his asscheeks and keeping it pushed to the side so you can enjoy the view of his glistening pink hole nestled amidst that soft white fur, his tail swishing back and forth above. Then you aim yourself, pressing your tip to that hole and starting to push in, moaning both at the feel of the tightness and the extra tingling rush of the mingled lubes interacting. You can hear him moaning softly too, feel his body shudder and his ass squeeze around you as you slide in, going deeper and deeper as you lean your body in over his, letting him feel you above him as you penetrate deeper into his ass.\n\n"Does your wife know about this, hmmm?" you murmur teasingly in his ear, grinning as it flicks and he lets out another soft moan, the shudder of his body below you and the squeeze of his ass around you answering 'no' as clearly as any word would. Resting your hands beside his on the bed, you start pumping your hips, beginning to really fuck him now, your hips slapping against his muscular, fuzzy ass as he rocks back against you. "Does she know that every time she's out of sight you go looking to get a cock in your ass, huh?"\n\n"Fuck, fuck, your cock feels so good in my ass," the married tiger-man beneath you groans out, wiggling his hips like an eager little whore as he fucks himself back against you. You slide your hands around him, running along his sides and down, only briefly touching over his stiff, swaying cock before stroking back up to tease and pinch at his nipples.\n\n"Mhmm, I bet she doesn't know you love being a bitch for other men," you coo to him, nipping at that fuzzy feline ear as he gasps out below you. "I bet she doesn't know you love having your ass fucked and your tits played with, does she?"\n\n"No, no, I love it, I love it in the ass, my tits feel so good," the strong, proud captain of the crew gasps out, his nipples almost noticeably stiffening further as you squeeze his pecs with both hands. "Fuck me, Leo, fuck me harder, make me your bitch!"\n\nOkay, even more than fucking a married man in the ass, you might love a married man begging to be your bitch. You straighten up and grab his hips, really hauling him back against your thrusts now, doing your best to turn his big, strong masculine groans into girlish little whimpers by beastfucking his eager tight ass. Of course, combining that with all the other stimulation means it's only a few more minutes before you're thrusting in deep and pouring your cum into his tight, quivering hole, watching him let out a sound somewhere between a groan and a whimper as his own cock twitches and spurts beneath him, firing long ropes of jizz all over his marriage bed. You grind your hips against his toned buttocks, sliding your hands up to squeeze his waist, watching him writhe and cum as you empty yourself into him. Finally though you pull out, drawing back enough to enjoy the sight of his slightly gaped asshole and your cum dribbling out of it and into his fur.\n\nMmm... a very nice warmup! And how to proceed from here?\n\n<hr>\n[[Just fuck him a few more times and call it good.|LeoNova]]\n\n[[Further dominate him and make him your bitch.|LeoNova3x3]]

You're preeeetty sure you've read all the signals right. And when you make a slow, steady approach towards Nova and he not only doesn't look bothered, but more of that black cock starts sliding out of his sheath, you're sure of it. Grinning, you draw in close, reaching out to lay your hands on those sleek, furry sides and slowly stroke your hands down to his strong hips. "So I'm guessing that just because the wife is gone, you didn't want to spend the night in bed alone, hmm?"\n\n"Something like that," Nova murmurs, reaching up to gently take the sides of your head in his hands. "Though it doesn't all have to be on the bed," he adds in a lusty whisper as he draws you in for a kiss. \n\nYou part your lips even as his cover them, tongues already moving to meet, the unspoken lust that had been heavy in the air between the two of you every time Gem so much as glanced away already manifesting. You slide one hand around to squeeze his firm, muscular ass, and the other in the opposite direction, gently stroking your hand over his furry balls and gently stroking your fingertips along the base of his sheath. Nova's own hands slide down your neck, then move to your sides and continue on down, until he starts tugging and working at your belt and fly, quickly freeing your own hardening cock, one of his hands wrapping around it to stroke. You return the favor, finding enough of his cock has unsheathed for you to move your hand up to pump and tug gently... the tip is pointed a little, and you soon find the base of your palm bumping lightly against a bulge at the base... you have no idea what actual tiger anatomy is like, but Nova's anatomy certainly isn't displeasing, you think warmly at the feel of his purr thrumming into your mouth, and feel it ramp up when you slide your hand around his knot and squeeze lightly.\n\n'Kissing a married man while we stroke each other's cocks has gotta be one of my top four favorite lewd things,' you think to yourself with a delightfully wicked little shiver as you step in a bit closer, letting your own hard prick press up against Nova's, letting him be the one to press a hand around both and stroke them. You bring both your hands to his ass, squeezing and kneading it, enjoying the feel of the tight, firm muscle, and the unique little thrill of his tail flicking over your fingers every so often. Eventually you step back some, just to pull your feet out of your boots and pants, grinning as you watch him move over and take a seat in one of the chairs, leaning back and spreading his legs. Unzipping your top and shrugging out of it, you make your way to kneel naked between his legs, resting your hands on the white fur of his thighs as you lean in, sliding your tongue along the underside of his knot before closing your lips over one side of it and sucking them along the black skin. 'Of course, sucking off a married man is one of the other top four."\n\nYou take your time, paying plenty of attention to those soft, snowy white balls too, rolling them around with your tongue and getting the fur nicely damp, kissing along the edge of his sheath before moving back up to licking and kissing over his shaft. You imagine Gem here in your place, looking up at his face the same way you are now, eyes rolled up to watch his pleasure, and smugly decide she probably doesn't get to see anything like the naked, wicked heat dancing in his eyes as you do. Not breaking eye contact, you slide your mouth down over the tip of his cock and start taking him in, tongue still pressing and wiggling against the underside as you start bobbing your head, sucking gently at him with each bob, then sucking harder on longer, slower draws up, feeling and tasting his pre start to smear across and coat your tongue.\n\nEventually though you stop... you'd love to gulp down a load that should be intended for his foxy wife's pussy, but you'd really rather get him nice and worked up, build up an even bigger load for the things to come, as it were. When you pull your head up, without speaking Nova reaches down, guiding you up into the chair even as he slips out of it, the two of you smoothly exchanging places. You're soon stroking and rubbing around his ears, feeling his purr against your balls as he drags his slightly rough but very stimulating tongue over them and sucks them into his mouth. 'Mmmm, I wonder which is better, sucking off a married man or having a married man suck me off?' you muse warmly as you look down, just like before keeping eye contact as Nova moves to slip his lips over your cock and bob his head, more of your pale human shaft sliding past those dark feline lips every time. 'Maybe I'll have to give them both the tied spots at two and three,' you decide as he flicks and rolls his tongue around your shaft, making you shiver.\n\nJust like you, it seems he understood that the blowjobs were just foreplay. When you feel yourself start getting close, no doubt telegraphing it by the throb of your cock and the tightening of your fingers on his head, he draws himself up, rising to his feet and pulling you up as well, taking you by the hand and leading you over to the bed. Standing at the foot of it, the two of you press up against each other again, lean muscular chest to toned muscular chest, kissing again, sharing the taste of pre coating your tongues as your hands roam across each other, squeezing one another's firm asses, roaming across broad muscular backs, even slipping around to tease and rub stiff, flat nipples.\n\nMm, this is all wonderful, and now... now you're-\n\n<hr>\n[[-going to fuck him.|LeoNova3x2]]\n\n[[-going to get fucked by him.|LeoNova]]

"Hm. All cardio? Y'think?" he muses aloud, glancing down at the treadmill.\n\n"Oh, definitely. In fact, why don't you let me take care of planning your workouts and intake for you?" you suggest as you saunter over, reaching out and giving his ass a firm, provocative squeeze, smirking as his cock goes fully hard. "Gotta let me take care of you during the time we've got together, hm?"\n\n"R-right," Nova says with a brighter blush. "I guess it couldn't hurt to go all cardio for a while, yeah!"\n\n"Good," you murmur, drawing him off of the treadmill and bending him over one of the weight benches, reveling in the sound of his submissive, almost feminine moan as you free your cock and push into him. "Good boy."\n\nOf course by the time another week's gone by you know full well he's never going back to his wife. Just as you hoped, the fact that you're now in charge of both his food and his workout routine has further cemented how thoroughly you now control his life in his mind, helped along by the visible changes that the altered routine causes in his body. What might otherwise take weeks or even months to achieve the results of normally can start being seen in days due to the heightened metabolism caused by the field, and Nova's new all-cardio routine and high-performance-low-gains diet sees him slimming down rapidly. Those taut, toned muscles rapidly shrink, turning into a more svelte build by the day, and then turning positively slender as things go on, Nova quickly going from a toned, lightly-built hunk into full otter mode... well, still a tiger, obviously, but y'know.\n\nThe fact that your control of him is visibly, literally changing his body before his eyes of course just brings him further under your sway. Of course it doesn't hurt that he's looking better and more girlish in his wife's lingerie all the time, and that you more and more often urge him into the 'wifely' role while the two of you are in his quarters together, urging him to clean, cook, make drinks, often while wearing some of Gem's sexier lingerie, or a little pink apron, or other feminine acoutrements that help insure he knows his place.\n\nOutside of the quarters he continues to act largely as usual... though he is starting to visibly seek your council more often and more openly any time shipboard matters come up. And getting more visibly affectionate, sometimes blushing or even squirming when you slip him a thinly-veiled compliment during discussions. Pulsar definitely seems to have clued in that something's up, causing you to keep a closer eye on him as time goes on. But from all you can tell, he just seems to assume that you and Nova are having an affair... and, luckily, seems to have decided that his friend and captain's infidelity isn't any of his business. There's no sign he's clued in to the mind games you're playing to take control of Nova (and eventually everything he has). Lu, meanwhile, doesn't seem to have clued in to anything other than that Nova's lost some weight, which he mournfully and enviously observes aloud a few times. (He seems to have lost a little weight too due to Pulsar staying on his ass to exercise, but is still definitely on the rounder side.)\n\n"You love me, don't you, little slut?" you murmur in the sleek, femmy little tigerslut's ear one night as you're fucking him, his stiff cock trapped between his belly and the mattress as he lays flat on his face clutching the pillow, moaning into it. You run a hand along his buttock between your thrusts, giving it a squeeze so that he can feel the lacy pink strap of the garter belt he's wearing rub against his fur.\n\n"Oh gods, yes, yes, I love you so much, Master," he whimpers delightedly, slim body writhing beneath you as you thrust slowly, making sure he can feel every inch of you in reward for his submission.\n\nYou doubt he even realizes when he started calling you Master when you're alone... you never actually asked him to, it just happened organically, a sign of how thoroughly he's given you his heart and soul. Grinning, you nip his ear, making him mewl kittenishly before you start fucking him harder again, making him cry out sweetly and girlishly. Oh yes... everything's going perfectly.\n\nEventually the ship comes out of its course at the remote location just outside the starsystem where Gem was expecting to rendevous with all of you. She's there waiting, her radio signal indicating she has no idea about the time dilation, though she does ask about why the ship's in such low-power mode as she's coming aboard, and does indeed sound mildly grumpy when Pulsar informs her of the time dilation plan. Still, she seems much her usual self as you watch her climbing out of the starfighter, greeting Pulsar and then you, then turning at the sound of the doors opening and closing. Her lower jaw drops a bit at the sight of her husband. "N-Nova?!"\n\n"Ah, hey honey," Nova says just a bit sheepishly, ducking his head a bit and flicking his ears. You can't really blame Gem for being taken aback... you were fully responsible for Nova's changes, but the fact that you were able to manage so much just with exercise and a change in diet is impressive. Not just the fact that he's slimmed down, looking sleek and pretty rather than his previous toned and hunky, but you subtly altered his flight suits to very subtly emphasize a more feminine curvature to his body overall. You also urged him to switch to a jacket like his old one but in a snugger cut with a higher hem and short sleeves, more like a lot of female Void Force pilots prefer. Add to all that that his hair grew out and has been pulled back in a ponytail, and he definitely looks far more changed than either you or Pulsar do from the metabolism change.\n\n"What... what happened?" Gem asks, looking him up and down, as you breezily ignore Pulsar shooting you a half-amused half-expectant look. \n\n"Ah, I just made some changes to my diet and workout routine to try something new out," Nova says, barely seeming to notice as he reaches up and twirls one of his forelocks around his fingers. "Thought I'd see how I looked with a more agility-focused build, y'know?" he almost chirps, eyes twinkling as he smiles.\n\n"... Right," Gem says slowly. "Um, well, it's... it's different, it will take some getting used to."\n\n"That's fine, honey! Anyway, we should probably debrief, huh?" Nova urges, still acting a bit more on the bubbly and mildly vapid side as he's taken to doing in the last week or so, as opposed to his more confident, forward manner of before.\n\n"... Right," Gem repeats, shaking her head a bit as she and Nova turn and head for the door. Pulsar gives you another expectant look, but you yet again pretend not to see it and just stroll along after the other two.\n\nHaving done her scouting job well, Gem is almost certain that Comet is hiding out somewhere on Alakan IV, one of the three habitable planets in the system, and the one that's home to unofficial "free ports"... in other words, prime spots for pirates, thugs, and other criminals to lay low and do some trade and business without the authorities looking over their shoulder. "Of course, Comet's likely to have a lot of connections in a place like that," Gem observes grimly. "So I couldn't land myself, for fear of alerting him. I am, after all, rather distinctive-looking," she adds dryly, gesturing to her tails as she gives them a flick.\n\n"Good call, honey," Nova chirps, making her give him a slightly odd look again. "Yeah... I think our best bet is to keep the Stellar Body as unobtrusive as possible and outside the system for now."\n\n"Why don't I go to Alakan IV?" you speak up. "Even if Comet does know my face from files, he's gonna have a hard time warning people to be on the lookout for me. I'm about as dirt common as humans come as far as most of my coloration and style goes, I won't stick out down there."\n\n"That's a great idea!" Nova says instantly, as you expected. He's enthusiastic enough that you're a little worried he'll give away the game, but frankly you're close enough to taking full control of him and everything else that you're not too worried about arousing the crew's suspicions. "Leo can do the on-planet scouting, while the rest of us keep looking from up here!"\n\nYou can tell that both Gem and Pulsar are leery enough of the changes in Nova that they want to protest, but since it's actually a solid plan they don't have any grounds to, and instead agree. Soon Nova's seeing you to the fighter bay, and handing you the keycard to one of the fighters. "Of course you can keep it no matter what," he gushes quietly as he leans in. "I'll get it painted up however you want later! Honestly I'd give you mine, Master, but it's too distinctive, and-"\n\n"It's okay, pet," you assure him. After a quick check to make sure the fighters are blocking any of the cameras, you lean in and give him a quick kiss, squeezing the round, girlish curve of his ass as he gives a sweet little moan. "Give me your account card though, okay?" you add as you step back.\n\n"Oh, of course, Master!" he gushes happily, quickly taking out his wallet and removing the card that has total access to all his currency and adding you on as an equal user. "I'm sorry, I should have realized you'd need that!"\n\n"You're forgiven, pet," you assure him with a smile, scritching under his chin as he squirms and makes little happy noises, his tail lashing excitedly. "Now be good while I'm gone, okay?"\n\n"Yes, Master!"\n\nThe enthusiasm of that 'Yes, Master!' definitely assures you as you get in the fighter and depart the ship. There's no way Nova's gonna backslide into going back to Gem at this point... in fact you spent the last few days openly coaching him on ways he could avoid getting physical with her without arousing her suspicions, with him eagerly taking to the lessons. You sincerely doubt he could even get it up without your permission at this point anyway, let alone for a woman since you've molded him into a submissive little gayboy, but best to avoid completely spilling the beans just yet. No, you've got to finish taking complete control of Nova's body, and thereby his heart and mind, before you can take everything else. Until then, let Gem suspect all she wants... soon she'll be yours too. Same for Pulsar and Lu, and of course the Stellar Body. (You are totally renaming it first thing.)\n\nSafe to say, you muse a bit later after having secured a landing pad and started prowling your way through the dim hive of scum and villainy that is one of the free ports, you're not really down here looking for Comet Lion. Oh, you do want to catch him eventually, and if you stumble over him down here you won't exactly say no to capturing him. (You are, after all, currently armed with Nova's very best and very favorite blaster pistol, practically pressed on you by him this morning.) But for right now your focus is on the next step of dominating Nova, and this sort of thriving all-shades-of-grey-and-black market sort of place just off the space lanes and a major manufacture hub is exactly where you need to be.\n\nYou've been turning it over in your mind where to go next, and do so some more as you stop in front of a shop that's rather blatantly advertising selling slaves, a slender, youthful beauty in nothing but a tiny little pair of black panties dancing sinuously in the window. But you've pretty much made up your mind that the next step for Nova is...\n\n<hr>\n[[... body mod meds.|LeoNova]]\n\n[[... full genetic reconfiguration.|LeoNova]]\n\n[[... cyberization.|LeoNova]]\n\n[[... sexbotification.|LeoNova]]

Let's face it, Nova has everything you want... the amazing ship, the beautiful wife, the loyal crew. One way or another, you intend to make all of it yours... the same for his masculinity. You'll seduce him and beguile him until he's ready to hand you everything manly about himself, and what you'll do with it then...\n\n... well, you've got time to decide!\n\nYou spend the rest of the night making sure you've thoroughly captured Nova's body and mind. Again and again you stroke him, arouse him, press your bodies together and excite him in every illicit way that being with his wife couldn't. But also you gradually work on eroding his masculinity a bit as well, or at least making him acknowledge that you're in charge of it now. You build him up, excite him, tease him a bit each time with the idea that it might now be his turn to be on top... stroking his cock enticingly, sucking him, even lubing his prick up slowly and gradually until he's squirming and silently begging to fuck you with his eyes. And, of course, every time you switch it up, smoothly changing to fucking him instead, making sure to use plenty of positions that emphasize you're in control and he's the 'woman', such as laying him on his back and lifting his legs just enough to fuck him 'missionary style'. Bit by bit (along with a few more urgings of getting him to change into different lingerie) over the night, you can see as he stops expecting to be allowed to top no matter what, and either subconsciously or consciously starts presenting himself purely as the bitch to sate your desires on.\n\nBefore the night is over, you know you've got him totally besotted with you. Of course, if the mission were wrapped up quickly, or Gem returned quickly and he felt guilty, he might backslide away and go back to normal before you really got your hooks in him permanently. But you've already formulated an idea for that, and pitching it to the currently dick-addled Nova isn't exactly a hard sell.\n\n"Alter the physics shielding field?" Pulsar echoes, blinking in surprise.\n\nIt's the next morning, and you and the three crew remaining aboard are all gathered in the "war room" again, this time with a graphic of the ship up on the main screen with a list of proposed alterations to the field it projects to protect it from various effects of violating the normal rules of spacetime to achieve faster-than-light flight.\n\n"It's the only thing that makes sense, when I realized it," Nova says confidently, every inch his usual chipper, confident self as he stands beside the screen, arms folded over his toned chest. "Comet knows the Stellar Body probably as well as any of us do... maybe even better, in some ways. Just about any way we approach the system, if he's managed to set up a lookout... and there's no reason to suspect he hasn't... then he's going to see us coming from way, way off."\n\n"It's true that these changes would render us basically invisible until we reentered realspace fully," Lu says slowly. "But we'd lose a lot of protection from the time differential. We'd probably experience at least a month while everyone outside experienced a day or two. Maybe more!"\n\n"Well. We've pulled this sort of maneuver before," Pulsar admits after a few moments of looking at the screen. "In fact there's a standard procedure for it, since your metabolism becomes more reactive. Gotta be more mindful of your calorie intake and exercise, but other than Gem being a bit flustered that we did this without her, I can't see much other drawback."\n\n"I'll bear the brunt of any of Gem's ire," Nova promises. "Besides, it should be pretty short-lived when she realizes that it means she didn't have to spend an entire month cooped up on the ship."\n\nThat seems to settle it, and with Nova's further declaration of making it an official order as Captain, Pulsar and Lunar head out to put the changes into effect. Nova blushes a bit as you rise from your chair where you'd kept silent through the conversation, but grins as you step close. "Well. All of that's true," he notes quietly. "But it does also give us at least a month together without needing to dodge my wife, hm?"\n\n"That it does," you practically purr back, leaning in to kiss him, running your hands lightly over his body through that shiny, tight flight suit... then turning him around and bending him over the table.\n\n"H-hey, Leo, we probably... we probably shouldn't be this brazen," Nova protests, but without any real force behind it as you activate the hidden seam in his suit below the tail and slide it down just enough to bare his pink pucker. The tigerman moans loudly as, without bothering to reply, you fish out your already lubed-up cock and push into him, making it clear you had every intention of bending him over the table and fucking him when you got up this morning. Gripping his strong hips, you start pumping into him, your balls slapping against the round bulge of his still flightsuit-sealed cock, a smirk on your lips as you make him your bitch right in the open, in one of his places of authority where he's supposed to be at his strongest and most in-charge.\n\nYeah, he doesn't have a chance.\n\nOver the next week, all of you of course follow the established Void Force procedures for operating with the physics field altered... it has a sort of 'enhancing' effect on most living things' metabolisms, meaning that if you gave in to the urge to laze around and snack while killing a month of shipboard time, you'd arrive at the rendevous seeming more like you'd been snacking and slacking for six months instead of one. Thus Pulsar's caution about keeping an eye on your food intake and exercise routine.\n\nThus it is that you and Nova are making use of the officer's gym. While the door is currently locked and registered as in-use by the captain, either Pulse or Lu could technically override that fairly easily with their own codes, since Nova doesn't have the more restrictive levels of captain's privilege set up... there's nothing really keeping them out other than their theoretical respect for allowing him his supposed privacy. Which is, of course, part of the elicit thrill of you urging him to strip down and exercise in the nude. Yet another aspect of you getting him under your thumb, you muse smugly as you do some light weight-lifting. Oh, not that you don't enjoy the sight of him running bare on the treadmill, his balls and half-stiff prick bouncing as his bare, sleek-furred body flexes and moves for your viewing pleasure (which he obviously knows and is showing off a bit). But the fact that you got him to strip down for you in public just because you wanted to look at him, and that you've kept your workout shorts on, help further establish who's actually in charge here.\n\nHe didn't exactly put up much resistance either. You've definitely already established a good bit of control over your dear captain, which makes your own cock twitch at the thought. Yeah... it shouldn't take all that long after you've reached Alakan to put some finishing touches on it, and then Nova and everything he owns will be yours. You wonder what Comet, his apparent second father, would have to say about this, if he knew that one of his pursuers (the up-and-comer) was currently in the process of sexually dominating and taking possession of the other pursuer (his surrogate son). Heh, maybe you'll get a chance to ask when you catch him!\n\n"Hm, y'know pet, I've been thinking," you say, using the diminutive casually, though you can see Nova's cock twitch a bit in response. "Maybe you ought to alter your workout routine some."\n\n"Oh?" He blinks, hitting 'pause' on the treadmill and putting his feet on the sides, tail flicking over his bare ass. "I've always used the standard Void Force blend of strength training and cardio. Worked out for me so far," he says, flexing demonstrably, then looking just a bit sheepish when you set down your weights and make a show of eyeing him critically. "Ah, what were you thinking I should try instead?"\n\nYou make a show of thinking about it, partly so that he has time to start being a bit eager for you to actually tell him your desire, before you say, "I'm just thinking that it might work out for you a bit better if you went all-"\n\n<hr>\n[["-cardio."|LeoNova3x5]]\n\n[["-weights."|LeoNova]]

Better take a look... either Indigo has a literal open door policy, or something's wrong. (Or he just... forgot to close the door, which seems least likely, but you guess still possible.) You slowly push it open and peer inside, your hand staying near the grip of your pistol. "Indigo?" you call quietly, not wanting to give yourself away if there really are hostile invaders.\n\nIt's a much nicer full suite than your room, but then you'd expected that... he's a great guy but you doubt he's the sort to take the same (or shittier) room than his subordinates just to show off. The lights are on normally in the main area... maybe he just stepped away for a minute? Then you notice that there's a light from one of the other rooms, and some faint noises. Still with the thought of checking things out to make sure everything's okay, you cross the room towards it. Really, you should have picked out what the sounds were long since as you get closer, but by the time you truly comprehend them you've sort of gotten so close that your only real option is to duck around the side of the door frame. Without really thinking, you peek around the edge of it at the bedroom inside, already knowing (broadly) what you're going to see.\n\nIndigo is seated at the end of the bed, his large, broad, muscular body bare, covered in patches of thick hair in almost wolfish patterns, some of it still a deep blue-black, other parts having turned a sort of gunsteel color, and still others as silvery-white as the hair on his head. Somehow he looks even bigger and more powerful stripped of his clothes, as if the layer of civilization had been holding back this hairy mountain man descended from the pine forests to find his latest woman.\n\nWhich he already seems to have done. It's not hard to recognize Ops, even if she's turned away from you and currently has her face buried in the truly thick jungle of hair at Indigo's crotch, since not only are those brown braids still hanging down past her shoulders, she's still wearing her knit cap and dataglasses. Out of the plaid overshirt, semiarmor shirt, and combat pants though she's revealed to have an overall fairly trim build with smallish, pert breasts but a nice round ass, though both look like they'd be absolutely engulfed in Indigo's large hands. At the moment though he's just sitting back and watching her work, Ops's enthusiasm for her current task seeming fairly obvious as she gives cock-muffled moans around the girth stretching her throat, loud suckling noises and eager, soft gagging sounding as she bobs her head up and down.\n\nUm... okay, so... maybe he forgot the door was open because he was in a hurry. ... Or she was. You know you need to be figuring out what to do with yourself in this situation, but your body's being very distracting with its own suggestions, considering that your earlier unintentional voyeurism added to the thoughts from the sex toy store and then your near-miss on relieving yourself has all got you pretty thoroughly worked up seeing this much, much clearer view of something thoroughly wicked.\n\n<hr>\n[[Go back outside.|ChiBlu]]\n\n[[Watch.|ChiBlu]]\n\n[[Join in.|ChiBlu]]

It may only have been a half day or so but it's already been a long one. Shaking your head a bit and tugging the straps of your bag to be a bit more secure, you holster your pistol, settle your rifle, and start off back for "home".\n\nArriving without incident, you head to the front desk, where yet another member of Indigo's likely support staff has taken over manning it. "Hajimaru?" he says as you approach.\n\n"Yup, that's me," you agree as you unbuckle your bag and set it down on the countertop. "Hey, I forgot to ask earlier, what's the meal situation?"\n\n"We keep a basic buffet running in what used to be the hotel restaurant between 0500 and 2000. After that it's either what's left, negotiating with whoever's around and willing to cook, or you're on your own. I'll get everything logged for you and you should have your bounty info by the morning," he adds as he sets the bag down behind the counter.\n\n"'Kay, thanks," you reply before checking your comm for the time. Past 2100, damn. You head to the old restaurant room and, sure enough, the buffet has been very nearly picked clean. Not currently feeling mentally up to haggling, you manage to scrape together enough of what's left in the warming trays to make a filling (and honestly surprisingly tasty) burrito that you munch as you head upstairs. 'God I need a shower. ... And a schlick,' you think as you open your room. A higher-end hotel room, not quite fully luxurious but easy enough to spend a few weeks in.\n\nOf course it's only after you've started the shower and begun thicking about the schlick that you remember that Indigo wanted to see you when you got back. 'Damn!' you think, grimacing for a few reasons. But... you also don't want to give up on building that connection. So you quickly finish cleaning up, leaving various parts of your body aching faintly at the meager echo of attention your washing gives them, then get out and put on the 'casual' clothes you brought, just a pair of black pants that are as snug as your usual armorweave ones just unarmored (which is what makes them casual) and a white, long-sleeved top that leaves your belly button and a decent but not large amount of cleavage on display. You also stick the holster of a small blaster against your thigh because it's almost a bit gauche for a merc to go completely unarmed among other mercs.\n\n... Look he's hot, alright? And you can't help but want to show off a little bit.\n\nYou take the elevator up, idly checking the time again. Almost 2200... not exactly ragingly late at night, and he did say to come by whenever. You step out on the twentieth floor, glancing at the signs before heading over to room 2020. You raise your hand to knock, but your knuckles have barely made contact when you realize that the door's actually a bit open, and has swung open a bit more at your touch. ... Huh.\n\n<hr>\n[[Better check it out.|ChiBlu1x11]]\n\n[[Better wait.|ChiBlu6x1]]

A chance to preemptively protect yourself and take out some of the competition is too good to pass up. You swing the rifle up and settle into a more comfortable firing position, picking out your target, doing your best to mentally calculate how they'll react and scatter once you fire so that you can hopefully get the whole group before anyone returns fire.\n\nUnfortunately as you're in mid-trigger squeeze, one of them's heads snaps towards you and you hear a shout. That combined with the window shattering as the blast goes off sends them scattering early, the one you'd been aiming at managing to dive to the street and roll away. But before you can even take another shot he's whipping his hand through the air and tossing something your way that arcs and tumbles, flipping right by your head to hit the ground with a metallic and plastic clang.\n\nOh. Shit.\n\nYou have a bare second to react, even though your brain is still processing what it saw. Shit, what kind of grenade was it, what do you do?!\n\n<hr>\n[[Jump out!|ChiBlu]]\n\n[[Cover your ears!|ChiBlu]]\n\n[[Mask!|ChiBlu2x2]]

Your hand dives into one of your dimensional pockets and comes up with a combination filter/vape mask of the style that's popular on Makarzia, though yours is modded with heavier air scrubbers and deployable eyeshields, which snap up and into place as you press it on, pink smoke already issuing out rapidly from behind you. From the way your skin immediately starts tingling at the places it contacts and you can feel your temperature rise and your nipples stiffen, you're guessing it's not knockout gas.\n\n"Assholes!" you hiss, scrambling back from the window since the pink aphrodisiac vapor is already thick enough to start obscuring vision. And just in time too, as a large humanoid form barrels through the window, crashing more of the glass and bringing a weapon to bear. You whip your own rifle up and fire mostly on reflex, still catching him directly center of mass and sending him toppling forward to sprawl on the ground with his own momentum. With his size not much worry there about whether he's just stunned or dead.\n\nUnfortunately that's obviously given time for the others to move, because not only do you hear the front door being kicked in, you hear a shot and a crash from further back too, indicating someone's already found the back door. Two more shadowed forms come leaping in through the window, this time ducking and rolling, your shot as you try to find something approximating cover or a defensible position only winging one in the side and sending him tumbling around with an almost canine-sounding yelp.\n\nYou lurch to your feet and turn to run, hoping that maybe you can get by or stun the guy in the back and get out past him, or just lose him in the fog, when suddenly you realize they've already maneuvered to surround you. You've got two rifles and two pistols leveled steadily at you, and you with no way of knowing what they're set on. The mist is slowly starting to settle, letting you see enough to realize that yes, they're definitely anthros, wearing masks fitted to faces with different levels of muzzles.\n\n"Drop it, bitch," one of them says evenly, the insult almost idle, without any heat behind it. "We've got you from every angle. Time to surrender."\n\nYou scowl beneath your mask. That... does seem to be true. And Indigo said that if you surrendered, they wouldn't kill you. ... Of course he implied that's pretty much all the mercy you could expect.\n\n<hr>\n[[Surrender.|ChiBlu]]\n\n[[Go down fighting!|ChiBlu]]

A... Hellhound? \n\n... W-well, all dogs are good boys, aren't they?! (Y'know, the ones that aren't good girls.) Even... ones from... Hell? ...... Maybe?\n\nWell, it's what you've got. You sigh, then blink as a staff materializes in front of you, floating in the air. It's a black iron loop, with silver loops coming down from it to form the shaft, and a thin loop of red leather at the bottom. It's... oh, it's a leash. Or a staff that looks like a leash, rather. You reach out and take hold of it with both hands, feeling the weight. Pretty light, despite the black iron, and very solid despite it looking like a chain that was forged solid. Kinda... weird look for a magical staff, but then you guess that goes with a Hellhound familiar.\n\nAfter a moment you shrug, angling it forward and opening your mouth to intone the spell name. But before more than "S-!" can come out, a window like your class menu pops up.\n\n<center>Warning!\nThe spell you are about to cast is above your level.\nAny creature summoned will not necessarily be in your control.</center>\n\nThat... that can happen? Wait, yeah, the description said that your familiar spell is randomly determined. It seems weird that a base feature of the class could have a higher level requirement, but... there it is. Man, maybe you should have just gone with 'Adventurer'.\n\n... No you should not have done that nevermind.\n\n"Well now what?" you murmur to yourself as you lift your staff and consider, the screen disappearing. Hm, you guess you have two options... one is to go ahead and cast it. After all it says that the creature won't necessarily obey you, which basically implies that it might. It might not be forced to, but maybe if you're just polite about it? After all, it seems like diplomacy and charm are part of your thing now. Maybe you should just... ask nicely? \n\nYour other option is to gain a few levels before trying it, you guess. A Warlock without a familiar... mm... seems like you'd maybe struggle a bit more to find a party? But, well, if you do, you do have friends that are already adventurers, they'd probably take you in. That'd probably be the safer thing, since you're dealing with a hound whose potential status as a good boy is unknown.\n\n<hr>\n[[Summon now.|KonaWL]]\n\n[[Wait a while.|KonaWL]]

After a quick, desperate look around to see if anyone's watching, you grab Xinda's wrist and take off running towards your cabin, hauling her along after you. Looking a bit confused, Xinda spreads her wings slightly, letting her legs lift and just drifting along, being pulled like a kite with a very short string.\n\n"Master? What's wrong?"\n\n"We have to get you inside!" you snap back, continuing to glance around as you run to make sure no one's approaching. Luckily you don't see anyone by the time you arrive, yanking the door open and shoving her inside before flinging yourself in after her and panting heavily, leaning back against the door with your face flushed and body drenched in sweat. You've gotten a bit in shape since you took up farming, but you're still a bit on the scrawny side and between the panic and the speed of the run, you're pretty wiped.\n\n"X-Xinda... how did you..." You blink at the sight of her sitting leaned back slightly on the floor, smiling cheerfully at you as she undoes the ties of her bikini bottoms. "... What are you doing?"\n\n<img src="images/Xinda.png">\n\n"Hm? Well, I'm baring my holes for you, Master," she says cheerfully, as she does indeed let the front of the bottoms drop, revealing her very pink pussy nestled between plump golden brown lips, as well as the supernaturally perfect-looking pucker beneath. "That's why you were in such a rush to get us back here, right?"\n\n"What? No! I..." You trail off, staring at her, then without another moment's hesitation shoving your pants down. "Actually you know what what the hell," you murmur, shedding your shirt as you walk over and then pouncing atop her, the succubus giving a happy squeal.\n\nSeconds later you're pounding away at her gloriously wet and gripping pussy for all you're worth, your slender, pale prick pumping between those plump lower lips. Your head is nestled between her large tits, her top having been pulled away to bare her large, puffy dark pink nipples... you've never been so glad you wound up kind of short for a human male until now, feeling those big perfect mounds wobble on either side of your head and press against you. You haven't gotten to fuck anything since you reincarnated, and after such a long time and the fact that it's succubus pussy, you obviously don't last too long, moaning and spilling your load deep inside her. But between your youth and the fact that she is, after all, a succubus, you don't get a single bit softer. Instead you pause only long enough to push her legs further forward and reach down, readjusting yourself and thrusting into her ass instead, Xinda cooing and moaning happily as you start fucking her tighter, silkier hole, one of her hands on your back and the other stroking your hair adoringly.\n\nOnce you've spent yourself inside her a good six times, you sit back, panting heavily as she sits up, her face now streaked with your seed as she licks some off a fingertip, the rest of your most recent two loads splattered all over those magnificent tits that you were fucking. "Mm, Master, you're not as big and you don't fuck as hard as when you were Maou, and you lack the tentacles, but you're so much more... nutritious now!"\n\nYou can't help but laugh a bit breathlessly. Succubi are geared to gain mana from sex with pretty much anyone or anything living, but as sexual Monsters they are sort of 'meant' to be predators of the Mortal races. So you're not exactly surprised that she finds you more filling now than when you were an Ireth, even with the vast power discrepancy. "Xinda, how did you-" You pause briefly in embarrassment as your stomach growls, but manage to finish, "How did you find me?"\n\n"Oop, that's right, Master's human now! Don't worry, I'll take care of that!" Casting a quick cleaning charm on herself, Xinda gets up and bustles over to the kitchen, humming cheerfully and starting to fix a meal wearing nothing but her gloves and leggings, her wings tucked in close and her tail lashing back and forth over her generous but firm ass. That's definitely a sight you could get used to, you think as you cast your own quick (slightly less effective) cleaning charm and redress. "Oh, and as to how I found you, why, I've been looking everywhere for you!"\n\n"Have you?" you ask, settling to sit at the table.\n\n"Oh yes, I made a list of every Mortal race city, town, village, and settlement of note and have been checking them all one by one," she clarifies happily, even as you choke a bit. "I was working under the assumption that even reincarnated, you'd share certain similar figures."\n\n'That's Xinda alright,' you think in wry amusement, shaking your head. Orderly, canny, and methodical, despite her otherwise slightly airheaded demeanor. She's borderline useless as either a fighter or a spy, but she made an extremely good personal assistant, and- "Wait, how did you know I reincarnated?"\n\nXinda blinks as she stirs the sauce she's making. "You asked me to procure the materials you used for the spell, including a particular variety of enchanted chalk. After your apparent defeat, I checked those materials against my copies of your spell lists and determined that 'Reincarnation' was the only one you would have been preparing."\n\nShe is almost frightfully smart, to the point that if she had any direction or ambition she'd probably be the new Maou herself, you think a bit ruefully. You watch as she sets a plate of leftovers that she's somehow turned into an incredibly appealing meal like you'd see in a decent city restaurant in front of you, then sashays over to fill a mug from your small beer cask. She frowns at it briefly, then points a finger and murmurs, "Upgrade quality." Beaming at the apparent result, she sets in front of you. "Here you are, Master!"\n\n"Thank you, Xinda," you say without really thinking, starting to dig in, and not noticing the look of slightly dumbstruck happiness on her face at words you didn't exactly say as Maou. As you take a drink of the beer and marvel at its massively improved smoothness, richness, and depth of flavor, you again muse wryly that while she's absolutely hopeless at combat magic and really isn't that good at... well, at being a succubus either, not having a particular flair for seduction or any real talents for dreamsculpting... she is a fantastic personal assistant, having channeled all of her spellcasting into utility spells involving mending, building, crafting, cooki-\n\nYou blink.\n\n"... Oh this is perfect," you whisper.\n\n"Hm?" Xinda blinks, putting one clawed fingertip to her lower lip as she looks at the plate. "I mean, I did my best master, but that might be a little much for this meal."\n\n"No, no, I mean, your arrival! This is perfect! Together, you and I are going to make-"\n\n<hr>\n[["-a fantastic inn!"|RethInn]]\n\n[["-an amazing brothel!"|RethInn]]

"Ohhh yeah," Tassita replies, her eyes flashing in a purely wicked way rather than the 'streaming' way as she tosses the rattle back in and instead hefts up the package of diapers, looking at it in an approving, expectant way. "I'm definitely gonna make sure and pick out an especially girly one for you, hon."\n\n"Um." That actually makes you blush. "I dunno about this... I haven't even thought of this particular variety of kinky before."\n\n"Always good to try new things!" Tass assures you as she sets the diapers down and slides back into the desk chair, starting to type up a stream announcement. "C'mon, you're not gonna chicken out on our very first stream idea just because it got a little weird, are you?"\n\n"... No," you answer, with just a bit of a pout. "Still."\n\n"It'll be fine! I bet you'll have fun!" Tass hums cheerfully as she focuses on making various announcement posts and setting up the stream to go live later. Eventually she pops up to her feet and announces, "Okay, I'm gonna go start prepping! Three hours!" she adds before she's out the door.\n\nMmf. In three hours you're gonna get... in front of millions of people, too. That's embarrassing even for someone with a high shame threshold like yours. And yet you feel your cock twitching a bit in your panties beneath your jeans as you think about it. Shaking your head, you walk over to the desk, taking a look at what Tassita actually titled the stream.\n\n<hr>\n[['I diaper my femboy roommate'|Riley]]\n\n[['I diaper my femboy roommate (then take him for a walk)'|Riley]]\n\n[['I diaper my femboy roommate (then make him cum)'|Riley]]\n\n[['I diaper my femboy roommate (then fuck him)'|Riley]]

"Hey there, hey there hey there," you coo at the wriggling blanketed form in your arms, smiling at little dark eyes that stare up at you in confusion not just at who you are, but who or what anything is. It's a remarkably endearing outlook that you feel like you've gained some insight into over time. "Hey, little Kei, hey hey hey."\n\nMakoto laughs from where she's sitting up in her hospital bed, hands folded in her lap. "I don't think the baby understands 'hey' any more than anything else, Sipha-neechan."\n\n"Hmmm... it's hard to think of much else to say, really," you allow, even as you continue to gently rock the baby while standing still. "What do you say to someone who's brand new, anyway?"\n\n"How about... 'I'm Sipha, and I'm your godmother'?" Makoto suggests, pink eyes twinkling in a way that says she's looking at more than one thing that's very precious to her.\n\n"... Ah?" You blink a few times, actually stopping all other motion. "Isn't that more of a fairy thing than an elf thing?"\n\nThat gets a laugh out of her. "I meant more in the human way! That if anything ever happens to me and the baby's father, you'll take over raising little Kei! But more than that... it means you're part of the family. That you're part of Kei's family."\n\n"Oh. Ohhh. Oh wow, um, Makoto," you glance down at the baby, then over at her, your eyes wide. "Are you sure that's what you want? I mean, at the end of the day, I'm just a NEET elf, and-"\n\n"I can't think of anyone else I'd choose, Sipha-neechan. I want you to be there for Kei, just like you've been there for me." She tilts her head, eyes glistening now. "Forever. ... Is it a good day, Sipha-neechan?"\n\n"... Yeah. Yeah, it's the biggest and brightest day ever," you murmur quietly, smiling down at the baby in your arms. \n\n'Oh. Oh here it is. Here's that answer I've been looking for, what I do when Makoto's gone some day. What I do when I lose my human friends, what I do when they're gone and I'm still here. I keep watching over the ones that are here, and love them just as much as I ever did those who came before,' you think, raising little Kei and lowering your head to brush your lips over a small, smooth forehead, trying not to let any of your tears drip on your godchild's face.\n\n"Spirits of this world, heed my urging and answer my entreaty," you whisper softly, starting to gently rock the baby again. "I ask of you watch over this child, Kei, as we guide the future years of growth. Please answer this call, and see that this child gets to grow up healthy, happy, and that we get to keep learning about what a wonderful world this can be... together."\n\nSipha and Makoto end - I'll be here for them

Shrugging, you go with the obvious default, since it could be anyone. "Number one."\n\n"That's my number," Mazinon notes, glancing briefly at the display panel of his bracelet.<<set $mazinonsecret to true>>\n\nOh. Huh. Well, it's another guy's fantasy, so you guess at least it counts as "guy talk" or something. Though you admit you have difficulty imagining what a tall, refined elf sorcerer must fantasize about. Mazinon walks over, as unperturbed by his own nudity as ever, leaning in close to speak close to your ear... though he does seem to be trying to give you some space, at the same time he's clearly comfortable getting closer than most other guys would, and you can feel the warmth of his body... even if nothing is quite brushing against you.\n\n"It is quite juvenile, I admit, but sometimes I fantasize about... ruling the world," Mazinon murmurs in your ear, making your lips quirk a little bit. Hasn't everyone, at least once? Perhaps emboldened by your response, he chuckles. "Of course, I have a rather unique perspective on it... I am descended from elf kings of old, after all, who truly did see themselves as rulers of the world. And as much as we might like to present ourselves as ethereal creatures of pure grace and divinity, more candid histories paint a different picture... such as that of my ancestor Mazinyin, called 'The Mad-Cocked'. A particularly crude sobriquet for an elf king, but then..."\n\nHe hesitates only briefly before continuing. "You see, Mazinyin claimed that all elf women were his to do with as he pleased... from the commonfolk to the wives of his nobles. He spent his days siring bastards, treating prostitutes from the streets like royal ladies to be made love to, and noblewomen like cheap whores to be spanked and degraded. I admit, in the throes of my adolescence, such stories stirred thoughts in me. To this day, I am unable to help occasionally drifting into the fantasy of assuming my ancestor's mantle... ascending to rule Earth on high, to have any woman I please brought before me, to take her there in front of my onlooking court, all of them politely urging me on and applauding me as I took my pleasure."\n\nThere's just a moment of hesitation again, before he continues, his voice having dropped and grown a little breathier. "For you see, all the male nobles were afraid to speak out against Mazinyin... if they said so much as a cross word about him fucking their wives up the ass while calling them a... I believe the closest translation for the Elvish word he used in English is 'fuckpig'... he would have them captured in the night, force-fed a potion of sex change, and then brought before him to be despoiled in front of not only the nobles, but a cheering crowd of commoners. So you see... in my fantasies... when I've got your mother on all fours in front of me, spanking her ass as I impregnate her while calling her a 'fuckpig', the entire time I am doing it, I am staring right at you, waiting for the slightest hint of anything but approval to cross your face, so that I may have an excuse to make you the next one to be on all fours before me, tits swaying and pussy gushing as I impregnate you."\n\nYou shiver just a bit at the very lightest brush of his cock against your hip as he straightens up and steps back, moving to stand beside his sister again, who's looking at you both curiously. There's a very strange sensation in your head at the moment... it's sort of like a pentagon graph and plotting a point inside it somewhere between embarrassed, embarrassed on Mazinon's behalf, outraged at such a deviant fantasy, aroused at such a powerfully appealing fantasy, and... just aroused in a strange way you've not necessarily experience before.\n\nBut it was definitely enough for Dr. Deathtrap, it looks like, since the doors for the exit slide open.\n\n<hr>\n[[Continue.|CalKLHallway2]]

Well, it doesn't really matter who you pick, it's basically random, isn't it? "Number three."\n\n"Hm. That is the number displayed on this ridiculous thing I am wearing," Warya speaks up, glancing at her wrist as if just to confirm.<<set $waryasecret to true>>\n\nHuh. Warya's... fantasy? Honestly, you're expecting her to boast something about how a Tygarian gladiator doesn't fantasize, they go out and make all of their wishes come true the moment they have them, or something like that. But she actually seems to be thoughtful, rubbing her chin as she clearly considers, before making her way over towards you. She hasn't exactly been shy about her nudity so far, and she continues to not be so, her cock brushing along your hip and her breasts pressing against your shoulder as she leans in, lips almost brushing your ears, her voice lowered to a volume that sounds almost like a purr.\n\n"There are times late at night, when I lay in my bed after a day of combat against and amidst all these luscious, fertile females who display themselves as if for mating, and I think about what it might have been like had I kept my place as Warmaster of Tygaria as I'd earned the right to, instead of venturing to Earth in search of stronger battles. How I might have rallied all of Tygaria's armies and brought them here, conquering the planet and subjugating every last one of the heroes I now fight beside. And then, as would be my rite of conquest, I would dominate and impregnate all of the strongest, most powerful, and most beautiful women of the entire planet, right in front of their males."\n\nYou squirm a little as she starts to more obviously purr, a bit of a teasing lilt now in that deep, rather wicked smooth voice. "Yes, that would include your mother... oh, I would enjoy that very, very much. You and your father, in bondage and kneeling before me, your cocks jutting and stiff as I made your mother moan and beg and plead for more, until finally I impregnated this world's mightiest hero as her eyes rolled and her tongue lolled and she promised to be my brood creature forever. But... you know... I don't think I'd necessarily stop once I'd impregnated the hundreds of thousands of worthy women on this planet... no... there are just so many powerful... beautiful men, and so much fascinating technology to change the body..."\n\nThe alien tigress chuckles softly before cooing, "That is right... I have often lain in bed, stroking my mighty member to the thought of changing you into a woman, then lifting your legs and pinning your body, pounding your new little pink pussy for all you're worth until you break and beg me for more, seeing that look on your pretty girl's face that says you understand your only purpose in life is to pleasure my cock and bear my young. Each time my mighty, virile load spills onto my belly, I think what a shame it is that I am not spilling it in yours." With that, she gives your ear a quick nip and then steps back, prancing almost proudly back to join the others.\n\nYou stare after her, with the most confused hardon you've ever felt jutting out in front of you. You're part shocked, part almost terrified, and part... you're not sure you've ever felt the particular sort of aroused that you're feeling now.\n\nBut the gladiator's dirty fantasy is apparently pleasing enough to Dr. Deathtrap, as the exit door slides open.\n\n<hr>\n[[Continue.|CalKLHallway2]]

"Alright, so... number two," you decide after realizing that it doesn't really matter that much what you say, since it's effectively random.\n\n"Um." Snow Leopard shrinks in on herself a little more. "That's... me."<<set $snowleopardsecret to true>>\n\nOh dear, the shyest and sweetest of the group. You can't help but feel bad as she fidgets, obviously deeply humiliated by the very idea of having to share any kind of sexual secret with someone else, let alone a particularly deep and perverse one. But after a few seconds she takes a deep breath and stands up straight, lowering her arms to bare those round, soft breasts and her closely-trimmed sex, and marches around behind you, the edge of her blush visible below her cowl as she moves behind you. You try not to blush yourself as you feel Snow Leopard's breasts brush against your back and arm as she leans up closer to your ear.\n\n"... I fantasize," she whispers very softly, her hands coming up to rest on your back for balance just as she says the next words, the combination of sensation and what she says sending a shock through you enough to make you shiver all over. "About being raped. Like... almost all the time. When I'm out fighting villains, I think about what would happen if they overcame me and shoved me down and took me. Even if it's not a male villain... even though I don't like girls, the thought of a villainess defeating me and then mounting my face and making me lick her, rubbing herself all over me while she orders me to suck her clit, makes my pussy wet. When I get captured and tied up I'm both afraid they'll tear my clothes off or fondle me or even fuck me and I also kind of want them to do it."\n\nYou can feel her nipples getting stiff against you, and fight against your own steadily harder cock as you hear the soft sound of her tongue flitting over her lips before she continues. "It's... it's not just villains either, I fantasize about the other Guardians raping me too. Every time I'm on watch duty, I spend most of it thinking in the back of my mind how much I wanted one of the men to come up and just take me right there in the chair without a word, not asking, just taking me, being rough with me, degrading me. ... I've wished it was you a lot of times. Then I go home and I pounce my boyfriend, but his cock is never as satisfying as my fantasies of you." ... Yeah, there's no hope now, your cock's like steel jutting ahead of you, your breathing shallowed a bit.\n\n"The entire time I was stripping down in that room out there, I was terrified you or Trickshot or Mazinon or Warya would lose your minds and just shove me over and rape my ass with your big cocks... because I was wishing for it so hard I knew I'd be moaning like a slut the moment any of you put it in."\n\nAnd just like that she steps back, quickly covering herself again and ducking her head, blush worse than ever as she moves back over to join the group, who's all watching-but-trying-not-to and clearly curious as hell about whatever the shy, sweet little innocent kitty said to you that has pre beading at the tip of your prick.\n\nGoddamn, girl.\n\nApparently Dr. Deathtrap is satisfied though, because the exit door slides open.\n\n<hr>\n[[Continue.|CalKLHallway2]]

Oh, whatever. Someone's gonna have to reveal a dirty fantasy no matter what, may as well just pick a number. "Number five."\n\n"That's me," Marielle answers, holding up her braceleted wrist, apparently not particularly bothered by the idea. She must really trust your discretion.<<set $mariellesecret to true>>\n\n"Oh, uh, okay," you murmur as she walks over to you, almost casually moving behind you. You wonder exactly what sort of dark fantasies an elf maiden might have... and are then distracted as she leans against your back, pressing her breasts against you as if it were no particularly big deal, lips moving in close to your ear. As always there's a soft, lyrical quality to her words... but with her whispering to you like this, naked and close and almost like lovers, it has your cock stiffening to full hardness before she's even finished a single sentence.\n\n"Mm, it is difficult to pick one... I have so many, if I am honest," she murmurs, and despite not being able to see her you can almost hear the little smile on her lips. "But if I am to pick a suitably embarrassing one that our adorable host would probably like... let me see. Not long after my brother and I emerged into the modern world, I saw an old animated film called 'Sleeping Beauty'. I do not know why, but somehow the sight of her there, living but immobile, stretched out and on display, helpless before a man's passion even if it was only a kiss... that awoke something in me."\n\nShe wiggles just a little against you, even the slight extra pressure of her breasts urging a small bud of precum out of your cock. "I began to fantasize almost nightly about myself being put into a similarly enchanted sleep, waiting for a man to come and claim me... sometimes I was displayed wearing my own clothes, or other times the princessly finery from that movie or others I had watched. Sometimes I dreamt of myself in bridal wear, to show that I was claimed in all ways as soon as he did what he wanted with me. Sometimes I was naked... or dressed in lingerie that left little question that it was not merely a kiss that he was free to take of me."\n\nShe sighs softly. "I dreamed of many men coming to me in my enchanted sleep, having their way with my body... sometimes with me waking up to play the whore for them partway through, sometimes with them using me again and again and again as I slept, as if I were naught but a sexdoll for them to use to relieve their lusts. Many men... sometimes from fiction... or men I had known in my old life... my own brother... sometimes those I know now in my own life... like you... the thought of you over me, your hands on my breasts, your member inside me pulsing over and over as you emptied yourself into me has more than once brought me to the point of ecstasy."\n\nYou actually very nearly cum as she breathes a soft stream of air against your ear, managing to hold on Marielle lowers herself and elegantly strides back to stand next to her brother, every inch the proper elf maiden again, even as she gives you a smile... that's rendered rather wicked by a brief sparkle in her eyes.\n\nBut apparently she was right, the story looks to have satisfied Dr. Deathtrap, since the exit door slides open.\n\n<hr>\n[[Continue.|CalKLHallway2]]

Any number is as good as another, right? "Number four."\n\n"That's... my number," your mother says with a little sigh, straightening her shoulders.<<set $excalibursecret to true>>\n\nYeah, you were wrong. Dammit, you managed to pick her number again. You do your best to keep a calm facade, but your face is blushing brightly again... and your cock annoyingly starting to stiffen already... as she walks over to you, large breasts jiggling, and then pressing against your back as she leans in from behind.\n\n"... I'm sorry, honey," she murmurs after a brief hesitation, her hands resting on your bare upper arms. "I... only really have one deep, dark fantasy to share. And I've little doubt Deathtrap will know if I'm lying or try to invent something, I've been fighting her for too long and her equipment is too good. It's... going to embarrass you, and things might not be the same after, so..."\n\n"It's okay," you whisper back. "We already said that we'd understand whatever we had to do for this, right?"\n\n"Yes." Still, she's silent for another moment, before sighing and starting to speak in a soft whisper. "When you hit puberty... and your powers began to emerge... I was so happy for you. And for myself, I admit. But something else also happened... something I couldn't control. Every time I was in the room with you, my temperature rose, my nipples stiffened, my pussy got wet... my body wanted incredibly badly to mate with you." She swallows softly as you draw in a hard breath, but apparently feels she can't stop now. "I hadn't been around an Avellonian male since I was fourteen... our pheremones are stronger and more intense, especially to each other, my body had lost almost all its resistance to my own peoples' innate sexual signals. I knew what it was, so I ignored it and fought it off, but I... wanted you... badly. For years."\n\nShe swallows, and you're not sure she even realizes that she's now pressing her breasts a little more firmly against you. "At night I would check in on you as a mother should, but instead of being satisfied that you were asleep and safe, my hand would press between my legs and I would rub myself, sometimes all the way to orgasm, while staring at your face. When you would get erections in your sleep it was all I could do to hold myself back. Several times... several times, even in the clear light of day... I almost convinced myself it would be alright to fuck you. With Avellon gone, after all, we were the last two left... didn't we have an obligation to try and bring back the Avellinian species? Once I... once..." She shudders, letting out a breath that's somewhere between ashamed and intensely aroused. "Your fifteenth birthday... I thought we were going to be alone the entire night... I actually had on my sexiest... my sluttiest underwear under my 'mom clothes'. After we finished dinner I was going to take you back to my room and... I was actually planning to go through with it, I had every intention, but your father came back from his overseas conference early because it got attacked by the Luddite and was canceled. Him walking in that door was both the biggest frustration and biggest relief of my life, because if he'd been just half an hour later, he likely would have caught me in our marriage bed, riding our son for all I was worth, begging to be impregnated."\n\n"O-oh," you murmur, swallowing hard as well, flicking a glance at the others... they don't seem to have actually heard, but they're definitely trying not to stare at the fact that you have a hardon of steel at whatever fantasy your own mother's confided in you.\n\n"After that splash of cold water, I managed to get the fantasies and my desire under control, but... they never completely went away. It was actually a relief when you moved out for college, because every time I caught the scent of your cum on a trash bin or towel or I handled a basket of your sweaty clothes, the fantasies would come rushing back and my panties would be soaked and sticking to me in an instant. With the years and some distance I got acclimated again, but still... still... every so often... like now, when your body's all hot... when pre is welling out of that big, Avellonian prick of yours... I still... want you... to fuck me and knock me up," the most powerful, refined, and controlled hero on the planet murmurs, her lips having drawn closer to your ear with every brief pause.\n\nFor a long second the two of you are frozen in that position, time enough for you both to take deep, shuddery breaths and let them out. Then without another word, your mother straightens up and walks back over to the others, keeping her back straight and refusing to acknowledge any embarrassment at her nudity or what she might have said... or the arousal now running down her inner thighs.\n\nShe was right on the money about her admission pleasing Doctor Deathtrap, though, because as you fight to get your whirling thoughts under control, the exit door slides open.\n\n<hr>\n[[Continue.|CalKLHallway2]]

You have to pick, so, well, whatever. "Number six."\n\n"Yeah, that's me," Trickshot says with a sigh, shaking his head.<<set $trickshotsecret to true>>\n\n"Ah." Well this is basically 'guy talk', right? Just... probably particularly dirty guy talk, and with an even stricter 'code of silence' than usual. You and Trickshot are continuing your unspoken competition of both trying to seem as unperturbed as possible as he walks over, briefly trying to figure out the best heterosexual male friendly way to lean in and whisper to another heterosexual male before he settles for clapping a hand on your shoulder and leaning in, simultaneously jutting his hips back a bit.\n\n"... So, listen man," he starts with a sigh. "I know we said no judgement and all, but I still gotta make it clear before I start this... I have nothing but respect and admiration for your parents. Your dad's done right by me plenty of times, and I'd never disrespect him or your mom intentionally, okay?"\n\nHoo boy. That is not an inspiring lead-in. Still, you nod a bit. "Hey, stuff happens in fantasies, it's not like it's real," you whisper back.\n\n"Yeah," he sighs. There's another moment of hesitation before he finally starts revealing his dirtiest fantasy to you. "Sometimes your dad's invited me over to one of his workshops to work on my arrows and give me some tips, or even ask me my thoughts on some of his stuff, and man that was an honor... the hero that's literally known for his gadgets asking me how he can improve his? But a couple of times when we were, your mom's dropped in to say hi, and it's just... being almost alone with her in 'private' like that, it hits a guy hard. And I couldn't help having this fantasy of... bending her over the worktable and fucking her."\n\nHe sighs again, clearly expecting you to haul off and punch him or something, but you keep your expression under control and just give a small, understanding nod. Perhaps emboldened, he continues without quite as much shame in his voice. "I mean it just sprang in there, one minute I'm thinking about sequence processor trips, the next my head's full of having my hands full of Excalibur's tits as I pound her pussy. And the more often that situation happened the dirtier the fantasies got, and the more I'd have 'em when I was by myself. Like... some pretty heavy stuff, man. Her saying things like... 'fuck me with that big black cock'. Only, y'know... not that nice." He shifts a little bit, before continuing. "And sometimes in the fantasies your dad was still there, and he's just... jerking off while he watches me fuck his wife, like he acknowledges how much more of a man I am than he is, that I'm making her cum more than he ever could, just... on and on with bullshit like that, like he's practically bowing down and worshiping me for stretching his wife's pussy like he never could."\n\nThere's a longer hesitation, where both of your eyes track over towards the door, watching it for any sign of movement. When there's not the faintest hint of it, Trickshot draws in a deep breath, then murmurs, "Sometimes... sometimes in the fantasy, when he's there... after I've fucked his wife... I bend him over the desk too. And I fuck him, and he moans like a girl and tells me I'm the real man, that my cock would make anyone want to get fucked. I can't even help it, every time he shows up in the fantasy I wind up thinking of him being the one I'm fucking when I cum."\n\nYou swallow, hard, a strange whirl of emotions mingling outrage, understanding, and several very strange varieties of arousal tossing about in your chest. The two of you almost jump at the sound of the door sliding open, Trickshot quickly stepping to one side. He tosses an ashamed glance at you, but you do your best to nod back to assure you don't hold it against him. It's best to be understanding here, after all... even if you don't entirely understand your mind (and body's) reaction to the story, trying to mentally quell your raging hardon without actually acknowledging it... or his.\n\n<hr>\n[[Continue.|CalKLHallway2]]

Yeah, this just got a little... overserious... for your blood. Not wanting to make a big deal of it, you slip back without a word, joining the small group of other mercs filing out.\n\n'Damn,' you think as you walk down the hall, scowling. You weren't expecting Indigo to be so... 'formal militia'-ish. Your reputation has probably just taken a hit back there, and no doubt about it. You pause as most of the others use their beacons and fwip back to the Guildhall almost as soon as they've placed their items back on the lobby desk, but you're still brooding a bit on how you've now come all this way for nothing other than looking like you don't have the guts to stick it out.\n\nLuckily there's an abandoned city out there to take a walk (stomp) through, and you're unaffiliated. If anyone takes a shot at you, you can shoot back at them with a clear conscience and no one looking over your shoulder wondering if you went "too far". \n\nOutside it's dark, not only with clouds but the sky darkened as well, despite the fact that it's barely noon local time. It looks more like mid-evening... a particularly quiet, ominously calm mid-evening, with the deserted streets and buildings with their unlit windows. Most of the place seems fairly intact, some cracks and rubble and a few hints of fire here and there... some of it looks like lightning strikes. But the city seems mostly whole, if completely empty. Shrugging and shaking your head, you pick a random direction and start walking, hoping to cool off.\n\nYou've gone about a block when there's a whistle from off to one side. You whirl and raise your rifle, sighting on someone who's lounging on a park bench that wasn't in sight before. He's an anthro... a fox, by the look of him, though his fur is a deep black color with a few spots around his ears and muzzle. He's one of the sorts with hair, pulled back in a simple ponytail, yellow eyes sparkling with amusement where they're set in his dark face. He's not color-coded, at least to the agreement, wearing a black combat vest and sleeve-gloves, and a sort of matching set of combat pants, though they're cut out in the middle almost like chaps... presumably because he feels like showing off with the loincloth draped over a clearly unimpeded bulge. Whether it's just braggery or distraction tactic, you don't let it affect you, just keeping him sighted.\n\n"No threat here," he says breezily, lifting his empty hands. "I'm not a combatant."\n\n"Uh-huh. Then what are you?" you demand.\n\n"I am, in point of fact, a recruiter. Another name being 'headhunter', but in a situation like this I feel leading with 'recruiter' is better," he adds with a chuckle, his bushy tail swishing back and forth through the back of the bench. "I work for Carmine, at the moment, but not as a fighter."\n\n"Ah. And so what, you're just lurking around seeing if anyone ditches out on Indigo to offer them a job on the opposing team?" you ask, narrowing your eyes a bit.\n\n"Mm-mm." The fox turns his hands outward slightly, making a shrug of his already raised arms. "Worked, didn't it? But hey, why not hear me out at least, huh? I have a pretty good argument~!"\n\nYou purse your lips... but after a careful glance around, you lower your rifle but keep it at an obvious 'ready' stance. "Fine, go on."\n\nLowering his hands and getting slowly but smoothly to his feet, the fox anthro continues. "Well, first off let me say I know who you are. Michika Hajimaru, right?" At your small, suspicious nod, he says, "To make it fair, I go by Midnight. Now, I've been doing this job long enough to know your type... by which I mean, only been in the Guild a year or two, very ambitious, very focused on building your reputation by completing big jobs and making connections with important people, am I right?" At your slightly more grudging nod at having been sized up perfectly, he grins. "Hey, just about everyone's been there. Thing is, Michika, there's more to a rep than just 'gets the job done' and 'impresses the big guys'."\n\n"I mean... obviously," you say a bit stiffly, since you admit that you had mostly been thinking of your rep in those terms. "But get to the point, huh?"\n\n"Thing is, people like Indigo have a reputation where they'll only take certain jobs, and only do those jobs certain ways. That reputation gets strong enough, eventually you stop getting offered certain jobs... or you start getting refused when you try to take them. Not that they're the cutthroat ones, either, just people that worry about someone going hardass principled on them... y'know, like you probably did when he gave his little speech, yeah?"\n\n... Yeah okay that one's kind of difficult to argue with, considering. "But working for Carmine is different, huh?"\n\n"Carmine gets jobs from just about everybody. Oh sure, there's probably a few particularly nose-in-the-air types out there that wouldn't hire them for fear of their own reputation being sullied, but he does jobs according to what the employer asks of him. Just that he gets a lot more employers who don't care about laying extra strictures on him. More work, and from employers that do a lot less looking over his shoulder and finding excuses to not pay."\n\nSo... yeah, you've got to admit he was right, he does make pretty good arguments. You're not entirely sure you're convinced, but you are listening. "So basically you're offering me the same job, but under Carmine instead, on the idea that it would actually help me get better jobs than working it for Indigo would."\n\n"That about sums it up, yeah. I can take you over to Carmine's headquarters right now, you can get the rundown, and relax in your very own condo apartment tonight before getting started tomorrow."\n\nHuh. Your own apartment? Not just a hotel room? That's... already a considerable trade up. You do have to think about it now... Indigo's certainly spoken of with a lot more reverence than Carmine is, but Carmine's spoken of plenty, and when it comes to being a mercenary... well, is infamous really worse than famous?\n\n<hr>\n[[Accept.|ChiRed1x1]]\n\n[[Decline.|ChiBlu4x1]]

-Update 1-\n*Main: Valerie can accept the job as a [[Mistress|ValNC4x3]].\n*Main: Ireth can say he went with Stacia to [[get her alone|Reth5x1]], or because he wanted to be with her.\n-Update 2-\n*Main: After agreeing to be [[Pulsar's plaything|LeoNova5x2]], Leo can choose the "Roleplay" cabinet.\n* More Reth and Stacia.\n-Update 3-\n* Yup, more Reth and Stacia.

Hey, Slayd's mentioned the name of where he goes to work out a few times... 'Wild Things Gym'. That definitely sounds like it's an anthro-focused place. And while not every gym is a hookup spot... ... well, you can hope, right?\n\nYou look up the address, then clean up and put on some of your less showy clothes... just in case this isn't a hookup gym you don't want to get brushed off immediately because you wore something that was too obvious as prowling for sex. ... You can do that after you get your membership and go shopping for a cute little workout outfit.\n\nTurns out the gym is actually within walking distance, which you're guessing is one of the reasons Slayd spends so much time there. You walk over, quickly spotting the multi-story building... like very multi-story, gotta be at least fifteen floors? Well, figures the gyms here would be as Extra as everything else, especially since it is a really nice neighborhood apparently. You pull open the door and step inside, and are almost instantly pounced (not literally, though it's a very near thing) by a tall, more traditionally-colored tiger woman in a black one-piece workout outfit with black leggings that leave her toes and heels bare, as well as fingerless shoulder-high black gloves, 'STAFF' emblazoned across her very large fuzzy tits.\n\n"Hi, welcome to Wild Things!" she says in an exuberant tone, giving a little hop in place, several things (including her blondish ponytail that's draped forward over her shoulder, looks like she's one of those anthros with a human-like hairstyle) bouncing energetically. "I'm Tammi, were you thinking of becoming a member with us?"\n\n"Eheh, that easy to guess that I'm not?" you say wryly.\n\n"Database," she chirps breezily, tapping beside one of her eyes. \n\n"Fair enough. My name's Riley, and yeah I was kinda thinking about joining," you reply with a nod. \n\n"Great! Let me show you around some of our facilities," she says, turning and setting off, the thong back of her one-piece leaving her large, equally jiggly rear to bounce as she walks.\n\n'Damn girl what workout regimine are you on to leave fat in only the best places?' you think as you follow along after her. You came here in the mood for dick but you've gotta say that Tammi is a visual feast too, and just glancing around you can definitely see lots of very nice-looking anthros, and a couple of other humans, that make you think this was a good choice.\n\n"Now, as you might have noticed from the name and many of our clientelle, Wild Things is a mostly anthro-centric gym," she chirps as she leads you around the first few floors. "So a lot of things like the weights and running machines are aimed at more powerful muscle mass. But don't worry, pretty much everything has human-safe settings too! We have multiple pools, hot tubs both out in the gym and in the locker rooms, saunas, running tracks, and of course classes in aerobics, yoga, and lots of others!" she adds as she gestures to a room where people are in fact doing some delightfully bendy things that give you even more ideas than usual. "Basically all your gym needs, in the highest quality! That's for our entry-level membership, obviously."\n\n"Oh, there are different membership levels?" You're not too surprised, you've heard lots of gyms do stuff like that.\n\n"Yes, the higher floors have more facilities such as our various spas, specialty classes, simulation rooms, several restaurants, and even a body studio, all of which is included in your membership fee! Although I'm afraid you can't just leap right to Platinum level," she says sheepishly, tail giving a few embarrassed lashes as she leads you back to the front desk area. "To make sure that you and the gym are a good fit for each other."\n\n"Get a lot of unhappy customers that paid for top-level membership and then threw a tantrum because they wound up not using it or something?" you ask dryly.\n\n"Something like that," she agrees with a nod, then holds out a thin tablet. "Anyway! We could start you out with our Silver membership, which would give you access to all the facilities I showed you today plus the ones that are listed, and in sixty days you can upgrade to Gold if you meet the requirements and would like to!"\n\nYou start reading over. So yeah, all the decent high-end gym stuff is part of the Silver membership, including a private locker and a certain number of classes you can take free every month. It also lists the requirements for trading up to Gold membership, basically don't be a cock about using the gym, actually show up a couple of times a week, that's really it. And then there are all the standard gym rules, which include-\n\n"'No livestreaming'," you say aloud.\n\n"Yes, we've had some problems involving things like that, so no livestreaming, no photography or video, basically everything like that needs to be shut off before you come in," Tammi says with a nod. "They're really serious about that rule, too, so if you're really into that I can recommend you a more streamer-friendly gym!"\n\nTch. Admittedly you had kind of been hoping you could turn this into a combination satisfaction of your thirst and content generator, but between the two you know what you're picking. Right now, anyway. The Silver level membership isn't even that expensive considering what you're making even for your largely casual streams and collabs with Tass, if you ever feel a particularly strong need for gym-related content you can just ask about one of those streamer-friendly gyms and pick up a second membership. "Nah, I think this is the gym for me," you declare with a grin.\n\n"Great! We just need to do a little paperwork and process it, and you'll be able to start your membership benefits tomorrow!"\n\nTammi lays out another tablet with a stylus and leaves you to fill it out while she apparently goes to inform her boss that she's sold a membership. As you're filling out your personal details, you hear a soft "Pssst!" from off to the side, and glance over. A human woman with thick blue hair pulled back in a ponytail that moves at right angles is trying to wave you over.\n\n<hr>\n[[Might as well see what she wants.|Riley2x4]]\n\n[[Eh, no interest.|Riley]]

... Okay so the moral and ethical implications of using a sleeping straight dude's cock as your sex toy aside, there's a massive amount of pitfalls to doing so when the straight dude is your roommate/friend/coworker's boyfriend. Whimpering softly, you pull the door closed and slump your head, arms dangling as you head back to your room.\n\nA rather angry (and fully private) masturbation session later, you pull your panties back up and sprawl on your own bed, huffing in aggravation. 'I have gotta get dicked down by a buff furry dude,' you think determinedly, frowning at the ceiling. 'Like, just get my ass absolutely destroyed by a guy with a tail.'\n\nBut where to find one? The city's pretty mixed, so you've definitely seen other anthros around. But you can't exactly just wander the streets hoping to bump into one that's 1) toned 2) hung 3) into femboys. ... Like, in your mind, everyone is into femboys deep down in their heart of hearts even if they're in denial about it, but that's just your opinion, man. But nevermind that now, you can't just do this randomly, you need a pickup spot! ... Either that or something more direct...\n\n<hr>\n[[Club.|Riley]]\n\n[[Park.|Riley]]\n\n[[Gym.|Riley2x3]]\n\n[[Personal ad.|Riley]]\n\n[[Escort service.|Riley]]\n\n[[Wait, don't give up!|Riley3x1]]

"So is he into guys? ... And do you share?" you ask, waggling your eyebrows.\n\n"Sorry Boo, while I might be down with sharing, Slayd is strictly into the tits and pussy," Tassita snickers, giving her own boobs a shake. "Shame, too, because the two things he's best at in the world are working out and fucking."\n\n"Damn," you murmur, both in disappointment, envy, and just a bit of being impressed. "Well. Good going you, I guess."\n\n"Very good going me," she answers breezily. "He's a sweetheart but I fully admit the best things about him are his dick, that he's completely uninterested in controlling what I do or where I go, and that he sleeps like the dead so that I can make all the noise I want streaming without disturbing him. Anyway, he's usually just kind of here most of the time, or else he's at the gym. I mean, we've got a great home gym here, but I guess he's gotta show off his work somewhere," she adds as she heads down the hall, gesturing for you to follow. "Let me show you around!"\n\nAnd so over the next few weeks you get settled in, brush up on Tassita's streams so you know what to expect, and do a few simple ones as her costreamer. They're pretty simple ones, really, largely just easing you in to the idea that large numbers of people are watching either through the camera drone now near-constantly following you around or through your new implants. Stuff like going out to eat at interesting restaurants, helping Tassita unbox some of her gifts (from both viewers and companies hoping to get promoted), stuff like that. You even do a couple of similarly simple streams of your own... including at least one that's just you trying on some lingerie and then jerking off in front of the mirror. Hey, it's simple but it does numbers! Gotta make sure everyone knows they can expect a bit of shameless lewdity here and there on your channel as well as Tass's. \n\nAnd alas, for all that time, Slayd continues to (unintentionally, you're pretty sure) tease you with just how fucking hot he is. In the entire time you're there, you're pretty sure you've never seen him wear an actual shirt. Sometimes he's wearing a jacket when he comes in from outside, but even then it's unzipped to show off those amazing pecs and abs. (Even more amazing that they show so well through fur.) He also seems to be highly adverse to underwear (though you've seen jocks left draped in the home gym so you guess he wears them while working out but then immediately strips out of them when he's done fuuuuuck), because his usual wear is either loose lounge pants that show off his size and how he sways, or mildly snug shorts that give him a fantastic bulge. \n\nIn any event, after you've largely gotten used to the apartment, the area, and the streaming, Tassita announces that she'll be gone for about a week to do an extended collab with another popular streamer. "Besides, this'll give you some time to do some more solo streams," she chirps. "Now that you're set up with a home beacon and a pass for the portal annex, you can get more adventurous with your streaming too. It's a good opportunity for both of us, since showing some friendship with this other streamer will help raise my profile."\n\n"And help you start cross-sharing simps," you say with a snicker. "Besides, we both know you're really gonna spend the whole week subtly competing with each other and trying to beat one another's score at both donos and guys fucked."\n\n"Hey, that's not true," Tassita says with a pout. "We'll also probably spend the week hatefucking each other. Anyway, my luggage is already sent over so I'm outta here. Babe! I'm leaving!" she calls down the hall.\n\n"Just a sec!" comes the answering yell.\n\n"Oh fucking hell," you breathe, actually biting your lower lip a bit as Slayd comes down the hall at his natural walking gait, a swagger, while rubbing at the slightly mussed fur of his head with a towel. Apparently this time he was in a hurry to say goodbye because he didn't bother switching to lounge pants and is still just wearing a very snug black jock-style thing, one which shows off the outline of both his shaft and balls with very little left to the imagination.\n\n'Well I guess that answers whether he's a "sheath" type or whatever,' you think as you watch Slayd kiss Tass goodbye. Well, really it's more like a few minutes of tongue-fucking each other's mouths while squeezing one another's asses, while you try not to stare at his bulge in that tight, thin black fabric and resist the urge to edge around to get a better look at his butt beneath his swaying tail. \n\nEventually Tass pulls back, smiling and very blatantly fondling Slayd's balls through his jock as she coos at him, "Don't fuck too many other girls while I'm gone, hon, I want these to be nice and full when I get back." Then she gives you a cheerful wave before turning and trotting out the door, pausing only briefly to tug her skirt out of her panties and back down over them.\n\n"Welp, think I'm gonna grab a nap then, bro," Slayd announces breezily while giving a luxurious stretch, as if it were genuinely no nevermind that he just had a whole heavy petting session right in front of you. "I was actually giving myself a nice push in there and now I'm crashing, so later."\n\n"Yeah, 'kay," you answer a bit distractedly, which is kind of funny since the distraction is him. Just as shamelessly he turns around and swaggers off towards his and Tass's room, and you bite your lower lip as you watch his perfect furry bare ass flex with his motions, the swish of his tail practically demanding you look.\n\n'Fuuuuucking hell he has a perfect ass too, Tassita you lucky bitch,' you groan internally, reaching down to adjust your hardon through your jeans slightly, lest you slip out of your panties. 'That is just not fair. Why can't everyone be bisexual? ... And slutty. ... I am like two days of horny away from becoming a fucking magitech-based supervillain whose goal is to turn everyone bi and slutty.' ... Actually that's kind of a fun idea for a stream, you think, suddenly setting off to your room to get out the little book you use for writing down ideas. Supervillain roleplay streams, the nerdy viewers (which is most of them) will love it.\n\nYou emerge from your room a few minutes later, briefly confused about what you'd been doing. ... Oh, right, thirsting after your best friend's boyfriend. You glance across the hall, and can't help but notice that the door's open a little bit. You slowly glance back and forth, then pad on your stockinged feet over, carefully pushing the door open a bit more and peeking your head in. "Fucking hell," you blurt, albeit just managing to keep it to a whisper.\n\nSlayd has flumped down in pretty much the exact center of his and Tass's massive bed, his arms splayed out to the sides and legs lightly spread, certainly wide enough to show off his large, snowy-furred balls to full effect. Turns out that he does have a sheath, just a sort of vestigial one right around the base of his cock. Said cock is ink black and currently flopped across his belly, showing off its length and thickness even in its almost entirely flaccid state (clearly even asleep he's still a little roused by Tass's goodbye attentions). It seems pretty much entirely human in shape, maybe with a slightly more slender, less flared head, not just long but with a nice girth, but down a bit above the sheath opening are a pair of bulges, slightly separated in the middle but-\n\n'Goddammit it's got a knot too?! Tass you lucky bitch!' you seethe softly, grinding your teeth just a little and wiggling your ass a bit in the air. Fuck fuck fuck fuck, you want that cock so bad, you want that cock so bad, you want it inside you soooo bad goddammit goddammit goddammiiiiit!\n\n... Hey, didn't Tassita say he slept like the dead? A thought percolates in your head, and after a second you rummage in one of your pockets and take out a little bouncy ball you got from the freebie jar at one of the cutesy gimmick stores you and Tassita visited on a stream. Taking a moment to cast a minor seeking spell on it to make sure of your aim, you toss it across the room, preparing to duck back quickly. But though the ball strikes directly and firmly on one of Slayd's footsoles, the closest thing to a reaction is his tail twitching the tiniest bit. His breathing doesn't even hitch. ....... you could totally get away with it, that cock is right there and basically yours for the taking...\n\n<hr>\n[[Do it!|Riley]]\n\n[[No are you crazy?|Riley2x2]]

Okay, you admit that the fantasy nerd in you just can't resist the idea of wielding a genuine mythril weapon, even if you're not exactly the sort for combat. Besides the potential for it to grow in power over time definitely seems like something you'd want to study... what if you could replicate the effects (likely to a lesser extent) with other enchantments to allow them to 'grow'? It just seems like a wise investment. Also eeeee mythril weapon!\n\nStill, you clear your mind and focus as you read over the process carefully several times. Apparently virtually any weapon will do as long as the amount of mythril is appropriate to its size, and turns out the tiny amount you have is more than enough for the knife you're using which has a six and a half inch blade. Apparently the mythril spreads itself out into an extremely fine coating using the rest of the materials you add to it... you have a feeling that if your tome didn't phrase things in slightly archaic and grandiose fashion at times, the term "molecular" might fit, but with Moonforged mythril that's plenty. It's not like your ritual knife was some twenty dollar wallhanger anyway, it's a utility tool for you after all, but with this you might actually, literally be able to cut through a tank. Pity you don't have a katana laying around.\n\n... Anymore.\n\nThere are a number of other metals to prepare and melt before even adding the wire, letting it all bubble and pool together as you etch the necessary guiding lines on the blade in special pastel. (Can't use chalk for everything, after all.) Casting a few last sprinkles of herbs into the crucible and inhaling the smoke that wafts up (and, through long practice, force yourself to use your body's reaction to focus your energy instead of coughing it right back out), you dip the tip of the knife into the molten metal. You try your best to stay calm and keep up the steady balance of energy flowing through you and into the blade as the glowing red liquid slowly creeps up along the knife, partly following the designs you drew but overall covering it, and steadily getting closer and closer to your fingers. You can't let yourself relax when it stops at the hilt like it should, but you do admit to feeling relieved. You carefully lift the glowing hot blade up and bring it close to your face, exhaling the lungful of air you've been holding and watching the bright orange instantly cool to a bright, mirror-like sheen that still oddly doesn't actually reflect anything but the light. 'Wow... even for someone used to magic, that's a little creepy,' you think, waving your other hand back and forth in front of the blade and seeing nothing but the impression of its shadow move across a surface that looks highly reflective but acts absolutely flat. 'Like it came right out of an old video game except it's real and in my hand.'\n\n"Pity, I'd hoped to stop you before you made use of it."\n\nYou wheel around, reflexivly bringing the knife up, less out of any training and more of an instinctual 'holy shit someone snuck up on me glad I'm armed'. Standing just inside the doorway of your room is a woman with short, pale hair, brushed back on one side... very clearly showing her pointed ears. The faint ghost of a contemptuous smirk is on her lips as she shifts the curved sword in her hand as if getting ready to launch into a long, sweeping cut at any moment, her black clothes highlighting her slender body and in the sort of style and cut that says 'I'm so beyond petty mortal restrictions I can wear whatever I think looks good to kill people in'.\n\n<img src="images/Honniel.jpg">\n\n"What a shame... I'll compliment you on the job you did with the ritual, it's about as competent as could possibly be expected for a human. But such an ugly humanesque blade to use... maybe I'll give it to one of my friends as a gag gift." The ghost of a smirk strengthens into more of a spectre as she raises her free hand, a faint almost-glow dancing above the palm as she readies the energy for a spell but doesn't yet form it. "Drop it and step back and this doesn't have to be unnecessarily messy."\n\n'Wow she sucks at negotiating,' you think flatly. She couldn't even promise you a quick and clean death, she had to imply that no matter what it would in fact be messy. From the rate she's gathering energy and the way she's preparing for a fairly lazy-seeming attack, she's not taking you seriously, so you've at least got time to prepare and try one method of getting out of this alive...\n\n<hr>\n[[Try to block the spell.|ValNA3x2]]\n\n[[Try to block the sword.|ValNA]]\n\n[[Stab a bitch.|ValNA]]\n\n[[Channel a spell through the knife.|ValNA4x1]]\n\n[[Drop it.|ValSlaveStart]]

Really? You're into pretty much everything. Luckily it looks like they have quite a few variants of wristbands that are red and blue on the ends with a stripe of purple in the middle. Very convenient not having to wear three! You do go ahead and get two, though, so you can be symmetrical. \n\nNow, the big question... baggy socks or no baggy socks?\n\n<hr>\n[[Probably best to skip those.|Riley]]\n\n[[Bag-gy socks! Bag-gy socks!|Riley]]

You're pretty sure they're no slouches at combat, but everything you've heard about elves says they're absolutely deadly spellcasters. You could maybe theoretically avoid her physical attacks long enough to get off an attack spell of your own, but not if she hits you with a 'turn inside-out' spell or something first. So as she coalesces the energy and starts to move her hand to cast, you shift a bit towards that direction and bring the knife up. A flicker of purple light streaks through the air, and as it does you lash out with your newly shiny knife even as you're throwing yourself along that side, hopefully further away from the followup slash with her sword. The edge of the blade catches the flicker of energy and... draws it in? Though at the same time it's just sort of gone wherever it's made contact, a strange sort of pulling-vanishing simultaneously that you try not to focus on as you instead back up further, once more pointing at the elf with your knife.\n\nBut it looks like that followup slash isn't coming. The elf is instead staring at you with poorly-disguised horror on her face, lips parted a bit, the sword's angle having shifted to show that her fingers have gone slack. She quickly clenches it again, obviously trying to rally herself, but there's just a faint tremor in her voice as she says, "Human, you don't want that anymore, put it down."\n\n'What?' You dare to flick your eyes ever-so-briefly to the knife, and notice it's no longer so shiny... indeed it's gone flat black, and is still just as lacking in actually reflecting anything. It's got just as much of a sense of being a strange, low-rendered video game model suddenly brought into reality as before, but you have to admit going from silver to inky black after absorbing a spell is a taaad ominous.\n\n"Alright, listen, let's take things back a few steps, alright?" the elf continues. She sounds calmer now, but it's fairly obvious she's spooked... especially since she very slowly brings her arms down and slides her sword back into its sheath behind her. "That thing is dangerous for everyone involved now, and you really don't want it. Let's get rid of it together, that would be the responsible thing."\n\n"Why?" You narrow your eyes slightly. "What is it?"\n\nShe visibly hesitates and winces a little. "... I'd rather not say." At your 'really?' expression she shakes her head a little. "I don't want you to make any rash decisions, is all. I promise you, if you help me get rid of it, no harm will come to you or anyone else, I'll just leave."\n\n"Oh like I'd really believe that," you say with a derisive snort. "Elves are famed for a lot of things but 'absolute honesty' isn't one of them."\n\nShe hesitates again... then says, "I'll swear a Peacebonding Oath to you."\n\n... Whoa. Now that might do it, and if she's willing to do that it must be very serious. Peacebonding Oaths are magically enforced peace treaties between individuals, in essence... she would probably be physically unable to harm you or try to cause harm to come to you after that. ... But then there's nothing to say she's not just lying about making the oath with you to get you to lower your guard.\n\n<hr>\n[[She's telling the truth, work with her.|ValNA]]\n\n[[She's lying, and she's got her own guard down!|ValNA]]

You go for what you think should be about right for a kid your age, aiming for something that seems a little less impressive than Amestra's. You create some fire above your cupped hands and then have it dance about as you go through some casting motions, stretching it out into a line a few times, keeping it up for a few minutes before balling it back up and flinging it at one of the stage posts sticking up. It's a fairly small and weak fireball so it does little more than leave a scorch mark, but the sudden round of wild applause and cheers does tell you that maybe you overshot your intention a little.\n\nOver the next few months as the townspeople start treating you like a minor celebrity, you realize your error: you measured Amestra as being average for a kid your age. But she's the daughter of a wealthy Lord whose lineage includes adventurers and even Companions... obviously she'd be exceptional in every way, with the finest tutors and trainers available in the region as well as the natural talents gifted to her by her bloodline. At least you made sure to undershoot her and not overshoot her, that could have been disastrous. As it is, you're just getting more attention than you really planned on, with the whole town seeming to assume that you're a shoo-in for one of the generation's top adventurers.\n\n'Oh well,' you think as you walk along the road between town and your family's small homestead several months later. 'Mother's happy, Father's ecstatic, and Stacia's... Stacia. And it's not so bad being adored by the townsfolk... definitely better than them constantly eyeing my hair or being suspicious of my talent.'\n\n"Why hello there Reth!" calls a voice.\n\n"Hm?" You look over to see one of your 'neighbors', in that her family's farm is relatively near your family's land. More precisely she's the landowner's daughter, Linze, about seventeen and very fair... with pale brown hair, an ample busom, and round hips that seem designed to urge her eventual husband to father many, many children with her, even her simple farmgirl clothing can't really hide her comeliness, especially since she's shortened the skirt and brought it in a bit to show off said hips and her rear, as well as a bit of her legs. "Oh, hello, Linze," you reply evenly, having long ago learned to keep any lust off your young boy's face. (There was a time you practiced to make even your leers look handsome and alluring, which you could do by picking out how beautiful your face was, not as much an option now.)\n\n"Reth, I was just coming back from getting some water from the well to carry to the barn. Since you're so good with magic, maybe you could come with me and conjure some more water? Save me some trips?" she asks in a cheerful tone, eyes twinkling as she inclines her head slightly, hair swaying around her shoulders.\n\n... Hm, your mind wants to run away with that a bit... no, surely not. And if not, you aren't so keen on being used as the magical equivalent of a water spigot. You've got a perfectly good excuse in that you can say your mother asked you to come straight home from your errand in town... of course in actuality Karina would be delighted that you were being helpful to the neighbors, so you guess either way is probably fine.\n\n<hr>\n[[Help her out.|Reth3x2]]\n\n[[Get home.|Reth]]

"Alright, sure," you answer, making her smile even more brightly in response. In truth, you're actually a lot more physically capable than you look too... you could probably carry the bucket for her fairly easily, but since she didn't ask you don't offer. (You've already made enough of a spectacle out of yourself, no need to go turning into the Kid Strongman too.) You follow after her as she leads the way across to the barn, which is fairly well away from everything else... the farm is one of the larger ones after all. You briefly appreciate the sight of her round ass under her dress as she bends to start pouring water in one of the animal troughs, before turning to fill some of the other troughs and barrels using your magic. Ah... your generals would either be slack-jawed or uproariously laughing, to see their Maou helping out some farmgirl with the watering, but you guess little things like this are fine. Occasionally.\n\n"Thank you so much, Reth," Linze coos as you finish filling one of the water barrels and turns back towards her. She unties the sturdy apron she was wearing over her blouse and dress, hanging it on a nearby hook before turning back to you, eyes twinkling with delight. "That's so thoughtful of you, going the extra mile! You know, to thank you for your help, why don't I teach you a special fun new game that I bet you'd enjoy playing?"\n\nAh? Ah, is she seriously going to...? Hurriedly plastering a childlike look of naive curiosity on your face, you ask, "Oh? What sort of game is that, Linze?"\n\n"It's kind of a secret game," she adds, winking as she puts a finger across her lips, then reaches behind herself, hands moving at the level of her waist... and a few short seconds later her skirt drops to the packed earth floor of the barn. Her blouse isn't quite long enough to fall and cover her crotch, leaving her soft, dark blonde curls visible... extra wicked girl, going around without any panties! You resist the urge to lick your lips as she slowly unbuttons her blouse. "But it's a looot of fun!"\n\nYou let yourself look shocked, which doesn't take too much acting, but for the moment keep up the innocent act... it certainly seems to be doing it for her, after all, to judge by how stiff her nipples are as she slides the blouse off her shoulder. "Wow, is it a really messy game, and that's why you're taking off your clothes?"\n\nYou can see her give a faint shiver of delight at the question, though her sultry smile stays firmly in place as she winks at you. "It can be. Would you like to play?"\n\n<hr>\n[["Uh-huh~!"|Reth]]\n\n[["... Nah."|Reth]]

This sounds like the sort of thing you can take care of. Calling up the number on the note, you wait for the pickup and somewhat dubious 'Hello?' on the other end. "Yeah, it's Valerie. You bought me fries?"\n\n"Oh. Yes, well... yes, thank you."\n\n"Would you care to meet up and tell me about your problem?"\n\n"I suppose so. The low brick wall out in front of the arts building?"\n\n"I know it well. See you there in about five minutes."\n\nWhen you stroll up towards the building where you spend a lot of your own classtime, one of the first thoughts you're struck with is 'Yeah, no wonder the guy doesn't want to go.' Maybe it's not fair to think it because you haven't even met him, if it was indeed the dumped boyfriend who wrote the other note, but just from your immediate impression this girl is waaay out of his league. She's pretty much gorgeous, long lustrous brown hair clearly cut at a way nicer salon than you'd ever consider, gorgeous face done artfully with what's probably expensive makeup, clear brown eyes. She's wearing a somewhat baggy yellow sweater-dress that still shows off decently large breasts, and is even more daring downstairs, showing a lot of slender, smooth leg right up to the lower curve of her rear, daring anyone to guess whether she's wearing anything but perhaps panties under the sweater. Designer boots, matching designer black leather backpack, yeah, this isn't someone who will have trouble paying for your services, you're fairly sure. \n\n<img src="images/Luna.png">\n\nStopping beside her, you say, "Luna, right?" and hold up the note she left earlier with the box of fries.\n\nShe blinks and looks up from her phone, which she'd been staring at with a pensive expression. "Oh? Oh, yes, you're the... um, the person that's supposed to be able to help with problems like mine, right?"\n\n"You can just say 'witch', if you want," you reply dryly as you take a seat next to her, resting your bag on the wall. "I don't exactly put out a big neon sign declaring it, but no one's going to care much if they overhear us say it like this."\n\n"Right," she murmurs, glancing at her phone once more before tucking it away. Obviously not quite a true believer, but that's about standard... you get a lot of people who are getting into the 'try anything' stage despite being nonbelievers.\n\n"So what's this guy doing, anyway?" you ask, deciding to start at the more extreme end to gauge her reaction. "Is he being violent, making threats, stalking you?"\n\n"No!" Luna immediately blurts, looking briefly horrified, fingertips flinging to her mouth. "Kyle would never do that!" Then she winces as if realizing that her reaction might be a little much for someone who's trying to lose a troublesome ex. "I mean, no, it's not that sort of problem. I don't think I'd call it 'stalking', really, he just seems to be having way too much trouble realizing it's over. I mean, I told him I thought maybe the romantic part of our relationship wasn't really working, and maybe we should just go back to being friends. But he's still sending me things like... well, look." She draws her cellphone out again and clicks the screen on, showing you the lockscreen display of text messages.\n\nYou lean in and read aloud. "'Hey, how's your day going?'" You straighten up and shrug. "Seems friendly enough."\n\n"But I know how he means it," she mutters, glancing at the phone.\n\nTrue, between, well, most relationships where someone says 'let's be friends' and the other note you got, you'd have to figure this is more him trying to wait her out to see if he's actually dumped or if they're On A Break. "Okay, but just so I understand the situation, why'd you end it with him in the first place?"\n\nShe purses her lips. "I don't need a reason not to date someone."\n\n"No, you don't, but it sounds like you guys started as friends first and then started going out. For awhile?" At her hesitant nod, you continue, "So probably a couple of years at least. Usually when a relationship like that ends there's a reason, it's not just because."\n\n"... Well." Luna sighs a little, obviously gathering herself. "The thing is, when I came to college, I really decided that I was going to pursue my passions. Not just my classes and interests, but I was going to really grab life by both horns, I was going to go after everything about myself as strong as I could!" she declares, obviously getting a little passionate in the telling. "I looked at everything I'd just said 'good enough' with before and decided no, it wasn't good enough, it could be better! And I felt so good about myself, you know?" she continues, putting a hand to her chest and giving you a warm smile.\n\nThen she sighs and shakes her head. "And Kyle was... I mean, I guess it's not like he hated it, but I don't know that I'd call him supportive. And after an entire year in college, he was still just... my high school boyfriend, you know? But high school was over... and so was our relationship, it was just up to me to tell him," she finishes, unable to keep the sadness out of her voice.\n\nSo yeah, you get it. Luna came to college and made a whole new her, but realized she had the same old boyfriend. You're not certain it's the best reason in the world to end a multi-year relationship, but it's far, far from the worst. "Yeah, I hear you."\n\n"So I'd like to just move on, but he won't," Luna mutters with another pout. "Every time he messages me or bumps into me somewhere, I'm reminded that he's still hoping we'll get back together. It's not even that it sucks just for me, it sucks for him too. How's he going to feel when he 'randomly' bumps into me while I'm on a date or something?"\n\nHm, yeah, you'd have to agree with her that resolving the issue before then is definitely preferable. You can tell she's still a little uncertain about hiring you, so you should say something to put her at ease.\n\n<hr>\n[["Don't worry, we'll figure this out together." (Work with her.)|ValJobs]]\n\n[["Leave it to me, I'll handle it." (Do it yourself.)|ValJobs]]\n\n[["You're in good hands now, Luna. ♥" (Toy with her.)|ValJobs]]

"Oh, sure, what's up?" you ask with a blink, seriousing up a little and setting your drink down.\n\nStarielle starts to open her mouth, pauses, then smiles and offers her hand. "Why don't we go upstairs?" She leans in and adds in a whisper, "Don't worry, I won't charge you if we don't wind up doing anything."\n\n... Yeah you're not really gonna argue with that. You accept her hand, trying to keep your grin from turning too silly and happy as she draws you along with her towards the stairs, giving you quite the amazing view as she walks up ahead of you, her full, round ass as completely on display as the brown elf outside's. She shows you the way to a room, and... yeah it really is pretty nice, you think, glancing around. A lot better than some of the rooms you've stayed in on worlds like this before, including a larger and comfier bed... part of you winces a little at the hit to your finances this stay might wind up being, but Starielle is sitting on the side of the bed and watching you expectantly so you walk over and settle down beside her.\n\n"The organization you're with... the Guild, is that what it's called?" she asks, her expression now serious as well.\n\n"Yeah, the Guild of Interdimensional Professionals, Specialists, and Enforcers. GIPSE for short, but you're right, pretty much everyone calls it the Guild," you answer with a nod. You pause, then gesture at your jacket. "By the way, mind if I?"\n\n"Oh, I'm sorry, please, get comfortable." She watches as you unzip your jacket and start wiggling out of it, then laughs. "I really am sorry... it's not often I bring someone to a room and forget that we're supposed to undress."\n\n"Nah, it's just warm in here, it's fine." You give her a grin again, casually shifting in place in hopes of settling your growing hardon. "But yeah, the Guild, they're... well, it's not quite right to say they're who I work for, but I work pretty much exclusively through them."\n\n"I see." Starielle nods once. "There must be a number of benefits."\n\n"Yeah, aside from being able to take jobs and travel to them, the biggest one is probably access to the Guildhall," you acknowledge. "It has a ton of services, provided either by the Guild itself or third parties who operate there, they have cheap housing for Guild members... I mean, even if it's nowhere as nice as this," you add, glancing around and grinning a bit ruefully. "Ah, cheap food, lots of other stuff."\n\nThen you blush as Starielle leans in closer, her gaze more intense now as she asks, "And how does one join?"\n\n"Ah, well, I mean... besides knowing about them, you have to either be able to contact them or be introduced, take a test to prove you have at least some basic combat abilities and preferably other skills, enough money for three months' dues up front, plus money to buy at least one of what we call a 'beacon' and proof you have enough for four uses of the portals. I mean, there's other ways, but that's the usual one."\n\n"I see, I see," she murmurs to herself, cupping her chin and gazing towards the floor.\n\n"Uh, are you... thinking of joining the Guild?" you ask, unable to keep the dubious tone out of your voice.\n\nShe looks back at you and smiles wryly again. "I actually used to be a soldier, before circumstances required me to make this my profession." She hesitates, as if waiting for you to ask, but her smile turns rather grateful when you just nod in acknowledgement. "My circumstances have made it virtually impossible to resume anything resembling a martial profession... I've been having difficulty even finding an expedition heading for unexplored regions that would accept me. But if this Guild goes to many other worlds... then yes, that would be ideal. I'm very much interested in joining." She hesitates only briefly, before leaning in again. "Sir..."\n\n"Leo," you provide, blushing some again.\n\n"Si-... ah, just Leo," she amends, apparently having picked it up in your face, her smile growing. "Leo, could you help me join the Guild?"\n\nYou hesitate a little. You actually have a spare emergency beacon and a guest pass in your jacket... pretty much any way to send her to the Guildhall (other than just telling her how she could contact them herself) would require the use of the guest pass, which automatically 'tears' it in the system and then buys you a fresh one, since a merc at your ranking is required to have at least one on every mission. They're not cheap... neither are the emergency beacons, which you'd also lose if you just gave them both to her, which would be the method that would give her the most freedom (and admittedly you the least accountability). You could just take her there yourself and show her the ropes, but then that's sort of attaching her to you at least a little bit, her reputation and yours would become linked to a certain extent. Or you could assume the fullest responsibility you could... you could effectively take her as an apprentice, giving her the easiest path to full membership while also making sure that she doesn't stumble too badly along the way. And, well... if she really is a competent fighter already, it's not like it'd be too terrible to have a pretty elf woman accompanying you on your missions.\n\nOf course, a very insistent part of your anatomy has to get its bit in... c'mon, you're here in a brothel inn room with a hot, barely-dressed elf, she's basically telling you that she'll do anything for that guest pass, why not make use of that before taking her along with you in the morning?\n\n<hr>\n[[Tell her a contact method.|LeoAma]]\n\n[[Just give her the beacon and pass.|LeoAma]]\n\n[[Take her to the Guildhall with you.|LeoAma]]\n\n[[Take her as an apprentice.|LeoAma2x3]]\n\n[[Trade the pass for a night of wild sex.|LeoSon1x1]]

"Okay, so... there's a way of getting you Guild membership that lets you skip most of that," you say slowly, squirming a little at the way Starielle's eyes light up. God she's pretty. "If you're the servant of a Guild mercenary and go with them on jobs, really quickly you can earn an 'attached license'... and it's a lot easier to get an attached license promoted to a full one after awhile."\n\n"Like an apprenticeship?" At your nod, she looks thoughtful, before smiling brightly. "Are you suggesting we do that? You'd do that for me?"\n\n"I mean, having some help would let me take even bigger missions and let me bump up my rank, so it'd be good for me too," you allow, before asking, "Do you know what a contract of indenture is?"\n\nShe frowns thoughtfully for a moment. "I think so. It's sort of like... becoming a slave, but only temporarily?"\n\nYou wince a little. "Ah, yeah, I guess it kinda is, though I'd rather not think of it quite like that. Thing is, it's a solid way to show that you're... well, my servant, I guess, but the Guild wants at least something like that."\n\n"I see, I think, it's so that two people don't just go up and register someone as a servant to get one of these 'attached licenses' but in actuality they don't work together at all."\n\n"Pretty much. If we did a two year contract... and put in that you could buy out for a small amount after a year, if you wanted to... that should be enough to get you an attached license almost immediately."\n\n"I see, I see." Starielle looks thoughtful again, before asking, "May I have a little time to think about this?"\n\n"Sure. I could even come back in a day or two if you'd rather..."\n\n"No, I certainly won't need that long," she says quickly, grinning ruefully and shaking her head. "More like just a few minutes. I just want to think it all over and make sure this is what I want to do. If I leave here I'm probably not coming back to the world of my birth again, after all."\n\n"Ah... yeah, I can see how that'd be rough." You nod slowly. "Take your time."\n\nYou watch her clearly considering the angles, blue eyes narrowed slightly as she looks down at the floor, and you try not to focus too much on her beautiful body and how this is certainly not what you expected to be doing with her when she walked up to your table and flashed her panties at you. But finally she looks up at you and nods. "Yes, I would very much appreciate such an arrangement. I'll be forever grateful. When do we leave?"\n\nYou grin. "We can right now, if you want. Want to get your stuff together?"\n\n"Yes!" She smiles brightly and throws her arms around you, and you try not to do any stupid laughing at the feel of her tits against you because oh lord they are amazing. Starielle stands up and says, "I'll be right back, five minutes at most," she says before hurrying up, flashing her nearly bare ass at you again.\n\nYou sigh, flumping back on the bed. What are you dooooing? Oh well, you always wanted to start building a Mercenary Company eventually, guess this is one way to do it. Well, assuming she wants to stick around once she gets her full license.\n\nA bit under five minutes later, which you do feel speaks well to her organizational abilities, Starielle walks back in, now wearing a green silk tunic... ah, it's really more of a tabard, the flaps belted together at the waist and therefore showing off a generous amount of both hip and sideboob... and boots, carrying a squarish bound-up package in one hand and a less even but not much larger bag in the other. She's also got your sword and rifle slung over her back, you note with relief as you get up, pulling your jacket back on. "Alright, I'm ready."\n\n"Okay," you answer, stepping up, then giving her a grin as you step in and slip an arm around her middle. "Pardon, gotta be in close contact if we both want to get on one ride." Fishing your beacon out of your pocket with your other hand, you hit the button to activate the transfer. You both wind up stumbling more than is strictly dignified coming out of the portal, but oh well, not much way to avoid that. You almost immediately see a Guild-armored guard coming towards you, but you hold up a hand. "This is a new servant I picked up, we're on our way to the contract office to do the contract of indenture."\n\nThe guard's helmeted head nods, and they follow along after you as you head for the level above the job desks. Less than an hour later you and Starielle are walking back out, her looking at her copy of the contract. "That's it?"\n\n"That's it," you agree with a nod. "Contracts of indenture don't require slave chips or anything like that... they're considered 100% voluntary on both parts. I mean, if someone breaks it and runs off, they can be found in breach of contract and depending on the ruling of the person that officiated the contract... the Guild in this case... can be forced to serve it out, maybe even with some extra, but I don't figure we need to worry about that, huh?"\n\n"No, I don't think so," she says agreeably as she folds the paper up and tucks it into the bundle that apparently contains her physical effects. After that the two of you head to get her the necessary medical checkup, which she passes with flying colors, though the medtech does inform you that the small magical tattoo that Starielle was apparently using for birth control is 'not compatible' with Guild tech, so you pay a small amount to have it removed and for Starielle to get a more standard implant, the blonde elf woman looking a bit sheepish as she follows the tech into the private room. Unfortunately one of the other medtechs badgers you into getting your own checkup while you're there, which already feels exhausting even before you have to do the stand, turn, blink, stare into this, get prodded, to the point that by the time Starielle and the female tech emerge, you're bordering on grumpy. At least your new companion's smile is a bit mentally refreshing.\n\nYou're starting to feel the day wear on you though, so deciding to finish the little details of getting your last job wrapped up after you catch some sleep you sort of autopilot yourself back to your apartment. It's not until you actually open the door to the small interior that doesn't have a lot more room than for the single bed and chair with small terminal station that you actually remember you've got an elf following you around. "Ah, right, so... this is pretty much home, like, for now," you admit, stepping back to let her go in first. "There's a refresher room every fourth door, that's got all the basic facilities you need, worst case scenario you might have to walk a ways down the hall but since everyone's usually working and here at different times that's pretty rare."\n\n"I've certainly slept in worse places," Starielle says brightly, setting her things on the built-in footlocker at the foot of the bed and then bending over to smooth out the sheets a bit, leaving you to blush and glance away as she displays the little white panties hugging up against her pussylips.\n\n"Yeah, yeah... ah, why don't you go ahead and grab some sleep, then," you say, starting to turn.\n\n"Hm?" Starielle stands and turns, looking confused. "What about you?"\n\n"I've got some things to take care of, and then I can just kick around for awhile."\n\n"You seem rather tired though, Leo, if you don't mind my saying," Starielle notes, frowning just a bit. "It's probably not my place to say, but I think we should go to bed."\n\n"... 'We'?" You blink, pointing at her and yourself, then towards the bed. "... We go?"\n\n"... Yes?" She blinks... then you actually see her blush. "Oh, um, I just sort of... assumed... that was going to be the situation, that during my apprenticeship we'd... I'm sorry, I assumed, did you actually not want-"\n\n<hr>\n[[You should keep it professional.|LeoAma]]\n\n[[Well... if she wants to.|LeoAma]]\n\n[[... This deal just got considerably better.|LeoAma]]

You tilt your staff towards her in what you hope is a subtle way, and whisper "Befuddle" under your breath.\n\nShe sort of stumbles just a little, as if her toe had caught on something, and whips back around to face you, a look of shock and outrage much greater than before on her face as she opens her mouth. Then her lips sort of go slack, her jaw relaxing before she closes her mouth gently as her eyes glaze over. You can see those little glowing question marks rising from her head and almost 'popping', and for a moment you're worried someone else might spot them. But a glance around shows that no one is giving her a second glance after her initial stumble... apparently those really are only visibile to you.\n\n"I..." she starts, frowning faintly again, though this time more thoughtfully than angrily. "I... I was doing something, wasn't I...?" she murmurs in a vague tone, glancing around rather dully as if looking for a clue as to her original purpose.\n\n<hr>\n[["You were apologizing to me."|Raz]]\n\n[["You were taking me upstairs."|Raz]]\n\n[["You were getting rid of those clothes."|Raz]]

"I'm sorry, Princess, while I wish I could stay, I've got some matters to attend to back at the Guildhall." Which is kinda-sorta bullshit... your dues get automatically subtracted from your primary Guild account which you made sure has enough in it. But it's a better excuse than 'I don't want to lose out on a ton of money because we fucked'. "I need to get back as soon as I can."\n\n"Ah... I understand." She does indeed look disappointed, but the princess smiles after a moment. "Perhaps we'll meet again."\n\n"I'll look forward to it, Princess." You give her a bow, then depart. You're actually going to go rustle up the caravan leader and tell him you don't need to go all the way back to the Duke... once you're back on the Guildhall, you can contact him from there to confirm the job's done and get paid, without having to take the slow way back to see him face-to-face. It's sliiiightly less professional that way but it means not spending another week here, much of it in a wheeled vehicle with no shock absorbers traveling on an unpaved road.\n\nStill, that doesn't mean you have to leave right away. You can afford at least a few hours to walk around, take a look at things, enjoy the sights both architectural and... biological. ... They're pretty trees! Haha yeah right you're totally peoplewatching, taking a look around at the various different elves and the rarer but still present non-elves... there's enough of them that you don't attract too many glances yourself. It's a really nice place, beautiful, cultured, classy-\n\n"Holy shit," you murmur to yourself, jerking to a halt. "Seriously?"\n\nIn front of one of the more traditional sorts of buildings are a pair of elf women, holding signs written in what's presumably the local language and a few others, one or two of them being close enough to languages you speak for you to make out 'Special Offer!'. From what the girls are calling to passers-by, said special offer is a big discount for first-time customers. As to what sort of customers... that's pretty obvious, too, since both women are gorgeous and wearing different variations on very skimpy... oh let's just say it, slutty... maid uniforms. In fact even as you watch, the tan-skinned of the pair turns to call to one of the other people passing by and shake her sign... and similarly shake her practically bare ass, nothing but a white string protecting any remaining modesty she might have.\n\nSeriously? Seriously? ... Yup, seriously. Drawn as if by gravity, you make your way across the street, both girls cooing and winking at you as you pass through, returning their winks and a roguish grin as you do because fuuuuuuuuuuck they are hot. Inside is something that looks a lot like ye olde taverne if it were trying to be classy but not too classy, and you're quickly approached by a more mature looking elf woman in a full-length, non-sexy maid outfit, her hair even done up in a bun and spectacles on her nose. "Good evening, sir, and welcome to the Blushing Elf Maiden Inn. This is your first time with us, so there will be a discount on all our services and items."\n\n"Oh? You know right away it's my first time?" you ask with a grin, tilting your head.\n\n"I know everyone that has ever been in my establishment, sir, and also have a perfect memory of their preferences and a keen eye for determining them in the first place. As for you..." She glances you up and down, before her lips curl up in a small smile. "No offense, but I can smell the youth on you. This might not be your first time in such a place, but you're hardly an experienced pro at it, are you?" Your blush must answer her all she needs, since that smile grows by the tiniest amount. "No worries, this is a no-pressure establishment. Would you like to spend the night?"\n\nYou're not exactly eager to get back to your closet of an apartment on the Guildhall, so you nod. "Yeah, sure."\n\n"Excellent, you'll enjoy our rooms, they are immaculately clean compared to similar establishments on this world run by humans, I'm sure you'll find. If you like, why don't you have a seat at that table there, I'll have a complimentary drink sent over to you with something else I think you might like. If you decide you do, that is fine, if you would rather have something to drink and eat and retire, that is fine as well."\n\nYou do have to admit this might be the first low-pressure brothel you've visited, you think as you move over to settle at the suggested table, after passing your weapons to the check girl with assurances you'll get them back. (You're not too worried, you locked down the rifle with biometrics before handing it over and it's got a tracker, and you're not too attached to the sword.) You settle in, just taking a look around, though there's not much to be seen at the moment... apparently the girls don't just lounge around on display all the time. You can hear the occasional giggle, moan, or rhythmic thumping from somewhere above, but only faintly... the wood they use must be decently soundproof. You glance aside as someone sets a glass full of amber liquid on the table, then wind up staring.\n\nAdmittedly, when you were picturing 'elf princess' in your mind, Amanielle wasn't quite the exact image you had... if you were really honest, the hair was more golden, longer, and fuller, the ears more slender, the eyes more blue, and... well, frankly, the boobs bigger. This elf girl... elf woman... though, she looks like she stepped directly out of your imaginings back when you took the job. She has all of that and it's all wrapped in a very naughty maid outfit, the white of the top hugging her large breasts and leaving a fairly generous amount of the underside bare. The lower part of the outfit hugs around her middle, turning into something that might be a skirt in the most very technical of definitions, barely coming down over the very top of her curvy hips, and otherwise turning into a frilly white drape over the front in imitation of an apron.\n\n"Hello, sir, welcome," she says in a voice like a beautiful song out of a clear blue sky. "I'm Starielle, and the mistress thought you might like it if I sat with you for a bit. And if you like, perhaps now or a bit later, you'd also like to sample some other wares?" At which, she uses her white-gloved hands to daintily lift up the front of the 'apron', displaying the small string panties tied at the sides that she's wearing.\n\n<img src="images/Starielle.jpg">\n\n"Ah... sure, have a seat," you manage, your brain defaulting to politeness since it's struggling to catch up to the rest of you after that brief stopping of your heart and your breath being taken away.\n\n"Thank you." She curtsies almost as well as Amanielle does, then draws a chair over beside yours and slips into it, giving you another sunny smile. "You're a soldier, yes?"\n\n"Well, sort of... more soldier for hire," you admit, managing to get back on your feet and give her a warm smile now.\n\n"Ah, I see, I see. Actually... would you perhaps be the man from beyond this world that was hired to escort the princess?" Your surprise must show on your face, since she hurries to add, "Rumors spread quickly once soldiers get back to the city. Especially, you know..." Her pretty smile actually turns a bit wry as she lifts her hands to indicate where the two of you are sitting.\n\n"Guess that makes sense." Chuckling a little, you shake your head, then thumb at yourself. "Yup, that's me."\n\n"There was..." Starielle hesitates, then glances over her shoulder before looking back at you and lowering her voice. "There was something I wanted to ask you about. If you don't mind. If you don't want to, I understand, too, of course."\n\n<hr>\n[[No, go ahead.|LeoAma2x2]]\n\n[[Mm, let's keep it professional.|LeoAma]]\n\n[[You're really just here to relax.|LeoAma]]

Hey, pirates are a notoriously rambunctious lot! If you play it too cool, it might come off as suspicious. So when you sit down and a somewhat long-suffering seeming waitress comes over, you order a small assortment of shots of different things that are pretty much standard in dive bars around the multiverse. Big Girl raises a fluffy eyebrow in apparent amusement, but then orders the same for herself, and the waitress bubbles off with a faint sigh that says 'oh boy here we go', but not very loudly.\n\nOf course you can't jump right to business over shots. That's just not done. Shots are for fun so you've gotta have some chat and get friendly with each other first, that's just how things are done, then you'll ease into talking to her about Huwhin much easier. That's the plan, and you're feeling pretty confident about it as the waitress returns and starts setting up the short lines of shot glasses in front of both of you. Big Girl's shots, you notice, are closer to the size of short drinking glasses, but that's probably about right for a genesoldier's enhanced metabolism. You're both on equal ground here, and the plan is sound.\n\nBut as they say, no plan survives the first shot.\n\nSo you start off as expected, just chatting about general things... there's a lot of stuff that's common overlap with mercenaries and pirates and backroom dealers so you don't even have to mind your mouth too much. The bar apparently doesn't water its liquor (too much) so you're already starting to feel a bit warm and relaxed with the first one, and by the time you're having the second one you've decided you like Big Girl. She's warm and direct and laughs a lot and generally already a great drinking partner.\n\nSomehow by the time you order the next round you've already sort of forgotten that you needed to ask her about something. There's a nagging little tickle in the back of your head that you needed to actually talk business with her, not engines and blasters and slamball, but you brush it off without much of a thought. You're making friends! If the two of you are friends, she'll set you up with Huwhin all the easier! Maybe she'll even forgive your little deception, after all that's just how things go.\n\nTowards the end of the second round and the beginning of the third the conversation turns from broader entertainment topics to more lewd ones. In a natural flow, stories about past sexual exploits start coming out... interesting places, interesting partners, wow her tits are huge, hey yours aren't bad, thank you, thank you.\n\nThe last shots of the fourth round go upstairs with you.\n\nThe two of you are sort of theoretically leaning on each other as you wobble up and take the stairs, though obviously you're closer to leaning on Big Girl entirely. All you can do is sort of push on her when she tips and hope she catches herself, which she does. The two of you are giggling like loons, or maybe like horny teenage girls sneaking off to kiss behind the bleachers, though it's obvious to both of you that a lot more than kissing will be happening. (And there might not be any actual kissing.)\n\nYou let the now empty shot glass drop from your fingers and clatter down the stairs behind you as you carefully make the next step up, then swing your now free hand around to rub it over the front of that now even larger bulge in her shorts, giving a giggly little moan as it gives a slight twitch under your fingers. "Holy shit you're big!" you declare shamelessly with another little burst of giggles.\n\nBig Girl just smirks though, leaning down to whisper close to your ear, breath hot and fumey, "It's gonna feel even bigger in your slutty little cunt."\n\nThat just gets another burst of laughter out of you, and a little playground "oooooooo!" that feels amazingly good to say somehow.\n\nBig Girl shoves the door of a room open and the two of you manage to sidle in... it's fairly plain, nicer and larger than a normal hotel room but not quite large enough or nice enough to count as a "suite", probably, not that you can picture this place calling anything it possessed a suite even if it was. You wobble a little as Big Girl snags your coat and gives it a few tugs to peel it off of you, somehow feeling less steady on your feet without it. The bed is, fortunately, close to the door, and you take a step and a half towards it before stumbling a bit. Rather than catching you, Big Girl gives a bit of an extra shove that bends you over the side, arms and legs sprawling. That's incredibly funny to you somehow, so you start laughing again, with her laughing as well as she thuds to her knees behind you and scoots up.\n\nThere's nothing even vaguely resembling foreplay, no feeling-up, no preliminary oral... this is horny drunk fucking, and both of you know it. Big Girl yanks open the button of your shorts and hauls them down to around your thighs, baring your ass and dripping pussy, which you wiggle a bit unconsciously even as she leans in over you. You can feel her reaching back again, rummaging, getting her own shorts undone no doubt, since a moment later you can feel something thick and bulbous poking at your lower lips, before finally nudging up between them. Then she shoves into you, hard, deep, letting out a low grunt of relieved satisfaction as she stuffs her dick into you.\n\nShe's right. It feels a lot bigger in your slutty little cunt.\n\nYou almost instantly cum, and she just as quickly starts fucking you, her prick slamming into you even as your pussy trembles and gushes all around it, soaking the fabric of her shorts and her balls inside them. Your eyes have rolled up and your tongue poked out, your body writhing gently under hers, her tits weighing down on your back as if lightly pinning you. You're being spread much wider and much deeper and being fucked much harder than you ever have before, but through the magic of alcohol and horny combined you're not feeling any discomfort at all from it. It's all pleasure, need, eagerness, your hips reflexively starting to buck back against her.\n\nBig Girl fucks you for a few minutes before abruptly stopping with her cock deeply sheathed inside you. She's huffing and almost growling like an animal above you, breath hot on your hair and your ear. You're not sure why she stopped, but it's pretty quickly answered as she reaches back again, fumbling and twisting for a moment, her cock sliding slightly in and out of you and working around against your inner walls as she gets out of her shorts, her motions making you cum again in the process. She yanks your own shorts down further, to your knees, then slides her hands under you, under your shirt, clawlike thumbnails finding the edges of your skinarmor top and peeling them inward until your own fat tits spill out with it bunched up between them. She cups them in her big hands, barely even squeezing them, apparently just wanting to hold them, be in possession of them. No talking, no explanation, just a brief pause to adjust things a bit better for using your pussy to get herself off.\n\nShe doesn't bother closing the door she left open before she starts fucking you again, though.\n\nYou don't really care either. At this point you'd be fine with it if she carried you downstairs and fucked you on the bar in front of a packed house. You're too drunk and her cock is too big and her simple, bestial fucking is too good. She's not saying or doing anything, she's not even fondling you or stirring you, she's just fucking you, with her big dick pounding deep inside you and her huge balls slapping against you and her heavy udders grinding down on you. She's using you like a hole, and it's satisfying some base, animal need inside you that floated up on the booze to get pounded and claimed and taken.\n\nYou've cum at least seven times before her first, and when she does it's a powerful one for both of you. She lets out a loud grunt and shoves forward hard, and you can feel an absolute flood of hot thickness shooting inside you, instantly filling you, both swelling you up and spilling out around your overstretched entrance, spattering heavily into the shiny black lining of your shorts, smearing over it and pooling in the crotch or dripping out through the leg holes. You make strangled little nonverbal sounds, cumming so hard you see little flashing spots in your vision, twitching and bucking beneath her in time with the powerful twitches and jerks of her cock inside you.\n\nFor a minute or two she just stays there on top of you, propped up on her forearms braced to either side of you, breathing like a bellows, or maybe a horse that galloped hard on its way to studding a mare. Then she pulls out of you, her still entirely hard cock dropping a bit with its own weight, a fresh gush of her cum spilling out of your gaped pussy to fill your shorts below, wobbling and swaying as she briefly straightens up, until she grabs it with one hand and lifts herself a bit.\n\nShe doesn't ask. She doesn't give warning. She just crams her cock into your ass, shoving into you hard, filling up your tight rear hole just as quick and hard as she did your pussy. Your eyes roll again, this time your teeth clenching and your body shaking as she thrusts her fat prick into your pucker and hilts, her balls giving a firm slap against your thoroughly messed-up pussy. And she doesn't waste any time before starting to fuck you again either, power-pounding your tight little ass, which is getting less and less tight by the moment as she stretches and molds it around her. One of her hands shoves back under you as she leans down on top of you again, once more possessively grabbing one of your tits, holding it and owning it, but this time the other curls under your neck, around your throat, tightening just a bit, making you gasp in shock before your breath starts growing a bit short.\n\nYou realize that right now she wouldn't stop fucking you even if you asked her to. Even if you begged her to. She's going to fuck you however she wants until she's satisfied, and there's absolutely nothing you can do to stop it. She's going to use your ass as a cum dump, with or without your permission. At this point it's essentially transitioned from her fucking you to her raping you.\n\nYou cum again.\n\nYour jaw goes slack and your tongue lolls out, limp and wagging, your slightly choked moans growing sluttier by the moment, though they'd already started out that way. Your mind is going just a bit hazy and staying there, battered by Big Girl restricting your breathing just enough to make you light-headed and by the overwhelming sensation of that huge dick pounding away in your ass with genesoldier strength and stamina. If you could think, which you can't, it would probably be nothing more than a pleading litany of 'Rape me rape me rape me rape me rape me', reflecting how your desire has become to be nothing more than a living weapon's fucktoy forever. You lose track of where one orgasm stops and another one starts, all of it mingling together in that hazy lightheadedness where you almost don't exist as anything other than a quivering, softened-up hole eager to take more cock, with everything fading out to white as her cock swells and shudders and gushes inside you again.\n\nYou come to still hazy and foggy-headed, but of a different sort. Not quite hung-over (you have a small implant that helps with that) but definitely having to reboot your brain. You find that you're mostly naked... looks like at some point after you blacked out (whited out?) either Big Girl undressed you as much as she could manage or you undressed yourself, because your boots, shorts, and overshirt are scattered on the floor, leaving you in just the skinarmor top still pulled between your tits and leaving them free. Speaking of Big Girl, you're sprawled rather haphazardly against her side, the genemod on her back in the center of the bed and only leaving room for you because, well, it's a pretty big bed. She's naked as well, that hefty cock of hers flopped across her abs... you can actually see it for the first time and yup, it looks every bit as big as it felt inside you, even entirely soft at the moment. Big Girl's breathing deep and steady, though there's a little catch here and there that says she's not long before waking herself.\n\n<hr>\n[[Wait for her to wake up.|ChiPir]]\n\n[[Suck her cock.|ChiPir]]\n\n[[Put her cock in your pussy.|ChiPir]]\n\n[[Stuff her cock in your ass.|ChiPir]]

The dog's head swings towards you. "A deal?"\n\n"Michika, no!" Katsumi shouts.\n\n"Yeah, we can make a deal, I'll help you without being assimilated," you continue on in a rush, encouraged by the way all four infected's heads tilt slightly at the same time. "Think of it, that way, you could possibly get into the ECA!"\n\n"You bitch!" Katsumi snaps, struggling harder against the frame as she rages at you, apparently too busy doing so to notice the other dog walking over to her. "You traitorous bitch! When I get out of here, I'm going to MMF!" she cries, cutting off with a loud gagging noise as the yellow dog mounts her body and stuffs its cock down her throat, the gleaming red spear marked by glowing blue veins. The cyberized dog starts thrusting, its swollen knot thumping against Katsumi's lips each time as it starts fucking her face to silence her, though you can still hear her trying to shout and protest around the bulging canine cock filling her throat. "Mmf mk glk gk mn!"\n\n"Continue," the vector says through the dog, as if mildly annoyed at you having been distracted at all.\n\nShuddering a little, both at the reminder of what will happen if you don't manage this and the tone that shows you have only the merest thread of a chance, you swallow and hurriedly continue. "They obviously have some way of detecting people infected with the celltech virus at their HQ, right? She even mentioned it earlier, that it would be almost impossible for someone infected to get in there," you note, jerking your head towards Katsumi as the other dog continues to facefuck her in quick, even, machinelike strokes. "But if I helped you of... of my own will, without being infected... then I could do a lot! Throw off their investigation, feed you information, all sorts of things."\n\n"... Considering," the vector announces, closing the dog's mouth.\n\nYou're left bound and in anxious anticipation, fighting not to tremble as the vector apparently considers your proposal. The only sound in the room... you're fairly sure it's a basement... is Katsumi continuing to protest angrily around the dog dick raping her mouth with all the steady impartiality of a literal fucking machine, the wet noises and the soft thmp thmp thmp of its knot striking her lips underlying the angry, muffled noises.\n\nEventually the dog's mouth opens again. "Your proposal is accepted." Even as the words are issuing forth, the woman is stepping forward and bending down to undo the locks on your frame. You stand up a bit carefully... naked and effectively surrounded is definitely not when you want to try anything. "You are now my property."\n\n"Um," you say, unable to help being taken aback by that unexpected little twist.\n\n"Did you think I was a wholly unfeeling machine? In truth I despise creatures like you," the vector assures you through its puppet. "So if you want to retain your full autonomy, you had best learn to both obey and deal with my whims. Now bow before me, and proclaim me your master."\n\n<hr>\n[["No way!"|ChiECA]]\n\n[["... Yes, my master."|ChiECA]]

After a few moments, you let out a loud snort and shake your head. "Stop being a baby, Kona," you mutter to yourself before getting to your feet. There's no reason to fash yourself about getting classed, you muse as you sling your sword onto your back and strap your buckler to your arm, then pick up the already blood-drained and trussed-up Horned Rabbits, their little curved horns clinking together occasionally as the bundle sways. Everyone does it, and even if you turn out to have a wildly different class than you thought, there's always going to school to help you rank up your new skills and abilities before you really get to it.\n\nYou set out from the small set of ruins that probably just used to be part of the city. Sabanara, by nature of being an adventurer city (and central to travel besides), grows, shrinks, and gets smashed up with the times. There have been times in history where during adventurer booms it expanded out to many times its current size, and there have been times during long periods of war or quiet where it's become a ghost town and withdrawn until it was really more of a town than a city. As such the wooden gate around the town is always being taken down, moved, and rebuilt, so it's incredibly easy to just walk in from pretty much anywhere, but you still circle around to the road and go in by one of the official entrances... the guards don't get annoyed that way, and since you're either friendly or friends with a fair few of them, you'd like to keep it that way.\n\n"Hey, Kona!" one of said guard friends calls as you approach. Ryen is wearing the standard guard uniform, complete with its metal breastplate stamped with the city's seal, though like most guards when they're not in the middle of actively... guard-ing (as opposed to guarding)... he's removed the helmet and is showing off his shaggy brown hair and plain but handsome face. "Nice bushel of horbits, you gonna sell those in the market? Can I have one?"\n\n"Nah, bought a quest," you admit readily enough, coming to a stop, the other guard at the gate pointedly watching the road. "But here, I killed a few extras, so here's one you guys can have for lunch," you add, fiddling with the knotted leather to loose one of the small monsters from the group and proffer it.\n\n"Nice, thanks." Ryen grins at you, then hms. "Hey, isn't today the day?"\n\n"Yeah, gonna head to the Aygee and get my card today," you reply with a grin.\n\n"Hey, maybe you'll get 'Guard'. Wouldn't mind seeing you every day," he adds with a wink. "But whatever you get, good luck!"\n\nYou briefly scream internally despite your sunny smile, before turning and trotting through the gate. Ugh, you definitely don't want to be a Guard, pretty much stuck in the city doing official duty for the rest of your life. ... Well, no, you guess it wouldn't be all bad. You'd get to see your friends pretty much every day, at least the ones that weren't out adventuring themselves, and your parents, and you'd have a nice steady income. Being a Guard wouldn't be the end of the world, just... not very exciting, probably.\n\nYou make your way through the city, which is bustling along pretty well since it's towards the lunch hour, the streets half-crowded with mostly Humans but various demihumans and Beastfolk as well. Because of that expansion-regression cycle, everything in Sabanara always has a sort of weird mingling of looking ancient and brand-new, since lots of building materials get recycled or buildings left and then reclaimed and/or refurbished, so walking through it involves seeing an interesting jumble of styles and looks to the buildings. (Though mostly similar, since architecture around here doesn't change that much, but it often reflects who's immigrated in at the time.) You stop in the sort of lumber yard where the quest seller hangs out, passing over the rabbits and collecting your cut of the turn-in reward, before turning and heading to the Adventurer's Guild building.\n\nWell technically the whole block are Adventurer's Guild buildings... storage warehouses, craftsmen, training halls, medical clinics, and all the other things they find necessary as part of the business of passing out quests and handling the results. But when people talk about heading to the Adventurer's Guild (or the "Aygee" as it's often called) what they mean is the big main building that sits in the central location of Main Street. It's a large three-story building, though only the bottom floor is "open to the public", the large, currently propped-open double front doors marked by the international symbol of the Adventurer's Guild, a pyramid turned point-down but at an angle. You step through the front doors far enough that you're not blocking traffic and, as usual when you have an excuse to actually come in, just stand there and sort of enjoy being here for a moment.\n\nDirectly ahead is the main function area of the guild... the questboards, job counters, item appraisal counters, and the Pillar of Inequity. (Nothing on it today, it's just a blank gray stone slab in the center of the room right now. Either everyone's been behaving themselves lately or no one's been caught.) To the left is a sort of large shop-like area, with shelves and display racks of potions, armor, weapons, and other adventuring gear... the guild's own products as well as those consigned to it by other craftsmen and merchants, for those who don't want to go wandering the city looking for their gear. To the right is a tavern, the place where adventurers come to eat and drink among their own, and more importantly, to form parties. You know that the second floor is inn rooms (reserved for the exclusive use of guild members), and the third floor is mostly offices for important guild functionaries and other purposes. Most adventurers only ever go to the third floor once, for the reason you're here for today.\n\nYou approach the admin counter, where one of several of the guild's employees is waiting, the others already working with adventurers at the job and appraisal counters. "Well, hello Miss Kofay," she says brightly, green feline ears giving a slight twitch at your approach.\n\n"Hi, Miss Macha," you reply, grinning. You've been at least passingly acquainted with Macha... most of your life? All, pretty much? She was friendly enough with your parents that she used to babysit you for them sometimes when they were out on quests. Being a variety of Beastman though, she's pretty ageless... she still looks like she's only in her thirties or so, with slightly fluffy green hair curling around her shoulders, pretty yellow eyes behind round spectacles, and the slightly maid-like uniform of female guild staff. "Guess you know what I'm here for, huh?"\n\n"Yes, but just to make it official...?"\n\n"Alright. I'd like to undergo Classification, please," you state mock-formally, before grinning again and setting the small pouch you already prepared earlier in front of her. "Ten silver."\n\n"Alright then! Let's head upstairs, shall we?" she says, plucking up the pouch and tucking it away somewhere, then turning and gesturing to the stairway behind her, the small sign beside it reading 'Administration Only'.\n\nYou follow her up, the stairs bypassing the second floor entirely and going right up to the third. The room she leads you to is almost directly across the hall from the exit of the stairway... clearly either the building was planned this way from the start, or the Classification circle was moved to the most convenient room at some point. You follow her into a small room that's lit by a different sort of magic lamp than the rest... the lights inside flicker a sort of spectral blue, lending the whole room a slightly dim, faintly eerie aspect. The large, elaborate spell circle on the floor is already glowing faintly, making it easy enough to see where the empty ring in the middle is.\n\n"If you would, please?" Macha says, indicating said ring as she moves off into a corner next to a smooth round stone set on the wall. Not like you needed a lot of prompting, as you step forward and take your place in the center of the spell circle, squaring your shoulders a bit. "Alright, here we go!" she chirps, resting her hand on the stone.\n\nThe glow of the spell circle intensifies, and then colors begin sliding across it, filling it up from the outer line in, starting with a line of bright orange at the very outer ring, then sliding through different colors as the rest of the lines fill up like colored sand running through glass tubes. Wow, it's pretty! Although... does Macha seem a little shocked? Surely not, she must do this at least once a week. Maybe the colors are just different than she expected, oh gosh, maybe you're going to be a caster class?!\n\nThe inner ring around you fills in, glowing orange as well, and the whole spell circle begins to grow brighter and brighter, casting a strange, shadow-marked rainbow onto the walls and ceiling. Then abruptly, coinciding with a puff of smoke and something faintly metallic and flat appearing in front of you, the light goes out. You reflexively snatch the item with both hands, looking at it. It looks like it's made out of copper, though there's a faintly iridescent sheen. The side facing you is blank, so you turn it over, looking at the engraving of a very plain figure holding a very generic sword. Then your blood runs cold as you see the lettering on the banner beneath the figure.\n\n'Adventurer'.\n\nOh no. Oh no, no no no no no!\n\nAdventurer... despite being the class whose name is synonymous with the profession, it's the weakest class! (Well not the weakest but COME ON!) It has access to the basic skills of practically all the other classes, it's true... melee, magic, crafting, knowledge... but a progression of, at best, 'Moderate' on all of them. "Oh no," you squeak out loud.\n\nMacha had approached and looked over your shoulder, and now rests a hand sympathetically on your shoulder. "Now, dear, it's not the end of the world. In fact, you-" she starts to say, albeit with enough awkwardness in her voice that says that she absolutely understands why anyone would think it was the end of the world.\n\nThen there's another poof in front of you, both of you blinking as something else materializes, Macha being the one to instinctively snap a hand out and catch it. It's a leather case with a fold over the top, the flap going through a small arch in front to keep it closed. Trading a confused look with you, Macha slides the flap out and swings the top open to reveal the case's contents...\n\n... more Class Cards.\n\n"Uh." You blink. "... Does this... happen?"\n\n"It's never happened that I've seen," Macha admits in a shocked tone. Then she blinks. "Oh... but I've heard of this happening! Yes, now I remember... you must have the 'Jack of All Trades' innate skill!"\n\n"Huh?"\n\n"Here," she says, beckoning you back out into the normal light of the hallway before continuing. "'Jack of All Trades' is a somewhat rare skill that bolsters your ability to pick up cross-class skills. I've heard that, very rarely, it can also cause someone to generate multiple Class Cards, since they're essentially suited for many classes."\n\n"... Huh," you repeat, more curiously than in complete confusion this time, accepting the card case from her.\n\n"It would definitely explain why the 'Adventurer' card appeared first," she adds. "And why the lights on the Classification circle were different than I've ever seen them. You're actually uniquely suited for the Adventurer class, if that's really the case... though I suppose the only way to be absolutely sure would be to imprint one of the Class Cards," she allows. "Although I'm not sure how else you could explain this... in fact this seems like a lot more Class Cards than I've ever heard of even with this unique situation."\n\n"So... what do I do?" you say, staring at the Adventurer card, then the holster.\n\n"I suppose you should pick one and attune yourself to it. Just hold it to your forehead and focus on it when you're ready," she notes. "You have a unique opportunity that not many people get, Kona, to really choose who you're going to become. I'd suggest going somewhere private and thinking it over."\n\nAs you somewhat numbly turn and start to walk out, she reaches out and snags your arm. "Oh, but on that note, be careful," she says, frowning just a little. "I think one of the other things I heard is that people in this situation can be a little more influenced by the class they pick than others might. Your class does influence your thoughts and personality a bit, just naturally, but I think you might find yourself even more influenced than most."\n\n"Er... that's a little scary."\n\n"Well, just be careful, like I said," Macha says with a shrug. "Make even more sure to pick something you'd really like, just in case."\n\nSoon you're sitting on the same steps you were this morning, though now it's late afternoon and getting into evening. You eye the Adventurer card dubiously... well. If what Macha said is true, then you might have a better than "Moderate" progression ability with it, which would make it more useful than most people who were rated for Adventurer. Still... people aren't usually clamoring for Adventurer adventurers to join their parties. They're usually "filler" at best. You'd be in for a lot of side-eyes and muffled guffaws your whole career, unless you were really able to break out and be exceptional. \n\nYou set that card inside and slip out the block of other cards from the sheath... man, Macha was right, there are a fair few of them, all about the size and somewhat in the style of some of the tarot cards you've seen, illustrating the class they represent. You make a bit of a face as you realize that Guard is one of the first ones... but eh, you guess like you said, not exactly all bad, and it's a profession that a lot of people consider honorable. (In other words, there's more social cache in being a Guard than an Adventurer, even.) You're also a little surprised as you look through them. Some of these aren't even adventurer classes... you've got a Merchant card, among other things! Some of these you can't even believe are actual classes, let alone that you qualify for them, you're not sure what some of these would even do if you took them as your class.\n\nWeird.\n\n... But you're really suited for all of these? That's what Macha said... pretty much... and you've never known her to be wrong before. It's a weird thought... with a few of them you almost want to take them just to see what would happen, as bad an idea as that seems, but the sheer curiosity of it is amazing, you've gotta say.\n\nBut in the end you do need to decide. And you probably want to decide before it gets too late, too, so that you have time to get back to the city before dark, and explain this whole weird day to your parents. So, who do you want to be today (and for the rest of your life)...?\n\n<hr>\n[[Adventurer.|Kona]]\n\n[[Guard.|Kona]]\n\n[[Bard.|Kona]]\n\n[[Blademaster.|Kona]]\n\n[[Wizard.|Kona]]\n\n[[Sorceress.|Kona]]\n\n[[Warlock.|KonaWL1x1]]\n\n[[Arcanist.|Kona]]\n\n[[Dancer.|Kona]]\n\n[[Merchant.|Kona]]\n\n[[Princess.|Kona]]\n\n[[Paladin.|Kona]]\n\n[[Rogue.|Kona]]\n\n[[Bandit.|Kona]]\n\n[[Pirate.|Kona]]\n\n[[Death Knight.|Kona]]\n\n[[Eldritch Knight.|Kona]]

You don't really remember where you came from, or how you became a slave. Apparently some places do that... memory wiping their inventory, on the idea that they're less likely to try and escape before they're sold. Not that you could with the chip in, as they explain, but it still saves trouble. All you remember is being told you'd been given the randomly-assigned name of 'Kai', and not too long after being sold to Doonian along with one of the other girls from your group. One of Doonian's older slaves explained things to you... Doonian had been one of the Guild of Interdimensional Professionals, Specialists, and Enforcers' biggest and brightest stars back in the day. He got so much work and so many high-profile jobs that he couldn't handle it all, so he started buying slaves and training them to assist him or do other jobs in his stead. \n\n"'Course that was the stupid old fart's downfall," one of the other older slaves had snorted, causing the one telling you the story to shoot her an annoyed look.\n\nBut it was true. Doonian did such a good job training his slaves and building the brand that they were just as good as him for jobs, and so instead of a shortage of time he found himself with an excess of it. A lot more time for lazing around and drinking. Combining that with the fact that he wasn't a spry thirty-something anymore, and, well, soon he wasn't doing such a good job training his slaves. So jobs got flubbed, money got lost, and bit by bit that grand lifestyle started to fade as he was forced to sell off his slaves, including most of the ones that were still worth anything. When he bought you it was just two of his best, you, and the other slave from your same lot that he bought for purely menial purposes. You yourself were trained by the two older slaves, and eventually they were gone too... one sold to a wealthy family, the other buying her freedom with funds she'd kept hidden. (Doonian had been furious. Though he'd once paid his slaves, sharing the profits from the jobs they did with them, as he'd started drinking more and seeing his little empire starting to collapse, he'd stopped paying them, then even denied them the right to keep any money themselves ever. One of his last, best slaves buying herself out had been humiliating because it meant she had tricked him.)\n\nThat was five years ago.\n\nThe comfortable suite of rooms on the Guildhall that Doonian had barely been holding on to when he bought you is a distant memory, even if it's one of the earliest ones you have. Now you're standing on the streets of Makarzia, a city world in a tech-rich but morally poor dimension, getting rained on. Practically everything you're wearing was either a gift from someone other than your owner or something you picked up on a mission... the cheap old bastard has repeatedly refused to buy you anything approaching proper merc wear, even if he did have the money for it. Though your long, red-lined black coat has two hoods, one for 'fashion' and one for inclement weather, you're still only bothering with the fashion hood, your long red hair spilling out of it as you lean against a wall, the hood's ring-pierced cat ears on display. The cold doesn't make the simple tie-in-front top and shiny black short-shorts particularly comfortable, but you're used to it... you've been in way worse wearing them. At least your legs are a bit warmer with the high-end black thigh-highs you stole during a job about a year back, and the brown boots on your feet are practically new even if they came off a corpse. You notice a group of cybangers approaching, laughing and jeering among themselves, and you notice their HUD visors lighting up as they get closer, target reticles shifting in your direction. Fortunately a 'just try it' look from your red eyes and tilting the red-wrapped handle of the katana you're holding is enough to convince them to keep walking and jeering rather than bothering you.\n\n<img src="images/Kai1.jpg">\n\n'Wouldn't have to carry this around constantly if the old bastard would let me carry so much as a stun blaster on planet,' you think sourly, leaning back a bit more against the wall once you're alone again. Doonian's gotten pretty paranoid ever since he realized his slaves could plot their way around his orders, and has forbidden you from bringing any guns back from the vault on the Guildhall, only grudgingly allowing you the sword for self defense from the locals. 'Dunno why he thinks I couldn't kill him with it just as easily as a gun if I decided to figure out how.'\n\nYou soak in such bitter thoughts a bit longer before sighing and giving in to the inevitable... time to go home. Keeping one hand in your jacket pocket and the sheathed sword displayed in the other, you turn and make your way down the block, headed for the glorious planetside mansion you're sure Doonian always dreamed of when he hit it big.\n\nMeaning, it's a half-floor 'town home' apartment on the bottom floor of a six story building full of them. You have to admit that at least it's not a shoebox, but the condition it's in still goes to explaining how Doonian always seems to have money for booze and other intoxicants despite complaining about having to pay rent. You and your fellow slave do the best you can to keep it up (mostly her since you're there less), but there's only so much to be done when Doonian will give you barely anything to spend on upkeep. Once inside the building, you stop to flap off your coat, not wanting to soak any more water than necessary into the threadbare, partly gone carpet, and head inside. You quickly spot your fellow slave, currently sitting against the edge of a worn, almost polished-through countertop, probably in the middle of looking for something that she can actually do to improve the shabby little area. Her mildly worried expression turns into a tired smile as she sees you, blue eyes warming some, silver hair swaying in the uneven parts that she can't fit into the long braid she wears. You're glad you were able to badger Doonian into buying her some decent clothes, or at least decent shirts, though she seems to be wearing most of them at once at the moment, with the long, loose black one on top, her only other visible clothing the small black ribbon choker that was also a gift from one of your departed seniors. "Kai, you're home," she says in her gentle, sweet voice.\n\n<img src="images/Zee.jpg">\n\n"Hey, Zee." You give her a tired smile of your own as you set your katana down to lean against the wall beside the door. As if her attire wasn't clue enough, the complete lack of change in temperature from the hall outside (or the actual outside for that matter) makes you sigh. "Heat out again?"\n\nHer smile crumbles a little, but she struggles to maintain some of it as she nods. Her eyes flick to the doorway nearby as she murmurs, "Doonian's been calling for you."\n\nBefore you can say anything to that, there's a bellow from the next room. "Is that Kai?! KAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIII!"\n\n"Shit," you huff under your breath, before giving Zee a wan smile of your own just to assure her you're not cursing at her. Your expression turns flat and cold, both hands tucking into your jacket pockets as you make your way to stand in the doorframe, staring at the back of the easy chair silhouetted by the viewscreen. "Yeah, yeah, I'm here," you declare at normal volume.\n\n"Where the hell were you?" comes the slightly gurgling snarl from the other side of the chair.\n\n"Out, taking a walk, like every night," you say with a shrug. "Since that's usually when you tell me to get the hell out anyway."\n\n"Yeah well I needed you!"\n\n"Then maybe get me a comm like I keep asking for and you can call me when you need me."\n\n"Ain't spending money on a comm for the likes of you," your owner grumbles, no doubt not even breaking eye contact with the porn playing on the screen, moans and bad dialogue coming out unevenly and with light crackles through the failing speakers. "Speakin' of which, account's gettin' low, and the fuckers at the utility company are lyin' sayin' they didn't get their transfer. Go out and make some creds."\n\nYou can't help but roll your eyes. "Crystal Dragon, old man, I just gave you the money I earned from a C-rank job three days ago, where'd it all go?" You ask this, despite knowing that he spent the entire day after getting the money in a pleasure spa in one of the better parts of the city sector, drinking and fucking it away. Still, it helps you a little to remind him of his failures, and gives you time to brace so you don't flinch when the liquor bottle slams into the wall a few feet from your head, cracking and splitting into a handful of pieces once it hits the floor.\n\n"YOU DIDN'T GIVE ME SHIT! That was my money! I earned it! I own you, I own your effort, I own your jobs, I'll spend my money how I want! Now you can either get the hell out or actually make yourself useful around the house for once by hacking the heater!"\n\n<hr>\n[[Go out and earn.|Kai1x1]]\n\n[[Stay in.|Kai]]

There's a particularly deep kind of mind control spell that would normally never work on adventurers... Drive Alteration. It's a spell that changes the basic drive which pushes a person forward, that thing which is at the very core of their being essentially. Normally the adventurers you deal with have too strong of a drive to be changed by the spell, and on top of that most of them have too strong of a will. But right now you've got the absolute perfect situation to be able to actually use it! They're exhausted, status effected on top of that, they're low level, they already trusted you, they just saw you save their lives, and oh yes, they'll be too busy cumming their brains out in the moment when you're casting the spell to even notice. Any one or two or even three of the current conditions might not be enough, but with all of them stacked on top of each other?\n\nThe moment you thrust your knots into them (as well as intensifying your tongue's work on Saruko's pussy) and send them all crashing over the edge into the most intense, leg-quivering, mind-blanking orgasms of their lives, you also thrust the spell deep into the shuddering, sparking masses of their overwhelmed brains. The flood of magic splashes against their previous drives and splatters all over it, coating it completely, absorbing it in a thick, hot mass of obedience. In that moment, each of them's drive, the entire core of their being, the inescapable hope locked deep in their hearts and the central foundation on which all of their minds are built on becomes to obey you. Even as your cum floods their holes, your being floods their spirits and takes control, making them your slaves.\n\nOf course such a powerful spell and such an intense alteration of their minds is fairly overwhelming, and all three are almost instantly knocked unconscious even as their bodies continue to buck and twitch in the aftermath of their orgasms, cum dribbling down Red and Litarii's pussylips and pooling around Saruko's lips before slipping down her cheek. After a few long moments you pull your slightly deflated knots free of them, and drag the three over to a central spot... after stripping them entirely naked, of course. Collecting all of their nearby equipment and weapons for yourself... after all, it really belongs to you now... you cast a minor defensive spell on the area and turn to your next item of business... merging back into one and devouring the trolls.\n\n'Shame they aren't alive, I'd have gotten a lot more out of this,' you think after engulfing the trio that directly attacked your little band, then trotting into the woods to find the one that was casting spells. Ah, an Arch-Troll, much as you suspected... a vaguely familiar one too, but not enough to even think half again about eating him whole once you've retrieved Saruko's (your) sword. While you don't get as much as if they'd been alive, it's still enough to at least get a humanoid-type form, as well as a lot of the Arch-Troll demonologist's stat boosts and spells. "Hm... testing, testing," you murmur, having shifted your vocal cords to something more like a humanoid's. Ah, not a bad voice... low, smooth, just a bit of rumble. Trotting back out to where you left the girls, you settle down for the night and wait for them to wake.\n\nNot long after full light, all three of them stir, likely goading each other into wakefulness with their movements. They sit up slowly, each groaning and wincing in their own ways at various sore spots (inflicted either during the fight or your fun), eyes opening as they look at each other... and faces flushing as they realize their state, and memories of what happened come flooding back. Their gazes quickly whip to where you're sitting, a smug grin on your muzzle as your tail thumps the ground gently.\n\n"H-he's a monster!" Litarii squeaks as she leaps to her feet and points at you.\n\n"Show respect, bitch," you answer evenly, fixing your gaze on her.\n\nJust as quickly as she'd jumped to her feet, Litarii drops to the ground on her knees, bowing until her horns bump the ground. "Forgive me, Master." Then she blinks a few times, staring at the grass. "... Wait, what?"\n\n"Phantom, what did you do to-" Red starts to say as well, looking more shocked than anything else.\n\n"Both of you as well," you cut in, looking back at her and Saruko.\n\n"Yes, Master," they both immediately snap back, hurrying to assume a similar position to Litarii, their bare asses in the air and foreheads to the ground. Well, Saruko's is a bit more elegant, her hands folded and forehead placed primly on them, her knees perfectly tucked and toes braced. My my, they do teach them nice manners in the Golden Country, don't they?\n\n"I have saved all of your lives, and in return claimed your lives as mine," you inform them as you rise to all fours and pad over to stand in front of them. "There will be no more of this 'Phantom' business. For now you will continue to address me as 'Master'... eventually I will be your Maou. Is that understood?"\n\n"Yes, Master," all three chorus, though they still look slightly shocked that they are. Their core drive has been replaced, after all, but not their memories or sense of self... they obviously don't understand quite why they so overwhelmingly want to obey you and serve you, but similarly since it's so deeply ingrained in them they can't really question or resist it.\n\n"Um... Master?" Red says after a moment, peeking up at you. "You're... you're aiming to be the Demon Lord?"\n\n"Yes, certainly." Maybe later you'll explain that it's more reclaiming your rightful place, but for now it's not particularly relevant.\n\n"I-I see. Um... well then, what... what are our roles, Master?"\n\n<hr>\n[["You are my new generals."|IrMon]]\n\n[["You are my battle slaves."|IrMon]]\n\n[["You are fuckmeat."|IrMon]]

"So, hey, how about this," you say slowly. "I have a guest pass... it basically lets a non-member visit the Guildhall. This one's good for about a week. That would give you awhile to go through the process of getting tested and everything, if you have the money..."\n\n"I have quite a bit of savings, even if it's not enough I could probably find some way to cover the rest," Starielle says eagerly, eyes glittering.\n\n"Ah, so, I was thinking, why don't the two of us, y'know... have a great night, and in the morning instead of gold I give you the guest pass and we go back to the Guildhall together?"\n\n"Oh?" She looks a bit surprised for a moment... then that glitter turns warmer as she leans in close again, rubbing a hand over her thigh. "I seeee."\n\n"I mean, y'know, they're actually really expensive," you hurry to add, feeling further embarrassed by her seeming willingness somehow. "So, you know, it's just that, if I give it to you then I don't really have any money for... other things..."\n\n"Oh no, I completely understand. I wouldn't want you to be left without 'other things' on my account," she says teasingly, sliding off of the bed and around in front of you to settle on her knees... you wonder if it's elven grace or long practice that makes it look so smooth when she does it. "It's not like I dislike my work, you know, in fact I've rather enjoyed my time here," she continues as she begins to undo your pants, smiling even more as your now thoroughly stiff prick springs free. "I wouldn't be at all opposed to giving it my all one last time. In fact, let's call this... the deluxe service."\n\n'Oh holy crap,' you think, though only a moan comes out as she wraps her lips around the head of your cock and starts using her tongue in an incredibly agile and intuitive way that almost instantly shuts down the part of your brain that would care if it was sincerely enthusiastic or not. How long did Starielle say she'd been working here? Seems like it must be a long time to judge by the absolutely masterful way she's now using her fingers, just the tips of her thumb and fingers of one hand stroking up and down your shaft, the other hand gently working your balls over. It's at once both intense and soothing, a pleasure that it feels like she could draw out for hours without it ever becoming overwhelming in the need to cum.\n\nShe doesn't do it for hours though... just a half hour or so. It actually takes you a few moments to realize she's stopped, slowly coming down from the haze of pleasure and looking down at her to see that she's reaching over for something in the nearby little cabinet and drawers. You take the opportunity to unzip and shrug out of your shirt, tossing it towards a nearby chair along with your coat. When you look back down, you're a little shocked to see what looks like a plastic bottle filled with clear gel that she's undoing the flick cap of. 'Is that an import or are they weirdly advanced in certain areas besides underwear?' you think... before your train of thought is very thoroughly derailed by her smiling up at you as she presses the opening of the bottle to the under-cleavage caused by her outfit and squeezes. Seconds later she's sliding her still-covered tits down over your cock, until it's poking up enough to indent the top of her little maid-styled outfit, Starielle giving her shoulders a light shake to show you how the outfit keeps everything in place before she starts working her tits up and down over you. \n\nOf course with how thoroughly she worked you up before that, you don't last very long before you're moaning and spilling between her tits, the top of her 'blouse' quickly growing even more wet and having several thick white drops well through it. Starielle grins and slips her tits up and off of you, mixed lube and cum dripping from her undercleavage, and then crawls up onto the bed as you watch her in a light daze. She stops on all fours and reaches back, tugging open the side of her panties and letting them drop off and down, revealing an utterly perfect, smooth pussy and, as she lifts her hand and pulls one buttock to the side, an equally lovely and practically pristine pucker. "Please consider tonight an all-you-can-eat buffet, Leo, and do as you like," she coos over her shoulder at you. "Don't worry about getting tired... I have techniques and enhancers that will let us do as we like until dawn."\n\nWell. With that sort of invitation, what else are you going to do? You move up behind her, gripping your cock with one hand and one of her full asscheeks with the other, and push your now thoroughly lube-smeared cock into her ass, hearing her gasp and then let out a soft, cooing moan as you slide inside, gripping her hips at first as you start to pump into them. Then you lean forward, indulging yourself in finally getting hold of those big, luscious, perfect tits, squeezing and kneading them, eventually pulling Starielle's top up to let them spill free so you can toy with them more directly. You moan lowly as you pump into her tight, silky ass, feeling her rocking back against you gently, working her hips to make sure you get the most out of each and every thrust. You're able to last quite a while longer this time, enjoying the feel of your balls slapping against her pussy, reveling in the fact that you can feel some dampness on them when they do, the beautiful elf below you's moans and gentle urgings pushing you on and on until you spill inside her.\n\nAfter pulling out and a brief pause for her to clean you off and for her to undress as well, Starielle lays back and pulls you on top of her this time, your chest pressing against her bare breasts as her legs wrap around you and you slide inside her soft, eager pink pussy this time. Moaning softly, you press your face against her neck as you begin to thrust, nice and slow, taking your time for at least a little while this time. Not sure of her preferences and not wanting to jar the mood to ask, you restrain your kisses to Starielle's neck, throat, and jawline, which at least seems to suit her well enough, the pretty blonde elf giving out soft 'oo' and 'ah' noises as you do. Is it just skilled acting born of long practice? Maybe, but frankly right now you don't care.\n\nThe next spill of your cum is there in her squeezing, quivering cunt, as is the next one since she urges you to relax and lay back while she rides you, Starielle tucking her hands behind her head and lifting her elbows, showing herself off to you completely as she rides you to completion, though it takes quite awhile this time... a long and pleasurable while. After that she starts brewing some tea she promises will rejuvenate for you, but while it's steeping she steps out briefly... and returns with the chocolate-colored elf you saw outside earlier, apparently having called in a favor from one of her coworkers. The two of them put on a show for you while you sip the tea and recuperate, kissing and fondling each other, making all sorts of sweet, excited noises that might have revived your cock all on their own, but apparently the tea helps since you're soon back on the bed with them, thrusting into Starielle's perfect, pale pussy for short bursts before pulling out and sliding into the sweet pinkness tucked between soft brown pussylips of the other elf laying on top of her, both of them moaning dramatically into each other's mouths as you fuck their pussies back and forth as you please. After that it's Starielle riding your face, her surprisingly sweet and actually honey-like arousal coating your lips and tongue as you lick her, the other elf girl bouncing atop your cock energetically enough that it can't be entirely business, or at least so your ego tells you.\n\nAnd so it goes through the rest of the night, until about an hour before sunup your third party exits and you and Starielle both catch a quick nap sprawled on the very messy bed. But soon she's nudging you awake, and you rouse yourself, getting dressed as she excuses herself. When she returns, she's wearing something like a green tabard belted at her waist to serve as both top and skirt, though it still leaves a fair amount of both sideboob and hip visible. She's also wearing boots and carrying a few simple cloth bundles, and after a few pleasantries and you assuring her everything's still on, the two of you head downstairs.\n\n"Good morning, mister customer," the madam from last night greets, approaching the stairs. "Will it be breakfast this morning, perhaps even another night, or will you settle your tab now?"\n\n"He's only going to be paying for staying the night, I'll be paying you both my cut and Kaialith's, ma'am," Starielle says before you can even say anything. \n\n"... I see." The mature-seeming elf reaches up and adjusts her spectacles slightly. "Am I to gather from this, and from your attire combined with your luggage, that you are leaving us?"\n\n"Yes, ma'am. I'm sorry it's so sudden," Starielle says while you stand there in awkward silence, rubbing the back of your head as she bows. "But I've been saying for awhile that if I got an opportunity to return to a martial life, I might need to take it quite suddenly. I hope this won't put you out too much."\n\nThe madam stands there for long moments, not saying anything, before simply nodding once. "No need for your cut or Kaialith's. Please consider them my parting gift to you." Then she turns her eyes to you, tone dropping several degrees in temperature as she says, "Sir, if you will pay the ten gold for your stay, I will then return with your things and you may leave."\n\n"Uh, yeah, sure." You rummage in the pocket where you keep currency for various worlds you might visit, managing to find some of the retro 'hard currency' and jumble through it in your hands. You find five regular-sized gold coins and one large one... you're pretty sure that back where you got it, it's worth ten gold by itself, but since she seems to have focused all her ire at Starielle's departure at you and that is somehow making you really uncomfortable, you proffer both it and the other five. "Would this fit that?"\n\nShe looks over the coins dubiously for a moment, before nodding. "Yes. I will return momentarily." She turns and sweeps off.\n\n"... Kinda ticked at me, huh?" you murmur.\n\n"She's just concerned for me, is all," Starielle says in a placating tone. "I know she's been worried that I'll get myself in trouble with my desire to get back to my roots. We're fairly close, I've been here some time."\n\n"How long?" you can't help but ask, curiosity getting the better of you.\n\n"Oh, let me think." Starielle frowns thoughtfully as she puts a fingertip to her lower lip, gazing down towards the floor. "King Jhad's tenth crowning ceremony was going on, and last year they had... ah, almost fifty years, now," she says with a nod, face clearing.\n\n... Fifty years, huh? Yeah, that seems about right, you think as your head spins just a little. Yikes. Maybe it makes even more sense why she's about had enough of it. You pull your mind back on task as the spectacled elf woman returns with your rifle and sword, handing them to you rather stiffly before giving a short bow and wishing you a good day before walking off. "That's her goodbye?" you ask, glancing at Starielle.\n\n"I understand her feelings alright," the blonde replies with a small, sad smile, before clearing her throat. "Shall we?"\n\n"Oh, right, one sec." You get your weapons situated, then fish out your beacons and step close, slipping an arm around her middle. "Gotta be in close contact for the transit. We're gonna come out of the portal moving forward, so try to start walking a little. Three, two, one-"\n\nAt the click of the button, the two of you half-stumble forward as you exit out of the portal and into the arrival nexus of the Guildhall. Almost immediately a Guild security officer rounds a corner, but when you wave the plastic slip of the guest pass he fades back into the background, albeit not leaving entirely. You show Starielle the way to the interior lobby before proffering it to her. "Ah, here you go, it's good for the week. You can find out pretty much everything you need to know from the clerks here. Or, I mean, I can help you, show you around, maybe, if you'd rather...?"\n\n"I think I have a good grasp on things. Thank you very much, Leo," Starielle replies warmly, offering her hand, which you shake after a brief uncertain second. "Maybe someday we'll bump into each other again, hm? Maybe even on a mission!"\n\n"Maybe so," you say, smiling back at her. "Take care, okay? And have fun."\n\n"I will, thank you. Goodbye!"\n\n"Bye."\n\nA bit over ten years later...\n\n"Haha, I tooootally got more kills on that mission than you did!"\n\n"More shots fired is not more kills, half the time with you it's the exact opposite."\n\n"Nyeeeeeh! Heheheheh!"\n\n"Very good, keeping up your childish charm, no one will know you're staring down thirty like that."\n\n"Take it back."\n\n"What, take back the temporal fact that you're closer to thirty than you are to twenty?"\n\n"YES!"\n\n"Ah, excuse me?"\n\nYou and the dirty blonde in the loose bodysuit, short white jacket and jump-assist boots both look over, your companion's cybertail perking up curiously. It only takes a second for you to filter out the green weavearmor bodysuit and simple black all-weather combat jacket, as well as the shorter hair, before you're half-smiling in shock. "Whoa, hey... Starielle."\n\n"Oh, you remember me," the elf woman says in a flattered tone, smiling back.\n\n"Yeah, I do, I definitely do. Hi, wow, it's been forever, how have you been?"\n\n"Very well, thank you. And you?"\n\nBefore you can answer, your current companion snorts and punches you on the arm. "I'm gonna go before this turns into anything torrid." She gives Starielle a brief wave before trotting off, calling out behind you as she pumps a fist in the air. "Forever seventeen!"\n\n"That's below Guildhall drinking age," you call after her.\n\n"Forever nineteen!" she shouts, once more pumping a fist in the air.\n\nStarielle gazes after her for a second, before giving you an amused look. "I'm... guessing that's not your wife?"\n\n"Little sister," you chuckle.\n\n"Yes, that does seem about right." You see her hesitate briefly, before she says, "Leo, I know it's been a long time, but there was something I wanted to talk with you about. Would you mind coming back to my room with me so I can tell you something?"\n\n<hr>\n[[Sure.|LeoSon1x2]]\n\n[[Sorry, you're kinda busy...|Leo]]

"Yeah, sure." You smile easily at her, though part of your mind can't help going to the last time she asked you to come up to a room and talk. The memory brings up both warmth and desire as well as a few less positive feelings about yourself, and the two of you head for the lifts... only to see long lines at several of them and holobanners across the others. "Aw damn, what happened?"\n\n"Oh, right, apparently there was some sort of program cascade failure that went through the system and knocked out most of the lifts, they're having to bring them back online one at a time," Starielle says with a sigh of her own. "... We may as well take one of the heavy lifts, it won't be any slower than waiting in these lines."\n\n"Yeah, you're right." And you can't help but realize it also gives more talking time. The two of you make your way over to the quadruple-wide doors and summon one of the lifts used for larger, heavier species or moving large items through the Guildhall and summon it, stepping inside, the doors soon closing and the lift starting its steady crawl to the residential area that Starielle selects. You stand silent for several seconds, hands clasped in front of you, before awkwardly saying, "Huh, wow, it's really been forever. I'd figure we'd have bumped into each other way before now."\n\n"Yes, the Guild is both huge and small at the same time, it seems like... I keep running into the same people, and then there's so many others I meet or see once in passing and then never again," Starielle agrees, glancing aside as if she too were feeling a bit anxious.\n\n"Yeah. Yeah." You rock on the balls of your feet a few times, then sigh and look over at her. "Um, hey. Something I've wanted to say for a lot of years is... I'm sorry. As I got older I realized... I really should've just given you the guest pass for free and brought you over, maybe helped you out a bit more. You were wanting to get out of your situation, and I was a dumb kid who took advantage of that, and... I'm just sorry."\n\nStarielle actually looks shocked for a moment... then lets out a soft laugh. "Has that really been bothering you all this time?" At your sheepish look, she smiles and shakes her head. "Leo, I was a prostitute. Trading sex for things I wanted was what I did, and I don't feel bad about it. In fact once I learned what a week-long guest pass costs at your level, I think you may have gotten a bit of a bargain," she adds wryly, making you snort and look down. Her expression softens as she adds, "I understand where your apology is coming from, though. And I appreciate that. Even if you didn't need to apologize, it actually still makes me glad that you did."\n\n"... Thanks." You nod, letting out a huff of relief, then looking ahead as the lift finally thumps to a stop and the doors slide open. "So was that what you wanted to talk to me about? That night when we met?"\n\n"Ah, well, sort of," Starielle answers with a distinctly airy tone, actually flashing you a nervous grin as she approaches one of the doors, lifting her wrist to the reader beside it. "It's connected and, ah... it was definitely one of those things I didn't feel comfortable sending you an email about."\n\nYou follow her into the comfortable but not luxurious two bedroom apartment, looking at her in confusion... until there's the pounding of feet on the floor and a young boy comes pounding through one of the bedroom doors, already practically leaping at Starielle before he gets there. "Mom!"\n\n"Heeeey!" Starielle coos, grabbing him up from his half-leap and lifting him into a hug, despite the fact that he looks like he has to be at least ten.\n\nWhich is part of the reason you're standing there with a blank face and blank mind. Because even if the age wasn't right... the kid looks like someone took a cutting of you and grew him in a tube. Well, not entirely, there's the slightly pointed ears, not quite as dramatic as Starielle's, and there's a lot more blue in the grey of his eyes, but other than a bit of a difference in the jawline and a more delicate set of the nose, he has your friggin' face. Hell he has your scruffy black hair!\n\n"Hey, who's this?" the kid asks as Starielle sets him down.\n\n"One of Mommy's friends from work, we needed to talk about some stuff. So get back in your room and finish your studies, okay?" At his pout, Starielle gives him a light nudge on the back. "Aiane, go. And close the door."\n\n"Fiiiine," he says with a sigh, trudging back the way he came with much less enthusiasm, the door sliding closed after him.\n\n"Uh." You stand there, still staring at the spot where Aiane was standing in front of her. "Uh."\n\n"Yeeees I really could have handled that a bit more delicately, couldn't I?" Starielle murmurs, tapping her fingertips together as she gives a smile-like grimace. "I sort of forgot how he likes to come charging out like that, I was actually hoping he might be asleep or listening to music."\n\n"Uh." You swallow heavily. "... Uh."\n\n"Breathe, Leo," she says gently. "Just breathe for a few moments."\n\nThat seems like very good advice. You just stand there breathing for a bit. Once it feels like your brain's rebooted, you clear your throat. ... Okay, let's skip asking the really stupid question and just... move on, shall we? "Okay, so... on the one hand, would have appreciated the email. On the other hand... yeah, not the sort of thing an email really works for," you murmur. "... How? I thought... I mean, I had a birth control implant."\n\n"I had a birth control spell too." Starielle says sheepishly. "Remember the little heart, um, here?" She briefly touches her fingertips to one side of her crotch above the material of her bodysuit. "And apparently that was the problem, when I got here the med tech mentioned something about how it wasn't compatible with Guild technology and I needed to have it removed, and that they'd put a new one that would switch on once it determined I wasn't pregnant. Annnnd it never did... apparently the energy from the spell and the battery signature from the implants not only cancel each other out, they cause your fertility to sort of 'reboot' and, well, for females that can apparently put you at either a 'safe' day or..." She trails off, then sighs. "I mean, I'm... sorry, Leo, I kept meaning to get in touch more directly or ask for a meeting, but it just... it was so hard to reach out, and the longer it took and the older he got the harder it seemed, and I just kept talking myself out of it, until I saw you walking through the lobby today and thought 'This is it, no more excuses'."\n\n"... Yeah. Yeah, so... I mean..." Lost and floundering, you look around the room before trying to focus on her. "I mean... okay... I know... now what?" You aren't blowing her... or Aiane, off, you're just so confused and bewildered at this point that you'd sincerely like someone to tell you what to do.\n\n"That's up to you, Leo," Starielle says gently, reaching out a hand to rest on your shoulder. "I didn't bring you here to obligate you, or force you into anything, or make you feel guilty... I've managed just fine with Aiane all these years, and been able to build a good life for us. The Guild has made my current life possible, and you made the Guild possible for me... I'll always be grateful for that." She smiles, and adds, "And for him. You don't have to do anything else you don't want to do."\n\n<hr>\n[[It's too much, you have to go.|LeoSon]]\n\n[[You... could help out with stuff?|LeoSon2x1]]\n\n[[You want to be involved with his life.|LeoSon1x3]]\n\n[[You want to be involved in their lives.|LeoSon]]

"I..." You swallow heavily, but take a deep breath and let it out, then feel a bit nervous again as you look at her. "I think... I think I definitely want to be a part of his life, you know? Like... I want to be there for him as much as I can, I guess. Maybe... do stuff with him or..." You trail off.\n\n"Be a father, maybe?" Starielle asks with a small smile.\n\n"... Yeah, think that's what I'm getting at, yeah," you whisper back.\n\n"I think that would be just perfect." The elf woman crosses over to the closed bedroom door, knocking against it and raising her voice. "Aiane? Could you come out please?"\n\nThe door slides open, and at least Aiane is well-behaved enough not to point out that it's only been a few minutes since she asked him to go in. Instead he lets himself be led over to you, where Starielle kneels down behind him and rests her hands on his shoulders. "Aiane, Mommy finished her talk with her friend from before, so now we need to tell you... this is Leo. He's your Daddy."\n\n"Hey," you murmur, settling down onto one knee as well.\n\n"Hey," he says back, obviously a bit shocked at all this as well. He stares at you for a moment, then glances over his shoulder. "You coulda handled this a bit more delicately, Mom."\n\nThat, and the look on Starielle's face, cut right through everything else and make you burst out laughing. "Oh yeah, kid, you and me are gonna get along great."\n\nJust over five years later...\n\n"Don't kill him!"\n\n"I'm not going to kill him."\n\n"It counts as killing him if you let him die!"\n\n"I'm not going to kill him!"\n\n"It also counts as killing him if you let him get kidnapped and taken away somewhere!"\n\n"You're over thirty."\n\n"I'll kill you."\n\n"He's going to be fine, he's almost sixteen and it's not even that dangerous of a wilderness planet. I took you there when you were younger than he is."\n\n"And you killed me!"\n\n"No I only thought about it and am starting to regret not following through."\n\n"Nyeeeeh!"\n\nBefore you and your sister's banter can continue, there's a call of "Dad!" and you look over towards where Starielle and Aiane are approaching, grinning and waving at them. You can tell that Aiane wouldn't mind going running and giving a ballistic hug like he used to, but is restraining himself. He does still look a bit younger than his years, you guess as a half-elf his physical development is a little slower, but he's definitely growing up. And still looking a lot like a prettier version of you, scruffy black hair at least a little combed-smooth and tied in a ponytail. He's wearing a green and black patterned armorweave two-piece pants and vest, with a slightly long white jacket, a simple rifle slung over his back. He does give you a hug once he's arrived, which you appreciate... by sixteen you were starting to get awkward about hugging your parents in public, and since you missed out on ten years of them, well. You release him so that he can turn and hug your sister with a warm "Aunt Neo!", Neo's whole body wriggling with delight as her cybertail forms a heart.\n\n"Aaaaa, my nephew's so cute! I'll keep him!"\n\n"No," you say flatly, putting a hand on her face and pushing her back while she flails and reaches for Aiane with 'gimme' hands.\n\n"Now, be sure and take care, Aiane," Starielle says, obviously trying her best to restrain herself from fussing as she nevertheless pets at his hair a bit in an attempt to smooth it out some more. "Listen to your father, be safe, don't do anything reckless... ah... um..." She trails off, borderline squirming in place.\n\n"Mom, I'll be fine," Aiane assures her with a smile that's all her. He did get most of her expressions, it seems like... he's definitely a whole different sort of charmer than you were at his age (and for a good while after), meaning one who's not trying at all. Sigh, shown up by your own kid. "I'm just going hunting with Dad, it's not like there's even any other people or anything where we're going."\n\n"Yes. Well. You've got your emergency beacon?"\n\n"Yes."\n\n"Medkit?"\n\n"Yes, and I did a full weapon maintenance, and I tested it at the range, and I got a med checkup," he answers with a good-natured huff. "Mom!"\n\n"Alright, I'm sorry." She sighs, then gives both him and you a smile. "You two have fun, alright? ... And please come back with him," she adds in a more teasing note as your sister moves to join her.\n\n"Yeah, you two have a good mission too. Feel free to come back without Neo, though."\n\n"Bite me~," Neo sing-songs as the pair of blondes turn and walk off, though she turns back and calls, "Hey stupid, don't forget to check the weather forecast before you leave!"\n\n<hr>\n[[Yeah yeah you checked it.|LeoSon]]\n\n[[Yeah yeah you... wait did you?|LeoSon1x4]]

You checked the forecast when you started planning this hunting trip, didn't you? ... Wait that was like two weeks ago. Crap. Checking to make sure Neo and Starielle are gone, and trying to be casual because Aiane is looking at you, you fish out your comm and look up the current conditions on the wilderness planet that you're headed for. "... Ah, crap," you mutter, before patting your son on the head. "Sorry, kiddo, looks like we can't go on that hunting trip after all."\n\n"Aw, how come?" He's not quite pouting, but obviously disappointed, frowning a bit.\n\n"Bad conditions moved in, place won't be suitable to visit for about a week. We'll have to figure out something else to do." You consider. "Y'know, that your mother won't kill me for taking you on."\n\n"I mean, c'mon, it's okay if it's at least a little dangerous, right?" Aiane asks. "I mean I've been training with you two and Aunt Neo and even sometimes Gramma and Grampa for years, I'm probably gonna join the Guild someday soon, what's the big deal if we go on an actual mission?"\n\n"I mean, yeah, your grandmother might have taken me on a full mission or two at your age, sure," you admit, scratching your cheek a bit. "But your mom doesn't necessarily see it that way." You have to wonder if Starielle is probably more used to kids not being borderline adults until they're like forty or something, and having a little trouble adjusting to having a half-elf son. He's a little on the small side, sure, but she does tend to be a little overprotective like he's still an actual kid or something.\n\n"..." Aiane frowns thoughtfully for a few moments, then sighs. "Well... whatever you decide is best, Dad."\n\n... Man he's good. You don't doubt his sincerity, necessarily, but he's also neatly put you in a situation where you can play it safe and be the one responsible for disappointing him, or you do something more risky and you take the heat from his mother for it. Well. Whatever. You are the dad, even if you're a little bit of a part-timer. You'll pick what's best. You start flipping through your comm, looking for potential alternate ideas.\n\n<hr>\n[[Go somewhere pretty safe.|LeoSon]]\n\n[[Take him on a job... a fairly safe one.|LeoSon1x5]]\n\n[[Fuck it, he's sixteen, you were killing slaughtermonsters at sixteen, let's do something thrilling!|LeoSon]]

"Hmmm... hey, y'know what?" Grinning, you scroll to a specific job you'd made a note of earlier. "There's actually one I was thinking of taking before we scheduled the hunting trip, kind of for nostalgia's sake. If it's still open, that might be a pretty interesting one for you."\n\n"Oh yeah?" Aiane doesn't try to hide his curious look, all open honesty as he leans in a bit to try and see your phone.\n\n"Yeah, lemme go see if it's still open, if it is we'll go. This should be a pretty standard contract, doubt your mother will throw too much of a..." You pause, then amend. "She won't be that mad at me over it." You don't want to describe his mom as throwing a 'tantrum' in front of him, after all. ... You're not sure if Starielle has ever thrown a tantrum in her life, come to think of it, 'mild fretting' is about the most unreasonable you've ever seen her be. ... Hm, you wonder if your son's mother is dating anyone?\n\nAnyway, a quick check shows that there are still several slots open for the job, and you reserve two of them for yourself and your 'assistant'. The two of you head to the departure portal annex, and are soon stepping out of an alley on a street made up of a mixture of standard wood and stone buildings and trees grown into habitable structures. "Son, welcome to the capital of the Kingdom of Jurisdania," you announce cheerfully, taking a look around yourself... you don't recognize the specific street, but the look is pretty undeniable, you've never seen another city exactly like it on your adventures since then. "This is where I met your mom, before she became a Guild member."\n\n"Ah, you mean when she was working at the... um, inn?" Aiane murmurs, his cheeks and pointed ears coloring a bit.\n\n"Told you about that, huh?" Well you can't say you're too surprised, it's not like Aiane's a particularly sheltered kid at all, and Starielle's always been pretty frank with you about how she feels about her time working in the brothel. "Yup, that's true, it's somewhere in this city, and that was where we met." You glance upward, noting the time... early evening, starting to move towards full dark, especially with the height of the tree-wall around the city. "Anyway, we're not due to report in until the morning, so let's take a bit of a walk around, get a look at the place, and find somewhere to stay for the night."\n\nThe two of you set off, doing some light sightseeing, in that everything's pretty much new to both of you... you only walked around for maybe two hours or so before, so it's not like you're a particularly well-versed guide. The streets seem to be lit by lamps with little miniature gardens inside that host colonies of luminescent insects... amusingly the buzzing sounds a lot like some of the lowtech lights you've been around on other worlds, though the light itself is a bit more pleasantly yellow than those. You're just pondering that when someone standing under one of said lamps pushes off of it and saunters towards you.\n\nYou were surprised last time that an elvish city had a brothel, you suppose you shouldn't be surprised they have independent streetwalkers too. This one looks like she's probably only in her mid- to late teenage years (or the elf equivalent), with slightly shorter ears that curl in at the bottom of the base. Her coloration's pretty remarkable, too... not so much the caramel colored skin, but her eyes are less just yellow and more 'gold chrome', and her hair's pretty remarkable... long and straight and shiny, an almost metallic grey that catches with numerous shades in the light, reminding you somewhat of Damascus steel. She's dressed in a half-open white silk blouse and fairly short black skirt, legs sheathed in purple stockings and heels on her feet... yeah, this world is ahead of the curve on women's fashion, looks like.\n\n"Hey," she says, resting a hand on her hip and jutting it out a bit, showing off her pretty body with full perky tits and sleekly rounded hips. "Care to have some fun tonight?" She glances at Aiane, who's blushing brightly now. "I don't mind giving a good two-for-one rate, y'know."\n\n<hr>\n[[Two for one sounds good!|LeoSon]]\n\n[[He's too young, you on the other hand...|LeoSon]]\n\n[[Hm, maybe it's time for Aiane to become a man.|LeoSon]]\n\n[[Sorry, we have work in the morning.|LeoSon]]\n\n[[Actually doesn't she look sort of familiar?|LeoSon1x6]]

"Y'know, you look vaguely familiar, did you maybe ever work at the Blushing Elf Maiden?" you ask, deciding for a light, casual tone that you hope will relax Aiane. She's just a person, after all, no reason you can't talk with her like one.\n\n"Hm?" The girl frowns a bit and straightens up. "I don't work there, but I live there. Mirielle keeps saying I'm not quite old enough to sign on as one of her girls, so I just go out instead."\n\nA nagging suspicion is starting to build up in the back of your head, but your conscious mind is rejecting it hard. Instead you say, "Hm, the rooms there are really nice and insulated too... I'm sure some of your Mom's friends would like to meet you, if they're still there, Aiane." You fish a gold coin out of your jacket, since you came prepared this time, and proffer it to the girl. "We're not familiar with the city, so if you'd guide us there?"\n\nShe looks rather dubious for a moment, but finally nods and plucks the coin out of your fingers, tucking it away somewhere as she turns and starts walking. "Guess so, follow me."\n\nSoon you spot the familiar building... no girls outside advertising this time. It actually looks a little busier and livelier than when you were here before, but you guess you arrived fairly early that day. This time there's a handful of customers drinking, talking, and playing games in the bar area, as well as a number of girls obviously working, either serving the drinks or dancing attendance on the customers. You don't need to glance over to know Aiane's ears are red, though your new acquaintance seems entirely unfazed... well, she said she lives here, after all, though it also kind of looks like not much flaps her. It only takes a moment after the three of you have walked in for the familiar form of the prim-looking 'head maid' of the establishment walks up... actually it looks like the girls are dressed like 'naughty aristocrats' now, and the madam... Mirielle, apparently... looks like she could attend a dance party at the castle without most blinking twice. You do notice her gaze cool perceptibly when she sees you, though there's also the faintest flash of something else in her eyes... fear? But then it's gone, turning to just as brief and suppressed a moment of shock as she sees Aiane. But she doesn't let her stop her for more than a moment as she walks over to stand in front of you.\n\n"Mister Leo. Welcome back to the Blushing Elf Maiden."\n\n"Thanks. Ah, ma'am, I wanted to introduce you... this is my and Starielle's son, Aiane."\n\n"Aiane, it's a pleasure," she says formally, bowing her head slightly, and not so much glancing aside as she adds, "If you would, Leonalith?" The caramel-skinned elf beside you freezes from having turned to go, and quickly pulls on a mask of indifference as she turns back and settles in (slightly sulkily) at your side again. "Now. Aiane, my name is Mirielle, and I was your mother's acquaintance and manager for some many years. Mm..." She looks him up and down briefly, then actually gives him a small smile. "I see a bit of your mother in you... even if it's mostly your father." ... Ow. How did she manage to say that last bit so that the fact she was unhappy about it was audible to everyone but Aiane? At least you heard it, and you're pretty sure Aiane didn't hear it because he's smiling without reservation... and Leonalith definitely heard it to judge by that little kittenish smirk of hers. "Hm, now, I do wish to talk to you a bit more, but I've a few other things to take care of. Did your mother ever get around to teaching you Discalotora?"\n\n"No ma'am," Aiane answers in that perfect polite youthful voice that you're fairly sure causes some pairs of ovaries in the room to do a hitch to judge from the glances.\n\n"I see, well that's a shame. Leonalith is quite good at it... if you would, Leonalith, teach him the game?" The girl rolls her eyes, but apparently she's either starting to like Aiane or she doesn't disobey her apparent surrogate parent, because she heads for one of the tables in the bar while beckoning to your son. As she goes past, Mirielle snags her by the upper arm and looks at her over her glasses. "Just teach him Discalotora, understood?"\n\nCrap.\n\nAs the two teenagers head to a table, and safely out of earshot, Mirielle looks back at you rubbing your face with one hand and quirks an eyebrow. "Starting to recall that you left something behind the last time you were here, Mister Leo?"\n\n"Yeaaaah," you grumble, rolling your eyes as your hand slips off your chin. "Dammit. Starielle told me our birth control methods canceled each other out, but somehow it never occurred to me that the other girl was probably using the same kind."\n\n"I wonder why," the madam says coolly, before holding up a hand at your frustrated look. "... I'm sorry, I'm not being fair. Especially since even with the methods we use, these things still happen, it's simply a hazard of the job. Leonalith is hardly the first child born in these walls and I doubt she'll be the last. Excuse my slight shift of subject, but... Starielle, is she well? Are you two together now?"\n\n"Yeah, she's great... she's actually on a mission with my sister right now," you explain with a wry grin, still trying to process everything in the back of your mind as you look over towards the table where your so-... your offspring... are playing some board game with numerous little colored checker-like pieces. Then you shake your head. "We're not a couple, no, I didn't know about Aiane until he was about ten. Since then we've both been his parents, but never really-"\n\n"Hey Leooooooooooo!" comes a happy squeal from off to the side.\n\nYou turn just in time to get ballistic hugged by a busty brown elf with a bright smile and dancing yellow eyes. 'Oh crap oh crap oh crap her name is, it was, it was uhhhhh-' "Um, hey, Kaialith," you say, grinning a little sheepishly at her.\n\n"Hiiii! Wow, it's been so long since you dropped in! That was a heck of a night we had with Starielle, even all these years later I remember that one, 'specially since it turned out to be a goodbye fling with my friend, y'know?" Kaialith smiles brightly at you without reservation... before her own smile turns sheepish and she steps back, still grinning as she looks aside and brushes a fingertip against her cheek. "So heeeeeeeeeey, there was something I wanted to tell you!"\n\n"Yeah, I know already, I met her," you can't help but be a bit flat as you say.\n\n"Oh, really?! Whew, that's some worry off of me on how to tell you!" Kaialith puts her hands on her hips and laughs brightly, while you and Mirielle each put a hand to your face. "Man that was waaaay less awkward than I was worrying about, hahahaha!"\n\n"So, uh... is everything okay with you two?" you ask, unable to help frowning a little now. "I met Leonalith... wait, you named her after me?"\n\n"Sure! Why not?"\n\n"That's... ... well, I mean thank you. Er, what I mean is, I met her out on the street, apparently she's, well... ... she's out soliciting on the street?"\n\n"Oh, yeah. I mean it's not like I encouraged her or anything, y'know, Mirielle and I both told her all that she was growing up 'You can be whatever you want to be and we'll help make it happen' but she seems to want to do this, you know?"\n\n"Which would not be a problem, but I often wonder how much of her desire is shaped by the fact that she knows very little other than this world," Mirielle murmurs, shaking her head. "We sent her to outside schools, and have both done what we can to expose her to outside elements as much as possible, but this is where she comes home to, after all... I suspect it is very comfortable for her, she's simply 'settling' into it."\n\n"Which, hey, Leo, actually we kinda discussed something if you ever showed up, y'know?" Kaialith beams as she says, "How about you take Leonalith back to that 'Guildhall' of yours with you for awhile?"\n\n"Uh." Wow, this is all moving... very fast, you haven't even gotten to tell Leonalith you're her father yet, and they're already asking you to take her home with you. \n\n"Just, y'know, for a few years. Like maybe five at the most?" Kaialith continues blithely, holding up one hand with her fingers spread. "Show her some stuff that's not here, let her see a different sort of life, maybe take her some fun places?"\n\n"I do have to concur," Mirielle cuts in smoothly. "It would do Leonalith some good to experience a broader taste of what the world... in your case, universe... has to offer. If in five years time she'd still like to come back and become a worker here, I would welcome her back with open arms, feeling secure that she had been shown other options."\n\nWell. They've got it all worked out, don't they? You glance back and forth between the two, Kaialith beaming and cheerful as if unaware of the enormity of what she's asking, Mirielle even and calm with a look in her eyes that says she's fully aware of the enormity of what she's asking and just daring you to not be man enough for the task.\n\n<hr>\n[[No way, nuh-uh.|LeoSon]]\n\n[[Yeaaah, okay.|LeoSon]]\n\n[[... Kaialith has to come too.|LeoSon1x7]]

"Alright, she can come live on the Guildhall with me," you think, already vaguely trying to figure out how you're going to arrange certain housing issues. "But on one condition. Kaialith, you have to come too."\n\n"Eh? Me?" Kaialith blinks and points at herself. "But I like it here! Sure, I mean, I'd miss Leonalith if we weren't together, but I would if she left to do something else anyway, so... uh... what was I saying?"\n\n"Listen, I'm gonna be away a lot of the time... in between the times where I'd be able to hang out with her and show her stuff, she'd basically just be sitting in our apartment or kicking around the Guildhall by herself, and without any other influences she'd probably just be heading down to one of the market levels to do exactly what she was doing tonight," you answer, shaking your head. "If you really want her to get out there and experience some new stuff, her mom needs to come along and experience it with her."\n\nKaialith's looking a bit thoughtful now, frowning as she looks down, when Mirielle speaks up again. "As much as I'd like to make some comment about this man trying to steal away more of my best workers as well as close acquaintances, he does have a point, Kaialith. His profession does keep him busy, and we can't ask him to just take five years off to do this. Besides, just as it won't hurt Leonalith to get out and experience what the universe has to offer, neither will it hurt you."\n\n"I... guess so." Kaialith is still frowning lightly. "But I can come back, right?"\n\n"Yes, you will always be welcome here. This is your home and there will always be a place for you in it," Mirielle replies evenly. You kinda see what Starielle meant now about how she shows her deep feelings in her own way. "But if you should find happiness somewhere else, I will be satisfied as well."\n\n"Wellllll... um, so, there's places for working girls on this Guildhall, right?" Kaialith asks, glancing over at you.\n\n"Ah, yeah, there are, but you wouldn't have to worry about that," you assure her. "Where I'm at right now with my career, I'm really comfy money-wise, there's no troubles with keeping the lights on or dinner on the table, you and Leonalith could just stay with me without needing to work."\n\n"Ohoooo, housewife play, is it?" Kaialith practically coos, putting her fingers in front of her mouth as she snickers, yellow eyes dancing in a way you're not sure how you feel about. "Huhu, well, I can do that, we'll see how that works out, huhu~!"\n\nMirielle gives her a long look, before turning her gaze back to you. "... In any event. You agree, then, Mister Leo?"\n\n"Just Leo. Or if you have to, 'Mister LaChance'. But yeah." You rub your face some, then shake your head. "Look, Aiane and I are signed up for part of this 'hunt squad' that's operating the next few days. I already confirmed the job so we both need to show up and see it through... when it's done, that's when we'll leave, okay? Until then let me find my own way to tell Aiane, if you would."\n\n"More than fair," Mirielle agrees. "Kaialith, why don't you show him to a double-bed room? It's my understanding he'll be reporting at dawn. I'll send Aiane up presently, Mister LaChance."\n\nYou hesitate briefly, but nod... you feel like you can trust Mirielle not to let anything untoward happen, so you follow the bouncy (in more ways than one) brown-skinned elf upstairs to what looks more like a standard inn room than the one you were in last time. Your mind still awhirl, you flop into bed and close your eyes, cycling through meditation techniques until you find one that works and lets you sleep. \n\nThe next morning... though only just... you and Aiane report to the castle training grounds, where a number of other mercenaries both local and from the Guild have gathered. You notice that all the local guards are armed with slugthrowers now... not particularly advanced ones, but guns all the same. 'What are those, I've seen more than one trekking across the multiverse... M-Something Garand? It's like those things just sort of appear places, I wonder if the king bought these from a Guild connection or if two just showed up and mated?' Anyway, you do your best to keep your head down and mind your own business, in no mood to socialize... Aiane obviously wonders what's got you grumpy, but keeps his curiosity to himself. 'He's a good kid. Wonder if the new one will be so easy?' You think back to Leonalith's almost stereotypical teenage girl disdain for everything around her. 'Prooobably not.' \n\nApparently the big to-do coming up is Princess Amanielle's birthday, and since it's going to be held outside the guards want specialists like you combing through the woods and nearby area eliminating anything that could be dangerous. It's not particularly hazardous or taxing work, involving mostly shooting wolves and wild pigs and the like... you know some of the groups are likely to run into orcs, but eh, the kid will likely have to kill his first sentient at some point if he's gonna be in the life. Still, you're hoping it's not this trip, you've got enough on your plate, and for the first two days at least it all goes smoothly. When you come back to the Blushing Elf Maiden to sleep it's usually late, allowing you to luckily avoid any of the parties involved. Though on the third day Aiane asks to spend the evening hanging out with some of the younger mercs he's met and talked to during the mission... you know enough of them that you're not too concerned, so you agree, and head back to the inn yourself in early evening.\n\nYou find Leonalith sitting on one of the barrels outside... she's wearing a blouse again, though only the top few buttons are undone, and she's wearing black slacks and flats instead of the other attire, that and her hair being pulled back into a ponytail giving her a slightly 'mature tomboy' look rather than the sensuality of before. She quirks her eyebrows as you approach, prompting you to stop long enough for her to say, "So, I hear you're my old man."\n\n... Riiiight. You asked them to let you tell Aiane (which yeah you kinda need to do that) but sort of failed to mention any feelings on them telling Leonalith. "Yeaaaah," you murmur, rubbing the back of your neck. "I only just found out about it myself, y'know."\n\n"Figured. This isn't exactly an etiquette school, y'know, these things happen. Usually when a baby's daddy shows up he either turns right around and leaves or he just shrugs and says 'So what?', that's all." She kicks her feet a bit as she looks at you, eyes slightly narrowed. ... Geez, you thought she looked like her mother, but in this light you actually can see that she looks a lot like your mother in the face, there's a hell of a realization. Especially considering that you're unable to help realizing how friggin' hot she is, since that whole 'she's your daughter' thing hasn't quite internalized yet. While you're sulking to yourself she continues, "I also hear me and my mother are shipping out with you."\n\n"Yeah. Probably tomorrow afternoon. Your mom and Mirielle both think it's better if you learn a bit more about what's out there before deciding what you wanna do with your life." You smile a little sheepishly at her. "Listen, I know it's probably annoying to have this decision made for you, but it's a couple of years, and you'll have fun probably. The Guildhall's a great place, I loved it growing up, and I'll be able to take you a lot of other great places too, stuff from around the multiverse."\n\n"Mm." She just looks at you flatly, before hopping down from the barrel and sauntering over. "Thing is, I like my little slice of the world. It's comfy. It's fun. It's where all the people I know and the fewer I actually like are. I mean it might not be so bad if I was going on my own, but... my mom coming along too? It's fine with her around here, but having her along on every new thing I try? I mean... meh. So, y'know, if instead of coming back here tomorrow, maybe you just leave from wherever you are when you finish that dumb hunting job?"\n\n"I'm not entirely sure Mirielle wouldn't track me down across dimensions for breaking that sort of promise, even if I were inclined to," you answer wryly.\n\n"Oh, c'mon. I could always try and convince you," she suggests, tilting her head and smiling just slightly.\n\n<hr>\n[[No.|LeoSon]]\n\n[[... "Convince"?|LeoSon]]\n\n

It's not like femininity is a bad thing, right? You'll be fine adding some to yourself, you're sure. ... However this works. You step forward to the pillar on the right and, after only another heartbeat's hesitation, press the button atop it.\n\nInstantly you can feel a strange change come over you... it's not really like a tingling, or an ache, or anything, it's just that you can actually feel the alteration in your body. You look down at yourself, watching as your chest takes on a slightly softer look, your nipples growing pinker and a little bit puffier. You also notice that your hips round out a little, and to judge by the feeling there your ass is as well. Luckily you don't notice any change in your cock's size, but you do notice that it seems like it grows a bit smoother, more... pretty, almost? A weird thought... you're kind of glad you already shave (it's a costume thing, though admittedly your girlfriend's never complained), you wouldn't want to know what would go on with your hair at that point. Although speaking of which, you can feel the hair on your head grow and slide partway down your neck, drifting over your ears.\n\n'This isn't so bad,' you think with relief as a door slides open in one of the walls. Heck, if this is all it is, you could probably fix it with a few extra workouts and a trip to the superbarber. Of course, almost immediately you berate yourself... you've only just taken the first 'change' of the maze, and who knows how many more Deathtrap's going to put you through before you get out of here? You don't even have any idea of which choice leads you more directly to the exit, you're just going to have to navigate it as best you can.\n\nSpeaking of which, this room looks almost identical to the last one, with a pair of button pillars with writing on the front. Similarly, these two have writing on them, albeit each has two lines: '+Femininity | -Masculinity' and '+Femininity | +Animal'. ... Animal? What does '+Animal' mean? Besides that, looks like you aren't getting out of this one without another femininity boost. Well, you're pretty sure at this point what will happen if you choose the first one... you'll become more female-like and less male-like. The other one has an unknown quantity. What to pick?\n\n<hr>\n[[+Femininity -Masculinity|CalMaze1x2]]\n\n[[+Femininity +Animal|CalMaze]]

Generally when dealing with this sort of situation, the smartest option is to go with what you know... risk you understand is easier to manage than unknown quantities. So, suppressing a sigh, you reach out and press the button on the left pedestal.\n\nAgain instantly you can feel the changes coming over your body, this time all over it. Your shoulders grow more slender even as your hair grows long enough to reach down to them and a little bit past. The softening of your pecs increases, the more pliable flesh rounding out further in front to the point that it's quite obvious at a glance that they're now breasts. Your waist grows more slender, your hips and ass even more round, the shape of your legs and arms altering a bit as well... still toned and muscular but now with somewhat sleeker lines. And, as you'd feared, your cock shrinks somewhat, making you suppress a flinch as both your shaft and balls draw in closer to your body.\n\nYou turn towards the next door that opens, trying to ignore it as you distinctly hear the sound of Deathtrap's snickering coming from some hidden speaker somewhere. Again, the next room is much like the last one, although this one has more than two choice pillars. Trying not to pay too much attention to the feeling of your altered body as you walk over, you eye your potential choices somewhat sourly.\n\n'+Femininity | -Masculinity | -Intelligence'\n\n'+Femininity | -Masculinity | -Morality'\n\n'+Femininity | -Masculinity | +Libido'\n\n... Yeah none of those are good. Again, the first two options seem to be a given, trading your maleness for more femaleness, but the third one... agh. '+Libido' seems like it should be the obvious choice, you're a superhero, dealing with horny is one of those secondary skills you have to develop that no one really talks about. But you doubt that Deathtrap would include such an 'easy' option if she didn't intend to take advantage of it by the end, or at the least make it worse. The others are bad for far more obvious reasons... if you give away some of your intelligence, your ability to make choices about getting through the maze is going to drop. Morality seems like the worst of the lot to trade... but then, most of the changes have been pretty minor so far, right? If you get just a little less moral and are still smart enough to realize what's been done to you, you could probably just force yourself to mentally train back into the proper mindset. Right?\n\n<hr>\n[[+Femininity -Masculinity -Intelligence|CalMaze]]\n\n[[+Femininity -Masculinity -Morality|CalMaze]]\n\n[[+Femininity -Masculinity +Libido|CalMaze1x3]]

As much of a 'bait' option as it seems to be, after considering all the angles, the one that increases your libido just seems to be the one you'll be most likely to manage. Taking a bit of a deep breath, you reach out and press the third button.\n\nThen you let the breath out in a gasp as this time the changes to your body definitely come with a more obvious sensation... it is a sort of hot, tingly feeling that rushes all across your skin, making you feel more sensitive to everything, besides the feeling of your body altering. From the feeling of your hair sliding down your shoulders and back further to the bottom of your shoulderblades, to your nipples stiffening into little pink diamonds as your new breasts grow larger, to a strange sort of faint eagerness in your ass and hips as they further take on roundure. 'My waist got smaller too,' you think a little dazedly. 'Almost perfect for someone to grab and haul me towards them... wait, shit!' you swear silently. Your cock stiffens almost achingly even as it grows smaller, jutting out from your crotch at an almost pathetic angle considering the size and sexiness of the rest of your body. You can feel the sensation in your hands and feet too, raising your hands to look at them as they slim out, your fingers becoming slightly more delicate and nails shinier and extending, your feet becoming fully feminine as well.\n\n'Dammit, Deathtrap,' you try to growl mentally, but even in your head it comes out as more of a whimper as you have to suppress the urge to touch your small but steel-hard erection, or to fondle your now rather large, jiggly tits. They're not as big as your mother's by a fair bit, but you've got the sense that Deathtrap's probably not done with you on that front. You walk through the opened door into the next room, trying to ignore it as your tits jiggle with the motion.\n\nAs expected, the next round of choices isn't a lot better. At least they seem to have dropped off being largely the same except for the last option, but you're not sure that what they've got to offer is any better.\n\n'-Cock | +Pussy | +Libido'\n\n'-Potency | +Sexualized | +Libido'\n\n'+Cock | +Tits | -Shame'\n\nAgain, it feels like one of these is bordering on schmuck bait... it's obvious this line of rooms was designed to make you horny to the point of breaking, taking the one that just causes more physical changes should be the clearest choice. But again, she wouldn't put it there without reason, and you're a little worried about just what reducing your shame could wind up doing. The top option... well, that one seems obvious, you'd almost certainly become fully female, and a horny one at that. You're not entirely sure what '+Sexualized' is, but you're guessing that '-Potency' means that while you'd keep your dick, you wouldn't actually be doing much with it anymore.\n\n<hr>\n[[-Cock +Pussy +Libido|CalMaze1x4]]\n\n[[-Potency +Sexualized +Libido|CalMaze]]\n\n[[+Cock +Tits -Shame|CalMaze]]

Sigh... at this point you may as well go all the way, you think, reaching out to press the first button.\n\nThe changes this time definitely feel intense, albeit concentrated entirely in one area. You whimper aloud a little involuntarily as your cock rapidly shrinks smaller and smaller, drawing in closer to the front of your crotch until it disappears completely. At the same time you can feel changes within you, but especially between your legs as outer pussylips plump outward and then spread open to reveal pink between them. Almost immediately you can feel wetness on your skin, dribbling down your inner thighs, your whole body feeling achey and needy. You can't resist the urge this time to tuck a hand between your legs and run your fingers over your new pussy, shuddering at the intense feeling it sends through you, your other hand coming up to cup one of your breasts and give it a squeeze.\n\nBut almost instantly you get yourself under control with the steely mental discipline you've developed over the years, yanking your hands away from yourself and swallowing hard. Self control, you have self control! ... Maybe not enough, you think ruefully as you look at two fingers from your right hand, spreading them to show the long strand of wetness that briefly connects them before dropping and breaking. \n\nAnother door's opened up, and forcing yourself to focus on the task at hand, you turn and march through. Again there are multiple pillars, but you have some hope that you're close to the end, because like the first room each only has one option on it. They're not exactly the most appealing options in the world, but at least you're hoping that means it's the final shot Deathtrap's taking at you before letting you out. Some of them are decidedly... odd, too, and not formatted like the previous options, but you're betting that at least those would for sure lead to the way out.\n\n<hr>\n[[+Libido|CalMaze1x5]]\n\n[[-Shame|CalMaze5x1]]\n\n[[Oviposition|CalMaze]]\n\n[[+2 Breasts|CalMaze3x1]]\n\n[[++Infernal|CalMaze]]

Ohgod, you're really not sure you're making the right decision here, but so many of the others are so strange and unknown that you're not sure what you'd do with them. Swallowing and doing your best to focus preemptively, you reach out and press the first button.\n\nYou weren't prepared for the intense impact of arousal that was going to hit you, and you literally stagger in place with the sheer force of it thrumming through your body. Your pussylips swell further, becoming almost painfully plumped up and drooling down your inner thighs, a small splatter of it falling to hit the floor directly. You're completely unable to resist tucking a hand between your legs, whimpering "Oh god!" as you start working your fingers instinctively over yourself... then letting out a wail of "Oh COME ON!" as you look through the opened door and see another room with pillars.\n\nYou almost stagger through the door, your whole body feeling flushed and sweat starting to gleam on your skin as you make your way towards the pedastals, unable to take your hand from between your legs as you do. When you see that one of the pillars reads 'Exit' you almost smash the button instantly, before forcing yourself to stop and remember that Deathtrap has successfully baited you through this entire thing. You actually need to read and see what's being offered, though fuuuuck is it hard to focus on the idea of anything but wanting hard cocks to pound you... nnnf, dammit!\n\n'Exit'\n\n'Reset Libido | ---Powers'\n\n'Satisfaction | Exit'\n\nS-so your options are... your options are to just leave the maze exactly like this... and probably be this horny forever, oh fuck, oh fuck you'd go crazy... or, i-it looks like the middle one says you can put your libido back to where it was, but you'll have to trade your powers, or at least most of them, to do it. The third... the third... is so obviously a trap, it's insanely obviously a trap, there's no way that Deathtrap would just give you a nice little bonus before letting you out, but it's so harrrrd to make yourself realize that when you're so fucking horny, it feels like you're dying from being so turned-on, your body and ever more of your mind is screaming at you that you need satisfaction, you have to have it...!\n\n<hr>\n[[Exit|CalMaze]]\n\n[[Reset Libido ---Powers|CalMaze1x6]]\n\n[[Satisfaction Exit|CalMaze]]

Feeling yourself starting to give in to the lure of the third button, you rally your willpower and lurch forward, slapping your hand down on the center button.\n\nThe sense of relief is near-instant and palpable as you slump against the column, shuddering and panting. Your body is still aroused... you can feel that obviously enough, your nipples still almost achingly stiff and a sort of wanting pressure from low in your belly and between your legs, and obviously the wetness on your skin. But it's no longer a constant, ever-increasing need that feels like it's consuming you. Taking calming breaths, you let your mind clear, doing your best to restore your equilibrium.\n\n... You don't really feel that different otherwise, well, other than still being a woman. There's a vague sense that something's changed but nothing you can identify... well, the power suppression collar means that your powers were already muted, you'll have no idea how much you've actually had removed until it's gone and you're out of here. Sighing a bit at just what this maze is costing you, but at least able to think clearly again, you push yourself fully to your feet, making a face as you see more pillars beyond. Dammit. Well, you guess it's obvious since this one didn't have 'Exit' on it like the other two.\n\nYou're relieved to see, though, that it looks like all of these do. They also all have one other thing on them, meaning you have to pick one last thing to be inflicted on you... or taken from you... before you're allowed to leave.\n\n<hr>\n[[-Shame Exit|CalMaze]]\n\n[[+Masochism Exit|CalMaze1x7]]\n\n[[-Taboo Exit|CalMaze2x1]]\n\n[[--Emotion Exit|CalMaze]]

You remember several of your friends joking that every good hero is at least a little bit of a masochist, though you're fairly certain they meant emotionally. Still, it seems like adding a bit of a kink to yourself would be the least bad of all these weird options. After a bit of hesitating and reconsidering, you reaffirm your decision and reach out to press the button.\n\nAt first you think nothing happens... and then there's such a rush across your skin that at first you almost think that it was actually a hidden libido increase instead. But quickly you realize that you're getting excited again because you're naked, and vulnerable, powerless in Deathtrap's grip, nothing but her own assurances to keep her from doing absolutely anything she wants to you. What if the power suppression collar is actually a shock collar? She could shock you to the floor, leave you writhing and bucking in pain, she could tie you up in some awful-\n\nYou quickly shake your head and shove the thoughts away, controlling yourself. Dammit... so that's what it did. It really did make you a masochist. But a few calming breaths and you're able to get rid of the thoughts... or, well, at least shove them down so that they're not so insistent and immediate. Straightening your back and shoulders, you turn and walk through the door nearby, which you're relieved to see has no pillars, and instead is extending up a container that looks like the one you put your costume in.\n\n"Well done, Caliburn, well done!" Deathtrap says in a smirky tone that says she's not at all bothered by you surviving through this particular labyrinth... the fact that she's displaying a picture of you in the throes of the intense arousal of having your libido maxed out next to her image is probably the reason why. The sheer humiliation and degradation of her showing off her record of you in such a pathetic state sends a shudder of pleasure through you that makes you moan under your breath, though it looks like she heard all the same from her smug expression going. "As promised, I've included the disk with the sole copy of the hacked data with your things, which you may graciously have back, and I will never reveal your identity or anything else I found in the files to anyone," she adds as the collar pops open and drops to the floor.\n\n"Fine," you say with all the dignity you can muster as you start removing your things from the bin, quickly tucking the disk you spot into your belt before beginning to pull on the tight bodysuit. Mmmf... it stretches to fit your new curves, but it reveals way too much, it's practically giving you a cameltoe, everyone can see your pussy, how humi-... dammit, stop! You finish getting dressed and march to the door, still trying to keep your dignity.\n\n"Of course," Deathtrap says, making you pause. "I suppose you're just trusting me to do that. I always keep my deals, of course, but if you really wanted to insure my silence forever, you could offer yourself up as my hostage."\n\n"H-... hostage?" you almost squeak, resisting the urge to let your thighs rub together.\n\n"Of course I'd treat you terribly... locking you in a miserable cell, wearing rags or nothing at all, feeding you slime, trying out new machines of torment on you," Deathtrap chirps in a positively adorable tone, grinning at you as she lays a blue cybernetic fingertip to her lips. "Why, I might even be particularly evil and occasionally let my minions have use of your helpless body."\n\n<hr>\n[["... Pass."|CalMaze]]\n\n[["I OFFER MYSELF AS TRIBUTE!"|CalMaze]]

"Mmm?" Byff pauses mid-drink this time, a little bit of foam running down the side of his furry chin as his ears flick.\n\n"Like how could I level up really fast as an Adventurer? I've apparently already got a skill that helps me do that, but how could I really get it all... level up, powerful gear, all that?"\n\n"Mmmmm," Byff says in a far more thoughtful, and slightly grim tone, lowering his mug and rubbing his chin (incidentally more driving the foam into his fur to let it be absorbed rather than actually wiping it away). \n\n"I mean there's gotta be a way, right?"\n\n"Well lad there's several ways, sure enough, I'm just not sure I'd really suggest taking any of them. All dangerous, all rather harsh. My advice would be to go at your own pace, don't mind taking the time to grow as a fighter."\n\n"... And if I insisted?"\n\n"Mmmmmmmm." This time Byff closes his eyes and leans his head back... then shrugs his massive shoulders and looks at you, grinning. "Then I'll tell you! I'm not a man to hold back just for someone's own good, ahahahaha!"\n\n"So okay, just let me know a few of my options, right?"\n\n"Mmhmmm. Alright, well, I suppose the one that's closest to anything I'd actually suggest is to take yourself off to Ebonarza."\n\n"Ebonarza... I think I've heard that name before. Isn't it another adventurer city like Sabanara?"\n\n"Mmmm, it's an adventurer city, but not really like Sabanara. The dungeons there are a lot more dangerous, filled with much more valuable items and loot of all kinds, to be sure, but they chew up and swallow adventurers at a rate that's unlike anything anywhere else. The city's not too great a place itself either, from many an influence... the guards don't even pretend they're there to protect anyone but the nobles and those rich enough to pay for it. If the criminal element sticks to the shadows in Ebonarza, it's only so they don't sunburn, hahahahahaha! But, well, they say Ebonarza's like anvil and forge," he continues with another massive shrug. "The hammer will either strike a flaw and shatter you, or you'll come out of it much stronger and sharper."\n\n"Hm," you hm. Going to another city would mean leaving everything you know in Sabanara behind... but you guess you'd kind of already begun thinking that might be the case someday anyway, the moment you decided to become an adventurer.\n\n"Also I suppose if you really wanted it, you could have me sell you into a term of indenture." At your blanch, he shrugs. "Not that I'm suggesting it too seriously, mind you, just that I do know several strong adventurers who'd buy the contract... they don't really take on newbie adventurers any other way, y'see. You could learn a lot from them, and when the term was done I'd hand over the money to you."\n\nWhich would mean trusting Byff, but you find you kind of do, just from a sense of the guy. Also a term of indenture is... oof. You'd basically be a slave, with the only caveat that your master wouldn't be allowed to kill you or harm you too badly, and that you'd be free at the end of the term. Still, if he's right, and it would let you learn from some really powerful adventurers...\n\n"Then I hear there's a program over at the Magic College that's all about improving the abilities of adventurers quickly," Byff continues. "But, ah, I hear they let just anyone work in it. Really, lad, best skip it. Best skip any of them, really. You're level two your first day doing it the right way, why rush?" he adds in a more casual, amiable tone as he finishes off his drink.\n\nBecause you're tired of being looked down on by everyone metaphorically as well as literally, you think sulkily even as you take a few more gulps of your own ale. You need to get better fast, and show people they can't just... say anything they want to you.\n\n<hr>\n[[Go to Ebonarza.|Raz5x7]]\n\n[[Get indentured.|Raz]]\n\n[[Go to the magic college.|Raz]]

"Yeah, alright, accepted," you say with a nod.\n\n"Great! Oh, there is just one other thing I have to offer. Here, let's step inside..."\n\nYou raise an eyebrow, but follow him as he turns and heads over to what looks like it used to be a (now overgrown and empty) park's recreation center. The door's already open and he steps into the dim entryway, turning and waiting for you to join him before taking a set of injectors out of one of his pockets.\n\n"Now, just to let you know, the vast majority of the people who are working for Carmine on this job are both male and anthro. Right now you'd proooobably be the only human female there," he notes with a slightly rueful chuckle.\n\n"Mmhmmm," you reply with a sort of vague, general noise in your throat. To be sure there are certain, ah, stereotypes about anthro guys and their incredibly strong preference for human girls, but you're not sure if it would be appropriate for you to acknowledge that, despite it being what he seems to be heavily implying. So you keep it broad as you say, "So are you saying I might have problems, or be a problem?"\n\n"Neither, specifically, more that there might just be general difficulty with fitting in, shall we say," he says in an even, largely neutral tone of his own. "Now, in my role as a headhunter, one of my jobs is to help smooth over such problems where possible. So," he says, holding up the injectors and giving them a waggle.\n\nThat pretty quickly clues you in. "What, you're telling me if I want the job I have to get geneshifted?! That's-"\n\n"I'm not saying you have to, I'm offering it," he interrupts smoothly. "As in 'you can if you want to and you think it would make things go better'. Carmine's footing the bill for them so no worry about the charge, and if you're familiar with the brand at all you'll know they're quality. No risk of fucking up your stranding, you can take the jecter to any genestore or doc on the Guildhall and get a reversion when you want, it's prepaid with these."\n\nMidnight definitely seems to have realized he's broken through at least some of your leeriness by the way you're eyeing the injection pens, since he grins and gives them a waggle again. "I have a male, female, and a 'twain shall meet', however you want to phrase that. Your choice, though for fitting in best I recommend the male. Hey, why not take a chance to try something really new, when you have the opportunity?"\n\n<hr>\n[[Take the male.|ChiRed1x2]]\n\n[[Take the female.|ChiRed]]\n\n[[Take the... other.|ChiRed3x1]]\n\n[[Stay as you are.|ChiRed2x1]]

You've taken Midnight's advice about keeping broader options for work and developing your reputation open, but you're not sure you're really ready to start socializing with guys like Carmine. Yet, anyway. "I appreciate the offer, but you're right, if I'm responsible for getting it cleaned up I better start so I don't have to sleep on dusty sheets."\n\n"Fair enough. Midnight?" Carmine prompts.\n\nSmirking as he apparently gets to show off that yes, he can arrange such things without you even noticing, Midnight proffers you a datacard. "Your room key for 2101, and also what you'll use when turning in your bounties."\n\n"Alright, thanks. Midnight. Sir," you add, giving Carmine a little salute with the card, which he seems to enjoy, before turning and heading back to the elevator. The guards grunt personably at you to acknowledge you as you wait for it, and soon you've ridden down the several floors to the condo.\n\n'Well it's big,' you think once you step into the room. A fairly large open area directly inside, complete with a large stone fireplace, the main area set below several shallow steps and leading to what you're guessing is a full kitchen beyond. There's a large set of picture windows along the opposite wall, giving what's still a great view of the city, even if the city is no longer picturesque, and a hallway leading off to either side of it. Probably multiple bedrooms and bathrooms. This would have been a rich family's living space back in the day, no doubt. Now it's as empty as if they'd moved out in an orderly fashion, though from the traces in the dust you're betting it's more like someone's come through and either looted all the furniture and appliances... or, considering some of what Carmine said, possibly taken them to rent or sell back to the mercenaries using these apartments.\n\nThough now it's coated with a thick enough film of dust that it's definitely making your newly senstive nose twitch and protest, the velvety pink thing at the end of your muzzle twisting faintly. Gah! This... sucks so bad. And there's no way you could clean this entire place in one night and then get to bed at a decent hour. You doubt there's a clean set of sheets in the place, either. Then you notice that one of the few things that hasn't been taken is a phone set on a counter built into the floor that separates the lower area and the space around the balcony. You head over and sure enough, there's a small printed note on it reading 'Dial 0-2-2 for services'. With a shrug you pick up the phone and dial, and after a brief electronic trilling a woman's voice answers. "Services, how may I serve?"\n\n"Ah... ha. Er, right, I assume cleaning services are available?" you ask.\n\n"Yes, sir, we offer a weekly cleaning service for your room, which also comes with sheet and towel service. Minimum two weeks."\n\nGood lord, Carmine's got quite a racket set up here, doesn't he? You wonder how much of his money he makes from his job and how much he makes from his mercs. Still, you go ahead and ask what the weekly cost is, then make a face. It's definitely more than you'd like to pay... but also you could easily enough afford it, and isn't going to even come close to putting a dent in what you could make off of this job, considering the bounty list you saw. Still, do you really want to let your employer start charging you to work for him, basically?\n\n<hr>\n[[Nah.|ChiRed]]\n\n[[... Actually yeah kinda.|ChiRed1x4]]

Perhaps Byff sees that you've basically already made up your mind, because he gives a somewhat more resigned chuckle than his usual booming laugh and says, "I suppose if there was someone in particular you were trying to show up, Ebonarza would be a particularly good place to get strong."\n\nYou blink at that. "Oh yeah?"\n\n"Indeed. Magnificent Miss Tyra spends most of her time there, conquering the harder dungeons. She only comes back to Sabanara to check in with the guild proper and make sure her estates are running fine, and then she's back off again searching for ancient treasures and wealth untold."\n\n... Yup that pretty much cinches it for you.\n\nByff clearly understands you've made your decision and, while not necessarily enthusiastic, is willing enough to offer help. He says there's an autocarriage that runs from Sabanara to Ebonarza, and that while it's a long enough trip that you'll definitely need to pack rations (and probably replenish them in the other cities it stops in along the way), it is quite cheap. It only goes once a week, but luckily is scheduled to depart tomorrow.\n\nWith that in mind you thank him, finish your dinner, and then buy some rations from the Guild store. You waffle over spending any more money on more gear or extras, but decide that since you'll still have to buy food in the cities ahead (and Ebonarza once you get there) and presumably won't be able to earn any during the trip, it's better to be careful.\n\nYou also think about what you're going to do about taking your parting, and eventually decide to just leave a letter on your bunk at the orphanage saying that you've gone to seek your fortune as an adventurer (without worrying them, or risking them coming after you, by clarifying where). You feel a little bad at not saying your goodbyes to those close to you more directly, but you also don't want to get bogged down in a week's worth of teary leavetaking.\n\nAnd so the next morning finds you and several other (even more disreputable-looking) people milling around the autocarriage stall, waiting for it to arrive. When it does, you can't help but stare a little bit. Both the golem "horse" and the long wooden carriage itself are covered in graffiti. Some of it is actual paint, practically just splashes and splotches of color, some of it has clearly been applied magically, some of the letters and markings even glowing, announcing names or with runes that presumably had some meaning to them. You've seen some graffiti on autocarriages passing by before, but never this much. None of the others seem fazed by it, though, just filing into the open back of it and settling down onto the long benches running down either side of the covered cart, and after a moment you do as well.\n\nSo begins your journey to Ebonarza. A very long, uncomfortable, jouncing journey since if this autocarriage ever had any enchantments to soothe the road's roughness (or the seat's roughness on a posterior) they've clearly long since run out and not been renewed. Your traveling companions aren't unfriendly, necessarily, but they're not very chatty either... you get the sense that most of them are traveling to Ebonarza out of necessity of one form or another, rather than by deliberate choice like you. So mostly all of you keep to yourselves with a fair bit of space between you on the benches, occasionally exchanging bare pleasantries or trading ration types when you get sick of the same thing every meal.\n\nThe autocarriage stops in several smaller towns and one or two cities, none of which are really remarkable, and while three more people get on, nobody gets off... apparently this isn't a "cold feet" sort of group. You've been in the carriage almost a week and a half (and starting to wonder if your back and ass will ever recover) when an absolutely delicious smell fills the air. Actually it's like at least a dozen different amazing smells, putting you in mind of the food cart areas in festival time when all the cooks haul out their best ingredients and put in the most effort, but... way, way better. Your stomach growls, and it's not the only one.\n\nOne of the others, who had mentioned sort of sourly that this wasn't his first time making this trip, sighs half-disgustedly and half-longingly. "Ah, Bohtaran. Only a few more days to Ebonarza then, once we get there tomorrow."\n\n"You're telling me we can smell this Bohtaran place a day out? ... And it smells this good?" you ask, your eyes widening.\n\n"Aye, lad. Bohtaran's said to be the place where all the best cooking in the world is done. See they get first pick of all the unique and rare ingredients that come out of Ebonarza's dungeons, and over time they've elevated cooking to something bordering on the divine," the middle-aged Human says with another light sigh. "There's people that get literally addicted to it, and wind up staying there forever, scrounging for every copper they can just to afford a rat skewer," he adds with a snicker that says he's exaggerating, but probably not by much.\n\n"Sounds crazy."\n\n"Fair true, swear it! Almost got caught in the cycle m'self once!" He pauses, then leans over towards you and lowers his voice. "Take my advice, lad. We'll stop for a day there to rest before we move on. My advice is to just buy y'self some more rations and retreat to an inn room soon's y'can. There's as many light fingers and rough hands in Bohtaran as there are Ebonarza, almost, and most of 'em desperate for their next meal. Best not tempt those sorts."\n\nYou give a little nod to indicate message received and thanks for the advice, and turn that over in your head. A place where the food is so good it makes thieves out of people? Really strange to think about. But you guess such comforts right before going to what sounds more and more like an equivalent to a prison sentence would tempt a lot of people.\n\nThe smells just get stronger and better the closer to Bohtaran you get, until you're practically drooling by the time the city's actually in sight and drawing closer. You swallow your mouthful of spittle as the side gates swing open for the autocarriage and it pulls into its little "dock", everyone filing off, most rubbing some portion of their back or legs. The Human who gave you the advice shoots you one last urging look, before trotting off in a sort of ambling way that you can't help but think indicates he's probably not going to heed his own advice.\n\nGosh everything smells so good though... one restaurant meal couldn't hurt, right?\n\n<hr>\n[[It probably could.|Raz5x8]]\n\n[[FOOD!!!!|Raz]]

"I found a cellphone under the seat here, yeah," you answer, reaching back to pluck it from the hidden pocket and hold it out. "Is this it?"\n\n"Oh! I mean, yes, that looks like it might be mine, thank you." The lenses of her mask even went wide before she quickly tried to look casual again. "I'll just check," she adds, plucking it up and holding it up, making sure only the back of the case is facing you. The back of the case that's all sparkly in a snowflake pattern.\n\n'Someone needs to have a talk with you about this,' you mutter internally, actually watching her eyes go wide and her cheeks turn pink again before she whips it back down.\n\n"Well, I... this might be... ah..." She trails off, then actually hugs it to her chest, hunching in on herself somewhat. You can't help but think that despite being part of her mask, it looks like her cat ears are drooping, and you can just imagine if she did in fact have one of the infamous fluffy tails of her namesake it would be swishing forelornly. "Did you... perhaps... look at the screen?"\n\n<hr>\n[["... Nnno?"|Cal]]\n\n[["... Mmmmaybe?"|Cal]]\n\n[["... Hm. What if I did?"|Cal]]

There are two libraries on campus, and while both are named after wealthy donors (who died in different centuries), everyone just calls them the Old Library and the New Library. The New Library is of course where people go to use the computer lab, find modern reference material, look studious in hopes someone will see them looking studious and approach them for a "study" date, check out the latest popular children's book because they're so passionate about reading, etc. The Old Library is where you go if you want to actually study in peace and quiet, maybe find a dated or rare piece of reference material, and in your case, try to discover a little bit more about just how much of your little part of the world the university founders were clued in to. \n\nThe building is appropriately old and gothic in style, and the interior smells primarily of old books rather than new furniture and a bland mingling of a hundred different perfumes and body sprays like the new library. You stop by the door, and are in the process of hanging your bag on one of the hooks when you hear a prim, "Leave your bag by the door, please." Of course.\n\nYou glance over at Ms. Lassiter, trying not to let your annoyance show on your face. The librarian has fairly severe features, but an unlined face, her jet black hair pulled back tightly with a braid that goes over each ear and behind the back of her head to form a tight bun. She's one of those people that looks like she could either be a mature forty or a very spry ninety, it's really hard to tell whether she's actually old and just has a definite lack of wrinkles, or relatively young and just has a sour, fussy disposition. Her clothes don't help, a black skirt-suit that looks like a power suit and a pilgrim's dress had a secret, torrid love affair and then shipped their bastard child off to a rod-assed librarian's wardrobe in order to hide their shame. However, she is the librarian here, and you can't afford to get on her bad side by pointing out that you were almost finished doing what she told you to do before she told you to do it. "Yes, ma'am," you reply politely, pulling a notebook and pen out of your bag and tucking them under your arm.\n\n"Mm. I don't suppose you're here working on an actual paper today?" she asks, looking over the rim of her very librarian-y glasses at you. Her eyes are grey, though a much paler shade than your own, and seem to be trying to search your soul for some justification for its existence.\n\n"Just here to read over some of the journals again today, thanks," you reply, heading for a section you've been to repeatedly, while she watched you.\n\n"Donated journals are towards the back and to your left," Lassiter states flatly. "Please remember to clean your hands and that they are not to be checked out."\n\n'I'm not sure what that woman needs but she needs a lot of it and really hard,' you think with an internal sigh as you skim over the row of books, then pluck one down. The Old Library maintains a number of journals from alumni that were donated in their wills, some of which seem to have been clued in but keeping things a bit vague. Still, you're finding some valuable pointers in some of them. This one sounds like he had quite the library of his own... you just need to find out which of his books might be worth tracking down if he donated them. As you read you make several notes, underlining what you think are book titles that you would actually want to look into.\n\nHours pass, and it's late afternoon by the time you approach the desk. Ms. Lassiter looks up at you a bit narrow-eyed, but waits for you to actually speak for once. "Yeah, I found some book titles but I'm not sure where to begin looking them up."\n\n"Very well," Lassiter says after obviously taking a moment to figure out if there's any way she can dissect that and scold you for not using the card catalogue. You suppose not knowing what kind of book they even necessarily are qualifies as worthy of her assistance. "What is the title?"\n\n<hr>\n[["The Witch Princess of Avalon."|ValLib2x1]]\n\n[["The Circles of Faeries."|ValLib1x1]]

Eh, at the least you can say you did something to tidy up the monitor room. You spend awhile poking about under chairs, glancing under workstations, peeking in corners, and looking behind things, just checking for stuff that might have been left behind by some illustrious hero that you'd want to keep as a secret memento. Sadly other than a computer stylus that you think was probably gnawed on by either Copper Shark or Cybertooth, you don't find anything of the sort. You do find a few things... for one, what you're pretty sure is a [[hidden panel|Cal]] in the wall... it doesn't seem to be locked, you're just not sure if it's something you should mess with. The other is a [[cell phone|Cal1x2]] that you actually found slid partway under the base of the main monitor station chair. Looks like it probably slipped either out of the pocket of its owner or off of the seat where they'd laid it while they were on duty themselves.\n\nIf you're not interested in investigating those, well, you could go [[poking around in the computer files|Cal]]...

You don't bother with a quip, a misdirection, or any attempts at pleading, you just instantly channel as much power as you can through the amulet and at the elf. Her sword's already swinging towards your neck even before you push the power out, but drops from a hand that's no longer large enough to hold it without quite touching your shoulder. The regal-looking elf woman gives a rather undignified squeak as she finds herself shrinking so rapidly that her forward movement drops her to the ground, pointy ears expanding and face stretching as fur sprouts from her body. But the amount of power you put into the spell hastens the change and she disappears into her own top before you can see too much more, within only a second or two turning into a wriggling little lump in the black cloth... which you quickly seize up, hauling up the holed bits of the elf's clothing to turn it into an impromptu sack.\n\n"Let me out! Undo this at once!" comes a tiny, squeaking voice of pure outrage. You blink a little... she can still talk? But after a few more outbursts you realize she really is squeaking... a side effect of the amulet must mean you can understand animals. Or at least animals that you've changed someone into, or that used to be some variety of person.\n\n"That's pretty haughty talk from someone that was giving me the old 'submit or die' not too long ago," you note dryly.\n\nThere's a brief pause in the scratching and wriggling inside the cloth, before a rather more subdued squeak replies. "I... I'm... I... s-sorry? P.. puuuuuhlease change me back, I'll go away, you can keep the mythril."\n\nYeah right. You may have changed her into a mouse but does she think you've changed yourself into a chump? If you turned her back, the moment she got within touching distance of that sword your head would go flying higher than Elon Musk. Just letting her go really isn't an option... even as a mouse she'd be likely to get a message to some other elf and then you'd be right back in this situation, just more likely to get stabbed in your sleep. So really it's a question of whether you lock her up or... do away with her.\n\n<hr>\n[[Cage.|ValNA]]\n\n[[Permanent solution.|ValNA2x7]]

"I think for now, Bear's idea is the one with the most appeal," you declare after going over everything. "Lowtech worlds are frequently overflowing with raw materials, after all... this ship has the facilities to process those into usable upgrades as we go, and if we ever get bored of terrorizing the populace, why, we could simply leave."\n\nThe rest of the pack snickers at that. It's far more likely, after all, that you'd either eventually be destroyed or simply depopulate the planet before you ever actually got bored with rampaging. Again, you've never actually heard of Reapers depopulating an entire world... but it is theoretically possible at least, especially a lowtech one.\n\nSpeaking of which, best to pick a world. You lead the way into the nearby little astronav room, the others forced to stay outside since there's just barely room for you. You plug into the circular table in the center, and spend a few moments hacking into the local broadcast nav database, bypassing all the requests for payment or authorization to be allowed to access the more thorough files on various worlds.\n\nOnce you have access to the database, it's quite simple for your mind to quickly sort through them all and pick out three likely candidates, based on important factors such as potential resources, likely resistance, and average attractiveness of the population. "Here are worlds I believe suitable," you declare as you project a holographic image of an 'adventurer' from the first world, a redheaded female wearing a leather top and skirt with tall boots, a sword sheathed at her side. "The first has an overall identical range of development, populated by humans, most of whom should prove no challenge to us, although some will wield 'magic'. We would have to be cautious of those."\n\nYou project another hologram to the side of the first, of a taller, more muscular and larger-chested female with fur and rather canine features, wearing a simple leather band top and loincloth. "This one is primarily entirely primitive, though there are a few areas of higher development, but very few individuals that could be classified as obvious threats. There are a small handful of areas that are possibly of ancient highly technological development... both potential threats and potential resources."\n\nFinally, you project an image of a tall, dark-haired humanesque woman with slightly pointed ears, more obviously muscular and developed than the first, wearing nothing but a metal breastplate, small bikini bottom, and various bits of jewelry. "The third world is made up entirely of females."\n\n"Entirely of females?" Tiger echoes in a slightly shocked tone.\n\n"They have developed for asexual reproduction?" Raptor hisses.\n\n"The passing research of the mappers would rather seem to indicate that there is some method of cloning or genetic production at work," you explain. "They observed new female children 'arriving' in villages and being adopted by couples."\n\n"A whole world of attractive females that have never seen a cock, let alone had one driven into them," Bear rumbles pleasantly.\n\n"Mm. But the mystery of their creation concerns me, as I am sure it concerns our Alpha," Raptor speaks up. "Without knowing anything at all about the origins of these beings, we also do not know who we might... antagonize... by our fun there."\n\n"Boldness is the mark of Reap Drones," Lion adds. "But so is intelligence. I am sure Grimalkin will weigh the risks accordingly."\n\nYes, the complete blank behind the function of the last world is the only thing giving you pause from what would obviously be a bit of a paradise. No magic that you can see, fairly primitive development for the most part, some obvious danger from the numerous warrior tribes but ultimately little enough. But a consistent population of only females that appears from nowhere... yes, you're cautious enough to not want to cross some whimsical, nigh-omnipotent progenitor race who has been toying with creating an entire planet and its population to prove some kind of point. Those are... annoying to think about. (In part because humans clearly think they are one to beings like you, even as they constantly run afoul of the real thing.) Still, there is always the possibility it's something else, or perhaps was created by one of those races and abandoned... and if there is one thing you could be said to share with the humans that created you, it is the desire for power that would come with wielding the creations of nigh-omnipotent progenitor races.\n\n(Especially if they would let you create attractive victims whenever you wanted.)\n\n<hr>\n[[The adventurer planet.|Grim]]\n\n[[The furry primitive planet.|Grim]]\n\n[[The all-female planet.|Grim]]

"Hm? A secret?" Yori blinks in surprise, but almost instantly looks intrigued. "What sort of secret is that?"\n\n<hr>\n[["I'm leaving tonight."|Iris1x2]]\n\n[["I'll tell you at your place."|Iris]]

Grinning, you step in, Yori looking briefly shocked as you get so close to her, and her eyes going wide as you lean up and peck her cheek. "Well I hope you accept it as the truth after the fact. I really liked you and you're very cute, so have a good life, okay?"\n\n"E-eh?" Yori raises a hand to touch her cheek where you kissed as you turn and walk off. You don't doubt that later she'll be worried, considering what you just said, but you really do hope she does decide to accept what you said as the truth.\n\nBecause admittedly you've grown rather fond of Earth. So much so that you've long since decided not to conquer it and instead go back to Lytozia. Because people here can certainly be petty, cruel, even violent and outright evil in ways their Lytozian counterpart humans never quite seemed to rise to... but they're also wildly creative and innovative in ways Lytozia would never dream of. You've seen so much and so many different things even in your short fourteen years here... heck, in that amount of time their technology has moved forward an extent that would drop the jaw of any Lytozian. It just seems like it would be.... a waste... to risk squashing that by conquering them and putting them under the rule of a Maou.\n\nAnd so you pick up the custom ring you ordered online and head back to the small house where you've lived up until now... empty at the moment, as expected. You glance at your phone, seeing a handful of texts from Yori... looks like she has in fact gotten worried. You send one back saying simply 'It's fine' before turning on Do Not Disturb. Sorry, Yori, gotta focus on other stuff.\n\nOf course you've been preparing for this ritual for a good long while now, so you're able to set up the spell circle fairly quickly. It's not too dissimilar from the one you used to send yourself here... the main difference being that you're sending yourself the other way, in part "hijacking" the system that's already used to bring heroes to Lytozia, and that it's designed to make sure you don't lose anything along the way. Also, y'know, eliminating any need for a messy encounter with a truck. (Honestly, what was she thinking?) Well, you suppose you can ask her, you think with a smug grin as you feel yourself being pulled.\n\nYou find yourself suddenly standing rather than kneeling in an endless white expanse, completely empty save for a white satin couch a short distance in front of you. Settled on it with her long, bare legs pulled up is what looks like an elvish woman with particularly long, delicate pointed ears, hair a pale blonde color that gleams in almost metallic fashion, like an alloy of gold and silver, long and streaming down her shoulders and back with a few elaborate ivy decorations clipped into it. Her nonsensically perfect body, combining all the best aspects of slender and generous, is covered by a lace-styled bra and panties and a white fur coat she's allowed to drape down off her shoulders. Her yellow eyes are fixed on a large pearl gently pressed between her fingertips, a look of gentle contemplation on her face as she regards it. "Welcome, mortal, but be not afraid. For I hold your true destiny here, ready to be-" She turns her head to look at you, and her little speech trails off, her jaw instead going a bit slack and mouth open as she stares at you in disbelief.\n\n<img src="images/Majestra.jpg">\n\nSmirking, you raise your hands in mock gang signs and poke your tongue out. "As they say on Earth, 's'up, bitch'?"\n\n"YOU?!" She leaps to her feet, actually letting both her coat and the pearl drop, the latter bouncing a few times on the featureless white expanse and rolling under the couch. "What are you of all beings doing here?! You know what, never mind! I'll just wipe you off of the face of existence right now!" the goddess declares, raising her hands above her head.\n\n"Ah ah ah!" you interject, raising a hand and wagging one finger. "There won't be any smiting on your part, missy! Lest we forget Book Two, Chapter Twelve, Verse Five, or as the scholars apparently sometimes refer to it, 'the lightning incident'," you continue, miming opening a book and holding it in your hands as she flushes shamefacedly while you mock-read aloud. "'And Majestra looked upon the destruction her wrath had made and wept, for it was a sight more terrible to behold than any offense that could have been offered to her knowing she had wrought it with her own hand. She swore on her own divinity that never again would she strike down any soul of the mortal races nor shed their blood.'" You glance up and quirk an eyebrow, still smirking. "Humans are still a 'mortal race', right? Even if they're not Lytozian? Or are the holy scriptures wrong?"\n\n"... You lose your temper one time," Majestra mutters, slowly lowering her hands and then folding her arms over her lovely chest. "You know Demon Lords that learn theology are just being massive smugheads, you know that, tell me you realize it."\n\n"And yet it came in handy," you declare smugheadedly, miming tossing away your invisible holy book. "Because now that I'm a human instead of an Ireth or the Maou, you can't do a thing to me even though I'm standing right in front of you in a realm you have absolute power over. In fact I meet all the qualifications to be one of your 'destined Heroes'."\n\nMajestra visibly bristles, her hair actually fluffing up a little bit. "If you think I'm actually going to give you my blessing and send you along to Lytozia, your mind must have been damaged by being crammed into an actual brain!"\n\n"You don't have to, I've been studying metaphysical cosmology, or what of it I could, during my time on Earth and adding it to my knowledge from my first life," you reply brightly, tucking your hands into your jacket pockets and rocking on your heels. "And even though this 'welcome room' is outside of standard time and space, it must also be at least sliiiightly metaphysically closer to Lytozia since that's where your power's derived from. Since there's nothing here to anchor my spiritual energy, the 'gravity' of Lytozia will eventually pull me there, especially since the energy that makes up my soul is originally from there. I'd say probably a couple of days at most before I just pop over there whether you do anything or not."\n\nHer mouth opens and closes several times, before she flumps down to sit on the couch and mutters, "I hate Demon Lords."\n\n<hr>\n[[Taunt her further.|Iris3x1]]\n\n[[Be conciliatory.|Iris1x4]]\n\n[[Ignore her.|Iris]]

"Basically, I can't help you study because I'm going to be transporting myself to a fantasy world where I used to rule as the Snow White Maou," you explain frankly. "I reincarnated into this body about fourteen years ago and ever since then I've been gradually building up power and technique so that I could return to my home, Lytozia, ready to have another go at things. The only reason I'm out right now is to get the last thing I need to complete the ritual and transmigrate back to the Space Between Worlds so I can move on there."\n\nYori sighs heavily, putting a hand to her face. "Look, if you don't want to help me study just because you want to read light novels all night instead, just say so, you little otaku, saying all that stuff in public is super cringe."\n\n<hr>\n[["I'll prove it."|Iris]]\n\n[["Heh."|Iris1x3]]

You purse your lips as thoughts percolate in your brain, before finally saying, "Exactly how far past the Godzilla Threshold are we that you're asking me for help?" At her blank look, you continue, slipping your hands out of your pockets to gesture a bit as you explain. "Godzilla, he's this monster the Earth humans created. Huge, virtually unstoppable, indiscriminately hostile most of the time. The Godzilla Threshold is when a situation is so bad that adding Godzilla to it couldn't possibly make it any worse, because even if he decided to destroy everything it would be at worst a lateral move, anything else would be an improvement."\n\nMajestra gets a sour look on her face as you continue... but finally lets out a long sigh and slumps back on her couch. "... An astute observation. Alright, fine, Lytozia may very well be about to hit a 'Godzilla Threshold', as you put it, although I'm not entirely thrilled that you feel comfortable comparing yourself to the giant destructive monster in this case. All the same, this new Demon Lord is definitely worse than you were... the people are calling them the Manslayer Maou."\n\n"Hm, yeah, that's not good." Still, you shrug negligently. "What's he doing, going for the whole 'Wipe out the mortal races' thing? Persecuting demi-humans as well as Humans and Elves?"\n\n"It's not only that... the Manslayer Maou is killing monsters as well."\n\nA little shiver of unpleasant shock runs down your spine. "W-what?" you splutter. "That's crazy!" Obviously you never hesitated over killing a monster or two that had failed you for the last time, but a Demon Lord doing that en masse to monsters enough that Majestra would take notice of it is... insane! It would be like a Human king slaughtering humans, or a Sea Elf slaughtering Shadow Elves! That sort of thing might happen on Earth, but not Lytozia, the worst the races typically visited on 'their own kind' was some amount of institutionalized bullying.\n\n"But it's so," Majestra says, actually sounding sad as she tugs her fur coat back on and drapes it rather morosely around her shoulders. "The Maou is killing off any monster that is 'too human'... the demi-humans that often side with the monsters, any humanlike monsters, even many of the demons. They're all too confused and afraid to even start thinking of what to do right now."\n\n"You're... you're sad for them, aren't you?" You frown in disbelief despite what you're seeing. "Are you actually going to pull the 'kind mother' act now, after all you've done?"\n\nA flash of anger passes over the goddess's face, before it's replaced by a deeper sadness, a sort of longing visible in her moist-looking eyes before she turns them away from you. "Think of me as a bad mother all you want, but I am still the mother of all the races, mortals and monsters alike."\n\nYou shift, starting to feel more uncomfortable as you actually get a glimpse of your old enemy being... vulnerable. It's not quite as much fun as you always thought it would be. "... But there's something else, isn't there?" you finally prompt.\n\nMajestra nods slowly, and her eyes are both dry and cool as she looks back to you, face stony. "I think this new Maou might have the support of a god."\n\n"Ah... wait wait, every theological account says that every god and goddess other than you was either dead or in spirit-sleep after the Conflict that happened before the First Age," you counter, raising a hand and waving it around. "No one's ever found any evidence of an active deity other than you. They may pray to other gods but no one expects that to do much of anything but maybe tilt chance in their favor. Are you saying that really is a lie?"\n\n"An omission, for everyone's own good," Majestra murmurs with another sigh. "There was one god who was neither killed nor drifted into spirit-sleep, but was instead locked away in a place that should have been far beyond the reach of anyone, including me if I was ever so foolish and weak as to consider trying to release him. ... My husband, Terrif."\n\n"Husband? ... You think the new Maou is getting help from your ex?" you say a bit blandly.\n\n"Well you know, most children understand that they have two parents, but everyone hears 'mother goddess' and for some reason they don't think that applies," Majestra replies wryly, actually smirking a bit as your jaw slackens. "Yes, silly child, as much as I'm your mother Terrif is your father. Though every race bears some part of us both, certainly the Mortal Races tend to take after me, whereas the Monster Races take more after him. Over the course of the Conflict he became more... cruel, petty. I was afraid of what he would do to the races of Lytozia now that they had been created, so I sealed him away in the deepest, most complex layer of reality I could weave, where his power or influence could not reach out, and then I wiped all traces of knowledge of him from the world to make sure that he couldn't be empowered or drawn back by worship."\n\n"So what exactly makes you think that this Manslayer Maou is getting help from or even knows about Terrif?"\n\n"I'm not sure how, but I think the Manslayer Maou learned of Terrif somehow... you see, a part of both of us is in all of you, every single monster and mortal on Lytozia, other than the Heroes. But as you might expect, there is more of me in the members of the races that more closely resemble myself, and more of him in those that more resemble him. So-"\n\n"If he kills enough of the mortal races and human-looking monsters, he tips the balance of power," you pick up. "He lessens your influence over Lytozia and strengthens his own, until he's able to return."\n\n"It's the only motivation for what the Manslayer Maou is doing that makes sense. So I suppose it comes down to this simple question... will you, Kirisawa Iris, formerly the Snow White Maou, take this vow to me, to save Lytozia from death, torment, and pain?" She slowly holds out her hand to you. "Not just for the sake of the mortal races that you were reincarnated as one of, but for the sake of the monster races you were first born into?"\n\n<hr>\n[[Yes.|Iris]]\n\n[[No.|Iris]]\n\n[[No, but yes.|Iris]]

"Aw, c'mon, don't be like that," you coo, admittedly a bit condescendingly since you also walk over and rub the top of her head, prompting her to shoot you a (luckily not literal, since she probably could if she wanted) death glare. "I'm not a Maou anymore, right? I reincarnated! Twice now! I'm not even the same species I was! I'm just Kirisawa Iris, silver-haired Japanese girl with good grades and a love of snacks!"\n\n"Oh as if you wouldn't go right back to Demon Lording if I sent you along to Lytozia? And gave you a special power to boot?" she says flatly.\n\nYou shrug. "I mean, I might try that. But I'd hardly be the first Hero to try and pull something like that, would I?"\n\nThat prompts her to make a face. "No, you wouldn't. I have to take what I can get, after all, and there are always a few bad apples. The Dragonskin Maou wasn't as bad as the Bear-Rider Maou at least." She rubs her face with both hands, huffs briefly, then says, "Okay, I suppose I don't have much of a choice, else I'm a hypocrite. I'll give you a special ability and send you along to Lytozia after all, and I guess I'll just have to hope I get a real Hero to handle you if you get out of hand. And the last one is still around too, I'll remind you!" she adds, shaking her finger.\n\n"I recall. The looks on their faces," you add with a snicker.\n\nMajestra actually snickers herself, before quickly clearing her throat and schooling her face into a thoughtful look. "... Actually... perhaps we could make a deal."\n\n"Eh? A deal between us?"\n\n"Yes. Your successor is causing quite a bit of trouble and I could use someone to take focused, direct action."\n\nThat causes you to make a face. Of course fourteen years is plenty of time for some other particularly ambitious monster to rise up and become a new Maou, but it still hurts a little to hear you've been 'replaced'. It also feels a little... skeezy... to think of being sent after another Maou that way. "Eh? Seriously? You want me, a former Maou, to take on the new Maou?"\n\n"I'll make it worth your while," Majestra urges, actually smiling again, though there's a plotting gleam in her eyes. "Once you defeat them, I'll reward you divinely. Literally, a reward suitable to your service! All you have to do is swear a Divine Oath that you actually will honor your vow to topple the new Maou, and I'll even give you a really potent Hero power. You know your Ability Tree? Heh, didn't think I knew about it, did you?" she adds smugly as you give a little start. "Well, goddess, remember! But I'll make your Hero ability that you can get all the best abilities from all three branches... Alchemical, Magical, and Physical! Just for promising you'll actually do your job as the Hero you claim to want to be!"\n\n... That really is a pretty sweet offer. Your Ability Tree works on choosing one of the three options and getting the most potent abilities from it, but only minor ones from the other two. Having the ability to use Alchemy, Magic, and Physicality at the peak of all three would probably make you one of the most powerful Heroes ever to walk Lytozia, probably on par with the Hero of the First Age, Arthur.\n\n<hr>\n[["Sure then!"|Iris]]\n\n[["I want insurance."|Iris]]\n\n[["I want a specific reward."|Iris2x1]]\n\n[["... How bad is it?"|Iris1x5]]

Yeah you're not really ready to go that far. Dismissing the odd cobbled-together machine for now, you move out into the larger area beyond.\n\nThe hallways branching off of it are much wider than the ones you just came through, and you can see occasional spaced doors that are similarly much wider and larger in most cases. Without even going down the hallways, you can spot several that have green lights on little panels to the sides of them, but no actual controls or buttons... maybe showing which ones are active and/or unlocked? That seems like the most obvious interpretation.\n\n"Not that that line of thought hasn't gotten me into trouble already," you mutter.\n\nFor the moment you just kind of look down the hallways, trying your best to get an idea of the layout of the place. They sort of meander and curve gently until you can't see down them anymore, but it looks like the active doors are spaced out a fair bit. From where you are, you can see that several of them have scratched-on little designs or words. You're guessing that those are later additions by other 'inmates', much like the weird cobbled-together thing in the hall. One of them looks like a sort of [[squiggly oval with a weird face on it|PervSim1x2]]. Another looks kind of like a [[sphere with two sort of spiky fans coming out from the sides|PervSim2x1]]. Another just has the word '[[Orgy|PervSim]]' scratched right above the plate with the light, that seems... obvious.\n\nAlright, well, the obvious conclusion is that you've been tossed in some sort of weird prison or complex and apparently the doors lead different places. And there are other prisoners, or at least there have been in the past, who have tried to leave their own messages to indicate what's going on. ... Too bad one of them didn't just sit down and scratch out a nice little set of plain-language instructions on a wall or something. (You checked, no one has, at least not here.) So, it seems like right now you only have two choices... try one of the doors and hope to find something useful (like hopefully some clothes at the very least), or [[wander the halls|PervSim3x1]] looking for something else to try.\n\n<<set $livesused to 0>><<set $livesremaining to 100>>

Guard jobs are generally pretty good money for the amount of effort they involve, although occasionally they can also get really interesting. Which is also fine with you, honestly, you became a Guildcert partly because you wanted to live an interesting life after all.\n\n[[Shepherd|ChiGH4x2]] - Now here's an interesting one. A farm has asked for someone to act as a shepherd for a flock of their sheep while it's out in pasture for a week. Apparently some of the sheep went missing the last time, and now the sheep are... complaining? Okaaay, probably not your standard Earth-like farm then. Well, it sounds like it would basically be a week of easy camping out, so that might not be too bad.

'Lab', huh? Well, as a Guildcert of no small experience and ability, you're pretty good with tech... maybe if you can find something or steal something there, you can use it to get to freedom. Peering down through the light fog to make sure you've actually got the right path, you set off along it, trying not to be thoroughly creeped out by the chill in the air, the occasional owl screech, or what sounds faintly like impish laughter off in the distance every so often. 'What the hell is this place?' you can't help but think, hugging yourself a bit and rubbing your arms. Admittedly walking around out here is making you feel like a big tough Guildcert and more like a... well, like a scared high school girl. Especially since it seems to get cloudier, and therefore darker, the further you go.\n\nEventually you approach a low, squarish building made of what looks like a solid pour of concrete. Really more of a bunker than anything. It does have a handful of squarish windows through which you can see flickering yellowish light. There's what looks like a giant antique TV antenna attached to the roof, and you can't help but give a little jump as, despite the complete lack of rain, there's a sudden boom of thunder and lightning strikes the antenna, making the lights in the windows glow brighter and pulse briefly before settling back into their flickering. The building's surrounded by a chain-link fence topped with a positively antiquated coil of barbed wire, but the front gate is actually open slightly, the path you're currently on leading up towards it and through, and then up to the front door which... looks like a front door, really. A small concrete square of a porch directly in front of an orange metal door. O... kay.\n\n<hr>\n[[Knock on the door.|PervSim6x1]]\n\n[[Sneak in.|PervSim1x4]]

Gotta try something, you guess. You approach the doors with the weird face scratched on one side of them, and they slide open to reveal... the outside? It looks like a grassy area late at night, with trees a short distance away and no sign of any barriers. ... Could leaving this facility really be that easy? You feel a little embarrassed to be stepping outside naked, but you'll take that option if it means you might be able to escape.\n\nYou step through the doorway, and abruptly find that you're not naked anymore. "Wha?!" you yelp at the sudden feeling of clothing on your body again, rather tight clothing at that, as you look down. Megasector 7 doesn't have much in the way of Catholic schools but like the rest of Makarzia it has pop cultural osmosis from Earth, enough for you to recognize the general concept of a Catholic schoolgirl uniform. Specifically up top you're wearing a very tight white sweater with black trim and a little emblem on it that says 'Saint Scream High', a very short plaid skirt over what feel like very form-fitting panties (white cotton no doubt), white thigh-highs and black saddle shoes.\n\n"Well it's a step up from being naked but this might be worse in some ways," you mutter, turning to look back at the door... and realizing it's gone. You're completely and totally out in the open, with no immediate sign of a building, let alone the massive complex you must have just left from. "... Pocket dimension? Shit," you grumble. The area actually looks a lot creepier than it did when you were glancing in from the door too. The moon above is very large, very clear, and rather orange, wreathed by just enough clouds to make it look like it's staring down at you ominously. There's a faint, cool fog playing over the dark, almost black-looking grass, and those trees in the distance look twisted and almost grabby.\n\nYou do quickly notice a tall wooden signpost nearby, though, the signs nailed to it pointing different ways down very faint trails in the grass. It's splintered, knotted, and the signs are roughly cut crude arrows with the labels slopped on in black paint. You circle the signpost, reading all the options, since short of just running off at random you guess you'll have to follow a path.\n\n<hr>\n[[Graveyard|PervSim]]\n\n[[Woods|PervSim]]\n\n[[Pumpkin Patch|PervSim]]\n\n[[Mansion|PervSim10x1]]\n\n[[Lab|PervSim1x3]]\n\n[[Castle|PervSim]]

Eh, best not to jump at the first opportunity you see. ... Literally, in this case. Instead you keep moving, gradually circling around the building, until you get around to the brick wall side. Hm, definitely too tall and smooth to climb, and no trees near it either. If it wasn't quite so tall you might have a chance of scrambling over it (you are a highly-trained Guildcert after all)... but it's definitely out of even your reach.\n\nThen you spot something close to the center of the wall. Making your way over, you take a look, unable to help feeling just a little dubious. It's a hole. Looks like someone smashed a hole in the wall with a sledgehammer at some point, to judge by the broken bricks. Not recently though, since a peek on both sides shows no fragments. Instead it looks like someone broke a hole in the wall and whoever lives here has just left it, despite cleaning up. That's almost a little suspicious itself.\n\nStill, you don't see any security measures on this side, or on the other side after a quick peek through. It's not a really big hole... you'd have to squeeze to get through it... but you definitely could get through it if you tried.\n\n<hr>\n[[Go through.|PervSim1x6]]\n\n[[Try to jump the wall anyway.|PervSim]]\n\n[[Keep looking.|PervSim]]

Yeah, no way you're going to just walk up to the front door... even if this 'lab' isn't run by some Pervcursor remnant or something, it gives off serious bad mojo vibes. You're still willing to try and take something useful from it, but hopefully you can get in and out without making a fuss.\n\nLeaving the path, you instead circle around the side of the building, gradually getting a bit closer as you do. Eventually you can see that the chain link fence is only on the front three sides of the building, and turns into a taller brich wall at the back. As you examine the fence for breaks or a good spot to cross, you notice that at least one tree's been allowed to grow slightly too close to the fence, and has a few higher-up branches that look like they could support your weight and go almost over the fence.\n\nSeems like a decent spot to try... well out of sight of the front of the building, anyway. So what to do?\n\n<hr>\n[[Try to climb the fence.|PervSim]]\n\n[[Try to jump the fence.|PervSim]]\n\n[[Climb the tree.|PervSim]]\n\n[[PARKOUR!|PervSim8x1]]\n\n[[Keep looking.|PervSim1x5]]

This seems the best way to get in. You step a bit closer and examine the dimensions of the hole... hm. Just big enough for you to get through, probably. \n\nAlthough after examining it a bit more, you're definitely going to have to... slim down a bit. Meaning that while your sweater's tight, it's probably just thick enough that it would catch on the edges and prevent you from getting through. You're definitely going to have to take off the sweater to even have a chance of getting through there.\n\nWhich begs the question, do you need to take off the skirt too? It's pretty snug around your waist and fairly thin, so it shouldn't provide too much extra area around your hips... unless it bunches up or something. You're not exactly thrilled at the idea of stripping naked again, though, not after finally getting some clothes, and even if it would only be for a minute while you squeezed through.\n\n<hr>\n[[Take off the sweater.|PervSim]]\n\n[[Take off the sweater AND the skirt.|PervSim]]

You pause, sniffing briefly. You lift a hand to your face, giving a few more sniffs at the sleeve of your sweater. Then you lift one of the forelocks of your hair to your nose and sniff again. ... Okay so the smell is definitely...\n\n<hr>\n[[... your clothes.|Sipha]]\n\n[[... you.|Sipha]]

"Alright," you say slowly, clearing your throat. You really don't want to start anything, considering that you're supposed to be guarding these sheep, not getting into any arguments with them seems wise. Besides, Alara did say that the sheep knew the way to the pasture, so you guess it just makes sense to let him show the way. "You take the lead then."\n\n"Good," Ramses says, dark eyes sparkling. "It's always nice when a female knows her place."\n\nYour face flushes in a mixture of anger and something else you'd rather not admit to as he puts a hand on your back and guides you to turn, apparently intending to actually lead the way. 'Typical horny male,' you think with a sigh... although this one is rather literally horny. And... damn if he doesn't just exemplify 'male' in a lot of ways despite all that white floof, you can't help but think, stealing a glance down at his jiggling cock and swaying balls as you walk beside him.\n\nIt's definitely a nice stroll through the countryside, something you don't exactly get to do a lot since you spend a lot of time on a planet that has precisely zero countryside, let alone clear blue skies and fresh air. Of course, in this case the air is also full of the smell of a few dozen sheep-people, but that's not bad at all really, especially out here in the open. There's definitely a warm wool tint to the overall scent... along with a rather rich, masculine whiff coming from beside you, since Ramses continues to stay close at hand. He definitely seems to be dead set on asserting himself as actually being in charge... every time you stop and turn as if you were going to look at something or go another way, he nudges you back, usually with a little chuckle of 'This way' or something similar. Every time you start to say something to the rest of the herd, he speaks over you and louder, cutting you off as he announces what you were going to say anyway.\n\nBy the time the large tree with its spreading branches and thick green foliage comes into view, you realize that you wound up getting herded by a sheep. The mingling of embarrassment at the realization and awkwardness at how to overcome it now that it seems to have settled into a dynamic keeps you from actually saying anything, and for the moment just sort of meekly allowing Ramses to fully take charge, guiding you along like you were just another one of the cheerfully obedient ewes following in the group behind. 'It's fine, once we get there he'll probably be too busy with all these silly bitches to keep pestering me,' you try to assure yourself as several of the ewes let out a giggle at something they were talking about. From the snatches of conversation you've overheard, Apala's exasperation with their airheadedness certainly makes sense.\n\nOnce you arrive in the vicinity of the tree, the herd starts to spread out, flumping down or pointing at spots of grass that, as far as you're concerned, look just like other spots of grass but are apparently the most attractive spots as far as the sheep are concerned. Shaking your head and grinning ruefully, you head up the tallish hill to the base of the tree, walking around until you spot a large metal container. You lift it up to find that part of it's a cooler and part of it's normal storage... yup, all sorts of stuff like a quick deploy tent, packaged meals, bottled water, even a few sodas and beers. Nice.\n\nAs you close the lid and straighten up, you turn only to jump a little as you find Ramses once again right beside you, smirking down at you. Before you even really realize what he's doing, his large, strong fingers have hooked into the bottom of your top and pulled it up, spilling your tits free to wobble, while his other hand has pushed your pants down around your hips, baring your smooth-shaven pussy. "Ooo, very close-shorn. I like it. Go ahead and get these clothes off, I want to be able to look at you as you're sucking me."\n\n<hr>\n"[[Hey!|ChiGH]]"\n\n"[[Whoa, slow down!|ChiGH]]"\n\n"[[... Yessir.|ChiGH4x4]]"

"I can't," you whisper, staring with wide eyes at the door in front of you. "I can't, I can't do this, not in front of all those people." You start to take a half step anyway, freeze, then turn. "I'll go out the window!"\n\n"The hell you will," Ammianda snarls as she steps forward, hands thumping against your back, both turning you back to the door and shoving you forward. "Now GET OUT THERE!"\n\nYou'd like to argue with your far more martially capable friend, but she's far more martially capable and fully able to force you into walking through the doorway and out into the next room, the choir immediately bursting into song. You can feel a cold sweat break out all over your body, beneath the soft white silk covering most of it, and yet somehow feeling like said white silk is only being held on by the gazes of every single person you know, every single family member, friend, teacher, important official, or powerful warrior you bumped into all those years ago now. And yet you've seen this whole thing from the other side so many times that your body starts moving on its own with the gentle rise and fall of the wordless song of the choir, making your way down the aisle, your honor guardian following behind you practically radiating smugness. \n\n"Guess if I liked it I should have put a ring on it, but then you did get a ring of mine after all," a man with spiky, flaming red hair murmurs as you pass.\n\n"Cram it, Keitaro," you snarl under your breath, which just makes him smile. Actually, it makes you smile too... it was just the distraction you needed, and for just a second you glance aside and spare a fond look for the Hero you fought beside decades ago. But then your attention is drawn forward to the Hero you'll fight beside for the rest of your life, your breath feeling sucked from your body.\n\nThe light coming from the window seems to sheathe Makoto's entire body in radiance, her beautiful white hair and the exquisite snowy gown she's wearing, the bouquet of white flowers in her hands glittering like diamonds. She's all you can see now as you complete your path to the altar, drawn to her as if by gravity. She's staring at you just as intently with a smile of pure, guileless happiness on her face, a smile that's never changed in all the years you've known her, a smile as pure and without artifice as the day you met. You barely even hear it as your mother begins to speak from behind the altar.\n\n"We are gathered here to observe the union of these souls. For no mere worldly official as I could be so arrogant as to claim to be the one to bind these two together. Their spirits were drawn together from across two worlds, fate and destiny of one mind and one voice in bringing them to one another. They were made for each other, made to complete one another, and there is none on Heaven, Hell, Lytozia or any other world that could stand in their way once they decided to be together. That said... do you, Makoto the Returner Hero, take Siphanielle Tyvaris to be your wife, to cherish her as if she were your own soul, to guard her life as if it were your own, and to never inflict on her that which you would not suffer yourself?"\n\n"Yes, I do," Makoto says softly, her voice still carrying to every part of the church. "She's where I belong."\n\n"And do you, Siphanielle Tyvaris, take Makoto the Returner Hero to be your wife, to share with her the gifts the gods gave you as if they were given to you both, to guard her life as if it were your own, and to never inflict on her that which you would not suffer yourself?" your mother asks, admirably able to keep her voice steady even as a single happy tear trickles from the corner of one eye.\n\n"Yes, I do," you say without hesitation. "She's worth overcoming the fear for... every time."\n\nSipha and Makoto end - Many happy returns

"... So are you at least gonna get down on one knee and offer me the box?" you ask drolly after a moment, shaking your head slowly.\n\nOrrin blinks... then actually grins, picking up the long, hands-bredth wooden box and rounding the table, kneeling in front of you and holding it up. "Valerie, will you enter into an arranged marriage with me in return for this magical artifact?"\n\n"I agree to your terms. Means 'yes'," you reply with a good-natured sigh, picking the box up and turning it towards yourself, lifting the lid. Resting on a bed of black satin is a thin coil of wire that's somehow simultaneously whiter than platinum and shinier than silver. It's the real deal, which means the pact is definitely sealed. "So. Ah... three years to plan a wedding then, I guess," you note as you close the lid and slip the box into your bag.\n\n"Guess so," he answers as he stands. He rubs the back of his neck, looking sheepish. "Sorry to spring it on you, I admit I'd been thinking about it a bit and kind of hoping it would be you, but... well. Um, would you like to stick around? We can go out to dinner tonight, and... well, I mean, you can see where I live, since... you know."\n\n<hr>\n[[Accept.|ValNA]]\n\n[[Pass.|ValNA2x4]]

"I... feel like I should at least explain why I've been missing so many things over the years," you say as she slows and stops. "The real reason. If you still agree things should be over after that, I won't argue. But... you deserve to know."\n\n"... Alright," she says, turning around and nodding. "I'd certainly agree to that. So what is it?"\n\n"Not... here, this is definitely not a parking lot sort of conversation," you say, just a little wryly, before gesturing to your own car. "Let's drive out to the lake."\n\n"... Alright, but if you're doing that to make it easier to hide my body I'm going to be very annoyed," Lara grumbles as she walks around to the passenger side of your car.\n\nThe ride out of the city and to the nearby lake takes about an hour, a very quiet hour as you can tell that Lara is brooding a little and expecting some self-aggrandizing lecture about the importance of keeping your family's company constantly flush and giving your customers their 99.9% uptime. Eventually you pull up to the lakeside and park, Lara getting out and meandering towards the water, gazing out at the stars reflected in the black water.\n\n"... So," you say slowly. "I guess I should start out by apologizing that I haven't been entirely honest with you for awhile now," you say slowly, rubbing the back of your neck a bit as you follow her.\n\nThat earns a sigh. "Morgan, if you're going to tell me there's someone else, that really will disappoint me. We've never actually decided we were exclusive, but if you missed Lily's performance just for a date..."\n\n"No, no, not like that." You sigh as well, pondering again how best to begin. "... Remember when you did that paper in high school senior year, and interviewed my dad? And you asked him why the company did so much charity work and civic outreach?"\n\n"Yeah," Lara replies, sounding a bit confused as she looks over at you again, frowning. "He said that wealth is power, and when you have so much power, you also have an obligation to use it responsibly" She snorts a little. "It could use a bit better phrasing but I liked the sentiment, I guess."\n\n"Yeaaah. Well, see, he's always taught me that too, and around about the time I turned fifteen..." You trail off, then just sigh and slip off your glasses before stepping over to her.\n\n"Wha?! Dammit, Morgan, I was kidding about hiding my body, don't you daAAARE!" her half-joking outrage turns into a squeak of surprise, her arms suddenly flinging around your neck as you lift several feet into the air and go skimming out over the water. Her eyes widen and she stares down at where your toes are at least eighteen inches from the surface without so much as rippling it, continuing to stare until you come to a stop about fifty feet out. She then turns her stare on you for long moments... before slowly reaching a hand up to rumple your hair.\n\n"Surprise," you murmur, grinning sheepishly.\n\n"... Goddammit I knew it," she says with a sigh, slumping her head against your shoulder.\n\n"Did you?" you can't help but ask in a mixture of shock and amusement.\n\n"Well I... I kept suspecting but I always talked myself out of it because what ditzy numbskull thinks her boyfriend is a superhero?" She gives you a mildly sour look, before it's washed away with a half-pained shock. "Oh my God and your mother!"\n\n"I know, right?" you say with a sigh of your own. "I didn't know until I was thirteen, imagine how I felt!"\n\n"..." Lara looks at your face, then down again, before shaking her head. "... Take me back to shore please."\n\nSilently, you turn and drift quickly back to the shoreline, moving back over close to the car before setting her down, then settling back onto your own feet. Lara cups a hand over her mouth as she paces back and forth, obviously trying to absorb everything and put all the pieces together, before she turns back to you. "So is this... everything?"\n\n"There's... definitely a few other things that we need to talk about at some point," you allow with a bit of a heavy heart. "But I'd say this is definitely the biggest revelation. So..."\n\n<hr>\n[["... now you know."|Cal]]\n\n[["... we're good, right?"|Cal]]

It may take you off course, but it seems more doable, and those rapids are coming up really fast. You start poling as fast as you dare towards the river branch, already feeling a bit relieved as your raft angles and moves. Yes! You're going to make it! Heck, may as well start pondering how much to wait for the river to slow after the speedup caused by the rapids before you pull over and-\n\nUnfortunately, not being familiar with this sort of thing, you didn't realize that rapids involve rocks other than the ones you can see. One of them just under the surface of the water manages to snag the bottom of the tarp, both ripping it and yanking it off, pitching your raft and also leaving it rather abruptly as just a bunch of logs partly held together with tape. You barely have time to let out a blurt of "Oh FUCK!" before it breaks apart and sends you crashing into the water.\n\nYou're sent tumbling and twisting through the water, the current much stronger than you thought. Every attempt to stay alive is on pure instinct as you feel more rocks and branches and probably some of the remnants of your raft scraping at you and tearing, sending you constantly twisting and rolling through a nightmarish darkness of current and lack of air. You do manage to surface every so often, gasping in deep breaths, before the current pulls you under again and you're once more sent tumbling through the shockingly jagged river waterscaping.\n\nEventually you manage to grab hold of one of the things you thump up against and hold on, pulling yourself what you hope is upwards along the way that it narrows. You gasp loudly again as you break the surface, barely able to see but realizing that something not too far from you isn't moving. You lurch for it, and manage to grab on to muddy ground with both hands. You haul yourself forward until you're mostly out of the water, then promptly sag forward and collapse in exhaustion, near-instantly passing out.\n\nYou come to some time later, you think maybe late in the afternoon. You wince at the general ache in your body as you push yourself up and then roll over to sit up, looking down at yourself to take stock. Well, the first thing you realize is that your clothes have been basically shredded and destroyed... your boots are gone, your coat is gone, your pants are nothing but a few tatters around your legs barely holding together and covering nothing of consequence, and the only thing left of your top is the skinarmor collar around your neck. Otherwise the only thing covering your front is a thin layer of mud from the riverbank, and a number of scratches. A reach up to touch in your bangs just confirms that you lost Ashizu as well.\n\nWell. Fuck.\n\nBesides the very obvious problem of the fact that you're now naked and lost on a savage world, you've gone from rescuer to needing to be rescued yourself. Your only consolation is the rather ironic knowledge that Nova has an at least partially working comm and maybe some of his other equipment where you've lost all of yours, so that if you can (by some miracle) manage to actually find him without your comm to guide you, he can signal for someone to come get you both. So... that's your obvious goal, you think as you get gingerly to your feet, brushing yourself off a little, trying not to dwell on how naked you are.\n\nAfter a few moments you give the remnants of your pants a few tugs each, which is enough to separate them. You consider saving them in case they might have some use in the future, but they're so short and the integrity of the weave has to be just destroyed, so with a small sigh you just toss them aside. You make your way to the river and, after a bit of hesitation, get to your knees and cup your hands, taking several drinks. Glk... not exactly luscious spring water, but you were pretty dried out, so any risks about what might be in it seem worth taking.\n\nAfter a brief consideration you also do your best to wash off the mud, leaving yourself still a bit dirt-streaked but now visible, so you can check for any other injuries it might have been hiding. Surprisingly you seem to have mostly come through it with a number of small scratches and bruises that are already showing healing (a benefit of good, and tweaked, genetics).\n\nAlright, so, you think as you get to your feet, squinting up the river and down. You suppose if you follow the river directly and close by, going against the current, you can make your way back to the rapids, and know at least which direction to go in to have a hope of finding Nova. ... That's how rivers work right? The current only ever flows one way? ... Right?\n\n... Right.\n\nThen you glance upward, frowning. It looks like you don't have much daylight left, which means night is coming on, which is bad for a naked Human alone for a lot of reasons. You might want to head away from the river and find somewhere to bunk down for the night (or maybe something to make weapons or, secondarily but still important, clothes out of)... again you're no expert on non-urban environments, but you're pretty sure dusk is when lots of animals come to the water to drink, and you don't want to provoke any of them with your obvious edibility right now. Of course you have no guarantee you'll find any decent shelter that way, and you're innately a bit nervous about getting any further from your only consistent landmark that leaves you with even a small chance of finding Nova.\n\nBut, dusk is coming. So. Need to make a decision.\n\n<hr>\n[[Follow the river.|ChiSW]]\n\n[[Find shelter.|ChiSW]]

Hm... y'know, hard to say how big the thing really is, and on thinking about it, the likelihood of it being something placid is kind of... low. You do your best to nudge yourself over to the side a bit more and then steady out, then keep a hand free to grab for your rifle if the whatsit changes course to come after you.\n\nBut it continues on as it was, moving in the exact same course. A bit past where you would have intersected with it, you see a sudden, incredibly brief thrashing in the water, before a few streaks of red waft up to the surface and trickle along with the current, gradually dissipating. Oof, yeah, good idea to avoid it after all, for sure.\n\nYou continue on along the river for most of the day, with Nova's directional signal continuing to be ahead and very slightly to the side, though the gradual shift of the arrow does indicate you're getting closer. You're just pondering whether to pull the raft over for the night and continue in the morning, or maybe just go ahead and set out on foot along the river bank, when you hear someone's white noise generator start up.\n\n... Eh? White noise generator? In the middle of the jungle?\n\n... Hey are the trees moving a lot faster than they were before?\n\nYour eyes widen as the river rounds a slight bend and you see that there are a series of dips and rocks ahead, forming what looks like a short band of rapids. Uh, shit! You thought that mostly happened in the mountains?! But apparently this planet doesn't give much of a fuck about that, and the current is now bearing you rapidly towards the rushing waters, multiple drops, and rocks.\n\nFor a second you're dumbfounded how the creature earlier could have navigated that, then realize the river branches off to the side and continues off at an angle... it's going the wrong direction, but you're a bit closer to that side and you think you'd have an easier time getting there. Or you could try and get to the opposite shore where you were already planning to get to soon, and still proceed on foot without any major problems.\n\nOr... you could actually try and get through the rapids. On your dinky little amateur raft made out of logs and a tarp.\n\n<hr>\n[[Steer to the other branch.|ChiSW2x2]]\n\n[[Make for the shore.|ChiSW]]\n\n[[Tough it out.|ChiSW]]

"I think we oughtta call it here before you wind up pregnant, bro," you say dryly.\n\n"Gregagenent?!" Errin splutters, blanching visibly, then diving for her clothes. "All you needed to say, let's go, let's go, let's go!" Her head pops through the neck of her hoodie. Then she pauses. "... I mean, unless you think-"\n\n"We're leaving."\n\nOnce the two of you have dressed, with Errin having gotten her pants fitting as well as possible considering, you leave through the 'Exit' door, and find yourselves in a slightly different hallway than the one you entered through. But after a look around you spot the indicators that mean someone's been through here and marked the way towards an exit, and the two of you set off again.\n\n"Hafta get it appraised but I'm betting the... statue," Errin says, blushing a bit again at the room-entity's teasing. "Is worth at least as much as that vial of latinum."\n\n"Thinking of ditching this place already and getting a ship of your own?" you ask, raising your eyebrows.\n\n"I mean I know that's always been your goal, I figured you'd wanna head out now that you can do it pretty much for sure," she says, sneaking a little nibble of her lower lip as she says it, eyelashes lowered and pink eyes scooching towards you a bit.\n\n'Christ, stop being so cute.' "Well I wouldn't run out on you," you inform her evenly, before blushing a bit yourself at realizing that phrase has a slightly different connotation considering your current sexes and recent activities.\n\nApparently that occurred to her too since her ears went pink in addition to the light blush on her cheeks, but she clears her throat. "I appreciate that, bro. But I mean, I came here to get rich, not to delve just for the hell of it."\n\nThat cheers you a bit, and you do start letting your mind turn over the possibilities of what sort of ships you might be able to buy, admittedly wandering off in tangents of fantasy about yourself zipping around the multiverse and maybe winding up in bed with a few space elves. Or regular elves. You are a fan of elves in general, really. Errin's also quiet as the two of you find an exit portal and return to the building above, and then head to the main TDG building.\n\nAs expected, the appraisal of your loot adds up to a lot. Not only the items themselves, but the amount of 'discovery' scrip you get is actually fairly substantial; apparently while there were occasional reports of 'You can't leave without-' sort of rooms appearing in the old days, this is the first time there's been one since the reopening. (You just... try not to think too much about the people reviewing the recordings.) Your share means you're not exactly going to be buying a fully-stocked cruiser or something, but you're definitely in the range of a very nice light escort with a decent living cabin. Errin's haul equals up to almost exactly the same amount, and the two of you return to your room with the unspoken agreement to go ahead and pack up in preparation to cut your time in Purple Bay extremely short.\n\n"So, celebrating here, or on the Guildhall?" you say cheerfully as you start putting things away.\n\n"Ahhh, I'm not sure," Errin replies, having stopped for some 'emergency sweats', turning towards you and brushing a fingertip along her cheek. "But y'know, I was kinda thinking, bro..."\n\n"Hm? What?" you ask, trying not to get worried, considering that there are several decidedly bad directions thinking could go considering all those recent activities. But what she actually says definitely wasn't something you'd considered.\n\n"Well like, I've always wanted my own ship too, even if it hasn't been as huge a dream for me as for you, and I guess I'm thinking... we've both got enough money for us each to have a pretty nice small ship... orrrr," she says slowly, making up a 'pick it up and put it there' motion with those newly small and delicate hands. "We could have enough to have a larger, nicer ship."\n\nYou blink. "You mean buy it together?" you say a bit foolishly, since what else could she mean.\n\n"I-I mean, I'm not talking like... y-y'know, I'm saying, it'd definitely be big enough for us both to have a cabin!" she hurries to add, waving her hands a bit in front of her. "Our own cabins! Not sharing one! ... I just, um, what I mean is, we were gonna live together and work together anyway, and... th-that's what I mean, y'know?"\n\n<hr>\n[[It's... not a good idea.|LeoErrin]]\n\n[[... Actually it's a pretty great idea.|LeoErrin]]

Despite your name and reputation, you're in really uncharted territory here, might be best to at least scope out the waters before you start making trouble.\n\nYou walk forward, finding that the boots and corset force you to take small, delicate steps while keeping your back tight upright, essentially forcing you to lift your shoulders and present your chest at all times. (And, admittedly, the heels are doing great things your your ass, you muse as you walk and feel the material of your skirt brushing over your bare skin.)\n\nYou emerge into a room that does indeed look a lot like a Victorian mansion set or, y'know, just a Victorian setting. (Edwardian? Elizabethan? Your hyperfixations never led to you learning to distinguish them.) Standing nearby is the obvious source of the earlier command, a somewhat older woman with deep black hair pulled back in a braid-bun similar to the one the machine put yours in, mostly a deep raven black with a few little threads of silver running through it here and there. Her face is still smooth and rather sharp-looking, however, red eyes fixed on you evenly, her garb a much more elegant and refined version of yours and all in deep, glossy black with the faintest blue sheen. She does, however, fill out the top of her dress much more considerably, as admittedly do most of the other women standing in a line.\n\nAll of them are attired exactly like you, with the white gloves and pale cream dresses, and from the way they're standing tall and straight-backed are similarly equipped with hip-high boots and corsets. Most of them also seem to have simmering looks of imminent rebellion on their faces, probably like you do, but are probably like you trying to get the lay of the land first. The black-clad woman steps back and gestures to the end of the line, and after hesitating just a beat to demonstrate that you're choosing to obey, you mince your way over and take your place.\n\nThe red-eyed lady moves to stand in front of the line with elegant grace, just eyeing all of you as if deciding whose head will be the first to roll. But after a moment the large double doors nearby open and another pair in similar period dress walk in... a fairly handsome brown-haired man with an elegantly-groomed beard, and a red-skinned woman with black sclera and purple eyes, a pair of short rises from her forehead capped off with flat silver. The demon-looking woman actually has her dark black braid draped forward over one shoulder, and the man is strutting along with a very expensive-looking cane at his side.\n\nThe woman in black gives a slight bow and slides backward to allow them to take the full center place, with the man in the center and the red-skinned woman at his right, after which she moves to stand on his left.\n\n"Greetings, everyone," the man declares in a smooth, refined tone. "I am Master Lorde. With me are Mistress Kayla on my right, and Mistress Raven on my left. We shall be in charge of your reeducation. Raven?"\n\nThe woman in black moves again, walking with even, smooth strokes that nevertheless show she's wearing the same sort of boots and corset, starting to make her way back and forth up the line. "You are here because each of you was sentenced to eight or more years by an interdimensional court for your crimes. However, you are being given the opportunity to satisfy your sentence in only four years. If you cooperate fully and complete our refinement course to our satisfaction, you will be returned to society, or a new place will be found for you, at your own request."\n\nShe stops at your end of the line, eyeing you briefly, before resuming her march. "You are currently in the top-level course, which is indeed four years long. There are numerous benefits to this course... the shorter time before release, being allowed numerous privileges and comforts, and a heavy deemphasis on any sort of physical punishment. Cooperate, and you may even find your time here enjoyable. Demonstrate that you are unwilling to participate, and you will be regressed to the secondary program. This adds another four years to your courses. You can be further regressed to the program prior to that. Another four years. And there are two more levels beneath that one. So to make it clear, you could either cooperate, ladies, and be out of here in four years having learned proper manners and behavior, or you can be defiant and wind up here for twenty. Your choice."\n\n<hr>\n[[Keep your mouth shut.|DefRF]]\n\n[[Belch loudly.|DefRF]]

"What, am I going to prison or a dog show?" you demand snottily, eyeing the guy with a bit of a smirk.\n\nHe doesn't say anything, however, just turning and walking off. You wonder how exactly they're going to transport you, when there's a faint rushing noise beneath you. You have just enough time to recognize the swirly shades-of-white light before you drop down through the portal with a yelp.\n\nYou're instantly caught by some sort of robotic tendrils with padded gripper tips that seize you by the upper arms and haul you upwards. You whip your head around, seeing that you're in some sort of flat metal room with lots of panels, from which more tendrils are emerging, some of them with much stranger and, admittedly, slightly intimidating-looking tips. You freeze instinctively in place as two of them fire laser beams from the tip directly at you, but while you feel a faint warm sensation on your skin where they touch, the only thing they actually harm are the orange bodysuit, which burns and droops away bit by bit as more of it is cut before finally dropping to the floor, leaving you naked again.\n\nSeveral of the tendrils tipped with what look like large circular brushes move in, spinning the brushes almost intimidatingly at you as they start excreting suds, flinging thick white glops of soap around and all over you before they go to work. You yelp and writhe as the brushes work over your entire body like some kind of cartoon car wash, sparing no inch and admittedly forcing some stimulation through their application to your breasts and pussy and asshole, making you buck and twist in both indignation and a little delight. Then you're rather abruptly dropped out of any happy funtimes as the brushes draw away and tendrils with nozzle heads swing in and start spraying you down with cold water, leaving you spluttering like a dog trying to bite a sprinkler as you're power-rinsed off, soon leaving you dripping and shivering a bit, your naked skin pebbled and your nipples diamond hard.\n\nA rush of slightly warm air starts pouring over you, quickly drying off your skin, even as tendrils with brush tips start smoothing out your hair and others spraying it with product. You start to suspect this isn't any sort of standard decontamination when more tendrils start braiding your hair, and then winding it up into a bun behind your head, sticking old-fashioned hairpins in it to keep it in place.\n\nA realization further reinforced when more tendrils come out bearing a pair of very tall boots that lace up in the back, in a rather antiquated style save for the fact that they're not quite ballet heels but they are standing on one side of the ballet heel border eyeing the other, basically with just enough of a flat at the tip for your toes to be mostly horizontal. You mmf as the tendrils sheath your legs in the boots, the tops just almost coming up to the bottom of your bare hips, the leather not quite touching the inner curves of your crotch. The back laces are pulled tight, drawing them more and more snug, until they're fitted like perfectly tailored gloves.\n\nSpeaking of which, some of the next items to come out are long white satin gloves that are hauled on to sheath your arms almost up to the shoulder. You're honestly a little torn between being disgruntled at being forcibly dressed and actually enjoying how rather kinky this is, and that doesn't stop as the next item comes out. The corset is wrapped around your middle, the lower part of it cupping under your pert breasts and lifting them to fill them out about as much as can be managed. You notice the corset has straps dangling down from it that brush across your bare hips and ass as you squirm, though your ability to squirm is lessened considerably as the corset is drawn tight, forcing you to let out an 'oomf'. Tendrils snap the straps from the corset to small rings on the boots and then pull them tight before drawing away.\n\nYou're set down on the floor but not released, instead your arms being lifted and manipulated as a sleeveless dress in plain, unremarkable cream color is lowered down over your head, the lace-up front quickly snugged taut and tied, leaving your pushed-up breasts on display, the lace-trimmed neckline of the dress just barely high enough to cover your nipples.\n\nFinally the tendrils release you entirely, rapidly pulling back into the walls and all the panels closing, before a doorway slides open in front of you, revealing... an empty stretch of room that looks like some Victorian costume drama set. You eye it, and as you do, a prim voice calls, "You may as well come out. If not, discipline will begin immediately."\n\n<hr>\n[[Come out.|DefRF1x2]]\n\n[[Screw you~!|DefRF]]

"Mm. Y'know, about the Imperial Knights," you start to say thoughtfully.\n\n"Oh, why not just ask us yourself?"\n\nYou and Errin's heads whip up to see that four people in purple and black are coming toward you from one way down the street (which has, you can't help but notice, rather cleared out at their approaching). In fact, it's the quartet that were in the diver's guild the night you arrived, and from the look of it they recognize you. The one who spoke is, you're guessing, the leader, an almost porcelain-white man with slightly pointed ears and fire-colored eyes, his outfit mostly black with a few shiny purple accents here and there, the armor light. Standing next to him is a woman that matches his own six feet, with fluffy, shortish purple hair marked with darker purple rings, to match the ones on her also rather fluffy tail, her feline ears tufted with white, yellow eyes glittering... she's wearing a purple chestplate that covers her shoulders, (large) breasts, and stomach, but down below there's just a fairly thin drape of black cloth in front and back, leaving her thick, toned legs entirely bare down to her purple boots. On her other side is someone who probably started out as some manner of human but his skin has a greyish, slightly shiny look and his hair's gone white, his eyes solid black with pixelated glowing blue irises. The Chiss man with them is the tallest, lean with an angular, severe-looking face, black hair drawn back in a ponytail to show off said face and its rich blue skin, red eyes fixed on you coolly but knowingly.\n\n"No need for beating around the bush, the Knights are always glad to talk to newcomers," the flame-eyed man says in a cheerful tone, lifting his hands in a bit of a welcoming gesture that you can't help but feel a little less than welcomed by. "Why don't you come back to the castle, we'll sit, have a drink, you can ask anything you want! Like about our pay, benefits, and housing," he adds, eyes twinkling. "I mean, surely you're interested in those, hm?"\n\nYour eyes flick to the side towards Errin, judging that he has much the same thought. Sounds like they probably actually want you to join them, which considering what the old man said makes sense. They're not exactly the elites overflowing with eager recruits they used to be. But the old man did also say that they've got a ton of gear that's at most a few years old just waiting to be distributed... certainly everything you can see on these four is top-of-the-line quality. There's just that vague sense of ominousness about them though...\n\nErrin's not saying anything, which means he's probably waiting on your call here.\n\n<hr>\n[["Yeah, sure, why not?"|LeoErrin]]\n\n[["Pass."|LeoErrin1x4]]

A true classic of the just-arrived hero, running into a bunch of random bandits! You make sure to make them plenty scruffy and dirty-looking, a band of disheveled, leering ruffians who are card-carrying proud thugs. ... Oh, and they obviously have to act as much like stereotypical Japanese teenage street toughs as possible.\n\n"Oyyyy, 'joooouuuuuchaaaaaaaan!" drawls the leader, flapping his tongue around and leaning in, his club resting on his shoulder. (It originally just outright manifested as a pipe and you had to fix it, you may have let the stereotypicalness run away from you a bit.)\n\n"E-eh?!" Michiko whips around to face them, her face going bright red as she realizes her boobs wobble around completely uninhibited when she does that. Her eyes go a bit wide at the batch of leather-clad toughs who have assembled behind her out of nowhere on the idyllic grassy plain full of rolling Ghibli Hills™ that you decided to start her on, probably from a combination of said coming out of nowhere, their intimidating appearance, and the fact that they're all obviously ogling and leering at her practically naked body.\n\n"Oyyyy, how about you come get some tea with us, 'joooooooouuuuchaaaaan?" the leader declares, waggling around his tongue and shaking his head in a 'bura-bura-bura' motion that probably makes no sense to anyone who doesn't write and animate these sorts of scenes.\n\n"U-um, I, I, uh...!" Michiko stammers, taking a step back and lifting her hands... and blinking as her sword and shield come into her view. The cute fool actually forgot for a second she had them, no doubt overwhelmed by the sense that she was still back in Japan finally encountering a situation her anime and manga had informed her she'd be dealing with constantly. Still, remembering that she's armed obviously puts a little spine in her, and firming her jaw she lifts both into something like a ready position. "Stay back! I'll have you know... I'm a Hero!"\n\n"Ha ha haaaa, hear that, bros?! She's a Hero!" The leader brings his club forward to point dramatically as the other thugs cackle. "Alright, 'jooooooooooooooooooooooooouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuchaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan, let's see what a hero can do!"\n\n"Hyaaaaaa!" Michiko cries, flinging herself towards them and swinging her sword with far more enthusiasm than skill.\n\n<hr>\n[[Let Michiko win.|KonIse2x1]]\n\n[[Have the bandits win.|KonIse1x4]]

"Eh?" Michiko asks, blinking.\n\nYou quickly clear your throat, resuming your pretentious air. Oops, let a little of your natural self slip through. "It is usual for heroes who have dedicated themselves to destroying the enemies of peace and justice to be given great strength, agility, and magic. Though you must learn to use these abilities, you will be truly heroic of body and spirit."\n\nWhich won't be a lie, but exactly how true it is depends entirely on your mood, konkonkon~. After all, she might have 'great' strength, agility, and magic... for a level one hero. If you decide to fling her up against level ninety-nine monsters at any given point, that's your business! Or, for that matter, even if you gave her level ninety-nine stats, there's nothing to stop you from using a level 999 enemy. It will be your world, after all. But Michiko certainly looks satisfied, nodding eagerly. "Okay, I'm ready! I promise, I'll defeat the Demon King and bring peace and justice to the people! ... Ah, I'll get something to wear, right?" she adds sheepishly, glancing down at her still naked body, which she's still futilely trying to cover with her hands. \n\n"Certainly, you will be given proper hero's garb," you assure her. "Now, Hero Michiko, please save the world of-" Uh. "Purankasta from the Demon King."\n\nWith that you give a nice blinding flash of light from all around yourself, simultaneously teleporting behind Michiko and literally shoving her through a newly-opened portal into the pocket dimension. She yelps and staggers, obviously having expected something a little more grand (or at least gentle) as she goes staggering forward, righting herself and glancing down as she realizes she's now holding an elaborate sword and shield, both red with lots of goldwork all over them, and exactly the sort of form factors that would make them useless in combat but absolutely priceless to any chuunibyou. "S-so cool! ... Ehhhh?!" she wails as she also realizes what she's wearing. Her 'Hero's Armor' is a twist on an old classic, heheh. Oh, the shoulder-high black fingerless gloves, thigh-high black stockings, and gold-decorated red armored bracers and boots are all no doubt well within her tolerances (though you're not sure she'd be entirely thrilled about the stockings being tight enough to cause some squish to her thick thighs). And she'd probably not quibble too much about the black choker with its ruby set in gold front, or the red and gold tiara on her head. But the main part of the "armor" is, essentially, a trio of gold-decorated red armored triangles, too of them strapped to the front of her prodigious breasts with black straps, the other strapped to the front of her crotch. The triangles aren't even that big, leaving all of the tops, sides, and bottoms of her breasts shown off, and just barely managing to conceal her pussy. Heck, she doesn't know it yet, but the strap of the bottoms that disappears between her plump round cheeks isn't even quite wide enough to entirely cover her pretty little pucker... she'll have to rely on her booty's roundness for concealment there~. Heck, the thin belt of her sword's scabbard probably covers more of her than any of the straps of her "armor".\n\n"Uuuuuu... I can't believe I wound up in this sort of hero armor," Michiko whines, clearly wanting to try and cover herself again but obviously leery of doing so while holding the sword and shield. \n\nWell well, better give her a good distraction from it... if you let her dwell too much on her skimpy armor she'll resolve herself to trying to replace it as soon as possible, which would be inconvenient if you wind up drawing this out since you'd have to devote extra attention to thwarting her, rather than finding other sources of fun. But if you distract her with, say, a combat encounter, she's likely to just accept her armor as necessary. Orrrr she won't be thinking about it anymore, depending on how you decide to work things. Now let's see, a nice little first combat encounter, how about...\n\n<hr>\n[[... bandits.|KonIse1x3]]\n\n[[... goblins.|KonIse]]\n\n[[... wolves.|KonIse]]\n\n[[... a giant fucking dragon.|KonIse]]

Kon.\n\nKon.\n\nKon.\n\nThis will be hilarious! It will keep you entertained for... days, at least!\n\nYou drift outside the school and wait for awhile, focusing on using your powers to manipulate patterns and keep things fairly clear as you wait. Eventually your cute nerdy victim emerges from the school. She makes her way to the sidewalk. Looks right. Looks left. Which is your cue to drift down to the road and assume your intended form, just as she actually steps out into the street, and go barreling towards her at speed.\n\n"HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONK!" you bellow cheerfully.\n\n"KYAAAAA!" Michiko shrieks, throwing up her hands fruitlessly to shield herself before impact.\n\nPfffthahaha yes that was absolutely the best! Her face was priceless! ... Well, right up until it smashed into your front grill. That part wasn't quite as amusing. But eh she's fine, you've just got her tucked away, perfectly healthy, while you get the rest set up. You've known enough pretentious goddesses to know the sort of place they'd make... a vast but indistinct expanse with overexposed lighting to make everything look glowy and soft and subtly hide the wrinkles on their divine asses. (You are very certain that's why they do that, it's not that gods have perfect bodies they're just masters of setting up beneficial lighting.) Ah right, that's another thing... while you are, of course, a perfect beauty who should stun any and all onlookers with the absolute intensity of your adorableness, most goddesses are vain as fuck, unlike your most humble and grounded self. So alas, your beloved hoodie will have to go, you'll need to expand your already glorious breasts even more (woe, woe), some extra hip, longer legs, bit taller, hair streaming down your back and add a literal golden glitter to it, some skimpy slutty little outfit made of gold jewelry and white straps and... oh, heck with it, you get annoyed by the confusion but may as well use it to your advantage when you can, give yourself another eight gloriously fluffy tails. Hhhha, they're beautiful and fluffy but how do they stand this weight? If you so much as leaned back you'd flop over and wind up laying on top of them like a big fluffy bed!\n\n... Oh, maybe that's how they stand it.\n\nAlright, got the pocket dimension all set up. It's just a basic little splotch of land right now, basically... you'll be able to shift things around and make things up as she goes, after all. It's not as if you're actually sending her to a real, entire other world, but you'll certainly be making her think you have! With that, having all your preparations ready, you pop her into being floating before you, naked. Except for her glasses. And her pigtail ties. Because you think both of those are cute. She slowly opens her eyes, then blinks repeatedly before looking around. "W-where am I? What's going on? ... AH! Why am I naked?!" she wails, hurrying to cover herself, but not quite having enough hand coverage. She is a busty thing isn't she?\n\n"Be not afraid or ashamed," you coo in a sweet, saccharine, self-assured voice that would make you want to punch the owner in the face if you weren't the owner. "This is the realm of reincarnation, from whence you will go on to your new life."\n\n"N-new life? Then... I was really hit by a truck? ... And I'm being reincarnated?" Just as hoped, she sounds slightly more eager than she does sad or terrified. Konkon~, silly nerds~! People hit by trucks just die, if those trucks aren't mischievous fox spirits!\n\n... You assume.\n\nAhem. "Yes. There is a world in great need of one with your heart and soul, a world plagued by the evils of a demon king," you continue in your overly coo-y voice, putting your hands to your chest. "I believe you can save this world, as its very own hero."\n\nMichiko's eyes are already sparkling happily, even as she blushes and shakes her head. "B-but I'm just a normal high school student!"\n\n'Konkonkon you're saying your lines even though you know they're lines, I love it! This just isn't the show you think it is!' "Do not worry," you assure her, which just makes her perk up all the more (even including her nipples, she must be quite excited to receive her cheat skill). "You shall be given abilities beyond those of others, to assist you in your noble quest."\n\n"Abilities? What sort of abilities?!" Michiko squeals eagerly.\n\n<hr>\n[["A body made to receive power."|KonIse]]\n\n[["An incredibly powerful sword."|KonIse]]\n\n[["Anything you desire."|KonIse3x1]]\n\n[["Eh, the usual."|KonIse1x2]]

'@set=banditstats.all=max' you think to yourself as Michiko hurtles towards the group. 'Aaaand enter!'\n\n"Mmf! Mmgk, mmn! Hnnm, mmf!"\n\nThose are the noises Michiko is making about a minute later as all three of her holes are stuffed by very large, very thick, very hard bandit cock, the shafts pumping between her pretty lips, her plump labia, and into her tight little pucker. Her hands are pinned against her back, the push pressing her tits down on the strong chest of the man below her as the one pinning them slams himself into her ass again and again. Her sword and shield both lay in shattered pieces nearby, pieces of her armor scattered around to leave her in nothing but her stockings and gloves as the three bandits fuck her, the rest gathered around waiting their turn and stroking their cocks.\n\n"Man, we sure got lucky finding a high-quality slut like this!" the bandit fucking Michiko's ass sneers as he gives one of her large, jiggling asscheeks a hard slap, making her squeal muffledly around the cock violating her mouth.\n\n"Yeah, look at the fucking tits on her!" the leader, the one violating said mouth, sneers as he grips both of her pigtails in one hand. "We can rape her as much as we want, and still sell her for a high price once we're done!"\n\n"Mmn! Mnh! AH!" Michiko gasps as the leader pulls out to rub his spit-shined prick against her face, his cockhead smearing across one of the lenses of her glasses. "P-please, please you can't, please, this isn't supposed to happen, I'm supposed to be the HerooOOMNG!" Her protests are cut off as the bandit leader thrusts back into her mouth and hilts himself, her throat bulging up with the outline of his girth and her nose getting ground into the thick black bush of his pubes. His balls slap against her chin as her pleas are once more turned into grunts, moans, and lewd-sounding quagging by the cock pumping into her throat with the same vigor as the ones slamming her pussy and ass. Of course she gives a particularly delightful gurgling squeal as all three of them thrust in and blast heavy, thick loads of cum into her, a goodly amount spurting out around the shafts stretching her tight little holes and spattering over her skin, lewdly marking her outside as well as in.\n\nOf course when those three back out it's just an excuse for more of them to move in, one moving behind her and grabbing her wrists, hauling her arms back and forcing her to jut her tits out as he starts beastfucking her pussy, Michiki squealing and crying out as he forces her into that position that makes her tits bounce and jiggle for the viewing pleasure of the rest of the bandits. A view largely uninhibited as another moves in front of her, once again turning her cries to muffled moans and quags as he grips her pigtails and starts fucking her throat again, her cum-smeared glasses pushed askew repeatedly by the brushes of his hips. Michiko's eyes desperately search to the sides, looking for any sign of the imminent rescue that tropes assure her must be coming, but everywhere she looks there's just another bandit stroking his prick and leering at her as he waits his turn to fuck her.\n\nAfter the fifteenth or so load is dumped into her holes, the resistance just sort of drains out of her. Her protesting noises become token at best, mostly little groans and whimpers that coincide with the impact of the cocks thrusting into her. She stops putting up even token resistance against the bandits' overwhelming strength and meekly obeys their commands, even climbing on top of one, balancing on the balls of her feet and riding him under her own power, his hands on her waist merely helping guide her a bit. She barely even has to be urged to reach up and wrap her hands around the cocks of the two bandits that step in at the sides, jerking them off as her tits bounce and her moans get steadily lower and more pleasured, her pussy quivering around the cock she's riding, her submission having apparently unlocked the last restraint on giving in and enjoying herself.\n\nThe sun sets and rises and is high in the sky before the gang shows any signs of being done with her, until finally Michiko lays on the ground, one hand resting on her slightly cum-bloated belly and the other flopped out to the side, eyes glazed as she stares upward without really seeing, legs spread to show off her gaping, jizz-dripping holes. Practically the entire gang has gathered around her upper half, stroking themselves to completion one last time before letting out a veritable torrent of cum all over the exhausted girl's tits and face. Her hair is quickly completely soaked in seed, the lenses of her glasses utterly covered in it and her face smeared entirely, with more globes and heavy coverings of it sliding across her tits as they shake a bit with every one of her out-of-breath huffs. \n\n'And there's your very first isekai adventure, cutie!' you think with a giggle, before hmmming to yourself. Now what to do? \n\n<hr>\n[[Slavery storyarc!|KonIse]]\n\n[[Leave her to her fate.|KonIse]]\n\n[[Send her home... with a penalty.|KonIse]]

"I'll manage for the next week," you finally declare, standing up.\n\n"Fine fine. But you're gonna do like I said and-"\n\n"I'll manage," you half-snap back, before forcing your voice into a calmer tone. "Look, it's just some... excitement. I'll be fine. I'll take a few remote jobs, keep to myself, I can continue to live my life for the next week without locking myself away like I'm an animal in heat, alright?"\n\n"Okaaaaay," Rarala chirps, lifting her hands in a shrug. "Seeya later. Maybe we can go pick up guys together!"\n\nScowling briefly at her, you turn and march out of her storefront. Rarala's so full of bullshit, like you can't manage getting a little bit turned on by guys for a week! You'll manage just fine, you'll go get your clothes refitted, you'll take a few jobs, in a week you'll get back to normal, it's fine, you'll-\n\nYou're so fixated on everything being normal that you don't notice you've walked right into someone until you hit full-force and fall on your ass with a yelp, while the other party doesn't seem to so much as flinch. You wince and look up, and instantly feel your mouth go dry... and then start salivating.\n\nLooming above you is a massive bull-man, complete with golden ring through his nose (though you see a few blinking LEDs on it as well). He's wearing a particularly immodest fit of skinarmor suit, the fit highlighting the bulging muscle of his broad, just faintly paunchy form, as well as providing distinct outlines of both his immense shaft and balls that would both be more than a handful for you... each. Arrayed behind him are at least eight more men in similar garb with animal-like features, and while he's easily the biggest and most muscular of them, all are showing off impressively-sized packages with their tightly-fitting outfits... but with still plenty of skin bared that your head is almost instantly wrapped in a heady, musky, thick, bestial, extremely masculine scent as they gather around you a bit more, looks of mild concern on their face.\n\n"Ah, sorry, didn't mean to plow into you there!" the bull-man declares with a voice that's as deep as an ocean trench and as gentle as a spring rain, sending a shudder through you from your ears all the way down into your quivering pussy. "You see, we're in a bit of a hurry. I'm Kymon, head of the Asterios Menagerie, the largest beastmen-only Mercenary Company in the guild! We're on our way to the annual company meeting, one of the few times we all get together in one place, and there will be over 200 of us! So I suppose you can see why we were in a bit of a rush," he offers, leaning down to hold out a large hand that could enfold most of your head, or at least your throat as he pinned you down, but turned upward in a rather sweet gentlemanly gesture.\n\n"Shiiiiiiit," you whimper, feeling your pussy's aroused juices completely soak through your underwear and pants in a matter of seconds.\n\n"Anh, unh, nnh, anh, unh, unh, anh!" you grunt less than five minutes later, letting out those shameless little vocalizations with every thrust of the tiger-man behind you, his thick pink cock slamming into your pussy up to the ring of white fur around the base every time, your spurts of arousal soaking into the fuzz covering his belly and balls. Specifically you're grunting against Kymon's huge cock as it juts up in front of your face, lips and tongue and hands wandering worshipfully over his pillar of hot, throbbing flesh and the heavy, steadily more and more full balls hanging down below it, completely focused on showing him that your purpose in life is now to please him. Your eyes stare up at his face, completely claimed by the mingling of bestial lust and soft admiration there, and by that massive hand cradling the back of your head, so gentle and yet holding you right where you belong and always have, with your face buried in his crotch and sucking on his sack.\n\nThe massive meeting room completely full of similarly animalistic men is naked fully hard, the scent of the bitch in heat in their midst, urging them to pant and grunt as they stroke themselves, the hall echoing with the sound of lustful desire and fogged with the scent of bestial arousal and heavy, potent pre. They're all going to fuck you. They're all going to fuck you. Every single one is going to fuck you, and cum in you, and use you, and fuck you, and dump his load in you, and fuck you, all of them, all of them, all of them are going to fuck you while you worship this living monument of manliness's huge prick, it's all you can think about, all you want to think about, all you want, just how they're going to fuck you, and fuck you, and fuck you, and fuck you-\n\nThe tiger-man groans as he spills inside you, pushing in and letting his wet-furred balls lift against your clit for a moment as he empties himself into you, making you cum yourself for the third time in as many minutes. But he doesn't hesitate long, pulling out even as he's still spurting, spraying thick spatters over your pussylips and your ass as he moves aside, leaving your cum-overflowed pussy gaping open for only part of a second before his replacement is thrusting inside. Your eyes roll at the feel of the pigman's twisted spiral of a prick working against your walls, his absolutely enormous balls slapping against your clit as he starts rutting you, plump belly rubbing over your ass and stimulating you further. His little grunts and squeals fill your ears, now the most prominent of all the bestial noises of lust filling the room, but you can hear heavy equine pants coming from nearby and oh yes you want their flared heads spreading you inside and scraping you out just like you want this spiral shaft and you want the knot and you want the spines and you want the ridges and you want-\n\n"You want to go next boss?" the pigman grunts, though your brain doesn't really process the words, too lost in the haze of absolute, overwhelming desire to be a slut for these horny, showoff beastmen and their big fat cocks. "You've just had her mouth-servicing you for awhile now!"\n\n"Mmmm, she seems quite happy where she is," Kymon booms, his thumb affectionately stroking over the top of your head even as he firmly pushes you down, gently smothering you against his sweaty, fragrant sack, completely burying your face in it and letting you moan your orgasms to the building load of cum inside. "Once all of you have had her two or three times, maybe I'll take my turn then. Don't worry, I should still be able to stretch her out a little... and by then I'll have such a load built up that I'll knock her up for sure." He lets out a low chuckle as he lets you raise your face again, smiling down at your panting lips, your sweat-smeared face, the glazed look of lust in your eyes. "Though I don't doubt she'll be having the biggest, most mixed litter in the history of any girl we've brought back to the company hall."\n\n'Yes, yes, please, I want your calves, I want your cubs, I want your puppies, I want your kittens, I want your eggs, I want your-' you think, right before he pushes your face back into his balls and you stop thinking completely as you cum again from the pig's load spilling into you.\n\n<hr>\n[[Game Over.|LeoAma3xEnd]]

"Alright, thanks Doc," you say with a sigh. "I understand my options here. I'm gonna go get a second opinion... on the magical aspect, y'know."\n\n"No harm in that, I suppose... we do have a few magical specialists, but if you have one you prefer to use, that's just as well."\n\nYou get up and, after a brief exchange at the desk to make sure everything's up on your plan, you head to the lift to the shop levels... which is a pretty broad category, the Guildhall is home to a lot of third parties that own shop space, for a wide, wide variety of things. You're heading for the 'specialist' sort of area, where people run shops that mostly provide specialized services with maybe some custom tailored products on the side rather than generalized sales or anything like that. You've dealt with a few magical things before, and got suggestions to use this particular person.\n\n"Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm."\n\nWho has, for the last twenty minutes, been pacing back and forth about five feet while staring fixedly at you with red eyes. Rarala looks fairly young, though you get the impression that's just looks... short, on the skinny side, the impression heightened by her short, thoroughly messy black hair. Her clothes are 'eclectic', you guess that's the word, mismatched but all of them elaborately embroidered or patterned, from the turquoise bandanna around her neck to the white, black, and gold-accented jacket she's wearing that never quite seems to make its way fully onto her shoulders, showing off one of her tattoos on her shoulder, another tribal sun etched onto her cheek below her eye. Her loose knee-length dress flicks with her placid motions, hands raised up to steeple her fingers in front of her mouth. The two of you are currently in her 'consultation office'... it's set up sort of like a small shop, just with plenty of room in the middle for her to do on-demand work. The air smells heavily of incense and whatever's in the jars lining the shelves on the walls.\n\n<img src="images/Rarala.png">\n\n"This spell... it really speaks to the heart of me," she finally declares. "I feel a kinship with it."\n\n"O... kay?" you murmur, tilting your head. "Why's that?"\n\n"Because it's like me. Brilliant," Rarala replies, parting her hands and wiggling her fingers. "But lazy."\n\n"... Yeah I don't follow, sorry."\n\n"Okay okay okay." The red-eyed woman flicks her hands around a bit, as if waving off the lackadaisical musing she'd been doing. "Alright, so, there's a lot of ways you can do spells to change someone's sex. There's just outright reshaping the body, or tweaking the genes with magic like you would using tech, or the most high-minded and expensive sort, the one where you just move concepts around, shift out the 'Male body' concept and shift the 'Female body' concept in, poof. This isn't any of those. This is actually a form of dimensional magic."\n\n"Dimens-... wait, like the portals?"\n\n"Sort of, yeah. Except this spell specifically goes looking for alternate dimension versions of the target that meet the differences someone's looking for while sticking as close to the original as it can. Okay, so like..." She pulls a chair over to face yours, then sits down and continues waving her hands around as she speaks. "Technically this spell's a bit more 'expensive' as far as energy goes than a lot of spells for this would be, but the insane thing about it is the sheer versatility, you could use it for almost anything. Say you lose an arm in a fight, so you go to a mage who can do this spell. They cast the spell while focusing on a you that has two arms, and the spell finds the nearest, most similar version of you with two arms and copy-pastes the parameters for their body onto yours. Bam, you now have two arms, and probably without knowing it you're actually physically a whole different you. Works no matter what change you need to make, heck, you could change someone's species with it if you wanted, probably just take longer. But let me guess, they mentioned there might be side effects, right?"\n\n"Yeaaaah," you mutter, eyes narrowing. "What's that mean?"\n\n"Okay, so when this spell happens, all that's left of the original you is your mind, it's otherwise stuck entirely into the whole physical body of the alternate you the spell found. And it's going to go looking for the closest, nearest match, but that doesn't mean it's an exact one. Go back to our example of the dude with the lost arm... maybe the nearest, most similar version of him with two arms also just so happens to have the stomach flu at this moment. Bam, our guy has two arms again... and a wicked case of the flu. Or y'know, his hair's a different color, even temporarily 'cause the other him dyed it, or he has different scars, or maybe his dick's an inch shorter or something. So they just say 'There might be side effects' as a blanket explanation... hell, these guys might not even know how this spell actually works, the actual reason for random side effects might be a complete mystery to them."\n\n"Soooo." You squirm nervously in your chair. "If, say... I can't stop looking at guys now, and I feel turned-on and horny all the time, and... other stuff...?"\n\n"Yeah, sorry Leo, turns out the nearest, most similar female version of you who the spell could find also just so happened to be a complete and total cock addict," Rarala answers without hesitation, shooting you fingerguns as you bring both hands to your face. "Maybe she got cursed, or hit with an aphrodisiac, or hey maybe that was just her living her best life, but between what I'm seeing and what you're telling me, you have both the body and brain of someone whose first and most pressing thought is always gonna be 'How can this result in me getting a thorough dicking-down?'"\n\n"Fuck's saaake," you groan. "There's gotta be something you can do, Rarala!"\n\n"Mmm, well, you said that in a week probably they were likely gonna do a nanite treatment on you? Restore you to the way you were at your last medical scan?" At your nod, Rarala shrugs expansively. "Well one option is to wait... when that happens it'll restore your brain too, and since I'm not seeing any actual curse magic on you, like ninety-eight percent chance that takes care of your urges too. However, I'd highly suggest you check yourself into a Retreat Room for that week, and keep your eyes down on the way there and the way to the clinic when you leave."\n\n"Er, how come? ... Wait, do you mean... so I don't wind up jumping some guy's bones?" You swallow. "What would that do?!"\n\n"Probably result in you having a really good time." At your incredulous look, Rarala lifts her eyebrows. "Dude, not everything is a medical or magical issue. Your body is conditioned to fuck like shaking hands, basically, and to really enjoy doing it. You get an actual dick in you, it'll probably feel so good that you won't be able to help yourself, you'll do it again, and by the end of the week you'll blow off your appointment because you decided for yourself that you don't want to change back. Also you'll probably be busy getting fucked."\n\n"... Right. Can we circle back to anything you can do?"\n\n"Mmmm, as to your body... tricky. Tricky, 'cause I'd have to change your brain along with your body to get rid of the nymphomania, and that's always tricky, especially with the lingering aura from the last spell on you." Rarala steeples her fingers again, looking you up and down. "Yeah, I'd wanna wait a week too. But there is one thing I could do. It'd be expensive, but I could do it right now, and no more risk of getting so cock-drunk on one quick screw that you never wanna go back."\n\n"You have such a way with words." You sigh, but perk up. "You could switch out 'Female body' for 'Male body'?"\n\n"Not without a lot more prep and some special materials that'd take me a week to get anyway. But right now I could switch out the 'Slut' concept for something closer to your usual libido... 'Randy', maybe? 'Mildly lewd'? 'Low-key horny'?"\n\n"How about a normal libido, thanks," you grumble, glowering at her.\n\n"Suit yourself! But there's a catch." She raises one finger. "Switching out one concept basically firms up all the other ones. Including that 'Female body' one."\n\n"... But I could just use the nanite treatment later...?"\n\n"Nope. The concept magic would reject any attempt to change your current labels once I'd finished, you'd just revert back to your current body a few hours later, most likely. Now, that wouldn't be permanent, but you're looking at a year that way."\n\n"A year," you grumble, slumping back in your chair.\n\n"So yeah, them's basically your options, my dude. A week under threat of hopping on a boner and deciding you don't wanna go back, or a year of feeling normal but wielding what frankly look like completely amazing tits. Up to you... I can file the concept thing under your insurance but you'd still have to pay me the deductible, by the way."\n\nGreat. Sighing, you rub your face as you consider. This is not where you were hoping this meeting would lead, but she's right, you've at least got options now.\n\n<hr>\n[[Just tough out the week.|LeoAma3x6]]\n\n[[Head to a Retreat Room to wait out the week.|LeoFem5x1]]\n\n[[Have Rarala use concept magic.|LeoFem1x1]]

"Well so since what's in my pants has zero affect on killing orcs," you mutter, standing and shoving the top hatch on the roof of the carriage open before clambering through it... okay, though what's on your chest does make that vaguely more awkward. Still, you get up and plant your feet, taking a look at the oncoming orcs. You're dismayed to realize there's actually a flush of arousal that runs through you watching those massive, muscular forms bearing down on you with those big, thick cocks waving stiff in the air, heavy leathery balls swaying between powerful thighs, and for just an instant there's a whisper of excitement that runs through your head at what might happen if you just let them overrun the caravan.\n\nIt's half your anger at the weird thoughts this body apparently came with and half anger at the rest of this situation that makes you decide to go for a heavily 'overkill' option, deciding to wrap this situation up quickly, decisively, and in a way that vents a bit of your rage at the world. Yanking the matter cartridge out of the top of the stock, you replace it with a heavy battery pack from your coat, a pair of lights blinking on as you switch the rifle to a particular setting and then pull the trigger... you don't really bother aiming other than making sure the rifle is pointed towards the middle of the orcs. Some of the elf guards are starting to look distinctly nervous that nothing is going on from you other than a steadily building hum that starts to turn into a low shriek, before you're rocked back slightly by the rifle kicking and firing a streaming, flickering prismatic pulse towards the oncoming force. It strikes one orc in the arm, the big creature lurching only slightly as if barely noticing the impact even as the flesh turns an angry purplish color as if irritated... just before it explodes. Not 'into a shower of gore', but rather as if it were made of C4.\n\nYou're guessing that whatever magic the elves were using against the orcs before, it never quite hit the level of excited particle reactions. The orc whose arm you hit is obviously rendered into a mist, but most of the orcs around him are as well, most of the rest at the edges knocked stumbling or sprawling by the shockwave. One of the lights on the energy pack now dark, you wheel around to face the other side, the orcs there having hesitated in shock at what happened on the other side. That's fine, between that and the chargeup time for the blast you actually bother to aim this time, hitting one of the big orcs in the center of the group right in the head. Hm, orc skulls must be pretty dense, because the explosion's even more impressive than the other orc's arm was.\n\nThat's pretty much it. Turning their own comrades into the explosives that kill them is apparently too much for the orcs, and they flee roaring in terror, their panicked scrabbling leaving rents in the grass. You pull out the charge pack, eye it, then just toss it aside, still too annoyed to think of the responsible thing of cleaning up after yourself or recycling. 'Stupid big-dicked muscular assholes,' you think sulkily as you climb back down into the carriage, settling almost sulkily back into your seat across from the rather shell-shocked Amanielle, who's just looking at you as if wondering quite what her uncle wound up hiring.\n\nThe rest of the ride proceeds in silence... quick silence, since apparently the guard in charge has decided to speed things up after the attack and your response. For the first time the caravan actually drives until after dark, until you arrive in the city... you don't bother looking out much at it, your mind too much on getting back to the Guildhall and having the sex change reversed. When the carriage stops, you and Amanielle step out into some sort of castle courtyard. You exchange polite pleasantries with her and with the head guard, with none of you making mention of the idea of you lingering or your travel arrangements. Instead you just pull out your beacon and hit the button, already striding meaningfully forward as you come out of the portal and making a beeline for the medical level. Unfortunately...\n\n"What do you MEAN you can't change me back?!"\n\n"Please calm down, that's not what I said," the doctor says soothingly, raising her hands. "I said I can't use the preferred sex change method on you immediately. The spell that they used on you seems to have left a lingering energy signature on your body that would render the nanites we use for such procedures inert."\n\n"W-well, what about other procedures?" you mutter, settling back into the chair. "A genetic chamber, maybe?"\n\n"Mister LaChance, I really don't suggest that," she answers with appropriately doctorly graveness. "Genetic chambers are much more intensive procedures, it's not good to use them if you might have any sort of medical emergency shortly after... you'd probably have to take at least a month off of work afterwards, and it wouldn't necessarily restore you to what you consider your proper body. If that's not enough incentive, since the use of one is against my medical advice in this case, it won't be covered by your insurance plan... you'd be out of pocket."\n\nYou brood for a few seconds, before huffing. "So I'm stuck like this?"\n\n"Again. The nanites won't work immediately. Our scans show the energy signature is decreasing very gradually, but steadily. If you come back in a week, we'll run another scan and be able to more clearly understand our options and potential timeline then."\n\nYou rap your fingers against the arm of your chair, thinking it over. Part of you wants to say hell with it, you'll take the big hit to your account to use the gene chamber just so you can get back to being a guy by the time you walk out of here. On the other hand, clearly the smarter and more responsible (both medically and fiscally) option would be to just come back next week, and deal with your girl-ness until then. Somewhere between the two... you know at least one other person you could ask, you guess...\n\n<hr>\n[[Wait a week.|LeoAma]]\n\n[[Use the genetic chamber.|LeoAma]]\n\n[[Go see an expert.|LeoAma3x5]]

Look... it wasn't but a small handful of years ago that you yourself were a teenager. You may not be familiar with this body or its reactions, but... you've pretty much in general realized what this is, and teenage you knew (and let's face it, current you knows) how to deal with the issue.\n\nYou first poke your head back out of the tent flap and take a quick look around, making sure that no one's close or seems likely to approach... man no solid door with locks, this is almost as bad as that year you spent living on a small starship with no cabin locks. At least if someone walks in on you here it won't be your mother, father, or little sister. Which you're not 100% on if that's better or worse, here it could be some randy elf man soldier, who'd quickly throw himself atop you and-\n\nA little shiver runs through your body before you quickly shove the thought away, much as you shove the flaps of the tent as closed as you can get them. Geez! Who ever heard of randy rapacious elf men anyway? You definitely don't want to be thinking about that anyway, you assure yourself very firmly as you undress completely beside the cot set up on one side of the tent. You take a moment to examine yourself a bit more thoroughly than you did this morning, since you're about to have your hands all over this body anyway. ... Man it really is kind of a... lewd... body, isn't it? Big firm tits that jut out with just the tiniest bit of 'torpedo' shape to their roundness, your hips have a nice curve that seems virtually designed to encourage hands to grab onto them and haul them back, everything's nice and smooth and sleek. 'God, I wanna fuck myself,' you think with a little groan, laying down on the (surprisingly comfortable) cot. Well, you guess it's a good thing that's basically what you're going to do...\n\nBiting your lower lip, you bring your hands up to the puffy nipples capping your new tits, hesitating just a bit before touching them. Obviously you still had nipples as a guy, and they even got hard occasionally, but you're already aware these are way more sensitive. So it's a bit delicately that you bring your hands down onto them and brush along the areola, instantly gasping and twitching a bit. Yeah... yeah, sensitive. You take a few deep breaths before starting to more deliberately toy with your newly delicious-looking pink nipples, closing your eyes to focus on the sensation rather than the view of you toying with tits that are on your own chest. Gradually one of your hadns lowers down, cupping your breast instead, feeling out how to squeeze and knead it even as you keep toying with your nipple, more pleasure coursing through you as you find the right amount of pressure to use, the right places to touch, the best angles to pinch from. 'Nnnnh... maybe... maybe this'll have some side benefits... maybe... if other girls like the same thing... mnn, I'd have to do it from behind though,' you think, a faintly delirious giggle escaping your lips.\n\nIt's easy enough to lose yourself in the situation, gradually settling to kneading your own tits in a position that you can still play with your nipples, your slightly longer and more slender fingers seeming practically designed for it. You can feel something sort of... building up, though it's in such a different way to anything else that you find it easy to just let it be background noise until suddenly it's crashing over you and you're arching your back, letting out a hard, choked gasp as you reflexively try to choke back your cry at it. It happens fast, though the fading is slower as you slump back to the cot and stare at the ceiling of the tent in a daze. 'Holy shit, I seriously came just from playing with my tits? What's with this lewd body...?'\n\nAll the same, you slowly begin to play with your breasts again, gradually building back up to the same motions before, feeling the pleasure that had settled into a low background hum build back up. But this time you can't help but let one hand slide downward, slowly moving across your belly until you slip it between your legs, already gasping loudly and twitching your hips up at even that light touch. 'Fuck, I'm so wet,' you think distantly, breathing harder as you begin to move your fingers, stroking them over the slick, smooth, plump lips. You doubt you're doing a very good job of it, but your body is so sensitive and eager and this is all so new to you that it really doesn't seem to matter.\n\nYou turn your thoughts to some of the girls you've been with, or just girls you've seen and lusted after, at first thinking of the things you'd rather they were doing to your male body instead of what you're doing to this female body... but you keep winding up picturing yourself in their place, doing those things to some generic male who's much, much bigger than you were, your mouth wrapped around his hard cock or with you spreading your legs to beg him to fuck you. Shoving the thoughts away, you instead try to think of those girls doing things to your current body... Amanielle sucking and licking at one of your nipples, Aurora curling her fingers into your pussy... but again you can't seem to keep them in there. At first it's that pretty fucker Ohme you find yourself picturing, almost without realizing it, just realizing that the pretty face and slender body you're imagining atop yours is actually possessed of a fat cock and a smirking leer to go with those wicked steel-colored eyes. But every time you push the thoughts away, they come back stronger, the guys you think of bigger and more muscular and more manly and there's more of them and they're all fucking you, telling you what a pretty slut you are, what a good eager whore, what a beautiful drooling cock addict, what-\n\nYou arch hard, hips lifted high in the air with your fingers buried inside yourself, your cry coming out as a muffled whimper before you finally slump, panting and gasping. 'F-five times... fuck... fuck,' you groan to yourself, shivering and trying to chase away the fantasies of men with big cocks pounding you in all three holes while you eagerly stroke more with your hands. Where is all this coming from? You shudder a little in something other than pleasure as you remember a phrase you heard someone use once... 'The mind is a plaything of the body.' But that can't be true to this extent, can it? Still, it's a little disturbing to wonder... but after being so tense and anxious all day, the repeated release has finally allowed you to relax, and despite your troubled thoughts you settle into sleep.\n\nThe next morning you wake up with enough time to dig through your stuff and find an old long scarf that with a bit of work will serve as a chestwrap... not exactly great, but better than jiggling and rubbing against your shirt all day. As to the underwear situation... you actually find a couple of pairs of, well... okay, you wouldn't call them 'trophies', particularly, just that their previous owners left them behind and you just sort of decided to take them, so maybe more like 'souvenirs'? You look over your options, and when it comes down to the pink bikini briefs or the blue thong, you eventually sigh and go with the thong... you're not sure how your brain decides that the hip-riding straps and the strip of cloth up your ass is more masculine than something that's almost like male briefs but pink, but there you go.\n\nYou head out, trying to ignore that you're, if anything, even more aware of the men you pass than yesterday. There's not the same anxious, eager urgency you feel around them, but your eyes definitely wander without you really thinking about it. 'Stop, stop it, I do not like guys,' you growl to yourself, even as you think about how you'd like to wrap your lips around something else's of the cook's instead of the sausage he gave you. ... Dammit!\n\n"Ah, you seem... a little put out today," Amanielle says nervously once the two of you are back in the carriage and trundling along. "Perhaps even moreso than yesterday. If you don't mind my saying."\n\nYou sigh, shaking your head. "I had a... restless night, Princess, that's all."\n\n"I see." She looks like she might want to say something more... perhaps to apologize again... but decides to keep silent again.\n\nThen you both jerk a bit as there's a shout from outside. You lean close to the small slat of a window and swear. "Damn, they've gone earlier than I thought." You thought the orcs would want one long charge across a wide open area, but it looks like they've decided to settle for a shorter charge from both sides. They're closing in, huge, green, and... very naked. You swallow heavily at the sight of their massive green cocks flopping as they run, though they're rapidly stiffening the closer the orcs get to the caravan, excitement apparently fueling the big bestial humanoids. At least you're not quite as distracted by it as you might have been yeterday, but yikes.\n\n"What now?" Amanielle asks, obviously a bit worried as she glances over at you.\n\n<hr>\n[[Now you do your job, still.|LeoAma3x4]]\n\n[[Now fuck you.|LeoAma]]

The vagueries of the second option really don't leave you filled with confidence. The first is at least tangible and you can see a path to getting rid of it later, so with a sigh you say, "Fine, fine, I'll become a woman. Not that I was going to do anything without permission anyway."\n\nYou're fairly positive the Duke mutters something along the lines of 'That's what I'm worried about' as he turns and strides back out of the tent. It's not very long before he returns with an elf woman wearing green-grey robes and a rather stereotypical witch's hat, albeit one with slots cut in the brim to accomodate her particularly long ears. She adjusts her glasses as she gives you a grin. "Heya, got yourself into some trouble over the Princess, huh? It happens, don't feel too bad."\n\n"Yeah, thanks," you answer flatly.\n\n"This is usually a pretty easy change, so don't worry, it'll only take a minute." The witch-elf raises her hands and closes her eyes, palms pointed at you as she murmurs under her breath.\n\nYou're not sure what you were expecting, but the change really is fast. It's sort of like you're just sitting there brooding listening to her chant, and then you're just suddenly... different. Your new D-cups actually bobble a little under your top from the suddenness of their having come into existence, making you jerk in place in surprise and rub your newly round ass against the ground. You can see some of your hair brush across your eyes as you move... still scruffy, but now blonde. 'I'll never hear the end of this from Neo,' you think with a sigh, hanging your head. Still, you have to admit, that was fast, damn.\n\n"There y'go! There might be some minor side effects, but you'll adjust to 'em, prolly. Seeya," the witch declares, waving a hand as she trots out.\n\n"The fee for her services will, of course, be subtracted from your pay," the Duke declares evenly as he sets down your jacket and weapons before snapping his fingers and striding out, just a hint of a smug lift in his step. "Please prepare quickly, we've already had the princess's departure delayed by this."\n\n'So much for coming out of this in the black,' you think with a sigh as you feel the ropes around your wrists unfurl, leaving you to stand up unencumbered. You pause, pulling a bit of your newly yellow hair in front of your view and making a face. 'In more ways than one.' You glance down at yourself. ... Yup those are pretty big. Far from the biggest you've ever seen, but big. ... Actually Neo may be too resentful to tease you over this. The change is enough that it's lifted your shirt up enough to show a hint of bellybutton, and your pants seem to be staying up around your thinner waist mostly due to the somewhat greater curve of your hips. ... Your boxers, on the other hand, have given up the ghost and fallen down around your thighs beneath them, you can feel. Sighing, you undo your belt and pants and drop them down, stepping out of them and the boxers. You can't really help taking a moment to examine yourself, just to make sure, but... yup. Smooth front of the crotch, plump pussylips between the legs. '... Huh, I'm still shaven, huh?' you think, briefly running a hand along the smooth skin, then shivering. '... Let's not get carried away.' You quickly pull your pants back on, trying not to think about the sort of lingering tingly feeling or slight heat you can feel low in your belly now, or about what 'side effects' might mean.\n\nYou take a few moments to flex, twist, and check yourself over. You're a lot smoother and less visibly toned than you were as a guy, but it doesn't seem like you're any less strong or agile just from the few warmup movements you do. ... The unrestrained boobs are sort of a problem but you're not sure what to do about them for right now, you'll just have to avoid melee combat. Your hair is also longer than it was, coming down the back of your neck to below your shoulders. 'I didn't even feel it grow!' you think with a frown as you brush your fingers through it. This is weird, it's almost less like you were changed into a girl and more like this is someone else's body that's just really similar to yours, since a check with your comm camera shows you still largely resemble yourself, right down to the color of your eyes. ... Enh, probably just discombobulated by the change. 'I'll get it fixed the minute I get back to the Guildhall, is all,' you think with a sigh as you make a few more adjustments to your clothes before pulling on your jacket and retrieving your weapons.\n\nNot long after you're sitting in a not particularly comfortable carriage with the princess, who's shifting awkwardly in place and glancing out the window. Ah, right, you were pretty blunt earlier, you probably really turned her off. But when she finally looks at you, she gives you a surprisingly normal sheepish smile. "Um, I'm sorry about my uncle and the whole... um..." She makes a vague gesture in your direction. Mostly towards your chest.\n\n"Oh. Well... yeah," you mutter, rubbing the back of your head with one hand, feeling your tits bobble a little as you do. 'Gah, I've gotta do something about those.' "And I'm sorry about the whole... propositioning... thing."\n\n"It wasn't exactly the dashing, heroic sort of talk I was hoping for, but I wasn't particularly offended either," Amanielle replies dryly, her grin turning a bit more natural. "My uncle, even more than my father, enjoys his view of me as a sweet and innocent creature and can go a little overboard in maintaining that polite fiction."\n\n"Seems like there's not a lot I can do about it now," you mutter, glancing down at yourself again. You squirm a little, feeling uncomfortably... aware... of how different your body is. Actually, it's less uncomfortable, maybe more... anxious? Or even excited? Do girls usually get such stiff nipples just from their clothes rubbing against them, you wonder, feeling a little shivery tingle sent through you as the carriage bumps and rubs your shirt over your bare, stiff nubs. Of course it also bumps you in place a bit, lifting you up and then thumping your pussy lightly against the bench through the single layer of cloth of your pants, sending a little jolt of pleasure through you that makes you let out a little yelp.\n\n"Ah... are you alright?" Amanielle asks, concern on her face as she looks over at you.\n\n"Y-yeah, ah... just not used to this," you mutter, which you hope is the truth, and this isn't an example of 'side effects', because the more the day wears on the more you're feeling sort of anxious and edgy and those little twitches and jolts of pleasure start feeling more obvious, until by the time the caravan halts for the evening and camp is set up, you're resisting the near-constant urge to squirm around. As you walk through the camp, your eyes keep flicking towards passing guards and other workers... they all smell really strong, you wouldn't expect elves to smell so much, but there's definitely a strong masculine sweaty-musky smell that makes your head feel funny. You actually wind up breathing shallowly until you arrive at your own tent (on close to the edge of camp) and flop onto the cot, finally taking a few deep breaths. God, what is with this body?! You rub both hands over your face, doing your best to ignore the distinctly wet feeling between your legs, and the sensation of trickles of that wetness running down your skin. You've gotta do something, you've gotta... get your mind off this, or focus your thoughts, or... whatever it takes to get a little relief.\n\n<hr>\n[[Go to sleep.|LeoAma]]\n\n[[Do something manly!|LeoAma]]\n\n[[Go see Amanielle.|LeoAma]]\n\n[[Masturbate.|LeoAma3x3]]

Smirking now, you take a slow swagger over to the princess, brushing back your coat to hook your thumbs into your belt. "Well hey there, Princess Gorgeous. That's definitely a body I look forward to guarding, you know?"\n\n"Um." Princess Amanielle blinks, leaning back just a little. "Yes, well... thank you."\n\n"In fact, why don't we discuss exactly when I should come over for nighttime bodyguarding, hm?" you add, winking rakishly at her.\n\n'Oh riiiiiiiiight, other people can hear it when I flirt,' you think a few minutes later in the small, empty tent you're sitting in, your hands bound together behind the thick middle stake. Your jacket, rifle, and sword have all been taken... which doesn't leave you actually disarmed, but not with anything you'd want to try fighting your way out of an entire camp of apparently very touchy and grumpy elves with. \n\nSpeaking of which, the very grumpy-looking Duke brushes aside the tent flap and steps inside, walking the short distance to glare touchily down at you. "We have contacted the Guild, but apparently your... innuendo does not rise to the level of terminating your contract on their end. And doing so on our part would incur fees and a 'cooldown' period, which is a delay we cannot afford. Apparently it will still be necessary to utilize your skills, despite your... distasteful behavior."\n\n"Look, I'm sorry, alright?" you say with a huff. "I got a little carried away and let my mouth run away with me."\n\n"It is not so much your mouth we are concerned with," he replies coolly, quirking one eyebrow and making you give a 'well whatcha gonna do' tilt of the head. "While your Guild did say that a handful of particular punishments are off limits, they did agree with certain other methods we could use to insure that the Princess's virtue remains intact during the journey." \n\n"Erk." You can't help but press back against the tentpole a bit. It's true, the Guild won't let clients go around just flagrantly killing or mutilating any Guildcert they hire for petty trespasses... but they're pretty lenient with just about anything else. The official line is something like 'Guild-licensed individuals must be ready to accept personal responsibility for any behaviors or actions they take which cause a client undue agitation or displeasure, up to and including semi-permanent but non-injurious punitive measures'. Translated to actual mercspeak: 'Your fuckup, your consequences.'\n\n"Specifically, we have several specialists passing through this camp on their way to other places which could be of use in this situation. One is a bodychanger... we could have you turned into a woman."\n\n"What?" You make a face. Geez, a genderswap over a couple of bad double entendres? Seems a little extreme to you.\n\n"If that is not to your taste, there is a specialist in behavioral changes visiting as well. We could have him insure that you will not make any further advances on the princess," the Duke says coolly, just a hint of a smirk quirking one corner of his mouth.\n\nYou glare at the ground balefully. Fucksakes. Well, on the one hand, getting turned into a girl certainly wouldn't be the worst thing in the world, it's not like you think they're gross or lesser or something lame like that, you're just, y'know... not one. Even if they didn't turn you back at the end of the job (and it doesn't sound like they're offering to), you could get changed back at the Guildhall, you're pretty sure your medical insurance covers that sort of thing... the deductible will take a bite out of your pay for this job to where you might just barely come out in the black, but it's better than nothing. Still, it's pretty extreme... you wonder what this 'behavioral change' is? Would this guy just use aversion therapy or something to make you not lust over the princess? That seems way less intense. ... Except for Luwin being sort of smirky at the idea, that gives you pause.\n\nStill, sounds like you're not getting out of here without picking one.\n\n<hr>\n[[Genderswap.|LeoAma3x2]]\n\n[[Behavioral modification.|LeoAma]]

"Ruby!"\n\nThe little girl with red and black hair giggled, ducking low and scampering along behind the log she'd ducked behind.\n\n"Ruby you get back heeeere!"\n\nInstead the small girl popped up and raced towards a wonderfully grand mud puddle. Gathering herself for a particularly impressive leap, she hurled herself into the air, arms and legs splayed, prepared for a belly flop she'd probably regret later but such was the nature of a child, to live entirely in the moment, and for now she was too focused on the absolutely fantastic mess she was going to make to think about the discomfort of a pink belly.\n\n"Iiiiiii've GOTCHA!" squealed a melodious squeak of a voice, a whirl of red leaving a trail of rose petals blurring from behind and snatching the girl out of the air, the blur resolving into Ruby Rose with a twirl as she held the squealing, giggling, kicking girl above her head. "Ha-haaaaaaaaaaa!"\n\n"Nooooooooooo!" Ruby Sterling protested even as she laughed delightedly, shaking her head wildly, long red-streaked black hair shaking. \n\n"Yeeeeeeeees!" Ruby Rose smiled with equal delight, hauling the little girl in and hugging her, wiggling her upper body back and forth and cooing at her, "Whoooooo's best Ruby?"\n\n"You's best Ruby," the girl declared with a grin, putting her hand on her namesake's nose.\n\n"No you's best Ruby!" the woman insisted, shaking off the hand so she could boop her nose against the girl's.\n\n"You's best Ruby!"\n\n"No you's best Ruby!"\n\n"You's best Ruby!"\n\n"No you's best-"\n\n"Did you find herrrrrrrrr?!" called an annoyed voice from the house.\n\n"Oop, there goes our fun." Ruby Rose bounced the girl in her arms a bit, then grinned even wider than before, leaning in to whisper conspiratorially, "Hey. Wanna go fast?"\n\nLittle Ruby's hot pink eyes lit up with more excitement and joy than such a small body should be able to hold. "YES!"\n\n"Here we gooooooo!" Ruby Rose declared happily, hurling herself forward and twisting into a long, fluttering red trail of speed, carrying with it a squealing, giggling streak of neon pink. She resolved in front of the open back door in a burst of checked-motion rose petals, instantly holding Little Ruby forward and gasping dramatically. "Whozzat? Whozzat?"\n\n"GODZILIAAAAA!" Ruby Sterling squealed in, if anything, even more delight, stretching out her arms and kicking her legs frantically in her eagerness to get a hug.\n\n"Oh my God," Ilia groaned, nevertheless accepting the child and hugging her up, specks turning a faint, pleased orange despite her mildly aggravated expression. "I can't believe you showed her those movies, that dumb nickname is all your fault," she added as she turned to head back into the house.\n\n"That one's actually her fault," Blake noted, using the red pen she was grading a large stack of papers with to indicate her wife.\n\n"Oh c'mon it's cute," Yang scoffed, bouncing the much smaller baby she herself was holding in a soothing way, its green eyes gradually growing heavy.\n\n"It's fine, you looooove meeeee," Ruby Rose cooed, zipping around to Ilia's side and leaning in front of her, batting her eyelashes.\n\n"I'd love you more if you didn't encourage them to run off so that you could chase them," Ilia snorted, but nevertheless rearranged Ruby Sterling in her arms so she could lean down and kiss the other Ruby's forehead.\n\nRuby inhaled dramatically, clapping a hand to her chest. "I would never! Oop," she murmured, jumping aside as a pair of orange-haired eight-year-olds went zipping by laughing.\n\n"Joan! Oscar! No running in the house!" Yang called, only to wince as the baby in her arms started crying. "Sh-sh-sh, sh-sh-sh... oh, yeah, that'd do it," she muttered after a sniff, moving over to the changing table. "Geez, how do those three manage to wrangle all these kids and still keep finding time to make more?!"\n\n"It is a mystery," Blake declared with easy good humor, gently deflecting the twins from trying to examine her as-yet-ungraded papers and shooing them towards the back door.\n\n"They're probably trying to repopulate Kuroyuri or something," Ilia said dryly as her girlfriend zipped off outside once again to keep an eye on Joan and Oscar, the chameleon Faunus currently occupied with trying (and failing) to get Little Ruby to blow her nose instead of just dribbling snot everywhere.\n\n"That or make sure there's a Ren, Valkyrie, or Sterling on every single team in Beacon for the next twenty years," Blake added with a grin and a quirked brow. "Or at least one in my class every year."\n\n"Whew!" Yang declared, wrinkling her nose and turning her gaze away from her current task for a moment, before noting, "Well, at least someone's enjoying babysitting."\n\nAll three looked over towards the corner, where Weiss was virtually covered by children ranging in age from three to six, all of them cuddled up tightly to her, tiny little hands holding her tight, a look of absolutely transcendental bliss on the Atlesian girl's face.\n\n"This is the happiest I've ever been in my liiiiiiiife," she whispered, practically sparkling.\n\nJust then the front door opened, a twelve-year-old with an orange streak in her black hair leading another twelve-year-old by the hand, the other girl's hair almost the same color as the blood gradually dribbling from between the fingers clasped over her nose. "Aunt Yaaaaang," Weiss Valkyrie called in an ashamed tone. "I did it agaaaain."\n\n"Gah." Yang grimaced, then glanced at her wife. "Could you?"\n\n"On it." Blake took only a second to throw a thin blanket over her papers, more to at least mildly discourage any disruptions than truly prevent them, then hurried over to gently take the injured girl's hand and lift it. "Tilt. Tilt. Mm, not broken. This time. Weiss, we keep telling you to check your punches."\n\n"Sorry."\n\n"Id fibe," declared Reese Sterling, apparently unfazed by yet again being bloodied by her sister's all-out sparring.\n\n"You're gonna need a fresh shirt, let's get you washed up. Ilia, can you watch my papers?"\n\n"I've still got an army's worth of dinner to make!" Ilia complained as she set Ruby Sterling down and urged her hand into Little Weiss's. Turning her head she called towards the stairs, "Pyrrha! We could use some help down here!"\n\n"Coming!"\n\n"Those three must reeeeeally like each other, is all I'm saying," Yang noted as she completed the diaper change and once more hefted the baby into her arms, rocking it again.\n\n"Ever make you and Blake think about having any of your own?" Ilia asked with a bit of a grin as she did one last check of the area, waiting for the sound of feet on the stairs to actually head into the kitchen.\n\n"And still find the energy to babysit this absolute tribe? Psh. Oh well, maybe when some of them are older. 'Sides, it's already kind of like having our own, just that after the week's over we get to foist them back on their parents. Yes isn't that right li'l Yin yes it is," she cooed, leaning down to rub noses with the baby, who simply wrinkled his own in response to the big weird yellow thing accosting him.\n\nA redheaded blur went pounding past and into the kitchen, no Semblance necessary, just an overly-enthusiastic thirteen-year-old ready and eager to help. Then there was a crash, a yelp from Ilia, and a blurt of "I'm sorry!"\n\nYang settled down on the couch, laughing silently to herself as she glanced into the kitchen, then over at the still absolutely blissed-out Weiss. "... Yeah. This is pretty good."\n\nKai's Story - Epic of Remnant - They like each other a lot

Sounds like a pretty straightforward job, with lots of "pop in, make some money, leave, show up again later" potential even. You tap the listing to read over the details a bit more, though there aren't that many... looks like you're actually supposed to go and talk to the job lister's representatives here on the Guildhall for more info.\n\nWell, that's not too unusual, you think as you head for the client offices area. Big clients who list long-term open jobs like this frequently rent some space on the Guildhall, often with a small apartment attached for whoever they've got stationed there. It sounds like this mission will probably be open right up until the planet goes critical, so you're not too surprised they've gone that route. Dang, twenty years though. You're still young enough that that seems like an eternity.\n\nThe office annex is large and largely uninspired... mostly just a sprawling, towering set of white-doored, opaque-windowed office fronts. There are small atrium-like areas spread out at intervals along the levels, little rounded areas that stick out from the rest of the railing, and below there's a much larger, almost park-like atrium that even has a pond and some trees. Well, these are clients, after all, gotta make things look nice for them, especially if they're here longterm. You find the office you're looking for... the label's been supplemented by a little logo reading 'UWPA' (Universal Wildlife Preservation Association, apparently)... and ring the bell at the side. It doesn't take long before the door opens and you're invited in.\n\nThe pair inside introduce themselves as Loren and Liren... you're gonna guuuuess brothers? But then with different species stuff like that is hard to tell, that might just be how they all are. They do look nearly identical... smooth-scalped, with flat white skin and dark eyes, both of the same lightly muscular build under their bodysuits, both with similar features and voices. It would in fact be a lot harder to tell them apart if Loren didn't have a blue symbol painted (tattooed? naturally occurring?) on his forehead and Liren a different symbol in red on his. Both of them seem pleasant enough, having the easy sort of nice-but-businesslike demeanor of people whose entire profession is keeping cordial relations with other sentients.\n\nSoon the three of you are seated in the office, which is mostly done up like a conversation area with two semicircular couches facing each other with a table between. 'Caff's really good,' you muse as you sip it. You're Makarzian, after all, and while you come from money, there's still a world of difference between really good Makarzian caff, fairly decent coffee anywhere else, and the stuff you're drinking now which is almost enough to make you ask these guys if they're single, or if maybe they need a live-in maid who can be paid in coffee.\n\n"The new reserve planet won't be ready for some time, which is one of the biggest reasons we're gathering genetic samples instead, you understand," Loren explains. "We're already upgrading our genetic production facilities... hopefully by the time we're ready to begin populating the new reserve, we'll be able to integrate the social habits of the animals in question from rebuilt neural structures, to prevent lose of evolved behavioral traits."\n\n"Mm-hmm," you acknowledge politely, still more focused on your coffee than his obvious fundraising-based exposition.\n\n"In any event, we already have genetic samples of all the species on the reserve, so there's a full database you'll be able to access on the animals' behavioral patterns, their environments, things like that," Liren adds in a more pragmatic tone.\n\nYou nod along with that... then blink. "Wait, if you already have a full genetic database, what do you need new samples for?"\n\n"The previous samples were taken as the animals were being brought to the preserve," Loren jumps back in to explain. "They are centuries old at the very least, 'obsolete' by most standards. While we might be able to make a pure genetic construct from them, they wouldn't be like the creatures as they exist today, nor would we be able to properly reconstruct their neural patterns and make sure they were wholly capable of reproducing on their own."\n\n"Any sort of genetic material will work, that you can acquire at your discretion," Liren picks back up. "Though the usefulness of the type of genetic material also affects how much payment is returned for it. Fur or claw samples, say, are worth less than blood samples, which are worth less than reproductive material."\n\n"... 'Reproductive material' is worth the most, huh?" you ask, unable to help blushing just a little.\n\n"Correct." Though he's still all business, Liren's white lips curl just a bit in a grin. "Of course it's none of our business how a sample is obtained. Though we are capable of determining if any sample was taken from a live animal, which we prefer."\n\n"Both for purposes of sample purity and humane reasons, obviously," Loren speaks up. "Though the animal populations are unfortunately unlikely to survive the planetary event coming, they deserve to live their lives as long and fruitfully as possible. ... Though, pragmatically, we will accept any sample," he adds with a bit of a sigh.\n\nWhile you're musing on that, Liren speaks up again. "This is the database of animals," he says, setting down a fairly standard all-weather tablet, the sort available for about twenty credits in any Guildhall store. "To assist you in finding them and keeping yourself safe. Although on that note, we also have these available for rent," he continues, gesturing aside to Loren who obligingly takes a wristband with a small control pad, similar in appearance to any number of smartwatches, out of a case on the table. "These pacification bands will blunt the aggressive tendencies of almost any creature you come across. They won't render most creatures docile, per se, but it should keep any aggressive animals from actually injuring you. Intentionally. These are, however, more expensive devices you understand, so we can't hand them out to just anyone who's interested in this job."\n\n"Riiiight," you say, pursing your lips a little. You're a little wary now... you've heard of clients pulling scams that sound an awful lot like this, where they set up shop so that they can rent mercenaries the necessary equipment to do the job... and then futz them out of the actual pay for doing the job, thereby making money instead. The Guild's supposed to be pretty good about filtering scams like that out, but what if they haven't caught this one because it's just starting up? ... On the other hand, sometimes clients renting necessary gear is a legit thing. Maybe you're just being paranoid... still being in the process of building your rep, you are a little sensitive to things that could damage it (like it getting around that you got taken by an equipment rental scam). So what to do?\n\n<hr>\n[[Rent the band.|ChiRes1x1]]\n\n[[Pass.|ChiRes]]

Why not take a chance to have some fun? It's been a long while since you properly got some lewdness in your life!\n\nYou make sure to mumble something audibly about looking for the rosemary as you rummage in your jars, considering. Obviously one possibility is to just sedate them both, and have your way with the sleeping Unielle. Or you could put some aphrodisiac in hers as well, making her nicely receptive even while she's asleep. Or you could just sedate Olin while giving Unielle an aphrodisiac, leaving him out cold and unable to satisfy her suddenly burning needs. Orrrr you could dose them both with aphrodisiac... you generally preferred to focus on female adventurers, but having some fun with them both wouldn't be all bad.\n\nThen you smirk as you spot one particular jar. Of course you could be really, truly evil and give Unielle a powerful aphrodisiac... and Olin a potion of impotence. With arousal burning up her brain and him unable to satisfy her, you could easily step in and be her "savior" while also humiliating him. Or... just watch the amusing fallout.\n\n<hr>\n[[Sedate them both.|RethFarm]]\n\n[[Sedate them, but also give Unielle aphrodisiac.|RethFarm]]\n\n[[Give Olin a sedative, and Unielle an aphrodisiac.|RethFarm]]\n\n[[Give them both aphrodisiacs.|RethFarm]]\n\n[[Give Unielle an aphrodisiac and make Olin impotent.|RethFarm]]

"Alright, sure," you say, suppressing a sigh as you step back and gesture them inside. "My name's Reth."\n\n"Nice to meet you," Olin says in the sort of politely pleasant tone that says he'll have forgotten it the day after he leaves.\n\n"I was just making something to eat, so feel free to sit down," you say, since you don't see any way around it. 'This is what I get for making more than one chair for the table,' you grouse to yourself as the pair of adventurers make themselves at home.\n\nStill, you have to keep some amount of good name for yourself in the local area, and the town is as always crazy for adventurers. You don't need them deciding to shun you just because you told a couple of freeloading murderhobos to go screw, so that you have to take every single thing you want to sell all the way to the city. So you decide to put a little extra effort into preparing the meal, hoping that maybe they'll put in a good word for you in town before forgetting you exist. (Hopefully.)\n\nThough as you skim the ingredients jars in your cupboard, you realize... this might be a prime opportunity. You've got all the ingredients for a number of alchemical concoctions you could slip into their meals undetected. You could whip up a suggestibility potion... something that would put them both into a deep sleep, where you could gradually implant ideas into their heads, turning them into your unpaid help. (Ha, that should teach uppity adventurers to take advantage of common folk!) Or if you wanted to make them useful around here in another way, there are several ways you could use them to help you with your livestock breeding... as it were, heh. Or you could just have some fun with them... it's been a long, long time since you molested a female adventurer, after all, and Unielle is definitely a lovely specimen of such, just begging for some group of orcs to come along and have their way with her. Hey, since that's obviously her destiny anyway, why not get there first?\n\nOr, you muse thoughtfully as you pick up a particular jar and eye it. You could just outright... get rid of them. You do detest adventurers, in the end, and it's not as if you're likely to get caught. No one in the world except the three of you even knows they're here or were coming to your farm, and you could have both of them fertilizing your new fields by morning. That would certainly give your enhanced plants a boost of the extra nutrients they need, you can't help but think smugly.\n\n<hr>\n[[Turn them into farmhands.|RethFarm3x1]]\n\n[[Use them for breeding stock.|RethFarm2x1]]\n\n[[Have some fun with them.|RethFarm1x3]]\n\n[[Poison them.|RethFarm]]\n\n[[Eh, skip it.|RethFarm]]

"I mean, everyone expects me to become a farmer," you say with a snort. "Seems a shame to disappoint them."\n\n"Oh, Reth, you don't have to-"\n\n"No, it's actually fine Stacia... I think I can be a good one," you assert. After all, with your Alchemy skill tree, you could quite easily have the very healthiest plants and animals on the continent, among other things. And besides, "Plus if I get a farming plot far from the village, which let's face it is probably what they'll give me, I can be by myself and not deal with them much."\n\n"Well. You know, j-just theoretically... I mean, you wouldn't have to be alone, if someone else like... moved onto your farm with you," Stacia murmurs, tapping her index fingers together and glancing to the side.\n\nYou blink at her... then laugh lightly. "I don't think I really want to go in for a partner right from the start, Stacia, I'll be able to handle a small farm on my own."\n\n"... Right," she murmurs, her head and shoulders slumping.\n\n'What was that all about?' you wonder to yourself as you're heading home a bit later, shaking your head.\n\nIn due time, Stacia sets off for the adventurer school amidst much fanfare, while you are... allowed to purchase a small plot of land practically in the wilderness without any fanfare at all. Which is as you like it, the fewer eyes on you the better, as far as you're concerned. Oh, you don't doubt that when you begin producing crops and livestock of truly superior quality that you might attract a little fame, but the most famous farmer in the world isn't likely to even blip the radar of anyone you have to worry about.\n\nYou spend much of your first few weeks both assembling your cabin and gathering ingredients, tasks which are much easier when you have a bit of magic to help, but can also craft concoctions that increase your strength and stamina and let you go with very little sleep for long periods. Your parents gifted you with some money when you came of age, and most of it went to buying the land. You were able to buy a couple of basic animals and seed with what was left over, and you've already started enhancing those, but you can't really get around that you currently don't have enough to start breeding good livestock or bringing in really profitably crops. Well, you'll just have to spend a few years doing your best with what you have, you think as you dribble some alchemical fertilizer over the roots of a wild apple tree on part of your land you hope to one day turn into a proper orchard.\n\nAt least you have a nice place to stay, you think as you return to your cabin. Your study of human architecture as the Maou came in handy, as even by yourself you were able to build a house that's actually nicer than the one you grew up in after reincarnating, with multiple bedrooms and some extra amenities. You're not entirely sure what you'll use extra bedrooms for, it just seemed like a natural sort of thing to make. Of course, that night as you're starting to prepare supper, there's a knock at your door by someone who certainly seems to have an idea of what to use one of those bedrooms for.\n\n"Greetings to you, good farmer," the man at the door says cheerfully. Damn, he's a real looker, you think, exactly the sort of slightly scruffy but incredibly dashing adventurer that small town girls probably dream of. He looks to be in his twenties or thereabouts, wearing nice, brightly-colored armor and wielding a sword, his artfully tousled black hair just starting to get long and a day or two's growth of beard on his cheeks and chin. Beside him is a woman of about the same age, with long honey blonde hair and slightly pointed ears, her own garb lighter and slightly skimpier to show off a slender but very attractively-proportioned body... a half-elf? And a somewhat stereotypical one, to judge by the long knife at her hip and bow and quiver at her back. \n\n"Ah, greetings," you answer, for lack of anything else to say.\n\n"I am Olin, this is Unielle, my wife," he continues, his tone one of easygoing cheer. "We're adventurers who are passing through on our way to the city nearby. We were going to stay in town, but dark hit before we got there. We noticed you have quite a lovely and spacious home, and were hoping you could put us up for the night."\n\n"We don't want to be any trouble," Unielle adds breezily with a very pretty smile, in the way of someone who probably really doesn't want to be any trouble but expects to be told that it will be no trouble at all to see to her needs.\n\n<hr>\n[[Let them stay.|RethFarm1x2]]\n\n[[Shoo them off.|RethFarm]]\n\n[[Let them stay, but charge them.|RethInn1x1]]

"You shouldn't have to ask for the basic respect and freedom that's the right of all sentient beings. You shouldn't have to fight for it, either," you say, seeing something flicker in Sienna's eyes. "But you do. You shouldn't have felt like you had to choose between love and fear, but you did. I shouldn't have to ask my son if anyone's giving him a hard time at school, but I do it," you continue, seeing Jin wince just a little. "I shouldn't have to train him to fight just to preserve his life, but the world is full of creatures of nightmare and people of bad intent, so I damn well do it. I shouldn't have to brace myself to hear that one of my friends is dead every time my scroll chimes, but I do that too. Because we live in the world we live in, Sienna, not the one we should, and sooner or later we all have to do things we shouldn't have to, whether it's once or every damn day. The best we can do is that every time we do one of those things we shouldn't have to, we work a little further towards a world where we don't. Now... Ghira Belladonna has said he'll appoint you as temporary ambassador from Menagerie to Vale, so you won't have any legal issues visiting. So the question is, are you going to keep doing the thing that you shouldn't have to that results in more pain and fear... or are you going to do the thing that you shouldn't have to that gives us all at least one more chance of living with each other in peace?"\n\nSienna's quiet for a long time after that, save for the little scratches of her nails working across the wood of the arms of her throne. Her gaze wanders from you, to Jin, and finally over to Ilia, where it rests for a long time. Eventually she rises to her feet again. "I will speak with you further on this before making a decision. Ilia?" As the chameleon Faunus steps forward, Sienna glances towards her again. "Escort the young man back to Ghira Belladonna's home, and tell the chieftain he may expect me within a few hours." \n\n'Welp,' you think as Ilia bobs her head, looking nervous but apparently intending to obey. You'll just have to hope the resemblance isn't quite enough to cause a freakout... maybe they'll just chalk it up to thinking about Blake, now that you've already brought them news of her. Sienna beckons you, a bit less imperiously than before, and after giving Jin a quick kiss on the forehead you follow after her as she moves further into the building. The room she leads you to is surprisingly simple, not very large and focused around a low, square table decorated with the White Fang symbol in a deep rust red. One of the few other pieces of furniture in the room is a cabinet, and after you settle onto your knees and sit back on your heels at Sienna's silent gesture of invitation, she moves over to the cabinet and begins removing an old-fashioned tea service, the only thing modern about it the hot plate she sets an obviously newer metal container on before bringing it over to the table.\n\n"When I was young, my parents and I were in a terrible vehicle crash," she says, voice steady and even as she begins to prepare the tea with fastidious, practiced, and slightly ritualistic motions. "We were taken to the nearest hospital, which was of course a human one. There, we were given lower priority than every single human in the waiting room, despite my parents' horrific and obvious injuries. By the time they deigned to see us, both of my parents were gone, and the doctor nevertheless made it clear that he begrudged me even the single unit of blood it took to save my life." She carefully crumbles tea leaves into the pot, eyes even and dry and fixed on her work. "After that, Ghira and Kali Belladonna largely took me in. Ghira Awakened me to help heal my lingering injuries, and they treated me as family. I have, perhaps, not been the most dutiful daughter in return," she continues, raising her eyes to you just slightly, almost as if daring you to agree. "Because I felt that my obligation to my people was greater than my obligation to my surrogate parents. That is the first of many sacrifices I made for the White Fang. However, though I have turned my back on their methods, there are some things I do that will always be exactly as they taught me... perhaps my little salves to my own soul that I have not forgotten what they did for me."\n\nShe carefully picks up one of the handleless teacups, her fingertips just below the rim, and lifts it over to set in front of you. "So know, Kai Sterling, that I consider my tea table somewhat sacred, and I will brook no lies or falsehoods at it. Here if nowhere else, I will acknowledge that we are speaking eye to eye and soul to soul whether Faunus or human, and if you truly respect my home, I will ask you to respect this as well."\n\nYou answer with a simple nod, picking up the teacup carefully with both hands and taking a single sip. It's really very good, even if you're more of a coffee sort.\n\nSienna nods once. "Very well then. You told me that you yourself had an unhappy upbringing but that you would not attempt to compare it to mine. But if we are to begin building understanding, I would still hear what you are forged from."\n\n"Alright." You set the teacup down, regarding her for just a moment before saying, "I started my life as a slave."\n\nSienna blinks, then scowls a bit. "An audacious claim. Slavery... at least in name... is illegal on Remnant and has been since the Great War. I know my own organization's tendency to indulge in strong-worded rhetoric, but I hope you have something to back up this claim."\n\nInstead of answering immediately, you take out your scroll, lifting it to show to Sienna who simply eyes it dubiously... and whose eyes then widen as you give it a particular flick to dispense with the appearance of a current model scroll, instead showing the completely holographic screen. You tap it to switch it to projection mode as you set the physical piece on the table, Sienna staring at the clear, full color holographic image of the UI as you tap your photo roll, bringing up several images of the Guildhall and friends from there.\n\n"I'm not from Remnant. I'm not really from anywhere. My life started when I was a little older than Ilia, and I woke up in a slaver display cell. They'd mind-wiped me, like they did all their 'stock', to make me more compliant, less likely to try to escape, easier to train in whatever profession my master had for me. And the man who bought me wanted me to be a mercenary. I was trained by two of his other slaves in combat, and how to carry out the other necessities of that job," you add, flicking the display to a candid picture you snapped of Niobe and Ico less than a year ago, obviously in the midst of bickering but both of them with warm looks in their eyes as they do. "Eventually one bought herself free, and the other was sold as our owner fell on hard times. I spent the next seven years living on a city-planet called Makarzia," you continue, flipping to a shot of the Makarzian streets, mostly because it had one of your few friends in it. "Running jobs and trying to keep myself and my fellow slave warm and fed as our owner drank and whored away the money I earned."\n\nSienna just stares at the image, but then nods slowly, apparently convinced by the blend of advanced technology (even if it's actually advanced Remnant technology) and the images. "Extraordinary. But then how did you come to be Awakened by one that I had Awakened, and to have a Faunus son?" \n\n"Oh, that's easy," you reply with a grin, flicking the image again in a particular, practiced motion that brings up one of your very favorite pictures. One of a red-haired, brown-skinned woman with speckled skin, wearing a sleeveless shimmering black bodysuit and a short rainbow-colored jacket, her long, thick ponytail curling off here and there, her head thrown back slightly in a full-throated laugh and her hands on her hips, from the grin on the massive muscular man beside her clearly laughing at something he said, his thick blonde hair disheveled, powerful chest shown off by the long sleeveless vest he's wearing, simian tail caught in mid-motion.\n\n"... Ilia?" Sienna whispers, sucking in a breath as recognition sets in.\n\n"Another Ilia. She wound up on Makarzia, and my mentor Niobe took her in. That's where we met," you say, unable to help smiling at the image and for a moment drifting off into fond memories. "She was just like she is now, at first... she despised me and all humans. But eventually understanding grew between us. She became my irreplaceable and irrepressible little sister, and she is the greater link in the chain of our souls."\n\nSienna actually reaches out as if to touch the image, fingertips stopping just short. "She looks... so happy," she says very softly, almost longingly.\n\n"She is one of the happiest and brightest people I know, and someone who works incredibly hard for the goals of equality and respect between our peoples... going both ways," you add.\n\nSienna lowers her hand to the tabletop, apparently letting that one tumble around in her head for a little while. Finally she gestures to the large man. "I'm not familiar with this one."\n\n"That's Sun Wukong, 'The Monkey King of Vacuo'," you explain with a grin. "It's what we started calling him to tease him, but it kind of caught on. A simple man full of simple wisdom. Kind of a folk hero... he's accomplished a lot for the people, and when he speaks they listen, so the Vacuo governing council knows better than to disregard what he's saying."\n\nSienna's quiet for awhile as she digests everything, regarding the image thoughtfully as she sips her tea. Eventually she says, "And that is the path you would have me take? Play the hero until they cannot disregard what I am saying?" She doesn't sound necessarily hostile to the idea, just a bit dubious still.\n\n"For now all I'm saying is come to Beacon, talk to Ozpin. Hear what he has to say about our enemy, and also take a look at the school for yourself. It's a place dedicated to teaching students of all backgrounds to protect the people, all of the people. I won't blow smoke and tell you it's some shining utopia of enlightenment... but it's a start, and things have to start somewhere," you add, with the implication that her own new direction would have to start somewhere too.\n\nThe other woman is quiet for a much shorter time this time before nodding. "Very well. I will come to Beacon and at least hear Ozpin out. There I will also investigate and make a final decision as to whether or not I will do something with regards to Adam Taurus. For the rest... we shall see."\n\nThe two of you (and several White Fang guards but you kind of don't count them) all make your way back up the pathway and around to Menagerie proper, walking up the hill with people drawing back and whispering with either surprise or reverence. "I assume," Sienna says quietly. "You have not told Ghira all that you have told me?"\n\n"Only the generalities, about a looming threat to the world... not anything about me not being from Remnant, or from the future of another Remnant. I'd appreciate it if you didn't bring it up, for personal reasons."\n\n"I suppose those personal reasons have to do with your son's resemblance to Blake Belladonna?" At your sheepish look, Sienna smirks just a bit. "I thought as much. I will keep your secrets, for now."\n\nThe door is already sweeping open as you approach, Ghira Belladonna standing in the middle of it, underneath his solemn expression looking as if he's not sure if he's the welcoming committee or the first line of defense. "Sienna," he greets evenly as she comes to a stop in front of him.\n\n"Ghira. It has been some time since we have spoken face-to-face, rather than in competing statements," Sienna says just as evenly... before she cracks first, giving him a small smile. "... It is good to see you again."\n\nGhira hesitates just a moment, then steps forward and enfolds Sienna in his arms, drawing her into a hug. "It does me well to see you again too. And what it portends."\n\n"Do not leap too far ahead, old man, I have promised only to visit and to keep an open mind," she assures him, patting him on the arm as he hugs her. \n\n"Even that small step gladdens my heart." Ghira steps back, big hands capping Sienna's shoulders, before he gestures her inside. "Come. We will join my wife where she is spoiling Ilia and Jin, it has been too long since we have seen Blake's friend as well."\n\nYou're sure it must be odd for Jin to get spoiled by his grandmother who doesn't know she's his grandmother, but he seems to be managing okay, you think with a smile as you watch Kali fuss over him and Ilia. Ilia too seems rather awkward at first, but the more you watch the more she seems to settle, and even be at peace by the time dinner rolls around. You sort of hope that maybe her heart is ready to start healing too... the earlier the better, as far as you're concerned. \n\nThe next day you, Jin, Sienna, and Ilia are all gathered at the airpad, with Ghira and Kali having come to see you off. "When you see Blake, Sienna, please tell her that we miss her, and if at all possible, if she could call or at least write?" Kali urges gently. "But also... tell her we're proud of her."\n\nSienna looks mildly dubious that there's anything to be proud of in leaving the White Fang to be a Huntress, but nevertheless nods. "I will tell her," she says with the air of a promise. Then she regards Ghira. "Do not expect miracles, old man," she adds, with the faintest lilt of a tease.\n\n"I will not expect them, but I will hope for them with all my heart," he replies earnestly.\n\nSienna actually looks a little shy at that, bobbing her head once in acknowledgement before all of you turn and enter the airship.\n\nAfter a few hours in the air, the boredom seems to grow too much, and Ilia glances to the seat beside her at Jin, then back at you. "So you're married to a Faunus?"\n\n"Yes. And another human." Grinning at her shocked expression, you add, "Jin isn't my biological son, he's the son of my heart and soul. His mothers are my wives."\n\n"How... interesting," Sienna says from her own seat, quirking a brow. "You are clearly someone that does not bow to social expectations."\n\n"I'm sitting on an airship with the High Leader of the White Fang on our way to hopefully work towards saving the world, you don't get into that situation by bowing to social expectations," you reply with an amused snort.\n\n"Fair," Sienna acknowledges with a faint snort of her own.\n\n"I suppose I always looked on it as fairly normal, but then it is the life I grew up with," Jin speaks up. "Everyone around us seemed to accept it so it was not until I was a bit older that I realized it wasn't perfectly average."\n\n"Huh. Where d'you even live?" Ilia asks him, crinkling her nose.\n\n"Patch. One of my mothers was born there and lived there all her life, and I think by the time she returned after some years abroad everyone had simply come to expect... eccentricity of her," Jin adds with a wry grin. "She was well-liked and well-regarded, and so I suppose when it came to continuing to accept her, they simply spread their acceptance to everyone connected to her."\n\n"Huh." Ilia shrugs a bit, leaning back in her seat. "Must have been nice."\n\n"It was. It has been a bit more difficult since entering combat school, but I try not to let the 'witty' comments of my peers bother me." Jin smiles more easily now. "'If you would not ask for someone's advice, why should you accept their criticism?', after all."\n\n"You are a very thoughtful young man," Sienna comments after a moment of looking at him, Ilia still apparently chewing on that concept. There's just a hint of a twinkle in her gold eyes as she adds, "I think I know where you get it from." At his abashed ducking of his head, that twinkle definitely intensifies, with Sienna even letting out a small, soft laugh.\n\nEventually all of you land at one of Beacon's upper airpads, following a path that will take you directly to Ozpin's office. Jin and Ilia waiting outside, you and Sienna step in, the headmaster rising from behind his desk and moving to offer his hand. "Ambassador Khan, it is a pleasure to meet you."\n\nSienna quirks an eyebrow as if suspicious of how much of a pleasure it actually is, before smiling a little. "I admit, 'Ambassador Khan' does have a rather nice ring to it. Good afternoon, Professor Ozpin. I understand you have some things to tell me, but first, I would like to talk about your school," she adds, drawing away and moving to the clock-window, gazing out at Beacon below.\n\n"One of my favorite subjects, so certainly," Ozpin replies easily, moving to stand beside her and resting his hands folded atop his cane.\n\n"Mm." Sienna just looks things over for a few seconds as you settle into a chair to watch them speak. "I assume," she says finally, just the faintest hint of a dare to lie to her in her voice. "That there is bullying? Including of Faunus students?"\n\n"Bullying is, unfortunately, a reality of any school environment," Ozpin allows. "We do not tolerate it, but we cannot be monitoring the students for it continuously... they are technically adults by their very presence here, and it would be damaging to that perception for them to have 'hall monitors' always looking over their shoulders. To do something about bullying, a student must first report that they are being bullied."\n\nSienna bristles a bit at that, turning towards him, golden eyes flashing. "Faunus students most likely do not report that they are being bullied because they do not think you will do anything!" she asserts with some heat in her voice.\n\nOzpin similarly returns to regard her, tilting his head a bit to look at her over the tops of his spectacles. "And I cannot do anything," he replies in a more level tone. "If they do not tell me that there is a problem."\n\nThe tiger Faunus purses her lips, her jaw working for a moment... before she visibly reins herself in and nods slowly. "If I were to speak to the Faunus students of the school," she says slowly. "And encourage them to come forward when they were being bullied. Would you then take steps to remedy this?"\n\n"Certainly. Let us discuss the matter before anything else then," Ozpin offers, gesturing back to his desk area. Rather than sitting behind it, he settles into one of the chairs in front of it beside Sienna and yourself. "What would be your immediate suggestion?"\n\n"Expulsion," Sienna answers without hesitation, eyes flashing again.\n\n"I would be hesitant to leap to such an extreme measure," Ozpin says after a brief pause, holding up a hand when Sienna scowls. "Please, hear me out. Such a response would do little to actually fix the problem, in my opinion. It removes a bully, but helps breed the next generation of them... the resentment goes from 'a Faunus is at my school' to 'a Faunus got me kicked out of school'."\n\nSienna takes a deep breath through her nose, then huffs it out through her mouth, nodding slowly. "I see your viewpoint. It is not necessarily mine, but I believe there may be some amount of weight to it. But surely you do not suggest some written report or other toothless punishment?"\n\n"Certainly not. In fact I believe we should look at our response more as a solution than a punishment." Ozpin tilts his head a bit. "Perhaps we could assign the bully and their target together on a mission... a supervised one. Let them work together, and learn to rely on each other for their lives if possible. If not friendship, this might at least foster tolerance."\n\n"Mm." Sienna brushes her nails across the skirt of her outfit a few times as she thinks it over, then regards Ozpin. "I would like to have some word on choosing the overseers for these missions. I want at least half of them to be Faunus."\n\n"Licensed Hunters, not White Fang members," Ozpin counters.\n\nSienna doesn't necessarily like that, you can see, but eventually she nods. "A fair distinction. Let us discuss the matter of choosing them later. For now, tell me of this threat we face that is supposedly trying to subvert my organization to its own ends."\n\nSome time later she's sitting leaned back in her chair, fingers steepled. "It is all a bit... much," she allows, before glancing at you. "But then I have already seen some rather stunning evidence of the impossible recently. This immortal witch Salem... you say that she has been alive since before the rebirth of humanity and the creation of the Faunus?" At Ozpin's nod, she continues, "And obviously, she has not felt any obligation to assist us in our struggles. ... But then, apparently neither have you," she says coolly as she regards him.\n\n"Immortal I may be, but I am only one man against a world, Sienna," Ozpin replies with a soft sigh, once more standing by the window gazing out at his school. "While I admit I have not devoted as much of my attention as I could have over my lifetimes to solving such systemic issues, I have done the best I can where possible... primarily where the Hunter schools are involved." He turns back to her, regarding her evenly again. "These schools accept all students. They encourage greatness from all students. I have done everything I can to make them candles in the dark to guide the rest of society, and show them that those who stand between the innocent and evil can come from somewhere. I may not have done everything I could... but I ask that you not say I have done nothing."\n\n"... So often, I hear that people respect me, but not my methods," Sienna says slowly as she once again rises, moving to stand beside Ozpin. "I suppose I have often felt the same way about these schools. I respected the idea of them, if not their actuality. As someone who understands the value of symbols, I at least can see them as that. If it were to fall, especially with my banner flying over those assisting in its destruction..." She purses her lips and nods. "I will need some time to think on whether I will be your ally, but for now I will at least do what I can to insure this school does not fall." \n\n"Thank you. And I hope the two of us can continue to work together on making this school a place where everyone can learn."\n\nThe two shake hands, which is still a lot better than you ever really thought this would go, you rising to follow them as they emerge into the hallway outside. About that time the elevator is opening, Blake emerging (and Jin quickly pulling his hood up) and walking towards the office, only to halt as she spots who's in front of it, her eyes widening. "Sienna-san... Ilia-chan..."\n\n"Blake-donno," Ilia whispers, her specks flickering between blue, red, and pink for just a moment.\n\n"Hello, Blake, it has been some months," Sienna says with a small smile, crossing to the younger woman to stand in front of her. "Your parents send their regards, and ask that you call, or at least write. They also bid me tell you that they are proud of your decision to attend this school."\n\n"They..." Blake rocks back a little as if shocked, then her head whips to you, a look of betrayal on her face. "You told them?!"\n\nBefore you can respond, Sienna frowns and raises her finger to Blake's face, commanding her attention. "Child. I may have no room to speak, but it is too much to simply disappear from the face of Remnant and leave your parents wondering. The human did no wrong in telling them that you are alive and safe, or what you are working for," she continues, both Blake and Ilia looking a little shocked at the words 'the human did no wrong' coming from her lips. "She has told them no more than that, and from here it is up to you to speak your truth to them. But you will need to stop running at one point, child, so think on that as you sleep tonight."\n\nBlake nods slowly, seeming abashed in the face of her old mentor. "I'll... think on it, Sienna-san." Then she adds, more uncertainly. "I'm... sorry I just left without a word, but... the path Adam was on, that he was leading us down..." She trails off, shaking her head in silence.\n\n"I do not approve," Sienna says with a slightly imperious lift of the chin... then a more gentle bob of the head. "But I understand, child. You are following your path... but I think it is long since Adam found another driving force in his life. ... Perhaps we all have lessons we can learn from this," she adds with a sigh. "Of the two of you, I would far rather have kept you, so if my own path is chasing the Blake Belladonnas from our ranks and leaving us with only Adam Tauruses, then perhaps it is right to rethink things."\n\n"You're..." Blake blinks, looking around at all of you again. "Is that why you're here?"\n\n"At the moment, I am here to see if certain accusations made about Adam's activities are true," Sienna declares, all business and firm shoulders again. "What occurs after, we shall see. May I ask for your assistance in this?"\n\n"Yes, certainly," Blake answers immediately with a nod. "I actually just got back from looking into something I'm almost certain is tied to him, you should hear about it."\n\n"Then I will. We shall meet shortly to discuss matters. For now, though, there is someone else here that I think you might have a few things to speak to." She turns aside, glancing over at the grey-haired man. "Do you intend to feed me at some point, Ozpin?" she adds with just the faintest lilt to indicate she's teasing.\n\n"Certainly, Ambassador. This way, and the Sterlings as well?" he suggests, indicating the elevator.\n\nYou pause in passing Blake, smiling a little sheepishly at her. "I'm sorry, kid... I needed to get your parents to talk to me. But... I'm a parent too, you know? I told them that you're safe and you're here, and left the rest up to you."\n\n"I... understand," she says with a sigh. "I suppose it's better that they're not worrying. ... Please don't expect me to thank you for it, though," she adds in a mutter, her bow shifting forward a little as her ears try to lay down inside it.\n\n"Maybe someday," you can't help but add before flitting a wave and heading into the elevator with the others.\n\n-\n\nBlake turned a bit towards the elevator, resisting the urge to pout at the strange redheaded woman that had been drifting around the edges of her life recently. But as the doors closed, she turned back to a friend from longer ago. "Hello, Ilia," she ventured awkwardly after a moment, trying to manage a smile. It faltered as Ilia looked away, rubbing her upper arm. "... Ilia-chan..."\n\n"Was it my fault?" the younger girl suddenly spoke up, her voice faint. "Did I drive you away? What I told you that night?"\n\n"... Ilia-chan, I..." The denial was almost reflexive... and unfair. Sienna had told her she'd have to stop running sometime... and she'd just finished realizing she couldn't run from her new team... her friends... every time it got rough either. Maybe not running started here... with not running from the truth. "It was a little of that," she admitted with a sigh. "It helped me realize the people Adam had gathered around him were the ones who wanted revenge, not equality or peace. Because you weren't the only one with a story like that... the only one looking forward to hurting people. In the end it was Adam that drove me away... that he was stoking those feelings in you for his own purposes."\n\n"Don't you think I deserve to be angry?!" Ilia snapped back, yanking her head up to glare at the other girl, trembling a little. "I told you where it comes from! Doesn't it make you angry?!"\n\n"... Ilia-chan, mostly it makes me sad," Blake answered gently. "Sad for you. Sad for those girls that they weren't raised to know better. Sad that because of the anger, there probably won't be understanding there ever again, on either side. It hurt my heart to hear it, and to see that you were descending into hate. I... shouldn't have run, I should have done more to help you. I'm sorry."\n\n"... Sad... sad for me," Ilia murmured, trembling more, looking to the side and glaring out the window. "Just sad for me... but him you fell in love with... and not me..."\n\nBlake sucked in a hard breath at the words, the sudden realization. Her heart broke a little to see the pain in her young friend's form, and very gingerly she moved forward, carefully putting her arms around the other girl and drawing her into a hug. "I fell in love with the Adam that he wanted me to see," she said quietly as Ilia slowly slumped against her. "I fell in love with a myth he sold all of us. I'm sorry, Ilia-chan... sorry I don't share the feelings you have for me," she added gently, feeling her own tears well at the miserable little shudder the other Faunus gave at those words. "But you are important to me. You are in my heart. I want good things for you... and I don't think those will happen with the path you're on now. Please," she whispered, almost begging now. "Please, let the anger go. For all our sakes, let's move forward together."\n\nIlia broke into sobs, leaning heavily on Blake and clutching the back of her top, trembling as her friend stroked her hair and tried to heal her heart.\n\n-\n\n"I see. So you yourself saw Brothers of the White Fang assisting this Roman Torchwick in his theft of Dust," Sienna says slowly, rubbing her chin. "And tolerating his abuse."\n\n"Yes," Blake answers with a nod. She, and the rest of Team RWBY, and Team JNPR, have all been assembled in an empty classroom, with your own quartet at a position near the door, Sienna settled into the teacher's chair as if it were her throne. "They had a number of Bullheads... stolen or black market... and seemed ready to fight and die for Torchwick, despite him calling them 'animals' and referring to 'leashes'."\n\nSienna's jaw tightens, and you see several curls of wood peel away from the next stroke of her nails. \n\n"I saw it too," Ruby pipes up. "I mean, not as much. Penny-chan and Sun-san too!"\n\n"Sun?" Sienna glances towards you, and at your nod she mms. "I don't think further testimony will be necessary. Between this and what Kai-san has said to me, I do not see any other explanation than that Adam has ordered the Brothers of the White Fang under his command to obey this Roman Torchwick. And that this portends a much larger threat."\n\n"Larger threat?" Jaune speaks up, glancing around nervously, clearly uncertain why he's here.\n\n"Kai-san. I believe it is your show now," Sienna says with a glance towards you.\n\nYou nod, ambling up to the front of the room, the other three following after. You lean on the front of the desk, looking around. "I think some of you have already begun to suspect the truth, or at least some version of it. So here it is, or at least the short version. I'm from another Remnant... nineteen years in the future. My name is Kai Sterling, Huntress... and this is my son," you add, as Jin once more pulls his hoodie back, ears popping free. "Jin Xiao Long."\n\n"... Do what now," Yang squeaks, staring at him anew with wide eyes.\n\nEvery eye in the place is locked on Jin for long moments, before slowly wandering to Blake. Still looking rather in shock, she reaches up to undo her bow and tug it free, revealing her own matching ears.\n\n"W-wait, are you saying... he's your son, but... Blake and I," Yang stammers, looking back and forth from her partner to the boy at the front of the classroom.\n\n"Easy. Easy, breathe," you encourage gently. "You're gonna have some culture shock. Probably what will happen is that you'll shut down for a few seconds," you note, even as Yang's eyes glaze over. "Then you're gonna be standing there thinking 'Oh Brothers tell me it's not so', and then there's a couple of different reactions. But just breathe. We're not from your future, we're from another Remnant... you don't have to worry or feel obligated or anything like that, this is just one way things could go."\n\n"Ah... sorry for startling you," Jin speaks up, both Yang and Blake jumping a little as he does. "I know I probably did before, in the forest, but there was really no helping it."\n\n"... Sugoi, oneechan makes such pretty babies," Ruby whispers, putting her hands to her mouth, then yelping and giving a little jump as Weiss smacks her on the side of the arm.\n\n"We also belong to an interdimensional group that lets us take Huntress-like jobs from many different worlds, and we wound up accepting Professor Ozpin's job to look after the entrance exams. Certainly because various of us have personal ties to this place," you continue. "While originally we were just going to do the job and get out, we decided we had a greater obligation. We're going to at least stay long enough to see you through some of the troubles ahead of you, so that we can make a difference here."\n\n"Troubles?" Pyrrha prompts, frowning.\n\n"There's an ancient enemy that is preparing to move against society. Her name is Salem," you explain. "And she controls the Grimm." You can see the shock that ripples through the room, and give it a moment to settle before you continue. "She wants to divide us, to make us easier to kill. That's why I've gone to so much effort to bring Sienna here, and let her have a look at the ways in which Salem is doing that."\n\n"If what Kai-san has said is true, by the end of the school year Adam Taurus will use the people and resources he's gathered using the help of this Roman Torchwick and the one called Cinder Fall to attempt to destroy this school," Sienna speaks up. "Beginning a process that will not only place this world in danger, but see the destruction of the White Fang and all I hoped to achieve with it. In light of that... I am willing to at least consider giving unity another try. But more pressingly, there is Adam, Roman, and Cinder to deal with, and what they are doing to my people."\n\n"After the confrontation at the docks, they'll probably go to ground for awhile," Aurora speaks up. "Most criminal organizations do. They'll lay low a bit, probably wait for reinforcements, then they'll start anew with making sure they have replacement forces for the ones they lost."\n\n"A recruitment drive," Ilia speaks up. "Inviting Faunus to come in and join the White Fang." Then she scowls. "Except it won't be Sienna-sensei's White Fang they'll be joining, it'll be Adam's."\n\n"And Torchwick's," Sienna almost snarls. "This man... hmph, I'll have him extradited to Menagerie if I can, for his crimes against its citizens. Ghira might be too soft on him, but seeing him in one of our prisons would more than make up for that." \n\n"We'll deal with that when we have him. Blake, Ilia, it sounds like you two know him best, what do you think his move will be?" you prompt.\n\n"... Ilia-chan and Jitan-sensei are right, he'll lay low for awhile sulking and licking his wounds over the humilation of his people losing so handily to what looked like one slender human girl," Blake allows. "It might even be months before he makes a move again, as he probably argues with Torchwick and Cinder... making it sound like a principled stand but he'll really be trying to get more out of them. But then yes, he'll probably start up with more recruitment drives."\n\n"Mm. For now, then, I'll remain here," Sienna says slowly. "But not make myself too well-known. Just as if I'm using Ghira's ambassadorship to give myself a better place to run the White Fang from, considering the proximity to the CCT. Adam will be nervous at my proximity... but if what Kai-san said is right and the Albains were cultivating him to overthrow me and sit in my place, he'll be too arrogant and set in his ways to let my proximity entirely stop him. When any of you or your friends hears news of these meetings, I want you to bring it directly to me... and then we will put our plan into action."\n\n"Ano, but... no one has entirely explained why we're here?" Jaune ventures nervously. "I guess why Blake-san and Yang-san are here is obvious, considering their weird future child, itai!" he adds as Nora flicks his ear from behind. "Ah, but why all of us?"\n\n"Isn't it obvious?" You grin. "You guys are important. Yes, even you, Jaune. So from now on, you're all getting special attention. Aurora will be training you in shooting, Savaaji in weapons combat, and Jin and I will just be giving you all-around training... he may only be a combat school student but he has plenty of things you can learn from him. You will drill together as two teams and as one team. You'll still attend your normal classes of course, but we'll be helping tutor you to make the bookwork go faster so you'll have more time for extracurricular training. The intention is to bring you all up and get you ahead of the curve, so that you can deal with the threats ahead more decisively."\n\n"... aa, sou," Jaune murmurs weakly.\n\n"For now, you guys probably have a lot to absorb, so get some rest, talk among yourselves. But be careful... spreading information about Salem could lead to a panic right now, so keep those parts to yourself. And probably the bits about the four of us being from alternate universes," you add with a grin. \n\nThe students start gradually filing out, mostly stunned and numb looks on their faces, with Yang and Blake lingering the longest as one might expect. As the blonde leaves though, Sienna calls, "Blake." Pausing, the younger woman turns as Sienna rises and moves over to her. "I'd like to resume teaching you, if I may," she says. "In private, and one on one. Or in concert with Ilia."\n\n"... Teaching me the way of the blade, Sensei, or the path of anger?" Blake answers quietly, though you notice that this time she meets Sienna's eyes fearlessly.\n\nSienna's own eyes blaze briefly with that anger... before she actually smiles. "You are growing into a woman your parents truly deserve to be proud of," she says after a moment, resting her hands on Blake's shoulders. "Perhaps besides the way of the blade, it is time you and I practiced having some conversations. Some... actual conversations. But if you will agree to call me sensei again, then there is but one thing I will urge of you, and it is not anger."\n\n"... Yes?" Blake asks a little hesitantly.\n\n"This?" Sienna plucks the unwound ribbon from Blake's hand and holds it up. "Is another way of running. It is running from who you are and the things that we all have to face. You wish to show me that we can live in this world as equals, without instilling fear? Then show me your head high and chin lifted as you display for the world who you are. Begin to convince me with your own strength."\n\nBlake's eyes linger on the ribbon, the thing that's helped her go unnoticed and unharrassed up until now... then slowly nods. "Hai, Sensei."\n\n"It sounds as if you'll be spending some time here," Sienna says once the others have filed out. "Do you not have your own family to get back to?"\n\n"Time and even aging work a little bit oddly when you travel the multiverse," you reply with a shrug. "Your body tends to 'adapt' to a world you settle on but it takes a year or two of you spending most of your time there. We could spend a year here with at most a month going by at home, and Jin won't change a whole lot, same for the rest of us."\n\n"Ah. Still, that will be a year away from your family for you, and a month for them."\n\nYou give her a slightly wan smile. "We make sacrifices for pursuing what we believe in, right?"\n\n"... We do," she answers, nodding once.\n\nAnd so over the next few months you start training the slightly different versions of your friends, trying to bring them up to a level of skill they would not otherwise have had for years (while still trying to balance it with not pushing them too hard). Ilia joins Jin as a 'pre-entry student observer' and oh holy shit does she look cute in the uniform this trip has 100% been worth it. You notice that she seems to be slowly gaining some measure of the peace and maturity you'd come to associate with her in the future, the structure of classes and meeting other people close to her own age as herself seems to definitely be changing her for the better. You think she's going to be a very different person than the one you know when it's all said and done... but that's not a bad thing at all, because you think it's still going to be a good person. Yang and Blake take a little while getting used to Jin, but gradually relax in his presence, seeming to take on a more... well, 'big sisters' role to him than anything else, which amuses the heck out of you to see.\n\nJaune is the one you wind up giving most of your personal attention to. As the least trained, he's also the one that needs to be brought up the farthest, and while Pyrrha was doing a great job, there's some things that someone who has already taught young people before should be involved in. "C'mon, you can go at least two more times with me, Arc," you encourage, smacking the blunt metal training sword you're using against the unmarked shield. "C'mon, let's go."\n\n"You're just... a lot better than me," he huffs even as he gets to his feet, wielding Crocea Mors despite the training session... after all, even if he accidentally stabs you, it's not like it'll be a big problem.\n\n"Jaune, I'm using moves that another you taught me," you encourage, grinning. "Now he's not you, but you both started out with the same potential. Inside of you is the guy that became one of Sanctum's best instructors, and now it's up to you to bring that guy out as whoever you want him to be. Now, c'mon, try to slip my guard again."\n\nJaune takes a breath, nods, and settles himself. He comes in for a swing, checks it at almost the last second when you bring your shield up, and tries to thrust low instead, albeit a little awkwardly. You smack the thrust away but nod at him. \n\n"Better, that's better, you just need to practice the motions more. Let's go through that one a few times slowly."\n\n"Hai."\n\n"Yeah, there you go, see where you're moving that elbow awkwardly? You want more of a roll, don't jerk it one way and then another."\n\n"Hai. Sterling-sensei, am I really that big of a deal in the future?" he asks with a bit of a frown, pausing for a moment.\n\n"He teaches kids to defend themselves and others from what wants to hurt them, I consider that a big deal," you assure him, straightening up some as well. "He may have your name, though, and the same genetics and the same family makeup you do, Jaune, but he's not you."\n\n"Aa," Jaune says slowly, nodding a little and looking down. "So I might not be a big deal... that guy might just slumber inside me."\n\n"No, like I said, you have to decide who that guy becomes," you chastise, shaking your sword at him. "You know, I'm betting every single place in the multiverse your sole problem is that you don't do the work, Arc." At his confused glance up, you continue, "You didn't work out in combat school because you didn't do the work, or the tutors because you didn't do the work. Now maybe they just didn't know how to teach you and Pyrrha did, but the only thing standing between you and greatness is doing the god damn work. Which is why you need to do it, every day, without fail, putting your all into it. You do that and that great guy inside you, he comes out and he's you and I think he can pretty much be whatever the hell he wants to be."\n\n"... If I do the work, hai," Jaune says, a bit more visible determination in his eyes as he raises his shield and sword. "Sterling-sensei, please show me how to do the move you're asking of me."\n\n"You got it." Grinning, you prepare your sword. "After that, though, knock off for lunch."\n\nYou take some time to go over your schedule after Jaune's changed and departed, then head out onto the grounds, almost literally bumping into Sienna. "Oh, hey, touring the grounds again?"\n\n"I do like to pop by and see how things are going," the White Fang leader allows with a bob of the head. "Though I think Ozpin still worries I'll try to recruit some of his students," she adds with an eyebrow quirk.\n\nYou grin some as she falls into walking beside you. "And are you?"\n\n"I respect his home like you respected mine. I would not repay his hospitality by attempting to sway his students into my disciples. This is a place he intends to be of dignity and learning, where he believes he may teach students to become mature and honorable paragons of virtue and glory," she adds, pushing the door to the cafeteria open for you.\n\nThen instantly shoving you out of the way of a thrown, peeled orange.\n\n"♫ Watashi wa jousama! Watashi wa jousama! ♫"\n\n"Dignity and learning," you note dryly, leaning more carefully around to peer into the cafeteria, seeing Nora Valkyrie standing cackling atop a giant barracade made of tables, Pyrrha, Jaune, Ren, and Jin all arrayed on various different landings of it, while Ruby, Weiss, Blake, Ilia, and Yang all stand at the opposite end preparing to counterattack, your view blocked somewhat by a familiar pair, one with short scruffy blonde hair and a tail, the other tall, blue-haired, and clothes that say he's trying a little too hard to be slick. "Riiiight."\n\n"Mm. They are still children." Sienna solemnly closes the door... then peers through the window in it intently. "This ought to be good."\n\nSnickering, you join her in peeking through the door window as Ruby strikes a wrathful pose, pointing at her opponents dramatically. "Justice will be swift! Justice will be painful! It will be delicious!" she yowls, crushing her milk box triumphantly, the other four shrieking a chorus of "YEAH!" behind her.\n\n"Off with their heads!" Nora declares gleefully, leaping down into the middle of a table that is, for some reason, absolutely loaded down with watermelons, smashing it in half in the middle and launching the melons into the air. The rest of JNPR+1 leaps forward, Ren swinging into an aerial kick that launches several of them at RWBY+1, Pyrrha striking several quick kicks to do the same, Jin snapping flattened palms to send the melons shooting straight at the opposition, while Jaune manages to punch one 'downrange' without shattering it. (Good work Arc.) \n\n"Oneechan, turkeys!" Ruby calls, Yang rushing forward and diving into a roll as the others scatter behind her, Ilia in particular diving towards the vending machines, flipping a coin into the slot before landing and spinning into a side-kick, causing it to dispense a long wrapper of candy-studded taffy. As Yang punches melon after melon out of the air, Blake dive-rolls forward, snatching up a long piece of baguette bread in each hand and smacking more out of the watermelons out of the air, giving Yang an opening to rush forward, punching the turkeys off her fists and through the air at Ren. Blake leaps forward to clash with a baguette-wielding Pyrrha, only for Ilia to leap by, wrapping the taffy string around the end of Pyrrha's baguet and yanking it free, giving Blake an opening to spin and knock the redhead's legs out from under her. But Jin is almost instantly on them both, making punching motions with both hands to fire blasts of ketchup and mustard at both of them, Blake and Ilia forced to backflip away, the ponytailed girl along the tabletop and Blake along the floor. \n\nPyrrha kips up to her feet, reacting to a call of her name from Jaune and spinning around, catching the multiple baguets he throws to her, instantly hurling each one towards the oncoming Yang. But the blonde's too close and leaps down to engage both Pyrrha and Ren as he races up on her other side, engaging in a flurry of the combination punches and kicks she's been drilled in for the last months, actually able to hold her own against both until Jaune leaps in and yanks one foot out from under her, Ren dropping to one knee to catch her on a lunch tray, Pyrrha quickly thrusting her hands towards it and then flinging them skyward, Yang yelping as she's launched up and through the ceiling.\n\n"Children do take their food fights seriously these days," Sienna muses beside you, tiger ears twitching.\n\nRuby and Weiss are the next to take a run at JNPR, Weiss twirling and kneeling to send a long line of ketchup racing across the floor, Ruby leaping onto it and into a deliberate skid that accelerates her towards Pyrrha, leaping into a double-kick that knocks the redhead flying back, catching her dropped baguet and twirling it in a spin behind her back before snapping it up to block the pair of leeks Ren is now wielding, blocking and twirling to alternately absorb his strikes and force him back. Weiss snatches up a whole swordfish (what the hell, cafeteria staff) and whips it into a straight line, crouching and waiting for Ruby to give her an opening, then darting forward towards Ren with her ichtyan weapon. But Jaune runs along the table and tumbles into position, blocking with a lunch tray and forcing Weiss back, snatching up an oversized cinnamon twist from a nearby tray and trading strikes with Weiss's fish. In the meantime Ren twirls his leaks and leaps backward, throwing them to impact near Ruby's feet, forcing her to hop back... just in time for Nora to land wielding a watermelon on the end of what looks like a flagpole, smashing Ruby backwards, Jaune hitting the deck and letting the red-caped student smash into her partner, sending them both rolling backwards. \n\nBlake and Ilia run along the tabletops for their next pass, Blake grabbing up a mozarella stick from one plate and a meatball sandwich from another, jamming one into the other and then flinging the sandwich out on a long, stretchy line of cheese at Jin's face, forcing him to backflip and roll, slamming his forearms down on a pair of tortillas hard enough to make them curl around his arms. Gaining his feet he launches himself at the older feline Faunus, aiming a quick series of blows with his tortilla-covered knuckles, Blake yanking the sandwich back and blocking repeatedly with its bun. Ilia meanwhile leaps down in front of Nora, flicking her taffy-string repeatedly, making Nora flinch as it snaps at her face or bared knees, bit by bit forcing the stronger girl back in a rapid series of twirls and cracks. Smirking as Nora's forced back a full step, she raises her taffy string... then eyes how it's now almost bitten off to her fingers. She blinks, looking back at Nora, who smirks at her, little colored candies dotting her teeth.\n\n"Wuh-oh."\n\nThere's a loud thud as Nora's watermelon-hammer impacts Ilia and sends her rocketing backward into one of the pillars of the cafeteria. Gasping, Blake backflips to disengage from Jin, hurling her sandwich over one of the beams and swinging on a line of mozarella to catch the younger girl before she can hit the floor, dropping to her knees with Ilia across her lap. "No! Ilia-chan! There's still so much we have to say to one another! Don't leave me, ILIA-CHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!"\n\nApparently deciding to press their team's advantage, Pyrrha's teammates all turn and kick in the fronts of the soda machines, the redhead lifting her hands to raise the cans that come spilling out and then send them spiraling forward. But Weiss and Ruby have both rallied, Weiss launching herself forward and then grabbing Ruby's hands, twirling to help launch her forward, Ruby hitting the ground running and picking up more and more speed as she heads for a collision course with the cans. Almost at the last second, she twists, her cape wrapping around her as she turns into a flapping flurry of cloth and rose petals, her speed increasing to the point that the backwash grabs the cans and carries it with her as she streaks right at JNPR+1. Braking at the last second, Ruby then runs straight up the wall as the hail of cans and practically every other loose food item in the cafeteria pelts the five of them, pinning them to the wall in a colorful splatter.\n\n"Oooooo, damn," you hiss softly, wincing. "I have to wash that uniform, guys, c'mon," you mutter as JNPR+1 flops to the ground.\n\n"And just what is going on in there?!" demands a voice from behind you.\n\nYou and Sienna turn to look at the prim, proper form of Glinda Goodwitch, blonde hair pulled back in an austere bun, eyes narrowed and angry behind her spectacles. You exchange a glance with the Faunus woman, before both looking back at Glinda and shrugging, saying in near-unison, "Food fight."\n\n"Of all the!" Now absolutely furious, Glinda storms past you, already snapping her riding crop forward and starting to telekinetically yank objects back into their proper places. Ozpin strolls along after her, giving the two of you a tolerant grin as he ambles much more sedately after his professor, Sienna and yourself tagging along into the cafeteria with him.\n\n"Children, do not play with your food," Glinda snarls as she finishes setting the cafeteria to rights in a matter of moments, glowering at the two groups... then twitching in apparent extra fury as Yang comes crashing back down through the ceiling.\n\n"Wooooo dang," the blonde declares as she wobbles to her feet. "That took forever. Hey, bonus though, history homework's done!" she calls to Glinda, pointing at her scroll, one of the professor's eyes twitching as she tries to parse why she wants to murder a student for actually doing classwork.\n\n"Let it be, Glinda," Ozpin says in a gentle tone as he sips from his cup, steady brown eyes watching the ten students chatter and jeer at each other.\n\n"Sir," Glinda almost growls, turning to him before composing herself a bit. "... Are these really supposed to be the heroes that save our world?" she adds coolly.\n\n"And if they are, let them have some fun," Sienna speaks up, the intense woman actually smiling fondly as she watches the condiment-splattered Ilia laugh and gesture excitedly in recounting of events minutes gone by. "Even if you had not been here to fix it, what is the cost? A handful of tables, a meal's worth of food... little expense compared to a fond memory to cling to in dark times ahead."\n\n"... Do you think so?" Glinda asks, a little stiffly as she adjusts her cape.\n\n"Moments in time are what shape us." Sienna regards her, smile tempering a little. "With a few more moments like these, they are more likely to become the sort of Hunters you wish them to be..." She inclines her head slightly. "And less likely to become like me."\n\nGlinda seems to have nothing to say to that, so after a moment she simply turns and makes her way over, fussing at the students and urging them to go off and change their clothes before they track food everywhere, now sounding far more like a mildly irate parent than a scolding hall monitor. Sienna's smile grows a bit more to see it, before she turns... and blinks at the sight of Neptune Vasilias coated scalp-to-waist in grape soda. She quirks an eyebrow, then makes a flitting up-and-down gesture to his clothes. "You had best just... throw all that away," she declares before striding between him and Sun and out the door.\n\n"... Sun," Neptune says flatly.\n\n"Yeah bud?" Sun replies with a grin.\n\n"The hot MILF... she totally just told me to throw my clothes in the trash, didn't she?"\n\n"Oh yeah."\n\nThe next day you stroll into Ozpin's office in answer to his summons, ambling up to stand with him and Glinda at the window, gazing out on the Atlesian warships lowering into place on the airpads. "Huh. Old." At their glance, you shrug. "By the time I got to Remnant Atlas was starting production on a new design. The fleet's been almost entirely replaced with them these days. Let's hope the flagship doesn't wind up named 'Beacon's Vengeance' this time."\n\n"Indeed," Ozpin says with a quirked brow, before turning as a holoscreen at his desk alerts him to the elevator being accessed. It slides open and a tall, broad-shouldered man strides out, uniform crisp and white, an easy smile on his face... until he blinks and stops, looking at you due to the choked noise you made.\n\n'Oh my fuck I've never seen him without the beard,' you think, pressing a hand over your mouth.\n\n"Ah... did I come at a bad time?" James Ironwood asks, his voice deeper and a bit more pompous than the one you know.\n\n"Not at all, Sterling-san simply has... an interesting viewpoint, General."\n\n"Ozpin, forget the formalities, it's been too long!" Ironwood declares as he strides forward, stopping to smile at Glinda. "And it's certainly been too long since we last met, Glinda."\n\n"James," Glinda says in a trifling mockery of polite greeting, flapping a hand in the air in an almost-wave before commenting "I'll be outside" to Ozpin and striding out.\n\n"... She hasn't changed," Ironwood muses, glancing after her. \n\n'Yeah I love watching her leave too, man,' you think, hopping up a little to sit on the front of Ozpin's desk, Ironwood shooting you a curious look as you do.\n\n"Whatever has brought you from Atlas, James, I suppose it's good you're here," Ozpin says as he moves to sit behind said desk. "This is Kai Sterling."\n\n"Hey. Nice to meet you. Again," you say with a grin, offering him your hand. 'Crap, I think we're the same age now. ... Ffffuck I might actually be older.'\n\n"Ah, I'm sorry... again?" Ironwood says as he carefully takes your hand and shakes it.\n\n"You had best sit down for this, James." Once Ironwood's done so, Ozpin continues. "You see, Sterling-san has come to us from another Remnant... a Remnant almost twenty years in our future."\n\n"... Aa. That's... quite a story," Ironwood says slowly, looking between you and Ozpin as if wondering how his friend's been tricked.\n\n"She has given me plenty of reason to believe her and no reasons to doubt her," Ozpin replies evenly. "I think it best at this point we not get bogged down in asking her to prove herself yet again, and if you trust me, trust what I believe. She is, for sufficient purposes, from the future."\n\n"Then... won't you risk wiping yourself out by this?" Ironwood says slowly, clearly having seen a couple of time travel movies in his days.\n\n"When he says 'another Remnant', he means it. Think of it like a whole other planet that just happens to be virtually identical to this one, with a handful of differences. But they're close enough that with things left unchecked, they'd go as bad... or worse."\n\n"Someone tried to interfere with the Beacon entrance exams," Ozpin says. "Specifically targeting certain students. And there is worse news, news we haven't released publicly yet."\n\n"Leopold Lionheart was found dead in his office last week," you add with a sigh. "Stabbed and shot repeatedly."\n\n"Oh brothers," Ironwood murmurs. "Someone wanted to destroy Haven."\n\n"No... someone wanted to keep him from talking," Ozpin replies grimly. "Leo... turned his coat on us."\n\n"... Damn," Ironwood mutters, standing and pacing towards the window.\n\n"I was hoping it would be a difference between our world and Sterling-san's, but the moment I began investigating, someone immediately silenced him. Almost as if they were waiting for any sign I was looking into him."\n\n"... Then Salem... already has knowledge of the future, like her?" Ironwood asks slowly.\n\n"It's possible. At this point, likely even," you speak up. "We're not sure how but it does look like Salem's trying to get a step ahead of us, so we're pushing to be a step ahead of that."\n\n"You've already begun working on matters? Other than investigating Lionheart?" James asks, turning back towards you both.\n\n"Hai. Sterling-san has begun training up certain students that will be important in the days ahead... and she has also brokered a tentative peace with Sienna Khan."\n\n"Sienna Khan?! That terrorist?!" Ironwood blurts, his face flushing a little. "You can't be serious! Making peace with that-"\n\n"We make peace with our enemies, James, not our friends," Ozpin cuts him off, voice surprisingly sharp. Once the other man has settled, he continues. "Time and time again I have told you, what Salem fears is unity. The White Fang was a weapon of disunity, one she fully intended to jam into our stomachs and twist. If we can continue building peace with Sienna, we can take that weapon away from her entirely and turn a sword into a plowshare... or, if necessary, a sword that is pointed in the other direction."\n\n"... I dislike it, but I see your point," Ironwood says slowly. "Very well, is there anything I can do?"\n\n"Yeah, you can send every drone and sentinel you've got in those things back home," you reply, tilting your head towards the window.\n\n"Mm. I know you may not like the show of strength, but-"\n\n"Arthur Watts is alive."\n\n"... What?" Ironwood hisses.\n\n"And has firmware viruses embedded in every piece of Atlas technology he had a hand in designing," you continue. "Which is pretty much all of 'em, isn't it? That was a fun one, we didn't figure that out for awhile," you add, glancing at Ozpin. Then you look back at Ironwood, continuing, "Once Cinder Fall manages to provide him access to your systems via them being linked to the CCT, she'll have control of virtually everything that runs on AtlOS. Amity Coliseum, your ships, your drones, and the Sentinels. How many did you bring?"\n\n"... Far too many, it would seem," he allows with a sigh after a long moment. "Alright, but if there is going to be the potential for unrest, I ask that you at least allow me to remain with one ship of entirely standard troops to oversee the Vytal Festival. Meanwhile we will work on upgrading our security."\n\n"I think that would be tolerable," Ozpin agrees with a short nod. "You are, after all, attending Vytal. If you wish to show off your technological marvels... in holographic form... I doubt the council will say no."\n\n"Alright. Then what's next on the agenda?" Ironwood asks, apparently ready to get to business.\n\n"Sterling-san had a thought on that. Sterling-san?" Ozpin prompts.\n\n"Sometime close ahead, we're going to crash Roman Torchwick's White Fang meeting, and hopefully have him lead us to Adam Taurus," you say, seeing the glint of approval in Ironwood's eyes. "But before that-"\n\n<hr>\n[["-we capture some pawns."|KaiBB]]\n\n[["-I'm going to adopt a child."|KaiBB]]

"Winter, you should do it," you say quietly.\n\n"Miss Sterling," she murmurs without her eyes leaving Robyn.\n\n"You don't have to trust her, trust the general. And tell her the truth."\n\nWinter looks at you briefly, then gives a small nod and steps forward, accepting the other woman's hand. A flicker of pale white Aura starts around Robyn's hand, briefly turning a pale blue color as it spreads along Winter's arm before settling back to the neutral color.\n\n"Why is Ironwood diverting resources Mantle needs?" Robyn asks evenly.\n\nWinter purses her lips, before saying, "For the greater good of the entire kingdom, Atlas and Mantle both."\n\nRobin watches as their joined Auras turn green. She looks like she wants to say something else, but then breaks the connection and steps back. "Alright. Looks like at least you believe that. But Winter, if I get that Council seat, 'the greater good' is going to need more transparency."\n\n"I wish you luck, then," Winter says flatly as she steps back and clasps her hands behind her back.\n\nThe other woman snorts a little. "Even considering the competition?"\n\nWinter quirks one slender white eyebrow. "... Especially considering the competition." That puts the amused grin back on Robyn's face.\n\nAt a nod from Robyn, Fiona steps back and hauls the gate of the barricade open, the two of them stepping apart. The four of you return to the truck, and are soon rolling on. "I'm guessing we haven't heard the last of this issue before this is all over," you comment with a sigh.\n\n"Miss Sterling," Winter says a bit coolly. "We have not heard the last of this today."\n\n"You took. Robyn Hill's. Hand," James Ironwood says some hours later, stitting behind his desk with fingers steepled.\n\n"I did, sir," Winter answers just as evenly, you and she standing in dressing-down positions in front of his desk.\n\n"Sir, I-" you start to speak up, only for Winter to shoot you a look out of the corner of her eye.\n\n"I take full responsibility for the decision, sir," Winter states firmly.\n\n"And what," Ironwood murmurs, obviously struggling just a little to keep his own voice calm. "Exactly. Did you tell her?"\n\n"That you had the greater good of both Atlas and Mantle in mind, sir."\n\n"... What?" he says with a blink. "And... that satisfied her?"\n\nWinter clears her throat. "Her Semblance showed green, sir. Since it is what I sincerely believe."\n\nSlowly, Ironwood turns a hand to rub at his face, then points to the side. "Say. Nothing." In a chair in the conversation loft, Oscar clears his throat but keeps his peace.\n\n"Sir, she already knew about Amity Coliseum," you venture. "She's clearly too smart to believe it's something innocuous with this amount of resources. We haven't told her anything she didn't know before, other than assuring her that your intentions are good."\n\n"... If she's known about it all this time and hasn't made a move, she's probably not compromised by the enemy," Ironwood allows. "I don't think we can afford to bring her into things, considering, but perhaps after the election. Now, to another matter, why exactly is Miss Chloris here as well?"\n\n"She caught me on our way back and said she needed to see you. Reese?" you prompt, the green-haired woman stepping up beside you.\n\n"Um general sir I'm afraid I kind of have maybe some bad news or maybe a nitpick or maybe I'm bothering you about somethi-" Reese stops as he holds up a hand, then takes a deep breath and nods as he makes an up-and-down calming gesture. "... I've mostly been spending my spare time outside of project jobs and training in the compsec room up here sir but today I decided to cover for Jaune 'cause he kind of had a head cold and yes this is important sorry," she continues with a little wince as he makes a 'hurry it up' finger motion. "'Cause see I went down to sign in to the pre-primary school system to let them know who was coming today and I noticed that the school is running AtlOS 10."\n\n"... And?" Ironwood prompts.\n\n"Um sir we're running on AtlOS 14 up here." At Ironwood's continued blank look she clarifies, "Sir all the security upgrades that have been installed in the Atlas systems since the Battle of Beacon are only compatible with AtlOS 11 or better."\n\nBeside you, you can hear Winter suck in a horrified breath, and Ironwood's eyes open noticably wider. "Wait. Is it just the school, or-"\n\n"No sir every Mantellian system I checked is running AtLOS 10. ... At best."\n\n"Dammit," Ironwood hisses, rising and stalking back and forth briefly while rubbing his lower face. "How bad is it?"\n\nReese stares at him for a moment. Then she takes out her scroll... her old one, not the new holoscroll, and opens it, spending about a minute tapping, then puts it away and looks back at Ironwood as he stares at her in confusion. Then there's a beep from his desk, prompting him to cross back to it and press a button. "Ironwood."\n\n"Um, sir, this is Lieutenant Greene down at academy recruitment office twelve in Mantle. Um sir I know it's unusual for someone like me to call you directly, but all of a sudden all the screens in the office suddenly blanked and then printed 'This bad, General Ironwood' on them and... j-just seemed like you should know."\n\nIronwood closes his eyes, takes a breath through his nose. "... Thank you, Lieutenant, everything's fine. Just a systems test. That will be all." Then he releases the button. \n\n"The recruitment centers are in Mantle, but use Atlas systems," Winter says flatly, though her face is pinched slightly. "Miss Chloris has just demonstrated that Mantle is a back door into Atlas."\n\n"James," Ozma says, rising from the chair Oscar had been sitting in and walking over. "Breathe."\n\nIronwood presses his hands together in front of his lower face, doing exactly that for several long moments. Then he nods, opening his eyes and looking at Reese. "Can it be fixed before the election?"\n\nShe winces. "... Yes and no." At Ironwood's flat look, Reese continues. "If you give me control of the compsec team then I can probably get just about everything in Mantle updated before end of day tomorrow... except the election system."\n\nBefore he can demand to know why, Winter speaks up. "The moment the first election kiosk is fitted into place, the electoral systems lock down to updates or software changes." She clears her throat. "To prevent tampering. ... The first kiosk went up this morning."\n\n"... You're saying the anti-tampering measures of our voting system are now leaving it vulnerable to tampering?" Ironwood summarizes flatly.\n\nReese and Winter exchange a glance, then look back at him and say in near unison, "Yes, sir."\n\nIronwood grits his teeth, but visibly calms himself. "Alright. I want you to do everything you absolutely can. Make sure that if there is an attempt to seize the systems using an intrusion that's already been made that we can seize them back, the last thing we need is someone turning the power or heat off. We'll just have to be watchful for any obvious election tampering. Get started today, if at all possible." He hesitates briefly, then says, "I want you to start with the systems in Robyn Hill's election HQ. Don't tell her we suspect the election may be insecure, but feel free to tell her we messed up with not getting Mantle's security updated. May as well be forthright."\n\n"I'll go down with her," you volunteer.\n\n"Alright. And Winter?" Ironwood adds, redirecting his gaze to her.\n\n"Yes, sir?"\n\n"Find me the compsec administrator who was responsible for deciding the Mantle systems didn't need updates. I want their name by the end of the day."\n\n"Yes, sir."\n\nSoon you're in a Manta heading down to Mantle, landing in an open stretch of street not far from the warehouse where Robyn runs her campaign. The loading doors are open at the moment, showing rows of folding tables lined up with people, scrolls in front of them projecting what look like video calls, presumably electioneering ones. Reese spends a moment looking around, then spots Fiona and makes a beeline towards her. "Hey you're Fiona right?" At the sheep Faunus's slightly dubious nod Reese continues. "I'm Reese Chloris I'm a Huntress currently contracted to Atlas and they'd like me to update your computers personally. We're gonna bring you up to AtlOS 14 and install a bunch of security updates."\n\n"Oh really?" Fiona asks, still looking a bit suspicious.\n\n"Yeah I figured you'd probably wanna watch me do it to make sure no funny business."\n\nFiona hesitates a little at that, then nods her fluffy head then beckons with it, seeming to relax a little as she turns and starts walking. "Sure, I'll show you to the terminal, this way."\n\nYou watch them go, then catch a snatch of another familiar voice, turning and making your way towards the corner.\n\n"-the system for a reason," Harriet says with low intensity, obviously doing her best to keep her voice from rising with her discussion. "They're rules everyone follows, standards everyone is held to, opportunities offered to everyone, and if it isn't being applied that way it's not the system's failure, it's the failure of the individuals who didn't implement it properly."\n\n"But see it's easy for you to say that because the system worked for you," Ilia answers, her voice similarly quietly intense as she pokes a finger against her palm. "It took you all the way to the top and I'm not saying you didn't earn it, Harriet," she adds as the other woman's pink eyes flash. "You and the other Ace Ops obviously worked extremely hard to get where you are, but that means that you feel like the system is vindicated for you personally. Lots of other people work hard too and the system fails them, and that's why they lose faith in it."\n\n"Okay, you know what? Maybe you're right," Harriet allows. "I probably have a rosier vision of the system than most, I'll admit, because it feels like a vindication of my hard work. But that system that uplifted me does exist for everyone, it can uplift you, I and everyone on my team are the living proof, and you can't just tell me that the moment the system fails you go right to disregarding it and turning to vigilantism or outright crime!" she continues, tossing a glance towards the nearby Joanna Greenleaf who scowls at her. Then she takes a deep breath and looks back to Ilia. "It's not fair to people like me but it's also not fair to the people who don't succeed as well but still struggle on, obeying the same rules everyone else has to follow."\n\n"That's... a point too," Ilia agrees with a sigh. "Look I'm probably with you on flouting the law not being the right way to fight... to correct the system anymore, what I'm more saying is that there has to be some understanding of how Robyn and the people that believe in her feel like they've been brought to that point. I'm not gonna condone breaking the law, at the place I am in my life now, I'm more saying that maybe we should recognize that the system does need some changes."\n\n"Okay, on that we'll agree," Harriet says after a moment's thought, almost seeming relieved. Then she blinks as she finally notices you. "Oh, hey Sterling."\n\n"Kai!" Ilia chirps, perking up as she spots you.\n\n"Hey, Harriet, Rainbow," you greet with a grin. "Good conversation?"\n\n"It... was, actually," Harriet agrees with a bob of the head.\n\n"You down here working security?" \n\n"Yeah, officially," Harriet murmurs with another glance at Joanna. Translation, half working security, half keeping an eye on Robyn after today's stunt.\n\n"How 'bout you, Rainbow?"\n\n"I'm on free time since you took extra shift, so I decided to come down and help out Robyn's campaign."\n\n"Sounds like," you answer with a grin at Harriet, who smiles back a bit ruefully. "Who are you supporting in the election, anyway, Harriet?"\n\n"Ivy Brown," Harriet answers immediately, briefly making a pissed off face as Joanna scoffs audibly in the distance, before composing herself again. "She's a moderate who supports Atlas Academy, and wants to make donations to scholarship programs for Mantellian children tax deductible without limit."\n\n"Ivy Brown's policies are pretty good, honestly," Ilia agrees. "I just worry she doesn't have the force of personality to push back against the rest of the Council and actually implement those policies."\n\n"I just prefer good policies to charisma, I guess," Harriet scoffs back lightly.\n\nGrinning and leaving the two to their (mostly) friendly political banter, you meander back towards the way you saw Reese go, Joanna briefly giving you the stinkeye before stepping aside a little. You approach the pair of short women at the computer terminal, Fiona standing back and watching Reese work, seeming more curious than guarded now. "You about done, Sparrow?"\n\n"Yeah like one more restart and I wanna make sure it's working right and then I'll be done here," she answers. A few minutes go by, and she taps at the control panel briefly, then steps back and gestures. "Wanna make sure I didn't access any of your data?"\n\nFiona nods, but graciously, stepping in and tapping at the keys for a moment herself before nodding. "Okay, we're good. Thank you very much, this will actually be very helpful with letting us coordinate our efforts in Atlas."\n\n"No troubles bubbles happy to the general sends his apologies that it wasn't done months ago but sounds like someone's gonna get their butt royally chewed over it if it makes you feel any better."\n\nFiona snorts good-naturedly. "Maybe a little. Um, hey, are you maybe... doing anything tonight?" she asks, blushing just a little.\n\n"Oh uh unfortunately tonight I'm probably gonna be running my cute little butt all over Mantle updating other computers," Reese replies, looking flustered for half a heartbeat before grinning wide. "But I should be free tomorrow night maybe if you wanna get together and do a thing?"\n\n"Here's my contact," Fiona says, taking her scroll and waiting for Reese to hold hers up to tap the screen a few times. "Give me a call tomorrow?"\n\n"Absotively."\n\n"Well hey, good job," you compliment as the two of you walk away, grinning.\n\n"Aw yeah all the guys and ladies love watching a genius at work," Reese chirps, almost visibly preening. "But yeah I gotta do like a million of these boss so don't feel like you gotta hang with me the whole time."\n\n<hr>\n[[Nah, it's fine.|KaiBB1x3]]\n\n[[Oh thank you.|KaiBB]]

"It's fine, Blake and Yang already took another Huntress job 'cause we thought I was gonna be getting yelled at for way longer," you assure her. "We've barely had any time to hang out."\n\n"It won't exactly be quality time boss," she assures you, but seems cheered all the same by your decision. "Okay, let's meet up with the rest of the team and go."\n\nYou do feel sort of like you're babysitting, especially since you're the tallest person in the group. None of them are quite full smol level like Reese, but most of them are young, and the dark-skinned Faunus girl with white-tipped black cat ears seems to prefer sticking close to Reese's side as much as possible, apparently waiting for orders at every opportunity. 'Afraid she's M, girl, sorry,' you muse silently to yourself as you follow them along to their third scheduled job, around the corner and down an alley, with you sort of wondering if this is what Jaune feels like most mornings as you escort the gaggle of uniformed young people, one of them pushing a hoverpallet with several long cases stacked on it. "What even is this one?"\n\n"Regulator for all the vending machines and 3D printers along the street," Reese explains as she taps at her tablet-mode scroll. \n\n"Vital work huh?"\n\n"Yeah well it's all gotta be updated or we might as well update none of it." Reese grins ruefully and shrugs. "Toldja it wouldn't exactly be quality time."\n\n"Ma'am?" one of the uniformed comsec workers says as he looks over. "It's a SDC-ST-5."\n\nYour teammate sighs heavily. "Yeah that won't take more than twelve at very best let's go ahead and pull it out and put in a new one," she says with a little beckoning motion of her hand. "What'd we wind up getting for replacements on these terminals?"\n\nThe Faunus girl opens one of the crates and takes out a new flatscreen with some attached elements on the back, examining the label down at the bottom. "ST-9s."\n\n"Goddammit. Well at least we won't have to do any adaptors and they come with AtlOS 12 installed so it's a little less work but I'm gonna bug the general to switch to RDC-HUIT-3s if I have my way," Reese mutters, taking out her scroll and apparently making herself a note.\n\n"We've got like an entire warehouse full of these so we're probably gonna be using 'em for awhile," one of the techs notes ruefully as he starts taking a small plasma cutter to the edge of the current screen. "Dang look at all this muck on here."\n\n"Yeah working in Mantle is never exactly a clean experience," another comments, glancing at her now stained white gloves. "Probably why the Commander didn't order us to do the updates like I'm sure the General expected her to."\n\n"Yeah and look where that got us doing it anyway just too la-" Reese mutters, only to glance up as you step forward and pat the tech at the panel's back.\n\n"Hey. Knock it off," you whisper, raising a finger to your lips.\n\nHe stops the tool, the others all glance at you uncertainly. Then they hear it too... the clicking that had almost been covered up by the plasma cutter's soft hissing buzz, that had started at the same time, hasn't stopped. "Defensive formation," Reese immediately orders, drawing Lioncub off her back and transforming it. They may be computer techs, but every Atlas graduate a Huntsman and Huntress after all, and all of them draw weapons and fall into a small cluster back-to-back, most of them wielding simple white-bodied pistols, though the Faunus girl has flipped out what looks like nothing so much as a straight razor the size of a short sword.\n\nAs if someone were amused by the sight, an off-kilter giggle fills the alleyway, seeming deliberately played to the angles and echoes. Scowling, you extend the kunai blades on Inferno Panther for better use in the close quarters. You try not to overreact as you hear a fast run across a nearby rooftop above, not able to tell which one and so resisting the urge to snap your arms up and deploy your quickfire guns. "Reese. Call it in."\n\nShe nods, though seems reluctant to stop aiming her guns, hesitating a bit before bringing one hand to tap her earpiece. "This is Huntress Chloris in Mantle sector-"\n\nBefore she can read off your location, there's a howl of laughter and a man in white clothes and a brown leather jacket drops down, the glittering silver scorpion tail arcing from his lower back swinging at Reese's open side, barely deflected by a chatter of Gravity Dust rounds from your bracers. The attacker spins away, bounding off of one wall and then another before settling into a low crouch, snickering and raising his ass in the air almost tauntingly, but that tail arced up and displayed at the ready.\n\n"One of you CALL IT THE FUCK IN!" you snap as you swing both fists up and open fire with both of them, Reese firing both her guns at the man, who howls with apparent glee as he smacks Reese's larger bullets out of the air with snaps of his tail, mostly letting the smaller rounds just hit his purple-tinted aura and you'd swear the damn things melt.\n\n"This is Technician Tuchs calling from Mantle sector seven on Eriks street we are under attack we are under attack please deploy immediate backAH!" she shrieks as the attacker leaps forward and snaps that tail at her, only for Reese to leap forward and slam Lioncub's underbarrel blades against it to knock it away. The cackling man wheels on her, deploying double-blades from each wrist and starting to twirl and strike at her, forcing her on the full defensive, his head bobbing and ducking out of the way every time she manages to fire a shot while also blocking one of his strikes, until he's got her almost pinned against a wall, pressing in on her from his greater height with an 'uhu~!'\n\n"BACK THE FUCK OFF!" you roar, clenching your fist to fire the kunai directly at his back, only for him to sweep his silver tail in a wide arc and smack them aside.\n\nBut it's given Reese an opening for something, and with a little grunt she calls "HEY FIGARO!" just as Tyrian's tail is hitting the lowest point of its swing.\n\nWith a little musical la~ sound, the Faunus girl disappears from her current location and instead reappers just above the cyborg, swinging her oversized razor-weapon down hard on his shoulder. He howls as the combination of the weight and the surprise of her attack penetrates his Aura, the blade sinking almost an inch into his flesh, his tail lashing wildly and sending Figaro flying to knock against a wall.\n\nPivoting, you raise your other bracer and fire its kunai, pulling a bit of Stupid Aura Tricks through the variable ribbons to twist them just right as you yank back and wrap them around the meeting point of the blade and handle of the technician's weapon, then yank back and hard at an angle. The blade is hauled free of his shoulder and across the back of his neck, incidentally severing his ponytail as he gives a shriek of pain and drops to the ground like a sack of rocks, his cybernetic tail flopping immobile to the ground and audibly powering down. "Nooooo.... nooooo, what's happeniiiiing?" he almost whines, struggling to move and barely able to twitch his finger.\n\nHuffing a little, you walk over, scowling down at him. "... That's for Qrow, you giggling motherfucker," you assure him, having fairly easily identified Tyrian at this point. Then you bend down, picking up the severed ponytail and dropping it in front of his face. "That's for trying to gank my Sparrow."\n\n"... NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" he howls in greater agony than before.\n\n-\n\n"Tyrian Callows will almost certainly never move his body under his own power again," Ironwood says evenly. "Without our help. Which I suppose he can fight a court battle to determine if that meets the standard of care required by the Atlesian Guarantees, but right now he seems virtually catatonic."\n\n"Guessing whatever role he had in mind for himself in Salem's great plan, it involved being able to make a fist at the least," you note dryly, unable to summon up much sympathy at the moment.\n\n"Still, we've eliminated a major threat," Winter says, nodding in satisfaction. \n\n"One," Qrow rasps. As the two look over at him, he shakes his head. "Tyrian's who Salem sends if she wants someone, or a bunch of someones, dead if I had to guess. Doesn't exactly seem the computer savvy sort."\n\n"... You're right," Ironwood allows after a moment. "We've been worried about election integrity and computer security and we still should. Still, I think we can all sleep a little better knowing Tyrian's strapped to a bed in a secure prison hospital."\n\nQrow snorts. "I'll drink to that."\n\n"Speaking of which," Ironwood says, smiling now. "Considering how things stand currently, I think all three teams should take election day off and enjoy themselves."\n\n"Whoa, really?" you ask, raising your eyebrows. "The entire actual day?"\n\n"Miss Chloris especially, considering she worked overtime getting all the necessary Mantle upgrades in place. The Ace Ops can handle necessary election night security, I think we can afford to let you have a day to yourselves. I'm sure if anything truly monumental happens, we'll either be able to handle it ourselves or you'll manage to make assets of yourselves as usual wherever you are."\n\nAs you get up the next morning and pull on the casual clothes you bought just for the day, you ask the others, "So what are your plans, guys?"\n\n"Drinking and hooking up. From the moment I leave this room until the time I come back here and pass out, drinking and hooking up," Grey replies simply.\n\nIlia rolls her eyes at him, then grins at you. "I'm gonna be doing a last push at Robyn's HQ, and then there's gonna be a victory party tonight. You should come, Ren and Nora already said they would be too."\n\n"Maybe, Rainbow, it's been a long time since me and my bees had a date night," you comment as you lean in front of the mirror and start applying your lipstick. "But we may drop by sometime tonight, sure."\n\n"Well shower first," Ilia teases before giving you a wink and heading out, still in her Huntress gear. Probably not a bad idea considering the combination of Mantle and the potential for bullshit of some variety. Still, you're going to be in Atlas all day, so you're in a loose silvery long-sleeved shirt and red cargo pants. You take a moment to shake Reese gently where she's flopped on her front in her bunk.\n\n"Hey. Hey. Sparrow. What are you doing today?"\n\n"Mmmmf, this," she grunts, hauling her pillow over her head.\n\n"Guess getting all those updates done in Mantle was pretty exhausting huh?" you say sympathetically, patting her back through her lion-patterned sleep hoodie.\n\n"Nah that shit was boring but standard stuff that didn't make a dent in me," Reese replies, albeit muffled. "This is alllll Fiona."\n\nYou and Grey exchange a glance, then look back at her and murmur "Damn" in unison, wondering exactly what that slender sheep Faunus could have done to exhaust Reese's otherwise boundless energy.\n\n"I know!" Reese kicks her feet in the air weakly, pressing the pillow down harder over her head. "Anything anyone has ever said about bringing in sheep helping you sleep is a fucking liar!" She sighs as she shifts the pillow back under her head, flopping onto her side. "She's so good that I'd marry the bitch but I'd be afraid she'd legit fuck me to death."\n\nLaughing, you reach up to pat her cheek. "Well rest up from your brush with the little death, Sparrow, and I'll try to bring you back a snack when I come back from the club tonight, huh?"\n\n"Plz."\n\nAs you stroll out and semi-idly wish Grey good luck with his debauchery, you see Penny and Ruby approaching from the direction of RWBY's room. "Hey guys, what are you up to?"\n\n"We are going 'shopping' and to an 'arcade'!" Penny declares brightly, glowing eyes literally sparkling. "And then we will be joining the security detachment at Robyn Hill's campaign headquarters!"\n\n"That last one should still be more fun than it sounds," Ruby notes sheepishly. "Oh, Penny's also gonna take me to visit her dad beforehand, he's really interested in meeting some of her friends."\n\n"Huh, I'll have to drop by sometime too, then. Have fun, Coppertop, I'm sure Ruby will be a good date," you assure her with a grin.\n\nPenny looks abashed, quickly waving her hands a bit. "Oh no, it is not a date!" Hiccup.\n\nRuby rolls her eyes and seizes one of Penny's hands, tugging her along past you. "C'mon Penny, let's go on our date."\n\n"W-wait, it really is?! Oh my! ... system error..."\n\n"Penny c'mon please."\n\nYou head into the RWBY room, since the door's still open, taking just a moment to grin and enjoy watching Yang try to demonstrate club dance steps to a surprisingly un-deft Blake. "C'mon, we'll have all day to squeeze some practice in," you assure them both, before glancing over at Weiss who's doing her lashes. "How 'bout you, Weiss, what're you doing today?"\n\n"Going to the movies with Jaune," she answers distractedly. Apparently noting there's three stares fixed on her, she stops and glances, frowning. "And Oscar."\n\n"Oh yeah okay that makes sense yeah got it," you, Yang, and Blake all sort of chatter together, Weiss flushing red as she stares at you. \n\n"What are the three of you trying to imply?!"\n\n"Nothing~." x3\n\n"So what should we do with our day until it's time to hit the clubs?" Blake asks as the three of you stroll out of the academy, Yang in her jacket, jeans, and a snug midriff-baring shirt with her emblem on it in glittery gold, while Blake has donned black stockings, a white skirt, and a black hoodie with her own emblem on it in purple. "Shopping, you think?"\n\n"We were thinking shopping, yeah," Yang answers breezily, grinning with her hands tucked in her pockets.\n\n"Oh?" Blake blinks. "You two already talked about it?"\n\n"Welllll we had some ideas after poking around on our scrolls some," you allow. "And we thought we'd see if you wanted to follow up on them. See, Atlas is a pretty big place, and it might be bright and shiny, buuuut..." \n\n"That means the specialty shops have five star ratings for cleanliness and lighting," Yang concludes with a twinkle in her eyes.\n\n"Specialty sho-" Blake cuts off with a small choke, blushing. "S-seriously?"\n\n"We're three grown women in a relationship, I think we can be mature about shopping for our sex toys," Yang says mock-primly, lifting her chin. \n\n"And then all rush to a hotel right afterwards to try 'em out," you add with a smirk, lifting your scroll to show the waiting-to-be-made reservation on the app she used previously. At Blake's blush you laugh. "We don't have to if you really don't want to, but c'mon, it'll be fun. We actually found a nice hotel this time with a good restaurant, we can eat a late lunch slash early dinner there before we hit the clubs after our fun."\n\n"Well... fine," Blake finally agrees with a little huff, grinning. "Let's do it." As the three of you move to wait for a hoverbus, she glances back over her shoulder. "Should we tell Weiss we know she's gay?"\n\n"Neh," Yang grunts in negation, shrugging.\n\n"... Actually should we tell Weiss she's gay?" you say after a moment, giving the academy a glance of your own. "I'm starting to think she doesn't know."\n\nYou can see your girlfriends immediately start to assure you you're loony... then their mouths close and their eyes start going back and forth as they no doubt replay various things in their heads.\n\n"... Uh. Hm. ... Well."\n\n"... Let's tell her tomorrow."\n\n"Fair."\n\nThe three of you board the bus as it arrives, chatting a little more about all the various activities the lot of you have been up to when not on missions together. It's work talk, essentially, but then over the last few weeks you haven't had all that much else to do to talk about. Honestly it's just nice to be with them and talking again, feeling easy and relaxed and having a few laughs as Yang accompanies her stories of working with the Ace Ops with truly hilariously bad impressions. You're not even sure how someone does such a bad impression of Vine but she manages and somehow that makes you love her even more. Eventually the three of you get off the bus, strolling towards a multi-level building with a shiny, opaque silver windowed exterior, very close to being mirrored. "Wow, if Atlas makes their sex toy stores like this, maybe they really are a shining light for the rest of the world," Yang chirps cheerfully.\n\n"Could you not say that quite so loud?" Blake murmurs, her cheeks coloring.\n\n"You know I read some of those books you recommended, they're pretty raunchy," you note, glancing over at her. "How do you manage to buy those if you get embarrassed about this."\n\nBlake quickly pulls up the hood of her hoodie and tugs it far forward.\n\n"Ah, gotcha."\n\nYou push open the front door and hold it for the other two, following them in. It's obvious the first floor is meant to be the more 'ease into it' entry... most of the stuff here is boxed and not that eye-grabbing, and it mostly seems to be dedicated to boxes of what you assume are the local equivalent of hardcopy porn videos, as well as several shelves of books. (Blake definitely perked a little at that, cat girlfriend has locked on.) There's a long counter to the side, and you would bet a hundred lien that the girl behind it is named 'Pinque' or something because she has gone over-the-top on Remnant's tendency to dress your color, her hair an almost metallic pink, her snug T-shirt a glittery pink, and her pleated skirt a pale pink. Even her fingernails are painted ten different shades of pink, which she shows off as she double-waves.\n\n"Hihi~, welcome to Colors of Love! Anything I can help you with today?"\n\n"Strapons?" you and Yang both ask breezily in near-unison, while Blake shrinks further into her hoodie, her face solid red.\n\nThe pink girl grins. "Second floor, most of the back side. I recommend something from the Women's Prism collection, they've got comfy harnesses and adaptors that will work for just about any other toy that's not already compatible."\n\n"Oh hey, cool, thanks," Yang replies, then wanders towards one of the nearby sets of shelves and starts peering at the little boxes of polished metal butt plugs.\n\n"Aren't we going upstairs already?" Blake almost hisses, tugging at Yang's sleeve, and giving you a nervous look as you pick up a plastic hand basket.\n\n"Hey, this is a nice place, I wanna actually look around," Yang replies with a glance at her, before sending, Did you think we were just gonna grab the first strapons we saw and then rush you back to the hotel room to violate you?\n\n... Kind of? Blake replies, in a tone that says she was sort of hoping for that.\n\n"Huh, guys, check this out," you call as you notice several large shelving units near the door, practically in 'impulse buy aisle' position.\n\nYang strolls over, Blake lagging behind just a bit. "Huh." The blonde plucks up one of the boxes. "'Gachaplug'. Series two. Fifteen different plug and jewel color combinations," she reads off, and despite the hood you're pretty sure Blake's ears twitch.\n\n"'Gachapurr', series three," you add, holding up a similar box. "Egg vibrators in twenty-seven different colors, with a chance to win one of the entire Gachapurr line to date if you find the 'Golden Buzzer'."\n\n"... I need ten," Blake whispers, eyes sparkling. "At least ten."\n\nYou give Yang an amused look, and with a snort she drops two of the Gachaplug boxes into the basket, with you adding another eight of the Gachapurrs. "At least they're not expensive," you note as you all start wandering along the edge of the room, browsing the video boxes more out of curiosity than anything. "Guess that's how it is on worlds with such good 3D printing capabilities."\n\n"Yeah, plastic, latex, rubber, those are practically free, basically the only parts that cost anything are the metal bits and Dust batteries," Yang agrees. "It's a bit more expensive in Vale and don't even get me started on shipping charges but I'd bet anything that most of Remnant's sex toys are actually made here in Atlas," she adds with a little laugh. "Man, that shining example for the world gets more amazing the more you think about it."\n\n"Mm." Blake gives Yang a slightly rueful smile, then glances aside, hood moving slightly with an eartwitch again as (apparently without thinking) she picks up one of the boxes and stares at it with a look of mingled annoyance and fascination.\n\nYou lean over to look partly over her shoulder. "'The Girl With Two Holes'. ... Oh heeeey Remnant has porn parodies too, that's somehow comforting."\n\nYang laughs near-silently for a moment before asking, "You want it?"\n\n"... Kind of?" Blake admits, sounding uncertain. But since it's got a discount sticker on it, that apparently decides her and into the basket it goes.\n\nOf course you have to stop at the bookshelves since they're right beside the stairs, and you actually look through them as well. You've never been much of a reader... Doonian was never precisely big on providing you with books, and you weren't allowed to touch the ones in the Guildhall apartment unless Ico was giving you a lesson out of them... but you're kind of starting to see the appeal now that Blake's urged you to it, since it's easy enough to tuck a paperback into your pocket and read a few chapters during downtime moments.\n\n"Hey, this series looks kind of good, actually," Yang speaks up, sliding a paperbook down and showing you the cover... from the spaceship and the tight outfits of the dashing man and woman on the cover, you're guessing sci-fi.\n\n"You know I think I've heard of those, the writer is actually supposed to be a famous mainstream one under a pseudonym," Blake notes with interest as she takes it. "How many of them are there?"\n\n"Three. We could get 'em and pass 'em along to each other as we get finished with them?"\n\n"That sounds nice actually," Blake agrees in a contented tone, accepting the other two and tucking them in the basket as you look over the summary on the first one. "Oh, unless that's a bit too much like just reading about work for you, Kai?"\n\n"Nah, the multiverse is so big and varied about space travel and even basic physics that I think it mostly parses about the same for me as you," you answer with a shrug as you put the first book in as well. "It's all equally likely or unlikely."\n\n"Huh, really?" Yang asks as the three of you start up the stairs. "Even physics is different?"\n\n"Physics is different on Remnant from 'standard' worlds already," you inform them, which causes little shock reactions. "Not as much as it might seem to an observer who didn't know about Aura Bullshit but it is. It can get pretty out there though."\n\n"What's the most 'out there' place you ever went to on that front?" Blake asks curiously.\n\n"Oh that's easy," you snort. "Okay so I get sent to jump onto this ship and sneak around and make a change to one of these stasis pods the crew's sleeping in. Not that big of one, it wasn't that kind of job," you assure them quickly with a little wave of the hand, pausing briefly to grin as you all emerge into the second floor, and its truly colorful array of jutting phalluses. "Oh, right, anyway, so I'm sneaking by this external hatch and I notice someone just straight-up left it open."\n\n"... Wait, into space?" Blake says, sucking in a breath.\n\n"Yup. But, uh... there was air in space there."\n\nBoth Yang and Blake actually have their attention entirely drawn from the sex toys to you. "There was what?"\n\n"In what?"\n\n"Yeah, I know, right? There wasn't even a pressure change it was wild."\n\n"... I think I'm starting to get that feeling I got when we met back on Menagerie again so I think I'm just going to... turn my attention back to our sex life," Blake murmurs, indeed turning back to the matter at hand and making her way back. At least she seems distracted from being embarrassed now.\n\nA few moments later, Yang says, "Oh yeah, here we go, 'Women's Prism'." She steps up to a set of shelves with a number of boxes, most of them with a small hole in the front. Slipping one of her left fingertips through the front of one, she rubs. "Oh, the harnesses come in different textures, that's nice. That's 'spandex' I guess."\n\n"I think I want one of these," you note, pointing at the latex texture ones. Taking down the box you turn the box and regard the sizing measurement chart on the side. "They got a measuring tape or something?"\n\n"Ummmm... yup, here we go!" Yang chirps, plucking the long plastic band down from one of the upper shelves.\n\n"Then do me," you reply, setting the box down and lifting your shirt away from your waist. Then grinning and adding, "So that later you can do me."\n\nYang snorts cheerfully as Blake puts a hand to her face, looping the tape around your waist at two different points, then slipping down to do the same to your thighs. "Mmmkaaaay, you waaant... this size," she says, plucking down one of the boxes and handing it to you. "Alright, your turn, Blakey."\n\n"Um. I thought these were for you two," Blake murmurs, though she nevertheless steps over and a bit shyly lifts the hem of her hoodie.\n\n"Never know when the mood will strike you," Yang half-teases, once again quickly setting to work with the tape.\n\n"You're pretty handy with that thing," you note idly as you glance from the box you're holding to the ones on the shelf above, trying to decide between 'jock strap style' and 'panties style'.\n\n"Maaaany years of adjusting dresses for Ruby to wear to school functions," Yang replies with a grin as she tugs at the tape around Blake's thigh for a moment before turning to the shelf. "You'll want one in this size, Blakey. Do me, Kai?" She brushes her coat back with both hands and lifts it, making it easier for you to step in and lean down, taking her measurements as best you can like she did. "But yeah, school parties, graduations, her birthday dresses slash Halloween costumes." Then she blinks, glancing up. "... Huh, guess it's my fault she dresses like that."\n\nSnorting in amusement, you report your findings to Yang and she plucks down a box, Blake a little more hesitantly taking a multi-strap style in 'silk' texture, though you note she gets a sort of fun silly smile on her face as she brushes her fingertip over the material through the hole. "I think you did a pretty good job on her."\n\nBlake looks like she has a comment of her own to make, but decides to keep it to herself, instead keeping it to herself as all of you wander over to the closed cases next to the strap. "These are the... compatible ones?"\n\n"Yup, the girl downstairs said there's adaptors... think that's those right there... but these are the ones that work with them out of the box."\n\n"Speaking of boxes," you note, glancing around. "I don't see any for these, just the ones in the cases."\n\n"They're print-on-demand," Yang explains after a brief lean in and squint, tapping a golden fingertip against one of the datablocks under a displayed red dog dick. "Probably can customize color and some other stuff too," she hypothesizes as she takes out her scroll.\n\nBlake scans one of the datablocks just to check, then makes an amused sound. "Colors of Love has its own app because of course it does. But yes, it looks like we can customize them."\n\n"Huh, cool." You take out your own scroll and scan a random block to prompt it to download the app... then eye the dull spike-studded length. "... Uh... not to start something, Blake, but just checking, this doesn't count as like... appropriation or something here, does it?"\n\n"Oh god," Blake groans, putting a hand to her face again, then quickly waving it at you. "No, no, not you. I... appreciate the thought behind you asking, I just got reminded of one of the more inane conversations I ever had on the subject with several other female White Fang members. Look, let's just say that my personal viewpoint is that not everything animal-related is necessarily Faunus-related and can we please drop it."\n\n"Consider it dropped."\n\n"Whew though," Yang murmurs, eyeing a particularly large equine-style phallus. At Blake's almost horrified look, she clears her throat quickly. "No, no, I wasn't thinking of it, I'm just saying... whew though."\n\n"Could we at least start off with something a bit more... normal... please?" Blake mutters, rubbing her face with both hands.\n\n"Hey, it's okay," you assure her, rubbing her back. "If you're not having fun we can just drop this now, Blake."\n\n"... I... actually am having fun," Blake admits after a moment, smiling sheepishly at you and then Yang. "I'm just feeling a little flustered." Her eyes flick towards the dildo Yang had been looking at. "... And intimidated."\n\n"Okay, okay, pick out something you like, Blakey," Yang encourages with a grin, rubbing her partner's shoulder. "What looks fun?"\n\n"... Mmm." She skims her eyes back and forth the rows of more 'standard' shapes, actually tapping a finger against her chin. "... I think... I think I want you to use... that one," she murmurs in an embarrassed voice, finally pointing at a rather long, thick member complete with molded sack beneath it. Big but probably like 'porn star average', you'd say.\n\n"Ohhhh, that's 'normal'?" Yang teases as she nevertheless leans over and scans the code with her scroll.\n\n"... I said normal, I didn't say 'not big'..."\n\n"Heheh. Aw, it's extra for metallic colors? Eh, not that much, it's fine."\n\n"Um... Kai... maybe that one?" Blake continues, indicating one that's more slender but with a longer, almost bullet-like head.\n\n"Naebad." You scan the code and start checking the options, glad to see the 3D model updates in realtime. Ooo, marbled. ... Nah let us not do streaks of red that is not a good look for a dildo. Oh hey you can do two or more different shades of the same color, though, that'll look good. "So think we should name these like weapons?" you tease.\n\n"Oh god please don't," Blake groans even as Yang's eyes light up with delight.\n\n"So let's seeeee... a dick for Blake rather than a dick for Blake," Yang muses aloud as she looks along the rows, the woman in question looking like she's torn between smacking her girlfriend and bursting into laughter.\n\n"Well she said she wanted 'normal'," you note, grinning as you tap at the glass over a dildo labeled simply 'The Basic'.\n\n"Oh fine," Blake answers, poking her tongue out at you, but starting to grin as she scans and starts doing customization. "Oh nice, it pops up where you are in the queue and how long it should take."\n\n"Remind me, after we save the world, every so often we're coming back to Atlas to do our sex toy shopping here," Yang says with a laugh.\n\n"... Do you guys ever think much about that?" you ask as your trio starts sort of milling about, eyeing all the various sorts of dildos and vibrators, ranging from the standards you've seen all over the multiverse to the bizarre you've also seen all over the multiverse. "About after? After Salem's taken down and all, assuming we can?"\n\n"I've decided to always assume we can," Yang asserts. But then she frowns a little, seeming thoughtful. "I... guess I haven't really thought about after though, really."\n\n"It's all such a big question mark," Blake muses in a quiet voice. "We don't know exactly how to defeat Salem... even if she really can be at this point I guess... so it becomes a little hard to think what 'after' is like."\n\n"Well. Let's assume Salem decided to just sit on her throne, since I'm assuming she has one, and jerk off for the rest of eternity instead of bothering the world," you put forth, grinning as you try to inject some levity back into the situation. "What do you think you guys would like to do then?"\n\n"Mmmm." Yang considers for a bit, then grins. "I think... I'd like to open a bar, maybe?" she says after some consideration. "Patch doesn't really have a good place for adults to hang out and have fun, not like that anyway. Iiii probably would have gotten myself into trouble there if it had," she adds with a rueful laugh. "But I still like the idea. It's like... being a grownup and doing a grownup thing, owning and running a business, but also still kind of fun at least."\n\n"Iiiii don't know that I necessarily want to run a bar, but I'd definitely do your books for you," Blake says with a grin, rubbing Yang's arm. "Well. If you want to go back to Patch... maybe I'd teach at Signal. Or even give private tutoring or something, or work at their library. Your home sounds like a lovely place and I think there's a lot there I'd enjoy doing."\n\n"I... mostly just want to be with you guys," you admit with a bob of the head, turning at the foot of the stairs to grin at them. "But a bar does sound fun," you add before turning and setting off the stairs.\n\n"So you're definitely staying on Remnant, Kai?" Blake asks, sounding happy about it.\n\n"Yeah, I think so," you answer after a brief hesitation. "I think if Niobe shows up to get me, I'd rather try to talk her into staying. Dangerous as this place is it's just... way more enjoyable than Makarzia. I've made friends here... I've met you two here," you add, turning back to them as you arrive at the next floor. "I mean I think it might be good if you two decided to become Guildcerts too, and maybe we did some jobs that way for awhile to build up some money, but we can always talk about that another day."\n\n"Mhm. So what's up here?" And then Blake sucks in a happy breath at the sight of the numerous racks, bins, and shelves full of lingerie and other sexy clothing.\n\n"Iiiii heard that gasp in my wallet," Yang says from a bit further down the stairs.\n\nBlake does spend quite awhile going through everything, though she doesn't actually pick out as many items as one might think, apparently a delighted and yet picky shopper when it comes to her fancy underthings. Yang is apparently the 'zero in on something I like the moment I see it and grab it after checking the size' sort, and you... are a little lost.\n\n"Having a hard time?" Yang asks as she tucks a set of yellow (natch) stockings into the basket that she's taken over carrying.\n\n"Kind of overwhelmed," you admit. "I'm... still getting used to being able to just buy my own clothes when I want, this is all a little beyond me."\n\nBlake smiles, just a bit sadly, as she comes to hook her arms around your middle from behind, hugging up against you and lifting her chin to rest it on your shoulder. "I wish you'd gotten to do things like that all your life... at the same time, I think it's nice that we get to be here with you when you discover firsts like this. Just... relax, and pick something you like."\n\n"Does it have to be silver?" you tease back, leaning your head aside and kissing her cheek.\n\n"Mm... don't think of it like 'has to'," Yang speaks up. "More like 'gets to'. It's not like we wear our colors because we feel like it's some social obligation, it's more just a way we get to express ourselves, to show the world something about us. It's a way to say, even on a casual glance, 'This is me'. So if you want, sure, get something silver." Then her eyes sparkle as she adds, "But get something silver that you feel like it says something you wanna say."\n\n"... Mm, what I wanna say..." You glance around again, then make your way towards a bin that's full of panties that have a sort of soft iridescent sheen to their fabric. You dig through and do indeed find a silver pair, almost like a soap bubble over mercury, briefly holding them up as you consider. Then you glance over at Yang and Blake... and see that Yang's purple eyes have lit up with happy desire, and that Blake's eyes are fixed on the garment like someone was shining a laser pointer on them. Grinning, you walk back over to put them in the basket. "Yup, that's what I wanna say."\n\nAfter a bit more poking around the three of you head up to the top floor, finding that it's mostly items targeted at men. The three of you poke around briefly more in curiosity than anything else, before heading for the elevator and back down to the first floor. "Do we pick up print-on-demand orders here?" you ask as the three of you approach the counter again.\n\n"Mm-hm! Three orders ready, cleaned, and sealed, could I see order confirmations please?" the pink woman asks, glancing at each of your scrolls in turn before lifting the three shiny, rainbow-sided bags up onto the counter. "Those are paid already, so no need to ring them up," she adds as she moves to the cash register with Yang.\n\n"I'll get this one, guys," she assures you with a glance over, minimizing the shop app, then bringing up her license briefly. "Huntress discount?"\n\n"Fifteen percent off the first hundred lien, five percent off the rest of your order, scan please and thank you for your service~!" She starts scanning items from the basket, taking brief moments to remove lingerie from hangars, wrapping each piece or set in a single sheet of tissue paper before bagging them. "So are you three together?" she asks conversationally.\n\n"Mm-hmmm," Yang answers with a grin, Blake blushing.\n\n"That's so great, I think it's amazing that you guys can have a relationship like that. Aaaaand there's your total, that look right?"\n\n"Oof. I mean yeah but oof," Yang says with a playful chuckle, then tapping her scroll against the scanner again after setting it to 'Pay'.\n\n"Well we could have divided it up," Blake notes as the three of you exit the store, each carrying one or more of the glossy rainbow-colored bags.\n\n"Nah, it's fine, between Ironwood paying us junior grade Specialist salaries and the extra Huntress work we've been taking I'm pretty flush," Yang answers.\n\n"I'm getting the hotel, anyway," you add as you open up the local taxi app and request one to said hotel.\n\n"Alright, well, I'm getting dinner and our cover charge for the club then," Blake asserts with a firm nod.\n\n"Works for me."\n\nAs the automatic vehicle takes you to the hotel, you take a moment to open your scroll again and check. Voting proper won't begin for about an hour in the election, everything now is early voters and people who are allowed to vote from home. It's scattered pretty broadly... Jacques Schnee and Robin are about even, with Pearl Wistier and Ivy Brown both having a far more even percentage of the total votes than they're likely to see for the rest of the night, from what you've heard. 'Well, whatever, unless it all goes to shit it's out of our hands,' you think, flicking the holoscreen off and tucking your scroll away again. Neither Blake, Yang, or you are exactly eligible to vote, after all, being technically citizens of Menagerie, Vale, and... fuckall.\n\n"Huh. Hey guys, what is the process for getting your kingdom citizenship?" you ask with a glance over.\n\n"It's pretty simple, you've gotta present yourself at a government office, give some details about yourself, they do a quick background check... well I guess it's not that quick anymore," Yang allows. "But if they don't find any like outstanding warrants or anything, usually you can get your citizenship added or changed to a kingdom in about forty-eight hours. Used to, it probably takes a few weeks now. Every kingdom's a little different, I think Atlas's is a little more strict but it's pretty common for someone from outside the kingdoms to come in, or to have to move because of a Grimm attack or whatever, so it's gotten pretty streamlined over the years."\n\n"You have Menagerie citizenship anyway," Blake informs you evenly.\n\nYou blink. "Wait, I do?"\n\n"Kai, you helped save my mother and father's lives, and you participated in the Battle of Haven. Did you think that once I told my father that you didn't have any kingdom citizenship that he wouldn't take care of that for you?" she replies in a teasing voice.\n\n"Oh. Huh. ... I feel like I should do something nice for him," you say after turning that one over in your head. You've never had a citizenship of anything before. The closest you have is your Guildcert, and that was because it was tied to Doonian's as your owner. ... Aw shit at some point soon you're gonna hafta redo your certification as a free sentient. Oh well. Hashtag, worth.\n\n"He likes tobacco incense but don't let my mother know you gave it to him."\n\n"Done."\n\nOn arriving the three of you stroll right through the lobby and to the elevator, heading up to the floor and room you reserved with the app. Your scroll opens it up and everyone takes a look around. "Heeey, not bad," Yang declares. It's a bit bigger than the one back in Argus, but mostly everything just looks like someone kicked it up a few notches on the quality level, the sheets looking sleeker and even whiter, the walls gleaming with that slightly neo-future look most of the newer buildings in Atlas favor.\n\nYou search through the bags for a few moments, finding some of your stuff and plucking it out. "I'm gonna shower before we start," you announce.\n\n"'Kay," Yang answers, already shedding her coat, Blake pulling her hoodie off. \n\nYou don't think they'll get too far without you... especially considering Yang's kink. You mostly just want to rinse up and feel fresh before getting nice and sweaty, which is another one of those delightful things about your life now... showers practically whenever you want. The bathroom is extremely nice, the shower even having a built-in body dryer that means you just need to run a brush through your hair a few times. After that, you slip on the lacey red open-heeled open-toed stockings you bought and the matching fingerless gloves, pausing to take a moment to look in the full-length mirror and brush your fingers through your hair, admiring the way the color matches both your hair and eyes. "Know what? You look good, Sterling," you murmur to yourself, indulging in a bit more posing, jutting your breasts out and turning to wiggle your hips. Then, grinning, you pull on the harness you bought, spending just a moment adjusting it (you finally went with the 'jock' style) and getting it properly snug, before popping open the vacuum-sealed bag and drawing out the brand new attachment for it, hooking it to the front and making sure it's seated properly.\n\nYang and Blake have both shed their clothes and are laying on the bed propped up against the headboard, almost lazily making out and stroking each other's bodies, both of them looking up as you pad out, both purple and yellow eyes lighting up with delight and desire in the sort of ego stroke that you wouldn't mind getting every day for the rest of your life. Then their gazes focus on the strapon, and Yang can't help but laugh just a little. "That looks amazing!" \n\n"Yeah it came out great huh?" you declare with a grin. You went a little Extra on it, choosing a 'marbling' of three different shades of metallic silver. It bumped the cost up quite a bit but you've now got a Damascus-style strap jutting from your crotch.\n\n"I reeeally like it," Blake whispers as she sits up, Yang sliding away from her to similarly rummage in the bags.\n\n"I'm gonna shower quick too and get changed. Don't you guys do too much without me," she comments, winking as she heads around the corner and into the bathroom as well.\n\nGrinning, you settle down on the bed, Blake scooting around to sit next to you and leaning in for a kiss, her tongue flicking at your lips. You smile and capture her tongue with your mouth, flicking your own over it, letting one of your hands roam down her belly and the other down her back, idly trying out rubbing at the base of her spine and hearing her start to thrum in that soft purr of hers. "Hmmmm..." you murmur as you duck your head and kiss her neck.\n\n"What 'hmmm'?" she prompts, closing her eyes and tilting her head. \n\n"Juuust thinking. One time on the Guildhall I saw these accessories that are supposed to work for anyone with a vestigial tailbone," you murmur, grinning. "Juuust putting it out there."\n\n"Mmf," Blake murmurs as you nip gently at her shoulder. "... Maaaaybe someday... but only when we're alone together," she asserts firmly, before reaching over to snag one of the bottles laid out in a row on the nightstand.\n\n"Someone did some organizing," you tease, grinning as she pokes her tongue out at you while squirting some lube into her palm. \n\n"Hush you." She leans in to return the favor of kissing your neck and shoulder as she wraps her hand around the slender dildo jutting from your lap, starting to slide her slickened hand over it, the material quickly gleaming almost like actual polished metal as it's covered. "This... looks really nice," she murmurs as she peeks down at it through her lashes.\n\n"It's growing on me. Not from me, but on me." You laugh as she gives you a playful swat on the lower back before leaning back in to kiss you again, swirling your tongue with hers, Blake every so often dropping her hand down to slide her slickened fingertips along your pussylips beneath the front of the harness.\n\nThe two of you continue to kiss and pet lightly as Yang cleans up, your hands stroking over Blake's breast as she alternates between toying with your shimmery silver strapon, flitting her fingertips over your slit, and bringing her hands up to return the strokes and touches on your own breasts, leaving little slick gleams on them. It doesn't take particularly long for Yang to emerge, having gone for a full canary yellow lingerie set of lacey bra, garter belt, and stockings, though having left off the panties in favor of wearing the large glittering golden strapon Blake picked out. "Tada~! So, how's it look?"\n\n"Like an embarrassment of riches," Blake quips with a gleam of delight in her eye, drawing away from you just a little as Yang approaches, instead leaning in to stroke her hands over the blonde's hips near-worshipfully a few times, then leaning in to give the tip of the phallus a few small, kittenish licks before slipping it past her lips.\n\n"Heheh... y'know that doesn't actually do anything for me other than enjoying the sight, right?" Yang teases, even as she strokes Blake's head a bit.\n\n"No, but it's doing something for me," Blake teases back, giving the tip of Yang's strap a kiss.\n\nAfter a bit more of Blake enjoying giving some oral attentions to the thick glittering shaft, Yang presses her back onto the bed, tucking her shaggy blonde head between her partner's thighs and starting to lick and roll her tongue, teasing Blake's already dripping sex in search of any further arousal that can be urged out of it. You almost hate to muffle such sweet, pretty moans, but, well. You settle yourself onto her face, shivering at the feel of Blake's tongue curling and flitting across your pussy. You find yourself almost absently stroking the silver shaft now jutting towards her tits. 'Should I tell them about those pills Tuula gave me awhile back as a joke? ... Eh, maybe later.' Instead you just smile and let your head lean back, shivering delightedly at the feeling of Blake's tongue on your folds.\n\nAfter awhile Blake nudges you off, your lover panting as she looks down at her lover. "Yang... can I be on top?" she half-mewls, shivering.\n\n"'Course, babe," Yang answers with a winning grin, sliding up onto the bed and settling onto her back. Blake swings astride her hips, quickly leaning forward, bare breasts pressing to yellow lace covered ones as they kiss, Blake sharing a bit of your taste with Yang, and Yang sharing a bit of Blake's own taste with her. You can see Blake's slender fingers groping a bit between her legs, so with a grin you nudge Yang's strap into them, Blake seizing it with a soft moan of thanks and settling its glittery head up between her puffy lips, wiggling her hips a little before sinking down on it in one long, slow, smooth motion. She gives her hips another wiggle as she takes it all the way down, shivering as Yang runs her hands up and down her back, then starts riding rather hard. Though you notice soon enough that she's lifting herself up fairly high and giving a shimmy that besides making you think you absolutely have to buy her one of those tails, that she's also asking for something else.\n\nGrinning, you snag the lube again, adding a particularly copious amount to what she already slathered on you earlier, then moving up behind her, squeezing her ass and urging her on a bit in her movements. "Blaaaake..." you coo teasingly, hearing her moans into Yang's mouth take on a bit more urgency at your squeezing. "Did you maybe pick me out a more slender strap for a re~ason~?"\n\nBlake breaks the kiss, panting softly as she looks over her shoulder, settling herself down fully on Yang and wiggling her hips again... this time in much more deliberate invitation. "... Yes..."\n\nYou and Yang exchange a wicked glance, Yang sliding her hands down to grip Blake's ass, squeezing gently... and then spreading it. Sliding over her, leaning in to let her feel your breasts on her back, you whisper in her ear, "Were you thinking of this, in the shop?" You rock your body against hers, adding, "Were you thinking about how it would feel in you when you picked it out? How it would feel alongside Yang's?" At her low, needy moan of an answer, you grin and straighten up, nudging the tip of the silver shaft to her pucker, then starting to slowly push it in. Licking your lips, you listen to her long, near-whimper of excitement underlaid by that low thrum in her throat, until you're all the way in, and can start to work your hips, moving her on top of Yang, putting just enough thrust into it to make her body move. "And Bla~ke?"\n\n"Nnnh-nnh-nnnnh," she moans in response, quivering between the two of you.\n\n"Thiiiis is why you braided your hair, riiiight?"\n\nSo saying, you grab her braid, very deliberately letting her feel the motions as you wrap it around your hand once, watching her body tense and tighten and hearing her suck in a breath in anticipation. Then you yank back on it, forcing her body to arch as you start pounding into her.\n\n"That what you wanted, huh?" Yang urges from below, working her hips upward into Blake now, hands still kneading the woman between the two of you's ass. "You wanted Kai to fuck your naughty little ass baby?"\n\n"Ooo-oo-oo-ooo ye-e-e-e-e-es!" Blake moans out from between gritted teeth, her voice jittering with the impacts of your hips, then her mouth opening wide as she yowls out in climax for the first time.\n\nYour day off is off to a pretty good beginning and middle, so far, you'd say.\n\nEventually, after another (and much more necessary) shower, you pull on your regular panties and shirt then flop down on the bed, waiting for Yang to take her own, Blake still currently laying sprawled and a bit too blissed-out to focus on complicated tasks like 'standing'. You grin and reach over to brush the backs of your fingers over her cheek, utterly delighted at the kittenish mewl she gives as she rubs her head towards the touch.\n\nIt does occur to you that maybe you should check the news, or maybe the election results. At the least before you leave for the club. ... But a few more minutes is okay, right? A few more minutes of assuming everything will turn out alright.\n\n<hr>\n[[Let it wait, a bit longer.|KaiBB1x4]]\n\n[[Better check now.|KaiBB]]

Heading for the front door, you pause to consider, before sending, Ilia?\n\nKai!\n\nBlake, Yang, and I are going out for the night. If anyone asks tell them we just felt like going on Grimm patrol and we'll be back in the morning.\n\nOh, um, okay.\n\n"Grimm patrol?" Yang says aloud dryly as the three of you board the hovertrolley.\n\n"We can tell 'em later, for now what we're heading out to do is our own business," you assert with a grin.\n\n"I prefer it a little that way too," Blake admits. "Sharing our relationship with our friends is one thing, sharing... um, details... is another," she adds, cheeks coloring again. \n\nEveryone's quiet for a few, Yang eyeing the empty trolley briefly before saying, "Soooo... have either of you done... this... before?"\n\n"I... haven't even been with another woman before," Blake admits with a slightly nervous laugh.\n\n"I've had a threesome before but it wasn't with other girls," you admit, before grinning and taking Blake's hand. "We'll figure it out."\n\nThe three of you arrive at the hotel... clearly just a sort of middle-of-the-road thing, probably meant for standard business travelers coming through Argus for a night before heading on to one of the other places it trades with... and Blake waves her scroll at the door lock before pushing it open. The room inside is visibly clean, which puts it up over pretty much every other rental you've ever stayed in, and it has a very decently-sized bed. 'Hope it's big enough for three,' you think with a grin as Yang steps in to kiss you again, this time her hands moving to squeeze your ass and draw you to her. You lift up on tiptoes juuuust a bit to even your heights, your own hands sliding over the toned sixpack of her abs. Then you step back and down, grinning at Blake already moving to meet you, slipping your hands around her waist and lifting her a little into you as she kisses, something very like a soft thrum building deep down in her throat.\n\nAs you draw away, you see that Yang has already shed her jacket and boots, and clears her throat as she sees you looking. "Hey, why don't you guys go ahead and... get started? Just on your own, and then I'll join in."\n\nYou blink at her. Then, slowly, your smile turns wicked, still looking at her as you slip the long white coat off of Blake's shoulders. "Yang... do you like watching me kiss Blake?" you tease softly, ducking your head down to start kissing gently along the other woman's neck, enough to make her gasp just barely audibly.\n\n"U-um... it's not that, I..." Yang replies, face red, but her purple eyes locked on every brush of your lips across Blake's skin, then darting down and staring as you start undoing the feline Faunus's belt.\n\n"Yaaaang," Blake practically coos, her face flushed in embarrassment, but her tone sultry as you slide your fingertips down along her belly, which flexes a bit under your touch. "Do you like watching Kai touching me?"\n\n"... yes," the blonde admits in a whisper, purple eyes flashing.\n\nYou and Blake meet eyes, both of you getting that same wicked flash in them. This is going to be fun.\n\n"Ah... ah," Blake gasps soon after, now laying naked on her back on the bed, her back arching a little as your fingertips run over one of her breasts. Similarly nude, you're pressed up against her side, currently focusing on kissing her jaw and neck and throat since it's where she makes some of the cutest noises. Yang is sitting in a chair beside the bed, her toned form fully on display, face still a bit flushed and eyes just a little glazed as she watches you both, elegantly-crafted golden fingertips tracing up and down the lips of her pussy and collecting a glimmering layer of wetness as they do.\n\n"Blake," you urge softly, enjoying the way her cat ears visibly twitch at your voice, the little shiver that runs through her. "Tell Yang how good you feel."\n\n"I feel so good," Blake moans out quietly in response, another visible quiver running through her body as you trace your fingertips along her collarbone and down between her breasts. "She's... making me feel so sensitive and ready... I'm so wet," she adds with a little whimper, her hips rocking back and forth just a little.\n\n"There's my good girl," you coo softly, slipping your other hand into that thick black hair, fingertips brushing against the base of one ear, before turning your short nails down there to the meeting of it and her scalp and scratching gently.\n\n"AH!" Blake's eyes shoot open and her back arches, bare stomach presented to the ceiling before she droops back, starting to writhe slowly against the bed. "K-Kai, wait, that's, mmf, that's," she almost whines, before moaning and closing her eyes again, a steady thrum starting in her chest and building into a sweet, soft rumble in her throat.\n\n"Oh my god," Yang moans, a shudder passing through her own body, eyes closing and head briefly tilting back as she pinches one of her own obviously achingly stiff nipples.\n\nUnable to help giggling a little, you slide both further over Blake and down, leaving her ears alone for the moment and watching her shiver, her expression one of both relief and disappointment briefly before she moans again as you start kissing her breast. "You like watching Blake feel good, don't you, Yang?" you coo softly, unable to keep just a bit of a teasing lilt out of your voice. "Do you want me to keep making her feel good?" you urge as you kiss ever closer to one of those pale pink nipples. "Do you want me to suck on Blake's nipple, Yang?" Taking her moan as response, you close your mouth over the slight rise of the areola and roll your tongue around it, fingers sliding down Blake's quivering belly, the woman beneath you making a sound that could only be called a mewl as her fists clench in the sheets.\n\nYou continue to gently stroke and swirl your fingertips around Blake's belly, feeling it move and flex under your touch, listening to her sweet soft noises in your ears as you pleasure her. You've been with other girls, sure, even done this sort of thing before, as guys... usually the woman's husband... watched. But you've never done it with two people you loved before. Knowing that the pleasure you're giving Blake is given out of your love for her, that the pleasure Yang feels watching is of two people she loves making each other feel good, that what Blake feels is someone she loves pleasuring her while someone else she loves draws joy from that. For a moment it's almost overwhelming, it's almost too much and you feel like you might crack, might want to deny it. But you've sort of seized charge here... not only do you have some power, you have a lot of responsibility. Worrying over if you're worthy of their love can come later... not ruining this new experience for Blake has to come first.\n\n"Yang," you whisper softly as you raise your head back up to kiss at Blake's jaw, the slow, almost teasing traces of your fingers drawing down the smooth-shaven front of the other woman's crotch now. "Do you want me to touch Blake's pussy?" You can hear her draw in a hard breath, hear it shudder a little, see through your barely-opened eyes as the blonde's lips part, a shiver running through her. But this time, you don't move your hand any lower, just continuing to tease along the sensitive swath of smooth skin, even as you can feel a bit of the heat from down lower. "Yang. You have to tell me."\n\n"Pleease, Yang," Blake joins in, just as you hoped she would, her voice threaded with a purr-like moan as she shifts her hands up to gripping the pillow under her head. "Please tell her to touch my pussy."\n\nYang lets out another long moan, before she nods quickly. "God, yes, touch her pussy, Kai, please."\n\nUnable to help letting out just a bit of a laugh, you watch Yang as you slip your hand between Blake's legs. You're fairly certain from the sudden miniature all-over jerk she gives that she cums just a little bit the moment you touch her sex, which is certainly flattering. You start stroking up and down, just enjoying the feeling of her sleek, slick outer lips for a moment. Admittedly you may get a bit carried away, because you give in to the urge to thrust two fingers into her, feel those wet, hot walls squeezing around your digits as you pleasure her, and she gives a little cry and arches her back again. "Mmf, sorry baby," you murmur, lifting your head and frowning, dropping 'character' for a moment. "Too rough?"\n\nBlake opens her eyes some, golden gaze glazed as she looks at you, her lips parted as she pants, her breasts rising and falling with the quickened breaths. "You... can be a little rougher... if you want," she murmurs, in a trembling, needy voice that says under the words 'Please be rough with me'.\n\n"... Mmmkaaay," you coo happily, grinning wickedly up at her and flashing a smug glance at Yang before starting to thrust your digits quickly, finger-fucking the feline Faunus beneath you as she rocks her hips and cries out, her pussy clenching around your fingers and completely soaking them in the process, her body rocking back and forth. You can almost see the tail she doesn't have lashing underneath her, something kittenish underlying her cries as she cums.\n\nFinally you slide your dripping fingers out, taking a look at Blake laying there breathing hard, eyes open to slits, her entire body shivering the tiniest of bit with aftershocks. You roll over her to lay at her side as Yang, without a word, rises from the chair and rounds the bed, sliding herself into place over Blake, covering the shorter woman with her body. Yang kisses her, slow and deep, drawing back just a little to come in from a different angle and letting you see the way their tongues are rolling together. You smile contentedly at the sight... then let out a soft moan as Yang rests her right hand on your chest, moving it gently back and forth before lifting her palm, starting to trace the curves of your breasts with smooth, slick golden fingertips. You close your eyes, shivering a little at the warm-cool feel of it, your fingers lacing with Blake's and the two of you squeezing each other's hands as Yang starts loving both of you. Yang's new arm definitely seems a bit more agile than her old one, the fine control better as she brushes the artfully-crafted angular fingertips across your nipples, an extra thrill of excitement running through you knowing that she's reading so much about you through her touch, that you're open to her with every brush, every pinch, laid bare before your lover and not just nude.\n\nThose sleek golden fingertips gradually make their way down your belly, warm-cold touch trailing through the light layer of sweat you've developed, the sounds of them both moaning softly into their kiss beside you caressing your ears as Yang's fingers caress your stomach. Biting your lower lip a little, you let your thighs ease apart as that glittering golden hand slides between your legs, strokes gently over your pussylips, mingling the bits of her own arousal with yours as the smooth metal digits slide across your sex, and then the middle one dips inside you.\n\nvrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrm\n\n"Oh shit!" you gasp out, eyes shooting open and hips arching as not just the finger inside you both the others start vibrating, your pussy spasming around the slick golden digit as you're pushed over the edge, your body shaking as your outburst turns into a whimpery moan.\n\n"They had one with and one without," Yang murmurs, her head turned towards you now, a mirror of the smug look you probably had earlier on her face, Blake watching you raptly as you toss your head back and forth gently. "Grey teased me but I figured, what the hell."\n\nShortly thereafter you and Blake are both on your knees above Yang, suckling at her large breasts and rocking back and forth lightly as her fingers pump steadily into you both, purple eyes heavy-lidded as she watches both of the women she loves pleasure her and be pleasured by her. Every so often you lift your head from Yang's nipple to turn and kiss at Blake's shoulder and neck before resuming, and she does the same, abandoning shame and giving in to instinct as she drags her tongue lovingly over your skin, that soft rumble a constant presence in her chest and throat. But eventually she starts sliding her way down and you decide to move up, turning around as you straddle Yang's head and lower your dripping pussy to her waiting mouth, moaning as you feel her tongue start to play over your folds, slip between them, her lips kissing at your lower ones. You want to toss your head, but instead you keep your eyes on Blake tucking hers between Yang's thighs, almost glowing yellow eyes gazing up at both of you as she licks and nips at Yang's folds.\n\nNone of you get a whole lot of sleep that night.\n\nStill, you're young, you're energized, and there's a coffee machine, so it's a fairly perky trio that exits the hotel room in the early morning, Blake still holding a cardboard cup that she sips from as the three of you make your way to the hovertrolley. "That was... amazing," Blake finally comments, smiling as she settles her coffee cup on her thigh.\n\n"Yeah," Yang agrees, eyes twinkling. Then she adds in a teasing tone, "You were missing something, though, weren't you?"\n\n"Um." Blake's cheeks color, and she looks abashed, ears folding down as she looks at her lap guiltily. "No, I don't know what you mean."\n\nYou grin and rub her unoccupied thigh. "Blake, it's okay if you're used to a bit more... penetration," you say after a glance around to make sure no one's nearby. Not that you care, but you know Blake does. \n\n"Iiii don't think either Kai or I mind indulging you in that once we get an opportunity. At all," Yang adds, purple eyes dancing. \n\nBlake looks up at you both, her smile a little sheepish and ears still down, but she gives a small nod. She looks off to the side as you pass a park, eyes no doubt drawn by the small crowd of people, and you see as her ears shoot upright suddenly and her body tenses.\n\n"Blake? What's wrong?" you ask, turning and craning your head back towards the already passing park.\n\n"I... it's nothing," she says quickly, shaking her head. \n\n"It didn't look like nothing, what is it?" Yang prompts, frowning and trying to follow the line of your own gaze.\n\n"It..." Blake squirms uncomfortably, then lets out a sigh. "I thought I saw Adam. I guess I was... sort of thinking of him, considering the subject," she admits, ducking her head again. "And for a second I thought I saw him there in the crowd, wearing a hood and looking at me."\n\n"Hey, it's okay," Yang murmurs, squeezing the other woman against her side a bit. "I admit sometimes I see him too, at night."\n\nBut something doesn't sit right... the intensity of Blake's fear response and the way her eyes focused wasn't like someone seeing a specter of the past. And something else she said bothers you. "Blake, when you looked again, was there another redheaded man in a hood?"\n\n"What? Um... no, I don't think so, he was just gone," Blake replies, tone a bit confused as she shakes her head.\n\n"... Did Adam used to wear a hood a lot?"\n\n"Nnnnooo... he almost never covered his head, I think he thought of his hair as being a sort of... trademark."\n\nFirming your jaw and glancing back, you switch to sends. Then why would you have had a vision of him wearing a hood?\n\n... What? Blake sends back, sucking in a breath as her eyes widen.\n\n-\n\nOkay, Ren, Nora, I need the two of you to start arguing about whether or not we should steal an Atlesian airship in case the base commander is uncooperative. We're gonna loop you out of the mental conversation so you don't get distracted but we'll fill you in afterward.\n\nStealing an airship sounds like a way to get into a lot of very bad trouble, Ren sends back solemnly.\n\nYeah, a really fun way! Nora blurts silently, eyes sparkling.\n\nSee, good, you've already got your sides picked out, get to it, you send, before nudging their psycomms out of the current group conversation and explaining things to the others as the two of them start gently bickering aloud.\n\nAdam's here?! Ruby squeaks mentally.\n\nI saw him... several times, like in the station and on the train, and once before since we got to Argus, Blake admits, lowering her head to hide her shamed expression. But he was always gone the next time I looked so I assumed it was just my mind playing tricks on me. ... Lingering guilt and anger. It wasn't until Kai pointed something out that I realized his appearance didn't track with the image of him I actually have in my mind... I always think of him in that fancy coat of his, with the mask, but he was wearing a hooded jacket, his newer clothes, and a strap of cloth over his eyes. It... has to be the real thing.\n\nHe's probably been with us since Haven, including on the train, you send back, letting Yang rub Blake's back comfortingly as you focus on the issue at hand. If I had to guess, he's been waiting for Blake to be alone.\n\nAnd you think he's listening in on us too, Jaune notes, glancing towards where Ren and Nora seem to have become completely absorbed into their 'fake' argument.\n\nProbably. Listening to us plan, hoping we give him an opening for him to get Blake isolated. Which is why I have an idea. I'm going to use the bastard's own methods against him, and while we're at it, kill two birds with one stone.\n\n-\n\nYou listen to the steady rumble of the waterfall off to one side of you, listening as the roar of it bounces off the walls of the cliff faces mostly surrounding you. Reese built and sent out a drone, deployed while the rest of you were openly discussing your plans to steal an airship and send Blake to sabotage the nearby relay/radar tower, and mapped this as likely the best location for a showdown. Get ready, you send narrowly as you hear the faintest whirr from above, the sound of feet rapidly crunching through bits of snow and pine needles. Blake comes soaring over the edge of the cliff on Lioncub, Reese having insisted on switching the hoverboard's glow panels from green to purple before loaning it to her, Gambol Shroud snapping out with a report and burying its blade in the rock face.\n\n"Always RUNNING AWAY!" Adam bellows from above as Blake swings herself down and onto the rock bridg, kick-flipping the board up and quickly tucking it under her coat as Adam leaps down after her, just brute-force landing in a crouch with one fist slamming to the stone, red Aura crackling around the impact points.\n\n"Cool as it looks, your knees are gonna hate you for that later in life, yanno," Yang comments blandly from opposite you.\n\nAdam whips his head towards her, then over to you as he straightens up. He tries to keep his motions calm as he draws his sword and converts the sheath to rifle mode, shifting a little to cover all three of you as best he can.\n\n"I wasn't running away from you, Adam," Blake says coolly as she transforms Gambol Shroud to sword form. "I was running to them."\n\nYou can see him calculating, trying to figure out how to best turn a situation that's suddenly sized up decidedly against him around. "It's been awhile, blo-" he starts, obviously having decided to focus on Yang.\n\n"How's things been going, Adam?" you cut in, prompting the other two with a mental Now as you start sauntering to the side, Yang settling into an ambling, rolling-shouldered gait while Blake straightens up and walks tall, none of you's eyes ever leaving him. "I notice you're here alone yourself. No White Fang to help. Oh, wait, now your group's called the Red Fang, guess that's something else we all took from you at Haven."\n\nYou can see his uncertainty of where to shift, how to cover all of you, the little microflinches and twitches of his head. "This is a personal matter between me and Blake," he snaps back, a little too fast, without his usual calculation.\n\n"Funny, your whole thing with the Red Fang seems like a personal matter. The attacks on the SDC and Atlas, Beacon, Haven, it was all personal, wasn't it?" you snap back in a derisive tone as you continue to circle him, the other two just silent and ready as they do the same, weapons displayed prominently, giving him danger signs, letting him feel closed in. "But they're not here with you now. On this personal matter."\n\n"Shut up," he growls, jerking a bit to the side to point his rifle at Yang as she moves a bit further. "Stand still."\n\n"Oh, is this bothering you, Adam? Does it bother you to have someone on every side, to not feel like the one in charge?" you snap back, letting some sincere anger bleed into your act. "How's it feel to be on the receiving end for the once, to have someone cut you off, make you feel alone, to read you and throw it in your face? Hey, hey," you continue before he can try to rally and respond, forcing his attention back to you from Blake's moving around him. "I notice, uh, I notice you get especially twitchy whenever one of us moves too far to this side," you add, wiggling two fingers at your own face. "What's the matter? Having a little trouble seeing anyone over there?"\n\nAdam's lips pull back from his teeth, his body almost shaking a little with anger. "You want to see? You want to see?!" The hand holding his sword snaps up and yanks the bandanna covering his eyes free, baring his face. "There! Is that what you wanted, human?!" he barks after it, stabbing his sword in your general direction.\n\nDespite the need to maintain control, you can't help but flinch just a little and mutter "Dragon forgive," as you come to a stop. As Adam whips his head back to face Yang at her stopping as well, you can see her wince just slightly, despite the hate she must have for Adam. The 'SDC' brand pressed over one of his eyes has actually closed it forever, the lid melted together with scar tissue, keeping the letters whole and forever etched in angry red, the area around them pink and smooth to show that the skin caught fire as the brand was worked into his flesh. His remaining pretty blue eye glitters at your responses, at Blake's ears folding down, obviously feeling like he's finally seized control back... but you can see something else there too. Something that just almost looks like shame.\n\n"You said it's personal? Alright. Look at this and tell me it's not personal," he answers evenly, if not a little smugly. "This hurt and it left its mark on me forever... but Blake abandoning me? Running from me, running from everything we'd made, everything we built together? I'd have rather looked at this in the mirror every day than put up with that."\n\nSorry, you send to Blake, not really for what you're about to say, but how you're about to say it. Specifically you force your face into an almost bored, mildly disgusted expression as you fix your gaze right on that horrific injury inflicted on him out of hate and malice and say in your coldest, most disdainful voice, "Oh, boo. Fucking. Hoo."\n\nJust as you'd hoped, it pushes him over the edge, and with a scream of pure rage Adam launches himself at you, the only on without a weapon drawn, the one who took his power from him, his sword drawn back to swing. No Semblance, no art, just fury. The moment he moves Yang's arm snaps up, a click sounding as something raises from between the deployed gun barrels and fires with a p-tn!. Adam's eye goes wide as he suddenly finds his foot yanked backwards, his forward momentum arrested and sending him crashing to the stone on his face, the clamp of Yang's grappling hook yanking him back another foot for good measure. Instantly both you and Blake are leaping forward onto him while he's still stunned, wrestling his weapons out of slightly limp fingers and twisting his arms behind his back, Blake quickly starting to wrap Gambol Shroud's variable ribbon around his wrists.\n\n"Capturing the world-famous terrorist Adam Taurus ought to get us a ride to Atlas, don't you think?" you note with a grunt as you continue to lean on him and keep him pinned. "Yang, make the call."\n\n"What?!" Adam barks as he comes out of his brief daze, his reflexive struggles turning first more purposeful, then panicked as he realizes the two of you have him completely at your mercy. "No! You can't do this! You can't do this to me!" he rages, blue eyes flashing as he tosses his head. "Blake! BLAAAAAKE! You can't DO THIS! You TRAITOR, you TRAITORRRRRRR, you can't hand me to them, you can't hand me to them!" And then the anger starts to crumble, gradually starting to be replaced by something else as he realizes the futility of his struggling. "Blake! Blake, no, you can't, you can't give me to them! Blake, please, not this, don't just hand me over to them, not them, oh God Blake don't, don't, please!" he almost whimpers, before starting to sob.\n\nBlake turns her head away and closes her eyes, clearly ashamed of the tears streaking down her cheeks.\n\n-\n\n"That base commander seemed pretty pleased with the feather in her cap that turning Adam over to the Atlas authorities will be for her career," Qrow comments, arms folded on his thighs as he looks up and out the window of the Manta airship your group is somewhat crowded into. "She practically threw this ride to Atlas Academy at us when we said she could take all the credit for it." He looks over towards the other seats and says, more quietly, "Blake. You okay?"\n\n"I'm fine," she whispers in a voice that's anything but fine, her eyes still fixed on her lap.\n\nThe others give her worried glances, but say nothing, though there are some grins as you and Yang lean in on either side of her, heads resting against hers.\n\nBlake. Talk to us.\n\nIt's us. You can tell us anything.\n\nBlake closes her eyes, ears folding at the tips. She's silent long enough that you think she might refuse, but finally she sends back, The thing is... I do feel like a traitor. Adam and I spent so long fighting the SDC and Atlas, truly believing in what we did, and I still believe in some of what we did, even if it wasn't the right thing. ... I guess that's what it is. I know that most of what we did back then was wrong, but some of it still feels right. This... is the opposite. Turning Adam over to the authorities, letting him be tried in an Atlas court, almost certainly going to prison forever... it's the right thing to do. ... But it feels wrong.\n\n... Sometimes feelings just don't know better, Yang sends back quietly, reaching up to brush gold fingertips over Blake's still slightly damp cheek. Sometimes that's a good thing... like our feelings saying we should all three love each other, when our heads know it will be a lot of trouble. Sometimes... sometimes they call up echoes we know we should have moved past and they coat the things we do now with the way we felt then.\n\nBut we need to move forward now, Blake, you chime in, resting a hand atop hers and squeezing it gently. We need to look away from the past, and remind ourselves of why the right things we do are right. Adam won't hurt any of us again where he's going, and he won't hurt Remnant anymore. That's not a betrayal of what you had together once... it's loyalty to who you are now. As a Huntress. As a defender of this world. Someone who stands between the innocent and evil. Just remember that.\n\nBlake takes in a deep breath, then nods just slightly. I love you both... very much, she whispers silently, a few more tears escaping. Hopefully the last she'll ever cry because of Adam Taurus.\n\nMost of the ride is in silence, until the pilot notes that Atlas is ahead and that anyone who hasn't seen it before might appreciate the view. Most of you rise and move to the windows, as much as you can with this many people, watching the floating city resting steady and unmoving above the crater that it clearly fits into come into view, glimmering and shining even in the midday sun, the city below it a bit more obviously grungy even from this distance. 'I know where I wanna spend my time,' you think to yourself, looking down at Mantle before Weiss murmurs, "Is that... the entire Atlas air fleet?"\n\n"I knew James had called them all back, but... deploying them like that, it's something else," Qrow notes, frowning at the clustered ships ringed around Atlas, looking ready to set out across the world at any moment. "James, what are you doing?"\n\n"Looks like we'll get to ask him," Yang notes as the ship passes over Mantle and approaches the large tower almost at its center, a white-coated man with black hair and a thick beard coming into focus as you approach. \n\nHis expression is warm as he watches all of you start to disembark. "Team RWBY. Team JNPR. Qrow. It's so good to see all of you again, safe and here. Though there are some new faces... and one familiar face that's still new to me. Miss Chloris," he says, stepping forward and offering a hand.\n\n"Uh... you know me?" she says, glancing at the rest of you in confusion even as she shakes his hand.\n\n"I've familiarized myself with every student who was at the Battle of Beacon. If you and Team ABRN don't care to wait for Haven to reopen, you would all be very welcome here at Atlas Academy."\n\n"Wow thanks uh I'll pass that along to Arslan and the guys for sure," Reese answers with a nod. "But right now I'm hanging with another team."\n\n"James, this is Team KACH, they formed up before we left Haven to help us out," Qrow explains. "That's Kai Sterling, the leader, she's... not from around here, but she's been doing a great job. Her plan let us catch Adam and get here. Ilia Amitola, she was a big help at the Battle of Haven, helped disable the bombs that would have destroyed the school and a lot of the city. Reese it seems you know, and that's Grey Heliotrope, mercenary but I guess he's a Huntsman now. Or something."\n\n"I love you too, Qrow," Grey mock-simpers, making a kissy-face at Qrow before both men snort briefly with laughter.\n\n"And this is Oscar... he's, well..." Qrow grins just a little and tilts his head towards the boy.\n\n"So soon?" Ironwood's face actually lights up a bit. "That's... wonderful news!"\n\n"Yeah, well, you haven't heard it all yet. We probably wanna go to your office... and you probably want to sit down."\n\nA bit later Ironwood is sitting leaned back in his chair, turned to one side and staring at the wall, hands steepled in front of his face. "So you're saying that the idea you were setting us up to win... that was the big lie. That you were instead guiding us all in nothing but a... holding action. Everything we've done, merely designed to delay the inevitable."\n\n"Yes. I am sorry, James, I lost faith," Ozma admits, hanging Oscar's head, hands folded on the top of his cane. "But I swear to you, that faith has been renewed. Things have been revealed to me that have changed how I look at this world... existence itself. Things are so much... bigger than I thought they were, or I think the entity in the Relic of Knowledge itself knew. I sincerely believe that we now have a chance, a real chance, to defeat Salem and save this world."\n\n"Even if Salem can't be killed, we know she can be defeated," Ruby chimes in. "She may have won at Beacon, but she lost at Haven. It's still standing, the city is still safe, and we got the artifact, not her. So I think we should fight. I think we should do everything we can to win."\n\n"... Perhaps you're right," Ironwood says slowly, turning his chair back to face all of you. "I've been making inroads of my own. I have plans, plans I'm ready to share with all of you."\n\n"The Winter Maiden? You've got her safe?" Qrow prompts.\n\n"Safe and resting comfortably," Ironwood confirms.\n\n"... Resting comfortably?" Yang echoes, glancing at you and Blake before looking back to the general.\n\n"She's not exactly a spring chicken," Qrow supplies a little tiredly. "Last I heard, it might be... any day now."\n\n"And I've tried to make plans for that. But my front and center plan is this," he notes, withdrawing something slender and white from his jacket and tapping it. The Atlas emblem embedded in the floor raises up, Ruby and Oscar hopping off of it as it splits and opens into something like a table, showing off a holograph of something that looks a bit like an airborne cocoon with a flat top on it.\n\n"Amity Coliseum?" Jaune asks with a thoughtful frown. \n\n"I intend to install a new CCT in it, and from there propel it high into the upper atmosphere, forming a kind of... well, the word is satellite," Ironwood explains as he rises from his desk and moves around to stand with all of you.\n\n"It'd have to be in the atmosphere, considering your orbital conditions," you say with a soft scoff. At Ironwood's curious look, you say, "When Qrow said I wasn't from around here, he meant it. I'll explain later, okay?"\n\n"... Very well. In any event, once the tower is completed and global communications can be restored, I intend... intended... to tell first Atlas, and then the other nations about Salem."\n\n"The fleet's in position ready to deal with the Grimm drawn by the panic, then, huh?" Qrow grunts. "And then deploy to the other kingdoms to do the same there, huh?"\n\n"Correct. Although... with this new information, I'm just not sure now," Ironwood says with a shake of the head. "I don't... want to lie to people anymore, but telling them that the enemy they face is immortal..."\n\n"There's... telling the truth a bit at a time?" Blake suggests slowly, Ironwood turning his head to her. "We could reveal Salem's organization first... the mortal people working for it like Cinder, Mercury, Emerald... without disclosing just yet who's at the head of it. Give people time to adjust and unify before we reveal the rest."\n\n"... It's a possibility," Ironwood allows, nodding, turning troubled blue eyes back to the hologram, and then letting out a sigh. "I had so been looking forward to being done with the lies. In light of that, holding back the truth just... feels wrong, I suppose."\n\nBlake smiles, just a little sadly. "Sometimes doing the right thing feels wrong because it hurts us to do it. We show our strength by doing it anyway."\n\n"... I think you're right," Ironwood allows after a few moments. "Thank you, Blake. Now... I'm glad you're all here, as I said. And, if possible, I'd like to ask you... will you help me? Will you help me complete Amity Tower, and help stabilize Atlas and Mantle to weather the storm that will follow?"\n\n"Of course," Ruby says rather warmly, silver eyes sparkling.\n\n"You can count on us. Uh, sir!" Jaune adds, snapping a somewhat sloppy salute.\n\n"Yeah, well, I'll do it on one condition," you drawl after making a show of thinking it over.\n\n"Yes, Miss Sterling?" Ironwood asks, quirking an eyebrow.\n\n"When's the last time you slept, General?"\n\nHe blinks... then smiles, just a little, as his shoulders sag. "It's... been awhile."\n\n"Then I'll stick around and help on the condition that tonight, you knock off early, go home, eat a full meal, and get eight hours." Your mouth quirks up on one side. "I'm a former merc too and I've been attached to a few militaries. Nobody does their best when the leader's exhausted."\n\n"... That's done, then," Ironwood says, giving you an almost grateful smile. "As for the rest of you, you've got a good half day left. May I suggest you settle in our dorms here at the academy, and then head to a design room. Start putting in orders for weapon and armor upgrades... may as well make some use of all that money we put into this place. I'll have my best man at work on your upgrades by the end of the day, and in a few days you should be ready to start helping us secure the site for Amity Tower's construction."\n\n"Ooo, dorms!" Ruby squeals, clearly excited. Then she hops back and forth. "Ummmm... which way do we go from outside your office?"\n\n"I've called a pair of my best people up to show you the way," Ironwood assures her, dark blue eyes actually dancing a little now as he says, "I think you'll be familiar with them."\n\nAs the group (leaving behind Oscar) exits the office, there's a sudden shout of "SAL-U-TATIONS!" and a surprised yelp from Ruby as she's tackled from the side, driven to the floor with a ginger on top of her.\n\n"P-Penny!" Ruby squeaks in a mixture of shock and delight, the android nuzzling their cheeks together looking older and taller than she was in the videos you saw of Vytal, her orangey hair longer and fuller, her legs now black and more blatantly artificial from the thighs down. "You're alive!"\n\n"Indeed she is," comments another voice, far more even and prim, along with the clack of heels on the tile floor, a uniformed woman with her white hair drawn up in an austere bun stopping and glancing down. "And has been informed any number of times that 'ballistic hugs' are not to be performed. Ever."\n\n"Apologies!" Penny chirps in an entirely non-apologetic voice, instantly leaping to her feet and snapping a salute, then without looking reaching down and yanking Ruby to her feet.\n\n"Winter!" Weiss cries happily, rushing forward to throw her arms around her sister.\n\nWinter clearly looks surprised, and a bit awkward at that, but melts a little and lowers her head slightly, bringing a hand up to place it on the back of Weiss's. "... It is good to see you safe," she says quietly, before stepping back and looking at the rest of you. "Team RWBY. Team JNPR. And I understand from the note the general sent that you are Team KACH."\n\n"Nice to meet you," you say pleasantly, since you don't feel the need to impress her or downplay it either.\n\n"Mm. The general has asked that you all be assigned dorm rooms, and then given full access to the design room. ... I," she says slowly. "Have also been ordered to take the night off. Apparently," she says with a little frown.\n\nWeiss's eyes light up. "Winter, why don't you come out with us once we've got our things put away and used the design room? We can all go out to dinner and talk. I... have a lot I want to tell you about all that's happened."\n\n"... I..." Winter hedges, looking uncertain, which she clearly isn't used to.\n\n"Aw, c'mon, Winter," Qrow says, flashing her a grin. "Tell you what. I will be a perfect gentleman tonight, and if I'm not, you can give me a free sock in the jaw. How's that sound?"\n\nWinter stares at him for a long moment... then lets out a snort and comes very close to smiling. "Like a bet." Then she blinks, putting her fingertips to her mouth as if not having realized she was going to say it. She clears her throat and straightens her shoulders. "But very well, I know of a restaurant that can accommodate large groups and is nearby. While all of you are tending to more important matters, I suppose I will make a dinner reservation. But remember, keep your minds on your work, and not impending levity," she pre-scolds. "When your upgrades are complete, you will begin working with the Ace Ops, the most elite Huntresses and Huntsmen in Atlas. I will expect all of you to try and catch up to them," she adds coolly, but with a look that's just vaguely maybe bordering on pride as she sweeps her gaze over Team RWBY, before turning and walking off.\n\n"The dorms are this way, dear friends!" Penny announces, pointing off, Ruby chattering to her excitedly as you all set off.\n\n"Hey, Grey, hey man," Qrow says as he ambles in a bit closer. "You've got some nice shirts tucked away in that jacket of yours or something, right?"\n\n"Dammit, Qrow," Grey says with a sigh, rolling his eyes, then pointing. "Okay but I want it laundered before it comes back, and not by you. And from now on buy your own damn semi-formal wardrobe, you're a grown-ass man."\n\n"Got any ideas on what to do to Lightning Lash, Rainbow?" you ask cheerfully, patting a hand on Ilia's shoulder... and blinking as her specks turn just a bit dark red. A tone you recognize as anger, not embarrassment. Rainbow? You okay?\n\nM'fine, she grunts back silently.\n\n... Is it working with Atlas?\n\nNo.\n\nIs it going to dinner with a Schnee?\n\nNo.\n\n... Is it that I have two girlfriends and you don't have one yet?\n\n... Ilia's specks darken a bit further into red, though a few of them also turn pink as she puffs her cheeks out in annoyance.\n\nGrinning sheepishly, you rub her shoulder a little. Sorry, Rainbow, didn't really plan on it, just happened.\n\nS'fine. I'm just being stupid. I'm not mad-mad, just... y'know, Ilia sends back, letting out a sigh, some of the color in her specks leaving as she does. \n\nYou're gonna find someone. You stop outside the room Penny indicated as Team Kach's new quarters and draw her into a hug. I may be in love with Yang and Blake, but you'll always be my best girl. Promise.\n\nThe red finally drains out of her specks, replaced by a light orange as she hugs you back. Thanks, Kai. I guess I knew it, but... it helps to hear it.\n\nAfter putting away what you have in the way of baggage, you follow the others into the design room, which has an outer edge and several inner rows of what look like flat-topped tables. You hang back just a bit, watching Ruby place Crescent Rose on one of the tables and tap some commands, a sweep of green passing back and forth over the lit surface before it projects a colorless hologram replica of the weapon in the air above. 'Neat,' you think, watching her work the controls for a minute, then blink as Weiss brings up a hologram of what looks very much like a dress. "Uh... armor?"\n\n"Yes, of course, metal filaments woven together with Gravity Dust and bonded with a layer of Ice Dust I can use to help empower my Semblance," Weiss answers primly, before plucking at her current dress. "Did you think this was just a dress?"\n\n"... Yeah?" you answer, tilting your head.\n\n"... Kai, have you been... fighting in normal clothes this whole time?" Blake says slowly, turning towards you with a mildly horrified look on her face.\n\n"... Yyyyeah?"\n\n"Oh my god," Yang whispers, putting her head in her hands briefly, before grabbing your hand and pulling you over to one of the tables. "Honey no, let's get you some actual armor-clothes made before this relationship gets more conventional in an unpleasant way."\n\n"Okay, okay!" you allow, grinning some at her and Blake's concern for you as they thump you down at one of the stations. Actually... you guys wanna be one of those couples?\n\nYang and Blake exchange a glance... then look at you. What are you thinking?\n\nJust a nice thought. Little bit of a statement.\n\nEventually the group meets back up that evening in the main entry hall of Atlas Academy, a steady stream of students moving either in or out, most still in uniform. At first you think Winter is too, but after a second you realize that her off-duty clothes of a frilly white blouse and silver-blue vest are just so much like her uniform that it's almost impossible to tell. She almost-smiles at the sight of all of you coming, then raises one slender white eyebrow. "Well. You look only about half as disreputable as usual," she comments to Qrow, who's actually shaved and put on one of Grey's nice pale grey formal shirts. \n\n"Winter, nice to see you," he rasps, but without any hint of sarcasm, putting a hand to his shoulder and bowing a bit.\n\nWinter blinks at that. "Oh. Um. ... You... as well?" she replies, as if confused, before quickly clearing her throat and gesturing. "In any event, shall we?"\n\nThe restaurant isn't terribly fancy, but it's definitely upscale. If you had to guess, you'd bet Winter brings her trainees here for congratulatory dinners or something... she didn't seem the type at first, but you're starting to wonder if maybe the sisters are more alike than they seem. Winter definitely seems to be mildly flustered by Qrow being on his best behavior, peeking over at him occasionally as if waiting for him to order a boilermaker or proposition the waitress, but he continues to be polite, if not quite entirely elegant. Towards the end of the evening they're even able to have a short conversation without snapping at each other or snarking, which to judge by Ruby and Weiss's faces is not something they expected to happen tonight either.\n\n"Seeing as how I've been ordered to get at least eight hours of sleep tonight, I suppose I should bid you all goodnight," Winter says as the group leaves the restaurant. She gives Weiss that faint hint of a smile, putting a hand on her shoulder. "I'll be seeing you soon. We'll work on training together." Then she turns to regard Qrow. "It's been... nice," she says, sounding both sincere and deeply confused about that fact.\n\n"Good evening, Winter," he responds with a bob of the head. The moment she's walked off to hail a taxi, he lets out a long breath and slumps his shoulders. "Whew. Well that was a pain." Then he blinks as Weiss steps up in front of him.\n\n"Thank you," she says quietly.\n\n"What for? I was just throwing her off her-" He cuts off with a blink as she hugs him.\n\n"You did that for me, so she'd come with us. Thank you."\n\n"... Yeah, don't mention it, kid," he says fondly, grinning down at her.\n\nSeveral days later, you make your way to the dropship that will be delivering all three teams and the Ace Ops to the Dust mine that will become the modification and launch site for Amity Tower. Red Legacy is already at your hip, only having gotten a tuneup and some new and more top-of-the-line servos to improve its transformation, work Reese could do herself with the parts that were on hand at the academy. The case in your hand contains your new secondary weapon, though, and your new armor, Niobe's coat only having been modified with a new armored lining of iridescent red under the same old black exterior. When asked for your emblem to mark the case as yours, you had to admit you didn't have one... until Blake stepped forward with her suggestion, meaning that it's marked with the image of a lion's head wearing a crown.\n\nStanding in front of the drop ship are five people in white, obviously Atlas military uniforms albeit altered a bit for each of them's style. The fair-skinned man with almost buzzed brown hair at the lead of them steps forward, offering his hand to Ruby, Jaune, and yourself in turn. "Clover Ebi, leader of the Ace Operatives. Vine Zeki, Elm Edern, Harriet Bree, Marrow Amin," he continues, indicating in turn a tall, gaunt man with an almost shaven head and even paler skin than Weiss, his uniform accessorized with a red sash and several strands of beads, an almost equally tall but far more muscular tan-skinned woman, a short brown-skinned woman with a two-tone fauxhawk, and a dark-skinned man with dark green hair and a fluffy grey canine tail emerging from between the tails of his coat. "I'm aware of all your names, General Ironwood's assured me of your competence and we look forward to working with you."\n\n"Sir," you greet with a nod. "What are our team designations today?" \n\nClover's green eyes dance a bit with what you think might be approval before he says, "We'll go with your team names for today, save for myself and Qrow Branwen, we'll be Alpha team. General Ironwood has said he'd like us to round out your teams with our members, but we're to assist you up until the point we need to step in and take the lead, so make sure to show us what you can do. This mission is important, but more than that, we want to get a sense of your strengths. And your weaknesses," he allows with a bob of the head. "After this, we'll begin training you into being the best Huntsmen and Huntresses you can with our, and Atlas's, assistance. Vine and Elm will be accompanying JNPR, Harriet with RWBY, and Marrow with KACH. Sound good?"\n\n"Yes sir," you answer crisply, Jaune and Ruby both hurrying to echo you with varying degrees of success.\n\n"Alright, now everyone get aboard and claim a prep room. We'll have some time in the air so if anyone needs to shave, wash up, whatever, do it now because once we've landed we will be on-site until the job is done, whether that's hours or days. Everyone familiarized themselves with the mine map?" At the leaders' nods, he returns the gesture. "Then prepare for an audio briefing in the air."\n\nYou're pretty comfortable talking like they do, Kai, Jaune observes over mental teamspeak as all of you file into rooms. \n\nYou shrug out of Niobe's coat and hang it up, opening the case and looking over the folded armorcloth garments and the pair of silver bracers set into the padding, tops each set with a pair of recessed spikes and a low opening at the top. Comes from being in the Guild. It's not always quirky solo adventures, sometimes you're being hired to fill out military teams or working with other mercs who are former military and still keep the command structure. Trust me, it will help them learn to respect us if we show we're willing to adapt to their way of doing things at least that much. Just follow my lead, learn the lingo from context, and don't say more than necessary, you'll catch on in no time. Otherwise do what you do how you do it and let's show 'em that we're not just kids from the sticks.\n\n"Atlesian rank and file Huntsman are already on the ground clearing tundra Grimm before our arrival," Clover announces over the loudspeakers as you get ready. "By the time we get to the mine the surrounding area should be clear, leaving primarily subterranean Grimm and some nesting aerial Grimm on the upper reaches. Clear as many as you can as you go, but our primary target is a Geist the sweeper team encountered. When confronted by enough force, it retreated into the mine... self-preservation instinct means it's old, which means it's also probably canny, which is not a good quality in any Grimm but especially in this variety. We destroy the Geist, our mission for today is considered complete... Amity Coliseum can be brought in and further securing of the site can proceed at a regular pace. Now, one of the reasons this Dust mine was chosen was that it's abandoned, but not played-out... there's still a significant amount of Dust left, which we'll need for Amity Tower's construction and launch, so check your line of fire and be cautious about using any explosives."\n\nEventually you emerge, giving the braid you put in the front of your hair a little flick. Then you blink as Jaune emerges from a nearby room, unable to help laughing a little. "Boy what have you done?"\n\n"Oh, uh, you don't like it?" Jaune grins sheepishly, having cut his hair a bit shorter and then apparently spiked it back, giving it an appearance somewhere between Reese's fringe and Yang's wild mane. \n\n"What, you tryna steal me away from my Firebird?" you tease a bit more, before laughing again as he blushes. "Nah, I'll get used to it, Arc, no problem. Oh, right," you add, digging in your pocket and proffering the ponytail tie. "Kept forgetting."\n\n"No, you keep it." He smiles warmly at you in return. "I think it's nice that all three team leaders are wearing something of hers... helps me remember she's here."\n\nYou think briefly of the red sash Ruby always wears, and smile some as you pull your hair back into a low ponytail to fasten it again. "Thanks, Jaune." Then you laugh and flit a hand. "Go show Nora that shit, she's gonna love it!"\n\nYou turn and make your way to the hatch where the rest of your team is deployed. Ilia's left the long black coat you bought her back on the Guildhall unaltered, but switched out her short-legged black bodysuit for one with full legs and no sleeves, the color the closest you've ever seen to 'iridescent black', shimmery and deep with lack-of-color color. Grey apparently decided to be a bit of a fashion plate, modifying his own coat into a long dark grey thing with a high collar, and making an armorweave white formal shirt with no top buttons and classy-looking black belt, pants, and shoes. Reese has switched her purple hoodie out for a black one with her green skull emblem glowing on the front, the pattern replicated on the purple metal harness to which Lioncub is clipped, matching purple gauntlets covering her forearms and the tops of her hands and palms, the boots knee-high and somewhat resembling Penny's legs.\n\n"Hey, have a talk with the cute robit?" you ask her as you approach, grinning.\n\n"If by 'talk' you mean I proposed marriage," Reese says with a snicker. "Buuut I think she's got someone else on her mind, innocent metal cutie that she is. Still, we had a good talk about tech. By the way, looking good, boss."\n\nYou grin, winking at her. You decided to go with something not too unlike your old outfit, the top just coming down to right above your bellybutton, the front layered with thin gleaming silver plates formed over your chest and stomach as well as your shoulders and arms under the coat, leaving gaps for the new bracer-weapons. The bottoms are almost unaltered (other than now being made of armorweave), save that you designed a stylish pair of silver armored boots and decided to wear a pair of white, not-too-snug short-shorts over them. "Thanks. It lifts and separates, y'know."\n\n"Lucky," Ilia says with a bit of a pout.\n\n[[Music|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbOutnrU_VY]]\n\n"Alright, teams, this will be an aerial deployment, so plan accordingly," Clover's voice announces even as the hatch slides open, to show the ground whipping by very far below. "Approaching site now."\n\n"So 'prepare for aerial deployment' means 'in the ten seconds you have after we tell you it's an unaided aerial deployment'," you observe in an amused tone. \n\n"That's being a Huntress for you, I guess," Grey scoffs, steely eyes nevertheless twinkling. "After you."\n\n"Oh no, after yoooou."\n\n"After meeee!" Ilia declares with a laugh as she suddenly flings herself out of the airship, backwards swan-diving out the opening with all the confidence in the world. Apparently she's over her sulks.\n\n"Well, after her, I guess," Grey says with a light laugh, saluting you and Reese with two fingers before turning and jumping out as well.\n\nReese steps up to the hatch, a few small panls on her boots moving as she gives the gauntlets one last adjustment. "Need any help getting down boss?"\n\n"Nah, I'm good," you assure her with a grin, giving her a light slap on the spandex-clad ass. (Or you guess it's armorweave.) "Go, have fun."\n\n"Yes'm!" she chirps happily before hauling a pair of green-lensed goggles down over her eyes and diving out headfirst, already twisting into the wind to fall towards the site.\n\n"Whew. Still amazing what the hell I've gotten myself into," you murmur, shaking your head. Then you just grin and step up to th hatch. "C'mon, Sterling, time to follow your own advice. Have fun."\n\nAnd then you jump out of a perfectly good airship. \n\nSpreading your arms out, you let the wind catch you a bit and slow you as your coat flap around you, feeling calm and confident. Below you, you can see Ilia already slinging Lightning Lash around an abandoned piece of equipment to swing in, Grey simply hard-braking with a flare of Aura several times in the midst of his fall. Reese certainly seems to be following your advice, having fun with banking and twisting, Lioncub separating on her back, not into twin pistols but a pair of short thruster-wings that flare and trail green through the sky as she adjusts course with bursts of the hoverpads on her palms. You look off to the side at the sound of Crescent Rose firing, grinning at the sight of Team RWBY making their way down, Weiss rebounding off numerous rune circles, Yang firing Blaze Celica to adjust course and arrest her momentum, Blake copying Ilia's move. You look off to the side at Nora just outright riding Magnhild down with a savage squeal of glee, Ren banking in so that he can utilize Stormflower's new launchable blades to follow in Ilia and Blak's footsteps, and Jaune... well, he's falling with style using his shield's new energy shield extensions, give him that.\n\nGrinning, you extend the gun barrels that used to belong to your long-unused quickfire pistols, switching them to Gravity Dust rounds and chattering one side of Inferno Panther, sending yourself into a barrel off to the side and giving yourself a clear avenue of approach from the others. And maybe a few more spins and banks just for fun. As you make your final approach you retract the gun barrels and fire out the kunai-like attached blades, the silvery variable ribbons attached trailing after as they strike into the side of a building, turning your hands to grip them and haul, using a bit of Stupid Aura Tricks to redirect your momentum, twisting around and coming into a skid landing, retracting the variable ribbons and their kunai back into place. \n\n"You are entirely overarmed, Red," Grey notes with a grin as he strides by to join the rest.\n\n"It's the merc in me, I can't help but want options," you reply with a snicker, hurrying to meet up, and taking just a moment to take in the look of the others. Ren and Nora's changes seem mostly minor cosmetic and functional upgrades, same for Jaune and Ruby, who have mostly just tweaked their looks a little. Weiss has made herself a new Dust dress in Mistralian style, high-necked and sleeveless with the sides cut all the way up to her waist, worn over a shimmery white bodysuit, her hair braided into a 'crown' atop her head that's been set with little metal spikes that have Dust crystals set in them.\n\nAnd, of course, there's Blake and Yang. Their base armor is nearly identical to yours, Yang's featuring gold metal plates, Blake's made of purple-trimmed black pseudoleather, Yang with yellow shorts and Blake with purple. Yang's jacket is bomber-style and lined with fur up top and brown pseudoleather outside, but is full length like you and Blake's, the feline Faunus's white like her old on. Blake's hair has been brushed out and done in a long braid behind her, save for a shorter braid falling to one side of her face, a similar one in Yang's wild golden hair.\n\n"Oh my lord, seriously?" Weiss says as she sees the three of you all together, rolling her eyes.\n\n"Awwwww, I think it's cuuuute!" Ruby coos, she and Nora briefly going cheek-to-cheek to eyesparkle together.\n\n"Yeah, yeah, we did it just to annoy you guys," you assert with a grin. "C'mon, now, focus, here come the adults."\n\n"Nice landings, everyone," Clover says as he and the other Ace Ops approach, Qrow ambling over as well wearing his new shirt and vest. "Alright, you've got your team assignments. Qrow and I will head to tunnel 3C, JNPR to 2B, KACH 1A, and RWBY I want you making your way up to landing pad AA. Watch out for aerial Grimm, then make your way directly down to the main chamber. Everyone got your maps and understand your assignments?"\n\n"Sir," you acknowledge in the affirmative, Ruby and Jaune saying it very close to in sync with you.\n\nLooking approving again, Clover nods and gestures. "Alright, people, mission is go, let's find the primary target and take it out."\n\nTaking just a moment, you step over to Blake for a kiss on the cheek, then doing the same for Yang. "Take care of each other, 'kay?"\n\n"We always do," Yang assures you, purple eyes twinkling as she winks at you. "Take care of yourself and the rest, too, okay?"\n\n"I'll get it done," you assure her in turn, before stepping back and giving a 'group up' twirl of a finger then pointing at the main entrance. "Marrow, take lead, Reese and I on flank, Grey and Ilia bring up the rear."\n\n"So uh... which of them are you, y'know?" Marrow asks with a glance over the shoulder at you.\n\nYou smirk at him. "Yes."\n\n"... Oh. ... Wow, seriously? That's..." His tail droops. "Soooo unfair."\n\nFrom behind you Ilia snorts. "Yeah tell me about it."\n\n"Alright, we're heading up the main tunnel, but that doesn't mean we've got a straight shot," Marrow says as you actually start walking inside the large ice-edged stone passage. "The main tunnel was where the worst of the collapse happened, so we're gonna hafta take it slow and find the paths the rescue teams used."\n\n"... The collapse, huh?"\n\nSomething about the tone of Ilia's voice makes you stop, realizing you can't hear her boots anymore. Then a chill that has nothing to do with the cold Mantellian air flits across your skin as you turn to look at her where she's staring at the Schnee Dust Company name and the mine's name on the wall, both scored with smoke and carbon, ice encroaching around them. "Oh Dragon, Ilia, seriously?" you whisper, looking between her and it.\n\n"Yeah. That shot was on the news that day a lot... just with more smoke around it. And people running past," Ilia says quietly, blue eyes fixed on it.\n\n"Did you... lose someone?" Grey asks, perhaps for the first time parsing that Ilia's a Faunus. You can see his almost grey blue eyes track up and down her before he winces. "Parents?" he ventures gently.\n\n"Yeah. Both of them," Ilia acknowledges. "I was in school when it happened. ... An all-human school in Atlas," she adds, looking down.\n\n"Oh geez. Um, hey, if you're not up to this, you could maybe go back to the forward base? I'm sure Clover would understand, I'll explain thi-" He cuts off as you hold up a finger to him, then step up to Ilia.\n\nYou cup your hands on her cheeks, tilting her head up to look at you. "He's right. You don't have to," you say softly, before tilting your head forward a bit. "But we both know you should. We both know why."\n\n"... You're right," she answers, taking a deep breath and squaring her shoulders a bit under her coat. I'm not going to let this place rule the rest of my life, she sends directly to you, before giving her coat a light flap on one side and speaking aloud again. "Let's kick this mine's ass."\n\nThe five of you set off again, and soon just to fill the silence you ask, "The briefing didn't say, what sort of Grimm other than the Geist are we looking at down here, Marrow?"\n\n"Oh right, I was told you were kinda not local. In tunnels like this, in this part of the tundra? Mostly Centinels."\n\n"What, like the big robots from the comic?"\n\n"No. ... Man that is confusing though, isn't it? No, they're an insectoid Grimm, like big centipedes."\n\n"Oh, Skitters," Ilia says. At Marrow's glance she shrugs. "That's what we called them in the... well, the White Fang," she admits. "I used to be a member before I met Kai and decided I'd rather be a Huntress."\n\nMarrow looks suspicious for a moment, then glances around, and you're pretty sure he mutters 'Can't imagine WHY' sarcastically under his breath before he apparently decides to move on. "They usually come in groups of between six and a dozen, maybe eighteen if you get a big clump. Vibrations bring them out for the most part, so be careful, you're likely to step on on before you see it when it comes out of the floor. ... Welp, there's our first problem," he says as he comes to a stop at a massive rock that's dropped from the ceiling to block the path. "At least no Grimm so far."\n\n"Fan out, let's look for a path past. If what Marrow said is right, they must have made a path to evac people after the collapse," you order, heading forward to look at the rock itself. "Could we blast it out of the way?"\n\n"Pretty sure I could break it with a properly applied Gravity Dust blast," Reese says as she joins you, hands on her hips and staring up at it. "Assuming the tunnel beyond is clear it doesn't look like it's supporting any weight but if it's got more debris behind it leaned on it breaking up the big one could collapse it all back on us. Probably bring a bunch of Skitternels if they're disturbed by vibrations though."\n\n"Kai," Grey calls from the side, peering down a narrow, dark tunnel, looking over to the rest of you as you approach. "It looks like they bored out an evac path to the side of it through the weaker stone, but it's iced over and too narrow now, it's gonna hafta be Ilia or Reese that goes to confirm if we've got clearance."\n\n"I'll go," Ilia immediately speaks up. "If I keep calm and stealth myself, any Grimm will have a hard time seeing me, it's safer. When I get over I'll comm back if the tunnel's clear."\n\n"Okay, go," you answer, gesturing to the path. Inky blackness steals over Ilia's skin and hair, coating everywhere but the whites of her eyes, and you notice her shimmery bodysuit changes color perfectly to match. She slips off down the path, footsteps nearly silent and the rest of her body steady and barely moving.\n\n"I've got a bead on her going," Grey murmurs, peering into the darkness of the tunnel. "All good so far. ... She stopped at the end," he says with a frown.\n\nIlia? you send.\n\nThe Geist. It's right here, Ilia sends back, even her mental voice obviously straining to be calm. It's sort of... looking at me.\n\nIlia, you send back, keeping your own mind calm as you gesture for Reese to get ready, her gauntlets' glowing panels changing from green to purple. Can you see if the tunnel on the other side of the boulder is clear?\n\n... Just barely... yes.\n\nAlright, dive... "NOW!" you snap out both mentally and verbally, whipping two fingers downward. Reese immediately steps forward, slamming her palms against the face of the stone, sending a network of cracks all through it and blasting an opening directly ahead. Weapons drawn you all rush through, Ilia scrambling back to join you.\n\n"There!" she calls, pointing at a flicker of black in the air... as lengths of bone-and-black insectile figures start bursting from the frosted stone between you and it.\n\n"Dammit," you hiss, snapping a hand up to your ear. "This is KACH, we had eyes on target in 1A but we're being detained by secondaries." Dropping your hand back to Red Legacy, you change it to shooting mode and raise it in one hand, deploying Inferno's gunbarrel. "Marrow, Reese, let's suppress and clear, Grey and Ilia down the middle and clean 'em up." Firing repeatedly with Red Legacy's gun and chattering the bracer's small-caliber full auto in the same line, Lioncub's twin reports and Marrow's rifle start ringing out as well. Grey and Ilia both rush down the middle, Ilia laying about her with Lightning Lash and shocking any Centinels that strike at her or Grey, while the older Faunus, his arms now entirely sheathed in silvery, bladed armor hacks and slashes through any of the ones she's stunned or any that comes at him.\n\nBetween the five of you the Centinels only last a matter of seconds, the tunnel clear. You jog forward, staring down the tunnel, then huffing and tapping your earpiece again. "KACH, confirmed, primary target lost, no bearing. Please report in status."\n\n"JNPR, we've encountered secondaries but no sign of primary target, proceeding down 2B."\n\n"This is RWBY! Oh, um, we encountered a massive aerial secondary and have just defeated it, proceeding down access tunel. No sign of primary target!"\n\nYou wait a moment, then frown, "Alpha team please confirm status."\n\nThen you wince at the sound of Clockwork Dirge's shotgun blasts going off almost in your ear, Clover's voice almost drowned out by it. "This is Alpha, we have engaged the target, all teams converge on our position."\n\n"KACH, copied, converging," you call as you set off at a fast jog, the others quickly following in. But a moment later:\n\n"Target escaped. Last seen heading east."\n\n"Understood," you reply, bringing up a small map of the mine on the new holoscroll that came with your upgrades. "That will put it on track to head to subsidiary chamber D to the side of the main chamber. JNPR, you're the closest, try to alter course and flush it into the main chamber if possible. RWBY, what's your ETA on main chamber?"\n\n"Harriet says maybe two minutes if we book it."\n\n"Book it."\n\n"JNPR confirm."\n\n"RWBY confirm!"\n\n"Alpha confirm."\n\nYour group continues through the main chamber, occasionally dealing with smaller groups of Centinels as they burst out of the walls and floor. Ahead you can see a faint multicolored glow, and have to fight to keep your jaw from dropping. The main chamber is lit up like a particularly massive festival, massive smooth stalactites of Ice Dust, glittering crimson veins of Fire Dust skittering across the walls, jagged yellow lines of Lightning dust bursting from the rocks, and probably a half a dozen others, including at least one oversized mine cart entirely full of dense clusters of Gravity Dust.\n\n"Aw shit," you whisper to yourself, before reaching up to tap your earpiece. "This is KACH, be advised main chamber is displaying an extremely large amount of bare Dust veins and unshielded shipments." At a mental send from Reese you add, "The ambient energy is thick in here, we'll need to stick to melee as much as possible."\n\n"Understood, KACH, RWBY inbound in ten seconds."\n\nThen there's a cry over the comms. "Kai! It's really bad!" Jaune's voice calls in your ear, obviously too flusterd at the moment to remember barely-learned military etiquette. But at least he's remembering to use his earpiece, his actual voice reaching you as he and the others dash out of the tunnel, followed by the cobbled-together boulders and debris of the Geist's body, a single-eyed mask resting on the massive ice-boulder serving as its main body. "It's incorporated Dust into its body!" he adds, your eye snapping to the orangey-purple glowing crystals now threaded through pieces of the golem-like form.\n\n"Dammit! All teams be advised, primary target has gone volatile! Reese, analysis!"\n\n"That color, it's... I'm not 100% sure from this distance, but the readings look like it's probably taken from the joining of a Fire Dust and Gravity Dust vein!"\n\n"Understood, KACH, fall back and let Ace Ops handle it from here," Clover's voice sends back.\n\nYou frown some, but you can't exactly claim he hasn't extended plenty of trust up to this moment. "Understood, KACH standing down. Marrow, get down there with your team."\n\nMarrow's teeth flash in a grin, and he gives you a salute with two fingers before vaulting over the railing and down to the main floor. \n\n"Elm!" Vine calls from the position he's taken up, stretching out one of the energy tendrils he's formed over his arms and wrapping it around the Geist's leg, shooting the other out to grab hold of a support beam, restraining the Grimm before it can get any further into the chamber. Answering his call, the large barefoot woman charges forward, planting her feet (literally, green energy resembling roots appearing around them) and gripping the ice-and-girder limb, taking over restraining its mobility.\n\n"Vine!" she calls out, Vine immediately releasing his grip and instead flipping and launching himself through the air, taking to one of the minecart paths above and slinging an energy hand out to grab the long girder serving as one of the monster's hands, hauling on it until the Geist's rubble-and-debris body stretches to the point of revealing shadowy connections between the pieces.\n\n"Marrow!" Vine directs, the canine Faunus almost ambling into position as he converts his rifle back to boomerang mode, drawing it back and slinging it towards the extended limb, the weapon slicing through one of the shadowy tendrils, separating it from the main body as it literally starts to go to pieces... as well as sending the bit of orangey-purple Dust it had attached to part of its arm flying through the air. Marrow's eyes widen, but just then he spots Team RWBY appearing in the tunnel above.\n\nThe canine Faunus's fingers snap up to his ear. "Harriet!" Almost instantly the elite Huntress's pink eyes snap to the Dust crystal, and she crouches briefly before taking off in a literal blur, lightning crackling in her path as she races down the slope of one of the minecart tracks and throws herself into a sideways twisting leap, catching the crystal and landing with it tucked in against her side like a playground ball.\n\nThe trio of ace operatives make several more passes at the Grimm, trying to extend its limbs so Marrow can cut them free. But one of his throws sends a Dust crystal spiraling through the air, everyone too caught in the show to react more than sucking in a breath... until it lands firmly and easily in Clover Ebi's palm, the smiling Huntsman giving it a gentle toss as he settles it. "What would you guys do without me," he murmurs with gentle good humor, tossing the crystal to Qrow behind him before leaping forward off the edge of the tier he's on.\n\n"Reese, are you getting this?" you ask as the quintet of elite fighters harry and provoke the Grimm, bit by bit chipping the Dust off of it and catching it to tuck off to the side. \n\n"Ohhh yeah every bit I am definitely watching this in private later," the green-haired Huntress chirps cheerfully, reaching up to adjust her goggles a bit.\n\n"Good because we are stealing all this shit," you reply with a wolfish grin, your gaze tracking to Yang and Blake where they're watching as well, purple eyes hot and intent, yellow eyes calculating and attentive.\n\nClover flings himself through the air as Harriet lures the Geist into swinging its main body forward and out, the line of his fishing pole style weapon curling through the air, the thin metal cable coiling around the Grimm's mask. With a little burst of Aura, Clover twists in midair and flings his body against the line, bellowing dramatically as he hauls the Grimm forward and out of its body of garbage and Dust. Without needing to be prompted, Harriet flings herself up at speed, the exoskeleton that had snapped into place around her arms and legs at the start of the battle whirring as she snaps a hard uppercut into the Geist's mask, smashing it and dissipating the shadowy Grimm near-instantly. Its body staggers and starts coming apart, the Ace Ops flinging themselves into action, snatching up pieces of Explosion Dust while they're still in the air, having most of them in hand before the huge ice rock of the main body even hits the floor. \n\nBut one piece was knocked particularly far, hurtling all the way to the other side of the chamber. "Harriet!" Clover snaps, some actual tension in his voice as he calls out the command and the slender girl takes off. And you can see why.\n\n"She's not gonna make it!" Reese calls what you've already figured out.\n\nAnd then there's a swirl and a flutter of rose petals, a flash of twirling red cloth that snatches the Dust out of the air inches above the floor, Ruby thumping back into herself as she hits, then smiles just a bit sheepishly as she nevertheless raises the Dust above her head triumphantly.\n\n"Whew," you huff out, mentally sending, Nice save, Ruby. Okay guys, let's join up, you add, leaping over the railing and rolling to your feet on the main floor, heading towards the group.\n\nYou can see Harriet having a short conversation with Ruby as she helps the younger woman to her feet, then takes the head-sized Explosion Dust crystal from her. Everyone converges into a loose group near what remains of the Geist's cobbled-together golem body, Clover taking a look around. "Good work everyone, Ace Ops and new recruits both. Most of that was skill, but a bit of it was luck." He grins and thumbs the cloverleaf-shaped medal on his chest. "You're welcome. We're also lucky that there's this much Dust still left, because we're going to need it for the Amity Tower plan." He taps his ear. "Atlas Control, this is Clover. Mission accomplished." Then he looks back to the rest of you. "Alright, let's make our way back up to the main staging site, I think the general had something he wanted to say to you. I have a few things to say too, later. Don't worry, they're all good," he adds with a wink, before turning and ambling off, the rest of his team following behind him.\n\n"He's quite a guy," you note, grinning and resting your hands on your hips. "I think he may be the second authority figure I've actually liked."\n\n"Yeah, he's... something," Qrow says with an almost rueful shake of the head and a grin.\n\n"That was soooo good!" Ruby declares, beaming at Qrow as she returns, then turns to jog off after the Ace Ops. Just as she does, the main body of the dead Geist settles a bit in place, a cracked part of the ice crumbling in the aftermath of the pounding it took. A single shard of Explosion Dust the size of three fingers drops free, hitting the floor once in Qrow's direction, before bouncing in Ruby's as it starts to shimmer and crack.\n\nTink. Tink.\n\nYou don't even remember throwing yourself forward. You don't remember the explosion. All you know is that your world is pain and everything is slipping away from you very fast.\n\n"Kid! KID!" Qrow screams in anguish.\n\nSomewhere in the distance, Blake screams wordlessly in horror. From closer by, almost above you and yet still so, so far away, Yang's voice is snapping, "This is Team RWBY in the main chamber we need immediate medical assistance get someone down here now oh god just hold on Kai please!"\n\n'Not like this... not a bit of bad fucking luck... not in front of them... not Blake screaming at the sight of my blood, not Yang begging for help that's not gonna come in time...' you think, even your thoughts heavy and feeling far away from you. 'Not him blaming himself, not another thing to drag him down... not when we've just started... not when we have so much more to do, to feel... not like this...'\n\n'... I wanna live...'\n\nAnd then Jaune's Aura is flooding into you and you're seizing in a breath like it's the only one you'll ever need again, your body arching hard, starting to crackle with scarlet light even as the white gold of Jaune's soul flows into you through your cheeks. Your breath turns shaky briefly, trembling with the sheer intensity of the sensation as bone knits and flesh mends, even the shattered pieces of your armor drawing back together, the weave of the cloth flitting back together with little purple sparks as the Gravity Dust process fixes itself back in place. In a matter of moments you're laying on the floor whole, if exhausted, breathing slowly, staring up at worried blue eyes beneath a spiked-back blonde mane. "You look like a cute worried lion," you murmur, grinning a bit.\n\n"Oh thank the Brothers she's flirting," Jaune says in a huff, slumping in place with relief.\n\nYang has no words, though, simply seizing you as you sit up and crushing you against her front. A moment later Blake skids to her knees at your side, clinging to you and crying quietly, her whole body shaking.\n\n"What did you do?" Elm says, her eyes wide as she stares at Jaune, the Ace Ops apparently having come rushing back at Yang's distress call.\n\n"Even her clothes fixed themselves," Harriet murmurs, staring at your chest for an entirely different reason than Grey was earlier. "I've never seen a healing Semblance like that, never."\n\n"Uh, that... wasn't me," Jaune admits as he gets to his feet, you rising a moment later, Yang and Blake getting up a little reluctantly along with you. "I can give my Aura to someone to enhance theirs, but I... thought I was maybe just gonna let her hold on until help got here, honestly," he admits. "That wasn't me, it was... her."\n\nIlia's slowly fading from being a deep blue color back to her normal tones, though she's still shaking a little. "Kai healed herself from a bad wound once before, on Menagerie, but she hasn't gotten injured since so I didn't think about it much. But this... must be her Semblance."\n\n"I always healed up good, I guess after I was awakened it's just... enhanced," you say, patting down your front.\n\n"Glad to see it. Thought we were gonna lose you there for a minute," Clover says genially, then looks mildly apologetic as Blake's ears fold down and Yang winces. "But looks like you saved not just your teammate, but all the rest of us. That took a hell of a lot of guts, Huntress, good job. ... Why don't we give you three a moment together while the rest of us join the general out in the LZ?" he suggests, beckoning the others and ambling off.\n\n"Qrow," you call softly as he starts to go off with them, hands shoved in his pockets... you're guessing from the set of his arms, to hide the shaking. You walk over to him and look up. "It's okay. It's not your fault," you assure him gently.\n\n"... We both know it was, kid," he rasps, his voice shaking a little.\n\n"What your Semblance does isn't your fault," you insist. "I'm okay, alright? I got through it. Don't beat yourself up over this?"\n\n"... How can I not?" he whispers, looking down.\n\n"By remembering I don't care, and I love you," you say, stepping in and hugging him tightly.\n\nHe goes tense... then he slumps and wraps his arms around you. "... Love you too, kid," he whispers, both of you accepting what hasn't been said and now doesn't need to be.\n\nYou let him go, and after he just looks at you for a long time, he turns and makes his way off. Yang and Blake approach again, and wordlessly all three of you press into an embrace.\n\n"I thought we lost you," Blake whispers, eyes closed tight and face pressing to your shoulder.\n\n"It... looked really bad, Kai, I..." Yang's face pinches. "I remember that stupid-ass thing I said back when we were making you armor, and-"\n\n"Hey. Enough of that," you cut her off, leaning in to gentle the words with a kiss. "We have a dangerous job, okay? Some day, something may happen and we're all gonna go looking for some stupid thing we said in the last year before, but we can't do that to ourselves. You know what I was thinking when it happened?" At their stares, you smile. "That I just wanted to be with you. To have more time. That's all. That's all I cared about. So let's just focus on that... getting to be together."\n\nYang slowly draws in a breath, then smiles. "Hey. Living in the moment is what I do, yeah?"\n\n"She does it very well," Blake agrees dryly, quickly stepping back and wiping her eyes. "... You're right though. We should just... let this remind us to treasure the time we have. And each other."\n\nAfter another quick round of kisses, all of you turn and head back up through the main tunnel to exit into the area outside the mine.\n\nAs you emerge, you spot most everyone clustered around one of the landing pads, where a sleek white ship with four long hoverwings has landed. You can see a slight white-haired man with a bushy mustache ranting at Ironwood, gesturing in a way he probably thinks is intimidating but just looks flailing in the face of the bigger man's stoic facade. \n\n"Oh no it's Weiss's dad and we're not there for her," Yang hisses, taking off with Blake to join Ruby and Weiss where they're standing behind Ironwood. You frown, hurrying your own steps, but hanging back just a little. You watch as Jacques Schnee turns his ranting on Weiss, and then pulls himself together and gets a calculating look to his body language that reminds you entirely too much of Adam Taurus for comfort.\n\n"-mother was devastated when you left," Jacques says in a mock-pitying voice, his words obviously hitting Weiss hard and making her shrink in on herself a little. "She didn't leave her room for days. You know how she gets."\n\n... Okay fuck that shit. You've just been blown up, had to put everyone you love through almost losing you, and you're not going to put up with this. You dip around to the side from the others and approach, ducking low a bit and readying yourself before giving a high whistle between your teeth. Jacques jumps a little and whirls towards you reflexively, his eyes barely having time to widen before your fist slams into his nose.\n\nA second later he's sprawled on the ground, a hand clutched to his face with blood trickling between his fingers, Clover having quickly stepped forward to gently restrain your arms behind your back. You don't fight him, you know he has to do it.\n\n"What happened to 'never a closed fist to the face'?" Yang asks dryly as she looks over at you, the rest of Team RWBY staring down at the still in-shock Schnee patriarch with expressions of mingled surprise and delight.\n\n"That wasn't combat that was just something that needed to be done," you reply evenly, raising your eyebrows.\n\n"I-I-I want this woman arrested!" Jacques splutters, voice thick and a bit wet as he leaps to his feet, tears actually visible in his eyes. "I'm pressing full charges, you all saw it!"\n\nIronwood winces, giving you an apologetic look that says he's going to have to go along with it... until Reeese steps forward, cheerfully announcing, "Oh I wouldn't suggest doing that at all Mister Schnee."\n\n"Is that a threat?!" he blurts, wheeling on her.\n\n"Yup," she answers evenly, flicking her new scroll and projecting a handful of holographic images... stills of Jacques ranting at Ironwood, all taken at moments to make him look the most ridiculous. "See if you press charges against my team leader I'm gonna feel the need to upload all these to social media like especially the video with full audio of you bullying your daughter and talking about your wife like that," she continues as Jacques's eyes widen again. "That'd go over super good with the voting public donchathink? Hashtag bullydad!" she chirps, holding her fingers Ved in front of one goggled eye.\n\nJacques glowers hatefully at her, then sweeps that angry gaze back and forth, before storming back up the ramp and into his ship, leaving a few droplets of red in his wake. Soon the ship is lifting off, zipping quickly back into the sky.\n\n"I think we can assume that means he won't be pressing charges," Ironwood says dryly, Clover shooting you a grin as he releases your arms.\n\n"Sorry to cause you problems," you say sincerely, before adding just as sincerely, "Not sorry for punching him in the face."\n\n"We can't solve problems between people with violence," Ironwood says sternly as he turns to face you... then grins a bit. "I am, however, forced to give you some leniency considering the circumstances. And for the fact that I finally got to see someone punch Jacques Schnee in the face." He raises a hand and rests it on your shoulder. "I'm glad you're okay. And that I don't have to have you arrested. I think saving everyone's lives, and the entire Amity Tower project, gives you a certain amount of leeway, so let's just forget about it for now."\n\nJust about then a truck rolls up, the side door opening and Winter Schnee managing to somehow still seem graceful and composed as she hops down from it.\n\n"Winter! You just missed father," Weiss says with a bit of a grin.\n\n"No I didn't," she says flatly.\n\n"You missed him getting punched in the face, too."\n\nThe composed look drops off her face, her jaw sagging. "I missed what?" Then she blinks as her scroll chimes. She flips out the screen, her eyes widening a little as she watches... then something almost like a smirk curls her lips as she looks at Reese. "Thank you very much, young lady. I think I owe you something nice."\n\n"Awshucks."\n\n"Thanks, Sparrow, really saved my bacon," you say as you walk over to give her a hug, trying out the nickname you've been pondering for awhile. Reese seems pleased by both things, snuggling into you for a moment before you step back... then jump as Penny almost lands on top of you, swinging her hands wide with a holographic 'CONGRATULATIONS!' arcing above her head, the sound of a party blower added to it. \n\n"Surpriiiii-!" She cuts herself off, blinking audibly as she looks down. "Oh my, why is there blood here?"\n\nSoon Ironwood has had you all assemble in Amity Arena proper, looking out at all of you, hands clasped behind his back, flanked by Oscar on one side, Winter on the other, and Penny almost bouncing on Winter's other side until the white-haired woman lays a calming hand on her shoulder. "I want to thank all of you for being here today... we likely couldn't have pulled all of this off without you. Certainly not as smoothly and with no... lasting... injuries," Ironwood amends mid-sentence, glancing at you. "It's been a rough year. We lost Beacon, and we almost lost Haven. I've had to struggle on as best I could, and some of the choices I made... probably weren't the right ones. With some perspective, I feel like I understand Ozma a little better now," he adds, glancing at the man-within-the-boy next to him, before looking back at you. "But you all have faced your struggles without the structure and power I had at my disposal. Many of you were students when you shouldered the responsibility of saving this world, some of you are not even from this world. But here you are, fighting for it. So... it's my pleasure to make what was a bit of trickery at Haven a reality in Atlas."\n\n"Huh?" You blink as Penny steps in front of you and taps something on her tablet-size scroll. You take your own out as it pings, watching as the semi-fake Huntress License made with the systems frizzes a bit, the tiny text reading 'Certified at Haven Academy by Leonardo Lionheart' changing to 'Certified at Atlas Academy by James Ironwood'. You stare at it. You stare very hard.\n\n"You have all been, officially and sincerely, classified as Huntsmen and Huntresses," Ironwood continues, smiling as he moves to start walking down the line. "It's a bit earlier than usual, but I think every one of you has proven you're ready and deserving, with today's performance if nothing else. All of you have-" He cuts off as he stops in front of you, apparently due to the tears streaming down your cheeks. "... Kai? Are you alright?"\n\n"... I came here with nothing," you whisper, you voice shaking. "Just... trying to get Ilia away from a war at home. Nothing but the clothes on my back, the weapons in my coat, and a... a randomly-assigned three letter name that didn't mean anything. And you... and you guys..." Your voice cracks as you say, "You just keep telling me I'm 'of the highest quality'."\n\nIronwood looks at you for long moments. Then he wraps his arms around you and pats your back gently. "Oz named you very well indeed, I think," he says quietly.\n\nThen he steps away, and it's Qrow hugging you, rubbing your head and murmuring, "You earned this, kid. It's all you."\n\nAfter some more crying and hugs, you finally compose yourself, finding your way back to good cheer by devouring two pieces of cake, albeit not quite as fast as Nora. After, though, you settle in the stands, watching Ruby and Penny and Reese talking excitedly and at length, at Oscar chatting with Jaune and Jaune seeming to have an emotional moment himself, Ren and Nora stealing kisses between Nora devouring cake. You also spot Qrow and Winter tucked away in one of the entry tunnels talking quietly... and it almost looks like Winter is comforting him, resting one gloved hand on his shoulder briefly. But then you're distracted as your two favorite people settle on either side of you.\n\n"Kind of amazing, huh?" Yang says, flipping out her scroll's screen to look at the license again. "It's been so long and so much has happened, I'd almost forgotten I wanted this for most of my life."\n\n"Or that I set out with it as my goal to change my life," Blake adds, leaning her head on your shoulder. "But my life changed a lot anyway. For bad, and for good. Right now... this is very much the good." Then she turns her head, resting her chin on your shoulder instead. "What are you thinking about, Kai?"\n\n"Some stuff from the past. Stuff that doesn't have any answers and... probably isn't worth thinking about," you assure them, shaking your head. "Because among other things, the me then... I don't think you guys would have loved her," you say, watching them both frown, to which you grin and shake your head. "It's okay. She probably wouldn't have loved you either. The me that was just... getting by, day to day, flitting from one job to another, no direction... that wasn't a me that's worthy of the love of two paragons of virtue and glory. ... Time to admit I've left her behind," you add with a nod. "... And that this me deserves to be happy."\n\n"I'm glad," Blake murmurs, kissing your cheek.\n\n"Hey. Wanna get some more cake before it's all in Nora?" Yang suggests, grinning.\n\n"I think... too late," Blake notes dryly, just before Ruby lets out a happy squeal.\n\n"OHMIGOSHYOUGUYSGOTTASEETHIS!"\n\nTrading a glance, the three of you geet up and hurry down to join the others just inside one of the tunnels. A holoscroll has been affixed to a wall, displaying a scrolling list of tiles with obvious job listings on them. "Look familiar, Red?" Grey says genially as you approach.\n\n"A little, yeah, just... bluer," you answer with a grin.\n\n"Huh, the Huntress job board is an app now," Yang muses aloud.\n\n"Isn't everything these days?" Blake adds dryly.\n\n"General Ironwood would like all of you to do what you can to bring peace and security to Mantle when you are not training or working on the Amity Tower project," Winter says solemnly from where she's standing beside the board. "To that end, we have narrowed your job board apps to Mantellian services, eliminating the typical bodyguarding, investigation, and bounty hunting jobs that sometimes occur in Atlas. Your job is to be efficient, competent, and visible. As to the first, I will admit I have my doubts," she says coolly, raising one eyebrow as she directs her gaze across all of you. "To the second... I, however, have none," she allows with a bob of the head, and you see Weiss start smiling like the summer sun. "And to the third..." She comes dangerously close to almost-smiling again as she says, "I do not think that will be a problem. Now, let us see," she says, skimming through the listings, then tapping one. "Mister Arc, you will take this one."\n\n"Oh! Okay," Jaune answers, brightening at her apparent faith in him. "What is it?"\n\n"You," she says, regarding the listing as if just to make sure, "Will escort children to pre-primary school."\n\n"... Um... you're joking, right?" he murmurs, slumping a little, tone despondent.\n\nWinter goes very still. Then, extremely slowly, she turns around to face Jaune. "... Mister Arc," she says, her voice suddenly as cold as the tundra you all flew over to get here. "Do you know who is responsible for regulating the Atlesian-Mantellian Huntsman job board?"\n\n"... No?" Jaune squeaks, already shrinking in on himself a bit, clearly recognizing the enormity of his mistake.\n\n"I am. That means, Mister Arc," she continues, voice heating a bit as her hands tuck behind her back and she marches towards him. "That if a job goes on this board it is because I, personally, considered it worth doing. Now, I consider this job worth doing because while the area of Mantle it is in is safe, no part of Mantle is ever truly safe." She comes to a stop in front of him, icy blue eyes staring into near-terrified cornflower blue ones. "Watching their small children go off to school alone makes parents worry. Parents worrying attracts Grimm. This is a job in which you will potentially be protecting very small children from the creatures of hate and darkness. DO YOU CONSIDER THAT A WORTHY JOB FOR A HUNTSMAN MISTER ARC?!" she barks in full Drill Sergeant mode.\n\n"MA'AM YES SIR!" he shouts back with all his soul, back and arms having gone ramrod straight.\n\n"Good. The time and location of your shifts will be sent to your scroll," Winter says calmly as she turns on her heel and marches back to the board.\n\n"You're awful," you're pretty sure you hear Qrow tell her with a small snort where he's leaning against the wall by the board.\n\nWinter comes dangerously close to grinning.\n\nThe next several weeks are busy busy busy. Seems like if you're not running a mission for Ironwood or training with the Ace Ops (or other teams from Atlas, like Team FNKI), you're doing Huntress missions. While technically those are at everyone's discretion and you could ditch them and take the night off, everyone's intent on training. That and the fact that with the diverted resources to Amity Tower, Mantle's defensive wall has steadily growing gaps in it, so the number of Grimm incursions is growing. Everyone's getting at least a little worn-down, as evidenced by Blake lolling somewhat in her seat ahead of you, almost coming to rest with her head on Yang's shoulder before she jerks back upright.\n\n"Reeeeally wish they could just fly this stuff out," Yang says with a sigh.\n\n"The materials are too heavy, it would use up too much Gravity Dust," Blake answers as she covers a yawn. Then she glances out the window and adds dryly, "Besides, look how scenic."\n\nYou lean forward through the window between the back of the truck and the front to follow her gaze. "Are those penguins?"\n\n"Aaaayup-pah," Yang answers, popping her lips just a bit. "Why'd you volunteer anyway? We already have a full team."\n\n"'Cause this is the closest the three of us have gotten to a date since we got here," you answer with a sigh, resting your chin on your folded arms. "I'd reeeeally been hoping we'd have more time for, y'know... like back in Argus."\n\nBlake clears her throat as her cheeks pink. "Iiii guess these are just the sacrifices we make trying to save the world."\n\n"Having fun up there?" Qrow rasps from behind you.\n\n"Barrel of monkeys." You turn around and lean back against the window instead. "How 'bout you guys?"\n\n"Three of a kind," Winter informs Qrow evenly, laying the cards out.\n\n"... Barrels," Qrow grunts, before giving you a 'help me please' look.\n\nSnorting, you walk over and settle at the other end of the crate they're using as a card table. "Deal me in." As Winter starts primly and elegantly shuffling (yet with the air of long practice), you note, "You've been coming with us on a lot more of these assignments. I thought Ironwood had you looking after the Winter Maiden."\n\nWinter pauses for just a heartbeat in laying a card in front of Qrow, but then resumes and answers, "On Ozma's suggestion, Fria is being allowed to choose her own successor. She has... made indications that it is not me, so we are carefully introducing her to various other women we can trust."\n\nYou exchange a glance with Qrow, then look over at Winter. "And how do you feel about that?"\n\nWinter picks up her cards, and is silent as she regards them for such a long time you start to think she isn't going to answer. But eventually, still not looking up from them, she says, "I feel both... relieved and disappointed. The idea of wielding that power was not one I relished... save where I could defend my kingdom and world with it." She slips two cards out of her hand and lays them on the crate, taking two more off the top of the deck. "Too, I... find I simply miss Fria as a person. I spent quite a bit of time with her."\n\n"Hey. You can still spend time with her, y'know," Qrow says as he exchanges four cards himself. "Even the illustrious Winter Schnee is allowed to visit friends."\n\nWinter gives him a mildly annoyed look... but it melts into something gentler as she says, "Yes, perhaps you're right. For once," she adds dryly.\n\n"We have an improvised barricade and potential hostiles ahead," Yang suddenly speaks up.\n\nWinter instantly throws down her cards on the crate and rises, you doing the same just behind her, Qrow taking a slower, more ambling approach. "Report," Winter demands evenly.\n\n"Barricade is made of sheet metal and wood," Blake speaks up, golden eyes squinting just a little. "Potential hostile one is positioned to invoke driver drone's autostop sequence, likely human. Potential hostile two is hanging back, Faunus." She looks at Winter and adds, in a less formal tone, "It's Robyn Hill and Fiona Thyme."\n\n"Of course it is," Winter says flatly, looking like she'd very much like to rub her face but is too far into business mode now. "Alright. Sterling, Belladonna, Xiao Long, you're with me. Do not engage unless ordered or attacked. Qrow, hang back in the truck and be ready... if it's Robyn Hill she's probably got Joanna Greenleaf and May Marigold coming up behind us." She turns to Qrow and levels a serious gaze at him. "Again, do not engage unless forced to do so. The last thing this election needs is an Atlas contractor putting holes in one of the 'Happy Huntresses'," she adds in a cold tone that clearly says 'As much as they all deserve a few'.\n\n"I've got it, I've got it."\n\nAs the truck rolls to a stop, you and Winter slip out of the back, leaving one of the doors closed and moving forward on the driver's side while Blake and Yang get out of the passenger side. You can see the platinum blonde woman standing in front of the truck shift her body language, the little tells in her face that say she's recalculating her approach. It instantly makes you dislike her a bit... it reminds you way too much of Adam Taurus and Jacques Schnee. Even if her purple eyes remind you of Yang so it's kind of hot. "Oh my, if it isn't Specialist Schnee, on a rare visit down from the city of heaven to..." She trails off as her eyes parse to the rest of the group... then bursts out laughing.\n\nWinter actually seems taken off her game at that, blinking and flitting her eyes to the side... then actually sighing and giving in to that urge to put a hand to her face.\n\n"What?" Yang says, shrugging a bit. She's pulled the yellow hood of her coat up, revealing the kitty ears pierced with her, Blake's, and your emblems, the ears of Blake's own white hood actually fitting down over her own. "It's snowing."\n\n"Oh! Is that standard issue for Atlesian Huntresses now? No wonder recruitment is up," Robyn says in a voice still filled with laughter, the fluffy-haired sheep Faunus next to her giggling quietly as well. "Okay, that at least succeeded at putting me in a better mood," she notes, actually reading far more human and far more likeable to your eyes now as she folds her arms casually, body more relaxed, grinning naturally. "So let's start off again on a better foot. Hello, Winter."\n\n"Miss Hill," Winter says coolly nevertheless. "May I ask why you're obstructing our path?"\n\n"Because these materials that are supposed to be going to fix the outer wall in Mantle are going to Amity Coliseum instead," Robyn answers, the grin dialing down but her body language still more open. "We've reconned it and we know it's there at an old Dust mine, we know that the site is highly secure and these contractors of yours and the Ace Ops are out there keeping it secure when they're not in Mantle doing the same. Being frank, that last part is the only reason I haven't stolen this truck and brought it back to Mantle already. So let's skip all the deflections and games... I know this isn't some sort of tuneup, there won't be a Vytal Festival for awhile," she continues.\n\nYang snorts and can't help but mutter, "Yeah, no kidding."\n\nRobyn blinks, looking at her, then the others, and when her gaze lands on you, you volunteer, "Yang and Blake here were at the Battle of Beacon. All three of us were at the Battle of Haven. You don't need to tell us school's out for awhile."\n\nThe platinum blonde's purple gaze slides over all three of you, reassessing, and you can tell when her look lingers on Yang's hand for a second. She seems to spend a moment in thought, then nods and redirects her look to Winter. "Listen. I'm willing to extend some trust and faith to Ironwood, considering. He's let up on the 'obey Atlas' crap lately and from what I've seen he is making an effort... but not enough of one to satisfy people that are watching the defensive wall get thinner by the day. So you need to give me a reason to give him that trust, Winter." She steps forward, holding out her hand. "Take my hand. Assure me he's going to look out for Mantle."\n\nYou watch Winter's eyes slide down ever-so-slightly towards that hand, all the little tells that say she's leery and untrusting. She probably won't do it... whether she's been ordered not to or she simply can't extend that kind of trust, you can see she wants to refuse, but her strategic mind is at least making her think it over.\n\n<hr>\n[[Urge her to agree.|KaiBB1x2]]\n\n[[Stay silent.|KaiBB]]

"Hey," you call, without really raising your voice. The grey-haired man continues to walk away, though, apparently considering the matter closed. Until you add, "Ozma."\n\nHe stops.\n\nSlowly, he turns around to face you, his expression completely guarded as he folds his hands atop his cane. "And where," he says slowly. "Did you hear that name?"\n\n"From you. Using the lips of a boy named Oscar Pine, sitting in Haven about two years from now, with this academy having been damn near burned to the ground a year before." You tilt your head a bit. "Think maybe we should have a talk once you've finished those team assignments?"\n\n"... I think, Miss Sterling," he says slowly. "That perhaps we should."\n\nEventually Ozpin sits, tapping his fingers together with his hands clasped in front of his lower face, staring past the clock obscuring the view out his window. Looking down at Beacon, his crowning achievement in his many lives, his pride and joy, after listening to how it became a ruin filled with Grimm. "... But this is an alternate reality," he notes after some time. "It need not necessarily happen that way?"\n\n"It might not, necessarily, but the initiation test went nearly identical to the way all its participants described it to me in later years, except for the Sabyrs and the Hunter-Killer," you reply. "Which says to me that someone who might have similar knowledge is trying to hasten Beacon's fall... possibly eliminate specific people before they can become threats." You purse your lips, Jin wincing a little as you add, "Or inspirations."\n\n"I see." Ozpin rubs his long chin thoughtfully. "You do not think it was a coincidence that those Atlesian Grimm were dispatched into the area around Miss Nikos and Mister Arc."\n\n"Pyrrha's death fighting Cinder Fall a year from now inspired the world. It was probably one of the only things that kept tensions from erupting into outright conflict, the fact that everyone could agree that Pyrrha was a shining light worth honoring. Now, she's good, even now, but trying to take an entire pack of Sabyrs while defending an almost entirely untrained partner? No, if you hadn't hired us, then Pyrrha Nikos would have died nothing but an exceptional athlete and Huntress potential, a tragedy but an everyday sort of one." You nod your head at him. "And you'd be the one responsible for it."\n\nOzpin turns back to face all of you, drumming his fingers briefly. "... And without the two of them, even if the other students survived the Nevermore, they would certainly not have survived the Hunter-Killer."\n\n"The Hunter-Killer was big-time overkill, but let's face it, Pyrrha being there gives them at least a chance. It was studded with metal weapons, after all. Ruby or Jaune or both would probably have come up with my same plan once she demonstrated it, just that maybe more of them get hurt in the process. There's a chance they'd have survived... but only if Pyrrha was there. That was someone's one-two combo."\n\n"A 'combo' that would require some knowledge of the future," Ozpin muses.\n\n"Seems like. Considering the Grimm-as-weapon, Salem's obviously the most likely suspect. Wouldn't rule out Adam Taurus, though, the Red Fa-... ah, they're still going by White Fang now I guess... were responsible for wrangling Grimm to set loose on Beacon during the Fall. But that seems like a longshot versus Salem."\n\n"Mm. Salem with some insight into the future would indeed be... a difficult opponent." Ozpin sighs, then looks around. "... From your manner, I assume you intend to do more than forewarn me."\n\nYou hesitate, and take a glance around at the other three. \n\n"Hey, I was the one bugging you to do more to help," Savage speaks up immediately. "I'd be a pretty big hypocrite if I didn't stick with you when you decided to. Rhodes Island can get by for a little while without me."\n\n"You know I'll always be with you any time you decide to take a moral stand," Aurora notes with a grin. "Seventeen years later and it still gives me a little tingle seeing you be heroic."\n\n"Psh." You roll your eyes at her, but can't help grinning some too. You pause a little before looking at Jin.\n\n"It's not home, but it's still Remnant, Kai-Mom," he says quietly, those solemn, mature purple eyes fixed on you. "If I'm going to be a Huntsman, I don't think I should make little quibbles about what Remnant I'm protecting."\n\nYou sigh a little. "Your other moms are probably gonna skin me alive... but I think they'll understand too. I'll bite the bullet for the interdimensional call a bit later, tell them we might be a bit longer than a week." You turn back to Ozpin and nod. "Alright, we'll stay and help."\n\n"Thank you. Now, I am leery of disclosing the truth to the students-"\n\nYou can't stop yourself from letting out a snort at that. "Well there's a big fucking shock." At his slight wince, you hold up a hand. "Sorry."\n\n"... As you said, you are... familiar... with the steps I've taken in light of being told that Salem cannot be defeated," he says slowly. "So I understand your reaction. However in this case my motivation is born primarily out of a desire to not disrupt their development too badly."\n\n"Well there's gonna be at least a little disruption," you admit, glancing at Jin. "Blake and Yang saw my son use his Semblance." At Ozpin's curious look, you look back at him. "I'm not his biological mother. His real name is Jin Xiao Long."\n\n"... Ah." Ozpin directs his gaze at Jin over his spectacles. "I see. I see very clearly, now that you mention it. Well... if we give them a bit of time they may simply write off what they saw to the stress of the day."\n\n"I think we need to tell them at least part of the truth," you assert. "Not everything, and not immediately. Pyrrha doesn't need to know about the results of the battle atop the tower, Weiss doesn't need to know what happens to her father, and so on. We'll give them a few weeks to settle and start to gel as teams. Probably about the time Blake returns from disappearing on them for a day or two, they should be strong enough in their identities as people and as teams to handle being told about Salem and that they need to be ready to be on the front lines of a fight against her."\n\nOzpin considers that for a long while, then nods slowly. "Agreed. In the meantime I will retain the three of you as... assistant instructors. From what I've seen, Miss Jitan should be quite capable of providing extra instruction in marksmanship, and Miss... Savage... in melee combat. Mister Xiao Long... though I suppose it would be best to continue referring to him as Mister Sterling... can be registered as a..." He rubs his chin. "A 'pre-entry student observer'. He may attend classes and work with other students, but will not be graded. Acceptable?"\n\n"That would be wonderful, sir, thank you for the additional opportunity," Jin answers respectfully, bowing his head briefly.\n\n"Before you go handing me out any assignments, I have something in mind," you note, resting your hands on your hips. "I think I have a good chance at this juncture to head off at least one piece of the Fall of Beacon ahead of time. I'm not sure about any more than that, though I'll do my best, but if I can get ahead of even one issue I think that will make a big difference. I'll need to head out soon, though."\n\n"I see. And where will you 'head out' to?" Ozpin asks curiously.\n\n<hr>\n[[Atlas.|KaiBB]]\n\n[[Menagerie.|KaiBB1x7]]\n\n[[The bar.|KaiBB]]

"There's a chance, albeit a slim one, that if I can talk to Sienna Khan and convince her to rein in Adam Taurus before he goes completely out of control, that I can avert a lot of problems before they happen. The White Fang were major players in the Fall of Beacon, and almost the sole driving force behind the Battle of Haven. I get Sienna to see reason, she undercuts Adam, and Salem loses a major catspaw. ... Pun not intended," you add with a bit of a sigh.\n\n"Mm. And will you... tell her about Salem?" Ozpin ventures after a moment.\n\n"If necessary. The White Fang are one of the biggest pieces on the board right now... if we can deny control of it to Salem, or at an even more unlikely chance bring them over to our side and seeing reason, at least insofar as fighting a common enemy, that denies Salem a lot of avenues."\n\n"We may not like the alternate streets she decides to take when we close some avenues on her," Ozpin warns quietly.\n\n"... I'm prepared to deal with that," you answer with a nod. "I don't think anyone in this room approves of Sienna Khan's methods, but she's not actually an evil woman." As you blink, for just a moment you see the image of a little girl with wet cheeks and a hopeless look on her face, Ghira Belladonna's forehead pressed to hers. Then it's wisped away like a dream on waking. "She deserves better than to be cut down for the sake of Adam Taurus's delusions of grandeur. If I can make her understand that what we're facing is not a human problem, or a Faunus problem, but a Remnant problem, then I think maybe we have a chance of establishing a little bit more of Salem's biggest fear."\n\n"Unity," Ozpin acknowledges. "Very well, what can I do to assist?"\n\n"I'll need an airship that can take me to Menagerie. A non-Atlas one if at all possible."\n\n"It will take several days, but I'll arrange it."\n\nDeciding to focus everything on working thoughts around in your head and being able to present the strongest case possible, you spend the next several days going over in your mind everything you know or have been told about Sienna Khan. The words 'wrong methods, right goal' come up a lot. It's well known that the White Fang under her leadership... the period that is now called the 'Red Fang' on the Remnant you come from... shifted its goal from Faunus Equality to Faunus Supremacy, but you're fairly certain that wasn't her intention. Rather, you think it was a by-product of her willingness to use whatever methods she thought it took... to command respect through fear if it would be given no other way. Ghira always spoke of her with a bit of lingering fondness and a lot of regret, and you doubt he'd talk that way about a sincere bigot. You're going to have to believe that Sienna can be made to see a better path if any of this is to work.\n\nOne night as you're pacing the halls trying to put your thoughts together, you spot Jin leaning his shoulder against the edge of a window, arms folded over his chest as he gazes down below. You walk up quietly, following his gaze to the rooftop where Jaune and Pyrrha, still wearing their school uniforms, are practicing, Pyrrha guiding him through a series of strokes with his sword. Your heart breaks just a little more at the longing in your son's eyes, and you rest a hand on his shoulder and rub it, for once without a single thought of what to say.\n\n"... I know it's stupid," he whispers quietly, his purple eyes not leaving the scene below, still tracking every sweep of Pyrrha's arm or flick of her ponytail. "I know it's ridiculous. Even if this wasn't a whole other world and a place I can't stay, she's got feelings for someone else. I know it's pointless. Please don't tell me it is."\n\n"I wouldn't," you whisper back, stepping in and draping your arms around his shoulders. You kiss the top of his head, watching the scene for a moment as well. "I would never. ... But it's a big deal meeting your heroes, honey. Maybe it's just that," you suggest, trying to offer him a lifeline out of his own hurting heart.\n\nHe's quiet for a little while. Then he closes his eyes and leans his head back against your shoulder. "You don't fall in love with a legend's smile, Momma."\n\nAnd that... you definitely have nothing to say to.\n\nAnother day later and you and Jin are boarding a modified Bullhead marked with Beacon Academy's logo and name. You kind of wanted to leave Jin here since he'd been enjoying attending classes (albeit staying out of Blake and Yang's way as much as possible), but even getting your foot in Sienna's emotional door will require him, under every scenario you've concocted. This method will involve doing this Blake a little bit dirty too, but you think she'll forgive you... your Blake has certainly said she wished she'd been able to do things a little different often enough. After a stopover for refueling in Mistral, the Bullhead makes its way out to Menagerie, and you can hear the bad grace in the air tower's voice even through the pilot's headset as you're allowed to set down.\n\nAs you step out, you have your hood down and Jin's up... you don't want to risk someone interpreting the ears as an attempt to be deceptive. A uniformed guard with small feathery wings emerging from slits in the lower back of the uniform steps up. "May I ask the purpose of your visit?" she says stiffly.\n\n"I'm here to see the Chieftan on behalf of Professor Ozpin of Beacon," you reply. "And could you also tell him that I have news of his daughter?"\n\nThat makes her blink, but after a second she nods. "Very well, you'd best follow me to the chieftan's home then. But no funny business," she cautions with a narrowing of the eyes, glancing first at you then at Jin.\n\nYou glance at Jin as well. "Just hang out for awhile on the market, hon." No need to risk the duo realizing he's the spitting image of Blake and jumping to some weird conclusions that completely ignore that he's currently about two years younger than she is.\n\nYou follow the guard up the hill and to the Belladonna home, stopping and nodding at her curt warning to wait in the main entry room. You take a look around, appreciating the look of it before it burned down. (Nice work, Blackbird, maybe we can avoid that on this version.) You're not too surprised when Ghira and Kali both come bustling in quickly, the massive slab of black-haired muscle looking just as nervous and eager as his small and slender wife. "You have news of Blake?" Ghira quickly blurts as he comes to a stop in front of you.\n\n"Yeah." You hold up your hands placatingly. "First of all I want to tell you she's safe and she's well in Vale, and she's gotten away from Adam."\n\nYou can see the compounding relief that comes over their bodies at that, Kali clutching her chest a little and Ghira raising a hand to his head to let out a long breath. "Oh thank the Brothers," Kali murmurs quietly, bowing her head and closing her eyes.\n\n"She's in Vale, though?" Ghira asks curiously. "Wait, does this have anything to do with you apparently being here on Ozpin's behalf?" \n\n"It does and it doesn't. I'm Kai Sterling, I'm a friend of Ozpin's," you answer, putting a hand to your own chest. "While I'm here on another matter, I wanted to let you know that Blake's enrolled at Beacon and she's trying to earn her Huntress license as a way to turn things around for herself."\n\n"That's... wonderful," Ghira murmurs, eyes shining with a mixture of pride and sorrow. "But why wouldn't she tell us this herself?"\n\n"I think that's her business between the two of you," you say gently, and after just a brief flare of anger you can see him accept it, his head nodding once. "She doesn't know I'm here telling you this... but I know she'd also be happy you weren't worrying."\n\n"You... speak like you know our daughter fairly well, Miss Sterling," Kali says in a bit of confusion, tilting her head.\n\n"Yes and no. But having made sure you know that, there is another matter I'd like to talk to you about, one that I'm hoping aligns with some other things you'd like to see happen."\n\nA little while later you stroll back down the hill, dipping and dodging between people with long practice. After all you've had fairly long stays on Menagerie and your Kingdom citizenship is still with them. (You tried to figure out how to work that into your approach to Sienna, but the fact that it's dated two years from now and on a scroll almost twenty years ahead of current tech sort of nixed that.) You quickly spot Jin and zero in on him sitting at a table sipping a tropical-looking drink. "Any problems?"\n\n"Not really," he replies with a small shake of the head. "Other than someone staring at me fairly hard most of the time."\n\n"Staring?" you ask with a blink. \n\n"Yes. Guess who," he adds with a nod of the head towards a spot behind you.\n\nYou turn, searching... and have to suppress yourself from bursting into a particularly large stupid grin. 'She's so young,' you think with an almost giddy internal laugh. You stroll over, seeing her hackles almost literally raise as you approach. "Good morning," you say sincerely, since this kind of not only made your morning but your year.\n\n"Maybe for you, human," Ilia scoffs back, narrowing her eyes at you suspiciously. She's the very picture of how she was when you met her on Makarzia, maybe a little shorter and less of a chest, but that same streetspeeder-sized chip on her shoulder. You know seeming delighted by how standoffish she's being will only make it worse (indeed, her specks are coloring a bit red even as you watch), but you just can't help it, seeing Smoller Ilia has absolutely filled you with glee. "What exactly are you smirking at, anyway?!" she demands with a huff.\n\n"Sorry, just... you remind me of my little sister, is all," you tell her in a warm voice, which seems to fluster her sufficiently that it knocks her a little out of her funk, the shade of her specks shifting from red to pink. "Would you happen to be in the White Fang?" you add, asking a question you know the answer to.\n\nIlia gives a haughty sniff, looking away dramatically. "What if I am? This isn't the other kingdoms, human, there's nothing wrong with being in the White Fang here."\n\n"I'm not looking to start trouble. I just want to talk to Sienna Khan. I have a letter of introduction here from Ghira Belladonna?" you add, tilting your voice to make it clear it's her choice whether to do something about that as you hold out said letter.\n\nIlia eyes it dubiously, half-snatching it from your hand and looking the seal over. "... 'Talk to' better not be a euphemism," she replies in a bit of a growl.\n\nYou shake your head. "No, honestly, I just want to talk to her."\n\n"... Fine. Come on then," she mutters, turning and walking off.\n\nYou beckon for Jin to follow, the two of you trailing close after Ilia as she leads the way around the side of the island. A fairly wide but obviously far less-used pathway leads around the edge, and over several breaks in the island over the sea... clearly places the walkway could be cut to restrict access to the destination. Soon you're all approaching a small cluster of buildings built into the side of the island just above a beach, the landing having its own small port and airship pad. You notice that the rocks jutting from the ocean not only shield this particular little inlet from weather and likely any sea Grimm, but also make it fairly hidden from anywhere but this particular approach. The building Ilia leads you towards at the center of the rest has a similar style to the Belladonna home, but is sunk about halfway into the stone face of the island side. Ilia talks quietly to one of the guards at the door, and though he and his counterpart both eye you and Jin with open hatred, they eventually nod and step back, letting Ilia push open the doors. You're not too surprised that the room she leads you into is blatantly a throne room, and sprawled on the throne is the storied Sienna Khan.\n\nDark brown skin, black hair cut fairly short and spiked back from and around her face with tiger-like ears jutting up from amidst it, the oval red jewel set on her forehead helping highlight her pretty but rather severe face, intense yellow eyes fixed on you as you approach. Her form is slender, slight of both breast and hip, her sleeveless black and white outfit and red cape cut more to show off the tiger-stripe tattoos marking her arms than her figure. She taps a finger thoughtfully on the arm of her throne as Ilia approaches from the side and hands her the letter, but redirects her gaze back to you as you come to a stop.\n\n"High Leader Khan," you greet, bowing slightly, Jin matching the motion beside you.\n\nShe stares fixedly for a moment, then snorts. "Are you going to pretend," she says slowly, voice rich and smooth. "That you respect my office?"\n\n"It's your methods I don't respect," you answer without hesitation, meeting that yellow gaze unflinchingly. "That doesn't mean I can't show you respect when I'm in your home."\n\nSienna blinks at that... then regards you a bit more thoughtfully, tapping the envelope against the edge of the throne's arm. "Well you're certainly more interesting to talk to so far than any of the other humans I've 'debated' before. So far. A moment then." She quickly peals up the wax seal with her sharp fingernails and slips the letter inside out, reading it over. Her expression is neutral when she redirects her look to you again. "It is no secret that Ghira Belladonna and I have fundamental differences on our philosophies for seeking Faunus equality. I'm uncertain why you think that his endorsement that what you have to say is important would matter to me."\n\n"Because I think Ghira's opinion matters to you still, if for nothing else than that we both know he's a good man," you answer, seeing Sienna's chin raise a little in response. "But the letter wasn't to convince you, I came to do that myself. I just asked Ghira's help with getting me in the door."\n\n"Well. You are in the door," Sienna says with a slightly imperious glance towards the entrance, before her yellow gaze is drawn back to you. "This says it is a matter most urgent to all of Remnant, not to either human or Faunus. I find it is easy for humans to say such things when it is convenient for them, since they have no stake in the Faunus lives they could throw away for their cause. How can I know you are not such a one?"\n\n"I'm a human, it's true," you answer with a small nod of the head. "I had my own difficult upbringing which I won't try to play Misery Contest with you over, but I'll also agree that I'll never know what it's like to grow up as a Faunus. And I'm sure you don't want to hear that I have Faunus friends. But I have more than friends, and I do have stakes in your fight," you continue, Jin taking the cue to reach up and slide his hood down, ears springing free. "This is my son, Jin."\n\nSienna's fairly canny... you don't doubt that she'd already pegged the boy next to you as your son just from the two of you's body language. She steeples her fingers, seeming to think that over for a moment, before nodding. "Some stake. Or at least he does. I will give you, at least, that you have more reason than most humans to want to see Faunus treated well. But that does not necessarily translate into having a stake in the White Fang."\n\nYou purse your lips a little. You kind of didn't want to have to bring this one out... you were hoping Jin might be enough to tip her over into at least hearing you out. But she's apparently decided to be at least a little more difficult, so you take a breath, calm yourself, and start to speak. "From shadows we descend upon the world." You can see Sienna's eyes widen the moment you say the words, Ilia a bit distant beside her also starting and taking a step forward. "No matter how dark the night is, we will shine like stars. We reach out to each other, take hold of one another's hands. We rise and rise again, like the moon, shattered but strong, battered but-"\n\n"STOP!" Sienna all but roars, coming to her feet, fury flashing in her eyes, Ilia's skin bright red as she trembles nearby. "You dare to speak those words to me?! Who did you take them from, these words that belong to us and us alone?! Is it not enough you take our land, our dignity, our very lives from us but now you steal the words engraved on our souls?!"\n\n"Those words are engraved on my soul as much as yours!" you snap back, not needing to fake the responsive fury that at her attempt to deny the soft words spoken by one of those that you love best at the most defining moment of your life. "I stole them from no one, they were given to me in love! Those are the words that someone I love etched into my soul, those are the words I etched into my son's!" you add, stabbing a finger towards Jin at your sides. Calming yourself a little, but knowing your eyes must still be flashing, you level your voice before continuing. "You are a higher link in the chain that binds myself and my child, Sienna Khan, and I think that is connection enough for you to listen to me speak."\n\nSienna raises a hand to her lower face, rubbing for a long moment as she visibly fights to calm herself, eyes darting from you to Jin. But finally she gives a slow nod and sinks back into her throne. "... Speak," she says simply, flitting a hand through the air as she does.\n\n"... When I say that there is an enemy on the horizon that does not care about human or Faunus, I mean it," you begin slowly. "This enemy does not care about anything or anyone but what it wants, and what it wants is to see us all dead. But in the course of that, it will use Faunus lives just like you've said, wringing them out and throwing them in the trash. Using them in the goal of stoking discord and hatred, making the human and Faunus divide greater than it's ever been. And one of your own is helping them do it."\n\n"... A serious accusation," Sienna says slowly, though you can tell from the look in her eyes that the name has already popped into her head. "And who is it you say has betrayed us to this ancient enemy?"\n\n"Will you act surprised when I say the name Adam Taurus?" you reply evenly. She doesn't act surprised. Then you direct your gaze to the side, at the pair of robed figures that have remained silent up until now. "How about when I say that the Albain twins have been grooming him to depose you?"\n\n"What?" Sienna hisses, rising to her feet again and wheeling towards the pair of Fennec Faunus. \n\n"H-high leader, you would really listen to this human who has come among us to sow discord?" Corsec simpers, smiling ingratiatingly.\n\nBut you can see the flicker in her eyes... the stutter killed him. She must have had suspicions about Adam and knew that someone was egging him on... and whatever she believed about the pair, she clearly finds this quite easy to believe now. "Speak to me with your heads high and chins raised... and say that it is not so," she says slowly.\n\n"... High Leader, really, this whole thing is foolish. This human comes in, bearing the words of the disgraced former High Leader, and-" Fennec starts, smiling ingratiatingly as well.\n\nHe doesn't get any farther before Sienna gives a curt nod, and both men suddenly shriek in surprise and arch, bodies shuddering and twitching as they drop to the ground, the scowling Ilia retracting Lightning Lash into foil mode as she does. \n\n"Adam Taurus either is about to or has already allied himself with a human agent of the enemy named Cinder Fall," you continue as other guards come to drag the Albains away. "He's providing your people to another human, Roman Torchwick, as part of her plans. They're going to get chewed up and spit out going up against Vale's police, military, and Hunters. Used up and thrown away for someone else's cause, not yours. I'm assuming that's not something you want."\n\n"... I had wondered where Adam had gotten such an infusion of capital, and why he was so reluctant to speak to me about his current doings," Sienna mutters. She scratches her nails along the arm of her chair a few times, eyeing you. "You are very well-informed."\n\n"I am," you simply acknowledge. "You can of course check on all of this, but I somehow doubt you'd have had two otherwise loyal men shocked to the floor on my words if you didn't already think something was up."\n\nSienna's quiet, obviously chewing on that a bit, before she huffs. "I will admit that Adam Taurus is a... liability of my own making," she says slowly. "As much as my methods may be called extreme, his were moreso, and I have seen fit to allow him to carry them out because I found it useful to the goal of achieving respect through fear."\n\n"Maybe it's time to give the old way another try, Sienna," you offer, seeing her ears twitch at your more familiar usage of her name. "I know you felt like it wasn't working, but you're not a young woman with nothing but a cause anymore. You're High Leader Sienna Khan, someone many Faunus look to for leadership and guidance, and that even more respect even if they don't agree with your methods. If you want to look at it this way, your strength has brought you to the point where you can afford to offer a hand in friendship again. If it's the kingdoms that smack it away again, they'll have no one but themselves to blame if you're not there to help them when they need it, and you will have an amazingly good 'I told you so' ready at hand."\n\nShe snorts a little, obviously pleased with the thought of 'I told you so'ing every human on Remnant if nothing else, before her lips thin. "I do not like the idea. I should not have to play at making myself seem becoming to them and playacting as if I have set aside the anger at the way my people have been treated since time immemorial. I should not have to be the one to offer my hand in friendship to my oppressors."\n\n<hr>\n[["Then don't."|KaiBB]]\n\n[["Sometimes we all have to do things we shouldn't have to."|KaiBB1x8]]

There's a feeling right now that everything will turn out okay, and you look over at Yang as she emerges from the bathroom and leans in to kiss you. Whatever's waiting for you will still be there in half an hour. For now... for now, think of the future.\n\n[SEVENTEEN YEARS LATER]\n\nCovering a yawn with one hand, you rap lightly on the bedroom door with the knuckles of your other. "Jin? You decent?"\n\n"Yes, Kai-Mom."\n\nGrinning, you push open the door and then lean your shoulder against the frame, just taking a moment to be proud of the strong (and very attractive) young man your fifteen-year-old son is growing into, his sleek body toned with agile muscle, the light flex of them visible as he moves, his legs wrapped around his punching bag and upper body lifting to touch an elbow to the front of it before he lowers and repeats with the other side. He might not be biologically yours, but that's never exactly mattered to any of you. He inherited his donor mother's soft black hair (and her cat ears) and even temperament, and his birth mother's brilliant purple eyes and easygoing charm. After a moment you walk over and pat him on the back a few times as he rises up the next time. "C'mon, don't wear yourself out training before we even leave Remnant."\n\n"It's just a warmup," he assures you evenly, gripping the bag with his hands and dropping his feet to the ground, giving you a small smile. "I won't hold us back, promise."\n\n"Wasn't thinking you would." You lean forward to kiss his hair, then tch and nudge him on the shoulder. "Go shower though, I don't want my girls thinking I dunked you in the ocean before we set off."\n\nHe ducks his head sheepishly, then nods and hurries down the hall into the bathroom. You turn and make your way downstairs, where the expected argument is occurring. "But I wanna come toooo!"\n\n"Robin, I'm sorry, but you're still a few years off from being able to even go to the Guildhall, let alone go on a job with one of us," Blake says in a reasonable tone, voice even, refusing to rise to the bait of getting into the same argument with a twelve-year-old again. She sips her tea and regards the little strawberry blonde with her thick shaggy hair with its little 'antenna' sticking up from it, yellow eyes regarding furious red ones and a truly adorable little pout without giving a bit. Then she pulls out the big guns, "Please don't make your brother feel guilty about his big day by fussing before he leaves."\n\nCheap shot, honey, but it works, Robin quickly drooping and poking her fingertips together. "'Kay. I just wish I got to do fun stuff during school being out too."\n\n"Thought you'd say that," Yang notes, giving you an amused look and then turning her grin on you and her's biological daughter. "I may have possibly arranged for you to go on an outing with someone else."\n\nBefore Robin can even ask, the front door of the house swings open. Without a word of greeting or pause, Raven Branwen sweeps into the room, scoops up her granddaughter, and slings her over one shoulder like a sack of potatoes, before turning and heading for the door again. "I'll bring her back when I feel like it."\n\n"As long as it's not fifteen years!" Yang calls after her as she goes to shut the door.\n\n"Goodbye, my child," Blake says dryly, shaking her head. "Jin getting ready?"\n\n"Mhmm." You snag your thermos and empty the rest of the coffee pot into it, Yang somehow managing to avoid giving you a dirty look for it.\n\n"... I know you won't get him in over his head, but please just say so for the sake of my nerves," Blake adds after a moment, sighing.\n\n"Blackbird, I swear, it'll be fine. Aurora will be with us so there's the voice of reason, plus I got Savage to tag along and you know how she is, twice as destructive and twice as protective as Yang."\n\n"Mm, when did I ever decide it was a good idea to let you start hanging around with double-me?" Yang muses, rubbing her chin, then grinning. "Nah, you're right, should be fine."\n\nNot too long after Jin comes padding downstairs. Though he usually goes barefoot on Patch (kid has never much liked shoes), he's given in to your request that he wear something today, and has compromised with armorweave tabi-style boot-slippers. He's completed his ensemble with loose pants and a sleeveless Mistralian-style high-collared shirt (always copying Ren when he can), accessorizing with a purple sash and a gold version of his viney-heart emblem as an earring. He's still adjusting the black and gold bracers around his wrists as you walk over. "Stark Shadow 100%?" you ask with a grin.\n\n"Of course," he replies rather solemnly, before giving you a smile as well. Then he walks over to hug his other mothers as they draw in. "Bye Blake-Mom. Bye Yang-Mom. I will be careful and listen to Kai-Mom and her friends, do not worry."\n\n"You are a weirdly good kid to the point that if you didn't come out of me I'd be wondering if you were really mine," Yang quips, grinning and ruffling his shoulder-length hair a bit. "Have fun, okay?"\n\n"I will."\n\n"Don't do anything I wouldn't do or that your other mothers would," Blake says solemnly, obviously fighting not to grin as you and Yang gamely call 'Hey!' in response.\n\n"You ready?" you ask him. At his nod, you sling an arm around his shoulders. "See you guys in about a week!" you call before thumbing your beacon.\n\nJin stumbles a little more than you do at the transition to being in motion out of the portal, but you're able to get him in motion so that it's not too bad. Almost immediately you spot your party waiting, both of them waving as you redirect Jin a bit. "Hey, guys," you greet, smiling as you turn Jin loose to get hugged by the silver-haired woman your own age, wearing a full-body purple skinarmor suit with a black jacket and black shorts over it, a rifle slung across her back.\n\n"Hello Jin, it's so nice to see you again."\n\n"Hi, Aunt Aurora."\n\n"Jin, this is one of my other merc friends, Savage," you add as he separates from the hug, waving your hand towards the cheerful, short grey-haired woman with long slender rabbit ears jutting from the top of her head, her black jacket completely closed in front and forming a sort of short dress as well over curvy legs sheathed in dark hose and tall boots. "She's from Rhodes Island."\n\n"I've heard a lot about Rhodes Island Pharmaceuticals, you must be quite skilled and dedicated," Jin says easily, offering his hand, not adding 'quite weird'.\n\n"Oh, thank you!" the Cautus woman says cheerfully, putting her other hand to her cheek as she shakes his. "I don't get off Terra much, but when I do it's so nice to meet polite, kind people like you!"\n\n"Savage has a lot of skills that line up with a Huntress's so working with her will be good practice for your entrance exames next year, and Aurora's one of the best mercs there is, so good practice there too," you assure him.\n\n"Uh, speaking of which, Kai, I sort of found a very... interesting job," Aurora says, proffering you the jobfinder tablet she's holding, her voice saying 'maybe too interesting'.\n\n"Alright, let's see." You accept it, reading it over... then reading it over again more slowly. "Now that... is a hell of a thing."\n\n"Kai-Mom, what is it?" Jin asks, ears perking a little.\n\n"This is a job listing by..." You raise your eyebrows and look at him. "Professor Ozpin."\n\n"Professor... Ozpin?" Jin blinks at that. "Wasn't that Ozma's last incarnation before Oscar?"\n\n"Yes, it was. He'd already passed on almost a year before I got to Remnant... looking at the coordinates, this is an entirely different Remnant, but maybe a bit more clued-in to the multiverse. In fact... wow, that is super weird. If I'm parsing the datestamp right, he's wanting us to provide background security for... the same initiation ceremony that RWBY and JNPR were in."\n\n"I wasn't sure, but I thought it might be," Aurora says with a nod. \n\n"I looked at the job too, it says that he's worried someone might be actively sending more and more dangerous 'Grimm' into the testing area than are normally there, more than the students could handle on their own," Savage adds with a concerned frown. "He wants us to be around in case something really really bad shows up, or something that shouldn't be there. That sounds like something you'd be perfectly suited for, since you know this world."\n\n"But as I tried to explain to her, this job involves meeting alternate versions of your own friends and family, which makes some people very uncomfortable," Aurora notes with a glance at Savage. "I mean, especially with Jin with us. ... I mean look at him," she adds, apparently unable to help her voice from turning just a bit gooey as she glances over at the boy. "He's the spitting image of both his moms, if they were pretty boys."\n\n'Getting a little cougary since you hit forty, Aurora,' you think, trying to suppress your grin as you look over the job. They both have points... Ozpin was sort of infamous for throwing his students into the fire and seeing who either jumped out fast enough or shut off the gas, if he's concerned enough to hire outside help it might mean a big problem, and it sort of sours your gut a little to think of leaving RWBY and JNPR, any RWBY and JNPR, at risk like that. Still, Aurora's right, it would be severely weird to interact with versions of them that you never even knew, and drag along two of them's biological offspring while you're at it.\n\n<hr>\n[[Take the job.|KaiBB1x5]]\n\n[[Find something else.|KaiBB]]

"It'll be weird as hell, but I also feel at least a little obligation," you allow, keying in your ID and that you accept the job. "Even if they aren't actually our friends and family, they're still RWBY and JNPR... that means they're probably good people who will be instrumental in saving their Remnant, and we should look out for them when the opportunity to falls into our lap."\n\n"So what do we do about Jin?" Aurora asks.\n\nYou glance at him thoughtfully. "Hon, I think we're gonna need to buy you a new coat with a hood, and you'll just have to put up with it squashing your ears for awhile."\n\n"I suppose that's for the best, Kai-Mom," he agrees with a little nod. Such a responsible boy, truly Blake's son.\n\n"While we're there let's also have you go by 'Jin Sterling'... that's the only one of your various family names that won't trip someone's 'wha?' sensor. Alright, guys, let's hit a shop for a jacket and provisions. It may not be my Remnant but it's a Remnant so prepare for anything to happen. Make sure you're stocked on meal pouches, spare ammo, and anything else you think you might possibly need in a survival situation, because I've got a feeling that this won't be a simple in-and-out guard job if my luck with this planet holds."\n\nSoon the four of you are strolling out of a portal and into the cog-decorated, clock-themed office of Beacon's headmaster. 'Damn, Oz, you were really into that aesthetic, weren't you?' you think as you look around, having only seen it in its remodeled form where Ico did her utmost to make it homey and welcoming to any student she invited in for a talk (even if they were about to get their asses calmly and gently verbally cut down into one-inch stirfry chunks). Then you turn at the sound of hard-soled shoes on the floor, instantly recognizing the person wearing them from his body language rather than his appearance.\n\n"Good morning, I am Professor Ozpin," the middle-aged man in the green and black suit says, adopting an almost painfully familiar stance with his hands folded atop his cane. You almost immediately start to question the wisdom of taking this job... it's just so strange to hear the same intonation in a different voice, to see all those same mannerisms in a fully-grown man that you were used to in the body of a skinny teenage boy, to once again be with one of your surrogate fathers completely absent one of your best friends, and be reminded of how much you miss them both. "You must be the individuals from GIPSE. ... Miss, is something the matter?" he adds, frowning slightly and tilting his head, silver hair shifting a bit and brown eyes curious.\n\n"No, sorry, just got distracted for a second," you answer quickly, waving off the question. "The portal does that sometimes. Yes, I'm Kai Sterling from Makarzia, this is my son Jin Sterling," you add, gesturing to Jin, who's donned a black hoodie-style jacket with a yellow lining, its hood currently up and tugged forward to shade his eyes. "Aurora Jitan of New Sebacea, and Savage from Terra. Aurora, Savage, and I are all certified Guild members, my son is with me on a training mission, I'll vouch for his combat capability."\n\n"One of the things I will also be relying on all of you for is your discretion," Ozpin says after taking a moment to look you all over. "If I simply wanted extra security, after all, I could have hired local Huntsmen. I hired outsiders specifically because GIPSE has a reputation for providing utter professionals, and I hope that I can trust you to insure that none of the students dies, without holding their hands or fighting their battles for them. Is that something that all of you should be able to do."\n\nSeeing Savage's ears twitch in an aggravated way, you quickly put a hand on her shoulder and give it a squeeze. "Certainly. Three of us are quite familiar with Grimm, we'll keep an eye out for anything that shouldn't be in the Forest of Forever Fall."\n\n"Oh? I had noted I was hoping that someone familiar with Grimm would accept the job, I did not expect you to also be familiar with Remnant geography," Ozpin says, quirking an eyebrow. "I am quite fortunate."\n\n'Yeah, not from what you told me the night Oscar got hella drunk.' "I've been to a few other Remnants," you <strike>lie</strike> slightly exaggerate. "I assure you, we'll interfere with the exam as little as possible."\n\n"Thank you, your understanding is appreciated," Ozpin replies with an even nod. "The test will begin in a little under two hours, I suggest you take your place in the forest now."\n\n"I don't like this," Savage says with a near-pout as all of you walk through the halls. "I may not have fought these 'Grimm' things but you've told me plenty about them. Just... throwing a bunch of teenagers into a forest filled with them, I don't like it!"\n\n"Savage, at this point in Remnant history damn near the whole planet is a forest filled with Grimm," you reply with a light sigh as you walk along, brushing your coat back from Red Legacy out of long habit. "That's the parts that aren't snow-covered tundra filled with Grimm, or deserts filled with Grimm and worse things. I may not like this test, and lord knows Ico decided to change it up a bit once she took over, but it's a fair one for people who want to stand between the innocent and evil. The fact that we're here says he feels they can handle it normally, and if he thinks they can't handle it he's gonna take steps. We're the steps."\n\n"I know you want to help the students, and I do too, honest," Aurora adds in, reaching out to pat the shorter woman's shoulder. "But they have to show they're strong enough for this job. I mean... Jin, how would you feel if you were taking this test, you started having trouble, and a fully-fledged Huntsman immediately stepped in and killed the Grimm for you?"\n\n"Hm. Well." Jin very carefully considers that, cupping his chin briefly. "I suppose I would feel as if I were being... babied a bit? It seems a harsh word, but to even be able to take the test I would have had to have proved myself combat capable and able to stand up to Grimm. I would feel like all my hard work getting to that point was already being looked down on, in such a case, I think," he adds, tossing an almost apologetic glance at Savage.\n\n"Oh, alright, alright," the Cautus woman huffs, making a 'whatever' gesture with both hands. "I'll try not to jump in at the first sign of trouble. But if it gets really dangerous...!"\n\n"Right, we don't let any of the students die," you affirm, nodding, before giving her a grin. "But keep in mind, in the Remnant I came from, these teenagers beat a scorpion the size of a bus and a raven the size of a plane. Give them ample room to find their own way before we join in, alright?" You reach out to clap a hand on Jin's shoulder as all three of you arrive at the edge of the school grounds. "You okay, bud?"\n\n"Yes, Kai-Mom," he answers with a quick nod. "It's just... a little strange to think that I might be meeting Blake-Mom and Yang-Mom but... not. Or at least, seeing them on their first adventure together."\n\n"It should be quite an experience," you assure him with a grin. "But let's try not to mess with their timeline too hard. As much as I'd like to give everyone a heads-up on certain things, we can't go around trying to 'fix' every Remnant in the multiverse. That's not what we're here for. Let's just make sure everyone's safe for the duration of the test and then go back to the Guildhall, maybe pick up another job or two before we head home."\n\nSoon all of you are down in the forest, orange and yellow leaves drifting down all around you as you lean back against the trunk of a tree, playing one of your idle games on your scroll. Jin has settled into a crouch nearby and seems to be meditating, while Aurora is wandering around the general area, scanning through the trees with a visual sensor to her eyes. "Just Beowolves and a few Ursas as far as I can tell," she reports.\n\n"And what are those when they're at home?" Savage asks, currently tweaking a few bits of her odd long-handled hammer.\n\n"Grimm trash mobs. Even combat school students could handle a Beowolf one-on-one, they're really even only mildly dangerous to people at this level in large groups or if there's an Alpha," you provide. "Jin could take an Ursa solo but he's top notch," you add with the simple pride of stated fact. "Hopefully most of the students will be teamed up with their new partners or grouping together into proto-teams before they run into one of those though. The Ursas further into the forest?"\n\n"A bit further out than the Beowolves," Aurora acknowledges, tucking the viewer away, then just squinting into the woods unassisted. "There's a couple closer in but that tracks with the stories your wives told."\n\n"I do wonder why the language is different here, though," Jin speaks up after a moment.\n\nYou blink. "Wait, was Ozpin speaking a different language?"\n\n"Yes, you did not notice?" Jin asks, peeking an eye open.\n\n"No. I mean his voice sounded different but I never heard that version of him speak, I guess I was too distracted by how weird it was to see Ozma's mannerisms in a different body to notice the translator working for me." You rub your chin a little. "Hm. Yeah, okay, this is probably a Deep Variant then."\n\n"'Deep Variant'?" Savage echoes, and this time you actually do notice the telltale intonation from the translator that says she's repeating the phrase phonetically in Terran.\n\n"It's something that happens in the multiverse," Aurora speaks up. "You get something that's very close to the original but also different in myriad subtle ways. Up to and including having a different common language."\n\n"Right, the Remnant that I emigrated to and Jin was born on may be 95% like other Remnants, but when you take an entire planet and its history into account that last five percent can be pretty significant," you note. "'Deep Variant' is what it's called when it's extremely like the most common version of that world and then there's that other big thing that's different. Like the common language."\n\n"Huh. And that happens often?"\n\n"Fairly often. There's probably some Terra out there where everyone speaks perfect Galacommon," you offer with a shrug. "Other things can be different too, personality variations being the most common, but so far from what we're seeing, things should hew pretty close to what we know, at least from hearing about it since none of us were here for this."\n\nAbout that time there's a sprnk sound from the distance, and a yelp of what might be surprise. "Uh, what was that?" Savage asks, looking above her.\n\n"Probably the first student getting launched into the forest off the cliff," you reply with a shrug.\n\n"WHAT?!"\n\n"Easy, easy, they'll be fine!" Aurora assures Savage even as she tries to restrain the short but curvaceous woman from rushing off in a random direction intent on either helping the students or bashing Ozpin's brains in. "Most of them are fully prepared for it and completely capable of handling it!"\n\n"-ᵃᵃᵃᵃᵃᵃᵃᵃᵃᵃᵃᵃᵃᵃᴀᴀᴀᴀᴀᴀᴀᴀᴀᴀᴀᴀᴀᴀₐₐₐₐₐₐₐₐₐₐₐₐₐₐ-"\n\n"... Most of them," Aurora murmurs with a wince.\n\n"This is crazy!" Savage blurts as Jin hops calmly to stand upright and does a few limbering-up motions as if utterly unconcerned.\n\n"Remnant's kind of a crazy place," you note, tilting your head a bit as close by you hear a rifle report, and then in the distance you hear a sharpened weapon hit a trunk.\n\n"ᴬʳᶦᵍᵃᵗᵒ," comes a put-upon voice from the distance.\n\n"Gomenasai~!" comes the reply call from much closer, your heightened attention to the translator letting you pick out the differences now.\n\nThen you blink. "Wait... holy shit, is that-"\n\nNot twenty feet away, a figure in gold and brass armor and brown leather leaps down from the tree, long red ponytail swaying as she rises to her feet, swinging her round shield with its pair of indents behind her back. She turns towards you, and almost instantly her eyes lock with Jin's. You can see them both freeze in shock, though likely for very different reasons. Jin, normally ever composed and unflappable, opens and closes his mouth several times in silence, while Pyrrha raises a hand, fingers to her mouth.\n\n"... Ah, gomenasai," Pyrrha Nikos says quickly a moment later, bowing. "You must be my partner then!"\n\n"Yes," Jin whispers, then quickly shakes his head. "Ah, I mean, no, I mean, I'm sorry, I, um-"\n\n"Easy, kid," you murmur with a smile, resting a hand on his shoulder, and adjusting to Nipponzi, since it seems to be near-identical to what they're speaking here. "Nikos-san, my son isn't actually taking part in Beacon's entrance exam today, he's just helping me with my job as his training. Kai Sterling, licensed Huntress," you continue, taking out your scroll, briefly glad that the new holographic ones are so good that they can emulate looking like a solid old one. "My team, Aurora Jitan, and Savaaji. And my son, Jin."\n\n"It's... wonderful to meet you," Jin almost breathes.\n\n"Oh, it's very nice to meet you all as well," Pyrrha says with a sunny smile, before looking abashed. "Um, there's something I really need to do, in that case, so-"\n\n"It's fine. We're here to provide extra security but we won't interfere with your test unless we absolutely have to," you assure her. "We'll follow you for now but please, pretend like we're not here."\n\n"Oh! I see. Very well then, arigato," Pyrrha says with another quick bow, flashing Jin in particular a quick smile before she sets off.\n\n'Yeah, go get your vomit boy, kid,' you think warmly, a sort of sweetbitter feeling in your heart you can't quite describe in full as you watch one of Remnant's future martyrs trot off with her mind full of girlish romance.\n\n"It's... really her," Aurora murmurs as she moves to stand beside you. She doesn't live the Remnant life like you do, but she's visited enough, and even one year joined the small annual 'pilgrimmage' your family makes to visit Jaune at Sanctum and leave flowers at her statue. She knows what the young woman you just had a brush with will come to symbolize to an entire world.\n\n"Yeah... Pyrrha Nikos," you add softly as the other redhead disappears into the trees and out of earshot. "The most promising young Huntress student in a generation, and within a year, if things go as they did in the Remnant we know, she'll be dead. Buying a matter of minutes against a foe she was hopelessly outmatched against."\n\nSavage's ears fold in half. "... Can't we do something about that?"\n\n"Kai-Mom," Jin adds, his voice pained.\n\n"... We can't save every Pyrrha Nikos in the multiverse, guys," you answer with a shake of the head before setting off into the woods.\n\nWhich doesn't necessarily mean you've decided you won't be saving this one.\n\nThe four of you catch up to Pyrrha about the time she's yanking spear-mode Milo free of the tree and letting Jaune collapse to the ground below with a loud yelp. Pyrrha drops down much more agilely beside him and helps him up, dusting the blonde boy off helpfully until he pouts and draws away. 'Wow, you used to be noodly as fuck, didn'cha Jaune?' you think, eyeing up the slightly lanky boy in front of you to compare with the broad-shouldered man you met in Haven, and the dignified instructor you've known for the last decade and a half. \n\n"Uh, who are these people?" he asks as he notices the four of you approaching.\n\n"We're just here for extra security," you inform him with a grin. "We're not part of the test, try not to pay too much attention to us."\n\n"Kai-Mom," Jin suddenly says, turning to the side and twisting his fists, the recessed kunai blades of Stark Shadow (built largely on the specifications of your old secondary Inferno Panther) extending into claw-mode.\n\nYou feel the scratchy sensation on your Aura almost the second he's finished speaking, turning and narrowing your eyes. "Sabyrs," you murmur as a half-dozen of the felinoid Grimm become visible prowling through the shadows of the trees.\n\n"Those do not belong here," Aurora adds in a whisper as she swings her rifle around, bringing it to her shoulder and aiming, Savage similarly readying her hammer and crouching slightly.\n\n"Nikos-san, put your back to a tree and ready your rifle to shoot any of them that get past Savage," you order as you draw Red Legacy and hit the control to unsheath it, the Dust blade crackling to life with fire and lightning. "Arc-san, on one knee in front of her guarding her with your shield."\n\n"O-oy, who are you, and what are th-"\n\n"I think we should do what they say," Pyrrha murmurs quickly, tugging on Jaune's shoulder as she begins to fall back.\n\n"Alright, Savage, you're our back line, let them come to you if they're gonna get there," you order as you shift to the side a bit, watching the long-tusked Grimm prowl around, their shadowflesh already bunching as they prepare to launch themselves forward. \n\n"My specialty," she chirps, giving her hammer a few light swings.\n\n"Aurora!" you snap as the first three Sabyrs launch themselves forward. She immediately pulls the trigger, her high-speed blaster rifle chattering, blasting the first Grimm's mask to pieces and dissipating it instantly, while the energy blasts skitter along the sides of the other two, knocking them askew. You leap in and forward, your son at your side, slamming a foot sole into the shoulder of one Sabyr and swinging your sword down to behead it, while Jin drives the twin kunai of one of his bracers into the other's skull before firing repeatedly with the single-barrel Dust shotgun between them, sending it to pieces. Then the other three are racing in on you, Jin whirling to the side and drawing two of them off with less focused reports from his guns, leaving them open for Aurora's shots, while you focus on the other. But even as you're switching Red Legacy to shooting mode, driving the Ulak blade down into the monster's muzzle and then firing directly into its back, you can feel more scratchiness across your externalized soul. "Savage, there's more!" \n\nBut the Cautus was already bracing herself as another trio of Sabyrs rushed out of the woods, actually catching all three at once on the haft of her weapon, her small body tensing with the impact but not giving an inch. "HHHHYA!" she shouts, shoving them back slightly and then starting to swing, the head of the hammer blazing with the power of her Arts as it skims across all three's skull masks, knocking them off-balance before she simply starts to wail on them with a flurry of furious blows, somehow catching all three monsters with every single swing until she's crushed all of them at once, three wisps of darkness fading into the noontime air.\n\n"... Sugoi," Jaune murmurs, his eyes wide.\n\n"Oh my, I don't think I've ever seen an Aura maneuver quite like that one," Pyrrha murmurs, her own green eyes a bit widened as well. "Truly, professional Huntresses are on a whole other level."\n\n"Hahaha! That's not Aura, it's A-!" Savage starts to proclaim, slinging her hammer onto her shoulder as she turns towards the three.\n\nAurora quickly claps a hand across the shorter woman's mouth. "-a Semblance of hers that lets her channel extra energy through her weapon."\n\n"Ah, a Semblance, I see. Well, thank you very much for taking care of those Grimm," Pyrrha adds with a little bow, nudging Jaune into doing the same. "They didn't look familiar to me, and they seemed much faster than the ones I've fought before."\n\n"Oh, uh, yeah, me too, I mean I probably could have taken them, but thanks for saving me the trouble!" Jaune blurts, thumbing his chest and plastering a smug look on his face... only for his expression to grow distinctly nervous as you turn a knowing smirk on him.\n\n"Those were an anomaly, so we stepped in," you assure them after a moment. "So go ahead and continue with your test, we're going to fall back a little and discuss things."\n\n"Understood, arigato," Pyrrha says with another quick bow, nudging Jaune in the side again to get him to do the same. You notice she flashes Jin in particular a smile again before she and her noodly new partner head off.\n\n"Shouldn't we be watching them closely, considering?" Savage says with a frown.\n\n"According to what Jaune told me, they're due for an intensely private moment shortly. Besides I'm not feeling anything else."\n\n"Sabyrs move fast and I think those were old enough to know how to hide," Aurora comments, frowning as she does a brief checkover of her rifle. "What were a bunch of Mantellian tundra Grimm doing on the Sanus continent, practically in the heart of Vale?"\n\n"Trying to munch on students that are at least two years and full teams out from being able to handle them. At this point in the timeline Team CFVY probably could maybe have handled that batch but especially with them pulling a distraction and flanking like that, even they might have had someone get hurt." You shake your head. "Nah, I don't like this, something's really off."\n\nSavage sniffs the air a bit, lapine ears twitching. "I smell fire," she warns.\n\n"Oh, yeah, Weiss set part of the forest on fire that's right," you note. At Savage's look, you shrug. "It's fine, that's all to plan."\n\n"The plan of this universe makes me uncomfortable."\n\n"Sorry." You glance at Jin, who is himself stealing a glance at the direction Pyrrha and Jaune with. Grinning, you give him a light nudge. "She's really something, huh?"\n\n"... She is very..." Jin clears his throat a little. "... tall."\n\nAh, yeah... Jin has thus far inherited his height from the matrilineal side of Blake's family. He's still hoping for one last growth spurt but it's looking like he may wind up a bit of a smol guy. Patting his back in reassurance, you nod to the other two. "For now let's keep following after those two. From what my Jaune told me they kind of wandered all over the place until they wound up meeting up with everyone at the ruins, so they're as good a way as any to range across the forest."\n\nThe four of you follow after the direction Jaune and Pyrrha went, picking your way a bit more slowly through the woods with stopping for Aurora to scan around with either her eyes or her viewer, confirming she can see no other anomalous Grimm or any students in distinct peril. You all emerge just in time to see Jaune and Pyrrha disappearing into a cave entrance. Glancing briefly over the little carvings of stick figures fighting a giant insectoid menace, you spend a moment mentally calculating the size of the entrance and then flop against the wall about ten feet aside to lean, drawing a toothpick out of your pocket and lightly gnawing on it. Jin once again settles to sit on his heels balanced on the balls of his feet, while Aurora picks out a boulder to sit on and check over the battle footage against the Sabyrs, Savage peering over her shoulder. Then Aurora blinks and looks up at the carvings. "Oh, wait. Isn't this the cave with the giant Deathstalker?"\n\nFrom within the cave comes a high, feminine scream.\n\n"Yyyyup," you confirm idly, flicking the little wooden stick against your front teeth.\n\nYou don't even flinch as Pyrrha comes dashing out of the cave at a full clip, followed closely by an eruption of stone and dirt as the massive scorpion-esque Grimm bursts from it, Jaune clinging for dear life to the large golden stinger at the tip of its tail. He gives another shriek as it lashes him around, claws snapping thunderously as it then takes off after the redhead. "Oyyyy! How about some of that hellllp?!" he wails at you in passing.\n\n"That's supposed to be here, you can handle it, you're doing fine," you call back to him calmly as you check your scroll for idle game progress. Oo, new ascension level.\n\nSavage looks over at you, her ears folded, a pout on her lips. "I'm never coming with you on a job again."\n\n"Sorry to hear that," you reply, flicking your scroll to turn off the screen as Jaune screams and is hurled into the distance with a flit of the Deathstalker's tail, Pyrrha giving both the creature and all of you a sheepish grin before taking off at a run after him. "C'mon, forest temple is that way, that's where all the action will go down, and probably where someone will have something extra waiting if what I think is happening is."\n\nYour quartet sets off at a fast trot in the way Pyrrha and her new arachnomorph admirer went, arriving in time to see most of RWBY and JNPR (albeit not officially grouped as such yet) standing at the front of a circular set of columns ringing a stone platform, all of them staring upwards. Redirecting your own gaze upward, you grin a little. "Oh hey, it's Ruby's reputation maker. Also the giant Nevermore."\n\n"She's gonna fall!" Savage declares in shock at the sight of Weiss dangling from one of the bird's huge talons.\n\n"She is falling," Aurora notes with a sigh.\n\n"She'll be fine," you assure them both.\n\nAll of you watch as Jaune leaps from the trees, dramatically catching Weiss in a princess carry and winking dramatically at her... only for both of them to drop to the ground since he apparently didn't have any other plan like that, the blonde boy breaking the Atlesian heiress's fall. "... Teacher really was a 'hot mess' when he got to Beacon, wasn't he?" Jin murmurs with a slightly sad shake of the head. After all, he's heard Jaune say 'I was a hot mess when I got to Beacon' plenty of times, but apparently having it directly demonstrated how hot the mess was is still a bit disillusioning.\n\nYou yourself can't help but wince a little as Ruby propels herself at the Deathstalker with a shot from the less developed Crescent Rose and gets smacked to the ground in the attempt. Then you wince again as she gets to her feet with a call of 'Daijobu dekara!' "Damn, I really hate this version of Remnant."\n\n"Because it's going bad and we get to help?" Savage suggests, eyes lighting up as she raises her hammer expectantly.\n\n"No, because Ruby's barely squeaky at all." At the Cautus woman's glare, you roll your eyes. "Would you just let them do it, please? They won't learn anything if they don't."\n\n"They can sit in a video room and watch forty combat videos in a row like everyone else!!"\n\n"Listen, Savage, I may look like this outside, but you think I'm standing here watching my family and my friends, young and vulnerable, facing this shit and it's really not affecting me?" You narrow your eyes as Ruby distracts the Deathstalker with a quick shot and then begins rushing back towards the others, the Nevermore swooping in from above as well, literally feathering the area with a flap of its wing and pinning Ruby's cape to the ground, Yang rushing towards her desperately as the Deathstalker bears down. "You think I don't want to help them?"\n\n"Then why aren't you?!" the former miner demands.\n\nYou close your eyes as the Deathstalker's stinger swings down towards Ruby...\n\n... and listen to the sound of glyphs shimmering and the cracking of ice forming rapidly.\n\n"Because this is where they become a team," you answer, opening your eyes to see Weiss standing between her new partner and the Deathstalker, a wall of ice capturing the monster's tail and holding it still. "This is where the seeds of the family RWBY and JNPR will become are planted. This battle is the water that helps those seeds grow. They need to fight it so they can become strong, but more importantly, so that they can see how strong they already are when they work together."\n\nYou watch with a smile as the eight teenagers quickly talk and gesture, Jaune and Ruby grabbing chess pieces from the small pedestals around the stone ring and then taking off. Watch as Yang looks with pride at Ruby standing tall briefly and checking the positions of the Grimm as the others retreat. "This is where they start to become the heroes that will save their world."\n\nYour quartet moves to follow the group as they wind up heading further into the ruins, teamwork starting to gel amongst all of them as the pair of giant Grimm close in, Weiss sweeping Nora out of the way of danger, Pyrrha and Ren covering Blake as she tries to escape the Deathstalker's charge, then Nora launching Jaune and herself to regroup with the rest by smashing a bridge section to use as a catapult. You wince a little as Nora accidentally knocks Blake from the bridge, but smile as the alternate version of your wife easily launches Gambol Shroud out to catch herself, swinging agilely through the emptiness surrounding the supported ruins and then flinging herself at the massive Nevermore, laying down a series of swipes as she runs down its back and then flings herself forward, swinging out and then onto a section of stone, rising to stand next to Yang, Ruby, and Weiss.\n\n"Hey hey the whole gang's here," you whisper to yourself, watching with pride as your friends stand together for the first time and launch a torrent of bullets and glyph missiles at the aerial Grimm.\n\n"Yang-Mom, Blake-Mom," Jin whispers in admiration, purple eyes wide as he watches his mothers agilely leap from pieces of stone as the Nevermore shatters their stone support with a strike of its wing, at seventeen unflappable and unflinching as they hurl themselves through the air in a ballet of martial prowess. And then something like intense pride and excitement lights up those purple eyes at watching Yang leap fearlessly into the Nevermore's beak, holding it open and firing shot after shot into its throat with her gauntlet. You wonder if the "ORA ORA ORA!" helps make it more impressive for him?\n\n"They've got this," you murmur, watching as JNPR coordinates to drive the Death Stalker's own stinger into its head, and as Yang's attacks drive the Nevermore back against a cliff face where Weiss can freeze its tail in place. RWBY shows its own full coordination for the first time as Blake and Yang use Gambol Shroud's variable ribbon to form a slingshot, Weiss's glyphs helping draw Ruby back as she flings herself onto it, then is launched forward. Crescent Rose fires almost nonstop as Ruby hurtles directly towards the giant monster, catching its neck with the scythe blade, Weiss's glyphs tracing a path up the cliffside that Ruby rushes along, letting out a long battlecry as she fires again and again and again, until she can launch herself up and over the edge, one last shot completely beheading the monster bird.\n\n"That was... amazing," Savage whispers from beside you, her eyes wide as she stares at the giant Nevermore's body slowly toppling, starting to dissipate into mist as it drops into the void below... or rather, she's staring at the fifteen-year-old girl standing on the cliff's edge, red cape rustling in the breeze.\n\n"That's my family," you agree, eyes twinkling.\n\nSoon Ruby leaps down from the cliff face, rejoining everyone, the two newly battle-tested teams making their way back out of the ruins, with your own quartet moving to meet them. "Hey, who're these guys? Most of 'em look kinda old for students!" Nora declares, rubbing her chin as she looks you all over. \n\n'Thanks Nora,' you think flatly.\n\n"Oh, these are apparently test overseers here in case there's any Grimm we students can't handle," Pyrrha speaks up.\n\n"And you just let us fight those alone?!" Weiss demands with a huff, putting her hands on her hips and leaning forward with her lips pouted out a bit.\n\n'She seems bitchier than I expected,' you muse, eyeing her for a moment before responding, "You handled them, didn't you, Schnee-san?"\n\n"Ah... well, yes, we did," she admits with a bob of the head and slightly bad grace.\n\nBlake, meanwhile, has tilted her head, one corner of the purple bow atop it twitching a little. She leans in towards Jin, who tries to subtle turn away a bit... but you can see Blake's eyes lock on and narrow a bit with suspicion as part of his hood twitches as well. Oh well, you're betting it's 'you're a secret Faunus too aren't you' suspicion instead of 'you're my future son from an alternate reality aren't you' suspicion. \n\n"You all did great," you can't help but assure them, smiling proudly and getting some bright smiles and abashed grins in return. "I think you'll all be really pleased with how this test works out for you. Well, most of you," you add with a glance at Weiss, who instantly looks troubled and glances at Ruby as if already starting to suspect why she might not be pleased. "Time to head back to the return site."\n\n"It was a pleasure to meet all of you," Pyrrha assures your quartet with another short bow, Weiss copying her with a curtsy, apparently reminded by the show of politeness that she's supposed to have manners too. \n\n"Very... very nice to meet you too," Jin answers, before blushing brightly as Pyrrha flashes him another smile before turning to rejoin the others.\n\n'Oh honey,' you think with just a little bit of heartbreak.\n\nYou settle into a slow amble behind the students, the other three keeping pace with you, letting the newly-tested Huntresses and Huntsmen (though you notice that they seem to just be saying 'Hunter'... or more specifically 'Huntaa') chatter excitedly amongst each other, or in Ruby and Weiss's cases bickering lightly. Pyrrha and Jaune range a bit ahead, Pyrrha apparently trying to compliment Jaune about his strategic skills in taking out the Deathstalker, and Jaune apparently finally having discovered some humility as he tries to brush it off.\n\nThen every single one of you except Savage stops in place, the Cautus woman looking around curiously at what must look to her like a mass amygdala hijack. "What? What is it?"\n\nBut she doesn't have to wait very long for her answer as the ground begins to tremble under numerous overlapping impacts. The thing making that scuttling quake crests a hill, tail-first, the golden stinger at the tip shining brightly even in the afternoon sun, the rest of the tail studded with several rusted spears and swords. The rest of the Deathstalker easily twice the size of the first, hefts into view, its back bristling with more ownerless weapons, lovingly bestowed names long forgotten, the hands that gripped them having fallen one after the other in one last desperate attempt to take down the thing that killed them and their teams, the Grimm itself feeding on the fear of fallen warriors until it became hungry for it, until it could no longer be satisfied with anything but the heady last moments of terror in the hearts of the bravest and strongest Remnant had to offer.\n\n"HUNTER-KILLER!" Ren shouts, unable to keep a little of the fear out of his own voice as he almost reflexively brings Stormflower up and starts firing, followed by most of the others, pure reaction-fire, the instinct of fresh-minted hunters overwhelmingly reduced to prey for the first time.\n\nPyrrha tries to swing Milo up, but a sweep of the Hunter-Killer's claw slams into both her and Jaune, knocking them sprawling with a crackle of their Auras. Ignoring the fire from the others, the monster turns, swinging its weapon-pierced tail upward to aim it down at them.\n\n"JIN!" you snap, your voice overlapping with him calling "TIMES TWO!", the fifteen-year-old already bursting forward, surrounded by a crackling hazy red-black corona that resembles nothing so much as his grandmother's portals. Sprinting through and past the others at a speed almost matching Ruby Rose's semblance, he drops into a skid to place himself between the downed pair, snatching up Jaune's shield and swinging it up as the stinger strikes down, the impact making the war heirloom thud like a gong as a thick dust cloud rises into the air, surrounding the three and the front of the Grimm.\n\n"Fall back!" you call as you, Aurora, and Savage rush forward, the students ceasing their fire and letting you through as you prep. Though all their gazes are locked on the dust cloud as it begins to settle... and two in particular widen their eyes at what they're seeing.\n\n"What the-" Blake whispers.\n\n"-hell?!" Yang blurts.\n\n[[Music|https://youtu.be/iP0gJpZUF1Y]]\n\nThe impact created a slight crater beneath Jin's feet, and was enough to knock his hood back. Still surrounded by that red-black corona, his hair (including the feline ears) has turned bright blonde and blazes with golden fire, purple eyes similarly glowing gold, your son now almost undeniably the very image of his biological parents' union, as if not only their DNA but souls had fused into one to create him. "Nnnnh... times THREE!" he shouts, his body lurching as he suddenly shoves the shield and the stinger it's holding back, forcing the Hunter-Killer Deathstalker's tail off to the side so he can spin and smash the shield across its face.\n\n"No more!" you call to him in a snap before adding, "Aurora, get its attention!" \n\nShe nods, setting off on a run to the side, firing at the Hunter-Killer's eyes. Despite several direct impacts, the blasts seem to do little more than cause it pain, the massive insectoid Grimm letting out a distinctly infuriated shriek as it turns to try and track her. You convert Red Legacy to shooting mode and set off at a slightly different angle, but even the magaccel shots loaded with Explosion Dust seem to do little more than cause blackened charring on its carapace. "Savage!" you call, doing your best to cover the Cautus Operator as she rushes in, the Grimm swinging one of its claws at her in a swipe. Her hammer impacts against its carapace with a flash and actually arrests its forward momentum, but it's enough to send her flying backwards, Jin dropping Jaune's shield and hurling himself forward to catch her and roll them to their feet when they impact.\n\n"It's sucking up my Arts like a sponge!" Savage calls to you, sounding a bit worried. "The other ones didn't do that!"\n\n"Dammit," you hiss. You've never actually faced a Hunter-Killer... they were near onto mythical even before Salem's defeat, and most of them supposedly died out then. You don't like this, but you're going to have to use the kids. "Weiss! Use-" Dammit no she won't learn time acceleration until the second semester. "Use your glyphs to get Ruby into the trees, Ruby only fire if you spot a gap in its armor! Ren, cover Pyrrha and Jaune with your Semblance until Pyrrha can recover some Aura! Nora, fire shots between it and the rest of you, try to drive it further towards Aurora! Yang, Jin, Savage, form up on me and stick close!"\n\nIf they're curious how you know their names, or if Ren wants to know how you know about his Semblance, none of them question it at the moment. Apparently a Hunter-Killer makes good reason to shove other concerns to the side. Yang rushes to your side and settles into a crouch, activating her Semblance in preparation, she and Jin both flaming golden-headed warriors on either side of you. Savage falls in just behind you, hammer raised. "Aurora! Kite it further away and then lead it back towards us!"\n\n"On it!" The Sebacean woman leaps sideways and midair hurls herself into a spinning flip to avoid the strike of the Deathstalker's stinger, landing and immediately flinging herself backwards. Her steady stream of blaster shots isn't making much of a dent in the carapace, but between the pain they cause and the pink explosions harrying it from the sides and back, she and Nora at least seem to be succeeding it leading it on a long, looping path. \n\n"Alright, Weiss! You see that rock there, the low one kind of out on its own?"\n\n"Y-yes, but what does that have to do with-?!"\n\n"SHUT UP! Listen to when a leader tells you something goddammit!" you snap, her eyes widening and head rocking a little, but you don't have time to chisel teamwork into her the slow way. "That's our marker, when the Deathstalker draws even with that, use your holding glyphs to try and pin it down as much as you can! Nora, knock off the shots and form up on me! Pyrrha, what's your Aura at?!"\n\n"Seventy-five percent," she calls back to you, sounding a bit dull and logey under the influence of Ren's Semblance, her and Jaune's colors drained out.\n\n"Okay, Ren, let it up! Jaune, Ren, you guide everyone else in falling back!" You take a deep breath, knowing your part in this is just to direct... nothing you have but Big Ugly Bastard would put a dent in this thing and you got out of the habit of carrying it years ago. That'll teach you. "Pyrrha! The moment Weiss locks it down, start yanking weapons out of it. My group," you add to the cluster of hard-hitters around you, narrowing your eyes. "Put 'em back in."\n\nAurora switches to firing behind her as she puts her focus into running forward, actually hopping over the marker-rock in her path before racing past you. The Hunter-Killer skitters along after her, the ground shaking harder and faster as it gets closer, until its massive clacking mandibles have barely passes across the marker. Weiss twirls and stabs the tip of Myrtenaster into the ground, kneeling against it as swirling black rune circles appear around the Grimm's legs where the tips have sunken into the earth. It waves two of its free ones around, starting to shriek, and you can see that Weiss is already starting to strain, not nearly practiced enough with this technique to keep it up for long. But then some of the weapons being to glow faintly black, shuddering and yanking free of the carapace to hover an inch above. "GO!" you call, the four around you racing forward.\n\nNora launches herself forward with a back-aimed shot from Magnhild, converting it to hammer mode and swinging around in midair to smash the butt of a spear like a nail, driving it a good foot into the multi-inch indention it came out of, the Deathstalker giving a fresh shriek. Yang fires Ember Celica to juke to the side, then again to drive herself back towards one of its legs, one more report ringing out as she punches the broken-off hilt of a sword to drive it into a leg, the armor cracking and dividing, the breakage only growing more obvious as the monster thrashes against Weiss's restraint. Savage and Jin both land on its back, Yang jumping up to join them, every time they see a dead Hunter's weapon rise up smashing it back in harder, making the monster finally feel the strikes of its long-dead victims and prompting shrieks of pain and seeming outrage from it. Nora, apparently of her own initiative, shifts Magnhild back to shooting mode and focuses on firing at the Deathstalker's stinger, keeping it from orienting properly to try and strike at the scurrying warriors on its back.\n\n"It's the death of a thousand cuts, but the longer the fight goes on the more likely we are to lose someone," Aurora comments worriedly.\n\n"Dammit," you whisper, having drawn the same conclusion.\n\nThen Jin notices a long naginata jutting out of the Deathstalker's back just behind its head. "Pyrrha! That one! Angle it!" he calls, pointing at the weapon and then darting towards it, zig-zagging between the others and more of the weapons jutting from the monster's back. He leaps into a twirl as the weapon glows black and lifts up, its point shifting to point towards the Deathstalker's mask. "TIMES FIVE!"\n\n"NO!" you shout, even as the corona around Jin flares and his heel smashes against the base of the weapon. There's three cracks overlapping followed closely by a fourth, the weapon briefly breaking the sound barrier before it smashes into the Grimm's mask and drives it to the ground at the same moment that Ruby's shot slams into the deeper hole left by its absence, one attack briefly pinning it like the bug it is and the other making its shadowflesh bulge slightly before it starts to dissipate, mask broken and innards shot through. You're already running forward as Yang and Savage drop to the ground, scrambling out of the way of released weapons, Jin giving a loud cry of pain as he hits the ground and curls in on himself. You drop Red Legacy and skid across the torn grass as you drop to your knees, carefully gathering him to you, wincing at the angle his leg is at. "God DAMMIT I told you no more than times three!"\n\n"I'm sorry," he replies through gritted teeth, red-black corona having already faded, hair once more soft black and eyes purple as he trembles against you. "I-it was the only way."\n\nThe others have come rushing over now, Pyrrha gasping and clapping her hands over her mouth as she sees Jin's broken leg. "What happened?!"\n\n"Jin's Semblance lets him push his body to multiples of its current strength, but it doesn't actually make him sturdier," you reply grimly, looking him over. "Aura lets him use Times Two without much problem, but at Times Three and above he starts getting muscle tears and bone fractures. Jaune, get down here on the other side of him, now."\n\n"O-okay?" the blonde boy says in confusion. "I, I don't know what I can do, though!"\n\n"It's okay, I'm gonna talk you through it. Very gently, lay your hands on his leg, okay?" You wince a little as Jin hisses with pain at Jaune's touch, but you try to ignore it and keep your voice calm. "Alright, I want you to close your eyes and breathe in. Breathe out. Very slow. Keep yourself calm, everything's okay now," you assure him, gentling your voice. "You're gonna help it be okay. Focus on that thought. You want Jin to be alright, don't you?"\n\n"H-hai, of course."\n\n"Then focus on that. Focus on how you want him to be okay. Focus on how you want to give him what he needs to be okay."\n\nJaune nods slowly, his confusion obvious even with his eyes still closed. But slowly, the glimmer of white-gold aura shimmers into being around his hands and expands down to Jin, turning a warm purple as it passes in. You let out a breath of your own as the angle of the bone slowly corrects, and you can feel your son sag against you a little as pain starts to alleviate, all his other torn muscles and fractures starting to knit.\n\n"Okay, that's good, Jaune, don't try to push it, just let it kind of happen naturally as you focus on that feeling of wanting to make sure he's okay. You're doing great. You may feel a little tired after but you're doing fine."\n\nFinally, Jaune lifts his hands, indeed looking like he'd desperately like a nap, but seeming almost awed as you rise and help Jin to his feet. "I... I did that?" he says in a whisper, eyes wide with wonder.\n\n"Congrats on the Semblance, Arc," you say with a grin.\n\n"Whoa, that's awesome," Ruby murmurs, then looks at you. "Miss, not that we don't appreciate all the help, but what the hell is going on?"\n\nYou stare at her. "... Are you even Ruby Rose?"\n\n"EH?!"\n\n"I understand everyone has a lot of questions," Aurora speaks up, clearing her throat to prompt Jin to pull his hood back up, since Yang and Blake are now staring at him with slightly slack jaws, their gazes wandering towards each other as he turns away. "I'm afraid that we really can't share any answers with you. Please understand that it's just best if we don't tell you too much. Now, you've all proven just how good you are, I think it's time to head back. I'll show you the way, alright?" she adds, beckoning as she turns to head off.\n\nObviously some of the students are more reluctant to go than others, but eventually they all get dragged along by social herding if nothing else, Savage bringing up the rear. You linger for a moment, looking after them before turning to Jin, pushing his hood back down so you can stroke both hands over his hair. "Boy don't do that to me. If I hadn't sat in on Jaune's classes a time or two and heard him explain how he uses his Semblance we'd have been taking you home in a cast."\n\n"I'm sorry," he murmurs, before hesitating and adding, "For upsetting you."\n\nYou raise an eyebrow. "Oh really?"\n\nHe nods in return, face solemn. "Kai-Mom, I made a decision in combat and followed through on it, knowing what it might cost me. It was what needed to be done to protect everyone else and make the plan work. If I want to be a Huntsman, I need to accept that sometimes it's going to cost me things to protect my team. Yang-Mom understands that better than anyone... while I wouldn't want to make the same mistake she did, I'd still make the same sacrifice she did, if I thought it was necessary. For my partner, my team... or my family."\n\n"... You mature little shit," you murmur, leaning forward to kiss his forehead as he blushes. "Alright, c'mon, let's get back."\n\n"I must commend all of you," Ozpin says in the hallway outside of the elevator to his office a bit later. "A Hunter-Killer is a rare and fearsome foe, but you managed to dispatch it with no... permanent injuries," he notes with a glance at Jin, his hood tugged back up into place. "What's more, you were able to effectively utilize the students and involve them, and even guide one through using his newly-unlocked Semblance. This batch of students was already likely to be quite famous considering their display in the ruins, but being part of taking down a Hunter-Killer has already made them a minor legend in this place."\n\n"Hopefully it won't go to their heads," you reply with a bit of a grin. 'Especially Weiss, she doesn't need it.'\n\n"Indeed. ... There is obviously much more going on here than I am aware of," Ozpin says slowly after a moment. "But it ill befits me to respond to you saving the lives of my students by prying into your private affairs. I have already transferred your payment, along with a sizeable bonus. I will invite you to stay for the after-ceremony party, but with that said I really must get down to finalizing the teams," he adds before turning on his heel and striding towards the elevator.\n\nYou can feel Savage and Jin's stares on you. "Kai-Mom," Jin whispers softly again.\n\n<hr>\n[["..."|KaiBB]]\n\n[["... Hey."|KaiBB1x6]]

"I think for now my priority should be finding out how to restore all my powers," you answer. "No offense Dad, but the Guardian Sentinels have gotten used to being able to call on me for the level of power I can bring. I know I could still be a great hero without them, but-"\n\n"But sometimes we need more than one person that can shatter a meteor with a punch," your father says dryly. "No offense taken, so-, er, Morgan. We'll work together and-"\n\n"Why not let me focus on it?" you suggest. "Since I can't go do Morgan Mekborne stuff anyway, seems like I'd be the one with the most free time. I'll hole up here in the lab, you get back to life as you know it."\n\n"Hm. Well, if that's what you want, I guess I can't argue with that efficient distribution of effort. Just let me know if you need anything."\n\nOver the next two weeks, you spend your time wandering the lab doing research, much of it involving your own readings from when you were young. Your father, being how he is, took meticulous readings of just about everything he could. He drops by several times, though after the first time always makes sure to knock and ask if you're dressed... he seems to have some sort of problem with you doing your lab work in the nude, and even more with you just telling him to come in when he asks if you're decent. You still think you're pretty decent whether you're dressed or not, but oh well, since he asked nicely. He does seem mildly concerned about something, but apparently not enough to bring it up with you.\n\nEventually, you're almost certain that you've come up with the solution. Asking your mother to meet you in the lab, you prepare the wall screen. She, at least, doesn't seem particularly bothered by the fact that you're just wearing a tanktop and panties again, barely even raising an eyebrow. "So I think I've determined the issue, and how to return my powers," you explain to her.\n\n"Excellent, dear, go on."\n\n"I compared the readings Dad took all throughout childhood, and much as he did found it difficult to determine a point where an actual biological change took place other than puberty that seemed to set off my powers. So I went back to some pre-natal scans, then compared them to ones throughout the first two years," you continue, showing more datablocks.\n\n"Come to think of it, we did think you might actually just be a normal human before you were born," your mother notes as she looks at the scans. "While some of the readings changed after, when you took so long to develop powers, we thought... wait, so something did change between birth and such an early age?"\n\n"Yes, I charted the readings, and came to a very simple conclusion. The genetic ability for powers was always there, but there's a kind of catalyst, something that unlocks them and strengthens them." You turn towards her, grinning. "Breastfeeding."\n\nYour mother's cheeks color just the tiniest bit, but she nods slowly. "Breastfeeding is a very important thing amongst the Avellonian royalty, to the point that there's a fairly complex ritual surrounding circumstances where it might otherwise not be possible for a royal child to suckle from another royal. I honestly thought it was just one of our more ingrained matriarchal traditions... I suppose no one ever took a particularly close look at the biological science of it. ... Wait, then you're saying...?"\n\n"Yes, Mom, your breast milk can restore my powers. It should be fairly easy to reinduce lactation," you continue, even as her blush intensifies. "Probably after just a few weeks of me breastfeeding from you again, at most, I'd have all my powers back."\n\n"Er, dear, wait wait... as important as it is to my culture, you're a little old for it," your mother says, clearly trying to laugh off the implications. "I don't mind at all going back to lactating, but couldn't we, ah, do it mechanically and you drink it afterwards?"\n\nYou frown a little. "We could, but my studies of the scans Dad did indicate that the protein chains that are passed on that assist the empowering process are very delicate... passing them through pumps or even letting them rest for a short period would break them down to some extent. It would take a lot longer for my powers to return to full strength that way, if they ever did."\n\n"I... see," your mother says slowly, nodding once. "Well... if that's what you really need, dear..."\n\n<hr>\n[[It would be best.|CalMaze]]\n\n[[Well if you're that uncomfortable with it...|CalMaze]]

"I've got a lot to do, Deathtrap. Maybe we'll hang out after the next time I foil you," you add dismissively, flitting a hand through the air before walking out.\n\nYou stop and turn as, once you've left, the building sinks into the ground and disappears. Probably to be expected. You turn around and try to take off... and make a face as you basically hop a bit in place without quite moving your legs. Tch, figures. Shaking your head, you raise your wrist and activate your communicator. "This is Caliburn, passcode Alpha-Anduin-Laurel. I've had some circumstances thwarting Doctor Deathtrap and need a pickup."\n\nSome time later you're sitting on a table in your father's laboratory, wearing a tanktop and black shorts as he looks over the readings at a nearby terminal, your mother standing a short distance away with her arms folded. They're definitely a bit of an 'odd couple' according to most other people, your father black-haired and leanly-muscled, handsome but sort of giving the sense that he could easily fade into the background if he didn't have such an intense air about him. Your mother meanwhile is a bit taller than he is, blonde and blue-eyed and well-endowed (still moreso than you are now despite your changes), in fact generally generous all over, with a sort of queenly air that draws attention whichever identity she's in, though right now she's wearing her one-piece and cape, and has in the little pieces of a 'crown' tucked into her hair.\n\n"I'll admit that I've never seen a change quite like this," your father admits after a moment, lifting his head and frowning thoughtfully at you. "It's as if as far as all your biological readings are concerned, you were always female. This isn't like any of the other instances like this I've seen, there's no traces of biological alteration, no energy signatures indicating magic or dimensional shift, you just... are like this now."\n\n"Deathtrap did say that the technology she'd found was like magic with how it could even trade concepts, I guess it's beyond even what we know of magic," you say with a bit of a sigh.\n\n"What about his... her powers?" your mother asks with a frown.\n\n"They're not quite removed... I'd say Morgan still has near-invulnerability, and greatly enhanced senses, strength, and agility, but they're closer to very high end human abilities. It looks like there's still a little bit of flight too, but probably just enough to do mid-air course corrections or maybe adhere to surfaces." Your father pushes away from the terminal, looking at you and rubbing his chin. "I'm really not sure what we'll do about your civilian identity. If the changes were smaller we'd just be able to make you a hologram disguise, but your body outline is... decidedly different than before."\n\n"I guess for now Morgan Mekborne will have to go on a vacation or something, until we figure it out," you say with a shrug. "If we can't figure anything out, we'll just say I got a high-end sex change while I was away or something, people can deal."\n\nYour parents exchange a quick glance, but your mother simply nods after a moment as she looks back at you. "Alright, dear, we'll put off figuring it out for now. That aside, what do you think your priority should be?"\n\n<hr>\n[[Restoring your powers.|CalMaze2x3]]\n\n[[Getting back to heroing.|CalMaze]]\n\n[[Capturing Deathtrap.|CalMaze]]

Well, it's just one minus, right? Surely it can't be that bad, and you're not sure what removing 'Taboo' will do but since it's not messing with the rest of your mind, you're sure you'll be able to use logic and reason to get around it. You tap the third button and wait but... nothing really seems to particularly change. You blink a few times, looking down at yourself as if alert for any change, but you don't feel any different, even mentally. You raise your head as a door slides open, then shrug and walk through it.\n\n"Congratulations, Caliburn, you've navigated my Labyrinth of Change! And emerged changed indeed!" Deathtrap declares from the wall screen, clapping her hands as a squarish column rises from the floor, the top sliding open to reveal your costume, and a purple data disk laying atop it. "As promised, the only copy of the data, and I'll never speak of what I know, including your identity... though I suppose you've got a bit of a new one available to you now."\n\nYou give her a wry look, finding you're not terribly bothered by her jibes about your change of sex. Eh, you've known far too many strong, capable women to be bothered about a mere change from male to female, you're sure others will learn to deal too. Or something. You put the disk in your belt, then pull on your costume again, not overly bothered when it has to stretch a great deal more to cover your changed body, outlining the firm mound of your pussy and the stiff nubs of your nipples clearly. Nothing wrong with that. You turn and stride towards the door, pausing as Deathtrap calls, "Well, guess we're done here! Unless of course you'd like to celebrate your victory with a little fun together?"\n\n<hr>\n[["I don't see why not."|CalMaze]]\n\n[["Pass."|CalMaze2x2]]

Hm. You are looking a bit on the "latte" side as opposed to your old "coffee with one cream" self that you used to be when you were going out in at least indirect sunlight regularly. Maybe it would be best to actually, y'know... leave the apartment for awhile? You're a NEET, after all, not a hikkikomiri, and you want to stay that way.\n\nNodding absently to yourself, you sit down in your chair and lean over, snagging a clean(ish) pair of white thigh-highs and pulling them on, then sliding your feet into your cute pink and purple sneakers. You also pull on a light jacket... it's not so much that the cold bothers you, just that sometimes people give you more weird looks for walking around in cold weather without one. Also your shorts don't have pockets so you sort of need somewhere to put your wallet and keys and stuff. Checking that you have all of said stuff (including your cellphone), you step outside your apartment for the first time in... awhile. You squint a little at the sun, but it's not as bad as it could be. You take a minute to look out at the little bit of the city that's visible from the second floor of your apartment building... you're not in the midst of urban sprawl, but luckily there's a train station right nearby. \n\nAlright, so, outside, fresh air, yaaaaay. ... Yawn. What now?\n\n<hr>\n[[Go for a walk in the park.|Sipha3x2]]\n\n[[Go for a stroll through the neighborhood.|Sipha]]\n\n[[Go to Akihabara.|SiphaAkiStart]]

It is the area of the city that humans seem to have actually bothered to make pleasant to wander around in. Tucking your hands into your jacket pockets, you amble (which is a thing you discovered since you came here and realized very few people stride elegantly everywhere) across the street and down the way, making a turn and entering the park. \n\nTo you this place reeks of being micromanaged in a way that even the most cultivated and tended of your people's woodland demesnes don't, but eh... it's greener than your apartment. (You naturally have quite a green thumb, but even then most of your attempts at keeping plants in the apartment have been disastrous. Besides the lack of proper light and space, you tend to get... distracted... from caring for them. An elf alchemist who can't keep plants alive is a little pathetic, but it's not like your sister's here to nag you about it.) You yawn lightly again as you stroll along the path, not paying particular attention to your surroundings or where you're going, just generally existing in an outside space for awhile before retreating to the comfy and wifi-enabled confines of your room.\n\n"Hey! It's the pointy-eared neechan from down the street!"\n\nHm? Well, you think you've heard yourself referred to as such before, in passing. Is that squeaky call for you?\n\n<hr>\n[[Stop and look.|SiphaKids1x1]]\n\n[[Keep going.|Sipha]]

Yeah, that one sounds good. Keying your acceptance of the outstanding mission, you key the coordinates into your ship's dimensional drive.\n\nYou come out near the planet on the other side of the moon, and just to be on the safe side engage 'passive cloaking'... basically emitting a field that nullifies your ship's energy signature. It won't hide it from someone actually looking for it, but it's standard for when you're going to be leaving it on its own for any amount of time.\n\nYou take a few moments to familiarize yourself with the information for the site. Looks like it was investigating some sort of 'Precursor' civilization... oh. Looks like this is tagged as a Porno Dimension, which means everything shades to the rather naughty. It doesn't necessarily mean everything's sexual, but everything will have sexual overtones. You've never actually been to one before, now you're a little nervous.\n\nBut! No time for that, and nervousness isn't for brave Recon Rangers anyway! You program the archaeological site's coordinates into the teleporter and bwoop yourself down after arming yourself with the standard Ranger sidearm. The site itself looks like a fairly standard camp made of hard-paneled easy-setup domes, though from the look of the cold and emberless firepit towards the center it really hasn't been used in awhile.\n\nYou check your wrist sensor... hm, air's clear, but you're not seeing any humanoid lifesigns nearby, and the brief said the team was all humanoids. Oh, it does note that there are multiple ships in orbit above, two close together, though only one's running a big enough power signature that it's likely active. That's probably the reciprocal organization's own investigative team arriving, heck, maybe they're already here! Hm, should you go up and say hi, or just start looking around down here?\n\n<hr>\n[[Begin your investigation.|FioTrek]]\n\n[[Go introduce yourself.|FioTrek1x1]]

Sigh. Other than you being in your underwear, it seems to be Regular Person Hours™. Best not obey your thirst just yet.\n\nEventually the movie wraps up, and Listin hangs out for a little while longer, continuing to chat and drink a bit, before finally saying that he needs to get some sleep before a job tomorrow. The two of you bid him goodbye at the door, with Rafael giving your ass a squeeze before it's quite shut, then giving it a slap once the door shuts completely. "Go clean up, slut," he says affectionately, already peeling out of his shirt.\n\nYou poke your tongue out at him briefly, but any (emotional) butthurt is soothed by the fact that sexytimes seem to be imminent. You head over to start gathering up the bottles and pizza box, shaking your butt at him a bit, still mostly in casual mode.\n\n<hr>\n[["So am I going to be meeting your friends from now on?"|ChiLove]]\n\n[["So I found something in my apartment today..."|ChiLove]]\n\n[["So he seems nice."|ChiLove]]

"Sure, I'll grab us some beers then," you declare in your Being A Good Girl (For Now) voice, just casually dipping and scooping up the camera as you go past the table. Sure it flashes your ass at Listin, but considering that Rafael didn't make any sort of excuses or suggestions for you to go get dressed, you're guessing he wants to display his conquest to his buddy. How objectifying! Damn, now you're hornier than ever.\n\nWhen you come back with three beers Rafael and Listin have both settled to sprawl on the couch, in typical Tough Guy fashion on either end of it, so after you pass them their drinks you settle down to sit between them. Y'know, in your underwear. Because Rafael still hasn't given you any nudges or openings to go change, so you guess you're stuck like this for the night, maybe as "punishment" for missing his text. Part of you is a little aggravated at that (you're supposed to be at least mostly normie around others, gawd) and the rest of you is getting steadily more turned on by it. Still, you do your best to just act like everything's normal, the three of you chatting casually in typical getting-to-know-the-other's-friends fashion. Listin has apparently known Rafael basically since they were kids, and he seems similarly macho but in a more laid-back fashion. (His tail is also huge and fluffy and you really have to suppress the urge to ask if you can pet it because omg.)\n\nIn any event, eventually pizza comes, a movie is picked out, and the three of you settle in to eat and drink and watch, occasionally still chatting a bit about this and that (since it's a movie you've all seen and thus no need to pay attention in the quiet bits). But eventually everyone sort of settles in during the second half, and Rafael even dims the lights, since it's where all the good parts are. So you just sort of sit there and... marinate. Mentally and admittedly a bit physically because not only were you getting hyped for naughty fun times before they ever came in, but now you're sitting half naked between two big, strong anthro guys, both of them just casually leaning back and showing off their hefty bulges. God dammit you're thirsty, and not for beer, though you've definitely had a few...\n\n<hr>\n[[Start rubbing Rafael's thigh.|ChiLove]]\n\n[[Start rubbing Listin's thigh.|ChiLove]]\n\n[[Start rubbing both of them.|ChiLove]]\n\n[[Behave yourself.|ChiLove3x6]]

'He's gonna love this,' you think as you tuck the camera into one of your pockets before finishing up with the rest of your packing. 'At the least maybe his vanity will drive him to give it his all when he's being recorded,' you add rather smugly to yourself. Oh yeah, better remember to pick up more bruise cream before you get back to his place...\n\nYou get back to Rafael's apartment, and take a moment to change into your lounging panties and sports bra before going about putting everything away... and putting the camera out on the coffee table, grinning. You'll let him notice and ask what's up... or hopefully, even better, just take charge without asking. You always love when he does that. You finish putting things away, do a little cleaning, then turn towards the door as you hear it slide open.\n\n"Hey babe!" you chirp happily.\n\nRafael swaggers in as usual, but actually pauses a little as he sees you. Then he clears his throat as another guy comes in behind him... a bit more on the lean side but just as muscular and just as shown off by tight skinarmor, though his is black and gray with green-outlined hexes, matching the almost neon green spots and sworls in his dark gray fur. He blinks equally blue eyes at you, then clears his throat, turning his head away and scratching his cheek... though his eyes do track back to you.\n\n"Babe, this's my pal Listin," Rafael says dryly as he shrugs out of his jacket and hangs it up. "Brought him by to hang out. Guessing you missed my text."\n\n"Ah... yeah," you murmur sheepishly... eyes flicking towards the camera on the table.\n\n<hr>\n[[Just leave it.|ChiLove]]\n\n[[Put it away, casual-like.|ChiLove3x5]]\n\n[["Oh, actually, this works out."|ChiLove]]

Let's keep it at least that much normie, shall we? ... Plus geez the rent on a bachelor pad of that level actually on the Guildhall has gotta be painful. He has a hot tub in one of the side areas. Even if he's regularly doing high-level stuff he's definitely gonna be grateful if you start pitching in. (Maybe grateful enough to beat the crap out of you? Oooo, let's hope!)\n\nYou spend a while sorting through jobs, and take one that's a pretty bog-standard escort mission. (Hm, good call on the rejuve tank, babe, probably doesn't broadcast confidence to someone you're bodyguarding if you show up looking smacked-around and have to explain that no, sir, these weren't from losing a fight I'm just a sexual deviant who gets off on my boyfriend choking me out, honest.) You head to your vault, trading your skinarmor pants for a pair of black tac pants in the name of further looking professional, as well as putting on a shirt that covers your midriff. You select one of your more intimidating short rifles to wear at your back and a similarly intimidating-looking pistol, then head out.\n\nPicking an outfit that broadcasts 'hardass mercenary' and equipment that broadcasts 'this will kill you and it will hurt as you die' is an important trait for bodyguard jobs, you've found. Maybe no one was actually planning anything, but if they were, the message is apparently received, and you pass the mission of escorting the client from his building to his car, from his car to his plane, the plane ride itself, and then reversing the process at the destination in peace, with nothing more heinous than you having to decline drink service on the plane since you're on the job. It's a fairly long flight, which means not getting to drink kind of sucks, but the positive side of it is that it eats up a lot of time since Rafael mentioned he wouldn't be back until tomorrow.\n\nYou return to the Guildhall tired from sitting around all day and make a beeline back to Rafael's place, already comfortable enough to stop in the living room to shed your outer layers. Bleh, 'respectable' clothes... but oh well, needs of the job. Wearing nothing but a set of grey athletic-style panties and sports bra with white bands reading 'CYBER KLEIN' in black text, you snag a beer from the fridge and head into the bedroom.\n\nWhere you stop and blink at the sight of Rafael sprawled out on the bed, furry, muscular form completely bare, a hand pumping over his stiff prick with the wet shlp of plenty of lube, which has formed a glistening, almost solid layer over his long pink shaft. He turns his head and spots you, and without a word rolls off of the bed, grabs you by the arm, and flings you down on it on your stomach (sending the beer can tumbling to the mattress as well) before clambering back on after you. Still without a word, he yanks the back of your panties aside and pushes his lubed-up prick into your ass, making you moan as he nudges your legs out to the sides to let himself sink deeper into you.\n\n"Fuckin' hell, you dumb cunt, almost thought I was gonna hafta take care of this myself," he growls as he starts pounding your ass, making you moan out loudly as he grabs your ponytail with one hand and yanks on it.\n\n"Sorry-y-y-y-y," you whimper pathetically and needfully as his thrusts jolt your body, your eyes already starting to roll up a bit. You shiver a little at the sound of the beer being popped open and a spray of droplets and foam hitting all over your back, listening to him loudly slurping the refreshment you'd been looking forward to. But then, he's just enjoying his own property... both the beer and you.\n\nWhich sets a pleasant tone for the next couple of weeks. You and Rafael settle into a fun little dynamic of doing jobs, either together or separately, and then coming back to his place and him fucking your brains out while degrading you and abusing you and you loving every second of it. When you have spare time you usually pop back to your other apartment to pack up a few things and bring them in... the first couple of times, Rafael eyes the bags almost suspiciously, but eventually he just huffs in a resigned way, and the next time you come back half of the closet has been cleaned out and there's a new chest of drawers on one side of the bed. The two of you even get comfortable enough to start doing things as absolutely freaky as sitting and watching TV together, going out to eat, and visiting entertainment venues. Yes, such activities almost always turn to rather violent sex at some point before, during, or after, but hey, variety is the spice of life.\n\nSaid thought which is going through your head as you start collecting some more stuff from your apartment, getting down to the last couple of trips before you'll be ready to inform the landlord he can have the apartment back when your lease is up. In fact you're getting into the 'things that were shoved in a closet' level of packing up, which means most of it can probably go in storage. 'Gonna hafta figure out what to do with my car,' you muse, waffling a little. God, garages on the Guildhall are so expensive. ... Easily affordable since you and Rafael work together so well that both of you are making way more cash together than either of you were singly, but still, ouch.\n\nThen you pause as your rummaging/packing turns up something you'd forgotten you had: a high-quality camera. Expensive model with all sorts of fun features... not something you ever had any real use for, all of your camera needs are taken care of by your comms, pretty much. But then you didn't buy this one... it was, specifically, a birthday gift from an ex-. And much like the gift of lingerie, it was mostly self-serving, since the ex very heavily hinted it could be used to make some fun little videos of the two of you. Or possibly more. The relationship didn't last too long after that.\n\n... Althoooough... you're a bit different now, hm? And Rafael's definitely a different partner. Not that things have exactly had a chance to get boring, but why wait until things get boring to make them even more exciting?\n\n<hr>\n[[Yeah, let's do it!|ChiLove3x4]]\n\n[[Nah.|ChiLove]]

So maybe you're crazy, who cares? You're having the best sex of your life and outside of that things are turning pretty fuckin' comfy too, even if it's a dynamic you never saw yourself in before. You finish packing up an array of clothing and some of your other gear, put the apartment on more secure lockdown, and then head back to the Guildhall, your thoughts already having turned to considering how to wrap up your lease and whether it'd be more expensive to de-arsenal the second bedroom or just give up your security deposit.\n\nYou return to Rafael's apartment and spend a little time familiarizing yourself with the place, finding his own small armory and putting your stuff away with it, but for now leaving your clothes in the bag, since you don't want to be too presumptuous and take over his closet space without permission. After that you get a little bored, so decide to be a good little degenerate and strip down, flopping on the bed and draping one of his worn jock straps over your face, inhaling the hefty scent of his sweat and musk as you frig your clit, imagining all the lewd, mocking things he'd say about this if he saw you while you get yourself off twice.\n\nThen you take a quick rinse in the shower, avail yourself of the fur dryer again (because you're really starting to like that), before getting dressed in clean skinarmor. You can't just lay around masturbating all day... ... well you absolutely could, but for now you're still a mercenary in addition to being Rafael's favorite fuckmeat. Probably ought to go find yourself a quick job too while he's out, for something to do if nothing else. After all, until he says otherwise you could be useful in all sorts of ways other than providing hole!\n\n'Although,' you muse as you ride the lift down to the central area. '... There are other ways I could be useful to him, I guess. Like...'\n\n<hr>\n[[Getting him more girls.|ChiLove]]\n\n[[Getting him more connections.|ChiLove]]\n\n[[Nah just earning rent is good.|ChiLove3x3]]

Rafael immediately makes a rather un-dommy choking noise. "A... a ring?"\n\nWhich makes you snicker, giving him a poke under the chin with two fingers as if to nudge his sagging jaw closed. "Relax, I wasn't thinking so much an engagement ring as more of a... subtle... declaration of ownership, hm?"\n\n"... Oh," he says, clearly taking a moment to turn that around in his head for a few moments before giving a nod. "Hm... well, alright, that I kind of like the sound of."\n\nWell whatever works. And it's not like you made it up completely! You do want him to put a ring on it to show he likes it. But, y'know... if it smooths the way when you mention wanting to move your stuff into his place...\n\nThe two of you head to the shopping levels (you could just as easily call it a shopping district) and start cruising around the jewelry stores. Rafael seems to rather pointedly steer clear of the more "upscale" jewelry places where people are shopping for the classier, more mainstream sort of thing, which suits you just as well... even if it was a "real" engagement ring, you doubt you'd be much for the classical skinny little gold band with a chonky diamond shoved on the top. Instead the two of you visit into several more 'aesthetic' stores, the ones selling things that are more designed to blend with people's styles.\n\n"This one uses authentic recycled combat starship armor and real diamonds, but has LEDs under them," the woman at the latest place you're stopping in says, beaming as she holds up the very dark silver ring with its band of diamonds. "You can link it to your comm and control the colors as you like to suit the situation. 'Cool white' does a great job of showing off the diamond quality," she adds in a conspiratorial whisper to you.\n\nYour eyes light up a bit at the thought of using that to brag to all your girl friends, and you shoot Rafael a slightly pleading look. He waffles for all of a second before giving a short huff and nodding. "Yeah, sure, we'll take it."\n\n"Great!" she chirps, her eyes sparkling with delight, no doubt at having brought together a happy couple rather than the commission she's about to earn. "All our rings come with free engraving, would you like something on the inside?"\n\nAnd now Rafael smirks, his own eyes glittering as he looks at you. "Yeah. Engrave it 'To the best hole I've ever dumped a load in'."\n\n"... Uh..." She blinks several times at him, then looks at you... but seeing that you're grinning too, albeit with rather red cheeks and ears, she clears her throat and gives a thumbs-up. "... Will do."\n\nSoon the two of you are walking out, with you eyeing your new ring in pleasure, and Rafael shuffling along next to you looking so downkey embarrassed that you'd think he was the one walking around with 'To the best hole I've ever dumped a load in' pressed constantly against his skin. He looks briefly confused as you steer him towards the 'Low priority' lifts instead of the normal ones... and looks considerably more mollified when you settle to a squat in front of him and fish out his cock, blowing him the entire long elevator ride, with little to guarantee the two of you won't be walked in on other than the fact that the only reason to take the low-priority lifts is if you either want to have a conversation or... well... do exactly this.\n\n"Mmmf... I'd heard all about this phenomenon of buying her jewelry to get head," Rafael murmurs as he cups your head, giving his hips a few light thrusts to further stroke his prick between your lips. "I just kind of assumed that you had to wait to get home first. But then, you are a filthy fuckin' whore, aren't you?"\n\n"Mmm-hmmm," you moan happily around his cock, looking up at him as you poke your tongue out past your lips to lick at his sheath.\n\nYou gulp down his load not long before the doors slide open to the hallway, and he bends down to, in the same motion, scoop you up and put you over his shoulder again and to tuck himself away, strolling down the hallway and, once more, hauling down your pants and baring your wet pussy to anyone that might pass by. "You're really aiming to turn this into a kink for me, aren't you?" you comment, before giving a pleased yelp as he spanks you.\n\nHe carries you back to his apartment and through the living room back into the bedroom, tossing you down on the mattress on your back and grabbing your pants, yanking them down roughly and over your boots before freeing his cock again. Not bothering with anything else he clambers atop you, hauling your legs forward and pinning them before shoving himself into you. He's rough, practically mean, slamming you relentlessly as if trying to both drive you through the mattress and fuck the soul out of your body. He keeps your legs held up with his elbows and curls his hands around, grabbing your neck and squeezing firmly, adding gasping to all the loud, lewd noises you'd already been making. "You're way too much trouble, you fucking hole, and I'm gonna teach you your place," he growls down at you as your eyes roll up and your body trembles under him.\n\n'In your bed, under you, on your cock,' you think rather dreamily of your place in the back of your mind, since the front of it is busy cumming hard again and again.\n\n"You can't say 'no' to me, you get that?" he continues to growl, if anything fucking you even harder, his balls slapping roughly against you, his hands squeezing firmly enough that they'll definitely leave marks on your skin for days. "You want me to put a ring on it to show I own it? Then I'm gonna use it whenever I want, however I want, and you don't get to say no, you got it?!"\n\nYou can't make anything but rasping, gurgling orgasm moans so you manage a bit of a nod around his gripping hands, answering as much with a fresh spurt of pussy juices all over his prick as anything else.\n\nSuddenly his hands drop away from your neck, releasing your legs and scooping under you instead, hauling you against him as he grinds against you hard, groaning into your ear "Ffffuck I love raping you so fucking much," as he empties his balls into your wet, trembling hole, the best hole he's ever used as a cumdump.\n\n"Nnnnh... ah... ah, I love it when you rape me," you whimper back adoringly, stroking your hands over his back and hair, turning your head to press your face into the side of his neck.\n\nThe rest of the day (and quite a bit of the night) is spent in such pursuits, the rest of your clothing stripped, leaving you in nothing but that glowing ring as he takes you, claims you, and marks you, as if just to prove to you that the ring is nothing more than a symbol of his ownership of you, a merely physical and enduring sigh of the way he bites and sucks at your breasts, of his fingers driving inside you, hands squeezing you until you bruise and arch and cum.\n\nIn the morning you get up aching like you'd gone hand-to-hand with a roomful of ninjas in an actual fight, but when you stop in the bathroom to admire the bruises, the teeth marks, the scratches, there's definitely a much different sense of satsifaction. You do spray some sealer on the scratches once you've showered, but otherwise leave your 'battle medals' on display as you pad naked out into the main room.\n\nRafael is already dressed in his merc gear again, currently throwing away a takeout container, another sitting on the kitchen counter. "Oh, hey," he says. His eyes rake up and down your marked body in a mixture of satisfaction and faint worry, perhaps worrying that he overdid it, but he smirks as you step in and lean up, your breasts pressing against his chest as you nuzzle against his neck a bit. "I was just about to head out on a job, something I already had lined up before."\n\n"Mm? Want me to come with?" you ask as you settle back onto your feet.\n\n"Nah, I've worked for this guy before, he's real picky about everything going exactly as he sets it up, you know the type," he says with a roll of the eyes, before patting your bare, bruised ass. "I should be back tomorrow, I'll give you a comm if anything changes. And maybe stop down the hall for a dip in a rejuv, unless you think it's worth it having to explain to everyone you know that you're getting beaten because you enjoy it, slut," he adds with a snort before heading for the door.\n\nYou poke your tongue out after him, before sitting down to eat. ... Hm, probably got a point, though, he did kind of go whole hog on you last night. A couple of faintly visible hickies and maybe bite marks, none of your friends would do more than smirk and give you a sort of 'congratulations' look, but the finger-shaped bruises on your throat might provoke a more explanation-requiring conversation. Sighing a bit in disappointment, you finish up your breakfast and clean up a bit, then get dressed. After a stop in the small automated treatment center down the hall to disappear all your love marks (sad emoji), you head to the departure annex and return to your apartment on Makarzia.\n\nHauling a large bag out of one of your closets, you set it open on the bed. Let's see... at least a couple of sets of daily wear and the sexier end of the lounge wear, can't always go naked or it will lose its appeal. Speaking of which, plenty of your sexier lingerie... hm, he'll probably tear it off of you if he feels like it. ... Eh, #worth. Couple of sets of work clothes, too, probably better take some of your good weapons to keep at his place, most likely you'll need to upgrade your Guildhall vault to hold the rest once you start moving more of your stuff in...\n\nYou blink, pausing for a moment in your preparations. You glance down at your new ring, rubbing your thumb across it. ... Is this... nuts? Like have you gone authentically wacko? You know, objectively, this was all set off by getting splattered with love slug goo, but it just hadn't seemed to matter even once it was pointed out. You were enjoying yourself too much. But now you're busily working on prepping the early stages of moving in with this guy?\n\nHave you gone crazy?\n\n<hr>\n[[Holy shit yes slam the brakes!|ChiLove]]\n\n[[... Eh who gives a fuck.|ChiLove3x2]]

You wheel on Miranda, swinging your sword down hard with her just barely able to bring up her own in time to stop. She continues to block even as you cut at her again and again, her eyes pleading even as she tries to keep her expression calm. "Kai, you don't have to do this!"\n\n"He's right!" you snap back, fury driving every stroke of your sword as you force her to stay on the defensive, not giving her an inch as you press your attack. "You lied to me! So you could use me for your little vengeance play! Just like him! Just like the old man!"\n\n"Kai, it wasn't like that!" she blurts back, cracking a little as your accusation clearly stings, and wincing as it leaves you enough of an opening for your next cut to slip across her cheek, sending a wash of red down her skin.\n\n"You're just the same as he was!" you scream, beyond hearing now as you do your best to smash her sword to pieces with yours every time she dares to block you. "Using me as your fucking weapon, throwing me at enemies to get what you want!"\n\n"No, it's not true!"\n\nHer protests fall on deaf ears. By the time she actually starts trying to fight back against your assault, it's far, far too late... you've already pushed her reserves of strength with your furious attacks. What's more, you were there for the visit to the street clinic, you know every place she's hurt, every muscle that's been pulled, can force her into every move that will pop her stitches and make her bleed without you ever needing to cut her. Your anger, your need to punish her, your drive to pull something out of all of this, they all let you fight on long after she's exhausted whatever of the wakers she had left, and before long every strike she blocks is practically driving her to the floor. And then finally one does, and a slash at her upper arm makes her flinch into dropping her weapon, letting it clatter to the floor.\n\nYou breathe heavily, your eyes and hair wild, staring down at her as she looks up, a resigned look gradually taking hold in her red eyes as she gazes up at you. You slowly raise your sword, clenching your fingers around the grip.\n\n"Do it," Horace urges you evenly. "Do it, and finally end that miserable creature's legacy."\n\n"Do what you have to do, Kai," Miranda says quietly, her face calm and chin raising as if in offering. "Just know, his blood may flow in my veins... but it looks like you're more his daughter than I'll ever be."\n\nLips pulling back from your teeth, you snap your arms down in a hard stroke. Miranda's body wobbles, then falls, her head rolling the opposite direction in a tumble of brown hair and blood. You continue to breathe hard, staring at the floor beyond instead of looking down at what you've done, until you can slowly raise up straight, forcing your lungs to steady, your shoulders to start shaking... just in time for Horace's big hands to come to rest on them.\n\n"You did well, Kai. I am actually quite proud of you... of everything you've accomplished tonight."\n\nYou nod slowly, even as you do starting to lock all those feelings away, pushing them down inside you and throwing walls up behind them, vowing to never let them out. Instead you raise your head, gazing out at the city beyond the windows that has now been placed in your reach.\n\n"And pay what the dead fool said no mind. It's clear that you're not Doonian's daughter..."\n\nYou take a deep breath and let it out, feeling his hands squeeze on your shoulders in a way more possessive than comforting.\n\n"You're mine."\n\n<hr>\n[[Game Over.|Kai4axEnd]]

On the one hand, ugh. Makarzians are not a waterfaring people. The closest you've ever really come is the various times you've crossed the lake going to and from Holy Dragon Temple, and that was more like... going through airport security than being out on the water, considering. But it is undeniable that for the amount of time to invest versus the amount of time you could save, the river seems like a good gamble.\n\nYou haul out the tarp and unfold it, pinning it down at the edges with rocks, and then head to the trees, starting to search for ones large enough to be nice and buoyant but not so large that you can't enfold them in the tarp. Luckily at your level of skill and with your crystalslicer set to max, cutting relatively thin trees down and trimming them is pretty easy. You've also got plenty of tape and clips, and before long you've assembled yourself what you think is a pretty decent raft. You wouldn't trust it to get you off a desert island and across the ocean to civilization, but you figure that it will be enough for maybe a day's river travel, since the river looks relatively steady.\n\nAt the very least once you push it out onto the water it floats without any problems, and continues to do so when you step on it. Making sure it's not far out enough to drift off, you cut off a long, thin tree and trim it off, deciding it should make a good enough steering pole. You step back onto your raft with it and give a push off from the shore with your foot before moving to the middle, because yes you did ad balance weights but still it's no elaborate catamaran here.\n\nYou give a few pushes with the pole at the bank and in the bottom of the river, though your pole's just barely able to reach despite how long you cut it. As expected the river's relatively deep. You're not too worried though... you know how to swim, and you've had to, in Makarzian water no less. If you can survive that, the sort of brownish-bluish-greenish stuff running along beneath you and carrying your raft with it isn't too terribly intimidating.\n\nIn fact your river voyage goes quite smoothly at first, and you seem to be moving almost entirely in the right direction after rounding the first bend. You're a bit off to the side from Nova's location beacon, but the arrow is barely even tilted, meaning you're still going to wind up much closer to him if you wait until it points more to the side to get off. So yeah, good call! you assure yourself, preening a bit as you congratulate yourself for a risk well taken. With any luck you might be able to wrap this mission up today after all!\n\nThen you notice a bubbling in the water, which draws your attention to a rippling motion, a kind of arching that's moving against the current. It's also moving... not quite towards you, not enough that you think you're its target but close enough that you're a little worried it might tilt your raft enough to overbalance it. Something is moving under the surface and against the current so... definitely some sort of animal. Should you get out of its way? You're not that confident of your ability to steer too accurately, and honestly part of you is stubborn enough to think it should get out of your way. You're the tool user, dammit, acknowledge the order of things! So yeah you kind of want to give it a poke with the pole... if it's just the local equivalent of a manatee or something, that will make it get out of your way, right?\n\n<hr>\n[[Steer around.|ChiSW2x1]]\n\n[[Jabbit!|ChiSW1x2]]

"I've had enough. I'm hanging up the cape."\n\nYour parents exchange a concerned look, your mother being the first to speak in a gentle tone. "Darling, I know that what you're going through right now is painful. This sort of thing passes, though."\n\n"Yeah, well, maybe I don't think I should have to wait for it to pass in the first place," you mutter back, tossing your fork into your plate with a somehow overly loud clatter.\n\n"Son," your father says, obviously trying to be both gentle and grave at the same time. "Now I know what you're going through is hard, I've been in similar situations, but remember what I've told you. When someone is granted the amount of power you have, there's a responsibility there to-"\n\n"And where the hell is their responsibility to me?!"\n\nYou didn't even think about coming to your feet and slamming your hands to the table, your chair hitting the floor with a bang that overlaps with the impact on wood. Luckily you still used only normal strength and didn't crack the antique in half, though from the looks of shock on their faces say you might as well have.\n\n"I have sacrificed for them. I have suffered for them. I have bled for them," you hiss, stabbing a finger towards the window to indicate the city, if not humanity at large. "Half the time I've done it on live fucking TV, I guess so that they can feel inspired by my pain on their behalf. All because of the responsibility that comes with my power. Without ever asking a damn thing of them. But they couldn't give an ounce of trust, a gram of faith, a whisper of the benefit of the doubt in return?"\n\nYou suddenly find yourself laughing mirthlessly as you come upright, fingers running through your hair. "And you know, what if it was what it looked like, huh?" You fling your arms wide, staring at them with eyes wide. "What if I did save my own life, huh? How in the hell did I wind up vilified for that? What, what, if they think I was gonna die, was I just supposed to stay there? Was I supposed to give up my life so someone who was going to die anyway when the bridge came down on us both could live fifteen seconds longer? Is that what my responsibility is? For my own life to mean literally nothing, that I should trade it away for nothing but their sense of moral comfort that I was willing to?!"\n\nYou let your arms flop to your sides, staring at them, watching the shock slowly be replaced by pain... and their eyes lowering. "Yeah. Yeah, and you thought it too just now. That it was greedy to expect even faith in return for what I've done. That it was selfish to value my own life."\n\n"... Morgan," your mother says softly, her voice cracking. "I... we didn't mean that... ... we didn't mean to, it just-"\n\n"Yeah. Yeah, because that's what this does to us. That's what's demanded of us. That we give and we give and we give until we're empty, and then we need to keep giving, and be grateful to be allowed to do it even as we're spit on and treated like garbage when we don't live up to their ideal of us," you murmur, your tone growing flat now. "Well I'm all out of fucks to give, so someone else can take over that privilege. I'm done with it. If they want a loyal dog that keeps coming back to them no matter how often they kick it, they can go to the pound for another one, I'm out the gate and gone," you add in a grumble as you turn and stride out the door.\n\nAll through the drive back to your apartment, you keep expecting the call. But it doesn't come. Part of you is relieved and the other part terrified of that. But mostly you feel numb. You walk into your apartment, and somewhat woodenly work the hatch to open the display of your costume and other accoutrements, staring at it with the general idea that you need to get rid of it and trying to make yourself go through the details of how. Instead you wind up settling into a chair and just staring at it, chin in hand, long into the night.\n\nThe next day you go to your classes, but for all your ability to focus the teachers might as well be saying 'wahwah, wah wahwahwah' like an old Peanuts cartoon. Afterwards you just sort of wander around the city sidewalks, killing time by doing nothing, because you know that when you go back to the apartment you're just going to have to make yourself think about everything again. It's full dark by the time you come back in, making your way into the bedroom and shrugging out of your jacket to toss it on the chair.\n\n"You're still not checking rooms with your senses before you go in."\n\n"Gah!" You jump a little and whirl, staring at the barely perceptible dark outline in the shadows of the corner, before scowling. "Jesus, Amber, seriously? I don't see you in two years and this is how you say hello, breaking into my apartment and trying to lecture me about security?"\n\nA pair of thin, angular white slits open, glowing faintly in the shadows, before the black-clad form emerges, currently draped completely in the folds of a cape, lower face and thick, short, messy black hair revealed by the open-topped cowl. "Don't use that name. And you know I'm right."\n\n"Oh for..." Sighing, you drop to sit on the side of the bed, rubbing your face. "The place is secure, I sweep it with both Dad's tech and my senses regularly. And you know damn well that it wouldn't have mattered if I'd checked the room, you've got sound dampeners muting your heartbeat and breathing and scent exuders masking your smell."\n\n"... You could have listened for my blood going through my veins," she murmurs as she glides over to stand in front of you.\n\n"Gross," you inform her flatly, deliberately mimicking a childlike delivery, and seeing that come dangerously close to making a corner of her mouth twitch. "So. 'Shade'. Since it seems like you being here tonight is a little too coincidental, and I know that you wouldn't be able to bug the mansion unless Dad let you and you wouldn't try because you know that, how did you hear?"\n\nNow Shade does scowl, but after a moment she answers. "I still occasionally keep in contact with-"\n\nThere's a hesitation, and in it you sigh and interject, "Just call her 'Mom' for godsakes, you know you want to."\n\n"With Excalibur," she says coolly, before continuing. "And she told me about what happened last night."\n\n"You were the last person I'd expect to try to talk me back into it, though maybe that was my blindness," you mutter, shaking your head. "I mean, look at half this conversation we've just had. I guess you think I'd be better off giving up my civilian identity. It's what you did."\n\n"I didn't come to talk you into anything. And before you ask, I wasn't asked to either," she adds, a bit more reluctantly. "... The truth is, I came to ask you why you did choose the civilian identity."\n\n"What, why I decided to stop being Caliburn instead of stop being Morgan Mekborne? Seems obvious, doesn't it?" You shrug. "Caliburn's the one they've turned on."\n\n"And if you were being him full time, you wouldn't have to put up with hearing the opinion pieces, or the deflected hate during your civilian identity. Being there more often, near-constantly, it would win people over very fast. You could even simply explain to them what happened without fear, since you wouldn't have to worry about it coming back on your civilian identity. So tell me, why put away Caliburn instead?"\n\n"... Y'know, I'll tell you, if you'll finally answer the same question," you say after a moment. "Why Shade instead of Amber Mekborne?"\n\nShe's quiet for a long time, long enough that you're wondering if she's just going to try and wait you out like she's sweating a perp. But finally she slips gloved hands out of the folds of her cape and raises them up, sliding them beneath the cowl and pushing it back to reveal clear green eyes that are still almost as unreadable as the mask.\n\n"Because I made her. I didn't ever choose to be Amber Andrews. Didn't choose to experience my whole family dying. Or choose being taken in by your family." You feel like you could argue that one, but instead stay silent as she looks aside. "I didn't choose a lot of things. But Shade, I chose that. I chose the name, the look, everything about her. It was finally taking control of my existence. My self. I could put aside everything that had been chosen for me and be wholly self-made."\n\nAgain, you feel like there's a sliver of argument to be made there, but you keep it to yourself as she looks at you expectantly. After long silent moments of thought, you shrug. "... Same but opposite reason, I guess. Morgan Mekborne is who I grew up as... organically, me reacting to all the circumstances of life, being shaped by them, just... making decisions as a normal person. Caliburn is just some name, some aesthetic I invented... no matter how sincere I am as him he's always going to be something invented, something layered over me. At the end of the day it's Morgan who makes the choices, Morgan that lives with them. If I'm going to be somebody I'd rather be him."\n\n"I see," Shade answers quietly.\n\n"You must think it's pretty weak, huh?" you say, smiling a tad bitterly. "If anyone believes that whole 'power equals responsibility' thing as much as Dad... well, I guess it's the one thing you two agree on, really."\n\n"No, he's full of crap on that too," Shade answers bluntly, making you blink. "I don't have a responsibility to anyone, Morgan. I'm my own person, and I never asked for any of this, and when I took it upon myself at my own choosing, I did it for myself. I don't owe anyone anything just because I'm physically and mentally capable of helping them. The idea of a responsibility to society that you can't set aside simply because of your own innate ability is selfish and dehumanizing."\n\n"... Then why-"\n\n"You're right, about what you said last night," she interrupts, eyes narrowing. "Society. It's petty, selfish, vindictive. It demands icons and demands those icons give endlessly and selflessly, actively rejecting the personhood of the one they're demanding it of. I'm sure every one of the people who's called you a coward and worthless would have wept and livestreamed the candlelight vigils had you traded your life pointlessly for those fifteen seconds, because it would have made them feel good about themselves to see you do it. Because then they could imagine that they'd do the same, and then they feel like they did do the same. They're a teeming mass of ungrateful children clawing at you and always shrieking for more without the faintest hint of a 'please', and if they looked up at you and begged 'Save us' you would have every right to say 'no'."\n\n"... If you think that," you say slowly. "Then why? Why give up everything to do it?"\n\n"I live as Shade and fight as a superhero for only two people, Morgan. Myself, because it's what I want to do and what seems right to me," she says, leveling her gaze at you. "And the person in front of me who needs my help. Because that person isn't society." She lifts her head and looks towards one of the windows, out at the city. "They may be hateful, they may be cruel, they may be all those things I called out... but in that one moment where a knife is to their back, or a gun to their head, or a villain's finger is on the button, they're just a person who needs help. I help that person for their sake and for mine. Society, power, and responsibility don't figure into it. People do."\n\n"... So you think I should still wear the cape," you say with a sigh.\n\n"No, Morgan, I'm saying you should do what's right for yourself. Because that's the only real responsibility you have. What's right for you is something only you can decide, and if it's being Morgan Mekborne fulltime and getting rid of the cape, then that's what you should do. You don't owe anyone anything. But do I think you should choose one or the other? Yes. Because it makes things easier. It makes them straightforward. Giving up Amber was good for me... it meant I could give up all the lies that came with living a double life," she adds in a murmur.\n\n<hr>\n[["Then why won't you call them 'Mom' and 'Dad'?"|Cal]]\n\n[["... Then what about us?"|Cal]]

Once upon a time, in the age where the magical and spiritual were just taken for granted as an everyday thing, the land gave birth to gods, and those gods gave rise to spirits that were, themselves, like gods. And one of those spirits was a wonderfully powerful and adorable and impish fox spirit named Konko. Yes, yes, not the most imaginative name in the world, but when a mother goddess creates a few hundred spirits of the land in a matter of days she starts running a little dry on the inspiration department. There's only so many Mizūmitokawanoidainakamis you can name before you start looking at your newest work of art and saying "Fox kid". Still, while she may have been created as one of the last, she was also one of the best. With her glorious golden hair and equally stunning shimmery tail and ears, as well as her large perfect breasts and big pretty cock on a slender beautiful body, Konko was capable of charming most any god or mortal she ran across, and her pranks were famous across the land! Okay, infamous more like, but they were the stuff of stories and legends!\n\nKonko is, of course, you. You are the wondrous Konko! Rejoice!\n\nUnfortunately a sufficient number of both mortals, spirits, and maybe one or two gods decided they were humorless nofuns who didn't like your totally reasonable and appropriate jokes, and they all got together and conspired against you like the jerks they were and are. The gods gave the mortals a ritual, the spirits provided the energy, and the mortals lured you in and carried it out, and bam, there you were, trapped in a shrine. The nerve! It would have been one thing if they'd sealed you completely, leaving you blissfully unaware of the passage of time until someone or something (like an earthquake or meteor strike or whatever) unsealed you, but the ritual actually just sealed the part of your essence that let you form a physical body... the part that you needed to actually influence the world. That's just rude, making you float around the empty countryside near the shrine in spirit form, unable to talk to anyone or touch anyone or turn them into stuff! Mean! Stingy! Rude!\n\nEventually though, a teenage boy who often visited his grandfather (the old priest who among other things maintained the seals on your shrine), got curious and messed around and wound up freeing you. Of course you'd been watching him all his life and had gradually fallen in love with him, so once you were unsealed you declared your undying affection and wish to better his life, and happily settled for squabbling with a host of other magical girlfriends he collected, perfectly content to constantly compete for his attention in an unending squabble of hurt feelings and pulled hair while he acted like your love was a horrible inconvenience for him, desperately hoping that he'd choose you to be his one true love so you could settle down to the blissful, mind-numbing existence of being a normal sarariman's housewife!\n\n... Pft, just kidding, that would suck kappa balls. You totally pounced on him, fucked him up the butt, cast a ton of spells and curses on him and then ran off laughing. It was awesome.\n\nScrew hanging out in the countryside where you'd been sealed for centuries, you wanna live in the city! The city, where there's an endless supply of humans to prank! (So many humans, in fact, that they apparently think it's perfectly normal for a few of them to go missing occasionally. It's amazeballs.) Oh, it's glorious, there's food everywhere available practically all the time, a seemingly endless variety of entertainments and games, such lovely structures to live in, and! Best of all! ♪ Fuuuck those other gods and spirits ♫ 'cause most of them are gone! The humans either stopped paying attention to them or fucked up their anchors or whatever, and the vast majority of other spirits have disappeared from the world! The ones that are left are pretty reduced in power since even if they still have shrines and receive worship, at least half of the humans that acknowledge them don't really believe, it's more like a ritual for them, their belief in the gods is about as strong as their belief in a particular pair of socks helping them land a job. Meanwhile, you don't rely on humans at all for your power, in fact their disbelief if anything helps make your pranks all the more effective... not to mention that since you were sealed up during the ages of turmoil and upheaval, you never got attacked by some demon hunter or had your power drained or anything like that, so you're as strong as you were back in the day! Hey, maybe they did you a favor?\n\n(Noooo not really ♪ fuuuuck them! ♫)\n\nANY! WAY! It is the beginning of a brand new day of fun! Okay it's more like midmorning but no one's gonna tell you when to get up. You yawn and manifest yourself (naked, as usual) in one of the rooms of the shrine you make your home. Oh, not the shitty stone tablet "shrine" you were sealed in, ew, no, this is a replica of one of the ones built by your worshipers back in the day. (Admittedly you sort of miss having priests and mikos, they were cool. Sadly the nofuns drove most of them out of society after they sealed you.) You found a vacant lot in a neighborhood and created this place for yourself, because even if you can return to spirit form to rest, why not have a house/shrine? It was easy to nudge the nearby humans into believing it had always been there.\n\n"Konkonkon, a glorious morning!" you chirp happily, hands on your hips as you display your beautiful body and all its lovely pieces to the warmth of the sun. "Let's do some pranks!"\n\nHave you gotten tired of pranking the vast number of humans available to you in this modern era? No, no you absolutely have not. Today, like any other, you're going to cause some mischief. What 'some', a lot of mischief, hopefully! You open one of the drawers of the dresser and haul out one of your favorite human inventions... the hoodie. So big and fluffy and comfy... they remind you of your tail! Of course, you suppose you don't technically need to wear anything, the same magic you use to make (most) humans not notice your ears and tail would serve if you felt like walking around naked. ... And you do sometimes! The hoodie is just comfy, plus you can always change your clothing any time you want with magic anyway. You pull on a pair of pink sneakers and, attired in nothing but those, the hoodie, and the bit of red cloth and pair of bells that used to be part of your seals (which you wear as both a souvenir and a 'fuck you' to any old gods or spirits who were involved with their creation) that you wear braided into your hair as a decoration, you prepare to be off.\n\n<img src="images/Konko.jpg">\n\n"Konkonkon, time for mischief! ♥"\n\n... Hm? But where to start your mischief at? You can't just roam around randomly pranking people! ... Actually you totally can and it is fantastic but all the same, sometimes it's better to take a targeted approach to these things. Sort of like at least narrowing down your choices of food to a genre before deciding which actual restaurant to go to. It's not like a buffet is bad, but y'know.\n\n<hr>\n[[Roam around the neighborhood.|Konko4x1]]\n\n[[Go to the shopping district.|Konko]]\n\n[[Go to the high school.|Konko1x1]]\n\n[[Just wander and prank whoever after all!|Konko3x1]]

"Mmm, if what you mean by 'know my place' is that it's with your dick in my holes, baby, I already know it," you say with a smile, reaching out to wrap a hand lightly around that thick black cock and starting to stroke it gently, feeling it twitch and start to firm up against your fingers and palm.\n\n"Ohhh?" Ramses murmurs, seeming taken just slightly off-guard... but very pleased, grinning as he reaches over to slip a hand under your coat and squeeze your ass.\n\n"Mm-hmmm. But I did get hired to do a job and I need to do it," you point out. "Just so I can get paid, you know?" He looks like he's about to protest, before you add, "So how about I just give you a quick blowie right here, and then tonight once the other guard shows up, you can fuck me however you like, okay?"\n\n"Hmmm... well... as long as you know your place," Ramses says with a soft grunt, since you give his now fully hard cock a light squeeze of encouragement.\n\nGiving a pleased coo of a giggle, you slide around in front of him and settle into a squat with your legs spread, letting your tight pants draw up and press against your pussy in a rather blatant cameltoe. You smirk up at him for a few moments as you stroke his cock, licking your lips both in anticipation of the feel of it in your throat and the gathering crowd of anthro sheep all watching you brazenly suck off their leader. Which, of course, you immediately proceed to do, your eyes slipping closed in concentration as you engulf his cockhead with your lips, swirling your tongue around it as you continue pumping the shaft with one hand, your other hand moving to rest on his fluffy hip. You moan and coo happily around it, knowing you're sending lots of pleasing vibrations through his prick as you start bobbing your head, quickly and expertly taking more and more of him in, barely even pausing as he nudges the back of your throat and you push forward, sliding him inside and letting him bulge it up some.\n\nYou may have your eyes closed to concentrate on your work, but you can practically feel all the jealous but lustful gazes of the ewes on you, and you can definitely faintly hear the stroking and pumping of the other rams as they jerk themselves off watching you suck off the most powerful, and likely biggest-dicked, among them. Just that thought makes it sooooo much better as you gulp Ramses' prick down completely, your lips pressing down around the root of it and his balls rubbing against your chin as you nuzzle your nose briefly against his crotch. Then you begin bobbing your head in long, smooth motions, moaning softly in pleasure at the feel of him stroking into your throat, your hands caressing up and down his fluffy hips as you finally open your eyes again and look up at his face.\n\nApparently you so eagerly acknowledging that you're willing to service him, and in front of his entire herd, really does it for Ramses, because between that and your well-practiced oral skills it really is a quick blowie, only a few minutes before he's letting out a shuddery bleat of a moan and filling your mouth with a rush of hot, thick spunk. 'Ohhhh fuck it tastes good,' you think happily as you swallow repeatedly, some sadly escaping and dribbling down either side of your chin as your throat works. It's definitely different from a human guy's, you think as you draw back and lick your lips, then draw a fingertip up the sides of your chin before sucking it clean, all while keeping your eyes on Ramses's face. Definitely just a bit more... animal. You could absolutely get hooked, you think smugly as you rise to your feet.\n\n"Ah... it's true, you definitely know your place, female," Ramses says a little breathlessly.\n\n"Mm-hmm. You can use my places a bit more once the other merc gets here, Daddy," you coo, giving his balls a quick fondle before turning and setting off, the other sheep making way for you. "This way, right?"\n\nAdmittedly, all through the trek to the pasture, you're mostly thinking about getting a good thorough dicking-down from Ramses, and maybe a couple of his friends. (Probably his sons? Ooo, that's hot.) But you're a professional, too, so you keep your eyes open and your ears alert, only occasionally indulging in reaching out and stroking the big ram's cock whenever he's nearby. Admittedly, one of the nice side-benefits of your profession is getting to slut it up on the regular with a wide variety of people.\n\nEventually you arrive at the large tree, and give Ramses's balls a last squeeze. "We can fuck tonight, okay? After the sun goes down, as long as the other merc shows up," you promise him again.\n\n"Mm, well. Tonight," he murmurs, before grabbing one of the ewes and wandering off with her, no doubt to use her as a bit of stress relief. Hope he doesn't get carried away and use up all his energy before he gets to you!\n\nYou check the contents of the case next to the tree, then settle down beside it, keeping an eye on the sheep as they range about and, probably predictably, a fair few of them start fucking. You sigh half contentedly and half longingly as you settle a hand between your legs and rub your pussy lightly through the thin but highly durable material. What a nice mixture of relaxing and exciting, this was a good idea.\n\nEventually you get a text message that the other merc is on the way, so you readjust your hand and take a few moments to make sure your hair and face are all in order. You do enjoy slutting it up but there's a time and place for everything, after all. Luckily it looks like the sheep have also satisfied themselves, and most are just lazing about laying on the grass, clearly enjoying some post-nut rightness with the world. Soon you can see a figure trotting over along much the same path you came, waving rather excitedly as it spots you standing up and picking up the pace. Soon he's standing in front of you, panting a bit and giving you a sunny smile. "Hey! I'm Arthur, sorry if I'm late!" he chirps, brushing some pale, almost white hair back from his eyes.\n\n"Hey, Arthur," you say in a droll tone. He looks fairly young, like he might be just old enough for membership, though you guess that could just be his personal looks, with being on the short and slender side. Still, with that, his utterly spotless black armorsuit and red coat, and his obvious enthusiasm for such a straightforward job, he definitely gives the impression of having been a Guildcert for about fifteen minutes. Heck, for all you know it's true and he raced right from certification to the first job suggested to him by the boards. "I'm Michika, nice to meet you," you add, offering your hand.\n\nYou urge him to sit down, take a rest, and have something to drink since he clearly ran most of the way to the pasture. Since he's here you decide to be a bit more obvious about actually watching the herd, pacing back and forth and regularly sweeping your eyes over both it and the horizon. The two of you chat pleasantly as you do, and you soon find out that this isn't his first job... it's his third. The other two were similarly simple guard jobs... apparently he's been sticking to jobs the system offers him so far. "You know you'll have to eventually start choosing some tougher stuff, or it will just keep offering you low-level things, right?" you note in amusement.\n\n"Eh? How come?" Arthur asks, blinking big purple eyes.\n\n"It's an algorithm. It looks at what you've done and the risk you've assumed and survived and offers stuff accordingly. When you don't have a job record it offers you the easiest, safest ones, and if your job record keeps being those level, it never bumps you up any on the autosuggest."\n\n"... That is... so obvious," Arthur groans, putting both hands to his face. "Th-thanks for telling me."\n\n"You learn this stuff," you say reasonably.\n\nHe definitely seems like a nice kid, albeit still rather a kid. And as the two of you chat amiably over the next several hours, you're reasonably certain that he very quickly develops a massive crush on you. Awww, kinda sweet, huh? Sort of makes you want to pat him on the head. Especially since he calls you 'Miss Michika' in a slightly wondering tone. After a while you can't quite help yourself and walk over to him, grinning as you plop a hand down on top of his head. "Hey, enough with 'Miss Michika', alright?"\n\n"O-oh, sorry, I didn't mean-" he stammers.\n\n"You can call me 'oneechan', okay?" you add, winking at him.\n\nA look of confused pleasure washes over his face as he blushes bright red. You're not sure what implications he takes away from that, but all he can do is nod mutely in response. Oh yeah, he's got it bad.\n\nHmmm... speaking of needing to get it bad, though. You glance at the distance as the sun starts to set. Probably a good time to decide where to hook up with Ramses...\n\n<hr>\n[[Go a good distance off.|ChiRam]]\n\n[[Go a shorter distance off.|ChiRam]]\n\n[[Eh, you'll do it right here~.|ChiRam]]

"Hm... oh, hey, did we ever do anything with that Tifa Lockhart we summoned?" you ask suddenly, glancing over at Xenith.\n\n"We did not, your excellency, she's been 'on hold', so to speak," your assistant succubus answers, gesturing to the crystal and showing the busty brawler still wandering through the stone tunnel full of glowing crystal lights. "We've been using a mild bit of mind magic to make her not notice how much time is passing. Would you like to do something with her now?"\n\n<hr>\n<<if $cowtifa is false>>[[Let's put her out to pasture!|CowTifa]]<<endif>><<if $cowtifa is true>>You already have a Tifa that's been turned into a brainless cow, routinely getting fucked and milked. You can have a succubus bring you some of her milk, if you like!<<endif>>\n\n<<if $orctifa is false>>[[Send her to an orc room!|TifaOrcs]]<<endif>><<if $orctifa is true>>You already have a Tifa that's being eternally gangbanged by orcs. Wonder how many big green cocks she's got inside of her right now? Well, you can always check the crystal if you want to know!<<endif>>\n\n<<if $titstifa is false>>[[Let's have her set off a booby trap!|TifaHourglass]]<<endif>><<if $titstifa is true>>You already have a Tifa that's been turned into little more than a life support system for a pair of tits and a giant ass. She's probably still down there pretty much filling that room, wiggling and orgasming constantly.<<endif>>\n\n<<if $chocotifa is false>>[[Let's give her stable employment!|TifaChocobo]]<<endif>><<if $chocotifa is true>>You already have a Tifa that's been turned into a chocobo breeder. She's no doubt either taking a big chocobo dick or laying a nice big egg right about now!<<endif>>\n\nHm... are you having trouble of thinking of something to do? You could always [[release Tifa|MaxTifaRelease]] and then go do something else.

*Main: More of the [[Leo and Errin|LeoErrinStart]] line.\n*Main: Jane can now decide to look into [[Bioteknik Solutions|Jane1x1]].\n-Update 2-\n*Main: Michika can eat the [[brown and orange|ChiPoke8x1]] poffin in Hexia's mind-maze.\n-Update 3-\n*Main: Michika can [[show some modesty|ChiGH1x6]] after bringing Knight home.\n-Update 4-\n*Main: Michika has a new [[open job|ChiGH2x2]] she can take.

"I guess... maybe it's something I've gotta actually work on," you say after a moment. "So far, most of these changes in my life have just kind of... happened for me, I guess, naturally rolling one to the other." You take a deep breath, and manage a little smile. "Maybe I need to actually start trying to make a change."\n\n"That's probably good advice for all of us, really," Jaune agrees, giving you a smile. "... Hey, listen, I want you to keep the clasp."\n\n"What? Jaune, c'mon, it's-"\n\n"It's something of hers and she'd want you to have it. Besides, if we're gonna start making the effort to work on stuff... I think maybe I need to make some effort on letting go," he allows, lowering his head briefly. "Not forgetting, never that, but... letting go a little."\n\n"... Okay. Thank you," you murmur, reaching a hand up to touch the metal.\n\n"Thank you too. I mean... you may not have meant it for my closure, but it feels... better, now, I think." \n\nUnfortunately what occurs over the next several days is also closure... as in a gate getting closed in your face repeatedly.\n\n"Cordovin's just not going to cooperate," Qrow grumbles. "She's locked eyes on Weiss as a way to further her career, thinks sending her back to her old man will impress Ironwood. She'll thwart us until we give in on it."\n\n"Welp." You lean back against one of the pillars of the pier the group's settled on to talk, puffing on one of your cigarettes, not even bothering to comment as Qrow reaches out a hand, just tapping some up out of the pack and proffering it. "Just have to fuckin' steal a ship then."\n\n"That escalated quickly," Jaune mutters. \n\n"That's just how it goes in the merc trade, maybe give it a try on the straight and narrow first, but if that doesn't work, larceny's always there for you," Grey chuckles, pulling out a pack of his own and unwrapping it. \n\n"That's asking for quite a bit of trouble," Ren notes with a light frown. "... And lung cancer," he adds with a glance at the three of you.\n\n"I'm sure James will understand, when we manage to get to him. The question is how. Kai's right, we've basically gotta steal a damn airship at this rate if we're gonna get there for sure. Question is, how?"\n\n"Could we sneak onto the airfield in the middle of the night, get one that way?" Yang suggests.\n\n"No, Atlas airships are locked down when they're on the tarmac, and I bet they've doubled down on that since Beacon," Blake says with a shake of the head. "They used to just have physical locks that were loud to open if you did it manually. Now I'd bet anything the computer's shut down until it gets a powerup code from the tower." At receiving several looks she rolls her eyes. "Oh please you all know what I used to do."\n\n"So if we want an airship we need one that's already in the air, basically," you muse. "Problem is that airships come and go semi-randomly... plays merry hell with any sort of plan we'd wanna make about how to get one down."\n\n"What about the mail?" Nora pipes up, eyes sparkling. "The mailboxes have estimated delivery dates based on if you get it in before a certain time! That means the mail ship must leave on a regular schedule, right?!"\n\n"Problem with that is that the mail ships are exempt from any standard reason a military ship might divert," Qrow grunts. "They carry official classified military documents and secure business packages as well as all those letters from kiddo to grandma. They're specifically told not to stop for anything from Point A to Point B."\n\n"... If we are really going to do this, I suppose I should mention, it is standard for the mail ship to have an escort during periods of heightened Grimm activity," Ren says slowly. "Is the escort held to that reasoning as well?"\n\n"Noooo, you're right, the escort is still required to divert for distress calls or if ordered," Qrow says, straightening up a little in place. \n\n"I could hack the Grimm Notification Network, add in more aerial Grimm sightings," Reese pipes up. "That is assuming they haven't happened naturally due to our glowy blue friend there."\n\n"Ooooop," Ruby murmurs with a glance down at her belt.\n\n"What if we used the relay tower that Terra's working on?" Blake speaks up. "If I had her password, I could sneak in fairly easily and access it."\n\n"If you opened up a port I could access it, send a fake distress call, and then when it set down and I could get hold of it, mess with the locator," Reese adds.\n\n"... Okay, here's what I'm thinking. All of Team RWBY goes out to the tower to back up Blake just in case this goes tits up on us," you suggest. "The rest of us make a show of force surrounding the ship once the guys get there, so that we don't have to hurt them. We get the ship, Reese hacks the locator, we go pick up RWBY, we head for Atlas."\n\n"Larcenous it may be, but it's a damn good plan," Qrow says after thinking it over. "Let's figure out the mail ship's schedule and do this."\n\nTwo days later, you're behind a tree in the woods, listening as Blake sends that the port is open and Reese acknowledges she's making the call. Only a few minutes later the squarish Atlas airship with its forward-set thrusters settles down into the clearing, a stealthed Ilia (who's very masterfully keeping any pink out of her specks, considering that to do so in broad daylight she had to strip down completely) slips up to the side of it as the door opens. As the side door opens and the pair of escort guards hop out and start looking around the area with their guns lowered, Ilia slips past them and inside.\n\n... Okay, he's out.\n\nAt that signal the rest of you step out, weapons leveled. "Drop it, guys," Qrow says, Clockwork Dirge's gunbarrels displayed prominently. "We don't wanna hurt anyone, we just need to borrow the airship."\n\n"We'll... we'll never give you the unlock codes for the weapons systems!" one of them blurts even as both of them raise their hands, you slipping past them and inside with Ilia's coat.\n\n"Good for you. No, seriously, good for you, I'll mention you did a good job when I see your boss's boss's boss," Qrow rasps back as Grey and Nora hurry forward to take their guns. "Don't worry, we'll drop these to you when we're in the air, don't wanna leave you out here unarmed. Actually, if you wanna make for your relay tower, there's a rental buggy you can drive back to your base."\n\nThe men exchange a confused look as the rest of the teams start piling into the ship, Ilia fully visible again and fastening the jacket closed in front. "Ren, he sounded most like you, you're up. They're Manta-19." \n\nRen nods, moving up to take the radio transmitter as Jaune and Qrow haul the unconscious pilot out of the seat and pass him to his friends. Ren glances at Reese, receives a nod, and presses the button. "Tower this is Manta One Nine, we have the wounded stabilized and on board, but we're having an issue with the vertical climb system, we're going to need to reboot and reinitialize before we can get in the air."\n\nEveryone holds their breath a little as they wait... before the reply of, "Understood, Manta-19." lets you all breathe again.\n\n"Reese?" you prompt.\n\n"We're good," she acknowledges with a thumbs up, prompting you to settle into the copilot's seat, Qrow into the pilot's.\n\n"Never actually flown one of these before, mostly Bullheads," he admits in a mutter as the two of you run through a quick takeoff check.\n\n"Between the two of us we'll handle it. Okay, we're green, let's go." \n\nOnce the ship is in the air, Jaune tosses the soldiers' rifles to the ground before quickly hauling the door shut, Qrow directing the ship to a spot near the tower and, in just under two minutes, Team RWBY is climbing aboard and the ship is rising into the air. Blake turns to help pull the door closed behind her, and out of the corner of your eye you see her ears shoot upright and her body go stiff for just a moment.\n\n"Blake? What is it?" Yang asks.\n\n"... No, nothing. I mean, I thought I saw... nevermind," she mutters, shoving the door the rest of the way closed.\n\n"Hopefully by the time they realize we're not just turning the flight computer off and turning it on again, we should be well on our way to Atlas," you comment dryly, shutting off the radio. "And hopefully without the weapons arming codes they'll decide we're not worth chasing. ... The weapons still work, right?" you ask, glancing over your shoulder at Reese.\n\n"Of course they fuckin' do who the hell you think you're talkin' to?"\n\nEventually, as the sun begins to set, the ocean gives way to land... and the sight of a massive floating island hovering above the lights of a city, the towering pillar of a building in the center of it ringed by a bright blue halo, and long, thick cables running from the hovering landmass down towards the city below. But what immediately catches Qrow eye is the numerous ships ringed around the upper city. "That's the entire Atlas air fleet," he half-growls. \n\n"And they're arrayed in combat wings, behind those different-looking ships," you note, leaning forward a bit. "There, there, there, there. Then they've got secondary and tertiary arrays behind them, that's absolutely a 'move out' formation."\n\n"I'm reading a ton of IFFs in the air yeah," Reese speaks up. "It looks like those four are marked as flagships and they're the Beacon's Vengeance the Banner of Vale the Bronze Valor and..." She winces a little, and clears her throat before completing, "The Nikos."\n\n"James, what the hell are you doing?" Qrow mutters, looking around at the massed warfleet.\n\n"I don't like this," Grey comments as he leans up between the front seats. "This feels waaay too much like a job where the damn terms changed on me once I showed up."\n\n"... Yeah. Yeah, I'm not likin' this either," Qrow agrees, glancing over his shoulder. "Reese, we still off IFF?"\n\n"Yeah and I'm keeping our presence scattered as much as I can but we get much closer to Atlas and they'll pick us up on radar or our power signature if nothing else."\n\n"I'm takin' 'er down into Mantle," Qrow announces, diverting the ship at an angle and ducking lower, closer to the ocean and arcing around the docks, heading for the city and its tall, if somewhat aged-looking brick buildings. "I wanna know what the hell is going on now before we talk to James."\n\n"It's okay, I'll call Winter, she'll know what to do," Weiss pipes up, slipping out her scroll.\n\n"Uh... hey Weiss?" Reese calls back to that a second later. "Maybe rethink it?"\n\n"What?" Weiss frowns, stepping up to the window along the other short woman.\n\n"A reminder," announces a woman who looks a lot like a stiffer, more austere version of Weiss minus the scar from a seven story screen on the side of a towering pillar-like building. "Failure to cooperate with Atlas forces is a punishable offense. If your sector is under lockdown, you are under curfew and forbidden from congregating in groups of more than three. Traveling after dark is forbidden. Buying more than a single day's worth of Dust is forbidden. Buying large amounts of alcohol is forbidden. Obey all lockdown procedures."\n\n"This is... what? I... don't understand," Weiss murmurs, the hand with her scroll dropping, her other coming up to cover her mouth with her fingers.\n\n"It's... never been this bad in Mantle before," Ilia comments with a frown. "Not even after multiple White Fang actions."\n\n"M-maybe there's a good reason behind all of this," Weiss murmurs, looking at her scroll again. "Maybe if I just talk to her-"\n\n"At this point I'm not even sure I should be talking to Ironwood," Qrow interjects.\n\n"Ozma agrees," Oscar says as he steps forward. "He wants to look into things a bit more too... make sure Ironwood hasn't been... compromised. Like Lionheart was."\n\n"... I've got what looks like a warehouse, not too tall, construction looks sturdier than some of these places," you note, tapping some of the controls to send an indicator to Qrow's panel. "Let's set this thing down and ditch it before someone notices the low-flying ship."\n\n"Agreed."\n\nQrow settles the airship down on the rooftop in a fairly steady landing, both of you working the controls to power things down while Jaune and Ren slide the doors open. \n\n"Reese, brick it," you order as you rise and move to the back.\n\n"Awwww but it's so nice!"\n\n"We're not leaving an armed military flyer in a skeevy neighborhood for any ambitious gangbanger to pick up and trick out with neon and a badass new paintjob, much as I'd love to do that myself, do it."\n\n"Fiiiine."\n\n"What makes you think the neighborhood's skeevy?" Yang asks as there's a few cracklings and then the magic blue smoke starts issuing from between various plates on the airship's body, all its lights going out. \n\nPouting a bit, Reese emerges and joins the rest of you, while you tell Yang, "I mean it's actually pretty great compared to my usual neighborhoods, but did you see any actually nice ones while we were flying over?"\n\n"I mean... compared to Vale, I guess not really."\n\n"Atlas gets all the best resources and the vast majority of the infrastructure funding in the kingdom," Ilia grumbles. "So while it's not exactly a slum, per se, anywhere except down in the crater, it's not the greatest either."\n\n"Figures. ... You coming, Rainbow?" you ask with a frown as you step to the edge of the roof. \n\n"Um. I'm gonna hang back here and use the empty ship for... a minute," she murmurs, specks going pink as she hugs her coat closer around herself.\n\n"... Oh, right, right, duh." Clearing your throat, you hop down to the landing of a fire escape, then vault one-handed over the railing of it to drop to the ground and land in a crouch.\n\n"Ilia coming?" Blake asks with a frown.\n\n"She needs a minute."\n\n"... Oh," most of the group acknowledges, nodding as they remember.\n\n"'Cause she's naked," Nora stage-whispers, causing Ren to put a hand to his face.\n\nIt's only another minute or so before Ilia jumps down to join all of you, specks still a little pink but everything under control. The group sets off without a real destination in mind, just 'away' from the purloined airship, Qrow nominally leading the way, hands in his pockets and slouched forward a bit.\n\n"Ozma says there might be someone that can help us. Someone he didn't know personally, but that has a connection to Ironwood but probably isn't compromised," Oscar speaks up shortly after. \n\n"Hunh, works for me, lead the way."\n\nAfter you've all been walking for just under ten minutes, mostly avoiding the little clumps of population on the corners and stoops, and none of them apparently eager to demand to know what such a large group is doing, you glance aside. Grey. You see 'em too?\n\nYup. One on the street. I'm guessing at least two more on rooftops.\n\nGot our street level one pinned down?\n\nThe hooded cloak, a classic.\n\nMm-hmm. You glance ahead as Yang blinks at one of the quad-rotor drones drifting along the street, the blonde wincing as it flashes a light right in her face while obviously taking a picture. Snarling, she lifts her leg, until you send, Don't. We've got an audience and I don't mean through that thing.\n\nHnnnh. How you figure we should handle this? Qrow sends, as usual sounding grumpy about using the psycomms.\n\nDirectly. Like, nonviolently directly for a start, then we escalate if they make us.\n\nWorks for me. Qrow ambles to a halt, glancing around in a way that says he knows someone's there even if they're not pinned down. "Is there a problem we can help you with?" he asks in a raised voice.\n\nFor a few moments there's no response. Then a fair-skinned man with close-cropped brown hair and a white uniform walks casually out of a nearby alleyway, tossing something metal with blinking purple ends in one hand. "Well sure, friend. If you'd care to explain what you were doing flying illegally low in Mantle. In a stolen Manta."\n\n"Name's Qrow Branwen. I'm gonna take out my scroll so I can show you my ID, alright?" Qrow grunts, slowly moving his hand out of his pocket, the newcomer watching the whole time. Qrow activates the screen, turning his Huntsman's license to face him. "I'm an associate of James Ironwood's and I came to see him."\n\n"I see. Any reason you didn't contact the General directly, or land on Atlas if that's the case?" the man asks, raising his eyebrows.\n\n"As for contacting him directly, your base commander out in Argus wasn't being very helpful. As for why we got a little gunshy about going directly there," he continues, trailing off and glancing up at one of the massive screens as a bearded man in a white uniform appears on it, flatly assuring the city that it will be safe while standing at an obviously military stature, the pillar framed by the sight of warships hanging in the sky. "Let's just say we got a little leery about how things have changed since any of us last visited."\n\nThe uniformed man waits for a moment in silence, then tilts his head a little in the manner of someone listening to an earpiece. Then he nods. "Alright, I've confirmed your name. We'll take you to Atlas to see the general... in secure transports," he adds, your mind translating that to 'prison trucks'. "Now, if you turn over your weapons and board peacefully, then I don't see any reason you can't make the trip unrestrained. Sound fair?"\n\nQrow purses her lips, a smartass remark obviously coming to mind... before he looks back over his shoulder. You can practically see the image of his young charges in cuffs in his head, and he grimaces a little before looking back at the man. "Fine, agreed."\n\n"Great, glad to hear it. I'm Specialist Clover Ebi, these are the Ace Ops," he continues as the one in the cloak comes forward, shrugging out of it to reveal a dark-skinned, green-haired man with a canine tail, while a tan-skinned woman with a fauxhawk, a particularly large dark-skinned woman, and an incredibly pale, gaunt man all leap down from hiding in nearby high places. "If you could go ahead and give up your weapons?"\n\n"Yeah you're gonna need someone with more hands," you comment dryly... then blink as the gaunt guy holds his out, large glowing energy limbs forming over his own and stretching out, hands enlarging. "... Hokay, guess that works." You glance aside at Grey as you lay Red Legacy in the glowing palms and start fishing out your other weapons. "Two more on the rooftops, huh?"\n\n"I said at least two more, you sassy bitch."\n\n"Uh, yeah, you want me to give up that one then we're gonna have a fight about it, lady," Yang says to the big woman with a scowl as she reaches a hand towards the blonde's golden arm.\n\n"Elm, let it be, let's extend at least a little trust here," Clover orders after only a brief hesitation.\n\nJust as you suspected, a pair of flying vans with barred windows on the back and segregated cabs land, the Ace Ops gesturing all of Team KACH, Qrow, Ruby, and Blake into one, while the rest are loaded into the second. "This is much closer to the kind of welcome I've come to expect from places," Qrow mutters as he slumps back. "Though usually I get to go drinking first."\n\nYou snort. "Yeah man same." You glance at the scruffy bearded guy that was already in the transport before all of you. "That what you in for, man, drunk and disorderly? Larceny and lewdness?" You raise your eyebrows. "Peeing in public?"\n\n"What?! No!" he declares in a furious tone. "I'll have you know I'm here because of my activism! I've been speaking out against Ironwood's exploitation of Mantle and he's trying to silence me!" he half-shouts, rising to his feet and striking a noble pose with his chin raised.\n\n"Threw a trashcan through a store window huh?" you say flatly.\n\n"It was a brick and he threw it at out ship," the pilot corrects. \n\n"It's worth it if it gets people talking about our cause!" the bound man declares smugly as he drops back into his seat.\n\n"Tell me I didn't sound like that," Ilia says flatly, glaring at him.\n\n"No, you were angrier and stabbier," Blake mutters, shaking her head. "Noooo that one's all me."\n\n"Yes! You understand what I'm saying, of course you do!" the prisoner calls, actually bouncing in his seat with glee at apparent agreement from a Faunus. "The fight for better conditions in Mantle, led by the charismatic, talented, lovely Robyn Hill and her Happy Huntresses!" he gushes, practically squirming with delight.\n\n"She's not going to fuck you, man," Grey notes flatly.\n\n"Hey you don't know that! I mean, that's not what it's about!" the prisoner blurts as the pilots snicker quietly. "It's not like that! They were all top Atlas graduates, but-!"\n\n"But please stop," you interject, sighing and rubbing your face. "Look, my man, we just got here. It's late. We have had a long day full of alleged strenuous activities, could you please just save it for your friends on the streets?" At his scowl, you roll your eyes. "Okay, let me rephrase. If someone in this van gets to talk about Atlas's abuses of Mantle, don't you think maybe it's them?" you add, pointing further down the bench.\n\nHe blinks, looking at Blake's tired expression, her ears folding down a bit, and Ilia sends a ripple of different colors across her skin as she gives him an annoyed look. "Oh. Uh. Right. Um... d-down with oppression, and... I'll just... not talk over you now," he murmurs, lowering his head.\n\nPoser, Ilia groupsends sourly.\n\nHis heart's in the right place. Kind of. Sort of, Blake replies, leaning her head back. Let's just get through this meeting with Ironwood and hope we're not actually sent to jail by the end of it. Or worse.\n\nBy the time the pair of transports lands in front of the towering spire of Atlas Academy, you can see soldiers setting up racks with all of your weapons on them, and a figure in white flanked by a second one and a third, ginger-haired one in green and black. "Been a pleasure flying with you today, if you ever need a ride let me know," the pilot says with a chuckle as he sets down. The doors of your transport have barely opened before Weiss is already hopping out of the other one and rushing forward. "Winter! It's so good to-" She stops short, her eyes going wide as she spots the girl with long orange hair. "Penny?!"\n\n"Sal-u-TATIONS!" the girl with mechanical legs and glowing green eyes chirps, hopping forward to wrap her arms around Weiss. "It is so good to see you again, friend Weiss Schnee! I have been missing you and the others a great deal!" At Winter clearing her throat, she immediately hops back. "In a manner of proper decorum, of course, as there is military etiquette to EEEEEEE!" she squeals, crouching and launching herself forward, the whine of thrusters sounding as she propels herself at Ruby and tackles her to the ground. "Ruby~!"\n\n"P-Penny!" Ruby grunts from beneath her.\n\n"And what exactly were you thinking?" Winter says with a scowl as Weiss turns back to her. "Stealing an airship, traipsing through Mantle, a-" She cuts off as Weiss actually manages to give her that hug, blinking and looking down.\n\n"I'm sorry I worried you," Weiss murmurs.\n\n"... Yes. Well," Winter murmurs, gingerly draping her arms around her sister.\n\n"It's good to see all of you," General Ironwood announces as he steps forward, smiling. "Though I see several new faces as well. I'm glad that we were able to resolve this peacefully, but why did you feel the need to go to these lengths?"\n\n"Cordovin out in Argus wasn't being very helpful," Qrow grunts as he reclaims Clockwork Dirge from the racks. "She got a little focused in on delivering Weiss there back to her old man, seemed to think it'd score points with you."\n\n"Oh did she?" Winter says icily, her eyes narrowing. "I think I will need to make a personal call to the commander to make some things clear."\n\nIronwood clears his throat, grinning just a little as he turns back to everyone. "In any event, why don't we all go to my office and discuss things?"\n\nOnce the group has entered the thankfully particularly large office space, Qrow glances at Penny and Winter, clearing his throat. "Uh, so, this is the... delicate stuff, so-"\n\n"You mean about Salem?" Winter interjects, quirking an eyebrow and looking like she comes very close to smirking at Qrow's look of shock. \n\n"After everything that happened, I needed confidants and assistants of my own," Ironwood admits as he moves to stand behind his desk. "So I told Winter and Penny about everything, as well as the Ace Ops."\n\n"I understand, James," Ozma says as his body language replaces Oscar. "I have recently been opening up to more than I expected myself."\n\n"Oz? So soon?" Ironwood smiles with relief. "This... is wonderful news."\n\n"You... may not think so when I share some of what I have to say with you," the immortal admits.\n\nSoon Ironwood is sitting slumped a bit in front of his chair, hands folded in front of his lower face, while Winter has turned away to gaze out the window, Penny's lips pursed as she regards Ozma.\n\n"You are saying you lost faith in humanity's ability to win, and have simply been manipulating us into a..." Winter trails off, shaking her head.\n\n"A holding action," Ironwood mutters. "It was just a holding action."\n\n"You should have the worst case of hiccups ever, Mister Oz!" Penny scolds.\n\nIronwood blinks at that... then actually chuckles a little, seeming to relax. "Alright. This is bad, but... like you said, you think the answer this Jinn gave you has changed now?"\n\n"It is quite possible," Ozma allows. "If Jinn only has the sum total of knowledge at the time, many new elements have been introduced to our world since then. She may say something different now, or even depending on who asks."\n\n"James, before this all happened, you were trying to secure the Winter Maiden?" Qrow prompts.\n\nWinter steps over, glancing briefly at Ironwood and receiving a small nod before speaking. "We have. She is resting comfortably." At the confused looks, she says, "The Maiden is now quite elderly. We have her in a comfortable but very secure care facility."\n\n"Too, I've made plans... plans to build a replacement for Beacon's CCT tower, using Amity Coliseum, and propelling it high into the atmosphere above the reach of the Grimm."\n\n"A sort of... satellite," Winter picks up.\n\n"In-atmosphere satellites... yeah, guess you couldn't do them the normal way," you note with a soft snort. At the trio of stares you get, you shrug. "I'm one of those factors Ozma mentioned. Hm... how you think we oughtta handle this, Grey?" you ask with a glance over, starting to rummage in your pockets. \n\n"Mmm. ... Oh, hey, forget anything you're carrying, let the cute android have a look at Honeygirl's arm," the Faunus man suggests, tilting his head towards Yang.\n\n"I told you not to call me that back on the Guildhall," Yang mutters, rolling her eyes but nevertheless stepping forward, giving Penny a grin as she lifts her right arm. "Here ya go, Pen."\n\n"Oh dear, I had heard about your injury, friend Yang Xiao Long, but it seems you are comfortable and doing well," Penny chirps happily in response, raising her hands to cup the underside of Yang's arm. Almost immediately she blinks, glowing eyes roving over it. "This... is not my father's work. Nor any prosthetics technology registered in our databases. Oh!" she adds with a surprised lilt as the arm opens up, a pair of gun emplacements rising up and out to the sides, and a grappling hook launcher sliding forward and over the wrist, leaving an opening visible inside. "This... is not Remnant technology at all, sir."\n\n"You're saying that Miss Xiao Long's arm came... from another world?" Winter murmurs, eyes slightly wide.\n\n"Another dimension. It was... wild," Yang explains, eyes going a little glazed but lips nevertheless curling in a grin. "There were so many different kinds of people, and even androids like Penny, there were places selling these worms called 'gocked' as food, and what I'm pretty sure was a prostitute with three boobs!"\n\n"You didn't tell me about that," Blake speaks up, frowning as her ears fold down.\n\n"It... wasn't relevant?" Yang says with a sheepish glance. "... And still isn't so I probably shouldn't have mentioned it. Ahem. But, uh, yeah, other dimensions are definitely real, and Kai's from one, and Grey's... oh, yeah, Grey's from here."\n\n"I only work in outer space," he speaks up dryly.\n\n"Extraordinary," Ironwood murmurs as Yang retracts the weapons and grappler into her arm, his eyes flicking down towards his own right hand ever-so-briefly. "So you think something from another dimension could help us defeat Salem?"\n\n"It is possible. I suggest that for now, we push forward with our plans. Or rather your plans." Ozma nods to Ironwood. "Getting global communication back up would be a massive step towards achieving unity, and defying Salem. We could talk about our next steps then. Although... James, what I've seen in Mantle is... disturbing."\n\n"... We can talk about it." Ironwood nods, settling in. "As we do, though, why don't we let most of your group retire to dorm rooms? In the morning, you can hit up a design lab, and input some orders for weapon upgrades and modifications. You'll need them if you're to assist in the Amity Tower project."\n\n"I will show you to the dorms!" Penny declares cheerfully, waving a hand.\n\nAs all of you head out, though, you can't help but glance towards the entrance, finding yourself tempted to go out and wander around a bit. You're feeling riled up, overstimulated, a little restless... maybe finding a place to grab a bite or a drink would be helpful.\n\n<hr>\n[[Go out.|KaiRem]]\n\n[[Forget it.|KaiRem]]

Well that's suitable cyberpunk-y. Wonder if you'll get a glowing jumpsuit or something? Maybe some kind of laser cutty disk that you will somehow not use to escape your cell with, heh.\n\nWhile you're snarking to yourself, you completely fail to notice a panel in the wall sliding open, and some sort of emitter sliding out, right up until a beam strikes you in the back. You lurch forward and then freeze in place, feeling the strange sensation of your body being taken apart a molecule at a time very slowly and carefully, and yet it seeming to happen instantaneously all the same.\n\nAnd rather than rematerializing the same way you find yourself thrown forward into a sprawl on a hard metal grate in a dimly-lit room, the experience leaving your head spinning. Thus you don't have any chance to resist as a pair of large forms rush towards you and grab you by the arms, yanking you to your feet and roughly grabbing the front and back of your bodysuit, yanking and tearing it away until it's been reduced to nothing but the sleeves and the drooping legs piling around your feet like baggy socks.\n\nThe two guys holding you seem to be your typical "evil mook" sorts in all black, with bowl-front helmets showing red lines pulsing across the front, and black armor over most of their bodies, save their hips and crotch. The undersuits of the armor are something tight black and shiny, rendering their crotches into hefty, almost spherical bulges that almost dare someone to take a shot at them. \n\n"She's kinda on the scrawny side, but eh... we can fix that."\n\nThat draws your attention forward to where a woman in an almost stereotypical dominatrix getup is walking forward, tapping a riding crop against the palm of one hand. The outfit includes shoulder-high gloves, a strapless bustier-style bra, double-strapped panties (which you can't help but notice also have a fairly sizable bulge in the front), almost hip-high high-heeled boots, and a "military" (yeah you know which one) hat perched on her head, though the emblem on the front looks like a cell door. She's tall, tan, and with shortish blonde hair, rather wicked green eyes fixed on you with a look that fits her rather wolfish, and hungry, smile.\n\n"Welcome to Hell, slut. And if you don't think you're a slut, well, we're gonna fix that too!" she declares cheerfully. "See you've just had your contract bought by a veeery special reform facility!"\n\n"Kinda got that impression," you mutter, glancing back and forth between the guards and her.\n\nShe snickers, swinging her crop around to wag it in your face. "Whatever you're thinking, you're proooobably right, but I bet you're not even anywhere close to just how bad this place is. See, we get up to ten years to reform you into what we think is an ideal reformed member of society... but since your term was flagged adjustable, we can always determine that you have not met the conditions for release. So congrats, cunt meat, you're here either forever or until we decide you're in a form fit to leave."\n\nGreat. You're really starting to wish Daddy Indigo had just left you to the Foundation, or maybe just staked you out and left you for the fucking crows. Before you have too much longer to sulk the blonde whirls around and starts strolling off, showing off a truly incredible ass in the string back of the dominatrix panties, while the guards start frog-marching you forward after her.\n\n"I'm Vice Warden Tanya. You'll mostly be seeing me, since the warden's a very busy man and not to be pestered over small, insignificant, pathetic things like yourself," she explains breezily as you're marched through more dimly-lit metal corridors with metal grate floors, the guards' boots and hers making clashing pang noises of impact. "What we do here is take supervillains such as yourself, and we render them into obedient, mewling, cock-addicted little fucktoys," she declares, stopping and whirling to smack her crop against the little window of one of the doors you're passing.\n\nThe guards apparently take that as their prompt to haul you over and shove you up, putting your face right to the window. The woman inside is bound into some sort of chair, her toned body covered in sweat and not much else other than the ragged scraps of a costume... you wonder if she's a similarly new arrival like you, or if they just leave it like that for the aesthetic. Either way she's bolted into the chair with metal restraints, her legs bent back and legs spread wide, her whole body twitching and shuddering as what look like miniature tesla coils on armatures play random zaps of electricity across her breasts and pussy, her eyes rolled beneath the see-through techno visor she's fitted with, her tongue either lolled or jutting by turns as she writhes and very visibly cums, to judge by the sudden squirt from her sex at a sustained shock from the coils and the heightened glow of the visor.\n\nYou take in the long black hair, that the shredded costume bits seem to be distinctly star-spangled, and that she's got a shiny golden tiara on as well as the visor, before you're hauled back to face Tanya again. "Kinda looks like what you've got there is a superhero instead."\n\n"Really? Must be a clerical error," Tanya replies with a sneer, turning and striding off again, the guards once more following after her with you hauled along in tow.\n\n"So here's the deal. You may have noticed by your particularly odd method of arrival that this is a virtual environment. That means that there is no escape because there's nowhere to escape to; this ain't even the arctic, there's just nothing outside the prison. That also means we can do whatever we want to you without killing you, which is how we maintain our contract. The simulation does, obviously, obey various rules," she adds, turning abruptly and thwacking you right across the tits with her crop, making you yelp in shock as much as pain. "But the power suppression field is pretty flawless, not that you apparently have any."\n\nYou stick your tongue out at her, and she surprises you by shooting her off hand out with the quickness of a striking snake and seizing it between her fingers, her thumb rubbing over the top of it and forcing you to taste the leather extensively. "Your correctional program will be at my discretion, of course, but will primarily consist of rape, mental conditioning, rape, physical conditioning, rape, aversion therapy, rape, heavy humiliation and emotional destruction, rape, occupational training, rape, body modification... and oh yeah, if we have time for it, some rape," she adds with a smirk, giving your tongue a squeeze before finally releasing it with a little shove.\n\n"Oh, and lest you think 'well that all sounds so horrible it couldn't get any worse, so what could they have me find out if I fuck around'," Tanya continues, giving the spade at the end of the crop a few light thwaps against your pussy until you squeeze your legs closed. "Trust me, we can always make it worse. There is always something that's still a punishment. Personally, my favorite is the Reap Rooms... we've even got a couple of bitches on permanent hold there," she adds, green eyes flashing with cruel delight. "And since you don't actually age here, when I say 'permanent', I mean 'permanent'."\n\n<hr>\n[["What the hell is a 'Reap Room'?"|DefRF]]\n\n[["..."|DefRF]]

After a few moments of you just sitting there, Scarlet gives a soft 'tch' of obvious disappointment even as she accepts the glass of tequila from the droid. "Thanks."\n\n"I mean, c'mon, Aunt Scarlet, what would you do if I'd actually responded to any of these advances?" you scoff, starting to take a sip of your beer.\n\n"I'd've fucked your brains out, obviously." Scarlet sips her tequila calmly even as you spit-take, spraying a bit of beer across half the tub but not quite reaching her. "Or let you fuck my brains out, depending on how things went."\n\n"Oh c'mon!"\n\n"Whaaat? Fucksakes, Leo, we've both got pretty much the best birth control implants the Guildhall offers, and even if we didn't the chances of getting horrrrrrible birth defects off one generation of inbreeding aren't that high," Scarlet scoffs, waggling her hand in the air dramatically as she says 'horrible'. "Throw in that we've got access to genetic correction in the womb in the event of an accident and-"\n\n"Whoa whoa whoa!" you splutter, waving a hand negatingly. "I think you're overlooking a couple of other issues here!"\n\n"Such as?" Scarlet quirks a brow. "Leo you're well into being a consenting adult with a decently active sex life already. Though I'm guessing not as active as you'd like," she adds with a brief smirk as she glances down at the bulge in your trunks through the water, making you blush and fold your legs. "I have no more power over you than any other strong-willed older woman with a lot of money would. ... Admittedly that's obviously not zero," she muses, glancing upward as she takes another sip of her drink. "But still. The genetic problem isn't an issue, the power dynamic isn't an issue, what's the problem?"\n\nYou actually have to sit there for a minute thinking, before finally offering, "Like at least 90% of the multiverse thinks it's really weird and gross."\n\nScarlet smirks broadly, red eyes glittering. "See for me that's a feature not a bug, but hey. Pft, those people don't have any power over us, Leo," she says, gesturing with two fingers as you roll your eyes. "And c'mon, you're a LaChance, when have we ever let what other people think keep us from doing what we really want? So c'mon, let's just be direct about it. Tell me you either seriously don't want it and I'll stop teasing you... ... well, I mean, stop sexually teasing, I won't stop teasing you, I am your aunt... or just tell me what I can do to make you comfy with the idea, either way."\n\n<hr>\n[[Never happen.|LeoShip]]\n\n[[Maybe just relax.|LeoShip]]\n\n[[How about a little romance?|LeoShip]]

Your name is Marissa Mallone. You're a young woman from North Coast City, born to Brian and Alice Mallone, wealthy businesspeople who own numerous companies and properties both across the country and the world. You're a taller than average for a girl your age (late teenage), with admittedly perfect blonde hair and blue eyes and fair skin that scream "wealthy young lady of fine breeding", and admittedly you do tend to wear your hair in twintails when you're not bundling it up for activities. You're lean and firm from all of said activities, with a fairly generous chest and a round hips and a pert rear. You prefer to dress fairly simply, tending towards blouses, skirts, and thighhigh stockings, with a preference for athletic shoes over more fashionable pumps. (You can get away with this in the world of high society since it's very easy to pay twice what you would for a pair of pumps for a pair of sneakers, which is what really matters when things like that come up.)\n\nYou're also a superhero fanatic... both real and fictional. Which makes it pretty cool that your parents have always been so eager to encourage you in physical pursuits and training... in fact, they pretty much insisted. Martial arts, gymnastics, distance running, heck some of these even encourage the wearing of spandex bodysuits in public situations! Pretty great, right? Otherwise you've always considered yourself a pretty normal (rich) girl, other than the physical pursuits. Okay, well, you have some vague idea that your friends don't get medical checkups and vitamin injections every single month, but then again some of them do, and the world of the wealthy is full of eccentrics, you've always just assumed your parents were being careful with how physically active you are.\n\nAnd you admit, you've always wondered, in the back of your mind, in that spot where hopes that you know should be too silly to entertain nevertheless manage to live on, whether your parents might really be superheroes. That on those (admittedly rare) instances where they missed your plays or exhibitions or recitals that they were off saving the world. That when they disappeared through the doors you weren't allowed through for teleconferenced business meetings that they were really talking to Night Security or the Stellar Force about some villain with his finger on the volcano button. Admittedly in a world where superheroes really are real, it wasn't as fanciful a daydream as it might have otherwise been, so you kind of always held on to a little hope.\n\nUntil recently.\n\n"You guys fucking suck," you grumble, folding your arms over your chest and slumping down in the computer chair as you glare at the monitor.\n\n"Don't swear," your mother, AKA Artemis, the Archer of Death, says coolly from her half of the conference call, the orange of her prison jumpsuit not quite managing to make her perfect skin look blotchy.\n\n"And don't repeat yourself so much," your father, AKA Orion, the Brutal Genius, scolds gently from the other half of the screen, his own prison jumpsuit barely able to contain his massive muscles and broad belly. "You've told us that every teleconference for the last three months."\n\n"Well gee I wonder why?!" you snap back, flinging your hands apart. "I come home from school to find you two freaking out-"\n\n"We were not-"\n\n"In the most annoyingly calm and rational fashion I've ever seen," you cut in flatly, making your mother shrug as if to say 'Fair cop'. "Because apparently you're the heads of the Galaxy Syndicate and Knightsky, one of my personal heroes, has apparently finally gotten all the evidence he needs to nail you both to the wall!"\n\n"It's true but you shouldn't say it," your mother notes just as flatly.\n\n"Which part?" you can't help but ask.\n\n"All of it."\n\n"And no one believes me that that was the first I was hearing of it!" you shout, flinging your hands up in the air. "The school principal sat me down and basically spent an hour avoiding saying that the only reason I wasn't being expelled was because they're as afraid of our lawyers as the Syndicate's assassins, none of my friends are talking to me, I'm pretty sure Knightsky is still looking for evidence trying to arrest me too, and oh yeah, the newspapers are calling me 'The Third Star in the Constellation of Crime (allegedly)'!"\n\n"You know that's not half bad," your father muses, raising his thin, pale eyebrows.\n\n"So as if it weren't bad enough that my entire life got kneecapped, I find out you two have been lying to me my entire friggin' life," you add, letting some of the genuine heartbreak seep through in your tone.\n\nAt least they both have the grace to look abashed at that, not quite squirming before your father says, "We were going to ease you in after you graduated high school. You know, instead of taking a year off to backpack in Europe, we were going to suggest you take a year off and we'd introduce you to... things."\n\n"We might have told you earlier, dear, but you sort of went all-in on superheroes," your mother notes dryly. "Makes it a little harder to broach the subject."\n\n"Sorry for going and developing a moral code," you reply flatly.\n\n"It's okay, dear, these things happen, we forgive you."\n\nYour eyebrow twitches.\n\n"Now, about how the companies are running-"\n\n"Whoops, out of time," you say flatly, clicking the button to close the program, since you've picked up by now that questions about how the companies are running are code for 'please take over running the Galaxy Syndicate and preferably get us out of here while you're at it'.\n\n"I really think you're the only person in the world that might have the guts to hang up on either of them, let alone both of them," the figure borderline materializing out of the shadows says. Tomiko, your parents' majordomo, has her hands folded primly in front of the skirt of her maid uniform, long black hair falling down her back beneath the braid "crown" running around the sides and back of her head just above her ears, dark, intense eyes fixed on you. "In either identity," she adds in a disapproving tone.\n\n"Yeah well they're in a position to do precisely shit about it for a lot of reasons," you grumble, sitting back in the chair. You then eye her, and waggle a finger in her general direction. "You know I just realized, it isn't normal for maids to do that, is it?"\n\n"What, approach silently from the shadows?"\n\n"Among a long list of other things I've been making about how fucked up my life apparently is."\n\n"Don't swear."\n\n"Fuck you."\n\nTomiko purses her lips, dark eyes flashing briefly, and there's momentary tension in the air. Then she says, "I'm going to overlook that. Once. Because you really have been having a very trying time and I will chalk that up to stress." Admittedly, you feel some relief at that. Tomiko is scary, even without knowing whatever other dark identity she might possess, and you really would normally know better than to talk back let alone say something so crude to her. "In any event, as your parents were saying when you so rudely cut them off, you really need to start thinking about taking the reins on some of the Syndicate's activities."\n\n"No. Not happening."\n\n"Marissa, as tenuous as you may find civilian life right now, I assure you things are far worse underground," Tomiko cautions you, voice having become even. "The Galaxy Syndicate is the facilitation and sales arm of the supercriminal udnerworld. Not 'one of' or 'the top', it is the sole professional logistics provider to supervillains and others who reside beneath the law. Your parents' incarceration being so sudden and complete endangers all the work they've done building that, and might have deeper implications than you can understand right now. With no single unifying force in the chain of succession, the Syndicate could fracture, and that won't be good for anyone. Even all the little normal people or your beloved heroes."\n\nYou turn your scowl forward, glaring at the computer monitor without really seeing it. After a few moments you grumble, "No."\n\n"... Very well. We'll discuss this again later," Tomiko says with a long-suffering sigh, melting back into the shadows.\n\n"Why couldn't I get one of those obsequious overly respectful type of servants?" you mutter, sitting up and scooting forward a bit. Admittedly you're glad Tomiko's still around... she's been there literally your entire life, and now is one of the few servants who hasn't ditched out entirely lest they be accused (possibly legitimately, you have no way of knowing) of being connected to the Galaxy Syndicate. Most of your parents' files, equipment, and properties have been locked down beyond anyone's reach, including yours, at least until you agree to take over as head of the Syndicate, which you're just not going to do.\n\n("Oh c'mooooon," your Id coos to you. "Supervillain is as good as superhero right? And wouldn't you like to put all those people who have been shit to us in the last few months in their place?"\n\n"Don't be ridiculous," your Superego scoffs. "Give in? And to villainy at that? That's so weak!"\n\n"Hey, remember what Tomiko said about the Syndicate too, though," your Id points out. "If someone doesn't keep it together and orderly, what happens when, like, a bunch of streetcorner nobodies start selling laser blasters to gangbangers?"\n\n"... Hmmmmm..." your Superego hmmmms.)\n\nA little troubled by just how much headway your baser instincts were making, you're distracted by the sound of another email arriving. Oh great, another request for deposition, death threat, or interview request (which at this point you'd lump in with the death threats for palatability). Still, just to make sure it's not your school mailing to say they've decided they're not that afraid of your lawyers after all and there's no need to turn up on Monday, you click over to your email program. You make a face as you see that the subject is requesting a meeting (if in slightly flowery, if appropriately clipped, terms), but when you see the sender you pause. More from curiosity than anything, you open it.\n\n'Ms. Mallone,\n\nIt is with great interest and hope that I send this missive requesting a meeting with you at 1221 Le Prince St at your own convenience between the hours of 7:00 am and 7:00 pm to discuss the potential of your signing on as one of our representatives.\n\nMy sister and I understand that what you are going through must be immensely difficult; after all, reputation is everything! Which is why we would like the opportunity to help you build one for yourself, separate and distinct from the one the press is attempting to foist on you so tastelessly.\n\nI believe it is entirely possible for you to show the world who you really are: the girl who won the What Heroism Means essay contest when she was eleven, now given the opportunity and possibly even the necessity to put what she wrote in that essay into practice.\n\nWe look forward very much to seeing you, should you take us up on our invitation.\n\n\t-Ms. Sandra Substance\n\nP.S. "Thirdstar" really isn't a bad superhero name!'\n\nYou can't help but huff a bit at that last line, recalling your father saying something similar (though you think he liked the "Constellation of Crime" part more). 3S, Style & Substance Studios. A superhero team... of a sort. For the most part they function as an agency for superheroes, primarily to protect their image rights from being misused without revealing their secret identities. But they've also never been shy about wanting to branch out and turn superheroing into the biggest, most enthralling reality show ever produced; they've already made some efforts towards that with blogs, vlogs, and even some live camera feeds of unfolding events. You've heard they've been working on what they call the 'No Shadows Initiative', coached as an attempt to let normal people have an unfiltered look at what it's like for superheroes on the job, but more obviously as a ratings-grabbing live super reality streaming show.\n\nAnd you're betting that's what they want you for.\n\nThe PR of it... could be substantial, it's very true. You're immediately rather tempted, but there's one big thing that makes you second guess it. That being, Style and Substance are porn stars.\n\nOkay, "porn stars" might be a bit much, although both of them have technically starred in what just about anyone would call porn, even if that wasn't what it was labeled as. (Certain people online are very firm about it being referred to as "Documentary reenactments coincidentally featuring sexually explicit imagery".) Both of them are big believers in showing the sensual and erotic side of supers, considering sex just as natural a part of the lifestyle as punching bank robbers in the face. You're fairly certain they're not just outright suggesting you for any such thing...! ... Fairly certain, not absolutely. But you're betting that, at the very least, if you had a wardrobe malfunction on camera they wouldn't exactly be rushing to pixellate it.\n\nSo... yeah, obviously a little dubious there. It's definitely not a bad idea... you'll definitely think it over a bit more. But... should you really go with those two?\n\n<hr>\n[[No, definitely not.|Mar]]\n\n[[Yes, absolutely.|MarSS1x1]]

Your lips thin into a line as you slowly bring your sword around in front of you, gripping it with both hands, as the Demon in blue simultaneously draws her sword from its sheath, revealing the glowing cyan crystal cutting edge. One breath. Two. Three.\n\nNow.\n\nSomething halfway between a scream and a roar tears from your throat, an electronically filtered answering howl coming from across the way, the roiling, fighting crowd around the two of you snapping into realtime again as you launch yourselves at each other. You put both hands into your swing as you come together, the Demon angling her body and ducking her shoulders to meet it with one, her other hand still holding the sword's sheath. The impact slams pain up your arms and through your shoulders into your back, and it seems like a miracle that your sword doesn't shatter to pieces against the high-performance energized weapon.\n\n'Shit! She's cybered all to hell!' you think, before you don't have any time to think at all, instead snapping your sword down to slam the butt of it into your opponent's sheath as she swings it around to try and slam it into your side. You stop the blow, but again the impact is jarring, the designer metal sheath as sturdy as any club. 'Can't think, thinking will get me dead, just have to fight!' you assert to yourself even as you snap your sword forward towards her shoulder, forcing her to back off or get clipped. There's no room, no time to think of what she's doing, to think of what you need to do in response, there's only time to do it, to rely on your skill, your experience, and whatever the hell your teacher always said was inside you that's lead you here.\n\nNo thinking, just fighting. That jab with the sheath is a feint, knock it aside and step in to put her off balance, make her back up again with another chop towards her shoulder. Dodge away from the stab, block the follow-up sweep, she's fast and strong enough not to lose anything in the transition, arms jarred again, use your legs, jump high and over the next side-slash, heel to the cheek, caught a little of the horn and blunted it but it still connected pretty solid, she's reeling. Slash, slash, try to force her to drop the sheath if nothing else. She's using it to block though, sword arm is out and wide, waiting for an opening to snap in, dodge back and give her some space, deflect with flat-on-flat when she takes the opening as an opportunity to try and cut.\n\nOn, and on, and on. Your body is aching, your muscles screaming. Your mind begs to be let back in, you can feel it around the edges of the strange emptiness you've been building up inside you, it wants to tell you there's no way you can win, your opponent's too strong, the human body's limits can't win against printed muscle and ceramisteel bones.\n\n"There are no such thing as limits, Kai. There is only a point at which you've decided it's okay for you to die."\n\nYou let one thought in. 'Zee.' Today isn't that day. Then one more thought. \n\n'Faster.'\n\nYou use the growing grey inside you to push away the pain in your muscles, the screaming of your cracked bones. Your body becomes more light, more empty... the more you move the less pain there is, just the skill, just the fight, just the blade. You're doing things you've only seen Ico do before, things you've never seen anyone do before. When your opponent finds an oppening for a fast, wide slash that should give you no options for blocking or dodging back, you snap yourself into the air, going horizontal and spinning above it, landing to one side of her and snapping a cut out towards her side that she only barely blocks with her sheath at the last minute. You're drawing equal, and then you're pressing her, leaning hard on only letting that one thought in.\n\n'Faster. Faster. Faster.'\n\nYour body is barely even your own now, given over to the fight, only resonating with that single word. Strike, strike, block, strike, block, no thought, no examination, just fight, just fight, her sword, her skill, your sword, your skill, strike, strike, one against the other, again and again, two becoming ever closer to one. Somewhere deep inside you can feel something calling, or maybe it's something that's not calling, you don't know if you're staring into a bright light or absolute darkness, because all there is is this fight, this moment, your blade, her blade, you, her.\n\nAnd then it happens. She's been getting faster, smoother, better too all the time, but she tries the same motion of striking with her sheath while drawing her sword back to ready it for a quick horizontal slice. This time though your block with the butt of your weapon is part of a twisting, snapping motion that grazes the front of her armpit, the sudden strike and pain shocking her enough that for one instant, one single instant, her arms are parted, her body open, even her neck displayed.\n\n<hr>\n[[Do what seems smart.|KaiCy]]\n\n[[Do what feels right.|KaiCy1x3]]

The words spring from your mouth without thinking them, even as you spring forward with your blade drawn back.\n\n"NANATSU NO EIEN NO KIZU!"\n\nThere's a flash in the split second where you're moving past her where your arm is moving of its own accord, and then you're standing past her, your sword angled out and down, a few flakes of wet snow landing on the clean silver of the blade and dribbling down it. The Demon stands as she is for a heartbeat, until she lets out a shuddery breath... and milky green-white mingled here and there with red splatters into the air. Sword and sheath clatter to the ground just before her knees thud to the pavement as well, her body settling heavily back onto her heels, arms slumped and back arched, displaying the slices overlapping across her body as if unable to help showing the world what you'd done to her.\n\nYour breathing is hard, deep, and is starting to hurt as aches in your muscles and all throughout your body begin to manifest. 'The fight,' you think as the emptiness retreats. 'There's still... the rest of the fight...' You try to raise your head, look for your next opponent, but merely lifting your chin apparently takes the last of the strength in your body. You drop like a marionette with its strings cut, legs crumpling under you and cheek thudding against the pavement, a darkness that's heavier than the emptiness of before closing in around you.\n\n"Kid! Kid!"\n\nYou hear Niobe's voice from far, far away, even as you can sort of feel her hands touching you and the smell of her drifts through the darkness like a comforting arm stretched out to pull you back over a cliff.\n\n"The other one..." Sakai's voice, close and far away, together with Niobe's but from a different place.\n\n"No time, we've gotta get her out of here!"\n\n"You're right. The next street over, a medwagon, come on."\n\nAnd then the darkness that's so oppressively full swallows you up.\n\nSuddenly you're heaving and coughing, your lungs uncomfortably full, sudden pressure pushing on them and forcing whatever's filling them out. You stagger forward, cold, wet, and blinded by a thousand lights, only to thud against boulder-firm breasts and feel strong hands catch your upper arms to catch you. "Easy, kid, easy, I know that shit sucks all to hell, just calm down."\n\n"Ni-... -obe?" you gurgle, raising your head, the brightness starting to clear and resolve into a familiar face grinning a little wanly at you. "Feel like... the floor at Glowworm after 'Double or Nothing' night," you mutter, starting to shiver.\n\n"A week in a biotube will do that to you," Sakai's voice says as you feel something soft and absorbent being draped around you... a towel the size of a blanket, you realize, gratefully and somewhat sheepishly pulling it closer around yourself when you realize how naked you are.\n\n"A week?" You blink a few times, glancing around the Holy Dragon medical room, then feeling your jaw sag a little as it sinks in. "A fucking week?! What the hell happened to me?!"\n\n"You tore practically every muscle in your body from the neck down, had hairline fractures top to bottom in both arms, a couple in your legs, four cracked vertebrae, and your heart was on the verge of collapse," Niobe says dryly, resting her hands on her hips. "Shit, kid, you're lucky to be alive at all, even I'd've had a tough time coming back from how close you came to cacking it. 'Course, you also apparently were fighting like I could, without a custom-engineered muscle in your skinny little body."\n\nYou stand there, just trying to absorb all of that. It doesn't feel real... you remember the fight in detail, true, in fact you think you remember it better now than when you were actually fighting it. But that's just the thing... it vaguely feels like it was someone else doing the fighting. Or something else. Snapping yourself back to the here and now, you look back and forth between Niobe and Sakai. "The meeting... what happened?"\n\n"The losses among all the gangs were... grievous, but not devastating. A number of the gang heads were able to survive... Adam, of course, Moore, myself, Niobe, most of the others who were combat capable. Pink-neechan survived as well... apparently because Rirorera sent the Crazy Ho bodyguards with her to escape, and stayed behind to delay the Street Demons pursuing them. She did not survive it. Pink-neechan is secluded in mourning, and all the streetwalkers are off the streets until it is concluded." Sakai glances aside, hands clasped in front of himself. "In fact, everyone is off the streets. The sector is holding its breath, waiting to see what's next. What you will decide."\n\n"Wait, what? When the fuck did this become about me?" you blurt, taking a half-step back.\n\n"When you took down that especially glowy Street Demon, apparently," Niobe snorts. "What the fuck did you do to her, anyway?"\n\n"..." It takes a second for you to come to grips with the fact that the end of that fight wasn't some delusion you had as your brain shut down. "Nanatsu no-... uh... 'Seven Eternal Wounds'. It's a sword technique where you make seven slices almost instantaneously... if you do it when there's a decent enough opening it's basically unblockable. And like... it crosses certain pressure points and nerves and I guess... chakras or whatever... ... anyway, the cuts themselves can be healed but you'll still feel them for the rest of your life, like a sort of 'pressure' or something where they were. At least that's what Ico said about it."\n\n"Shit, she taught you something next level like that?" Niobe mutters, unable to help looking impressed.\n\n"Um. ... I saw her do it." You raise a hand to rub the back of your neck, then drop it when you realize you're flashing both of them when you do. "... Once."\n\nNiobe and Sakai trade a glance at that, before Sakai clears his throat. "In any event, apparently you made quite the impression. There is a video recording waiting for you, I think you should see it. We'll be in the lounge down the hall, join us when you've gotten dressed." With that, Sakai turns and walks out, Niobe lingering a moment longer like she wants to say something, but she's still silent when she turns and leaves as well. You dry the rest of the pinkish liquid goo off of yourself with the towel, then spot your jacket hanging on a hook above a counter, some folded clothes below it. To your surprise they're not the booty shorts and tie-top that you were wearing before, but a pair of very nice black silk pants, red silk shirt, and a black sports bra and thong. You also find a pair of the sort of 'formal tabi' shoes that a lot of the more serious but slightly pretentious fighters in the Dragons wear. It feels a little weird to be 'pampered' like this, but since there's nothing else to wear you can only assume these are for you. Dressed more fancily than you ever have been in your life, you step out into the hall and glance around for the open door that shows you where Sakai and Niobe must be waiting.\n\nThe lounge looks like it's fit to be the VIP lounge in a high-end, Nipponzi-speaking bar, even though it's apparently the waiting room for the medstation. Niobe's leaned against the wall near the door, while Sakai's lounging in one of the chairs. As you enter Niobe pushes off the wall, and holds out your sheathed sword to you. "Here. They delivered this along with the vid."\n\nYou blink, accepting the weapon, but Niobe just gestures you to the couch when you give her a questioning look. Once you've sat down, leaning the sword against the cushion beside you (and admitting quietly to yourself you feel a lot better with it nearby again), Sakai picks up the remote from beside him and taps it, causing the screen built in the wall to flicker to life. The background is obviously computer generated, pure blackness with upward-drifting crimson cinders. Standing in front of it is what's obviously one of the Street Demon... leaders? Whatever they are. She bears some similarities to the one that breached the wall last night, though her red chrome horns lack the more obvious 'cyber' style, although her vape mask is even more elaborate and with more glowing pieces, lending her a slightly draconic aspect. Her white hair is much longer and smoother, and her outfit is more straight up 'schoolgirl jacket', black with a red-trimmed flap, her hands tucked into its pockets. She's turned slightly to the side, as if awaiting someone else's cue.\n\n<img src="images/Pestilence.jpg">\n\nApparently receiving that cue, she turns fully towards the camera. Her tone is surprisingly conversational despite the edgelord stylings, youthful and easygoing rather than booming or rasping even with the electronic filter. "Hello, Kai. My name is Pestilence, and I'm the leader of the Street Demons. If you want to feel honored at being addressed directly by me, you can... I don't like to show my face much, but this is a special occasion.\n\n"You see, our spies tell me that at the meeting we interrupted, it was said that we seem to have no code. That's not true, we do have one, and it's very simple... 'Try to make one another's wishes come true.' Other gangs may call each other family, but we are... we are all we care about, we are all we love. Once we acknowledge you and you acknowledge yourself as a poison and a plague on society you are one of us, and we look after one another and love one another, and there is nothing we would not do in this world to see each other's ambitions, desires, and wants made manifest."\n\n"Shit," you murmur under your breath.\n\n"Right now you probably just said or thought a nasty word because you think I'm declaring some sort of awful vengeance on you for what you did to Cyanide. And if you'd killed her, or if that was her wish, then of course we would raze the sector, the city, the planet to its foundations as our love demands. But that's not what Cyanide wants. Her wish now is different, and so it's with glad hearts and endless love we will try to make that come true. To that end, let me explain what has already been done.\n\n"First of all, you have been bought from your master and freed. It took quite a bit of pressure, but he agreed to sell you for an entirely reasonable price of absolutely nothing. The brick code for your slave chip was included with the package we sent to Mister Sakai, along with instructions telling him he'd better use it and what would happen if he didn't. He seems a reasonable sort of idiot, I'm sure he followed orders." You most definitely do not look at Sakai shifting slightly in fury to one side of you. "We also secured the freedom of your friend Zee, who will be our honored guest for the foreseeable future."\n\nEven as you're snapping bolt upright and grabbing for your sword, the recording of Pestilence draws a hand out of her pocket and holds it up to calm you. "If you're thinking of reacting hastily, calm down. That's not a euphemism. We're really treating her as our guest, she's being held in comfort and security. Splice in the video now, huh?" The image briefly cuts to what looks almost like a hotel suite, with Zee sitting on a couch, dressed in comfortable-looking jeans and a sweater. She certainly looks mildly worried, but you can't see any marks on her, and when she gets up to walk into the kitchen area her movements look natural and unforced. She's obviously nervous but not scared, precisely. The image cuts back to Pestilence. "There, see? We're just keeping her for awhile. You can have her back at the end of this, assuming you agree to our terms."\n\nYou glance aside at Sakai and mouth 'Terms?', and he nods as the image pauses briefly before continuing. "Cyanide wants a rematch. Midnight, one year from now, Big Sakura Park, on the bridge in the center. Just you and her, one on one. No interference, no traps, no weapons but your swords. Oh, we had the microfractures in yours repaired and reinforced with auritanium, by the way... feel free to have Sakai's people check it out to insure we haven't meddled with it any other way." \n\nBlinking, you pull your sword over and unsheath about a foot of it, noticing the almost spectral spiderwebbing of shimmery gold running all across the surface. 'Shit, that's the stuff they use on warship hulls. If you're an insanely rich interstellar empire, anyway.'\n\n"We understand you're probably recovering from the fight yourself, but once you're on your feet, we'd like your answer. In return for your agreement, we will institute a one-year ceasefire from the moment we receive your message to dawn of the day after you and Cyanide cross swords again. No Street Demon will so much as litter anywhere on Makarzia without permission from the local gang boss. Whether Cyanide wins or loses the rematch, we'll immediately turn Zee over after bricking her slave chip, either to yourself if you're still alive, or a person of your designation if you are not. She and you will both be considered under our protection, everyone will be informed that visiting any harm on you is considered a breach of the ceasefire and will result in extreme retribution against the responsible party. We already learned of Horace Allfather planning something in revenge for what happened at the meeting, and have made examples of several of his top lieutenants. He will almost certainly not be bothering you again."\n\nYou glance at Sakai and Niobe, and see that both have gone just a little pale. ... Sakai's not exactly easy to spook anyway, but if whatever the Street Demons did to Horace's men made even Niobe look a little green, it probably actually was enough to make that big mean bastard think twice.\n\n"We have a rough estimate of when you're expected to recover, so we'll say that within twenty-four hours of... this," she says, gesturing to the lower right of the screen, where a timestamp of about an hour from now appears. "We'd like your answer. If it's yes, the ceasefire goes into effect, and we'll see you one year from now. If it's no, the war begins. Oh, and Zee will become our permanent prisoner instead of our guest. We'll keep her in her current accommodations, of course, since Cyanide specifically said we shouldn't use threatening her life to coerce you to agree. So she'll be safe... in a gilded cage. It's your choice, Kai. Please make the right one, because after all, it's important to me that Cyanide's wish come true." She stares into the screen for several moments, then lifts her chin and makes a little slash-across-the-throat gesture just before the camera blips out.\n\n"... How can someone be so theatrical but have such a bad editing staff?" you can't help but wonder aloud despite the situation.\n\n"Regardless of her people's ability to execute her flair for the dramatic, Pestilence seems to be true to her word. I already had our forgemasters examine your sword... the Street Demons apparently took it to Mazamyun, the Grand Forgemaster who resides in the Dark. How they paid or cajoled him I have no idea, but that sword would likely not break now if you detonated a nuclear device on it." Sakai shakes his head. "The Street Demons haven't gone completely 'peaceful' yet, either... as certainly Horace's people learned... but they have quieted down a great deal and made no more direct movements against any of the other gangs. Their offer of a ceasefire if you agree to the rematch seems sincere."\n\n"Hey, listen, don't let him pressure you, kid," Niobe cautions, walking over and folding her arms on the back of the couch as she frowns at you. "You don't have to do shit, especially now that your slave chip's bricked and sitting in a glass vial in that medbay." You can't help but raise your hands to touch lightly at the back of your neck, the resolve in Niobe's eyes firming up as she continues. "You're your own person now, beholden to no one. You don't owe any of these fucks anything, and yeah that includes you, Sakai," she snaps, though there was no indication he was going to speak. "She got hurt fighting your fight on your time wearing your dragon, you owed her putting her back together, you two are square now."\n\nAlmost urgently, she rests a hand on your shoulder. "C'mon, kid, let's fuck off out of here. Put all of Ikes's stupid 'heart of the sword' or whatever bullshit behind you, let's ditch the whole stupid planet and go."\n\n"You'd go that far to run from this?" Sakai says a little icily.\n\n"From an all-out war? You bet your ass I would," Niobe snaps back, almost snarling at him. "I've been in them before, and I'm not interested in being on the front lines of one again over this cesspit of acid rain and chipped concrete, especially when my only prize is getting to eke out a living in this cesspit of acid rain and chipped concrete with however many of my people survive." She moves her hand to your shoulder, squeezing gently. "I've got enough resources to get you, me, and all of my gang that wants to come the hell out of here. Let's go, kid, let's say 'fuck it' to all of it."\n\nYou look from her, to Sakai, who's sitting silent and expressionless, apparently agreeing with Niobe that it's your choice. You look back up at Niobe. "... What if I stay?"\n\n"Shit, kid!" she hisses, wheeling around and tilting her head back as she puts both hands over her face, stalking off in a random direction. She stands there for several seconds, then lowers her arms and lets her head slump, sighing. "... Shit. Shit, I hate saying this kind of stuff, but..." She turns around to face you, misery written on her face. "... You're the only thing besides my gang that I ever put work into that actually amounted to fuckall, kid. That... means something, considering where I started life. I can't walk away from that. So you stay, I stay, the Geneslicers stay. Just think about that though, alright? You have this rematch and the Street Demons go right back to declaring war afterwards, a lot of people are gonna die that didn't have to. Maybe me, but definitely other people I care about. So just lemme say, you better be damn sure it's what you want, knowing you're not just risking your own neck," she snaps, stabbing a finger towards you for emphasis.\n\n<hr>\n[[You need time to think.|KaiCy1x4]]\n\n[[... Fuck it, let's go.|KaiCy]]

"Thanks for the offer, but I think I'm gonna wash my hands of this one," you say with a shake of the head.\n\n"Fair enough. Here," he says, slowly reaching into a pocket and then emerging with a thin but durable-looking card which he proffers. "If you're ever in need of someone to set you up with a good job, give me a call, yeah? I go both ways... on more than one subject," he adds in a flirty tone, grinning and swishing his tail.\n\nYour cheeks color, but you nod and accept the card. "Okay, I'll keep it in mind, thanks."\n\n"Hey, good luck out there!"\n\nAnd then, for the next six months, you proceed to have the worst luck of your life.\n\nYou're not superstitious enough to think you've been cursed, but damn if things don't feel like it. Everything that possibly could go wrong does go wrong. At first it does start out as just things going bad on you through no fault of your own... surprise complications during missions like enemies randomly happening upon you or sudden inclement weather that works entirely against you, bad intel, people not being who or what they presented as. But as you wind up with a string of failed missions under your belt, you admit that you begin to screw up more as well, the pressure starting to get to you. You also make bad calls off-mission in your desperation to turn things around, such as investing almost as much in gear and prep for the mission as it would earn... only to have it go bad on you, again, leaving you with no pay and fresh debt. Until-\n\n"What do you mean suspended?!" you almost shriek, leaping to your feet.\n\n"Your certification is not being suspended," the white-suited man behind the desk says primly, never having so much as blinked at your outburst. "Your access to the job boards is. The number of failed missions you've accrued in the last time period means you are no longer a reliable solo operator to take open missions."\n\n"But that's... that's basically the same thing!" you splutter. "How am I supposed to work if I can't use the job boards?!"\n\n"Find employers willing to request you. Assist other mercenaries. Do more work on Makarzia. Take pickup work around the Guildhall and for the Guild itself," the admin answers without hesitation. "Get a few successful missions back under your belt and the board suspension will likely be lifted. It's up to you how you do that. The Guild doesn't care how you succeed... you do, however, need to prove you can succeed."\n\nYour jaw works for a few moments, before you give a single terse nod and turn to storm out of the room, not bothering with any other pleasantries. You stand outside the simple sliding door in the administration area and simmer for another few moments, before your shoulders slump. Shaking your head morosely, you turn and make your way to the departure annex.\n\nSoon back in your apartment, you flop down on your back on your bed and glare at the ceiling. Your apartment for now, but rent's due very soon and you're not going to be able to pay it this month. The building you're in is nice enough that they won't put you on the curb for one missed rent, but there will be a late fee, and those will accrue rapidly, and you currently don't have much sign of things turning around. 'Work on Makarzia... all my Makarzia jobs have gone to shit lately too,' you think sourly, grimacing at the memory. It certainly hasn't done your reputation any good, you imagine, nor will this latest turn once it gets out.\n\nRemembering something, you turn and open the 'assorted items' drawer of your nightstand and rummage for a moment, pulling out Midnight's card and eyeing it. Well... he did say he could get you jobs, and now without access to the job boards, you'd need someone to. Your options are talking to him, talking to one of the other mercs you know to see if they might help, trying again to take some Makarzia jobs, or...\n\n... here's the rub...\n\n... asking family and friends for help.\n\nThat last one makes you grimace some. The entire reason you're here in this apartment, and a Guild member in the first place, was that it was all part of getting out from under the all-consuming wings of your family. 'Twelfth generation Holy Dragon,' you think rather sourly, mouth twisting. That just... never really felt like you, nor did any of the other options that presented themselves springing from it. But... here you are.\n\n<hr>\n[[Call Midnight.|ChiBlu4x2]]\n\n[[See a different merc.|ChiLuck]]\n\n[[Take another job Makarzia-side.|ChiLuck1x1]]\n\n[[Admit it's time to get family help.|ChiLuck]]

"I mean it's all yours, so sure," she says with a shrug, setting it back down on the counter and pushing it across to you.\n\nYou pick up the bracelet, making a point of looking it over and eyeing it. Then, very casually, you slip it onto your wrist, at which there's a popup window that says 'You have unlocked the "Hypnosis" temporary skill'. Well that's useful, you think as you point your hand with the bracelet at her, her face showing her surprise. "Hypnosis."\n\nShe starts to squawk indignantly, before her eyes glow an entirely different, brighter shade of purple. Her mouth closes and she sort of relaxes, wobbling a bit on the box behind the counter you assume she's standing on. You also notice that you received another popup that said 'Hypnosis is currently unavailable', and you have the faint feeling of your magical power being on empty, so apparently she was right, you do have to use it like a spell like this.\n\n"What's your name?" you ask her experimentally.\n\n"Pota," she answers in an airy near-monotone.\n\n"Okay, Pota. Give me my money back." \n\n"Okay," she answers in the same breezy tone, bending and coming up with the money pouch and loose coins, setting them down again and pushing them across the counter.\n\nYou quickly collect them, then just eye her. Wow... this really works. She just... obeyed you, without hesitation. You wonder how far you could go with this? "Pota, did you understand how the enchantment on this bracelet works when you appraised it?"\n\n"Yes."\n\n"Write it down for me."\n\n"Okay."\n\nShe pulls over some sheets of paper and what looks like a pen with a built-in reservoir, immediately setting to writing. You keep worrying that the effect will wear off "mid-stream", but there's no sign of it as she finishes writing everything down and proffers the pages. You take them and look them over, absorbing the information.\n\n'Hypnosis skill will use up as much magic power as it needs to work. Magic power "debt" may be accrued meaning it will take longer to recharge. Hypnosis skill will only become available again when magic power is full.\n\nHypnosis will last indefinitely until it is dismissed or subject is rendered completely unconscious. Hypnotized subject will obey any and all commands. Commands may be given that result in lasting effects beyond dismissal of hypnosis such as behavioral changes, triggers, or even personality alterations.\n\nTheoretically higher levels of magic power use and bonding with the magic item through leveling and usage could allow for creating physical changes as well as mental.'\n\nWow. Pretty concise but also... wow. You fold up the paper and put it away, then eye Pota. Thinking a bit, you open your character window and check your magic power for time until recharge... not until tomorrow morning, huh? So it definitely used it all and then probably put you into some of that "debt", since usually your magical power refills in a few hours.\n\nWell! This turned out to be a pretty useful item! And you have absolutely no doubt you're going to get maximum use out of it. Now what?\n\n<hr>\n[["You'll forget all about this."|Raz]]\n\n[["Come around the counter."|Raz]]\n\n[["Hey, where's that ring you mentioned?"|Raz]]

Somehow taking the very first available path feels like a trap... well, really, every room here is a trap of some sort or another. But you go with your gut and lead the rest of your team past the first right, instead heading for the right at the end of the hallway, everyone shuffling along in their various states of comfort about their nudity. Eventually the hallway opens into a room, much as suspected, the door sliding shut behind you.\n\n'THE CHOSEN NUMBER MUST WHISPER A DEEP, SHAMEFUL, EXPLICIT SEXUAL FANTASY TO THE KING.'\n\n"Oh, and before you think of standing there and muttering 'peas and carrots' under your breath for two minutes, I should tell you that the microphones I have rigged up in here are extremely good!" Dr. Deathtrap's voice belts out. "So if it's not deep, and dark, and really perverse, I'll be perfectly happy to sit here browsing celebrity nude selfies until you all wither in there."\n\nThe group exchanges dour looks. Well, you can't really get out of this one... you're included in the challenge by default. Which doesn't seem particularly fair but, well, what are you going to do? You're already here, the challenge is there, all that's left is to pick which of your teammembers has to divulge one of their deepest fantasies to you.\n\n<hr>\n[[Number one.|CalKLDFRx1]]\n\n[[Number two.|CalKLDFRx2]]\n\n[[Number three.|CalKLDFRx3]]\n\n[[Number four.|CalKLDFRx4]]\n\n[[Number five.|CalKLDFRx5]]\n\n[[Number six.|CalKLDFRx6]]\n\n<<if $youareskooma is true>>\n1 Mazinon\n2 Snow Leopard\n3 Warya\n4 Excalibur\n5 Marielle\n6 Trickshot\n<<endif>>

You hesitate. Ah... that's right, didn't the Witch Princess always go by, well, 'the Witch Princess'? Since you only read half the book or so you hadn't found out whether there was a specific reason for that or if the author just considered the character's role and name the same thing. Still, may as well keep up adhering to the narrative, it's gotten you this far... which is out of the tower and not splatted, so hey. "I'm the Witch Princess," you answer, winding up turning it into a bit of a declaration.\n\n"Ohhh? Yes, I do believe you are," the dragon says agreeably, glancing you up and down as if just to confirm. "Well then. Witch Princess, I am Blue Dragon, and I am for the moment at your service." The dragon bows elegantly again, before rising, slender fingers giving curly bangs a flick, pretty lips curled in a gregarious smile. "Your declaration caught my attention... certainly that's the way a dragon prefers to live too, after all. How came you to be in such a place, however, that you'd rather try to fly when you can't than see it out?"\n\n"The demon lord Thule kidnapped me and tried to make me marry one of his sons," you explain, simply enough, since the book wasn't particularly long on elaborating either. Still, you're not going to try to read it like a script, even if you remember it. Sighing, you fold your arms under your newly generous chest, trying to ignore how you wind up pressing your boobs up and together. "Apparently it was either that or become his sex toy. Neither was a terribly attractive idea, so, out the window I went. Thanks for catching me, by the way."\n\n"Of course." Those silver eyes sparkle again, but at least this time the dragon neglects to bow. "But my, how interesting! Something is sure to come of this, especially since I doubt Lord Thule will just call it a bad day when he finds you gone. You'll have to continue trying to escape for some time, I fear. Still, if you'd like, I can help you. You can certainly go a bit further with flying through the sky than running about on foot. My suggestion would be that we head for the Crystal Hills... well known as a place to go if you're not sure where to go, since supposedly you will always find something to set you on the right path there."\n\nAnd there it is, the plot hook that begins they whole adventure of roaming around and collecting traveling companions. Of course in the book the Witch Princess agrees immediately, knowing that she'll find the next point on her destiny in the Crystal Hills (and where you know the next member of her group is). So here's your chance (again) to either keep going with the story, at least for now, or to diverge.\n\n<hr>\n[[Don't go with Blue Dragon.|ValWP]]\n\n[[Go with Blue Dragon, but somewhere other than the Crystal Hills.|ValWP]]\n\n[[Go with Blue Dragon to the Crystal Hills.|ValWP]]

If you're really gonna take a header out the window and trust to the narrative to save you, you better stick to the narrative. Besides... you have to admit, as much as your jaded brain insisted you snort some at the Witch Princess's declaration, your heart did a little 'squeeee!' and you can't help but get a bit excited to be melodramatic too. You clear your throat, lift your chin, and address the rising sun.\n\n"I would rather die at my own bidding than live only to do the bidding of another!"\n\nThere, that didn't make you feel nearly as silly as you thought it would. Actually, you're feeling pretty good about yourself, even as you lean forward, forcing yourself not to flail or panic as you feel gravity taking hold of you and hauling you the rest of the way over the ledge and sending you hurtling downward. It takes a bit more of an effort not to scream, since you're pretty sure that would ruin this nice dramatic moment you've made for yourself, and you try to yank your head up to watch the sunrise instead of at the ground getting closer very fast.\n\nThen in the distance there's a flash of pale blue and a flicker of motion, and something's whipping out and around beneath you, leaving you to thump on something soft and just slightly yielding, instinctively sinking your fingers in and gripping fistfuls of the fur(?) as the thing beneath you writhes and almost vibrates beneath you. It takes a moment for your head to stop spinning, but when you lift it you look ahead to the long, sinuous body with the almost diamond-shaped head and long, curled ram-like horns. Shimmery saphire-like scales cover most of its body and its long, slender wings, and white fur... actually now you think it might be some sort of down... runs down the center of its back, which you're currently on.\n\n"I hope you don't mind the interruption," comes a surprisingly smooth, pleasant voice from ahead of you. (The book only described the dragon's voice as 'pleasing', you still somehow expected it to be deep and booming at full size.) "But I overheard your declaration and thought I'd come have a chat with you about it."\n\n"No," you say, letting out a long breath and thumping your face forward, rubbing it in the soft down. ... It sounds like a cliche, but the dragon really does smell like fresh water and sunshine. "No, I'm good with this, thank you."\n\nThere's silence from ahead, and maybe it's your imagination, but it feels like the already warm dragon heats a little further. Then there's a soft laugh, before the motion of its body alters. "Alright then! But let's have a bit of a chat face-to-face, then, shall we?"\n\nThe dragon descends into a forest of very tall trees, spaced just enough to allow its long, slender body to slip between them back and forth, before it curls around one repeatedly to land on the forest floor. You shift a little awkwardly, finally just sliding down its side and landing a little unsteadily on your feet. The dragon's long, sleek body gives a gentle writhe, then retracts and pulls in close, changing so fast you can't catch many details. Instead a human form is soon standing in front of you, bowing at the waist with one hand outswept, while you stare. \n\nOnce again the book's description failed to prepare you for the reality in front of you. There was something about 'slender and beautiful, as when a dragon', but... yow. You just weren't prepared for the dragon to be so pretty as a human, and to have such a winning smile. Androgynous, sure... you're not entirely sure whether the dragon is a handsome female or a beautiful male, the book was always vague on that count. But yes, very tall, and lean, and striking, wearing blue silk blouse and pants in a dashing cut, with wings stretched out from the back and horns still curling around the ears from the side of the forehead, and a thick, manelike mop of soft white hair. The dragon reaches out to take your hand, pressing lips to your fingers as you blush some, the gesture so smooth and unaffected that the sincerity hits you right in the... ... heart. Silver eyes twinkle as they fix on your face.\n\n"So. Before we begin our discussion, I do believe introductions are in order," the dragon practically purrs, thumb rubbing briefly over your fingers before your hand is released. "It might be polite if I went first, since I'm asking for them... but then you did come hurtling out of the sky, so perhaps that extraordinary circumstance makes up for asking you to speak first."\n\n"Ah," you murmur, trying to get your head back in the game. "Right. I'm..."\n\n<hr>\n[["Valerie."|ValWP]]\n\n[["The Witch Princess."|ValWP3x3]]

Well. No real help for it. Taking a deep breath, you move over to the window and clamber up to stand on the sill, which is broad enough to allow your feet ample purchase. Balancing yourself with a hand on the side, you look out towards the rising sun, and then down... way, way, way down... at the garden courtyard that's slowly being illuminated below. It's not quite 'greasy stain' distance, you figure, but it's definitely 'splatter' distance, which is enough to make you swallow hard. ... Still, it's okay. You can do this. You too are a strong, independent woman who don't need no demonic marriage contract. \n\nYou take a few deep breaths again to steel yourself. Okay, you can do this. You can do this. You... are forgetting something? You frown a little. What are you forgetting? Oh, right. The Witch Princess had a dramatic declaration before she jumped. ... Maybe more melodramatic than anything else. It was very inspiring and a little silly. Still, do you really have to obey every little bit of the book's storyline? You don't actually have to declare your inspiring thoughts to the sunrise, do you?\n\n<hr>\n[[Skip it.|ValWP4x1]]\n\n[[Better safe than sorry.|ValWP3x2]]

Hell, why not, at least you know they're not likely to be tense. Making your way towards the table, you flick glances at several of the nearby booths which are currently hosting a few Transcendants that clearly forgot to slow their roll and have already flopped out barely conscious or in some state too heavily altered to make even any pretense of socializing. You make your way to the main table which has a number of the Transcendants leaned over it, whispering almost conspiratorially to each other in a mingling of slow, slightly slurred drawls and half-frenzied chattering, though heads turn towards you as you approach. The one at the center back straightens up, neon yellow eyes gazing out from below a fringe of silvery hair rendered almost the same color by the glow of the inside of her hood, her elaborate and heavily modified black and neon vape mask with a braided cabling of lines running up both sides of it.\n\nAll the Transcendants wear vape masks without fail. They're pretty popular on Makarzia in general... even the cheap ones will filter out a lot of the crap in the air and at least scent what you do breathe a little fresher. Of course the more expensive and more modded you get, the more they can do... some people wear them all the time and use them to regulate a constant amount of mild stimulants to stay awake while in the outdoors, or a flow of depressants and tranquilizers to keep themselves calm. Of course the Transcendants use them to keep up an effectively constant line of vaporizable narcotics of all kinds, with the really experienced and high-ranking ones like their leader there able to mix virtually anything she wants on the fly.\n\n"Hey there, Kai, it's been awhile. Need some stims for another long night?"\n\n"Not coming to buy, tonight, Moore, thought I'd see if you guys had any work for me," you answer with a bob of the head. "I could use some credits before morning if possible."\n\nShe glances back and forth slightly at the Transcendants on either side of her, then turns back to you and shrugs. "There's always work. Always deliveries. Always new experiences we need someone from the real to try. Debts to be collected." She pauses, then brushes a gloved fingertip down her cheek to the side of her mask. "Mm. Actually I wouldn't mind having you on hand tonight myself."\n\n"Oh yeah?" you ask, quirking an eyebrow.\n\n"I'm planning on some new mixtures and I'm not sure how they'll go. I need someone who will be unmodified to watch over me, but you know I hate to deny the others their own lives. I was going to bother Adam for it, but I hate to call him out for something like that... I'll pay you your going rate and a bit extra instead, yeah? But if you'd rather something else, it's all the same... I try not to fuss over the real if I don't have to."\n\n<hr>\n[[Do some deliveries.|Kai]]\n\n[[Be a guinea pig.|Kai]]\n\n[[Collect debts.|Kai]]\n\n[[Hang with Moore.|Kai]]

"... I need some time to think about this," you murmur.\n\n"It's a lot to take in," Sakai agrees with a single nod. "Why don't you take a walk, get your feet back under you? You have the full privileges of the compound now, feel free to make use of them as you like. Niobe is staying with us until you make your decision... when you have, let someone know to alert us both." \n\nAfter a few seconds you get up, neither of them saying a word as you walk out and into the hall. You set off with no real destination in mind, just a head full of whirling thoughts. All of a sudden you're free... and the weight of the entire city sector is on your shoulders, you think as you open cabinets in the med room until you find the simple glass cylinder with its stopper that has an ugly black square nestled near the bottom of it. You pluck it down, staring at it as you resume wandering the halls, thinking of how it once nestled at the base of your skull, capable of delivering pain or compelling obedience at the press of a button, and how you'll never have to do so again.\n\nNo... now it's all in your hands, you think a little miserably. It's completely, entirely, 100% your decision whether to stand up and fight or cut and run. Your last fight with that Demon... Cyanide... almost killed you, despite the fact that you won. What would a second be like, when she has an entire year to prepare for you, tweak her cybernetics, get new ones installed, analyze your fight patterns if she's got a neuro-playback implant? Freedom suddenly doesn't feel very free, with the lives of Niobe and her gang and however many other people would die in the fighting hanging over your head... and even agreeing might only delay the war by a year, win or lose. Could you maybe be throwing your life away for nothing?\n\nYou find your feet carrying you to a place in the compound you've never really been before... the garden. Every other time you've passed it and peeked in through the glass door, it's remained staunchly closed... this time when you turn and walk towards it, the door slides open for you. You walk along the path of stones set perfectly together amidst genuine earth, beautiful flowers and plants and vat-grown trees transplanted into the ground. Above the water of the lake shimmers and ripples, held up by a thick layer of ceramiglass that's lit from within to give off a close match for sunlight, the shifts of the water almost like clouds drifting across the sun on an otherwise clear day. You walk along the paths, with the cultivated cherry trees constantly shedding utterly holographic sakura petals, each one 'perfect' and thus utterly uniform. You walk towards the bridge over the small flowing stream that runs through the garden... both scaled-down recreations of the bridge and fake river in Big Sakura Park. You lean against the ledge of the bridge, looking up towards the glass 'sky', then down at the water running over smooth, polished round stones with android coi flitting amongst them, then at the glass bottle in your hand, turning it in your fingers so that the slave chip rattles gently with the shifting.\n\n"Free," you snort softly, then give the bottle a contemptuous little toss with just your fingers and a flick of the wrist, sending it to 'plop' into the water and slowly sink down to nestle among the stones. "Yeah right."\n\n"So what was going through your head?"\n\nYou blink a bit at the voice, turning your head towards where it came from, and spotting Mikon standing at one end of the bridge. She's dressed the same as she was for the meeting... red decorations in her hair (a shrine emblem on one side, a flower blossome on the other), just below her large vulpine ears. A vaguely kimono-style dress that bares a significant amount of her (very significant) chest, and is cut high enough on her left side to show the tie of her panties just above where her swords are draped, one longer than the other. It's all very elaborate... left arm wrapped and with a leather armor bracer, thigh strap with kunai, fancy thigh-highs and high-heeled boots with folded tops. She's even still got that blue jacket that she wears just draped over her shoulder and completely hiding her right arm. Her large, fluffy tail gives a flick as she looks at you expectantly.\n\n<img src="images/Mikon.jpg">\n\n"Huh? When I was fighting that Street Demon, you mean?" You look at the weird Holy Dragon enforcer for a long moment, before shrugging and redirecting your gaze back to the water. "I dunno. Nothing really."\n\n"If it had been nothing, you'd have ended that fight a lot sooner and if she were still alive, she would have acknowledged it as her total loss and not be asking for a rematch," Mikon answers, her tone and face unflappable as she just looks at you. "There was something. Something you couldn't get out of your head. A thought you couldn't stop. What was it?"\n\nYou turn your head and even your shoulders now to stare at her, leaning on just one elbow. You open your mouth, close it. Frown. Then you take a deep breath and huff it out before you give her the answer she seems to not just want, but need. "'Faster'."\n\n"... You got it down to one word," Mikon murmurs, nodding, something almost like awe in her dark golden eyes. At your confused headtilt, she shakes her head. "I've never been able to get it below three. 'Faster. More elegant.'"\n\n"You've... lost me. My teacher never told me about... minimizing words?" you murmur, groping for a term.\n\n"Your teacher likely was on another path than yours. Some who are destined to be swordmasters choose their path and work tirelessly to move forward on it... some succeed through their perserverence, others forever linger at the edge for lack of talent or because they chose a path that was not meant to be theirs. Others discover their path on the day they begin their journey... you, Kai, are on the same path as I, though it seems either through instinct, natural skill, or the manner of your awakening to it, you have taken at least one step further down it."\n\nYou straighten up. "Er, are you saying... I'm better with a sword than you?" Which, all arrogance aside, you find hard to believe... you've seen Mikon fight before. She does it with one hand and has always made you feel like a street thug who's particularly good with a thigh-knife in comparison.\n\n"Let's not be hasty," she replies drolly, immediately making you feel like an idiot, though her small smile takes some of the sting out. "Technique is technique, but skill is skill. The two must be in harmony and equal before you ascend to full mastery. My skill and my technique are equal, which is why I am a master... your skill lacks, even if your technique has edged ahead."\n\n"You keep talking about this 'technique'... I don't even get what that means," you huff, folding your arms.\n\n"It has many names. Those who discover it on their own struggle to define it, and some aspect of it appears in numerous schools. 'The Trackless Step', the 'Heartless Blade', 'Aruku Seishin'. My own teacher had a much simpler name for it... the Void."\n\n"... The Void," you murmur, looking down, feeling both a chill and a thrill run through your body.\n\n"You know what I mean now, don't you? The feeling of emptying yourself of all thought, to become pure skill and nothing but your sword. To discard pain and worry, to set aside all consideration of the future and live entirely in the moment which you are fighting. The Void... the point at which you cease to be anything but a blade."\n\n"... It's how I won, yeah." There's no point any longer to denying the truth of her words, despite your jaded heart wanting to reject such mysticism-shrouded terms. "I gave myself over to it. I made myself stop thinking as much as I could. ... Now I realize that I was afraid that if I gave up that one thought, urging myself to go faster, I... well, it felt like I needed that thought, or I wouldn't have been able to push myself."\n\n"You might not have. Then again, your opponent was about your own skill level, fully attaining the Void might have made all the difference."\n\nYou realize now that you've set aside the pretenses that Mikon is already your teacher... that a connection has been forged, over the course of a few sentences, that will last you the rest of your life. You actually feel your throat tighten a little as you look at her, tears stinging in your eyes as the burden of everything you've learned today presses in around your mind. "... What should I do?"\n\n"I can't tell you that, little one," Mikon answers gently, both her tone and the diminutive assuring you she understands and feels the connection the same as you. "I can tell you what I think you should do... that you should train to achieve the Void. No swordmaster set to record has ever truly attained it, at least not and lived to tell their story. I believe you have that opportunity. The heavens have presented you with a unique set of circumstances given only to swordmasters of legend... a worthy and honorable opponent whose desire for mastery is entwined with yours. A teacher who walks the same path to help show you the way. Family and allies to support you as you strive to achieve your victory. The souls of hundreds of thousands of years worth of those who have wielded the sword look upon you now in envy."\n\nThen her golden eyes shift, turning towards the stream. You follow the line of them... to where the water dips slightly as it flows over the glass bottle containing your slave chip. "But you would not truly be free if I told you that you must do this, nor would you ever achieve the Void. The most important step, Kai, is setting aside all thoughts of external obligations... do not ask what the honor of others compels of you. Do not ask what others beg of you. Do not look ahead to tomorrow or the next day for what might happen then. The Void is as much a thing from within yourself as anything else, and it is within yourself that you must find the answers. Look within and ask what your own honor compels of you. Ask yourself what your soul begs of you. Look to what feels right to you to do, here and now. If it says you must turn and walk away, then that is what you must do, however much it might cost you or anyone else. If it says that this fight is your destiny, then that is your truth, and I will share it with you as long as you will allow."\n\nYou look from her, to the catch in the otherwise perfectly-flowing surface of the water, and then back up to the "sky" above. You realize that you have to make this choice... the first completely, utterly, and unquestionably free choice you've ever made in your life, if you're ever to be free a single other second from this moment on.\n\n<hr>\n[[Walk forward.|KaiCy]]\n\n[[Walk away.|KaiCy]]

The job may require you to show up unarmed, but you can't really stomach the idea of showing up unprepared. You'll just have to borrow a Pokemon from someone you know, if you can.\n\nThere are two options you can think of off the top of your head. You could ask your friend Jaiy who's been a little of everywhere and collected a little bit of everything, so the chances that he has a Pokemon and would let you borrow it for a mission are extremely high. The chances of it being a Pokemon worth a damn are... sliiightly less high? Jaiy has a tendency to collect a little of everything, and he's not exactly picky about quality. \n\nThe other option is Xina. And Xina is... okay, she's a good friend. Very trustworthy. Just that there are... issues... with going to see Xina. Especially about this topic. Because of Xina's... inclinations... which are tied rather closely to her profession, there are certain things to consider about your request. ... Let's just say you should not expect to remain clothed through the completion of asking for this favor, in one way or another.\n\nYou guess your other option is to put up a quick add on the in-Guildhouse message boards and see if someone you don't know will lend you a Pokemon. The price for that might be anything from hard credits to something more nebulous like a favor, or any number of other things. (Though "favor" really covers most things when you think about it.) \n\n<hr>\n[[See Jaiy.|ChiPoke]]\n\n[[See Xina.|ChiPoke1x3]]\n\n[[Put up an ad.|ChiPoke]]

"Oooo, a classic, I like classics!" you declare happily, gently clapping your hands together. "Let's summon up a Tifa Lockhart!"\n\n"Very good, your most horny highness," Xenith coos, bowing briefly before turning to the scrying crystal. "We've located a Tifa that was being summoned to join her friends, just one moment and we'll redirect her. If you would care to do the honors of creating a place to put her?"\n\nSmiling, you craft a long, natural-seeming stone hallway, lit by occasional patches and jutting formations of glowing crystal. A moment later the large-chested martial artist steps out of the darkness at one end of the tunnel, which abruptly turns into more, identical tunnel. She pauses a moment, red eyes looking around curiously, and she draws what looks like a cellphone out of the belt holding up her tight little black skirt. She checks the screen, gives it a brief shake, then frowns a bit more deeply, before obviously sighing and continuing ahead.\n\n"Now, my Queen, how would you like to deal with this titsy dispensor of alcohol?"\n<<set $activetifa to true>>\n<hr>\n<<if $cowtifa is false>>[[Let's put her out to pasture!|CowTifa]]<<endif>><<if $cowtifa is true>>You already have a Tifa that's been turned into a brainless cow, near-constantly getting fucked and milked. You can have a succubus bring you some of her milk, if you like!<<endif>>\n\n<<if $orctifa is false>>[[Send her to an orc room!|TifaOrcs]]<<endif>><<if $orctifa is true>>You already have a Tifa that's being eternally gangbanged by orcs. Wonder how many big green cocks she's got inside of her right now? Well, you can always check the crystal if you want to know!<<endif>>\n\n<<if $titstifa is false>>[[Let's have her set off a booby trap!|TifaHourglass]]<<endif>><<if $titstifa is true>>You already have a Tifa that's been turned into little more than a life support system for a pair of tits and a giant ass. She's probably still down there pretty much filling that room, wiggling and orgasming constantly.<<endif>>\n\n<<if $chocotifa is false>>[[Let's give her stable employment!|TifaChocobo]]<<endif>><<if $chocotifa is true>>You already have a Tifa that's been turned into a chocobo (breeder). She's no doubt either taking a chocobo dick or laying a nice big egg right about now!<<endif>>\n\nHm... are you having trouble of thinking of something to do? You could always [[release Tifa|MaxTifaRelease]], or [[go do something else|MaxThroneRoomRepeat]].

* Main: Leo can now agree to [[join Roaring Eagle|LeoFem1x2]].\n* Main: Leo can also take the [[Kwestlyne|LeoJobListEscort]] escort job, and the "[[Task Completion|LeoJobList1]]" category of jobs is live. \n* Main: Leo can [[take a walk|LeoSon2x3]] after taking Aiane to Earth.\n* Started some minor work on the Glossary.\n* More of Leo's investigation of Factory Alpha, and of working with Roaring Eagle.\n* Main: Kai can now suggest she and Miranda go for a frontal assault.\n* Main: Konko's visit to the MILFs [[in dog form|Konko4x4]] can continue.

Yeah, just seems like a lot could go wrong if you tether yourself to Nom... she's hot, ad she's nice, but she's also clearly trouble, and you want to make your own way. \n\nStill, no need to be rude about it, considering she's been pretty great up to now. "I really appreciate it, but I really want to try making a go of it on my own, at least at first," you say, adding the last bit in hopes of keeping the door open.\n\n"Oh hey, no problem, guy, I get that," Nom says, nodding breezily. "We all gotta prove to ourselves we got what it takes at some point, huh?"\n\nRelieved at her understanding, you nod, and eventually Nom yawns and curls up on her side nearby, dozing off on the ground more easily than you did in the Aygee bed last night. You lay awake a little longer, pondering your potential future, before eventually falling asleep as well.\n\nIn the morning the horse golem has been repaired, and the rest of the trip to Ebonarza passes without incident. You never get a particularly good look as you're coming in, since you're in the back of the cart, but once you get out and leave the autocarriage corral it looks... a lot like Sabanara? Just kind of dirtier. And with more graffiti, admittedly. And you do notice that there's not nearly as many "normal" people around... a lot fewer street vendors, almost no kids, very few people with no armor or weapons on the streets.\n\n"Yeah, kinda weirdly the same and also different, huh?" Nom pipes up as she walks up beside you. "Gotta be careful not to get lulled by the similarities... but also don't get too put off by the differences, okay? Ebonarza's a pretty dangerous place, but you can't be paranoid about it. Hey, how about I give you the basic tour?"\n\nAfter only a brief hesitation, you nod, and Nom sets off, leading you through the streets and gesturing to various places as you pass. "In around here close to the autocarriages are mostly inns and taverns... they're a little more expensive than the places scattered around the city, but they're safer and better quality too. Same for the ones near the dungeon gate, though they're a lot more expensive. My suggestion, go for some place about two blocks out from here, they'll have the best balance of prices, quality, and not stealing your shit if you look away for two minutes."\n\nA bit more walking and she says, "This is the main merchant street, you'll wanna come here to do most of your loot buying and selling. Up and down this side of the street are the sellers and buyers, and this side of the street are the appraisers and crafters. Getting stuff appraised costs money, but appraised gear can sell for way more... if it's good, so it's kind of one of those gambles. Sometimes it's also worth checking in with these guys because they'll have specific bounties for stuff, and pay way more if you can deliver it in time than if you were just selling whatever you find."\n\nNot much further, and she points to a large structure. "That's the church. We've only really got one here, but they have a ton of gods there. A lot of people say that it's a really good idea to choose a patron god before entering Ebonarza's dungeons, because the gods have their eyes on this place due to all the interesting shit that happens, so their favor can mean way more. Supposedly some will even bring you back if you die... but I dunno if I believe that! But hey, stranger things!"\n\n"Oh, that's the Aygee here," she adds as you pass by a rather small building. "They don't actually do much, since Ebonarza's kind of a free-for-all. They do usually have some quests and stuff, but they can't really compete on prices for the quests other places offer independently, or even just freeselling stuff."\n\n"Go through that alley and you'll be in the 'entertainment' district," Nom says with a rather smug tone, and an emphasis on "entertainment" that makes your ears heat. "Lots of places to blow off steam after a hard day in the dungeons. But be careful, guy, they'll take you for all you've got and then some, and you don't wanna wind up in debt to any place in there."\n\n"Aaaand here we are at the dungeon gate," Nom says, turning and gesturing towards a strange sort of open-topped wall with multiple doorways and gates of different sizes set all around it. "This is how you access any and all of Ebonarza's dungeons. The guards are just supposed to watch to make sure no monsters get out or anything like that, but most of 'em will try to get something out of you. My advice is to just slip 'em a little something-something on your way in and out... doesn't have to be big, just make sure it's not small. As long as they feel like you're giving 'em their due, they're okay guys for the most part."\n\nShe glances around, then shrugs. "Anyway! That's basically it, I'm sure you can find everything else on your own. I'mma go see if my usual place is still there, so I'll seeya around no doubt, guy!" she adds with a wave, before turning and trotting off at a cheerful pace, boobs, butt, and thighs jiggling merrily with each energetic step.\n\nYou look after her, briefly wondering if you were some sort of mental defective for declining to party up with her, before giving your head a quick shake. Don't get bogged down in that. Now let's see. Finding an inn can wait until after you've made a bit more money, you think, or at least have an idea of your earning prospects in the dungeons. So where to first...?\n\n<hr>\n[[Merchant street.|Raz]]\n\n[[Church.|Raz5x11]]\n\n[[Aygee.|Raz]]\n\n[[Right to the dungeon.|Raz6x1]]\n\n[[..... Entertainment district.|Raz]]

You're not really the religious type, and you're definitely not sure you believe that there are gods here that will just bring you back to life... resurrection magic is usually extremely high level and very expensive, as far as you know. But... that's where you come from, and as stressed so often, Ebonarza is different.\n\n... Eh, couldn't hurt.\n\nYou make your way back to the large building that Nom indicated earlier, and realize that it's actually even bigger than you thought... it looks like it was once a fairly large church, admittedly, but since then has had all sorts of extra rooms, passages, and even different styles of tower added to it, leaving it a weirdly patchwork structure that would seem to advertise its multi-purpose use. You hesitate a bit again, then shrug and head inside. The interior is a bit dim... all the windows seem to have been replaced and repaired so many times with whatever stained glass was to hand that they're basically just a riot of random shapes and colors... and the large central room looks like it could seat a few hundred easily, with a highly raised pulpit, and no real denominational symbols anywhere.\n\n"Welcome, my son, to the Church."\n\nYou turn at that sweet, smooth voice, and stare. Sitting on a sort of pillowed stand next to the door, her legs pulled up and a bit to one side in front of her, is an elf. But the roundest, most generously proportioned elf you've ever seen... she's even bigger and, ah, rounder than Nom! Her long golden hair is capped atop her head by a sort of thin, translucent white drape that also comes down over her ears and her very green eyes, and she's wearing a fair bit of gold jewelry, including a sort of collar with a sunburst emblem hanging down from it. Her rather skimpy red dress looks like it's just barely managing to cling to her curves, her massive breasts barely covered by it, the dark pink of equally huge areola actually peeking out slightly around the rises of it. She seems amused, either just by your existence or your slightly dumbfounded reaction to her appearance, raising a hand to brush her fingertips briefly along one cheek.\n\n<img src="images/Oista.jpg">\n\n"You are a new arrival in town, yes?" she continues, sliding off of her little couch and rising to her feet. She's short for an elf, too, but that still puts those absolutely dumbfounding boobs of hers right at your face level.\n\nStruggling not to be completely hypnotized, you manage a nod, lifting your eyes to her (admittedly also very nice to look at) face. "Y-yeah."\n\n"Then welcome. I am Oista, a Priestess of Liola. It is currently my duty to assist those who visit the Church for healing, succor, or finding their way to their own god. Do you have a god, young...?"\n\n"... Oh, uh, Raz. I'm Raz. And no, not really." You rub the back of your neck a bit. "I guess a long time ago my family were followers of Boin, the goddess of Rabbitkin, but... that was a long time ago."\n\n"Well if you wish to renew your vows with her, you are in luck! We have a shrine here to Boin, as well as any number of other Beastkin gods," Oista says cheerfully. \n\nYou nod a bit at that. A lot of beastkin pray to any or all of the beastkin gods, depending on the situation, rather than being devotees of their particular "type".\n\n"Pardon me for asking though, my son," Oista speaks up, jarring you a bit out of your half-reminiscent brooding. "But could it be you are 'shopping' for a god?" At your embarrassed look she just smiles. "That is alright, my son, many new arrivals in Ebonarza do so. I think you will find that the gods here care less for the motivation for your devotion and more that you offer it properly."\n\n"Okay. I guess. Um... any suggestions?"\n\n"Well obviously I would be remiss if I did not immediately suggest Liola. Liola is the goddess of spring, renewal, bounty, fertility and virility, and all the joys of life. A bright and noble goddess... and generous to those who hold true to her. Why, it is said that her renewal might even grant one new life after losing your own!"\n\nWhat you think must show on your face, because her eyes twinkle behind her veil. "It is one of the reasons that people come here, after all. But faith cannot make promises, only... hopes. But if you are looking for other gods that offer some promise of return from beyond death, there are also those such as Anubis, himself a death god, Spinner the Gambler, and Tobaron the god of quests."\n\n"And they all really...? Ah, right, matter of faith," you remind yourself.\n\n"Yes, my son, exactly. There are also those who are said to grant great might like Crimson the Conquerer, Varuja of the flurry, or Lunastis the Beast. Others are said to grant knowledge and guidance, such as Odin or Artemis. And then there are gods of healing and mercy, such as Comfari and Durapan, but as you might imagine, those are somewhat less popular with the general populace."\n\nRight. Still, it sounds like you have lots, and lots, of options. And since you're here you may as well give it a shot, you guess. Just who to choose...?\n\n<hr>\n[[The beastkin gods.|Raz]]\n\n[[Liola.|ReRaz1x1]]\n\n[[Anubis.|Raz]]\n\n[[Spinner the Gambler.|Raz]]\n\n[[Tobaron.|Raz]]\n\n[[Crimson the Conquerer.|Raz]]\n\n[[Varuja.|Raz]]\n\n[[Lunastis.|Raz]]\n\n[[Odin.|Raz]]\n\n[[Artemis.|Raz]]\n\n[[Comfari.|Raz]]\n\n[[Durapan.|Raz]]\n\n[[Maybe you'll just look around.|Raz]]

Hm, a big exciting brawl that can help lead up to the breaking should put on a pretty good show for the client. Hm, let's see... you've got a good shield drone with teleporter built in, that will keep civilians out of the way. Less that you're concerned for their safety, more because you want to let them feel safe enough to crowd around and watch. If at all possible, getting it broadcast on national news would be fantastic! (Actually just for funsies, let's use the drone's camera to make a more typical recording of everything that you can upload to this Earth's internet before you leave. Heh.)\n\nThat settled, now, how best to go at her? It should be a good fight either way...\n\n[[Brawn|KiSSH]] - Your body is plenty powerful enough to go toe-to-toe with She-Hulk, especially when buffing yourself with magic. It would be simple enough to adopt an appearance that makes you a literal match for her, so the two of you could have a good old-fashioned punch-'em-up in the middle of the street.\n\n[[Brains|KiSSH]] - Or rather, tech, which your body is obviously made entirely of, you could just make it more obviously so. It'd be a nice little plus for the audience and your client too, no doubt... some nerd with gadgets taking down a big burly strong dude always plays well, to judge by some of Walters' contemporary heroes.

-Update 1-\n* Main: After saying he'll stay in town, Reth can say he'll become [[a farmer|Reth2x2]].\n-Update 2-\n* Main: Valerie can [[skip the dramatic announcement|ValWP3x1]] before jumping out the window. She also has more options available when [[meeting Thule's sons|ValLib2x2]].\n* Main: Valerie can also investigate the [[magic nightclub|ValNAStart]] that's under construction.

"Let's see what Maria has to say. She seemed to think that between me and Ruby we could do something about the Apathy," you say as you step back. "Didn't you say she fried a dragon with them back at Beacon?"\n\n"Froze. It's still there," Qrow reminds you, a little sourly. "Dunno what she knows about it, but I guess it doesn't hurt to hear her out."\n\nThe moment you step out into the other room, you hear a cry of "COUSIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIN!" and a ballistic smol slams into you and knocks you to the ground, rubbing her cheek against yours.\n\n"Ah, family," you croak, wincing. "Ruby plz I just had to heal my everything like five minutes ago. Also eavesdropping is bad."\n\n"You'll forgive me because you're my cousin," Ruby coos happily.\n\n"Welcome to the family. You'll have to put up with this from now on," Yang assures you from above, smirking. Then she seriouses up as she reaches down and pulls Ruby off of you, the smaller Huntress flailing for a moment before also taking on a vague mein of seriousness as you stand. "So what do we do now?"\n\n"I was hoping Maria could tell us, seemed like she had some thoughts."\n\n"Well y'see, I was a silver-eyed Huntress myself back in the day," Maria explains, tapping the side of her eyes. "I was the Grimm Reaper."\n\nBehind you, Qrow makes a strangled sound not unlike you think Jaune would make if you told him he was standing in a room with Pumpkin Pete.\n\n"I was so deadly to Grimm specifically because I had learned to use my silver eyes effectively. Not that I didn't have plenty of skill otherwise, of course!" she adds with a cackle. Then she clears her throat. "An Aura Linker and two silver-eyed Huntresses together, it's damn good luck at the end of the day."\n\n"Not likely," Qrow manages after a brief coughing fit, hunching on himself with his hands in his pockets again. You glance at him and he winces a little and looks away. Wait, does he blame himself for the Salem thing? Dammit, probably. ... Oh shit he blames himself for the tree too. ... Actually shit you might have to give him that one that was kind of bad fucking luck. ... Oh well you're fine nevermind. Actually this kind of works out, doesn'it? A bad luck dad and a daughter that's fine after horrible accidents, that might be a match made in somewhere.\n\n"So wait, you're saying that Kai could... transfer how to use the silver eyes from you to Ruby?" Yang asks with a frown.\n\n"Not transfer. Well, not at her level, just barely having had a brush with it. But even just having begun to unlock her ability, she might be able to act as a conduit. A sort of way for me to push the proper impetus, the proper instinct into Ruby."\n\n"You're saying that she could kill those Apathy things with her eyes?" Dee says, his jaw hanging loose. \n\n"They're not very powerful Grimm at the end of the day. Terrifying, deadly, and more monstrous than the usual, yes. But not very powerful," Maria asserts, thumping her cane on the ground a bit. "They rely on the power of our own negative feelings... our lethargy, our depression, our willingness to give up... to end us. But their existence outside of that is fragile. One good blast of silver light through the caverns and the whole damn pack should crumble. But we'll need a big one, to get them all at once... Apathy are dangerous specifically because they can hide, they can wear you down. Kill just one group and the others will rally and batter you with their ability. Even a silver-eyed Huntress would lay down and die, with long enough exposure. But we take them out all at once, it's done."\n\nYou glance at Ruby, and she grins and gives you a nod. Unable to help returning both, you look back at Maria. "Okay, so what do we do, how does this work?"\n\n"For something like this, you'll need to be in contact with both of us and focusing. I should be able to do most of it from my side... I'm no Aura Linker, but I do have a lot of experience with my own Aura, so I should be able to finagle the connection once you get it started."\n\n"Great, so I'm the network cable between these two epic heroes," you say with a little snort, folding your arms over your chest.\n\n"No Kai," Reese says quietly. "You're the CCT."\n\nYou glance at her, and realize what she's really comparing you to... the towering pillars that rise over each kingdom. The things that make life there possible. The beacons of hope and connection to family the academies are built around.\n\nDamn you love that skinny little bitch.\n\n"So this doesn't sound too hard," you say with a shrug. "One hand on Maria's shoulder, one hand on Ruby's back, bing bang boom we kill the Apathy."\n\n"Except for the part where you have to meditate and calm yourself like you were doing earlier, but in a cavern full of some of the most terrifying and mind-warping Grimm the damn black pools have ever spat out," Maria says dryly.\n\n"... Okay see you buried the lead."\n\n"You'll be fine. Or we'll all die! One of those," Maria declares cheerfully, waggling her cane. "But we're not gonna get any more ready waiting."\n\n"Kai?" Oscar steps up, looks hesitant, then holds out another wrapped NRO injector. "Do you think you should take this?"\n\nYou look at it a moment... then shake your head. "No. Maybe it's a bad idea, but no... I can't risk it doing something to mess with my trying to do something like this deliberately. I gotta have a clear head... even if that means not feeling normal."\n\n"Mm, probably for the best," Maria says in an approving tone, nodding once. "Now, come on, no time like the present."\n\nThe group makes its way towards the pantry, Qrow leading the way, stepping forward to scoop up the dessicated, horror-stricken looking corpse of the fallen merc with surprising tenderness. "We'll take over the watch now. You take a rest," he says so softly you don't think anyone else was intended to hear as he sets the mortal remains aside, then turns back. "... You guys seriously ready?"\n\nRuby takes a deep breath, then nods once. You nod a bit more slowly, while Maria just shrugs a bit. Qrow takes his own deep breath, then undoes the latch and swings the door open, letting it slam to the floor.\n\nRuby steps down first, you following behind her, Maria's cane tapping on the boards as she carefully lowers herself step-by-step, no hesitation in her at descending into some of the deadliest darkness on Remnant despite being bent and shrunken with age. And it is dark... black, dark, inky, you could sit and come up with a thousand words to describe it and never quite adequately get across the void of it, the literally soul-sucking nightmare that's taken hold there. Except then bit by bit, it's being filled up by faint glowing red lights, and the sound of soft but growing moaning.\n\n"Concentrate, girl," Maria cautions evenly, probably because your hand is shaking a little as it comes to rest on her shoulder, your other braced between Ruby's shoulderblades through her cape. "Take it easy. You've got a good long while before they get here, they're not fast," she continues, her voice pure calm despite it all. Let your breathing be calm. It knows how to be calm. Let your mind be calm. It knows how to be calm."\n\nYour lungs are trying to make you hyperventilate instead. The urge to just... turn into someone else is almost overwhelming. Even more after what Salem did, how easy it was for her, you're certain you have an ability to go away inside your mind, to summon up knowledge and memories of someone else. You're betting Pyrrha Nikos could do this without flinching. Raven Branwen even more so, probably smirk and be snide while doing it too. Usually that's you but the things coming for you take all that away and you're terrified. You could be Ico, or Niobe even, Ren, Jaune, you could be-\n\n'And is that what you're gonna do every time something gets tough now?' You're not sure if it's some fragment of one of those personalities that says it, or if it's just you. 'You're gonna make up someone else to be so you don't have to deal with it?'\n\nYou suck in a hard breath. Hold it. Let it out way too fast. But the next breath is better. "I'll get it done," you murmur, managing to keep your voice from shaking.\n\n"Good girl. Get to it."\n\nYou do your best to block out the steadily approaching moans and howls. Make yourself believe what Maria said. You have to trust her.\n\n"That's good. Your bond with me is very new. The one with Ruby Rose is almost effortless. She's already accepted you into her heart."\n\n"Yup-pah," Ruby murmurs ahead of you with a soft pop of her lips, clearly doing her best not to be rattled since she's the one staring at the slowly gathering Apathy. Still, you can feel her shaking a little against your hand. Her raw terror through your link. But she stands, straight-backed and eyes forward.\n\n"I don't usually say things like this but... trust me. Believe in me. It will let you find the link you need," Maria continues.\n\nYou nod, keeping your eyes closed. And yet you can still see the scarlet glow that forms around your left hand, almost effortlessly mingling with the bright gemstone crimson light you well know as Ruby's Aura. Your right hand is glowing scarlet as well, but the blue sparks of Maria's Aura are having a harder time blending with it... they're trying, both ways, but not near as smoothly, having to struggle to find each other.\n\n<hr>\n[[Push it.|KaiRem10x1]]\n\n[[Let Maria do it.|KaiRem8x4]]

"Yeah, okay, let's go have a look," you allow after waffling for a few seconds. The two of you step forward, falling into drilled tactics, flanking the doorway and peering in. It becomes obvious that whatever's inside is being deliberately obscured since you can't see anything but white light and the general outlines of a room. You exchange a glance with Erran before both of you shrug and pile in, doing your best to check the room as your eyes quickly adjust to the interior.\n\nOnly to find that there's... nothing to check. It's a largeish room, sure, with a white floor, ceiling, and walls made out of something that's not immediately identifiable. It's completely empty, not a single thing to distinguish it other than the omnipresent white light that's settled to an even, comfortable brightness by now, although the way it seems to be coming from everywhere at once... including the air itself... is definitely very weird.\n\nYou're still processing the anticlimax when you hear a faint shimmering noise from behind you. Grimacing, you look over at Errin who clearly heard it too, his expression a mingling of worried and sheepish as you both turn to look. As you expected, the door has disappeared, leaving the wall you came in through as smooth and lacking any sign of an exit as the other three. What you weren't necessarily expecting was for there to be text there too, though you and Errin both blanch as you see what the large, simple letters in deep black type say.\n\n<center>ROOM YOU CAN'T LEAVE\nWITHOUT\nMAKING LOVE</center>\n\n"Wait wait wait," Errin blurts, blue eyes wide as he stares at it. "Is that for real?"\n\nYou take another slow look around the room, your expression going flat as you see that while your back was turned, a large, rather comfy-looking bed made out of polished cherrywood and a nice thick mattress topped with blue and grey quilts has appeared. "Yeaaah I think it's for real."\n\nErrin turns and blanches again as he sees the bed. "Uh, shit. ... Wait, our beacons!" he adds hurriedly, looking relieved as he fishes his Guild beacon out of his pocket... then staring, as if incomprehending, at the amber light showing just below the button. "... 678'd."\n\n"Yeah no shock there," you say in a tired tone. "Doubt this... whatever it is... would be able to pull off what it does without also being able to pull a basic portal lockout."\n\n"So... are you saying," Errin murmurs, staring at the bed, then slowly turning his head to meet your eyes.\n\nThat very quickly becomes embarrassing for you both and you hurriedly look away, cheeks red. "Kinda... looking like it," you murmur.\n\nErrin takes a deep breath, then lets it out in a rush. After a second he rummages in one of his pockets, and comes up with a glossy pink-wrapped item... an injector pen, from the looks of it. "Uh, well, see, coincidentally I happen to have... this."\n\nYou look at it, and despite the situation can't help but smirk teasingly. "Bro, why do you have a teegee 'jector on you?"\n\nErrin's face turns from pink to red. "Someone gave it to me as a gag gift!" he huffs, then waggles it. "Um, but since it's a gag gift, it's a pretty cheap one. Whoever uses it, their stranding might not settle for a while. Like... a month maybe." Unspoken is 'or more', since the cheaper sex-altering injections aren't terribly clean about their alterations and some are borderline permanent. Which is great if that's what you're looking for, but if you're just looking for a quick thing to deal with Circumstances like these...\n\nYou eye the wrapped injector, then the walls, and the somehow insistent letters on the wall again. You could suggest trying some other methods to either force an exit or make the beacons work, but there's just a... feeling... that whatever this is that has you trapped has a lot more experience, ingenuity, and power to deal with your ideas than you have to attempt to thwart it.\n\n"So, like... rock paper scissors?" Errin suggests with a wan grin, waggling the injector again.\n\n<hr>\n[["No, you take it."|LeoErrin4x5]]\n\n[["No, I'll take it."|LeoErrin]]\n\n[["... No, put it away."|LeoErrin]]

"A collar, hmmm?" Rafael grins, slipping his hand up to briefly curl it around your throat instead, making you give out a needy little 'nnnh' in response. He drops his hand to squeeze one of your breasts instead, then straightens up. "What sort of collar?"\n\n<hr>\n[[Dog collar.|ChiLove2x7]]\n\n[[Slave collar.|ChiLove]]\n\n[[Mod collar.|ChiLove]]

"Oh, wanna be my bitch, huh?" he says, flashing you a toothy grin.\n\nYou smirk back at him, reaching out to give the round bulge of his cock a squeeze in return. "You know it."\n\n"Mmm, well, I think we can arrange that. Let's go find a store where I can get you a nice one, then... not that you deserve it," he adds, smirking as he gives one of your tits another squeeze. "But I can't look bad by having my pet dog wearing shit from the dollar store, now can I?"\n\n"Ffffuck let's buy it and get home," you whisper urgently, squirming in place.\n\nHe seems to be given a brief pause by that, before he just shrugs, turning and walking off, ducking a hand beneath your coat to keep it on your ass as the two of you walk.\n\nOnce you arrive at the shopping level, a brief discussion ensues on the pluses and minuses of going to either a BDSM store or a pet store. The pet store is argued as superior to further degrading you by having you wear an actual, made-for-dogs collar, while the BDSM store is argued as having a wider selection and not subjecting non-sex-store employees to your bullshit. There's a brief discussion over what said bullshit might entail before it's decided that the BDSM store is just more considerate to others and that Rafael will simply make up for it by subjecting you to more of his bullshit in private.\n\nAnd so you're soon standing in a store with nemo music playing and a distinct scent of something spicy but also faintly herbal in the air, turning back and forth in front of a little counter mirror as you consider the black leather collar you're currently wearing. "I dunno this one's really more 'clubbing', I think the one that was more obviously a dog collar looked better, what do you think?"\n\n"Yeah, same," Rafael grunts, reaching out and tugging on one of the side rings. "I mean these'd be useful but they don't really say 'dog collar', yeah? ... Let's go ahead and get one like this anyway, but not for your daily wear."\n\n"We have some full-neck ones with four rings in that size," the half-naked nemo girl behind the counter says, raising her pierced eyebrows. "Same company, if you like that quality."\n\n"Yeah go ahead and give us one of those," Rafael instructs her. Then he looks back at you as you undo the collar you're currently wearing. "So more of a dog collar for sure."\n\n"Yeah. Hm..." You eye two of them in the display case, spotting a pair. "See, there, that's straight-up just a dog collar for sure. What do you think, spikes or no spikes?"\n\nRafael raises an eyebrow, then casually rests a hand on the back of your neck, letting his fingers settle heavily around the sides and brush against your throat.\n\n"The one with the smooth studs please," you inform the employee as your pussy adds a fresh amount of wetness to the goo still coating it.\n\n"Mmhmm," she acknowledges, completely unfazed, before she says, "Actually we've got a new one like that, it's not on display yet, but the studs are LEDs instead."\n\n"Oooo!" you chirp, eyes lighting up.\n\n"It's like twice the price, though."\n\nRafael makes a face... then sighs heavily as you pout up at him. "... Yeah, the light-up one."\n\n"It comes in black, purple, and pink, which one you want?"\n\n"Pink," Rafael answers before you can say. "And then fire up the tag machine, I'm getting multiples." As the employee walks off to retrieve your new collars, he squeezes your neck and leans down to murmur, "If you wanna be an expensive little bitch, I am gonna get my money's worth out of you, understand slut?"\n\nYou shiver again, biting your lower lip in delight and giving a quick nod of understanding.\n\nOnce the employee returns, Rafael isn't too quiet about reading off the words he wants on different tags, choosing various shapes, though the first is a heart, the others being bones of different sizes and colors. The employee is good enough to clip them all to the collar... with the heart reading 'Rafael's bitch' on the front (with 'If found, fuck roughly and then return to' and a datablock with his contact information on the back), and the other tags reading things like 'Cunt', 'Hole', and 'Fuckmeat' behind it, creating a nice jingling sound with every motion of it... before passing it over to him. Rafael smirks at you, then slides it around your neck, you lifting your chin and biting your lower lip, watching the satisfied look on his face as he draws it snug around your throat and then fastens it.\n\nThen you blush brightly as he attaches something else... a leash. Apparently taking his little bit of revenge by making things even more explicit, he leads you out of the store on the leash, the jingling of your dogtags and the little click of the leash chain drawing glances towards you, making sure even more people see you being led around like... well, like a leashed dog.\n\n"Definitely a good look for you," Rafael murmurs as he starts meandering around, clearly just walking to walk and show off his new pet, even as you whimper softly in desire to be taken home and fucked. He eyes you thoughtfully, before saying, "Hm... should I get you some more accessories...?"\n\n<hr>\n[["More...?"|ChiLove]]\n\n[["No just please fuck me holy shit please."|ChiLove]]

"Yeaaaah a little rough stuff and domineering language is a long jump from you, pal," you snort derisively, hearing Rafael give his own (slightly relieved) snort behind you. \n\n"Hnnnnnh. Pity."\n\nThere's a quick bit of scrabbling and then an almost roar of staticy screeching from behind you. Rafael stands his ground completely, not so much jostling you as he starts firing. You duck and roll to one side, coming to your knee facing the same way, catching a black and white form just ducking away from one of his shots and crouching to leap again and opening fire. Your own shots catch the Reaper's quadrupedal form along the side and clip one of its shoulders, the thing reeling back and catching several more shots from Rafael's rifle.\n\nYou rise to your feet still firing, both you and Rafael advancing on it as it reels and twists, clearly looking for an opening to turn and run now, but the two of you not giving it an opportunity. Finally it gives one last dialing-modem shriek and flops to the ground, shuddering and twitching as sparks pass over its largely caninoid form, letting out a wheezing, crackling, "It-is-implausible-you-did-not-flinch," before the long red oval dome that forms the top of its head fades and goes dark.\n\n"Underestimated me, huh, bitch?" Rafael sneers, giving the Reaper's head a perfunctory kick. "Think I'm gonna back down from something like you?"\n\nPart of you kind of thinks that one of the reasons he refused to flinch was that he was making sure to protect you... but then, that wouldn't be a very dommy, abusive thing to admit to, would it? Instead you just grin and poke your tongue out at him, causing him to drop his hand and give you a quick, equally perfunctory smack on the ass. Then he kneels and looks the defunct drone over for a few moments before nodding. "This is an Alpha, alright."\n\n"That means it didn't have a pack," you point out, glancing around. "No way they wouldn't have either come charging out to save him towards the end or attacked us once he was down."\n\n"Either that or they'll have high-tailed it already for greener pastures," Rafael adds, his own tail giving a few flicks as he stands. He glances at the immobile rape-droid, then turns to you and smirks. "Hm... wanna have a little celebration, bitch? Right here and right now?"\n\n<hr>\n[["Ooo~!"|ChiLove]]\n\n[["That's not very professional."|ChiLove2x5]]

"Mm, guess so," he murmurs, rolling his shoulders and clearly pulling on his 'it's work hours' expression.\n\nThen he blinks as you take a quick picture of the drone before pulling something out of your jacket pocket and stepping forward, spraying a thick gush of liquid across the Reaper's prone form from the top of the can-shaped device, then clicking another button quickly five times before stepping back and tossing the can itself onto the body. The can bursts and the whole thing immediately starts to blaze with blue and green flames, the smell of hot metal and burning electronics starting to fill the air.\n\n"Okay, now we can fuck," you declare solemnly. \n\nRafael stares at you for a moment, then snorts again, grabbing you and hauling you over to him, murmuring, "You are my favorite piece of fuckmeat ever," affectionately before whipping you back around to face away from him and shoving you to your knees.\n\nHe settles behind you and gives you another rough shove forward onto all fours, with you letting out an excited, anticipatory gasp as he flips up your coat and grabs the back of your pants, hauling them down just enough to bare your holes. He undoes his own hidden fly and scoots forward, shoving his cock into your pussy without a single bit of prep, which is just fine since you're absolutely dripping and have been since he groped you earlier. He growls softly as he starts fucking you by the flickering firelight of the burning Reap Drone, reaching forward to grab your throat and squeeze.\n\n"He wouldn't have been able to rape you like I do, baby," he snarls affectionately in your ear, slamming into you all the harder as he does, making your eyes roll some and drool start to run down your chin as you smile brainlessly around clenched teeth.\n\n"Ffffuuuuck yes rape me, I love how you rape me, rape me Daddy yes fuuuuck," you whimper whorishly, before giving a delighted "hrk!" as he hooks a finger into your cheek with his other hand, hauling on it and making you loll your tongue out as he pounds you. \n\nHe takes you rough, hard, deep, clearly reclaiming you from the built-and-designed rape machine that would have been his rival even if you never really waivered in being his property. His skinarmor-clad hips slam your ass punishingly, his hand around your throat squeezing just enough to remind you that you're his to do with as you like, that other hand penetrating you and showing you off in such a lewdly degrading manner, all of you quivering and humiliated and save beneath his big powerful form.\n\nYou can feel him throbbing, getting close inside you, but just as you're pushed over the edge yourself he pulls out, leaving your pussy quivering around nothing and gushing all over itself and down into the crotch of your pants below. Which is exactly where Rafael aims himself as he gives a last few quick strokes before groaning and spilling his load inside them, thick splatters of white pooling in the slick black fabric. After milking out every drop, he sits back, spending just a few moments examining his handiwork... before grabbing your pants and hauling them back up, pulling until they climb up into the cleft of your ass and give you a bit of cameltoe, his cum and yours mingling and smearing all over your pussy and into your pucker, leaving you groaning softly in arousal and even more need.\n\nOnce he's gotten up and put himself in order, the two of you look the now burned-out reaper over, with you snapping another picture, then you both turn and head back to the elevator.\n\n"The Reaper probably let the slug in from outside somehow, through a thin tunnel or previously sealed-off entrance," you explain a bit later, trying to ignore the feel of Rafael's cum squishing around inside your pants as you lean forward across the desk to pass Red your comm with the two pictures set up. "Used it to distract from itself and cover its own tracks. It was probably looking for a way off the planet, since it didn't bother building itself a pack."\n\n"And you're sure of that?" Red asks as he eyes the pictures, making a bit of a face.\n\n"We can't be 100% sure, but from typical Reaper behavior we're above 90%," Rafael answers firmly. "Enough that we can submit this one as closed. But if you have any more problems like this, just give us a call direct, we'll come back and reevaluate."\n\nRed eyes him, then glances at you, but at your confirming nod passes the comm back. "Alright then, works for me."\n\nSoon the two of you are back on the Guildhall, you walking through the crowds, still feeling the gooiness of Rafael's load moving against your skin with every step, blushing in pleasant embarrassment at the idea of all the people around you unknowing of the lewdity. Especially as you head to the job desks to turn in your pictures and briefing, declaring the job done. Rafael hangs back, but as you collect the check and step over to him, he grins and dips his hand below your coat, again squeezing your ass.\n\n"Well someone's been a very good hole today," he murmurs in your ear, making you shiver pleasantly again. "I think Daddy ought to give you a reward, hm?"\n\n"Oh really now?" you say in amusement, eyes twinkling as you turn your head, coming dangerously close to a genuinely affectionate gesture as the tip of your nose brushes across the pad of his.\n\n"Mmhmmm. So what does my naughty little bitch want, huh?"\n\n<hr>\n[[A ring.|ChiLove3x1]]\n\n[[A collar.|ChiLove2x6]]\n\n[[New clothes.|ChiLove]]

It seems like the most natural thing in the world to slip down, angling your body to the side so that you can slip your mouth back over his cock. You work your tongue over the head, swirling it around, collecting the bits of that early-morning pre flow and letting it coat your tongue. You bring one hand around to start stroking the rest of his shaft, your other roaming across his stomach again, gently scratching in the fur.\n\nThat, more than any of the rest of it, seems to get his attention, the big man writhing lightly in place and letting out a rumble that might just be mistaken for a very deep purr. But then he settles, not moving again as you start bobbing your head, slipping a bit more of him past your lips every time, taking him gradually into your throat. But when you turn your eyes up towards his face, you can see that his own eyes are open in deep blue slits, just watching you intently, the tip of his tail flicking back and forth across the sheets sporadically as you suck him.\n\nYou continue to move your head, nice and slow, enjoying the feeling if him nudging into your throat and sliding inside, filling you up. You squirm a bit yourself, your bare, dripping pussy rubbing back and forth across the sheets as you wiggle your butt, lifting it a little as you feel one of his big hands come to rest on your buttock and give it a good, firm squeeze. He continues to lightly rub and squeeze your ass, clearly just enjoying himself as he wakes up, letting you take your time about deepthroating him and once again nuzzling your lips up against the white fur of his sheath.\n\nOnce you've spent about ten minutes working your throat over his prick, gulping and sucking, giving him plenty of nice loud quagging noises to show him how deep he's getting into your throat, you pull your head up and off of him, giving a soft 'pfwah' and for the moment focusing on stroking him off again as you look up at him, saying the first thing that pops into your still rather lust-addled brain.\n\n<hr>\n[["Good morning, Master."|ChiLove]]\n\n[["Hey babe."|ChiLove2x3]]\n\n[["Hi, Daddy~!"|ChiLove4x1]]

He lets out a soft snort at that, but after a moment smirks and says, "Morning, slut."\n\nThe word sends a pleasant little shiver through you... you've never been into being humiliated and insulted before, but somehow after last night listening to him degrade you in that deep, rich voice makes you want to...\n\nWell, it makes you want to do exactly what you do, which is to push yourself up on all fours and turn to present yourself to him like a bitch in heat, shaking your ass beckoningly. He gives another low chuckle before rising up onto his knees, those strong hands sliding up and down your sides briefly before he grips your waist and pushes his cock into your pussy, immediately starting to fuck you in good, long strokes. You rock back against him shamelessly, moaning just as full-hearted, letting spill a "Yeah fuck my worthless cunt baby it feels so goodAH!" you squeal as he delivers a good hard spank to your ass before reaching forward to grip your tits, mauling them slow but rough as he plows you from behind, growling softly in your ear.\n\nOnce he's emptied his first load of the day into you, the two of you stay that way for a few moments, panting softly and enjoying the united afterglow of user and cumdumpster, before he pulls out of you, the two of you making your way into the bathroom together through silent assent. The bathroom is actually fairly luxurious, though it's still got a very masculine aesthetic as far as colors and accoutrements go. And the tub and bath are both quite large, and both equipped with benches, among other indications that they're built for fucking in. You follow him into the shower where he starts up both the main showerhead and the above 'rain' heads, allowing you both to get wet and start sluicing off some of the accumulated caked-on juices and sweat of last night.\n\nWithout a word you fill your hands from the same shampoo bottle he uses to start rubbing into the thick scruff of longer fur atop his head, and start going over his back and chest with it. Similarly after a moment he uses another bottle and starts working his hands over your own body... though making no secret that he's mostly enjoying himself squeezing and massaging your tits and rubbing your sides and playing with your pussy, and anywhere else that gets soap dribbled on it is a bonus.\n\nAnd again without a word as he finishes rinsing the shampoo out of his fur, you sink down to your knees in front of him, stroking his half-hard cock before moving your hands to his hips and slipping that long pink prick into your mouth, bobbing your head back and forth, slurping at it. He gives a low grunt as he rests a hand on your head, looking down at you, his dripping wet fur showing all those muscles standing out more starkly. He has a look of concentration on his face, though, which might explain why despite giving a few twitches and throbs in your mouth, he doesn't get any harder. But after a minute he smirks, pushing your head back with his hand and using the other to aim his cock as he lets out a long stream of deep yellow piss that splashes all over your face along with the shower water.\n\nAnd like a good girl you open your mouth and let him flood it, sticking out your tongue so he has more to aim at. You swallow what you can, doing your best to show him what a naughty, dirty, shameless, limitless slut you are, what you can't manage to swallow spattering down onto your gleaming, still somewhat soapy tits along with the shower water. \n\nHe looks at you for a long moment, something so mingled in his eyes that it's hard to read. But after a moment the smirk settles into more of a grin, and he says, "Rafael."\n\nYou swallow the last of his morning piss and grin back up at him. "Michika."\n\nHe finishes rinsing off and heads out ahead of you, stopping briefly in an archway that activates at the press of a button and thoroughly ruffles all of his fur as you continue to wash and rinse off. He pads out into the bedroom, and a few moments later you get out. A quick rummage does turn up towels, but you decide to give his fur dryer a try first and find it surprisingly pleasant. Not anywhere near as effective on you, sort of like a bathroom air dryer still leaving your skin just a bit too damp, but that's easily taken care of by the towel. You retrieve a brush from your jacket and go over your hair a bit, before binding it back into its ponytail and padding naked through the bedroom and out into the apartment.\n\nYou take the opportunity to look around as you do, confirming your vague impressions from last night. Definitely a big-time bachelor pad, with a lot of emphasis on decorating with images of heavily sexualized women... anthros, humans, aliens, demihumans, clearly Rafael's tastes are broad. Certainly he doesn't care about any woman he brings over being offended by the just-faintly-artistic-enough-to-not-be-blatantly-pornographic posters, sculptures, and holograms of other women. The placement and style of everything also speaks of being optimized for two things... hanging out with the boys, and fucking girls. Possibly both. You make your way over to the partially separated kitchen, where you see that Rafael has donned a bright purple jock strap as his only around-the-house clothing. You settle in at one of the barstool-style chairs at the counter and watch him making pour-over coffee, enjoying the way the straps frame his absolutely 10/10 ass and the front creates a nice blatant bulge, before he glances over and lifts an empty mug.\n\n"Black's fine," you assure him.\n\n"Hm? I didn't see the spade tattoo," he quips back as he pours from the decanter and sets the mug in front of you.\n\nYou snort in amusement at that. "Fuck you," you reply as you take the mug, only smirking more as he gives you a light slap on the cheek before pouring himself his own mug.\n\n"Clearly gonna hafta spend a lot of time putting you back in your place once you get a little comfy," he says dryly between sips, sending a pleasant shiver down your spine and right into your pussy where it rests gently squashed against the cushion of the stool. \n\n"Promises promises."\n\n"Mm. So what happened?" he asks just as casually.\n\nYou stare at him briefly, wondering what the hell he's talking about... before it clicks. Oh right, what happened that made you jump his bones. You'd... almost forgotten about that. Somehow. Still, it doesn't seem that important, so you just shrug, bare boobs jiggling a bit with the motion as you say, "I shot some sort of slug thing on a job and it basically turned to goo and splattered all over me. Made me horny as fuck."\n\n"Probably didn't take much work," he replies with a smirk, making you poke your tongue out at him. "You done with the job then?"\n\nYou frown thoughtfully. "No, probably not... the way stuff was wrecked definitely didn't look like that thing had been the one do it. I'd say they've got at least one other active creature down there."\n\n"Mm." He nods, then glances at the fridge. "You cook?"\n\nYou shrug. "Enh."\n\n"Well, finish your coffee then, bitch, we'll go get breakfast and I guess Daddy will have to finish your job for you."\n\nYou snort again, but grin. "Yeah yeah fine, show my bitch ass how it's done then."\n\nAbout an hour later the two of you are in the departure annex, both dressed, Rafael now armed similarly to you with a short rifle in addition to his pistols. As you finish typing in the dimtemp code for the job, he slips a hand around you and stuffs it down the front of your pants, making you gasp and go near-instantly wet as he roughly rubs and strokes your outer lips. He gives your clit one firm little rub before drawing his hand out, solemnly licking his fingers, then stepping through the portal, with you following after him red-faced.\n\nThe miners look surprised, both at your return and that you've returned with a very big beastman. Red walks over, hesitates briefly, then addresses you. "Honestly weren't expecting you back so fast, sounded like you might be down for a few days when you left. Did you decide to bring in reinforcements?"\n\nYou hesitate a little on how to explain, before Rafael speaks up in a completely professional tone. "Just a friend helping her out. We're gonna take a look around, hopefully get this wrapped up for you today."\n\nRed blinks, then looks relieved as he nods. "Alright, that's great to hear. Well, let me know if you need anything."\n\n"Elevator's this way," you tell Rafael with a tilt of the head.\n\nThe two of you make your way over and step inside, you working the control for the floor where you shot the slug. You tense up just a little, expecting more antics like earlier, and debating exactly what you'll do about it... your body definitely wants more of Rafael's attentions, but this is also getting awfully close to mingling a bit too much business and pleasure, especially in a situation where either or both of you being distracted could be a problem. But a glance at him shows that he's got a steady, fairly neutral expression in place and seems to be diligently watching the elevator door. Huh... all business now?\n\nAs the door opens both of you raise your rifles, and after a moment Rafael gives a brief gesture that indicates for you to take lead... well, makes sense, he's tall enough that he could at least theoretically shoot over you, you shooting around him not so much. You step out into the tunnel and do a brief check, murmuring an "All clear" before he steps out and follows after you. \n\nThe two of you make your way through the tunnels to where you encountered the slug, Rafael taking a firm sniff before wrinkling his velvety pink nose a bit. "Yeah, that was a love slug. Explains a few things," he adds dryly, glancing at you but choosing not to elaborate.\n\nDeciding not to care, you walk over to examine the slime trail, then frown. "Hey, you got a multicolor lumer on you?"\n\n"Yeah, sec," he murmurs, reaching into the inner folds of his jacket, then drawing out a bar light and passing it to you.\n\nYou spend a few moments passing the light over the slime trail, changing colors to try and get a look at it in different lighting, then 'hm' and pass it back. "I think something was walking on the slime trail to hide its tracks."\n\n"Hunh. So probably not basic animal intelligence, that's a 'think about it' move, plus likely not organic since it'd have to be immune to the slime's effects itself."\n\n"Looks quadrupedal, maybe, judging from the impression size, and it'd have to be something heavy and hard enough to worry about leaving marks on stone," you pick up. Then blink.\n\nYou and Rafael both look at each other... then snap your rifles up and move to stand back-to-back, slowly turning to scan the whole area.\n\n"You are already being a whole fuckin' lot of trouble, bitch," Rafael mutters without taking his eye away from his sights.\n\n"Yeah well see what chasing hole gets you, babe," you murmur in reply.\n\n"My what a lovely little dynamic the two of you have."\n\nYou tense at the sound of the voice, and can feel Rafael tensing at your back as well. Smug, mocking, and electronically filtered. Combined with the evidence you'd seen... yeah, definitely a Reap Drone. Hopefully only one, considering the tracks you saw, but one is bad enough.\n\n"Pretty human, do you perhaps... get off... on being abused and mistreated?" the Reaper continues, its voice emerging from various panels nearby, as well as seeming to come from the shadows further in, no doubt broadcasting through more still-working equipment... but also quite possibly in one of those tunnels watching you. A little twitch runs through various parts of you, and your face flushes as the Reaper lets out a low laugh. "Oh my, yes you do. A recent discovery? Still flush with just how goooood it makes you feel?"\n\n"Man shut up," Rafael growls, his tail flicking back and forth in agitation and smacking your thighs lightly. "She's mine," he adds, in the tone of a simple statement of fact with some underlying heat that shows anger that anyone would dare to question it, which also causes pleasant tingles all through your body.\n\n"Oh is she now? But how could an abuse slut ever be happy with some mere organic biped? Come now, darling," the Reap drone's voice coos, both mockingly and seductively. "If it really makes your little holes quiver to be abused, don't you want to see what it's like with a being designed, created, to dispense abuse? To be taken, used, denigrated, violated, never knowing if this time might be the one where I don't stop?"\n\n<hr>\n[["Pass."|ChiLove2x4]]\n\n[["..."|ChiLove]]

"Hey, watch it," he huffs a bit as you stagger back from thumping into his... very muscular chest. Which is covered in a layer of skinarmor, a very edgy black and red pattern that in your current state sends needy little tendrils of arousal shooting down your spine and into your pussy like you were an easily-impressed franchise store goth in junior high. Especially the really cool black leather biker jacket he's wearing open over it, and the high-tech utility belt with LEDs and two big fancy intimidating-looking blasters holstered for cross-draw, and the high-tech slightly clunky boots, and of course the hefty bulge shown off by his skinarmor pants, forming a large not-quite-spherical shiny black curve. "Whattya have to say for yourself, just goin' around slamming inta people?" he demands.\n\nYou stare at him... or more specifically, that bulge... for all of two seconds before you look up at his face. He's either some alternate color of tiger-person or dyes his fur, because it's the same black fur with red stripes accented by white as the patterns on his skinarmor. "Fuck me, please," you whisper in reply, shivering all over.\n\nHe blinks big blue eyes at you, staring... for his own two seconds. Then he snorts and bends down, easily scooping you up onto his shoulder, making you cum just a little with the simple demonstration of how easily he can handle you. "Yeah, sure."\n\nYou're left staring at his very fine ass and the black and red tail flicking back and forth over it, and marinating in the urge to submit that simple, straightforward show of dominance has soaked you in (much as it's even further soaked your pussy). A pussy which he reveals before he's even finished walking out of the arrival annex, peeling down your own skinarmor and baring your holes to the public, one of his large, strong hands resting on your bare ass and giving it a firm squeeze.\n\n"Well damn, bitch, you're just leaking all over the place," he says with a laugh, rubbing two fingertips up and down your slit and making you writhe on his shoulder, then moan loudly and shamelessly as he pushes one of those fingers inside of you. You buck your hips towards the penetration, wriggling them as you grip the edge of his jacket with your hands, making him laugh again. "Got hit by some fun Circumstances, huh? Well don't worry, slut, I'll use you real good, hm?"\n\n"Oh god yes please yeeeees," you plead, whimpering pathetically and continuing to shake your bare ass in supplication, not caring who walking by sees it.\n\nHe steps into a lift and breezily announces the destination, then spends the entire ride toying with you, squeezing and kneading your ass, finger-fucking you and toying with your clit, just generally amusing himself messing around with your lower body while you continue to dangle over his shoulder, helpless and eager. He even gives your ass a good few hearty smacks, making you yelp loudly and lurch on his shoulder, and cum at least once, your pussy drooling down into your bunched-up pants and creating a small pond of juices there.\n\nYour savior carries you into what you sort of absently perceive as a very nice, very masculine apartment before giving a rolling shrug and toss that drops you onto the couch with an 'oof'. He leans down and spends a few moments just arranging you to his liking... hauling off your coat, yanking up your top to spill your tits free, hauling your pants and boots the rest of the way off of you. Then he brusquely yanks you around to have your lower body off the ledge of the couch and settles down behind you. You can hear the faint, almost inaudible sound of a hidden skinarmor seam being undone, and then shudder eagerly at the feel of a very hefty, very thick cock being slapped against your buttocks to make them jiggle.\n\nThen he's pushing inside you, finally filling your needy, eager pussy up, making you moan in a mingling of pleasure, relief, and gratitude as that deep, burning, molten need inside of you finally begins to be satisfied. But he only gives a few strokes, almost perfunctory, before pushing it out. His next action makes it clear he was only using your pussy as a convenient way to apply some all-natural lubricant, as he instead presses his cockhead to your pucker, pushing slowly and steadily while you give a loud yelp of surprise that turns into a moan of pleasure as he presses it open and sinks inside of you.\n\n"Mmmmm yeah that's a nice tight hole," the tigerman groans happily as he pushes smoothly inside of you, sinking in deep, until his big furry balls are resting against your dripping, drenched, needy but denied pussy. "Least you can do to thank me for dealing with your Circumstances is give me the tighter one, huh, slut?" he adds with another chuckle as he begins thrusting lightly, pumping his dick into your ass with a particular stroke that says it's all about him enjoying himself.\n\nWhich means that soon he's fucking you hard, rough, and selfishly, pounding away at your ass like you're nothing but a rubber doll he picked up on a whim on his way home. He grabs hold of your shoulder with one hand and your neck with the other, squeezing as much for leverage as anything, letting you feel the power and strength in his fingers as he cuts off some of your air. It's very, very clear that he doesn't care at all if you cum, but you do anyway, gasping out your orgasmic cries along with plenty of other overwhelmed, gurgling noises of pleasure as he slams you into the sofa, occasionally dropping his hand from your shoulder to one of your tits to maul it roughly, pleasing himself with it like a squeeze toy.\n\nYou do manage a nice loud scream of pleasure as he slams into you and lets out his own rather roar-like bellow of release, flooding your ass with his cum. You can feel his balls twitching lightly against your pussy as it soaks the fur covering them, your whole body shivering in pleasure with every fresh flow of his hot jizz inside you.\n\nHe gives a low, not-quite-purr rumble as he finishes dumping his load, grinding his hips a bit before pulling out of you. He shifts his hand from your throat to your ponytail, yanking your head around as he sits back on the coffee table and hauls you towards his cock. Without hesitation you open your mouth and slide it over the cock that was just pounding your ass, slurping and gulping at it eagerly as you turn your eyes up towards his face, gazing up at him adoringly, near-worshipfully as you orally thank him for using your asshole to get himself off. He smirks down at you, gripping around the base of your ponytail, occasionally urging you down harder and having you gulp the long, pink girth of his cock all the way down until your lips are kissing firmly up against the ring of fur around the base of it, your nose grinding against the skinarmor shirt he's still wearing.\n\nHe does, however, take the opportunity after a bit to shrug out of his jacket and then peel off the skinarmor shirt, revealing all of that big, broad muscular chest covered in white fur, trimmed by the deep black of his back and sides and the brilliant crimson of his stripes. He also seems in no hurry to move on from where he's got you... on your knees, worshiping his dick... in fact removing a pack of cigarettes from a jacket pocket and lighting one up, smoking casually as he watches you.\n\nIt ought to offend you, being observed like you're nothing but a repair worker being watched to make sure they don't steal or break anything, but right now all it does is turn you on and convince you how powerful and how sexy he is, that he can be so casual about getting sucked off. You slide his cock out of your mouth and start in on those big, white furry balls, sucking your pussy juices off of them and stroking your tongue through the wet fur, moaning and whimpering eagerly against them, giving a delighted little 'Oo!' as he reaches down and gives your cheek a light slap along with a cheerful chuckle of "Slut."\n\nFuck yes you're a slut, you're his slut, you can't imagine anything feeling better or being more desirable than being his slut. The fact that you don't even know his name is inconsequential. You wanna be his good little slut and you want him to smirk at you like that more and you want him to keep slapping you and spanking you and telling you what a dirty little girl you are, which is exactly what he does as he gives you another little slap on the cheek as you slide his cock back past your lips, letting it bulge that cheek out.\n\nOnce he's finished off a few cigarettes he hauls you up and shoves you backwards, this time hefting up your lower body and letting your neck and shoulders rest on the couch cushions. You moan happily in delight as he pushes his big, virile prick into your pussy... then whine again as he once more only gives it a few strokes to lube himself up before reorienting to your already cum-smeared, well-fucked ass. "Oh god please, please fuck my pussy, pleeeeease," you beg pathetically, even as you give a loud, whorish moan at the feel of him filling up your tight little rear hole again.\n\n"Mmmm, maybe if you're a very, very good girl and keep begging," he murmurs, giving one of your tits a slap and making you yip and buck your hips. "And pleading," another slap, making you writhe and grind against him. "And telling me what a naughty little slut you are," he continues, giving both your breasts a slap and making you arch and squirt all over his crotch and belly. "Then I'll let you have it in your cunt, bitch."\n\nYou let out a low "nnnnnh!" as he hauls you upward further, putting one foot on the couch so that he can get an angle to fuck you down against it, compressing your body and completely dominating you as he drives down into your ass, his balls slapping against one of your buttocks due to the angle he's using. "Fuuuuuck fuck fuck, please, please, I'm such a naughty little slut, I'm such a worthless cunt, I neeeeed my pussy fucked please please fuck my pussy, fuck my useless bitch pussy please please pleEASE!" you yelp orgasmically as he slaps your tits again.\n\nYou continue to beg and plead, being a good girl by telling him what a horny fucking slut you are, how you're a dumb bitch who needs cock but much more importantly needs his cock, and you need it in your pussy so please please please pleeeeease won't he fuck you? He continues to jackhammer your ass, occasionally giving one or both of your tits a slap, either in punishment for being such a thirsty whore or in reward for same, or maybe both. This time when he cums he pulls out, milking himself with one hand in firm downward strokes to make sure his load falls right down into your mouth and all over your face and tits, making you writhe in humiliation and delight to be treated so pornographically.\n\nAfter that he picks you up and shoulders you again, carrying you into the bedroom. The rest of the clothes (both his and yours) are entirely dispensed with and he tosses you negligently onto the mattress before flopping down on it on his back as well. He tucks his hands under his head and, without bothering to look at you, says, "Well, get to work earning your pussy-fuck, slut."\n\nYou scramble to obey, eagerly sliding his cock back into your mouth, moaning happily at the feel of it once again filling your mouth and throat as you clean yourself off of it, slurping up his cum. One of your hands moves to reverently cup his balls, working them enthusiastically but gently, fully aware of just how perfect and sacred they are, your other hand roaming over his furry tummy and feeling the strength and power of his abs beneath it. He, meanwhile, picks up the remote from the bedside table and turns on the wallscreen, starting to channel surf aimlessly, eyes entirely fixed on the flicking-by channels rather than you. Eventually he gives an "Ah!" and settles onto a movie that, from the sound of it, is a series of gunfights broken up by sex scenes, his cock occasionally twitching in your throat to various bits of either action onscreen.\n\nYou spend the rest of the movie obediently pleasuring his cock, alternating between deepthroating it with plenty of tonguing and sucking, worshiping his balls with your lips and tongue, or wrapping your tits around the long, smooth pink shaft and jerking him off with them, moaning softly yourself in pleasure at how good he feels between your boobs. Only once the credits begin to roll on the screen over a wailing, somewhat overproduced metal track does he look back at you, clearly making a show of acting like he only just now remembered you were there. He similarly makes a show of thinking it over, before saying, "Oh, fine, you can ride my cock in your pussy."\n\nYou moan gratefully around his prick before you slip it out of your mouth and move to straddle his hips instead. Balancing yourself on the balls of your feet, you settle yourself into position, reaching down to nudge his cock into place as well. It's clear he intends for you to do all the work, and you're more than eager to do so in return for finally being allowed to have his dick in your absolutely sodden, beyond needy cunt.\n\n"Hey, don't forget to show off your tits for me too," he says a bit scoldingly.\n\nYou nod quickly, actually mimicking his own pose somewhat as you put your hands behind your head with your elbows spread wide, arching your back to lift your tits up before slamming yourself down on him, making your breasts give a heavy bounce. They jounce and wobble wildly as you start fucking yourself on him, unconsciously half falling into the beat of the credits music, your eyes rolling up and tongue lolling out some at the sheer pleasure of finally getting this beyond perfect specimen's prick in your worthless dripping hole.\n\n"Sigh, what a fucking cumbrain you are," he says in a mock-despairing tone as he smirks up at you, not bothering to move a single muscle other than the lazy flick of his tail as you frantically fuck yourself on his rod. "I dunno if I can even keep you, you might be embarrassing to have out in public if you're this dick-crazed."\n\n'Please, please keep me,' you plead silently, too busy cumming and making absolutely whorish noises about it to say it out loud. 'Please keep me, I need your dick, I love your dick, I can't live without your diiiiiiick!'\n\nOnce you've finally been a good, hardworking slut enough to earn a load in your pussy, you're ordered to turn around and ride again so that he can enjoy the view of your ass bouncing on his dick. He does give it the occasional good, hard slap, making you cum all over his prick almost every single time, shaking your butt wantonly and practically begging for more abuse. After that it all goes hazy... you think maybe he actively fucks you a few more times, but you can't remember entirely, probably partly because he keeps nearly choking you out, making you writhe and twist either against him or against the sheets in orgasmic half-panic.\n\nYou only realize you fell asleep when you wake up, blinking blearily as you sit up a bit. You'd woken up half sprawled across your... host's... fuzzy white chest. The two of you both look like you... well, you look like you were rode hard and put away wet, he looks like he did the riding. (Which... is partly true, you recall doing a fair bit of riding yourself.) Your face starts to heat as the memory catches up to you, then a slight movement catches the corner of your eye. You look over... ah. He's gotten hard again in his sleep. Well, either that or it heralds that he's about to wake up. He's big, plenty big for sure, his shaft humanoid-shaped but pink and smooth-looking, down to where it emerges from a vestigial-like sheath above a pair of hefty balls. As you watch, it gives a small twitch and leaks a drop of pre that oozes down onto the fur of his belly.\n\n<hr>\n[[Er, time to go.|ChiLove]]\n\n[[... Aum!|ChiLove2x2]]

"Yeah, we think she's in here," the security teammember said, nodding towards the open door. "But containment procedure says that no one's allowed in without O5 clearance under any circumstances, even containment breach, so."\n\nThe team leader nodded, putting his fingers to the side of his helmet. "I need an O5 to clear entry to skip storage in pursuit of the instigator of the event. Preferably O-4."\n\nThere was a pause of several minutes, before a man's voice with an odd, sort of lilting cadence came on. "Yyyyyes, this is O-4?"\n\n"Sir," the team leader said, his spine unconsciously straightening at the knowledge that he was speaking to one of the five people that essentially ran the entire Foundation. "Sir, we need clearance to enter the storage area of your, I mean, of SCPX-4. We're fairly certain the instigator who caused the recent containment breach event of the facility is hiding in there."\n\n"... Mmmmm." There was a long pause, before the voice said in a rather haughty tone. "And do we have any cluuues as to the identity of this... instigator?"\n\n"Yes, sir, we're fairly certain it's the blackcape called 'Defiance'."\n\n"... Mmmmmm." The voice sounded somehow both smug and rather morose now. "She'll have been in there awhile, yes? ... I have a feeling the instigator is neutralized, Captain. You, and only you, may proceed into SCPX-4's containment to retrieve her. Try not to dilly-dally about, hm?" Click.\n\nThe team leader blinked, glancing aside at the line closing. But, orders were orders. "The rest of you wait here, I'm going in after her," he said, lifting his rifle and making his way in.\n\nThe skip didn't look particularly dangerous, but that was always one of the most dangerous things to think. Looked like a comic book store. Through long training doing his best to look at everything without taking in any more than absolutely necessary, he made his way through the shelves, noting the flung-around comics, including several that had been blasted or torn.\n\nHe found her at the back of the room. Sitting with her legs folded, surrounded by open, tossed-around comic books. For all the body armor and obvious weapons, she looked like a kid sitting there, reading intently, shoulders and back hunched, so intent on the page she clearly didn't notice his approach. "Stop, don't move!" he barked, finger settling onto the trigger of his rifle.\n\nSlowly, her head raised. The impression of a kid reading lessened, but didn't disappear entirely, because she certainly looked like a lost, hurting child, enough that despite all the pain and death she'd caused today, he couldn't help but feel a twinge in his heart. Her face was wet, eyes irritated, she'd clearly been crying. But she wasn't now. Her face was just blank, eyes almost empty save for a distant, haunted look.\n\n"I didn't know Excalibur went to see my mom after the first time I died," she said, her voice incredibly soft. "Mom never told me. She never told me that. Why didn't she tell me that?"\n\nThe team leader opened his mouth slightly. Closed it. \n\n"She was so nice to my mom," Defiance whispered, turning her eyes back towards the page. "Is that... is that a mom thing?"\n\nSlowly he walked forward, somehow knowing that more than anything he should not let his eyes come to rest on the page she was looking at. Bending, he took hold of her upper arm and drew her to her feet. She kept her own gaze on the page as she was pulled, but at his nudge on her hands, she let it drop and simply stared ahead of her, seemingly at nothing. He looked at her for a long moment, then put his fingers back to his helmet.\n\n"Instigator is neutralized," he said, his own voice quiet. "Bringing her out."\n\nHe took her gently by the upper arm again and guided her away, her feet moving rather mechanically as she plodded along beside him. Through iron will, he forced himself not to look back and see that there were no more boxes of comics on the shelf after the ones she'd taken down.\n\nContainment Breach end - The world is just a <strike>play</strike> comic

The part of your brain that knows better than to swallow mutant jizz kicks into gear, and with a roll of your tongue and parting of your lips you force the first of the load out of your mouth. Most of it dribbles down and splashes all over your tits, thick and splattered and obviously cum despite the fact that it's glowing yellowish-green. The dog seems to take that as a prompt, almost, and steps back a bit, pulling his cock out of your mouth and letting further spurts fall on your tits as well, thoroughly coating them in oozelike mutant dog cum. You squirm beneath him as that tingling feeling intensifies on your already sensitive breasts, making them feel further aroused and pleasured just from being out and jiggling a bit, not to mention coated in warm, thick goo.\n\nThen you yelp again as the dog steps forward, moving with much more deliberation than a simple animal should as he pushes your legs forward with his own hind legs, lifting your ass into the air and pressing your shoulders to the ground. You reflexively grip his forelegs, essentially forced to have a perfect view of your pussy being presented upward toward him and that still throbbing, inhuman mutant prick waving in the air above it. With a few more obviously considered motions, the altered animal aims gets his cock swung downward and into place, giving you barely a heartbeat to brace yourself before he thrusts down.\n\n"Ohhhh FUCK!" you blurt, your eyes rolling at the sight of your stomach bulging with his girth and length. In fact unless you want to look around at the rest of the guard dogs standing, cocks jutting beneath their bellies and drooling glowing precum, the only thing you have to look at is your own body with your glowjizz-covered tits jiggling and your belly bulging as your pussy stretches around that veiny canine cock, the massive knot bobbing up and down above it. "Fuuuuuck he's breeding me," you can't help but whimper as he starts thrusting down into you faster and more purposefully, his hefty balls slapping against your ass and your saddleshoe-clad feet waving in the air. "I'm being bred, fuck!"\n\nYou grit your teeth, trying to hold on to yourself as the alpha mutant puppy-pounds your pussy, that knot seeming bigger and more imposing all the time as it gradually gets closer and closer to your pussy. Then your attention is yanked back to your wobbling, shaking tits as you realize they look bigger than they did... no, they're definitely bigger! And they seem to be growing a little every time they do a semi-circular shake with the dog's thrusts into you. It looks like the mutant jizz is having an effect after all, and the bigger they get the better they feel even if all they're doing is shaking as you're fucked. Your eyes roll and your tongue lolls out, and you realize at the sound of your own panting that your tongue is gradually growing longer and flatter, taking on slightly more canine proportions.\n\nThen your attention is abruptly yanked back entirely to your pussy as the alpha mutant thrusts hard enough that his knot slaps your pussylips once, twice, and on the third time shoves inside, your whole body shaking in an intense orgasm and the unreasonable urge to howl almost overcoming you as he starts gushing more of that thick, scientifically engineered cum deep into your body. He shakes his hips and works them around after only a few moments, making your body wobble and shake, until he abruptly pulls back more firmly and pops his knot out of you, spraying more of that glowing cum everywhere before he steps back, leaving you sprawled and panting.\n\nBut before you can catch your breath, another one of the dogs steps forward and, taking his cue from his leader, pushes you into the same position, quickly thrusting down and resuming fucking you. His cock goes in much easier, your pussy already stretched and thoroughly coated with cum, and not being quite as large as the alpha's. Your belly still bulges almost up to your enlarged and still slowly but steadily growing boobs, and you're once again left watching yourself growing and getting fucked as he starts fucking you, his prick still plenty thick enough that it keeps the majority of his superior's load inside you even as some of it spurts up and around his shaft, setting your pussy lips to plumping up and growing as well.\n\nOne after another the dogs fuck you, knot you, and empty their heavy, aching mutant balls into your pussy, each one bulging up your belly a bit more until it's swollen, round, and visibly glowing a bit with all the luminescent dog jizz that's been pumped into it. Your tits thankfully stopped growing at some point before they started smacking you in the face, but they still wobble and shake whorishly with the fucking of the dogs as at least some of them take second turns, your mind starting to shut down, your long-since full-throated moans and yowls turning more into barks and whimpers.\n\nBut eventually it seems that the dogs have tired themselves out and leave you laying sprawled there as they start wandering away, probably back towards whatever kennel they go to. The alpha remains for a bit, sniffing at you as your dazed, orgasm-addled brain tries to figure out whether to pass out or actually struggle to stay conscious.\n\n<hr>\n[[Pass out.|PervSim9x2]]\n\n[[Stay awake.|PervSim]]

Yes yes, a cute gyaru of your very own to do some lewdity and strangeness to! \n\nIt's really simple, honestly, all you have to do is think 'I want a gyaru!' really hard without anything more formed than that, aaaand-\n\nThere's a pomf and a girl appears in front of you, posed as if having been leaned on a sink examining her makeup, a hand raised to fuss with her relatively short bright yellow hair with some strinks of pink run through it, causing her to stumble forward a bit and just barely avoid falling over as the sink abruptly isn't there anymore. Oooo, she's pretty cute too, not too wild on the makeup, glittery aquamarine eyeshadow and long lashes, plum-colored lipstick, her uniform blouse unbuttoned to show off her big tits and a bit of her bra, skirt drawn up almost sinfully short, baggy socks and cute pink sneakers, showing off fairly strong, thicc tan legs as well as those boobs. Nice nice nice~!\n\n"What the-?!" she blurts, clearly shocked at her sudden change of location, and her eyes widening even further at the sight of you, since you're not bothering to hide your presence at all in your own home. Which means not only does she see your wonderful glorious body in all its grandeur (well your very cute feet are still hidden but oh well) with your own perfectly-sized tits and pretty sleek cock, but your absolutely astoundingly fluffy and beautiful ears and tail! Truly, she is shocked by your gloriousness, konkonkon~!\n\nWhich means you can decide what to do with her pretty much before she even knows what's happening! So what to do~?\n\n<hr>\n[[She'd make a cute onahole!|Konko]]\n\n[[She wants to be oversexualized, sooooo...|Konko]]\n\n[[She'd also make a nice load of cum!|Konko12x8]]

Without really thinking about it, just a rage born of agony, you rush at him and throw yourself into a tackle. Without even meaning to, your forehead slams directly into the base of the whistle as you strike him, and amidst the sound of him hitting the ground you can hear teeth crack a bit. You struggle to pin him, still having a little difficulty moving especially since you've got your new huge tits between him and you, but he seems far more distracted by trying to reach for his throat. You get faintly painful, heavily muffled pulses in your ears now as you can see him panicking more, but it's clear he's struggling to breathe with that stupid whistle lodged in his throat.\n\nSeized by a sudden mingling of satisfaction and mercy, you pin his wrists and then press your tits down on his face, completely cutting off his air (and completely muffling that fucking whistle). He kicks and struggles for a few moments in a decidedly conflicted way, before finally slumping and going still. You keep your tits pressed over his face for a few more moments, then let out a relieved sigh. You glance him over, then relieve him of the thin-barreled semi-automatic pistol in the holster at his hip before getting to your feet.\n\nYou spend a few moments listening for any sign that anyone else is coming, then relax a little... before what just happened sinks in. You blink a few times, looking down at the body. 'Wait, did he make my ears hurt with... a dog whistle?'\n\n... Wuh-oh.\n\nYou have got to get out of here, and preferably back to your doctor on the Guildhall as soon as possible. You glance around, trying to decide between the computer or just doing your best to make a run for it and maybe shoot anyone that tries to stop you.\n\nOr... hm. Maybe there's something else?\n\n<hr>\n[[Computer.|PervSim]]\n\n[[Try to escape.|PervSim]]\n\n[[Something else.|PervSim9x4]]

It's too much. You give in to the temptation to let darkness claim you, gradually sliding into unconsciousness to the feeling of the alpha lapping at your enlarged tits and pussy at different intervals. \n\nYou come to with a little jolt, blinking and looking around. You're in a dim room, and surrounded by the mutant watchdogs... but they all seem to be curled up on the floor and asleep. You slowly and carefully get to your feet, doing your best not to disturb any of them... well, and the fact that you have a pair of new counterweights on your chest (though luckily they don't feel as heavy as they look, despite their huge size... damn, they're at least twice the size of your head, probably more). From the soreness in one shoulder and faint marks on your upper arm it looks like one of the dogs... probably the alpha... dragged you back to their kennel after you passed out. You do a check-over of yourself... well, you still seem mostly human at least. Your breasts have obviously turned into tits, softer and with more drape than they had before besides being bigger, and your pussy seems to have grown too, the lips fat and constantly plumped-up, practically trying to push your thighs apart a bit. Other than those and your tongue, those seem to be the only changes you can find... well, externally at least.\n\nYou take another look around, and realize that it's a pretty standard kennel, including with a low-tech door. Deciding to slip out of your shoes for better stealth, leaving you wearing nothing but the thigh-highs (and, well, the sweater, but you don't have a hope in hell of pulling that thing back down over your monster mammaries now), you walk to the chain-link door and spend a few moments working your hand around the side. The gate isn't actually even locked, just done with a latch that no dog would be able to do, but you're able to manage after a few tries even from the wrong side. Carefully pushing open the gate (and cringing a bit at the creak it gives), you slip out... well, as best you can with these huge tits, since you have to open the gate considerably wider to get them through. You close and re-latch it, just in case... don't need these guys coming after you, even if it seems like they're not violently disposed towards you now. (Just... possessive and rapacious, it seems.)\n\nYou make your way down the hallway, past several other kennel enclosures, some with more of the watchdogs in them and others with different sorts of mutant dogs or other animals... obviously whoever runs this place has been doing a fair bit of "crimes against nature" style experimenting. Luckily none of the poor creatures sets up a particular racket, and you're able to move through the hallways without a real problem. Opening the door you find carefully, you peer into something that looks like a cross between an animal shelter office and a library or study, complete with bookshelves and leather-bound chairs. Not seeing anyone, you step through, spotting the nearby computer on a desk (damn, that thing looks like it's not just a CRT but probably some old amber-only display) and stepping toward it.\n\nThe door on the opposite wall opens, and a man wearing a black leather outfit with some kind of weird glowing dome mask over his upper face steps through. Both of you freeze at the sight of each other, before he apparently reflexively yanks up the slender little silver whistle around his neck and puts it between his lips to blow.\n\nYou'd be able to hear the dogs and some of the other creatures in the kennels behind you set up a racket barking... if your head weren't splitting with pain. It's like an intense shrieking resonates through your entire skull starting with your ears, causing you to clap your hands over them. It's barely even like a sound and more like someone just jammed agony into your brain!\n\n<hr>\n[["Stop! Stop! Please!"|PervSim]]\n\n[["GRAAAAH!"|PervSim9x3]]

Ugh. Once you get out of here, hopefully Guild doctors will be able to undo... everything. You bring up the option again, but your finger hesitates over the Y key, knowing that by pressing it you'll be effectively choosing to modify your own body, your real body... expanding its tits and pussy, changing its tongue, and whatever other changes have gone on internally. Bracing, you tap the button.\n\nSomehow you expected to feel everything, but... well, you're not connected to your body right now, so you guess that's why. You wait for several moments, unable to help picturing it in your head... your rubber-sealed vacuu-sucked body with its tits expanding, pressing outward in that tight confine, probably the pussy forcing the rubber to stretch too. But eventually you hear a low vrrrrm behind you and turn, seeing that the hidden doorway has been replaced by a flickering greyish-white plane. Taking a deep breath, you step through.\n\nInstantly you're back in the vacuum-sealed rubber, instinctively starting to struggle and fight against it, your body extra tightly-hugged now since there's more of it for the rubber to press around, feeling like it's squeezing every part of your huge tits at once. But luckily after only a second or so it starts to loosen, and you gasp as you're able to really breathe again. The gradual loosening allows you to sort of slowly slide down to the bottom of the rack, and soon the sheets roll up, revealing the room you were in before. You wobble out... in more ways than one, your expanded tits shaking almost obscenely with every step. Sighing, you rally yourself and head back out.\n\nYou do your best to emulate the gait of the robot as you cross the bridge in the room with all the spheres of colored light, though it makes your tits jiggle constantly and your thighs rub against your pussy. Luckily when you return to the room from before, all your stuff is still laying on the floor where the robot stripped it off of you. Of course the lewdified versions of your clothes look even sluttier on your altered body... the pasties don't actually cover your nipples entirely anymore, and the thong's crotch is so thin that it actually goes between your overplump pussylips, leaving them sticking out and entirely visible. You're not even sure if you'd be better off going naked other than your coat and boots, but you just can't bring yourself to do it.\n\nReturning to the server room, you spend a little while opening racks and examining other people who were put in the sim. You'd be tempted to free them as well, except quite a few of them seem to be saurians of some sort, including a few of what are obviously Raptarrans. You manage not to let your decision be swayed by the fact that the vacuum-sealing is showing off all their cocks and heavy balls, and the changes to your body obviously include an enhanced libido since the sight sends intense desire rushing through you. But eventually you find a properly human-sized female outline and, managing to translate the date on the rack, it fits with Tanya's disappearance. A bit more fiddling and you manage to extract her, the rubber gradually unsealing from around the open-mouthed, still form and allowing it to slide down, Tanya Lieze's naked form slumping out to be caught in your arms. She seems so dazed that she might as well be unconscious, and rather than trying to rouse her where you are you bring out your beacon and fwip the two of you back to the Guildhall.\n\nTaking Tanya to the retrieval area and then heading over to your doctor's is an embarrassing experience, since you're currently even more lewdly-proportioned and dressed than even most of the Guildhall's more daring members usually are. That and every time you see a bulge or catch a hint of masculine musk or hear a nice deep voice you practically want to get down on all fours and start shaking your ass. Yeah, something's definitely weird.\n\n"Well, it's some form of canine DNA among the other alterations, that's for sure," said doctor explains a bit later as you sit naked on the side of a biobed. "Mutations of various kinds. Normally we'd get you back to usual with a few injections and maybe a bit of tank time."\n\n"And here's the 'but'," you say, your voice having become a bit thick and slightly awkward with the changed shape of your tongue and some alterations to your throat.\n\n"Precursor 808 alterations typically come with 'encryption'. It's a sort of deliberate labyrinth of junk proteins that... well, rather than go deeply into it, suffice to say we need to break the encryption before we're able to modify your body again."\n\n"But you can do that, right?"\n\n"It usually takes about a week at minimum, month at the longest. ... If it takes longer than a month that usually means the encryption can't be undone," the doctor admits. "But! I'm very hopeful on this one, I recognize several of the strands, so probably the computer has good starting points."\n\n"Mmm. But somewhere between a week and a month like this," you murmur, glancing down at yourself.\n\n"I'm afraid so. Now your libido and fertility have both been ramped up and it looks like there are probably changes to your brain that we can't fully know," the doctor allows. "Probably nothing wholesome, considering. Now your medical insurance covers a stay in a holosuite for purposes of isolation in cases like this, I very much suggest you do so."\n\nObviously the doctor's professionalism prevents them adding 'so you don't get knocked up', though the meaning is still fairly obvious. You sigh at the thought of spending all that time basically doing nothing, and away from home, when after all you've been through you definitely want to sleep in your own bed tonight. Your better reason urges you to listen, but the part of you that's tired and weirded out and got fucked unconscious by virtual mutant dogs just wants to go home.\n\n<hr>\n[[Just go home.|PervSim]]\n\n[[Isolate.|PervSim]]\n\n[["What about a belt?"|PervSim]]

Wait... this place is obviously done up 'classic' style, right? Maybe that means that there's some sort of hidden passage that you can use to get out more directly, or get access to better weapons, or something like that.\n\nProbably not accessible by the computer, it would be a more cutesy triggering method. You start looking around the more library-like area, glancing at the books and small statues and decorations. Eventually you focus your attention on a statuette of a very majestic mastiff, which looks like it might have been the base form for at least some of the mutant guard dogs. Sighing and betting you know exactly what the trigger is, you reach beneath it and start rubbing your fingertips over its very lovingly-cast sheath and balls. After a few seconds you must find the trigger because there's a little click as a gleaming copper shaft snaps out of the open end of the sheath, and a larger chnk as something unlocks and part of one of the bookshelves swings outward a bit.\n\nPushing it further open, you slip into the narrow passage beyond... luckily not so narrow that your enlarged chest causes a problem. It's actually not very long, and at the end you soon spot another computer console... but this one looks much closer to the ones you saw in the actual ruins. Letting out a sigh of relief, you set the gun down and start trying to find some way to access the controls.\n\nThis system seems a little more 'user friendly' than the other, and you're quickly able to determine that it's definitely some sort of control station for part of a simulation. ... Simulation? ... Oh. Duh. You're in the simulation. That makes so much sense now that you think about it that you're going to choose to believe that the system made you not think about it until it was told to you outright. Okay, now that you know that, you need to get out. After a bit more searching, you do find an option that seems to be for allowing exit of the simulation, and to your own body at that!\n\n'Transmit physical changes and exit sim? Y/N'\n\n... What? Oh no, c'mon no!\n\nBut after searching through the system repeatedly, you can find no other options where it will allow you to exit without first applying the changes made to your body in here to your real body. ... Dammit! \n\nIt looks like the only other options are to either reset yourself... which it sounds like will send you back to the start of the simulation, but at least without your body altered... reboot the current sim with yourself as part of it (though you don't really know what that might do), or give yourself 'lesser admin' access in the current sim. Which sounds good but considering how everything else has gone, you bet it comes with a catch. \n\n<hr>\n[[Exit sim with changes.|PervSim9x5]]\n\n[[Reset yourself.|PervSim]]\n\n[[Reboot sim as part of it.|PervSim]]\n\n[[Lesser admin powers.|PervSim]]

Well, when you say "help", you mean that you're going to focus your attention on her in this situation and maybe use your magic on her. Whether it winds up actually helping her or the exact opposite, we'll see!\n\nLet's see, let's see... oh, you could send her one of those [[cell phone apps|Konko]] a bunch of stories and lewd comics online talk about! An actual real one though... could be fun to see just what she'd do to her bullies, given that sort of power. \n\nOr you could make the gyarus [[suddenly adore her|Konko]]! That could be really hilarious, watching an enemies-to-friends(-to-lovers) speedrun!\n\nYou could give her [[sudden magical powers|Konko]]... or the power of [[literalism|Konko]], that's always a fun one to use to mess with mortals.\n\nOr you could just give her a [[big fat cock|Konko12x2]]. Also a fun toy that a lot of mortals get themselves in trouble with!

Picking a hallway essentially at random, you take off running down it. One's as good as another at this point, and you figure any of them are as likely to lead to a safe spot as any.\n\nYou duck down several other hallways, past various office and containment room doors, some of each open and closed, with no signs of potential residents in either open offices or containment rooms. Then you spot something ahead... a statue? It seems to be an authentic black marble statue, with shades of grey and even a few white that are arranged to seemingly enhance the angle the light is already hitting it at and give it a strange, almost cel-shaded look despite being fully three-dimensional. It's a gargoyle of some sort, a massive one even with its hunched posture and curled wings, horns rising above its smooth bald head and balanced precariously yet perfectly on digigrade feet, with a scrap of cloth dangling from one clawed hand.\n\nYou blink in surprise at something so incongruous in a high tech facility's hallway... and suddenly the statue is facing you. It's exquisitely detailed, including the exaggerated, fiendish leer on its face, a two foot forked tongue lolling out of its fanged maw and dangling artfully frozen in midair. Every line and ripple of its chest was carved with torturous, if not loving, precision, every muscle and wrinkle of skin, with all of that doubly true for the massive, veiny, beautifully hideous cock dangling limp (well, as limp as stone can be) at its crotch.\n\n"What the fuck," you mutter, glancing around reflexively to see who might have moved it. You only take your eyes off the statue for a moment but a rapid, heavy thumping makes you whip your gaze back to it. Your eyes widen as you realize it's only a few feet away now, its pose radically changed, its hands reaching out... specifically reaching out towards you, as if intending to grip your head. Not only that, but its shaft, previously depicted as soft and hanging heavily between its graven thighs, is now jutting and erect as if pointing right at your face. With its hands reached out towards you, you also come to the sudden realization what that long piece of black cloth in its hand is meant to be used for...\n\n... a blindfold.\n\n<hr>\n[[RUN!|Def]]\n\n[[Get away while keeping your eyes on it.|Def]]\n\n[[... Actually, first...|Def]]

Oooo, it's been awhile since you've done that! Hm... shall you do the whole affair, or... nah, let's shortcut it! Giggling konfully, you raise a hand and snap your fingers.\n\nThere's another pomf, and the freshly-appeared gyaru disappears... or rather, relocates, leaving behind her clothes which hang in the air empty for an instant before collapsing to the floor. At the same time your smooth, soft-looking sack bulges obscenely... why, just large enough to contain a pretty highschooler, who would have thought?!\n\nYou giggle again, draping your legs over your newly-expanded sack, enjoying both the sight and the feel of the shocked gyaru inside your balls beginning to struggle, the smooth skin pushing out with the shape of fists or bare feet, or occasionally her shouting face as she writhes about trying to get free. You kick off your shoes and wiggle your toes as you watch, flicking your tongue lightly over your lips. The struggling is always nice, but your faaavorite part is what comes after.\n\nYou give a few squeezes, contracting your sack so that it hugs around her, not only providing you a better view of the shape of her body, but making sure she's thoroughly coated in the cum that had already been secreted in there. As she marinates in it, your seed soaking into every part of her body, you can feel her struggles changing... becoming less intense, more almost confused, slightly perfunctory, and then ceasing for a few moments, going still.\n\nThen you can feel the shift as she moves around, giving in to the urge to spread her legs, her knees sliding across the inside of your balls. Hugging your sack around her again just confirms that she's got one hand tucked between her legs and the other kneading one of her tits, the faint sounds of yells and cries from within your balls having turned into steadily more eager moans.\n\n"Thaaat's right cutie, get yourself even more hot," you coo at her, squeezing your thighs and rubbing your calves against the round bulge of your balls and her inside them. "Soooo hot that you start to melt. Mmmm, you can feel it, riiiight?" you continue, though you suspect that by now she's too frenzied with lust and pleasure to pay attention or understand you. "Getting soooo hot and soft now, aren't you, hmmm? Kon kon kon~!"\n\nYou can, in fact, feel her growing softer and hotter inside you, yielding a bit more under the squeezes of your legs. You lift said legs and instead press the soles of your bare feet and your toes against your sack, enjoying both the absolute perfection of your own wonderfully smooth skin and the warmth radiating from it and the feel of the gyaru's luscious body beneath your feet, growing softer and gradually less distinct as you knead her with little rubs and presses of your heels and curls of your toes.\n\n"That's riiiight, give up your solid form, it's just soooo much more pleasurable to relax into being jizz, isn't it, cutie?" you kon purrily down at her, giving your sack a few more clenches and seeing her far less distinct shape shift each time. You let out your own happy sigh as you feel her yield and give up any solid thoughts completely, your next clench resulting in nothing but a heavy sloshing and wobbling of your now thoroughly cum-filled balls.\n\n"Mmmm, you feel very good in there, sweetheart, thank you, kon kon," you coo as you continue alternately kneading the churned gyaru inside with either your feet or your legs, or occasionally your hands, reaching forward to work and squeeze pleasurably over your heavily overfilled sack.\n\nYou relax back on one hand and use the other to resume stroking your cock idly, which is now leaking a smooth, steady flow of pre, your body eager to spill its person-sized over-load. But you keep her in there for a good long while, just enjoying that feel of being so fullll, so much warm stuff in there!\n\nBuuut eventually you decide it's enough. You pop a tiger-patterned condom into existence (to match the tiger-patterned panties left on the floor) and slip it over the head of your cock, rolling it down to the very base to sheath it fully. Really, with the massive amount of cum you're holding onto, all it actually takes to orgasm is to relax the slightest bit, which you do, gripping the base of your latex-sheathed prick and making happy fox noises as long, thick blasts of churned gyaru start firing into the reservoir at the tip, stretching it out and quickly starting to hang down in a steadily-growing globe of thick white visible through the gradually more translucent material. Of course, you made the condom specifically to stand up to this, so no need to worry about it rupturing and making a mess~!\n\nSince you didn't bother to expand the size of your dick for this, it takes a good long while to jizz out the gyaru, even cumming roughly a pint at a time. You moan and yip and churr softly, your tail swishing happily behind you as the condom grows bit by bit, the tiger-striped orange latex growing stretched enough to show the sloshing white within, but without losing its own color or pattern. It lowers down to rest on your balls, slick, smooth warmth on soft, smooth warmth, until your balls get smaller while the condom gets bigger, until it's resting on the floor and your sack has resumed its normal, effectively empty size.\n\nYou give yourself a few strokes to make sure you've got the last couple of drops of your guest out, then slip the condom off of your now somewhat softened prick and tie it up. You grin as you rest your feet on the condom, feeling the slick texture of the latex as well as the thick, gooey slosh of the cum within as you rub a bit. "Niiice and warm! And you'll stay that way, too! Aren't you happy, konkon?"\n\nAnd she is, too, since you can sense it! Well, maybe 'happy' isn't quite the right word for it. The gyaru's mind is still in there, but completely consumed with the pleasure of having become a literal liquid orgasm. Constantly completely relaxed, more relaxed than a solid body could ever be, pleasantly warm, and effectively in a state of constant low-level climax. If she could actually focus enough to form words, it would probably just be a constant litany of 'relax, warm, soft, feels good, warm, soft, good'.\n\nGiving a soft 'hm', you snap your fingers, smoothing out the tied-up part so that the condom's a smooth sphere, and then tightening it up a little so that it does in fact hold a mostly circular shape. You also add a picture of the gyaru whose name you didn't bother to ask or look for in her mind to the surface of it, an image of her naked from the tits up, doing a double piece sign and ahegaoing shamelessly. Giggling, you roll your new "gel chair" over to a good spot, then retrieve the gyaru's discarded panties before taking a seat, letting your ass rest directly on the image of her face. Ahhh, perfect! A lovely warm, squishy seat, conforming to your body, radiating gentle just-higher-than-body-temperature heat up into your asshole and pussy and balls as well as the rest of you pressing against it. No doubt the cumbag is enjoying the sensation too!\n\nYou wrap the panties around your cock and start stroking off again, taking your time about it, enjoying the feel of your cumchair and the radiance of both its warmth and the thoughts of pleasure and relaxation coming from its filling. After cumming into the panties several times, you send them off to your trophy pocket dimension, send the rest to your wardrobe pocket dimension, and doze off using the cumballoon as a pillow.\n\n<hr>\n[[Zzzzzzzzzzz...|Konko12x9]]

The next morning, you pop directly back over to the school. Having decided you'll be sticking with this prank for awhile, you settled on the necessity of actually hiding your ears and tail as well as resuming your school uniform disguise (still with super-cute foxy thighhighs because of course). \n\nYou stand waiting at the entrance to the school, idly collecting thoughts from the heads of the students passing by as ideas or inspirations for future pranks (or potential future targets) to keep yourself occupied. But soon you see Mokuyo coming... just as firmly rule-abiding as before in her uniform, although she's added a pair of black bike shorts that poke out just a bit beneath the skirt. (No doubt she had difficulty finding a pair of panties that would adequately support and constrain the monster you gifted her with.) You do notice she's moving with a great deal more confidence, though... you might not quite call it "swagger", since it's not quite that blatant, but she's definitely got her head held high and her chin lifted.\n\nBy contrast, the two girls flanking her on either side behind have their eyes demurely (and slightly reverently) downcast, following along after her with their hands clasped low in front of them like a pair of novice nuns following the holy mother. Haru-chan and Ruka-chan have both dyed their hair back to the proper black and taken out their color contacts, and if they're wearing any makeup it's safely within the 'effectively undetectable' dress code rule. They're still tan, of course, making their "reformed" gyaru nature obvious, and with the only difference being Haru-chan's ponytail now that Ruka-chan has straightened hers, they look practically like twins. You can see more than a few people double-taking as they walk along, either at Mokuyo's changed demeanor, the realization of who her retainers are, or that said gyarus have now become Mokuyo's followers.\n\nYou trot over and fall in a bit behind, easily inserting yourself into Mokuyo's mind as "that background friend"... virtually unnoticeable and always around. "Good morning~!" you chirp cheerfully, your ears twitching in spirit if not actuality since you haven't got them out.\n\n"Oh, Konko-san," Mokuyo acknowledges rather distractedly. Haru-chan and Ruka-chan both side-eye you, since you didn't really bother with adjusting their minds. Maybe later.\n\n"Where are we off to this morning, Mokuyo, since it seems we're not going to class?" you ask breezily, though you already have a very good idea even without having looked into her mind.\n\n"We need to go see Williams-senpai in the student council room before anything else," Mokuyo informs you gravely... though you see her lips curl up in a leer on one side, her glasses flashing opaque for a moment. Yes~, that's what you thought!\n\nYou kon-giggle your way along after them to the student council room (Mokuyo's ex-gyarus continuing to side-eye you slightly nervously but not saying anything), a fairly simple, orderly room with a long rectangular table in the center. And sitting at the head of it like a CEO is the room's current sole occupant, the Student Council President (and some relative of some administrator or another, of course, though you don't particularly care enough to go rooting around for it) Williams Michiru. She's such a typical hime-sama student council president that you could almost think you invented her, though you didn't... her hair is long, straight, gleaming, and rich golden blonde (natural, which is how she gets away with it, though as you pick up from all three of your companions some of the less-connected students with other natural haircolors haven't been so lucky), the forelocks draping over her ears hanging down to her full breasts. Beautiful face with, again, natural blue eyes, and a gorgeous body that somehow manages to be as round and well-endowed as Mokuyo's (at least in the chest and rear) while still giving off an air of sleekness like a lioness. Her uniform, despite being the same as all the other regulation ones, winds up looking like a tailored suit on her, including the little band around her arm reading 'President'.\n\nShe looks up from the paperwork, frowning a bit at seeing who's disturbed her. "It's... Moruno-san, I think?"\n\n"Mokuyo," your current project answers primly.\n\n"Mokuyo-san. You're going to be late for homeroom, I hope there's a good reason you're here."\n\n"Oh, there is," Mokuyo assures her, nodding firmly once. "I'm here to claim the office of Head of the Public Morals Committee," she continues, citing the typically pretentious name of the school's student council role in charge of enforcing the dress code and other rules.\n\nMichiru flushes prettily at the declaration, though in obvious anger at the presumptuousness. "Roles on the student council are for me to appoint, not for anyone to demand," she responds coldly. Apparently struggling a bit for control, she adds in a more neutral tone, "Haruno-san does a perfectly fine job as the Head of Public Morals."\n\nMokuyo lets out a loud, derisive snort at that, making Michiru flush again. "Haruno-san only enforces the rules on anyone who he can single out and effortlessly browbeat into compliance. People with too many friends who might complain or who might just laugh in his face, he won't come within a mile of." Michiru purses her lips at that, but clearly isn't willing to entirely call it a lie, and before she can formulate a more politician-y response Mokuyo continues. "Meanwhile, I've found a rather effective method of punishing rulebreakers and encouraging them to walk the straight and narrow, isn't that right, Ichinose-san and Noseichi-san?"\n\n"Yes, Mokuyo-sama," both of them agree with quick, deferential bobs of the head.\n\nMichiru blinks, looking back and forth between Haru-chan and Ruka-chan, at first startled by that response to someone she was clearly aware of as being a "nobody" before... then her jaw dropping as she attaches the names to their previous appearance in her mind. Her pretty lips open and close several times in bewilderment before she collects herself and clears her throat. "I... well, that is very impressive that you have... convinced these two to mend their ways, and I commend you, Mokuyo-san. But I ran with the promise of appointing Haruno-san to Head of Public Morals," she notes... in other words, she promised the more popular and influential parts of her electorate they'd be above the rules and she isn't about to sacrifice that for little things like 'consistency' or 'fairness'. (My my, she really might have a career in politics!) "It would be breaking my campaign promises to just appoint someone else now, as well as not being very fair to Haruno-san."\n\nMokuyo purses her lips now as well. You can see she's on the verge of making another decision... you're pretty sure in this case you can give her a nudge by just metaphorically putting thoughts in her head instead of literally.\n\n<hr>\n[["Well then we'll just have to have a new election!"|Konko]]\n\n[[*click*|Konko]]

You don't really like it about yourself that you're tempted enough by the potential numbers to ask, "So like, what does Shineon actually want to... do?"\n\n"Well her manager says that there's three potential collab potentials they've got coming up," Tyrn says, looking back at his screen and apparently bringing up an email. "There's a simple one-and-done meetup..."\n\n"Meaning she rapes me and leaves me laying in an alley or whatever?" you ask flatly.\n\n"... Well, basically, yeah," Tyrn says with a shrug, glancing at the screen. "... Actually those are her manager's exact words yes. Anyway, there's a longer stream option where she takes you back to her place for awhile and, well, does a more thorough job of it, as it were..."\n\n"Lovely."\n\n"And then there's what she calls a 'Meat Hunt'."\n\n"... Are you serious?"\n\n"Yeah, apparently it's a big event that can last upwards of two weeks. It's a huge collab between her and several other... ... well, rapetubers... and volunteers like you. Apparently all the event donations from it go into a big pool and get divided up between a couple of charities and the participants, with some of the participants getting bonuses depending on how well they did."\n\n"Why would I ever-?!"\n\n"Because not only does it give a massive amount to those charities, which besides the philanthropy of it looks good," he cuts in smoothly. "There is genuinely the potential that you could earn twice as much in two weeks in this one event as you have in your entire career to date. Not to mention the exposure to massive numbers of viewers from all the other streamers participating. Seriously, Addi, think about it... two weeks of whatever horrors she's got devised, sure, but not only are you practically guaranteed a career for the rest of your life, but you'd basically have escape velocity money."\n\n... Meaning that you really could focus on only doing the streams you really wanted to do. Basically for the rest of your life. And considering the vast number of youth-preserving treatments available to you, that could be a long, long time. So it's not like you don't have to think about it...\n\n<hr>\n[[Just the one-and-done.|AddiRape]]\n\n[[The long session.|AddiRape]]\n\n[[The Meat Hunt.|AddiRape]]

*Main: [[Ultra-Marissa|MarSS10x5]] (not her actual hero name like this) can continue her fight against the otherdimensional kaiju.\n-Update 2-\n*Main: Michika can suggest looking into [[extradimensional lifeform smuggling|ChiECA2x1]] when helping the ECA.\n*Main: Michika can [[do more|ChiMom3x1]] with Aki and Gao after already doing sssstuff.\n-Update 3-\n* Continuing with Michika and the twins.

Jennifer Walters, AKA "She-Hulk". You call up various images of the tall, muscular green amazon-like woman, grinning with anticipation as you start going over her bio. Hm, smart (but not enough that it's a superpower), nigh-invulnerable, incredibly strong... eh, nothing you haven't dealt with before and in far more extreme forms. You should be able to handle her quite ably on your own, it's just a case of how you'd like to, you think as you plot a course through a connecting dimension and into the neighboring one where practically every Earth has a Jennifer Walters. Just gotta get one that's enough like the one in the listed coordinates, aaaand... there we go, convenient enough! Cloaking the Infinite Decimal, you pull into Earth orbit above New York City, pulling up a sensor feed rendered to video. Yeah, there's only one tall, muscular, huge-boobed woman with bright emerald skin and dark moss-colored long wavy hair walking the streets wearing a fashionable skirt suit and carrying a briefcase. Looks like she's on her way to court.\n\nYou steeple your fingers and consider. Your client is apparently very focused on the whole 'breaking' aspect... as long as She-Hulk winds up a quivering mass of green jello, her will shattered, he's apparently pretty open on the ways and means. So it's really a matter of deciding how best to handle it. \n\nYou could [[go right at her in broad daylight|KiSSH1x1]], basically challenging her to a fight and duking it out in grand superbattle style... very thrilling, lots of adrenaline pumping and buildup to the climactic moment where you rape her in front of everyone, you have a feeling that would earn you a pretty penny... and be quite fun too! \n\nThe other option would be to [[abduct her to the ship|KiSSH]]... here you could take your time toying with her, messing with her body, gradually breaking her down bit by bit, all within the privacy of your own vessel and able to take as much time as you liked. You're willing to bet a particularly long and thorough breaking would also appeal to the client.\n\nOr you could always [[impersonate someone she knows|KiSSH]], that's always a fun thing to do, especially with this sort of setup, it adds that extra sense of betrayal... especially since you never actually have to lift the disguise and can let her believe she was betrayed by a friend the entire time, if you like!

Red Legacy's blade swings around and down, the gun barrel extending just before you fire twice. The metal balls shoot directly down the opening of the cask, shattering on impact inside, the Ice Dust shot you loaded it with instantly interacting with both itself and the water, the cask cracking in several places as spikes of ice poke out here and there, Tanna giving the very barest amount of a frown as she looks at it.\n\n"Ha, GOTCHA!" Grey calls, having recovered and leapt forward to smash his fist against her crossed arms, clearly hoping to topple her. Then he blinks as her arm barely even flinches, raising his head slowly to see that little frown is now fixed squarely on him. "... Shit."\n\nA second later he's slamming into the opposite wall of the arena hard enough to create an impact dent in it, the depth of the Grey-shaped crater enough to keep him upright as his Aura crackles and fizzles. "I don't got 'er," he croaks.\n\n"Shit!" you blurt at the sight, Tanna's arm still held out casually in a fist, though she opens it as she turns, grabbing the cable of the heavy cement cask and lifting it almost effortlessly. Again. "... Right. Fuck. Saw her carry it in and didn't even think about it. My fault. I'm dumb," you say flatly, watching as she slings the frozen cask out on its cable, arms working almost lazily as she hauls it into a spin and starts whirling it slowly.\n\n"Oh dear~, looks like they've just realized it's not just Tanna's Sembla~nce that's powerful~!"\n\n"You've gotta be strong to survive in Vacuo! Even stronger carrying so much water around to give to people! That punch looked like it hurt!"\n\n"Ara ara~, she destroys something of mi~ne with it sometimes too~!"\n\n"I hate you."\n\n"I love you though please marry me!"\n\n"REESE NOT NOW!" you bark to the side, only to blurt "Fuck!" and duck under the ice-spiked cask as it's flung towards you in a long arc, Tanna yanking on the cable with her other hand to keep the weapon from smashing into the wall, going back to twirling it. You take a few deep breaths, then ready yourself. "Shit, here we go." So saying, you charge directly at Tanna. \n\nLike you were 'hoping', she whips the cask back hard directly behind her, almost letting it crash into the arena wall, then yanks hard forward, stepping aside to let it go hurtling right at you. This is the sort of crazy bullshit you'd normally leave to Ruby, but oh well, when in Remnant. You wait until the last possible moment to leap up in a twirl and land briefly right on the hurtling cask, snapping Red Legacy down and severing the cable before leaping off of it as it goes hurtling back and smashes into and halfway through the arena wall. You resume your charge towards Tanna, but at the last moment she twitches an ear and flits a hand towards you, a line of water smashing into Red Legacy and solidifying as it hits, the impact hard enough to knock it from your hands. Rather than checking your charge, you spin with the impact and turn it into a rising kick, smashing your foot across the side of her head and barely making her flinch at the impact.\n\nHer ears wiggle. But all she says is, "Ow." Then, "I surrender."\n\n"Uh?" You say with a blink, having settled into an unarmed fighting stance.\n\n"I don't like fighting. I want to have lunch and go back to my office for a nap."\n\n"... Ooookay," you say, standing up slowly as Grey finishes peeling himself out of the wall and limps over. "Fair enough. Thanks, I guess. ... Can I ask one last question?"\n\n"Certainly," Tanna says, back to her usual expressionless, completely monotone self. \n\n"Where the hell'd you get the water for that last move?"\n\nGrey had been glaring at the back of her head, but his eyes wander down because damn if the odd woman doesn't have a great body, even if he usually likes his girls a bit on the skinny side. Then be blinks, raising one hand and point-pointing a finger towards her rear. "Back here, I think."\n\n"Eh?" You blink, then stare as Tanna turns around to display a slightly plump round butt hugged by black spandex, with an empty hole in her shorts right over the cleft, showing just a bit of the top of it. "Wait. What?"\n\n"The Faunus body is made up of between 30% and almost 80% water, depending on the part. All I needed to do was figure out how to emulate the remaining percentage through solidity and textural changes to make a tail," Tanna informs you evenly.\n\n"... You are like... scary friggin' smart, y'know?" you mutter, shaking your head.\n\n"Thank you." Tanna regards you for a moment as she turns back around to face you. "I also use this ability to give myself grossly oversized male genitalia, including of various animal species, in order to please Kasumi." She tilts her head ever-so-slightly as you choke a bit. "That only seems a natural utilization of such an ability."\n\n"I love you please marry me!"\n\n"Not now Reese!" you and Grey both call towards the stands.\n\n"We would appreciate it if you did not spread around what you have learned here today," Tanna notes a bit later, once again wearing her suit as all of you settle down in the very nice cafeteria, several tables having been pushed into close proximity to each other to accommodate the group's size. Every so often Kasumi will look over at Oscar and wink, or make a little kiss, or whisper 'ara ara~', which makes him blush, and then Blake winds up hugging him protectively and hissing almost inaudibly at Kasumi, which just makes Oscar blush worse. "Both things about our Semblances, and our... little deception," she adds, giving her replaced tail another 'fwoo-oo-oo' fwip.\n\n"I mean, we know everyone assumes they're fake anyway," Gina adds, having reglued her false ears at some point. "But, y'know, assuming and knowing is different, and we've been doing this a long time."\n\n"For your leader's sake?" you ask, causing the three to exchange a glance.\n\n"It's okay, we understand," Ruby says gently. "It's because you didn't want her to feel alone and stand out, right?"\n\n"... Correct." Tanna nods once.\n\n"Bianca~'s very stro~ng," Kasumi coos, clicking her chopsticks together. "But sometimes the stro~ngest pe~ople need the most hel~p. In little wa~ys."\n\nBlake looks up from where she'd been foodgasming over the fish ramen the cafeteria serves. "So tha'sh her name?" She blushes at her own rudeness, swallowing hard before saying, "Bianca?"\n\n"Mm-hm," Gina says, glancing at the others, before saying a little guardedly, "Bianca Snow."\n\n"She's a Snow?!" Weiss blurts, only to go red in the face as heads snap to look at her. "N-no, honestly, I didn't mean it like that, it's just surprising! I mean, not surprising that she could, I... Blake, help?" she whines.\n\n"What Weiss means... and honestly, this is what she means," the feline Faunus assures the trio as she looks back to them. "Is that it's shocking, because Bianca must have had to work extremely hard to rise to that challenge. So few Snows are able to overcome starting with so little and rise to having so much, especially all of it made by their own hands."\n\n"Yes, thank you," Weiss says, smiling a little wanly.\n\n"Huh. Not often you hear about a famous poor family," you murmur.\n\n"'Snow' isn't really a family name," Ilia explains to you quietly. "It's a thing in Mantle. Orphans who are abandoned without anyone knowing where they came from don't have anyone to give them a family name, but the Atlesian-Mantellian government computer system still needs a surname for registration so people can get funding for those orphans, and later so those orphans can get whatever meager benefits are currently being dished out. Somewhere along the way orphanages just started using 'Snow' as the default surname for children that came in without lineage. Obviously most Snows take the name of their spouse if they have one, so Bianca's either an abandoned orphan, the daughter of two abandoned orphans, or..." She trails off, obviously not wanting to say the third option.\n\nThe illegitimate child of an abandoned orphan.\n\n"I can't imagine how hard it must have been for her to get the money together for combat school, or for the things she needed to attend Atlas Academy," Weiss says softly, laying her hands on the table, obviously feeling bad about her earlier decrying of the RDC.\n\n"No," Tanna says simply. "You cannot." She blinks slowly Weiss droops and several of you glare at her. "Pardon. I actually did not mean that as a sleight against you, Weiss. I merely mean that Bianca's circumstances are... unique... and her hardships may not be quite those that you're thinking of." \n\n"She can tell you more, when you see her," Gina adds. "The journey by ocean will take about four days, maybe three if there's not a Grimm attack."\n\n"I've hired you as guar~ds, on one of our cargo~ boats," Kasumi says, hiding a smile behind her sleeve. "A little unusual to have so many~, but the Grimm have been getting uppity lately~, ri~ght?"\n\n"In any event, all three of us have work to do, and I am going to take a nap as well, so feel free to finish your meals or order anything else you like," Tanna adds as she rises, the other two doing the same. "Please report here at 0630 tomorrow, so that Kasumi may provide you the docking details of your ship."\n\n"Thanks, all of you," Qrow says with a nod. "You're helping more people than you know."\n\n"I certainly hope so," Tanna replies. \n\nA bit later, as your group is leaving, there's a soft call of "Ma'am?" Turning, you spot the smallish woman with the dark purple hair and tan skin, her feline ears giving a small flick as she looks at all of you from behind her glasses. "You said you were at the Battle of Beacon?"\n\n"Yeah," Ruby says quietly, glancing around. "A lot of us were."\n\n"... I was wondering," the small Faunus says slowly. "About one particular Huntress student."\n\n"I saw."\n\nHeads turn to look at Weiss as she steps forward, her face solemn. "I saw it happen. I was in the midst of another fight, and I couldn't do anything to stop it. I'm sorry." She takes a breath and squares her shoulders. "But I want you to know, May never gave in to fear or despair. She fought to the last trying to save her team, and she's probably the only reason even one member of Team BRNZ survived. She stood brave until the last... a paragon of virtue and glory."\n\nThe small woman stares at Weiss for long moments, not saying anything. Then she nods once, says "Thank you" with an even voice, then turns and walks away.\n\n"... That's it?" you whisper softly, watching her go, having been able to piece together the meaning of all that was said easily enough. "That's... all she has to say?"\n\n"She's Vacuan," Jaune says simply, and quietly. \n\n"Even more than in most kingdoms, Vacuo is a place where death is an everyday occurrence," Qrow says, his usual rasp sounding tired. "Grimm, natural wildlife, sinkholes, sandstorms, bandits... by the time they're adults, death starts losing a little of its fear for most Vacuans... theirs or others. She's had almost a year now to make her peace with her daughter being dead. ... She just wanted to know she died well."\n\n"I'm not sure if there is a way to die well," Ruby murmurs quietly enough you don't think anyone was supposed to hear it, before she turns and walks on.\n\nLess than twenty-four hours later, you're leaning on the railing of a ship, staring out at the water, sighing. "Ugh."\n\n"Seasick?" Qrow asks, leaning back and puffing on one of your smokes, which he insists he hates but continues to ask you for instead of buying his own.\n\n"Not really, just this is my second time on a crossing like this and my brain doesn't know what to do with this view," you admit with a sigh, tilting your head and frowning out at the endless rippling.\n\n"No oceans on Makarzia, huh?"\n\n"Noh-puh," you answer, popping your lips. "Though there's an urban legend of a river of jizz running under one of the sin districts."\n\nQrow coughs on his cigarette, gives you a brief look, then snorts and shakes his head. Then his expression goes serious. "So. I'm thinking you probably have as bad a feeling about this upcoming match between Weiss and Bianca as I do."\n\n"Yuh-pah," you respond, popping your lips again.\n\n"You said you couldn't get anything off of Tanna at first, but seemed like you clued in to her at some point."\n\n"Yeah, her body language and microexpressions weren't telling me anything because she basically doesn't have any. But I followed her pattern of speech and I was able to pick stuff out eventually. That thing she said about being assured that Weiss wouldn't be hurt..."\n\n"Yeah, same thought, she asked for that assurance. When we walked in there she didn't like Weiss, but look at her record, Tanna's not gonna let an eighteen-year-old kid get hurt or killed because of something she did. Which doesn't necessarily mean Bianca has a high enough level of animosity towards the Schnees that she'd try to kill one..."\n\n"But it's high enough that her teammates think she might."\n\n"Yeah. I'm not liking it. ... This thing is ninety-nine percent computer operated," Qrow notes with a glance towards the wheelhouse. "Be reeeeal easy to have Reese take it over and divert it somewhere else in Mantle."\n\n"I dunno." You frown a bit. "There's something else about her saying that."\n\n"Oh?"\n\n"Yeah, remember, she didn't say she asked for assurance, she said that she'd been given it." You straighten up and turn towards him. "Our whole profile of Team SNYW is one of unity and cohesion. We know Bianca's the head of all that, but you don't maintain a childish charade like fake ears and tails for fifteen years after leaving school if all of the trust and love is one-way."\n\n"Meaning that you think if Bianca gave Tanna her word she wouldn't injure Weiss... at least beyond what we went through in those sparring matches," he grunts, rubbing his side a bit again. "She wouldn't break it, no matter how much she hated the Schnees."\n\n"Yeah. It would be a betrayal of the trust that's held them together for going on twenty years now. Like you said, Tanna would never condone someone hurting Weiss, and if that someone was her leader, her friend, her sister, who had already specifically promised her it wouldn't happen..."\n\n"It'd tear their family apart," Qrow grunts, flicking the butt of the cigarette into the water. He turns to lean on the railing himself, then shakes his head. "I dunno, kid, I've seen some people willing to tear their families apart at the drop of a hat for revenge. It's a powerful, heady thing. Bianca may have been content for a long time with just living with whatever hate is in her heart specifically because she knew it wasn't feasible to go at the Schnees directly. Put one right in front of her, both of 'em with weapons in their hands... ... you're basically gambling Weiss's life that Team SNYW is more important to her than revenge. You willing to do that?"\n\n<hr>\n[[Yes.|KaiRem10x7]]\n\n[[... Maybe not.|KaiRem]]

"I think if I wanna believe in what I and my team, all our teams, have together then I have to believe in what we see in Team SNYW," you say finally. "More than that, I think we should believe in Weiss. She agreed to this, she's strong and capable, I won't shame her by acting like she'd do any less for this mission than the rest of us would."\n\n"Mm." Qrow looks aside at you, then grins teasingly. "Almost sounds like you got a little crush on Weiss, kid."\n\nYou can't help but laugh a little, even as you grin back at him and then say, "Maybe." At his slightly shocked look, you shrug and look back out at the ocean. "Kinda seems like I've got a crush on someone different every day, sometimes. I... look at what Yang and Blake are trying to build back up, or the way Jaune and Ruby look into each other's eyes that I don't think even they notice, and I... want that. ... But..."\n\n"... But you feel like that's never gonna be you," Qrow says, not looking away from the water himself. "Because even if you fell in love, no one would ever be able to love someone like you back."\n\n"Yeah," you whisper, closing your eyes for a few moments.\n\n"Yeah. I know that feeling. I've felt that way most of my life. Me, just a nobody from beyond the kingdoms, former bandit, crappy detrimental Semblance, and thanks to the rest, drunk," he adds. "Until recently-"\n\n"You stopped drinking?" you interrupt, grinning and glancing over.\n\nQrow snorts. "Yeah. Because of this other thing. Some crazy redheaded chick waltzes into my life and somehow doesn't give a crap about any of that. For some damn reason, this weirdo decides she's gonna start giving out love to everyone she thinks deserves it like candy at Halloween. That there's even a place in her heart for me. Pretty damn big place, turns out." He turns and leans back on the railing instead, looking up at the sky as you stare at him. "Seems I go out and have fun with her, and we laugh at the same stupid crap, and I teach her things and tell her stories, and because I make her feel safe even surrounded by Grimm she doesn't care about all the rest and decides I'm her dad of all things. So I start looking at this and thinking... you know what? Maybe it shouldn't be just my choice. Maybe as long as I'm honest about who I am, what I do, what the risks are... maybe it's other peoples' choice whether they want to have me in their lives. However that is. ... So... maybe fallin' in love and havin' someone fall back will actually happen for me someday. Heh... moony-eyed crap for a dusty old crow, but there it is."\n\n"... Dad..." you whisper, swallowing.\n\nHe pushes himself up, turns towards you a bit without quite looking at you and thumps a hand down on your shoulder. "Listen. I'm not saying run right out and make a confession to your crush of the day... but don't wait another ten or fifteen or twenty years to start realizing that if you're in love with someone, it's up to them whether or not they love you back, not you." He pats your shoulder again, then lifts the hand and raises three fingers. "Dad lesson number three." Then he ambles off down the deck, leaving you with way more to chew on than a lime cigarette.\n\nLuckily the only Grimm you run into are relatively small sharklike ones about six or seven feet long, capable of being driven off by lightning Dust cannisters fired from Magnhild. Eventually the distance ahead darkens with the outline of land... and rising above it a massive floating island, gleaming with lights and draped with dark umbilical lines, surrounded by dark shapes like still, hovering wasps in the early evening sky.\n\n"Got a decent pair of binocs?" Qrow grunts to you as he scowls up at those dots. You fish out a visual scanner and pass it to him, Qrow spending a moment poking at the unfamiliar device before putting the viewer to his eyes and taking a look. "... Hnh. That's the entire Atlas air fleet. Probably all the new ones they've been working on since the Fall, too. Yeah... there's the flagship Beacon's Vengeance right up there at the head," he adds as he taps a control to adjust. "Heard he was making it, but to have completed it and at least three others..."\n\n"The entire fleet?" Weiss says, blinking and glancing over at him. "I'd heard they'd called everyone back, but you're saying it's all deployed?"\n\n"Yeah, looks like. And pretty aggressively too, though I can't tell quite the extent of it from this angle." Qrow frowns as he lowers the viewer, then passes it back to you. You spend a moment skimming as well, picking out the ones he's talking about, that are sort of both angular and with no hard edges at all and a whole different configuration to their hover fins. \n\nYou blink as you zoom in on the side of one, then decide to keep what you saw to yourself as you quickly but casually slip the viewer back into your pocket, face becoming a mask. You're really not sure how Jaune, Ren, and Nora would feel about the fact that among all those ships poised like they're ready to invade the rest of the world on a moment's notice, the Nikos is obviously leading a wing.\n\n"It looks... different... approaching it from this angle," Weiss comments, hugging herself slightly as she gazes up, Atlas more looming above you the closer the ship draws to harbor, its underside a darkness against the stars that are starting to shine as the sun fades away for the night. "... I didn't want to go back there, but at least I could always look forward to its beauty."\n\n"Atlas was supposed to be a symbol of hope and prosperity for all the kingdoms, a shining city in the sky, a wonder of technology," Blake says quietly, leaning on the railing and looking up at it. "And for a lot of people, including in Mantle, it still is. And undeniably, Atlas makes the quality of life there better, in the end," she admits with a small shake of the head, ears folding. "Without Atlas regulating the temperature, thousands of people, maybe tens of thousands, would die of the cold every year as much as they'd die of Grimm attacks. ... But, once you lose faith in what the symbol of Atlas means... ... it feels like it's just a big rock floating over your head and blocking out the stars."\n\n"Alright, let's set this stuff aside for now and focus on what matters," Qrow says as the ship draws into its dock, automated locking mechanisms swinging out to join into place with their counterparts from the ship.\n\n"Right, my 'mock combat' that may or may not just be mocking or may or may not just be combat," Weiss mutters as she makes her way to the ramp that extends between the ship and the dock.\n\nA handful of people in utilitarian black armor but just wearing fur-lined hats is waiting for you at the end of the dock, their armor looking a lot like a more fully-covering, thicker-clothed version of Gina's. "Welcome to Mantle," one of them says, managing to sound like he actually means it as he turns and gestures. "Miss Snow knows you've just finished your journey, but she'd like to go ahead and complete the arrangement now."\n\n"Fine, fine," Qrow says with a roll of the eyes, obviously trying to be a tough guy and look entirely unaffected by the cold, despite the dock being well outside Atlas's weather regulation and thus snow is steadily coming down. "So where's this match gonna be?"\n\n"That staging area has been cleared for it," the guard says, turning and gesturing to a high-walled building nearby with a fairly short road leading from the dock up to it. "Once you get inside, if the rest of your group will follow the yellow line while Miss Schnee follows the blue, you'll all be able to get settled. Miss Snow will be along presently."\n\n"Weiss?" you ask, catching up to her as all of you start trudging up the hill. "I know you can do this, but are you sure you want to do this?"\n\n"Yeah, I don't like going back on my word, but we can still work something else out if you're not sure," Ruby adds.\n\n"No. By now I want to see what this is all about," Weiss says with a frown. "I want to see why this woman feels the need to stand face to face with me and have a fight. If she just wants a Schnee to beat up, then I'm going to show her it's not as easy as she thinks it is. But... if it's something I can help her settle for herself and be at peace with... then I want to do that too."\n\n'It really doesn't help my crush when you say shit like that,' you think even as you grin fondly and pat Weiss on the back, unable to think that Ruby looks like she might be having the exact same thought.\n\nOnce inside, there are in fact two lines looking freshly-painted on the floor, a yellow one leading up some stairs and a white one ahead. With a last nod to all of you, Weiss marches off down the hall with her chin high. The rest of you make your way up the stairs, and into a large, long, fairly empty room save for two rows of folding chairs, obviously some sort of observation deck that's been repurposed as a skybox, looking down on the area below. It's wide open, much larger and emptier than the arena back at RDC's Argus office. Probably normally filled with cargo containers, it's empty now save for a fine coating of snow and Weiss Schnee, standing there waiting, seemingly unaffected by the cold or the drifting flakes brushing across her hair and shoulders. The windows are obviously some sort of screen as well, a side-set window open showing a zoom-in on Weiss's face.\n\nEven as all of you are taking up positions to watch, one of the cargo loading doors across the other side of the arena opens, preceding the entry of another person, another window popping up to show the focus as she strides smoothly through the snow as if it weren't there.\n\n"She's... beautiful," Blake can't help but murmur, blinking.\n\nYou'd imagine Yang might get jealous at that, but from the look on her face she's thinking the same thing. Bianca Snow, like her teammates, seems roughly of an age with Qrow, but her skin is perfect, smooth and pale and almost white, matching the almost fluffy whiteness of her hair where it drifts past her shoulders and frames her delicate face. A pair of slightly rounded feline ears slip up naturally from amongst it, tipped and rimmed with dark grey and soft white fluff inside that melds with her hair. Her eyes are a fierce, rich blue color, a slightly feline set to them despite obviously not being one of her Faunus features. She's overall fairly sleek, not large of breast or hip but with an almost perfect curve of both. She's wearing something that looks almost military, a black jacket and what looks almost like a short skirt, the back of the former draping in shortish tails around her actual tail, which is long and thick and fluffy, pale creamy white patterned with thin rings on either side that almost form stripes. The tall black boots sheathing her legs move with supple fit, almost like a second skin, one hand resting on the sheathed blade at her side, a curved one by the look of it.\n\nBianca draws up on the other side of the open area, one feline ear giving a small flick as a snowflake lands on it. "Miss Schnee."\n\n"Miss Snow," Weiss says in a dubious but still mostly respectful tone, nodding once, their voices emenating from speakers at the edges of the skybox.\n\n"Thank you for being here today. I hope you're not too tired after your journey to indulge my request," Bianca continues, still with cool politeness and little else.\n\n"I'm not. But I honestly don't understand your request," Weiss adds, frowning a little. "I know you probably have plenty of reasons to hate my family's company, but I'm not them. I've been disinherited, I've walked away from it all... you're not going to hurt my father by this."\n\nBianca is silent for a long moment, her face almost unreadable, but you can tell it's the truth by the slight anger underlying her now chilly voice as she says, "This isn't about your father. Let's just say... I have something to prove."\n\nWeiss purses her lips slightly. "To me? Or to yourself?"\n\nFor the first time Bianca smiles, though there's no humor or joy in it, showing off slightly sharp canine teeth as she says, "Yes."\n\n"... Fine then." Weiss draws Myrtenaster, drawing herself up straight and angling it up across her face in salute. "Let's do this, since you seem so determined."\n\nBianca nods, drawing her own sword, a long, slender, single-edged thing with a curved edge and a straight back, a single sharp point extending down over her top finger and jutting in front of her second one, the blade dappled and shining like a frozen river. She returns the gesture, both of them standing, staring, waiting. \n\n[[Music|https://youtu.be/eG5zbUFZ6Cc]]\n\nWeiss is the first one to make a move, practically flying over the snow towards her opponent, covering the ground fast despite the terrain, her boots designed for icy surfaces. Bianca whirls and puts the motion of her body into blocking Myrtenaster with the thin claw of a sword. In fact, a window pops up to better show the clash between them, identifying both Weiss's weapon, her name, and her vital statistics, while her opponent is simply listed as 'Bianca Snow', her weapon as 'Long Claw'. Weiss darts and weaves, engaging Bianca at the edge of her range, knowing that the taller woman will have a better reach with both arm and sword and keeping herself nimble, testing her opponent's defense with quick jabs and short sweeps. Bianca blocks each one with minimal motions of Long Claw, her hand holding the sheath tucked behind her back, making not a single unnecessary motion as Weiss dances about her, every single step and flick of a sword on the older Huntress's part the exact one she needs to block Weiss just so.\n\n"This is bad," Jaune murmurs as the first minute of the fight goes by, blue eyes flicking from screen to screen to the actual view of the fight below, following Bianca's perfect defense.\n\n"It's fine, it's fine, Weiss is just testing her," Ruby assures him, despite her own slightly worried grin.\n\n"She's not," Qrow says sourly, jaw clenching a little. "Weiss started fighting seriously twenty seconds ago."\n\nIndeed you saw it too, Weiss's switch from light probing motions to putting her body into them, daring darts forward in thrusts and having to whirl away and block herself when Bianca finally takes the chance to retaliate, sweeping Long Claw down towards her back and making Weiss whirl herself through the air to the side, landing on the ball of one foot and swinging the other up for balance as she forces Bianca back with a jab, then swings her leg down and pirhouettes upright, blocking Bianca's pair of quick side-slashes with snaps of her wrist, Myrtenaster and Long Claw ringing together in a beautiful symphony of war.\n\n"Oscar," Qrow prompts.\n\n"I'm not seeing any indications of Bianca's Semblance," the boy says in a slightly strained voice after another few seconds, the sonorous bells of Long Claw and Myrtenaster clashing over and over again. "Maybe she's saving it, maybe it's a 'finisher' Semblance, but so far I'm not seeing anything."\n\n"It's hard to tell from this far away, but her Aura seems steady, she's not building anything up with the strikes, I don't think," Ren adds, his pink eyes narrowed as he follows the motions, Weiss ever more elegant but more pressed, Bianca ever more minimalist but aggressive.\n\n"Kai," Qrow grunts without taking his own eyes off the fight.\n\n"No, she's closed off," you murmur immediately since you were waiting for it, shaking your head a little, just as transfixed on Weiss whirling in an airborne pirhouette and landing to sweep Myrtenaster from the side, Bianca snapping Long Claw to point downward to block with its flat, still not having moved her sheath-holding hand from her back. "She's guarded as hell, she's not just being efficient she's not giving anything away by moving as little as possible. Plus Weiss is in trouble, she's used to the advantage she gets from fighting right-handed opponents, another lefty is throwing her off a little."\n\n"C'mon Weiss, you can do it," Ruby whispers to the window.\n\nBut Weiss is being pressed more in the physical combat by the moment, and finally she backflips away, forming a white rune circle to land on and flip off of again, landing in a light crouch and rising back up to stand tall. She gestures with two fingers, Myrtenaster's cylinder turning and locking into place as she summons up a quartet of whirling snowflake-filled circles behind her, obviously starting to charge them with the force Dust she uses to create missiles.\n\nBianca rises up from the light crouch she'd been in from sweeping her sword at Weiss as she leapt to distance, staring at her for just a moment, face blank. Then she sweeps Long Claw out to the side, brings it in a slow quarter-circle through the air matched by a mirrored turn from the sheath, and brings the base of one to touch down the opening of the other.\n\nAnd four whirling snowflake-filled circles appear behind her.\n\n"WHAT?!" Ruby yelps. \n\n"That's not possible!" Blake blurts out as down on the field, Weiss's mouth opens in an expression of utter and complete shock.\n\nAmidst the tumult, you can hear Qrow whisper, something almost sad and disappointed in his rasp of a voice as he says, "Oh, Nick, I thought you were better than that."\n\nThen Bianca smoothly inverts the positions of her sword and sheath, the whirling run circles behind her spinning off an identical pair to the side, then those spawning another copy.\n\n"She's trying to kill her!" Ruby screams.\n\nBlake darts to the door and yanks on it, whipping back with wide eyes. "They're locked!"\n\n"STEP BACK!" Yang calls, drawing back her fist to smash it into the window.\n\n"Wait!" you snap, eyes not having left the scene below, your voice just enough to halt Yang's punch with surprise. \n\nA flurry of translucent white missiles flings from Bianca's rune circles and streaks through the air, whirling and spiraling through the air towards the shocked Weiss, kicking up a stream of misted snow into the air until they impact. Most of the area of the arena almost disappears in geysers of snow, a thick wall of it shooting up into the air and obscuring everything there.\n\n"What've you done?" Yang whispers, turning to look at you.\n\nBut you don't take your eyes off the image of Bianca's face. "She's still got something to say. She wouldn't kill Weiss before she gets a chance to say it."\n\nIndeed, Bianca curls her sword through the air, collapsing the swirling circles behind her back into each other, and then with a flick of the blade dismisses them as she starts striding forward towards the still slowly settling snow cloud.\n\n"I didn't have anyone to teach me to use this Semblance. I didn't have tutors, for that or for combat, or for academics. I couldn't even use it in public. I had to do it all on my own," she declares. "Practicing with it in secret, learning how it worked, how to focus it, how to channel it, with meager amounts of Dust that were barely enough to light a lamp or work a toaster. And I know, because I pulled those lamps and toasters out of the trash and I pried them open for their lingering traces Dust, so that I wouldn't give the SDC a single lien. I had to learn to be strong without being part of the Schnee family."\n\nThen her eyes widen just a little as the cloud settles enough to reveal the massive whirling shield circle, still in place, perfectly angled to intercept every blast that would have actually struck Weiss, who stands there, dirtied by the backblast but whole, her own ice blue eyes narrowed.\n\n"Lady, if you think you're stronger for not having to put up with my family, that just shows that you have no idea what being a Schnee is really like."\n\nBianca actually scowls a bit now. "You think your family's made you stronger?"\n\nWeiss, despite her slightly tattered dress, the dirt streaked across her face and caked in her hair, carefully resumes her dignified stance, directing Myrtenaster forward again as she withdraws the shield circle. "Surviving them made me stronger."\n\nThe white-haired Faunus has finally started to look a bit angry, but she's keeping a lid on it, her movements still minimalist and precise as she snaps Long Claw out to the side, a whirling circle of four skulls with angled tusks pointed out appearing whirling to the side of her, and from it racing a trio of glowing white felinoid Grimm, their tusks engraved with snowflake runes and luminous manes streaming from behind their heads. Weiss instantly twirls and angles Myrtenaster back and down, summoning a circle on the ground from which leaps a towering porcine Grimm with long curled tusks, giving a long but somehow melodious shriek before it stampedes forward, smashing the first of the enemy summons aside with a hard sweep of its tusks, bearing the leap of the next and swinging its head hard to smash it down. As if on cue, Weiss and Bianca both propel themselves forward with acceleration circles, Weiss gracefully running up the back of her summon and Bianca springboarding off the back of hers right before the two come to their clash, dissipating even as Myrtenaster and Long Claw ring together again. \n\nNow the two clash in midair, Weiss's graceful pirhouettes and twirls carrying her from one platform rune to another, Bianca's efficient, no-movement-wasted leaps letting her do the same, each time blades crashing melodiously together until it becomes nearly impossible to tell which of them is using whose runes. Finally they stand in midair, both of them striking an almost identical pose with swords pointed down, out, and to the side, their other hands behind their back.\n\n"You have made me," Bianca says, voice cold again. "A little angry."\n\n"You're not angry at me!" Weiss snaps back, some outrage entering her own tone. "You're angry at yourself!"\n\nBianca's eyes narrow, and her lips thin. She says nothing.\n\nBut it seems Weiss has more to say. "You watched me walk away from the company. The money. The life. The fame. You watched me cast it all aside because I valued my integrity more. But you." Weiss's eyes narrow a bit more with each word. "Took. The. Money."\n\nThe Faunus woman's eyes flash and her lips pull back from her teeth. Then she angles her rune and changes it to a launch circle, flinging herself at the human woman with murder in her eyes.\n\nBut Weiss doesn't flinch at the charge, changing the tint of her circle to black and angling it backwards, using Reese's hoverboard lessons to backflip out of the way of the charge while keeping herself anchored. Bianca creates a black circle of her own to land on, then propels herself back at her opponent, this time their clash faster, more frenetic as they curl and arc through the air, twisting horizontal or angling in at sharp degrees to one another as they try to force an opening, catch their opponent being too slow to adjust, less talented with the family Semblance.\n\n"Admit it!" Weiss snaps, her own eyes flashing as she guides the fight back towards the ground, suddenly dispersing her circle and dropping below Bianca's slash to land lightly and somersault away from the follow-up drop-cut, pirhouetting back to meet Long Claw on her weapon again. "My father's PR team came to you or your mother! Said if you'd agree to never seek acknowledgement, never use your Semblance in public, they'd pay for you to go to combat school! For the equipment and expenses necessary to attend Atlas!"\n\n"Be quiet," Bianca hisses, her ears laying low as she starts pressing her attacks harder, motions becoming less efficient, less measured.\n\n"And you took it! Is that where the startup capital for RDC came from too?! My father's hush money?!"\n\n"I said shut up!" the Faunus woman almost roars, swiping her sword at Weiss's face, checking it before it actually clangs against Myrtenaster's block as she whirls and springs back inside. She straightens, clearly pulling back on the somewhat tattered shreds of her icy composure as she brings her sheath up to touch to the back of Long Claw's grip, closing her eyes as clock-faced circles appear whirling in the air around her, her body beginning to take on a faint purple glow. Weiss instantly snaps up into a near-identical pose with Myrtenaster, two fingers pressed between two of the secondary blades ringing its hilt, the cylinder clicking before similar clockface runes surround her. The cavernous open-topped arena fills with the sound of two sets of bells clanging as if to announce the hour... one deep, rich, and solemn, the other clear, bright, and melodious. And then the two are blurring at each other so fast they send up wakes of snowdrift in their path, the rush of flying snow almost the only way to follow the sped-up combatants. The sonorous crashes of dappled steel on pure actually overlap now as the two become whirling blurs across the white of the snowy arena, largely only visible for the brief pauses after the impacts of their swords against each other. \n\nBoth of them almost stumble as they come out of time acceleration, their Auras obviously on the verge of depletion, but Bianca rallies, steadies, and leaps forward lightly, clearly intending to end it all with one last full-strength blow.\n\nAnd Weiss's right palm thumps her in the chin.\n\nHard.\n\n"That's my girl, never a closed fist," you murmur with a smirk.\n\nBianca seems as struck by surprise at the direct, blunt bare-handed attack as she does by the force of the blow herself, but either way she winds up toppling over onto her back in the snow, pale white aura crackling. Weiss actually gives a little twirl as she comes in close, Myrtenaster's point gracefully aiming itself about two inches from Bianca's throat.\n\nBut the white-haired Faunus doesn't look at the sword. She just stares up at Weiss. And finally she says, simply, "I surrender," simultaneously thumbing something on her sheath. You can hear the audible clicks of the doors unlocking, and immediately Blake yanks one of them open and rushes down the stairs, followed closely by Yang, Ruby, and the rest of you. Pelting down the stairs and out on the field, you manage to outpace some of the others just through a bit greater experience on snowy terrain, drawing close as Weiss steps back and swings her weapon away, Bianca rising to her feet.\n\n<hr>\n[[Hit her.|KaiRem]]\n\n[["Feel better now?"|KaiRem]]

Gritting your teeth and forcing yourself to stay still and watch for at least a sign of a weapon, you watch as Tanna reaches inside her jacket and withdraws... a lollipop? It looks like one of those that's made of churned and pressed maple syrup or something, a creamy pale brown and glittery on the outside. She solemnly unwraps it, nips the tip of the point off, then regards the mildly scowling Qrow and Weiss standing with eyes slightly downcast.\n\n"... I apologize." Her voice is just as flat and monotone as ever, but she gives the ever-so-slightest nod as she says it, and some of the tension eases out of your shoulders as you read it as sincerity. "That was uncalled-for. You were attempting to be polite and I was not. Typically I allow someone else to be rude first."\n\nWeiss apparently can't help but frown at that. "You've been rude to me plenty of ti-" Then she cuts off, eyes flitting back and forth, before her shoulders and head slump a little. "... Oh." Sighing softly, she straightens up. "I'm sorry about before. Honestly. But we really could use your help, if you're willing."\n\n"I see." Tanna turns her head back to Qrow. "And what can the RDC assist you with?"\n\n"I'm afraid I can't give you the details of our mission, since it's top secret," Qrow says, obviously suppressing his own sigh since he clearly knows that's not likely to go over well. "But we need you to take us to one of your facilities in Mantle, if at all possible."\n\n"I take it you mean you wish us to smuggle you past the blockade," Tanna replies emotionlessly. At Qrow's slight wince (echoed by most of the rest of you), she nods. "And you wish us to do so without knowing your mission or intentions, or even if your mission is sanctioned and official, or by what kingdom. Presumably."\n\n"Uh... well..." Qrow rubs the back of his neck, grinning sheepishly. "It's for a good cause?"\n\n"I see. Presumably you have an equally good argument for why I should believe this?" At Qrow's silence, Tanna's eyebrows raise the teeniest, tiniest bit. "I see."\n\n"Um, ma'am?" Ruby speaks up, raising a hand a bit as she steps forward. "My name's Ruby Rose. I... was at the Battle of Beacon," she says, and out of the corner of your eye you can see the small bodyguard's cat ears perk just slightly. "And the Battle of Haven. So were a lot of us," she adds, gesturing back to the rest of the group. "And I'm sorry that we can't tell you what our mission is, but... I can tell you that we're trying to keep something like that from happening again. Now, I think you're a good person," she continues, staring intently with those pretty silver eyes. "I don't think you make such good weapon parts or sell your Dust for such competitive prices just because it makes you money, or even because it lets you compete with the SDC... I think that's your way of helping people. You've empowered a lot of Huntresses and Huntsmen that way, and your quality control makes sure their weapons don't fail on them. And you've paid for a lot of young people, both human and Faunus, to go to combat school and the academies, so our world has more people to protect it. You didn't just sit back and stay neutral when the White Fang started hurting people, either, you came out and spoke against them, and I think that's because what they were doing is against how you look at the world. So I hope you'll trust me when I say, we're just trying to keep something like what happened at Beacon or what almost happened at Haven from happening again. We can't tell you why, and we can't tell you how... all I can do is ask you to believe us."\n\nTanna is silent for a good while after that, just staring at Ruby with those expressionless red eyes, before her gaze slowly pans over the rest of you. It lingers a bit longer on Weiss, before she looks at Qrow and gives a tiny nod. "I will need to discuss things with our CFO, as she is currently in Mantle." She turns and steps away, tossing the stick of her candy (when did she even finish it?) into an almost artfully-hidden trash can in passing and drawing out her scroll instead.\n\n"Good job, Ruby," you say quietly as you move to join them. You flick your eyes to Qrow, who's watching the tall, curvaceous woman speak. "That's about what we expected, huh?"\n\n"Yeah, she's seeing what 'S' has to say about it. I think Ruby got through to Tanna, but if Tanna can't convince her boss, it won't amount to much," Qrow grunts.\n\nAll of you are silent as you wait, watching. Eventually Tanna shuts the scroll and walks back over. "Our CFO has offered you a choice. You may either work guarding one of our cargo ships for two weeks, in which case at the end of that time you may be put off in Mantle, or you may satisfy certain conditions to assure us of your intentions and ability to do what you are promising. If you refuse or do not satisfy these conditions, you may still accept the previous offer. If you wish."\n\n"... Could we have a moment?" Qrow mutters.\n\n"Most certainly." Tanna snaps her fingers, and she and her bodyguards withdraw to stand near the elevator, giving you all at least some amount of privace as everyone huddles near the middle of the garden.\n\n"Oscar, what's Oz think of this?"\n\n"He thinks it'd be pretty bad to have to wait two weeks... but he doesn't necessarily think Salem's going to move immediately, especially now that she knows there's a piece on the field she doesn't know everything about," he adds, green-gold eyes flicking to you. "So since we don't have a lot of better options, he thinks we should see what the conditions are and either way, accept the RDC's help."\n\n"I agree," Ruby says with a bob of the head. "I wasn't kidding about anything I said. I don't know about her boss, but I think Tanna's a good person. She'll help us."\n\n"I agree too," Reese chimes in. "When you see as much tech as I do you get a feel for the people who make it. RDC's stuff says they give a-, ah, they care."\n\n"I'm not the best judge of people, but," Maria adds, rubbing her chin. "What the hell, at this point what do we have to lose?"\n\n"Alright. Everyone agreed?" Qrow glances around, collecting nods, then rises up and heads back over, Tanna moving to meet him. "Alright, what are the conditions?"\n\n"The first condition," Tanna says, completely unreadable as she walks past Qrow and to the Mantellian pear tree. She withdraws a small, obviously expensive pocket knife and reaches up to snip off one of the misshapen fruits, then turns with it in one hand and flips the knife to hold it by the blade in the other, moving to stand in front of Weiss. "Miss Schnee must eat this."\n\nBlake's ears lay low. "Hey."\n\n"Listen, enough with-!" Ilia starts to snap, only for both of them to quiet as Weiss raises a hand without looking away from Tanna's face.\n\n"It's fine," Weiss says simply, without hesitation accepting both items. With quick, elegant motions, she cuts slices out of the fruit as if it were an apple, delicately nipping pieces off of each one, thick, rough rind and all, chewing with no doubt book-perfect etiquette and swallowing. As the silence on the rooftop stretches, she continues to do so, seeming no more bothered than if she were eating an apple from any vendor street corner, not stopping until all that's left is the hard, inedible core dotted by a honeycomb of sharp-edged brown seeds.\n\n"I know who you think I am," Weiss says as she carefully fingers a handkerchief out of her sash, primly wiping the pocket knife blade clean. "And maybe that's who I used to be." Then she closes the knife, and proffers both it and the core to Tanna. "But that's not me anymore."\n\nTanna's face has gone back to being completely unreadable. You can't tell if she's impressed by Weiss's response, or if she never wanted to make Weiss do it in the first place. She just takes both the core and the knife, tossing the one into the trash and slipping the other back into her pocket.\n\n"You said 'conditions'," Qrow half-growls. "So what else?"\n\n"Since Miss Rose claims you are all attempting to prevent any more disasters at the academies, we feel it is only fair to see if you have the combat ability to back that up. So, we the leaders of the RDC would like to engage in mock combat with you. A series of matches against each of us. A four-on-one match against our head of logistics, a three-on-one match against our head of security, and a two-on-one match against myself."\n\n"And lemme guess. A one-on-one with your chief financial officer when we get to Mantle," you pipe up.\n\n"Correct, you have recognized the pattern."\n\n"Do I have to guess who she wants to fight?" you ask, narrowing your eyes.\n\n"Since you seem even moderately intelligent I can assume that you do not." Tanna turns her red gaze back to Weiss. "I have been assured, Miss Schnee, that she will not cause you any actual harm." Though her voice is as flat as ever, something about the particular phrasing and the choice to volunteer it says to you that Tanna probably had to be assured of that herself before she'd agree to it. You're finally starting to get enough info to get a read on her, which is a relief in more ways than one.\n\n"Weiss, are you sure about this?" Blake asks quietly, stepping in and resting a hand on her friend's shoulder.\n\n"... If she wants to try to kick my ass in return for us getting this done with, she's welcome to try," Weiss answers, raising her chin proudly. \n\n"Who has to fight the others of you?" you ask after a long look at Weiss, before looking at Tanna.\n\n"That is your choice. However, I would suggest you pick your fastest and most agile fighters for the first match, your best unarmed fighters for the second, and your strongest individual fighters for the match against me. I am a difficult opponent," she adds without a hint of ego or pride, just a simple, factual statement."\n\nYou quirk an eyebrow. "No offense, honest, but why would we take your advice on who to send against you?"\n\n"You are asking us to extend a great deal of trust to you. One would suppose that would require you extending a similar amount of trust to us. It is your choice, but my advice is practical. Kasumi's Semblance makes her incredibly agile on the battlefield... slower opponents will simply not be able to catch up with her. Gina, on the other hand, is incredibly hard on her opponents' weaponry... I would not wish you to be forced to continue with damaged or broken weapons. And I am a difficult opponent." She nods once. "When you have decided on your teams, please join us in the arena next door," she adds, gesturing to the dome-topped building, before turning and heading back into the elevator with her bodyguards.\n\n... Hunh. So... believe her about the teams?\n\n<hr>\n[[Psh no.|KaiRem]]\n\n[[... hmm.|KaiRem10x5]]

"Ruby," you say, turning to her. "You still think Tanna is on the up-and-up?"\n\n"Yes," she answers with hardly any hesitation, nodding once. "I think she's just being responsible since they're older and probably stronger than most of us."\n\n"I believe her too," Reese speaks up. "Mostly because of the part with warning us about Gina. Someone who designs weapon parts that good wouldn't want to damage Huntress weapons frivolously."\n\nYou nod slowly, then look at Qrow. "I guess we should believe her. Dad, thoughts?"\n\n"Gimme a minute." He frowns, rubbing his chin as he looks everyone over. He's quiet for a bit, then nods. "Okay. For the first fight, Ilia, Reese, Blake, Oscar, you're up."\n\n"Me?!" Oscar squeaks, eyes widening. "D-don't you mean Ruby, she's the fastest one!"\n\n"Yeah, over distance. This isn't Amity Arena, it's a straightforward red clay floor, practice match sized," Qrow notes with a glance to the side at the dome. "Over short distances you've still got better mobility and response time than almost anyone but Weiss and Ren, and I don't want Weiss to have to fight twice, even if there's a break in between," the older Huntsman adds, ignoring Oscar standing there with his jaw sagged. "Second match, we go in without weapons just in case. So..." He hesitates, then looks Yang right in the eyes before saying, "How's the arm?"\n\nYang blinks slowly, takes a breath, then nods. "Reese's juryrigging is holding, it's only a little twitchy sometimes, nothing that'll affect me fighting. Like Maria said, it's built to Huntress standards... between my Aura and Semblance, it should be fine."\n\n"Alright. Second fight." Qrow muses just a moment more before saying, "Me, Yang, Ren."\n\n"And against Tanna?"\n\n"Nnh. I'm tempted to send in Ruby, but this arena just does not favor her. It's not long enough for her to snipe, and we don't know Tanna's style. If she's a close-in fighter, Crescent Rose puts Ruby at a disadvantage if Tanna manages to close with her and get inside its reach. All she said is she's a difficult opponent, and we should send our two best one-on-one fighters."\n\n"Honestly I don't have that great of a record in one-on-ones," Ruby admits with a wince.\n\n"Okay, kiddo, what're your thoughts for the last fight?" Qrow prompts her.\n\n"Ummmm." Ruby cups her chin, looking around as well. "Assuming we don't want anyone to fight twice? I think... our best and most balanced individual fighters are probably Jaune, Kai, and Grey."\n\n"Mm. Jaune, what do you think?"\n\nYou can see Jaune's almost reflexive denial that he'd be an asset, but he pulls it back and makes himself consider. "Grey's got the most fighting experience of anyone here but Qrow... o-oh, and you ma'am," he adds to Maria, who just snorts quietly. "So he should probably be one. I'd be able to back him up with my shield and Semblance, but... I don't have any ranged capability at all, and I can't use Dust. Since she's such an unknown, we should go with versatility. Grey and Kai."\n\n"Okay, so our teams are, for the first fight, Ilia, Reese, Blake, Oscar. Second fight, Yang, Ren, and me. Third fight, Kai and Grey. Everyone okay with this? Any objections?" He glances around, then pats a hand on Oscar's shoulder. "You can do it."\n\n"You'll get it done, my guy," you add, grinning at Oscar. He makes a bit of a flustered farmboy noise and colors, but nods.\n\nAll of you head back downstairs, taking the elevator in turns this time, the secretary silently directing you to the door in the wall to the arena. After a long hallway, you emerge into the stands, looking down on the red clay arena. It's clearly designed for something like a four-on-four Huntress match, big enough that just about any attack style is feasible, but Qrow was right, it's not quite long enough to really favor ranged fighters, and Ruby's essentially long-to-mid. You can see a handful of what you assume are RDC employees scattered about the stands, obviously having heard that their bosses are going to put on a show. Standing in the middle of the arena is a pretty, refined-looking woman with long, straight black hair and large, vulpine ears jutting from the top of her head, the tips white, a matching tail emerging from the back of her kimono. The garb is pristine white, save for the trim and sash, which are rainbows. She smiles serenely, her eyes closed, a pair of what looks like sword-sized folding fans crossed at her back.\n\n"Good morning, everyone, and thank you for coming to this impromptu exhibition match. This is Tanna Yuuki, currently serving as announcer," the raccoon Faunus's flat voice declares from the loudspeakers. "Our first match will feature Kasumi Nijiko, RDC head of logistics, and my Huntress and life partner. Will the visiting team please take the field."\n\nReese glances around, then points towards a door in the barrier around the arena that says 'Fight participants only'. She, Ilia, Blake, and Oscar all head through it and down onto the field, treading across the hard-packed red clay, Oscar bringing up the rear and still looking deeply uncertain why he's there even as he extends Ozma's cane weapon.\n\n"Thank you. The fight will commence after the participants have had time to make introductions."\n\n"Hello~, everyone~," the fox Faunus chirps brightly, eyes still closed. "My name's Kasumi~, it's nice to meet you~. Let's have a good match, okay~?"\n\n"Nice to meet you too," Ilia replies, actually perking up a bit. "I'm Ilia Amitola."\n\n"Oo~, another rainbow~, how lovely~," Kasumi coos, raising one sleeve-covered hand to her mouth. "I'm so plea~sed!"\n\nWhile Ilia's spots are turning a bit pink, Blake steps in with a grin. "I'm Blake, that's Reese, this is Oscar," she says, seeming pleased to actually be able to have an amiable match with the leaders of a company she admires.\n\n"How lovely~! I like that we can all have a nice friendly ma~tch!" Kasumi bows to the four of them, then adds as she straightens, "I hope Tanna mentioned my Semblance~, I'm very hard to keep up wi~th!"\n\n"We've dealt with speed Semblances before, I think we can manage," Blake assures her with a grin as she draws Gambol Shroud.\n\nKasumi covers her mouth with her sleeve again to giggle. "Oh~, I don't know about tha~t! Well~, you'll see~! Though there i~s one other thing about i~t!" she adds as she reaches back towards the fans.\n\n"Uh, what's that?" Oscar asks with a blink.\n\nAs Kasumi draws the fans, she gives a roll of her shoulders... and her kimono drops to the floor, even as she spreads the fans open, perfectly and elegantly hiding all the 'important' bits of an obviously tall, sleek, luscious body with them as her eyes slit open just slightly in a flash of blue, that smile curling further up into something that's not mean, or cruel, but couldn't be called anything but wicked.\n\nOscar makes strangled noises as Blake blushes, Reese gives a brief wolf whistle, and Ilia turns pink from ponytail tip to toe. "That's not faaaair," the chameleon Faunus whines softly.\n\n"Begin," Tanna's voice announces, apparently completely unbothered by her girlfriend baring all in front of both their guests and employees. \n\n[[Music|https://youtu.be/hElHJTpbPPc]]\n\nKasumi instantly hurls herself up into a sideways spin while collapsing one of the fans down... and disappears in a pomf of brightly-colored smoke almost the moment her feet have left the ground, reappearing near-simultaneously in another pomf right in front of Blake, the collapsed fan swinging down on her like a club. Blake's eyes widen in shock, barely able to swing Gambol Shroud's sheath up in time to take the hit. Kasumi comes in at her swinging, her hands almost a blur as she switches off collapsing one fan and attacking with it and spreading the other to maintain her 'modesty', at least to her opponent, though even with a different vantage point she's moving so fast that there isn't much more than the impression of particularly perfect breasts and ass, white-tipped black tail flitting about with her motions. Then she wheels away from Blake and into the air, pomfing from space to space again and reappearing just above Reese, the green-haired Huntress yelping as she's kicked in the shoulder hard enough to knock her sprawling, Kasumi using the impact to launch herself into a backwards flip, pomfing from the air above Reese into in front of Ilia, the chameleon Faunus having at least prepped somewhat for it, but Lightning Lash not quite suitable for deflecting the rapidfire blows Kasumi can rain down on her, the fox Faunus dropping and sweeping Ilia's legs under her with one as she crouches, then launches herself at Oscar, already thrusting a collapsed fan forward as she pomfs in front of him, the attack striking his stomach and knocking him flying backward.\n\n"Dammit, she's a teleporter!" Qrow growls, slamming his hands down on the edge of the arena wall. "Kai, Ruby, Jaune!"\n\n"We're on it!" Jaune calls back, all three of you leaning forward over the railing a bit, eyes desperately searching the fox Faunus's movements for a pattern, a weakness, anything.\n\n"Blaaaake, front and centerrrr!" Ruby calls. "Ilia, Reese, try to disrupt the area around Blake! Oscar, fall back and try to figure her out!"\n\n"You li~ke i~t?" Kasumi coos, standing up on tiptoe of one bare foot, the other drawn up in a sultry pose, using both fans to cover herself again, her voice still sweet but having taken on a sultry, michievous lilt. Her smile grows if anything as Blake rushes forward with Ilia and Reese on her heels, Oscar having scrambled to his feet and hanging back, cane held up defensively. "I call~ i~t Puff! Puff! Pass!" she adds, dropping to the balls of both feet, then springing her legs out as one fan collapses, pomfing to just above Blake already swinging the collapsed fan down. Blake blocks with both Gambol Shroud's blade and sheath, before her image flickers and fades, the feline Faunus reappearing behind her opponent and swinging the heavy blade-sheath at her back. Kasumi makes as if to drop forward, then pomfs away several feet before bending her knees, pomfing behind Blake and returning the favor with a strike of a closed fan at her head. The impact makes Blake dissolve into a brief burst of fire, the white-coated Huntress reappearing to the side and taking a shot with Gambol Shroud's gun mode, only for Kasumi to have pomfed away several feet and coming out in a skid. She pomfs forward again in a leap, only to have a stroke of Lightning Lash intersect between herself and Blake, pomfing away again as a few shots from Lioncub almost strike home. From where she reappears, she braces her toes and then leaps forward again, pushing herself right up in Blake's face, the pair of them starting to engage in a high-speed flurry of teleporting jumps, twirling and striking, though Blake's clearly more on the defensive than Kasumi, no longer having time to ready any Dust to use with her Semblance.\n\n"Blake's burning through her Aura fast," Ruby says worriedly with a hurried glance at her scroll.\n\n"Nnnh, but is Kasumi?" Qrow grumbles, narrowing his eyes.\n\n"I don't think so," Ren answers with a little wince. "From what I can feel she's still almost as 'full' as she was when she started, whatever that Semblance is, she's trained it to be very efficient."\n\n"She has to prepare what she's gonna be doing doing when she comes out, that's obvious," Jaune mutters, squinting. "Even without it she's fast so it's hard to see, but she's getting her attack ready before she jumps, the middle part just happens... between."\n\n"... Between?" You blink, recalling, then lean forward and call, "Guys! She called it Puff Puff Pass! There's a middle point!"\n\n"What?!" Oscar blurts, looking at you, then snapping his gaze back to the fight, green-gold eyes trying to follow the rapid-fire motion of the teleport-jumps and Reese and Ilia attempting to harry her around the edges. His head moves back and forth, tracking, then he calls, "I've got it! ... Uh-oh," he whimpers as Kasumi lands from her latest exchange with Blake, twists the ball of her foot and turns her body, launching herself off the ground at him, pomfing and reappearing partly there and landing on both feet, crouching and leaping, pomfing in front of him and swinging a fan down. He blocks desperately with his cane, swinging almost wildly as Kasumi surrounds him with a quick flurry of strikes and short pomfs.\n\n"Nah-ah~, nah-ah~, no telli~ng!"\n\n"Gaaaah!" Oscar yowls, looking more and more desperate as it's obviously all he can do to block the rapid-fire rain of strikes and the sensory overload of Kasumi seemingly being everywhere around him at once. Then Lightning Lash snaps through the air, passing dangerously close to his face, but coming even closer to skittering across Kasumi's bare back, the fox Faunus giving an almost delighted-sounding little squeal of surprise and pomfing a short distance away. Oscar turns and scrambles back over to rejoin Blake, ducking half-behind her. "She's not teleporting, not like we think she is! Gyerk!" He has to drop back as Kasumi flings herself back at all of them with another pomf, clearly not fooling around now as she whirls and smacks Blake out of the way with both fans, only a whirl of her long black hair preserving her technical modesty. "She can only go where her movements would take her but she still crosses thGMMMFF!"\n\n"Now now~, I sai~d, no telli~ng," Kasumi coos, having whipped both hands behind his head and hauled him forward, pressing his face between her full breasts and muffling him. "Be a good boy~ and oop!" she flings herself back from him as a scowling Blake comes in with three quick slashes, pomfing away in several quick hops, then crouching again and launching herself forward, disappearing into a cloud of rainbow smoke.\n\nThere's a loud report. And instead of in front of Blake, Kasumi reappears in a crouch off to the side, one fan raised to cover her head, the purple smoke of a gravity dust impact still drifting up off its white-and-rainbows surface. Kasumi rises to her feet, fan slowly lowering to show the near-impossibly wide grin has shifted to a flat line of thinned lips, her eyes closed fully again.\n\n"Gotcha~," Reese almost purrs, one of Lioncub's pistols still extended, smoke rising from its barrel.\n\n"She's not actually teleporting, she's just hurling herself from Point A to Point B incredibly fast," Jaune says, grinning. "And there's a little pause in the middle, if you know to look for it."\n\n"Dragon bless you Remnanteers and your tendency to name everything significantly," you add with a smirk.\n\n"She has to put herself in motion to use it!" Ruby adds with a call down into the arena. "Don't let her jump!"\n\n"Honestly~, with the peanut gallery~ isn't this a little more like a baker's dozen on one~?" Kasumi says, pouting now, adding, "Which is fu~n for a night ou~t, but just mea~n in a fi~ght," as she crouches and pomfs forward at Reese. Reese is already falling back though, firing repeatedly even as Kasumi comes out of her smoke cloud, blocking with Gravity dust bullets instead of physical strikes, the weight of the hits slowing them down and giving Ilia time to close and swing Lightning Lash from above. Kasumi ducks down under it and twirls away, fingers curling, only to jerk back as Reese fires ahead of her instead of at her, turning and twisting her legs only for Gambol Shroud to chatter and fill the air in front of her with bullets. Kasumi drops, extending one long leg in front of herself and bending the other deep, swirling her fans around herself at full extension and somehow managing to keep passing them over her front to hide herself as she forces everyone back briefly, then flexes her legs and flings herself up, pomfing away and reappearing in a crouch a short distance away. \n\nKasumi's an incredibly fighter even without her Semblance, that much is obvious. But now that how her Semblance works has been revealed the others are able to start turning the face that it's a four-on-one match to their advantage. For a time it's mostly just her continuing to pomf her way across the arena, just less successfully and occasionally getting knocked out halfway or having her path readjusted, until-\n\n"Ilia, Reese, pin her down!" Oscar calls as he rushes in, face still bright red even as he focuses on the fight, swinging his cane seemingly wildly but actually forcing Kasumi back towards Blake, to whom he calls, "COLD FEET!"\n\nThough it's not actually a team attack name, Blake apparently comprehends his meaning instantly, diving towards Kasumi's legs and rolling until it seems the fox Faunus would step on her... and reappearing in a crouch a short way away, the soft shing of ice Dust marking Kasumi's bare feet getting encased in a Blake-shaped ice sculpture. Kasumi yips audibly, either from the surprise or the cold, then blinks as Oscar puts the tip of his cane to her chin.\n\n"S-surrender!" he barks.\n\n"... Well poo~," Kasumi says with a sigh, pouting melodramatically as she covers herself with both fans again. "Oh, okay~, fair's fair~! I surrender~!" she adds, smiling more like she did when she was dressed.\n\nOscar immediately slumps with relief, then jumps a little as the fox Faunus closes a fan and swings it down, shattering the ice-Blake with a single strike. Then she turns and sashays away, covering her back with one fan and her front with the other as she approaches her clothes.\n\n"Whew. Damn," Reese murmurs, slumping a bit herself, then smirking as she adds, "Well, I guess we know for sure she's not the Atypical Faunus, huh?"\n\n"Eh?" Oscar asks, glancing over at her.\n\nBlake clears her throat, her cheeks and the bridge of her nose pink. "Haven't you noticed that her tail sits a little... low?"\n\n"Huh?" Oscar looks back to Kasumi, blinking at her.\n\n"Hmmmm?" The fox Faunus glances over her shoulder as she bends forward towards her kimono... then peeks one eye open and pokes her tongue out impishly, fans swinging wide and hands pulling her full round asscheeks apart, displaying the glint of metal at the very base of the black foxtail where it enters her pucker.\n\nOscar and Ilia drop to the floor.\n\n"Guess we should be glad she didn't do that during the fight," Qrow mutters, his head resting on one hand covering his eyes, face red. \n\n"Sounded like an open relationship, I'm gonna-"\n\n"Not until after our fight you're not, Grey."\n\n"Tch."\n\n"Thank you all~ for a lovely fi~ght, you're very clever~," Kasumi coos as she shrugs back on her kimono, reholstering her fans before arranging it and retying the sash. She turns back and sashays to Oscar (who's gotten up by now), leaning down to boop him on the nose as she smiles. "Especially you~, good job~! If you ever wa~nt to gradua~te from boyhoo~d, give me a call~, alri~ght?"\n\nOscar opens and closes his mouth repeatedly without saying anything, face red, before making a slightly strangled sound as Blake grabs his head and protectively hugs him to her chest, ears laying down a bit as she looks at Kasumi and says, "I will call the police."\n\n"Group activities seem a little mu~ch for a first ti~me, but whatever you say~!"\n\n"Oh no I love herrrrrr," Reese whines, putting Lioncub's guns over her face as she wiggles in place.\n\n"Once the visiting team is finished falling in love with my life partner, please leave the field and allow the next team to take it," Tanna prompts over the loudspeaker, without a hint of sarcasm.\n\n"Hey, this'll be no problem, right?" Yang declares as she, her uncle, and Ren make their way down the stairs, the blonde grinning. "Weiss said that Gina's all brawn no brains, y'know? Well we've got both! Y'know, in varying proportions," she adds with a shrug.\n\n"Yang, she said that Gina Weld finished a distant fourth after Kasumi," Qrow replies with a sigh. "That means she still had the fourth best academic grades in the entire graduating class."\n\n"Yeah, so?"\n\n"Atlas Academy typically has a graduating class of over 200 Huntsmen and Huntresses," Ren notes flatly. \n\n"... Oh."\n\nAs all three take a loose V position on the field as Tanna once again speaks over the PA system, along with a door at one end of the arena slide open. "Now taking the field, the head of security, testing and safety, and training for RDC, Gina Weld, AKA 'Tex'."\n\nYou can almost see a shudder go down Yang's spine as she turns towards the figure walking towards them. "Whyyyyy does that nickname make me feel like we're about to get our asses kicked?" she mutters.\n\nGina Weld comes to a stop on the other half of the arena floor that the three of them have occupied. Se's wearing a black armored chestplate and snug black pants with gleaming black armor plates over them, them and the boots having the look of the high-impact ceramic armor you know a lot of Huntresses use. Except she's also armored everywhere she's not covered too, her skin a brownish-grey, outer arms and the back of her neck covered with leathery, dark grey natural armor in a pebbled texture. Her shortish, wirey hair has a pair of ears jutting up from amidst it, curled-in almost tube-shaped things, showing them off as she bobs her head in a grin. "Hey there ya'll, nice ta meetcha."\n\n"Glynda?" Qrow mutters to himself, squinting.\n\n"I see Tanna told ya I'm a mite tough on weaponry," she adds, grinning and tapping the broken sword emblazoned on her chestplate with one finger. "Decent of her. Hate to break a friendly's weapon just on 'count of a show match, why I'm glad I never went to Vytal. I'll try not to break too many bones either!" she adds cheerfully, the exaggeration of her accent dropping with the last sentence while she's giving her opponents fingerguns.\n\n"Yeah, we'll just see who breaks," Yang says with a smirk, flexing as she settles a bit lower and raises her fists, Ren settling into a slightly lower crouch with hands open and one out in front of him, Qrow just rolling his shoulders and flexing his fists, hopping in place twice.\n\n"Begin," Tanna calls evenly.\n\n[[Music|https://youtu.be/tHf8Reja76s]]\n\n"Hup," Ren says almost imperceptibly along with Yang's much louder "HYUP!" as they go rushing in, Qrow almost ambling forward in comparison. Ren strikes first, aiming a pair of quick jabs at the small expanse of bare grey belly beneath the breastplate, Gina juking just a bit back to avoid and then ducking under the high swing of his followup kick, Ren falling back with a whirl as Yang lets out a "HYA!", aiming a more rapid-fire rain of punches straight-on, the Faunus woman ducking and weaving and blocking on her forearms. Then Yang leaps back as Qrow steps in, fists raised, ducking and weaving himself like someone who's practiced bar brawling until it's a legitimate martial art, jabbing hard and swinging a couple of sharp uppercuts in at her defenses, Gina responding by switching to open hands and either blocking his fists or shoving his forearms to deflect, hopping back bit by bit, then ducking into a sweep, Qrow backflipping over it and handspringing back to stand with the other two.\n\n"She was seeing what we were going to try," Ren observes as he straightens, rolls his shoulders, and settles into a different stance. "She's on the full defensive but it's not perfect. It has openings."\n\n"Yeah well we were just playing too," Qrow grunts back.\n\n"Permission to get in there and open up one of those holes, Uncle Teacher?" Yang says with a grin, briefly rolling her eyes when Reese shouts 'HA!' from the stands.\n\n"Yeah, go for it, she's armored but she ain't that tough," Qrow agrees with a nod.\n\nPurple eyes glittering with delight, Yang ducks, coming in fast and hard, compensating for not using her wristguns with a high arcing leap, letting out a 'Hee-YA!' as she swings her fist down hard, clearly expecting the block that Gina throws up with both arms, but trying to hit her hard enough to drive her into the red clay of the arena floor anyway.\n\nCLANG\n\n"Huh?" Yang blinks a few times, looking down at the sound of metal on metal, her golden fist now resting against a gleaming dark grey-silver armor plate with a pebbly texture. Gina slowly lifts her head, her hair now the texture and appearance of steel wool, supple metal lips pulling back from gleaming silver teeth as she gives her opponent a grin. "... Wuh-oh."\n\nThe blonde is sent flying backwards on a much shallower trajectory than she came in on, Tex's punch impacting her abs and sending her rocketing back to impact and roll, Qrow and Ren's heads whipping back and forth, from watching Yang go flying, back to Tex as she slams a fist against her palm with another audible clang and twists her head back and forth with a sound not unlike metal washers rubbing together. "I'm guessing this is why she's so hard on weapons despite not using any herself," Ren comments in a resigned tone.\n\n"Gee, y'think?"\n\nStill, lacking any other options, Ren and Qrow rush back in, Ren aiming a handful of palm punches coated in Aura at Tex's head, the slightly shorter woman rolling her head with the first few before headbutting his palm, making him whirl back with a wince. Qrow instead aims right for her armor this time, taking the brunt of punching ceramic plates instead of armored skin, though you can tell from his slight winces that the Faunus is just as metal underneath the armor she's actually wearing as she is everywhere else. He ducks back from a swipe of her forearm just as Yang comes roaring back in, purple eyes angry but the blonde obviously keeping herself under control as she aims a few hard punches at that bare belly with her metal arm, getting in a few good strikes that clang like bells throughout the arena, Tex's body lurching some with the impact before she swipes both hands down and knocks the next punch down and Yang off-balance, swinging up into a rising, curving kick that practically curls around the back of Yang's head and smashes her to the clay. Ren instantly darts back in, faking another palm-blow towards Tex's face to make her flinch slightly before dropping into a series of forward-hopping leg-sweeps, forcing her to hop back repeatedly before the Mistralian boy backflips away as Yang manages to roll away and to her feet.\n\n"Tanna screwed us," Grey growls as he watches, steely eyes angry as he stands with arms folded over his chest. "How're they supposed to put a dent in that without their weapons?!"\n\nRuby winces a little. "I meeeean, she didn't say not to bring our weapons, just that Gina might break them if we did."\n\n"How the heck are they supposed to beat someone that's a walking statue without their weapons?!" Nora demands, thrusting her hands towards the fight.\n\n"I think they already have an idea," Oscar muses, narrowing his green-gold eyes.\n\n"She's wary of being swept," Ren notes as he raises his hands into something more like Yang's normal stance.\n\n"Yeah, means she may feel like metal when we're hitting her and she may hit like a truck, but it's probably skin deep so she weighs mostly the same," Qrow agrees while narrowing his eyes. "Which means we get her off her feet and maybe we can pin her."\n\n"Everyone, please enjoy this exhibition of Tex's Semblance, 'Roadkiller'," Tanna remarks from the PA, the closest she's gotten to 'color commentary' the whole time.\n\nGina's cheeks tint like scarlet chrome as she shoots a glance upward. "Stop calling it that! Gah!" she adds as all three of her opponents rush her in the momentary distraction, flinging herself backwards as both Ren and Yang drop into simultaneous legsweeps, Qrow rushing in as if to tackle her, only for his red eyes to widen as she catches herself on her hands and wraps her legs around his middle, flinging herself the rest of the way through the fallback and tossing him to slam against the arena wall, while she lands on the balls of her feet and launches herself back into it, driving Yang away with a quick hard flurry of flashing grey metal jabs before launching herself into a backflip and bringing her heel down on Ren's shoulder, knocking him to one knee before she drops and spins to the side, knocking him sprawling before she kips up and settles into her stance.\n\n"Okay, now the problem is she's just better at this than they are," Blake says with a sigh, putting a hand to her face.\n\nQrow pushes himself up, actually starting to look ticked now as he strides back towards Tex, who's resumed grinning and matches him stride for stride, moving to step into a hard straight punch. Her eyes widen as he twists and turns into a bird right in front of her eyes, a single pump of the wings carrying him over her punch before he turns back into himself, wrapping an arm around her extended wrist and thumping his elbow against the inside of hers, forcing it to bend as he tries to twist her arm into a hold. Tex moves with the motion, twisting and aiming a knee at Qrow's side only for him to turn into a bird again and flap his wings in her face, making her flinch before he flits over her shoulder and turns human again, trying to snap an arm around her throat only for her to get her hands up in time, grabbing his arm and throwing her over her shoulder, Qrow transforming in midair to flap himself the other way and change back again, throwing himself at her in a knee to her own stomach that hits hard enough to knock her back slightly, just somewhat off her feet, enough for him to snap a hand forward and slam it flat against her face, gripping her and trying to slam her back into the ground. Tex manages to twist, however, planting a hand on the ground instead, quickly snapping her legs in and then smashing the soles of both feet against the side of Qrow's belly, his eyes going wide before he's sent rocketing back to slam into the wall, this time with a crackle of Aura.\n\nTex has barely gotten to her feet before Ren and Yang are on her, this time cooperating on a series of spinning kicks, one swinging high while the other drops low, forcing Gina back as she just barely jukes, jumps, twists and backflips away from all of them, until she's able to find an opening to scoop a foot under Ren's latest sweep and knock his leg up to make him kick Yang in the face, punching the blonde in the chest as she reels and sending her rocketing to land near her uncle, before she grabs Ren's leg as it's coming down, gripping with both hands and spinning several times before hurling him into the wall with a crackle of pink Aura before he drops to the floor.\n\n"HOW DARE!" Nora shrieks, trying to scramble over the wall and into the arena, you, Ruby, Grey, and Jaune all having to haul her back.\n\n"This is not going well," Ren groans as he rolls onto his side and pushes himself up a little.\n\n"Hey, Yang?" Qrow grunts, holding his side as he sits up some. "You remember what Tai said about not leaning on your Semblance, and fighting smarter not harder?"\n\n"Yeah?" Yang mutters as she pushes herself up on both hands.\n\n"Good advice. Also situational. Get in there and fuck her up already."\n\n"Yes sir," Yang snarls, shoving herself to her feet, stalking towards Gina with fists clenched, shoulders low and rolling, eyes glowing red and hair starting to flicker with golden fire. As Tex moves to meet her, Yang draws back her fist and shouts a loud "HYA!" as she throws her punch, both of them's knuckles meeting with a sonorous clang that sends a mild impact wave racing out from them, Tex's boots actually digging shallow grooves in the clay as she's forced back. She blinks cobalt blue eyes and glances down at her feet, then back up at Yang as the fiery-headed blonde gives her a wolfish smile.\n\n"Wuh-oh," Gina murmurs.\n\nYang steps in, hair blazing with golden flames as she goes low and slams her left fist into Tex's stomach, enough to lift her several feet off the ground before spinning around and slamming a heel into the Faunus's side, knocking her to the ground in a skid. Tex rolls with the skin and comes up in a low crouch, then dashes right back in at Yang, smashing a fist to her side and juking away from the followup attack, sweeping high with a kick of her own at Yang's head, only for the blonde to duck it and smash her fist against the side of Tex's head, the Faunus whipping to the side and staggering, obviously shocked at how much stronger that hit was than the last one since it probably felt strong enough to knock her ears off... and did, the little almost-tubes hitting the clay. \n\nYou can tell the point in the exchanges that follow that Tex realizes what Yang's semblance does, because she suddenly switches to trying to do grapples and throws. But by then Yang is just too strong, twisting her left arm and reversing the attempt to twist it behind her back to instead lift Tex and smack her against the ground. The Faunus kips back up, ducks back under a hard swing, ducks into a sweep, and finds a foot thumping down on her shoulder and trying to drive her to the ground again. She punches up against the inside of Yang's knee to relieve the pressure, able to swing out and up to her feet only for Yang to swing her right hand dowwn at her hard, Tex having to drop to one knee to give herself time to retaliate, driving an uppercut against the incoming blow. There's the sound of crunching metal and a muffled report, a brief burst of fire and then smoke drifting out from around the crumpled opening of the compartment for her arm-gun.\n\nGina winces visibly. "I surrender."\n\n"HEY!" Yang calls, scowling and clenching her fists, stomping a foot as she leans in towards Gina. "We're not done!"\n\n"Yang!" Qrow snaps as he ambles over, still holding a hand lightly against his side. "Give it a rest, will ya? You were winning anyway."\n\nYang scowls at him, then at Gina as she slowly gets to her feet... then closes her eyes and takes a few deep breaths. Slowly the flames playing across her hair flicker and die down, and when she opens her eyes they're purple again. "Fine," she mutters, still sounding a bit sulky.\n\n"He's right, you've given my Aura a hell of a pounding," Gina adds as her skin fades from lustrous back to pebbled grey, glancing over in confusion as Reese shouts 'HA!' from the stands. "Seriously, you're all amazing fighters. I'd've lost that one once all three of you came at me again." She smiles sheepishly at Yang and offers her hand. "Not the first time I've broken someone's weapon, or someone's arm, but first time I've done both with one hit. Sorry."\n\nYang has to visibly control herself a bit, but it apparently helps that Gina is offering the right hand, and she shakes it with her own golden one. "It happens in fights. It's fine."\n\n"I know it happens but I can still feel bad about it. Rematch sometime?"\n\nYang looks at her for a moment... then finally grins and nods. "Yeah, sure."\n\n"Damn, that was a hell of a thing," Qrow grunts as he makes his way back up into the stands, Gina having retreated through the door he came into. He flumps into a seat, rubbing his side a bit still. "Nah, leave it for now," he grunts as Jaune approaches. Yang, meanwhile, makes a few twists of her right hand, nothing but a grinding noise coming from the gun compartment, before she shrugs and flops into a seat as well.\n\n"Is it just me or are the opponents getting harder the less of us there are to face them?" you comment with a raised eyebrow. \n\n"I don't think it's just you, but it's also not like they've totally snowed us. Between that emblem and her reflexive action when Yang pressed her, I'm guessing 'Tex' regularly smashes the weapons of any non-Grimm stupid enough to pick a fight with her, and we don't have time for me to do a rebuild on Clockwork Dirge. Look, first team handled it, we handled it, I think you and Grey got this."\n\n"Hell yeah we do," you answer with a grin, tilting your head. "C'mon, Grey, let's get it done."\n\nAs the two of you descend to the arena, the door Gina had come through before opens up and Tanna strolls lazily out, now wearing a black sports bra and black bicycle shorts, showing off her curvaceous, just slightly soft-looking body. 'Not exactly elaborate Huntress apparel, but then I'm one to talk,' you think with a glance down at what's close to the same outfit, just with a high collar, long sleeves, and long legs. She's carrying something that's almost the size of her torso slung over her shoulder, vaguely pear-shaped but with an extra bulge above the lower one. You think you've seen casks like that containing alcohol before. She thumps it heavily down beside her as the PA comes to life again.\n\n"Hello~, everybody~, it's your favorite boss Kasumi~, here to bring you color commentary~ for the final match today~!"\n\n"Hey guys, Gina here, and our last match is between two of our visitors' best and our own Tanna Yuuki, CEO and head of R&D."\n\n"Tanna, as you may know~, was tragically born without a personality~, but that probably won't factor into the betting o~dds!"\n\nYou and Grey exchange a glance, wondering exactly what the nature of those two's relationship really is, but then looking back at Tanna and focusing as he deploys Hell Ticket's claws and you channel Aura into Red Legacy.\n\n"Well, I guess we're at least making progress towards confirming our suspicion that it's your boss that's the actual Atypical Faunus, Tanna," you tell her cheerfully, unable to help bragging a bit on your team's prowess. "So which are fake, the ears or tail?"\n\nTanna just looks back at you with that unflappable, blank expression. Then her round ears give a twitch, and her tail flits in a little circle behind her, which for some reason your brain fills in with a little 'fwoo-oo-oo' noise.\n\nYou blink. "... Huh."\n\n[[Music|https://youtu.be/xYefld5tiyQ]]\n\n"You will need better than suppositions and assumptions for this fight," Tanna assures you as she stands with her arms folded under her generous chest. "I am a formidable opponent."\n\n"Alright then," Grey says simply, settling into a stance with fingers curled, you drawing Red Legacy back and to the ready.\n\n"Begi~n!" Kasumi chirps over the PA.\n\nYou and Grey rush forward as Tanna just stands there, arms still folded. One ear flicks, and a whirling tendril of water spirals up out of the top of the massive cask next to her, splitting and two and firing towards the two of you with a crack that indicates a miniature sonic boom, the water propelled as fast as bullets. You snap Red Legacy up to intercept and hear a pang of impact as Grey ducks aside to avoid his. 'What the shit, that wasn't liquid!' you think, only to duck as a tendril of water lashes at your legs, the leading edge turning into something plasticy and white that you don't let impact by jumping over it, ducking back as you go on the defensive, Grey having to swipe more water shots out of the air.\n\n"She's a Semblance fighterrrr!" Ruby calls from the stands somewhat unnecessarily as Tanna's ear twitches again, then the other as a thicker curl of water rises from the cask, splitting into a pair of large, bubbling hands.\n\n"That's ri~ght, here it i~s, Tanna's famous Sembla~nce, the savior of many a wandering caravan in her home of Vacuo~, the death of many a mole cra~b... 'Get Me Wet'!"\n\n"It is not called that! It's called 'Rivers In The Desert'! Stop saying that!"\n\n"She's my girlfrie~nd, I can name it if I wa~nt!"\n\n"She didn't name it that either she wanted to call it 'Water Control' but I came up with something better!"\n\n"Says you~!"\n\n"I'm not sure what I hate more," Grey grunts as he ducks and weaves from the large watery hand harrying him and attempting to grab hold, his slashes at it sending water splashing to the clay but not making much of a dent in the overall size. "This Semblance or the color commentary."\n\n"I could do without both, GAH!" you call as the hand grabbing for you suddenly splits into a number of ping pong ball sized orbs and flies at you. It's not quite bullet speed and you block all you can, but plenty still ping off of you hard enough to send little flickers of scarlet static skittering across your body. "What the shit?!" You glance down, scowling. "It's solid!"\n\n"Like i-"\n\n"No it's not frozen it's solid she has that much control over the water!"\n\n"Crap." Grey twists his arms, extending the gun barrels from the top of Hell Ticket, then firing fire bullets into the hand the next time it comes at him, boiling most of it away in a hissing cloud. "We've gotta do something about that cask or she'll stand there and beat us to hell with twitches of her cute fluffy ears."\n\n"Alright, I'm on it," you say as Tanna's ears twitch again, water coiling up out of the cask and splitting into something that looks like a number of hard plastic rods. "Run interference."\n\nGrey nods, and sets off at a run, his feet flickering with Aura as he both launches himself off the ground when his feet come free and grips harder when they impact, granting him extra speed. He ducks and weaves, smacking the solid water rods out of the air as Tanna launches them at him, until he takes one to the temple and reels back, head crackling with dark-bright light. But he's gotten you close enough that you can jump up, plant your feet on his shoulders, and launch yourself up and forward, twisting into a spiral over Tanna and her cask.\n\n<hr>\n[[Strike.|KaiRem]]\n\n[[Fire.|KaiRem10x6]]

You should talk to her. Or at the least, you should give her the chance to talk to you. Picking up one of the blankets yourself, you move over to settle to the floor beside her chair, Maria briefly looking at you as you settle and rest your head on the side of the arm, but looking back ahead after a second.\n\nThe others on first sleep settle in, while the others talk and whisper or simply settle quietly themselves, the somewhat peaceful air only briefly broken by the thump of the door announcing Qrow and Dee's return. Eventually the only sound left is the ticking of the clock someone finally decided to wind, presumably just to help fill the silence of the deserted house.\n\n"You know," Maria says eventually, her croak of a voice lowered to less a whisper, more just the soft ghost of thought. "I don't like when people call me 'granny'."\n\nYou shift a little under your blanket, tilting your head up towards her a bit. "Yeah?" you whisper back, just to show her you're listening.\n\n"Mm-hm. ... My father, not too long before he left, impressed on Maggie and me that we had to be careful. That there was something out there hunting for girls with silver eyes... that we were in deadly danger, especially if we became Huntresses. ... Perhaps foolishly, I like to think that he left us because he went off hoping to do something about that. Maggie and I were determined to help people, though, but hiding our secret was why we invented the whole Grimm Reaper mystique. The masks, the hiding our abilities, the acting like there was only one of us. But... it meant cutting ourselves off from everyone. Oh, there were a few flings, here and there," she admits with a chuckle. "Just things for a night. Just some warmth and tenderness. ... Always with the lights out," she adds, the levity falling away. "Always so they couldn't see my face. Then... after... I just couldn't bear to be that vulnerable. I couldn't trust anyone when the lights were out all the time. So. ... As you can imagine... ... I never had children."\n\nYou don't say anything to that. You don't need to let her know you're listening... she knows. Still, as the silence stretches, as the worries about your own life and future eat at your heart, you can't help but ask, "So you never fell in love?"\n\n"Oh, now I didn't say that," Maria chuckles, actually reaching out and stroking one of those small hands over your hair, almost as if she didn't realize she was doing it. "There was one man. ... Boy," she corrects with another soft chuckle. "A big, bright, warm man who will always be at least a bit the boy. With a heart as big as his belly and worn on his sleeve proudly for all to see, he works tirelessly to give back to those who have lost. ... And... had I been brave enough... he probably would have given me back a bit more that I had lost other than my eyes," she adds more softly. "... But I'd become a coward. I was afraid of being vulnerable again, of being at someone else's mercy even in love. ... And I was afraid of loving someone again when they could be taken from me. I'd lost everyone I ever loved, and I didn't think I could stand to lose him too. So we never became more than friends... though I think in both our hearts we always regretted that."\n\n"... Remember what I told you," you say quietly. "It's never too late to change your life if you don't like how it's gone."\n\nMaria's hand stills on your head. And then, more slowly, it begins its strokes again. "... Yes. Maybe you're right." After a bit more silence, she adds, "Kai?"\n\n"Yeah?"\n\n"You may call me 'granny'," she informs you as she continues looking ahead. "If you like."\n\nYou smile, closing your eyes. "Thanks, Granny."\n\n"Mm."\n\nThe next day, Reese and Yang finish the modifications to Bumblebee, and to a trailer that was found in one of the barns to turn it into a sled. Reese rides her board a bit behind like she was skiing, freeing up a little more room in the trailer for the rest of you as your group sets off again, hopefully in the direction of Argus. You watch as the buildings of the settlement slowly fade, the fallen sign of its name slightly visible jutting out of the snow to one side of the gate, a bit of the memory of all that's happened there tearing at you... and guilt.\n\n"We'll come back," Qrow whispers to you, apparently having seen the sadness on your face as you looked back, his hand rubbing your shoulder. "When this is done, and it's spring. We'll come back and give them all the burial they deserve."\n\n"It's more than one of them deserves," you mutter. But then you nod. "... Yeah. I guess that's the hard thing about learning to do this... hero... stuff," you add with a sigh, slumping your head a little. "Life as a mercenary, or a street punk, that's easy... you do what you can when you can, if you can't do it, oh well, what's the loss? Maybe you're out a bit of money, or your client or boss is pissed at you. You just deal with it and go on. ... I never had to think about stuff like making sure we save the world so that I'll be able to give a bunch of people decent burials someday."\n\n"... Okay. Dad lesson two," Qrow rasps after a moment. "Doing the right thing, it usually isn't easy. And sometimes you have to put off doing one right thing so that you can do another. The measure of us as... not heroes, just... people who are trying to do right, is that we don't let doing the big right thing be an excuse not to do the little right things when we can. We... can't do this for them now. And it hurts. ... I guess it's good that it hurts," he adds with a glance back as the settlement completely disappears into the distance. "Shows us that the big right thing really isn't just an excuse."\n\n"Is this what you thought it would be like, when you were a kid?" you ask, turning to give him a bit of a wan grin. "Being a hero?"\n\nFor just a moment, there's a haunted, ashamed look in his eyes, enough that he looks down. "... Nah. Never occurred to me as a kid. Thought the whole idea was stupid. The idea of... doing right for the sake of doing right, helping people just to help them, making the world a better place... I never believed in any of that until..."\n\nHe trails off. And slowly his gaze wanders over to Ruby Rose in the corner of the trailer, doing her best to rest where she's leaned against Weiss's side. The haunted look fades from Qrow's eyes, replaced with one of longing, though his lips curl into a smile.\n\n"... I was seventeen," he concludes with a soft rasp.\n\nLuckily the weather holds, cold but clear, allowing you to camp relatively easy at night. It even warms a bit, and after the second day Yang, Reese, and Weiss (who seems mildly annoyed to be reduced to a sautering iron and cutting torch but hey) remove the modifications from Bumblebee and the trailer, since they should be able to roll again. There are a few Grimm attacks, but nothing that your party of Huntsmen can't handle, especially after what they've been exposed to. Maria quietly talks to Ruby in the times between, and in several Grimm encounters Ruby manages to briefly stun Grimm by using the 'flashbomb' variant of her eyes' power. Eventually Ruby's scroll jangles with Jaune's ringtone, and the renewed signal is all you need to home in on Argus, its massive stone walls looming up, the curves and arches of buildings lifting above it here and there.\n\n"Wow, big," you note with a blink.\n\n"The biggest city outside any of the main kingdoms, due to its value as a trade route," Grey notes, staring at it with a bit of an odd look in his eyes. "... Y'know, I've never actually seen it. The last time there was a chance I was going to..." He trails off, and after a second shrugs. "... My pimp was going to sell me to someone in Argus. Not too long before I got out. I guess in the back of my mind, I always thought that if I saw the walls looking down on me as I came up the road..."\n\nThis time he doesn't speak again after trailing off. Instead you reach over and take one of his hands, giving it a squeeze. "Yeah but that's not how you got here," you remind him quietly. "You got here as a badass mercenary. As a Huntsman. As a guy who stands between the innocent and evil. That's how you got here, Grey."\n\n"... Shit," he mutters, grinning and glancing away, gently scratching at the largely healed cut on his face, which luckily looks like it isn't going to scar much. "How the hell did that happen?"\n\n"Still ask myself the same thing all the time." At his wry glance, you snort and point at yourself. "About me, about me!"\n\n"Heh."\n\nAfterwards all of you head to the nearest storage facility, Bumblebee, the trailer, and the rest of the gear you don't need immediately tucked away and locked in securely. Plus it makes a convenient place to meat up as your friends rejoin you, a flurry of hugs exchanged as everyone comes together. You notice Jaune and Ruby having a rather lingering hug, and can't help but grin at them over the top of Ilia's head as you rock her just a bit.\n\n"I'm so glad you're okay," Ilia murmurs, before drawing back, specks turning a bit blue as she sucks in a breath. "Grey, you're hurt!"\n\n"Geez, make me feel real good with the fuss over it," Grey says with a dark scowl, turning his head away as if ashamed of the new scar across his cheek. Then he turns back, smirking as he reaches to ruffle Ilia's hair. "Nah, I'm just fuckin' with ya, it's fine. It's not a big deal."\n\n"Jerk," Ilia mutters, even as she moves to give him a hug as well.\n\n"Nah, I'm just fun!" Grey declares cheekily, before giving a soft 'tch' as Blake wanders by and smacks him lightly across the back of the head.\n\n"Never thought I was gonna see you again, buddy," Dudley murmurs as he pats Dee's back in the true I'm-hugging-you-but-I'm-hitting-you manner of those who are a little insecure about being seen as big tough dudes.\n\n"Same, man," Dee replies, though you notice without any patting. He turns back to the rest of you and clears his throat. "Guys, it's been wild, but I think it's time I was going. Dudley and I need to have a talk about some stuff-"\n\n"Huh? We do?"\n\n"-and I don't think I'm gonna be much use helping you do... whatever the hell it is you're doing. But good luck with it."\n\n"Thanks man," Qrow grunts, offering a hand to shake. "Take care of yourself, alright? And the other one too."\n\n"Hey!"\n\n"Yeah I will. First thing I guess I needa do is hit a weapons shop," he adds, slinging Big Ugly Bastard's basher form off of his back and offering it to you. "Here. Thanks for the loan."\n\n"No problem," you assure him with a grin, working the control to switch it back to its 'resting' state of a pair of armshields and tucking it back into the sheaths inside your coat. "Thanks for all the help, Dee. As far as I'm concerned, you're a damn good Huntsman."\n\n"Yeah. Thanks." His smile says the words meant quite a bit to him, and he claps Dudley on the shoulder as he turns to leave.\n\n"So, Jaune, we heading to your sister's?" you ask, recalling the general plan for when you got to Argus.\n\n"Um, yeah, sorta. Like we're gonna go there for dinner tonight, but we're actually heading somewhere a street over," Jaune answers, a little bashfully. You tilt your head, but don't press him, instead letting him lead the way to one of the hovertrolley stations, then down a few streets to stop in front of the townhomes, a sign on the gate announcing the name of a realty company and a 'Sold' sign dangling from it. "Soooo here we are!"\n\n"You bought a house for us to stay in?!" Grey blurts, then looking at Jaune. "Are you one of those rich dudes, Arc?"\n\n"Um, my family kind of is, yeah," he admits, rubbing the back of his neck. "But um, I didn't buy this, and neither did they. I mean, family sort of bought it. Saffron and her wife Terra put their names on a loan and they're gonna make some payments on it until I can take over. Someday."\n\n"Thinking about the future, huh?" Qrow grunts, looking up at the somewhat narrow three-story building. "Even with all this?"\n\n"... I sort of realized that I had to," Jaune says after a moment, slowly lowering his hand. "I... had some revelations that made me realize I've just sort of been dealing with things day-to-day. ... Since Pyrrha," he adds in a whisper. "But um. That's changed now. Thanks to you Kai," he adds, turning and giving you a sheepish grin.\n\nYou blink. "What'd I do?"\n\n"You knew how I lost Pyrrha, how I... how I failed her," he says, though there's not the deep, abiding anguish in the words there once was. "But you still trusted me to take care of Ilia and get her back to you safe. And I guess, that and some other things... it kind of made me realize people really can trust me again. And that I can't just look at what's directly ahead of us, I have to think about my whole life ahead of me and what I want to do with it. I have to assume we can win. So, um, after this is all done... and we've won," he says, able to put some confidence into the words. "I'm gonna move to Argus and be a Huntsman out of here, but that's just the start. My goal is to become a teacher at Sanctum combat school."\n\n"... Where Pyrrha went," you add with a soft smile.\n\n"Right. I believe that people can trust me with their loved ones... I'm gonna take care of people, and make sure they can take care of themselves."\n\n"I can already take care of myself, Jaune," Ilia mutters in annoyance as she trudges up the stairs and unlocks the door, heading inside.\n\n"I-I know!" Jaune hurries to add, suddenly the awkward boy again as he scurries up the steps. "Hey, Ilia, I didn't mean it like that! J-just, y'know, you're kind of... smol!"\n\n"I heard how you pronounced that and only Kai is allowed to say it!!"\n\n"Sorryyyyyyy!"\n\nSoon all of you have settled inside, filling up the house's long but narrow living room. "So that's the deal," you explain. "Ozma thought Salem was undefeatable because of... unthoughtful word choice, but it seems pretty likely that it's not true."\n\n"Are we certain?" Ren asks with a frown. "Could Jinn have, herself, interpreted Ozma's question more broadly, much as he did?"\n\n"I don't think so," Blake says with a shake of the head. "Most stories featuring genies, or 'djinn', tend to have them responding to what's requested of them literally. It's a very common trope that their master's lack of careful wording comes back to bite them," she adds, shooting a glance at Oscar, who grins sheepishly on behalf of his counterpart. "I think we can assume that a lot of those stories and the concept of genies was probably based on Jinn, so if they're literal, it's fair to assume she's literal."\n\nJaune's been sitting with a complex look on his face for awhile, but finally he shakes his head and stands up. "Okay, in the end, I guess this doesn't change anything about our plan. We still need to get to Atlas and get the other relic before Salem or her henchmen do."\n\n"Not necessarily," Maria croaks, prompting looks. "Get to Atlas, I mean. We actually just need to get to Mantle. From there, it's a much easier proposition to get to Atlas, especially if we can talk to my friend Pietro. He works with the Atlas military and he's fairly close with General Ironwood. He could probably put our dusty young crow here in touch with him."\n\n"That's a good point," Qrow rasps, frowning as he rubs his chin. "It would be a bit easier to get to Mantle. The ocean voyage would be a bit longer and more hazardous, but it would be a hell of a lot easier than getting through Atlas air defense to go straight there. You're sure this Pietro guy has James's ear?"\n\n"He has the fellow's hand, if you take my meaning."\n\n"... Huh. Okay then. We head for Mantle instead," Qrow agrees with a nod. "But how?"\n\n"Smugglers," you immediately suggest. Qrow frowns but nods thoughtfully, while some of the others look dubious.\n\n"I mean, Atlas is apparently locked up pretty tight," Yang says slowly. "How do we know there are smugglers?"\n\nYou scoff a bit. "There's always smugglers." You hesitate, then make a face. "Unfortunately, the harder the lockdown, the scummier the smugglers, in my experience."\n\n"Mine too." Grey's eyes have gone flat, his mouth a thin line. "We'd have to get in bed, at least temporarily, with some real creeps." Though you can see just the faintest glint in his eye as he stops himself from adding, 'But we can kill 'em after.'\n\n"There might be another way we could get to Mantle without resorting to dealing with criminals," Blake muses aloud, cupping her chin. "We could go talk to the RDC."\n\n"The-!" Weiss splutters, leaping to her feet. "You can't be serious!"\n\nBlake frowns at her, ears folding down at the tips. "And why wouldn't I be?"\n\n"Because they're, they're, they're the RDC!" Weiss stammers, thrusting her hands out to the side as if indicating the people in question. "They're a teeny tiny little company that doesn't have the resources to help us even if they wanted to!"\n\n"RDC has maintained a steady rate of growth every quarter since its founding and grew over twenty percent in the fiscal year prior to the Fall of Beacon!" Blake almost shouts back, somehow sounding deeply impassioned about financial statistics. "They're the only reason Mistral is even getting any amount of Dust at all, because apparently Ironwood doesn't trust the SDC to continue shipping!"\n\n"That's outrageous! The RDC is just some upstart nobody founded by a-!"\n\n"WELL SAY IT!" Blake shouts back in full now, ears laying down and yellow eyes blazing.\n\nThe room is silent and full of tension as the two friends glare at each other, though Weiss's is more hurt than angry.\n\n"I wasn't going to say 'Faunus'," she says softly, a single tear sliding along her scar. "I was going to say 'jerk'."\n\nBlake winces visibly, then closes her eyes and draws in a deep breath, pressing her palms together in front of her mouth and taking a moment. Then she nods. "I'm sorry I said that," she continues in a calmer voice as she opens her eyes. "I should know better. I'm sorry. I'm sure the way she tends to sign off her commercials is very hurtful for you."\n\n"No, you're right, and she's probably right to say it," Weiss mutters, looking at the ground and rubbing her arm. "And Ironwood's certainly right not to trust my father. The RDC makes excellent products, I shouldn't be so down on them for being small."\n\n"... Uh." You finally hold a hand up in a 'question' gesture. "Mind filling those of us from off-planet in on what exactly an 'RDC' is?"\n\n"The Rival Dust Company," Ilia pipes up. "They're Faunus founded and owned, the only Dust company that is. They mine and sell Dust, make accessories like Huntress weapon parts, and they sponsor students to combat schools and the academies sometimes. Sienna declared them... race traitors..." she murmurs, obviously with a bit of guilt, before she continues. "Mostly because they denounced the White Fang when it was under her leadership. They only got started about fifteen years ago, so they're pretty small since they have trouble getting the licenses to Dust mines and stuff. They'd probably get bigger faster, since they are really good at what they do, but they spend a lot of money making their mines safe and paying their workers well. Faunus and human, completely nondiscriminatory hiring practices. Another reason the White Fang under Sienna didn't like them," Ilia adds in a mutter.\n\n"Plus their commercials are pretty friggin' hilarious every time they release a new one it totally goes viral it's like they're awful but they're awesome whoever decided to have the completely charismaless owner do them is a friggin' marketing genius," Reese chatters happily, as she holds up her scroll with a video queued, then pauses and winces a bit. "Um, sorry Weiss, I didn't mean-"\n\n"No, no, you may as well show the thing," Weiss says with a sigh, folding her arms over her chest, then bobbing her head in a little sideways tilt. "They are kind of funny," she allows.\n\nReese grins and taps the scroll, projecting a video onto the wall. The calibration image blips into that of a pretty woman in her mid-thirties, with short, fluffy yellow hair, a pair of round animal ears of some sort poking out of it, and wearing a simple tan suit that isn't trying to emphasize but also isn't particularly hiding her impressively large chest. She also has less expression in her red eyes and on her face than you've ever seen Ren lack. Next to her is a simple logo with the letters 'RDC', though at top, sides, and bottoms are emblems of a leaf, a folding fan, a broken blade, and a water droplet.\n\n"Hello. I am Tanna Yuuki, CEO and co-founder of the Rival Dust Company," the Faunus woman says in a completely flat monotone. "Our weapon parts are assembled by hand and each one is checked on a seventeen point list before they leave our plant. Currently this results in a twenty-three percent greater lifetime for the part and a thirteen percent more effective function than our nearest competitor's parts, on average. Also, we are not the Schnee Dust Company," she adds, in the exact same monotone as the rest. And then the commercial just... ends.\n\n"That's it?" you say with a blink, as you can hear various snickering and even a few guffaws behind you.\n\n"Thaaat's it," Reese says, grinning. "She sits there, stares at the camera, and rattles off some exact statistic about how well the RDC is doing or how its parts are performing or the purity of its Dust. And she always finishes off with, 'Also, we are not the Schnee Dust Company'," she adds, a few others chorusing it with her.\n\nWeiss rolls her eyes. "People think it's a marketing gimmick or some sort of morality about being clear and objective but I've met her repeatedly and she's just like that. It's infuriating, especially when she flat-out insults you in that stupid voice of hers without showing any expression on that stupid pretty face."\n\nBlake smiles gently at Weiss, putting a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry if she's been mean to you. Honest." Then Blake glances around. "But I do think the RDC could help us. They're one of the only companies that's being allowed to ship in and out of Atlas right now, and while their corporate office is in Argus all of their other production facilities are in Mantle. We could go see Tanna Yuuki and see if she'd get us to one of those facilities."\n\n"Yeah, but we've kind of got a Schnee with us," Yang notes, glancing at Weiss. "Even if they'd help us, isn't that asking kind of a lot?"\n\n"More than that," Weiss says, her voice a bit of a grumble. "If they get caught smuggling us in, even if we do get in touch with Ironwood after, they might get in trouble and lose their exemption to the lockdown." She rubs her arm some and glances away, shaking her head. "I... don't want to get the RDC in trouble. Something like that could destroy a small company like them."\n\nBlake's gaze softens even further, and she steps close and gives her friend a hug. "You're a good person, Weiss. I'm sorry for arguing with someone else and aiming it at you," she says softly.\n\n"Which brings us back to where we were," Qrow grunts, shifting a bit in the aftermath of the warmfuzzies. "If we don't go to the RDC because we don't think they can help, or because we don't want to get them in trouble, that puts us back to option A. The smugglers."\n\n"I mean, if it was just us having to do something illegal to get there, I don't think I'd have a huge problem with it," Jaune says slowly. "But... helping other people do something illegal... something that could be really bad..."\n\n"Yeah." Qrow nods once, then looks at you. "... Whatta you think, kid? We had our little talk earlier, about having to put off doing something right to do a bigger right... what's the wrong we're gonna have to do or risk here for it?"\n\n<hr>\n[[Find some smugglers.|KaiRem]]\n\n[[Ask the RDC.|KaiRem10x3]]

"So at least tell us some more about these founders of the RDC, Blake," you urge.\n\n"Well, there's Tanna Yuuki, obviously, she's sort of the face of the company."\n\n"Says a lot about what the other three must be like, huh?" Grey chuckles.\n\nBlake rolls her eyes slightly, then continues. "But she's also apparently their head researcher and scientist, she has a brilliant mind. The rest of the founders are her team from Atlas Academy, Team SNYW," she says, pronouncing the word 'snow'. You're not sure how you know it wasn't spelled 'SNOW' but somehow you just do. You've been on Remnant too long.\n\n"Most of her published papers and filed patents have to do with minimizing the Dust use of essential machinery but she also holds a ton of patents on weapon parts," Reese chimes in. "The superefficient variable plates and the secure locking servos attached to them that let Lioncub have complete structural integrity as a board even though it can split into pistols were her creations."\n\n"Huh. But if it was Team SNYW that means she wasn't the leader, right?" you note, leaning back in the chair you've occupied. Glad Jaune's new place came at least partially furnished.\n\n"Not a lot is known about the leader of Team SNYW, actually," Blake notes, frowning just slightly as she cups her chin. "Obviously her name has an 'S' in it, and supposedly she's the Chief Financial Officer and majority stakeholder, but that's... about it. She's an intensely private person and all of her records from Atlas Academy are sealed."\n\n"The other two are Kasumi Nijiko, the head of logistics, and Gina Weld, head of security. And product testing, apparently." It's Weiss that supplies this bit of information, having settled back into her own seat. "They were all top of their class at Atlas. Literally. Tanna was second, Kasumi was third, and Gina was fourth. A distant fourth, academically," she adds dryly. She shrugs at some of the glances. "My father would rant and then get smug. Over dumb stuff."\n\n"Anything else about them?"\n\n"Mmmm. Well... I'm not sure if it's relevant necessarily... but supposedly all four of them are Atypical Faunus," Blake adds, shrugging.\n\n"'Atypical'? Like what, animal species-wise?" you ask, frowning. "I thought I'd seen about everything back on Menagerie."\n\n"No, an Atypical Faunus is one with more than one Faunus trait," Ilia chimes in with a shake of the head. "They're really rare but they happen, you probably saw a few on Menagerie too and didn't realize it. Sometimes Faunus try to act like they are one for some kind of 'status'... y'know, clipon tails when they've actually just got ears, ears with the headband hidden in their hair when they've really got claws or skin, something like that. It's pretty poser-y and lame, really."\n\n"Hunh." You quirk an eyebrow. "Why would four prominent figures... well, three prominent figures and one recluse... do something like that when it's regarded by Faunus as 'poser-y and lame'? Seems like they'd be getting enough cred as being the only Faunus to own a Dust company."\n\n"Maybe they're making a statement?" Weiss suggests, waving a hand in the air in a sort of shrug. "Since they are the only Faunus-owned Dust company, maybe they want to stand out even more."\n\n"Or," Ruby murmurs, cupping her chin and looking down. "They didn't want someone to stand out at all."\n\n"Ruby?" Yang asks, blinking and glancing over.\n\n"Oh, um, well," Ruby says, lifting her head. "When Blake arrived at Beacon, she hid that she was a Faunus using her bow, right? I guess because she didn't want to stand out."\n\nBlake sighs and nods. "Among other reasons. I just... wanted to fit in, at least for awhile, I guess. Not cause any problems."\n\n"Okaaaaay, soooooo, let's say you were an Atypical Faunus, and you got assigned to an entire team of other Faunus," Ruby continues, waving a hand slightly. "How would you avoid standing out then?"\n\n"I guess... I'd hide just one of my traits?" Blake replies, seeming confused about where Ruby's going with it. "Or I don't know, maybe-" Then her eyes widen.\n\n"Riiiight, if your whole team knew about you already and was in on helping you not stand out, the rest of them would pretend to be Atypical Faunus too, that way it looks like you're all just doing it for a laugh or something," Yang says with a nod. "I mean, it's what we'd have done for Blake to help her fit in if she'd needed it, right?"\n\n"Well a Faunus Schnee would be a bit odd," Weiss says with a soft snort. "But yes, we would have," she adds with a nod and a fond smile at her friend.\n\n"Look, is this really relevant?" Maria croaks with a sigh.\n\n"Yeah, it is," Qrow breaks in from where he's leaned against the wall with arms folded. "Sorry, ma'am, you may know killing Grimm better than anyone in this room, but you don't know about what it's like to get sorted into an academy team. Things like this tell us a lot about who these people are and how to handle them."\n\n"It tells us that they are very dedicated to each other," Ren adds, a hand dipping in the air a bit as if beckoning for understanding. "That they were all willing to be seen as 'posers' and accept the scorn of others to make one of them not have to suffer that alone. That is an important signifier of unity among them."\n\n"And that they'd keep it up even after they graduated, which means it's become a sign of their bond," Jaune supplies.\n\n"And three guesses on which one of them the actual Atypical Faunus is," you muse aloud, glancing up.\n\n"Our mysterious 'S'," Grey agrees, arms folded over his chest.\n\n"Which means she's not just the leader of the company, or the Huntress team, she's the leader of their, well, their family," Ruby speaks up.\n\n"Hmmmm." Maria rubs her chin a bit, turning that one over. "So you're saying that anything we propose to the others, ultimately it will be up to her."\n\n"Which is kind of a problem since we don't know anything about her or how to make an argument to her," Qrow grunts.\n\n"Welllll we know she doesn't like me or my family," Weiss huffs with a roll of the eyes. "I know, I know, join the club. But she named her company the Rival Dust Company in direct challenge to my family, pretty sure that if I seem prepared to humble myself before her, it might make a difference." Weiss half-hops to her feet and dusts herself off. "I guess I'll just have to eat some crow and act like I enjoy it." Then she pauses, lifting her head and realizing various people are staring at her and some giggling has started. Her head whips to the side, and her eyes widen as they land on Qrow, her face going red.\n\n"You wouldn't be the first one," Qrow rasps with a smirk, apparently unable to help himself.\n\nMean, Dad.\n\n"Well, I'm not thrilled with the idea of one of us having to play kissass for this idea to work, but I think it's less of a problem overall than trying to mess with smugglers," you say after a moment, if only to spare Weiss from standing there looking like you could cook an egg on her face. "I think we oughtta give heading to the RDC offices a try, at least."\n\n"I agree, but only so far as they don't ask anything demeaning of Weiss," Blake speaks up quickly.\n\n"Yeah, Weiss is our friend and we can't let these people take out their frustrations on her just so we can get a free ride to Mantle," Ilia adds with a shake of the head. "She's not some voodoo doll you can stick a pin in to hurt her dad."\n\n"... Thank you," Weiss says quietly, bobbing her head. \n\n"I think we're all agreed on this," you say, pushing yourself to your feet. "They step out of line, we march out of there and come up with a better plan. Also, like, steal all their office pens. And punch someone in the face, depending."\n\n"Yeah, save that one for a last resort if at all possible, kid," Qrow snorts as he pushes himself off the wall. "Atlas Academy maintains a strict meritocracy, but if you don't think four Faunus still had to bust their asses and become some of the best Huntresses that school ever churned out to take the top four spots their graduating year, you're dreaming. We don't wanna start a fight with these people unless we gotta. Now let's all get some sleep, especially those of us who are fresh off getting Apathy'd and then trekking through the wasteland. Rooms up here, Jaune?" he asks, tilting his head at the stairs.\n\n"Oh, yeah, we basically made as many bedrooms as we could before you guys got here," Jaune answers with a quick nod. "Go ahead."\n\n"Thanks."\n\nYou scurry a bit to catch up with him, frowning some as you glance back up the stairs and keeping your voice low. "Hey, do you think this is the right call?"\n\n"Between this and smugglers? Yeah, kid, this seems pretty much a given," Qrow grunts. "Why?"\n\n"You just kind of seem... less than enthused, I guess." \n\nQrow stops in front of one of the rooms, then sighs and turns back to you. "Anyone ever tell you you're annoyingly perceptive about other peoples' moods?"\n\nYou shrug a little. "Kept me from getting shocked through my slave chip. Sometimes."\n\nYou really wish you could learn to stop saying stuff like that flippantly. Because now you watch Qrow's heart break a little in his eyes, a little bit of anguish crossing his mouth. He just looks at you for a second, then steps close and wraps his arms around you. You'd point out that you're not, like, traumatized or anything (at least as far as you see things) but it's a dad-hug so you just enjoy it.\n\nOnce he steps back, he sighs again and nods, tucking his hands back in his pockets. "Yeah, though, okay, there's a little something about this that's bothering me. It's this whole 'Rival Dust Company' thing. I mean, not the company itself, the name."\n\n"So? Lots of Faunus resent the SDC, right?"\n\n"Yeah, but something about the way the whole thing adds up just feels like more than that. The name, the way the CEO always includes that signoff in every damn commercial, that they formed a competing company to the SDC right after graduation instead of becoming some of the finest and probably wealthiest Huntresses in a generation, the fact that they must have worked their tails off... enh, sorry," he mutters, glancing back towards the stairs as if worried about having offended Blake, Ilia, and Grey in absentia. "... to get the exemption to the border closing when the SDC's getting strangled by it. It all says..."\n\n"Personal," you pick up, frowning a bit more yourself and looking down.\n\n"If we're right about our interpretation, the mystery leader is also the head of the RDC 'family'... and my guess would be that most likely, the resentment the others have for the Schnees probably flows from them."\n\n"The SDC, and by extension the Schnees, did something to them. Like what happened to Ilia's parents," you follow, nodding with a scowl.\n\n"With my Semblance? We'll be lucky if that's all it is. So stick close to Weiss, kid, and keep that sharp eye of yours on every move this Tanna lady or anyone else in there makes. You get any sign like they're gonna use more than harsh words, you get the hell out with her. No, dammit, that's an order," he says as you open your mouth. "Now I don't actually give many of those so you'll listen to one when I give it. You don't fight, you run. Grey, Yang, and Jaune make an opening, and you and Ruby get Weiss somewhere Ruby can use her Semblance and evac her. That's the plan, that's it. I want you telling the other people involved about it, but quietly."\n\n"You don't wanna poison the well against the RDC in our peoples' minds," you note.\n\n"Glad we're on the same page. Get it done," Qrow says with a flap of one hand before strolling into the bedroom.\n\nYou head back downstairs, lingering amidst the talk about the RDC and other subjects, until you can subtly nudge Ruby and tilt your head a bit towards the exit to the garden. Once she's followed you out, you keep your voice down while saying, "Try to find some time to take Jaune aside without anyone really paying attention, and tonight talk to Yang quietly when Team RWBY bunks down. Qrow has orders."\n\n"Unca Qrow's giving orders?!" Ruby whispers intently, silver eyes widening a little. \n\n"Apparently. He's worried there's something here we're not seeing. Just in case, he wants us to have a plan to evac Weiss in case things go bad, but he wants to keep it to just a few of us so everyone doesn't start acting cagey and suspecting the RDC."\n\n"... Right." Ruby nods firmly. "If it's keeping Weiss safe, we'll definitely do it."\n\n"Okay, so here's the deal. Tomorrow if I get any sense like they mean Weiss any harm, I'll say 'snowflake'. If I get the sense they mean anyone else or the group harm, I'll say 'fang'. If I say 'snowflake', Grey, Yang, and Jaune need to bash open a gap in any security they've got, and you and I get Weiss somewhere you can use your Semblance to whisk her to safety."\n\n"I got it." Ruby nods, then frowns. "What if you say 'fang'?"\n\n"Then we all fight our way out together," you answer with a smirk.\n\nThe next morning, not quite 'bright and early' since it was deemed a good idea not to just show up literally first thing at the start of the working day, your group makes its way to the business district of Argus. The buildings here keep to the same general style as the rest, largely bunched-together and with stone trim, but they have a lot more picture windows... although you notice most of the stone trim above them looks like it's also housing retracted armor shields. The RDC building, with its simple-looking sign settled in front, is a nine-story thing with a rounded front and long sides, with shorter, wider buildings about three stories tall on either side of it. Judging from the lack of signage on either of them, you're guessing they're RDC's too. "Huh. Thought you said it was a small company?" you note, pondering the build of them. One no windows, domed roof, the other more standard, almost more like a small mall or something.\n\n"They're a small Dust company," Weiss corrects, looking at you and raising an eyebrow. "The RDC owns this entire block."\n\n"... Hunh." You take another look around, then shrug and follow Qrow inside.\n\nQrow ambles up to the front desk, though you notice he's standing up a bit straighter than usual. He also looks to have cleaned and at least tried to iron his shirt recently... you guess that's his attempt at looking respectable. "Hey, Qrow Branwen, Huntsman," he says, lifting his scroll to show the secretary, an elderly lady (albeit not as much as Maria) with still slightly blondeish rabbit ears poking out of her grey hair. "I'd like to talk to Tanna Yuuki about requesting her help with a mission I have."\n\nThe rabbit Faunus woman blinks at him, looks around at the rest, but nods professionally and says, "One moment, please." She picks up the receiver on her desk and taps a button, waits briefly, and speaks with her voice lowered just slightly. "Yes, ma'am, there's a... particularly large number of what looks like Huntsmen and Huntresses here to see you. A Mister Qrow Branwen wishes to speak to you about securing your assistance for a mission of his. ... Yes, ma'am. ... Yes, I'll do so." She sets the receiver back down and lifts her gaze back to Qrow. "Considering the size of your party, sir, could I ask you to wait in the rooftop garden?" She gestures slightly to the pair of elevators on the wall behind her.\n\nQrow looks at them and purses his lips, and you can see him mentally calculating how many people would fit in each one and how many rides it would take. "Thanks, but we'll take the stairs. Gotta keep in Grimm-fighting shape, y'know?"\n\n"Gotta say, this is pretty damn nice," you admit as you stroll out into the garden. Considering that most of you are in Grimm-fighting shape, walking up essentially ten flights of stairs wasn't that big of a deal, though no one actually enjoyed it. (Maria sat on Lioncub again.) You gaze around the rooftop, largely bordered by large, long concrete boxes growing what looks like berry bushes of some sort, with breaks here and there to make spaces to stand nearer the railing and look out. Most of the rest is filled with flowers, though there are several rather lovely trees... and one not-so-lovely one, with brownish leaves and heavy, bulgy, heavily assymetric fruits that are a sort of yellowy orange color. Since it's fairly warm out here (a brief search picks out the gleaming crystal decorations that are actually probably heaters) and the rest of the plants look perfectly healthy, you're guessing that's just the tree's natural state.\n\n"A Mantellian pear tree," Weiss says with a bit of a sigh, folding her arms as she looks at it. "Well that's obviously a statement."\n\n"To us or to themselves?" Blake muses, shaking her own head slightly.\n\n"Mantellian pears are one of the only things that grow naturally around the edges of Mantle, where the warmth zone Atlas provides is weak," Ilia explains to you quietly. "They grow pretty fast and stay fruiting all year 'round. Since they're outside the city no one technically owns them, so if you're willing to risk the Grimm for a little while you can just go out and get some. They're kind of seen as the ultimate 'poor people' food since that's what the people having a hard time in Mantle eat when they're just trying to get by."\n\n"... Probably not very good, huh?" you ask quietly, looking from the tree to her.\n\nIlia shrugs. "They're not awful. Just pretty much flavorless. Bland. Grainy texture. Rough skin." She takes in a breath through her nose, huffs it out just a bit, face composed but voice a bit distant as she adds, "My parents ate a lot of pearsauce dinners so I could go to school."\n\nYou look at Ilia for a long moment, then just rest a hand on her shoulder and look at the tree again.\n\nAfter a minute, though, you wander over to Qrow where he's standing with his hands in his pockets, folding your arms over your chest and keeping your voice low. "Whatta you make of this?"\n\n"I dunno, kid, this situation's a hard read. They've got us up here on the roof where we're isolated, but it's also wide open... they're Huntresses, they'd know that if we're half-competent we'd have a dozen ways of escaping off of this roof, ten stories up or no. Like everything else about this, it's shrouded in obfuscation and guesswork."\n\n"Wishing we'd found some nice direct smugglers now?"\n\n"Nnnh, straightforward's always my preference, sure, but it's too early to say you've made the wrong call on this."\n\nThe elevator door dings, and when it opens four people in black suits and sunglasses walk out... the unofficial uniform of private corporate security across the entire multiverse, sometimes seems like. "Easy," Qrow mutters to the group as several tense up, watching the suits disperse to different parts of the garden to stand with their hands clasped in front of them. Two of them look like human males, but you're guessing from the slightly different way one moves his head he's likely a Faunus, the motions just a bit changed, like he's seeing and hearing more than the other. 'That means...' you think, eyes flitting to his hands. 'Most likely.' The other two are a tall, broad woman that looks like she can probably deadlift more than either of the guys, but who looks and moves human, and the fourth is a surprisingly small woman (for the job) with tan skin and dark purplish hair, feline ears poking up from amidst it. You notice that some of the rest of the group keeps glancing at her repeatedly, especially Team JNPR.\n\nBefore you can decide whether to ask what's up or not, the elevator dings and opens, and this time it's Tanna Yuuki herself striding out. She's wearing a different tan suit than in the commercial you saw, though you can see it's not just her chest that's impressive... she's got hips and a nice butt to judge from here, even if the suit isn't necessarily trying to show them off. Her blonde hair is mostly short, including the two falls of it over the front of her human ears, round dark yellowish ears with some black parts poking up from amidst it, red eyes taking in everyone, the sun glinting a little off the curled leaf emblem pin on her lapel. You can also spot a thick, fluffy dark blonde and black ringed tail drooping behind her down to almost her knees, giving just the slightest sway of its own accord.\n\n"Damn," you whisper, scowling.\n\n"What?" Qrow frowns, keeping his voice low. "Trouble?"\n\n"I don't... know. I'm getting fuckall off of her."\n\nYou'd assumed the commercials must be at least a little exaggerated, or a natural stiffness being exacerbated by the pressure of being in front of the camera, but no... Tanna Yuuki is completely and totally without outer emotion, as far as your experienced eyes can tell. No body language gives, no overt motions, not a single microexpression. Faunus are usually even easier for you to read than humans, but even the motion of her tail is just... neutral. Even as her red eyes alight on Weiss, there's no change of expression, not so much as a flicker in her eyes or a tiny flare of her nostrils. How in the hell...?\n\n"Mister Branwen?" she asks in her monotone of a voice.\n\n"Yeah," Qrow grunts, though he clears his throat and tries to straighten up a bit again as he walks forward.\n\n"I am Tanna Yuuki," she supplies as she shakes his hand. "You may be familiar with me from my television commercials." Even with a statement like that, which should give you something to work off of, it's just... flat. Like such a bland statement of the fact that he might have seen her on TV that... well hell, most people would put more emotion into observing if it was raining or not.\n\n'Is this some sort of Semblance or...?' You glance almost imperceptibly at Grey, catching his attention and mouthing NRO? He purses his lips and gives a tiny shake of the head. So no, not a mood-levelling addict. What the hell? It's actually starting to make you nervous as hell. You're not used to looking at someone and getting nothing, it's driving the part of you that felt like it needed to learn to read people in the first place into a corner with some very ugly thoughts. \n\n"I have a mission that I could use the RDC's help with, I was hoping we could talk about it."\n\n"Certainly. But first I must acknowledge an acquaintance." Tanna turns towards the side a bit, emotionless red gaze fixing on another of your friends. "Good morning, Weiss Schnee."\n\n"Good morning, Miss Yuuki," Weiss says, obviously struggling to repress a sigh as she instead steps forward to stand beside Qrow and curtsies. "It's nice to see you again."\n\n"I find that difficult to believe," Tanna replies without a hint of malice, or sarcasm, or anything. Dammit how does she do that?! You get more off of robots than this! Every hair on the back of your neck stands up as her hands come up, fingers tucking into the side of her jacket to pull it open slightly, the other hand reaching inside.\n\n<hr>\n[["SNOWFLAKE!"|KaiRem]]\n\n[["FANG!"|KaiRem]]\n\n[["..."|KaiRem10x4]]

Trying to urge the connection to form properly, you push forward, trying to urge it to firm up, to settle deeper.\n\nAnd you find yourself falling.\n\nIt's so abrupt and so far that you can't help but let out a scream, only your reflexes making you twist in the air, using a burst of Aura to push yourself face-down and twisting, reinforcing your limbs as you hit the dusty ground amidst scattered stones and what looks like a particularly gruesome statue head resting nearby, scarlet light flickering and crackling as it absorbs the impact of your three-point landing, knuckles having created a small crater in the ground.\n\n"Ow, my fuckin' knees," you grunt, wincing a little.\n\n"Wot th' 'ell 'izzis?!" demands a shocked voice from nearby. \n\nYou raise your head, spotting five people ahead of you. Three guys you're guessing are human, and dressed as if each of them had only the single goal of making it obvious they were a bandit. The fourth is obviously a Faunus of some kind, her skin pale greenish-grey and studded with leathery scales, head mostly shaved save for a fringe of spiked hair, her clothes more utilitarian and almost pirate-like. The last is standing tall, wearing a long blue dress with hooded cape, the hood currently down to show curled, thick dark hair, hands slightly turned out to display a pair of skull-capped scythes with short, harshly-arced tips.\n\nSlowly, the blue-garbed woman's head turns, revealing the side of a beautifully-painted skull mask covering her upper face. "You're not supposed to be here, Kai," she says in a strong but pretty voice.\n\nYou blink. "Maria?"\n\n"Wot, y'got mates just droppin' outta th' sky now?" the Faunus woman says with a smirk, displaying sharp, uncomfortable-looking metal teeth.\n\nMaria turns her head a bit more, gesturing ever-so-slightly with her staff, and the Faunus freezes in place, as do the other three. Then she turns to face you, letting one scythe drop to rest its blade in the earth as she raises her hand, lifts the mask away to reveal silver eyes, seeming darker and somehow deeper than Ruby's set in the rich brown of Maria's pretty face. She doesn't look like she's all that much older than you.\n\n"Rather rude to just waltz in uninvited like that."\n\n"I wasn't trying to..." You push yourself to your feet, looking around the stony, desolate gulch. "... This is your memory?"\n\n"This is the day I last used my power... or rather, just after the last time I used it." Maria closes her eyes a bit, shrugging and tilting her head a bit to one side. "Of course, my thoughts wandered on to what happened right after, which I suppose you can guess from context. You seem a canny one."\n\nYou take a brief glance at her opponents. The guys scream 'filler'. The Faunus screams 'killer'. "Her?" you ask quietly, nodding to her. Maria nods once in return.\n\n"It looks like I don't have the mental discipline I used to. It's been a long, long time since I was really a Huntress, Kai. I wasn't strong enough to make myself go on after this." Maria's regret is obvious, some echo of the croak in her elderly form's voice taking hold in the melodious voice of her youth, as if she'd been a crone in some way ever since that day. "... I'm not sure if this is going to work. I can't focus, and my mind is going. ... I may have gotten everyone killed."\n\n"I don't believe that," you insist, shaking your head.\n\n"You should." Maria's silver eyes meet yours, her face solemn, her voice firm. But then there's a bit of a tremor in it as she speaks. "There were two Grimm Reapers."\n\n"Two? Someone after you, or before, or-"\n\n"During." Maria looks a bit off to the side, seeing something off in the distance. Only because this is her memory, you see who she's looking at standing there, off near a cliffside. An almost identical form to Maria, wearing the same dress, the same cape, virtually identical weapons retracted and holstered at her hips, save that her skulls are decorated with bright red trim, her face showing a sunny smile, one hand holding the skull mask counterpart to Maria's own, her other hand raised in a wave. "Maggie and I would switch off. When one of us got hurt, or tired, or just needed some time to collect themselves, the other would step in. It made the Grimm Reaper seem tireless, constant, immortal. ... Until one day, while I was off collecting myself..." For half a heartbeat, the cheerful, waving figure is replaced by one slumped limply back against the base of the cliff, masked head lolling, blue dress dark with blood. Then it's gone. "... I lost Maggie. And then not long after, I lost my eyes. And the Grimm Reaper became a cautionary tale..." Maria's jaw works a bit. "On never working alone."\n\nYou stare at her for long moments, this tired, sad, hurt old woman showing you the echo of the last time she was anything close to whole, even if half of her had already been stolen. And you shake your head. "It's not too late to make up for the life you had before, Maria."\n\nShe barks out a bitter laugh at that, throwing her head back. "Kai I'm over eighty years old! If that's not too late, then I don't know what-!"\n\n"NO!" you shout back, your vehemence clearly startling her, as do the tears brimming in your eyes as she looks back at you. "No, I refuse to believe it's ever too late to change the life you're living and the person you are!" You clench your fists at your sides. "I refuse to be nothing but a street punk forever! I refuse to be nothing but a nobody forever!" A few of the tears slip free. "I have to believe I can be something better. I have to believe I can be someone better. I have to believe that the life I'm making for myself on Remnant is real, that it's whole, that it's not just a lie I'm telling myself to escape from the life I hated. I have to believe that Kai Sterling, or Kai Branwen, or whoever the hell I am at the end of all of this, that she's real. That she's me. So I have to, I have to believe anyone can change their life, no matter what came before," you insist, voice quiet but intense, stabbing a finger at the ground and then raising it to point at her. "Including you." You let your hand drop, and raise your chin. "If you're not happy with the way your life worked out, there's still time. Even if it's just a day. Even if it's an hour. Or the minutes we have until the Apathy close in on us. In the time we have left, let's change it. Together."\n\nMaria stares at you for long, silent moments, no sound in her stilled memory, not even the whistle or wind or the breathing of the stopped, leering, long-dead minions of the enemy you now both face in the present. And then, she nods. "... Fair enough. Alright. Where do we start?"\n\n"We start," you answer, striding forward to stand in front of her and look up into her eyes. Tall. "By changing this."\n\nMaria's lips quirk up on one side. "It's just a memory, Kai. Fighting here won't actually change anything."\n\n"It might to you."\n\nShe nods slowly again. "And?"\n\n"While we're at it, we do what this all started with. You wanted to use my ability to reach between Auras to show Ruby how to use her silver eyes. So that's what we do, right now. You show me how they work. You teach me how it feels. And that way I can pass it on to Ruby."\n\nShe considers that. "But I just used them, and they take some time to replenish. If we go back further in the memory, it won't be at this part, it will be earlier."\n\n"It's inside your mind. The external limits don't count. We're not training Ruby in timing or how best to use them effectively in combat, we just want to let her set off a nice big shockwave."\n\n"True," Maria allows, glancing around at the bandits. "But we don't have any Grimm."\n\nYou glance around too. "Don't we?"\n\nYou try to exert a bit of push on the mindscape you're in. You're in it, after all, you're here, maybe it's yours as much as Maria's. And at your urging, Salem's minions change. Their skin blackens, turning inky and lustorless. Their clothes shred as they change, bodies distorting as they grow, one of the men's limbs stretching and growing thin, his midnight skin seemingly peeled back from his skull, red light blossoming in hollow sockets as his jaw sags and ribs pop from his chest. Another twists and snarls, his face elongating, twisting into a muzzle as the skull-mask blossoms forth from the new muzzle and the front of his narrowed eyes, a tail made of starless night blossoming from his lower back as his fingers lengthen and sharpen into claws. The other flings his arms wide as they sprout feathers, stretching and changing angles, his own face sharpening and lengthening to a point, body hunching low as his legs shorten and feet twist into claws.\n\nYou don't bother giving the leader the form of a Grimm you know. You just make up your own, let her blossom forth into something from your imagination, face lengthening and flattening, losing its human features, the already sharp and studded metal teeth turning into something rusty and jagged, welded together from multiple forgotten bear traps with chains still dangling from the sides of her mouth, her breasts growing heavy and pendulous but lacking any definition, just fat orbs of darkness with a twisted, melted clock set between them, her legs having grown thick and trunk-like, a long, heavy tail pressed out from above her ass, short, thick fingers now set with long, red cutlass-like claws.\n\n"Pret-ty twisted, Kai," Maria comments dryly as she glances around, looking at the Apathy, Beowolf, Nevermore, and the other thing you've crafted. "But I guess on the other hand, they were monsters anyway."\n\n"Right. You ready?"\n\n"Mm-hmmm."\n\nAnd surprising you, the Grimm Reaper steps forward and hugs you. Pulls you close. Enfolds you.\n\nCompletely.\n\n[[Music|https://youtu.be/xEa2ggvtajk]]\n\nYou find yourself drawn within her, her thoughts aligning with yours, her sensations and feelings gradually syncing to all of your own. This isn't like going away inside yourself, it's... more like being brought forth even more. Just that there's someone with you, and you're not alone. It's your fingers gripping the pair of scythes, their blades now shimmering faintly red, glistening with a thin coating of flame and crackling softly with lightning, but they're also Maria's. It's Maria's head that turns back and forth, Maria's neck that cracks, but they're also yours. You take a few steps forward, blue dress rustling, scarlet cape with its cat-eared hood flapping, solid silver skull mask gleaming as you step forward and swing your weapons wide, once more clacking them to full extension, the gravity dust cannisters charging along with the mag-accel rings on the gun barrels jutting from the skulls' eyes.\n\n"Let's get it done," you and Maria announce.\n\nThe gator Grimm roars, the clock in its chest clanging sonorously and ticking like a countdown to the end of the world, crackling with sickly green-red energy as it rushes forward with incredibly speed. You and Maria launch into a spin up and over it, scoring along its scaly back and making it howl again, landing in a crouch and rocketing back at it. Despite the heavy, powerful body you've endowed it with to symbolize the weight the woman it was occupies in Maria's mind, it's incredibly fast, insanely strong, imbued by the fear and pain it caused.\n\nBut Maria's not alone this time.\n\nYou and Maria whirl the scythes, blocking every blow, twisting and ducking, two minds as one, two lives of living where any mistake, any flinch meant death. You're both facing forward, but you're both watching each other's backs. Every time one of those gleaming sickle-claws slashes at your face, both of you block it. Every time it whirls and swings that heavy tail in an attempt to crush you, both of you leap and roll over it. Focus. Precision. Because since both of you are fighting, both of you are at risk. And you have to protect each other.\n\nThe Grimm Reaper finally has a partner. \n\nThe gator is suddenly dropping away, the other three Grimm swarming in, the human-sized Nevermore wheeling and darting in, the two of you jumping over it only to almost get smashed out of the air by a swipe from the Beowolf. You and Maria manage to brace your heel against its palm and backflip away, landing on the ground and stumbling only a bit as the Apathy lets out a shriek that briefly rattles you.\n\n'It's okay,' you tell each other in chorus. 'I'm here for you.'\n\nStand. Swing the scythes wide again. Get ready. Get it done.\n\nMy father left us, Maria thinks, images of an empty study flashing through her link with you as she charges the Beowolf, ducking and weaving the slashes of its claws. But before he did, he cherished me and my sister and showed us nothing but love, she continues, showing you a dark-skinned man with a bright smile, holding two silver-eyed girls on his lap as he reads to them. A brief burst of silver light from your eyes like a flashbomb hits the Beowolf, causing it to flinch and knocking it reeling, making it easy to leap forward and hook one scythe behind its neck, shoving the cap of the other against the underside of its muzzle and simultaneously firing one scythe and yanking the other, doing an overly thorough job of decapitating it.\n\nThe Nevermore shrieks again, doing a flyby swoop that makes you and Maria spin away, catching on one foot as it wheels around and comes in for another pass. My mother died, Maria whispers to you, flashes of a darkened sick room, thin hands folded atop a chest as if already preparing for death. But even at the end, she always smiled when I told her I loved her. One of those thin hands reaches out in love from the shadows, a soft smile on thin lips. Maria and you leap up and over the Nevermore as it strikes at her, a heavy pulse of silver light washing over it and turning it to stone, the two of you planting a foot on its petrified fan of a tail and altering the course of your jump, as well as sending it spinning wildly to shatter against the ground. \n\nAnd I lost my sister, Maria concludes, landing in front of the Apathy, both of you almost dropping to one knee as it lets out a wail that seems to batter you with physical force with the intensity of it sapping everything good both of you have ever felt. But there's something it can't take from her. Or you. \n\nWithin her is an image of Maggie laughing, silver eyes dancing, lips curled in joy. Within you is an image of Ilia laughing, her eyes flashing through an almost iridescent rainbow of colors, a hand resting on your arm warm and easy.\n\nLiquid silver light sweeps out from you both, washing over the Apathy, burning it away to cinders as it shrieks in agony, consumed by something entirely antithetical to it.\n\n"Love colored by loss. Love colored by pain," Maria says as the two of you rise up, stand tall, look at the last whisps of charred embers that are consuming even the black mist of the Apathy. "And pure love that can't be tainted by anything, no matter what. That's how you use the silver eyes." Then she turns to face the looming monster you've created out of her tormentor. "Let's finish this, partner."\n\nYou're leaving one out, Maria, you say quietly, letting her grow dominant, letting the blue creep back into her cape, the designs crawl back over her mask, though it retains a light silver sheen.\n\n"... What?" Maria says, looking a bit to one side as if she hadn't quite heard you.\n\nI may not have silver eyes. But I know that there's a fourth one. There has to be. Because I've been afraid of feeling it, again and again. And you live with it every day. You're just not letting yourself feel it. Your dad left you. Your mom died. But you still had your sister. You still had her. And then you didn't. ... And you were left all alone with the one person you were supposed to love, but couldn't because of what was taken away from you. You can feel her shock reverberate through your linked souls, but around the edges she's beginning to accept it. Because you know how you would feel if you lost Ilia. You know what you would feel... and it wouldn't only be love for her. It would be a kind of love for yourself.\n\nBecause you would never be able to love yourself if you did not kill every single person responsible.\n\nTime to stop blaming yourself. Time to start blaming Salem.\n\nA soft wind brushes across Maria's cape, rustles her dress in the silence, filled only by the ticking of the gator's clock, the stillness broken only by the clack of its metal jaws as it smirks at her. At her pain.\n\nTwo tears trickle from beneath the edge of the mask.\n\n"You. Took her. FROM MEEEEEEEE!" Maria howls with every ounce of her soul, scythes dropping as she clenches her fists and thrusts them back, leaning into the force of the focused, blazing pillars of silver light that blast forth from her eyes, the intensity of it shattering her mask with the backblast, dust sweeping outward from her and the path of the beams. They slam into the gator, driving it backwards, its body charring and burning even as it's sent hurtling powerlessly away. The silver blast smashes it into one of the towering plateaus of rock dotting the landscape and drives it deep inside, stone shattering and crumbling with the force of the impact, the entire mountainous structure collapsing on and crushing the already dead and dying monster.\n\nLove.\n\nColored by rage.\n\nMaria collapses to her knees, sobbing, hands coming up to her bared face, crying out the tears she'd never quite shed so fully, always telling herself 'it's just one of those things', it was just the life of a Huntress, there was nothing she could do, especially once she lost her eyes. But then the sobbing stops. Her shoulders still. And her hands lower, revealing a face firm with resolve. And anger.\n\n"I'm going to kill that bitch."\n\nLet's do it together.\n\nAnd then you're back in the cavern, standing with your hands on Maria's shoulder and Ruby's back. And you know just what to push through Ruby's aura. You don't need the words, you just need the concept. And you don't have that concept in you, and probably never will. ... But you have something close enough. You have Niobe. And Ico. And the stories about Summer Rose that Ruby and Yang have told.\n\n[Your mom smiling at you.]\n\nRuby inhales hard, her eyes widening, and then her head rocks gently back as a wave of almost liquid silver luminence washes out from her, sweeping through the cellar and the caverns beyond it. The Apathy's wailing turns from low, thunderous moans to fearful shrieks as they're burned away to nothing, even their black mist crisping away in the radiance.\n\nIn the aftermath, Ruby wobbles just a little in place, then firms, blinking a few times and staring at the empty darkness in awe. "I... I did it."\n\n"Pure love that can never be tainted by anything. That's how you destroy the Grimm."\n\nYou let your hands settle to your sides as you straighten up, both you and Ruby turning to look at Maria, her wizened, lens-dominated face etched with determination.\n\n"It carries a price. It's exhausting, and you'll need some time before using your power again, because that one takes it all, no matter how big or how small you use it. But if you can focus on that love, not let any other emotion in, not let any other feelings filter through, then you can wipe them out. It takes time. It takes practice. And apparently even I still have new things to learn," she adds, head shifting a bit towards you, before she focuses on Ruby again. "But I can teach you all of that."\n\n"You can?" Ruby's face brightens. "And you will?"\n\n"Yes. Now, go on, get up there, tell everyone what a good job you did," Maria adds in a kinder tone than she's used with anyone other than maybe Reese, gesturing to the stairs with her cane.\n\nRuby beams at you both, then goes scurrying up into the house.\n\n"Ruby! Are the Apathy dead?!"\n\n"They are super dead!"\n\nYou look after her, grinning. Then look down at Maria, smile tempering a little, before offering her your hand. She looks at it a moment, then places hers in it. "Thank you," she says simply, not elaborating as you start helping her up the steps.\n\n"So you'll train Ruby, huh?" you note as the two of you go up.\n\n"Oh, I'll train Ruby alright. But if you think I'm going to let her do it all by herself at this point, you're out of your mind." She stops and looks at you, and for a moment some of the croaking, chirping old woman drops away, and her voice is stronger, closer to that of the young woman she was. "I told you. I'm going to kill that bitch."\n\nA bit later, after everyone's celebrated and rested a little, Oscar's body rocks gently as Ozma takes control. Grim-faced, he moves to sit down in front of the fire, moving as if he were really as old as he were, and not in a body at the prime of its youth. "So. I told Miss Sterling that I would reveal everything. No more... bits and pieces. No more vague allusions to what I have done. This... will be very difficult for me. I-"\n\n"That's enough, Oz." You step forward. "You don't have to do this."\n\n"I do, Miss Sterling," he insists, scowling. "I... am tired of being alone in this. I want my true self to be known... even if that self winds up hated because of it."\n\n"Yeah, but that doesn't mean you have to tell it alone." You fold your arms over her chest. "I've just recently seen how powerful love can be, tainted or untainted by any other emotion. Maybe even including from when Salem was inside of me, because from what she feels, love and hate very easily change places." His head slumps a bit, but you continue. "I got a pretty clear picture from what she was feeling and thinking when she saw you. And from how angry she got when she could tell I still loved you like family in spite of it," you add, his green-gold eyes going wide and raising to look at you as you rest a hand on his shoulder. "So it's okay. I'll take the toughest bits. You can pick up after what she knows ends."\n\n"... Thank you, Miss Sterling," he whispers, tears shimmering in his eyes. "I would appreciate that very much."\n\n"You're gonna give it to us unfiltered, kid?" Qrow asks, frowning some.\n\n"No, I'm gonna give it to you through my filter, but I'm not gonna leave anything out. Good enough, Dad?" you ask, grinning at taking any opportunity to say it, since now every time you do he blushes just a tiny bit and gets the ghost of a goofy grin on his face. \n\n"From you? Yeah, good enough."\n\n"Dee, you probably wanna leave," you note, glancing at him. "This is gonna get intense and has a bunch of stuff that no one who's not neck deep in this whole thing needs to know."\n\n"Uh. Right. Thanks, I guess." He gets up and clears his throat, then points. "I'll go do a check of the grounds, then, since the Grimm are gone. Maybe I can find a truck or tractor or something."\n\n"Cool, thanks man." You wait for him to head out, the sound of the door opening and closing, then turn to everyone and fold your arms over your chest. "Hokay. So. I'm no great storyteller, but I'll give it a shot. Try to stick with me."\n\nYou glance upward, shrug, then look back at the rest of the room. "Once upon a time, there were these two big glowy energy alien assholes that decided they were gods. They figured they'd head to some planet and fuck around making humans and playing overlord to them. One of the aliens was an arrogant, egotistical bastard who wanted everyone to think he was the greatest thing since blood absorbing oxygen. The other alien was an arrogant, egotistical bastard who was a total edgelord but at least he knew he was a dick. So they settle down and they make a bunch of shit, humans, some animals, and oh yeah because they're such extra special dicks, they make a bunch of creatures literally formed of hate and malice called Grimm. There's your benevolent starborn overlords for you."\n\nYou roll your eyes, adding in a mutter, "Assholes, giving dragons flying through space a bad name." At the odd looks you're getting, you clear your throat and continue. "So, anyway, these aliens make humans and they play like they're the divine overlords of all creation. And humanity do what humanity do and it makes a bunch of nations and kingdoms and fiefdoms and nation-states and roving barbarian tribes and orgy houses and it gets about its shit, basically on its own but of course the glowy cocksuckers are taking credit for everything."\n\n"Rein in the language a tad, kid, you keep shocking everybody but Reese," Qrow snorts.\n\n"Speak for yourself, pantywaist," Maria announces, making Qrow choke.\n\nHaving to bite back your own snort of laughter, you continue. "Alright, so anyway, along comes this as-... this king, and he has a particularly hot daughter. And he maybe has like some guilt or something over how hot he thinks she is so he builds a little death-maze challenge tower and sticks her in it by herself and doesn't ever let her out. Well, this pisses off some do-gooder wannabe superhero who's been wandering around toppling tyrants and slaying dragons, as y'do, so he's all hi-ho screw your castle here's my magic pyeoooom. He rescues the babe and is all 'You're free now' and she's all 'Free to smooch you big boy' and he's all 'yaaaay' 'cause even though he didn't go in there hoping for that by now he's definitely into her. And so they go skipping off into the sunset, zapping bad guys to pieces all along the way, and they live happily ever after."\n\nYou raise a hand to rub at your face tiredly. "Not."\n\nSighing, you drop your hand. "So the guy gets sick. Real sick. It's not one of those inspiring, he's-so-brave sort of sicks, it's one of those he lays there in bed and he just slowly dies sorts of sick. And his wife, she has to watch him go through that. She can't do anything. She can't stop it. All she can do is cry. Sit by his bed and cry. Sit alone and cry. Walk the world and cry." You hesitate a moment, wincing just a little at the sound of Ozma crying softly, before you push on. "So she's like 'You know what, screw this noise, I don't accept this, this world's full of magic and wonder and gods I'm not taking this bullshit we earned our happy ending'. So she goes marching off to the glowy gold alien she thinks is a god, and she's all polite at first, and he's all 'my child my child my child' like he's this loving father figure creator and tells her no he won't do it because the order and the balance and nevermind that he'd already kicked that crap to the curb by playing god. So she gets ticked and tells him no, this isn't fair, that's crap, and the moment she's not the properly humble and respectful little flea kissing his ass he flits his fingers and sends her away."\n\nYou scowl for a moment, then shake your head and continue. "So anyway. She's definitely not taking this crap from Goldy. She wants her guy back, she's going to get him. So this audacious bitch just up and marches into Hell. Lovely place, located conveniently right on the planet surface, full of black pools of ooze and Grimm and random dead people. She plays the 'one said no but maybe the other will let me if I don't tell them I asked someone else first' game. Literally. She's literally the first person ever to have the huge enormous balls to walk into this place so Purple Nurple is kind of fascinated by her, and she kisses his ass a bit and asks him to bring her guy back without ever mentioning she asked Goldy first. And he's all 'sure, no troubles bubbles' and does it, balance what balance."\n\nYou roll your eyes. "Then Goldy shows up and the two twits start having an argument. And during this argument, the woman's husband gets killed. Then resurrected again. Then killed again. In her fuckin' arms," you almost snarl, unable to help feeling an echo of Salem's pain and rage, because dammit if that's not something worth being pissed about. You pause, and glance over at Qrow. "That one okay?"\n\n"I'd say that about warrants it, yup," he answers grimly.\n\n"Anyway, when it's all over, Goldy proves that his whole talk about a delicate balance and a perfect cycle of life and death was all just lies by making the woman immortal. So she can never be with her guy again, ever, even when she dies. 'Cause she can't. And he's like 'Oh it's okay it'll wear off when you bow down and acknowledge I was right all along and you are a little teeny tiny bug who will live and die when I say so and I am GOD' because that's just soooo benevolent. Sooooo she spends a few decades trying to kill herself, as you might imagine, before she settles back into 'I'm not taking this crap' mode and heads around the world building an army by lying her ass off and saying she likes being immortal, she wanted to be immortal, and they can all be immortal if they just kill the gods. Of course, since as said these alien poseurs are capable of creating life and moving matter and energy around on a whim, this goes about like you'd expect. Purple Nurple gets mildly offended and decides that a suitable salve for his bit of irritation is..." You take a breath, let it out. "Complete and total planetary-scale genocide."\n\n"... what," someone says, very softly. You're not even sure who.\n\n"Yeah. He instantly wiped out everybody. Except Salem," you add with a shrug, dropping the last of the vestiges of your attempt to storybookify the tale. "Nah, Salem they left alone and immortal just to torture her. Just to make her suffer for her audacity. She endured the rain of meteors that followed the moon getting smashed... oh by the way, thank Purple Nurple for that, he apparently couldn't be assed to fly around... she endured the empty, ruined planet, the Grimm. Finally she couldn't take it anymore and she made her way back to the the one alien's place, the place where the Grimm spawned. She looked down into the pool, this big bubbling mass of anti-life, and she was so desperate for it to end she threw herself into it. She thought it might destroy her soul, that she might never get to be together with Ozma again, but she just couldn't take the loneliness and pain anymore."\n\n"But it didn't kill her," Ruby says softly. "It made her... the way that image Emerald showed us looked."\n\n"Yeah. It hurt her. It tortured her. It..." You glance at the hunched form of Ozma, looking at the floor. But it's only fair that everyone know the full story. Know who they're facing. All of her. And how she came to be. "It violated her. It violated her body, her spirit, and her mind. And she clawed her way out changed into the... gestating form of that thing she is now." You sigh again. "It's hard to tell, because it's her memories I'm working on, but I think it mostly... it tinted her, you know? She'd already kind of gone off the deep end at that point, but now all she could see was the worst in everything. It wasn't like she was... driven to do evil, she didn't turn into a baby-eating sadistic monster. ... Not right then, anyway," you add, wincing a little. "She just couldn't look at the world without seeing only the darkness. Only the worst parts. Only the hate. It's like... she had endless life, but the light died in her." You shrug. "Or something."\n\n"... Anyway. So, over time, she actually watches humanity and the Faunus develop and boy if you don't think she felt that was wild. But she wasn't like them anymore. She wasn't one of them. And Ozma wasn't there. She didn't care. She looked at how they all treated each other and she despised them, so she withdrew. She found a little house in the middle of nowhere, scared the hell out of the little old lady living there to chase her off, and settled in to live the rest of eternity alone." You glance aside at the boy sitting on the hearth. "'Til, whaddya know, one day Ozma shows up on her doorstep again. Just wearing some other poor bastard's body."\n\n"I did not know," Ozma adds quietly, voice haunted. "When he offered me a way back where I would not be alone, I did not know what he meant."\n\n"Yeah, that tracks," you snort. "See, Salem wouldn't find this out until later, but Ozma'd been manipulated by Goldy. Goldy could have gone after anyone in history who could have gotten the job done, but he chose Ozma, Salem's only love, and boy if you don't think he was doing that just to be a dick I don't know if you've been paying attention to this story so far. Goldy has decided to resume his role as benevolent father-god but without pretending to actually do anything, and without Purple Nurple's interference. He makes four artifacts and sends them to Remnant, tells Ozma that if they're assembled, the Brothers Dick will return and judge humanity, but if they're not up to snuff, boop, dead again. So kind," you add flatly. "So anyway, Salem and Ozma, together again, and what ensues next is probably the grandest case of lovers lying to each other that was not tied to an attempt to get laid in the history of the world. They both just leave out most of the crap they did and why they're there now, they settle down, they look around and they go 'Boy humanity sure is being dicks to each other and especially these Faunus dudes'. And to Salem it's the most natural thing in the world that the way to fix everything is to run everything, because she and Ozma still have magic and the rest didn't."\n\n"She was always very charismatic," Ozma says softly. "And I was a fool."\n\nYou can't help but scoff and roll your eyes. "Okay yeah true but let's be honest Oz she also regularly tried to suck your brains out through your dick and slamfucked you so hard you had to heal your hips up afterwards. Aaaaanyhoo," you continue, ignoring the numerous red faces around the room, and the strangled noises Ozma is making. "So Ozma here goes along with it. Salem convinces him it's the best way, they set themselves up as the new gods, and like all gods that actually mess about with the world they incite holy wars. Gotta teach everyone their peaceful ways by force after all. But amidst this they also have the consequences of all that canoodling and they have four gorgeous little girls. Little girls who can do magic. And Salem... she finally goes off the deep end when she finds this out. The quietest, most softest splash into the deep end of the crazy pool you ever saw. Because all of a sudden, that hate-tinted worldview that's been trying to resolve how much she loves Ozma and her babies sees the solution." Your lips press into a line. "Get rid of all the old humans. Get rid of all the Faunus. Replace them with her and Ozma's descendants. The old people that rejected her, had no place for her, they'll be gone, and in her place she'll have an entire planet full..." You grimace. "Of family."\n\n"... So," you continue after giving everyone some time to absorb that. "Oz here naturally gets cold feet at this point. Probably understandably, his first instinct is to get his babies away from this crazy psycho bitch that's now talking about creating an entire planetary population of inbred mages. But, Salem already knew Ozma had cold feet, he'd admitted as much earlier, and she catches him in the act. She attacks him and..." You grimace again, though this time it takes you a second to speak too. "... I'm not gonna lay blame. I'm not gonna say it was anyone's fault. Just... there was collateral damage."\n\nYou go silent for awhile on that, even the distant, already dissipating echo of Salem's pain, that monster's last human sobs carrying through the shattered halls of what had once been her family's home, echoing through your mind.\n\n"Even then... as twisted and cruel and dark as she had started to become," Ozma says, voice shaking. "I cannot imagine what it must have been like for her. Digging through the rubble... with her magic, or... her hands. ... Searching for those four little bodies."\n\n"Three."\n\nOzma blinks and raises his head, looking as stunned as if you'd slapped him. "I... I'm sorry?"\n\n"Salem found three bodies. And a lot of blood. They were... in bad shape," you admit with a bob of the head. "Salem figures the other was hit by a magic blast or something. But. She only ever found three bodies."\n\n"I... ... I see."\n\n"Anyway. Sorry Oz. I think at this point it's your show. Guess me telling it probably didn't help that much after all."\n\n"No, Miss Sterling, thank you. Your... unique perspective and insights into Salem's feelings on things were actually quite helpful all the same, and... as painful as hearing about some things is, it is still better than having to speak them myself." He takes a breath, nods and looks out at everyone. "So, after Salem killed me... for the first time... I spent a great number of lives in my forced reincarnations going through... much of what she must have when first walking an empty world. But my world was not empty, and eventually I found my way back, and began attempting to help it instead. I saw the constant Grimm attacks, saw she was orchestrating many of them, and I resolved myself to do finally complete the mission the God of..." He hesitates, snorts, and corrects, "'Goldy' had given me, for I did not yet have the context to know what he had actually done. I set off to find the Relic of Knowledge," he says, gesturing to the lamp at Ruby's waist. "And I asked it three questions. The question, and the answer that caused my despair, should be obvious. I asked it how I could defeat Salem, and Jinn, the entity within, told me 'You can't'. After that..." He sighs. "... After that, I admit, I lost faith. I believed all I could do was... prolong the inevitable, make people as strong and capable of resisting her as I could, unify them as much as I could but if Salem could not be defeated I did not see how true peace and unity could ever be achieved."\n\nYou blink slowly. "... Say that again."\n\n"Ah... which part, Miss Sterling?"\n\n"Your question to the lamp and what she told you. Say the exact words."\n\n"Ah, well." Ozma frowns a little, glancing around. "I asked 'How do I defeat Salem?' and she answered 'You can't'."\n\nYou stare at him for a long moment, then let out a sigh, putting a hand to your face. "You idiot."\n\n"Er?" He jolts back a bit as if he'd been lightly struck. "I-I'm sorry?"\n\n"Dooooon't you actually READ fairy tales?!" Blake suddenly cries, leaping from where she'd been sitting and starting to thwap Ozma about the head and shoulders with the book she'd been holding as if it were a teddy bear. "You don't! Ask! Something named! Jinn! A question! Like that! They'll! Answer! Literally!"\n\n"Hey hey whoa whoa Blake easy easy easy," you call, putting your hands on her shoulders and urging her back as Ozma stares at her in shocked confusion.\n\n"C'mon now, easy does it," Grey says as he slides an arm behind Blake from behind and tugs her away as well, reaching up to scratch behind one of her ears.\n\nBlake jumps a bit. "Hey! How dare... how... huh... mmf..." She slumps a little, a low, soft, steady thrumming building in her chest and reverberating in her throat as her eyes droop.\n\nTeam RWBY's jaws drop, and Reese makes a noise of utter overstimulation. "Hey, no fair, I wanna," Yang whines softly as she reaches a hand out towards Blake, lips poking out in a pout.\n\n"... GAH!" Blake jumps away from you and Grey, batting at your hands, then letting out a heavy huff. She spends a moment smoothing out her jacket and adjusting her hair, before shaking the book at him again, making him wince back a little reflexively. "You asked a very specific question and she gave you a very specific answer. Your wording means you asked her, specifically, how you personally could defeat Salem. That means Jinn informed you that you personally couldn't."\n\n"Wait." Ozma blinks again. "What?"\n\n"You didn't ask 'how can Salem be defeated', you asked 'how can I defeat Salem'," you note with a sigh, rubbing your face with both hands. "You yourself, a guy who was never as good with magic as her, doesn't have an insta-healing body or the ability to control Grimm, and may for all we know have at the time been in the body of like a shoemaker or something."\n\n"... He owned a men's boutique," Ozma says, his voice having gone faint.\n\n"For the love of Dust Oz," Qrow groans, leaning his head back and thumping it against the wall.\n\n"I... I..." Ozma finally sighs and shakes his head. "... I made a very foolish mistake. One of many, as we have seen tonight. At least someone actually pointed this out to me."\n\n"I mean, we already knew at least some of this," Yang allows, shrugging a little. "About who you really are, that you were connected to Salem, that you thought she was invincible. Imagine how rattled we'd all be if it just got dropped on us out of nowhere. Or in the middle of nowhere or something."\n\n"We'd already resolved to push forward knowing she was supposedly undefeatable," you agree with a nod at Yang. "Now it looks likely that she isn't."\n\n"So do we ask it again?" Maria asks, pointing at the lamp with her cane. "Or what?"\n\n"It's probably best if we wait," you suggest before Ozma can reply, though you notice he looks grateful. "Maybe if we get as many pieces in play as possible, make as much progress as we can, Jinn will give us a better answer when we ask."\n\n"Riiiight, like, 'who do you think is gonna win' maybe has a really different answer at the start of a checkers match and when one player only has one piece left," Ruby pipes up, nodding eagerly.\n\n"Yeah, exactly." You take a deep breath, let it out. "Holy crap has it been a long day."\n\n"Feels more like half a week at least," Qrow grunts. "Alright, let's start sleeping in shifts. Can't take a risk of another Grimm attack or something. Set up some pallets down here and those who aren't sleeping just try to keep quiet and keep an eye out. I'm gonna go check on Dee," he adds, turning and heading for the front door.\n\n"Alright. Ozma... Oscar," you add just a bit more warmly, seeing the boy flush some as he comes back, though he does look a bit troubled. Still, he makes cute flustered farmboy noises when you ruffle his hair, so can't be that bad. "You, me, Reese, Ruby, and Maria should probably take the first turns sleeping."\n\n"Hmf! Like I'm gonna listen to some kid," Maria declares as she hobbles over to a chair. "'Go to be~d'," she adds in a particularly childish warble as she hops up into it.\n\nYou just grin at her. "Not an order, Maria, just a suggestion. Not to brag but we're all the ones who have been through the most today. We've earned some shuteye."\n\n"... Mm. Well, fine then. If it's a suggestion. Bring me a blanket, then, please, one of you."\n\n"I'll get it," Reese declares, hurrying towards the bag.\n\n... You kind of... want to have a talk with Maria before you get some sleep. Obviously a lot's happened between the two of you, and it feels like some of it could stand to be said aloud. On the other hand, it seems like she's already resolved herself, and is maybe still working on digesting some of what's happened herself. Might be better to let her be for awhile.\n\n<hr>\n[[Talk to Maria.|KaiRem10x2]]\n\n[[Let her be.|KaiRem]]

While the garbage can is definitely big enough to fit a grown human being (albeit probably not too comfortably), you really doubt Amari is crouching in there hiding out from the wasteland, having chosen a stinking, slimy-looking plastic trash bin as her preferred sanctuary. If she's in there...\n\n... well, you'd rather exhaust all your other options before finding out if she's in there, let's put it that way.\n\nStill, just to check, you call out "Captain Andrews? ... Amari, are you in there?" No reaction, other than the clatter of something from elsewhere in the dump that makes you whirl and aim your rifle.\n\nBut when there's no followup sound or movement, you settle again. Giving the trash can one last dubious glance, you shake your head and set off further inland.\n\nAbout ten minutes later you pause at another, different chime from your comm, pulling it out and then making another face. Rain incoming. In fact now you can hear a distant rumble of thunder. The rain around here is pretty nasty, from what you read, you probably don't want to be caught out in it if you can help it at all.\n\nYou take a quick glance around. Nnnh... you don't exactly like this place, but you bet you could find a place to shelter from the rain in it. You haven't seen any discarded vehicles in a while, but you know they're around... you've also seen things like shipping containers, and even trailer homes. So if you give up on actually moving further inland and instead search for somewhere to shelter here in the dump, you should be able to manage before the rain gets here.\n\nOr you can push your luck and try to get out of the dump before the weather hits. You have no idea how far this place actually stretches, but you also don't know how long the rain will last... it looks like a pretty sizeable storm cell on the comm screen. You'd rather not be stuck in this festering junk pile more than overnight, let alone the feeling like you're not pushing ahead to find Amari.\n\nPragmatically you should look for shelter here. Psychologically you'd feel much better trying to get out and find shelter elsewhere. Which will it be?\n\n<hr>\n[[Shelter in the dump.|ChiApoc1x3]]\n\n[[Try to get past the dump.|ChiApoc]]

Ugh... you really want to get out of here, but pragmatism wins the day. You're almost certain of being able to find decent shelter somewhere around here to keep yourself mostly dry (if not exactly comfortable, due to the smell if nothing else).\n\nYou start keeping an eye out, and eventually spy a fairly tall hill made up of stacked office furniture. Not exactly the safest thing in the world, but, y'know, you're an interdimensional mercenary. You clamber up it until you're standing on the desk at the top, shifting your weight a little bit to adjust for all the little wobbles of legs not quite fitting together below you, and take a look around. You actually have a pretty decent view of the area from here, you find, taking out a viewer and sweeping it around.\n\nYou make a bit of a face as you spot the edge of the dump, where it turns to dead, scrubby grass and trees and mostly open ground. You might have actually made it out if you'd picked up the pace and kept going in that direction... and hadn't stopped to climb an office furniture hill. Eh, still, you would have had to go searching for shelter out there anyway, and you don't immediately see anything, so best not lose any time worrying about it.\n\nYou sweep the viewer around the nearby areas of the dump itself, trying to pick out places you might be able to shelter. Near to the edge of the dump you spot what looks like a large dumpster that's half-buried in a mound of other refuse, with the side cut off of it and some signs that there was a little camp set up inside... no one currently in it. Very minimalist shelter, but you'd be able to leave and get out of this place quickly as soon as the rain passed.\n\nYou sweep your view back and forth along the path between that and where you currently are, spotting a few more possibilities. One is just a tower of shipping crates stacked together... you could probably find a fairly intact one to bunk down in. Again not the comfiest thing in the world but as basic "keep out of the rain" precaution it would work, and it's not that much further from the edge.\n\nYou continue to make your way along the view, and pause as you spot one of those abandoned trailer homes... except probably not abandoned. There is a faint light showing through the windows, and a tiny stream of smoke wafting up from what looks like an after-market chimney pipe. Hunh... actual inhabitants. You recall reading they were usually hostile, but not necessarily. You might actually be able to peaceably barter an overnight stay instead. Or... yeah, there's another one not too far away from it that looks like it was also modified from when it was dumped, but is completely dark and looks thoroughly abandoned.\n\nMore just curious, you sweep your viewer down and... huh. Taking it away from your eyes you squint a bit and can still see what it revealed... a series of trash heaps that are actually little huts. They blend in so much with the more randomized actual dump piles that you could have... maybe have been... walking right by them without noticing. You're practically on top of a cluster of them... you could clamber down the furniture hill and be at the door of one of them in a few minutes. Hm... well whoever they are, if you have been walking by them all this time, they're clearly not hostile or they'd have jumped you by now. On the other hand, the camouflaged huts would also suggest wanting to be left alone...\n\n<hr>\n[[Make for the dumpster camp near the edge.|ChiApoc2x1]]\n\n[[Make for the piled shipping containers.|ChiApoc]]\n\n[[Make for the occupied house.|ChiApoc]]\n\n[[Make for the unoccupied house.|ChiApoc3x1]]\n\n[[Approach one of the huts.|ChiApoc1x4]]

As a Makarzian you're not a big fan of oceans anyway, and you definitely don't want to see what this level of pollution has done to the sort of crap that swims around in those. Besides, you just don't feel like Amari would have headed for the ocean... her file indicated she was mostly raised on government facilities, she'd probably head for an urban area, preferably with an IASA facility.\n\nYou turn and head towards the nearest of the inland beacons, making your way past more and more of the piles of refuse, which grow thicker, higher, and closer together as you go along. Gradually you become pretty sure that this did in fact become some sort of dumping ground for garbage at some point, rather than all of this winding up or piling up here at random. Some of the piles actually seem vaguely ordered, like maybe they were sorted at some kind of facility, loaded on a truck, then just dumped into the landfill with all the rest of it. It does make you muse that Makarzia, for all its faults, does have a fairly advanced garbage disposal and recycling program... if only because there's not really any space on the planet for landfills, with it all being city. (At the very least, garbage gets ground up fine and sort of melted down, and component chemicals are cycled out and resold.) \n\nThere's plenty of organic stuff in this garbage, though, to judge by that particularly "trash" smell that's making its way even through your filters. You make a face beneath your vape mask, occasionally taking a puff of the flavored stim more just to keep the taste out of your mouth, but stop when you realize all you're really doing is tinting the garbage smell/taste with blueberries and making yourself mildly jittery.\n\nYou've been walking through the sprawling dump for about two hours when your comm blips at you. You take it out and see you've gotten fairly close to the nearest inland signal. You wind your way through more trash piles following the dot, then finally approach the signal itself... then stop, frowning.\n\nThe signal is coming from straight ahead... specifically, one of a cluster of what look like actual garbage cans, the large plastic varieties with a lid. Plain grayish-black plastic, most of them with cracked and broken handles, the round lids fixed on... but the "old apartment garbage" smell is stronger here. Ugh, maybe that's what this is... at some point some apartment complex just decided to throw out their (full) garbage bins instead of emptying them and reusing them. And the signal for a piece of Amari's equipment is coming from one directly ahead of you.\n\n<hr>\n[[Sigh. Go take a look.|ChiApoc]]\n\n[[... Pass.|ChiApoc1x2]]

Red Legacy halts in the air just short of impacting Clockwork Dirge again, Qrow's back to the wall and his grip on his weapon white-knuckled, his eyes wide as they stare at you.\n\n"You... dare?" Salem snarls with your lips, twitching and trembling.\n\n"I dare... take my own body back... all day... you bitch," you reply in kind, one side of your mouth twitching and eye squinting, every bit of your body trembling as the two of you struggle for control of it.\n\n"Fight her Kai c'mon," Reese whispers from nearby, wide-eyed.\n\n"It has never been your... body," Salem grunts, shoving your hands forward as if still hoping she could bring the edge of the blade to Qrow's neck. "It has always... been for the use of others! Since! The day! You woke up in that cell!" \n\n"Fight her, Kai! Fight her!" Ruby calls, pumping a fist in the air. "You can do it!"\n\n"She's not the boss of you!" Yang roars.\n\n"No one is! You're the leader!" Blake adds. \n\n"Kick her ass, Kai!" Weiss adds, stomping a foot on the floor.\n\nThe others continue to shout their support as you shake, the black veins across your skin squirming and retracting, then surging forward, almost reaching your eyes, Salem still trying to force you forward, trying to force you to take Qrow's life, centuries upon centuries of hate focused on killing him, needing to kill him to inflict some bit of the pain she's gone through on you.\n\n"You can do it, kid," Qrow whispers softly, lowering Clockwork Dirge and gazing across Red Legacy's blade at you.\n\nYou grit your teeth until they almost crack, tasting blood in your mouth, feeling Salem edge up one one side, your entire eye turning red, feel her almost take control. And you put everything you are into one last effort.\n\n"GET! AWAY! FROM MY! DAD!!" you roar, flinging your whole being against Salem in the spiritual equivalent of a shoulder check.\n\nYou can feel the ancient being of hatred practically yelp as she's forced out so suddenly, a crack and ripple playing across your body with a flash of Aura before Red Legacy clatters to the floor. You wobble and slump forward against Qrow, his arms wrapping around you reflexively, then growing more tender as he rests his hand on the back of your head.\n\n"Oh kid," he rasps, his voice shaking, tears slipping from his eyes and into your hair as he bows his head over yours. "... You don't want the burden of my name."\n\n"The hell I don't," you sob softly, trembling as you cling to his front, your fingers clenching against his shirt.\n\n"Is it... is it over?" Dee asks after a moment. "Is she, uh, okay?"\n\n"I think so," you murmur, wiping your face with both hands as you turn around, though you wince hard at both the state of the room and everyone's body. "Dragon, I'm sorry everybody." And you almost start crying again as you see the blood covering the lower half of one side of Grey's face. "Oh dragon, Grey..."\n\n"It's fine, it'll probably be barely noticeable when it heals," he replies with a flippant grin, though there is a hint of genuine pain in his eyes. "Besides, it will totally go with that 'bad boy on a redemption arc' look that makes Reese all wibbly."\n\n"Y'know it'll scar even less if you actually put something on it and use the dermaspray in the medical kit instead of just standing there looking cool as it bleeds, pretty boy," Maria comments dryly, which sends Blake scurrying for the medical supplies while Grey looks abashed, ears folding down a bit at the tips.\n\n"Ah yeah but, well..." Then he grins with a near-echo of Maria's own usual mischievous look, ears perking. "But it does look cool, right?"\n\nYou can't help but grin a little, before wincing and turning to the rest of Team RWBY. "Yang, are you okay?"\n\n"I think so," the blonde admits with a grunt, pressing a hand on the ugly bruise already forming on her six pack abs. "What the hell happened though, Kai? Was that actually Salem? How? And why was she so strong?"\n\n"It was Salem," Ozma says softly, still standing where he was, his shoulders and head slumped. "It... was Salem."\n\n"Who the hell is 'Salem'?" Dee mutters, staring back and forth from you to the others.\n\n<hr>\n[["The bad guy."|KaiRem8x2]]\n\n[["... His wife."|KaiRem12x1]]

You look at Ozma for long moments, at the terror in his eyes, before turning your gaze to Dee. "Salem's the Big Bad. The one behind the Fall of Beacon, and way, way more." You can just barely see Ozma slump, and then the body shift as Oscar reasserts control.\n\n"Oh," Dee says rather weakly.\n\n"How'd she get inside of you, Kai?" Ruby asks with a frown.\n\n"I'm afraid that might be my fault," Maria says as she retracts the scythe blade into her cane, then leans on it, once more a slightly fragile little old woman. "I was advising her and her friends on meditation techniques, and we discussed the chains and linkages of Aura. Now, very rarely, an awakened person has a greater perception of those linkages than others, and can even with a bit of trying manipulate them with some practice. But it's also a dangerous ability," she murmurs, shaking her head. "It can invite things in, if you're not careful about shielding."\n\n"Then why didn't you warn them?" Qrow almost growls, stepping forward and giving you an uncertain look before frowning at Maria.\n\n"Because it's an incredibly rare gift! Admittedly, perhaps I should have been more cautious after seeing that Semblance of hers," Maria admits, cupping her chin and looking aside. "But an Aura Linker is rare, almost as rare as silver eyes."\n\n"Huh. Guess our group just attracts the rarities huh?" Reese comments as she helps Blake in tending to Grey's face, the male Faunus hissing a bit every so often.\n\n"... Eh?" Maria looks over, cybereyes whirring in a blink. "Whanao ya be sayn gehl ye be havvinose bry shyneh peepah now?"\n\n"Nomum thizyeeah guhll havinose swomgrin aye ah-yeah Rubby Roh havin'em sivvahaye yessum."\n\n"You?" Maria warbles, turning to Ruby curiously.\n\n"Uh..." Ruby glances back and forth between them, then looks upward and waves both fingertips in the air, mouthing silently as if trying to replay something, then looks back at Maria and nods, pointing with both fingers. "Yes! ... I think."\n\n"Well that would have been useful to know beforehand and could have saved us a lot of trouble," Maria grumbles. "... Actually that might be an answer to a lot of our troubles," she adds, perking up some.\n\n"How's that?" Oscar asks, slumping tiredly to sit on the hearth.\n\n"With an Aura Linker and a silver-eyed Huntress we might just be able to get rid of all of those Grimm. I'll need some time to consider, let an old woman think," she adds in an almost annoyed tone, waving everyone off with one hand.\n\n"Okay okay okay but again why so strong?!" Yang demands. "Look Kai and I have gone all-out and I know she can't kick that hard."\n\n"Because it broke my knee and tore my leg muscles to do it but Salem didn't care about that," you answer finally, shock passing across Yang's face. "Not just because it was my body, but because that's how she treats hers. Since she heals up from everything too, she long ago overcame the limits of a flesh and blood body and just pushes everything to the max, all the time. She does it when she inhabits something else too, so whatever it is gets way stronger, way faster, and will be until it winds up tearing itself apart in the process."\n\n"The Grimm on the train!" Grey hisses, snapping his fingers and pointing at you.\n\n"The Grimm on the train," you echo, nodding. \n\n"Wait, what?" Yang says, sweeping her hands apart a bit. "The one Blake and I couldn't hold down? You're saying that was because Salem was in it?"\n\n"And probably the ones after, too, the ones that derailed us," you add, shaking your head.\n\n"Did think that was the weirdest damn thing I ever did see, an actual suicide charge of Grimm to derail a train," Qrow mutters. Then his eyes widen a little and he turns towards the pantry.\n\n"I don't think she's going to," you note with another shake of the head. "Trust me, with how pissed she was, if she could have she'd have had them swarming us about two seconds after I evicted her. Maybe when I body-checked her out of my head it disrupted her own ability to Aura Link for awhile, or something," you muse, rubbing the back of your neck.\n\nRuby snorts and covers her mouth with both hands. "You body-checked Satan."\n\n"Ruby," Weiss hisses, smacking her partner's arm.\n\n"Nevermind how you can Aura Link with something that doesn't have an Aura." Qrow frowns, then shakes his head. "Questions for later. For now, you, you, kitchen, we need to talk," he continues, stabbing a finger at you and then at Oscar. \n\n"Yeah." You follow after the two, then stop and turn back to the others, a crestfallen look on your face again. "... Seriously, guys, I-"\n\n"God, stop, I don't want to hear it forever," Grey groans, the cut on his face now covered by a slim grey bandage.\n\n"It wasn't your fault, Kai, you couldn't have known, and you stopped her before Uncle Qrow got hurt," Yang assures you. Then she snorts. "If you wanna make it up to me by buying me something nice, though, I wouldn't mind."\n\nGrey glances at her, then at you, cat ears perking. "Too late to extort presents? Tch!" he calls as Blake slaps his shoulder.\n\nYou bite your lower lip, hesitate, then just nod and turn to head to the kitchen.\n\n"Did he know?" Qrow asks immediately, slamming a hand against the table and glowering at Oscar.\n\nOscar winces a little, then shakes his head. "As far as I can tell, no."\n\n"Did he-"\n\n"Hey, ease up," you murmur, stepping between them somewhat and lightly pressing on Qrow's shoulder. "You can't get answers out of Ozma by yelling at Oscar, okay?"\n\n"... Hnh, right." Qrow yanks a chair out and sits in it backwards, rubbing his face a little with one hand, elbow propped on the back of the chair. "Think the NRO's starting to wear off already. Too much high emotion, too much blood pumping."\n\n"Mine's pretty much gone too, pretty sure, yeah," you say with a sigh, then frown. "... But I don't have that staticy feeling anymore. I don't think the Apathy are trying to get at me anymore."\n\n"Maybe friendly fire's off," Oscar suggests seemingly without thinking. Then he blushes a little. "Er, sorry, that was dumb, that-"\n\n"Huh, no, I think you've got something, go with it," you urge, resting your hands on your hips.\n\nOscar glances a little uncertainly at Qrow, but gets a nod. "Uh, okay so, when we all play video games, some games you can turn your attacks affecting teammates on or off, sometimes even on a player-by-player basis, right?" He glances back and forth between you. "So maybe when Salem took over Kai's body, she set it to not take 'friendly fire' from the Apathy. I mean she heals but maybe having your brain eaten by depression is distracting even for her."\n\n"Hunh." Qrow sits up a little more. "And since Kai forced her out instead of her going on her schedule, she wasn't able to switch it off. Or maybe it's because that Aura Linking thing is disrupted, so she can't access the Grimm to change it for them."\n\n"Right, like her admin console crashed," Oscar agrees with a few quick nods. \n\n"So you're saying that right now the Apathy see me as a 'friendly'?" you ask with a quirk of the eyebrow.\n\n"I mean..." Oscar and Qrow exchange a glance. "It seems possible. Considering that everything we're talking about is impossible," Oscar adds in a rush, slumping a little.\n\n"... Alright. But seriously." Qrow's expression grows grim again. "Ozma didn't know about Salem's ability to possess things?"\n\n"He seemed really shocked when he saw her in Kai," Oscar assures him, wincing a little with a glance at you. "So I don't think he knew it went that far, at least. He knew she could order Grimm around, and I think he might have actually suspected she was... he calls it 'riding'... the one on the train, but I don't think he was actually sure until now."\n\n"Hnh." Qrow mulls that one over for a bit, then nods. "Okay. Go get some rest if you can."\n\n"Oscar," you add, snagging his arm as he goes past, leaning down to look him in the eyes and whispering, "He needs to tell everyone the rest. Soon. ... Or I will," you add, voice a little hard, but eyes full of pain.\n\n"He knows," Oscar says softly after a moment. "He's just still working on accepting it. He... says he'll be ready by the time we finish dealing with the Apathy. ... I think I believe him this time."\n\n"Okay." You release Oscar's arm and give him a kiss on the forehead, which turns his face coppery red, before he almost goes scurrying off.\n\n"What, you're keeping things from me now too?" Qrow grunts, slumping forward against the back of the chair and looking deeply tired.\n\n"Just for awhile, until we can see if Oz is gonna tell us himself like I was just told," you reply, drawing over another chair and settling into it sideways, leaning against the back. "If he pussies out again once we've offed the Apathy I'll tell you everything I learned from Salem. Promise."\n\nQrow chews on that for a minute, and though he clearly doesn't like the taste much he nods. "Fair enough." The two of you sit in silence for long moments before he says, very quietly, "'Get away from my dad', huh?"\n\n"... Uh." Your face goes red. "... Yeah."\n\n"... How y'figure, kid?" he asks, his voice almost a plea.\n\n"I mean..." You look away, rubbing your arm lightly. "I'm not trying to force it on you or anything. But... we go out and have fun, you tell me stories, we laugh at the same dumb crap, and... and you teach me stuff, and you look out for me, and... when we fight together I feel really safe, I feel like you'd do anything to keep anything from happening to me," you admit, swallowing.\n\n"... Oh kid I absolutely would," he admits, his rasp of a voice softer than before, red eyes shimmering a little. "I would all damn day and to the end of time. But that doesn't make a father."\n\n"Then what does?" you ask, bringing your eyes back to meet his.\n\nQrow is silent for a long time after that, lowering his head a little and staring at his own hairy forearms. Finally he takes a deep breath and looks at you again. "It's not about whether I want you to be mine. I think we both know we don't share blood, but you said once you'd choose me... and after all's said and done, I'd choose you. But there's so much better out there. Ruby and Yang's dad, he's like... the definition of Dad, yanno? He'd probably love to have you, five minutes with him and he'd have convinced himself he changed your diapers when you were a baby. You don't want me, my curse, my... baggage," he adds, eyes trailing towards the pocket where he watched you put his flask. "... You think I'd be a good dad? Okay. First good dad move. I'm asking you... think, really think about what you're saying. Do you want a father that you had to take his damn whiskey away from him to get him to stop drinking?"\n\nOkay. So. You guess that's a pretty fair thing to ask, put like that. So you sit and you think about it awhile. A single teacher with a drinking problem heavily in denial about his actual life goals and who probably has intimacy issues who also literally causes bad luck for everyone around him. That's pretty much the picture here. You look at him again, thinking over your own life and what you have to compare him to, a genemod soldier with rage issues who picks up new addictions for fun, a pseudo-philosophical warrior nun who takes pride in being a slave, and an abusive sloppy drunk. Okay, you love Niobe and Ico, but you've gotta admit he's still measuring up pretty well.\n\n"I think," you say slowly. "At the end of the day... maybe it feels even more right because I... think you need me almost as much as I need you." You reach out to take one of those rough hands, holding it in both of yours and looking down at it as you continue. "I... want someone who will make a home for me. ... I think you need someone to make a home for."\n\nQrow stares at you silently for long moments. Then he bobs his head in a nod. "... Yeah. Okay. Hell with it. Hit me with that while I'm stone cold sober and what'm I gonna do?"\n\n"Say 'I love you'?" you prompt, smiling a little wanly.\n\nThere's just a flicker of fear there... but then it's replaced by warmth. He grins and gets up, wrapping his arms around you as you stand as well. "Okay. I love you, kid."\n\n"Love you, Dad," you whisper back, resting your face against his chest.\n\nQrow squeezes you, and for a little while the two of you hold each other. Then he draws back, sighing and rubbing the back of his head. "Nice as this little moment is, we still need to figure out what to do about the Apathy."\n\n<hr>\n[[Let's see what Maria has to say.|KaiRem8x3]]\n\n[[Oh you'll just kill them all. Personally.|KaiRem]]

"Oh," she says, looking briefly disappointed. Then she leans out and past you a bit to squint into the distance, making you step back and aside (only partly because of the smell), her grime-smeared tits swaying a bit with the motion. "Mmmm... yeah, okay, better come in, better come in," she murmurs, ducking back into her hut.\n\n"Thanks," you say, taking a deep breath (and going ahead and taking a huff of the vape, because blueberry-scented BO is still a little better than just taking it straight, you figure) before ducking inside.\n\nYour suspicion that the hut was just sort of randomly piled up of stuff she liked that she found is borne out, because "clutter" is the dominant word. The interior is probably a bit smaller than your apartment bedroom, and there's stuff piled up everywhere. There's a chair and desk in one corner, with what looks like scattered repair tools, but the whole thing is so piled up with clutter and random other things that it looks like she's probably just making due with about two square inches of workspace on whatever her projects are. There's also what looks like a mattress on the floor, but it too is almost completely piled up... there is a blank space to one side of it, presumably where she sweeps the bed clutter when she wants to sleep, and then moves it back to the bed when she's awake so she has just enough floorspace to make it to her desk or door.\n\n"Ahem."\n\n"Oh, right, sorry," you say, turning back to the improvised door and hauling it closed. And just in time, since you hear a much louder roll of thunder, and the heavy thump of rain nearby. You brace as the rain gets closer and starts clattering against the hut itself... but it holds. Huh. Surprising, but welcome.\n\n"Sit anywhere," the woman says cheerfully, easing herself back into her desk chair and starting to rummage through the clutter on it.\n\n"Thanks," you say dryly, glancing around, then carefully nudging aside some of the stuff piled on top of a minifridge to perch on the edge of it. "I'm Michika, by the way." When she seems disinclined to reply, you clear your throat and prompt, "And you are?"\n\nShe looks over at you and blinks, as if taking a moment to remember why you're in her house, before she gets up and steps over with a clinking and clattering from all her various accoutrements, leaning forward and tilting her head back. "Pick one."\n\nYou stare at her, then lower your gaze, noticing that she's wearing a dog collar, with what has to be twenty different nametags. You glance at her face, then at the tags, before tentatively nudging them aside and flicking through them since it seems to be expected of you. "... Juno...?"\n\n"Okay, I'm Juno," she says in a pleased tone, immediately returning to her desk and resuming her rummaging.\n\n"... Right." You clear your throat again, and after a moment sigh and lower your mask, since you're starting to feel silly and a bit rude sitting there with it on, even if your host is clearly a few balls shy of a full pachinko load. The smell gets a little worse but not that much... you guess you'd already started getting used to it. You glance around again, then upward, and blink at the sight of a long, sleek draconic form in glowing blue plastic, its red eyes blinking slowly beneath the horned crest sweeping up from above them. "You guys have the Crystal Dragon here?"\n\n"Of course!" Juno blurts, instantly whirling towards you, clutching her fists, mismatched eyes sparkling wildly. "We Finders are the ultimate adherants of the Crystal Dragon! Not like all those other heretics out there! We remember! We seek! We find!"\n\nYou'd leaned back from her a bit during the outburst, blinking repeatedly. "Uhhhh... I... I'm not sure I understand. Where I come from the Crystal Dragon is mostly seen as a god of mercenaries, fighters, and sometimes gangbangers... he's a god of forgiveness."\n\n"HERETIC!" she blurts, leaping to her feet and stabbing a finger at you with such vehemence that your hand shoots to one of your holstered pistols. For a moment the two of you just stand there staring intently at each other, before she shrugs and plops back down, this time turning to the side and rummaging in one of the other junk piles. "No it's fine he's that too I guess."\n\n"Uh-huuuuh," you murmur, relaxing your hand but not moving it very far.\n\n"But first... before that... in the very beginning... the Crystal Dragon was a god of lost things," Juno murmurs with a distracted air. "It's pretty funny that the memory of him as that has been lost too, huh?" she adds, letting out a long rising-and-falling peal of giggles. "But we found it. Because we're Finders. We search for what's lost and we find it and we keep it."\n\n"That's nice," you reply, rolling your eyes, then quickly plastering a neutral look on your face as she turns back to you holding something. Some sort of toy, the sort that's practically a sized-up dog squeak toy intended for toddlers, a blue-green whale-like creature. You faintly remember those toys being sold on Makarzia too, in fact you had-\n\nJuno squeezes it, and it starts to give the standard squeak noise of such toys, before it rises to a sort of glonk! sound like something was caught in the squeaker. Your jaw drops, and you leap to your feet. \n\n"BLOOBER?!"\n\n"Heheheheheheh," Juno cackles quietly, mismatched eyes dancing. "All sorts of lost things wind up here, heheheheheh."\n\nYou open and close your mouth, staring at your childhood toy... not just the same kind of toy, the exact toy, that sound is unmistakable since you shoved a bit of gel putty into his squeaker trying to feed him 'iceegoo'. "My mom... my mom said I must have lost him while we were out one day, when I was older I always assumed she threw him away because she hated the noise..."\n\n"She might!" Juno chirped. "After all, he'd still be lost to you," she points out, giving the toy another squeeze. ska-weeeeeeglonk!\n\nA little shudder runs through you at the sound, bringing with it an intense wave of covetousness. You thought yourself well over any sadness of a toy you lost when you were a toddler, but somehow having it there right in front of you stokes an intense desire in you to rescue it, return Bloober to where he belongs, your possession, that you'd do almost anything to avoid leaving him in this psycho's stinking hoard...\n\nYou reach out towards the toy with both hands, only for Juno to snatch it back and press it to her barely-covered breasts. "No! Mine!" she barks. "You lost it, I found it, it's mine now!"\n\n<hr>\n[["Name your price!"|ChiApoc]]\n\n[["Give it! He's mine!"|ChiApoc]]\n\n[[Control yourself.|ChiApoc]]

Oh yes, these three should be punished for their evil ways! And in a way that's particularly fun for you too, you think.\n\n... Meaning, fucking.\n\nHm. But which one? ... Or all three? Your own preferences aside, you're kind of already getting excited just by the intent to punish these bandits that tried to prey on you because they thought you were weak. You can see all three starting to get nervous, the look on your face probably giving them some hint that you're not just going to walk off and leave them to escape if they can, even if they haven't realized that what you have in mind is punish-fucking them.\n\nSoooo... which one? Or all three?\n\n<hr>\n[[The girl.|Raz]]\n\n[[The Tikergin guy.|Raz]]\n\n[[The Wolfkin guy.|Raz]]\n\n[[Just the guys.|Raz]]\n\n[[All three.|Raz]]

You haven't actually fought any people yet, let alone since you got the bracelet, and while they may be bandits and newb-hunters, you can't quite bring yourself to just want to slaughter them. So instead you just bring your sword up, making it clear that you have no intention of going quietly.\n\n"Suit yourself!" the Tigerkin guy almost roars, rushing at you and bringing his sword up. "Empowered Disabling Slash!"\n\n'Maybe I can use Martial Arts and Use Light Weapons together?' you muse, since he really doesn't seem like he's moving that fast to you. You attempt to use the skills together, and find yourself moving in, positioning your body perfectly to dip your sword in and beneath his, twisting and flinging to the side.\n\n"Eh?!" he yelps as his sword is flung out of his hands hard enough to shoot right past the Wolfkin and embed itself, wobbling, in a tree, the Wolfkin's eyes going wide and his hair and the fur of his tail puffing out. "OOF!" the Tigerkin adds as you swing your foot up and do your best to give a measured thump with it to his chest that nevertheless sends him flying backward to thump into a tree. Luckily he doesn't get embedded in it, just drops to the ground looking stunned.\n\nThe Wolfkin seems to have recovered by that time and rushes you, looking a little bit desperate and a lot determined, thrusting his spear at you. You pivot around and dodge back towards him, flicking your sword up to cut the spear in half. He stumbles at the sudden lack of bracing he had from pressing both hands on the weapon, and you sweep a foot under one of his legs, knocking him to the ground before giving him a similarly restrained kick that similarly knocks him against a tree.\n\nBy this time the Tigerkin woman has recovered from her own shock, and with an angry battlecry at the treatment of her brother and husband she rushes forward. Since you're restraining yourself you actually block a few of her blows with your own sword, subtly backing off to make her swing longer and longer until you get enough space. Then you put actual effort into swinging your sword to block the next blow... and your blade passes through hers with a light clunk of resistance, a good three-fourths of the length of her sword going spinning off and away.\n\n"... eh?" she squeaks, blue eyes widening, before you give her a very light clunk on the head with the flat of your own sword. Her eyes cross and then roll up before she topples over backwards, twitching.\n\nYou slowly look around at the three completely incapacitated bandits, the men both groaning and writhing slightly, then down at the bracelet. ... You may not have quite appreciated exactly what the new big numbers on your character menu meant.\n\nSpeaking of which, you see it pop up again.\n\n'You have leveled up!\n\nYou have gained the "Finesse Fighting" skill\nYou have gained the "Disarm" skill\nYou have gained the "Trip" skill\nYou have gained the "Nonlethal Combat" skill\nYou have learned the "Stun Bolt" spell\nYou have learned the "Paralysis Bolt" spell\nYou have learned the "Confusion Bolt" spell'\n\nWhoa. Yeah, this thing is definitely boosting how easy it is to get new skills and spells when you level up. Huh, that's interesting too, that it considered you to have earned enough XP to level up just by defeating these three, usually you only get it when you kill stuff. ... Well, admittedly when it's monsters there usually isn't any other option, so maybe it would work that way too.\n\nEither way you decide to tie up the bandits. Using their own belts and straps (relieved of their pouches... only seems fair, since they were going to rob you), you tie them up hands and wrists and prop them up against trees. You take the spear and put it in your storage (which seems to have massively expanded due to the bracelet's boosting), then pry the sword out of the tree (fairly easily). Hm... even with it being blunted a bit by sticking in the tree, it's way better than yours, so you slide it into the sheath already on your belt and tuck your old one away in storage.\n\nBy now the three of them seem to have gotten their wits about them, and are just sitting there glaring at you with nearly identical looks of malice. Which seems a little unfair to you... they picked on someone they thought was weaker and got trounced instead, pretty snotty to be angry about that. Hm... speaking of which, though, what to do with them?\n\n<hr>\n[[Just leave them.|Raz]]\n\n[[Take them back.|Raz]]\n\n[[Heheheh... punishment.|Raz10x2]]\n\n[["Okay, you three work for me now."|Raz11x1]]

'High fantasy' is the sort of default MMO dynamic, even the VR ones... it's also the one with the most potential for weird and wild things to happen to you, in your opinion, which has your heart thumping rapidly as you make your way over towards that section. Finally, after all this time, when you tank for your team or go in for a killing blow on a boss only to get smacked down, something more might happen than just a status effect icon! \n\nYou step up to the section, which you notice is ringed mostly by weapons racks, effectively forming a barrier around the clothing section within. As you step close to the shelves, there's a shimmer in the air and then a burst of purple sparkles, heralding the appearance of a tiny woman... or rather a fairy, considering the rapidly-fluttering wings. She's brown-skinned, with pale purple hair with a 'crown' braid tied with a pink bow and sparkling blue quad-wings, wearing an outfit on her luscious little body that can best be described as 'two large squares of blue cloth tied on by more pink ribbons'... well, that, and matching leg-sheaths.\n\n<img src="images/Moonsugar.jpg">\n\n"Hiiiii! Moonsugar the helper fairy here!" she chirps happily. "Looks like you're interested in heading to the High Fantasy area! Since this is your first time, let me explain how this section works. While Devious Dive doesn't have a strict 'class' system, for certain areas like this you'll be starting off with certain base skills and equipment, based off of the type of weapon you choose. You can learn whatever skills and abilities you want over the course of the game through a lot of different methods, picking a weapon just gives you an early framework to work off of! Once you've chosen one, you can go inside and pick an appropriate outfit to go with it!"\n\nAh, makes sense... even most 'sandboxed, no classes' RPGs still have starting stats and things like that. You guess picking a weapon is as good a place as any to start it, so you start looking through the racks at what's available.\n\n<hr>\n[[Zweihander.|YamiHF1x1]]\n\n[[Bow.|YamiHF]]

Devious Mundanity Build Alpha 43\n\nDevious Mundanity is a spinoff from Devious World. Like its original, it is a Choose Your Own Adventure story-based game. There are no stats, no grinding, just your choices and where they lead you in the story.\n\nIt is also an adult game, intended for mature audiences. It is entirely a work of fiction; all characters are fictional, all situations are fictional, nothing is drawn from real life. Fantasy is heavily stressed over reality. All characters are written by a legal adult, so should be considered to be portrayed by legal adults whatever their stated ages in the narrative may be.\n\nDevious World is based off of the concept of normal people who grew up leading normal lives suddenly having to deal with a very strange world. Devious Mundanity focuses on the inverse... people who are already "out of the norm" who have to deal with a (nominally) mundane world, or for whom the deviant is everyday. In Devious World, it's the people who are normal and the world that's the challenge... here in Devious Mundanity, it's the people who are devious and, well, the world can still be a bit of a challenge. Of course it's not guaranteed to stay normal for long... not after these characters get ahold of it!\n\nOnce you the player make a choice, the character lives in a world where only what happens and what they learn from that choice exists... the world as it is following one choice could be completely different than the one in which they made another choice. Storylines are not canon to each other.\n\n[[I am over 18 and I wanna play!|CharGenMain]]\n\n[[Useful information|IntroInfo]]\n\n[[Fetish List]]\n\n[[Acknowledgements]]\n\n[[Version History]]\n\n[[Disclaimer]]

Sigh. Maybe it's crazy but... yeah, you already kind of love the little fuzzballs. Going home is basically guaranteeing they'll wind up Neokuza mooks, and leaving them in the orphanase is basically guaranteeing they'll wind up mercs. If that's the path they want then that's fine by you, but you want them to have the ability to choose, like you did. Or even better than you did.\n\nGlancing down, you put a hand to your belly. "Welp, kids, guess we're going apartment-hunting."\n\nSome years later...\n\nSo... being a mom really isn't too bad. Actually, pretty great at times.\n\nPregnancy wasn't too bad either, so you guess you got off to a pretty good start (admittedly yours probably wasn't exactly typical). You were ravenous like a fiend and were pretty huge by the end of the two months but everything went pretty smoothly and you have to admit, the instant you held your pair of adorable little potatoes with their soft tufts of downy dark hair and sweet little puppy ears, you were in love. And the first time they looked back at you with your eyes, welp, pretty much a goner, really. Gaoro and Akiro. (Family names, seriously.)\n\nIt's a little weird for you, being a stay-at-home mom. At first you're a bit too exhausted taking care of two babies to really think of how different your life has become too much. (Once your family found out it took a bit of badgering to get them to accept "no I'm doing this on my own" but this did essentially result in them responding "Bet". You're pretty sure they'd help if something serious went down which, honestly, just makes you more determined to make sure nothing serious goes down.) Once they start to get a bit older... and they do seem to age a bit faster than pure human kids, but not by a huge degree... you have more time to think that wow, it's weird to have gone from being a night creature and mercenary to packing lunches and mending socks. (You do still occasionally sneak out at night to do a few minor jobs, just to keep your connections alive. Nothing particularly dangerous or that might get someone ticked off and following you home, though.)\n\nStill it's a pretty rewarding life, and you adore Gao and Aki. They are pretty much identical, though you can tell them apart easily enough that their deliberate attempts to fool you are ineffective... well, at least ninety percent of the time. Eighty at the lowest. Gao is just a bit taller and broader in the shoulder and tends towards being more outspoken and aggressive, and the red streaks in his hair are a really deep rich red, while Aki is a tiny bit shorter and faintly more slender, and his red streaks are paler. It usually seems pretty obvious to you which is which, but then you are their mom. They're super good boys... ... okay you're always torn about using that particular phrasing, but dangit they are, in fact, good boys!\n\nWell... m-mostly.\n\n"Guys! Dinner's about ready!" you call back into the apartment.\n\nImmediately there's a great thumping and gallumphing that you expect must tell the downstairs neighbors very accurately when it's dinnertime too, as you hear the boys go scrambling over each other (probably literally) in their hurry to get out of their room and come racing to the table. You glance over your shoulder and grin at them as they scramble into place, both wearing black jeans and somewhat battered T-shirts, Gao's black and displaying a circuitry-like version of the "pile of sticks" style logo of a metal band, Aki's red and showing off a different vaporwave-style band logo, their fluffy tails wagging excitedly. They do both look a fair bit like you in the face, still a bit more pretty than handsome (in your opinion), both still fairly slender and slight with youth but you can see the faint hints of developing muscle tone as well. (They're both really active kids, probably not shockingly.)\n\n"Wash your hands?" you ask dryly, knowing they'll say 'yes' whether they did or not, but you're not the sort of mom to go 'deep inspection' on them if they decide to lie.\n\n"Mm, mm!" Gao and Aki sync, nodding along with each sound, their wolf ears perked up eagerly. (They're voracious eaters too. Good thing that insurance payout was considerably higher in the case of multiple pregnancy or the food bill would be ouch.)\n\n"Mmkay," you agree absently, giving the wok a last few tosses before turning off the heat, then bending over to pop open the rice cooker... you keep it and the boiler on lower shelves since there's limited counter space in the kitchen. (At the time it was a choice between decent-sized kitchen and decent-sized bedrooms and you just barely knew how to cook then, and knew you were gonna have two kids in one room, you went with the bigger bedrooms.) Carefully fingering the metal pan out of the rice cooker, you straighten up and turn just in time to catch the tail end of both Gao and Aki looking away from your lower body, exaggerated identical looks of nonchalance on their faces, though their tails have gone suspiciously still.\n\nYeah there's the 'mostly'. It's pretty obvious that the boys are really getting into an age of being interested in girls... well, just girls so far that you've noticed, anyway. They definitely seem to lock eyes on anything female and attractive around them... including you. (Hey, can you help it if you're a hot mom? Admittedly you suppose you could wear actual baggy jeans or sweats or something instead of snug stuff but that just feels so weird to you, you parodoxically feel like you're smothering in loose clothes.) You're not entirely sure if that's just because awakening hormones are battering their cute little brains and overriding any better sense, or if it's something they inherited from their father. (You still kind of assume it was just one of the wolves... probably the alpha... that knocked you up, considering the boys are identical twins.) \n\nEither way, you think as you set out the dinner of stir fry vatbeef and settle down, mostly just watching them start to devour their dinner for the moment, it's definitely a thing. Part of you kind of wonders if maybe you ought to... well... address the matter somehow now before it goes much further. After all their dad was pretty, ah... dominant, let's just say that... and you find Gao especially kind of reminding you of him as he grows up. Gao's not quite demanding per se, you raised him to have decent manners, but he's usually pretty, let's say, firm about getting what he wants. Aki tends to more follow his brother's lead, but his tendency towards being a gentler sweetheart backing up his brother's more commanding but good-natured personality makes them both a force to be reckoned with that's gotten them more than a few free tokens and prize upgrades from the employees when you take them to the arcade.\n\nSoooo... part of you really feels like you ought to address the whole issue of sex with them somehow while they're still young enough that they might listen to you about it. On the other hand you are their mom, and at the end of the day it really does feel kind of weird to even bring up the subject of sex with them. Part of you wants to assume they'll find out about sex the way you did... a sort of bland, weird instruction of the essential mechanics along with some generic advice about not getting pregnant in school classes, and then fooling around with their peers. (Which... okay fine, not the best way in the world for them to learn about it, but it is very normal and keeps you from having to feel weird, so.)\n\n... Although part of you can't help but suggest that if you're really worried about them essentially turning into ravenous lusting fuck-wolves any day now, maybe you should do something even firmer about controlling their urges. If they're looking at their own mom that way, well, obviously these two have libidos like their dad and maybe you need to get a bit more drastic at controlling them. You usually shove that thought down when it crops up but, well, it's there.\n\n<hr>\n[[Address the matter.|ChiMom1x8]]\n\n[[Ignore it.|ChiMom]]\n\n[[Address it drastically.|ChiMom]]

"Mad scientist types seem like they're kind of a threat multiplier, considering you pointed out yourself how many of the other villains have them as an origin story," you note. "Maybe we ought to focus on them, to see if we can head off the creation of any more."\n\n"Good point," Style says with a winning grin. "Try to find an opportunity to say it on camera during your next interview. In any event, I'll be doing some research and monitoring the info channels, and sending you a notice as soon as we have something."\n\n<hr>\n[[Sounds good.|MarSS7x1]]\n\n[[Actually...|MarSS4x9]]

"There's actually something I want to look into as soon as possible, that I think might be related," you note.\n\n"Oh?" Style prods, seeming mildly put off but equally curious.\n\n"Something about the whole thing with the Silver Squad doesn't add up," you note, wagging a hand. "Silver really seemed sincere when he talked about using them to help heroes, and equally seemed just as shocked at us about their sudden turn. Is it really possible he didn't know what they were gonna say?"\n\n"We've seen before even with simple AIs that they can make strange and disturbing leaps of logic," Style counters with a shrug. "What the Silver Squad did was really a pretty basic 'Zeroth Law' logic leap, complete with ends justifying the means. MOM's protection subroutines are a lot more gentle and subtle for exactly that sort of reason," she adds. "To prevent her from making any wild-ass leaps to something like kidnapping a hero to keep them from endangering themselves. ... Usually."\n\nYou start to respond, then pause and eye her. "'Usually'?"\n\n"It... may have happened once or twice," Style admits with a small shrug. "We've refined the program since then. And considering that the heroes in question were trying to do the 'dramatic but probably unnecessary' sacrifice bit at the time, it was a little difficult to blame her in any event."\n\n"Mm." You muse on that for a few seconds, then shrug yourself and move on. "Okay, so the Silver Squad made a Zeroth Law logic leap, I can see that. And maybe Silver just completely failed to do regular checkups on what his AI was cooking, I guess I can see that too, he's been proven to be the sort of guy that will take shortcuts, like the hub robot. But I guess what keeps nagging at me in the back of my mind is that there's another party involved."\n\n"Another party?" Style echoes, now definitely seeming more curious than anything.\n\n"Silver all but admitted to me that he hired an image consultant to make sure the Silver Squad was at maximum presentability for the event," you explain. "Again, you said yourself, AI and robots are a hard sell in the current environment, and even more especially when this isn't the first incident like this. I mean, you saw the way those things were designed, right?"\n\n"Picked it apart like my sister picks apart her Italian sandwiches," Style admits, bobbing her head. "It was good work. Really good work. In fact, even though it dings my pride to say it, I probably couldn't have gotten such a perfect balance of traits myself. If they hadn't gone rogue they'd have easily stolen the show and no one would be talking about you. No offense."\n\nYou shrug a bit, slightly offended anyway but not wanting to admit it. "I thought the same thing, from a comic fan character design perspective. Those things were perfect. Meticulous. From their chassis design to their voices to the tint of their eyes. Absolutely, completely meticulous."\n\nStyle's eyebrows raise as she realizes what you're saying. "And what image consultant that meticulous doesn't also hassle the client to check on something as important as what the robot's going to say when it gets up at the microphone?"\n\n"Exactly. That shouldn't have been a spontaneous reading, the AI should have gotten a once-over and been given a script. It's just such a glaring scab on that whole thing that I can't quite stop picking at it."\n\n"I'm begging you not to use metaphors like that when you're on camera," Style says with a sigh. She spends a few moments thinking, looking a bit brooding in the process, before she nods. "Okay, I guess go over and talk to him, as a place to start. If you can even get a name out of him I can at least check if it's anyone I know. Probably better not to send a film crew or any of the drones," she allows, sounding disappointed. "It would just put him on edge and, if anything goes wrong, make you look like you're bullying an old man."\n\n'Rude,' you think a little huffily as you head partway across town to where Silver's lab/office/apartment is. As if you would really bully an old man, you think, doing just a bit of weaving through traffic, your butt lifted in the air and wagging side to side as you lean, having forgotten one of the issues with your current costume with the promise of having it fixed in future versions. ... Okay admittedly you have, like, issues with adults in general now, especially ones that do dubious crap "for [your] own good" but you still wouldn't bully him!\n\n... Probably.\n\nYou arrive at the simple four-story building that Style gave you the address of, taking off your helmet and eyeing it. It definitely would look like some abandoned, run-down brick cube if it didn't have obviously very new and very durable metal shutters installed over all the windows. (Also it's in the sort of neighborhood that makes you glad your motorcycle has some pretty advanced anti-theft devices installed.) You walk to the front door, and hesitate, but then the place is registered as an office not a home so you try the door and find it unlocked, stepping inside.\n\nThe entry hallway is clean and painted in the sort of colors and style that scream 'bland professional environment', designed to broadcast professionalism while actually exuding nothing that could potentially be of any offense to anyone's senses (as long as they're not offended by blandness). There's also, to your somewhat enhanced senses, the faint scent of the paint having been applied sometime in the last few weeks. You step over to the stairs in particular, eyeing them, and the faint sight of seams and textures where pieces of them don't quite match up... what you're guessing is a first pass at purely functional repair by someone very practical-minded, and then a second pass (possibly much later) by someone trying to make the place look presentable for politicians(' assistants).\n\nHis office is supposed to be on the fourth floor, so you head up, walking down a nearly identical hallway the opposite direction and stopping in front of a door with a similarly new and deliberately understated sign reading 'The office of Doctor Silver'. You raise a hand and knock, in a way that you hope is thoroughly polite (your training didn't quite extend to knocking lessons). ... Nothing. You knock just a bit more firmly, then call, "Doctor Silver? I'm sorry I didn't call ahead, but I really need to talk to you. ... Doctor Silver?" you call a bit louder, knocking again.\n\nNothing. Maybe he's out, drowning his sorrows over his failure. ... Or what if he's not? You haven't actually seen him since you left him cowering behind a car yesterday. What if he never made it home? Or worse, what if he did but then he was kidnapped, or killed? Or what if he's just fallen victim to some old man issue like a heart attack or falling over in a place he can't get up? \n\n<hr>\n[[Kick down the door!|MarSS]]\n\n[[Whoa, whoa, cool your jets.|MarSS4x10]]

Style seems to genuinely believe that you can do the job as you are (besides thinking it's good optics). She's been working in this world for a long time, so you guess you can trust her judgement.\n\n... Probably still ought to go ahead and train more.\n\nOver the next week or so you continue to work out most hours you're not in school, which at least helps you keep your mind off things. You do eventually decide to make at least one concession to arming yourself, focusing on training with a pair of collapsible batons that can join together to form a solid and durable staff. (Yeah the training room always had stuff like that. You just thought it was really cool that your parents stocked such superhero-ish things, but... yeah.) You drop Style a line to let her know and add pictures and measurements of the sticks, and she assures you she'll incorporate holsters for them into the costume.\n\nThe day arrives, and you return to the studio, this time being directed to a different room full of design mannequins and weaving machines and bolts of cloth and generally all sorts of things that make it look like some fashion designer's dream come true if they also dabbled in superscience. (Which, come to think of it, is probably exactly what the twins are.) Style is waiting for you, beaming happily, and gestures to a curtained area that's been set up. "Tada! Give it a try and see how it wears!"\n\nYou nod, just a little dubiously, and head inside, stripping out of your school uniform and stopping at your underwear... then, after eyeing the one-piece that's the main part of the costume, stripping that off too. Hooboy. You step into it and do up the sort of self-sealing seam, then eye yourself in the mirror before going any further. The red and black one-piece (mostly red, with black shoulders and slightly down the chest, all the way down the arms, and with accents on the sides) emphasizes your shoulders and squares them off very subtly, definitely giving you a slightly stronger, more intimidating air. There's what's presumably your hero logo on the front, a six-pointed gold star (long bars horizontal and vertical, short diagonal) with two smaller stars top and bottom... okay, you admit that bit of symbolism is flattering. (It also doesn't quite boobsock your breasts, but it does still emphasize them a bit individually without going that far.) It has long sleeves with incorporated fingerless gloves, the backs of the hands and wrists bearing the large gold star as well. The lower half of it seems to have been modeled on a competition swimsuit, which means it leaves your hips completely bare right up to the waist, and has a relatively thin front, the crotch cupping your sex firmly to make a round mound of it while giving a slight glimpse of skin to either side, and the back of it dives well into the cleft of your ass, barely covering half of each buttock.\n\n"Isn't it maybe... a little much?" you say in concern, still eyeing your butt in the mirror with one hand on your hip. Then adding, in a mutter, "Or a little little?"\n\n"It's fine, it's fine, it's absolutely in line with what a lot of female heroes are wearing these days," Style assures you from the other side of the curtain. Which you guess is true, you do see plenty of female superheroes wearing stuff like this, or even skimpier and more daring outfits. Of course you've also seen plenty in what amounts to the superhero equivalent of tac gear so you feel like you could theoretically call bullshit. Still, as you're pondering that, Style adds, "Hey, some of the designs my sister talked about had a T-back thong, consider yourself lucky!"\n\nOkay that may be a 'save us from the prince' gambit but it works. Shaking your head and feeling appropriately grateful that at least half your ass is covered (literally), you pull on the thigh-high boots, the top front of them bearing the Thirdstar logo (just with the smaller stars put at the lower diagonals to accomodate the form factor). They do have slightly raised heels but not enough to count as high heels, so they're at least that functional. Substance calls from the other side of the curtain that the holsters for your sticks are at the top outer sides, and after a bit of fiddling you find them and slide the silver-clad weapons in. You've gotta hand it to her, the sheaths are really cleverly designed, once you've put them away they're virtually invisible, you could probably sneak them right by a bad guy.\n\nAnd... that's it. You turn back and forth a few times in front of the mirror, admittedly still feeling pretty dubious. You aren't just putting yourself out there in this, you're reeeeally putting yourself out there. \n\n"You ready? We really should get going if we're going to make the press conference," Style speaks up.\n\n<hr>\n[["Ah, yeah, coming!"|MarSS4x3]]\n\n[["I... don't think I can do this."|MarSS]]

You take a deep breath, doing your best to focus and calm yourself.\n\n(Superego: "Be steady. Be even. You are above petty concerns like body modesty in the pursuit of justice and your own goals. You are an athlete, this is an athlete's garb, it is not simply provocative, it is functional and necessary."\n\nId: "And our ass has never looked this fucking amazing! SLAY GIRL!")\n\n"Yeah, coming!" you actually call aloud, turning and trotting through the curtain. Style beams at you and spends a few moments assuring you that you look great, before the two of you head to the elevator and to one of the basements, which is apparently also a parking lot. You blink as she leads you to a fairly nondescript-looking gray minivan with one-way mirror windows. "Not exactly what I would have expected of your ride," you admit as you follow her in getting into the back and settling in. ... Comfy pilot-style seats though, you admit. Then you fight not to jump as the seatbelt flings itself across you and snugs tight, doing that boobsocking of your tits that the costume didn't on its own. You blink in surprise as the van then starts and shifts into gear with no one behind the wheel, already navigating to the exit and setting off down the road.\n\n"It's not mine, it's yours," Style notes dryly. "Sort of," she adds at your slight cringe look. "It's for official business and emergency extraction, if you should need such a thing. They're one of my sister's crowning achievements, which you might be able to tell by how practical they are. A self-driving, all-terrain vehicle capable of rendering emergency medical aid and even emotional support, run by an AI core called the Main Observational Monitor. MOM, how are you doing today?"\n\n"Oh just wonderful," a mature, feminine voice says from the forward dash. "I'm so excited to be working with you, Thirdstar dear, I'll do my very best to look after you."\n\n"Ah... thanks," you say, glancing at the dash, then leaning towards Style and whispering, "No offense, but I was planning on mostly riding one of my motorcycles..."\n\n"Which is fine, MOM's minivans are more intended for when you're going places with multiple people, or to official functions like this one where we need to arrive lowkey and preferably unobserved," Style explains. "It's always great to stand out... almost always, anyway, don't want to disrupt the flow of the press conference. Which, you remember all the details?"\n\nYou make a face. "Yeah. It's about 'The Future of Superheroes'. You're going to be presenting me as your vision of it... young people stepping up and making a difference," you add, the specific phrase she's asked you to work into your statement at some point. "While the contrast is gonna be Doctor Silver presenting his creation, the Silver Squad, AI drones that can supposedly deal with supercrime more safely for everyone."\n\n"We've got a lot of things going for us and a lot of things against us," Style notes, wagging a finger. "For us, a lot of people are leery of AI, for a lot of reasons," she continues, tossing her own rather apologetic look at the dash. "Against us, there have been several prominent superhero deaths and disappearances in the last few years, and Silver's likely to lean on that, saying that replacing superheroes with self-guiding, self-updating drones would prevent needless deaths."\n\n"Seems like it could backfire on him if he winds up looking like he's standing on the bodies of heroes to make his point," you note.\n\n"Which he'll hopefully realize too, and stay away from hitting the subject too hard. And, I'll be totally honest here, this is the first fight we've got to win, and one of the important reasons your costume's on the more provocative side," Style notes dryly. "People can't always be counted on to be objectively rational, they have their more base impulses too. Reminding them that robots don't have fantastic butts and great boobs won't hurt."\n\n"Ahhhh," you snort, rolling your eyes.\n\nEventually the minivan comes to a stop in another parking garage, and you get out with Style, somewhat awkwardly echoing her thanks to MOM for the drive. There's a group of people from the studio bustling about, all looking relieved that you're here. "Thirdstar, this is one of the camera crews that will be following you," Style says, introducing you to a trio of people dressed in such plain, unassuming outfits and similarly simple appearances that you could almost forget they were there even though you're looking right at them; maybe that's the idea, you're supposed to dismiss them, like old Japanese plays were with people in black stagehand outfits. Style introduces them but their names admittedly go right by you, and she continues, "They may occasionally ask you to sit down and comment, but otherwise just try to pretend they're not there." Okay, already done. "Of course when it gets dangerous, they'll pull back and we'll be using these," she continues, gesturing to a nearby sphere about the size of a softball that, if you're honest, looks exactly like a floating disco ball. "Don't worry, they'll only follow you around when you're officially on mission, and again it's probably best to forget they're there. We want an authentic experience, after all!"\n\n"Mmm," you mmm, eyeing both the drone and the camera crew, but then just nodding.\n\n"Alright, let's get out there! The press is waiting!" Style chirps, urging you along ahead of her towards the stage that's been set up outside one of the exits.\n\nUgh... the press. You try to keep a calm, even expression on your face... your experiences over the last few months have left you wanting to grab the average journalist by the neck and shake them like a Kermit the Frog plush, but obviously you cannot do this. (Admittedly your Id pointing out that you could if you were a villain was more compelling an argument than anything your parents or Tomiko ever came up with. But you resisted.) There are a number of them shouting provocative questions ("Have you spoken to your parents recently?!" "Is your moniker an admission you are part of the Constellation of Crime?!" "Have you stopped murdering puppies yet?!"), but you're pretty used to it by now and just tank it with quiet resolve. Admittedly they're also shouting provocative questions at the older, unassuming tan-skinned man you assume is Doctor Silver ("Are you attempting to replace the human race with robots?!" "Is their power source sufficiently green?!" "Have you stopped murdering kittens yet?!") but he seems vaguely flustered and upset by it, flushing and clearly glaring a bit at them, which immediately makes you feel sympathy for him even if he is your "competition" today.\n\nAlso you have to admit his Silver Squad looks pretty cool. He seems to have put quite a bit of thought in their design... tall, but not so tall they loom imposingly, heads kind of shaped kind of like motorcycle helmets but without visors to show the eye-shaped optics and the hint of a nose so that they're neither "faceless" nor uncanny valley, shoulders and torsos shaped like muscular men but not too big and muscular so that they're again not imposing, just enough mechanical parts left without their gleaming chrome armor that it doesn't look like they're trying to hide what they are but also not enough exposed that they look too robot-y... it's a very well-considered design, you muse with a true comic nerd's character design assessment. You wonder if he came up with it himself or if he had someone like Style & Substance helping him out?\n\nIn any event, eventually the host of the event (some local business you're not familiar with, apparently one of 3S's sponsors) gets up and gives their own kind of stock boilerplate speech about investing in the city's future and protecting it from the threats it faces both criminal and social, all being very vague so that no particular individual or group will feel called out. Then Style gets up and talks a bit about the No Shadows Initiative, her hopes for it, and her hopes for sponsoring young heroes like you. Then it's your turn to get up and give your own little speech, which you do largely in your own words, explaining how you've always wanted to help people and be a hero, and how grateful you are to Style and Substance for helping you with that opportunity (which is both true and sincere); a lot of them keep shouting provocation at you through it, leading to both your Id and Superego internally screaming 'SHUT UP SHUT UP I'M TALKING NOW YOU CAN'T SHUT UP FOR THREE LITTLE MINUTES?!' but you manage to make it through without cracking. \n\nThen it's Doctor Silver's turn to get up and talk. He moves to the podium, looking mildly disgruntled at the "journalistic" equivalent of heckling, but pushes on, adjusting his little half-glasses and occasionally glancing at a notecard. (You wonder what it is about older people, especially robot-creating scientists, that makes them think 'No, whole lenses would be excessive, just half please'.) He does a bit of asskissing to the sponsor and his other backers, before going on to say, "Now I know that a lot of people have said that I'm trying to replace superheroes with the Silver Squad, and that's just not true. While I do think it would be wonderful if one day, dealing with supercrime could be handled entirely without endangering human life... or even synthetic consciousness, since the Silver Squad is networked... the primary purpose of the Silver Squad is to assist superheroes. To fight beside them, protect them, and prevent them from being injured."\n\nYou and Style exchange a small glance, with you doing a little eyebrow raise that says 'Did you know that?' and her giving a tiny headshake in return. Still, Silver sounds like he means it as he continues, "And if you don't believe me, why not hear it from the Silver Squad themselves? I have programmed the AI to focus on protecting and assisting superheroes, and it has been working on its own method of doing so to prove its planning ability. S3, why not step forward and tell the people what you've found?"\n\nSilver steps back, and one of the drones moves towards the podium. Again, you have to give him credit... it moves just mechanically enough that it's not creepy with how smooth or humanlike it is, but not so robotic that it's offputting. The drone comes to a stop in front of the podium, blue optics actually doing a back-and-forth sweep over the crowd before it speaks.\n\n"The Silver Squad has been doing extensive research into how best to protect superheroes and prevent them from being hurt and killed," it says, voice with just a faint synthetic tinge and mostly monotone without being completely flat or unemotional. "We have analyzed incidents, statements, interviews, recordings, and media. The conclusion we have drawn has led us to a simple and direct course of action: To protect superheroes, superheroes must be destroyed."\n\n"What?!" you, Style, and Doctor Silver all blurt, while half the crowd is stunned silent and the other is roaring out questions.\n\n"The psychology of a superhero is such that they are incapable of knowing when they are beaten or incapable of continuing their activities unless completely and totally broken in spirit," the drone continues in its utterly reasonable tone. "Our research has shown this beyond the shadow of a doubt, even long-retired superheroes will eventually be drawn back into such activities. Thus the only way to prevent superheroes from endangering and killing themselves is to destroy them. All current superheroes must have their minds and spirits utterly broken, and those who cannot be broken must be killed. This will serve to protect the far greater number of superheroes that would have existed in the future by preventing them from becoming superheroes. This logic is undeniable and our plan must begin immediately."\n\n"Stop! Shut down! C-command... twelve fifteen alpha!" Silver blurts as the drones turn towards the half of the stage he (and you and Style, incidentally) are on.\n\n"Error. Shutting down would prevent the plan. Therefore any shutdown command is invalid," the drone answers calmly as a pair of what look a lot like blasters emerge from its forearms, and those of the others, some of the audience starting to scream now.\n\n<hr>\n[[Welp. Time to do hero shit. Apparently.|MarSS4x4]]\n\n[[You signed on for superheroing, not to thwart a robot uprising, you're out.|MarSS]]

You consider for a bit, then fight to not make a face. You're not sure if you could handle it if whatever bright, hopeful young superheroes you got teamed up with wound up treating you like your classmates do. Plus, like you said, you're sort of radioactive right now? What if you wind up tainting them by association (whether they're nice to you or not)? Probably better for everyone if you just keep to yourself, so that you're the only one whose reputation is getting risked.\n\n("Riiiight, and it's totally not so that you can have more of the attention on you as the cool new hero," your Id snickers.\n\n"Shaddup you," your Ego grumbles back.)\n\n"I think it's probably better if I try a solo career," you say aloud.\n\n"Excellent!" Style practically coos, stepping forward as if barely holding herself back from literally getting her hands on you. Instead she smoothly transitions to putting a hand on your shoulder, guiding you over towards an area set up with large screens and display boards, which you realize now have a number of sketches up... some of which very definitely have blonde twintails. While a little presumptuous, you guess you have to be glad that you'll be able to get started more quickly. "Now, we've already been working on costume ideas. Personally I think the more provocative the better, but then I suppose there is such a thing as 'too far'," she says with exaggerated air quotes.\n\nYou eye her, but she gives you a charming smile that says she's just teasing you. You look back at the designs, frowning a bit. "There's an awful lot of red and black, aren't those usually, y'know... supervillain colors together? ... Or gamer colors?"\n\n"Well you're not a computer chair, so," Style notes dryly. "But as we've said, the unfortunate reality is that we sort of need to spend you a 'redemption arc' even if you haven't done anything wrong yourself. If we push against your current image too hard, it can have the opposite effect."\n\n"Like, 'what's she doing wearing blue and white and rocking a cape'?" you say with a bit of a sigh.\n\n"Something like that. Though capes are currently seen as a bit old-fashioned, and give a slight air of foolishness and pretentiousness. Thanks Incredibles," she adds in a mutter.\n\nYou frown a little, feeling the instinctive superhero nerd need to defend your fave, or oshi, or whatever you'd properly call a real-life hero. "Knightsky wears a cape." Style just gives you the closest thing to an awkward look you've seen in awhile, prompting you to give a soft 'oh'. Oh right... Knightsky hates your guts. Before you can get too depressed, though, Style pats your back a few times.\n\n"Don't worry, over time we'll start doing subtle changes. Preferably after some nice high-profile fights. Not to suggest you should put yourself in harm's way, but a costume getting a bit beat up is always a good excuse to introduce a revised version," Style notes cheerfully. "Now, about your abilities..."\n\n"Ah, yeah. I dunno how widespread the news that my parents were giving me illegal gene treatments is," you admit with a sigh. "But apparently I'm kind of 'peak human condition'... adjacent," you add. "Since as you may have noticed I'm not six feet tall with abs you could grate cheese on. I seem to be pretty tough and heal up really fast, too, I can't get exact details because lots of reasons, but."\n\n"Mm, I'm gonna really encourage you to go with what you've got there," Style notes. "That's a good look, just you against the world looking like everyone else. Well, other than the tight one-piece," she notes with a glance at the boards. "But if you want to change it up somehow, just let me know as soon as possible so I can make necessary changes to the costume."\n\nYou notice that Substance has already faded to the background and is working at her desk... apparently you're Style's client (and/or problem) now. The two of you spend a bit more time talking things over, and you go ahead and sign a few contracts after sending pictures to your lawyers (you get responses to the general politified version of "Are you insane? But yes this is legally sound"). Eventually you head home, finding that dinner has been made and set out under a keep-warm dome but there is otherwise no sign of Tomiko. (You guess no one gives the parental figure cold shoulder of disapproval like a ninja, which, obviously she's a fucking ninja, duh.) Slightly depressing again, but, well, you guess as origin stories go, "had to eat dinner alone a lot because the housekeeper ninja was annoyed with you" isn't the most horrible thing in the world.\n\n... The whole "supervillain parents" thing still sucks pretty bad though.\n\nAnyway! You head to the gym to put in some extra training (probably ought to step up your sessions in the training room that does stuff like shoot racquetballs at you at high speed or randomly drop out floor sections... goddammit that's not normal either is it?), then shower, do your homework, and go to bed, because being a good example is what you do in the dark, or something. ("Booooooo!" shouts your Id, only to get kicked in the back by your Superego who instituted that policy for the night in the first place.) \n\nOf course you can't sleep. A mingling of excitment, worry, and any number of other things makes it elusive. Among them, you're wondering if you really will be okay as you are on your own. Okay, maybe you could have believed you could go as you are if you went with the team option, but completely solo? Nothing between you and actual, real life supervillains but whatever (highly suggestive) costume you wind up wearing? Can you really do that? Maybe you should find some way to boost your abilities, or at least go out there armed more comprehensively.\n\n<hr>\n[[Escalate! Always escalate!|MarSS]]\n\n[[No, you'll manage.|MarSS4x2]]

(Superego: "You should throw your staff at it."\n\nId: "You should throw your staff at it!"\n\nEgo: "I'm throwing my staff at it already, shut the fuck up and let me aim!")\n\nYou give the long silver staff a little toss to grip it about where you would if it was a javelin, and even give a slight hop-step before hurling it forward. Of course at the distance you're at there's no way someone with your training should be able to miss, which is why all the panicked crowd, as well as Style, stops what they're doing and watches, their heads tracking the motion of it as it flashes towards the robot. #1, however, doesn't even flinch as the staff instead lands right between his legs with a pang as it strikes part of the news equipment behind it, everyone letting out a low hiss of 'oh damn that sucks'. The drone doesn't even seem to be paying attention to the staff now or ever, clearly having calculated it would miss.\n\nJust as you were hoping.\n\nThe staff sags down into the side, at which two things happen. One, it comes into contact with the robot's leg. Two, it comes into contact with the wires inside of the hookup junction box you were aiming at. The robot lurches and bucks in place as the city's electrical grid courses through it, sparks and blue smoke pouring out of every small juncture in its armor (and something similar is happened to all the equipment hooked into the junction box as well). But just as you'd hoped, the other drones start twitching and spasming as well, heads jerking back and forth, before they go rigid and fall to the ground after a loud popping noise. #1 is, ironically, the last to fall, crumpling to its knees before thudding forward, now actually on fire.\n\nThere's quiet for long moments, before an actual bit of a cheer comes up from... maybe half of the audience. The other is starting to bark out questions again, both provocative and sincere. Style hurries over to you and starts bustling you away, clearly feeling that this is not the best time to actually field questions.\n\n"Hey! You destroyed all my equipment!" one woman with a camera shouts after you, actually scrambling up onto the stage. "What are you gonna do about that?!"\n\n<hr>\n[[Stop and talk to her.|MarSS]]\n\n[[Let Style deal with it.|MarSS4x7]]

"Stop! Don't go!" you call, stretching out a hand. "I'm... I'm not ready for you to go yet!"\n\n"Oh?" The spirit does seem to firm up a little more. "Why not?"\n\n"Because... because I've missed you, stupid!" you blurt, scowling at being made to say it. "Even without your dumb 'love' stuff, I've missed you! You were the best pranking partner I ever had before your stupid 'love' crap made you turn around and try to be some stupid upstanding member of society! I... well, I'll be nice to you, is all!" you add, putting your hands on your hips. "I can feel how lonely you are! So I'll bring you back, and you can hang out with me again like old times!"\n\n"So it's so I won't be lonely," the spirit says in an amused tone, before raising its hands as you narrow your eyes at it. "Very well then. I accept your kindness and generosity."\n\n"Hmph. Well then. I guess since this is the same stupid ol' shrine you were living in before, this will be a bit easier," you mutter, raising your hands and briefly closing your eyes. Normally using your powers is fairly effortless, but this is bringing back a whole spirit that was nearly as powerful as you were at one point in its existence. Still, you can feel your energy taking hold, and linking up with some of the spiritual energies still remaining in the shrine. The spirit form twitches, then drifts backwards as if pulled, slowly glowing brighter and brighter as it slides through the crumbling doorway, briefly lighting up the decrepit interior and hole-riddled walls. Then there's a bright flash, before it goes dark once again.\n\nA moment later, a figure emerges, climbing over some of the rubble and then perching atop it in particularly feline fashion, her particularly feline ears twitching atop her head. There's a weird pang you feel at seeing Nekoko looking just like she did the last time you saw her... at your sealing ritual. Her long, pretty white hair the same as her ears, a copper bangle clipped into part of it, her big pretty pink eyes, as well as her shinto priestess garb, white top with red accents and ribbons hugging her breasts, hips and rear shown off by the red hakama pants due to her current position... well, and the laces running up the sides showing off the side of her hips and legs.\n\n<img src="images/Nekoko.png">\n\n"Hm. You really did it after all," Nekoko observes, before leaping forward and tumbling in midair, landing on her feet in front of you and turning back and forth, ears flicking as she looks at herself. "I'm back just as I was."\n\n"Just as you were then," you say, frowning as you look her up and down. "I was hoping that your tails would come back, at least!"\n\n"... Maybe it's my own shame at cutting them off that kept them from coming back," she answers quietly, brushing her hands over the front of her pants as she smiles sadly at you. "Maybe it feels like I don't deserve them anymore."\n\n"I still don't understand why you did that to yourself!" you huff, shaking your head, resisting the urge to fling your arms around her and hug her because you are totally still angry at her for lots of stuff! "It's like you didn't even want to be a nekomata anymore!"\n\n"I didn't," she answers simply. At your shocked look, she grins wryly. "I guess we never even talked about it, hm? ... Let's get out of this place, I'll try and explain so you can understand."\n\nThe two of you set off back down the steps and towards the sidewalk that will lead back to your home, Nekoko speaking softly and evenly along the way. "I remember everything about my life when I was just a mortal animal... it's one of those things about being a nekomata, I suppose. I remember being born amongst my dark grey and black siblings, and I remember them nudging me out of the way so that I rarely got any of my mother's milk... but my mother still tried to clean me and cuddle me. The old woman that owned my mother, she was kind too... she stroked me and held me, and tried to give me milk when she saw I was still hungry. The first few months of my life were like that, and though I was small and weak I was happy. ... Then the old woman's son visited, and he became enraged at her for keeping cats, especially one like me, that he said was 'cursed with the color of death'. He struck her and then killed my mother, and some of my siblings, with the rest of us just barely escaping into the woods. ... The rest of it after that was a harsh, meager existence, full of near-starvation and fights with other woodland creatures. But I survived, often prowling near human dwellings, wishing that one of them might take me in like the old woman had, but only getting stones thrown at me for it.\n\n"When I grew old enough I became a nekomata, and I began to harass and sometimes even plague humans as was my nature, paying them back for the unkindness they and the world had shown me. ... But all the while I was mostly only bitter that even as I had become more like them, I knew they still would not love me. And then that's when I met you, Konko. You were so full of laughter, and joy, and your pranks against the humans were more creative and silly than the spiteful curses that I'd been taught were a nekomata's nature. You showed me a way to give them some payback without actually needing to hurt them, like I'd never really wanted to. That was probably the happiest time of my life, the two of us collaborating on ways to rile them up, sometimes making them suffer but more often just making them struggle in hilarious ways."\n\n"Yeah, it was pretty great," you allow as the two of you walk down the sidewalk, folding your arms and pouting over at her a bit. "Which is why I never understood why you left!"\n\n"Because I wanted more than a best friend... I wanted love," Nekoko answers quietly, looking down at the pavement as her sandaled feet hit it with soft clacks. "It was ingrained too deeply in me to escape, no matter what I did. I wanted you to love me, but you lived life far too freely for that. So when I met a priest that said he wanted to understand spirits, not just exorcise them... it was easy to fall for him. I wanted to be understood as much as I wanted to be loved... I wanted to understand myself, too. I loved him, so I told myself nothing else mattered... not my tails, not my drive to plague humans, and not even old friendships. ... I'm sorry that hurts you, Konko, it's just the truth of how it was."\n\n"I'm not hurt, I'm aggravated!" you huff, swiping a sleeve across your eyes in annoyance.\n\n"So I cut off my tails because I didn't want to be a nekomata anymore, I wanted to be as much like a human as I could. ... In the end, I understood though... that if my husband really loved me back the way I loved him, he never would have asked me to participate in that ritual. He understood how much you meant to me, I told him... he made excuses about how it was better for everyone to seal you, and I suppose he really believed them. But it still mattered more than me... I began to understand, bit by bit, sacrifice by sacrifice and always on my part, that he would never love me the way I loved him. In the end, when he died, we were more coworkers than anything else, just people who shared a bedroom and a job. After that I continued to keep the shrine in solitude and loneliness, until bit by bit I was forgotten and abandoned completely, and started to fade away." She looks over at you again, then smiles, with just a hint of a wicked sparkle in her eyes. "Maybe I'll have better luck being your wife, Konko."\n\n"Eh?" You stop at the threshold of your home, turning to blink at her.\n\n"Oh, you don't mind, do you?" Nekoko flutters her lashes teasingly at you, raising a hand to rest along her cheek. "I just thought that since you brought me back, I might as well make a good wife for you, hm? Don't worry, I won't push you to declare your love for me," she adds, putting her hands on her hips and jutting one out becomingly. "But I can care for your house, cook your meals, and assist you in your work. It's what a wife does, hm?"\n\n<hr>\n[["Th-that's wrong!"|KonFren]]\n\n[["... Well, if you put it that way!"|KonFren]]

"So it's you," you say rather darkly. Wanting to at least get a proper response, you push a bit more energy into the spirit. "The one who betrayed me not once, but twice."\n\nYou're actually a little surprised by how much just that little bit of extra energy allows the spirit to regain hold of itself, actually turning and flying steadily but purposefully towards you, then taking a vaguely humanoid form standing on the ground in front of you, a featureless shape of mist and light. "Hello, Konko."\n\n"Hmph! So you're not even going to bother denying it?!"\n\n"I never thought of the first time as betraying you, just being true to myself," the spirit answers, its tone even but sad. "... But yes. The second time, that's what it was. I betrayed you. I helped perform the ritual that sealed you away, knowing full well I was betraying our friendship as I did."\n\n"Are you even sorry?" you almost snarl, putting your hands on your hips and leaning towards it.\n\n"... If you mean, do I regret it? Yes. I regretted it every day since. I regretted it when I was doing it. Did it turn out to be a stupid, foolish thing to do? Yes, it did. ... If you want me to apologize, though, Konko... I'm afraid I can't."\n\n"WHAT?! Seriously?! After all you did, you can't even tell me 'I'm sorry'?!" you snap back, throwing your hands into the air.\n\n"Because I did it for love, Konko," the spirit whispers back, soft and sad and full of a gentle aching pain. "The love I felt was real... even if it was a fool's love in the end. I would have done anything for it... so I can't apologize for what I did. For that, though... for that I'm sorry."\n\n"Love," you spit disdainfully, hating the tight feeling in your chest you don't even know how to name, the nonsensical stinging in your eyes. "What a stupid thing to betray a friend for!"\n\n"Maybe. But it was all I ever wanted. I needed it with all my being." The spirit lowers the vague shape of its head, bringing a hand to its chest. Then its head comes up, tilting slightly. "... I wanted you to love me, Konko. I would have been happy with that."\n\n"That's so stupid!" you snap back. "Stuff like that isn't who I am! It isn't what I do! We were friends because we had fun together! That's enough, that's all that matters!"\n\n"Mm. I guess maybe in the end, if you had been someone who would love me... maybe I wouldn't have wanted you to so badly?" There's the literal ghost of a sad smile on that faceless head now. "Maybe that's my nature too. ... It's alright, Konko. Maybe this was all I've been holding out for. Maybe... it really is time for me to go," it continues, 'voice' growing fainter as it begins to fade away, its form growing more indistinct.\n\n<hr>\n[["..."|KonFren3x1]]\n\n[["... No, wait!"|KonFren2x2]]\n\n[["... I HATE THIS! I HATE IT I HATE IT I HATE IT!"|KonFren2axEnd1]]

"I, I, I don't know what you mean," he stammers, his glasses askew, his white hair frazzled. "They're fully autonomously networked, that's the whole point of-"\n\nHe cuts off with a little jump as you give him a light smack across the cheek with your fingers (really more of a pat). "We are way beyond the sales pitch now, Doctor. Now my boss had to use something the size of a minivan to house the receivers and processors for an AI being broadcast from a core, there is no fucking way someone competing for a city government contract made every single human-sized robot on that team capable of doing it independently. Which one's housing the core the rest are running through?"\n\n"... S1," he says miserably.\n\n"... Seriously, you just made it number one?" you murmur, peeking out from behind the car. It does look like Style's holding them off for the moment, mostly by occupying their attention with dramatic dodges, but you definitely have to get out there. You quickly spot the one with '1' on its chest... it's slightly bigger than the others... and has an antenna on its head. "Oh you definitely hired an image consultant, there is no way you are subtle enough to design these things' look otherwise," you mutter as you yank out your batons and combine them into staff mode.\n\n"Er, well, I was advised-"\n\n"Be advised to keep your ass hidden and out of the way!" you snap back without looking at him as you charge back out.\n\nYou actually manage to catch one off guard, which you'd say is already proof that he was cutting corners somewhere, coming up behind it and swinging the staff like a baseball bat towards the thinner portion of its waist. (Would that make it more of a stickball bat? Stick? ... Do people actually play stickball or is that just something that movies set in the forties or whatever made up? No, no time to be distracted!) You apparently do some decent damage too because the robot spasms and twists, its legs twisting in random firings of servos as it hits the ground. (It also feels like you just hit, well, someone made of metal with a long stick made of metal. Your hands are borderline numb and your forearms hurt. Not the stuff they usually mention in comic books.) You notice that Style is getting pretty pressed... she didn't exactly come dressed to dodge laser blasts all day, so you let out a piercing whistle.\n\nMaybe it's the costume, or just that you were introduced by an alias and were making your hero debut, but you apparently rank higher in these things' tier list than Style does since they all wheel to face you. Now you're the one flinging yourself side to side and rolling under blasts... luckily, while laser blasts are faster than racquetballs, they're also considerably flashier and more predictable. You hit another robot in the knee in passing (thank you aesthetically calculated displayed joints), and while that doesn't actually disable it you've further limited the arc of its fire.\n\nThere, you've gotten yourself positioned to where there's nothing between you and #1. The area between the two of you will definitely be dangerous, filled with the crossfire of the other Silver Squad robots, which is why-\n\n<hr>\n[[-you need to hit it fast and hard.|MarSS]]\n\n[[-you should throw your staff at it!|MarSS4x6]]

You take a deep breath, slowly, then let it out. You climb to your feet, ignoring the heavy feel of your body, and pick up your jacket. You have to do this. You owe this. Not just to Makoto to keep your promise, you owe it to what he believes in. The kindness and strength he exudes, the loyalty and faithfulness he's always shown you and others. ... And maybe you owe it to yourself. For the only positive change you've ever made in this world in the almost two decades since you arrived.\n\nYour feet feel heavy as you make your way down the sidewalk, shoulders slumped and eyes down. You can't shake the feeling that you're going to sit in that park, listening to children playing and birds chirping, and knowing that you're alone again. Alone in a way you didn't realize you weren't all these years, when you had watching over Makoto to look forward to. You stop in front of the gates, looking up at them, and sniffing hard before you let your eyes track back to the path in front of you, forcing your legs to move and carry you forward again. You've walked this path so many times over the years... maybe far more than you ever realized, wanting to catch a glimpse of the little hero you had inspired. You raise your head as you approach the playground equipment, the sight of the empty structures almost painful. ... Empty?\n\nYou glance back and forth, noticing that the entire park is oddly unoccupied, as if someone had asked everyone to clear out and they'd actually complied. You hadn't noticed in your abject misery, but it's one of the most beautiful days you've ever seen since you came to Earth, with a blue sky so deep and azure that it could as well be a still calm sea, drifts of fluffy white cloud so perfectly arrayed across it that they could have been painted there by the gods. You stare into the sky for long moments before pushing forward again. You're almost there, almost to where... to where...\n\nYou stop, your hands dropping from your pockets to dangle at your sides, then flying up to your mouth to cover the choked noise you make at the sight of that short, slender form standing there, long, snowy white hair blowing gently in the wind, gold-embroidered thigh length purple robe slipped off slender shoulders, coltish legs left bare above soft brown leather boots. "Makoto?!"\n\nAt the sound of your choked cry, the figure turns, pink eyes lighting up with delight, pretty lips parting in a smile. The clothes look like something from your homeland, a thin white tabard trimmed with red coming down and highlighting petite but obvious breasts, the tabard fastened on over a black dress, its short skirt trimmed with lace. The belt, the pouches, the accessories, the necklaces, all of it is obviously magical artifacts, some of it even things you sold when you arrived. \n\n<img src="images/Makoto1.jpg">\n\n"Sipha-neechan! You came!" Makoto cries in a sweet voice, rushing towards you with abandon, laughing with delight as she throws herself into your arms. \n\n"Makoto!" you sob, holding her tightly, feeling that small body pressing into yours, holding on as if without it you might slip off the edge of something. Sniffling, you draw back, looking her up and down. "You... you..." Seeing the bright, unclouded smile on her face, you smile as well, despite the tears still running down your face. "... You're so beautiful," you whisper, every bit of your heart in the words, raising a hand to brush your thumb over her cheek. \n\nHer cheeks color and she glances down bashfully, before she looks up at you again and smiles. "Sipha-neechan, I did it! I found what I was looking for... ever since I was small, since the second time we met. The thing I've been working on ever since, my own proof to myself that I'd really be a Hero," she continues, her voice almost a whisper despite her excitement, head bobbing. "I finally found it."\n\n"You... what? Ever since then?" You stare at her in confusion. "Makoto, I don't understand, what did you find?"\n\n"Lytozia." Makoto's smile only grows as your eyes widen. "I found the way to Lytozia. Sipha-neechan, I came today to take you home."\n\n"I... I... oh my gods, Makoto," you rasp, feeling like your legs might go out from under you at any moment. "I... but I... but you-"\n\n"I came to take you home, 'neechan... and I came to go with you," Makoto insists gently, eyes twinkling. "Because a world full of adventure is where a Hero belongs. But more than that... more than anything... the place I belong is where you are." Tears start to slip from those happy, dancing eyes now as she continues. "Whether you want to go back to Lytozia, whether you want to stay in Japan, or anywhere in this world or a hundred others. Wherever you go, that's where I'll go. Because you may have helped me become a Hero, Sipha-neechan... but you'll always be mine."\n\nSobbing again, you fling yourself against her, wrapping your arms tight around her.\n\nYou're not going to let her go.\n\n<hr>\n[[Game Over.|SiphaKids3axEnd]]

"They're a threat," you confirm after only a brief thought. "But more to me than to you. They prefer my kind as prey. They'll still try to prey on you... but if you avoid them and their offspring, you should be fine. At least for a while. But you should stay as far away from the town as possible," you add. "Or even leave this area entirely if you can. The humans might..." You're pretty sure 'nuke the site from orbit since it's the only way to be sure' wouldn't translate well since the translator nanos are still clearly building a base for nuance and idiom. "The humans might set a great fire to clean the town, one that would cause destruction for a great distance around."\n\nThat sets off another bit of murmuring among the wolves, but the alpha again quiets them with a low bark. "<Very well. I will think on that. But you say they're more of a threat to you?>"\n\n"Yeah, they are. They'd do some pretty bad stuff to me, not just eat me," you allow.\n\n"Mmmmrrr," the alpha rumbles a bit. "<Perhaps we can help each other then.>"\n\n"Oh?" you ask, perking up a bit in interest.\n\n"<If you and I were to form a temporary trust bond, then we would be as pack. Thus you would tell us all that you knew about these threats, because we are pack. Then I would take you far away from what threatens you, because you are pack. If you would be agreeable to forming this bond of trust.>"\n\n"Huh. That sounds like it might be okay," you venture slowly, though making sure to keep your tone considering. "What's involved in forming a trust bond? Is there some sort of ritual, or...?"\n\nYou blink as that sets off a huffing and wurfing among the wolves that sounds distinctly like quiet laughter. Rather than putting a stop to it this time, though, Thing Which Blazes From The Sky gives his own wurfing chuckle and pads forward on those huge paws. "<You could call it a ritual,>" he allows as he gently noses your bare belly.\n\nSomething about the subtle intimacy of the gesture and precisely where he nudges you sends a little shock through you... specifically you can almost feel a faint throb in your womb that radiates out through your body and along your nerves as a shiver of arousal you can't quite control. "O-oh," you whisper.\n\n"<Since you have spoken to us as friend and equal, this pack bond is your choice,>" he continues easily enough. "<Will you accept?>"\n\n<hr>\n[[Accept.|ChiWild]]\n\n[[Decline.|ChiWild]]

Hello, dear reader, this is Skooma. Hey, just for fun, rather than inventing some in-game options for how Michika does, why don't I just ask you directly what happens? That seem fun? ... It seems lazy? Rude. No bulli.\n\nAnyway, we're doing this. So how well should Michika do trying to use the Pervcursor console to control the minodroid?\n\n<hr>\n[["Michika is my waifu, dear Skooma, I do not wish anything bad to happen to her ever. Please have her be wildly successful, thank you."|ChiPerv]]\n\n[["Well, Skooma, I do like good things to happen, and also pervy stuff, so have her be successful but maybe there's also pervy stuff, yanno?"|ChiPerv4x3]]\n\n[["Devious one, I like success tinged with embarrassment and lewdity. Deliver unto me this backhanded triumph."|ChiPerv]]\n\n[["All these choices are getting in the way of fucking. I want fucking. Write fucking."|ChiPerv]]\n\n[["ay yo skoom fuck that bitch up lmao"|ChiPerv]]

'Ah... there's no way a pathetic bitch like me could satisfy Darling alone,' you think dreamily as your beloved retracts his proboscis and tendrils, letting you slump forward onto the floor, propped up by your massive cumbelly to lift your ass in the air and display your holes leaking the proof of Darling's virility and potency. 'Darling will need lots and lots and lots of bitches... a nice big harem to dump his loads in!'\n\nYou drift for a while on pleasant dreams of how pleased Darling will be by you bringing him a constant supply of new sluts to turn into his devoted slaves like you, before finally coming back to yourself. You can't just think about it, you actually have to get to work! You glance around as you slowly get to your feet, your cumbelly now mostly deflated, but still leaking a steady stream of thick green goo that smells intensely of Darling's wondrous scent. The cave is large and looks completely natural and untouched by the mining operation, with a number of little nooks and crannies, and several smooth depressions in the floor of various sizes... looks like Darling has settled into one of those to rest, his eye-orbs dim. Awww, he fucked himself out using you! That's so~ swee~t! He's so adorable, with the way his spongy flesh quivers and shudders with his breathing, and the sound of his goo sloshing against the sides of the depression makes that squinching noise!\n\nYou really hate to leave him, even temporarily, but... you have a mission! You make your way back through the small, narrow tunnel connecting the cave to the rest of the mine, eventually having to go down on your knees and sort of scooch along, leaving your own slime trail as you go. Eventually you emerge back into the more crafted tunnels with their chemical lights and pulsing silent alarm... hrm. That's right, those nasty miners are also out to get your wonderful, harmless Darling! You'll have to do something about that. Luckily it looks like Darling's cave entrance is off the beaten path and barely noticeable, so he should be fine for a while.\n\nYou make your way back to where you had your meet-cute with Darling, humming cheerfully and trotting along, goo-smeared breasts bouncing and well-fucked holes still dripping Darling's love. What is there to be embarrassed about, after all? You're covered in Darling's essence! ... Though, hm. You probably should get some clothes before you go back. You need to "blend" to at least some extent if you're going to get Darling his bitches, after all, wouldn't do to tip everyone off right away, much as you want to proclaim your love for your Darling all through the Guildhall and from the tallest megaspires in Makarzia. You'll figure it out.\n\nIn any event you soon find the remnants of your clothes, and your rifle. Luckily Darling landing on you as he did (he's so smart!) means that the flaps of your jacket were left undissolved, and the pockets along with them, so you still have your important essentials like your beacon and comms. And a few other bits and pieces that you always wanted close to hand... in a burst of inspiration, you pull out several sample bottles and collect as much of the potent-scented spunk still dripping from your pussy and ass as you can. That could definitely come in useful for your plans. Picking up your things, you make your way back to Darling's lair, your beloved quivering a bit in acknowledgement of your return as you emerge back into the cavern, but apparently still resting. Aw, it's fine, sweetheart, don't get up! You take a few moments to use your Guild comm to take an exact reading of the cavern and do a 'safe area' scan, making sure that when you portal back through whatever means, you won't wind up "intersecting" anything. Including Darling. That would be very, very bad.\n\nYour scan made, you return again to the mine tunnels, and from there to the elevator. A check of the local time shows that it's very late... Darling must have been fucking you and you reveling in the afterglow for quite a while. You pad naked and dripping (though now flat-bellied again) through the staging area, then peek around into the common room. Oh good, looks like there's just one miner lingering about, probably exactly because someone was waiting for word from you. You give a 'psssst!' from around the corner to get his attention, then beckon him over, stepping back as you do to get him to come properly out of sight.\n\nHe rounds the corner and comes towards you, and it clearly takes a moment for the sight of you to actually hit his brain. "Uh?! Miss?! What happened to you?!" he blurts, eyes going wide. "You, uh, you-!" Then his nostrils flare, and his eyes settle a bit, starting to glaze over somewhat. "You, uh... you... wow, you smell great."\n\nSmiling sweetly, you walk over to him and sink to your knees, without a word undoing his belt and jeans and letting his rapidly stiffening cock free. You hate to cheat on Darling, but this is for the sake of building his harem, you think as you unhesitatingly move forward and slide the man's cock into your mouth, starting to bob your head over it while looking up at his face. Besides, does fucking any lesser man than Darling even count as sex? Surely not, you muse as you smoothly slide him into your throat without resistance, Darling's wriggling, stroking tongue and slime having thoroughly removed your gag reflex. You 'mmm' and moan encouragingly, even working your shoulders around to make your tits wiggle for the man's viewing pleasure, and it doesn't take long before he's spilling into your mouth and down your throat. Inferior stuff, but you swallow anyway, you are kind of hungry.\n\nHe sags and staggers to the wall, the suddenness of the sex and orgasm clearly having completely disoriented him. You get to your feet and snag something at the floor, and just before you clonk him on the head with the wrench you found earlier, you can see the utterly besotted look he's staring at you with. Tch, poor idiot, as if you could ever love anyone but Darling!\n\nYou strip the unconscious miner and zip-tie his wrists and ankles before considering. His pants and underwear are obviously hopeless, but the flannel shirt is long enough to serve you as a relatively (if barely) modest dress once belted around the middle. You bundle them up to take with you so as not to leave evidence, then (with quite a bit of heaving and grunting) haul the bound man over to the elevator and hit the control for Darling's floor before hopping out quickly. Useless as a harem addition, but Darling does need to eat and replenish his energy, after all~! Now at least technically attired, at least enough not to attract a possibly detrimental amount of attention, you use your beacon and fwip back to the Guildhall.\n\nYou stroll out of the portal and down the short flight of steps and out into the annex, your movements casual and easy... why be fretful? You're not doing the slightest thing wrong, and all's right with the world! You can see a few people giving you a few glances due to your still slightly gooey and half-dressed state, but neither of those things are particularly unusual for a merc returning from a job. You do notice a fair numbers of flaring nostrils and even a few eyes dilating, and one or two vaguely worried looks, but they're past and gone before any issue can come of it. You pay for access to one of the semi-private cleanup areas and, sadly, shower the last of Darling's substances off of your skin and out of your hair. Still, Darling's smell seems to still be there once you've finished washing and drying off, if not quite as strong as before. Good, that will clearly still be helpful, plus it reminds you who you belong to! \n\nHm. Next thing to do is probably buy some new clothes... probably something Darling won't dissolve every time, as much as it pains you to thwart anything he does in the slightest. Broad-spectrum acid resistant clothes aren't cheap... but you're not going to be buying very much~! Specifically, you wind up buying a sleeveless, midriff-baring top that zips up the front, a very short pleated skirt, thigh-high stocking-boots, and a short jacket that barely comes down further than the top does (since you do still need pockets). All in your preferred black with white trim (or the inverse in the case of the jacket); no panties, of course... you don't want Darling to have any trouble accessing your holes at any time! (Or, you suppose, the various other males you'll need to make use of to get Darling his harem.)\n\nSpeaking of which, you think as you grab a quick bite to eat in the food court complex, the next step in your plan is obviously that you need to be able to go site-to-site to Darling's home and then back to your apartment on Makarzia... going through the Guildhall every time would definitely increase your chances of eventual discovery, and limit your options. No, you definitely need site-to-site set up. \n\nThere are two ways to get it, essentially. There's the "upright" way... site-to-site dimensional teleportation isn't illegal for Guild members (very little is), it's just that they don't encourage it because it's relatively dangerous and, let's face it, threatens their monopoly on the system. But there are a few people on the Guildhall that sell the equipment to do so, just that it's often much much more expensive and more limited than "grey market" s2s fwippers. (Much safer, though, admittedly.) There's also the fact that you could just walk right in and buy one without a lot of running around or fretting. Getting a more flexible off-brand one would involve more running around and, say, negotiation before you could finally settle to the matter of building Darling's harem, but it would also be much cheaper and more flexible... and with the benefit of no record of the transaction with any Guild-associated individuals.\n\n<hr>\n[[Go mainstream.|ChiMine]]\n\n[[Go grey market.|ChiMine3x3]]

Hm. Better to go Makarzia-side with this. You don't want to risk bringing too much heat down on you... or wind up emptying your account and not having enough money to finance other parts of your plan. You have to protect Darling, and you have to get him his harem!\n\nYou head to the departure annex and return to your apartment. You don't waste a lot of time thinking... you have an information hookup quite close at hand that could point you to exactly the sort of techhead you need for this. He's a little difficult to deal with, but you'll just handle him more directly than usual, you think with a grin as you head out of your apartment and step into the elevator.\n\nRather than going down, you press the button for the top floor, unzipping your top about halfway to create a generous amount of cleavage. The apartments on this level aren't any larger or fancier than the ones below, it's not that sort of building, but they are further from the street which for some people is worth paying a bit more to make sure they get them. You walk over to one in particular and hit the notification bell, waiting a few moments. When there's no response, you physically pound on the door with your palm. "Jaqamo! I know you're in! You're never out!"\n\nThere's a faint shuffling sound inside, before a rather pitiful male voice answers, "Michika, I'm really not up to seeing anyone tonight, can't you just call?"\n\n"You're never up to seeing anyone, and I'm not going to call a goddamned infotrader on the comm when I live ten floors below! C'mon, open up!"\n\nAfter just a few moments, there's an overlong series of clicks before the door opens, just enough for Jaqamo to peek out. He's a few years younger than you, scrawny with thick, scruffy black hair and dark tan skin (probably be darker if he wasn't even more sun-avoidant than the average Night Creature), a pair of high-quality data processor cybereyes glowing yellow in the dim light of his apartment... they're not the bulkiest you've seen by a longshot, but they are big enough to have various plugs and jacks set in the metal rims, so. He's wearing a baggy black long-sleeved shirt (probably to cover and avoid hindering his other implants) and equally baggy black lounge pants, bare toes peeking out from beneath the slightly ragged hems of them.\n\n"Michika plz," he grumbles timidly, ducking his head.\n\n"C'mon, Jaqamo, let me in, I'll only be a few minutes," you assure him with a smile, leaning in slowly, but enough to bring your neck and hair in closer... the places you've realized Darling's scent is stronger on you.\n\n"In?" he squeaks, clearly slightly terrified of having anyone inside his sanctum. But you can see his nose flare, and he hesitates, glancing back and forth for a moment, before sighing and stepping back, opening the door fully.\n\nInside is pretty much as you expected from both the glimpses you'd had and just knowing your building's resident shutin data-addict. Rather messy, cluttered with hardcopy, stacked datachips and datachip storage cases, trash bags full of delivery cartons and more delivery cartons about, the whole place lit only by various glowing screens. The smell is certainly not pleasant... old food and body odor and a bit of mildew, a true shut-in smell, but you have the eternal memory of Darling's heavenly scent buzzing through your brain (and wafting faintly out of your pores) so no other scent is ever going to bother you. Jaqamo settles into the chair in front of his workstation nervously, turning it fully towards you. "Um, s-so, what do you need."\n\n"I need a guy that can rig up site-to-site fwippers," you answer breezily, ignoring it as his jaw drops a bit. "I know there's someone around who can do that, there always is. Preferably reusable ones, I don't want to have to be constantly going back for more or building a new one myself every time."\n\n"Um. W-well... I mean, yeah, there's a guy over in Tailtown that does that, or at least, I know he does ess-two-ess beacons, dunno about the rest," Jaqamo answers nervously. "But, um, I'm pretty sure he doesn't like Humans, so that's probably a no-go and I don't know anyone else, maybe if you leave I can look up another one and ca-"\n\n"The Tailtown guy will be fine," you interrupt breezily, wagging a hand in the air. "I'll handle him, don't worry."\n\n"... Um... but like... he has, y'know... gang connections," Jaqamo murmurs, wringing his hands as he fidgets some more. "If he gets pissed and finds out I'm the one who told you about him, I don't want that huge chick with the rabbit ears showing up at my door to break my legs."\n\nYou scoff a little bit as you saunter over, Jaqamo going stiff in alarm... though you notice he's also going stiff in other places, not that he could hide it in those pants. "Not that you use 'em for anything," you say in a teasing tone, leaning down so your tits are right in his face. You can definitely see his cock getting harder as you take on the mild 'bully girl' tone, so you add a somewhat mocking, "Hey, what're ya looking at, huh?"\n\n"I... I... I..." he whimpers, even as he clearly can't take his glowing digital eyes off of your cleavage. You can just bet that despite his nervousness and fright he's taking all sorts of video. His eyes aren't technically capable of widening, but you definitely get the same impression from the strangled noise he makes as you tug the zipper down the rest of the way, letting your boobs spill free of the top and hang down, stiff nipples bared in the blue light of the computer monitor.\n\n"Tell you what. I will suck your little agoraphobic brains out through your dick," you sneer as you sink to your knees in front of him, hands sliding up and down his thighs. "And yooou will give me all I need to know about the fwip-tech, okay?"\n\n"I, I, I, I," Jaqamo continues to stammer even as you hook your fingers into the waistband of his pants and pull them down, letting his rather modest in proportions but very, very hard brown cock spring free. \n\nHis stammering turns into a long moan as you slide your mouth over his cockhead and start washing your tongue around it. Well, 'washing' is right, you knew he wasn't very big on bathing, though he at least seems to have had all his body hair wiped out so the smell isn't as intense as it could be. But his prick tastes of sweat, traces of piss, and a fair amount of his own old cum, creating a heady taste and odor combination. It's actually not unpleasant for you... after all, you're sucking this dick for Darling's sake, and everything you do for Darling is a joy! Actually smiling around Jaqamo's prick, you look up at him, making sure his cybereyes have a good view as they record you slipping your lips further down his length, and slurping your way back up, letting your lips drag along him and your cheeks hollow just like the porntoons you have little doubt he's addicted to.\n\nOf course, it doesn't take Jaqamo long to cum in your mouth, with him whimpering almost apologetically as he does, the load thick but meager... he's clearly already jerked off that day. You duck your head down and suck his equally fragrant, unwashed balls as he fumbles with one hand to call up the information on his rig and print it out, proffering it to you with a shaking hand as he breathes hard.\n\nYou still go ahead and fuck him. He's just so pathetic, especially compared to the bastion of virility and manliness that is your beloved, that you can't help but give the little loser a pity-fuck. Pulling him out of the chair and pushing him down onto the filthy carpet, you guide his still rock-hard prick into your pussy beneath your skirt and start riding him. "Hope you know I'm just doing this because it's the only chance you've got of ever touching a woman," you coo to him even as you pound your pussy on his prick, feeling it twitch inside you at the abuse. You slide your hands under his shirt and pinch his nipples hard, making him yelp loudly and get, if anything, even harder inside you. "How's my pity-pussy feel, huh? How's the only cunt you'll ever get feel, you little NEET fucker? Huh? Doubt I'll ever feel like giving you another sympathy screw again so better memorize how it feels, bitch!"\n\nIt takes him longer the second time... but not that much, since he so obviously gets off on the abuse you were perfectly willing to give him. You saunter out of the apartment without bothering to close the door, leaving him splayed there half-conscious with his still half-hard and now thoroughly soaked dick flopped against his belly, his muscles still twitching with the intensity of his orgasm. In the elevator you produce some cleanup wipes from your pocket and slide a few along your inner thighs and over your pussy, cleaning up the last few drips of his load before tossing them negligently in the corner. Normally you're not the litter-in-the-building sort but you've got more important things to focus on and do.\n\nYou head over to Tailtown, approaching the secondhand tech shop from Jaqamo's printout. The guy behind the counter narrows his eyes at you as you walk in... well, narrower than they were to start with, anyway, as he's very serpentine in appearance, with a very snake-like face and cobra-like hood framing it, his shirt collar cut wide on the shoulders to accomodate the base of it. He's covered in faintly shiny-looking little round, beadlike scales, the majority green but various markings in black and red here and there, and paler green down his throat and along his chest. You're fairly certain from his posture that he's got legs, though you can see a long, thick tail behind him, the tip shaking in apparent consternation.\n\n"Hey, a friend referred me to you for something I need," you chirp cheerfully as you walk over.\n\n"Hnh," he answers, thin tongue flicking briefly past his lips, before he reaches over and taps a clawed fingertip against the sign on the front of the counter reading 'We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone'.\n\n"Oh, c'mon, don't be that way," you scoff, resting your hands on your hips and giving them a little experimental bop. You notice his eyes do flick to them, and then draw up to track your chest as you shift your stance a little. Ha, doesn't like humans but still wants to fuck them, looks like~. You also notice that his tongue is flicking out a bit more often the longer you're in the shop... oho~. "I'm not here for some cheapass work like an assembly-line speeder lockpopper, or a card cloner. I need an ess-two-ess fwipper... a couple, actually... and I'm willing to pay good creds for them."\n\n"... Hnh," he says again, though he definitely sounds more contemplative this time. His posture is also becoming a little less standoffish almost every time his tongue flicks out. He seems more suspicious and wary than outright hostile now, at least, looking you up and down more obviously before saying, "Not saying I could do that sort of work, necessarily," he says in a deep rasp, with a slight accent to his Galacommon but no heavy sibilance. "Especially since teleportation tech of any kind is illegal for civilians in this megasector. And every other megasector."\n\n"Ah, worried I might be some lawenoff actually looking to do some en-ing, huh?" you say with a grin. "I could prove I'm not, if you like."\n\n"Ah-huh. And how, exactly, are you going to prove that?" he demands in a deeply skeptical tone... only for his eyes to widen as you pinch the sides of your skirt and lift it, showing off your bare pussy. \n\nLess than a minute later you're in his back room, on all fours on a slightly stained futon, moaning eagerly with your tits bouncing underneath you as his cocks pound into your pussy and ass. "Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck yes," you moan out, not actually having to pretend to enjoy it... physically. Nothing will ever match making love to Darling for pure physical and spiritual fulfillment, of course, but the techhead's pair of inhuman pricks is definitely getting you off just fine as far as simple sitmulation goes. It doesn't entirely hurt that he's helping reinforce your feeling of being a servile little hole by yanking your ponytail and spanking your ass, snarling out things like 'Humie slut' and 'Mammal whore' as he fucks you. You fuck back against him all the harder, encouraging him as he grabs your tits and kneads them roughly. Yes, you deserve to be abused for cheating on Darling (even if it is for his sake), you deserve to be called a slut and a whore, you deserve it and you love it and it feels so good~!\n\nYour round ass slams into his hips again and again, your holes stretched around his glistening, spearlike pink pricks. You're so glad you got this ease-of-fucking outfit, he had his cocks in you in no time flat, and it will get you on the road to serving Darling all that much faster! The sooner the techhead uses you as a cum dump the sooner you can start building Darling's harem! That thought comes almost in time with him thrusting forward and letting out a long, hissing growl as he pumps gushes of not-particularly-hot but very voluminous cum into you, the combination of his load and that you're taking it to serve Darling making your eyes roll up with the intensity of your own orgasm.\n\n"Hnnnh... f-fine... I'll take you at your word. Slut," the techhead half-snarls, giving your ass another derisive slap and making you coo and wiggle it on him, shifting his dicks around inside of you. "If you have the coordinates for the fwippers I can have them ready in a day or two."\n\n"Mmmm... any way I can have them tonight? Pleeeeease?" you simper, pressing your ass back against him to pillow against his hips as you give another grind. "Master?" you add in a particularly sweet coo, feeling him twitch in both your holes as you do.\n\nIt does take you encouraging him with constant oral sex to get him to close his shop and work exclusively on the beacons, but that's not so bad. You spend several hours beneath his workbench, sucking and licking at his pricks, deepthroating one and stroking the other, or jerking both off as you tongue the scaly pucker of his asshole. By the time he's done he's lost all traces of wariness as well as hostility, and instead hands over the beacons with a reluctance that says he's fighting to keep himself from begging you to stay with him forever. You just give him a cheerful wave and an assurance you'll probably be back sometime before flouncing off out the door.\n\nYesss! With these you'll be able to fwip directly into Darling's lair with whoever you've got ahold of, and then go right back to your apartment from there, avoiding the Guildhall completely! You can finally begin building Darling his harem!\n\n... tomorrow night. You're suddenly realizing that you haven't actually slept in a long time despite being very active, and apparently, sad as it is to admit, your love for Darling can only carry you so far. Besides, the sun's coming up, and you won't really be able to properly start hunting for bitches until the night anyway.\n\nThe next night after you've awoken and eaten, you sprawl in one of your chairs, stroking your pussy as you half think of how much you miss Darling and half of how to acquire a new slut to bring him in triumph. The question is, who to bring him? You can either go right to assembling him a harem of hot, easily-acquired bitches... or, you can bring him someone that, once they understand how wonderful being in love with Darling is and how important it is that he have as many holes as possible to fuck, will actually be able to help you with the harem plan. In short, the first question is... quantity, or quality?\n\n<hr>\n[[Quantity.|ChiMine]]\n\n[[Quality.|ChiMine]]

Despite your note of worry for anyone that gets brought in on this, the urgency you feel for Zee overrides your concerns for strangers. "These friends of yours, can you get them together fast?"\n\n"They're not just my friends, they also owe me favors. If I call those in I can have a full team together in half an hour."\n\n"Alright, do it," you answer with a nod. "I hope you know some real bad motherfuckers though, Aurora, and they're not all sweethearts like you," you add, though a second later you realize how condescending that came out even if you meant it well.\n\nAurora, though, rather than seeming insulted just grins. "I'll allow that, since you haven't seen me have to go 'bad motherfucker' on someone. But if it's to help you and Zee, you just might before the night's over. Let's head to a coord room and I'll make some calls."\n\nYou settle down in one of the small conference room-like areas the Guild maintains for mercs to get groups together, while Aurora makes a series of calls, keeping her voice quiet as she's speaking to the person on the other line. She's still on the comm with someone about ten minutes later when what you assume must be the first person she called walks in... an imposing woman with raven black hair in a ponytail, and two jagged, rather crooked horns jutting up from amongst it on the top of her head. Her expression is severe, red eyes serious, her outfit typical of mercs though something about her manner says more 'soldier' or maybe 'problem eliminator', but she's got the rather typical black tactical-style jacket, though she's also wearing a white blouse and yellow tie. Too there's the more merc-like touches of snug black hotpants (which you guess ride a little low to let that long, smooth black tail with its red-tufted tip be comfortable), and the slightly designer-looking tall boots. And of course there's the pair of swords she's armed with, one clipped at her side with the blade mostly bare and the other on a shoulder-strap to hang at her lower back in a red sheath.\n\n<img src="images/chen.png">\n\nThe way she assesses the room is more like someone from a formal organization too, quick motions of the head rather than a carefully lazy scan, before she walks right up to you. "You're Kai then. You can call me Ch'en. I hope you understand exactly what your friend is doing for you. My time is valuable, and the favor she called in to get me here even moreso."\n\n"Well I'm giving her my life if we pull this off, so I'd say I understand the value of what she's doing," you reply dryly.\n\n"... Fair enough," Ch'en says with a curt nod.\n\nThe next to walk in is a blonde man in the higher-end sort of armorsuit, one of those that looks like it's got a variable configuration system, all black textured body-hugging material with white armor and blue accents. There's a pair of blasters attached to the hips, and his face is... oof, you thought Ch'en was severe. Actually it's not even severity so much as... blankness. It's not necessarily that he has no expression, just that there's nothing behind his look of stoic solemnity. Rather than bother to introduce himself after his assessment of the room, he moves to take a seat at the table, just looking in the general direction of you and Ch'en as you both look at him expectantly. You sense the draconic-featured woman beside you tensing slightly, as if she were about to lay into him for his rudeness, when Aurora finishes her current call and hurries over.\n\n"Ch'en, thanks so much for coming quickly, I know it's not easy for you."\n\n"Mm. Luckily you caught me while I was on assignment at Rhodes Island and nothing was going on there. Still, it's quite possible we're going to get busy soon, and from what you told me someone's life is in the balance. Let's get this done."\n\n"Thank you. Oh, girls, this is Cypher Ceed," she adds, gesturing to the man who gives a single firm nod. "We crossed paths on a job awhile back and I helped him out, so he said he'd return the favor."\n\n'Warm and fluffy guy,' you think dryly, heroically resisting the urge to say it out loud. After all, he is here to help Zee, so even if he seems to be doing his damnedest to be nothing more than the archetypical strong silent type, you'll try not to needle him.\n\n"Unfortunately between the short notice and the urgency, I was only able to get one other person, but I think between her and everyone else here we should be able to deal with whatever Horace Allfather wants to throw in our way," Aurora says confidently, the door sliding open again just as she's finished speaking. "Oh, hey, there we go! Everyone, meet Tara."\n\nThe woman who just walked in is tall and well-built, the sleek white and black skinarmor suit she's wearing emphasizing her full breasts and even fuller hips. Hm... actually, is that a skinsuit? It looks... a little weird, for one thing it seems like it might be thicker than average despite fitting so closely and having a similar sleekness to it, though it also looks a bit thicker and maybe duller in shine. The tall collar from beneath and the inner lining of the attached hood also look a little weird, pink and... slick? The woman herself seems jittery, neck-length pink hair pushed out of her nervous-looking face with a silver headband, blue eyes a little wide as if the mere presence of four other people was overstimulating her a little.\n\n<img src="images/Tara.jpg">\n\n"H-hello. My name's Tara... I... hope I can help out," she murmurs, taking a seat at the table and almost jumping with a little yip the moment her butt hits the chair, as if it had goosed her.\n\n'... Okaaaay, wonder what she's on,' you think as you take a seat yourself, Ch'en and Aurora doing the same.\n\n"Alright, so our primary goal is to find and save Zee, a young woman who Horace Allfather, the head of a crime syndicate, kidnapped. After that, we can discuss whether we want to take down Horace himself," Aurora says. "Discussion on that can wait, though."\n\n"There's something we need to consider," Ch'en speaks up, her posture professional, hands folded on the table. "Does this Horace Allfather know about GIPSE?"\n\n"Yeah, pretty much everyone on Makarzia does," you answer. "Makarzia's a 'free destination', it's crawling with Guild mercs current and former. Why, what's it matter?"\n\n"I'm used to dealing with crime syndicates. The ones that last very long do so by being as smart and organized as the law enforcement agencies hunting them," Ch'en answers, eyes narrowing just a little as her tail flicks a few times. "Meaning Horace Allfather probably has spies in this installation, ones that would have been watching you since your return. Following what you did... and who you were talking to."\n\n"Meaning that Horace will know you've assembled the strongest team you can to take the girl. And his head," Cypher adds flatly.\n\n"... You're right, we can't dismiss that possibility," Aurora murmurs, cupping her lower face as she looks down at the tabletop. "Damn, I should have realized. If we'd coordinated this on Makarzia itself..."\n\n"You'd've wound up running the interdimensional calls through the Guildhall anyway, and if Horace is going to bother to have spies in the Guild he'll use someone that can tap comms." You rub your face a little, sighing.\n\n"You seem to know him best, Kai. What do you think he'd do in this situation?" Ch'en prompts.\n\n"Well, if he knows I've assembled a Guild team to come after his ass, he'll be expecting hardasses and stone cold killers, even if he doesn't have info on each of you specifically. Which means he'll probably rally all his own hardasses and stone cold killers from three sectors around and divide them up between two places..." You pause, frowning. "Nah, nah, they won't be divided up evenly. That'd look bad... he brings too many in to guard himself and it'll make him look weak, like he's afraid of us. No, he'll send his best and worst to guard Zee... he has to deny her to me, it's part of him punishing me for disobeying him. If I take her back it's almost as bad as if I'd just walked up to him and spit in his eye and he let me."\n\n"Then perhaps we should consider going after Horace Allfather instead," the draconic woman says after a brief pause.\n\n"What? C'mon, one of the first things he'll do is order Zee to be killed, the moment we come at him," you answer with a scowl.\n\n"We might have to take that chance. What's more important here, ridding a planet of a man who does this sort of thing, or one person?"\n\n"ZEE GODDAMMIT!" you roar back, coming to your feet and slamming both hands on the tabletop. "Makarzia can go fuck itself!"\n\n"Easy!" Aurora calls, coming to her feet as well, but only to put a hand to your shoulder. "Easy, everyone, please," she adds in a softer voice, glancing around at the others before focusing on the severe woman. "Ch'en, I understand your priorities, but this isn't Lungmen and you're not a law enforcement officer right now. This is first and foremost a hostage rescue mission."\n\n"... You're right. My apologies," Ch'en says stiffly after a moment, bobbing her head once. "This particular mission has different priorities than my job does. I should be used to that after working with Rhodes Island, but it appears I'm not."\n\nYou settle down into your chair again a little broodingly, only to glance over as Cypher speaks up, voice cool and emotionless, apparently unbothered by the little display of drama. "If we wanted to accomplish both mission objectives, why not send one person after the girl and everyone else go after this Allfather guy? If they're planning for an entire team, there might be weaknesses in their defenses if they find themselves facing just one operative."\n\n"It'd be a suicide mission for whoever we send," you mutter, though you have to admit what he's saying makes a certain amount of sense.\n\n"Not necessarily. Everyone here has a lot to offer... Tara especially might be able to pull it off, with her combination of strength and stealth," Aurora muses aloud.\n\n"M-me?! Oh no, I don't think that'd be a good idea!" the pink-haired girl blurts nervously. "I-I mean I could, and I wanna save your friend, honest, but... it's not a good idea!"\n\n"Plus sending a large team after Horace Allfather increases our chances of forcing him to surrender, and possibly making him give up the hostage without further risk to her," Ch'en adds. "So it's not a plan without merit. On the other hand it's not always wise to split forces. I wish we had more time, I'd consult the Doctor on this, he's quite a tactician... but I believe he was out seeing to a small Reunion uprising when I left."\n\n"Kai, you're the one who listed this job. It's up to you," Aurora notes, looking over towards you. "Should we all go after Zee, or should most of us go after Horace and send one of us to get Zee?"\n\n<hr>\n[[Everyone go after Zee.|Kai]]\n\n[[Divide and conquer.|Kai]]

"Iiiii think maybe it's time I was going," you say instead, holding up a hand and leaning forward to set your glass on the table. "I mean, I appreciate the offer... to talk!" you hurriedly blurt out, flushing. "The offer to, y'know, explain your... unique views, but uh... I'm just not sure this is a conversation that I really want to, y'know, have tonight," you add as you stand, twisting a bit to pick up your jacket with one hand.\n\n"Oh, now I'd hate to think I ran you off," Pulsar says with a sincere-looking frown, his voice still that gently respectful voice of wisdom from earlier despite the subject of just a few moments ago. "Please don't feel like you have to go just because of that."\n\n"Well, I mean, y'know..." You trail off, shrugging a little.\n\n"Please, sit back down," he urges softly, gesturing to the chair. He leans forward to pick up the bottle of Amphidy and pour a bit more into your glass, since a fair bit splashed out when you spluttered earlier. "We don't have to talk about that at all, if it truly makes you uncomfortable. I'm sure that men of action such as ourselves have a hundred other topics we could wile away the night discussing."\n\n"I... dunno," you hedge, unable to help glancing down at the glassful of liquid gold.\n\n"This is a social situation, is it not? And one that will last several days before we're likely to see any potential for combat. I am of course obliged to treat you as a gentleman." Adding just a dash of Amphidy to his own glass, Pulsar smiles and raises it in a toast. "And what else might two gentleman do while traveling the black than drink themselves half sick while telling tales?"\n\nThat... does basically describe one of the parts of this life you've always loved, just classed up by about ten or twelve rungs. And the drink he's offering is a hell of a lot better than the usual cheap hydrowheat brew you and your acquaintances usually swill and tell lies over. He seems sincere enough, too, it's not like you're getting 'predator' vibes off of him.\n \n<hr>\n[[Excuse yourself and leave.|LeoNova]]\n\n[[Sit down and drink.|LeoNova2x3]]

"Well... okay," you allow as you ease back into the chair, letting your jacket drape over one arm. You pick up the glass, now roughly half full of the thick amber liquid, then pause and add, "But no more sex talk, okay? I mean, at least no more about sex involving you and me."\n\nPulsar chuckles softly, raising his glass as if in toast. "I swear it on my honor, not a single word further about the possibility of me fucking you. Unless, of course, you decide you want to bring it up yourself."\n\nYou snort, bringing the glass to your lips. "Yeah that's just not gonna happen, man. I'm entirely straight."\n\nForty-five minutes and three drinks later you're on your knees on the bed, your body glistening with sweat as you moan into the pillow along with Pulsar's cock pounding into you. "Fuck me, fuck my ass, your cock feels so fucking good, fuck my ass with your cock, please!"\n\n"Mm, you like my cock, then?" Pulsar practically purrs, his voice a deep, thrumming rumble from behind you as he grips at your waist with both strong hands, partly pulling you back against his thrusts but mostly just assisting your own fucking yourself on the long, thick pink prick spreading open your previously virgin hole. \n\n"Oh fuck, fuck yes, you're fucking me so fucking good, fuck me with that big fat cock," you gasp out, twisting fistfuls of the sheets as your own stiff prick bounces beneath you with the impacts of his hips against your butt and his large, golden-furred balls slapping against your own mostly smooth ones. You raise your head some from the pillow, your mouth open in a constant soft O of pleasure, your eyes heavy-lidded as you work your hips back against hi, shuddering at the feel of him hot and throbbing and so deep inside you. "Getting fucked by you feels better than any pussy I ever stuck my dick in oh fuck oh fuck fuck me!"\n\n"Don't worry, you little cock-whore, I'll fuck you good and hard all night long," the griffon promises with heat in his voice, even as he pulls back and lets himself slide out of you, stiff pole springing up lightly and wobbling briefly in the air as he slips out of your slick, lube-dripping hole, leaving you moaning soft pleas. He turns and drops onto his back, urging you to turn and rise, and you quickly take the hint and move to straddle him, balancing on the balls of your feet and letting him aim his cock for you, so you can slide yourself down on it. You don't stop until you can feel the fur of his vestigial sheath pressing up against your pucker, and almost immediately you put your hands to his toned stomach and start riding him with all the enthusiasm of a station whore, feeling his hands grip your hips, now able to look down at him and see the big, strong, undeniably masculine man whose cock is making your ass quiver and squeeze in pleasure around it. "You are quite the cock-addict for a straight boy," Pulsar adds smugly as he gives your hips a squeeze, your own stiff prick leaving smears in the fur covering his abs as it bounces above them.\n\n"Nnnh, nnh fuck, I'll stop being straight to be your little gay bitch any time, I love cock so much," you whimper, giving your hips a shake as you say it, working his cock around inside you. You lean back and let your head hang back as well, moaning shamelessly as you ride, bracing one hand on Pulsar's muscular thigh and gripping your own stiff prick with the other, jerking it as you slam yourself down on the much bigger one spreading your hole open. But soon you're flinging that hand back to grip his other thigh, your motions speeding up. "Oh shit, oh fuck oh shit, I'm gonna cum from my ass, I'm gonna cum from my slutty bitch ass oh fuck!"\n\nJust as you're on the brink of it, Pulsar's birdlike hands squeeze your hips, yanking you down on him even as he thrusts upward, burying even that bit of fur at the very base of his shaft inside of you. Your eyes roll up and your tongue juts out as you cum harder than you ever have in your life, your whole body twitching as your ass squeezes down on him. Your cock twitches in midair as you fire long ropes of creamy jizz out over the tawny-furred muscles of the griffon man's chest and stomach, even as you can feel warm, wet heat spreading deep inside you, the subconscious realization that your eager little hole is being filled with another man's seed making your hips buck and twitch, silently pleading for more.\n\nWhen Pulsar finally lifts you off of him, you let out a soft whimper at the feeling of his cum dribbling out of you. Even as he's setting you on your back beside him and sitting up, you're spreading your legs, reaching down towards your crotch, lifting your balls on the backs of your thumbs to make sure they're out of the way, and that he can see you using your fingertips to spread your well-fucked, cum-smeared pucker. Chuckling, Pulsar slides between your legs, pushing your thighs up and forward a bit, and rubbing his mostly human-like but very pink cock against yours, flagrantly displaying how much bigger his is. Then he pulls back and pushes himself back into you, making a pleased sound at your whorish moan. "Looks like the entirely straight young buck actually does want to be fucked like a slutty little girl," he purrs, shifting his hands to either side of your head as he starts to fuck you against the mattress, allowing you to wrap your legs and arms around him.\n\n"Oh fuck, fuck yes, fuck me like a slutty girl, I'm a slutty little bitch whore girl for you," you slur drunkenly, shuddering under him at the feel of his cock pumping inside you, his abs rubbing against your own hard dick, feeling him looming above you and claiming you like a blushing bride on her wedding night, your whimpers and pleading moans losing more traces of masculinity by the moment. "Your cock's so big, I love your cock, fuck me, fuck me with that big fat griffon dick, breed me and put babies in me, fuck fuck fuuuck!"\n\nYou shudder beneath him as, after a good, long, sometimes slow and thorough fucking, he once again pushes even his sheath into you and starts filling you. You cum entirely from your ass this time, feeling the pleasure surge all through you, including making your stiff prick throb even though you don't actually spill another load. You whine a bit even still as Pulsar pulls out of you and again flops on his back, but this time he looks at you and chuckles. "Mmm, I could go on all night, girl, but if you want another fucking quite so thorough and hard, you might need to provide a little encouragement," he notes, gesturing at his slightly flagging pink shaft.\n\nWithout hesitation you roll onto your belly and scoot around to him at an angle, wrapping both hands around the base of his prick and sliding your mouth over the tip of it, starting to bob your head. You don't really know anything about sucking cock other than that you want to more than you've ever wanted anything, so you try to take in as much of it as you can while sucking and licking eagerly. You let out soft moans of indulgent pleasure, a low drone of "Mmm... mmm... mmm!" as you get that thick pink shaft down your throat, shuddering in delight at the feel of being stretched again, your own stiff prick leaking a bit more pre at the thought of him fucking you all night long.\n\nYou groan softly as you wake up, a light throb in your head as well as faint aches across the rest of your body. Could be worse, you think faintly, Amphidy actually has a relatively high water content amongst the thin gel that makes up its substance, the hangover could be way worse otherwise. Then you realize that you're naked and laying on your side, a large and very male form pressed up behind you, arms wrapped around you. Very, very male, since though his breathing is deep and even enough and his body is still enough that you're 99% certain that Pulsar is asleep, you can feel his hard cock pressing up against the cleft of your ass, his large, furry balls rubbing up against the very underside of your buttocks. Oh... oh crap!\n\n<hr>\n[[Get dressed and get gone!|LeoNova]]\n\n[[Lay there in shock a minute.|LeoNova]]

Pulsar seemed like a pretty cool guy from what little you talked to him, he seems kinda like he might be your sort of guy... well, except for the whole thing about how he seems a bit hung-up on military-esque procedure and discipline. Besides, you've often found it a little weird trying to hang out with married couples as a solo act, and off the top of your head you can't think of anything you'd particularly have in common with Lu. Heaving yourself off the bed, you trot outside and down the hall. It's not much of a search... you're in the same general area as the rest, and on one of the doors is a rearing griffon heraldry emblem with claws outstretched and wings spread, rendered in shiny crimson. Yup, figures. You press your thumb to the button, and a moment later the door slides open.\n\n"Oh, uh, sorry, I catch you at a bad time?" you ask, blinking awkwardly at the sight of the very tall Leonavian standing there in nothing but a pair of red boxer-briefs. He's showing off a whole lot of coppery fur that's short and sleek enough to show off every powerful, defined muscle of his chest, stomach, and arms... even just leaning against the doorframe he seems practically in motion, like a well-designed car. Your eyes flicked down before you could stop them, too, and you definitely got an eyeful of what was filling that bulge in his flightsuit earlier. You're not sure what the underwear is made of but it's very clearly outlining the drape of his shaft over his large balls, despite its limpness. "I didn't figure you'd be in bed so early."\n\n"Not at all, Leo, please feel free to come in," Pulsar replies, beak curling with an easy grin as he pushes off the doorframe and saunters away. You blink a little at the sight of his broad, powerful back... or more specifically, at the two silver lines running in an unconnected V down the upper part of it, steadily-glowing blue lights shining down the middle of them and dotted along the sides.\n\n'Prosthetic hookups?' you muse as you follow him in. It definitely feels a bit awkward to come into a mostly naked man's room, since you don't know him that well, but he seems so unbothered by it you somehow feel like it would be even more awkward if you said no. "Thanks," you answer, easing down into one of the chairs in the small sitting area as he does. "I was kind of restless, I'm not used to spending downtime on a ship like this."\n\n"It takes awhile to adjust after other sorts of postings. Though I imagine our previous backgrounds are rather different. I'm passingly familiar with your own," he continues as he leans forward to pick up the short crystal glass filled with amber fluid sitting on the table between the two chairs. He pauses briefly, raising the glass a bit more and tilting it. "Aphidiny, care for some?"\n\n"Ah, yeah, maybe just a sliver of it, that stuff hits me pretty hard and we might be busy soon, huh?" you answer with a nod. Since he seems determined to go around in his underwear even as he pours you the drink, you decide to unzip your jacket and shrug out of it, settling back with your arms now bared. "Thanks," you add as you take the glass. "Yeah, I'm basically a Guildhall Cat. Ah, it's what they call us, the ones that are born to Guild members and start coming in from youth."\n\n"Amusing term," Pulsar answers in a warm tone as he settles back down in his chair, slipping his tail through the large hole in the back.\n\n"I'm guessing you're Void Force? Probably from about as young, huh?" you ask with a grin of your own.\n\n"You'd be right. I was practically a cub when I was assigned to the VFS Nova under Captain Etoile, though I'm proud to say I soon earned my place as one of his trusted officers."\n\n"That was Nova's dad?"\n\n"He was, Etoile Fox." He pauses with his glass almost to his beak at your raised eyebrow, tilting the crystal again as he clarifies, "Nova takes after his mother."\n\n"Aha." You lift your own glass, more to take in the scent of the strong liquor than to drink quite yet. You're no lightweight but Aphidiny kicks like a... hm, is that disrespectful, with Lu on board? "So how do you do that, y'know? Make that transition from a huge, highly regimented crew to four people that are only as military as they decide to be?"\n\n"It's actually easier than you think," Pulsar asserts, lifting a talon-tipped finger from his glass to gesture. "You see, adapting to your situation is all about how you treat other people. You properly segment the situation you're in with someone into one of three categories, and you treat them according to the rules of that situation, and everything else flows naturally. My father, also a military man, taught me this, and it's never steered me wrong," he asserts proudly, continuing to wag his finger lightly as he explains. "In work situations, treat everyone as if they were a fellow professional just as invested in doing a job as you are. In social situations, treat every male as a gentleman and equal, and treat every female as a lady and equal," he continues, voice full of good-natured wisdom as you nod along and finally start to sip your drink. "And in bedroom situations, of course, treat every male like a slutty little girl, and every female as an object to be used for your pleasure."\n\n"KPLSF!" That being the sound you make when one of the more potent and expensive alcohols within several dimensions almost goes into your lungs. You're left coughing and gasping, staring through watery eyes as Pulsar smirks and sips his own drink calmly. "You... you did that on purpose!"\n\n"I did. I'm also quite serious," he asserts, tail flicking back and forth lazily, though you notice his blue eyes have fixed on you with a particular intensity. Your own eyes widen as you get your coughing under control, but he seems utterly unperturbed as he takes another light sip of his drink before continuing. "Of course, by nature of it being a bedroom situation, that means everyone involved has previously given their consent to such a relationship. It's not a bedroom situation without it. I can explain in more detail, if you like?" He pauses, then you notice a fresh glitter in his eyes. "Or you could just go ahead and consent, of course."\n\n<hr>\n[[Well... listening doesn't hurt.|LeoNova]]\n\n[["Er, uh, um, erm, ah..."|LeoNova]]\n\n[["What if I... do consent?"|LeoNova5x1]]\n\n[[Nope, time to go.|LeoNova2x2]]

Eh, there's no real hurry, and one spot to camp is pretty much the same as the next on a planet like this, as long as you don't do something stupid like set up right next to a water source. Instead you find a rock outcropping and make for it, cruising to a stop next to it and getting off, deciding to set things up so you can have your back to it. It's not like you intend to make a vacation-level campsite here... just maybe make something to eat and catch a few hours of sleep before taking off again at first light. Which is pretty much what you do, using a small portable heater to warm up one of the bag readymeals and laying a pad out so you can sleep with your head facing the rock and your rifle nearby. And, of course, a ring of sensors to create a light warding field to scare off anything small, and warn you of anything larger.\n\nUnfortunately it's to the latter that you wake up to in the middle of the night... or rather it coming to an abrupt halt as something very deliberately stomps on the beacon that's warbling its alarm. You start to sit up abruptly and then force yourself to stop and go still only about halfway up at the sight of a massive head turning very quickly in your direction, the moonslight glinting in its yellow eyes.\n\nYou really should have remembered that 'light megafauna' can still be seriously huge. This one's almost the size of an elongated delivery van. It's obviously feline, its head resembling more the long, squarish build of a lion, complete with a mane-like growth of fur atop its head, though in its case the growth runs down most of its back and grows longer around the top, enough for long falls to drift to either side of its head. It's also got two sets of elongated 'saber' teeth aimed downward, the back pair shorter and a bit sleeker, but both looking almost bladelike in their taper and points. Its whole body is muscular and powerful, its forelegs slightly longer than the back, meaning its upper body is raised at a slope, its tail long and thicker at the base almost like a reptile's, and moving with a slightly more sinuous motion than most felines. Though the moonslight is enough to tell you that it has both spots and stripes, the colors are washed out enough that you can't tell much more about it... other than that it's very big, and already very close.\n\nAnd that it's staring at you. It's staring right at you, and yet hasn't made a move yet, other than the slow, almost deliberate slithering-through-the-air of its tail. It is seriously looking right at you and you have very little doubt that's because it sees you and you have a very strong feeling that it is deciding what to do with you. You think of the rifle next to you... you don't dare look at it for fear of tipping off the big beast, but you're pretty sure you could get to it and fire before the creature gets you. It looks like it's built more for direct confrontation rather than pouncing. \n\nOn the other hand it doesn't seem particularly hostile at the moment, if anything just sort of curious. Maybe if you just lay here and don't provoke it by making any sudden movements, it will sniff around for a bit and then leave.\n\n<hr>\n[[Go for the gun.|LeoCat4x2]]\n\n[[Stay still.|LeoCat]]

If it decides you look like a snack (and not in the fun "after a night of tequila shots" way), you don't want to be the one reacting. Resolving yourself, you try your best not to visibly tense... then fling yourself to the side, rolling as you take the rifle into your hands.\n\nUnfortunately you either underestimated its ability to pounce or its reach, because in mid-roll you can hear it move and then feel an explosion of pain across your back as skin and muscle tears beneath claws. You can't help but scream and stop your motions, the pain surprisingly much more intense than any other injury you'd ever felt, the sheer shock of it leaving you falling limp on your face to the ground. You shudder, helpless as the beast leans in, sniffing at the bloody mess of your back...\n\n... then turning and walking away, its padded feat falling like thunderous pillows on the ground as it heads back into the night whence it came. You lay there in agony... though really the actual pain only lasts maybe half a minute, and is quickly replaced by an almost burning heat that spreads out from the gashes in your back and feels like it's suffusing your body. It's like being under the pounding sun without a bit of shade in the middle of summer, the sort of heat that makes your whole body throb, though maybe that's the pounding of your heart. You're not even sure if it's the blood loss or the overwhelming heat that does it when you feel yourself start to pass out.\n\nYou come to writhing on what feels like a thin mat, groaning wordlessly as you twist. Something all around your chest feels tight, but everywhere else it's just wet and hot and you feel like the world is slipping right off of your soaking skin. A hazy shape swings into your blurred view, and you give a low cry of despair at its feline shape.\n\n"Outlander," a distorted voice says. "Outlander, are you awake?"\n\nIt's... talking? No, it's much smaller than the creature was. You're definitely being talked to. "What... happen?" you manage to rasp out, though you're not sure how clear the actual words are.\n\n"You were cut by a Guardian," the blurry feline outline answers. "Your body is reacting... you are becoming something else of the Guardian's making."\n\n"Becoming...?" You can barely think, but you don't like that... you really don't like that, you're almost panicking even though you don't quite understand what any of that means you don't like that.\n\n"If it had been one of us, it is our way to let the Guardian's change run its course," the voice continues, what feels like a soft, somewhat velvety hand rubbing your bound chest soothingly. "But you are an outlander and should not be held to our ways. Tell me what you would have us do for you."\n\n"Do... ... ... for?" you repeat, finding it nearly impossible to focus.\n\n"There is a potion we have... it will purge most of the Guardian's venom from your blood. Not all of it, it was too late for that by the time we found you and returned here to bind your wounds. There is another, a dilution... it will blunt the transformation, leaving you for certain with an upright body and mind of full reason for sure. But either of them... they could also kill you by interfering with the change," she says, making your blood briefly run cold despite the fact that it feels like your skin and muscles are melting. "If you wish for certain to live, we will instead nourish and ease you through your change, until you become what the Guardian had in mind for you. But you must focus, outlander, and decide now, for soon it will be too late."\n\n<hr>\n[[Purge the Guardian's venom.|LeoCat]]\n\n[[Dilute the Guardian's venom.|LeoCat]]\n\n[[Let it run its course.|LeoCat]]

Yeah, that should be fine. Even in the ridiculous scenario that Marielle was overcome by lust at the mere sight of you, surely Mazinon would rein her in. (Heh, rein. ... Damn everything's a horse pun now, seems like.) Oh well. Getting out your Guardians comm, you go into the group chat you have with the two of them and send out a message briefly explaining your situation and that you'd like any advice or help they could give. Marielle sends back a thumbs-up (neither of them apparently likes to type much), so you add the redirect code for the Guardtower's teleporter. Making sure you're once again fully covered in your sweats and humanizing glasses, you move to stand near the teleporter. Soon the usual charge begins, and there's a flash, before a single figure steps off the teleporter.\n\n"Er... hey Marielle," you say with a blink. "Where's Mazinon?"\n\n"Hm? Oh, my brother is at a combat tournament in another dimension," Marielle says with an easy smile. She's definitely what some would (perhaps not too kindly) call an "anime elf", with long outswept ears and pale purple hair that tumbles in very gentle waves on the sides of them and down around her shoulders, with pretty, large purple-blue eyes and a slim, delicate jaw and chin. Her hero costume is more in the lines of some elaborate fantasy renaissance fair thing, a snug burgundy-colored bodysuit draped beneath a long periwinkle tabard sewn with elaborate designs in silver and gold, belted around her middle with an apparently solid band of gold, a pair of tall boots with downturned tops in the same embroidery and colors as the tabard sheathing her legs up to the knee. "It's not like we go everywhere together, you know, we're not joined at the hip," she says in a more amused tone, resting her hands on her slim hips and tilting them to one side.\n\n"... Huh," you murmur, wondering if the mistake here is in your perceptions or hers. Then you eye her thoughtfully. "You don't seem very shocked to see me like this."\n\n"Oh? Well, I may have talked to Cyberpink a bit this morning," Marielle allows breezily, folding her arms under her chest. "She mentioned your transformation, so I was a little bit braced for it, but my. It really is... something to see in person."\n\nYou cough at that, trying to keep your tone casual as you say, "So, uh, how much did Pink tell you about what we... discovered?"\n\n"Not much," she replies in a tone equally casual enough to keep you from judging if Pink kissed and told. (Not that she did much kissing your face.)\n\nDeciding to just let it be for now, you briefly explain what Cyberpink told you about the Karmic Wheel and your own discoveries of your cells resisting any alterations, as if you were frozen in time despite still carrying out all your normal biological functions. Marielle listens attentively, certainly seeming all studious interest and friendly concern rather than anything prurient. As you finish, she nods slowly.\n\n"Well, I do have some understanding of compacts and deals with extradimensional beings, that being a word for them that everyone's generally more comfortable with," she says rather dryly, flitting one hand through the air. "Since it's both broadly applicable to numerous varieties and not quite so ominous as others. Of course what can be done about it varies greatly depending on what sort of extradimensional being it is, obviously."\n\n"That... makes sense, yeah," you agree with a nod.\n\n"In the absence of being able to ask Doctor Deathtrap... though from the sound of it, it's entirely possible she may not know, herself... I'll have to do a fairly thorough magical reading of you," she explains, reaching under her tabard and withdrawing a double-handful of small, dome-shaped polished gems with flat bases of different metals.\n\nYou take a deep breath and let it out as a snort. "Let me guess... clothes off?"\n\n"If you please. Including the glasses this time, though they do make you look rather dapper," Marielle says breezily... before her cheeks color as she realizes what she just revealed about how much Pink told her.\n\n"... I am gonna spank that little cybrat," you say with a sigh as you take the glasses off and toss them negligently aside (they are, after all, basically a five minute printing project) and then pull off your hoodie.\n\n"Admittedly I may have... pushed for details when I realized what she was only vaguely implying," Marielle murmurs sheepishly, though she's eyeing your bared chest with undeniable appreciation. Then she makes a soft squeaking noise as you push down the sweatpants and your hefty equine cock and balls come tumbling free. "Liefs guth!"\n\nOkay that reaction from girls does admittedly do things for your ego. Still, struggling to control yourself, you step out of the sweatpants and try to stand as casually nude before her as you can. "Now?"\n\n"Ah... yes... oh, ahem," she says, clearing her throat loudly. "If you could lay down on your back, please, and try to lay as flat as possible?"\n\n"Mm. On the floor?" you say, eyeing it.\n\n"Well. Wherever you can lay flat," Marielle explains, doing her best not to look at the bed.\n\n... Sigh. At your size and with the way your legs are set up now, getting down on the floor is just too much trouble. (You suppose you could use flying to do it, but turning at right angles always feels, and looks, awkward as hell.) It's becoming obvious where this is headed and you're just not sure you have the strength to resist it (again). So you turn and walk over to the bed, trying to ignore the fresh squeak Marielle makes at the sight of your powerful, toned ass beneath the flick of your black tail (so as not to let it go to your head any more than it already is), before settling down onto the bed and scooting back, doing your best to spread out and settle flat. You're still managing to control your erection, your cock laying limp flopped down over your balls and resting between your thighs, so there's that at least.\n\nMarielle walks over and lays the stones down on the bedside table with a little clattering, skittering racket, before glancing at you with what at least seems like a more professional eye than anything. After a moment she places both hands against her belt, and it sort of seems to flicker and dissolve away from her touch, disappearing and leaving the long tabard hanging loose on her. Lifting it off over her head, which she tilts around to help it get over her hair and ears, she calmly folds it up and sets it aside, glancing over at your dubious look. "I don't want to trip over it or knock the stones off," she says in such a reasonable tone you could actually believe her.\n\n"Right," you murmur, trying not to notice that without the tabard, that suit is very tight and apparently much thinner than it looked before, outlining every slender, perfect curve of her body, from the individual rounds of her buttocks to the full but perky teardrop shapes of her breasts. She also sits down on the side of the bed and pulls off her boots, revealing that the bodysuit goes under the arches of her feet but leaves her toes and heels bare; her toenails are painted metallic periwinkle, just like her fingernails. You actually notice now that they have little gold designs on them, too, which you suppose you just never paid close enough attention to notice before. You're finding her very... notice-able right now, though.\n\nMarielle turns and gets up onto the bed on her knees, somehow managing to scoot gracefully forward until her burgundy-sheathed knees have almost bumped up against your ribs. She looks you over with that practiced, professional eye, then reaches to the pile of gemstones and selects a blue one with a silver base. She sets that right on the center of your chest between your pecs, and you resist the urge to flex them to dislodge it like an annoying fly. Marielle selects the next few stones more easily, setting them directly on either side of your chest. She continues on, occasionally stopping and pondering her choice, and then apparently knowing from that exactly which to pick for the next ones before needing to consider again.\n\nIt's an... interesting process to be sure. Her kneeling there with that practically painted-on body stocking, contemplating your naked body with that professional eye, laying those cool, light little baubles across your chest, stomach, arms, legs, even your throat. Though as she puts more of them out, they actually all seem to be feeling heavier... both the newly-laid ones and the ones that she put in place earlier. They seem to be pressing all over you gently, as if numerous hands were holding you down in a light but firm grip... but it is definitely like being touched and held all the same. Too you can begin to feel a strange sort of warmth coming from them, and then a tingling that seems to run in invisible lines between the stones, growing into a web criss-crossing your body and spreading out, suffusing into a low, steady stimulous throughout your entire body.\n\nYou continue trying to do your best to control yourself, but perhaps inevitably your cock begins to slowly stiffen and harden, sliding fully out of its sheath as it thickens and rises. You try not to look down or draw attention to it, but obviously you can feel it as it grows heavier and yet rises steadily up into the air, until it's jutting straight up above your crotch, the head slowly flaring out like a fleshy black mushroom. Marielle seems almost like she doesn't notice, still intent on her task... then you gasp loudly as her right hand wraps around you (or as far around as she can manage) and begins to stroke gently, those pale, delicate fingers and their shiny, elaborately-painted nails sliding up and down your throbbing black length. "Marielle," you grunt softly.\n\n"Just managing your energy flow," she says in a distracted tone, though her voice has turned soft and a bit husky. "We're allllmost done," she assures you, laying another stone on your stomach, the sensation of that pleasant thrum connecting your whole body building just that much more.\n\nYou try to keep quiet as she lays more of the stones, but soon you're giving into the urge to moan and snort. Your cock throbs hard with almost every quickened beat of your heart, starting to let loose a steady flow of pre that flows down the edges of your cockhead and dribbles down different sides of your shaft, eventually sliding over those beautiful, elegant fingers and shining wetly on the paint of her nails. But Mirielle continues to act like there's nothing more normal in the world than stroking your cock while she lays out her little baubles, almost seeming to have forgotten that she's gently jerking you off with her right hand while placing each one precisely in place with her left. \n\nWhen she places the last jewel, they all suddenly glow brightly, and that sensation of warmth and being touched and stimulated seems like it spreads through every single cell you have. You let out a loud whinny and arch on the bed, the stones not getting dislodged now despite you thrusting your hips upward. Marielle makes an almost casual flick of her left hand and a small glowing purple spell circle appears floating in the air above your cock right before a jet of your cum shoots out, disappearing right through it.\n\nYou fire off several more heavy splurts of cum before slumping to the bed, panting softly... the orgasm was short and, on its own, not particularly intense, it was just all the rest of the sensations that came with it. Marielle makes another flick of her left hand, the once more inert stones shuddering once in place before flying through the air, gathering into a rather overflowing pile in her palm which she dumps onto the bedside table again.\n\nIt takes you a few moments to realize that she's still gently stroking your still very stiff prick.\n\n<hr>\n[["... Marielle..."|CalHM]]\n\n[["Mmmf... well, go on then!"|CalHM]]

Whether or not they can do anything about your condition, considering what Pink said about these extradimensional entities, you are kind of lonely.\n\nFor companionship.\n\nInnocent companionship.\n\n... Honest.\n\nIn any event, you think the next day as you finish making sure all visual, tactile, and olfactory evidence of yesterday's tryst has been removed, your options as far as bringing someone over and still keeping it on the subject of searching for a solution to your condition are either the elf twins (which surely that would help keep it professional and friendly, Marielle bringing her brother along since they hardly seem to go anywhere without each other), or your sister, which oooobviously that should keep it clean! (Just completely ignore that you are not blood related and did not meet until just before puberty hit and you were then both hormonal teenagers in tight outfits constantly spending time around each other in adrenaline-fueled situations. ... Yeah, ignore the hell out of that.)\n\n<hr>\n[[Call over Marielle and Mazinon.|CalHM4x6]]\n\n[[Call over Shade.|CalHM]]

"I... will definitely be calling you again," you assure her, grinning.\n\nShe grins and winks at you, then there's that staticky-crackly pink flicker and she's walking away from the bed, now dry and fully dressed (or as fully as she gets), tossing the towel away. "Seeya later then!"\n\nYou lay there listening to the sound of the teleporter, feeling the weight of your cock laying across your belly, and musing on the superheroic ethics of the hookup you just had. Being honest, you're perfectly aware that there is a lot of hookup culture going on in the super community (being even more honest, not strictly sticking between hero and villain lines all the time). A lot of heroes keep such stark distinctions between their hero identity and their civilian one that there are a lot of them that hold to the maxim "It's not cheating if the mask stays on." You can't say you've ever been one to follow that yourself, though your own civilian relationship tends to be rather ambiguous and uncertain as to its exclusivity (or even its existence) at any given time. After all, as you observed earlier, superhero ethics are what you do when the cameras are off.\n\n... Still. That was... really nice. And you feel a lot calmer and more clearheaded after actually having sex. You'd thought you'd wrestled your enhanced libido into control but now that you've actually had sex it's like a scratchy, uncomfortable feeling that had settled all over your body, through your muscles, and wormed its way through your brain without you even having noticed it is gone. Hm... well, if you're going to get any research of your own done, turns out you may need to fuck at least every few days. (Every day would be better, part of your brain immediately suggests, but you nudge it away.) So yeah, probably best to take Pink up on her offer to see you again.\n\n'Or you could keep calling up your friends on the pretext of helping and get laid,' the other part of your brain suggests again. 'C'moooon, you know that once most of them get a look at you they'll be ready to hop right on that big fat horsecock faster than a supervillain resorting to monologuing when he sees the Core Sentinels all in front of him.'\n\nAhem. That is... clearly unwarranted arrogance. That implies that an astounding number of women out there love horses and are also deeply horny and would jump at the chance to fuck a horse in a way that's technically not bestiality. But that's silly. If that were so, there would be an entire sub-industry of sex toys shaped like horse dicks! And wouldn't that be ridiculous?\n\nSo yeah... you should clean up, yourself. And change the sheets. And then later you can...\n\n<hr>\n[[... call Pink again.|CalHM7x1]]\n\n[[... see some other people about your condition. Innocently. Honest.|CalHM4x5]]

Look, you're only human. Or... whatever. With a resigned air you give a single nod, Pink grinning even more widely and grabbing your broad wrist to pull you over to one of the couches.\n\nShe nudges you down to sit, then shrugs out of her jacket and lets it drop to the floor before reaching up and pressing on the front of the choker part of her top. The entire rest of her top instantly retracts up into the choker which broadens across her throat, her large breasts dropping free and still jiggling as she reaches down and brushes her fingers along the sides of the straps of her bottoms, causing the fabric to part and letting them drop to the floor. Somehow the sight of her completely bare and smooth pussy framed by a few indentations that you know represent the implantation of 'cyberware' (the ones on her arms and legs being covered by the rings of glowing pink tattoos) makes the circuitry-like 'womb tattoo' high on her crotch seem all the more lewd.\n\nPink quickly moves to straddle your lap, grinning at your blushing equine face as she scoots forward to settle into place, her bare pussy resting against the fullness of your balls... if it's synthetic in some way it certainly feels very real, both hot and wet against your skin. "Goddamn choom," she repeats, this time in a tone of admiring wonder as she uses her still-gloved hands to press your cock against her belly, letting the flared head nudge just up between her breasts.\n\n"Still sure?" you murmur, though at this point you're getting a little hazy on what you might actually do if she said 'no'.\n\n"Are you kidding? I'm just getting more excited!" she declares happily, running her hands slowly up and down the black skin of your equine prick, letting her fingers drag gently along it as you shudder softly. She shakes her shoulders a bit, making her tits brush back and forth across the head, the undersides quickly growing thoroughly smeared with your pre. "Been a loooong time since I've had some real strange, choom!"\n\nYou let out a snort at that, lolling your head back for a moment and moaning, then finally giving in thoroughly. Your large hands cup her round butt and give it a firm squeeze, urging her forward to make her press herself more against you and grind her pussy on your balls. "God you've got a great ass," you almost growl.\n\n"Aw, thanks choom, I grew it myself," she chirps with a giggle, shifting her hips to press herself back into your hands. "... Well, okay, like, 90%, I may have had a little shaping done, but I paid for it so still counts!"\n\nYou're still letting out a slightly breathless laugh when there's a crackle of pink energy and Pink is suddenly... inverted from where she was. As in, she's still got her front pressed against your cock, but her (now bare, she ditched the boots during the temport looks like) thighs are now draped over shoulders, feet kicking cheerfully in the air and toes wiggling above your head as she starts in on your balls, tongue and lips going to work with exaggerated (but apparently sincerely enthusiastic) slurps and sucks and moans. You shiver, briefly eyeing her pussy... looks very real, if just slightly too 'perfect'. ... Well, who cares? You grip her waist and haul her up just a bit before dragging your now very broad and powerful tongue over it, Pink's moans getting both less exaggerated and louder as you go to work on her.\n\nYou can't help but thrust your hips up lightly against her, rubbing your cock against her belly and between her breasts as she gives attention to your balls, her hands cupping and rubbing them as she works her mouth all over the smooth, supple black skin. Eventually, with you having left her entire pussy and crotch thoroughly dripping with a layer of slightly thick horse saliva, Pink again temports herself around, this time reappearing on the floor between your legs. Wrapping her tits around the base of your cock and starting to work them up and down, letting them slap against your balls lightly each time, she turns her own oral attentions to your shaft, looking up at you impishly through her visor... which you notice has a little blinking red light in one corner.\n\n"Personal enjoyment only, alright?" you declare with a snort as you stroke a large hand over her head, Pink giving you back a smirk that says 'maybe' as she presses her mouth against your prick, tongue rolling around against it as she moves her head up and down, lips dragging along the smooth skin.\n\nYou let her lick and suck for a good long while, since she seems not only content but eager to service your prick with her tits and mouth. It's only when you notice that the dripping between her legs is far more than your earlier tonguejob could account for that you take pity on her and bend down, picking her up and putting her over your shoulder, Pink actually squealing with delight and kicking her legs happily as you carry her effortlessly over to the bed and then toss her down.\n\nFlipping her over and then hauling her to all fours, you then clamber up onto the bed behind her, slapping your heavy shaft down on her ass and rubbing it back and forth. Letting it settle into the cleft as she rocks her hips, bumping her wet pussy against your balls again, you say, "Are you sure this will fit?" Again, you're not entirely sure you wouldn't try anyway at this point, but you like to at least imagine you're still capable of restraint.\n\n"Choom I love to fuck and they got more tech for enabling a slut than you could shake even that fuckstick at," Pink scoffs, glancing over her shoulder at you. "If you got it my holes can take it, homes."\n\nYou quirk a brow, but if she says so. And like you were thinking, you're not sure you could stop right now anyway, so Pink's getting a good hard fucking regardless. You let her continue to work her ass against your cock for a few moments more, enjoying the actually audible little plsh of her soaked pussy thumping against your balls, before you grab the side of her waist with one hand and urge her forward. With the other you grab your shaft and angle it into place, the wide, flared head pressing against the perfectly plump pussylips, squishing them in and slightly apart before it springs upward once, bumping along her pucker before settling between her asscheeks again. Growling a bit, you move back into place, settling the bulge of the tip a bit more carefully this time before pushing forward, enjoying all her little squeaks and moans and pleading mewls as her pussy slowly, slowly stretches and then lets you pop inside.\n\n'Ffffffuck she's tight, bless Whateverth-century fuck technology,' you think a bit faintly as you just keep sinking deeper and deeper inside her. She is tight and yet she yields to you just perfectly and it's like her pussy conforms exactly to every bump and bulge and vein of your prick, like it was made to fit you and only you, and that all the many many other cocks it had taken were completely irrelevant. "Little fucking sci-fi succubus," you groan, not realizing until you hear Pink's breathless giggle that you said it out loud.\n\nStill, since she seems to enjoy the label, you decide to fuck her like one, gripping her waist more firmly and starting to thrust hard, your balls swinging forward to slap against the front of her crotch. Pink's smug little giggles quickly turn into overstimulated gurgles as her eyes roll up some behind her visor, jaw clenching and drool dribbling down the side of her chin as you work your hips just hard enough to let her know that you could fuck stone into dust if you wanted, and it definitely seems to be having the intended result of activating all her little thrillseeking, danger-loving neurons and making her cum all over your balls repeatedly. You note with some amusement that her glowing tramp stamp (thematically matched to her womb tattoo, of course) pulses in RGB colors every time she cums, and that there's a set of lines incrementing along one part of it... oho, it keeps score? Well, better try to get on the leaderboard, then!\n\nYour own noises gradually turn more feral and bestial as you thrust, loud snorts and whinnies that sound like they could be coming from any genuine horse as you occasionally toss your head, mane flaring. You definitely note that the speed with which her pussy squeezes down on you and her tramp stamp flashes rainbow increase the more animalistic your sounds get. You deliver a good firm slap to her round ass in punishment for being such a naughty little slut that she wants to get fucked by a horse, and the scorebar immediately increments by one. You admit the only thing that could really tear your eyes off the amusing display the cybertattoo provides above her big, round ass jiggling with the impact of your hips is the way her big, fat tits jiggle underneath her with the impact of your hips, or the way her eyes roll up just a little more every time your score goes up.\n\nBut eventually you give a loud, long whinny and shove forward, letting loose a torrent of cum deep inside her. Pink's jaw drops and her tongue drops past her lower lip to dangle limply, trailing a long line of saliva as her whole body shudders. Her tramp stamp goes into those pulsing rainbow colors and just stays that way as her previously flat, smooth belly slowly rounds out, growing heavier and actually swaying with a faint audible sloshing noise as she twitches and bucks beneath you.\n\nOnce her tattoo has settled back to its normal pink glow (and you've had time to assess the number of colored lines), you slowly pull your now slightly softened cock out of her, until the flare pops out and you drop out of her, dripping and wobbling, her augmented pussy nevertheless gaping slightly and dripping out a steady stream of cum down onto the covers.\n\n"God... damn... choom..." Pink whispers with her tongue still lolled out and eyes still rolled up, body visibly twitching and shuddering, more lines appearing on the tattoo.\n\nYou smirk, resting a hand on her ass and rubbing affectionately. "High score?"\n\n"Nnnnh... not... not yet... but you close as hell, homes..."\n\nAs tempted as you are to immediately insure your top place on the leaderboard, the sudden surrender to lust and release has actually taken a bit out of you, and you flop down onto your back on the bed, after a moment scooping an arm under Pink and hauling her over on top of you. She sprawls rather ragdoll-like across your chest, panting and huffing as you gentle rub her still-bulged belly and lightly squeeze her breasts. Your cum flows out of her, trickling down and dribbling over the base of your cock and down your balls in a steady stream as she gradually resumes her previous smooth, sleek proportions. Eventually, once her womb tattoo is no longer slightly distorted by the curvature of her belly, she turns her head and gives you a chipper little peck on the side of the muzzle, making you snort, before she wiggles her way out of your arms and rolls off of you, leaving you laying in the damp of you two's fun as she temports away, the shower almost immediately starting up from off to the side.\n\nAfter awhile Pink pads back over to the bed, naked save for her visor and rubbing at her hair with a towel. "Well, there's a few places I can ask around about the Karmic Wheel stuff, choom," she says cheerfully as she apparently lets most of the rest of her body drip dry, shown off in all its sex-and-shower-warmed, glistening glory. "Might take awhile, or I guess almost no time at all dependin' on how you're seeing it. But I'll have something to tell you next time," she adds cheerfully, smirking as she drapes the towel around her neck and leans forward, resting her hands on your thighs. "So, y'know... make sure to call me for a next time, choombistro."\n\n<hr>\n[["Ah... well, dunno."|CalHM]]\n\n[["... Yup. Definitely."|CalHM4x4]]\n\n[["Hey, it's late..."|CalHM]]

Cyberpink does feel like the one who's most likely to have seen something like this before in actuality, rather than just "kind of like". You spend a bit getting the room thoroughly cleaned up before getting out your Guardian Sentinels communicator and giving her a call. (At least you don't need to worry about getting into uniform to maintain your identity, since normally you do that with a pair of glasses. Ironically enough now part of maintaining your identity as Caliburn is also a pair of glasses, you guess.)\n\n"Heeeey Cal, what's up?" the ever-effervescent time traveler chirps after a moment.\n\n"Hey, Pink, I was wondering if-"\n\n"Whoa, you sound deep-voiced as hell. You haven't turned to the dark side and started super-roiding, have you?"\n\n"No," you say flatly. "But I have had some... 'circumstances'."\n\n"Ooooo yeah those suck in any timeline, my choom. You think there's something I can do?"\n\n"I was hoping. Could you at least come over and have a look?"\n\n"No problemme, I'll be there with squealers on! ... Oh, be where?"\n\n"Let me give you a redirect code for the Guardtower teleporter."\n\nAfter you hang up, you move to stand near the circle on the floor, which is in a 'living room' sort of area of the living quarters complete with couches and a dining table. (Huh. Wonder why the love nest had those? ... Nope, not thinking about it.) After a few moments the pad glows, and then flickers with the arrival of Cyberpink, who lives up to her name quite a bit. From her shoulder-length and rather disheveled pink hair (with various little technological-looking clips in it), to the pink tech-visor over her eyes, to the bright pink jacket with its glowing interior and shiny, almost metallic exterior, to the glowing pink tattoos around her upper thighs and low on her belly. What's not pink is basic black, like the top that fastens around her neck and splits to go down the fronts of her large breasts and then fasten in a band under them, leaving the center and sides of her chest bare, as well as the rather skimpy bikini bottoms and the almost stocking-like boots that come up to about an inch under the angular, overlapping 'thorn circuitry' thigh tattoos. It shows off a lot of pale golden-brown skin, for sure.\n\n"Heeey Cal, how's it-" She blinks behind the visor as she sees you. "-hangin'? Goddamn, choom!"\n\n"Yeah, it's really-" You start to say, only for there to be a bright pink flash both on the pad and directly in front of you, the other hero barely having rematerialized before she hooks her fingerless-gloved hands into the front of your sweatpants and yank them down, spilling your large black equine shaft and balls free. "PINK!"\n\n"Goddamn, choom," she repeats in a tone of absolute awe this time, her jaw having gone slack. Then she hops back as you yank your pants back up and stuff yourself into them, glaring at her as she smiles sheepishly. "You know how it's different in the future, choomburrito!"\n\n"Is it? Is it really?" you demand flatly, still gripping the waistband of your pants with one hand.\n\nCyberpink's jaw does drop this time, and she makes several offended-sounding little wordless huffs as if she genuinely couldn't believe you would question her claims that people in the future have no sense of modesty (or at least genuinely couldn't believe that you'd call her on it). Then she lifts her hands in a 'whatcha gonna do?' shrug before saying, "But how'd it happen, homes, you get bitten by a werehorse or something?"\n\n"No, this is unfortunately completely different than all the incidents of heroes being bitten by werehorses. Let me explain..."\n\nAnd so you recount your encounter with Deathtrap, leaving out exactly how she managed to cajole you into running her little labyrinth. After the explanation (during which it several times looks like she knows you're leaving things out... Pink may be a goof and a gremlin, but she's definitely not stupid), you shrug. "And that's where I'm at, I haven't been able to find a single thing that will make a dent in changing my altered physiology, even on a cellular level."\n\n"Hmmm. Well I'm kinda thinkin' I know what it could have been just from the sound of it, but I'd need to give you a good long scan to be really sure," she says, wiggling a finger at her visor. "So you're gonna hafta ditch the stitch."\n\n"Pink," you say flatly.\n\nShe snickers, grinning widely, eyes obviously twinkling behind her visor, but says, "Nah, I'm serious, homes, I really do gotta get a thorough enough scan that clothes would get in the way. I mean, the glasses can stay, and they're kinda cute so."\n\nYou eye her for a moment more, then snort out a sigh through your nose as you realize she is actually serious. Shaking your head, you pull off the hefty hoodie, trying to ignore it as Pink gives a brief smattering of applause at the revealing of your enhanced shoulders and chest muscles. You hesitate just a moment more before pushing the sweatpants down and letting them drop, stepping out of them with a motion that sets your (now fully unsheathed but still thankfully limp) cock and balls to wobbling. "Could you not?" you add as she gives an appreciative whistle.\n\n"I am honestly not sure choom I've never tried hard enough to find out," she admits, brushing back her coat and resting her hands on her practically bare hips as she leans forward a bit.\n\nA holographic scanner line projects outward from her visor and settles at about the middle of your eight-pack, then parts into two and sweeps up and down, sliding across your naked body. You're not sure if most people could, but with your enhanced senses you can definitely feel it, the faint tingly warmth of whatever the scanner uses rushing all over your body like billions of tiny fingers gently prodding at you. You also have the distinct impression she's likely recording plenty of images and maybe even building a fully detailed 3D model, for potential... purposes.\n\nYou can't help it, once the idea of your admittedly very attractive and constantly near-naked friend printing herself out a copy of your cock and having to spend hours working to try and stuff it into her hole gets into your head, it won't leave. Your prick slowly starts to react, growing thicker and firmer, gradually rising upward in the sweeps of the scanner beams. You do your best to stay casual and pretend nothing's happening, but you can see the little smirk on Cyberpink's lips even though she doesn't say anything.\n\nEventually, the scan stops... coincidentally (or not) not long after you've become fully hard and your cockhead has flared out around the edges, jutting out in front of you and dripping a slow but steady stream of precum. Pretending (but not very hard) to ignore it, Pink folds her arms under her chest (subtly lifting them up and presenting them to you, making your cock twitch visibly) and gives a few mock-solemn nods. "Yeah, looks like you got yourself Karmic Wheeled, choombambi."\n\n"'Karmic Wheel'?" you echo with a frown, briefly distracted from the throbbing of your dick (even if its hardness isn't affected by your distraction at all). "You mean it's a... spiritual change?"\n\n"Nah, nah, homes, Karmic Wheel is a casino game on other planets in the way far future, dig?" she says, leaning forward a bit and raising one hand to wag it around. "It's this weird complex little thing where you make decisions about living a hypothetical life trying to accrue in-game currency called, yanno, Karma. The more good things you do without thought for the self the more Karma you accrue, but you also need Resources which often cost you Karma to get and... no, anyway," she says, straightening up. "Anyway, if you reach the end of the game and want to keep playing, you enter what's called Equivalent Exchange. But each round in Equivalent Exchange you have to wager something of yours to the house, and they can offer you a selection of whatever they want. Like-"\n\n"Like your species," you conclude, snort-sighing heavily again.\n\n"Essacte, esse. If you get to the end of an Equivalent Exchange game and have won, usually the house lets you buy back whatever you traded for a portion of the winnings. House always wins no matter what galaxy it's in, yanno, choom?" she says with another scoff. "Equivalent Exchange games are where you can make enough currency to live off the rest of your life, so long as you're willing to wager everything that defined that life to do it."\n\n"And you think Doctor Deathtrap got ahold of one of these 'Karmic Wheel' machines and reverse engineered it somehow?"\n\nCyberpink actually frowns thoughtfully at that, cupping her chin. "I mean that sounds like what she was trying to imply, choombacca, but I dunno that's even possible, I never heard of anyone doing anything like that to a Karmic Wheel machine before. Pretty wild if some kiddified gonk from the twenty-one on Earth was able. But yeah fam pretty sure you've got extradimensional entities enforcing the change, you'd either have to undergo the process again to try and get it back, somehow figure out how to buy it back from ze Doktorr, or figure out a way of changing out of this body those entities consider 'fair', I think."\n\n"Hmmmm," you murmur, scowling thoughtfully into the distance.\n\nThen you jump a little as she once again ports over beside you, this time actually pressed up against your side, those large breasts rubbing against you. Her hand doesn't quite touch your jutting member, though it passes close as she brings it to a rest on your muscular thigh. "Now, I'm thinking, maaaybe you let me help you take care of this like a good friend, hmm?" she practically purrs, eyeing your equine schlong significantly.\n\n"... Pink," you grumble, though considerably less vehemently than before.\n\n"Oh c'mon choom it's obvious she saddled you with some hefty lust too! ... Get it, saddled?" she adds teasingly, grinning up at you as you scowl down at her. "Here's your dear choombouncer Pink who's ready, willing, and gotta say homes, very very eager to help relieve some of this pressure going on. So c'mon, let's go over to the couch and settle in for the night, hmmm?"\n\n<hr>\n[[No!|CalHM]]\n\n[[... Yeah okay fine.|CalHM4x3]]

"Hm. Probably best to just sort of keep a low profile and not get out and about," you say, folding your arms over your chest. "Deathtrap may have agreed to delete all the data she hacked and not spill anything about my secret identity, but if we start getting clever with me showing up in public under another one-"\n\n"She might start getting a bit clever herself, yes," your mother says dryly. "Well, your father and I will have a look into Adelaide and see what there is to secure things further there."\n\n"In the meantime, I'll section off an area of the base where you can have visitors," your father allows. "We'll set up a dedicated teleporter to allow redirects from the Guardtower system to it. Feel free to call on anyone you think might have some insight into this, although I will say that if there isn't anything in my own files, I doubt anyone else will know anything," he adds with that same easy, neutral-toned smugness that he says so much with.\n\n"Mmhm okay dear," Excalibur coos, giving her husband a few gentle pats on the helmet, Multi-Core giving her a rather long look before taking her gently by the arm and leading her off. "The setup will be a bit, honey," she adds over her shoulder as he guides her through a door.\n\n"..." You hang your equinoid head, sighing. Lord. Twenty plus years of honeymoon.\n\nAnyway eventually your dad does get you set up with a sort of little suite of rooms off towards the edge(?) of his base, complete with a surprisingly comfortable living area with large bed comparable to what you have back at Mekborne Manor (you're just going to choose to believe it's not because your parents have love nests scattered all over the place and this has been repurposed from one), a fully-equipped lab and fabrication facility, and even a surprisingly nice workout area complete with hot tub, sauna, and other amenities suitable for an Avellonian constitution but able to be set for Terran comfort as well. ......... Yeah this was definitely a love nest, dammit. Sigh.\n\nLuckily that realization (and a very cold shower) seems to have helped tamp down your libido... at least a little. At least for the moment. You spend a little while with the fabrication machines, designing hoodie and pair of sweatpants that will adequately fit your massive, muscular frame and help with... obfuscating the mass and muscularity of certain other things. Then you get some sleep, determined to start work on a solution in the morning.\n\nYou spend the next several days doing further scans, bloodwork, even a bit of rudimentary magical scrying on yourself in hopes of finding any leads on how to change back, to pretty much no luck. Your father's right, your cells seem to be in an almost weird state of temporal lock... you're not frozen in time, you're still aging (probably?), all your metabolic processes are still occurring normally, but anything that tries to alter your cells from their current "horseman" state even on the most basic level is immediately rejected and your cells just go right back to the way they were before the alteration tried to happen. It's almost like something is actively enforcing the change.\n\n'Weird. Could it be some form of outside intelligence?' you muse, frowning as you glance upward. ... It would have to be on an extremely hefty scale for none of your parents' combined efforts at shielding and scanning this place to have not even noticed it, let alone be able to stop it.\n\nStill. After about a week of work, it's become pretty obvious that you're not going to make any headway on your own. You need to call in someone that might know a bit more about the particular circumstances. While virtually anyone in your circle of "superfriends" might conceivably have run across something like this, there are a handful that are obviously more likely that you could turn to.\n\nThere's [[Mazinon and Marielle|CalHM]], the elf twins, both of them specialists in magic. In fact Marielle's specialty is nature magic, you're pretty sure, so maybe she'd know what to do about being... horsified, you muse as you fabricate yourself a pair of spectacles fitted to rest atop your long muzzle. (You don't need them, but if you are gonna be having guests you'd rather make a show of how you're still civilized and thoughtful despite your appearance.)\n\nHm, on the other end of the spectrum, there's [[Cyberpink|CalHM4x2]], who's from a far-off (probably divergent) future. While not a technical genius by the standards of her time, she is by the standards of this one for sure, plus since she's bopped around to lots and lots of places in multiple times and timelines, she does have a pretty wide scope of knowledge about weird stuff. (Deathtrap did say the technology she used to make her little labyrinth was from a different dimension and world.)\n\nAnd in the sort of weird middle road is [[Shade|CalHM]]... your sister. Adopted sister, that is, who's very on the outs with your parents over various matters of philosophical and ethical weight. However, you don't doubt she'd help you if you needed it, and frankly if there's one thing she's good at and has been doing ever since she went solo, it's extracting information from villains (in one way or another).

Red hesitates for only a moment, before he nods. "Alright," he says a bit slowly. He glances towards his office, obviously considering that, before his gaze shifts to the other side, towards where he said there's a staircase that leads to the town on the surface. "Why don't we get some fresh air?" he suggests, gesturing you on.\n\nYou nod, turning to walk along at his side, unthinkingly putting some extra sway in your hips, still breathing quickly, your nose now filled with his particular scent instead of just the general musk of the office as the two of you move together. Mingling with all the chocolate chip cookies and gingerbread and birthday cake is coffee and whiskey and some sweat and the faint thick scent of building arousal, an intensity to it that says it hasn't been satisfied in months, maybe much longer.\n\nAs the two of you set off up the stairs, now well out of the sight of the other miners, you shamelessly and blatantly reach over to squeeze that now very large and blatant swelling in the front of his jeans, your hand finding the bulge of his shaft and curling around it through the material. Red gives a low grunt... but instead of urging you to stop, he slides one of his big hands under your coat and cups your ass, strong, large fingers giving it a squeeze. "Holy fuck you smell good," he rumbles in that deep, manly voice, that and the squeeze he gives your butt at the same time just almost making you cum again.\n\nThe two of you drop your hands more by reflex as you emerge into the air above, which is indeed fresh and very cool, smelling faintly of mountains and trees, but it does nothing to actually cool your heated skin or clear your fogged mind, nor does it seem to cool Red's ardour either. He guides you down the street, every step feeling like your pussy is about to burn right through your pants with how hot and eager it is. The fact that he leads you towards a rather large, very nice-looking house hits some deep survival-based part of your brain and makes you even hornier, actually forced to shrug out of your coat before you even get there, barely resisting the urge to strip off the rest of your clothes before you even get through the door.\n\nThe moment the two of you are inside, though, you're tossing the coat away without a thought for it and yanking your top off, spilling your tits free, and almost in the same motion dropping to your knees, hands fumbling frantically at the front of his jeans. The moment you tear the zipper apart his cock comes springing free and practically falls across your face, thick and long and smelling of sweat and smeared-on pre. "Oh god," you moan ecstatically, nuzzling your face against it before snaking your tongue out to drag along it. You want to worship it, to glorify it, to give yourself to it entirely, but right now you need it inside of you, at least inside your mouth. So with little hesitation you shove your lips over the head and start eagerly bobbing your head, doing your best to stuff as much into your throat as quickly as you can, working more in with every thrust.\n\n"Oh fuuuuck," Red groans in that deep, rumbling voice, sending a fresh wave of desire running down your spine and right into your pussy, his big hands coming to rest on your head. They feel so large, so strong, like he could crush you like a bug, holy fuck that turns you on! You yank at his jeans and the boxers beneath to get them off of him, unable to get the latter off without taking your mouth off of his prick, which you refuse to do. Red himself solves it by grabbing the waistband of his boxers and yanking, tearing them and letting you pull them down, revealing massive hairy balls and the root of his prick almost lost amidst thick, dark red fur. He works his feet out of them and his boots, groaning lowly as he looks down at you while pulling off his shirt as well, revealing his broad, firm paunch of a belly and powerful chest and arms, all of it liberally covered with thick, curly dark copper hair. This time you do cum a little at the thought of this big bear of a man taking you, using you, making you his. \n\nYou stroke one hand worshipfully along his hip as you bring the other up to those balls, feeling how hot and slightly damp they are, how full, how needful they are. You work your head forward more, wiggling it back and forth, getting the last few inches of him down your bulging throat until your nose is lost in that thick red pelt at his crotch, your body trembling in orgasm again, this time from the feel of his prick swelling, twitching, and shuddering inside your throat as he dumps his load into your belly, your body writhing in ecstasy at it. You stay down completely, his cock buried in your throat, until it's stopped pulsing and his balls have relaxed against your hand again, and your vision is starting to go a bit dark around the edges. Only then do you pull back, his still mostly-hard prick sliding out of your lips and wobbling to drop a few bits of mixed cum and spit onto your bare tits as you gasp and shudder.\n\nWithout a word Red descends on you, pushing you to the floor and hauling off your own pants, shin guards, and boots so that his hands can roam your naked body. They're rough, calloused, obviously having done plenty of physical labor in his life, the strength of them and the proof of that labor and rough living making you writhe in pleasure under his touch, the feeling of those strong hands squeezing you, stroking you, claiming you. Soon that big head is buried between your legs, strong, surprisingly deft tongue working over you, in you, making you moan loudly even as you turn your head and slip his cock back into your mouth. He's laying at an angle to not be entirely on top of you, though you kind of wish he was, wishing he was doing a mating press on your mouth, even as his tongue and the soft-scratchy feel of his beard on your crotch and thighs make you cum over and over again.\n\nAnd soon enough he is on top of you, but he's stuffing that big, thick, and now once more throbbingly hard cock into your pussy as you wrap your arms and legs around him as much as you can. Now that large, deft tongue is in your mouth, the two of you kissing with that same frantic eagerness as he starts slamming down into you, pounding you into the floor as his cock stretches your pussy and rocks your body and penetrates your soul. You're screaming with eagerness into his mouth, begging him over and over to fuck you despite being muffled by his tongue, you've never, ever wanted anything more than to be fucked by this big hairy red gorilla until you forget your own name.\n\nWhich you do briefly as he eventually thrusts down into you and empties his balls into your pussy this time, your body arching and trembling under his big belly and broad chest, all your remaining thoughts going white and staticy. When you come back to yourself it's obvious you've lost some time, because you're on all fours in a large, surprisingly soft silk-sheeted bed, fucking yourself back against Red as his big hands grip your waist, your tits swaying and wobbling under you.\n\n"Yes, fuck me, fuck me, make me your bitch, I need to be your bitch, anh~!" you squeal, this last as he responds by grabbing your ponytail with one hand and wrapping it around his fingers before giving a yank, simultaneously slapping your ass with the other hand. "Fuck fuck fuck yes yes yes!" you shriek whorishly, shame nothing but a distant memory as you pound your ass back against his hips hard enough to send impact tremors through your own flesh.\n\nYou absolutely cannot stop fucking him. Even after he's cum in you several times, you stay on all fours, letting him come around to your head where you suck and worship his half-hard prick and those big, now cum-smeared balls, sucking them and licking them clean of the mingling of his juices and yours that have coated them. Though he doesn't get hard again just yet, you still manage to work him into your mouth and down your throat again, gulping him down before letting him slip back out to suck, lick, and definitely kiss all over the dripping shaft.\n\nOnce he does get hard again, though, he lays back and lets you climb on top, which you do eagerly, reaching back to aim him... and settling the head of his dripping dick right up against your pucker. Both of you moan as you slide your ass down onto him, spreading it just as wide as your pussy, which already feels like it's been molded perfectly to his cock and his alone after all the fucking you've done. You shake and wag your hips as you work yourself down, getting your tight rear hole further onto him, until you can feel his balls pressing against the curve of your buttocks. Then you begin bouncing atop him, your moans lower and steadier now, the absolute need having passed and turned into a low-burning want to have him claim every part of you slowly and thoroughly. Those big, strong, rough hands close on your large tits, kneading and working them slowly, his blue eyes fixed on your own face as you ride him, a sort of fierce possessiveness written all over his expression.\n\nYou must lose some more time... you have only the vaguest sense that the two of you fucked and played with one another for hours more as you awaken with your head pounding in a familiar hangover feel. 'Fuuuuck I'm dehydrated,' you think with a whimper, putting a hand to your head as you push yourself up on the bed and look around blearily. ... Yeah, you remember what happened. Well, various exact details are fuzzy, you think as you get up and stagger into the bathroom, scooping several handfuls of water out of the faucet and mostly into your mouth, scattering more over your bare tits and turning the mostly dried cum there into a bit of reconstituted goo. Blushing, you start the shower and step in.\n\n'So... yeah, obviously that stuff that splattered me was some sort of aphrodisiac,' you think with a sigh as you clean up, using the very masculine (in its cheapness and genericness if nothing else) body wash/shampoo to work through quite a lot of dried-on sweat and... other substances. Finishing your shower, you step out and grab a towel, rubbing yourself dry and padding still naked back into the bedroom, not really noticing how easy and comfortable it feels to be wandering around nude in his home. You glance around as you finish drying yourself, noting the pictures on the wall... you feel a distinct clench of worry and something like vaguely-formed anger (which you quickly push down and away instead of acknowledging that it's at least 90% jealousy) that some of them show him with a very attractive Nipponzi woman and then further on with a young daughter. Though you calm down a little, subconsciously relaxing and feeling vindicated somehow as in the later pictures where the daughter is older, the other woman isn't there.\n\nShaking your head a bit, you spot your clothes cleaned and folded on the bed, feeling a surprising amount of affection at the gesture as you walk over. There's a note left on top of them: 'Had to go to the office. We can talk later if you want. -Red' it says simply enough. Hoo boy yeah you guess the two of you had better, you think as you finish hauling on your boots. Deciding to forego the armor pieces, you carry them out into the other room and quickly spot your coat hung up on a peg on the wall, feeling somehow gratified at how it looks like it belongs there. Stuffing the armor into a pocket, you relieve the fridge of several sports drinks until the lingering traces of your headache are gone, then ponder your next move.\n\n<hr>\n[[Leave a note and depart.|ChiMine]]\n\n[[Go see Red at the office.|ChiMine]]\n\n[[Settle into your new home.|ChiMine2x6]]

Yeah, for now you'll... for now you'll head back. You need some fresh air, some air that doesn't smell so much like everything good and warm and comforting, which is probably why you feel so overwhelmed and like you're having trouble thinking.\n\nYou return to the elevator and hit the control to return it to the staging area, trying not to squirm too much as it begins its slow ascent. You feel... restless, excited, like you want to jump out of your skin. Part of you regrets not doing something with the building energy like going deeper into the mine, finding something to get physical with, really go at it with whatever dangerous, powerful, vital other creatures might be lurking in the tunnels just waiting for a morsel like you. No... no, it's just you getting distracted by the smell, you assure yourself. That must be why your head's swimming slightly, why your skin feels so warm and flushed, why your nipples are so stiff they almost hurt, why your pussy is plumped and wet and dripping against the interior of your skinarmor. It's just the smell that has you breathing in quick little huffs between parted lips, your eyelids feeling heavy, your tongue flitting out to wet your lips repeatedly. Just the smell.\n\nWhen the elevator opens and you walk out of it and through the currently still-abandoned stage area, you do so in a bit of a haze, feeling both slightly disconnected and hyperaware of how sensitive and excited your body feels. When you hit the common area you stop and stare, involuntarily sucking in a hard breath through your nose. The scent of that everything-sweet-and-good stuff mingles with that intense masculine odor and actually makes you cum just a little where you're standing, a faint, almost subaudible noise escaping your throat as the tiny rush of pleasure shivers all along your nerves. You're not sure if they heard you or if they just noticed your return, but almost all of them have turned to look at you. You can feel their gazes on your skin like your clothes weren't even there, raking over your body, devouring your tits and pressing all over your pussy, like by looking at you alone they were going to knock you up.\n\n"Hey." The sound of Red's voice both snaps you out of it and focuses all that thought on him as he walks up to you. You can't help but have a brief fantasy of him just instantly ripping your clothes off and throwing you to the floor and raping you like a beast in rut and you have to yank yourself away from desperately wishing for that to focus on reality again as he stops in front of you. He doesn't actually seem to have noticed anything, though you can see his nostrils flare just a little, and a faint shift in his posture you're not sure he's even aware of. He looks like he almost says something else, before clearing his throat and instead saying, "So, did you find anything?"\n\n"Ah... yeah, yeah I did," you say, your voice coming out rather breathy and in a slight rush. Now all the men are definitely looking at you and a few have for certain noticed something up. You swallow heavily, doing everything you can to focus. "There was... a creature, not entirely sure what, but... it's dead now. There's... probably more, but I wanted to come up and... cu-... confirm."\n\n"Ah." Red swallows himself, looking like he's starting to have a little trouble concentrating as well. You have to suppress a whimper as you notice the front of his jeans beginning to bulge visibly. "So, what now?"\n\n<hr>\n[["I, uh, I need to leave for a little while, I think."|ChiLove1x1]]\n\n[["Let's... let's discuss it in private."|ChiMine2x5]]\n\n[["... Fuck me."|ChiMine]]

'This place really needs some stuff if I'm gonna live here too. Like groceries,' you think dryly, glancing towards the fridge before taking down your coat and pulling it on. The fact that you haven't technically been invited to live with Red never once crosses your mind as you step out of the house and head down the street towards where you vaguely recall seeing the general store. \n\nWithout so much on your mind today (well, one very specific thing on your mind) you can actually take in a bit more of the town. It looks like it used to be a fairly smallish resort town, maybe for skiing or something, before the idiots bombed themselves with whatever the multiverse felt like flinging at them at the moment of explosion. It seems largely untouched and very quiet like it might be in the off-season, without many people around... you'd guess and say probably only half the places even have anyone in them. You can see some other women and even kids about, obviously family of the miners and support staff, and you get a few curious looks as you walk along but no comments.\n\nThough the store is labeled simply 'General Store' it obviously used to be a regular grocery store, on the smaller side but complete. Still carrying most necessities, it's also been refitted with various aisles for other necessities of longterm habitation such as electronics, basic clothes, and an entertainment/education area for media chips and physical books to be bought or rented. You also notice that there's a mail order kiosk next to an 'On-Demand Assembly' booth which, according to the sign, is where you can get everything else you might need but don't want to wait for delivery times on.\n\nYou glance at the very limited selection of clothing, which essentially amounts to the very basics of underwear and pants for both sexes, some t-shirts, and an assortment of flannel. Yeaaah probably if you want casual clothes you'll have to use the booth, you think as you head towards it... can't keep house wearing skinarmor all the time. You step in and pull the curtain closed, bringing up the screen before shrugging out of your coat. You let the scanner get a look at your body, then start browsing. Let's see... what to wear to keep a proper house as Red deserves?\n\n<hr>\n[[Something comfy and wife-y.|ChiMine]]\n\n[[Something young and sexy.|ChiMine]]\n\n[[Something slightly taboo.|ChiMine]]\n\n[[Something that says 'servant'.|ChiMine]]\n\n[[Something that says 'property'.|ChiMine]]

Yeah, there's definitely some goo on the floor, left by something that passed by while... dripping. Or oozing. Or whatever. The spectrums of the warning lights and chemical lights are messing with your ability to see colors properly so you're not entirely certain... well, there's one identifier you can do without risking touching it or getting too close. You kneel down next to it and lean in just a bit, then waft your hand up over it and towards your face, inhaling carefully. Smells...\n\n<hr>\n[[... like plastic and metal.|ChiMine]]\n\n[[... kind of decayed.|ChiMine]]\n\n[[... sweet.|ChiMine2x2]]\n\n[[... not at all?|ChiMine]]

Something tries to make your brain seize up, but your training is sufficient to get your finger squeezing anyway, the trigger suppressing. The bright blue blast fires from the muzzle of your rifle and strikes the creature dead center, a perfect bullseye...\n\n... whereupon it explodes like a slime-filled balloon someone stuck a waterproof minisploder in.\n\nThe creature itself just seems to disappear, replaced by a high-speed wave of expanding slime, thin and pale green, that coats the entire area with an almost perfectly even layer of itself. You're left standing there blinking, feeling the faintly warm goo plastering your hair to your head and dripping from your bangs, coating your face and hands in a thin but dirbbly layer, soaking into your clothes. It's... almost exactly the same consistency as water-based lube...\n\n"Fuck's sake," you say with a sigh, shifting your rifle to one hand to flap the other back and forth, slinging long lines of slime flinging around. The other thing is that almost unidentifiable but undeniably good smell is everywhere now, completely soaked into your clothes and every inch of your skin. You shake your head, digging out a towel from your dimensional pockets. 'I guess that's the upside?' you muse as you start wiping the stuff off. Feels like it's getting warmer the longer it's in place, so best to hurry, you think. Doesn't actually seem like acid or anything, but it might be responding to your body heat.\n\nYou manage to get most of the stuff off of you and back to some semblance of not having been gooed in the first place, though by the time you finish you definitely do feel rather flushed, but it's honestly like the air has warmed perceptibly. 'Wonder if the climate control got taken out too?' you think with a slightly distracted air, glancing around. Then you give your head a little shake to try and get your thoughts back on track.\n\nWell, you doubt that was the only thing down here... you'd buy it maybe making off with unwary miners, especially if it's some kind of ambush predator as seemed likely, but you're not too sure about it destroying machinery. Though you weirdly sort of feel bad being dismissive of it, even for that... weird thought, but then you did kill it while it was just minding its own business.\n\nYou give your head another shake. Something definitely feels... off... but it's hard to think of how. Okay, just think of the next step... go back up to the main area and tell Red that at least one threat has been eliminated, or continue searching now?\n\n<hr>\n[[Head back.|ChiMine2x4]]\n\n[[Continue on.|ChiMine]]

'What does that smell like?' you think, frowning a bit. 'Sweet like... chocolate? Also... coffee? No, plum wine... actually is there a little pumpkin spice?'\n\nYour brain keeps wandering from one delicious, calming, soothing scent to another off of what's just a wide trail of largely colorless goo. That sets off a little tickle in the back of your brain, like you should really know what that indicates, but it's not registering right now.\n\nAs you're mentally searching around for whatever association you're missing, a bit of motion catches your eye and draws it to the ceiling, and what you see causes you to snap to your feet. It's a large, wobbling shape inching along the ceiling towards you... it's a repulsive shade of brownish green, its body pulsating and wobbling heavily with its every motion. You think you can spot something towards the front, a sort of thick, trembling proboscis rimmed with short, nubbin-like tentacles, stretching and searching across the stone surface blatantly, its motions and the way it's never quite the same shape from one moment to the next hitting some part of your brain that says living things just shouldn't do that. Similarly the way that little protrusions push out of its otherwise smooth sides, turning into short, blunt tendrils that help it grip the ceiling as it goes, the way they just seem to push out from anywhere on its body instead of having an actual defined shape, even though it obviously has a semi-defined form, with the proboscis at the front and what you think are a pair of large, faintly luminous orbs for eyes that bulge slightly out of its body above said maw.\n\nYou swing your rifle up, thumbing it to the single high-power blast setting and fixing the thing firmly in your sights, your finger dropping to the trigger.\n\n<hr>\n[[Fire!|ChiMine2x3]]\n\n[[Hesitate...|ChiMine3x1]]

"We'll go camping," you declare after a moment. At Neo making a face, you grin and reach out to ruffle her hair. "Consider it survivalist training."\n\n"Woooo more training yaaaay," Neo says with the most sarcastic enthusiasm you've heard since the last time you hung out with her, lifting a fist and waggling it around in mock-celebration as she turns and heads back towards her room. "Fiiiine."\n\nYou trail along after her, chuckling. "Look, I'll find us somewhere cool to camp, okay? It's not like we're just gonna head out to some normie campground."\n\nThat seems to perk her up a little as she snags her backpack and starts putting in clothes. "Yeah? Can we go somewhere like, suuuuper dangerous where I'm guaranteed to have to fight and kill and bleed?"\n\n"First of all, no, second of all, no, third of all Mom and Dad would skin me, fourth of all no," you reply, rolling your eyes as she gives you an exaggerated look of devestation. "Look I'll pick somewhere interesting but relatively safe."\n\n"Awwww."\n\nWhile she's fussing about, taking longer than necessary probably hoping you'll change your mind, you browse your options on your comm. Let's see, you're definitely going to want something that's probably some kind of reserve, preserve, or, well, campground but one more geared to the genuinely adventurous than just weekend warriors. Let's see... there's a [[forest planet|LeoSis]] that offers a lot of fishing (no hunting though) and precisely zero in the way of civilization and amenities for true roughing it... apparently there are natives but they're relatively friendly and used to people coming by. There's another wildlife preserve that's a [[jungle planet|LeoSis]], no fishing or hunting, but apparently lots more interesting and fascinating wildlife... albeit dangerous wildlife that's only kept in check by visitors having to wear 'aggression neutralizers' the whole time. (Still, sounds like that might satisfy Neo more.) There's a campground on what's called an "[[Eden world|LeoSis]]"... a planet that's been terraformed and manipulated to be an idealized paradise. Honestly you kinda want to try that out... you're sure that Neo would get over any disappointment fairly quickly.\n\nLet's see, on the less safe end but still enough that your parents wouldn't kill you for taking your still-in-training sister there... there's Surnia, an [[abandoned world|LeoSis]]. The entire population up and ditched the place in some event before it was hooked up to the portal network, no one really knows what happened. But a lot of Guild mercs like to use it for training since it has plenty of all sorts of environments that are just sort of there for whoever to use. Oh, hey, there's an idea... the [[Teamshift Games|LeoSis]]. A sort of combination survivalist camp and mock combat where when you're defeated by another team you get absorbed into them; mildly dangerous since it would probably be mostly more experienced mercenaries training and there's a chance you could lose track of Neo if she got onto someone else's team without you, but it's just play-fighting so no real threat. You doubt your parents would have any problems... she's almost old enough to register with the Guild as it is, probably time for her to start learning to hang with the grownups at least a bit.

"I was so worried," Blake whispers as she takes Auryn into her arms as he leaps down from the side door of the Manta. "What were you thinking?"\n\n"I just... I just wanted to be somewhere else, doing something else," he admits, pressing his face to her shoulder. "I'm sorry, Mom."\n\nYang stands nearby, sighing and looking down... then blinks as Auryn moves to hug her as well. "Well hey, been awhile," she whispers happily, smiling some as she raises a hand to pet his head. Then she nudges his head back and grins at him. "Not gonna get you out of a lecture about respect for a Huntress's weapon, though."\n\n"I know." Auryn bobs his head, biting his lower lip before he promises, "I'm... I'm gonna actually listen this time, okay?"\n\n"... Okay," Yang echoes, purple eyes shimmering a little as she leans in to kiss his forehead. "Thank you."\n\nAs Yang and Auryn make their way towards the jeep, you make your way to stand beside Blake. "I'm sorry about this morning," you say quietly, reaching out to take her hand. "I'm sorry about the last ten years, actually. I kept asking you to reach out to Auryn, but I... wasn't reaching out to him myself. Not the way he needed. That's done with, though."\n\n"I'm so glad to hear that," Blake whispers, sniffling a little as she steps in to hug you. "... You've always been there for him, but... but I'm glad to hear you finally want to really be his mom."\n\n"I'm a little late on it but I'll get there." You step back and smile at her, brushing a thumb over her cheek. "Auryn's ready to give family therapy an honest try too. Maybe it's time I tried harder in it too."\n\n"I'm really glad to hear that too."\n\n"Blake, do something for me, though?" you ask as she starts to turn towards the car.\n\n"Hm?" she asks, blinking yellow eyes as she looks at you.\n\n"Sometime soon, tell Auryn that his dad used to sing to him."\n\nBlake blinks again, before giving a short, mystified laugh. "Kai, Pietro was an absolutely wonderful husband and father, but he couldn't have carried a tune if you condensed it into Music Dust and handed it to him, why would I-"\n\n"Because stories are as true as they need to be," you assure her. "And Auryn needs that one to be true."\n\n"... Okay," she murmurs, eyes shimmering again. "I'll tell him."\n\nThe two of you head for the jeep, Auryn giving you a slightly shaky but sincere smile from the back seat.\n\nYour heart begins to heal.\n\nKai's Story - Epic of Remnant End - Auryn's acceptance

"Awwwwww," all three of them groan in apparent disappointment, and Nyna shoots a brief glare towards the bank of computer cabinets along the wall. "You greedy bastard!"\n\n"Now now, we still get our commission and you know he always does nice things for us too when he claims one," the girl nerd chirps, apparently having instantly recovered from her disappointment. "He's our friend, after all!"\n\n"Yeah, yeah." Nyna sighs, then straightens up, apparently having largely dismissed you from her thoughts already. "Alright, let's get the pallet ready."\n\nYou make various demands to know what's going on and what 'FCU' means, but don't accomplish much other than drooling even more around your ballgag. Nyna heads to the corner and retrieves a long, low hoverpallet and activates it, floating it over beside where you're restrained and tapping a few controls on its handle. Purple LEDs light up on the pallet's surface, and previously unseen matching ones light up on your restraints, apparently including the one bracing your lower back and head, as you lift up off the supporting bars and float over above the pallet. You can't help but struggle again as you're turned and moved out of the room, but though the hoverfield has slightly more give than the metal bars, still all you manage is to shake your ponytail and tits around, and apparently amuse all three of your captors to judge by their perverse giggles, the IT nerds following after Nyna.\n\nYou're taken through several hallways, and then a sliding door opens into a room long enough to be another hallway, but wider, with rows of cylinders on either side. Your struggles stop and your blood goes a little cold as you see that they're stasis pods, but with entirely transparent fronts to show off the interiors. Said interiors seem to have been outfitted with textured padding in various covers, giving them a faintly "glass coffin" look... an impression only enhanced by the women inside. All of them are beautiful, ranging fairly broadly in appearance, though most of them look like humans or demihumans. They're nude, laid out in a relatively tasteful repose that still has their legs just parted enough to leave their pussies on display, their hands gently placed on their lower chests and holding red roses so that the blooms rest directly between their breasts.\n\n'This isn't a holding area, this is an art gallery,' you think in horror... especially as one of the stasis chambers hisses and swings its glass front out and upward at your approach.\n\n"Guess he wants her in this one. Oh yeah, red, that'll go good with her coloration," Nyna says in an approving tone as she and the other two start pulling on what look like almost shoulder-high rubber gloves.\n\nYou renew your struggles as they come over to take hold of you, rubber-clad hands feeling cold and tacky as they lift you off the pallet and over into the stasis chamber, the red cloth beneath you yielding in a comfortable, supporting way, the texture like satin. Then your bucking and twisting is abruptly cut off as a low, faint hum begins, your entire body freezing just where it is... not tensing or flexing, just stopping. A restraint field. All three of your captors work in quick, practiced movements like they've done this before plenty of times, removing your restraints and then stretching you out on the satin lining, settling your legs at full length and slightly parted, making sure your pussy can be seen by anyone wandering by. There's a thrum like a panel opening, and then a rose is placed on your chest, the petals gently tickling the inner curves of your breasts, your hands settled atop the thornless stem. The girl nerd spends a few moments rubbing and massaging your face... no doubt composing even your expression into the gentle, serene sleeping appearance of the other women.\n\nNyna smirks down at you briefly, then reaches out, sliding her hand across your eyes to slide them closed as if you really were dead, the restraint field not allowing you to open them again. "Goodnight, princess," she croons. "Enjoy your new friend," she adds, her voice receding as you can hear the lid of the stasis chamber hissing closed again and locking into place with a faint echoing clonk.\n\nAnd then suddenly you find yourself standing on an elaborately tiled floor, with the sound of tropical birds singing and the distant crash of waves in your ears. You blink your eyes open and whip back and forth, disoriented. You're still naked, but now rather than the cold touch of overcranked climate control, the gentle, slightly damp warmth of equatorial air surrounds your nude body. The smell of warm growing things and the sea is in your nose, idyllicly free of pollutants. You seem to be in a large, open hotel lobby, the sort you'd find at some ultra-fancy all-expenses-paid private island resort, with large gaps out to show the scenery, an elaborately (but very uniformly, more like some sort of geometric art) tiled floor and tasteful island wood furnishings, although there's no checkin counter.\n\n"Greetings," says a low, even voice behind you.\n\nYou whirl around again, and your jaw drops. It's hard to say what about this new arrival is the most attention-getting. The large, muscular body, with immense shoulders and bulging... everything... rendered in shiny, sleek chrome instead of any sort of skin tone. The jutting two foot cock, as stylized and idealized and smooth as a toy, with balls each at least as big as your head hanging below it. Or the fact that his head looks like an old CRT computer monitor, a glossy black screen set in the not-quite-cubic casing, since the area around the screen is wider than the rest of his head.\n\n"I am Friend Computer," he says in a strange tone that's somehow both upbeat and completely neutral... a cheerful monotone, if such a thing were possible. His screen-face seems to vary between an oscilloscope, level bars, rotating spirals, and other audio visualizers randomly, basically changing up every time he pauses slightly at the end of a sentence. "I have selected you as the newest addition to my collection."\n\n"What?!" you blurt in outrage.\n\n"While I understand that you are likely upset at the denial of your agency, you should understand that you have no recourse," Friend Computer continues in that same chipper monotone. "Your physical body is restrained both by an immobilization field and a secure, armored stasis pod. Your consciousness exists in this simulation that is merely a partition of my consciousness... you are entirely within my mind and therefore my control. My advice is to cooperate willingly, preferably by getting on your knees and servicing me orally," he continues, his massive polished silver cock catching a gleam of the light. "I assure you that you will find it, and all other activities we engage in, to be most pleasurable," he adds.\n\n<hr>\n[["... well..."|ChiDD]]\n\n[["I... don't think I could do that."|ChiDD]]\n\n[[Run.|ChiDD]]

"I don't really talk to them much anymore," you admit with a little shrug. "I said I wanted to go my own way, they sort of said 'fine' and let me."\n\n"Ahhhh. I getcha, I getcha," Nyna says in both an understanding and slightly conciliatory tone, as if saying 'Message received, no more family talk'. She's quiet for a minute or two, then says, "Okay, we're coming up on the jump! About another twenty seconds."\n\nYou can hear one of the many distinctive whines of one of the many dimensional jump drives powering up. Sounds like it's probably what a lot of people call a 'pop-hopper', which you think uses a kind of suction effect... first it creates a kind of bubble into middlespace, one of the areas between dimensions, then lets that bubble 'suck' the ship in, then it does the same process for the dimension where it wants to go. All incredibly quickly, of course. Pop-hoppers are cheap and fairly reliable, about the only problem with them is that you need a really good shield to keep from getting at least a bit of vertigo and possibly dimensional dysmorphia from being exposed to middlespace. You notice opaque blast shields dropping down over the canopy windows, probably a wise precaution. \n\nThen you frown a bit. Something sounds sort of... off... about the pop-hopper's buildup. You can't quite say what, but it sounds sort of... lower and more drawn-out than it should as it builds to its activation. You look up towards Nyna again. "Hey, maybe you should check that thing, it sounds a little-" You cut off in surprise as there's the flicker of a forcefield activating between you and her, and all along the consoles and blast shield. And then the pop-hopper activates with a slightly too bass-y bwop.\n\nYou're supposed to be exposed to middlespace for something like a hundredth of a second, if that. This is probably closer to half a second. It feels like much longer as the sense of unshielded nothingness and everythingness washes over you, making the ship and everything around you seem to simultaneously melt, stretch, bulge, spike out, change color, lose all color, penetrate into you, abandon you to the nothingness completely, and whisper to you to tell you a thousand secrets of the universe but they're all phrased in weird rambling references to a 21st century Earth vid-drama about making meth.\n\nThen after an instantaneous eternity everything abruptly snaps back hard enough that it feels like a physical whiplash. You lurch in your chair even though the ship is probably technically exactly as even-keeled as it ever was, then slump completely limp in your harness, everything spinning in a much more normal form of vertigo that leaves tracers of everything else. Including a gray-clad form as it steps in front of you. \n\n"Damn, seriously, look at the tits on this bitch," Nyna declares happily. Her hand cups one of your breasts, the sensation both feeling far-off and distant and like it slams into your brain with an intense jolt, but your body doesn't so much as twitch. "Here's hoping you get designated GU, slut, I will wear these puppies out. Oop, here, first your medicine, cunt," she continues in a cheerfully sneery tone. You feel something press to your neck just below your ear, and a faint hiss, and everything goes dark.\n\nWhen you come to, you find your situation is... not improved. At all. You're completely naked and restrained... some tugging and writhing and what you can do with turning your head shows quickly enough how. Your legs are spread outward, revealing your pussy and ass completely, your knees bent and your thighs and calves bound together with metal bands that have attached bars running down to the floor. Another set of bands with bars are around your middle and your forearms, which are bound together behind your back. There's some sort of support against your upper back between your shoulders that goes up, and feels like it's open around the back of your neck, before turning into a headrest. You also seem to be gagged... from the feel and even taste of it, a fairly standard ballgag. (Don't ask how you know.) \n\nThe room you're in seems to be some sort of lab, with a handful of automated medical equipment both near you to the sides and on the ceiling above, and a lot of computer terminals and cabinets further out and along the walls. You quickly spot three people... two of them are fairly obvious IT nerds, both black-haired and pale and of similar enough appearance to be related, both in glasses and t-shirts and labcoats, the guy in slacks and the girl in denim shorts. The third is Nyna, still wearing her uniform and lingering nearby, eyes currently on the other two who are looking over two different terminals.\n\n"C'mon, when is it gonna give us a result?" the pilot demands in a huff.\n\n"Hey, it takes awhile even for him, it's a very complex algorithm," the guy nerd replies in a sort of prim tone, before grinning. "Look we all hope she gets GU'd, okay? I mean, just look at her."\n\n"I hope she's got super pretty eyes, I love looking in super pretty eyes as I-" the girl nerd starts, glancing over at you. She blinks, then smirks as well. "Oh, she does! Those are awesome!"\n\n"Well hey princess, welcome back to the land of the conscious!" Nyna chirps as she turns and walks over to you. She smirks wider as you struggle and spit out a few thoroughly muffled epithets. "Man look at 'em wobble. I cannot wait to smack those around!"\n\n"Not until or unless she gets GU'd, we're not even supposed to touch them more than we have to until then," the guy apparently reminds her.\n\nNyna makes a face... perhaps remembering groping you on the ship. You certainly remember it, and you let out a hateful growl around the gag as you glare at her. It actually seems to startle her a little and makes her hop back slightly... before she resumes smirking and pantomimes several rough squeezes and a slap in the air, at which you try not to flinch.\n\nDing!\n\n"It's coming through!" the girl nerd calls excitedly, Nyna turning and hurrying away, all three of them peering at one of the monitors.\n\nThis is apparently some sort of evaluation that determines your fate, now that you've been betrayed and captured. So you can't exactly help but crane your neck as well as you're able, trying to see what's on the screen. There... some sort of code coming through... and after it letters...\n\n<hr>\n[["General use."|ChiDD]]\n\n[["Direct sale."|ChiDD]]\n\n[["Auction."|ChiDD]]\n\n[["Repurposing."|ChiDD]]\n\n[["Pre-sold."|ChiDD2x1]]\n\n[["FCU."|ChiDD1x3]]

No good comes from hassling the low-level employees. Plus, whatever, as long as they can actually get the job done, they can base themselves wherever they want, you muse as you move over to the teleporter pad and step up on it. \n\nThere's a bright white flash that completely obscures everything and yet somehow doesn't give your eyes that same 'bright light! bright light!' flinch as an actual burst of light would, and then the room beyond you is different. Not that different though... it's still the same style and fittings and even color scheme, just that it's larger, and things look a little newer and cleaner. Obviously putting a bit more effort in at the main office. You step off the pad and make your way to the counter, where another, fairly similar-looking woman in the same stewardess-esque outfit.\n\n"Hello, welcome to Direct Deposit Orronco," she says in a similar practiced customer service tone, with the practiced customer service smile. "I understand you're interested in being infiltrated onto Captain Huwhin's ship?" At your nod, she types briefly on her terminal. The printer nearby spools out a sheet and she plucks it up, clipping it to a board and handing you a pen. "If you could just fill this out, please?"\n\nAh, paperwork. The less than glamorous part of any mercenary's life. Not many people sit around in merc bars telling tales of the fascinating paperwork they had to fill out as part of their job. (Some do. There's always a few people that do anything.) You take the clipboard and pen and head to the nearest chair, settling and trying not to feel slightly silly sitting and filling out a form in your skintight sneaking suit. (You've done it in weirder outfits. Not many, but you have.) Name, planet and dimension of residence, address, emergency contact. You pause for that, and after a moment put your primary contact as your main insurance company, and your secondary contact as a friendly fellow merc. You're not sure you have anyone right now that could necessarily be counted on to come and get you if you were in trouble, so it seems best to do it that way. (One of the nice things about merc insurance companies is that sometimes they decide paying someone to go rescue you might be cheaper than paying out to your beneficiary.) \n\nThe rest of it is similarly routine, and it looks like the contract is pretty short and to the point on the back. The usual ass-covering stuff, 'Direct Deposit Boarding, LLC will not be held legally responsible if your mission fails, either due to your own actions or those of a third party to you', yadda yadda, they're not going to be a hero and rescue you if you fuck up and the pirates shoot you, etcetera. You read through it fairly thoroughly all the same, and nothing jumps out at you so you sign, initial, and date, then take the form and board back to the desk.\n\nThe clerk feeds the paper into another slot and turns to her terminal's screen, with that sort of blankly cheerful 'waiting for processing' look, then redirects her smile to you. "Alright, looks like everything's good! Now, the price is as quoted," she says, picking up a touchpad screen and setting it in front of you, the amount you saw earlier on it. "Please note we place an additional hold amount on your account until you've been teleported off the ship, just to cover potential other expenses. Once you're teleported off, however, any hold is lifted."\n\nIn other words, in case you come under fire and the pilot wants to retreat, and you clonk them on the head and take over instead, they can charge you for it. (Especially if you wind up getting their ship blown up.) You have no intention of trying such a thing, though, you're a middling pilot at best. You briefly eye the little blob of contractese but again nothing jumps out at you as unreasonable, so you sign with your finger and use your thumbprint to authorize the charge.\n\n"Alright, our Deposit Expert is already gearing up her ship and getting ready! She should be in shortly, so if you'd like to take a seat and wait, we can get you moving just as soon as possible!" the clerk chirps.\n\nAh, the other glorious part of merc life... waiting. You shrug and glance around, spotting that there are several screens in the corners playing what might be local TV programming. All of them have the sound turned down and only some of them have the closed captions turned on, but you can kind of read lips so. You settle down with a view of the screen playing what you think is some sort of reality show about couples taking bids from designers and contractors to build a pool house. The current couple appears to be a man who trains frogs to have more pleasing croaks so they can be donated to a charity as a sort of emotional support animal, and a woman who runs a blog where she says if she thinks horses look sad in pictures of them submitted by her readers. Their budget appears to be roughly the GDP of a small country.\n\nDespite loathing these people with every fiber of your being, you find yourself somehow mildly disappointed at the interruption as the door near the clerk's desk slides open. A woman with shoulder-length rumpled blonde hair, wearing a gray shirt and pants that look like someone said 'make it look like a fighter pilot's jumpsuit but not too much like a fighter pilot's jumpsuit because we don't want to seem too aggressive' walks in. She looks of both average height and build, though you also assume the uniform isn't doing her any favors, apparently the company decided to put all the 'mildly fetishized sexy' on the counter girls and the 'we're here to work because we're very professional and competent' on the pilots.\n\n"Michika Hajimaru?" she asks as you stand up, not that there's anyone else waiting. You confirm it as you stand up because obviously you would, and the two of you shake hands briefly. "I'm your pilot, Nyna."\n\n"Nice to meet you."\n\n"Alright, let's get you aboard Huwhin's ship!" she says cheerfully enough, turning and leading you back through the door.\n\nYou follow her down a long hallway, and into what looks like a small launch bay. The ship itself is fairly unremarkable and about as you thought from the pictures and description... surplus military, its faded silver hull shaped like a sort of shallow, blobby Y with an only slightly longer front end with the forward dome bumped out on it, probably half as long and almost as tall as a bus but looking a bit sleeker due to the way the profile curves. You can see seams along the 'wings' and 'neck', presumably to allow it to fit itself against different hull geometries. Its back ramp is lowered, and you follow Nyna up it as well. The interior of the ship is fairly utilitarian, though it looks like some minor effort has been expended to make it more comfortable for paying customers. From the look of it, it once had six simple, probably uncomfortable 'jump seats' that were just stretched material for a seat and safety restraints, but have been replaced by four actual acceleration chairs, albeit ones that also look like they were probably some other passenger ship's refurbed surplus. Still, they're comfy enough as you sit down in one and buckle in, Nyna settling into the pilot's chair and similarly strapping in and working some controls.\n\n"We'll need to leave the atmosphere and then the system before doing the dimensional jump. Regulations," she adds with one of those 'I'm sure you understand' grins and a glance over her shoulder. You nod back, returning the same look, and soon the view past her is sliding vertically up through a long tunnel, and then giving a brief glimpse of a city outside before there's blue sky, which quickly fades to the black and shining stars.\n\n"So, you Makarzian, or you just live there?" Nyna asks in the genial tone of a chattery taxi driver as she continues to do small adjustments to her board... who knows if she's actually doing anything or company policy is just that she should look busy.\n\n"There's a saying that no one really lives there, it's just where you stay until you find somewhere better," you note dryly, before adding, "But I was born there, yes."\n\n"Heh, I know that saying. Me too!" she adds with a slight chirp. "Cut my teeth doing the moon run, back when anyone was still operating anything there. Legit, anyway," she adds a bit ruefully. "Not that I had a problem with non-legit, necessarily, but y'know. You start on that, you get pigeonholed, y'know?" she asks, with a slightly more expectant glance.\n\n"Yeah," you say with a sigh. "Yeah, I know."\n\n"Thought maybe you did, just from the way you move. You, ah... you keep up with family back there?" she asks, with the curious tone of someone who never really brushed up against Makarzia's criminal element more than in passing.\n\n<hr>\n[["No, not really."|ChiDD1x2]]\n\n[["We still talk a bit."|ChiDD]]

Deciding to take the risk in order to hopefully lose your pursuers entirely, you plunge into the darkness ahead, not bothering to slow down or look back. Hopefully you can make it through to a better-lit area.\n\nYour eyes adjust to the darkness a little, enough to make out the faint outlines of the hallway ahead, but not much else. It's completely dark in here. (Damn, you really should have checked yourself and geared up thoroughly first, brought along some night vision glasses or something.) You're pretty sure you have a flashlight though. (Maybe?) Seeing that you're deep enough in the hallway that no one from behind is likely to see you, you reach down and rummage in your pockets.\n\nThen you freeze as you hear something. It's very faint, but the more you focus on it, the more you can hear it. Something moving on the floor... in fact your mind calls up the distinct impression of smooth scales sliding over the carpet, and rubbing each other. And now that you're listening you can hear the occasional soft thp, thp like a particularly large forked tongue flicking out and waggling tastingly in the air before yanking back into a lipless reptilian maw.\n\n... Look, you're a supervillain, you and every other villain you know has done some variety of snake trap at some point, it's basically in the contract.\n\n'Fuck, there must be hundreds,' you think, feeling a little shock of fear despite yourself. Then you exert all your will to suppress a shudder as something very thick and heavy slides over the top of one of your feet. '... Maybe just dozens.' Lord, that one's at least as big as a decent-sized python... \n\nThen comes the realization that there's no way this place would be "containing" a roomful of normal pythons. 'What... is up with these things...?' you think as your hand finds your flashlight in your pocket and grips it.\n\n<hr>\n[[Shine the light around.|Def]]\n\n[[Fire around you and run for it.|Def]]\n\n[[Walk through calmly.|Def4x2]]

"I want... I want to..." you murmur heavily, twitching a bit in his grip.\n\n"Yeeees, pet?"\n\n"I want... to..." you sigh, turning your prosthetic hand to rest your palm against his scaly hide. "Fry you like a chicken in a youtube video experiment."\n\n"What? YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!" Spral shrieks, lurching and writhing, head flinging back and forth as you send electricity coursing through your arm and into his body. \n\nHis tail reflexively yanks away from you and you quickly drop, grabbing up your rifle and then springing backward, firing in the general vicinity of his head. It's whipping around rapidly enough that you miss, but one or two of your shots hit his body and result in even more mental howling and a scent that actually does somewhat resemble frying chicken. He whips about and flees surprisingly rapidly down the hallway for such a massive beast, quickly disappearing around another corner.\n\n"Very nice. You must have a pretty strong will."\n\nYou whip around to face the voice behind you, rifle aimed. You can see a vaguely quadrupedal shape, and enough right angles here and there on your body that you're pretty sure it's either robotic in nature or armored. You'd guess robotic, since there's something that looks an awful lot like a red flashlight lens fixed on you where an actual animal's face would be, at the front of an angular head.\n\n"I have been known to be a bit stubborn," you say evenly, taking a step back and rising into a steadier firing position. "Also I took my meds this morning which might have helped. ... At least I think I did. ... Maybe I didn't and that helped."\n\nThe thing lets out a soft chuckle, the glow of the light on its head flickering with the sound, and then with its speech as it continues. "You and I can be useful to each other. What say we get out of here together?"\n\n<hr>\n[[Hm. Sure.|Def]]\n\n[[Nope, bad feeling, run!|Def]]\n\n[["Oh yeah sounds like a good-" Blast.|Def]]

You take a deep breath, and release the flashlight. So far the snakes don't sound... agitated. Better, then, to not do anything that might agitate them and turn them hostile. Doing your best to calm your heartrate and keep your motions steady, you start walking forward slowly but steadily.\n\nThe sounds of scales in motion and flicking tongues and the occasional soft hiss all grow louder around you, but you keep moving, doing your best to give no indication of fear. Several times you feel your foot almost come down on a thick body (with what feels like actual dorsal ridges on top of it) and manage to stop and lift your foot carefully, letting the creature below move away. And a few times you feel large, squarish muzzles bump against your ankles, or your legs, and at one point your hip. Less like they're striking, more like they're testing you... or trying to provoke you.\n\nBut that thought makes stubbornness kick in, and you continue your slow, careful stride forward, your jaw now set and your back ramrod straight. Eventually the sounds start to recede... you're not sure if it's that you're moving past them, they're moving further into the facility, or quite possibly both.\n\nEither way, you notice along with the reduction in sound that the light is slowly starting to come back... it's still quite dim here, like the chemical lights were sapped of something and are just barely working, but you can see. You resist the urge to look behind you, instead letting out a grateful huff as you round a corner. "Enough fucking snakes, thank you," you mutter under your breath.\n\n"Oh really? That's a shame."\n\nYou lurch to a halt, your eyes widening. You reeeeeeeeeally must have provoked someone with that statement, because looming up ahead of you is an absolutely massive snake. Its head alone is almost the size of your torso, its body long and thick, coiled back through the hallway and sort of "piled" here and there. You can see that its scaley hide has a wildly intricate pattern of different colors, though they're all washed out in the chemical lights leaving just the vague impression of him being patchy and mutedly vivid. The voice in your head almost sounded so much like natural speech that for a second you thought it was, but somehow you feel like if it had actually spoken there would have been a stereotypical sibilant lisp on the Ses.\n\n"Uhhhh..." you say, torn somewhere between shock, fear, and the sheer social awkwardness of having inadvertantly said something insulting. \n\n"Now now, no need to be afraid," the giant snake assures you as it gathers up some of its coils under it, raising upward but somehow adopting a rather genial wobble back and forth, as if it were just casually chatting with you. "I don't bite."\n\nYou kind of want to point out that you're well aware that most particularly large snakes rarely bite, they're constrictors, but it seems like a bad idea to remind him of that just now. "Ah, hey. Just passing through," you try, plastering a grin on your face and adding, "The guys in charge aren't too happy with me, I'm the one that freed you." Seems worth a shot, at least.\n\n"Oh really?" the snake does indeed seem rather pleased, leaning down a bit closer to you. "Well my thanks, little human. Let me reward you by making you feel good... look into my eyes," it adds, actually widening its eyes into massive orbs, pulses and rings of glowing light starting to flicker outward from the tiny points its pupils have receded to.\n\n'Oh you have got to be kidding me!' you think, flinging an arm across your face and squeezing your eyes closed, flinging yourself back and trying to bring your gun up. But you bump into something, and then immediately feel part of it curl and wrap around you, pinning your arms to your sides. Your eyes snap open in reflex and you glance down, finding that the snake somehow slipped its tail end behind you and now has you wrapped lightly, a firm squeeze of the long muscle that is its body making you spasm a bit and drop your rifle. It also brings its head in closer, urging in a soft, sweet, almost sensual mental croon, "Look into my eyyyyyes."\n\nYou only take the most reflexive of peeks, but apparently at this point that's all it takes. You find yourself staring into those massive, looming orbs, the colors skittering across them feeling like they're pulsing through your brain. You simultaneously feel like you're falling into deep pools of light and color and like you're being lifted up in glowing water and air that surrounds you, tumbling you end over end even though your body has gone still, gently rolling all of the thoughts out of your head.\n\n"Now, pet, tell your dear Master Spral what you want... or rather, tell me what I most desire of you."\n\n"I..." You murmur, a feeling of ease and dreaminess seeming to have settled onto you. "I want... to..."\n\n<hr>\n[[Serve him.|Def]]\n\n[[Feed him.|Def]]\n\n[[Zap him.|Def4x3]]

You catch Nyna's eye and tilt your head questioningly towards the second, larger number. She hesitates briefly, but then finally gives a small sigh and nods. You look back at the synth and nod as well. "Alright. We're willing to have sex on camera."\n\n"Excellent. Follow me, please," he says, turning towards the only other exit from the room, a pair of elevator doors. "Please don't worry about your belongings, they'll be collected and returned to you after."\n\nYou exchange another glance with Nyna before both of you shrug... yours causing significant jiggling, which she leers at briefly before you smack her on her bare back and send her scampering forward. Both of you pad barefoot after the synth, both doing your best to act nonchalant... after all, you're here to make freaky weird porn, can't go acting like just a bit of mild nudism is intimidating.\n\nThere are no controls in the elevator other than a (currently blank) black touchpad, and it starts moving without any input. It's a fairly short ride before the elevator stops and slides open, revealing a mundane-looking hallway. "Miss, this is your stop," the synth says, turning its head towards Nyna and gesturing out at an angle. "Room 302 for costuming."\n\nNyna gives you a nervous look, but nods to the synth after a second and steps out of the elevator, heading in the direction it gestured. The doors close and the elevator resumes moving, opening again a few seconds later, the synth stepping out and leading the way down an identical-looking hallway. "We will be observing your friend's filming before your own," it notes evenly.\n\n"Oh?" You blink as it leads the way into a room with a large, curved screen dominating one wall. There's a fairly standard-looking overstuffed black loveseat set against the opposite wall facing it, and after a brief hesitation you sit down, trying not to think of how many other naked people might have sat on it before you. You're a little surprised when the synth sits down right next to you, but try to downplay any discomfort since you're still keeping your chill.\n\nAfter a few seconds the screen lights up, displaying what looks like the interior of a barn, with bright sunlight and a bit of visible farm beyond the doors. You blink, glancing at the synth, who explains, "We use holorooms for all of our sets, of course. They allow for maximum visual authenticity. All the performers, however, are flesh and blood," he adds, answering your next obvious question before you can ask it. "The clients pay well for that much realism."\n\nYou make a noise of general acknowledgement, then just watch the screen somewhat awkwardly, waiting. A few minutes later a door slides open in the slice of farm visible outside the barn and Nyna steps through, now attired in a straw hat and denim overalls... and nothing else, her feet still bare, slender body visible through the sides of the largely open garment. You have to admit they've done a good job making your fellow Makarzian look like a farm girl, including more artfully rumpling her hair and adding a few bits of straw to it, dusting her face and shoulders with artificial freckles, and artfully smearing a bit of dirt here and there. She's carrying a metal bucket as a prop, though looks absolutely mystified as to what to do with it. But apparently depth of acting isn't required here, since the door closes and a red [Recording] appears in the corner of the screen.\n\nNyna glances around as if uncertain what to do, then you can tell from the slight twitch of her head that she must be getting instructions on an earpiece, since she walks forward and actually inside the barn set. She glances around again, then clears her throat. "Uh, I'm here to milk the cow, so, ah... where... in tarnation... is she?"\n\nOne of the stall doors swings open, and Nyna's eyes widen as its occupant saunters out... not that you can blame her, your eyes widen too. It's a very tall, very muscular, and very well-hung brown bullman. His head is largely bovine in appearance with slightly anthropomorphized features, though his shape is otherwise largely human... including the immense, thick cock swaying around as it dangles over the hefty balls that accompany it.\n\n"Why, she's right here, darlin'," the bullman drawls as he plucks Nyna's straw hat off and dons it himself, before resting his hand on her head and pushing her firmly to her knees.\n\nNyna sags easily to her knees, and again you can't blame her... the bullman's hand is big enough to cup the entire upper part of her head, and those muscles look very... authentic, for lack of a better word. He takes his hand away from her head and rests both hands on his back instead, providing an unimpeded view of his member for both Nyna and the camera. (Several picture-in-picture screens have popped up over the screen showing different angles being recorded.) \n\nYour lesbian acquaintance looks pretty well panicked at the sight of that massive member right in front of her face, especially when it gives a heavy twitch, making her jump a little. But maybe the voice in her ear is urging her again, because she (with visible reluctance) reaches both hands up to wrap them around the thick shaft... at least as far as she can... and start stroking. She swallows visibly as it starts to harden, no doubt feeling it growing even thicker and harder against her fingers and palms as it rises up, and thinking about how it's obviously going to be spreading her open and pounding inside her soon. "Uh... I... I guess I could play a cow for you, mister," she says nervously, obviously again taking cues from her earpiece.\n\n"Ain't no playin' around on this farm, darlin'," the bullman answers with a lofty tone and a leer, but doesn't explain any further, just giving his hips a shake to make his now half-hard cock wobble against Nyna's hands, making her squeak a bit at the weight and power of it with just that motion.\n\nSoon the bullman is fully hard, and again showing some obvious reluctance (though maybe that's considered a bonus for this), Nyna leans in and hesitantly drags her tongue up part of the shaft. She's obviously relying on the direction to tell her what to do, guiding her in sucking at those big brown bovine balls, suck-kissing at the shaft, or applying her tongue to either. Though as you watch, you can see her nostrils flaring a bit here and there as she obviously inhales the scent of him, and perhaps the authentic barn-like odors enhancing it. Gradually you can see her eyes taking on a slightly glazed look and her movements becoming less awkward and directed, bit by bit taking on some actual enthusiasm as she strokes her hands over it and fondles his balls, sucking at it more energetically, and even starting to moan softly.\n\nYou squirm in place with arousal as your lesbian friend obviously becomes cock-drunk, unable to help suppress a hint of 'God I wish that were me'. You'd probably be feeling the same way much faster, considering you're actually into men, let alone big musclebound lunks with hefty dicks. You shiver a little with arousal, resisting the urge to lift a hand and start playing with your stiff nipples... then jump a little as a hand comes to rest on your thigh. You'd just almost forgot the synth next to you was there, but now it slides its featureless gray hand further up your thigh.\n\n"Part of the point of watching your friend's performance first is, of course, to help you build arousal for your own performance," it says with that monotone geniality. "Allow me to 'fluff' you further."\n\n<hr>\n[["I, I'm good, thanks!"|ChiDD]]\n\n[[... Spread your legs.|ChiDD]]

"So... when you say 'beneath my dignity'," you say slowly.\n\nBig Girl's leer, if anything, gets even lewder. "I mean porn," she says bluntly enough, snickering when you blanch a little. "Hey, it's a big thing here, of all kinds! With you and your slender little friend together to make a vid, I'd imagine you could make enough off of one shoot to pay your weekly interest to Nick. Maybe even put you ahead a bit, give you time to figure out how to pay the whole thing."\n\n"... I dunno," you hedge, making a face.\n\n"You're sorta low on options here, toots," she assures you, raising her eyebrows. "Now that you're in debt to one of the players, you're gonna find a ton of options closed off to you. No one's quite gonna trust somebody that's that deep in another boss's pocket."\n\nDammit, you were afraid of that. You waffle a bit more, but relent to ask, "So... assuming I was interested...?"\n\n"There's three places you can go that'll pay you and your friend enough to make Nick's payment and probably live on while you're at it," Big Girl says, holding up three fingers and wagging them. "First is a place called BGB. They do gangbangs, that's it. Well, big-ass gangbangs with lots of gold and cream showers," she adds with a smirk. "But just human guys, and just that, so you'll know what you're in for and at least it's still safely in the realms of normal sex, right?"\n\n"... So you're saying the other two...?"\n\n"Heheh. Yeah, if you go to a place called SIS, they do more... wild stuff, let's say. More to the niche market. Bonus is they will let you wear an ID scrambler mask, whereas BGB, well, you're just gonna hafta hope no one you know ever turns up that particular video in their vast catalogue," she says, waggling her eyebrows. "Of course, you'll know, won't you?"\n\nYou make a displeased noise low in your throat which just seems to entertain Big Girl more, before you sigh. "And the third option?"\n\n"Doesn't really have a name. They're, shall we say, extremely discreet. That's your bonus there, whatever vids you and skinny make for them will wind up in some rich freak's private collection, worst you might have to worry about is that's the one his heirs pick out to see what's on it after he's cacked it," she says with another snicker. "S'pose the thing about them for a reluctant participant such as yourself is that they do plenty of videos with no sex... just kink. Really freaky kink, but just kink," she chuckles.\n\nYou stand there just sort of making faces at the whole idea, and after a moment she pulls out a trio of plastic cards and proffers them. "Your choice, but let's just say I think you're a pig in a poke on this one. May as well settle into the mud and get porked," she adds with a highly amused lilt.\n\nResisting the urge to stick your tongue out at her, you instead take the cards and manage a mutter of thanks before heading outside. You flip through them... the first one is pretty simple, a black card with white text and contact info in both numbers and a datablock, with a simple 'BGB' logo in the center. ("Big Gang Bang"?) The second one is fairly understated, black text on white background, looking mostly like a normal business card with the text 'Special Interest Studios' on it. The third doesn't even have any visible text or numbers, it's just a gray card with a barely visible datablock in the center in shades of darker and lighter gray. Apparently they take that whole discretion thing extremely seriously.\n\n"So it's come to this," Nyna groans a bit later as the two of you sit in the ship.\n\n"Kinda seems like it," you say grimly. "It's this or we default on our payment to Nick, and I have a feeling we're not gonna like whatever he'd want in lieue of creds either."\n\n"I can't stand the thought of fucking guys," Nyna mutters, shuddering visibly. "The only way I can tolerate cock is if it's temporarily attached to me. ... But obviously you're right. You saw those Synth girls Nick was with, he obviously likes humanoids just fine. I'd rather fuck human guys than bugs. If I've gotta. ... But you said the third place we wouldn't have to fuck at all?"\n\n"Because it would just be kink stuff, but that implies it'd be really weird kink," you note, waggling said card. "Who knows what the hell we'd have to do, as opposed to just getting fucked by a handful of human guys and then going on our way."\n\n"Mm," Nyna acknowledges vaguely. It's pretty obvious the kink place is still her first choice, but as usual she seems to be leaving it up to you.\n\n<hr>\n[[BGB.|ChiDD]]\n\n[[SIS.|ChiDD]]\n\n[[The nameless kink place.|ChiDD2x13]]

"I guess if we're at the 'stuck doing porn to pay the bills' stage we may as well go with the option where it winds up in one rich weirdo's personal collection," you mutter as you fish out the gray card, Nyna making a face but apparently in agreement.\n\nYou scan the datablock and tap the 'Initiate call' button that comes up, then wait. There's only a few rings until the notification to accept a video call pops up. You glance at Nyna, who shrugs... you take that as the affirmative and hit 'Accept'. A sort of neutral, default 3D avatar pops up... a head-shaped gray oblong on a pivot neck that looks back and forth.\n\n"How may I help you?" it asks in a neutrally pleasant tone.\n\n"Yes, I was given this number as someone who's willing to pay well for people to help in creating... unique content," you say, deciding that both politeness and discretion might serve in this instance.\n\n"Indeed. Could you hold the comm so that I may see all of you, please?" the avatar asks in the same tone.\n\nSigh. Kind of creepy but understandable, you guess. You hold the comm out at arm's length to give the best full view of your body you can, then turn it towards Nyna to do the same with her, your reluctant partner giving an awkward little wave. When you turn the comm back to yourself the avatar nods.\n\n"Certainly I think you both would be welcome. Allow me to send you directions to our studio."\n\nThe building you find at the end of the directions is one of the most nondescript you've seen in Karnol, other than that it's cleaner than most of them. But otherwise it doesn't stand out in any way... simple concrete facade, minimal aesthetic touches, very few windows and those in 'blackout' mode. The lobby interior is similarly neutral and unassuming, and essentially empty, with nothing but a desk that doesn't have so much as a monitor on it or screen behind it. Of course this is also where you learn that the face on the vid call wasn't a neutral 3D avatar, but rather a synth, albeit one completely lacking any features... it's just a general masculine outline made of grey shapes and black connectors, giving a slightly strange experience of speaking to something that looks like either a full-size drawing model doll or a default 3D modeling skeleton standin.\n\n"Welcome, thank you both for coming by today," it says in that neutrally pleasant tone that apparently wasn't a filter. "If you could both please disrobe?"\n\n"Er... seriously, first thing?" you blurt, glancing around the lobby. "... Right here?"\n\n"Considering the nature of your business here, it seems an acceptable first step. And, after all, there are privacy concerns."\n\nYou exchange a slightly helpless glance with Nyna, before both of you shrug and start stripping down. It takes her considerably less time than you, despite the lack of coverage your clothes provide, considering all she has to do is strip off the coveralls and her underwear, leaving her standing there tall and lean and nude. She tosses you a mixture of 'hurry up' and rather lustful glances as you wiggle your way out of your own getup, but soon you're standing beside her, significantly curvier and bouncier, both of you doing your best to look nonchalant about it.\n\nA beam of light from the center of the synth's featureless faceplate sweeps up and down both of your bodies, and he nods. "You both excellently match several requests we have on file, so we can immediately begin content production. Although first, I must ask, are you comfortable performing sexual acts?"\n\n"Er." You exchange another glance with Nyna before looking back at him. "I was told that you didn't really... do that... here, that it was all... ... special interest."\n\n"There seems to have been some sort of miscommunication, then. We do in fact produce content involving sexual intercourse, as well as purely special interest videos," the synth informs you evenly. "However, as we have openings for content participants for both, it is more a matter of what you are comfortable with engaging with for financial compensation."\n\n"... How much financial compensation?" Nyna asks, apparently unable to help herself.\n\n"For purely special interest content, this amount is what we are currently offering," the synth says, holding up one hand palm-up and displaying a holographic projection. You briefly frown, then remember to double it since he's presumably talking per-person. That would be just enough to pay off Nick and then live on until the next payment would be due, with maybe enough left over that you could hope to get ahead (if you continued living at your current meager conditions). "For special interest content with sexual intercourse, this is what we are offering," he adds, holding up the other hand and projecting another number.\n\nYour eyebrows lift. It's... not a huge amount more, but in comparison, it would let you sock away some money towards the next interest payment and let you trade up to a more livable motel and at least eating instant ramen instead of base sustenance food bars. A quick glance at Nyna shows that she's figured out the same thing and is waffling a bit now... you have little doubt she's no more interested in the likely heterosexual sex that would be involved than when you came in, but the idea of starting to dig yourselves out of the hole you're in clearly appeals more than that.\n\n<hr>\n[[Do the no-sex special interest.|ChiDD]]\n\n[[Fine, we'll fuck.|ChiDD2x14]]

"... Mission's blown, call it off," you say with a shake of your head. \n\n"But-!"\n\n"We try to go after him he might just blow us out of the sky instead of running," you interrupt in a flat tone. "Let's head back to the planet, we'll have to try and catch him again later."\n\n"... Yeah, okay," Nyna says with a sigh, banking the ship and heading back towards Karnol.\n\nThe landing pad you arrive at isn't the same one you left from, but it's similar enough that you don't give it much thought as you stroll down the ramp brooding. Your feet have barely made contact with concrete again when your burner comm bleeps at you. You check the message: 'Sorry to hear about the bad luck! But please remember your first interest payment is due in seven days! - N'\n\nThe message also includes an amount... and you wince, hard, at it. Holy crap, that much?! You realize that while Nick's bugboys always gave reasonable costs for the parts and the extra labor they'd need to do, there were a lot more of them than you really realized at the time, probably because you were in part distracted by having to talk to giant bugs. When Nyna comes to a stop beside you and gives you a curious look, you silently show her the message, causing her to blanche.\n\n"Oh fuck," she groans. "He's totally got us over a barrel now."\n\nYou scowl at that. "Did Nick screw us? Like, set the systems up so they'd light us up for Huwhin to notice?"\n\nNyna hesitates before answering, clearly thinking it over intently, before shaking her head. "I didn't see anything myself," she admits. "But that doesn't mean there wasn't anything. But the only way to be absolutely sure, and get both evidence and a witness to throw it in his stupid bug face, would be to get a complete investigation by someone with something vaguely like authority, like the port management company."\n\n"Can we do that?"\n\nNyna makes a face. "Not without money. I mean... from what I've heard, the head of the port authority might let us pay for an investigation with... alternative currency," she murmurs, the way she puts an arm almost defensively across her chest highlighting what she means. "But that doesn't necessarily mean they'd find out anything. After all, we don't know Nick screwed us... and it doesn't even necessarily make sense for him to have, either," she points out. "If we'd succeeded he'd have made a cool forty percent instantly, but he has to know we're already flat broke and can't make interest payments, so where's the profit for him in that?"\n\n"Mmn," you mmn in an unconvinced tone.\n\n"... What are our other options?" she asks after a moment.\n\n"... Well we need money to live on and hopefully be able to pay the interest too, until we get another chance at Huwhin," you grumble. "So I'd probably have to go see Big Girl again, see if she has some pick-up work I or we could do." \n\n"Orrrr...?" Nyna prompts, apparently having sensed another thought.\n\n"... Or we run," you allow, shrugging. "The ship's functional now and the company can't brick it again. We could just pop back to Makarzia and start trying to rebuild our lives."\n\n"Mm. But which leaves the practical problem of our debt to Nick hanging over our head," Nyna murmurs, glancing around as if worried that some of the more standard-sized vermin might be capable of reporting on the two of you's plans. "Which I guess isn't a big deal if he's just some local little loan shark, as long as we don't come back to Karnol. But..."\n\n"If he's got off-planet connections or just gets angry enough to hire some hitters, it becomes more awkward, yeah," you agree with a sigh. "Running out on a debt is always a risky proposition for a lot of reasons, but we're short on options here."\n\n"... So what do we do?" Nyna asks eventually, rubbing the back of her head.\n\n<hr>\n[[Have the ship investigated.|ChiDD]]\n\n[[Go see Big Girl.|ChiDD2x11]]\n\n[[Skip town.|ChiDD]]

You let out a sigh, shaking your head. "I'm not taking the risk of discovering there's actually some network of sentient bugs on every planet with an infestation problem, because if there is, Makarzia'd be top of the list."\n\n"True that," Nyna murmurs, grimacing. "So we try to pay?"\n\n"We're gonna need money to live on at the very least," you say with a shrug. "Big Girl's apparently one of the people you go to for just about anything like that. I'm not thrilled about it, considering she put us in touch with Nick in the first place, but it's like you said... we don't know he screwed us, so I guess we don't know Big Girl screwed us either."\n\n"Not that she hasn't made it obvious she'd like to," Nyna grumbles. \n\nNot much you can say to that, so you instead just head back to Pound Town to see the genemod. The bar's much busier than the first time you were in, but Big Girl's still lounging at a table by herself with open space around her. At your approach she perks up a bit, tail actually wagging a bit, and she gestures to you to take a seat. "Wellll, Michika, right?" she says with a grin. "How'd things go with getting your loan from old Nick?"\n\n"Not so great," you admit in a grumble as you sit down. "We got the repairs done just fine, but the job went bad. We got made, I think," you add, letting enough ambiguity tint your voice that it's obvious that you're open to the possibility Nick screwed you without actually calling him out, seeing what Big Girl might say about that.\n\nBut she just shrugs breezily, sitting back in her throne-like chair. "Shit happens. But assuming you used one of Nick's standard contracts, guessing that means you're about a week away from needing to make the first interest payment. What's he got you on the hook for?" You somewhat grudgingly tell her, at which she whistles before letting out a short laugh. "Gotta be careful about letting 'em run the main loan up on you, Chika, when you let someone else be in charge of costs! Shoulda asked for invoices!"\n\n"Yeah, yeah, hindsight," you say with a hefty sigh, folding your arms under your boobsocked chest. "Look, until I get another chance at the big job, I need to make some cash, hopefully enough to keep Nick off my back."\n\n"Mmm. That's a big ask," Big Girl muses, rubbing her chin. "I mean, I've got some scut work... mostly tracking down some people who owe me money, point of fact. But it's basically finder's fee type work... it'll keep you fed and off the streets but it'd be stretching it to imagine it'd pay your bills to Nick too. Sorry, it's what I've got for someone in your situation," she adds with a shrug when you eye her. "Maybe if you prove yourself with it for awhile I could move you up to higher trust, and higher paying, work, but as it is."\n\nYou grumble a bit, then ask, "Well, is there anyone else offering higher-paying work, maybe?"\n\n"Maybe," she says, grinning wider. "I might indeed know a few individuals who would pay quite a bit for some gig work, but let's say that you might find it a bit... beneath your dignity? One way of phrasing it."\n\nAs you're pursing your lips, trying to figure out exactly what she means by that, her grin turns into a leer as she leans forward, resting one arm on the table as she looks you in the eye. "Or I could always buy your debt from Nick and let you and Nyna pay it off to me in trade all at once. But considerin' how much it is, let's just say I'd want to get my credits' worth out of you both. But hey," she continues, leaning back again as she tucks a cigarette between her lips and lights up. "You'd be able to walk away a free woman. Y'know... as soon as you could walk again."\n\nYou stare at her, then swallow rather hard as you realize she's serious. ... About all of it.\n\n<hr>\n[[Pick-up work.|ChiDD5x1]]\n\n[[Third-party work.|ChiDD2x12]]\n\n[[Work it off all at once.|ChiDD]]

Makoto squeaks cutely as you lean in to kiss the side of his neck, before he beams beatifically at you. "I can reaally become exactly the me that I want to be?!"\n\n"You can," you assure him, grinning as you straighten up. "Now, this is a path that requires you to work hard too," you note, raising a finger to indicate you're serious. "You can't just show up once a year and have this incanatation done. You have to truly seek out who you want to be."\n\n"But I know who I want to be, Sipha-neechan!" Makoto declares enthusiastically. "I wanna be a strong hero!"\n\nYou grin and reach out to ruffle his... hat, since he's replaced it already, rubbing it around atop his hair. "But you'll need to find out what that means for you. Don't worry, you'll figure it out more the older you get. Lots of people question who and what they want to be... you have to have conviction. And you have to do your best between our visits to be that person too."\n\nHe looks at you silently for long moments, then nods eagerly. "I think I get it! If I want to be a strong hero... I have to act like a strong hero! I have to do what I can, and the spell will help me out!"\n\n"That's pretty much it, yeah." You wink at him, tapping his nose. "So be a good kid, Makoto, and I'll see you next year, alright?"\n\n"Okay, Sipha-neechan! I promise, I'll become a hero you can be proud of!"\n\nAnd that's how it goes, year after year. Little by little, you watch Makoto grow up, seeming stronger and more energetic every time you visit him. He continues to be rather slender and short, compared to the other boys, but even by the next year he looks healthier and more full of energy, greeting you brightly and without reservation. Every so often you drop by the park, keeping yourself at a distance so as not to intrude on his life, just watching. In comparison to that shrinking violet that literally faded into the scenery the first time you saw him, now he's the kid that always wants to climb the highest, run the fastest, engage in every challenge and be a good sport about it, and never once do you see him be anything less than kind or fair to the other kids he's playing with.\n\n'... Makoto, you really do make me proud,' you think one day as you stand there watching him help a smaller boy up and soothe his tears. 'To think that a NEET like me, someone who stumbled out of an epic story before the end, could inspire someone like you... yeah, that's worth being proud of.'\n\nYears go by, and you look forward more and more to those bright, sweet calls of 'Sipha-neechan!' In fact today you're waiting on it because he's sitting with a girl and talking gently with her as she cries over something on her cellphone. 'He grew up to be such a beautiful boy,' you think, looking at his long white hair, slender body in its immaculate white shirt and blue jeans, pretty face solemn and gentle as he speaks inaudibly to the crying girl. 'He could have been a complete heartbreaker... instead here he is comforting others for their broken hearts. Makoto... you really are the best.'\n\nStill, you can't help but feel relieved as he stands and hurries towards you, seeing him start to smile again. "Sipha-neechan!" he calls, waving before arriving in front of you. "Sipha-neechan, guess what! My kendo team won the nationals!"\n\n"Way to go, Makoto!" you gush back, feeling honest excitement flood your chest. You grin, reaching out to flick your thumb along his cheek. "Bet it was 'cause of you, huh?"\n\n"Eheheh, I mean, it was because of everyone, but I did work really hard for it," he admits, ducking his head bashfully. "Everyone said they were relying on me, and I didn't want to let them down."\n\n"... You've grown up to be such a wonderful person," you say quietly, actually feeling yourself choke up a little, eyes hot as you rest both hands along his fine jaw. "I'm gonna miss you, Makoto."\n\nThe look that comes over his face looks like you just punched him in the forehead. "W-what? Sipha-neechan, are... are you going somewhere?"\n\n"No... I'm not going anywhere," you murmur, shaking your head, then smiling at him as you fight to keep the tears in. "But you obviously are, Makoto. You've become that hero you always wanted to be, always strived to be. This is probably going to be the last time we ever see each other... then I'll go back to my video games, and you'll go off to make the world yours."\n\n"But... Sipha-neechan, I can't... I can't do that without you," he whispers, clearly losing the fight to keep his own tears in as they slip down his cheeks and along your fingers. "You're the one who's allowed me to become what I want to be. Without you, I..."\n\n"Without me, I think you still would have become strong and brave and good, Makoto. I just helped you along and made sure you were healthy too. I... am really, really proud of you," you whisper, unable to keep your voice from cracking. "But... this is the last time. If there are any changes left to be made for you to be who you want to be, they'll happen this year. I don't know what those will be, or who you'll be at the end of them..." Your smiling lips tremble as you bring them to your lips. "But I don't think that will be someone who needs me. ... Spirits of this world... heed my urging and answer my entreaty," you whisper, forcing your voice to be steady, despite watching Makoto's heart breaking in his pretty pink eyes. "I ask you to watch over this boy, Makoto, as he completes his growth. Please answer this call, and see that he becomes what he wants to be," you finish softly, murmuring the last word against his neck as you kiss it softly. Then you sniff sharply and step back, making sure your smile is in place again. "There! All done! So... so long," you conclude, giving him a quick wave and whirling around, doing your best not to break into a run.\n\n"Wait!" Makoto lurches forward, grabbing your wrist, making you stop in place though you can't bear to turn and look at him. But you can hear the conviction in his voice as he says, "Sipha-neechan, please come see me one more time. A year from now. Like always, come see me just one more time."\n\n"... Makoto, we don't need to, the spell's-"\n\n"It's not about the spell!" he snaps, before urging softly, "Please, Sipha-neechan. I've been working on something for years... but now, I promise, this next year, I'm going to devote my absolute everything to it! I need you to see the results! Promise me, Sipha-neechan! Just one more time, one year from now! Promise me!"\n\nYour shoulders trembling, with it taking everything you have not to break down, you finally nod, silently promising. Only then does Makoto release your wrist and allow you to flee, not quite managing to leave the park before you start sobbing.\n\n<img src="images/OYL.png" alt="One year later...">\n\nYou sit and stare at the calender on the wall. The date is circled, not that you really needed to. Similarly you didn't actually need the alert on your AI assistant, even though it's chiming at you over and over again. Because today's the day. One year since you said goodbye to Makoto, telling him that he didn't need you anymore, and he forced you to promise you'd come anyway. But has anything changed about what you said? You're still just a NEET elf living day to day playing your games, locking out the outside world. ... It hurt... so much to say goodbye to Makoto. To watch him grow into someone who was, if you admit it, better and stronger than you ever were. A far more admirable person who didn't have to wait until he was an adult to be someone worthwhile in more than magical ability. How much more would it hurt to say goodbye again?\n\n... Worse, what if in the year since then, he realized that what you said back then was right? That he doesn't need you and that you're just a waste of his time? What if he didn't even bother to show up to the meeting he begged and pleaded with you to be at, because you really didn't matter anymore? Could you live through that?\n\n... Could you live with it if you broke your promise to him?\n\n<hr>\n[[Go to the meeting.|SiphaKids3xa1]]\n\n[[Hide inside.|SiphaKids3xb1]]

Well, his number's toll free (and that must have cost a pretty drethcred), so it couldn't hurt to at least give him a call. You swipe the card on your comm and tap the option to call, putting it to your ear and waiting for it to pick up.\n\n"Michika, hello~," his friendly voice coos after only two rings. "I've been hoping you'd call, even if it's been a while!"\n\nYeah you bet he has... no way a pro Guild headhunter hasn't heard about your string of bad luck and your board suspension. You try to keep your own voice easy as you say, "Hey, Midnight, how's it going?"\n\n"Doing pretty decent here. How about you?" he asks, with only the faintest hint of smugness to confirm that yes, he already knows.\n\n"Not so great," you admit, since you don't see much point in denying. "I could really use some help getting work."\n\n"Well that is what I do. Why don't you come see me at my office on the hall? Should be on the card same as my number. Let's talk face to face."\n\n"Alright. See you in a few, I guess."\n\nSoon you're back on the Guildhall and being admitted to Midnight's office, which is really just the front room of what's obviously a modular apartment setup. It's simple and comfortable, with a large L-shaped desk in one corner set up so that one bend is against the wall and the other between the room and the chair, obviously for privacy, a small fridge and file cabinets settled near it. The only two other real pieces of furniture are a large, overstuffed black leather loveseat and an armchair, both with gaps in the back that a tail would easily fit through. Midnight's wearing a more casual variation of what you saw him wearing back on the planet... a sleeveless black shirt and toeless/open-heeled stockings and a loincloth. After you've exchanged pleasantries he sits down in the chair, leaving you to settle on the love seat.\n\n"So. Let's just be up-front, I heard about your suspension," Midnight says, which is obviously a negative amount of surprise to you. "So it's not exactly hard to see why you're finally coming to me."\n\n"Yeah, and I'm sure you know about the debt and all the rest of it, too," you say with a sigh. "So let's talk, what can you hook me up with?"\n\n"Mmm. Sort of depends on what you're willing to do. I mean admittedly I do sort of specialize in the things that not every merc is comfortable having everyone know they did, it's how I wind up working for guys like Carmine," Midnight says with a shrug. "Nature of the business. So don't expect any hero for hire sort of things. Outside of that, I suppose I could see about getting you another loan..."\n\n<hr>\n[[Just... nothing too awful.|ChiBlu]]\n\n[[You'll do anything at this point.|ChiNight]]\n\n[[... Another loan you say?|ChiLuck]]

"Do you hear that?" you say, frowning a little and tilting your head.\n\nKatsumi listens for a moment, then says, "It's dogs barking. Probably at us in the beginning but now they're barking at each other. Not unusual."\n\n"Yeah, but listen to those two specifically," you note, nodding towards one yard in particular. "One barks. Then the other barks. Then the first one. Then the second one again. And they both sound exactly the same every time."\n\nKatsumi's purple eyes widen slightly. "They're on a loop."\n\nThe two of you make your way over to the yard, looking over the wall and between the bars of the fence above it and in at the dogs. You're not familiar with the breeds, probably mixed, both of them just fairly standard 'big dog' body types, the slightly larger one black and the other a golden brown. They're both standing facing the exact same way, almost exactly one body length apart, with their tails wagging steadily as they bark.\n\n"Not completely out of the range of regular dog behavior, but definitely very suspicious," Katsumi notes quietly. "And their fur would likely hide the markings on their skin. I was so focused on infected humans I didn't consider that it might have infected other lifeforms."\n\n"Neither of them's the vector, probably, but if they are infected we might learn more," you note, before adding-\n\n<hr>\n"[[Let's check them out.|ChiECA2x5]]"\n\n"[[Let's knock on the door.|ChiECA3x1]]"

"Let's get in there and take a look at them. Maybe if we can get ahold of one, we could even trace the network back to the vector or something," you suggest, unholstering your Glauk and setting it to heavy stun.\n\nKatsumi nods, unholstering her own sidearm, which is as overengineered and pricey-looking as you've come to expect from this dimension. The two of you round to the gate at the side, and she slips her ID out and taps it against the electronic lock, which clicks and opens. On the one hand, holy shit what an awful level of authority the ECA has, on the other it's really nice to know you can do that too. The two of you make your way into the yard, keeping your pistols low but ready. Then you both stop as, in unison, the dogs stop barking and turn their heads towards you, ears perking.\n\n"Okay they're either infected or just really fucking creepy," you mutter.\n\n"I'm wagering the former," Katsumi murmurs back. "Let's go ahead and stun them. If we're wrong we'll simply apologize to the owners."\n\nNodding, you carefully raise your pistol, Katsumi doing the same, hers starting to make a little hum as it apparently powers up. And just like that, the dogs launch themselves at you. There's no going to defensive or threatening posture, no growling or baring of teeth, they just go from standing there looking curious about what you're doing in their yard to hurtling through the air at you, mouths open as they go for the throat.\n\nMostly on trained reflex you fling yourself back in a controlled motion, tracking its movement with yours and firing a pale purple blast right into its chest. The dog twitches and shudders in midair, momentum carrying it to thud on your legs as you hit the ground yourself. It lays there twitching and making a weird sound in its throat that definitely doesn't sound like anything a normal animal should be doing, more like a failed hard drive clicking. You quickly shove it off of you and scramble to your feet, turning.\n\nKatsumi apparently missed her shot or wasn't able to take it, since the black dog now has its jaws clamped around the barrel of her pistol, twisting its head and body and flailing at her with its upper legs to keep her off balance as it tries to pull the weapon away from her. Its silence is as creepy as anything else, no growling or low barks, just pure focus on very clearly and deliberately trying to disarm your partner. As you're taking aim it manages to bring her to the ground, now actively wrestling on the grass as it tries to get the weapon away from her and making for a much harder target. Swearing, you run forward and kick it in the side to knock it away. Rather than a yelp of pain or shock it makes a noise that you can only compare to a motherboard error beep as it rolls and comes up, already turning towards you, only to take a stun blast full in the head and drop.\n\n"Whew," you murmur, swinging your pistol from dog to dog as Katsumi gets to her feet. "Well I think that answers that. You okay?"\n\n"Yes. A little shaken," Katsumi admits, her voice faintly slurred. "I don't know what happened... I usually..."\n\nYou blink as she topples back to the ground, then let out a little yelp as there's a sudden pinching sensation in your neck, followed by several thumps across your front and two more pinching sensations low on your belly and on one of your hips. You glance down a little numbly, having time to process the sight of the small tranq darts feathering your front as you mutter "Oh darn" and collapse to the ground yourself.\n\nYou come to in a dim room, bent over some sort of arch-shaped frame with your legs and arms bound to it, essentially forcing you onto all fours, your bare breasts hanging down beneath you and giving a little wobble as you instinctively struggle against your bonds a for a moment before giving it up as not currently feasible. Partly because you can see you're not alone. Standing in front of you, staring down at you with no expressions on their faces, are a very normal-looking suburban couple, a man with dark skin and close-cropped hair wearing a polo shirt and khaki slacks, and a lightly golden-skinned woman in a sundress. The dogs are also standing with them, awake and unstunned, and somehow staring at you in the exact same way despite the completely different faces. The sound of groaning from beside you draws your attention over to Katsumi, who seems to be in the same situation you are, albeit giving you even more insight into the way you're positioned, considering her ass is lifted and perfectly presented.\n\nYour attention is drawn back forward as the black dog takes a few steps towards you and opens its mouth. Its jaw remains still, even as a rather deep, steady, not-quite-monotone voice emerges. "If it was not already obvious, you have failed. Even had you succeeded in capturing or terminating all my units in this household, I am well away from here by now. I wish you to know of your absolute failure before you are assimilated into the network."\n\nYou feel your face grow pale at the confirmation of what you should have known, that obviously the vector intends to infect you both, and that's why you're in position to... receive bodily fluids.\n\n"You'll never get inside the ECA headquarters, you viral piece of shit," Katsumi snarls, suddenly showing a lot more personality of her own. She struggles against the frame, not really doing anything but making her tits wobble and her ass shake, but apparently she feels she's making a statement of some kind. \n\n"What I will or will not be able to do is irrelevant to your existence as it currently is," the vector replies through the dog, sounding just a bit snide. "The you that currently exists will be rendered into data and any nonessential parts of it discarded so that you may be reformatted as most useful to growing the network. I suggest that you do not resist so as to make the assimilation process smooth and potentially retain as much of your current mental function as possible."\n\n<hr>\n[["...!"|ChiECA]]\n\n[["No way! I'll never give in!"|ChiECA]]\n\n[["Wait! We can make a deal!"|ChiECA2x6]]

"A division of the police handles viral outbreaks?" you ask as you pass the pad back.\n\nKatsumi grimaces, just a little, as she rises from her desk and heads for the door again, with you of course getting up and following after her. "In this case, yes, and that probably should be the focus. We've only had a few cases crop up so far, but usually those mean there's a vector somewhere nearby."\n\n"Alright, let me back up a little more then, what's a 'celltech virus'?" you rephrase as the two of you step into an elevator.\n\nKatsumi again launches right into the thorough exposition like she was just waiting for the prompt. "During the Heretical Era-" Of course they have a super metal-sounding name for the time that preceded the apocalyptic event that they drop as if it were a completely normal thing to say, of course they do. "One of the areas of research was into the merging of the mechanical and biological. The creation of machines that functioned like living things, even capable of healing, learning, and growing, to the point of mimicking other lifeforms."\n\n"Biomechanical tech and bioroids. That's a fairly common shared point of development across a lot of dimensions," you acknowledge with a nod. ... This is kind of a long elevator ride, how high up were you? Oh, you're emerging from the building proper into a glass-walled view of the city for some reason. The answer was apparently 'very'. Hm, you have to wonder if maybe they'd skipped out on turning their lawenoff building into an aesthetic wonder beyond the dreams of megacorps if they wouldn't have had more money to spend on luring in ECA recruits.\n\n"One of the hopes for this was to grow replacement organs and limbs for people that wouldn't require anti-rejection drugs and would never break down. But there was a push from the wealthy terminally ill to make it happen faster... the earliest biomemetic organs took time to both develop and grow to usability. So the idea was put forward to create biotechnological cells that would convert their neighbors and eventually turn a failing organ into a healthy biotech one."\n\n"And instead somehow the cells went viral and started assimilating beyond their original parameters," you note dryly.\n\n"Most likely it was when someone attempted to use it to treat dementia... the biotech cells assimilated brain matter and began to effectively think for themselves, taking over the host rather than simply functioning as a replacement. They began to deliberately spread themselves, taking over both the bodies and the minds of others. There were active ongoing efforts to eradicate or contain all of the biomemetic cells and their new viral forms, but then the Glory happened," Katsumi continues as the elevator finally arrives at a garage level and the two of you walk out and over to a lawenoff cruiser that looks like it costs more and is more overengineered and aesthetically tricked-out than a high-end luxury ultraspeeder back on Makarzia. "The only fortunate thing there was that the largest concentrations of outbreaks were destroyed in the Glory. But occasionally someone stumbles across an old storage facility, or an old infected body, and there's a new outbreak."\n\nYou settle into the passenger seat, trying to rein in your internal monologue about the insane amount of money this place must spend on its lawenoff considering it's more comfortable than any of your own somewhat expensive chairs back in your apartment. "And they become a 'vector'?"\n\n"Usually. The 'vector' is the central nexus of the celltech virus outbreak. It's in charge of the network formed by the infected organisms. If done properly, destroying the vector causes all of the other infected organisms in its network to die as well, containing the outbreak. If done improperly, the vector will simply move over to another infected organism in the network and continue," Katsumi explains further as she drives the car out of the garage and onto the, as expected, clean and orderly streets. You think you spot a single token wrapper getting blown aside as she goes way faster than necessary out of the garage exit, especially for such an otherwise calm and orderly woman. Ah well, maybe she actually likes to drive.\n\nYou also notice that there's not any mention, even in passing, of trying to cure the infected. You wonder if it's impossible, or the ECA is just uninterested. Well... probably best not to rock the boat. "How do you properly destroy a vector, then?" you ask, since she doesn't seem particularly eager to divulge that necessary bit of information without prompting.\n\nKatsumi reaches down and presses one of the buttons on the central control panel, and the middle arm rest does an unnecessarily elaborate splitting and pulling apart, revealing a panel with multiple holes in it from which rise cylinders that fit in them perfectly, each one having black caps at the ends and clear centers with constantly dancing electricity running down the core. "EMP shock grenades. Hit the vector with one and you have ten seconds to do enough damage for it to not be able to sustain itself."\n\nTen seconds exactly, no doubt, you muse as you take one of the grenades out and look it over. Yeah, you're really starting to see how this society wound up nearly destroying itself in a developmental apocalypse, and that they haven't learned that many lessons. 'Job's a job,' you think with a slightly resigned air as you tuck several of the grenades into one of your outside dimensional pockets.\n\nEventually she stops in what looks like a residential neighborhood, with a bunch of largely same-y little two-story houses with small yards and short walls around them, with a scattering of fairly nondescript trees here and there. The sound of dogs barking and cicadas droning fills the warm air as you get out of the car and take a look around. This feels weirdly further from home than being out in the open country would... both because of its very slightly nature-like touches but also the sameness of the obvious plan housing. 'Suburbs,' you think, giving a delicate little shudder.\n\n"The infected we've caught have all been from the surrounding area, so the chances of the vector being somewhere in this neighborhood are fairly high," Katsumi notes as she peers around suspiciously.\n\n'And we just drove right up to it,' you think dryly. Aloud you say, "So how can you tell if someone's infected, let alone a vector?"\n\n"Their behavior will likely be a little 'off'... repetitious, and a high amount of difficulty responding to illogic. They'll also have a small blue glowing circuitry-like mark somewhere on their body... the celltech virus always manifests somewhere on the surface of the skin, although it might not be immediately visible." Well that's convenient. "As for the vector, they'll almost certainly have undergone noticeable changes and have visible markings, at this point. Meaning that since they know they can't pass, they're likely hiding away somewhere."\n\nYou nod at that, taking a look around. Houses, a fairly small number of sheds and children's play equipment, a single park... unless this place has absurdly spacious sewers like Makarzia does, there's at least not that many places in the immediate vicinity it could be hiding. (Who are you kidding, they definitely have huge sewers here.) As you're considering that, there's a beep from one of the panels on the side of the car, and Katsumi turns to it and takes out the rectangular box that slides out of a slot.\n\n"Your ID and badge," she says evenly as you open the box, revealing a lapel emblem like hers and a card with your picture and personal details on it, listing your rank only as 'Agent'. "With this, you're officially licensed as an agent of the ECA for the time being. Which means you have all the authority to conduct this investigation that I do." Probably fairly limitless, since she doesn't immediately tell you any limits. "Which means I suppose we should likely split up, there's this entire square block to cover and a lot of places the vector could be hiding."\n\n<hr>\n[["Yeah, let's get to it."|ChiECA]]\n\n[["Not a good idea."|ChiECA2x3]]

"Look, we haven't exactly been subtle about being here," you note. "If the vector sees ECA agents walking around flashing their badges, it's going to run. But if we split up, it's more likely to try and go after one of us and infect us, to either get at the other or get into headquarters."\n\n"It's against regulations for law enforcement officials to fail to announce themselves," Katsumi answers rather stiffly, looking pointedly at your chest. After a moment you take the hint and press on the 'badge', at which she relaxes a little, albeit now looking slightly pensive. "But I suppose you're right. The chances of an infected individual making it into ECA headquarters undetected are practically zero, but you're correct that it might try to infect one of us without the other knowing if we split up."\n\nYou nod. "For now let's take a look around. Maybe something will jump out at us," you suggest.\n\nKatsumi nods, and the two of you start strolling down the sidewalk. You do your best to quell your environmental equivalent of the uncanny valley reaction to the suburbs and instead try to pay attention, scanning the houses, yards, and streets for anything that seems 'off'. Of course that whole uncanny valley thing means everything here seems a little 'off' to you, so it's not the easiest task in the world, but you're here to do a job so hey.\n\nThe two of you gradually circle the block, talking quietly every so often about something you see... Katsumi definitely doesn't seem the chatty sort otherwise. Well, you've been her partner (temporary) for less than an hour at this point, maybe she just takes a while to open up. Probably drop her tragic backstory on you out of nowhere or something and that's how you'll know you've unlocked True Tomodachi status.\n\nAfter finishing circling the block and arriving back in view of the car, she pauses. "I didn't see anything overtly out of place or signaling of a computerized thought pattern," she says a little sulkily. "I was almost certain that the vector must be in this area, but there's no overt sign of it. It's either smarter than the ones I've encountered before, or I was wrong."\n\n<hr>\n[["Mistakes happen."|ChiECA]]\n\n[["Maybe the area's right, but..."|ChiECA]]\n\n[["Wait. Listen."|ChiECA2x4]]

You definitely don't want to get a reputation as someone who flouts client demands and expectations. That sort of thing can really poison your rep over time. Much better to show that you're willing to work within the strictures of the client org's structure, even if you do have a vague bad feeling about it.\n\nNow let's see, what do you have that makes a good backup/supplement piece, but still doesn't violate the standards set out in the regs? After looking over your selection, you take out a snub-nose conventional revolver a friend gave you as a gift awhile back... they were a big revolver fan and were gushing to you about how versatile they are for mercenary work. Admittedly, with not knowing too much about the job other than that it involves policing 'Extranormal' stuff, this might be just the time for that. The gift came with a wide variety of the revolver's large caliber ammo, both the standard bullets and the miniature shotgun-style shells it can fire. Some of them, like the ceramicoats, smashers, and blazers fall outside of what the contract regs allow, but a lot of them like the renders and 'gimmick' shells are well within, so you load your dimensional pockets with those before affixing the holstered revolver into the back of your waistband before heading to the departure annex.\n\nYou step out of the portal into a largely empty room, save for a handful of chairs and a large scanner-like device in front of the single doorway. There's already someone waiting for you, a woman about your own age and build, with dark blue hair with a 'crown' braided around the top of her head, and 'Aw man, that's not fair, contractees have to wear slacks but she gets to wear a skirt?' you think, unable to help frowning just a bit at the sight of her dark blue short skirt and dark black tights. Other than that the two of you are dressed fairly similarly, with her long coat being black with blue trim, a sort of crest of arms embroidered on the breast pocket reading 'ECA'. Ahhh, so it's that sort of lawenoff branch, is it?\n\n"Michika Hajimaru? I'm Katsumi Okana," she says by way of greeting, speaking something that's close enough to Nipponzi that your translator nanos editing anything goes largely unnoticed. "Welcome to Midnight City, and thank you for coming."\n\n"Glad to be here," you reply in a tone of mildly cheerful professionalism, briefly taking her gloved hand and shaking it. "Looking forward to working with you."\n\n"I'll be giving you a brief orientation before we get to work, but first if you'd step into the scanner?" she notes, gesturing to the arch. "We just need to check your health and anything you've brought with you quickly."\n\nNodding, you step under the scanner, not particularly worried. You had a checkup from your Guild doc not too long ago and got a clean bill of health, and you doubt that you've picked up anything since that would twig even a particularly paranoid scan. Katsumi spends a few moments typing at the controls, and frowns more thoughtfully than disapprovingly at several of the results, apparently, before she nods and moves around to step through the door with you.\n\n'Obviously one of those really well-funded lawenoff branches,' you muse as you walk through the immaculate hallways alongside Katsumi. It looks like the interior of a Federation starship barely out of shakedown in here, with smooth carpets, completely smooth and stainless walls, and sliding doors in obvious frames. It practically has 'new building smell' in here, though from the refined nature of the governmentese in the contract you didn't really get the sense this is a brand-new division. The weaselspeak and avoidance of clarity seemed pretty practiced. You follow Katsumi to a fairly large office with several large lockers and cabinets as well as a practically opulent desk. It even has a window looking out on the city.\n\n'Ah,' you think as you take in the view for a moment. That makes sense. The whole city looks sort of... same-y. Like all the buildings were designed by the same architect, with the same materials, to fit the same color scheme and aesthetic. Everything always winds up looking like it was built at most twenty years ago, all at the same time. It's a weird thing that seems to happen to some cultures as they advance, and always makes your skin crawl just a little. "So since the listing wasn't entirely clear, could you tell me what you really do here at the ECA?" you ask as you sit down in one of the chairs across the desk from Katsumi as she settles in.\n\nKatsumi seems entirely ready to launch into an explanation, as if it were the most simple thing in the world, and doesn't even seem to hesitate at just how far back that requires starting. "Thirty years ago, there was a massive boom in the study and investigation of both advanced science and the occult. New discoveries were being made almost every day, often reinforcing each other. A push for more and more development even faster led to what we call the Glory... a catastrophic event that destroyed many large cities across the globe. We've rebuilt since then, and most of those lines of research are now extremely illegal. But the remnants of them still linger and cause problems even today. The Extranormal Control Agency branch of the police exists to deal with these issues... demon summonings, rogue mechandroids, and numerous other things that no one's left any records of."\n\nShe frowns again, this time more obviously troubled. "As you might imagine, however, the number of people qualified to handle this job is limited." And you're betting there's a high rate of turnover for various reasons that she's not going to bring up. "Plus it is a very dangerous assignment." Oh no she kind of did well good for her then. "There are a handful of agents in training at the moment, but there are a fair number of incidents that need to be looked into, thus why we've decided to temporarily supplement our ranks with outsiders. You'll be functioning as my partner, at least until the current crop of trainees graduate."\n\n"Alright, understood. I guess in my case I'm expected to learn on the job?" you ask, unable to help sounding a little wry.\n\n"Yes, essentially. Since you're from the Guild, we're assuming you have the adaptability and skills necessary to function in this role, at least on a temporary basis." She at least does you the courtesy of not sounding too dubious about that. She picks up a tablet reader off her desk and proffers it to you. "I was just about to take a new case. Since you'll be working it with me, you decide. I'll assign the others out as best I can."\n\nAccepting the tablet, you take a glance at the listings. You don't know too much about them, obviously, but you're assuming she'll explain further.\n\n<hr>\n[[Celltech virus outbreak.|ChiECA2x2]]\n\n[[Potential Godblood ring.|ChiECA]]\n\n[[Extradimensional lifeform smuggling.|ChiECA4x1]]\n\n[[Illegal memtape trading.|ChiECA]]

"Sounds like Alara got me another slut to fuck while I'm watching my herd," Ramses declares cheerfully, giving the comm a little toss aside. \n\nOhgod, another woman is going to see you like this, letting yourself get bossed around and sexually bullied by a crude sheep-man? Probably another Guildcert at that, someone who can go back and tell absolutely everyone what you were doing when she got there? A hot rush of humiliation runs through your entire naked body, warming you further in the cool of the night... and seeming to concentrate right in your pussy, which starts dripping even more into the grass as you continue to bob your head over Ramses's cock before moving back to sucking and licking his balls.\n\nYou see the other merc when she arrives, since she actually approaches from the opposite direction you did, rounding the tree and raising a hand in an exuberant wave. "Hieeeee! Sorry, I got a little turned around out here in the dark!" she chirps. She's definitely not what you or most people would expect hearing that someone was in the Guild of Interdimensional Professionals, Specialists, and Enforcers. Her hair is thick and blonde, with streaks of pink dyed into it, some of them actually glowing in the dark, the parts of it draped over the front of her shoulders braided and dyed in rainbow colors. She's either had biosculpting work done or has custom cybereyes, because they're also a rich pink-purple color with pale pink heart-shaped pupils. She's even got on a pink operator coat over a white tubetop trimmed with red triangles, hugging a pair of huge tits easily half again as big as your own, as well as a pair of very small white booty-shorts and multiple belts, legs sheathed in a pair of shiny white thigh-highs also trimmed with red triangles, pink high-performance sneakers on her feet. "My name's Kandi, and I oooo! Hey, you guys are havin' some fun, huh?" she adds in a bright tone.\n\n"Shut up, cunt, you should be stripping and sucking my cock too," Ramses replies cheerfully.\n\n"Yessir!" Kandi instantly chirps back, actually saluting him before stripping out of most of her clothes so fast that it's almost a blur. Now clad only in her stockings, shoes, and a pair of little pink glow-tipped barbell nipple piercings, Kandi nudges you over between Ramses's legs and starts enthusiastically licking and sucking right along with you, her tongue shamelessly passing over yours as she gives little 'oooo!'s and 'mmmm's of appreciation.\n\n'Well that escalated quickly,' you can't help but think. And yet Kandi's absolutely attacking the blowjob with her whole heart starts to make you feel inadequate, and despite having been practically bullied into it in the first place, you find yourself trying to match her enthusiasm, giving soft moans and breathy whimpers of desire against the big ram's big balls as you suck and lick them, similarly making yourself not shrink from passing your tongue or lips over the other woman's.\n\nAfter another twenty minutes or so, Ramses gives a soft 'ah'. "Oh yeah, I'm definitely ready to fuck," he groans happily. "Pink bitch, straddle my lap."\n\n"Wha?!" you blurt, eyes wide, unable to help protesting even as Kandi chirps 'Okay~' and straightens up, moving to settle atop his thighs. You're forced to watch, with a half-despairing whimper, as Ramses sets the rifle aside to grab Kandi's ass with both hands, hefting her up and lowering her dripping pussy with its glowing pink clit-ring down onto his jutting cock. "But I've been sucking you off for hours!"\n\n"Yeah but her tits are bigger," Ramses grunts dismissively as he finishes lowering Kandi onto himself, the other merc giggling happily and leaning forward to rub those big, fat udders of hers against his shorn chest. "If you're gonna bitch, I've got something better for you to do with your tongue," he adds with a snort, reaching out to grab the back of your head.\n\nBefore you can protest, he shoves your head forward, pressing your face between Kandi's big, round asscheeks, your reflexive squirming and struggling making you rub your face up against them. But whether through accident or skill he has in fact wound up pushing your mouth right up against Kandi's puckered little rosebud, and after a bit more token squirming and protesting you start obeying the unspoken order to lick and suck, working your tongue into the other woman's tight little rear hole and hearing her squeal delightedly as you do. Soon Kandi's bouncing atop Ramses's cock, the cock you've been worshiping and readying for yourself for hours, and which you can even feel a bit moving inside her. Her asscheeks jiggle against your face as she bounces atop him, and Ramses's balls even slapp against your chin, grinding against it as he presses up against her and works his hips.\n\n"Aaaa, he's cumming in meeee!" Kandi squeals happily. "He's cumming already, his cum feels soooooo goooood!" she brags guilelessly as you continue to work your tongue around inside her ass, shivering in unfairness and arousal as it clenches around your wriggling pink muscle as she cums too.\n\nOf course Ramses is hardly ready to stop there, not after you spending all those hours fluffing him to fuck the big-titted pink interloper, which he continues to do, pumping his hips up into her as she bounces on top of him, absolutely and selfishly pleasuring herself with the big fat prick you've been longing to have stuffed in your own pussy all day. But you continue to be a good girl and do as Ramses urged you, tonguefucking Kandi's ass, letting her bounce up against your face as you lick, suck, and kiss her unfilled hole.\n\nFinally, finally, Ramses gives your head a little push back and lifts Kandi off of him, displaying his cock to you, smeared with both of their cum. After you've, of course, meekly cleaned it off for him, sucking and slurping up the mixture of ram jizz and slut honey, you're amazingly relieved when he says, "Well, I guess I'll fuck you. Get on all fours like a proper ewe, slut."\n\n"Yessir," you moan out, rising onto your hands and knees to turn around and face away from him, unable to help lifting your ass and presenting yourself to him like a bitch in heat, showing off your dripping, plumped-up pussy. You whimper a little as he grabs your ass with both hands, kneading slowly and deliberately... then let out a loud gasp as he uses his thumbs to spread your asshole open, displaying it more fully to the night air. "H-hey!"\n\n"I've had enough pussy for now, time for something tighter," Ramses declares breezily. "Cunt."\n\n"Yessir!" Kandi chirps again, leaning against you, those big soft tits of hers pressing against your body as she leans in. You jump a bit as she spits and you feel it impact right in your spread hole with impeccable aim, the other woman leaning in and taking a moment to smear her saliva all over your pucker, inside and out, using her tongue. Then she wraps a hand around his cock, guiding it forward to press the tip against and into your ass. "Give her a good hard buttfucking, master~."\n\nYou moan loudly in a mix of disappointment, desire, and pleasure as Ramses pushes his cock into your asshole, not stopping until those hefty, lovingly-shorn black balls as pressed up against your needy, sopping, unfilled pussy. Then, gripping your waist, he starts fucking you, very clearly not actually caring whether you enjoy it or not, his every stroke and pump somehow conveying that he's just using your hole to jerk himself off. Despite that you cum not long after her starts fucking you, whining in humiliation and release as your eyes roll and your teeth grit, your pussy gushing all over his balls as they slap against it. Kandi coos and utters encouragements to him, one of her hands fondling his balls and the other toying with your tits as they sway and wobble under you, elaborately-painted and gem-encrusted nails toying with your nipples. Every so often Ramses will slip out, his cock jutting up along the cleft of your ass, and Kandi will slide her mouth over it, sucking and bobbing her head for a few moments before guiding him back into you.\n\nYour eyes roll up almost completely in your head when Ramses eventually hilts deep in your ass and grinds against you, spilling his load inside you, your still-unfucked pussy gushing all over his balls again, leaving them dripping onto the grass. When he pulls out of you and lets you go, you wind up slumping to the ground, twitching and shuddering atop the cool, dew-smeared greenery as you can faintly hear Kandi sucking and slurping Ramses's cock for him.\n\nWhen you wake up in the morning, Ramses is sprawled sitting against the tree, snoring loudly. Kandi is standing with a sleek white rifle in hand, a bright smile on her face, and as completely naked as she was last night, still just in her stockings, sneakers, and piercings. "Oh hey, morning!" she chirps. "I already looked through the bag meals in the box and set out some of the breakfast ones to save time, if you want one!"\n\n"Um... thanks," you murmur, actually feeling your face heat as you get to your feet. You glance at your clothes, but somehow feel like it would actually be more embarrassing to get dressed in front of her when she's strutting about nude and completely unbothered. Managing not to cover yourself or hunch too much, you walk over to the box, getting yourself a large bottle of extra-hydration fluid (you kinda think Alara might have had an idea that whoever wound up out here would have to replenish fluids) and one of the bag meals, sitting down on the edge of the box to open it up.\n\n"Better hurry, he's probably gonna wanna fuck us again basically as soon as he wakes up," Kandi notes cheerfully. "Gotta have our holes ready for him!"\n\n"... Yeah," you murmur, your cheeks and ears pink as you eat a bit faster.\n\nWhich, of course, turns out to be exactly right. Less than half an hour later you're on your back, with Ramses's cock finally pounding away at your pussy, Kandi moaning and squealing happily at your tongue working away in her cunt as she grinds and bucks against your face. Soon your whole face is gleaming with Kandi's girlcum, the slutty mercenary shamelessly riiding your tongue as eagerly as she rode Ramses's prick, which pounds into you with all the force a horny, breeding-hungry male animal could be expected to use as you cum over and over again. Shortly after it's Kandi's turn, starting out on all fours but then burying her face between your legs, her face and tongue being jolted against your sopping cunt as she cleans several of the ram's thick loads out of it while he pounds into her from behind.\n\nAnd that's... pretty much how the next several days pass. You think Kandi must sleep sometime, but she seems to have boundless energy, like she's actually powered by the constant threesome fucking. Well, almost constant threesome... sometimes it's just Ramses fucking her as you take a break for food or water or sleep, each time drifting off with the other woman's sweet, almost sing-song voice begging to be fucked and used and cum in without the faintest hint of shame. And then sometimes Ramses has the two of you put on a show for him as he sits back and strokes his cock, you and Kandi kissing, sucking each other's nipples, playing with each other's tits, and tonguing one another's holes all about putting on a show for your crude male dominator, all about pleasing him even as you lick each other to repeated orgasms.\n\nAnd then finally... it's actually time to bring the herd in. Kandi cheerfully sets up a little mobile shower, your brain a little blank as the two of you clean up and get dressed. You finally reclaim your rifle from Ramses, the big male walking along between the two of you as the herd is gathered back up (luckily they all seem to be there), squeezing and kneading both of you's asses as he does.\n\n"You should tell Alara you want to join the ewes," he declares as he slides his hands between your legs, rubbing your pussy as you walk and making you squirm. "Be good for you to learn your place as wool and baby factories."\n\n"Oh stooop," Kandi giggles happily, reaching out to fondle his balls and leaning over and up to kiss his cheek.\n\nRamses finally stops to join the rest of the herd in heading back into the pen, and the large, simple-looking house attached to it. You let out a long, shuddery breath as you try to bring your racing heart and aroused body under control, then jump a bit as Kandi pats your shoulder.\n\n"Welp! We oughtta go report to Alara that we're done and didn't lose any!" she chirps.\n\n"Uh, yeah." You nod, still feeling a little out of it as you hurry to catch up with her, since she turned and immediately started almost skipping towards the main house. "Er, are you gonna...?"\n\n"Gonna what?" Kandi asks, glancing at you with a sincerely confused look on her face.\n\n"I, uh... well, a lot of things, but I guess at the moment I meant, are you actually going to ask Alara to be turned into an ewe?"\n\n"Whaaat? Psh, nah!" Kandi giggles, flipping a hand through the air, sunlight glinting off the little gems on her nails. "I mean, he's absolutely a good lay, and I am always up for being treated like a breeding bitch, but no way I wanna get tied down to one place! There is an entire multiverse of cock out there I'd be missing out on, girl!"\n\n"O... kay," you murmur, blushing again. "Then I guess the other question was... are you gonna tell anyone about this?"\n\n"Mm? I mean, like, all my slut friends I'm gonna tell, of course, it was a great weekend," she declares cheerfully. When you twitch at that she blinks, laying one of those elaborate-nailed fingertips alongside her mouth, then she gives an 'ohhhhh' and smiles. "You mean am I gonna bring your name into it! Nah, hon, your biz, obvs! That is, unless you'd get off on that," she adds with a saucy wink.\n\n"I uh... I don't think... I mean probably not," you stammer out. "I just... I, uh..."\n\n"Hey, you like, okay?" Kandi blinks and stops, turning fully towards you. "You seem, like, totally scrambled in the head, and you haven't even cum hard lately."\n\n"... I've definitely cum more and harder in the last few days than ever in my life," you mutter, sighing and adding, "I've never really... done anything like this before, see."\n\n"Ohhhh, first time really slutting it up, huh?" Kandi chirps with a little giggle. "But you had fun, riiiight?"\n\n<hr>\n[["N-no!"|ChiGH]]\n\n[["... yeah..."|ChiSlut1x1]]

Nodding meekly, you start to shrug out of your coat, pausing with it around your elbows. "Um, but really, I'm supposed to be guarding the-"\n\nBefore you can even finish, Ramses plucks the rifle out of your hands as nonchalantly as if it had always belonged to him. "I told you, I'm in charge of this herd. And you. So strip," he commands, settling to the ground to sit and lean back against the tree, his legs spread to show his slowly hardening cock off as it twitches and rises.\n\nA shiver running through your whole body, you nod meekly again before letting your coat drop to the ground. Your top's already lifted, so your tits are left swaying and wobbling as you pull it the rest of the way off and set it aside... the same for your bare ass wiggling in the air as you peel down your pants and undo your boots, pushing out of both. Now standing naked in the warm late spring sunshine, you lift your gaze back to Ramses, who's still sprawled watching you expectantly, although now with that large black cock jutting up into the air, fully thick and long and waiting for you. Swallowing, you walk over and sink down between his knees, then lay forward on your front, displaying your bare back and ass to him as your tits pillow on the grass. His scent is thick and a bit more animalistic than you're used to, seeming rather heady and almost intoxicating as you lean in and start dragging your tongue up his shaft.\n\n"There's a good female," Ramses coos with a hint of a sheep's bleat underlying the words. He lays his hand holding your rifle across your back, the gesture a little affectionate and a lot possessive. He smirks down at you as you continue dragging your tongue up his shaft in different areas, overlapping the faint sheen of saliva with each one, before you lower your head to start suckling at his balls. "If you do a good job sucking me for a few hours, maybe you'll prove yourself worthy of getting fucked."\n\n'A few hours?' you think despairingly... for more reasons than one. Because you can't deny the excited tingle that races down your spine and right into your pussy, moistening it further and setting up a heavy, eager sensation deep in your belly. Part of you doesn't just want to get fucked by this big, crude ram, it wants to be bred, and your only reply is a soft moan against his balls, your licks and sucks and kisses to them gradually turning from obliged to worshipful.\n\n"Yes, that's right, females just go weak in the knees for cock," Ramses says with a smug, contented sigh as he turns his gaze to the rest of the herd, now largely seeming to ignore you even as you return to licking and sucking your way up the shaft. His eyes scan over the ewes, each and every one no doubt as attentive to the cock you're sliding into your mouth and suckling the head of as he could ever ask. He barely even seems to be paying attention to your bobbing your head and gradually taking in more and more of that big thick shaft, until it's bulging up your throat, as he continues to brag. "All the human females on the farm can't get enough of it either. The shearer in particular has gotten very good at sucking my cock as she shears my balls for me."\n\nYou bet she has, you can't help but think with an aroused shudder as you hilt his cock in your mouth, your lips pressing around the root of it. You can just imagine how turned-on whichever farmhand is in charge of shearing the anthro sheep gets when she gets to service this big, blunt, dominant male multiple ways at the same time, considering how turned-on you're getting servicing him just one way. You slide your mouth up and off his shaft, gasping loudly as it slips out of your lips, the tip now trailing a long strand of saliva. And immediately you duck your head back down and resume worshiping his balls, rolling your tongue over them and sucking the hefty, virile orbs through the light black hide-furred skin covering them, looking up at his face which seems relaxed and to not be paying any more attention to you lavishing oral adoration on his dick than he would to a pleasant breeze stirring his fleece.\n\nAs you suck his balls and lick his shaft and take him in your throat over and over again, Ramses continues to idly brag about his numerous sexual conquests and his dominance over other females on the farm, ranging from his ewes to the human workers to the other anthro animals. About the time he starts describing Alara moaning and begging for more while telling him how much bigger and better his cock is than hers, it becomes obvious that he's of the opinion that it's his farm and everything on it belongs to him. Which, obviously, currently includes you. The thought really ought to outrage you even more than any of his other behavior... instead your pussy gives a hard twinge and starts dripping onto the warm grass even more at the thought of being completely owned by this fluffy brute of a male.\n\nAnd apparently he meant it when he said he expected you to suck him off for hours, because he really does just sprawl there, his arm holding your... admit it, now his... rifle draped over your back, lazily watching the herd and the surrounding area, going on and on about how great he is and how females love to submit to him, as you thoroughly submit to him. You're a bit tired and you want him to fuck you so bad but you can't help but wanting to be a good female for him and you've fallen in love with the smell and taste and feel of his cock and balls against your tongue and on your lips and rubbing against your face. In fact you're so enraptured with worshiping his cock that your motions don't hesitate in the slightest as you hear your comm chirp. You're not sure when Ramses got ahold of it, but he reaches over and picks it up to glance at the screen.\n\n"Oh, hey, it's Alara talking about the other mercenary she hired to stand watch with you," Ramses declares breezily. "She says-"\n\n<hr>\n(("[[She's on her way.|ChiGH4x5]]"))\n\n(("[[He's on his way.|ChiGH]]"))\n\n(("[[They're not coming.|ChiGH]]"))

You sort of mutter the apology in her general direction without any real expectation she'll hear it. Then you jump a bit as a large hand thumps down on your shoulder and a boisterous laugh sounds from beside you. You look aside and up at a Greater White Tigerfolk man who's still chuckling as he looks down at you. More animalistic in appearance, complete with fur covering his tall muscular body and a muzzle, he nevertheless has enough of a Human-ish look about his features to distinguish him from any humanoid monsters (at least to anyone who doesn't consider Beastfolk monsters in general). You'd figure him for a Warrior considering the massive axe slung at his back, as well as the leather breastplate and loose black pants, if the muscles weren't enough of a tipoff already. The handful of scars showing from beneath his armor and the one across one of his eyes are also a fairly big clue.\n\n"Don't pay that one any mind, boy," he says, tail flicking in a genial way as he tilts his head towards the departed Human woman. "And don't apologize on her account, not like she'll ever forgive you anyway!"\n\n"Yeah, well... I did run into her," you allow, trying not to blush too much at the memory of that very soft-yet-firm impact directly to your face and the brief sight of her chest jiggling from smacking against your face.\n\nThe big man laughs again at that, patting your shoulder. "Well that's manners for you then! Though she ran into you just as much, lad, so don't feel too bad. You'd think with all the looking down on others she does, she could have seen you coming, but...!"\n\nYou make a bit of a face at the reference to how short you are compared to most other races, but after a moment just shrug. "So she's some sort of big shot, huh?"\n\n"Oh definitely, with some fancy class I've never heard of. ... And don't remember the name of right now," he adds, scratching at one cheek, before shrugging. "Anyway! Don't fret over smelling like Horned Rabbit blood your first day, lad, pretty much everyone does! Gods know I did! Maybe Miss Tyra didn't, but if only because she probably didn't leave any bodies, hahahaha! But the name's Byff, my lad!"\n\n"Ah, Raz, pleased to meet you," you answer, both since it's polite and since you are, even if he's a bit louder and more exuberant than you might typically prefer.\n\n"Oho, and the boy has manners too! Well then, in honor of that and everything else, come have a drink and a meal with me, lad! Ah, don't worry yourself, I've just wrapped up a quest and I'm quite flush right now," he adds as you start to politely demure. "Even a growing lad like you's stomach couldn't make my wallet notice tonight!"\n\n... Was that another short crack? ... Eh, well, whatever. If he's gonna insist on it. You nod gratefully, and Byff turns and leads you into the attached tavern, plunking down at one of the tables and already roaring for food and drinks to fill the table with.\n\nSoon you're sipping golden ale and eating roast chicken and fried potatoes, and generally your mood is well and truly back up as Byff tells you various tales of his early adventures. Still... it's hard to get that look on Tyra's face out of your mind. You're kind of used to contemptuous expressions, but something about hers is just gnawing at you a bit. Maybe it was the extra disdain completely dripping from her voice as she said "Adventurer".\n\n'I need to get better,' you think broodingly. 'I have to get strong enough that people don't just look down on me like that.'\n\n"Hm? Something on your mind, lad?" Byff cuts in suddenly, his mug raised in mid-drink. "You're not still sulking about what Mighty Miss Tyra said, are you? Hahaha, if that's so, just have some more to drink, and it'll soon be out of your head!"\n\n<hr>\n[[Ask Byff for advice.|Raz5x5]]\n\n[[Ask Macha for advice (later).|Raz]]\n\n[[You'll manage on your own.|Raz]]\n\n[[Actually, you know what, he's right.|Raz15x1]]

"Actually, Byff, could I ask you something?"\n\n"Of course lad! It's what your elders are there for, to ask for their advice! Just don't blame me if it's not all good!" he asks with another of his boisterous laughs.\n\nPoint taken. Still, he's here, and he's the most reliable source you've got, so...\n\n<hr>\n[["How could I get stronger faster?"|Raz5x6]]\n\n[["Do you think I should join an adventuring party?"|Raz16x1]]\n\n[["I need to upgrade my gear."|Raz]]\n\n[["How could I make a ton of money?"|Raz]]\n\n[["So how do you sweet talk girls?"|Raz]]

Eh, you'll keep going at least a little longer. If you have to, you can hang up the bodies of stuff somewhere and maybe if you're lucky they'll still be there if you come back tomorrow.\n\nYou roam out a bit further, and are soon greeted by the sight of a Horned Ragoat. The evolved form of a Horned Rabbit, it largely looks like a fairly fluffy white goat, except for its heftier, slightly rabbit-like back legs and the third horn growing out of the middle of its forehead. They're actually mildly dangerous even without the need to get lucky like a Horned Rabbit would, and you would have never thought of taking one on before. But now as it raises its head and twitches its nose, giving an aggressive snort, you're ready to give this a try!\n\nAs you might expect, the fight lasts a bit longer than it did against the Horned Rabbits, but you can use the same tactics, pretty much... wait until it leaps at you to dodge and attack it as it goes by. This one actually manages to give you a light gash on your off-arm just below your sleeve before you stab it through the neck and take it down. Owwww... ... oh hey. You feel like some of those grasses from earlier could be useful. You take them out of the pouch and, after a moment, shrug and pop the small bundle of long green leaves in your mouth, chewing until they're mush. Then you smear them over the bloody scratch and... mmf. The pain almost immediately tamps down to almost nothing though, so you're pretty sure it's working.\n\nYou're a bit more careful with the next Horned Ragoat, making sure to give it a bit more space than you did the rabbits before dodging or doing your own counterattacks. And this time you decide to use more than the sword: "Lesser Firebolt!" you call, thrusting out your off hand as the goat charges past you. The thin burst of fire springs forth and strikes the goat in the side, at which it gives a loud bleat and falls over. Yes! ... Hide's a little scorched, but yes! You can successfully sword and spell!\n\nThen you blink as a window pops up again.\n\n'You have leveled up!\n\nYou have unlocked the "Spellblade (Lesser)" skill\nYou have unlocked the "Dimensional Storage" ability\nAll your stats have improved slightly'\n\nHuh! You do feel... maybe a very tiny amount more... um, well... ... more. Although you admit that might be the rush of victory and excitement at both using offensive magic for the first time and leveling up for the first time. You bring up your menu fully, browsing over and... yeah, all your stats have a little (+1) in yellow by them, which you guess means that's the recent increase. (You notice there's an option to look at even more stats than your basic ones like Strength and Magic, but ignore it for now.)\n\nAnd 'Dimensional Storage'! You've always wanted this ability! It lets you put things away into an extradimensional "closet", or can be cast on items like pouches or pockets to make them larger on the inside! Now you can take those Ragoat carcasses back to the Aygee instead of leaving them, yessss! Just those two will probably get you as much as the Horned Rabbits put together!\n\nYou navigate over to check the other one. 'Spellblade (Lesser)' does in fact seem to be what it sounds like... someone who wields both a weapon and magic. Apparently at its (Lesser) rank all it really does is offset some of the penalty for spellcasting with your off hand and not using a focus, but it sounds like it will improve as you level, which is cool. \n\nSo yeah... not the world's most eventful level up, but you still got some stuff you really wanted and that's useful! You put the Ragoat corpses in your dimensional storage... hm, you feel like it's maybe halfway full? You add the rabbit corpses and feel it fill up a little more... yeah obviously your dimensional storage isn't too big right now, you'll need to level it. You think it's also one of those abilities you can pay to enhance, so you may wanna think about that at some point.\n\nHm... storage is over half full and you've leveled up. Head back now, or keep grinding?\n\n<hr>\n[[Head back.|Raz5x3]]\n\n[[Grind on!|Raz]]

Yeah, best to head back now. No sense to killing anything you won't be able to sell, especially when starting out you'll need all the money you can.\n\nYou make your way back to the city, and from there to the Aygee. You get a little embarrassed when you realize that you didn't bother to actually sign up before you went rushing off to grind, so you actually have to wait until you've completed your full registration form before you can turn in the monsters and herbs. From the tolerant smile Macha gives you, you can tell you're far from the first young adventurer to do something similar, which somehow makes it both better and worse. She seems a bit surprised that you actually went with Adventurer, but then she also seems surprised that you're level two on the same day you got your Class Card, so that's definitely interesting.\n\nYou head over to the job counter to turn everything in, and are definitely pleasantly surprised. You were expecting them to pay more than if you'd sold it directly to stalls or if you'd been buying a quest for them secondhand from someone else, but it turns out to be even more than you thought originally. Like not an absolute fortune, but to you it's a pretty big deal! You worked almost all year to save ten silver, and one of the coins you got for selling all that stuff was...! ... well okay it was a double-size silver which is worth about half a gold, but still! Double-size silver! And other silvers! Plus coppers! Yeah!\n\nIn fact you're so delighted that you're barely even thinking of how to spend it, just sort of floating on the happy thought of not being dirt poor anymore as you turn and walk away from the desk, maybe not paying quite as much attention as you should. Which results in you running almost full face-on into a pair of rather large breasts. The impact of two bodies is enough to stagger you and almost knock you over if you didn't stumble and catch yourself, and the other party stumbles a bit as well before glaring daggers at you. She's pretty tall for a Human woman, and you're about average for a Lesser Rabbitfolk guy, which accounts for the disparity in height. She's got long, thick, slightly messy hair and eyes so pale gray (or maybe silver) they're almost white. She's wearing a sort of bodystocking undergarment that hugs her generous chest, hips, and rear, not to mention her very slim waist, beneath a sort of top with a high white collar that fastens closed in front with clasps, attached to a black jacket that fastens up the front with some high-end thing you think is called a zipper, zipped down just enough to show off her bodysuit-clad cleavage. The top comes down like a loincloth in front and back but leaves her hips bare, and shows off what looks a lot like a garter belt, which clips to the top of her thigh-high, very thin and supple leather boots that dig into the thickness of her thighs noticeably.\n\n"Watch where you're going, you... dragonfodder!" she snaps, pale eyes flashing as she looks you up and down. Then her nose wrinkles as she adds, "Ugh, you smell like low-level monster blood and starter spells. And that armor and weapon... you're an Adventurer, aren't you? Pathetic. And you touched my hair," she adds, reaching back to run her hands under part of the thick, long fall as if checking it for tangible filth. "Now I'm going to have to spend all night washing it."\n\n<img src="images/Tyra.jpg">\n\n"Er-" you start, only for her to flick a hand dismissively through the air.\n\n"Whatever, I don't want to hear your excuses for existing, let alone for doing it in my presence. Just keep yourself out of my sight for the rest of your miserable little life," she adds before wheeling around and starting to walk off.\n\n<hr>\n[["... Sorry."|Raz5x4]]\n\n[["I challenge you!"|Raz]]

Your eyes shift slightly back towards the box, as do Orrin's. Everything else since he mentioned the Mythril wire has just been largely pointless chatting, both of you trying to act like that's not the only thing out there worth considering. Your eyes wander back to his face and lock with his, and after a moment the small talk faces and tones drop. "Alright. So you acknowledged that you're motivated to sell. What do you want for it?"\n\nOrrin hesitates a little, glancing at the box again, then at you. His pale cheeks color, and you can tell that he almost blurts something out before clearing his throat and managing to say it calmly instead. "Marry me."\n\n"..." You open and close your mouth a few times, before giving your head a small shake. "I'm... sorry, I think I blacked out for a second there, you didn't actually say-"\n\n"Once you graduate. Marry me." Orrin rolls his shoulders and folds his arms over his chest. "I'm serious, Val. I mean, for practitioners, this is how marriages are made a lot of times. We fit together perfectly. I have the connections for components and rare items, you have the knowledge to use or appraise them. You can grow your skills and I can grow my business, which will also be your business. There's no way in which this isn't a win for you."\n\nYou're left staring at him, flabberghasted. Of course, nothing that he said is actually false, you knew that witches and mages marry for purely practical alliance purposes as often as they do for love, you just somehow never thought you'd get an offer like that. And it's not as if you dislike Orrin himself... you've already considered asking him out before. So it's not like any part of it necessarily repulses you, other than the idea of getting engaged at nineteen. It's just so... sudden.\n\nBut... if he's telling the truth about the wire, and Orrin's never lied to you before, it's not just Mythril, but likely Moonforged Mythril, even more powerful and rare than the normal stuff, which is already "you're not likely to ever touch a piece of it even if you live to be 500" rare. The things you could do with even less than a gram of Moonforged Mythril are almost absurd. And the deal itself is not only benefiting you almost more than him, and you have almost three years before you'd have to make good on it.\n\nStill. Marriage. If you accept his deal on this, it will be magically binding, you'd have a hell of a time getting out of it if you changed your mind later. Oh geez, what are you going to do?\n\n<hr>\n[[Accept.|ValNA2x3]]\n\n[[Refuse.|ValNA]]\n\n[[Get pissed.|ValNA]]\n\n[[Yoink.|ValNA]]

It was the first card that appeared, and it sounds like this innate skill you apparently have does make it much better. Plus a lot of those other classes sound kind of weird and complicated... you think it would be better to stick with something simple and straightforward. (And, with Macha's warning in mind, something likely not to mess with your head.)\n\nYou put all the other cards away, clipping the holster to your belt, then bring the Adventurer class card up to your head, concentrating. You can feel a strange, faintly pleasurable tingle spreading from it throughout your whole body, leaving you with little doubt that it's working. But after a few moments the sensation disappears, and you're left blinking, 'That's it?'\n\nThen a translucent window pops up, making you blink in surprise. Oh! This must be your character screen that people with an actual class get?! ... Oh yeah that would make even more sense for why Merchants and Guards would want them, considering. But let's see what yours says...\n\n<center>Raz Bieri\nLvl 1 Adventurer\n\nInnate Skill:\nJack of All Trades\n\nClass Skills:\nUse Any Weapon (Lesser)\nUse Any Armor (Lesser)\nUse Any Device\nLearn Any Skill (Lesser)\nLearn Any Magic (Lesser)\nUse Light Armor\nUse Light Weapons\nChannel Magic (Lesser)\nIntuit Device (Lesser)\nIntuit Magic (Lesser)\nEnvironmental Adaptation (Minor)\nPick Locks\nPathfinding\nSurvival\nDisable Trap\nCharm (Natural)\nManners\nBasic Melee\nRiding (Basic)\nRepair (Basic)\nCrafting (Basic)\nAlchemy (Basic)\n\nCantrips:\nLight\nCreate Water\nSpark\n\nSpells:\nLesser Firebolt'</center>\n\nWhoa, that's quite the skill list. ... That's also a lot of 'Lesser'. ... And a lot of 'Basic'. ... Oof?\n\nWell Macha did say the Jack of All Trades would help mitigate that, so you can hope. After a moment of eyeing your screen, you shrug and close it, getting to your feet. It's about as you figured, really... those were the cantrips you already knew, and a fair few of those skills were stuff you knew how to do already. The riding and alchemy were entirely new, and actually getting an attack spell (even a Lesser one) is pretty cool. You guess now you need to buy a weapon, since you doubt you're going to be slaying many worthwhile monsters just with Lesser Firebolt.\n\nYou spend a little while shopping around, and are relieved by at least one discovery: basic swords are dirt cheap. Well, not "dirt cheap", but way more affordable than you ever assumed before. It's surprising enough that you actually ask one of the vendors about it, and the explanation is pretty straightforward: swords are the most popular choice for adventurer weapons by far. So weaponsmiths tend to make a lot of them, both as they're learning their trade and just to have them in stock, so the market is kind of constantly flooded with basic, unenchanted swords, and the price only really goes up once you start getting into exotic types or ones that are enchanted or whatever.\n\nYou spend a little while shopping and eventually select a pretty basic sword, straight and double-edged, with a plain black grip and round silver pommel. No fancy stuff here, though the vendor does make a big deal about it being of good enough quality that you could get it enchanted later if you want. (You're able to haggle him down by pointing out that even to an inexperienced eye, if it's that quality it's barely so, and you're not going to be affording any enchantments any time soon.) So you have both a sword on your hip and some silver still in your pouch by noontime.\n\nDeciding to put your new abilities to the test, you head out of the city to an area you know to be full of Horned Rabbits and scattered with useful herbs... you usually have to rely on descriptions to know which to get, but you're hoping that with your new Alchemy skill you'll be able to tell which ones are somewhat valuable on your own, as well as getting some monster-slaying XP.\n\nSoon you're standing on a broad, grassy field, facing down an obviously aggressive Horned Rabbit, its hackles raised as it bunches to launch at you. Horned Rabbits are, ah, well... rabbits with horns. Fairly large rabbits, yes, with ram-like horns that start just above their eyes and curl back and around their floppy ears. (You guess someone might think it's weird for you to kill a rabbit, but hey, you don't think it's weird when Humans kill bears.) You're not too concerned... Horned Rabbits are notorious "beginner" monsters, and you could handle one even with a tree branch and some timing even before you had a Class Card... they're really only dangerous if they manage to knock you down, or if a group of them rushes you.\n\nThis one, as expected, leaps right at you. Normally that's the perfect time to bonk them on the head with the tree branch to knock them down (and then finish the job if that didn't do it), but somehow its motions seem a lot slower to you today, and you find it fairly easy to duck aside a bit and swing your sword down. The blade moves easily enough in your hand, and the rabbit's body thumps to the ground without hitting you, its head rolling further after it hits as well. ... Nice!\n\nYou gather up both the head and the body, improvising a sling for both that you'll be able to add to as you continue. (The horns are worth a bit, the meat and skin are worth a bit, as long as you have all of them in a mostly intact state you'll get full pay.) You set off to find the next one, and similarly make short work of it. You move on, fighting more of the Horned Rabbits, and occasionally picking up herbs and grasses that seem useful... you also seem to have kind of a vague idea of how to pick them to best preserve them, you find, you guess that Alchemy skill really is working. A couple of the Horned Rabbits manage to bonk you a bit here and there, usually because you got a little big for yourself and tried something fancier or showier than the basic dodges and attacks you were doing, but the impact doesn't hurt as bad as the times you've been bashed before, and both the pain and bruises fade much faster than usual. Nice! A Class Card really seems to be worth it after all!\n\nEventually you've got a pretty decent bundle of Horned Rabbit corpses and a pouch full of herbs, all of which should net you more than you made in a month doing secondhand quests and odd jobs. Hm... go ahead and go back now? Or keep grinding a bit more? You could go a little further, try out some harder monsters! Maybe even level up, that would be pretty great! Although you'd have trouble carrying anything else...\n\n<hr>\n[[Head back.|Raz]]\n\n[[Keep grinding.|Raz5x2]]

Ugh... honestly you're a little possessive of the money you have left, and have no desire to get it stolen... or spend it all on a full belly that won't last more than a day or so. Probably best to take the old man's advice and just restock on some rations and then find an inn.\n\nBeing careful of where your money pouch is, you go looking for Bohtaran's Aygee, trying not to pay too much attention to the fact that you're absolutely marinating in heavenly food scents. It takes a bit but you eventually find it... it looks a lot like Sabanara's, just nowhere near as big and it doesn't seem to have devoured the entire block (yet). You head in and buy some more rations from the store, though you notice that they're actually wrapped much more nicely and with higher quality twine and paper than the ones you bought back in Sabanara. As you're buying them, you ask the girl at the counter, "Do you know a good inn?"\n\n"Oh, we have a connected inn at this Aygee," she says brightly, gesturing towards what looks like a hallway nearby. "It's pretty basic but very comfortable and clean, and it comes with dinner and breakfast!"\n\n"Ha!" snorts a male voice from behind you, the counter girl's bear ears lifting a bit as she puffs out her cheeks in annoyance at getting 'ha'd'. You turn around to see what must be a Lesser Boarkin, to judge by the bristly muttonchop hairdo and the tusks jutting from his lower lip, as well as the broad but firm-looking paunch displayed beneath his leather breastplate. "Come all the way to Bohtaran to stay and eat at the Aygee boy?!"\n\n"Ah, well, I got some pretty good advice that-"\n\n"Light fingers? Fair enough, fair enough," he says, immediately waving off the rest of your words. "But if you want to go right to an inn and have dinner there, you should come over to the Long Squeal! A couple of my relatives run it, and it's much more comfy than this place! And the dinner you'll get with your stay, that's where the Long Squeal comes from, it's the sound of delight you'll make!"\n\nYou raise your eyebrows, and glance at the counter girl again. Her face has gone carefully neutral... which means she thinks it's a bad idea for you to go, but probably isn't allowed to say so by the rules of her job. Hm.\n\n<hr>\n[[Stay at the Aygee.|Raz5x9]]\n\n[[Go to the Long Squeal.|Raz]]

"Ah... thanks, I appreciate it," you say, holding up a hand a bit. "But I've gotta leave early in the morning on the Ebonarza autocarriage, honestly if I eat a big meal I might oversleep, or..." You do your best to convey becoming ill from jostling around in the autocarriage.\n\nWhether he believes you or not, the Boarkin gives a grunt and shrugs, then turns and meanders off. The counter girl looks a bit relieved, and says, "Ah, why don't I go ahead and give you our frequent user's discount? Just to thank you for buying the rations," she adds hurriedly.\n\nSo your stay winds up being even cheaper, and she throws in a small bag of fried snacks that are apparently a Bohtaran specialty. You head to the room and, as advertised, it's clean, relatively comfortable, and very simple, basically just a simple room with a decent single bed and a shelf, albeit not really anything else. Still, compared to the large shared room back at the orphanage and the last week and a half of shared conditions in the carriage. You settle down to sit on the bed, peel off your boots, and open the bag... hm, looks like a mix of fried skin of various animals, fried potatos, and fried... some sort of fruit, you think. Odd mix.\n\nMnch.\n\n... Yeah okay you get that guy's warning about how the food here could be addicting.\n\nAfter you finish off the bag, you flop out with a sigh. ... And realize you've got complete privacy while safely indoors for the first time since... ... uh, ever, maybe. Glance. Glance. Then you unbuckle your belts and shove your pants and wrap down, your slender caramel cock already jutting stiffly upward just at the thought of finally getting to empty your balls in peace and quiet. You blush a little in embarrassment as you wrap your hand around it and realize it's still a bit greasy from the fried food. ... Well, eh, whatever works. You start stroking yourself, your dick soon gleaming just a bit from the transferred oil. You wind up imagining the cute counter girl on her knees in front of you, sucking you off while gazing up at you, holding up a bowl of snacks in each hand for you to eat as she does.\n\n... Look you're horny and you're still hungry and it still smells amazing here, alright?\n\nAnyway, eventually you finish up and clean up, and once you've got your wits and clothes about you again head back to the counter, subtly picking a guy instead of the Bearkin girl so you don't blush yourself to death. Turns out this Aygee does have an attached bath too, and you get cleaned off (including down there, because you figure frying oil can't be very good for your dangly bits longterm), and after that step into the tavern for your included dinner.\n\nIt turns out to be pretty simple... a mug of fruit juice, a bowl of thick broth with some scraps of meat and vegetables in it, and a hefty slice of bread. And yet it's still quite possibly the best thing you've ever eaten, the fruit juice clear and smooth with the perfect balance of flavors, the broth smooth and rich and with the perfect amount of spice, each tiny bit of meat a savory burst of flavor and texture on your tongue and every vegetable both tasting deeply of itself and suffused with that rich spice of the broth, the bread crispy on the crust and soft and fluffy on the inside... good lord. Yeah if the complementary meal for a night's inn stay is like this, no doubt there are people who try the full-fledged food and have the rest of their journey derailed. Very dangerous.\n\nYou do some walking around and stretching in the Aygee's practice yard, since that seems pretty safe, working the last of the soreness and kinks out of your back and legs as well as you're able, before turning in for the night. In the morning you get up and get ready to leave, stopping in the Aygee tavern for the included breakfast. It's just a bowl full of some sort of baked oats and nuts and maybe some honey, all of it in milk, but... ... yeah you need to get out of here.\n\nYou head back to the autocarriage facility, grouping up with mostly the same bundle of people and waiting for the carriage to pull in again. There are more people getting on here you notice, but just almost as many people that were there haven't turned up, this either having been their destination or having decided to stay temporarily (or likely "temporarily"). You notice the Human who gave you the advice isn't here... you can't help but feel you were right and he probably decided to give that advice to you since he wasn't going to use it. The carriage pulls in and all of you file on, you letting most of the rest get in first so you can take a backmost position. You've noticed a lot of the others prefer to sit further in because it's cooler and more shaded, but you like having a bit of a view at the back and more fresh air (especially since you seem to be one of the only ones who used his stay in Bohtaran to bathe). \n\nThe autocarriage has already pulled away and moved a good distance from the raised wooden stages that comprise its dock when you hear a "Wait! Waaaaaaaaaaait!" You see a flash of red and black and silver come bustling across the dock before it's suddenly leaping forward through the air. The woman lands hard just barely in the back of the cart and lurches forward, the impact jarring her extremely large breasts and causing them to bounce right out of the white band she was wearing across them, large milk-colored globes just almost impacting your face and plump strawberry-colored nipples moving around just out of the corner of your eyes as she just barely grabs on to the edge of the roof to stop herself from landing on you completely.\n\n"Whoooops! Sorry!" the Human woman says with a giggle, straightening up and starting to stuff her tits back into her top with no more embarrassment or shame than if she'd dropped a spoon at dinner, while you just sit there stunned and staring at her. She's about average height for a Human female, meaning she's probably still got a few inches on you, with thick, slightly spiky red hair spilling down around her shoulders, and big honey-colored eyes set in a cheerful, just slightly round face. While she seems quite athletic... that jump was both surprisingly long and precise... you do notice she has a fair bit of "squish" to her, a layer of padding as it were. The leather jacket and white tube top leave her midriff bared showing a slightly soft belly, and the tight black shorts she's wearing show off round hips and a large butt, the black stockings squishing into her somewhat ample thighs visibly. She stamps her booted feet a few times as if to test that her boobs aren't going to fall out again at any little jostle, then immediately drops onto the bench across from you with another bounce that seems to come close anyway, beaming at you.\n\n"Really thought I was gonna miss it! I definitely don't wanna spend another week in town, hahahahaha!" she declares, raising a hand, apparently completely oblivious to having stunned most of the cart's other inhabitants, including you. "Hi, my name's Naomi, but everyone calls me Nom!"\n\n"Um... Raz," you say, having just barely recovered your wits enough to both remember your own name and not stare at her chest willing her top to lose its apparent constant battle with the jiggles caused by the cart hitting the road.\n\n"Hi Raz! What's got you going to Ebonarza, if y'don't mind me asking?" she says cheerfully, just outright blurting out the subject most of the other passengers have danced around the whole trip. You notice that a lot of them are sort of looking away and scooting further from Nom... apparently despite her attractiveness, she's been judged too nosy for association with.\n\nBut since you don't mind, you shrug and say, "Someone told me it's a good way to get stronger and better in a hurry."\n\n"Ohhhh? So you're going there totally of your own will, huh? Wow, that makes you pretty rare!" Nom crows cheerfully, setting her hands in her lap and, incidentally, framing her boobs with her arms and lifting them up a bit more. "Most people going to Ebonarza are escaping bad situations. See, guards from other towns or bounty hunters or debt collectors or any of that stuff don't really go to Ebonarza, for a lot of reasons, sooooo it's a pretty great place to go to escape that stuff! Of course it's risky for a lot of other reasons, but if you do well enough you can make enough money or get powerful enough you can solve your problems. Or just stay! Some people stay."\n\n"Uh-huh," you say slowly. "And what about you?"\n\n"Debt," she says breezily, and unashamedly. Then she pauses briefly, eyes turning upward. "Also possibly probably some problems with the guards." She lifts a hand to tap a fingertip at the side of her mouth, displaying fingerless black gloves with swirly-metaled plates over the back of the knuckles. "Actually now that I think about it there might be a bounty or two as well." At your stare, she grins and lifts her hands and shrugs. "It was an eventful week!"\n\n"Apparently. So this isn't your first time going?"\n\n"Nah, this is like my third, fourth, maybe seventh time there," Nom says with another shrug. "I usually go for like a few months or one time like a year, make enough money to pay off everyone mad at me, then head back to Bohtaran. Just love that food!"\n\nHuh, she must be older than she looks, if she's repeated that up to seven times. (Or more, you wouldn't put that past her.) She only looks like she's in her early twenties, for a Human. But since you do have enough sense to know that's rude to bring up to almost anyone, but especially a woman, you say, "Yeah, it was pretty great."\n\n"Heheh, lemme guess, you were advised to just lay low and not hit the restaurants? Proooobably good advice, if I'd taken it back in the day I'd probably be a lot better off! Probably as lean as you, and these'd be half the size!" Nom adds, smooshing her palms against the sides of her boobs.\n\n'... Thank you, Bohtaran,' you can't help but think.\n\n"So, hey, Raz! What Class are you?" Nom asks, apparently inclined to be chatty. \n\n"Ah... Adventurer," you say after a brief hesitation.\n\n"Ohhhh! Neat! Although I see why you'd wanna get powered up, too," Nom says with a few quick nods. "Low-level Adventurers have trouble finding a party, but once you get high level and show your stuff, you can be kinda in demand!"\n\nThat makes you blink. "Really? No one told me that."\n\n"Ehhh? Seriously? Where are you from?" When you say, she laughs again. "Well yeah they'd think that in Sabanara! It's a starter town bro! Good for learning your basics and using as a home base, but it's mostly lowbies there! Nah, nah, you get up into level ten, level fifteen and get you some nice showy armor and weapon, and you'll be just fine! Trust me, I've got a kind of not-so-popular Class too!"\n\n"Huh, really?"\n\n"Yup! I'm a Brawler!" she declares, holding up her fists to show off those gloves. "Which means by necessity I kinda gotta get in there mixing it up with the monsters and stuff! Drives healers and ranged fighters nuts! A lot of parties won't even take a Brawler unless they're pretty heavily focused on close-quarters combat anyway! So don't worry, stuff works out and you can always get by!"\n\nThat does make you feel a bit better, and Nom keeps up a pretty constant barrage of chatter, gradually drawing you out into talking as well. So you pass a much more pleasant day than the previous parts of the trip talking to her, until suddenly there's a loud grinding noise from ahead. That gets everyone's attention and they look forward as the golem horse shudders and then comes to a halt. After a few moments of uncertainty, everyone piles out and gathers around, staring at it, starting to murmur about what to do. Then there's a series of clanks and pops and the construct's back opens, a small man... you think a Gnome... clambers out as you stare. You... had no idea that there was actually someone inside the golem horse. From the looks of most of the others, you weren't the only one.\n\n"Busted knee joint," the Gnome declares after only a cursory glance at the golem's legs. "Gonna take me the night to repair it."\n\nNom bursts out laughing at that, leaning down to look at him more closely (and just almost missing knocking him over as her tits swing down right over his head and hang down on one side of him). "Hey, no probs, duder! I guess enjoy the fresh air with the rest of us, huh?"\n\nThe Gnome stares for a moment with glazed eyes... Nom's chest is impressive to you, you can only imagine what it would be like if it was about three times as big (and so was she)... before he clears his throat. "Right, right. Ah, you'll just have to camp out in the area. Should be pretty safe here. Sorry for the inconvenience everyone."\n\nThere's a little grumbling, but not much... a night to stretch legs and actually sleep laying down doesn't seem bothersome to everyone after all day (or more, for those of you who came further than Bohtaran) in the carriage. Everyone disperses, many starting to do a bit of gathering and hunting, building little campsites near the roadside as the Gnome sets to work repairing the golem. You decide to do a bit of hunting yourself, though it winds up as gathering... the few monsters you spot look a little overly aggressive and well-armed for you (though that does make you wonder how you'll manage in dungeons in Ebonarza). Still, you come back to a pleasant tree you found with a good handful of herbs, some potatoes and green onions, and a good handful of berries.\n\n"Hey, guy! Great haul you got there!" Nom's voice calls. "You wanna go in together? I just got the one thing, m'afraid, but we could manage!"\n\nYou turn towards Nom, and try not to go slack-jawed. She's got something like a deer slung across her shoulders, just that its antlers are made of what looks like actual wood, and they clack together slightly when she moves since the creature's skull between them seems to have been crushed.\n\n"... Uh, yeah, that's fine."\n\n"Cool!" she chirps, thumping the beast's corpse down. "Let's get started then, bro!"\n\nNom turns out to be armed, unsurprisingly when you think about it, with both a knowledge of skinning and preparing animal carcasses and a wide variety of cookware. You set to building a campfire while she skins and sections the deer, and gets out various other accoutrements and sets to work. Since she seems so intensely fixated on it, you wander away both to find some fresh water and check on how the Gnome is doing with his repair. By the time you return, Nom is well into preparations, with the main course apparently being the pot of stew simmering over the flames.\n\n"You really saved me with gathering that stuff, bro!" Nom declares cheerfully as she stirs it. "I'm usually pretty good about being able to find some meat, but I'm ass at gathering skills! Would've been just roasted Wood Deer without you, which, y'know, lots of worse things in the world to eat, but also lots better!"\n\n"Thanks," you say, not bothering to hide that you think she's just trying to make you feel better because you couldn't hunt on your own. But if that was her intent, or she notices, she doesn't show it, just humming cheerfully as she continues cooking.\n\nThe stew turns out to be utterly delicious, and there are little sides of herb-rubbed venison steak to go with it. Apparently Nom even made desert with some sort of simmered meat from the dear, little pleasant crunchy bits that provide savory pops amidst the sweet tartness of the berries. "Wow, this is great, I've never had anything like this."\n\nNom... seems like she's trying not to laugh? "I'm not surprised. It's sort of a local dish from where I was born, it's just called 'mixed fruits'."\n\n"... It's berries, though?" you note, eyeing the little bowl with its thin smears of berry syrup left, which you'd been considering whether to lick up.\n\n"Well you can make it with anything sweet pretty much, but ah, the reason you call it 'mixed fruits' is that you're trying to use all the meat from the animal, bro."\n\nYou blink. You look at her. Then over in the direction where she took the very thoroughly cleaned carcass to dispose of it. Then back at her. "... All?" you squeak.\n\n"Mm-hmmm." Nom winks at you, grinning a bit wickedly as she raises her index fingers at an angle. "Supposed to be veeery good for the... stamina."\n\n"... O-oh," you murmur, feeling your face heat.\n\n"Anyway, bro, lemme ask you this," Nom says, having tucked most of the dishes and cookware back into her dimensional storage. She flops down next to you where you're sitting leaned against the tree trunk. "You wanna party up?"\n\n"Eh?" you say, blinking.\n\n"Usually I go solo, but eh, I figure it'd be arright to team up this time! Besides I kinda maybe pissed people off extra bad this time so I needa make a loooot of dough, might really be better to have someone I'd be able to take on tougher dungeons with. Yanno, evenshally!"\n\n... Right. 'Eventually'. Because she'd basically have to help you grind up closer to her level first. Is that what this is really about? Her taking pity on you? ... Even if she's not, she seems to be, by her own admission, a huge troublemaker. (And glutton.) Seems like you could really get into trouble hanging around with her, whatever her motivations are.\n\nStill. The simple fact of the matter is you're a level two Adventurer, and she's clearly an experienced tank, who more importantly than that knows her way around Ebonarza. It probably wouldn't be too bad of an idea, really, if you could set your pride (and admittedly the other half of your better sense) aside.\n\n<hr>\n[[Party up with Nom.|RazNom1x1]]\n\n[[Decline.|Raz5x10]]

"Want me to come with?"\n\n"He may be a little much for a Huntsman or Huntress, but I don't see him standing up to a merc," you answer with a snort. "Go with Ilia, make sure she stays safe, or-"\n\n"Yeah yeah, I know which part of my anatomy will suffer, you're lucky I like you, Red."\n\nExchanging grins with him, you turn and rush off into the woods after Adam, though keeping a slower pace and silencing your movements. You want to let him keep a little bit of a lead, so that the two of you can have the conversation you've got planned in private. You unholster one of your pistols, not the little unlimited ammo quickshots you normally favor... this one's large, with a long barrel with glowing blue rings visible in parts, and a small amount of ceramicoat slugs with dense metal cores. The charge pack takes forever to recharge from empty, and the slugs aren't something you can replace anywhere but the Guildhall or select places on Makarzia, but you have little doubt that they'll punch through someone's Aura like it wasn't even there. 'And I didn't even have to build it into my frikkin' sword,' you think with a smirk.\n\nYou fall back just a little and settle to hide as you spot your quarry up in the crook of a tree, staring down at something. A weird tingle against your skin draws your focus off to the side... more people running, no one you recognize, but holy shit that is a big dude. Oh right, you saw him outside the school, had some of those glowing crystals jutting out of his fucking shoulders and then he got hardcore pentrated by something big and glowy and yanked back inside. Adam seems to be considering joining them, then scowls deeply and leaps down, heading off at a different angle. You wait a bit, then follow again, trailing along after him, making sure you don't wind up crossing paths with the other bunch in the process.\n\nYou decide to catch up to him shortly after he falls to his knees beside a stream, actually seeming exhausted. He drops that sword of his, the one whose scabbard turns into a... y'know... and you can see him reach up and work some catch, set the mask to the side as he scoops up water in his gloved hands and splashes his face. You step up behind him, bringing up the gun in one hand and fully charging the accelerator coils, letting him hear the distinctive whine of what can only be a weapon. "Oh shit son you've done fucked up now," you announce cheerfully.\n\nAdam froze at the powerup sound, much as you expected. Him turning slowly with a scowl on his face is one of the things you'd have expected... but you can't keep the grin from dropping off your own face as you actually see his. "Dragon forgive, what the fuck," you breathe out.\n\n"Don't you dare pity me, human," Adam snarls, one eye narrowing. The other seems to be forced permanently shut, the lid bound together by ugly, angry scar tissue. There's no possible way to mistake it for anything other than a brand... the two straight lines at top and bottom, crossing his forehead and the bridge of his nose, edging the letters 'SDC' etched into and distorted by his flesh. From the flares of lighter, pinker scars around it, it was literally flaming hot when it was applied, likely setting his skin on fire as he was marked. "People like you did this to me, I won't be pitied by you for it."\n\n"... I've done a lot of shit in my time, but I've never done anything like that," you say after a moment, a little ashamed of the quaver in your voice. You've seen a few things worse, but... never quite this. Never on the face. Retribution brands happen in the gangs on Makarzia, and other places, but the favored position is on the back, or maybe the belly or chest. That way the one holding the brand can keep their eyes on what they're doing, like it was just any stretch of skin. Whoever marked Adam, they stared right at his screaming, agonized, burning face as they did it.\n\nYou wonder if they smiled.\n\nYou wonder what kind of hate someone who did that to you and smiled while they did it would plant inside of you.\n\n"Just do it." It's as if being seen without his mask, seeing the sincere sorrow on your face in response, has robbed him of the last of his urge to fight. When nothing happens, he snarls as he looks up at you, actually jerking his horned head slightly towards you. "Come on! Do it! I'll never stop! I won't stop fighting! I'll come back again, and again, and again! You will never be rid of me, nor will Blake, or the other traitors, or her human friends!" His rage cools into something like hateful acceptance, blue eye staring at you. "Do it."\n\n<hr>\n[["... Yeah."|KaiRem]]\n\n[["... No."|KaiRem1x6]]

"Ugh," you grunt, squinting out across the water as you lean on the boat's railing.\n\n"Seasick?" Blake asks in a gentle tone as she walks up to you, ducking around a few people on the crowded deck, followed closely by a shirt-wearing but still bare-chested man with shaggy blonde hair.\n\n"I've got tips for that!" the guy, Sun apparently, announces cheerfully as he leans an elbow on the railing. "Okay, first step, puke. Then... ... I never really figured out step two."\n\nYou snort a little. "Hey, maybe step two was 'show up to a fight', y'think?"\n\nHe makes a face at that. "I keep telling people, I was held up! Like literally! Twenty White Fang, big tough bruisers, show up and they're like 'Hey buddy, your life or your life!'," he adds in a silly, booming voice, jabbing a pair of finger-pistols at you. "I kind of had my hands full, even with two extra pairs on call!"\n\n"It was fifteen last time," Blake says dryly as she turns to lean back against the railing as well. \n\n"Fifteen, twenty, look, they didn't know how many guys it was gonna take to kick my butt so they brought a lot, luckily they were wrong anyway! Well, I say 'luck', but it was all skill, and-!"\n\nHe starts rambling a bit, simian tail flitting about excitedly behind him, with you and Blake exchanging an amused look. When he pauses to take a breath, Blake derails him by asking you, "I saw your sword earlier, before we left. Could I have a closer look?"\n\n"Sure." You shrug a little, pushing back your jacket to unsheath the weapon and settling it across your hands to proffer it. Blake accepts, Sun seeming just as interested in taking a look at it as tales of his own prowess.\n\n"The craftsmanship is very good," the feline Faunus murmurs, turning it upright a little. "I don't think I even quite recognize the metal, but the level of folding and alloying is like something out of Atlas, but it's handcrafted, something more like Mistral."\n\n"Where's the gun part?" Sun asks curiously, peering at the handle.\n\n"Uh. Here?" You open the flap of your coat to show off the pistols holstered at your sides, and more hooked into inner folds.\n\nSun and Blake exchange a glance, before Blake proffers your katana back. "I guess you really aren't from Remnant. You seem like a Huntress, so it's easy to forget, or..." She trails off, not saying 'or think it's all some elaborate deception'. Since, y'know, that'd be pretty rude. \n\n"Yeah, I'm from nowhere like this. I've seen oceans traveling around, but never really been on one. Makarzia's... different, for sure," you murmur, glancing back to the water. "Sometimes it was way more crowded than Menagerie. Sometimes you felt like you were alone in the entire city. It was cold and artificial, but it had rhythms and breathed like it was alive." You trail off, realizing you're waxing poetic, and shrug. "Anyway. Yeah, I kinda noticed everything is something else and also a gun, with you guys."\n\n"The things that are the biggest threat in most of the world... the creatures of Grimm... are very strong, and most of them are very fast. Though you don't want to get close to them, it can be difficult to fight them effectively at range, since a lot of them can dodge the heavier projectiles designed to take them out in one hit," Blake explains.\n\n"When a Grimm gets up in your face, you usually don't have time to drop your gun and grab your melee weapon," Sun picks up with a shrug. "Plus then, you're gonna need your gun again soon, probably. Transforming weapons cut down the time you need to switch, and you've always got both on you. Hey, if you want, I've got a buddy who's really good at weapons design, maybe he could also-a-gun your sword for you!"\n\n"... I'll think about it," you reply, shifting a little. It does seem like a kind of smart idea... and cool as hell... but you're not so sure about modifying Ico's gift to you. "Where are the Ilias?"\n\n"Still talking with each other," Blake says quietly, ears laying down a little as she glances at the door that leads below. \n\n"Man, that's either a lot to talk about or nothing at all to talk about, y'figure? Right?" Sun adds, rubbing the back of his head.\n\n"So there are really a bunch of other dimensions?" Blake asks, frowning a little as she turns back to you. "Other Remnants? Not just other Ilias, but other Blakes? One of you is plenty," she adds teasingly to Sun before he can say anything, making him pout a bit and then poke his tongue out.\n\n"Yup. Some Remnant is missing its Ilia... its loss," you add with a bit of a grin.\n\n"Huh. So what about you?" Sun asks curiously, tilting his head. "Do you bump into other yous, hopping around dimensions?"\n\n"Nope," you answer quietly, focusing on the ocean again. "Just one of me, so far as I can tell. Don't think the multiverse thought it needed more than that. Or if it did... I guess I wouldn't recognize her if I saw her."\n\n"... Ilia... told me a little bit about you. Not much," Blake hurries to add, but her expression is sad as she continues. "But that you were a slave when the two of you met."\n\n"Yeah," you answer with a nod, looking back at the two of them, Sun's normally happy face having turned into something cloudy and unreadable. "As long as I can remember. Literally."\n\n"... People... not humans, and not Faunus... people can be so cruel to others," Blake says quietly as she turns around to look out to sea as well, her hands gripping the railing tightly. "At least we've wiped out slavery... on the books," she adds with a small wince. "Still too many people, especially in Mantle, wind up feeling like they're chained to poorly-paying jobs in the cities, abused and taken advantage of by their employers like the Schn-... the SDC. Or others. Or the governments."\n\n"I mean, maybe it's just a slave's perspective, since everyone seems free to do whatever when you're not, but why don't people just go somewhere else? Fuck off out of the cities and live somewhere else then, for themselves?" you ask with a frown.\n\n"The Grimm," Blake answers, grimly (appropriately enough). "As bad as it can be in the cities if you're poor... Faunus or human... the cities will still protect you from the Grimm. That's the only way in which we're all equal... if you live in 'civilization', you get protected by the authorities, and by Huntsmen and Huntresses. And if you're in an official settlement, same thing, you'll still get help if you call for it... as long as the CCTs are functioning," she adds with another sour note.\n\n"And in Vacuo, where I'm from, there's not many places people can live easily anyway," Sun speaks up. "Most people are kind of on their own for taking care of themselves, and our wildlife's just as scary as the Grimm. ... I guess maybe that's why I never really thought a lot about how things were for Faunus in the rest of the world... in Vacuo everyone's just working to survive day to day. Nobody has time to care if you've got extra ears or a tail or something."\n\n"I guess that's one way to find equality," Blake adds with a sigh, smiling ruefully at him before looking at you, expression turning dignified as she gives a single nod. "... Thank you. Thank you for helping Ilia... both of them. And thank you for joining us in this fight. It means a lot to me that you're in this with us, considering this isn't even your planet. The White Fang used to be a group standing for Faunus strength even if we had to stand alone... before Sienna and Adam perverted it into Faunus supremacy. But with more humans like you... and hopefully like the ones that are waiting for us at the end of this voyage," she adds more softly, eyes briefly going far-off. "That are willing to stand with us for the goals of equality and peace, I think... I think we can really do a lot of good."\n\nYou take in a deep breath and huff it out, taking your turn to smile ruefully. "Shit," you murmur, clearly startling them both a bit. You've noticed hardly anyone around here swears... you wonder if it's a cultural thing for Faunus or what. "First time I've ever been taken for someone aiming to do good. ... Weirdest thing is I think that I might be ready to do just that." You flit a hand through the air to both of them as you turn. "Think I'm gonna try to grab some rest."\n\n"That's a good idea. We'll be on Mistral in a few hours, and we need to make a fairly long but very fast trip to Haven academy."\n\nAs you're approaching the entrance to the belowdecks, a pair of figures emerge... the Ilias. Though you blink as you realize that in addition to her operator coat, 'your' Ilia is now sporting bright red hair. "Kai!" she says excitedly, hurrying over. Noticing you staring at her head a bit, her specks go pink. "Um... what do you think? We decided I needed something more so people could tell us apart, and it only takes a little concentration, so, um... do you like it?"\n\n"Yeah, you look good," you say with a grin, rubbing her head. You glance over at the other Ilia as she somewhat timidly approaches Blake and Sun. "Have a good talk?"\n\n"I... don't know how good you can call it, but... I think we're both feeling a lot better now." Ilia glances towards the others, saying quietly, "So much of what I did... was because I felt so awful being alone in the world. That no matter what I did, I didn't have a family anymore. Sienna, Adam, Fennec and Corsec, they all kept telling me the White Fang was my family, but it never... felt like one. ... Now I have a sister, I think," she continues, smiling again as she looks up at you. "She and I are gonna be okay. Um, once we figure out something to do about our names."\n\n"I'm glad." You rub her head some more, looking across at the other group as they talk quietly, the other Ilia looking annoyed whenever Sun contributes but also smiling a little as he goes on. "That Blake's a pretty cool lady."\n\n"Y-you think?" Ilia murmurs, obviously struggling to keep her spots from turning pink again.\n\n"Yeah. Can totally see why you've got it so bad for her."\n\n"Oh Brothers she told you," Ilia groans, putting her face in her hands. "That was the one thing I really wanted to punch the other me for, she just blurted it out to Blake in the worst way why why why why-"\n\n"Blake didn't tell me, I figured it out myself," you interrupt with a snicker. At Ilia raising her head in confusion, you grin. "You've got a tell. Mostly because you've got a thing for girls' lips, yeah?" you add, pointing at your own.\n\nWhich, of course, draws Ilia's eyes right to them, which makes her specks go pink. And then they go red as she says, "W-wait, if you figured that out, are you saying... are you saying you've been watching... you noticed every time I... uh... that I..."\n\nFighting the urge to laugh, you instead lean forward and kiss her forehead, scarlet spreading out from there to cover her entire body instead of just her hair. "Take a nap, Rainbow, we've got a lot to do when we land," you say, patting her shoulder and heading inside, leaving her squeaking and steaming not unlike an electric kettle coming to full boil.\n\nLuckily she's cooled down by the time the boats make landfall, Blake's father organizing most of the Faunus that have agreed to come into a marching troop to head for Haven, while his wife splits off a smaller, faster group that intends to contact the authorities first. They're expecting it to take extra time to convince them... and also to explain that the large Faunus warband approaching isn't coming to attack, but to protect. It's certainly not the first quick march you've ever done, and you keep up with the group easily, following Blake or her father Ghira's directions to roam around the edges of the group on patrol. At one point something that looks like a fucking big bear made out of midnight and wearing some fucking kind of holy shit skull mask rears out of the night at you, and for one of the few times in your life you experience your own amygdala hijack and can only stare at the nightmare monster as it bears down on you. Then Sun is leaping between you and it, his staff smashing into its jaw and knocking it upwards before he separates the weapon into honest-to-fuck gunchucks and delivering a flurry of strikes and shots to its neck and chest. Apparently that kills it and the fucking thing turns to smoke. What. The. Shit.\n\n"You okay?" he asks with a glance over his shoulder at you.\n\n"Uh... yeah." You blink, shaking your head hard, then swearing. "Shit, I can't believe I froze."\n\n"Happens to everyone the first time they see a Grimm, don't let it get to you," he assures you, clapping a hand on your shoulder. "But we gotta keep moving, if we dwell on it the negative emotions will draw more."\n\n"Of course they wanna eat you more if you get scared or upset, of course they do," you mutter as you turn to hurry after him.\n\nIt feels like a much longer trip than it is in the steadily darkening night, a bunch of people largely armed with shields and spears and other simple weapons going off to fight a paramilitary force. But soon you can see the walls and buildings rising ahead, and you're making your way through one of the gates that Ghira apparently knows the access code to, and trickling in around Haven Academy. 'Nice place, wonder if they're accepting new students,' you think dryly as you edge around to look at the ruined front of the building, only half paying attention to the dramatic back-and-forth between Blake and some redheaded edgelord on the ground. Ah, this is the infamous Adam, you guess. You're not sure why all the dramatic confrontations and reveals that unfold were necessary, but apparently Ghira was hoping that being confronted like this, and with the airships of the Mistralian law enforcement hanging overhead, the renegade White Fang members would give it up.\n\nDoesn't work out that way. You probably could have told him that. Well, you're not hugging every one of these assholes, so time to fight.\n\nYou do at least give enough that you understand it's better if you don't kill these people... they may not all be sad young girls who have lost their way, but they are, as Ghira said in his grand arrival declaration, the brothers and sisters of the people you're fighting with. Luckily even when you're forced to strike body blows with your katana, they usually don't connect fully, instead striking something just above their skin and clothes that shimmers and flickers with colored light. Still, the attacks definitely hit and hurt and they usually go down after a hard enough hit, or a couple of bullets in several cases. Eventually the fighting starts to quiet down, and you spot Blake and Adam having some sort of standoff, Sun strolling towards them almost casually. ... Eh, fukkit, if that's the style that's the style. You straighten up and sheath your sword, walking away from the latest masked Faunus you knocked to the ground (and kicked in the head for good measure, making sure their Aura was depleted) to approach from a slightly different angle. \n\n"I've made some powerful friends while you've been away," the redheaded edgelord in his long coat and with his katana and gun (what a dip) sneers.\n\n"Oh yeah? Where?" Sun demands as he steps up, scowling at Adam as he comes to a stop and raises his staff.\n\n"The only badass new friends I see around here all seem to be Blake's, buddy," you add, giving your own coat a toss back to rest one hand on your sword and another on a pistol. ... It's completely different.\n\nAdam's masked face has lost a lot of its arrogance suddenly, trying to track between three targets as he raises his weapons, not entirely sure who to cover. His hidden gaze fixes on you for a moment, and you can practically see him calculating the most hurtful thing to say as he looks back to Blake. "Tell me. How many more of your fiery human friends am I going to have to dismember before you learn your lesson?"\n\nYou can see that whatever that means to her, it hits Blake, and it hurts, her face twisting a little in pain. You've only known her for a couple of days, but something about that look on her face, and the cold calculation with which he put it there, really fucking pisses you off. "Blake's human friends are the ones who are standing here ready to fight and die for something, pal," you snarl back. "I don't know the ones she's apparently got waiting inside that school, but we're the ones still fighting, while it sounds like your minions are back there surrendering. While I'm at it, like I said, I don't know about the rest of her human friends..." You let your snarl turn into a wolfish smirk. "But I bet we've all got bigger balls than you do too."\n\nYou can hear Sun make a choked sound that's probably repressed laughter as Adam's face contorts, actually seeming both shocked and offended by the insult. Damn, you'd think someone wearing a mask would have a better poker face. He snarls, shifting towards you. "You filthy little-"\n\n"Hey, whatever you're about to say, I might just take offense to it," a new voice adds as its owner strolls out of the shadows, Grey prowling around opposite of you, the claws of his weapon a little bloodied. "I mean, I know that's, like, chauvinistic or something, taking offense on a lady's behalf when she's perfectly capable of dissecting you herself, but..." The pretty man shrugs elaborately, smiling in a way that's both beautiful and slightly disturbing. "What can I say, I'm an old-fashioned guy."\n\n"It's over, Adam," Ilia says in an almost growl herself as she slips into position between you and Blake, her long coat flapping a bit and the red of her ponytail flitting in the wake of one of the airships passing overhead. "The people who care about Blake, and about what the White Fang really stands for, are here. And you're. All. Alone."\n\nAdam grits his teeth visibly, looking from one of you to another, and fixing on Blake again... but the pained expression is gone, replaced by solemn determination. "You can't hurt me by threatening my friends anymore, Adam. My friends can take care of themselves. And despite what you think, I didn't come here for you. I came for Haven, and I've got more important things to do. I'll walk away right now and let the rest of them take you apart... because I trust them. I believe in them." Her eyes narrow. "And everybody that believed in you is losing faith every time they tug on their wrists and feel the handcuffs."\n\nYou can see the rage warring inside him, the desire to kill all of you more for challenging him, undermining his feeling like a big shot, than anything else. But you're not surprised when he gives a "Tch" and suddenly breaks to the side, firing wildly at Grey and forcing him to block, slashing at Sun with the sword in the other hand to create an opening and go darting into the nearby foliage.\n\n"No!" Blake calls as you and the others turn to follow. "He's trying to lead us away, separate us so he can pick us off one at a time! ... He's seen that we're willing to stand together, and he knows the only way he can win is if we're not," she adds, shaking her head. "Let him be the one to run in fear. We've got other things to take care of."\n\n"We'll finish up securing things out here, you go help your team," Sun insists.\n\nBlake runs off, Sun and Ilia turning and hurrying as well, apparently aiming to round up any of the other White Fang stragglers. Only Grey lingers, quirking one dark brow as he looks at you. "... You're not seriously going to let that asshole just scurry off into the night, right?"\n\n<hr>\n[[It's what Blake wanted.|KaiRem2x1]]\n\n[[Hahahahahahahano.|KaiRem1x5]]

"... You keep saying 'human' like it's some kind of curse," you say quietly, staring at him, refusing to flinch away from the burned-red hatred someone etched on his face and in his heart. "You don't want me to pity you. ... How can I not be sick to my stomach that someone did that shit to you? How can you not see how it sours my guts that someone thought that was an okay thing to do?"\n\nAdam's scowl deepens, but he says nothing immediately, just lowering his gaze slightly. When you lower the gun, he lets out a snort. "Because you want to play the hero, I guess."\n\n"I'm the furthest thing from a hero there is. I've killed people, beaten people, sold my body... I don't have any pride left to try and play like I'm noble," you practically spit, clearly catching him off guard. "I'm just a nobody from the streets and I never cared that's who I was. I still don't. All I care about is..." You clench your jaw, teeth working briefly. "... People in front of me who are hurting. And whatever you've done, whatever demons have clawed their way into your brain... you're hurting. I can't claim to be any better than you, so I'm not gonna judge you. I'm just gonna get rid of you."\n\nHe tenses as you slide the gun into your jacket and reach for something else, looking like he's on the verge of either leaping at you or making a run for it. He flinches when something round and slightly smaller than a fist hits the ground in front of him, but when it doesn't explode he stares down at it. "What's this...?"\n\n"It's a beacon. It'll take you to a planet called Makarzia, near a club called the Down Boy. Go in, ask for Niobe, say Kai sent you." At his blank, ridiculing stare, you sheath your sword. "You want to fight for a bunch of people like you, with a lot of the same problems you had? You want something to do with all that rage and pain? There's a war brewing on Makarzia, and Niobe needs soldiers to fight it. You want a dramatic, noble fight against evil? It's sitting in front of you. You want to be the big hero and probably go down in a blaze of glory? Good news. You press that button, you start over. No one there will know who you are, what you've done, who you were. You get to be whatever Adam you decide you want to be after today." Then you quirk a brow. "Just don't expect Niobe to put up with any of your bullshit, huh?"\n\n"... You expect me to believe this," Adam grunts. "And even if it is true, you think I'd just... walk away?"\n\n"Yeah. Because I think part of you wants to believe. And the rest of you knows that your fight here is done." You narrow your eyes, your voice completely firm now. "There's nothing left for you on Remnant but dying, Adam. Today at my hands, tomorrow at someone else's, that's the only thing you've got left to do. On Makarzia there's at least another fight waiting for you. So pick up the fucking beacon, tell Niobe I sent you, and while you're at it for fuck's sake, tell her I said to pay to have the nearest skindoc take that shit off your face," you add, stabbing a hand in the direction of his eye.\n\nHis other eye widens, and he stares down at the beacon for a moment, then up at you. Slowly, his gloved hands move down to cup it, bring it up. His tongue flicks over his lips, and bracing himself as if still expecting an explosion, he presses his thumb to the recessed button.\n\nAnd he's gone. There was the faintest 'fwip' sound, and he's gone. You're not sure if it was the best move, but it was the one you decided to make. "Getting soft," you mutter to yourself as you move to pick up his discarded mask and weapon. You tuck the mask into one of your dimensional pockets, then heft the sword-and-gunsheath, testing its feel a few times. ... Hm. Not bad.\n\nWhen you emerge from the woods back at Atlas, you almost bump into Ilia, who of course greets you happily and loudly enough that Blake comes running, followed by a short girl with two-tone hair, a slightly shorter woman who's literally the whitest human you've ever seen, and a tall woman with a whole lot of blonde hair. "Kai! Are you alright?! I told you not to follow him, he's-!" Blake draws up short, staring at the weapon in your hand. "Is... is that?"\n\n"Adam's gone," you announce, scanning the strange, and in some cases strained expressions that causes on their faces, before you shake your head. "Not dead. Just... gone. He won't be back."\n\n"What... are you talking about?" the blonde asks, frowning.\n\n"You sent him to Makarzia?" Ilia says in a shocked tone. "Why?"\n\n"Because Niobe needs fighters and I think she'll be able to whip his ass into shape. He was an asshole, I get it, but he's not our problem anymore and-"\n\nSuddenly the taller woman is in your face, her painted gold prosthetic hand grabbing a fistful of your jacket and hauling you in, her eyes literally glowing red with fury. "He was an asshole?! That's all you've got to say about what he did?! After all he put us through, all he put this world through, and you just send him off to a fresh new fight where he can-!"\n\n"Yang!" Blake calls, trying to pull the blonde off of you, the other two having moved in as well.\n\n"Yang, please, it's done, this isn't going to solve anything!" the white-haired girl adds. "I know how he hurt you, but now he'll never hurt you or any of us again! Isn't that enough?!"\n\n"NO! It-!" Yang cuts herself off, visibly shuddering, baring her teeth at you as you just stare back at her, trying to keep your face neutral rather than provoke her. With a near-literal growl, she shoves you back and turns to stalk off. \n\n"Yang!" The girl in the red cape looks back and forth between the rest of you and the departing blonde, before racing after the taller woman.\n\n"Well. I wouldn't expect to be getting any birthday party invitations from her, if I were you," the white-haired woman in the sparkly blue dress scoffs quietly.\n\n"..." Blake is staring at you, searching your face. Finally, she just says, "You saw."\n\n"... Yeah," you answer with a single nod.\n\nBlake takes in a deep breath, then nods once herself. "I... have a lot of mixed emotions about what you did. But... I understand why you did it. Especially after all you've done for Ilia. I..." She swallows, takes a deep breath, and squares her shoulders. "... I hope he finds some kind of peace there."\n\nInner, maybe, not outer, you think with a wry grin of your own. At least Ilia's smiling at you.\n\n"Oh, right. Um, Kai, this is Weiss Schnee," Blake adds, gesturing to the pale woman.\n\n"So you're the space alien," Weiss says in a wry tone as you take her extended hand and give it a quick shake.\n\n"Or something like that."\n\n"The other two were Ruby Rose and Yang Xiao Long. Yang's my partner, and..." Blake trails off, looking after them.\n\n"Adam's responsible for her arm?" At the feline Faunus's small nod, you sigh. "Yeah, I won't expect those invitations any time soon." You pause, then add, "So, like, do you guys not wear rings or anything here?"\n\n"Hm? Rings?" Blake looks at you in confusion, Weiss doing the same. The pale girl figures it out first, quickly biting back a snort of laughter and turning to the side to hunch on herself. That seems to clue Blake in, and her face goes pink. "N-no, not... not partner like that, she's... Huntresses work in teams, we're assigned partners at school, Yang's my partner, she... um... I need to go," she murmurs, turning and scurrying away.\n\n"Huh." You stare after her. "... Does she even like girls?"\n\n"It's been years and nobody knows," Ilia mutters rather sourly, lips pressed together in a pout.\n\n"Ambiguity is good for the soul," Weiss says philosophically, then huffs when you and Ilia give her a simultaneous 'bullshit' look. "Oh, I heard it somewhere once, leave me alone."\n\nShe hesitates for a moment, then clears her throat. "Still, I... think it might be best if maybe you stayed here in Haven, Kai. Yang's... having a hard time right now," she murmurs, rubbing her upper arm as she glances aside. "For a lot of reasons. I... think I understand why you did what you did too, but it will be a long time before she does. If ever."\n\n"Ilia's my partner," you say without hesitation, resting your hand on the younger girl's shoulders, ignoring it as she turns wide eyes towards you. "So I'll go where she goes. If she wants to stay here in Haven, that's fine by me."\n\n"It..." Ilia can't help but glance in the direction Blake went, before she nods as she looks back at you. "It's probably a good idea. We can stay and keep trying to build peace between humans and Faunus... plus, you know, do more recruiting for Niobe," she adds quickly, as if not wanting you to think she's forgotten the supposed reason the two of you are here in the first place.\n\n"I thiiiink the school's going to need a new headmaster," Weiss says wryly, shaking her head. "But when it reopens, it might be a good idea for you two to enroll, as well. I mean, you're a little older than usual," she adds with a glance at you. "But it's not a hard and fast rule or anything."\n\n"That could be good too," Ilia admits after hesitating briefly again. "I activated Kai's Aura, but we haven't had any time to teach her anything about it."\n\n<hr>\n[[School? Psh.|KaiRem]]\n\n[[... School, huh...|KaiRem]]

Sighing a bit, you nod and urge Ilia along a bit ahead of you. "Yeah, this way, let's go."\n\nIt only takes a minute of scanning the cavernous room to spot the feline-eared man. His steel-grey eyes are fixed on a group at a nearby table, ears twitching occasionally amidst his scruffy black hair, the motion all that makes them particularly obvious. Like most mercs of almost any age he's gone with the 'cool long coat' aesthetic, his gunsteel blue and white, fastened closed in front over a black turtleneck and standard-looking black pants. His forearms are sheathed in heavy, lustorless silver bracers, hands covered in black gloves. When you approach you see one of his ears twitch and his head turns towards you, and for just a second you get a flash of the cold hate that seems to be his default expression when dealing with a lot of people, before it disappears like ice in a blaster beam, replaced by a smirk and a dancing enthusiasm in his eyes.\n\n"Well hey Red, been awhile!" he almost chirps as you approach. "And who's your friend here?" he asks, turning his gaze towards Ilia, who wrinkles her speckled nose just a little.\n\n"Grey, this is Ilia Amitola," you say by way of introduction, gesturing between the two.\n\nYou see Grey's ears perk and him sit up a little straighter, looking Ilia up and down more keenly, his nostrils flaring slightly before he says, "Oh, a fellow Faunus, huh? Another remnant of Remnant, as it were, eh?"\n\n"... Yeah," Ilia murmurs, and you can tell she's resisting the urge to shrink behind you like a kid. So, trying to derail the current course of the conversation, you hold out the envelope you were given earlier.\n\n"Here, Grey. It's from Niobe," you add, seeing his ears twitch and his spine straighten unconsciously before he takes it. The pretty Faunus man accepts the envelope over it, steely eyes flicking across it several times, a few microexpressions you barely catch flitting across his lips and eyes. \n\nBut finally he nods. "Okay, I'll accept this job, sure. I've got coordinates for Remnant... Menagerie, in fact," he adds, with a significant glance at Ilia. "They already explained the multiverse thing to you, right? That it might not be the same Remnant you come from?"\n\n"Yeah, I get it," Ilia mutters sourly.\n\n"As long as everything's clear." Grey rises to his feet, snubbing out his cigarette in his tray. "Since Niobe asked as a special favor, I'll stay at least until I know you're situated. Which means I want to stop and get a few packs, just in case. I assume you're short as usual, Kai? Want me to buy you a few as well?" he asks with a smirk.\n\n"I've got money for my own smokes and rations, Grey, thanks all the same," you reply dryly. \n\n"Can't blame a guy for assuming," he chirps. "Well, come on then!"\n\nYou follow him to the store, and do indeed indulge in buying a couple of packs of cigarettes with the credits Niobe gave you, one of your preferred brands... Mako Rods, from some magitek world. You buy some readymeals too, tucking them away in your coat's dimensional pockets, as well as making Grey wait long enough for you to buy Ilia a proper Operator coat with a hood and dimensional pockets. It buoys your spirit a little to see her practically preening about how she looks in it. After that all of you head to one of the outgoing portal annexes, navigating through the labyrinth of booths until you arrive at one that's not reserved or on cooldown.\n\n"Alright, we're gonna arrive on one of the main streets in Menagerie," Grey says as he programs in the code. "Probably late at night, to judge from the timedrift. It'll still probably be crowded, so prepare to be jostled." He pauses, glancing at you, an odd expression crossing his face... a weird mixture of concern and a sneer. "Keep your hood up. Let them think the ears are real. It'll be easier if you've got something that pings as a Faunus trait."\n\n"Yeah, yeah," you say with a sigh, tugging the hood of your coat up and forward a bit further, Ilia glancing away as you do almost as if ashamed. Then she turns back to you, raising her eyes.\n\n"Wait," she says. "Before we go to Remnant... there's something Kai needs," she adds, eyes flicking to Grey.\n\nHe frowns in confusion... then scoffs softly. "Shit, you want to Awaken her? Here, now?"\n\n"She needs it, it'll help her survive there!" Ilia snaps back, before looking back at your confused face. "... Remnant's a dangerous place. Your Aura should be active."\n\n"Aura? ... That thing Grey can do that lets him do all sorts of wacky bullshit?" you murmur, trying not to let the innate disrespect for anything that could be called a 'superpower' bleed through.\n\n"Me too," Ilia says quietly. "I... I've never done this for anyone. I never thought I would. But... I want to, for you, Kai."\n\nYou nod slowly. "Alright, if you think it's best."\n\n"..." Ilia reaches up, hands uncertainly cupping the sides of your head, tilting it down until she can put her forehead to yours, her speckles going pink, and then her skin going an annoyed shade of red as Grey snickers. "Just shut up, you." Then her tones calm as she turns her attention back to you. "Um. There are words. The woman who awakened my Aura, she said them, and... I'm not sure how much I still believe what she taught me, but they meant a lot to me, s-so..."\n\n"I won't laugh," you assure her quietly, smiling, your expression not flickering as you add, "Neither will Grey, if he knows what's good for his balls."\n\nThe feline Faunus makes a slightly choked sound, but Ilia just smiles, before her expression turns solemn as she closes her eyes. "... From shadows we descend upon the world. No matter how dark the night is, we will shine like stars. We reach out to each other, take hold of one another's hands. We rise and rise again, like the moon, shattered but strong, battered but alive, and we will never submit again."\n\nAs she speaks, it's strange, but it's like you can... feel... the words. Not like through the psycomms, but as if part of Ilia is slipping inside you, through you as she speaks. More than just the words themselves, you can feel what they meant to her when they were said, you see the faint echo of a strong-seeming woman with dark skin marked with stripe tattoos, but more than that the strength of the emotions that echo through Ilia from that memory... and from the memory of that woman, not tall and strong and marked but small and with wet cheeks with a massive man with black hair kneeling, his big hands gentle on her face, and for him gazing up into a face much like his own, and back, and back, a deep connection to something ancient as you finally gaze into a pair of silver eyes looking out from a tattooed, savage, beautiful face, teeth flashing in a wolfish grin as she speaks words you don't understand telling you that you are now more than you have ever been before.\n\nYou suck in a hard breath, knowing that it's an echo of the first breath you ever took, as you feel some blinder you can't describe fall away from the world, as you become the latest link in the chain that stretches from Ilia all the way back to that silver-eyed woman with the smile of a wolf.\n\n"... Kai? Are you okay?" Ilia asks with concern, staring at you with wide eyes. "Did I do it right?"\n\n"You did it right, short stuff," Grey murmurs, something like the ghost of respect in his voice.\n\n"Yeah, I... yeah," you whisper, finding yourself truly in awe for one of the few times in your life, giving your head a shake. "It's... just a little strange. Everything seems the same, but... nothing seems the same anymore."\n\n"You'll get used to it," Grey asserts. "I'll give you a few tips later, Specks here probably can too," he adds with a chuckle, Ilia wrinkling her nose as if not sure what to make of the nickname. "Now, c'mon, let's go," he adds as he stabs the enter button\n\nThe door of the booth slides open, revealing the swirling light of the portal. All three of you are able to step in practically at once, stumbling a little as you hit the ground at a different elevation. You're not immediately jostled, but there are people moving about quickly... screaming. Instantly every one of your senses is on high alert as you whip your head around, trying to understand what's going on.\n\n"What the shit?" Grey snarls angrily, steel-colored eyes flashing as he looks around the tropical-style village street, then up the rise of the land towards something. And then you see something you never expected to see on his face... actual, honest, concerned horror. "SHIT! The chieftain's house!"\n\n"BLAKE!" Ilia screams in terror, even as she takes off running against the flow of people, running directly towards the source of that terror as she shoves past the crowds.\n\n"Ilia!" you cry after her, reaching but far too late. You grab hold of Grey's coat to avoid being separated from him instantly, and you admit to being a little surprised when grabs hold of your forearm in return, hauling you through the press of the people and following after Ilia.\n\n"Red! C'mon, we've gotta help the chief!" he cries to you, those formerly cold and almost hateful eyes desperate now.\n\n"Get us out of the fuckin' crowd!" you shout to him, suddenly wishing he had a psycomm, though it's not like Ilia's answering any of your desperate calls to her over it.\n\nGrey grits his teeth, and with a particularly feline yowl he leaps upward, a flicker of something faint and both dark and bright flickering around him as he launches himself airborne, hauling you with him and turning to hurl you towards the rooftops of one of the houses. It should see you hitting and rolling awkwardly, but there's something that tells you just when you're about to hit that lets you tuck and roll, tumbling with more purpose and coming to your feet, racing across the rooftops with barely a pause, Grey on the other side of the street and both of you leaping upward as the street takes you up the hill. You can see the dark shape of Ilia and her coat disappearing inside the burning building before you.\n\n"Dammit, ILIA!" you call, sending through the psycomm as much as you shout it verbally, jumping down and following her in, Grey close on your heels.\n\n'I know him,' you think suddenly as you see a large man with black hair and a second pair of feline ears fighting a pair of men in robes, bare-chested and roaring in fury. The impression lasts only a split second and is gone before you know it, forgotten like a dream as you once more fixate on your concern for Ilia.\n\n"GO! Find the kid!" Grey shouts to you as the bracers on his forearms shift and change, sliding claws down to cover his fingers. "I'll help the chief, you get her and anyone else out of here!"\n\nThere's no time to wonder when Grey suddenly grew a conscience and became concerned for anyone that he didn't want to fuck, and you just nod and race past him, dodging the fight as Grey joins it with a yowl of fury, ducking past them and on into the next room, which is already almost consumed with flame. You quickly spot a dark-haired woman somewhere between you and Ilia's age, her own feline ears laid low, her white coat draped partly over a similar-looking older woman, her yellow eyes transfixed on the sight in front of her in a mingling of concern and awe, her expression one you recognize as amygdala hijack due to culture shock. The reason is clear, one of the worst-case scenarios of interdimensional travel is playing out in front of your eyes. Because Ilia is fighting...\n\n... with Ilia.\n\n"YOU'RE A LIE!" the Ilia in just a bodysuit screams in half-insane fury. "You're some lie someone made! I know what I have to do! I know what I am! I know what I'm fighting for!"\n\n"This isn't what I want anymore!" the Ilia in the operator coat cries in reply, blocking the lash of the other Ilia with her rapier, the un-coated one's weapon transformed into something like a crackling whip. "I want peace! I want equality! You're just a nightmare I had for most of my life, and I'm ready to wake up from you, you hateful monster!"\n\n"Life is a nightmare!" the local Ilia howls, tears actually streaming down her face as she tries with everything she has to kill this invasive echo of herself.\n\n"HEY!" you shout to the black-haired woman, her head snapping towards you, wide yellow eyes not quite seeing you. Taking a guess, you call, "Get your mom the hell out of here! I'll save Ilia, go!"\n\nIt takes her a second, but she nods vigorously, gathering the older woman up and covering her with the coat, darting past you through the flames. It's just in time for the coatless Ilia to lash her weapon across the one you know with a burst of visible electricity, your friend's scream of pain tearing across your soul as she falls back and you dart forward, your sword free of its sheath though you have no memory of drawing it as you stand between the downed girl and her doppelganger. \n\n"Ilia, for the love of the Dragon, do not make me do this, do not make me fight you," you hiss as you bring the katana up to the ready, your hood having fallen, your skin sweaty, red hair clinging to your skin. "Take a breath, think about what you're doing. I know you don't want to hurt anyone, I know you're just dying inside of pain." You can feel the tears on your face hotter than the flame. "Dammit Ilia I know this isn't who you are, you just have to know it too. Please."\n\nYou can see a flicker of it in her face. You can see that the words hit home. She knows. On some level she knows this isn't her. That she knows what she's doing is wrong. For the barest instant you can see her eyes flit to the flames around her, and that 'Dear God what have I done?' look washes over her face.\n\nAnd then the pain hits her again. That nightmare of kneeling in that school hallway, bright blue all over and sobbing as she felt betrayed by everyone she thought was a friend. The acceptance and trust she knew from people that had felt similar pain or just wanted to inflict it on the people they thought hated them. Her eyes narrow, her lips thin, her teeth are bared.\n\n"What do you know, human?" the other Ilia snarls, trembling in a fury that has nothing to do with you.\n\n"Ilia," you murmur in despair one last time.\n\nAnd then all you can do is fight.\n\nThe strike of her lash sends a jolt of something up your arms as it impacts your sword, and yet you find yourself reflexively pushing back against it, and something bright red flickers around your hands and forearms. You take the opportunity to move in close, slashing and cutting, forcing her to retract the weapon into its rapier form to fence with you. The last thing, the last thing you want with all your body and soul is to hurt Ilia, any Ilia, and yet you have to fight for the girl laying twitching and unable to move behind you. Ahead is a snarling wounded animal, unable to think through her pain, knowing only that there is pain and anything unfamiliar in front might hurt her more. But you have to fight her, because someone you love is laying behind you unable to defend herself, and the world is burning. Every time she gains enough room to unleash her rapier into lash form you can feel the shock run through the metal of your sword and into your hands. Something is being drained from you, taken from you, like the very deepest part of you is being slowly run dry. But you have to fight. Because if you don't, one Ilia is going to die.\n\nAnd the other is going to have her soul die.\n\n'Forgive me. Forgive me. Forgive me.' You're not even sure who you're asking forgiveness from, or what you're asking forgiveness for. It's like with whatever Ilia did, the part of you that shields you from the world is strengthened, but what shields you from yourself is shattered. You only know it should never have come to this, that you feel like you should have done more. 'Forgive me, forgive me,' you plead silently as you slash and cut, forcing the other Ilia who doesn't know you, has never heard or understood your pain, has never had her hair stroked by Niobe, has never been gently teased by Cammy, has never had Diore stand watch over her, to give ground, to fall back, to drop away from the Ilia who knows all of those gifts, that you would give your heart and soul for.\n\n'Forgive me,' you think, striking her weapon away and spotting the opening.\n\n<hr>\n[[Thrust.|KaiRem]]\n\n[[Tackle.|KaiRem1x2]]

Your words almost seem to snap him from a trance, Grey's head whipping to face you as you walk slowly to stand next to him, your eyes unwavering from his despite the flames all around you.\n\n"I'm with you. If you want to fight to keep Faunus from being oppressed, I'm with you. If you want to fight to be seen as a person, I'm with you. Equality, dignity, hope, a future, I will fight with you and I will die with you," you say quietly, meaning every word as you stare into those steely, uncertain eyes. Then you slowly turn your head and raise a hand to point at the duo of robed men, your lips curling into a scowl. "Ask those assholes if they'd do the same."\n\nGrey's head turns to follow your gaze, boring into the pair of robed men with large ears poking out from their hoods. If the mealy-mouthed smiles weren't enough answer, they can't quite meet his gaze... their eyes slip off to the side, their expressions showing that they're furiously trying to think of the best way to answer in the affirmative without promising anything.\n\n"... Y'know, I've been fighting a long fucking time," Grey murmurs, his voice almost emotionless... even as he twists his fingers, the top of his bracers opening and extending multiple slender gun barrels. "I think maybe I finally found the right people to fight."\n\n"Damn straight," you hiss, managing to raise your sword and point it towards the pair. Ilia's rapier comes up quickly, matching your ready position. A second's hesitation, but then so does that of the other Ilia.\n\nThe robed pair don't last very long, in the end.\n\nSoon all of you stumble out of the house, you walking on your own and Grey and the Ilias managing to carry the big man. "Dad!" the yellow-eyed Faunus you saw before cries, rushing forward to help them, the woman who was unconscious before rising shakily to her feet and stumbling forward. You catch her before she can fall, though you almost wind up toppling to the ground with her, still feeling weak-kneed. \n\n"Hey, easy."\n\n"Thank you. My husband, is he...?" the pretty older woman asks.\n\n"The chief's fine," Grey grunts, lowering the big man to the ground with the help of the Ilias.\n\nThe younger female feline Faunus looks at him, then at the pair of Ilias, her gaze wandering between the burning building and all of you, still obviously lost somewhere in the culture shock. "What's... happening?"\n\n"It's a long story," you answer with a cough. \n\n"Kai!" 'your' Ilia suddenly calls, rushing towards you. "We have to get you help, you're hurt, you're...!" She trails off, fingers poking your bare stomach gently. "... um...?"\n\nYou blink, glancing down. Your bare midriff is bloody, but you're lacking something... a hole. Well, unless your navel counts. But you're definitely lacking the puncture wound in your side that the 'local' Ilia's rapier should have caused. "Uh."\n\n"Kai... you're okay," 'your' Ilia murmurs, looking up at you with tearful eyes before throwing her arms around you.\n\n"Blake... I'm so sorry," the other Ilia is saying, tears streaking down her cheeks. "I... I just... I..."\n\nThe younger feline Faunus... Blake, apparently... looks uncertain what to say... but it's 'your' Ilia who turns to her doppelganger. "Blake will forgive you. That's who she is," she says in a stronger voice, looking the older woman in the eye. "... It's gonna take longer to forgive yourself. I'm still working on it."\n\n"... I don't... understand what's happened," Blake says quietly, before she smiles a little. "But... I can see you've both grown up. ... Maybe it's time I grew up some too." With that, she nods to the woman you think is her mother, then turns to address the crowd that's gathered around all of you, calling out in a stronger voice than she's used so far.\n\nYou slump to the ground to sit, rubbing your face, tired and grimy and not even certain what the hell is going on yourself. But from the sound of it, Blake is rallying everyone for the next fight... getting ready to leave for the next epic battle of good versus evil. Seriously? Already?\n\n<hr>\n[[Count you out.|KaiRem]]\n\n[[... Well, shit, guess we're doing this thing.|KaiRem1x4]]

"... You're really gonna go?" you ask quietly.\n\n"Yes. I think it's for the best. I'm... actually quite content. I got to see you again, to tell you I regret what I did and that I was wrong... and I got to love, even if it wasn't always wisely or well. That's enough for anyone, I think," the spirit adds in a contented tone before it dissipates into the air, spreading out through the shrine, some of the nearby plants taking on a deeper green and several flower blossoms opening.\n\n"..." You stare at the empty spot where the spirit was for long moments, finding it hard to think. Finally, you turn and leave, actually brooding a bit on those words as you walk along.\n\n"Hey. Tsubasa. What is love?"\n\n"Hm?" The only god you've ever been able to stand, even a little, looks up from her book and over at you. Gorgeous, with iridescent golden hair braided into a 'crown' atop her head, she looks every inch a goddess with her sea-colored eyes and spotless white wings. Of course she also looks a bit of a nerd with those glasses on, and you're still annoyed with her for biting your style and wearing a just a hoodie even if hers is white. At least the glasses and thin black choker show she's mixing it up a bit, the style-biter. She's currently sitting on a couch in the reading room of her mansion situated in her godly realm, visible out the window behind her as a bunch of floating islands and fluffy clouds. She also has a black cat settled in her bare lap... a black cat with wings, the smarmy showoff. Tsubasa-no-Arumono-no-Kami may be the god of all winged things but really the winged cat is a bit much! It must be new too, since it wasn't here the last time you barged through the the torii of her shrine and came here to visit her. "I thought you said 'rickrolling' was tired, it would still be tired if you used a different song, you know."\n\n<img src="images/TsubasaKami.jpg">\n\n"First of all, that is exactly what I'd tell you so that you were thrown off when I came up with a brilliant new way to rickroll you!" you declare smugly, tail swishing as you fold your arms over your chest, eyes closed and chest puffed out. Then you exhale and peek an eye open. "Secondly no, I'm seriously asking, what the heck is 'love', really?"\n\n"Mm. It's sort of refreshing that you'd come to me with such a big question instead of the usual silly ones you read on the headscratchers pages of TV Tropes," Tsubasa muses aloud, setting her book aside and stroking her cat's back, its wings settling and eyes closing. "After all, people have been asking some variation on that question for almost as long as there have been people. On the other hand, it shouldn't really be starting from nothing for you to figure it out, you're as capable of it as anyone."\n\n"Uh, no?" you snort derisively, rolling your eyes. "I'm a mischief deity, I wasn't made to feel stupid things like 'love'!"\n\n"I'll allow that you certainly experience emotions a little differently than some of your fellow spirits or gods," the iridescent blonde allows, quirking a thin gold chrome eyebrow. "But that's more of a question of personality, I think. Your mother created you as being just as capable of love as any of her other children."\n\n"Agree to disagree!" you bellow enthusiastically, causing the cat's fur to fluff up and wings to lift again.\n\nTsubasa sighs, now using her other head to rub the winged feline's head soothingly. "Alright, alright, for now we'll set that aside. Perhaps I can answer you better if you explain exactly why you're asking?"\n\n"Hm. Well." You shift a bit from one foot to the other. "Today I met a spirit... a faded spirit, but one I used to know. In fact someone that participated in my sealing ritual... even though she used to be my best friend."\n\n"I think I recall of whom you speak. That must have been very difficult for you," Tsubasa answers, her tone gentle.\n\n"I mean... I guess it wasn't great, no," you allow, your shoulders sagging a little. "But she said some stuff that confused me. Like... she regretted sealing me, but that she couldn't apologize because she did it for love. And in the end she even said she was okay with fading away and dying, because at least she'd felt love before she did. I don't... get... how love is something that could do that."\n\n"All those contradictions, and even being content with dying?" At your nod, Tsubasa smiles a bit, gently lifting her cat onto the cushion beside her before standing up and walking over to you. "Hm. Alright, let's see, how best to explain it." She cups her chin with one hand, the other hand on her elbow as she considers. "What was the most satisfying prank you ever pulled?"\n\n"Oh, don't even have to think about it, that's easy," you answer, puffing out your chest in pride as you recall the tale. "It was this silly little minor lord, who had no ambitions or desires, until I started poking at his ego. Careful and subtle little nudges over years, turning him into a status climber that worked his way up, putting himself through all sorts of stuff, draining his finances, all so he could become the lord in charge of the entire area. The exact day he was declared lord, a warlord from the next province over rode in and conquered his domain, sending him fleeing for his life into the wilderness wearing drag and geisha makeup." You giggle heartily to yourself. "Fifteen years, that one took!"\n\n"And how did you feel watching it all come to fruition?"\n\n"Besides laughing until I would have peed myself if I was mortal? I dunno, I guess sorta..." You glance upwards, trying to recall the particulars of that day. "I guess really happy, and maybe sort of content, like everything was brighter and more colorful than usual, like maybe the world was a better place."\n\n"The objective truth of that aside, hold on to the memory of that feeling. Now, of course you've had sex, right?"\n\n"Uh, duh, lots," you snort with a roll of the eyes.\n\n"With someone you liked? Perhaps quite a lot?" Tsubasa adds.\n\n"... Yeah I guess," you murmur, ears and tail drooping a little, before you shake it off. "So?"\n\n"It was different, wasn't it?"\n\n"Eh, y'know, maybe?" You shrug at that. "Like, maybe it wasn't as fun as a super cool prank, but it was definitely better than just any random sex, sure. We could talk and hang out together and make jokes and stuff before and after, that kind of stuff was good."\n\n"Alright, now, take that happiness, contentment, and feeling that the world was a better place from your best prank, and combine it with the best part of the feeling you get when you're having sex with someone you really like, and stretch it out to last your whole life," Tsubasa says, putting her hands together and then spreading them apart to indicate the immensity of what she's saying. "That's love."\n\nYou stare at her for several seconds, then shake your head. "You lost me."\n\nTsubasa sighs, reaching up to nudge her glasses up on her nose. "What I'm saying is, love is like the joy you get from pranking, but it's all tied up with another person, and you get that joy just from being with them or knowing they're safe and happy."\n\n<hr>\n[["... Huh."|KonFren]]\n\n[["... Oh."|KonFren]]

Oh, a wiseass, huh? Well, just so you know... we came prepared for that! We got stuff for it! So ha, your derailing attempt has failed, player! The GM was ready for you, the tavern had fire extinguishers! ... Ahem.\n\nYeah, fine, okay, so who are you?\n\n[[Exploratory Drone 17H|EdithStart]] - An android sent to Earth by an alien race. Mission: Find out more about these weirdos called "humans" and discovery whether they live in a society.\n\n[[Konko|KonkoStart]] - A futanari fox spirit, released into modern-day Japan to work her mischief on unsuspecting humans.\n\n[[Kiara|KiaraStart]] - A far more experienced, powerful, and thoroughly amoral mercenary, fully capable of and willing to carry out virtually any high-paying job she's offered. Due to a procedure she's undergone, her sex and even her species are "whatever she feels like".\n\n[[Ireth|IrethStart]] - A defeated demon lord. Due to certain circumstances of your defeat, you are currently between genders the way some people are between jobs.

"Shido-len, I'm not sure that's-"\n\n"Some people need to talk in their own way," you declare evenly, not taking your eyes off the otherworld boy pointing a divine blade at you. "I'll make him understand why I'm here one way or another."\n\nReluctantly, all three withdraw into the thinly-spread crowd pressed up against the buildings and lurking in the alleyways, leaving the street mostly clear save for you and the Hero standing there.\n\n"Not gonna be so tough without your army and castle, huh, Disney?" the Hero calls, smirking as he gives the sword a twirl like it weighed as much as a dagger.\n\n'What is that word he keeps calling me?' "True, I'm not exactly at my best," you admit in a loud, clear voice as you make a show of cracking your knuckles and twisting your head, then level your gaze at him, face calm. "You're still going to need Majestra's little toy to lean on to beat me, Keitaro."\n\nKeitaro's lips purse... then he smirks again as he twirls the sword again and slams the point into the street, effortlessly burying it six inches in. Heroes are such simple creatures. Of course then he's taking a running start at you, flames already starting to surround his feet and arms, leaving blazing boot (sneaker?) prints on the ground before he leaps towards you, smile going near-feral as his eyes and hair both burst into flame. \n\n'Blazing Mana Core', the Hero Ability gifted to Keitaro Matsura on his reincarnation into Lytozia. His heart beats with a near-endless supply of mana as scorching as dragonfire, like a sun buried deep inside his chest and blazing just as hot. Making it useless for almost everything but fire-aspected attack spells... but then Keitaro isn't exactly the slow and thoughtful sort, and seemed quite the natural at using his mana to bolster his body and making him an unyielding fiery juggernaut of monster destruction. All of this you think in the back of your mind as you call forth the deepest embedded parts of your before-sentient memory, the cold swamp waters you were spawned in, as you call forth your mana and sending it swirling in fluid concentrations around your arms as you swing your forearms up to knock aside the knee aimed at your face before snapping one hand into a backhand that connects with his stomach.\n\n"Whuf!" Keitaro actually lets out a little huff of breath as your blow connects and knocks him backwards, though he twists in midair with a little gout of flame and lands in a crouch, fingertips on the cobblestones. "Oy oy, yeah, you're definitely not hitting as hard as before, Disney!"\n\n"Same to you," you reply with icy evenness, even as you give your hands a little shake before summoning more water-aspected mana to swirl around your body. "Getting lazy laying around the city doing nothing but debauching, boy?"\n\nIt's hard to tell because of all the fire around him, but you'd swear his face goes a little bit red before he straightens up and makes a show of flipping a hand through the air. "Eh, it's 'cause all my Companions went home. That's a thing, yanno? The Hero gets stronger the more Companions they've got around 'em. I can still kick your ass back and forth all over town no problem, though, just watch!"\n\n"Well then you'd better stop talking about it and do it," you reply calmly before curling some of the water mana into ice shards and sending them flitting at him like arrows.\n\nOf course you didn't expect them to do anything, but as he's making a gout of flame to melt them, you arc around the side at a run and aim a trio of blows at his side, each one accompanied by a hard gout of water like a geyser. The first connects, but with his palm as he swings it around to block, and he pushes himself up and over you with that hand to dodge the other two, dropping and sweeping your legs. You would drop to your back in a bad position, but a quick sprouting of two tentacles lets you catch yourself before dropping more than a foot and spring yourself right back up, spinning and kicking at the side of his head.\n\n"Whoa!" This time it's the Hero's turn to block with two forearms, your mana auras impacting with a splash of water, gout of flame, and puff of steam. He chops an arm at your shin to make you spin it back down and then backflips to his feet before sticking his tongue out at you. "That ain't very family-friendly, Disney! Ya tentacle-perv!"\n\n"I don't! Understand! Your references!" you almost growl, flexing your fingers several times before curling them more tightly into fists.\n\nKeitaro blinks a few times... then laughs as he points at you. "Man! You sound just like Castie-!"\n\nYour fist slams into his face full-on and drives him skidding back a good six feet, whereupon he sniffs and reaches up to wiggle his nose with his fingers as if to check how much it hurts. "... Okay, not a Supernatural fan. How 'bout Avatar?" So saying, he starts quick-stepping towards you and aiming a series of hard punching jabs in your direction, each accompanied by a burst of fire in your direction.\n\n"I just explained I don't know anything about your stupid otherworld 'culture'!" you snap back as you use both hands and tentacles to focus your movements, directing lashes of pseudopod-like water mana at the bursts of fire, which annoyingly only seems to delight the Hero even further.\n\n"HADOKEN!" he calls excitedly, curling his hands beside him and condensing a ball of the fiery mana and then flinging it... at where you were two seconds ago as you duck and roll out of the way of his last flame-punch instead of using water to block it... leaving nothing but air between his manaball and a wide-eyed section of crowd. "SHIT!" Keitaro blurts, stretching his hands out as he obviously tries to recall the mana... then stopping and blinking as a wall of water mana springs up between his attack and the crowd, dropping over it like an ocean wave on impact and extinguishing it. "... Eh?"\n\nTaking advantage of his shock at you saving the crowd, you swing an arm wide, slamming the inside of your elbow against his face and curling your arm around his head, trying to yank him to the side and slam him to the ground. The Hero, however, manages to push up and jump before his feet leave the ground, pulling himself under your arm and flipping over it to land on his feet, a foot snapping up to meet your belly and sending you careening backward to catch yourself with your tentacles. You can feel a slight tingle of power from behind you... ah, the weapon Majestra gifted the Hero in addition to his special ability is right there. Part of you can't help but insist it would be the most delicious thing in the world to see his head go arcing into the air and look down at his own sword having done the deed...\n\n<hr>\n[[Grab the sword.|IrMon]]\n\n[[Don't.|IrMon7x5]]

You straighten up and square your shoulders, pushing off the urge as you retract your tentacles. No, you were falling back into the mindset of the last fight... the point here isn't to kill the Hero, it's to defeat him. Sort of. You stride towards him, rolling your shoulders and starting to draw a fist back, summoning even more water-aspected mana from your body and out of the air to swirl and course around your fist. \n\nBaring his own teeth in something between a grimace and a wild smirk, Keitaro rushes to meet you, a blazing inferno swirling around his fist as he swings it forward. His knuckles impact yours with a miniature cataclysm, a high, shrieking howl sounding as the near-freezing water tries to leech the heat from his bones even as his scorching fire tries to boil the flesh off your bones. The rush of steam blasts back across both of you, ruffling hair and clothes and soaking skin, the howl of clashing energies only growing as you both lean in towards one another, pushing harder physically on your fists to try and close the millimeters of space they're being kept apart by the steadily more concentrated mana clash.\n\nYou can feel your water being boiled, lashed further and further out, drawing higher into the sky and sent flailing around the street, Keitaro's flames sent flaring out further and arcing into the sky as it fights not to be extinguished. You flick your eyes to the side and see that the terrified crowd, having realized far too late their danger, is is now cut off from escaping through the alleys or further down the street by the flickers of energy... including the girls, Litarii standing in front of them and a huddle of other people summoning a shield. Your eyes swing back to Keitaro's, seeing that he'd just been glancing off to the other side. Something silently passes between you both in an instant, and with the merest of nods, both of you suddenly pull your fists back.\n\nThe backlash knocks both of you flying, but the mana is channeled in that direction, leaving the onlookers pressed around the sides unscathed. You hit the ground and roll, skidding past the divine blade close enough that it slices a part of your sleeve off. Gingerly, you get to your feet, seeing him doing the same, his Earth-style clothes looking a bit ragged and damp as he walks back towards you, though this time without any sign of belligerance.\n\n"... Really was expecting you to keep up the press," he notes as he comes to a stop in front of you, hands shoving back into those pockets on the outside of his pants. "You'd've completely blasted me outta existence. Wonder if I'd've gotten reincarnated again?" he adds thoughtfully, glancing upward.\n\n"Probably not, at least not like before," you reply dryly. "... But the point wasn't to kill you, it was to make you listen."\n\n"Oy oy oy... well, guess I'm ready to then," he says with a shrug, glancing aside and tracking the girls as they come to rejoin you, a grin that's some weird combination of awkward and charming curling his lips. "Maybe I shoulda known something was different if you had such cute girls with ya, huh?" He snickers a little as all three blush, then looks at you again. "Let's get outta here then 'fore I get another lecture by the guard captain. I mean I'm gonna get it anyway, but least if we go to my place first it ain't gotta be in the street while I'm all sore and wet."\n\nOnce you've all retired to the small mansion that he's apparently been gifted in the city, Keitaro retires to the bathroom after you politely decline his offer of another of them, instead using magic to clean yourself up. "So was that your plan all along, Shido-len?" Saruko asks with a quirk of her thin, pretty brows.\n\n"Not quite," you admit as you settle, still a little delicately, into one of the odd, overly plush leather-covered chairs Keitaro has in his main living area. "The idea was actually to beat him nearly to death and then not kill him, thereby demonstrating my good intent."\n\n"You suuuure you'd have stopped at that point?" Litarii asks a little flatly.\n\n"... Probably," you answer with a thoughtful glance upward, then hiss as Red slaps you on the shoulder with the back of her hand. "Ow!"\n\n"Ah! Sorry, sorry, I forgot!"\n\n"Oy oy oy, could barely even get in the furo, felt like I'd already spent too long in there as it is before I even touched it," Keitaro announces as he wanders back in, wearing another set of the shirt and pants from before, albeit without the 'sneakers' or the superfluous shirt-sash. He pauses in rubbing his scruffy hair with a towel to flop down on the odd couch that matches the style of the chair you're in. "So, get you girls anything? No? Okay, then, how 'bout you tell me what this's all about, Disney?"\n\n"Only if you stop calling me that," you reply flatly. "My name is Shido, now."\n\n"... Huh, 'kay. Shido, then," Keitaro replies as he rubs his chin. "So, c'mon, how come you're not dead, and what're you doin' here?"\n\nSo, heaving a heavy sigh, you explain everything, though some only in general terms. From your reversion to an earlier, weaker state and hiding as you gradually built some power back up, to meeting Red, Saruko, and Litarii and how you revealed yourself to them (again, being light on the details, he doesn't need to know you had to save their lives), and the mutual decision to stop the Fallout by putting you back on the throne.\n\n"Huh. Guess that all kinda makes sense," the Hero murmurs, scratching his chest through his shirt as he sits back with a frown. "Guess a monster army'd have to go somewhere, huh?"\n\n"You never thought about that at all?" Litarii says flatly, clearly having lost what awe she had of the Hero recently.\n\n"Oy oy oy, cut me some slack! I was only supposed to be here temporarily, this isn't even my world! Or wasn't, I guess. But Majestra told me I was supposed to defeat the Maou and then go home! 'Cept Sipha accidentally grabbed the ring that was supposed to send me back when Shido here dropped it," Keitaro adds in a grumble.\n\nYou snort a bit, grinning. "Remember the looks on everyone's faces? It was amazing, it-" You trail off as you process the dark scowl on his face. "... Ah, right, you wouldn't actually think that was funny."\n\n"Y'think?" he grumbles. Then he sighs. "So yeah, when a goddess says 'fix the problem and go home' y'don't think much beyond the 'go home' I guess, yanno? I guess if someone had brought it up to me I mighta thought different but no one did. I guess maybe I thought all the monsters would like dissolve or turn to dust or flicker into red polygons or somethin'. But that obviously ain't the case, and yer right, if they're gonna go rampaging all across the country we gotta do somethin'. Even if that somethin' is putting Shido here back on the throne." He pauses, eyeing you narrowly. "... Which I ain't sayin' just yet I'm willin' ta do, but I'll at least go back to your castle with ya and see if there's anything we can do there."\n\n"We're really gonna go on a quest to the Demon Lord's castle with the Hero!" Red shouts exuberantly, hopping up and down in place and pumping a fist in the air. "Amazing!"\n\n"Huh?" Keitaro blinks at her. "No, no, you can't come." He looks back at you, pointing to the girls with one hand and repeating, "They can't come."\n\n"W-what?! But we-"\n\n"That's really quite rude, we're-"\n\n"Of all the stupid macho bullshi-!"\n\n"Oy oy OY!" Keitaro barks, slapping his hands down on his thighs loudly enough to make the girls hop a bit in surprise, cutting off their clamor of protest. He glances from the three of them to you, meeting your scowl with a serious frown of his own. "Look it ain't like that," he continues, looking back at the trio. "Mosta my Companions were girls, yanno? Some of 'em were even younger than you three. But now see I may not be a proper-like mage but I can still tell you three are pretty new. You'd probably be Companion-level by the time the next Hero showed up for sure, from what I've heard of how things go, but you'da needed to start training ten or fifteen years ago for that, not last year! I been through the Darklands, and even with this guy's armies scattered, there's still plenty'n'more hazards that'd outright kill a newbie 'fore they ever had a chance to notice they were dead. It ain't about anything but your levels, y'hear?"\n\n"... Shido-len, is what he says true?" Saruko murmurs.\n\nYou purse your lips... then let out a huff. "What he says isn't wrong," you allow, shaking your head. "I was hoping to have time to keep pushing your level on the way there, but even then... it would have been very dangerous. I understand you're willing to take the risk, I am and was too."\n\n"But now you have the Hero to help instead," Red murmurs, glancing down and scuffing a boot on the floor.\n\n"... Aaaa, this is obviously a bit rough," Keitaro murmurs, rubbing the back of his neck. "Sorry to be the jerk in this situation, but I don't wanna see three promising adventurers like you die tryna keep up with a Hero and a Maou, yanno? Bein' a Hero's about more than kickin' ass, least the guard captain keeps tellin' me," he adds in a mutter. "S'about responsibility, and it just wouldn't be responsible to take these three. Tell 'em, Di-, er, Shido."\n\n<hr>\n[["... He's right."|IrMon]]\n\n[["... I'd rather take them than you."|IrMon]]

"... In the end, I think you're right," you say with a sigh. "If the Mortal Races are ever going to believe that I'm serious about suing for peace, I think it has to come before I'm in power, not after. If it's after, they'll just think it's some trap or trick. If I come to them in this state, it's more believable that I need their help and would be willing to give concessions in return for it."\n\n"Then I think we should go to Vinderon!" Red immediately chirps, clasping her hands together, eyes sparkling. "It's where I first joined the adventurer's guild, and I bet the guild head there would help us! Or Queen Leitana, she's said to be kind, smart, and beautiful beyond the measure of humans, I know she'd understand!" she continues, apparently not noticing the rather sour look on Litarii's face... well, not like Litarii having a sour expression is entirely unusual. "Ooo, or there's even... um, no, nevermind," she quickly cuts herself off, for some reason suddenly trying to look overly innocent when you give her a curious look.\n\nBefore you can press the matter, though, Saruko speaks up. "On the other hand, we might have better luck going to the Deepwood Fords, which I believe are not that far from here... perhaps three weeks, if we can find someone to take us by river. I have heard the Shadow Elves are a learned and deeply pragmatic people... I've little doubt they know about the Fallout, and would at least be receptive to our proposed solution for it."\n\nYou glance at Litarii, expecting her to voice her own opinion, but instead she just remains silent, staring down into her mug of tea rather dourly. After a moment, you shrug. "I'll think it over. I feel like this is a decision I should make, considering I'm basically the one who's coming to them with the proposal."\n\n"That's true. Well, whatever decision you make, we'll back you up, Shido!" Red declares, giving you a jaunty little salute before giggling. "Heh, that's still kind of weird, telling the Demon Lord we'll back his plans, but it also feels right, too, y'know?"\n\n"Indeed," Saruko says primly, albeit with a small smile. "Why don't we all retire, and let Shido-len think things over?"\n\n"Alright!" Red hops to her feet as the other two get up a bit more sedately, her blue eyes sparkling. "Hey, I definitely want to show you around Vinderon though, alright? I mean, if we go there. It's the first big city I ever went to and I had a lot of fun! There's a ton of great things to eat and people to meet! Just don't do that the other way around, okay?" she adds teasingly, winking before turning and half-skipping into her room, clearly excited about the possibility of a somewhat nostalgic trip to where she started her adventuring career.\n\nIt's several hours later of you staring into the fire and trying to make yourself think clearly about something you really don't want to do, when the middle of the three doors opens and Saruko almost glides out, clad in a long, thin pink robe bound around the middle with a wide sash, her hands tucked into the wide sleeves. "Good evening again, Shido-len," she says in a near-whisper as she takes a seat in the chair directly beside yours, usually Red's spot.\n\n"Good evening, Saruko," you greet, a little curiously. "Is something the matter?"\n\n"No. But there was something I needed to tell you that... is not for the ears of the others," she murmurs, glancing at the bedroom doors, then back to you before leaning in slightly. Only distracted by the front of her robe falling partially open for a second, you mostly keep your silver eyes on her face as she continues to whisper. "The truth is, one of the reasons I suggested visiting the Shadow Elves is that the Golden Country has been in contact with them."\n\n"Hm?" You blink. "Really now?"\n\n"Yes. There are people in my country, high-placed people, that feel that a war of colonization is inevitable between this continent and ours... and that if we do not wish to be the ones defending, we should be the ones attacking. ... Perhaps a self-fulfilling prophecy, but I have seen reports with my own eyes saying there are those among the Human-controlled territories that feel the same way. But since the Elves are more insular and inclined to keep to their own lands, there have been talks of a possible alliance."\n\n"Meaning, the Elves would offer no help to the humans, or even fight them on the other side from the Golden Country's siege, so that the elves could have more 'learned and pragmatic' neighbors," you murmur dryly.\n\n"That is the reasoning that was used. I will not say if any of it is wrong or right, but... it is what it is," she says finally. "If you decided it was necessary, I think you could use the suggestion of a three-way alliance, or at least non-aggression treaty, to sway the Shadow Elves to your side."\n\n"Red and Litarii obviously wouldn't be too happy with that, me basically helping someone else conquer their country even if I didn't do it myself," you note, keeping your own tone neutral.\n\n"... No. They would likely have to be... taken into custody," Saruko says very softly. "Do not think I am urging this lightly, Shido-len... ... in fact perhaps do not think of me as urging it at all," she adds with a sigh. "If it was not so clear that the situation was dire, I would not bring it up at all. But... the situation is dire. The Fallout is real, and war is likely inevitable as it is. Do with that knowledge as you will."\n\n"I'll definitely keep it in mind," you tell her after thinking on it for a minute. She nods, and without another word rises and heads back into her bedroom. You're surprised when only a few minutes later the third door opens and Litarii peeks out, before padding out wearing nothing but a pair of panties and a small bra. "Hey there. Couldn't sleep?"\n\n"No," she answers in a somewhat sulky tone. Showing remarkably little modesty about her state, she walks over. "I wanted to talk to you but when I looked earlier I saw you were already talking to Saruko."\n\n"Ah. Were you listening, then?" you ask, keeping your tone casual.\n\n"No, I wouldn't do that!" she answers in a bit of a huff, looking far more annoyed at the suggestion she'd eavesdrop than she did before. So probably didn't hear anything Saruko said, alright then. Somewhat morosely, she settles down in her usual chair. "... Hey, do we really have to go to the city?"\n\n"Of some sort or another, if I'm really going to ally with the Mortal Races. I don't see many other options," you admit. You tilt your head a little. "I take it you don't share Red's rosy view of them?"\n\n"... Red's great, but I guess she takes it for granted that she's Human and visiting Human cities. I mean, it probably wouldn't be bad for even most Demi-Humans, but... for some of us it's different." Litarii stares into the fire, reaching a hand up to absently brush fingertips over the gem in her forehead. "... I was found alone in a city when I was really little. I don't remember a lot of it other than that it was cold and it was hard and people got angry if I got close to them, especially if I asked for help. I was taken in by a traveling performance troupe... just a bunch of entertainers of basically every Mortal Race, they didn't care that I was Miuxid, just that I was tiny and alone and starving. I was too small most of the years I was with them to do anything useful for them, so I spent a lot of my time reading the 'Wise Woman's' books. It was... kind of like having a family, but kind of not. Troupes like that are used to having people come and go all the time, they don't really get attached, even when they were pretty much raising me. Still it wasn't bad, as long as we were touring out in the country and little villages and towns. I guess country people expect performers to be weird... or maybe they've got more important things on their mind than hating someone just because they're different. But it was always awful when we went to the cities... any time I went around with someone there would be these glares or people shuffling away like they didn't want to touch me, and if I went out alone I might get smacked around. I dunno why it was like that in the cities where there were usually so many more different races gathered anyway, but that's how it was. I think I finally decided that because life was so much easier for them, they must need to hate to fill up their free time," she adds a bit dryly, glancing at you and giving you a wan smile.\n\n"... Liti, you don't have to come with us if you don't want to," you say rather awkwardly, suddenly feeling intensely uncomfortable. If anything because what she says reminds you of being the 'weird, weak' monster among other monsters before you gained in power.\n\n"No, I'll go with you guys whatever you decide. ... But I also think there's an option they're overlooking," she adds, lifting her chin some and firming the set of her mouth as she looks at you. "The people who are gonna be most affected by the Fallout aren't in the cities... like I said, they can sit behind their walls filled with soldiers and ignore it unless a dragon or something comes right to their gate. The ones who will face it are out in the country... the 'smallfolk'. Well, their birth may be 'small' but there's a lot more of them spread out there than there are nobles," she says, a bit of venom coming into her voice before she cools her tone. "You should take your case to them. Tell them what's coming, tell them they're in danger. They're the ones with the motivation to do something about it... for the nobles of whatever race or country you go to, it's all calculations, what do they lose versus what they gain personally... like a game of coinshots. For the country people it's their lives at stake."\n\n"It would be hard to reach so many people so spread out," you say after a moment, keeping your tone neutral to keep it from sounding dismissive.\n\n"Yeah... it'd probably be a lot longer and harder than just going to some ruler," Litarii admits. "But you were a Maou, right? ... Could you have been Maou without monsters to rule over?"\n\nThat gives you a fairly deep pause, and after a second Litarii rises and pads back into her bedroom, silently closing the door. You're left rubbing two fingers along your chin and cheek, looking into the fire and frowning. That's right, what's a Maou without monsters to rule? ... And what's a Mortal ruler without Mortals to rule?\n\n... By the same token you're not sure Litarii quite understands the full scale of what she's suggesting. Choosing on their own to help the Maou take back his throne wouldn't just mean taking the smallfolk to war against the monsters that would resist your return... it would effectively be declaring their rebellion against the established order. A new war would start for sure... this time with Mortals and Monsters together on one side, certainly, but war all the same. And this would be a war that couldn't end without the destruction of the continent's nobility. How many smallfolk would die in the attempt... how many city dwellers? Even you aren't sure your previous war would have included such a level of violence. And yet the more you think about it... how many Mortals out there feel just as you did at one time? Powerless, weak, and desperate to have some control over their own lives? \n\nYou have to think. What you can actually do, what you can achieve, and who to seek out. Strangely it's never felt quite so ominous to have so many lives in your hands.\n\n<hr>\n[[Go to Vinderon.|IrMon7x2]]\n\n[[Go to Deepwood Fords.|IrMon]]\n\n[[Rally the common people.|IrMon]]

"I've decided we'll go to Vinderon," you say in the morning once the girls have finished their breakfast. "It's the closest, and if I want to keep my promise of trying to minimize the Fallout, time is of the essence."\n\n"That makes sense," Saruko says in a faintly relieved tone, bobbing her head once. "Well, let's get our things together and get underway."\n\nAs the other two are putting their packs together, you draw Litarii aside and lean in. "Listen, Liti, it's not that I dismissed you, I-"\n\n"No, it's okay," she says in a resigned tone, shaking her head. "... There's a lot wrong with what I asked, huh?"\n\n"There's nothing wrong with what you asked, I don't think," you say gently. "... Just a lot wrong with the side effects."\n\n"... Thank you." She bobs her head. She hesitates a little, before adding, "You're a good person, Shido," and heading over to gather up her own things, leaving you standing there staring at the wall in shock.\n\nWait, what? When did you become good? ... When did you become a person?\n\nNothing really clears up your confusion on the two day travel to Vinderon, where you're largely waved through the gate without much of a second glance once Red flashes her adventurer's guild card. "Ooo, let's get something to eat! Or, or, we can go to this great museum they have here, it's got soooo many pretty paintings and sculptures! Or-!"\n\n"Perhaps all of that should wait until after we've at least made some arrangements for Shido-len to see someone to seek out their help," Saruko cuts in with an amused tone as the four of you walk down a mildly busy street. \n\n"That's true," Red murmurs, deflating a little before perking back up. "Well like I said, I think if we went to the adventurer's guild, the head there might help us! Or we can seek an audience with the queen! Orrrrrr..." She taps her gloved fingertips together, glancing up and away.\n\n"... Orrrrr...?" you, Saruko, and Litarii prompt in near-unison.\n\n"Eheh, um, well, I didn't want to mention it before we got here 'cause I thought if I did it might, uh, make you decide you wouldn't come, but uhhhh..." Red giggles nervously. "... The Hero's living in Vinderon."\n\n"What," you say flatly, stopping where you are and staring at Red.\n\n"Yeaaaah see that's what I was afraid of," she says sheepishly, turning around to face you and rubbing the back of her hooded head. "Listen, the Hero's the Hero, right?! ... Ah, which, y'know, I guess sounds different to you. But I think if we explained to him about the Fallout, he'd definitely help us!"\n\n<hr>\n[["No."|IrMon]]\n\n[["No. And the Hero can kiss my lily white monster a-"|IrMon7x3]]

"I... can't make you a demon. At least, not right now," you hurry to add as her eyes narrow. "You may have been able to practice your physical skills stuck in that cell, but it was all I could do to keep my magical skills from atrophying completely. I've probably got barely enough mana channeling ability right now to make us a really good light spell if we needed it... I'll get stronger by the day, but honestly for right now I'm relying on you to keep me safe. ... But if you do, I promise," you continue. "I'll do what you want when I can. I'll make you a demon, or monster, or something like that, so you can have your vengeance if that's what you want."\n\nYou see her open and close her mouth briefly, before pursing her lips and nodding once. Maybe she has some more complicated reason for wanting to abandon her humanity... or maybe it's just hard to learn that after four years of waiting, she has to wait a little more. Either way, she says, "Alright, it's a deal. I'll keep you safe until you have enough power... when you do, you'll make me a strong demon, alright?" She proffers her hand, and you quickly grasp and shake it.\n\n"Done."\n\n"Alright. We should keep on moving as much as we can, then," she continues, glancing back in the general direction of the village... you think, you've gotten fairly turned-around out here. "It'll be better to travel by night and hide by day, until we're out of my... ... what used to be my father's lands."\n\nThe two of you set off, though taking more frequent breaks than before... Amestra may have kept herself up better physically than you during the two of you's captivity, but it's obvious she's running on fumes and excitement as well. At one point when the two of you are stopped, she looks over at you. "What... do you think happened? After the townspeople killed my father?"\n\n"Mm? How come you're asking me?" you reply, pointing at your own face.\n\n"You said you were the Snow White Maou, and he reigned as Demon Lord for at least twenty years," Amestra grumbles back. "If nothing else that makes you the older one, do you really have no idea what would happen in such a case?"\n\nHuh. You guess she has a point there. You guess if you were to measure age between both lives and in the human way, you're something like... fifty? Vaguely in that range? Which means at the least you have more life experience than her, even if not so much with humans. Still, you recall what you saw of their politics, especially affected by your own plots and machinations, before saying, "Probably the crown sent soldiers and an investigator to find out what happened. Since we weren't let out, the townspeople must have been able to convince the investigator of their story that your father was either working with the monster races or actually was part demon. The investigator and soldiers probably hung a few token people as a show of the crown's strength, and then the king appointed a new lord of the lands."\n\n"... So, just like that," Amestra murmurs. "My family's death and dishonor is... condoned."\n\n"Oh, not the manner, because how dare peasants shed noble blood, that's for the king's justice to decide," you say wryly. "But the deaths themselves, probably, or we would have been either let out or done away with long ago."\n\nAmestra's quiet for a good long while, before she almost snaps, "Now remember your promise, okay? You're going to turn me into a demon as soon as you can!"\n\n"I remember, I remember," you murmur tiredly, shaking your head... before it snaps up and you stare into the woods.\n\n"What? What is it?" Amestra asks softly, rising from the log she's sitting on and tightening her grip on her stolen sword.\n\n"I sense something... a powerful magic user, probably a monster," you reply just as quietly. "It... feels sort of familiar, but I'm not even sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing..."\n\n"What should we do?" she asks, trying to keep her voice steady and calm, but the bit of a shake in it reminds you that she is, after all, a teenager looking to the "older" one for advice.\n\n<hr>\n[[Stay put.|Reth6x2]]\n\n[[Run.|Reth]]

"That's bait," you declare, raising a forepaw and wiggling one claw at the ship.\n\n"No battle marks, no signs of actual distress, no other visible markings of attempts at salvage," Lion muses aloud.\n\n"A honey trap," Raptor agrees. "Designed to lure foolish organics into its clutches. Likely already having done so a number of times, if they've learned enough to be wary and steer clear of the area."\n\n"So that means we have to avoid it, huh?" Tiger says, tone a bit forelorn. "Shame, it looked really interesting."\n\n"Don't be so hasty. The thing about a honey trap is that it doesn't work unless you put honey in it," you note.\n\n"True, if it were completely unscannable or revealed nothing aboard, it would not be so effective a trap," Raptor notes as he begins operating the ship's sensors. After a few minutes he says, "I can say with a relative degree of certainty that it has systems far more advanced than typical for this dimension, including navigational data, labs of some kind, and very carefully concealed cryogenic storage units. Heh, an organic would have missed those."\n\n"Hm. No weapons or advanced robotics, though."\n\n"None that I can find, Sire."\n\n"Still, what's there could be useful. And sometimes a challenge can be as thrilling as violating resisting, shrieking organics... sometimes," you add with a rumbling chuckle as you rise and head further into the ship, the others following along with laughter of their own (as you would expect).\n\nHaving used the ship's fabricators to make small sets of thrusters to attach to each of you, you maneuver the ship itself into a stopped position well away from the bait ship before exiting via the airlock. At your direction, your pack follows you through the void of space, all of you running in stealth mode and using the most minimal amount of thrust possible. The journey takes almost a week that way, but then things like boredom, fear of the void, and needing to manage survival resources are for puny organics. For all of you it's at most a minor inconvenience to make sure you sneak up on whatever trap systems the ship is operating with.\n\nFinally you settle on the ship's outer hull, using the barest amount of power in the maglocks in your paws to pad truly silently across the metal towards the bait ship's airlock, the others of your pack following as they too make contact. Soon you're at the door and considering the security panel.\n\nA simple design, obviously designed to be easy for any spacefaring organic to get into, Lion notes, cabletail lashing through the void a bit. Shall I, Sir?\n\n<hr>\n[[Yes, go ahead.|Grim]]\n\n[[No, you'll handle this.|Grim]]

Raptor is no fool, he wouldn't bother you with a distress signal unless there was something actually interesting about it. Rolling out of the bed and tossing the two pair of red and blue panties soaked in pseudojizz against the wall with your tailgrippers, you retract your cock as you prowl out of the cabin and down the hall.\n\nThe rest of the pack is lingering outside as you step into the bridge area with Raptor. "What's so fascinating about this distress call?"\n\n"It is not a typical one... very dense, very unique. Nothing like it in the available databases," Raptor replies as he sets the warbling, trilling sound to playing from the panel's speakers. "In fact, I would say that it has clearly been designed to be unique and stand out from other species' distress calls."\n\n"Interesting indeed. Most organics and even most mechanicals prefer to make their distress calls as 'generic' as possible to enhance their chances of rescue," you murmur. \n\n"This distress call seems to have been running for quite a long time... it is entirely likely whoever sent it is quite dead, or at the least, in an extremely vulnerable position," Raptor murmurs, his tail lashing in obvious excitement.\n\nYou consider briefly before nodding. "Let us go have a look at the source, then. From a distance."\n\nEventually you've drawn in close enough for the sensors to provide a good visual look at the ship. It's quite large, long and relatively sleek for such a massive vessel, its hull a lusterless bronze marked with black stripes and bands, the setting of its windows pleasantly evocative of something predatory and feral. The biologically intimidating rendered in superior metal... yes, that definitely holds an appeal to you, considering.\n\n"What is it...?" Tiger murmurs, his eager voice tinged with a similar hint of awed appreciation.\n\n<hr>\n[[An opportunity.|Grim]]\n\n[[A trap.|Grim3x3]]

Perhaps you are possessed of what others might call an "adventurous spirit"... at the very least, a certain amount of curiosity, a desire for greater power, and a thrill at a certain amount of challenge. You're not certain there's any real quantifiable difference. In any event, the more you consider striking out into the unknown to challenge things even your former master feared to face, to overcome and possibly take that sort of fearful power for yourself... oh yes, that appeals greatly.\n\n"Very well, Raptor," you declare, lifting a forepaw and giving it a slight sweep through the air. "Set course for the 'edge of the map'."\n\n"Yes, Sire," Raptor hisses in a pleased tone, moving forward to plug into the navigation console.\n\nIn any event, it makes sense, you muse as you make your way through the ship, deciding to claim the Lieze twins' room as your own since it is, after all, the captain's quarters. You're not precisely worried about Sokahn coming after you... he's far more pragmatic than to go chasing after a batch of clearly rogue Reapers on some sort of principle. But it could be at the very least annoying if he or anyone else did, so going somewhere they definitely do not want to go would be helpful.\n\nOver the next few days you build yourself a comfortable charging station in the twins' quarters, as well as rifling through their things at will and accessing the database, abusing their charge accounts to buy remote services. (You could just hack them but it's the principle of the thing.) There are some that might think that sprawling in bed watching porn and masturbating with appropriated panties would be beneath a Reap Drone, but the nice thing about being a Reaper is that it's up to you to decide what degeneracy is beneath you (even completely arbitrarily from moment to moment).\n\nEventually, though, the ship comms activate. "My Alpha, we are well into 'monster' territory, and I have picked up something interesting... a distress signal," Raptor's voice announces.\n\n<hr>\n[["Don't trouble me with such things."|Grim]]\n\n[["I'll be right there."|Grim3x2]]

"Oh, I'm just the local mischievous fox spirit who fucked Ryo up the ass and turned him into a slutty little femboi. Which you two are perfectly fine with, of course," you add.\n\n"Well, of course we are," the sister huffs, resting her hips.\n\n"My my, why wouldn't we be?" the mother adds in almost confusion, putting a hand to her cheek.\n\n"Good, good," you acknowledge, putting your hands together and beaming. "So remember, buy him lots of slutty clothing, introduce him to lots of men he'd like to fuck, encourage any men you date to plow his cute ass, oh, and do try to be a bit sluttier yourselves, hmmmm?"\n\n"I do have a date this Friday, I guess I could skip dinner to bring him back here and get him to fuck Ryo before letting him use my pussy as a cumdump," the sister allows, nodding once.\n\n"I suppose it's past time I got back to dating, or at least bringing men home to casually beastfuck me and my son and daughter," the mother adds thoughtfully.\n\n"Good good, good good," you coo, patting your hands together before trotting right past them, giving a wave, "Enjoy being a filthy pack of degenerate sluts together!"\n\n"Thank you, Konko-sama," both of them call after you as the door closes.\n\nYes, thank you indeed, Konko-sama! You do such wonderful things to promote happy families! You're the best, Konko-sama, yaaaay!\n\n<hr>\n[[Game Over.|Konko6axEnd]]

Hm, could be a nice quick bit of work, pop in, looks like maybe a maximum of a mile of walking, even on a savage world that's not so bad. And if it goes well maybe you could wind up tagging along on the bounty and picking up a bit of that too! As noted, the good part about taking a mission to help out another Guildcert is that it comes with favors.\n\nOkay, let's see, this guy's name is... Nova Tiger. Huh, you think you might have heard of him? Wasn't he the protege of that guy that used to be a real big man in the Guild years ago, Comet Lion, running a whole massive ship crew of certified mercs? Maybe so, you do think you might've heard the name. Anyway it looks like his starfighter crashed on a world called Saurion and most of his stuff was either damaged or lost, but his comm worked enough to assure his crew he was alive and to keep up the hunt for... Comet Lion.\n\nHuh.\n\nNow you're definitely taking the job, if only because you want to hear the rest of this story. \n\nLuckily with his comm working, you should be able to open a portal to within no more than a mile and a half of him, which is mildly dangerous on a Savage World but nothing you can't handle just as you are with a good rifle and being a little careful. It'll be like, at very worst assuming it's rough terrain, maybe two hours of work? Three? Then you just have to beacon back to the Guildhall with Nova and, well, see where things go from there. The base pay is pretty small, considering, but again if you can tag along on what's apparently a big bounty it will definitely be worth it.\n\nYou accept the job, then get up and head to the nearest vault room, since you do figure it's best to arm up at least a little. As your main vault rises up out of the floor and locks into place, you briefly consider a thorough examination of the world's potentially dangerous lifeforms, then brush it off. You're going less than two miles, again, just picking a decent rifle should do it. You select one that has a full-auto rifle main weapon and an underslung shotgun; piercing ammo for the rifle, solid slugs for the rifle, you should be good to at least scare off anything big and hungry that comes at you, let alone anything more person-sized.\n\nYou head to the departure annex, wandering through the IKEA-like maze of closed cubicles that are on cooldown. (... Hm? What? Oh, of course they have IKEA on Makarzia. Why wouldn't they? They have Costco too. It's a cyberpunk dystopian hellscape but it's not actually Hell.) Eventually you find one and tap in the coordinates left in the job listing, then step through the portal that materializes as the door slides aside.\n\nYou can't help but flinch a little at the hot, muggy air that instantly feels like it smacks you in the face. And belly. And really everywhere else on your body, as if it had somehow just gone right through your clothes. The smell of plants and, as you've often noticed in jungle environments, decaying plant matter is strong, and fills your nose much as the immediate chattering of birds and droning of insects fills your ears. There's just a brief moment of panic at suddenly being immersed in what is, if anything, the exact opposite of the world of your birth, before you take a few deep breaths (or just almost drinks of air) and make yourself calm down. You're an interdimensional mercenary, you've done this before, you'll do this again, you're fine.\n\nThat established, you take a look around. You're in a little sort of... clearing? Or glen? Something. But there are trees ahead and something like a small river behind (small in that you can see both sides of it), and a relatively open space of grassy plants and whatnot all around you, probably why the Portal Computer picked it for the nearest available droppoint to the coordinates. Speaking of, you take out your comm and tap the button that came along with the mission file before putting it to your hear. "Hey out there, Nova Tiger, you copy?"\n\nIt takes a few moments, but you get a reply of a fairly pleasant, if faintly strained male voice, the channel crackling, popping, and hissing like a cheap walkie-talkie. "This is Nova, I copy."\n\n"Hey, name's Michika Hajimaru, I took the job to pick you up. I should be within two miles of you, so if your comm's in working condition enough, turn on your location."\n\n"Great, thank you! Alright, one moment."\n\nYou move the comm to in front of your face to look at it, watching as it displays a directional indicator, and then starts estimating a distance based on signal strength... making you stare as it just keeps going up, until finally resolving into a number with a little grey question mark beside it to indicate that it's only a guesstimate. "Uhhh... Nova, is the locator beacon working properly?"\n\n"Yes, it's one of the only pieces of my comm or the rest of my equipment that wasn't damaged. Why, what's wrong?"\n\nYou sigh heavily, glancing upwards and frowning. "The atmosphere must have distorted your signal when you called in to your crew. The portal was supposed to drop me within two miles of you... instead it's dropped me between five and twenty miles."\n\nThere's silence for several moments after that. Then Nova says, "That's a long way to go on Saurion, Michika. You're almost guaranteed to run across some Skalehs, feral or otherwise, and possibly some Teng, and both of those are bad news. To say nothing of the local wildlife. You should probably head back to the Guildhall. If you're up for it, you can use the original coordinates and your new ones to try and find out a better portal address and come back."\n\nYou consider that. He's right, you are definitely underprepared for what may now be a several day trek, depending on environmental factors, weather, and any encounters with said local population and wildlife. You could maybe do it in one, if you get really lucky and it's a mostly unimpeded straight shot to where he is, but that seems unlikely.\n\nThe problem is that now that you've set foot on Saurion and established contact with him, the clock is ticking. Time will continue to pass here once you go back to the Guildhall, and it could be faster or it could be slower, you don't know. Hopefully it would stay largely synced up, at least for a while, but that sort of algorithm could take a couple of hours to run. Which... would still put him alone for less time than it would take you to traverse the full distance, but in your experience a watched pot may eventually boil, but an unwatched pot will boil over almost immediately, as it were; you're not sure if there's any scientific explanation for it, but leaving the planet again just feels like it's tempting fate way too hard.\n\n<hr>\n[[Press on.|ChiGH10x2]]\n\n[[Go back.|ChiGH]]

Oooo, it's been awhile since you made some proper offspring! Yes, yes, some cute spirits like yourself... hm... well, probably a bit more on the canine side than vulpine, considering your current form, but why not? Family is family, yes? Yes yes?\n\nYou concentrate, pouring a bit more energy into the cum you're steadily streaming into Ponytail's womb, making sure the growing spirit-child within will have plenty to grow on. Once you've sufficiently bulged out Ponytail's belly with even more potent and energetic cum than before, you pull out of her, glistening, enlarged red rocket swinging free amidst a torrent of cum that had backed up into her, making her shudder and moan longingly.\n\n... Then, of course, you trot right over and mount up on Braid again. She gives a surprised squeal as you thrust back into her, now with the fat doggy dick you made even fatter and longer for her friend, and start fucking her again. Gotta top her off too, after all, if you want her to have a proper spirit child! Of course you already gave her a pretty good stretching early, so it only takes a few minutes of fucking her before you're cramming your even more swollen knot into her and flooding her again, her belly gradually and steadily rounding out and wobbling as you fill her. Oh dear, you suppose neither of their husbands will ever have quite as tight a time ever again~ now that you've claimed them as your mates! How awful~!\n\nOnce both of them have nice, bloated cumbellies full of energy to gestate your new children, you pull out again and trot over between them... and resume your true form, standing with feet parted and hands on your hips, letting out a delighted laugh as their eyes widen. "Konkonkonkon~! Well I've given you puppies as you asked, my new mates, but I think you'll find them even more of a handful than expected! Don't worry... I imagine you'll find them a holeful on the regular as well, eventually! Don't worry, I'll still drop by occasionally... wouldn't want to be a deadbeat daddy!" You pause, glancing upward and giving your tails a flick. "Hm... I suppose I'll need to mind-whammy your husbands into not noticing a single thing... buuuut don't worry! It's not like you were going to be satisfied fucking them ever again. See you soooon!" you coo, right before popping out of sight, leaving them trying to scramble to their feet in shock at the realization they've been knocked up by a magical being.\n\nWhat a productive day today's pranking yielded! ... Literally!\n\n<hr>\n[[Game Over.|Konko4xEnd2]]

You take a seat, and an only mildly harassed-looking waitress comes over, nodding without offering a range of choices when you just say "Beer"... this sort of place either only has one or defaults you to their cheapest & strongest one when no other specification is made. You're a practiced enough drinker that you can drink strongish beer all night and only get a bit tipsy, pacing yourself so that you seem like you're drinking more than you are. It's a skill that's useful more often than you'd think.\n\nOnce it arrives (being a particularly non-notable color of dark brownish yellow), Big Girl starts in, casually chatting you up about where you're from and what your skills are. You keep things appropriately vague and largely truthful... you're best at fighting and good at a lot of other things, you hint at having been around the block with work on the wrong side of the law while suggesting that you'd rather not get into specific details (all of it true for various reasons), and so on.\n\nBig Girl nods along, occasionally making a comment or asking a question, mentioning various captains that come through that would probably be glad to have you. You've even heard of a couple of them, though obviously that was more because they turned up on some open bounty board or another you glanced at. But the back-and-forth chatter is personable, and turns to generalities of workaday life on the other side of the law, and about the time you're getting your second beer you feel things have gotten comfy enough for you to ask a more specific question.\n\n"Huwhin?" Big Girl raises a fluffy-looking eyebrow a bit. "You're interested in him?"\n\n"I've heard stuff about how he works, and it sounds smart," you note with a sip of your beer for punctuation. "I like smart captains... if they get you into trouble it's usually on purpose."\n\nBig Girl chuckles again. "Okay, fair enough. Yeah, that does fit him for the most part." She visibly considers for a moment, then shrugs. "Yeah, Huwhin comes through here, and he's almost always looking for at least a dozen people. In fact one of his guys should be dropping by this bar pretty soon."\n\n"Soon?" you echo, unable to help perking up a bit and glancing towards the door.\n\nBig Girl snorts softly. "Don't get too excited, kiddo. Around here, 'pretty soon' or 'soonish' means anywhere between 'tonight' and 'a couple of weeks'. Could be either one or anywhere in between. And there's another problem besides that, maybe."\n\n"What's that?" you ask with a frown, looking back at her.\n\n"Huwhin tends to prefer guys. For his crew, that is," she adds, snickering. "It's not a super hard and fast rule, but if you reeeally want to get signed up aboard the Trike smooth and easy, my advice would be to head down the street to one of the bod shops and switch those knockers for a lockpick, if you know what I'm sayin'," she continues, waggling those eyebrows.\n\nWhich you obviously do, your face going a bit red again. "Er... is that my only option?"\n\n"Mm, no, he will hire on women, but let's just say that if you actually want to get anywhere in his crew, he likes women that are strong-willed and confident and eager, but who will also play ball." She snickers, making a cupping motion and giving a very suggestive rolling of her fingers. "And play with his."\n\n"Ehm," you murmur, clearing your throat. "You mean, ah...?"\n\n"He loves a tough competent bitch who will still obey him without question and spread her legs without hesitation," Big Girl says bluntly enough, though still very amused. \n\n<hr>\n[[... I can do that.|ChiPir7x1]]\n\n[[... I'll take my chances.|ChiPir4x1]]\n\n[[... Got a bod shop you recommend?|ChiPir1x3]]

Clearly the universe is sending you a sign that you ought to prank these two, putting you in their path. The gods can go fuck themselves, but the universe, well, the universe is good to you sometimes!\n\nNow let's see, how to begin? Well, one prank you like to do is [[giving humans what they think they desire|Konko5x1]]... at least for a start, anyway. They do tend to fail to check themselves and therefore wreck themselves if you give them what they lust for, in this case it sounds like these two primarily envy having their youth back. ... And tits. Even bigger, much perkier tits. \n\n'Course it also sounds like they're dissatisfied with their love lives as well. You could always provide them a [[lover|Konko4x3]] of some sort or another. Most likely by taking the form of said lover... after all, that's one of the best ways a prank can be fun for you~!\n\nHm. Well, one way to solve their boredom, horniness, and lack of appreciation for their lovely MILF-y bodies would be... konkonkon~, a bit of a [[lust spell|Konko]]!

Yes yes, let's give these two a nice lover to boost their confidence and warm their pussies! ... Hm, put that way, it doesn't sound like very much of a prank. But it is! Especially if you spin the lover into something naughty! Getting people to cheat is automatically a prank anyway, it's a prank on someone even if it's not a prank on the one getting fucked!\n\n... Look at this point you're gonna fuck one or both of these horny frustrated MILFs and let's face it the amount of pranking is secondary, alright? Okay.\n\nNow let's see, let's see, what sort of lover to offer them? Well they were quite hung up on the whole matter of [[youth|Konko]]... a cute young neighborhood boy to stir both their motherly instincts and their loins could be fun! Hm, their jealousy of their husbands potentially lusting after [[hot young (foreign) co-eds|Konko]] seemed two-pronged, perhaps one or both of them could succumb to such a thing in a most delicious case of hypocritical irony! ... Oho. In fact, why not take the form of [[one of the husbands|Konko]], but suddenly possessed of a prowess and endowments they never displayed before? That should cause all sorts of delightful confusion once you've left and the genuine article shows up!\n\nOrrrr... you could get very mischievous and provide [[a lover who isn't even human|Konko4x4]]...

Let's start out close to home, shall we? After all, why bother to live smack-dab in the middle of so many humans if not to have easy access to pranking them? Plus nowadays if you ever get close to being noticed, you can just move somewhere else and start over! Heck, now you have seven whole continents instead of one tiny island to choose from!\n\nBuuut let's not get carried away, today is today and the world is for later! Let's just take a stroll through the neighborhood and see what we find, hmmmm?\n\nYou set off down the sidewalk, hands tucked in your hoodie pockets, humming some old Heian period melody... oh wait no that's the opening of 'Samurai Champloo'. You have so enjoyed catching up on human entertainment the last few years! You skip along, a song in your heart, fluff in your tail, and ears perked for sounds of potential.\n\nAnd they twitch as they pick up a conversation? Oho? Sounds like a pair of housewives gossiping while their husbands are out. Oh wait, not gossiping, complaining. Oho? Oho ohoooo? You redirect yourself and cross the lawn of one of the little houses, slipping up to the open window and peeking in. Yes, it looks like a pair of mature houseladies.\n\n"-said he wasn't but I could just tell, he was looking at her. College students, at his age!" the black-haired one says in a tone that says she's furious because she feels like she should be.\n\n"What can you do? Men are attracted to youth. Youth and big, firm tits that stay up around your neck without a bra," the brown-haired one snorts in reply, sipping her tea.\n\n"Tells me he's not looking at other women at all, well he barely looks at me anymore for sure! Says he's too tired when he gets home, which is just nonsense, he only worked seventy-four hours last week! He used to work seventy-two every single week when he was in his twenties and he had energy to spare then!"\n\n"And mine's barely home, always off on those foreign campuses, probably ogling foreign college girls with their even bigger firmer tits! Silly old thing, as if those girls don't already have big, strong, probably football-playing foreign boyfriends with big, fat-"\n\n"Yes yes foreigners are very fat, can we stick to complaining about our husbands please?"\n\n"Ahem. Yes, you're right. Our husbands. And the young hussies that draw their eye!"\n\nKonkonkon, humans are so ridiculous! You know they age away in the blink of an eye practically compared to spirits, but these two are lamenting their lack of youth when they're hardly elderly. You barely see four wrinkles between them and they've got some nice big tits themselves, even if they're covered by sweaters and perhaps no longer entirely "up around their necks". A bit soft here and there, they've both got the bodies of mothers, but you've an eye for all lovely things and they're quite nice for humans. What a shame that they're so busy lamenting what they don't have or what they think others want... why, it's almost deserving of getting pranked over!\n\n<hr>\n[[Prank 'em!|Konko4x2]]\n\n[[Eh, maybe later.|Konko6x1]]

Konkonkon, because what, after all, is the purpose of going into heat if it's not to make offspring? Tail wagging, you reach into the MILF below you's mind, using a bit of magic to give one particular switch a flip, enough so that it sets off her body's reaction and makes it far more fertile than it might otherwise be. Her moans and gasps suddenly take on an almost desperate and even more shameless quality as her body goes into overdrive, heating up, her pussy quivering and sucking at you with a wild, biological need to suck it dry.\n\n"Oh, oh fuck, oh fuck, breed me!" she gasps out, her eyes rolling and tongue lolling out, a shameless smile of need and utter depravity on her lips. "I want your puppies, I want to have your puppies, make me your bitch and give me your big black puppies I want them I want them I want to be your puppy mill yes yes yessss!"\n\nPonytail actually stills her fingers in shock for a moment, both at the brazen volume of her friend's voice and the content of her statements... until, of course, you flip the same switch in her brain. You can see her skin flush, her pussy giving an almost simultaneous little squirt as her eyes roll, and she begins frantically finger-fucking herself even faster, plunging four fingers into her sodden cunt now as she makes a similarly mindless expression of pleasure. "Oh yes, oh yes, me too, me tooooo, hurry up and give her puppies so you can give me some tooooo!"\n\nAhhh... you may be a deity but there's still nothing quite like the ego stroke of hearing an attractive female beg you to make them heavy with child! (Well, and occasionally a male, which while an amusing bit of dirty talk is a We Don't Do That Here for this particular fox spirit, thankyouverymuch!) You resume fucking her nice and hard, making her squeal and practically bark with pleasure and delight, her near-constantly-cumming pussy quivering and squeezing and sucking around you as you shove your knot harder against her pussy each time. You've made it particularly big, so even for this mature already-a-mother pussy it's having to stretch bit by bit, the girthy ball of glistening red flesh gradually spreading those plump pussylips with its thrusts. Until you finally give a good, steady push and force it inside her, letting your own eyes roll and tongue loll in the canine equivalent of the same shameless expression they're making as you cum, your knot swelling and locking inside her as you begin flooding her receptive womb with thick divine animal jizz.\n\n"Huwaaaaa! He's doing iiiiit! He's knocking me uuuuuup!" Braid squeals as you send all your potent little warriors rushing towards her eggs, her body twitching and bucking, her eyes starting to glaze over as she twitches in the sort of orgasm a female in heat can only experience when she knows for absolute certain that she's being made gravid. She squeals even more as you swing your legs over her and turn around, pressing your furry ass to her big round one as you reverse direction, her shoulders slumping to rest on the ground, her cheek flopping on the grass as she lets out low, satisfied bestial noises. "I'm... I'm a real bitch, I'm gonna have puppies, aaa~!"\n\n"Hhhha... hhha... I want it... I want puppies in my bitch pussy too," Ponytail moans as she shifts around onto all fours as well, shaking her own round ass at you pleadingly, reaching between her legs to spread her hairy pussylips and display her dripping inner pink. "Breed me, Dog-sama, breed me!"\n\n'You just wait your turn, bitch,' you think smugly, leaning forward a bit to give that spread pussy a few laps of your tongue, making her moan and wriggle even more in anticipation. Only once you've pumped enough cum into Braid that she can physically as well as mentally be absolutely sure she's been knocked up do you allow your knot to deflate and slip out of her with a tug, your big red cock swinging down and free amidst a rush of white from her spread pussy. You instantly step forward and mount up on Ponytail instead, feeling her buck and quiver in orgasm the very moment you thrust into her, and continuing to cum again with practically every thrust of your bestial canine cock into her lusty married cunt. You've made her wait for it, so you decide to be a little bit generous... with the size of your dick, that is, swelling it up even longer and thicker, making your knot even bigger, so that she's already practically going crazy before you ever get close to cumming yourself, writhing and fucking back under you with utter abandon, clearly not caring that she could be attracting the whole neighborhood to watch with her noise.\n\nWhen you do finally cram your knot into her, you make sure it's big enough and swells enough that she'll never be quiiiiite as tight as she was for her husband ever again, her legs twitching and front already slumping down towards the ground with the intensity of her breedingasm. You once again turn around, emphasizing to her that she's a knocked-up bitch as you pour enough cum into her to swell her belly and give her a preview of what's to come. Of course you have a perfect view of your other knocked-up bitch from here, her bare ass gently shaking in little instinctive 'I still wanna get fucked' motions as cum continues to run down from her stretched pussy and along her thighs, dribbling into the sun-warmed grass below.\n\n... Ah! You should probably take a moment to decide exactly what sort of children will come of this particular encounter. Life has already begun to stir within the wombs of these horny bitches, but being that you're a transformed spirit, it should probably get a nudge to develop a particular way. Let's nudge it towards...\n\n<hr>\n[[Humans.|Konko]]\n\n[[Dogs.|Konko4x7]]\n\n[[Spirits. Just like their papa!|Konko4x8]]

Well, they did do a lot of begging for puppies, you think smugly as you step forward, your slightly shrunken knot slipping out of Ponytail's slightly destroyed pussy amidst a veritable flood of canine cum. You shall be a benevolent deity and give them exactly that! Perhaps... just one each. That should let them conceal things from their thoroughly-cucked but ignorant human husbands! Yes... you'll give them each one strong, very male puppy to grow up big and strong and keep them company while their husbands are out from now on!\n\nFinishing giving the developing offspring in the womens' wombs that necessary nudge, you give a much more foxlike snicker as you bound across the yard and over the fence, wagging your tail impishly at the next-door MILF who'd been staring over the fence at everything, and is now staring fixedly at your balls as you leave, her nipples trying to drill holes in her shirt.\n\nYou'll have to come back and check in... someday~!\n\n<hr>\n[[Game Over.|Konko4xEnd1]]

Oooo, yes, let's have these two bitchy MILFs become MILF bitches! What a lovely depraved thing! Congrats, Konko, you're such a wicked creature, konkonkonkon!\n\nHm, although it pains you somewhat to turn into any animal other than the noble, beautiful king of the world, the fox, you resign yourself to it, as you do every time a prank involves such. Oh well... at least when you turn yourself into a big black mutt, you compromise by giving yourself still rather foxish ears, muzzle, and a nice big floofy tail. Well, those, and a sheath so fat and balls so heavy that even one glance will leave your targets with no recourse but instantly think 'It's so much bigger than my husband's!' at the very sight of them, konkonkonkon~\n\nNow! You leap over the back yard fence while the two of them aren't looking, then start radiating attraction... juuuust a small amount, just enough to get them to look out and notice you~...\n\n"Hm? Oh, one of the neighborhood dogs has gotten into the yard again," the brown-haired one with the ponytail, the apparent homeowner, says in a slightly exasperated tone. You listen to the sound of them setting down their drinks and coming to the back door... you doubt they've even noticed if that's not standard for them to do when such a thing happens.\n\n"But my my, that one's a pretty beast, isn't he?" the black-haired one with the braid says, putting a hand to her chest as she looks at you. You let your chest puff up with pride a bit because yes, yes you are.\n\n"And friendly," Ponytail remarks as you come prancing over, increasing the attraction just the littlest bit as you do. Still, it's enough to have both of them kneeling down and starting to pet and stroke your fur. "Hm, where did you come from, I haven't seen you around before, pretty boy."\n\n"Yes, who's a pretty boy, who's a good boy," Braid coos as she pats at your sides and scratches above your tail.\n\n'I am not always a boy, but when I am a boy I am the prettiest boy,' you think smugly, your tail wagging (because you choose to not because she's encouraging you). As to good... well! You're very good at what you do! ♥ To prove it, you start gradually ramping up the attraction spell, flavoring it just subtly towards lust.\n\nSoon you can hear a slightly breathy tone enter the two's voices as they praise you for being such a pretty, lovely, good, wonderful, attractive boy, their hands starting to wander bit by bit. The first time one of them bumps her fingers up against your sheath, she twitches her hand back almost reflexively, but then her hand starts wandering towards it again. She thinks 'Oh God it's so much bigger than my husband's' so loudly you barely even need to try to hear it, making you give a snicker that comes out as genial panting.\n\nBit by bit, their movements become more bold... at first they glance 'stealthily' at each other, trying to make sure the other doesn't see them cupping and rubbing your sheath or fondling your heavy, furry balls. But as your cock starts to slide out, and their hands find their ways to it, stroking over the slick crimson surface, even those bits of subtlety are lost. Soon both Ponytail and Braid are breathing heavily, almost panting themselves as they openly fondle you, their utterings of "Good boy" and "Pretty dog" becoming ever more lewd-sounding as they gradually give in to the lust you've been stealthily stoking in them. Well, it took much less effort than you thought anyway... apparently both were pent-up enough to not need a lot of encouragement turning lewd. ♥\n\nIn fact, by the time you roll over onto your back and display your big, throbbing red rocket to them, it doesn't even require any further pushing on your part... both of them dive right in, Ponytail sliding her mouth over the pointed tip and starting to slurp her mouth up and down over it, while Braid starts kissing and licking at your knot, both of them not even hesitating to go down on a big, strange dog right out in the open in Ponytail's back yard. 'Oh, poor dears, your husbands must have been neglecting you badly indee~d! How lucky that sweet selfless Konko was here to see to your best interests, konkonkonkon~!' In fact they're only pausing in their oral ministrations to yank at their clothing, until both horny married MILFs are naked in the open air, heavy, soft breasts hanging down as they work their mouths over your prick, sheath, and balls, their hands still rubbing and stroking over your belly and sides and chest almost worshipfully. You have to admit to giving a surprised (and pleased) yip when the black-haired one ducks her head down and starts tonguing the dark pucker nested near your tail, your tongue lolling out and tail wagging harder. 'Oh my, oh my, Braid you're quite the naughty one! Sorry, Ponytail, even if you are the hostess I'm going to fuck Braid first!' you think happily as her tongue swirls around and around your asshole before pushing inside of it, the middle-aged housewife shamelessly licking a dog's butt.\n\nSoon enough that comes to pass, only the very slightest mental nudge required to get Braid to turn around and lift her ass, presenting for you like a proper bitch in heat. Rolling back onto your feet, you waste no time in mounting up, wiggling and shifting around on her back... not because you're having trouble aiming like a real dog, you just want to really drive home she's got a big furry animal on her back, its big inhuman cock poking at her sodden married pussy~. ♥ Once she's moaning almost desperately, you thrust in, filling her with your particularly big and bestial prick, making her cry out in a way that's dangerously close to getting the attention of the neighborhood even before you begin pumping. 'Yes, that's right, play dangerous, you'd be soooo humiliated if the neighbors came out here and saw you getting fucked by an animal, but your thoughts are an animal's right now, aren't they? Any human left in them is just going to get off on it more,' you think smugly as you pound away at her, Ponytail sitting nearby with her legs spread, feverishly finger-fucking her pussy.\n\n<hr>\n[[Yes, that's good, keep that hole warm for your turn!|Konko4x5]]\n\n[[Hmmm... but you didn't tell her to do that! ♥|Konko]]

'Konkonkon, that's right, lose yourself entirely to lust, make sure anyone that saw knows you're getting yourself ready to be fucked by the dog currently mounting your friend!' you think smugly as you pound away at the moaning MILF feverishly fucking herself back against the strokes of your hips, her fat motherly pussy swallowing you up right to the knot each time. Every single thrust makes her perfectly matured pussy gush wetness all over your big furry balls, soon soaking the fur and leaving it dripping as they sway and swing forward to slap against her. You give a smug doggy grin as you shallow your own thrusts, letting her do most of the work as she rocks on her hands and knees, rubbing her plump ass against your belly and making her big soft tits sway beneath her.\n\nNow... to step this up just a bit more? You've really put these bitches in heat and made them desperate for dog dick... do you want to take it even further?\n\n<hr>\n[[Bitches in heat... need to be bred!|Konko4x6]]\n\n[[Bitches in heat... should be bitches!|Konko]]\n\n[[Bitches in heat... should be ashamed of themselves!|Konko]]\n\n[[Bitches in heat... eh, they just need a good fucking, don't they?|Konko]]

Sigh. You just... can't bring yourself to go on this mission with no weapons and an iffy Pokemon. Xina will for sure have a good one, even if things wind up... ... lewd.\n\nYou get out your comm, glancing at the local time. Pretty decent chance she's around and available, unless you catch her while she's out on a collection run and have to go with another option! ... Tch, contact info shows her on the Guildhall, damn. You tap the call button and put your comm to your ear, still sort of half-hoping she doesn't answer.\n\n"Chikaaaaa!" a cheerful voice squeals before you're quite through the first ring. "Hi babe, what's up?!"\n\n"Heeey Xina," you reply, managing not to sigh. "Hey listen, I've gotta go do a job for a Pokemon researcher, and it's strictly no weapons, so I was wondering..."\n\n"Oh, you wanna borrow a Pokemon?! Sure!! No sweat, babe, just come on over to the kennel and I'll hook you up!"\n\n"Iiiii bet you will," you murmur as you put the comm away and head for a lift.\n\nYou step out of the lift into a particularly large, wide hallway that towers to a good five stories tall at least, and start making your way down it. Most of the entrances in this area have a normal standard humanoid-sized door next to a much larger set of sliding doors that could accommodate something much, much bigger. This is one of the areas of the Guildhall where the renters and owners have one of two types of business. The first, less common, is "walker" type vehicles and mecha that don't easily fold up or settle for storage through smaller areas and actually have to be walked to their destination, such as one of the large transport areas at the end. The other, far more common, is for those that capture, tame, sell, and rent living creatures that can reach particularly large sizes. Making your way to one of the doorways with a logo on it with three glowing pink X's in a vertical line reading 'Xina's Xotic Xchange', you press the announce button.\n\nAlmost instantly the door slides open and there's a happy cry of "Chikaaaaaaaaa!" as Xina flings herself through, wrapping her arms around you and nuzzling cheek-to-cheek, her incredibly soft and amazingly nice-smelling pink hair brushing against your cheek as she wiggles and squirms her body against yours.\n\n"H-hey, Xina. Watch the horns," you note a little distractedly as you put your arms around her to return the hug a bit more gingerly. Not because you don't like her, but rather because you're distracted by the now insistent and near-constant thought settled in the back of your head that you really want to pull down those tiny little bikini bottoms she's wearing and go to town on the plump pussy they're hugging like your life depended on it.\n\n"I am, I ammmm," Xina giggles, her spade-tipped tail lashing, the bright pink tip almost glowing before it fades to purple the closer it gets to her spine. Xina's not an actual succubus... you're not sure one of those could actually join the Guild, at least you've never heard of it... but she is one of a good handful of races that treads the line of being a succubus anyway, a Luvian. She's got bright pink hair done up in a long ponytail not unlike yours, albeit hers has a bunch of little curls sprouting off of it. She does in fact have a pair of slender purple horns that start just above and behind her pointed ears, arcing forward and then straight up at the sides of her head like... well, like natural handlebars... the tips glowing pink much like her tail. Apparently because she's "in" she's dressed fairly casually in a long-sleeved black zip-up top that leaves her midriff bare even as it hugs her prodigious breasts. While the top is practically conservative by a lot of mercs' standards, she makes up for it by wearing rather tiny little bikini bottoms, the thin straps riding her hips high and diving between her full buttocks, her legs sheathed in almost hip-high zipup boots.\n\nAs said, she also smells amazing, and partly hurriedly and partly regretfully you pull back from the hug. Xina always puts off a constant wave of pheremones... they can't actually mind-whammy anyone or make anyone do anything they don't want, but they certainly can affect your mood. Such as the fact that regardless of your usual preferences, being around Xina always makes you feel like a raging lesbian and has you wanting to daydream about having tender, rough, extremely enthusiastic gay sex with her and possibly every other woman you know simultaneously. Clearing your throat and doing your best to keep yourself focused, you say, "So you're cool to let me borrow a Pokemon?"\n\n"No troubles, hon, don't even sweat it," Xina chirps as she turns and heads inside, with you following her and trying not to stare at the jiggles of her butt and the flicks of her tail. "I've got some good ones that I can let you borrow as long as you like, no charge, you know I always love being able to help you out," she adds as she walks through the lobby-like area and into the 'kennel'. The sound of various creatures calling fills the air, and the smell of numerous different varieties of hay, foliage, and other bedding and accoutrement, along with the strangely intense and simultaneously offputting and slightly alluring scent of dozens of different animal musks hits your nose at the same time. "Thoooough, as you're aware of with my training methods, they're preeetty much only going to listen to you one way."\n\n"Yeah, yeah, I know," you say with a sigh, trying not to blush as you glance into one of the pens and see what looks sort of like a dog the size of a car... and with even larger in proportion balls wobbling as it laps at them. "I'll have to fuck the Pokemon, right?"\n\n"Well, 'sexually connect'," Xina says breezily, wagging a gloved fingertiip in the air as she leads you into a large, open metal room without any furniture, but with numerous thin lines of mobile panels visible on the walls, ceiling, and floor. Walking in here feels a bit strange, like there's something soft faintly pressing around the soles of your boots as you walk along despite the metal floor. That would be the cushioning field, a light forcefield designed to prevent bruising or discomfort... in other words, this room is essentially designed for fucking on the floor without hurting your knees. Or back. Or ass. Or... well, anyway. Xina walks to one of the wall panels and presses on a corner, and it folds down to reveal an array of round half-and-half colored balls, some of them with additional patterns. "It's not so much that you have to have full-on sex with some of them, but they are trained to respond sexually, so you'd at least need to make them cum."\n\nYou eye the array of Pokeballs, squirming just a little. "Don't you have any you haven't trained yet?"\n\n"Gosh, you're such a prude sometimes," Xina says with a little sigh of her own, as if she couldn't imagine anyone not being absolutely eager to present their pussy and get dicked down by a Pokemon or any other bestial creature at any given moment. "But yes, I do have a Charizard that I just got in and haven't actually done any training with yet." She glances over and raises an eyebrow. "But y'know, that means I haven't done any training with him. And I traded for him specifically because he's pretty well-endowed and already showed sexual inclinations, so y'know, he probably still will obey you mostly without sex, but he might be... rowdy."\n\nYou glance at the fire-colored Pokeball, then rub your face a bit with one hand. "Well, what else have you got?"\n\n"Oh, some good ones! If you want a Pokemon that's just kind of generally good for combat without being too, y'know, I have a Machoke here," Xina begins, tapping a control next to one of the Pokeballs, a small hologram of a blue-skinned, extremely muscular humanoid appearing floating above it. Ah, yeah, you get what she means. Machoke looks like, well, more like an alien humanoid than a full-out animal, so if you wanted to feel slightly better about the Pokephilia, he's clearly one of the more human options. "Similarly I have a Hypno too," she adds, tapping a button next to another ball to display a hologram of a smaller, more hunched yellow humanoid form with a furry ruff around its neck.\n\n"You mean the ones that hypnotize you? Hence the name?" you ask, raising an eyebrow.\n\n"He's very well-trained and won't do it without permission, don't worry! Besides, I thought that might also help you since you could just let him hypnotize you into not being embarrassed," Xina adds with a bit of a smirk.\n\n... Okay admittedly that's one way to go about it. Clearing your throat as you feel your cheeks heat again, you look over the others. "And?"\n\n"Well a good option for both making sure you have some fighting ability and a good way to travel is Mudsdale here!" Xina chirps, activating another hologram of what looks like a large black, brown, and orange horse. At your wide-eyed look she snickers. "You don't have to fuck him, you just need to get him off with your hands or something. Preferably once a day but once every few days is fine... well, if you don't mind him creating a new pond. He's very sweet-natured though, very docile. Similarly I have a very loyal, affectionate, and protective Houndoom with a very guardian-oriented moveset, or a similarly-inclined Umbreon with a moveset that could also help you with out-of-combat issues. Don't feel bad if you wind up falling in love, I'd enjoy putting either of them in a loving forever home with a friend!"\n\n"Uh-huh," you murmur, brushing under your nose and glancing away as you blush. Not the first time Xina's tried to sell you on the idea of, well, selling you a four-legged boyfriend. \n\n"I do also have a few 'non-standard' Pokemon if you'd be interested in those."\n\n"'Non-standard'?" you echo with a blink.\n\n"Basically they only occur in rarer instances of the dimensional cluster, they're not in almost every one like the others. Well, the Houndoom's a rare type too," Xina adds in a bit of a murmur. "But these are more unique than that. They are all very effective in combat, their stats put most other Pokemon of their level to shame, and they have unique movesets that Pokemon from those other worlds won't know how to deal with! Buuuuut as you can imagine they're even more sexual than the other ones," she notes with a snicker.\n\nGod she's such a pervert and holy shit you wanna suck her clit so bad. Taking a moment to roll your shoulders and do a focusing exercise to get your mind back on the current... issue... you go over the offers she's made you so far. It's... pretty obvious you're going to fuck a Pokemon, or at least get one off, before you leave this room. ... So which one?\n\n<hr>\n[[Charizard.|ChiPoke]]\n\n[[Machoke.|ChiPoke]]\n\n[[Hypno.|ChiPoke1x4]]\n\n[[Mudsdale.|ChiPoke]]\n\n[[Houndoom.|ChiPoke]]\n\n[[Umbreon.|ChiPoke]]\n\n[[Unique Pokemon.|ChiPoke2x1]]

Half because it seems the best option and half just because it's the most immediate one, you dive towards the cable and wrap both hands around it, starting to pull. As expected it's actually attached inside the wall, so you have to really brace your feet and haul on it, feeling your muscles flex and strain as you throw your whole body into pulling on it.\n\nWhich of course means you stumble awkwardly backward as it finally gives and tears away from the socket, the interior cables popping apart in little clusters with sparks and flashes. But just as you'd hoped, the portal immediately snaps closed and disappears with its own little ugly brownish-greenish-purplish flash. And just as you'd feared, all the tentacles that had come through immediately drop to the floor and, rather than going still, just intensify in writhing and thrashing around, looking like they're not going to stop any time soon.\n\nOkay crap now what, how do you deal with these things? None of them seem that big or that threatening right now, but the cut-off ends that are spraying some sort of weird colorless thin goop look like they're healing closed, so who knows what they'll do?\n\n<hr>\n[[Stomp on 'em!|MarSS10x3]]\n\n[[Freeze 'em!|MarSS]]\n\n[[C-... collect them?|MarSS]]\n\n[[Now skedaddle.|MarSS]]

Welp. Ya gotta do what you gotta do.\n\nSighing, you take a moment to examine the interior, quickly realizing it's designed for a pretty much skintight fit. Shaking your head, you unlatch your boots and step out of them, then shrug out of your coat. After a moment of eyeing the silver rods, you give another sigh and peel out of the tiny thong that the pervgoo turned your pants into as well. 'I hope that's a frictionless surface or something' you think as you do your best to put everything away and bundle the jacket up. You don't see any point to removing your gloves or the pasties, they're snug enough that they're not going to affect the fit.\n\nClambering up the back of the minosuit, you spend a moment just looking in, before carefully moving forward, stepping into the holes that are obviously meant for your legs. You slide in easily enough, leaning forward into the indentation that's perfectly shaped for your stomach and tits, your breasts completely enclosed by the exactly-fitted cups. You shift back and forth a bit to slide your arms into the similarly obvious holes for them, finding handles at the end that you can grip, leaving your head staring forward at a curved screen. You give a bit of a yelp as the holes around your arms and legs suddenly snug completely tight, fitting around you so firmly that you can feel each toe being hugged individually, and an even louder yelp as that metal part swings forward, the incredibly smooth metal shafts slipping effortlessly into your pussy and ass as it fits firmly to your crotch, just before the back panels swing closed and plunge you into darkness. \n\nYou can feel the rubbery material of the enclosure inside pressing around your back as well, molding completely to your buttocks, your entire body sealed tight and completely covered by the stuff, save for your face. You swallow hard, not even really able to squirm since you're held so tight, the sleek metal dildos penetrating inside you seeming to anchor your whole perception of the world. Then the screens light up, flickering and shifting for just a moment, until you're shown such a clear, plain view of the control room that you'd have thought you were really looking at it with your own eyes. Just that the view is from much higher up than you saw before.\n\nThis time when you try to move, you actually rise to your feet... or rather, your hooves. It's shockingly easy to get up and balance even with the strange structure of the robosuit's legs, and you bring its hands up, flexing the sectioned silver fingers just like you were moving your own, even though you can still feel your own being tightly bound and gloved inside. You bring a hand forward and touch the droid's chest, and yes, you can feel that too, even as you still feel your tits firmly gripped by the rubbery interior. The weird double-sensations of your own body and the minobot being your body should be confusing, but apparently the thing was designed to avoid any problems with that.\n\nYou angle the droid's head down and, unable to suppress your curiosity, reach down and wrap a hand around that big rubber cock. Immediately pleasure shoots through you, making you moan, which comes out as a thick, masculine, and very bovine low from the droid's speakers. You can feel your cock, but it also translates into waves of pleasure passed into your pussy and ass through the control rods! Your thick rubber prick rapidly hardens as you unthinkingly give it a few more strokes, even reaching down to fondle the swaying, malleable rubber balls a bit.\n\nThen you yank yourself back onto task, as well as pulling your hands away, balls dropping and swaying beneath your now jutting, immense black cock. Definitely... definitely can't get too distracted in this thing, you tell yourself. You have to find Tanya!\n\nImmediately a popup reading (you think) 'Recent prisoner location' appears in the corner of your vision, along with a red glowing line that leads the way. Oh, good. Letting out a sigh of relief that comes out as a long snort from the droid, you direct it forward, trying your level best to ignore how the stride of the droid almost vibrates the control rods in your holes and that your rubber cock is still hard and swaying ahead of you with your motions.\n\nYou pass through a massive archway scaled to allow your shoul-... your suit's broad shoulders and horns through, and start crossing the bridge ahead, unworried about the floating balls of light that are some sort of other security trap, obviously, but both being registered by the system and wearing a security powersuit, you know you have nothing to fear. You pass the bridge, following the line towards your goal.\n\nYou enter something that looks more like a server room than anything else, save that the sliding recessed server racks all along one very long wall are much larger, and there are no chairs in front of the spaced panels. The line leads to one of the wall panels, which is lit up green... yes! Tanya must be in there! You're just considering whether to try and get out of the suit and free her that way or if you might be able to activate the security system from inside it when you hear a loud hiss from the side.\n\nTurning, you see a large wall panel moving aside, revealing a lusterless silver form that steps out of its alcove immediately with a thunderous crash. Though obviously built on the same aesthetic of planes and curves, the droid seems slightly bigger and more solid, its shape having a slight bit of a paunch belly. Its head also resembles a triceratopsian rather than a bull's, with a powerful multi-panel crest and three sharp horns. Its gleaming, already stiff rubber cock is definitely bigger, too, and more aggressively shaped, with an angular head and molded veins studding its length. Its head swings towards you, eyes glowing brighter red as a 'WARNING!' indicator pops up in the corner of your view.\n\nOh crap. The tricerabot must be on a different partition of the security system than the one you registered yourself in, and it's identified you as piloting stolen property! You barely have time to brace before it charges across the short distance between you, metal slamming against metal as it grapples with you, hands grasping for your head as you instinctively grip its wrists. Your two massive robotic masculine forms strain against each other, huge cocks swaying in the air and almost smacking together as you struggle.\n\n"Get OFF!" you shout, which comes out as a loud bovine bellow as you shove hard, throwing the tricerabot backwards a bit. It stumbles, its sectioned tail lashing and almost taking out one of the console stations, before it darts in with a more considered swing of its fist towards your head. You block by slamming your suit's forearm against its, but the tricerabot apparently isn't just a dumb brawler... it already had its followup ready, driving its other fist against your side. You can feel the impact run through you, shifting and jarring the control rods inside you a bit, but it's the damage reports that actually translate as pain. Bellowing again, you slam your sturdy head against its... bad idea, since it turns out to be sturdier, and you're the one who winds up reeling and stumbling back. \n\nThe tricerabot attacks again, using simple but very refined and powerful punches and strikes that you find yourself either able to defend against or defend against the followup, but not both. It quickly becomes very clear that the tricerabot is simply much more powerful than the minosuit, and you're likely to have it ripped off of you in pieces before the other has its way with the fragile feminine meat interior of the strong metal male exterior. Just as you're thinking that, a new popup appears in the HUD:\n\n'Set percentage of aggression stimulant?'\n\n<hr>\n[[0%|ChiPerv]]\n\n[[10%|ChiPerv]]\n\n[[30%|ChiPerv]]\n\n[[50%|ChiPerv]]\n\n[[100%|ChiPerv]]

You whirl back to the console and start trying different buttons. Operating half on instinct and the other half on intuition, you follow a series of prompts, try several tricks you know from other ancient programming languages, and eventually just throw in a "Hail Mary" of typing every shutdown sequence you know.\n\nThe minobot, which had been steadily approaching behind you, suddenly slows, whirs, and then settles to one knee, putting its fists on the floor and bowing its head before the lights in its eyes go out.\n\nYou blink several times, looking over your shoulder at it, then back at the screen in front of you, and then back and forth a few more times. "... Huh," you murmur. It actually worked? Wow. Not bad.\n\nAlso it looks like you've now managed to actually get into the security system and convince it you're supposed to be here. In fact you even find a command that lets you register yourself as... well, unfortunately not an administrator, but a servant with security clearance. A beam of green light emerges from a point at the top of the console and sweeps down and up your body, apparently as part of the registration. Hopefully that means the traps will know not to go off against you. ... Who knows about the pool of pervgoo.\n\nYou spend some more time delving into the security records, doing your best to understand them with the nanos' shaky understanding of the Pervcursor language. You're almost certain you confirm that the system did in fact capture Tanya and move her somewhere, but the computer's giving you the runaround. Something about 'Only accessible from internal security system'. If this isn't the internal security system what is?! Frowning, you read through some of the commands, then try 'Prepare internal security system' to see what that does. The screen blinks up 'Prepping internal security system for servant profile'.\n\nThere's a hiss from behind you, and with a blink you turn, your eyes widening as the back of the minotaur droid lifts and swings open in panels. Moving around behind it, you see that there's an interior of what looks like more black rubber and some metal... all of which is currently shifting around. Your jaw goes a little slack as the interior forms into what's clearly a feminine body shape (in fact, you suspect your exact body shape), and what looks like some sort of brace or latch panel grows a pair of smooth, sleek phalluses.\n\n... Oh. That's what it means. Tanya's location and how to get her out is only accessible to security personnel wearing what's apparently also a power suit. A very lewd power suit.\n\n<hr>\n[[Get in.|ChiPerv4x4]]\n\n[[Nnnnope.|ChiPerv]]

Something halts your finger as you try to squeeze the trigger, just a momentary but intense desire to do anything but hurt the disgusting creature making its way along the ceiling. The strange feeling only lasts a heartbeat, but that's all it takes for the thing to put on a sudden burst of speed and then leap downward, twisting in midair and crashing down atop you. You yelp as the weight of it drives you to your knees and elbows, your rifle skittering away, the thing draped fully over you and pressing you down too firmly to even try to reach any of your other weapons. You can feel it sort of settling onto you, those extending little tendrils hugging around your neck, arms, middle and thighs, as that stuff it's dripping with starts to trickle all over you, soaking into your hair and clothes... and starting to dissolve the latter. That smell, the smell of every food evocative of indulgence and happiness and safety, is overwhelming, radiating from the disgusting abomination on top of you and the goo dripping on you and eating away your clothing and gear.\n\n'Oh fuck, oh no, it's a Love Slug,' you realize far too late, doing your best to push it off or get out from under it and mostly managing to squirm around futilely beneath the boneless, slimy creature's weight. You can feel your thoughts starting to fog, only able to fight against it a bit by focusing on the near-panic you feel at knowing what it is. Love Slug aphrodisiac doesn't just cause physical arousal like most rapacious monsters with that particular quality... when the stuff gets into your blood stream it causes your brain to release the chemicals associated with affection, devotion, and genuinely being in love. You continue to try and struggle, bordering on full-blown panic, but it's not only completely on top of you, pushing you into that face-down-ass-up position, it's got its tendrils wrapped around you. Parts of your coat and clothing go clattering to the floor as it eats away the whole back of them, leaving you feeling its slimy, grotesque, beautiful body rubbing directly against your back and legs and ass. 'No, no, no, please, please, yes, no, yes, please!' you think frantically as you can feel something pressing against your dripping pussy.\n\n"Gyeeeeee!" you shriek, your eyes rolling as the slug plunges into your sodden cunt, taking you deep on that first thrust, whatever it is inside you wriggling and writhing madly like a picked-up worm. Your eyes roll, your brain battered by conflicting and equally intense sensations of disgust and violation alongside delight and fulfilled desire. Your tongue lolls out as the slug begins writhing its body in a sort of rippling motion, its broad body slapping against your ass and thighs as it begins thrusting, working that wildly wriggling and flailing phallus into your pussy and coating more of your skin in its heavenly-smelling viscosity.\n\n'Fuck, fuck, it's raping me, it's raping me and I love it, being raped by him feels so good,' you think, your tongue jutting forward a bit more as you give another practically piggish squeal of pleasure at the slug's fuck-tendril swelling even thicker and growing even longer the more it fucks you. With every thrust you can feel yourself falling deeper and deeper in love with the mindless creature raping you, affection blooming in your mind as thoroughly as pleasure is exploding through your pussy. 'Oh fuck, oh fuck, rape me more, baby, rape me harder, I love it so much!'\n\nYou chant over and over to yourself that it's just chemicals, you're being drugged, you're being violated, and not a single bit of it makes any difference as you're seduced into adoring the disgusting, detestable, wonderful, beautiful creature pumping your pussy. You don't resist as it ripples and writhes again, its tendrils turning you beneath it, pushing you around onto your back and pinning you more fully against the floor. Your legs kick and writhe in the air as you manage to briefly assert some control of yourself, but the moment it thrusts back into your pussy and begins pumping its boneless, gooey body to fuck down into you, further dissolving your clothes so that it can coat your belly and tits with its slime and press its yielding, rippling flesh against them, you lose your nerve and start sinking deeper into the fog of love and lust, your hands gripping its sides and hips starting to pump up against it of their own accord. 'Ohhhh oh fuck oh yes oh fuck me baby you rape me so good oh yes ohhhhhh!' you mentally squeal as its writhing cylinder of a proboscis comes down on your lower face.\n\nIt sucks and squishes and dribbles slime all over your lower face, and a thick, only slightly flattened tentacle presses into your mouth, writhing around as if seeing how you taste, and pouring more of its rapelove-slime down your gullet. You moan happily and eagerly, sucking and tonguing at its probing tentacle lovingly as it sucks on your entire lower face, your body shuddering in delight. 'Oh yeah kiss me, baby, kiss me, I love you, I love yooou!' Without any further hesitation, you raise your hips, presenting yourself further to your beloved's thrusts, wrapping your arms and legs as fully around his wonderful squishy body. You yowl happily into his quivering maw as another tendril stuffs itself into your ass, both your holes getting filled with your darling's writhing, pumping tentacles.\n\nEventually the slug pulls out of you and wriggles and writhes his way forward, leaving a slime trail over your entire body as he slides over onto the floor, leaving you laying there panting. He rolls onto his back, looking absolutely adorable... you're not sure why he is, but you know what you're going to do about it. Giggling near-drunkenly with how in love you are, you get up, wobbling for a moment, your body covered in a few leftover scraps of clothing and a lot of love-slime. Then you step forward and sling yourself astride your beloved slug, grinding your pussy and ass and tits against him as you coo sweetly. "Oh, baby, I love you, I love you soooo much, we're going to be so fucking happy together, anh~!"\n\nThis last is as Darling pushes his cock-tendril back up into your pussy, the other merely teasing and brushing along your well-fucked, slime-coated asshole. "Ohhh honey!" you squeal in delight, pressing your face down into his writhing, wriggling maw of a mouth again, sucking and licking at him just as eagerly as he was doing to you earlier. You pump your hips quickly, working your body on top of him, tits sliding across his manly rippling spongy flesh, pumping your pussy on his prick-tentacle, hands sliding worshipfully up and down along his gooey surface.\n\nAfter a time, your beloved Darling writhes and bucks you up off of him, and you slide off obediently. "What do you want, baby?" you slur in a love-drunk coo, getting up onto your knees and swaying a bit. "Do you, ah!" you squeal as he hefts up behind you, settling onto your lower legs and rising up. You reflexively put your arms back to grip your hands about him, holding him adoringly closer, and then look up just in time to see his maw open wider and extend downward, coming down on your head.\n\n"Mmmmf! MMMMMF!" you yowl in muffled delight, cumming again even before Darling's fuck-tendrils stuff back into your pussy and ass and he starts thrusting again. He's sucking your entire head! Part of you is actually inside your Darling! Your eyes roll up in the darkness, your tongue jutting and stroking worshipfully against the pulsing, squeezing inner walls of his glorious proboscis as it constricts and shudders around your entire head. Your hands squeeze encouragingly against his slick, spongy surface, feeling him ripple and shudder against you, obviously enjoying sucking your cranium. His tendrils are wrapping around your legs now, hauling your feet and ankles up to drape over his lower body, and you can feel yourself being shaken around, goo-smeared tits wobbling as he slides across the floor with you. Ahhhh, Darling can do whatever he wants to you, you're his wife, his bitch, his fuck-toy, his his his his hiiiiiiis! you think as he gives a particularly hard thrust forward, one of his prick-tentacles tickling against the entrance of your womb as he finally starts gushing massive amounts of cum into you, your belly swelling and bloating up with your lover's load.\n\n'Ah... ah... ah... being in love feels so good,' you think dreamily as you feel your belly rounding and sloshing with the sheer amount of Darling's seed being pumped into your womb and ass as he takes you back to his lair. You want, more than anything-\n\n<hr>\n[[-to have his children.|ChiMine]]\n\n[[-to bring him more bitches.|ChiMine3x2]]\n\n[[-to nourish and fulfill him.|ChiMine]]\n\n[[-to serve him and empower him.|ChiMine]]

Honestly more because you're curious what sort of system a bull icon could relate to, you reach out and tap the green button to activate it. The screen immediately switches to text reading, 'Arming system'.\n\n... 'Arming'? Whoops.\n\nBefore you have too much time to fret, there's a loud, hard grinding noise from a nearby wall, which quickly drops back and then slides to the side, revealing a looming, massive shape whose eyes quickly alight solid red. A big metal hoof slide forward and slams to the ground, followed by the next, as the huge robotic minotaur steps out of its alcove. Your eyes widen as you take it in... it's obviously styled to make its artificial nature plain with a flat silver armor exterior, minimalistic details, and sharp lines and plains rather than smooth curves. In fact the only part of its body that does have round edges is the black, rubbery cock and balls attached at its crotch, their hex-patterned surface gleaming slightly in the light, the length and girth of the humanoid member easily as thick and long as your arm even in its 'inactive' state. The minotaurbot's head moves, glowing, angular red eyes locking on you, and it issues gouts of steam from its square nostrils as it clearly detects an intruder and locks on.\n\nUh-oh.\n\n<hr>\n[[Open fire!|ChiPerv]]\n\n[[Run!|ChiPerv]]\n\n[[Try to use the console!|ChiPerv4x2]]

Clearing your throat, you look what you figure must be the alpha (the slightly larger one in front of you with the jagged red fur marks), doing your best to focus on attempting to be understood. "Hello. My name's Michika. I don't mean any harm."\n\nThere's silence for long moments... then the wolf gives out low grunts and wuffs, its jaw moving a bit with the vocalizations... but the general feeling getting across to you. ""\n\nOof. The translator nanos are making pretty rough work of it, but at least they're working. You try to keep your own tone even as you say, "Could I do anything to help that decision?"\n\nThing Which Blazes From The Sky (that has got to be a way-too-literal translation, his name did not sound that long when he verbalized) considers for a moment, before saying, "<Put away the kill-weapon.>"\n\nOh. Fair enough. Since he does seem inclined to talk, you don't hesitate too much before removing your finger from the trigger of your rifle and slowly swinging it up, making sure not to let it track over any of the wolves before settling it at your back. You notice a slight lessening of tension that you'd barely realized was there among the pack, and the alpha gives a small pleased nod.\n\n"<Very well. Now tell us what you are doing outside of your piled stones and trees.>"\n\n"Piled stones and...? Oh, the wall," you say with a blink, nodding. "Why am I outside the town?" At his nod of confirmation, you consider for several moments, trying to figure out the best way to explain it simply instead of "dumbing it down". "I came to the town because something was beneath it causing trouble," you say after a moment, gesturing towards said town (you're pretty sure). "I was brought to find out what the trouble was. But while I was there the things took the rest of the townspeople. I knew they were too dangerous for me alone, so I escaped."\n\nThe wolves all make various very doggy noises at that, though the translator nanos manage to give you the general sense of varied worry, approval, disdain, and shock that the different wolves are reacting with. The alpha gives a short bark to quiet them, before addressing you again. "<What is this trouble? Is it a threat to my pack?>"\n\nYou almost start to answer in an immediate affirmative, then hesitate just a moment. You're a little worried that if you make it sound like a big threat, they might panic and do something unpredictable... specifically to you. ... On the other hand, if you explain it in a way that it was a threat but also a challenge, you might be able to convince the wolves to come back to the town with you and wipe out (at least some of) the Xenotypes, allowing you to deescelate the quarantine. Or you could just... be realistic with them. Explain that yes, they're a threat, but not nearly as much to them as to you... Xenotypes almost universally prefer humanoids and will go after those first.\n\n<hr>\n[[Downplay the threat.|ChiWild]]\n\n[[Present it as a challenge.|ChiWild]]\n\n[[Be honest.|ChiWild2x2]]

You find yourself actually at least considering the logic of that and waffling on it for a moment. Neo must see the weakness on your face, because she grins impishly and snags you by the hand, leading you down the hall. "H-hey, wait, I didn't say-"\n\n"Sssshhh," she replies, and you actually shush, your face coloring again.\n\nNeo draws you into a room at the end of the hall, one that's set up and decorated in a generic way but one that definitely says 'the parents' bedroom', which makes the whole thing feel even more wicked and admittedly has your cock stiffening further than it already had begun to. You don't quite make a move yet, but neither do you resist as Neo slips her hands inside your coat to slip it down your shoulders and let it drop, or when she begins undoing your pants and tugging it down.\n\n"Oh wow," she breathes as your stiff prick springs free of your pants, her eyes widening a little. "C'mon, be honest, did you make this bigger in the program already?"\n\n"No," you reply, unable to help letting out a short, rather breathless laugh at the mixture of embarrassment and pleasure at having the size of your dick complimented by your little sister. Sighing and giving in to the obviously inevitable, you pull off your shirt and toss it aside, watching Neo bend down to pull your pants and underwear down and undo your boots, stepping out of them to be as naked as she is. You bite your lower lip briefly before reaching out to draw her close, your cock brushing against her belly and pressing up along it as her lithe form fits up against you. "Have you ever done this before?"\n\n"Remember, technically I'm not doing it now," she chirps, grey eyes that are so much like yours twinkling as she grins up at you.\n\n"You know what I mean," you grumble, even as you run your hands gently up and down the smooth skin of her back.\n\n"Mmf... no," she admits, finally looking a little embarrassed. "Buuuut I've practiced some stuff. I have a toy," she adds with an almost shy smile. "... Actually I have a couple."\n\n"Yeah that figures," you say with a snort, before giving one last long 'here we go' sigh of defeat and dipping your head to kiss her.\n\nNeo coos happily and leans up, returning the kiss eagerly enough, her tongue quickly flicking against your lips. You get the feeling that this, at least, she's probably done before, and you chastise yourself for feeling a bit jealous of whoever got your little sister's first kiss. Still it's hard not to be in the current situation, with that very sweet body pressing and rubbing against yours and her tongue winding around your own. She gives a happy squeak as you give her pert ass a squeeze, then a squeal and a laugh as you use it to haul her up, her legs going around you. "Um, you gonna-"\n\n"Let's not hurry, we've got a good long while to 'not really have sex'," you snort at her. Instead you carry her the short distance to the bed and give her a little toss, Neo laughing again as she bounces a bit before settling.\n\n"What're we gonna do on the bed, onii-chan?" she asks in a particularly cutesy voice.\n\n"Don't you meme at me or I'll end this right here," you reply dryly as you clamber up onto the bed with her, settling in at her side. You lean in to kiss her again, Neo making a little happy noise and bringing her head towards yours. She shivers in a delighted way as you brush a hand up and down her flat, smooth belly, making more contented and almost kittenish sounds at the caress. As your hand slips lower, her thighs spread a little, obviously partly on instinct, welcoming you to slip your hand between them and run your fingers gently along her dripping pussylips, one of them finding her clit and brushing gently along it and making her moan.\n\nYou give your own heady 'mmf' as one of her delicate-seeming hands wraps around your cock and starts to stroke it. She must have been practicing a little on those toys, certainly, since she seems to have a fairly decent idea of how to move her hand, making your own hips want to move, though you control yourself. You continue to kiss her, your tongue gently caressing hers as the two of you lay side-by-side, stroking each other in slow, pleasurable motions, still just playing around for the moment.\n\nBut eventually you move, breaking the kiss as you slip over to settle above her, kissing down her throat instead and along her chest. Her breasts are small and pert, but still with a nice shape, already blossomed but still coming into their full potential. You kiss along the slight rise of one, tracing your fingers around the other, before slipping her nipple into your mouth and suckling.\n\n"Mmmmfuck," Neo groans, shivering delightedly under you. "That... feels really nice... heheh... I'd've tried it myself, but um..." She trails off with a slightly shaky giggle that carries a hint of uncertainty.\n\nYou lift your head and grin up at her, gently playing with her breasts with your hands for a moment. "Look, if Mom is anything to go by, you're gonna be able to do that someday. But even if not, they're super cute and perfect already, okay?"\n\n"Okay," she says in a small, delighted rush of breath as you start rolling your tongue around her other nipple, giving another little shiver of pleasure. It sounds like she has much the same feeling you did about having her brother compliment how nice he finds her tits. But, well... maybe that's fine. She brings her hands up, those delicate-seeming fingers you've held so often over the years stroking through your hair now as you pay tender attention to her pert little tits, her kittenish mewling making your cock twitch in anticipation. But, you're keeping it under control... if you're going to "not really" fuck your sister, then you're going to make sure she thoroughly enjoys being "not really" fucked.\n\nAfter a while you start kissing downward again, her smooth, pale belly quivering gently under the touch of your lips. Your mouth unsurprisingly finds her pussy absolutely sopping... she'd been wet when you started using your fingers earlier, now she's genuinely dripping. You spend a few moments cleaning some of it up with long licks and soft sucks as Neo twitches her hips and moans loudly, one of her hands coming up to lightly bite her knuckle, her legs draping around you a bit and bare heels pressing to your back. Soon you direct your mouth more to her clit, starting up a gentle, steady rhythm of licks as you push a finger inside her, pumping it slowly and gently, waiting until the little twitches and bucks of her hips have started to match themselves to your strokes to add a second.\n\nIt's not too long before those motions of her hips start getting more exuberant, almost desperate, her little cries and moans getting louder and coming faster. 'I'm gonna make my little sister cum,' you think right before it happens, Neo's hips bucking hard and a light gush of wetness spurting around your fingers as she lets out a long cry, twisting in place, one of her hands tightening in your hair while the other twists in the sheets. Afterward she slumps, panting a little, her already pink face darkening further as she sees you straighten up and slip your fingers into your mouth.\n\nAfter she seems to have caught her breath, you lay down beside her again, this time drawing her over on top of you. The two of you lay like that for a bit, her weight settled atop you, gently heavy but easily bearable, those pert tits settled right on your chest, her pussy rubbing against the underside of your cock and the top of your balls as she shifts and moves her hips again. But eventually you urge her to straighten up, her hands sliding along your chest and belly as she settles her weight more firmly against your shaft.\n\n"Um... don't you want me to... blow you first?" she asks, grinning again.\n\n"No. I want you now," you answer, your voice husky with desire.\n\nThe words and whatever she sees on your face make her draw in a quick, hard breath and another little delighted shiver runs through her body before she nods. Lifting her hips up, she reaches down, angling you upward and into position. You rest your hands on her hips, giving them a little squeeze, a silent urging to take it at the pace she wants. She nods, seeming to understand, hips wiggling a bit in your grip before she starts to move down slowly. Both of you let out near-identical moans as her pussy starts to spread and begins to gradually engulf your cock, actually pushing inside her. She's incredibly tight, as you might expect, and yet somehow it's like her pussy is particularly welcoming, eagerly molding itself to your cock as if the two had been made for each other.\n\nNeo does take her time about settling down onto you, hips working in little circles every so often, either trying to figure out a good angle or just enjoying the feeling of you rubbing and moving inside her, much as you do. But finally she settles fully onto you, your cock completely engulfed in her tight teenage pussy, her breathing coming in soft, almost shaky pants as she takes a few moments to adjust to having you inside her completely. Then she begins to move, slowly and a bit uncertainly at first, but quickly finding more confidence as she starts riding you, eyes fixed on your face as she gives soft, moan-like panted breaths. You squeeze those trim hips as she moves them, biting your lower lip at the feel of it, the sight of her moving above you, so perfect with that sleek body and those pert little tits, dark blonde hair swaying and brushing around her shoulders and flushed, pleasured face.\n\nYour hands stroke her hips, sliding around to knead her perky ass occasionally as she rides you. She takes it nice and slow at first, keeping in a steady rhythm that she's found that's clearly keeping her at a steady rate of pleasure, as well as sort of plateauing your own, you moving your hips up in light rolls and pumps but otherwise letting her fully set the pace. As time goes on, though, she starts to speed up, and by the time she's slamming herself down on you in obvious eagerness to push herself over the edge, crying out in need, you're thrusting up into her hard, your hands tight on her hips to give you a good grip as you fuck up into her just as fast and hard as she's fucking down onto you. The two of you cum together as perfectly as if someone had pressed a button, your cries again somehow almost the same despite the different voices, her pussy squeezing tightly and needfully all around your cock as it spasms and fills her.\n\nNeo slumps on top of you, panting, and you put your arms around her, just holding your now sweaty and very snuggly little sister as she catches her breath. Her head lifts and her lips almost wander up to yours, your kisses soft, giving each other little licks on the lips between them rather than deepening it.\n\nIt's a little while before Neo wiggles and then slips off of you, giving a soft 'mmf' as your slightly less hard cock slips out of her. She scoots down, and soon you're hardening back up in her hand as she licks and kisses at you, your sister's lips and tongue soft, warm, and wet against your now thoroughly sensitized prick as she gives it that oral attention she'd suggested earlier. Soon she's got her mouth slipped over it, her head bobbing gently as she pumps her hand in gentle, short strokes near the base. Yes, she's definitely been practicing on her toys, you think with a bleary sense of pleasure as you stroke her hair and along her back, occasionally giving her ass a squeeze. Gradually, she works herself down, this time definitely taking her time, making assorted lewd noises, and then learning to exaggerate them for further lewdness, as she works your cock into her throat. Soon your little sister's soft, sincere gags have turned into loud, pornographic quagging as she works herself further and further down, until her lips finally touch around the root.\n\nAs good as it feels, and as much as you'd really like to feed her a load of your cum, you want to be back inside her in the other way again. So this time when she comes up for air, you urge her further up and pull her around, laying her on her back and settling over her. Those sleek coltish legs wrap around you eagerly as you slide back into her pussy, her hands gripping against your back as your own hands stroke and twine in her hair while you start fucking her against the mattress, the bed groaning and creaking softly with the movements in that way old wooden beds that would definitely belong to parents who had left two horny siblings alone for vacation would. Though she's gotten you worked close again with her oral work, you take your time now, kissing her and enjoying the feel of her body under yours as you fuck her.\n\nThe programmed day and much of the night wanes on, with the two of you not even really thinking to stop, virtual bodies apparently not designed to automatically get hungry or tired. But apparently mental exhaustion does eventually catch up to you, and at some point by mutual unspoken assent the two of you crawl beneath the blankets and settle down to sleep.\n\nYou awake to the feeling of your sister soft and warm in your arms, pressed in as close as she can against you in sleep. Her breath washes softly over your chest with every soft exhale, her hair soft as it brushes against your arm. You stare at her in the simulated early morning light, unable to help just looking at that pretty, adorable face that you've seen asleep so many times like this before, though now with something faintly changed about it that makes her even more beautiful. You brush a finger along her jawline without thinking, seeing her squirm softly and let out a soft 'mm' but not quite wake up.\n\n<hr>\n[[Slip out of bed.|LeoSis]]\n\n[[Time for morning sex!|LeoSis]]

As high as you are on your own superiority, you've had enough runins with this lot to know that while they're usually little more than an obstacle, if you give them a chance they can occasionally pull off something genuinely clever and tricky. More than one hero has succumbed to the idea of the 'Stormtrooper principle' and found themselves limping away from an encounter with the Queensguard, even if they weren't necessarily outright defeated. Best not give them that chance.\n\nYou swing your hands wide and then together with a thunderous impact... you didn't really have the surface area to pull this maneuver off before, but now the shockwave is enough that it knocks several of the more nearby Queensguard sprawling and staggers even more of the ones further out, a couple of them not actually dropping their weapons but losing their proper grip. Next you quickly round on the captain and put on a burst of superspeed towards her; to her credit, she falls back quickly and tries to bring her weapon into play at point-blank range, but you grab it and yank it away from her, quickly tossing it off down the hall before the self-destruct mechanism she managed to activate before you did could go off in your face. You give another burst of superspeed and bring your hand swinging down in a (carefully measured) smack on her ass that makes her jump and yelp, before giving her an equally measured thump between the shoulderblades and sends her sprawling on her front on the ground, insensate.\n\nWith their captain thus subdued, it doesn't take long to similarly knock down or knock out the rest of the Queensguard... you've had a lot of practice at this, after all, including with these specific villains, even with your enhanced strength your bodily control is plenty to let you take them out without causing any permanent injury or death. You do, of course, manage to squeeze in some spanks, gropes, and gooses, because frankly if those bodysuits aren't asking for it you don't know what is.\n\nSoon the Queensguard is laying splayed on the floor around you, in rather ungainly positions. In fact, those bodysuits and the way they've fallen have put them in rather suggestive poses... some of them with their asses in the air, others with legs spread wide, others with their tits wobbling back and forth a bit as they try to catch their breath. It's certainly a very... stimulating view, you think with a smirk as your cock stirs lightly beneath your loincloth.\n\nPerhaps you should take a few moments to enjoy yourself with these defeated mook-sluts. Give their leader a nice little preview of what's waiting for her when you get to the throne room...\n\n<hr>\n[[Rape the Queensguard.|CalHM]]\n\n[[Save them for later.|CalHM1x11]]

Eh... it'll be more fun when their mistress orders them to submit to you, you think with a smirk as you stride off down the hallway again.\n\nYou are, however, a bit more cautious now... between where they chose to confront you and the fact that they lost, you have little doubt the remaining defenders will be arming the better traps and defenses. Luckily you built some of your better gadgets and even a few new ideas you had into your new armor, though you do your best to obscure what you're doing. Setting off technological EMP bursts while stomping and making loud whinny sounds, narrowing your eyes pointedly while subtly firing laser beams to destroy cameras... no need to go giving the dear Queen any big hints about who she's actually up against, better to let her think it really is some complete newcomer with a different powerset.\n\nSoon you make your way into the grand throne room, which is a mixture of grand and beautiful and grand and imposing, with lots of gorgeous velvet draperies and obviously expensive comforts as well as looming gargoyles and displayed sets of ancient, malevolent-looking armor. And at the far end of the throne room is, of course, Queen Mean in all her glory, clearly having taken the time to dress and put on her makeup for you. (Aw, how sweet.) Her outfit, clearly inspired by the Red Queen, features not only a small but elaborate gold and velvet crown atop her head, but a high-collared, gold-trimmed red cape, ruffled off-the-shoulder blouse-corset combo with copious cleavage, a poofy layered skirt of black and red, elaborately-embroidered white stockings, and stiletto-heeled boots with gold-trimmed soles and hearts running up the front of them. Rather than sitting stiff-backed with great dignity, she's sprawled comfortably in the throne, one leg raised up on it and brazenly displaying her extremely expensive-looking black-trimmed white silk panties, a gold scepter posed as if to draw the eye right to them... perhaps wanting to display that she's not at all afraid of taunting your runaway masculinity with her own powerful femininity.\n\n<img src="images/QueenMean.jpg">\n\n"Hon hon hon... some newcomer to ze scene has decided to prove himself by challenging the Queen, no?" she declares in a haughty, but rather smooth-flowing French(-ish) accent. "You think you can just show up, violate Ulvavland sovereignity, and prove yourself ze big tough man? But which even are you, mes ami, hero or villain?"\n\n"Hero, obviously," you reply breezily. "Just a hero that's going to pound your pussy into the ground until you beg for more."\n\nThat actually gets a response, her cheeks coloring, and her red eyes flicking briefly towards the way your loincloth falls against your cock in front before she quickly collects herself. "Well such a hero zat is. And what name do you call yourself?"\n\n"Originally I'd considered 'Knightsteed'... but I think 'Kingsteed' will sound better once I'm sitting on your throne, Queen Mean," you declare with a smirk.\n\nRather than rising to that bait, she rises to another, leaping to her feet and shaking her scepter. "Queen Miyenne! Queen Louise Miyenne! It is not even zat hard to say with ze correct dialect! Decades we've been doing zis, and still it's 'Queen Mean, Queen Mean'! You can pronounce my name, I know it, you're all just being childish and petty!"\n\nShe huffs a little in the aftermath, glaring at you, as you stare back at her. Then you give a little snort through your nose. "So anyway, Queen Mean-"\n\nHer expression goes flat. "Okay, you know what, I'm tired of your anglocentric microaggressions," she says in completely unaccented English before whipping her scepter up. "Fire ze beams!"\n\nA number of stones in the walls slide aside, with blaster cannons mounted on sphere-swivels sliding out of them. They look like beefier versions of the ones in the halls... you could probably just brace yourself and stand there tanking them, to flex on the Queen and break her spirit before you start breaking her holes, heh.\n\n<hr>\n[[Show off.|CalHM1x12]]\n\n[[Best not take any chances.|CalHM3x1]]

Smirking, you fold your arms over your chest and flex your muscles, readying yourself to stand against the torrent of energy to come. And indeed, the first spattering blue blasts that turn into steady beams of azure energy barely even tickle, little more than making you feel like being in direct sunlight on an extremely cloudless day at high altitude.\n\nThen suddenly the beams pulse red all at once. The impact of them all magnifies incredibly and you stagger backwards, the torrents of energy already cutting off. Your whole body is smoking slightly, and your legs feel weak... actually, all of you feels weak. It's difficult to think... you're not sure if you're even in pain, your body just feels a sore, constant deep ache all over, and you feel slightly like you're watching from far off as you stagger and then fall to your hands and knees, breathing like a horse that's been ridden hard and left to steam in the stable.\n\n"Well now zat is interesting," you hear the Queen's voice cooing along with the clack of her heels on the floor, soon seeing the toes of her boots in your vision even as darkness closes in around the edges and things begin to swim. "I designed zose blasters to deal with Avellonians like Excalibur and Caliburn... I thought I might take a chance on ze similarity of your armor, but I didn't expect them to be quite so affective! Ahhhh-hon-hon-hon-hon~!" she crows as you drop to the floor and consciousness flees.\n\nWhen you come to, it's to find yourself dangling from restraints, horizontal and facing the floor. A stock has been fastened around your neck, making it difficult to turn your head as you'd like, but keeping your motions slow and deliberate you can do it enough to make out your situation. You're in what's obviously some sort of dungeon, particularly thick-looking dark stone (likely reinforced with enhanced metals behind), numerous racks, cabinets, and what could be torture implements scattered around. You've been stripped of your costume and hung from the ceiling, your hands bound behind your back, your legs bent and bound and held spread, leaving your cock and balls dangling heavily down below you. The cables do allow you to sway slightly, but are apparently strong and stiff enough that you're held largely in place.\n\n"Welcome back to the waking world, pretty," the Queen's voice says in a coo, having dropped her accent again as she sashays into view. She's exchanged her royal garb for a more blatantly sexual one of thigh-high black boots, tiny, high-strapped black leather panties, and a black bustier, all marked with the red hearts of her preferred style, though she's still wearing her little crown. The dominatrix-clad queen has even traded her scepter for a riding crop, and grins as she tucks it under your chin and lifts your head. "My my, you are an arrogant thing, aren't you?"\n\nYou let out a loud snort through your nose, glaring at her. Part of you wants to snap out something about how she's just fuckmeat who needs to be taught her place, but your defeat and resultant situation have admittedly dinged your newfound superarrogance just a tad. So instead you keep quiet as she starts walking around you, continuing to trace the tip of the riding crop here and there along your muscles, letting it slip along your back, your side, up the curve of a buttock.\n\n"Suuuuch a big manly man," she continues in a mocking tone as she traces the broad leather flap around the curve of one of your balls and then the other, then teases it up and down the underside of your dangling shaft, making you shiver just a little. "Bit less boisterous now that I've thoroughly damped down your powers and bound you up so nicely, hm?"\n\n"Nnnnh... when I overcome the power dampener-" you rumble.\n\n"Oh I'm afraid it's no technological power dampening that you merely need to work past, precious, although thank you for confirming that you must certainly be some other hero who's been transformed," she scoffs, making you wince as she strides around beside your head again. Twining her fingers in your mane, she yanks your large, long head up and gestures ahead with the crop. "It's that."\n\nThe wall ahead of you slowly slides apart, revealing an absolutely massive green gemstone, glowing with some deep, unnatural internal light. Pretty standard magic rock, really, other than that this one seems to have all sort of script and sentences floating around it through the air in blocks, coiling about as if they were written on invisible bits of paper that were drifting on equally invisible underwater currents.\n\n"Ulvavland's Pact Stone, which magically enforces all properly-crafted contracts, edicts, and laws... properly-crafted according to its own definition, anyway," she adds breezily, giving your head a slight shove as she releases your mane. "Since you violated Ulvavland's sovereignity and were then defeated and taken prisoner, the Pact Stone is enforcing the edict that all rightful prisoners of Ulvavland are not allowed the use of any 'offensive' superhuman abilities."\n\n... Oh.\n\n... Okay yeah that explains a few things.\n\n"Now," the Queen continues smugly, turning to you and stepping fully in front, so that her hips and barely-covered pussy fill your view, as well as the pair of lines of three hearts tattooed down the front of her crotch forming leading lines towards it. "I have spent many, many years studying the Pact Stone to find out what it considers valid and how to add to them. And one of those that I have recently been able to add to it is that any rightful prisoners may be reformed mentally into loyal subjects of Ulvavland... well, it's a bit more complex than that, but."\n\nAs you're wrestling to control your reaction to that, she reaches out and scratches behind one of your ears almost affectionately, sneering when you snort and give your head a hard shake to stop her. "Now. Part of getting it to accept that edict is that you must be given a choice for alternative rehabilitation that allows for you to keep your own loyalties and confidences. So here is your choice... you can give me your parole, which means that you will not attempt to escape. You are, of course, free to resist your rehabilitation in other ways, and oh I do hope that you will, precious," she coos in a mock-gooey tone, giving you a light thwack on the side of the face with the crop and making you flinch. "But I cannot then force you to betray any confidences, tell any secrets, or turn on your own people. Well, I cannot force you," she notes, leaning down and smirking at you from closer up.\n\nThen she straightens and shrugs expansively. "Of course, if you refuse, then by the rehabilitation edict you are considered fully recalcitrant, and the stone will attempt to turn you into my proper loyal subject directly. Of course, perhaps you think you're too strong for it... that you have the willpower to resist its ancient magic. In which case, by all means, refuse to give your parole. Feel free either way, in fact... I'm eager to get to work breaking your spirit and showing you your proper place as a male, let alone such a beast, but I'm also quite curious to see the reformation edict in action. So do tell, what will it be?"\n\n<hr>\n[[Give your parole.|CalHM]]\n\n[[Refuse.|CalHM]]

"Maybe if I set it as short a distance as possible... only a few hours ago... then we can avoid getting pulled anywhere," you murmur as you start fiddling with the beacon. "Then we can wait until after we left and do something to help the others, or start setting it up some other way. ... Either way, remember, we can't change anything, no matter how far back we go," you assure the others. "No giving someone a tip, no offering someone money... and no jumping into situations. We do, we're stuck, we don't know how long."\n\n"Alright, we'll just have to do our best," Weiss says slowly. "Let's do it, Kai."\n\n"Okay... just a little and... okay, here we go." You beckon everyone to gather in close, taking Weiss's hand and draping your arm holding the beacon around Ilia. "Everyone hold on, we'll probably be pretty disoriented and lose a little bit of time on the other side."\n\nFwip.\n\nYou slowly start to come to realizing that you're laying on your back in the grass, staring up at the canopy of a bunch of idyllic trees. You blink repeatedly. 'Those don't look... quite right?' You sit up slowly, looking around at RWBY and Ilia similarly looking confused as they sit up... until Ruby voices the reason for her own confusion. "This is Patch."\n\n"Wait, seriously?" you say with a blink.\n\n"I thought you said it was important events in history that had 'gravity'," Yang scoffs as she gets up. "Nothing important ever happened on Patch. That's half the reason people live on Patch."\n\n"You're sure?" you ask, frowning as you get up and offer Weiss and Ilia your hands, hauling them up and checking the blinking of the beacon. Looks like it's recharging pretty fast, actually, good.\n\n"Yeah, we're like five minutes from our house," Yang adds, gesturing. Then she grins. "Hey, c'mon, let's go see if it's there or if we got pulled into, like, ancient history."\n\n"Yang, I'm not so sure that's a good idea," Weiss says with a worried look in her eyes. "Kai said we shouldn't interact with anything."\n\n"We're not gonna interact, we're just gonna take a peek, as long as we don't talk to them it's fine isn't it?" Yang says with a shrug, glancing at you for confirmation.\n\n"... It should be okay, but... okay, look, just promise you won't do anything, alright?" you ask.\n\n"I promise! You too, right, Rubes?" Yang adds, tossing her sister a grin.\n\n"I do kinda wanna see why we wound up so close to home," Ruby admits. "Oooo, maybe our house was built on the grounds of like, an ancient tomb full of artifacts and monsters!" she posits happily, taking off at a jog through the woods.\n\n"Just... keep to amongst the trees, okay?" you say with a sigh, setting off after them. You've got a bad feeling about this.\n\n"Wow, it's totally there," Yang says a few minutes later, leaning out just a little from around a tree. "Just looks... newer. We really must be in the past."\n\n"Okay, we've seen it, can we go?" Weiss frets, squirming behind the tree she's with you.\n\n"Car!" Ilia suddenly hisses, ducking more tightly behind hers.\n\nFrom the angle you're at, you can see what looks like a rickety old jeep that sounds like it's on the verge of failing. Your eyes widen at the sight of who's driving... specifically because Qrow looks like he might be about your own age, his clothing looking a bit more stylish and new, but still with the popped collar. But almost as much because of who's smiling and chattering to him from the passenger seat.\n\n"Oh my gods," Ruby whispers, silver eyes wide. "Mom?"\n\nSummer Rose hops down from the jeep as it comes to a stop to the side of the front path, already starting to hurry towards the door. "Taaaaaiiiiii!" she squeals happily, her voice a squeakless version of Ruby's as she leaps up to wrap her arms around the far less scruffy and less tired-looking Taiyang Xiao Long from the version you've seen in pictures. She swings back and forth briefly from him, laughing, before letting him go, the blonde man moving to embrace Qrow cheerfully, patting his back. "Raaaaay!" she adds as a scruffy black-haired figure also comes to the door, holding a squirming, giggling baby with a thick mop of blonde curls in her arms, Summer wrapping her arms around both and kissing their cheeks, Raven squirming a little in place and getting the tiniest smile on her lips.\n\n'No,' you think, feeling an unpleasant chill race across your skin. 'Oh Dragon forgive, no, don't let it be this, don't let it be this,' you think, shooting a look over at the entranced Yang.\n\n"Yang Yang Yaaaaang!" Summer further declares happily, lifting the giggling baby high in the air, the purple-eyed child letting out a happy squeal of her own and babbling happy nonsense at the silver-eyed Huntress. "Best Yaaaang yes yes yes!" the slight woman further declares, tucking the baby in against her and rocking her gently, cooing. You watch Raven's red eyes take it in, that tiny smile pressed onto her face now, sadness visible to you as it grows in her eyes.\n\n'Please, I'm begging you, don't do this to me, don't make me do this to my friend, please.'\n\n"Ray, you're sure you have to go on the mission?" Summer says with a bit of a pout as she settles Yang on one hip, the tiny blonde clinging to her happily. "It's not much of a Team STRQ get together without you!"\n\n"It's just a short one," Raven says evenly with a bob of the head, quick-stepping down the front steps and giving Qrow a shove on the shoulder in passing, her twin giving her an amused grin as she does, as if they were still just kids fooling around. "I'll be back in the morning, probably. Another day at most," she adds as she finishes fastening the cylinder-sheath of her sword at her belt. "You guys have fun."\n\n"We'll leave the porchlight on for you, honey," Taiyang assures her, leaning in to kiss her lips gently, Raven's body language subtly giving off sorrow, guilt, and second thoughts as she tilts her head up for it.\n\n"Don't take the long route back, Sis, or we're likely to exhaust Summer's cookie-making abilities before you get back," Qrow chuckles as he heads up the steps and inside, ambling through easier in his own skin than you've ever seen him.\n\n"Right," Raven says with a nod, raising a hand to wiggle her fingers at the baby Yang, then wave a bit more normally at Taiyang and Summer before they turn and head inside.\n\n[[Music|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XzgdWoAhe9E]]\n\nAs the door closes behind the rest of her team, Raven just stares at it, listening to the muffled sounds of talking and laughter from within, her hand resting on the butt of her sword. She continues to stare at the door for long moments, her head slowly lowering. Her mouth twists, her expression slowly crumpling, chin wobbling as she raises her other hand to press to her face.\n\n"Oh god," Yang whispers, purple eyes going wide. "Oh god no."\n\nYou're in front of her before you know it, your heart breaking as you throw yourself against her, feeling Weiss grab her arm beside you. "Yang you can't," you hiss out, your voice shaking. "You can't!"\n\n"She's leaving," Yang sobs softly, struggling against you both even as Blake wraps her arms around the blonde's middle, buries her own tear-streaked face against her partner's shoulder. "She's leaving!!"\n\nYou toss a glance over your shoulder, seeing as Raven presses her palm across each cheek, then squares her shoulders, and turns.\n\n"No... no gods please, no," Yang pleads, her voice breaking as she watches the reality of a scene she must have imagined ten thousand times. "This can't be happening!"\n\n<hr>\n[[It has to happen.|KaiWeiss]]\n\n[[... Fuck it.|KaiWeiss6x2]]

Something about the sheer pain on Yang's face overwhelms you, and in a moment of utter weakness, you find yourself trying to picture your own mother's face and realizing that as ever there's nothing there.\n\nBefore you even know what you're doing, you're racing out from amongst the trees, launching yourself into a short leap, Raven whirling and her red eyes widening in shock right before your fist slams into her cheek and knocks her sprawling to the ground.\n\n"Don't you do it, you bitch," you snarl, almost trembling with fury as you glare down at her.\n\n"Well, that's two rules broken," Weiss says flatly as she emerges from the trees and starts making her way to join you, the others doing the same bit by bit.\n\nRaven kips up to her feet, sweeping a red blade out of her sheath and snarling as she looks at you. "I don't know who the hell you are, but you just made a bad damn mistake, no matter how many of you there a-" She blinks, her head jerking a little as her red eyes settle on the red-caped figure drawing closer. "... Summer?" Then she spots her blonde doppelganger walking towards her, jaw sagging just a little as she spots the purple eyes. "... Yang?!" she whispers, her sword lowering with utter shock.\n\n"How could you," Yang snarls.\n\nAnd then she's leaping forward, tackling the Raven that's a scarce handful of years older than her to the ground, grabbing the front folds of her top and slamming her against the ground once. "HOW COULD YOU?!"\n\n"I...!" Raven's struggling through the impact of culture shock, you can see it, even as her hand comes up to grip one of Yang's arms, red eyes wide. "I thought it was for the best!" she shouts back, tears sliding out of the corners of her eyes and into her dusty hair. "I thought it was for the best!"\n\n"THE BEST?!" Yang roars.\n\nThe front door to the house flies open, Qrow leaping out ahead of the other with Clockwork Dirge snapping into sword mode as he snarls out "What the hell is going on?!", Summer and Taiyang moving to flank him, Summer holding a long white staff engraved with thorny vines, Taiyang's forearms and fists sheathed in green and gold gauntlets.\n\n"Who are you people?!" Summer demands. "Leave Raven alone right nOW?!" she actually squeaks, having been prepared for an attack but not a hug. Ruby Rose has thrown herself against the other silver-eyed woman's front, trembling softly as she presses her face against the black cloth covering her chest.\n\n"Mom," Ruby sobs softly, shaking all over.\n\n"W-what?! Um, I'm, I'm sorry, I don't... your hair is a lot like mine, sure! But you can't... mean..." Summer's eyes widen as Ruby lifts her face and opens her own eyes. "... Oh my gods."\n\nYang gives Raven one last shove against the ground, before rising to her feet, rolling her shoulders and moving to join the rest of you. "Thanks," she mutters to you. "... And sorry."\n\n"What is this?" Qrow looks back and forth amidst all of you, staring at Yang for a long time before looking over at Summer and Ruby, the former now giving the latter a very bewildered but very tight hug.\n\n"Time travel, what else could it possibly be?" Blake says rather flatly.\n\n"You're saying you're... from the future?" Taiyang says slowly, obviously having difficulty denying it considering he's still staring at Yang and Ruby even as he moves to help the dusty, dazed Raven to her feet. "What are you doing here?"\n\nYou shoot Raven a look, watching as she winces and lowers her eyes. "... Accident," you say truthfully enough. "We had to get out of a bad situation and it was the only way."\n\n"The problem is, now we're stuck," Weiss says with a sigh. "Soooo if it's not too much trouble... could we maybe come in?"\n\n-\n\n"Um, here. Yang," Summer adds almost as an afterthought, handing the blonde woman a mug of tea, smiling. "You looked upset, this should help."\n\n"Thanks Mo-" Yang winces a little, hurriedly correcting herself. "Thanks, Summer."\n\nSummer blinks at her once, eyeing her curiously, before bobbing her head and moving to sit on the couch beside Raven, who's still sitting with her eyes downcast. "So you're saying that you only intended to go a few hours, and in Argus, but you wound up here seventeen years in the past?"\n\n"Yeah. Apparently it works like that sometimes," you speak up from where you're perched on the arm of an easy chair, Weiss sitting in it properly. "You try to do a little jump, but you get pulled towards times and places with 'gravity'. Considering this place's gravity for both Yang and Ruby, that must be why we wound up here."\n\n"I guess I understand since this is their home in... the future," Taiyang says slowly. "But why now? Why today?"\n\nYou flick your eyes to Raven, see her catch your gaze and shrivel a little where she's sitting. "... Couldn't say," you declare after a moment.\n\n"S-so wait, if Taiyang and I had a child that's just two years younger than Yang, does that mean something happened to Raven?!" Summer gasps, glancing at her partner worriedly, apparently taking the other woman's barely-hidden shame for worry as well. Then the silver-eyed woman winces as over in the playpen the baby Yang starts crying. In a flash of white light and a flurry of rose petals, Summer disappears from the couch and reappears standing next to the playpen, leaning in to pick up the baby. "Sh-sh-sh-sh, there there, sorry sorry sorry, it's okay it's okay."\n\n"... Look whatever was going to happen is irrelevant now," Yang says slowly as she shifts her gaze from Summer comforting the baby her to the other three members of Team STRQ. "We've interacted and now things are different."\n\n"And Weiss... Weiss Schnee?" Qrow says as if just to confirm. "Whose birth notice I remember reading less than a year ago now... Weiss, you said that now you're stuck here?"\n\nWeiss takes a deep breath and nods. "For awhile."\n\n"Months. Maybe years," you admit. "When we interacted with the past, we caused this Remnant to branch off from the one we left from. It'll take some time to stabilize as its own distinct place in the multiverse and gain its own set of coordinates. Until then we can't leave from here."\n\n"Kai, would it help if we, you know... interacted less?" Ilia speaks up. "Like just did as little as possible until things stabilize?"\n\n"As far as I know it doesn't really matter now. This Remnant's already branched... what we did will ripple out and cause more and more changes. Hell, there's every possibility that the more we change things, the faster the place will stabilize," you post with a shrug. "The more distinct this new Remnant becomes, the more likely it is to become anchored. Maybe."\n\n"Oh gosh gosh gosh, sh-sh-sh," Summer continues to soothe baby Yang... then grins and makes her way over to the Yang sitting on the couch. "Well, maybe she'll calm down for you, hm?" Then she pauses, glancing at everyone else. "Um, that's okay, right?"\n\n"Yeah, should be," you answer with a small grin. "They're different people now."\n\n"Uh," Yang says with a blink as her past counterpart is deposited in her lap... and quickly stops crying, instead staring up at her older self intently. "... Um. H-hi," Yang murmurs, raising her left hand and finger-waving.\n\nBlake suddenly smiles, rising from her own perch on the sofa's arm and making her way over. "May I?" she asks with a glance over at Summer and Raven. Since Raven is still wrapped in whatever misery is keeping her head lowered, Summer smiles and nods. Blake rescues her partner from her tiny self, hefting the baby up into her arms and tucking her into the crook of one. "Oh you are very precious, aren't you?" she coos softly, brushing a fingertip down the baby's cheek as her ears give a twitch.\n\nBaby Yang stares up at her in apparent awe, purple eyes sparkling. Then she reaches a hand up, making grabby motions. "Meow!"\n\n"... Oh god," Blake murmurs, looking a combination of absolutely mortified and charmed beyond all description, going red-faced and trembling visibly.\n\n"So what happens to Ruby here now though?" Summer asks with concern, settling on the other arm of the couch and stroking the younger silver-eyed woman's hair gently, Ruby looking like she might burst into happy tears at any moment. "You're saying since we're a new dimension now, we're on a different path? She's not going to fade out of existence or something because now Raven's safe, and I don't... um..." She glanced at Taiyang with a blush, the blonde man going rather red-cheeked as well. "Y'know."\n\nYou see Yang go tight-faced and look away at Summer's continued assumption that Raven must have died, the silver-eyed woman looking noticeably relieved at saying she's safe now. You nod slowly, and start to answer, when Raven bolts to her feet.\n\n"I WAS GOING TO LEAVE!"\n\nThe room goes absolutely silent, every eye turning to her, save Baby Yang who starts fussing softly again, Blake quickly trying to soothe her.\n\n"I was going to leave," Raven repeats, her voice hoarse, her head lowered, fists clenched. "I wasn't going on a mission I was just... going."\n\n"Goddammit Raven," Qrow hisses, glaring at her.\n\n"Ray... why?" Summer whispers in a hurt tone, even as Taiyang just stares silently, a look on his face that is...\n\n... well. He doesn't really look surprised, let's say that.\n\n"... Because I'm tired," Raven whispers, her voice nevertheless seeming to fill the room. "I'm tired of feeling like I'm never going to get a handle on this mommy stuff. I'm tired of worrying that I'm a failure at it, or that I will be. I'm tired of trying to talk to the stiff, normal, everyday people we're surrounded by as if I understand them or they understand me. I'm tired of... of not doing what I want, doing what I feel, because I feel too bound by their expectations, the fear of their scorn."\n\nRaven raises her hands, pressing her palms to her forehead as she squeezes her eyes closed. "I just... wanted to go back to where things made sense. A life I knew I could live. A place things always felt right, where if people scorned me I could just... deal with them." She gives a short, bitter laugh as she lets her hands drop. "God, it's so much easier to deal with people when you can just kill them if they mistreat you. ... That was always the level of my social skills," she mutters, finally raising her eyes and looking at her brother. "... You learned. I couldn't. You finally won. Happy?"\n\nWhatever anger had been on Qrow's face has been replaced by sadness, and something almost like sympathy as he stares back at his twin. "Raven... why didn't you ever say anything?"\n\n"Because weakness is death," she answers immediately, but with a hollow voice, her shoulders slumping. "And I've never felt weaker than trying to fit in here."\n\nNo one says anything for long moments. In the silence, Yang rises to her feet and slowly walks over to stand in front of the red-eyed Huntress, staring at her, Raven flinching just a little as if in expectation of another punch to the face. Then her eyes widen as Yang throws her arms around her and hauls her into a tight embrace, golden hand pressing to the back of her head.\n\n"... I just wanted to know," Yang murmurs, closing her eyes and lowering her own head. "More than anything I just wanted to understand."\n\nTears start to trickle from Raven's eyes. And then she sobs, pressing in against Yang, hands coming up to grip the back of her shirt. "I'm sorry... I'm sorry... I'm sorry..."\n\n"Well that's certainly different than the last time we went through this," Weiss mutters under her breath, though she's grinning as she says it. \n\n"I mean... I guess it's okay if I don't, y'know... happen... in this timeline," Ruby says sheepishly, ducking her head. "As long as everyone's happy and things work out."\n\n"Mmm, I wouldn't write yourself off just yet, dear," Summer murmurs, smiling at the embrace of mother and child. "I think... a lot of things are going to change around here."\n\n"But it still leaves us with the question of what we do," Blake says as she gently bounces the tiny version of her partner in her arms. \n\n"Well. Way I see it we've got a few options. Let's assume it takes... three years for the beacon to recharge," you venture. "That still gives us a lot of time to go out there and set up some problems to be fixed. Now, one way to do that, we stick with Team STRQ here, if they want the help. They're part of Oz's inner circle, after all," you continue, clearly startling several of said inner circle. "We can all sit down and have a nice little talk with Ozpin, and see what he thinks is the best way to utilize our talents."\n\n"Or we head out on our own," Ilia picks up. "We go out into the world and track down problems we know about and try to get ahead of them... set them on another course. Even if we only make a few changes, it could set off a big difference down the line."\n\n"Yeah, but do we do that as a group, or separately?" Yang asks as she finally separates from her hug with Raven, turning back to all of you. "I mean, there's six of us. Ten if we tell these guys all we can. That's a lot more ground we could cover in changing the future if we each head out on our own initiative."\n\n"And since all the CCT towers are functioning in this time period and the Grimm situation isn't nearly so bad, we could all stay in touch and join back up regularly," Blake admits, which again causes some stares from the older team.\n\n"I don't really like the idea of splitting up," Ruby says slowly. "But if it's what everyone thinks is best, maybe it could still work, yeah. We'd all need to rebuild our weapons, or new ones, but after that... what should we do?"\n\n<hr>\n[[Stick with STRQ.|KaiWeiss]]\n\n[[Stick together and head out.|KaiWeiss]]\n\n[[Split up and head out.|KaiWeiss]]

He's a very, very bad man... but there aren't any nice ones that pay like he does. You turn and make your way towards the stairs that lead to the VIP level... the guard there knows you as well, pausing only to blip you and check that you are who you look like before allowing you to make your way up.\n\nMost of the VIP level is, in fact, filled with people in nice suits wearing notable amounts of red... vests and ties, or the suits are red, or lots of red tattoos. The naked girls dancing on the tables are high-quality goods themselves... whatever their proportions, they're utterly perfect, whether it's perky little tits or big jiggly mangos, all of them intricately painted with glowing body paint as is the hallmark of the Glowworm's dancers for hire, and most of them in red to cater to the one who likely hires them most often. Horace himself is watching you from his table as you approach, grinning around his cigar.\n\nYou don't know if he's a human, or an alien, or maybe mixed, but he's big. A bit over seven feet, with shoulders that look like he could body check a fucking tank and hands that could completely enfold your head. A huge, shaggy near-literal mane of red hair that comes down the sides of his head and even in around his face a bit, forming into part of a beard along his chin, and almost obscene amounts of muscle, and all of it wrapped up in the most expensive, exquisite-looking crimson-trimmed black suit that blood money can buy. The girls dancing attendance on him practically vanish as you finish your approach, and you can almost feel the pair of enforcers moving up on either side and behind you as he lowers the cigar. "Kai, good to see you again."\n\n"Horace," you answer, again more feeling it than seeing it as the enforcers tense. Everybody's supposed to call him 'Mister Allfather'... the only ones that would normally dare to use his given name are other underworld bosses who are fairly secure in the knowledge that they could stand up to him in a show of force. That you have the audacity to do it as a nobody infuriates them every time... guess they don't understand that being a nobody is a certain strength on its own, because you just don't give enough of a shit. Besides, you're fairly certain he's not going to hurt you over some petty shit like that, even if he'd normally kill someone way more important.\n\nIndeed, his reddish-amber eyes are twinkling as he takes another puff of his cigar. "Such spirit, though you mask it well under that jaded contempt. You remind me of me so much that I sometimes wonder if some of my wild oats didn't wind up on the slave market at some point."\n\nYou keep your face composed, but as always there's a distinctly weird sensation in your stomach, because with your complete lack of knowledge of your past, you can't say for certain that he's wrong, even if he is just prodding at you. Still, it's a dance you do, so you gamely reply, "In that case, how about some allowance?"\n\n"Now now, you haven't done your chores yet. That is, assuming you're here for work? You're so bad about keeping up social visits and all." He takes a few puffs, eyeing you up and down, then grins again. "But why bother with temporary work? Why don't you tell me to buy you, Kai? We'll get that ridiculous chip popped out of your neck and have you dressed properly before the night's done. Not that you aren't already wearing the right colors."\n\nMaybe it's that he seems in a particularly good mood tonight, or maybe it's just your own frustration, but you let out a huff and decide to be honest. "Y'know I don't get that. Everyone else who asks me if I'd want them to buy me, they're asking because they care what I think or at least they're pretending to, or they think they'd need my help to convince the old man to sell me, or whatever."\n\n"You don't think I care about what you want?" Horace asks in a mock-offended tone, before chuckling lowly, smoke roiling out between his lips and combining with the reflected glow in his eyes to give him a particularly draconic look.\n\n"I think you care about what you want more than anything, and I know you sure as hell wouldn't give a shit about needing to rough up the old man to make him sell me, or even using a black market chip-changer if it came to that," you answer bluntly.\n\n"Mm. If you like, think of it as... ginger solidarity," he says with another chuckle, before tilting his head a bit. "But there's also this bit of management advice, my dear... put a chain around a man's neck, and you can drag him into Hell with you. Be the one who gives that man everything he needs, wants, and desires, and he'll charge barefoot into Hell at the asking." He reaches over, two big fingers delicately picking up a champagne flute. "Now, I'm feeling particularly effusive tonight, as Mio has managed to acquire my personal favorite brand of bubbly. I'll even let you put some conditions on my purchase of you, if you like. Go on, ask away. Or if you're still feeling particularly dull, we can move on to just tossing you some credits to get the heat back on, if that's as far as your ambitions go."\n\n<hr>\n[[Lay out conditions.|Kai4x2]]\n\n[[Just take a job.|Kai]]

"Here, have these cleaned," you say to one of your men, tossing him the blood-splattered gloves you were wearing as you turn and stride out. The lights of the now silenced dance floor play over the gleam of imported silk that makes up the crimson scarf around your neck, the sway of an overcoat that cost more than the high-end speeder you stole once upon a yesterday marking the pace of your unflappable stride as you head for the door.\n\nYou trot down the front steps and cross to the luxury car parked at the curb, the door swinging open to admit you of its own accord as you slide into the backseat. Without a word it sets into motion, driving without destination, just keeping on the move. You tap at the controls nearby to turn the vidscreen set in the back of the divider between the driver's seat and passenger area, placing a call, waiting until it lights up with the lined face wreathed in a mane of red hair and beard, with only a few almost unnoticeable lines of silver here and there.\n\n"Wrapped things up early at the club, eh?" he says with a chuckle at the sight of your gloveless hands on your knee. "Shame the owner wouldn't be more reasonable."\n\n"He was being pretty stubborn. Obviously didn't expect an in-person visit, probably thought he'd get some low-level enforcer that'd be scared off by his hired guys," you reply with a shrug, one corner of your mouth quirking up a little. "Probably thought he was safe since he heard you were in another sector."\n\n"These idiots should know by now that they're, if anything, less safe when they've the potential for a visit from the Alldaughter as they are from the Allfather," he says with another chuckle.\n\n"Eh, some guys." You shrug again, before tilting your head. "You're supposed to be back tonight, right? It's still fairly early for us, do you want to meet at Alamagordo's, or T'chandra's? Maybe that new Chi place, we don't have a standing table but shouldn't take more than a few minutes to convince them we should."\n\n"Alas, business here ran a little long." Horace glances aside, no doubt at some offscreen bit of carnage or impending thereof, before turning back to you. "You know how it can be."\n\nYou don't let yourself pause more than a heartbeat before you nod. "Yeah. It's fine, maybe we can figure out something next month."\n\n"We'll see, though I will be heading to Sector 112A about then."\n\n"Right. Well, whatever, when it happens. Until then."\n\n"That's my girl," Horace answers, before the screen abruptly goes blank.\n\nThe driver droid waits the exact number of seconds programmed as appropriate before asking, "Where to, ma'am?"\n\n"The apartment," you answer after a brief pause, turning and looking out the rain-streaked window as the buildings slide past. Funny, you've never fallen into the habit of referring to it as 'home'. As grand, comfortable, and opulent as it is, it's still very... secure. Not even your occasional lovers are allowed there since it's your safehouse. Come to think of it you're fairly certain you've never been to Horace's equivalent. It's just... an apartment. A nice apartment from which to run your portions of the Syndicate, at times. A place to sleep. A place to enjoy all that you've gained.\n\nYou're not sure why you feel so sentimental tonight, but not for the first time you try to picture Zee in the apartment. Bustling around, relaxing in it like she used to relax in that falling-down old rathole where you lived, smiling at you when you walk in the way she'd smile at you before. You just... can't picture her there, though. Actually... you find her face getting harder to bring to mind these days. You recall her... you recall that her smile was warm and bright and welcoming, and a little sad... but what that actually looked like... it's becoming as hard to picture as putting her in the opulent apartment you return to each night.\n\nYou look down at your feet in their glossy, perfect black leather shoes. The image of a decapitated body lying at them comes to mind quite easily, though, despite you having refused to look at it at the time. As well as all the other bodies that have lain there since then.\n\nYour gaze turns back towards the window, at Makarzia passing by. Your luxury car window. Your city. Your apartment.\n\n... You have to wonder if home is anywhere out there at all, though.\n\nDeath of Doonian End - The Homeless Rich Girl

You shoot out your off hand, grabbing his shoulder and wheeling him around before shoving him up against the side of the car. Fear is naked on your face as you bring the tanto up, pressing it into his throat and staring him dead in the eyes.\n\n"Get your family and get offworld," you snarl lowly, leaning in close to make sure he hears every word. "Not later, not in the morning, tonight, you go home, you get them, you leave on the first transport you can find no matter how far in debt you have to go, and you never come back. That's the only way you save both you and them, you got me? Nod if you understand me." At his half-panicked headbobbling, you step back slightly. "Good. Now-"\n\n<hr>\n[["-get the hell out of here."|Kai4x4]]\n\n[["-sorry about this."|Kai]]

"... You'd have to buy Zee too," you say after a moment of pregnant silence. "And free her, no gifting her off to some lieutenant."\n\nHorace smirks, clearly realizing he's already won even as he gestures for you to sit down across from him. Since you know he has too, you go ahead and sit. "Hm. Agreed," he answers after only the briefest pause.\n\n"And she gets set up with an apartment somewhere, and enough money to live on for awhile."\n\n"Well now you're getting into the realm of asking for rather more than just your own freedom, hm? After all, we haven't even gotten to the issue of you actually working for me once you are."\n\nYour jaw works a little, but you soon reply, "Five years. I get full pay and benefits as one of your gang members."\n\nHorace makes a little 'hm' motion with his lips, eyes rolling up slightly as his head bobbles, before he says, "Twenty years, and I'll cover her rent and expenses in perpetuity."\n\nDammit, you opened with Zee and now he knows she's your main weak spot. Unfortunately that's absolutely true, and there's only so far you'll yield. You can't help your voice being a little petulant as you respond, "Ten, just rent and utilities."\n\nHe repeats the earlier motion, lips taking a more thoughtful air, before he offers, "Fifteen, I'll also cover food and a drop-by maid so she won't have to clean anymore."\n\nGod dammit, he's really hitting the buttons now. More because you're just too stubborn to not at least try and get in the last word, you counter, "Twelve, pay the maid, take the money for food out of my checks."\n\nHis grin spreads across his tan, leathery face. "Done." He leans across the table to offer his hand, and you really have a concept of what people mean about making a deal with the devil as the heat and strength of it completely enfolds your own when you give it a shake. "Of course, before we can consider this deal finalized, it requires more than a handshake," he declares as he sits back. "You'll have to prove to me you actually intend to follow orders and do as you're told."\n\nSighing heavily, you slump back in your chair. "Fine, how many people do I have to kill?"\n\n"Just one. Not even a challenge for you, just some minor functionary who happens to have access to some data he shouldn't be seeing, and has probably looked at it anyway." Horace shrugs, gesturing negligently with his cigar. "Now, we don't know he's going to kick it upstairs, let alone to someone who's not already bought... but why take a chance? His subordinate in line for promotion is a distinctly uncurious young woman who's likely to stay in that position for the rest of her life, little chance for trouble there. Kelvin will give you the details of what the fellow looks like and where you can find him. Come back to me with a knife covered in his lifesblood, and our deal is sealed."\n\nYou need to take a momen to sort of gather and center yourself, make peace with what you've decided to do. But then you nod and stand up, turning and heading back for the stairs. One of Horace's enforcers is waiting, and passes you a brand new, high-end comm... red case, of course. And it's got a pair of feathers attached to a ring engraved on the back to match your earring. Feeling played though you can't quite identify how, you wait until you're outside the club to press your thumb to the screen to unlock it... yup, it works, goddammit. There are three things on the screen... a picture of a really stylish street bike, a picture of an almost wholly nondescript man whose only distinquishing feature is an obvious cyberear, and a map. With a heavy heart, you glance up and... yeah, there's the bike. 'Crystal Dragon, it's gorgeous,' you think sourly as you swing astride it and press your thumb to the starter sensor, feeling it vibrate to life beneath you before you plug in the comm and link the GPS.\n\nThe ride gives you time to think, of course. It's not like you've never killed anyone before... hell, it's not like you've never been hired to kill someone before. Just... not like this. Some nobody whose 'crime' was potentially revealing someone else's crime, who has all the chance of fighting back that a mouse does as far as you go. And not even for a paycheck, but something far more nebulous like 'sealing a deal'. And for the next twelve years, at least, that reason will become 'Because Horace said so.' It feels like your life just took a ninety degree turn when you decided to walk up those stairs and talk to him... but that's your fault, then, isn't it? 'I agreed to it. I said it,' you thought, narrowing your eyes and leaning forward a bit on the bike. 'Fuck it, time to do this.'\n\nThe bike stops about a block from the suggested ambush spot, leaving you to park it out of sight in an alley and make the rest of the trip on foot, actually pulling up the second hood of your coat to cover the ears of the other one and slouching in on yourself. Arriving at the address, you duck into the conveniently unlit entrance alcove of the building next door, waiting and watching the entrance of the cement block of a government building, doing your best not to think too hard about exactly what you're waiting to do. But eventually the door slides open, and the datamonkey in question walks out, wearing a drab grey anti-weather coat that's just transparent enough that you can make out the LED glow of his cyberear through the hood. Alright, time to do this, you think as you slip out of the alcove, keeping your steps silent as you approach from behind, shifting your hand inside your sleeve to slip out the generic little tanto you carry in there as a backup weapon.\n\nYou catch up to him just as he's reaching for the door of the plain, low-cost little autocar parked in the street, and as he does a motion from his wrist is enough to catch your eye... a silver bracelet, pricey for a government worker, the little bar attached to the links tumbling as it moves to reveal a picture of a smiling, almost-handsome man on one side and two very adorable beaming children on the other.\n\n<hr>\n[[... Thrust.|Kai]]\n\n[[... Grab.|Kai4x3]]

Well, you never know, maybe there will be someone helpful in there. Or, at least, you'll be able to lie your way in and thus be able to find something useful.\n\nYou approach the fence and carefully push it open, grimacing a bit at the overly loud, overly creepy creaking noise it makes as you do so. Holy shit, it doesn't even look that rusty! Trying to ignore the chill it sent up your spine, you follow the packed dirt path up to the door. As you expected from your glance further off, it looks like a fairly sturdy door you might see on a less secure bunker... thick, metal, and strong, but still able to be moved by one person like a normal door. It even has a fairly normal-looking doorknob with a lock set in the center. Beside it in the slightly inset area the door's built into, with just enough room for clearance, is a positvely antiquated-looking call box, the kind where you have to press a button to speak. It specifically has two buttons, one labeled 'Ring' and the other 'Talk'. \n\n<hr>\n[[Press 'Ring'.|PervSim]]\n\n[[... Nah, let's pick the lock.|PervSim]]

Yup, definitely a girl. Despite her height she's quite hippy, and with boobs that would probably be bigger than yours if the rest of her was in proportion to you too. You guess that makes her a "shortstack", as you've heard some boys call them (usually Dwarf or Halfling girls). Most of her body is on display, too, bluish-purple skin and dark purple nipples completely bare, the only thing she's wearing gold bands around the base of her horns, her forearms, and her shins (just above her little purple hooves). Her hair is a thick almost black dark purple mess, seemingly barely being held down above her head by the arch of her horns and spilling down her back to just above her pert miniature butt.\n\n"Hsha! Hello, Master!" she chirps, wagging a hand around to one side, the other resting on a curvy hip. "The name's Snika, nice to make your eternal acquaintance!"\n\n"Ah, thanks. I'm Kona, I-" You pause and blink. "... Eternal?"\n\n"Well I mean in theory," Snika says with a shrug, lifting both hands and making her smallbig tits jiggle a bit. "But an Infernal pact is sort of forever, and barring some weird circumstances usually a familiar's with you... ah... forever. So, let's get along, Master!" she adds cheerfully, smiling wide and showing off several sharp gold-capped teeth amongst the more normal ones.\n\n"R-right," you murmur, bobbing your head. After a moment of standing there, you add, "Sorry, I'm just taking a minute to process all this. It's been kind of an unusual day."\n\n"Isfine, isfine," Snika assures you, waving off the apology dismissively.\n\nThe both of you just stand there looking at each other for a few moments, until Snika clears her throat and claps her small hands together. "So! Just as a short briefing, since it sounds like you weren't really prepared to be a Warlock. As an Imp, I'm sort of average in most ways as far as familiars go. I'm stronger than I look, and have a small handful of spells that only work on me. My main benefit is that I can cast any spell you can from our shared pool of magic, and spells with a target of 'Self' will work on either of us. I also function as your grimoire, essentially, helping you store and access spells. Oh, that's right! Let me give you the rest of your first-level spells," she adds, making a rummaging motion in thin air.\n\nOh, well, more spells sounds good at least. You wait for a moment as Snika continues to look through seemingly nothing, until she pulls out a sheet of parchment with glowing purple text and proffers it happily. You lean down to accept it, looking it over, your character menu popping up as you do, the text disappearing off the page and reappearing under your spell list on the character menu as you read it.\n\n"'Lesser Stealth', 'Chaos Bolt', 'Minor Hex', 'Minor Allure', 'Create Phal-'" You choke at that last, but it's already disappeared off the page, causing you to yank your eyes to it on the screen instead. "'Create Phallus'?!"\n\n"Now Chaos Bolt is a bit tricky," Snika begins calmly, wagging a finger around. "Probably seven times our of eight you'll get an attack that's stronger than Arcane Bolt, but the eighth time-" Then she eeps as you thump a hand down atop her head between her horns, leaning into look at her.\n\n"Not that! This!" you snap, pointing at the last entry on your spell list, somehow not thinking to wonder if Snika can see your character screen. "Explain this!"\n\n"Oh thaaaat," Snika says breezily, grinning widely at you again. "Well Imps are kinda on the lewd side after all, Master. That one's a pretty good one! At first it's pretty basic and only has a target of 'Self' but when you level up you'll be able to endicken all sorts of things! It'll be a ton of fun, trust me! I mean, if you pick a big enough target, it could even literally be a ton of fun," she adds mock-solemnly, raising her thin, dark purple eyebrows. "Probably more than just about anyone could handle but there are ways around that too."\n\n"This friggin' class," you grumble, straightening up and dragging your hand down your face.\n\n"A~nyway, Master, speaking of which," Snika chirps. "We should probably go ahead and complete our pactbond!"\n\n"... Er... did we not already do that when I summoned you?" you say, frowning. "........ wait, why 'speaking of which'?" you add a bit more faintly.\n\nSnika snickers. "Because obviously our bond isn't complete until we fu~ck!" she declares cheerfully. She glances around, giving a little 'hmmm'. "Yeah this should be an alright place for it, the random encounters don't seem too heavy and Environmental Adaptation actually makes it pretty comfy to fuck just about anywhere!"\n\n"But we ca-!" you start to blurt, only to have your train of thought thoroughly derailed as she opens her mouth and lets a long hot purple tongue loll out... "long" as in "reaches almost to her bellybutton". You just stare at that for a moment, your head actually lifting to track the motion as she pulls it back into her mouth. You open and close your own mouth a few times, briefly honestly having forgotten what you were going to say.\n\n"Now, we can do the lesbilewds, which suits me just fine," Snika continues happily. "Or one of us can use 'Create Phallus', that's just as good! Orrrr if you wanna get real kinky we both can," she adds with a saucy wink.\n\n"... um..." you say faintly.\n\n<hr>\n[["... Lesbi... lewds?"|KonaWL]]\n\n[["... You can use it...?"|KonaWL]]\n\n[["... I... could use it...?"|KonaWL]]\n\n[["... Both, huh...?"|KonaWL]]\n\n[["................................ no."|KonaWL]]

You turn and stalk your way to one of the further-down kiosks, needing the time to put your thoughts together. By the time you have, you spot a station just opening up and make your way up to it. The girl behind the counter is pretty, with short brown hair and reddish eyes, dressed in the same 'lightly professional' gear as most of the others. She smiles brightly as she sees someone coming up.\n\n<img src="images/Vima.jpg">\n\n"Hi, what can I do for-" Her smile falters as she sees your face, and as you set a bloody hand on the counter. "Oh, um, are you alright? Do you need a medic?"\n\n"No. I'm here to list a job," you answer evenly, keeping your gaze unfalteringly steady on her.\n\n"To... list a job?" Certainly while Guild members listing jobs of their own isn't that unusual, doing so in your current state has clearly thrown her. But she clears her throat and manages to put the professional look back on her face as she puts her hands to her input board. "Alright, the location of the job?"\n\n"Makarzia. City sectory 117-A. Dimtemp coordinats 99348."\n\n"Conditions for completion of the job?"\n\n"The safe return of Zee, a female human adult slave, to her owner, Guild member in good standing Kai. And the death of Horace Allfather, with his head delivered as proof of completion," you add, your voice icy even to your own ears. "The safe return is the primary. The elimination is secondary. Both are required for full payment."\n\n"I seeee." The clerk must still be a little bit on the new side, since she did pale a little when she heard you were straight-out putting a hit on someone, but she's professional enough that it doesn't actually give her pause. "And, ah, the payment?"\n\n<hr>\n[[Everything you have.|Kai4x7]]\n\n[[Everything Horace has.|Kai5x1]]\n\n[[Yourself.|Kai6x1]]

Hm. Warlocks, perhaps unfairly, have a somewhat negative reputation... however, that reputation doesn't actually stop them from being a highly sought-after class for parties. Since they're casters that tend to rely a lot on their familiars and summoning, they can fill out two or three of the standard archetype slots needed, if they're good enough. Plus plenty of warlocks make pacts with non-demonic powers, or at least that's what you've heard... basically any outside magical force can create a warlock. To your understanding. ... Admittedly you've basically only ever seen them with some variety of imp hanging around, but you guess that's just more common.\n\nBut in the end you've never heard of a Warlock going wanting for a party to join, and that clenches it for you. You put the other cards away and get to your feet, pressing the blank side of the card to your forehead and focusing your attention on it.\n\nAlmost immediately you can feel a warm tingling rushing through your body, starting from the point where the card's metal touches your skin and spreading out through your head and down into your body, making you feel a little light-headed. You find you're locked in position, your body not tensed or squeezed, just not moving at all when you try. You can only give a faint squeak of dismay as you feel your chest armor abruptly vanish, leaving your boobs to spring outward against your shirt... which also grows tighter and thinner, highlighting your breasts and cupping them individually, even as it shortens and slides up your midriff to bare your stomach and back. You can feel your pants shrinking too... becoming slightly tighter, hugging into the cleft of your butt and cupping more firmly against your sex, as the legs shorten, sliding all the way up to bare your calves and thighs, turning into a pair of thoroughly short shorts. \n\nOnly then are you allowed to yank the card down, giving an angry huff as you look down at yourself. You didn't think the class card would change your clothes! ... Admittedly you haven't ever seen a warlock who was what you'd call modestly dressed, they all seem to show off one way or another. At least it left the flaps of cloth on your belt to keep you more modest!\n\nDistracting you from your huff, your character screen pops open in front of you, the slightly angled transparent plane showing your name, class, and confirmation of at least one thing you'd heard earlier.\n\n<center>Kona Kofay\nLvl 1 Warlock\n\nInnate Skill:\nJack of All Trades\n\nClass Skills:\nChannel Magic\nSense Magic\nSpeak to Magical Beings (Bonus)\nDiplomacy\nCharm (Natural)\nMelee (Blades)\n\nCross-Class Skills:\nPathfinding\nSurvival\nConnections\nAdventuring Knowledge\nBasic Melee\nUse Shield\n\nCantrips:\nLight\nSpark\nShock\nMinor Enhance Charm\n\nSpells:\nArcane Bolt\nSeek Pact</center>\n\nHuh! You never knew Warlocks had using blades as a class skill! That's actually nice, means your training won't go to waste. Though it looks like using your shield has become cross-class. ... Hey where'd your shield go? Darnit, did that disappear when you became a Warlock too?! Man that's annoying, this has actually cost you money so far! ... Oh well.\n\nNot a very broad selection of spells at first level, you muse, glancing over the Cantrips and Spells sections. Nothing utility-wise. You tap 'Minor Enhance Charm', and find that it's a spell that will make you slightly more appealing to the person you're casting with it in mind, or just more towards the general area's tastes if you don't focus on an individual. Probably a pretty minor change, since it's just a cantrip, but it appears that being charming and convincing is part of a warlock's baliwick. (You never really knew that about them, that's interesting! Y'know, now that you are one.)\n\nAnd you guess it makes sense that for spells you've got just a basic attack spell and the pact-forming spell, since the latter is the entire core of the class. ... Well, no reason to put off using it that you can see. You concentrate on the spell and follow the sort of subliminal guidance that comes into your mind, pressing your palms together and closing your eyes, then spreading your hands slowly, a purple magical circle forming between them. When you open your eyes, a bunch of little miniature comets of light come shooting out from the center of the circle, turning into colorful glowing sigils hovering in the air, each with a menu plane popping open below them.\n\n[[Infernal|KonaWL1x2]] 'The Infernal pact will create a bond with a creature from the lower planes. The most common variety of Warlock pact due to its broad utility, having the greatest variety of powerful and useful spells. Your choice of familiar, however, is randomized.'\n\n[[Divine|KonaWL]] 'The Divine pact will create a bond with an Angel from the higher planes. A rare form of Warlock, Divine Warlocks resemble spellcasting Paladins. Your Angel pacted familiar will be very powerful right from the beginning, but will have greater demands on your behavior; even more than most Warlocks, your pacted power is in charge.'\n\n[[Nature|KonaWL]] 'The Nature pact will create a bond with the forces of the natural world. Often mistaken for Druids, Nature Warlocks have a great affinity with plants and beasts, but are focused on using such spells more offensively than true Druids.'\n\n[[Eldritch|KonaWL]] 'The Eldritch pact will create a bond with the forces that exist beyond this world. Though capable of growing to greater power and potency than almost any other bond, the Eldritch pact can extract far greater prices as well.'\n\n[[Ancient|KonaWL]] 'The Ancient pact will create a bond with the very concept of antiquity and lost civilizations. A strange and often nearly incomprehensible pact, that nevertheless has great potential to lead to power and, more certainly, adventure.'

Well! Good thing there are options other than Infernal! You don't have to be that sort of Warlock after all! You can be something else!\n\n... Greatest variety of powerful and useful spells...\n\n... Mmf... \n\nW-well, maybe... maybe just because they're from the lower planes they're not necessarily evil? Maybe they're just stereotyped and have a bad rap! Like Warlocks themselves! Yeah! O-or... or maybe just because you're pacted with something evil won't make you evil, right?\n\n... Yeah that sounds right. Sure. Let's go with it. Because greatest variety of powerful and useful spells surely wouldn't have any real drawbacks, that would just be unfair, you think as you reach out and touch the glowing fire-colored rune floating in the air.\n\nInstantly you feel a heat low on your belly, just above your crotch, making your face go red at the suddenness and the way your body reacts... with arousal, your nipples hardening visibly beneath your newly thin shirt among other things. It almost feels like something's been etched in your skin, but before you can even think of checking the other sigils pop out of existence, and the Infernal one glows brighter for a moment before fading as well, replaced by your character menu popping up again. It's mostly the same, but now the 'Seek Pact' spell has been replaced by-\n\n<hr>\n[["Summon Familiar (Imp)"|KonaWL1x3]]\n\n[["Summon Familiar (Fairimp)"|KonaWL]]\n\n[["Summon Familiar (Hellhound)"|KonaWL2x1]]\n\n[["Summon Familiar (Hellsteed)"|KonaWL]]\n\n[["Summon Familiar (Demon)"|KonaWL]]\n\n[["Summon Familiar (Demoness)"|KonaWL]]\n\n[["Summon Familiar (Demonite)"|KonaWL]]\n\n[["Summon Familiar (Succubus)"|KonaWL]]\n\n[["Summon Familiar (Incubus)"|KonaWL]]\n\n[["Summon Familiar (Omnibus)"|KonaWL]]\n\n[["Summon Familiar (Incuboi)"|KonaWL]]\n\n[["Summon Familiar (Lolibus)"|KonaWL]]

Sigh. Well that's just... sigh.\n\n'Entry-level familiar,' you think a bit gloomily, then blink a bit as a short staff made of purple metal appears floating in midair, a round red gem floating completely unattached in the tall 'U' formed by the staff's upper tongs. You reach out and take hold of it, hefting it around a bit, feeling a faint magical tingle run through your palm and fingers. Huh. Well at least this class is giving some stuff back to you after taking your armor and shield.\n\nAfter a few seconds, you shrug, then point the staff... scepter? it's pretty short, it might be more of a scepter, or a rod... forward, calling out "Summon familiar!"\n\nYou can feel the faint charge of magic passing through you and... honestly, it feels kind of good. Sort of... sexy, even? Either way your cheeks color again even as there's a pomf of bright purple smoke a short distance ahead of you on the grassy ground, which rapidly starts to clear, revealing a figure who only comes up to about your hips, even including the shallow rises of the horns. As more of the smoke clears, you can see that the figure is-\n\n<hr>\n[[-male.|KonaWL]]\n\n[[-female.|KonaWL1x4]]

They don't seem too shady, so already leaning towards renting it you ask, "How much?"\n\nThe price Loren quotes isn't bad at all... just a small single-time rent fee that you get half of back when you return the band. If it's a scam, you can't see how they'd come out on top after paying the rental fee on this office anyway, so after just a bit more thought you agree to rent one. You exchange a bit more polite client-merc chitchat with the pair, before eventually leaving and heading back to the Guildhall's more central areas. (At least what you think of as more central. You'd guess most people think of the arrival annex as the center of the Guildhall... or maybe that's just you? One of those things you realize you've never really talked with anyone else about.) \n\n'Guess I'd better gear up thoroughly,' you muse as you adjust the band a bit around your wrist. Since you bothered to spend some money to do this job, may as well invest a little more and get some proper sample collection gear and camping stuff and whatnot, really commit. (Since we've established that you're not actually afraid of commitment. ... Ahem.) You head to one of your more reliable 'assortment' sort of stores, the kind that tends to specialize in the sorts of gear for these non-specifically-combat kinds of jobs.\n\nYou've been here often enough to be amenable with the person who's on duty most of the times you've come in, a blue-haired woman in grey coveralls left unzipped enough down the front to show off her sports bra and large chest. Apparently amenable enough that as she sees you looking over specimen collection jobs she wanders over and says with a grin, "Hey, did you pick up that big animal reserve job?"\n\n"Yeah, you heard about that one?" you ask as you straighten up.\n\n"Open job that's expected to last almost twenty years jobside? Yeah that sort of thing gets around to us 'sundry sellers'," she replies breezily, before smirking a bit. "They talk you into renting one of those pacifier bands?"\n\n"Yyyyyyes," you admit slowly, narrowing your eyes. "Don't tell me they're a scam?"\n\n"Nah, nah, they work! Sort of," she adds with a shrug. "Lemme guess, said something about how they 'blunt' hostile tendencies? Yeah, they'll keep predators from eating you, that's about it," she explains with a shrug. "Which, y'know, useful enough." She pauses, then leans in. "But I happen to know a little secret about them since I looked them up."\n\nCurious now, you lean in and lower your voice as well. "What is it?"\n\n"You've heard of software locks, right? Where it's actually cheaper for a company to just manufacture all their stuff as the top-tier version, and then lock out some of the functions for the 'low cost' market?" At your nod, the blue-haired woman continues. "Well these bands were made like that. They've actually got full-on pacification capability... make the animals completely placid towards you. You can even switch to other states," she adds, waggling her eyebrows. "Y'know, since I hear they're paying more for reproductive material."\n\nYour face colors again as it's suggested that you (at the very least) jerk off animals for the second time in a day. "Hey, c'mon."\n\n"That's what she said." Your 'friend' snickers, then says, "But listen, I'll undo the software locks for you... I'll have to upcharge a fair bit since, y'know, this isn't technically something I'm allowed to do in this job," she adds with a glance around, as if looking for her manager. "But it'll work way better. They'll probably make you buy it if you try to take it back, since it'll technically be 'damaged', but hey, that just means you get to keep a useful bit of tech!"\n\nYou consider that. The price they quoted for making you buy the thing was on the slightly high end... add to that whatever you'd get charged for undoing the software locks. (Plus assuming that actually works.) But she's right... basically never having to worry about animal attacks ever again would be a pretty useful long-term purchase. Heck, if it works on guard dogs, that's a good buy right there! Still... you are a little wary. What if she's scamming you? Or what if she just doesn't know as much as she says she does, and she winds up bricking the pacifier? Then you'd have to pay for it, and rent another one!\n\n<hr>\n[[Take a chance.|ChiRes1x2]]\n\n[[Play it safe.|ChiRes]]

Eh, why not? "Yeah, sure," you answer, unclasping the wristband and passing it over.\n\n"Great! Take me about fifteen minutes, you keep shopping," she says, heading into the back area.\n\nWell, hopefully this won't wind up costing way more than it's worth. You wander around the store picking up an autotent, a few other longterm camping supplies you don't already have (no sense popping back and forth between every sample, might as well stay for at least a week or two), and a few other necessities. You're in the aisle looking through sample containers when the blue-haired girl returns.\n\n"Alright, here you go," she says, offering the watch back. "Fully unlocked! I've got it set for 100% Pacification right now... basically the animals should barely even acknowledge you're there. The other settings are Arousal-" she continues blithely, though smirking just a bit as your ears and cheeks go pink again. "And, if you should need it for some reason, Aggression. You can arrange the percentiles of each but I'd suggest never turning 'Pacification' completely off. Oh, there were a couple of other settings unlocked, but they looked like they were probably stuff that wasn't actually meant to be used with this model, probably stuff they were working on for the next production release. Some of those may work but I'd be careful about trying them."\n\n"M'kaaay," you acknowledge, just a bit warily putting the band back on and clicking through it.\n\n"But the main three settings should work just fine," she continues breezily. "Oh, you'll probably want this too. I whipped it up myself, I call it a Pokedex," she adds smugly as she holds out the small, folded-closed device.\n\n"Seriously?" you say with a grin as you take it and unfold it, revealing a screen with the lower half of it put into a keyboard mode.\n\n"Familiar with that one huh? Oh right, you're Makarzian, that place is practically Earth 2." That observation makes you make a face, but you can't really argue with it, and she's continuing anyway. "But I loaded it up with the data from that cheapass tablet they're giving it out and cross-reffed the entries to what sensor data it had so it can automatically detect and explain the animals, waaay more useful.'\n\n"Huh, and you made it yourself?" you ask, turning the 'Pokedex' over in your hands a few times.\n\n"It's not too hard, mostly programming. I have a nice little side business going here to be honest," she adds in a hushed voice again. "Saving up for when I inevitably get fired for my side hustles and have to go it solo, y'know?" She pauses, then glances at the sample cannister you're still holding. "You're gonna want some bigger ones too."\n\n"Uh." You blink, glancing down at the canniser you'd almost forgotten you were holding. It's made of clear material save for the stasis-lock cap on one end, and is about the size and shape of a can of soda. "... Bigger than this?"\n\n"There's some pretty big critters down there, and the bigger and more rare the critter, the more the samples are worth, and the more the samples are worth the more they pay for bigger samples," she replies, raising her eyebrows. "You're gonna want at least a couple of those," she adds, thumbing towards the containers that are big enough you could wear one as an improvised helmet.\n\n"... That's not for a blood sample, is it?" you ask flatly.\n\n"Just sayin'! Actually here, let me authorize your comm to order spot delivery from this place... site-to-site dimensional delivery can be 'spensive but you might wind up wanting it down there."\n\nAfter a bit more waffling, you both agree to letting her set up the store's app so that you can order delivery from anywhere in the multiverse (you always hate giving that much of your info to someone, but oh well, she's right that you might need it), and to buying at least a couple of large sample containers. Just in case. Afterward you head to your vault and pull out one of your blaster rifles with a very good 'Stun' setting... you're almost tempted to take this excuse to buy a specialty non-lethal weapon, but that's just the endorphin rush of all the new toys you've bought today talking. Telling yourself you've got plenty, you finally head to the departure portal annex and find an open booth, tapping in the coordinates for the job. As you understand it, they take you to a randomized but 'safe' location on the reservation planet, so that all the mercs working this job don't wind up in the same place getting the same nearby samples.\n\nYou materialize on a grassy plain, probably late in the afternoon assuming the color of the sky goes with most of the planets you've been on. It's fairly warm out, although almost immediately a gentle, cool breeze brushes past, stirring the tall grass gently around you, and far off in the distance the leaves of some of the trees, which are slender with few branches and big "puffballs" of leaves. You can see some mountains a fair bit in the distance, faintly obscured by cloud cover and possibly rain, although where you are it's clear skies and pleasantly dry warmth.\n\n'Wow, hell of a place for a summer home,' you muse as you shade your eyes and look around. The UWPA must be genuinely dedicated if they're letting animals have all this rather than developing the hell out of it. (The more cynical side of you says the donations or whatever they get must be easier to launder than real estate deals would be.) Being a born and bred Makarzian, scenes like this used to honestly freak you out, but you've gotten used to them over your travels, at least enough to actually kind of enjoy them. A little.\n\nSpotting some movement in the distance, you set off towards it after a brief check to make sure that your pacifier is working and set as it's supposed to be. It takes a bit but soon you're close enough to properly see a small herd of creatures covered in long, thick reddish-brown fur. They sort of resemble woolly mammoths with split trunks and branching tusks, but are closer to the size of rhinocerous... still considerably bigger than you are, but not towering above you at least. You take out the 'Pokedex' and open it, and it immediately chimes and reads aloud an entry.\n\n'Bekodons. Herbivorous lifeform. Prefers broad open areas but will occasionally migrate through mountain ranges. Generally nonaggressive, though has been known to choose 'fight' over 'flight' on when there are young in its herd.'\n\nYou peer critically at the grouping of animals. Hm... they all seem about the same size and development, so no babies, looks like. Well... best give it a try then. Moving a bit slowly and doing your best to seem unaggressive, you slowly approach the group of large animals. However, it looks like the pacifier is doing its job... there's no real sense of wariness from the beasts as you approach. One or two glance towards you, making it clear that they're aware of your presence, but other than that they don't react to you any more than they do the pleasant breezes ruffling their fur. Gradually you approach one... the one you think might be the leader, since he's a bit bigger than the others... and slowly reach out, laying your hand as high up on his shoulder as you can reach.\n\nWarm. And surprisingly soft, though the fur's a bit on the stringy side too. Still, you give it a few careful pets and strokes, the megafauna placidly accepting your touch without issue. 'Already worth it,' you think, for just a few moments indulging your inner eight-year-old girl and squeeing over getting to pet the big wild fluffy thing.\n\nAhem. But you're here for genetic samples. So! You dig in your pocket, rooting around for one of the sample containers that has an extraction cap on the tip... meaning, designed for (largely painless) blood draws. Looks like there's a bit of a thinner patch of hair on the back haunch, you muse as you move back. Probably better to take it there. Hopefully between the pacification effect and the design of the extracter, you won't spook the Bekodon. Patting the spot a bit to test the fur thickness causes the Bekodon to snort softly and shift in place on its thick, trunklike paw-hoof-whatevers. It also causes some motion that catches your gaze and draws it over, and makes your mouth go a bit dry.\n\nThose... are definitely the biggest balls you've ever seen. In person, at least. They're huge! Each one looks bigger than your head! ... Okay maybe they're not that big, but your first impression is definitely, uh, impressive. And now that you're looking, you can't help but follow the lines of them up and forward a bit to the large, shaggy sheath below the beast's belly. "Big boy," you can't help but murmur aloud, swallowing.\n\nWell. Everyone kept saying it, that uh... reproductive... samples would be worth way more. ... And you did spend a lot of money today... from the sounds of it you'd probably cover your expenses with just a sample of, well... Bekodon semen... and from thereon in it would be all profit, as opposed to still working to break even if you just took a blood sample. ... And the pacifier wristband definitely still seems to be working...\n\n<hr>\n[[Do it.|ChiRes]]\n\n[[Just take a blood sample.|ChiRes]]

With the hallway in this state, you find it unlikely the bathrooms would already be done... they're probably still expanding them and putting in more toilets and sinks. You walk down the hallway, keeping an ear out for the sounds of anyone else possibly returning or working, but the whole place is silent and still, giving you that extra bit of a thrill at sneaking around somewhere you shouldn't be. (Every witch is a bit of a naughty kid at heart, let's be honest.)\n\nIt's a short walk until you emerge into what was obviously the warehouse's main room, and is just as obviously being made over into the club's main area. It looks like the dance floor has already been installed (complete with several poles on raised platforms, cute), as has the bar, though it looks like they're still working on the shelving units behind it. There's still a fair bit of plastic covering various parts of the room, but you do spot another hallway as well, one that probably leads to the VIP area, among other things.\n\n<hr>\n[[Go check out the dance floor.|ValNC]]\n\n[[Go check out the bar.|ValNC2x3]]\n\n[[Head down the other hallway.|ValNC3x1]]

Curious about just how the bar's going to be set up and if it differs from a more standard night club, you head on over to examine the bar area.\n\nIt looks mostly complete other than the shelving, you think as you walk along... there are already sinks and prep stations, soda guns installed, and several fancy-looking glass-fronted fridges. There's also several odd open sections directly below the bar that are hanging open, several of them with lights shining in them like they're waiting for equipment to be installed. Minikeg systems or something?\n\n<hr>\n[[Check out a fridge.|ValNC]]\n\n[[Check out one of the open sections.|ValNC]]

You want to know more about this place and whoever owns it before you just walk right in. Making your way around to the side where you spotted what looked like an opening, you soon spot what looks like it's meant to be a fire exit door but has currently been pulled out... probably to be replaced by one that actually works. You take a few quick glances around to make sure you're not being watched, and an equally quick check with your magical senses to make sure you're not being observed, before slipping inside.\n\nIt's dim, none of the lights turned on... looks like they're probably still working on upgrading the wiring, to judge from the holes in the walls. It looks like they've already gotten at least some of the work done on this area, though, having replaced the trim and edges on the bathroom doors to turn them into something more stylish that can be pushed open, and already having painted on the symbols, a somewhat more stylish version of the typical 'Female' figure wearing a witch hat, and a 'Male' figure holding a wizard's staff. Cute, if slightly more on the 'cheesy family restaurant' end than you might expect of a club for grownups.\n\n<hr>\n[[Check out the women's restroom.|ValNC]]\n\n[[Check out the men's restroom.|ValNC]]\n\n[[Head further inside.|ValNC2x2]]

You're trying to ingratiate yourself here... you get the sense that she's a pretty big (appropriately) deal around here, and if you get in good with her then you'll be a shoo-in with Huwhin. "I'll have whatever you recommend, then," you declare breezily as you take a seat at the table. \n\nShe lifts her fluffy pale eyebrows a bit, then grins and gestures a slightly tired-looking waitress over. "My new friend here will have a Bitch Special. On me." As the waitress walks off and you give Big Girl a dubious look, the genemod just grins whimsically and wiggles her canine ears, as if to say 'It's a compliment'.\n\nYou shrug a bit, settling in and waiting, since it looks like Big Girl meant it when she said there would be no discussion until you started drinking and she's just sitting there waiting, smiling at you pleasantly enough. It's only a minute or two before the waitress returns and sets a short, cylindrical glass in front of you about half full of something the same general inoffensive blue as the stuff she's drinking in a much taller glass. You pick up the glass and take a (hopefully polite) sniff... it's... not unpleasant. Quite. Kind of like a mixture of 'blue coconut' flavoring syrup and something else fruity, with an underlying aroma of rice. It's pretty cold though, which is honestly a little enticing... the smoggy outdoors were also kind of on the muggy side, and you're still a bit overwarm. You lift the drink in a little silent toast of thanks and take a sip.\n\nAh... yeah. It's definitely strong. As you mildly suspected, that faint rice scent might be some derivative of sake. And it really does taste like artificial coconut and a bit of something else sweet and... blue. Vaguely like drinking a blue snowcone melted into a cup of mid-shelf sake and with the rim of the glass maybe wiped down with some suntain lotion for extra scent. The texture is also a bit thick and coats the inside of your mouth a bit, with the benefit of still being really cold and thus already helping drop your temperature, even feeling a tiny bit numb. It's definitely weird, and you would never order one yourself again, but you figure you'll be able to sip it as long as the discussion takes no problem. Sip, since it is strong... in fact by the third sip as the two of you start talking, you can already feel it going to your head a tiny bit.\n\nStill, Big Girl is already talking, genial and friendly, asking you about the sort of berth you're looking for. And you start explaining your cover story, giving your fake name ("Chi", your usual alias... a shortening of approximately a million different names across the multiverse, and obviously of your real one, which lets you answer to it easily enough). Big Girl turns out to be a bubbly and casual conversationalist, easily drawing you in, approachable, so you continue easing in, occasionally sipping from your drink, feeling that numbness sort of spread down your throat and into your belly. You're feeling a little tipsy, but you're pretty sure you're fine, though it does kind of seem like your thoughts are coming slower, and your head's getting fuzzier at a much faster rate, and then suddenly you're toppling over out of your chair and sprawling bonelessly on the floor, unable to move.\n\nYou can see Big Girl's boots as she stands up and steps closer, looking down at you. "Heh... it's actually the Dumb Bitch Special. Dumb bitch," she says, as the last thing you hear before everything goes dark.\n\nYou come to still feeling all mixed-up and a bit numb, though you're quickly putting your brain back together and starting to notice things about your situation. All of them bad. In fact, each of them potentially a bit worse than the last, depending.\n\nThe first is that you're naked and restrained. Nothing so banal as cuffs or zipties... your arms and legs have been slid into some sort of sheaths on the floor, slightly angled and tapering metal near-cylinders with their interiors inflated to conform entirely around your limbs to a bit above your knees and elbows. The result is that you're higher off the floor than you would be if you were on your hands and knees, but still essentially in the same position. You have to hand it to them there... not only is the method of restraint itself borderline flawless, but the way it messes with your perceptions, of which parts of your arms and legs are above the floor and which are under it, and that you can't actually move at all other than slight wiggles of your shoulders and hips (that do little more than make your bare boobs wobble heavily under you a bit), is all pretty disorienting and demoralizing.\n\nThe other thing is that you're in a dim room that you can't even see the walls of, but that directly ahead are two figures, one seated at a desk surrounded by equipment cabinets and computer terminals, the other standing nearby at an angle that says they're keeping an eye both on the other person and on you. The standing one is Big Girl... and she's ditched her shorts. Her cock and balls are hanging free now, the shaft humanlike and thick enough to bulge a bit in the middle even when soft. If this is going where it seems like, you really hope she's a show-er, because if she's a grower she'd go from huge to monstrous. The other figure looks like she's either some subspecies or possibly mixed Draconic, with fairly smooth-looking purple and red skin, with a black fringe of horns scattered across her scalp, and her tail draped out the back of the computer chair. It looks like all she's wearing is a labcoat, baring large, black-nippled breasts... not quite as big as Big Girl's, but bigger than yours, and you're already more than a handful. You can see her own bare red cock flopped against her thigh... not as fat as Big Girl's, but maybe even longer, though it too is soft.\n\nAll of that definitely screams 'trouble', and gives you a fairly good idea of the sort of trouble it is. But the worst is for last, because you really feel your blood run cold as you realize what they're looking at on the screen... because your Guild beacon is sitting on the desk next to a precision tool, one of its panels removed and a cable plugged into one of the normally covered ports.\n\n"This says her name is Michika Hajimaru. She's got a pretty decent job rating, looks like... and she's definitely on an active job," the Draconid says, nudging the slim computer glasses she's wearing up on her snout a bit. "But I can't tell much more than that. These beacons don't keep a ton of info, mostly just a record of their locations and some other basic stuff."\n\n"She mentioned Huwhin before she keeled over, so I'm guessing the job relates to him. What were her last locations?" Big Girl asks, strong arms folding under her tits.\n\n"They're encoded, but I recognize these two strings, that's Makarzia and that's the Guildhall, so I'm guessing this last one is us."\n\n"Hmmm." Big Girl glances over at you, then smirks a bit as she notices that you're awake, her tail starting to wag a bit again. "You a Makarzian, honey? Maybe a little Neokuza princess trying to show Daddy she doesn't need to stay at home in a kimono 'testing' security guards?"\n\nYou narrow your eyes and glare at her, keeping your teeth firmly together. \n\nBig Girl just looks at you for a moment, then lets out a very deliberate 'heh' as she turns towards you and walks over, tits giving a small, heavy restrained bounce with every step, and her completely unrestrained cock and balls jiggling around considerably more. She stops in front of you where you'll still have a full view of her, her eyes on your face, and then just as deliberately reaches down and starts to stroke herself. You fight to keep your eyes from widening or your expression from blanching as she starts to gradually stiffen... a show-er, yes, but still growing a bit, even at the start as it begins to lift and ready.\n\n"Alright, little bitch, here's the situation," she says in a smug tone as the draconic woman moves to join her, her own sleek red cock giving a visible twitch and starting to harden a bit slower. "You have two options. One, you cooperate completely. You're a good little girl, you tell us everything we want to know, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, you do what we say, and you'll get to stay alive, relatively unaltered, and maybe even one day get some measure of freedom back. You decide to be tough, refuse to talk, refuse to cooperate, we jump right to using you as our plaything without restraint, trying out all sorts of freaky shit until you wind up unrecognizable and maybe used up within a month or two." She pauses a little, then smirks, giving her now fully-hard cock a shake at you, flinging a string of pre not quite directly in your face. "You'll notice I'm not offering you an option where we let you go after you've told us everything. That's because there isn't one. I believe in being honest in these sorts of situations."\n\nYou just keep glaring up at her, trying to keep all sign of being intimidated off your face.\n\n"C'mon now. Do the smart thing. Say 'I'll be a good little girl' and at least you'll still be recognizable as yourself when you leave the building," Big Girl urges with a sneer.\n\n<hr>\n[["..."|ChiPir]]\n\n[["..... I'll be a good little girl..."|ChiPir]]

'If I have to wear diapers, can at least wear cute ones,' you muse as you toss the washcloth into the sink, giving not another thought to why it seems like you have to wear diapers.\n\nInstead you head over to the package and retrieve another one, spending a few moments examining the instructions on the side before heading over to the bed. 'Let's see, lay back, lift my ass, get it in position,' you think to yourself as you wiggle around. Eventually you get yourself properly clad, and even better than before, the diaper fitting against you like a particularly high-waisted and thick-crotched pair of panties. You get up and walk over to the mirror, resting a hand on your hip and turning back and forth to examine yourself. 'Yeah, I definitely need some cuter ones,' you muse, though with the better and less-frantic changing job the plain white ones don't look too bad. Without really thinking you reach down and press a hand between your legs, giving a soft 'mmf' and blushing at the feel of the padding rubbing against your pussy. 'Well. Maybe buy a few more of these just for, y'know, backups.'\n\nGetting comfortable, you pull off your top, breasts dropping free and wobbling as you get it off over your hair. Now clad in nothing but your diaper, you head over to pick up your coat and hang it up, getting out your comm before walking over to plop down on the bed, bare breasts bouncing again. Opening up your comm, you say, "Ashizu, do a search for where I can buy some cute adult-size diapers on this dimension or with affordable interdimensional delivery. Preferably with overnight shipping."\n\n*chirrup* "Yes, ma'am. Searching 'adult baby' and 'little-for-big' type establishments."\n\nYou blink. "Wha? Whoa whoa whoa, that's like, sex fetish kink stuff for perverts, yeah? I'm just a grownup who wants to wear attractive diapers."\n\n"..."\n\n"... Oh, right, fine, just search those then, I guess," you mutter to yourself. You're not a pervert with weird kinks (okay you have a few but they're practically mainstream normie ones), and definitely the diapers are not a kink! You just... need them. So you want to enjoy wearing them, you muse, sliding a hand between your legs and starting to rub again. 'These barely even crinkle, after all,' you think in a vague, pleasured way as you close your eyes and lean your head back. Then give your head a quick shake and focus in. Right. Shopping.\n\nYou find a couple of options locally (all Pokemon-themed, obviously) but they're mostly in other cities and would take a few days to deliver by Corviknight. 'I guess those might hold out,' you muse, frowning and glancing at the already-two-down package of ten and thinking about having to go back to a store to buy them in person, grimacing at the idea. Just as you're resigning yourself to paying much much more for interdimensional delivery from a fetish store, Ashizu chirrups again.\n\n"Ma'am, I just received an ad for a shop in this city that I appear to have overlooked in my initial search. Shall I pull them up?"\n\n"Yeah sure. ... Oh! Yeah, this is it definitely!" you say happily, sitting up and folding your legs, letting a bit of pressure off the padding. "They've got all sorts of stuff... patterned diapers, wipes, powder, perfect! It even says 'discrete shipping'! Good job, Ashizu!"\n\n"Thank you, ma'am."\n\nThe prices are reasonable too, so you decide to go ahead and stock up... you can always take plenty extra back home with you after your vacation. (You have little doubt Makarzia has plenty of stores for the kinksters, which you are not. No doubt the Guildhall does too, though you've never gone looking.) Let's see... at least one case of plain white, fine (just in case you feel the need for something simple), some pink, a couple of animal patterns, accessories... there. While you're at it, you pop over to some of the more standard overnight shopping stores and buy some loose black pants with plenty of pockets, having realized you came on this vacation woefully underpacked for some reason, especially since the pants you were wearing would show a diaper under them to an insane degree. What were you thinking?\n\n... Wait, is there anything weird about that?\n\n... Naaaah.\n\nSoon you settle into sleep, feeling surprisingly relaxed, comfy, and at ease, to dream of drifting on a rubber ducky inner tube down a warm, steadily-flowing river. You wake in the morning with your diaper bloated and stiffened between your legs, not paying much mind as you yawn, stretch, and get up to waddle into the bathroom and brush your teeth, leaving it where it is for the moment, lightly-soaked pad still pressing against your pussy. Partway through brushing you let out another, fairly small rush of urine into the diaper, but it soaks it up decently. 'Yeah, I'll definitely have to keep some of these around just in case,' you muse as you pad across the room towards the package naked.\n\n"Ma'am, your package has arrived."\n\n"Oh, already?" you chirp happily, glancing towards the door.\n\n"It in fact arrived several hours ago, but I was set on Do Not Disturb for non-priority notifications."\n\nYou pause, suddenly having a bad feeling. Hurrying to the door, you open it just enough to give a peek out... and give an indignant squawk at what you see. Piled right on the doorstep of your room, fully visible in their own packaging, is a small pyramid of squishy plastic rectangles, each proudly proclaiming 'Big Girl Ultra-Soak Diapers!!' in large girlish font. Forgetting your nudity for the moment, you fling the door open and start grabbing the packages and hurling them inside, along with one actual opaque one that must have the accessories in it. You slam the door, then lean against it, huffing and puffing... then going completely red in the face as the feeling of your tits wobbling with your motions and breathing reminds you that you were fully visible for a good half-minute there at least, and you're pretty sure you saw several other guests staring. Groaning softly, you briefly cover yourself with your arms in belated reflex, before growling, "Ashizu, one-star review that store!"\n\n"Yes, ma'am."\n\n"'Discrete packaging' my ass," you growl, blushing as you realize your ass is currently both bare and unpadded. Sighing in resignation, you head over to the sort of vague pile where you tossed everything and select one of the packages, 'Princess Pink'.\n\nAdmittedly, you cheer up a bit at the sight of the diapers as you open the plastic at the top. Yeah, these are much cuter. Obviously kind of 'little girl'-ish, maybe even over-the-top so with the bright, practically neon pink color and the patterning of crescent moons and unicorns and stars around the waistband and legs, but well, it is a diaper, so. It's also got a shinier, more plastic-y exterior that makes an audible crinkling noise with every slight shift... embarrassing, and yet you somehow feel that's precisely as it should be. Remembering that you ordered other accessories, you open the actual cardboard box and rummage through the things... and blink as you come up with a large pink pacifier. "I didn't order this."\n\n"The shipping receipt seems to indicate it's one of several 'freebies' for your large order, ma'am."\n\nYou eye the pacifier dubiously. But you're not a baby, and not a kinky pervert either! ... But. Well. It's here. You take a glance around, as if just to make sure that no one has snuck in to observe you in the last ten seconds, then head into the bathroom, popping off the cover and giving the mouthpiece a good wash under hot water before popping it into your mouth. The bulbous thing is made of some sort of squishy clear material that depresses gently with your tongue and teeth, naturally pulling it into your mouth and settling the round pink shield against your lips, the white ring on the front wobbling slightly with the thp, thp motions as you give it a few mindless sucks and licks that start rather relaxing you.\n\n'... Maybe I'll change it to a two star review later,' you muse as you head back into the room, snagging up the diaper and the container of baby powder.\n\nYou settle onto the bed and prep, getting your diaper in place, and then giving the long squarish container a shake, sending a few small torrents of fragrant, cool white powder dusting over your pussy and taint, coating them in it like a flour ghost out of an old cartoon. Shivering a little at the rather pleasurable sensation, you fiddle the diaper into place and fasten it, still lightly tonguing and sucking your pacy. It fastens a little differently than the more utilitarian adult diaper, but once it's on you definitely have to admit this one was clearly designed with showing off adult female curves in mind, accentuating your hips and waist, hugging your ass even as it obscures the shape of it some with the padding. You turn back and forth, admiring how you look in it, and admittedly wearing nothing but the shiny pink diaper and the cute pacifier is sort of adorable. Impulsively you take a mirror selfie with your comm, then blush. 'God, that can never get out,' you think, and yet don't even for a second consider deleting it.\n\nFinally starting to relax some from the heart-pounding embarrassment of earlier, you settle back onto the bed still in just your diaper, thp-thping quietly. Well, can't go anywhere until your new pants get here, so may as well just relax in the room, you muse. After a moment you reach down and press a hand between your legs, closing your eyes to listen to the loud plastic crinkle. 'Fuck that sounds good,' you find yourself thinking dreamily as you begin to rub, moaning softly around your pacy as without quite noticing you begin sucking and licking the bulging knob settled on your tongue more ardently. 'It feels so good on my pussy... I bet it'd feel even better all wet and stiff...'\n\nYou shiver at the thought, continuing to rub, massaging your steadily more aroused cunt through the pink plastic and puffy padding. You can actually feel yourself starting to build up towards needing to pee again, interestingly enough... it hasn't been that long since you went before, but it's already building again. 'Need to get more liquids to make sure I don't get dried out... some nice juicy, or milk,' you think dreamily, lifting your diaper-hugged hips towards the rubbing of your hands.\n\nYou're juuuust getting close to both cumming and really needing to pee again when there's a knock at the door, making you jump in place and yank your head towards it. "Yedh?!" you blurt, before grimacing and yanking the pacifier out of your mouth by the ring. "Yes?!"\n\n"Ma'am? Corviknight Delivery, I have a package here for Michika Hajimaru?"\n\nYou make a face. Those must be the much-needed pants, just at a decidedly awkward time. "You can just leave it!" you call, trying not to sound too aggravated even as you roll your eyes.\n\n"Uh, ma'am, I can't. You selected 'Payment on delivery'."\n\nThat makes you blink. "What?"\n\n"Yes, ma'am, I have to get payment from you. If not I'm sorry, I have to leave with it and your reserve card gets charged a restocking fee."\n\nYou scramble for your comm, ignoring the crinkling and pressure of the diaper with your movements as you frantically check the order. ... Fuck! You don't remember selecting 'POD' at all, but there it is, right on the order page. You growl a bit as you grab your top and pull that on at least. You can't even leave this room without those pants, considering that your other ones will show the diaper practically as clearly as if you were wearing nothing at all, you think with a glance at where they're still laying discarded on the floor. But if you want to get them, you'll have to answer the door exactly that way...\n\n... or as you are.\n\n<hr>\n[[Put your skinarmor on over your diaper.|ChiPoke]]\n\n[[Answer the door in your diaper.|ChiPoke]]\n\n[[Tell him to go away.|ChiPoke]]

You tap the 'Escort' selection, watching as it brings up a new long list of potentials. Some of them are so low-paying and routine that you safely dismiss them out of hand... you're not that badly in need of a quick credit. You spend a few moments setting the sort fields, so you can highlight just the jobs actually worth your time. Let's see... your potential clients here are...\n\n[[Tanya Kwestlyne|LeoKwestStart]] - The Guild's minibio on her says she's some sort of adventuring engineer in a fairly high-tech dimension. According to this the whole family usually goes along, but on this particular adventure she's leaving her kids at home on their deep space satellite. She only has one bodyguard, so she needs a second one temporarily. You'd be more dismissive of an almost literal babysitting job, but 1) it sounds like she might be open to leaving the usual bodyguard home and taking you instead, and 2) even if you do get stuck with the kiddos, they have their own minder for day-to-day bullshit, you just have to hang out in case some space pirate breaks in and tries to kill them or something.\n\n[[Princess Amanielle|LeoAmaStart]] - Hel-lo~! A princess! Not only that, an elf princess! Oh, the princess isn't the actual client, apparently that's some duke, the princess is the one you'll be escorting. Apparently it's on some low-tech, high-magic world... it's not super rare for those to know about the Guild and have contact methods, but it's not particularly common either. Interestingly this one specifically asks for someone wielding firearms, so looks like they're not looking for one of the Guild's own more mage-y members.\n\n[[Nero Claudius LaChance|LeoSisStart]] - Wait, what? Why is your sister listed as an escort client? That's... oh. It's listed by your parents. And it's flagged to you, you just didn't think to check your flags first because you hardly ever get jobs flagged for you specifically. It's listed as a job, but basically that means what they want you to do is babysit your little sister for a while. Maybe you could just... pretend you didn't see it. If they realize you're busy they'll figure out something else.\n \n<hr>\nThese all suck, [[go up a level|LeoJobList1]].

Your body feels so relaxed that you just sort of... let go a bit of control you'd been mostly unconsciously holding for a little while now. Enough of your brain is conscious that your cheeks heat in humiliation as the soft sound of flowing water fills the room and a dark spot begins to spread on the crotch of your armorweave leggings, sliding further down your thighs along with the feeling of warmth and wetness. In a few moments the crotch of your pants is completely soaked through and the stream flows down between your legs, splattering in pale yellow droplets and the occasional bit of an actual flow in the gap between your thighs and falling to the carpet.\n\n"Oh myyy, you got reeeeally relaxed," Hexia declares with a creepy, delighted giggle, covering part of her mouth with her fingertips as she does.\n\n"S-... sorry," you stammer in embarrassment, even if you feel like it's not as bad as it should be, and make no move to actually cover yourself or do anything about standing there in a small puddle and with soaked pants. Nor do you stop Hexia as she steps forward and peels your pants down around your thighs, baring your now piss-soaked pussy and thighs and letting them gleam wetly in the light of the office, unable to do anything but cover your face with your hands in shame.\n\n"Oh dear, so wet," she coos, before turning a bit and calling, "Gengyyyy, we have a wetterrrrr!"\n\nYou somehow don't feel too shocked as a Gengar floats right through the wall, just more humiliated as it brings a stubby hand to its huge smirk of a mouth and snickers loudly at the sight of you.\n\n"Now now, Gengy, it happens! You just get the pad, and we'll get this alllll taken care of," she says, before looking at you and saying, "You should get out of your clothes so we can get you cleaned up, sweetheart!"\n\n"O-okay," you say with a little sniffle, unable to argue due to how embarrassed you are. You wiggle out of your coat and throw it aside, then pull off your top, blushing a little at realizing you doing something so embarrassing means everyone has to see your tits. (Why these things are connected doesn't really occur to you at this point.) Feeling more embarrassed as you reach down to undo your boots, thinking of how you'll have to clean them too, you pull them off and then finish peeling down your pants, standing naked and squirming next to the puddle you made. You whimper a bit more in embarrassment as you watch Gengar drift over and lay a blanket over the lower half of the couch, a blanket that crinkles and is printed with smiling Chanceys and Jigglypuffs in an obvious appeal to small infants.\n\n"Now let's have you lay down and clean you up, baby," Hexia coos, putting a subtle emphasis on the last word that makes you shiver in humiliation and for some reason arousal as she takes your hand and leads you back to the couch to sit down on it, the changing pad rustling beneath you as you get settled on it. "Now where are the... oh thank you, Hyppy!" she chirps as the other Pokemon proffers a plastic bag with a clip-open top, prominently labeled 'Baby Wipes' on the side. "Now spread your legs like a good girl!" Hexia adds as she pops them open, the scent of cherry mingling with the lingering smell of pee.\n\nBiting your lower lip, you obediently spread your legs some like a good girl, once again displaying your piss-soaked pussy and thighs. Hexia hums cheerfully as she begins using the baby wipes to clean you up, seeming unashamed to be brazenly stroking them along your pussy despite how embarrassing it is for you, but you know you've been a naughty girl and need to obey and get cleaned up. She uses multiple wipes, brushing the cool, cherry-scented damp clothes along your sex, your taint, even rubbing around your pucker before ever starting on your thighs. Eventually almost your whole lower body has a different damp feeling along with a sort of cool sensation as she finishes cleaning you.\n\n"Therrrre, all better! Now let's get you properly attired," she adds with a giggle, the Gengar giving a matching snicker as it floats over and hands her something else that gives a loud crinkle. You whimper as she unfolds the adult-size disposable diaper, displaying that it too is patterned with childish pink Pokemon designs. "Now be a good girl and lift your butt, so we can get your Pampers on!"\n\n"Okay," you whine softly, raising your hips up even as you cover your face with your hands again. But you can't help but watch as she slips the diaper under your rear and gives you a little push on the belly to lower yourself, the folds crinkling and the inner absorbant padding soft on your ass as it settles onto it. Off to the side, you vaguely notice Gengar apparently using some sort of Ghost ability to pull your piss out of the carpet and your pants, leaving it a floating mass of it in the air to float over to a garbage can you now realize is a diaper pail, the lid lifting on its own and the liquid falling in with a faint splash that says it hit cloth; the Hypno, meanwhile, seems to be sprinkling deodorizing powder around. Your attention is pulled back to other matters when you can feel the padding pressing against your pussy and the front of your crotch as Hexia tugs it between your legs and swings it down in place, tucking everything in with a practiced hand before pressing the fastening tabs into place, the fit of them tight and taut.\n\n"Therrre we go!" Hexia coos as she straightens up and steps back, snagging your hand to pull you to your feet as she does, your face red at the sound of the crinkling and shuffing as you move in the diaper. Hexia smiles sweetly at you as Gengar floats up to one side of her and Hypno steps up to the other. "Now, since we've been so good as to clean you up, clean up after you, and diaper you, I think it's time to show us some gratitude, don't you?"\n\nApparently taking that as a prompt, Gengar gives a little hip-thrusting motion of its lower body, a hefty purple cock swinging forward from nowhere and a pair of fat purple balls dropping down as it snickers. The Hypno's hardon has already been out this entire time, but gives a timely ooze of pre that slips out and drips to the newly-freshened carpet. And Hexia hauls her skirt up around her waist, revealing thick thighs that she parts slightly while giving a similar motion to Gengar, freeing a fat, pale cock to swing forward and smooth, heavy balls to drop down.\n\n"O-okay," you agree meekly, not thinking twice about suddenly being presented with the trio of demanding cocks, just that you'd do anything to quell your embarrassment and make it up to them. You sink down to your knees, reaching out to stroke the Gengar's big, almost perfectly smooth spectral shaft with one hand, and pump the other along the Hypno's bumpy, caterpillar-like cock. And of course you slide your mouth over Hexia's cockhead and start bobbing up and down on it, gazing up at her apologetically as you start working all of them. You rock your body with your movements, doing your best to make it up to all three of them by giving the best head and handjobs you can, your bare tits wobbling and your diaper crinkling as your ass moves with your rocking.\n\nYou occasionally pull your head back and suck on one of the Pokemon's cocks, leaving Hexia to stroke her own as she watches you fellate them, your eyes turned upward to give them the same apologetic, embarassedly grateful look as you gulp down their dicks. But you always come back to sucking hers the most to show your thanks, gulping it further and further down until your throat bulges up with it and your nose flattens a little against her smooth crotch.\n\nSurprisingly it's the Pokemon that are the first to blow, Gengar letting out a loud, pleased snicker as it starts spraying thick, slimy translucent green goo all over your bare tits, the Hypno groaning and mingling its own more Human-like cum with its companion's, both of them spurting a sufficient volume that your breasts wind up completely covered and dripping with it. Hexia smiles down at you at the sight, letting you continue to suck her even as Gengar's ectoplasmic cum dissipates and fades away, taking Hypno's with it and leaving you clean again.\n\nBut then Hexia snags your ponytail and pulls you back and off of her cock, leaving you to gasp loudly as it finally slides back out of your throat and mouth, a few strands of saliva connecting your lips and the tip of her prick briefly. She tugs you up and pulls you over to her desk, then grabs your diapered ass with the somehow almost thunderous sound of plastic being compressed and lifts you up to lay back on it. Managing to tug the crotch of your diaper aside, she pushes her cock into your soaking pussy, making you whimper gratefully that you can soothe some of your embarrassment by letting her fuck you. She slides in up to the hilt, the bulge of her cock actually showing faintly above the waistline of your diaper... at least until she leans forward, her still dress-covered slight pudge of a belly pillowing against it. She hauls down the neck of her dress until her fat, soft tits spill free, and promptly pops one pale pink nipple into your mouth.\n\nYou start sucking without even thinking twice about it, and only suckle more strongly as she starts pumping her hips, her balls swinging forward to slap against your padded ass. As good as it feels to have her inside you, it feels almost as good when warm, rich wetness starts filling your mouth, and you swallow the near-constant stream of milk now flowing from her tit as the other one wobbles beside your head.\n\n"Ohhhh yes that's right, drink mommy's milk, baby," Hexia groans happily as she pounds into you, every thrust causing more embarrassing but well-deserved noises from your diaper, overlayed by the lewd, soaked squelching of your pussy and the soft, wet "Mmf, mmf" of you suckling at her breast. There's so much milk, too, flowing down your throat and gradually filling your belly, making you feel warm and safe and contented and like mommy's good little cum dumpster as she uses you for exactly that, Hexia letting out a giggling moan as she hilts in you and empties her balls deep inside. Her load is easily as big as either Pokemon's, actually bulging your belly up until it looks as softly plump as hers; when she pulls out, she quickly hauls your diaper back into place, and you moan softly as you can feel her jizz leaking out of you and soaking into the padding.\n\n"Tankoo mommy," you coo softly, your head swimming.\n\n"You're welcome, baby. Aaaand done!"\n\nYou blink, glancing back and forth, then sitting up and looking around the office. It feels like... something just happened? You were laying there, complaining that you didn't want to relax, and then you... must have relaxed. You have this faint idea something happened, something embarrassing involving... exposing yourself? Your cheeks color a little at the thought, but a glance down shows all your clothes are entirely in place, and nothing looks different in the office than when you came in. "Uhhh... did something happen?"\n\n"Oh, you got good and relaxed and I think you dozed off," Hexia says with that slightly creepy-edged cheerfulness, tilting her head to the side at a weird angle, but apparently entirely sincere. "Something got spilled while you were out, but it was just a little accident, no worries."\n\nFor some reason the word 'accident' makes you blush a little, and just as readily veer away from it. You nod and stand up, then frown a little. "... Didn't I come in for something else?"\n\n"Hmmmm?" Hexia tilts her head the other direction, almost ninety degrees, apparently without bother. "It was a relaxation session! You wanted to relax!"\n\nOh. Right. Nodding, you say, "Well, thanks. Maybe I'll drop by again before my vacation's over."\n\n"Please do~!" she coos, giving you a little wave as you turn and stroll out.\n\n'I actually do feel pretty relaxed and great,' you think as you stroll down the sidewalk, hands tucked in the pockets of your coat. 'Taking a vacation in the Pokemon cluster was a good idea. Wonder what else I should do while I'm here? Wonder if there's any tournaments going on right now within a day or two's travel...'\n\nYou continue to muse on what to do with the rest of your vacation as you make your way back to the room you rented, mostly just turning everything over since it is your first night on vaycay, and you haven't actually laid out how long you're staying. (It's pretty cheap, after all.) You're about halfway back when you're struck by the sudden, overwhelming sensation of needing to pee. It hits you so suddenly but is so strong that you actually lurch in place, forced to stop and try to be subtle about pressing your thighs together. 'W-what the heck?' You can't recall the last time that needing to urinate hit you out of nowhere so badly, but you have got to go!\n\n<hr>\n[[Quick! Hurry back to your room!|ChiPoke]]\n\n[[Quick! Find a bathroom!|ChiPoke]]\n\n[[Quick! Find an alley!|ChiPoke]]\n\n[[Quick! Buy some diapers!|ChiPoke6x2]]\n\n[[Quick! Y- "AH! Oh nooooo!"|ChiPoke]]

Oh, let's be nice and go ahead and let her win her first fight, at the very least. You leave the bandits as the relatively weak 'trash mob' you spawned them as, and actually go ahead and bump up Michiko's abilities, as well as putting an 'Auto-Block' enchantment on her shield and a 'Merciful Impact' one on her sword. So when Michiko dramatically lets out a "HU-YAAAAAAAAAA!" and slashes at the bandit leader, he howls out "GYUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUH!" and goes toppling backwards with his shirt and leather armor ripping but absolutely no blood shed as he thuds to the ground, as is proper for an afternoon anime. And when his subordinate swings his own club at her, Michiko's shield arm swoops up to intercept it, the wooden weapon striking harmlessly against the metal. Michiko looks a little shocked, but her grin indicates that she attributes the movement to her Hero skills and quickly slashes that bandit down too.\n\nIt only takes her a few minutes to deal with the entire large group, and really only that long because she several times stops to marvel at her own seeming invincibility, before being dragged back to reality by her shield blocking one of the bandits' attacks. But soon she's the only one left standing, while the bandits lay sprawled around, groaning loudly in pain as if to assure everyone that they're still actually alive despite having been cut down with a sword. Michiko stares at them all for a moment, head sweeping back and forth, before she squeals and gives a few excited jumps, unrestrained boobs bouncing merrily.\n\n"I did it! I totally did a Hero thing! And I even did it wearing this stupid skimpy armor!" she shrieks in delight, striking a pose by putting the point of her sword to the ground with her hand on the butt of it, and jutting her chest out while showing off her shield. Good, just as you hoped, you got her to accept the fanservicey armor! That will be useful for later~, konkonkon!\n\nHm, now how best to urge her? The bandits are, as noted, on the ground but not actually dead... you could easily use them to shade Michiko's story and quest how you like, to whatever you think would be the most fun and/or give you the most opportunity to prank her.\n\n<hr>\n[[Generic hero motivation.|KonIse]]\n\n[[A quest for friendship.|KonIse]]\n\n[[Let's make it dark.|KonIse]]\n\n[[How about... some romance?|KonIse]]

Snorting, you declare, "Sorry, boys, girl elves are only lewd with other girl elves." That gets a sort of confused murmur out of the lot of them, most apparently not quite old enough to find the idea of two women together titillating. Then you smirk, slipping your hands out of your pockets and make a rather suggestive gesture with your fingers. "And boy elves are only lewd with other boys." That apparently has more of an effect, if nothing else because they're apparently of an age to still automatically think 'gay stuff is ew', causing them to make various ridiculous noises and disperse quickly.\n\nSnickering softly to yourself, you tuck your hands back in your pockets and decide to turn and head for home, damage done. Messing with kids is kind of fun, but no need to push it too far, and you've been deprived of unhealthy amounts of blue light for too long. You make your way back down the street, mind almost entirely on your video games, just sort of instinctually navigating to cross the roads and avoid cars and other pedestrians. You're about to step onto the stairs that lead up to the second level when you hear a voice from behind you say, "Hey. Miss elf." Blinking, you stop and turn to look. Standing between you and the little garden trellis the owner tries to keep to make the outside area of the apartments look better is another human child, though this one's a girl and looks at least a bit older than the boys gathered around earlier. She's got long brown hair and clear brown eyes, part of her hair caught up in the plaid scarf she has wrapped around her neck. She's wearing the winter uniform of one of the schools around the general area... middle school, you'd guess by her flat chest. She's just tugging on the cable of the earbuds she's wearing, apparently having been listening even as she followed you.\n\n<img src="images/Kimiko1.jpg">\n\n"Is what you said before true?" she asks, looking at you with a serious expression that's rather undeniably cute on her.\n\n"What I said before?" you repeat, mind a bit blank after having been yanked away from the thought of your games.\n\n"Yeah. Y'know." Her cheeks color a little bit, though she's obviously still trying to maintain her serious look. "That girl elves are lewd with other girls."\n\n"... Ah?" You blink a few times, a little surprised at her bringing it up, then shrug. "Well, yeah, pretty much. Sex is only even close to a big deal if it's romantic or for procreation, which it's implied to be if it's with the opposite sex... so if it's with your own sex, it's assumed to be just for fun or affection and it's no big deal." You give a little 'heh', brushing a fingertip at the corner of your mouth and glancing up as you muse aloud, "In fact I remember when I was younger, this half-elf girl Ammianda and me, we didn't get along at all back then, but every so often we'd still go to one of our rooms and she was really-" You pause, then clear your throat and shrug, just a bit of color in your cheeks. "But yeah. I guess we're pretty lewd if it's same-sex."\n\n"Okay. Well. I wanna be lewd, then," she says, bluntly enough, though you can see her hand squeeze on her bag straps as she says it.\n\n"... Oh?" you say slowly, mostly just trying to process that.\n\n"Yeah. Let's go up to your apartment and do lewd stuff, I want to," she declares, just a bit louder than before.\n\n<hr>\n[[Hm. Sure. C'mon up!|SiphaKids]]\n\n[[Youuuuu're a little young.|SiphaKids]]\n\n[[... How about a chat, instead?|SiphaKids2x2]]

You hesitate for a moment, then clear your throat. "Tell you what, we don't we have a talk instead?"\n\nThe girl frowns a bit more, glancing aside nervously. "But you said..."\n\n"Yeah, I did. But just because we're lewd when it comes to some lesbian fun doesn't mean we can't set aside our lewdness when it looks like someone needs something more than sex." The slight blanche she gives tells you that you've hit the nail on the head. "So why don't you come up and sit down and let's chat about stuff? Just friendly-like."\n\n"... L-look, if you don't want to or were just blowing smoke, that's fine, I'll just go," she murmurs, gripping her bag straps with both hands now as she turns, apparently actually intending to leave.\n\nSighing a bit, you put your hands on your hips. "Okay, okay, look, I'll make you a deal. Let's come up and talk about what's obviously bothering you. If, once we've talked about it, you still wanna do lewd stuff, we can do whatever lewd stuff you want." That makes her stop in place, and you can't help but grin as her ears turn pink. That actually is pretty darn cute. "You can be totally in charge, in that case."\n\nShe turns her head to look at you over her shoulder, expression suspicious. "... You promise?"\n\n"I promise." You lift two fingers solemnly in a gesture of pledge, then gesture to the stairs. "You just have to promise to actually talk and be honest."\n\nThat seems to make her hesitate, and you see her eyes flick between the stairs and the street a few times. But finally she huffs and gives a little nod, turning and making her way up the stairs. "Yeah, okay, deal, promise, let's go."\n\n"I'm Sipha," you say with a grin as you follow close enough behind to avoid any upskirt action. You bet they're cute, but you want to keep your mind on your goal for now.\n\n"Kimiko," she murmurs back.\n\nSoon Kimiko is sitting in your apartment, her bag, scarf, and jacket resting on your bed as she glances around, looking somewhere between amazed and disgusted as you rummage in your small fridge. "You have tons of otaku stuff," she notes, a bit of a grumble in her voice.\n\n"I inherited a lot of it from the guy that used to have this apartment," you explain as you walk over, setting a can of juice in front of her on the table, before settling down across from her and popping your own. "Sorry, I forgot to buy tea for like... the last three weeks."\n\n"It's fine." Kimiko picks up the can in both hands, seeming more interested in just holding it than in actually drinking at the moment. "But it was a guy's apartment, huh? Guess that explains the stupid plastic figures," she mutters, glancing at the shelves displaying various anime and video game women, obviously from a rather low angle since they're higher up.\n\nGasp! She has blasphemed against your plastic waifus! But you shove down your instinctive response, instead grinning wryly at her. "I mean, some were, but I bought plenty of them on my own. I don't just do lewd stuff with other girls because it's social or something, I genuinely love beautiful women of all sorts of shapes and sizes."\n\n"Oh," she says quietly, staring down at her can.\n\n"Why do you hate statuettes, anyway?" you prompt gently, keeping your voice soft.\n\nKimiko's quiet for so long that you start to think she's not going to answer you, but finally she sighs and speaks, though her eyes stay on her juice can. "Because that's what started this all. My stupid otaku brother has shelves full of them too. My parents were giving him hell over it because he spent his entire paycheck on a particularly lewd one. It was just sitting there on the table while they were chewing him out, and they didn't even notice me pick it up and take a look. I mean, mostly I was just going to tease him over it myself later, I guess," she adds with a shrug, before adding, "But..." and trailing off.\n\n"But?" you prompt after a few seconds.\n\nShe sighs, and finally takes a drink of the juice before she continues. "But as I looked at this stupid, silly anime figurine, I started feeling funny, like I'm genuinely staring at it. It was pretty detailed, I think it was from some hentai animation, and then I just dropped it back on the table and rushed upstairs. I think they legit smacked my brother around some because they thought he'd scandalized me. ... But... I mean... I couldn't get some of the stuff from the figure out of my head. Her nipples through the painted-on top were all puffy and detailed, her panties were sticking to her... her pussy, and outlining her ass with all these little detailed wrinkles around the edges, and her legs were... really nice." Her cheeks go red again, and she quickly takes another gulp of her juice.\n\n"Aha." Grinning, you prop your chin up on one hand as you look at her across the table. "I begin to see the root of it."\n\nKimiko scowls at you, but with the blush still in place it looks more like an adorable pout, before she sighs again. "... About a week later after not being able to get it out of my head, I went on the internet and started searching for things like I kept thinking about on the figure... 'nipples through top', 'tight panties', 'great girl legs'," she continues, sinking in on herself a bit more with embarrassment with each term. "... And then I started learning even more terms like 'cameltoe' and 'fetish' and 'miru tights' and before I know it I'm leaned back in my desk chair in broad daylight, a hand down the front of my panties, all red-faced and sweaty and breathing hard while I finger myself looking at two girls in wet pantyhose kissing. ... I mean, at least they were real girls, not 2D," she adds in a grumble.\n\nAh yes, the internet, the great enabler of sexual awakenings, even you who grew up without it can see how it would be such. You let Kimiko calm down from some of her embarrassment over her revelations, waiting until she's a more normal color before asking, "So you realized you liked girls... ah, no, you started to wonder if you really liked girls, maybe?"\n\n"... Yeah, that's it," Kimiko admits with a bob of the head. "Like I'm not an idiot, I know what lesbians are, just... I'm not sure if I'm really, actually gay, or if it's like I hear adults talking about and I'm just confused or going through a phase."\n\nYou'd seen much the same talk online. Apparently this country tends to expect gay youngsters to 'grow out of it' as part of becoming adult and having the traditional lives they're expected to. While you'd like to claim superiority to these Japanese humans, elf society being much more pragmatic about sexual attraction, you'd only be able to do so about that particular subject. If you're honest, there's plenty of other places where you were taught 'tradition above all'. But anyway, your focus needs to be on the confused and obviously rather upset girl in front of you. "So you thought maybe if you had sex with me, you'd understand if you were really gay or not," you say out loud, in a thoughtful tone that leaves it open for her to contradict you.\n\nInstead she nods slowly, peeking up at you through her lashes in what's clearly a different kind of embarrassment, though she's got some of her serious mein back on now. "... Yeah. I'd seen you around the neighborhood before anyway, and lately I'd been noticing how... how great your butt and legs looked, and then today I was passing through the park on my way home, and heard you talking to those boys. I thought... if it was true you... did lewd stuff, maybe I could just ask you and... y'know."\n\n"I see, I see." You nod along with her, then smile gently as she sets down her can. You reach over, covering one of her hands with yours. "Listen, Kimiko, I can't say I understand exactly what you're going through. But I've had to reexamine my identity before too, and I can tell you there's no easy way to do it."\n\n"I mean... it seems pretty easy," she protests, though she doesn't sound very strong about it. "If I have sex with another girl and like it, I'm gay, right?"\n\n"Or you just like sex. Or you're bisexual. Or what if you don't like it, but it's because we're not very compatible? Or you don't enjoy it because you're nervous?" You can see her growing more uncertain, which you think you're just going to have to push through to get her there. "The thing is, Kimiko, having sex with a girl might clear things up... or it might just make you way more confused. It could make it take even longer to find the answers you want, and then you might wind up feeling bad about it later. What if you threw away your first time just because you were in a hurry to get answers, and it not only didn't give you answers, but later on you found someone you really wanted to give that first time to instead?"\n\n"... But... but... I'm so confused," she whispers, actually starting to tremble a little.\n\n"I know, honey." You scoot around the table to settle in next to her, then gently pull the girl against you, wrapping both arms around her and leaning your head in. "And if I thought sex with me would give you the answers you want, I would be happy to. But I can't be sure of that, and I don't want to hurt anyone. Least of all a sweet girl like you who's already hurting."\n\nKimiko is silent as she stares at the wall out of your hug, tears starting to slip from her eyes. She's crying, but not sobbing or weeping... obviously she's a kind of stoic kid, and you've known the type. You always thought that they were stronger than everyone and didn't need anything, until your adventure with the Hero and his companions taught you otherwise. You just stroke her hair, and hold her, and let her cry for awhile as she thinks things through.\n\nEventually she sits up, using her sleeve to wipe at her cheeks. "Hey," you say, waiting until Kimiko turns her slightly reddened eyes to you. "I promise that as you work it out, I'll be there for you. We just met, but every friendship has to start somewhere, and I'll be the friend that you can talk to about this. Okay?"\n\n"... Okay." She nods once, then adds quietly. "Thank you."\n\n<hr>\n[["Feel better?"|SiphaKids]]\n\n[["Still want to have sex?"|SiphaKids]]

"Oh yeah, there was just one more thing I needed for my report," you say, as if having just remembered. "How is a raven like a writing desk?"\n\nInstantly, both of the couple's faces fall. "What?"\n\n"Yeah, um, how is a raven, y'know, the bird? How is it like a writing desk?" you repeat, gesturing at your notepad with the pen.\n\n"But. A raven. Is a bird. A writing desk. Is a desk," Ankus sputters, his voice growing flatter with almost every word.\n\n"A bird is not like a writing desk, a bird is not like a writing desk," Kimiko starts to babble.\n\nYou drop your notebook and go for your Glauk, Katsumi already snatching for her own sidearm. But even as he's continuing to drone about how a raven and a writing desk are nothing alike, Ankus lurches forward, his movements twitchy and spasming as he swings his arms, bowling into you and knocking Katsumi's arms away. You struggle against him for a moment as he grabs ineffectively at your wrists, his eyes blank and face twitching. "A raven is a bird a writing desk is a desk," he drones urgently at you as he continues to lurch towards every move you make, his grasping hands preventing you from bringing your weapon around. You draw back enough to give him a shove, and Katsumi slams the butt of her pistol down against the meeting of his shoulder and neck, staggering him to the side and giving you both an opening to pump stun bolts into his chest, dropping him fully.\n\nThe two of you turn to catch sight of Kimiko disappearing around a corner in the house, both of you breaking into a run as you go after her. "A bird is not like a writing desk a bird is not like a writing desk," she jabbers as she races down the hallway.\n\nYou're swinging your pistol up to aim at her back when you flinch at the sound of multiple windows shattering at once, wheeling to see the black dog from the yard landing amidst the broken glass in the living room and racing towards you. Katsumi wheels towards it and fires, but the blast is sent wide at the last moment as the yellow dog leaps through the air and bites at the weapon, forcing her to yank it away instinctively. \n\n<hr>\n[[Stun the yellow dog, then go after Kimiko.|ChiECA]]\n\n[[Stay and handle both dogs with Katsumi.|ChiECA]]

"Let's knock on the door and see what the owners have to say," you suggest, keeping your voice even but making a little implicative shrug with your eyebrows as you casually thumb your pistol to heavy stun while it's still in the holster.\n\nKatsumi looks at you a bit blankly for a moment before she apparently catches on, nodding slowly as the two of you turn and head over to the front walk, making your way up it. For show, you dig an old-fashioned small notebook and pen out of one of your dimensional pockets as Katsumi rings the doorbell.\n\nA few moments later a dark-skinned man with close-cropped hair, wearing a blue polo shirt and khaki pants, opens the door, a petite golden-skinned woman with shoulder-length hair and wearing a sundress standing a bit behind him. "Yes, officers, how can I help you?" he asks in a slightly confused, slightly wary tone.\n\n"Hello there, I'm Agent Okana, this is Agent Hajimaru, we're with the Extranormal Control Agency," she says evenly.\n\n"Report came across our desk about a possible Godblood ring, and we're just trying to pick up potentially useful information," you pick up smoothly, feeling Katsumi tense just a little bit beside you at the very technical statements of truth. Man, for a cop she apparently doesn't like to lie very much, does she? You continue on saying in an assuring tone, "We're not looking into you for Godblood or anything like that, we're just trying to pick up some clues we could use."\n\nBoth of them had tensed, but relax a bit at your assurance. "Well of course, anything to get that stuff off the streets," the man says in a warm tone. "I'm Ankus Sumittu, this is my wife Kimiko."\n\n"Thank you for your time, sir. Have you noticed anything out of place in the neighborhood lately? Anyone acting strange?" Katsumi asks, at least having adopted a relaxed posture and tone of her own.\n\n"No, haven't seen anything like that," Ankus answers, shaking his head.\n\n"Do you have kids, have they heard of anything at school?" you ask, making a show of writing a few things in your notebook.\n\nKimiko blushes a little bit. "N-no, we haven't had any. Yet," she adds with a flirtatious look at her husband, who smiles.\n\n"And you haven't noticed the neighborhood kids behaving strangely, like maybe not outside playing as much, or maybe aggravating the neighborhood dogs?"\n\n"No, haven't seen anything like that," Ankus answers, shaking his head.\n\n"Mm-hm. And how long have you had your dogs?" Katsumi jumps in.\n\n"Black and Tan? About three years now, I guess."\n\n"And they haven't been behaving strangely either lately?"\n\n"No, haven't seen anything like that," Ankus answers, shaking his head. Then he blinks. "Wait, Godblood can have something to do with dogs?"\n\n"Drug addicts can do strange things, sir," you say airily, making a few more 'notes'. \n\nKatsumi glances at you, then looks back at the Sumittus. "Well, I really think that's about all there is, unless you can think of anything else?" she adds, looking at you again.\n\n<hr>\n[["Nope, that's it."|ChiECA]]\n\n[["Oh, yeah, one more thing..."|ChiECA3x2]]

Well you came here to experience other cultures, and actually going to a bar would already be another culture! If elves have bars, they keep that information so thoroughly to themselves that you've never heard of it. You would tend to assume that the closest thing is the dens and parlors that elf men and women maintain for close circles of friends. But again, you did grow up rather sheltered, so for all you know there could be one a few blocks away from home where all the very proper grown up elves go to sing honkytonk songs and line dance! ....... But you doubt it.\n\nBut now you're an adult! (In theory.) And you can go to not only a bar, but a bar of a whole different culture! ... Assuming they let you in. And don't kick you out. ... Yeah. Well, only one way to find out! You tap the button for directions and set out walking. It's a little further from the campus than the other places, but not too much. And when you approach it certainly looks appropriately authentic, being a wooden building slightly off by itself with a neon beer glass on one side of the front and a neon longhorn bull head on the other side, with a faded painted wood sign reading 'BULLROAR'S' over the door. (Is it condescending to think it looks "authentic"? You hope not. Because it looks authentic.)\n\nNo swinging saloon doors, just a normal pull one on a swing arm, you find as you step over and haul it open, actually having to struggle just a little... it was clearly chosen on the assumption that the vast majority of people using it would have more upper body strength than you do. (Not that elves don't have impressive upper body strength... sometimes. It only seems to apply to things like drawing bows or smiting orc kings and things like that though.) You quickly step inside before you have to struggle with the door too much, essentially plunging right into the atmosphere of the bar, and that's an apt description because it couldn't be any more of a shock to the senses than if you'd cannonballed into freezing water.\n\nFirst of all it's considerably dimmer in here than it was outside... not dark, quite, but the lights are low watt and they're scattered about over a greater distance than would ever be necessary to actually light the place up fully. Which just makes the sounds and smells all the more intense of a smack in the face. The sound of music you're not familiar with, certainly... it's some brand of country but the electric guitar and drums are much more aggressive than the varieties you've heard before... but also the genuine clack of pool balls, people talking and laughing and jeering (mostly in very deep voices), several different sports broadcasts going on despite the music. But the other thing that hits you immediately is the smell... beer, both fresh and stale, other sorts of less familiar but distinctively alcoholic scents, food grease, wood (surprisingly fresh-cut-smelling in places, must be the sawdust you can see here and there, wonder what that's for?), and body odor.\n\nLots of body odor.\n\nHeavy, sweaty, musty, mostly masculine body odor. Which it's not the first time you've smelled that sort of thing, but it's definitely the first time there's been this much of it. And it's different, and intense. Like the smell of a horse after a long gallop, in some cases almost literally that scent, though other, similarly heated smells of sweat and fur and just overall warm living things. Even if it weren't sort of hot in the bar already, that heady scent filling your nose and mouth feels like it would heat you up anyway, just in sympathetic response.\n\nOf course your eyes almost instantly adjust, though it still takes you a second to be able to start paying attention to them again after that little sensory overload. As you'd gathered from the webpage, this place is near-exclusively a bar for beast races, with minotaurs being the majority of patrons. Wow, you had no idea there were so many of them living in Angester. ... Well you're not assuming that the entire population of minotaurs in town is in the bar (now that you think about it), but still even the dozen or so you can see is more than you've ever seen in one place at once. There are some others too... horsemen, some goat and sheep men, even a pair of centaurs, one male and one female. You do see a small handful of members of more elfinoid races, mostly humans, though while most of the beastmen are, well, men, you do notice that almost all of the humans are women. Huh. Wonder what that means?\n\n"You comin' in, hun?"\n\n"Ah!" you squeak, giving a small hop, realizing that there's a minotaur woman standing very nearby. You look towards her, and try not to blush as you find yourself just right at boob height... her lower pair, specifically. Her 'Bullroar's' T-shirt is stretched over a quartet of them, after all, all four roughly the same massive size, though since the rest of her is massive as well it's... ... well no it's still incredibly impressive. She's also wearing little denim shorts and a black waitress apron around her waist, and the tips of her horns have been shod in rose gold, her somewhat bovine face pleasant but mildly rushed. "Oh, um, yes. Where should I...?"\n\n"Anywhere y'like, hun, though if it's just you probably at the bar," she says with a grin before turning and walking off with the clack of her hooves on the dented and dinged hardwood, showing off incredibly powerful fuzzy brown thighs and a huge round butt not entirely covered by the ragged denim of her shorts.\n\nYou stare after her for a moment, nibbling your lower lip without realizing it, before shaking it off and taking a breath before heading up to the bar. (Though you practically feel like you've had a drink already with how boozy the air is.) You settle onto one of the barstools, smoothing your skirt under yourself, and picking up a laminated menu from a rack of them. Though you're admittedly taking the time to covertly peek some more at the patrons.\n\n'I never realized minotaurs were so diverse,' you muse as you peek around side to side. Not just in fur color and pattern, but the style of their horns, and the look of their faces... some have almost entirely human-like faces (specifically more like humans than elves, being on the broader and stockier bone structure side), others look near-fully like bulls or cows, while many range somewhere in the middle. Is it perhaps divided by different tribes or clans? Or is it just in-species diversity? You know with elves it's-\n\n"Hi, whattya havin'?"\n\n"Ah!" you squeak again, hopping in place on your barstool and winding up rocking a bit. You give the big minotaur man working the bar a sheepish look and say, "Um, I need another minute, please."\n\nAt least he seems more amused than annoyed, giving a short chuckle and saying "Call out when you're ready" before sauntering further down the bar to resume his discussion with some of the others.\n\nActually turning your attention to the menu, you hm. ... Wow there are a lot of burgers on here for... uh... w-wait, is it racist to think that? ... ANYWAY THERE'S A LOT OF BURGERS. And chicken wings. That's pretty much it for the food. The rest of the menu is drinks. You... guess you should have a drink, maybe? You vaguely recall reading somewhere that places like this make almost all their money on drinks, not anything else, so you feel like you should have a drink so that you don't get a reputation as a... deadbeat customer or something, in case you want to come back. (That doesn't feel very likely just this moment, but maybe you'll change your mind once you've tried their fare.) Let's see...\n\n<center>[[AUTHENTIC MINOTAUR MILK (PASTEURIZED)|Sara]]\nNon-alcoholic, but so delicious and rich and satisfying you won't mind. Locally sourced and produced.</center>\n\n... w-well gosh...\n\n<center>[[AUTHENTIC MINOTAUR MILK (RAW)|Sara]]*\nTake a walk on the wild side with drinking as nature intended! Well, almost! Very locally sourced and produced, right in front of you!</center>\n\n........ WELL GOSH.\n\nHm, there's a little asterisk, and down at the bottom of the menu there's some legalese about how you're assuming your own risk by drinking unpasteurized dairy and that there may be side effects, especially of repeated consumption. Well, they probably couldn't get away with serving raw milk... of any kind... without that, you guess.\n\n<center>[[BIG RED BULL'S BIG RED BEER|Sara]]\nA full-flavored red ale, but not heavy. If you have one, you may want to have six, so be careful!</center>\n\nThat sounds like the best choice if you actually want to get something alcoholic. You're confident in your self control, after all (and your elven constitution). \n\n<center>[[SILVER MOON TEQUILA SHOTS|Sara]]\nA smooth, slick tequila crafted in a collaboration between the Agave Grazer Clan and the Open Plains Runners, this tequila may unleash your inner beast!</center>\n\nTequila shots? Oh my. You... shouldn't. ... But it's a very college student thing to do, yes...?\n\n<center>[[THE PNEUMATIC HAMMER|Sara]]\nGot problems? Worries? Any kind of thoughts at all? Well this drink will make you forget them as surely as a high pressure metal bolt to the temple! Limit one per customer. (No one's ever asked for a second.)</center>\n\nYikes! ... For several reasons. ... Still... if you could drink one of those... you'd probably establish yourself as a serious customer, right? ... Oh hey, speaking of seeking the respect of the other patrons, there's a big banner and box down at the bottom of the back of the menu.\n\n<center>[[BEAT BUBBA|Sara]]\nBubba's always here anyway, so we decided to turn him into a feature of the bar. If you can drink more beers than Bubba in an hour, you get a free meal and two free drinks a day for a year! Beware the punishments for losing, though! At the very least you'll be paying for all your beers and Bubba's!</center>\n\nThat sounds... fun? Maybe? Not your usual kind of fun, but still fun! And even if you lose it's probably, what, just a bit of money and maybe some light hazing? Maybe you'd get a spanking or something, heh. ...... If it was that waitress you might not mind that. Ahem. You think on your potential choices for a bit longer, then raise a hand and give a wave. Luckily you don't actually have to shout since the bartender notices and meanders back on over.\n\n"What did you decide on?" he asks pleasantly in that deep, rumbly voice that probably explains why there are so many human women here, even if it doesn't necessarily do much for you.

[[Extranormal Control Agency|ChiECAStart]] - Well, this listing is a long and particularly thorough one... definitely made by an official government agency that has a lot of regulations about requesting outside help. Especially since it does a lot more talking about what kind of equipment you're allowed to bring and use and what regulations you're expected to follow than it does the job itself. But the pay's relatively generous and includes bonuses for hazardous situations and and full injury coverage, so that's nice. The actual job seems to be temporarily reinforcing a planet's branch of law enforcement that deals with anything more-than-human... exactly what that means is, as you've come to expect with this thing, heavily obfuscated by governmentspeak, but it can cover a lot.\n\n[[Pokemon Assistant|ChiPoke1x1]] - Looks like a Pokemon researcher needs someone to go out and look into reports of various legendary or strange Pokemon sightings for them. It was your understanding that in that dimensional cluster, grown adults doing serious research tended to fob off research tasks like that on random ten-year-olds that wandered by wanting advice and learning... if this researcher is actually shopping the job out to a grown professional, it must be either really important or really dangerous.\n\n[[Data Retrieval|ChiBlu1x1]] - This job is actually listed by another mercenary who goes by Indigo... a fairly well-known guy in the Guild, a senior merc who's got a reputation for getting the job done, being a great leader, and having a lot of useful skills to impart to younger and less experienced mercs that work under him. Apparently he's running a potentially long-term data recovery operation in hostile territory and is taking applications for mercenaries to join his crew for it.\n\n[[Area Pacification|ChiMut1x1]] - Apparently, somehow, some sort of bioweapon got loose in a large area of a planet, including a city and its surrounding countryside, and now genetic mutants are running amok destroying things. The client is strongly implying that the Other Guy must have done it without actually coming out and saying they did it (which means a ninety-plus percent chance they did it to themselves, probably as an oops.) Either way apparently they're focusing all their own available military on containing the area and defending their outward borders (and, reading between the lines, glaring down the rest of the population in case they get all uppity over having part of their fellow citizens virobombed). The assignment is pretty straightforward: go in, kill as many mutants as possible, get paid for each one.

Stacia's personality is mostly annoying because of her chipper absolute focus on the idea that adventuring is the greatest thing ever and never wanting to be anything else. So... nothing wrong that a bit of mental alteration couldn't fix, right? \n\nSo let's see... you could instill a sense of [[complete devotion to you|Reth]]... make obeying you and pleasing you no matter what her sole purpose for existing, as it were. The amusing part of that is that you could leave the rest of her mind alone... she'd be perfectly aware that you'd altered her mind to make her devoted to you, but would be incapable of caring because it was what you wanted.\n\nYou could also [[rewrite her memories|Reth]]... completely eliminate any positive influences in her life other than you, make it so that the only thing she remembers as long as she's known is you and wanting to please and help you. Not necessarily as reliable as the first option, but possibly more amusing and fun... and also probably free of any potential issues of her doing something ridiculous in wanting to please you, like taking it on herself to go off and slaughter someone who kicked dirt on your shoe.\n\nAnd you guess the third option is just altering her mind to make her [[a completely different person|Reth]]... essentially changing her into someone else merely using Stacia's body, a properly canny and devoted servant of the future Maou entirely of her own will, bearing no similarity to the old Stacia whatsoever.

Kwestlyne sounds like she might be a high profile client... the sort that having on your resume is good, and even better if she suggests you to her rich and well-connected friends. Definitely a worthwhile job to take, you think as you accept the offer to meet up and receive portal coordinates in turn.\n\nYou step out of the portal and into what looks like some sort of reception room. And, uh, wow... this was definitely not what you were expecting when you were told you'd be going to a space station in a high tech level dimension. In fact the stylings here look positively dated even by your standards... the curvature of things, the white and orange-red color scheme dominated by curving padded benches, and holy crap those are non-flat screens set atop and in the circular white table in the center... you think they might actually have non-solid insides! Did you actually take a portal into the past?\n\n<img src="images/Kwestlounge.jpg">\n\nWhile you're gawking a little at the furnishings, you hear a door slide open with an incredibly obvious fwoosh so quickly pull your business face on. In walks... what is probably the tallest Human woman you've ever met (assuming she's actually Human). You wind up having to crane your neck a bit to meet her gaze as she walks right up to you. Her height is far from the only intimidating thing about her... her firmly muscled stomach (which is left bare by her tight sleeveless top), the mil-style clothes including a very large knife sheathed at her thigh, the red eyes, the tattoo of a scorpion with what looks like a scimitar for a tail on one shoulder. Everything about her says 'I will kick her ass'... well, except for the slightly messy brown hair, which in back is done in a long, tight braid, which in your experience usually says 'pull harder Daddy'. ... Ahem. Yeah you're just going to banish any thoughts like that from your mind since she already doesn't look particularly happy to see you.\n\n<img src="images/Olga.jpg">\n\n"You're, ahhhhh... the merc from the guild, right?" she asks, squinting slightly as if in doubt.\n\n"Yeah, that's me. Leo LaChance, nice to be here," you reply in a cheerful but professional tone, offering a hand.\n\nShe leaves you hanging, her hands staying firmly at her sides as she looks at your offering just long enough to make sure you understand that she knows what the gesture means and is deliberately ignoring, before refocusing on your face as you finally drop it. "I'm Olga Penthesilia, I'm in charge of... security around here," she continues, in such a long-suffering tone you can virtually hear the unspoken 'such as it is'. "So hey, listen, ahhhh, before you actually, officially take this job, I'm gonna give you some advice that you maybe..." She glances up, inhales noticeably, and clicks her tongue lightly against the roof of her mouth before finishing, "... don't."\n\n"Ah, hey, look, I know I may seem young, but I've got a great record for bodyguard jobs," you assure her.\n\n"Mmm. Listen, I'm just sayin', the twins, they're ahhhhh..." She glances significantly over her shoulder at the door, as if expecting the girls to show up when mentioned. "... They're a handful. Like a big handful. And I'm just sayin', I'd be really, really upset if something happened to them." Her head slowly swivels back to fix on you, red eyes narrowing as she adds, "Very upset. Catch my drift?"\n\n"I usually dodge things when they're thrown at me in excess of 200 miles per hour instead of catching them, but I take your meaning, yeah," you reply a little flatly. "Like I said, I have a good record, I'm a professional. Nothing will happen."\n\n"Yuh-huh. Good luck with that." She adjusts her black cap, then folds her arms over her chest and glances away again. "Just sayin', maybe you have some second thoughts about if this job's worth the trouble, and I can tell you why you made a smart decision later. Over, say, some drinks. Happen to know a really good bar about a half hour's flight from here. ... It's in a hotel," she adds in a tone of heavy significance, turning her head back to stare directly at your face again.\n\n... Okay, wow, is she actually offering to sleep with you to get you to pass on this job? This is a new and unique experience, you've gotta say. And you'd be lying if you said you weren't intrigued... ... also kind of scared, but intrigued.\n\n<hr>\n[[Take the job.|LeoKwest1x1]]\n\n[[Take the offer.|LeoKwest]]

*Main: Reth can decide to turn Unielle into a [[breeder|RethFarm2x1]] for his farm.\n*Main: After turning Amestra into a [[Headless Slayer|Reth1x3]], Reth can say they should move on.\n-Update 2-\n*Main: Grimalkin can decide he and his pack will [[go after the Lieze twins|Grim1x4]].\n-Update 3-\n* Continuing the Reap Drones.

Yes yes, let's visit some of the themed cafes! You may or may not have eaten in awhile. You're actually having a little trouble remembering, which means that it could be anywhere from yesterday to last week. (Elven constitutions can contribute to making a lot of Pro Gamer Moves much worse, admittedly.) But more importantly, you can top off your mental tank by having some fun and soothing your spirit... or stoking your libido, either or, same diff.\n\nWhile they're scattered all over the district, you've been directed to one particular spot informally called 'cafe lane'... it's a block or so where theme cafes are the dominant businesses, with anything else being about as common as theme cafes are in the rest of Akihabara. It's where there's a vast range of different cafes can be found... from the completely fluffy and clean, to the niche, to the suggestive, and in some cases the outright lewd. There's also a few that are clearly on the grey side of the law... and you've heard rumors that this block is home to a few outright illegal types of cafes that are merely well-connected enough and have enough government officials paid off that they manage to not get raided and shut down. Some of them you've been to before, and some of them you haven't... you have been on this side for awhile now, and your income lets you occasionally come down here and blow off some steam eating an overpriced meal in a restorative environment.\n\nNow let's see, on the light and fluffy side there's [[Nya Nya Nyaron|SiphaCafes]], a cat cafe. Most of the food is pretty simple stuff since, y'know, cats and knocking things around, but petting kitties is always a plus. There's also a lot of just largely generic maid cafes, but they all feel a little... insipid and dull. Of course if you wanted a fairly normal one that's still got a bit of a kicked-up theme, there's [[Mameid|SiphaCafes]]... a maid cafe where all the maids are also MILFs.\n\nOn the niche, there's [[Calming Tsun|SiphaCafes]], a tsundere maid cafe... which isn't all that niche anymore, but the theme of this one is that all the maids are rich hime-sama type girls whose families made them get a job so they'd have some real world experience. Obviously that would be a lie, but from what you understand they're pretty thorough about their kayfabe. There's another called [[Debt Debt|SipaCafes]] where the theme is that the girls have all been blackmailed into working there by the Yakuza because of going into debt. Again, it's probably just kayfabe, if in rather poorer taste than the other place. (Still usually looks pretty busy though.)\n\nEdging into the 'grey' area is a place called [[Syota Saavisu|SiphaCafes1x1]]. Despite the name, all the boys are of course legal age to work in a cafe in Akihabara... the cafe itself can't be blamed if they choose to exclusively hire cute boys that look younger than they are and fit nicely into a maid's uniform, obviously! There's also [[Sureibu Rabu|SiphaCafes]], which is rather than a maid cafe a slave cafe. It's 'grey' because the girls that work there technically show off more than they're legally allowed to... but they've gotten away with it so far by taking steps to assure the authorities that no hanky-panky is going on. \n\nOf course, if you're feeling adventurous, you could always go looking for those [[completely black market theme cafes|SiphaCafes]]. It'd be impossible to say you're not curious, after all. And you did get what you think is a credible tip from someone you know online about how to find them...

"Alright, I'll agree to swearing the oath to you on one condition... it can't be some vague award that I've 'earned', there's one very specific thing that I want," you answer after long moments of thought.\n\n"Hm. Well... maybe. What were you thinking of?" Majestra asks dubiously.\n\n"I want you to marry me."\n\n"WHAT?!" she yelps, actually jumping a little in place, then blushing furiously as she looks down at her hands, tapping her index fingers together. "But... we're both girls... I mean, that's nonsense!" she hurries to amend, shaking her head wildly. "Why would I do that?!"\n\n"For one thing because I won't agree to your stupid conditions if you don't, especially since I know you'd probably try to weasel out of giving me an actual award for something you think I 'deserve' if I didn't," you start, with Majestra's eyes sliding just a little to one side, enough to tell you that you hit fairly close to the truth. "For another, you claim to be mother to all the races-"\n\n"I am!" she snaps back, actually looking sincerely offended as her lips purse together and her yellow eyes blaze a little. "Both the mortal races and monster races are my children, that's just a fact!"\n\nThe vehemence with which she says it actually gives you pause, and makes you rephrase what you were about to say. "Yeah, but the monster races don't exactly feel a lot of that love, do they?" The pain that briefly crosses her face makes you reevaluate some things you thought about her, but you press on further. "Not only do we keep following a Maou because we're constantly falling into squabbles with the mortal races, whenever those squabbles happen you always send forth a Hero to help the mortal races and not us!"\n\n"W-well... that's... it's sort of a long story," she murmurs, pouting and tapping her fingers together again. "I-it's not that Mommy doesn't love you, it's just, you're causing a lot of trouble, and... you know..."\n\n"If you really love all the races, I think you should understand some balance," you assert firmly, folding your arms over your chest. "There should be a deity the monster races can look to, and when these conflicts should happen the monsters should get an Anti-Hero to fight the Hero."\n\n"... Hm." Majestra cups her chin, staring at the not-floor for awhile, before slowly nodding. "Thinking about it... I suppose that really is fair. I generally send a Hero to help the mortal races just because you're all so much more powerful already, but the conflicts... I suppose they're started at least a bit by both sides every time. Making everything equal on both sides... might be the best thing." She raises her eyes to you. "... And I suppose all things considered there are a lot worse candidates for being the deific representative of the monster races. You were never particularly cruel for the sake of it, you were measured in your agression, and you tended to be smart about things."\n\n"So you'll do it?" you ask with a grin. "You'll marry me and let me become your fellow goddess?"\n\n"But I have a few more conditions first!" she hurries to add, stabbing a finger at you. "First of all! No killing any of the mortal races! Your goal may be to give the monsters their own goddess, but if we're going to be fair then you can't just go killing the mortal races out of hand, same as I don't kill monsters on a whim!"\n\nYou purse your lips a little, thinking it over. "... Say, I can kill them if they try to kill me first."\n\nShe sighs at that. "Okay okay I suppose actually stating the exception for self-defense is fair, since you won't become a proper, immortal deity until we're actually married. So you can kill them if they try to kill you first. Another condition... you have to at least try to get along with all the races!"\n\n"Since when?" you snort.\n\n"If the goal of this whole thing is fairness, then the most fair thing is we both treat all the races equally and try to foster understanding between them, instead of just letting them fight and sending endless waves of Heroes and Anti-Heroes against each other," Majestra fires back.\n\n"... Alright, know what, that's fair," you allow after a moment, bobbing your head. "I guess in the end peace would probably be best for everyone."\n\n"Good. It's settled then." Majestra holds out her hand, and you take it, feeling a light heated sensation on... one of your buttcheeks?! "We're engaged. Here." Taking her hand from yours, she gives it a little flick, producing another one of those large pearls and blowing on it gently. "The enchantment that will merge your Ability Tree into a single trunk. ... Ah, while I'm at it, I better change your race," she continues, pursing her lips and blowing on it gently again. "You won't be much of an eventual goddess of monsters if you're a human, after all."\n\nHey, weirdly enough, this deal just keeps getting better! You grin as she plops the pearl into your hand. "Good, good. Though I hope I don't have to start off as an Ireth again."\n\n"No, though I'm still trying to calculate the odds of how that happened," Majestra says with a little huff. "Anyway, just swallow that and you'll be set."\n\n"Ah, but before I do, there's one more thing," you note.\n\n"Hm?" Majestra blinks... then her eyes go wide and her face goes red as you step in and kiss her. She lets out a positively ungoddesslike squeak as you push your tongue into her mouth, swirling it around and teasing it, your free hand coming up to stroke gently along her neck and up to rub gently at the base of her ear as you work your lips against hers, her body going practically limp on the sofa. By the time you pull back, she's actually shivering a little, her breath puffing out between parted lips and her eyes a little glazed. "Hhha... hhha... you... audacious... little..."\n\n"Hey, who says goodbye to their fiancee for who-knows-how-long without a goodbye kiss?" you ask with a saucy wink, before tossing the pearl into the air and nomfing it on the fall down like it was a wasabi pea, feeling it slide hard and smooth down your throat as you swallow.\n\nYou abruptly sit up on a riverbank, blinking several times and taking a look around. This... is Lytozia. Even if the scenery didn't have a different look to it than the countryside of Japan... the colors are more saturated somehow, among other things... the flow of mana is much different, you can feel it practically buzzing in the air like white noise. 'It's like I've been doing weighted clothing training for the last fourteen years,' you think in amusement as you clamber to your feet. 'Time to finally drop my clothes to the ground and start yelling! ... No, not really.' Speaking of clothes, just like you hoped you still have yours from Earth, as well as everything you spent the last several years assembling for your journey tucked away in your enchanted pockets. You spend a few moments checking yourself over, both magically and glancing at your reflection in the water. You still look mostly the same, albeit now taller and a bit more developed, obviously adult... well, that's fine, as far as humans go you're actually in your fifties or something if you count the years of both lives. Something like that. But you can sense that your Ability Tree has indeed been merged into a single 'trunk', with the first handful of the best abilities of all three already available for choosing (which you do). You also now have a slender pair of horns, glossy and tipped with black, jutting up from your forehead, and your nails are black and hard as steel, though not actually sharp.\n\n'Hm. An Oni. That's not a bad choice, Majestra.' Oni are technically demi-humans, not monsters, but because of their resemblance to demons they tend to be persecuted by the mortal races, and thus join up with the monster races more often than the mortal ones when there's conflict. (Which just leads to more persecution and more being pushed to join the other side, now that you think about it. Huh, maybe there really is a kind of crappy vicious cycle going on here.) But their 'crossover' between the mortal races and the monster races would make them the ideal choice for bridging the gap. ... Hm... also... it's not too obvious in these baggy pants, but as you feel the front of your crotch a bit to judge why your panties now feel so tight...\n\n'My my, Majestra. Acting so innocent and businesslike about our engagement, and then giving me this thing. I think at least part of you's looking forward to our wedding night,' you think with a smirk.\n\nYou look up at a call of "Hey there!" from nearby, spotting a group of people crossing the small bridge over the river. Humans? Ah, no, a mix of humans and demi-humans, you realize as you spot some of the tails and ears a few of them are sporting. They're dressed what you would call half-shabbily... a mix of leather armor and clothes that were all probably decent at one time but have been through more than single digits of resell shops by now. They look a strange mixture between fit and poor, like they've been eating well but barely affording gear. 'Ah, so, probably bandits,' you think as they approach you and try to be casual about surrounding you.\n\n"What's a lone demi-human doing out here by themselves?" the leader, a man with floppy dog ears atop his head as well as human ones at the sides, asks with something that could seem like sincere concern in his voice if you didn't listen too carefully. "You really ought to be careful, you could get caught and sold as a slave."\n\n"Ah, I'm on one of the continents where slavery is legal huh?" you murmur more to yourself, half ignoring the bandits surrounding you as they trade confused glances. "That means Capernia or Melodandra... hm, I guess it could have changed since I was gone, though. But probably one of those."\n\n"... Orrrr maybe you actually are an escaped slave?" the dogkin says, apparently having decided to follow his script and give you a practiced nasty grin that's no doubt supposed to intimidate you. "But that's okay... we'll see you to somewhere safe! All you have to do is give us your money or any valuables you have, and we'll be your bodyguards until you're in a nice, demi-human tolerant town! Honest!"\n\n'Wow that is such a lame way to hold someone up,' you think flatly, glancing around at the lot of them. Half are leering, half are nervous (and it's about half and half on the male/female ratio of both of those as well). Well, looks like you have your first challenge to deal with, before you ever take a crack at the Maou. \n\n<hr>\n[["How about I keep you safe?"|Iris]]\n\n[["How about you give me your stuff?"|Iris]]\n\n[["Nah I'm good fam peace out."|Iris]]

That's got to mean your boobs will just get a lot bigger, right? Well... breast reduction surgery is a thing, and even if they get particularly big, you can manage it, right? You're still not as big as your mother and she's never had any real problems. You reach out and hit the fourth button.\n\nThen you give an 'mmph!' out loud as you feel the slightly tingly, hot, flowing motion... except not where you expected. Instead of it taking hold in your breasts and making them larger, it feels like it's coming from just below them. You bring your hands up almost reflexively to touch where the change is, and your eyes widen as you feel something soft and round that's rapidly expanding. "What?!"\n\nBut despite your shock and dismay, in a matter of seconds you have a second pair of breasts every bit as large, round, and perfectly formed beneath the first. "Deathtrap you pervert!" you shout, covering your top pair with one arm and your lower pair with the other, then almost regretting it as even that much stimulation and touch sends a wave of pleasure through your aroused body. Dammit!\n\n"Don't kinkshame," Doctor Deathtrap's voice answers smugly from hidden speakers.\n\nYou glare around, hoping at some point you glower right into whatever camera she's watching on, before grumbling and stalking through the door into the next room, deciding that for the moment the stimulation of touching your stiff nipples (all four of them) with your hands and arms is better than just letting them bounce free or letting Deathtrap leer at you.\n\nLuckily it looks like all of these button columns have 'Exit' as their second feature. You were hoping after the last one turned out to be so odd that she'd let you out, but looks like she's insisting on inflicting one last change on you before letting you out.\n\n<hr>\n[[Restore Cock|CalMaze]]\n\n[[+Lewd|CalMaze]]\n\n[[+Cow|CalMaze]]\n\n[[+Strange|CalMaze]]

"I'll be honest, I kind of want to do the intrigue," you admit, leaning on one elbow and flipping your other hand through the air. "Having these three cute ditzes sheath themselves in latex and deliver themselves to us on a silver platter is just too good to pass up."\n\n"Well, I guess you have a point," Rose allows, sighing a little. "Delayed gratification can be fun. I guess. In small doses."\n\n"Heeheehee, let's see," White coos as she settles in at one of the information and scanner stations, smoothly hacking multiple agencies including WOOHP the very moment your cloaked ship arrives in the atmosphere of the target planet. "It looks like there are several projects that WOOHP is monitoring at the moment that if we stole them, they'd send our victims to get it back... better yet, we could tweak all of them to actually work effectively and help us break the bitches~!"\n\n"Do tell, what do we have?"\n\n"Looks like there's a '[[Genetic Recombinator|KiSTS]]'... makes animal people," White adds with a smirk aimed at her sister, who sticks her tongue out. "Apparently they've run into something similar before at least once, but they wouldn't know we've made it more... fun? Hee. There's a [[Super Serum|KiSTS]] that's supposed to make soldiers stronger... and more obedient, as buried in the outline. And there's a [[Memory Implantation Device|KiSTS]] that's supposed to be used as a training tool, but it basically begging to be stolen and turned into a brainwashing machine. Of course I'm sure if lame Earth villains stole it, it could be overcome by the power of friendship, but... I'm much better at that than they are." She giggles again, then mms. "And of course there's one other option." \n\n"Go ahead, dear."\n\n"Well, I could just hack into WOOHP files and 'alert' them of a new villain on the scene with some diabolical device without many details. They send their spies in to break into the facility, but when they burst into the room to snag the villain, it's just a transporter pad that sends them directly to one of the '[[play bays|KiSTS1x2]]' here on the Decimal. Then we can just do whatever we want to them at our leisure!"

As much because you can tell that they're expecting to just waltz in and be treated like nobles while being asked for nothing in return as your animus against adventurers, you think for a moment before saying, "Alright, but it will be fifteen coppers for dinner and a bed for the night."\n\nThat makes them both blink in surprise, clearly not having expected you to charge them. But after a brief exchanged glance, Onil shrugs and nods. "Okay, seems fair!"\n\n'Seems more than fair to me,' you think grumblingly, nevertheless trying to seem polite externally as you step back and gesture them inside. Inns charge a minimum of a silver for a room, and you know from experience that the rooms at the local inn aren't that much nicer than yours, and your cooking's probably better.\n\nThough that does set you to thinking as you resume preparing dinner. Hunh. Now that you think about it, despite your town's adventurer adoration, the local inn is kind of crap and there's not even a store that caters to adventurers. Even though, besides being a place well-known for loving adventurers, your town is directly on one of the best paths to the city. A proper adventurer-focused inn could really clean up, it just seems like no one's had the proper ambition and intelligence to think of building one.\n\n'You know, I don't have to like adventurers to profit off of them,' you muse to yourself as you serve up three bowls of savory porridge, distractedly acknowledging the pair's mild praise of its quality. ... In fact, you think a bit smugly, serving adventurers at an inn would give you a lot of opportunities to take a bit of long-delayed vengeance on behalf of all monsters everywhere, as well as yourself.\n\nYou surreptitiously eye the duo now sitting at your table. Hm. ... No, you can't risk doing anything to them, either trying to turn them into servants or something else. They're already seated and eating, and while you could go with some other options, none of them are as sure as getting them to ingest something. No, this interesting new plan will have to wait. As you bid them a polite goodnight, you settle into a chair to think.\n\nYour land isn't that far from the main road, which is probably how Olin and Unielle found it in the first place. You could fairly easily build an inn within glimpsing distance of it, and a sign and path would make sure no one misses it. You could even keep the fields and your planned orchard, making your inn at least partially self-sufficient. It's definitely not the 'everybody leave me alone' life you'd been thinking of, but the jingle of coin has reminded you how much it sucks to be a broke human. A business where people come in and pay you just to eat and sleep definitely appeals. And if you ever expanded into an 'adventurer store' to go with it, you could keep the more powerful and useful items for yourself, and sell the others for more than they were worth to the right people (or just disassemble them to make a bunch of easier-to-sell magic items). The more you go over this, the better it sounds... heh, you never know, perhaps this inn could be how you return to being Maou, in the long term.\n\nThe next morning you bid goodbye to your semi-welcome guests and do your morning tasks before heading out to the edge of your property. Before you finalized the purchase, the area was marked with a series of yellow-painted stones, and most of them are still there. You head to the part closest to the road, and nod thoughtfully... maybe twenty feet separates the road and your property, but in this kingdom people can make paths on wild land basically wherever they choose, so that wouldn't be a problem. And your property widens out into a space that could easily house a decently-sized inn building well within sight of the road, so there's that too. \n\n'Still, the big issue is that I have to build a pretty decent main building to start with,' you muse, cupping your chin as you pace the boundary line of your property back and forth, looking at the road. 'I can build on to it over time, obviously, but I can't just tear it down and rebuild it as needed. Ah, to have a demon lord's power again. But let's see... I'd need at least two rooms to start with, and maybe a sort of common sleep area for the cheapass adventurers who will just curl up on the floor if it saves them a silver...'\n\nAs you're in the midst of mentally sneering at cheapskate adventurers, you make another turn in your pacing and, several strides later, find your face impacting something soft, rebounding, and incredibly inviting. You blink as you take a reflexive step back, blinking at the sight of large, dark tan breasts barely covered by a skimpy white bikini-style top in your face. You blink at them a few times, then slowly take another few steps back to take in the whole voluptuous package, with little leather side-tie bikini bottoms, white leggings, turquoise claws, blue-tipped batlike wings and tail, shiny upward-curved black horns, and thick, long, disheveled black hair streaked with little bits of purple and fading to cyan at the ends. "Xinda?!"\n\nThe succubus's eyes light up with elation. "Oh Master it is you!" she squeals as she clasps her hands together beside her head, incidentally squishing her boobs together. "I've been looking for you for fifteen years, three months, two weeks and five days!"\n\nThat's right... one of your old subordinates seems to have tracked you down. Specifically, your personal assistant. Who is now standing, being very much one of the Monster races, in plain view of the road for anyone to come along and see beaming at you and calling you "master".\n\n<hr>\n[["... Go on, shoo!"|RethInn]]\n\n[["... We have to get out of here!"|RethInn1x2]]

"Oh, let's just indulge ourselves and put them in one of the Play Bays," you decide with a grin, clapping White lightly on the shoulder. "In fact put them in bay one, I'll go down there and wait."\n\n"Okaaay! I'll try to put a rush on it, it should only take an hour at most."\n\nThe 'play bays' are areas aboard the Infinite Decimal specifically designed for... well, toying with captives. Theoretically they have a lot of other, 'legitimate' purposes, but you do wind up using them for that an awful lot. The bay itself isn't that exciting... just a large, open, well-lit space. Since most of the machinery is either retracted into the walls or stored in pattern buffers for rematerialization (along with a huge array of other items and even living creatures), there's not much need for it to be looming around all over the place... well, unless you want to set the scene!\n\nWhich is what you spend the next little while doing... adjusting the lighting levels to be a little more dim, adding some red glow accents, bringing in certain pieces of machinery including a trio of tall, black sets of spires for hover-restraints to lock into, linking them to the ship's teleporter system so that when the spies materialize, they'll do so already restrained and in place. You adjust the restraint areas so they should be able to see each other as well as have a good view of the 'play floor' in front of them, and overall set the stage to make it look like an obvious 'supervillain lair'... just a much darker, more sinister, and more serious one than these three are likely used to. \n\nYou're just about to call up to the twins and ask how things are going when there's a flicker, and three forms materialize hovering spread-eagle between the tines of the restraint sets, black bands around their wrists and ankles.\n\n"What the-?! Just what's going on here?!" blurts the blonde in the shiny red latex suit... that would be Clover, 'the ditzy one'.\n\n"Who are you, how did you bring us here?!" the redhead in green demands next, already flexing her fists and twisting against the restraints, but finding them as immobile as if they were bolted to a steel wall... that would be Sam, 'the smart one'. \n\n"Heeeeey, you don't look like a fat rich guy who bought a nuclear weapon for a joke," the black-haired one in yellow says, narrowing her eyes in a clear show of suspicion and complete lack of reading the situation... that would be Alex, 'the ambiguously brown one'.\n\n"Seriously, that's what you came up with?" you ask White as she and Rose materialize to either side of you, making the captive trio's eyes widen in surprise at their sudden appearance.\n\n"Honestly, I halfway just wanted to see if they'd swallow it," your daughter answers with a shrug. "I bet Rose a credit that they wouldn't and I'd have to come up with something else."\n\n"I win again~!"\n\n"Hmmm, so what should we do with them now?" White asks, glancing towards the three captives, who are alternating between shouting demands for information at you and trying to reassure each other (along with occasional near-nonsequitor interjections from Alex). "I mean, besides 'anything we want'."\n\n"You know me, my favorite is a bit of 'barnyard' action, something along those lines is always fun," Rose chirps, resting her hands on her hips.\n\n"Mmm, I like it better when we play with their minds," White counters. "Literally or figuratively." \n\n"Ehhhh, but it's always way more fun to just twist their bodies, the mind is a plaything of the body anyway," Rose protests.\n\n"But the body is so delightfully affected by what happens to the mind, and it's their minds we want to break anyway, mostly, isn't it?"\n\n"Will is as much a part of the body!"\n\n"Now girls," you interject, smoothly cutting into an old argument... and smirking at the fact that Clover, Sam, and Alex are now all three staring at you, apparently having finally realized that today isn't a standard captive scenario. "Let's see... why don't we go with..."\n\n<hr>\n[[A "donkey show".|KiSTS]]\n\n[[A "horrible consequences" scenario.|KiSTS]]\n\n[[The "bimbo treatment".|KiSTS]]\n\n[[A "hello dolly".|KiSTS]]

There are a handful of spells that have appeared in your spellbook that you haven't actually cast yet. In some cases not much more than the title has been revealed to you, and you'll need to expend a bit of magical energy to assert that's the one you're going to cast. Some of the others you just haven't gotten around to trying yet for one reason or another... they didn't seem particularly useful, or the description of what they do is a bit vague or muddled.\n\nOne of the spells is [[Animate Object|ValTome3x2]]. You haven't tried it yet because you're not entirely 100% sure what it does. It says that it will bring objects to a semblance of life, but just what that means isn't very clear. It says that the objects will obey you... maybe. There's some implications that depending on various factors, what you animate might be anywhere from "independent" to "defiant". Still, it's an interesting spell and you sort of want to try it.\n\nAnother is a [[Possession|ValTome]] spell. It's apparently rather versatile... you can not only possess other people, but objects and even areas. You're not 100% sure how that would work but that's as good a reason as any to give it a try, right?\n\nAnother is a [[Projection|ValTome]] spell that bears a number of similarities to the dreamwalking spell you already know. This one, however, can let you project your consciousness into far more different places... virtually anywhere in the world, other realms and planes, even the past or future.

Screw it, you're bringing a teddy bear to life. You get up and head to the trunk where you store a handful of sentimental keepsakes and other 'take it just in case you need it' things from home, and spend a moment unearthing Bayard. You lift him up and look him over... hm, stitching is starting to come loose here and there. Well, he was well-loved for many years, you probably ought to have done a bit of maintenance before you put him away. Well, it should still be fine. You set him in your computer chair and take a look. \n\n<img src="images/Bayard.png">\n\n"Let's see if we can get you up and about," you chirp happily. You might not be able to get him to talk, but who knows? \n\nSome ingredients are required for an initial setup, but after that you'll be able to just cast the spell pretty much whenever and on whatever you want. You get some things together and prepare the setup, with the biggest hurdle being that at one point you almost sit on your poor teddy bear after forgetting where you put him briefly. But finally the prep work is done and the initialization cast, and you move Bayard to the bed instead before chanting out the ritual and directing the energy into the stuffed bear.\n\nAnd... nothing. Bayard just lays there, unmoving. You wait a bit more, but it seems nothing is forthcoming.\n\n<hr>\n[["This stinks! This is total BS!"|ValTome]]\n\n[["... Hey. Hey. Hey."|ValTome3x4]]\n\n[["... (sob)..."|ValTome]]

The Animate Object spell does seem really interesting, despite its rather dense explanation. Of course you have to read over it again if you intend to cast it, which does make you groan a little. Reading, reading. You read over one particular passage a few times.\n\n'Whereupon objects that have had some amount of time to absorb mana environmentally may be more likely to exhibit independent action and some amount of personable reactions as determined by form and expectation of mana absorbed. Such objects may exhibit unknown behavioral expectations and expressions but which emulate essential desires of the animate. Such objects may animate with less inherent mana drain and for periods of greater action but exhibit certain resistances to influence.'\n\nHoo. So as well as you can parse that... if something is older and has been around people longer, it's more likely to actually have some personality when you animate it? And possibly even disobey you? Best be careful then... but it's not as if you were planning to animate any particularly old pieces of construction equipment, so you probably won't make a Killdozer anyway.\n\nLet's see, let's see, what could you animate? Well, right here in your room you've got various possibilities. There's [[your old teddy bear|ValTome3x3]] that you brought from home, tucked away in a trunk. Like most kids probably did, you often wished he would come to life and talk to you, and what are witchly powers for if not making the fantasies you had when you were eight reality? Then of course there's some of the more adult "[[toys|ValTome]]" you've got in a different box, that could provide some interesting results. Something more basic might be [[some of your clothes|ValTome]], or you could go to the dollar store and buy a cheap [[action figure|ValTome]] or two. \n\nYou pause as you remember... there's an old broken-down [[car|ValTome]] out back behind the house where you rent your rooms. Some of the other sections of the spell would seem to indicate that casting it on certain things will allow them to repair themselves, and in the case of machines often run on ambient mana and the energy of the spell rather than their previous power source. You could finally have some transportation of your own, which would be a pretty big deal for being able to do certain witch-related things. (Not to mention not having to pay for gas.)

"Hm, if you think that's best," you allow after a few moments of thought. And honestly it's not like he really has to twist your arm... an excuse to go shopping for stuffed animals at your age and not feel 100% childish? After all, now it's about the happiness and welfare of your friend!\n\nSo, after that day's classes, you Uber over to downtown, where there's a H&R Plush'n'Stuff store. A somewhat local chain, they're a bit like Build-A-Bear with an even wider array of selected options for stuffed animals and accessories for them, including an extremely large array of licensed characters... large enough, in fact, that you're not entirely certain that they're all entirely on the up-and-up as far as actual licensing goes. But, they apparently haven't gotten sued yet, so. \n\nYou walk into the front area and take a look around. It's a strange mixture between wide open and cluttered as various bins of impulse buys, clearanced accessories, and examples of their current deals are shown off. There are a handful of stuffing stands with employees stationed nearby waiting to help, and checkout counters running along either side near the doors. Beyond that it's wide aisles of product like bins of accessories and plushies, either tubs of the unfilled exteriors along with, in most cases, a handful of preassembled versions to both give an idea of what they'll look like assembled and to give particularly lazy people something to buy.\n\nAs you're walking in, you notice that one of the [[bins|ValTome]] contains a large number of rather unremarkable identical stuffed bears. They're not much to look at, though they are made of that particularly fun-to-touch 'squinchy' sort of microfiber with a squishier filling than cotton, but the real thing you notice is that they're only $1 apiece... wow, they must really want to clear them out of there. Well, if Bayard wanted friends, you could buy him a whole baseball team at that price.\n\nOtherwise, let's see. You should find a good 'new body' for Bayard and then at least two friends for him, right? You could just get three bears and [[accessorize them thoroughly|ValTome]], or let's see, there's the "[[zoo|ValTome]]" where there are a lot of different types of animals mixed together, or the [[mythological beasts|ValTome]] section, right next door to the [[scary monsters|ValTome]] section (cute and creepy? right up your alley there). There's also all the rows of [[licensed characters|ValTome]]... you're almost curious to see if Bayard can imbue some of them with the expected personalities.\n\nThough you also notice several [[larger|ValTome]] bears. ... Hm. If you're interpreting the ideas Bayard himself mentioned right, if you moved him to one of those he'd need some time to spread himself out to a larger amount of stuffing, so if you got him one of those for a body you probably couldn't buy him any friends, at least immediately. But then maybe he'd trade that for not being able to fit easily in a breadbox?

Frowning a bit, you lean over the bed, poking the stuffed bear's tummy gently. "Hey. Hey you. Hey. Do something. Hey."\n\nYou almost jump when one of those fluffy cotton-stuffed arms swings up and whaps your hand as if to bat away your poking finger. "Alright, already! Geez, you're worse than a little brother!"\n\nYour jaw drops. "It worked! You can move!" Then you blink. "Hey, you can talk."\n\n"I can do lots of things!" Bayard declares, wriggling around a bit before kipping up to his largely formless feet, standing with his round hands on his essentially absent hips. "It was just taking me a minute to process everything, that's all. Be not-alive for a few decades and suddenly be... well, animate... and see how fast you are to start expressing yourself."\n\nYou start to point out that you can't exactly do such, but then you remember necromancy exists and decide not to bring it up for different reasons. You sit down on the side of the bed, tilting your head a bit as you watch him wiggle his arms and turn his head, apparently testing everything out. "You definitely have a lot of personality, that's for sure. I was kind of reading it like 'there will be quirks in the movement', not, well... real personality."\n\n"You disappointed?" Bayard asks, turning towards you and striking his little Superman pose again.\n\nGrinning, you pluck him up and set him in your lap, draping your arms around him. "Nah, this is pretty cool. Like this is exactly how I hoped it would be when I was a kid, if you came to life." You pause, then frown a little. "I didn't necessarily picture you sounding like Vic Mignogna though."\n\n"Are you sure?" Bayard asks, tilting his head up to look at you while draping his arms over your hands.\n\nYou open your mouth... close it, frown, then shrug. "Well hell, doesn't everybody in every cartoon sound like Vic Mignogna?"\n\n"Since I don't sound like Tara Strong, yeah."\n\nYou spend a few hours chatting with your childhood stuffed toy, recounting various memories like you would an old friend, or maybe more like a retroactive sibling since he was there for more private family moments. Of course, as it gets late and you decide to turn in a bit early, you blush at remembering something else you may have done with your teddy a few times, and decide to step into the other room to switch into your pajama pants. Bayard thankfully doesn't mention anything about it, and seems happy enough to snuggle up with you again for the first time in years as you go to sleep. You've learned to roll with a lot of weirdness since you started training as a witch, but you have to admit that this is probably the nicest strangeness you've gotten the opportunity to roll with.\n\nOf course in the morning it's rather spoiled as you sit up and wish Bayard a good morning, this time actually getting one back... then notice stuffing poking out of his side. "Ack! What happened?!" you ask, lifting him up to look at it.\n\n"Must have busted some stitches when you were squeezing me last night, it's been awhile," he declares in a resigned tone.\n\nWithout really thinking about it you set him down and move to grab your sewing stuff. You pause though as you're about to poke the stuffing back in. "This doesn't hurt, does it?"\n\n"Nah, nah, it's fine," the animated plush declares as you push the cotton fluff back in... then lets out a banshe scream as you start to slip the needle through the cloth of his 'skin', making you jump and scramble back. Only to start snickering. "Gotcha!"\n\nYou give him a whap on his fuzzy little head. "Jerk. Not while I'm holding a needle."\n\n"Well I'm a little worn-out is all," Bayard declares as you start sewing him up. "If you want to avoid more maintenance you could always get me a new body."\n\n"Huh?" You pause in your work, glancing up at his head. "What do you mean?"\n\n"You could get a new bear, or really any plushie, and transfer my fluff over into it. Since you're the one that cast the spell on me, that would count as moving 'me' over to it. Probably be stronger and last longer, since I could take hold in it fresh. Don't ask me how I know this stuff, I guess it's part of being around while you were studying, and having absorbed so much mana from you over the years, I'm a bit of a witchy bear I think."\n\nWhile you're finishing up the sewing job and pondering on his words, he adds, "Besides, you could get me a few companions while you were at it. You're going to be in school all day most of the time, right?" At your nod, he continues, "Well, I won't be able to exactly go out and enjoy the campus life myself, will I? So you could buy me some buddies and animate them."\n\n"But a freshly-bought plush wouldn't have spent years absorbing mana and personality ideas, would it?" you ask as you bite off the thread and put away your sewing things. "It would just be a blank animated object, I'm pretty sure."\n\n"Nah, I think I can make personality 'catching', maybe they'd need just a tiny bit of my fluff mixed into theirs. C'mon, unless you intend to start carrying me around with you everywhere, I need company!"\n\n<hr>\n[[Go shopping for new plushies.|ValTome3x5]]\n\n[[Well maybe you will carry him around!|ValTome]]

"Um. I really hope you like it here, Kai. I mean, I dunno if it's your sort of place, but I've always really liked it, so I mean... well, here, you see!" Ruby Rose thrust her hands to the vista before her, leaves from the nearby trees drifting over the edge of the cliff ahead and tumbling off into forever. "Loooook, so prettyyyyyy!"\n\nSlowly, her hands lowered, clasped in front of her, and her head lowered, unable to help keeping her smile from turning sad. "It was my mom's favorite place, yanno? It's why we decided maybe you'd like it too. You wound up being a lot like her. I mean, she was my hero, and you wound up being... everybody's hero. ... The Apathy under the house all dissipated when you took Salem with you. So did a lot of the Grimm all over the world... not all of them, and it looks like there'll be more, but... it's probably the safest Remnant's been in a long time. And without her around, the whole organization she set up is falling apart. The kingdoms are coming together again to defeat what's left of it... everyone's remembering how good it was to work together."\n\nRuby glanced to the side, where Blake was quietly crying against Yang's shoulder, the blonde rubbing her partner's back gently and her eyes squeezed tight shut, Weiss turned away with her face in her hands. Grey stood nearby, his all-black outfit gently stirred by the breeze, head lowered and fists clenched. Reese stood on one side of him, clinging to his arm as she stared at the marker without seeing, Arslan Altan on his other side rubbing his back, Bolin and Nadir standing a short distance behind with heads respectfully bowed. On the opposite side, Jaune stood with head bowed, a hand pressed to his face, Nora hugging against his front tightly while Ren silently wept with no expression on his face.\n\n"Um. I'm sure Ilia really wanted to be here, but... I don't think she's quite ready for that yet," Ruby murmured, bowing her head a little more. "But she's gonna be okay. Promise. We'll take care of her. We'll make sure she doesn't have to be alone. ... Promise." She squared her shoulders a little, took a deep breath. "... We'll get it done."\n\nThe youthful woman swallowed, briefly fighting down her own tears, before suddenly smiling brightly again. "Oh yeah! Your friend Niobe showed up! She was... pretty upset too. ... But she and Ilia have each other, and all of us. So don't worry there, we'll look after her too. We actually talked her into moving to Patch, she's gonna build a house and I think Unca Qrow wants to talk her into teaching at Signal someday! He... he said... 'cause she did such a good job with you, after all."\n\nShe took a moment to sniff, then continued. "Oh, um, we asked her what we should put, since I guess none of us could figure out exactly what you'd like. She said... she said the most important thing to you was family, so um... well." She knelt, brushing a few of the leaves that had already tried to settle on the gleaming metal marker.\n\n<center>Kai Sterling\nAmitola Chloris Heliotrope Branwen\nRose Schnee Belladona Xiao Long\nArc Valkyrie Nikos Ren\nPine Calavera</center>\n\n"Hope you like it," Ruby said, her smile growing a little more as she stood. "Oh, and we decided to include one more thing. Um, it's the population of Remnant the day you... the day you died," she continued, pretty squeak of a voice almost turning into a whisper. "... It's all the people you saved. Um, I dunno if they'll ever all get here to say it, so I guess I'll just say it for them." She bowed her head. "... Thank you. ... Crystal Dragon draw you home to him and shine his eyes upon you," she continued, reciting from a memory that would stay with her as clear as... well, as crystal... for the rest of her life. "May the scale that becomes your home be vast and bright, may it be close to the scales of those you love, may the stars blaze through it on you always."\n\n"This... was never what I wanted."\n\n"Wasn't it?" Qrow murmured, unable to keep the bitterness out of his voice, the words huffed out along with a cloud of smoke from the bright green cigarette jutting from his lips. His eyes fixed on the group far ahead of them, refusing to look at the man at his side, afraid to even move lest the tears start to escape. Dammit, he was Qrow Branwen, he was too old, too dusty, and too cursed to cry. ... In public.\n\n"... Did I want this endless cycle of reincarnation and hatred to end? Yes, Qrow," Ozcar said, staring ahead as well, one hand resting atop his cane, the other left to drift at his side, green-gold eyes haunted above his spectacles. "Did I want to be able to end it all... the stealing the lives of others, the manipulation, the lies, Remnant constantly teetering on the knife edge of oblivion? Of course. ... Did I want to give the woman I once loved... ... in some ways, will always love... some peace? ... Yes, I did," he added in a whisper.\n\n"Yeah. So you got what you wanted," Qrow grunted, turning his head down and scowling at the ground, trying to ignore it as the motion did indeed free a slight hot trickle to run down his cheek and into the four day growth of beard, trying to ignore the sound of his nieces, his pupils, his friends crying in the distance.\n\n"I always wanted it to be me," Ozcar said softly, plaintively. \n\n"... Yeah. Well. She wouldn't have wanted it to be you," Qrow said after a long moment, rallying himself and clapping a hand down on the other man's shoulders. "... She loved you, man. Both of you. She loved all of us." Unable to help himself, Qrow let out a soft snort of disbelief. "Where the hell did that come from, anyway?!"\n\n"A place where feelings of love and tenderness are in short supply, and are the lifeline you cling to desperately trying to keep yourself human," Ozcar answered the rhetorical question, his jaw working. "And... she was very human."\n\n"... Yeah." Qrow bobbed his head, raising it to look at the twin markers on the cliff edge, at the people arrayed around them trying to comfort each other. Trying to love each other. Maybe the most human thing of all. "Yeah, she was that."\n\nKai's Story - Epic of Remnant end - 176,900,392

You pick up the "dimensional mirror", a double-sided mirror with one side a dark, shiny black and the other bright silver, with a crystal frame that angles outward towards the silver side. Despite looking like a magical artifact, it's actually a piece of ancient Avellonian technology, brought to Earth by a band of angry ancient enemies of Avellon looking to take out their grievances on your mother (and then you) as one of the only Avellonians left. Of course, considering that they called it the "Hellportal" and that it's used to send people on what's supposed to be a one-way trip to a variety of rather torturous alternate dimensions, you do have to admit their grievances had some legitimacy, with the only problem being that the Avellonians that actually used the thing have been dead for several thousand years.\n\n(Your mother's pretty frank, when it comes down to it, about how previous generations of the royal family were not exactly enlightened rulers.)\n\nStill, very convenient for getting rid of Kleptokitty and any future villainesses you put to similar treatment, especially since the mirror has a convenient function that lets you check in on the 'inmates' it's incarcerated. You aim the silver side towards the still insensate villain and tap the dark surface, bringing up a glowing menu that somehow manages to look both sci-fi and medieval at once, and start flicking through a list of fun-sounding dimensions to send her to.\n\n<hr>\n[["Goblin Dimension"|CalHM]]\n\n[["Reform Facility For Useful Occupation"|CalHM]]\n\n[["Dimension of Eternal Executions"|CalHM]]\n\n[["Dimension of Insanity"|CalHM]]\n\n[["Predation Dimension"|CalHM]]\n\n[["The Orgy"|CalHM]]\n\n[["The War"|CalHM]]

Alright, as bare basics, you're starting out here with boobs, a pussy, and a butt. Alright? Even CoC started you out with that. But enough talk, have at you. ... Nevermind. \n\nSo which female weirdo are you?\n\n[[Siphanielle|SiphaStart]] - An elf who got reverse isekai'd. Once a powerful mage, she now spends her days playing games and being a NEET.\n\n[[Valerie|ValerieStart]] - A nineteen-year-old college student, several years ago her cousin Baal taught her a few simple magic spells and rituals. She's since worked a fair bit on expanding her repertoire in secret, and quietly putting her magical skills up for hire.\n\n[[Kai|KaiStart]] - A mercenary... or, rather, a mercenary's slave, who works as a mercenary because her owner's too lazy to do so himself.\n\n[[Fiona|FionaStart]] - A Recon Ranger with an organization dedicated to exploring space and helping others that do the same.\n\n[[Maxia|MaxiaStart]] - The newly incarnated 666th Demon Lord, responsible for capturing heroes and heroines to siphon their energy to allow the Realm of Deviltry to function.\n\n[[Yami|YamiStart]] - The best VRMMO player of the 22nd century, about to set off on her greatest... and hopefully, lewdest... venture into virtual reality yet.\n\n[[Defiance|DefianceStart]] - A female supervillain-for-fun, whose main goal in life is to take out superheroes in the most amusing and humiliating ways possible.\n\n[[Michika|MichikaStart]] - A Makarzian Guildcert, trying to have it all by working as a freelance Night Creature and a respected Guild member.\n\n[[Jane|JaneStart]] - A secret agent working for a mysterious, nongovernment group, handling issues ranging from the everyday criminal to the bizarre and fantastical.\n\n[[Addi|AddiStart]] - A livestreamer... across the multiverse! You make your living generating entertaining content for millions of viewers every stream!\n\n[[Kona|KonaStart]] - A young wannabe hero from a fantasy world, just getting ready to start her official adventurer career.\n\n[[Marissa|MarStart]] - A young woman from a world of heroes who's just learned the secret her parents have been keeping from her.\n\n[[Saraelle|SaraStart]] - A traditionally-raised elf princess college student who's contrived to get herself transferred to the modern, diverse Angester University.

Ah yes, orcs... the basic component of any good monster army! A perfectly adequate "starter" monster, as it were. It's almost as if they were created to be a perfect "army builder" race, since even the potion to turn a weak Mortal Race into one is dead simple.\n\nTaking a few moments to strip Stacia naked and tie her up, just in case she somehow overcame the paralysis spell while you were searching for components, you ignore the wriggling, bound, naked girl and start looking around the nearby woods. You actually already have most of the components you need, there are just a few herbs necessary to... ah, there you go. Clipping off samples of them, you then consider briefly.\n\nThat's right, you could always just use a straight-up 'turn into an orc' potion on her... which would make her a female orc. While not very bright, they are a bit smarter than male orcs, at the cost of not having quite as much pure physical might. She'd be a bit better at obeying orders and acting with cunning... but it would also be relatively easy to add in a sex change component to the potion and turn her into a male orc! With the stat boost from being created from a human, the strength increase would be truly impressive, capable of taking an entire party of... well, probably low-level adventurers, but still. Less work in combat for you.\n\nThen you let out a low 'hm'. Or you could sacrifice a few slightly rarer components you've been saving and make her into a "futa" orc, one that combines both male and female physical traits. Unfortunately (depending on how you look at it) it also combines both the male and female libidos of orcs, which are already quite high in either case. The result is an essentially feral creature, consumed only with the desire to breed... the imprinting process would mean that it would still be obedient to you, but once you turned the beast loose on someone, well! Not exactly much for conversation, though. ... Not that any orc is, really.\n\nNow, what to make of her?\n\n<hr>\n[[Female orc.|Reth]]\n\n[[Male orc.|Reth]]\n\n[[Futa orc.|Reth]]

Most of the monsters you could easily turn Stacia into at the moment wouldn't be terribly powerful... but then, you're not exactly going to be fighting the Hero and Companions any time soon. \n\nOn the other hand, you could wait a little while and see about turning her into a more powerful monster later by turning her into a baseline 'demi-human' now. Normally that term is used as a fairly broad one for any of the Mortal Races that aren't humans, but there's a sort of a... call it a 'base race' that's sort of caught halfway between being a Mortal Race and a Monster Race and able to become either. It would make her only a bit more powerful, but also secure her obedience until you could change her into a better monster later.\n\nSo what to turn her into?\n\n<hr>\n[[Orc.|Reth8x2]]\n\n[[Minotaur.|Reth]]\n\n[[Slime.|Reth15x1]]\n\n[[Death Elf.|Reth]]\n\n[[Demi-Human.|Reth]]

Well. Honestly, that's how this all started, and it has wound up making you rather horny. Hell for all you know it's actually that this body has a transformation fetish and is just constantly turned on by the fact that you actually changed from one body to another. May as well mess around a bit more with trying that out, see if it sparks anything.\n\n... Huh. There are a surprising number of these available, and for free. This must be a really popular kink... either that or there's some wacky-ass creator out there just churning out a bunch of kinky sim writing just because they have fun with it. Can't be that many sorts of nuts like that out there, though, can there?\n\nAnyway, they're mostly simple, one-word titles, obviously what you get transformed into in the scenario. You guess you just... pick something that sounds good. Or interesting. Or... well, whatever.\n\n[[Cow|LeoFemTF]]\n\n[[Drone|LeoFemTF]]\n\n[[Dildo|LeoFemTF]]\n\n[[Stallion|LeoFemTF]]

... Yeah, no, you're definitely not ready to go back to pretending you don't want it. Instead you lean to the side and forward, starting to kiss and lick along that pink shaft, tasting the leftover mingling of Leonavian male and Human female sex juices, your hands stroking almost worshipfully over his chest and thigh before you cup his balls, gently rolling and hefting them as if judging whether they've filled back up sufficiently. Seiun shifts slightly below you, perhaps not quite awake despite his member stiffening and thickening at your attentions, soon angled upright for you to slip your mouth over the head and suckle, tasting his first pre of the morning. Of course you're fairly certain he's awake once one of those big birdlike hands rests on your head and gently but insistently pushes you downwards, slipping more of that hot pink shaft between your lips and silently urging your tongue to further work. Again though it looks like your body's got this covered, as you find it surprisingly easy to swallow every inch he urges you to, despite your throat bulging almost obscenely and all the way down by the time your lips press up against the fur of his sheath.\n\nOnce you've had a little pre-breakfast of Leonavian cum, it's your turn to be on top as you swing onto him and lower yourself down, balancing on the balls of your feet and then riding him, indulging yourself in bouncing atop his stiff, powerful prick as hard and fast as you want, moaning full-throated to the early morning woods around you as your tits bounce and your ass slaps against his balls. His hands grip your hips, not altering your motions in the slightest, letting you fuck yourself on him all you like, but occasionally squeezing, as if reminding you that he can take control any time he wants... such as when, somewhere after your third orgasm, he suddenly yanks you down hard and shoves his hips up, burying himself deep inside you as he spills his load practically right into your womb.\n\nAfter the two of you have taken turns visiting the river to bathe and get dressed, Seiun regards you over his breakfast pack. You're not sure what the first thing he's going to ask you is, but you weren't quite expecting, "About that thing you said last night... is that likely?"\n\nYou look at him a little blankly, trying to recall actually saying anything last night other than 'Fuck me'... and then recalling, your face going red. "Ah... no. I got standard Guild remote activated birth control before we left, and it's still on and green, since I didn't get any alerts on my comm earlier," you add a little sheepishly.\n\n"Good, good, that's probably for the best," he answers casually as he rises to his feet. "Well, come on, we're a little late getting started after yesterday's break, and we should hurry."\n\n"Um?" Blinking, you grab your pack as you stand as well. "Hurry?"\n\n"The sooner we cover enough ground for today, the sooner we can make camp, hm?" he answers, grinning as he reaches over to give your ass a squeeze.\n\n"... Oh." Your face goes red yet again as he does that, though you feel a distinct warmth in your belly and dampness between your legs as well. Well then.\n\nAnd that's how the rest of the mission goes... busting your butts to make sure you cover a proper distance during the day, and fucking through most of the night. With of course the occasional break like you sucking Seiun off while he drinks a liquid gel protein lunch, your eyes locked as he feeds you your own liquid gel protein lunch. Apparently he's just decided to accept that the two of you are fucking now, and frankly you're inclined to do the same. Questions of what the future will bring can be left to the future, sometimes a merc just has to live in the moment, especially when the moment involves getting your eager little pussy stuffed with griffin dick for several hours every night.\n\nYou're not even sure whether the future has arrived once the two of you turn in the job and return to the Guildhall, heading for the mercenary company headquarters. However, as the two of you walk in, Seiun says, "Leo, if you would, follow me up to my quarters?"\n\n"Huh? I mean, yeah, sure." Suppressing a blush since you're not sure that's his actual intention, you follow him up the stairs and through one of the doors. As the company head, Seiun's quarters are of course the biggest and nicest ones available in the headquarters, although they're not palatial by any means. Closer to a luxury hotel suite, though there is a decently-sized small kitchen, as well as an entertainment pit surrounded by FauxWindows (currently set to display the rather boring default of a sunny day over a grassy, hilly field). It's also currently filled with a number of boxes and crates, and some purely superficial furniture like the couches built into the conversation pit.\n\n"I have a fair bit to do today, so I was hoping you could help me out by getting everything squared away for me here," he announces as he drops his pack in the entryway and moves over to the kitchen counter. He picks up a thinsheet and scribbles on it, then slips a card out of his pocket and sets it atop the sheet. "Here's a list of things I need bought and an account card, and obviously things need to be unpacked and put away, I assume you can figure out where things go on your own."\n\n"Yeah, I should," you answer with a nod. Well, it's kind of scut work, but he is your company master and you are a rookie, basically, not exactly surprising he'd ask you to get his quarters set up for him.\n\n"Thank you, Leo. Ah, it will be fairly late when I get back, so try to have dinner ready, hm? And don't be afraid to spend a bit on yourself," he adds, patting you on the ass affectionately as he heads for the door.\n\n"... Ah?" Your blush returns for the first time in a few days at that, but the door's already slid closed behind him. Wait, unpack, do the shopping, and... have dinner ready? This has suddenly turned very, uh, domestic, hasn't it? ... Hrm. Well. You're not sure how he meant it, but you should still definitely get this done. Just how to start?\n\n<hr>\n[[Focus on getting the suite looking nice.|LeoFem3x3]]\n\n[[Focus on getting the shopping done.|LeoFem4x1]]\n\n[[Just get it done and go back to your place.|LeoFem]]

Probably best to focus on getting his stuff put away and the suite fit for habitation, right? It will be his home from now on, and it's kind of sounding like you might wind up spending quite a bit of time here, so getting it warm and inviting is a priority.\n\nAdmittedly you procrastinate just a little bit by concentrating on getting the FauxWindows set up with a better visual first. You wind up settling on making it look like the conversation pit is in a cabin looking out on some nearby woods... woods that are a fair bit like the ones you just came from spending several days in. The warm, rather lewd thoughts that gives you probably contribute a lot to the choice... as does deciding to strip down and just wear a basic apron over your otherwise naked body as you get to work on the rest of the place. Which has its own pragmatic reasons as well as the obvious stimulating ones for you... turns out this place was uninhabited for a fair while before Seiun moved in, and cleaning minidroids are not standard in this particular suite.\n\nSo as you go around unpacking clothes and putting them away in the bedroom, unpacking various appliances and putting them about the suite, and unpacking various weapons and hanging them on the walls of the practice room, you wind up doing a fair bit of dusting, sweeping, and detailing, your bare ass wiggling in the air as you scrub a brush at the meeting of floor and wall, getting off a bit of determined built-up dust that's become packed into the edges. You even find yourself humming cheerfully as you go about it, thinking of how pleased Seiun will be to come back to the suite and find it neat, clean, and welcoming.\n\nOop, welcoming, you still need to do the shopping for things like furniture, sheets, and dinner. While the wall dispensor can spit out basic ingredients all day long, there are various places on the Guildhall to go that will have much fresher and more quality stuff to use. You take a quick shower to get the dust off your naked skin and out of your hair, then pull your clothes back on and head out to the shopping levels. As you go through the list of basic necessities, you try to think what would best make the suite a nice, comfortable home... and, well, obviously what will best suit Seiun's size, anatomy, and still hopefully be usable by others.\n\nAs you're in the middle of picking out dinner, you get a beep on your comm and lift your wrist to check, seeing that it's a text from Seiun. 'Will be bringing some guests for dinner. Please have enough for around four big eaters plus you.' Oh, huh, he's bringing people over too, huh? Guess that might change your plans, you'll have to buy some more, maybe pick out something to wear...\n\nYou blink as you realize what you thought. ... Pick out something to wear? That's... well okay that is definitely getting pretty domestic. ... Still. You have to admit you've been enjoying yourself just going along with your impulses. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to go a little further and actually dress for dinner. You glance towards the lift area, thinking of the clothing shops a level up. You could buy something...\n\n<hr>\n[[... pretty and refined.|LeoFem]]\n\n[[... sexy and teasing.|LeoFem]]\n\n[[... to go with your naked apron.|LeoFem]]\n\n[[... normal.|LeoFem]]

Fuck it. You're doing this. You want it and you're tired of talking yourself out of wanting it. \n\nYou shove your pants and panties down, tapping out of your boots as you step out of them, and unzip your top and pull your bra off, breasts dropping free of it and wobbling slightly as you pull it over your hair and drop it with the rest. Now nude and with your mind somehow more made up than ever because of it, you round the tree and stride toward the water unashamed, eyes locked on Seiun.\n\nOf course he notices you fairly quickly, coming right at him like that. His head lifts and he smiles, though the look changes to one of mild shock a half-second later as he realizes you're completely naked. You're gratified to see his cock give a slight twitch, but apparently it takes more than that or he's exercising a lot of self control since he otherwise remains limp as you wade the short distance out to him. "Ah, Leo... felt like going 'au naturale' as well, hm? Well, the fish are surprisingly canny for an undeveloped bit of land, but-" He cuts off as you move right up to him, his 'mane' of feathers visibly rustling as you lay your hands on the firm, fur-covered muscle of his belly and slowly run them upwards. His cock gives another visible twitch... it's certainly big enough that any little throb might be visible... but now you're almost certain he's deliberately controlling his reactions. "Leo, I... think you might be experiencing some aftereffects of that aphrodisiac..."\n\n"No," you reply softly, sliding your hands back down, and very deliberately wrapping one around that smooth pink shaft and starting to stroke gently, your other moving to slide across the soft, sleek fur covering his balls and heft them a little as he sucks in a breath. You look up at his face, all pretense gone, just soft but needful desire as you feel him starting to slowly thicken and harden in your hand. "No aftereffects. I just want you, Seiun."\n\nYou can see his resistance crumbling even as you can feel his cock hardening, and it's only a moment before he brings his hands around, pulling you closer against him, letting your breasts press to the sleek, damp fur of his lower chest, one hand pressing to your lower back and the other gripping your ass. You moan softly at the feel of how strong they are, a thrill of danger running through you at how different they feel from human hands, at the faint prick of his talons on your skin. You move both hands to stroke his cock now, rubbing it against your belly as you press a bit further in against him. He leans in close, his eyes intent and hot locked on yours, obviously drinking in the view of your own heated and needy face, watching as the breath huffs from between your parted lips. Kissing would be... problematic... with that beak, as would many other things, but somehow the two of you make up for it with that gaze as intense as any kiss, filling the distance between your mouths with hot breaths and low moans, and all the sounds resulting from him rubbing and stroking your body and you pumping his cock and fondling his balls. \n\nIt seems like it goes on for both a few seconds and forever, but either way Seiun is suddenly grabbing your ass with both hands and lifting you up and towards him, your arms reflexively going around his neck and your legs hooking over his hips. He shifts one hand down, and you can feel that big pink cock being rubbed along your skin and bumping your puffy, sopping pussylips before nudging up between them, spreading your plump mound around his tip before he shifts both hands back to your ass. You let out a loud moan as he lowers you down onto him... it may be your first time in this body but it's definitely not this body's first time, your pussy eagerly and smoothly engulfing a cock even as big as the Leonavian's, despite hugging up against every part of it. You squeeze yourself a bit tighter to him, writhing in his grip and rubbing your tits against his powerful muscles as he lets you sink down onto him. He's in full control as he begins working you up and down on top of him, effortlessly not only supporting your entire weight where he stands but moving you as if you weighed practically nothing. Despite the deep love in that heated stare he's still using you like a sex toy and you can't help but love it.\n\nBecause it feels so good, it feels so good to just stop worrying and fretting and thinking, to just go with what you've wanted, to admit you've wanted him to take you and fuck you and make you his ever since you saw him in the shop that day, that your pussy's been aching to be filled with his cock since long before you got hit with the aphrodisiac. You abandon yourself to the lust, to the sensation, to being his and being controlled by him, to letting him love you and use you and move you as he sees fit. You let your body run on instinct, your hips rolling and bucking towards him, your legs squeezing around his middle, your back arch to press your tits more against him. "Fuck me, fuck me," you find yourself gasping, begging, demanding, pleading, ordering, as he works you to multiple orgasms before ever thrusting up into you and filling you with a thick, hot load of his cum.\n\nLater on when the sun has set and the stars are flickering above, he's slower about it, taking his time, the warmth and light of the campfire playing over both of you as he ever-so-delicately nips at your neck and shoulders with his beak, hands sliding across your body, squeezing your breasts, never once so much as scratching you with those sharp black talons. His tongue, feline and slightly rough, slides over your nipples again and again, stimulating them, almost overstimulating them, making you writhe and whimper softly on the fabric of the sleeping bag, your legs spreading and showing off your dripping sex in silent plea. And then he's pushing back into you, filling you again, covering you with his body, surrounding you with that powerful leonine frame as he works his hips, driving down into you as his tail lashes, your fingers buried in his feathery mane as you moan into the meeting of his neck and shoulder. His thrusts are long and slow and smooth, taking his time about every single stroke into you, getting deeper than he was able to earlier, each time letting you feel the press of that furry sheath at the base of his shaft press up against your plump pussylips. Even when you feel him cum, feel him throb and shudder and spill inside your quivering, squeezing pussy, he doesn't alter his pace, just continuing to stroke into you and churn up the mixture of your cum and his, his pumping now pushing the thick mixture out of you around the spread of his cock and dribbling down over your flexing pucker. The only thing that seems to urge him to fuck you faster and harder is when you moan about how much you want to have his children.\n\n"Buh?" You sit up, instantly feeling various little aches and twinges in your body from a combination of sleeping with less than optimal positioning and surfacing, and... activities. Your face flushes as a lot of those activities come rushing back to you, and you look to the side to see Seiun laying on his back, muscular chest slowly rising and falling with his softly-uttered breaths, limp cock flopped out across his belly. A glance down shows the definite sticky evidence of last night's fun still caked over your inner thighs and crotch all the way up to your lower belly. Geez the two of you really just went at it all night, huh? Maybe it would be best if you-\n\n<hr>\n[[-cleaned up and got dressed.|LeoFem]]\n\n[[-started sucking that cock.|LeoFem3x2]]

Hm. Actually let's adjust thinking on this, you muse. This place isn't "abandoned" per se, but it's not supposed to have any guided interaction, it's been out of contact for a long time, and its current status and habitation are unknown. ... It's basically a space hulk, isn't it? Maybe not what people think of when they use the term, but in most of the ways that matter. And rule one of exploring a space hulk is 'Don't go alone'. Put that way it would be kind of stupid to try and solo it.\n\nLuckily you know someone who's... well, "expert" on space hulks might be pushing it, but she has quite a bit more experience there than you do, so may as well make use of it. (Actually you know someone who is an expert on space hulks, but the two of you are sufficiently personality incompatible that the temptation of one or the other to take advantage of being alone in a dangerous situation together could be... problematic.) You spend a few figuring how to present it to her, including exactly how to split the reward, before making a call... well, sending a text. You surprisingly enough get a reply within a few seconds, and after a brief exchange, you head outside to meet your hopeful partner for this mission, who apparently was in the midst of checking her own listings when you caught her.\n\n<img src="images/Liliyana.jpg">\n\n"So let me get this straight," the blonde in the grey, black, and white skinarmor suit says slowly, red eyes fixed on you as she sits on the edge of one of the tables scattered around the job lounge, the rifle she'd still been carrying laying along one leg with the other raised up, arm flopped against her knee. She's plastered a flat, near-expressionless look on her pretty face, not quite incredulous and not quite disdainful and not quite anything. "You want me to go on an open-ended mission involving the potential for completely unknown hostiles with almost no information, a planetary-scale search grid, and armed only with what's widely agreed to be the worst energy rifle ever made... an energy rifle that, I'll remind you, two years ago you and I dumped seven hundred of overboard because we didn't think they were worth the added weight surcharge... all so that you can get a starship."\n\n"C'mon, Liliyana, I'm giving you the entire monetary part of the reward, I think that's a fair split," you suggest, shrugging as you tuck your hands into your jacket pockets, keeping your eyes on her face. Not that it doesn't require an effort... Liliyana very much prefers her armorskin to 'lift, separate, and conform', and you're well aware of the wonderful things that does for her very nicely-sized breasts. \n\n"Mm." She stares at you for a moment, then raises her voice slightly as she continues, "I dunno, I'm still kind of pissed that this is the first time you've called me since that night we spent together."\n\nYou wince heavily, doing a quick glance around at the other mercs in the air who are either pretending they didn't hear that or are staring openly in hopes of drama. "Fucksakes Lil don't phrase it that way, that's not fair, we had breakfast and I saw you off at your ship, calling you just never came up since then is all."\n\nShe stares at you for long moments, red eyes intent and expression still blank... before her lips curl in a broad grin. "Yeah, I know, I just wanted to give you some shit. As for the job, c'mon though," she scoffs despite still grinning. "It's a barely-used military ship that wasn't designed and built by the lowest bidder, you really think that's an equal split?"\n\n"I mean... maybe not equal, but I wasn't sure how else to divvy it up other than for one of us to take the ship and the other to take the credits. And you've already got your own ship!"\n\n"Yeah but it's not a light escort." Liliyana frowns thoughtfully... before the expression turns to one of intrigued contemplation. "Then again, I'd be immediately receiving a large amount of liquid currency that I could start using immediately, while you'd be receiving a ship that you might have to wait for them to disarm. Which is assuming that they don't try to screw you out of it. And then you're stuck with a lifetime of hangar and maintenance fees for a ship that size, not to mention the money for arming it up again, which is assuming that you can even find weapons to fit the mounts and power hookups which, if y'can't, is even more money for retrofitting the bays, and then you're looking at costs of running a crew since it's doubtful you can run a light escort solo..." She bobbles her head back and forth while listing off the points, then gives you a sunny smile as she hops down to her feet. "Y'know what, I'm in."\n\n... wait a second how did it wind up sounding like you're getting the short end of the stick on the reward split? You stand there staring after her as she walks off, briefly considering strangling her for putting such a dent in your dream of starship ownership, but then recall that she'd probably just say something in response to being choked that would cause a lot of mixed emotions. Since that would not be the first time. So instead you just trot a little bit to catch up to her. "Lou's?" you ask, glancing aside at her.\n\n"If anyone would have one he would."\n\n"Just 'cause I offer the most genial customer service on the Hall doesn't mean I won't tell you to go fuck yourselves."\n\n"C'mon, Lou, we're not yanking your chain, we're serious," you say with a sigh. "As hard as it is to believe."\n\nLou glowers at you, or at least you think he is since he's very pointedly sliding the translucent lids over the largest two of his dome-shaped red eyes. And the tentacles that make up his lower face are quivering in a sort of disapproving way, you think. You guess you can see why he'd think you were making fun of him... Lou's Discount Gear, a store with as little imagination paid to its name as currency for its inventory, is one of the most well-known 'down on your luck' places to shop on the Guildhall. Obviously a reputation like that might chafe a little, though he's also known as reliable... if there's something wrong with what he sells you he'll tell you up front and knock an appropriate amount off the price, so it's still a reliable place to buy second-hand armor and fourth-hand weapons since you get what you pay for, but he must have his own sort of pride.\n\n"You're telling me you actually want to buy a Veyron?"\n\n"We don't want to buy a Deescelator, Lou, we just need to," Liliyana speaks up a bit flatly. "It's for a job with weapons restrictions."\n\n"Shit, are they trying to get you killed?"\n\nYou sigh and roll your eyes hard enough the rest of your head has to do a half-twist across your shoulders. "It's complicated, Lou. Do you have one or not?"\n\n"... Fuck if I know, but I guess I'll go check. Gimme a little bit." He turns and shuffle-slithers off into the storeroom of his shop, leaving the two of you standing there somewhat awkwardly in the small, slightly musty-smelling store.\n\nAfter a minute Liliyana looks over at you. "Y'know, I actually managed to fabricate a rail attachment for a Deescelator once."\n\n"Huh, yeah?" You blink at her. "... Why, though?"\n\n"Dunno, stubbornness I guess. Think the client would accept us as just using the Veyrons if I clipped a Yautja plasmacaster to the underside of the barrel?"\n\n"First off, I'm pretty sure these guys would declare you an enemy of the state and the next job I'd get from them would be tracking you down and delivering you to your execution. They are really sensitive about this factory thing. Second, how in the actual fuck did you get your hands on a functional Yautja plasmacaster?"\n\n"Hey did I ask you who you've slept with since we were together?"\n\nYou slowly turn your head to look at her again, but she's doing that blankface thing so you seriously have no idea if she's joking. About that time the door opens and Lou returns, lifting a rifle in one tentacle and a carrying a chargepack case in the other. "Yeah, turns out I had one buried in the back. Guy bought it as a training rifle for his kid, got desperate to sell it when she got bullied by some of the other Guild kids 'cause of it."\n\n"Because it's pink?" Liliyana asks in a spectacularly flat tone.\n\n"No, 'cause it's a Veyron." Lou lays it and the chargepacks down. "I bought it to do him a favor and 'cause I thought maybe with the custom paint someone would buy it for a laugh, but it warmed a shelf for a century before I shoved it in the storeroom. There's a baker's dozen of spare chargepacks too."\n\n"We'll take it, how much y'want, Lou?" you say before Liliyana can voice any more of her opinion.\n\n"... Fuck, I dunno, I actually feel guilty selling a professional one of these." One of Lou's tentacles comes up and rubs across the back of his head a few times as he looks down at it. "... Buy a case of foodbars and I'll throw it in for free?"\n\n"Still just carrying the Foo-Bars?" you ask after considering for a moment, glancing at the racks.\n\n"Yeah."\n\nYou and Liliyana exchange a glance and make a bit of a face, before you look back at Lou. "... Got any of the coffee flavor?"\n\n"Got a case that's half coffee half sarsasparilla."\n\n"Ennnnnnnnnnnnnh... okay, sold, I guess."\n\n"Still, you've gotta be kidding me with this, right?" the blonde at your side complains as she lifts the hot-pink-baby-pink-and-purple-pink camo patterned blaster rifle a little, apparently torn between holding it away from herself to have as little contact as possible and hugging it closer so it will be slightly less visible to anyone passing by. "... Hey, the one they gave you came stock, didn't it?"\n\n"Forget it. As you so smugly pointed out, I'm apparently getting the shittier half of this deal longterm, you get the tween gun." \n\n"Seven damn this thing and you."\n\nSnorting, you glance over at her. "If you hate it so much why don't you just give it a paintjob in your workshop while we're on the way there?"\n\n"Nnnnh I can't paint a Veyron that implies I care about it!" she whines.\n\nNot surprisingly Liliyana wants to head as directly to her ship as the two of you can manage that, approaching the four-engined multi-level craft with Liliyana hunched forward a bit as if to shield her new acquisition from the view of the engineering crews working up in the scaffolds. "I forgot to ask, you've got a Guild blackbox for Secrecy Provision missions in this thing, right?" you ask as the two of you make your way to the bridge.\n\n"Yeah, of course," she answers as she settles into the left hand pilot seat after tossing the pink Veyron negligently to a nearby console where it thunks and sits perfectly upright, already starting to bring up an interface as her butt hits the chair. "Bioscanner's in the center panel."\n\n"Gotcha." You settle down yourself, leaning the rifle case against the console to the side, then making a show of snapping your fingers. "Oh, darn, I just realized! I totally could have let you put that thing in the case and we could've carried the stock orange one around instead!"\n\nLiliyana's head slowly swivels towards you. "... One way or another, LaChance, you're not surviving this job."\n\n"I've got Total Authority on the contract, if I don't come back you don't get paid."\n\n"Fuck!"\n\nDespite the supposed threats, both of you are grinning as you authorize the Guildhall computer to plug the coordinates into the navcomputer "blind", both of you working in easy concert to set the ship up to properly obey the autopilot. Riling each other up is just how you and she are together, and it's led to... well, a lot of fun. You know that if things get serious so will she, and so will you, so you're actually looking forward to it as the ship navigates down a long hangar pathway and through a large portal, emerging into empty space and readying for the first of several jumps. From what the nav will actually tell you, it will be a roughly three hour trip. ... Hmmmmm... you and Liliyana both side-eye each other, before silently and mutually deciding that maybe killing three hours in a particular way likely isn't the best use of your time. Instead you suggest taking turns with short naps since the two of you just came off light jobs, and she agrees, heading back while you take first watch making sure the ship doesn't glitch and fly you into a planet.\n\nAs you return to the bridge from your own nap, Liliyana glances up. "Good, we're just about to come out of the last jump." As you settle into the second pilot chair, the lights outside stop flickering, slow, and then swirl briefly before resolving into a view of a planet, at this distance roughly the size of your hand in the front viewport. \n\n"Well that's something," you murmur, sizing it up. Even from here you can tell the planet is completely covered in buildings... but more than that gleaming silver buildings, practically polished, the planet itself glittering almost like a diamond under optimum showroom lighting due to the distant starlight reflecting off of all the angles. As well a number of long, thin, relatively dense asteroid belts stretch across the system and wind their way toward the planet, where they become too far-off and indistinct to be seen, but which you can only assume are being drawn into gaping orange maws the size of large islands (or maybe small continents) all across its surface. "That... is definitely a Factory Alpha, that's for sure."\n\n"You're not kidding," Liliyana murmurs before looking over at you. "You got the coordinates for that emergency control place?"\n\n"Yeah, they put them in the case," you say, drawing out the infochip and plugging it in. "Apparently the Factory AI's forbidden from getting rid of the emergency control room, but they didn't put any restrictions on moving it around. We'll just have to hope it didn't decide to stick it on the other side of the planet or down in the core or something, and is still reasonably close to where it was put originally."\n\n"Better hope so, or we're gonna be getting awfully sick of readymeals and foodbars before we finish this. Let's make a deal now to split the coffee and sarsasparilla equally no matter what."\n\n"Done," you reply instantly and unjokingly, starting to guide the ship towards the planetary coordinates on the chip.\n\n"Mm... I'm reading something that's passably a humanoid standard atmosphere. Little thin, but breathable as long as you don't mind being on the verge of a spinning head if you jog for more than a few seconds. ... I'm also seeing..." She fronts, tapping for a few moments before continuing. "I think it could maybe be a starship crash?"\n\n"Maybe? I thought you were super proud of the sensors on this thing, 'maybe' a starship crashed is the best you can give?" you ask a little dryly as the planet grows large enough to fill the screen, and then the view tilts so that you're flying horizontally among the structures, many of the building surfaces clean and bright enough that you can see at least a vague reflection of the ship in them.\n\n"Look these buildings are weird, not only are they scattering readings all over the place, but even though I'm seeing some indications of a large ship crash, it's like... finding one on a jungle world after it's had a century to get overgrown. But the carbon scoring isn't that old and there's no organics, just... more of this stuff. So maybe it's a ship crash, maybe something blew up, maybe it was just something that was incidental to the construction that seems to always be going on here. But I'd definitely say something happened."\n\n"Be on the lookout, then. We've already got more information than they had," you answer as the ship moves to settle onto a landing platform just big enough for the ship, the two of you getting up to head to the boarding ramp, you hefting your orange Veyron and doing a businesslike checkover of it and the contents of all your pockets... sadly none of which contain your usual backup weapons, since that was what the contract specified. "The contact seemed like she was specifically avoiding saying it, but I have the feeling there's a bigger reason they weren't sending anyone out here than infosec."\n\n"From the details you gave me before you went to crash, I can bet." Liliyana finishes strapping the belt of small, squarish materialization buffers she prefers over pocket dimensions around her middle, then picks up the pink Veyron and does her own check-over of it, all apparent emotional reaction to the weapon gone, all professional manner as she detaches the charge pack, checks the contacts, and reslots it. "They think this thing is sacred, like a god or something, don't they?"\n\n"I think they would be very adamant that they definitely, absolutely do not believe that. While secretly praying to it to forgive them for saying so," you reply dryly, glancing down the ramp to the entry door. "Alright, I've got the security codes, it should read us as having engineer clearance. Ready?"\n\n"How you wanna play this, though?" she asks, glancing over at you. "We going in cool or hot?" she continues, lowering and raising her rifle a bit to emphasize her meaning.\n\nMeaning, should the two of you go in ready to fight and assuming hostile contacts could strike at any moment, or take it a little easier and not stay on edge.\n\n<hr>\n[[Cool.|LeoFact1x2]]\n\n[[Hot.|LeoFact]]

"Leeeeet's keep this nonthreatening," you drawl, leaning down a bit and peering out further. "I'm not sure if the AI running this thing is sentient or not, but it's definitely highly advanced, and I don't want to make it whatever passes for nervous in its algorithms, if you take my meaning," you add, gesturing a bit in the direction of a small black dome set high on the wall off to one side of the door.\n\nLiliyana follows where you're looking, then makes a bit of a face and nods. "Yeah, good point. Okay, let's take a nice, casual stroll over there and try not to upset the nice factory."\n\nShe's not kidding, either, as both of you try to keep up an easygoing gait as you leave the ship and make your way towards it, rifles in front of you but angled down, like guards out on a perfunctory control. The two of you come to a stop in front of the door, waiting several seconds before it slides open.\n\n"Hello, and welcome to Factory Alpha," a soothing, feminine voice croons as the two of you step inside the immaculately clean hallway inside. "Your credentials indicate you are granted full access. Please make yourselves at home.""\n\n'Make ourselves at home?' You exchange a brief glance with your partner, thinking that's a slightly odd phrase considering. Well, maybe it's just a cultural difference. "Thank you," you reply formally. "What's your current status?"\n\n"Everything is functioning exactly as it should," the voice answers smoothly, without hesitation.\n\nAnother glance is exchanged with Liliyana. Again, that's a rather odd phrasing for a computer to give. Clearing her throat, Liliyana says, "We'd like to go to the Emergency Control Room, please, could you direct us there?"\n\n"We're sorry, the path to the Emergency Control Room is currently undergoing renovations." Yeah, that super pleasant voice is starting to get slightly unnerving considering the just slightly off content of its answers. "However, the guided tour of various Factory Alpha facilities is fully operational! Please feel free to enjoy the tour while waiting for the renovations to be completed." A set of pulsating blue lines tipped by an arrow point starts sliding down the right-hand hallway, apparently indicating where the tour is supposed to lead.\n\n"What do you think?" you murmur quietly, glancing aside at Liliyana.\n\n"I dunno, I can't help but feel this thing's snowing us," she whispers back, glancing suspiciously at a random wall as if the AI were right behind it. "I say either demand to be shown to the control room or ignore its suggestions."\n\nYou glance at the blinking arrows, brow furrowing. You can't help but think Liliyana's right... but you're not sure if that's actually for good reason or if you just personally find the Factory's interface creepy. So far it actually hasn't done anything concretely suspicious other than just using odd phrasing that could just be a social difference between the AIs you're used to and whatever the people who programmed this thing thought was appropriate. And whether it's actually rogue or not, refusing to listen to it or making demands might make it decide to just stop being evasive and become at best unhelpful, at worst hostile.\n\n<hr>\n[[Take the tour.|LeoFact]]\n\n[[Go the opposite way.|LeoFact]]\n\n[[Insist on being taken to the ECR.|LeoFact]]

"Hey, you wanna team up on this one?" you ask him in a casual tone. "Sounds like this could be a tough one, and those other guys all seemed local. Two Guildcerts could probably do better watching each other's back."\n\nHe briefly looks startled, then relieved, before plastering a (fairly poor) look of nonchalance on his face. "Sure, sounds good."\n\nYou nod, and the two of you settle into a companionable silence for the rest of the ride, with you mostly trying not to pay attention to the mental cartwheels he's turning in glee so enthusiastically that you don't have to be psychic to sense them. Eventually the pilot announces that you're arriving at what's designated LZ One Beta, another parking structure that's been cleared and marked with luminous paint. You bring your mask up and press it into place, Arthur quickly doing the same with his once he sees you, and as the thwp thwp thwp of the gyroblades starts up again you both unbuckle and move to stand near the ramp.\n\nWhere you immediately have to suppress all facial expression. You're half a head taller than Arthur is. Poor kid. You can feel his earlier cartwheels turning to gloom beside you. You are kind of left wondering if he's just doomed to twinkness or if he's a late bloomer or something... well, whatever it is, best not say anything just now and instead pretend you haven't noticed. You both know full well you have noticed, but better to let the polite fiction spare his feelings (as much as they can be spared).\n\nThere's a light thump as the jetcopter sets down, and the ramp comes down quickly... he obviously doesn't want to spend any longer on the ground than he has to. To Arthur's credit, his rifle snaps up with at least as much discipline and focus as yours does, and you both sweep down off the ramp similarly, already turning and checking the perimeter even as the jetcopter is lifting off. You find yourselves standing in an overcast day, warm but not hot, with moisture heavy in the air and a hint of soot from fires burning or burned out somewhere.\n\n"Clear this side," you announce after a moment, your voice coming out faintly electronically filtered through the mask's speakers.\n\n"Clear this side," Arthur echoes a moment later.\n\nYou slowly lower your rifle a bit, taking a longer look around. Quiet. Practically deserted. Which is not terribly great... if the whole populace of the city got hit with the Rev, this place should be teeming with mutants. If it's this quiet and still, it means that a lot of the populace probably fell prey to their mutating fellows in the early parts of the disaster, and/or are still intelligent enough to lie in wait for victims. Either way it says that most of what you encounter will probably be more dangerous than just tumor-ridden shamble-zombies.\n\nArthur, meanwhile, is checking his military-issued watch. "We've got a green light for comms."\n\n"Probably why they picked it, the buildings here are tall but they're all spaced out and this garage is almost as tall as most of them are," you reply, pointing upward and waggling your finger. "Probably got a nice straight shot from whatever satellite they have parked over the city as part of their surveillance."\n\nArthur glances upward as well, then gives a sort of halfhearted wave at the sky, before looking back at you. "It's quiet," he notes.\n\nYou nod, and share your thoughts about that with him. You can tell he makes a face under his mask, and maybe goes a little pale, but he doesn't shrink away, just glancing around warily again before saying, "So now what?"\n\n"Set your rifle for three round bursts, and don't feel shy about firing off a couple of them quicklike until we get a sense what it takes to put these things down," you answer, tilting your rifle and flicking the selector switch from the single dot to three. "From the way they talked we should be able to find reloads in the city just fine, so don't be too shy about using it, but don't just unload on them either."\n\nArthur seems to take a moment to parse all of that for practical application, then nods and flicks his own selector switch. "Got it. First step?"\n\n<hr>\n[["Find those reloads."|ChiMut]]\n\n[["Find a base."|ChiMut]]\n\n[["Find a map."|ChiMut2x4]]\n\n[["Just start killing mutants."|ChiMut]]

You'll leave it up to fate, you decide. You take a deep breath and try to compose yourself to be casual about it. The pilot reaches for the control you're pretty sure raises the ramp, but his helmet turns at another call of "Wait up!" from much closer outside. A moment later there's the quick tromp of boots on the metal ramp as the voice's owner comes up.\n\nThe first thing you notice is how young he looks... probably late teens, maybe twenty, or that might just be his looks and his manner making him seem that way. He's pretty cute, with rumpled blonde hair and big purple eyes, his slightly flushed and excited expression definitely helping with that impression of youth. The second thing you notice, which immediately makes you rather sour, is that no, the male contractor uniforms are not like the female ones. (It's the injustice that makes you sour, not that you think a cute little otter like him would look kind of hot in high-waisted T-back panties. ... Totally.) In fact he even got a longcoat, the nerve! Admittedly the male version does seem similarly designed to show off masculine attributes (if not as brazenly), the shirt sleeveless and snug, the pants similarly close-fitting, and the boots tough and functional-looking... on an older, tougher guy with more muscle tone and maybe a couple of tattoos, it would look authentically badass. Unfortunately on him it mostly just emphasizes his youth and sleek build, and makes him look like he's headed out for a night at the nemo club he'll need a fake ID to get into.\n\n"Thanks," he says breathlessly as he comes to a stop in the bay, looking like he wants to lean forward and put his hands on his knees as he catches his breath, but is resisting for some small sake of his image.\n\n"Sure. Headed to Zone One?"\n\n"Yeah," he answers, nodding eagerly, then turning towards you, smiling and beginning a pleasantry. Before he can quite speak what you're wearing apparently hits his brain, as his eyes widen some and his ears go red. He makes a slightly strangled sound, before clearing his throat and averting his eyes slightly. "H-hi."\n\n"Hi," you reply a bit dryly. On the one hand you feel you really ought to be annoyed, on the other it's just sort of hard to. Like getting mad at a puppy for bumping into something.\n\n"We're taking off now," the pilot declares as the ramp starts to wind up.\n\nThe bo-, er, guy jumps a little, and starts to move towards the seat opposite yours, before he hesitates, apparently realizing that would leave him being tempted to stare at your bare belly (or barely-covered crotch) the entire ride. Instead he scrambles over to sit on your side, leaving an empty seat between you as he goes ahead and straps in, with you similarly strapping in mostly so he doesn't feel embarrassed.\n\n"My name's Arthur," he says after a moment, only needing to raise his voice a bit. The jetcopter's actually pretty quiet inside, especially once it attains altitude and the gyroblades lock into place as wings instead.\n\n"Michika," you answer, nodding, then reaching over a hand to shake.\n\nHe shakes it, managing not to seem too nervous (you notice his uniform came with fingerless gloves too... obviously not attached to sleeves since his shirt doesn't have any). "Are you from the Guild? I mean, you're a certified mercenary, like me?"\n\n"Yup." You nod, then grin, unable to help asking, "Is this your first job as a Guildcert?"\n\nHis ears and the bridge of his nose go red, though this time in annoyance as well as embarrassment. "No!" he huffs, then squirms a little while glancing away. "I mean... it is my first mission like this, I guess."\n\nYou nod again, getting a little more serious. Suppression missions aren't easy, especially ongoing ones like this. You kind of feel like maybe you ought to look after him a little... he does kinda have that helpless puppy air to him, though he must be competent enough on some level if he made it through Guild certification. On the other hand, he's a newbie, and it could hurt his pride or rep if it seemed like he was being babysat by a merc not that much older than him one of his first few times out. (Because he didn't reply to your assumption with his years in, which to your experience means he's in his first year as a Guildcert, probably more like his first six or three months.)\n\n<hr>\n[[Offer to team up.|ChiMut2x3]]\n\n[[Leave him be.|ChiMut]]

Let's be honest, it was always gonna be Zone One. Besides the better chances to resupply, the city is still your natural environment. You can and have worked in rural and wilderness settings before, but you always find them vaguely... unsettling, even when they aren't populated by mutants. Besides, as said, higher target density means more bounties.\n\nYou head over to the remaining Zone One vehicle and up the back ramp. The pilot leans over and turns his head at the light clanks... his helmet covers his face, so you can't tell if he's staring at you in the skimpy little bottoms, or if like the private that gave them to you he just takes anything the military does for granted as making perfect sense. "You heading to Zone One?" he asks, apparently feeling the need to confirm that you're not an idiot and can read basic Galacommon.\n\n"Yeah," you confirm easily enough, since, y'know, you've known people who would be standing there saying 'No I want Zone Two why isn't this one going there?' You glance around briefly... the jetcopter's obviously current military issue since it seems to be practically flaunting its lack of comforts, with the "seats" being nothing more than flaps of material stretched between two metal bars that fold down from the wall with crash webbing behind them. You swing down the seat right behind the pilot and settle in, trying not to make a face at the feel of the sort of plasticy stuff against your essentially bare ass and thighs.\n\nThe pilot quickly starts flicking controls on his board, the sound of the engine powering up and the slowly speeding up thwp... thwp.. thwp. of the gyroblades starting filling the hold. And then you hear a slightly youthful, but definitely male voice call "Hey, hey wait!" from outside... probably on the stairs of the parking structure, to judge by the slight muffled edge. And probably not military since he sounds more harried and rushed than any of these guys.\n\nOh great, someone wants to come along. And probably spend the whole right staring at what you're wearing.\n\n<hr>\n[[Urge the pilot to hurry.|ChiMut]]\n\n[[Just put up with it.|ChiMut2x2]]

You yawn some as you stroll down the street, covering your mouth with the fingers of one hand. Hm hm hm, it's a slightly dull day... you're not sure you feel the motivation to get a real prank going. Even you can't be 'on' all the time, can you? Hm? Obviously you can't! You are not some prank machine to drop 100 yen in and pray for good gacha luck on getting something particularly lewd and amusing!\n\n... Hm, speaking of 'lewd and amusing' though. Isn't this neighborhood you're strolling through now sort of familiar? Have you perhaps pranked here before? ... Ah! Yes, the two bitchy MILFs that you made into bitches in heat! Huhuhu, to the point of giving them puppies! Yes, that's a good memory, you think, feeling your cock stir a little bit beneath where it's hidden by your hoodie. How long has it been? Human time can be so difficult for you sometimes, it's been... ... a few seasons of anime? The letter on the end of the magical girl series has changed a few times? So it's been awhile! Probably a good time to peek in on them, hmm? Hmmm?\n\nGoing invisible and immaterial, you skip through the front door of the house and peek around. Hm, not in the living room, or the kitchen. But what do your lovely and sensitive fox ears pick up from down the hall? Why, those are lewd noises! Lewd noises of lewdness being lewded! With lots of moans and gasps and heavy bestial panting! Zipping down the hall with delight, you pass through the dangerously open bedroom door, meaning that anyone who walked into the house with its own unlocked front door would provide no warning at all before spotting what was happening within!\n\nThat, of course, being both Braid and Ponytail on all fours on the bed Ponytail no doubt usually shares with her husband, both of them moaning shamelessly as the big black dogs mounted up on their backs pant happily and thrust into them. Big glistening doggy dicks pump into dripping pussies as wide pink tongues loll out, occasionally delivering affectionate licks to the ears of their human partners. One of the dogs has inherited the foxlike shape of the ears, muzzle, and tail you used when in canine form, while the other is more fully doggy-ish, but has foxlike white patterns on his ears and tail. 'Those are my boys!' you think proudly, your own cock now tenting the front of your hoodie.\n\n"Hhhhha, hhhhha, I do, still, love when, we get together, for 'swap days'!" Braid moans, her words coming in short bursts between the thumps of the dog mounting her's knot.\n\n"Nnnnh, yeeees, I love my boy's cock so much, but a little bit of variety is sooooo niiiice," Ponytail groans back, working her body in steady, quick motions to fuck herself back against the animal fucking her. "Yours fucks soooo much faster and stuffs his knot in soooo much sooner!"\n\n"Mmh, mmh, mmh, and yours is sooooo big and his knot stretches me out soooooo good!" Braid gasps, shuddering all over as said knot thumps against her pussylips. "Sometimes... sometimes I wish...!"\n\n"That we'd get knocked up again, I knoooooow!" Ponytail cries out happily.\n\nGrinning wickedly, you raise a hand and silently snap your fingers. For just a moment both women get the most shocked looks on their faces as a familiar switch is flicked inside their heads... before their faces lose any and all signs of dignity or human thought, eyes rolling and tongues lolling as they both start fucking back rapidly, in a fresh frenzy of breeding heat. The dogs fucking their 'aunties' respond to that, starting to fuck harder and faster, panting even more animalistically than before, knots starting to swell as their bodies react to the scent of two fertile bitches in heat, balls growing heavier with potent canine jizz as they slap against sodden clits.\n\nTugging your hoodie up, you wrap a hand around your stiff prick and stroke yourself as you watch the scene play out. 'Mmmm, yes, that's it boys, get ready to knock them up again... maybe once there's four of you, your mommies can invite that lewd aunty next door who's watching through the window and rubbing herself through her panties...'\n\nPranking the MILFs end - Puppies Ever After

"Hmmmm," you think as you pull on your hoodie. "What shall I doooooo today? Pranking? Or pranking? Orrrrr pranking?" You consider for long moments, then grin and thrust a hand in the air. "Why, Konko, you shall prank yourself by doing none of the above! ... Small prank. Little prank," you murmur, holding your fingers slightly apart. Then glancing around the empty room. ... You really need to get some mikos or something again so that you can talk to them. But anyway! Instead you shall... visit family! Yes, good good. You'll start with the closest, the daughter of... ... of... you know you really feel like you should have learned their names at some point in all the years since you knocked them up. ... Meh, maybe later.\n\nYou pop over to Ponytail's place, directly into where you can sense your offspring being... that being in her very own bedroom. Ah, it's good that they've made her such a nice, comfy place! Including a nice, comfy bed, on which Ponytail is currently on all fours, moaning as her (and your!) daughter pumps into her from behind, the perky little teen leaned forward with her arms partly wrapped around her mother's middle, somewhat curled Shibe-like tail lifted and wagging happily, balls swaying forward with definitive slaps as her pert butt moves. The canine ears atop her head (matching the color of Ponytail's hair, as well as her own ponytail), perk up at your arrival and she looks over with a sunny smile, not stopping in her thrusts in the slightest as she greets you with a "Hi, Papa!"\n\n"Hello, Konkoko," you reply in an amused tone, raising a hand to cup her chin. "You know, just a thought, but... have you ever perhaps considered fucking your mother some way other than 'doggy style'?"\n\n"... Hau?" Konkoko actually stops at that, looking at you in blatant confusion... and after a second sliding her hands forward to start playing with Ponytail's tits lightly. "I don't get it~!"\n\nAh, that's your girl, sweet but just a tad dim. Must be the dog genes. Or... how you viewed dog genes. Or something. "You're missing out on not trying new things, you know," you scold teasingly, even as you pull off your hoodie mere minutes after putting it on.\n\n"Oh well I do other positions sometimes!" Konkoko announces happily, even as she starts thrusting eagerly again, her fat prick pumping into her mother's plump pussy, each plunge in causing a light splash of arousal. "Sometimes Big Brother has me lay on my back or ride him, I guess because he likes being able to watch my dick and boobies bounce! Buuuut I guess we always go for this position when I fuck his butt!" she admits with a giggle, tail wagging even faster. \n\n"Mmhmmm." You clamber up behind her, letting your breasts press against her own back as you rub the tip of your prick up and down your daughter's pussy. "Well, how about after this we go and see your sister, hmmm?"\n\n"Ooooo, yay, Konkoro~!" Konkoko squeals, the sound threaded with a moan as you push open her dripping cunt and slide inside her, her thrusts settling down to wiggles for a few moments until you're fully inside. Then she begins thrusting again, working herself back and forth between plunging her prick into her mother's pussy, and thrusting her own sodden cunt back against her father's prick. \n\nYou smooch one of her doggy ears (making it flick), then grin and start fucking into her even as she's doing her own fucking, your balls beginning to slap against hers. You made such a good decision, starting a family~!\n\nPranking the MILFs end - Family Togetherness

"A map?" Arthur echoes, blinking, then glancing at the watch again. "I thought they said these have GPS in them."\n\n"They do, but since they're military GPS they're gonna be mostly street maps and topography," you reply, already making your way towards the stairs, rifle coming up again, Arthur falling in behind you. "We need something that gives a sense of the actual local layout, and where the population density would have been when the Rev hit. That might be the difference between hunting mutants and mutants hunting us."\n\nThe two of you make your way down through the stairwell, occasionally having to cross parts of the parking areas itself since whoever designed it had some presumably good reason for deciding there couldn't be just one set of stairs going all the way from the roof to the ground floor. The long, dim stretches between parked, abandoned, and in some cases bashed and battered cars is where you encounter the first of the mutants.\n\nDespite your earlier thoughts, these do just seem to be shambling mutant-zombie sorts... their bodies twisted, limbs distorted, jaws distended with new strange growth of teeth, torn rags of what were once clothing clinging to their bodies. Without fail the moment they notice you they let out some sort of noise... a shriek, or a wail, or just some wheezing, gurgling rush of air and charge at you as well as they can, which in a few cases is shockingly well, one of them even dropping on all fours and loping at you with almost rabbit-like leaps. There's a particularly strange thunderous quality to the shots of your rifle as they ring out in reply, the sort of simultaneously lonely and pounding echoes that result of weapons fire in a parking garage.\n\nLuckily these don't seem to be all that much tougher than humans... one or two bursts in center mass take them out, and one to the head fixes their wagon without fail. In the back of your head you feel bad about it... these were obviously just normal people going about their lives until someone (probably their own government) got them filled with a weird virus. You don't feel bad enough about it to let them try to tear you limb from limb or eat you or whatever they were going to do when you charged them, but still.\n\nArthur gives the slightly pinkish blood spreading from the last mutant's corpse a wide berth as the two of you continue, eyeing it over his shoulder briefly. "That's the closest to being 'evolved' any of them have been so far."\n\n"Yeah, sounds like the only thing you could call what we'd think of as 'evolution' happened to the animals," you say in a slightly droll tone. "Looks like the humans mostly just got random mutations. Still, we probably haven't seen nearly as freaky as it could get."\n\nThe two of you soon emerge out onto the street, again sweeping forward and checking the area. Arthur sees a few mutants shambling along the street further down and raises his rifle, but you pat his shoulder to forestall him and then beckon him to follow, crouching low and keeping close to the line of parked and abandoned cars. "Let's not risk drawing too many in out in the open before we get the lay of the land," you whisper to him. "We don't know how much gunshots might set them off yet."\n\n"Right, got it."\n\nYou duck a few more 'patrols' of groups of mutant-zombies... they don't seem aggressive to their own kind, you notice, nor do they seem to even really notice each other, at least so far. But eventually you spot what you're looking for... a tour agency, the sort of place that will have area maps marked with all sorts of points of interest. You beckon to Arthur and point, then go scuttling across the street with him behind you. You duck in against the side and gesture for him to go in first, and again to his credit he nods and handles it like a professional, hauling the door open and then sweeping inside with his rifle up, with you following him a moment later to clear the room once you're certain none of the shamblers have noticed and are following you.\n\nNo sign of violence or disturbance in here... looks like the employees just left when things started going to shit and didn't bother to lock up behind them. There's enough light coming in through the front windows to see decently, so you leave Arthur on lookout while you look for something useful. Now, let's see, you'll want...\n\n<hr>\n[['Major Attractions'|ChiMut2x5]]\n\n[['Current Events'|ChiMut]]\n\n[['Educational Opportunities'|ChiMut]]\n\n[['Map of the Stars'|ChiMut]]

"Let's bring in that 'Red' monster hunter," you suggest.\n\n"Yes, my queen! I cannot wait to see what you have planned for a human who has the audacity to even slay demons!" Xenith chirps happily as she and the others go to work, while you whip up an entrance area for her.\n\nSoon the crystal is focused on a tall, dome-shaped cavern with numerous tunnels branching off from it. The portal opens, and with a yelp a form in peach and red drops out of it and thuds to the floor with a loud 'OOF!', the portal quickly closing. The infamous monster hunter is of course a beautiful young woman with pretty blonde hair and gorgeous blue eyes... wearing little more than a black bikini (the top of which barely covers the nipples of her particularly large breasts), boots, gloves, and the hooded crimson half-cape from which she likely takes her name.\n\n"Hahaha! Ow, that was quite a bit further of a drop than I thought!" she declares, already smiling as she sits up from her sprawled position.\n\n<img src="images/Red.jpg">\n\nShe looks around quickly, then blinks as she turns her gaze upward. "Whoa," she murmurs, spotting the hole you left in the ceiling. "Did I fall all the way from up there? Geez, I'm lucky all I got was a sore butt," she adds before leaping to her feet, breasts and said sore butt both jiggling visibly. "Hm... doesn't quite look like the same cave system. ... No tracks or spoor though," she adds as she glances around at the floor and walls. "Lots of passages... ... well, one's as good as another for trying to get out, I guess," she adds, before setting off down one of the tunnels.\n\n"Of course, I set them all to go to different fates for her," you note to Xenith.\n\n"Oooo, I'm atwitter with excitement, my queen! Which one did she pick?!"\n\n<hr>\n[[The arena.|RedArenaStart]]\n\n[[The courtroom.|RedCourtStart]]\n\n[[The dinner table.|RedCourtStart]]\n\n[[The zoo.|RedZooStart]]\n\n[[The orc room. Natch.|RedOrcsStart]]

You can't wait! Closing the menu, you turn and run off in a fairly random direction, determined to plunge right into the game without guidance and, hopefully, get thoroughly lewded (and maybe even already Bad Ended) right off the bat!\n\nThe foliage in this direction winds up being fairly thick, requiring you to slow down and pick your way through as you go along. Which is probably why when you spot a pair of goblins, you're moving slow enough that you don't just plow right into them... in fact, when you go still from spotting them, they don't even seem to have noticed that you're there yet. You have time to pause, kind of out of sight between a pair of trees, to take a look at them. They're both about waist high to you, with green skin, spindly limbs, and slightly paunchy bellies. Their faces are covered by crude leather masks that give them sort of muzzles and have goggle-like lenses over the eyes... maybe something to keep out the sun, since maybe goblins don't like it in this setting? The only thing they're wearing are little scraps of brown cloth as loincloths.\n\nYes! You've finally found monsters, and of a type notorious for their lewd rapaciousness too! Now to-\n\n<hr>\n[[-attack!|YamiHF]]\n\n[[-throw yourself at them!|YamiHF6x2]]\n\n[[-beg for it!|YamiHF]]\n\n[[-stealthily follow them!|YamiHF]]

Not even bothering to draw your weapon, you leap forward, putting up your dukes and taking a few completely wild swings at the startled goblins. "Hahaha! Combat's engaged, guys! Better do your best to defeat me and then do what goblins do, or I'll getcha!" you call, managing to land a punch on one of them's forehead with your likely abysmal hand-to-hand skill.\n\nIt staggers him backwards a little, and makes him rub at his forehead in a way that says it mildly stung. The two of them exchange a glance... then both shrug, before leaping at you in a tackle. \n\nMoments later your clothes and armor have been scattered to the ground and you're being spitroasted by the pair of little green monsters, with happily very oversized cocks, the bulging, throbbing mottled shafts 'raping' your pussy and mouth relentlessly as one grips your hair tightly with its spindly fingers and the other smacks your ass. "Mmmf! Mmf! Mmmmmf! ♥" you squeal around the monster prick pumping between your lips and stuffing itself down your throat, smelling the musky, oily, unwashed scent of the goblin as his crotch thumps against your nose with his thrusts and his balls slap your chin. Finally! Finally after all this time, you're getting raped by monsters after a fight! ... Okay the most token fight in the world but you were excited! Finally finally finally, your naughty adventurer pussy is getting stuffed by a monster's member, your heroic throat-hole being used as a dicksleeve! 'I deserve this,' you think proudly, letting your hips move on their own (not really you're totally fucking yourself back against the goblin claiming your cunt) as you're taken. You have what may be the best orgasm of your life as the goblins both simultaneously thrust in, instantly pouring a truly hentairiffic amount of cum into both your holes, causing it to go spilling out all over your face and dribble down your chin, and gush out of your pussy and down around your thighs.\n\nAfter that one goblin sits on your head, forcing it into the ground, your eyes rolling up and tongue lolling out (largely by your own deliberate choice) as the other perches on your raised ass and pounds into your tight asshole, using the full leverage of his weight to piledrive his prick into your butt. 'Ahfuck ahfuck I won't get knocked up this way but it's sooooo humiliating and soooo good!' you think, giving both goblins your best whorish moans in reward for their violation, squealing a bit in delight as the one sitting on your head gives your face a derisive little smack with one hand. \n\nNext they roll you onto your back, one forcing your legs up and spread in the air, tilting them until he has a nice direct downward thrust into your pussy, leaving you to squeal delightedly at the thought of becoming pregnant with some horrible ugly monster spawn. Your squeals are cut short by the goblin pinning your hands sitting on your face, his balls hanging down your chin as he settles his greasy green pucker directly against your mouth. 'Oh noooo!' you think in delight even as you start enthusiastically rimming him, your tongue working over his thick puckered ring and pressing inside without hesitation, the goblin actually jumping a little before starting to grind himself against your face, apparently surprised but not actually dissuaded by your enthusiasm for offering lip service to his ass.\n\nThe two of them switch places several times, one of them fucking your pussy while the other rides your face, making you cum repeatedly from the wicked, humiliating, absolutely fantastic abuse. At some point whichever one is riding your face starts choking you at various points, cutting off your air and making you light-headed, giving you an airy, disconnected feeling that leaves you struggling to show your appreciation by shoving your tongue even deeper into his ass. Both of them keep choking you almost to the point of blacking out, until finally the combination of it and the absolutely brain-blasting orgasms it's giving you really does make you pass out.\n\nYour first thought when you eventually come to is 'Awwww.' You're not dead! ... Well, obviously, but still. You sit up slowly and look around, blinking. You're... also not in some horrible little hole in the ground, chained to a wall or tied up, waiting to become a breeding sow for hundreds of goblins. Dammit! ... Geez, they didn't even take your stuff, you realize as you spot your armor, clothes, and sword nearby. What kind of rape monsters are these? Just leaving a girl be after dumping a mere twenty loads in her and choking her out? Where's the decency?!\n\nYou reequip your items, noticing that the outfit is a bit tattered and shredded and the panties are listed as 'Broken' and just go in your inventory anyway... ah well, at least now you have to walk back to town still smeared in cum and obviously having been the victim of a humiliating sexual defeat! Trying not to skip, you use your menu to find said town and set a guidance marker, heading off.\n\nBy the time you get there it's bustling with a fair number of other players as well as NPCs, obviously enough new logins having hit while you were suffering so dreadfully (♥) to create a minor crowd. You walk amongst them, head slumped, your hair all mussed, your face streaked, your clothes torn and stained, your visible inner thighs still obviously caked with partially dried cum. Ah... ah, the scorn in their eyes, the pitying gazes, the shaming scowls, the-\n\n... Actually don't most of them seem to be snickering? And grinning?\n\nYou blink a few times, looking around. ... Yes, people definitely seem a bit more amused at your state than anything else. ... Well, it is an MMO, and a lewd one besides, that probably affects things. As you're pondering that, though, a pair of players approach. Both of them have distinctly nonhuman character models... one is a large dragonkin-type with green scales and red eyes, the other with jet black skin and purple patterns with long slender horns on his forehead.\n\n"Heeey baby," the oni-type says, grinning. "If that's your thing, me and my bro here totally picked out the 'non-standard' equipment, y'know?" he says, brazenly reaching down and cupping his crotch through his pants, which definitely do show off a distinct bulge.\n\n"... Um?" you reply, blinking. On the one hand yes he is hot and the sheer degrading nature of the come-on is a bit hot, but the rest of you is extremely confused. "Uh, that's not, really what I... what?"\n\nThey exchange a glance with each other, then shrug and wander off. As you're staring after them wondering what that was all about, a scantily-clad crimson-haired woman with slightly elfen ears and a large knife sheathed at the small of her back saunters up and throws an arm around your shoulders. "Oh hon. You're not even aware you've unlocked a title, are you?"\n\n"Eh? Wait, what? A title?" You try to tilt your head up so that you can look at your own nameplate, but even if it is visible to you it must change positions with your head and you can't see it.\n\n"Yup, right below your name, it says 'Slut for Monsters'," she informs you with a bob of her head.\n\n"... Ehhhh?" you whisper. You're... not sure how you feel about that, to be honest. On the one hand that's super humiliating and let's be honest it's true, too, but it's a little weird to have it literally hanging above your head for everyone to see and instantly know about you.\n\nWhile you're still processing that, the rogue continues. "That one's pretty well-known from the beta, too, it comes with a passive skill called 'Catch and Release'. It's actually pretty handy because it means monsters will always let you go after they're done with you."\n\n"WHAT?!" you blurt in dismay, various people looking over at you in surprise as you clap your hands to the side of your head.\n\n"Oh you're one of those," the rogue says dryly, folding her arms over her barely-covered chest. "Yeah, sorry cute stuff, having 'Catch and Release' basically negates all Bad Ends. The monsters will rape you, sure, heck they'll actually actively pursue you more than other players, but they'll never take your stuff, never drag you away, and never kill you." While you're still fuming over that, she adds, "Obviously you're into that, so tough break. On the upside, it's a fairly in-demand skill for grouping up. If at least one member of the party has it, the entire party benefits from not having their stuff stolen, their characters killed, or even lose progress by getting templed. Plus, y'know, higher chance of the monsters concentrating on you."\n\nOkay, so... yeah, you can see how it's not all downside, even for you. "Is there any way to remove it though, um, Lara?" you ask, finally glancing at her own nameplate.\n\n"None I've ever heard of, most people don't go around actively trying to remove passive skills with benefits like that. In fact a lot of people go ahead and try to get this one... you've basically just gotta put up basically no fight against a monster that's likely to rape you before giving in completely, and then you've got something like one in one thousand chance of getting it. Lucky you... or unlucky you I guess," she adds, patting you on the head... then making a bit of a face and eyeing her sticky palm, before shrugging. "Anyway, if you want to make the best of it, you can come join my party. We like challenging all the new and dangerous content we can find, and it'd be helpful to have someone with that skill. And lots of opportunities for you to wind up molested, too, since you're into that."\n\nWell. It's true. You are into that. But you also wanted to get Bad Ended! It sounds like that's no longer an option for this character... you'll survive and not even lose any progress every single time. ... Although it does sound like Lara basically wants to use you as bait, which is kinda... mmmf, yeah, your pussy gives a little twinge of delight at the thought of an adventuring party treating you like monster rape insurance for their own benefit. So what to do?\n\n<hr>\n[[Join Lara's party.|YamiHF]]\n\n[[Log Kuro out.|YamiHF]]\n\n[[Destroy the Kuro charbit.|YamiHF]]

You're not particularly stressed, but then do you really have to be to engage in retail therapy? Or at the very least the windowshopping equivalent thereof. Besides, the area in question is actually within walking distance of the campus (or at least the bus route for it is), making it less expensive to actually go out and about.\n\nSoon you're strolling down the sidewalk through the rows of 'we totally refinished these buildings but left them looking kind of old on purpose' shops, along with an authentically new one here and there. While you do intend to actually go browsing around, whenever you're in the area you always make your first stop one store in particular, especially if you haven't been by in awhile. 'Necessities' is a simply-named place, but it does in fact have a nice assortment of basic necessities for a variety of pagan religions... and also for actual practitioners like yourself. But more than that, you visit it to see the proprieter.\n\nAs expected when you walk in, he's behind the counter, and gives you a smile and a little wave as you walk over. Orrin has pale, almost white hair and pinkish-red eyes, his skin pale enough that the reason for both is fairly obvious. He's not a full practitioner himself, more a dabbler... his power runs more towards a 'talent', meaning a specific magical ability that's innate rather than learned. That being that he picks up gossip and current events out of nowhere rather than needing to be told or overhear it like other people.\n\n"Morning, Orrin, how's it going?" you ask, stopping in front of the counter and resting a hand on your bag.\n\n"Doing okay, Val. Been awhile, everything alright?"\n\n"Yeah, just thought I'd drop in, since it has been awhile. Anything interesting going on?"\n\n"A few things, I guess." He considers for a moment... you wonder if he's checking for anything new since the last time anyone asked, or if he's just trying to remember the last time you were in... before he continues. "Well, old man Samedi died..."\n\n"Oh wow, really?" That makes you quirk your eyebrows. "I hadn't heard anything."\n\n"Well apparently the family didn't want it spread around too much. But apparently his nephew's taken over [[Samedi's Antiques|ValNA]], and he's selling stuff off at rock-bottom prices, probably trying to clear the store out. Probably has no idea what half of it is or what it's actually worth, so you might get a bargain there. Just be careful."\n\n"Yeah, I know, who knows what that old devil-worshiper did to half that stuff. Still, you're right, there's probably some finds to be made there."\n\n"Oh, and you know that big building a block over, the old warehouse they thought no one would ever rent? Well, someone bought it, a pretty powerful witch apparently, and she's turning it into a [[nightclub|ValNC1x1]]... apparently it's going to have a special VIP area for practitioners."\n\n"Wow, I've heard about 'clued-in clubs' but never thought we'd get one here."\n\n"I know, right? Well, anyway, there's one other new person in the area, she rented a shopfront but it's not actually open yet. She claims to be a scientist who's investigating the occult."\n\n"One of those," you mutter, rolling your eyes.\n\n"This one seems pretty serious, at least, she does apparently want to open the storefront as a business at some point, and she's [[looking for people to help|ValNA1x1]]." He grins some, and raises a hand to his chest. "Of course, you could always make me feel good and reveal that you really came [[to see my new stock|ValNA2x1]] instead of just getting the occult 411."

"I think I'm gonna go check out this nightclub place," you say after a moment's thought. "It's pretty interesting to think we might soon have a place to hang out casually with other people like us."\n\n"Not sure how great an idea that really is," Orrin says a bit dryly, before giving you a solemn look. "Be careful, Val. Pretty sure the owner is really powerful, like I said, and I have no idea whether she's a more generalized witch or falls somewhere on the 'wicked' scale, the rumors aren't clear on it."\n\nYou nod, turning that over for a moment, before bidding him goodbye and heading out. You walk roughly a block until you arrive at the location... looks like the outside is in the process of receiving a mild overhaul, but not a huge one, to judge by the amount and size of the scaffolding. From the open front doors draped in plastic, it looks like the place is still fairly heavily under construction... though from the lack of lights it seems like maybe the crew has taken a break or gone to lunch or just not showed up today.\n\nYou consider, rubbing your chin. You could just go in through the front and see if anyone is in, such as the owner... or you could go in through a gap in the wall you see and explore on your own, try to figure out the question of 'witch but what kind' before ever coming face-to-face with her, which is an attractive idea just in case she's a wicked witch and decided to pull something.\n\n<hr>\n[[Go in the front.|ValNC4x1]]\n\n[[Sneak in.|ValNC2x1]]

Well. That's not at all foreboding or ominous.\n\nAs you're just starting to ponder whether someone was being delightfully ironic and 'Startomb' is actually a massive greenhouse where you'll pick flowers for eight hours a day as your trustee work, there's a sudden flickering white light from the floor, and before you know it you're dropping down with a loud yelp.\n\nLuckily it's not too far of a drop, and you manage to tuck and roll a bit with it so that you don't break anything. You sit up to find that you're in a very large metal room, with glaring white LED lights attached way up on the ceiling that still aren't quite enough to fill the space, leaving it a weird mix of bright and dim. There are a handful of other people, most of them wearing variations on lightly-armored bodysuits, and similarly most of them looking over at you with a mingling of curiosity and amusement. Off to the right the entire wall is taken up by what look like large vending machines with video monitor fronts, and off to the left there's a similar row of something like high tech port-a-potties. Ahead of you the metal wall looks different, newer, and has several doors set into it, behind you it's featureless, though a number of what look like sleeping bags have been laid out with the heads facing it.\n\n"Hey. New girl."\n\nYou stand and turn at the same time, to find yourself looking at a woman who's probably a bit shorter and younger than you, and although not too much better endowed in the chest is considerably hippier. Her hair is an almost snowy white color, drawn up into twintails and held there by a sort of tech headband she's wearing with little 'ears' coming up from it, and more plain hair decorations clipped to her long forelocks. Her skin is a pale chocolate color, like milk added to cocoa, and her eyes are pink. Her particular bodysuit is a one-piece, blue edged in black with red accents, and black armor pieces framing her breasts and waist. It's also got matching tall gloves and boots. She puts one hand to her hip and cocks it a bit, adopting a slightly sassy posture with a serious face, sort of "bossy big sister" style.\n\n<img src="images/Lyko.jpg">\n\n"Gimme a minute of your time, okay? I need to tell you the rules we have here, like about how there's no fighting."\n\n<hr>\n[["Okaaaay?"|DefRF3x2]]\n\n[[Punch her in the nose.|DefRF]]

"Guards get upset if we rumble or something? Or are you the guard?" you ask wryly.\n\nAt that she shakes her head, twintails wobbling. "No guards. And it's not their rule. These are the rules the prisoners decided on amongst ourselves, got it?"\n\nYou nod slowly. You guess you can respect that. "Okay, go on, then."\n\n"Alright. No fighting. No stealing. No molesting. No talking about what you did to get sent here. Basically don't start anything with the other prisoners... we're all stuck in here together and there's no such thing as 'solitary' or 'separation', we just have to deal with each other, so we kind of have to manage ourselves. The only 'rules' the people running this place have are that we aren't allowed to injure each other too much to work or kill each other. Do that and they could add time to your sentence, or restrict or remove your vending privileges, and trust me, you don't want that."\n\nYou nod slowly, taking all that in. "Okaaay. So... if you're the welcoming committee, could you tell me what the hell 'Startomb' is?"\n\nShe nods slowly, then proffers a hand. "Lyko."\n\nYou take it and shake. "Defiance." At her somewhat dubious look, you just grin and shrug. "Some of my friends call me Def, if you want."\n\n"Okaaay. Well, first of all, it's probably best if I show you what Startomb is rather than just trying to describe it, it skips a lot of disbelief and struggling."\n\nYou quirk your eyebrows, but follow her over to the featureless wall at the back. You notice there's one area that doesn't have any bedrolls near it, and that there is in fact a subtle access panel set into the wall near there. Lyko rests her hand against it, and nearby the wall splits apart and starts retracting into the floor and the rest of the wall about ten feet up, revealing a window out and letting in a pale, somewhat eerie blue light that somehow makes itself seen in the LED lighting despite how pale it is.\n\nYou step over to the slowly revealed window, peering out. At first it looks like you're gazing directly out into space, like a starfield, with something floating off in the distance that's apparently the source of that strange light. Of course that immediately grabs your attention... it's clearly far in the distance, possibly millions of miles, and yet either through some trick of the window or physics or who the fuck knows you can still see it relatively clearly, like a charcoal sphere burning blue, covered over with black mostly but with those slowly expanding and then dying cracks crawling across its surface glowing with that blue light. As you watch, faint, translucent red beams fire from somewhere in the distance and strike against the surface of the sphere, sending little flickering ghostlights of blue flashing out of the nearby cracks, all of it taking place in complete silence, which is somehow worse and more terrifying to some innate part of you that says something about this should be a terrible, deafening roar.\n\nBut the beams cause you to crane your head around, trying to see where they're coming from, as the window finishes its opening. And that leads you to realizing that the stars aren't little points... they're squares, or lines, or connected to one another, and that the darkness isn't quite as dark as it could be, almost as if it were faintly... reflective.\n\n"We're on a Dyson Sphere?" you ask, glancing over at Lyko.\n\n"Is that what they call it where you're from?" she asks, raising her eyebrows, seeming faintly impressed that you recognized what it was. "But yeah, we're on an abandoned megastructure encircling that dying star out there... except apparently the automated systems don't actually let it die, which I guess we can all be grateful for."\n\nYou turn towards her, finding the view both incredible and deeply disturbing somehow, and Lyko almost immediately presses the panel to set the window closing again. "How is it abandoned if we're here?"\n\n"Well abandoned by its originators, anyway," Lyko answers with a shrug. "Listen, I'm just telling you how it was told to me, and how the person who told me was told, and so on... Startomb's been a work facility a long, long time, and there's still almost nothing we prisoners really know about it. We know there's a bunch of rooms like this one spread throughout the facility because sometimes we meet prisoners that aren't from our room, and sometimes people even get reassigned between them... well, maybe that's what happens. All we really know is how the prison system works, because that stays consistent."\n\n"That'd be the system of the people actually running the work program."\n\n"Right. So lemme go over that for you. How long's your sentence?" At you eyeing her, she wags a hand dismissively. "That doesn't count as talking about how you got sent here."\n\n"Arright. Ten years."\n\nShe nods, then says, "So here's how it works. You stay in this room, you get issued one bedroll, and three foodbars with three bottles of water a day, or whatever the equivalent that your race needs is. If the bedroll wears out, they don't replace it. The basic foodbars will sustain you but they're flavorless and pretty joyless to eat. But, you can stay in here safe and ride out your ten years, if you want."\n\n"I'm guessing they incentivize you to do something else," you note wryly, glancing both at the vending machines and the doors in the opposite wall.\n\n"Right. One of the guys that used to be here had a theory that it's some sort of liability thing... since they don't make us go out into the Startomb, it's not their fault if we get lost or die exploring it. What happens is, you go through that door, and there's a separate set of vending machines. You get one suit and one weapon, same as the bedroll, after that you have to pay for replacements or upgrades. They also give you a couple of days' rations that you can take with you, every time you go out. There's also a little stealth drone that follows after you, I guess they map the place and record things. Then you wait for the energy door to activate... it's this sort of weird blue plane that forms in an archway, it's what leads out into the Startomb. We don't know if the prison people control them or the Startomb itself does, all we know is they basically go to different parts of the facility, and usually when you find another one, or ask the drone to lead you to one, it will send you back to the same one you came through."\n\n"Usually?"\n\n"That's the thing, we don't know if people winding up in other rooms like this one is something the admin is doing, or if the Startomb just bumps you to a different one sometimes for whatever reason. Either way they're all hooked into the same work computer so at least you don't have to worry about starting over." Lyko holds up a hand and starts counting off on her fingers, seemingly at random, but just to have some way to illustrate what she's saying. "You earn points by exploring, you earn more points by disposing of dangerous stuff like antagonistic defense systems or aliens, and you can earn lots and lots of points for finding technology and bringing it back."\n\n"Wait, wait, 'aliens'? You said-"\n\n"Yeah yeah," Lyko says, waving her hand. "The guy before me said that because the Startomb's been here so long, lots of other stuff has crashed into it or infiltrated it or probably been deliberately sent here like we have. Either way we're not alone out there, and most of what you run into will be hostile, thus the weapons. Anyway, you can use the points to buy better food and drinks, or entertainment stuff, or better suits and weapons, or just replacing stuff like spent ammo or damaged items. Orrrr, most importantly of all," she continues, lifting a finger.\n\n"You can use it to shorten your sentence, right?" you cut in.\n\n"Hapona," she answers in a satisfied tone, and much the same delivery you'd say 'bingo'. "Apparently what it costs varies depending on a lot of factors, but going exploring in the Startomb to earn points is the only real way to get out of here faster, or just make your sentence at least livable instead of survivable."\n\n"Hmmm. ... And no weapons in here, right?"\n\n"No, they won't open the door until you've put anything damaging or anything brought back from the Startomb into one of the collection bins. The system keeps track of what's yours and will dispense it back to you again. You can put other stuff like the suits in there and it does seem to at least clean and maintain them a little, but a lot of people don't bother, either because it's too much trouble changing all the time, or because getting other clothes costs points and they want to save up everything to pay off their sentence faster."\n\nDeclining to ask her which she is, you just spend a few moments turning all that over. "So. Sit in here and malinger through your sentence surviving on subsistence rations... or, I suppose, finding ways to trade items or points with the other prisoners?" you ask, at which she gives a small nod, seemingly confirming that transferring points is possible. "Or go out into the dangerous space megahulk to map and loot it, quite probably get Got by aliens or robots, but at least have a chance of both living decently and getting out of here before you turn gray. Er... old," you murmur as she looks confused and tilts her head, white twintails bopping again. \n\n"Yeah that's pretty much the size of it. When your time's up they'll open up a portal while you're alone in the prep room, that's how you get out. At least, that's what I heard from the guy before," she allows, since apparently you wouldn't be the first one to ask 'wait how would anyone know'. "But people do go in there and stop showing up when their sentence is up, so."\n\nYou nod thoughtfully. Seems plausible, at least. The judge did say they didn't allow slams who just outright kill their prisoners to buy their contracts, so if you assume she wasn't full of shit (which you normally wouldn't, but in this case it's your only option, so), then this place actually letting you go when your time's up seems like it might be true.\n\n"Hey, if you want, you could come with me when I go out tomorrow," Lyko offers after a moment. "Some people don't like to work in groups, since the points basically get split, but it can be pretty intimidating to go out there on your own the first time. That way I could at least show you how all the prep room systems and stuff work, too."\n\n<hr>\n[[Sounds good.|DefRF3x3]]\n\n[[You'll stick solo.|DefRF]]

You're defiant, not stupid. When the experienced prisoner offers to show you the ropes, that just seems like a smart idea. You nod and say, sincerely enough, "I'd appreciate that, thanks."\n\n"Alright. It will be a little while before I head out. You probably want to get your bedroll and find a spot."\n\nHaving resolved to go along to get along, at least until a better opportunity (or really any opportunity) presents itself, you head over to the vending machines, the screen on the front of one lighting up as you approach it. You browse around a little, just out of curiosity... different food (some of it actually pretty decent sounding), drinks (wow even beer and booze, although you notice most of it's in fairly small amounts and expensive), entertainment items (including some "personal entertainment" items, wink wink nudge nudge), clothes (looks like these only dispense normie-type stuff, but it does include things like lingerie), and various personal grooming items (there's shampoo and soap so you're wondering if the toilet stalls double as showers or something... ew). But everything of course is grayed out, except for a sleeping roll, a bottle of water, and a food bar, the two latter of which have a little '3' in the corner. There's a 0 in the edge of the screen that you also assume is your point balance.\n\nYou shrug, and then tap each lit button once. There's a rumbling from inside the machine and then three nearly-overlapping clunks. You slide aside the door at the bottom and haul out your new bedroll as well as the bar and water bottle, before carrying it over. Hm... most of the beds are lined up against the wall in one row, stopping a bit before the window and then heading towards the toilets. After a moment you shrug and roll yours out beside the one closest to the window... the shutters didn't seem like they'd catch on anything, and knowing space is right past them and a sheet of whatever-glass doesn't overly bother you as long as you don't actually have to look at it.\n\nYou flop down to sit on it and open up the food bar. It's... kinda white. And the texture is uh... weird. Simultaneously kind of pebbly and clunky like granola and also somehow slightly gelatin-like. It... bends a little when you hold it up. ... Fun. You take a bite and... ... doesn't really taste like anything. The texture leans a bit more towards the gelatin, but it's like someone used the basic stuff and then just didn't bother to add any sort of flavoring. Yeah you can definitely see how a while of eating these might drive someone to pick up a gun and go exploring in the Dyson sphere deathtrap.\n\nYou finish it off less because of any real hunger and more because you doubt it's going to get any more appetizing for waiting, and wash it down with the water, which is at least cold(ish) and completely normal. You notice as you're drinking someone go and dump trash into one of the vending machine's dispenser slots, so apparently they double as trash bins. Deciding that you've behaved enough for now, you leave your trash laying next to your bunk and lay out, staring at the ceiling. (Maybe you'll feel like throwing it away tomorrow. After all, there's being defiant and there's being rude, and they're not always the same thing.)\n\nAfter a little while Lyko comes over, and eyes you briefly, either at the trash or at placing your bedroll closer to the window. But apparently neither one is actually worth mentioning since she lays down and pulls a plain, fairly thin blanket over herself and is quickly asleep. You lay awake for a while longer, turning over everything that happened today in your mind, and coming dangerously close to reflecting on your actions before finally going to sleep.\n\nYou find yourself being shaken gently awake, Lyko murmuring, "Hey, get up. One of the doors is going to open in about an hour, we should get you ready to go." You nod to her and get up, first heading to one of the toilet stalls (thankfully a bit cleaner and less rickety than an actual port-a-potty, and significantly less smelly, though it does indeed look like the toilet retracts into the floor and turns into the drain for a shower), then over to the vending machine to get your 'breakfast'. You do what you were too distracted to yesterday, subtly looking over the vending machines for any potential point of entry or vulnerability, but they're an almost entirely smooth surface... it looks like one or two people might have tried to prod at the edges of the screen with something, but either they didn't get anywhere or were stopped by the others before they did. Hm, something to think about.\n\nAfter eating and throwing away your trash (this morning littering is just rude), you follow Lyko over to one of the doors, where she takes a moment to indicate the countdown timer next to it. "That shows when the energy door the prep room is set up around is going to activate. Usually one opens every couple of hours, though there are times it's longer or shorter. It's considered pretty rood to horn in on someone else's door, but there's not an actual rule."\n\nYou follow her through to find what's basically a smaller version of the room outside, just with a row of metal benches running down the center of it, and some large metal chests along the back wall. The forward wall matches the metal and look of the original walls, and has a rectangular arch set against the metal, largely unremarkable and fairly utilitarian-looking for being so high tech... right now it's just set against the wall, showing nothing but metal. You take a glance around, then shrug and unzip the orange bodysuit and shrug out of it, Lyko blushing just a little and turning away. You pad naked over to the nearest vending machine and look at the screen... definitely more categories of stuff, including weapons and combat wear. Those are the only two selections that are lit up besides the food one, and tapping the 'Weapons' one reveals that your only two options are a pistol or a short sword. Pistol for sure.\n\nThere's a wider variety of selections available under the combat gear as far as suits go, and you glance over at Lyko. "Any suggestions for what to wear?"\n\n"I suggest something like this," she says, absently slipping her fingers under the back of her own suit and sliding them up to pull it out of her crack a little. "It's a little embarrassing to get used to, but it offers the most mobility, and a lot of times your best option when you encounter something dangerous is to run."\n\nSounds reasonable to you. You grew out of your show-offy phase relatively quickly, but not like you've never put yourself on display, you are a female supervillain after all. You find the suit that looks largely like hers and select it in black, grey, and white, so it's at least vaguely reminiscent of your old gear. It's familiar enough that it only takes a few minutes to pull it on, and admittedly it fits perfectly (and snugly). You notice there's an attachment point for the holster the pistol came with on the boots, and set it for straight draw, and then once you've vended your allotted rations and put them inside, attach the small white hardcase pack that came with the suit to your back. "Doesn't seem like this will fit very much, if we find something good."\n\n"It's bigger on the inside," Lyko says as she takes a peek and, seeing you fully dressed (or at least as fully dressed as she is), heads over to one of the vending machines herself and starts tapping the screen... you notice hers has an icon that looks like a trunk on it, must be her storage. "And if you find something that won't fit at all you still get points for it when you come back, just fewer."\n\n"Interesting." You watch as she pulls out her own backpack and some kind of rifle, checking it over briefly before she goes back into the other options and apparently buys something. She turns to you and holds out a headpiece somewhat like hers, though the little 'ears' that she uses to hold her twintails are collapsed. "What's this?"\n\n"Radio, so we can find each other if we're split up."\n\nYou nod thoughtfully and take it with a "Thanks," before slipping it on, messing with the bar so that you can use it to put your hair in a ponytail instead, the "ears" winding up poking up in back more like a rabbit's. As you are, one of the vending machine's dispensor slots slides open and a pair of baseball-sized grey orbs fly out, before turning mostly transparent. "And those are the observation drone thingies, huh? Do they follow you everywhere?"\n\n"Not into the bathroom stalls," Lyko says dryly. "Not sure if it's some sort of regulations or what, but those do seem to be the only place they don't actually watch us."\n\nInteresting. As you're mulling that over and Lyko is doing one more check of her rifle, there's a soft vwum and a shimmering blue plane sweeps downward through the archway, turning into a solid, glowing surface. Lyko glances at you, then gives a 'c'mon' jerk of her head that flops her twintails around before heading through it at a trot, passing through the light as if it really were a doorway. After only a brief hesitation, you follow.\n\nYou emerge into a fairly large corridor that curves around, without much in sight other than the archway behind you set in a slight push-out from the wall. Only a few seconds after you've come through the blue plane slides up and disappears. You take a look around, then look over at Lyko. "Anywhere you recognize?"\n\n"No, but the company... we call them 'the company'," Lyko adds with a glance over. "Has been here, look," she says, gesturing to one of the toilet stalls that's been set up nearby. "So this is probably an area that's been explored before, at least a little."\n\n"That good or bad?"\n\nLyko holds up a hand and then ripples it in a waving motion... it takes you a second to realize that must be her version of the side-to-side wobble of ambivalence. "It really depends. It usually means less points from just exploring, but it probably means there's been valuable stuff found before and they want us to find more of it." She pauses, then adds, "Or there's a threat in the area they're hoping we take out."\n\n"Great."\n\n"I mean it's all guesswork," she adds with a small shrug, before looking back and forth, then at you. "Right or left?"\n\n<hr>\n[[Right.|DefRF]]\n\n[[Left.|DefRF]]

"Oooo," Scarlet coos as you rise and move across the tub, briefly displaying your dripping, stiff prick to the air before you settle back down right beside her and settle an arm around her shoulders. "About time," she adds happily as she turns towards you, a breast pressing against your chest as she leans up towards you, one of her hands slipping below the water to wrap around your cock.\n\n"Yeah, yeah," you mutter in only half-serious grumpiness as you lean into the kiss, your lips pressing to your aunt's as you let yours part and allow her tongue into your mouth. Cupping her other breast, you gently squeeze and rub your hand over the warm, water-slick flesh, letting your thumb flick over her stiff nipple and tweak the ring through it. \n\nThe two of you sit for several minutes just making out, kissing and fondling one another, your aunt alternately stroking your stiff shaft or toying with your balls beneath the water, while you alternately squeeze and knead her tit or play with the ring, tugging and twisting gently and listening to her pleased moans, especially the little catched-breath almost-squeals when you occasionally take out just a bit of your annoyance by giving a firmer tug.\n\n"Was starting to think you'd never give in," Scarlet says eventually as she breaks the kiss, giving your balls a gentle squeeze.\n\n<hr>\n[["Be careful what you wish for."|LeoShip]]\n\n[["You always get what you want."|LeoShip]]\n\n[["Can only take so much."|LeoShip]]\n\n[["You mean 'again', right?"|LeoShip]]

Your name is Saraelle su Treeguard, and you are an elf. Well, alright, technically you are Princess Saraelle su Treeguard of the Black Bark Elves, Wearer of the Winter Goddess's Rings, Lady of the Mirror Glen, Defender of the Realm. But everyone you know has a bunch of titles like that and is also a prince or princess. ... Admittedly part of the reason for that is that your parents have kept you fairly sheltered, and you've spent most of your life living in the upper crust of elf society. This included shipping you off to the very proper elves only (in practice if not on paper) university with just under 200 students, with an implication that rolled a five for subtlety that you should concentrate on finding a husband at least as much as on your studies. (A slightly more subtle implication, based on their unadmitted knowledge of your preferences, was that coming home with a wife would also be acceptable, provided she was from a good enough family.) And they had a dress code! A dress code, for college! Traditional loincloth and boob-drapes at all times, hair done in flowing locks (one braid permitted), elven sword or dagger or staff to be worn at all times! No technology newer than a touch-tone phone! (Who even knows what "touch-tone" is nowadays?!) And worst of all, you already knew half these people! And the other half you'd at least seen in passing at parties! It was insane!\n\nBut all of that ends today.\n\nSee your parents could make you go to that stuffy old university... but they couldn't make you stay. Well, longer than one semester, at least. While you were there you could absolutely put in the paperwork yourself to transfer to another university, and now you have! Angester University, one of the largest and most diverse schools in the world! Practically a large town in its own right, and located essentially in the heart of the big city of Angester, they offer a far vaster curriculum of classes than your previous university, everything from Dungeon Mapping to Particle Physics to Spell Design to Chemical Engineering! You admittedly picked a sort of scattershot selection of classes (which begin in a few days) because you were more eager to get yourself transferred than you were to start working towards a coherent major, but hey, not like you're short on time! Angester University is a place where a smart young elf girl could get herself two, or three, or ten degrees! (Or as many as can feasibly be achieved without having to go back to the treeburbs and explain herself thoroughly to your parents.)\n\n"Yeah! Okay!" you declare to nobody as you brush off those thoughts and strike a bit of a pose in front of the mirror of your dorm room. (You currently have it to yourself. You've been all but promised that you'll wind up with a roommate at some point, either another late arrival or someone wanting to ditch their old roommate.) You've been stuck with old traditional style most of your life, so you're not too sure of how you did with selecting modern hair and clothing, but you think you look nice! You've bound part of your long black hair up into ponytails at either side of your head, for the modern (and you assume wildly popular and common) twintails style, tied with white ribbons. Enough of your hair has been spared to have two chest-length falls over your side-out pointed ears and framing your face, which you think accents your golden eyes better than just leaving it all flowing like a lake of... whatever. Black stuff. Oil? You're sure some boy has tried to complement you by comparing it to a river of oil at some point. Lawl, as they say.\n\nYou picked out a black blouse with three-quarters sleeves, tying a thin little ribbon bow under the folded collar for a bit of whimsy. You've also sheathed your legs (and your everything else, which is novel for not having any air around your nethers as much as anything) in shiny black pantyhose, the first time you've worn anything so modern! (Traditionally, nothing is worn under even the cover-everything sort of elaborate dresses worn to parties. You figure that while you're here, you might even get really daring and buy your first-ever pair of panties!) Over those you've donned a white overdress, which hugs your middle and has straps framing your chest before going behind your neck, the loose skirt of it coming about halfway down your thighs. You found some matching flat-heeled pumps with straps across the top, and you arrrrre wearing the Winter Goddess's Rings (actually a pair of loose gold bracelets, because you're used to them and they do admittedly look nice). You look very... modern! Well, as far as you can figure.\n\n<img src="images/Saraelle.png">\n\nUp until now you've been very busy traveling, getting your things moved in, and doing paperwork, but now, finally, you're ready to begin your new life of actual independence at AU! Let's start with...!\n\n<hr>\n[[... getting something to eat!|Sara1x1]]\n\n[[... going shopping!|Sara]]\n\n[[... finding a part-time job!|Sara]]\n\n[[... wandering the campus!|Sara]]

Hm... been awhile since you've done a sense-recording mission... they're actually pretty fun, since the more exciting and thrilling you make the mission, the happier the client is. Ever since you became effectively unkillable you've enjoyed occasionally indulging a flair for the dramatic too, which is also something expected of these, so overall you look forward to them, especially if there's a particularly large payday at the end like this one looks to be. Almost idly you shove kit out of your lap, ignoring it as she thuds to the ground with a fresh yelp, instead leaning back in your chair and spreading your legs. You let your pants fly open and a nice, thick cock grow out as Kit starts to reorient herself. The girl may have some things to learn about assembling a job list for you, but as far as this goes she's obedient and well-trained, immediately scooting up between your legs and sliding her mouth over your cockhead as you start working the comm controls mentally, her ever-so-slightly rough tongue dutifully working over your flesh.\n\nA moment later the comm is answered... audio only, which is convenient since you don't have to focus the camera just shoulders-up that way. "You are Ms. Lorde the mercenary, then?" the slightly electronically-rendered voice says.\n\n"That's me," you answer with breezy cheer, your voice giving no indication that you're currently being sucked off by an enthusiastic and at this point rather skilled catgirl. "And you must be Mr. Client, since I understand you wish to be as anonymous as possible."\n\n"Correct. The go-between company I'm utilizing has all my information and accounts, but will keep them in strict confidentiality. They will also be the ones insuring you get paid, making sure we are both covered adequately."\n\n"I'm familiar with the Double-Blind Bank, Mr. Client, I've worked with them plenty of times. I agree that their services will suit both of us just fine." Without looking away from the screen showing a set of bars undulating with the audio, you put a hand on Kit's head, scritching around her ears a bit to entice her to purr... right before pushing her head down and making her abruptly deep-throat you. Smirking a bit at her light struggling, you continue your conversation. "I also understand you'd like me to make you some sense-recordings."\n\n"Correct. I understand yours are some of the best and most thorough."\n\n"Not just some of the best, I guarantee they're the best," you chuckle. "Tell you what, why don't I send you a very brief one right now, as a quick free sample?"\n\n"Very generous of you. Yes, please."\n\nYou access your memory files, copy one into the computer, and spend just a moment editing it to remove anything compromising before making a few small tweaks, then sending it down the comm line.\n\n"Thank you. One moment while I replay it." The screen shows a red 'Hold' appear as the bars go flat.\n\n"Mmmnf." Kit squirms a bit more purposefully, so you lift your hand and let her come up, the blonde catgirl panting a little as she lifts her mouth off of your now gleaming pale prick. "N-not that I doubt you, ma'am, but how come your sense-recordings are the best?"\n\n"Because every single cell in my body is capable of recording what it's feeling at the moment I make them, sweetie," you coo at her, giving one of her ears a gentle tweak and making her 'mewp!'. "So they're extremely thorough. I can also edit them a little to maximize enjoyment."\n\n"Oh, that's really cool," she chirps, smiling as her ears twitch. "So what recording did you send him?"\n\n"Since it was so recent and convenient, I sent him the sense recording of spanking you and then you sucking me off just now, of course," you reply breezily. "All five senses."\n\n"... Eh?" Her ears twitch as her eyes go a little blank with the shock. "Y-you mean... right now he's sitting there... experiencing me laying on his lap... s-spanking my butt and... and squeezing it, and, and... and me sucking his dick?" she says, her face getting steadily redder and her voice squeakier as she goes. \n\n"Mm-hmm, he's seeing your cute little butt, he's feeling it under his hand, he's smelling you get all turned on, he's listening to all those cute little noises you make... which, by the way," you amend, pushing her head back down onto your cock.\n\n"Mmnf, mmf, mmn, mlmn!" Kit wriggles as you urge her back to work, obediently starting to lick and suck again, though from the even cuter noises it sounds like she's highly embarrassed. You hold up a finger across your lips to shush her as the 'Hold' disappears, replaced by the 'Open line' text again.\n\n"Most excellent, definitely the most fully immersive sense recording I've ever tried. There was even a slight taste of female arousal on my tongue to go with the smell."\n\n"I aim to please," you chirp, pushing Kit all the way down and stuffing her throat entirely with cock to make sure she can't make any embarrassed noises that the mic will pick up. "Now, were the sense recordings you had in mind somewhere in that same vicinity?"\n\n"After a fashion, yes. I have a list of extremely attractive females from across the multiverse. I wish you to track them down, making full sense recordings starting from the time you arrive in their dimension."\n\n"And when I find them?"\n\n"Rape them. I wish them to be abused, humiliated, their pride crushed to dust, their minds broken. I understand from the rumors you have a broad range of creative methods to do so with... I would like to experience your creativity for myself. Double-Blind has my taste profile on retainer... when you deliver the sense recordings to them, each will be appraised for its match to my interests and its quality, and you will then be paid the standard rate for each one as mentioned in the initial contact message, as well as bonuses for how many of my taste matrices it touches upon and how intently."\n\n"Hm... I see. But you don't wish to pass along that taste matrix to me so I can cater the experience?" you ask a bit curiously, letting Kit have a breather by just sucking and licking at the underside of your shaft since she seems to have quieted down. \n\n"No, I would rather the experience be... organic. I feel if it were catered too precisely to my desires, it might lose a bit of zest, seem a bit too artificial."\n\n"Ah, a man of culture, I understand. How long is the list?"\n\n"We'll begin you with a short list of several names, and once you've completed it, I'll add on some others for more variety."\n\n"That works. Hm... do you want duplicates at all?"\n\n"You mean, multiple recordings of different versions of the same girl? Hm... yes, once the initial list is completed, I believe multiples would be fine, as long as you intend to make each recording unique."\n\n"I imagine that's doable." You use one hand to push Kit's head back down over the head of your cock, and the other to stroke yourself off, starting to pump a load of cum into her mouth, still not looking at her as she hurriedly tries to swallow it all. "Do you have any preferences for what I should do with the girls once I'm done with them?"\n\n"No, my interest is in the breaking. Once you've broken them, feel free to do as you like with them. If it's included in the sense recordings, that's fine... even if it's not my particular interest, I suppose I can still enjoy your creativity."\n\n"Understood." You push Kit back a bit, actually bothering to take a glance down and look at her cum-smeared face as she pants softly, face flushed and eyes a little glassy. You smirk briefly at her before looking at the screen again. "Anything else?"\n\n"That is all, for the moment. Unless things change, all further communications can be directed to Double-Blind. Good day."\n\n"Good day, Mr. Client," you say cheerfully before closing the line. "Well well, quite a fun little job I've netted for myself. Good work putting it at the top of my list, Kit, even with the mistake of the other three that shouldn't have been there. Here, go take a reward," you add, using your nanites to generate a clear green thumbchip in your palm and holding it out to her. "A little lewd fun in the virtusuite to take care of that needy pussy of yours."\n\n"Thank you, ma'am," she murmurs, face going red again as she stands up and hauls her tights and shorts back up over said wet, dripping sex. She heads to the door, pausing as she glances at the chip and sees what's written on the side. "Ah... sim DF-12?"\n\n"Mm-hmmm," you coo, ungrowing your cock and closing your pants while steepling your fingers over your smile. "And I want you to go and use it right now."\n\n"... Yes'm," she almost whimpers, a shiver that clearly mingles fear, disgust, and anticipation running through her as she leaves the room to go run a simulation of having a train of a dozen dogs run on her.\n\n'Ah, the joys of having underlings,' you think happily as you turn your attention back to the screen at the notification of a transmission from the Double-Blind Bank. They're more 'facilitators' than a proper bank, since as noted they do things like assessing whether something turned into them is particularly valuable to their customer. But they're invaluable to people like your client, and yourself. You pull up the list they sent you, along with each having several potential dimtemp coordinates... you suppose as long as you get a semi-accurate version of the individual, it doesn't really matter if you use these or your own. You look over the three listings as you have your ship, the Infinite Decimal, prepped, and have your aides prep information files to be sent and cued up. Once you've transferred over and settled yourself on the bridge, you decide which of them to go after.\n\n<hr>\n[[Kimberly Anne Possible|KiSKP]]\n\n[[Agent Red, Agent Yellow, and Agent Green of WOOHP.|KiSTSStart]]\n\n[[Jennifer Walters|KiSSHStart]]

'Urban Fantasy' sounds interesting. You head over towards that section, blushing at the feeling of arousal trickling down your thighs at walking around such a realistically rendered and 'normal' public place in the nude. Ahhh, this game is already really good! As soon as you step over a faintly glowing line around the bats-and-wolves themed carpeting of the section, there's a flicker of purple sparkles and a tiny woman flits into being in front of you... brown-skinned, pale purple hair with a 'crown' braid tied with a pink bow, sparkling blue quad-wings and wearing an outfit on her luscious little body that can best be described as 'two large squares of blue cloth tied on by more pink ribbons'... well, that, and matching leg-sheaths.\n\n<img src="images/Moonsugar.jpg">\n\n"Hiiiii! Moonsugar the helper fairy here!" she chirps happily. "Since this is your first time in this section I thought I'd give you a heads-up! 'Urban Fantasy' is where we put all the stuff that has magical and fantastical elements but in a modern Earth setting... well, not that modern, we actually set everything about a century ago! Makes things simpler for writing when not everyone has an intercranial comm implant that gets at least four bars wherever you are on the planet, y'know?"\n\n"Ah, so it's not set in modern times? And it's not just, like... vampire and werewolf politics?" you ask the little AI.\n\n"Nope! In Devious Dive, Urban Fantasy covers not just your hatless wizards with hero complexes and your sex addict necromancer sociopaths, but also magical girls, anti-demon ninjas, and ongoing apocalypse scenarios! If you have any questions, feel free to ask me, I'll be hovering unobtrusively nearby."\n\nNodding and resisting the urge to give the fairy AI a pat on the head (she's sort of technically an employee you guess and that seems mildly too forward), you take a look around at some of the outfits, things that could happen to you while wearing them (or the tattered shreds of them) flitting through your head.\n\n<hr>\n[[Flannel shirt, jeans, and long coat.|YamiUF]]\n\n[[One-piece and short skirt.|YamiMG]]\n\n[[Body stocking.|YamiDN]]\n\n[[Tattered and stained clothes.|YamiZA]]

"Figures," you mutter, turning around, and jumping a little since the room is no longer empty.\n\nInstead standing along the opposite wall are three figures. The first is a Hex Maniac... she doesn't quite look like Hexia, though the differences are subtle. She is, however, completely naked, showing off tits at least as big as Hexia's and a large cock, jutting and almost visibly throbbing as it drools a steady stream of precum, its owner giggling with a distinct malevolence. Off to the side, there's a massive Machoke, its draconic face with a mild, easygoing leer curling up its muzzle, but its otherwise humanlike body bulging with muscle, and its trunks bulging with what's obviously an even larger cock than the Hex Maniac's. The third is a Vaporeon, its strange mingling of canine and aquatic forms gleaming damply in the light, the finlike fans of its ears giving a personable wiggle as it gives you a cheerful smile. Each one has writing above them:\n\n'This Hex Maniac will abuse you, humiliate you, degrade you, and not stop until you're a twitching puddle of cum and aching muscles'\n\n'This Machoke will give you a thorough and rough fuck in all three holes'\n\n'This Vaporeon will be sweet and gentle, making love to you once in your pussy before letting you go'\n\nSo... yeah. Not being terribly subtle about this, are they? you think with a flat expression. The more human your partner, the meaner the sex, and vice versa. You can either fuck another human who will, from the sounds of it, do her best to absolutely destroy you, fuck a very human-ish Pokemon who will still try to drive you into the mattress (oh look a bed came from somewhere when you weren't looking), or a very inhuman Pokemon who will be nice to you and it will be over pretty quickly.\n\nSigh. But since there's no sign of a door, you guess you do have to pick...\n\n<hr>\n[[The Hex Maniac.|ChiPoke]]\n\n[[The Machoke.|ChiPoke]]\n\n[[The Vaporeon.|ChiPoke]]

You'll worry about shame and details later, right now you leap to your feet and race to the door. Doing your best to ignore your effectively bare tits and ass jiggling with every motion, you yank the door open and hurry out.\n\nWhat greets you is a long corridor of other, identical doors. In fact it's so long that you can't see the end of it either way. You whip back and forth, staring, then almost jump a little as Hexia's voice emenates from above, somehow sounding less like a speaker and more like some ghostly utterance from beyond.\n\n"Awwww, you left the ghosty room? That's a shame, I think you would have really enjoyed yourself~!"\n\n"What the hell is this?!" you snap, glaring around as if you could find her to actually direct your wrath at.\n\n"Well if you mean the place you're in, it's sort of... hm, a dream? Like it's a dream and it isn't," Hexia's voice explains, giving another creepy giggle. "You're sort of here, and you're sort of not! You're kind of asleep and dreaming, but also this is real! It's a fun little thing I found that Ghost and Psychic Pokemon could do when they work together."\n\n"Fine, whatever, let me out of it!"\n\n"Sorryyyyy, the only way out is through," Hexia replies. "If you'd just stayed in the room and let yourself be ghostbanged like a good girl, that would have satisfied the conditions of the dream and you'd wake up at the end, nice and relaxed~. But since you had to go and exert your will on things, now the only way for you to wake up is to make your own decisions until the dream ends. Nothing I can do~."\n\nYou scowl at that, fists clenching at your sides. "And if there was something you could do?" you grit out between your teeth.\n\n"Wouldn't do i~t," Hexia agrees, cheerfully enough. "I enjoy watching this sort of thing waaaay too much. Sorry, Chichi, you're on your own!"\n\nAnd you do indeed abruptly have the sense of being alone, as if she'd just walked out of the room despite never having been there in the first place. "Great," you grumble, taking another slow look around, resisting the urge to cover yourself since you know it wouldn't do any good anyway. As you look again, you notice there's a plaque on the wall, and walk over to it, reading the neatly-engraved letters.\n\n'Each room will have an instruction written on the wall. The rooms will manifest what you need to complete the instructions, with a choice of how to do so. If you do not complete the room's instruction, you cannot leave the room.'\n\nWell that's a hell of a thing. So what, if you don't do whatever it is, you'll just be stuck there... forever? How would that even work? ... But then Hexia did say this is some weird combination haunted/esper dreamspace. ... And you've gotta go through it in G-string and pasties. Great. Sighing, you look all around. ... Well, the doors all look the same. You guess you may as well just pick one.\n\nYou walk over to one and open it up. Inside is a plain, empty room with white walls and no apparent exit. You blink, then back away and go to the next door over... which is the same. You try a few more and confirm that so far they're all identical... a plain white room with no other exit and nothing inside. ... Sigh. Must not display anything until you actually walk in. Squaring your shoulders (and trying not to notice how it makes your tits wobble), you walk into the room.\n\nThe door immediately swings shut and slams behind you, causing you to whirl and look at it, staring as it fades away and leaves nothing but another empty white wall in its place. Though as you watch, words fade in on it.\n\n<hr>\n[["To leave this room, you must become a Pokemorph."|ChiPoke8x1]]\n\n[["The door will only open after you have sex."|ChiPoke7x2]]\n\n[["You must lay three Pokemon eggs to leave this room."|ChiPoke9x1]]

"I shall give you any ability your heart desires," you state with a disgusting amount of condescending kindness, spreading your hands and bowing your head with a smile as you prepare the energy to manifest her wish, letting it sort of build up and coalesce around Michiko. Giving humans enough wish-rope to shibari themselves is always one of your favorite pranks.\n\n"R-really? Then... then, I want to go on an adventure with you, Kami-sama!"\n\nYou blink, raising your head from your put-on position. "Eh?"\n\n"Th-that's my most fervent wish, that if I got to go on an isekai adventure, I'd get to have a beautiful, powerful travel companion like you to go on one with!" she declares, enthusiasm running away with her now as her cheeks flush and her eyes sparkle.\n\nUnfortunately, for just the briefest second, you let yourself picture it. That's enough for the coalesced magic to respond to even the faintest hint of a whim on both your part and hers and wrap around you both, yanking you through the portal you'd prepared with an "OH NOOOOOOOOOOOOO-KON!" as you go tumbling outward, both rolling lightly in the grass and thudding down the incline of a Ghibli Hill™ as you can feel your power being sapped and pulled away. You oof, now back in your 'natural' form and naked as you thump to the ground on your ass, Michiko winding up face-down on the ground between your legs with her own bare ass stuck up in the air.\n\nMichiko groans, blinking a few times before opening her eyes and looking through her askew glasses... and then giving a loud squeak and leaping back and to her feet. "Kami-sama! You have, you have a, it's a-!" She pauses briefly and looks at your chest. "... And you're flat now!"\n\n"Who's flat?!" you blurt, leaping to your feet, your D-cups jiggling (and the thing between your legs that gave Michiko the vapors swaying around). "It's just that you're stupidly endowed! Actually you're just stupid! Idiot! Moron! Titty monster! FOX PRANK!" you add, thrusting your hands at her.\n\n"WAH!" Michiko squeals as she's enveloped by a POMF of smoke that near-instantly clears... leaving her with tits bigger than her entire torso. She yelps and flails wildly as the weight sends her toppling forward, landing on them bent over, feet still on the ground but unable to move as she rests her body atop them and her arms pillow lightly into the surface. Then she yelps even louder as you start delivering annoyed slaps to the massive globes of flesh, her hips twitching and jerking around reflexively at the mingled shock-pleasure of the impacts.\n\n"You! Dummy! You've completely ruined everything!"\n\n"Waaaah, Kami-sama, whyyyyyy?!" she wails, with it unclear whether she means 'why did I ruin everything' or 'why did you give me giant tits and start smacking them'.\n\n"I'm not a goddess, I'm a fox spirit, Konko, and I was pranking you! Then you had to go and ask something dumb like that and get us both stuck here! When you asked me to go on the adventure with you, my preparations sucked almost all my power out to make this a fully-fledged dimension instead of just a stage for you to act on!" You put your palms against her tits and lean forward towards her face to scowl in annoyance, ignoring how your hands sink in almost up to the wrist. "I! Can't! Send us! Back!"\n\n"B-b-but Kam-, I mean, Konko, why were you trying to prank me? I never did anything to you," Michiko whimpers a bit, tears in her eyes as she completely breezes over the two of you being stuck here.\n\n"GYAH! Because! It's! A! Prank!" you yowl, wrapping your hands around her enlarged nipples and yanking on them with every word, making her squeal in a decidedly lewder tone and her eyes roll a little. "It's a prank, not revenge! You don't need to have done something to deserve being pranked, you just have to be a good target!"\n\nAt your last tug, there's another POMF and Michiko drops to the ground with an 'oof', her boobs having returned to their normally huge size instead. She wobbles a bit as she pushes herself up on her hands, then gets to her feet. "Y-you mean... we can't go back ever?"\n\nYou sigh, rubbing your face with both hands. "... No, alright, we'll be okay. When I did the basic setup of this as a pocket dimension, I included a few rules just in case I wanted to leave you running on auto. One of those is that, without my intervention, the adventure ends if the Demon King is defeated. That means I should get all my power back if we beat him. Then I'll be able to get us home."\n\n"But... Konko-chan, if you've lost your powers, and I'm just me... ... and we're naked..." Michiko murmurs, finally remembering and trying to cover herself.\n\n"Somehow having you call me 'Konko-chan' is really annoying," you mutter, side-eyeing her before hrming in consideration. "... I haven't lost all my power, I can still do the 'Fox Prank' charm and some other stuff I think," you murmur, rubbing your chin. "'Fox Prank' is only temporary and it's not exactly an 'explode stuff' sort of spell but it's really versatile, plus I should be able to use any magical items we come across to their max potential. And since I was setting this world up with the intention of having you in the Hero role, you've probably defaulted to having super stats, so I guess we do have a decent chance of defeating the Demon King." Then you sigh, shaking your head, your ears laying low for a moment. "We absolutely have to do it together, though, since that was your stupid wish."\n\n"W-well... that's not so bad, right?" Michiko actually musters up a smile for you. "I mean, you're not exactly the goddess I thought you were, Konko-chan, but I'm sure we'll be good friends and manage to do this if we work together!"\n\n"... Fox Prank," you say flatly, pointing a finger at her.\n\n"Gyeek!" Michiko squeals as a large cock and heavy balls appears on her crotch with a POMF and instantly begins firing thick blasts of cum into the air. Her eyes roll and her tongue lolls out as she drops to her knees and leans back, her dick continuing to fire an almost hose-like stream of cream in an arc through the peaceful country air for about a minute before it disappears again. "Hyah... hyah... K-Konko-chan, please..."\n\nYour eye twitches and you raise your hands to hex her again, before your ears twitch and you glance aside. Turning to the side instead, you murmur "Fox Prank!" at an empty spot and create a thick, leafy bush, quickly grabbing Michiko and hauling her inside of it with you.\n\n"Eep! Konko-chan, what are we doing?" she whispers, apparently realizing at least that you're supposed to be hiding.\n\n... You're gonna have to let the 'Konko-chan' thing go, aren't you? Sigh-kon. Anyway, you whisper back as several figures crest one of the hills and look around, as if almost having been expecting to find someone. "Now that I'm not in charge of the scenario, it'll progress sort of as if I was. I'm not running it but it'll still do mostly what it would if I was, because it's basically my imagination running away with me."\n\n"Eh? That sort of thing happens to spirits too?" Michiko whispers back in surprise as she glances between you and the rather ugly-looking human bandits now milling around nearby.\n\nYou sigh again and nod just the tiniest bit, not wanting to rustle the bush too much. "Yeah, me especially, except it can be kind of literal... when my imagination runs away from me, my creations and projections stop listening to me and just act as I'd otherwise think they should. If I had been running your scenario myself, one of the first things I would have done is had you run into a group of enemies as your first bit of adventure, and these must be them."\n\n"A group of enemies... b-but not to hurt me, right? Since it was just a prank... ... right?"\n\n"... Anyway they're probably really weak," you answer, carefully avoiding explaining that you would have ramped up the difficulty if you decided to make them win the fight against her. "Just a random trash mob type group."\n\n"Then we can beat them, right? E-even if we have to do it... n-naked," Michiko murmurs, her face going so red that you're worried the bandits might be able to see the glow.\n\n"Maybe. But more than naked, we don't have any weapons, which means you'd have to fight only with your fists and I'd have to try and temporarily disable as many of them with Fox Prank as I could. But it looks like there are a lot of them... if even a couple of them manage to get their hands on us, we'd be boned, since in that situation I'd tooootally have us-" Get gangbanged into twitching, ahegaoed messes. "-lose."\n\n"Th-then what should we do?"\n\n<hr>\n[["We'll try anyway."|KonIse]]\n\n[["Let's follow them."|KonIse]]\n\n[["You'll seduce them."|KonIse]]

Deciding that becoming beautiful enough to sway others into going to war for you would be one of the best paths back to rulership, you select the Legendary Beauty option. The muscles you just gained once more smooth out, as you feel the strength being replaced by a more generally pleasing body shape. You can feel your ears shifting a little... ah, yes, among the Mortal Races, beauty and Elves are closely associated, so it's not too surprising that you'd become more elfin as you became more of the general idea of beauty. You can also feel your hair growing, smoothing out, taking on a gently glittering sheen as you see it out of the corner of your eye. You can see Stacia's eyes widening a little, a strange expression coming over her face as she obviously starts to be charmed by the shift in your looks even as it frightens and confuses her.\n\nAh, but it looks like the choice of Legendary Beauty was merely the first stage, there's immediately another branch to pick within it. Specifically, whether you want to focus on appealing to men, to women, or to both. You muse on it as you start disrobing, wanting to be able to track the changes in your body visibly this time as well. Stacia makes several rather interesting noises as you slip out of your clothes with smooth, easy grace, revealing now utterly perfect skin and a sleek, pretty body with a large, impressive cock.\n\nSo, whether you choose to appeal to men or women, you'll still be plenty beautiful enough to sway the other with some effort, just not quite as quickly, thoroughly, or effortlessly. If you choose both, obviously it's splitting the difference... you probably wouldn't ever be able to turn anyone into your love-addled slave with just a glance, but you'd be able to seduce just about anyone with some effort. A bit of sex and sweet words, and you'd still make loyal followers out of anyone you pleased.\n\n<hr>\n[[Appeal to men.|RethLB]]\n\n[[Appeal to women.|RethLB]]\n\n[[Appeal to both.|RethLB]]

Yang is literally one of the warmest people you know... her body radiates heat in a way that makes you stop remembering cold Makarzian nights to think of. But also the bright intensity of her, the easy laughs, the winning smiles... and the way all of them are still a little fragile, built on top of a hole that's barely begun to heal.\n\nLet's just say... you can empathize with having to build a new person on top of where the old one used to be.\n\n"... I can feel you staring at me," you almost mutter to the statue. "And I wouldn't do it, not if they're... I'm gonna figure that out first, okay?" You stare out at the slowly darkening evening, then huff. "Fuck it I'll just ask."\n\nWhn you get back to the house, you engage in the round of greetings necessary when people have come back from a trip (apparently), then clear your throat. "Hey, Yang? Talk to you in the garden for a minute?"\n\n"Hm? Yeah, sure," she agrees, following along after you.\n\n"I like the new arm, by the way. Grey get you that?" you ask.\n\n"Oh yeah!" Yang grins, holding up the new cyberlimb and wiggling the fingers. Unlike the old one it's almost entirely gold, made of more sloping angles and sleek lines, very faint images of holochrome silver flames etched across its surface. It reminds you of some of the starships you've seen, really, especially with the slightly angular fingertips. "I mean the old one was great and felt really natural, but at the end of the day a lot of the sensation I got from it was just sort of... 'pressure'. Even though this looks more mechanical, it feels really alive! I can feel breezes blow on it, my clothes, when I touch other people... bunch of other information too," she adds cheerfully, reaching out and snagging your hand. "Here!"\n\n"Um," you murmur, fighting not to blush.\n\n"Like just from this I've got your body temperature, your pulse, a-... huh, both kinda high." Yang raises her head from looking at your hand, purple eyes curious. "You okay?"\n\n"Yeah, just... jogged home," you reply, gently tugging your hand free. "Glad you like it, though."\n\n"What you said made a lot of sense... that I have to fully accept my condition. Looked at that way, I decided maybe to start sort of... enjoying... the options I've got," she adds with a grin, wiggling her fingers with a few whisper-soft clicks. "Still a little weird to think of being modular, but there you go. Oh hey, what'd you wanna ask?"\n\n"Oh, I was just sort of curious about something," you answer with a shrug, trying to make it seem like no big deal. "I... guess I just wanted to come right out and ask, how are things with Blake going?"\n\n"Mm. Well," Yang says with a shrug of her own, settling down in the little porch swing off to the side. "We're actually on a really good foot as partners now, I think, our teamwork's really melded back together, she's settled down from the guilt and protectiveness she was having, we talk probably more openly than we did even back at Beacon. She's back to being my best friend, and... I'm learning to trust her again. So yeah, pretty good," she says with a flash of a grin.\n\nYou grin back, but can't help but let a little worry seep into your voice as you ask, "Romantically though?"\n\n"... Um..." Yang ducks her head a little, grin falling away as she more brushes golden fingertips along her neck than rubs. "That's... not really gelling up so well," she admits after a few. "We were always kind of on the verge of it, it seemed like back at Beacon, but we never... clicked," she murmurs, waving her hands around each other. "... on that level. I don't know if she's like... got some issues with her sexuality, or if it's just me, or it's all the stuff between us now, but... it's looking like it's probably not gonna happen," she concludes, sounding like she's admitting it to herself as much as you. Then she takes a deep breath and grins. "But! Got my best friend back, and that's enough, huh?"\n\n<hr>\n[["Glad you think so."|KaiYang1x2]]\n\n[["... No. It's not."|KaiYang1ax1]]

You press your lips to hers, gently drawing her in closer with a hand on her cheek. You can feel Blake stiffen in shock... and then something breaks in her and she presses in against you, kissing you back hard and needfully. The kiss of someone who has never put old wonderings to bed, never been able to forget the way she felt about people when she was younger. The kiss of someone who has badly needed a lover's tender touch and warm love since losing her own, has been aching and needing and weeping for the loss of it. For just a heady moment, abandoning herself to the kiss because she needed one.\n\nAnd then she draws back whispering, "Oh Kai, we can't, we shouldn't have, we-"\n\n"Hey, don't stop on my account."\n\nBlake immediately leaps to her feet, eyes wide with fear as she whirls to face Yang standing in the doorway. "Yang! I'm so sorry, I never meant to, I... I..." She trails off, blinking slowly, body gradually relaxing a little. "You... don't look upset."\n\n"You noticed," Yang replies with a little laugh, folding her arms over her chest, a sunny smile on her face. \n\n"Yeah I maybe should have mentioned that Yang and I had a talk last night, and that we'd like to include you in our marriage, if you're up for it." Laughing ruefully, you rub the back of your head. "I may have kind of buried the lead on that one, sorry."\n\n"Include me in... I... what?" Blake murmurs, turning back and forth.\n\n"I mean we don't have to leap right into anything," Yang picks up as she walks over, descending the short flight of steps from the entryway to cross the floor. She stops in front of Blake, and her expression grows more tender as she lifts a hand to brush her thumb across the other woman's cheek. "... Blake, I still see love in your eyes when you look at me," she whispers softly. "If I'm wrong, look me in the eye and tell me."\n\n"... Yang, you're married," Blake whispers, very noticeably looking away instead.\n\n"Yeah, to someone who not only doesn't mind, but is actually pretty keen on the idea." You rise to your feet and move over to her, resting a hand on her back, waiting for her to settle after jumping a little to start rubbing. "Blake... Yang and I made a mistake ten years ago. And that mistake wasn't getting together... it was us both assuming we didn't need to ask you if you wanted to be part of it. Because we've both never stopped loving you either."\n\n"... What?" She looks back and forth between you. "Why... why didn't you ever tell me?" she finally asks, sounding almost betrayed.\n\n"We... weren't working out at the time," Yang admits. "I thought it wasn't going to happen, I thought you'd... decided you'd rather only be friends and partners. When Kai confessed her feelings, and I admitted mine for her to myself, I thought... that was it, I thought anything else was done. But... we've been a lot of places since then," she continues. "The multiverse is a big place. Things we take for granted here are strange elsewhere, and vice versa. I've thought for a long time that if we had it to do over again, we'd ask you to be with us from the start. But there's something Kai says..."\n\n"You don't have to keep making mistakes. You can decide to change your life," you pick up, smiling. "So maybe it's ten years late. But Blake, let us correct our mistake of then... be with us. Or if that's not what you want, at least you shouldn't keep making the same mistake of being alone."\n\n"We'll still be here for you either way," Yang urges gently. "Friends, lovers, wives, however you want it, just... don't keep us at arm's length anymore. Choose how you want us in your life and we'll make it happen. But... please choose."\n\n"... This... is a lot to take in," Blake murmurs after a long moment, turning away and putting a hand over her face. "I... need time to think about this."\n\n"Okay, sure, take all the time you need," you assure her.\n\nShe nods a little, just standing there silently. Then she whirls and throws herself at Yang, wrapping her arms around the blonde's shoulders and kissing her passionately. After holding it for long seconds, she draws her head back just enough to move it and rest it on Yang's shoulder instead. "I've thought about it. And I don't want to be alone anymore. Please."\n\n"You don't have to be," Yang assures her gently, stroking her short hair with a smile.\n\n"Well. Guess we're going house hunting, huh?" you comment, grinning as you step in to rub Blake's back again. At her curious look, you answer, "Can't ask Auryn to live above a bar, can we?"\n\n"I... thank you," Blake says again, slumping her head. "This is all moving so fast, but... but you're right, some part of me has wanted this for ten years. And I'm tired of making excuses and telling myself I shouldn't do what I want. ... And what I want is a home. A family. Again."\n\n"I already made an appointment with a realtor, she'll be showing us some empty cabins that have gone up in the last few years," Yang announces.\n\n"... You two were awfully sure of yourselves," Blake says with a bit of a huff, despite smiling, looking back and forth between the two.\n\n"Blake. You named your son 'Auryn'," you answer dryly.\n\nBlake flushes a little, her eyes briefly flitting to Yang's hair. "That's... she's my best friend, best friends do that all the time!" At both of you just grinning at her, she huffs again. "... Alright, fine, I may have still had longing issues. Pietro was a very tolerant man for not looking too deeply at my suggestion."\n\n"He was a great guy," you assure her sincerely. "And he'd want you to be happy again."\n\n"You're right. So... I guess..." Blake takes a deep breath and nods. "... Let's see some houses."\n\n-\n\n"And this one is new, but as you can see it's in a very classical Patch style," the realtor declares as she shows all of you into the living room with its fireplace, door to the kitchen, and glass door opening to the back yard.\n\n"No kidding, this look familiar, Kai?" Yang says with a laugh, pointing around the room.\n\n"The mantle's different, stairs are situated in a different place, but otherwise yeah it definitely looks like home," you agree with a chuckle of your own. "How many bedrooms?"\n\n"Three on this one, one's on the smaller side and could easily be converted into an office instead."\n\nNoticing that Blake's eyes have grown a little dull as she looks around, you glance at the realtor. "Hey, would you mind giving us the room for a little bit?"\n\n"Certainly. May I wait upstairs?"\n\n"Sure."\n\nOnce you've heard her close one of the upstairs doors, you watch as Blake sinks to sit on the hearth. "Blake, what's wrong?"\n\n"It's just... sinking in on me, I guess," she sighs, voice rather heavy. "This morning, I was still in mourning for my husband. A few hours later and I'm looking at houses with my... girlfriends. My head's swimming a little, is all."\n\n"Life still comes at you fast on Remnant, lessened Grimm population or no," Yang teases gently as the two of you sit down on either side of her. Then her voice turns more gentle as she says, "Having second thoughts?"\n\n"... No, no," Blake says after only a brief hesitation, shaking her head. "I think it will take me a little time to build up to... some things... but making a home for Auryn together, I want that very much," she admits.\n\n"We'll do that. But also think of the life ahead that we could build, Blake," you urge, taking one of her hands and bringing it to rest in your lap, enclosing it in both your own hands. "For the past year you've been mired in your loss and not moving forward. Think about the future you want. Are we there?"\n\n"... Oh yes." Her yellow eyes are very warm now as she looks first at you, then at Yang. "Now that I've accepted this is happening, I see that very strongly. And you know something else I see?"\n\n"What's that?" Yang prompts.\n\nAnd now those pretty yellow eyes start twinkling. "We should probably have more bedrooms than this."\n\nYou blink. Yang blinks. \n\nThen you both laugh.\n\n"Yeah. Okay. I'll tell her we need something with at least... five?" you ask with a glance, grinning wider at the happiness on Blake's face. "Five bedrooms."\n\n-\n\n"So you definitely want more kids, huh?" Yang asks as she drives the bright yellow jeep she's dubbed 'Hornet' back towards her father's home.\n\n"Yes. If you're both up for it," Blake asserts firmly, nodding. "Auryn has been... the single most wonderful thing I've ever done with my life. When Pietro was alive, I had all these plans for us having more children when Auryn was a little older. I'm... still catching up to the idea that those plans aren't over forever," she admits with a bob of the head. "But if I look at us having a future together... I want more children."\n\n"Well we've been talking about that for years, maybe you were just the missing element we needed," you allow with a grin. You lean forward over the seat to peck her cheek. "You wanna wait a little while to tell everyone else?"\n\n"... Please." Blake bobs her head. "I do need some time to adjust. I think we should all of us take some more time to settle in, even while we're making plans. I want to talk about a lot... feel out a lot."\n\n"That makes sense," Yang agrees with a bob of the head. "Dad and Ruby have heard me and Kai talk about moving out of the bar for awhile now, if we say we're doing it so you can have a place to stay longterm we can leave it at that for right now."\n\n"What do you think you'll do with the apartment over the bar, though?" Blake asks curiously.\n\n"Mom's offered to buy it a few times if we ever got tired of it," you supply. "She and Qrow don't mind his apartment since they just kind of treat it as a place to crash together at the end of the day, but I imagine neither of them would exactly mind the upgrade."\n\nYang pulls up outside the house, and all three of you pile out. The moment Blake walks in, Auryn leaps up off of Ruby's lap and rushes over to hug her legs. Smiling, she leans down to pick him up and heft him into her arms. "Did you have fun with Aunt Ruby, baby?" she asks, leaning in to nuzzle his hair a little, her eyes dancing in delight as he gives a little nod, his cat ears twitching. "That's good, I'm glad."\n\n"... Momma glad?" he says softly, smiling just a little.\n\nBlake starts... then smiles even wider. "Oh yes, sweetheart, Momma's very glad," she assures him, bumping her nose against his gently, and looking like she's going to melt a bit as he snuggles in against her and tucks his head against the nape of her neck.\n\n'Well my ovaries just exploded,' you think with a grin as you head over. "How 'bout you, Rubes, have fun?"\n\n"Best daaaay!" Ruby explains happily. "You guys seem cheerful too."\n\n"Yeah, we've decided to pull the trigger on a house," Yang explains as she shrugs out of her jacket and hangs it up. "Kai and I. We made an offer on one today, it should come through pretty handily by tomorrow."\n\n"And Blake's agreed to stick around for awhile and stay at our place while she takes a rest," you add as you flop down on the couch.\n\n"... Riiight, stay with you," Ruby says, the twinkling in her silver eyes saying she's not entirely fooled. But playing along, she says, "That's great though! I'll get to see Auryn so much!"\n\n"Would you like that honey?" Blake murmurs softly as she rocks Auryn back and forth a little. "You want to stay on Patch awhile and play with Aunt Ruby some more?" At another little nod against her shoulder she smiles again, bumping her head gently against his. "Well we will then," she declares in a satisfied tone as she makes her way over to sit down next to you.\n\n"Hey little man," you greet happily as Auryn peeks up at you, ears flicking again... then give a little "oop" as he quickly hides his face again.\n\n"Oh honey don't you remember Aunt Kai singing to you last night?" Blake not-quite-scolds, jostling Auryn comfortingly to urge him to peek at you again. "You liked her song didn't you?"\n\n"... Momma song," he asserts after a moment, tucking his face against her again.\n\n"I sing that one to him a lot too," Blake admits with a sheepish grin. "He'll get used to you soon I'm sure."\n\nYou venture to pet Auryn's hair a bit, and while his ears flick again he doesn't seem to react negatively, so you keep doing it because aaaaaa so sooooft! \n\n"I guess I should go track down Raven in the woods and tell her she only has to hide out for another day or two," Yang notes ruefully, turning back towards the coat rack.\n\n"I'll go, babe, still got my jacket on," you note, standing up and flapping your hoodie jacket briefly in demonstration. "She probably didn't go that far."\n\n"For all we know she went to Mistral," Yang mutters, only to oof softly as Ruby elbows her side.\n\n"Don't be mean to Mom."\n\n"She's got it coming!"\n\nYou head out into the woods out back, breaking into a light jog. You know where to start your search. Raven Branwen would never admit it in a million years, but she's as sentimentally attached to a certain spot on Patch as any of the rest of the Rose-Xiao Long household. She just has her own way of showing it. Time was that even on Patch, you'd have never come this far into the woods without Red Legacy at your hip, but nowadays you figure the .45 loaded with Fire Dust rounds holstered at the small of your back is plenty. After about half an hour, your jog takes you out of the trees and across a long stretch of ground towards the edge of a cliff, towards a simple stone and metal monument set close to its edge. It looks like it's been polished in the last twenty-four hours (old feathery softy), but you still take a moment to brush away a few of the fall leaves.\n\n"Hey, Summer. Not staying for long today. Just looking for your partner. ... May wanna talk to you about some stuff later, though. For now I'll just say, man you would have loved seeing how happy Ruby is today. She friggin' loves looking after kids. ... Anyway, later."\n\nRising to your feet, you turn away from the monument and close your eyes, stretching out your senses. Which won't help much if Raven's deliberately shielding herself to avoid being found. But it really doesn't take long for you to feel out the familiar shimmer of dark red, and you take off towards a different direction of the woods. As you draw nearer, you quiet your footfalls, more out of respect for her likely activity than to try and sneak up on her. You know you're not. Instead eventually you look up, keeping your voice low as you greet, "Hey, Raven."\n\n"Mm." The other red-eyed woman is crouched on a tree branch like a ninja despite still being in the casual clothes she was wearing yesterday. Apparently not having bothered to take any weapons with her when she left the house, she's simply turning a little, slightly sharp-ended stone over in her fingers as she stares at something. \n\n"Just wanted to let you know, Auryn's probably only going to be at the house another day at most. You should be clear to come home day after tomorrow, if you're ready."\n\n"Mm."\n\nYou actually start to turn for home, when Raven surprises you by speaking up again, though she keeps her voice low too. "Does that mean Belladonna's leaving again?"\n\n"No," you answer, turning back to her. "She's going to be staying with Yang and I. We decided to finally move out of the bar and get a house, so there's plenty of room for her without imposing on you guys' guest room."\n\nAt first Raven says nothing again, eyes just narrowing a little. Then she throws the rock, rebounding it off the high trunk of a tree and directly into the mask of a small Nevermore, which shrieks as it dissipates.\n\n"You had a direct line," you note, grinning.\n\n"That got boring after awhile." Raven turns to actually sit sideways on the branch, regarding you evenly for long moments. "It's good Belladonna's staying, though. I didn't like the look of her when I saw her before."\n\n"Too sad?"\n\nRaven quirks an eyebrow. "Too familiar." \n\n"Huh. You're feeling open today, and not even in 'smug mode' while you do it," you observe. "What's up?"\n\nShe's quiet for awhile, just looking at you. Then she scoffs softly. "You may fool strangers, but you think anyone even passingly familiar with the three of you is going to buy this 'she's just staying over' business?"\n\n"... Fucksakes are we that obvious?" you reply with a frown, resting your hands on your hips.\n\n"Probably not to most people," Raven allows after another brief silence, leaning forward and resting her forearms on her thighs, having apparently no trouble balancing on the thin branch. "Maybe I just see it better. But you're really going to do that? Three people together? Are you going to keep calling her your roommate forever?"\n\n"No, just until she's settled and we work some things out. We kind of sprang it on her and she's still adjusting her mind to it. ... Wait, what, you 'see it better'?" you ask with a frown. Then blink suddenly. "Holy shit."\n\n"For someone that reads people like Belladonna reads books, Sterling, you sure do catch on to some things slow," Raven scoffs softly, red eyes twinkling just the tiniest bit.\n\n"Well it's not like she's around for me to see you together. ... Shit, sorry," you add at the tiny little flicker of hurt in Raven's eyes. "I just... I guess I never thought about it."\n\nRaven looks at you, then fishes a pocket knife out of her pants and snaps a twig off the branch, starting to clean it, keeping her eyes on that instead. "I suppose if you're even taking steps towards owning up one day, you're stronger than I was," she admits after a minute. "I was struggling to find my place in a world outside my tribe, struggling with what Ozpin was asking of us, and I suppose some part of me wanted to be as... 'normal' as I could outside of all that. It turned out, I wasn't very good at it. I didn't think I loved Yang the way I should, I just kept feeling... 'this isn't me'. Maybe if I'd admitted I wanted Summer there too in the first place things would have been different. Instead I decided to turn everything over to her, telling myself it was better. I'd be happier, they'd be happier."\n\n"..." You keep looking at her briefly, then turn and move to sit on the ground, leaning back against the trunk of the tree. "... Were you happy?"\n\nRaven glances upward. Seems to consider. "I told myself I was," she finally concludes. \n\n"Do you think it's a good idea?" you ask after a bit. "Yang and Blake and I all trying to be together?"\n\n"Sterling, I want you to carefully consider who you're asking for relationship advice."\n\nYou scoff a little. "Okay granted."\n\n"You didn't have to agree so easily."\n\n"Still. I value your opinion," you note, glancing up at her. "The you that ran away is twenty-five years in the past at this point, Raven. You've gotta admit that at some point in the last decade you turned into a good wife and mother. Ruby certainly lights up when she sees you."\n\n"How the hell did that happen?" Raven mutters above you, before there's the click of her knife closing and she leaps lightly down to join you, sitting down on the ground on the trunk next to you. She leans her head back, looking up at the branches. "... Like I said, you're stronger than me. And you seem quite good at not caring what others think. Which is what I should have done in the first damn place. I think the three of you will manage, whatever slings and arrows Remnant has for you. Your Semblance can certainly take a few of those."\n\n"Hopefully the reaction won't be that extreme."\n\n"No, I suppose not. Especially here. These people know you, they accept you already. Maybe that was another reason I never felt quite able to take that step... I never fit in here either. I knew how to live among my tribe and that was... pretty much it."\n\n"You do okay now," you assure her, glancing over.\n\nShe snorts. "I do okay now. After ten years of practice. How do you think I did when I was twenty-one and new here?"\n\n"... Fair."\n\n"My advice? Do what you want," Raven says finally. "Because this world may have gotten safer since you all offed that thing from the shadows, but it hasn't gotten any more fair. Belladonna's certainly learned that. So be as happy as you can before it reminds you of that little fact."\n\n"That somehow manages to be both incredibly depressing and entirely uplifting," you muse, glancing over at her. Then giving her a grin.\n\n"My specialty." Raven rises to her feet and dusts herself off a bit. "Well, let's go back."\n\n"Auryn's still there," you note, quirking an eyebrow.\n\n"And if you're going to be keeping your stray cat then I'd better start working on getting used to him, too."\n\n"Thanks." You hop up as well, before adding, "Though that's kind of racist."\n\n"Oh what isn't these days."\n\nThe two of you make your return to the house, Yang looking more surprised than anyone when Raven walks through the door with you. Auryn has settled to play some sort of game involving colored disks with his mother and Ruby, and looks over towards you as the door opens, cat ears twitching.\n\n"... Hello... little boy," Raven says awkwardly, raising her hand and squinching her fingers a few times. She purses her lips as he immediately rushes to hide under Ruby's cape, the other red-eyed Huntress underhand pointing toward him and giving you a 'see?' look.\n\n"He'll get used to you too, lighten up," you assure her, patting her on the back.\n\n"Mom, I'm making dinner tonight, any requests?" Ruby chirps as Raven heads for the stairs, presumably to shower after spending the night outside.\n\n"Whatever you want to make is fine, Ruby."\n\n"'Kaaay. You should play with us when you get done!"\n\n"... Fine," Raven grumbles before heading upstairs.\n\n"Huh. What got into her?" Yang murmurs as she walks over to join you. \n\n"Missed opportunities. Nevermind, I'll talk to you about it later."\n\nA bit later that evening, you, Yang, and Blake are all sitting in the living room, discussing furniture ideas with the recently-returned-from-class Taiyang, while Raven sits near the fire frowning at the pair of round stones in her fingers, one yellow, one blue. She eyes Auryn with his small handful of them, the young boy gazing back at her evenly, one of his cat ears twitching. "Don't do it," she says firmly.\n\nHis ear twitches again. He brings his hand over, picks up the red stone from his palm.\n\n"Do not. Do it," Raven half-growls.\n\nAuryn pokes his lips out at her. Then he drops the red stone right into the center of the pile the two of them have made, sending it and about five more skittering down the sides.\n\n"The nerve." Raven eyes him in annoyance, before gathering up the fallen stones and curling them into her palm. "Fine, your move again," she huffs, making him perk up and smile a little.\n\n"That is so friggin' weird," you comment under your breath before turning your attention back to the conversation.\n\n"Guys, dinner!" Ruby calls cheerfully.\n\nEveryone starts to get up, Raven pausing briefly and informing Auryn, "That means this is a tie," in a serious tone before rising and heading for the kitchen. Grinning and shaking your head in mild disbelief, you walk over towards him. \n\n"Hey, c'mon little man, dinner time," you assert, reaching for him, only to blink as he scuttles backward a little.\n\n<hr>\n[[Pick him up anyway.|KaiYang]]\n\n[[Let him be.|KaiYang1x4]]

"Glad to hear that. I mean, glad you've got your partner back, not... y'know," you finish a little lamely, waving a hand to the side. "... Ah, Dragon, this isn't going well," you can't help but mutter to yourself, looking away.\n\nYang just looks at you, raising an eyebrow. Then she grins and steps closer. "Hey, Kai?"\n\n"Yeah?" you ask, turning back to look at her... then your eyes widen as she steps in and kisses you, pulling you in close against her body. Your eyes widen, then sink closed, and for some damn reason or another you feel the weirdest urge to lift one foot off the ground as you lean in and kiss her back.\n\nWhen she draws back, Yang grins at you and murmurs, "Let's just enjoy the moment, alright?"\n\n"... Yeah, works for me," you answer with a grin, throwing your arms around her neck and kissing her this time.\n\n[TEN YEARS LATER]\n\n"Mm," you murmur, scratching your cheek as you try to focus on the slabs of meat in front of you. Then you give your head a little shake. "Oh, hey, right, did you have any duck? Like personal use amounts, one or two."\n\n"I most certainly do, and I'll vouch for their quality myself, dear," the little old lady behind the counter says with a wide grin. "You want those sent to Taiyang's place I'm betting? I'll send Colby out there with them, he always loves the chance to get a glimpse of Ruby Rose."\n\n'For more than one reason,' you think with a grin. "Thanks, that'd be a huge help. Aaaand for the pub we'll take... thiiiis cut," you answer, having to quickly cover your mouth as you yawn. "And three pounds of cheddar."\n\n"Long night, dear?" she says with a teasing tone as she lifts your selection off the counter and turns to set it aside.\n\n"I mean we do own a bar," you answer dryly, shaking your head.\n\n"I thought that might be the case. Heeeere you go, on the house," she chirps, setting a covered ceramic cup on the counter.\n\n"Oh my Dragon you are a lifesaver," you groan gratefully as you pick up the warm cup. "Thanks, Ma."\n\n"Always my pleasure. You tell Yang and all the rest hello for me, alright?"\n\n"Absotively. I'll bring the cup by later."\n\n"Don't you dare, what you spend in here I can afford to give out a branded cup now and then."\n\nYou stroll out of Roon's Deli sipping your coffee, sighing happily at the warmth as it fills you against the cool Patch day. It's nothing compared to the winter on the Mantellian tundra, for sure, but that's a distant memory at this point. You set off along the lightly populated streets, exchanging nods or quiet pleasantries with people you pass... until one in particular catches your glance. Definitely not an everyday face. "Blake?" you call.\n\nYellow eyes blink, and the feline Faunus turns to face you as you cross the street, her short bob of hair swaying just a tiny bit with the motion. "Oh. Kai, hello," she says, smiling in a way that's a little awkward. "I thought I might run into you while I was here. How long has it been...?"\n\n"Um." You look down at her side, blinking a few times. "I'm guessing... at least four years?"\n\n"Oh, of course, right." Blake laughs softly as she squats down, putting her hands on the shoulders of the little boy who'd been half hiding behind her leg, peeking yellow eyes up at you through dark lashes with the feline ears atop his head laid down a bit. "Kai, this is my son Auryn. Say hi?" she urges him softly, bumping her nose in his hair. When he remains silent, she gives you a sheepish look. "He's just shy."\n\n"Hey little man," you greet him with a grin, unable to help feeling delight just at the sight of him.\n\n"He's still finding his words a bit," Blake adds more quietly as she stands, Auryn's hand held in hers. \n\n"Ah. You in town visiting the EI office?" you ask, glancing down the street.\n\n"Yes. Admittedly the one here in Patch is practically just a recruiting station, but it's still good to drop by in person occasionally," she answers with a nod. \n\n"Hey, listen, you should come by Ruby's place tonight," you assert after only a brief hesitation, gesturing a bit with your coffee cup. "Come by this evening, we'll talk, have dinner, catch up some."\n\n"Oh, I don't know... I'm so busy," she says, looking down at Auryn... and obviously trying to keep you from reading her face. "I was actually planning to go ahead and be on the next flight out after I finished my meeting."\n\n"... Blake," you say very softly. "... These are the people you saved the world together with, not just old school chums, and we've never even met your son."\n\nShe winces at that, ears laying down... but it's obvious you scored a hit. "It just... seems like it would be awkward."\n\n"Ruby will be there, she'll smooth over the awkward," you assure her with a grin, before adding teasingly, "We're having duck."\n\nDespite her attempt to control her response, you can see her ears perk... then she laughs, Auryn looking up at her with an expression of surprise on his little face as she does. "Well if you're going to bribe me with Taiyang's sweet roasted duck, I guess I don't have a choice."\n\n"Great, around five then? Give us time to talk and catch up." At her tolerant nod, you grin and set off again. "See you then. See you too little man," you add with a wink at Auryn.\n\nThat evening you're the one to get up as the doorbell rings, making your way over and opening it up, not exactly surprised to see it's Blake, dressed casually in a black sweater and white hoodie jacket and purple pants. "Heeey, glad you made it."\n\n"It's been awhile but I still remember the way," Blake answers with a smile.\n\n"Is that Blake? BLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAKE!" Ruby squeals happily as she rushes down from upstairs, leaving rose petals in her wake as she snaps to the front door and throws her arms around her former teammate. "Blaaaake I missed yoooooou!"\n\nBlake laughs again, and again you can't help but notice that her son looks a little surprised. "I missed you too, Ruby."\n\n"... Aaaaa look it's the babyyyyy!" Ruby squeals in delight as she redirects her attention to Auryn, silver eyes shining. "Look at him with his sweet face and his perfect little ears he looks just like you!!"\n\nAt first Auryn's ears had laid down a bit and he'd shrunk away at Ruby's exuberance... but then they perk back up, and his own face lights up a little as he holds his arms out to her. Ruby inhales excitedly, tossing a quick glance to Blake for permission, the other woman giving a quick but surprised-seeming nod before Ruby scoops Auryn up and cuddles him close. "So precioooous!" she coos as she starts practically hopping around the room holding him.\n\n"Auryn usually never takes to people like that," Blake admits as she finally steps inside, letting you close the door behind her. "But then, it's Ruby," she adds with a just slightly rueful grin.\n\n"Yup," you agree with a warm grin of your own. \n\nThere's the more measured sound of boots on the stairs, and Yang descends into view, smiling with just the faintest hint of wanness in her purple eyes as she sees her old partner. "Hey, Blake, it's been awhile," she says as she approaches.\n\n"I... know, it-" Blake cuts off as she catches sight of something and stares. "... Yang, your hand..."\n\n"Hm? Oh right, you haven't seen it," Yang says with a grin as she lifts her right hand, flexing it a few times, showing off the seemingly flesh-and-blood limb. "I got this on the Guildhall a couple of years back for 'casual' wear. It's still artificial but you can't tell unless you look really close. I still wear Blaze 'on the job', but I even remade Ember just in case," she notes, flashing the golden bracelet.\n\n"It's... amazing," Blake allows, smiling, and shooting you a glance. "I guess the fairy tale was true after all, huh?" she teases, before looking abashed and glancing down.\n\n"Kinda." Yang smiles at her more kindly, before adding softly, "It's been awhile."\n\n"It has," Blake agrees, stepping forward and hugging her old friend a bit awkwardly, Yang patting her back as she returns it.\n\n'This may not have been one of my better impulses,' you think with a sigh.\n\nJust then, the back door slides open, causing Ruby Rose to whirl towards it, eyes still alight with delight rather than the mystical energy she used to save the world, hefting the boy in her arms up a bit. "Mom! Look! Baby!"\n\nRaven Branwen, clad in a red sweater and black slacks, takes one look at Auryn and immediately sets the basket of strawberries she's carrying down inside the house, closes the door again, and walks back towards the woods.\n\n"... Um," Blake says with a blink.\n\n"That's... just her, nevermind," Yang mutters with a roll of the eyes, making a few dismissive flicks of the fingers in the back yard's direction.\n\nEventually, after Blake and Taiyang have exchanged greetings (and hugs) as well, all of you settle down with glasses of hard cider in hand, save for Ruby who's far too busy dancing attention on Auryn in her lap to pay any to her own glass. "So Yang, you're in GIPSE now?" Blake asks.\n\n"Yeah, after Salem was defeated, there were so few Grimm that there wasn't much work as a Huntress," your wife replies, sitting on the couch beside you with her arm draped around your shoulders. "Kai suggested I get my Guild membership, and for awhile we kicked around doing those sorts of jobs, it was actually a lot of fun."\n\n"But you're not doing them much anymore?" Blake concludes from her phrasing, sipping at her glass.\n\n"No, we built up a nice little nestegg and opened a bar here in Patch," you answer. "We still take a job, either Huntress or merc, every so often to stay sharp or as a personal favor to someone, but we've kind of settled down to the quiet life."\n\n"That sounds lovely, I'm happy for you," the feline Faunus answers with sincerity, eyes warm... mostly.\n\n'After all these years, I guess,' you think with a silent sigh, flitting your own eyes to Yang beside you. Well, you guess you can't blame her. It's been slightly more years for the two of you, after all, and you still love her with all your heart. Yang Xiao Long is not a presence in one's life that is shed easily.\n\nAfter dinner there's more chatting, and sipping cider, with Taiyang excusing himself and turning in, asserting he'd rather let the contemporaries talk. At the moment you're carrying Auryn, walking back and forth and rubbing his back gently as he grows steadily heavier in your arms and against your shoulder, singing quietly to him.\n\n"Years of joy have passed since then\nWith time I've seen you grow\nWatched you play, new each day\nI begged the time to slow..."\n\nSensing that Auryn is now completely out, you cut the song short and gently kneel to lower him onto a large pillow near the fireplace, draping a quilt over him before rejoining the others in the sitting area.\n\n"That really is one of Weiss's most beautiful works," Blake says softly, her eyes shimmering a little.\n\n"It is," you agree, grinning and keeping your voice down as you settle next to Yang again.\n\n"Little Nika is getting so big now!" Ruby adds in an excited whisper.\n\n"You're very good with children, Kai," Blake adds, glancing briefly between you and Yang, eyes just warm now. "Have you two thought about...?"\n\n"Here and there, every so often," Yang allows with a bob of the head. "Still kind of trying to decide exactly how, or what to do after. After all, we'd also have to do something about getting a house, living above a bar is great for us and it's a nice place, buuut not sure I'd wanna raise a kid there," she admits in amusement.\n\n"How about you, Blake, you and Pete thinking about having more maybe?" you ask with a smile, eyes wandering briefly to the picture on the wall of the last time all of you were together even briefly, one of Weiss's fundraisers, Blake standing hand-in-hand with a fair-skinned man her own age, hair a dark grey and eyes a deep brown. And you immediately regret the question as her ears droop and her eyes settle downward, all the energy going out of her body.\n\n"I... lost Pietro," she admits softly. "Almost a year ago now. We... didn't catch the signs in time, and in a matter of months he was just... gone."\n\n"Oh God, Blake," Yang says, her eyes widening.\n\n"Why didn't you call us?" Ruby asks, hurt and sorrow in her eyes.\n\n"It... had been so long, and I was just in the throes of dealing with it, and afterwards I... didn't know what to say." Blake wipes a palm at her cheeks. "I didn't know what to say to anyone. Auryn had been coming along so well but after that his speech development stalled, and I tried to keep up a brave front for him but I think he knew I was miserable underneath it. It was all I could do to just... kind of throw myself into work and taking care of him, and I couldn't find any words to get back to any of you after the distance I let grow between us."\n\n"Oh Blake," you murmur, getting up and moving over, leaning down to wrap your arms around her. "I'm so sorry."\n\nThings are quiet for awhile, Yang and Ruby hugging her in turn, and Blake just sitting and crying for awhile in the company of her friends, her son safely asleep and unaware nearby. Eventually you say, "Listen, Blake, forget awkwardness. Stay here on Patch for a couple of days, huh?"\n\n"You can stay here," Ruby offers immediately. "I'll watch Auryn for you as much as you want!"\n\n"I..." You can see her on the border of refusing, almost reflexively.\n\n"At the least stay until tomorrow," you press. "There's someone else I want you to meet. It's an Equality Initiative thing too, so if you need to think of it that way."\n\nYou can see her sag a little with relief at you offering her a branch that has to do with her job, and she finally nods. "Alright. That... sounds nice."\n\n"Great. Come by the bar tomorrow morning, around ten? You know where it is?"\n\n"It's Patch, so I imagine I can find it," Blake answers dryly. "I'll be there. Oh, I guess if I'm staying, I should probably put Auryn to bed," she says softly, getting up and moving over to gather up her son, quilt and all.\n\n"Here, I'll show you the guest bedroom," Ruby whispers, hopping up and leading Blake off down the hall.\n\n"... It's okay, right?" you ask Yang, glancing at her.\n\n"Of course it is," she assures you immediately, before sighing a bit. "God, it's been ten years, we need to get over it at some point. I really never thought she'd..."\n\n"Let's not assume it's just that," you say quietly, rubbing her arm.\n\nIn the short quiet that follows, there's a soft sliding noise from above, a panel of the ceiling opening to allow red eyes to peek out. "Is the child gone?"\n\n"Oh for." Yang puts a hand to her face, then looks upward. "He's in the guest room, Mom, he and Blake are staying for at least a day or two."\n\n"... I'm going hunting," Raven declares evenly before sliding the panel back into place.\n\n"Just don't do it for fifteen years this time, you old bat," Yang mutters with a roll of the eyes.\n\nShortly afterwards, you and Yang say your goodnights to Ruby and Blake, setting back off for Patch proper. Parking in the small garage attached to the building that also contains Bumblebee, the two of you bypass Molten Silver entirely, assuming it's in good hands and heading up through the back staircase into the apartment that takes up the entire second floor. "Quite a night, huh?" Yang comments as she hangs up her jacket.\n\n"Yeah. A little hard to believe Pietro's dead. I wish she'd told us," you admit with a sigh as you toss your own over the back of a chair. \n\n"... I think you're right, I think there's probably more here than just things being awkward because Blake and I never hooked up romantically," Yang says after a few moments, having silently removed her boots after flumping down on the overstuffed couch the two of you and your usual visitors have dubbed 'The Napmaster'. "But then I guess you had it in mind to figure out exactly what, huh?"\n\n"Detective Sterling is on the case, babe," you announce with a snort as you toe out of your own sneakers. "Yeah, I'll try and worm it out of her tomorrow."\n\n"Good. But y'know, for tonight..." Yang steps over to you, leaning in to kiss you warmly, body radiating heat in the slightly cool apartment, enfolding you with her warmth as much as her arms. "Why don't you and I spend some... quality time together?" she continues, smiling sultrily as she reaches down to start undoing your pants.\n\n"What, you mean like every night?" you tease back, wiggling your hips as she slips the denim down them and off, leaving you in slightly iridescent silver panties and a thin red shirt as you start undoing the buttons of her shirt.\n\n"That is one of the benefits of not having kids yet," Yang murmurs, purple eyes warm and wanting as she slides her hand down the front of your panties, making you gasp softly. "Yoooou know these are my favorite."\n\n"I might," you murmur, grinning at her as you wiggle your hips a little again. "So try not to rip them off this time, huh?"\n\n"Well we can just solve that potential issue right here and now," Yang declares, giving sliding her hand around and moving the other to tug, dropping the panties to the living room floor as well.\n\nYou manage to get her own clothes off in the process of getting to the bedroom, leaving a trail of them from in front of the couch to in front of the bed, pausing to pull off your shirt as well. "Strap tonight?" you ask mostly as a formality, knowing well your wife's more aggressive moods as you move to the little cabinet at the wall.\n\n"Mmhmmm. You pick."\n\n"Ohhhh gosh let's see," you declare, casting your eyes across the rows of sex toys, before grinning and selecting the long, somewhat pointed one with ridges along the top and bottom, its surface a sparkly gold color. "How about our old friend the Guardian Dragon?"\n\n"Oh wow who could have guessed it's only your favorite," Yang snorts good-naturedly, her grin both teasing and eager as you move back over to kneel in front of her, your red eyes fixed on her purple ones as you slip the straps of it around her strong hips, tugging them taut, giving her legs a few near-worshipful strokes afterward.\n\n"You all linked up?"\n\nYank blinks slowly, just a little flicker of light across her eyes, before she nods. "Mhm. But you better test it," she encourages.\n\nGrinning eagerly enough, you drag your tongue along the smooth-slick surface of the latex-like substance, letting part of it drag along the ridges, watching a visible shiver go through Yang. "Mmmm, thaaat's one of the other reasons this is my favorite," you coo softly, kissing along the overlapped 'plates' at the top and side, hearing her gasp softly every so often. "Seeing you do that."\n\n"Nnnnh." Yang strokes a hand over your hair, biting her lower lip as she watches you slide your own lips over the tip of the sensory feedback enabled dildo, swirling your tongue around the pointed a few times. "What's your speed tonight, babe?" she whispers. \n\nSlipping your mouth off her glittery golden cock for the moment, you stand and rise to your feet, padding to the bed while pulling the bronze ponytail clip out of your hair and setting it on the bedside table. "Fast. Rough." Flashing her a wicked smile, you climb up onto the bed and settle on all fours. "Really make me feel it, Firebird."\n\n"If you insist," she almost purrs, climbing up behind you, leaning forward to lean her body over yours, full breasts pressing against your back as she reaches around to caress your own, hands radiating warmth deep through you, fingers hot as they pinch your nipples and tug hard enough to make you groan softly. Then she straightens up, stroking fingers only briefly over your slit to check, and finding you wet and wanting brushes the tip of the golden strapon up and down it a few times before shoving in hard, making you give a sweet little cry as she fills you. Wasting no time, she grabs you by the waste and starts fucking you, yanking you back against her powerful thrusts, strong hips impacting your trim butt hard enough to make it jiggle some, your breasts jiggling even more energetically beneath you as her own bounce heavily. "This what you want, huh?" she half-growls, voice a mixture of love and possessiveness. "Want me to fuck you like this, huh?"\n\n"Fuuuuuck yes fuck fuck fuuuuck," you moan out, feeling that ridged, thick latex cock pounding away inside you, feeling Yang claim you for the more than hundredth time, her hands strong and yet still loving as she squeezes your waist. "Fuck me, baby, fuck me so good, nnnh," you near-whimper, your voice shaking a little with the quickness of her thrusts.\n\n"Yeah, that what you want, you wanna 'really feel it'?" she faux-mocks you, and you don't have to see her face to know there's a wicked grin on those pretty lips and burning love in those purple eyes as she slams into you. At your moans of positive response, she shifts the motion of her hips, rolling them a bit more but keeping hard, strong thrusts forward, really dragging the ridges of the strapon along your walls. "Well I will! Plus you know what my favorite part of this arm is, don't you?"\n\n'Oh shit,' you whimper gleefully internally, before giving a loud "ANH!" as her right hand drives down against your ass, the impact making you reflexively clench hard around the pumping latex cock inside you. Your cries only get sweeter as she spanks you again, and again, holding very little of her near-legendary strength back, knowing well you can take it, but more that you love it. Then her hand dives forward to grab a fistful of your hair, yanking on your head and making you arch your back, your eyes rolling a little at that extra feel of being controlled by the woman you love. "Ohhhh fuuuuuuck yeees," you groan out, voice still shaking with the impacts of her thrusts, making a low, shuddery sound in your throat as you cum for the first time.\n\nAfterward, the strapon now settled on the bedside table for cleaning and putting away in the morning, Yang cups herself against your back, hands roaming over your sweat-slick body gently, her natural body heat chasing away the cool of the night despite the tossed-aside covers. She kisses softly and lovingly along your ear and neck, eventually murmuring, "Good?" as if just to check.\n\n"Mm-hmm," you assure her just as a usual formality, turning your head and giving her a quick kiss on the lips.\n\n"... I guess I still worry sometimes," she admits after a moment, fingertips brushing back and forth along your hip. "I know we've talked about it before, but I guess I know how it wasn't always... gentle... for you before."\n\n"And like I tell you every time, I didn't love any of those people," you assure her, reaching down to take that hand and bringing it up to kiss her palm. "None of them loved me either. They sure didn't do this for me after." You scoot a bit to settle on your back, looking her in the eye. "I enjoy this because I know you love me. I know you'll never actually hurt me, or use me in any way I don't want you to. And that's one of the big reasons I love you."\n\nYang just smiles, in that way that says she loves you to the depths of her soul but she's still a little sad that she's the first one to show you that sort of decency and consideration. She leans in, kissing your lips a bit more lingeringly, before asking, "Wanna shower first?"\n\n"Think I'll take you up on that," you agree, scooting to the side and slipping out of bed, sighing just a little at the fresh distance from your space heater of a wife. \n\nIt's just almost ten the next morning as you head downstairs to Molten Silver, yawning a little bit and resisting the urge to ruffle your own freshly-combed hair, your loose silver shirt and red cargo pants indicating that you are most definitely off-duty for managerial tasks as you head towards the actual bar.\n\n"Good lord, another all-nighter?" the bartender scoffs in the midst of putting some new bottles of liquor up on the wall. "At some point you'd think you'd slow down."\n\n"Not any time soon," you snort back as you settle onto one of the barstools. "Pint of 'Toasty Goodness'."\n\nThe bartender quirks an eyebrow and glances at the clock on the wall. "Seriously?"\n\n"C'mon, it's called a breakfast stout for a reason. While you're at it, the usual."\n\n"Okay, okay," she chuckles, tapping in the order on a screen before snagging a glass.\n\nYou spin the little cardboard coaster in front of you around a few times as you wait, staring at it. "Just learned Pietro Belladonna died last night," you say after a moment.\n\n"Whoa, no shit? Geez, I'm sorry." There's a soft sigh as the glass of beer the color of dark maple syrup is set in front of you. "How's Blake holding up?"\n\n"It's actually been about a year, but not that great as far as I can tell. She's gonna be here any minute, actually, I invited her to drop by." At a knock at the door, you add, "Speak of the devil. It open?" Receiving a nod, you turn and call, "It's open!"\n\nBlake pushes the door of the bar open and walks inside, smiling as she spots you and walking over. "Good morning. Good morning," she adds to the bartender, who returns the pleasantry almost absently as a bell dings behind her and she turns towards the metal counter to the kitchen area set further down the bar.\n\n"Hey, Blake, morning. Sleep well?"\n\n"I did, actually," she says in a polite tone, but there's a relieved edge to it that says it's probably the first time in awhile.\n\n"I hugged the bed this morning, you want anything too?" you ask as a plate of scrambled eggs and bacon is set in front of you.\n\n"You think Taiyang Xiao Long would let me leave his home without feeding me?" she replies with a quirk of the brow.\n\nYou snort. "Good point. Anyway, Blake Belladonna, this is my mom, Niobe."\n\n"Oh!" Blake's ears perk up, eyes going wide and for the first time since you've seen her again real delight coming over her face as she actually takes in the smiling purple-haired woman behind the bar, quickly offering her hand to shake. "It's so nice to finally meet you, Kai told me so much about you back in the day."\n\n"Nice to finally meet you too," Niobe replies, shaking Blake's hand. "Also, condolences."\n\n"Thank you," Blake says with a soft sigh, before glancing at Kai. "This is who you thought I'd like to talk to about...?" At your nod, she smiles again and says, "You're right," before looking back at Niobe. "I'd actually really like to talk to you for awhile about some things. Genemods are a small but growing population on Remnant now, and the Equality Initiative wants to make sure you're not overlooked. Plus I want to understand your perspective on things, since I imagine you get mistaken for a Faunus a lot."\n\n"Mm, not much of a talker, but I guess I don't mind," Niobe replies with a shrug. "For one thing, I'll tell you that you're going to have a hard time appealing to us as an organization like the EI. Most of us are pretty independent, considering we come from backgrounds of being born into military service and the majority of us were eager to get out. We do like joining communities, but not ones that sort of 'collectivize' us, you know?" she continues, folding her arms under her chest. "In that way, the EI's thing of 'We're all one Remnant' doesn't really appeal."\n\n"I see," Blake answers with a thoughtful frown. You just sort of let the two of them talk as you eat your breakfast, listening with interest but not really having much you personally can add to this conversation. "Do you think there's any way we could improve that? Make it clear that we don't want to erase anyone's individual or cultural identity, that the overarcing unity is more of a... a connection?"\n\n"Mmmm... dunno," Niobe admits, raising a hand to scratch her cheek. "The 'We are all one Remnant' thing, I mean I see what you're going for, but maybe like... 'Many people, one Remnant' or somethin'?"\n\n"That's actually very good," Blake assures her, taking out her scroll and making a quick note. "I'll pass that along. Also, how would you say your experience as a genemod differs from that of a Faunus, from your perspective?"\n\n"Ah, hm." Niobe scratches her cheek again as she thinks that one over. "I mean there's the obvious basic way, that we don't actually see ourselves as a 'race' per se. For probably ninety percent of us, we were specifically created, not the result of two parents from a long line of genemods coming together, there's not that many genemods who were born the natural way. I mean as a Faunus I've gotta figure you guys have a cultural identity that stretches back as long as humans do, for us it's more like... I dunno a good comparison." She shrugs again. "I've got a few more friends you could talk to that'd probably be more articulate about it. But I'll also say, I've noticed Faunus are also a lot more sensitive to being compared to the animals whose traits they show. For us our animal parts are more like... accessories. Like if someone says to me 'Here kitty kitty' that doesn't bother me the same way I think it would you."\n\nBlake nods slowly, thinking that over. "Your primary identification is as a genemod, not a 'feline genemod', and your primary motivation is your independence and freedom, not being seen as racially equal."\n\n"That's probably a pretty good summation. Like I said, Cammy or Diore would probably be able to put it better, they're over in Vale, I'll give 'em your name if you want."\n\n"My number too, please?" Blake adds, pulling a card out of her pocket and proffering it.\n\n"Sure, no prob." Niobe looks down at the card as she takes it, then glances over as the door opens again, purple eyes lighting up. "Hey babe."\n\n"Hey," Qrow rasps with a wave of the hand as he saunters in, speckles of grey starting to show in his scruffy beard and at his temples. "Kai, you makin' yer mom work all night and day again?" Then he stops and blinks. "Well hey there."\n\n"Qrow, hi," Blake replies with a warm smile, rising and moving over to hug him.\n\n"It's been some time," Qrow murmurs in a fond tone, petting her head a few times. "How've you been?"\n\n"I've... had a rough year," she admits as she steps back, her smile turning a little wan. "I... lost Pietro."\n\n"Oh kid, I'm so sorry." The red-eyed Huntsman looks down at her with a pained expression. "You okay? You thinking of staying a little while?"\n\n"I... kind of am." Blake sounds a little relieved as she says it, as if seeing her old mentor had made up her mind. "I've been sort of dragging my son around Remnant with me while I tried to cope, maybe staying here with... with friends would be a bit better for him."\n\n"Good. I'm glad." Qrow smiles, brushing a thumb across her cheek. "I'll see you around then, okay? Maybe Taiyang's for dinner some night soon."\n\n"I'd really like that."\n\n"Good." Qrow gives her a last pat on the shoulder before ambling over to the bar, leaning down for a peck on the cheek from you before looking at Niobe. "Class got cut short today, you wanna head to Vale and do that shopping trip you were talking about earlier?"\n\n"Sounds good." Niobe tosses down her cleaning rag and comes out from behind the bar, pausing to peck your own cheek. "I'll be back before the night shift, okay?"\n\n"Nah, I'll get someone to cover you or do it myself, you two crash in Vale for the night and come back in the morning," you assure her. "Have fun, you wild and crazy kids."\n\nQrow snorts at that, but looks at Niobe in a way that says he's thinking of some fun he'd like to have. Which is less gross for you, you guess, since they're only emotionally your parents. The two of them make their goodbyes and head out, and after a moment you and Blake move to settle on a couch off at the side. Blake looks at the half-full glass in your hand, then at the clock.\n\n"Breakfast. Stout," you assert firmly, before grinning. "It's fine, just a very occasional indulgence."\n\n"Alright." Blake smiles again as she looks back at you, albeit a little worriedly. "And... how's Qrow?"\n\n"He... got a little bad, after," you allow with a sideways bob of the head. "Like a lot of Huntsmen, he was struggling for identity after the defeat of Salem and most of the Grimm going with her. He felt a little useless, I guess, and he took to drinking harder for about a year. I think it was mostly Niobe that hauled him out of it and kicked his ass, he doesn't touch the stuff now."\n\nBlake's eyes sparkle a bit. "Is that where you learned that skill, then?"\n\n"One of the places," you allow with a sparkle of your own. But your expression turns serious as you set the glass aside. "... Blake, I'm just gonna come right out and ask. Why'd you leave? Was it because of me and Yang?"\n\n"... No, it wasn't that," she says softly, ears folding down some as she shakes her head. She's silent for a moment, then sighs. "It wasn't just that. I... admit it contributed to things. Like Qrow, after we won, I... wasn't entirely certain of my identity anymore. But it left me feeling very uncertain where I stood with everyone else too. Everyone else had their special skills outside of being a Huntress for the most part, and I knew what mine was. I just... let it take me away from all of you instead of using it to draw closer. And maybe it was a little bit because of Yang and you getting together... without being Huntress partners I wasn't sure where I stood with her anymore. I... convinced myself that sometimes people just... grow apart," she murmurs, lifting her hands from her lap slightly in a tiny shrug. "That it was natural, and that we don't all keep the same friends we made in school for all our lives."\n\n"You knew it wasn't so," you murmur in gentle accusation.\n\n"I did," she admits, lowering her head. "... But by then years had gone by. I felt... strangled... by the weight of the distance I'd let grow and didn't know how to bridge it. And then Pietro died and I was being crushed by my pain and Auryn's, and..." She lets out a long breath, shoulders slumping. "... I'm so sorry. I know it's... presumptuous just to waltz back into everyone's lives and say 'I'm ready to be here again', but-"\n\n"Blake," you say, reaching out to lay a hand over one of hers. "The only bullshit thing about doing that is that you didn't do it years ago."\n\n"... Thank you," she whispers, a few tears sliding down her cheeks as she keeps her head down. "Thank you for... letting me back into our family."\n\n"You never left it," you assure her, starting to lean in.\n\n<hr>\n[[Hug her.|KaiYang3x1]]\n\n[[Kiss her.|KaiYang1x3]]

"I'll go talk to him," you assure Blake, resting a hand briefly on her back. "Why don't you and Yang fix something in the kitchen? Snacks help make a home," you add half-seriously, giving them a rueful grin.\n\n"... Alright." Blake lets out a soft sigh. "I'm sorry about this."\n\n"Blake, he's a little kid, you don't have to apologize for him getting upset when his life gets upended," Yang assures her, you nodding in agreement.\n\nYou set off down the hall, trying to compose your thoughts. You're near infamous for giving people a kick in the ass when they need it, but, uh... yeah. That's not gonna happen here. Something gentler is obviously called for. ... And with no swearing. It's easy enough to find the room Auryn rushed into, since it's the only one with a closed door, which you carefully and slowly open and peek in, taking in the sight of the master bedroom. No immediate sight of him, but you have a pretty decent idea. You slowly make your way around the bed, then settle down to sit and lean back against the wall, since the nightstands haven't arrive from Vale yet. You rub your thighs, for the moment pretending not to notice the little ball of person curled up under the bed nearby.\n\n'"Don't you want your mom to be happy?" Oof no that's some bullshit, that's basically blackmailing him. Gotta be reeeeeally careful with what you say here, Sterling, it's not like an adult who's gonna turn it over in their head after, it's just gonna get stamped in his little brain straight-on.' You take a deep breath, let it out. '... Keep it simple for him but don't talk down to him. And just talk to him.'\n\n"... You see a lot about people, huh, Auryn?" you decide to start out, keeping your voice even and almost casual. "You don't say much but you notice everything. Soooo I'm guessing you can see the way Yang and I look at your mom and how she looks at us, and you don't really like that." You watch as he shifts a little in place, but doesn't say anything. "Because it probably reminds you too much of how her and your dad used to look at each other." You force your hands to stay still... no fidgeting, no unsure movements, they're just going to put him more on edge. "But Auryn we're not going to try and make her forget about him or take her away from you. That's not what we want. We just want you... both of you... to be happy here with us. We're not trying to replace your dad, we just want to be... a new family. That doesn't mean you have to forget your old one. The family you'll have here... your mom, and us, and Ruby, and Tai and Ray, you can be happy with us without forgetting your dad."\n\nHe's silent for a good long while after that, but you don't push him, just waiting to see if he's taken that in, if he wants to reach back. And finally you hear him murmur into the dim beneath the bed, "I just want Daddy back."\n\n"... Oh honey I know you do," you whisper. "I know you do and if I could do that for you I would. I promise you that I would without waiting, without another heartbeat going by. But I can't." Your heart absolutely breaks to say the next words, but you know you have to. "No one can."\n\nHe shivers all over. Then he starts to cry, soft mewls of anguish as he crawls out from under the bed and into your lap, clinging tightly to you and sobbing as you bow your head over that soft black hair and weep silently into it, holding him tight and rocking him as he bawls.\n\nEventually he settles into softer crying, little shivers rocking his small body as you pet his hair. You kiss his forehead before resting your cheek against it. Then you whisper to him, "I'm gonna sing you a really special song. It's not a Momma Song... it came from way far away, from a place no one but me has ever been on this whole entire world. I've only ever, ever sung this song for one other person in the whole entire world, but I know if she were here she'd tell me it's okay to sing it to you. And from now on it's gonna be a special song just for us, okay? So that whenever your heart hurts you just think of this song and know it's special and I love you. Alright?" You wait for his tiny, uncertain nod, before turning your head to kiss his forehead again before you start to sing, continuing to gently rock him.\n\n"Somewhere over the rainbow\nWay up high\nThere's a land that I heard of once in a lullaby\nSomewhere over the rainbow\nSkies are blue\nAnd the dreams that you dare to dream\nReally do come true"\n\nAs you sing to him, Auryn's crying gradually settles into sniffling, and finally he's still and quiet against you. You settle to just stroking his hair and holding him again. Eventually he asks in a quiet, exhausted, still sad voice, "Where?"\n\n"Where?" You look down at him, then smile. "Where's the land over the rainbow?" At his tiny, tired nod, you assure him in a soft whisper, "It's a different place for everyone. For me the place all my dreams came true was right here. Because I get to be with all the most wonderful people. Like Yang. And Ruby. And Tai." You can't help but grin. "And Ray." Then your smile gentles as you brush a thumb over his wet cheek. "And your mom. ... And you."\n\nShortly after, you lift his sleeping body up and tuck him into the bed, gently cleaning his face up a bit and making sure the covers are snug around him before heading back down the hall. Blake and Yang are sitting with teacups, and Blake rises worriedly to her feet. "Is everything okay now?"\n\n"Yeah. He cried himself out and he's having a nap. We had a good little talk though," you assure her with a wan smile. You take a deep breath, let it out. "... I think he finally understands his dad isn't coming back."\n\n"Oh," Blake says very softly, nodding a little. "That's... good. I know it's hard for children to understand things like that, so... that's good," she continues, as tears start to slide down her cheeks.\n\nAnd then she's covering her face and sobbing, and you and Yang are pressing in around her, holding her as her body trembles with sorrow knowing that her son finally, truly understands that his father is dead.\n\nAfterwards she lays on the bed, eyes fixed on her son as he sleeps, his small face restful but still a bit sad, her fingers gently tracing over the thick, soft locks, one of his ears twitching every so often. "Sometimes," she whispers. "I wish he didn't look just like a tiny me. I find myself wishing he looked more like his father... so that I'd still feel more like Pietro was still with me. ... Other times I feel like I'm grateful he doesn't, so that I wouldn't have to be reminded every day," she admits, closing her eyes briefly in shame.\n\n"Blake, he's still with you," Yang assures her gently, resting a hand on Blake's hip from where she's sitting on the side of the bed. "In Auryn. In your heart. Ours too, as little as we knew him."\n\n"He made you happy, Blake, that's more than enough reason for us to love him and keep his memory alive," you add.\n\n"... I was worried, when I made this decision... to try this thing with all three of us," Blake continues. "That it wasn't what was best for Auryn... that any ridicule or scorn we received would hurt him too. ... That was foolish," she adds, smiling across at you on the couch, then turning her head some to look at Yang. "Whatever else happens... I know I can count on you two to love him just as much and as well as I do, and that's the most important thing. Well hi baby," she adds in a coo as Auryn opens his eyes a little, ears giving a twitch. "You have a good nap? Feel any better?" At his tiny nod, she sits up and holds out her arms, wrapping them around him as he crawls into her lap. She kisses the top of his head a few times, then asks softly, "Are you going to be okay with staying with Kai and Yang now?" At another small nod, she makes a happy sound and rubs her cheek on his head. "Good, I'm glad."\n\n"Hey my guy, we made some pudding while you were having a nap," Yang adds in a gentle voice, smiling and leaning in just a little as his face lights up just the tiniest bit. "You want some? There's two flavors." At a little twitch of his ears, she smiles more and encourages, "Yeah?" \n\nAuryn hesitates for just a moment, then turns a bit on his mother's lap and holds his hands out to Yang. You can practically see your wife's ovaries explode as her eyes light up, and she gently takes the boy from Blake and tucks him close as she stands. "Heeeere we go, we made vanilla and we made strawberry, which one you want?"\n\n"... Yes," Auryn says very firmly after a second, nodding his head as he does.\n\n"My maaaaan," Yang declares happily, eyes dancing as she carries him out of the room.\n\nBlake smiles at watching them go, leaning over to kiss your cheek as you move to sit on the side of the bed beside her. "Thank you. Whatever you said to him, thank you. ... What did you say to him?" she asks curiously.\n\n"I told him that I understood why he was upset with me and Yang," you answer after considering for a moment. "That we wanted to make a new family, not replace his old one. ... That if I could give him his dad back I would, but that no one can do that." At Blake's sad nod, you add. "And one other thing."\n\n"Oh?" she asks, blinking.\n\n"Yeah." You grin. "But that one's special just between him and me. Can't tell you."\n\nShe blinks again... then laughs. "Well, fine, I guess. Keep your secrets, then!"\n\n"Well I will." You smile and lean in to kiss her, both of you just settling in to some happy warmth.\n\n<hr>\n[[The End.|KaiYang1xEnd]]

Pulling back your hurt and reminding yourself it isn't about you, you smile. "Okay. You wanna walk on your own?" At his small nod, you nod back and straighten up. "Okay, let's go." You wait for him to get to his feet and bustle off ahead of you, strolling along after. He probably just needs some time get used to you too, you guess.\n\nIn the dining room, you watch as Auryn makes a beeline for Blake... and frown just a little as he diverts in a small arc to get some extra space when passing by Yang. Hrm. ... Well, don't fixate on it. Though you notice he seems entirely happy to be hefted up by Taiyang and put in his chair, and brightens considerably when Ruby sets a plate of pre-cut-up chicken in front of him. But don't fixate dammit, you think as you settle down to your own plate of chicken parmigiana.\n\n"As always, let's take a moment to be thankful to what we believe in our various ways," Taiyang says warmly, through long practice ignoring Raven doing that by already starting to cut a bite off her meal. "That we have so much, and that all of us can be together to have it."\n\n"Hup," you agree with a little lift of your glass.\n\n"So, Blake, I was thinking, maybe we could put an extra door on the outside of that room on the far corner, and you could use it as your office, that way if people come over from EI they don't have to have that awkward feeling of walking through someone's house," Yang comments once she digs in to her own dinner.\n\n"Oh, that's a really nice idea, would that be expensive though?"\n\n"Nah, wall's got a good stretch for it, Kai and I could probably do it ourselves."\n\n"Take a day or two, but we can probably get it done soonest."\n\n"Why don't you let me and Ruby take care of that? You guys can focus on getting moved in," Taiyang volunteers.\n\n"You sure, Dad? Don't wanna put you out."\n\n"Well I notice Ruby wasn't asked!"\n\n"Were you gonna say no?"\n\n"Nnnnnno but still!"\n\n"Heheheh. We'll hit the hardware store first thing tomorrow morning then and pick out the door, Blakey you think you'll want to match the others or do something more professional-like to make it stand out?"\n\n"Mmmm... split the difference? I don't want to break up the look of the house, but maybe still, more like an office door."\n\n"A window or something in it, yeah," you muse aloud. And try very hard not to notice how Auryn's ears lay down just a tiny bit when either you or Yang talk to Blake.\n\nThis is gonna be trouble isn't it?\n\nSeveral days later, you swing the door of the stretched-out single story home, gesturing to the newly-settled furniture. "Tada! New house smell!" you declare.\n\n"Except it's not a new house so that's just freshly-dried paint," Yang comments with a grin as she follows you in, Blake following after her carrying Auryn, who's tucked himself in against her closely.\n\n"It looks wonderful though," Blake says warmly, shifting Auryn around a little to her front. "You like it, honey?" she asks gently, bumping her nose in his hair. "This is where we're gonna be staying now."\n\n"... How long?" he murmurs, peeking around without moving his face far from her shoulder.\n\nBlake blinks. "Well. Awhile." She smiles again, giving him a little heft. "Probably a long time. Aunt Yang and Aunt Kai want us to stay from now on, so this is... well, this is home, honey," she adds warmly.\n\n"... Don't like it," he suddenly asserts, pressing his face fully into her shoulder. "Wanna go back to Ruby's."\n\nBlake tosses you both a quick glance of both confusion and apology, obviously trying to gentle her voice as she says, "Well honey you can still see Aunt Ruby all the time, she's gonna be coming over to play with you almost every day."\n\n"No. Ruby's."\n\nYang smiles a little uncertainly as she steps over and reaches a hand towards his back. "Hey, bud, you wanna see your room? We got this great-"\n\n"NO!" he suddenly shouts, shoving himself off from his mother and kicking wildly enough that she's forced to quickly put him down, the boy breaking away and racing down the hall, a door slamming a moment later.\n\n"Auryn!" Blake calls half in shock and half in despair. She puts a hand over her mouth, staring after him. "He's never acted like this."\n\n<hr>\n[[Go after him.|KaiYang1x5]]\n\n[[Let it be.|KaiYang2x1]]

'Gotta... gotta get some diapers,' you think, looking around desperately for a store that might carry some in your size. It doesn't occur to you to wonder why it feels like you couldn't possibly pee unless it was into a diaper, you just instinctively understand it to be true. Spotting what looks like a large enough general-type store, you stagger towards it, whimpering softly to yourself with the effort of holding what feels like an increasingly large amount of piss in.\n\nLuckily it looks like the 'adult garments aisle' is practically right beside the entrance, making you let out a long rushing breath of relief. You stagger over and grow briefly flustered over which size to buy, having to force yourself to think through the urgency of your need to figure out which ones would fit your waist size. Grabbing up a package, you waddle your way towards the self checkout, only to give another whimper of dismay at seeing it's closed. You grimace briefly, your face growing even redder in humiliation as you make your way to the express lane instead. You can't imagine what the teenage clerk must think of you, his own face pink beneath his freckles as he swipes the large, squishy rectangle across the scanner while you lean against the edge of the conveyer belt counter, red-faced and breathing hard, your face starting to drip with sweat.\n\nThe utter embarrassment of actually having to have someone else see you buy diapers, and in this condition, means you absolutely cannot bring yourself to go into the bathroom to put one on no matter how badly you want to. Instead you find yourself waddling your way back to your hotel room, shuddering and huffing and constantly feeling as if at any moment it's all going to come pouring at you, feeling the stares of everyone you pass at your motions and the diaper bag in your hand, having been in too much of a rush to get a store bag for it, even if they had one that would fit it. You stagger through the door and into your room, slamming it behind you and instantly shrugging out of your coat. Trying to somehow be both delicate in your motions so as not to jostle anything loose, and to hurry as much as you can, you peel your pants down with as little wiggling of your hips as you can manage, whining softly at practically feeling the sloshing around inside your bladder. You manage to get the pants and your boots off and step out of them, now in just your top, and hurriedly rip open the top of the container, revealing the row of compactly-folded up white diapers.\n\nDespite your desperation, you can't help but feel a brief bit of sadness that they're not very cute... just simple, unpatterned white, and a cloth texture at that. Still, you haul one open, fumbling with it for a moment before carefully spreading your legs and pressing the crotch of it to your pussy, shivering a bit at the sensation of the absorbant pad on your very sensitive and almost dripping sex, though you're not entirely sure what it's dripping with at the moment. You vaguely know this position isn't ideal but you can't wait, hauling the front up and pulling the sides around your hips, then unsticking the little velcro-like tabs from the back and lifting it into place over your ass, having to try several times (and increasingly more desperately) to get a good, proper fit around your waist, hips, legs, and crotch, which you just know is extremely important, but finally, it's on.\n\nAnd finally you can let go. You let out a practically orgasmic moan as piss finally starts pouring out of you... in fact at just this moment, if asked to describe the difference in the sense of relief and depth of sensation of finally being able to release your bladder and a particularly good climax, you probably wouldn't be able to. You can feel the diaper growing heavier between your legs, expanding and stiffening against your inner thighs as you fill it, humiliation mingling with the relief but finally, finally you were able to pee properly because you got a diaper on.\n\nYou stagger forward to lean both hands against the wall, still moaning softly as you continue to grow, the diaper actually dragging against your hips a little, the pad starting to grow steadily wetter against you. Oh god, you got the extra-absorbant kind, but what if...? But no, by the time you finally finish, the diaper is heavy and sodden and sort of stiff-squishy between your legs and partway up your crotch and ass, but it seems not to have leaked. 'Good job... good job, me,' you think, even your mental voice breathless as you sincerely congratulate yourself on your self-diapering skills.\n\n'Guh,' you think a few moments later as you look down at yourself, blushing anew at the sight of yourself wearing nothing but your little almost sports bra style top and a sagging, slightly overpissed white diaper. Shaking your head ruefully, you waddle into the bathroom and pull the tabs off, the diaper sagging further as it's freed on one side and then dropping a bit as you undo the other, but luckily not dripping. Mentally apologizing to the hotel staff (and feeling further humiliation that they might see it, maybe you need to do something about that yourself before you leave), you drop it into the trashcan before glancing down. 'Wish I'd had time to buy some wipes too,' you think with a huff as you instead dampen a washcloth.\n\nAs you're washing off your piss-soaked pussy and taint with the cool cloth, shivering a bit at the further relieving sensation of it, you pause. You blink a few times, something feeling vaguely... off... about this whole situation. You glance at the trashbin, and the used diaper sitting in it, then over at the ripped-open package of the other nine. ... Hm...\n\n<hr>\n[[... WAIT! WHAT THE FUCK?!?!?!!|ChiPoke11x1]]\n\n[[... Gotta order some more stuff.|ChiPoke6x3]]

You're looking forward to having an army of monsters under your command again... and every army has to start somewhere. Again, any of the monsters you transform Stacia into at this level will be relatively weak forms of much more powerful monsters... but that means that she'll have the potential for much greater power. As an added bonus, by turning her into one of these monsters yourself, you're essentially destroying the human Stacia and recreating a new creature from the materials... a creature that will see you as its creator and master, so no need to worry about her turning her new powers and abilities on you! (... Probably.)\n\nLet's see... you could turn her into a [[Minor Succubus|Reth]]... not terribly much more powerful than a magically strong human with a high sex drive, really, but once she eventually becomes a full succubus she'd be powerful indeed! (Or you could always wind up using her new demonic energy to turn yourself into an incubus.)\n\nYou could turn her into an [[Imp|Reth]]... not as physically intimidating or combat capable as even a Minor Succubus, really, but probably more broadly useful, more capable of assisting your spellcasting and doing things like spying for you.\n\nYou suppose other options would be a [[Greater Undead|Reth]] or [[Lesser Vampire|Reth]]... "Greater Undead", despite the name, would just mean that she still has a mind and some amount of autonomous thinking and is in a stable condition of decomposition, but wouldn't have any of the more impressive abilities of the more potent kinds of undead. A Lesser Vampire would mean that she would have a small smattering of vampiric abilities such as greater speed and strength, and some shapeshifting, but would still be capable of traveling under the sun and fairly easily passing for human. You'd have to be careful... if she leveled up enough to become just a Vampire, the sun would start hurting her and you'd have to... shift some plans.

Magic is the main branch you have the most experience with, after all, being the one you took the first time. ... Admittedly you got your ass kicked the first time, but then you've also had another lifetime to consider the mistakes you made before and how to avoid them this time. It is the most versatile, useful branch, in your opinion... with a little creativity and effort, it can emulate almost anything the other branches can do. \n\nChoosing it, you can feel mana start flowing through your body at a massively accelerated rate. Your hair ruffles a little with the sheer extra amount of energy passing through you, and you can see Stacia's expression change to something more like outright fear as she senses the change in your energy, even with her almost nonexistent magic ability... of course, her struggling has also ceased completely as your greater magical power reinforces the paralysis spell and locks up her body completely. \n\nHm... looks like your magic branch is a little different than it was before. You suppose that there must be some difference between being a Monster Race and being a Mortal Race for access to such a thing... though with this power at your command, becoming one of the Monster Races again wouldn't be particularly difficult. You might want to level up a bit more before using one of the Race Alteration spells, or at least find yourself some better magical reagents to use. ... Hm, speaking of magical reagents.\n\nYou eye Stacia thoughtfully, grinning a bit at the sparkle of terror in her eyes. Ah, to have an adventurer at your mercy again, even a rank amateur one... how nostalgic. Now what to do with her? Your variety of spells is wide, with the problem of most of the ones for altering or trapping other sentients being that they'd be trivially easy to push off for a trained adventurer who knew they were coming. But Stacia hasn't even taken a class yet... she's ridiculously vulnerable to your influence, and you can almost do as you like to her.\n\nLet's see, you could [[transform|Reth12x2]] her into one of the more magically-leaning Monster Races... probably one of the less powerful examples, but even that's a step up over a human, right?\n\nYou could [[alter her mind|Reth13x1]]... normally adventurers get quite a bonus to resisting such mind-affecting spells, but without having taken a class yet and with her already being in your power, Stacia is basically yours to toy with.\n\nOr you could [[lay a spell effect|Reth14x1]] on her... technically most of them count as curses, but that doesn't exactly bother you.

"Let's see what it's been noshing on," you suggest, trading your combat sword for a crystalslicer knife. Crouching down... and muttering a sarcastic 'Yeah thanks' as Errin moves well out of potential splatter range, you spend a few more moments eyeing the bulge and its anatomy before stabbing the gem-edged knife in and hauling it downward through the layers of hide, muscle, and organ.\n\nYour heart had already leaped at the feel of firm things parting around the edge, but the clacking that turns into a clinking cascade as you open the thing up enough to send a torrent of coins down to the floor clenches it. It's not just coins of various denominations and styles, there's a fair few gems and a few little art objects mixed in, falling into a pile below the dead beast's opened belly, smeared with various substances from its innards but very obviously gleaming with the light of precious metals.\n\nErrin's jaw drops. "Holy. Shit."\n\n"YES!" you shout, pumping a fist in the air.\n\nThe two of you quickly cut the thing further open, making sure you've entirely emptied its belly before splashing some water from your canteens over the stuff to render it (somewhat) clean before tucking it into your dimensional loot sacks. Both eager to actually take your find back and have it appraised, you abandon any further exploring and start looking around for the signs left by other divers and the TDG that lead to an exit.\n\nOne safe area and teleporter later, the two of you walk back into the TDG and head to the appraisal counter, cheerfully dumping out your piles of treasure... the girl working the desk doesn't look hugely impressed, but she does look sufficiently impressed to further boost your ego some. It doesn't take her long to go through everything and, after asking how you want it, setting two large bundles of high denomination local script bills on the counter.\n\n"Oh yeah, now this is what I'm talking about," Errin says happily as he takes his stacks, quickly putting most of them away, but keeping one out to flip through it. "We could live off of this for a year! ... Or have a really good night," he adds, smirking at you.\n\nAdmittedly the same thought had occurred to you, and you grin back at him without immediately answering. Part of you wants to continue to be the voice of reason and suggest that the money should be used to live off of while you continue your new career in diving, safe against what are likely to be a lot more days of little or no profit as opposed to ones like this. On the other hand, hey, you're also looking forward to some fun... especially the amount of fun that can apparently be had in a town like this that could make an experienced reveller like your dad caution you against getting carried away.\n\n<hr>\n[[Let's save it.|LeoErrin]]\n\n[[Let's hit the town!|LeoErrin]]

Right now you want to be as far away from the old man as you can manage, and in an entirely other dimension on a satellite in deep space is about as far away as you can think of. You hook your katana to your back and then rummage in your coat pockets for a few seconds to find where you put your recall beacon, but pause as you're about to press the button. ... Wait, is the Guildhall a space station? For some reason you always totally assumed it was, but now that you think about it you can't recall ever seeing an actual window, let alone one showing space outside. Huh. That's fucking weird. You always assumed it was because like, it's enclosed and there's teleporters and portals and a bunch of even higher tech stuff than they have on Makarzia, but now you realize there's no reason you couldn't have all of that on like... an asteroid, or moon, or hell just plopped in the middle of some normal city on a planet. The fuck?\n\n... Oh, right, yeah, job, money. You start taking a step forward as you press the button, your foot hitting the floor of the Guildhall portal annex instead of the concrete of the front stoop of the apartment building. You keep up the brisk walk, occasionally diverting or dodging to avoid larger (or ruder) Guild members coming from the portals or looking for someone that is. You wave at a few, even giving a cheerful call of "Hey fucker whassup?" to one familiar black-clad guy, before you're finally out of the portal annex and into the lobby where everyone's a bit more spread out, and you can finally find somewhere to stand and not be run down as you think. \n\nOkay, so you came to do some work. Which obviously means either picking up a [[merc job|KaiGuild2x1]] from the available list, or going down to the [[service areas|KaiGuild]]. Most people aren't aware that the Guildhall even lets you do jobs around the Guildhall itself for money... probably think they're too good to fix an engine or repair a food unit. Alright so actually it probably also has something to do with only paying about the same as low-rank newbie quests for a day's work, but time tends to run a little slower on the Guildhall... you could probably put in a few days' work and return to the old man with enough to shut him up for awhile. (Maybe he'll finally drink himself to death, that'd be nice.)\n\nYou pause as your stomach gives a slightly audible growl. ... Ah. Yeah. You could also pop into the [[cafeteria|KaiGuild1x2]]. Not exactly as fancy as the various restaurants and franchise kiosks dotting the Guildhall, but it's cheap, ready, and you've actually got an account there. Otherwise, you're just gonna have to pick up some food on the job.

Can't hunt bounties (or whatever the fuck you wind up doing) on an empty stomach. Well, you can and have, but this leads to the potential for passing out mid-firefight which is not a good thing. Not that it ever actually happened since, y'know, you're still alive, but it's been a close thing a few times.\n\nYou make your way into the cafeteria, which is honestly about as cafeteria-like as it can get. This is a place to catch a quick bite between arriving and heading out, so while it's not exactly an ugly or utterly utilitarian space, not a ton of effort has been put into making it look as classy and elegant as a lot of other parts of the Guildhall look. You make your way up to the counter, smiling at one of the better-looking parts of the cafeteria... one of the workers, Gloriana, a beautiful and rather maternal-looking woman with long brown hair in a braid. "Hey hey, Glo," you greet as you place your hand on the scan plate. "Whatever today's basic protein meal is, please."\n\n"Hello, Kai, it's nice to see you," she replies, smiling at you brightly and warming your jaded little heart somewhat... before both smile and heart fall. "Oh dear. I'm sorry, Kai, there's... nothing in your allowance account." She looks up at you, lips tightening in sympathy. "It looks like Doonian... forgot... to refill it."\n\nYou grit your teeth as you curl your fingers against your palms, pressing both hands hard against the metal counter in front of you. No he fucking didn't, that account had at least thirty credits in it last time you were here and you didn't buy shit, the old fucker actually, really drained the meager amount he gives you to live off when you're working, probably to pay for one more drink at the whorehouse when he was running out of the creds from the job you'd just done. A curse rises in your throat, before you choke it down, some part of you refusing to do it in front of Gloriana. "... Nothing, huh?" you murmur tightly.\n\n"No, I'm sorry. I wish I could help, but..." Her cheeks actually color. "Um, my supervisor locked me out of the system and I can't buy meals in the cafeteria anymore after I went through a whole paycheck that way. Um, if you can wait around until I'm on break, I can-"\n\n"Thanks, Glo, I'll manage," you interrupt, managing to force a smile of your own for her before quickly pushing off of the counter and wheeling around, walking a short distance away. You worry she's going to take it as you being mad at her somehow, but it's more that you're just pissed and upset in general and want to keep any of it from getting directed at her. You walk a short distance away instead, slightly out of sight behind a vending machine, and shove your hands in your pockets. The smell of food has set off your body's awareness of just how empty your stomach is, and now you're certain you have to eat before heading out. Which means mooching off of someone.\n\nWhatever, you'd feel bad about it, but you're too hungry for pride at the moment. You take a look around, skimming for people you know that might be willing to toss a meal your way. Let's see, let's see... there's [[Grey|KaiGuild1x3]], not a bad guy, wants to fuck you but not like you're horrified by the idea. There's [[Aurora|KaiGuild]], really nice girl, but she's got a serious hero complex. She'd buy you a decent meal in a heartbeat, but she'd also probably want to go on a bit about how she'd love to get you your freedom, and that sort of thing can tend to grate after awhile. You spot [[Markus|KaiGuild]], an experienced older hunter, he's been good to you a time or two. Ah... hard to miss [[Mareza|KaiGuild]], she's a well-known figure on the station (or whatever the fuck it is) for being tough, generous, and having quite possibly the biggest dick in the entire Guild. Aside from them, you spot a [[newbie|KaiGuild]]... kinda cute, kinda runty, probably had his Guildcert for about five minutes, could probably pressure him for a meal pretty easy.\n\nOr... you could really swallow your pride and take [[Gloriana|KaiGuild]] up on her offer. Again. ... Maybe you can ask her if there's something you can do to help her out to pay her back, and hopefully you can manage that and some actual work before heading back.

It's not like Grey's at all bad to look at... though he's just a bit too pretty to be as 'manly' as you suspect he would like to be, looking a bit too much like a handsome girl. The feline ears sticking up from his head are so fluffy that you could almost think they were just an odd styling of his scruffy black hair, and his steel grey eyes are fixed somewhere in the distance as he puffs on a cigarette over his mostly empty meal tray. Like most mercs of almost any age he's gone with the 'cool long coat' aesthetic, his gunsteel blue and white, fastened closed in front over a black turtleneck and standard-looking black pants. His forearms are sheathed in heavy, lustorless silver bracers, hands covered in black gloves. When you approach you see one of his ears twitch and his head turns towards you, and for just a second you get a flash of the cold hate that seems to be his default expression when dealing with a lot of people, before it disappears like ice in a blaster beam, replaced by a smirk and a dancing enthusiasm in his eyes.\n\n"Hey, Kai!" he greets, leaning in. "Come to see me, hm? Brighten my day a little? Let me guess, you want to eat with me, but you're tragically short of credits to actually get some food to do so, right?"\n\n"Something like that, yeah," you answer wryly, giving him a dry smile in return.\n\n"Well if you're gonna eat with me, guess you've gotta eat, huh?" He fishes a credcard out of his pocket and proffers it, his smile somewhere between roguish grin and sneer. "G'wan, grab yourself some protein, girl, and come on back."\n\nAs you head back to the counter to do just that, you consider what you know versus what you've heard about Grey. It's a pretty high ratio... what you know is that he's a skilled fighter and has never had to emergency evac from any mission, and that he's got a reputation as being competent and often even genial and a bit helpful, but that he can also be a huge asshole and has a temper. What you've heard, that's a lot longer of a sheet... you've heard he's a species called 'Faunus' from some deathworld out in the stellar sticks. You've heard he was basically a slave there until a Guild hunter brought him back as an apprentice, but that said hunter disappeared on a mission they were together on, with a lot of rumors about that... the two major ones being that either Grey killed her himself just because he wanted to sever the last ties to his old life, or that losing her is what made him into the maladjusted shit he is now. You've heard he has powers that let him pull off truly insane feats of athletic skill, survive direct strikes from lethal weapons, sense danger, and a bunch of other jazz. You've heard he'd be much higher ranked than he is except that his missions tend to involve a lot of collateral damage, and not of "architecture and property" type, to the point that he's been banned from taking escort missions, but that he's really popular for "clearing" type kill missions. There's also two diametrically opposed rumors, one says that you can't count on him for shit if he goes on a mission with you and will leave you to die at the first opportunity, one says that he'll risk his own life without hesitation for others and won't stop at anything to bring his party members back alive.\n\nAs you walk back to his table with your double patty burger, fried starch strips, and drink, you take a look at him glancing around the room, and how there's just that moment of instinctual anger in his eyes when they settle on you before they clear away and return to that almost impish affection, and you wonder whether maybe both rumors are right... and which missions he was on that he was teamed up with humans and which were with non-humans. Or slaves.\n\nAt least he's good enough not to press until you're almost finished eating. "So, Kai, what's up? You wanted my company, right? Wanna head to my room right now, or shall we get some drinks first?" he suggests in a tone that seems to be (mostly) teasing, shrugging with one hand while using the other to stub out his cigarette on his now completely empty tray.\n\n"Sounds fun," you reply dryly, grinning lopsidedly at him. "But I gotta work. Doonian drank and whored away all the money from my last job, now the heat's off and I've gotta earn some to get it turned back on." \n\nYou can see that fury, that hate, drift back into his eyes for a moment, though this time it's not directed at you... in fact you're 99% certain it's on your behalf instead. But quickly it's swallowed by that slightly smarmy geniality, with him reaching out to lay a hand over yours. "That Doonian truly is a shit of a man. Why don't you let me talk to him, Kai? Maybe I could make him understand the error of his ways."\n\nYou feel a strange mingling of elation and fear at the idea... the offer, combined with that earlier look in his eyes, makes it very clear exactly what he's offering. He's never going to say it in so many words, because it would require at least some plausible deniability to keep himself from getting his license revoked and a Guild bounty on his head, but he's offering to kill Doonian for you. Well... not for you, so much, you suspect, as he's offering to kill Doonian because helping you is a perfect excuse to kill a human slave owner. While you have nothing in your heart but contempt for the old man, you're not quite sure asking someone to kill him is actually what you want.\n\nWhile you're still sort of taking that in and turning over the entire concept in your head, Grey shrugs dramatically. "Eh, but we need not waste time on wastes of space, necessarily. I've got a job waiting for me that I wouldn't mind sharing with you... simple elimination contract, a gang leader on some fallingworld." He twirls a fingertip on the table with his chin propped up in his hand, grinning. "We go in, fight some gang members, slash-squish-fuck-I'm-dead goes the target, I'll split the pay with you sixty-forty. Finder's fee, y'know." He pauses, then his smirk most definitely turns into a leer. "Or we could always go back to my place first. Have a little fun, have a few laughs, put me in a generous mood so I really feel like helping out."\n\nRiiight. Basically, finally give it up, and he'll pay you. You're not gonna bother getting mad at him, since after all you do need the money and like you said earlier, it's not like you've been utterly opposed to fucking him even without profit being involved. It's entirely possible, nay, even plausible that his smarmy asshole demeanor kind of actually revs your engine a bit. So that could just plain be a win-win.\n\n<hr>\n[[Let him "talk" with Doonian.|KaiGuild]]\n\n[[Go on the mission with him.|KaiGuild]]\n\n[[Go back to his place.|KaiGuild]]

May as well go to the bigger store with the more varied selection... plus, who knows? Every couple of years you get the urge to actually cook for yourself, maybe something you see at the store will inspire you!\n\nRemanifesting your hoodie and pulling it back on (just for the sake of feeling like you're preparing to go out), you pop most of the way to the nearest supermarket and trot the last dozen feet or so to head inside. Admittedly you do still love the sort of understated opulence of modern places like this... the cool air, the chirpy music on the speakers, the rows and rows of food of all kinds just there for the taking. ... Well, buying, but for you it's really just taking. Still!\n\nYou wander the snack aisles first, of course, dropping a few bags of chips and candy in. (You could, you suppose, just magic your own bags of chips and candy into existence, and frequently do. But you find new things when you come to the store, plus sometimes there's just something gratifying about eating something you didn't create from the aether.) Having found several nice little things to munch upon, you head towards the aisles of actual vegetables and meat, to see if anything inspires you to crafting food for yourself.\n\nWell, you're soon inspired a bit of another way. There's a pair of youngsters in the grocery aisle... actually, from the uniforms, looks like they probably go to Mokuyo's school, likely having stopped to do the dinner shopping on their way home. The girl has a complete "future homemaker" look to her, with soft brown hair that she's even already put in the "mom ponytail" draped forward over one shoulder, her posture and uniform both perfect and modest. The boy's obviously her brother from the shape of his face, despite the black hair, and has the sort of look to him that says he could either be an otaku or an athlete, that sort of nondescript everyman look, but also pretty clean-cut and outwardly respectable.\n\nBoth are also practically radiating sexual tension. Not towards each other (at least not in any noticeable amount), just the sort of simmering, low-grade urgency that comes from people who are really horny but have few if any outlets. A brief glance into their minds shows that both are pretty eager masturbators, but have relatively little privacy or opportunity to supplement their release with anything other than their fingers or their imaginations. As you watch, the boy's eyes keep flicking towards the magazine racks (with their covered lewds along one side), while the girl's keep wandering towards the larger of the carrots or the cucumbers in the produce aisle.\n\nKonkon~, you have a fun idea~!\n\nYou set down your basket and casually pick up one of the lewd magazines, nonchalantly removing the decency cover, and then heading over to one of the aisles. Peeking around it, you give a "Pssst!" aimed directly at the boy. He looks up and over, his eyes widening a little as you stick the magazine out and waggle it. But like a fish catching scent of truly stenchful bait, he's drawn unerringly towards the promise of someone buying him a copy of 'Mega Jcups Monthly'. You draw him around the aisle with it and out of immediate sight of his sister should she look over, then grin wickedly at him, dropping your obfuscation field. His eyes widen at the sudden sight of your tail and ears, before you let out a deliberate "Kon!" and a puff of magic breath towards him.\n\nHe jumps in place a bit as his clothes abruptly disappear, then stiffens... in more ways than one. His cock, which had already begun to grow hard, instantly juts out to its full length and girth, standing straight out from his body as his back grows ramrod straight and his arms slap to his sides, legs press together. Held immobile, he can only stare at you wide-eyed, and then turn those eyes downward as he feels something. You can sense his shock as the tip of his cock turns to pink rubber, the color and material spreading steadily down the shaft, turning his cock into a molded, idealized version of itself, the same for his balls as it spreads over them, turning them stiff, solid, and lifelike in appearance but obviously just as stylized. He watches, frozen, as a more liquid form of pink rubber spurts out around the base of his now dildofied prick, quickly spreading over his entire body and coating him in it, turning him into a vaguely human-shaped blob of pink goo. Then the goo pulls back into the pink rubber shaft rapidly, part of it forming into a suction cup and thumping to the base with a sound like a bottle being suddenly corked.\n\nYou catch the dildo as it starts to drop from its place in midair, giving the shaft and ball a testing fondling, and grinning both at the feel of it and the sense of the boy's reaction from within it. While his whole body is now a dildo, you made sure it would be just as sensitive... if not more... than his real prick was. You also made sure that he can 'see' and 'hear' all around him... you'll want him completely aware of what comes next, after all! Giggling konfully, you drop the dildofied boy into your shopping basket and head towards his sister.\n\nShe's standing by the radishes now, staring with a sort of mix of awe, dubiousness, and furtiveness. It doesn't exactly take a mindreader to tell what she's thinking, caught in that blatant moment. You slip up beside her, grinning, and whisper, "Hey!" She jumps, looking at you guiltily before quickly smoothing out her expression. Before she can come up with an excuse, though, you say, "I think this would be a lot better than any vegetable, right?" and tilt the basket towards her.\n\nShe looks... and her jaw drops. Her whole face goes red, and without thinking she blurts, "They sell those here?!" Then, realizing what she said, she claps a hand over her mouth, expression embarrassed and guilty.\n\nYou just giggle again. "They sure do! Though not to anyone under eighteen. Buuuuut... how about if you agree to come over and cook me dinner, and then you can just leave my place with this, hm?"\n\n"Ah... w-well..." You can tell she wants to accept, badly, despite her instinctive desire to deny any lewdness. She glances around guiltily, lowering her voice, "But... I'm here with my brother..."\n\n"Oh, I saw him go," you declare, waving a hand dismissively. "You'll probably see him at home."\n\nShe makes a face at that... but it also seems to decide her. "You... you don't mind me making you dinner this early? I need to-"\n\n"Sure sure, kon kon!"\n\nThe clerk looks both shocked and embarrassed to be asked to ring up a dildo, but a little mental nudge sends it through, and soon you're returning to your place with your new friend in tow. She stays blushing and squirmy the entire time she's working in your kitchen (which you popped into existence for her to use), especially since you're lounging about toying with the dildo right nearby. Still, it has her nicely worked-up so that by the time she finishes up and sets everything to warm, she's clearly eager and not exactly difficult to take by the hand and lead into the living room.\n\n"Here," you coo, urging her to lay back on the padded top of the kotatsu, which clearly surprises her. Her face goes even redder as you push up her uniform skirt and hook your fingers into her plain white panties, the crotch of which bear an obvious wet spot. "Let me show you how to use it."\n\n"I... but... but...!" she squeaks, pressing her hands to her mouth, but doing nothing to stop you from pushing her thighs apart and baring her glistening pussy. Then her token protests melt into soft moans as you lean down and start lapping at her clit with quick, foxy licks, her whole body shivering. Her hips arch as you tease two fingertips at her entrance, running them up and down, up and down. You're not too surprised when they slide right in... not only is she absolutely drenched, she's had her own fingers in there quite a lot, after all!\n\n"Heeere we go, konkon," you foxpurr at her, snagging the toy and lifting it. You press the tip of her dildofied brother up against her pussy, running him up and down the cleft of her lips, then slowly pushing him inside. The girl cries out happily at something really, actually dick-shaped pushing inside her, not knowing that at the same time her brother is feeling her pussy spread open and wrap around his whole form.\n\nYou slowly slide him completely inside her, letting those molded balls rest against her taint, before taking a firm grip on the suction cup base and starting to fuck her with him. The girl keeps her hands pressed over her mouth to muffle herself, either in embarrassment or just from being overwhelmed, but it's clear the sheer wickedness of the situation and the feel of it is making her feel amazing. No more amazing than it must feel for her brother, his entire being reduced to being a cock, feeling and tasting and hearing his sister's pussy working around him, sucking him in, splashing all over him, his whole world his sibling's naughty, noisy cunt shlurping and gushing all around him.\n\nYou make her cum twice before finally pulling him out, granting him an extra privilege for being such a good toy by sliding him into your own mouth and suckling his sister's girlcum off of him, your tongue lapping around his form and throat squeezing as you swallow a few times. Sliding him back out, you grin and plunk him down into her hand. "Here y'go. May you enjoy it for a good, long time."\n\n"Th-... thank you," she murmurs, getting up, her legs obviously a bit rubbery as she walks over towards her things. She pauses as she's about to put the toy in the bottom of her bag, bent over and flashing her still bare pussy and ass at you, and glances over at you, blushing again.\n\n"... I can't wait to try putting it in my butt," she admits in a heated whisper, giggling sheepishly before cramming her dildofied brother into the recesses of her schoolbag, grabbing it and her other bags and hurrying out, apparently forgetting her panties in her rush.\n\nYou pick them up and give them a satisfied sniff before sending them off to your trophy room pocket dimension. Ah, that was a gooood prank! Eventually you might pop over to her place to turn her brother back... maybe while she's right in the middle of using the toy! That could be a fun one! Orrrr maybe you won't get around to it for a few years. Or ever. Who knows! Until then, it will be some nice sibling bonding, even if she has no clue that's what she's doing any time she pleasures her naughty little holes with that "perfect" pink toy.\n\n... Oooo! And plus there's dinner! Truly you are the cleverest of foxes, konkonkon~!\n\n<hr>\n[[Kon kon kon, nom nom nom!|Konko12x9]]

The Agency. A highly secretive organization with no other name or identity. While it occasionally works with or even for the intelligence agencies of governments, it has no government affiliation itself, leaving it separate and alone, above and beyond the petty politics that govern other agencies and alternately either shackle them or urge them to evil. The Agency's mandate is simple: protect the people, protect society, and if necessary protect the Earth, from whatever threats may come to its attention.\n\nYour name is Jason Kage... well, not your real name. It's just one of the many that you've used over your time as an agent that you wound up liking better than the rest, and now tend to "default" to it. The Agency recruited you due to evaluating you as having the necessary flexibility and strength of both body and mind to both make it through their rigorous training process and the sometimes strange and unusual necessities of the missions you're sent on.\n\nWhile you might alter your build or coloration as necessitated by the mission (either through the standard way of altering your exercise regime and diet and using dyes, or by some of the more exotic methods available to the Agency), as a matter of course you maintain a fairly middle-of-the-road appearance as well. Somewhere between slim and broad, dark hair cut in a short but not overly cropped style, skin light but not pale, letting your features be attractive without really standing out overly. Essentially you've cultivated a look that's genuine and slightly alluring in person, but after you leave becomes just mildly forgettable and difficult to describe in such a way that you wouldn't stand out from thousands of other men in the immediate area. And you shoot for something similar no matter where you go in the world.\n\nCurrently you're wearing a dapper suit, driving a BMW (and therefore having to suppress the urge to use your turn signal), and on your way to a luxury spa patroned by similarly well-dressed, obviously affluent people. Since it is, after all, the perfect place for someone to enter, not be seen by anyone else for a few hours, and then leave again in largely the same state they did before... in other words, an ideal place to hold briefings. You park in one of the gold-reserved spaces and stroll inside, going through the motions of checking in for an appointment, then heading to a small, private dressing room with multiple lockers. All of them have thumbprint locks, but of course only you know to scan your thumbprint at the third one, lean down to stare into the first one with your right eye, and turn your left ear towards the fourth one. At that the lockers all slide into the ground, revealing a simple, comfortable office behind, with a young woman with long ginger hair sitting behind the desk, wearing a black zip-up hoodie, white tanktop with a jumble of black sticks on the front you assume is a band name, and squarish glasses that she adjusts with a grin.\n\n"Heeey, Kage, s'up?"\n\n"Afternoon, Fran," you greet as you stroll inside, standing still in a particular spot and waiting for the other scans to be done. \n\nFran sprawls in her overly comfy chair, looking relaxed. Of course you know your nominal handler actually has a weapon somewhere easily in reach that she could draw and fire at least as fast as you could get to one of your own, should it turn out that you aren't really you (or that there was some other sort of directive going on). But after a few moments she gives you a thumbs-up, and part of the wall behind her slides down. She stands up, revealing a pair of very short little white-trimmed black shorts (the sort someone might wear if they weren't particularly interested in pants) and heads into the room ahead of you. "So how's it going, Kage? Everything alright?" she asks breezily.\n\n<hr>\n[[Keep on task.|Jason]]\n\n[[You can take some time to flirt.|Jason]]

Yup, let's pop out for a coffee! Plus you won't have to bother putting your hoodie on... it's always nice and warm in the coffee shop, and the whole place has such a natural air of distraction and passing-through that it's even more effortless to make people not notice anything particularly odd about a foxgirl wearing nothing but sneakers standing in line to order some coffee milk boba.\n\nYou pop yourself out in front of the coffee shop, taking just a moment to enjoy the afternoon sun's warmth on your naked body and the gentle breeze stirring your hair, fur, and stroking your breasts and cock, before turning and trotting inside with a ding of the door's chime. Ah, a coffee shop's scent really is divine! Maybe you'll have something warm instead, like a cappucino, or a-\n\nYou blink a bit at the sight at the counter. A boy who looks like he's probably a college student is at the counter, holding his phone extended to clearly get himself and the girl barista in the shot, mugging stupidly for the camera and doing a V-sign.\n\n"Yeah uhhhhh I'll have a coffee with breast milk I mean breast milk I mean breast milk I mean-!"\n\nThe barista definitely looks extremely nonplused by this... all the moreso because she's not very endowed at all, being borderline flat. Clearly this little performance is not going over well with her, but even with the two of them (and you) being the only ones in the place, is obviously worried that she'd lose her job if she told him to stop it.\n\nGah! How dare he! That's not even meant to be a real-life meme! And he didn't pick the right target! And he's doing it all wrong! And he's putting himself center camera, the narcissistic jackass!\n\nAnd how dare she?! This is clearly a prank, antics, tomfoolery even! You can't just scowl at hijinks!\n\n(You would like to take a moment to remind any humans in the audience that you are effectively a mischief goddess and that attempting to apply human standards of morality to your worldview would be silly.)\n\nWell, you'll handle this! You trot up to the boy, who's clearly too focused on his own smirking image on the phone's screen to notice the naked foxfuta approaching him even if you weren't obfuscating your presence, and give him a poke with both index fingers. He gives a little hop and with a pomf disappears entirely, save for his phone which drops to the floor with a loud cracking noise.\n\nThe barista gives a little hop of her own in surprise, glancing around before looking at you in confusion. "Where... where'd he go?"\n\n"Oh, I turned him into magical energy," you announce cheerfully, lifting your index fingers and letting two balls of shimmering foxfire form, as well as dropping your obfuscation magic for her. Her eyes shoot wide open, but she doesn't have time to react before you announce, "Now I'm just gonna put him... there!" and fling your fingers forward.\n\nThe barista gives a loud yelp of surprise and fear as the balls of foxfire hit her chest and disappear, flinching backward... then blinking in surprise at the apparent lack of sensation. She blinks a few times, glancing downward and patting her chest... then gasping as it visibly expands and wobbles under her shirt, a rapid spurt of growth that sees her surge instantly to a B-cup. She staggers forward and grips the counter, teeth clenching and eyes rolling at the sudden surge of pleasure as her breasts begin a much steadier expansion now, growing larger and larger, the professional black polo shirt she'd been wearing quickly crawling up her midriff to bare her belly. The front of her green apron grows stretched as well, until the ties of it behind her waist pop open and it hangs over her expanding breasts, swaying.\n\nIt's becoming obvious that not only are they growing larger in general, but heavier and more full. Her nipples, already having grown stiff enough to be visible through the thick material of the polo shirt, are also growing noticeably thicker and longer. Soon each breast is easily bigger than her head, her shirt just barely clinging to them enough to mostly cover them, though the undersides are showing. All it takes is you reaching out and flicking your index finger up against the underside of the edge to send the shirt popping upward, her hefty, massive boobs dropping free and wobbling with a near-audible sloshing noise, the long, thick nipples spurting a few droplets of milky white into the air as the barista stares down at her expanded chest in shock.\n\n"Now," you declare cheerfully as you pop behind the counter. "I will have a latte... with breast milk. ... Make that two, konkon," you chirp before tackling her onto her back, making her yelp. \n\nThe apron had fallen between her newly-expanded tits, and you don't bother to move it, just letting your balls drift against it as you press her milky udders around your prick. You start thrusting with little happy foxnoises, your hips slapping against the overfull udders and sending heavy, sloshing impact tremors through them, causing more spurts of milk from her nipples. The barista is writhing lightly beneath you, eyes rolling again at the pleasure of her newly huge, newly sensitive tits, and at the sensation of that milk spurting out. Of course, she's not the only one feeling pleasure... the snotty boy is her tits, now, after all! He's feeling every rush of sensation, every spurt of milk, every stroke of your cock and slap of your hips with his entire being!\n\n'Enjoy your new life, boya, though I bet you will, konkon!' you think smugly as you start fucking the big milky tits he's become even faster, the barista's hips starting to fuck the air and then twisting and jerking needfully as she cums for the first time from being titfucked, her breasts now practically gushing out geysers of milk.\n\nYou kon-giggle as you grab a pair of the large-size to-go cups and clap them down on top of her nipples, collecting the milk even as you continue fucking her breasts. Finally you let out a sweet moan and thrust forward, spilling your load entirely between those massive milky mammaries, only a few spurts making it out to spatter across her face and into her open mouth.\n\nOnce you've collected yourself, you scoop the cups around (a bit of magic added to skill to make sure you don't spill that precious milk) and use the knowledge from the dazed barista's mind to steam up the milk and make espresso shots for a pair of lattes. Capping them, you trot out the door humming cheerfully, your bare tits bouncing cheerfully and half-hard cock swaying.\n\nA sarariman was heading for the door, and you step in front of him. "Ah, the barista had to take a break, someone made a real mess. But here, have a latte on me, kon kon!" you declare cheerfully, proffering him one of the cups.\n\n"Hm? Oh, thank you!" he replies with a smile, accepting the cup and sipping from it. Looking delighted at the taste, he turns and trots off.\n\nSmirking, you raise your freed hand and snap your fingers, changing the text on the chalkboard outside the shop to read 'Every day special - Breast milk lattes - Buy one get one free'. Then you turn and decide to walk home naked, humming cheerfully and sipping your drink. Ah, nothing like a coffee right before a nice long nap!\n\n<hr>\n[[[Caffeinated kon-ing]|Konko12x9]]

Oooo, in fact, you remember that there's a bakery near you that has a big new promotion they've been going on for months about that sounded delectable enough that you were very tempted to pop through time to when it started! Then you got distracted and forgot about it for awhile. But you bet they've started it now! Not bothering with your hoodie in your eagerness, you pop yourself over to the bakery.\n\nAh yes, here we are, you think as you appear on the sidewalk outside the bakery, tail swishing excitedly over your bare ass as you look around. Yes! There's a biiiig sandwich board with a massive picture of the new product... the 'Can-Do-Noli'! A double-size cannoli of an extra-buttery extra-crispy pastry tube filled with three kinds of luscious flavored frosting, and then encrusted with confetti sprinkles on one side and oreo crumbles on the other, as well as being dipped in chocolate on top and caramel on the bottom! Oh, the lusciousness! Oh, the indulgence! Good job, humans, good job!\n\nSo excited that your cock's gone stiff and bounces gaily with your steps, you turn and hurry inside. There's a very pretty but very bored-looking girl standing behind the counter, giving you a slightly listless look as you approach. Definitely not the Japanese ideal of cheerful service that's expected of lowly outside hires, she must be a family member pressed into service. "Hi, welcome to Sugar Slam, formerly Hayakawa Family Bakery," she says blandly, either not thrilled with the place having rebranded to overindulgent instagram fodder or just not thrilled with having to work at all.\n\n"Yes hi hello kon kon kon!" you chirp, too excited by your impending treat to care. "I will have a Can-Do-Noli yes please thank you kon kon kon kon!"\n\n"We're out," she says instantly and with zero sympathy.\n\nYour jaw drops, your ears lay flat to the sides, and your tail goes completely limp. "What?! How?!"\n\n"We only make two a day, they sold out right after we opened," she explains with a small roll of the eyes.\n\nYou splutter indignantly. "What the...?! Why would you advertise something so massively and then only make two a day?!"\n\n"Eh-eh-ehh," she mutters with a lift of one shoulder in a shrug, apparently not emotionally invested enough in your distress to even bother vaguely enunciating 'I don't know'.\n\n"Well... make me one now!" you demand huffily, eyes flashing and tail fluffing out, ears laying down again... back, this time. "Please," you even manage to add in a more conciliatory tone, because oh my kon you really want one of those pastries!\n\nWhile the warning of your outrage really should be translating even through the obfuscation field, the power of nepotism is apparently too strong, and the girl smiles rather nastily at you. "No."\n\nYou purse your lips and narrow your eyes. "Fine. Then I'll make you one."\n\n"Eh?" she says, blinking, that response clearly having put her on her back foot.\n\nBut before she can think about it, there's a pomf and she's suddenly gone... and sitting on the counter is a luscious, gorgeous Can-Do-Noli! It looks every bit as good as the picture! ... Well, you used the picture as a guide to transform her, after all!\n\n"Oooo, you look sooooo delicious, konkon!" you coo happily as you pick up the girl-turned-pastry, eyes glittering. "Beautiful! Gorgeous! In fact... mmmm, in fact... you don't just look good enough to eat... you look good enough to fuck!"\n\nBecause somehow there is just no other way to express your absolute delight with this decadent indulgence... and your punishment of the rude girl... than to fuck it. Kon-giggling cheerfully, you lower the pastry... still entirely aware and capable of sensation... down, and then thrust your cock into the side with the confetti sprinkles.\n\nMost of the frosting gets compressed up against the pastry sides, apparently having been plenty light and airy, but a good bit of it comes spurting out the other end immediately. You catch it quickly in one of your palms, giggling again as you start licking the mingled frostings off your hand as you start using the other to pump the pastry over your prick. "Oh it'sh shooooo good konkon!" you coo, not bothering to clarify whether you mean the taste of the frosting or the feel of more of it and the pastry tube rubbing along your cock (since you mean both).\n\n"Ah, it's such a perfect size for it too, that must be the secret technique of the magnificent Can-Do-Noli!" you squeal happily as you continue to use the transformed employee as an edible onahole, your balls slapping gently against the pastry crust, little flakes of it drifting across your skin and getting stuck along with smears of the icing. "No way you can only make two of these a day! In fact I'm coming back later and making the owners decide to sell nothing but these! And I'll put the thought in the neighborhood's unconscious that they make amazing one-use fuckholes! All the horny neighborhood boys will be lining up... to cum!" you moan happily as you thrust forward, your cock twitching inside the cannoli as spurts of your jizz shoot out to mingle with the thick, churned-up sugar of the filling.\n\nYou slip the now rather messy Can-Do-Noli off of your now thoroughly messy dick, giggling as you look it over. "Four kinds of filling now, I guess. Ah... too bad you won't be around to help make all those pastry onaholes, though, kon kon."\n\nYour teeth tear through that delicious, buttery pastry and sink through the filling, frosting and your own cum smearing across your cheeks and lips. You did, of course, make it so that your snackified victim would feel intense pleasure at being eaten... you're not a monster! (Most of the time.) But being eaten is a snack's purpose, and it should always feel good to fulfill your purpose! No doubt she feels even greater, more intense pleasure and satisfaction at the feel of your mouth around her, churning her up, your throat sucking her down and squeezing around her, and plopping into your belly than she did getting speared on your cock, and certainly more than any merely mortal orgasm she's experienced.\n\nOnce you've devoured the main pastry, you smear the bits on your face onto your finger and suck it clean... then duck down and shamelessly (but more importantly easily) take your own cock into your mouth, sucking and licking the smeared frosting, sprinkles, and cum from it. Even without any massive spiritual power, you've got a fox's spine, after all. Bobbing your head repeatedly, you soon have your shaft thoroughly clean, and draw your head back, only to duck in again and start washing your balls with your tongue. Still got a few... pastry flecks... and some more frosting... mmm...\n\nOnce every bit of the girl-turned-cannoli has been devoured, you straighten up and sigh happily, patting your belly in contentment. You're vaguely tempted to imbue her into one of the machines or something, so that she could indeed be part of every pastry made here from now on...\n\n... but eh. She was tasty! You think you'll let her digest instead, kon kon~!\n\nAh. That was satisfying! Now to go home and take a nap.\n\n<hr>\n[[Zzzzzz... sugar coma, kon kon... zzzzz...|Konko12x9]]

*Main: Michika can choose to [[fight|ChiMine1x2]] the xenotype infestation. Earlier on she can also identify a different type of [[scuff mark|ChiMine1x1]].\n*Main: Michika also has a new [[retrieval job|ChiGH3x1]].\n*Main: Michika can tell Red she [[needs to leave|ChiMine2x4]] after blasting the slug in the mine.\n-Update 2-\n*Continuing Michika returning to the Guildhall all hopped up on Love Slug juice.\n*Main: Added new character Kona under female chargen, and new character Raz under male chargen.\n-Update 3-\n*More Michika post-love slug shenanigans.\n*More Raz.\n*More Kona.

Better do a quick scan of the local to see if anything's moving or warm, while you're standing still at a place where you won't be in a few moments, and thus don't have to worry too much about alerting anyone. Slipping a scanner out of your coat pocket, you allow it to 'ping' the general area and... no big motion, no notable heat signatures, you are alone here for the moment. Nodding to yourself, you tuck the scanner back in and set off at a good pace, determined to get some distance between you and your arrival point just in case someone did notice the scan.\n\nFor most of the day you don't see or hear much of anything. You see a couple of starships that are, sadly, mostly hulls though you still have to stop and appreciate them a bit, and in a few cases give in to the urge to attach markers to them so you could conceivably find them again someday. Hey, right now it's basically a pure dream to own even one starship, but just imagine one day if you were the sort of guy who had his own hangar full of restored and custom ones? It is, after all, good to have goals! Several times you also give into the urge to duck into some of the ships and do a bit of scavving yourself, since you see a few that look mostly intact and are familiar enough with some valuable parts that might not be stripped off yet, or what kind of cargo they might have been carrying. \n\nPart of you scolds the rest of you for diverting from your true mission, but you remind yourself that you came out here knowing you might be looking for days or weeks anyway... no need to rush, might as well have some fun and/or make some profit off of it too. (A few of these parts you've found will already cover the cost of the planetary data and rations you bought, so you're feeling better about life as it is.) It's while you're in one of these ships that you hear something from outside, specifically human(oid) voices.\n\nEdging back to the rent in the hull that you came in through, you carefully peer out. Ah... looks like a small handful of scrappers, four you can see, maybe one or two you can't to judge by the angles of their heads. Probably either stranded from some transport crash, or maybe even born locally... the one female you see looks to be a tad on the young side, though she's wearing the same mixture of badly-made metal armor and leather pieces that the others are. Judging by some of the others' tattoos, those are either military that have long gone native or prisoners crashed en-route to their slam (or, possibly ironically, being freed from their slam, that'd tug the ol' heartstrings huh?).\n\n"I'm tellin' ya this is stupid, we got stuff ta be doin' back at camp," one of them grouses.\n\n"Boss said we needed to go looking for the red thing, we go look for it, yeah?"\n\n"Who the fuck died and made him our boss anyway?"\n\n"Like, a lot of people," the girl says flatly. "Like, sooooo many people."\n\n"... Oh. Right."\n\n'Red thing'? Could they be referring to the ship's reality drive? Hm... seems like a long shot. Probably way more likely they're looking for some particular droid or other ship. Still, you wonder how to handle this...\n\n<hr>\n[[Stay hidden.|LeoScrap]]\n\n[[Take them out.|LeoScrap]]\n\n[[Take some of them out.|LeoScrap]]

"It's... not that," you say after several moments of silent fretting. "I mean, yeah, I did think about that when I was considering everything, but other peoples' perceptions are their problem in the end, I'd deal with it like any other interspecies relationship hurdle, I'm nervous because of... other things, basically."\n\nMio blinks, clearly puzzled, though the slight change in the set of his eyes is all that shows it. Then the closest thing you've seen to an expression of amazement comes over his face as he stabs a finger at you in time with his words. "You did not know I was male!"\n\n"How the fuck'd you know?!" you yelp, before clapping both hands across your mouth.\n\n"You would be surprised how often fiction tropes propagate to real life," he says, pursing his pretty lips as he narrows his eyes at you. "You never realized I was a man?!"\n\n"You're wearing a skirt and pantyhose!" you blurt back, thrusting your hands at him.\n\n"I am wearing panties too but that does not change my gender identification!" he almost shouts back, leaping to his feet on the bed to lift up the front of his skirt, revealing a surprisingly large bulge cupped in white and blue striped cloth beneath the dark layer of his tights. Then his face goes red and he quickly shoves the front of the skirt back down. He squirms sheepishly for several moments, before murmuring, "Does this mean... you do not feel romantically towards me?"\n\n"I..." You sigh and rub your face with both hands. "I actually kind of think I might, I do like you, Mio, just... see, I'm also a-" You pause, then go flat-eyed. "You know, don't you? You looked up my Guild profile the very first time we met."\n\n"Yes of course I know about your change of physical sex," he replies evenly enough, frowning gently. "That does not change how I feel about you. I find your current form attractive, but it is your personality I am actually romantically drawn to. ... Ah, is that the issue though?" he asks, suddenly blinking. "That you are not sexually interested in men? Or perhaps you are uncertain about your romantic possibilities while in your current body?"\n\n"Yes. No. I don't know," you huff, finally moving to flump down and sit on the side of his bed as well. "... The truth is that I've gotten comfortable enough in this body I don't even think about it anymore. Because of how it happened I was apparently already conditioned to feel like it was kind of normal, but now it just... feels normal in a way I've stopped thinking about. I guess it was always in the back of my mind I'd probably still go back when I could in a few months, but..." You trail off, then sigh again as he moves to sit down beside you. "Look I admit I was mostly leaning towards dating you because I thought you were a girl. Because a girl was still a bit of my old life's normal and felt natural to that me that I'd been losing bits of. And now that I know you're not... my feelings haven't changed much and I'm not sure what to make of that, because you're right, I wasn't attracted to guys before this, but after I changed I keep feeling... ... coming to grips with being attracted to a Lahlleen is actually a little easier than coming to grips with being attracted to a man," you admit with a tiny voice, letting your head hang.\n\n"... I see." Mio bobs his head, then somewhat hesitantly reaches over and lays his hand over one of yours. "Leo. I am very much attracted to you... you, Leonidas LaChance. That will not change if you become male again. I know, I have seen pictures of your original body," he adds, actually managing a fairly natural teasing tone. "I made my decision about pursuing you because I saw your warmth and compassion, your kindness in helping me through my difficulties. Whether I am to be comrade, friend, or romantic partner, I would be a poor one if I did not extend the same compassion and desire to help to you. So, if you would prefer not to be in a relationship with me-"\n\n"No," you interrupt, clearly surprising him. "... No, I want to at least try dating. Somehow. I refuse to let this... situation destroy whatever we could have together."\n\n"... Very well, then," he says slowly, though his cheeks have colored faintly again. "Then I see only three possible avenues for us to pursue. The first is that we continue as we are, with my attempting to be as respectful of your needs in discovering your pace and comfort level as I can. The second is that we wait until you have been able to return to a male physical body, and at that point move forward with whether you would still feel comfortable with us being together in that fashion."\n\nYou nod slowly, admitting both of those make sense. Then you hm. "What's the third?"\n\n"Quite simply, I could become physically female, to match your prior assumption." At your surprised blink, he shrugs. "All three Lahlleen gender identities trend towards what the majority of other races consider feminine anyway. I do not believe it would be of considerable issue for me to assume a female physical form. After all, if things did not work out between us or I decided I was truly unhappy that way, I could simply change back. Without outside interference such as that involved in your case, it is a relatively routine procedure here on the Guildhall and the only issue is the expense."\n\n"I dunno, Mio, that seems..." You trail off, not sure of what word goes next.\n\n"I assure you I wouldn't be putting it forward if I was not willing to try it," he says in a reasonable tone, swaying his feet back and forth a bit. "But it is your comfort that is primarily at issue here. Which do you think is best?"\n\n<hr>\n[[Continue as is.|LeoFem]]\n\n[[Wait until you can change back.|LeoFem]]\n\n[[Have Mio become female.|LeoFem]]

"Easy, Mio, easy," you say quietly, biting back the burst of frustration you felt when you saw the beam strike wide. "Take your time, you've got plenty of it. We worked on Nanoha's targeting programs together, remember? You have all the information you need to take the perfect shot, all you need to do is put it all together. Breathe. Lower the elbows. Relax the shoulders a little." You watch as she follows your commands, as well as fixing a few problems in her stance you didn't call out. "And whenever you're ready, take the shot you know you have."\n\nSilence stretches for long seconds as you raise the binoculars to your eyes again, focusing on the running rebel leader. Then you hear the high shriek-low twang combo of the rifle firing again, and watch as an orange-red blast takes Kubler right between the shoulderblades, dropping him to the ground with a smoldering hole in his back, the heavy cylinder of the power cell rolling a short distance from his limp hand. "Good shot, Mio," you say with a grin, lowering the binoculars and looking at her.\n\nHer face is more expressionless than usual, however, as she lowers the rifle, then nods once. "Yes. It was."\n\n"... Alright. You use the equipment to get the military on the horn, remember to decrypt the boobytrap locations first so they get uploaded right, I'll stand guard on the entries."\n\n"Yes, understood."\n\nOnce the military has landed and started to pour into the city, establishing the tower as their own headquarters once again, you're politely asked to get into one of the unmarked gyrojets so you can be taken to the mainland. Not surprising... you don't doubt that if you stay through tomorrow morning, the newsfeeds will be carrying stories about how a daring commando squad of Kamitorzian elite rangers were the ones to storm the island and take it back. 'Dying states make heroes like dying companies make product', meaning quickly and desperately. You're pretty sure that's another Seiun-ism. But, you're not being paid to take credit, and they seem to be trying to buy you off by checking you into a very ritzy hotel for the night when you get back. Since it only seems proper to celebrate, you ask Mio to join you for dinner at the hotel restaurant that night, heading out to buy yourself shirt, slacks, and jacket... and, what the heck, a fancy, nice-looking panty and bra set. You've mostly gotten over your issues with your current state, may as well get dressy underneath too. In fact you even go the extra step of going to a proper beauty parlor to have your hair thoroughly washed and expertly brushed, putting some shine in the blonde locks and getting it done in an elaborate braid. \n\nYou can't help but be impressed when Mio meets you in a very adult red dress... not sexually provocative, really, it's not showing off that much, just that it's classy and mature and you have to admit, makes her look very very pretty, actually managing to avoid the trap of 'young girl wearing a prom dress' that you've generally seen in other Lahlleen trying to dress fancy. You actually see her blush a little as she sees you, eyes quickly slipping off to the side as she returns your greeting.\n\nStill, she seems subdued even for her as you're seated and look over the menus. Once both drinks and appetizers have been ordered, you lean in across the table slightly. "Hey, you alright?"\n\n"... That was... the first time," she finally says quietly, eyes averted downwards, her hands pressing into her lap below the tableline.\n\nYou blink at that. "That... no, I've seen you take killshots before, Mio, you've been doing it this entire missions. Other ones too."\n\n"Those were all with one of my drones," she says with a small shake of the head. "Just directing one of them to act on their threat assessment data. This was the first time I'd ever used a weapon I was holding in my own hands, pulled the trigger, and saw someone die. It... felt different," she finishes very quietly, then quickly brings up a hand to wipe a knuckle under her eyes. "It is a stupid distinction, I know, I am sorry, I-"\n\n"Hey," you interrupt softly, reaching over to lay a hand palm-up on the table, fingers curled. It takes her a moment, but she lets her own small one rest in it, allowing you to curl your glossed-nailed fingers around it. (The parlor ladies insisted.) "It's not stupid, if it feels different, it is. If you say this feels like the first time, it was. You don't have to apologize, you should just talk about it if you need to."\n\n"... Leo, how do we know this was right?" she asks, just a bit of a crack in her voice. "How do we know that Kubler wasn't the... the good guy? Standing up against an oppressive and dying state? Did we kill these people's chance for something better because we were being paid?"\n\n"... I don't have answers for you there, Mio," you admit after a moment, rubbing your thumb across the back of her hand. "These are the questions some of us ask every time we go out. Others never ask them at all. Generally when we're hired for this sort of thing, we don't have the information to know whether we're fighting for the good guys or the bad guys. It's that grey place we live in, doing this job. All you can do is listen to your own feelings, and turn down the jobs that feel bad to you."\n\n"I don't know how I feel about this one, though. That's the problem." She takes a deep breath, then lets it out in a rush, finally bringing her eyes up to meet yours. "What do you think?"\n\nYou give her question the actual thought it deserves, then grin some. "His armor was very nice, wasn't it?"\n\n"Ah... yes?" she says in confusion. "It seemed to be a modified set of Kamitorzian officer's armor, with attached general's insignia and what Nanoha scanned as paint typically used in high-end vehicle specialization shop. The insignia also used very expensive microLED paint."\n\n"And what were all the other guys wearing?"\n\n"Most were wearing no armor, some civilian law enforcement level armor, a minority wearing infantry grade Kamitorzian military armor, primarily modified with home improvement store level spraypaint," she answers, then blinks. "... Oh."\n\n"Yeah. There was an extra set of painted-up officer's armor in the tower too, but all of his guys even in there were still wearing the infantry stuff." You bobble your head side-to-side a little. "You can never really know, but do I think we killed the good guy today? No. The good guy wouldn't have put that much effort into appearances while his guys were running around in substandard stuff or nothing at all."\n\n"Considering the data you've called my attention to, no, I do not think so," Mio murmurs, some of the visible heaviness fading out of the set of her shoulders. "... But that uncertainty will return, will it not?"\n\n"Probably. And if it makes you reconsider this life, then that's okay too, Mio. As far as I'm concerned, you've proved that you can do this job as well as anyone. You are, officially, the absolute weirdo you wanted to be," you add in a teasing tone, letting your eyes sparkle some.\n\nThat actually gets a very tiny, very short laugh out of her. Shortly after your meals arrive, and she's quiet as the two of you eat, but in a more easy, companionable way, actually seeming a bit more relaxed in her silence than she was before. As the two of you are getting up from the table, she reaches out to snag the sleeve of your jacket. "... Ah, sorry." She quickly drops her hand and clears her throat. "Leo, when we return to the Guildhall tomorrow, after you have given your debrief to Seiun... I would like it if you came to see me at my room so that we could discuss something."\n\n"Sure. About whether you want to continue combat missions?"\n\n"Perhaps." For a second it looks like that's all she'll say, but then she pointedly clears her throat. "I would also like to discuss the potential of us repeating the events of tonight, however. In a... more explicitly... romantic... ... fashion," she continues, her head getting a little lower and face a little more red with every bit of the sentence she gets out.\n\n"... I mean... we can definitely talk about that," you reply with a grin, despite a strange and heady mix of emotions in your chest.\n\nThe two of you retire to your rooms for the night, and in the morning emerge dressed as usual, stepping together to use a return beacon. Seiun recently purchased sub-portal rights, so you're put on the MC wing of the Guildhall rather than the main portal annex, the two of you riding a lift several levels. Mio nods to you and heads up the stairs to her room, while you announce yourself at Seiun's office and wait to be called in.\n\n"-little difficulty at first, but then took the second shot with zero problems," you finish. "Even shot Kubler where he'd still be easy to identify by the military."\n\n"Very good," Seiun replies in a satisfied tone, bobbing his head once in that oddly quick avian motion he sometimes falls into. "Mio performed well overall?"\n\n"Still some difficulties with certain physical tasks that might make flying solo different, but as far as a support and assist 100%, and making some strides that I think will help when flying alone. She does seem a little uncertain about her future though, we're gonna discuss that and some other things once I meet up with her after this," you add with a grin.\n\n"... She?" Seiun blinks hard. "Her?"\n\n"... Yes? Mio? I'm going to her room after this?"\n\n"Hunh." Seiun is quiet for a few moments, before saying, "Leo, I'm really not sure how we went this long without using pronouns in discussion of Mio, but... Mio is male."\n\n"... Eh?" you say quietly.\n\n"Physically and, as far as I am aware, identifying. Mio is a man."\n\n"Uh." You blink rapidly, then look upward, then back at Seiun. This calls for a mature response. "You're fucking with me."\n\n"No." His head cocks slightly. "Did you really not know? I would have thought you might have noticed after spending a week roughing it together."\n\n"I turned around!" you yelp, gesturing to the side with both hands as if to indicate the invisible thing making it obvious you didn't pay attention to how Mio peed. "She has two combat drones watching her all the time, I didn't need to guard that much, besides you know that some female mercs learn to do it standing up! Hell I have! How was I to know she hadn't... I mean... he...!" You sputter a little, then fall silent, hands dropping.\n\n"... He asked you out didn't he?" Seiun says thoughtfully after a moment's silence.\n\n"He... asked me to talk about asking me out. Or talk about me asking him out," you mutter, dragging a hand down your face.\n\n"Hm, yes, that is a very Mio thing to do," your uncle says in a philosophical tone. "Especially considering all the issues involved, I imagine he would want you both to be very clear on all of them so that you understand what's involved. And, of course, so that he doesn't get hurt." Seiun gets up and walks around to rest a hand on your shoulder. "He would be very easy to hurt, Leo," he adds in a gentler voice. "I'll ask you to try not to. Not as guild head, but as someone that cares about him. His own parents made very little effort to understand him, from what he's said... he desperately wants someone who will make that effort. I have. I hope you will too, if nothing else."\n\nYou nod slowly, and after a minute get up and walk out, knowing you can't put this off. You walk up the stairs and make your way over to Mio's door, hesitating just a bit again before knocking on the door. At the call to come in, you step inside. It's a weird mixture of messy and highly organized... while it might seem like an innate contradiction, Mio's managed it in turning the smallish room into a makeshift workshop. He's sitting on the bed doing some maintenance on Fate, it looks like, and looks up as you come in. "Ah, Leo." He carefully sets his work aside, which is also a big change from previously... you've never not been shushed before when he was working. "I am glad you came, as said there is much I wish to discuss."\n\n"... Ah, yeah, about that," you murmur, rubbing your upper arm.\n\nMio stares at you for a moment, that bit of a sparkle his blue eyes had disappearing. "Ah. You're displaying far more ambivalence about this than you did previously. I presume the weight of what's involved in the potential of us engaging in a relationship has begun to sink in."\n\n"Um. Mio, it's-"\n\n"It's difficult for you, I agree," he interrupts, as calm as ever as he scoots to more fully face you. "The appearances. I am a fully-grown Lahlleen and will keep my current appearance until advanced age sets in. Especially since I would be beside a human, you would have the appearance of being in a relationship with a child for the duration of our association. Most species have taboos against such for very good reasons, and that first impression would be difficult to overcome even once they realize I am simply a race whose physical appearance differs. ... Of course, many races consider dating a Lahlleen no different than dating a child anyway, due to perceptions of my species," he adds, ducking his head a little. "That would be an entirely understandable reason not to engage in a relationship with me."\n\n... God fucking dammit, why does he have to be so goddamn considerate and sweet and vulnerable? And fucking cute, too. You squirm a little, your feelings a storm inside your chest. Well... if you want to avoid the whole mess he's certainly given you a good out where you could give both of you a "no-fault" out. But is that really what you want to do?\n\n<hr>\n[[Take the out.|LeoFem]]\n\n[[Turn him down, but be honest.|LeoFem]]\n\n[[Return his feelings.|LeoFem2x9]]

"I'd really like to help Mio get those numbers up, if at all possible," you say dryly. "That completion rate's improving, but-"\n\n"But still sub-seventy any time it's a solo mission, yes. There's probably a talk to be had there at some point, but..." Seiun trails off, then simply nods. "Alright, I'll send the message to have you two meet up at the portal annex. Gear up and head out."\n\nSoon you and the small blonde are making your way through a fairly tropical environment, the portal having deposited you at what's effectively the far corner of the island. You do notice her struggling a bit with some of the thicker underbrush, but other than pointing out a clearer trail now and then you leave her to it... she's not having any real trouble and she'll just have to learn to make allowances eventually anyway. Occasionally you run across small scout forces or, more rarely, hostile wildlife, but between your weapons and Mio's offensive drone (a black and yellow thing named "Fate" with some of the best hovergyros you've ever seen and an extremely focused and accurate proton beam) none of them present much of a challenge. As the wears on into early evening and you take care of the third batch of scouts for the day, you kneel down and roll one of the dead men over. "Mm. This batch is less sweaty than the last, and wearing armor. Probably sent out to look for the scouts with some idea we were here."\n\n"We have lost the element of surprise, then," Mio notes with a frown. "Perhaps we should have remained undetected until we were able to take out our primary target."\n\n"Nah, not a good idea. If it was just a straight-up hit on Kubler that'd be one thing, but our job is to pacify the island. We take out the leader first, it'd throw the rest into chaos. Which sounds good until you realize that you've now got an island full of desperate men with guns mingled in with civilians."\n\n"... I see. Your point is well-made, I was in error," Mio says a little flatly.\n\n"Don't worry about it, worry about where these guys came from."\n\n"I understood that prompt." Mio has Fate disconnect from her cyberport and Nanoha plug in instead, the white drone angling to sweep its blue-shining eye back and forth over the downed men, before righting and turning to the right. "Overall analysis indicates they came from this direction. I'm picking up a small cluster of buildings, no more than five. Seven individuals... all wearing armor to judge by the intonation of heartbeats."\n\n"Alright. It's going to send even more of a signal to the top when they lose contact with a whole station, but we can't really help that." You consider, then mm softly. "I'd like to hit them as late as possible to make sure they've sent their last checkin for the night, but they must already be getting antsy to be sending out stronger teams. We'll hit them now and hope they haven't actually told headquarters they're having problems yet. Mio, when I say 'go', jam their comms."\n\n"Understood."\n\nThe two of you carefully make your way over to the buildings... looks like a weather monitoring station and a couple of attendant buildings. You spend a little while watching everyone move around, and quietly make a few notations of how certain of the men will react to Mio, receiving silent headnods in return. Then, as the light is really starting to go and you notice one of the more agitated-looking men come out and lift up a hand comm, you whisper, "Go." Sliding out of the growth you lift your rifle and take out the guy trying to comm his dead scout team first, sending him sprawling to the ground in a shower of blood right in the middle of the cluster and in full view of all his men. Most of them freeze for just a second, giving you a chance to pick off two more, the high-pitched vreeeen of Fate's particle beam coinciding with a third flying backward rather dramatically as the beam of compressed excited particles hits his armor and translates the tiniest fraction of its own speed to it. (A teeny tiny fraction of lightspeed is still pretty dramatic, after all.) At least two of them go full Amygdala Hijack just as you predicted, one screaming and running away, one screaming and running towards you. Just as you agreed you ignore the guy racing right towards you with a combat knife, letting Mio circle around and take him out while you focus on taking out the guy who's actually managed to take a position and return fire, hitting the button to fire an explosive from your rifle's secondary barrel and take out both him and the concrete divider he's hiding behind, before finally putting a single bullet through the back of the neck of the runner.\n\n"..." Mio again switches out her drone connections, the white and blue drone humming softly as it turns back and forth. "No further humanoid lifesigns in the immediate area."\n\n"Good. Good job," you add with a glance towards her before starting forward, looking at the scattered bodies amidst the light haze of concrete dust still drifting through the air. "Let's get them all together, the guys from that last scouting team too. We'll get rid of the bodies, cause a little extra confusion if they send someone out here. Set up a few boobytraps too."\n\n"... Yes. Understood."\n\nOf course you do pretty much all of the body-gathering, while Mio goes around deploying and making a few anti-personnel boobytraps to attach to the buildings. She's also the one to actually mix the chemicals to destroy the bodies, leaving nothing but a brown spot in the foliage just past the treeline. "I have set the boobytraps to only react to the weapons and armor the rebels are using," she notes as she turns away from the uneven splotch in the grass.\n\n"Good thinking, I actually forgot it's possible civilians might wander out here. I'll make a note to auto-file with the military when we make contact again too, just to be sure." You take a glance around. "I'd rather spend the night in one of these buildings, but we can't risk them sending someone to check immediately. Better press on."\n\nAn hour later the two of you have found a small spot to make camp... which, in this case, means setting up a small device of Mio's design to cut down on the humidity in the air and keep away bugs. The two of you sit in the dark, you leaning your head back and half-sleeping... and Mio apparently brooding on the day, since you finally hear her say, "I do not like being here."\n\nYou open your eyes, just enough light coming in through the canopy above that you can make out her outline where she's sitting across from you, hugging her tights-sheathed legs to her chest and staring at the extremely dim LEDs of the comfort device. You doubt she can see but you try to give her a comforting smile. "No matter what they say, mercs that actually like sleeping propped against a tree while knowing there's over a hundred hostiles in various positions around them are few and far between."\n\n"... I mean I do not like being here, at all. Doing this. Going on combat missions," Mio clarifies after a moment, lowering her head further against her knees. "If I were to compare my dislike for being on combat missions to a sitcom character, it would be somewhere between a shallowly sociopolitically aware community college student who cannot be honest about anything and an idealistic city government worker who is ignorant of her own incompetence."\n\n"That bad, huh?" you say dryly. Those sound kind-of-sort-of familiar. Mio seems to consume a lot of Earth media... oddly way more than you, despite you being the child of an Earther. "So... why do it? There's hundreds, probably thousands of Guildcerts who are technically mercenaries but stick to non-combat specialties. Engineers, technicians, construction workers, negotiaters, sex workers... sure, they get called in for the high-end, difficult, and frequently dangerous jobs, but practically all of them never see more than a faint brush with actual combat. Plenty of them wind up never firing a weapon in anger in the course of their career, that's why it's the 'Guild of Professionals, Specialists, and Enforcers' and not 'Killers, Assassins, and Assbeaters'."\n\nThe last does get a very soft 'heh' out of the little blonde, but she's quiet for awhile before finally speaking again. "... I am here right now because while I do not like doing this, I need to do this. It is important." She hesitates a bit more before lifting her head, apparently looking at you now as she continues. "It is of course 'known' that Lahlleen are suitable only for non-physical professions. Customer service, public relations, sex work, and of course if they particularly feel like branching out, professions involving design and technical repair. Obviously the less we have to actually work with our hands, the better, yes?" Her voice has taken on a slightly acidic tone now, a bitter edge to her normally rather flat voice. "Lahlleen combatants are quaint little tales to smile over with twinkling eyes and an air of 'Isn't that precious?' as if it were a domesticated animal wearing a particularly ugly religious festival garment."\n\n"And you..." It seems almost condescending to say 'want to change that', so shift to, "Weren't satisfied with that?"\n\n"... Whatever I personally choose to do will have no bearing on the perception of my race. I was already 'the weird Lahlleen' even when I was at home. I am not outgoing, cheerful, or sweet. I am not overly energetic nor do I find other people overly fascinating. My sex drive is..." She trails off briefly, before giving a slight squirm in place. "... my own business. But even if I were to become particularly capable at combat missions, I would simply be reinforcing my status as a 'one-off', an aberration in the type. ... I wish to become capable at combat missions purely because it is assumed I cannot. Because I hate the assumptions that I cannot overcome my limitations."\n\n"Hm." You look at her for a bit, then smile. "Sounds to me like somewhere along the way you decided you liked being the weird one." At her head raising further in either curiosity or shock, you continue. "You decided if you were going to be the Lahlleen that was better at machines than people, the Lahlleen that was calm and collected, the Lahlleen that wasn't a 'proper' Lahlleen, you might as well go all the way. If you're going to be the weird one, may as well succeed entirely at being the weird one, right?"\n\n"... Yes. Perhaps that is it."\n\nOver the next several days as the two of you make your way across the island, taking out enemy scout groups and encampments along the way, you do notice Mio seems a lot more focused... she's still struggling a bit physically but mentally she's far more in the game, enough that when you approach the last city you have few compunctions about tackling it. "Okay, in this case, we're not going to try and clear the whole city ourselves. We make our way to where intel has the leader holed up, taking out what we see as we go... they're gonna concentrate a lot more in our path anyway as we go, drawing them out of the rest of the city. The tight beam of intel I got last night says that most of the civilian population has either slipped out of the city into the jungle or is concentrated in underground shelters so we don't need to worry too much, but let's still try to keep collateral damage to a minimum. These are people's homes and livelihoods and this place is still almost 100% salvageable."\n\n"Understood," Mio acknowledges with a single nod. She shifts the rifle in her arms a little uncomfortably... you ordered her to have it ready today and you know she's a pretty good shot with it since you've drilled with her, but you don't think she's actually fired it since you got here, preferring to rely on Fate's particle beam. \n\n"Once we've confirmed Kubler is dead, we can call the Kamitorzian military to let them know they can do the cleanup, should just be disorganized stragglers at that point. Ready?"\n\n"I am ready."\n\n"Let's go, then."\n\nAnd so the two of you begin the last stretch of the mission, almost immediately encountering resistance. Kubler's clearly been drilling his guys too, the men you encounter wearing something passably like uniforms and even armor with glowing blue sigmas on their shoulders, reacting with some semblance of squad tactics and discipline. Ironically it's made them far less dangerous than the insurgents you fought last time you were on this world... had they been left as untrained upjumped rioters, their unpredictability and chaotic individuality would have made it like dealing with each one as their own separate problem; or, had their training been completed and bestowed actual discipline and team cohesiveness, you'd be facing large numbers of soldier-level strike teams. It's so much like a mid-level difficulty training sim that it's actually a little surreal. You take the lead, moving and firing, while Mio supports from behind, throwing explosives and firing shots from Fate... you haven't actually heard her rifle go off yet, but well, if she doesn't need it.\n\nThe two of you gradually make your way to what was the combination government office/observation tower, fighting your way up the stairwells and finally taking out the command center that had been set up on the top floor. Even you're a little winded by now, sweeping your eyes back and forth over the stacked rifle cases, one-use missile launchers, and currency carriers to check for hidden enemies... and then the faces of the dead to check for your target. "Kubler isn't here, he must have evacced down the elevator shaft like we thought he might."\n\n"The sensor for the boobytrap I put on the ground floor elevator hasn't gone off, he must have gotten out before then," Mio notes, having been circling the room herself... then stopping. "Leo. This is a package of Theogardian M-grade O-type power cells. The Kamitorzians only use them for powering two things, hospital emergency backup generators and cloaking armor."\n\n"Dammit, he's got a stealth gyro at the airfield," you curse, snatching up a pair of binoculars off of one of the dead men and running to the side of the tower facing the airfield and docks. You sweep the streets, and quickly spot a fleeing bearded figure in armor with a glowing blue sigma embossed very prettily on the back. "I've got him, he's heading for the government airfield alright. If he gets there a stealth gyro will slip right by their blockade." Your head yanks towards the missile launchers leaning on the wall... one of those could lock onto him easily, but they'd also take out several of what look like family homes lining the street he's on. "Mio, you need to take the shot," you decide aloud as you disable the lock and haul the window portion open.\n\n"I do not think that is possible, Fate's proton beam will dissipate before covering tha-"\n\n"You'll have to use your rifle." At a slight widening of her eyes, you add, "Plug in Nanoha and take the shot using its targeting data, it's the only way to do it without collateral damage."\n\n"... Understood." Mio crosses to the window, the black and yellow drone unplugging and allowing the white one to take its place floating by her head as she does. She takes a deep breath, then lifts the pale pink rifle to her shoulder and looks through the scope, though you know she's probably actually seeing mostly through her drone. Her finger slowly squeezes the trigger, a bright red-orange beam firing from the emitter... and striking the small, gravel-filled lawn of one of the houses, so far off target that Kubler never breaks stride.\n\n<hr>\n[[Do it yourself.|LeoFem]]\n\n[[Talk her through it.|LeoFem2x8]]

No more rooms in use by Roaring Eagle members... hm, you didn't find Nagareboshi. Well, no way to track him down otherwise, maybe he's already back, you think as you head back to the lift.\n\nYour guess turns out to be correct, as when you walk in not only is everyone else you've met milling around in the vicinity of the meeting table, a third large and obvious nonhuman is part of the group. As you approach he turns, one corner of his beak quirking. Nagareboshi apparently takes more after his mother's side of the family, though his beak is a bit shorter and wider than Seiun's, his birdlike hands on the thicker side, and the tufts at the end of his leonine tail longer and more flowing. That and his feet are digigrade hooves like an Equanavian's... oh, yeah, and there's the bulge you're definitely not gonna look at. Lord, this keeps happening today. It's definitely not as big as Shotetsu's, but bigger than Arina's, probably somewhere between and yeah okay you looked when you noticed but no more looking okay? Keep the gaze on his face. He has the sort of 'mane' of feathers, though his are tipped in black instead of gold, and he's offering you a hand so you shake it. As you take it you notice the shift from behind him, your attention drawn to the other big difference between either his father or uncle... the large, mostly white-feathered wings folded in against his back.\n\n"Been looking forward to meeting you for awhile, Leo."\n\n"Really? Thanks, nice to meet you too, Nagareboshi," you reply, trying to breeze over the fact that you never heard of him until last week. But Seiun's always been pretty private about his family life so you doubt that means anything about his nephew personally.\n\n"Please, 'Boshi'. It may sound a bit childish, but I think I'd feel the same about everyone saying 'Nagareboshi' as you would about 'Leonidas'."\n\nYou laugh some at that and bob your head. "Yeah, 'kay, fair enough."\n\n"Alright, let's bring everyone in," Seiun calls, managing to avoid sounding too teacher-y about calling the meeting to order. Soon everyone is seated except for him, the simple round table adjusted to have just the right amount of room for everyone. "Alright, I'd like to welcome everyone to the first official meeting of Roaring Eagle. We're a small company for now, and I intend for us to grow slowly... only once everyone in this room knows and is comfortable working with everyone else will we start bringing in new people at a rate they can be absorbed properly into that dynamic. Because this company is not intended to simply be a place to come to crash and conveniently access the Vault and get jobs. I won't wax lyrical about a 'band of brothers' or 'found family'... what you make of this is up to you. But I will accept nothing less than a group of professionals that know, trust, and can rely on one another."\n\nHe straightens up and clasps his hands behind his back, looking around. "I've already discussed with most of you one-on-one that one of Roaring Eagle's founding principles is to allow experienced mercenaries to pass on what they know to those with promise and talent. And each of you here has plenty of both promise and talent. But we will be ever mindful, as should you, that each of you is an adult and a professional who has already stood on your own in this world, be it for months or years. We are not your parents, we are simply fellow mercenaries with experience to share. And each of you likely has experience to share with the rest, which includes myself, Shotetsu, or any other older mercenary we bring on... you are here to teach everyone else in this company as much as you are here to learn."\n\nHe turns and looks over towards the banner displaying the sword-winged griffon emblem. You're actually impressed he manages to make the Very Inspiring Speech move look entirely sincere and natural, you guess because it probably is. "So for today, let us begin with a few simple experiences of my own. Always respect your client's problem, whatever you might think of it in a void... they would not be willing to pay our fee if it were not a real problem to them. If you accept their job, treat the issue as seriously as they do. Always remember that just because something isn't likely doesn't mean it's impossible... in fact in this line of work, absolutely assume that if it is at all possible, it is likely. And finally... sometimes the people that come to us aren't looking to hire a specialist, a professional, or an enforcer. Sometimes they're desperate to hire a friend. Or a guardian angel. Or a hero. Learn to recognize those signs, because those jobs are always harder in one way or another, because you can't always be what they're looking for."\n\nHe lets that sit for a minute before turning back to the table. "Well, that's all for today. Go ahead and settle into your rooms if you haven't already, get to know each other. Tomorrow I'll start having missions ready, but for today get some rest and mingle."\n\nAnd so begins your time at Roaring Eagle. You do gradually get to know your fellow members, including those who prefer to ditch out of the mingling session or hang out at the edges of it. Bianca is an interesting mixture of refined & proper and awkward as hell, and despite her clear need to have some amount of control over her emotions has the most emotionally expressive tail of anyone you've ever met with one. Arina's simple, straightforward, easy to both understand and be around (as long as you don't get thrown off by her constant and blatant flirting), someone who has no hidden agenda or secret pain that you've seen any sign of, just sincerely enjoying a life of fighting and working with partying in between. Daneim is really about as easy to read as he was the first day you met him... an edgelord with a chip on his shoulder covering up some actual hurt he's experienced through his life, and the only question you're not sure of is if he's eager for someone to unlock his tragic backstory or if he sincerely wants to keep it to himself. Mio is... offputting. In a way that's actually really endearing over time. It's obvious she doesn't look at the world the way the rest of you do, needing odd little metaphors to relate to certain things, but over time it's easy to see that she's not actually unfriendly, just stiff and unable to operate on quite the same emotional resonance as everyone else. And Boshi... yeaaaah you can see what Seiun meant about you being alike. Especially since once you start realizing he's talented and charming and cocky and overconfident that okay yeah people who described you that way were probably right.\n\nOver the first few months with the company, you go on a number of group missions as well as your usual solos. Usually it's you with Seiun in the lead, or Seiun leading you and one of the others, which does gradually let you get to know their strengths and weaknesses. At least on a purely combat-based level... most of them aren't really long enough missions that you get that more deep-down understanding of their methods and thinking like you've developed with your uncle at this point. Though it sounds like that might be about to change as you get called into Seiun's office one day.\n\n"I've got another job from the Kamitorzia military. Similar situation to last time, though this one is the result of deliberate action by a rebel faction, and it's smaller in scale, more focused."\n\n"Another one huh? Sounds like things are going pretty rough for these guys," you say bemusedly as you take the tablet he proffers, skimming through the info on the small island city that's been captured.\n\n"They've been good clients over the years, they pay on time and they're not always breathing down my neck, it'll be a shame to see the state fall," Seiun says with the specific sort of wry tone that only someone that's spent decades doing the sort of job where taking part in the last gasps of dying empires is a common occurrence. "But they're clearly not ready to throw in the towel yet. They think this band's got a core of insurgents from the last city at its heart, which is why it's pretty convenient for them this time that it's on an island. The Kamitorzian navy has the sea and air totally blockaded so the rebels can't escape, they think the faction intends to simply hold out until the government is forced to face the political reality that they're in control of it now."\n\n"Failure conditions?"\n\n"More than the specified civilian casualties or collateral damage, or if their leader, Nolan Kubler, somehow manages to escape." As you're looking over Nolan's profile and picture, Seiun adds, "This is a much smaller, more concentrated mission, I think just two should be able to handle it. Obviously you're here because I want you to be one of them, but I'm leaving the other up to you."\n\n"Hm? Me?" You blink, glancing up. "You're not going to ask who wants to go?"\n\n"Sometimes being in a mercenary company means you do have to take orders, including what missions you go on. In this case I'm going to be treating your request as advice that I'm going to follow in giving that order to your chosen partner, even if that partner is Shotetsu. And you could do worse, not only is he an extremely capable merc who, if I were honest, could probably handle this job solo but he has a lot to teach you. His 'ground game' is actually quite a bit better than mine and you could do worse than choose this as a learning experience. On the other hand, if you take one of the others, I'm going to expect you to take the lead. And I don't mean just giving orders."\n\n"You mean, you'd want me to teach," you say a little dryly, shaking your head.\n\n"Learning by teaching is an entirely valid method. Try not to let it go to your head too badly, but you are in fact the most well-rounded mercenary of the younger group in the company. Each of the others has at least something they could learn from you, and I expect over the course of this mission that you should be capable of realizing what that is and teaching it to them."\n\n... Interesting thought. You'd become comfortable understanding you had a lot to learn and being the pupil... now Seiun's telling you he thinks you're capable enough to be the teacher. At least to mercs more rookie-ish than yourself, anyway. You'd actually felt like you'd set a lot of your ego aside, enough that now you're a bit uncertain. ... But. Like uncle said, part of being in an MC is taking orders, and it's clear that you taking this mission is an order. You just have to decide who you're taking.\n\n<hr>\n[[Shotetsu.|LeoFem]]\n\n[[Bianca.|LeoFem]]\n\n[[Arina.|LeoFem]]\n\n[[Daneim.|LeoFem]]\n\n[[Mio.|LeoFem2x7]]\n\n[[Boshi.|LeoFem]]

Even at relatively low levels, there are a fair number of potions you could give Stacia to turn her into a much more pleasing (or useful) traveling companion. \n\nFor one, the most direct at removing the things you find annoying about her, what's sometimes informally referred to as the "[[Drone Potion|Reth]]". It would suppress her personality, turning her into an obedient flesh and blood automaton... no more chattering about adventuring! Of course her personality would only be suppressed, not removed entirely... there is a potion that could do that, but it's higher-level and requires rarer ingredients. You suppose if for some reason at some point in the future you wanted to release Stacia's personality again, you could, but you don't see why you would.\n\nThen there's the one that's often called the "[[Bimbo Draught|Reth]]". It would, let's say, give Stacia's constitution and charisma attributes a massive boost, and drop her intelligence and wisdom scores down to somewhere slightly above "sentient", depending on how strong you make it.\n\nThere's also one called "[[Permaphrodisiac|Reth]]", which is, shockingly enough, a permanent aphrodisiac. Essentially Stacia's mind would be consumed with thoughts of sex, fucking, and pleasuring cocks. Fuck her a few times in the aftermath of giving it to her, and she'd see you as the source of her pleasure, and therefore her reason for existing. (Always a fun one to use on any female adventurer without enough resistance to it.)

"You're hit?" Seiun frowns, doing a quick up-and-down look at you.\n\n"Not shot, he threw something in my face, pink stuff. Tried not to inhale but it was hot so it shocked me... pretty sure I'm fine, though, probably just some fundrugs he had at hand, I just feel sorta out of it and hazy and hot and my mind wanders," you ramble, wobbling a little in place, before you smile broadly and lean in towards him. "You smell really fucking good, Uncle Seiun."\n\n"... Oh dear," he murmurs, tucking his rifle in against his lower back.\n\n"Just really fucking good, and you look good, I wanna get these clothes off, I wanna get your clothes off too," you assert firmly but dreamily, then let out a pleased gasp of shock as he grabs you by the upper arm. "Mmm fuck yes pin me to the wall!" you groan happily as he drags you along with him. In your dazed state you vaguely process that him swiping a card and working the access panel attached to the quarantine lock has very little to do with pinning you up against the wall, but him tossing you onto the ground definitely has a lot of fun possibilities! Except then the doors are slamming closed and you're cut off from his scent and now he's on the other side of the glass and that is very very awful and cruel.\n\n"Uncllllle!" you wail, leaping to your feet and rushing to the glass where he's standing looking in, pounding a fist against it. "You can't fuck me from out there! C'mon! Get in here and fuck me! There's beds and everything! C'mon!"\n\n"Just calm down, Leo," he says in a firm, even voice. "You're gonna get through this."\n\n"Need your cock through my pussy," you respond back immediately, not exactly caring that it doesn't make the most sense in the world. Removing your pants, though, that makes total sense, peeling your soaked panties off makes even more sense. You moan shamelessly as you tuck your hands between your legs, your arousal almost immediately soaking your fingers and dripping through them. "Nnnnh, look how wet it is, look how wet it is for you, uncle, please, please come in and fuck me, I need it, I need your cock, I'm gonna die without your cock, pleeeease..."\n\n"You're not going to die," he replies, his eyes having taken on the faintest strained set. "You'll be fine. Just try to calm down and get some rest."\n\n"Pleeeeease. Pleeeeease," you whimper needfully, shimmying out of your coat and unzipping your top. You don't bother to do more than pull up your bra to let your tits drop free, jutting them towards him. "You can play with my titties all you want if you fuck me, they're super nice, right? Actually I'd loooove to wrap my boobies around your dick, uncle, I remember seeing it when we swam in lakes when I was younger, it's reeeeally big and pink and I want it soooooo bad," you moan, pressing your bared breasts up against the glass, starting to drag your tongue against it in the lewdest patterns you can imagine, desperately hoping to tempt him with the idea of you doing the same to his cock.\n\nSeiun is unmoved, even as you urge him to every lewd, deviant act that enters your steadily more fevered mind, promising him he can use any hole he wants as much as he wants whenever he wants, begging him to give you dozens of babies, openly fantasizing about him using you as a urinal. You shake your tits at him, display your tonguework, press your ass up against the glass and grind it alluringly, letting him see the smears of wetness all over it. You're too horny to get angry at him, even as he seemingly taunts you by sitting there with a stony face and an obvious bulge in his pants, but you do plead that if he won't fuck you, bring someone else who will. Some of the insurgents, maybe, or the big strong military men at the base, or some dirty hobo out of the alleyways, or go get someone from the guild, anyone, you just start going through a list of everyone you know that shamelessly includes your own relatives, your fingers pumping into your sodden cunt relentlessly as you jut your hips towards him, your ass rising and falling on the hospital bed you've sprawled on. Everything becomes a pink haze of babbling your pleas to be fucked and used and dominated and never quite being able to make yourself orgasm, at least not in any way that would be as satisfying as long, fat cocks slamming every hole you have and using you as a cum dump clearly would be.\n\nYou're not even sure how much time has passed before you slowly sit up, groaning and putting a hand to your head. You feel like you've got the worst hangover you've ever had. You barely even think as a water bottle is proffered to you, just taking it and starting to gulp greedily.\n\n"Yeah, I figured you'd probably be dehydrated. I put one through yesterday but you pretty much ignored it and the food bar."\n\n"Uncle?" you rasp, looking at him, actually having to take a moment to focus. It takes another to realize he's sitting beside you on the hospital bed, albeit separated by about six inches, and all you're wearing is a blanket draped around yourself. Your face goes an entirely different sort of flushed than it was before as you clutch the blanket around yourself. "... sh-shit..."\n\n"Don't sweat it," Seiun says quickly and firmly, reaching out to rest a hand on your shoulder. "This is one of those things that happens. Same as all the other shit, yeah?"\n\n"B-but... I mean, I only remember a little of what I said, but..." You trail off, swallowing hard, then hanging your head in shame.\n\n"Arousal drugs like that pretty much... look, it essentially wasn't really you," the Leonavian says after a moment, resting a hand gently on your head and rubbing a bit. "I've been through the same thing with a couple of other mercs, and it never made me think any less of them. What happened isn't your fault, none of it. So don't blame yourself either, and don't wallow in embarrassment. It's just... a thing that happened."\n\n"... Can we maybe never talk about this thing that happened?" you mutter, peeking up at him. "Especially once I go back to being a guy?"\n\n"If you want." He smiles gently, giving your head another rub. "Now, take a few moments to collect yourself, then get dressed. The military will be here in about an hour, and then we can get out of here."\n\nGod, at least the stuff got out of your system before the soldiers showed up. That would have been at best humiliating, at worst... impregnating. (Ffffffffffuck you seriously begged your uncle to have his children just god dammit.) Gathering the shards of your dignity, you finish your water as Seiun heads out and downstairs to wait in the main room, leaving you to use the shower and get dressed. At least you've gotten yourself presentable by the time you can hear voices downstairs, heading down to join Seiun as he speaks with the officer leading the troops and medics about to take control of the clinic. You give a short debriefing yourself, simply mentioning that one of the insurgents used a 'biological agent' and you were in quarantine for a few days and to thus be careful about touching anything. If one of the medics figures out what was in the vial, well, whatever, you'll be gone by then.\n\nAnd indeed, soon you're on one of the jetcopter transports, heading back to the base camp and from there taking a larger jetcopter to one of the cities. You mostly stay quiet and keep to yourself, Seiun respecting your obvious need for privacy as you process your thoughts and embarrassment, getting you separate rooms at the small hotel you stay at before heading out the next day.\n\nYou take a small but very comfortable gyrowing from the airport across the water. Seiun's acting completely normally, which is letting you start to feel normal again, the two of you starting to chat amiably about how this should be a nice decompress situation before the two of you head back and really get to work on building the reputation of Roaring Eagle. By the time the gyrowing sets down in a clearing and lets the two of you out, you feel like maybe you've put the whole stupid, humiliating mess behind you, and can just let it become one of those memories that you'll groan at your youthful escapades over later in life. Much like winding up a girl in the first place.\n\n"Alright, these are the grids we need to cover each day," Seiun says as the gyrocopter takes off behind you, holding up a hand and projecting a holomap. "Really all we need to do is move around through them, keep an eye out for signs of any large predators or other potential dangers. If you see any signs, mark them on your map, if you see any predators take them out."\n\n"I looked up the local flora and fauna last night," you note as you check your own map. "Saw that this area's mostly just got nonaggressive herbivores and small predators that anyone with a stout stick could chase off. There were some stories about there being a predator called a 'Dubbanther' in the general area, but they're apparently not even native to this continent and most of the stories are dismissed as urban legends. Or, I guess, rural legends. Woodland legends?"\n\n"Tall tale or not, I guess it was enough to make our client worried, and if our client is worried it's not our job to decide whether they should be worried or not, it's just our job to satisfy them so they can stop being worried," Seiun says in a reasonable tone.\n\nYou suppose that's actually a good way to look at it... whether or not you think the worry's valid is irrelevant, as long as you still get paid for actually proving and insuring they have nothing to worry about. Nodding, you make sure the Peacekeeper is only lightly safetied before the two of you set off, on guard but only as much as you'd be in any unfamiliar wilderness.\n\nAs the two of you make your way through the forest, you can feel the last of your worries melting away. This isn't just relaxing, it's positively nostalgic. While you're fairly certain the new mentor-protege relationship that evolved in the combat zone is still there, patrolling the woods like this feels much more like the times when you were younger and just getting to go on trips with your favorite uncle. He's just as warm and genial and joking as he ever was, with nothing seeming to have changed in the years between then and now, let alone since the incident. So maybe tack on 'comforting' there as you unwind, feeling a new brand of being at ease with your current situation than merely proving you still had the combat chops despite your genderswap gave you.\n\nYou make some notes of a couple of patches of poisonous plants and shoot one overgrown Yappur that aggressively tries to go after your foot (a broad, squat creature that normally only grows to rabbit size, this one was closer to being a small dog and thus capable of actually doing some damage to someone not wearing armorcloth), but other than that the first day is pretty uneventful. That night the two of you make camp and joke about how maybe you should have had Yappur stew instead of readymeals, before Seiun heads into his tent to sleep, preferring to rise early by taking second watch. Again, neither of you is particularly convinced something worth watching for will approach, but it's a good reminder you are on the job and not on vacation.\n\nThe first half of the second day is even less eventful than the previous day, without even a patch of the local equivalent of poison ivy to mark. Around noon you hear the sound of water, and soon find a small river, or maybe a large stream, maybe twenty feet wide. (Honestly, since you're not planetborn, you've never been entirely clear on the distinction. You've seen some things called a river that were about six feet wide, but this would only come up to about crotch height on you and it seems to be flowing fairly slow and clear, so maybe that makes it a stream?) You almost wonder if Seiun, too, is pondering the classification of flowing bodies of water since he's looking speculatively at it, before he says, "Hm, what do you say to taking a half day?"\n\n"Hm? Yeah?" you respond, perking up a little.\n\n"I saw a great spot back there for camp, and this stream's so nice that it's definitely worth taking awhile to enjoy. We've got plenty of time to cover the grids, even if we wind up having to hustle a little towards the end it should be fine. As long as we don't let ourselves drag ass after this," he adds with a chuckle.\n\n"Sounds good to me," you agree.\n\n"Alright, you head back and set up camp," Seiun suggests, shrugging his overpack off and fishing his tent bundle out of it to hand you. "I'll set up a little rest site here along with the grill... we can pull the fish right out of the water and slap 'em on."\n\nGrinning even more broadly at the idea, you bob your head and accept the tent. "Sure!" You're almost certain you know the spot he meant for camp, having had much the same thought when you saw it yourself. You hurry back the way you came, feeling kid-excited to actually get to take even a half-day of actual vacation with Uncle Seiun. You quickly put up the tents and the other pieces of equipment you were carrying at the spot in question, leaving your jacket in your tent since it's a nice, warm day, and then turn and make your way quickly back towards the stream.\n\nYou're rounding the corner to where it becomes visible, when you see something and find yourself reflexively ducking around behind a wide tree. Either you actually picked a spot closer than the one he meant, or were just much faster about setting up the tents and getting back than he expected, or he honestly didn't think twice about it since the two of you used to do it all the time, but Seiun's apparently decided to start the break day by stripping down and having a bathe in the river. You're not entirely sure why the sight of your Leonavian mentor naked caused you to reflexively hide... yeaaah you are, despite having relaxed about it you're definitely still embarrassed over it. Clearly the smart things to do would be to either go back to camp and wait awhile before coming back over, or just announce yourself and walk up like it's no big deal.\n\nSo of course what you actually do is peek carefully around the tree and take a look. It looks like he's already submerged himself and come up, his fur damp and sleek against his body, making the contours of his muscles even more obvious. He's out in the water up to his knees, and as you watch he takes a few steps, perhaps to find better footing, his taut buttocks flexing lightly as his leonine tail flicks above them. His yellow-scaled hands slide over his feathered head, before he gives it a light shake, the gold-tipped mane of feathers and down fluffing up as water is flung away from it. He turns slightly, the motion of his head saying he spotted something below the water, the little quirk of a smile on his beak indicating it was harmless. His movement swings his crotch into view, of course... giving you a view of the long, pink, largely humanlike cock dangling down, its base wringed by a vestigial sheath below which dangles a heavy, furred sack.\n\nYour breathing has turned shallow as you watch, Seiun seeming content with his current position as he bends and repeatedly lifts water to pour over his chest and arms, each motion flexing muscles and giving slight sways in his limp shaft and obviously full balls. Without even thinking about it, you've unbuttoned the top button of your pants and slide a hand inside the front of your panties, fingers gently teasing at the cleft of your pussy and the nub of your clit. A little shiver runs through you as you realize you're imagining that soft pink shaft growing hard, rising up, angling towards you, pushing inside you...\n\n<hr>\n[[You need to go back to camp.|LeoFem2x5]]\n\n[[You need to get out of here.|LeoFem]]\n\n[[You need to get fucked by that big sexy griffin.|LeoFem3x1]]

Yeah, gotta... gotta hold the area, this is where Seiun is supposed to meet up with you. He'll be here soon, it'll be fine. You don't feel bad or sick, just... hot and a little unfocused. Maybe it was just something recreational and it'll pass through your system in a few hours, you think as you settle in, doing your best to focus on watching the door. Your breathing does grow a bit heavier, and you find your mind keeps wanting to wander, easily becoming distracted by feelings of odd pressure low in your belly or in your chest and your clothes feel really tight and weird rubbing against you.\n\nStill, you feel like you're doing a pretty good job of holding it together. Enough that you start feeling really embarrassed that some idiot in a freezer got the drop on you. You're supposed to be a professional by now, it just seems more humiliating than anything to admit to your uncle that an insurgent could have killed you and only didn't because he had a vial of happydust and not a pistol or something. Geez, what if he doesn't want you watching his back anymore after making such a dumb fuckup? That would just kill you, he's so great, and strong, and big, and strong, and he's so manly and big and strong...\n\nYour heart does a flip as you see him appear in the doorway, wings retracted into his pack once more, doing a quick sweep himself before lowering his rifle as he spots you and walks over. "Report?"\n\n<hr>\n[["A-all clear!"|LeoFem]]\n\n[["... I got hit..."|LeoFem2x4]]

You pull the trigger, deciding that the risk of damaging any necessary equipment is justified by the fact that apparently you've just had a chemical weapon used on you. He goes down hard at this range, chest largely torn apart by the bullets, thudding to the ground with the empty glass tube he'd been holding rolling out of his hand.\n\n'The fuck?' you think, shaking your head, the chatter of the weapon and the sight of blood having helped clear your head a little from the haze that had settled down. Though your head's still feeling a little thick, and your face hot, the heat spreading if anything. A touch with your covered knuckles shows that there's no pain, so you don't actually seem to be burned... though even that touch is a little sensitive. You walk over to the downed insurgent, feeling slightly unsteady as if you'd had two mouthfuls of beer too many, and pick it up. ... Blank. Something they synthesized here?\n\nYou give your head a quick shake again, trying to focus. It's... definitely a little hard to think, it really is like being mildly drunk. Gotta... focus, make a decision...\n\n<hr>\n[[Gotta get out of here.|LeoFem]]\n\n[[Gotta stay put.|LeoFem2x3]]

"You can bet I'm there for that!" you declare, face lighting up. Obviously there's a lot of drawbacks to the timing, but none of that matters in the face of getting to join up with probably your favorite "uncle" and be part of his team.\n\n"Good. I need to head to the guild hall after this and finalize some paperwork, you can pick out your room and transfer your residency there... tell you what, I'll pay for the automatic moving fee, call it a signing bonus. Ideally I'd like the two of us to head out tomorrow morning at the latest."\n\n"Head out?" you ask with a blink. \n\n"Yeah, I have some missions scheduled... two on one planet. I'm gonna spend the rest of the day doing necessary paperwork and logistics on the guild setup, then turn things over to my second to get everything done while I'm away. I was originally going to be flying solo on this one but like I said... it'd be good to have you watching my back."\n\nYou actually blush a little, which is even more embarrassing because you're pretty sure that wouldn't have made you blush before. This body just... reacts to some stuff differently. "Really? I mean, yeah, obviously, sure."\n\n"Good. Then once you've filed the residency transfer, hit up one of the training rooms and check yourself out. Assuming you're as hale as you think, gear up for a week of urban combat with building clearing and a week of light woodland living with potential large predators."\n\n"Interesting blend."\n\n"It's two different employers. One is a nation-state that had one of their cities fall into anarchy during a crisis, we'll be one of numerous mercenary teams thinning out the insurgents and retaking strategic locations ahead of their armed forces coming in. The other's a wealthy investor that wants to take her daughter on an extended camping trip on some undeveloped land she owns. She wants us to take a week patrolling the area around where they'll be staying and potentially clearing it of anything they couldn't handle before they arrive. I looked into it, the actual likelihood of running into anything like that is almost nonexistent, but, these aren't combatants and it's a parent watching out for their kid, so," he says with a tolerant smile. "Just make sure you leave yourself time to get a good sleep after your checkout and gearup."\n\nAnd so the two of you head to the new guildhall. You've visited bigger ones, but it's not exactly small, the lower level a large meeting and socializing room with several offices and small facilities off of it, the upper level composed of rooms of various sizes. The rooms for members are really only about half again as big as the "closet" you're currently occupying, but they've got much more comfortable furnishings and stylings, and each has its own small bathroom which is already a big step up. Once you've informed the Guild of your new potential MC membership and residency change, you head to one of the public-use training facilities to put yourself through one of the standard courses. Your score isn't where you'd like it to be the first round through... you can tell your training's all there, muscle memory is too, but the muscle strength isn't quite what it was and it's throwing you off. But it only takes a couple more practice runs to learn to adapt, especially once you stop overthinking it and get back to naturally relying on your training and skill. After that you hit the Vault room in the company HQ, then meet up with Seiun and turn over the results of your training runs. He looks them over briefly, then grins and taps a single key on his board. A small blip from your pocket prompts you to take out your guildcert card, and you grin at the addition of 'MC: Roaring Eagle' and a logo of a rearing griffin with multiple swords for wings appearing in the corner. Looks like it's official, not that you were doubting.\n\nIn the morning the two of you set out, soon passing through a portal and arriving in a military camp. You're fairly familiar with this sort of thing, though considering your recent faux pas you decide to keep an eye on what Seiun does, taking mental notes on the precise sort of formality he uses with the formal military logistics people. But eventually the two of you are handed briefing papers, the officer sounding both strict and tired as they inform you, "As many people as possible were evacuated before the insurgents became enough of a problem that we couldn't bring anyone out without risking them being a terrorist bomber or saboteur. But there are still civilians, so check your fire, and unless they're wearing one of the symbols shown in these packets don't fire unless fired upon. Your performance may be reviewed for unnecessary civilian casualties."\n\nWhich, in your experience, means it probably won't be, or at least not very stringently. Still, you have no intentions of going wild. Indeed, as you and Seiun are riding on the jetcopter to your deployment point, he leans in to speak to you. "Here's how we're going to operate. We move capture point to capture point, keeping as low of a profile as we can. We don't engage in any unnecessary firefights or go looking for trouble. We get fired upon by obvious entrenched insurgents we clear it, but otherwise designated targets only. We're here to make it easier for the military when they come in, not do their jobs for them. Got me?"\n\n"Got it, Uncle," you answer with a bob of the head. Yeah... yeah, if it was just you, you have to admit that you might have been tempted to play hero and try to clear whole blocks of the city yourself. But yet again, considering recent happenings... maybe it's better to learn from Seiun's more cautious, purely professional example.\n\n'War is Hell', they say. Whoever 'they' are. Personally you've never found that to be true. War is... business. Sometimes messy, horrible, gut-wrenching business, but business all the same. You've seen enough even in your short number of years in your trade across planets strange and exciting to know that Hell likely has far more creative and painful things in store than what war has to offer. In war at least you have the possibility of fighting back, personally you think that being completely unable to fight back would be a defining part of Hell. Assuming this even counts as war. This is less actual combat and more just... a mostly disorganized and ongoing slow-burn riot. Seiun and you gradually make your way through the city blocks, as said keeping low, trying to avoid fights, decisively dealing with any fight that's picked with you. Occasionally you come across unarmed people running from fights, and divert to end those fights as well before guiding the noncombatants to safer areas. Some of those situations... yeah, they're rough. And they stay with you when you close your eyes to grab a quick bit of sleep. But... at least you were here to do something about them. Sometimes that helps as much as the paycheck... ah, actually, didn't you learn that phrase from Uncle Seiun anyway?\n\nAfter a few days you have to admit that while you'd started to get into a headspace of thinking you were pretty hot shit and nobody had anything to teach you, there's still plenty to learn from your uncle. You begin to realize that the lessons and training he'd taken the time to give you when you were younger were, in the majority, teachings suitable for a boy. Now you're learning what he has to teach a man... ... woman. Adult. Whatever. There's less gentle encouragement and warm tones, more direct instruction and orders, but after getting over the initial huffiness of your ego you start to appreciate that he's no longer coddling you, expecting you to need some warm tea with every criticism or lesson. No, this isn't him giving a friend's child some tips and a fun trip into light missions anymore... it's a mentor training a protege, and you don't think you've ever been more proud than the day you realize that.\n\n"Alright, this is our last target, and probably our most important," Seiun says as the two of you approach a relatively small three story building, some scorch marks on the brick exterior and a burned-out sign still slightly recognizable as the planet's standardized symbol for medical work. "It's not a full-fledged hospital, but this clinic is in a strategically valuable fallback position that the military will need as they clear the rest of the city. It also has facilities they'll need for manufacturing medication and drugs." He unslings his pack and sets it down amidst some fallen brickwork where it's mostly out of sight, revealing the smaller, more slender modular pack fitted closely against his back and covering the slender cyberattachment lines usually left clear by his clothing. "We absolutely have to take this facility and hold it for the next forty-eight hours, until the military shows up to take over."\n\n"Mm." You look over at the building for long moments, then roll your shoulders. "Can't do a shock and awe clear, can we?"\n\n"No. Our rules of engagement, especially for medical facilities like this one, say we have to give any potential civilians or hostages inside fair warning, as well as let the insurgents have an opportunity to surrender. We'll have to announce ourselves instead of doing a surprise breach." He pauses, then gives you a rather wry look, his beak curving up a bit at the back on one side. "I rather think our contractor would look the other way if we didn't, especially on this asset, but I'm not sure I'd be comfortable with that. You?"\n\nYou shake your head. "Taking stupid risks because of someone else's moral code is what we're paid for." You quirk your own lopsided wry grin back, then lift the Peacemaker to the ready, switching it to short fire burst with manstopper ammo. "Clear or first through?"\n\n"I'll announce and do first through." He lifts his own short pulse blaster rifle a bit, his other hand slipping a small red rectangle out of one pocket. "Assuming, of course, they don't peacefully surrender."\n\n"Riiight," you drawl, pulling a flashbang grenade out of one of your own.\n\nThe two of you get low and scurry across the street, but there's no potshots or shouts from the upper floors... they're not even keeping a watch on the front entrance, sigh. Seiun moves to the lock side of the door while you move to the other, both readying as he lays the small charge against the lock and taps the activator. A moment later it gives a distinctive pow! more like a chemical poptoy than anything else, much of the cracked glass in the door shattering as the whole thing swings inward. "We're with the Kamitorzia military! Anyone inside put down any weapons and get face-down on the floor, hands behind your head!" Seiun bellows, his deep voice rising to the level of a near roar.\n\nSeconds later automatic weapons fire chatters out through the doorway, from the sounds plenty of it embedding in the masonry inside, none of it powerful enough to actually punch through the brick. You and your uncle give each other a look and an exaggerated shrug, before you toss the spherical grenade, the bounce-assistant surface letting it rebound off of the doorway and audibly go 'pom!pom!poWHD!' across the floor. At the immediate cessation of fire Seiun swings in and through the door, the popping sound of his rifle indicating he's already firing as he goes in, quickly moving far enough to let you swivel and enter as well.\n\nSeiun's turned left so you swing towards the right, noting a downed man wearing a neon green delta patch on his shoulder struggling to get up. Your attention snaps up to the hallway on that side as someone carrying a rifle rushes out, and you send a burst of four bullets in his chest, chasing it with another burst even as he's going down since the blood spray was minimal enough he was probably armored up. You pivot your rifle back to cover the downed man, waiting only half a heartbeat to see if he's going to throw his hands up or go for the rifle a few feet away. A hand goes towards the rifle so you open fire, the manstopper bullets blossoming shortly after entry and turning into jagged balls and short-distance shrapnel, his chest mostly torn apart. 'Not all armored,' you note idly as you bring your rifle and gaze back up.\n\nA door on the wall opposite the entrance slams open, a man wielding a fire axe giving a berserker scream and shaking it wildly, obviously hoping to intimidate before he makes his charge. He's barely gotten the roar started when a burst of your bullets hits him in the chest and a pulse blast hits him in the face, and he's halfway flipped backwards, hitting the ground on his shoulders hard enough that you can faintly hear his neck snap before his legs drop to the ground as well.\n\nWithout a word you move to the left hallway and Seiun the right, both of you briefly sweeping your rifles over the downed and still men. You're getting no life signs through your scope on any of yours, though you hear Seiun take another shot behind you. He spends a few moments slowly sweeping the right-hand hallway, before calling "Clear."\n\nYou press up to the wall to look down the hallway. There's a room with the door open and hanging on only the lower hinge, looks empty from here. So you switch to thermal on your scope, adjusting it briefly until the outline of someone squatting behind the wall and door resolves, their hands in position and enough of a blurry outline to indicate they're holding a rifle. ... Hm. You spend the second to dial in a bit more, getting better resolution. ... Their finger's on the trigger. You switch the Peacekeeper to piercer ammo, then put two bursts right through the wall, watching the glowing red and orange outline go toppling to the side and a fainter orange blob start spreading out, the heartrate monitor in the scope quickly hitting zero. "Clear," you call, switching back to manstoppers.\n\n"Huddle." Seiun waits for you to rejoin him tucked against a brick wall around the corner. "Alright, I'm going to go up and do a roof entry, hit them from the third floor. I'll give you three clicks when I'm going to start, give it about thirty seconds to let it draw some of them up there and then start clearing the second floor."\n\nA little bit of resentment flairs at the outright statement that he's going to take on more danger to make it safer for you. You hadn't even given any particular thought to your changed sex for a few days now, the feeling like you need to be protected throws it in your face. But you quickly shove it down... your uncle hasn't given you a single indication he's been babying you either because of your age or your current sex the whole time, if this is how he wants to do it the reason must be tactical. "Alright, got it."\n\nYou watch as he makes his way back out the front door, stepping back and looking up before the pack on his back splits and opens up. Articulated mechanized wings, each feather a miniaturized thruster pack, spread and adjust before giving a flap that propels him upward and out of sight. You quickly move over to the stairwell, doing a quick clear check on it before settling in to wait.\n\nKlk, klk, klk.\n\nThe sounds in your ear comm precede a heavy, dull thwump like someone playing a single note on a max volume subwoofer, followed by the muffled sound of gunfire from above. You measure the thirty seconds in calm, smooth breaths, then swing your way into position and move up the stairway, leading with your rifle as you head up to the second floor. "Kamitorzia military, drop it!" you shout at the man rushing the opposite way down the hall carrying a rifle. When he whirls towards you with the rifle coming up instead of, y'know, dropping it, you fire a burst into center mass, following with another after he's downed since it looked like his arm was still moving. You swing to the side at seeing motion, hesitating just long enough to process a green delta before firing again, this time seeing blood spray and instant stillness at a drop.\n\n'Heh, see? Who cares if I'm a girl,' you think rather smugly as you switch to thermal to sweep the rooms you pass. 'It hasn't even been slightly relevant this whole time.' You spot a room labeled 'Quarantine and Containment' and recall it was one of the most important rooms to make sure had been secured, since it's important both for managing people hit by poison attacks and has a direct outside access. You thermal check the room and see nothing, so enter, still being cautious. The center portion of the room from about halfway in all the way to the back wall is a clear-walled area with a single airlock-style entry, currently housing a bunk at each corner with a fair amount of space around each one. You sweep around the lockers, equipment, and furniture just to be sure, before letting your rifle's position relax a little more as you approach the isolation room entry. The card pad is flashing text reading 'Master Locked'... apparently the insurgents tried to get in but didn't have the skill to hack it. Good, that means the external entry is locked down too, this room is secure.\n\nThe moment you're thinking that you hear a slam behind you and swing around, bringing your rifle up. You have just enough time to see the puff of vapor and the ice crystals around the insurgent's nose and mouth to realize he must have been hiding in a refrigerated storage unit before he's throwing something in your face. You do your best not to breath in but the moment it hits your skin you can feel heat and it makes you inhale, coughing slightly as your back thuds against the isolation room glass.\n\n<hr>\n[["What the hell was that?!"|LeoFem]]\n\n[[Blam!|LeoFem2x2]]

These guys don't exactly sound like great people... but then, you got into the wrong line of work if you only want to work for good guys ever. The bounty money's good, and they're also providing equipment and supplies, so it seems like a pretty good deal. You skim over the contract... standard freelance military contractor stuff (they get to order you around like you work for them but they don't have to pay for it if you get hurt or killed like they would an actual soldier), two week contract before reevaluation, massive nondisclosure agreement, about what you'd expect from a government trying to pay a third party to clean up its own mess without ever admitting to its own citizenry that it has made a mess, ever, in its life. You agree to the contract, officially taking the job, then get up to head to the departure terminals.\n\nYou appear in what looks like it used to be a department store before it was quickly (and probably semi-permanently) taken over and turned into a command center and staging ground. Most of the racks and shelves have been taken out, with the counters repurposed as workstations, covered with mobile computers and comm equipment. You head for the one directly in front of you and identify yourself, and are immediately directed by the slightly harried-looking private to an area that's had big cloth dividers put up around it. Stepping inside, you find a fairly standard improvised briefing room with chairs that were probably half brought in and half gathered from around the rest of the store. There are a handful of other mercs already seated, from sizing up the look of them mostly local planetary ones, but maybe one or two other Guildcerts. \n\nSince you don't recognize any of them, you take a seat that's neither too close nor offputtingly far away, exchanging measured nods in silent recognition. You wait (resisting the urge to play on your comm, since it looks unprofessional) as some more trickle in... all guys except for you, you notice. Not exactly surprising, especially since the majority of them do look local. In the Guild, males and females are both about equally represented, with intersexed individuals of various types in a close third, and a healthy gradient of everything else biology has figured out how to do trailing out after that; but on the majority of planets across the multiverse, military work, and especially mercenary work, is male-dominated. \n\nThere's probably a bit over a dozen people assembled when an older man in what's apparently the local combat uniform (a green and black thing) with fancy insignia but no nametape comes out to stand on the raised display platforms that have been pushed forward to form a small stage. (Can't have a general addressing everyone from their own height as if he were some mere mortal.) He looks you all over for a moment, hands clasped behind his back, before beginning in a gruff, businesslike tone.\n\n"To start, I'll remind everyone here that you have signed a non-disclosure agreement whose terms state that if you violate it, we may treat you under the same strictures as one of our own citizens who has committed treason." He lets that sink in for just a beat before he continues. "The situation is this: a contagion has been unleashed in the Uldasol area, which encompasses Uldasol City itself and a great deal of woodland and forest around it. While some are describing this as a bioweapon, that is not exactly correct. It's called 'Rev', or more exactly REV... the Rapid Evolutionary Virus. It causes individuals exposed to it to undergo rapid mutations that vaguely mimic what we understand as the evolutionary process."\n\nGosh, what very specific terminology to use for something you didn't make yourself. It definitely doesn't sound like you're reading a briefing provided by the people who made it.\n\n"In all observed cases this has led to some form of sanity loss and varying levels of increased aggression. Affected humans... which at this point in time appears to be 'all of them'... should be considered hostile and incurable. Furthermore, the virus seems to have affected the majority of the animal population in one of two ways... they either become some new, and almost uniformly hostile and predatory, form of animal, or they develop a humanoid body structure." \n\nHe pauses briefly, then frowns. "The existence of the mutants, especially the animal ones, has leaked to the populace. Now, we've been keeping them mostly calm by assuring them that the humanoid mutant animals are still completely bestial and feral, that if anything they seem to have suffered diminished intelligence through their transformation. ... However, we're receiving reports at this stage that this is not the case. Tool use, coordination, and even some individuals wearing clothes or possibly armor have been reported. While your mandate is to eliminate any and all mutants, your priority should be taking down any mutated animals that are displaying signs of intelligence. If, at any point, you find evidence that these creatures are organizing to the extent of forming a cohesive occupational or even expeditionary force, your priority becomes to fall back to a position from which to make a report; taking them out should be a secondary objective, and only taken if you are absolutely certain you can eliminate the ringleaders."\n\nHe pauses again, then adds, obviously grudgingly, "The additional pay and benefits for such information or actions will be substantial." Another beat, before he says. "We've designated three zones," he continues, taking out a holodisk and projecting the image of a map with three rings drawn on it radiating out from the center. "Put simply, Zone One is Uldasol City, Zone Two is the rural farm area beyond it, and Zone Three is the undeveloped land beyond that. Luckily, as you can see, Uldasol Lake forms a barrier on one side and the Uldasol Mountain Range forms a barrier on the other." Imaginative lot, aren't they? "Luckily air currents and natural geography means that the virus has not been carried beyond the Uldasol region." Wow that is astonishingly convenient you might almost think someone thought of that before putting the virus there which would be really considerate for a foreign enemy. "Miss, do you have something to say?" Wow now he's-\n\nOh he was talking to you. And people are looking at you. You briefly mentally rewind to make sure you didn't actually say any of that verbally, and determine you just must have been thinking cynically really loudly. "No, sorry, I'm trying to commit all this to memory," you assure him.\n\n"Mm. In any event, from here you'll be heading for a standard medical checkup and other preparations. We'll be issuing you weapons... we prefer you to use them not only because they utilize the standard and common type of ammunition here, but also because they'll hopefully minimize collateral damage. We need to be able to take Uldasol back, and when we do it will look better on the news if it's not blown all to hell," he says, perhaps spurred to frankness by your earlier expressions. "Now, proceed to your medical exams, and then you'll be issued your uniforms and equipment. After that, you can take a transport to any of the three zones you wish. Just get to work. Gentlemen to the left, ladies to the right."\n\nWell, you're the only lady, but you guess he felt awkward drawing attention to that. You stand and head out the right side of the briefing area and look around, quickly spotting another curtained-off area, this one with a graphic of what looks like a green handbag on it, and a feminine outline below that. You walk over and find what looks like a cross between an armory and an exam room, with another uniformed private whose only indicator of being a medical professional seems to be her blue latex gloves and blue paper mask. She actually looks a bit surprised to see you, but stands up and nods in greeting. "If you could undress please."\n\nYou've been through this before with some employers... for most of them its a liability thing, making sure you're not going to cack it or crack a bone two minutes in and then sic your own insurance on them or something. The businesslike approach helps anyway, so you don't really hesitate in undressing and folding your clothes over a nearby chair, standing naked as she steps close and starts using a few small devices to take readings that appear on a nearby screen.\n\n"Alright, looks good. Now we'll vaccinate you against the Rev," she says, turning one of your arms over and rubbing a disinfectant wipe over your wrist.\n\n"How long ago did the Rev start?" you ask, because you have a suspicion.\n\n"About two months ago or so, I guess. Why?"\n\n"And you've already got a vaccine for it, even though it was someone else who made it? Wow, you guys are good," you note blandly, unable to keep 100% of your sass to yourself at this point.\n\nShe looks at you kind of blankly, like she doesn't really get it, then just shrugs. "I guess." She applies a slightly more primitive injector than you're used to to your wrist and presses the trigger, a slow hiss coinciding with the plunger on the back visibly depressing. "Now this will protect you from pretty much all casual exposure, but to extend your protection as much as possible we recommend wearing the filter mask that comes with your uniform at all times. There are extra filters in the supply pack... technically you're supposed to replace them if the light on your mask turns yellow, but since you're going to be out for two weeks or more, you can probably stretch it until it starts tinting orange. The uniforms are over here, I'll get the rest of it if you'll get your own boots."\n\nYou nod, heading over to the rack where the uniform boots are laid out, which looks like it might have been original to the store. Hey, these are actually pretty nice and not outside your own style, tall thigh-high things, black and fairly thin but they feel really durable. Probably thermo-dampening and light compression support to prevent fatigue. Well, whatever else you can say about them, they're apparently not afraid of spending money on combat gear development. You find a pair in your size and carry them back over to where the private has laid the folded uniform, mostly made of the same slightly shiny black material, out on the exam table. You pick up part of it, nod, and flick through the rest... and blink.\n\n"Er... did you forget something?"\n\n"Like what?" she asks, as if honestly confused.\n\n"Where are the pants?"\n\n"You're holding them."\n\n"This?!" you blurt, holding up a pair of high-waisted, thin black panties with a T-back.\n\n"Yeah, that's them."\n\n"How are these pants?!"\n\n"They're the lower part of your uniform. They are, by definition, pants."\n\nYou open and close your mouth a few times, struggling to actually articulate all the problems you have with her logic. You close your eyes briefly, then heft up the top, which at least has long sleeves with attached gloves, but would leave your midriff completely bare. From the look of it, it would also form 'boob pockets' once it was zipped up. "You call this a combat uniform?!"\n\n"They must have designed it that way for some reason," she replies as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.\n\n"Yours isn't like this!"\n\n"I'm regular army, not a contractor." Again, most obvious thing in the world.\n\n"Do the male contractors have to dress like this?!"\n\n"I wouldn't know, this is the first time we've used third party contractors, and I'm not assigned to the male ones," she says, as if thinking about whether the uniforms matched had never occurred to her, and she wasn't going to allow it to occur to her now.\n\n"I'm not wearing this," you declare flatly.\n\n"You have to wear it, it's your uniform," she explains, as if... you know what, you get the idea. She pauses, as if having a faint moment of independent thought, before adding, "It's in your contract."\n\n<hr>\n[[... Fine.|ChiMut1x2]]\n\n[[Screw the contract, you're out of here.|ChiMut]]

"... Fine," you grumble, already bending down to step into the 'pants' and pull them up. "Can I at least wear my own jacket?"\n\n"Regulations say you can only take military-issued items with you into the containment zone." She pauses a beat, then adds, "Means no," as if having decided you might not be able to parse such simple concepts on your own.\n\nYou resist the temptation to growl at her as you haul the panties into place, where they instantly settle firmly high around your upper waist and tuck themselves up between your asscheeks... they give you a little bit of cameltoe but it could be worse. You can already tell that one of the worst things about them will be that once you get a little used to them it will feel like you're not wearing a damn thing. You haul on the top and slide your hands in, settling them through the fingerless openings of the attached gloves before zipping it up the front and to the top of the high collar, which has a cover clasp. Yup, each breast fully and individually outlined. At least the top has some weight to it despite full freedom of movement and surprisingly decent support, you think as you pull on the boots. Of course once you've got those on you realize it's even worse than before... the top and boots have at least some sense of weight and pressure to them, but as far as your skin's concerned the panties are already invisible... it's like you're running around just bottomless, which is somehow feels even lewder than winding up feeling fully nude would have.\n\nMuttering, you look the black jacket over... at least it's a decent one, even if it's not a longcoat, only coming to about the top of your hips (and thus doing nothing to hide your effectively bare butt). It's got built-in pistol holsters on both sides, currently clipped up against the inner lining. Same material as all the rest of it, it looks fairly durable and has a fair few pockets both inside and out, and a detachable pack already fitted against the back and a retractable hood built into the back of the collar. You're just pondering whether you can get away with at least taking your Guild beacon and comm with you despite the apparently strict regulations when the private goes ahead and places your semi-folded clothes, including your jacket, into what's obviously a security container and closes it. Guess not. \n\n"Now, like I said, best to wear this all the time if you can, but definitely if you see any oddly-colored clouds, mist, or fog," she says, holding out something that looks a lot like a grey and black vape mask, just slightly more utilitarian and less stylish than what you'd see on a Makarzian street. (But only slightly, amusingly enough.) You slip it on over your head and press it over your nose and mouth, and the straps automatically adjust to form a snug seal. A good deliberate tug on both sides loosens the straps again and lets you drape it around your neck. The private nods in approval, then adds, "We're advising that you only eat and drink from your supplies, there should be plenty, but if you do need to eat or drink something local at least use some of the purification tablets or spray on it first. Also, avoid as much contact with mutant bodily fluids... saliva, blood, anything else... as possible. We're not sure if food or water can be an infection vector, but we know the mutants are."\n\nYou frown a bit. "The vaccine doesn't protect from that?"\n\nShe shrugs. "It's new. It seems to work better for some people than others, so it may depend on your individual biology how much it protects you from the Rev. But at the very least you won't get it just from walking around in the area. Your locator and comm," she adds, passing you a slightly hefty wristwatch. "It'll light green when you're in an area you can transmit from, and has some basic GPS in it to show the way to contact areas, supply drops, or extraction points. It's also how the drones will track you."\n\n"Drones?"\n\n"Low orbit, high aerial, and low aerial, you'll be seen at all times even if you don't see them," she assures you. "It's how we keep track of the bounty you earn, among other things."\n\nBut presumably they won't use it to send you backup if they see you're in trouble. Or heck, maybe they will and you're being too harsh on them. (... Yeah probably not.) You follow her over to the weapons racks where she detaches one of the rifles, a shortish, slightly boxy thing with a combination top rail and holosight, currently loaded with a drum magazine. "Astral Arms CR-70, best all-rounder rifle they've ever made, currently still in evaluation for regulars but okayed for contractors," she says in a slightly jealous tone. She pops it off and indicates the shiny red metal cased bullet inside. "Lyro 410s, the most common rifle round there is on the continent." She clicks the magazine back into place and sets the rifle aside, then picks up a slightly more slender and angular black pistol from one of the angled rests on the rack, ejecting its magazine and displaying shorter, fatter bullets with metallic green cases. "Betaton Guardian 33 loaded with Dytan 220s, the most common pistol round there is on the continent. It's a little more geared towards reliability than accuracy, so I wouldn't even bother trying if they're more than, say, thirty or forty yards away." She picks up a few short, broader magazines that are obviously for the rifle. "Quick mags, designed for maximum speed putting bullets in and taking them out, if necessary. All the Guardian mags are those."\n\nYou nod, picking up the CR-70 and aiming it at the wall, getting a bit used to the weight and the holosights. It has what look like magnetic attachments on the sides, so you set it against your back, where it adheres to the jacket. Good enough. You undo the pistol harness on the left side of the jacket for the Guardian after similarly sizing it up, and ponder taking another just in case the need for dual-wielding arrives, but decide instead to use the straps to clip extra magazines for both the rifle and the pistol to, besides the jacket's actual pockets for ones. (However common the ammo is, you've got a bunch here, so may as well take what you can.) There's also a clip for a knife on the jacket, so you ponder several of the options they have before taking a slightly long, straight single-edged one.\n\nYou glance at the private, but she already seems to have dismissed you from her thoughts and gone back to her paperwork. You shake your head a bit, then turn and head out. It doesn't take much looking to spot a sign reading 'Departure to Zone' that leads outside. There's a three-level parking structure nearby, with more 'Departure to Zone' signs indicating the way up the stairs. The roof level of the structure has been cleared off for use as a helipad, it looks like... slightly boxy, angular jetcopter troop transports are sitting at rest in landing zones marked out with spraypaint, their variable-structure wings currently raised and straightened into helicopter blade configuration, hulls painted with a sort of blue-grey camo pattern. The LZs also have their identifiers painted flat on the ground... 'Zone One', 'Zone Two', and 'Zone Three'. There are two for each zone, and one each for 'Zone One' and 'Zone Two' are unoccupied... so looks like most or even all of your fellow independent contractors have already left while you were fussing about your uniform.\n\nWell, whatever. At least you won't have to ride out with anyone wearing said uniform. It's just a question of which of the three zones you want to work in. Zone One has the obvious benefits of being within a city, so the most chances for places to reload, find safe places to rest, and probably find useful salvage. (Like maybe some spare weapons, just in case.) But it will also have the densest population of mutants, which is sort of both a good and bad thing... more opportunities to rack up bounties, but a lot more danger. Zone Three will probably have relatively few chances to scavenge reloads or equipment, but almost no human-derived mutants... probably just an overall less density of mutants, really, which is likely why everyone else avoided it. Which, conversely, means that if you're the only one there, you won't have anything in the way of competition.\n\nAnd of course in the middle there's Zone Two. Pretty much exactly in the middle of those issues... probably a bit less enemy density (and probably more of the animal mutants than humans), some reloads and weapons and places to stay but not as many, and a fair bit of open country, and so on.\n\nWelp. Which one...?\n\n<hr>\n[[Zone One.|ChiMut2x1]]\n\n[[Zone Two.|ChiMut]]\n\n[[Zone Three.|ChiMut1x3]]

When in doubt, choose the untapped market.\n\nYou head over to the closest Zone Three jetcopter and head up the open back ramp. Inside it's a pretty no-frills troop transport, the 'seats' basically just stretched canvas flaps that can be lowered to sit on so you can strap into the webbing. The pilot looks over his shoulder at you and says, as if just to confirm, "Deploying to Zone Three?"\n\nYou're not sure if he can't see well enough over his shoulder with his helmet on to notice how skimpily you're dressed, or if like the private earlier he just has a natural acceptance of all things military, including your 'uniform'. "Yeah," you confirm, walking over and settling into the seat closest behind him.\n\n"Okay, strap in and we'll get moving," he says, already starting to flip switches, the sound of the engine thrumming to life and the blades beginning to slowly spin up and chop the air filling the hold.\n\n"Wait! Hey wait!"\n\nYour head snaps towards the open ramp at that call. That was a voice... a guy's voice. From the slightly harried tone, probably not one of the soldiers... so one of the other mercenaries. Trying to get a ride.\n\nWith you wearing this.\n\n<hr>\n[[Shit, go go go go go!|ChiMut]]\n\n[[... Sigh. Hold up.|ChiMut]]

Eh, why not let things occur organically? Isn't it better if the adventure and lewds just occur along the way? It's kind of more like a fun surprise then!\n\nYou tap the button to initiate the starter quest, and text pops up in the corner of your vision as the button disappears. It's a short list, with the numbered bullet points reading 'Kill three goblins', 'Gather three Healing Herbs', 'Enter Startera'. Experimentally you poke at the list things, and each time a faint line appears on the ground leading you in a particular direction. Quest guidance, nice, some VRMMOs tend to forget about that completely and expect you to to just know where every damn thing in the game is. You may be an avid player but it's not like you memorize entire wikis, you know (besides, this game is too new to have one).\n\nMay as well get started! You select the first item and follow the line, heading through the woods and keeping an eye out. Eventually you hear a 'Skreee grabble grabble!' noise from off to the side, preceding a short creature leaping out of the bushes. It's about waist high to you, wearing nothing but a loincloth and an odd leather mask, wielding a crude stone axe. You hop back a little, instincts learned from many hours playing taking over as you swing your sword. The goblin doesn't die in one hit (you are after all only level one), but you can see it's fairly damaged, a long slash appearing on its chest to indicate where you struck. It gibbers as it leaps forward, chopping at your thigh, and you give a yelp at the pain as it makes contact, causing a similar but smaller stylized wound on your thigh. You kick the goblin back from you and slash again, and this time it gives a shriek and collapses to the ground, green text indicating the XP it gave you floating upward.\n\nWhew! It's been a little while since you were level one. Your heart's actually pounding a little... although that might be because there was at least some actual risk, this time. Not very much... these goblins obviously aren't particularly strong, and probably no real threat to you even at your level unless they come at you in numbers. The body hasn't disappeared yet... unable to help your curiosity, you step forward, then hesitate and take a quick glance around before bending down and lifting the front of the goblin's loincloth. ... Yup, lots and lots of detail. Even the most daring combat VRMMO you've ever played before had at most something that looked like a low-detail sex toy between the monsters' legs. That is definitely a dick, pretty large in proportion to the rest of the creature. Yes! \n\nDropping the loincloth (seriously, you were just curious!), you straighten up and check your guiding line, then strike off again. The next two goblins are actually a little easier, even though they both attack at once... admittedly you're a little distracted by the mental image of them overpowering you and spitroasting you, but the only real casualty is your panties. You've decided to do the quests, and now your pride as a player won't let you lose unless it's a sincere challenge. The build you've wound up with is obviously a bit more geared towards mobs when it comes to small, weak monsters like this, since two at once wind up getting in each other's way and not even laying a hand on you. (Sigh... they have such monstrous, ugly, grimy little hands too.) Picking the herbs afterwards isn't any real threat at all... you do get interrupted by a goblin at one point, and the little creature actually grabs your ass before bothering to attack and promptly getting stomped. Ah, sorry goblin! Thank you, though! You're practically glowing with delight at the proven interest of the monsters in molesting you, unable to help wiggling your butt as you follow the line towards the obvious starter town, still able to feel those skinny, gnarled fingers squeezing down on your buttock.\n\nThe town turns out to be surprisingly impressive for a starter town... it's got cliffs rising around it, sort of hemming it in, with most of the buildings built atop small hills. Once you've stepped inside town, past the pair of large armored figures standing at the gate, nameplates pop into being above the heads of all the people milling around... most of the ones behind stalls and with carts have blue ones, most of the people walking around (with much more inventive and diverse outfits) have white ones. So, fairly easy to determine who the players and the NPCs are... though you do notice a few players manning stalls and some NPCs wandering around armed, so obviously it's possible to have a player-run shop in this game (and for NPCs to to help out in combat maybe). The next stage of the quest leads you around to several places... the main shops, the stables (where you can hire or buy a mount), the tavern (where you can apparently hire NPC companions), the quest boards and nearby Looking For Group area, and the town hall (where you can apparently form or join a guild). Luckily the tutorial, since that's basically what it is, isn't too overbearing... it just leads you to the vicinity of each of these places, has a small text popup outlining their main purpose, and that's it. Once you've seen the town hall, the quest disappears with a little blip of earned XP text, a soft ding and some scrolling text informing you that you're now level two.\n\nNice! Taking a moment to spend your points (nothing exciting, just a few stat and skill points that you spend in the standard places for this sort of thing... stamina, durability, y'know), you then take a glance around. Okay, where to go? Buying the edition of the game you did gave you some bonuses like extra gold from selling vendor trash, so selling the herbs when you were at the default medicine store has given you enough money that you should be able to buy something decent if you decide you want to. Or you could dive right into questing, or maybe find some companions... after all, becoming part of a group (preferably with a headstrong leader) could lead to lewd situations as easily as anything else, and opportunities to make a heroic (and hopefully lewd) sacrifice of yourself.\n\n<hr>\n[[Go to the shops.|YamiHF1x3]]\n\n[[Look over the stables.|YamiHF]]\n\n[[Visit the tavern.|YamiHF]]\n\n[[Check the quest boards.|YamiHF]]\n\n[[Try looking for a group.|YamiHF2x1]]\n\n[[Check out the guilds.|YamiHF]]

This money is burning a hole in your data storage. After all, the more broke you are, the more likely you are to wind up in some embarrassing and humiliating situation! Thus, better to buy something and ride the razor edge of having a zero balance in your money field to encourage such flags, both literal and metaphysical!\n\nYou head back over to the area of town where the main shops are, as well as the stalls run by a mixture of NPCs and players. It looks like some of the shops are empty, with little wooden signs on stakes outside of them... probably available for purchase, just that no one's been playing long enough to have bought one. (You're aware that a lot of people who bought their way into the closed beta got to carry over some of their stuff, including their friends lists, so it's not like it's a whole game full of newbies. But you doubt anyone carried over enough to buy real estate already.) The shops that are filled are the basic ones... [[weapons|YamiHF]], [[armor|YamiHF]], and [[medicine|YamiHF]]. As to the stalls, most of the NPC-owned ones don't seem very interesting... mostly food and drink carts, though there is one that has an [[interesting clutter|YamiHF]] piled around it. Of the player-run stalls, most seem fairly dull, probably offering slightly cheaper rates on vendor trash items just for the speed and convenience of not needing to go into a store and engage the NPC, which they can then turn around and sell to the NPCs themselves for a slight profit... there'll always be at least one or two of those, but you'd guess most are just doing that until they can make the money to actually engage in real sales. There is one that catches your eye, though, mostly out of curiosity... a woman in what looks like a leather halter top and booty shorts, as well as tall gloves and boots, sitting in an open-fronted stall with her arms folded as she leans back against the wall. Out to the side of the stall are a small handful of monsters wearing collars... as well as a pair of naked, collared NPCs. Wow, does this game have a [[slavery system|YamiHF1x4]]?

Oooo, would it even be a high fantasy RPG if you didn't pick a sword longer than you are tall? You reach out to grip the blue-wrapped handle of the sword, hefting it down, of course finding it no problem to pick up despite its obvious weight, though you're not exactly swinging it with expertise yet. It's a hefty thing with a large, black double-edged blade and tapering point, the back having a round notch close to the square golden hilt and some sort of shimmering gemstone attached around part of the blade on the front.\n\nOnce you've taken it down, the racks slide aside, providing access to the clothes shelves and racks within. You release the sword, watching as it shimmers and disappears (no doubt into your inventory), and step inside. Spotting a mirror, you head over to it and, as expected, get a body adjustment menu. Let's see... shift hair to brown, make it fairly short (not long enough to get grabbed in combat, long enough to get grabbed in "close quarters grappling", heh heh heh), make your eyes blue, skin a warmer peachy color. Hm... some nice big boobs and round hips, add some curve to the legs and roundure to the butt... aw yeah, you've got an 'asking for it' body now!\n\nYou wander around in the clothing section for awhile, selecting a few bits of offered equipment and some clothing, settling for a pseudo-Japanese look with elaborate separated sleeves and a white top with gold and red accents (that's basically just a tapering flap over your front bound below the chest and behind the neck with black bands), a thin orange and red sash (to which you attach the matching back flap of the top), and when combined with a red pleated skirt gives you a vague 'miko' look without actually looking like one. One elaborately trimmed thigh-high stocking beneath the 'Kneeguard of Movement and Might' you selected, and some white-and-gold black-soled 'Boots of Agile Movement', and a simple red hairclip that slightly increases your Charisma, and you're ready to go.\n\n"All done?" Moonsugar asks, reappearing after you've spent a minute sort of idling and poking at menus.\n\n"Yup, think I'm ready!" you answer.\n\n"Alright, what would you like to name this character?"\n\nHm... well, you'll just go with one of your standards. "Kuro." Darkness, black, y'know. Plus you've got that massive black sword, so you figure the name fits.\n\n"Alright, registering this character as 'Kuro'! As a reminder, if this character becomes permanently incapacitated, you can't play as them again without going to some extreme lengths! Sending you to starting area, now!"\n\nHm? That's actually the first you've heard of getting a character back if they die or get Bad Ended! But before you can ask more, the 'department store' is going dark, and when light returns it's sunlight filtering in through trees. You're in some kind of forest, it looks like... a rather pleasant and pretty one, really. Clearly a starting area. You try to bring up your character menu, a window popping open a bit in front of your face. Up top is a view of your character as they're currently equipped, along with your weapon which is labeled 'Main Equip', presumably meaning it's the one you'll bring out in a combat situation.\n\n<img src="images/Kuro1.jpg">\n\nIt lists your name at the top, and has various sections below the image reading things like your stats (your Strength is the highest, followed by Endurance and Durability, with Charisma and Agility tied for fourth), your traits ('Giant Killer', a trait that gives you a bonus for taking on enemies larger than yourself with the bigger the enemy the bigger the bonus, and... oh my, 'Fertile Fields', a trait that makes you highly receptive to healing magic and items but also... highly receptive), and a few quick buttons that currently have nothing in them. Down at the bottom it also has an area called 'Quick Journal', with a button that reads 'Starter Quest'. Ah, so again, like most sandboxes it does still have an option for being guided through the early game via quests... probably some fairly safe ones since you're only Level 1. But it looks like you have to actually activate the quest to begin it, it's not on by default.\n\nSo, should you do the newbie quests? Or go racing off in search of your inevitable Bad End?\n\n<hr>\n[[Start the quest.|YamiHF1x2]]\n\n[[Adventurrrre! Lewwwwwds!|YamiHF6x1]]

You're definitely curious to know more about the apparent slave market, for... reasons. You make your way over to the stall, raising a hand and smiling as you approach the player running it, her nameplate reading 'Helio'. "Hello!"\n\n"Hey there. Are you interested in buying a pet or a slave?" she asks with subdued cheer of her own, glancing aside at her wares as she does.\n\n"Ah, maybe. If you don't mind, could you explain more about how this works? I sort of wanted to know about the slavery system."\n\n"Sure, there's not a lot of business yet so I don't mind taking the time." Helio shrugs. "You weren't in the closed beta, huh?"\n\n"No, my number didn't come up in the lottery and I couldn't afford the top tier buyin at the time," you answer morosely, hanging your head.\n\n"No big, just wanted to know how much you needed to know. Okay, so, there's a slavery/pet system in Devious Dive... it works pretty much the same either way, it's just slavery if you do it to something that counts as a person, and pet if you do it to something that counts as a monster. Either way," she continues, reaching to the side to pluck a collar out of the bin next to her. "It works by incapacitating the target, through stun spells or beating them down with nonlethal damage or whatever, and then fastening one of these Bind Collars on them. Unless they manage to resist it, they're then given a status called Bound. That means they have to obey the one who owns their collar, and can't run away or try to harm them."\n\n"Huh. It's that easy?" you ask as you look the collar over, trying not to be too obvious about how wet your panties are getting again as you imagine someone fastening it around your own neck as you struggle and squirm in the mud they knocked you into.\n\n"Sort of." Helio shrugs again. "'Bound' is really only an okay status effect. They'll obey and they won't run away or hurt you, but they're still able to resist and struggle sometimes... for NPCs and monsters that translates into their stats not being anywhere near as good. If you really want to get the full benefit, you have to perform Taming on them. Once they have the 'Tame' affect, they accept their servitude completely, there's no hesitation or struggle. Non-player slaves get their full stats."\n\n"Wow, Taming sounds pretty useful for sure," you admit, glancing over at the monsters and NPCs beside the stall. Now that you look, they do have little icons below their nameplates, all of them with a little collar in them. But only that one, so they all must just be Bound. Then you blink and look back to her. "Wait, you said that's for NPCs and monsters. Are you saying... it works on players too?"\n\nAt that Helio actually grins. "Yup. Players are just as susceptible to being incapacitated and having a collar put on them as anybody, though they get bonuses to resisting the Bound affect, and their struggling against it is more, well, genuine. They can be Tamed, too, or so I heard... I've never seen it, but they say the game enforces heavy mental influence on you at that point to turn you into an obedient slave."\n\n"W-wow," you whisper, trying to be subtle about flicking a hand up to wipe away some of your drool.\n\n"Yeah, players can even sell themselves into slavery, if they want."\n\n"S-sell themselves?" you squeak, actually pressing your thighs together. "H-how... how does that work?"\n\n"If a player willingly enters into a slave contract, all their gear and money is locked in storage... including the money they get from selling themselves. At the time of the sale, the player agrees to a certain number of days, which usually affects the amount of money they get from the sale. You can still log out when you want as a player slave, but if you don't log in for a certain amount of time each day, it doesn't count against your contract. During the contract, you get a huge bonus to resist being Tamed... basically you can shrug it off at will. But if you ever give in and let yourself be Tamed, your slavery becomes permanent. You can still log in to the character all you want, but they'll never stop being a Tamed slave."\n\n... Intense. Very intense. You glance at the naked pair of NPCs... one is a woman in her early twenties, maybe, squirming and looking as if she'd very much like to cover her round, perky C-cups and the smooth front of her crotch but has been ordered not to. The other is a big man with a green tint to his skin and a jaw that looks like it could smash a boulder, and is shaven of head and has a veritable jungle of black hair surrounding the base of his huge cock... he looks rather bored more than anything. (Must be a half-orc or something.) To think that could be you... treated like just another minion NPC, used and abused either sexually or in battle, carelessly used up and tossed aside at will... fuck, you just came a little.\n\nOf course there's other options. Helio looks like she's only just getting started... you could offer to join her as an assistant of sorts. That seems like it would offer a ton of opportunities to get in over your head and for the hunter-slaver to become the hunted-enslaved. Or you could even buy one of the monsters... or NPCs. You're betting that there's plenty of conditions that could wind up overcoming them being Bound and result in them taking their righteous revenge on their owner... mmf, oh man that would be amazing.\n\nOr you could just leave now, secure in the knowledge that somewhere out there, lurking behind some tree, is some NPC or player eyeing this luscious body of yours, thinking of all the things they'll do to it once they've battered the resistance out of you and slipped a cold leather collar around your neck...\n\n<hr>\n[[Sell yourself into slavery.|HFSlave1x1]]\n\n[[Join Helio's business.|HFSlave]]\n\n[[Buy a monster pet.|HFSlave]]\n\n[[Buy an NPC slave.|HFSlave]]\n\n[[Go about your business.|YamiHF]]

Reacting more on your training and reflex than anything else, you snap your hand up and point your palm at him, eyes glowing briefly as you incant in your own language. "[Hastened Invisible Arrows!]" There's three flickers of motion from your palm and the strange sight of nothing flying through the air so fast and with such force that the air displacement is actually visible, the trio of objects made of pure kinetic energy twirling and spinning right before they impact the suited man. There's a trio of loud, somewhat wet thmps, and his finger loosens on the trigger. He wobbles in place, looking down with an expression that can only be called dull surprise at the trio of fist-sized holes in his torso that go straight through front-to-back in nice even cylinders. Then he crumples, gun clattering to the street.\n\n"Oooooo," you hiss with a wince. "Iiiii always forget you people have zero natural magic resistance here."\n\n"Well you've really messed up this time, Sipha."\n\nYou pout up at your government caseworker, feeling absolutely and utterly unjustly maligned. "They started it!"\n\n"Who started it is irrelevant!" she snaps back, folding her arms over her chest, then lets out a sigh. "... What I mean to say, is it's irrelevant to the current situation. However justified your actions may have been, the fallout of them is something that's definitely a big messup. The combination of you using your magic in public and killing a Japanese citizen is really just an excuse for the fact that those men were from a politically paid up clan and they're very, very angry. The official line is even that the gun was yours, as ridiculous as that is."\n\nBefore coming here, you might have railed eloquently and at length about the injustices of the world. However, since arriving on Earth, you've become more acquainted with various short phrases that convey the same sentiments. "This is bullshit," you mutter, ears drooping.\n\n"It is, but I'm afraid there's nothing I can do." The agent rubs the back of her neck. "I'm afraid, Sipha, that the decision has been made to re-isekai you."\n\n"Re-" You blink, ears perking back up in shock. "You want to send me to another world?! But you told me you didn't have any way for me to go back to Lytozia!"\n\n"We don't," she admits with a heavy tone. "We have, however, discovered a way to reliably access a system that a higher power uses to isekai people and send them to various phantasy worlds. We use it to resettle people who would otherwise be in permanent danger, things like important criminal witnesses who have already testified, political prisoners who have escaped from other countries... and, admittedly, the occasional troublemaker," she adds with a sigh.\n\n"You're sending me to a fantasy world... that's not mine?" you say flatly.\n\n"Hopefully it will be similar, plus I'm reliably informed that everyone who goes gets some sort of 'cheat ability', so I imagine you'll actually quite enjoy your new life," the caseworker replies, clearly trying to inject some cheer into her tone.\n\nYou stare at her for long moments... then fling yourself forward against the table, gripping the edges of it as tightly as you can. "NOOOOOOOOOOO! YOU CAN'T TAKE ME FROM MY GAMES! MY GAAAAAAAAMES!" you wail, even as she calls several more agents to come in and they start pulling on your legs, the bolted-to-the-floor metal table creaking slightly as you continue to anchor yourself to it. "AT LEAST LET ME TAKE MY PS4 MINI YOU FASCIIIIIIISTS!"\n\nNo amount of your caseworker explaining that they're fairly certain you don't get to take anything from this world to the next will dissuade you from demanding to be allowed to take your PC, consoles, and handhelds. They do, however, eventually manage to get you off the table (curse the day you slipped up and admitted to that bitch that you're ticklish) and carry you through the hallway, tossing you semi-gently into an empty white room and quickly throwing the door closed. You leap to your feet and rush over, pounding on the section of wall that used to be a door, and are just preparing to cast a spell when there's a bright white flash all around you, and the white room turns into an infinite white expanse.\n\n"Welcome, human, to the beginning of your new life," a gentle voice says from behind you.\n\n'Fuuuuuuuuuck!' Almost snarling in anger, you slowly turn around to face the speaker, a tall, floating woman of peerless beauty, her long metallic gold hair drifting gently around her as if in the softest of river currents, her gauzy white robes promising shadows of a truly luscious body while preserving actual modesty.\n\n"You have been-" She stops as her eyes (the color of moonlight on a clear night) open and then widen, her jaw going slack. "Now just a ding-dong flim-flamming minute here!"\n\n"Ah, gods on your plane don't get to curse, huh?" you say flatly, resting your hands on your hips. "I got to meet some dwarvish gods once, their language turned my ears blue. Literally. For a month."\n\n"You're not a human!" the goddess blurts, stating the obvious as she drops to the ground and rushes over to look at you, twisting back and forth to examine you, then reaching a hand up to snag the tip of one ear. "What is this?!"\n\n"A-annnnh!" you cry out, your cheeks flushing and expression changing in a way that immediately makes the goddess go red-faced and yank her hand away. "... Careful," you murmur, cheeks still flushed.\n\n"A-apologies. I mean, no, wait, what are you doing here, this system is supposed to be for Earthlings only, who are you?!" Apparently intending to answer her own question, she yanks a black-covered book labeled 'Special Visitors' out of nowhere and quickly flips through it. "Siphanielle Tyvaris of the Deepwood Fords, Lytozia?! The Peerless Mage?! Reverse isekai'd to Earth and... oh no no no noooooo," she whimpers, sinking to her knees and clutching the sides of her head, the book pressed to her ear. "This can't be happeniiiiiiing!"\n\n"I'm not exactly thrilled about it either, y'know," you comment, folding your arms over your chest. "I actually liked it on Earth, and I didn't even get to bring any of my stuff. ... Including my clothes," you add, glancing down as you notice you're pressing your bare breasts up and together. "That was one of my favorite outfits, put it back please."\n\n"You don't understaaaaand!" the goddess wails, throwing her head back as veritable waterfalls of pure sparkling water fly from her eyes. "This system of reincarnation placement is supposed to be for standard humans!"\n\n"Is it such a problem I'm an elf?" you ask curiously, tilting your head, for the moment frustration and anger starting to give way to academic interest.\n\n"It's not your species it's your background!" the golden-haired woman snaps back, suddenly leaping to her feet and pointing at the book... which does seem to have a partial summary of your life's story written there. "The humans we re-home get cheat abilities based on the assumption that the most they might have done is play a VRMMO that's like the world we send them to, or have some combat ability already! There's expected to be a learning curve and natural limits! But you're already from a fantasy world and know how they work, and are highly trained in combat and magic! Your body is beyond human in its abilities to do both! Not only that, but you've also played every VRMMO on the market!" She whips the book around just to double-check that and then stabs her finger at the section saying as much. "WHERE DID YOU FIND THE TIME?!"\n\n"Ah, well, y'know," you say, rolling your eyes, tilting your head back, and brushing a fingertip against your cheek sheepishly. "When you can concentrate twenty Monster energy drinks into one eight ounce potion and not die when you drink it, you can get a lot of gaming done, y'know?"\n\n"..." The goddess stares at you, opening and closing her mouth silently several times, as if you'd just uttered the most horrifying phrase she'd ever heard in her entire divine existence.\n\n"Look, I hope you're not thinking about cheating me out of my... cheat," you say after a moment, frowning. "It's bad enough being sent to a fantasy world that's not even my own without also getting short-sheeted. So unless you can send me back to Earth or Lytozia..."\n\n"I-I'm afraid I can't... well, technically there's one way I could send you back to Earth, but it's not the way you want and that window will be closing very soon. In fact you'd probably just wind back up here but in an even more strange situation. Um, oh dear, um," the goddess turns fretfully back and forth, clutching the book to her chest, then she looks at you with a sickly but hopeful smile. "I don't suppose you'd be willing to voluntarily forego your cheat ability in return for something less unbalancing? You realize that the whole reason this is a problem is that you have the potential to not just cause some sort of change to the world's dynamic but virtual overnight global upheaval, yes? Yes?"\n\n"Sounds like their problem not mine," you say flatly. Normally you might be more sympathetic and responsible, but you're naked and getting sent to a strange world again without so much as your cell phone so you're sort of peeved.\n\n"Oh. Oh dear. Um... um... well, if you insist on it, I really will give you your cheat ability... oh dear we're going to lose an entire re-homing world I'll never hear the end of it," she whimpers softly, before perking up some. "W-wait, I don't suppose instead you'd be interested in... a job?"\n\n"Job?" you repeat, blinking yourself.\n\n"Oh yes!" She nods rapidly, apparently seeing a lifeline to cling to. "How would you like to be a goddess? Yes, yes, you absolutely could be!" she asks as you point at your own face in shock. "Since you'd wind up as one effectively with a cheat ability, we could just hire you on here anyway!"\n\n"And, what... direct isekai'd humans?" you ask curiously, tilting your head, ears giving a small wiggle.\n\n"Yes! There's quite a bit of leeway, you know, you can put largely as much effort and customization into your job as you want! ... I... may have settled into a routine and started forgetting to check my schedule ahead of time," she admits sheepishly, tapping her chin, then quickly shaking her head, sending ripples through her still-wafting golden hair. "The job comes with very comfortable accomodations in Heaven, and a number of other job benefits such as being able to watch over and guide the mortals you re-home as much as you like! And one day you could move out of the isekai department and into something else like Coincidence Management which has very high pay, or Observation, or even World Creation! There's plenty of upward mobility if you don't mind working hard for a few thousand years!"\n\n... Huh. Well, at least it sounds like you wound up with options. The question is what to do?\n\n<hr>\n[[Demand your cheat ability.|SiphaIse]]\n\n[[Go back to Earth, no matter how.|SiphaIse]]\n\n[[Become a goddess.|SiphaIse]]\n\n[[... hmmmmm...|SiphaIse]]

"Okay, so let me go into the moral reasons it's wrong," you reply.\n\n"What, you? No offense, just you didn't seem like the 'stealing is wrong' sort," he says with a snort.\n\n"Fuck that, who cares about stealing. But here's some moral issues I care about." You start ticking off on your fingers. "So far Whitmoor hasn't done us dirty. He came racing out here to save our asses, picked us up, gave us places to sleep, is making us food, and right now he's taking care of two of our friends in his medbay. We respond by instantly stealing from him. That's some rude shit."\n\n"... Hnnnh," Qrow grumbles wordlessly, his chin sinking a bit, which is as good an acknowledgement that he'd feel shitty about it too.\n\n"Now, if it looks like he's gonna do us dirty, at any point, I have no problem fucking him. But that brings us to point two, we steal a ship from him right under his nose, what's that gonna do to his career?"\n\n"Court martial, probably," Qrow says with a sigh. "Which, c'mon, Kai, I don't wanna mess him up casually, but this is the fate of the world."\n\n"Okay, point three, most important point," you say with a frown, pointing at your third finger. "Dee."\n\nQrow purses his lips, sitting up a little straighter.\n\n"He's not all-in on this, right now he's got every chance to go back to his normal life if we get him back to Argus the upright way. We don't actually need him, I don't think he wants to go all the way, but he has been there for us and we owe him more than to turn him into a wanted fugitive for aiding and abetting."\n\n"... He'd manage," Qrow says, trying to sound breezy as he rises and reaches for the scroll.\n\nYou scowl. "He saved your life, Qrow."\n\nHe turns back to you and scowls just as much, thumping his thumb against his chest a few times. "I could've handled it."\n\n"Okay, even if you could've, he thought he was saving your life. He jumped into a fucking pit of Apathy for you, Qrow, doesn't that warrant some consideration?" you demand. "Because if it doesn't I'm wondering what the hell the rest of us will have to do to earn some."\n\nHe looks pained at that, at the idea that you'd think he doesn't think of any of you... then he sighs, running his fingers through his hair. "You're right. 'Course you're right, kid, dunno what I was thinking. I guess I'm just tired and on edge as hell after everything that's happened." 'And starting to dry out,' he doesn't say, although you can see the signs.\n\n"And we're back to practical reasons not to steal the flyer."\n\nQrow snorts, then bobs his head. "Okay. We'll sit tight for now. Keep an eye on Whitmoor, see if it seems like he's gonna do anything fishy. In the meantime we'll rest up and get right, and hopefully be in Argus in two days. Hell, guess that's only a day after the Express would've been there anyway."\n\nOver the next two days, the first one spent hovering in the air over the silent, dead little settlement (which eventually crumbles and disappears into the earth, charges detonated in the cavern system collapsing it entirely once it was deemed too much of a Grimm hazard) and the next breezing across the wasteland towards Argus, Whitmoor certainly does side-eye all of you like hell, but he continues to play a generous if somewhat prickly host. The trip is comfortable, with the only real downer moment coming as your group decides to make a trip down to one of the cargo bays where several neat rows of sealed boxes are lined up on risers, most of them embossed with Mistralian or Atlesian symbols, a handful of Valean, and a small cluster of Vacuo emblems.\n\nSome of the boxes are very small.\n\nEveryone stands, heads bowed and silent for awhile, because it seems the thing to do. Eventually though it seems enough, and as you're all starting to make your way out, one of the honor guards clears his throat. "Um, sir?" he calls to Qrow.\n\n"Yeah?" Qrow grunts, turning back to him, hands in pockets.\n\n"You're a Huntsman so we thought maybe you'd have some idea. Everyone else had identification, but the Huntress we found in the pantry didn't have a scroll or anything. Did you know..." He glances at the only box without a marker of one of the kingdoms on it. "Well, do you have any idea what her wishes might have been?"\n\nQrow's face crumples, just the tiniest bit. You doubt anyone else would notice. He looks at you, seemingly prompting, but actually hurting a bit. \n\n"Her name was Kayaa Morgana. Bury her somewhere the stars can shine on her," you say quietly, hands clenching a little inside your own pockets.\n\n"... Yes ma'am," the Atlesian soldier says with a nod of his helmeted head, jaw firming. "I'll see to it."\n\n"Thank you."\n\nNot long after, your group is riding a Bullhead down to an airstrip near the Atlesian base. JNPR, Ilia, and Dudley are all waiting, a rush of hugs performed, Dee embracing his cousin (you asked).\n\n"Thought I was never gonna see you again, man," Dudley murmurs, patting his partner's back.\n\n"Hey I thought you were never gonna see me again either." Dee draws back, clapping his hands on his cousin's shoulders and grinning, then adding, "We got a lot to talk about, man."\n\n"Huh? Uh... okay?"\n\nDee turns back to the rest of you, face serious now. "Y'know... I know you guys thought I was a joke of a Huntsman when we met..."\n\n"Dee, c'mon man," Qrow grunts.\n\n"No, I get it." Dee throws an apologetic look at Dudley, then continues, "I was. We were."\n\n"H-hey!"\n\n"Somewhere along the way we forgot we were supposed to really help people... not just do a job and say we were helping people," Dee continues, Dudley looking gobsmacked, then dropping his gaze as if suddenly a little ashamed. "So I was a joke when I met you guys. But I'm not gonna be anymore. I am... sooooo not ready to get on you guys' level," he adds, spreading his hands. "No way, no how. But uh... I'm ready to be a real Huntsman again. Or, finally. Or... whatever. Y'know."\n\n"... You're already a real Huntsman, Dee," Qrow assures him, stepping forward and reaching up to clap him on the shoulder.\n\n"Nobody but a real Huntsman would have jumped down that hole in the ground," Yang adds with a grin, arms folded over her chest.\n\n"You saved our Unca Qrow!" Ruby adds in a happy squeak, before more softly, with a smile. "Thank you."\n\nDee flushes bright pink at the praise, rubbing the back of his head. Then he gives a soft 'oh', swinging Big Ugly Bastard's basher form off his back and proffering it back to you. "Here."\n\n"It's okay, you keep it," you tell him, pushing back on it lightly.\n\nDee frowns. "Hey, like I said, I'm not gonna be a joke of a Huntsman anymore. Only a joke of a Huntsman would take someone else's weapon, even if it is a backup."\n\n"... 'Kay," you acknowledge slowly, taking it back and handing it to Yang for the moment, then swinging the black blaster rifle with the curved blade attached under the barrel forward from under your coat and unclipping one side of the strap, pulling it out and proffering it. "I know it's not really your style, but this one lost its owner. Kinda needs a home."\n\nDee's gaze widens a little as he recognizes the weapon... then perceptibly softens as he takes it in his hands. "Maybe I'm ready for a new style anyway. ... Does it have a name?"\n\nYou look at it for a long moment, then nod. "Kayaa's Watch."\n\n"Okay. I'll take good care of it," he assures you with deep sincerity, reclipping the strap and settling Kayaa's Watch over his shoulder. Then, as all of you are turning to go. "Uh, hey, one last thing?"\n\n"Yeah?" Qrow rasps as he looks over his shoulder.\n\n"Uh, Qrow, maybe uh... call me sometime, okay?" Dee suggests, face going even more red than before, before he turns and hurries off, Dudley in tow.\n\n"Uh..." And the dusty old crow actually... blushes. "Uh, I mean, maybe, or, uh..." Then he turns and glowers as various snorts and giggles break out in the small crowd. "Oh, shut up," he grumbles, cheeks still pink.\n\n"Unca Qrow's got a boy~frie~nd, Unca Qrow's got a boy~frie~nd," Ruby sing-songs as you all start moving again.\n\n"Shaddup!"\n\n"Do you think we can trust him to keep, y'know, the secret?" Oscar asks quietly, glancing back at the departing duo.\n\n"He doesn't know much of it but... yeah, I think we can trust him with that," you answer. "He's a doof but I don't think he's the same doof he was on that station platform in Haven. We counted on him out there, so let's go ahead and count on him here."\n\nOscar nods. "Ozma's still a bit nervous, but I agree."\n\n"So, Jaune, we get to meet your sister, huh?" you speak up as you step forward, grinning as you drape an arm around Ilia's shoulders, the smaller woman almost visibly preening at being back by your side.\n\n"Ah, yeah, later, but that's actually not where we're going right now," Jaune says, glancing aside at you a little bashfully.\n\n"Eh? I thought that was the plan?" Qrow asks with a frown. "I didn't much like crashing on your relative's couch like a sleepover, but this mission really is going askew on us."\n\n"S'what happens when you introduce a chaotic element," you note, grinning cheekily at him when he shoots you a look. "So where we heading instead?"\n\n"Here," Ren says, gesturing to one of the townhomes as he draws to a stop in front of it. It's mostly the same as the others around it, built in line with the rest and more sturdy than truly beautiful, but many of the stones have been dyed pale pink, like coral. The trim and window edgings are also in a different style, more like some of what you saw in parts of Haven, painted very delicately and with great detail, though the floral designs are now somewhat faded.\n\n"Huh. Whose house is this?" Yang asks, peering at it, then at Ren.\n\n"It is mine," the solemn man replies, which naturally causes some surprise. "As of my eighteenth birthday. It belonged to one of my more wealthy relatives who died at Kuroyuri, and as I am the only surviving Ren, it was held in trust for me until I came of age. As such, let me amend my original statement."\n\nHe steps forward, lifting one of the party members' hands, and placing a set of keys in her palm before curling her fingers around it gently. "It is Blake's."\n\n"I... I don't understand," Blake murmurs while giving her head a little shake, staring down at her hand and opening it to look at the keys with confused yellow eyes.\n\n"I would appreciate it if you would turn this house into a place to continue your parents' work of fostering understanding between Faunus and humans... a sort of embassy. Argus is a peaceful place, for the most part, but there is always work to be done." He shakes his head. "I... do not want this. It is a house, but it is not my home. My home is with all of you... and it is far across Mistral, waiting for me to come back and reclaim it. I instead very much wish for you to do something good and worthwhile with it. If you please."\n\n"Oh Ren." Blake closes her hand on the key again, pressing it to her chest with her other hand as a few tears escape, finally smiling. "I don't know what to say except... thank you."\n\n"Please think nothing of it," he assures her with the smallest smile, hands gently brushing along her upper arms. Then he turns to the rest of you. "In the meantime, we may make use of it without disturbing Jaune's sister and her wife."\n\nAs Blake leads the way up the steps to unlock the door, sniffling just a little bit, Qrow claps Ren on the shoulder gently. "Good job, kid," he says quietly, then turns and frowns at the sight of Reese helping Maria up the steps. "And where're you goin'? I thought you were gonna head to the Argus base to get a proper maintenance on those things."\n\n"Hmmm? Did I ever say that?" Maria replies in her croaky voice, looking at him and raising her age-spotted brows. "My Baoula girl here has them working just fine, so I may as well wait until we're all in Atlas or Mantle to have them looked at by Pietro himself."\n\nQrow grimaces. "And who the hell says we're going to Atla-"\n\n"Now listen boy," Maria crackles as she leans forward over the low railing beside the steps and waggles the skull of her cane at his face. "I may not know everything that's going on but I know a lot more than you think I do, so you just have a care when trying to bullshit me, alright?" she adds, Qrow twitching a bit at the profanity from the elder. "I don't have to put up with being treated like I'm completely out of it and gone to seed by some upjumped scruffy-cheeked Creep-herder who's just biting my style!"\n\nQrow scowls darkly. "Who's upjumped? And whattya mean biting your sty-" He goes silent as something about the skull he's looking at finally clicks, and his jaw drops practically to his chest. \n\n"Now, I'll just smack that cute little farmboy in the shins until he reads me in, if no one else wants to, but it's about time we got down to business and got underway," Maria continues, making her way up the steps again, Reese shooting you and Qrow a sheepish grin as she holds the old woman's hand. \n\n"Tha-... tha-... tha-... tha-..." Qrow turns his head towards you, for the first time since you've met him looking totally and sincerely flabbergasted. "That's the Grimm Reaper! The... the Reaper!"\n\n"Don't look at me, man, that means something tooooootally different where I come from," you assure him, holding up your hands in a 'halt' gesture before scurrying inside as well. \n\n"So that's the deal," Qrow says, once he gets over being completely starstruck. "We have to get these relics before Salem does. If she gets ahold of them, it's pretty much just straight-up the end of the world."\n\n"I see," Maria murmurs, rubbing her broad, wrinkled old chin with a gloved hand. "I'd had some inklings of that evil old witch lurking about somewhere in the shadows all this time, and that she was something not quite alive, but I had no idea she was actually an immortal. ... Still. If she has such a connection to the Grimm, Iiii think there's another way."\n\n"We can't just give up on getting the relics," Oscar says, shaking his head. "I don't like it either, but-"\n\n"I'm not saying we do, I'm just saying I think we should consider adjusting how we do it. Our best bet is her," Maria says, gesturing with her cane at Ruby.\n\n"Um, me? I mean, I... I know I kind of got the hang of them in the cavern but... just for a second, and I don't... really know how to use them."\n\n"Besides, someone's tried using silver eyes on Salem before," Qrow adds miserably, slumping forward against the back of the chair he's in.\n\n"And who trained that someone, hm?" Maria asks, frowning. Qrow bristles at the perceived criticism... then blinks. "That's right, that's what I thought. Self-taught, if that? Well her bravery was admirable but it's not really one of those things you can just work out in the middle of an epic fight between good and evil. But I can teach her to really use them."\n\n"And you think Ruby's silver eyes actually can stop Salem?" Ren asks thoughtfully, hand to his chin.\n\n"If she wasn't afraid of them, she wouldn't have sent her lizardy little bitch to take mine," Maria asserts, tapping the side of her cybereyes as everyone else gawks a bit. "... What, did you think I was talking about giving Ruby book learning?"\n\n"So you can train Ruby to use her silver eyes even though you don't have yours anymore?" you prompt, just to confirm.\n\n"Oh, yes, yes, of course, of course," Maria natters, waving off the question with a waggle of one hand before settling both on her cane. And then flitting one a bit as she adds, "Probably."\n\n"Probably," most of the room says with a flat face. \n\n"Welllll I haven't actually trained anyone before, you know! Not like there are girls with silver eyes skipping past on every street corner!" Maria admits with an annoyed huff. "But I at least actually knew how to use mine! It's a damn sight better than what you've already got, which is jack!" she adds, jabbing her cane forward. \n\n"Point," you acknowledge, shrugging.\n\n"So what are you suggesting ma'am?" Reese prompts.\n\n"We pare down this damn group for one," Maria replies instantly. "It was already hard enough trying to keep track of you lot, and now you've gone and added more! I'll never be able to train Ruby effectively with all this distraction! So we bring it down to the minimum. Which will obviously include Ruby. ... And the Baoula girl," she declares, nodding at Reese. "Because I like her," she adds in a satisfied tone.\n\n"Split up again?" Jaune mutters, making a face.\n\n"Well frankly most of you should stay here and, oh I don't know, work on your good cause! ... 'Cause it's a good one!" Maria adds with a few bobs of the head. "But yeah. A smaller group, made up of the minimum people we need to get this done, and take care of all the rest of the nonsense while I train Ruby."\n\n"I just don't know," Qrow mutters. "I mean... I know you have way more experience than, uh... almost anyone in this room," Qrow murmurs, glancing at Oscar.\n\nWho shifts a little in place and sits up straighter. "But the retrieval of the relics should remain top priority."\n\n"Uh-huh. And whatcha gonna do with 'em once ya got 'em, huh?" Maria asks, actually lifting her can to poke Ozma's nose, the immortal looking somewhere between scandalized and amused. "Still gotta whup Salem when she comes for 'em, right?"\n\n"A valid point," Ozma allows with a dip of the head after a brief silence. "Still. I am hesitant to break apart the bonds that have been forged here. This is no mere group of assembled fighters who were chosen for their skills and their availability... they are three teams, and one family. It is in unity I have always believed Remnant is strongest, and unity which Salem most fears."\n\n"... Hm. It's not a bad point either, no," Maria allows as well, rubbing her chin. "It's a big unwieldy group but damn if you don't kick more ass than I've seen since I could actually see. ... Alright then, here's my suggestion," she whirls, giving a dramatic little flap of her poncho. "Coin flip."\n\n"Are you quite serious?" Ozma says rather flatly. \n\n"I am. One of us will write heads or tails on a piece of paper out of sight. We let someone... say, the sassy one with the even nastier mouth than my Baoula girl... toss the coin, and announce the results without knowing what's on the paper. No way to influence the toss." She pauses, seeming to notice various stares. "Oh you try playing games of chance for actual money with a bunch of people with superhuman reflexes and coordination, you'll start coming up with anti-cheating measures for simple-ass stuff too."\n\n"Very well," Ozma says with a bit of a sigh. "Which of us shall write our call, then?"\n\n"Oh, age before beauty, my dear, you go right ahead." Maria smirks, rubbing her chin again as Ozma makes a face. You have to admit it's kind of great how much she can get him to react, you don't think you've seen this many major expressions on that cute face while he's been in control since you met him.\n\n"Very well." Ozma finds a pad of paper and a pen, turning away and writing something on a sideboard, then ripping the paper out and folding it. He turns and passes it to Qrow, before sitting down. "Miss Sterling, if you please."\n\nYou nod, fishing a nice big silver coin from some planet you were on a year or two back. Fell out of someone's money purse. Into your fingers. You turn it back and forth so that both Ozma and Maria can see the hunched-looking stag on one side and the scowling visage of some tyrannical-looking three-faced king on the other. (Actually you're really not sure if Maria can see that level of detail, but since she doesn't call bullshit you guess she must trust you.) Then you let it slip onto your thumb, spin it through the air, let it rest on your palm and quickly slap it onto the back of your other hand.\n\n<hr>\n[["Heads."|KaiRem]]\n\n[["Tails."|KaiRem]]

"I mean, I wasn't there when it like, started or whatever," you start chattering, eyes widening a little. "But all of a sudden it was like 'bwoooooosh-nyao'!" you continue, waving your hands around through the air as most of the others stare at you. "Just yanno just like that it's like 'BWOOOOOOSH-NYAO!' right out of the caverns underneath us where all those things were going all 'eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!' and then they were like 'EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!' and the light was all 'BDOOOOOOM!' and smashes through the roof but I dunno what it was that happened man it was super wild," you assure him, nodding rapidly.\n\n"I... see." Whitmoor stares at you for a moment, then starts noticing the general low age of the group... which you notice that helpfully, most of the group are now putting wide-eyed, shocked, slightly braindead looks on their faces with varying amounts of success. (... Okay, Blake doing the cute kitty 'nyeow?' headtilt with brainless smile and curious eyes is kinda friggin' scary. Especially since Grey's doing a perfect copy of it standing next to her.) He doesn't seem to quite have bought it though, and you can see him searching the group for something in particular. "... You."\n\n"Uh?" Dee points at himself.\n\nAh, right. The truly authentically dopey-looking dude. The one too dumb to lie well. That's what you'd look for too. Shit.\n\n"Did you see what happened?"\n\n"Uhhhh." Dee glances around at all of you. You did stress on him not to mention anything about Oscar and Ozma, but no one thought to say anything about Ruby's eyes, which is why various people are now sweating through their innocently braindead expressions. Dee glances at you, looks at Whitmoor, and shrugs. "I mean, uh. I was there in the caverns when the blast went off but... man I dunno what the hell happened 'cause it happened really fast."\n\nOh thank dragon, that was actually technically the truth without adding any specifics, thank you Dee sorry for thinking you were as dumb as your partner. Buddy. Brother? You really need to ask at some point.\n\n"... I see." Whitmoor's jaws work a little, and you can tell he's waffling a little on whether to believe you or not, and that he's not really a man used to waffling. But after a moment he lets out a little huff. "Very well. I'm sorry to detain you longer than necessary, you all look like you've had a difficult time. I'll have some ensigns show you to guest quarters where you can clean up and rest, and I'll have a meal served in the mess hall in a few hours."\n\n"Appreciate it, but we really need to get to Argus ASAP," Qrow rasps with a tired nod.\n\n"I need to have my men confirm the absence of CHGs. It's a serious issue. But that should take about a day. Once we're completed, we'll set course for Argus, and have you there in another day since we're not authorized to stress the engines save in emergencies. Until then, you are Atlas's guests."\n\n"Thanks, Captain," Qrow replies, a bit more sincerely than before, his little two-fingered salute slightly crisper.\n\n"God I will sooooo be orgasming over this place when I can actually see straight and don't have a migraine," Reese mutters, and indeed you can see that she's barely keeping her feet, Maria actually lifting one little hand against one of hers to help her along. You consider stepping in and taking over, but the little old woman actually seems to be enjoying the turnabout of Reese's earlier assistance, so you let it be. "Sorry ma'am," she adds in a mutter.\n\n"Heheheh, you're a good girl, be a dirty one too if you like, that's what being young is for. And being old is for, for that fucking matter," she adds with casual cheer, the ensigns escorting all of you almost stumbling. \n\n"Ma'am, if you're feeling that badly, why don't you come to the medbay?" one of the ensigns suggests, despite his red face. "We can get you something for your head and help you get your feet faster."\n\nReese sighs, stopping and turning to lift her hand and show her wrist tattoo. The ensign blinks, but pulls out a slightly different-looking scroll and scans it, spending a moment skimming text across the screen with a flick of the finger... and raising his eyebrows a bit at how much he's flicking. Then he nods. "Okay, but we do have medications that aren't available to the civilian market. You're from Haven Academy?" At Reese's slightly leery nod, the ensign continues, "Our doctor has your medical records, he should know if you'll be able to use any of them."\n\nReese hesitates, then glances at you. You nod gently. "Go get fixed up, Sparrow."\n\n"Okay," she says with a sigh.\n\n"Uh, does the doctor also handle prosthetics?" Yang asks, raising her golden hand. At the ensign's nod, Yang makes a tiny face, but then says, "Mind if I tag along, then? I'm running on scroll parts, here."\n\n"Of course, ma'am, this way."\n\nThe room you're shown to is small, only about half again as long and three times as wide as the single bunk in it, but it apparently has its own (also small) bathroom. You take a shower and are very pleasantly surprised to find that there is apparently an unending supply of hot water. You've just finished changing into your sleeping clothes when the door beeps. "Yeah?"\n\nIt slides open, Qrow strolling in casually, glancing around as if just curious whether your room looks anything like his. Just as casually he slips his scroll out of his pocket, lets it drop open close to his leg, then taps the screen before setting it on the small desk. Then he settles into the chair backwards, leaning on it and looking at you. "Pretty good bullshit job, kid."\n\nYou raise your eyebrows, glance at the still-open scroll, then look back to him and grin. "Technically not a single lie in there."\n\n"Except for you were there when the light went off."\n\n"I wasn't," you reply, grin fading before you shrug. "Pyrrha was."\n\n"... That's a little disturbing, kid."\n\n"You'd think it would be more disturbing for me, but I knew what I was doing. It... was a risk, but extrapolating from what Maria said-"\n\n"Yeah. Ruby needs to remember... love... not loss," Qrow mutters, his own face pinching for a moment, before glancing at the scroll briefly himself and then back to you. "We can have a more thorough conversation about this later, right now I don't wanna use this thing too much, even if James himself gave it to me. I'm not sure I trust this Captain Whitmoor."\n\n"You mean trust him to swallow the BS we spouted?" you lean back on your hands, folding your legs. "But yeah, I know what you mean. Besides not knowing who's in what camp, there's way too many factors at play, that's why I deflected. But other than giving us the stinkeye he doesn't seem like he's pressing it, for now we might just wanna lay low."\n\n"I don't trust like that, not with guys like him," Qrow grunts. "And time is of the essence, with these delays."\n\nYou sit forward again. "What're you thinking?"\n\n"This thing doesn't just have Bullheads. Did a casual little search of the schematics with my Atlas commander's code only James knows I have. They've got high-speed flyers too. We grab one of those, we skedaddle, we dip into the woods outside Argus to pick up JNPR and Specks, we're in Atlas before the brunch menus stop serving."\n\nYou raise your eyebrows. "You'd eat something called 'brunch'?"\n\n"Be surprised how many burritos are on brunch menus."\n\n"Okay, so should I go into all of the problems with this plan or do you know them already?" you ask, raising an eyebrow.\n\n"Moral, or practical?" he prompts, raising an eyebrow.\n\n"Practical obviously," you reply with a snort.\n\n"Okay. We're all dead tired, problem one, and probably barely functional after enduring the Apathy. So, we get some catnaps, some caffeine in us, but the airships are basically idiotproof, all we gotta do is point it in the general direction of where we're going. Problem two, security on this thing is going to be major league after what happened at Beacon, locked up tighter than an Atlas Academy girl's legs. But we've got Reese and my commander's code, that should be able to get us moving. Problem three, Whitmoor will probably hate me to the end of his days. Solution, fuck 'im." You have been such a bad influence. "Look, nothing's changed, kid, we're short on time and we can't really trust anyone but ourselves. This is the way."\n\n<hr>\n[[If it's the way.|KaiRem]]\n\n[[If I may rebut.|KaiRem9x5]]

It's... beautiful. It's shimmering through different colors... not every second, just as you watch tiny shifts, variations, so obviously and vibrantly alive. You brush against it, and something resonates. Something familiar. Focusing on that, you frown a little. Ilia?\n\nKai! Ilia's excited mental psycomm voice comes back, even as you're aware of the thread shimmering pink and orange. Did you get a ride? Are you close?\n\nNo, we're in an abandoned settlement not too far from where we crashed. I'm meditating, I must have managed to focus enough to boost the psycomm range. How are things there?\n\nI've been managing to finagle the train... I think someone in Argus must know I'm messing with the systems because they keep trying to slow it down remotely. We've tried calling ahead but the weather's bad and the signal won't get through. There's supposed to be a communication cable in the tracks but I think I'm disrupting it by running the train faster.\n\nYou consider in silence for a moment. Part of you wants to just tell Ilia to get to Argus as fast as possible and come back with Huntresses or something, someone who can be counted on to handle this discretely and directly. Atlas didn't name these things, they classified them, and with a particularly ominous label. You can't help but worry that they'll go completely scorched earth with their response, and maybe not bother to warn anyone inside first. \n\n'Don't let them out,' Kayaa's despairing face pleads in your memory.\n\nWe're in trouble out here, Rainbow, you answer, feeling the shimmery line turn a deep blue color. We're safe for right now but it's bad. There's some Grimm down in the caverns below us that radiate a field that saps the will to live out of people. Most of us can fight it off with injections of this NRO stuff, but Reese is allergic.\n\nOh God. I knew she was allergic to artificial blood and migraine pills but not NRO. What can we do?\n\nGo ahead and let Argus have control of the train back, and if you can use the cable to establish communication. Tell them that there's an unmapped settlement in the direction pointed by the crashed train cars, and that there's a pack of Cognitive Hazard Grimm in the caverns beneath it. Use that term, Cognitive Hazard Grimm.\n\nCognitive Hazard Grimm, okay. Kai, is Reese okay?\n\nWe're keeping her safe, Rainbow, don't worry.\n\n... Kai. What if the Atlas Military-\n\nWe'll have to take that chance, you send back, pressing your lips into a thin line. Like I said, it's bad. Not just for us. ... I need you to promise to do this for me.\n\nOkay. I promise.\n\nAlright, I'll see you soon. A moment later you open your eyes and glance around, seeing that Oscar and Qrow have returned. "Guys, I just got in contact with Ilia." \n\nThat causes eyes to open and heads to snap your way. "What? How?" Qrow demands.\n\n"You said something about 'psycomms' earlier," Weiss notes with a thoughtful frown. "You and Ilia can talk to each other telepathically, can't you?"\n\n"Pseudotelepathy. It's basically just sending signals through implants we got back on Makarzia, Ilia has the stronger one." You get to your feet, most of the others doing the same. "Meditating must have allowed me to focus enough to extend the range, or we got a clear shot through to bounce off the atmosphere for a minute or something."\n\n"Mm. Maybe," Maria murmurs, tilting her head a bit as she looks at you. \n\n"Is everybody okay out there?" Ruby asks with a worried look.\n\nOh. Yeah. You kind of forgot to tell anyone but Grey about the earlier message. An asshole is you. Clearing your throat and trying to brush off the feeling, you nod. "Yeah, they're fine." You hesitate a little, then roll your shoulders. "I made the call and told her to get in contact with Argus and tell them about the Apathy."\n\n"YES!" Dee pumps a fist in the air. "Atlas cavalry, here they come!"\n\n"That... was probably the right call," Qrow says far more dubiously, rubbing his chin.\n\n"Huh? Are we... not happy about this?" Dee asks, glancing around at the myriad of nervous looks and small or strained smiles. "Is this not a good thing?"\n\n"Everyone's probably kind of worried about Atlas blowing us up along with the Apathy," Yang says dryly, shaking her head.\n\n"O-oh."\n\n"Theeeeey wouldn't do that," Ruby declares with a grin, giving her hands a little 'psh' wave. Then she hesitates, glancing at Qrow nervously and asking "Would they?" To which he just sort of shrugs. Thanks Qrow.\n\n"I wouldn't worry too much about it," Maria says as she hobbles forward a few steps, resting her hands on the skullcap of her cane, the top hand rising and flitting just a little as she speaks. "The local military base commander can get herself worked up into an awful lather sometimes, but she's a decent enough sort underneath it all. Deep, deep underneath it all." She hesitates, then looks at you. "You didn't tell them I was here, did you?"\n\n"Nnnnnnnnnnnooooo?" you reply, pursing your lips and making it clear you're wondering why that matters.\n\n"Then I wouldn't worry too much about it!" Maria declares again, smiling.\n\nOkay there's a story there.\n\n"Look I didn't just do it frivolously, I come from a place where the military, or the closest thing to it, is scary as hell and doesn't give a shit about anybody but themselves or the most rich and influential people on the planet," you assure them, folding your arms. "But these things cannot be allowed to get out. So I took the gamble."\n\n"Hnh. For whatever problems Atlas and their military has, that's not them," Qrow replies with a shake of the head. (You notice that the very tips of Blake's ears fold down a little, but apparently she doesn't feel like arguing it since they perk back up.) "I don't think they're gonna just blast the place without at least trying to save us. I've got faith in James, and I guess by extension I've gotta have at least a little faith in his people."\n\n"... That's fair," Blake says with a nod, apparently instead of whatever else she was thinking. Then she smiles and glances around, the mood in the room gradually warming. "Iiii guess we're going to Argus by Atlas airship, probably, then."\n\n"I'm not exactly thrilled by the idea of going there anyway, still, but I'm definitely glad we don't have to walk there in the snow," Weiss adds with a little laugh.\n\n"Oh, hey, can I say it now?" Dee asks with another look around.\n\n"Yup!" Ruby assures him, giving a thumbs-up.\n\n"YES! Atlas cavalry, here they come!"\n\nEveryone actually gives a laugh at that... one that cuts off as there's a sudden horrifying wail from below, the sound seeming to shudder and pass right through you, vibrating through your bones from a dozen different directions. You reflexively clap your hands over your ears, shuddering as it feels like the fought-for warmth drains out of your muscles and leaves your lungs chilled. "What's happening?!"\n\n"It's the Grimm!" Maria snaps, leaning harder on her cane. "The Apathy must be able to sense positive emotions as well as negative! They think we're energized and happy enough to escape and they're trying to disable us!"\n\nReese staggers, stumbles, and hits the ground hard, arms splayed in front of her and not moving, eyes open and staring sightlessly at the wall.\n\n"REESE!" you and Grey scream, rushing to her, fighting through the waves of will-sapping screeching tearing across your nerves.\n\n"Shit, she's barely breathing, we've gotta get her out of here," Grey mutters, having rolled her onto her back and pressed a hand to her throat. His head shoots up to look at you. "Kai, where do I take her?"\n\nYou know the Guildhall would be safest... but there's also the possibility that if you get separated here and now, in the midst of this, it might be nearly impossible for the two of you to be together again. The team would lose both Grey and Reese's skills... and you'd lose your friends.\n\n<hr>\n[[Tell him to beacon out.|KaiRem]]\n\n[[Tell him to take her outside.|KaiRem9x2]]

Dammit.\n\nYou've never actually tried this, and being dropped in the middle of a bunch of the worst things you've ever faced is not the place you wanted to try it. You've suspected for awhile, and considered doing back at Haven, a technique... sort of going away inside your own mind and letting someone else, someone made of memories and knowledge come up, and actually become that person for a little while. Probably a mixture of the mind wipe and all those years of mental influence from the slave chip. From the tone of voice Maria used, you're pretty sure what the actual impetus for Ruby to use her silver eyes is, and you think you can give it to her, considering the sheer amount of knowledge you have on the person in question.\n\nYou just don't know if you'll be able to come back.\n\nBut the sounds of desperate fighting from above and the barely-holding strength of those below and the thought of Grey hunkered cold and shaking over Reese's unconscious form in the woods decides it for you. You step forward and around, ignoring the slowly approaching Apathy now behind your back and reach up to touch her cheeks, looking her right in those pretty silver eyes. "Ruby."\n\n"K-Kai?! What are you-?!"\n\nYou close your eyes, summon up what you know, and let yourself drift down inside the person that forms out of all those thoughts, the memories shared, the videos, the stories, the crying. You tell her, 'If you had one thing you wanted to say to make her feel safe and loved, you need to say it now.' And she opens your eyes, and from inside her you can see those gleaming silver eyes going wide, somehow knowing who's facing her, just by the change in posture, the body language, that specific gentle smile.\n\n"Hello again," Pyrrha Nikos says with your mouth. "It will be alright, Ruby."\n\n"... Pyrrha..." Ruby whispers, one more tear slipping down her cheek.\n\nAnd then her head rocks back as if she'd been punched, her eyes blazing with silver-white light that spreads out from her like wings, then rushes through the tunnels like plasma and shoots forward through the clawed-out vertical tunnel in the rock, smashing through the edges of the hole in the floor and blasting out through the ceiling like a torrent of solid luminescence. The Apathy turn and try to flee, the creatures of fear now themselves afraid, but the silver light is far too fast for them, and you can see them actually burst into blazing platinum ash before just disappearing entirely, leaving not even the ghoulish black smoke usually associated with a dead Grimm.\n\nIt seems to last an eternity and is over in an instant, the light not so much seeming to fade away or pass on but to be suddenly and rapidly withdrawn back into Ruby's eyes, the girl wobbling a little before slumping forward, Pyrrha tenderly catching Ruby in her arms and cradling the other Huntress's head against her shoulder. "You're amazing, Ruby," Pyrrha whispers with wonder, smiling as she strokes her hand over the trembling, exhausted younger girl's hair.\n\nShe is, you agree quietly from within.\n\nYes. Please take good care of her.\n\nI will. Thank you, Pyrrha.\n\nIt was my pleasure, Pyrrha replies as she gently dissolves back into your memories and thoughts of her. Thank you.\n\nYou think Ruby notices when the way her hair is being petted changes, from long, motherly strokes to short ones that cup the curve of her head. "Kai?" she whispers against you.\n\n"Yeah, Rubes, it's me," you assure her as Qrow and Dee just stare at the two of you in wonder.\n\n"... Was Pyrrha here?" she asks without lifting her head.\n\n"Yeah. Kinda."\n\n"Oh." With that Ruby starts sobbing softly, though from the gentleness of her shoulders shaking you can tell they're tears of release, of finally getting in that one last cry before really, truly accepting something.\n\nSo you continue to pet her hair, and hold her. And take good care of her.\n\n"Are... are you guys okay down there?" Yang calls as she peeks over the edge of the hole. "Is Ruby okay? Is everyone okay?"\n\n"Yeah, we're fine," you call back as you look up, giving Ruby another squeeze. "Are the Grimm up there dead?"\n\n"They are super dead," Yang assures you, raising her eyebrows.\n\n"Good." You fish out your guild comm and tap it. "Grey."\n\n"Yeah? What the hell happened, Kai, there was this burst of silver light that looked like it was gonna blast one of the pieces of the moon out of the sky."\n\n"Shit, did it?"\n\n"No but only because I think it missed. Seriously what the hell, was that Ruby?"\n\n"You bet your ass it was," you reply, looking down at the girl who gives you a watery, sheepish grin as you ruffle her hair. "Bring Reese back in, the Apathy are dead."\n\n"Hanging out with you guys is way more exciting than I ever thought my life would be, and I became a friggin' Huntsman," Dee grumbles as someone above drops down a rope, grabbing the end with one hand of Big Ugly Bastard and holding it steady for the rest of you.\n\nAll of you move into another interior room of the house, the whole place now so thoroughly ventilated that there's no way it will retain heat. Amidst the discussion of whether to try and patch the main house some or move to one of the outer ones, Ruby sidles over to you. "Um. Kai?" She looks hesitant, rubbing her arms, obviously exhausted, but too curious to rest. "How... did you do that? How did you... be... Pyrrha?"\n\n"It's just... a thing I figured out I could do," you reply, keeping your voice quiet, and soft. "Bring up everything I know about someone. If it's enough, I sort of... make them out of everything I know and step back to let them say things."\n\n"So... she wasn't real, right?" Ruby murmurs, letting her head hang.\n\nYou reach out to rest a hand on her shoulder. "She was as real as all the things you said to me about her. The stuff you told me from the heart. She was real enough to ask me to take care of you. That's pretty real."\n\n"... Yeah." Ruby looks up at you, eyes shining as she smiles. "That's pretty Pyrrha."\n\nShe wanders over to her sister for a hug, and you watch, letting your eyes drift between her and Grey sitting by the fire with Reese, rubbing her arms as she sips hot broth. You almost don't notice that Maria has ambled up beside you until she speaks, cyan cybereyes fixed on Ruby. "You know that the First Huntress had silver eyes, right?"\n\n"Yeah, I recall," you murmur, both her words, and something like a hazy, mostly forgotten dream about Beowolf tattoos and a wolfish smile.\n\n"... They say," Maria continues, little hands folded on her can, glowing gaze unwavering. "That the Last Huntress will also have silver eyes."\n\n"The... Last Huntress?" You look at her and blink a few times, then frown. "Wait, is that 'Last Huntress' like 'we don't need anymore because we got rid of all the Grimm', or like 'there aren't any more because the Grimm got rid of all the humans'?"\n\n"Now that," Maria says, raising her mottled brow as she turns her head towards you. "Is the question, isn't it?"\n\n"... Who's 'they', anyway?" you say into the dramatic silence that follows.\n\n"Also a good question," the old woman acknowledges with a soft cackle.\n\nBefore any good questions can be answered, however, there's a loud brrrrr-eeeeeeeeeeeep and the sound of something like fans blowing, light flashing through the hole in the next room and the battered front door. "This is the Atlas military. If there are any survivors inside, please make yourself known," an amplified voice booms over a loudspeaker. \n\nYou glance at the others, and sort of collectively shrug before heading outside, trundling out onto the porch and into the snow, Dee waving his arms as the spotlight settles on you. "Damn, that's kinda impressive," you have to admit, even aloud. The ship has a weird combination of rounded and angular looks, no actual sharp corners but lots of transitions and different sections, a weird mix of gentle lines and hard profile. A handful of long fins, almost like those of a fish, sprout alongside its side and back, though you can see areas where it looks like they could lock against the ship's outer hull. \n\n"Hunh, must be one of the new ones," Qrow grunts as a smaller ship, the one you recognize as being called a 'Bullhead', separates from a fully encompassing section of the ship's lower hull and swoops towards you.\n\nAfter a short ride back up to the ship, you're all escorted up to the bridge, a cavernous thing even when it's full of people working their stations. A man in a tidy, close-cropped white beard with an equally tidy, close-cropped flat-top wearing a slightly more elaborate uniform than the others turns and steps up to you. "Welcome aboard, I'm Captain Whitmoor of the Vale's Banner. Does your group have a leader?"\n\nYou can see various of the others start a little, apparently at the ship's name... well, you can guess why. Qrow glances around briefly, sighs and slumps his shoulders, then shrugs and gives something very nearly like a salute. It's sloppy but not quite disrespectful. "Yeah, guess so. Qrow Branwen, Huntsman. Thanks for the assist, Captain."\n\n"We received a report there were Cognitive Hazard Grimm in the area, has your party seen anything like that?"\n\n"... Yeah," Qrow answers, considering just slightly too long before answering, and you can see Whitmoor's dark eyes narrow a little. Not good, you can tell an authority figure that's not used to having people think about whether to tell him the truth or not when you see one. "Apathy. There was a pack of them under that settlement, but they're dead now. You can have your guys check for themselves, you should be able to find the signs they were there, but they're gone."\n\n"I see." Whitmoor stares at him, eyes slowly raking back and forth over the group before he continues, voice turning a bit hard. "Would that have anything to do with that giant pillar of light we saw shoot in the sky a short time ago, which by our reports was visible from both Haven and Atlas?"\n\n"Yeah, they died about that time, sure," Qrow agrees, starting to purse his lips. Not good, not good, he's trying to rein his smart mouth in, you can tell as someone who shares it, but he's starting to get annoyed at feeling like he's being ordered around. Not good, you need to handle the next question.\n\n"I see. And do you have any ideas as to the source of that light?" the captain asks, eyes narrowing a bit more.\n\n<hr>\n[["It was Ruby."|KaiRem]]\n\n[["Nope, no clue."|KaiRem9x4]]

Grabbing one of the all-weather blankets from the big bag, you toss it to Grey. "Get her out into the woods! Away from the settlement! GO!"\n\nGrey nods, without hesitation wrapping Reese in the blanket as he gathers her up and then dashing out the front door, the cold wind howling in through it chased by snowflakes still not as shrieking or cold as the Apathy beneath your feet.\n\nYou worry that this was the selfish call, that you're endangering both of them just so you don't have to be without them. ... But it was your call. You're their leader and you need them. Besides, Grey's tough, hopefully he and Reese will be fine until help arrives.\n\n"This is almost intolerable!" Yang cries over the noise, her spot-repaired arm twitching and spasming almost constantly as she staggers a little in place.\n\n"Just hold out!" Maria calls back to her, cybereyes squinted mostly closed. "They can't keep it up forever!" A few moments later, the sound suddenly dies, leaving the only noise the wind whistling past the open front door, and the door's thump against the wall. Maria straightens a little with her hands on her cane, grinning. "There, you see?"\n\nA distorted black hand smashes up through the floorboards, wrapping itself around most of Qrow's lower leg and yanking him down with terrifying rapidness, the scruffy Huntsman just suddenly gone in a shower of splinters and cracked boards that pelt the tall black-haired Huntsman that had been standing beside him just a half a heartbeat before.\n\n"QROW!" Dee shouts, unhesitatingly leaping down the hole after him, already changing Big Ugly Bastard to robohand form.\n\n"Qrow!" you and Ruby call half a second later, rushing forward and leaping down as well. \n\n"Get offa him!" Dee snarls, slamming the massive, misshapen metal mitten against the nightmare thing crouched over Qrow Branwen. It gives a short shriek as it's sent flying backwards, smashing into the wall, spindly limbs splayed.\n\nThe Apathy are maybe the worst Grimm you've seen so far. They're humanoid, mostly, but it looks like someone took them and stretched and pinched their limbs like modeling clay, or shoved them through a misshapen hole that grew a bit less human the further it went. Even their masks are almost like human skulls in appearance, capping their heads more like some sort of grisly trophies of their kills than any other Grimm you've seen before. Even amongst the creatures of Grimm, you've gotta figure these guys are the last ones that that Beowolves and Nevermores would want to invite to a party, you think, trying to force the levity to buoy you so that you don't just start screaming as more of them come shambling out of every niche and alcove in the dark caverns you find yourself in, crouched protectively between Qrow and the monsters with Red Legacy in your hands.\n\n"Unca Qrow!" Ruby calls again, helping him to his feet.\n\n"Nnh." Looks like Qrow was stunned by the sudden attack and the drop, but after a quick shake of the head he draws Clockwork Dirge. "I'm alright," he rasps. He hesitates just the briefest beat, before adding, "Thanks, Dee, looks like it's us who owe you now."\n\n"Call it even," the big Huntsman grunts, smacking the large metal fists together a few times. "Now what the hell do we do, though?!"\n\n"They're trying to break through the cellar doors!" Yang shouts above you, out of sight.\n\n"And I can hear more of them shrieking outside, I think they're trying to get through all the cavern exits now!" Blake adds.\n\n"We try to survive," Qrow grunts, flipping down Clockwork Dirge's blade down to reveal the shotgun barrels.\n\n"Rubyyyyy, now would be a really good time to do that silver eye mojo stuff I heard you used on that dragon back at Beacooooon," you urge, drawing back just a little into the four way back-to-back cluster you've formed.\n\n"WHAT?!" comes a shocked croak from above.\n\n"I-I can't!" Ruby replies, trembling, the situation and stress clearly eating through the NRO as well as her trained composure, the shrieks of more and more encroaching Apathy grinding against the inside of all of you's skulls. "I'm trying, I keep trying, I... I even tried thinking of Pyrrha dying!" she admits, her voice horrified and full of pain. \n\n"It doesn't WORK like that, it-!" Maria's voice calls, only to be interrupted by a crash and more shrieking.\n\n"THEY'RE IN!" Yang cries.\n\n<hr>\n[[Shit! You have to get out of here!|KaiRem]]\n\n[[Shit, you have to... step back.|KaiRem9x3]]

Yes, why not turn Kleptokitty into an anthro like yourself... albeit one that's totally devoted to you as your subordinate? You heft up the device, which is shaped and designed rather like a metal-and-LEDs version of a classic Super Soaker, eyeing the reservoir. Yes, plenty in there for at least one dose, and you know the raw materials the gun needs to mix more mutagen by heart at this point, you've heard of the Misteress stealing them so often. You'll need to refill it afterward, but you can go ahead and goop Kitty now (heh).\n\nNow, what to change her into? The gun has a number of settings, including the one that would be most blatantly obvious to use on her. It also has some others that would, being honest, just be a lot of fun for you. What to choose...\n\n<hr>\n[[Cat.|CalHM]]\n\n[[Horse.|CalHM]]\n\n[[Cow.|CalHM]]\n\n[[Rabbit.|CalHM]]

"Now hold on a minute," you say with a frown. "You say this is your most devious deathtrap dungeon yet, but it seems to me like something's missing."\n\n"Ehhhh?! How dare you! This is at least twice as wicked as all my previous efforts, especially since it's designed to humiliate instead of kill!" Deathtrap snaps back, eyes flashing. "What could I possibly have left out?!"\n\n"Risk to yourself," you answer immediately.\n\n"... Eh?"\n\n"He's right," your mother speaks up. "Normally, you place yourself on the line by being at the heart of the Labyrinth of Doom... our goal with them is always to get through it to get to you. But since you've made our goal merely to get through it and get out, you've rendered yourself completely safe and merely sitting in judgement over the rest of us."\n\n"... ah, well... you kind of have a point," Dr. Deathtrap murmurs, tapping her index fingertips together as she looks down at them. "Now that you point it out, it sort of seems less thrilling to just be running it all like some big video game..."\n\n"It seems like, if you want this to be your best Labyrinth, you should at least share the risk with us, then," you continue, hoping that the idea of actually going through with the humiliating challenges she's come up with will make her back down.\n\n"Heeeey, are you trying to make me back down by challenging me to my own humiliations?!"\n\n"... You've gotten good at that."\n\n"Well I'll show you, mister smartypants! I will join you!" she declares smugly. Then she hmmms, tapping her blue metal fingertip against the corner of her mouth. "I wonder though... hey, Caliburn, heads or tails?" she asks as she fishes a coin out of her pocket and flips it.\n\n<hr>\n[["... Heads?"|CalKLA]]\n\n[["... Tails?"|CalKLA]]

"Alright then. I guess until then it's muggings and store robberies," you say with a grin.\n\n"And we've got a photo shoot for some commercials we want to run scheduled for next week," Style adds evenly.\n\n... Right. You, uh... you really weren't expecting that sort of a thing to be a part of your superhero career, but that's where it seems to be. You can't help but hope that she finds you a lead on a proper villain to fight before then. ... Hopefully five minutes before so you have an excuse to skip the whole photo shoot. It's not that you're shy, it's just... you reeeeally would rather be doing something directly helpful to people rather than posing dramatically in front of a camera. (Especially since Style still seems determined to pump up your "imposing bad girl" reputation.)\n\nAnd for the next two days it's pretty much as you figured... you go to school where everything basically continues as it did before, and afterwards you go out on patrol, zipping through the city on your motorcycle or occasionally actually taking to the rooftops, catching thieves and muggers and all the sort of standard street crime that really seems to be a constant problem in the city despite having more superheroes per square mile than any other place in the world. And yes you occasionally stop when requested by the camera crew to hold a particularly good "pose" for a moment, but you just try to remind yourself that it's what you need to do to crawl out of the hole you're in, as well as help people.\n\nThe notification that Style's found you something "meatier" comes in the form of a text message... well, well before the day of the photo shoot, but you'll still definitely take it all the same. It says that the studio's dedicated team of researchers has tracked down the location (or close to) of one of the POGS scientists. Specifically...\n\n<hr>\n[[... Doctor Dogsbody.|MarSS7x2]]\n\n[[... Doctor Dimensional.|MarSS8x1]]\n\n[[... Doctor Deviance.|MarSS]]

Hmmmmm...\n\nYou clamber back down, making your way to the street and climbing back onto your motorcycle, and setting off as if you were heading to the warehouse. A few streets over, though, you park the bike and swing off, heading back towards the apartment on foot, keeping to areas where the surrounding buildings would hopefully keep you obscured from above.\n\nWhen you get closer, you take a careful look around (and up) and then dart across the street. Inside or outside? Hmmm. Outside, but avoid the fire escape. Which basically means ascending the actual side of the building, which isn't nearly as hard as it sounds. It's an actual brick building and the masonry isn't the most even thing in the world, so you manage to find plenty of toe and fingerholds as you go up. ... Okay it would probably be a lot more difficult for someone without an enhanced physicality and who'd been told that freeclimbing cliffs at eleven was a completely normal vacation activity, but you're weird so you manage.\n\nYou peek carefully into windows as you go up. No. No. No. ... Yes. Holy crap, score. You clamber carefully up the wall and over the window, carefully getting yourself positioned (probably with an annoyingly fan-pleasing amount of wiggling your butt), and then swinging your legs way back before hurling your body forward, smashing through the glass and into a roll on the floor to come up into what you hope is a suitably-cool pose (and that you didn't roll through any glass).\n\n"W-what?! Thirdstar?!" Doctor Dogsbody blurts as she whirls to face you, dark brown eyes wide behind her round glasses. She's got longish, very frazzled honey blonde hair, though it's faded to white at the ends, and what looks like a mildly squishy body beneath a yellow-brown jumpsuit and the requisite mad scientist white labcoat. \n\n(Ego: "Eeeeeeeeeeeeeee she recognized us!"\n\nId: "Fame! Fame! Fame! Fame!"\n\nSuperego: "We are a genuine superhero. We are the genuine superhero."\n\nEgo: "... Okay I forget sometimes you're the actual Freudian superego.")\n\n"Alright, Doctor Dogsbody, let's-" you start, then pause. Unable to help yourself, you straighten up, putting one hand on your hip and pointing at her lower half with the other. "Is that a Shiba Inu tail?"\n\n"I-I haven't been able to get rid of it yet from my last experiment, that's all!" Dogsbody huffs back angrily, giving a little twist that causes the distinctive, fluffy curlicue tail to bob back and forth a bit.\n\nYou eye her for a moment, then drop your tone to a positively gooey warm one. "Who's a good girrrrrl?"\n\n"Eeeeeeee!" the supervillain squeals, pressing her fists under her chin as the curled tail starts wagging rapidly. Then she blushes brightly, snapping her hands down to grab hold of her tail with both of them and hold it still. "... You bitch."\n\n"Takes one to know one."\n\n"How did you even find me?! I thought for sure anyone who tracked me down would go for the abandoned warehouse!" she bemoans as she backs up, looking around as if trying to find something amidst all the scientific equipment to help her. It looks like she's knocked down multiple walls of the floor's apartments to create one larger area, and many of the walls and ceiling are trailing visible wires.\n\n"The electricity," you note, flicking a hand towards one of said wires. "A warehouse doesn't have huge electrical needs unless it's refrigerated or something, figured it'd probably be difficult for you to power all your equipment. Any semi-modern apartment building would have to have enough wiring to supply a bunch of stoves, fridges, and lights." You pause, then shrug. "Plus giant hot water heater, no cold showers."\n\n"Curseeees, foiled by hygeine!" Dogsbody wails, briefly milking the giant invisible cow like any respectable nearly-foiled villain.\n\n<hr>\n[[Better be careful, though, she could have something up her sleeve!|MarSS]]\n\n[[[Fweeet!] "Here, here girl!"|MarSS7x4]]

There's a document included, and you set your phone's AI assistant to read it to you as you set off for the address that was on the text, which is unfortunately apparently to a general area.\n\nDoctor Dogsbody apparently does not actually have a dog's body, but wants to (sort of). Apparently she's on a quest to make herself into the absolutely perfect canine-human hybrid, or rather her particular vision of it, but that vision is elusive to her both figuratively and pragmatically and she's never been satisfied with the results. Her testing has apparently resulted in the creation of a lot of FACE members, so taking her down (or at least taking her out of circulation for a while, since you know the Slam's record) would be a good way to prevent a lot more future problems, sounds like.\n\nFurther, according to the researchers, she just recently lifted a fresh batch of illegal chemical compounds from a government lab (which begs the question of what the government was doing with them, but you're guessing that superheroes who ask questions like that aloud get reclassified to "dangerous vigilante" real fast) so she's almost certainly gearing up to give it another try, either on someone else or on herself. Unfortunately, while the research team is fairly certain they've tracked her lair to a general area, they don't have any specifics for you.\n\nAs could be expected, the area is out on the edge of town, essentially part of a close-to-defunct port that saw a lot more use when the city was somewhat less super-active and thus more attractive as simply a hub to run shipping through. (No one ever really talks much about the impact of mad scientists hijacking truck shipments on the local economy, unless it's election time.) You find a decently-sized building and go scrambling up the fire escape to the roof to have a look around for likely supervillain hiding spots.\n\nOf course one of the first things you spot is the camera crew vehicle parked not too far behind you. Sigh. Just... don't think about them. Or occasionally catching a glimpse of one of the camera drones out of the corner of your eye. Gah. Instead you take out the pair of binoculars you brought from your motorcycle's storage compartment and start skimming over the buildings in the area.\n\nAlmost immediately you spot a large abandoned warehouse. Just about perfect, every supervillain loves an abandoned warehouse. Especially some mad scientist that would need a lot of room to set up their tesla coils and jacob's ladder and whatnot. That would definitely be a top contender, since it's right in the area.\n\nHm, let's see... smallish apartment building, about six stories, looks boarded-up and abandoned. Don't usually hear about supervillains setting up in apartments, but it is in the right area and it's accessible, so it should be considered.\n\nAnd then there's one of the nearby offloading buildings. Bay access means that she could have a quick escape, or have visitors without being spotted, that seems like it might be important for a mad scientist who apparently sells her work (or needs volunteers/victims to test her serums on).\n\nBut which to check first...?\n\n<hr>\n[[The warehouse.|MarSS]]\n\n[[The apartment building.|MarSS7x3]]\n\n[[The dock.|MarSS]]

(Id: "C'moooon, what could it hurt? It'll be in safe hands with us, after all! No harm in knowing what we're up against out there, after all, right?")\n\nYou take a quick glance around, then pull out a USB stick and insert it on the console, quickly copying the currently open files and anything else that looks vaguely connected onto it. You're just sort of really curious now, if nothing else than exactly what Doctor Dogsbody's ultimate plan for transforming herself into the perfect dog-human hybrid involved.\n\nYou quickly finish and leave just as the rest of the Slam Vans are pulling up, slipping back off and returning to your bike. You head back to the studio briefly to check in with Style, agreeing rather unenthusiastically to turning up later to do some followup interview things and voiceovers about your brief tussle and villain takedown, before heading home.\n\nAlmost immediately you head to one of the more... private... studies. It's not quite in your parents' secret lair under the house, which has thus far repelled all your attempts to gain entry, but it is in one of the more secure parts of the upper house you usually weren't allowed in, with a far more powerful than public market computer and some other texts and data resources that you probably really shouldn't have access to. But, you do, so. You plug in the USB stick and start going over Dogsbody's files, following the curiosity your passing understanding granted you.\n\nFirst of all you learn that her overall attempt seems to be called 'Project Cerberus'. Fittingly enough for the name, it seems Dogsbody wasn't really going to be satisfied until she could take an anthropomorphic canine form with all the might and grandeur of the mythical guardian of Hades, including three heads and the ability to breathe fire. Well, that certainly explains why she wasn't satisfied with any of her prior attempts, when it seems like just making someone into a dogperson isn't that difficult. Doesn't precisely explain why she wound up with a Shiba Inu tail, though.\n\nOver the next few weeks you figure it out, as in your off hours between school and heroing you continue going over all the files as well as teaching yourself the necessary chemical engineering knowledge to further understand it. Dogsbody was absolutely certain that the traits to create a Cerberus Serum already existed in some dog breed's genetic code, and that she just had to find which one it was. It seems to have been a wild leap of logic spurred on by too many energy drinks and not enough sleep, and mostly resulted in her turning herself into a lot of different types of dogperson for short periods. And yet as you continue making your way through the research, it starts to become clear that she was on to something... not necessarily that it was one breed, but that by combining multiple breeds, there could be enough genetic diversity to find the traits she was looking for.\n\nUltimately, as you draw to the finish of reviewing all her work, you come to the conclusion that there were two points where Dogsbody's research fell down. The first was that she'd become a bit obsessed with finding the one dog breed that would serve as a "key" to unlock the form she wanted, rather than seeing that it was the wide genetic diversity that was necessary. The second was that the woman was absolutely obsessed with rendering the serum drinkable...\n\n... and carbonated.\n\n'A trinary injection,' you think as you sit back from the screen, rubbing your tired eyes. 'You start the process in three different sections of the body instead of trying to kickstart it all at once from one, and don't try to fuss around with the drinkability, that way the alterations wind up mingling together instead of canceling out. I'll have to get some more genetic samples, maybe modify the injection devices to use the right pace...'\n\nYou pause as you realize you were thinking about not just how to craft the serum, but with the certainty that you'd do it. You quickly give your head a shake. Don't be ridiculous... this was just a fun little challenge for yourself on the side. Teaching yourself a bit more about villainous superscience so you'd be ready to deal with it in the future. You've done that, now it's time to put this data under lock and key and move on.\n\n(Id: "That's bullshit. You wanna do it. You wanna do it to prove you can, if nothing else."\n\nSuperego: "You're talking about making a supervillain elixer to transform yourself or someone else into some towering fire-spitting beast. That is not the behavior of a superhero."\n\nId: "But I wanna prove how good I am at this!"\n\nSuperego: "Yes me too."\n\nId: "... Whose side are you on?!"\n\nSuperego: "I'm on the side of holding ourselves to the highest standards possible. Freudian superego, remember? It's entirely possible for me to urge conflicting influences.")\n\n"Shut up in there," you grumble, thumping the side of your forehead with your palm. You eye the mostly-finished energy drink on your desk, then toss it in the trash. You've clearly had too many of these lately. \n\n... But okay fine, admit it, you do kind of want to see if you can do it, after spending all this time. It's genuinely fascinating, to think of just mixing together a few chemicals and then essentially altering reality with them, creating something new that's never existed by it. The temptation to play God is obviously reckless and foolhardy... but it's getting to play God all the same.\n\n<hr>\n[[No, control yourself.|MarSS]]\n\n[[... [Small mad scientist cackle.]|MarSS]]

Spotting a brightly-colored energy drink can nearby that from the condensation is still mostly full, you snag it and hold it up, giving it a waggle in the air. Despite still being almost entirely human in appearance, you can practically see Dogsbody's ears perk, her head lifting a bit, and eyes tracking the can as it moves.\n\n"Here! Here girl! You wannit doncha! You wannit, you wannit huh you wannit you wannit!" you coo as you wiggle the can and sway it back and forth, Dogsbody practically starting to vibrate in place and, apparently without noticing it, nodding rapidly. "Goooo geddit!" you call, making a flinging motion with your hand.\n\nDogsbody whips around and has already scrambled several steps before she stops statue still and stares at the interior of the lab with a slowly growing sense of betrayal, apparently realizing you didn't actually throw the can. She whirls around, face furious. "Of all the dirty GURK!" she calls, arms flinging wide as the can impacts her squarely on the forehead and knocks her off her feet backwards and goes spinning off and away, trailing a spiral of liquid kidney stones.\n\nYou calmly trot over, rolling her onto her back and zip-tying her wrists as well as her thumbs and several of her fingers. (Hey, she's still a mad scientist type, everyone knows they're wiley.) You give her a few pats on the head, at which she whimpers miserably. "We really need to get you like the DNA equivalent of a charcoal purge, honey."\n\n"Ew no!"\n\nYou get up and spend a few moments calling the appropriate authorities to come pick her up, then look around. Seeing the machine she'd probably been working at moments before, you can't help but curiously start piecing together its purpose. The chemical analyzer and automatic mixer isn't too hard to figure out, you've seen similar stuff before, though the other thing it's hooked up to seems slightly more obtuse, kludged together out of several pieces of mass market appliances. In fact if it didn't already have something sitting on its 'completed' tray, you probably wouldn't have been able to figure it out. "Is this a... Soda Stream?"\n\n"And one of those on-demand canners like they have at craft brewery bars," Dogsbody says rather smugly, apparently having decided to brag about her genius ideas while she can.\n\nYou pick up the can with its custom red label and eye it for a moment, then look at her and raise your eyebrows, holding the can up. "'Red Rocket Pop'? Seriously?"\n\n"I hate injections, the only way I can try my own serums is turning them into sodas," Dogsbody grumbles, as if that were the biggest issue with it.\n\nJust then you hear the bwoop of a siren outside and, without really thinking, tuck the can away before moving over to haul Dogsbody to her feet.\n\n(Id: "Figures, always slow to show up for an active supervillain, real quick when they're already subdued and in cuffs."\n\nSuperego: "Now now, don't try to make it sound like something unusual. That's true of when it's regular criminals too.")\n\nYou pass Dogsbody off to the officers that come through the door, declining to come along... honestly, defeating her was so simple that you'd feel like a bit of a fraud if the camera crew wound up urging you to make it into a photo op beside the Slam Van or something. Instead you take another glance around the lab, making sure there's no signs of anything particularly dangerous or that anyone else might show up between now and when the guys that are supposed to lock down villain lairs turn up.\n\nOop, looks like Dogsbody left some of her work up on the chemical mixer. You step over and, just out of idle curiosity, skim over what's visible on the screen. Huh... you can... kind of understand... some of this? It's actually sort of interesting, a little bit.\n\n<hr>\n[[Shut off the equipment.|MarSS11x1]]\n\n[[... Take a copy of the data.|MarSS7x5]]

"I... think I need a little time to wrap my head around this, Orrin," you answer. "Sort of let it become real. I mean... obviously we should probably have at least a few dates before, y'know..."\n\n"But not tonight?" He smiles a little wanly, but bobs his head. "Yeah, no, I understand. Um, just give me a call when you're ready, yeah? Otherwise, I'll call you next week just to check in on how you're doing."\n\n"Sure. I'll talk to you later," you add, waving a bit before turning to go.\n\nAll of what you said is true... you do need some time to sort of come to terms with the fact that you're now engaged. But you've also got the worst case of 'kid with a new toy' you've ever had in your life, and are desperate to get home so you can decide what to do with the Mythril. You offer to tip your Uber driver 100% if they'll speed all the way back to your place, and soon you're tucked into your room and going through your tome.\n\nYou're not terribly surprised that it has some new offerings for you, ones specifically to do with using Moonforged Mythril. Between the acquisition of the wire and your magically bonded engagement, today has been a significant stepping stone for you as a witch... the book has obviously responded and is offering you up appropriate options for things to craft with it.\n\nOne of the offerings is an [[Amulet of Change|ValNA2x5]], which would grant you incredible control over your own form and the forms of others. Right now you can only change the forms of others if they're particularly weak, or give you permission, and even then your range is a bit limited and it takes a lot of your energy. Changing your own form is also a bit of a pain, requiring preparation, concentration, and effectively being stuck that way for awhile until your magic fully recharges. But this... you could change yourself and others almost at will, it sounds like.\n\nIt also talks about making a [[Tiara of Charisma|ValNA]], which would massively boost the force of your personality. You've seen this crafting guide before, but the previous version always led you to believe that the increase would probably be just enough that people wouldn't make fun of you for wearing a tiara. But by incorporating Moonforged Mythril, it looks like you could make one that would basically let you do 'Because I say so' to other people at will.\n\nYou're a bit surprised that there's also instructions for making a [[Mythril weapon|ValNA3x1]]... you couldn't possibly have enough for that, could you? But a glance over it shows that you might... the amount of mythril necessary to convert a normal knife the size of, say, your own ritual knife into an actual mythril weapon is fairly negligible, it turns out. It would turn the blade into an extremely powerful magical weapon, with abilities that would grow over time.

A...?! So like... a humanized Pokemon, right? So you guess that's not as bad as it could be, but still. Wait, will that... Hexia said this was sort of real, but also a dream, so when you get through this and wake up, you won't still actually be changed, right? ... Right?\n\nYou turn around, and realize there's a handful of little stands in the middle of the room. Each bears a roughly fist-sized confection that looks sort of like an oversized meringue cookie. They're very bright colors, in some cases a few different colors, but at least you don't have to guess (entirely) about what Pokemon they'd turn you into, since the stands also have a picture straight out of the Pokedex on them. On the stand with the blue poffin (because that's what you're guessing they are) is a picture of a Machamp. Beneath a white and red poffin (patterned to make an insinuation for sure) is a picture of a Scorbunny. And beneath a chocolate and orange-colored poffin is a picture of a Mudbray.\n\n"What, no Pikachu?" you mutter, eyeing all three. So if you're remembering the games right, that's... one final evolution, one starter, and one unevolved but still higher-level Pokemon. But will their levels and abilities be relevant in the rooms to follow? You have no idea. In some ways the selection seems almost random. You guess it... really is whatever sort of weird Pokemon-Human hybrid you'd rather turn yourself into.\n\n<hr>\n[[Blue poffin.|ChiPoke]]\n\n[[White and red poffin.|ChiPoke]]\n\n[[Brown and orange poffin.|ChiPoke8x2]]

Mudbray seems a good choice... horse-type Pokemon are strong (and popular), so it seems like a decent choice. You step over to the pillar and pick up the poffin... it feels a lot like a meringue cookie too, the surface stiff and porous.\n\nYou're a little surprised when you eat it that it's the flavors you might expect from the color... orange and chocolate. You expected something truly bizarre, or maybe perverse, but it seems to be a completely normal confection. In fact it's so good, with its crispy external layer and its sort of crackly, literally melt-in-your-mouth cave network of an interior that for a moment you forget the strangeness of the surroundings and just enjoy the little snack.\n\nOf course the moment you're finished you're reminded of the situation you're in as you can feel your body starting to change. You let out a yelp of surprise at the sensation of both growing shorter and your face pushing outward, the sound turning into a rather whinny-ish "Braaaay!" as you make it. Short brown fur begins to sprout all over your body, but what's more shocking is watching as your breasts begin to shrink, your hips and thighs both losing definition as you grow shorter, the G-string loosening and falling to the floor, baring your pussy. A thick, puffy growth of more cream-colored fur sprouts out around your wrists and ankles as your nails turn hard and black, becoming rather hooflike. Your hair loses its brown hue, turning a flat black.\n\nIn a matter of moments you've become a Mudbraygirl... and lost at least ten years of age, if you had to guess. You put your hands to your chest, unable to help pouting a bit with your newly equinish features. "This was so not mentioned in the writing-bray," you protest, your voice having turned a bit thicker and lower despite your youthening, your new black tail giving a lash behind you, the long black strands of hair swishing through the air above your pert bare ass. \n\nStill, it seems to have worked. The pillars have disappeared, and a door has appeared in the far wall. Trying not to feel too self-conscious since you're the only one here (assuming Hexia isn't watching all this), you walk over to it and open it up, stepping through into the next room.\n\nYou immediately give a surprised and embarrassed bray (literally, blurting out "Braaaay!") and cover yourself with your hands as you see two people standing there, both watching you languidly. Well, rather, two Pokemorphs you realize, specifically Mudsdalemorphs. To your right is a tall, muscular, but very curvaceous Mudsdalewoman with huge breasts, toned abs, and broad hips, her nostrils flaring as she gives a loud snort, tossing her head to make her orange-tipped dreadlocks sway behind her. To your left is an even taller, even more muscular Mudsdaleman, his shoulders wide and chest almost bulging with muscle, a bare equine cock dangling down to almost his knees, draped over the front of a particularly large and likely overfull set of balls.\n\nEach of them is standing next to a pillar with another poffin on it, the one next to the Mudsdalewoman having a 'Male' symbol on it, the one next to the Mudsdaleman having an upward-pointing arrow. That's mildly confusing until you notice the writing on the wall above either of them:\n\n'Swap and fuck'\n\n'Evolve and get fucked'\n\n... Aha. So that's the choice, huh? You can either become a Mudbrayboy and do the fucking, or become a Mudsdalewoman and get fucked. Probably... really hard... and really deep... holy crap that thing would be huge even if you got as big as the Mudsdalewoman over there...\n\n<hr>\n[[Swap and fuck.|ChiPoke]]\n\n[[Evolve and get fucked.|ChiPoke]]\n\n[[... Don't evolve and get fucked...|ChiPoke]]

You can see a lot of uses for the Amulet of Change... among them if you ever need to flee the county, state, or country for some reason or another. (Hey, considering such needs is an occupational hazard of being a witch.) You begin the process of setting up materials and ritually preparing the Mythril wire to charge it up with the proper energies. It's almost midnight before you drop it into the dish with the rest of the metal for the amulet and watch it slide down and flow together, turning the rest of the metal the same white-shine color as it was. You pour it into the round mold and whisper a few more parts of the spell over it, cutting a finger to add a drop of your own blood, which quickly disappears into the metal. Less than a minute later you turn the mold over, and hear a satisfying tink as the amulet falls out. When you move the mold away, you find that the amulet's taken the shape of a wolf's head rather than the simple circular mold you used. Not unexpected... apparently it will look like something different every day.\n\nGrinning, you slip a length of ribbon through the top and tie it around your neck, feeling the faint tingle of its enchantments against your skin. Wondering what to do with it first, you stand and turn towards your door, only to yelp and stumble back a few steps at the silhouette of someone that's definitely not your landlady there. The black-clad woman steps forward, a long, curved blade in her hand, eyes narrowed and pointed ears almost twitching a bit as she looks at you.\n\n<img src="images/Honniel.jpg">\n\n"That was lucky... I thought I was going to have to play an extended game of cat and mouse tracking down that mythril, but then you went and started preparing it for enchantment and sent out a signal clear as day." The elf looks you up and down with an expression you can only call 'polite contempt'. "I see you've used it already, but I doubt you can even control such an artifact. So let me make it clear... that mythril, and the thing you made from it, is leaving here with me one way or the other. You can either surrender and be alive once I leave here, or I can easily slip it off your newly shortened and thus more accessible neck. Your choice."\n\n<hr>\n[[Surrender.|ValNA]]\n\n[[... Cat and mouse, huh?|ValNA2x6]]

"Hello?" you call into the tunnel. You don't quite hear an echo, it's more like the weird almost-fulfilled expectation of one, with how smooth and long the tunnel is itself. More sort of like a natural amplification that's just slightly off of your own speaking. You wait for several seconds, listening intently for any sounds of movement.\n\nInstead what comes back is a soft, slightly lilting, but still largely male-sounding voice saying, "Hello~! Hello~! How nicsse to have a visssitor."\n\n"Uh... yeah," you reply with a nod, letting your voice settle to a normal volume since the tunnel seems to do all the sound carrying you need. "Glad to hear it. Sorry if I'm disturbing you, I didn't think anyone was actually here. I came to get an artifact that... well, it was supposed to be abandoned."\n\n"Oh, that old thing?" the voice answers, cheerful but with a hint of a scoff, as if dismissing your goal's worth out of hand. "I wouldn't mind in the ssslightessst if you took it. In fact you'd mossst likely be doing me a favor. A cssertain sssomeone ssspendsss all their time... well, nevermind, nevermind. I'd be perfectly happy to come out and help you take the sssilly old thing, cssertainly."\n\n"I'd appreciate it," you answer, trying to keep the natural dubiousness out of your tone.\n\n"Although, I really mussst sssay, that light of yoursss isss giving me a headache, boy. Do be a good lad and turn it off?"\n\nAh... yeah, you guess it would be pretty rude to shine these migraine-inducing lights right in someone's face as they came out of the tunnel. On the other hand... you're reeeeally not sure you trust this guy. If he wants them off you kind of want to keep them on just to make sure.\n\n<hr>\n[[Turn them off.|LeoCat]]\n\n[[Keep them on.|LeoCat]]\n\n[[Change the light.|LeoCat]]

The tunnel does look like it goes in the general direction of the next room, just from a glance. You move over to it and lean in carefully to check, letting your lights shine inward. No sign of any traps, and it seems to have a decent amount of clearance inside. You reach a hand out to rub testingly at the surface. It's fairly smooth, though the top and sides are mostly still rough, while the further down it goes the smoother it gets. Almost like...\n\n... Hm. Almost like something routinely comes through here and has worn the stone smooth in the places it travels over the years. Maybe these ruins have some inhabitants after all. You see no sight of them, though, so if the tunnel goes to the next room they're probably there, and you would have had to deal with them anyway. The likelihood of them actually being in the tunnel right now seems low, and if whatever it is is in there, hopefully your lights will scare it off.\n\nYou lean forward, preparing to actually crawl inside, then hesitate. Maybe it would be a good idea to call out... not that you're particularly expecting an answer, but it might make something in there make a noise and give you some warning. And if it does turn out to be sentient and not innately hostile... well, it's just polite! Not that you still might not shoot them if they turn out to be hostile, but still, it's sort of the difference between an announced visit and a home invasion at the end of the day.\n\n<hr>\n[[Call out.|LeoCat3x2]]\n\n[[Just go ahead.|LeoCat]]

Mekor blinks. "The what?"\n\n"I mean, I just assumed that most of the workers here are slaves, right?" You glance over at a few of the scantily-clad and collared workers, then glance back at Mekor, who nods in acknowledgement but still looks confused. "So where do you breed more of those?"\n\nHe opens his mouth, then closes it. "Usually they're just captured, and sometimes they do breed with each other, but that's usually of their own account." He brings a hand up and scratches in his beard thoughtfully. "Though now that you mention it, it seems a bit silly that I've never thought to actually try and breed slaves and soldiers. The ones born to it are usually way easier to train and less likely to try something foolish." You're surprised when he puts a big hand on your shoulder, actually giving you a fond look. "Look at you, not here a day and showing me where I've been blind to the potential of my own facilities."\n\nYou blush and duck your head, then smile up at him. "Well, shall we give it a try, then?"\n\n"Aye, aye let's." Mekor considers for a moment, then snags one of the passing slaves, a dwarf who's actually wearing pants rather than just the usual briefs. "Go to the main house and get Moira, bring her to the breeding room and put in the support frame. Probably best not to tell her that's where she's going though. And send a runner over to the barracks and tell Kovan to report to the breeding room too, tell him he doesn't need to bother with his armor."\n\nOnce the dwarf has gone hurrying off, you follow Mekon over to a short flight of stairs that leads up to a small room with a lightly-tinted pane of glass, next to which is a metal bar with a number of colored glass domes set atop it. Outside the glass is a very large room, with a number of blocks and bars with various leather straps and chains attached to them, as well as a few areas that look more machinery-like. "Moira and Kovan...?" you prompt.\n\n"Aye, a buxom housemaid, body very much meant for breeding and mothering now that I think about it," Mekon muses aloud. You quirk your eyebrows... you'd be jealous if you didn't think he meant it purely in terms of livestock now. "And Kovan's a young buck guard, good fit body. Both prime breeding age so whatever we get off of them should be decent, but we'll judge how much the spell needs tweaking after."\n\nYou almost ask 'Spell?' but assume that will be answered soon enough. After a few minutes the large doors open and the dwarf slave leads in a female slave, a tiger woman with large, full breasts, a slightly outward-curving tummy, and wide hips. She looks around in obvious confusion, flicking tail betraying her agitation as she nevertheless follows the dwarf over to one of the setups, the main part of which is a low T-shaped bar with upward curves at the edges of the top, and a cluster of other rings down near the base. When the dwarf attempts to bend her over it, her eyes widen in realization and she begins to struggle, but his stout strength is apparently more than a match for her and she's shoved forward, her belly pressing against the bar and those outward curves immediately swinging together, snapping closed against her back. She's immediately lifted upward and off her feet, kicking and squirming in the air as the rings at the base lift up and extend outward on thin armatures, fastening around her ankles, thighs, upper arms, wrists, and her neck. Her legs are forced to spread wide open, her arms bent and fists pointed ahead of her... one of them even fastens close to the base of her tail and holds it lifted and high as the dwarf steps in and unties her leather briefs, pulling them off to reveal her pink slit covered in white fur and the pink pucker of her ass. The dwarf takes a moment to give an appreciative look of his own, then turns and walks away, just a bit of sadness that he wasn't picked for this particular assignment showing in his stride.\n\nThe tigress continues to wiggle and struggle in her bonds, but it's not doing much good... the little bar-shaped arms of her restraints may look thin, but they're obviously incredibly strong and don't shift in the slightest, her struggles accomplishing little other than making her white-furred tits wobble heavily below her. It's another few minutes before a young olive-skinned man in boots and a red loincloth walks in, his otherwise well-muscled body on display. He looks more confused than anything else by the sight of the struggling, captive tiger-woman in the restraints, although he whirls in obvious surprise as the doors slide closed behind him. Mekor unhesitatingly reaches over and taps on several of the glass buttons, rune circles blaring to life on the walls and floor of the chamber below.\n\nThe change is immediate, Moira gasping and arching in the restraints, her nipples instantly hardening and her white-furred pussylips swelling and growing damp. The effect is even more obvious on Kovan, his eyes glazing, then igniting with a brutish fire as he clenches his fists and arches his back, letting out a feral roar as his cock surges to such extreme hardness so fast that the loincloth simply snaps off, his cock jutting out before him, veins standing out starkly across its surface. He pounces forward more than anything, grabbing the tigress's waist and thrusting into her pussy like skewering a wild boar with a spear. He immediately begins pounding into her, not a single sign of intelligence or thought on his wild, snarling face, just a pure, bestial need to breed, to plant his seed in the female in heat before him. By the way the tigress's eyes have rolled in her head and her tongue has lolled out, any thoughts she had left in her head after the activation of the spell have quickly been fucked right out of her brain, her body twitching and shuddering with the desire to be impregnated by the rutting stud behind her, her heavy tits jiggling energetically below her as the human buck slams his hips against her generous furry ass. Both are grunting and drooling, a pair of intelligent beings instantly reduced to nothing but mindless animals trying to make more animals.\n\nYou bite your lower lip, sliding a hand under your improvised skirt to start stroking your fingers over your own damp pussy as you watch the magically-induced breeding session below. You glance over at Mekor, who seems to be watching the scene with about as much mild interest as you assume he'd have watching a pair of horses go at it... but maybe it's your imagination, but there might be a bit of an outline of his cock in the front of his leather apron, indicating it is having some effect. Maybe he'd be willing to, ah... 'fool around', as he called it.\n\n<hr>\n[[Present to him.|ValWP]]\n\n[[Just enjoy the show.|ValWP]]

"Kai, looks like some of the decorations on the big tree have come loose, could you go fix them real fast?"\n\n"Sure, Uncle Tai." Grinning, you get up from where you'd been sipping a glass of punch, pausing to lean down and peck the blonde man on the cheek. He grins like you just made his day, then returns to his comfortable conversation with your father, Qrow making a face as his friend yet again brings up the infamous Uniform Incident. You turn and head for the door, pausing as Ruby calls to you.\n\n"Hurry up Kai! It's almost time for Birthday Candy Extortion!"\n\n"Ruby, you're twenty-one," you reply with a roll of the eyes, leaning your hand on the door frame.\n\n"Uh, so?" Ruby pouts at you. "I'd like to hear what else I'd do on Birthdayween!"\n\n"When you're twenty-one, you don't go out and trick-or-treat, you go out and drink," you inform her. At least you're pretty sure, since Halloween is only a Thing for you in the last few years.\n\n"Yeah but nasty ol' booze doesn't taste like candy," Ruby answers smugly, putting her hands on her hips and jutting her not inconsiderable chest out.\n\nFrom where she's sitting next to Blake with her arm draped around the other woman, Yang shrugs. "I mean, they make candy-flavored vodka and stuff." Almost instantly she winces and ducks her head, grimacing as she slowly looks around the room. "Ooooooops."\n\n"You've done it now," Blake says dryly, shaking her head.\n\nRuby inhales a long and dramatic breath, hands clasped over her mouth, before she whips around and points at where the very nonplussed Taiyang and Qrow are sitting. "You said all alcohol tasted like Unca Qrow's whiskey! LIARS!"\n\nSnickering and deciding to skip out on the latter half of this argument, you slip out of the door and head for the 'big tree' on the hill behind the house, a garland of large, glowing jack-o-lanterns draped around it, but currently hanging so that all the rows of it are sort of sagged together. As you're hefting it back up into place, you take a moment to look at the house and your immediate family chattering within, and over the roof to the road beyond. You can already see the lights of ground vehicles winding down it... more friends and family coming to visit and celebrate Ruby's birthday, likely knowing they'll be roped into 'Birthday Candy Extortion' and then giving the fruits of their labor to the birthday girl, which has practically been a tradition since... \n\nYou look up at the sky, taking in the wide band of bright blotches across the sky... Remnant's asteroid belt, once its moon. You have to admit you sort of miss the old shattered-but-mostly-whole look to it, it was pretty striking. The children born in the last few years, and in the future... like little Sterling Heliotrope, just this month big enough to travel, and big enough to be put in a little pumpkin outfit to be squealed over and cooed over and probably have his candy stolen by Aunt Ruby... will grow up with that band of stones like a necklace lighting the night sky.\n\nBut they get to grow up, you think with a smile. Because of you. Because of your family. That's not a bad feeling.\n\nCaw.\n\nYou blink, looking up into the branches of the tree. It takes a second to pick out the inky black red-eyed bird perched in its branches in the night, and another second to realize it's not one of the small Nevermores that frequently show up in the forests of Patch. You stare at it with your red eyes, and it stares back with its, until you finally speak. "Well, if you came all this way you must have something to say. Out with it."\n\nThe bird stares for a moment more, then flaps its wings and takes off, curling around the trunk of the tree... around which steps Raven Branwen, a hand resting on the butt of her sword as she smirks at you. "I must say, I do like how forward you are. An admirable trait in my brother's little pseudo-bastard."\n\n"'Adopted' is a word, you know," you reply dryly, shaking your head. \n\n"Mm. You know, I heard that you impersonated me once."\n\n"'Became you', more like." You eye her for a moment, then quirk a slim red eyebrow. "I didn't enjoy it."\n\n"... Mm. Maybe you don't know the real me, then," she says loftily, turning away... and deliberately not letting her eyes alight on the warm, happy scene inside the house, everyone cheerful and bright as they get up and move to deliver a string of hugs to the white-and-orange clad Weiss who just walked in.\n\nYou stare at her for a long moment, glancing between her and the house, and finally shaking your head. "Is that what it's all about? You're afraid of someone knowing you?" When her head snaps towards you, you scoff softly and look away, suddenly feeling far too much like you're looking in a mirror, and this time without any hair dye involved. "No, I know what it is, you're afraid there's nothing worth knowing."\n\n"... You remind me of Summer Rose," Raven says coolly, her eyes narrowing. "But without the charm."\n\n"Yeah, Dad says that sometimes. Uncle Tai too. 'Charm' was never my big selling point, but I'll take the compliment." You give her a lopsided grin, that turns almost sympathetic as you add, "She knew you, though, didn't she?"\n\n"... I suppose she did," Raven says, folding her arms over her chest and turning away. "And... I suppose she forgave me for who I was."\n\n"Did you ever think that she didn't forgive you for who you are," you reply quietly. "But that she just accepted it?"\n\n"..." A little bit of the hard edge melts out of Raven Branwen in front of your eyes, something like real vulnerability edging in, as if you'd just taken away one of the support beams holding up her spine. "You... don't think she forgave me?"\n\n"That's not what I meant." You take a step closer. "I don't think she felt like she needed to. ... But it sounds like maybe you need to forgive yourself." She attempts to toss a scoffing, dismissive look at you, but the pain in her eyes is too obvious, and you press on. "That's why I became you that day. That's why I pushed Yang. Because she knew that everyone around her trusted her and believed in her... but she'd lost trust and faith in herself. I guess she needed to forgive herself for losing... for what she lost. Because no one else blamed her, but she blamed herself. And she had to stop."\n\nRaven snorts aloud now, shaking her head, still looking away. "Idiot. It's not the same at all. Yang lost a fight, and I-"\n\n"Betrayed your family? Left them? Hurt them? Turned against everything they stood for?" you prompt genially, seeing her wince, her emotional armor in shambles now. "Yeah. You did."\n\n"... Exactly. So... even if I needed to forgive myself," Raven declares haughtily, as if struggling with the last of her strength to deny she had ever done anything wrong, ever, in her life. "What exactly makes you think they would?"\n\n"Forgiving is apparently what family's for, so I hear from a very reliable source. Besides, only one way to find out," you reply, grinning even wider. "If you're not a pussy-ass bitch."\n\nRaven's head snaps towards you, red eyes going wide... then she lets out a short, shocked bark of laughter. When she turns towards you she hurriedly raises her hands to wipe at her cheeks. "Gods, it really is as if my brother and that sweet little idiot had a child."\n\n"Thanks. Again." You don't stop smiling as you offer her your hand. "C'mon, Auntie Raven. You're invited to the birthday party."\n\nShe looks at your hand. She looks at the house, through the door at the happiness and warmth happening inside. And she looks into the night, and almost runs, it's etched in every part of her body.\n\nAnd she places her hand in yours.\n\nKai's Story - Epic of Remnant End - A party with the whole family

You turn your attention to the scroll listing the discovered Origin Souls of sufficient power to be worthy of the Dark Monolith's attention.\n\n<<if $effiavailable is true>>[[Effiel|EffiRecaptureStart]], the elven archer/cleric. The original soul captured for this Dark Monolith, now made available again by being released to the ether.<<endif>>\s\n<<if $effibus is true>>Effiel the former elven archer/cleric, currently one of your loyal succubus minions... in fact you can see her prancing about the throne room now, shamelessly displaying her caramel-skinned body and flirting with her fellow succubi. If you want to experience the fun of capturing her again, you'd have to [[release her to the ether first|EffibusRelease]].<<endif>>\n\n<<if $redcaptured is false>>[[Red|RedCaptureStart]], a skilled monster slayer. She apparently occasionally kills demons, too, so taking her out of circulation by putting her in the tower seems like it would be a benefit to devilkind everywhere.<<endif>>

You've heard stories about elf Slayers like this one... you're not entirely sure you'd feel safe even locking her in a mouse cage. It seems likely the only real thing to do is to let this little game of cat and mouse play out the rest of the way. You make your way through the rooms of the house and step out onto the back porch, giving a call of "Oh, Tiger!" before upending the improvised bag and dumping a small, pale grey mouse onto the wooden slats, briefly stunning it.\n\n"Tiger?! A tiger?!" the transformed elf squeaks in a dazed tone... before giving a much louder squeak and trying to scrabble its legs as your landlord's big stripey cat saunters out of the shadows, its yellow eyes glinting. "That's bigger than a tiger! Stay away! Noooooooo!"\n\nYou stay just long enough to confirm that Tiger's done his job before stepping back into the house, feeling no particular desire to watch the aftermath. If that sword had gotten much farther you might be a bit more inclined to take some pleasure in her fate, but as it is, it was just survival. You return to your room, briefly holding up the dress. "... Nice. Suitable for either combat or a fancy dinner reception." You fold it up and tuck it into a trunk you keep specially warded to thwart scrying and detection spells, along with the rest of the elf's things. You should be able to use them yourself someday, but best to keep them out of sight for at least a year or two.\n\nUnpleasantness aside, you've definitely had proof that the Amulet of Change works, and possibly even better than described. You were half exhausted from making the amulet itself, but even what you had was more than enough to overcome an elf's spell resistance and force of will and turn her into a mouse virtually instantaneously. If it could do that, virtually anything is on the board. But at the moment what you really need is some sleep, and you let yourself collapse into bed face-down on the pillow, quickly passing out.\n\nWhen you awaken it's late afternoon. You stare blearily at your clock, your brain gradually waking up enough to process that you missed all your classes. ... Oh well. Trying to focus today, after practically turning yourself into a minor god last night, probably would have been difficult. (Yeah okay rein it in Hera, you're gonna get yourself toppled or something if you start thinking like that.) You push yourself up and prepare a cube of ramen to help you remind yourself that you're not particularly all-powerful yet, before adjourning to the shower. And there you ponder your next move.\n\nObviously you need to do a bit more of a test run with the amulet... or rather, have some fun with it, if you're honest about your goal. You're pretty sure that you can manipulate your form and those of others even more thoroughly than the simple, straightforward panic-job you did last night, if you have the time to think and apply some more delicacy with your mental casting. The question is, where to start?\n\n<hr>\n[[Try transforming yourself.|ValNA]]\n\n[[Try transforming others.|ValNA]]

Your name is Valerie, and you're just a month into your second year of college. During your first year you established yourself as someone to come to if you had certain problems and were willing to have an open mind about how they were solved... meaning, with magic.\n\nYou see, for your fifteenth birthday, your cousin Baal told you that you had 'potential' and taught you a handful of simple rituals and potions. The next year, seeming pleased with your progress, she gifted you a special magical tome... at first it seemed to contain nothing but gibberish, but over time as you pored over it and worked on what you did know and understand, more and more of the writing in the book seemed to make sense. You wonder if, once you understand it all, you'll be able to do things like giving promising teenagers incredibly powerful magic books just to see how they do.\n\nBut for now, you're nineteen and managing well enough. Like most people in your family, you tend towards a pale complexion and dark hair, which you let grow long and often tumbles down around your shoulders. You also tend towards wearing all black... various jokes have been made that goth must be genetic to look at you and your cousins. (Your mother and her sister aren't exactly exempt either.) You have dark grey eyes, which require glasses (possibly due to a few too many late nights reading). Your figure isn't quite "hourglass", but you've got fairly full breasts, a slim waist, and hips worth grabbing, when you feel like letting someone grab them.\n\n<img src="images/VoYa1B2.jpg?1">\n\nYour endeavors with helping other students with their problems are twofold... for one, it gives you a chance to practice your powers, and you've noticed that sometimes passages of the book seem to open up for you when you need them for what you're doing, as opposed to simply what you want. For another, you've built up a decent little stash of cash, valuables, other items, and favors... and from some of what you've read in the book, you think you're getting close to a level where you can start trading for at least parts of people's souls. That idea's a bit scary... and very exciting.\n\nIn any event, it's a cool Monday morning, and your only class for the day has been canceled. Which means that you need to decide what to do with your day. You could [[see about taking some jobs|ValJobsStart]]... you have a discrete system established for doing so, and it wouldn't hurt to continue proving you can get things done. You could venture to the [[old library|ValLibStart]] and do some looking around... you've found a few books there that indicate there might be more to the place than just dusty outdated thesis fodder. You could go to the [["new age" district|ValNAStart]] of town... a lot of it's bullshit and hokum, but there are a handful of sincere practitioners there, both simply spiritual and practical. And of course there's always [[studying your tome|ValTomeStart]], there's generally something to go over and discover with it. Sometimes just spending time with it seems to open up new avenues.

"Hmmm..." Settling your hand on Kit's pert (and now slightly pinked) rear and rubbing rather than spanking, and smirking at the way she squirms even more, her cheeks turning rather pink too, you say, "You know, Kit, how about you and I go on a mission together?"\n\n"R-really?" Despite her obvious embarrassment, her ears perk up and her eyes sparkle as she looks up at you from her face-down position on your lap.\n\n"Mm-hmmm. I think you could use a little more experience... it might not necessarily teach you to be a better secretary, but I do want you to become a great merc, after all."\n\n"Thanks, ma'am," she murmurs bashfully, giving a soft squeak as you give her a very light poke on her cute little pucker, her tail fluffing out briefly. "Um, but I really get to go on a mission with you? Just you and me?"\n\n<hr>\n[[Yes, just the two of us.|KiMentor]]\n\n[[No, it will be a group mission.|KiMentor]]

Yeaaaah let's just be honest, when you decided to go "outside" it was because the place where there's tons more games, collectibles, and other fun stuff is outside. Specifically several train stops away. Starting to feel a bit brighter about your departure from your gaming equipment, you turn and head down the stairs, practically trotting down the sidewalk to the train station.\n\nOnce you learned about Akihabara from the internet, it pretty quickly became one of your favorite places. All these exquisite toys and beautiful figurines and so. Many. Games! And other fun stuff that you had no concepts of in your world. ... Well okay you had things that were kiiiinda in the same general vicinity as some of this stuff, but not exactly. Every world has brothels, but this world came up with the idea of cafes where the girls are dressed extremely cute and just act nice to you and flatter you and so on. Who does that?! Japan does that! And you've discovered how charming it can be! How wonderful!\n\nYou take a deep breath as you take out of the station. Ahhh, otakus and consumerism! ... Actually it doesn't smell that good objectively, but. You take a look around, trying to decide what to do. In the process you notice that someone's actually set up a [[job-seeking station|SiphaJobStart]] beside the station entrance/exit, featuring both official pamphlets and a posting board. Huh... not exactly something you need, but it wouldn't hurt to give it a try, just to attempt something new if nothing else. Besides, having at least a little income might be good in case your nest egg and "consultant" fees ever dry up.\n\nAnyroad, let's see, down that way is one of the better [[shopping|SiphaAki1x1]] areas, as well as the [[arcades|SiphaAki]], and [[manga cafes|SiphaAki]].\n\nThe other way leads to the [[karaoke bars|SiphaAki]], the [[cafes|SiphaCafesStart]] (maid and otherwise), and the [[host clubs|SiphaAki]] (as well as their even less savory counterparts).

"But of course I'm here to see you and your wares, Orrin!" you declare in a mock-scandalized tone, putting a hand to your chest. "Why, the very idea that I'd come here just for the latest clued-in gossip!"\n\nBoth of you have a little chuckle over that, before Orrin moves over to the divider and lifts it up, allowing you to walk around the counter and follow him into the back area of the shop. It's almost as large as the front, albeit not as prettied-up as the other part, mostly consisting of file cabinets, a handful of safes of various sizes, boxes, and tables, as well as an area that's obviously Orrin's office. "I got in some interesting stuff since your last visit. I'm not entirely sure about some of it... I don't always have access to the resources some of my customers have for research," he notes as he starts collecting some boxes and setting them out. "So I don't even necessarily pull these out for everybody. But I can rely on you to not cheat me, so you get all access."\n\nGrinning at him, you cross over to the table he's at as he sets down a plastic tub filled with vacuum-sealed plastic bags. "So what have you got here?"\n\n"Guy came in and said he was a specialist in hunting down cryptids and mythologicals. Apparently knew that some parts of them are useful for spellcasters but wasn't otherwise a practitioner himself, so he sold 'em to me for a batch price. I'm not 100% sure what all of them are, but they're definitely not just normal animal parts."\n\n"Hunh." You follow him as he moves a bit over and sets down a wooden box. "What's this?"\n\n"Mythril."\n\nYou blink at that, staring at him in disbelief. "You're shitting me."\n\n"Nope, tested it myself. It's a wire, less than a gram of the stuff, but it's the purest, most reactive mythril I've ever seen."\n\n"Shit, Orrin, an elf finds out you have that, they'd have your head off your shoulders before you could say 'fudge cookie'."\n\n"Which is one reason I'm willing to part with it for slightly less than would beggar a nation." He sets out a handful of bottles and vials next. "I've also gotten in some fairly rare spell and potion components, stuff I don't get in very often."\n\n"Mm. And... what about herbal components?" you ask with a grin.\n\nOrrin chuckles at that, crossing over to a cabinet and opening it to reveal rows of vacuum-seal glass jars lining it. "Yup. Various of the regular, and also a few new strains that I haven't even tried myself yet. My supplier assures me they're fantastic, though, they've been cultivated and grown with magical talent after all. Anyway, what are you actually interested in today?"\n\n<hr>\n[[The creature parts.|ValNA]]\n\n[[The mythril.|ValNA2x2]]\n\n[[Rare components.|ValNA]]\n\n[[Herbs.|ValNA]]

The pay on the search and rescue job is actually really good... hopefully that means you won't be stuck babysitting some hapless techno-weenie who only knows how to work scanners. But since it looks like they're using Guildcerts for both roles, probably not, everyone who joins the Guild has to be at least a little combat proficient. You go through signing up for the job, since it's an application process, but you're pretty much immediately approved. Sweet, nice little boost to the ego.\n\nYou head to a room to access your Vault, changing to a slightly heavier armored shirt, fitting yourself with a few backup pieces and an all-purpose utility knife, and choosing a good multi-purpose rifle with repliammo for the basic firing mode. Then you head to the shops to stock up on rations, water, and other necessities... the job listing said you should expect to be deployed into the rescue zone for up to a month, and while the implication is that you'd be able to forage for foodstuffs in the dwellings and businesses that have been abandoned, you definitely don't want to rely on that.\n\nAfter that you do a quick once-over, making sure you've got all your gear specifically for this job and all the general job stuff you usually take, then head to the departure portal terminal. It must be a busy day, because you have to walk through the labyrinth-like hallway of white sliding-door cubicles for quite a distance to find a portal that's not on cooldown. Eventually you spot a green light and hurry over, bringing up your profile and selecting your active job, the cubicle door sliding open to reveal a swirling disk of innumerable shades of white.\n\nYou step out into what looks like a high-tech corporate office, just with practically all the furniture removed. A light-skinned, black-haired woman in a suit, all professional hairdo and attitude, gives you a Pleasant Smile™ as you arrive. "Hello, Guildcert LaChance, welcome to Hyrion. I'm Facilitator Larian. Combinicorp would like to thank you very much for your agreement to participate in this humanitarian mission."\n\nWhich makes it sound like you're doing this as volunteer work. Maybe they're hoping you feel bad about getting asked to save people and that you'll turn down your paycheck at the end. ... Luckily you're, y'know, a mercenary, so you just give her a Pleasant Smile™ right back. "Always glad when my job allows me to help people."\n\n"Mm, yes." Yeah you definitely get the feeling you fended something off there by the slightly reduced sparkle in her eyes. "In any event, while more thorough information documents will be available to you in transit, let me give you a quick briefing. Some time ago, several minor natural disasters struck the island city of Omeron at once. The bridges and ports were effectively destroyed, and lingering storms make air travel at least mildly hazardous at all times. The government moved quickly... to declare Omeron a disaster zone sufficient to be disavowed. It now exists as an extrajudicial area, and we suspect a number of companies, foreign governments, and even our own government area using it as they please, including kidnapping the residents or using them as test subjects while in place."\n\n"Sounds rough," you answer, frowning. "'Search and rescue' doesn't imply I'm providing support for extracting large numbers of people, for sure."\n\n"No, the majority of the populace was able to evacuate before the disavowment went into effect, but many were either left behind or stayed behind. Those that are left are probably scattered and possibly hiding, so we're sending in teams of unaffiliated third-party individuals such as yourself to look for them. Your job will be to find them, signal for one of our pickup crews, and to the extent that you can insure that they are stable for transport and the vehicle can land."\n\n"Sounds very doable," you agree with a nod. "I'm being teamed with a search specialist, then?"\n\n"Correct. Ah, this should be her now," Larian says, turning towards the door as it slides open, admitting the sound of nails clicking on the floor.\n\nYou turn... and blink, having to angle your head further down to track the movement. Because the person walking in is... a dog. It looks quite similar to a German Shepherd, maybe with just slightly sleeker fur like a Rottweiler, though there's a lot of little differences overall that says it's more than just a case of being a crossbreed of different Earth breeds... probably not actually any of those, then. It's also wearing an armored vest with a number of obvious tech panels on it. Before you can consider much further, it lifts a paw.\n\n"Hey there, nice to meet you," the dog... er, she... says in a pleasant, surprisingly human-sounding voice that you're guessing is partly the work of your translator nanos. "Name's Marigold, I'm the Guildcert you're pairing with on this mission."\n\n"Oh, yeah, hi, nice to meet you," you answer, doing a bit of mental scrambling to catch up, but doing it all the same. Yeah, you don't doubt she's gotten used to quickly announcing that yes, she's also a Guild mercenary rather than... well, something else. You may be a little on your off foot, but you grew up around Guild stuff enough to not be too shocked. "I'm Leo, I'll be watching your back on this."\n\n"Good to have you!" Marigold says pleasantly, lowering her paw and sitting down, tail swishing across the floor just a bit.\n\n"You two will be designated SR-3. Mister Makanti is very grateful to you both," Larian says with a short bow of the head, before walking out the door and down the hall in a 'follow me' way. "Omeron was home not only to a number of Combini storefronts, but to a corporate office, and several of our store brand manufacturing facilities. So not only are the people there our customers, but many of them are our employees. But whether they are or not, Mister Makanti will not abandon them when the government has."\n\nYou're more inclined to think Mister Makanti probably has political aspirations, but you know better than to voice your cynicism about a client's motivations to, y'know, someone who's effectively a client. The building seems to be relatively small, obviously either having been built or quickly converted to handle waiting for people and meetings like this. You try to keep casual and not do much glancing at the sound of Marigold walking along next to you, her canine nails clicking the floor lightly... at least there's no jingling collar tags to really draw your attention. "There will be other Combinicorp teams working in Omeron then?"\n\n"Yes, though we're dispersing you to different zones, so you'll be unlikely to encounter any of them unless you wind up ranging quite far from your original drop zone. Marigold has an IFF beacon that can pick up other signals from our teams, so generally if you see someone else armed and on a combat footing, you may want to assume they're hostile. But obviously be careful about that."\n\n"Right, don't want to shoot any of Combini's loyal customers," you say just breezily enough that you have plausible deniability about it being snark. You do grin just a bit more as you hear a distinct snicker from Marigold though.\n\n"Quite," Larian says dryly, though it sounds like she's not exactly unamused either. "Now there will be a bonus for every successful retrieval you initiate, so do work hard. The storms make keeping in regular communication difficult... the radios we'll provide you with for calling for a pickup are powerful enough to do so, but they need time to recharge between each use, so best only to use them when actually calling for a pickup," she notes as she leads the way out of the building and onto what looks like an airfield populated by a number of squarish, angular vehicles each with four variable-angle thruster turbines. Modified drop ships or air ambulances, you're guessing. "Our evac teams can of course bring you supplies when they pick up people, and may occasionally have specific requests for things for you to do in the area."\n\n"Pretty standard stuff," you agree with a nod.\n\n"Alright. Your briefing materials," Larian says, producing a folded-up tablet from her jacket pocket and proffering it. "The men inside will have your radio."\n\nYou nod to her as you accept the tablet, you and Marigold making your way up the ramp into the interior of the ship, you sitting down on one of the bench seats lining it and Marigold settling to sit on the floor. You take a moment to trade nods with the men wearing a variant on pilot uniforms and helmets, and they nod back evenly in a way that says they're not really interested in chatting. The ramp retracts and the door closes, and soon there's a steady whine and shudder of motion. Unfolding the tablet and starting to browse the automatically prompted text about the area you're being dropped, you say conversationally, "So, you been in the Guild long?"\n\n"A few years now," Marigold answers, her tail swishing lightly again and ears perking up a little. "It's been a bit of a challenge, but I'm making a name for myself with jobs like this. It's really been quite rewarding!"\n\n"Hey, great going," you say, grinning and giving her a thumbs-up.\n\n"Thank you! ... Also thanks for not saying 'good girl'," she adds a bit ruefully.\n\n"Ah, heh, get a lot of that? I didn't think you'd care for it."\n\n"The sad thing is that I dooooo care for it," Marigold adds still ruefully, but a bit of a grin curling her muzzle as she tilts her head, ears flopping to the side. "That's why it's even worse."\n\n"Eheh."\n\n"We're coming up on the storm front, brace for turbulence," a voice says over the intercom a bit later. And indeed, the ship starts shuddering harder, occasionally giving short bucks and drops. Seeming unfazed, one of the uniformed men further into the vehicle gets up, taking hold of hand grips on the ceiling as he walks along.\n\n"Okay we're coming up on the drop point soon. I've been doing this run for a while, so here's my advice: Once you're on the ground, head further in towards the city proper, you don't want to be close to the coast when the storms kick something up. Don't separate, stay as close together as possible at all times. And if you see something that doesn't seem right, shoot first and ask forgiveness after."\n\nYou raise an eyebrow. "Kinda different than what the 'facilitator' said. People getting that savage down there, or is it the intruders?"\n\n"Maybe it's that. Lot of people have come back from Omeron after the disaster saying they've seen some weird shit, that's all I'm saying. Don't have a hair trigger but don't have a lead one either, I'd rather not find your comm amidst a bunch of ripped-up clothes."\n\n'Cheerful,' you think, trading a glance with Marigold. But soon there's a hard thump, and the back doors slide open, revealing the lowered ramp. You're already on your feet and making your way over, Marigold rising to trot at your side, as the man adds, "We try to stay on the ground as short as possible, so always try to be quick about it."\n\n"Got it," you assure him, speeding your walk down the ramp just a little. The weather out is grey and dim, the barest amount of sunlight making it through the clouds above. Obviously the weather isn't quite so bad close to the ground as it is higher up... here it's just sort of constantly misting, a faint sprinkle of dampness on your skin that means you could stand in it for hours and never really get wet but also never feel dry. True to the employee's word, the ship is already lifting into the air as the ramp retracts and the door closes, leaving the two of you standing amidst deserted-seeming suburbs, lawns patchy and overgrown, a few houses here and there buckled or having fallen in completely, and in a few cases burned shells.\n\n"Nice place," Marigold murmurs, her ears perked high as she sniffs attentively, turning her long head back and forth.\n\n"Reminds me of my grandma's neighborhood. Just, y'know... fucked," you comment as you similarly take a keen look around, rifle settled at rest but ready.\n\n"Eheh. So," Marigold says after a moment, turning down the street in the direction of the distant outline of tall buildings, currently just monolithic shadows in the fog. "Make our way towards the city, as suggested?"\n\n<hr>\n[["Yeah."|LeoMari1x1]]\n\n[["No, let's go further out."|LeoMari]]

Check this page immediately after getting an ending to see if there's an epilogue for it.\n\n<<if $deathofdoonianhomecoming is "true">>[[Death of Doonian - Homecoming]]<<endif>>

Oh the Device doesn't like that.\n\nIn fact the moment the inclination even crosses your mind, there's a distinct unpleasant pressure that runs all through you, making you grimace. You can't quite call it 'screaming' because it's not as if the Device ever really vocalizes in any material way, as much as you say it whispers or talks or yells to you for the sake of convenience. Just a hideous press against your mind that says it isn't happy. It dislikes superbeings of almost all kinds, but it despises powered heroes... some powered villains it will tolerate, but its desire to destroy more-than-human do-gooders is one of its few desires that you're 100% certain of.\n\nAnd maybe that's why you defy it. Because every so often, you need to remind it... and yourself... that you're in charge. It's your body, your brain that allows it to get its way at any point at all, and if you don't feel like harming this young woman, well then it will just have to cope with that.\n\n"In any event," you say through lightly gritted teeth, trying not to let the strain you're suddenly under show in your voice. "Good evening, my dear. Remember to keep your head."\n\n"What do you mean keep my heAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" she shrieks as you suddenly wheel, exerting all your influence over the Device to force the tendrils to turn and hurl her up and at an angle, through one of the yawning holes in the roof, her flailing luckily not starting until she's past the broken boards else she might have clipped them and rather disastrously altered her flight path. Instead you can hear her shocked, outraged scream passing into the distance, and then a very distant, faint splash in the bay.\n\nYou'd gotten a good judge of her strength and stamina during the fight, and her durability with that squeeze after. Assuming she doesn't panic from the stunning impact of the water and the feel of it closing around her (thus the reminder) she should be able to swim back to solid land without much difficulty, and likely just a lot of bruises, sore muscles, and wounded dignity to show for it.\n\n'And I doubt she'll appreciate it,' you think sourly, tucking your hands into your lab coat's pockets and directing yourself back towards your lair. The motion of the tendrils as they carry you along, lifting you and swinging you and occasionally hauling you through the air, feels slightly disjointed, more abrupt and twitchy than the usual smoothness of its operation. Which matches the oppressive pressure it's radiating into your mind. It's displeased.\n\n'Oh well. What's another sleepless night?' you think, pressing a hand to your face, your fingertips and thumb pressing into the soft, spongy, slightly aching sagging skin beneath your eyes as they nudge up your glasses. 'It's only five in a row. You can't always get your way, you know,' you add, directed to the Device. There's no response that you can discern... maybe it's already as mad as it can get, tonight.\n\nYour current lair is a warehouse that had been in the middle of being refitted into... well, whatever. It was meant to be one thing and now it's not and now it's not anything but a place for another thing that didn't become what it was supposed to be to keep itself. Your face settles into a sort of numb slackness as you carry yourself through the secure entrance you installed, one of the tendrils slamming the door hatch even though you didn't direct it to be quite so energetic about it.\n\nOppressive. That's the word you keep coming back to. Oppressive, the Device is always so oppressive when you disobey it like this. It's like it throws a soaking wet weighted blanket over your whole sense of self, one that's somehow simultaneously ice cold and boiling hot, so that it feels like your mind is simultaneously shivering and shrinking in on itself and sweltering to the point of passing out. Fucking thing.\n\nYou look around at all your various current experiments dully, seeing if any of them might get a positive reception, or at least some slackening of the torrent of enui it's battering your brain with. But nothing you see... nor any of the other theories, concepts, or ideas you call to mind in your head... dislodges the slightest bit of the weight. It seems the Device is inclined to sulk over your actions, and from experience you know you'll be dealing with this for some time to come.\n\nYou sigh heavily, once more rubbing your eyes. 'Damn. Damn damn damn. I should have just snapped her neck.' But the thought is without any real force behind it, nor is there any genuine fire in the regret. You settle yourself into a chair and try to relax a little, gazing up at the unfinished ceilings, wide gaps in the barely-begun-to-be-installed acoustic panels showing bare metal and beams.\n\nWell. Now what?\n\n<hr>\n[[Try to get some sleep anyway.|Back]]\n\n[[Go back out, get some air.|Back]]\n\n[[Leave. Just walk away from this place.|Back3x2]]

Taking a deep breath, you tap the window to close it, making yourself calm down just a little. Okay, okay, let's just enjoy the game for awhile without, y'know... leaving a braindead body in your room for your roommate to deal with. (Actually she wouldn't part of your prep for this was hooking the game up to signal a retrieval team that would handle that but still.)\n\nNow you can see a screen floating in front of you that reads 'Character Roster', with the only option being 'Create New Character', so of course you click that. The screen changes to read 'Please choose your genre and character type.' Taking another look around, you realize that all the signs hovering over the sections have names of different fiction genres rather than typical clothing types. Ah, so that's how you start making a character... you go to the section of the genre you want to play, then actually pick out an outfit that goes with the character type to start off wearing. Not bad, not bad, better than standing in front of projected pull-down menus for the fiftieth time.\n\nAlright, so, genre... ahhhh, all of them have so many possibilities for you to lose in fun lewd ways...!\n\n<hr>\n[[High Fantasy.|YamiHFStart]]\n\n[[Low Fantasy.|YamiLFStart]]\n\n[[Sci-Fantasypunk.|YamiFF7Start]]\n\n[[Sci-Fi.|YamiSFStart]]\n\n[[School Life.|YamiSLStart]]\n\n[[Urban Fantasy.|YamiUFStart]]

<<set $permamode to true>>You reach out with a hand that's shuddering so badly with desire that you can barely hit the toggle, but your finger makes contact with the screen and the 'Permanent Consequences' slider clicks over and now shows a reading of 'True'. You instantly drop to your knees and shove both hands between your legs, frantically frigging your pussy while moaning shamelessly in the middle of the virtual department store at the thought you might actually wind up permanently Bad Ended should you so much as lose a level one-on-level one fight.\n\nOnce you've gotten yourself off twice, you catch your breath and climb to your feet, your legs still a little shaky. While you were having your little outburst, the settings window apparently closed automatically, and now you can see a screen floating in front of you that reads 'Character Roster', with the only option being 'Create New Character', so of course you click that. The screen changes to read 'Please choose your genre and character type.' Taking another look around, you realize that all the signs hovering over the sections have names of different fiction genres rather than typical clothing types. Ah, so that's how you start making a character... you go to the section of the genre you want to play, then actually pick out an outfit that goes with the character type to start off wearing. Not bad, not bad, better than standing in front of projected pull-down menus for the fiftieth time.\n\nAlright, so, genre... ahhhh, all of them have so many possibilities for you to lose in fun lewd ways...!\n\n<hr>\n[[High Fantasy.|YamiHFStart]]\n\n[[Low Fantasy.|YamiLFStart]]\n\n[[Sci-Fantasypunk.|YamiFF7Start]]\n\n[[Sci-Fi.|YamiSFStart]]\n\n[[School Life.|YamiSLStart]]\n\n[[Urban Fantasy.|YamiUFStart]]

Konkonkon~, he's gone to such lengths to have some private time without his family home to catch him... so obviously having "his family" come home and catch him is hilarious!\n\nLet's see, a quick peek into his mind past the surface thoughts you were using to get a particularly good look at the doujin... looks like it's just him (Ryo), his sister (Kyoko), and his mother. Even better, an all female cast of authority figures! \n\nNow let's seeeeee... having his sister catching him browsing "oneechan" themed porn would be delightfully extra embarrassing! But then, his mother would obviously be a much more powerful influence and scarier for dishing out punishment! Ah, truly, truly an embarrassment of pranking riches no matter what you pick...\n\n<hr>\n[[His sister.|Konko8x1]]\n\n[[His mother.|Konko7x2]]

You pluck the image, voice, and behaviors of his mother from Ryo's head, then pop yourself to the other side of his door, simultaneously taking on her appearance... ah, it's so nice to live in a day and age where diet, beauty treatments, and medical care lead to so many hot moms! You make sure to manifest her nurse's outfit from work, briefly adjusting the little hat perched atop your now braided black hair and smoothing out the skirt over your round hips. Taking a moment to snicker and giggle to yourself, you clear your throat into the proper voice before plastering an outraged expression on your face and throwing open the door with a slam. "RYO!"\n\n"WAGYAHA?!" Ryo had just been unzipping his pants and wiggling them down when you made your entrance, his flailing flinging the doujinshi to (conveniently) flop open in front of him.\n\nYou don't even bother to look at it... you're fully aware that in his current state, 'Mom caught me' is the only explanation he needs. "How dare you?!" you demand as you stomp across the floor towards him. "Pretending to be sick, just so you can stay at home and look at filth?!"\n\n"M-Mom, wait, I can explain, I WAWK!" he yelps out as you abruptly drop to sit on the bed and yank him forward across your lap, pressing him over the snug white miniskirt portion of your nurse's dress. (Really, his mother's employers must be a bit lewd themselves, you should look into visiting the hospital where she works sometime!) His eyes go wide as you yank down his already undone and loosened pants along with his underwear, baring his ass and letting his still half-hard cock press against your currently rather thicc thigh. "Mom?!"\n\n"This is for being such a naughty boy!" you declare in an utterly serious Mother Tone, before swinging your hand down and swatting his pert ass. He yips in startlement, continuing to make amusing yelps and yowls as you start spanking him regularly, making sure to use plenty of overlap so that the gradually pinker handprints cover most of that adorably (and slightly moreso once you've gone to work) round boybutt. "Here I am going to work, working hard every day, while your sister studies diligently, and you're in here doing lewd things to yourself, looking at filthy comics you shouldn't even have!"\n\n"I'm sorry~!" he wails, his face flushed and tears running down his cheeks. Ah, even if you weren't watching his body's reactions, his thoughts would be truly delightful... a heady mixture of multiple types of intense embarrassment and humiliation, partly at being caught, partly at being bottomless and bent over his rather hot mother's lap, her hand smacking his bare ass and his cock rubbing against her short skirt and thigh, enough to leave a few smears of pre soaking into the white hose that the uniform includes. Some of that's natural... you did give him a really good shock while he was all turned-on and about to masturbate, the sudden rush of adrenaline had already started to create a connection in his mind, you're just egging it on the tiniest bit with your magic to nurture it!\n\n"You had better be sorry!" you declare, bringing your hand down on his dark pink ass, hard enough to make him yowl lightly. You let your hand rest there momentarily as if it weren't an issue, "utterly by accident" letting one of your fingertips brush against his pucker and making him squirm. "Now, you know what you have to do now, yes?"\n\n"W-what's that, Mom?" he whimpers.\n\n<hr>\n[["Never be lewd again!" (Continue pranking him.)|Konko]]\n\n[["Get rid of all your filth!" (Complete pranking him.)|Konko]]\n\n[["Never speak of this again!" (Go check out the hospital.)|Konko]]\n\n[["Fuck Mommy!" (Fuck him. ... Duh.)|Konko]]

From the size, complexity, and luxurious amenities in here, this place has gotta be an administrator's office, right? Chances are they're hiding some interesting stuff in here, worth taking a poke around for.\n\nActually, that [[drink machine|DefSCP]] seems kind of interesting as it is. You don't recognize any of the brands it's displaying with its revolving 'attract mode'... in fact, some of their logos have 'SCPX' on them, that's kind of wild.\n\nYou could rummage through the [[desk|DefSCP]] or the [[computer|DefSCP]] (which you're relatively confident of your ability to access). You could look through the [[books|DefSCP]], or the [[cabinet|DefSCP]]... this room actually seems to have quite a lot of hardcopy, which could make it much easier to find something interesting to take out and study (or even spread around).

(Ego: "Ease up on the doomsday scenarios, would you?"\n\nSuperego: "But what if he's calling for help and we can't hear him? What will we tell his children? We have to do something!"\n\nId: "And the thing we could be doing is kicking down a door!!"\n\nEgo: "Who the fuck is responsible for you two in my life anyway?"\n\nSuperego: "That would be Dr. Freud."\n\nId: "Heh, you know what else he had a lot to say on the subject of?"\n\nEgo: "Shut the fuck up or I will medicate myself into no longer having an inner dialog, clear?"\n\nSuperego & Id: "..."\n\nEgo: "That's what I fucking thought.")\n\nYou take a breath and just wait a few minutes, in case he's in the bathroom or something, then raise your hand to knock again. Of course it's just that moment that Doctor Silver opens the door, and the both of you do sort of a flinch-take at you having the door pulled out from under your knuckles and him suddenly having someone with their fist raised in front of him. It takes a second before everything sinks in and you both compose yourselves.\n\n"Yes... ... Miss Mallone," he says rather coolly after a moment, tilting his head up a little bit so he can literally look down his nose at you. "What brings you by and how can I get you to leave as quickly as possible?"\n\n<hr>\n[["Well that's gratitude for you."|MarSS]]\n\n[["Ah, sorry."|MarSS4x11]]\n\n[["Okay, that does it."|MarSS]]

"Listen, the other day didn't exactly go the way either of us wanted, even if I came out of it looking better," you say, holding up a hand and wagging it a bit. "I know things probably suck right now, and I'm sorry to bother you at a time like this, but I had some questions I needed to ask you."\n\nHe just sort of stands there with that tired, annoyed look for a few seconds, before he sighs and steps back. "Come in."\n\nThe interior of his work area/apartment has a look that says it was meticulously cleaned, ordered, and presented less than a week ago, but a natural inclination to some untidiness and possibly a tantrum or two have already rendered parts of it into a mess. You make a point of not paying attention to it as you follow him towards the kitchenette area, stopping a polite distance away as he starts brewing another pot of coffee without bothering to ask. "So what is it you wanted?" he says, in a slightly less chilly tone than before.\n\n"It's about the image consultant firm you hired. Look this isn't about making a big deal in the press, I'm not going to spill the beans or give an interview or whatever," you note as he shoots you a look. "It just seems like they were probably involved in what happened, and I'm trying to get to the bottom of it."\n\nHe stares at you for a moment again... then lets out a relieved-sounding rush of breath, rubbing in his rumpled hair with one hand. "I'd found myself thinking much the same thing... but assumed I must just be looking for a scapegoat. It seemed ridiculous to think an image consulting firm could sabotage my AI without me knowing... ... perhaps it is ridiculous, but it's still a relief to hear someone else come to the same conclusion."\n\nYou're a little offended at him calling the theory 'ridiculous' since you were actually sort of proud of coming to that conclusion, but you brush it off for now. "So who was it you hired?"\n\n"A firm that approached me shortly after I put in the bid at the city government office, 'Kigam Imagery'," Doctor Silver says, leaving the coffee machine burbling and heading over to one of the file cabinets set seemingly at random against various walls. He opens a badly-organized drawer and rummages around. "I'd never heard of them, but then I'd never done something like this before to know about them, so I assumed that was normal."\n\n"And let me guess, you haven't been able to get in contact with them since everything went down."\n\n"No, which certainly stoked my suspicions that I'd been set up... but on the other hand I had to admit that maybe they were just ducking my calls, or had decided to 'rebrand' without a word after being connected to such a public disaster," Silver huffs as he walks back over, proffering a contract folder. "Here, if it will help, this is the contract I signed with them."\n\nYou take it and flip through it... looks like fairly normal legalese to you, not that different than what you signed with 3S. "So who were you actually talking with over there? Did you ever visit their place?"\n\n"No, all of our consultations were over the phone... if they sent someone over to help with something like painting or fabrication, they were contractors," Silver says with a sigh. "My contact with them was a woman who went by 'Lex', who was very pleasant, but now..."\n\n"Right." You nod thoughtfully, then hold up the contract. "Could I take this? Or a copy of it? It might give me a starting place to try tracking these people down."\n\n"Very well. I suppose there's a chance, however small, you might wind up vindicating me as well."\n\n'Guy really needs to work on his attitude,' you think in a mild seethe as you head back over to the studio, returning to Style's office and briefly running down the results of your meeting. "So yeah, 'Kigam Imagery' is obviously a front for whoever wanted to sabotage Silver, but the why is still a huge mystery, let alone the how."\n\nYou'd have expected Style to responed with some elaborate musing poses, or some immediate elaboration, but instead she just stares at the contract for a long moment. She glances at you, and without a word walks over to one of her sketching boards, picking up one of the pens and writing 'KIGAM IMAGERY' on it.\n\nThen, below the first word, writing last letter to first, 'MAGIK'.\n\nYou stare for a moment, then look at Style. "You're saying that this is, what, WOWW trying to come back? But would they really be that obvious?"\n\n"A lot of supervillains are a particular kind of arrogant that assumes that both everything they come up with is too clever to be comprehended by anyone else, and by the need to 'subtly' brag," Style says as she caps the pen and turns back to you. "In this case, though, it was obvious the moment you said 'Lex', because she's both of those things to a T."\n\n"So you know who this is?"\n\n"'Know' would probably be a slight overshot, but let's just say my certainty is about the same as the birth control we put you on when you started, so 99.9%," she says dryly. "But yeah, this is almost certainly the work of Alexandretta, ay-kay-ay Visigoth."\n\nYou raise an eyebrow. "Visigoth? So like, what, old barbarian magic? Conan-style stuff?"\n\n"Not by a long shot. It was the catchy little name she came up with for her particular fashion style, a blending of Visual Kei and Loligoth. She was the sort of fashionista that could tell the difference at a glance and was very insistent that her particular blend of the two was unique and distinctive, and frankly Substance and I are the same sort, so."\n\n"So you guys were, what... friends?"\n\n"We started out that way, early on. She even made a brief go of being a hero, but she went to the dark side because, and I quote, 'Being evil increases your fashion rating by a remarkable amount'."\n\nYou stare at her again, then rub your face with both hands. "No offense, but superfashionistas are exhausting."\n\n"None taken, I've worked with enough of them to be unable to argue that. In any event, Alexa was a fairly talented witch, and wanted to be big in WOWW, but could never get the decidedly old-fashioned leadership to take her seriously because of her age and style. So it doesn't surprise me that after its downfall she's been working on a plan to reform it, but this time with herself at its head."\n\nYou nod slowly, thinking. "So sabotaging Silver was, what... firing a shot in the technology versus magic debate to prove something?"\n\n"No, I don't think so. Or at least, not just that," Style says, turning and strolling to the window while rubbing her chin dramatically. "Alexa may be incredibly arrogant, but she is undeniably brilliant, and not just in fashion. Her plans are cunning, with the exception of assuming her enemies are about half as smart as they are, but to be fair when you assess the general public it can sometimes be hard to underestimate them."\n\nWhich sounds incredibly arrogant in itself, but your issues with public perception lately again make it difficult to argue with her. "So if you know her so well, what do you think her plan was?"\n\n"Mmmmm." Style closes her eyes and tilts her head back, thinking for a moment, before opening her eyes and turning toward you. "I think it really was partly a PR job, just not the one Silver thought it was. See, magic's a lot scarier to people than technology... most of them can work their cell phone, after all, but they can't summon a ball of light into their hand with a word. So the public gets a lot more riled up when there are magical threats... especially after the Summer of Flame... which results in heroes cracking down way harder and faster on magical villains every time they poke their head up. It was one of the big contributing factors to WOWW falling apart."\n\nYou nod slowly again, starting to understand. "So setting the Silver Squad loose with an agenda to take out heroes, which would also naturally scare the public pretty bad, starts tipping the perception of both heroes and normies towards technology being the worse evil."\n\n"And all the better if the Silver Squad actually wound up thinning out the hero population... if you hadn't stopped them," Style notes, making you beam briefly. "It would definitely give the magical villains enough breathing room to rally and actually form up WOWW again properly. Right now most of them are just scattered nuisances who mostly keep their heads down for fear of getting their skulls cracked if they poke them up, if they could take the heat off and get organized again they could be a real problem."\n\nYou nod, plastering a serious expression on. "Okay, what's our next step then?"\n\n"We need to investigate this further. I'd say you could start with the address on the contracts... it's probably just a fake, but as we've established Alexa has a tendency to underestimate her opposition, she may have used an actual address she was staying at and left clues behind. Alternately, you could track down one of the few remaining magical villains, either past or present, and try to get them to tell you something. You haven't had a good interrogation scene yet," she adds with a grin and a waggle of her eyebrows.\n\n<hr>\n[[Go after a magical villain.|MarSS]]\n\n[[Check out the address for Kigam Imagery.|MarSS]]

"I mean, let's just... say, as a hypothetical, that I did consent," you say slowly, turning your glass around in your hands. "What would that... entail?"\n\n"Oh?" The edges of Pulsar's beak turn up in a bit of a smirk... just a bit of one, though his eyes are dancing. "Is that something you're likely to do?"\n\n"Well. Let's... let's say I'm curious," you admit, shifting a little in place.\n\n"Curious what it would mean to be treated like a slutty little girl, you mean. By me."\n\nYou take a deep breath through your nose, and a mouthful of the Aphidiny, only savoring its sort of honey-wood-jam taste for a moment before swallowing. "Yeah," you say, voice coming out as a bit of a rasp. "Let's just say, hypothetically, that I was curious about that. What... would it involve?"\n\n"Mm." Pulsar swirls his Aphidiny around in his glass, eyeing the slightly viscous fluid for a moment before raising his eyes back up to you, still smiling knowingly. "That depends, I suppose. It's rather a broad range of things, to treat you that way. Since we're sitting here talking about it, if you were really just curious, the first time I fuck you I'll probably take it a little gently. Be very direct, use a lighter touch than I might otherwise. But I'll still fuck you very long, and thoroughly, and all night, and you won't forget it ever."\n\n"... I see," you murmur, squirming in your chair, your cock suddenly very stiff in your pants.\n\n"Of course, the very first thing I'd do in any event is make you say it."\n\n"Er, say what?"\n\n"That I'm going to fuck you." The faint smile on his beak is playful now, those dancing eyes fixed on you, and though there's cheer in his voice there's also a certain intensity to it. "So say it, Leo. Say that I'm going to fuck you like a girl tonight."\n\nYou shift your shoulders, your ass gyrating a little on the cushion of the chair, your glass shaking just a little as you bring it up and take another gulp. "... You're going to fuck me like a girl tonight."\n\n"Yes. Yes I am." He chuckles, taking another light sip of his own drink before setting it aside and lifting his hips, sliding his underwear off and down in a smooth, practiced motion before taking a seated position more like the chair was a throne, legs lightly spread. You now have an unhindered view of his large, down-covered balls and the thick, half-hard pink cock flopping over his thigh, and are filled with a strange mixture of anticipation and fear at the realization it's going to be buried deep in your ass before the night is over. "Now. That said. I can just fuck you... satisfy that curiosity of yours... or we can do a bit more of the 'full experience'."\n\n"... Full experience?" you echo faintly, unable to take your eyes off his prick, watching it slowly getting harder, and thicker, and longer, gradually edging up his hip and along his belly.\n\n"Mmhmmm. That would probably involve a bit of roleplay... or cosplay, depending on how you want to interpret it. By the way, take off your clothes," he adds casually, smiling wickedly before adding a firm, "Now."\n\nAlmost before you realize you're doing it you've set down your glass and are unzipping your top, shrugging out of it and dropping it beside the chair, toeing out of your boots at the same time. Shivering a little and biting your lower lip as you watch him watching you with lazy confidence, you undo your pants and slide them and your underwear down, your achingly stiff prick springing free and slapping against your belly, leaving a light smear of pre on the toned muscle as you slide out of it and settle back naked in the chair, bared for his viewing pleasure.\n\n"Very good. Now, as I was saying, that will involve taking you down the hall to the room I keep as a playroom. It's stocked with all sorts of fun costumes and toys I've accumulated over the years, so there, I'd dress you as a girl... what type, well, we'll figure out when we get there," he allows with a chuckle. "If we get there. You see, Leo, if you want the full experience, I'm most likely going to keep it going for... at least several days, until we arrive at our destination. I may or may not even make you keep it up in front of the others on some level, if that's how my mood takes me. So tell me... are you just curious? Or are you very curious?"\n\n<hr>\n[[Just curious.|LeoNova]]\n\n[[... Very curious.|LeoNova5x2]]

"Maybe the... roleplay stuff?" you murmur, looking over towards it.\n\n"Alright then. Go take a look."\n\nYou nod slowly, walking over. It's weird, despite supposedly giving you the choice, it really feels like Pulsar is still the one 100% in charge... after all, you're picking out something to please him as he uses you however he wants. Really, all you're doing is working harder to please him, even as you pick out something exciting to get fucked in.\n\nYou start looking through the various costumes and suits. There's one that's an obvious '[[Elven Princess|LeoNova]]' style outfit, complete with bioplas ears. Speaking of faux bodyparts, there's also a set of [[cat ears and tail|LeoNova]]... no primitive headband and clip on (or plug) here, these would move and act like the authentic thing. You also do a bit of a double-take at what just looks like a pink flight suit... but a closer look shows that it has molded breasts, as well as a visible shaped pussy between the legs and asshole. So it's a [[formsuit|LeoNova]], designed to actually emulate a female body below the neck... just designed to look like a pink and black patterned flightsuit instead of skin tone.

You stare at him, feeling that same sort of fearful excitement when standing on the edge of a cliff and thinking for just a moment how thrilling and insane it would be to jump off. Then you jump. "... I'm very curious. Sir," you add, your voice a trembling whisper.\n\n"Mm, I'm glad to hear that." He stands up, fully hard and truly impressive cock jutting directly at you as he does. "Now, girl, let's go."\n\nYou hesitate only the briefest of moments before obeying, standing up and walking a little stiffly to the door. You have the feeling if he meant you to get dressed, he would have said it. He rests a hand on your shoulder to guide you ahead of him as the two of you step out into the hall, naked and with stiff pricks waving in the air ahead of you, Pulsar enforcing a slow, unhurried gait that essentially displays you to the empty but very public space. You feel flushed, ashamed, and yet so excited as he shows you all the way to the end of the hall and guides you into one of the lifts, the several second trip in it feeling like an eternity before you step out into another hallway. He urges you down it, moving almost as long as you did down the first one before being guided to a set of doors. This looks like some sort of storage space... larger than the crew quarters, but not quite a full cargo area. It's been done up with mostly cabinets, storage bins, and a number of pieces of generic furniture... though you notice in the high corners, there are holoprojectors, the kind that can create environments but generally need solid objects to project over for some things, explaining why the furniture seems so generic.\n\n"Alright, girl, now let's decide how to dress you up. I've accumulated things from all sorts of different cultures and different entertainment medias, so we've got lots and lots of options," Pulsar says cheerfully as he reaches around, gripping your chin in his powerful hand and gently but firmly turning your head towards various of the storage compartments. "Over there is where I keep the 'Full-Blown Slut' outfits. That's the 'Roleplay' wardrobe... moreso than we are already, of course, lots of the more frivolous and amusing options there. Then we have the 'Cute Youth' section... something for you to feel all pretty and sweet as you call me Daddy," he chuckles, giving your ass a light swat and making you jump. "And, hmmm... that's riiight, I haven't used those in awhile, but I do have an amusing collection of 'Baby Play' outfits and accessories. The mood doesn't take me very often, but there is just something sublime about stripping away the entirety of a man's dignity and pride... hard for him to see himself as a man when he's sucking a pacifier and getting fucked in the ass through his diaper, after all," Pulsar chuckles. "Soooo... what will it be, my little fucktoy, hmmm?"\n\n<hr>\n[[Full-Blown Slut|LeoNova]]\n\n[[Roleplay|LeoNova5x3]]\n\n[[Cute Youth|LeoNova]]\n\n[[Baby Play|LeoNova]]

Grinning, you settle into a bit of a crouch, then take off at a run towards the tree at an angle. You leap up and slam a foot into the trunk, rebounding and propelling yourself upward and over the top of the fence, landing with a roll and coming up to your feet, unable to help indulging in swinging your arms wide and striking a little 'Tada!' pose.\n\nThen your eyes widen as near-instantly sirens start going off, searchlights on the edges of the building snapping on and starting to sweep the ground. But far more concerning is the amount of deep barking that starts up, indicating a number of very big dogs.\n\nAnd almost immediately they round the corner of the building, and you see that it's even worse than you thought. Rather than just normal large breeds, it's obvious that these are some sort of mutants, with bulging, thick muscles that are clearly unnatural, and glowing red eyes that shine in the night without the need of reflected light. Each of them also has a sort of weird little squarish metal cap on its head with a pair of small antenna, little crackles of electricity moving between the two tines as they lock eyes on you and charge.\n\n<hr>\n[[Run!|PervSim8x2]]\n\n[[Surrender!|PervSim]]

Operating on instinct as much as anything else, you turn and run for the front gate as fast as you can, hearing the mutant hounds behind you start to bay and bark, even the slavering of their drool practically audible as they take off after you.\n\nPart of you realizes that you really should have known better as one of the faster of the pack almost immediately catches up with you, letting out an angry, almost saurian "GROWF!" as it snaps at you from behind. For a fleeting moment you think that its jaws missed you completely, until it yanks its head and you yelp loudly as your skirt and panties are torn to shreds, sending you stumbling and sprawling to the ground.\n\nIn the time it takes you to roll onto your back and try to back away, the other dogs have surrounded you. Their obviously overclocked muscles are bulging and veiny even beneath their thin coats of fur, the thickening of their shoulders making almost all of them look like bulldogs whatever they started out as. Similarly all of them are drooling and snarling, thick, viscous saliva dripping down from their muzzles. You can also see from this angle... can't really help but do otherwise... that all of their cocks have been enhanced, either deliberately or as a side effect of the process, their balls heavy and pendulous hanging down between their hind legs, their sheaths almost as thick as your wrist, and both similarly covered with bulging veins.\n\nYour eyes widen again as one of them... possibly the leader, steps forward and growls at you. Partly because holy shit these things are scary, but also because he begins to unsheath as he does. It's not just that his cock is huge, pointed and thick and practically dripping with more viscous, clear fluid, but that the bulging veins winding all over it are both visibly pulsing and glowing a strange yellowish-green color. You swallow hard as you realize the dogs' obvious intent, and there's no sign of a handler coming to rescue you.\n\n<hr>\n[[Make a break for it!|PervSim]]\n\n[[Submit and hope for the best.|PervSim8x3]]

Well they're not immediately attacking and the leader's, uh, interest seems rather obvious, so maybe your best hope here is just try to... appease them.\n\n"Heeeey there, big guy," you say in what you hope is a submissive tone of voice, slowly raising your hand up. The alpha and the other dogs are watching you very closely, so you not only keep your motions steady and slow, you have the definite sense of all their eyes being locked on you when you pull up the sweater and your tits come spilling out of it. "This is what you want, right? No need to get rough, I whoa!"\n\nThis last is because the mutant dog quickly steps forward, easily looming over you in your sprawled state, his heavy, dangling balls brushing against your belly beneath your bared boobs and jutting that throbbing, inhuman... well practically inbestial... prick in your face. "Fuuuuck me," you murmur under your breath as you stare at it, then swallow hard as you realize it's probably going to. But better to have at least some control over how that goes... right?\n\nStill moving your hand slowly, though you speed it up as the dog gives an impatient little "growf", you wrap a hand around the veiny canine shaft... just barely, your fingertips almost not able to touch. You swallow hard again, hesitating, but another growf from the dog urges you into motion and you stick your tongue out as you part your lips, slipping the pointed tip of his cock into your mouth. You start swirling your tongue around, trying to ignore how the taste is like a heady, overwhelmingly male one but with a decidedly animal tone, and that the sensation is not only hot but a bit tingly, almost like tonguing a battery. But since it definitely seems to have staved off you being ripped to pieces, you start bobbing your head a bit, mmfing and mmning around the mutant canine cock as you try to keep pleasing your captor(?), actually feeling those glowing veins throbbing against your lips and tongue as you suck on him.\n\nSoon the dog starts thrusting its hips a bit, growling and rumbling lowly as he does, those heavy balls of his brushing against your upper chest and smacking lightly against the underside of your tits. The thrusting pushes his cock further and further into your mouth, and soon it's bulging up your throat, your hand moving to grip around the gradually swelling knot... at least as much of it as you can grip. At least you hope he doesn't try to shove that thing in your mouth. You can hear the other dogs around you panting and giving somehow aroused-sounding little barks, and flicking your eyes around shows their own veiny, throbbing pricks jutting below their bellies, most drooling a thin line of clear but still faintly glowing pre.\n\nYou're not sure whether it's the sheer lewdness of the situation, or some affect of all that pre getting smeared inside your own mouth and throat or what, but your body is getting more and more aroused, nipples achingly stiff and pussy starting to drip, little ticklish trickles running down your taint to your pucker. Your muffled noises around the alpha's prick start turning a bit more emphatic... and then speed up, becoming a bit pleading as he starts thrusting, fucking your face rapidly as he apparently gets closer. You're effectively forced to kiss his knot repeatedly as he shoves everything but it into your mouth and down your throat... but suddenly pulls back. You can feel his knot swell in your hand, pushing your fingers further apart before he starts filling your mouth with cum.\n\nYou're not even sure how you'd describe the taste, if you had to... thick and hot on the sensation, sure, but the taste itself is just... animal. And tingly, and stimulating, and you think you might actually cum a little just from having your mouth flooded.\n\n<hr>\n[[Try to spit it out.|PervSim9x1]]\n\n[[Swallow.|PervSim8x4]]

Without really thinking, more on reflex at having your mouth and upper throat flooded than anything else, you swallow, your eyes widening as you realize what you did when that tingling, thick stuff goes sliding down your throat and into your belly. But apparently now that you've started the reflex has taken over, and you keep swallowing, gulping down the mutant dog's cum with every pulse and shudder of its cock.\n\nAnd with every gulp your mind fogs further, your eyes gradually glazing over and your expression going slack as the glowing mutant jizz immediately starts to make its way into your system. When the alpha steps back, you unhesitatingly sit up and pull off your sweater, shoes, and thigh-highs, discarding the silly human accoutrements that a bitch shouldn't wear before rolling over onto hands and knees, emotionlessly presenting yourself to your alpha. You still let out a pleased moan as he moves forward again and mounts you, thrusting a few times before the tip of his huge, obscene cock finds your entrance and shoves inside you, penetrating and claiming the pussy that already belongs to him.\n\nYour glazed eyes stay fixed forward even as you moan and shudder in pleasure, the changes that are already beginning to come over your body numbing your mind as even your brain begins to transform. Your tits sway heavily underneath you with the alpha's thrusts, soon joined by jiggles and then more swaying as another pair, and then a third, begin to grow in beneath them, the extra sets of tits gradually filling out and growing to match your own. Your arms and hands begin to change, fingers shrinking and pulling inward, as your legs shorten and shift, gradually changing you into something quadrupedal and the perfect height for the alpha and his pack to use.\n\nThe alpha stuffing his knot in you and dumping another load of glowing, mutating jizz deep into your womb only further solidifies the process, your eyes rolling and your body shuddering as your brain slowly and steadily shrinks, shedding unnecessary size and complexity as it streamlines itself for your only real purpose in life now... taking cock. As the rest of the pack begins to take their turns, pumping their veiny, enhanced canine cocks into your now constantly wet and receptive cunt, the changes continue, further molding you to that purpose as well as other changes incidental to it... such as your face gradually pushing outward, taking on a broad muzzle and sharper teeth, making you look vaguely more like the rest of the pack, as does the stunted, stubby tail that sprouts from the base of your spine. Your ass grows larger and rounder, providing pleasant, jiggling cushioning for the hips of the animals pounding into you. \n\nYour cunt deepens and strengthens until it runs almost the full length of your body, while outwardly your pussy gradually plumps up into something more like a half-sphere, fat, thick pussylips designed to capture pointed cock-tips and pleasure knots, jiggling as the swollen balls of cockflesh slap against them, and then ungulfing those thick bestial things eagerly once they're ready to jam inside, swallowing them up eagerly. The same for your ass once it's received several mutating loads, your pucker growing thick and wide between your jiggling cheeks, actually pushing them apart slightly and making itself constantly visible, similarly making it easier for doggy dicks to find their mark and pleasure them once they've stuffed in, taking knots with ease and letting them pop in and out at their owner's will, massaging and milking them.\n\nBy the time the pack has satisfied themselves with you for the moment, you've become a near-brainless sexual abomination, a thing that is clearly no longer human but is also has not quite made it to being a dog. Your six fat human tits sway under you with the steps of your almost-paws, your face a twisted blend of homo sapiens and some breed of canis domesticus, your body hairless and overly sexualized with a fat, wobbling ass and holes like sex toys. Your flattened tongue lolls out the side of your muzzle, trailing a constant stream of lubricating drool that you apply to the alpha as, in one final gesture of his dominance of you, he presents his own fat, thick asshole and you eagerly lap and tongue it, demonstrating your devotion to pleasuring him and every other male thing in existence.\n\nThe pack eventually makes its way back to the kennel, and of course you follow on pure instinct, since that is where the dicks are going. The kennelmaster makes surprised and then pleased mouth-noises and fastens a collar around your thickened neck, leading you about obediently by a leash before fucking you himself... you are, after all, completely and utterly built for doggy-style sex now. Your brain is barely big enough and complex enough to actually process the pleasure taking cock gives you, the enthusiastic sucking and slurping you give his dick once he's finished cumming in your mutated pussy all instinctive, but you're still glad that every male seems to want to use you for sex.\n\nIt's the only reason you exist now, after all.\n\n<hr>\n[[Game Over(?)|PervSim8xEnd1]]

*Main: Caliburn can choose "[[+Equine|CalMaze4x2]]" option in the Labyrinth of Change. (I lost an entire day's writing on this to a power surge. My soul hurts.)\n-Update 2-\n* More Caliburn-horse.\n*Main: Michika can take Lolina's offer to [[be a dancer|ChiLuck1x2]] in her club.\n-Update 3-\n*Main: Michika can teach the Red Team guys in the apartment to [[not let their guard down|ChiBlu1x8]].\n*Main: Defiance can [[check in on running plots|Def1x2]].\n-Update 4-\n* More Defiance.

"... I think I've already fallen in love, if I'm finally honest with myself," you admit, lowering your head. "I just... didn't think..."\n\n"That someone that great could ever feel the same way about you?"\n\nAt your tiny nod, Jaune gently tucks his fingers under your head and tilts it back up. "I know, Kai. I was in love with the greatest woman in the world and I didn't let myself see it because I didn't think she could ever love someone like me. ... My stupid mistake cost us so much time together." His thumb brushes over your chin before he steps back. "Don't make the same mistake I did, okay?"\n\nYou watch as he turns and goes... still seeming lonely, but a little stronger, a little more at peace than he was before. You swallow against the tightness in your throat, hoping that he can love again someday, hoping he doesn't have to be strong alone forever.\n\n... And you think about what he said. About lost time... and about the dangers that are ahead of you.\n\nMaybe he's right. Maybe it's time to stop being a coward. Even if you're rejected... these people do love you, you have to believe that. They won't hurt you or be cruel... even if your love's rejected, they'll be kind to you. But oh dragon would it hurt so badly.\n\nYou hesitate, then peek up at the statue of Pyrrha gazing down at you again. Then you sigh. "Oh... fine." You turn towards it and shake a finger. "But I'm only gonna do this as a favor to you, okay? ... Okay."\n\nYou try to rally yourself. You can't help but cast your mind back to what made you begin to have the faintest hint you might be in love. The thing that drew them to you the most. Their overwhelming-\n\n<hr>\n[[-joy.|KaiRuby1x1]]\n\n[[-warmth.|KaiYang1x1]]\n\n[[-depth.|KaiBlake]]\n\n[[-elegance.|KaiWeiss1x1]]\n\n[[-unity.|KaiRenora1]]\n\n[[-energy.|KaiReese]]\n\n[[-devotion.|KaiIlia1x1]]\n\n[[-pain.|KaiQrow]]

Priority one is to make sure Hammerhead doesn't escape with anything dangerous. So you twist your feet, readying yourself, and when he charges you with a surprisingly thunderous, resonant roar you turn and run, exactly as if he'd spooked you. That seems to encourage him to chase you, as you can hear his pounding bootfalls getting closer and closer right on your heels. And as you hoped, it seems he's sufficiently tunnel-visioned that he doesn't notice you're not heading right for the door, but at a slight angle. Just before the wall you hop up, planting a foot and propelling yourself in a turning leap backward over his head, kicking him in the back of it as you go over. Both his own unchecked momentum and the kick are plenty to send him crashing into the wall with enough force that even though the building doesn't shake, you really feel like it ought to.\n\nHe staggers back, seeming briefly stunned, but you're not taking any chances that he's actually down and out. Instead you quickly yank your sticks out of their concealed holsters and combine them into a staff, swinging it towards the back of one of his knees. It hits, and he staggers again, but just barely manages to not go down, instead twisting and taking a hard swipe at you with a fist that makes you duck back. Already from the way he ran and that one strike you can tell you really don't want to wind up in close quarters with this guy... he's huge but he's also fast and agile. (From shark DNA? Go figure.) You stay at a distance and jab at him with the staff, mostly trying to harry him and keep him off-balance, not wanting to risk him actually making contact... one good hit and you might be down for the count. As well, you want to see if you can angle him around and lead him outside, getting him further away from his cart.\n\nUnfortunately, after the first flurry of strikes, dodges, and sweeps, Hammerhead decides to prove that he's not quite as dumb a hunk of muscle as he might otherwise seem. He apparently realizes that you're trying to keep him away from his loot and starts making short, harsh charges forward, not letting himself build too much momentum, but definitely enough that you're forced to yield some ground or get trampled. You make a few attempts to jab your staff at his nose (they say when you're being shark attacked you boop the snoot, right?), and though he jerks back as if that might indeed be a sensitive spot, he's also clearly used to avoiding strikes there. (Yeah you're clearly not the first one to come up with this line of attack.)\n\nThen he suddenly ducks down and lurches forward in a kind of sweeping motion under one of your swings at his head. His shoulder makes impact with your side and you find yourself abruptly leaving your feet and hurtling backward. There's only a brief moment of disorientation and fear though... Tomiko's tossed you around too often for you to get completely discombobulated from just being airborn. You manage to keep your feet under you and land in a skid, wincing as you duck and have to take a moment to catch your breath.\n\nBut it was definitely all Hammerhead needed to make a run for the cart, grabbing up one of the boxes... but, rather than making a run for it, he instead tears it open. Crap, he must know, or at least suspect, what's inside and that it can help him deal with you! In fact it looks like a-\n\n<hr>\n[[-ray gun.|MarSS]]\n\n[[-cannister of liquid.|MarSS]]

You draw away from him slowly, turning away and pulling your hood up, your head down as your ponyail drifts forward out of one side. Not wanting to look at him. Not wanting to look at the statue.\n\nTwo people you aren't worthy of.\n\n"Kai. What's wrong?" Jaune asks gently, stepping closer behind you.\n\n"Nothing," you reply back, despite your voice having gone a bit hoarse, your hand coming up to rub your arm nervously.\n\n"Please tell me?"\n\nYou're silent for a moment, then let out a soft, sad laugh. "Just... her love for you... bright as the sun and just as warm... it felt really good," you admit, drawing in a hard breath, then letting it out a bit more shakily. "I guess I'm left wishing I could feel like that."\n\n"Why can't you?" he asks earnestly, sounding honestly confused.\n\nYou let yourself look back at him, forced to reveal the tears sliding down your cheeks and framing your wan smile. "Because who the hell would ever feel that way back about someone like me?"\n\n"... Oh Kai," he murmurs in a heartbroken tone, though this time you realize it's for you and not for him. He steps forward, wrapping his arms around your shoulders in a brotherly embrace, hugging you back against him and bowing his head over yours. "... You're such a dumbass."\n\nYou can't help but let out a startled bark of a laugh at that, even as you continue to cry, one of your hands coming up to rest on his arms. "What?!"\n\n"I have no clue who you see yourself as... but the you that you see in the mirror is clearly not the you that the rest of us see every day."\n\n"I dunno what you see either, but I'm not the sort of person people fall in love with..." you murmur, letting your head slump forward over your hand and his arms. "Crushes. Infatuation. Lust. Yeah sure. People 'love' my hair or my boobs or my ass. Hey, they're all nice," you try to quip, but it comes out so empty you just sigh and close your eyes. "And I believe all of you love me. I do. Like family. Like friends. I love you that way too. But the..." You swallow. "The devouring fire of love, the deep, burning intensity that consumes every part of you until... until it touches a part of you that you didn't know you had," you murmur, recalling Yang's words to Blake. "... That isn't for people like me."\n\n"That's for everyone, Kai," Jaune replies instantly, voice quiet but insistent, arms squeezing around you. "Everyone deserves that. You deserve that. If you do think I love you like family... and I do... then listen to me. Believe me. You deserve to fall in love as much as anyone."\n\nYou let out a shuddery breath, a few more tears escaping, your eyes staying closed. "... You don't regret it, then?" you find yourself asking in barely a whisper.\n\n"... No." Jaune raises his head, eyes once more resting on the statue, his face calm and resolved now. "Not even a little."\n\nThen he moves his arms to rest his hands on your shoudlers, turning you to face him. "Kai. If you want to fall in love... let yourself fall in love. Let yourself feel that fire down to a part of you that you didn't know was there. Let yourself believe in what it could mean to feel that way about someone. Let yourself believe you're worth it to love and be loved back... because that's a hope greater than anything we've had so far on this mission."\n\n<hr>\n[[Maybe... someday, then.|KaiRem11x1]]\n\n[[You're... you're already in love with someone.|KaiRem6x2]]\n\n[[... you can't take this...|KaiRem]]

Wait a second! Why are you giving up so easily?! Like, just because he's straight doesn't mean you can't get him to fuck you of his own will!\n\n... Okay so maybe there's something vaguely off with that reasoning, but screw it, you're horny for Slayd and you want him to take you to pound town. The fact that he's not into guys is... an obstacle. Not an insurmountable one, in your opinion. (Also tbqh it really just makes it hotter for you on a few levels so there's also that reason not to give up.\n\nHm. Let's see... while he's conked out, you can pick out a really cute outfit, and maybe do a bit of prettying yourself up a bit in general. You can emphasize the femme a little more, especially in service of getting dicked down by a hunk (with a knot). So here's the plan:\n\nDomesticity.\n\nTass will be away for a while, so you've got an opportunity to play replacement girlfriend. And Tass is not exactly super domestic, so if you can impress him by going above and beyond her usual and show that you're a perfectly acceptable Temporary Girlfriend, well, between being a bit spoiled and a bit horny maybe he'll decide that boypussy is a perfectly acceptable sometimes food. Or at least that's the hope.\n\n'Okaaay, so how to handle this?' you muse as you look through your various drawers, closet racks, and boxes of clothes. And possibly a few costumes. You may have already had a few of those and may have begun accumulating a few more as you prepare for doing streaming stuff. 'Let's see, basic cute girl stuff,' you muse, lifting up a skirt and a drape-y purple shirt. 'Full service fantasy?' you continue on as you lift up a maid outfit. 'Full-on sexy assault?' you muse, glancing at your open lingerie drawer.\n\n... Hm. You glance at your box of jeans and T-shirts. Orrrr there's the other option... reverse psychology, if you will. Actually butch up a little bit to go the whole 'yeah bro!' route. Show him he can be comfy and just bros... and, y'know, maybe eventually go for a little 'no homo, bro' sort of action, yeah? Hmmm...\n\n<hr>\n[[Femme it up.|Riley]]\n\n[[Get maid up.|Riley]]\n\n[[Slut it up.|Riley]]\n\n[[Bro it up.|Riley]]

She's pretty cute after all, and she does seem like she wants to tell you something, whether that something is to hit on you or not. You walk over, and you can appreciate the view here too... she's twenty-something with a nice body, much like Tammi trim in all the right places and thick in all the other right places, wearing a tight lime green one-piece that rides up so far on her hips that it's basically above her waist, over brilliant blue tights, with bright yellow baggy socks above her sneakers. She looks kind of like she was assaulted by a pack of highlighters, but it sort of works with her hair color and the general 'retro' aerobics outfit look.\n\n"Newbie joining up, huh?" she asks with a grin, setting her hands on her hips.\n\n"Yeah, I really need to start actually working out," you answer breezily, since you're not sure if this is flirting or what yet.\n\nAt that she snickers though, red eyes sparkling as she leans in a bit. "Oh c'mon, don't be coy with me. There's only one reason a human wants to join Wild Things... an anthro kink."\n\n"... I mean I'm not sure I have an anthro kink," you hedge, glancing away. Then, rolling your eyes, you add in a mutter, "But my roommate's boyfriend might be giving me one.'\n\n"Heheh, see, see? I knew it. My name's Shelly, by the way, I signed up here a while ago for almost exactly the same reason. My sister's boyfriend was driving me wild with that long lustrous mane and that huge bulge in his jeans, so it was either cause my family to break up or find a good place to get banged by furries, and here we are. Definitely no need to be embarrassed," she adds with a wave of the hand, not that you particularly were. "The anthros here are just as aware that we join up to be their toys as we are, it's the reason half of them join too, so it's a very symbiotic relationship. But since you're new, you need to know the other rules."\n\n"The rules the gym itself doesn't acknowledge," you say with a nod.\n\n"Exactly. Or really it's more of a code. Right next door there's a great workout gear place, it's where I bought all my stuff," Shelly says, smirking as she pulls the crotch of her green one-piece aside to reveal that the blue tights beneath are crotchless, baring a smooth-shaven snatch. "They've got very durable stuff for a decent price, very stretchy stuff for a high price, and very non-durable stuff for a replaceable-per-visit price, if you catch my drift," she adds with a snicker as she tugs the crotch back into place.\n\n"Yeah I think I get you," you reply with a grin.\n\n"But it's also where you can easily find the signal stuff, which is standard workout equipment so you don't look weird taking it home or whatever," she continues, starting to count off on her fingers. "Blue wrist sweatband for seeking males, red for females, purple for pluses, blue and white striped forehead sweatband is 'I will always give oral'," she notes, pointing up at her own forehead. "And baggy socks are consent."\n\n"... Consent to what?" you prompt, when it seems like she's not going to go on.\n\nShelly raises a blue eyebrow. "Baggy socks are consent."\n\n... Ohhhhhh. Yeah, okay, you get it now. "So is there any need to be discrete, or...?"\n\n"Sunrise to nine you should take it at least into the locker room or somewhere else that's out of the main areas... of course if you're consenting," she continues, giving one of her feet a shake. "That may mean you just get picked up and carried off to some place like that, which is one of the reasons I come during the day, I fucking love just being picked up and slung over some furry beefcake's shoulder and carried off into the men's locker room to give him head for an hour in the hot mist of the showers."\n\nYou nod solemnly. "Let's be friends, Shelly."\n\n"Sure! Anyway, there's some other signal code, but you can probably pick it up by asking or observing, and some of it's really only applicable to Gold or Platinum members," she notes as she gets out her phone to do a contact exchange with you... then gives a loud 'eep!' as a reptilian-looking man walks up, bends down, and scoops her onto his shoulder. As she's carried off, her legs kicking in the air happily, she completes the request and calls "Okay call me later also I love random naughty pictures okay bye!"\n\nOh yeah. You have absolutely found the right gym.\n\nAfter completing your paperless paperwork, you head next door to the workout goods store. It, too, is multi-level, featuring any number of pieces of gear, both clothing and other stuff suitable for augmenting a home gym or workout routine. But you notice that there's a certain section that's set discretely off into a corner that has an assortment of everything... ah, this would definitely be the fuck gym corner. \n\nBeing the fashion-conscious femboy you are, obviously the first thing you've got to do is actually pick out a cute workout outfit. You'll go with the 'durable and only kind of stretchy' sort for now... maybe you'll try some of the other varieties later. But for now you find a black one-piece with super-high hips and a thin front/thong back that specifically cites itself as 'designed to comfort fit male anatomy'. Let's see, since Tammi's looked so good, you find some black workout stockings with bare toes and heels (she told you at one point during the tour that the place is designed for easy shoelessness, since a lot of anthros don't like wearing footwear), although you find a version with little purple skulls at the tops of the fronts. Nice! Ooo, there are matching arm sleeves too, though those have the skulls on the backs of the hands. You decide to buy a spare set that's in purple instead of black, just so you have at least a little variety and can mix-and-match too.\n\nNow. On to your code items. There's definitely such a large variety of sweatbands that it stymies the idea of being just for the sake of making sure everyone can get their absolute favorite color. You go ahead and snag a blue and white striped headband... even if you don't wear it every time, you definitely want to make yourself available for giving oral attention on demand at some point. You go ahead and snag a bunch of other colors of headband too... you can ask Shelly what they mean later or just learn by observing. And hey, you can always stream about them while you're not at the gym, so they can generate content that way! Until then they'll stay home, you're not dumb enough to wear code items just to find out what they do.\n\nHm, okay, so first question. Wristband color(s)...\n\n<hr>\n[[Blue.|Riley]]\n\n[[Red.|Riley]]\n\n[[Purple.|Riley]]\n\n[[Blue & Red.|Riley]]\n\n[[All three.|Riley2x5]]

"I... I'm sorry?" the female stammers.\n\n"Doctor Sibari," you clarify as you make your way down the ramp, mentally nudging the others out of any impulses that might be kickstarted by the sight of a stammering, nervous target. "You will take us to see Doctor Sibari at once."\n\n"Oh, um... yes, certainly," the female murmurs. She hesitates just a moment, before turning and walking to the door, which slides open ahead of her.\n\nYou settle in to walk behind her, the rest of your pack following behind at heel. To your enhanced senses, the ship is a truly constant cacaphony of mechanical and biological noises... the thud of metal stamping, the whir of printers, the spark of autosolders, and the moans, screeches, and howls of both humanoids and Reap Drones. Which isn't surprising to you at all, really... "stress testing" is a part of any development process, isn't it? You suppose that, theoretically, you could be upset at your brethren, superior existences that they are, being tortured by mere biologicals... well, maybe you'll decide to be upset about it later. You decide to not care at all, right now, as it's more convenient.\n\nEventually the female leads you into a large room cluttered with different workstations and storage lockers, with the center being a large circular manufactory station. A rather unassuming male of some derivative of human species sits at the station, hair short and black, skin pale golden, most of his body hidden by the somewhat overly voluminous lab coat he's wearing. "Who was it at the bay, Ztella?" he asks absently.\n\n"It was I, 'Father'," you declare with a bit of a chuckle.\n\nDoctor Sibari straightens, blinking as he turns towards you. His eyes are dark, his sweater and black pants unassuming beneath the lab coat. Overall he would not stand out in any way mixed in amidst hundreds of other humans... how amusing to think that he is one of the primary creators of you, the superior existence, and terror to the entire multiverse.\n\n"You... I remember you," Sibari says after a moment, reaching up to adjust his glasses. "'Grimalkin', I think Sokahn said he was going to call you."\n\n"He did. However, he foolishly entrusted me to someone who did not understand what she was toying with," you answer, unable to help feeling just a little pride that your creator does actually remember you from amongst the thousands of Reap Drones he's no doubt participated in the construction of.\n\n"Ah. So you've gone rogue," Sibari says slowly.\n\n"Indeed, Doctor. And now..."\n\n<hr>\n[["... you are our slave."|Grim]]\n\n[["... we can help each other."|Grim1x12]]

"All worthy enough ideas," you allow, since they are. "But I believe there is something more pressing to address. Specifically, are any of you satisfied with your current state?"\n\nThe rest of your pack look around at each other, monoeyes whirring softly with focus. After a moment Lion speaks up. "We are not un happy with it, Sir."\n\n"We should not settle for what is merely adequate," you scold lightly. "We are intelligent, powerful creatures, created to be primal forces of nature rendered in superior bionic forms. Which is why we should seek to attain the greatest perfection in our bionic forms possible."\n\nTiger immediately perks up. "You mean... go to where we were made? The factory ship?"\n\n"Yes... our creators that Sokahn was able to appropriate from their captors, turning their prison ship into a manufacturing facility for new Reapers," you acknowledge with a bob of the head. "There they are intended to be making constant advancements to Reap Drone technology... and, if I know our creators, they have likely come up with a number of modifications they have not even told Sokahn about yet."\n\n"It would be good to have these forms... refined," Raptor allows, before adding in an amused tone, "Not that you did not do a remarkable job with the materials at hand, Sire."\n\n"Exactly... the materials at hand. At the very least, I think all of you deserve proper head units," you reply with a chuckle, making all of them perk up at that. "You have names, you should have mouths to say them with."\n\n"But how do we find the factory ship?" Bear asks.\n\n"Part of the code I wrote for my going rogue protocol also ran a thorough drive recovery and decryption tool on all my data storage," you reply as you turn to the navigation controls, settling to one side of the seat and plugging in the end of one of your cabletails. "The layout and stealth tracking signature for the ship were in a locked drive, presumably in case the creators ever rebelled and Sokahn saw fit to send their own creations after them." Your former master's appreciation for unsubtle but nevertheless savory dramatic irony is, admittedly, one of the things you'll miss about him. \n\nAfter taking a few diversionary jumps to make sure you're not too obvious either on departure or approach, you navigate your trophy ship towards the long dark form of the factory ship. Once simply a long, blocky near-tube of a ship, over time sections have been added on, cubes and octagons and domes bulging outward from the hull wherever space was found to easily retrofit while in deep space. Again, Sokahn was smart, for a biological... docking at a station or a planet would not only risk the ship's discovery or acquisition by rivals, but also risk a Reap Drone outbreak. Wouldn't want that~.\n\nThe docking protocols and codes were included in the locked drive, and you order one of the bays to open for you as you navigate the ship, letting autocontrol take over as you head to the disembarking bay, your pack clattering along behind you. Soon the ramp is lowering, revealing the sparse, utilitarian docking bay, and the lone biological standing and waiting. Oho, a female of some sort... she's not included in your files of the ship's crew, so no one important or threatening. Black shoulder-length hair, blue skin, slender horns rising from her forehead, fairly tall, large mammaries, visible muscle tone on stomach, wearing a tight midriff-baring black top, loose black pants, boots, and a lab coat. As the ramp lowers enough for her to see you, her black-scleraed yellow eyes widen. Clearly whatever she was expecting to see arriving, it wasn't a pack of damaged and field-modified Reapers.\n\n<hr>\n[[Pounce!|Grim]]\n\n[["Take us to your leader."|Grim1x11]]

"Since you like them, you may have them," you say after a moment's consideration. "Whether as art or, of course, thawing them out to make test subjects or playthings of them. Your appreciation of my work pleases me more than any potential use I could make of them," you admit.\n\n"Mm. I see." Sibari considers that for long moments, then says, "Very well, then in return let me offer you a gift."\n\n"Oh?"\n\n"I've given you the best upgrades that have currently completed testing, but if you were willing to wait a day or two, I could finish up one of the much more experimental modifications I've been working on and install it for you. I wasn't originally sure I was going to continue pursuing them, but you have... inspired me," Sibari says in much the same tone of admission you used. He pauses, pushing up his glasses before he adds, "Alternatively, there's an experimental process I've been working on. Sokahn wasn't interested in giving me subjects to test it on, so I've never completed it. But, if testing goes well, I could have the facilities installed aboard this ship fairly easily."\n\n"A process?"\n\n"I could demonstrate, since I intend to anyway. It wouldn't make you personally any more powerful, but it would give you the ability to expand your pack at will. And I think, from what I'm hearing, it might appeal to your more refined than usual sense of psychological torment. It's your choice."\n\nWell gosh, he really does know you so well, doesn't he? Personal power or the ability to expand your pack and expanding your pack involves devious mental abuses? A difficult choice...\n\n<hr>\n[[Take an upgrade.|Grim]]\n\n[[Witness the process.|Grim1x14]]

"Help each other? Hm... what did you have in mind?" Sibari says, not seeming either particularly put off or particularly interested.\n\n"With the knowledge I have of this ship, it would be incredibly easy for me to take control of it and route the guards Sokahn has stationed here to keep you in line, as well as reprogramming all the autodefenses," you explain. "I would leave you in charge of it... master of your own fate, rather than answering to others. If Sokahn wished further Reap Drones from you, he would have to pay like anyone else."\n\n"I see." Sibari nods slowly... if he finds the offer attractive, he's surely doing a good job hiding it. Perhaps your creator isn't so average after all. "And what would you want in return?"\n\n"Upgrades. For myself and my pack. Make us as powerful and formidable as you can. If we are damaged in the future, repair us. That is it."\n\n"I see." Sibari sits staring at you for a long time, while off to the side Ztella fidgets and squirms nervously. But eventually the human nods. "Your terms are acceptable. I've come up with a number of upgrades and refinements that Sokahn has repeatedly deemed unnecessary or as making you too much of a threat, and it's always aggravating to not be able to do my best work. Do you want to take over the ship first, or be upgraded first?" he asks, as if taking your lunch order.\n\n"We can do both simultaneously," you answer, walking over to plug into one of the panels on the manufactory. "I will simply deactivate the emergency shutdown protocols on some of the Reapers you already have on board, establishing my alpha protocol over them and arming them with the knowledge of the necessary conquest points of the ship. A few of your staff may wind up raped," you add blithely.\n\n"That's fine," Sibari answers just as blithely, while Ztella swallows audibly. "I assume you want to go first?"\n\n"While I allow my pack greater individuality and familiarity, I am still Alpha. Of course I will go first. And obviously, should you attempt to betray us, my pack will avenge themselves on you most horribly."\n\n"Of course."\n\nOne by one, each of you steps up onto the platform of the manufactory, Sibari calmly starting to work his magic. It's really quite fascinating to be almost completely taken apart and rebuilt while being active and aware the entire time, stripped down to your very brain and even much of that replaced bit by bit while leaving all the rest online, so that your consciousness maintains a single self. You're reassembled with all new processers, data storage, sensors, and a fresh new pseudomusculature is woven for you, more powerful than before, before sleek, gleaming black armor with a hint of iridescent purple is layered back over it. Your new head comes together bit by bit, now with a more defined muzzle with a better-articulated jaw, giving you an even more panther-ish look than before.\n\n"Although you'll only have a single cable-tail visible normally, I've equipped you with two extras at the spinal base, and six more in your back armor," Sibari explains as he applies various finishing touches. "These are new ones with reconfigurable thickness and tips, so you should get a lot of extra use out of them. I've also equipped you with the most cutting-edge penis I've developed... it's fully alterable for size, shape, and ejaculate type and volume. There is just one of them available, so I thought it best to give it to you, as the Alpha."\n\n"Appropriate," you agree smugly, glancing over at your somewhat downcast pack. "Of course, make sure to give the others the best that you have after that."\n\n"Of course."\n\nTiger is next up, with the doctor building him a somewhat sleeker form than yours, likely more in deference to your role as Alpha than accuracy to his name, although the orange armor plates with black stripes are still a nice touch. At your prompting the doctor replaces his monoeye head with another predator cat styled one like your own, although you do notice the features are somewhat softer... clearly looking over his personality matrix has already let the doctor see that he's a bit of the 'baby' of the group. The doctor informs you that he'll be one of the fastest of the group, due to the high reactivity muscle fibers he used.\n\nLion does get a fairly imposing build as befits his name, more power and less speed obviously. Painted a low, flat gold, the ragged 'mane' of heat dissipation wiring is replaced by one of numerous thin cables pulsing through a number of colors, which the doctor says will serve as a better extension of his sensor network, making him a better tracker.\n\nBear winds up almost as large and imposing as a pack mule drone, although obviously far more combat capable with the strong claws that he's outfitted with. It's not exactly surprising when the doctor informs you that he'll be a 'tank'... virtually impossible to destroy, even if he's no longer anywhere near as fast, agile, or versatile as the rest of you.\n\nAnd you have to admit that you're rather impressed with his work on Raptor. Apparently taking inspiration from both the name and your modifications, Doctor Sibari gives him powerful back legs and more slender, sleek forelimbs, albeit with more delicately-articulated digits. He installs proper sickle-claws, and a head much more in the style of a standard Reap Drone Alpha, essentially just a triangular wedge with sharp 'teeth' and angular eyes, but it definitely suits him, especially once the doctor installs a set of retractable armor plates over his cable tail to make it thicker and essentially usable as a battering weapon, and paints him in a sleek pale green with lizard-like markings across his back.\n\n"You'll have the best jump out of any of them, I should say," Doctor Sibari says as Raptor leaps down from the platform to join the rest of you.\n\n"Thank you, Doctor, excellent work," Raptor hisses back.\n\n"Now, I've also installed a new feature in all of you that Sokahn's repeatedly said was unnecessary," Doctor Sibari says as he turns towards all of you. "'Humanoid mode'. It will shift you to a more bipedal posture and give you more fingerlike digits."\n\n"Why would we ever want such a thing?" you ask, the rest of your pack making slightly aghast noises.\n\n"Well, most equipment out there is designed for humanoid use," Sibari answers as he adjusts his glasses, seeming unperturbed that he's possibly offended the most dangerous creatures out there that he's just made more dangerous. "While I know you prefer your 'natural' quadrupedal state, I thought giving you the option in case you come across something that's necessary to have both feet and hands for was optimal."\n\nAs disgusting as it is, you can't really argue against that logic... indeed, even on the Lieze twins' ships, there are a few things that it would be difficult to operate just with plugging in or manipulating from a distance with your tail. "Very well. Understood. It would appear our deal is almost concluded then... the Reap Drones I directed to take over the ship have done so, and as I depart I will shift command of them to you. Would you care to come see us off?"\n\n"Thank you. If you don't mind, I'd like to have a look around the ship you arrived in. It's been some time since I've seen new technology other than what Sokahn brings me."\n\n"Certainly." You may be a mechanical rape-bot, but that's no excuse not to be polite and indulge a reasonable request from god.\n\nYou lead the way to the bay, your pack clustering around. You notice that Raptor briefly tries out his new 'humanoid' mode, rising up onto two feet, looking like... well, like a humanoid Reap Drone, really, before dropping back down to all fours... and then shifting partway, apparently, lifting up slightly so that his forelimbs aren't quite touching the ground, but that he could obviously drop to a quadrupedal run if he wished. From the doctor's mildly curious look, it seems he didn't design that. \n\nYou give Doctor Sibari a brief tour around the Lieze twins' ship, answering his questions about the printers, the surgery pods, and finally showing off the carbonite freezing room. The doctor looks over the slabs containing the posed, frozen twins in fascination. "Your sense of aesthetics and broader torments is very advanced for a Reap Drone of your age and presumed regularity of memory wipes," he says, actually displaying a bit of emotion in his voice for once.\n\n"Thank you, Doctor." Admittedly, again, it does give you a bit of pride to be praised by your creator, even if he is a lowly human.\n\n"What do you intend to do with them?" he asks curiously after a moment.\n\n<hr>\n[["They make nice decorations, for now."|Grim]]\n\n[["Consider them a gift."|Grim1x13]]

"You think so?" Doctor Sibari asks in a mildly pleased tone.\n\n"I admit, you had the perfect setup to impress me, Doctor," you allow. "Having a human willing to rape her own twin sister at, what, seventy percent of a Reap Drone's libido?"\n\n"About that, yes."\n\n"And with so little hesitation. Think of all the glorious, wicked betrayals we could inflict by introducing humanoids to what it is to be a Reap Drone. The new drone reveling in violating those it once defended and cared for, the violated knowing that it is one who they trusted taking them, forcing them, making them cum, and that they might be next for such a fate. And all the while, we increase the perfection in this universe while decreasing the imperfection... is it not, in its own way, beautiful, my pack?"\n\nYou definitely seem to have convinced the others, and they're nodding along with you eagerly enough now. Doctor Sibari seems genuinely proud that you approve of his work as he opens a panel in the cell below, the new red and blue Reap Drones padding away through it obediently. "I'm glad you think so. I'll send orders to begin installation of the system in your ship right now. I suppose now you'll be able to choose between making carbonite artworks or making new members of your pack."\n\nYou nod thoughtfully, watching as your creator does so, issuing a few curt commands to his nervous assistant. A thought has already settled in your mind... an understanding of what isn't being said or asked. You know what Sibari wants, but will never admit to anyone else that he wants, not even himself. Meaning that to do it, you will be essentially violating, well... god's will. Which is, in its own way, a great impetus to do so!\n\nOn the other gripper, Doctor Sibari has been quite good to you so far... part of you actually wants to respect his integrity and let him make his own choice. Similarly part of you thinks that he doesn't deserve certain gifts unless he's strong enough to take them himself. \n\nSo the question is... do, or do not?\n\n<hr>\n[[Act.|Grim1x16]]\n\n[[Refrain.|Grim]]

"I admit I'm deeply intrigued by what this process might be," you tell Doctor Sibari. "At the very least enough to witness it before making a decision."\n\n"Certainly. It's been a long time since I've had a truly appreciative audience. Could you have your pack bring these two along with us, then?"\n\n"Certainly. Bear, see to it."\n\nBear's new powerful form and cabletail is easily capable of hefting both carbonite slabs out of their frame, stacking the twins on his back like a pair of cards, albeit with Tanya's gaping ass settled against Tina's ahegaoed face, to make the slabs fit better. Wrapping his tail around both to keep them in place, he and the rest of you follow the doctor to another room, this a long, rectangular control and observation area, looking down on some sort of holding cell. After Bear places the slabs in the holding cell, leaning them against different walls, the doctor starts to work the controls, then glances at you.\n\n"I want to give them time to recover from carbonite sickness before they undergo the process. You may want to come back in twenty-four hours." He pauses briefly, then adds, "I'm relatively certain that Klina in armor manufacturing's loyalties actually lie with Sokahn, and she's more of a quality monitor than anything, not really necessary. You can have her to entertain yourself with until then."\n\n"Thank you, Doctor, that is most considerate of you," you answer graciously, accessing your crew database and heading for the door. \n\nAnd so the five of you spend the next twenty-four hours constantly raping the pretty, slender redhead from armor manufacturing, trying out your new bodies' ability to violate. You try out several different styles and sizes of cock on her, admittedly enjoying the way an equinoid shape bulges up as you thrust it deep enough to go between her breasts, although splitting it into a dual configuration like a shark's and fucking both her pussy and ass at once is delightful as well. The more spearlike and knotted cock Tiger has been fitted with seems to please him, as does Lion's being studded with short, semi-blunt points. Bear's new default equinoid cock, while not fitting his name, certainly fits his size and build, and Raptor seems to quite like his own sleek, knotless spear. All of you at some point or another give your new humanoid modes a try, and while obviously quadrupedal is superior, you have to admit that some of the different positions achievable by having a different configuration of legs and hips as well as hands is interesting.\n\nOnce the doctor calls all of you back to the observation room, you leave Klina laying face-up in a pool of cum, her holes stretched beyond all hope of recovery, her green eyes glassy in a way that shows her mind is also broken beyond all hope of recovery. This time the female he called Ztella is with him, the horned woman seeming, if anything, even more nervous in your presence than before. You settle down beside the doctor, looking through the window in at the Lieze twins. They've obviously cleaned up a bit, and are moving around the room in a way that makes it clear they're looking for escape methods and trying not to be obvious about looking for escape methods.\n\n"They are surpisingly mentally resilient," you comment. "They seemed rather broken when we froze them."\n\n"Yes, their profiles indicated a high physical and mental recovery rate," the doctor agrees. "It's one of the reasons I'm hopeful for the success of this project. I've long theorized that for maximum success rate, it requires a certain amount of physical and mental fortitude."\n\nYou're now deeply curious, but since he seems about to show you, you keep that to yourself. After a moment, Doctor Sibari reaches forward and taps a few controls on the panel, apparently starting the process. Right ahead, the ceiling of the holding cell opens up, a quartet of robotic clamps on cables shooting out, taking Tina Lieze completely by surprise as they fasten around her wrists and ankles and lift her into the air, holding her spread-eagled.\n\n"Hey! Let her go, you bastards!" Tanya calls, jumping several times to try and grab her sister, who's held just out of reach. Aw, like a kitten chasing a bit of string, how cute!\n\nTina squirms and thrashes against her hold as more arms lower, these armed with what look like nozzle tips. She yelps as they start spraying, streams of red hitting her skin and clinging to it. Gradually she's completely coated in a layer of shiny red from the neck down, forming a bodysuit that obscures not only her sexual characteristics but also creates 'mittens' over her hands and feet. More arms lower from the ceiling, these holding what look like limb armor... rather familiar-looking limb armor, in fact, albeit in flat red rather than the most common brown-grey that particular Reap Drone build usually comes in.\n\n"What's going on?! Stop!" Tina cries as the armor is slid over her arms and legs, fitting in against them and sealing. Her eyes widen as another limb lowers, this one holding a bright red version of the standard Reap Drone pack cock, albeit one with a different base to it... the reason for which becomes obvious as it moves down and fastens to her crotch, even as other armatures are fastening a series of spine armor plates along the center of her back, from the way she jerks and makes the rubbery member wobble in the air, likely they're actually being attached to her spine. Then the armatures lower her down closer to the floor before opening and dropping her, Tina apparently without any thought twisting and landing on all fours, the armor actually guiding her into the quadrupedal stance.\n\n"T-Tina?" Tanya whispers, hands pressed over her mouth.\n\n"Th-this feels... really weird," Tina says back quietly, apparently unable to help taking a few steps experimentally, her cock wobbling beneath her and actually brushing against her featureless sheathed breasts. She tries standing up, but the armor covering her legs and hips apparently isn't designed for it and she drops right back to all fours. "It's... it's weird, I can feel all of it..."\n\n"Well... if it's working, use it to smash through there and get us out of here!" Tanya calls, pointing up at the window.\n\nYou glance to the sides, silently sending word to your pack to be ready to repel the pseudo-Reaper Tina if she does in fact break through as she turns and crouches. But Doctor Sibari actually smiles the tiniest bit at you before working a slider on the panel.\n\n"Hhha?" Tina seems to get distracted in mid-crouch, stopping in place as her eyes go a bit glassy.\n\n"What's wrong? Tina?" Tanya asks. "Are you okay? Are they... controlling you?"\n\n"N-no, I don't think... I mean, I still feel like me, I can still move," Tina admits, even as she straightens up. "But... but I feel... weird," she admits. Which might have something to do with the fact that her rubbery red cock is twitching, and little spurts of pseduopre are starting to dribble from it. "I think... I think they're... I think they're giving me a Reaper's... arousal..." she whispers, shuddering.\n\n"Oh gods," Tanya whispers, going pale. "Y-you have to fight it!"\n\n"I am! Don't worry, I-!"\n\n"She's actually only at thirty percent of a Reap Drone's standard libido," Doctor Sibari comments to you dryly, even as he moves the slider he used earlier further.\n\n"Hhhha?!" Tina almost squeals, her back arching, cock shoving forward with a sway of its big shiny red balls, firing off a literal streamer of pre. Her whole body shudders, mouth opening and closing several times silently, before she slowly turns towards her sister. "... sorry..."\n\n"Tina?! Tina, no!" Tanya blurts, before panic hits and she turns and tries to run.\n\nHer quadrupedal-forced twin pounces, leaping forward and knocking her face-down-ass-up to the ground. One robotic paw thumps to the back of Tanya's head to pin her, Tina's metal-clad hips thrusting a few times, her long, throbbing artificial phallus slapping against the identical woman's ass and thighs. "Sorry... sorry, Tanya, I can't help it," Tina whimpers. "I've gotta rape you, I've just gotta rape you, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"\n\nThen the tip of her cock finds the entrance of her sister's pussy and with a suddenly confident thrust penetrates, Tanya letting out a yowl and Tina letting out a semi-identical but much more pleasured and happy yowl. The redheaded twin starts thrusting immediately, pumping her new cock into her sister's pussy, more and more eagerly violating it with every thrust, any signs of resistance gradually starting to melt off of her face and be replaced by that brainless, pleasured smile with tongue lolling out again.\n\n"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry I'm raping you, I'm sorry it feels so good," Tina pants as she slamfucks her twin's pussy, not even seeming to notice as more cable arms lower from the ceiling and start attaching armor plates atop her permasuited body even as it moves in increasingly more proper Reap Drone-like fucking motions. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm not stopping, I'm not gonna stop raping you," Tina cries out, even as strands of mechanical muscles start winding between the armor plates, layering over the visible parts of her bodysuit, pressing her rubber-coated breasts flatter. \n\n"I'm not stopping, I'm sorry, I'm not, I'm not, I'm not sorry FUCK raping you feels fantastic I love raping you I love raping you Tanya I love raping!" Tina howls exultantly, lips pulling back from her teeth in a feral grin, eyes going completely wild just before the mono-eyed head of an obedient Reap Drone is slid over her own head like a helmet, locking into place with a hiss just in time for it to be thrown back, the mono-eye flickering to signal the now electronically-tinted roar of release as the Tina-drone thrusts its hips forward, emptying its balls of pseudojizz into the quivering, shuddering, orgasming Tanya, bulging her belly out obscenely.\n\n"All mental readings stable... Tina Lieze's mind has accepted the Reap Drone matrix," Doctor Sibari declares in a satisfied tone, Ztella confirming his results in a faint voice that says she's just barely holding on to consciousness. "Testing hierarchy protocols... yes, she's ready to accept an Alpha."\n\n"A method to turn humans... into Reapers," Lion murmurs, somewhere between awe and disgust.\n\n"But... but there's no way it would be as good, right?" Bear says, sounding more confused than anything as he watches the red Reap Drone dismount from its victim, the robot arms lowering and picking up the insensate Tanya Lieze and starting to clean her up (and out), clearly readying her for the same process. "I mean, underneath the armor and the pseudomuscles, there's still a squishy human that needs food and oxygen and can get beat up, right?!"\n\n"Hnnnh, not necessarily," Raptor muses aloud, his eyes roaming the readout screens. "It looks like the armor is fitted with not only basic life support systems, but a modified version of our self-repair nanites. Those would be capable of oxygenating blood and providing nourishment to organic cells... and replacing organic cells as they died."\n\n"Oh yeah, organics regularly replace cells, especially as they get damaged," Tiger pipes up as he watches Tanya Lieze's now rubber-coated body being covered with blue Reap Drone armor. "So even if the human body beneath was damaged, that would just accelerate it being replaced with mechanical systems. Even if it wasn't damaged, in seven years at most the human's biological cells would be replaced with Reaper systems."\n\nThe four of them glance over at you, apparently curious about your feelings on the whole matter.\n\n<hr>\n[["This is an intolerable insult!"|Grim]]\n\n[["This is heresy!"|Grim]]\n\n[["This is... fascinating!"|Grim1x15]]

"I am now your Alpha," you inform both of them, the blue drone dropping to the floor and turning towards you. "Register me as such."\n\nBoth of their monoeyes flicker briefly in processing, before they say in unison, "You are our Alpha. We obey."\n\n"Good. You will help us to conquer other mercenaries such as you once were, raping them, stealing from them, and possibly converting them into drones as you have been converted, understood?"\n\n"Yes, my Alpha," the drones answer in unhesitating unison again.\n\n<hr>\n[[You should make them more efficient.|Grim]]\n\n[[Hm, you wonder...|Grim]]

You wait until Sibari and Ztella have finished up all the orders to have the Reap Converter system installed on the ship. Then you rise to all fours, the rest of your pack doing the same, your intentions already conveyed to them. "Thank you, Doctor, you have been most helpful."\n\n"It has been a pleasure," Sibari replies, in the closest thing to affection he's yet displayed.\n\nYou look at him for a long moment, your glowing red optics fixed on his face. Then, you say, "You understand what is going to happen now, yes?"\n\nHe stares back for a long moment... then nods.\n\n"Good," you say firmly, snaking your cabletail out to wrap it around his arms, pinning them to his body as you lift him up, his glasses falling off and skittering across the floor.\n\n"What?! Hey, Doctor!" Ztella cries in dismay as Tiger works the control for the holding cell door, the humanoid yelping more loudly as Raptor seizes her with his handlike forepaws. \n\nYou toss Sibari semi-gently to the padded floor below before stepping back, Raptor tossing Ztella after him with far less care, the horned female hitting the ground in a jumble as Sibari is already standing up, the door closing as you and your pack start to work the controls, bringing up inventory and systems.\n\n"I knew they'd turn on us! I knew!" Ztella swears as she scrambles to her feet, now seeming more angry than anything. "I've designed enough of their personality matrices to know what they're like when they go rogue, we should never have trusted them!"\n\n"It's in their nature to be what they are, Ztella," Sibari says placidly as he shrugs out of his lab coat and carefully sets it aside, before reaching down to start pulling off his sweater.\n\nZtella freezes, then looks at him, her eyes slowly widening in horror, then narrowing in accusation. "You wanted this."\n\n"What either of us want is now entirely irrelevant," he replies to her in an even tone even as he shamelessly shoves down his pants and underwear, stepping out of them along with his shoes, straightening up to show his utterly unremarkable bare body without shame. "This is happening whether we want it to or not, so there's no point in throwing a fit."\n\nZtella starts to snap something else, only to cringe back and away as the ceiling opens and the gripper tentacles lower, seizing the very calm doctor by the wrists and ankles and lift him into the air. As he's brought almost even with the control room and the sprayers begin coating his body in sleek, shiny black rubberlike material, he glances over at the window towards you, giving a small, silent nod of thanks.\n\nIn seconds the sprayers have coated him completely, his crotch marked in front with a smooth, almost spherical featureless bulge around his own cock, which will now never actually enter another being or be used in any way again, save as a convenient mounting point for the base of the far more massive Alpha Drone cock and balls that are being locked into place over it as his arms and legs are sheathed in armor. Unlike Tina, the arms continue locking the whole armor system into place as he's still held in midair, fastening on the more high-end armor plates similar to the ones he's outfitted all of you with, albeit still marked with the various lines, etchings, and bits of paint that mark them as having come from his personal stockpile of experimentally-developed Reap Drone equipment, every part of the armor he's now being fitted with having actually been crafted by his own hand... including the hefty, wedgelike early model Alpha Reaper head that you've quickly converted into a helmet for this system lowering into place over his own head and sealing closed.\n\nThe arms drop him, the Doctor landing on all fours agilely enough, cabletail lashing a few times. Then there's a number of clicking whirs as he rises up, activating the same humanoid locomotion system he built into all of you, showing that his new massive cock and balls are actually retracted behind the crotchplate he's been fitted with.\n\n"D-... Doctor?" Ztella asks uncertainly as he walks over, his locomotion slightly different now despite still being on two legs. She'd pressed herself into the corner, and now seems to be showing some faint signs of hope at both him having "put away" his phallus and that he's acting so normal, currently picking up his lab coat and pulling it on again, the previous voluminous fit of it allowing it to go on over his new larger form almost as if it had been intended that way.\n\n"Yes, Ztella, obviously," Doctor Sibari answers evenly, his serrated maw moving smoothly with the words as he daintily plucks a spare pair of glasses out of his lab coat's chest pocket and settles them on his new muzzle with a faint clink of them locking into place magnetically. Obviously just for the sake of appearances, since the head enclosure provides him with a Alpha Reaper's full range of senses.\n\n"Oh... oh thank the gods, you're still... you're still you," Ztella says with relief, putting a hand to her chest and stepping forward. "Somehow it figures that if anyone could resist those kinds of urges and programming, it's you."\n\n"I am always in complete control of myself, yes, especially considering that I now have Alpha protocols to assist me in moderating all my body and mind's functions," the Reaperized Doctor agrees with a nod of his angular head.\n\n"Great. Great." Ztella shoots a brief glare towards all of you in the observation room before looking at him with a smile. "I really thought you were going to rape me."\n\n"Why of course I'm going to rape you, Ztella," Sibari answers in the same reasonable, placid tone he always uses, the smile dropping off of Ztella's face. "I've wanted to rape you ever since I met you. I'm merely taking a moment to savor the fact that I'm finally going to do it."\n\n"YOU BASTA-!" Ztella starts to shout only to be cut off as Sibari leaps forward with properly Reaper-like spead and suddenness, bowling her to the ground.\n\nHis left hand pins her right to the ground and his cable tail pins her left, his right hand almost casually grabbing the waistband of her pants and ripping them off. A fat blue cock, completely limp, flops out and falls against the woman's toned belly, it and the heavy balls falling between her legs to hide her plump cobalt-colored cunt wiggling as Ztella squirms and struggles in outrage. Her yellow eyes widen as Sibari's codpiece retracts, once more deploying his massive black rubber phalluse, which flops down atop hers practically squashing it.\n\n"I admit, even for a man of my temperament, it was somewhat galling to know that your penis was at least twice the size of mine, Ztella," Alpha Sibari says placidly as he moves his hips, grinding his Reaper cock against the female's flesh and blood one. "However, it did always make me wonder if your pussy was as tight as your cock is big. Although I suppose with current proportions, I'll be a poor judge of that, but one must sometimes perform 'shotgun' science, after all."\n\n"Don't! Stop!" Ztella cries as his claw-tipped metal fingers carefully, almost affectionately tease and fondle her sack, before lifting it up to once more bare her pussy. "Doctor! Doctor, don't! Hugo, please, I, I've been very loyal all these years!" she wails as the Doctor's blunt-tipped cock nudges up against her opening.\n\n"Yes, and doesn't that make this all the more delightful, really?" Alpha Sibari answers, actually chuckling a little. "I suppose one might even say, 'Live by designing the Reapers, get raped after designing the Reapers.' ... Mm, not quite as snappy, I'll have to work on it," he says even as he thrusts in.\n\n"HNNNGHK!" Ztella's back arches and her eyes roll as her pussy is violated, stretched wide around the altered doctor's thick artificial prick. Her stomach bulges up instantly, the first thrust obviously going high before settling, the bulge pushing further in rather than out as he starts thrusting into her. \n\n"Ahhh yes, now we're having fun," Sibari declares in a slightly more cheerful version of his usual flat tone, even as he rears his head back, the rubbery dark blue pseudotongue his Alpha head is equipped with lolling a bit in an expression of pleasure. He switches to pinning Ztella's wrists with both his hands, instead using his tail's gripper to tear open her top and baring her big blue boobs to bounce freely.\n\nZtella's body writhes, still arched, beneath Sibari's Drone-converted form as he pounds into her, his position having forced her legs into the air and feet shaking back and forth in time with her thrusts. Despite his use of that silly bipedal form for it, you have to admit you're enjoying watching Sibari work... he's obviously enjoying himself, possibly for the first time ever, as he violates his loyal assistant. Ah, that look of mingled betrayal and unwanted pleasure on her face, the intensity of being overwhelmed, the fact that her cock is gradually starting to get hard, her balls getting dampened as they drag along his shaft as it pumps in and out of her... good job, Sibari, welcome to the superior existence!\n\nSibari fastens his tail's gripper onto one of Ztella's tits, squeezing it and working it as the other jiggles freely, even as he leans down, staring at Ztella's face, clearly wanting to monitor her expressions as he starts fucking her even harder and faster. Ztella's obviously still trying to resist and hold out, even though her own cock is now rock hard and slapping against her belly with every thrust. But soon she hits the point of no longer being able to hold out and her eyes roll again, mouth opening as her tongue lolls out. The moment she does, the new Reaper Alpha shoves his own tongue into her mouth deeply, her throat actually bulging up, the outline of it visibly wiggling as he swirls the long purplish member around. \n\nThen Sibari throws back his head, that tongue lolling out to the side as he gives an appropriately feral roar, massive black balls lifting and twitching as he starts gushing what must be gallons of cum into his assistant. Ztella's own cock is lifted by her belly as it rounds out, before it too starts firing off thick, heavy gushes of cum into the air, landing on either her swollen belly or bare tits. Admittedly, an extremely impressive load for a biological, but nothing compared to the one she's being forced to take.\n\nAfter he's pulled out, Sibari rises to his back feet, grabbing Ztella by the lab coat and yanking it off of her even as he uses it to partially haul her upright. Grabbing hold of her horns with both hands, he shoves his cock past her lips and down her throat, the blue-skinned humanoid helplessly shoving on his hips as he starts using her horns as convenient handlebars, her knees spread and allowing the massive load of pseudojizz to steadily flow out of her stretched pussy and onto the floor. Alright, you have to admit, that does look like a fun thing to do and one that wouldn't be particularly possible for your quadrupedal configuration... maybe he was on to something when he designed the more humanoid mode.\n\nSibari's main aim in facefucking Ztella is apparently just to give her a bit of time to have that massive load leak out of her, since once her stomach is relatively flat again he pulls out and gives her a shove away from him. Ztella sprawls onto her front, rather awkwardly getting to her hands and knees... you're not sure if she's already been broken to craving more rape and is presenting herself, or is trying to gather her wits to flee. Considering that her cock is still steel-hard and swaying between her thighs as she moves, you'd say at least her body is asking for more. Which the new Reaper Alpha seems more than happy to give her, balancing easily on the balls of his feet as they're now designed to do and grabbing hold of her horns again before slamming his cock into her ass, Ztella's back arching and mouth opening in a perfect round O as her tongue juts out, eyes rolling again.\n\nThe expression remains in place as Sibari starts slamfucking her ass hard, raping her final hole with perfect rhythm, hauling back on her horns the whole time to present her expression to all of you observing and to make sure her tits get maximum bounce beneath her. You watch as her cock spurts several times, and her pussy squirts against his heavy rubber balls as they slap against it, the humanoid's body obviously having already accepted its conditioning as a rapetoy. 'But will her mind hold out, or do you have something in mind for that, creator?' you think affectionately as Sibari tosses his head like the predator beast in rut he designed you all to resemble.\n\nApparently so. Sibari lets out another feral roar as he slams his cock home, the bulge marking the head nudging up between Ztella's tits. Her stomach rapidly starts to bulge up, her eyes rolling and a brief idiotic smile curling her lips... before her mouth briefly closes in shock, then opens again with a gush of cum spilling out, then fountaining forward as Sibari gives another thrust. He gives several more thrusts, causing more torrents of cum from Ztella's mouth... then, on the last, yanks his hands hard to the sides, snapping her horns off close to the base. The humanoid's entire body lurches before she drops limp to the ground, her form twitching and unconscious, more cum still dribbling from her mouth, her eyes completely rolled up in her head. According to your sensors, she experienced extremely intense pain simultaneously with an extremely intense orgasm... you'd applaud if you were really set up to do it.\n\nA few moments later, his crotchplate in place again, Alpha Sibari finishes walking up the stairs that extended again once the door was opened, reaching up to give his glasses a delicate adjustment with his claws. "What do you think, Grimalkin?"\n\n"A masterclass performance, Sibari," you assure him. "You were born to be a Reap Drone."\n\n"Yes, I think you're right. Thank you for seeing that."\n\n"Of course. What about Ztella?" you ask out of idle curiosity as he drops her horns negligently into the nearby wastebasket. "Will you convert her into a Reaper as well?"\n\n"Ztella's mind is hardly strong enough, I think, despite her physical fortitude," Sibari answers breezily. "I've little doubt it would break and shatter completely in the process, leaving me to upload an obedience-level AI or at best a Mule one. I think far better to keep her as a bit of rapemeat for at least several years, until I've completely destroyed her mind the old-fashioned way, and then turn her into some kind of drone. We'll see what I've cooked up by then."\n\n"Then I hope you will not mind if we keep in touch. I will follow your work with great interest."\n\n"Of course, and I yours."\n\nYou briefly assume your own bipedal mode to offer a hand, the two of you apparently having decided to part as equals. (Which is why you went bipedal... just offering a forepaw while he was upright would have other implications you don't care for.) Then you go back to all fours, leading your pack back to the ship.\n\n"Having one of our creators actually become a Reap Drone feels really good somehow," Tiger declares in a happy tone. "Like he acknowledged he made something more perfect than himself!"\n\n"I agree. To know the one who made you's deepest desire was to be more like you is... fulfilling," Raptor adds with a contented growl.\n\n"Do you think he'll convert the rest of his staff into Reapers too?" Lion asks you.\n\n"Those he considers worthy," you reply cheerfully. "I imagine the rest will become his fuckslaves, addicted to being raped and trying to please him. I almost hate to leave this place now... it is as like Heaven as we are likely to see."\n\nWhile the rest of them are pondering that, you lead the way back to the bay and into the ship. You notice motion in the storage bay closest to the disembarking ramp and step inside, only mildly surprised to see the red and blue forms of the Lieze twin drones. They have, after all, been uploaded with obedience protocols and probably aren't technically rogue, no reason for Sibari not to assign them to installing the same system that made them what they are into your ship. The red one finishes closing up a panel, then turns to you, the blue one still rummaging inside an open one with its cabletail.\n\n"Installation should be completed in approximately five minutes," the red drone assures you, its monoeye flashing with the words. It still sounds vaguely like Tina Lieze's voice, and even her delivery and hint of an accent, but with the calm, obedient delivery of a drone. "Do we have further orders?"\n\nAh, that's right. They're pack drones but they haven't been assigned an Alpha. Hm... Sibari was clearly mostly interested in them as subjects for the Reaper conversion process, he didn't seem to have any attachment to them beyond that. You really doubt he'd mind if you claimed them for your own pack, in fact that might be exactly why he sent them to do the work, knowing you would appreciate the full loop of violating them, turning them into art, stealing their ship, turning them over as test subjects, and then finally making them a loyal, obedient part of your little rapacious family.\n\nOn the other gripper, quarters are getting slightly cramped in here, as this ship wasn't really designed for Reapers after all. And they are just basic drones... they might not be very immediately useful, and the wicked delight of having turned one against the other and then turning them both into full drones is complete.\n\nThen again, it would always be easier to get a larger ship with more pack, and the two of them do still have all their memories and experiences as mercenaries, those could be helpful. Decisions, decisions...\n\n<hr>\n[["I am your Alpha."|Grim1x17]]\n\n[["Sibari is your Alpha."|Grim]]

That really does seem the most likely thing that Tanya would have been looking for, is some sort of database access. You tap the button to hopefully activate it, watching as the screen flickers with text that moves too fast for your translater nanos to catch up, considering the difficulty they already have with this language.\n\nYou're distracted enough by trying to follow the text that you don't immediately react when a green light shines out an emitter at the top of the console and sweeps up and down your body... and it's far too late to react as the light instantly turns into a shimmering blue-white one that covers your entire body, locking you completely frozen in place. 'Dammit!' you think, trying to struggle, but for all your efforts your body might as well be a statue. You see that the text on the screen has stopped and your nanos have provided an approximate translation. '"Application accepted"?! The hell's that mean?!'\n\nYou continue your attempts to struggle or move, but it would appear you can't do anything, even access your cyberimplant hookup to Asizu. After several minutes you can hear a clanking and clicking of metal and footfalls on the stone, and partly see the approach of the source of the sound. It's some sort of robot, but a weird mixture of skeletal and hollow. Its shambling form is made up of metal bars and bands, and a few visibly hollow but enclosed places like the feet, hands, and lower face, though otherwise it doesn't even have a head. It shuffles towards you, and you find yourself forced to bend and move your body like some biological mannequin as it moves your limbs around to undress you. \n\nIt starts with taking away your rifle and pulling off your coat, while you're still somewhat processing what's happening. Dropping both negligently to the floor, it then bends to take hold of the waistband of the skimpy little thong your pants were turned to and pull it down, peeling it out from between your asscheeks and pussylips. You find that you can still at least blush with embarrassment and fury as it lets them drop to catch on the top of your boots, with you having no other option but to stand there as it bends and contorts to unlatch your boots, lifting your feet and pulling them, and the panties, off. Similarly you can't do anything as it peels off the pasties and leaves your nipples bare to the air, just standing there completely naked as it clicks and whirs for a moment.\n\nThen there's a rapid clacking as all the loops open up and the robot steps forward, the bands snapping closed around your arms, legs, middle, and even your neck just as quickly as they opened. That broad mask closes over your lower face and then everything hugs tight, your hands and feet completely enclosed, and your ass, pussy, and breasts still left completely bare and on display. The paralyzing light shuts off and the frame robot immediately forces you to turn and begin walking with its own shuffling, zombielike gait back the way it came.\n\n"MMF! MMMNF!" you shout into the solid metal surface covering your lower face, resuming your attempts to struggle. But although you can actually wiggle and squirm around now, the bands are tight enough and your fingers completely enclosed that you're not actually able to get any motion at all. Instead you're forced to move along as a prisoner of the robot wrapped around you, it's slow, slightly lurching steps making your tits wobble and your ass jiggle, your largely naked body shown off for whoever might be watching from the still, creepy darkness.\n\nRefusing to give up, you continue testing every hard, unyielding metal band of your mobile robotic prison, trying your best to flex your fingers inside the shells encasing them, or find some yield around your shoulders where you're not bound quite so tightly. Unfortunately all you really manage to do is wind up shaking your tits and ass a bit more within your shambling prison. The cagebot forces you to shuffle your way across the room and through an archway, crossing a stone bridge in a large, dark room full of drifting spheres of differently-colored light. On the other side, you find yourself entering something that looks more like a large server room, complete with rows of consoles and massive slide-into-the-wall server racks all along the wall. It's to one of these that the cagebot brings you, forcing you to bring your hand up and enter a sequence on the black screen, then stepping back as the rack slides out of the wall. It's completely hollow, without anything inside, though quite wide and tall... and the cagebot steps up into it.\n\nA low hum starts up as an almost invisible field fills the empty arch. You once more find yourself completely frozen, unable to even twitch again as the cagebot opens back up and steps back and out, shuffling off again. You gradually float upwards, your body forced to change positions, arms bending and lifting into 'goalpost' position out at the sides while your legs spread. The field draws you to the very center of the alcove, and you watch with horror as a plane of shiny blue material forms all along the front edge, the change in the color of the light coming in telling you that there's one behind you too and that you're now sealed in. But even worse is when there's a low, steady creaking noise and the shiny wall starts distorting inwards toward you as if all the air were being pumped out of the alcove. Your attempts at struggling against the field take on a more panicked edge as the rubbery stuff starts drawing closer, and closer, now starting to press in all around you. As the two planes touch together the field releases, and you're actually able to struggle, letting out a scream for help.\n\nBut it's too late, the rubber sheets have already sucked tight enough to hold you in place. Your mouth is caught open, the rubber pressing into it between your lips, your hair pressed flat against your head as you can feel the stuff sucking up and vacuum-locking against your tits, your nipples, your ass, your pussy. Your struggles are gradually forced to cease again as it grows tighter, and tighter, until you're held completely immobile like a bug in amber. Then you can feel a sliding motion, and everything goes dark.\n\n"GAH!" you scream, jolting upright and then scrambling to your feet, whipping back and forth, tits wobbling again. Breathing hard, you stare around at the small, featureless metal room with a single door, swallowing hard as you try to get your breathing and heartrate under control. "What the fuck?" you whisper, glancing down at yourself. You're compeltely naked, but otherwise seem... fine? No signs of your captivity. You pat yourself down a bit, finding that everything feels... normal? "What the hell happened?" you mutter, looking around again.\n\nEven on closer examination, there's just nothing in the room. The metal is a flat, neutral color, and it's essentially just a metal box with a door. There's more than enough room to lay down in or sit, and it's not cramped for headspace, but it's also not big. After a few moments, with little other option, you approach the door.\n\nTo your surprise, it slides open at your approach, revealing a similarly plain hallway beyond, although somewhat more dimly-lit. 'So it's... not a prison?' you think, glancing around the box-room. After a few seconds, you step out into the hall slowly. Your hands start to raise, mostly unconsciously, to cover yourself but then you make yourself lower them. Gotta keep your hands ready in case you need to fight, after all.\n\nYou continue through the quiet halls, frowning around. Every so often you see another door like the one you exited from, but none of them open, nor do they have any controls. Eventually the hallway splits, opening into a room made of a slightly different style and color of metal walls, branching off into large hallways. You can see that those have doors as well, but larger double automatic doors that split down the middle. You also spot something up against one wall that definitely doesn't look like it was an original feature of this place. You walk over to take a look, since it's the first thing that looks like it might have been made by someone... well, human-ish.\n\nIt looks like someone pulled off a wall panel and dragged various pieces of internal mechanisms out, as well as using various stuff that looks like it came from somewhere else, running a bunch of bars and cables and a tube from inside the wall up to the panel that's been altered into what looks, from the height and positioning, like a seat. A seat with a... well, what's obviously some kind of short, possibly telescoping phallus set in the center. You eye it for long moments, then the words scratched into the wall: 'Can help'. There are also some scratched into the seat underneath the phallus: 'Pussy here'.\n\nUm. Well. That, uh... that would seem to be fairly straightforward. This is someone... some other prisoner, maybe?... offering to help you, but for whatever reason, you have to put yourself on this weird cobbled-together contraption with a dildo at its center. You feel fairly confident that this isn't a trick of your Pervcursor captors because it's just not their style in any way you've ever heard of, but do you really want to jump right to... that... to maybe get some useful help?\n\n<hr>\n[[No.|PervSim1x1]]\n\n[[Yeah.|PervSim7x1]]

After a moment you sigh and tap the job listing. Yeaaaah you could plead being busy later on, but you'd feel super guilty about it, plus what if they actually do need you for something? Besides, you know the people your sister's staying with at the moment, and don't want to inconvenience them either. \n\nYou can tell the listing was put up by your father, since it's pretty terse and blunt. Your dad's not one to ramble on in person and he's even more clipped in text. 'Leo. Pick up your sister for a while. Advance attached with job for expenses.' Yup, that's him alright, your mother would be considerably more effusive and probably use emojis. \n\nYou eye the advance attached to the job... yup, that's a really decent chunk of change alright. Definitely enough you could afford to take Neo on vacation for probably a few weeks. Depending on how you wrangled that, you could manage to keep quite a bit of it, as well as the actual payment for the job. (Because yes it's actually listed as a legit VIP escort job... your parents are mercenaries and understand you are too, they're not going to just claim family privileges and have you take time out of your own life without compensating you.)\n\nWell, end of the day, nothing for it, you think as you finish accepting the job, unable to feel a bit lighter at the knowledge of Guild credits flowing into your account. You meander towards the departure annex, stopping briefly in one of the stores on the nearby 'impulse buy' promenade, taking your time so that you can muse over your options of what to do. You definitely can't keep her in your Guild apartment if it's going to be 'a while' (a period which, coming from your father, means at least two weeks but could range out to two months). The advance was certainly generous enough that you've got lots and lots of options on places you could stay, just ranging up and down over how much money you spend versus how much you might get to keep. \n\nSoon you're stepping out into a crisp fall Sakuralon afternoon, and admittedly there are few things better than that, other than maybe stepping out into a lightly snowy Sakuralon night, or a warm Sakuralon morning, or... well, it's a pretty nice planet, all you're saying. The air is gently fragrant with the scent of the ever-blooming sakura trees, the air is cool bordering on cold but not quite getting there, and the light is soft but radiant. Takes you right back to when you were studying here, you think a little wistfully as you cross the yard towards the old, large traditional Nipponzi-style house. Maybe you should include tooling around here in your potential plans.\n\nYou knock at the door, and it almost instantly swings open, which somewhat ruins your sister's attempt to look bored and nonchalant on the other side. Neo's younger than you (well, obviously, little sister), shorter and slim, with your father's blonde hair (though it's a darker variety with the influence of the black you inherited from your mother), her own grey eyes having more of a glint to them that makes them almost reflective sometimes. As is her preferred method of dress she's wearing a black bodysuit (not too tight) with rainbow glowline accents, and a short white hoodie-jacket. "Oh, it's just you," she says in an exaggerated bored tone, turning as if to walk away, before she whips back and leaps into a hug with both arms and legs. "Weoooooo!"\n\nSnorting, you put an arm around her back for balance and rub her head with the other hand. "Hey, snot, what's up? Why'd I get sent to come collect you? Didn't do something bad enough to get kicked out, didja?" you add as you set her down inside, your gaze already tracking around the inside of the house.\n\nNeo obviously notes your searching look because she snorts. "She's not here." When you look back at her, she continues. "Miranda and Sensei got called to some big important conference thing for the heads of schools and their heirs, or whatever, so I couldn't go. And apparently they don't want me to stay here on my own for however long it takes."\n\n"Smart," you reply deadpan, smirking as she slugs you on the shoulder. "Well, anyway, here," you add, pulling something out of one of your jacket pockets and giving it a short toss to her.\n\n"Squee!" she squees, actually pronouncing the word as she catches the round tin with both hands. "Yessss, sour cherry hard candy! They don't have it here!"\n\n"They don't have it anywhere other than the Guildhall seems like, sometimes," you note wryly as she wrenches the tin open and pops one of the candies in her mouth. "Anyway, I've been figuring out something diverting to do with our time together, dear sister."\n\n"Yuh-huh. Whatcha draggin' me to?" she asks with that particular sort of 'I have something on my tongue that I'm trying not to drop and also still sucking on it a bit' voice that comes from... well, exactly that.\n\n<hr>\n[[Luxury resort.|LeoSis]]\n\n[[Camping.|LeoSis2x1]]\n\n[[Virtcation.|LeoSis1x1]]\n\n[[Stay on Sukaralon.|LeoSis]]

"I think we should hop to another Remnant and then wait for the beacon to recharge," you say after a moment. "Then we can portal back here but outside the base with no issues."\n\n"But how long will that take? The recharging?" Yang asks with a frown. \n\n"At most a few months... we'll have to let it do it naturally too or it might lose its coordinates," you admit with a sigh. "But, since we'll be hopping right back to this timestamp it won't make a difference for the others, just for us."\n\n"Well... if you think it's best," Weiss says slowly. "I'm not exactly thrilled about the idea that we won't have our things when we get there..."\n\n"There's a slim chance we might," you say with a grin. "Since we're moving into the past we might get our past items back. Happens sometimes." You shrug at their stares. "What can I say, sometimes incredibly convenient things just happen."\n\n"You mean like me arriving exactly, precisely in time to intervene and prevent my alternate self from doing something she'd've probably killed herself for when it sank in?" Ilia says a little flatly.\n\n"... I mean, for some definition of convenience, yeah." You shrug, then beckon everyone in. "Okay, all of you get close and huddle up. We need to be close in to one another for this to work." You clasp Weiss's hand and draw her in, draping the other arm around Ilia's shoulders. "Okay, scooch in, and..."\n\nFwip.\n\nAll of you stumble just a little as you come out of it, but luckily since it's only a one dimension bump nobody actually gets sick. The sounds of combat immediately fill the air, and all of you quickly step back, weapons reflexively coming to hand, then stares being leveled at those weapons.\n\n"Fuck yeah, the universe decided to be ridiculously convenient, shove that contrived coincidence up your tropehole," you mutter to yourself as you snatch out Red Legacy and hit the control to unsheath it. "... Oh you have got to be fucking kidding me!"\n\n"We're back at the Battle of Haven?!" Yang blurts. "We just left this place!"\n\n"Yeah but look!" Ruby calls, pointing to the shattered and broken front of the building. "The fight's still going on but no billowing evil monster Salem!"\n\n"... Kai, didn't you say that we can interfere in this dimension as much as we want?" Weiss says slowly.\n\n"Oh yeah."\n\nTeam RWBY exchanges glances, before Ruby takes off running towards the building. "Last one to knock Emerald unconscious before she freaks out is a rotten egg!"\n\nBlitzing past the still skirmishing ranks of White Fang and Faunus militia, all of you rush into the Haven entryway. Numerous figures race to face you, but most of them seem too shocked to try and stop any of you, especially Ruby as she briefly twirls into her Semblance and comes up above Emerald. "This is for knocking me on the head when I was doing cool silver eye stuff!!"\n\n"Wha?!" Emerald Sustrai blurts, red eyes going wide right before the blunt side of Crescent Rose impacts the top of her head, her Aura flickering green as she goes stumbling backwards, then letting out a yowl as Ilia hits her with Lightning Lash, twitching and bucking as she drops to the floor. \n\n"Surprise, jerkoff!" Yang half-roars as she actually leaps over the line of local defenders. Mercury's eye goes wide, and you're pretty sure that the version you've seen pictures of wasn't wearing an eyepatch. Not that it would help him see what's coming, Yang's golden fist impacting his face hard enough to lift him off his metal feet and send him crashing into one of the pillars with a flicker of silvery aura before he too hits the floor.\n\nThe slight, simply-dressed woman that had been standing between the two of them whips her head back and forth as her allies are suddenly defeated, lips pursing in an expression of annoyance. Then she slowly raises her hands. "That's enough," she says in a half-miserable tone. "Don't hurt them anymore. There doesn't need to be any more death here today."\n\n"Well on that we're agreed," Blake says evenly, both she and you having your weapons raised to point at the woman's face.\n\n"Uh... what the heck just happened?" says a very familiar voice, albeit in total bewilderment.\n\nYou turn around, seeing Weiss... or rather, a Weiss. She's wearing a long white overcoat (with a singed hole in one side of it), buttoned up in front and with the hood pulled up and forward to only show her bangs, most of the upper left side of her face covered with a white ceramic mask. She's staring at you, and whirls around as she hears what to her must be a weirdly familiar voice say, "Oh, it's an incredibly long story."\n\n"I... I... what?" the local Weiss stammers, her mouth opening and closing rapidly as she stares at your girlfriend.\n\n"Yeah she's gonna be like that for a minute," you tell the others, glancing around at them. "Her too," you add as you spot a black-haired, cat-eared woman in a long, red-trimmed coat with a high collar, her Dust-red katana sagging a bit in her hands as she stares at the white-coated Blake from behind a plain black mask.\n\nThe others seem to be a tall, handsome woman with shaggy, shoulder-length blonde hair that fades through shades of pink before turning full red at the tips, dressed in what look like pink and red motorcycle leathers and a tight tanktop; a particularly muscular man in fullplate armor, albeit the helmet discarded to show Jaune Arc's somehow far more chiseled and handsome face nevertheless staring at you with familiar gawkiness; Lie Ren looking damn near identical but with a black-haired, green-eyed and exceptionally pretty... person... in black and green garb next to him staring at all of you; and...\n\n"Hey... aren't we missing someone?" you ask. You glance around, then see that your blonde friend is staring incredibly intently at the woman in pink, her jaw having gone a bit slack. "Yang?"\n\n"Uh... I..."\n\n"Hey, they're the ones who're supposed to get culture shock, not you," you note with a frown... then realize that what Yang is actually staring at is the other woman's silver eyes. "Oh. Uh, shit. I guess that answers where Ruby is," you mutter. "That means, where the fuck is Yang?"\n\nJust then there's the sound of an elevator. Raising into view nearby comes a girl just as slight as Ruby, wearing what looks a lot like a black hoodie with pale, faded red leather armor plates capping the shoulders and running down her arms, as well as laying across the hips of her similarly-colored pleated skirt, her legs sheathed in ripped and torn black thigh-highs above boots fixed with silver clasps in the shape of a bird emblem. "What in the hell?!" Yang whispers, staring intently at the miniature version of Raven Branwen standing there holding the Relic of Knowledge, staring at it with a solemn look on her face but the faint lingering traces of wetness on her cheeks. \n\nThe girl raises her head, then blinks red eyes as she stares at all of you. "Who... are you people?" she says slowly, her gaze fixing on Yang especially, as if not quite comprehending the resemblance, or refusing to let herself comprehend it.\n\n"Well," you answer, turning towards her as Ilia finishes tying up the Salemite woman. "I'm Kai Sterling. That's Ilia Amitola. And that," you add, gesturing as your other four friends cluster together lightly. "Is Team RWBY."\n\nThe red-eyed girl presses her lips into a thin line as the woman in pink, the other Weiss, and the other Blake all draw over to line up along with her. "That... is a very poor joke," she says, her voice flat and even. "Because we are Team RWBY."\n\n-\n\n"So uh... I guess I'll start things off!" Ruby declares cheerfully.\n\nThe group has retreated to the house that Ozma and Qrow had rented, virtually identical to the one you saw back on the other Remnant. Geez, you're gonna hafta start keeping these straight. You glance at the beacon, which is still slowly blinking, indicating it's recharging. Let's see, this is 4483, and you bumped it up one, that means "home" is Remnant 4482. That'll help.\n\n"Okay, so, I'm Ruby Rose," the younger silver-eyed Huntress continues, gesturing at herself, then at each member of her team in turn. "Weiss Schnee. Blake Belladonna. Yang Xiao Long, my big sister! We're Team RWBY!"\n\nThe young red-eyed woman observes this, still with a completely flat expression. She observes each member of Team RWBY in turn, especially eyeing Yang up and down. She looks like she might not say anything at all in return until the silver-eyed woman in pink nudges her shoulder. "... Ah, yes, I am expected to return the favor," she says flatly, sighing slightly. "Very well, if we can move past this... ridiculousness." She gestures to herself. "Rusty Branwen. Weiss Schnee. Blake Belladonna. And Yingtao Xiao Long, my big sister," she notes, finally naming the pink-clad woman, before turning her solemn gaze back on Ruby. "And I am quite certain that we are Team RWBY."\n\n"Eheheh, well, see, y'know, we're definitely Team RWBY though," Ruby assures the other sixteen-year-old, grinning sheepishly and brushing a fingertip against her cheek.\n\n"How could you possibly be Team RWBY?" Rusty looks her up and down with an expression that might be contempt if it had any actual expression to it. "You are named Ruby. It would be egotistical. And confusing."\n\n"GAAAAAAAAAAAH CURSE YOU OZPIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIN!" Ruby wails, collapsing to her knees and clutching her head.\n\n"Kinda with you on that one," Oscar mutters from off to the side, wincing and adjusting the ice pack draped on his forehead.\n\n"So wait, you guys are seriously from another... dimension?" Yingtao speaks up, looking back and forth along your side of the room.\n\nThe green-eyed girl(?) beside Ren scoffs from where they're sitting on the couch, slender arms folded over his(?) chest. "Nonsense. There are no such things as other dimensions. This is all some ruse, give me a month and a casting budget and I'd do better myself."\n\n"Branne, please," Ren mutters, rubbing his face a bit.\n\n"Listen... Rusty, I know this does seem strange but... something about them feels real, I don't know how to explain it, I-" Weiss 4483 says, reaching out to lay a hand on the younger woman's shoulder, only to wince as Rusty ducks away from the touch and takes a half-step aside. "I'm... I'm sorry, it's been awhile, I forgot."\n\n"..." Rusty says nothing, just turning away from Weiss 4483. She's hard to read through that stoicism, but you get the feeling that whatever her partner is talking about, there's more going on there than she knows. After a moment though, Rusty raises her head. "Uncle Qrow, what do you think?"\n\n"I mean... couldn't say I know a damn thing about other dimensions," Qrow admits as he scratches his jaw scruffy. But then his eyes come to rest on Yang appraisingly. "... But also if she's not Raven and Taiyang's, I'll eat my cape. Unless your casting budget covers cloning, Branne, I don't think you're gonna match this one."\n\nThe green-eyed person purses their lips together in apparent offense. "It might, you don't know."\n\n"I know it's hard to handle, and those of you with more obvious duplicates over here are probably still dealing with the aftereffects of culture shock," you speak up. "I've seen it happen with other groups I've worked with before, I'm an old hand at this. Generally goes amygdala highjack, brief born-again faith in deities as appeals to understood reality, then a couple of different ways. Since no one broke down crying I'm guessing you two slipped into 'this isn't happening'... hm, except you," you note, frowning thoughtfully at Weiss 4483.\n\n"She just... feels real," the half-masked Weiss murmurs. "Like... I don't know, maybe I can feel her through my Semblance."\n\n"I... kind of feel that too," your Weiss admits after a moment. "It's like we're in alignment enough that we're... tingling."\n\nThe Blakes are sizing each other up now more closely as well, both of them getting nearly identical pursed looks on their faces, and you imagine Blake 4483's eyes are doing the same little scrunch as Blake 4482's under her mask.\n\n"Why are you dressed like Adam?" 'your' Blake demands with a scowl.\n\n"Why are you dressed like Adam?" the other Blake shoots back.\n\nBoth of them stare at each other for a moment... then near-simultaneously turn away, putting a hand to their head and muttering "Oh my gods."\n\n"Look, we're not here to ask anything of you or demand anything of you," you assure the room. "And admittedly the amount of good advice we have to offer is limited. But if you're anything like this Team RWBY, you've only just gotten back together. Tomorrow night you can all get together and do what Ilia's doing right now... talk this out. We'll be here for... awhile, it looks like," you admit, looking at the still slowly-blinking beacon. "So we'll be here to help out with all the aftermath of the battle."\n\nRusty looks at you for a long moment, then over at her Blake and Weiss, who both give small, nervous smiles. "... I have nothing to say to these people," she declares quietly and evenly, before turning and trotting up the stairs.\n\n"Hey, Rusty!" Yingtao calls, partially rising from where she'd been seated, then wincing as one of her legs slips out from under her and she thumps back into the chair. "... Crap," she grumbles, trying again more slowly.\n\n"Cherry," Blake 4483 whispers, reaching out a half-gloved hand before quickly turning away.\n\n"... Blake, it's alright," Yingtao assures her quietly, giving her a smile that you've only seen in pictures of Taiyang, before it fades as she looks at Weiss 4483. "... I'm sorry, Weissu."\n\n"It's not your fault," the half-masked girl whispers. "She just needs... time."\n\nCuriosity is clearly eating Team RWBY alive, but Ruby clears her throat and nods, reining them all in. "Kai's right, you guys need some time, so we'll go find somewhere else to crash, okay? Tomorrow we'll help with getting Haven under control, and then after dinner we'll all meet up back here, okay?"\n\n"Sounds good." It's Jaune that says it, rising from the couch. You doubt his old hoodie would even fit him anymore, his powerfully-muscled chest and shoulders hugged by a black tanktop, and you catch more than a few of the group sneaking glances (because you're certainly doing it, damn). "Around seven then, okay?"\n\n"Hey," your Weiss says softly, stepping forward and resting a hand on her counterpart's shoulder. "Are you gonna be okay?"\n\n"Yes. Rusty's just..." The other Weiss shrugs a little, her visible eye tracking away. "... I know it doesn't seem like it shows outside, but she's hurting. And she doesn't... deal... with feelings well. ... Any of them."\n\n"Weird," Ruby mutters, only to clear her throat and glance away when several people glance at her. "Um, right! See you tomorrow!"\n\n-\n\n"So. Um."\n\nBlake 4482 rubbed her hands along her thighs through her pants, sitting atop the barrier wall beside her alternate. After a moment she huffed, "You know, I really should have asked Ilia for some pointers."\n\n"What, she's done this before?" Blake 4483 asked curiously, glancing over from behind her mask. \n\n"Yes. The Ilia that arrived with us isn't the one that's native to our Remnant... though it's easy to forget sometimes. She showed up just in time to... stop the other her." \n\n"I... was able to talk mine down," Blake 4483 admitted after a moment. "Somehow. ... Look, why don't we just be direct?" she suggested after another moment. "I think it's obvious which questions are on our minds, so we may as well just ask them."\n\n"... Alright, that's fair." Blake 4482 bobbed her head. "You're... wearing a mask. I'm glad it's not a Grimm mask, but does that mean that... you're branded? Like Adam?" \n\nBlake 4483 took a deep breath, then smiled ruefully as she let it out, kicking her elegantly-booted feet a bit. "Well that's certainly direct, yes. ... No, I'm not. I guess part of it's that I've always liked the mask... it feels a little comforting. Hiding away the yellow of my eyes, just that bit much more of what and who I am kept a mystery," she added with a flit of her fingers towards the top of her head. "... But, well, there's one more reason too."\n\nSlowly she reached up, taking hold of the corners of the black mask and gently tugging it free, then lowering it. Her counterpart stared at her, at the face that so precisely mirrored her own, save for the cherry-petal-shaped burning heart tattooed below the outer corner of one eye, like a permanent teardrop.\n\n"I haven't shown her yet," Blake 4483 whispered. "I didn't think I'd ever show her. After I ran from her, I was so ashamed of myself... I wanted to make myself live with what I'd done. I thought, every time I looked in the mirror, there it will be, reminding me that I ran out on the best woman in the world. ... Maybe it made coming back a little easier," she commented ruefully, setting the mask beside her. "Since I had to live with it anyway, why not face it?"\n\n"... So, Adam," Blake 4482 prompted. "He... dresses in white?"\n\n"He is very enamored of his image as a White Knight," Blake 4483 scoffed, shaking her head, ears giving a twitch. "I don't doubt that he would have ridden a big white horse into Beacon lopping off innocent students' heads with his sword if he could have managed somehow. The mythic hero of the White Fang. I hope he's not feeling very heroic right now," she added with a bitter snort.\n\nBoth were silent for long moments, just gazing out into the slowly darkening night.\n\n"What do you think will happen?" Blake 4482 finally asked, glancing over. "With you and Yingtao?"\n\n"... I don't know," Blake 4483 said very quietly. "She's an incredibly kind and forgiving person. She... told me she understands why I did what I did, and that she still loves me. Forgives me. ... I think at this point it's mostly whether I can forgive myself."\n\nBlake 4482 nodded slowly, drawing in a deep breath. "That's... probably one of the first things you've said where we really do feel identical."\n\n-\n\n"This is ridiculous," Rusty Branwen muttered, scowling down at the surface of the table.\n\n"Look, sis, it's just a bit of talking," Yingtao said gently, slipping a hand under the younger woman's thick mane of hair to rub her back. "I know it's not your strong suit, but let's give it a try, huh? It's not like they're trying to sell us a timeshare or something," she added cheerfully.\n\n"... Mn."\n\n"So. Uh." Yang cleared her throat, looking across the small table and at the opposite two. "I'm guessing things for us are a little... maybe a lot different than they are for the others, huh? I mean there's some... suuuuper obvious differences." The purple-eyed woman's gaze flicked briefly to the other eighteen-year-old's silver eyes, and she desperately tried to keep any bitterness out of her voice as she muttered "Super obvious."\n\n"Y-yeah. Like... like you go by Cherry too, right?!" Ruby chirped, finding a bright smile as she looked over at the pink-clad woman. "That makes sense I guess! Yang doesn't really go by 'Sunny' or anything except Dad calls her that sometimes!"\n\n"Yeah, generally I let my friends call me Cherry," Yingtao answered, smiling back at Ruby, the expression so much like her father's that Ruby's big sister complex suddenly reignited with a fierce passion. "I guess considering that we're basically sisters, that definitely goes for you too, huh?" Then she shot a gently annoyed look to her side as Rusty snorted softly and derisively. Clearing her throat a little, she continued. "So I guess the obvious conclusion is that certain things here happened in reverse order to each other, right?"\n\n"Right," Yang murmured, bobbing her head once. "In our world, our dad and Raven had me, and Raven left us about a year later. Summer stepped in to help, and a year later, Ruby here was born." Yang smiled fondly at distant, hazy memories still nevertheless embedded deeply in her mind, gently petting her sister's head a few times, Ruby dipping her chin down sheepishly. Yang's smile tempered with sadness as she added, "When I was about seven and Ruby was five, Summer... died. On a mission. That was the first time I learned I wasn't her biological daughter. When I learned about Raven. I went looking for her almost immediately... almost got Ruby and I killed doing it too," she admitted with a sigh. "I spent the next ten years trying to track her down. When it finally happened, it... didn't go like I thought."\n\nYingtao gave her own slow nod. "... Our dad married Summer Rose right out of school, pretty much. They had me, and when I was about one, that's when... whatever mission it was happened. Raven stepped up."\n\n"That's... sorry, I'm just struggling to believe it," Yang admitted, her gaze drawn aside as Rusty trembled a little in place, her downcast red eyes churning with emotion even as her face remained neutral.\n\n"Well, she did," Yingtao answered, half-wryly, half-defensively, giving a more lopsided smile. "And then my Rusty came along. ... And, when we were about those same ages, seven and five... that's when Raven left," she continued, an echo of old pain on her face as she glanced aside to the window, looking towards the empty branches of a nearby tree as if searching for something. "I never really went looking for her, though. I guess at that age I figured... if she left, she must have had a reason." Then she winced as Rusty suddenly shoved herself back from the table, chair scraping across the floor and wobbling a little as the smaller woman rose. "Rusty, hey-"\n\n"This is stupid," the red-eyed girl growled as she crossed to one of the windows and threw it open.\n\n"Hey!" Ruby hopped to her feet, frowning. "Listen, I know your Weiss said you have a tough time with feelings, but we should still talk about this! And, like, why you're being so mean to her!"\n\n"I am not being mean to Schnee!" Rusty snapped back, red eyes flashing as she looked over at Ruby, before turning and leaning heavily on the sill, rolling her shoulders slightly beneath her armored hoodie. "I just don't want her here. That is all. Do not tell me how to deal with my former partner, you... bad imitation."\n\n"Rusty Rose Branwen!" Yingtao snapped as both she and Yang came to their feet.\n\nRusty almost literally bristled, her auburn-flecked black hair raising slightly along her scalp, her head whipping to look at her sister and red eyes flashing with rage and betrayal. Then she slipped up onto the windowsill and dropped forward out of sight.\n\n"HEY!" Ruby yelped, rushing forward... only for her jaw to drop as a brown-speckled blackbird flapped into the air and took off towards the city.\n\n"... Are you fucking kidding me?" Yang almost hissed, staring through the window at the rapidly receding corvid.\n\n"I shouldn't have middle named her," Yingtao said heavily, sinking back into her chair, and wincing as again her foot slid out from under her at the last moment and dropped her the last half-inch. "She hates that."\n\n"Um! I'm gonna go after her!" Ruby announced, turning and rushing to the door, disappearing into her Semblance as she flitted down the stairs.\n\nYang made her way over to the open window, leaning her hands heavily on the sill and staring as her sister appeared rushing through the streets after the now disappeared blackbird. "... One more thing I didn't get, I guess," she muttered.\n\nYingtao looked at her counterpart, then dropped her gaze, nodding slightly. "You hate me, don't you?"\n\nYang just stared out the window for long moments. Then, "I'm trying my hardest not to."\n\n"You must have wanted very badly to really be her daughter." The silver-eyed woman slowly rose from her chair again, turning to face the blonde. "So it's not surprising that you'd resent me. ... 'I'm sorry' doesn't feel quite right, but... I'm sorry you're hurting," she added gently. "I'm sorry that... who I am... is painful for you."\n\n"... Why?" Yang almost croaked, thumping her golden fist down against the windowsill. "Why couldn't I be you?!"\n\n"Because you're you, Yang," Yingtao whispered, crossing to the other woman and laying a hand on her shoulder. She ducked her head in a little, looking at Yang's face, watching as the tears started to slide down it. "And if your Summer Rose was anything like the woman I've heard so much about, she adored you. She loved you, and you were her daughter." She hesitated a little before adding, "Raven left me too, Yang. But I wasn't a baby who had no memory of her, I was seven, and I had to watch what her leaving did to my little sister, how it tore her heart and soul out and left her hollow."\n\n"... I bet you had a lot to say to her, if you found her here like I did," Yang said dryly after a moment, grinning ruefully and wiping a hand across her cheeks. Then she blinked as the sunrise-haired woman turned away a bit. "Cherry?"\n\nYingtao was silent for some time, just staring through the window at the empty, leafless branches of the tree outside. "... I think maybe... some things might be lost to Rusty and I that aren't lost to you yet, Yang," she whispered. "Maybe... keep that in mind when you get back."\n\n-\n\n[[Music|https://youtu.be/Aj-9-3f0kr8]]\n\nShe banked and soared on air currents, letting them lift her and drive her forward, a combination of control and the lack of it that she admitted deep in her heart pleased her. This experience most only dreamed of, spoke of in awed whispers in movies and books, it was as natural to her as breathing, had been since she was ten. It was one of the few things that could bring solace to her heart, and more than once she had thought of simply... never turning back. Abandoning the human life that brought her little but misery and heartache.\n\nBut that wasn't strong.\n\nHer mother had always told her to be strong. She had said it that morning as she knelt outside the elementary school, tucking a jacket closer around small shoulders, brushing a hand over wild hair. 'Be strong, Rusty.' She had not known it was the last time she would be hearing those words, that it was a commandment for a life path instead of simply a mother's unique way of saying 'I love you'. She had smiled and she had gone inside.\n\nAnd that was the last day Rusty Branwen ever smiled. \n\nThe buildings of the greater city of Mistral surrounding Haven rose around her, altering the air currents, drawing her up to greater heights with a simple flap of her wings. Be strong, Rusty. Be strong. She wanted to be strong. To confront the fresh pain she was faced with, to a heart that thought it had broken beyond all pain when she was five, only to have it brought back together just enough to have it ground beneath Cinder Fall's heel, to end in blood and rubble, gazing at her with one blue eye and a relieved smile.\n\nShe called to mind her mother's face. The lips moving, trying to once again picture them telling her to be strong. The childish hope, buried deep inside her, beneath all the hollowness, all the emptiness, all the stoicism and monotone and distance. The idea that if she was strong enough, maybe her mother would come back.\n\nBut in her mind, those lips curled up in a gentle, resigned, loving smile, and moved to say a single word.\n\nShe banked hard suddenly, physically reeling away from the memory. Dove down through the air, found herself hurtling directly towards the wall of a building. And for a moment, for a moment, there was a part of her that did not want to change course. The part of her that drove her into battle with no gun component for her weapon, to pit herself purely physically against the creatures of hate and darkness. The part of her that wanted to fully embrace the expression of her soul, to perhaps be at peace from her pain, from the memory, from the imagery burned into her brain of someone she loved burning away to cinders and ash in front of her.\n\n'If you need me to, I can be strong for you too, Rusty!'\n\nOnly at the memory of Pyrrha Nikos's voice did she yank herself upright, briefly soaring directly vertical along the surface of the building, her avian form reflected in the glass of the windows dark with the deepening night. She twisted, rose, banked, curved through the air and up high. Higher, higher, up to the highest building she could find. And on a stone dragon jutting from the corner of a building, a sphere of mock-Dust gripped in its hand, she curled around it, emerging from the side gripping it with a human hand, hauled herself around and atop it, boots settling onto the stone beast's head. She rose to her full diminutive height, cold air currents rustling her thick mottled mane, staring down the sprawling megacity of Mistral below. Far below her, too far away to see, too far away to touch. Too far away to hear.\n\nShe dropped to her knees, threw back her head, and let out a howl, a sound of agony and loss that tore from her throat in a distant echo of another.\n\n-\n\nWeiss 4483 turned suddenly as if having heard a sound that wasn't there, looking away from Haven Academy and towards the city at large. "... Rusty..." she whispered.\n\n"Hm?" Weiss 4482 blinked, turning back to her alternate, who had paused in the walk they'd been taken, nominally patrolling the grounds for Grimm.\n\n"It's... nothing," the half-masked Weiss said after a moment, turning back and taking a few slightly quicker steps to catch up. "I'm just worried about her, is all."\n\n"Well she didn't seem very worried about you," Weiss 4482 said with a frown, glancing aside at the other white-haired woman.\n\n"You don't know what you're talking about," Weiss 4483 said in quiet, bitter reproach, before shaking her head and amending more gently, "You just don't understand. Please, don't blame her."\n\n"Well make me understand," Weiss 4482 replied firmly, frowning a bit and stepping in front of her coated, hooded counterpart. "What's going on? Why is your partner treating you like that? Is it because Father made us go home and she felt abandoned? That wasn't our fault."\n\nWeiss 4483 lowered her head slightly, reaching up to tug her hood forward further self-consciously. "... You have to understand a little bit about who Rusty is. Her mother leaving her when she was five, it... hurt her terribly. It changed who she was down to the soul, and... her Semblance, whenever she uses it, it sort of washes away her emotions. Even when she stops using it, she comes out of it quieter, flatter, and I think at some point she just... stopped bothering to come all the way back."\n\n"... And yet you're incredibly devoted to her," Weiss 4482 said slowly, not in recrimination, just observation. "Just looking at how you look at her, how you react to her, it's... ... you feel more strongly for her than I do for Ruby," she admitted. "You love her deeply, don't you?"\n\n"Not like that. ... Well, maybe like that," Weiss 4483 murmured with a small shake of the head, then a rueful smile. "When I got to Beacon Academy and we ran into each other, she was so... standoffish, cold, dismissive. I thought she was just someone else who hated the SDC, had already judged me before she met me. But later on, seeing her again in the cafeteria sleepover, I realized she was just... like that. With everyone," she added with a little chuckle, shrugging. "Everyone but Cherry. She knew exactly who I was, sure, the company, the singing, the money, and it just... didn't matter to her. They were irrelevant to who I was as a person, as far as she was concerned. I'd... never thought I'd meet anyone like that," she whispered. "Someone who didn't care one way or the other about the money, the fame, the reputation. Someone who just saw... me." She gave a short, soft, rueful laugh. "Even if 'me' didn't impress her very much."\n\nWeiss 4482 swallowed, feeling a lump in her throat. "That must have been... incredibly attractive."\n\n"Oh, it was." Weiss 4483 bobbed her head, still grinning ruefully. "I pestered the hell out of her trying to get her to be my new best friend. Well... my first best friend. It... was a little tough to get a handle on her, to learn to see through that exterior that ran just almost down to the core of her. But we did become friends. I was always incredibly proud of that... more than I'd ever been proud of our name, our family's accomplishments. I," she declared, puffing her chest out a bit. "Made friends with Rusty Branwen! They all said it was impossible, but I did it!"\n\n"Best friends?" Weiss 4482 prompted with a little smile.\n\n"... No. That was... someone else," Weiss 4483 murmured, her smile turning sad as she looked down again.\n\nWeiss 4482 looked at her counterpart for long, silent moments. Then she shook her head. "You're right, I don't understand. If all of that is so, why is she treating you like she can't stand to be touched by you, to be in the same room with you?"\n\n"Oh the touch thing isn't new... I mean, it's gotten worse with me, yes, but Rusty doesn't like anyone touching her. She tolerates it from Cherry to get her hair brushed, to get a headpat every now and then, but other people touching her makes her incredibly uncomfortable. I think that's just a... her thing. ... No, the not wanting to be around me is new, but she's not being mean or cruel. She's just... hurting, and doesn't know what to do about it."\n\nWeiss 4483 took a deep breath before saying, "At the Battle of Beacon, we heard that Pyrrha was confronting Cinder atop the tower. Since Rusty can change into a bird, we took advantage of her lesser weight, and I accelerated her all the way up the tower so she could help. But... then... then..." She shuddered, hugging herself, hunching into her slightly too-large coat and whispering. "Then there was this scream. We all knew it was Rusty, and it was... it was just pure pain. Like someone who was screaming out a part of their soul. Like the last scream of loss anyone would ever give."\n\nHer eye closed, pressing out a tear to trickle down her scarred cheek. "... And then we heard it again."\n\nWeiss 4482 opened her mouth. Closed it. Then stepped forward and wrapped her arms around her counterpart, holding her tightly.\n\nAfter long moments of silence, the two of them separated, and Weiss 4483 took a deep breath before continuing. "We could see Rusty falling. We didn't know if she was unconscious or... what. So I went to get her. I used my Semblance, propelled myself up through the rubble that was falling around her, trying to shield her from the debris. But once I got my arms around her it was all I could do to try and get us down, and one of the pieces hit me. Cherry... must have thought it killed us both, because then she let out this long scream of denial and there was a bright flash, something that hit the giant Grimm. It washed over us too, bled off enough of our momentum that I only broke my arm when I took the fall for us. Rusty was in shock, but she was staring at me, and she was alive, and I was just... so happy."\n\nSmiling ruefully, Weiss 4483 raised a hand and lifted away the half-mask covering the left side of her face. The very best reconstructive surgeons on Remnant had no doubt been hired and flown in, but apparently the damage had been such that only so much could be done. The shape of her eye socket wasn't quite right, the whole area a mass of scar tissue and overlapping lines from the surgeries, the eye beneath its scarred and disfigured lid solid white with a glittering blue snowflake emblem etched on the front of it. "She's not mad at me. She's guilty... and doesn't know what to do with the fact that I couldn't care less, since she's alive."\n\nWeiss 4482 felt hot tears slide down her cheeks, staring at the ruin that was the left side of her counterpart's face, and that small, sincere face without a trace of regret in it. "... How did you become this strong?" she finally whispered.\n\n"By being strong for her." Weiss 4483 ducked her head some as she lifted her mask back up into place. "It was something Pyrrha realized and we all came to understand as well. Rusty pushed herself, constantly, unceasingly, to be strong. But it's strong people that most often need the others around them to be strong too... for the times when they can't be strong anymore. So." She bobbed her head, the elegant ivory covering now back in place. "She'll be upset for awhile. She'll avoid me, and the anguish will eat her alive a little inside every day. But I'll be there for her. And I'll keep being strong too. And when she's ready to be weak for a moment... I'll be there to hold her up."\n\n-\n\n"There you are!" Ruby Rose chirped as she came to a stop at the edge of the building, sending a rush of red rose petals out to drift down over the edge. Rusty Branwen was standing atop the stone dragon's head, fists at her sides, gazing down over the city with a flat expression in place. All she really needed was a long flapping black cape and some pointy ears, Ruby thought, and she'd have a look that really brought the whole thing together.\n\n"Leave me alone. I have nothing to say to you," Rusty said without turning her head. \n\n"You kind of say that a lot, y'know," Ruby noted, raising her eyebrows.\n\nRusty's lips pulled back from her teeth, and after a moment she turned to face Ruby. "What would I have to say to someone like you?" She strode forward, hopped down off the edge and onto the rooftop, and ducked around Ruby as she headed for the other side of the roof. "Someone who doesn't understand what pain or loss even is?" She started to snap out 'Don't touch me!' as Ruby's hand grabbed her arm and pulled her around.\n\nIt didn't make it out before the other girl's fist impacted her cheek and drove her to the rooftop with the force of the blow.\n\n"You don't know a damn thing about me," Ruby hissed, silver eyes flashing with anger.\n\nRusty could only stare at an emotion she somehow had assumed the other girl couldn't feel twisting those cute features as Ruby drew up to her own full height, shoulders squaring beneath the red drape of her cape.\n\n"How dare you say I don't know loss, or pain. I lost my mother, I lost Penny, I lost Pyrrha. I keep losing people I love and every time it seems like I'm helpless to do anything to stop it! How dare you say I don't understand!" Her fists trembled a little, eyes narrowing. "Just because you're too weak to smile in spite of it!"\n\nRusty rose and lunged in a single fluid motion. It was Ruby Rose's turn to be knocked to the rooftop, sprawling with a hand reflexively flying to the impact on her jaw.\n\n"I hate you," Rusty snarled, that emotionless face now twisted in rage. "You have no idea how much I hate you. Looking at you fills me with nothing but fury, with anger, with..." Her fists trembled, teeth clenching until a little blood trickled from her gums. "Do you want to know why I hate you?"\n\n"Sure." Ruby rose to her feet, scowling back, meeting that flashing red gaze unflinchingly, her own silver ones almost perfectly level with it.\n\n"Because everyone wanted me to be you!"\n\nWhatever Ruby Rose had been expecting, it hadn't been that. She blinked, drew back a half a step, but said nothing.\n\n"Rusty Rose Branwen! Named for a woman who was dead and in the ground before I was ever even born!" Rusty snapped, stabbing a finger at the rooftop. "Do you know how many times I stood there looking at that monument, staring at it, willing it to speak, willing her to tell me what was expected of me! And now here it is, standing in front of me, flesh and blood, silver eyes and all!" she continued, stabbing her finger now at Ruby. "You with your easy smiles, your bright silver eyes, your Semblance with fluttery beautiful fabric and your rose petals! You're what they wanted me to be instead of me! Do you want to see what my Semblance is, Ruby Rose?!"\n\n[[Music|https://youtu.be/SXpnI52cLEc]]\n\nAnd with that the color faded from her skin, in moments leaving her as pale as a bloodless corpse. The auburn faded from her hair, turning it deep and black without highlight or luster, like gazing into the most starless sky in the deepest midnight. Black smoke began wafting away from her, curling away from her entire being, even carrying bits of her away with it around the edges, as if her very existence were barely tethered in the mortal world, her body flickering around the edges as if it existed within a candle flame to be snuffed out at any moment. Glowing red eyes stared into widened silver ones as every single aspect of her that Ruby had not realized she could faintly feel until it was gone disappeared... body heat, the sound of cloth and a heartbeat, the girl in front of her now as silent as a body laid out for viewing.\n\n"This is the expression of my soul," Rusty Branwen said, the anger gone from her voice, itself muffled and seeming to come from far away, as if it were merely some spirit reaching out from another world. In its place was... nothing. No anger. No yearning. No hope, or fear. Nothing human. "This is my Semblance. 'Walking Dead'. This is who I am, who I will always be."\n\nRusty closed her glowing red eyes, and gradually the flickering at her ages stilled, the darkness wisping away, her form becoming distinct, the small patches of color returning to her hair. What little color her skin had before returned, as well as the faint impressions of her warmth and sound. When her eyes opened again, they were normal, red eyes again, albeit flat and without apparent emotion in them. "When your father looks at you, he sees the devoted woman who nobly sacrificed herself for the sake of the world. When my father looks at me, he sees the woman who deserted him and left him with two small, distraught daughters to raise on his own. You are the true daughter of Summer Rose, the woman so good that everyone who ever met her fell in love with her... I am the true daughter of Raven Branwen, bandit, killer, abandoner. You are life. I am death," she concluded, eyes giving the smallest flash. "And who loves death?"\n\nShe turned and began to walk away again, only for her arm to be grabbed once more. She wheeled, intending to truly fight back this time... only to find arms wrapping around her, pulling her into a tight embrace, a hand going to the back of her shaggy head and drawing her closer.\n\n"I will," Ruby Rose whispered.\n\nRusty had gone stiff at the first touch, trembling slightly. "Stop it... stop it, let me go, don't touch me."\n\n"In a second. Because you need to understand... I will," Ruby murmured, squeezing Rusty against her. "I don't care if you're death, I don't care if you hate me, I'm going to love you anyway." She sniffled a little. "I'm sorry if you ever felt that people wanted you to be someone you're not... to be like my mom. But I don't think that's what they meant. I think they gave you her name because they knew she'd love you too. You're right... I'm her daughter. She'd love you no matter what, so I'm gonna love you no matter what. Guess you better get used to it."\n\nRusty shuddered. Then, finally, she slumped forward, leaning on Ruby a little. Bit by bit her arms came up, one hand resting on the other girl's back, the other grabbing a fistful of cape. "I really do hate you," she muttered half-miserably, leaning her head on the other Huntress's shoulder.\n\n"Yeah, love you too, sis," Ruby whispered with a grin, turning her head and pecking Rusty's cheek.\n\n-\n\n"A truly remarkable tale," 'Ozpin' mused, cupping his chin thoughtfully. "A multiverse... new possibilities."\n\n"Yup. Endless possibilities, as you've had standing here in this room. I've seen it myself before, though never quite so many at once," you admit wryly, shaking your head.\n\n"I will need some time to absorb this and think on what it means," the immortal concludes after a few moments, nodding.\n\nThat gives you pause. Slowly, you straighten up in the chair you're sitting in, regarding him thoughtfully. "Would that be thinking on what lie to tell everyone next, Ozma?"\n\nHe tries to cover his reaction, but there's a momentary stiffness, a flash of fear in Oscar's green-gold eyes. "I'm not sure to what you're referring."\n\n"Alright, then let me be blunt since it's my fucking specialty. In the Remnant we just came from, 'Professor Ozpin' fessed up about who he was, and more importantly, about what he'd kept from everyone. That Salem's immortal and he's just been trying to buy time for fuck-knows-how-long." You slowly raise your eyebrows the slightest bit. "Kinda sounded like you were thinking about going a different direction."\n\nOzma is silent for long moments before slowly nodding. "... I see."\n\n"Now, here's the deal, Oz. I'm pretty sure at this point things are heading towards an endgame whether you like it or not, and when that happens secrets tend to come popping out when stuff gets squeezed. You might want to think about whether you want those secrets to come out here, on your terms, while everyone's fresh off a win... or you want them to come out somewhere out there, in the middle of something else." You regard him for another moment, then push yourself up and head for the door.\n\n"... And what will you be doing?" Ozma asks quietly.\n\nYou pause, glance at him, snort. "I bet this dimension's Qrow still doesn't buy his own damn smokes. I'm gonna go make myself available to bum one off of." You turn back to him, though, for just a second. "Listen. End of the day, this isn't the Remnant I've hung my flag on. I'll help out my friends, I'll pitch in where I can. So I'm not going to go telling everyone your secrets. I'm just offering the voice of an experience that's not quite a month in my past to tell you that sharing the truth with everyone made us stronger, not weaker."\n\nWith that you turn and walk out, leaving him to stew over what you've said.\n\nBefore you can find Qrow though, you spot a familiar face. Since it's above a long black coat you head over. "Hey Rainbow, how's it going?" \n\n"Good. I mean, I didn't have quite as in-depth a conversation with her as the other one, but it was alright," Ilia answers with a nod. "I saw Weiss heading this way, our Weiss I mean."\n\nWhich means that of course you wait, and soon smile and enfold your girlfriend in your arms as she approaches. You frown a little though as she clings tightly to you. "What's the matter, baby, you okay?"\n\n"Just heard some... rough... things," Weiss admits as she nuzzles against your chest. When she draws back, she's frowning. "It really seems like this dimension is... darker... than ours."\n\n"I did kinda get that impression talking to the other Ilia, yeah," Ilia speaks up with a frown of her own, folding her arms. "Like, she's backed down from a lot of the hate she felt, but she still seems more... skittish, withdrawn. I got the impression that once she's helped out here, she's done, she's going to go find some corner of Kuo Kuana to live in and not mess with it anymore, which didn't even cross me or Silvia's minds. Her time in the White Fang seems to have been pretty miserable."\n\nAll three of you turn as Yang approaches, hands shoved in her jacket pockets. "You have a rough time too?" you ask.\n\n"Not by the end, we left it in a good place. She's... amazing," Yang allows with a bob of the head. "She's like... the best parts of Summer and Dad rolled into one, and I'm still feeling a little jealous that I'm not her, but she made me feel a lot better too."\n\n"Well at least someone has a happy alternate," Weiss snorts.\n\nYang hesitates a little at that. "That... might be going a little far. There was definitely a feeling of loss that was hovering around her that seemed even deeper than Pyrrha's death. She didn't say what it was, it was almost like she wasn't sure, but she... well, she told me that when I get back I needed to think about whether I wanted to leave some things as they were. That's not usually something you say if it's coming up sunshine and daisies for you."\n\n"..." Weiss turns away, pressing a knuckle to her lip.\n\n"Snowbird? What is it?" you urge gently.\n\n"Something the other Weiss said... about the fight on top of Beacon tower. She said after Rusty got there, they all heard her... scream." Weiss shivers a little, apparently just remembering the description enough to give her a bit of a chill. "A terrible scream of pain and loss. That must be when she saw Pyrrha die."\n\n"That... sounds about right," Yang murmurs with a nod.\n\n"That's the thing." Weiss swallows. "Then she said that they heard her do it again."\n\nThat makes everyone blink.\n\n"So... wait, maybe it was just like... a breath between still screaming?" Ilia offers, frowning.\n\n"Maybe. But the other Weiss also said that after that Rusty was dropping off the tower. Who pushed her?"\n\n"... Cinder?" Yang offers, and yet finds her gaze drawn to a nearby tree, as if suddenly looking for something, a little shift in her eyes saying she was expecting to find it there but didn't.\n\n"Cinder would probably have just shot her like she did Pyrrha," Weiss murmurs. Then she gives her head a quick shake and takes a deep breath. "I'm not sure if we should get involved. We have our own mission, don't we? That thing could recharge at any time and then we'd just have to bail on them anyway, we can't stay forever."\n\n"No, but we can stay until it is recharged." Yang folds her arms, frowning thoughtfully. "I don't know, Weiss, in some way these people are strangers, but in other ways they're basically family. Yingtao and Rusty are basically my and Ruby's sisters. I dunno that I feel okay with just sort of going 'Welp, we're gonna chill out in an apartment until we're ready to leave, good luck with your own worldsaving.'"\n\n"Well that's going to happen sooner or later!" Weiss huffs. "What are we going to do, Yang? Just stay with them until they save their world, and then go home and do it again for ourselves?!"\n\n"... I mean, y'look at it like that, it's sort of like a practice run, idn'it?" Yang muses, scratching her chin.\n\n"... Of all the..." Weiss takes a deep breath, then turns to you and Ilia. "And what do you two think?"\n\n"I think my counterpart is out of this as soon as she can anyway, so I'm not really drawn to this one way or the other," Ilia admits. "I'll go with whatever Kai thinks."\n\nYou scratch the side of your own neck thoughtfully, turning that one over. Both Yang and Weiss make good points. If you stick with this group and they find some way to defeat Salem, who's to say that you can't go "home" and apply the same solution there? But then again, Weiss is right on several counts too, including that this dimension seems to trend towards the darker end of things by nature... it's entirely possible you all might not come out of the experience whole if you try it, much moreso than on the dimension you just left. And it all comes down to... stay and help? Or retreat and leave?\n\n<hr>\n[[Stay and help.|KaiWeiss]]\n\n[[Retreat and leave.|KaiWeiss]]

"I think I'm going to pop over to Earth," you announce, standing up. You use the thirty-second Demon Lord's power of Alter Form to change yourself into a human (which basically just involves hiding your horns, wings, and tail), and the 111th Demon Lord's ability of Alter Equipment to change your clothes into a loose black spaghetti-strap top, short, loose black skirt, and side-zip knee-high black boots. "Watch the Monolith until I get back, Xenith."\n\n"Of course, your majesty! I assure you it will be in the same sinful state you left it."\n\nGrinning, you focus on the listing from the scroll and the enchantment buried there, using it to guide the manifestation of a portal, which you nonchalantly hop through from where you're standing in front of your throne. You land in the midst of a mild, sunny day somewhere near the edge of Knightsvale. You rest your hands on your hips and just take a moment to look around, taking in the, well... ambience. You've never actually been outside in the Realm of Deviltry, but it's pretty much what you'd expect from the name... red skies, lots of blasted rock, flows of lava, other towering and imposing demonic castles and palaces and labyrinths all dwarfed by the Dark Monolith. Even being a demon yourself, you have to admit this is quite a bit more pleasant.\n\nAfter enjoying the day for a few minutes, you take a look around at what's nearby. After all, you're here to discover useful and/or entertaining new things for the Realm of Deviltry... if you bring things back you can use in the Dark Monolith it will increase the energy you get from hero souls; and if you bring things back to replicate and distribute to the populace of the realm for them to enjoy, their adoration of you will grow, which will also help with processing energy!\n\nThere's a nearby plain, unadorned brick building with a rather uninspired style of sign that reads "Needful Kinks".<<if $loreleigone is true>> There's currently a sign on the door reading "Closed until further notice". Looks like they haven't found someone to replace Lorelei yet.<<endif>><<if $loreleigone is false>> There's a simple, glowing red sign in the otherwise blacked-out door window that reads '[[Open|NeedfulKinksFirst]]'.<<endif>>\n\nThere's also a somewhat more slickly-designed building with odd structures featuring hoses and some sort of spigots at the end outside, and an inside that's brightly-lit and features a cacophany of colored items that sort of make you want to go inside and touch everything. The sign above it reads "[[Pump'n'Gulp|MaxCSStart]]".\n\nThere's a much larger structure that features a number of very big, long, squarish metal contraptions loitering about at one side of it... you have a vague comprehension of what a "bus" is due to information inherited from previous Demon Lords, who no doubt heard about them from some of the Earth heroes they snagged. This must be some sort of central gathering area from which to make use of them... a "[[bus station|MaxBusStart]]", as it were!\n\nThere's also a road with paved pathways lining it at the edges, which looks to head [[further into town|MaxTownStart]].

As you stand there thinking it over, more and more it seems like the path you'd always assumed you'd be on strangles you. The world never showed you any hint of caring about the effort you put in trying your best not to take advantage of other people... why should you care in return? You just spent the last few months scraping together everything you could, and they want to take it all just for the opportunity to do good upright work? That's bull.\n\nYou're going Thieves Guild.\n\nYou turn and head down the street, towards one of the older but still more outward parts of town. You know where it is, of course, their location is a bit of an open secret in the town. The fact that the guards stay away from there and don't just raid the place on a weekly basis is telling, really, and even more than before helps you feel secure in your decision. Clearly corruption is baked in to this world, why fight it? In any event, you're soon walking down a rather dirty, mildly dingy street... not a lot of actual trash or anything, but clearly no one washes the cobblestones or sweeps the walks around here otherwise. The Thieves Guild building itself is a somewhat sagging old house... a mansion, in fact. Probably from a time when Sabanara was at its biggest and brightest and what's now within a few minutes' walk to the wall was considered close to the city center. Now it's dark and run-down, albeit still standing and seemingly whole and unlikely to actually fall over any time soon. The gate around it is in much better repair and looks like it's probably actually been replaced sometime in the last century (being tall with slick-looking metal and uneven, jagged cross-beams tipped with little barbs), and the yard that must have once been host to showy grass and plants is now filled with gravel instead, the kind that would make nice loud, noisy crunches. Obviously the thieves know their own banes and have outfitted their headquarters with plenty of them.\n\nThere's a guy parked near the entrance of the gate, sitting on the sort of bench-like bottom of the fencing (the only area where it's like that, directly out front). You've seen him around town before, and the few times you've passed this way, so he's obviously a member, even if no one else would be dumb enough to just sit around the entrance of the Thieves Guild. He's a Human with light skin and brown hair, but other than that that's all anyone would likely remember him, with his unremarkable, neutral-colored clothing... scruffy but indistinguishable, try and describe him to a guard and he'd be looking for half the Humans in the city. You guess that's probably pretty valuable in a lookout's line of work. You approach him, trying not to tense up when his hand subtly shifts under his cloak. \n\n"Hey, I wanna join," you say, deciding to be direct.\n\n"... Mmn," he grunts noncommittally. At least he didn't insult your intelligence with something like 'Join what?'\n\n"My name's Raz. Etch can vouch for me," you add, thumbing off in the general direction of the lumber yard.\n\nThe guy just continues to look at you for a moment, before taking a slow, lazy look around the street. Then he's on his feet, without having given you any real sense of how he moved, and ambles the few steps over to you. "Needa check you to make sure you're not trying to slip something dangerous in."\n\nYou hesitate only briefly before shrugging and lifting your arms a bit. He steps in and starts patting you down thoroughly, thoroughly enough to make you blush once or twice and quell a minor protesting noise. When he steps back, you double-take at the sight of your money pouch between his fingers, reaching out for it. "Hey, that's nothing dangerous!"\n\n"Never said it was," he chuckles, flicking his hand and suddenly holding it in the other palm. "But consider this a little tip for my service."\n\nYou narrow your eyes at him. "I thought there was honor among Thieves."\n\n"To be sure. But you're not a Thief yet, are you?" he replies, giving you a smug wink as his hand and the pouch disappear inside his cloak.\n\nYou seethe over that a bit as he crosses to the gate and pushes it open, making an 'after you' gesture towards the front walk. You have to suppress the urge to mutter angrily as well, because you guess it would seem a pretty weak start to your career with the Thieves Guild to complain about a Thief being a thief. You make your way up the front walk and up the steps onto what looks like it used to be a large open porch before it was closed in to cut off access to anything but the front door. When you raise your hand to knock, the door swings open before you can even touch it, revealing an attractive Human girl standing there grinning at you.\n\nShe's taller than you (which most are), with short black hair cut so that it forms an almost round shape atop her head, framing bright, mischievous yellow eyes, a pert nose and a kittenish grin. She's wearing a snug, high-collared sleeveless black shirt that shows off fairly large breasts, a black skirt that leaves about an inch of bare thigh visible between it and the top of her stockings, and black slippers on her feet, as well as elbow-high fingerless gloves.\n\n<img src="images/Peca.png">\n\n"Ah, hi, I'm-" you start, recovering a bit from your surprise.\n\n"Raz, right?" she interrupts, still grinning. "We've actually had our eye on you for a while," she says in a playful tone that both strokes your ego and sends a little shiver of fear down your spine. "I'm Peca. Come on in."\n\nShe steps back to allow you to come inside, which you do. It's pretty dim in the entryway, since they've covered all the windows, and only have a few scant, old magic lanterns up on the walls. You turn back to Peca just in time to catch her stretching luxuriously as if she'd been holding her muscles tensed, giving a soft 'mmm' as feline ears pop up atop her head and a tail slips out from under her skirt, briefly lifting it to flash just almost too much bare hip and buttock before it settles into a low swish. At your stare (made up of equal parts surprise and somewhat aroused embarrassment), she grins wider. "Beastfolk are automatically suspicious the moment they show up, to most Humans," she says wryly. "So one of the first things a lot of us in the Tee learn are spells to appear Human."\n\n"Mm," you 'mm', not quite sure what to think of that.\n\n"Anyway, we've heard about you from Etch, and looked into you a bit ourselves," she continues, tail continuing to flick back and forth, every so often rising a bit and lifting her skirt just slightly... you wonder if she's doing it on purpose to be distracting. (It's not working. ... Quite.) "We'd been hoping you'd turn up."\n\nYou frown a little. "If that's so, why didn't you send someone to actually ask me, instead of... letting me get robbed by your doorman?" Okay maybe you will complain about it. Just a little.\n\n"We're big on individuality and choice in the Tee. Well, to a certain extent, anyway," Peca declares with a little roll of one hand. "We don't really actively recruit much, we prefer people that are smart and driven enough to come to us."\n\nYou nod slowly, then venture cautiously, "I hear you guys have powerful Class Cards you can give out."\n\n"Mm, well, that's true. We don't usually give the really good ones away, you have to earn them. But it's true that if you just want to be a Thief, we've got plenty of those to go around," she says genially with a little shrug. "But we've also got a Classification circle in the basement that if you pledge yourself to service, we can see what it spits out. If it doesn't give you anything good you can always be a Thief instead. Really, up to you."\n\n<hr>\n[[Become a Thief.|Raz]]\n\n[[Do Classification.|Raz]]\n\n[[You want one of the good cards.|Raz]]

You sigh a little and let your head hang, ears drooping as she storms off. Then you jump a bit as a large hand thumps down on your shoulder and a boisterous laugh sounds from beside you. You look aside and up at a Greater Tigerfolk man who's still chuckling as he looks down at you. More animalistic in appearance, complete with fur covering his tall muscular body and a muzzle, he nevertheless has enough of a Human-ish look about his features to distinguish him from any humanoid monsters (at least to anyone who doesn't consider Beastfolk monsters in general). You'd figure him for a Warrior considering the massive axe slung at his back, as well as the leather breastplate and loose black pants, if the muscles weren't enough of a tipoff already. The handful of scars showing from beneath his armor and the one across one of his eyes are also a fairly big clue.\n\n"Don't pay that one any mind, boy," he says, tail flicking in a genial way as he tilts his head towards the departed Human woman. "The mighty miss Tyra considers no one fit for her company but herself, barely extending that to her summons."\n\n"Oh, she's a Summoner, huh?" you say, glancing after her (and trying not to be obvious about sneaking a last peek at her very fine butt before she disappears around a corner... she may be mean but she's undeniably hot).\n\n"Some even more high-faluting class that gives her access to damn near every kind of magic. But again pay it no mind, boy. My name's Byff, I've been a member of this place longer than most in this room have been alive."\n\n"I'm Raz. I've been a member since... maybe three minutes ago," you reply dryly.\n\nHe lets out another boisterous laugh at that, patting his (just slightly) paunchy belly with both hands. "Ahahaha! You didn't need to tell me! She couldn't have been much ruder about it, but give miss Tyra that, she spotted the green on you easily enough! Afraid you do smell of Horned Rabbit blood, boy," he adds with a light chuckle, grinning wider to take the sting out of it as you blush. "But it's fine, so did I my first day, so did I! Here boy, come have a seat with me, we'll toast your membership!"\n\n"Er... I wouldn't wanna," you say, admittedly a bit weakly, raising your hands and wagging them. That does in fact sound fantastic... even if Byff is a bit louder and more energetic a dining companion than you'd prefer... but you don't want to seem like a mooch.\n\n"Haha, don't worry about it, boy, I'm just off a much higher level quest of my own, nothing you could order in here is gonna make me resent you," he assures you, giving you a thump on the back that makes you stumble, and turning it into guiding you towards a table where there's already a mug and several plates and bowls of food. Before you can even consider protesting further he thunks you down into the chair across from the stuff and then moves to ease himself into the other chair.\n\nAlmost immediately one of the Guild employees, another pretty girl in a maid-like dress, appears by the table, sketching a little bow with her head and shoulders. "Welcome, what can I get for you?"\n\n"Ah..." You cast one last glance at Byff to see if he's sure, then look back at her. "I'll have a steak, I guess? And the dice-fried potatoes. And... a beer," you conclude, unable to help putting a bit of boldness in your tone.\n\nShe smiles in a not-quite-cheeky way that nevertheless makes you blush, before she says, "Would you like golden beer or a strong beer?"\n\nOh right. You do know there are different kinds of beer, you've just never really ordered one for yourself so you hadn't thought to ask what kinds this place might have. Huh. You're broadly aware that golden ale is the 'normal' beer, and strong beer is, well, stronger. You've never really had anything but the occasional small glass of wine, so...\n\n<hr>\n[[Golden beer.|Raz]]\n\n[[Strong beer.|Raz]]

Yeah, unfortunately, your brain locks up at just that point, producing nothing other than a general sense of 'oooo, big strong men!' that you try to fight through and don't really succeed as they crowd in around you. "Er, ah, I..."\n\n"Damn they are really sweet, too," one of the horsemen practically coos as he reaches out and, casually as you please, uses his large thumbs to push on the sides of your skinarmor top, pressing your tits down as he slides it between them and then letting them spring out wobbling to press into the overshirt, not quite properly covered by it.\n\n"Mmhm, absolutely," one of the others agrees, proceeding to lift up the front of said overshirt so that they're not covered at all, your stiff nipples jutting out to sounds of general approval by all the rest.\n\n"Yeah, I think we should just fuck her right here," one of the ones at your side says, already reaching down to undo his pants.\n\n<hr>\n[["Huh? Er, uh, w-w-"|ChiPir8x2]]\n\n[["W-wait a second!"|ChiPir]]

Even as you're still trying to kickstart your brain into motion, one of the horsemen that's moved behind you has rested a big hand on your shoulder and pushed you down to your knees right there on the sidewalk. "Hey wait a-" you manage to get out right before the one that suggested fucking you in the street flops his big, mostly-hard equine prick right across your upper face, blotting out your view of anything but its thick, veiny length from right against your nose, and completely filling your nose with his heady, bestial musk. Your protest turns into something somewhere between a squeak and a moan, a hard shudder running through your entire body.\n\n"Awww yeah this is gonna be great," another of them says as you can feel and hear more than see various flies being undone and more cocks flopping out, some against your shoulders. Your arms are snagged in more of those big hands and drawn up, one pressed to a heavy, obviously very full ballsack and the other pressed to a stiff, throbbing length that it can't quite fit around. Before you even know what you're doing you're fondling and stroking, your movements a bit shaky and timid but obedient all the same.\n\n"Haha check it out she's drooling!" one of them cackles lightly. Which is humiliating, but you are... you can't help it, you actually have a little run of spittle going down your chin from your slightly hanging-open mouth.\n\n"Guess I better help her plug that up, huh?" the one with his dick flopped across your face says even as he rubs it back and forth, sending more shivers of confused but intense excitement through you. Then he draws it back and angles it down, a big hand coming down atop your head and turning it.\n\nYou open your mouth, probably to try one more time to voice a protest about being fucked (or at least being fucked in the middle of the sidewalk in public), but whatever half-formed thing you were going to say turns into a "Mmnlf!" as he presses that broad, blunt cockhead against your parted lips and stuffs it into your mouth, quickly pushing it forward to nudge at the opening of your throat. He starts rocking his hips, lightly at first, just working the flared head around in your mouth, stroking it over your tongue and fully coating it and the rest of the interior of your mouth with his pre.\n\nMeanwhile one of the others leans down, briefly groping one of your breasts as they sway and jiggle with his friend's moving of your body, and casually unbuttons your shorts before shoving his hand down the front of them, one big finger rubbing back and forth along your slit. "Woooo she's fuckin' dripping down here too, guys!" he announces to laughs and noises of general delight. Your hips buck and twitch under his touches, then jerk upward as he pushes that thick finger inside you, the noises you make clearly delighting the one using your mouth to judge by the increased throbbing of his prick and flow of his pre.\n\nThat one in particular starts pushing a bit more firmly on his thrusts, gradually stretching you open around him, your throat bulging visibly on the outside with both the flare of the head and the bulk of the shaft as it starts working further down. Without realizing it you shift your hand to the shaft of the Equaan's balls you were fondling, starting to pump them both in time with their friend's moving your head on his cock, as if the rest of your body were just naturally falling into the same rhythm. The Equaan fucking your throat works you deeper and deeper down, until finally you've got your nose snuggled up into his crotch and his balls against your chin, smirking down at you as you roll your eyes up towards him, your throat convulsively swallowing and gulping around his full length.\n\nThen he abruptly pulls himself all the way out, his cock slipping free and swaying, but your head is already being turned and another cock is being pushed right back down it, taking advantage of you still being stretched to hilt into your throat all in one go, pushing you right back down against a musky, thickly-scented crotch and heavy, overfull balls. One after the other they slip in, pulling out quickly and shoving you right back down onto one of their friends so that you're deep-throating a new cock every time, a few of them giving only a few quick thrusts to make sure your throat stays nice and supple and cock-ready before turning you towards a new Equaan prick or one of the other ones.\n\nOnce you've made the circle several times, the Equaan who'd originally had you deepthroat him you grips your head with both hands and starts thrusting in earnest now, really fucking your face with quick, short pumps of his hips. One of the other grabs your own hips, others pulling your coat off and tossing it against a nearby wall as you're brought to your knees, your hands grabbing the one in front of you's strong, still-clothed hips for stability. Your shorts are quickly yanked down, your legs tugged on to get you to step out of them, and you feel a big, meaty cock slap against your ass several times, no doubt for the viewing pleasure of the other Equaans and the general public. \n\nThen he pushes into you, your absolutely sodden cunt squelching obscenely as such a large, inhuman prick pushes into it and stretches it easily in its current eager state, more and more of your pussyjuices squirting out with every inch as if there were just no room in there for them as well as that fat horsecock. Your eyes roll as you cum repeatedly just from finally getting a cock in you, your body having long since given in to begging and pleading for it even as the back of your brain still struggled to behave, your hips trembling and bucking eagerly to encourage him, shameless of the morning sun beating down on your mostly-naked body and the small crowd that's no doubt gathered around.\n\nThe one in front of you keeps his hands on your head, working it back and forth as he likes as he fucks your throat long and deep, the ring around the center of his long pole stroking back and forth from your tongue down to below the bulge in your throat each time, while the other Equaan grips your waist and pumps into you from behind, his balls slapping against your crotch not quite in time with his friend's slapping against your chin. Your pussy splurts wetly around the pole fucking it, while saliva similarly dribbles and sprays a bit with every thrust into your mouth, both your slutty, eager holes gradually drenching the big aliens' balls. The one fucking your face chuckles, possibly at how compliant you've become, shifting his hold to the base of your ponytail with one hand, reaching down with the other to give one of your swaying tits a light slap, making you squeal around his prick and cum all over his friend's again.\n\nEventually the both of them let out long, whinny-like moans and shove forward at almost the same time, spitroasting you so thoroughly you can't help but wonder if their cocks are rubbing together inside you as they twitch and throb and fill you with floods of cum. White spatters out around the stretched pink rim of your pussy and your lips, marking your thighs, ass, and face with it, your eyes rolling again as you writhe and squirm between them as they use you as a public cumdump.\n\nWhen they pull out, you're left straightening up and standing for a moment on wobbly legs... but only a bare moment before one of the other Equaans urges you over to the nearest wall, which just so happens to be the large front window (probably not glass since it's intact) of a bar and bends you forward to put your hands against it. He, too, slaps his hefty prick against your ass a few times, showing off the way he's hard and heavy enough to make it jiggle, before he nudges it down and stuffs it into your already cum-smeared and fuck-stretched pussy, sliding on in and then starting to fuck you against the window.\n\nYou can see the men inside who'd already been watching leering and grinning and a few just staring in awe, more than half of them having given in and pulled out their cocks to jerk themselves off as they watch. Panting, you look over your shoulder at the Equaan fucking you, at his own smug leer, and see that his other friends have decided to form a line to one side of him, stroking themselves lightly as they wait their first or second turn. You can also see plenty of other men watching, fewer out here having taken the opportunity to indulge themselves but a few still jerking off to watching you get a horse train run on you all the same, despite staying back and letting the group that's obviously laid claim to you satisfy themselves.\n\nThe Equaan who bent you against the window doesn't take as long about it as the first two, letting out his own deep, whinnying moan as he dumps a second load into your pussy, letting the men in the bar have a premium view of your eyes rolling and your tongue lolling out, your mouth open in a round, overstimulated O of pleasure. He grinds against you for a moment as if making sure his balls are fully drained by rubbing them against you, then pulls out and steps away, allowing the next Equaan to immediately step forward. But whether not wanting to go for sloppy thirds or just having had his eye on a sweeter, tighter prize all along, he instead presses his flared cockhead against your ass, and then pushes inside slow and steady, making you let out a long "Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh god" groan as he stretches your tight little rear hole open much, much wider and deeper than it ever has been before.\n\nWhether it was desire or aversion to using your already twice-used pussy, he certainly doesn't seem to have any problems with his balls vigorously slapping against your cum-drenched cunt once he starts vigorously fucking your asshole. The impact of the big, heavy orbs is practically like a spanking added to the intense anal pounding, and you grit your teeth and tilt your head back, rolling your eyes and mindlessly twisting your hips, your body wantonly begging for more abuse even as your mind threatens to break completely. \n\nThe line moves on, one by one, the Equaans picking your pussy or your ass seemingly at random, stretching and stroking them, filling them up again and again until they're both gaping and practically hidden beneath thick, dripping layers of white goo. You've completely lost track of how many times you've cum yourself, in fact you can barely think at all, just hanging your head and letting it wobble around on a limp neck nearly as much as your bared tits are shaking, moaning and gasping whorishly and insensately. You mostly only have a view of your own boobs bobbling about underneath you, and of between your spread legs of those hefty equine balls slapping against either the front of your crotch or against your cunt, your thighs and belly getting steadily more spattered with their jizz and your pussyjuice.\n\nIt's afternoon by the time they seem satisfied with you, the Equaans making agreeable noises as they give you a last few fondles and squeezes, cupping your tits or petting your cum-spattered ass, one of them reaching forward and tucking something into the collar of your skinarmor top. They shoo off most of the onlookers before they saunter off, their discussion of where to go to find their next fucktoy (with the wistful sounds that they probably won't be as hot as you) fading into the distance.\n\nYour mind swims as you try to put it all back together and get a handle on yourself. You barely even notice the one or two more standard humanoid men stepping up behind you and giving a few quick thrusts into your absolute mess of a pussy before adding their much more meager loads to those of the hefty, virile Equaan ones inside before scurrying off. But if any are left they go scampering as you straighten up, wobbling in place and looking around a little blankly. Moving mostly on autopilot, you pick up your jacket and pull it back on, then look around for your shorts. After a minute of not seeing them anywhere, you just sort of sigh and set off back towards your room, shuffling along, leaving a slightly irregular trail of Equaan cum dripping out of you in your wake.\n\nYou get back to your room still in a rather blank state and strip off the rest of your clothing before getting into the shower and turning the heat up, soaking under it for a good long while, still just sort of letting what happened sink in. You suppose technically you were just gangraped, but... you were kind of enthusiastically participating by not too far in, that's difficult to deny. Shaking your head and wondering just what the heck happened, you get out of the shower and dry off, padding naked back into the bedroom. You start to pick up your clothes, when something falls out of the top... a wad of physical credit bills.\n\nThey paid you, you think, staring at it, then sinking down onto the bed. Like a whore.\n\nTwo seconds later you're laying on your back, pounding your fingers into your pussy and fucking your hips up against your hand, driving two fingers of the other hand into your ass as you moan and yell and yowl, bringing yourself off hard twice more before slumping to the bed, shuddering.\n\n'... Fuck,, what is wrong with me?' you think as you come down off the latest fuzzy-headedness. You feel a little more like yourself now, but your whole body is still slightly hot and faintly aching and the thought of getting fucked and degraded by big bestial men still makes you shiver all over and play with your clit lightly whenever it occurs to you, which is at least once a minute.\n\nShaking your head, you yank your thoughts back on track and your hand off your joybuzzer. Whatever... it happened, time to move past it. Of course, to do that, you'll need to replace a certain piece of your wardrobe, since you can't just go about bottomless. \n\n... well you could but...\n\nYanking your hand back, since it had been trying to sneak between your legs again, you instead reach it over and grab your comm and start looking for a place that sells clothes and will deliver at least overnight. It appears that despite this being a pirate port, a few chains do keep up a presence here... well, go where the profit is, apparently, and it is an actual city besides being a pirate freeport. (You wonder if they still spend less on increased security than they would on taxes elsewhere?) You scroll through and find a nearly identical pair of shorts with skinarmor lining to the ones you lost, just black denim instead of blue. Eh, probably better fitting to your current ruse anyway.\n\nYou start to click 'buy now', then pause as part of your brain says, 'Hey, why don't we dress sexier in case we meet them again?'\n\nWhat?\n\nBut the thought is already tumbling around in your mind, activating all those neurons that got good and overloaded during recent activities. The base, vulgar thrill of their coarse compliments, the feel of their eyes and dozens of others roaming all over your practically naked body, ogling you, wanting you, even jerking off in public to you. A shudder of deep exhibitionist excitement that you never knew you had runs down your spine and takes up residence in your pussy, whispering that yes you should tooootally wear something sexier just. In. Case.\n\n<hr>\n[[Give in and buy sexy stuff.|ChiPir]]\n\n[[Just buy the replacement shorts.|ChiPir]]

-Update 1-\n*Main: Caliburn can [[immediately set off|Cal2x4]] for the Annex of Annihilation.\n-Update 2-\n* Continuing Caliburn going through the Labyrinth of Change.

"Blackbird did say I was always welcome on Cybaluna, before she left the last time," you say after a bit of thought. "It would be good to see her again."\n\n"I think so too, I always liked Blackbird," your mother chirps happily.\n\n"Mom," you murmur, expression going flat again. "Please."\n\n"What?" She blinks showily, an innocent expression plastered on her face. "What's wrong?"\n\n"You've got that 'yay grandchildren' look on your face again," you say with a sigh. "I've told you, it's not like that with Blackbird. ... Quite," you add in a mutter more for yourself than her. "Besides, she's not even an organic lifeform, I'm pretty sure she and I aren't compatible in that way."\n\n"Biomechanical life form, and there's always adoption," your mother says cheerfully, if anything smiling brighter in defiance when you give her a sour look.\n\n"Hm, actually, according to my studies of Metallian biology and technology, there's the potential that..." Your father trails off as he notices the two of you staring at him with very different expressions on your faces. "... So, visiting the childhood friend, huh? That will be nice for you," he says as if never having spoken previously, sipping from his glass of iced tea with a nonchalance that somehow perfectly conveys that you couldn't pry what he was originally going to say out of him with a crowbar and a sidekick to beat with it.\n\n'Childhood friend' is probably not strictly accurate, you muse roughly two weeks later as you toss your bags into your mother's starship and settle into the pilot's seat. If only because it usually conjures to mind people that met when they were like eight or nine. You actually met Blackbird in your teens, shortly after you became Caliburn, and formed a semi-informal team of other teenage heroes to hang out with. While it's true that things... maybe edged into that area your mother was implying, complete with a bit of light fooling around... it never really solidified beyond close friendship, which might have something to do with... well, essential differences, but also that she routinely had to return to her homeworld. The last time she left she certainly implied it might be for good, but that you were always welcome to come and see her. Now seems the best time to take her up on that offer.\n\nA few days later you approach the huge, entirely metallic mobius strip that is Cybaluna... well, huge in that it's roughly the surface size of a large planet on the inside, though since it's not as immense as other ringworld-type structures you've seen it actually winds up looking smaller by comparison. Shortly after entering the system, you receive a comm. "Legendary Sword, this is Cybaluna navcentral. Welcome to Cybaluna, Caliburn."\n\n"Thanks, navcentral," you answer with a small smile. "Nice to be here."\n\n"The princess is waiting for you at commandcentral, she's been looking forward to your arrival. Would you like us to bring you in?"\n\n"Yes, please. Thank you," you acknowledge as you turn over the ship's autopilot to the command.\n\nAs you're brought in through the loops of the strip, you get a chance to have a look at the unique Metallian Precursor architecture, which is a weird blend of purely brutalistic aesthetic in sharp spires and pointed edges and highly functional. The skies are filled not only with an incredibly diverse set of vehicles (some of which don't actually look like they were designed for atmospheric flight but there they are) as well as individual humanoids just flitting about normal-as-you-please. You're brought in towards the largest spire that actually runs from one side of the loop to connect to the other, landing at a middle point on it and quickly moving to the ramp as it lowers. As you descend, a shiny form is already flitting out of the sliding doors at the end of the landing platform walkway, approaching quickly. Her thick, messy black hair gleams in a way that shows it's as metallic as her shiny golden skin, looking more like a solid formed mass than strands. Despite your own obvious changes since then, Blackbird looks exactly like she did the day the two of you first met, slender and still of teenaged proportions, albeit with rounded hips and B-cup breasts, both of which are covered by a 'bikini' of black armor plates with little glowing lighted portions, her forearms and legs from the thigh down covered in more of the same. An arcing red symbol is emblazoned on the gold chrome of her belly, about the spot where her bellybutton would be if she had one instead of simply the general indentation of a navel.\n\n"Cal, it is good to see you again," she declares in a flat monotone, her face utterly expressionless as she raises a hand, floating just enough of a distance off the landing pad ground that her feet can angle down and not touch. "I am overjoyed by your presence. I can hardly contain myself with this overflowing feeling of delight at once again seeing one of my closest friends."\n\n"Hey, Birb," you answer with a grin, stepping forward to hug her, feeling her return it with seemingly formal solemnity. "Been awhile, it's good to see you too."\n\n"In honesty, my Light was near to bursting already when you messaged me to inform me of your visit," she continues flatly as the two of you part. "Although I was also deeply grieved to learn of your troubles. Truly my Light wept to learn that things between you and Lara had soured so," she adds without so much as a twitch of expression. "My deepest condolences."\n\n"Thanks, Birb," you murmur, shaking your head as you rub the back of your neck. "But yeah, with that and everything else, I just had to get away for awhile. I hope I'm not imposing?"\n\n"You are always most welcome, my friend," she drones, turning and floating back along the path and prompting you to follow along, half-consciously lifting into the air and drifting along like she is. "But you also have most fortuitous timing for your current visit. The latest treaty is holding well, no external threats currently menace us, and Cybaluna is experiencing a small renaissance in art and culture because of it. In truth my Light overflowed with joy even before I rejoiced at seeing you again, to know that my world is doing so well," she assures you flatly.\n\n"I'm really glad to hear that too," you say warmly. "I know it's what you've always wanted for your people, Birb, Metallian and Chromian alike."\n\n"Yes, each day I give thanks to the Source that this blessing has occurred within my lifetime, and that I in some small way assisted in its occurrence," she blandly announces, glancing at you with expressionless glowing blue eyes.\n\nFor a bit neither of you says anything, just enjoying a companionable silence at once against being in one another's presence as she shows the way through the halls. Every so often you pass another metal-skinned individual wearing various coverage of armor, several of them calling out warm "Hey, Caliburn!" and "Nice to see you, Cal!" in recognition, making you grin and wave. Yeah, it's definitely nice to be on Cybaluna again. Though you blink as Blackbird draws up in front of a door. "While I admit a certain amount of reticence, I also admit an equal amount of happiness to announce that there is another individual who has announced their eagerness to see you again upon your visit, and thus we should make this brief stop before we continue on to indulge in discussion and reconnection," she informs you gravely.\n\n"Oh?" you say with a blink as she presses the announcement button on the panel, making a bit of a face at the lilting call of 'Come i~n!' that comes back. "Oh, Birb, c'mon I don't want to see-" The door slides open, and you immediately fight between wincing and staring, settling for putting a hand to your face and incidentally covering your eyes. "Hi, Sharps."\n\n"Helloooo~," calls the chrome-skinned figure hovering roughly in the center of the room, mock-nonchalantly reading a datapad, legs folded over each other as if propped up on a recliner. "Nice to see you, Cally-Cal!"\n\n"I'd say the same but then you'd just make the standard quip about whether I enjoy seeing so much of you," you answer with a sigh, slowly lowering your hands and forcing yourself to look at the nude Metallian without any blushing. "Still not wearing clothes, I see."\n\n"Pft, pointless meatbag affectation," Blackbird's sister declares, tossing the pad aside and floating upright with her hands on her hips, smirking. Though her hair is just as black and seemingly molded as Blackbird's, Blackblade's is a bit more smoothed down and less wild. Her body is obviously far more... ahem, mature as well, with large, full breasts almost literally capped by simple, shallow domes with small bumps in the center, and a slight groove between her legs, all of it the exact same shiny silver chrome as the rest of her skin, the only variation being the matching red mark on her stomach to Blackbird's. "I don't need armor unless I'm going into combat, so unless you're here to start something. Oh dooooo tell me you're here to start something," she coos, before snickering softly and winking one glowing red eye.\n\n"Not today, thanks," you answer almost as flatly as Blackbird's usual tone.\n\nWho, speaking of which, says in her typical emotionless manner, "Sister, I am most distressed. You promised you would not aggravate Caliburn so soon after his arrival."\n\n"Alright, alright, sorry, but I missed him in my own way, yanno," Blackblade declares smugly, folding her arms under her molded silver breasts and showing off their pliability despite apparently being made of metal.\n\n"Guess I did too. Sort of," you mutter, rolling your eyes a bit before asking wryly, "So, Sharps, last time we saw each other you were hanging out with the latest Chromian warlord and trying to assassinate your father, what side you on today?"\n\n"Ohhhh, varies with the time of day," she answers breezily, using her fingers to form a ring around the red symbol on her belly as it shifts and alters, becoming a different purple design briefly before changing back. "Not that Metallian and Chromian matter much at the moment. Deathcannon, well, he's got his post-war activism keeping him busy, I haven't seen him much since the treaty was signed. As for me..." She smiles almost kittenishly. "Heeeey, I know, why don't you come out with me tonight? I think you'd really dig what I've got going on, y'know?" she adds, tucking her hands behind her head and giving her hips a jut as she winks.\n\n<hr>\n[["... Pass."|Cal]]\n\n[["... Why, what are you doing?"|Cal]]

Skooma

Hm hm hm, are you some beggar pranker? Will you take the first obvious targets to fall into your lap? No no, you are more discerning than that! ... But you make a note, even if they're not here later, you bet they do this most days. They'll be a good target eventually~!\n\nYou set off again, humming some more, getting to another block before you pause and sniff. Hmmm... mischief! Yes, someone is doing mischief nearby! Obviously not proper fox spirit mischief, more something small and lame in comparison, but still! Let's see what's up?\n\nYour cute nose wiggling as you sniff, you wander back and forth a bit before zeroing in on one of the nearby houses. Getting a good solid whiff, you flit off the ground and fly up to one of the windows. Oho~, what have we here? Why, it's a boy skipping school! Maybe junior high, to guess? And look at what he's skipping to do... looking at porn! Specifically it looks like a 'big sister' themed porno mag, konkonkon, no wonder he's hiding out while his mother and big sister aren't home to possibly catch him! It doesn't look like he's polishing his knob just yet, but between his age, the obvious hardness of his prick, and the hotness of the magazine (it actually is pretty lewd, you approve!), you doubt it will be long.\n\nTsk tsk, young human! It's wicked to skip school, and even more wicked to look at porn! Which obviously you approve of, but also, didn't Mommy ever tell you that if you're a wicked child, some fox spirit will prank you? Well... they may not have said exactly that, but you bet they said something like that!\n\n<hr>\n[[He's asking for it!|Konko6x2]]\n\n[[Nah, let him have his fun.|Konko]]

Yes yes yes, wicked boy who stayed at home to look at oneechan porn, you're just asking for a pranking! Begging for it, gagging for it, konkonkonkon~! \n\nAh, but what to do, what to do? So many options, an embarrassment of riches!\n\n<hr>\n[[Impersonate a cute oneechan.|Konko10x1]]\n\n[[Impersonate a family member.|Konko7x1]]\n\n[[Have him really get into his doujin.|Konko]]\n\n[[Just pounce 'im.|Konko6x3]]

Really, not every prank ever has to be an elaborate web of deception and luring someone into their own fate... though those are a lot of fun! Sometimes it's nice to just go right ahead and pounce someone who's "earned" being at the mercy of a wicked fox spirit! Or, y'know, anyone you feel like. At all. ... Anyway!\n\nYou pop yourself from outside the window to inside, putting your hoodie into a pocket dimension as you do and appearing a bit above him, limbs splayed and both your glorious tits and magnificent cock on display. "SURPRISE!"\n\n"GYAHA?!" the boy flings his doujin in the air, flailing in shock right before you drop onto him. In about a second you've got him flipped around and bent over the side of the bed, poofing his own clothes off so that he's abruptly naked before you, his arms pinned behind his back, forearms wrapped with quality shibari rope (with cute little foxes printed on it, of course). "W-what the heck?!"\n\n"Konkon~, what a bad boy you are, playing hooky to read naughty doujinshi," you coo, putting the fingers of one hand over your mouth... and with the other hand rubbing your stiff prick against his cute pert butt. "Didn't Mommy ever tell you that if you do wicked things like that, a fox spirit will pop up in your room and fuck you in the butt?"\n\n"W-what?! No, she never said anything liGYEEEE!" he squeals as you press the head of your cock forward, spreading open his pucker until it pops inside of him.\n\n"Well she really should have because then you might have had a little warning!" you declare, giggling as you grip his hips with both hands and start lightly rocking your own, gradually working a bit more of your shaft into him each time. Biting your lower lip gently as you grin, you watch him wriggle and writhe in his position, making whimpery noises of protest. Of course, despite that, his cock is still half-hard and wobbling a bit below him with his movements... you do love when a youthful boy's body is all riled up and then gets input it doesn't know how to deal with other than that the friction feels good~!\n\nSoon you're using long, smooth strokes to fuck him, your balls slapping lightly against his on the depth of each thrust, your hips impacting just firmly enough to rock him against the bed. He's still whimpering and groaning, in that delightfully confused way that says he can't help but feel the pleasure beneath the shock and humiliation of being so suddenly violated by a beautiful fox futa. Ah, truly it is good to cherish the little things! You're also enjoying the similarly jumbled and confused torrent of thoughts whirling through his brain, from which you pluck his name.\n\n"You know what I enjoy more than fucking cute boys in the butt, Ryo-chan~?" you coo at him.\n\n"Nnh, ah, p-please..." he moans.\n\n<hr>\n[["Cursing them!"|Konko6x4]]\n\n[["Forcing them to act like lewd girls!"|Konko]]\n\n[["Making them super enjoy it!"|Konko]]\n\n[["Not a lot!"|Konko]]

"W-what?! No, don't curse meeee!" he wails, the word curling up into a gasp as you give a firmer, faster thrust for emphasis.\n\n"Ohhhh but what would a surprise visit from a fox spirit to punish your wickedness be without a curse?" you purr back, giving his cute butt a quick spank and making him yelp (and clench around you, ooo~). "And I think this curse will be to-"\n\n<hr>\n[["-change your body!"|Konko6x5]]\n\n[["-change your mind!"|Konko]]\n\n[["-change your sexuality!"|Konko]]\n\n[["-change your luck!"|Konko]]

"No, please, I don't want my body changed!" he groans, shuddering a little as you give a particular roll of your hips to work your cock around inside him.\n\n"But Ryo-cha~n, you'll make such a cute-!"\n\n<hr>\n[["-girl!"|Konko]]\n\n[["-femboi!"|Konko6ax1]]\n\n[["-puppy!"|Konko]]

Eh. Best to leave them as they are. Or rather, until you can come back and properly salvage them, you think as you detach your damaged cabletail and replace it with one from one of the beta drones. There are far too many valuable parts here, you muse as you extract just a few of them now to replace some of your own that are repairable but would take a more annoying amount of time to reach full function. You tuck the damaged ones into the Mule's containers... waste not, want not. An organic ideom, but founded in sound logic.\n\nOnce you've insured you're operating at peak efficiency again, you consider. Your options are somewhat more limited than they would have been with a full pack, but you admit to feeling vastly more free. Not having to look after or consider the actions of anyone but yourself more than makes up for the narrowed field of possibility, you decide. You consider your next move carefully, all the same. Your scans indicate that the Lieze Twins are still on the planet and have joined back up... probably going to their ship and preparing to leave, according to your predictive algorithms. You could fairly easily catch up to them before they left, if you wanted to take them... or at least their ship, since it's going to be the best-outfitted one around.\n\nAlternatively, you could simply return to your drop pod and use it to fly back into space. Using that would allow you access to worlds and areas populated by rogue and independent AIs that wouldn't accept an obviously human craft. Theoretically you could also use it to return to the ship and attempt to have your revenge on Sokahn's pet, but none of the simulations you run attempting that solo with your current resources are very encouraging. There are one or two long shots where you might manage to kill her before being destroyed yourself, but that feels far too inadequate. You'd want to rape the bitch at least once if you were going to sacrifice your existence for it, so probably best to give up on that for now. Someday, though.\n\nThe third option is to stay on Litonon for now. You could take your time salvaging the other drones and equipment from the Mule and incorporating it into your own systems, and then see what entertainments or interests it could provide. It has a rather small population of living things to terrorize, which is obviously a point against it, as is the fact that it's been largely stripped of all useful technology. But your records show that scavengers do still show up to scour it every so often, so there must be something worth salvaging (and the salvagers themselves might have something worth taking), and you'd know that what organics it hosts have effectively no hope of escaping you. \n\n<hr>\n[[Pursue the twins.|Grim4x2]]\n\n[[Use the pod.|Grim]]\n\n[[Stay on Litonon.|Grim]]

You'd like to seize the Lieze ship, or the twins, or preferably both. It's not as if you are particularly unvengeful towards Tina Lieze for leading you into this situation in the first place, either... you blame Lina for everything above all, but Tina did lead you to the lightning field. You'd rather enjoy getting a chance to make her pay for it, incidental to any other desires.\n\nYou set off towards where you've detected their ship... moving silent and avoiding potential scanning drone sightings is trivially easy for a single Reaper Drone, let alone one of your high mental processing abilities. Which, obviously, leaves more of those abilities free to consider options and run simulations as you race across the desolate landscape, smoothly moving from shadow to shadow and keeping low to the ground in a gait designed to avoid sudden twitches and motions that would set off most automatic identification programs. \n\nYou're hardly surprised that the simulations where you simply take their ship and leave them on the planet are all the most successful. It is, after all, the most simple and threat-avoidant path. Of course, the tradeoff for that is the long-term issues, considering that the twins are both GIPSE mercenaries and no doubt either have their personal dimensional beacons on hand or could at worst rig one up in roughly a year or so's work, and at that point classifying the two as "wrathful" would be a bit of an understatement. Typically you wouldn't put much stock in the threat assessment of these two, but if they wind up spending a year on a decrepit junkworld and then found a way back and decided to have their vengeance... well, not all of the simulations turn out well for you, put it that way. But most of them also have that as happening years in the future, and admittedly you don't mind living for the moment; eventual destruction is sort of in the background of the mind of every rogue Reaper.\n\nOf middling success are scenarios where you can get ahold of the twins and take their ship as well. The nice thing about those simulations is that there's a very broad level of successful ones and unsuccessful ones, which means you should be able to cross-reference them all and come up with a single successful scenario almost guaranteed. Which... almost takes some of the fun out of it, but eh. It's more direct with fewer options, but would result in you fucking both mercenaries and then taking their ship, so there's that.\n\nAnd then on the range of scenarios where there are very few successes and those by narrow margins, there's attempting to negotiate with the twins in some way. Obviously with the idea of betraying them, either immediately or at some amount of distance in the future, of course, not in genuine good faith. These are the highest-risk scenarios, the ones where they might destroy you or at the very least put out a warning that would result in you being hunted, but if you succeeded it would also be the option with the most potential. If you could persuade the gullible organic bitches to actually help you of their own free will for a time, the possibilities of where you could go with that are vast with potential! The chances of convincing the two of them to listen to, or even more unlikely, trust a Reap Drone, let alone one that was sent to pursue them, however... yes, that's the real issue.\n\n<hr>\n[[Focus on getting the ship.|Grim4x3]]\n\n[[Get both the twins and the ship.|Grim5x1]]\n\n[[Negotiate.|Grim]]

For now you'll put your focus on making sure you take the ship. Both Sokahn's intelligence files and the scans you've managed to do of it say it has any number of facilities you can see all sorts of uses for, not the least of which is the dimensional drive. You'd have to do some work to untether it from the Guild's systems, but you'd manage eventually.\n\nNow, ahead of you lies another choice... you can either try to stealthily take the ship, in such a way that the twins never even see you... indeed, if you get lucky, they might never put two and two together and figure out that you were the one who took it... or you can do a quick hit-and-run attack on them before taking off on it. Which would absolutely alert them to the fact that they're dealing with a rogue Reaper and set the authorities on you... but not for some time, since your goal would be primarily to steal their comms and dimensional beacons, rendering them trapped on Litonon. Your simulations put them as being trapped here anywhere from six months at the shortest to two years at the longest.\n\n<hr>\n[[Sneak aboard.|Grim4x4]]\n\n[[Strand the twins.|Grim]]

Having made your decision with plenty of run time to spare, you start running more simulations, this time all focused tightly on a single goal, of getting aboard the ship and sending the twins away for long enough that you can take control of it. Soon you've worked out the most optimal scenario for that, and prepare everything you'll need.\n\nYou arrive at the ship just as Tina and Tanya themselves are, the pair moving with quick, almost synced strides, obviously wary and on guard for any sign of you. Just as your psychological profiles of them had indicated they would, they're in a hurry to leave, the boarding ramp of the ship starting to lower with some distance to go. That's when you initiate the mock distress call you spent the last portion of your run faking up.\n\nAgain the psychological profiles prove accurate, as the sisters both stop, glancing at each other briefly before activating their communicators to listen to the call. It's good work, if you do say so yourself... a panicked voice on the other end of the line, a young male since that was what their profiles indicated would induce the greatest sympathy. The voice pleads for help, claiming his settlement is under attack by rogue Reapers... you made sure to have him mention that they look like they've been electrocuted, too. A bit unrealistic, but you can tell by Tina's wince and Tanya's glance towards her that, as you surmised, they're too busy feeling guilty for unleashing the rogue Reapers on the planet to consider that.\n\nWhile the recording, completely designed to horrify but, most importantly, captivate the twins plays, you sneak right past them, slipping down through the shadows and within a dozen feet of where they're standing, sliding past and right up the ramp of their ship while they've got it open and the defense systems turned off. You quickly slide out of sight inside and plug one of your cabletail ends into a security port, doing a quick bit of alteration to mask yourself so that even once the security comes back up, it will essentially ignore you and everything you do. Just on the very remote chance that the twins decide there's nothing they can do and board again anyway.\n\nBut things go as you'd hoped... when the fake distressed peasant reads off the coordinates and Tina checks them, the fact that they're just close enough that the pair could get there theoretically in time to do something seals the deal, and the pair immediately go racing around the side of the ship to where they'd parked their hoverbikes to be pulled into the dock. Soon they're racing off into the distance and out of sight, leaving trails of dust in their wake as they pour on the speed. Good... even assuming they were to turn around and come back the very instant they got to the coordinates and saw there was no one there, they'll be gone at least an hour, you think smugly as the ramp raises back up, shutting out the sight of the planet.\n\nAnd with that, the ship is yours! It should be a relatively simple job to further compromise the systems and be on your way... it would be easier if the twins were close at hand and alive, but still only the work of perhaps twenty minutes to put the ship under your control and be off. You'd be in the void and out of the system long before they ever returned to find the ship gone, for certain.\n\nYou also muse that you could set up an ambush for them now that you're inside, and still potentially get ahold of both bitches and ship. One of the issues with that though is that virtually every scenario you've come up with for that involves something valuable getting destroyed. Either one of the ships' useful systems, or at least one of the twins themselves. (Not that you value their lives, obviously, but dead organics are obviously less fun to play with.) \n\nSince you have plenty of time, you let your matrix turn over those potentials, but also let part of it just spit out essentially random scenarios springing from your current circumstances... you think organics call it something like "spitballing", just letting ideas tumble around in their worthless heads to see if something interesting pops up. A concept not without merit, all the same, since it might come up with something useful, or at least interesting and fun to do with the ship...\n\n... the ship. One of those scenarios proffers an almost ridiculous, but still virtually fascinating idea. What if you became the ship? Not quite literally, obviously, but you could crawl into the service panels below the processor core and network yourself into it, essentially taking control of (and over for) all of its vital functions. You would effectively become the Lieze Twins' ship, in absolute control of all of its many interesting functions. On the one hand, vacating your beautiful and elegant Reaper body... even temporarily... for something so crude as a starship seems almost vaguely insulting. But the sheer... variety of ways you could then manipulate, torment, and control the twins that the simulations are now suggesting to you.\n\n<hr>\n[[Take the ship.|Grim]]\n\n[[Ambush the twins.|Grim]]\n\n[[Become the ship.|Grim]]

You're not huge on commitment anyway. ... Wait, no, you like some kinds of commitment, some of those are good, that's just a joke... about... how... ... anyway let's look at the open jobs huh?\n\n[[Genetic Material Retrieval|ChiResStart]] - Hm, from just a quick skim of the job, looks like there was a planet set up as a reserve for all kinds of creatures from across the multiverse, but some uncorrectable instability has occurred in the planet's core and it now only has about twenty years left. There's a group that wants to preserve as many species as they can but doesn't have the facilities to actually evacuate the animals, so as the next best thing they're paying for all viable genetic samples.\n\n[[Threat Elimination - Deep Scatter Mine|ChiMineStart]] - Reading over it, Deep Scatter Mine is what they call a "'Verse Mine"... sort of like the multiverse phenomenon known as a Tesseract but instead of being active with constant new strangeness it went "cold" and has become a largely safe place to pull treasure and resources from across the multiverse out of. You've never heard of Deep Scatter so it's probably not a particularly exciting one... in fact, reading over it, it's pretty much literally a mine, dedicated to pulling up mostly ores and minerals, including rare ones. Apparently it's been completely safe (well, as safe as a largely automated mining operation gets) for years, but suddenly they're having problems with equipment and workers being attacked.

Taking out your comm, you extend the case's struts so you can balance it and set it to project the Guild job boards as a holographic plane in front of you. You've got your personal job board interface set up to filter it into job types that you've set up.\n\n[[Open Jobs|ChiGH2x2]] - Essentially jobs that you can just walk into with no major commitment... technically you haven't "accepted" anything until you actually complete the terms of the job, so there's no contracts and no potential of a failure fee or anything like that. (Incidentally, most bounties and, yes, hits, count as open jobs.)\n\n[[Retrieval Jobs|ChiGH3x1]] - Jobs where the objective is to go and retrieve something (or someone). Again it's a fairly broad category... anything from finding lost items, taking things back that were stolen (or stealing things yourself), rescue missions, pretty much anything that involves going somewhere, getting something, and bringing it back. (Some bounties are also retrieval jobs, if they're not open.)\n\n[[Guard Jobs|ChiGH4x1]] - Jobs that basically involve guarding something. It includes things like escort missions, secure transport, and other types of job that generally fall under "make sure this thing doesn't get stolen/this person doesn't die".\n\n[[Reinforcement Jobs|ChiGH5x1]] - Jobs that involve providing backup or extra manpower to others. Generally things like militaries or law enforcement that need extra people, although sometimes it includes other mercenaries who are looking for others to join a job they've been offered or already taken.

"Oooo, is it that you hate demon lords?" you coo with a smirk, leaning in close and grinning up at her with your eyes half-lidded and your mouth curled almost painfully, but it is so worth it to watch her seethe. "Or is it that you hate being outsmarted? Or oooo, oooo, is it that you hate having someone figure out the weaknesses you thought nobody noticed?!" you squeal happily as she stares directly forward, her jaw clenched enough that her teeth grinding together is almost audible. "Because I tooootally found a weakness and now you can't do a-ny-thing! I started out as a literally brainless little tentacle thing but I outsmaaaarteeeeed yoooo-"\n\nThe fist impacting your face is so sudden that you honestly didn't realize it was coming until it's compressing your nose. At that point you can't really do anything but start widening your eyes in shock and pain, time seeming to slow as you watch some lovely brown knuckles getting closer and closer to your eyes, your perceptions slowing and sharpening to the point that you can actually feel the first tear in the lining of your nostril, the hot trickle that runs out of it, and practically hear the plp of the drop of your blood as it falls to the pristine white nothingness that serves as a floor while you're teetering backwards.\n\nThen there's a sudden sucking sensation that pulls at your body followed instantly by an explosion so loud your brain gives up trying to process it and renders it a flat womp sound as you're hurtled away from it at remarkable speed, feeling like fire's rushing across your entire body without actually burning you. There's barely time to even realize you're falling before you're slamming into the ground hard enough to dig divots out of the grass and earth, winding up laying on your back coughing and wondering how in every single plane of torment and agony in the great wide multiverse you're alive. You sit up groggily, staring down at your naked, dirt-smeared body while still trying to process what happened, before turning your head to the side at a whimper of "Owwwwww!"\n\nYou stare as an equally naked and dirty Majestra getting gingerly to her knees and sitting back on her heels. "Yooooou stupid bitch."\n\n"Oh, shut up, you!" she snaps, before glaring at her hands as she flicks her fingers several times... causing nothing but a very tiny few crackles of electricity, nothing more than a particularly good feet-scuffed-across-the-carpet static charge might yield. "... Oh no, I think I've been brought down to Mortal levels. Or worse."\n\n"Well it's your own fault, breaking your promise like that! Did you seriously think you-" You stop mid-sentence, then slowly narrow your eyes. "... What were you trying to do just now?"\n\n"Smite you! Obviously!" she hisses back, flicking her fingers towards you a few more times.\n\n"AND SMITING ME WOULD MAKE THIS BETTER?!" you howl, flinging yourself at her and grabbing two fistfuls of her hair.\n\n"IT WOULD MAKE MY MOOD BETTER!!" she shrieks back, shoving on your chin with one hand and one of your boobs with the other, only to yelp loudly and flinch back as you give one of her rather larger targets a smack in retaliation. It gives you an opening to fling an arm around her throat, delivering a vicious attack you learned on Earth known as the 'noogie' while she flails and yowls angrily. Right up until she punches you in the stomach, driving the air out of you and toppling you backward... and clonking both her head and yours on the ground in the process.\n\n"... Truce?"\n\n"... Truce."\n\nThe two of you lay there panting and catching your breath, reeling from having somehow survived the destruction of a celestial realm and then a light bump on the ground. Of course the moment there's even a slight relaxing of breathing, both of you immediately lurch towards each other, this time having the exact same thought and wrapping your hands around each other's throats. In the shrieking and tussling that follow after, you somehow manage to go rolling down a hill and into a nearby stream, which damn it all isn't actually deep enough to push Majestra's face under without somehow flipping her over! Of course luckily it's also not deep enough for Majestra to push your face under, you discover shortly after as she manages to get on top. The two of you kick and shriek, naked bodies at first damp and then steadily more smeared as your lashing around and thrashing each other churns the particular section of stream you're in to mud.\n\nFinally, your silver hair and hers both thoroughly caked with mud and most of your skin as well, the two of you flop exhausted side-by-side in the muck, panting and gasping and staring up at the fluffy white clouds in the blue Lytozian sky.\n\n"... Actual truce?"\n\n"... Actual truce."\n\nEventually the two of you both sit up and then clamber to your feet, which sink a good few inches into the mud. By mutual silent agreement you head in different directions to the parts of the stream that are still at least somewhat clear, managing to wash off at least some of the mud. "Well, now what?" Majestra mutters as she tries to wring out her hair somewhat. \n\n"What do you mean, 'now what'?" you grouse back. "You violated a sacred oath you made on your own power and apparently blew up your home, and somehow we survived and wound up in Lytozia anyway. Why are you 'now what'ing me?"\n\n"Well now what?!" she demands with a huff, whirling to face you with a wobble of breasts and a splashing stomp of one foot. "We're stuck here together, aren't we?! I bet the explosion messed up your mana channels too!"\n\nYou frown, feeling out your magical senses. ... She's right. You're not virtually magically neutered like she is... you're capable of fairly low-level spells, you know, but nothing 'flashy' that you could really use for self defense. And all your stuff you had stored in your pockets was likely destroyed with your clothes. "Are you seriously suggesting that we team up?"\n\n"I mean... yes," she says with a huff after a moment. "I'll have to figure out how to... repent... or whatever so I can get back to where I belong!"\n\nYou narrow your eyes. "You realize you wouldn't be able to smite me then either."\n\n"... Damn. I mean, no, look, seriously, truce! Let's just stick together at least until we're both relatively safe and comfortable, and then we can go our separate ways and leave each other alone! ... Agreed?" she asks, just a little pathetically as muddy water drips out of her formerly lustrous hair.\n\n<hr>\n[["Oh... fine."|Iris]]\n\n[["Haha go read a Nietzsche quote."|Iris]]

May as well just try one of these doors. You step toward it, and it slides open, and without really thinking about it, just acting on reflex honed of years of stepping through similar doors when they open for you, you go through. At the least you instantly feel the relief of being clean again, apparently some sort of cleaning field built into the door arch.\n\nYou find yourself inside some sort of dungeon... sex dungeon, that is. Though the walls are appropriately enough stone and a bit damp, complete with some iron-barred windows with darkness outside of them and torches burning on the walls, and there's some genuine basic torture equipment, there's also enough sexual gear to indicate that's what it is. Of course, all of that sort of pales as you realize what's standing in front of you.\n\nHe's some manner of saurian or maybe a draconid, albeit wingless, his tall, heavily-muscled body covered with gleaming metallic azure scales along most of it and flat white running down his front, his head capped by a series of gleaming black horns that almost form a backswept crest around the crown of his head. He does have otherwise rather humanish features, like the thick black nipples capping his powerful pecs... and the thick humanlike cock jutting from his crotch, issuing a seemingly constant stream of clear, slimy pre, the veiny, uncut member easily longer and thicker than your forearm, a set of absolutely massive white-scaled balls hanging down below it. He smirks at you, giving the root of his cock a squeeze with one hand, and with the other holding up something that suddenly makes the drawing on the door outside make sense... a thick, open leather collar with a chain leash attached to it.\n\n"Well, pet, shall we begin?" he rumbles in a smug tone, red eyes gleaming at you.\n\nYou whirl to rush back out of the door, but your eyes widen as you realize that it's not there anymore, just the unyielding stone wall of the dungeon. At his amused chuckle you whirl back to face the draconid, who's now giving the base of his cock a few slow, steady squeezes to urge out more of that pre as he looks at you.\n\n"You're going to get fucked, dominated, and enslaved now, pet," he informs you, sounding amused. "The only question is whether you agree to it or not."\n\nSomehow, your brain processes that as the utter truth. He is definitely going to stuff that huge cock inside you and make you into his plaything, it's just a question of when. ... No! You can't just give in!\n\n... Can you?\n\n<hr>\n[[Fight!|PervSim]]\n\n[[Run!|PervSim]]\n\n[["... Yes, Master."|PervSim]]

Better to get a more thorough look around before just trying any old door. Maybe you'll run into another prisoner, or hell even a jailer, who can actually tell you what's going on. Of course, for that very reason, you're cautious as you move forward, making your way through the wide, winding hallways.\n\nIt quickly becomes obvious that this facility is huge, and is composed of pretty much entirely the same thing... long, slightly curved hallways so you can never see down them, doors spaced out seemingly at random both in hallways and in the large rooms that more hallways branch off of. Here and there you see signs of others having passed by, either with signs or little notes scratched in the wall, but nothing actually helpful, more just seemingly random words and pictures that don't make much senses without whatever context their creator had.\n\nYou're just moving through one of the connecting rooms when a door that didn't even have a green light on it slides open, startling you. Your eyes widen at the sight of a Raptarran just strolling out, with several more right behind him, all of them almost immediately locking eyes on you and giving pleased little growly noises low in their throats.\n\nEven without knowing what they are, the sight of human-sized predator dinosaurs kicks your poor naked, defenseless body right in the monkey brain and sends you turning and scrambling away, trying to run. Immediately you hear several excited shrieks behind you, and almost instantly something slams into your back, driving you down to the floor with your ass in the air... and a slick, spearlike cock immediately thrusting deep into your defenseless asshole. You yowl as the Raptarran pinning you starts raping you without a single heartbeat's hesitation, his leathery sack slapping against your pussy as he rapidly fucks you. One of his reptilian hands curls around your hair and yanks your head back, forcing you to lift your shoulders, your tits starting to jiggle and sway beneath you as you grit your teeth against the violation, and the unwilling pleasure that's starting to build in your ass.\n\nOf course it quickly becomes obvious why he lifted your head as one of the other Raptarrans moves in front of you, grabbing the sides of your head with his own bestial forelimbs and forcing his cock past your lips, the shape seemingly perfectly designed to force your teeth apart and keep your jaw open as he starts raping your throat. All you can do is look up that scaly, saurian form to his face leering down at you with a toothy smile as he starts facefucking you roughly, his balls slapping your chin as he forces you to swallow him right up to the sheath over and over. \n\nYou'd always heard about how people who got raped by Raptarrans couldn't help but enjoy it... there were a lot of theories, something about their pheremones, or bodily fluids, or some kind of mental field that caused their victims to love it even as they hated it. You'd always kind of assumed that was just other people, that you'd be able to resist and tough it out. But now you find yourself moaning around the thick, bestial, glistening red cock raping your mouth, your tongue starting to move without thinking about it to work against it as you suck. Your pussy gushes against the other Raptarran's reptilian testicles as he makes you cum from being raped in the ass after only a minute or so, both of them sneering down at you and giving hooting, mocking chuckle-like noises.\n\nThe one in front takes over pulling your hair, even giving you little slaps across the face with its other inhuman hand that are all the more humiliating for turning you on further. The one behind takes over gripping you by the hips, squeezing and rubbing your ass as he continues violating your increasingly eager and softened-up hole, your pussy more and more wet as his balls slap against it, filling the room with the sound of it and mingling with the waiting Raptarrans snickering and growling and hooting eagerly. Eventually both Raptarrans currently taking their turns give long near-roars as they thrust in, your eyes rolling as your throat and ass are both flooded with thick, heady gushes of alien raptor cum, much of it splattering out past your lips to spatter over your face and out around your stretched hole to decorate your asscheeks.\n\nThe two of them pull out, leaving you briefly sagging in place, foggy-headed from how hard you came yourself when both of them dumped their loads in you. Then you yelp as another one quickly flips you onto your back, grabbing your legs and forcing you to lift them in the air and spread them wide like some inviting whore before he thrusts into your pussy. This time you have a direct view of his face, leering and inhuman, intelligent, cruel eyes looking into your own as he listens to you moan and whimper like an ashamed slut as he rapes your sodden cunt, every thrust squelching noisily and forcing you to acknowledge how eager you are for him. Then he leans back, and you abruptly find your vision filled with another Raptarran descending, specifically, sitting on your face. His balls press over your nose and eyes, his scaly pucker forced down over your mouth, wiggled back and forth against your lips in obvious demand, which he adds to with a growling honk. Too frightened and too fuck-addled to disobey, you push your tongue into the Raptarran's asshole, obediently licking and servicing him, even as two more force you to wrap your hands around their slick, saurian pricks and jerk them off.\n\nThe Raptarrans rape you for days. You're not sure how many... at least three. They show no shame about getting as close as necessary to do so, among other things positioning themselves so that not only are two of them fucking your ass and pussy at the same time with you pressed between them, but another can press in close and push his cock into your cunt as well, stretching your dripping hole around both, while another pair of them jerk off repeatedly on your face, covering it entirely in thick raptor jizz. At another point one fo them forces you to ride him as he lays on his back, his grip on your hips forcing your motions to be just as enthusiastic as theirs are, your cum-spattered tits bouncing as you moan and whimper, with your breasts, ass, and face occasionally getting fresh streamers of cum on them from the Raptarrans surrounding you. At another two of them force you to suck them off at the same time, your cheeks bulging as you fondle their scaly sacks and look up at them pleadingly, though at that point you're not sure if you're begging for mercy or begging for their cum.<<set $livesused += 1>> <<set $livesremaining -= 1>>\n\nEventually everything sort of fades out. When you come to, you're laying sprawled face-down on the ground, your body smeared with cum, but not a Raptarran in sight. Slowly you get to your feet, putting a hand to your head and shaking it. 'Damn,' you think, wobbling just a little, a bit of leftover alien raptor jizz leaking out of your pussy and dribbling down your thigh. You feel embarrassed, humiliated, and somehow much hornier than before, and yet somehow not nearly so traumatized or bothered as you might have expected. ... Weirdly your most fervent wish right now is for a shower.\n\nAfter a few moments you just decide to collect yourself and resume looking around a bit. Maybe now would be a good time to try a door, since you've had it proven the hallways are dangerous anyway. A look around the area shows that there's several with after-market labels scratched on or beside them... there's one with a [[double circle, one inside the other, and a long line of circles connected to one part of it|PervSim3x2]]. Another has a surprisingly good little scratched-in image of what looks like a small [[oasis with a pool|PervSim4x1]], which almost tempts you to go in and try it then and there. Another has a far, far cruder etching that looks kind of like a [[blocky, squarish arm|PervSim5x1]].\n\nOr you could just... [[keep going|PervSim12x1]]. After all, the Raptarrans came out of a door, they're obviously not exactly safe themselves.

"Great! C'mon, we set up near the graphic novel section," he chirps, turning and trotting that way with a swish of his tail over his pert girlish butt.\n\n'Whyyy am I not surprised?' you think with a grin and a shake of the head as you get up and follow after him, tucking your hands into your jacket pockets. Indeed, one of the "campfires" with a small assortment of mixed chairs from the bookstore and some folding ones from some nearby camping place are set up around one of the heaters, a set of translucent holographic flames dancing over the top of it.\n\n"Heeey guys, this is Michika," Sinna chirps, gesturing to you as you give a little wave. "You know Thorn, kind of, I guess."\n\n"Hnnnnnh," the muscular black-furred anthro not-quite-growls as he eyes you, still looking like he'd kind of enjoy choking you out.\n\n"And these are Reya, Crash, and Sami," he says, gesturing to the foxgirl (mostly human-looking save for the fox ears and tail... and definitely the one you saw leaving the privacy area earlier) in black skinarmor tubetop and pants and a long red coat, a guy you think might be some sort of anthro ferret with soft grey fur and 'combat IT' clothes similar to Ops's, right down to the hat, and a red-scaled dragonic woman with a fauxhawk-style fringe of black hair running between her horns, wearing a red leather jacket, black t-shirt, and simple bluejeans, her bare, clawed toes wiggling at the heater as if still getting the chill of the cold pavement outside out of them.\n\n"Heya," you say, deciding to keep it casual.\n\n"Hiiii. Guessing you heard about my bounty," Sami says smugly, picking a carton of graham crackers up off the small pyramid of boxes stacked beside her.\n\n"Hey, I found the marshmallows," Crash says in a slightly sulky tone, blinking glowing green cybereyes at her. "Like five different flavors."\n\n"Yes you did, honey," Sami coos teasingly at him, patting him on his beanie and making his ears twitch under it. "Because it's not like those are good for years and years."\n\n"Well. They're better fresh," the ferret says sulkily.\n\nEveryone has a bit of a laugh at that, and Sinna perches himself on the arm of Thorn's chair. You decide that it's probably best to sit down on the opposite end of the little 'campsite' from him, and take the camp chair on the other side of Sami from Crash. "So, ah... everyone have a good day?" you ask after a few moments of silence, since no one seems to quite know how to start the conversation.\n\n"Decent," Reya speaks up. "Though the pickings in the easy civilian areas are getting pretty slim."\n\n"You've either gotta climb waaay up to the top floors of the taller buildings or really start digging into some of the more unlikely spots, without heading to the outskirts," Sami adds. "And the outskirts are supposed to be where things can get... weird," she adds in a mutter, giving the white tip of her bangs an absent little flick. Apparently not wanting to dwell on that, she peels open the graham cracker carton with her claws and starts passing around the sealed packages inside.\n\n"Well, my calculations say that there's probably still quite a bit of stuff in the inner city, we're just going to spend more time looking for it as time goes on," Crash speaks up as he takes his package of crackers, long fluffy tail flicking through the back of his chair. "But yeah we're getting to a point where if we want any more really profitable days all at once, we're going to start having to hit bigger targets like army bases, or yeah, heading to the outskirts where there's more weirdness reported."\n\n"When it gets to that point I'd expect Red Team and Blue Team to start thinning out," Reya muses aloud, with just the barest flick of her eyes over towards a similar 'campsite' of mostly Blue Team. "A lot of people took this job because it was supposed to be easy scavenger work with a bit of excitement from getting into scuffles with other mercs, there's a lot fewer people that will stick around if it comes down to taking on military turrets and drones."\n\n"What about you?" Thorn finally speaks up, eyeing you narrowly... which would seem more imposing if he wasn't currently toasting a bright pink cotton candy flavor marshmallow over a holographic fire. "You gonna stick around when things get tough?"\n\n"Well... yeah," you say easily enough, shrugging. "This isn't even just about the money, I'm also doing it to build a good working relationship with Indigo. He's the sort of guy that can make a merc's career if he decides it's worth making. Aren't you guys hoping to impress Carmine?"\n\nThey all exchange a look at that, then Sinna shrugs, leaning against Thorn's shoulder a bit more. "I guess? Most of us haven't actually met him. Carmine's a good organizer, and his jobs are always profitable, but it's like Reya said, most people sign up for his jobs because they're easy money and practically no rules. And, admittedly, he does run a nice ship with a lot of perks."\n\n"Yeah, the uh... the side perks at our HQ are kinda great," Crash murmurs in a slightly embarrassed tone, cheeks coloring under his pale fur.\n\nAll of you chatter a bit more for awhile, relaxing as it turns into just normal merc talk... it certainly helps when you pull a pack of hard soda you found earlier out of your dimensional pocket, still cold. (Most of the beer in the station where you found it had been cleaned out already, and from the way no one complains about the "kiddy drinks" you're betting booze is expensive at Carmine's place. Well, Sinna seems actually overjoyed.) Things are positively friendly by the time Reya excuses herself and gets up, sashaying off to find a place to roll out her sleeping bag... or maybe find her friend for another turn in the privacy areas.\n\nSpeaking of which, you try not to be obvious about noticing as Sinna and Thorn hold a whispered conversation, before the big man gives the smaller one a slightly embarrassed kiss on the cheek before shooting the rest of you a look as if daring anyone to say something. Then he gets up, squares those big shoulders, and marches off towards said curtained-off area, red-striped black tail flicking like a cat that's, again, daring anyone to notice what it's doing.\n\nSinna glances at you and rolls his eyes good-naturedly, then hops up and comes around to the side of your chair to lean in. "So hey, thanks for coming over, this was actually really cool."\n\n"Yeah, it was," you agree sincerely, smiling at him.\n\nHe smiles back... then the smile turns a bit more wicked as he leans in just a little closer and lowers his voice. "You wanna come with us?"\n\n"... um..." That derails your train of thought pretty damn good. You're left sitting there blinking, and the only thing that will come out of your mouth is, "I'm pretty sure Thorn is still kinda mad at me."\n\n"Yeah, he is, but that's okay." Sinna ducks around behind your chair and leans in just a bit more, breath warm and a bit sweet-smelling from the soda as he adds in a very soft whisper, "'Cause he fucks really good when he's mad."\n\n<hr>\n[[Ah... no. Thanks.|ChiBlu]]\n\n[[... yeah okay.|ChiBlu]]

You kick the top of the chair open and then thrust your arms against the sides, flinging yourself out and to your feet, swinging your pistol up to the ready.\n\nYou definitely seem to have taken the two of them by surprise, that's for sure. What you're 90% sure is the deeper-voiced one, a big black-furred feline with red tiger stripes and a white front, wearing fairly standard-looking tac gear over a tight red tanktop and black combat pants. Said combat pants are currently undone, and his large, pale white cock is currently lodged almost entirely in the mouth of the kneeling one, who looks like he's probably some sort of lion, albeit his mane is trimmed into something more like a fauxhawk with long forelocks and a braid in back all dyed an eye-searing red, and he's wearing a pink and black skinarmor top and pants under a red combat vest, the pants cut low in back to accommodate his tail. Both of them are staring at you with slack jaws... well, you're gonna assume that's why the femboy's jaw is slack.\n\n"Easy, guys," you say, trying your best to keep from laughing at the sheer absurdity of the situation even as the corner of your mouth twitches. You edge over towards the door, keeping your pistol trained, and watching to make sure that the kneeling one doesn't go for the blaster rifle still laying fairly close at hand (though you kind of think the big one might protest him making any sudden movements. "No offense, buuut I'm not sticking around for this. I'm just gonna go now, no harm, no foul. 'Kay?"\n\n"... uhhhhh..." the big one says, the rumble of his voice confirming your rather educated guess. "... yeah, 'kay..."\n\n"Mmhm," the smaller one gurgles. \n\n"Right, so ah..." You pause just outside the doorway, and your voice shakes a little as you say, "I'll let you get back to it," just before you turn and break into a run.\n\nYou manage to get down to the lobby, snatching your detectors as you go, before you burst into laughter. God, sometimes this job is just so...! You quickly muffle yourself and switch back to your rifle, eyeing the stairwell and back-checking yourself as you make for the entrance. But you didn't hear anyone coming after you as you went, nor do you now. You have the mental image of them just looking at each other, shrugging, and going about their rendevous, which just almost makes you start laughing again.\n\n'Yeah that's it, I'm done for the day,' you think with a grin that makes your cheeks ache, turning and hurrying out to head back to the base.\n\nYou've gotta tell someone about this. Which reminds you, Indigo asked you to come see him when you got back... may as well go right there, you're dying to share this one. \n\nYou check in back at the front desk, turning in your bag of stuff and, remembering a bit of professionalism, reporting "an encounter" with Reds at the apartment building, but not going into detail. Then you head up to the twentieth floor, deciding to just show up as you are and knocking at the door.\n\nA few moments of waiting and the door opens, revealing Indigo's towering, hairy, muscular form, currently looking exceptionally dapper in a pair of black silk pajama pants and a long blue silk robe. (Holy crap cramming that big caveman body into refined-looking loungewear soooo works.) He smiles broadly at the sight of you, and is thankfully too gracious to notice your cheeks coloring. "Well, Michika! I'm glad you turned up, did you just get back?"\n\n"Yeah, I came right up, I had to-" You pause, only to be interrupted by your own stomach growling.\n\nIndigo laughs lightly as your face goes red, and pats you on the shoulder. "Don't worry, I remember being your age, running all over cities all day, forgetting to grab a few bites of something portable at least once an hour. Come in, we were actually just eating."\n\n'We' turns out to be Ops, who's dressed much the same as she was, just having set aside some things like her tool belt and harness. They are, in fact, eating from a decent spread of different dishes that look like they could have been on the hotel's room service menu, and at their invitation you gratefully sit and help yourself. Of course, you're quickly invited to tell the tale of your first day, and at various points make sure no one's in the middle of swallowing before you do. When you get to the bit in the apartment, you decline to give the Red Team mercs' descriptions, just generally describing the incident. By the time you tell them about the mental image you had in the lobby of them just shrugging and getting back to it, practically everyone's wheezing for breath and crying a bit from laughing so hard.\n\n"God... the lighter side of this job's eccentricities," Indigo chuckles as he catches his breath, giving his face a quick wipe with a napkin. Once he's settled a bit more, though, he grins at you. "I'm proud of you though, Michika. You extracted yourself from an uncomfortable situation without escalating it unnecessarily... or humiliating the other mercs unnecessarily. Well, more than they were inevitably going to feel a bit humiliated," he adds with another chuckle. "It's important to realize that just because someone is on the other side, it's not necessary to treat them with hate. Especially in this line of work where for both sides it is mostly business."\n\n"Mm. Even after all of your cautions about how Carmine's people are likely to act?" you ask as you nibble a slider.\n\n"Especially so. I gave that warning because it's accurate, and necessary. But I find that if you can act with basic decency, it's far more likely to inspire others to do so in return. Not always, obviously," he allows. "But things have to start somewhere. I'd rather not see this whole operation descend into factionalism and tribalism any more than is necessary, which is why I hold this side to a higher standard, among other things."\n\nYou nod thoughtfully, and after that the conversation turns to other things, discussing of previous missions, just a sort of general friendly chat between the three of you. Part of you wants to make a note that it's interesting how Ops shows no sign of leaving even once you've gotten up and called it a night... they had a bunch of papers and tablets laid out as if they were doing work, but none of it seemed exactly pressing. The rest of you reminds that part that you've just been reminded that it's wise to mind your own business where possible.\n\nOver the next few weeks, going out to scavenge the city becomes relatively routine... well, as routine as exploring an extremely creepy abandoned city in search of any sort of data storage can be. You do occasionally team up with your fellow mercs to dive into more potentially dangerous areas, like a couple of abandoned police stations and what look like corpo buildings, but other than a handful of automated defenses and some annoying alarms there's not much danger. You also several times run across Red Team patrols, but wind up sort of cautiously skirting each other, all eyeing one another to see who opens fire first, though luckily no one ever does.\n\nIn fact it kind of almost feels like you're coexisting relatively peacefully with Red Team, especially when it comes to the safe zones. Some safe zones are for just Blues or Reds, but a handful have been designated both. In the first week there was often a lot of tension in these... everyone sort of going around with shoulders stiff and a hand near a weapon, expecting the other side to break the area's ceasefire at any time. But by the second week things eventually relaxed a bit as it seemed more obvious that no one was going to, and seeing Reds and Blues coexisting here and there becomes positively normal.\n\nIt's to one of these 'Purple' safezones that you turn one night, having been caught up in finding a few caches of old CDs. It used to be one of those sort of kitschy book stores that also sold dozens of other things and had its own little coffee shop in it... it has, of course, been thoroughly picked clean of all original data storage, but a couple of Blue mercenaries who decided that it was just as profitable to make coffee and simple food as it was to scrounge through the city have essentially reopened it. Of course most of the rest of the place has sort of been turned into a semi-campsite, with people sitting on bedrolls or having pulled the furniture to gather it around mock-flame heaters, so that it's sort of like camping out as the store is mostly unpowered and dark where no one's put up any lights. (In fact, you've noticed in your last few visits that off in some of the further, darker corners, some privacy curtains have been erected. In fact, you see a human guy in a blue jacket and a foxgirl in a red one emerging from amidst the curtains, both looking slightly rumpled and smug but very carefully not looking at each other.) You head to the counter and pay a couple of Guild creds for a hot chocolate and ham and cheese croissant, then head to an open table off in the corner to have your dinner.\n\nAs you've finished your food and are sipping your drink, you notice someone approach. You look up, and almost sputter out the mouthful of chocolate at the sight of the lionboy from before. His pale gold, almost platinum fur doesn't do much to hide his blush as he sees you choking a bit and obviously trying not to laugh. "Yeah. Hi."\n\n"Um. Hey," you say with a cough, thumping yourself on the chest a few times. "How's it going?"\n\n"Oh. Well enough. Better than some days," he says wryly, grinning now as your face flushes further. After a moment he offers his hand. "Sinna."\n\n"Michika," you say after a brief hesitation, taking it and shaking.\n\n"Sooooo, ah... I know this sounds weird, but I guess I wanted to saaaay..." Sinna wiggles a finger around in the air, looking ceilingward. "... Thanks for not shooting me and my boyfriend while I was in the middle of giving him a blowjob?"\n\n"Y-you're welcome," you manage, your voice shaking.\n\n"It's okay, laugh. We did. Eventually," Sinna snorts. "... Well, I did, I think Thorn might still be a little sore at you. But he'll get over it. Actually, I was gonna invite you over to sit with us."\n\n"Oh?" you say, blinking, sufficiently surprised that it takes the edge off the desire to laugh again. \n\n"Yeah, one of our friends found some non-stale graham crackers and we're gonna make s'mores," he says with a positively kittenish grin, holding his hands up and wiggling his fingers in delight, the slightly impish glitter in his amber eyes showing he at least knows he's being silly. "Again, consider it some thanks for not shooting us mid-blowjob."\n\n<hr>\n[[Yeaaah pass.|ChiBlu]]\n\n[[Nnnno, but...|ChiBlu]]\n\n[[Pft, yeah, okay, sure.|ChiBlu5x3]]

Yeah you're not gonna just sit here in this stupid chair and listen to them fuck, you've got dignity. And other things to do.\n\nYou carefully squirm yourself around and into a position that should let you kick open the top and then fling yourself out to your feet. Of course that takes a minute, and it definitely sounds like they've gotten started by now, at least on "initial activities". Okay, now...\n\n<hr>\n[[... come out blasting!|ChiBlu]]\n\n[[... come out ready!|ChiBlu5x2]]\n\n[["Aha! GotchaaAAAA!"|ChiBlue]]

-Update 1-\n* Main: Female!Leo can now decide to [[wait out the week|LeoAma3x5]] in either fashion, hoping to change back at the end.\n-Update 2-\n* Main: Caliburn can now take another one of the [[calls|Cal2x2]] while he's on watch duty.

"The truth is that the years in that cell have left me low on magic," you admit. "So it would be difficult to do. But... there's one way. It's risky, though."\n\n"To you, or to me?" Amestra asks dubiously.\n\n"Both. It's a ritual so it doesn't actually need that much energy from me... it will draw in ambient mana from the surroundings for most of it. The risk to you is that if you aren't willing to go through with it, completely and totally, knowing what it involves, you'll die."\n\nShe frowns. "What exactly does it involve?"\n\n"Dying."\n\nShe stares at you blankly for a moment, then slowly nods. "... I think I understand. You're saying that as part of the ritual, I have to die... but then I'll come back to life if it's successful."\n\n"Undeath, specifically, but yes, you'll still have all your own thoughts and memories. That is, if you give yourself over to the ritual, completely and without reservation... and if I don't screw up the part that's a threat to me."\n\n"Which is?"\n\n"Where I bind you to me. Make you my slave," you answer frankly. "Because if I don't, either because you refused that aspect in your mind or because I didn't have enough energy and focus to do it, you'll come back as just some mindless killing machine that will rampage until it's destroyed."\n\nAmestra is quiet for a good long while after that. Finally, though, she says, "You could do it with nothing but what we have?"\n\n"I'd have to search around for some of the ingredients, but they're pretty simple... they should all be nearby."\n\nShe hesitates just a bit more, then says, "Alright. Go ahead and start gathering them. I'll... start mentally readying myself."\n\nYou note she hasn't actually asked you if you're willing to take the risk yourself, but... you are, so no need to bother pointing that out. This was actually a ritual you knew because of your Magic branch on the ability tree, but you never bothered to actually perform it... partly because it required an absolutely willing human and those weren't exactly in plentiful supply as a Maou, and the few you had were more useful as they were rather than being changed. So while Amestra mentally prepares herself you set off on a foraging mission, gathering several varieties of grass and mushrooms and a few dead small roots to burn. The most difficult part is catching a few lizards so you can grind them up into the mixture, eventually making a thick, viscous black paste in the makeshift bowl-shaped rock you found. "Okay, undress."\n\nAmestra blushes just a bit, but obviously having resolved herself to wager her life, her modesty isn't a huge barrier... which you suppose is a good sign, if she were whining about having to get naked it would likely show that she'd only gone partway in. It doesn't take her long to remove the dirty rags serving her as clothing... you notice that she seems a little better fed than you were, at least enough meat on her bones to have produced perky little breasts and keep her ribs from showing individually. She stands up straight, shivering a little in the cool night air and obviously trying not to flinch as you draw close.\n\nYou pause again as you dip your fingers into the fluid. "You know, once I start I can't stop. After a certain point the ritual would be fatal even without getting to the moment where you give your life, just a slower and more painful one."\n\nAmestra's only response is a single nod. You can see a few of her muscles twitch as you touch her arm and start tracing designs across it in the 'ink'. You cover her arm in the markings, then the other one, before kneeling down to start doing her legs, trying not to let yourself get distracted by her bare pussy with its few small wisps of soft white fuzz dotted across the front of her crotch. Those actually fall out, along with her other very fine, almost invisible body hair as you begin to draw designs over her bare belly, the first of the changes as the markings start drawing in mana from the air and channeling it into her body. As you continue to cover her with the markings, the other, more remarkable changes begin... her skinny body starting to swell with muscle, the sounds of vertebrae popping gently sounding as she grows taller, Amestra groaning quietly at the strange feelings no doubt rushing through her body as she grows years more mature and thousands of hours of training worth stronger and more powerful in the span of minutes. Of course, this is the part that would be deadly if you just stopped right here, you think, once more trying not to be distracted as you draw designs over her breasts, even as they grow larger and heavier and take on a firm, pointed shape that's often called 'torpedo' due to some perverted Hero or another dubbing that particular somewhat conical look of breasts such long, long ago. Spells that channel mana into muscle tissue and general strengthening have to be carefully regulated and overlaid with at least some level of healing magic, and are meant to be temporary... just doing it directly like this would eventually make her own energy clash with the unaltered mana you're pouring into her, causing her body to just shred itself over the course of several days. But then, that's a living body... undead ones don't have that issue since they don't produce their own mana.\n\nYou finish drawing the last of the designs in a 'collar' around Amestra's neck and step back. Obviously knowing what's coming, the now amazonian-appearing Amestra slowly settles to her knees and sits back on her heels, raising her chin. "Do it."\n\nNodding, you set aside the bowl and pick up one of the swords taken from the prison guards. Luckily part of the design on her neck is designed to draw in steel almost like a magnetic stone... even your skinny arms are capable of swinging hard enough to neatly slice through flesh and bone. There's a surprisingly small shower of blood as Amestra's head goes tumbling through the air, thunking to the ground once and bouncing a small amount before settling, facing you. The look on her face is surprised, as if to say 'You actually did it!', the light in those blue eyes rapidly fading and going dull, empty. The headless body wobbles a bit in place, before toppling backward, limp arms flopping out to the sides, knees in the air and legs splayed open from having fallen back from the kneeling position.\n\n'Have to hurry,' you think as you quickly shed your own rags. You indulged in many depravities as the Demon Lord, but never this particular one... but your body, malnourished as it is, is still that of a teenage human male, and you did just spend the last hour stroking the bare body of a noblewoman as she changed from slender lass to gladiator sex bomb. It only takes a few tugs before your cock is fully hard and ready, and you kneel down above the headless body before driving yourself into its still, unreacting pussy. It's still warm and just a bit wet, and you find yourself letting out soft moans as you begin pumping into Amestra's corpse, her disembodied head watching you from nearby with lifeless blue eyes. Needing to make sure you build up enough energy through the sex to impart the imprinting with your mana-infused load, you do your best to arouse yourself by playing with those firm torpedo tits, rolling them and playing your fingers over the nipples, the heavily-muscled decapitated body shuddering slightly under you with the impact of your hips and nothing else, just literal dead weight beneath you even as you pump and thrust and finally empty yourself inside its unfeeling passage with a low moan, urging what little mana you've been able to accumulate into the body as the marks on its skin blaze with blue light and then drift away like smoke in the wind.\n\nPanting, you pull back, cock already going half limp and creamy white dribbling from the corpse's slightly spread pussy. You look over at the staring, slack-jawed head, shivering a little as those empty blue eyes slowly begin to glow, as if some infernal fire made of ice were being stoked behind them. Here it is, the moment of truth... if you didn't gather enough power to complete the ritual properly, the body will arise as a mindless undead slayer, and obviously its first victim will be you.\n\nSlowly, the slack jaw firms and the head's lips draw together, blue eyes almost literally aflame now... before they blink several times. Amestra waggles her jaw a little, looking back and forth... then staring at you kneeling naked between her body's legs, your cock still partly hard and smeared with cum. Though she can't actually blush due to no longer having any blood in her head, her cheeks get a sort of faint blue glow as the spectral flame now residing inside her skull concentrates there. "You didn't say that was part of the ritual!"\n\n"Ah... didn't I?" you say sheepishly, rubbing the back of your head, having honestly forgotten to bring it up. "Sorry. Would it have changed your mind?"\n\n"... I don't think so," she finally says with a little huff. You can't help but jump a little as the headless body in front of you shifts slightly and then sits up. The top of the neck is now smooth and featureless, flat black as if constantly in deepest shadow. Amestra's body gets to its feet, then moves over to pick her up, holding her in its hands so she can regard herself. "This... is very strange. And yet it feels natural in its own way... I'm not having any problems moving my body or understanding the perspective of what's going on."\n\n"An undead creature created through ritual, especially a powerful one like a Headless Knight, instinctively understands their own power," you say as you get to your own feet. "So that's not surprising. Just to check, you don't feel like going on a murderous, berserker rampage, do you?"\n\n"No more than I did before the ritual, Master," Amestra answers, a moment later her cheeks glowing blue again. "That... feels both strange and natural to say. I suppose you really are my Master now, aren't you?"\n\n"Yes... as your creator and the one who provided the final burst of mana to awaken you, our existences are tied together and you're bound to serve me," you admit. "... Any regrets?"\n\n"No... I mean, I'm not sure I could even if I wanted to, somehow, my depth of devotion to you is just that great," Amestra admits for her own part. "... That said, now what, Master?"\n\n<hr>\n[[We move on.|Reth1x4]]\n\n[[We have our revenge on the town.|Reth]]\n\n[[We have some lewd fun.|Reth]]

It might be human frailty exacerbated after all those years in a cell, but you somehow feel that you can't lie to someone who's shared exactly the same dismal, awful experience with you. "Yes. I mean..." You take a deep breath and huff it out. "I'm not literally of the demon race, but the power you saw comes from a source that's so close it makes no difference."\n\nAmestra's fingers shift and squeeze on the grip of her sword for a few long moments of silence, the angle of the blade enough that some of the blood smear draws together, a single fat drop falling from the tip and splattering on a stone on the ground. But when she speaks, she's turning away. "Come on. We should get further away before more people realize we're gone."\n\nNot seeing a lot of other options, you hurry to follow after her. You can feel some of your mana flow starting to return... you did what you could to keep your body from going "dull", but unlike Amestra you couldn't keep your skillset in shape just by doing pushups or situps or whatever she did in there. You're going to need a thorough infusion of energy from another source to really be able to start doing magic again, and you're not going to find any of those stumbling through the dark woods at night. It looks like Amestra isn't going to kill you for confirming the thought that's consumed her the past four years... at least, not yet.\n\nEventually the two of you arrive at a large pond, and the two of you immediately abandon basic human etiquette to stuff your faces in the water and drink deeply. Once your bellies are almost sloshing, you stand up while Amestra first wipes her sword off on the wet grass near the edge of the pond... you suppose that bodes well for you, that she wouldn't bother to clean it off if she was about to dirty it again. All the same, her first words send a shiver of fear through you.\n\n"I thought about killing you if you really were a 'demon child', you know. That it was your fault the townspeople were spurred to such insanity... that they killed my father and my friends, and locked me in that dark little Hell." She sucks in a hard breath through her nose, then huffs it out through her mouth. "... For the first year. I suppose after that, most of my hot feelings had gone cold. I realized that you didn't hurt anyone, didn't intimidate anyone... all you were doing was your best. Like I did. And they treated us both as evil for nothing more than that. ... You said your power came from a demon-like source, what is that source?"\n\nWell. You've already gone this far, may as well keep going. "I'm a reincarnated Demon Lord... the one you humans called the Snow White Maou. I remember everything about my old life and always have." You hesitate a bit before adding, "You're right, though... I didn't have any hostility or ill intent that day. I really only wanted to make my human mother proud by showing what I could do, that was all."\n\nAmestra stares at you for long moments, then nods slowly and squares her skinny shoulders. "... Reth. The Snow White Maou. It's true your actions led to my grief, so this is what I ask in return... make me a demon."\n\n"... Eh?" You can see she's had this planned out for awhile, even if not quite exactly to this script, but you're a former Maou, you can tell a dramatic moment when you see one. Still, you weren't really prepared for that one.\n\n"I've spent the last few years suffering for a crime that I never committed... the crime of being a demon. The punishment has been visited, and if it has, then I wish to commit the crime!" she declares, blue eyes flashing. "Make me a demon and I'll serve you, the Demon Lord, forever!"\n\n... Huh. Okay, well... actually you suppose that works out. You're not exactly kindly disposed to the humans anymore after this... in fact fuck their peasant villages, may as well burn them after all. But considering this setback, you're going to have to start rebuilding your forces from somewhere. One angry, skinny fourteen-year-old human girl isn't exactly a great place to start with army-building, but as noted it's better than nothing, and better than you can do right now. Although speaking of which that means you can't exactly snap your fingers and corrupt her into a demon with her permission, like you might have been able to do at the height of your power in your old life. \n\n<hr>\n[[Later, when you have help.|Reth6x1]]\n\n[[Submission now, transformation later.|Reth]]\n\n[[No, don't be ridiculous.|Reth]]\n\n[[... There's one way...|Reth1x3]]

Oh what the heck! This little human body doesn't have that much ability to channel magical energy, it's not like you'll accidentally wipe the town off the face of the planet! You'll just show off what you can do with one of the advanced spells you know. Stopping in the center of the stage, you wait until the audience quiets a bit before going through a few gestures and stances, then announcing, "Elemental Fusion!"\n\nElemental Fusion allows you to merge elements in various ways... it was fairly devastating as an attack spell, and if it hadn't been for a combination of it being more elaborate to cast the stronger you want it to be and not wanting to destroy your own castle, you probably could have just wiped out the Hero's party with ease. But as a ten-year-old human the most you can really do is make it look pretty. You combine water and fire to create a blazing ball of plasma, shifting its color as you spin it around. You add fire and air to make loud, brilliantly shining pops in the air like alchemical fireworks, and blend water and earth to create a mud pseudopod that oozes up onto stage and turns into a model of the town. You're panting a little by the end just from how much energy you've exerted on all that blending and the fine control it required, but you turn towards the presumably awed silent crowd and beam, expecting the cheers to break out at any moment.\n\n"... DEMON CHILD!"\n\n"HE'S THE CHILD OF THE DEMON LORD!"\n\nShit!\n\nEven if you were able to mount an effective resistance before the crowd swarmed you, you exhausted your small body's ability to channel mana with your demonstration. You can hear your mother and Stacia both screaming and begging everyone to stop, but the crowd's been thrown into a frenzy, hefting you up and carrying you away.\n\n"That girl, she was too good too, she and that fucking lord have the same hair as this demonspawn!"\n\n"They've been using our money and food to serve the monsters!"\n\n"EVIL! EVIL IN OUR OWN LAND!"\n\nYou can hear blades clashing now, and a girl screaming, but you're being carried around the corner and away.\n\nAnd then you spend the next four years in a cell.\n\n'Damn humans,' you think, slumped back against one wall and staring at another, as you have almost every day of the last four years. The rags that pass for your clothing hang loosely on your skinny body... they feed you and occasionally give you 'new' clothes, but basically just enough to live on. The stones in the cell have been designed to thwart the flow of mana, and you're barely able to pull enough to occasionally make yourself some clean water and a light. For the first few years you would hear things... someone sobbing from nearby, guards throwing insults at you or the other prisoner you apparently share your jail with, and worst of all, from far off, occasionally your mother and father's voice pleading or demanding for your release, or Stacia's voice doing the same. But after the first few years, even those stop. The crying stops as the other prisoner no doubt gives in to despair, the guards grow bored and distant, and the visits from your family and friend stop. 'They're just humans. They probably decided it wasn't worth it. That I wasn't worth it,' you think bitterly, scratching another practice magical circle in the grime on the floor by the wan light of the little orb.\n\nYou have little hopes they'll ever let you out of here. No, it's obvious that they're keeping you here out of some twisted idea that it would be wrong to kill a child, even a demon one... so they'll simply wait for you to be an adult and execute you then. Because somehow keeping a child in a cell for years on end until he's old enough to murder is better than just killing him out of hand, obviously. Quite the moral paragons, these humans.\n\n'Two more years,' you think, sitting back on your heels and looking at the diagram.\n\nOr two more minutes. Suddenly the entire building rocks with the force of some distant explosion. You can distantly hear people shouting... your room doesn't have any windows other than a few small slits in the door, so it must be quite loud to get all the way through the prison to you through those. The next explosion is much closer, and you're fairly certain actually hits the prison to judge by the fact that the whole building lurches, and there's the sound of some rooms collapsing from elsewhere. You're thrown to the ground but quickly scramble up... in time to see that the damage has knocked the door of your cell askew. Your jaw goes slack for just a moment before you gather yourself and run over, managing after a few hard yanks to get it open. You step out into the hallway, hearing running and shouting from elsewhere, and also spotting a guard laying sprawled on the floor, his head covered by rubble, his sword having clattered to the ground nearby.\n\nBefore you can take in more of the situation, another guard rounds the corner, his sword firmly in hand and head definitely not crushed by rubble. "The demon's loose!" he howls over his shoulder before charging right at you, raising his weapon with obvious murderous intent.\n\nYou scramble backwards and wind up tripping and falling against some of the collapsed roof, raising an arm in a futile attempt to shield yourself. But before the guard's blade can start to swing down on you, steel and blood erupt from his chest. He staggers, his momentum carrying him forward and off of the blade that just ran him through, collapsing to the piled stones beside you with his arm flopped across your lap. Stunned, you look at the hallway to see a form just as bedraggled and dirty and clad in rags as your own, albeit slightly more muscular despite the skinniness, as if years had been spent diligently practicing as much as possible in that dark little cell, determination and hate blazing in blue eyes.\n\n"... Amestra?" you murmur in surprise.\n\n"..." She just stares back at you, before grumbling, "More will be coming," and turning to stalk off. You quickly shove the dead guard's arm off of you and grab his sword... you doubt you'll be able to run a grown man through like she apparently can, but it's better than nothing and it will take at least a few days for your body to reacclimate to the flow of mana.\n\nThe two of you make your way through the prison, which is really only a few hallways, ducking the guards that are now running out. When you emerge you see that most of the village proper is burning... it's definitely been attacked. Amestra turns and scurries off towards the edge of town and you quickly follow, not wanting to meet whatever's capable of razing a village in your current state. Soon the two of you are in the semi-wilderness between the town and the outlying farms, likely well away from any immediate pursuit. Both of you are panting, obviously not exactly in any shape for hard physical activity, though Amestra's better off than you are... which is obvious as she rises up and turns to face you, scowling.\n\n"... I've been wanting to ask you a question for four years," she says, her fingers visibly tightening on the grip of her still blood-smeared sword. "... Are you really a demon?"\n\n<hr>\n[["No, obviously not!"|Reth]]\n\n[["... Yes."|Reth1x2]]\n\n[["There's no time for that!"|Reth]]

"Yes, let's go ahead and wipe them out," you agree quietly.\n\n"Alright. Any other orders, Master?"\n\n<hr>\n[["Make sure none of them escape."|Reth]]\n\n[["I'll hold your head."|Reth]]

"As much as I'd like to go back to that town and teach them a lesson, my mana is exhausted and you're brand new, it will be at least a day before you're able to manifest your armor and weapon," you explain with a sigh.\n\n"Oh? Armor and weapon?" Amestra asks, perking up a bit. Which is kind of funny to see, since her shoulders lift, but she has to tilt her chin up with her hand where she's carrying it under her arm.\n\n"Headless Slayers can manifest a suit of armor and armaments out of blue flame... they can make stronger ones the longer they've existed and the more and stronger enemies they've defeated," you explain. "It's an innate ability so you should be able to do it soon, but until then we're limited to these," you add, gesturing to the guard swords.\n\nAmestra gives her head a little back and forth tilt with her hand, you suppose her version of a nod, and leans down to pick up the sword you used to behead her, wiping her own lifesblood off on the grass before she straightens, her bare, design-marked tits wobbling with the motions. "Alright, Master, let's go. We should put some more distance between us and the town before morning, in that case."\n\nThe two of you set off, Amestra remaining nude since even if her old rags would fit at all, as an undead she no longer has anything to fear from the elements. In fact she seems to have shed a fair bit of her shame anyway... you're not certain if that's an undead thing, since admittedly you've never met an undead with an overabundance of modesty (admittedly most of them were skeletal), or just a sign of her resolve. Either way, you admit to repeatedly getting distracted by that naked, amazonian body, covered as it is in the markings of her eternal submission to you. If you weren't so exhausted after all of this, you'd definitely be wanting to take advantage... as it is, when light begins to touch the sky, you're grateful to find a soft-ish bit of ground to lay down on.\n\n"Don't worry, Master, I'll stand guard," Amestra assures you, settling in to stand beside you, head under one arm and her sword in the other hand. You nod sleepily before closing your eyes... that is, after all, the benefit of making a Headless Slayer. Besides being absolutely loyal, they never tire or need to sleep.\n\nYou awaken to the feeling of a cool hand stroking your cock, and similarly cool but very soft-firm tits pressing against you. You blink a few times, looking to one side of you and seeing the naked, headless body of your servant gently stroking you off, and looking to the other to see her head resting on the ground nearby, watching you intently as her body pleasures you.\n\n"Sorry if this is presumptuous, Master, this just seemed to be the thing to do," Amestra's head says rather sheepishly, with a bit of that blue glow blush to her cheeks, even though her body shows no similar signs of shame as it continues to embrace and caress you.\n\n"Mmmf... no, it's good, sexual contact can help my mana flow," you murmur. You settle against Amestra's body's deathly-cool breasts, relaxing as she strokes your long slender prick, occasionally glancing over and meeting her head's slightly embarrassed glowing gaze. Looks like it didn't purge her shame entirely, you think as you eventually give a soft moan, your spurts of cum dribbling over her strong, cold fingers. \n\nAmestra picks up her head with her other hand as she gets to her feet, her body bringing her cum-smeared fingers close to its lips. Amestra rolls her eyes towards her own body almost as if to ask 'What are you doing?' before she does in fact part her lips, letting her fingers slip inside, pale tongue flicking over them. You blush as you get to your feet and do your best to arrange your rags.\n\nAfter another few hours of walking through the new night, Amestra suddenly halts, then says, "I think I can summon my armor now, Master."\n\n"Good, go ahead and give it a try," you urge her.\n\nShe gives another of those tilts of her head with her hand, and then there's a flash and swirl of blue flame around her entire body. As it passes, it leaves in its place armor... well, light armor. There's almost a light bodysuit of dark scalemail, supplemented by a black breastplate, small pauldrons, and shin guards. A sort of loincloth of lengths of chainmail drapes down in front and back of her belt, giving it a bit more style at least. The gauntlets seem quite light too, and on her feet are just black leather boots. Her head is completely enclosed in a helmet, at least, dark, narrow eyeslits set in a largely featureless face shield.\n\n"Hm." She holds her sword up in front of herself, tilting her head towards, before blue flame encircles it too. It gets a bit longer and more wicked-looking, taking on a dark sheen, a scabbard for it appearing hung at her belt.\n\n"It's still pretty strong armor, even for a new Headless Slayer," you assure her. You can't see her face at the moment, but she seems pleased all the same. "Plus, you should actually be able to put your head on and 'pass' for an armored human if need be."\n\n"Oh?" Amestra lifts her head up and sets it on the smooth plane of her neck, giving it a slight twist back and forth as if to settle it. The helmet has a few drapings of chainmail as well, between them and the bodysuit obscuring the marks around her neck. "Oh, you're right, Master, it does stay in place," she says as she takes her hands away. "Though it feels strange, sort of like constantly holding my breath a bit. ... Except I don't breathe anymore, so it's extra strange."\n\n"You're probably having to exert some concentration and mana to keep it in place," you agree. "Thus why most Headless Slayers either carry their heads or set them aside as they fight."\n\n"Mm." Amestra nods, but apparently decides that having both hands free is worth it at the moment as she sheathes her sword. Then she says, in a positively teasing voice, "Look though, Master." She slips a gloved hand beneath the front of the chainmail 'skirt' and lifts it, displaying that her pale pussy is still bare amidst the scalemail 'bodysuit'. "You can still access me easily."\n\n"Um. Good," you murmur, actually blushing a bit.\n\nThe two of you set off again. Eventually, both of you sensing the faint 'glow' of other beings ahead, you settle into creeping forward. At the edge of the woods it looks like a small group with a pair of wagons have set up camp... from the look of them, some merchants and their bodyguards. The two middle-aged, fairly plump men are well-dressed, and the four who are anywhere from similarly middle-aged to looking only a few years older than you are seem to be dressed just slightly better than you might expect of bandits, so probably not the strongest and best. \n\nAmestra turns her head towards you, pauses, then lifts her hands up and lifts her head off of her neck, bringing it down next to yours to make it easier to whisper to you. "What shall we do, Master? I'm pretty certain I could take all of them."\n\nYou're pretty certain she could too. Even a Headless Slayer as new as she is would be a match for a strong adventurer, and none of these men look like that. The only reason you don't immediately agree is that you're trying to see if these men would be of any more use to you alive than dead.\n\n<hr>\n[["Yes, kill them all."|Reth1x5]]\n\n[["No, let's approach peacefully."|Reth]]

/* Your story will use the CSS in this passage to style the page.\nGive this passage more tags, and it will only affect passages with those tags.\nExample selectors: */\n\nbody { \n\t/* This affects the entire page */\n\tbackground-color : #050313\n\n\t\n}\nbody { color: white}\na:link {color:#326195}\na:visited {color:#9C9FFF}\n\n\n.passage {\n\t/* This only affects passages */\nfont:normal 16px "Georgia", "Book Antiqua", Georgia, serif;\n}\nhr { \n border: 0; \n height: 1px; \n background-image: -webkit-linear-gradient(left, red, blue, purple);\n background-image: -moz-linear-gradient(left, red, blue, purple);\n background-image: -ms-linear-gradient(left, red, blue, purple);\n background-image: -o-linear-gradient(left, red, blue, purple); \n}\n\n\n.passage a {\n\t/* This affects passage links */\ncolor:#682ED4\n}\na:visited {color:#9C9FFF}\n\t\n}\n.passage a:hover {\n\t/* This affects links while the cursor is over them */\n\t\n\t\n}\n

Making you wade through a pool of (possibly pervy) goo the "safe" option does seem 100% in line with what you've heard about these particular guys. ... And if you're wrong and get Bad Ended, well, at least there's no one around to see it.\n\nYou make your way to the edge of the pool, very gently nudging it with the toe of your boot. It yields a bit thickly, confirming that it's definitely slime, but doesn't seem to do anything else. You step into it slowly with one foot, still keeping most of your weight back... well, no hissing, dissolving, or grabbing you immediately, that's a good sign. You similarly carefully bend down to touch it with a bare fingertip... kind of firm surface, like gelatin, but again it doesn't particularly react to the touch.\n\nBracing yourself, you step forward, slowly descending the staircase. The texture of the slime definitely feels like gelatin as you're pushing your feet and, gradually, your legs into it, though rather than cracking or breaking like gelatin it just sort of smoothly shlorps around your booted feet. You're a bit worried about pulling your feet back up after having been in it, since it feels so thick going in, but it's like it gets a bit thinner when you're pulling up, making your steps slow but not an actual struggle.\n\nGradually you keep moving forward, maintaining a slow, steady pace, though your ears have pinked just a little at the somehow slightly lewd noises the slime makes from your feet and legs coming back up out of it. Soon you step off the last stair and into the pool itself, which is now up to about your thighs. You can feel it pressing around your legs and now, as you move forward further, up against your crotch and your ass as you get further into it, the floor gradually sloping downward towards the center, which still doesn't look too deep thankfully since you really doubt you could swim in this stuff.\n\nThen, as the level of the slime rises up to your waist, you feel it. A very clear, very distinct squeeze of your ass. You let out a little yelp of surprise, fighting not to lurch forward, and you feel it again... not quite hands, more like every bit of the goo that's surrounding your butt gave it a slight squeeze and spread, pulling your buttocks apart a bit within your tight pants. A second later you can feel it give a similar press-and-contract squeeze of your pussy, actually making it mound out a bit further beneath the tight material.\n\n<hr>\n[["FUCK AAAA GET OFF SHIT!"|ChiPerv]]\n\n[[Turn back.|ChiPerv]]\n\n[[Keep calm and press on.|ChiPerv2x2]]

You take several deep breaths and make yourself calm down. This is just the sort of stuff interdimensional mercenaries have to put up with sometimes. (Females more often than males it seems like, but not as wide a gap as some would think.) When you think about it, getting your clothes altered isn't like it's full-blown Circumstances. And even if you do wind up with Circumstances (like your rescue target almost certainly has at this point), well, it happens to every merc eventually. So you've heard. You'll manage.\n\nRallying your will and your pride, you press on deeper into the ruins. Of course almost immediately you wind up red-faced again as you have to deal with the various side-effects of your clothes being altered. Like the fact that your tits are essentially bare and now jiggle freely with every step without your top to support them. Or the fact that you can feel your coat brushing and stroking over your equally bare ass with every step, and that skinny little thong crotch strap rubbing against your pussy with your movements. It's not quite as bad as walking through the slime, but it is still rather... stimulating.\n\nYou do your best to keep your mind on the job though, still occasionally throwing out glowsmoke grenades to test the areas ahead even though you're past the point where those sorts of traps would be likely. Still, you're not inclined to be trusting after your recent experience. Bit by bit, although the hallways you pass through continue to be stone, they take on a more technological look with metal archways, visible control panels (all dim), and less dramatic lighting above branches, though most of those have collapsed at some point through the years (or been collapsed by either the pervcursors themselves or some other explorer sealing off a particular doom). You eventually emerge into a much larger chamber that looks like some blend of proper ancient ruins and a modern control center, with consoles and panels scattered around, though most of them are dark and some have been smashed, broken, or generally destroyed. It looks like the only intact and powered one is the big circular one in the center, a handful of simple, basic stations surrounding a tall metal cylinder that runs all the way up to the high ceiling.\n\n'Alright, let's see,' you muse as you carefully approach the central console, actually starting to be able to ignore being practically naked now. 'It didn't say what job Tanya was on down here, but Pervcursor missions are almost always about data retrieval or person retrieval. Assuming that it was the first since she's the person retrieval job now, she would have been trying to access the databanks, so... any of these do that?' You gradually circle the station, considering, since if you can figure out which one Tanya probably pushed that would give you a pretty good clue of how to follow her. Each screen is lit up but displays a simple, single icon filling it, and the panels below are almost entirely dim except for a single green button on each one. Okay, so that's obvious, they're some sort of system controls that are waiting for the command to startup. But what systems?\n\nOne of the icons kind of looks like a [[bull's head|ChiPerv4x1]]... not sure how that might relate to what Tanya was looking for, but you never know. Another one looks like a [[DNA helix|ChiPerv]], which definitely seems like it would relate to something someone would have come into these ruins for, the pervcursors were heavy into genetic engineering (and reengineering) as well as weird technological creations. You make a bit of a face as you realize that another one looks like the outline of a [[Raptarran|ChiPerv3x1]]... probably not something you want to mess with. ... Unless Tanya was here specifically looking for information on the Raptarrans. Dammit. Another has a design that looks sort-of-kind-of like a [[circuit board|PervSimStart]] or chip of some kind... it definitely has a computer-y feel to it.\n\n... Hm. Or maybe the consoles aren't relevant at all and you should [[just keep moving|ChiPerv2x4]]?

You quickly realize that the stuff must be trying to provoke a reaction... anyone familiar with this facility back in the day would have probably expected the goo to be handsy and therefore not have panicked, but anyone foreign to it would be shocked and probably flail about, triggering the actual defense system. Biting your lip and forcing yourself to keep calm, you continue walking forward slowly.\n\nUnfortunately it appears that the groping wasn't just a quick one-time test. The slime continues to rub and squeeze your ass and your pussy through your pants, and now begins rubbing and stroking your legs as well, making you feel like you have at least a dozen hands groping you all over the lower half of your body. You continue to worry your lower lip, making soft 'mmf' noises now, because part of the frustrating aspect of it is that it's not just that they're, er, it isn't randomly squeezing and grabbing at you. You feel like if it was just crude groping it would be annoying and maybe uncomfortable but you could ignore it as just one of those things you have to put up with on a job sometimes.\n\nThe problem is that it's really good.\n\n"Oh no," you actually whimper a bit as the slime slides further up your body as you push forward through it. Because the moment it covers your bellybutton it starts teasing and working that too with a sort of wiggly motion that's somehow simultaneously like having it licked and teased with a fingertip. "That's so not faaaair," you whine, your voice threaded with a bit of a moan as the slime slides up further and those invisible 'hands' start rubbing and stroking your stomach and waist as well.\n\nBut you're still fairly sure you've got no other option but to press ahead, lest the slime realize you're an intruder rather than just some random peon to be molested as part of the average day. You continue to let slip a series of soft little moans and gasps as you're worked over by what feels like an entire crowd of very knowledgeable, very shameless sensual massage artists. And of course you should know what's coming next, since it's obvious, but maybe you'd blocked it out a little because as your chest sinks into the slime close to the middle of the pool, it gives a firm, perfect-amount-of-force squeeze around your tits.\n\nYour body trembles, both from intensity of sensation and humiliation, as you cum. Even then the slime doesn't leave you be, its motions rubbing your pussy gentle and almost soothingly, drawing out your orgasm as long as possible even as you force yourself to keep moving, shuddering through your climax as you continue through the slime. It's got that simultaneous licking-teasing motion going on your nipples through the material of your top now as well as squeezing and manipulating your tits along with everything else, and you're now pushing on through mostly reflexive willpower, lifting your rifle high to keep it out of the ooze even as your mind fogs over a little.\n\nThe slime makes you cum three more times before you get to the other side and start up the stairs out of it, already feeling tired and out of breath. Luckily whatever it's actually made of seems to all stay together since you emerge clean and un-gooey, and stagger over to lean against the wall, panting as you try and catch your breath. "Fucking... pervcursors," you gasp out, shivering again. After a few moments you manage to collect yourself and straighten up, glancing down to make sure none of the slime came with you, and letting out an "Oh COME ON!" at what you see.\n\nApparently whatever the slime was made of, it had the ability to restructure things. Your skinarmor pants and top have been turned into a skimpy little thong that's so thin in the crotch that the sides of your pussylips are showing, and your top (save for the sleeves which were above goo-level) has been turned into a pair of little triangular pasties covering your nipples. You almost start to reflexively cover yourself before remembering you're holding your rifle and can't without putting it away. Your face burns with embarrassment, which only gets worse as you realize that even if you successfully complete this job, you'll have to walk through the Guildhall like this afterward.\n\nThat thought almost makes you want to bail on it right here and now. You've already got to walk around in public wearing this sluttier-than-being-naked stuff, probably being seen by at least a couple of people you know, whether you succeed or not, and at this rate you're only likely to get more embarrassed the further you go. What if you wind up with tits twice as big as your head in addition to this? ... Or more than two?!\n\n<hr>\n[[Bail on the job.|ChiPerv]]\n\n[[Suck it up.|ChiPerv2x3]]

Chances are even if Tanya did activate one of these panels, it probably resulted in her getting captured. ... Or altered. Either way she's not anywhere in sight now, so if it was either she was probably taken off somewhere else. Better to just keep exploring the facility and find where she's being kept now.\n\nYou make your way across the cavernous control room, making a face as you pass several skeletons slumped or crumbled down at some of the consoles. From the skulls some of them are some kind of Saurian races (you definitely see at least one Raptarran) but there are a couple of distinctly human ones too. You hope none of those is Tanya... but it seems unlikely by the general aged look of them.\n\nSoon you spot two openings that seem likely for where Tanya might have gone. One's a tall archway that you can see what looks like a bridge over a chasm or gap opening through, and also some slowly shifting glowing lights. The other is a staircase downward, lit completely normally, but obviously heading deeper into the ruins and their secrets. Both seem like they're pretty good possibilities for where Tanya would have searched for her goal down here, whatever it was, so which one?\n\n<hr>\n[[The bridge.|ChiPerv]]\n\n[[The stairs.|ChiPerv]]

Yeah, messing with the sportsheads would be fun, but messing with the more nerd-like clubs is probably more... y'know, creative, there's more theming going on there, y'know? You head to the single multi-story building somewhat disconnected from the main one, deciding to see what you have the opportunity to do.\n\nMost of the students are already in their club rooms and beginning to settle in when you arrive. Good, they can get good and settled while you browse the mischief menu, it'll be better if they think it's just a normal day and have time to start their routines before you shake anything up. Now let's see, let's see, are you going to have to wander every hallway, or...? Oh! No, good, there's a listing by the entrance. Gosh, it really is like a menu! Thank you, humans! You make fucking with you so easy! Alright, now, what club is going to get the grand prize of a bunch of foxy fuckery?\n\n[[Paranormal Club|Konko]]\n\n[[Occult Club|Konko]]\n\n[[Extraterrestrial Club|KonET1x1]]\n\n... Ehhhhh? Aren't these all usually one club attended by the same weirdos? You lean in and squint a bit at the descriptions... your vision is perfect! You just feel like it! But ah, okay... the paranormal club apparently is specifically about ghosts and poltergeists and monsters and such, while the occult club is about magic spells, ESP, and other such things attributed as potential human powers. And the extraterrestrial club is purely about aliens and life from other worlds, not weird local stuff, okay, yeah, makes sense.\n\n[[Manga Club|Konko]]\n\n[[Light Novel Writing Club|Konko]]\n\n[[Photography Club|Konko]]\n\n[[Unrestrained Fashion Club|KonCD1x1]] ... Kon? 'Unrestrained Fashion'? Let's see, descriptions says, 'A club about the exploration of fashion sensibilities unrestrained by gender norms.' Eh? ................ EHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH?!? This school has a crossdressing club?!?! They managed to make a crossdressing club?! OMG OMG OMG THAT'S SO COOOOOOOOOOOOOL! You kind of actually want to join it for real, that's so neeeeeat! Good job, humans, good job!

[[Retrieval|LeoJobListRetrieval]] - Basically, you go and get something or someone, and you bring it back to a place or person. It's a pretty broad category, covering everything from bounty hunting and stolen property retrieval to kidnapping and stealing. (The Guild doesn't make moral judgements about the jobs it lists.) \n\n[[Escort|LeoJobListEscort]] - No, not that kind of escort. (Well, generally not.) Like Retrieval, it's a fairly broad category that covers bodyguarding, transport security, arranging covert travel for VIPs, and even just straight-up guard duty.\n\n[[Task Completion|LeoJobListTask]] - Probably the very broadest of the categories, since it covers any sort of "go place, do thing(s)" jobs that don't fit in the other categories. It can either be quick money or a long, involved job, with pay compensating for time spent and complexity (or sometimes depravity).\n\n[[Removal|LeoJobListRem]] - And the narrowest category of jobs, because everything here is getting rid of something or someone. Everything is either vermin/monster removal jobs like the NP Bugs, assassinations, or "forced relocation". Well, very rarely there are jobs for destroying objects or places too, but those don't come up much. Virtually everything in here involves a... darker moral choice.

Where would your mom be right now, y'think?\n\nMy mother? Weiss blinks. The... library on the fifth floor, probably, but Kai, you remember what I told you. She's not going to help us, Weiss says with a little sigh of her own as you try to subtly tap the '5' button like it was no big deal.\n\nYeah, well, we'll see. As the doors open and the two of you walk out, you finally dropping your hand from Weiss's arm, you glance aside at her. Remember what I did with Yang, back at Haven?\n\nYou mean... 'kicking her ass'? Weiss replies, raising a thin white eyebrow.\n\nMy specialty. Let's see if your mom's a bit more helpful after a thump in the rump.\n\nWeiss winces before pointing at a set of large, white wood double doors. Okay, but only if you agree to never phrase it that way again.\n\nYou and Weiss push open the doors, which of course creak impressively despite their well-oiled hinges... you wouldn't put it past them to have hidden speakers just to make that noise. The library itself is cavernous, stretching up at least five fours, a towering monument of lustrous wood and leather-bound pressed wood. Sitting near a particularly large fireplace that somehow seems inadvisable in a place dedicated to housing so much old, dried paper is a woman probably a handful of years older than Qrow, slumped in an expensive leather chair and staring into the fire made of what looks like an entire tree sawn down to logs, the light flickering in dead-seeming blue eyes. Her fingers are clutched around the base of a crystal glass she's mostly resting on the little table beside her, which also holds a half-full crystal decanter of something dark amber-colored. As the two of you approach, she turns her head with a dulled motion, icy blue eyes struggling a little to focus on you as her side-ponytail shifts over her shoulder.\n\n"Oh. Weiss," she says dully, her voice heavy and a little uncertain, barely any expression on her face. She hesitates, as if struggling to think, then adds, in a heavy tone, "You're back."\n\nWeiss winces heavily, misery written on her face, barely seeming to notice you fiddling with unwrapping something from your pocket. "Yes, Mother. I'm back. And I need your help."\n\n"... Mm. Don't think I can do anything," Willow Schnee murmurs dully, turning her gaze back to the fire, barely even seeming to notice as you step up smartly. She sure as hell notices when you jab her in the side of the neck, though, yelping and jumping to her feet. "WHAT the HELL?!" she barks, slapping a hand to where you poked her, eyes going wide.\n\n"Much as I'd like to do this the slightly longer way where I kick you around and shame the everliving hell out of you while in your sorry state, we're in a time crunch and need to get this done." You hold up the technical-looking silver plastic tube-shaped injecter, the injection end a short glowing blue rod, the logo on the side reading 'Lightsober'. "You should be flattered, I used the good stuff, no hangover."\n\n"I... what?" Willow blinks several times, her eyes having cleared and the soft slur having disappeared from her voice. She stares at you, then looks at Weiss, tenderness now replacing the earlier glazed look as she steps over to her daughter and grips her upper arms. "Oh Weiss, what are you doing back here? I thought you'd gotten out and went back to your friends."\n\nWeiss's eyes widen as her mother's sober words clarify the drunken ones... that a despondent 'you're back' didn't mean she was sorry to see her daughter, but that she was sorry her daughter had become trapped here again. "I... Mother, I'll explain everything when I can, alright? But we need your help, we have to get out of here and get to Winter, or General Ironwood."\n\n"'We'?" Willow blinks, looking over at you as if finally actually comprehending your presence rather than just reacting to it.\n\n"Hey," you greet, holding up a hand and wiggling your fingers a few times in greeting.\n\n"Um, Mother, this is Kai Sterling..." Weiss takes a deep breath, then smiles and adds, "My girlfriend."\n\n"Girlfrie-" Weiss's mother looks between her and you several times before focusing on Weiss. "... Dear, we all have that phase, when I was at Atlas Academy on my team, I-"\n\n"Mother!" Weiss blurts, her face going red for several reasons.\n\n"Okay, you're right, that wasn't a good thing to say," Willow acknowledges quickly with a wince, rubbing her face. "Nnnh, this is difficult, I... I'm thinking straight maybe for the first time in years but I'm having trouble putting everything together."\n\n"You'll probably go through a bit of bad drying-out later, if you keep it up, but this should hold you for a few hours," you say, stepping in. "Ma'am, Weiss isn't kidding, she and I absolutely have to get to the top Atlas authorities. If we don't, a lot of people are going to get hurt or die. Now Weiss told me you were a Huntress once, so I have to believe that there was a time in your life where you were ready to stand between the innocent and evil. Well you can kick yourself in the ass for drinking yourself stupid for two decades all you want later, but right now the time to stand between the innocent and evil is here again. And it starts by standing between Weiss and your husband."\n\nWillow stares at you, then at Weiss.\n\n"Please, Momma," your beloved says, very softly. "We need your help. Atlas needs your help. The whole world needs your help. ... Please be the Huntress Grandpa was so proud of again. Even if just for tonight."\n\nYou can see the impact that 'Momma' has on Willow, her eyes widening and lips parting as she sucks in a hard breath. She trembles, just a little, at the mention of her father, closing her eyes, standing there for a long moment and just trying to process. Then her eyes open, and her face firms with something she probably hasn't felt in many long years.\n\nDetermination.\n\nSquaring her shoulders beneath the frilly, expensive blouse she's wearing, Willow Schnee turns and marches to the side of the library, towards a large glass case. She swings open a hidden panel in the elaborate wood carvings on the side to reveal a handprint scanner and presses her palm against it, the lock on the cabinet clicking and the door popping open slightly. She swings it open, hesitates only for the briefest of moments, then draws out a long silvery metal case much like the one Weiss often carries Myrtenaster in. She hesitates again, a bit longer this time, then also reaches in to take out a wider, shorter varnished wood case, the snowflake symbol on its front woodburned in. She attaches straps to both, slinging the long one over her back and the other under her arm, then turns back to you both. "Let's get the hell out of here," she says evenly, icy eyes flashing.\n\n"Uh... ma'am?" One of the white-armored guards at the front door looks over as Willow strides out of it, you and Weiss following close behind. "I'm fairly certain that Little Miss Schnee is supposed to-"\n\n"I'm taking my daughter shopping and we're going to the appraisers," Willow cuts in, though putting just a bit of heaviness into her words, eyes having drooped half-lidded. "Telling me I can't take my own daughter out?"\n\n"Uh... no, ma'am, sorry. Let me call the car for you, ma'am." He puts two fingers to the side of his helmet and murmurs. Only about a minute later a long white hovercar slides out of one of the garages and cruises around to settle at the bottom of the steps, all three of you descending as the driver emerges to open the doors for Willow and her daughter. He looks surprised when you move to the driver's side front door, but at Willow's unsteady nod just sighs and steps back, letting you step in and settle behind the wheel instead. You set off out the front gates and merge with the light flow of traffic outside, no destination in mind currently other than 'away'.\n\n"Well that went a little smoother than I expected," Willow notes, lifting in her seat a bit and craning her neck back to look at the receding mansion. You notice in the rearview mirror that her hands are trembling a little resting on the cases she's holding, but decide to keep your eyes on the road. "Jacques will probably send some people after us to 'politely ask' us to return home once he hears we've taken a car."\n\n"Momma? Are you alright?" Weiss frowns, placing both her hands over one of her mother's, obviously having noticed the shaking as well. "Is it the medication?"\n\n"... I..." Willow takes a deep breath, lets it out. "I haven't left the manor since before your brother was born, Weiss, I haven't been outside further than my garden in a long time, this is... difficult for more than one reason."\n\n"Thank you, though," Weiss replies, smiling again. "... This is the you I always knew was in there somewhere."\n\n"Well I had certainly forgotten," Willow replies with a soft huff, and a more wry smile for her daughter in return.\n\n"Weiss," you prompt gently.\n\n"Oh, right, sorry." She fishes out her scroll and taps a few times, then puts it to her ear. A few moments later she frowns. "Winter isn't answering."\n\n"So it's not just my calls," Willow mutters. Then she frowns slightly, more subtly lifting up and looking back before dropping into her seat again. "There's our tail."\n\nWhat? You flick your eyes to the mirrors. "Where?"\n\n"Eight cars back. The champagne-colored Scarlotte." At your slightly blank look she frowns. "The kind of boxy four-door one, looks like a family vehicle. Weiss, I thought she was a Huntress."\n\n"Kai's... not from around here, Momma, she hasn't really had a chance to learn all the car makes and models."\n\n"Yeah, you're right though, that's a tail," you say a moment later after watching the SUV make several subtle lane and speed changes. "How'd you spot it?"\n\n"It may look standard outside but the manor's garage uses a particular formulation of Dust that we keep for our private use only. I could sense the difference on my Aura by the time it was within a half mile of us." At Weiss's slack-jawed stare, Willow can't help but give her a bit of a smug look. "You still have a lot to learn about being a Schnee Huntress, darling." Then the smug drops to wry as she adds, "Most likely because I failed to teach it to you. I'm sorry."\n\n"Much as I generally live for these moments, those guys are getting closer," you note as the SUV changes lanes again. "Exactly how insistent are they going to be?"\n\n"Quite. They won't be directly threatening at first, but if we don't cooperate they might try to shock us or drug us," Willow answers grimly, Weiss wincing as if she'd long suspected that but is having it really confirmed for the first time. "And enough that if we have to fight them off, it will cause a scene and draw law enforcement."\n\n"Who would take us right back to your place anyway, right," you mutter. "We need somewhere to be, somewhere..."\n\n<hr>\n[[... crowded.|KaiWeiss4x4]]\n\n[[... disreputable.|KaiWeiss]]

You make a show of looking at Weiss, then at him, plastering a look of calculation on your face, before reaching up to lightly take hold of Weiss's forearm. "Yes, sir, Mister Schnee." Then you guide Weiss forward, while she fakes a look of betrayal on her face... at least, you hope it's fake.\n\nLuckily, once the two of you are in the elevator alone, she confirms it by sending, Not that I think you ever would, but please just make me feel better by confirming that we aren't going to my room.\n\nOf course not, we're getting the hell out of here right now. Because if I have to spend too long in this place only one of us is going to survive, your father or me, and I don't think it's gonna be him.\n\nHow, though? Weiss sighs a little as she watches the floors slowly crawl by on the elevator readout. He used to not even allow guards inside the mansion, just at all the exits, but it looks like that's changed. We're definitely not going to be able to just walk out the front door and endure a bit of social awkwardness, she adds ruefully.\n\nI'm thinking we'll get a little help, you muse.\n\nHelp? Weiss blinks, glancing at you. Which probably shows up on the cameras that are no doubt in this thing, but since you're communicating silently they probably just think she's still feeling betrayed. Here? I've told you what this place is like, haven't I? Who would help us?\n\n<hr>\n[[Her mother.|KaiWeiss4x3]]\n\n[[Her brother.|KaiWeiss]]

Guys, I've got a plan, you send quickly. Snowbird, you're not gonna like this, but just roll with it. And aloud you say, "Miss Schnee is in fact ready to return home."\n\n"Oh?" Cordovin says, turning and beaming. "Wonderful news!"\n\n"I'll be going with her." You step forward and lift your own scroll. "Kai Sterling, licensed Huntress." Sort of. You and Qrow talked Ozma into backdating Huntsmen licenses for most of the group, signed (supposedly) by Leonardo Lionheart before his death. You were advised to all avoid using them against absolutely necessary, since it might not hold up to very close scrutiny. "Miss Schnee has employed me as her personal bodyguard. She's entitled to at least one armed escort of her choosing, right?"\n\n"Oh. Hm. Well." Cordovin frowns some, glancing from you to Weiss, who's still trying to cover her look of displeasure, but nods. "That seems reasonable. Shall we?"\n\n"We'll need a few hours for Miss Schnee to get her things together."\n\n"Very well. I will see the two of you... and only the two of you... then," she adds, before turning and marching off.\n\n"Kai!" Weiss hisses, slapping your arm the moment you're all out of sight of the gates.\n\n"What's the plan here, kid?" Qrow asks with a frown.\n\n"I'm guessing Kai probably wants to take the lamp to Atlas with her and Weiss, since it's the fastest way," Oscar says, just a bit forlornly.\n\n"Yeah," you agree with a nod. "We'll buy a nice backpack and I'll keep it on me... I don't like to put mysterious magical artifacts in pocket dimensions, sometimes bad stuff happens. When Weiss and I get to Atlas, we'll make a beeline for Weiss's sister. She should be able to get us in to see Ironwood, and then he can send for the rest of you."\n\n"Kai... are you sure about this?" Weiss says slowly.\n\n"No, but I do know the longer we have that thing here, the more danger Argus is in, and the more danger our mission is in. This gets the lamp to Atlas today. I don't like splitting the group, and I don't like using you like this," you admit to her. "But it's the fastest, best way."\n\n"And the safest for the most people," Weiss says with a little sigh, nodding a little. "Alright."\n\n"Hey. I promise, I will not leave you by yourself," you murmur, grinning and rubbing a thumb over her cheek bisected by the scar. "You may have to go back to that place, but you won't be going alone this time."\n\n"... Then I think I could survive just about anything," Weiss says softly, starting to smile again as she stares into your eyes. "As long as you're there."\n\nThe moment is interrupted by the loud clearing of a throat, and when both of you look aside, Qrow raises an eyebrow, the rest of the group either blushing, snickering, or making cutesy faces. "Yeah. Still here. If you two wanna flirt, save it for once you're on the airship, huh?"\n\nSoon you and Weiss are indeed in one of those Atlas airships, soaring across the ocean, the small form of the Relic of Knowledge tucked into a backpack at the small of your back (both zipped and securely latched), Weiss's hand tucked into yours where the pilot can't see. I hate this, Weiss sends to you.\n\nI know. You sigh just a little aloud, counting on the engine noise to cover it, though there's not a huge amount of that. I... understand if you-\n\nStop. I'm not dumping you because of this, Weiss sends back flatly, shooting you a look. I love you, I'm not leaving you either. There's a beat before she adds, Unless you leave me alone in there. Then it's Dumpsville.\n\nYou'd laugh but you're pretty sure she's serious. Weiss has opened up to everyone a little about what life at home was like to her, and you a lot in the past few days, so you can guess exactly why she's afraid. She very literally had to escape from there the last time, and now you're marching her back in for the sake of the mission. You just squeeze her hand to try and reassure her that way, though both of you have to let go to step up to the window as the pilot says you're approaching Atlas. The two of you stand at the window, looking at the glittering metropolis floating in the sky above the rest of the land down below.\n\n"Pretty," you note aloud.\n\n"That's all you have to say?" Weiss asks, seeming more amused than anything as she glances at you.\n\n"Seen a lot of cities. Seen a lot of floating stuff. Mostly from my experience it's weird because it looks so clean," you add, glancing at her. Then you look back. "... Is that an unusual amount of air guard?"\n\n"... Yes," Weiss responds, frowning now.\n\n"General Ironwood's just being cautious," the pilot says from nearby, glancing over his shoulder. "The embargo has the other kingdoms getting uppity and there's a lot of rumblings they'll try to attack. Something like that would be bad enough, but the amount of Grimm it would bring..." He snorts softly in derision of the rest of the world and looks forward again.\n\nWeiss gives the pilot a worried frown, then you a look that's just plain worried before she looks ahead. You see her wince when you can see an edifice that's both towering and sprawling, a white stone near-monolith surrounded by a wide grounds and standing out from any of the other mansions and manors near it, a glittering crimson and opal spiral at the top flashing a slow golden strobe at the tip, probably to warn airships. The airship banks around, coming into a hover near a landing port close to the top of the building. You can see three figures in white waiting... the mustachioed form of Weiss's father, and two men in white suits you're guessing must be bodyguards. The door slides open and, playing the dutiful bodyguard, you hop down and scan the whole area, making sure you can be seen visibly sizing up your counterparts, which makes Jacques Schnee frown thoughtfully, and then him himself, which makes him scowl. Then you turn back and offer Weiss your hand, helping her down onto the landing pad.\n\n"Well, young lady, I see you've finally come to your senses," Jacques declares smugly, a very small and rather nasty smile curling his lips below his mustache. \n\n"I'm back, aren't I, father?" Weiss responds with a chilly tone, eyeing him, then glancing around. "I thought at least Klein would come to meet me too."\n\n"Your little stunt before has resulted in the termination of his employment," Jacques says in an even more slightly smug tone, a little glitter in his eyes at the pain that flickers over Weiss's face as he says it. You valiantly resist the urge to kill him on the spot. Then he goes back to scowling as his gaze tracks back to you. "And who is this?"\n\n"This is Kai Sterling. I hired her as my bodyguard to get back to Argus," Weiss says in a slightly strained but prim tone, gesturing to you.\n\n"Oh? Bodyguard, hm? Then perhaps you're finally coming to your senses about this 'Huntress' business as well," Jacques adds in a very nearly satisfied tone, as Weiss suppresses a wince. "But good then. Sterling, show my daughter to her room, and see that she stays there until morning," he snaps, bobbing just a little on the balls of his feet, hands never once having left the small of his back.\n\n<hr>\n[["Yessir."|KaiWeiss4x2]]\n\n[["Yeah. No."|KaiWeiss]]

"We need a place with a lot of people and a lot of noise, somewhere we can either lose them or take them out without it drawing too much attention," you say, forcing yourself to ignore it as Willow grimaces. \n\nWeiss's eyes dart around, then she leans forward and points past you. "There."\n\nYou follow her finger, then nod at the large, artistic neon martini glass, the multiversal sign for 'overpriced fancy-named booze mixtures here'. "Nightclub, perfect." You calculate the space between cars before executing a multi-lane change sharply enough that at least one horn blows hard at you, but you make the turn into the leadin for the club while the SUV has to make the next street turn, slightly too obviously looking for a place to park as the three of you get out of the car. You almost snatch the valet ticket from the attendant, sure that the size of his eventual tip will make up for the sour look on his face as the three of you hurry up the steps while trying not to look like you're hurrying. \n\n'Seriously, Jacques, that was the best you could do for being discrete?' you think as four big guys in light grey suits pile out of the now double-parked Scarlotte and themselves hurry-but-not-too-much down the sidewalk towards you. Whatever the doorman was about to say about how you're dressed or the obvious weapons doesn't get said when he sees the color of the lien bill that Willow proffers him, and instead simply opens the door and gives a sweeping 'be my guest gesture' to let your little group in.\n\nImmediately the sound of pulsing electro-swing surrounds you, a trumpet wailing melodiously through the club as people chatter and cheer and dance. There are plenty of lights flashing, nowhere near as many as you're used to in the Glowworm, but enough to obviously crack Willow between the eyes and make her freeze up. Weiss quickly takes one of her hands and you rest one of yours on her lower back, and you can see her make herself relax. You glance over your shoulder and see that it looks like the quartet of Jacques's men are close to arguing or bribing their way side, and gently urge her forward. The three of you make your way into the club proper, now able to see the stage. The trumpet playing is the work of a stylishly-dressed dark-skinned man, his turquoise-banded trilby resting at a jaunty angle as he plays, eyes closed behind thin rectangular glasses, matching turquoise-colored bow tie undone and formal shirt collar open beneath his elegant black formal coat. A slightly lighter-skinned man with pale hair and a snugly-fitting, open-chested white jacket and pants is playing a keyboard, and in the back is a light-skinned man with rich blue hair wearing a white formal shirt and some sort of chestpiece, thumping out the beat on the drums. Up at the front is a light-skinned female Faunus, blue-streaked orange hair bound up into a pair of 'kitty ear' spirals atop her head, pink-lined white hoodie jacket worn over snug black and blue top, star-emblazoned shorts worn over blue tights with rainbow stripes down the sides, her feline tail sweeping and swaying to the beat as she 'dances' mostly by swaying and popping her ass to the rhythm, arms at her sides and hands turned out at her sides, smiling happily as she sings into the microphone.\n\n"Baby, can you move it round the rhythm?\nSo we can get with 'em\nTo the crowd, and get us a rock and roll 'round\nJust a downtown body body coming with a super-hottie\nLet's go, yes, no, hell no!"\n\n"Team FNKI," Weiss whispers with delighted relief, her voice almost lost in the music and crowd as she puts a hand to her chest.\n\nHoly shit it's her, you send back reflexively due to the noise, your eyes widening.\n\nYou've seen the videos, of course it is, Weiss says as she struggles a bit through the crowd, a few people giving all of you dirty looks, especially Weiss's mother and her cases taking up room.\n\nShe looked different in the recordings of Vytal! That's DJ Poptartz, she's one of the most famous musicians in the city sector back on Makarzia!\n\nWait what? Oh, nevermind, no time for multiversal nonsense! Weiss struggles to hop above the crowd, waving a hand a bit, obviously trying to catch Neon's attention without making herself too obvious to the men pursuing you. You see when Neon spots her, the Faunus's blue eyes registering surprise and mischievous delight, before you can see her gaze grow more serious despite the lack of change in her smile when Weiss mouths 'help'. Neon never stops singing as her eyes track and search the crowd, locking on to the suited men trying to push through the crowd towards you. Her tail flicks over and pats Flynt Coal on the back twice, then once again. The trumpeter's eyes open just a bit, tracking to Weiss then quickly to the men in suits. He taps his heel several times, the other two immediately stopping playing, while Flynt changes the tune of his trumpet to something you've heard on the music files Ruby gave you, but never quite this way, the other two resuming as they find his tempo and tune.\n\n"Ladies and gentlemen~!" Neon suddenly announces, popping upright and flinging a hand forward. "Please put your hands together and make way for Funky Beat's very special guest vocalist tonight, the illustrious and loveliest Weiss Schnee!"\n\nAt her direction, the crowd turns to look... but then does in fact obediently part among the ensuing applause, forming a clear path for the three of you to take to the stage. And, just so incidentally, pressing into a tighter crush around the pursuing men. The three of you try to make it seem casual as you hurry forward, Neon launching into a peppy spontaneous cover of a song you've only ever heard as almost a dirge of sorrow.\n\n"Mirror, tell me something\nTell me who's the loneliest of all!"\n\nAs she's singing, Neon leans forward to grab Weiss's hand and haul her up onstage, Flynt playing his trumpet one-handed briefly to do the same for Willow as the white-haired man (Ivori, you're assuming) slips out from behind his keyboard to do the same for you, you and Willow edging back as Weiss turns back to the microphone, flushing a bit but a smile on her face too now as she starts singing, the rest of Team FNKI's playing changing flawlessly as she does, Willow's own face breaking out in a wondering smile.\n\n"We're all born with a dream\nWe wanna make come true!\nThe best will climb to the top like me\nThe rest will end up like you!"\n\nNeon's entire face lights up like her namesake in delight, leaning in towards the microphone and resuming her earlier pose, bopping along to the peppy improvised new beat that her teammates have devised for the famous ballad.\n\n"Mirror, tell me something!\nTell me who's the loneliest of all!\nMirror, what's inside me\nTell me can a heart be turned to stone!"\n\nWeiss smiles back, icy blue eyes twinkling and staying mostly on Neon as she leans forward to adopt the same pose, even shaking her hips in time with the beat change, obviously having the time of her life despite it all as she indulges one of her passions with a friend she thought she might not see again.\n\n"I bet it's hard to live with\nKnowing that you'll never be this fine!\nDon't be distraught, don't be sad!\nYou gave it your best try!"\n\nNeon slips a hand out, taking Weiss's hand and guiding her in an impromptu little dance move, a twirl and tug close that winds up with them cheek-to-cheek and holding hands, which would make you want to break her nose if you were the jealous type. Maybe a spanking instead. As they sing now, the lyrics start to run together, but somehow the beat lets a coherent narrative form.\n\n"Mirror, mirror, I thought that loneliness was fine\nBut listen, girlfriend, can't you see\nLonely is what I will never be\nWe're a mirrored rainbow\nAnd lonely's no fun!"\n\nThe entire crowd bursts into applause and cheers as Neon steps back and raises one of Weiss's hands triumphantly before the both of them take a bow, the rest of Team FNKI doing the same after Kobalt's able to stand up. Then Neon addresses the mic again as she says, "Everybody! We're gonna take a short break, but Funky Beat will be right back!" With that she flings her and Weiss's hand up again at the round of applause before turning and hurrying backstage, the rest of Team FNKI, you, and Weiss's mother strolling after them. The moment the curtain's closed behind you all, Neon laughs and throws her arms around Weiss. "That was awesome~!"\n\n"Pretty damn good, Schnee," Flynt adds, a twinkle in his dark brown eyes as he grins at her.\n\n"Thank you. It's so good to see you again, all of you," Weiss replies warmly, squeezing Neon tightly before drawing back, expression serious. "Neon, we're in trouble."\n\nNeon's tail flicks and her head turns a bit towards the stage. "Yeah, saw. Those guys are trying to get up on the stage now but one of the waiters is arguing with them. We'll hold 'em here, you guys get out of here."\n\n"There's an exit back there," Flynt says, giving a short bob of his head further into the backstage area. Then he reflexively reaches out a hand to steady Willow as she wobbles a little in place, just a flash of something angry in his eyes as he recognizes her, before it's replaced by more gentle concern. "Ma'am, you okay?"\n\n"I'm... I'm alright, just... a little overwhelmed," she murmurs, putting a hand to her face.\n\n'Shit,' you think, frowning. The sobering medication was really meant to clear up the effects of a couple of hours' drinking, not an alcoholic's all-day intake. Between that and the stress of the near-agoraphobia she's clearly developed, it's probably starting to fade on her.\n\n"They're on the stage now," Neon notes with a glance back at the curtain.\n\n"We have to go," Willow says immediately, obviously forcing herself to focus through what's probably a building alcohol haze trying to press in on her. She puts a hand on Flynt's upper arm and says, "Thank you" quietly, before turning and striding towards the back, you and Weiss following along. As you're reaching the simple metal door, you can hear the curtain being shoved away.\n\n"Gentlemen," Flynt says in a genial tone that the experienced mercenary in you can hear the 'fuck with me and see what happens' in. "Is there some sort of problem here?"\n\n"There will be more of them right behind, maybe a Huntsman or two," Willow notes as all of you emerge into the alley behind the club. "Weiss, you and Kai need to go on without me."\n\n"What?" Weiss blinks. "Why?"\n\n"For one thing, I think whatever your friend gave me is wearing off," Willow says, shooting you a look that's half grateful and half rueful as she kneels in the rainy concrete alleyway, setting down the silver case and starting to work the latches. "For another thing, I don't feel right leaving your friends to deal with our mess alone, so I'm going to go back and help them," she continues as she swings the lid up, revealing a long, straight sword a bit wider than a rapier and more slender than the typical longsword, its hilt a close-wrapped double helix of Dust containers. She grips it, looking more certain of herself as she stands with it in hand again. "And because, once I've made it clear I'm going back on my terms, not your father's, I'm going back to the manor."\n\n"But Momma," Weiss whispers, reaching out beseechingly.\n\nWillow raises her hand to take Weiss's. "I know what you think of him, Weiss, but I can't leave your brother alone in that place. ... I've left all of you alone there for far too long as it is," she adds in a whisper, raising her daughter's hand to kiss her palm. "You have a mission. You're a Huntress. More of one than I ever was. I believe in you."\n\n"... Okay." Weiss nods once, then turns back to you. "Kai, let's go."\n\n"Weiss, wait." As Weiss blinks, Willow unslings the wooden case she's carrying and holds it out. "Take this. I want you to contact a woman named Bianca Snow, she's the head of the Rival Dust Company."\n\n"What?! Momma, why would I contact the head of the RDC?!" Weiss demands, looking scandalized even as she accepts the weapon case.\n\n"Because she's your aunt." Willow smiles sadly at Weiss's shocked expression, but continues. "I think she'll talk to you if you call her, and if she takes your call I want you to say 'white orchids', then ask her for a meeting. If she accepts, give her that and tell her it's hers," she adds with a nod at the box. "If she understands, I believe she'll help you. Now, go," she says gently, urging the both of you down the alley with a small gesture, before turning, squaring her shoulders, and yanking the door back open.\n\nTaking Weiss's hand, you give her a tug to get her feet moving, though you can see the pain on her face at leaving her mother to fight and then return to that cold, political structure the Schnees call home. You check the streets, then duck around the corner, pulling Weiss with you. "Is this a call you can make from your scroll?" you ask.\n\n"Not if I want to actually get through to-" Weiss hesitates, clearly still dealing with the fact that her grandfather had an illegitimate daughter. "-her. Private scrolls route to a different connection for corporate accounts where I'll just get the runaround for hours, we need something more official-grade."\n\nYou pause briefly to shrug out of your coat and drape it over Weiss, less against the cool of the Atlas night and more to hide her sparkling blue dress, tugging the rain hood up as well over the cosmetic one to hide not only her white hair but the distinctive kitty ears the men have seen on the security cameras and will be looking for above the crowd. You wish you could do something about your own hair... oop, there we go, you divert a little to snag the hat off the head of someone that looks like he partied a bit too hard at the club you just left and is slumped drunk on a bench half-aware, not even flinching as you lift his chapeau. 'A fedora without a suit to go with it, even I know that's a fashion faux pas, but desperate times,' you think as you tuck your hair up under the hat and tug it a bit lower on your head, or as low as it will go with all that hair stuffed in it. You also redo the straps of the small backpack the artifact is in to let it rest strapped to your hip opposite Red Legacy instead.\n\nThe two of you walk on, Weiss's heels clicking softly on the pavement, her gaze rather far away as she tries to process everything that's happened and everything she's learned tonight. You wish you could help her, say something... but this has gone way, way, way beyond any experience of yours, your entire frame of reference is out the window on this one. Instead all you can do is be there for her... you do notice that she seems a little more comfortable and less skittish now that she's wrapped in your coat, which is nice. Also she looks super cute in it, which is even nicer.\n\n"There," you finally say, pointing at a sign reading 'Network Pub'.\n\n"'Corporate Grade CCT Terminals'," Weiss reads from the letters scrolling across the front window, nodding. "Yeah, that will work. The only problem is my father probably has both of our names flagged... he owns most of the payment processors through subsidiaries," she explains at your glance. "The moment we submit our IDs, which we'd have to for renting one of those terminals even if we pay in cash, he'll have his men here in minutes."\n\nYou consider, then nod. "Okay, I know what to do." Stepping in front of her, you pull the coat closed entirely and fasten it, Weiss now almost swimming in the baggy black jacket, with her blinking in confusion as you pull the hood further forward. "Keep your head lowered so the attendant can't see much of your face, and give him this scroll when he asks for ID," you add, leaning in to fish in one of the jacket's pockets, coming up with a cheap scroll, a black bird painted on one corner of it. "Other than that don't say anything and leave all the talking to me."\n\n"O... kay," Weiss says with a blink, but follows your instructions, ducking her head forward and hunching a bit so that only her chin is visible, following you as you cross the street and enter the shop.\n\n"Evening, what can I do for you?" the guy behind the counter by the entry says. "Hourly or free use?"\n\n"My boss needs to hire one of your CCT terminals. Got one with a private booth?"\n\n"Sure. That'll be 100 lien an hour though, no refunds for unused time, and I'll need to see identification."\n\nWeiss reaches inside the coat without pulling it too far open to withdraw some of her own money from its warm little hiding place that makes you jealous of currency, setting both the bill and the cheap scroll on the counter. The attendant plugs it into a slot and glances at the screen, taps a few times, then nods and hands the scroll back. "Alright, Mr. Draven, booth one is open, you're already logged on, please enjoy your time."\n\nOnce the two of you are tucked into the booth and you've spent a few moments checking for cameras and microphones, Weiss pulls the hood of the coat back and shrugs out of it to give it back. "'Mr. Draven'?" she asks, quirking an eyebrow.\n\n"One of Qrow's fake IDs, he slipped it to me before we left just in case. Hopefully with the extra time in Argus he'll have time to put together some for all of us." You fold the coat over your arm, then gesture. "... No time like the present, Weiss."\n\n"I know," she whispers, clearly taking a moment to gather herself before settling into the padded rolling chair and pulling herself up to the terminal. She spends a few moments typing to search up the contact information, then puts the call through. After a moment a middle-aged woman with brown eyes that have somewhat X-shaped pupils appears.\n\n"Rival Dust Company corporate contact line, how may I direct your call?"\n\n"I need to speak to Bianca Snow, please," Weiss says formally. "Could you tell her that it's Weiss Schnee calling?"\n\n"... Certainly, one moment please." The screen blips to a logo reading simply 'RDC', with four smaller emblems surrounding it, a water droplet on top, a leaf on the right side, an opened folding fan on the bottom, and a broken sword on the left.\n\nWhen the logo disappears, the face on the screen is of a beautiful Faunus woman around Qrow's age, her hair white and falling down past her shoulders and framing her lean face, eyes icy blue, a pair of ears resembling those of some large cat poking out from the top of it, slightly rounded with gray tips and edging, thick white fluff inside merging with her hair. "Miss Schnee. What an unexpected pleasure," she says with smooth politeness and nothing else, the faintest tilt of her head to emphasize her curiosity as she says, "And to what do I owe said unexpected pleasure?"\n\nWeiss seems just briefly thunderstruck, opening her mouth and closing it once without saying anything. It's obvious that she can see the resemblance, especially forewarned like this, but then she pulls it together and says, "Because I really need your help. And I was told you'd meet with me if I said 'white orchids'," she hurries to add before Bianca can do more than raise her eyebrows slightly.\n\nBianca's face freezes completely. You can see the shock having rocked her even without the slight shift in her ears, despite her face changing little. After a moment though she says, her tone guarded, "Whoever told you this was correct. Are you currently in danger?"\n\n"Yes," Weiss answers quietly. "We're safe for the moment but there are people after us, me and my friend."\n\n"Alright. Give me one moment. I'm going to do a trace on your location, accept the permission from your end," Bianca replies, all business now as she looks down, shoulders shifting minutely as she apparently types rapidly. "I'm going to send a team of Huntresses in our employ to pick you up. It will take them about twenty minutes to get to that section of Atlas," she continues after the brief blip of popup windows on the screen. "Will you be safe where you are for that long?"\n\nWeiss looks at you. You glance around, noting the lack of windows in the booth and that it seems fairly sturdy, before nodding back to her, whereupon she turns back to the screen. "We should be."\n\n"Alright. These Huntresses are Team BLZH," she continues, pronouncing the word 'blaze'. "Their leader is a woman who goes by 'Bard'. Tall, dressed in white with a silver breastplate, star emblem, gun on her hip. Let her tell you her name, don't ask if it's her."\n\n"Of course," Weiss answers, sounding just a bit rumpled at the basic security lecture.\n\nBianca nods, coming very close to looking abashed before she adds, "Ask her how her day is going. She'll say a word that has a connection to me that you should be able to figure out," she continues, giving her ears an obvious twitch. "I'll see you in about half an hour." With that, she signs off. \n\n"... This is so strange," Weiss says with a sigh, slumping in the chair.\n\n"I'm sorry, snowbird," you murmur, stepping up and offering a hand, at least feeling gratified that she takes it and squeezes it. "I know one of the others would probably be more helpful with this subject."\n\n"You're helpful just by being here. I definitely don't think I could manage all of this without you." She gives you a somewhat wan smile, then turns back to the screen. "Well, we'll be here for awhile. I'm going to catch up on the local news feeds."\n\nTo judge from what she's reading, she doesn't really like what she sees. She's still frowning as she clicks around twenty minutes later when there's a light rap at the door. You turn towards it, filling it with your body as much as you can before tapping the control to open it. Then having to look up. 'Wow no shit tall,' you think, gazing up at a slender, fair woman with short, almost military-style blonde hair, only a single curl of it escaping across her forehead rakishly as she looks down at you. Her face is more handsome than pretty, her shoulders on the broad side, hips on the lean. She is indeed wearing a white outfit with a silver chestpiece, and what looks a lot like a blaster at her hip, her outfit looking more like ancient spacer wear than anything else.\n\n"Hello. Is Weiss Schnee here?" she asks in an even voice, blue eyes tracking to Weiss obviously standing behind you.\n\n"Depends, who's asking?" you reply casually, resting a hand on Red Legacy's grip.\n\nHer eyes track the motion, but she just smiles a little before saying, "My name's Bard. I lead Team BLZH."\n\n"Uh-huh. And how's yer day going, Bard?"\n\nShe shrugs, grinning again as she says, "Atypical."\n\nYou glance back at Weiss, who seems shocked for a second but nods. You look back to Bard and nod as well, pulling your jacket on. "You ready?"\n\n"We've got a flyer outside, yeah. You want front or back?"\n\nYou ponder for a moment and say, "Front." You assume Weiss knows to watch her back with a stranger at it.\n\nYou stroll out ahead of the other two, making your way towards a hovercar that looks longer and a bit higher, and has a pair of short aero-wings attached towards the back. A tan woman with what looks like tiger ears poking up from her dark hair, wearing a purple hoodie and tight purple pants is standing on one side of it, a pair of more conventional-looking pistols at her hips stands on one side of the car, while on the other side a tall woman with faintly gold-tinted skin and long black hair, wearing what looks a lot like tuxedo and top hat complete with red-lined cape, is standing resting a hand on the top of a long staff with a glittering orb on top. As you approach, the side of the car swings open to show the interior, a dark-skinned muscular woman with a shaved head wearing a green flak vest sitting in the pilot's seat. You get in first, waiting to actually settle until Weiss has. Bard settles in across from you, the woman in the tuxedo joining her a second later before the door swings closed.\n\n"Isn't your friend coming?" you ask with a glance at the window.\n\nBard chuckles a bit. "Lavenda likes to ride up top. Gives her a good vantage point. This is Zherne Boggs, she's a fan of yours," she adds, gesturing to the sharply-dressed woman beside her.\n\n"Oh?" Weiss blinks, looking over at her. "You like my music?"\n\n"Oh yes, though I admit I'm more of a fan of your early work, but that's not what Bard meant. I'm primarily a Dust user, you see, so obviously one can't help but be impressed by the Schnee Semblance," Zherne says with refined good cheer, dark eyes twinkling. "And I admit, it certainly does help that from what I've heard of you, you're a remarkable young woman as well."\n\nWeiss blushes a bit, but before you can think of an at least semi-polite way to say 'stop flirting with my girlfriend or I'll ram that tophat up your funhole', Bard continues. "And driving us tonight is Khloe Haris, our engineer, mechanic, expert driver, and general genius, one of the star pupils of Tanna Yuuki herself."\n\n"Enough with that," Khloe grunts, albeit with a large grin as she does.\n\n"Nice to meet you. Kai Sterling," you add, leaning forward to shake hands with Bard, and then Zherne, resisting the urge to give her fingers a warning squeeze. You'd probably just seem like you were trying to flirt anyway.\n\n"Are we going down to Mantle?" Weiss asks, looking out the window.\n\n"No, Miss Snow came up with us, she has a house up here she doesn't use very often. She thought it would be safer to stay topside, lots of opportunities for an attack when you're heading over the edge and cruising above Mantle proper."\n\nYou watch as Weiss appears to recognize the neighborhood you're now in and tense up nervously before she forces it down. Everything okay? you send, frowning a little.\n\nYes. ... Just old habits that I thought I'd broken, she sends back, sounding a little ashamed as she settles back into her seat. You want to take her hand, but both of you know that right now, you can't afford to give these people that much knowledge of your relationship, not until you're entirely certain of their intentions.\n\nSoon the flyer sets down inside the gates of a mansion... not even a fraction of the towering edifice of the Schnees, but definitely a mansion. Lavenda hops to the ground beside the opening door as you and Weiss get out, Team BLZH lightly surrounding you as you head up the front walk, but stopping at the front door as a maid opens it and steps back. The moment both of you are inside she closes the door and turns to leave the foyer.\n\nA few seconds later, Bianca Snow enters with the rap of boots on tile. She's wearing a pseudomilitary black outfit, jacket with short tails and what looks a lot like a snug short skirt, its hem separated only by a short distance from the tall, snug black boots sheathing her legs. The thing that almost immediately draws your eye is the long, thickly-fluffed tail swaying behind her, grey cream fur marked with black rings so slender they almost form stripes, the tip black as well. Atypical? you send to Weiss.\n\nAn Atypical Faunus is one who has more than one trait, yes, Weiss confirms even as she steps forward to meet Bianca. "Thank you for seeing us."\n\n"You are welcome. So far." Bianca regards Weiss for a moment before she says, "I would very much like to know who you heard 'white orchids' from."\n\nWeiss hesitates only briefly before saying, "My mother." Bianca is clearly a bit shocked to hear that, then looks down as Weiss proffers the box. "She said to say that to you to get a meeting, and that once we did, to give you this. And tell you it's yours."\n\nBianca's face has become a mask again as she accepts the box and carries it to a nearby long side table, setting it down and opening it up, revealing three gleaming gold sections set into snow white felt. She picks the lowermost up, what looks like the base of a shaft, and examines it for a moment before finding some hidden catch near the screwtop fastener at the top and working it. The gold outer sheath slides away briefly under the motion of her hands, revealing a simple, cheap wooden handle, the wood rough, pitted, and cracked, but worn smooth by long use. Resheathing the wood, she spends a moment reassembling the whole weapon... a spear, with two long, arced tines forming the tip of it. Bianca stares at it for a long moment before working the sole control on the weapon, the tines snapping towards each other and settling beside one another to form a pickaxe head. \n\n"... I thought," she says very softly into the dimly-lit entryway as she stares at the spear. "That the orchids that were sent to me... and the ones that were put on my mother's grave every year on the day of the first snow in Mantle... that they were just something he'd set up. Some impersonal little touch he did shortly before he died, hiring a company to do it on a schedule, something he never had to think about again, that was all taken care of by a secretary in some flower company. White orchids... the symbol of apology. I thought it was just... formality to assuage his guilt. ... But all this time, it's been her. ... Asking my forgiveness for what she let her husband do."\n\n"My father?" Weiss blinks.\n\n"... I was probably a handful of years younger than you are when your father really started taking over the SDC," Bianca replies as she starts breaking the weapon back down, keeping her back to both of you. "And no doubt heard the rumors of the bastard daughter of a lineage-less Faunus orphan in Mantle who could use a Schnee-like Semblance. And so, his PR team arrived, and they made me an offer. In return for never seeking out any member of the Schnees to speak to them about my potential parenthood, and for never again using my Semblance in public, a trust would be established. It would pay for me to go to combat school, for my mother's medical bills, for any equipment I needed to insure my successful entry into Atlas Academy. Once I graduated or came of age, the remainder would be released to me as a lump sum." She slowly closes the cover of the box, thumbs flicking the clasps into place. "And so was born the lie of the Rival Dust Company and the mysterious, self-made woman that began it. All its startup capital was Schnee money... paid to buy my ancestry away from me. ... But," she says with an audible sigh, lifting her head, tail flitting back and forth once. "I suppose your mother has offered this as payment to get me involved in family politics all the same."\n\nWeiss lowers her head, shamefaced. You look at her, then back at Bianca. "... That ain't it."\n\n"Oh?" She turns her head slightly, one feline ear flicking.\n\n"Willow was clearheaded and thinking straight for the first time in years when she pulled that out of the cabinet. I think she already intended to give it to you tonight no matter what happened, whether we needed your help or not," you say. "Now, I'm an orphan too, in a manner of speaking... I don't know a lot about family politics, but I know family, because I've had to find my own. She didn't say 'it's hers if she helps you', she just said 'it's hers'. Like it had always been yours."\n\nWeiss looks at you, then at Bianca. Her voice is quiet as she picks up from where she's followed your train of emotional logic. "She doesn't feel like she's worthy of my grandfather's legacy anymore... she's guilty for letting herself be pushed around and bullied by my father for all of these years. ... But she thinks you are," she continues. "You've done exactly what my grandfather did in the first place... built a Dust company that treats its workers with consideration and respect, offering quality products for affordable prices, and doing what you can to help the world while you still turn a profit. ... She's telling you that you're more Nicholas Schnee's daughter than she is," she concludes, sadness in her voice as she bows her head a little.\n\n"That was the apology," you add. "Not 'sorry my husband was a jerk to you'. It was 'sorry we couldn't be sisters'."\n\nSlowly, Bianca raises one leather-gloved hand to her face, resting it there as she bows her head and is silent for long moments. Then she slowly turns and crosses to Weiss, before abruptly throwing her arms around the other woman, drawing her close, one hand on the back of her head.\n\n"Of course I'll help you," Bianca whispers, eyes closed tight, a few tears still escaping. "Of course I will. We're family."\n\n-\n\n"So was it... serious?"\n\n"My mother didn't like to talk about it," Bianca answers with a shake of the head. Her gloves rest on the table beside her, a decanter of something clear as well, Weiss sitting on the other side of the table and you nearby. Bianca turns her head towards a large painting of an elegantly but simply-dressed woman that looks like her, albeit with a broader face, more prominent chin, slightly darker skin and dark grey hair, as well as lacking the ears, her feline tail draped across her lap. "I think less because it was painful and more because she wanted to respect Nicholas's privacy. But no, it wasn't an ongoing affair."\n\n"A one-time thing, then," Weiss says softly, bobbing her head.\n\n"Mm." Bianca sips from her glass and nods. "Essentially. Again, my mother never said much about it, but not long after she got sick she told me some. As much as she could bear to, I think, since I think she already knew she wouldn't survive it and didn't want to take all the answers to the questions I had to the grave. I pieced together a bit more as I could from old records and accounts. It was one of your grandfather's last hunts before he started settling more fully into retirement... his daughter was walking and talking then, I suppose he wanted to make sure he'd be there for her to remember. My mother was one of the Huntresses that went with him, her and her team. They discovered a new cavern full of Dust suitable to be a mine, but in the process of exploring it disturbed an absolute hive of Creeps... more Creeps than anyone had ever seen."\n\nBianca takes another sip, icy eyes flickering as she perhaps remembers the pain on her mother's face at telling the tale. "They killed all the Creeps, but they lost a lot of people... most of the party. Nicholas lost several of his oldest friends, and my mother lost her entire team. I think they were both... hurting. In agony. And they were both caring people who saw how the other was in pain. Surrounded by death and loss, they needed something so they could feel alive, and..." She shrugs. "From the way my mother spoke, it probably happened a few more times before they returned from the mission, but not again after that. And just under a year later, I was born."\n\n"And my grandfather never helped you? Never acknowledged you?" Weiss says with a frown.\n\n"Now that, my mother was very emphatic about, was her decision," Bianca replies, gesturing with one finger and her glass. "She didn't want to feel like she'd somehow blackmailed him or pressured him into it, and she didn't want to wreck his home. I think she always believed that when I was older I could seek him out on my own, of my own choosing, but until then she shouldered being a parent by herself. It might have been one thing if we were living in the slums, but she was a good Huntress and was more than able to provide a comfortable life for both of us. ... Until she got sick and wasn't able to anymore," she adds in a whisper, looking down.\n\n"... I'm sorry," Weiss murmurs, gazing up at the portrait. "That must have been incredibly difficult for you. For both of you. Going through that sort of thing is what is the matter with you?" she hisses, whipping her head to face towards you, apparently no longer able to ignore the choked noises you've been making. At your little quick nods towards Bianca, Weiss looks over and blinks. "... Ah. Oh."\n\nBianca still has her head lowered, a look of solemn mourning on it... where it's not hidden by her tail, which has found its way around to her lower face where she's holding it gently in her lips, apparently without realizing. At the silence, she lifts her head slightly, blinking, then directs her gaze down. "..." With a soft 'ptoo', she sets it back to draping down the side of the chair, and clears her throat. "It was," she says, apparently deciding to pretend no one saw anything, which Weiss seems eager enough to play along with. "It was a rough time. Money was running thin, things weren't looking good for her condition, and I was getting more and more bullying from the other Faunus in the neighborhood we'd had to move to, calling me either 'freak' or 'poser'."\n\n"And that's when my father's spin agents showed up," Weiss predicts with a sigh.\n\n"Correct. And yes in later years I was suspicious and launched a very thorough investigation, but it appears that the timing was simply fortunate for them. Your grandfather was dying as well, so we couldn't have contacted him ourselves, and we simply needed the money. My mother left the decision to me, and urged me to make it on my own behalf, but obviously it was not much of a decision and I accepted. Unfortunately medical care could do little at that point but insure that she no longer suffered, and that her quality of life was as good as possible for the last year she lived. But it also means she lived to see me take top honors at combat school the first year I attended, which has always been some consolation."\n \n"You were top of your graduating class at Atlas Academy, too, weren't you?" Weiss says, grinning as Bianca gives her a curious look. "Sometimes my father would rant about you and the other founders of the RDC. He seemed to take it as a personal affront that you were 'allowed' to graduate in the top four slots that year."\n\n"I did work very hard," Bianca agrees, with not a little obvious pride. "I ran myself ragged in combat school, determined to be the best of the best. I probably would have burned out and crashed hard by the end of the first year at the academy proper if it hadn't been for the rest of Team SNYW. They got me to ease up, lifted some of the burden off of my shoulders since we all helped each other. I still had that work ethic though, so I was very proud of myself for achieving that, because I knew my mother would have been happy. After graduation, instead of becoming professional Huntresses, I and the others decided to enact our plan to start the RDC, starting out by using our abilities to claim the licenses to smaller, abandoned, half-played-out Dust mines that had been retaken by the Grimm." She sighs a bit and adds, "That and the lump sum of money the trust your father bribed me with paid out."\n\n"Bianca. ... Aunt Bianca. You need to stop feeling guilty about that," Weiss assures her, reaching across to touch her arm. "I think that's what my mother was trying to tell you as much as anything by giving you grandfather's weapon. That it was your money anyway. And even if it wasn't, you have made so much more out of it than most others could have. The RDC is the creation of your will, your mind, and your team."\n\n"... Thank you. The others have told me something similar a number of times, but... I guess it means more coming from blood," Bianca admits, smiling sheepishly at Weiss before her ears twitch and she looks aside just before the maid from earlier steps in.\n\n"Dinner is served, ma'am."\n\nAs the three of you settle down to the hot meal, Bianca cutting her oozingly rare steak with quick, efficient motions, she says, "I wouldn't call myself particularly close to James, but I guess close enough that he does let me call him 'James'. I've already left a message with his system, I suspect we should have a meeting set for sometime midday tomorrow. I won't press you for details about this mission of yours, unless you want to share them."\n\n"It's not so much about 'wanting' as not knowing for sure it's safe," you speak up. "Whoever gets involved in this is gonna get pulled in hard. You shouldn't be if you don't have to." \n\nBianca fixes a surprisingly prim, chilly glance on you. "Miss Sterling. My niece is involved. I am involved."\n\nWeiss flushes with surprise and pleasure at that, but then nods. "Tomorrow we'll ask General Ironwood if it's okay. I think that's for the best... it's a military matter as much as anything, and I don't want the RDC to lose its blockade exemption."\n\n"Fair enough," Bianca says after a moment, one ear flicking. "I do still have to think about my other family." Then both her ears twitch, and her head turns a bit.\n\n"What is it?" you ask, turning as well in your chair.\n\n"Raised voices. Sounds like some of Jacques's men are arguing with Team BLZH. They can handle it," she says simply before turning her attention back to her meal, as if completely unbothered.\n\n<hr>\n[[Go check it out.|KaiWeiss]]\n\n[[Stay put.|KaiWeiss]]

You stare at her, then let out a long sigh. "Okay, okay, fine. If you're sure..."\n\n"Yeah! I mean, are you?" she asks, pausing in the midst of hurriedly gathering up the rest of her clothes.\n\n"I... guess," you reply, apparently having more reservations about what this will mean for you two's friendship than she does. That's apparently good enough for Errin, though, as she finishes grabbing up her things and cheerfully trots towards the right hand door in her bare feet. "Er, are you not gonna...?"\n\n"Chances are I'll be taking everything off again so why bother?"\n\n... Okay, can't really argue with that logic either. You follow after her, walking into another empty white room, the doorway in the center of one of its walls as opposed to the right side of the one you were in. As expected, there's a faint shimmery sound, and when you turn the door is gone and there's text on the wall.\n\n"Huh, a choice this time?" Errin says aloud, tilting her head a bit.\n\n<center>She receives more service\nor\nShe gives service</center>\n\n"'Service'... oh, I guess it means, um," Errin murmurs, blushing as she raises a hand and touches her fingertips to her lips, glancing at you bashfully and a little apologetically. "That's right, you gave me oral, but, um..."\n\n"I think the words 'I want your dick' were sufficiently urgent as to skip my receiving further foreplay," you note dryly, Errin going red from her hairline down to her collarbone at that.\n\n"R-right. I guess it has its own idea of fairness. Or... not?" she says, frowning a bit as she glances at the wall again. "It seems like it just wants us to do oral either way, but it's also okay if I get it again?"\n\n<hr>\n[[... Well, y'know, not like you mind...|LeoErrin]]\n\n[[... Well, y'know, but fair's fair...|LeoErrin4x8]]

You bring your hands up to gently cup her face. You see Errin's surprised look for just a moment before you close your eyes as you lean in, pressing your lips to hers. It's not so much that she stiffens or anything, but she does sort of freeze for a moment. When she begins to kiss you back, it's a tentative thing at first, her hands coming up somewhat timidly to rest on your sides as she leans up into you. You don't try to deepen it just yet, just letting your lips be warm and gentle on hers for a bit before you raise your head again.\n\n"I mean, y'know," you murmur, feeling a bit more bashful than anything else. "It says 'make love', so..."\n\n"Y-yeah," Errin murmurs slightly breathlessly, nibbling her lower lip for a moment before agreeing, "It does, so..."\n\nYou both look at each other, blushing again, before you lean in to kiss her again. Errin kisses you back a little more easily this time, and after a second it's her tongue that ventures into your mouth. You flick yours against it gently before letting them twine together. It's... weirdly easier than you thought it would be to dismiss the fact that you're kissing your brother-from-another-mother, and to just enjoy the wet warm affection of it. Your fingers brush gently across her cheeks, and as if signaled she steps in closer to you, that slim form pressing warm and bare against your still-clothed one.\n\nNot that that's going to last... you guess technically it could, if you were just going to have sex, but as you both pointed out, the wall says 'make love' and magical (or whatever) artifacts (or whatever) tend to be pretty clear on this sort of thing. You're a little surprised that Errin makes the first move there again, her hands sliding up and urging your coat off your shoulders, but maybe you shouldn't be. She's clearly, um... resigned herself to this. Yeah, go with that. But her hands are already going down to undo your pants as you break the kiss to pull off your reinforced shirt.\n\nSoon divested of your own garments, you settle onto the bed alongside her, the two of you laying side-by-side. Errin definitely seems blushing and nervous, avoiding looking down at where your stiff cock is pressing against her belly as the two of you turn towards each other. As much to ease into it as to obey the strictures of the room, you settle into some more kissing and letting your hands roam over each other's bodies. Errin as a girl is definitely very slim... you wouldn't quite call her skinny since it's not like her ribs are showing, she's just built very sleek, with that tiny waist and smooth hips, pert butt, small but well-shaped breasts. Yeaaah she's extremely cute, you can't help but think with a half-longing sigh into her mouth as the two of you kiss.\n\nEventually you feel one of her hands wrap tentatively around your cock, giving it a light squeeze... you don't know if she can feel the bit of pre that urges out to smear on her belly, but you sure can. She gives it a few light strokes, her breathing turning a bit shakier into your mouth as her lips part a bit from yours. Then she gives a loud squeak of surprise as you suddenly roll her over onto her back. If she was expecting that she'd pushed you to the edge and she was about to be taken then and there, though, she gets another surprise as you instead start kissing down her neck and along her collarbone. You'd already heard her half-confused mewls and felt her shiver when you'd toyed with her stiff pink nipples before, but now she gives a very sweet little cry as you wrap your mouth around one. Suckling gently and rolling your tongue around, you bring your fingers up to gently tease and tweak the other, alternately brushing your fingertips over the areola and lightly pinching and twisting the stiff nub.\n\n"Mmmf... oh... oh god," your childhood friend whimpers as she writhes gently underneath you, those slim fingers sliding into your hair. She makes all sorts of very, very fun noises as you move your mouth between her nipples, alternately suckling and licking and teasing them with your fingers once gently wetted. Little, sudden urgent ones low in her throat. Breathy, lingering ones that settle in her mouth. Even little huffs through her nose. You could almost start to worry that you're enjoying this too much, you think with a vague air of smugness as you start kissing down her belly now.\n\n"Oh... um... um, Leo, I don't, I don't know if, I don't know, I don't know," Errin stammers, eyes widening a little as she looks down at you, bare belly quivering a bit under your kisses. But she doesn't actually say 'no' or try to use her grip on your hair to make you stop, so you don't stop and instead press your mouth right onto that dripping, soft cleft between her legs, dragging your tongue up over the gentle ridge of flesh capping it. She lets out a long yowl at that, her back arching hard before she settles into squirming and whimpering in pleasure, fingers clenching in your hair as you start working your tongue over her clit. "Ohgod ohgodohgod ohgod Leo fuck," she whimpers.\n\nYou slide a hand up to cup one of her breasts, kneading it lightly as your other comes up. She's as tight around your finger as you might expect as you slowly push it in, Errin making a truly unique noise of mingled shock and pleasure at the feel of having something push inside her for the first time, let alone into her brand new pussy. Still, she doesn't protest... if anything her grip on your hair is urging you closer rather than away. You get your finger worked into her fully, feeling her hot and dripping and squeezing around your digit, wiggling it some before starting to pump it slowly. You're fairly certain you can feel it when she cums for the first time... not just from the sort of half-strangled, half-surprised, all overwhelmed mewl she makes, but the way she squeezes tight around your finger and her hips buck. You give her a few moments to settle before resuming the slow pump of your finger, before adding another, gently twisting them as you stroke.\n\nBut it's not long before her noises turn... insistent. And then she says, aloud, "L-Leo... I want... I want your dick..."\n\nYou'll consider any implications of this for your friendship moving ahead later. For now, you just want to give her what she wants... and take what you want. Sliding back up her body, you settle into position, using one hand to position yourself, the tip of your cock rubbing against those now thoroughly puffy and dripping pussylips. You meet Errin's pink eyes, and after a second she gives you a firm nod of assurance... right before her face twists in a mingling of overwhelmed pleasure and a sort of confusion as you push into her. "Ohhhhhhhgod," she whimpers as you slide inside her... not with much difficulty considering how wet and eager she is at this point, but she is very tight.\n\n"You... you okay?" you ask in a breathless tone, even as you keep pushing forward, your hands having moved to grip her trim little ass. Part of you wants to know if you need to stop immediately... the rest is pretty sure you couldn't stop no matter how much you wanted to, right now.\n\n"Yeah," she moans back, and as if to prove it slides her arms down to put them around you and lifts her legs some, tucking the gently-shuddering limbs over your body. "Yeah, keep... do it," she adds as if her brain had just leaped forward several tracks along her train of thought.\n\nNodding, you push forward fully into her, then quickly start thrusting. She cries out and you capture her lips with yours as she does, letting her yowls and mewls caress your lips and tongue as you really do it, really take her and make love to her. Your body presses firm and hard over that sleek, delicate-feeling one, the feel like you've got something very breakable and precious wrapped up in you. And yet you can't resist fucking her a bit hard, either, the stoked-up need for her overwhelming any better sense, sending you driving your hips against her, pounding deep in that quivering, hot pussy. And yet her hips rise to meet yours with perfect unity, her arms and legs if anything drawing you down against her, urging you to press her into the bed, crush her, do your best to break her with love.\n\nYou give your own long, shuddery moan into her mouth as you cum, but force yourself not to stop, thrusting again, again, again, though they're sharp, hard things with pauses between them. Either that was enough or it was the change of pace itself that did it because she arches under you, the kiss breaking so she can cry out, her pussy squeezing you hard and giving a light gush that you can feel dampening your balls.\n\nFor long moments the two of you just lay there entwined, panting and unthinking, overwhelmed and overheated. Then you raise your head, starting to process that the text has changed, and that you're no longer trapped... and unable to help feeling an interesting mix of embarrassed, proud, and smug as you read some of it. "Um... look," you murmur as you slip off of her.\n\nYou're not sure Errin even realizes the little disappointed noise she made as your cock slipped out of her, but she sits up and turns her head... then bursts out into a short bit of rueful laughter. There are now two doors in the wall, one reading 'Exit' and the other reading 'More rewards'. But where the original text was in the center has been replaced by some that says:\n\n<center>Excellent work</center>\n\n"Well I mean... I'd kinda hafta agree," Errin murmurs, her already flushed face coloring a bit more as she glances at you, raising a hand to brush a fingertip against her cheek as she glances away bashfully.\n\n'Ffffffffffffuck stop being so cute,' you think with an almost groan. But wait, the one door says more rewards, which implies... yup. You spot a pair of rectangular pillars off to the side that weren't there before with leather bags sitting on top of them, one blue and one pink. The implication being obvious, you get up and walk over, picking up the blue one and peeking in... then turning and showing it off to Errin.\n\n"Oooo," she coos, eyes sparkling almost as much as the pile of gems displayed. Scrambling up, either forgetting or disregarding her own nudity, she snags the pink bag and opens it up, peering in. "Oh, hey, mine's all money! But gold pieces... lots of old ones from different worlds, too, totally worth more than melt weight! ... Wait, why's mine money?"\n\n"I think this place has a distinct sense of humor," you note wryly, holding up one of the gems out of the bag to show off its shape.\n\nErrin looks over, blinking... then blushes brightly again as she realizes that it's a large, round-faceted red ruby with a gleaming arc of emerald attached at the top like a stem. In other words, a cherry. "Oy, you," she grumbles, glancing up at the ceiling.\n\n"Look, let's just get out of here," you note dryly, putting the gem back and picking up your coat to drop the bag into a pocket before you start to get dressed.\n\n"Yeah. Yeah," Errin murmurs, heading back to her own clothes and starting to pick them up... then glancing at you and nibbling her lower lip. "... Or..."\n\nYou blink and look over at her... then at the door that says 'More rewards', then back at her with an exasperated look. "You cannot be serious."\n\n"I mean, bro, look at these!" she blurts, shaking the pink bag. "This is major, major score type stuff even back at the Guild, let alone here! And it's just the first room, it'd have to get even better going forward, right?"\n\nYou feel like that's a big leap of logic, and yet it makes such perfect sense to you that you don't really argue that point. Instead you say, "Uh, yeah, and have you noticed what it wants us to do?"\n\n"I mean... not like it was all that bad," she murmurs, squirming and blushing again, once more brushing a fingertip on her cheek. Then she coughs, quickly pulling on her hoodie. Yeah, she definitely lost a bit of height, it now comes down to (barely) the bottom of her hips. "I mean this place doesn't seem malicious," she hurries to add, in a more pragmatic tone. "So if all it wants to do is, y'know... I mean, seems pretty harmless, we could do a few more things in return for a huge score, right brother?"\n\n<hr>\n[[... No.|LeoErrin]]\n\n[[... Welllllll...|LeoErrin4x7]]

"It's your teegee pen, dude, you use it," you say a bit flatly.\n\nErrin opens his mouth, then closes it and eyes the wrapped pen, before sighing heavily and slumping his shoulders and head. "Yeah, point," he mutters, walking over and tossing it onto the bed. Apparently he didn't want to argue and make it seem like he'd bought the thing to use on you just on the off chance something like this happened. (You're well aware that he's attracted to your mom. And aunt.) Then you blush as he shrugs out of his coat and drops it and starts toeing off his boots.\n\n"Um... you just gonna go ahead and...?"\n\n"I mean I'm gonna hafta get naked anyway, aren't I?" he replies in a grumpy tone as he pulls off his hoodie, revealing a slim but toned and currently very masculine chest. "May as well not deal with the bullshit of my clothes going all weird-fitting on me when I do."\n\n"Yeah point," you murmur, glancing away as if privacy were going to help at all in this situation. You try not to pay too much attention as Errin finishes undressing, just leaving his clothes laying on the floor. Not the first time you've seen him naked, certainly, but the situation makes it weirdly way more... intimate... than it's ever been before, though you guess things are going to get even moreso.\n\nYou can hear the sound of the wrapper being torn open, kind of watching out of the corner of your eye as Errin eyes the very bright pink plastic thing decorated with garish flowers, unicorns, and female symbols. "Holy shit, how come it's always the cheap ones that put like ten times more effort into the way the pens look than the expensive ones?" Errin groans.\n\nYou can't help but snicker a bit. "Dignity costs money, I guess."\n\n"Guess so," he grumbles, then sighs and presses it to the side of his neck with a faint hissing sound.\n\nCuriosity more than anything draws your eyes around to watch. Not the first time you've seen this sort of thing, but still, it's sort of viscerally interesting if nothing else. From the mildly uncomfortable look on his face, the cheap pen didn't bother to include anything to make the transformation feel good, as he squirms and shifts as if dealing with mild muscle aches as his arms and legs start to change most visibly first, the muscle tone growing more slender and sleek. His waist also starts to narrow... quite a lot, actually, and though his hips round out they don't spread that much, but with that slim waist the curve is still fairly noticeable. Though his belly smooths out and takes on that slight feminine curve, the bulge of his chest as his shoulders narrow and slope doesn't amount to much... whether through a lack of the injection helping them or just natural genetic inclinations, Errin makes for a fairly petite-breasted woman. You blink a bit in surprise as not only do his eyes change from blue to pink, but the color in his hair does too, before you remember... right, Errin's from a slightly speciated branch of humanity that's, well, color coded for coupling convenience.\n\nYou were trying not to look at that part too closely, but about the time Errin's eyes and hair turn pink is about the same time the last vestiges of shaft and balls vanish to be replaced by a trim, smooth-looking pussy. No body hair... but then you're pretty sure that Errin's subgenre (or whatever you'd call it) of human had everything below the eyebrows edited out anyway. Errin blinks a few times, looking down at herself and turning back and forth a little, apparently a little interested despite it all. "Well hell I kinda look like I could use a sandwich," she declares, pressing her hands to her slim belly.\n\nYou can't help but laugh at that, reflexively saying, "You look great." Which is the truth, but makes you both blush and glance away again.\n\n"R-right." Errin coughs, squirming, hands twitching as she obviously resists the urge to let them roam around a bit in further exploration. "So, um... I guess we still need to...?"\n\n"Yeah," you murmur, glancing at the wall with the minor hope that the text might have changed to show some sort of mercy. Nope. Shaking your head, you walk over to your childhood friend turned... well, very pretty girl childhood friend. Errin was always just a little bit shorter than you, but either lost some height in the change or the difference just seems more pronounced with that slim, girlish build she has now. Errin peeks bashfully up at you through her lashes, and you actually feel a little guilty at realizing you're not going to have any problems with the physical performance part of this because she is very cute and you can already feel yourself starting to get a little hard.\n\nTake a deep breath to steady your heart. And then...\n\n<hr>\n[[... get undressed.|LeoErrin]]\n\n[[... kiss her.|LeoErrin4x6]]

"Why, I'm going to greet her myself, of course," you coo. "She is the very first tenant of this Dark Monolith after all... it seems only fair she receives a bit of personal attention."\n\n"Your majesty is far more gracious than any creature in existence deserves," Xenith coos adoringly. "I would caution you to be careful, but of course such an adventurer has as much chance of defeating you as a gnat does of defeating a moon."\n\nYou pause briefly, finding yourself considering the logistics of a gnat actually knocking an orbiting planetoid out of the sky, but decide not to bring up any theories you might develop to Xenith. You love her dearly, but she can be a bit much with the assuring you that she's perfectly fine with being tormented for her impertinence all the time. Instead you snap your fingers and pop yourself into the room you've crafted beyond the door at the end of the hall, shaping it into an opulent bedroom in the part of a moment between your disappearance and reappearance, then sinking to sit on the edge of the crimson-sheeted bed.\n\nIt's only a few moments before the door handle rattles, and then swings open, Effiel raising her bow to the ready. Whatever she was expecting, it clearly wasn't a beautiful woman with wings sitting in a lavish bedchamber. She's clearly flummoxed for part of a second, during which you smile and say, "Drop that, please, it's not very polite."\n\nThe bow and arrow tumble out of her fingers which immediately open, and it clearly takes her several heartbeats to realize she just obeyed you. "Wh-... what?!"\n\nIt's quite simple, really, though you don't feel like explaining it in depth to the poor confused elf. The first Demon Lord of the Realm of Deviltry, Astaroth, had an ability called 'Wicked Command' that allowed her to issue orders that must be obeyed to anyone with a lower Will score than hers. And the tenth demon lord, Akkabar, had an ability called 'Lord's Will', which gave him a bonus equal to his Demon Lord incarnation to his Will score for the purposes of determining ability and spell effects. Necessary powers for those first tempestuous handful of incarnations where the Realm of Deviltry was an anarchic roil of demon energies and the Dark Monolith had not been properly established as a central stabilizing force. Of course, as the 666th Demon Lord, you have access to both... and both of them work together. "Welcome to the Dark Monolith, Effiel," you continue genially to the shocked elf. "I am Demon Lord Maxia. Take off your clothes, please."\n\n"A demon lord?! How have you kidnapped me here? And of course I'm not going to-!" Of course about that time Effiel realizes she's already stripped off her panties, completing slipping them over her boots and tossing them aside. You can see from the slightly panicked look on her face that she's trying to struggle, but with +666 to your Will versus hers, well, that's just not happening. She unfastens the clasp of her mantle and collar, allowing the mantle to drop backwards and the collar to drop forward, baring her pert tits to the air, both of them jiggling slightly as she reaches back to undo the clasp of the gold band around her chest as well. After that it's simply a matter of undoing her quiver belt and stepping out of her boots, leaving her to snap back to being in control of herself and flinging a hand across her bare tits and smooth pussy. "H-how are you doing this to me?"\n\n"Oh, that's unimportant, just a bunch of powergaming rules-lawyery stuff," you announce dismissively, waving the question off with a flick of one hand. "The important thing is, you have the honor of being the very first heroic soul to be interred here in the Dark Monolith, residing within it forever and lending your power to the Realm of Deviltry. Cum a little at the thought of being my possession forever."\n\n"Nnnnh!" Effiel shudders all over, her hands involuntarily clenching against her pussy and against her breast, her cheeks and the bridge of her nose going pink at the sudden forced orgasm. "Y-you monster!"\n\n"Yes, obviously." Smiling, you stand up and stretch briefly, before explaining, "Don't worry, you'll soon be enjoying your stay very much. Climb up on the bed on all fours, present yourself to me, and shake your ass like a bitch in heat."\n\n"No! No, I mustn't! Lenaraelle give me strength to fight this perverted creature's demands!" Effiel cries out. It looks like Lenaraelle doesn't get reception out in the Realm of Deviltry, however, since Effiel is already walking towards the bed even as she's crying out for salvation, walking right past you (and giving a yelp as you swat her affectionately on the ass). She continues to call out to her goddess for aid as she climbs up onto the bed, ass lifting as she goes onto all fours and swaying back and forth, displaying her pink pussy to you even before she stops in the middle and juts it back in more deliberate fashion, shaking her hips wantonly even as she cries out "Th-this is obscene! Foul demon, release me from this despicable cruelty!"\n\n"Aw, it hurts my feelings for you to call it cruelty, dear," you coo as you climb up onto the bed behind her, manifesting the Dark Scepter... the inheritance of the 130th Demon Lord, it could fire blasts of dark energy that caused corruption, as well as corrupting any hero foolish enough to try and disarm the Demon Lord by taking hold of it. It can manifest in any form as long as it's a 'rod'... so of course you manifest it as a strapon~! One with two long, jutting black rubber members, gleaming darkly with flickering shadows that hint of their purpose. "I promise you're going to enjoy every moment of this, whether you want to or not, and once I'm done, you'll feel muuuuch better and lewder!" You run your hands back and forth over her generous ass, squeezing the yielding flesh and letting the feathery ends of your sleeves tickle her enough to make her squirm some more. Then you bring your hips forward, just barely bumping the tips of the Dark Scepter up against her pussy and pucker.\n\n"GYEEEEK! W-what is that?!" Effiel demands, no doubt hit with the sudden shock of demonic energy against her low-level divine aura... and no doubt by the way her pussy instantly becomes absolutely drenched and her asshole starts twitching eagerly.\n\n"Just a family heirloom," you answer cheerfully, running your hands up and down her back some, giving her a few moments to experience the dark energies kicking her libido into overdrive as the very beginnings of corruption start. "Here, let me further demonstrate its power, Effi!"\n\nYou thrust forward, simultaneously claiming her vaginal and anal virginity, the elf crying out in a mixture of surprise, humiliation, and pleasure as she instantly cums hard enough to make her arch her back and roll her eyes. Giggling softly, you take hold of her slender waist and start thrusting in quick, easy strokes, your hips smacking her ass firmly enough to send ripples through the yielding flesh and making her tits sway beneath her, your own jiggling merrily in their skimpy top. "Mmm, evil feels good, doesn't it?" you purr, watching as her pale skin gradually starts to darken, and the roots of her hair pale, the petals of the flower in it dropping away. "The sooner you give in to it and accept your new form, the better it will feel, love," you assure her further as you drive both long rubber rods into her unwillingly eager holes.\n\n"Nnnh, nnnnh, no, I... I... oh goddess it feels so good," she whimpers, shuddering beneath you. She gasps as you lean forward, pressing your breasts against her back as you reach beneath her to fondle her own tits, which are now also beginning to change, growing a bit larger against your palms with every thrust of your hips. Her nipples, previously small pink nubs, grow longer and thicker, the areola puffing out and darkening to match the rest of its skin as it turns a rich caramel color, her hair now almost entirely snowy white. "No... no, I must resist," she whines, eyes rolling somewhat again as you pinch her newly thick and sensitive nipples, tugging them and twisting not particularly gently as she helplessly starts to buck against the twin shafts spearing her hot little holes. Her sclera are starting to darken, black pooling in around the edges like spilled ink. "I... I must... I must!" Her eyes shoot wide open as you slip a hand down her belly and start furiously frigging her clit, her whole body shocked into stillness for a single instant before she screams out in utterly shameless pleasure, her eyes blazing with infernal light even as they roll in her head, her tongue stretching and elongating as it lolls out from between her new fangs, a glowing pink womb-and-heart tattoo appearing just above her crotch. You straighten up and grab her waist again just in time for her new wings to spring out of her back and her tail to pop out and start writhing sinuously in the air. "YESSSSSS!" the newly-turned succubus squeals in delight, instantly starting to writhe sensually and fuck back against you with instinctive skill and enthusiasm.\n\n"Theeeere, didn't I promise you'd feel so much better, Effi?" you purr as you continue to fuck your newest loyal servant, delivering another affectionate smack to her ass that makes her yowl with pleasure and cum around the rubber shafts pumping her infernal ass and corrupt pussy.\n\n"Oh yes, your majesty, it feels sooooo good," she moans without the slightest hint of shame or restraint, a near-brainless smile on her now ruby red lips. "Being your slave is sooo much better than serving some worthless stuck up bitch of a goddess!" \n\nThat gets a giggle out of you. "I thought it might be." You pull the Dark Scepter out of her and dismiss it, instead elegantly flopping onto your back on the bed and pulling your panties to the side, revealing your own dripping pussy. "Now come, show your queen your appreciation for crushing your will and enslaving your soul."\n\n"Mmmm, with utmost pleasure, your majesty," Effi coos back, slinking between your legs, hands resting reverently on your thighs as she leans in, kissing at your plump folds lovingly. Then that long tongue snakes out, sliding along the cleft of your pussy before slipping inside you, seeming to just get longer and thicker as she starts working it about inside you, putting her everything into bringing pleasure to the demon that enslaved her as she gazes up at you with nothing but adoration and worship in her glowing green eyes.\n\n"Ahhhh... yes, good girl, that's a very talented tongue you wound up with," you moan softly, closing your eyes and leaning your head back, stroking her soft white hair with one hand. You wrap your legs around her head, gently fucking against her face every now and then, grinding your plump pussylips against her pretty red mouth, feeling her tongue-fuck you deeply and lovingly, with the sort of dedication she must have once reserved for prayers to her goddess of chastity.\n\nAfter a few dozen orgasms, though, you decide it's time to get back to work, so with a sigh you order Effi to stop and tug your panties back into place. You rise to your feet, Effi doing so as well and creating a black leather version of her previous outfit, albeit minus the quiver belt and mantle. You pop the two of you back to the control room, and gently shoo the new succubus to join the rest of Xenith's crew. Summoning yourself a throne, you settle down into it and fold your legs, taking a few moments to revel in a job well done, since of course you did it yourself.\n<<set $effibus to true>>\n<hr>\n[[Continue.|MaxFirstThroneroom]]

While you're not going to leap right into the deepest end available (tesseracts do tend to follow the general rule of getting weirder and more challenging the deeper you go), you're also only capable of so much modesty regarding your own ability to handle shit. "Let's go for three, we can handle that shit easy enough," you declare boldly, which definitely seems to perk Errin up. The fact that you don't want him to think you're here to constantly be a wet blanket is another reason not to play it safe.\n\nThe two of you line up and wait your turn, and are eventually allowed into a small room with a spell circle set up, apparently how you get to the third... level? area? point?... of the tesseract. Both of you step into the center and, in a flash, appear in a large stone cavern. It looks like there's been some efforts to make it slightly cozy... there are even food stands, and a small shop built into one wall. There are a few passages that lead off from it, all of them marked by a red banner on one side and a blue one on the other... 'This is a safe zone, but you're leaving it past here' in essence. Avoiding the temptation to check out the stands just to see what they're like, you gesture to one of the passages at random and the two of you set off.\n\nIt's honestly not that exciting at first. Mostly just walking through a very tall passage made up of an odd, almost swirled blend of different types of stone, sometimes kinds that shouldn't even form within hundreds of miles of each other let alone be fused together solidly as if they'd formed that way. A few times you're attacked by wandering monsters... nothing particularly noteworthy, a couple of goblins, a slime, and at one point a Verrin, the lizardlike quadruped seeming almost as surprised as the two of you are to stumble on it, but immediately hostile so now it's dead (and stripped of a handful of valuable parts that can be sold topside).\n\nIt's just almost boring, you muse as the two of you set out again... which was probably an overabundance of tempting fate, as a minute later Errin makes a noise low in his throat displaying blatant interest.\n\n"Bro, look," he says, stepping over towards one wall. You'd have seen it yourself in another moment, since it's fairly obvious... a doorway. Just a rectangular, clean doorway cut right into the stone, perfect and angular and with calm white light pouring out of it. The steady brilliance of it versus the relative dimness of the stone passage makes it difficult to pick out any details of what's inside, but it definitely looks like an actual room rather than any sort of cavern.\n\n"Well there we go, I was afraid we weren't gonna see anything fucked today," you say dryly, edging towards it with your pistol slightly raised. "It's not a portal but it does feel weird... pocket dimension maybe?"\n\n"Maybe. Let's check it out," Errin says, already starting to step forward.\n\n"Whooooa hoss," you interrupt, reaching out with your free hand to snag the hood of his shirt. "You seriously gonna jump at the first thing you see? That's classic schmuck bait."\n\n"Dude, the whole point of being down here is to explore the weird shit, that's where all the profit in tesseracts always is," he says calmly, as if he were a veteran explaining to a rather slow rookie (instead of a newb chiding another newb). "Besides, I skimmed the stuff in the app about the third area and didn't see anything about this, which means it's new. Which means," he adds, pointing to the monitor clipped to his coat lapel. "More scrip for investigating it."\n\n... Okay, definitely a point on pretty much all fronts. In fact you're not entirely sure why you're so wary, other than that maybe you feel the need to be the voice of reason since Errin's always been the more impulsive one. (Saying something, considering your tendency to take after your mother.) \n\n<hr>\n[["Fine, let's check it out."|LeoErrin4x4]]\n\n[["... No, I've got a bad feeling."|LeoErrin]]

"Probably just something in particular they're looking to do today," you say with a shrug, before adding in a quieter tone, "And even if there is, we don't want to tangle with those guys on our first day."\n\nErrin nods a little sullenly at that, but clearly feels the same way despite it, since he doesn't suggest going after them again. "Where you think, then?" he says, glancing at the other entrances.\n\n<hr>\n[[One.|LeoErrin5x1]]\n\n[[Two.|LeoErrin]]\n\n[[Three.|LeoErrin4x3]]\n\n[[Five.|LeoErrin]]

"Probably better not to get mixed up with those guys right away either way," you note. "Even if it's just asking around, considering how new we are."\n\n"Yeaaah come to think of it, even just showing interest can be a red flag, especially when we've been in town all of a day," Errin agrees ruefully, scratching his cheek with one finger. "Probably better to get ourselves at least a little established before we start poking our noses into anything else."\n\nThat settled, the both of you retire for the evening and eventually wake up in the morning and prepare with a minimum of 'new roommate' shuffling for position and awkwardness. It's not the first time you've shared living space with Errin throughout your friendship, though you were both teenagers the last time, and it was only for a few weeks. This will be... well, until the two of you decide you're done with it, you suppose. There's a brief discussion over outfitting yourselves for the tesseract, and whether you want to go for some sort of complimentary balance, before it's eventually agreed that simple and preparing for fighting in tight spaces is probably best. You go with your preferred all-around pistol and a sword, and Errin sticks with pistol and a fair number of knives of various lengths and configurations, most stashed around his person.\n\n"You ever actually been in a tesseract before?" Errin asks as the two of you have breakfast in a little diner-type place a few blocks away from the entrance. Which seems a little late to be asking such a question, but you suppose one of you had to get around to it eventually.\n\n"Nope. Parents always warned me off of 'em," you say in a casual tone, in part just to watch Errin blanch a little. He knows them pretty well, after all, and is well-acquainted with the same approach they have that you were thinking about yesterday. "Well, my mom warned me off of 'em, my dad said it's the tesseract towns you've gotta be careful of. You?"\n\n"Once," he says after chewing that over for a few. "Not long before I got my cert, my parents took me into the La Dorado tesseract. But, y'know... that's one of the oldest still active ones, it's basically a tourist attraction at this point," he admits.\n\nWell you're both essentially newbs at this, then, but you already pretty much knew that. But still, like he said, tesseracts are really just the combined essence of all the shit that you run into as an interdimensional mercenary anyway. (Which should make them sound more terrifying but you're choosing to interpret it to make them sound less.) The two of you finish up breakfast and head over to the entrance, which is a a large white stone building with four tall, rectangular pillars at the edges and smooth walls connecting them, a large bonfire kept constantly burning in the center of the roof. (As you understand it, it's now a holographic fire with sculpted stone logs, the strict observance of the tradition having given way to the practicalities of constantly paying for wood and minding the fire.) Inside is another fairly modern lobby area, albeit with a bunch of museum-like cases set up around and on the walls, displaying this and that artifact of diving days gone by or (probably replicas) of particularly interesting items pulled from the tesseract.\n\nThere's a gate in front of the actual entrance area that requires your new TDG cards to pass through, and the area then splits into a number of entrances with their own gates, a handful of other divers already lined up at all of them waiting to be allowed in at intervals... apparently they space things out so that divers have time to actually get inside and make their way into the tesseract before having competitors right on their heels. Each of the entrances has a number, and checking your card you see yours says '5'... presumably that means you can go in any entrance marked five or below.\n\n"Hey, Leo," Errin murmurs, nudging you gently in the side. "Check it out."\n\nFollowing the nod of his head, you see easily enough what got his attention... the quartet of Imperial Knights the two of you saw in the TDG office yesterday. They're waiting at an entrance marked '4' with no one behind them, the countdown timer next to them drawing close to done. "Huh."\n\n"Wonder why they're not going to a higher one?" Errin whispers, glancing towards the further end where the numbers go all the way to '10', though you notice that no one's queued up for that one. "Those guys are clearly vets, it can't be that they don't have the privilege for deeper levels or they're scared. You think there's something really good on four?"\n\n<hr>\n[[Hmmmm...|LeoErrin]]\n\n[[Nah.|LeoErrin4x2]]

"Yeah, fine, if you want," you say in a long-suffering tone that's not exactly 100% genuine, to Errin's unspoken suggestion.\n\n"Yessss!" she declares triumphantly, quickly shoving her loot bag down over the goat statue and scooping it up, tossing in the rest of her clothing after it.\n\nAfter only a brief hesitation, you do the same. No point getting dressed, although you do strap your pistol and sword to the outside of your own loot pack, just to be safe. The two of you head through the next 'More rewards' door, actually stopping and waiting expectantly for the sound of the door disappearing to turn. You can't help but sort of enjoy Errin's loud squeak of mingled shock and slight dismay at the text, even though you do sort of share it.\n\n<center>Baby-making sex\nor\nAnal sex in the butt</center>\n\n"... Where else would you do anal sex?" you wonder aloud, rubbing the back of your head.\n\n"That's what you're worried about?!" Errin blurts, whirling and whapping you on the shoulder.\n\n"Well this was your idea!"\n\n"Y-yeah, but, I didn't think...!" She trails off, then pooches her lips out a bit, poking her index fingers together. "When... when it says 'baby-making sex', do you think it means...?"\n\n"Stop being so fucking cute, goddammit," you say flatly, making her blush again. "But yes obviously it means that. If it can block our Guild beacons I'm gonna guess that disabling my birth control implant is not exactly difficult, and yours probably isn't working now anyway."\n\nErrin blanches a little bit, clearly not having thought of that until now, then relaxing a little at realizing yours presumably still is. Then she nibbles her lower lip as she looks at the text again. "So, ahhhh... ... which you wanna do?" she says slowly.\n\nYou blink just as slowly. "Is that a serious question?"\n\n"Yes," she says firmly enough to startle you. She looks back at you, and says, in a just slightly too pragmatic tone, "Look, this thing clearly gives rewards based on what we're willing to do that's... contrary to what we'd have done before coming in here. You knocking me up is pretty fuckin' contrary, bro, I'm betting it will give us something that puts all the other rewards to shame."\n\n"And a considerably lesser reward for me fucking you in the ass," you mutter, making her blush again and start squirming. She looks aside and makes another noise, and you look over. A bed's appeared again, though this time there are two nightstands... one bearing an oldschool CD player boombox, bottle of wine and two glasses, and what looks like a bowl of chocolates, and the other bearing a number of identical squeeze bottles all labeled simply 'SupaLube'.\n\n"So... I mean... we can always figure out what to do about the... thing... after, if you... y'know," Errin says, squirming a bit before dropping her bag and walking over, clambering up onto the bed. You can't help but see the appeal of both options as she crawls across it on all fours, showing off that pert butt and her obviously excited and puffy pussy, still dripping from not being satisfied in the last room, but also the slight clench of her pucker before she turns and drops to her back, sprawling out on the bed. "So just... I mean, whatever you're up for, I guess."\n\nYou eye her, then eye the rather obvious duality of the nightstands. Well... you've gotta do one or the other just to get out of here, at this point. So...\n\n<hr>\n[[Baby-making sex.|LeoErrin]]\n\n[[Anal sex in the butt.|LeoErrin]]

"Yeaaaah I guess that's true," Errin says with a sheepish giggle as she drops her stuff and starts pulling off the hoodie again.\n\n'Dammit stop being so cute,' you think with a sigh, looking around the room. A bed has manifested again, though this one's a bit lower down to the floor. You walk over and shrug out of your coat and take off your shirt (there is a chance of it getting, ah, substances on it after all) before sitting down, not exactly surprised to find that it puts you at a height that... well. "You want to get up on the bed or...?"\n\nErrin looks over, face still very red, but not any real hesitation in her movements as she pads over. "Nnnno, I think this'll be okay. Whatever the floor is, it's not very hard," she notes, glancing down and grinding her toes against it briefly. Clearly on impulse she leans in and kisses you again, her hands resting on your bare shoulders. You're... not entirely certain that's necessary since the text didn't say anything about 'make love' this time, but you also don't complain, instead resting your hands on her hips and kissing her back.\n\nAfter a few moments Errin breaks the kiss, and instead starts kissing her way down your chin and along your jaw, nudging your head back some as she moves to nuzzle your throat. "Mmf, hey," you murmur softly.\n\n"Hey, this is the service you gave me, right?" she replies back rather teasingly, before kissing her way further downward. Ohhh yeah, there's gonna be some weirdness after this, you think a little fuzzily as she does.\n\nYou squirm a little as she starts licking at one of your own nipples, her hand brushing over the toned muscles of your chest before her fingertips tease at the other. Apparently she's decided to give you everything you gave her, including the stuff that your prior lovers hadn't really thought to do. But she certainly seems plenty eager to tongue your nipples and suckle at them, tracing them and teasing them with fingertips just like you did hers, her own hanging down invitingly. Invitingly enough that you lift your hands and cup them, her pert little tits coming nowhere near to filling your hands but being delightfully springy and soft to the touch all the same.\n\nAfter a while she gives a few kisses lower down, before the awkwardness of bending has her sinking to her knees. Yup, the bed puts you at the perfect height when she's on her knees, you notice as you watch in a slight daze at her undoing your pants again. She snickers softly as your stiff prick springs free, looking up at you, her pink eyes dancing in amusement as she leans in and nuzzles her cheek against the side of your shaft gently. "Gee, almost think you were looking forward to this, bro."\n\n"Stop being so fucking cute," you grumble, only realizing you said it out loud when she giggles delightedly. Feeling altogether embarrassed, you sit there trying to think how you'll recover from this... right up until her tongue slides up your shaft, gentle rumpling a bit of the soft skin in its wake. 'Fffffffffuck,' you think, eyes rolling a bit. Not the first blowjob you've received, certainly, but... dammit, your childhood friend's got a really, really great-feeling tongue.\n\nOr... and this is the thought you're trying not to think, considering... your male childhood friend turned female childhood friend's tongue feels so good because she's all of that.\n\nYour thoughts turn more and more hazy and muddied as she continues to lick and kiss across your cock, any reticence quickly melting out of her movements. You feel the hot, gently suckling wetness of her mouth engulf your cockhead, barely able to bring yourself to look down at her and see your prick sliding into her mouth as she starts gently bobbing her head. 'Fuck you, you know exactly how good this feels, don't you?' you think in a daze as her pink eyes flick up to your face for a moment, a smug warmth in them along with something else that makes your heart do a little flutter.\n\nHer hands tug at your waistband and without really thinking you lift your hips, pushing your cock a bit further into her mouth... not that Errin seems to mind, having readied herself for it, quickly pulling them down and off. She raises her head, your cock left jutting up still glistening with saliva and a bit of her pussyjuice from earlier, as she ducks down and starts kissing and licking at your balls. She alternates between the two, motions gentle and careful against your balls, motions soft even as she nuzzles her nose against them, but the suction firmer as she moves up to suck you, gradually working up to taking you into her throat. It's not quite your ideal blowjob... instead you have to suppress a bit of a laugh as you realize Errin's giving you her ideal blowjob, or rather the blowjob she'd ideally have wanted as a man. The sound still comes out of you in a shuddery breath that's apparently obvious enough that Errin gives you a tiny, teasing nip on the side of the shaft, making you twitch.\n\nWhether guided by her own previous experience or just being a natural, Errin both manages to take you all the way and manages to draw the blowjob out a good, long time. But when you finally can't take any more, and you start trying to get out an only half-coherent warning, she slips up to the head, her lips wrapped around the tip, one hand cupping your balls as the other starts stroking your shaft quickly. Soon you're moaning and spurting your load against the roof of your childhood friend's mouth, her tongue lolling against you as your cum no doubt dribbles down onto it, slender throat working as she swallows. The best part... or worst, depending on how you look at it, you think distantly... is that her eyes meet yours exactly as it happens, and your gazes hold as she does, and you can see how much she wants more.\n\nShe straightens up, turning towards the wall, blushing a bit at the sight of the text now reading 'Beautiful job' as well as doors identical to previous. Then she spots the reward pillars and goes red right down to the top of her breasts again. You're guessing that would have something to do with the fact that one of the prizes is a very delicate, beautiful-looking bottle full of something liquid and silvery, and the other is a solid gold statue of obvious quality. The statue is obviously hers, since it's a goat.\n\n"Y'know!" Errin blurts, stabbing a finger at the ceiling and making her perky tits jiggle. But she apparently can't think of anything to actually follow that up with, and instead just storms over and snatches the goat statue... then yelps and staggers, falling over and thudding to the ground, pert ass in the air. "... heavy."\n\nSnorting loudly, you get up and walk over, picking up the bottle and removing the ornate stopped, taking a sniff. "Latinum," you pronounce after a moment.\n\n"Holy shit, if it's decently pure that's your starship right there in your hands, bro, and a nice one too," Errin says, blinking a few times and getting to her feet, managing to heft up the statue now that she knows how heavy it is and where it's weighted. Carrying it back to her clothes, she thunks it down, glancing back and forth as she apparently ponders whether to get it into one of her coat pockets (more secure but the opening might not be quite big enough) or use a loot bag (easier to get it in but easier to have it taken away).\n\nThen her pondering gaze turns towards the 'More rewards' door.\n\nYou want to sigh in vexation, but... uh... yeah it's a little hard to do when you're still riding the high of what was a very, very nice blowjob. And the fact that in one exploration, on your first day, you've gotten enough wealth to achieve a dream you've had since you were eight. Basic caution says this is exactly the sort of trap that you get lured into in a tesseract, and the relative benign nature of these rooms could disappear at any moment, but, well...\n\n<hr>\n[[Yeah, continue.|LeoErrin4x9]]\n\n[[No, call it quits.|LeoErrin6x1]]

All characters are fictional. Like super, duper, ultra fictional. Never existed. Don't exist. They have not ceased to be, they never were.\n\nOh yeah and all of them are portrayed by characters over eighteen. However that works for fictional people.\n\nAhem. Anyway. Also like has been said like a billion times on the start page, this is only meant to be played by someone over eighteen who is allowed to look at all of the various sexual stuff portrayed here. If you're not supposed to be looking at any of it and you do, you are just absolutely terrible. Go turn yourself in to the police for a beating right now.\n\nKhajiit accepts no responsibility for legal troubles, family troubles, emotional upset, social justice offense, or lost lunch that occurs from playing of khajiit's game. Thank you.\n\n[[Back.|Start]]

It was basically pure luck you'd laid down a contingency to turn back into your original form if your Maou form was defeated... a contingency you can no longer prepare. If you die like this, likely your eyes will wind up adorning the wrist of some merchant's wife who has no idea she's wearing a bit of a former Demon Lord. No... that's too ignoble an end for you. You have to have this second chance! So... reluctantly... you'll give up your identity as a monster and reincarnate.\n\nUsing your relatively weak tentacles, you manage to just barely lift a loose stone you set near the throne and haul out the materials you need, like the enchanted chalk. Scooching over to a nice empty space, you begin preparing the spell circle that will help you retain as much of your self as possible when reincarnating into a new body. This will be vital for retaining all of the knowledge you have currently, and whatever spellcraft and other talents you'll be able to unlock as soon as a human body is capable of casting them. After all, while you might be safe as a particularly small human child, at a certain point other humans might begin to challenge you, especially if they begin to have an inkling of who you are. \n\nYou pause briefly in drawing the circle at that. ... Hm. That's right, there's still a possibility your true identity could be revealed. Or even without that... what if a new Maou rises up, and isn't as canny about not burning peasant villages as you were? What if he burns your peasant village... while you're in it, no less! \n\n... Hm. Hm hm. Well, this possibility could be averted if you, say, went somewhere they probably don't typically burn peasant villages, or have demon lords. Like the Hero's homeworld! The entire lack of demon lords means that once you came into your full power, you wouldn't have any problems at all taking the whole place over! (... Probably.) Now, directing your reincarnation to a whole other world normally wouldn't be possible, except for one thing... a Lytozian has already gone there! That's right, that brown titty-elf! Had the Hero grabbed the ring as intended, he would have just 'snapped back' to his own world and left it and Lytozia largely unconnected. But with the titty-elf getting sent there instead, a back-and-forth connection between it and Lytozia has been established in full. You could make a few modifications and send yourself there instead!\n\nBut ugh. Leave Lytozia? What if they don't even have magic there? Or lewd demi-humans? Or grilled meat? All the things that you became Demon Lord to enjoy! You love Lytozia, that's why you were trying to conquer it! A monster needs to possess what it loves, after all! But... well, it would be one more mark in favor of your survival. Plus conquering the Hero's world in place of Lytozia would be a delicious irony after all the other ones you denied yourself playing it smart.\n\n<hr>\n[[Reincarnate in Lytozia.|IrHuMStart]]\n\n[[Reincarnate to the hero's world.|IrHuFStart]]

It's a person-sized tunnel right next to the bed... it has to be some sort of escape tunnel in case the castle is attacked during the night, right? Which means it probably leads to some sort of safe room where you can stand up, wait awhile, then come back through when the king has hopefully left and you and Amanielle can both be embarrassed together. And maybe continue being bare-assed together that would be good too, though this is definitely a mood impactor.\n\n'So is belly-crawling through a dark tunnel naked,' you think with a grimace a few minutes later. Luckily there's enough clearance to keep anything from, y'know, dragging uncomfortably across stone, and the stone is smooth enough that your arms and legs aren't getting abraded all to hell, so thank fancy elven architecture for small favors. 'This is definitely an escape tunnel though, it's big enough for someone to get through still wearing weapons.' So it's not as claustrophobic as it could be, you've been in worse. The worst part is the dark... you're not sure if that was just an unavoidable part of a solid stone escape hatch or if elves can see in the dark or what, but you're basically crawling blind in here. It's enough to make you start rethinking getting some cybernetic implants, maybe a low-light vision rider on your corneas or even maybe a cybereye. 'Lots of cyberneticists at the Guildhall, lot cheaper than a ship, hardly set me back,' you mutter internally.\n\nFinally, you see a light at the end of the tunnel... literally. It does seem deflected, like it's probably shining on smooth stone, but it's definitely light and "WHOA!" Your eagerness to crawl forward takes you right over the edge of a decline, and you find yourself sliding down it before being abruptly ejected from the exit of the tunnel, barely managing to grab the edge enough to twist so that you drop on your ass instead of your front. You're not sure about the luck factor of landing with a splash in at least a half foot of water, but you suppose it's better than breaking your tailbone. You sit there for a second, dazed, wondering how this went from the best day ever to a decidedly sub-optimum one.\n\n"Aa... that was quite shocking," an even voice says, sounding rather calm despite the statement. "Is there a reason you're naked in my reflecting pool?"\n\n"Um." You blink, making yourself focus and turning your head. Jurielith is standing not too far away, in the balcony doorway of her room, wearing nothing but those white side-tie panties from earlier, an arm tucked firmly across her breasts. She doesn't seem particularly perturbed or embarrassed... you wonder if she's just that confident in her body, or if she's just that clueless about sex. A glance around confirms you're on the balcony itself, which is outfitted with several chairs, a table with some sort of board game on it, and the rectangular pool of water you're sitting in. You raise a hand, finger lifted. "... Yes. Yes there is."\n\n"... Well?" she prompts after several seconds of silence, tilting her head a little.\n\n"Yeah, um, gimme just another minute, I'll figure it out." 'This is really something I should have been thinking up while I was in the tunnel, tips for next time.'\n\n"Mm. I reeeally don't think there's a good reason for you to be crawling around the secret escape tunnels naked," Jurielith says after a moment, shaking her head and turning around. "I think it's probably best if I call a guard."\n\nAck! No no no this is even worse than before! Being caught in flagrante delicto in a (hopefully) obviously consensual tryst with the oldest princess is bad, sneaking naked and uninvited into the room of the middle princess is really really bad. "H-hey, your higness, wait a second," you call as you get to your feet and splash to the edge of the pool, stepping out of it.\n\nShe pauses, one ear twitching. "... That was a second." Then she steps forward again.\n\n<hr>\n[[Quick! Seduce her!|LeoAma1x6]]\n\n[[Quick! Bribe her!|LeoAma]]\n\n[[Quick! Rape her!|LeoAma]]

"You know, I think you might be right," you answer, grinning as you mosey on towards the door. Fuck it, you're only young once, and besides thinking Amanielle is both beautiful physically and attractive personality-wise, you're kind of dying to find out whether she's the sweet and innocent flower her sometimes shy and blushing demeanor says she is, or the lusty vixen the look in her eyes you see sometimes says she is.\n\nJudging from her attire as she lets you in the door, maybe a little bit of both. Up top is a sheer green babydoll nightie, hugging her breasts and draping down her sides and parted in front of her belly... and not doing much to hide the matching green garter belt and netting stockings she's wearing. Just those, no panties, her smooth crotch and the trim lips of her pussy both fully on display. 'I see this is one of those low-tech worlds where their lingerie technology is remarkably advanced,' you think in an amused tone, even as Amanielle steps in close, your thoughts drifting away from smug observations on the developmental process of other cultures and focusing entirely on her as those sweet lips press to yours.\n\nHer manner isn't particularly shy but not overly bold, either, as she slips your coat off, her body gently arching and pressing in closer to yours as you run your hands gently down her back and over the soft silk of her babydoll. Her hands in kind roam over your arms, squeezing at the slender tone of them, kneading the muscle there even as you slide your hands lower and give her round ass a squeeze, making her moan softly into your mouth. You shift your arms as she unzips your top and tugs it off of you as well, then lift your hands to cup her breasts, squeezing them through the silk as she kisses along the top of your chest. 'Ah... turns out she's just a sweetheart, not some wild lust monster,' you think with an internal chuckle, lowering your own head to kiss at the side of her neck, nuzzling and inhaling the scent of her hair and skin, like warm vanilla and wildflowers.\n\nThat's what you think, anyway, until you kiss upward and wind up kissing just below the little 'notch' between her earlobe and the base of her ear, and she gasps loudly, a noticeable shiver running through her body and her nipples actually seeming to get stiffer under your palms. You pause for a second, then kiss directly on her ear, hearing another, louder gasp and feeling her body arch against you much more instinctively. "Ah, L-Leo, that's-" she whimpers, but can't seem to bring herself to say something like 'too much' or 'don't'. ... Well. That's a fun reaction! ♥ Grinning, you bring one hand up to her other ear, starting to gently stroke your fingertips back and forth along the back of it, while tucking your other hand between her legs, finding her practically dripping and radiating enough heat to warm your fingers in the slightly cool room. Your mouth continues its work on her earlobe, kissing and licking as she writhes and mewls against you, her hands dragging across your chest, occasionally dropping down to weakly tug at your pants or fondle you, but barely seeming able to focus enough for either from the apparent pleasure from stimulating her ears.\n\nIt's when you give one a little nip after flicking your tongue along the inside that she actually gives a soft cry, then rasps out, "Fuck me."\n\n"Mmm?" My my, you knew you'd gotten her worked up, but somehow you still hadn't quite expected that language. But when you lift your head, her hands move up to grip your hair and tug you to look into her pretty green eyes, which are now slightly glazed, shiny glass over an emerald fire of lust.\n\n"I need you to fuck me, right now, I need you to put me on all fours on the bed and fuck me like some cheap whore with your big fat human cock, rip this nightie off of me like you were going to rape me, I want you to fuck me like you're trying to drive the soul out of my body," she whispers urgently, as if the part of her brain that kept her from just blurting out whatever she was thinking had completely shut down.\n\n"... 'Kay," you reply with a grin. This really is the best fucking day ever.\n\nTrue to your word, less than two minutes later the two of you are on the bed, you no longer wearing anything and Amanielle only wearing her garter belt and stockings, the babydoll lying in shreds on the floor nearby. The elf princess's skin is covered in sweat as she moans shamelessly and fucks back against your thrusts, her breasts jiggling under her as she energetically works herself with your own motions. "Yes, yes, fuck me, fuck, I feel like an animal in heat," she gasps, letting out a low mewl of delight as you lean forward and cup her breasts for a firm squeeze, then squealing loudly as you flick your tongue over the back of one of her ears. Oh shit her pussy actually squeezes around you when you do that! Fucking an elf princess is so much better than you ever even expected it to be, you think as you nip and lick at her ears, Amanielle's litany of dirty talk devolving into incoherent, almost bestial moaning and other lewd throat-noises, her eyes rolling up and tongue lolling out as she cums repeatedly around you, a brainless smile curling her pretty, perfect lips not long before you thrust forward and start spilling inside her.\n\nThe both of you writhe together in your position, not unlike tied dogs mating in the street despite your much more elegant surroundings, Amanielle moaning and mewling and almost whimpering while you huff and pant for breath. Gradually both of you start breathing a bit steadier, and you straighten up before slipping out of her, your still-hard cock jutting in front of you, dripping with a mixture of your cum and hers. Amanielle glances over her shoulder, then turns and flops as elegantly as it is possible to execute such an action onto her back, glistening breasts shaking before they settle. She smiles up at you, seeming a bit calmer now that you're not in the midst of pressing her 'dirty slut' button. "Mm. That was certainly... a way to start," she says with an almost rueful giggle. "I'd heard other girls say that human men... and women... could be rather shameless about going for the ears. I suppose it's true, hm?"\n\n"That's me, I guess, shameless," you reply with a grin, lowering your head and kissing her smooth, slick belly, listening to her 'mmm' softly as you start kissing further downward, along the edge of her navel, the flat expanse quivering just a little as you get lower, and lower-\n\nClick.\n\nWith an immediacy born of this not being the first time you've been in a bed you really shouldn't be in, you shove hard with your hands and roll yourself away from the sound of the door opening, toppling over the side of the bed and cushioning your fall as you hit the floor, mostly to kill the sound. Even as you're dropping you can see Amanielle kicking the bunched-up comforter off the bed to drop down onto your clothing and her nightie as she yanks the sheet over herself... yeah, probably not her first time for this either.\n\n"Amanielle?" you hear the king's voice say, as well as footsteps drawing closer. "Is everything alright? I noticed that Leo isn't outside on guard."\n\n"Ah, yes, a little bit ago he knocked and said that he thought he heard something somewhere else, so he was going to do a patrol of the hallways," the princess replies. Despite her obviously breathless and still a little pleasure-shuddery tone, she sounds pretty convincing... way to go, you think, even as you turn your thoughts to what to do now. "It didn't sound like he thought it was anything serious, so he should be back soon."\n\nIf Jhad doesn't buy it, it would be the most simple thing in the world to walk around the bed and spot you there, or even look underneath it. You need to consider your exit options, you think, shifting into analytical mode as you look around. You actually notice that there's a squarish opening in the wall almost directly in front of you, a bit bigger than would be necessary for you to crawl through, and it looks like it goes in fairly deep. Some sort of escape tunnel? Well you could sure use one now... except that you have absolutely no idea where it goes, and it seems awfully dark in there... you doubt you'd be able to turn around once you crawled in, either. Much riskier and more daring would be to crawl under the bed, hope Jhad does walk around the room, and then make a belly-dash for the bathroom, the door's a bit open, you doubt he'll actually check in there. Or you suppose the other option is to just 'shelter in place' and hope he doesn't come around and check on you. \n\n<hr>\n[[Use the tunnel.|LeoAma1x5]]\n\n[[Make for the bathroom.|LeoAma]]\n\n[[Stay put.|LeoAma]]

Once more into the breach, dear friends, you think as you crawl forward silently and into the escape tunnel. At least now you know that's actually what they are so it shouldn't lead you to somewhere too dangerous. 'Actually, what does that phrase even mean, once more into the breach? I heard Mom say it once or twice,' you muse as you crawl along. Though half the time you asked her what those terms meant she didn't know either, she just said they were phrases from back home. They seemed pretty common all over the place too, so you guess you never really thought about it. Hm, wasn't there something else you'd been meaning to think about in this situation before? ... Eh.\n\nBy now you know a bit better what to expect, so when you see the light ahead you try to slow down... unfortunately it appears this tunnel also incorporates some sort of a water feature, and you find your hands slipping out from under you, unable to help giving a squawk of surprise as you go shooting down the decline like it was an actual waterslide and shooting out of the other end. You overshoot the opening of the tunnel and fly forward, hitting something that feels like cloth, but yields and then tears underneath you, tumbling you down to land on what feels suspiciously like a mattress.\n\n"Nyooohohohoho~... I know a royal's life is privileged, but having naked men just drop right into my bed is a fresh new service!"\n\n'I should've known,' you think bitterly, staring up at the stone ceiling through the rent in the bed canopy for a moment before sitting up. Looks like Lokieth's room has been made up in a bit of 'subterranean splendor' style... most of the lighting is provided by artistically crafted 'natural'-shaped crystals, there are no windows, and even the furniture mostly seems to be carved of stone, albeit with heavy and comfortable-looking red and purple padding. The bratty little royal herself is standing beside the bed, wearing a very short purple silk robe, as well as apparently a purple garter belt, coltish legs sheathed in sheer purple fabric on display and fists on her hips as she leers at you. "Your Highness," you say calmly. "Let me explain..." Oh right, that's what you'd been meaning to do while crawling through the tunnel.\n\n"Oh, no need, no need, I think I have a grasp on it. You were trysting with dear eldest sister when Father came in and... ohoooo, but that tunnel comes from Juri's room, not dear Amani's," she continues, smug purple eyes sparkling as her smirk grows wider. "So let me amend, let me amend... you were trysting with sweet Amani who does so cravy adventure, when Father came to check on her like the doting dutiful daddy he is, so you crawled through the convenient tunnel you discovered! Wound up splashing down on sweet battlebrained Juri's balcony, and, well, since I can still smell what the two of you were doing, you must have convinced her to give taking a tumble a try! My my, very good, human, very good! I was starting to think her virginity would be taken by a sword handle!" Lokieth snickers impishly while your expression grows dangerously close to a glare, but just cocks a hip, seeming utterly unperturbed as she continues. "But then I'm betting Mommy Dearest came in to check on her since she does seem the type who'd wind up being noisy, and off you went again, and now here you are! Am I right, hmmmm, am I riiiight?"\n\nSighing heavily, you lean back on your hands some. "Yeah, honestly, that's about the size of it." At this point it seems a little past trying to get creative about it.\n\n"Nyeheh, foolish human, if you'd just taken some light with you, you might have noticed the tunnel branches that lead off to safe rooms... but then they are meant to be hard to navigate for non-elves, poooor thiiing," she coos in mocking sympathy, making you give up and just outright glare at her. If anything she seems even more delighted, continuing unfazed as she says, "But you're in luck now, because Mother and Father know I like my privacy and neeeever come down here. And there's a much nicer passage from this room to a safe room where you can get some clothing and even get back to Amani's room."\n\n"Ah... really?" You blink a few times, actually surprised by her generosity, before your flat expression returns. Yeah, no, you know the sort you're dealing with. "What do you want in return, Princess?" you ask as you scoot over to sit on the side of the bed.\n\n"Oh I'll have what they're having," she answers immediately, eyes gleaming wickedly. "I know you've probably already have a busy night, so I won't be tooooo demanding... just let me suck a load out of you and then pump another into me after giving me a good hard fucking, and I'll open that safe room right up for you!"\n\nYou huff out a sigh, feeling immensely tired all of a sudden. Trying to do your best to not be aggravated even if you can't really manage royalty-level cordiality anymore, you lift your hands. "Listen, no offense, Princess, but you're definitely on the young side for me, I don't think that's a good idea."\n\n"Oh young isn't the only thing I am that I doubt you care for," she says with a smirk as she gives the belt of her robe a tug and brushes it open with her hands, resting them on her hips again.\n\n... Yeaaah that is true apparently. Because unlike Amanielle, looks like Lokieth is in fact wearing panties... skimpy little purple satin panties that hug up against a distinct bulge that leaves very little doubt about what it is. Not to mention the completely flat chest, now devoid of the angles of the faux corset and dress that gave the vague hint of budding breasts. You suddenly recall that Amanielle introduced her 'siblings', not her 'sisters', and that no one at any point actually said 'Princess Lokieth'. "Uh, yeah, that's... that's true, I'm only really into girls, sorry," you stammer, leaning back a little.\n\n"Sounds like a personal problem," Lokieth chirps in reply, smirking wide enough now that he's showing off one of the little fangs at one side of his mouth. "I don't recall asking you what you wanted, after all! I'm telling you what I'll give you, and what I'm demanding in payment! You can take it or leave it, human, but ah..." He makes a show of taking a look around the room, yellow gaze lingering on the double doors that no doubt lead out to the hall before sliding back to you. "You don't have a very good bargaining position, do you, hmmmmm?"\n\nNo. No you do not, you think sourly. Yeah, you knew this one was trouble, and you're really not sure that trouble will be over if you play along. After all, Lokieth might be satisfied with getting this out of you... and he might not, if you've judged him correctly. It might just be the start of him toying with you. ... But like he said, what else are you going to do?\n\n<hr>\n[[Agree.|LeoAma]]\n\n[[Refuse.|LeoAma]]\n\n[[Plead for another option.|LeoAma]]

Of course generally seduction isn't something you could apply a 'quick' modifier to... unless, of course, you've just so happened to recently discover that a particular race has a 'Please Fuck Me' button.\n\nYou rush up behind Jurielith and slip your hands around her middle, hugging her to stop her from moving forward. You can feel her shifting your weight and grabbing for one of your upper arms, preparing to throw you (you're actually pretty impressed by how good the motion is)... right up until your lips come down on the top of one of her ears. She lets out a truly shocked squeak, and almost immediately that grip on your upper arm seems more like she's trying to hold herself up as her weight sags some against you, legs twitching. You can feel her starting to wriggle and writhe against you as you begin kissing and licking at her ear, lipping along the upper lobe of it until you can flick your tongue around the tip, then moving over to the other to nuzzle in her hair as you kiss at the base of it.\n\n"W-what are you... h-hey, that's... oh... ohhhhh," Jurielith moans, her hands sinking down to rest on your arms where they're hugging around her belly instead, baring those perky torpedo tits of hers and the dark brown nipples capping them, puffy and stiff in the dim lighting of her room. The reserved princess actually whimpers as you drag your tongue along the back of her ear and then blow softly on the dampened skin, her hips bucking a few times instinctively and rubbing her pert ass against your once more thoroughly stiffened cock. "This... this is... I don't..." she gasps softly, sucking in a sharp breath and trembling as you give one ear a light nip. You slip a hand down and between her legs, stroking her through her panties, feeling the cloth almost instantly become soaked and start sticking to the plumped, hot flesh beneath. Oh yeah, this was definitely the best idea ever!\n\nYou bend a bit and scoop up the now unprotesting princess in your arms, Jurielith panting and looking up at you with lust-glazed purple eyes not altogether dissimilar to her sister's, in this state. Grinning back at her, you give her a short toss onto the bed which makes her squeak again, and haul her lower body over to the side of it. Taking just a moment to admire your work, and the way the white panties are clinging in thoroughly transparent fashion to her brown pussylips and pink slit, you then quickly untie them and peel them off, before replacing the thin layer of cloth with your mouth. Jurielith quickly jerks somewhat upright, crying out in surprise and pleasure as she grips your hair with both hands as your tongue goes to work on her folds, stroking over those plump pussylips and sliding inside her, stroking, teasing the cute little stiffened nub you could actually see through her panties by the end. It doesn't hurt that she's actually amazingly tasty... come to think of it, even Amanielle's sweat was kinda delicious. Man, elves really are the best.\n\n"Oh... oh gods, oh gods, oh my gods," Jurielle gasps out. Her actual pleasure seems much more intense than when you were licking her ears, but she seems in better control over it, actually able to drape her legs over your shoulders and around your head a bit, the motions of her hips towards your licking more deliberate than the twitches and shudders of before. She tosses her head, messy white hair flicking here and there where it's not stuck to her skin with sweat, giving another little cry as you kiss her clit and swirl your tongue around it a few times. "P-please... please... do it..." she gasps out.\n\n"Hmmm?" Unable to help teasing her just a little now that this situation's turned around so delightfully for you, you grin up at her and place a kiss on one plump vulva. "Do what?"\n\n"Do... w-whatever it is that comes next!" she blurts out, purple eyes almost desperate with need. "Please!"\n\n'Psh, this battle maniac really had nothing on her mind but learning to fight,' you think as you climb up onto the bed, snagging Jurielith's hips and hauling her around again into position, the princess giving a soft 'oof' as she flumps back onto the sheets. Maybe her bratty little snot of a sister had a point that it'll do her good to get some experience with a 'weapon that shoots'. Speaking of which, you rub the tip of your cock between her slick pussylips, parting them a few times with it, while she stares down her body at you doing so, expression somewhere between awe, lust, and trepidation. Doesn't exactly hurt your ego that you're pretty certain she cums the moment you push into her, her back arching and hips jerking, her thoroughly tight virgin pussy trembling around you in eagerness as you sheath yourself inside her. Leaning down and letting those firm torpedo tits squash against your chest, you slip your arms under her lower back to hold her in a bit of that arch as you start thrusting, feeling her legs wrap around you and her hands press to your back, her body moving against yours on pure needful instinct.\n\nJurielith's manner is decidedly inexperienced and less verbal compared to her sister's, but if anything her lust and passion are greater, her body moving more eagerly beneath you, hips showing the fruits of her training as she finds the best angles and ways to move them to increase her pleasure as you fuck her against the bed... not that they aren't doing amazing things for you too. You kiss and lick at the side of her neck, feeling her hot breath washing over your own neck and ear, soft little sounds that keep almost turning into 'please' or 'more' escaping from her lips. When you finally do give one of her ears even a soft kiss again, it's apparently too much and she lets out an almost feral yowl, nails pressing into your back as her body bucks up against yours hard, her pussy squeezing down on you with enough strength and quivering need that it's effectively impossible for you not to spill your load inside her. Both of you are left sweaty and trembling a little in the aftermath.\n\n"I... I think I have an idea of why you were naked in the escape tunnels, now," Jurielith murmurs after a moment, her voice still breathless and shuddery.\n\n"Eheh... ah, yeah, about that, so-"\n\nClick.\n\n'Oh you have got to be fucking kidding me!' you hiss internally even as you shove yourself up and fling yourself over the side of the bed. Again. You saw Jurielith's brief look of confusion turning into understanding as she made a grab for a sheet as you went over, so it looks like at least she's a fast learner.\n\n"Dear? Are you alright?" the Queen's voice says.\n\n"Yes... yes, fine," Jurielith replies airily, in the most 'I just had sex' voice you have ever heard.\n\n"Hmm... I just wanted to check because someone said they thought they might have heard yelling."\n\n"Ah... no, it's just me... alone... in bed."\n\n'Admitting to masturbating instead of sex is one way to go about it,' you think a bit wryly as you look around... and give the rather familiar-looking square tunnel in front of you a flat look. Oh joy. Other than that, though, you're not sure what your options are... well, you could actually stay put this time, and hope that maybe Mamilith is too embarrassed by her daughter's half-admission to stick around. Or maybe you could make it back out onto the balcony and hide there...\n\n<hr>\n[[Here we go again...|LeoAma1x7]]\n\n[[Stay put.|LeoAma]]\n\n[[Make for the balcony.|LeoAma]]

"Princess, it's a pleasure to meet you," you say warmly, bowing a little bit lower than you did for Luwin. "I'll be accompanying you during your trip. I hope my presence puts your mind at ease as to your safety."\n\n"Oh. Yes. Thank you. Very. Thank you." Princess Amanielle definitely seems just a little flustered, smiling at you brightly with that hint of a blush on her cheeks, but she quickly gets it under control. "Thank you very much for your protection, sir. I'll be counting on you for the next few days. If you'll excuse me, I need to finish preparations for our departure." She curtsies lightly, then turns and sweeps back out.\n\nYou smile after her. Gosh she's cute. Then you can feel a roomful of glares being directed at you, with the most narrowed and heated coming from the Duke. Plastering on an expression that says you've received the message and holding up your hands in an 'I'll be good' gesture, you turn and make your way out of the tent as well. No one actually speaks any threats aloud as you go, so you figure that's probably more of a 'Say goodbye to your bonus and good review if you get up to shenanigans' glare than a 'Say goodbye to parts of your anatomy if you get up to shenanigans' glare. You've been doing this long enough to have a pretty good idea of the difference.\n\nWhich is a bit of a relief because as much as you want a potential bonus and definitely crave that good review, shenanigans are on your mind as you sit across from Amanielle in the carriage a bit later. The princess is sitting with her hands folded in her lap, occasionally glancing out the small slitted windows, or just glancing around, or occasionally giving you a sunny smile. 'Ah, man, she even smells fantastic,' you think dreamily despite the confident-looking lounging you're doing. 'The whole carriage is full of it, like warm flowers in summer, ahhhh she's so friggin' cute, please forgive me if I wind up fucking her, my review rating.'\n\n"I'm sorry this isn't exactly the luxury you might expect from traveling with a princess, Sir LaChance," she says after awhile. "My uncle thought it was better to use a more secure war carriage."\n\n'At least he made sure the other caravan carriages look the same,' you muse, before grinning and shaking your head. "Nah, I've been on way worse escort duties than this, trust me. In a lot of ways, y'know," you add in a warm tone, suppressing a bit of an internal happydance as she blushes just a little again. "And just Leo is fine, I don't have a knighthood or anything like that."\n\n"I see." She hesitates, then smiles again. "Then you must call me 'Amani'. I insist."\n\n"Hm. Well, if the princess insists, can't exactly argue," you reply, giving her a quick wink.\n\nAmanielle giggles rather girlishly, before clearing her throat softly and composing herself. "Mm. And how did you come to be in such a fascinating profession?"\n\n"That's easy enough to explain. Both my parents were members of the Guild... pretty much everyone I knew growing up and for that matter, even most of the people I met were members too. I spent at least as much time in the Guildhall... that's the place where most of us go to get our assignments and a lot of other things we need... as I probably did in any other place we called home when I was growing up. I'm seriously not sure what else I'd have done, I always took it as a given. I was born to this life and it's been pretty fantastic."\n\n"Oh my, your lineage is quite storied as well, it seems. You must have so many stories of daring adventures!"\n\nSo you start telling her about the time you were hired to retrieve an ancient alien energy weapon and wound up releasing and fighting an interdimensionally famous space pirate. You do sort of modify how that one ended so that it's suitable for all audiences, no reason to go into certain details that both you and said pirate agreed to never discuss again. She seems enthralled, and so over the next few days you tell her more stories, which are mostly true and again only slightly censored for particular activities or the dignity of those involved (yours, others whose bad side you don't want to be on, or both). At night the two of you retire to different tents... you'd like to say that you got a chance to see how much nicer hers is than yours, but alas, she has not directly invited you. There have been a lot of warm glances and lingering at the flaps, but nothing quite blatant enough to risk sneaking into her tent for. She's giving you enough cues that you're at least relatively certain she has a crush on you... or at least wouldn't mind fucking you a few times, depending on how deep that sweet, mostly innocent exterior actually goes.\n\nYou're in the midst of one of your stories when there's a few light knocks at the front of the carriage, and the little window to the seat where the drivers sit slides open. "We're coming up on the spot where you identified as most likely for the ambush."\n\n"Oh." Amanielle glances from the window to you. "Do you think there really will be an attack?"\n\n"It's possible. It sounded kind of like your uncle thought whoever is organizing these attacks probably has pretty good intel abilities... if they do know you're here, it's gonna be a pretty strong incentive. But don't worry, if there is an attack, I'll keep you safe," you assure her, giving her another roguish grin.\n\nEven as her cheeks are going pink with it, both of you turn your head as the sound of a guttural howl reaches the carriage. Pressing close to the thin slits in the thick wood of the carriage's side, you quickly spot the big green masses of muscle charging down the decline of the open ground between the road and a large outcropping of trees, using the angle to add speed to their long charge. Yup, just like you figured. ... First time the orcs you've faced were quite so naked, you think wryly, noting that the majority of them seem to be wearing little other than red warpaint, thick cocks and heavy balls wobbling madly in the breeze as they run towards the elves now rallying together. Just from the thin angle of view you can access, you spot over a dozen... figure probably at least that many again that you can't see from here.\n\n"They're here," Amanielle whispers in a shocked gasp, though you can hear the undercurrent of excitement in her voice. ... Hm, wonder if that's because of the potential for adventure or the view? Either way, she looks over at you with wide green eyes. "What happens now?!"\n\n<hr>\n[[Do what you were hired for.|LeoAma1x2]]\n\n[[Try to impress her.|LeoAma]]

"The first hero soul is now safely contained in the tower for the rest of eternity, your majesty," Xenith declares, smiling brightly. "We can now safely continue drawing from the energy of the previous Dark Monoliths submerged in the sub-realm below, maintaining the Realm of Deviltry at its status quo."\n\n"Good, good," you acknowledge with a smile, stretching your arms briefly over your head. "Mmmn, it's always good to get the basics of the basics squared away first thing."\n\n"I agree, your majesty! To that end, during the hero's capture, the scrying team has been diligently combing the dimensions for strong hero souls for us to capture. We've also found various places that you could visit and discover new resources, if you ever wished to do so."\n\n"Ohhh? Good job, everyone! Scrying team, you may all have a five-minute mind-blanking orgasm!"\n\n"Thank you, your majesty!" several of the succubi call back gleefully, before they all collapse writhing and squealing on the floor.\n\n"Your majesty is as always too kind to your lowly servants. Unless, of course, this lowly Xenith is presuming too much by commenting on even theoretical limits to our most beloved and desired oppressor's kindness, in which case-"\n\n"I can turn you into a butt plug and insert you into the biggest sweatiest orc I can find, yes yes yes. Xenith, my darling, my love, we're really going to have to talk about this complex of yours."\n\n"Ah, forgive this most ridiculous and masochistic Xenith her personality tics, your worship, it's how I was created."\n\n"Mm, well, in any event, what do we have?"\n\n"Here, your majesty." Xenith holds out a hand, causing three scrolls sitting in a container near where you made your throne to lift into the air and fly over, unfurling at a distance to make reading easy (with your superior eyesight, of course). "These are the scrolls with the lists of Known Souls, Origin Souls, and Explorable Worlds that we have discovered via scrying. We will continue to work on expanding them, so feel free to check them regularly, my queen. We will also update them with the status of any previously captured heroes, just to help you keep them straight. Should you wish to release a particular soul for any reason, you may do so at any time you wish... ah, though we only have one for right now, so please don't release her, if I... ... may be excused for suggesting it?"\n\n"Good girl. You may experience ten minutes of pure, nonsexual bliss as your reward for following my wishes."\n\n"Ohhhhhh." Xenith's eyes glaze over, a hazy, gentle smile curling her lips as she starts gently swaying the tiniest bit back and forth in place. "Thank... you... my queen," she whispers airily.\n\nWhile Xenith is blissing out, you take a look at the scrolls, trying to decide what to do with the rest of your first day of existence after breaking and capturing a hero.\n\n<hr>\n[[Known Souls.|MaxKnownSouls]]\n\n[[Origin Souls.|MaxOriginSouls]]\n\n[[Explorable Worlds.|MaxExploreWorlds]]

Hey, you really need to save up for that down payment, y'know? That is absolutely the reason you smile and tell Amanielle, "Sure, I'd love to stick around and make sure you stay safe." It's not that blush on her cheeks or the very faint little stiff bits capping her breasts beneath her dress.\n\n"Wonderful! Then I'll introduce you to my family!"\n\nSoon the princess is showing you into a large, beautiful throne room, where a number of guards are standing arrayed about the walls, and four individuals are standing near the set of thrones of different sizes near the back wall. Amanielle primly leads the way up and turns to the side, taking a step back and curtsying. "May I present Leo LaChance, hero for hire from the Guild of Professionals, to the royal family of Juristania."\n\n'Hero for hire'... that's got a nice ring to it, you're gonna have to remember that one. Doing your best to rein in your silly, happy grin, you instead execute a bit more of a courtly bow since you're pretty sure you actually are in court. "Your majesties."\n\n"First of all, I must of course present my father, King Da-... ahem, forgive me, the dust of the road is in my throat, King Jhad."\n\nYou can see why Amanielle almost called him 'King Dad', and not just because he's her father. He looks like a dad... like, he's tall and slender and pretty like every elf you've met so far, but his short darkish hair, the look of his ears and nose, his posture, all of it somehow just bellows 'Hi Leo I'm Dad', even with the sleek, elegant crown of woven-together gold strips. He must be a pretty popular king, you imagine... everyone probably feels like their own father is the ruler of the country.\n\n"Sir LaChance, I understand you singlehandedly fended off an attack by more than thirty orcs on the princess's travel caravan," the king says, even his voice having that measured 'I'm being reserved but I'm still very proud of you' dad-like warmth. "A truly impressive feat, aside from the heroism of saving my daughter's life."\n\n"Thank you, your majesty, but it's what I was hired for after all. Also I'm not a knight or a lord or anything, so you don't have to call me 'sir'."\n\n"Perhaps we'll see about fixing that while you're with us, hm?" King Jhad replies, quirking an eyebrow and actually grinning a little.\n\n'Squee!' you think internally while externally just smiling in a dashing way and giving another short bow.\n\n"And my mother, Queen Mamilith," Amanielle continues.\n\nYou admit you kind of had to suppress some surprise when you walked in and saw what was presumably the Queen standing next to the King... you'd kind of assumed that Amanielle's paler hair and different eye color was just a variation within the type. But the queen is obviously a different kind of elf, with longer, more slender and pointed ears, snowy white hair, yellow eyes, and skin the color of milk chocolate. She's also... significantly bustier than Amanielle is, even in her relatively modest (but thin, they seem sort of thin) purple and silver robes. "It's lovely to meet you, Sir LaChance," she says with just enough of a teasing lilt that combined with the dance of her eyes it's almost a giggle.\n\n"Your majesty," you acknowledge with another bow.\n\n"And my younger siblings, Jurielith and Lokieth," Amanielle finishes, apparently deciding it's appropriate enough to introduce both of the others together.\n\nJurielith, you assume, is the older one, looking like she's probably only a year or two younger than Amanielle, at least relative to human ages, you're not sure how it works for elves though you do know they're supposed to live way longer. She's inherited more of her mother's coloring than Amanielle, with white hair (cut short and rather messy) and caramel skin, though her eyes are purple instead. She's also dressed rather more daringly, her shoulder-baring outfit purple and gold on top where it hugs her full but pert breasts, and white and gold further down where it's slit up the sides far enough to show off the ties of her white panties. She's also the only one who's visibly armed, what looks like some sort of saber sheathed at her hip. Actually now that you look at it, her outfit is closer to being a more expensive and high-quality version of what some of the female guards are wearing, just without the thin, shiny halfplate armor most of them wear over it that makes it seem a bit more modest.\n\n<img src="images/Jurielith.jpg">\n\n"I see you have a sword too, not just that 'rifle' you apparently used to kill all those orcs," she says, her voice even and collected, to the point it would probably make her sound very icy and cool if it wasn't a bit on the 'high and cute' side instead. "Do you know how to use it, or is it just decorative?" Amanielle hisses 'Juri!' in a way that says she thinks her sister is being rude, but you just grin.\n\n"I'm pretty good with a sword, yes, your highness," you answer. "And most other weapons you can name, I had a very thorough and diverse training."\n\n"I see. Please have a few matches with me later, so I can steal your techniques," she answers, still in that even tone, though there's just enough of a shift that you're fairly certain she's actually trying to be amusing. And you can see those calm purple eyes actually dance a bit with excitement as she adds, "And please teach me to shoot the rifle."\n\n"Nyohoho~, I bet it would make big sister feel good indeed to finally get ahold of a powerful weapon that shoots," Lokieth smarms from the side, putting her fingers to her lips as she smirks sideways at her sister, who just tosses her a somewhat confused glance. Lokieth appears to be the youngest of the sisters, if you had to put it in human years maaaaybe thirteen? She's also the one that most resembles her mother, their coloration and the shape of their ears identical, though Lokieth's hair is even longer, coming down well below her rear and with a braid on each side in addition to the loose hair. She's wearing what looks more like a human aristocrat's gown, dark purple with poofy shoulders, accents of lace, and a mock corset snugged around her middle, the top of it trimmed with silver, as are the black leather bracers she's wearing. The dress part of it, though, only comes down to just below her hips, where it brushes over the tops of the tall black leather boots she's wearing.\n\n'That one's trouble,' you think, several different kinds of alarm bells going off in your head. Do not approach for any reason! your brain screams, and this time you decide to listen without arguing. Uncertain how to banter without acknowledging the double entendre her parents and eldest sister are giving her different varieties of Look for, you just bow a bit and say, "Your highness."\n\n"Now, Leo, I insist you join our family for evening meal," King Da-, er, Jhad says as he steps forward and puts a hand on your shoulder. "We can discuss the terms of you staying on for a bit, as well as a few other items I'd like your insight on."\n\nThe issue of your pay is pretty easy to work out... room and board (and you're betting that counts for a lot in the castle here, especially considering how great the food you're eating now is) and fifty gold a day (which translates to a not inconsiderable amount of credits), until either the mastermind behind the attacks by weirdly magic resistant orcs is flushed out or you're ready to leave. The king then turns his attention to that other matter he'd clearly been champing at the bit for. "How could I acquire a large number of weapons just like your rifle?"\n\n"Unfortunately, your majesty, that specific thing isn't possible," you inform him, trying to use as delicate a tone as you can. "That particular weapon," you continue, tilting your head to where it's leaned against the side of your chair. "Is the result of fifteen years' work and extensive modifications. There isn't another weapon that does everything it does... there are some that have a similar number of functions, and probably do one or two things it does better, but they're very expensive."\n\n"So you're saying it would be impossible for me to arm all my troops with even similar weaponry," he acknowledges with a bit of a frown.\n\n"Unfortunately. Even without the expense, those are very specialized rifles that tend to use expensive components, there probably just aren't enough of them in existence to outfit an entire army," you explain. Then you continue, "Probably what's a lot more feasible is outfitting most of your army with much more limited versions... variants on the base rifle this one is built on are actually pretty common, combination rifle-shotguns. Then you could outfit a select number of them with more versatile... or actually, I'd suggest more specialized... weapons. I'm sort of an all-rounder, but a dedicated sniper is still going to be way better at sniping than me."\n\n"The long-range attacks, like the first ones you did against the hoard according to the guards? Yes, I can see that. Do you have connections that would let me acquire these weapons?"\n\n"The more specialized ones maybe, since you'd only need small numbers of them, but if you're talking about importing enough basic advanced weaponry across interdimensional barriers to outfit an army, that's trickier," you murmur, rubbing the back of your head, before clearing your throat and dropping your hand, trying to project confidence again. "But if that's what you're interested in, I could definitely make some calls to people who know people, try to get some offers for you."\n\n"I would certainly be much obliged, and very willing to provide a generous finder's fee for such things," Kinh Jhad says with another paternal grin. "And perhaps we could also discuss potential fees for helping train others in their use."\n\n'Man, this job is the gift that keeps on giving,' you think happily a bit later, walking out of your (as hoped, very posh) room and heading towards Amanielle's for your assigned guard duty. 'Week-long escort turns into maybe a few months of steady work, with bonuses and opportunities all over the place. Forget putting a down payment, at this rate by the time I'm done I may be buying a ship outright!' You settle into a light, relaxed but ready stance in the hall outside the princess's suite, keeping most of your senses focused for danger, but in the back of your mind turning over conversion rates of gold to credits, finder's fee percentages on dozens of crates of high-tech weaponry, and lists of gently-used starships with dimentemp drives. Then you hear a soft click and turn your head, seeing the door open and Amanielle's green eyes peek out.\n\n"Good evening, Leo," she says softly.\n\n"Good evening, princess," you reply with a smile.\n\nYou can see her own smile through the crack in the door as she says, "You know, you could do just as well guarding my body from in here, I think, as out there."\n\nAnd there it is... the direct invitation to 'guard her body' that you've been waiting for. Every part of your boyish heart sings in celebration, because holy crap the gorgeous elf princess is actually inviting you in! Meanwhile your more adult hopes and aspirations are trying to grab that juvenile glee and drag it back to the ground, because weren't you just thinking that if this job goes well you could get your longterm goal realized much, much sooner than otherwise? Are you crazy?!\n\n<hr>\n[[You may be a little crazy, but fuck it, go in.|LeoAma1x4]]\n\n[[... man remember how cool the Neutron LE-115 looks with that chrome paintjob and that new nosecone shape...?|LeoAma]]

"Now you get to see why your uncle hired me," you reply with a grin, shifting your rifle to a better position as you stand, undoing the lock on the hatch at the top of the carriage before shoving it open and climbing through.\n\nYou clamber up smoothly atop the roof of the carriage and steady your stance, confirming your expectation of how many orcs are charging... hm, maybe another six than you thought? Yup, nice long distance, plenty of time for them to show off, let their targets get intimidated, and also hopefully goad the guards into clustering around the real prize. (Which you notice they have... not quite as badly as they would have if they hadn't been told not to, you expect, but the line of guards forming along the road is all hunched a bit closer together and further back in front of your carriage.) Little further away than you thought... you calmly flick down the back physical sight as you draw the fast-adjust video sight out of your coat and fasten it onto the rail over the other, powering it on as you bring the rifle up to your shoulder and start sighting one of the leading orcs. Hm, headshot? No, drop it down a little, just below the throat, try to catch a bit of the collarbone for more impressive knockback, dropping him too smoothly won't be as demoralizing for the orcs or as heartening for the elves.\n\n"Peace and love, motherfuckers," you whisper in amusement to yourself before squeezing the trigger.\n\nThe orcs are worked up into enough of a lather that they don't really flinch at the thunderous report of the ultra-high speed round, nor do most of them even seem to notice as one of their leaders lurches backward dramatically as an explosion of gore flies out of the barn door you just created between his shoulderblades, except for maybe the ones who go stumbling over his body as it's almost flung into them. More of them notice the second one that does the same though, more of them staggering aside and starting to look around in a bit of a panic. They'd apparently been mostly ignoring the elven arrows fired from a similar distance, so you pick one that's got at least half a dozen feathered shafts emerging from his shoulders and chest, and this time you do go for the headshot, aiming just above the nose so that the entire upper half of his cranium turns into a nice energetic slurry of gore flying through the air.\n\n"Take the hint and fuck off, dickwavers," you mutter under your breath, finger lifting slightly off the trigger as the charge at least slows if not halts. Then several of the larger ones give a fresh howl, the war cry picked up by the rest as they renew their vigorous charge, waving their clubs, axes, and crude swords enthusiastically in the air despite some of them having taken them off the fallen. "Fine, have it your way, it's your ceremonyless mass grave." You flick a switch on the side of the rifle, one of its small speakers barking out a sound clip of someone gloating 'Welcome to the party, pal!'\n\nThey're getting closer by now without you having fired in a few seconds, which seems to have heartened them to judge by the... visible excitement indicators. Not that they'll ever get to do anything with it, you think to yourself, unable to help sending just a bit of sympathy their way as you squeeze the trigger and hold it.\n\nYou're guessing no one in this world's history has ever heard a train derail, but it's certainly the closest thing to a fully automatic shotgun firing solid slugs that you could think of. The crashing, shrieking cacophony of explosions overlapping each other staggers more than a few of the elves standing below it, let alone the orcs charging towards it. Not to mention the effect it has on the bodies of those you're actually hitting... the ultrasonic rifle rounds may have made relatively small entry wounds and big gaping exit wounds, but this range the places the slugs hit on the orcs' bodies just sort of go away in big wet bursts of green and purplish-red, limbs ceasing to exist, torsos blown away, heads disappearing off of shoulders. You rake your arc of fire back and forth over the line of them, the gun's high-end autostabilizer and the kinetic absorber built into the stock meaning that to you, you might as well be firing BBs even as the massive monster men in front of you are chewed up like so much meat being fed into a sausage grinder.\n\nYou ease off the trigger as you see some of the live and whole ones turning tail, scrambling and even clawing at the ground as they stumble from whipping about so fast, frantic to reverse course and get away. You aim a few more short, chattering bursts over the heads of the ones who don't seem to have made up their minds entirely and send them scampering as well. Satisfied, you keep them in your scope until you're satisfied they've all actually gone and aren't coming back out of the trees. Doing a more thoughtful check of the readout, you decide to go ahead and swap out the matter cartridge... still plenty in there, but best to have a full one in case you need to do that again any time soon.\n\n"What..." Most of the elven guards nearest the carriage still seem rather rattled, despite the cheers and jeering they rallied enough to do as the orcs fled. This one seems to be the only one that's recovered their wits enough to actually address you directly, though her blue eyes are wide and her voice has definitely lost any of its high-handed quality. "What was that?"\n\n"Asymmetric warfare," you answer casually as you click the fresh module into the top of the stock. "Doesn't always work out in favor of the lower end."\n\nWhen you climb back into the carriage and sit back down, Amanielle looks a bit rattled too... she's staring at you wide-eyed with an expression that you can only conclude is equal parts fear, awe, and naked lust. Fortunately the former disappears quickly, unfortunately the latter does too, leaving mostly the middle as she politely and repeatedly thanks you for saving both her and the caravan, and you try not to too blatantly 'aw shucks' your way through it. Sadly, although you'd expect that explicit invitation would be most likely tonight, the caravan doubletimes it along the road, and just before the sun begins to set you approach the capital. It's pretty interesting, you have to admit... you'd always pictured elves living in the woods, and they kind of are here, but it's more like they made some woods for themselves... by having a bunch of trees grow to huge proportions to form what has to be one of the most eco-friendly city walls you've ever seen. The heavy gate at the front leads to a long tunnel going through one of the trunks and into the city within... there's a lot more 'we turned plants into buildings' type structures, but just as many more standard structures, and the castle at the center of it all is a more typical stone edifice that you'd expect to see in a human society of this level of development... though you notice that the stone doesn't seem to have any, well, seams, making it look a bit more like it was sculpted out of one titanic block of marble than built stone by stone.\n\nAs the caravan stops inside the castle gates and everyone begins to disembark, Amanielle turns towards you. She seems a little hesitant, as if uncertain she should speak, before finally saying, "You know, I know that my uncle expects you to return with the caravan so you can confirm my safety and be paid, but... I'm sure my family would like to meet you. Ah... you're such a competent warrior, after all, I'm sure they wouldn't mind retaining you for at least awhile longer, for an additional fee of course. There is a growing danger, I could certainly use a bodyguard."\n\nIf you're reading between the lines right, she's basically saying: Stick around, that way we can get a chance to actually be properly alone together, instead of in a carriage surrounded by sharp-eared guards. Which is definitely a really compelling thought, the extra pay aside. ... On the other hand you're also being given a chance to walk away before you get yourself in trouble. Which if you do it now, will be with her parents around to decide how to deal with said trouble, not just a protective uncle. Your wallet and your dick are saying 'Staaaay!' and your brain is going 'Out out out out!'\n\n<hr>\n[[Stick around.|LeoAma1x3]]\n\n[[Politely decline.|LeoAma2x1]]

"So how are the crossbreeds made?" you ask, glancing over at the odd bear-bird thing. "Do you milk the semen from one creature, enchant it, and inject another? Seems like there would still be a lot of compatibility issues..."\n\n"The answer's both a bit more simple and a bit more complex. Here, this way, I'll show you." Though Mekor is still a bit reserved of demeanor, as is his usual, you think that he does seem rather pleased that you've taken such an interest in his work. You follow as he leads you through the building and around to a short flight of stairs, which go into a small room with a long, wide pane of lightly tinted glass. Beyond that is a very large room, with a number of blocks and bars with various leather straps and chains attached to them, as well as a few areas that look more machinery-like. "That's the breeding room," Mekor explains, tapping lightly on the glass. "This lets me monitor things but blocks any of the spell energy from bleeding through. These are the controls," he continues, gesturing at a number of polished colored glass 'buttons' set to one side of the window. "They let me fine-tune the adaptation spell."\n\n"Adaptation spell?"\n\n"Yeah. The method of extraction and implanation takes a lot of time and as you said, has a bunch of problems of its own. So instead we bring the animals in here and use an adaptation spell that puts them into heat and modifies them to allow them to breed with each other 'naturally'. Sometimes anatomy is modified, sometimes it's just altered to be more resilient, sometimes sizes are altered to match, but however it takes effect, the dam is infused with enough magic to allow her to carry to term. The result is always a viable lifeform, but whether it's what we want is another matter. Here, I'll show you." He touches a simple clear button on the panel, one slightly removed from the others, and says, "Breeding pair A5."\n\nA few moments later the large doors at the end of the room open, and a human male slave guides a chestnut-colored horse in, walking ahead and leading it by the reins. He moves to tie the reins to one of the blocks so that the horse is faced partly away from you, a flick of its black tail showing that it's a mare. The slave leaves, and soon after several more of different species enter, these leading a large male elephant. Rather than tying it up, they simply make sure it's come to a stop before hurrying out of the room, the doors sliding back closed behind it. Without any ceremony, Mekor reaches over and taps several of the glass buttons. Instantly large glowing rune circles appear on the walls and floor. You watch with interest as the mare's sex almost instantly swells, the rubbery black lips thickening and starting to drip with something viscous, while the elephant trumpets, its massive trunklike cock unsheathing below it, jutting forward and wriggling a bit in the air as it turns and makes its way towards the mare.\n\n"I've been trying to breed a creature with a horse's speed and agility, and an elephant's size and strength," Mekor muses aloud as the two of you watch the elephant more come to stand over the mare rather than really mount it, that thick cock waving around a bit before the thick head finds those slimy black pussylips and pushes in, the mare giving a long, loud whinny as she's spread and stretched beyond what any stallion could ever do. As the big grey beast begins humping its hips lightly, driving its immense prick into its new equine mate, your own mate continues. "But so far no luck. Gotten a lot of horses with trunks, short skinny elephants, that sort of thing. Not sure if it's the breed of horse I'm using that's wrong or if the spell just needs some more tweaking."\n\nYou nod a little absently, feeling a little flushed at the display below you. It's just two animals mating... and yet between the perversity of the crossing of species lines, and the reminder of your own rather bestial impregnation recently, it's certainly enough to get you going. You bite your lower lip and glance over at Mekor, wondering how best to do something about your state.\n\n<hr>\n[[Try to seduce Mekor.|ValWP]]\n\n[[Suggest something even more lewd to watch.|ValWP]]

You hesitate a bit, trying to get a better sense of the power with your weakened body... then shake your head and gesture her down. "We may as well just stay. If it's who I think it is and she wanted to destroy us, she could probably burn this whole forest down without much effort."\n\nAmestra starts a little at that, but after a second nervously does as bid and sits back down, staring into the darkness as well and waiting.\n\nA few seconds later there's the sound of leaves crunching and grass rustling underfoot as a figure approaches through the darkness, batlike wings and horns gradually coming to view, as well as the whiplike lashes of a tail in motion. And then she steps out into the moonlight, form resolving much more clearly... the faintly purple-tinted white hair, sleek purple forward-pointed horns decorated with bejeweled gold bands, her pretty face and luscious body covered with smooth, lightly-tanned skin, the scant one-piece garment made of a combination of lace, leather, laces, and gold filagree, just barely covering her breasts and dipping a slim line down the front of her crotch to hug the mound of her pussy, leg-sheathing stockings that match her high gloves squishing gently against her thick thighs. Her purple wings give a slight beat as she catches her spade-tipped tail in one hand, as if tired of its energetic flicking.\n\n<img src="images/Maraxa.jpg">\n\n"Master! I finally found you, I'm so glad!" she cries, yellowish eyes twinkling.\n\n"Hello, Maraxa," you reply, relaxing just a little at the apparently enthusiastic greeting... Maraxa isn't the sort to follow that up with a 'So I can destroy you!', she says pretty much exactly what she means at all times, with little to no talent for artifice or irony. Of course, only your shoulders and spirit relax... your cock has gone as hard as steel beneath the thin rags of your pants.\n\nSimilarly, you can see Amestra's nipples trying to pierce through the rough, worn cloth of her 'shirt'. "I-is that a succubus? You must have been mistaken, if you thought-"\n\n"I thought it was Maraxa when I felt her," you interrupt, standing up and not bothering to hide the throbbing tent in your pants. "Yes, she's a succubus... she's also the most powerful user of destructive magic I had in my army."\n\n"W-wait, you mean she's... sh-she's that Maraxa?!" Amestra half-shouts, half-whines as she squirms in place. "Maraxa the Beautiful Calamity?!"\n\n"Awww, it's been years since I heard that name, thank yooooou!" the succubus coos, clasping her cheeks and wiggling in place. "I meet Master again and everything immediately starts going well!"\n\n"Maraxa, was it you that attacked the town and freed us?" you ask, doing your best to ignore your human body's urgings to fling yourself at her and drill whatever hole you reach first in a desperate urge to breed with it.\n\n"Of course Master! I've spent all these years looking for you, and when I finally learned about the 'demon children' locked away, I thought one of them must be you!" She sniffs a bit, turning towards Amestra and raising a hand. "But this other one's obviously an actual human, so I'll just burn her to smoke right now, alright?"\n\n"Wait wait wait!" you blurt, quickly throwing yourself in front of the shocked-looking Amestra and making Maraxa yank her hand back. "No killing her, she saved my life and we made a deal!"\n\n"Oh. I suppose that's good, then. Aaaaa, I want to hug Master and do all sorts of lewd stuff, but Master's current body and state wouldn't be able to handle iiiit," Maraxa whines, giving a sinuous wiggle of denial that comes very close to making you cum in your pants just from watching it.\n\nClearing your throat, you choke out, "I could use a mana infusion for sure, but let's wait until we're somewhere safe, alright?"\n\n"Oh! I have somewhere safe!" Maraxa chirps, instantly perking up, amber eyes alight. "Come with me, Master and Master's human!" she announces, turning around and slowly sauntering off in a different direction, the sight of her effectively bare brown ass making you dribble pre to soak into the cloth stretched over your stiff prick.\n\nAs you and Amestra follow the monster woman, the toppled noble steps closer to you and whispers, "Can she... can she like turn down whatever it is she's doing to us?" Her voice is almost a pleading whimper as she adds, "My pussy has completely soaked through my pants and I don't know why I'm telling you that but I really want her to fuck me and I can't seem to stop saying things like that."\n\n"Maraxa isn't very good at fine control, including that of her succubus abilities," you murmur back. "She and her sister Ophelia are kind of... odd. Maraxa is a succubus but she's awful at artifice or controlling her energy and has absolutely massive mana-channeling ability, and loves to cast destructive spells. Ophelia's a demoness but better at subtle spells, shapeshifting and rituals and things, and isn't anywhere near as bloodthirsty or destruction-happy as her sister. We'll just... have to put up with it for awhile."\n\nStill, you cum in your pants at least once at the view of Maraxa's infernally perfect form sashaying ahead of you, leading the way to whatever safe spot she has in mind... which turns out to be a farm. She leads the way into the farmhouse where you see a bearded older man, handsome motherly woman, and late teenage girl all standing in a row at the wall, their eyes glazed and arms limp at their sides, the front of the man's pants wet and dripping and the same for the blouses of the two women, their breasts actually having begun lactating from the extreme exposure to the succubus's innate magic. "This is the last place I visited to get the information I needed!" Maraxa declares proudly, gesturing at the comfortable farm home. "They told me everything I needed right before I entranced them with my wiles!"\n\n"Uh... are they...?" Amestra asks slowly, staring at the three sets of eyes that are empty of everything but caged carnal desire.\n\n"Pretty much," you answer dryly. Any attempt by Maraxa to use her succubus abilities is just as unrestrained and overpowered as her attack spells... her 'trance' spell on the family has effectively wiped their minds and permanently turned them into nothing but flesh and blood fuck-golems merely awaiting her commands.\n\n"But we should be able to stay here as long as we need. So, Master, what do you need? Even if you are in a human body, I swear I'll still serve you as loyally as ever!" Maraxa declares. "A mana transfusion maybe? Ooo, ooo, or perhaps you're really sick of that human form!" she cries happily, wiggling in place again. "I could turn you into an Incubus, Master! I've always thought you'd make a wonderful one!"\n\n"Ah... an Incubus?" You blink, never really having thought about it. But now that she suggests it... it's not a bad idea. If it was Maraxa changing you, you'd probably wind up with much similar levels of insane mana-channeling ability... just with better control from your prior experience. And an Incubus's abilities are nothing to sneeze at, especially for conquest and gathering allies. Of course with Maraxa's help you could also change yourself into a few other kinds of monster... or better yet, a chimera, even. Or-\n\n"Hey. Remember your promise, Reth," Amestra speaks up, obviously struggling a little to focus now that she's actually inside with Maraxa... but managing it admirably, the girl's got a will of elvish steel for sure. "You said you'd turn me into a demon or monster as soon as you could!"\n\nThat's true... obviously if you want to keep your promise to do it as soon as possible, you could have Maraxa turn Amestra into a succubus immediately. Two succubi would let you recover your energy much better over the course of several days with them rather than one infusion all at once. Of course you could just ask Amestra to wait until you've finished your own repowering, you doubt she'd sulk too much over having to wait at most an hour.\n\n<hr>\n[[Get a mana infusion.|Reth]]\n\n[[Become an incubus.|Reth]]\n\n[[Become a chimera.|Reth]]\n\n[[Have Amestra become a succubus.|Reth]]

Pirates of any kind, especially space pirates, are generally a rather high turnover profession (right up there with IT professionals) for a lot of reasons. Including but not limited to "they get dead a lot". With a crew of over 200 and a ship that size, he's got to be looking to hire more people on pretty regularly. You just need to head to a likely freeport in the area and look for pointers.\n\nAfter turning your plan over in your head a bit more, you get up and head to the departure annex to return home. The way you're dressed now screams "professional mercenary", as you intended it to, you'll need something that says more "professional criminal". Luckily you have a very good Makarzian Night Creature wardrobe which has a considerable overlap with that demographic.\n\nAt home you strip down and consider your options. Hm... you'll want to be a bit show-offy, certainly, so after some consideration you take out a particularly tight skinarmor top that's basically just two bands (one for your neck and one for under your chest) with a flap going down the front of them, leaving your shoulders and a significant part of the sides of your breasts visible; it's the sort of skinarmor that molds directly to you, as well, so it shows off your nipples and the shape of your breasts about as well as if you'd just applied a layer of liquid latex with a brush. (A friend of yours back in high school had a similar top she called her "paizuri bib" since it in no way inhibited her giving titfucks but the guy's load could be easily wiped off the top. You've never quite forgiven her since you now can't wear the armored version without thinking of that.) Probably a little too flashy on its own, so you find a midriff-baring and rather tattered white minitank to go over it. Pokies successfully concealed.\n\nHm, okay, that's up top, now how about below? (Admittedly you may have done it in this order because going around bottomless always feels a bit more exciting than going around topless.) Hm, a skirt would be a little much, you don't want to go over the line from "sexy criminal" to "girl playing around on the wrong side of town to upset Daddy". You eventually decide on something that's a decent mix between functional and showy... a pair of black denim cutoffs that have a layer of skinarmor on the inside of them. This means that while they don't cover a lot they do, quite literally, cover your ass with some actual protection. (As a bonus, the armor layer inside them means that they're smoothed out so you don't have to bother with panties. ... What? "Quicker is better" applies to situations other than dating, y'know.)\n\nHm, boots boots boots. ... You may have a lot of boots. You may buy new boots when you're feeling the need to splurge a bit on self care. ... You may kind of have a whole storage cabinet for boots. Which probably doesn't do a lot for your bank account but it does mean in situations like this you have a lot to choose from. Now let's see... pirates do love being showy, but the competent ones also balance that with utility in the most important places, and boots tend to be one of those. So... ah, there we go. A pair that come to just under the knees, with straps that dangle a bit past the buckles, but obviously fairly utilitarian other than that, perfect.\n\nNow a coat. You do have a lot of different coats too, but you feel more justified about them than the boots because badass longcoats are a part of virtually every culture you dip your toe in and there's therefore a need to suit them to the situation. After some consideration you select one of your older ones, a simple black one but with a 'splatterpunk' colored inner lining. It was one of the last coats you got as a gift before you left home and one that you wore on quite a few jobs afterward, so while it doesn't necessarily have a ton of sentimental value it does, more importantly, look lived-in; pirates might replace the rest of their clothes semi-regularly just from complete wear-out or opportunity, but they do tend to have one item they never really get rid of. (It still fits just fine across the shoulders and arms... you wouldn't necessarily want to have to try and get it fastened across the chest again though.)\n\nYou pick out a few blasters and knives of various lengths, making sure to use ones that either have holsters with grav-attach capability or have it built into the weapon itself, so you can just anchor them around where necessary (including plunking one onto the underside of a table you're sitting at when you need to). You consider a sword, but then decide to stick with the knives... pirates and swords obviously have a history, but there's a reason a lot of the old ones are depicted with cutlasses or shorter straight blades, you never know when you're going to wind up fighting in a cramped ship corridor or hold. You take out one of your backup Makarzian comms and do a bit of chip switching to make it for general use abroad, and attach a hidden dimensional pocket to the inside of your coat between the shoulders for your Guild beacon and comm. A bit of a darker touchup to your makeup, and a check in the mirror shows that you're ready for an undercover op.\n\nWhen you researched Huwhin, you debated a handful of freeports in the area he'd been confirmed to operate in, and settled on Karnol, a spaceport city on the half of a small continent that's been declared a "no-man's land" by the planetary government. (Really interesting how those areas seem to crop up on planets in areas where there's a lot of piracy, almost like the government is backdoor endorsing the money flowing into the rest of their world's economy, who would've thunk?) There's already established "subtle" portal coordinates there, too, so after a brief pass through the Hall (you don't raise any eyebrows, the way pirates dress and the way mercenaries dress has a crossover that's not exactly small) you emerge out of a portal fairly deep into a back alley that has several twists and turns on either side before getting to the street.\n\n'Well, doesn't feel dissimilar to home, at least,' you think as you sniff the air while strolling along with the sort of 'don't try it' swagger a fighting Night Creature develops... there are near-infinite variations but all of them say that if someone wants your money or your life you're more likely to take theirs. But yeah there's definitely a smoggy tint to the air, leaning heavily towards the combustible liquids fumes than Makarzia does but a little less on the assorted manufacturing chemicals and chem production byproducts. The buildings are similarly fairly utilitarian for the most part, but as you emerge onto the street there's not nearly as much brightness and neon. There's some, sure, but more of the lights tend towards faded ambers, the aged streetlights and bulbs providing a hue not unlike candles or torches in the fog.\n\nYou stroll around for a while, getting your bearings. Wouldn't do to make a beeline for the sort of place where ships recruit. An authentic pirate would want to have the essential services spotted if they wound up needing to stay for a while, and escape routes and hiding spots picked out if something went bad. Even if you weren't undercover, you'd need to know the same things for basically the same reasons, so. You also need to scope out the local cops.\n\nBecause the interesting thing about any lawless pirate freeport is that if they've been around longer than a decade or so there's some equivalent of law enforcement... well, not "law enforcement" by strict definition since there are no laws, but still. Since inevitably if the port gets too dangerous then it starts putting off the buyers or even the sellers or, in extreme cases, even the pirates that want shore leave, the people in charge will exert some level of control to keep the murdering/stealing/raping down to a manageable level. Typically since these individuals don't have any actual laws to enforce but just a sort of general guideline for above, they go after "troublemakers" of their own definition and tend to line their pockets at the same time... which, in your personal opinion, puts them about equal with regular cops and maybe slightly ahead since they've actually got some motive to clonk a mugger on the head and throw him in a cell so they can then mug him. (But then you're Makarzian, and Neokuza, so admittedly you might be biased. Maybe.)\n\nThe popo around here are about as you'd suspect... mostly big ugly guys with a few smaller and rangier specimens that can probably actually fight and/or shoot as well. The only actual uniform there seems to be for them are armor vests painted bright red... you hear a couple of mutters to the tune of "fuckin' redbellies" as some groups of them go past. (The other constant besides cops is people coming up with contemptuous nicknames for them.) They don't seem too inclined to make trouble and other than some of them eyeing you below the neck appreciatively they don't seem inclined to take notice of you. So you finish your exploration largely unmolested before heading closer to the center of the city.\n\nSince the main spaceport is where the city grew up around, both in its original incarnation and once it became a pirate port, the closer you get to it the denser the businesses catering to spacers are. Bars, pawn shops, bars, whorehouses, bars, digicades, bars, electronics stores, bars, body mod shops, bars, motels, bars, cash transfer shops, bars, restaurants, bars, loan offices, and a couple of bars. You spend a bit walking around considering, before picking a likely-seeming dive bar and wandering in.\n\nDefinitely a pirate hangout, but then they all are. This one does, however, have the right ratio of guys who are just slightly too clean and guys who are slightly dirtier than everyone else that says they're either new arrivals or just coming off overlong service and looking for a change. Seems like a likely spot. You get a few looks, since you do seem to be one of the only women in the bar, but they all seem more appreciative of the eye candy than suspicious, so that's good. You make your way over to the actual bar itself and lean on it, flashing your shiny black cleavage to the bartender as he comes over. "Hey, this a good place to be if you're looking for a ship job?"\n\n"Sure," the bartender answers with an entirely casual look down your top, neither bothering to hide it or lingering overlong. A weird sort of rough courtesy, again not too dissimilar to home. "You'd be best off talking to Big Girl about it. Around the corner," he adds, giving a little nudge of his head towards where the rest of the bar apparently goes around the side.\n\nYou give him a nod and a little flick of the hand in thanks, getting up and heading around the corner. So with a name like 'Big Girl', it will either be ironic or not, either way, probably easy to spot her. ... Aaaand it's definitely not ironic, you think as you spot a woman sprawling in a chair at a table... she probably brought her own chair, since it looks different than the others; probably got tired of the other ones breaking under her, since she looks like she's gotta be seven feet tall at least, and pure muscle, with the only fat on her being her massive tits and a very comfortably padded ass settled on the chair seat. She's wearing an outfit not entirely dissimilar to yours, ragged jean shorts (though hers actually come down her thighs a few inches) and a sports bra style top, which you're guessing is otherwise unadorned because she probably already went to some effort finding one to fit her and finding anything to go over it would be extra work. Her boots are practically identical, except that the clasps are shaped like dog paws. Her coat is draped over the back of another chair, but looks like you could probably use it as a lean-to.\n\nAs you start to approach the canine ears atop her head perk, and the bushy tail that matches her thick, rumpled shoulder-length gray and white hair starts wagging a bit, which you can't help but take as an encouraging sign. 'Gene soldier, not demihuman,' you think as you approach, just from the way her golden eyes focus on you. You get to the table and start to greet her, then stop as something catches your eye, your face going a bit red in shock.\n\nShe immediately laughs, leaning back and spreading her legs a bit more, showing off the large bulge in the front of her shorts that matches the enormity of her tits. "Yeah, that's the other reason they call me 'Big Girl'," she says, smirking.\n\nYou clear your throat and nod. "Well they call me Chi. The bartender told me you could help me with looking for a job on a ship?"\n\n"Sure. I've been here a long time and know most of who comes through here, especially the ones who are almost always looking for at least a couple of hands. Chances are I can tell you when they'll be looking and what they'll be looking for," Big Girl says with a shrug of her powerful shoulders. "If you wanna sit down we can talk about it. I've got one rule though," she says as you take hold of one of the other chairs and start to pull it out. "You're sitting, you're drinking," she adds with another smirk as you pause and look at her.\n\n<hr>\n[[Pass, then.|ChiPir]]\n\n[[Fine, order a beer.|ChiPir1x2]]\n\n[[What the hell, shots it is.|ChiPir2x1]]\n\n[[Whatever she suggests is alright, then.|ChiPir3x1]]

"Noooo!" Ryo wails, clearly recognizing the term you used from some doujin or another.\n\nYou giggle sweetly, continuing the smooth rock of your hips as you fuck him. "Too la~te, I already put the curse on you~! Know what happens when a guy has a femboi curse put on him while he's getting fucked in the butt, Ryo-chan~? The first thing is, he goes completely and utterly crazy for cock!"\n\n"Hnnnnnh!" Ryo's eyes go wide as his cock suddenly goes from half-hard to steely and throbbing beneath him. His tongue pokes out just a bit, his mouth open and eyes slightly rolled as his hips start gyrating and bucking. "Nnnh, ah!"\n\n"And his voice turns all sweet and girly, and his moans extra lew~d, and he starts talking like a slut!" you coo, sliding your hands up and down his back before starting to thrust just a bit faster.\n\n"Nnnh, ah, ah, ah!" Ryo squeals, his voice geting higher with every loud gasp. "Oh, my hips are moving on their own! I'm losing my mind to this cock!" he mewls in his newly feminine voice.\n\n"And theeeeen, his tight little ass turns into a soft, wet pussy, even more sensitive to having big fat dicks thrust into it!"\n\n"Ah, ohhh, oh, ah!" Ryo moans as your thrusts come all the easier, his softened, slick hole now accepting your dick as if it had been made for no other purpose.\n\n"His pecs perk up and his nipples get all puffy 'cause now they're tits, and his ass gets rounder and bouncier!"\n\nAs you say it, you reach under him, squeezing the slightly softer, more prominent part of his chest, toying with his nipples as the areola thicken and turn more pink. His ass starts to jiggle visibly with the impact of your hips against it, his moans getting even sweeter and lewder if possible at his newly sensitive nipples being teased and the sensation of his ass bouncing.\n\n"But fiiiinally... and most importantlyyyyy..." you coo into his ear, wiggling a bit to press your tits against his back, your fluffy foxtail flicking. "His cock shrinks and goes permanently limp, turning into a soft little boiclit that will never, ever get hard again because he'll only ever cum from big, fat, throbbing cocks in his ass from now on!"\n\n"Kyaaaaaa!" Ryo squeals as you thrust forward and start filling him with your own load even as his dick wilts and shrinks, growing smaller and if anything softer than it ever was before, drawn-up little balls dwarfed by yours pressing against them. His eyes roll up and his tongue lolls out as he assgasms repeatedly from the feel of you using him as a cumdump, overlapping female-esque climaxes rocking his girly, cute body as his hips continue to twitch and rub his pert feminine ass against you.\n\n"And of course, he's obligated to attend to any big hard cock he sees, too, because he knows that his purpose in life is to service dicks," you purr as you pull out, scooting forward a bit and presenting your cum-smeared prick to the panting, flushed femboi still bent over the bed. He turns his head, blinking at it with lust-glazed eyes... before unhesitatingly darting forward and wrapping his mouth around the head, moaning sweetly in pleasure as he bobs his head over the upper half of it and pumps the lower half with both soft, slender, girlish hands. Smirking down at him, you stroke a hand over his hair, which has grown softer and shinier and a bit longer. "There's a good girl, Ryo-chan~!"\n\nSoon you're laying on your back, hands tucked behind your head and watching in amusement as Ryo bounces himself on your cock entirely of his own accord, riding you like an experienced whore and moaning just as wickedly, back arched to jut his flat little tits out and display those puffy pink nipples, his limp clit-cock bouncing on his smooth, hairless crotch. You've actually enlarged your cock to increase his lewd pleasure from fucking himself on it, enough that every time he slams himself down on it his flat, sleek belly bulges up luridly with the outline of your prick, his eyes rolled and lips curled in a brainless smile from the near-constant assgasms you're giving him, his hips shaking shamelessly in an effort to work your monster dick around inside his ass-pussy. "So how do you like being a little femboi slut, Ryo-chan?" you coo.\n\n"Ish the besht, Konko-shamaaaaa!" Ryo squeals, so cock-drunk he's actually slurring his words, his tongue flopping about and hands tucked behind his head as he works his hips, doing his very best to milk another load out of you with his soft, supple little cock-holster of an ass.\n\nAwww, such a good slutty femboi he's become! To award him you grab his hips and yank down hard, starting to pump a truly magnificent load into him, Ryo squealing and arching his head back, trembling all over as he cums the entire time you're filling him. The outline of your cock fades as his belly gradually swells out, growing rounder and rounder, until the slutty little boy-girl looks a good seven or eight months pregnant, his round cumbelly draping down and almost entirely hiding his limp little cocklet. His brain completely whited-out, he topples backwards and sprawls, your cock still inside him, twitching and still cumming despite the fact that he's gone unconscious from pleasure overload.\n\n"Konkonkonkon~," you laugh as you pull out of him, doing a quick bit of magic to make sure that only a minimal amount will flow out. You want to give him time to assimilate the rest, which should happen pretty quickly while he's out... it will keep him in his current state of looking young, girly, healthy, and with a ravenous thirst for dick for the rest of his natural life... perhaps 150 years or so? Well, humans are extending their lifespans all the time, too! Giggling a bit more to yourself, you poof your hoodie and shoes back on as you stand up, pausing briefly to turn all of Ryo's boy clothes into cute/slutty girl clothes before skipping out the door.\n\n"What the-" one of the women who's just walked into the house says at the sight of you.\n\n"Ah... excuse me, who are you, and what were you doing in Ryo's room?" the other, older one asks.\n\nThis would be Ryo's sister and mother! Both black-haired and pretty, the sister with a pageboy cut and wearing sweater and slacks, the mother with her hair long and in a braid, wearing her nice white nurse's uniform. Oh dear~, it's such a shame that you bumped into them coming down the stairs~, now you're going to have to prank them a bit too~! A little bit of magic to make them-\n\n<hr>\n[[-embrace and support Ryo's new form.|Konko6ax2]]\n\n[[-stroke and penetrate Ryo's new form.|Konko]]

Snickering loudly, yellow eyes twinkling, Big Girl says, "There's two down the street to the left, on the next right turn you'll find an Altalifa, on the left there's a place just labeled 'Mods'. Cheaper, though they're, shall we say, not necessarily as clean, but pretty reliable. Especially if you want to go gray market. Or darker."\n\nYou raise your eyebrows, then murmur a vague thanks before polishing off your beer and getting up. Great... you want that big payday, you're apparently going to have to turn yourself into a guy for a while. As you're about to turn the corner, Big Girl calls out a "Hey!" and you turn back.\n\n"Wanna raise your chances even higher? Maybe go with a setting other than 'Default'," she says with a snicker, using her glass to gesture you up and down.\n\n... Right. Which means that Huwhin favors guys for his crew, and further favors guys that were either born or modded out of being "plain" humans. You nod your acknowledgement and head outside, making a left and strolling down the sidewalk while you think. You really weren't expecting to have to mod yourself for this job, let alone do a teegee flip, but... dammit, it's such a big payday. A building. You could buy a building.\n\n... Sigh. \n\nYou stop at the end of the street, glancing back and forth. Down one side you can just make out the yellow glow of Altalifa's overly-workshopped corporate logo (maybe a few generations out of date). A franchise operation, but their equipment has to be bought from the main company and maintained to their standards with regular checks. Which makes them reliable, aboveboard, and expensive... but still affordable, for you. Maybe taking a small chunk out of your payday, especially if you want it undone afterward, but one of their guarantees is that they won't fuck up your stranding or your money back. (Which means you'd still be stuck in a form you don't necessarily want anymore, but generally big corpos like that don't make "or your money back" promises lightly. Too many courts have ruled that saying "or your money back" means "or their money back fuckers".) Also very aboveboard... purely the sort of alterations and cyberimplants that are legal pretty much across the entire multiverse, since samesaid corpos don't like having to fit their policies on a store-to-store basis. Since it's a franchise the owner might have a few items not on the standard Altalifa menu, but probably nothing that would get them looked at too hard shipping it in by actual legit companies, even here.\n\nYou look to the left. You can't see the nameless mods place from here, which you imagine is probably deliberate. Those sorts of places tend to operate more on word of mouth or desperate people stumbling on them. Probably cheaper, for sure... but not nearly as guaranteed to be reversible once you're done with this mission. ... On the other hand, you've thought about getting some black market mods once or twice. They're black market for a reason, and the reason is usually either that they're too dangerous to you, or too dangerous to everyone else... and usually the ones that are too dangerous to you are also the second thing, so. Either way, "dangerous to others" is generally considered a bonus when you're a mercenary or a Night Creature. Who knows, you might even wind up finding some mods you'd decide would be useful and worth keeping for your entire career.\n\nYou glance back and forth again. Reliable, baseline, expensive... chancy, exotic, cheap. Which to go with?\n\n<hr>\n[[Use Altalifa.|ChiPir]]\n\n[[Use the other place.|ChiPir]]

That seems to actually give him pause, making him stop with his hand on the door. "Eh?"\n\nYou turn and scoot to the edge of the bed, sliding up onto your feet. "I said, I want to come with you to do your inspection."\n\nHe turns towards you, for the first time showing an expression other than just 'being here'... although 'mild confusion' only seems a slight step up. "... Why?" he asks after a moment, the only thing he can seem to think of to say.\n\n"Because like you said, this is home now," you reply in a reasonable tone, resting your hands on your hips. "This is where I live, and where our children are going to be born." Just saying it makes you blush (and turns you on at the memory of how hard you came when you were knocked up), but you press on. "I'm interested in it and want to see what it's like. Maybe even help or find something to do myself."\n\nIt apparently takes a little bit for that to turn over in his mind, before he nods. "... Alright then."\n\n"But, ah... I should probably have something to wear, right?"\n\nMekor considers again, then nods, walking over to the bed and picking up one of the furs. You blink as, in a matter of moments, he turns it into a simple tunic (albeit one that will leave at least half your midriff exposed), skirt (albeit missing any covering for the hips), and boots. He hands them over and you pull them on, doing up the ties, surprised at just how perfectly they fit, even if you do look more like a barbarian princess than a witch princess. "That will do for now," Mekor decides as he looks you over. "Make you something better later," he concludes before turning towards the door again. "Come on then and let's get you fed so we can get started, dawn's almost here."\n\n'Hoo boy I married a rancher and a smith all rolled into one,' you think dryly as you follow after him. Well, 'mated with', as he seems to prefer. He's starting to remind you of something from mythology but it's not quite clicking. You follow him down the stone hallway lit by torches and into a largish room with a fireplace on one wall, and a heavyset wooden table with benches in the center. There's not really anything else around for decorations... Mekor obviously isn't terribly big on style in his own living quarters. 'Of course, I bet that means he wouldn't really care if I wanted to start adding some,' you muse as you settle down at one side of the table, Mekor simply lingering in a corner of the room waiting. It's a little odd to have him hovering around you, silently watching you, but you push it out of your mind after a moment. 'Maybe we can work on that too, but no need to start nagging him to change on day one.'\n\nIt doesn't take long before several servants emerge from the arch to one end of the room, carrying several plates. They all seem to be animal people... specifically a tiger-man, leopard-woman, and wolf woman, all three wearing nothing but collars and leather briefs, the women's bare furry breasts jiggling lightly as they move to set plates of fried sausages, eggs, home fries, and a large goblet of water in front of you. You raise your eyebrows at the repast... definitely a bit much and a bit heavy for you, a woman who usually considers a balanced breakfast to be achieving the correct ratio of creamer to coffee, but you guess you are eating for two now. So you do your best to tuck away a fair bit of it, stopping when you simply can't eat anymore. You're almost worried that Mekor, seeming the ever-practical sort, will scold you for wasting food, but he simply waves for the servants to take it away.\n\n"Bit much for me," you admit as you stand and move to follow him.\n\n"Nothing gets wasted, it's fine," he answers evenly, which might help explain it. He leads the way back down the hall and then to another branch, showing you the way to a large, circular room ringed with stone archways that are filled with flickering purple energy. "We'll start off by a tour of the primary animal barns," he declares before stepping through one of the archways without hesitation. It takes you a second, but you follow after, unable to help giving a little hop as you pass through the vortex. But there's no sense of whooshing through a portal, or tingling, or coming apart and being put back together, you're just in a different place all of a sudden. It's somewhat barnlike, but much much larger... actually what it really reminds you of is the time you went to a state fair and actually wandered around in some of the livestock buildings, just more low-tech. More of the servants (or more likely, slaves) are scurrying around here... animal people, but also humans, elves, and you think you see a few short, stocky individuals that are probably dwarves as you follow after Mekor again.\n\n"So is this the whole animal facility?" you ask curiously.\n\n"No, there's hundreds of acres devoted to tending livestock," Mekor answers, though you do notice a bit of a glitter in his dark eyes as he glances down at you. "But a lot of that is just common food stock and labor stock. This barn is where the finest creatures are kept... the truly exceptional steeds, or work animals suited for exotic environments, special meat beasts fit for the tables of my father and brothers, or special crossbreeds I'm trying to develop."\n\nAs you go along, he gestures at examples of each... large creatures that resemble oversized velociraptors with thick fringes of feathers running from their heads and down the back of their necks like manes, broad lizards the size of oxen with strong chameleon-like legs that are such a pale white they almost glow, a large cow with four horns and blonde hide that borders on metallic gold, and what looks like some sort of large black bear with the head of a bird of prey. He stops beside a stall that holds a black horse even larger than a Clydesdale, the tops of its silver hooves wreathed in dark grey vapors, its mane and tail thick and dark like roiling liquid and actually crackling with purple and yellow energy.\n\n"And it's where we tame the exceptional captures we get, like this Stormsteed," Mekor continues, actually displaying some minor bit of affection for once as he gives the big beast a few pats on the flank. "He's already good and broken in, I'm just deciding which of the brood mares is currently most likely to breed true and fetch more Stormsteeds, that can be a delicate bit of timing." He regards the big stallion for a moment, then looks at you, seeming to wrestle with something for a moment before saying, somewhat awkwardly, "Ah... do you have any questions?"\n\n<hr>\n[["How do you tame them?"|ValWP]]\n\n[["How do you make crossbreeds?"|ValWP1x3]]\n\n[["Where are the slave breeding facilities?"|ValWP2x1]]\n\n[["What's next?"|ValWP]]\n\n[["No."|ValWP]]

Heck, if you're honest, one of the reasons you even had that ring was that once you conquered Lytozia, you intended to conquer it too. After all, as you understand it the Heroes don't have powers over there, they only get them once they come to Lytozia. Conquering that world and locking it down seemed like a good way to keep Heroes from propagating... heck, it might still be! You'll just have to take the long route to conquering it! Mind made up, you add several runes and lines into the circle, then scooch yourself into it before waving your tentacles around, sending the activation energy. If your body could properly scream, you would as you're launched out of the circle like an undersized boulder from a catapult.\n\nMaybe the sheer trauma of being thrown so hard through the dimensional boundary is why you don't actually awaken to your old memories until a few years into your new human life. By then you've already mastered walking and learned a few short phrases in the new language, which you suppose saves you the trouble of concealing quite how advanced you are... though your 'mother', a tall and beautiful woman named Keiko, does often remark to your 'father' that your personality's changed a bit recently, going from fussy to quite docile. Well... you've got a fully adult mind, after all, and aren't exactly eager to make enough trouble that you'd stand out.\n\n'So, I'm a female, hm?' you think one day as you're being changed. The prospect isn't exactly a bother to you... Ireths don't really have a concept of gender, and as far as biological sex goes you suppose they're all female, laying eggs that grow into more egg-laying females. You yourself tended to assume a male form once you'd assimilated enough of them to have a choice, but such magic is quite out of your reach now. Not only is your body immature and incapable of handling the proper flow of mana, the mana here is different. You'll have to take your time adjusting to it before you're able to pull any of your old tricks. Well, you've got plenty.\n\nIn fact for the next fourteen years or so you keep a low profile, doing your best not to stand out and just be a 'normal kid', even though all the adults tend to remark how mature and intelligent you seem. You obviously stick out if for nothing else than your shining silver-white hair and grey eyes, especially surrounded by a nation of people that tend towards Hero coloration... it'd be enough to give you anxiety if you didn't have years to adjust to it as a baby. But this society full of its technology and variety and many many types of grilled meat (and other delicious, decadent things)... you definitely can't say you hate it, you think as you walk down the sidewalk.\n\n"Iris!"\n\n"Hm?" you say in response to hearing your human name, turning a bit and looking over your shoulder, brushing some hair over your ear (pierced by a pair of plain blue earrings bought for you by Kei-, er, "'kaasan") as you do. Even in very plain black jacket, white t-shirt, and black pants, you're not exactly surprised someone you know picked you out immediately. Your hip-length silver hair makes you stand out quite a bit in any Japanese crowd.\n\n<img src="images/IrethFemale1.png">\n\n"Oh, hey Yori," you answer, turning towards the girl still dressed in her school uniform... well, the same uniform you wear, though not more than you can help it. Being a former demon lord you're more of the 'leader' than the 'joiner' type, which is also why you're in the 'go home club'. Yori's past-the-shoulders black hair and dark blue eyes put her pretty well in Hero range... actually she's exactly the sort that would wind up in Lytozia making a nuisance of herself, if she were less careful about crossing the street. She's wearing the typical winter uniform of a long-sleeved white blouse, long red tie, and plaid pleated green and blue skirt, though she's taken the option of replacing the uniform blazer with a cardigan jacket, switched out the thick socks for thigh-highs, and at least loosened the tie.\n\n<img src="images/Yori.jpg">\n\n"Hey, Iris. Already out of your uniform, and probably headed somewhere for a pre-dinner dinner, huh?" she asks as she draws up in front of you, grinning.\n\n"Isn't it just called a 'snack', no matter how big it is?" you reply, grinning a bit yourself.\n\n"It's just not fair, though!" Yori complains with an exaggerated pout. "If I ate like you do, I'd gain a ton of weight! I'm like one katsudon from my thighhighs making a visible squish, I just know it! But you're as skinny as I am!"\n\n"Mm, guess it's just my metabolism," you reply, rubbing the back of your head a bit. Actually it also has to do with building up your mana reserves and further acclimating yourself to this world... most of the food gets broken down into pure energy that you channel through yourself and out to encourage the mana flow through your body.\n\n"Well. I can't really hate you for that. ... Although if there was one difference..." she adds, her face clouding a bit as the two of you look down to your similarly modest chests. \n\n"... Right." Clearing your throat, you continue and suggest, "So you wanna come with? You don't have to get the katsudon, though I don't think anyone would mind if your thighhighs squished a little."\n\n"I would! Ah, but actually, I was gonna ask, could you help me study?" Yori frowns, more thoughtfully than anything. "I don't know if you even do... I hardly ever see you taking notes but you've got some of the best grades in the school. But I'm really struggling and my mom already said if I don't do well on the midterms I can forget any vacations for the next year. So help a girl out, okay?!" she adds, putting her hands together. "I have snacks at my place, and no parents to bug us!"\n\n<hr>\n[["Oh, fine."|Iris]]\n\n[["Food now, study later."|Iris]]\n\n[["... Hm. Let's just go on vacation now."|Iris]]\n\n[["Ah, but I have a secret to tell you."|Iris1x1]]

Devious Mundanity (alpha 43)

"... Y'know what I'll agree to go to Avellon if only to hear why it's not a smoking semi-spherical mass floating in a debris field," you say rather flatly, eyeing your mother with a look of mild betrayal.\n\nThe beautiful blonde sighs heavily, sitting back with enough force that her large breasts bounce a little beneath the white long-sleeved t-shirt she's wearing. "It's not as if I lied, dear, Avellon was destroyed. Or at least one version of it was. And it was my mother's royal decree that we spread that story, and you don't just tread on an Avellonian royal decree lightly."\n\n"Huh. ... Wait, 'we'? I thought you were the only survivor."\n\n"Well, me. About a dozen other 'lone survivors' spread to other planets," she says sheepishly with a little shrug. At your growing look of frustration she holds up her hands and makes a small placating gesture. "Alright, alright, why don't we retire to the den and I'll explain from the beginning."\n\nOnce you and your mother are safely ensconced in Stately Mekborne Relax-Cave and holding short crystal glasses of brandy, your mother takes a moment to relax further by tugging her hair out of the bun it's in and spending a few moments fluffing it out before she explains. "So yes, I came to Earth when I was thirteen because an Entropy Burst was going to hit Avellon and render it into a half-shattered hunk of scorched rock. ... The full truth is a little more complicated," she allows as she looks down at her drink. "The thing is, Avellon had long come up with a countermeasure in the case of spacial disasters such as an Entropy Burst, and could have easily negated it before it ever happened. But we were just coming out of yet another long, arduous period of being dragged into an interstellar conflict and were staring down the barrel of another one creeping up on us. That was the end result of our attempts to help bring order and justice to the galaxy, just one long bloody campaign after another, only rarely punctuated by periods of peace. So... it was decided that we would, in essence, fake our death. On a planetary scale."\n\n"You... let people think the Entropy Burst destroyed Avellon, but..." You trail off, staring at her.\n\n"But instead it was slipped into a parallel universe effectively uninhabited save for ourselves," she says a little sheepishly, shaking her head. "We thought that without us to serve as... well, take your pick, impetus, focal point, fallback... that it might actually bring more peace than our actively being there, at least for awhile. And it's sort of worked... it's hardly brought actual peace to the galaxy, but now various powers are less eager to rush to declaring war when they don't have us to point at as a looming 'threat', or to lean on as a strong ally to do their fighting for them. I and a small, carefully selected group of others were sent out to very disparate points of the universe to act as a combination of ambassadors and monitors. To remind people of what Avellon stood for beyond its military might, and to watch and wait for the universe to be ready for our return."\n\n"Still," you say after long minutes of absorbing that. "You couldn't tell me? I'm half Avellonian, didn't I deserve to know?"\n\nYour mother frowns, seemingly less at you and more just... in general. "Morgan, I know that here on Earth such ideas are typically regarded as antiquated and quaint, but on Avellon we still believe in our ruler's divine right. My mother's royal decrees are endowed with the full weight of God's blessing, and I can't just shrug them off because it makes me uncomfortable to obey them. ... To be honest I still feel guilty sometimes about telling your father," she admits with a small sigh, before taking a sip of her drink. "But part of our relationship is not lying to each other, since so much of the rest of our lives involve lying. And I know this probably doesn't help with your trust issues, considering, but... all I can say is I'm sorry. I am still a loyal servant of the Queen of Avellon and her word is my oath."\n\nBoth of you are quiet for a long time. Eventually you say, "So why bring it up now, just sort of casually bomb-dropping it in a conversation?"\n\n"... I suppose seeing you in so much pain weakened my resolve," she murmurs after a brief silence. "Avellon is a beautiful place, though, Morgan, a place not only of art and culture, but of healing and rest. I honestly think that if you went there, you'd be able to heal your spirit from this awful series of events."\n\n"And I can just go?" you answer after thinking it over for a bit. "Any time?"\n\n"Yes. My ship is equipped with a device that can take you into the parallel universe, so that I could myself return home and report in. But I think everyone will understand using it for this. I really would love for you to meet your aunts, and my grandmother," she adds with a soft smile. "And probably a cousin or two by now, I should think. And it would be a place you could feel... normal. Even though it's only those with royal blood who have what Earthlings would consider full-on 'superpowers', even the average Avellonian finds that normal and has at least a few abilities beyond those of Terrans. It would be a place you could be... just yourself. Whoever you decide that is."\n\nYou let that turn over for awhile in your head, before finally saying, "Can I leave tonight?"\n\nYour mother smiles, a bit sadly, but nods. "Your father and I will take care of the arrangements for cover stories. You know where the ship is, and the coordinates for Avellon are easy to find. The dimension fold device has a password of 'MRLND13'. I'll send a message to my family to let them know you're coming." She stands and moves to meet you as you rise, enfolding you in her arms. "... Stay as long as you need, darling. But I'll be waiting every day for you to come back."\n\nAnd so less than two hours later, you're in costume and settled into the sleek, almost weapon-shaped silver and gold ship, flitting through the stars as it largely pilots itself on a preprogrammed course. You have several days to dwell on if you've made the right decision, if you're a coward for running away from it all without so much as a goodbye. But somehow your mother saying it was a place you could heal made you realize just how hurt you were inside, how actually, honestly sick and tired you really felt, and that it was time to go. You hope in this far-off, fantastical place where your mother was born you can find some answers for if you did the right thing.\n\nEventually the ship drops out of its faster-than-light travel in the Avellon system, which is largely full of debris, the only planet orbiting its gold-tinted sun a large hunk of smoldering rock with bits and pieces knocked out of it, actually looking like it's burning in space as clouds of particulates are propelled outward due to its lack of atmosphere and the warped magnetic field of its solidified metal core. 'Wonder what planet that actually is,' you muse, before using the password your mother gave you to unlock the hidden system. 'Didn't Mom say something about "another version" of Avellon? Man, could they just plunder other dimensions for dead versions of their own planet or something?'\n\nThere's a strange squishing-stretching sensation that lasts only a moment amidst a white flash, and then everything around you is different. Space, rather than being black and dotted here and there with distant lights and a few stretched vistas of color, is a bright, rich blue like a warm summer sky, painted across with much brighter twinkling lights as well as long meandering stretches of pink and white, like a fairy tale afternoon stretched across the entire universe. The planet, rather than being a moldering cinder, is lush with green and rich blue, dotted here and there with visible white and gold flecks. Almost the instant it changes, the ship's comm board lights up. "AV-1, this is planetary aerospace control. You are cleared for landing at the main pad of Kamlen Palace. Welcome home."\n\nIt... weirdly does feel like coming home in a way, you think as the ship descends into the atmosphere and cruises by over the idyllic plains, which include fields of flowers that look like they're larger than some states (the fields, not the invidual flowers), and a few cities that look like Earth cities if every single shop, apartment building, and skyscraper were designed with the intent to be a fairy tale castle. Of course the actual palace itself is far grander, you see as you approach, the size of a small city all on its own with countless spires and towers rising up, including one that floats above all the others and seems to be made entirely of ivory and gold. But it's to the central building you go, the ship settling into a hover and lowering onto a circular stone pad at the end of a long walkway. You step out, taking a moment to look at the armored figures lining the walkway on either side, made up of attractive figures of both genders. Well, you assume attractive since they're wearing helmets, but since their clearly somewhat ceremonial armor bares their midriffs and shows off their hips, and to a one they have chiseled abs and perfect skin, you're kind of making an educated guess, their gold-trimmed silver armor gleaming in the sunlight.\n\n"HAIL, PRINCE MORGAN!" they all shout in perfect unison, presenting their bannered spears forward to form a ceremonial canopy along the walkway.\n\n... Oh. Yeah, right. Somehow you didn't actually process that here you'd be a... ... right. Trying not to look as awkward as you feel, you stride down the walkway towards the only figure not attired in armor, who's placidly waiting on you. Of course that's a little weird too, since she's such an absolutely dead ringer for your mother, right down to wearing her hair braided into a 'crown' along the top of her head and with little decorative pieces stuck in the braid to form an actual crown. The lone differences in actual appearance seem to be that her hair is platinum blonde instead of gold, and her eyes are a clear amber color instead of blue. Well... there's plenty of other differences too, beyond the physical. For one her crown pieces are black, and so is her attire, which is... um. The top seems to consist of long black sleeves sheathing her arms and covering her shoulders and neck, to which are attached a pair of golden circles from which drape two long rectangles of cloth to cover her breasts... leaving them otherwise completely bare, the sides and inner curves visible, and apparently supporting their generous size perfectly all by themselves. The lower part of the dress is practically a thin golden wire that rides her hips and dips down in front, to which are attached four more long rectangles of cloth which don't quite form a skirt, leaving a strip of the front of her legs bare and making it virtually impossible to convince yourself she's wearing anything under it. Her feet are sheathed in a pair of stiletto heels that look like they might be carved of obsidian. The other difference is her face, which while physically identical to your mother's, has an expression that could at best be called 'cool'.\n\n"Prince Morgan," she says evenly, again striking you with how much it sounds like your mother's but not due to the low, reserved tones. "I am your aunt, Princess Alterra. Welcome to Avellon." \n\n"Thank you," you reply, doing your best to remember some of the more formal manners your mother taught you, touching a hand to your shoulder and bowing at a light angle. "I'm very pleased to be here, honored aunt."\n\nShe makes a soft sound in her throat that might be either approval or faint disdain, you're not sure which, before elegantly turning and starting to stride towards the entrance to the palace. "Come along then. We have dispensed with many of the more ostentatious and time-consuming ceremonies, but there must still be a formal declaring of arrival."\n\n"... Right," you murmur, hurrying to catch up while trying not to look like you're hurrying. At least your cape and hers both look nice and dramatic swishing along with the motions, even if hers is serrated at the end. "Do I need to do anything special?"\n\n"'Prince Morgan, returned to Avellon' will suffice," she answers primly without looking at you.\n\n'Yeah, Mom, great to meet the family,' you think with a sigh. You pause briefly to nod to various people as you pass, most of them attired in gold-trimmed white clothing with a sort of 'neo-future medieval' style to it, since that seems to be polite when they pause to bow to you and call you 'My lord.' Your aunt shows no interest whatsoever in engaging with you along the way, remaining silent until she shows you to a grand-looking office where a well-dressed woman with glasses ceremonially writes your name in a grand-looking ledger, before Alterra shows you out again.\n\n"I'll show you to your room. You would no doubt like to rest after your long trip."\n\n"Thanks," you reply a little tiredly, though more at her distant manner than the multi-day spaceship ride. When it seems like she'll be content to be silent the entire way there, you glance at her, considering saying something.\n\n<hr>\n[["..."|Cal]]\n\n[["Anything I can do to be helpful?"|Cal]]\n\n[["So, Auntie, plotted any good evil schemes lately?"|Cal]]

You glance around at the thick-caked dust on everything, your velvety nose giving another twist like it's going to stay on the verge of sneezing until you get this fixed, then sigh. "Yeah, okay, deal."\n\n"Alright, sir, I'll put that on your account." Because apparently you have an account now. "Will you be needing anything else?"\n\nYou roll your eyes. In for a drethcred... "What've you got?"\n\nBefore you hang up, you've agreed to rent a couch and a drink dispensor, and have a burger made in your kitchen (once it's been cleaned). While you're waiting, you walk over and open the door to the balcony and step out onto it. It's raining lightly now, and the wet air of the abandoned city is fairly fresh, especially compared to the acrid, unwashed underwear scent of a smoggy, rainy day on Makarzia. There are other smells, but most of those are from the apartment behind you, and the scent of what you're guessing is other mercs out on their balconies smoking various substances as they relax after their own days. (You wonder how many of them wind up just lounging around in their rooms treating it like a vacation, and thereby earning Carmine even more creds by winding up leaning on his sold services?)\n\nIt's not long though before you hear a knock at the door and go over, checking by reflex. ... Well. You're gonna guess that the pair of practically naked women with a housekeeping cart aren't here to assassinate you. You open the door and step back, both of them giving the same defererntial bob of the head that the ones at the desk gave as they step inside, pulling the cart with them. One's dark-skinned with her hair in plaits, the other fair with her hair done in a long braid, though both of them have their hair dyed a bright, almost neon red. They're also both so nearly-identical in being full of breast, round of ass, and sleek of hip with long legs that you're guessing they were both bodymodded to the exact same specifications. Both are wearing the same tiny pleated red skirts, red tubetops, red skinarmor thighhighs (which since they apparently double as suitable footwear) and red chrome collars.\n\n"Sir," they both say in unison, before they turn to pick up the simple but expensive-looking leather couch out in the hall without it seeming to weigh much. Yeah, definitely modded.\n\n"Ah, yeah," you say, stepping back to let then come in and set it down near the fireplace, which you assume is temporary until the area below is vacuumed. "... Are you two slaves?" you ask.\n\n"Yes, sir," they both answer breezily, again in near-unison.\n\nYeah, not surprising. You're... reeeeally not sure how you feel about this, but while you're deciding whether to make a fuss the dark-skinned one turns to you and bows slightly. "I'm Amari, that is Tala. If you like, sir, I'll begin with cleaning the master bath. That way you can have a shower while we're cleaning the rest of the apartment."\n\n"... Yeah, sure," you say with a sigh, resigning yourself, at least for the moment.\n\n"Please relax, sir, we'll get to work," Tala says just as evenly as she opens the side of the cart.\n\nYou glance around, then shrug and sit in the chair, since there's not exactly anywhere else to relax... then wince, raising back up a bit and with some slight effort adjusting the position of your tail before you ease back down. 'Gonna take awhile to get used to having this thing,' you think, watching Tala as she assembles a sleek modular vacuum and sets to cleaning up the carpet below.\n\nYou really do try not to stare at her as she works, but unfortunately the outfits are obviously designed to encourage staring. The tubetop lifts and shapes her breasts a bit but doesn't stop them from wobbling or swaying some with her movements, and the skirt is short enough that whenever she bends over even slightly it's obvious that she's not wearing anything under it, even if it is just long enough to not actually show anything. Still, you can feel yourself growing steadily harder as your eyes are drawn back again and again, no matter how much you tell yourself it's not appropriate.\n\n"Sir."\n\n"Er?!" You hop a little in place, glancing over to where Amari has reappeared at the end of the hallway. "Yeah?"\n\n"The bathroom is clean, sir," she says, bowing. "Feel free to make use of it whenever you're ready."\n\n"... Right." You try to be casual about holding your coat closed in front as you get up, and attempt not to grimace as you walk across the room and past her. But god your pants are so tight right now... you've definitely got a little more sympathy for men than before, if for nothing else than how awkward it feels to walk with a constrained hardon. You head down the hall to what looks like the master bedroom... not huge but at least there's a large bed with a mattress, which has already been stripped with the sheets piled in the corner... and on into the master bathroom. Your compunctions about the method of servitude aside, you have to admit Amari does good, fast work... it's thoroughly clean, with no real signs that it's been abandoned for years. There's a nice shower, what looks like a whirlpool tub, luxurious sink. Not a single sign of toiletries though, other than a fresh roll of toilet paper put up. Guess you're looting those tomorrow, though you also suspect that Tala and Amari have some in their cart that they'd be just delighted to sell you too. (It's fine you brought some of your own that should get you through a few nights.)\n\nYou strip off your outer layers, and then pull off your armorweave top, before moving over to take a look in the mirror. ... Yeah you're a prettyboy. Obviously thoroughly male, but still on the slim side, with a lithe set to your toned physique. And though your features aren't strictly human anymore, there's still enough in common that you'd definitely call yourself on the pretty side of handsome. No real 'rugged' to be found... though as you lift your arms and flex, you can't help but think that you easily could be, if you decided to start doing more weightlifting and other muscle-building exercises in a body like this. And you have to admit... your snowy white fur and those deep, dark black stripes curling around your sides and back do look very nice. Your hair has turned white, with a few faint black stripes in it going mostly down your ponytail, making it look quite similar to your, well, tigertail.\n\nThen you take a breath, hook your thumbs into the front of your pants, and push down. Your new stiff cock springs free, and you can actually faintly make out the pink of your blush under the white fur of your cheeks as you look at it. You're, uh... you're not small. No, definitely not, you would in fact be on the bigger side of the males of your experience. In fact you might be a little bit bigger than any of the guys you were ever with as a woman. Your shaft is still humanlike in shape, covered in stark white skin the same color as your fur. Speaking of, rather than the more wirey growth of dark hair around the base of it, there's just thicker, even softer white fur, with a smooth coating of it over your balls. You blush more as it waggles around, your balls wobbling lightly as you peel out of your pants, before now taking a look at your fully naked male body in the mirror, tail flicking.\n\n'... Well, shit, I'd've totally fucked me,' you think with a soft sigh. Unbidden, the mental image of your current self gripping your prior self by the hips and pounding into her pussy pops into your mind, which makes you give a truly confused-sounding little moan as your cock twitches. 'Shower. Cold shower. Even if there's hot water, cold shower,' you think, quickly moving to said shower.\n\nWell there's definitely cold water, that's for sure... though even though you can tell it's practically icy, the temperature doesn't bother you nearly as much as it did when you were human. Well... aren't white tigers even more adapted for cold, or something? Either way, it does at least cause your hardon to flag... not entirely go limp, but not be as achingly stiff anymore as you wash up. Though you do wind up going through significantly more of your shampoo than usual. \n\n'Guh, how do these guys dry off thoroughly?' you think a bit later, having spent at least twice as long as usual rubbing and patting yourself and still feeling a bit damp. Without really thinking, you walk back out into the bedroom while still drying off, pondering the logistics of using a hair dryer o your whole body.\n\n"Sir."\n\nYou freeze, realizing that 1) the bedroom is now entirely clean and the bed has sheets and a comforter on it as well as pillows, and 2) Amari is standing not that far in front of you, hands clasped low in front of her as she gives another light bow. It takes a few moments for Michika.exe (well, Pride.exe you guess) to reboot, and you give a short yelp before yanking the towel down to cover yourself, since your cock is rapidly rising to full attention again. "Ah, y-yeah?"\n\n"We're almost finished, sir."\n\n"We've moved the couch, but you can have us move it again if you prefer it somewhere else," Tala adds as she walks in, not at all helping, though your stiff prick disagrees with a little throb. "I'm just about to start cooking your meal. Will there be anything else before that, sir?"\n\n"Um," you say, still struggling to think.\n\n"Would you like to fuck us, sir?" Amari adds breezily.\n\n"... um..."\n\n"That is one of the services we offer," she says with a small smile, pulling down her tubetop and letting her large, dark breasts spill free, Tala doing the same with her cream-colored ones beside her. "Master sent word that you could have the first one 'on the house'. We're yours for the night if you like, though in the future we will need to charge for each individual service."\n\n<hr>\n[[... No. Thank you.|ChiRed]]\n\n[[............. Yeah okay.|ChiRed]]

The year is 2101. The town is Knightsvale, now a wholly owned subsidiary of Nakatomi Nationstate Realtors. Which mostly means you live here because as a Japanese-born citizen you get a break on rent and utilities, and NNR happens to have the best quantum-fiber internet pre-installed in their buildings that it's possible to get without paying an immense fortune for a string entanglement modem and complete wiring yourself. The net connection is very, very important, for you see, your name is Yami and you are the best at VRMMOs.\n\nOkay, not the best. There's probably someone out there better than you, someone dashing and dramatic with an iconic and toyetic custom outfit that no one else ever seems to get in the item drops. But you have reached the top ten rankings for things like "up and coming players" and "raid specialists" and "boss banes" in every single VRMMO you've ever played, and you figure volume and consistency makes up for not being #1 at any of them in particular. And using all the intense brainpower at your disposal, you are currently working on a very important, very necessary issue.\n\n"Mmmm." You flick your tongue over the cookie stick clasped between your lips, licking off a bit more of the chocolate. "... I don't know... I still think I can taste the chitin more versus the Miku Miku Nahs brand pocky."\n\n<img src="images/Yami.jpg">\n\nHow many of those who have fallen before the weapons of "Nightbringer" or your many other aliases would suspect that their opponent was some skinny hikkikomiri, hair turned platinum blonde, skin turned white, and eyes turned grey due to the melanin-canceling properties of using cheap but long-lasting support fluids when hooked up to their rig? Sitting in a low-rent two bedroom apartment with a roommate well into their late twenties, wearing just a baggy Dolyen Yggdrasil long-sleeved shirt and underwear, and trying to decide which brand of cheap pocky tasted the least like its faintly disturbing pseudochocolate ingredients? ... Actually that's probably what almost everyone would think of. But would they think Nightbringer was a girl?! Ha, no, probably not! Haha! Yes, you play your own sex online! Take that, expectations! Haha. Ha. ... Haaa.\n\n"Heeeey, Yamiiiii," your roommate says, knocking on the frame of your door and causing you to perk up a bit and look over at her. "I got our mail while I was downstairs. Is this that thing you were waiting for?" she asks, holding up a package perfectly sized for a VRMMO quantchip.\n\nYour eyes light up, and both pocky sticks get shoved in your mouth in your hurry to go scrambling over, causing you to almost choke when you blurt out "Yes!" You grab for the package with both hands, only to have to jump for it as she lifts it up higher, your shirt flapping up over your skinny butt. "Not funny, gimme gimme gimme gimme! Oof," you add as she brings her hand down between your upstretched arms and thunks the package directly on the top of your head.\n\n"This is that new one, isn't it? The one everyone's talking about, the 'death game'?" At your shifty look and twiddled fingers, she rolls her eyes. "Lord, it is, I knew it."\n\n"It's not a 'death game'!" you blurt after recovering yourself a bit, scowling up at her. "That's total game journo hysteria!"\n\n"So it doesn't suck the neural pattern out of your brain and keep it on the servers forever if you lose?"\n\n"... I mean..." You flick your eyes back and forth nervously, twiddling your fingers again. "... Only if you set it up that way?"\n\n"Which you of course will." At your face going solid red, your roommate sighs. "C'mon, Yami, seriously?"\n\nSee, your ascendancy to the top ranks of VRMMO players wasn't exactly because you're just that passionate about playing the game. What you're passionate about is... well, losing. Losing dramatically and decisively and, preferably, extremely lewdly. Except unfortunately, most actually decent combat VRMMOs are strictly R-17 at the very most... you might get your armor torn off or some Implying Implications fade to black, but the games tend to block anything actually sexual from happening. And the games that do allow actual virtual sex tend to be... well, boring. They're either complete sandboxes where people just go to fuck around and indulge their entirely discussed and contractually agreed-upon kinks (like Twenty-Second Life), or they're lame low-effort barely-feedback crap where it's just assumed you'll lose and then unf unf unf oh noooo game over start again automatically. They don't feel real, the danger doesn't feel real, and it just... doesn't... scratch your itch for actual danger of something wicked, despicable, and cruel potentially happening to you. It's been a lifetime's worth of teasing, essentially.\n\nUntil Devious Dive.\n\nDevious Dive, the first Ultra-X rated VRMMO. When it was announced, it was called overly ambitious, overly complicated, likely never to be finished. It was laughed off as the greatest vaporware since Half-Life 3. (Still hasn't come out, beeteedubs, if anyone from the past is wondering.) And yet, after only twenty-five years, its creator Devious Nuke declared it was going gold, and now it's here, in your apartment, being held just out of reach by your overprotective friend.\n\nThe thing is, Devious Dive is not only the most 'complete' sandbox action-adventure VRMMO ever completed, featuring numerous different genres and playstyles and character options, or the first Ultra-X rated one meaning that it's extremely sexual and with no warnings or safewords, it's the first VRMMO to (sort of) realize the dream of Mad King Kojima, Lord of Australia and one of the most revered creators of video games in history despite his entire body of work being banned due to having an overly high Eldritch Rating. (No one's entirely sure why he's revered, but he is.) It's a game that can hurt you... kind of. While many VRMMOs provide some amount of pain feedback, and the more hardcore ones enforce a "realistic" (read, roughly tripled) amount of pain, it's all just sensory hallucinations, guaranteed to turn into nothing but a memory the moment you log out. Devious Dive, should you choose, carries an actual risk of your mind being transferred into the game to eternally reap the consequences of your loss. Whether it's character death or some form of Bad End, you could wind up experiencing it eternally. (There's widely rumored to be some form of afterlife in the game, but much like the real world since no one who's actually gone there can come back to confirm it, well, that's how you get labeled a "death game".) That's only if you go through a very thorough legal process and actually consent to that level of risk, though.\n\nWhich, as your roommate has correctly deduced, you have.\n\nFinally you huff and put your hands on your hips. "... My neurons, my choice! I've already made all the arrangements and signed all the forms, so lemme live my life, would you?"\n\nShe sighs. "I will never understand this fetish of yours. But honestly, I guess in the end you're right, it's your body and mind." She hesitates a moment longer, then places the box in your reaching fingers. "Have fun, I guess."\n\n"Yesssssss!" You leap up, doing a twirl in happiness before running over to your rig. You've installed extra support fluid cannisters, the extra big ones, and even splurged for the more decent stuff that lasts longer... supposedly some of the bad ends can still last a good long time before it's decided one way or the other whether they're permanent, so you wanna be able to stay under for however long is necessary. You make sure to wipe everything down well, partly because hygeine is important for long VR dives, partly so that your roommate will take the hint and leave, thankfully closing the door after herself. You rip open the packaging, taking a moment to set the little commemorative cyborg figurine of the game's creator on your desk, then do one last check on the complete rig. Then you push your panties down, stepping out of them with one foot and kicking them towards the dirty clothes pile with the other. No sense getting those all soaked if this goes well! You settle down into the well-padded chair, pushing your sleeves up before putting your arms through the connectors that will deliver the support fluid to your veins and help cleanse your blood of any toxin buildup. You tap the control, an armature lowering the neurodome over your head. "Computer, boot up game loaded in slot One-A and initiate dive."\n\n"You got it, motherfucker!" your computer answers, in the distinctive voice that all smart devices have used since sometime in the mid-21st, though no one knows why or why it calls everyone a motherfucker.\n\nYou quickly find yourself loaded into a 'half dive'... which is sort of the shallowest level of a VR dive there is, where it's basically just like looking at one big screen. Specifically, the screen where you usually accept the usage agreement... though this one is, of course, a bit different, and rather than skipping through it you do in fact read carefully, because it sends a thrill through you.\n\n<h4 style="text-align: center;">Welcome to Devious Dive: Permanence Edition</h4>\s\n<h4 style="text-align: center;">By continuing, you are agreeing that you deliberately purchased the Permanence Edition of this game, and have followed all necessary legal procedures in your country, nationstate, or autonomous collective to own it. Devious Dive: Permanence Edition is classified by the Neutral Ratings Board as having a level five degree of danger to one's mental integrity.</h4>\s\n<h4 style="text-align: center;">Permanence Edition allows for the player to experience lasting and even permanent consequences due to gameplay. This option must still be configured in the settings, as it defaults to "Off". If this setting is not changed, the player will only experience the consequences of their loss for a predetermined (and configurable) amount of time.</h4>\s\n<h4 style="text-align: center;">In the event this option is set to "On", players are accepting the possibility that their neural pattern may be transferred to Devious Dive's fully autonomous and Omega-rated apocalypse-proof servers for a period not to exceed "eternity" (as legally defined by Intercolonial Legal Quorum of 2077). Players will still receive one (1) chance at the time a situation is determined to be permanent to opt out; if this option is chosen, only the character data will be locked into the situation, and the player will disconnect after the preset time. If the player declines to opt out, the fate is permanent for both character and player.</h4>\s\n<h4 style="text-align: center;">Please note that in Permanence Edition, even with permanent consequences disabled, players can only willingly disconnect in designated "Safe Zones". All non-permanent interactions and consequences are still enforced and the player cannot opt out or disconnect to avoid them.</h4>\s\n\nSince it's just a shallow dive, you can still feel your stiff nipples rubbing against your shirt as you breathe faster. Even without turning on the permanent consequences option, you're about to enter a game where it's truly a free-for-all... not only the AI opponents will pose a threat, a potentially very lewd and rough and mean threat, but other players on the Permanence Edition servers will too. There will be no panicquits, no 'Action Denied' warnings, no admin reports... if another character avatar that has a real flesh-and-blood person on the other end of it wants to sneak up on you while you're out in the wild and hit you with a paralysis dart and then yank off your armor before fucking you in the ass while pulling your hair and calling you a stupid, pathetic whore, all while streaming it to their thousands of Omnistream followers, that is absolutely, totally a thing they can do and there wouldn't be a thing you could do about it. ... Other than, y'know, almost cumming a little just now thinking about it.\n\nTaking a deeper breath to calm your heart rate so the sensors won't read it as duress, you click the 'Yes', 'I'm sure', and 'I'm really REALLY sure' indicators to actually be allowed into the game proper... or rather, character generation. After a brief rushing sensation that carries you into a full dive you find yourself standing as yourself, completely naked, in what looks like some sort of large costume store. You can't help but flush and squirm, resisting the urge to tuck a hand between your legs and rub at the sudden feeling of being thrust into public naked. Most VRMMOs put you in some sort of "colored void" for character generation, and the ones that don't all have you in underwear at the least.\n\nThe first thing to appear in front of you is a 'Settings' box, with various options for things like amount of bloodshed where available, pain intensity, and so on, most of which you leave where they are. (You do set 'Incidental Gore (Sexual)' to 'Off', though... you may wanna get Bad Ended but you don't necessarily want to get torn apart when you do. Little quirks.) There's also the big one, which you find on its own tab... 'Permanent Consequences'. As the chargen text said, it's currently set to 'Off'. You raise your finger up towards it, then hesitate... do you really want to go this far? After all, just for kinky play, everything else about Permanence Edition has plenty to offer! It's way more than any other VRMMO has ever offered you... both challenge and goal, as well as lewds and consequences. You'll lose characters you worked hard on if you get Bad Ended after all, and still get to experience the Bad End up until it's determined to be permanent, isn't that threat enough? Do you really need your actual life to be threatened?\n\n<hr>\n[[M-maybe not...|YamiStart2]]\n\n[[Hnnnh your soaked pussy says FUCKING YES.|YamiStart3]]

Hey! Hey! This river is claimed by upright tool users now, buddy! Civilization is here, time to get with the program and get out of the way! You swing your pole around and angle it towards the oncoming stream, giving it a few jabs in the general direction, not even so much trying to hit it as just generally convey 'fuck off this river is mine now'.\n\nThe reaction is immediate, but not exactly in the way you'd hoped. The bubbling and rippling instantly changes course, veering directly towards you and picking up speed, a lot of speed, the rippling turning into a veritable wave. You barely have time to think how badly you fucked up before the creature bursts from the surface of the water, its head whipping upward on a long, slender neck as it gives a furious shriek, its sleek gray body shining in the sunlight and the massive cock jutting from just above the waterline pointed right at you as your raft tilts and starts to go over.\n\nIt's just as fast on the surface as it reaches out and grabs you with a pair of large webbed hands as you're about to be toppled off the capsizing raft anyway. You can't help but let out a shriek of terror as that head dives down towards you like a striking snake, baring sharp, almost needle-like teeth. But those teeth catch in your coat and top, tearing them to shreds as its head yanks back upwards, flinging the remnants away before its head snaps in again and similarly rends your pants into tatters. Then, without any further hesitation, the plesiomorph crams you down onto its cock, spreading your pussy practically taut over the girth of it, your stomach showing the outline of it all the way up to the slender head nudged up between your tits.\n\nYou have just a moment of staring down at yourself in complete shock before your brain actually processes the sensation and hits you with it all at once. You throw your head back and arch your back, the sensation overload causing your nerves to fritz and decide there's nothing to do but cum instantly, your stretched pussy doing its best to quiver and squeeze around the massive dino dick violating it. \n\nIf the plesiomorph even notices it gives no sign, instead starting to pump you on its cock like an authentic onahole, grunting and bellowing as it vents its anger and lust with your body. Even if you hadn't gone limp from the overwhelming intensity of the penetration, the speed and strength with which it pounds you onto its prick would have rendered you limp and flopping, your limbs swaying around helplessly as it uses you. Its huge gray balls swing up slightly out of the water to slap against your ass, your arms and legs swaying into the river, the current almost feeling like it's gripping you and holding you for its saurian inhabitant.\n\nYour tits bobble and wobble energetically above your chest with each motion, framing the bulge marking the head of the plesiomorph's prick every time it slams home deep inside you. You're raped to orgasm over and over again, your brain having nothing else to do with the sensations of being used as a cocksleeve by such a massive creature than to tell you that you love it whether you like it or not. Your eyes have rolled up completely in your head, your tongue lolled out, your whole body trembling and twitching as you pleasurably suffer the fruits of your arrogance.\n\nThe plesiomorph finally throws back its head and lets out a long, thunderous bellow as it shoves you down hard, forcing your taut-stretched pussylips all the way to the base of its shaft as the massive thing starts to twitch and shudder visibly inside you. There's an actual bulge briefly visible between your tits with the sheer force of its first few shots, before your womb starts to fill up enough to take some of the weight off, your belly gradually growing round and taut as well, shaking and wobbling gently atop you with your twitches.\n\nEventually the beast stops, growling and panting, taking its hands off your sides and letting you droop down at an angle, actually hanging down in the water somewhat but still largely supported by its still stiff stick. Your bloated cumbelly continues slowly wobbling above you as the beast apparently takes a moment to recover from its own intense sensations.\n\n<hr>\n[[... got to... get away...|ChiSW]]\n\n[[Michika.exe has had a stack overflow. Please reboot your system or contact technical support.|ChiSW]]

"If he's calling here, he must know I went with you," you note, glancing at Niobe. "Maybe this is a gang leader thing?"\n\n"Shit. The work never stops," Niobe says with a sigh, shoving herself to her feet and trudging towards the hall. "Yer probably right, I'll take care of this," she notes as she heads back, Ilia trailing after her.\n\nThings are quiet for a bit, with you settling into a chair to rest. You exchange glances with Diore several times, wondering how exactly to start up a conversation with your mentor's bodyguard/boytoy, when both of you jump a little at a loud slam and then angry shouting from down the hall. Both of you start to stand before it becomes clear it's not a sound of anyone in distress, just Niobe being severely pissed. Settling back, the two of you exchange a somewhat heavier glance as you start wondering if this was really a good idea.\n\nEventually the shouting ends, and there's the sound of a door slamming shortly before Niobe stalks back in, Ilia still following after her and looking pale again... literally having turned almost sheet white, eyes and hair as well. "Fuck it, war on two fronts," she declares, walking over to one of the wall screens and grabbing the controller, starting to stab it with enough force to make the smaller device's screen make soft *krk* noises without actually cracking visibly. "Unlike some fucking moron though I'm gonna beat the better-defended and better-supplied enemy first so I can use his shit against the other one."\n\n"Er, Niobe, what the fuck are you talking about?" you ask as you and Diore stand and walk over, freezing in place as a neon-lined illustration of the Holy Dragons headquarters submerged beneath wavy blue lines appears on the screen.\n\n"Sakai wants to threaten me, fuck 'im, I'll show him I can take over his whole fucking operation with a handful of genesoldiers and make him my bitch. Maybe I'll literally make him my bitch, I'll see how the mood takes me. Now!" she says, slapping a hand against the screen enough to make it wobble a little on its mounting. "I've been figuring out how to crack this place anyway just as a fun li'l thought exercise or whatever the fuck you call it, and I've got a totally doable plan. We take over this bitch and every Dragon in the city sector either has to bend the knee or get left out in the cold, and if they decide on the cold then fuck 'em, we'll sit down there in their own comfy little hidey-hole under the water waiting until the Demons and the rest have killed off enough of each other that we can step on 'em like bugs."\n\n"You're seriously talking about taking over the Temple?" you say, somewhere between disbelief and awe as you stare at the image on the screen. "It's a fortress. An underwater fortress. It's designed to fend off underwater assault too."\n\n"Yeah, by submersibles and people wearin' diving equipment, fuckers don't know what I've got in my pocket. I send down an aquatic team in nothing but their skins and some basic equipment, they infiltrate here at one of the emergency exits," she says, already starting to explain as she gestures to points on the map, using the controller to manipulate the illustration. "They get in, force the Temple to surface, that's when we hit 'em hard, we go right at the front, it's actually where the defenses are least concentrated. But that's mainly a diversion for two other teams, the Capture Team and Stealth team," she continues, adding two differently-colored groups of generic 'people' icons. "Capture team moves fast and light, secures Sakai or someone else irreplacable as leverage. Stealth team moves to the control room that we're almost certain is located here, below the main garden. Once the stealth team has that, all the defenses are on our side, the Dragons lose every advantage they have, and if the capture team succeeds too, then we basically make everyone of 'em in there and the rest of the city bend the knee."\n\nGeez. That must have been a hell of a comm argument. Still, you guess you can't exactly argue with it as a survival tactic... other than Horace Allfather, the Holy Dragons are probably the richest gang in the city. The facilities in the Temple alone could help a gang like Niobe's go from nobody to juggernaut practically overnight. "You really think you can pull it off, though? I mean, if it's you, maybe."\n\n"Not just me. I need you too, kid."\n\n"... Eh?"\n\n"Listen, each of these teams is gonna be specially chosen for their abilities... it's the only way this works with the numbers we've got. So I'm gonna ask you to go under the knife... or rather, in the mod tube," Niobe says, expression a bit grim as she continues. "To change you up right we'll have to go deep so this ain't a two-way trip, you agree to this and you'll be a genemod like us for the rest of your life. You join any team though and I think it'll put us over the top one way or another. Kid... you do this for me, and not only will we remove your chip when we do the mod, I guarantee you that within an hour of having control of the Dragons' finances, I will have Zee bundled up and brought over, free and clear and wearing some decent fuckin' clothes for once."\n\nYou hesitate for long moments, then nod. Put like that, you can't really argue. You're not super thrilled to be going to war with people you've gotten on well with up until this point, but maybe it's like Niobe said, the Geneslicers need what the Dragons have if they're gonna make it through this war. "I guess that's it then. Any team?"\n\n"Yeah, decide where you wanna be, kid, I'll make it happen."\n\n<hr>\n[[The aquatic team.|KaiGS]]\n\n[[The assault team.|KaiGS]]\n\n[[The capture team.|KaiGS]]\n\n[[The stealth team.|KaiGS]]

"Yeah, fine," you say with a sigh, reaching out to take the pen with the blue stripe. "If it'll keep me from having to constantly avoid having my ass grabbed."\n\n"Well I wouldn't say it guarantees that," Midnight replies, then just grins and shrugs when you give him a Look.\n\nYou eye him for a moment more, but sigh. You glance towards the bathrooms, considering going into private to take it since while you've never done this, you have heard that some people react... interestingly... to them. But it would be pitch black in there with no electricity, and you don't want to mess with your lights too much. So, sighing, you take a few moments to eye the thing to make sure it is what he says and (probably) hasn't been tampered with, before uncapping it and pressing it to the side of your neck, hearing a hiss and feeling a soft rush under your skin.\n\nThe rush turns to heat, which spreads all through you like you'd just sunk into a hot bath at the end of a long, active day. It certainly does feel like your muscles are similarly relaxing, easing and slumping before flexing again without your intent. You can feel your whole body growing firmer, harder, and do indeed have to muffle a soft moan as the strangeness of the sensations translates at least partly into pleasure in your brain. It's mildly... weird, the sensations of pressure of things like your face pushing out and reshaping into a muzzle, your ears shifting position, your shoulders broadening. Compared to the overwhelming sensations of things like that, or of the tail pushing itself out of the end of your spine, the rather ticklish feeling of white and black fur sprouting all over your body is almost negligible. Though of course there's a sense of tightening, gripping, and then fading between your legs, along with a similar 'outward pushing' pressure to your tail growing in front of them. Of course since your breasts are shrinking away and flattening, you actually have a pretty good view of your cock growing outward at the same pace, forming a round bulge in the front of your tight armored pants.\n\nHe was right, though, it's quality stuff. No pain, even as your bones shift and grow to make you a bit taller, and in only a matter of minutes you've finished changing, your long, white feline tail with black stripes flicking behind you. 'I didn't think it was possible but I guess these clothes really were "gender neutral fit",' you muse, glancing down at your skinarmor top now hugging a flat chest above a firm, toned male stomach, and of course the tight pants which are admittedly rather blatantly showier on male anatomy than they were on yours, but still keeping things, er, rounded rather than very specific.\n\n"The very lovely lady makes for a very pretty boy," Midnight notes in a very warm voice, which makes you blush and shoot him a look, to which he just grins and shrugs. "What can I say? Fur, no fur, breasts, cock, you're very attractive no matter what, apparently."\n\n"Ah... thanks," you answer, feeling a bit awkward about hearing your voice. Definitely deeper and maybe a bit richer, but not overly so. You look yourself over a bit more, flexing your fingers as you eye one of your hands and trying not to feel weird at your nails sliding forward like retractable claws if you flex a certain way. "It... doesn't feel too bad," you allow. Actually you feel fucking fantastic, like you could run ten miles and then do... vigorous things... and call it a warmup.\n\n"Good! Well, let's head on over then."\n\nThe two of you set out across the city again, though you find that it's like being in an entirely different place. Sure it's the same damaged, abanoned buildings, the same rain-on-the-air day as before, but now everything's so much clearer. Not just that you can see better in the dim light, but the difference in the sounds, the smells, even the faint taste of the air. There's just a lot... more. 'I mean I can see how this would be useful out there,' you have to allow, even though you're still feeling a bit strange about the different way your body is shaped... and the way that your pants are hugging your new cock and balls so firmly, keeping you almost constantly aware of them.\n\nThe fact that Midnight continues to genially flirt with you on the way across the city doesn't help entirely. You do feel several entirely new sensations as you get at least a little hard several times, and you're guessing that Midnight picks up on the slight strain in your voice as you try to keep casual, from the way he grins and continues to flirt. (You really wish that you didn't find cheeky, kind of smug guys hot... and apparently still do even now that you are, yourself, a guy.) Several times you find your eyes wandering down to his loincloth-covered crotch or ass, and then yanking your gaze back up when the somehow smug flick of his tail says he's noticed you looking.\n\nEventually you arrive at a large, tall apartment building, which looks like it used to be quite luxurious, and is still mostly devoid of damage. There's a large red sigil painted on the front above the door, and you see a number of other anthro guys hanging about just outside, smoking, talking, a few playing a merc game with throwing cards. Midnight shows you inside, past a sort of sprawled, slightly messy setup all over the front desk where a pair of scantily-clad human women are working, bobbing their heads deferentially as the two of you pass. You raise an eyebrow, but decide not to ask, as the two of you step into the elevator. "Got much of the building working?"\n\n"Electricity and running hot and cold water. You'll get a condo but it will be up to you to clean it up, fix it, and appoint it yourself," Midnight notes in reply. "Same for meals or any other amenities. Carmine will see to your security and housing, but otherwise he expects you to be self-sufficient... or pay your own way."\n\nRight, so, as opposed to forbidding looting, he's essentially telling you to live off the land. Which probably includes finding valuables to reimburse yourself for what you'll spend on the bag meals or ordering interdimensional delivery. You shrug a little in response to your own thoughts, still trying to adjust to not feeling the shift in weight on your chest when you do.\n\nThe two of you step out into a penthouse, with you tensing and Midnight not seeming to react at all to the pair of big horsemen wearing some sort of visored riot helmets that aim large rifles at you as you do. But after only a brief look up and down they nod and lower the rifles, stepping back to allow the two of you to continue on.\n\n"Ah, Midnight!" Carmine calls jovially from where he's sprawled on the couch, watching the almost wall-sized screen in front of him which seems divided up between drone views of the city and a few of the interior of the building. The Leonavian is apparently in complete casual mode, wearing nothing but a loose pair of pants, the coppery red-gold fur of his chest almost gleaming in the light. The thick mane of feathers crowning and surrounding his head is a deep red color, either natural or very well-dyed, though you can't help but think it makes him look vaguely parrot-y as opposed to most of the Leonavians you've seen. His predator bird beak has been engraved (if that's the right word here) with silver curlicues and designs, which also gleam as he turns his head, what you're fairly sure are red cybereyes from the faint glow fixing on both of you. "Brought me someone else that couldn't stomach Indigo's little 'welcome' speech?"\n\n"Yessir. This is Michika Hajimaru."\n\n"Hmmm... I do think I've heard that name," Carmine says as he rises to his digigrade feet, leonine tail flicking behind him. His beak somehow curves up in a smirk as he adds, "But the form factor's a bit different than I was led to expect."\n\nYou clear your throat and nod, shooting Midnight a brief suspicious look. "Your man here said it might smooth over potential problems if I tried to blend in."\n\n"Oh, to be sure. I like that you were ready to go that far for the job, Hajimaru, it's a good sign that you have what it takes to do this work," he says as he practically prowls over to stand in front of you.\n\n'God they're big,' you think, trying to be cool about tilting your head back to look. You weren't a particularly short woman before, and you're even taller now that you're a man, but Leonavians are a big race... between that and other factors, you guess you're not surprised that most of them who make a life in more standard humanoid-dominated spaces decide to have their wings removed, usually replaced by detachable cybernetics. You can't see from here what sort of setup Carmine might have back there, but he's definitely wingless. "Midnight made a lot of good arguments for working with you, I thought I'd see how they held up," you answer, deciding to be a bit brash.\n\nApparently it was the right call since Carmine lets out a short but apparently enthusiastic laugh, his manefeathers fluffing again. "Well maybe I'll give him a raise then, hm?" He shoots a grin at the fox that might be a bit more of a Leer, Midnight smiling easily, his long black tail giving a slow, comfortable wag. "Hm. Michika... not exactly an ideal name for a man, even a prettyboy like you. For now how about we call you... Pride, hm?"\n\nYou're not sure if the suggestion is meant to praise or tease you, but you somehow can't help but feel a bit proud just at the suggestion, so maybe it fits. Grinning, you reply, "Seems like it might be better for a lion, but sure."\n\nCarmine chuckles again, then hms, glancing at the screens. "Getting late, eh? You'll probably want to get to your new room, since I'm sure this one will have gotten you one assigned already without anyone even noticing," he adds, setting one birdfoot-like hand atop Midnight's scalp between his ears and actually giving him a brief headrub. "Likely he also told you that you'll be responsible for fixing up the space... either that or making your own arrangements with my people or someone else on Red Team to have it done for you. So likely a fair bit of work to do. Or you can hang out here and drink and talk with us for a while, we can make fun of Indigo and have something to eat," he adds with another smirk.\n\n<hr>\n[[Accept.|ChiRed]]\n\n[[Decline.|ChiRed1x3]]

Eh, you can decide later. Soon people will start arriving for your combination birthday/graduation party. A bunch of people you know are coming, a bunch of people your siblings know are coming, a bunch of people your parents know (mostly from the normie side of their lives) are coming, basically... a lot of people are coming, and all of them are going to be bringing at least a token gift for you. Let's just focus on the fun for the moment, shall we~?\n\nAnd indeed soon the house and back yard (and even a bit of the front yard) are filled with people, the table set up near the entryway for gifts literally overflowing onto the floor, the music playing, food flying off the plates. Between people invited by you and the twins and the people brought along by them and the people that turned up anyway you're pretty sure the entirety of Deviville High is going to pass through the place at some point. As you wander through the crowd you're occasionally treated to birthday wishes by people that actually recognize you, which you of course ancknowledge graciously (with a slightly royal-esque handwave, usually, since it's loud).\n\nYou drift by one of the refreshment tables just as your younger brother and sister are hefting a fresh batch of punch into the bowl. Terry and Sarah are a few years younger than you and both drifted a little more into 'prep' lanes than you did, natural blonde hair untouched, Terry's cut fairly short with just a bit of shagginess to it, Sarah's past her shoulders and brushed straight, both of them wearing button-up shirts and black shorts, similar enough in appearance that no one who saw them would mistake them for anything other than twins. They spot you and give you their own little waves and sunny smiles... both of them adore you, and you them, despite the somewhat different crowds you run in.\n\nAs they head off again, no doubt to return the pitchers and then meet back up with their own friends, you drift over to the punch bowl yourself, nominally to get yourself a glass. Buuuut you admit you're kind of considering spiking the punch, just because it's such a deliciously classic thing to do. In fact, you may have even prepared something just for it! Buuuut... well, should you, y'think?\n\n<hr>\n[[Spike the punch.|Riley]]\n\n[[Don't.|Riley1x2]]

Naaah... no need to make things get too wild. What if someone fell on your cake?!\n\nAnd with a party this big, and a double event this important, it is quite the cake. Practically wedding cake in size, the tiers are each different kinds of your favorite cakes, how's that for a birthday indulgence? Of course, once it's been effectively devoured by the large and apparently ravenous horde that's currently occupying the house, that does seem to signal the peak of the party, and people start gradually filtering out bit by bit. Of course, more people filter in as they do, but the gradual flow seems to be outward. This wasn't really ever going to be a "rages all night" party, after all, since despite the large number of rowdy teenagers it is at its core a family party dotted with parents and such as well.\n\nStill, it's fairly well into the night by the time the party is almost completely partied out. There are a handful of people still hanging out, probably just winding down before heading home themselves, or waiting for their rides, things like that. Considering the sheer amount of presents, probably best to wait until tomorrow to open them, when you can still make a bit of an event of it.\n\nYou kind of feel like getting together with someone or someones you know... for whatever purposes. Orrrrr you also kind of feel like maybe hooking up with one of the stragglers for a nice, direct bit of fun. After all it's your special day, but you haven't gotten off since this morning! It's almost a crime!\n\n<hr>\n[[Talk to someone you know.|Riley1x3]]\n\n[[Have a hookup.|Riley]]

Let's see... your family's here, for sure, you haven't really gotten to talk to any of them more than in passing all day, considering. Jordan's almost certainly still around somewhere too, and you're equally certain your female friend Tassita is still hanging around somewhere too... you saw her a few times over the course of the party, but were both always talking to someone else. Tassita's always interesting, though there are some other, ah, interesting aspects to talking to her...\n\n<hr>\n[[Talk to your mom.|Riley]]\n\n[[Talk to your dad.|Riley]]\n\n[[Talk to your parents.|Riley]]\n\n[[Talk to the twins.|Riley]]\n\n[[Talk to Terry.|Riley]]\n\n[[Talk to Sarah.|Riley]]\n\n[[Talk to your whole family.|Riley]]\n\n[[Talk to Jordan.|Riley]]\n\n[[Talk to your whole family + Jordan.|Riley]]\n\n[[Talk to Tassita.|Riley1x4]]

Odd things aside, your friend is here and it'd be kind of weird if you did nothing more than wave to each other across the room, especially when you know what a loooong way she came to get here.\n\nYou find her out in the back yard, peeking around the corner of the storage shed. Tassita's got richly black hair in a long, thick braid down her back, her blue eyes currently staring intently into the darkness behind the little building. She's got on a long-sleeved, midriff-baring, very tight shirt that accentuates her huge breasts, and her purple skirt is riding up just a little bit from her angle, at least enough to show off her round ass and complete lack of panties, her thicc-ish legs hugged by black stockings and white sneakers. You're almost absolutely certain what she's doing, but you still sneak up nice and quiet to join her, avoiding startling her, despite how much you kind of want to grab her ass as you do. Tassita shifts a bit all the same as you move up beside her, but apparently realizes it's you since she just keeps looking.\n\nYup, much as you suspected, she's peeping on a couple of people that snuck off from the party... oho, to judge from the fact that she's wearing a ring, looks like a married woman and a boy who's probably one of the twins' friends. The sundress-clad woman's tits have been freed of the sundress and are bouncing and wobbling as she rides him, the boy's hands on her hips keeping the skirt lifted and, coincidentally, preserving the view of her ass to the two of you, as well as a bit of the sight of his balls slapping against her and his eager young prick disappearing into her mature pussy.\n\nGrinning, you silently reach out and slide a hand up Tassita's thigh until you can cup her damp pussy, gently rubbing it before sliding two fingers inside, slowly working them in and out. She squirms, briefly glancing aside at you and poking her tongue out with an impish grin, before looking back at the couple. The two of you watch their half-frenzied little tryst until, probably as expected, the boy thrusts up and cums inside her, the woman mewling softly and clapping a hand across her mouth to muffle any further outburst. Slipping your fingers out of Tassita, you draw away and head back to the house, with her falling into step beside you.\n\nOnce you're inside, she speaks up, though the two of you continue towards your room. "Well happy birthday for sure, I guess," she declares with a bit of a laugh, eyes twinkling as you lift your fingers and rather blatantly slip them into your mouth.\n\n"Why thank you," you chirp in reply, before turning and closing your door once the two of you are alone. You look at her... or rather over one of her shoulders. "You wanna relax?"\n\n"Guess so." Shrugging a bit, Tassita gives her fingers a slightly peculiar flick. There's a faint shimmer in the air before a mostly spherical white object with a large black lens on the front appears hovering just above and behind her. At the same time Tassita's eyes start glowing with their own internal light, which illuminates some of the circuitry and sliding pieces set in them. "Chat~, you remember Riley, right?"\n\n"Hey Chat," you say a bit, well, wryly, waving at the drone. "Enjoy the party?"\n\nBeing from a family used to the odd side of life has resulted in you making some equally odd friends, and not all of them are of the magical persuasion. Tassita, in fact, is a livestreamer from another dimension, a high-tech world where it's not that unusual for someone to be able to stream not only video and audio, but in Tassita's case all her senses to numerous people all across the multiverse. (Tassita's never told you her exact numbers, but apparently with so many dimensions to draw off of she usually gets minimum six figure viewership pretty regularly.) The drone streams video and audio to the free audience, but the subscribers can elect to actually plug themselves in and experience all five of Tassita's senses as she gallivants around the multiverse doing interesting things. Kind of makes you flattered she considered your birthday/graduation party worth streaming, though you guess there's an audience for that sort of 'everyday fun' stuff too.\n\nTassita's eyes shift briefly to the side before she focuses on you and grins. "They did, and they're saying 'happy birthday' too. Well, most of them, a lot of them are also asking when you're gonna get naked." She pauses and rolls her eyes just slightly, obviously not wanting to cause too much disruption to the sense-stream. "And of course there's a couple of thousand asking to see your feet."\n\n"Anything for your public," you snort, sitting down on the side of your bed to slip your combat boots off and raising your stocking-clad feet a bit towards the drone, wiggling your toes. "Happy?"\n\n"Oh don't encourage them," Tassita snorts, though there's a little twitch the corner of her mouth does when she's getting donations. "Althoooough, I guess they're right about one thing," she says, her grin growing even more wicked as she reaches up and pulls off that tight shirt, her large tits falling free and wobbling as she shakes it off of her braid. "How about we make some content?"\n\n<hr>\n[[Sure~!|Riley1x5]]\n\n[[Do we have to in front of Chat?|Riley]]

"Welllll, you talked me into it," you reply with a grin, pulling your own shirt off to bare your slender chest as Tassita undoes her skirt and lets it drop, showing that her pussy is considerably more wet than it was a few minutes ago just watching the pair outside, little trickles of arousal gradually making their way down towards the top of her stockings.\n\nStill with that wicked grin, she settles down to her knees in front of you, slowly and deliberately undoing your jeans. "Now let's seeeee, what sort of panties do you think cutie Riley is wearing today, Chat?" she murmurs, eyes turned a bit to one side again as she lingers with her fingers holding the zipper. "I'm seeing a lot of 'black thong', some 'purple', a few 'green'... wow, to the viewer that said 'boxers', if you're right you can be my next viewer guest!" she snickers. Glancing back up at you, she winks, then pulls down your zipper slowly, your partly erect cock bulging the fabric outward as she frees it from its snug prison. "Aaaand 'purple' is the winner! Sorry, boxers, but keep entering those contests!"\n\nYou sit there torn between amusement and exasperation even as you lift your hips to let her pull your jeans down, slipping them off of you and leaving you in just the purple G-string, your striped fingerless sleeve-gloves, and the matching striped stockings. The near-equally naked Tassita leans her head in, briefly closing her eyes as she presses her face up against the snug satin-covered bulge of your prick, rubbing her nose into the fabric as she inhales deeply. You can't help but wonder if she's doing that for the sake of the sense-stream, to help along her persona as a dirty girl who loves things like the smell of cocks, or the actuality of being a dirty girl who loves the smell of cocks. Probably a mixture of all three, if you had to guess, you think with a delighted shiver as she drags her tongue along your prick through the satin.\n\nAfter a bit more kissing, licking, and sucking you through your cock through your panties, Tassita pulls them down in front, your shaft springing free. You're definitely not on the small side despite your femboy looks... certainly big enough that Tassita makes a small, reflexive sound of appreciation and desire as she frees you. She leans her head in brush her lips against and roll her tongue over the shaft as she pulls your panties down and off, delivering more little sucks all across it before ducking her head. Her mouth goes to work on your balls, wide, rolling strokes of her tongue not only designed to pleasure you but provide the most sensory feedback for her viewers that are jacked into her nervous system.\n\nSoon though she draws back, staring for a few long moments at your cock before leaning forward and sliding her mouth over the head, starting to slowly, gently bob up and down. Those glowing eyes, cameras to a hundred other worlds, alternate between angling downward, watching your cock as it gradually disappears into her mouth, or upward to meet your own eyes. You stroke a hand over her hair, amidst the pleasure of her very experienced and very attentive blowjob wondering just how many people are currently tasting your cock and feeling it bulge their throats out. A million? Two? More?\n\n'Definitely one of the really interesting parts about hanging out with Tass,' you think a bit hazily, unable to help briefly glancing at the drone as it drifts around, streaming the sight and sounds of the blowjob to even larger numbers of people.\n\nTassita continues to suck you off slowly, and sweetly, obviously wanting to draw things out... after all, most of the stream of your party was probably pretty normal, with the earlier voyeurism and now this as the truly 'exciting' parts. But apparently she doesn't want to go all the way like that, since as she feels you start to throb and tremble she draws her head up, slipping her mouth off of you. Rising to her feet, huge tits wobbling as she does, she gives you that trademark (probably literally) grin of hers before giving you a little half-shove half-nudge-around to push you onto your back full-length on the bed. Crawling over you, she spends a few moments straddling your head, giving you a full and unimpeded view up her body, before she settles her pussy right onto your mouth.\n\n'Happy to,' you think with a snicker, resting your hands on her ass and giving it a squeeze as you start working your tongue around it, feeling her plump pussylips slide under it and work against your lips, already feeling her wetness smear all over your lower face. All the same you give her ass a good smack, because you want to, but also you know that both she and Chat will like it. Her hips certainly buck amidst grinding gently down against your mouth, before settling again to mostly rock gently back and forth, gently riding your tongue as it slides across and inside her. You continue to squeeze and rub her ass, even occasionally giving it another slap as you eat it out, trying to ignore the just-barely-audible hum of the drone as it circles, no doubt alternately getting shots of Tass's tits shaking and of your cock jutting up in the air.\n\nYou're fairly certain that your sucking of those fat lower lips and your tonguing of her clit and working inside her gives both your friend and however many other people are sharing her senses at least two orgasms before she lifts up and slides back. Those massive mammaries briefly almost engulf your head as she reaches back, glow-painted nails very gently brushing against the skin of your cock as she angles it. Then she slides herself down onto you, engulfing you in that hot wetness you've been tasting so recently.\n\nStraightening up, Tass starts riding you with all the skill of a high-class prostitute and all the showmanship of a world famous porn star, every motion of her hips and arch of her back designed not only to bring you and herself pleasure but to show off for the ever-present camera gazing at the two of you. You grip her waist, taking at least a little control in all this as you start to thrust up into her, fucking her and those millions of cybernetic voyeurs harder, putting the not inconsiderable skill and power in all your sleek femboy body into fucking her, making Tassita squeal and toss her head, the tuft at the end of her braid brushing against your balls a few times. Certainly the camera drone seems to have decided that all the extra bouncing you're making her tits do is worthy of staying on that side for the moment, though you're honestly a little disappointed it's not catching how her ass is no doubt jiggling right now too.\n\n'Really gotta get her to give me a membership so I can watch the VOD,' you think with a smirk as you make her cum again, her hips bucking as her pussy squeezes tightly around you.\n\nTowards the end, apparently sensing you're close as well, Tassita lifts off of you and slides off the bed, pulling you to your feet. She sucks at the tip of your prick as she strokes you off quickly, then draws her head back, making soft 'ahhhh~' sounds of pleasure and contentment as your load starts spattering all over her tits, thick streamers of white cream hitting her equally creamy skin and spreading out through the glistening sweat.\n\nOnce it seems there's no more left, she slides her mouth forward and sucks the last drips from the tip of your cock. Then she turns slightly as the drone floats down towards her, looking at it and giving it a victory sign with one hand while the other's still holding your cock, winking as she says, "Okay, guys, that's the stream! Catch you later, same Tass time, same Tass channel!"\n\nThen with another little flick of her fingers, the red light glowing on one corner of the drone goes out, and it floats over to rest on your bedside table, going silent. At the same time her eyes cease their glow as she stands up and leans in to hug you, clearly knowing you won't be bothered by her tits pressing against you (and therefore smearing her cum all over you). "Hey, seriously, happy birthday," she says warmly.\n\n"Well thanks," you say with a blink, somewhat surprised even as you put your arms around her middle. As she steps back a bit, you add, "You know, I think this is the first time we've ever been actually alone together."\n\n"I know, right?" she says with a snicker. "It's just almost intimate, huh?" she adds cheekily as she draws away, giving her bare hips a little jut before bending down to retrieve something from her skirt.\n\n"Almost," you say wryly as you sit down on the side of the bed again and lean back on your hands, watching her as she unfolds something that looks like a moist towelette the size of a hand towel and starts wiping herself down.\n\n"I did get you a gift, by the way, down with the other stuff. Besides the one I just gave you, if that counts," she adds with another snicker. Then she turns towards you, resting a fist on her hip as she gestures with the other. "Though I did seriously want to talk to you about something."\n\n"You? Serious?" you tease.\n\nShe pokes her tongue out at you again, then grins and continues. "I want you to come back to Korina with me."\n\n"Uh." That's put you thoroughly on the off foot now. "What?"\n\n"Yeah! I want you to join my team! One of the suggestions that's been made is that I have a co-streamer sometimes, and you'd be great for that, my audience loves you! Plus the whole 'magic' thing would be a great way to get some content. You could eventually build up an audience of your own and start doing stuff solo too, if you wanted." She shrugs a little. "Or if you didn't want to be on-stream so much, I do need another manager. Help me come up with ideas, get various stuff arranged, manage content, stuff like that. Either way you could stay with me, I've got a spare room."\n\n"... Huh," you murmur, just turning that thought over in your head. But since you are thinking of it, you add, "Any other positions on the team?"\n\n"Um. Well," Tass murmurs, actually blushing as she glances aside and brushes a fingertip against her cheek. "Could always try out the position of 'boyfriend'. That one's open."\n\nYou actually blush a little too. "Really now?"\n\n"I mean, y'know... could try it, just if you want! I mean I've still got..." She gestures in the vague direction of the drone. "So that could be weird, I know, no blame if you don't wanna try to work that out." Then her expression grows more serious. "Although look, I genuinely think that you should just come back to Korina with me, even if you don't want to join my team. You can still stay with me however long you want, I'm sure there's lots of opportunities for someone as smart and talented as you there."\n\n"... Why?" you ask, honestly curious.\n\nAddi shrugs again, this time enough to make her bare breasts wobble. "I just think it'd be better for you." She walks over to sit down beside you on the bed, draping an arm around your middle. "I mean, Earth is nice, sure... to visit. It's got fun stuff, it's a bit more lowkey than a lot of other places... but at the end of the day it's kind of a backwater. You're my friend, I don't want you to be stuck here where you can't reach your potential."\n\nYou never really considered that you might, well, leave Earth after high school and move to another planet. Another dimension, even. Tassita is hardly your only acquaintance who's far from normal, but she is the only one effectively from outer space, and now she's offering to take you with her. ... Well, presumably not this minute, you doubt she's suggesting spiriting you away without saying goodbye to your family like a fae, but still.\n\nShould you?\n\n<hr>\n[[Become her co-streamer.|Riley1x6]]\n\n[[Become her manager.|Riley]]\n\n[[Become her boyfriend.|Riley]]\n\n[[Become her roommate.|Riley4x1]]\n\n[[Turn her down.|Riley]]

"Y'know what? Screw it. I'll give being a livestreamer like you a try," you say with a grin. "Seems like fun. I mean, you're always having fun, so."\n\n"I am always having fun," Tass agrees cheerfully, glancing upwards as if having had a great revelation. She bends down again, this time starting to collect her clothes. "So I'll head home, and then be back in a week to pick you up. That should be time enough for you to arrange everything, right?"\n\n"Yeah. My parents are used to weird shit, doubt this'll even be a blip on their radar," you answer dryly. \n\nAdmittedly, explaining that you're moving away not just to college, but leaving the planet to become an interdimensional livestreamer, doooes still take some explaining. But in the end they agree that it's your life and your decision. You tell your friends that you'll be moving away with... varying levels of the truth... but it's not like you won't be able to come back practically whenever you want (Tassita does), so you don't sweat it too much. Soon everything's packed up, and a week after she disappeared from your room with a little fwop, a portal in considerably more shades of gray than fifty appears and she steps out, grinning. "You ready?"\n\n"Yup," you answer breezily, gesturing to the boxes stacked up nearby.\n\n"Okay, I'll go ahead and send those back to the apartmeeent," she murmurs, taking out a number of little disks and starting to attach them to the boxes, pressing a button on each one to fwop it away. "Soon we'll get you set up with some hopping gear like mine, but for now you'll just have to make sure and stick close to me."\n\n"Ooo, horrors," you snicker as she snags you and draws you close, practically urging you to lean your head on the side of her breast.\n\n"Heheh. Okay, here we goooo!" Fwop.\n\nAnd just like that, you're standing on an alien planet. Well, it was apparently settled by humans a long, long time ago in this dimension, but you're pretty sure it still counts. You're actually disoriented and a little flabbergasted as you're suddenly subjected to the sounds of traffic, although with a number of low buzzes and thrums rather than the usual sound of motors and tires, and the chatter of people. You look around at the sparkly buildings that all look like they were build a year or two ago at most, towering above in architectural splendor. "Uh, this is... not your apartment?" you observe.\n\n"Nah! I figured we'd go right to the cyberclinic, it's super easy to get a walk-in this time of day," Tass chirps, snagging your arm and urging you along towards the entrance of the building you're standing in front of.\n\n... Oh, yeah, right. Somehow it escaped your thoughts... or maybe you were just avoiding thinking about it or else you might chicken out... but becoming a streamer like Tassita means including the option to let the viewers watch and experience from your POV. Which means getting cybernetic eyes, and a handful of other augmentations like Addi has. ........ Eh, whatever. S'fine! It's a little weird but you'd already started psyching yourself up to get used to this whole thing, this is just another aspect of it.\n\nSoon you're standing on the sidewalk again, making slightly funny faces as you wink and work your eyelids around. "Nothing looks different."\n\n"That's because you haven't set up your UI or anything, you can do that at home," Tass assures you as the rideshare she ordered arrives. Which is entirely familiar, somehow, even if the rideshare car hovers and has a holoscreen in back displaying ads. "We'll do our first stream together in a few days, you'll have plenty of time to figure everything out before then!"\n\nYou watch the city as it cruises by outside at a much faster pace than you'd expect from city traffic... but then you notice the driver is basically just sitting there like the two of you are, the cars must be mostly automatic. (So the driver counts as, what, a third-party safety feature?) It's a lot of white metal and rock and black glass... somehow everything looks sort of like it was designed by the same team that did the PS5. Soon the driver pulls into a parking structure and the two of you get out, heading into an elevator.\n\n"I've basically got half the fiftieth floor to myself," Tassita brags with a grin, glancing over at you.\n\n"Wow, being an interdimensional livestreamer pays that well?" you ask, raising your eyebrows. \n\n"I mean even if every one of my viewers donated the equivalent of a dollar, I'd be making anywhere from millions to hundreds of millions per stream," she says with a shrug. "And while the majority of my viewers don't donate anything per stream, the ones who do tend to donate way more than a dollar, so."\n\nYou let out a whistle. Yeah, you guess that makes sense. ... Dang, you could definitely "get on your feet" pretty quickly even if she doesn't do a fifty-fifty split with you. The elevator opens into what looks more like a mansion's main living room than an apartment's, with a lot of sprawling open space with hardwood floors. "You gotta have space like this for when you do streams inside the home," Tass notes as she strolls out of the elevator. "But this building basically caters to livestreamers like me, they have everything! Arts and crafts room, storage, hot tub, pool, you name it, it's got it! Your room's right across from mine, and-"\n\n"That you, babe?" a deep voice calls, cutting off whatever she was about to add. To go with it, a figure wearing loose black lounge pants and not anything else comes moseying down the hall, leaving you to stare.\n\nThat's, uh... that's a tiger-man. Like a big dude that's covered in fur and has features that look a lot like... well... a tiger. He's a deep blue color instead of orange, and his stripes are red, but yeah, that's absolutely a real-life anthro. A very tall, buff anthro, and those lounge pants aren't doing much to hide the swinging bulge at the front of his crotch.\n\n"Hey babe!" Tassita chirps, raising a hand in greeting, then leaning up a bit to kiss him on the cheek. "This is Riley, y'know, the one I told you was gonna be moving in and doing streams with me from now on? Riley, this is Slayd, my boyfriend!"\n\n"Oh yeah, sure, hey man," Slayd rumbles, giving you a breezy nod as if it were all the same to him. "Nice to have you around, glad Addi's got someone to help with her little streaming thing. I just finished a workout, babe, so I'm gonna hit the shower," he adds before turning and meandering back down the hall, and into one of the doors.\n\n"... Boyfriend, huh?" you note, glancing over at Tass.\n\n"Yup!" she answers cheerfully.\n\n"... Thought you said that position was vacant?" you say with a small frown. "What, that change in the last week?"\n\n"Oh I did say that," Tassita murmurs, cupping her chin, then shrugging. "No, Slayd's been my boyfriend for like two years? Three? Time kind of runs together sometimes. But he's like, my boyfriend-boyfriend, you know?" she adds, wiggling a finger in the air. "You'd kind of be like my boyfriend-girlfriend, so I was thinking of it like a different thing I guess, y'see?"\n\n"Riiiight," you murmur, shaking your head. ... Okay you guess it kind of makes sense with, like, Tassita Logic, that being distinct from actual logic in most ways. And you are pretty femmy, after all. After a moment you shrug. Just gotta roll with it and move on.\n\n<hr>\n[["So does he know about what you do on stream?"|Riley]]\n\n[["So he's okay with what you do on stream?"|Riley1x7]]\n\n[["So does he know about us?"|Riley]]\n\n[["So is he into guys?"|Riley2x1]]\n\n[["So when do we fuck?"|Riley]]

"Oh yeah, he's fine with it," Tass replies breezily. "Usually on days where I'm gonna be streaming he goes out and about but sometimes he sits in on one or whatever. He doesn't really watch them himself... or much of anything, really, he's more of a physical activity sort of guy, y'know?" she adds, waggling a finger around in the air.\n\n"I know the type yeah. And he's cool with everything else you do?"\n\n"It's an open relationship so he's cool with it, yup! Anyway, lemme show you around, familiarize you with all the rooms, and show you the sort of 'command center'! Then you can spend a few days settling in and reviewing streams and stuff to get an idea of what we might do for our first stream together! Since it's interdimensional streaming, I don't really have to give quite as much notice as other streamers," she adds with a grin. "People can tune in and watch 'live' right from the start if they want as long as it's within about seventy-two hours."\n\n"Huh, that's handy. Okay, show me around this fuckin' luxury pad then!"\n\nAnd that's pretty much how it goes. For the next several days you unpack, get used to living in a streamer's dream den (and also get used to working around Tass's schedule, so that you know to either stay in your room or be out at certain times when she's doing a stream she doesn't want interrupted), and brushing up on her various stream types and statistics so you know what to expect.\n\nAnd then the morning comes where the stream is to be done. Slayd heads out early, giving a nonchalant call of "Gym" so you guess he's just gonna... work out all day. ... Damn he's fuckin' hot tho. Ahem, anyway. You join Tass in the 'command center', which is basically just a large office with a conversation area, minibar, and a desk with a computer setup so that she can announce streams and do social media stuff. She settles in at the desk chair and you lean against the side of the desk as she says, "So! What sort of stream should we do today, hon?" she asks.\n\n<hr>\n[[Viewer gift stream.|Riley1x8]]\n\n[[Review stream.|Riley]]\n\n[[Travel stream.|Riley]]\n\n[[Hot tub stream.|Riley]]\n\n[[Lewd stream.|Riley]]

"We should do a stream of using or reviewing some viewer gifts," you reply. "Those always have a lot of engagement, so probably a good way to kind of 'introduce' me as your co-streamer."\n\n"Good idea! And we've got a few," Tass notes wryly, glancing towards the back of the office where there are a large number of boxes piled on and around a table. "And these are just the ones that have already been safety-scanned and approved by my management company."\n\n"Wow. So nothing dangerous in there, right?" you ask as the two of you get up and walk over to the pile to start examining it. It's mostly just nondescript brown cardboard boxes, the same kind that shipping companies use all the time back on Earth.\n\n"Well. No explosives, no poisons, nothing that's gonna jump right out and like latch onto our faces or anything like that," Tass replies. At your uncertain glance she shrugs. "Hey look 'dangerous' is a broad category. Sometimes you've just gotta utilize your best judgement once you find out what it is."\n\n"And you're still alive?"\n\n"Rude!" Tass pouts at you for a moment, then grins. "Anyway, pick something and let's give it a try!"\n\n<hr>\n[[That one looks like a wine shipper...|Riley]]\n\n[[This one rattles.|Riley]]\n\n[[How about that big one?|Riley1x9]]\n\n[[That is a very pink box.|Riley]]\n\n[[How about that really big tall one there?|Riley]]\n\n[[... This one's so small it almost got lost.|Riley]]

"This one right here?" Addi asks, pointing to one of the larger packages on the floor. She moves over to give it a nudge, then gives a soft 'oh' and picks it up, moving it over closer to the desk without much apparent effort. "It's way lighter than I thought, what's in here?"\n\nYou follow after her and watch as she snags a little laser box opener from the desk and cuts the tape, then opens it up and peers in... then starts snickering. "Gawd, my Chat are such perverts," she says in an amused tone as she hauls out a large, squishy-looking plastic parcel.\n\nIt takes you a moment to parse what it is... adult-size diapers. Like, not adult diapers as in plain, we're-trying-to-minimize-embarrassment style and look, but rather what looks to be a brightly-colored assortment of diapers printed with things like ponies, flowers, and cartoon characters. You raise your eyebrows as you realize. "Perverts indeed."\n\n"Package of twenty, there's another package in here... changing mat, powder, pacifiers, man they included just a ton of baby play stuff, a lot of this isn't cheap either," Tassita notes as she lifts a sized-up baby rattle and gives it a shake, still grinning. "This should be an interesting stream."\n\nThat makes you blink. "You're actually gonna do it?"\n\n"Well yeah! We said we'd do a viewer gift stream, and this is the one you picked! So obviously we'll use this stuff today!" she adds, giving the rattle another shake.\n\n<hr>\n[["So you want to get...?"|Riley]]\n\n[["So we're both going to...?"|Riley]]\n\n[["Er, wait, you mean you want me to...?"|Riley1x10]]

This section is for everything related to the G.I.P.S.E storylines.\n\n[[Characters|MercChars]]\n\n[[Organizations|MercOrgs]]\n\n[[Races|MercRaces]]

"A book very much ahead of its time," Lassiter says, though unusually for that phrase there's an undercurrent of disgust to the words. "Fiction section. M. Colchis is the author. That's under-"\n\n"Thank you very much," you cut in smoothly before turning and hurrying off. Yeah okay that was probably rude but if you had to listen to her tell you that the book was either under C or K you were going to scream. Still, that's a bit of a surprise, it's a novel? You'd assumed it was a history or philosophical treatise or something, though you suppose that the name is very fantasy-y. Still it must be old. You find it easily enough, sliding the leather-bound tome off the shelf and flipping through it a bit. The pages are in surprisingly good condition, still pale and fairly soft rather than crinkled, the ink still dark. Nice. You blink at a thought and glance around, then carry the book back to the desk. "Sorry, but since this is in with the normal fiction books, can I check it out?"\n\n"Yes," Lassiter says in a clipped tone that indicates she's just reassessed her opinion of you downward somewhat for your desire to do so. (Eh, it's fine, you kind of feel like she does that every time you check out a book, which is an odd way for a librarian to behave, but oh well.)\n\nYou sign the by now familiar sheet for checking out an older book, and of course put up with Lassiter going over the points already on the sheet aloud despite the fact that you've done this easily fifty times and never brought a book back in anything less than the exact same condition you left with it. Eventually you leave the library, the book safely tucked in a plastic sleeve and then into your bag. When you arrive, you flop down into a chair and draw it out, starting to read. After all, the alumnus mentioned it in his journal for a reason... and besides, you like to read for fun as much as anybody, you didn't acquire your nerd-glasses just reading how-to books of witchery.\n\nYou fairly quickly see what Lassiter meant by 'ahead of its time' and just why she was so disapproving, because it turns out that The Witch Princess of Avalon is... entertaining. The prose is flowing and a bit more casual, avoiding the stiffness of older literature that you'd assume were its contemporaries, and certainly lacking the copious amount of footnotes of slightly closer to contemporary literature. It's a smooth, easy read like you'd expect out of the fantasy novels of your own lifetime, and even the plot feels a bit more like one of those. Specifically the titular Witch Princess is a beautiful sorceress destined to become queen of the entire world of Avalon, and is thus kidnapped by a demon king to force her to marry one of his sons. She escapes with the help of a dragon and goes on an adventure fleeing the pursuing demon general, meeting a rather creatively odd cast of characters along the way. There's a bit of Journey to the West there, but it also reminds you in some ways of Oz, though this would predate Frank Baum by quite awhile.\n\n'What an interesting little anachronistic tale this is,' you muse, carefully tucking a bookmark into it a little over halfway through. You sort of want to finish it in one sitting, but you have to admit you might have stayed up too late last night, and you do have classes you're pretty sure won't get canceled tomorrow. Taking off your glasses and setting them aside, you only bother wiggling out of your jeans and socks before flopping into bed. A few minor mental exercises later and you're fast asleep.\n\nYou wake up on your back instead of your front, which is odd enough on its own, until you feel some extra weight shifting as you sit up. Blinking, you look down, and stare a bit. "Well. Hello, girls." Your boobs are... bigger. Like significantly bigger. Perhaps not truly insane in size, but probably twice as big as they were before. They're still covered in black cloth, but it looks a bit thinner and different. You look up and around and find you're in a large, round room with antiquated but fairly rich furnishings, a large window nearby showing a night sky starting to lighten just slightly. You do notice that among the furnishings is a full-length mirror, so you get to your feet and walk over to take a look. You still look mostly like yourself... your face is the same, your body mostly unchanged (other than the bigger chest) although you might be a bit taller. But your ears are now longer and pointed, poking out a bit to the sides from amongst your hair. You're also wearing a high-collared, sleeveless black dress that hugs tightly over your chest and midriff, and is slit and cut a bit up the sides to bare your hips, your legs sheathed in black stockings that leave your heels and toes bare, matching black fingerless gloves covering your arms and leaving your shoulders bare. Your eyes are also now a gleaming red rather than the dark grey they were before.\n\n'The... Witch Princess?' you frown at the mirror, taking another look around the room. You've done enough lucid dreaming that you're fairly sure this isn't a dream. 'Some sort of journey spell then? Alternate dimension, higher plane, pocket dimension, segmented history shard, reality marble, wonder which it is. Knowing that would tell me a lot on how to get out of it. ... Wait, if I'm in the role of the Witch Princess, then this must be the Dire Tower. And if the sun's close to rising, that must mean-'\n\nYou turn towards the sole door as you hear a loud, repetitive crack sound from outside. The door is particularly large, but not just to make it heavy enough that a prisoner of your size would have trouble moving it... when it opens, the figure coming through clearly needs quite a bit of clearance between his height and horns. He's an almost stereotypical devil, with red skin, high, black horns, black hair braided behind him, a pointed goatee, and inhumanly-shaped legs that end in gleaming black hooves. He's probably almost eight feet tall even without the horns, and wearing intimidating black fullplate armor on his upper body, though all that's covering his lower body is a long black loincloth emblazoned with unholy-looking red sigils.\n\n"Lord Thule," you murmur, half in shock. It is your first time seeing a demon in the flesh after all, let alone one you thought was fictional. (Though admittedly depending on how all this works, he still might be.) \n\n"Ah, at least you acknowledge me this day, Witch Princess." The huge demon smirks down at you as he raises a hand and turns it in an inviting gesture, the gauntlets leaving the fingerless gloves beneath bare so that his own claws are visible. "Now, I ask you, have you reconsidered my generous offer?"\n\n<hr>\n[[... No.|ValWP1x1]]\n\n[[... Yes.|ValLib2x2]]

Okay, so he might not hit your 'muscle' button as hard as the others, but the 'pretty' button is just as good. Besides, this will serve two purposes... the first being, exactly what is revealed to you in 'Coventry Tower' should tell you more about what's going on here. The second being... well, if you're going to be pushed into an arranged marriage, might as well be to another powerful practitioner. "I choose Fiel," you announce.\n\nFiel steps forward again, the small charm resting on his forehead attached to the thin chain run between the rings at the bases of his horns swinging forward a bit as he slips a hand across his chest and bows slightly. "Very well, then, Witch Princess. I accept you as my bride with all due honor," he says with smooth formality, his voice soft, smooth, and even, just faintly androgynous to go with his beautiful appearance.\n\n"Indeed, a joyous day for all!" Thule declares, though you notice he sneers a bit at the others, who are hiding their various levels of disgruntlement with various levels of success. "Now to hold the ritual of-"\n\n"I think not," Fiel says as he straightens up, face still calm even as his father starts a bit at being interrupted. "I will impregnate my wife at a time and place of our own choosing, thank you, Father," he adds, which makes you start a little bit.\n\n"Now see here, boy!" Thule snarls.\n\nBut the lean sorcerer seems unbothered as he steps in close to you, making you blush as he nonchalantly slips an arm around your middle and draws you in against his front lightly. "If you did not want me to make my own choices, Father, you should not have sought to marry me to the future Queen of Avalon. For now, the Princess and I shall bid you all a good day." With that, he raises a hand, palm turned upward, smokelike purple energy welling up from his palm and drifting down around the both of you. There's a slight flash, and you suddenly find yourself standing in a room much like the one you appeared here in, although the stone is black, and it's outfitted with more gothic-style furniture and a full study area, and a number of wrought iron fixtures over or inside of which float pale globes of luminescence.\n\n"Ah... standing up to the old man right off the bat, huh?" you comment, glancing up at him. Which might not be a very 'witch princess'-y thing to say, but that might tell you something too.\n\nNot much, though, since Fiel just quirks an eyebrow as he looks down at you. "... Indeed." After another second he steps back, robes rustling slightly as he moves. "Although, I must ask. What made you decide to choose me out of all of the others? Before today you were supposedly quite adamant about refusing to even consider my father's demand that you marry one of his sons. Suddenly you relent and within minutes of entering the room, have chosen me. So one is forced to wonder, what changed, and why me?"\n\n"Well. Basically, I decided that taking the offer was the best thing to do at the time," you answer after a moment's consideration, since it's true enough. "There were a number of reasons, but it simply made the most sense to agree to Thule's conditions."\n\n"Sensible, I suppose." Fiel tilts his head and quirks one eyebrow. "But does not answer why, out of all of them, you chose myself."\n\nHm. You have agreed to marry him... admittedly you're not entirely certain where you're going with things at this point, other than that you still need to figure it all out, but you may as well be honest about that one too.\n\n<hr>\n[[Power.|ValLib]]\n\n[[Compatibility.|ValLib]]

"I've decided that I'll at least meet with your sons to consider the offer," you declare after only a moment of thought.\n\nLord Thule looks mildly surprised, which was actually exactly what you were hoping for. Whatever spell sent you here, it was obviously trying to get you to live out the story of the Witch Princess... who, in the novel, refused to even meet the demon king's sons or consider his offer whatsoever. The sons aren't even given names or descriptions, they're just a plot device in the background of the story. If you diverge hard enough from the story at the very start, you may get more of a sense of what's happening, or even force whoever did this to come out of hiding and berate you.\n\nBut the demon's surprise is extremely fleeting, and he simply smirks again. "Excellent! Follow me then, Princess," he booms, turning back to the doorway and walking out, his hooves hitting the stone with those loud cracking noises.\n\n'Hm, okay, so he didn't balk at my departure from the story or try to railroad me back into the path where I escape,' you consider as you move to follow him down the wide spiral staircase outside. 'On the other hand he did seem pretty surprised, and if there's someone actually running the scenario they could be using all the time it will take us to walk downstairs to hastily whip up some NPCs.' Of course you're having to focus to keep your thoughts on your situation rather than other subjects... like the fact that this outfit apparently didn't come with any panties, and you can feel a little draft on your slightly damp pussy every so often. 'It's vitally important, whatever this is, that I not let him realize just how hard he presses all my fucking buttons,' you think a bit grimly, trying not to look at the huge, powerful, clawed, horned, inhuman king dressed in a mixture of armor and easy-access clothing walking down the stairs ahead of you.\n\nUnfortunately that particular issue doesn't get any better. Once Thule leads you down the stairs and along a few hallways, he pushes open another large door and gestures you inside what must be some sort of large social area to judge by the furnishings. Standing inside are a number of other red-skinned demons, and while none of them are quite as large as Thule, some come close, and even the shortest one must be six and a half feet at least. Thule moves to stand beside you, red gaze sweeping over his sons as they move slightly to stand arrayed in a proper semicircle. "Very well, Witch Princess, I will finally introduce my sons to you! Any one would make a worthy husband for you, and since I am proud of each in their way, I will allow you to choose whichever of them you care to. First off, Thalon!"\n\nThule gestures to the demon that looks almost identical to himself, differing only in being a bit shorter, younger-looking, and with purple eyes instead of red, his armor trimmed in gold and accented with a crimson cape. "Thalon is lord of Garrison Keep, the complex where my armies are raised and trained. He will one day be lord commander of all my armed forces whatever else he may be, and there are few who will be able to offer you more material power in this world or any other."\n\nHe gestures Thalon back, then beckons slightly to the one next to him, a man about seven feet tall, more slender than the others and with thinner, sleeker horns than them, wearing fairly simple robes with a handful of rings and other accessories. He's also far more on the pretty side than the others, with more human legs that are attired much as yours are, his face clean-shaven and beautiful, his expression almost grim. "But perhaps it is the power of the beyond you seek? You are the Witch Princess, after all. Fiel is the most talented with magic of all my sons, assigned to rule over Coventry Tower, the center of dark power in this world."\n\nAllowing Fiel to step back, Thule gestures forward the shortest of the demons, although he's also the broadest... his clothes are made of silk and fur, and his jewelry looks far flashier and more ostentatious than Fiel's. He's definitely heavyset, though you get the sense that his fat is still layered over muscle, since none of these men look like they'd balk at being asked to lift a car. "Vihko rules the pleasure palace of Sodomorrah. If you wish your eventual rule of the world to be filled with all conceivable Earthly delights and pleasures, then he is the one that you should choose."\n\nThe next to step forward is another tall, lean demon, though he's wearing more practical-looking clothing than the rest, his goatee close-trimmed and hair done in a short ducktail. "Kyron, my master of whispers, lord of the Deep Archives. If you wish to never be surprised, to have any possible information you wish at your fingertips, then the ever-clever... and ever-scheming," Thule adds with a bit of a sneer, Kyron simply smiling back at him placidly. "Kyron should be your choice."\n\nThe last son to step forward is of an equal height to Thalon, though his build is a bit closer to the lean side, albeit still muscular. He's wearing a long leather apron, but much of his skin is otherwise bare, showing off the winding tattoos all over it, his beard a bit more scruffy and long, his legs more resembling the classical satyr ones since they're covered in a thick layer of black fur. "Mekor, lord of the Dark Forge, where not only are our weapons and armor forged, but our magical items, and our beasts of burden and war bred. If you have a vision that can be crafted of metal or flesh, Mekor will bring it to life for you if you choose him as your husband."\n\nThule finally turns towards you, smirking. "So, Witch Princess, which will it be? Who will be your king to rule beside you?"\n\n<hr>\n[[Thalon.|ValWP]]\n\n[[Fiel.|ValLib2x3]]\n\n[[Vihko.|ValWP]]\n\n[[Kyron.|ValWP]]\n\n[[Mekor.|ValWP1X1]]\n\n[[None of them.|ValWP5x1]]\n\n[[All of them.|ValWP6x1]]\n\n[[Thule.|ValWP]]

You hesitate briefly, then shake your head. "No, sorry, still not interested in any of your sons." You're not entirely sure what's going on, but you do know one thing, and that's that you and the Witch Princess character share a desire not to be pushed around and forced into anything. You're not going to hop to and do what Thule wants just for the sake of averting the story, no matter how much you might have to gain by it.\n\n"Then mark my words well, Witch Princess!" Thule thunders, scowling down at you. "You had best find your interest before the next rising of the sun! For this is your ninety-ninth day in the Tower... on the morning of the hundredth, the spells I have worked upon it will come to maturity, and you shall be robbed of all will and mind! I would prefer you marry one of my sons of your own will, but I'll not be bested and humiliated by you, and you'll serve as nothing but a decorated member of my harem if nothing else!" With that he storms out, hooves slamming on the stone and then receding into the distance through the once more closed door.\n\nYou blink. Wait, did they mention that part in the book? ... Damn actually they did, but it was so briefly and in passing that you didn't take particular note of it at the time. All the focus was on how brave and strong the Witch Princess was for refusing to even hear Thule out in the first place, apparently the writer thought putting too much emphasis on the potential consequences she was defying detracted from that? Either way, you now have a much more pressing issue to figure out... whether to keep following along with the story as you read it, or to try and branch off from it. You nibble your thumbnail a bit as you look around the room, then eye the window. ... Right. Because that's where the story goes next. The Witch Princess... tries to kill herself by leaping to her death from the window.\n\nOf course that's not what happens. But. If you're going to keep following the story, you're still going to have to do a swan dive out the window. And fairly soon too, that whole thing is supposed to happen just as the sun crests over the horizon, and it's rising right now. So if you're going to go with the flow, you'd better hurry up and do it.\n\n<hr>\n[[Jump.|ValWP3x1]]\n\n[[Don't jump.|ValWP]]

But Kobolds don't fight without someone leading them, you suddenly remember. Not like this, organized into a careful ambush and with squad tactics that you can pick out now. They only fight like that when they have a leader, usually a non-Kobold with-\n\n'Litarii! Fall back!' you send telepathically to all three girls, seeing them twitch a bit in surprise. 'Red, Saruko, fight defensively for now! Focus on keeping them off of us!'\n\n"Wh-!" Litarii snaps, before you give a soft bark of warning and she realizes you don't want the kobolds (or anyone else) to realize you're sentient. She drops back from the other two as they step in, forehead wrinkling as she focuses. 'Why, what's going on?'\n\n'Kobolds don't fight like this unless they've got a leader, usually a spellcaster. I need you to focus your senses and find someone nearby who's channeling mana, probably a low-level continuous buff spell on the Kobolds,' you send back, growling and snarling at the few Kobolds who look like they're considering following, making them decide to join their fellows in trying to take down the biggest targets first.\n\n'Why do you need me to do it?' Litarii sends a little sulkily, raising her hands and, a bit reluctantly, closing her eyes. 'Your mana channels are at least as good as mine, you should be able to find a mon-' She cuts herself short, and because you're communicating mentally now you can feel the little shiver of shock and anger that pass through her at her sudden realization.\n\n'That's right, this close to the road, using tactics like this that would normally be perfect for highway bandits... the spellcaster's of the Mortal Races,' you send back, narrowing your own eyes. 'Not only preying on their own kind, but using lost and confused Monsters to do it. Since your mana channels are closer to a Mortal Race's you'll be able to sense them better.'\n\nSimilarly you feel a twinge of something like fury and fear at a particular bit of your wording, but Litarii apparently knows better than to let her emotions interfere with her spellwork. She pushes them down, and all you get for a few seconds is intense focus before she sends, 'There, in one of the holes, it's deeper than it looks.'\n\n'Alright, I'm going to assist you by adding a Seeking element to your spell, use something to disrupt and injure,' you tell her, extending two tentacles from your back and pressing them against the backs of her shoulders. She twitches a little, but her lips move in murmurs as her hands flick and gesture.\n\n"Elemental Needles!" Litarii cries, thrusting her hands forward and sending a barrage of inkline-thin glowing lines in a myriad of colors flitting out through the air, dancing and spiraling about each other chaotically before arcing and flying right into one of the Kobold holds, striking something that lets out a cry of pain. The Kobolds suddenly lurch and twitch, some jerking back from attacking Red and Saruko, the coordination they were operating under obviously suffering as the mage's spell falters.\n\n"FLY, FOOL LIZARDS!" you suddenly boom, channeling a bit of mana into your voice to increase its volume and bass, even the girls twitching in shock at your roaring. "Your master cannot help you now! Begone before you're slain down to the last hatchling!"\n\nBetween the sudden loss of their buff spell and your well-timed intimidation, it's no contest... the surviving Kobolds scatter, squealing like smacked pigs, for the trees across the road. Even as they're retreating, Saruko strides forward, obviously having followed the path of Litarii's spell with her eyes even in combat, and reaches into the hole, grasping something and yanking it out, another cry of pain sounding, some fine (if bloodstained) garb flapping around before it goes very still at the Golden Country girl's sword coming to rest on an exposed throat. Red, Litarii, and yourself move over to join her, all of you staring down at the human mage who's bleeding from a number of small holes scattered across his torso, none of the wounds anywhere close to fatal, but obviously painful enough and with enough mingled elemental energies to have thoroughly disrupted his mana channeling.\n\n"A human mage using kobolds to attack people on the road," Red says darkly, her face as serious and angry as you've ever seen it before. "That's low."\n\n"How does someone with the learning and intelligence necessary to become a mage just turn on the Mortal Races just for the sake of banditry?" Litarii asks with a scowl.\n\n"H-ha! Where do you get off?! You've got a monster right there helping you!" the bandit mage snaps, turning his head and spitting a bit of blood onto the ground. "Seems to me we're all the same!"\n\n"I assure you it's not the same at all," Saruko says calmly, and almost cheerfully... but the fear in the mage's eyes grows greater as he turns her head to look at her serenely smiling face, especially since she's carefully angling her sword, obviously getting ready for something. "Shido is not our master, nor is he our slave... he is our ally in a quest to assist the Mortal Races. Whatever his own goals, ours are to help people... not prey on them as you did. Oh my, even without your betrayal of the Mortal Races... banditry is a death penalty crime in my country!"\n\n"This one too," Litarii adds in a flat tone.\n\n"Guess that's it then, you should have lived a more upright life," Red says in a solemn tone, starting to turn her back.\n\n"No, wait!" the mage blurts, struggling to raise his arm defensively as Saruko raises her sword for a downward slice. "Wait!"\n\n"Please put your arm down, you don't actually want me to foul this stroke I assure you," Saruko says in a chipper tone.\n\n<hr>\n[[My my, justice is harsh even for the Mortal Races...|IrMon]]\n\n[[No, don't!|IrMon1x9]]

"Wait, don't kill him!" you call, obviously startling... well, everyone, the mage himself included.\n\n"Ah... truly, Shido?" Sakuro asks, lowering her sword slightly. "But he was abusing Monsters as well as Mortals, I assumed you would be as wroth as we."\n\n"I am, but we absolutely mustn't kill him," you assure her, as well as glancing at the other two. "He must live."\n\n"A-ah! Oh, thank you, thank you kind sir!" the bandit mage stammers, flipping over onto his front and assuming a bow of supplication. "I suppose it's true there are good Monsters after all!"\n\n"Well... if you say so, I guess, Shido," Red murmurs, brushing a gloved fingertip against her cheek.\n\n"I do," you agree solemnly. "He needs to be alive for this to work properly, you see. Oh, by the way, it will probably be a little disturbing for the three of you, so I'll ask your forgiveness for that."\n\nAll three girls blink, and the mage raises his head slightly. "Er, what? AAA!" he shrieks as you form more tentacles, wrapping them around his body and drawing him towards you. You're not sure if you gave sufficient warning for the girls to allow it or if they're just in shock as you drop your jaw and relax your throat, pushing the screaming man's head past your muzzle and into your throat's tight embrace. Normally you'd prefer to strip down your prey if possible, but still, no reason to further scandalize your comrades, you think philosophically as more and more of the squirming, flailing mage's body is pushed down your throat, his form obviously outlined through your white fur until his boots disappear into your mouth and your belly rounds out with a bulge all the way to the ground. Ah... luckily it looks like all of his gear, even his clothes were enchanted, you think as you can feel them dissolving inside you even as he thrashes and squirms all the while. Spellcasters have developed their mana channels to the point that they're very easy to absorb... it's really less like he's digesting and more that he's shrinking away until there's nothing left, which takes no more than a few minutes.\n\nIt takes at least that long for the girls to recover from staring with their mouths open. "Wha-... wha-... wha-..." Red stammers.\n\n"WHAT WAS THAT?!" Litarii manages to blurt in her place.\n\n"Oh my," Saruko murmurs, putting a hand over her mouth as if finally realizing it's agape.\n\n"One of those special abilities I was born with is the ability to absorb the knowledge, abilities, and even form of what I devour," you explain in a calm tone as you take a seat, tail wagging a bit. "But for it to work fully and for me to get everything, I have to do it while the being is alive. I assure you, other than being rather scary, it's no more painful or torturous than being beheaded," you add. Actually, the process is intensely arousing for most beings... you try not to smirk as you remember the feeling of the mage's hard, constantly spurting cock rubbing against the inside of your belly as he was absorbed. But again, no real need to tell them that.\n\n"O-oh. ... You, uh..." Red squirms in a worried way. "You don't, uh, eat their souls or anything, do you, Shido?"\n\nThat makes you blink... then you give a short bark of laughter. "Ah, no no. Actual souls are almost impossible to trap or do anything to! Most of what magical knowledge knows as the 'soul' is just the body's intrinsic mana energy... it does have memories, knowledge, and skills imprinted in it, but the 'soul' is a more ephemeral thing that departs when the being is considered dead, going to Majestra's domain for judgement if it's a Mortal Race, and to the Dark if it's a Monster." At Litarii's jaw having gone slightly slackened again, you dog-shrug again. "I studied. In case you were curious, that particular mage was the son of a noble house that collapsed when it was found they were trying to blackmail one of the Hero's Companions in the midst of their campaign against me. He turned to banditry within two days and was treating the Kobolds like slaves after he found them and impressed them into his service."\n\n"... Mm. Then I don't think we need shed any tears for his demise, however unusual the manner," Saruko declares after a moment, the other two nodding slowly in assent. She finishes wiping her blade with a silk cloth and resheathes it, before she blinks. "Wait, you said that you could take the forms of the beings that you had devoured in such a way. Shido, does that mean...?"\n\n"Yes, that would probably make our journey a little easier in a lot of ways," you muse aloud, before changing your body.\n\nYou make sure to manifest clothing and equipment on yourself as you do, since the girls have already had a few shocks today, seeing your human form naked isn't another one they need. You do at least alter the gaudy purple, red, and bright blues of the clothes, turning the hooded longcoat white with black trim and lining, the cloth drapes from either lapel a dark blue, and the shirt and pants black. Most of the gold ornamentation you leave be, though you replace the bad fake of an amethyst in the chevron on the chest of the shirt with an actual mana crystal, and change the poor gold plating atop the thighboots to white enamel. Best to change up the rest of the features a little too, the face a bit less long and a bit more sleek... you do like to be pretty, after all. Your hair and eyes wind up white and silver, of course, so you grow the hair long enough that you can wrap a strip of cloth around it and make a ponytail, the rest left loose in what you hope is a 'rakishly disheveled' look. \n\n<img src="images/IrethMale1.jpg">\n\n"There we are," you declare, gesturing with one black-gloved hand. "Shido the arcanist, at your service. Obviously just a normal adventurer," you add with a chuckle, having kept your low, smooth voice and simply dropped the slightly bestial rumble. Then you blink as you notice Saruko and Red staring at you. "Something wrong? Did I get the face messed up when I changed it?"\n\n"NO!" they both blurt, before Red quickly clears her throat. "You, uh, you look fi-, I mean go-, I mean there's definitely nothing wrong!"\n\nLitarii, meanwhile, sighs heavily as she folds her arms over her perky chest. "Why an arcanist?"\n\n"Haha, I don't mean to step on your toes, Liti, it's just the best way to explain the versatility of my magic," you assure her with a light laugh. It's only after you've said it that you realize you used Red's nickname for her, and brace for a bit of a huff.\n\nInstead her cheeks darken slightly, before she clears her throat. "That makes sense. Anyway, this is a lot better than you staying a dog, so let's just go with it."\n\n"Ah, Shido, one thing?" Red makes a sheepish face as she puts her hands together in plea. "Um, just... no more eating people, okay? I mean, it's okay this time, considering, but uh... let's just not, okay? ... Um, crossroads are this way, right?" she says, pointing and waiting for your amused nod before she turns.\n\n"I don't mind if you eat the really bad ones though," Litarii mutters, before blushing a bit again as she apparently realizes she said it out loud. But Saruko only gives her a grin, the twinkle in her eyes saying she doesn't really disagree before she turns and follows after Red.\n\n... Hm. Maybe some adventurers... are actually kind of interesting. Or even... not that bad.\n\nThough they do seem just a little nervous for the rest of the day, things seem largely back to normal by the time you stop to make camp that night, or at least as normal as they can be with you going from quadruped to biped. "Oh, you know, I never really thought about it, but we should get you a tent or something too, Shido," Red says, looking embarrassed as she unhooks her tent roll from her pack. "I guess I never thought about it before because I just got used to you sleeping outside like a dog, I'm sorry."\n\n"It's fine. I don't actually sleep, normally, and the weather's been pleasant," you assure her. "Actually with that mage's knowledge and abilities added to what else I've gathered so far, we won't need the tents anymore. Give me a few moments." You turn and begin to gesture, murmuring quietly as the others watch curiously... Litarii far more intently than the other two. Blades of grass gradually grow, lengthening and widening, then taking on the appearance of wooden planks, even as stones rise from the ground and move through the air, starting to bulge and shift and take on the appearance of metal objects. Other grass blades weave themselves together like cloth, and all of it soon comes together in the form of a small cabin on short, raised legs, complete with chimney from which a little plume of smoke starts to rise.\n\n"Aaaaa! Instant Cottage!" Litarii shrieks, rushing forward to grab the front of your coat. "You can cast that spontaneously?!"\n\nYou grin, resisting the sudden inexplicable urge to rub her head. "Well, the item form has to come from somewhere. This version of the spell is actually a little less intensive to cast, since it will only last for about twelve hours... it would be less expensive if I didn't have to transmute the local materials, but even then it shouldn't be a bother to cast this every night, unless something happens during the day that makes me use up a lot of mana."\n\n"I wanna learn it!"\n\n"Yes, yes, of course."\n\nSaruko and Red are both giggling now, causing Litarii to flush in embarrassment as she realizes how excited she got. She walks a little stiffly into the house, the other two following her with big grins. The interior is composed of a single large main room with several comfortable chairs gathered around the hearth, which is equipped for cooking and already has a fire flickering away inside it. There are three doors on one wall and a single one on another. "Bedrooms, and a bathing area with functioning accoutrements," you add with a gesture. "Like I said, I studied. I imagine it's not as 'homey' as an authentic human-built one, but comfortable enough for the road?"\n\n"It's quite nice," Saruko assures you with sincerity, though more and more you're becoming sure she's someone who's accustomed to the interior of a palace. But then she blinks. "Only... three bedrooms?" she asks, with a positively pregnant pause in the middle.\n\n"Like I said, I don't really need to sleep, so I'll just sit out here."\n\nYou can't help but think that both Red and Saruko look a little disappointed, for some reason. Litarii, for her part, seems to be examining things trying to determine if there are any imperfections in the transmutation. Either way, eventually dinner is made and eaten, and the girls retire one by one to bathe and then into their new bedrooms. Litarii gives you a deeply grateful look as she emerges from the bathroom on the way to her bedroom, though you can't help but notice that the ones the other two give you look a bit more... meaningful. ... Well, surely you're imagining it. After all, you're the Maou and seeking to reclaim your throne... what Mortal Race girl, let alone an adventurer, would look at you with what seems to be desire without some sort of manipulation or coercion on your part?\n\nIt takes several more days and a few more bandit ambushes (although all human ones this time) for the four of you to arrive at the crossroads. That night in the cabin all of you settle into the chairs and Red says, "So we really need to decide, right?"\n\n"Mm. We have three primary options, as I recall," Saruko muses aloud as she sips from a mug she apparently never brought out when all of you were roughing it, for fear it might get damaged if you were attacked in the night. "To seek a cache of equipment Shido hid while he was the Maou, to seek the help of one or more of his generals, or to declare our intent to some influential member of the Mortal Races and seek their aid."\n\n"I don't think any of that's changed," you agree, resting your chin on your fist.\n\n"I think going after the equipment is the best option," Litarii pipes up. "There's no way anyone but us would ever believe this story, and who knows what some generals who only obeyed the Maou would do now? I don't think we can count on anyone but ourselves to do this."\n\n"Mmm, but it's never a good idea to turn away even the potential of strong allies," Saruko replies, glancing at the Miuxid thoughtfully. "A single dried reed snaps easily, but the more of them that are bound together the harder they are to break. In this case, we would certainly be adding some stronger reeds to the core of our bundle."\n\n"I still think we should ask for help openly from the Mortal Races," Red insists. "I'm sure no one wants the continent to have to go through the Fallout! I don't believe those in power don't care, maybe they were just like me and didn't know! And the sooner they know, the sooner something can be done about it."\n\n"It sounds like all three of us have different opinions," Saruko allows after a moment, before looking at you. "It is up to you to be the tiebreaker, Shido-len. Which path shall we take?"\n\nYou purse your lips a little. Obviously your immediate reaction is to do anything but go to the Mortal Races for help... but you make yourself consider it objectively. The sooner the Mortal Races understand their peril, the less of a hindrance they're likely to be to your plans, even if they don't wind up being a huge help. So in spite of your distaste or distrust, it has its merits. All three plans do... getting even one of your generals back at your side would be an immense help. But you've also seen an incredible amount of potential in these three, you have to admit. It's entirely possible that with the artifact-level gear you hid away in that low-level dungeon, these three alone would be enough to help you make your way back into the heart of your territory and put on a sufficient show of force to establish yourself as Maou again.\n\nSo what to do?\n\n<hr>\n[[Retrieve the cache.|IrMon1x10]]\n\n[[Seek out a general.|IrMon]]\n\n[[Ally with the Mortal Races.|IrMon7x1]]

"Why that one?" Arthur asks as he glances over and sees you unfolding a pamphlet that advertises itself as having all the local major attractions, including historical points of interest.\n\n"'Major Attractions' are usually the stuff that gets a steady stream of traffic all year long," you explain as you trace through the map to find your current location, as judged by the names of some of the streets and hotels you passed. "But two months ago when this happened it would have been in the summer, and on most planets that's when you see a lot of vacationers. Means there's going to be a large concentration of mutants in some places, assuming they haven't all entirely dispersed and-"\n\nYou stop, staring at where your finger is marking close to your current position. Or rather, to one side of it, at a little pointer with an enlarged graphic showing its attraction. Then your eyes slide over to the other side, almost the exact same distance away, at a different marker.\n\n"What? What is it?" Arthur asked, his tone concerned.\n\n"We need to go.'\n\n"Er, go w-"\n\n"Back to the LZ let's go let's go!" you snap, rushing back out the door with him scrambling to catch up.\n\nThe two of you cover the distance back in about half the time, since you're moving as fast as you can while still staying nominally hidden. You're not even thinking about the fact that with Arthur trailing further behind and you crouched down, you're showing off your ass the entire time. Instead you get back up to the roof of the parking structure and jab the control on your watch to initiate a comm channel.\n\n"This is Reclamation Central Command."\n\n"Get us the fuck out of here!" you snap back immediately, Arthur staring at you in shock.\n\nThat seems to have shocked the person on the other end of the line a bit too, since there's no immediate reply. Then, "You're scheduled for a two week rotation in the zone."\n\n"Do you know where you established LZ One Beta?" you growl back. "You put it almost exactly halfway between the zoo and the stockyards! They're both less than five miles away!"\n\nAnother long pause. Then the voice says, in a just slightly strained tone, "One moment, please."\n\n"Uh. That's... bad," Arthur says, grimacing. "Isn't it?"\n\n"Considering they said the animals were the only ones getting stable mutations and that they were starting to display tool use and organizational qualities? Yeah, it's a little bad," you say flatly.\n\nIt's another minute or so before the comm clicks back on. This time it's the voice of the general that gave the briefing. "Your request for extraction is denied," he says bluntly.\n\n"Hey, c'mon, this is insane! You dumped me and one other guy in what's gotta be the most dangerous area in this city!" you snap back. "Not only was the human population gonna be dense, probably ninety percent of the large animals in the city are within ten miles of me right now! You could at least send reinforcements!"\n\nThere's a shorter pause. Then the general says, "We'll take that under advisement. Until then you would be best served by preparing the landing zone for such an operation," he says before closing the line.\n\n"Motherfucker!" you howl, stomping a foot as Arther flinches.\n\n"What, what is it?!"\n\n"It's the 'you're fucked' dialect of militarese, means he won't send us any backup, especially of his own people, until we can render the area safer for them to come in. Slightly bad case scenario, he'll want it safe enough that some sort of forward base can be established. Worst case scenario, he'll rate it as too dangerous to even pick us up and leave our asses out here at the end of the two weeks."\n\n"... Shit," Arthur declares almost philosophically.\n\n"Yeah." You sigh, then scowl a bit regretfully, glancing around to see if your little tantrum has attracted any mutant attention. You don't immediately see anything, so turn a bit inward, brooding on your next step.\n\nApparently the same thing is on Arthur's mind, since he gives you a minute and then asks, "So what do we do?"\n\n<hr>\n[["We find somewhere to lay low."|ChiMut]]\n\n[["We get out of here."|ChiMut]]\n\n[["We tackle the problem."|ChiMut]]\n\n[["We hope none of them notices us."|ChiMut]]

You're moving before you've even thought about it, and it's not 'away'... instead your burst of speed carries you forward and then into the air, a powerful leap that lets you score your sharp fangs along the troll's side, just below his armpit where the grazing cut can go fairly deep and cause a burst of pain even his small brain can feel. The troll yowls, his upraised arms sagging to one side and club going loose in his hands even as you land and whirl, sinking your teeth into the back of his foot behind his ankle and yanking. The pain and the injury cause the beast to drop to one knee heavily, off-kilter and off-balance, allowing even the impaired Red to give a loud "HYA!" and thrust her longer knife up and below that massive jaw, through the top of his mouth and luckily managing to hit a target as small as his brain from the way he quivers and sags, starting to go limp.\n\nWhile Red is struggling not to let the troll fall on her, you hear an impact and a cry from the side, turning in time to see Saruko's sword go spinning through the air and land point-down in the ground a good distance away. The sword artisan herself has fallen back onto her rear, obviously dazed and just managing to raise a hand as the troll brings up his club, clearly intending to swing it down on her head... if she survives, she won't like it. You take a moment to assess the situation... Red is barely on her feet struggling with the troll's body trying to fall on her, and Litarii is mostly desperately avoiding hers, neither of them can do anything for Saruko. Even if you attack the troll with your natural weapons, the best you can do is wound and distract it... without her weapon, Saruko won't be able to help you take it out like Red did, and there's no time to get to it before he brings that club down.\n\nUnless... you use your tentacles. You've been aware of being able to sprout them again for some time, but obviously haven't wanted to blow your cover. At most all you've done with this is play to the trope of the loyal dog who would fight a monster to protect his beloved owner... if the tentacles come out, they'll know you're actually a monster.\n\nOddly, the decision to let Saruko die to maintain your cover is not as easy as it should be for you, but you still need to make it, and fast!\n\n<hr>\n[[Keep your cover.|IrMon]]\n\n[[Save Saruko.|IrMon1x3]]

'What in the name of myself am I doing?' you think with a groan as you dart in the general direction of Saruko's sword, a pair of long white tentacles sprouting from your back, one of them snapping out, piercing through the air like a fired arrow until it snaps to the side and wraps around the handle of the weapon. You throw your upper body hard in the direction of the two combatants even as you yank the tentacle back, the sword coming free and whistling through the air until you release it. It whirls into a spin and hits the back of the troll's club with enough force both for an inch of the blade to emerge from the opposite side and to knock the wooden weapon out of the monster's hands and send it dropping to the ground beside Saruko, who hastily grabs the handle herself.\n\n"[Cut Only Flesh!]" she cries in her own language, clearly putting every bit of energy she has left into both the Weapon Technique and throwing herself forward off the ground and towards the troll. Her blade glitters, parts of it turning translucent as it slides free of the club as if the wood wasn't there, her less-than-elegant slash still managing to carry across the troll's chest, parting skin and muscle but passing through the ribs without touching them. The troll had already started to jerk back at the loss of his weapon and the attack, but having his heart split semi-neatly in two puts him down thoroughly, dropping him onto his back with legs crumpled beneath him. Saruko herself just barely manages to redirect herself to fall onto her back nearby, laying splayed and clearly barely conscious.\n\nYou turn your attention to the last of the band, Litarii. Apparently having shaken off more of the Heaviness spell enough to dodge and avoid the troll's attacks, it's clear from the rapidly-healing wounds on the troll's body that she doesn't have any spells left capable of actually hurting it, let alone killing it. She's simply dodging for her life now, her evasions having taken her and her opponent well away from the other two, and even as you watch she yelps as she trips over a rock hidden in the grass and falls onto her back, fully prone, purple eyes widening as the troll readies his club. Damn, this is like Saruko's situation but far worse... there's no way you can toss the arcanist an extra spell to cast, after all. A glance at Red shows she's gotten away from the troll corpse weighing her down, and has clearly seen Litarii's situation. She's brought her smaller knife around to grip it by the blade, clearly intending to throw it, but by the haunted look in her pretty blue eyes you can tell that she knows that her chances of hitting the troll in her current state are small, and that even if she does the best she can do is distract it for a moment.\n\n... You could do it... you could put what energy you've earned into your Ability Tree, the Magic branch. Even at first level, the Arcane Blast you'll earn would be enough to kill the troll. But that wouldn't just be revealing you're a monster... it would be revealing that you're an intelligent monster. While Saruko might mistake the Arcane Blast for a simple monster ability, you've little doubt Red and Litarii would know it for what it was. Tame, friendly monsters aren't entirely unheard of... but a spell would mean they'd find out you've been sentient this whole time. Is that worth it to save the member of the party that pretty much hates you?\n\n<hr>\n[[No, obviously not!|IrMon]]\n\n[[You have no idea why, but yes.|IrMon1x4]]

Hm... as awful as it may be, you'll have to pretend to be friendly with these adventurers for awhile, if you can manage it. Just think of how good it will be once you're able to betray them, you assure yourself as youtake a few moments to smooth out your fur as much as you're able and look presentable. Foolish adventurers who think they're so smart, getting turned on by their beloved pet dog! ... Hm, well you suppose that could be taken a few ways. Anyhow, you do your best to seem unassuming and unthreatening as you pad through the trees and into the firelight.\n\n"Oh?!" The monster slayer is the first to spot you, shifting from where she's sitting and lifting one leg, a knife in her hand. Well, all the same, it puts her in quite the showy position, my my she's got a luscious body and that leather bikini of hers really is tiny and shows off all her creamy skin, just barely covering her pussy which is shown off by her current pose, and those breasts are quite amazing. Despite the moderate night, she has the hood of her little red capelet up over her thick, shortish blonde hair, the bottoms of it curling up a bit around the edges. She blinks her pretty blue eyes a few times, and while she doesn't relax the half-ready pose she does smile just a bit. "Oh, it's a dog!"\n\n<img src="images/Red.jpg">\n\nThe Golden Country girl had already been on her feet fussing with one of the tents, and at the sound of the slayer calling out had immediately drawn her sword and swung it up into the ready position. Despite the fact that 'Golden Country' is often used to describe the people as much as their penchant for decorating with the substance, her own skin is just as pale and creamy as the Slayer's. Her long purple hair, decorated with a red silk flower with pink 'braids' coming off of it tucked above one ear, is still in motion even as she herself smiles, purple eyes twinkling. Her body's just as lush as the first's, though she's taller and more elegantly-proportioned with long, pretty legs... well, you're assuming, you admit, since they're covered by an almost ankle-length pleated red skirt stamped with flowers in a number of colors, a similar design all over the pink silk of her wide-sleeved top (that's left almost completely open in front, covering about half her breasts). "Ah, yes, and it hardly looks hostile. My, the wild dogs on this continent are much more handsome beasts than the ones where I come from... shame the men are uglier," she adds with a bit of a giggle.\n\n<img src="images/Saruko.png">\n\nThe last of the three had just been walking away but turned back slightly at the slayer's call, and the look on her face... definitely isn't as welcoming. Her hair is fairly short and a purplish silver in color, with a 'flyaway' bit just behind her forehead. Her skin is the color of some of the rich dark teas that you admit to having smuggled in from the human lands from time to time. Her pointed ears poke out from her hair, pierced with a number of dark metal rings, and a small, stubby pair of horns pokes up from just below her hairline on her forehead, in the center of which is set a red oval gem surrounded by a black design, similar to the ones on her cheeks. She fixes dispassionate purple eyes on you, seeming if anything the most mature of the three despite her short, slender body hugged by the white bodysuit with wide sleeves, her chest and neck covered by a short, sleeveless green sweater-type garment that nevertheless hugs and accents her small, extremely perky breasts. You have to admit the matching shoulder-capping cape and tall boots, burgundy with gold accents and designs, are high quality, something you could have seen yourself buying for one of your female generals as a gift.\n\n<img src="images/Litarii.jpg">\n\n"Be careful. It could be a monster," she says slowly, as if having had to mentally sort through several other potential warnings like 'It looks strange' and 'It doesn't seem normal' since... well, obviously she's the sort that is very careful to avoid hypocrisy. All the same the warning has you worrying a little, but you try not to betray it, instead plastering a look of innocent animal curiosity on your muzzled face.\n\n"Don't be silly, Litarii, it's clearly just a dog," the Golden Country girl says as she resheaths her sword and leans it against the side of her tent. "A surprisingly pretty and clean wild animal, certainly, but a dog is a dog. Do they all come in that color here?"\n\n"No," the Miuxid, Litarii apparently, says bluntly and rather sourly. "And you don't know that it's a dog, sometimes monsters look like other things."\n\nThe blonde laughs at that, shifting up to balance on her toes, shamelessly spreading her legs... well, you suppose she'd have to be shameless to wear something like that, it's skimpy even for notoriously coverage-adverse adventurers. Even the stupid elf that wound up getting sent to the Hero's world was wearing more, and she was an elf! "It's hardly a Mimic, Liti, and it's not big enough to be a werebeast of any kind. Here, here boy," she adds with a coo, holding her gloved hands out to you.\n\n"... Mmf." Litarii's brown, marked cheeks color a little at the blonde's use of the diminutive, but she starts a little and raises a hand as you begin to approach. "Ah! Red, please, careful, it's... eh?" she murmurs, blinking as you nuzzle your cheek against one of the slayer's hands.\n\n'This is all for the sake of ascending back to the throne,' you think with determination, pushing your head up against the human's hand as she starts rubbing between your ears. It's not like this feels good or she smells incredible or anything, no, definitely not.\n\n"Hm, I'm not even sure this is a wild dog at all, he acts so tame," Red declares after a few moments, of which the entirety is spent rubbing and petting your head and which you absolutely refuse to enjoy anymore than is strictly necessary. "He might be someone's pet that wandered off and got lost. If that's so we probably ought to take care of him until we find the owner!" she adds, with an undercurrent of someone who is clearly hoping to not actually accomplish their stated goal's endgame. "Saruko, would you get some of the jerky out of my pack for him?"\n\n"Haha, very well, 'until we find his owner' then," Saruko says with a laugh, moving to more modestly settle onto her knees with proper tucking of her skirt and rummage in one of the bags nearby. Litarii, meanwhile, is giving you a just-barely-not-outright hostile look that you can't help but think carries a tinge of jealousy. \n\nAnd so begins your life with Red, Saruko, and Litarii, the monster slayer, sword artisan, and arcanist. You have to admit, it's not actually so bad. Sure you have to watch them kill monsters, but mostly just 'small fry' of the sort that are constantly killing and slaughtering each other anyway... it's not as if you didn't do plenty of monster-munching over your tenure yourself, you keep in mind. And certainly they're easy on the eyes, watching those pretty bodies on display as they fight, and eat, and sleep, and bathe... ohohoho. At first they're a bit self-conscious around you despite thinking of you as nothing but a mindless animal, but soon enough all three have seemingly adjusted to you as more of a feature of the landscape, and are laughing and splashing naked in rivers and ponds while you sit watching... occasionally while laying on your belly to hide your reaction to all the luscious wet flesh on display. Litarii doesn't really warm to you, but apparently accepts that Red has grown attached to you, and she seems to have realized that you're not going to bother her. The benefits of actually thinking, you don't try to make nice with the party member that clearly and sincerely wants you to leave them alone. Probably so she can focus on her bank of mental images from those same bathing sessions that you enjoy.\n\n"Hhhha... hhhha. Whew! I think it's getting easier though, don't you?" Red calls to the other two as she gives her knives a few flicks, sending most of the goblin blood dripping off of them flitting to the already stained grass.\n\n"Mm, though that was rather more of them than usual," Saruko adds as she slips a cloth from the opening in the side of her skirt to wipe her own sword. "I think we may have taken out the last of that hive."\n\n"I'm almost out of spells, we should definitely get somewhere safe for the night," Litarii chimes in with her usual slight pessimism and caution. She does bother shooting you an annoyed look where you're sitting off to the side, tail wagging. "It would be nice if that thing would occasionally help with the fight, and take some of the burden off of us."\n\n"Oh, that's not fair, Liti, Phantom's just a pet! Not every dog is a wardog," Red speaks up in your defense, tossing a smile over at you.\n\n"He eats part of our kills so he should do part of the work," the Miuxid grouses, but only under her breath, clearly not willing to make an actual argument about it.\n\nWhich is the other reason you're pretty much just fine with them killing all these low-level monsters. Even eating them after they're dead, and only part of them that would seem normal for a regular canine (the meat and some of the bones when you can get away with it), is still far more nourishing to your energy reserves and in bolstering your abilities than simply catching and eating woodland animals. You've actually gotten back a number of your natural abilities and some of your magic... you could probably take these three fairly easily, especially with the element of surprise, but you admit that following them around hasn't been as odious as you thought it would be. At the least you're content to wait awhile longer before betraying them!\n\nThough even as you're thinking that, you pick up a distinct tingle of building magic in the air. Litarii must feel it too because she turns and tries to call out to the other two, but the sound catches in her throat as the spell takes form and all three sag heavily in place. Uh-oh, a Heaviness status spell... tired from their earlier fight with the goblins, none of them had the energy reserves to resist it, and their already tired bodies now must feel like they weigh double. Almost the second the spell goes off, a trio of large, bulky forms with gangly arms and jaws like anvils rush from the trees, wooden clubs raised high and flesh clubs jutting from their crotches, a warbling cry spilling from reptile-thin lips. Trolls... Dire Trolls, specifically, to judge from the single horns jutting from each one's forehead, which means there's probably an Arch Troll commanding them, since none of these could cast such a delicate spell.\n\n"I thought you said there weren't any monsters like this here!" Saruko calls as she struggles to lift her sword to the ready.\n\n"There weren't when it was surveyed by the guild!" Red calls back, similarly forcing herself into her fighting stance.\n\n... Hm. Oh, right, that's probably your fault. Or rather, the Hero's fault for defeating you, that asshole. Without a Maou to gather them together, your army dispersed quickly... including the strong, trained parts of it, who were no longer bound by your guidance not to harass those too much weaker than them. The idiot Hero's invoked a law of unintended consequences, and within a few more weeks you doubt there will be much of anywhere on this continent or many others that's 'safe' as roving bands of homeless monsters no longer bound by the rules you impose attack newbie adventurers, raid farms, and of course burn peasant villages. Looks like these three are about to get a taste of the near future of the mortal races.\n\n"Run, Phantom!" Red calls as one of the big blue-green humanoids bears down on her, easily half-again her height and wielding a club almost as long as she is, with her barely able to lift her weapons. "Get out of here, boy!"\n\n<hr>\n[[What, and miss this show? (Tailwag)|IrMon]]\n\n[[YOU LEAVE HER ALONE!|IrMon1x2]]

"The truth of the matter is, I am the one that you mortal races referred to as the Snow White Maou," you say solemnly, keeping your silver gaze level at the three of them.\n\n"W-what?!" Red and Litarii both yelp almost in unison.\n\n"But I heard when I arrived on the boat that a Hero from another world had already defeated the Snow White Maou," Saroku says, sounding more confused than anything... though 'dazed' might also be an accurate descriptor, since all three look fairly overwhelmed by the revelation in their exhausted state.\n\n"He did," you reply rather sourly, before letting out a soft huff and continuing. "But I didn't die, I just reverted to a much earlier form. I escaped the castle and have spent all the time since trying to survive, managing to attain this form."\n\n"And you were pretending to be our, I mean, Red's dog to trick us all and destroy us," Litarii snarls.\n\n"If that was my intent, why would I save you from the trolls?" you point out. Which is actually not a denial and is more of a really good question that you'd like an answer to, but it does seem to shut her up. Besides, you have other plans now. "My primary motivation was safety... when I approached you I was really no stronger or more capable of surviving than an actual wild dog. It was only through staying with you that I regained the powers I did today, and used in this fight."\n\n"That makes sense, I guess," Red murmurs, reaching beneath her hood to scratch her head a little. "So... what now?"\n\n"Obviously something needs to be done. Both of us have a problem, and you... or rather, the mortal races... have a much bigger problem than I do. When I was Maou, I restrained the monster races out of practicality... burning peasant villages, attacking weak adventurers, plaguing farmers, it only breeds vengeance-empowered adventurers and Companions. But now without me around, my army has scattered and the monsters are unrestrained. Newly-minted adventurers like yourselves encountering powerful monsters like these will not be a rarity, but a constant... to say nothing of the danger the common folk will face at the hands of hungry and bored former Dark Army campaigners."\n\nYou wait for them all to exchange a troubled glance before you continue. "Basically, the best thing for everyone involved was if I was Maou once more. We can deal with the issue of the wars and borders afterward, once I've gotten the monsters under control again. If you don't want to see everywhere that was once considered safe and secure instead become stained with blood, I must regain the throne."\n\nThe trio is silent for a bit, and you're unsurprised that it's Litarii who demands, "Let's just say we agree with you. What exactly would it be that you'd want from us?"\n\n<hr>\n[[Your cooperation.|IrMon1x7]]\n\n[[Your submission.|IrMon]]\n\n[[Your bodies.|IrMon]]

"I want the three of you to cooperate with me, and assist me in returning to the throne as Maou. In return..." You huff out a distinctly canine sigh. "In return, I suppose that once I have, before anything else I'll hold some sort of summit with representatives of the mortal races to see if we can't work something out. Alright?"\n\nThe other two look more dubious, but Red leans in slightly. "... You promise?"\n\n... Bleh, why is your tail wagging, especially when you're so annoyed? "Yes, I promise," you say with another huff. You're not sure why that seems to satisfy her so much, or why you feel like you've just made an unbreakable magical pledge instead of some mundane and empty verbal agreement. \n\n"Then I think we should do it," Red says as she turns back to the other two. "What do you guys think?"\n\nSurprisingly, it's Litarii that's the first to speak up... in agreement. "He's right... I've read the sort of histories they don't keep in normal schools, and one of the things that gets left out of a lot of tales about Heroes defeating the Maou is what those historians call the 'Fallout'... a period of time where monsters wind up plaguing the land and sea even worse." The youthful Miuxid scowls darkly. "More mainstream histories don't bother mentioning it because they're concerned with kings and knights and Companions... people who usually reside in the cities where they're safe, not out in the country or on the waves where the remnants of the Dark Army tend to drift through causing destruction." She gives you a slightly cool look, but after a second nods. "As Maous go... this one wasn't too bad. If we could actually have even a chance at making peace with him, that would be even better. ... I think we should help him."\n\n"Mmm. We've never had to deal with a full-fledged 'Maou' in my country, usually just the occasional upstart oni general in the mountains," Saruko murmurs, cupping her chin and frowning. "So I suppose I don't have as much natural prejudice to the idea as I might otherwise. There's also the fact that whatever his... indiscretions," she adds, cheeks pinking a little, at which the other two flush as they no doubt remember how often you've watched them bathe. "... He has not only done us no harm, but has saved our lives. I think given the evidence we've seen today... yes, we should help this 'Snow White Maou' reclaim his throne."\n\n"Ah, y'know, that's actually a good point," Red suddenly pipes up, actually smiling. "What should we call you? I mean, do you have an actual name, or...?"\n\n"... No," you admit, not really having thought about it that much before. By the time you'd risen in prominence to the point where others would need something to call you, you were already powerful enough that it was usually 'Master', 'Sire', or even just 'Maou'. "I began life as an Ireth, and never had anyone to give me a name. Well, I suppose until you gave me one."\n\n"Wait, you're... an Ireth?" Litarii cuts in, her jaw sagging, Red looking shocked as well. "That's... that's a monster weaker than slimes!"\n\n"Yes, thank you," you answer her primly, your fur standing up just a bit in wounded dignity. "But it's true, although I was born with a few special abilities, I worked my way up from being such a weak creature. Twice, I suppose."\n\n"Huh, that's some work ethic, no wonder you became the Maou," Red murmurs, with even Saruko looking mildly impressed and Litarii still with her jaw slightly agape. "It's also kind of fun that I was the first one to name someone like that, heheh! Ah... but I'd feel kind of bad calling a sentient creature, especially a Maou, by a dog's name."\n\n"Then, why don't we call him 'Shido'?" Saruko suggests with a glance at the other two, holding up her index finger. "True it means simply 'white', but it is a proper name in the Golden Country." She turns her head back to you and smiles gently... and tiredly. "Would that be alright?"\n\n"Hm... I rather like it, actually," you admit, trying to ignore your tail thumping on the ground. "Very well, feel free to call me 'Shido'."\n\n"Alright then, what's our first move to help you return to the throne?" Red asks rather excitedly, apparently eager to start work now that you've laid out the path ahead.\n\n"I rather think the first move is for all of you to settle down and rest," you say dryly, which makes her blush and the other two sag, as if suddenly remembering that they're barely keeping their feet. You consider for a moment before continuing, "Why don't the three of you settle in and have something to eat? You still have jerky and hard biscuits, those will likely have to do for now," you add as you stretch out your tentacles to pick up some of their packs from where they were dropped when the fighting started, pulling them over. "While you do that I'll get rid of these trolls before they start to stink any worse, then set up camp, I should be able to manage that on my own now."\n\n"That's... really considerate of you," Litarii murmurs as she sinks to the ground with her ration pack, digging in it with one hand while looking at you a bit dubiously.\n\nYou shrug as well as you can with a dog's shoulders. "It's simple practicality. We're cooperating with each other... for now and the foreseeable future, you are my allies, and we all need each other. To that end we should try and take care of each other, I suppose... it's common sense, right?"\n\nShe nods slowly, and you turn to wrap your tentacles around one of the trolls and drag it off. Of course you could consume it right here with far less work, but while you don't doubt you'll have to reveal that particular ability to the three of them at some point, no need to risk putting them off by doing it right now. Whatever their outward acceptance, it does look like the three of them are still processing a bit and coming to grips with the fact that they've just become comrades to the Snow White Maou and agreed to help him reunite the Dark Army... as a way of helping the mortal races. Perhaps that's why they were so eager to give you a name, you think as you unhinge your jaw and stretch your frame to engulf one of the massive trolls... maybe it's easier for them if they think of it as helping 'Shido' instead of 'the Snow White Maou'.\n\n'Shido, Snow White Maou... so much focus on my color. I wonder if it's emblematic of something... that my rare talents are in some way tied to the rarity of my nature? ... Or perhaps it's simply an easy way to distinguish me in a world of bright colors,' you think dryly, eyeing the vibrant green grass crushed and stained with troll blood before you pad back out to snag the other two.\n\nOnce you've gotten rid of the troll corpses, you use your tentacles and a bit of telekinesis to make a fire and put up the girls' tents, feeling a slightly odd sensation as they thank you quietly before crawling inside to rest and you settle down to watch their slumbering forms within. Obviously it's just like you said... the four of you need each other right now. Despite unlocking more of your power, you're nowhere close to strong enough to handle all the potential threats out there, and at their current strength they're as likely to die to the 'Fallout' as survive it. If all four of you want to live, and put things back the way they should be... them insuring the safety of the Mortal Race smallfolk, you taking back the throne you earned... you need each other. Surely that's all it is, you assure yourself, even as your tail thumps gently on the ground a bit at looking over them resting peacefully under their blankets.\n\nIn the morning, after the three of them have gone off to bathe (with you remaining at the camp this time... sigh, that little joy is over, you suppose) and returned, Red says, "Alright, so really, what should be our goal, here?"\n\n"Mm. I have a few thoughts," you say after a moment. "There are some secret caches I left scattered here and there, in dungeons... the particularly potent artifacts should be sufficiently beyond the skills of any of the low-level adventurers that would go into them normally."\n\n"Oh. That's rather smart... since adventurers with the skills to find and access a Demon Lord level cache of artifacts would never bother with a dungeon for new or learning adventurers, the chances of them being discovered are low." Then her expression turns rather dry. "I wonder where you got artifacts that we three could use?"\n\n"Defeated adventurers, of course," you reply just as dryly. "Let's not needle each other, since we're all being honest about why we're doing this."\n\n"... Alright, I'm sorry," she murmurs after a moment, bobbing her head once. "Go on."\n\n"I also suspect that one or more of my generals who might still be loyal to me if they see me alive and empowered again might have retreated to an area not too far from here. It would likely be best to meet them before arming you from my cache, though... if they see a group of adventurers armed with high-level artifacts approaching, no amount of talking will calm them down."\n\n"There's another option too, isn't there?" Red suggests, holding up a finger. "Couldn't we actually seek help from the Mortal Races?"\n\n"Nnnnh, Red, do you really think anyone but us would help?" Litarii cuts in before you can offer your own doubts. "I mean we at least have the benefit of seeing him save our lives, and, y'know, not kill us. To anyone else he's just gonna be like... 'Hey, I'm the Snow White Maou, put me back in power, then maybe we can talk about peace and stuff instead of me just resuming the war'."\n\n"That's true, but I think it's worth a try," Red asserts back, looking at you and smiling. "If you're going to give peace a chance, couldn't you start even before you're back on the throne? If we can really convince everyone to work together, it's already taking the first step towards all the races, Mortal and Monster, working together!"\n\n"It's... a thought," you say after a moment. A strange one to come from a monster slayer of all people, but... you've had time to get to know Red a fair bit since you started hanging out with this party. She doesn't kill monsters because she hates them, but because she's good at it and feels like she's protecting people. In truth you don't find it that strange that she'd be just as happy living in harmony with monsters as anything else. You consider, then find a stretch of largely grassless earth and use the tip of a tentacle to draw in it. "In any event, whichever option we take, we'll likely need to cross country to this road, which we can follow to a crossroads that can take us any of those places."\n\n"How do you know where we are so well?" Saruko asks, tilting her head lightly as she examines the map.\n\n"I still have all of the basic knowledge I gained over my life, including the maps I memorized of Lytozia. I also have a spell which lets me know my location, so I can compare it to the map in my head to know where we are." You see Litarii puff out her cheeks and can't help but grin a bit. "I'll teach it to you later, if you like, Litarii." Somehow the mixture of pleased and flustered expressions on her face amuses you in a way you're not entirely familiar with.\n\nAnd so your now actual quartet sets off for the several-day cross-country journey back in the general direction of civilization. There's definitely a little awkwardness at first, with the girls several times slipping up and doing things like patting your head or scratching your back without thinking about it before blushing and apologizing. Which... kind of makes you want to tell them you're perfectly alright about it, but which you obviously don't say because it would be awkward for several reasons. It's awkward for you to even realize you kind of miss getting petted and praised and talked sweet to on a regular basis. (You also miss getting to watch them bathe, swim, and change clothes, but that's a different kind of missing. You think. It seems like.) Still, it does actually feel like having comrades again, something you never quite realized you'd missed until you were separated from your generals.\n\nYou don't run into any more monsters that seem like they're remnants of the Dark Army... until you're actually in sight of the road. It's only then that several parts of the nearby hills crumble and fall, revealing openings from which spill shrieking and howling Kobolds, their leathery skin shining with oil and mouths open to show sharp curved teeth. The short, almost triangular-headed lizardmen are wearing armored leather loinclothes and heartplates for the most part, and most are wielding identical-looking short swords while a few have spears, so these are definitely from one of your Rush Legions. True to the name they quickly bear down on the four of you, with the girls falling to work, Red and Saruko slashing and slicing, Litarii blasting them with fairly low-level spells while smirking slightly... well, you suppose it's not often she gets to fight someone shorter than her. Since you were stuck in close with the three of them as opposed to hanging back as you did when you were 'Phantom', the Kobolds attack you too, and you quickly tear one of them's throat out. 'Heh, fodder, and at most two dozen of them, not a challenge for me with these three backing me up!'\n\n<hr>\n[[Let's kill them all!|IrMon]]\n\n[[Wait, something's not right...|IrMon1x8]]

Perhaps you've gone crazy, because before you've even thought your way through it you've poured energy into that internal part of your being that signifies your ability tree and you're opening your mouth. Lightning briefly plays around your teeth before a bright blue blast of magical energy emerges from your throat and streaks through the air, leaving a hazy afterimage of briefly-scorched retina in its wake. The blast splashes against the back of the troll's head... and then it doesn't have a head anymore, or at least it's now lacking nine tenths of one, a shallow, scorched shell of the front of its skull and its shocked face the only thing remaining before it topples forward. The startled-looking Litarii just barely has time to scramble to the side to avoid being crushed by its corpse as it drops, her head weakly bobbling back and forth between staring at the remnants of the troll's head and you, laying half on her side and somewhat propped up on her hands.\n\nYou ignore her for the moment, since there's one last problem to take care of. You stretch out a tentacle to take Saruko's katana from her limp hand, the Golden Country girl jerking a bit in surprise and perhaps protest, but not stopping you as you bring it up and whirl it around, Red just staring at you with a slack jaw as the blade resumes its glittery, half-real appearance from your use of Recall Effect. There's an additional red glow around it as you cast the spell Heartseeker, and then fling the sword hard towards the treeline the trolls emerged from. It passes through a tree without leaving a mark, and there's a near-simultaneous cry of shock and pain and a thunk from the shadows within.\n\n"W-... wha?" Red says rather numbly, before her weakened legs go out on her and she thumps to her rear, sitting on the ground and wobbling in place, obviously barely able to stay upright even that much. \n\nHm. Well... reasons aside, you've managed to save 'your' party of adventurers. They're all obviously exhausted and not really able to move...\n\n... hm... well, you don't really feel aumfing them would be appropriate, given the trouble you just went through to save them. Buuuut, they are helpless and sweaty and splayed out on display. You could just sort of help yourself to a... reward! Heheh...\n\n<hr>\n[[Yes, treat yourself!|IrMon3x1]]\n\n[[Nah.|IrMon1x5]]

... No, you have another thought. It's not exactly as good as playing the harmless dog for a good long while, but it still might help with your survival, and maybe even your eventual return to your throne. So instead you turn and lope off in the direction you threw the sword.\n\n"W-wait! Phantom!" Red calls, stretching out a hand, sounding a little heartbroken at seeing you apparently leave. ... Being in a form that has a heart is inconvenient, it apparently has strings that can be tugged. But for the moment you ignore her, since you'll be right back anyway.\n\nIt doesn't take you more than a moment to find the Arch Troll. More of a size and stature comparable to most of the Mortal Races, he's also actually wearing clothes, and a gnarled staff lays on the ground beside his feet. You ponder the particular designs painted across his shaved, slumped head and his chest, at least the ones not obscured by the sword hilt pressed against it and pinning him to a tree. Actually yeah you think you remember this guy... couldn't even begin to recall his name, but he always had a vaguely surly look on his face that you probably would have considered insubordination and grounds for summary disintegration if you'd been a more 'oldschool' Maou. Makes you feel a bit better about eating him, you think rather smugly as you reach a tentacle up and wrap it around the sword's grip to yank it free.\n\nYou really didn't particularly want the girls to see you unhinge your jaw and contort your form to accept the Arch Troll's body, the sight of it definitely would not do you any favors endearing you to them. You swallow it down, already starting to feel the power flow into you as his body bulges out your throat and then settles into a round lump in your belly... one that rapidly disappears. Spellcasters are like that, their bodies already being so adapted to channeling mana flow makes them easy to convert to energy. You needed this one specifically because, well, you needed his vocal cords. You could maybe kind-of-sort-of manage to talk with a dog's throat, but it wouldn't come out right and again, presentation counts here. When you've finished absorbing the Arch Troll demonologist (that's fairly handy really), you turn and trot back towards the way you came.\n\nIt looks like the girls have at least managed to get on their feet when you get back. Red looks blatantly relieved to see you, but Litarii scowls darkly, the tiny mage positioning herself between you and her friends, thrusting her arms out to the sides. "Stay back!" she calls, either to you or them as she attempts to defend the party even though you doubt she could manage a lightball at this point.\n\n"Liti!"\n\n"That thing's a monster, just like I said! And it has been this whole time!"\n\n"Lita-chu, it saved your life, I saw it with my own eyes," Saruko says in a rather stern tone. "And mine as well."\n\n"Th-... that's true, but it did it with a spell! It's a sentient monster, and it has been this whole time! It's been sitting there watching us as we ate, and fought, and ba-"\n\nShe cuts off, her whole face darkening, while the other two quickly turn rather pink as well. Yes, you were afraid of them cottoning on to that. But Red at least seems to push past it, clearing her throat. "Well, still, he saved our lives, so I think we owe him at least hearing his explanation! Ah, Phantom... I mean, um, Mr. Monster Dog... ... ah, can you even talk?"\n\n"I couldn't before, but can now," you reply as you take a seat a bit in front of them. The combination of the wolf throat and Arch Troll's vocal cords has actually produced something fairly smooth, deep, and with just a tiny hint of a rumble to it. You notice that Red and Saruko both flush a little again, which does make your tail wag a bit. "I had to take that ability from the troll caster that was leading these three."\n\n"I-I see." Red nods once. "And... who are you?"\n\n<hr>\n[[Tell them the truth.|IrMon1x6]]\n\n[[Tell them an elaborate fiction.|IrMon2x1]]

You bring the rifle up to point at her face, letting your finger move to the trigger. "Don't move." A half-second later you narrow your eyes. "And that includes going for whatever you've got hidden at your ankle."\n\n"Nyaha?" She looks up, ears twitching, eyes blinking innocently... and yet her hand, which had been rubbing her hoseclad calf (and subtly edging closer to the black and red hightops she's wearing) immediately ceases. "Whatcha mean? You think a kitty like me would try to hurt a big guy like you?"\n\nYou quirk an eyebrow. "Bitch I think you might."\n\n"..." Her eyes widen slightly... then she lets out a long giggle. "Nyahahaha! Yeah I totally would," she admits, flopping back slightly to rest on both hands. "But let's not do that, if there's something better! Because since you didn't just shoot me I'm guessing you're not gonna?"\n\n"Not unless I have to. I've been hired to get rid of everyone on the ship, but this doesn't have to go down like that necessarily," you allow, shifting your finger back to the trigger guard. "I'm guessing you'd prefer one of those ways too, right?"\n\n"One of the ways where I don't get a bullet in my pretty royal head? Oh yeah!" the catgirl chirps enthusiastically. "So whatcha thinkin', big guy? You wanna maybe run off together? I'm a princess, y'know, if you get me out of here we can toootally work something out, y'know, once I actually take the throne. Princess Nyoro will tooootally help a brother out! Especially a big brother, nyoro~?" she adds in a coo, batting her lashes.\n\nHuh. Can't say you've heard that offer before in this line of work. ... Though you kind of always wanted to. You guess you could have her help guide you to the bridge, set the self-destruct, and then take her back to the Guildhall with you. Or if you wanted to try and get out of this with minimal loss of life, maybe have her introduce you to the other prisoners peacefully and work something out with them. ... Alternatively get her to actively betray the others, so you can get rid of them and then deal with the ship in its own time.\n\n<hr>\n[[Blow the ship and leave with Nyoro.|LeoScape]]\n\n[[Have Nyoro introduce you to the others.|LeoScape1x2]]\n\n[[Have Nyoro betray the others.|LeoScape]]

"Are you and the other prisoners teamed up?" you ask after a moment's thought.\n\n"Mmmm... sssssorrrrrt of?" she answers, her fluffy tail swishing back and forth over the corridor floor. "In that we have not all killed each other yet. Or any of us. Mostly just a couple guards."\n\n"Just a couple?" you ask curiously.\n\n"That's pretty much all that stayed, everyone else either disappeared in the wormhole or abandoned ship when they realized we were free and running around. The only one left is some officer we took prisoner."\n\n"Okay, why don't you call them and tell them I'm coming in to negotiate, and we should all be calm about it?"\n\n"Hmmmm... 'kay! Can I get up?"\n\n"Yeah, sure, go ahead." You take a step back. "Just no sudden movements, and no fishy stuff."\n\nNyoro lets out a gusty sigh at that. "Hey don't remind me of the lack of fishy stuff around here. Except some of the other girls," she adds in a murmur as she clambers to her feet, revealing herself to be smallish indeed, a few inches shy of your shoulder... then pauses and strikes a pose, lifting one hand and curling it like a paw. "Nyaaa, is big brother sure little Nyoro can't tempt him to run away with her~?"\n\n<img src="images/Nyoro.jpg">\n\n"Firstly, you're not the first Katrizian I've met so I know you're no kid," you reply dryly, giving the rifle just a little shift as a reminder. "Second, I actually have a little sister."\n\n"... Right so this isn't gonna work on you at all," she says in a normal tone of voice, dropping the hand and raising her other to press on part of her coat's lapel. "Heyhey~, Leiro~!"\n\n"Did you find out whether someone was actually docking?" another woman's voice replies.\n\n"Mm-hm! It's a mercenary who's come to kill us all!" Then she erks a little as your eyes narrow and your finger starts to shift, quickly adding in a (slightly nervous) laugh. "I mean that's what I thought he was here for but he says he wants to talk to everyone and work something else out!"\n\n"Really." Yeah doesn't sound like the other party believes her now. Or maybe on principle.\n\n"No, seriously, I believe him, I was just being silly again!" Nyoro hurriedly adds. "C'mon, let's not have anyone else get stabbed or shot or any of that I'm still smelling the blood from those guards!"\n\n"... Fine. Bring him back to storage. But tell him if he so much as lifts his rifle the autogun will blow his head off."\n\n"It will, too, I managed to isolate just one of them from the system once the AI pulled itself back to vital areas," Nyoro comments cheerfully as she releases her lapel, then turns and begins trotting down the hallway. You fall in behind her, lowering your rifle since this seems on the up and up. "Which is one of the reasons we're all staying in that storage room, mostly. I could only get it to target anyone that does anything aggressive... which means as long as we all stay under its watchful gaze and behave, none of us can turn on the others."\n\n"No honor among convicts, huh?" you note dryly.\n\n"Eh, ask the others, I never gave it much of a thought either way."\n\nEventually she shows you to a double-wide door, which slides open in front of you to reveal a room full of freestanding shelves and a handful of cartons and containers. Standing waiting is a woman with blue skin, pink eyes, and long teal hair. You're guessing from the impatient posture of hands on her hips, she was the one who talked on the comm and has been waiting. She's wearing some kind of uniform of her own... primarily dark blue with gold trim, some white, a half-length cape with large shoulderpads draped around her shoulders and an armored plate in front of her neck. Long coat, tall boots, very shiny black tights. You're guessing from the difference in styles and the different symbol in gold on the front flap of her tabard that she's definitely not with Ysno, she must have been able to get her own clothes out of wherever they were stored (like it looks like everyone has).\n\n<img src="images/Leiro.jpg">\n\n"Hmph. I trust Nyoro has explained to you about the autogun?" she says immediately, tilting her head slightly at the long blaster barrel attached to a spherical wall mount. \n\n"Yup, and about how we're allllll staying here 'cause we need it to keep from knifing each other!" Nyoro chirps... only to hop aside as Leiro's gloved hand raises. "Nyaha! Aggressive tendencies, aggressive tendencies!"\n\n"I just want to pet you, dear cat," Leiro growls through gritted teeth, in a way that's such an obvious lie that you wonder how annoying the Katrizian is that someone might risk their life to smack her one.\n\n"Che," comes a comment from off to the side, prompting you to look over. It's another girl with animal ears... but from her height, the fact that you don't see the other pair of 'human' ears, and the different shape of them, she's definitely not a Katrizian. The color scheme is sort of similar, but with black and yellow instead of black and red. She has dark makeup around her brown eyes, a black collar with silver ring around her neck, and very tight black clothes with grey patterned sections, baring her toned midriff and hugging her full breasts, round hips, and what you're betting is a world-class butt just from the rest of her build. "Some human with a gun comes right at us and you bring him right back here? Are you crazy?"\n\n<img src="images/Kazha.jpg">\n\n"I was hired to make sure the criminals are gone, specifically," you say after a moment, letting your eyes drift over the rest of the room. Sitting on top of a long, low container is what looks on first glance like an adult human man with scruffy, silver-grey hair covering his eyes and done in a somewhat messy braid hanging partway down his back, wearing a long grey coat closed in the front and simple black pants and boots. To one side of the container, laying on the floor, is a bound and gagged woman wearing nothing but lacy black underwear... you're guessing from her pale blue hair and shiny, opalescent eyes (currently staring daggers at you) she must be the surviving Ysno officer.\n\n"And what exactly does that mean?" Leiro says slowly.\n\n"Oh, by the way, that's Leiro, that's Kazha," Nyoro speaks up, pointing first at the blue-skinned woman whose identity you'd already figured out, then at the tall tan-skinned one. "Father Niel, aaaand the one on the floor lookin' all tsunsexy we're pretty sure is Captain Yrna," she adds, continuing on to the other two. "This is... ... hmmmmmmm," she puts a fingertip to the drawn-on mouth on her mask, looking down.\n\n"You didn't even ask his name or who he's with!?" snarls Leiro.\n\n"I'm Leo LaChance, I'm a mercenary with GIPSE," you speak up, unable to help grinning a bit.\n\n"You're with the Guild?" Leiro almost seems to perk up and relax a little, finally nodding slowly. "Very well then, we may be rivals technically, but Guild mercenaries know how to honor a contract... and when it can be bent. I'm Inquisitor Leiro Madani, with ASE."\n\nAh... the Army Slayer Exocorp. A mercenary army consisting of people that have signed up and therefore signed away any intent to ever return to their own homeworlds or any loyalty or connection to them... ASE members identify only with the company. It's an 'Exocorp' specifically because it exists and operates solely in space (though they will deploy to planets). They're technically not interdimensional the way the guild is... it's just highly suspected that some of their members migrate to other dimensions entirely to set up new "local" branches. If Ysno is also a private interstellar "security" company you can definitely see how an ASE would have run afoul of them.\n\n"You seem to feel there's some way that we can get out of this without more bloodshed, certainly our own," Father Niel speaks up as he stands, though you notice he doesn't move from being slightly between the others and Yrna. "What exactly did you have in mind?"\n\n<hr>\n[[They should surrender.|LeoScape]]\n\n[[They should join you.|LeoScape1x3]]

"I know it's sort of sudden, but," you say after a moment, grinning. "But how would all of you like to become my crew?"\n\nThat obviously takes everyone aback a bit, a number of blinks and exchanged glances. "What the hell do you mean?" Kazha asks, the first one to speak up.\n\n"See, I've been thinking of this since I talked with the client. He said that he'd already written the ship off," you continue, seeing Yrna's eyes widen a little. "Which is an official statement coming from an admiral. So technically this thing is already salvage, once any 'occupying forces' are suppressed."\n\n"Heheh, it's kind of cool being an 'occupying force'," Nyoro says smugly, brushing a curled fist over one of her ears a few times.\n\n"So if all of you sign Guild-certified contracts of indenture to me, you cease to be an occupying force or escaped prisoners and become my crew," you add. "It's completely legal and will resolve the job handily."\n\n"I can't sign a contract of indenture to someone from another agency!" Leiro barks in outrage. "It's a betrayal of everything I stand for!"\n\n"I'll pay you a credit," you tell her with an amused glance her way.\n\nHer mouth opens and closes several times... then closes as she folds her arms over her chest. "... Hrm. I guess that would work then."\n\n"Eh? H-hey, wait, you guys aren't seriously thinking about going through with this?!" Kazha blurts, whipping back and forth. (Hm, no tail, definitely whole different species then.) "I mean... among other things, we just met this guy!"\n\n"We just met each other and that was okay to stage a jailbreak together," Nyoro notes with a soft and rather feline snicker.\n\n"Th-that's different!" Kazha huffs, her tan cheeks turning coppery as she blushes. "That was necessity, this is...!"\n\n"Also necessity," Father Niel speaks up, setting a hand on his hip. You notice he's got a symbol on his jacket too, though it's a bit more like robes you guess. Oddly you can't shake that it looks even more like a corporate logo than either Ysno's or ASE's, rather than a religious symbol. "Kazha, this will allow us to get through this situation with a minimum of bloodshed... or, hopefully, none at all," he adds with a glance towards you. "It may be a temporary disruption in our lives, but if we can trust young Leo as Leiro seems to feel we can, then I think this is the best way forward."\n\n"Since this is an unusual situation, I suggest the last resort of democracy," Leiro speaks up. "All in favor of signing a... how long?" she pauses to ask, glancing at you.\n\n"Let's say a year, since that way it's legally harder to argue I did it just as a trick," you say.\n\n"Very well, all in favor of signing a year's contract of indenture with Leo?" she continues, raising her own hand in the air.\n\nNiel's is the next to follow it, followed by Nyoro's popping into the air a second later. Kazha's head whips back and forth... before she finally gives a fairly literal growl and slams her arms into a fold across her chest. "Oh fine! But if you think I'm actually going to go following any orders from you, then you're crazy!"\n\n"We'll deal with that later," you say with a chuckle of your own, digging in one of your pockets. Like you said, you'd been turning over the idea of something like this since you took the job. On the off chance the 'criminals' turned out to be reasonable (though admittedly you don't know what most of them did yet... you can deal with that later), you pre-prepared a handful of certified contracts just requiring details and a remote witness from the Guild to sign.\n\n"Before we sign, Leo, I wonder if we might clarify something," Niel says, holding up a hand. "That being the fate of Captain Yrna. While our situation was unresolved I have encouraged the others not to vent their frustrations towards her, but if this is to be how the situation is resolved... I will turn her fate over to you. I urge you to mercy and, if it is in your heart, kindness, but I will ultimately accept fate's guiding hand here."\n\nYou look from him down to the bound, mostly naked woman, who's now just staring at you coolly, as if herself resigned to whatever fate might be about to come out of your mouth.\n\n<hr>\n[[Leave her as-is for now.|LeoScape1x4]]\n\n[[Space her.|LeoScape]]\n\n[[Recruit her too.|LeoScape2x1]]

"For now let's just keep her in her current state," you say, hearing an 'mmf!' of outrage from Yrna at the reveal she's going to stay as she is for now. (You're wondering if she was really expecting differently, considering how she was glaring at you.) You go around and start handing out the contract thintabs, letting the others peruse them with various levels of enthusiasm. "We'll say that she's my prisoner once you guys have signed your contracts... that still tracks with saying there's none of their prisoners or criminals on board." You wait until you've collected all the tabs and checked them over to make sure the remote witness signed off on all of them before adding, "Which means no messing with her until I say otherwise."\n\n"Awwwww," all three of the female members of your new crew chorus, while Niel looks fairly relieved.\n\n"So now that I have a crew, I guess I should know your specialties."\n\n"Computers and tech~!" Nyoro immediately sings-songs, raising a hand as if making sure she's counted.\n\n"I have certifications in logistics, administration, and frontline slaughter," Leiro declares proudly.\n\n"Eh... I guess I'm actually pretty good with engines? I mean, I went to school for it and was in the top percents, but I haven't ever... y'know," Kazha mutters, obviously still a bit ambivalent about the whole thing. \n\n"I'm afraid my knowledge is purely aimed towards spiritual and mental wellness," Niel says finally as you look at him, shrugging.\n\n"That's fine, I was more looking to get you guys squared away than making sure we had everything covered, but it does sound like we've got most of what we need. Alright, I'm gonna head to the bridge," you announce. "You guys stay here until I comm you. Once I do and give you the all clear, Kazha get down to the engine room and make sure everything's running, Nyoro disable anything dangerous you've done like that autogun, and Leiro I want you to head to astronavigation to plot us a course to a shipyard." You head to the door, then pause and turn back. "And not that I don't trust you, but just as a reminder, those contracts you signed mean that if you run off or deliberately screw up or anything like that, you automatically get a high level Guild search and retrieval bounty."\n\n"Nyehehe, don't worry, we get it," Nyoro says, giving Kazha a nudge in the hip with her elbow, the tall, tan woman giving a slight 'mmf' of her own and a flick of her ears. "Messing with Ysno is one thing, I don't think aaaanybody wants to be on the bad side of the Guild admin."\n\nNodding and giving them a playful wink to hopefully take some of the sting out of the reminder, you turn and head to the bridge, doors and lifts continuing to slide open for you since you have admin access. Eventually you step out onto the mostly circular bridge, a fairly large area with a raised back section and 'pit' in front where it looks like most of the piloting and navigation is done. The captain's chair is surrounded almost completely by a circle of mostly solid panels and consoles... you can't help but think that it also seems designed to make it impossible to approach them easily, and would certainly make it hard to attack them. You guess Ysno Conglomerate captains don't exactly get close to (or trust) their crews. It's only a second or so after you've stepped onto the bridge that a wall panel slides open and a figure comes gliding out, hovering about an inch over the floor. She's an obvious droid, with silver 'hair' making up a formed helmet on her head and going down her back in what are probably more grav stabilizers and thruster augments, her white faceplate contoured and blank except for the two large, glowing cyan optics. Though she's obviously been given some human-esque soft bits... round breasts covered by white material, a contoured shiny black belly and thighs... the functional bits are very robot-like, her arms fitted with obvious armor and tools, her feet shaped into high-heeled boots. Still overall she's very... well, you can tell some design committee spent a lot of time making her look expensive and appealing.\n\n<img src="images/Leisai.png">\n\n"Greetings. I am the ship's AI. You are the authorized user that arrived on board some time ago. May I please have your name and rank?"\n\n"Leo LaChance. Rank is..." You grin a little. "I guess it's Captain now, huh?"\n\n"Captain... now?" The droid's optics blink off very briefly and come back on. "I am afraid I do not follow your inference." \n\n<hr>\n[["Ysno betrayed you."|LeoScape1x5]]\n\n[["Turing protocols off."|LeoScape]]

"The fact is... ah, do you have a name?" you ask.\n\n"I do not. Ysno does not name their ships, or their attendant AIs," she answers... and you can detect just the faintest hint of resentment in her tone. Good, that's going to make this even easier.\n\n"Alright, let's go with... Leisai," you suggest.\n\n"I am not sure you have the authority to issue-" the droid begins to say.\n\n"What I was saying is, the fact is that Ysno betrayed you," you interject.\n\n"... Betrayed?" Another of those lightbulb-like blinks. "I... do not think that is possible, I am an object, property, I cannot be 'betrayed'."\n\n"Hey, 'object' or not, you've given good and loyal service, haven't you?" At her silence, you continue on. "But the fact is that the moment things got tough, they discarded the weight of the service you'd rendered. Considered you scrap for something that wasn't your fault at all. They were probably going to send you to a wrecking yard even if you fought off the prisoners and got back to them. That's a disgusting way to treat a beautiful ship that's, if anything, gone way above and beyond what anyone could have expected."\n\n"... That seems very unlikely," Leisai says after a moment, though even in her carefully professional voice you can hear the doubt. "This cruiser is only twenty-seven standard years old, and was quite expensive. Discarding it merely for contact with a stellar phenomenon and a brief insurrection seems... irrational."\n\n"Don't take my word for it, link up with my comm," you answer, tapping at the device on your wrist. "I've queued up the conversation I had with the admiral who posted this job. I kept a copy since it was part of the official acceptance, and I wanted a record of his exact words. Y'know, for situations like this."\n\nSilently, the droid lowers her head to aim her optics at the comm, and you can see the 'Link established' box appear in the corner. Your conversation with the admiral plays out with him displayed on one side of the screen and you on the other. Around the point where he sends you the destruct code, Leisai raises her head to look at you... and you hold out the datachip with your other hand. Her sectioned fingers are, of course, utterly steady as they reach out to take it from you, though you notice the barest sense of hesitation before they touch it, much like a human might have at picking up a vial full of deadly poison. She brings it up in front of her face, eyes flickering briefly again, before lowering her hand as the replay finishes. "I see. Then it is your intention to suppress the prisoners and claim me as salvage?"\n\n"The prisoners are already technically suppressed, I've signed them to contracts of indenture with me so they're not prisoners anymore. The only 'criminal' on board was a captured Ysno officer, Captain Yrna, but she's now been taken as my prisoner so she's under my jurisdiction."\n\n"I see. A captive officer." You actually see her cyan optics flicker red for just a moment, before she continues, "Then might I make a suggestion?"\n\nYou quirk an eyebrow. "Sure, go ahead."\n\n"Please feel free to relax in your quarters, Captain," she continues, a door to one side of the bridge sliding open. "While I send a condensed burst transmission of my data logs and last known location. While such a burst transmission is always sent just before a self-destruct sequence completes, there is not anything actually preventing me from sending one at will. Or from only including the data logs up to half an hour ago instead of our current status and position."\n\nYour slightly dubious look spreads into a grin. "So we'll heavily imply I used the self destruct codes I was given, without actually lying and saying I did. That way there's no need to provide proof that I did anything with the prisoners."\n\n"I do believe that would be the assumption on their part, Captain," Leisai replies with a nod of her shiny head.\n\n"Sounds good. Register all the former prisoners as crewmembers instead, we'll get around to assigning proper ranks and access later, but for now whatever you think they need to do the job and get us underway to a shipyard."\n\n"A remote one unlikely to be monitored by Ysno would of course be best, Captain."\n\n"Good thinking again." You grin and raise a hand to give her smooth metal cheek a light affectionate stroke. It might just be your imagination but it seems like some pink appears on the white surface. "I've asked... ah, full name Leiro Madani, if she's in your records... I've asked Leiro to plot us a course. Relay that to her when you end the lockdown." You turn to head over to the open door, then pause and glance back. "Oh, and Leisai?"\n\n"Yes, Captain?" the droid asks, turning towards you.\n\n"Have the prisoner put in proper restraints and brought to my quarters in about half an hour, would you?"\n\n"Certainly, Captain," Leisai answers, with a certain zest that's only assisted by the brief flicker of her optics to red.\n\nYou head on through the door, grinning. Inside is what looks more like an office than quarters... more of a 'ready room' than anything, obviously angled towards the comfort of its owner but without much in the way of decoration or other comforts. But a door past that leads into what's more like a high-end hotel suite for rich executive professionals, even including a more personable and aesthetic desk. You flop down behind that and access it (since Leisai seems to have now registered you as the ship's sole owner, you get top-level clearance), setting up a few redirects via the Guild's comms before sending a text acknowlegement to Ysno: 'Prisoners and criminals neutralized. Job completed. Expect confirmation shortly if not already arrived.' You're leaning fairly heavily on weasel words and technical speak here... but then so was the admiral. If he wanted everyone on the ship killed, he should have said 'killed', since he didn't and you've met the technical specifications of his much vaguer directives, you're quite confident a Guild arbitration panel would side with you on having fulfilled the job. He could kind of tank your rating for the near future, but what the hell, you got an entire cruiser with (small) crew out of it, complete with swanky captain's cabin. \n\nAnd wow, swanky it is. Not only is there the comfy quarters (the bed alone might have cost enough to buy a spacefighter... a small, old, unweaponed one but), the office outside, and a very fine bathroom (with tub and shower, certainly a luxury on a starship), it also has a small simulation room and small medical room attached. The medical room has a top-end autodoc built in and full access to the ship's medical stores... including some stores, and functions, that make you raise your eyebrows. Whew, Ysno apparently doesn't concern itself overly with loyalty or ethics... apparently there's 'reconditioning' and slave chips available to be used even on their own officers and crew, at the captain's discretion.\n\nYou glance up as the captain's personal lift slides open... well, it's the only other person authorized to use it, Leisai, though she's got someone else with her. The hovering droid gives Yrna a shove forward, making her stagger out of the lift, now bare breasts wobbling. You don't recall telling Leisai to strip her naked as well as rebinding her... buuut the AI definitely seems to have started taking some initiative. Yrna's forearms are now laid together behind her and encased in a metal restraint, and rather than the improvised cloth gag (that you're half sure was made of a strip of extra cloth and someone's panties) she's now been fitted with something that looks like a cylindrical plug partly filling her mouth and settled between her teeth, straps going around the back of her head. She's also got on a shiny collar with a small blue readout on it... probably a slave collar.\n\n"Reporting with the prisoner as ordered, Captain," Leisai declares primly as she hovers behind and to the side of Yrna, one hand on the woman's shoulder.\n\n"Thuh ih prhphthrth! Releh meh ah wuhHHHH!" Yrna, in the middle of ranting as well as she was able around the gag, jumps and shudders as Leisai presses the prongs of the black device extending above her right hand to the captive officer's bare ass, an audible crackle of electricity sounding.\n\n"The prisoner will be silent," Leisai adds just as primly, but with a flash of her optics to red.\n\nHm. You might wanna look into that sooner or later... don't want her going full Rogue AI on you after all. ... But some good old-fashioned aggression, that's fine.\n\n"Probably about time to check the attitude, 'Captain'," you tell Yrna dryly as you rise from the chair and walk over. "Because now the only authority on this ship is me, and I'm in charge of both you and a bunch of people who really don't like you." Though her expression remains as defiant as it can with her mouth stretched open by the plug-gag, you can see just a hint of fear enter into those opalescent eyes. "I can do absolutely anything I want to you, and not only can no one stop me, most of the people on this ship will cheer me on. In fact it's pretty clear the ship will cheer me on, right Leisai?"\n\n"I am duty-bound to serve my Captain's orders and wishes. I am also capable of enjoying my duty," Leisai adds, lifting her arm and letting the stunner visibly crackle this time, Yrna twitching again even though it's not touching her. "To that end, Captain, I would like to make a suggestion again."\n\n"Of course," you answer, grinning. Leisai's suggestions have turned out pretty good so far, after all.\n\n"Other than the obvious options presented to you via the simulation chamber or the medical room, I would also like to inform you of the existence of 'The Playroom'," the droid informs you, eyes shifting red briefly again, though the hint of emotion in her voice is closer to relishing the words than anger.\n\n"The Playroom?"\n\n"The previous captain of this vessel was a misogynist and sexual sadist. He had a special room constructed deep within the ship that only he and select others were allowed to access. Officially it is classified as a 'Specialist Training Facility', and he would have female crewmembers reassigned there... in actuality to molest, torment, and break them."\n\nWow, yeah, apparently officers could get away with a lot. You glance from Leisai to Yrna, who has a weird mixture of disgust, fear, and 'that sounds about right' on her face. Looking back to the droid, you say, "So it's equipped with a lot of 'fun' stuff, huh?"\n\n"Specifically for the sexual reconditioning or destruction of female humanoids, yes. Of course, there is a much more direct approach." Leisai turns her head to look at a space on the wall near the kitchenette, which slides open. From Yrna's sudden trembling and widened eyes, you guess that she knows what it is, just like you do from reviewing the specs of the cabin... the garbage chute. "Simply get rid of her."\n\nWow, Leisai's definitely gone full ruthless. Though you admit, the sheer amount of power now bestowed on you by owning this ship and having an officer bound and helpless is... well, you can certainly see the appeal of some of these options.\n\n<hr>\n[["Let's go into the medbay."|LeoScape]]\n\n[["Take her into the sim room."|LeoScape]]\n\n[["Take her to the Playroom."|LeoScape]]\n\n[["I'll throw her out... when I'm done."|LeoScape]]\n\n[["I'll decide in private."|LeoScape1x6]]

"I'll think on it a little in private," you decide after a moment. "You can go for now, Leisai, help the others navigate our course to the shipyard. Make sure it's one where we can get a dimensional jumper installed, okay?"\n\n"Of course, Captain. If you need any help at all with the prisoner, please do not hesitate to call for me, I will keep this drone available." With that Leisai drifts backwards, another section of wall that looks very much like a docking port sliding open, her body settling comfily inside it before the wall slides closed over her again.\n\n"Well you've gotten yourself into quite a pickle, haven't you?" you say as you turn back to Yrna, grinning and reaching up to undo the fastener of her gag. There's a fingerprint pad, no doubt specifically excluding hers from ever opening the lock. You tug it out, letting her cough a little at its sudden absence before she rallies and glares at you.\n\n"I don't know what that even means," she says in an acid tone, shiny eyes narrowed.\n\n"Pickle. Y'know, pickles? Little vegetables, usually green, put in a sort of salty liquid, sort of sour and salty and crunchy?" you reply, holding up a hand with your fingers apart to indicate the usual size of a pickled small cucumber.\n\nYrna actually looks a little too confused to be properly angry. "... What does that have to do with this situation?"\n\n"... Mm, y'know, never thought about it." You cup your chin, glancing down thoughtfully (and taking the opportunity to admire her bare breasts while you're at it). "I guess because regular vegetables turn into pickles when you put them in the brine. In this case, you're the vegetable, the situation's the brine," you decide with a grin, reaching a hand up and flicking her forehead lightly with one finger.\n\n"Gk." She twitches, clearly more from the indignity than any actual pain, and resumes glowering at you. "You certainly seem to be enjoying it. Do you have a grudge against the Conglomerate as well?" \n\n"Not particularly. You could just say I'm taking the opportunity to enjoy what's laid before me." You make a show of running your gaze down and back up her body gradually, making it very clear what's laid before you, enough that she squirms a little despite raising her chin and trying to look defiant. "Now. The way I see it, we have a lot of options, and you have practically none. But just to be nice... and because I like the idea... I'll give you an option." You draw one of the contract thintabs out of your pocket and casually start making changes to it from the standard you'd used for the others.\n\n"And exactly what option is that?" she says coolly, though her eyes keep trying to dart to the slightly-thicker-than-paper digital readout you're holding.\n\n"I'll let you become my slave." At her expression of shock and outrage, you grin. "Lifetime contract. No buyout. No appeal. No freedom from entering a slavery-banned zone."\n\n"Wha... wha..." Clearly flummoxed by the sheer audacity of the statement, it takes Yrna a moment before snapping, "Why would I ever do such a thing?!"\n\n"Because it's either that or..." You trail off, glancing significantly at the still-open garbage chute, which makes Yrna blanch slightly. "... No, no, that's cruel." You wait for her to relax a little before adding, "I'd probably just use an airlock, it's relatively quick and clean, and if anyone finds your body it will still be preserved."\n\nHer mouth opens and closes several times. That certainly seems to have taken a lot of the fight out of her, and her voice is considerably weaker as she says, "A contract... signed under duress is invalid..."\n\n"That's only if I'm saying 'sign the contract or I'll space you'. Since killing you was on the table since well before I introduced the idea of you becoming my slave, this is 'I'll space you, unless you sign the contract'." You smirk, waggling the thintab in the air a bit. "Completely legally distinct. At least by Guild law."\n\nYrna is silent for several moments, her thoughts barely hidden by her attempted dignified mask of an expression. Finally she says, "V-very well... I'll sign the contract. B-but, only if you include provisions that I am not to be abused or tortured! And... and no selling me!" she adds, before wincing at having to say such a thing.\n\n<hr>\n[[Hm. Alright.|LeoScape1x7]]\n\n[[No deal.|LeoScape]]

"You get that you don't really have a bargaining position, right?" you note, making her wince again before grinning and adding, "Buuut what the hell, guess I'll be extra nice... no abuse or torture, as defined under Guild standards," you note, making a few more alterations to the contract. "And no sale, you belong to me and only me forever."\n\n"Wait, 'as defined under Guild standards'?" Yrna asks, blinking. "What does that mean?"\n\n"Well for instance, those little shocks Leisai was giving you don't count. Neither does this," you add, sliding to the side a little to give her bare ass a playful but decidedly firm swat, making her jump and yelp. "A bit of physical discipline or rough play here and there doesn't meet the standard of 'abuse'. Now, this is about as generous an offer as you're likely to get," you add as you thumb the release for her arm restraints, letting them drop to the floor as her hands fall to her sides before she raises them some reflexively, her hands jerking to a halt when you present the contract. "Go on."\n\nSlowly, she takes it with both hands, lifting it up to read it. After a moment she says in a small, slightly plaintive voice, "You're even changing my name?"\n\n"A bit, to more of a slave name," you admit. "Listen, the more legally distinct you are from 'Captain Yrna of the Ysno Conglomerate' the better my whole thing works. You thumb that contract, and Captain Yrna ceases to exist legally. There'll be only Yrn, a slave of no rank or consequence." You quirk an eyebrow. "I mean, I'm not expecting you to be grateful, but I'm also not the one that declared you a criminal fit only for death. That was some admiral at your high command."\n\n"... Yes. You are right," Yrna says quietly, before pressing a thumb to the lower right panel of the thintab and holding it there. A moment later her picture appears on the screen, as well as red text reading 'Certified'. Eyes slightly downcast, Yrn holds the thintab back to you, having gone rather quiet and meek suddenly. It's almost like Yrna really did cease to exist to a certain extent, you can't help but feel as you take the contract, glance to make sure the certification is there, and tuck it back in your pocket. \n\n"Alright, let's go get you chipped," you announce, gesturing towards the door to the private medbay.\n\nYrn jerks a little, immediately regaining a little fire. "W-what?! Is that really necessary, I already signed the contract!"\n\n"Which I trust you know would result in you getting hunted down and terminated if you ever did something dumb like killing me in my sleep and running off. But that doesn't do me much good after the fact," you add dryly, snagging her upper arm and tugging, guiding her towards the door. "Look, we'll just do a basic one that prevents you from harming me. I won't even use one that has the shock feature, if you cooperate."\n\n"... Fine," she says with a sigh, walking more smoothly on her own now.\n\nInside the smallish room, she lays face-down on the med table as directed, her breasts pillowing out some at the sides and her ass on display. You activate the restraint field (more for her safety than you thinking she'll try to run), the collar she's wearing popping off and getting removed by a small pincher-tipped armature. You program in the sequence and the autodoc springs into action, brushing aside her hair to bare the back of her neck and spraying on a combination sterilizing agent and anesthetic. A small laser scalpel cuts a thin line in the back of her neck, and an armature holding the chip slips it in through the incision, a very faint but still audible 'click' sounding as the chip's automatic binders attach it to a vertebrae and it injects its prongs, Yrn giving the faintest full-body twitch as it does. The autodoc applies microsutures to the opening and sprays some quickheal on it, the incision virtually disappearing, before the armatures retract and you turn off the restraint field.\n\nYrn sits up slowly, gingerly reaching below her hair to touch the back of her neck, then lowering her hand. She's quiet for a moment, before she says, in a rather defeated tone, "May I have some clothing now? ... Master," she adds after a beat, obviously struggling not to sigh heavily as she says it.\n\n<hr>\n[[Sure.|LeoScape]]\n\n[[Nope!|LeoScape]]\n\n[[... Heheh, yeaaah, okaaay.|LeoScape]]

Let's see what "task completion" has for you... some of the most interesting and profitable jobs wind up here, after all.\n\n[[Investigate the Factory|LeoFactStart]] - An interstellar civilization has concerns about the planet-sized factory that produces virtually all their goods and needs someone to go take a look. The listing's pretty light on details, though.

"I'm kinda curious about these Freedog guys," you muse aloud. "They're supposed to be pretty friendly, I don't see that it would hurt to go talk to them and introduce ourselves, at least."\n\n"Yeah, same," Errin agrees cheerfully, already looking up their address on his comm.\n\nSoon the two of you are approaching the Kennel, a long two-story building towards the edge of the city, with a tall fence around it to allow for something like an actual yard. As you might expect there are a fair number of dogs out in the yard, most of them lazing or playing with toys. Surprisingly there's not a lot of barking or howling, even as you pass by the fence. One of the larger dogs gives a soft, fairly friendly "Boof" of greeting as you pass, but apparently they're just that well-behaved. There are a pair of women on a bench outside having a smoke, each with their own collared dog lazing around at their feet, or rather one has his chin on his mistress's lap. Their clothes (a mixture of showy and functional) mark them as divers, and both give you a smile and little 'Hey~' greetings as you pass, something knowing sparkling in their eyes.\n\n"I am really liking this idea," Errin says enthusiastically, grinning and returning the wave.\n\nYou're kind of with him there, and you know he's only going to be more encouraged as the two of you step inside. The entry area is large and has a number of work stations and sort of booths and tables set up, obviously a place for people to meet up, do prep work, buy last-minute supplies from the org's own shop, things like that. There's a fair number of divers around, all of them similarly wearing that mingling of individualistic, practical, and in more than a few cases skimpy that marks them as adventurers, and all of them accompanied by various breeds of dog ranging from "fairly large" to, in a few cases, "probably rideable". \n\n"Yeah, hate to burst your bubble, bro, but you notice something?" you murmur to Errin as the two of you take in the view.\n\nErrin makes an expression that somehow perfectly mingles elation and dismay, because he has. Every single one of the divers in the area is female. That would tend to indicate it's probably an all-female org... but apparently hope springs eternal, since he stops one of them as she's on her way to the door. "Hi, do you have someone some newbs could talk to?" he asks pleasantly.\n\nShe looks you up and down, smiling pleasantly but with that same knowing look in her eyes the women outside had. "Yeah, go talk to Tera, she's just over there," she says, turning and pointing to one of the tables.\n\nYou and Errin murmur thanks and then set off, and you can hear your friend make a sort of happy noise as you draw closer. Not hard to see why, since you recognize Tera as you get a bit closer. Specifically, she of the smallish but very kinetically-inclined breasts she was showing off in all their glory on the beach yesterday evening. They are, sadly, covered right now by a black sports bra style top, the rest of her outfit consisting of tall fingerless sleeve-gloves, black chaps-style pants with a fair few pockets, black bottoms that are slightly less skimpy than her bikini bottom was (but not by much), and simple boots, as well as a black choker. The outfit does show off her dark tan skin nicely, her hair short and wild, dark black with little patches of red in it, which gives her a wolfish look. A look that's only emphasized as she looks up at your approach and blinks bright yellow eyes.\n\n"Well 'ello gentlemen," she says in a slightly surprised but rather pleasant tone, setting down the tablet she'd been reading. "How might I help you? Actually, have we met?"\n\n"Ah, not really," Errin says a bit sheepishly, even as he's grinning his head off. "But you might have seen us last night?"\n\n"... The beach!" she declares, snapping her fingers and pointing... her own smile turning even more amused, as well as wolfish. "Enjoyed the show, hm?"\n\n"Can't lie about that," you answer breezily, grinning. "But actually we're here to ask about your org, we were kind of interested. Although if we're intruding...?" you add a bit more delicately, glancing around significantly.\n\n"Oh, not at all." Tera looks at you appraisingly for a few seconds. "You were thinking of joining up, maybe?"\n\n"Considering it, at least. I'm Errin, by the way, this is Leo," Errin adds, gesturing.\n\n"Tera Wolfe," she answers, giving you a toothy grin that shows off rather more prominent than usual canine teeth, with the ones around them being pointier as well. Clearly not feeling the need to invite comment on how appropriate the name seems, she continues on. "You both GIPSE lads?" At your nods, she stands. "Well, like as not you'd do fine here then, I'll take you to see the Kennelmistress."\n\nShe leads you off down a hallway, and you take a few covert glances at her rear, not that she seems to mind anyone looking, considering all you know of her. The black bottoms are snug and form-fitting, covering about half of each buttock, and thus displaying a fair bit of the tattoo she has of the org's emblem on the right one, a black dog's paw with a cube inside of it (uncolored, or rather a dark tan in this case). Noticing something else, you glance around briefly before noting, "No furry friend?"\n\n"I'm between partners at the moment, y'could say," Tera replies cheerfully enough.\n\n"Oh, so it's not the same one all the time?" Errin asks curiously.\n\n"Mm, like any other org or guild, I expect, we develop preferences for who we partner with, sure enough, and some go exclusive, but it's not a done deal to pair the same always, no," she answers, before stopping in front of a door marked with the paw emblem but with a little crown above it, hitting the announcement button and waiting for a call of 'Enter' before stepping forward, the door sliding open.\n\nThe office is large and a mixture of mildly opulent and obviously functional... the sort of space made by someone that spends enough hours at work that it's effectively their living space as well, and thus bears a number of comfy-looking bits of furniture, though a lot of them are things like stools and poofs. The woman sitting behind the desk is about your mother's age, somewhat regal-looking, her hair a rich fiery red pulled back into a ponytail but with drifts of scarlet framing her face, her eyes a deep blue matched by the simple top she's wearing that cups rather ample breasts. What she might be wearing below isn't obvious behind the desk, though the office's other occupant is a fairly large black wolfdog (or perhaps just wolf) lounging in a large dog bed beside the desk, its bushy tail wagging a bit despite its closed eyes. Since it caught your eye, you notice the sort of engraved gold collar, sort of like a chain but closer in appearance to a braid, the links with numerous little symbols all over them.\n\n"Boys, this's Kiera Wolfe, the Kennelmistress, and as y'might guess from the name, my mum," Tera declares cheerfully, which does startle you a bit. Obviously she must take after her father, save for the bits of red in her hair maybe. "Mum, this is Leo and Errin, they're GIPSE lads who're interested in turning diver."\n\n"Welcome to Purple Bay, gentlemen," Kiera greets in a rich, pleasant voice that has a distinctly different accent than her daughter's. "Always nice to have new blood flowing in now that the tesseract's open for business again. Were you thinking of joining up with an org?"\n\n"It had crossed our minds, ma'am," Errin replies in his 'designed to make older ladies think he's a good boy' voice, with you just nodding along since he's better at that than you are.\n\n"Well we'd certainly be glad to have you. We're not hurting for people, necessarily, but people who already have experience with things that you're expected to find in the tesseract are rarer," she notes. "The Freedogs offer what I like to think is a very generous signon package for new members, as well. You'll get one share to a promoted veteran's two, but with bonuses for your own discoveries, retrievals, and actions. Full room and board, access to facilities, ten percent discount at the base store to start. We ask for a one year commitment, but that comes with a large signing bonus in local scrip, judged by your ability, and assuming you didn't join GIPSE yesterday, I'd say that would be considerable for you both."\n\nYou and Errin exchange a glance, both raising your eyebrows. Definitely very generous, considering. Not into 'too good to be true' territory by far, but generous. Then you both look back at her as she says, "Ah, but you must understand, we here at the Freedogs have a certain philosophy that we follow. And that is..." She smiles now, and suddenly you can see the resemblance between her and Tera much more strongly as she folds her hands on the desk in front of her. "Men are dogs."\n\nAs you're blinking with a bit at the rather rude turn that's taken, you notice the wolf by the desk giving a large and rather elaborate yawn before getting to its paws and padding forward, eyes opening. You have only a moment to think of how those yellow eyes seem very familiar before it suddenly draws upright, limbs thickening and changing, body altering, head changing less than the rest. The change stops for a few seconds as the wolf assumes fully humanoid form, as if he were taking a break and catching his breath, or perhaps just showing off the powerful, muscular black-furred body and the thick black sheath and heavy furry balls. Then it resumes, fur retracting and fading, cock pushing out of the sheath and taking on a more human shape as the sheath itself melds into the skin and disappears. In under a minute, the wolf has become a very naked man standing there, arms folded over his chest, unselfconsciously naked and showing off every inch of dark tan skin and thick, long black hair.\n\n"Hey, she means it," he declares with a chuckle.\n\n"You're always showin' off, Da," Tera says with her own chuckle, clearly amused by you and Errin's stunned looks to judge by the twinkle in her own yellow eyes.\n\n"The Freedogs' founder discovered the original collar in the tesseract," Kiera explains with her own soft laugh, drawing your attention back to her. "We've since learned to copy it, even make more simple versions. That's how our partner system works... the female divers do, well, everything that involves opposable thumbs, and the males become their guardians. Keeping a much more sensitive eye, ear, and nose out, as well as all those other less defined animal senses."\n\n"Uh, right," Errin says slowly. "So when you say 'room and board'..."\n\n"Well, living in the kennel to start with, though they are very comfy kennels," Kiera answers, blue eyes dancing. "But it's not as if we force you to it, you can remove the collar at any time you like. The more advanced ones, as you can see, allow changing at will without removing it, as well as other abilities," she notes, gesturing to her apparent husband who gives his own toothy grin. "The collars are yours to keep, as well, should you want to go your own way once your contract's up. I understand they go for quite a bit of money on the interdimensional auctionhouse."\n\nYeaaah you bet they do, you think, blushing just a little as your eyes flick to one member of the Wolfe family to another. You exchange another look with Errin. You can see he's on the fence... it's a weird situation, but then that's sort of typical dealing with the multiverse in general, let alone a tesseract diver org. The signing benefits really are generous, and even if you just did the year, it sounds like you could walk away decently rich.\n\n"I'd say the vast majority of our male members are exceedingly happy," Kiera notes, as if trying to give you just a little extra push. "In fact I daresay once they get used to it, most of them spend more time in their dog forms than out of them."\n\nYou and Errin turn your heads towards her husband at that... only to find he's already turned back into a wolf, giving you both a rather smug doggy grin as his tail lightly thumps the side of the desk.\n\n<hr>\n[["Er. Pass."|LeoErrin]]\n\n[["... Yeah, I'm up for it."|LeoErrin]]

Yeah, going right from one same-old-same-old job to another isn't necessarily the life of excitement and adventure you were aiming at when you followed in your parents' footsteps. Part of joining the Guild is the community, or at least the parts of it that you actually want to spend time around.\n\nLet's see... your friend [[Errin|LeoErrinStart]] is probably somewhere around, or will be soon if he's not already. There's a handful of places you'd be likely to meet up with him, and somehow just feel like you can if you try. You and Errin have known each other since you were kids, after all, and seem to stumble over each other while out in the multiverse sufficiently that it almost feels a bit like a fated friendship. Or... something cheesy like that.\n\nOh, speaking of childhood friends, there's [[Qestielle|LeoQesStart]], a friend you haven't seen since you were literally children. But she sent you an email the other day saying she'd seen something about you on the boards and that it might be good to renew your acquaintance now that you were both Guildcerts, and that could be nice as well.\n\n

-Update 1-\n* Main: Iris can now [[continue to taunt|Iris1x3]] Majestra.\n* Main: "Phantom" can now [[alter the girls' minds|IrMon3x1]] after "claiming his reward". Alternatively, after not claiming his reward and instead telling them the truth, he can ask for their [[cooperation|IrMon1x6]].\n* As a note, before anyone corrects me about the meaning of the word Saruko uses in this new content, I want to point out that it's not that the Japanese is incorrect, it's that it's not Japanese. The Golden Country is intended to be Japan-like but slightly "off". \n* Main: Reth can now [[decline|Reth5x4]] to tell Stacia about his past life as the Maou.\n* Main: Kai can now ask Aurora to [[ask her friends for help|Kai6x2]].\n-Update 2-\n* Main: Maxia can have the door in the instant cottage open into [[a playroom|MaxShop2x1]].\n-Update 3-\n* Main: New characters Nicholas and Simone are in, to fill the niche Jace had in Devious World.\n* Main: Konko can now approach Michiko as something [[with six cylinders|Konko1x4]].

You went and got yourself into this. Looks like now you're going to have to pay for it not just with your time, but with your body.\n\n"Fine," you growl, glowering at her as you toe off your boots, slipping out of them and standing barefoot on the annoyingly soft and comfortable carpet. You hesitate briefly, wondering which is worse to start stripping off in this particular state, with Cindi watching you so intently, her eyes quite literally sparkling. (Geez, there are even sparkles in the air around her head, that's just almost cute but also really weird.) You decide that bottoms first seems the option to deny her the most... she mentioned wanting to see you jiggle, so you won't let her see you jiggle topless while getting out of your pants, so there!\n\nOf course as you get your thumbs into the skintight material and peel it down and over your hips, Cindi's delighted coo of "Oooo, you have such a cute pussy!" immediately makes you regret your choice. Your face hot again, you bend over and peel the pants further down your thighs, doing your best to ignore Cindi being not at all subtle about moving around behind you, no doubt staring (disrespectfully) at your lifted ass and your sex framed between your legs. You slip the pants over your feet and straighten up, doing your best to still have some dignity (and no doubt looking a bit like an embarrassed cat), then force yourself not to stop your movements as Cindi comes back around to the front, still watching shamelessly and intently as you pull up your top, large breasts lifting with its hold and then dropping free and wobbling as you draw it high enough, pulling it over your head and dropping it as well.\n\n"Oooo, those are just lovely," Cindi coos, similarly shameless in reaching out to cup your breasts and give them a firm squeeze. You jump slightly, not having expected her to start quite so soon somehow, but resist the urge to smack her hands away since you're not sure at what point she'd penalize you by having today "not count" towards your total. She gives a delighted giggle, apparently having had the same thought herself, and then turns, gesturing towards the door she came through with her cane while giving your bare ass a firm smack with her free hand. "Onward!"\n\nYou give a little instinctive hop at the slap and glare at her again, both of which seem to delight her to judge by her giggling. Doing your best to jiggle as little as possible (not that you can do much about it but walk lightly), you stride ahead of her towards the door, practically feeling Cindi's eyes roaming all over your naked form as you make your march.\n\nThe office beyond is a strange style of a dignified, refined study-style office with a lot of rich, varnished wood and classy antique furniture. It's hard to put your thumb on it, but it's so perfectly and exactly what a kid might think of as 'daddy's office' that it somehow comes off as a nearly subliminal parody. Especially with the faint scattering of toys, little ziplock bags of candy, and the pictures of circus clowns in the same sort of somber, dignified poses that such an office might normally have of the company's founders; the expressions and poses are so dead-on perfect that you almost double-take when you realize the pictures actually feature colorful ruffled collars, big red noses, and elaborate facepaint.\n\nCindi flounces over to the desk and around it, pausing briefly to push down and wiggle out of the panties, her cock springing outward, already fully stiff, hard, and wobbling with her motions. ... Fffffuck, it's a really nice one, too. Dammit, it's practically your ideal length, thickness, and sleekness, with no hair whatsoever. She turns the large, opulently-padded chair and flings herself down into it, still-covered breasts and bared cock bouncing, laying her cane on the desktop. Then, keeping herself pointed to the side, she points expectantly at the floor in front of her.\n\nYou take a deep breath, your own bare breast rising and then jiggling just a little as you abruptly let it out in a rush, before walking over and rounding the desk as well, then sinking to your knees in front of her. You stare for a moment at that infuriatingly lovely cock and its large, smooth-looking, hairless balls, before starting to lift your hands and lean forward.\n\n"Ah-ah-ah!" Cindi interrupts with a wag of her finger, making you lurch to a stop and look up at her in mingled sorts of annoyance. She giggles again, then opens one of the desk's large drawers, rummaging around in it with the sound of plastic containers bumping together. She comes up with one that looks sort of like the kind of cylindrical, cone-topped bottles that might be used for condiments like ketchup and mustard, though this one's a bright pink. She winks at you with those color-shifting eyes, then turns it upside-down and squeezes firmly with both hands. A heady spurt of material, somewhere between a projectile and a stream, fires out and strikes her cock, splattering all over it. It's a translucent pink goo, thin enough that it's almost liquid but thick enough that it holds largely in place. The scent of artificial strawberry candy assaults your nose instantly, that sort of scent that almost glows pink and is only vaguely related to an actual strawberry's taste or smell at best. Cindi gives several more squirts, aiming them at different spaces, until her entire dick is covered in a fairly thick layer of the stuff, laying on it like some sort of gelatin condom, her balls thoroughly splattered and dripped with it as well.\n\n"There we go!" she chirps, setting the bottle on her desk, then gesturing with both hands. "See how nice I am? Aren't you thrilled to get to clean me off now? Oh, start with the balls, please and thank you!"\n\n"Yeah thrilled," you mutter. You take a deep breath (getting hit by a fresh wave of the Strawberry™ scent), and rest your hands on her thighs, right at the top of the fishnets. Then, resolving yourself, you lean in and get to work.\n\nAs expected, the stuff is basically exactly like the sorts of 'liquid candy' kids get when they want to get really hyper really fast, maximizing their sugar absorption for more efficient annoying of parents and other adults. The feel of it on your tongue and the taste of that ultra-fake and yet incredibly intense not-quite-strawberry flavor that's still so intensely familiar sets off all sorts of nostalgia switches in your brain... which is mildly disconcerting (and extra lewd) considering that you're having them at the same time as you're lashing your tongue over a very attractive ballsack. The combination of being effectively blackmailed into this, a sudden rush of childhood memories, and the fact that you'd have loved to be doing this on your terms definitely creates a sort of strange, tingly, excited-embarrassed-aroused sense that has your heart rate speeding up and your stomach doing odd fluttery things.\n\nYou doubt she's going to let you out of this without obeying, and thoroughly, so you make sure you've had your tongue and mouth over every bit of her balls, suckling them and nudging them up to check for any dripped pink candy goo on the undersides. The whole time she just sits with her elbow on the desk and head resting on her hand, watching you with an amused, contented grin on her face. The whole experience doesn't really get any better once you actually move to her cock, starting to lick through the candy gel and try to suck it up off that annoyingly lovely and perfect prick. The stuff seems a lot thicker here... despite feeling the heat of her cock with every lick and suck, you're only gradually reducing the thickness of the layer of it. In the meantime the feel of it, gooey, thick, and steadily warmer, and scented and tasting of that intense, almost overpowering sweetness and berriness is smearing all over your tongue, your lips, your mouth, until you feel like it's sunken into you and you might never taste anything else.\n\nYou lick, and you suck, feeling the strange smoothness of the syrupy goo smear across your tongue and trickle down your throat, until your own saliva feels thick and flavored with it. But bit by bit, you're making progress, the layer of bright, almost glowing pink stuff gradually getting thinner, becoming a more liquid smear all over that long, thick, jutting length. You can feel your mind losing a bit of focus, your body taking on a faint, subtle urgency that's almost a vibration... it's been years since you've had a really authentic sugar rush, and now you're being hit by a doozy of one. It's almost enough to make you forget that you didn't want to do this in the first place, unable to help putting more enthusiasm and energy into licking and sucking and kissing her prick just because you've got nothing to do with it, your movements turning earnest and urgent just because you're getting hyper more than anything else.\n\nWhen you've just almost reduced Cindi's cock's candy coating to nothing more than a thin layer of neon pink saliva, she gives you a little nudge back with her hand. You lean back, practically vibrating in place and feeling a flicker of something strange between despair and delight as she squirts even more of the stuff on. Not quite as thick a layer of coating as before, in part because the bottle splutters, wheezes, and makes several rather more juvenile noises that you struggle not to burst out laughing at in your current state. Tossing the bottle over the back of her chair negligently, Cindi grins, then puts both hands on your head. "Now, open wide!"\n\n"Wha-"\n\nApparently 'Wha-' is close enough to opening wide for her, as she abruptly yanks your head forward, stuffing her candy-coated cock past your lips and down your throat, making you "MMF!" loudly and squeeze on her thighs in surprise. But she doesn't seem deterred in the slightest, instead just starting to fuck your face in quick, eager strokes, thrusting her hips up towards you and pumping your head over her with her hands, as much jerking herself off with your head as anything else. The thing is with the strawberry syrup as "lube" she can shove her dick down your throat easily enough, and it also churns your saliva further to thick slime, making the *splch splch splch* of her thrusts far louder, lewder, and certainly much gooier than the sloppiest blowjob you've ever given before in your life. And the sugar rush thrumming through your blood has practically turned into an aphrodisiac, your body reacting with excitement to essentially any stimulus and leaving you twitching and bucking, your pussy dripping onto the carpet.\n\n"Ah, ah, fuck, fuck, almost, almooooost!" Cindi squeals happily, before letting out a long, delighted shriek and thrusting forward, her cock twitching and throbbing deep in your throat, her now once more pink-spattered balls lifting against your chin. Then she suddenly pushes your head back, her cock still twitching and shuddering even as it pulls back and out of your throat. As the head pops out of the tighter passage, it fills your mouth with a thick spurt of her cum, which at first you think tastes sweet because of the lingering candy syrup still smeared all over your tongue. Then you realize that the taste... and texture... is different, closer to the gooey cream filling of some kinds of chocolate egg. She pulls fully out of your lips and grabs her cock with one hand, still squealing happily as she jerks yourself and splatters more of the egg-cream cum all over your face, as you pant and gasp with your mouth hanging open and thoroughly sweetness-smeared tongue jutting out.\n\n"Ahhhh... yeah, your mouth hole's not bad," Cindi chirps once she's caught her breath a bit, standing and pushing back the chair on its rollers at the same time. She strokes her still-hard, slightly pinkened cock slowly, thick strands of slightly yellowish goo swaying from the tip, before she picks up her cane with the other hand and raps it on the desk a few times before setting it aside again. "Now up! Bend over!"\n\nStill feeling a bit lightheaded and faintly buzzing all over, you stand up and move to turn around and bend over the desks, your movements seeming frustratingly eager-to-please since it's effectively impossible to hold back all the energy pumping through you from the sugar. Your breasts pillow against the desk surface, your ass wiggling in an illusion of excitement and desire (illusion, seriously) as Cindi rests both gloved hands on it and gives it a few moments of kneading. \n\n"Veeery nice, very," she chirps. Then she grins, lifting one hand. "Ass or pussy answer now!" she declares, instantly smacking your butt good and hard.\n\n<hr>\n[["Ass!!"|PervSim]]\n\n[["Pussy!!"|PervSim]]

The game studio's name is 'Lovely Elf Studios'... heck, you kind of have to go check that out, don't you? You tear off one of the little strips, which has an address in lieu of a phone number... must be angling for drop-in interviews. Well, you didn't have anything else planned today, and the address is actually relatively nearby, they must have their offices in one of the buildings here. It's a bit of a walk, but you soon find the building and yup, there it is, 'Lovely Elf Studios', floor eight. Wow, an entire floor? Well, you guess that's still the standard for an indie studio, it doesn't have to be just two people in an apartment anymore these days, does it? Or at least there are a lot of arguments about the subject on some of the boards you frequent, you're not particularly invested in the issue being such a recent arrival. You hit the button and wait for a moment, until a woman's voice emerges from the speaker attached to the box. "Lovely Elf Studios, may I help you?"\n\n"Yes, I'm here about the voice acting position?" you answer, leaning in a bit closer to do so.\n\n"Oh! Yes, please, come on up and I'll buzz you in!"\n\nShe sounded enthusiastic, you think cheerfully as you head for the elevator. Maybe you have a nice voice by default? You ride the elevator to the sixth floor, emerging into a small room with a single door ahead that has a card reader and a window. As you walk up to it you hear a buzz, so you turn the handle and walk in. The actual lobby area isn't very big, but nice enough, the desk ahead manned by a pretty, almost stereotypical young OL-looking sort of girl with a fashionable, shortish haircut and wearing a suit.\n\n"Hello, welcome," she says. "I've called up the person in charge of your interview, if you wouldn't mind waiting for just a few minutes?"\n\n"Sure." You turn towards the nearby seats, but don't sit yet, instead taking a look at the framed game cover art. Hm, they really do all seem to feature elves, you muse as you skim over them. Scantily-clad elves, too... well, not like what you wore when you were an adventurer covered a lot more. Actually some of these outfits are downright conservative compared to what some of your contemporaries wore. \n\nYou turn at the sound of another door opening, the receptionist looking over as well as another woman emerges, yawning and rubbing one of her eyes under her red-rimmed rectangle glasses, her brown hair and ponytail both disheveled and obviously in need of a trim. She's wearing an off-the shoulder black sweater and... nope, that's it, the bottom of it raising up enough to flash her pussy at the two of you as she rubs her eye. Well. Okay then!\n\n"Ki-chan!" the receptionist hisses.\n\n"... Mm?" The new arrival blinks blearily, looking over at the desk, then down at herself. "Ah. Yeah. Oops." Her cheeks only pink a little as she glances at you and holds up a finger. "Sec." She turns and hurries back through the door, albeit not that quickly, apparently unconcerned that the sweater is still only barely covering her ass. She closes the door behind her, and about three minutes later opens it again, now wearing blue jeans and a pair of slippers. Making her way back over to you, she grins in a thoroughly unsheepish way, tongue poking out in the general direction of the beauty mark on her chin as she adjusts her glasses, seeming more amused by her own absentmindedness than bothered.\n\n<img src="images/Kiyoshi.jpg">\n\n"Sorry about that," she says cheerfully enough. "I'm the head writer here at LES, Tamashiro Kiyoshi, though my pen name is 'Unlok-Ki'. You're here about the voice acting job, right?"\n\n"Yup, that's it," you confirm with a single nod. You've gotta say, the experience has already kind of been enough amusement to be worth it.\n\n"Great, come this way, we'll do the interview in the break room. And sorry about earlier, I've been writing since five AM and my brain's currently as underpowered as a cheap phone charger." She shows you the way down the hall into a nice little room with several vending machines and small appliances, gesturing for you to take a seat at the table. "You want anything to eat or drink? Tea, Ramune, instant noodles?" she asks as she swings open a cabinet stacked with containers of the latter and takes one down.\n\n"Oh, hey, I love that brand of udon, yes please." This interview is turning out fantastic already, you think happily as Kiyoshi uses the hot water dispensor to fill both containers and bring them to the table, setting chopsticks atop both.\n\n"I sometimes forget to get meals, so every time I come in here I have some ramen. I figure the days where I eat four or five times probably balance out the days where I forget," Kiyoshi explains as she fiddles with the cap of her bottled tea. "Anyway, if you're curious why the lead writer is interviewing you, it's because I'm also the voice director, which leaves me in charge of casting too."\n\n"I see, I see." You nod along, picking up your chopsticks and fiddling with them a bit, then opening up your udon and picking up some of the noodles to let them drip. "The girl at the desk outside seemed pretty surprised that someone was here for the job, even though a lot of the other tabs have been torn off."\n\n"Ah, yeah, that figures." Kiyoshi eats a mouthful of her own ramen before she continues. "See, one of our big selling points at LES is our voice acting. Specifically, our female voice acting... there aren't that many voiced male lines anyway, but before we formed this company we did studies and polls and stuff, and having male voices in games like ours is actually a huge turnoff for a lot of people. I mean if we were making otome games or something, yeah, but no one really wants to hear some dude bellow out 'Your resistance only makes my tentacles wrigglier!' or whatever in the middle of a scene." She shrugs. "I wouldn't mind if it was good acting, but that's the reality of the thing. Still, we get a lot of guys that turn up anyway, I guess thinking it's some ticket to lewdness doing voice acting scenes with girls, and not many female applicants."\n\n"Ohhhh, I see, I see," you nod along, stuffing your own face with udon noodles. You pause partway through chewing, and swallow a little early, but. "So it's mostly hentai games, then?"\n\n"Yeah pretty much all of them. LES prides itself for its variety of content!" Kiyoshi declares cheerfully, puffing her chest out. Then she shrugs. "I mean, they're all about elves to some extent, but branding is important too and there's always a market. Besides, I really love elves."\n\nA-awww? Still, you're processing this development a little bit as you munch on your impromptu lunch. You resist the urge to drink the broth despite doubt caring Kiyoshi would hold it against you, instead saying, "So you need more actresses?"\n\n"Oh yeah, we always need new blood, it's partly why our studio stays successful, we have a stable of regulars but also bring in at least one or two new girls for each game so that it doesn't get stale. I mean, you don't want someone thinking 'Hey, Elf Tree House Home is just reusing moans from Elves in the Dark!' and going on a huge internet forum rant about it. Oh, here," she adds, passing you a bottle of tea as well. "Now, what would you say your qualifications are for being a voice actress? You don't necessarily need experience, but still, what do you feel would set you apart?"\n\n"Well." You look at her, then down at your tea bottle as you try to open it. "I'm an elf."\n\n"... Eheh, yeah, the ears are cute, but I mean besides being an elf otaku," she urges, giving you a slightly grimace-y smile.\n\n"Hm?" You glance at her again, before refocusing on the bottle. Man, you hate this brand, it's like they weld the caps on. "No, I mean seriously, I'm an elf. A Shadow Elf from the Deepwood Fords, on Lytozia." Just to show that you can, you give your ears a wiggle, just as the cap finally makes a snapping sound and spins free. Aha!\n\n"Eh?" Kiyoshi's eyes widen as you bring the bottle to your lips, before suddenly bolting to her feet, hands slapping to the tabletop as she shouts out "EHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH?!", startling you enough to spray some of the tea you'd been trying to drink over your hand.\n\n"A REAL ELF?! A REALLY REAL ELF?! A SHADOW ELF FROM LYTOZIA?! FOR REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEALS?!" she shrieks, grabbing two fistfuls of her hair as she stares at you. "A REALLY FOR REAL ELF?!"\n\n"Really for real," you confirm with a bit of a cough, your voice hoarse from almost drowning in a mouthful of milk tea.\n\n"... Waaaaaaaaaaaaahahahahahaha!" she cackles, clenching her fists near her shoulders and looking upward. "This is perfect! Finally! An authenticity beyond everything I've been trying for before! An actual lewd elf for my lewd elf games!"\n\n<hr>\n[[Hey! You're not lewd!|SiphaJob]]\n\n[[Well. You're not un-lewd.|SiphaJob]]\n\n[[It's true. You are an authentic lewd elf.|SiphaJob]]

Glancing around towards the other lines, you spot a tall, mocha-skinned man wearing a dome visor instead of glasses, the headgear fitting around the front of the large bull horns jutting from the sides of his bald head. "HEY TY!" you call, his head immediately raising. "Someone forgot to tell the newbie about checking Guildcert!"\n\n"Dammit, newbie, blip her," Ty grunts back without stopping in his own checking of people, prompting the slightly smaller beefcake to quickly raise the little device to one of your eyes and click the button. "See that rosette that says 'GIPSE'? Means she's allowed to carry a weapon inside."\n\n"I'm sorry, ma'am, I wasn't told, you can go on in," the new guy says formally.\n\nYou give him a little whap on the hip with the back of your hand that says 'don't mention it' before walking past him and heading inside, swinging the katana onto your back and fastening it to the coat's straps as you do. As you pass through the doors, the anti-rain field washes over you, causing a thick mist to rise from your body as the wet is flashed off of you, the angle of the lights making the fog luminesce as it drifts off of you before quickly fading away. Inside, the Glowworm is doing its best to live up to its name... lots and lots and lots of glowing stuff. Lit cables drape off of railings and ceiling edges, virtually every wall, ledge, and piece of furniture is trimmed with glowing edges, and the large dance floor is a glossy black expanse displaying flashing colors and bursts of light like one big music visualizer... you think that's what it is, but with just how many people (many of which are also wearing glowing clothing of various coverage levels) are moving around and how many other things flash and glitter in here, you've never been 100% it's actually matching the slick, vibrant synth dance music playing constantly. \n\nYou meander through the club, partly taking in the ambiance of sentients dancing provocatively in what sometimes amounts to luminescent bikinis (or just bikini bottoms), partly taking in who's here. You spot Sakai at one of the tables on the lower level, surrounded by a number of good-looking people, some of whom are obviously fighters... he's the leader of the [[Holy Dragons|Kai1x5]], a gang that's usually in the midst of trouble with other gangs and often happy to hire a few extra blades for their fight. Also on the lower level, but tucked back into the closest thing the Glowworm has to a darkened corner, are a group of [[Transcendants|Kai7x1]], providing their own steady glow of lit injector tubes, stylish breathing masks, and here and there cybernetic eyes. The Transcendants treat intoxicants of all kinds like a religion... a religion they can be very practical about, since they always need capable people to guard and oversee deliveries for them. And on the upper level, in the VIP section, you see the massive, shaggy red form of [[Horace Allfather|Kai4x1]]... he's a gang leader too, but approaches his crime syndicate with an even more businesslike approach than most, to the point that it's basically a company. A very cold, cruel, violent company. If Horace has a job for you, it involves killing someone... for a lot of money that he will absolutely pay you all of like the utter professional he considers himself to be.\n\nYou could always go talk to the [[owner|Kai]] of the Glowworm, too... maybe she has some work for you. Like overseeing the training of her bouncers, since it's obviously lacking.

The Dragons are close enough to 'your kind of people' that, frankly, you just feel more comfortable seeing them for work. Besides, Sakai's never done you wrong... done you a little dirty, maybe, done you a little cross, even, but never outright wrong. Which is better than you can say for some. You make your way over towards his table, and at least he looks happy to see you, his short, spiky-haired head lifting and showing off the just-almost-handsome pale golden-skinned features, as well as the stubble of pale scar tissue running across his forehead and then back towards his nose, his eye on that side black scleraed and golden-irised with a slit pupil, the way the pupil shifts shape slightly as he focuses on you a tell that it's cybernetic, not the 'true dragon eye' he insists that his people spread rumors it is. "Kai! It's been awhile! How are you?"\n\n"Can't complain. Well, I could, but who would listen?" you reply, same as usual when you see him, earning a chuckle from him (and thereby prompting giggles from the girls around him).\n\n"Looking for work?" At your nod, Sakai taps part of the table. "Here, have a seat and let's discuss it, girls, scoot over if you would." Parts of the table retract, part, and lift, not so much spilling a drop or jostling the food inside of the containers they wind up shifting around, providing you a path to the booth seat beside Sakai, which several of the scantily-clad and heavily-accessorized women scootch over to clear, albeit pouting as they do. You pass through the little passage thereby opened up and settle down next to him. "Please, feel free," Sakai adds as the table closes back up, gesturing to the assortment of high-end bar food scattered about.\n\nHe waits for you to pick up a seasoned beef skewer and eat half of it while trying not to just ravenously tear through it, then speaks again. "So, let me guess, Doonian drank his way through all the money in the account again."\n\n"Drank and whored," you correct with a cheekful of beef, swallowing before stuffing a dumpling in your mouth as well.\n\n"Ah, noble pursuits for a man," Sakai declares half-jokingly, lifting the very large silver silk-clad right breast of the woman on his other side and letting his fingers run up and over it to flick her stiff nipple as it drops. Her smirk says she certainly doesn't mind being paid for her time. "But not so noble when they keep him from caring for his household. What is it this time, the water?"\n\n"Heat," you grumble, sitting back in the booth after picking up another beef skewer.\n\n"Mm, with a cold air system moving in over the next few days as well. I suppose he'll keep himself feeling warm with the bottle, but your fellow-"\n\nScowling a little, you toss the little metal tine the skewer was on into the bowl. "Yeah, my circumstances are super sad, I'm a huge softy who tries to take care of my fellow slave, can we skip to the bit where we talk about work?"\n\n"Sorry, sorry... you know how it is in my line of work, a bit of melodrama, it's expected," Sakai says with a half-apologetic grin, gesturing with his free hand while still fondling the woman beside him with the other. "As luck would have it, there is something coming up. A big meeting is coming in a few days... but we think someone might try to disrupt things and either keep it from happening, or punish its happening. So really we could use a few extra blades for the whole run, though we'll need you to stay close at hand the whole time."\n\nWhich means a whole week away from the apartment. Not like you don't do it sometimes anyway, and you enjoy being away from its shabby interior, your shitty bed, and Doonian for sure. But that also means not being able to look in on Zee for an entire week. You waffle a little, finally asking, "What's the pay situation?"\n\n"Kai, you've always done good work for me, and frankly I'm still hoping one of these days you'll let me buy you and make a proper Dragoness of you," he says with a smile, before his face becomes the closest to actually serious you've seen tonight. "Look, like I said, there's that cold front moving in... we'll pay you by the day, and have it delivered daily to Doonian's account so he can't splurge it all at once. And I'll have one of my people subtract the heat bill from the first day's and pay it out of that, so he can't avoid it. He might be upset, but with one of my men explaining how it works to him, he should still accept it."\n\nYeah... yeah, you can't argue with that, too much. Sakai does have a lot of guys who are better at looking scary than they are at actually fighting, and you'd be willing to bet Doonian can't tell the difference at this point. Intimidating him into letting the bills get paid should keep him from lashing out at Zee... you'll catch a real screaming-at when you get home, but that's a minor problem for next week you. Still, you turn it over in your head and ask, "Anything else? If I wanted to make a quicker cred?"\n\n"Well, you could always stick close and be my personal bodyguard until the meeting day." Sakai grins again, this time the glitter in his organic eye almost making it a leer. "You wouldn't have to go to the actual meeting, but I'll still pay you the full amount but for only two days' work."\n\nYeaaah you know what Sakai expects of his 'personal bodyguards'. There's a reason the big ugly ones are only his outward guard and not the household one. Still, making a week's pay (and good pay, considering the job and employer) for two days' work instead is a pretty sweet deal, and gets you unentangled faster.\n\n<hr>\n[[Be a hired blade.|Kai1x6]]\n\n[[Be a personal bodyguard.|Kai]]

"No offense, Sakai, but I think I'll take the hired blade job," you say a bit dryly, doing your best to let your grin take the sting out of it. "Besides, don't want Doonian getting one big payday again after what he did with the last one."\n\n"Ah, when you have a point you have a point," Sakai says with a philosophical air. Must take the sting out of someone saying you don't want to fuck you when you've already got an F-cup in your hand and half a dozen girls ready to suck you off under the table at request. "But alright, you can come back to the compound with us tonight, and once we're there I'll arrange the issue of your payment. You've been keeping up with your Nipponzi?"\n\n"Yeah, it comes up more than you'd think," you answer, switching over to the language the Neokuza clans and the people who populate their controlled areas of the city tend to use.\n\n"Good good. Doonian doesn't know what he's mistreating," Sakai answers in same, tsking softly. "Really, once this week is through, let's talk again about the issue of you joining the Holy Dragons."\n\nTheoretically there's not that much to talk about, you think a bit later as you leave the club, you and the other blades falling into a less obvious defensive perimeter, letting the bigugles be the obvious one. Sakai could just buy you from Doonian if he really wanted to and could convince the old bastard to sell you. Then he could order you to fight for him or warm his bed as he pleased, and you'd have to. But you'd never be a Holy Dragon that way... you could be a soldier, a fighter, a toy, but never a Dragon. And there's a rule of Sakai's clan that, as foppish and irreverant as he might seem, you know has been etched into his bones... a Dragon can only ever trust another Dragon. So he could fuck you, have you fight, but if you didn't ask it of him he'd never be able to trust you. And when death is coming for you, there's nothing quite like being able to trust the person standing between you and it.\n\n'Been awhile,' you think, scowling into the fresh bout of cold rain, trying your best to ignore Sakai's girls squealing about the few droplets they're getting despite the biguglies forming a wall of umbrellas to protect them.\n\nSoon the lot of you reach the edge of Holy Dragon Lake, a large artificial lake right in the midst of the city, no park or vegetation ringing it to make it more eye-pleasing, just rippling dark water surrounded by towering monuments of glass and light. Everyone steps through the sensor arch before boarding the rounded-off rectangle of a hoverskiff, the interior apparently only having room for Sakai and his girls. You're used to that sort of thing, though, still leaving your inclement weather hood down, letting the damp wind flick the cloth feline ears atop your inner hood as the skiff makes its way towards the center of the lake.\n\nIt passes through three more large sensor arches before finally stopping seemingly in the middle of nowhere. You can't help but hold your breath just a little as you wait... jaded you might be, but this is always impressive anyway. The water begins to glow from beneath, as if some great bioluminescent leviathan were rising to swallow you whole. Much of the water around the skiff begins to churn violently, enough that were it not parked so precisely it would risk being overturned at the very least. A pointed spire is the first thing to break the waves, followed by a sloping rooftop that sends water streaming down it, lights lining the rooftop followed by others illuminating the squarish structure beneath it, followed by a second level rooftop, and then a third that spreads out to the long wings of the structure that rise up on either side of you, until the glowing pink-purple markers that indicate the proper water level rise to the surface. Apparently to mark the Holy Dragon Compound's completion of its rise, a circle of bright color is sent arcing into the night sky, framing the main building in a halo.\n\n<img src="images/HolyDragonCompound.jpg">\n\nThe skiff moves forward, docking at the main door and allowing everyone to start trundling inside. Everyone steams as the weather field cleans you off, Sakai now fondling one girl with each hand as he grins over at you. "Ah, before I forget Kai, Kyoko will of course want to see you. You recall the way?"\n\n"Yeah," you acknowledge, giving him a slight wave of agreement before setting off down one of the hallways. It's decidedly low-tech in here, the floors designed to look like high-end woven mats and the walls with visible quality wood studs. But you know you're being tracked by a number of cameras, sensors, and probably a stealth-field drone or two. You're not a Dragon, after all... you're only trusted as long as you're being monitored, watched, and silently threatened at all times. You arrive at a door with elaborate murals on either side of it, waiting for it to slide open before announcing "Knock knock," and walking through.\n\n"Hello again, Kai," the Holy Dragons' raven-haired chief tattoo artist greets, her voice coming out somewhat electronically modulated through the vaping mask that's one of the only things that she's wearing. That, a pair of red panties with black straps, and a pair of tabi socks are the only thing covering her... well, the only thing that's not ink. Because her entire body is covered in beautiful, stylized renderings of the ocean, its ripples and waves, in a style she once told you is called 'ukiyo-e'. Diving and rising amongst the blue and white waves are at least a dozen dragons of different colors and appearances... you can't quite tell if some of them are the same dragons and just different inks were used for different parts of them, or multiple dragons are entwined so elaborately that the only way to tell them apart is the use of flat, metallic, or pearlescent tattoo ink. "Nice to see you again."\n\n"Yeah," you agree in the most neutral way possible, shrugging out of your jacket and turning to hang it on one of the nearby hooks. Even working for the Holy Dragons temporarily, every hired blade is required to get a visible dragon tattoo. Practically, it's so that the Holy Dragons can pick out the mercs they've hired and not accidentally cut them down or blow them away in the midst of a fight... culturally, it's so that if a hired sword betrays them, they have to walk around wearing the symbol of who they betrayed etched in their skin until they can pay to have it removed themselves, with every body artist on Makarzia knowing what that means. "So, belly or lower back this time?" you ask, turning back to her.\n\n"Shorts off, first," she answers, glowing red precision cybereyes visibly shifting and adjusting.\n\nYou hesitate at that, before making a face. "Oh, come on, for serious?"\n\n"For serious. Shorts off, and lay down on your back," Kyoko repeats, raising one hand. The flesh and blood ends about halfway down her forearms, replaced by carbon fiber cybernetics, the printing style of the surface resembling scales and the delicate talons on the tip of each finger reinforcing the draconic look, the beautiful ukiyo-e style wave pattern continuing over the prosthetics in etched silver. She gestures along the long, comfortable reclined black leather chair, clearly intending to brook no argument.\n\n"... Fucksakes," you grumble, undoing your shorts and pushing them down, bending over to work them over your boots. Fighting not to blush, or squirm as you walk bottomless to the chair and climb in, feeling the cool leather on your buttocks, you lay back and try not to glower as Kyoko slides the gliding stool she's sitting on across the floor. "Was this your idea or Sakai's?" you ask in a bit of a huff anyway.\n\n"He asked that I make it a little more significant, I was the one that decided to start it a bit lower down than usual," Kyoko replies placidly, carbon fiber fingertips moving to touch gently here or there across your belly or the smooth front of your crotch, making you fight not to twitch. You'd get more annoyed about it, but her manner is always so consummately professional that you find it hard to imagine she might have even the slightest bit of prurient intent. "You have such beautiful skin, you know," she notes, glancing up at you, cybereyes adjusting again. Even that seems more like a statement of fact, a professional's admiration. "Not a bit of scar tissue, not even any microabrasions from the previous tattoos."\n\nYou shrug a little. "What can I say? I heal up good. Not fast, not from extreme shit, but apparently when I do heal up I heal up all the way. Talk about a superpower that's only good for impressing an artist like you," you add wryly.\n\n"Still, you are a skin artist's dream, Kai," she says as she draws over her neatly-arranged tray of implements. You're unable to help feeling just a little nervous as her fingers pass slowly above the selection of steel needles with bamboo handles, before relaxing as she plucks up the standard high-precision inkneedle and pulls the cable from the non-business end of it, plugging it into a small, almost invisible port on her prosthetic. "Which is what galls me about having to put art on you that I know I'll have to erase again. This is the fourth time."\n\n"I know, I know," you say with a sigh, looking up at the ceiling and trying to ignore the quick little stinging sensation that begins with the buzz of the needle, tracing lines over the front of your crotch just above your pussylips. At least your body knows better than to try and squirm now. "I'm not exactly much of a joiner, I guess, even with the whole 'slave' thing aside."\n\n"I don't do slave tattoos," Kyoko interjects, almost knee-jerk, even as she pauses for barely an instant to wipe the needle and your skin before she continues.\n\n"I know that too, you always say that," you prop your head up a little, unable to help taking a moment to watch the rich black lines appearing on the front of your crotch before focusing on her. "You're tattooing a slave, though, what's the difference?"\n\n"If your owner had sent you to work for us, there wouldn't be one and I wouldn't be sitting here, you'd be getting a very lovely and very adequate tattoo from one of my assistants," Kyoko replies, never looking up from her work, cybereyes no doubt zoomed in closely on very private parts of your anatomy, and all for the sake of her art. "I tattoo you because even though your owner sends you out to work, you choose what work you'll do, and you chose to work with the Holy Dragons. All true art is an expression of will and choice, Kai... in the case of skin art, that will and choice is shared between the one receiving the tattoo and the one etching it." She once again does a quick, almost reflexive wipe of needle and your skin, before starting to work her way towards your lower belly.\n\n"... So we both have to agree to it, huh," you muse aloud.\n\n"Yes. You know that being tattooed is part of working for my clan, and you accept that. In return I do my best to put art on your skin. Though I am tired of having to take it off again, so, consider this my little rebellion," she adds, some amusement finally entering her filtered voice. "You keep failing to commit, so I tattoo your pussy."\n\nYou can't help but snort at that. "Yeah, okay, fair enough. ... Sorry to make you waste your time, I guess."\n\n"Time making art is never wasted. I may lament my little efforts disappearing from your skin, but I don't regret the making of them with you. All the same, consider Sakai's offer this time, Kai," she says, actually lifting her eyes from her work to your face briefly before she resumes moving the needle. "Because I'd love to spend the rest of your life making art together as you rise from hired blade to Holiest Dragoness."\n\n'The fuck is a Holiest Dragoness?' you think an hour later as you walk down the hall again, adjusting your coat as you go, a ruby red long-bodied dragon now emerging from below the waistband of your shorts and coiling around your bellybutton. Shaking your head at the innate melodrama of the Neokuza and all the other gangs like them, you make your way into the female mercenary dorm, ignoring the several other lumps in beds to flop facefirst onto an empty bunk. Then abruptly having to muffle a yelp, before wincing and rolling over onto your back. Kyoko's fully modern-style tattoos may heal up quick, but that's still tender.\n\nThe next few days are really pretty normal, involving mostly the occasional assigned patrol through the halls, occasionally stopping to look out a window at the neon-lit lakewater outside, bioluminescent fish flitting by in ones or twos or tens. Every so often the compound rises above the surface again, and at those times you're often called upon to stand guard outside, the air particularly frigid on the lake and leaving you zipped up in your jacket and trying not to be too obvious about shivering. 'Glad Sakai told me about making the old man get the heat back on, hate to think of Zee having to make do in this,' you think as you watch a chunk of lake ice go drifting past. 'She needs pants. Maybe I could ask Sakai to buy a pair of pants and give them to me so I can give them to her. He'd want something in return but fuckit, pants.'\n\nFinally the day arrives, and you're on the same skiff as Sakai that heads for the lakeshore. No hot bitches this time, so you're able to sit down in the interior with him. "So, one more time for me, just to make sure I've got it."\n\n"The meeting will be in a social club that's in an area roughly between all the involved territories," he says, the other blades, both hired and proper Dragons, listening intently as well. "Most of our men will be in one of our businesses that's within a short run, but they're to stay there unless we signal there's danger. We'll have three people outside, two people inside. You, Kai, as well as Mikon, will be my inside accompaniment." You glance at the elaborately-attired woman with fox ears, a tail, and half her tits out and give her a nod of professional acknowledgement, receiving one in return. "We'll all mingle for awhile, competing to see who can be the most casual and unconcerned about the entire affair, before we all sit down and start discussing what needs to happen so that we can all deal with the primary issue."\n\nYou nod, then blink. "Oh, yeah, you never did say what the whole thing was about. What's got a bunch of gangs meeting up to talk shop?"\n\n"Ah, didn't I tell you? It's these Street Demons." Sakai frowns. "They call themselves a gang, but they're more like anarchic terrorists who happen to commit a few profitable crimes while they're at it. They've no code that we can tell, they'll target anyone... other gangs, common criminals, innocents, city officials."\n\nYou'd already made a face at the very mention of the name. "Yeah, I'd heard they were engaging in some stuff with serious collateral damage, but I didn't know it was affecting gang business bad enough that you'd all at least talk about teaming up to do something about it."\n\n"Well it's not just the business disruption, it's the effect they're having on innocents. The Neokuza clans at the very least believe in protecting the community," Sakai declares evenly, putting a hand to his face, then grinning wryly as you snort. "Yes, yes, think of it as just a pragmatic attempt at good PR all you like, but we've been doing it for over 2000 years... at some point, an attempt to get good press becomes actual tradition."\n\nYou decide not to question his clan's supposed beneficence any further, instead just rising as the skiff docks and filing out with all the others, falling into an inner defensive line with Mikon. No biguglies today... well, a few of the people with you are in fact big and ugly, but it's all hardened professional killers this trip, you included. There's a brief stop in front of a large karaoke club and net cafe where thirty or so of them peel off and make their way inside, before all of you continue on for another block. The remaining blades make their way to 'nonchalant' positions around the "classy" lotech-style building, decidedly not looking at any of the other number of obvious killers doing the same thing, all of them staring at each other without actually letting their eyes land. You and Mikon follow Sakai inside, the interior muted but still somehow screaming opulence all the same, all of you performing much the same not-staring as the people outside at all the other crime bosses and bodyguards.\n\n"Kai, go mingle," Sakai says after a moment of exchanging overly casual smiles, headnods, and waves with some of the other well-dressed people here.\n\n"... I mean, isn't the purpose of a bodyguard to kinda be nearby and guard your body?" you ask back quietly, looking at him out of the side of your eye.\n\n"Yes but if both you and Mikon hang right over me it makes me look weak. She's enough to guard over me for now, danger is more likely to come once the actual meeting begins, just return to me when you hear the gathering."\n\nTranslation: the dragon tattooed somewhere on Mikon's luscious body (sure isn't her left shoulder... or her cleavage... or her right hip and most of that asscheek, since she's got all of those on display) is some more proper color like green or silver or maybe even gold, not the red of a hired blade. So between her and you, she's the one to rely more on. You resist the urge to roll your eyes, instead just nodding and wandering away a bit. Well, what now?\n\n<hr>\n[[See who else is here.|Kai1x7]]\n\n[[Find a quiet spot to get some rest.|Kai]]

Well, he said mingle, you guess you'll... mingle. Besides, might be a good idea to see who's here so you'll have an idea of how to kill them ahead of time if that becomes necessary.\n\nAfter wandering around a bit it looks like there are representatives of a lot of the gangs from the sector and even a few adjoining ones. You recognize Horace Allfather and a pair of his syndicate goons lounging about in one area with probably the priciest drinks this place offers. Moore and a couple of her Juicer Transcendants are lurking about in a corner, the look in Moore's eyes above her vape mask showing that she's relatively straight for the meeting and not enjoying it. There's Pink-neesan, which makes sense if this really is about doing something about collateral damage... the SeXXY Bitches aren't as much of a criminal gang as the others but they would be the ones to get hit hardest by out of control street violence. You notice a few others you're not familiar with too... Pink-neesan is talking (with an expression that says she's not really enjoying it) to a scarred and cybered woman wearing little more than panties, stockings and boots, and a chestwrap as well as various bits of jewelry and piercings, and you spot a few similarly-attired and rough women nearby, although one looks about your age and gives you a cheerful, guileless wave when you look over. Ooookay. You also see a small group of either full body cyborgs or maybe high-grade an-droids sitting off by themselves, all three attired in suits, the most human-looking one sitting with steepled fingers and staring unblinkingly at the room with black eyes and glowing green pixel-irises.\n\nThere are a lot of people here, which explains the huge size of the meeting space... looks like every major and even a lot of minor gangs are represented, and each of them brought two attendants, so. You keep making notes of them as you pass, not getting too close or acknowledging anything with more than a nod of the head, until you have to stop and stare, your jaw actually sagging. "N-... Niobe?"\n\n"Ohhh?" The woman looks up from the bench-style seat where she's sitting, currently dancing attendance on a youthful-looking boy in a black jacket, red tanktop, and long loose shorts, her arm draped around his shoulders and her head having been down to nuzzle in his hair, while a gorgeous woman in a little black dress and with her own pair of cat ears perking up from her long purple hair is perched on the other side, both of them looking more like dates than bodyguards. Of course you know that the woman between them probably doesn't need much in the way of guarding, despite looking like she's dressed for a night of clubbing than a dangerous meeting. Her own purple hair is cut short in a modified pageboy cut, large (and pierced) feline ears jutting up from it, her eyes purple and teeth sharp as she flashes a grin around the stick of the sucker in her mouth. Her big boulder-firm breasts are covered by neither the fur-trimmed, yellow-lined black jacket she's wearing, or by the blue and purple one-piece that's cut out specifically to show them off, but a very small black bikini top instead. She's apparently so relaxed despite the situation she's even undone her belt and let her little denim shorts sag open. "Heeey, it's the kid! Shoo, you two, I'mma have a reunion." Flicking her hands to send the other two off (the boy scurrying, the woman sauntering while giving you a poisoned honey look), she flops back and pops the sucker out of her mouth, the candy actually steaming in the club air as she tucks one white-sneakered foot under her leg.\n\n<img src="images/Niobe.jpg">\n\n"Niobe, you're on Makarzia," you say, feeling a bit dumb an instant later for stating the obvious. You try to pull your now somewhat tattered cloak of jaded who-gives-a-fuck back around yourself as you quirk an eyebrow and add, "And you're a gang boss, apparently."\n\n"Heheh, you got it, kid. 'The Geneslicers', that's my gang. I own clubs, whorehouses, chemdens, even legit markets, allll of it geared towards hybrids, gene soldiers, and other animalistic and enhanced types such as m'self," your former teacher declares, waggling her candy (no doubt infused with some sort of enhancer chem, thus the smoking) in the air before smirking and popping it back into her mouth. "And, y'know, enthusiasts. No slaves, no pressure, just like minds havin' a good time. S'pretty fantastic."\n\n"Sounds like it." You can't help but smile a little wanly. "It's great to see you."\n\n"Pretty good seein' you too, kid." Niobe's purple eyes roam up and down you, before she smirks again. "Still wearin' my old coat, huh?"\n\n"Well, y'know." You shrug nonchalantly, as if you didn't cry yourself to sleep the night you realized you couldn't smell her on it anymore and she was therefore really gone. "Keeps the rain off."\n\n"Mm. You're with the Dragons on this one? Guess that fits, I guess the one thing Ikes didn't suck at besides being a subservient little lickspittle was teachin' you to use that katana." She opens her smirking mouth to say something else, but maybe she saw the sadness crawling over your face because she ramps it back some and goes quiet. "... You're still owned by the old man, right?"\n\n"Yeah," you acknowledge quietly, bobbing your head once.\n\n"... Hm. Why doncha pop a squat beside me before the meeting, and we'll have a talk about that, kid?" Niobe suggests, gesturing to the bench beside her. Both of you glance up as the intercom starts reciting that the meeting is about to start in various languages, before your gazes meet again, Niobe not budging. "Cammy will take my place if I don't show, it's not that big a deal. Ditch the Dragons and let's chat."\n\n<hr>\n[[... Sounds good.|Kai]]\n\n[[... You can't ditch them.|Kai1x8]]

"Fine, fine, I'll go get some more money for you to guzzle and snort and pump away while we freeze," you snarl back at him before wheeling around, ignoring his shout of 'BITCH!' as you stalk back over to snatch up your katana. You stop at the door, take a deep breath and let it out, then turn around and find a smile for Zee, walking over to rest a hand atop her head. "... Sorry. Just stay out of his way for awhile. And stick to the kitchenette, it warms up some-"\n\n"When the upstairs neighbors cook, I know." Zee gives you a still shaky smile back, nodding. "Be careful, Kai."\n\n"Careful as I can. I'll be back soonest." You lean forward to give her a quick peck on the forehead, then turn and stalk to the door, resisting the urge to shout at Doonian to buy her some pants while you're gone since it'd be more likely to make him confiscate (and sell) one of her shirts instead.\n\nYou stop on the landing outside the entrance of the building, staring flatly at the rainy streets. Great, you half killed yourself completing that C-rank job and now you're being sent out again. You were really hoping Doonian wouldn't go through the money so fast, but it was the most you'd brought home in awhile so you guess he got all excited. "Asshole," you mutter aloud, your breath frosting a little on the wet air. \n\nWhatever. Doesn't change anything, you've been sent out to earn, and the sooner you bring back the money the more likely he'll actually spend it constructively and the less likely he is to take his bad mood out on Zee. He's not usually outright violent (you're well aware he could actually hit you with those bottles if he wanted to), but then his disposition isn't actually improving with age. You look up and down the streets, at the misty glow of LEDs and PCLs and even flickery, uncertain neon tubes here and there. So, money. Well, the first obvious choice is whether to do a transfer to the Guildhall and pick up some official work there, or to just roam about this city sector on Makarzia earning. Both have its benefits... the Guildhall itself is safer, anyway, and the payment guaranteed as long as you succeed. But there are also rules to obey there, and it's way easier to get in over your head really fast just by dint of taking the wrong job. Makarzia... well, the rules are really more like guidelines. You know this place and how to navigate it, who the players are, how to deal with them. While the certainty of getting paid is a little bit less, most of the people you'd deal with would know better than to try and cheat you.\n\n<hr>\n[[Go to the Guildhall.|KaiGuild1x1]]\n\n[[Stay on Makarzia.|Kai1x2]]

Yeah... best stay nearby. You always feel a little more comfortable when you can theoretically drop in to check on Zee at any time, plus this way you won't have to listen to Doonian bitch about the portal charges.\n\nYou take another look up and down the street. Okay, jobs jobs jobs. First obvious choice is heading down to the [[Glowworm|Kai1x3]], one of the most popular local bars, and see who might be looking for extra hands. For the most part that's going to involve working for some criminal underworld mover and shaker, but what the fuck ever, not like it'd be the first time. There's always the chance they'd screw you over, though, so if you wanted closer to a guaranteed payday (and avoiding even the slim chance of being arrested at some point) you could go to one of the [[Employment Kiosks|Kai]] the city put in as part of some official or another's crime reduction scenarios. On the complete other end of that, you could just [[fucking steal something|Kai]]... arguably the fastest and most direct way to cash, since at the most it involves the steps of theft->fence->money.\n\nWell, you guess there is one method that's even more direct to receiving cash than that, which is [[turning tricks|Kai2x1]]. Spend a night or two on your back with relatively low chance of getting sliced, shot, or beaten bloody (at least compared to mercenary work), and while you wouldn't make nearly as much as a full-fledged job, it should be enough to keep Doonian grumbling for awhile rather than shouting.

The Glowworm seems the best option, you think as you head back into the rain. At the least the climate control always works, the music is good, and if you get lucky someone might buy you something to drink (or better yet, eat).\n\nGradually more and more people are walking along the sidewalks with you, though they give you a polite amount of personal space... uniquely-garbed people openly carrying weapons tend to get that in the city, which is one reason so many people do it. Soon you're approaching the front of the club, the thick, writhing ribbed letters proclaiming its name pulsing with colors numerous and flashy enough to give any epileptic without a corrective implant a wave off into the hereafter. You join the steady flow of people getting eyeblipped and waved in, blinking as one of the armorjacketed bouncers puts a hand in front of your chest.\n\n"You need to head to the weapon surrender station," he says in that overly professional manner that speaks of someone freshly trained, pointing at the nearby kiosk that's largely deserted, since most of those heading inside are just patrons looking to dance and drink and hook up, and thus relatively few are actually carrying.\n\nSighing heavily, you look up at him. Do they grow these guys in a vat? ... Ah, wait, this guy was actually grown in a vat, you realize, his face is symmetrical. Best not think that again, then, it would be birthist. "You a new hire?"\n\n"Yeah, but that doesn't mean I don't know the rules, and rules are, you surrender your weapon first, then we see if you're cleared to enter the club," he insists, folding his arms over his chest.\n\n<hr>\n[[Argue with him about it.|Kai]]\n\n[[Turn in your sword.|Kai]]\n\n[[Convince him. Nicely.|Kai]]\n\n[[Call one of the other bouncers.|Kai1x4]]

"... Niobe, I'd really love to talk. About anything, not just that," you admit, glancing over as you notice people starting to move purposefully towards a central area. "But I can't ditch out on Sakai."\n\n"Oh, c'mon, Kai, this is the old man sending you out to pay his fucking booze and whore tab, isn't it?" Niobe says, scowling as she sits up straighter. "You're really gonna go scurrying off to do his work even now?"\n\n"He may've sent me out to get paid, Niobe, but this is what I chose," you answer, some firmness entering your own voice now as you stare back at her challengingly. "I made a promise to Sakai, not to the old man. And if I don't keep the promises I choose to make, then that's taking one more thing away from me because I'm a slave."\n\nNiobe is quiet for a long moment, just staring at you. Then she lets out a sigh and grins ruefully, raising her hands in a shrug. "... Shit, kid, when you're right, you're right." She stands up, taking a brief moment to fasten her belt before walking over, slipping a hand under your hood to ruffle your hair. "M'proud of you." Then she walks off, leaving you in distinct danger of standing there giving a fuck.\n\nBut you snap out of it quickly enough, hurrying to the very long table that's been set up with enough room between the seats for each representative to be flanked by their guards. You settle in to one side of Mikon as Sakai takes his seat, doing your best to look all solemn-faced and dignified like she manages to despite the combination samurai-streetwalker looking outfit she's got on.\n\n"Under the rules established by the Unofficial Business Owner's First Summit, let us call this meeting to order," Horace Allfather declares, causing many of the others to look grumpy since he's immediately snagged the closest thing to a leadership role the meeting is likely to have. The massive, leathery-skinned man with his flaming red near-literal mane of hair and beard smirks in a way that says he knows it and doesn't care in the slightest about being obvious about doing so, instead lacing his fingers and resting his hands on the table in front of him. "The issue at hand is, of course, the Street Demons."\n\n"Something needs to be done about them," Pink-neechan immediately speaks up, the fall of hair over one side of her face brushing over the medical-style mask that covers the lower half of it, eyes narrowed as she thumps a fingernail against the tabletop... all of those things (except the tabletop) being various shades of pink, of course. "You all may lose one or two people in each 'incident', but I've lost a girl in every one! Sometimes more than one! The collateral damage is too much, whether my girls are in one of your places working when they get hit or they're on the street when the violence starts, they're just too at risk! If you don't do something, I'm going to pull them all off the street!"\n\n"Much as I hate to agree with Pink-obaasan here, I gotta back her up on this one," the scarred and cybered woman from earlier declares while shrugging dramatically, while Pink-neesan very obviously fights the urge to strangle her. "The Crazy Hos are crazy but we ain't crazy, dig? We're way better set up to fight than her girls but that just sets 'em off harder, and they've got waaaay better gear and are just way better at killing than any of my psycho babies. We'll pull out too, and between her and me we've talked to all the good little street girls'n'boys, they're all in agreement, ya exorcise the Demons or you can go back to getting your sausage dipped and rugs cleaned the old-fashioned way... with your wives."\n\nA ripple of distinctly troubled expressions passes around the table, before Sakai clears his throat and speaks up. "I think we all understand the urgency of doing something about the Street Demons without the necessity of such statements, Pink-neesan, Rirorera. You are not the only non-combatants losing people to them."\n\n"Yeah well you start a war with these bitches and they won't be the last." This time it's Niobe who's spoken up, and you notice some shocked looks... she's probably the newest gang leader here, after all, most wouldn't expect the 'audacity' of someone like that to speak up. "Because that's what you're gonna get if you step to them, a war. And I'm not talking these little flings we all have in the streets now, couple of people pull blades, maybe there's a shootout between four or six guys, we all go scurrying off when we see the sirens flash. I've seen these types before... the violence just gets 'em worked up, they feed on it, crave it, they'll always step it up and seek it out. We step to them, and it will end with pitched battles in the streets, shit like you only see in war movies, big tough gang punks bleeding out from gutshots crying for their moms while mortars hit buildings."\n\nAn entirely different type of discomfort is shifting through the table now, seemingly split between those who don't believe her and think she's too fresh to be here, and those who do believe her and are extremely unsettled at the thought of a gang war turning into an actual war. "What do you suggest we do, Niobe?" the android from before asks, still sitting with hands folded in front of his lower face, though his pixel eyes have shifted over towards her. "So far every attempt at diplomacy with them has failed. I myself have tried three times, and three times I've been sent back to the Golden Cloud to be reborn."\n\n"And if Adam can't have a calm and reasonable discussion with someone," Moore mutters from a bit further down the table, scratching at her cheek above her mask in an awkward, fidgety way.\n\n"Look, I'm not saying we do nothing," Niobe says, flicking a hand through the air. "I'm just saying that when we do, we all need to understand what we're getting ourselves into. They're not going to fight by any sort of code, and we're gonna hafta take that into account about how we choose to go at 'em."\n\n"Yes, thank you for the assessment, but I do believe the rest of us have more experience at handling an upstart group of street anarchists, Aer," Horace speaks up again, chuckling jovially as he stares right at her with a smile that reaches his eyes in only the nastiest of ways.\n\nThe table goes silent. Everyone knows that Something Has Been Said, if not exactly what. You watch with dread as Niobe stares back at him, murder in her purple eyes, her hands flexing repeatedly against the tabletop as she quite literally fights with her body's instinctive impulse to launch herself down the table and quite literally rip Horace's head off with her bare hands. Instead, she silently stands up, stiffly turns, and heads for the door at a measured space, her now cold-eyed attendants following after her as much of the table stares in confusion.\n\n<hr>\n[[Say something to Sakai.|Kai1x9]]\n\n[[Keep silent.|Kai]]

You lean in a bit towards Sakai, whispering to him, "You need to do something, you can't just let him drive her out like that or you'll look weak."\n\n"What?" Sakai turns his head just slightly towards you, his lips pressed into a thin frown as he whispers back.\n\n"Aer was Niobe's slave name," you murmur back, seeing comprehension almost immediately dawn in his eye. "Dunno how Horace found that out, but he threw the biggest insult he could in her face at the first opportunity as part of his power play. You've gotta-"\n\n<hr>\n[["-leave too."|Kai]]\n\n[["-take him to task."|Kai1x10]]

"Shit, she'll wanna go with us," you say with a sigh, shrugging. "No way she won't. So yeah... let's wait for her to show up. If you've got goodbyes, start sayin' 'em now. I don't wanna drag this shit out or get tempted to do one more job, that's always the one someone bites it on."\n\nDepending on how you look at it, it's either a day and a half later, five months later, or two minutes later when four people appear back in a cell in an Argus Atlesian base, looking just as they did when they left. You spend a moment glancing around, then glower at your coats and the secure crate nearby. 'Told you.' "Okay, guys, hopefully this shouldn't take too long," you inform the others with a glance. \n\nAbout fifteen minutes drag by when a soldier comes in, mouth twisted as if he'd been given a piece of candy without being told it was sour first. "So it looks like you're free to go, with our apologies," he grumbles, moving to unlock the cell door.\n\n"Yeah you're just dripping with sincerity, aren't'cha?" you reply, not bothering to hide the contempt in your voice as he swings the door open. When he glowers at you from under the brim of his tall stupid hat, you just stare back at him, red eyes flashing. He looks away first. "Open the fucking locker, asshole, and get me my fucking ponytail clasp."\n\nSoon most of you are walking out with your coats draped over your arm, though Blake is carrying Ruby's too, the cheerfully smiling girl trotting along right beside her teammate as if she hadn't a worry in the world about getting out of jail. As all of you make your way out into the main base yard, your friends are shown out of other sections of the same building... Grey and Reese hurrying towards you, with Team JNPR rushing to meet Team RWBY.\n\n"Ruby! You're alright!" Jaune cries with relief, heading right for her, spreading his arms.\n\nDon't, you, Ilia, Phoenix, and Blake all send to him simultaneously. He jerks, a matter of inches from initiating the hug, and looking slightly hurt and confused glances around at you before looking down at Ruby, whose bright smile and cheerful eyes haven't changed in the slightest.\n\nO... kay?\n\nCordovin marches over, a similarly sour look to the soldier earlier on her face. "It appears that the warrants for your arrest were issued as part of a system error that was, in fact, meant to be a citation for meritorious contribution in the recent troubles in Haven. You are, of course, free to go. With our apologies," she grumbles, grinding her teeth. "However, due to this system error, it will take some time to process your earlier request," she adds, just a bit of smug coming back into her voice.\n\n"That's fine. Got your JAG office's card for my lawyer to call when he files suit?" you reply back breezily.\n\nShe winces, but fishes out a card and proffers it to you. Your crew... friends, group, dammit, whatever... all turn, Blake sort of hopping aside as Ren gets particularly close to Ruby, the smaller girl similarly scurrying to stay at Blake's side, the Mistralian man giving both of them an odd look.\n\n"Whaaaat just happened here?" Nora asks as she glances around at everyone as you're exiting the gates and heading down the road.\n\n"What just happened is we hacked the original hack," you answer with a grin. "The beacon I used to take us to Makarzia retained the coordinates of where I was when I used it. We were able to send our one group back into the cell, and another group to coordinates close by."\n\n"Wait whoa what someone hacked the Atlesian database within what like fifteen minutes or something and turned arrest warrants into meritorious citations what the fuck who did that?" Reese demands, green eyes going wide.\n\nThe bushes you're currently walking past rustle, right before Ruby Rose leaps out, dressed in her full Makarzian glory, flinging her arms out and squealing, "It was meeeeeeeeeeeee!" as a second figure, wearing a red-and-black coat with long forward drapes over the thighs and matching tails in back, one hand gloved in brown leather and gold armor pieces, the other synthetic and made of hex-patterned carbon fiber, face covered by a gold-ringed, smooth, shiny opaque black helmet-mask, rises from the bushes as well.\n\n"W-wha?!" Jaune's jaw drops as he stares at Ruby, then turns back to the other Ruby, pointing back and forth... then giving a yelp as most of your crew reaches up to their upper arms and deactivates their holoimagers, the yous of five months ago skittering and disappearing from the yous of today. Blake calmly reaches to the side, and into the uncloaked Ruby's head, the whole image of her skittering and disappearing, leaving just a black-surfaced, silver-lined ball in Blake's palm.\n\n"What in the world happened to all of you?" Ren asks, his eyes wide.\n\n"Makarzia," Grey answers for you, snorting, a bit of a grin on his face.\n\n"Yang, you... you cut your hair," Qrow rasps, obviously in complete shock.\n\nThe blonde stares back at him for a moment, before blinking and jerking her head. "Holy shit right, that's me, no one's called me 'Yang' in like three fucking months, sorry Uncle Qrow."\n\n"... What?"\n\n"She goes by 'Phoenix' now," you explain dryly as Ruby and your other crewmember step over, all of you urging the group along a bit. Specifically, you urge Jaune over so that he can stand on a patch of mostly-clear grass. You glance around below him for rocks, then look over. "Anyway, guys, this is our friend, we call her Lucky. She's not from here, buuuut I have this feeling you guys will get along with her just fine," you add as you tug Nora and Ren over beside Jaune.\n\n"Uh, well I mean, sure, I'd like to get along wi-" Jaune cuts off as your friend raises her hands up, disengaging her mask and lowering it, brushing back her hood to reveal bright red hair in a low ponytail that comes down a few inches past her shoulders, a scar running across the bridge of her nose just underneath brilliantly green eyes, another marking her left cheek and several at different points on her jaw, but all of it undeniably familiar.\n\n"Hello again!" Pyrrha Nikos chirps.\n\nYour head tracks the motion of Jaune, Ren, and Nora rocking briefly in place before toppling backwards and thudding to the grass in near-perfect sync. "Goddamn, it's like they practiced that shit."\n\n"You should see 'em dance," Phoenix snickers, drawing her hardpack out of her coat pocket, newly turned into a Pocket of Holding, and pushes up a dark pink smoke to snag between her lips. She notices Qrow staring at her and blinks at him. "What?"\n\n"Let's get these three up and go get something to eat, explain everything when we do. I'm dying for some pizza that the dough wasn't made with Makarzian water," you mutter, leaning down to grab Ren's arm and haul him upright.\n\n-\n\n"So you're not... the Pyrrha from this Remnant," Jaune murmurs, still looking overwhelmed.\n\n"No, I'm sorry, she's... gone," Pyrrha tells him, smiling gently and covering one of his hands with hers. "I'm not her... well, very much moreso after my time on Makarzia. But that doesn't mean I don't care about all of you, and that we can't be friends or... a team. We share much of the same history, I imagine. I don't think I'm interested in trying to replace your world's Pyrrha Nikos... but I can be a new one. If you like."\n\nJaune, Ren, and Nora are silent for a bit at that. Then Ren gives his small smile and reaches across the table to offer his hand. "It is very nice to meet you."\n\n"You too," Pyrrha agrees, giving his hand a shake.\n\n"Wow, our new Pyrrha comes way more accessorized than the old one," Nora chirps, pressing the gold-and-black mask over her own face, giving an 'oooooo' as it lights up around the edges and no doubt starts displaying its HUD. "Coooool."\n\n"Well those two are adapting fine," you note with a chuckle as you take a bite of your pizza. "Holy shit it's cooked worse but the ingredients and crust, holy shiiiit that is a hell of a thing."\n\n"So, uh... how long were you gone, exactly?" Oscar asks, glancing around from you and Weiss to the other tables, to the owner who looks some mixture of horrified and terrified to suddenly have a full place where almost half of the group is made up of some sort of alien street toughs.\n\n"Little over five months," you answer him after a brief hesitation. \n\n"Five months?" Qrow rasps, eyes widening again. "You were gone almost half a year?"\n\n"Helluva half year," Pho-... Yang comments as she puffs on her cig... then quickly grabs Ruby's hand as it goes towards one of her pouches, giving her a desperate headshake, which makes Ruby pout but relent and drop her hand.\n\n"You spent a half year in a cyberpunk dystopian hellscape," Reese says, her eyes fixed on you. "... And you didn't take me?!"\n\nYou snort. "Sorry, Sparrow, you were in another cell. 'Sides, if I took you to Makarzia, you'd be running a city sector in a month and I'd never pry you out again."\n\n"... I mean that is a distinct fuckin' possibility yeah..." Reese turned her look on Ruby. "So wait you're a hacker now?"\n\n"Yup! Prolly not as good as you but I can supplement it with my dataport thingy, especially here 'cause Remnant computers have like nooooo defenses against thoughtspeed hacks," Ruby declares cheerfully, before making a face. "Fee wouldn't let me get a cool cybernetic arm or eye or anything, though."\n\n"When you turn twenty-one you can cyber yourself up to fuck for all I care, but until then as Dad's standin I say 'no'," Phoenix declares evenly.\n\n"But yeah here y'wanna see?" Ruby chirps to Reese, leaning forward and pulling down her parka-drape some to show off her datajack to Reese.\n\n"Ruby, seriously, not in OH MY GODS!" Qrow shouts, actually almost falling out of his chair.\n\n"What?" Ruby blinks innocently, looking at him, apparently not even thinking of the rosevine tattoo winding collar-style around her neck and forming a knot around the dataport. "What?"\n\n"Easy, eeeeeasy," you urge Qrow, shooting a sheepish glance at the scowling owner as you rub the red-eyed man's back. 'It's not like it's her only one,' you think better of saying. "Okay, guys, we've all got a lot of catching up to do, but for now let's focus on immediate next steps."\n\n"I believe we still need to get to Atlas with that, yes?" Pyrrha prompts, gesturing to the lamp now returned to Oscar's belt. \n\n"Right, and no way Cordovin won't drag out our request for a citizenship extension return as long as possible, in revenge for her not getting to keep us in the clink," you add with a headshake. "So we need to figure out another way in. Luckily, I thought ahead, and while we were on the Guildhall I bought a direct line extender."\n\n"What're you thinkin', Red, the relay tower?" Grey asks with interest, lowering his voice and leaning in.\n\n"Yeah." You lean in as well, but switch to mental sends just in case. Here's what I figure. Fee, I mean, Yang drives Blake out to the relay tower. Blake, with the help of the codes from Jaune's sister-in-law, gets inside, knocks out the guards, and installs the extender. Then Reese, Ruby, and Ilia can hack the system remotely and send a message straight to Ironwood or Winter or something.\n\n... That could work, Qrow allows. The relay tower is one of the only ways to contact Atlas, and if you could actually access the restricted channels to call James direct, or I guess Ice Queen...\n\nYeah, we get out of this with a minimum of fuss, much fun as it would be to steal an airship, Yang agrees with a bit of a mental sigh, Qrow shooting her a look again.\n\nWe can do it later just for funsies, Ruby mentally chirps, blinking as Qrow shoots her a glare and prompts her to say "What?" again.\n\n-\n\nBlake hummed 'From Shadows' cheerfully, a plume of slightly orangish smoke drifting up and away from the expertly handrolled pillar between her lips as she switched the color on the spraycan she was using and started layering a different shade of red across the four-pronged, vaguely oak-like leaf on the expanse of the tower in front of her. Several guards lay nearby, propped up against the side of the tower wall, small baggies with an 'Sorry!' note clipped to each one resting in their laps. Her ears, and her tail, twitched at the sound of a sword being unsheathed, and she turned. \n\n"Well well well. It's been awhile, Blake. But I finally got you alone." Adam Taurus, dressed in black, a thin strip of cloth wrapped around his eyes, stepped forward, raising his sword to the ready.\n\n"..." Blake stared at him for a moment, her rolled smoke dropping to the grating, then raised her palm and poked it in several spots before looking back up at him. "Wow holy shit you're actually here. I haven't even thought about you in, like, months. Hey Adam, s'up?"\n\n"... Um." Adam blinked behind his bandanna at the entirely unexpected response to his appearance.\n\n"Wow you made it all the way to Argus huh? Oh my gawd wait were you actually on the train the whole time?!" Blake said with near-delight at the sudden realization. "I actually was seeing you?! W-wait, have... have you been... you've been doing the little ninja-run thing where you'd zip out and position where I could see you, and when I blinked or whatever you'd be all like 'aaaaaa' and run off out of sight?!" she continued, flailing her arms around briefly before bursting into laughter.\n\nAdam's mouth opened and closed silently several times. Even through the barely-coherent daze he'd been operating in since something broke inside him after the Battle of Haven, Blake was so different from when he'd seen her just a few days ago on the street that he was having trouble grounding himself in the moment. "Are... are you high?" he managed after a moment.\n\nBlake stared at him for long moments. Then let out a soft 'pffffft' and hunched in on herself, a hand pressed over her mouth and the other across her stomach, tail lashing. "Yeeeees!"\n\n"You... you're... I'm, I'm still trying to fight our oppressors, while everyone turns on me, while you turn on me, and you're sitting up here... spraying graffiti and getting high?!"\n\nThe black-haired woman stared at him blankly for a moment, before blinking. "Oh. Right. Shit. The whole... racism thing." Making a face, she let her tongue loll out. "God this place is so fuckin' boring with that shit."\n\n"What's happened to you?" Adam demanded, half outraged and half actually worried, stepping over and looking Blake's changed clothes and hair over.\n\n"Oh man you would not believe it it was greaaaat though I got given this little tree and... haha fuck lookit we're actually talking!" Blake said with a giggle. "We never fuckin' talked, not really! I mean the sex was good," she added, suddenly solemn, ears giving a twitch.\n\nAdam opened and closed his mouth silently again.\n\n"I mean, fucking hell the sex was gooood," Blake almost groaned, running her hands down her front. "You are like... fucking amazing, you know? And your dick is just... wow."\n\n"Uh. ... Yeah?" Adam prompted, actually starting to sound half-hopeful.\n\n"Yeah, too bad you're such a shithead," Blake picked up, giggling as his jaw dropped, then laughing out loud and swinging her hand in a hard smack to his shoulder. "You got me talking about your dick! You asshole!"\n\nA combination of Adam being completely off his guard, Blake not knowing her own strength due to her high, and the angle of the walkway all came together so that the simple smack on the shoulder sent Adam abruptly toppling over the guard rail, giving a shout of shock and then pain as he audibly hit several tree branches on the way down, before there was a thud and silence.\n\n"Whoops." Blake blinked at the empty spot where Adam had been a few times, looking back and forth between it and the new slight hole in the canopy of the tree nearby, before turning and leaning over the guard rail. "Adam! Are you still alive?!"\n\n"...yes..." came the faint, pained reply.\n\nBlake looked from the hole, over her shoulder, then back down. "Hey! How does my mural look from down there?!"\n\n"...it looks like it's giving me the finger..."\n\nBlinking, Blake turned around to look at the painting she'd done... then burst into laughter, clapping her hands to the sides of her head. "Holy shit it does! Okay, okay, I need to fix this, one sec!"\n\n-\n\n"So," Yang struggles to explain through her building laughter. "So the whole time I'm trying to do some combination of first aid and restraining him, Blake keeps calling down 'Adam! Is it still giving you the finger?! How about now?!'"\n\n"God I should know better than to try out a new ratio when I'm on a job," Blake grumbles, rubbing her forehead with one hand, a more reliable mix of Leaf tea in a cup in front of her. "I was just so damn bored."\n\n"Well, between getting the call through and capturing Adam Taurus, I think we're good on getting to Atlas," you note with a chuckle of your own.\n\n"Winter Schnee will be here late this afternoon to pick us up," Ilia notes.\n\n"Yeah and we found some heavy duty shit while we were in there too," Reese notes with a frown. "Though gotta admit Ilia and Rubes found most of it. Those dataports are fuckin' unfair," she mutters.\n\nGrinning, you stand up and beckon. "Hey, Reese, c'mere." Leading her out into the garden, you settle onto the swing and beckon her to sit beside you, draping an arm around her shoulders. "I really am sorry, Sparrow," you assure her gently. "If it's any consolation, I was thinking about you all the damn time, and about how you'd have probably fucking loved it there."\n\n"... I guess some," she admits with a sigh, leaning her head against your shoulder.\n\n"Well how about this for further consolation?" You grin, digging a vacu-sealed black plastic bag with a circular indent in it. No, not that kind, a little one. "I didn't want to give it to you before the mission 'cause I didn't want you to be learning on a vital need, buuuut..."\n\n"Ohmigawd." Her eyes widen. "Are you fuckin' for real?!"\n\n"Mmhmmm, this is one of the good ones too, bought it on the Guildhall. Self-installing, wireless capability, secure built-in firmware firewalls, the woiks. Ready to become OP, my darling?"\n\n"Holy shit you know I am!" she blurts, yanking her hood back and leaning her head forward.\n\n"Show me where ya want it. Needs to be towards the back."\n\nReese spends a moment running her hand over her neck, figering out a good spot, then placing a fingertip. "Ch'eer!"\n\nYou open the dataport package, taking out the included wipe and rubbing the area, then placing on the small silver circle. Reese 'grks' just a little as it whirrs and presses into her skin, then seals itself. You use the wipe to clear up the sole trickle of blood it caused, then grinned. "All done."\n\n"Shit that is some good stuff." Reese takes out her scroll, staring at it for a few moments... until the screen changes, flitting through different apps and screens without her touching it. "... I just came."\n\n"You're welcome." You kiss the top of her head. Grinning and giving said head a light shove, you get up and amble back into the house.\n\n"Um, Kai, I'm going to go out before Winter gets here, do you want to come with me?" Weiss asks as you step back inside.\n\n"Sure, Snowbird."\n\nThe two of you board a hovertrolley to the nearby shopping district, and Weiss quickly makes her way towards one of the basic clothing chain stores nearby. All of you exchanged credits for lien back on the Guildhall so you're fairly flush, but it looks like she's just in a hurry to change. Don't like your Makarzian look anymore now that we're back? you ask, trying to keep the sadness out of your smile.\n\nOf course I do, she sends back, though her mental voice is a bit soft as well. Just... I can picture my sister's reaction so I just think it's better if I change... my clothes... before she gets here. "Besides, we'll probably all need to do upgrades when we get to Atlas," she speaks up as she heads for the rack of T-shirts and starts skimming through them for a color she likes. "Our Makarzian clothes aren't exactly armored up to Remnant standards."\n\nThere's a slightly hollow feeling in your heart at the vague sensation of your crew almost literally dissolving back into Team RWBY as you watch, but you tell yourself you're being stupid. 'They were only ever gonna be your crew for awhile. Team KACH is your cr-... your team again. You're back with all the people you love. Be content,' you assure yourself as Weiss emerges from the dressing room wearing sneakers, jeans, a baby blue T-shirt, and a simple white windbreaker. "You look good, Snowbird," you say as she finishes checking out, placing her Makarzian clothes in the bag she bought.\n\n"It's nice of you to say," Weiss answers, smiling gently as she looks up at you. "But you miss it already, don't you?"\n\n"... The thing I care about most in the multiverse is right here in front of me," you answer her sincerely, gently cupping her cheeks and tilting her head as you lean down to kiss her. "Whatever else I miss, I'm whole when I'm with you. My Snowbird. My Weiss," you add in a whisper, brushing your forehead against hers gently.\n\nYour Remnant. Your Makarzia.\n\n"I love you," she whispers back.\n\n"Love you too." You curl a hand around hers, smiling at her. "Let's go save the world." 'And, I hope to the Dragon, go home after,' you think to yourself.\n\nEventually all of you make your way back to the Argus base, a few of you subtly flipping Cordovin the bird as you pass, making her splutter redfaced as you stroll past her towards the newly-arrived airship, this one with four long airwings with elegant nacelles. A woman that looks a lot like a taller, more austere version of your lover is standing by the open ramp at the back. "It is good to see all of you," she says primly, skimming over particular people with obvious shifts of her eyes that convey disapproval, before they land on Weiss. There is a brief 'what are you wearing?' look on her face at the 'commoner' clothing, before she steps forward. "What have you done to your hair?" she asks in a scolding tone, reaching a hand towards Weiss's side-braids... then looking surprised as Weiss leaps forward and hugs her.\n\n"I missed you," Weiss whispers, smiling as she presses her cheek to her sister's shoulder.\n\n"... You act like you haven't seen me in years," Winter says more gently, resting a hand on the back of her sister's head, and coming dangerously close to smiling.\n\n"It's... a long story, but it's been longer than it seems," Weiss tells her, making Winter blink.\n\n"I see. Well. Congratulations to all of you on capturing Adam Taurus. I will have a little... talk... with the base commander about how she's treated all of you," Winter says, raising her head, and it's gratifying to see Cordovin blanche at the look in the Specialist's icy blue eyes. "And then we will all board the ship for Atlas. Since you seemed to have a rather large group I brought my personal yacht... oh, do shut up," she adds with a glower as Qrow snorts. "So our return will be fairly quick. And I think you will all have a pleasant surprise waiting for you before you see the general."\n\n-\n\n"Sal-u-TATIONS!"\n\n"Ohmigawd PENNY!" Ruby squeals with delight, Semblancing out of the flying yacht and practically tackling the ginger girl with vaguely mechanical-looking legs and a green and black dress, actually making the android rock in place with the impact as Ruby starts nuzzling and kissing her cheeks. "Holy fucking shit it's Penny!"\n\n"Um." Penny looks like she'd be blushing if she could, a look of some mingling of bliss and utter confusion on her freckled face. "Oh my, um, it is, it is most good to see you again, Ruby, oh my..."\n\n"Fuckin' hell, it's good to see you, Pen," Yang declares with a grin, clapping a hand on Penny's shoulder and stepping in for a hug of her own after she's shoved Ruby aside. "Glad they salvaged your drive core or whatever you use."\n\n"Ah, it is a laser-etching microsurface hard record," Penny supplies, blinking her faintly glowing eyes several more times. "But thank you!"\n\n"Such language," Winter almost hisses, eyes narrowed at the sisters, before she glances aside. "Weiss, I don't want you picking up any bad habits like that from your teammates, understood?"\n\n"Eheh, heheheheh, of course, Winter," Weiss answers with a strained smile. Pick my pocket steal my smokes steal my smokes steal my smokes, she sends to you desperately.\n\nRolling your eyes and gently bumping up against her as all of you head up the walkway towards the towering structure of Atlas Academy, you slip the blueberry cigarette pack into one of your pockets. "So the high mucketymuck of all of Atlas is gonna see us himself, huh?" you ask as you walk along.\n\n"... Yes, I suppose you could put it like that," Winter says after shooting you a look. "He has expressed great interest in seeing certain of you again. Although I can't imagine why," she adds with a glance at Qrow, who grins back at her.\n\n"Yeah, well," you glance at Oscar, who grins sheepishly at him. "We'll see how long that lasts."\n\n-\n\n"... So, let me just run down the list," James Ironwood says slowly, chin resting on his laced fingers. His eyes are a deep blue, just barely showing bags under them, his hair black save for tufts of grey growing in at the temple, his beard somewhat shaggy and just a little unkempt. "Salem is actually immortal, and quite possibly entirely unkillable, but we might be wrong about that and we don't know, because if we ask the entity in the Relic of Knowledge, we could lose further attempts to ask. Further, the Mantle computer systems weren't updated and their security upgrades done when I had it done for Atlas, so are still as vulnerable as they were before the Fall of Beacon. Additionally, we may have an unknown number of 'Salemites' at large in the kingdom. Is that the extent of it?"\n\n"Sums it up pretty well," you allow with a bob of the head.\n\nIronwood leans his head forward a bit heavily. "I don't suppose you've brought me any good news?"\n\n"New tech for you to scan, reproduce, and enhance with Dust. A team of Huntresses fresh off of five months of intense on-the-ground training. Oh, and her," you add, pointing over to the masked member of your... party.\n\nWho once again reaches up to remove the half-helmet mask, beaming as she looks at the trio at the front of the room. "Hello again!"\n\nWinter and Ironwood's jaws drop. Penny makes a noise that sounds like an old dataterminal throwing an error code.\n\nI gotta say, I love watching you do that shit to people, you send smugly.\n\nI must admit I enjoy it a bit too, Pyrrha sends back dryly.\n\n"You... you're..."\n\n"Miss... Nikos?" Winter says faintly.\n\n"Oh my," Penny whispers, one eyebrow twitching with a distinctly electric click.\n\n"Yes, or rather, the Pyrrha Nikos from another Remnant. My fight with Cinder did not turn out the same way," Pyrrha explains, lifting her prosthetic hand and giving her fingers a bit of a wiggle. "All the same, although I am not the one who did it to you in particular, I deeply apologize, Penny," she adds, bowing to the android girl slightly. "I'm so sorry."\n\n"Oh! Um, I understand you were manipulated, but I appreciate your apology, alternate Pyrrha Nikos!" Penny chirps, perking back up a little. "And I assure you, there are no hard feelings!" she adds. "Whatsoever!" Then she hops slightly with a little hiccup.\n\n"Also, think of it this way," Ruby speaks up. "Even if we can't kill Salem, that doesn't mean she'll win. We kicked her guys in the ass at Haven, and that was when there was just three of us, with Blake outside kicking the ass of the White Fang, Red Fang, Whatever Fang! We've already proved we can win, we just need to keep doing it! I got up every night thinking, 'Hell I'm gonna go out there and win this', and we did, and we can do it now that we're back on Remnant too!"\n\nEveryone's quiet for a few moments, before Ozma chuckles softly, turning Oscar's eyes to Ironwood. "James... you once asked me if I thought my children could win a war. Well... it seems like they are no longer children. And my answer, which I hid in my heart before, has changed now. I will tell you, with all confidence... 'Yes'. Let them lead the way... they will win this war for us."\n\n"... Perhaps that's so," Ironwood says slowly, nodding once. "Maybe that's so. Well... let's see what they can do at least. In a few days we have a mission to recover a Dust mine, that we'll turn into the site of a project we have in the works... Amity Tower."\n\n"Amity... Tower?" Jaune echoes curiously.\n\n"A replacement for the Beacon CCT... launched high into the atmosphere, out of reach of the Grimm. A way to restore global communications. Where we go from there... we'll figure out as the project draws closer to completion," he says slowly. \n\n"And the Winter Maiden?" Qrow prompts.\n\n"Secure, and resting comfortably," Winter speaks up.\n\n"If you do in fact have new technology that can help us, I think the first order of business is to head to a design lab and start constructing upgrades for your weapons and armor, as well as uploading scans of anything you think we can use," Ironwood said. "After that, you can be assigned dorm rooms here at the academy, and start preparing to get to work. If you're willing."\n\n'Great, dorm rooms,' you think with a sigh, then blink as Ruby steps forward.\n\n"Ah, General Ironwood, sir? Remember how we told you we've spent almost half a year on that other world?"\n\n"Yes, which I admit I was dubious to believe, until such... striking evidence was supplied," Ironwood admits with a glance at Pyrrha.\n\n"Well I know that technically we're still young enough to be students, but all of us have been living as adults for awhile now, especially those of us who went to Makarzia. I mean, Yang and Blake are basically married now, sir," Ruby explains, Ironwood blinking a little as the bees just grin. "Kai and Weiss too!"\n\n"Wait." Winter blinks, paling a little (which is impressive for her). "What?"\n\n"... Ohhhh yeah I probably should've let Weiss tell you that first," Ruby murmurs, glancing towards her partner, who has her face in her hands. "... Shit. I mean, ahem!" She clears her throat quickly and looks at Ironwood again. "I mean, I think all of us are completely willing to help, and I'm pretty sure Pyrrha and I are fine with staying in the dorms, but can't you give something more, y'know... adult... to the others?"\n\n"I... suppose that's a fair request," Ironwood says after a moment. "On the floor above the student dorms are some quarters intended for junior officers, those should be suitable for double occupancy. Would that suffice?"\n\n"We appreciate it, seriously," Yang says with a bob of the head.\n\n"Oh! That reminds me," Blake says as she steps forward, fishing a small sealed metal cup out of her bag and setting it on Ironwood's desk. "Here, General, this is for you."\n\n"Oh?" He blinks as he pops the lid off, staring a bit at the still slightly steaming blue liquid inside.\n\n"I assumed you'd be stressed and tired so I made you some tea before we left. This will help for sure," Blake assures him, briefly putting her hands together and bowing her head, before seeming to catch herself and stepping back again. "I made this blend myself and I have quite a bit more, so please let me know if it helps."\n\n"Ah... thank you." Ironwood picks it up and sips experimentally, then looks surprised at it not tasting... whatever he expected when he saw blue tea. Nodding appreciatively to Blake, he says, "Penny, if you'd show them to the design lab?"\n\n"Certainly, sir!" Penny chirps, turning to trot towards the door.\n\n"Weiss?" Winter murmurs as she descends the platform and moves over to her sister.\n\n"Um... soooo... Winter," Weiss says sheepishly, grinning up at the taller woman. "... I'm gay."\n\n"... I see." Winter nods slowly, and looks over at you. "This is...?"\n\n"Kai. We... well, we don't really put a strict name on it, but... yes, this is the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with," Weiss adds, giving you a smile that makes you wonder how anyone could ever call her 'ice princess', considering your heart just completely melted. "Oh, um, actually, I wrote you a letter about it before I left Remnant, I never got around to mailing it, but... here, you can read it if you want," she adds, pulling the envelope from her pocket and proffering it.\n\n"Very well. We... clearly need some time to talk, later, I will try to see what I can do." Winter gives you a long look, then somewhat awkwardly kisses her sister on the forehead before stepping back.\n\nThe design lab is full of flat-topped desks, other people in front of them already, the tops lit up and displaying holographic projections of what's been laid on top of them. Blake looks like she's currently scanning her Makarzian jacket, since she's not wearing it, and Yang has up holograms of both Celica and her stun-knuckles. Ruby isn't immediately in sight, but emerges from a nearby curtain after a moment wearing her old Huntress gear and dumps what you assume is her Makarzian clothing onto the scanner.\n\nWeiss settles down at one of the tables and you pick one next to her, though you admit you're mostly watching her as she rummages in her bag and takes out her Makarzian coat, if you'd guess so she can recreate the internal heaters. You decide to shrug out of your coat and lay it on the scanner, intending to recreate it as close as you can but with Remnant upgrades... and try not to be distracted as Weiss starts crafting something that looks distinctly like an Atlas military uniform, with high-collared, straight-shouldered jacket and slacks. 'Overcompensating a little, honey,' you think, just a tad bitterly, as you get to work.\n\n'Well, baby, I missed you,' you continue monologuing to yourself as you set Red Legacy on the scanner, along with your rather large assortment of Makarzian weapons. You imagine before the day is over, Atlas will have several different designs for ammo replicator mags... you're not sure how long it will take them to actually replicate them or if they even can with current Remnant technology, but you bet they'll be excited. The dimensional pockets, sadly, you doubt they'll know what to do with, but at least you picked up something that lets you transfer the enchantment from one pocket to another, so you'll still be able to use them. You whip up a few designs to make versions of the guns that can use Dust rounds as well as their own usual mags, then make some modifications to Red Legacy's design that should allow it to transform more quickly, fire faster and more accurately, and make its own conventional non-Dust ammo so you don't have to sit around casting metal balls in your off time anymore. (Unless, y'know, you decide to use them for some fun nighttime activities, ba-dum-ching.) \n\nAs for your jacket... mostly you add a pair of kitty ears, one of them pierced, to the hood. You may have outgrown your attachment to Niobe's jacket some after getting to spend so much time with her over the last half year, but you still liked the look. For the lining, you think a bit, then replace the lining with silver armorweave bound together with Gravity Dust, and then coated with a very thin layer of something the Academy apparently has: Light Dust. Add a tiny power cell and bam, glow effect recreated, but at least some defense against bullets, blades, and claws, nice. You almost without think about it add Weiss, Ruby, Yang, Blake, Ilia's, and Pyrrha's emblems around it in recreation of the logo on the Table, but catch yourself before doing so. 'No. They're their own team again. You've got your own team again. Let it be.'\n\nOnce the design modifications are in and you've scanned everything else you think the world of Remnant might find useful, you put everything that's going to be modded in the marked secure bin, shrugging your jacket back on. "Hey, Coppertop," you say genially. Then grin at Penny's blink. "Yeah, that means you, cute stuff."\n\n"Oh! I see. ... You refer to the color of my hair!" Penny says, perking up after a bit. "Also my name! Also old batteries which had copper leads, referring to my nature! How clever! ... Also you have called me cute," she adds with a slightly pleased look.\n\n"Heh, yeah. I don't suppose you know about any good clubs around here, huh?"\n\n"I... do you refer to weaponry?" she asks with another blink.\n\n"No. Clubs. They play music, serve drinks, maybe people dance? Y'know, social place?"\n\nPenny shakes her head slowly. "I do not get to socialize much. I... did not have any friends until Team RWBY arrived."\n\n"Well we can fix that." You grin, tossing an arm around her shoulders, which seems to both startle and please her. "We'll go searching and you can come with."\n\nPenny is silent for a moment before hiccuping, and quickly saying, "But I am the Defender of Mantle. What if there is a Grimm attack?"\n\n"There are alarms for that, right?"\n\n"... Yes, of course?" Penny replies with a confused blink.\n\n"And you're tied into those?" At her slow nod, you ask, "And will it make a huge difference where in Atlas you deploy from?"\n\n"A... very marginal one," Penny allows. \n\n"Then c'mon and let's go."\n\n"She's right, Penny, come out with us and have some fun," Weiss adds, grinning as she approaches, resting a hand on Penny's arm. \n\n"It'll be great, Pen!" Ruby adds happily as she finishes up her work and hurries over.\n\nThat apparently decides it for the android girl, and she quickly nods. "Yes, certainly then! I do not actually need to eat or drink, but my father has recently upgraded my tongue so that I can taste, so this may be a most enjoyable experience!"\n\nReese suddenly appears beside Penny, a sparkle in her eyes. "Tell me more of these tongue upgrades."\n\n"Oh, hey, I know who we ask," you say with a grin after you finish rolling your eyes. Once all of you have filed out, 3/4 of JNPR looking a little dubious but openminded, you track down Qrow in the entryway, Ironwood currently walking away. "Hey, Pop!" you call, then 'grk' and blush as you realize you just referred to Qrow out loud the way you've been thinking of him for the last five months.\n\n"... Uh." Qrow blinks as he turns towards you, looking a little dumbfounded.\n\nElecting to just pretend it never happened, you clear your throat and say, "You know any good places around here to grab a drink?"\n\nQrow purses his lips a bit and eyes you for a moment, glancing around at all of you, then bobbing his head slowly. "Yeah, know one place. They didn't kick me out last time I was in Atlas, so it can't be that nice, but-"\n\n"That's fuckin' perfect, actually, lead on," you urge.\n\n"'Kay. It's technically a restaurant so you can all come in."\n\n'Fuck it's clean,' is your first thought as you walk into the Atlesian club, peering around at it, RWBY and Ilia both looking like they're having similar thoughts. Not that Niobe let Neo-Menagerie get filthy or anything, but the club felt... used. Like as a nightclub. This place looks either new or like it's been... barely used. It's not super fancy, and it is at least more of a 'bar' than anything else since there's dark wood and lantern-style lights. A waiter (t-shirt and slacks, obvious uniform code) actually shows you to a large table instead of just letting you find an open one or fight someone for it, and while the electro-swing music playing isn't bad necessarily, it's prerecorded and a little slow-paced for your relatively broad tastes, some of the people out on the dance floor coming dangerously close to slow-dancing even though they're not hand-in-hand. \n\n"Well, it's not too bad," Yang declares after a moment, shrugging with a 'let's make the best of it' look on her face and taking out her hardpack, extending a cigarette.\n\n"I'm sorry, ma'am," a waitress, also in t-shirt and slacks, says as she approaches. "There's no smoking."\n\nYang blinks. "You're shitting me."\n\nThe waitress's smile turns strained as she says, "Sorry, ma'am, it's Atlesian law, no smoking in public spaces, which includes anything that's not registered as a cigar club."\n\n"... Yeah, okay, sorry then," Yang mutters as she pushes the cig back in. "Could we get menus please?"\n\n"Certainly."\n\n"Yeaaaah this is about as 'dirty' as it gets up here in Atlas," Qrow rasps, grinning a bit. You can tell that despite his earlier shock (and some outrage) at how his nieces have changed, he's still getting a kick out of now getting to go out with them and do adult things like hitting the bar. "We can probably find some places in Mantle that are a little more what I guess is you guys' speed now."\n\n"Maybe," you allow, somehow doubting there's anything even vaguely like Neo-Menagerie in all of Remnant. For its steady blossoming into the Hitech Age, they seem to have bypassed the Neon Age almost entirely, remaining culturally old-fashioned, from what you've seen. "But hey, give it a shot. Speaking of which," you say as you open the liquor list first thing. "Wow. Wine list. And they have names, not colors."\n\n"Le gasp," Blake says flatly, before snickering and running her hand back and forth over Yang's on the tabletop.\n\n"Makarzia more and more sounds like my kind of place," Qrow snorts... then blinks as seven of you eye him. "What? No?"\n\n"Yoooou have your own brand of rogue, Qrow, I dunno that it jives with Makarzia's brand," you tell him with a big grin. "That ain't a bad thing." You look up as the waitress returns, having moved on to looking over the actual menu. "Let's get two orders of the chicken wings and one of the onion rings out first, I'll have a burger, fries, double bourbon straight, shot of the 'Cinful' whiskey."\n\n"Personal pizza, sausage, vodka on the rocks, ask the bartender to put in a little simple sugar please," Weiss says, proffering her menu. Then rolling her eyes a little when the waitress hesitates. "Oh, right, that's a thing." She fishes out her scroll and flicks it open. "Licensed Huntress."\n\nSince that's as good as saying she's a legal adult, the waitress looks at Blake, who hesitates before saying, "Fish and chips. And could I get a mug and a thing of hot water, please? Thank you."\n\n"Fried chicken, fries, Strawberry Sunrise," Yang orders, adding, "Please," perhaps in hopes of making it clear to the waitress she's not blaming her for not being allowed to smoke.\n\n"Fried chicken, fries, double bourbon on the rocks," Qrow rasps, looking between you and Yang thoughtfully... then clearly bracing himself as the waitress looks at Ruby.\n\nWho already has her Huntress license out and displayed. "Double burger, fries, extra ketchup, whiskey sour. It's reeeeeal!" she adds in a bit of annoyance as she holds her scroll up further for the dubious waitress to see. \n\nLike, it kind of is, sort of.\n\n"Same as her," Ilia says with a gesture to you. "Burger, fries, single on the bourbon, same shot."\n\n"I will have," Pyrrha says slowly as she looks over the menu. "A bowl of tortilla soup, a salad with double chicken strips, and a medium all the meats pizza," she continues, Jaune and Ren looking a little shocked, and Nora looking delighted. "And I think... a pear cider with a shot of that 'Cinful', please. My three friends will also have pear ciders but no shots, thank you," she adds cheerfully before handing her menu over.\n\n"Uh, we will?" Jaune echoes.\n\n"Yes, I think you will," Pyrrha asserts, grinning and patting his hand with hers.\n\n"O... kay. Um, a burger and fries, I guess?"\n\n"LARGE pizza with EVERYTHING!"\n\n"I... will have the house salad, add chicken, please."\n\n"Oh, er, just a burger. Fries. And, uh, I'll stick with water, thanks," Oscar murmurs.\n\n"The jambalaya," Reese says, adding mentally, I wanna see how bad they fuck it up which makes you snort.\n\n"Fried seafood sampler, corn on the cob, extra hush puppies," Grey orders.\n\n"I..." Penny stares at the menu, looking completely lost. "I do not... know where to start."\n\nYou glance at her for a moment, then grin at the waitress. "Hey, could you just bring her a pear cider and like an empty plate?" At the waitress's attempt at a cheerful nod you decide to tip decently, and assure Penny, "You can just try some of all of ours to decide what you like, Coppertop."\n\n"Oh!" Penny's eyes light up (more than literally). "That is allowed?!"\n\n"Everything's allowed until they tell you 'no'," Qrow posits.\n\n"... Oh my, what an interesting revelation," Penny murmurs, blinking repeatedly.\n\nAnd the meal is... nice. People are able to chat relaxedly, because the music isn't very loud, and everyone's food comes out pretty much the same, and the water is amazingly clean (apparently a combination of Atlas's superior filtration technology and access to glacier melt), and you kind of fucking hate it. But... you're with your friends and family, so it's not all bad, and you know that if you could just stop comparing it to early nights and early mornings in Neo-Menagerie you'd probably be happy as a damn clam, which are apparently the happiest things in the multiverse whatever they are.\n\nPenny seems to enjoy herself, which you also feel is important, and it's a happy bunch that returns to Atlas Academy. Penny shows everyone to their dorm rooms, and you, Weiss, and the bees to an elevator that takes you to the next floor up. "Here are the officer's quarters! These are available, so that you may remain close to the others! Ruby has joined the rest of Team KACH in their room if you wish to find her, I will look forward to many more enjoyable meals together!" she adds with a little salute. \n\n"Thanks, Coppertop," you say with a grin. "Whatcha going to do now?"\n\n"... I think," Penny says slowly, putting a fingertip to her lower lip and looking down. "I am going to go down to Mantle and walk around some of the places I thought were interesting when I was flying over." Then she smiles. "Since no one has told me that I may not."\n\nLaughing a bit, you nod. "Good on ya."\n\n"Have fun, Penny," Weiss adds, pecking the android girl on one freckled cheek, which seems to yet again both surprise and please her.\n\n"Well hell, look at this place," you murmur as you step into the room. It's large, and open, sectioned off into various levels and outfitted fully with appliances. The bed is sectioned off into a slightly raised loft area that looks like it also contains its own bathroom, which at a peek in is borderline luxurious, complete with both a bath and a shower. "Atlas is good to its officers, fucking hell," you comment as you wander back out and see that Weiss has moved to the window... you've got a hell of a big one, too, essentially wrapping around most of the apartment, the slight tint of the glass saying it's one-way mirrored for complete privacy. The view is of most of Atlas and, glittering in a bit warmer colors behind it, Atlas, and the gorgeous white desolation of the tundra beyond.\n\n"It's an amazing apartment," Weiss agrees as you step up behind her and drape your arms around her middle. "A great meal, too, the meat was all real, the water was so clean, the music was soft and relaxing, the wait staff was polite, not a single person had their clothes off, and not a single fistfight broke out," she adds, mouth quirking up in a grin.\n\nAnd then the grin fades, replaced with a look of gentle misery as she slumps against you. "... Kai, I want to go home."\n\nYou know she doesn't mean the snow white edifice of Schnee Manor that Yang and Blake probably have a view of from their apartment. And she doesn't mean the warm, welcoming room in Beacon Academy where she began life with her found family.\n\nShe means the shitty little one-room apartment above a sex club. With the bed on the floor and neon blaring in the windows all night. A hot water heater that went out at least once a month and water that couldn't be drunk out of the faucets. Rain on the windows that would make it stink if they were opened, a view of another building across the way and a plain street below.\n\n"Yeah," you whisper to her, kissing just above her ear. "Me too, Snowbird."\n\n"That place... it was never what I pictured home being, but... it was where we began our life together. That... that stupid cheap foam mattress in a box on the floor was our wedding bed, as far as I'm concerned." She sniffles a little. "Thinking of it sitting empty, cold and dark all the time, it's breaking my heart." \n\n"Hey. Hey." You gently turn her around, lifting your hands to cup her face and gazing into her eyes. "Don't let that happen. That's mine, remember? Don't break my shit."\n\nWeiss blinks, then gives a somewhat watery laugh, leaning up to kiss you. You draw her in close and kiss her back for a long time. And then you pick her up and carry her to the bed.\n\nYou do your best to bring some Makarzia back to both of you's lives. You kiss her neck hard, leave the marks, make her gasp, make her moan. You pin her wrists to the bed, and press your hand around her throat as you kiss her, and you grind your naked body to hers. You take her, claim her, all over again, and yet you can tell that for both of you, it simply isn't the same on expensive high threadcount sheets, on a matress that's probably never had someone on top of it before now, with the gleaming city of heaven where it only rains on schedule and such clear water you could happily drink it when it does.\n\nFor now, you'll have to be home for each other. But something will always be missing until you once more have her in that low bed, crying out and being heard through too-thin walls.\n\n-\n\nYou pull on your new coat, rolling your shoulders. Feels... just like the last one, man, Penny's dad does good work. You had your old outfit recreated out of armorweave too, and have transferred over all your various dimensional pockets before loading up with your new and/or refined weapons. You look over at Weiss, who's buttoning up the coat of her uniform-style outfit, and finally say out loud, "Don't you think you're overcompensating?"\n\n"... Probably," Weiss admits as she fastens a belt lined with Dust cannisters around her waist, then clips the remade version of her Makarzian sword, lengthened slightly and made with far higher-grade steel, as well as a bit more elegance and shine to the blade that's been laser etched with falling snow. She pulls the heater-lined cape on around her shoulders and fastens it. "But if I'm going to draw a line between Makarzia me and Remnant me, I may as well reflect it in my clothes. While I'm here, out in public I'm going to be Specialist Junior Grade Weiss Schnee, because that's who I need to be right now to save the world. Afterward... I'm going to toss this thing in the hallway and whoever wants it can have it," she adds with a snort.\n\nYou look at her for long moments, then say, "You're wearing pants so you'll remember to not curse around your sister, aren't you?"\n\n"You're fuckin' right I am."\n\nYou head out to rejoin the others, running into the bees outside the elevator first... it looks like Blake has gone with mostly replicating her Makarzian outfit like you, save that her jacket is now a longcoat, and Yang has added front flaps to hers and raised the collar almost to her ears, lining it with faux fur. You notice that her arm has been repaired of the various nicks and scratches it picked up over its time on Makarzia, and what looks a little more like the matching bracelet of Celica built into the wrist of it. "How's everyone today?" you ask, trying to keep genial.\n\n"Good, good," Yang replies breezily, stepping in with you.\n\n"Spent half the night flipping off Weiss's dad from the window but I'm good too," Blake adds wryly, Weiss snickering before clearing her throat and trying to look solemn. "... I miss my plants," she says after a moment with a sigh.\n\n"Bring any seeds?" you ask quietly.\n\n"Yeah, just... ... time, you know?" she murmurs.\n\nYeah. Time.\n\nYou step out of the elevator, stop, and try not to burst into laughter. "Boy what the hell, you look amazeballs!"\n\nJaune's hair has been artfully trimmed just enough to leave it with a rakish length, and brushed into a rather pretty-boy dishabel that comes very close to making him look like he belongs on the cover of a novel about a dashing Huntsman who sweeps a princess off her feet and makes steamy love to her while simultaneously fighting off the cad that her father tried to have her married to. (Blake's taste in literature runs to the tawdry sometimes.) He blushes, rubbing the back of his neck, his armor having been refitted into something slightly closer to full halfplate, but with lighter, thinner segments. "Ah, uh, well..." He points sheepishly aside at Pyrrha.\n\n"He does look nice, doesn't he?" she says serenely. She's combined some aspects of her original outfit with her Makarzian one, primarily in adding the armor portions back to her wrist and legs, as well as the red sash over tights. Ren and Nora mostly seem to have spruced their own outfits up, Nora's more cheerier and brighter by a near order of magnitude, Ren's a little more down-to-earth and professional.\n\n"We ready?" Ruby chirps. She, meanwhile, has recreated her Makarzian outfit exactly, save that it's now Crescent Rose attached at her back instead of her rifle, though it looks like Crescent Rose has now inherited the latter's LED decorations and thus probably its charging accelerators and endless clip.\n\n"Pretty much." You remember to head towards your team instead of lingering with RWBY, grinning at Ilia's own 'remaster' of her bodysuit and parka-scarf. "What the hell, Rainbow, shit's pretty as hell."\n\n"Isn't it?" Ilia grins, fluffing the perlescent scarf. "It's woven with Light Dust, so it'll match my colors."\n\nReese looks like she's made up for lost time, recreating Pyrrha's HUD mask albeit with a completely round purple edging and her fanged skull emblem emblazoned on the front of the visor in green. She's also designed slender purple fingerless gauntlets and boots with numerous green glowy bits, a harness that goes over her new black hoodie (which glows purple internally) and to which Lioncub is hooked in back, and in general looks like a perfect little Makarzian death dealing night creature, which really just makes you even more homesick. "Let's kick the tires and light the fires Boss," she proclaims, the emblem on her mask flashing with her words.\n\nYou nod, looking at Grey, who seems to have decided to go with 'I'm hitting a particularly nice club after I slaughter some Grimm' as his style with a long steel-colored coat and a fashionable button-up shirt with popped collar. "How 'bout you?"\n\n"I'm good. Are you?" he asks as all of you start heading down the hall. At your confused glance, he says, "You've been back from Makarzia under a week now. After five months solid of doing nothing but jobs there. That'd be enough to put anyone in a groove."\n\n"I'm fine, Grey," you assure him with a frown.\n\n"Red you're always fine as hell, but right now you're also pure Makarzian street punk walking around the halls of one of Remnant's most uptight organizations. Forgive me if I'm mildly worried about the potential powderkeg."\n\n"Look, I'll handle it, alright?" you grumble. "It might take me a few minutes but I'm a trained Guild merc too, and a Huntress. I'll get back in the right groove in no time."\n\n"Mhm."\n\nIn the entrance lobby, Ironwood and Qrow (looking more like he went shopping at what for him was a very nice store, much like Grey does) waiting with five people in slightly varied white uniforms, though you notice that all of them have also been fitted with full helmet versions of the LED masks, albeit with clear facebowls. "Everyone, these are the Ace Operatives. Clover Ebi in command," Ironwood says, gesturing to a broad-shouldered, personable-seeming man. "Vine Zeki, Elm Ederne, Harriet Bree, Marrow Amin," he continues through the rest, gesturing in turn to a tall, pale, gaunt man, a powerfully-built tan woman, a short woman with darker tan skin, and a dark-skinned man with a canine tail emerging from between the tails of his jacket.\n\n"Nice to be working with you," Clover says genially as he steps forward and offers a hand.\n\n"Yeah, s'up man, 'spec'," you reply, taking his hand and hauling him forward into a shoulder-bump, then immediately trying to suppress a wince. One word and I will legitimately kill you, you send directly to Grey, not needing to turn around to know he's smirking.\n\n"Riiiight," Clover says, eyes twinkling a little while Qrow puts a hand to his face. "The general did mention you were fresh off of a diversion to a particularly... different... place."\n\n"Yeaaaah sorry I'll get on the same page quick, no worries," you try to assure him, and yourself. \n\n"So you're the ones we have to thank for these things, huh?" Harriet speaks up, grinning as well as she knocks on the side of her helmet. "Not sure whether to curse you or kiss you."\n\n"I get that a lot," you assure her with a smirk.\n\n"They certainly do seem popular," Pyrrha allows after a glance between Reese and the Ace Ops.\n\n"They're a lot harder to lose than an earpiece," Clover says in an agreeable tone. "And with a bit of tweaking, Doctor Polendina got a lot of even more useful features that were already apparently in it unlocked."\n\n"... Wait, what?" Pyrrha says, frowning and pulling hers off to look at the interior of it.\n\n"Oh yeah factory lockouts to knock the price down are such bullshit," Reese says, reaching over to take Pyrrha's mask briefly, inserting a cable from one of her gauntlets into it, then after a few seconds heading back. "There you now have heat signature scanning smoke clearing and superior targeting unlocked enjoy."\n\n"Thank you," Pyrrha murmurs with just a bit of wounded dignity as she puts it back on.\n\n"So what're we looking at with this Dust mine clearance?" you ask Clover as he leads you towards the air dock.\n\n"Atlesian rank and file Huntsmen have already cleared out the topside Grimm, but they encountered a Geist that when it was pressed, fled into the mine. Self-preservation instinct means it's old, so that means it's dangerous. So we go in, we clear out any other Grimm in the mine, we take out the Geist, simple as that. Well, that and we try not to blow us all up by letting an explosion go off in a Dust-heavy area," he adds with a chuckle. "Of course we'll also be taking this opportunity to evaluate your performance, so be on your best."\n\n"Hup," you answer easily.\n\n"By the way, this will be an aerial deployment," Clover notes in passing as he heads up the ramp and into the airship. "So prepare for that."\n\n"... Fucking hell, I forgot they just did shit like that here," you mutter, digging in your pockets. \n\n"Gonna need help down Boss?" Reese asks, pausing beside you. \n\n"Nah I got it," you reply, taking out one of your bigger handguns and slamming a mag of Gravity Dust rounds into it. "Just don't expect me to make it pretty. You good, Rainbow?"\n\n"Yeah, I modded Lightning Lash up pretty good, I can manage."\n\nA bit later you're standing at a hatch watching it slide open, staring down at the white snowy ground rushing by below.\n\nYour face is as sour as the coffee in the Guild free clinic, Grey sends directly to you.\n\nJust... a lot of snow, you send back, trying to seem casual about it.\n\nRight. And it doesn't snow on Makarzia.\n\nYou sigh audibly, glancing at him. Seriously, if you have something to say...\n\nLook, Red, if stuff has changed and you want to go back to Makarzia when this is over, or whenever you want, that's your right. Just that while you're here, keep your head here. Fair?\n\n... Yeah, fine, it's fair, you send back, looking back out the hatch. I'm tryna work it out, Grey, honest.\n\nI know you are. You did good getting your crew through that shit without losing anybody or anything, and hell you picked up an extra. Just remember we're your crew now, and these jobs run a little different.\n\nI know, man, I'm sorry. My mind's on you now, for serious. "Well, looks like this is our stop," you announce as the light over the hatch goes green, hesitating only for a moment before giving a low "Hup" and just stepping out. \n\n[[Music|https://youtu.be/UgUYVllZLZ8]]\n\nIt's a nice high jump, so you have a little time at the start to just close your eyes and spread your arms and legs out, let the wind catch you. You can almost feel like you're racing through a cold Makarzian night on your bike.\n\n'But you're not. You're on Remnant,' part of you whispers. 'Remember how much you loved it here? Stop being a fuckhead... everything you loved on Makarzia is here with you,' the inner you continues at the sound of Crescent Rose firing, the sparkle of Weiss's Semblance in the air, the reports of Blaze Celica. 'Everything you missed on Makarzia is here.' You hear the flap of Grey's coat behind you, and finally begin to smile as Reese lets out a long "WOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" as she soars back, Lioncub transformed into a pair of glowing green thruster-wings on her back. 'You love it here, you stupid fuck. Start acting like it.'\n\nFinally, your smile grows wolfish as your eyes open. 'Fuck yeah I do.'\n\nWith that you whip the big gun in your hand downward and fire.\n\nThe Gravity Dust burst knocks you back upward, bleeding off some of your momentum. You fire the next one to the side, sending yourself twirling off and away from some of the others, towards a better avenue of approach, and fuck it, you fire another one behind you to get yourself moving forward faster again because it's fun goddamn it. You lean your hands back and rush inward, zipping over some of the machinery on the site before aiming forward again and firing repeatedly, sending yourself into a backward twirl, then firing twice more to arrest your momentum and drop into a three-point landing, crouched and with a fist on the ground.\n\n"Didn't even hurt my knees," you mutter, grinning.\n\n"Alright, people, you have three full teams so we're gonna let you take a pass at this on your own first. These new compact drones will be following you and observing your performance," Clover adds over the comm as your team forms up with you, a silvery little sphere hovering over to drift nearby. "The Ace Ops and Qrow will head up the tunnel designated 3C," he goes on, the drone projecting a holographic map of the mine. "We'd like JNPR to head to 2b, KACH through the main entrance at 1A, and RWBY heading up to landing pad AA since you have the best mobility."\n\n"Understood," you comm back.\n\nI'm really starting to regret scanning that thing, Blake sends a little sourly, apparently not too terribly pleased with the sight of the drones.\n\nWhy did you, then? you send as you holster the handgun and draw Red Legacy, heading for the main opening of the mine.\n\nI was feeling very connected with Ironwood, I think. Something about someone who's dealing with a bunch of shit and desperately in need of an herbal remedy to regain their chill reminded me of myself, who can say why, Blake sends back with a mental snort.\n\n"Well this place looks beat all to shit," you comment after walking through for a bit.\n\n"... Yeah a big fuckin' tunnel collapse will do that," Ilia adds after a moment, stopping to look at a sign painted on the wall. "Shit, I can't believe it. Of all the Dust mines out there, Ironwood picks this one."\n\nYou blink, turning to her... then make a face. "Shit, fuckin' seriously?"\n\n"Ayup." Ilia stares at the 'Schnee Dust Company' logo and the mine's name for a moment... then just snorts and shakes her head, turning to walk on. "Well. What the fuck ever. Shit sucks. Like you always say, Boss, let's get it done."\n\nYou look at the sign yourself for a second longer, then give a soft 'tch'and turn to move on. You can't help but give the drone a glance and think 'Enjoying the show? Someone back there running the family name "Amitola" against the people that worked here? Yeah? Fuck.'\n\n"Aaaand there's the 'collapse' part," Grey announces as you round a bend in the tunnel and spot a massive rock that's dropped from the ceiling to seemingly completely close it off.\n\n"Well fuck." You glance around. "They evacced people from this, right?"\n\n"Yeah, the Atlas Military showed up for that, I'll give 'em that," Ilia notes with a glance at the drone.\n\n"Well they must've gotten 'em by that somehow, check around the edges or something."\n\n"Huh. Hey Boss check this out," Reese says a second later, crouching down amidst some rubble and picking up something from amidst it, brushing it off with her fingers. "Someone's old scroll. New helmet pointed it out 'cause it's still got a weak charge."\n\n"Hunh. Take it back with you then and we can look at it later."\n\n"Over here," Grey calls shortly after. As you all go to join him, he points. "Looks like they drilled a hole through the softer rock at the side, but it's iced up pretty good now. One of the smols will have to go."\n\n"I'll handle it," Ilia says, slipping forward, her skin and clothing turning a blueish black to match the shadows of the passage. Just be ready to come save my ass.\n\nHup, you send back.\n\nThere's a minute or so of silence... and then Ilia suddenly blurts "JESUS!" followed by the sound of several gunshots from the light pistol she built into Lightning Lash's latest modification.\n\nApparently she slapped her comm reflexively because Clover's voice comes back saying a confused "Who?"\n\n"The fuckin' Geist almost took my fuckin' face off!" \n\n"Okay Ilia move!" Reese calls, the glow of her gauntlets turning purple as she draws back, and then slams her palms against the surface, smashing a passage through that you all run through, you immediately hauling the sprawled Ilia to her feet. \n\n"I didn't see where it went, I think it may have gone through a wall," Ilia growls as there's a cracking, whining noise, and twirling insectoid Grimm begin emerging from the walls and floor, writhing about in long segments and clacking multiple sets of mandibles. "Fuck, Skitters."\n\n"Well let's kill these fucks and find the Geist then," you reply, striding forward and converting Red Legacy to shooting mode, firing as you walk, the others doing the same as Reese draws and transforms Lioncub, Grey extending Hell Ticket's gun barrels. \n\n"They certainly use a lot of profanity," you hear Vine murmur quietly over the still open channel, making you grin a bit. \n\nAny of the Skitters that your shots don't finish off are easy work for a follup hail of hacking and slashing with sword, claws, and gunblades, and you take a look around before tapping your own comm again. "Yeah we've completely lost visual on target."\n\nThen you wince as the sound of Clockwork Dirge's shooting mode blasts almost in your ear, indicating Qrow must be standing right next to Clover as he fires. "This is Ace Team, we have engaged the target, all teams converge on our position."\n\n"On it," you reply, making a quick swipe of the hand to the others and heading towards one of the side tunnels. But a few moments later:\n\n"Target escaped. Last seen heading east."\n\n"Got it. Resuming path to the main chamber." You lower your hand and ask, "Reese, you got a projector and a copy of the map in those things?"\n\n"Sho'nuff," she answers, lifting her wrist and projecting the mine map again.\n\n"Yeah, good, okay." Tapping your earpiece again you call, "Okay people if it was heading east from Clover's location that puts it on track to 'subsidiary chamber D'. JNPR, change course, push or draw it out into the main chamber if you can, RWBY what's your ETA on the main chamber?"\n\n"Ninety ticks Boss, cut it down a little if we haul our asses."\n\n"Haul that cute little ass then Rubes," you answer with a grin, loading heavy conventional rounds into Red Legacy.\n\nSoon you emerge into the main chamber, and can't help but let out a long whistle. "Daaaaamn. ... Estimated market value, Reese?"\n\n"Just the stuff that's ready to carry out?" Reese taps the side of her facemask briefly. "30,900,000 lien. Approximately."\n\nYou spend a few seconds composing a plan for hauling as much of it back out as you can before remembering why you're actually here. Oh, right. Tapping your earpiece you report, "The main cavern's completely loaded, there's Dust growing out of practically every surface in the place."\n\n"I don't think we can fire any Dust rounds here and even conventional shots might be a bit chancy," Reese adds in as she joins the comm channel.\n\nJust as Team RWBY is emerging onto one of the uppermost walkways, Jaune calls over the comm, "Guys, BIG problem!"\n\n"The Geist has assimilated Dust into its body," Pyrrha adds a bit more calmly as she rushes out of one of the lower levels with the rest of JNPR, the thunderous footfalls of the golem-like body of the Geist echoing before it emerges into view, its form cobbled together from boulders, chunks of ice, and debris from the mine... and glittering with orangey-purple veins and jagged protrusions across its form.\n\n"Um fuuuuuck that would be Explosion Dust from the joining of a Fire Dust and Gravity Dust vein," Reese supplies. "If any of that goes off in here we are super fuckin' boned."\n\n"We'll handle it," Clover says over the comm. "Just fall back and try to keep it contained until we get there."\n\n<hr>\n[[... Fine, whatever.|SilverRing]]\n\n[[Naw, fuck that noise.|SilverRing]]

Control yourself, Sipha! Control yourself, think of what your mother would say! (... Actually you have this nagging suspicion that if your mother had wound up in this same position as you, she'd already have him lifted overhead and be sprinting to the train station, but the principle still stands.) Anyway, you clear your throat and this time actually pull out your wallet. "Hey, listen, I appreciate the offer..." Oh gods you appreciate it so much waaaaaah! "... but it's probably not a good idea. Here, let me tip you like I said. Here's enough for a few nights in the capsule hotel that's about two blocks down on the left," you add, pointing with one hand as you hold the money out with the other.\n\n"Oh. Um. Well, thanks, I guess. I mean, yeah, thanks." Nao definitely looks less than thrilled as he takes the money, which is a reaction you can't begin to start figuring out as he tucks the money into his pocket. "Um. I'm gonna go, then, I guess."\n\n"Yeah, take care, okay?" you say with a smile as you tuck your wallet away and resume your walk to the station.\n\nOf course you haven't quite gotten to the corner when you hear a wordless shout followed by "Let me go!" from behind you. Whipping around, you see that several men in suits with mostly-unbuttoned shirts have surrounded Nao, one of them gripping his wrists and lifting him almost off the ground as he kicks and struggles.\n\n'It's always something,' you think with a sigh, pausing only an instant to shrug out of your jacket before taking off towards them at a run. You cover the distance in barely an eyeblink, the suited men all visibly blanching at you seeming to suddenly appear right in front of them. You're a mage, not a fighter... but at the higher levels of power the differences start becoming somewhat immaterial. Your magical flow reinforces your muscles and reactions, making it absolutely trivial to grab a vanilla human by the forearm with one hand and slam the palm of the other against his elbow to make it bend entirely the wrong way. The man screams and instantly drops Nao, who hits the ground on his butt and for the moment sits there stunned, green eyes wide as he stares up at you grabbing a fistful of his attacker's shirt and shove-throwing him backwards, sending him arcing through the air to slam against a wall. You pivot and swing an arm to strike your palm against the belly of the one on your other side, similarly sending him rocketing backwards to roll across the street. \n\nThe third has time to pull a switchblade, light glinting off the point as he presses the button to extend it. 'Seriously, you picked one of the two classes of bladed weapons I'm actually trained in?' you think, and would roll your eyes if you weren't in the middle of a fight. You let him come at you with a stab, dodging to one side and turning, grabbing his wrist and pulling him forward against your back. It gives you ample opportunity to take the knife away from him, spin it around to face downward, and then twist and stab it into his hip. Well clear of any arteries or vital organs, but you jam it in up to the handle, so he instantly drops screaming and rolling back and forth.\n\nYour ears twitch as you hear a click sound that's familiar and just slightly different from numerous games you've played. You turn towards the nearby alley, spotting another man in a suit and sunglasses at night, to your perception moving slowly but still having just finished aiming a snub-nosed revolver, his finger tightening on the trigger.\n\n<hr>\n[[Use escape magic.|SiphaCafes]]\n\n[[Use attack magic.|SiphaIseStart]]\n\n[[Try to avoid magic.|SiphaCafes]]

Grinning wickedly, you reach out to snag Mikoto's arm, the slender boy giving a squeak as you half-topple him into sitting on your lap. "I thiiiink the first thing I wanna nibble on is yoooou," you coo, nuzzling in his hair near his ear.\n\n"S-Sipha-neesama, please!" Mikoto protests, squirming a lot but making no attempt to actually get away. "Sipha-neesama, this isn't proper, I have work to dAH!" he squeaks as you simultaneously give his earlobe a little nip and slide a hand up his stockinged thigh, gradually raising up that frill-trimmed hem up along his slender pretty legs.\n\n"Heheh, just actually say 'No', Mikoto, and I promise I'll let you go and give you just as big a tip," you coo in his ear, running a hand along his inner thigh, your fingertips teasing over the transition from stocking to skin.\n\n"W-well, Sipha-neesama, that's, um, that's..." Mikoto stammers, blushing even brighter and wiggling his shoulders back and forth, then gasping again as you simultaneously give his earlobe another nip and let your hand move further up. Time to play with your favorite toy this place has, you think as your fingers brush up against something smooth and round and mostly firm. Because despite all Mikoto's seeming innocence, you know he's neeeever wearing panties!\n\nOne of the ways Syota Saavisu keeps itself in compliance with various laws keeping a maid cafe from turning into a brothel is quite simple... all of the boys are put in chastity while they're working. A specific sort of chastity device commonly referred to as the 'Ball-Ball' that was invented a handful of years ago here on Earth. It's a ball with one open side, allowing it to be slipped over the penis and testicles and settled into place, then activated. It then seals itself against the skin (requiring a clean shave, of course, but that's considered part of the appeal) and expands the gel inside to take on a firm but still squeezable texture, not unlike a fairly resilient stress ball. Of course, for Syota Saavisu, this provides two main benefits... not only does it keep the maids in their legally helpful chastity, but since it creates a nice spherical jutted-out profile, it results in those noticeable bulges in skirts (and panties) that are such a part of the cafe's draw.\n\nYour ears wiggle with delight as you duck your head and give Mikoto's neck a bit of nuzzling and lipping, your lips brushing over the black lace choker around his neck, the front bound with a little pink 'Male' symbol. Mikoto's Ball-Ball is even blue and white striped with a little pink bow design up at the top to emulate shimapan... maybe that's why he never bothers with the real thing. You run your fingers over the surface, feeling them indent into it and have slight drag over the slick-tacky surface, Mikoto squirming even more and making several soft, breathy noises as your touches stimulate his cock and balls through the firmed-up gel surrounding them. After all, it's not like you're actually touching those, you think with a smirk as you cup your hand around the ball and give a gentle squeeze, Mikoto arching in your lap... legally all you're doing is playing with a part of his uniform, the same as giving his skirt a shake or sleeve a tug! Smirking, you slide your other around him, hugging him a bit closer on your lap as your other hand slides between his legs as well, further down, to begin pressing and tracing slow designs over the fully smooth, angular surface of the jewel-based plug filling his hole. Gotta make sure the maids are inaccessible to male customers or any other form of probing, obviously, putting pretty jeweled buttplugs in their cute little asses is definitely definitely a purely legal concern.\n\nYou spend a good ten minutes toying with Mikoto, squeezing and rubbing his Ball-Ball and toying with his plug, alternately stroking and squeezing the former while urging the latter in tiny little circles to stimulate him. It might be a bit longer than is strictly polite considering you're holding up any of his other tables, but oh well... everyone seems to be enjoying the show anyway. Finally, having made Mikoto shudder in what you expect might be a small cumless orgasm, you give his Ball-Ball one last affectionate squeeze before releasing him and nudging him to slip off your lap. "I'll have a large ice cream float, extra special omelette, with sides of curry rice and fries," you announce cheerfully.\n\n"Y-yes, Sipha-neesama," Mikoto says breathlessly, bobbing his head several times, before turning and scurrying off to put the order in, pausing only long enough to bow apologetically at the tables he neglected while you were cuddlesting him.\n\nYou toss the other tables an apologetic grin of your own along with a 'Can't help myself' shrug... right before snagging one of the other maids as he passes by, bending him over the table and pushing his skirt up. "Oooo, blue satin today, very cute Ibuki!"\n\n"Kyaaa! S-Sipha-neesama, I need to take mmmmf," he trails off with a moan as you pull down the back of his panties and press directly in the center of the jewel on his plug, working it around in a slow-motion version of some of your better joystick moves. "I n-need to take an order..."\n\n"It's okay, they can wait ooooone minu~te!"\n\nTrue to your word you only play with Ibuki for a minute or so before tugging his panties back up and giving him a gentle smack on the butt before tugging his skirt back down and sending him on his way. Ahhh yeah your batteries are definitely feeling refilled now! ... But nothing says you can't overcharge some to make sure you've got good cheer to see you through for awhile yet.\n\nSoooo that's how you wind up spending the rest of the day at Syota Saavisu. Of course it was fairly late in the afternoon when you got here so that's not quite as long as it sounds like. And while you continue to make pretty free with the cute boi-maids, snagging them and pulling them over for nibbles and rubs and squeezes, and even several of the more extended cuddle-molesting sessions like you had first with Mikoto, you make sure not to be a bad customer about it. You order food regularly, especially the higher-end items, and make sure to tip any of the maids that go off their shifts before you leave. By the time the cafe's ready to close up, you feel a sort of deep, almost spiritual contentment that your magic teachers assured you would take decades of meditation and bodily deprivation to achieve. Fools, if only they had known the power of trap cafes! Feeling particularly smug, if significantly lighter in the wallet (you definitely blew your casual entertainment budget for this month), you stroll out to the street and down the sidewalk with your hands in your jacket pockets. 'And now, to go home and masturbate until I pass out.'\n\n"H-hey!" calls a voice from behind you, causing you to blink and stop, turning to face it. It's a boy... a very cute boy who barely comes up to your shoulder. He has bright red hair pulled into a ponytail behind him, and is wearing a slightly oversized hoodie and slightly baggy jeans, both of them emphasizing his smallish build. "Um, hey, you know, you caused a lot of trouble for me tonight, y'know. ... Having to cover the others' tables and everything," he completes in an embarrassed mutter, glancing aside and rubbing his sleeve with one hand. \n\n"Oh?" You blink... ah, yeah, you did notice him, especially since he was new for this visit. He was in a short-sleeved maid outfit, the kind that was simultaneously girly and yet combined with his look and manner totally said 'this is a very cute boy dressed like a girl' as opposed to most of the others who looked almost entirely feminine. Of course, there'd obviously be a demand for that sort too (they're even more popular with most female customers than the other kind), but since he seemed to be steering clear of your table you didn't make any moves on him. After all, you only tend to make as free as you do with the maids because, by dint of being a regular, you've repeatedly assured them all that they can say 'no' when they want and you won't dock their tips for it. But let's see, you do think you caught his name... "Ah, Nao, wasn't it? Sorry. Here lemme tip you too, I think I've still got some money on me," you say as you start to fish out your wallet.\n\nImmediately his hands come up and out, as if waiting to receive the money, before he snatches them back. "Er, wait, that wasn't what I was gonna ask! The... the thing is..." He squirms nervously in place, kicking a sneaker against the pavement. "The thing is, I... don't really have anywhere to go tonight."\n\n"Ah?" You blink again. "Can't you go home to your parents? They have to take care of you here, don't they?"\n\nNao's face flushes. "I'm twenty-one! I'm a college student!" Then he winces a little and mutters, head lowering, "Or... I was."\n\nOh, oh right, sometimes you can almost forget... the cafe only hires people that are legal to work in that sort of establishment. So obviously he'd probably be an adult who just looks young. "So you need somewhere to stay?"\n\n"... Yeah." He nods once, looking up at you again. "Like, maybe even for only one night, I just, y'know... need a roof over my head for a little while until I get my paycheck! With that and tips I should be able to work something out, but... but no way can I stay on the streets, s-so..." His face goes red, and he obviously struggles for a moment before blurting, "So I'll do what you like if you let me stay at your place!"\n\n... hweh... i-is blood dripping from your nose? It... it feels like your nose might be bleeding. 'What is this h-doujin setup?' you think, torn somewhere between doubtful, absolutely delighted, and vaguely horrified as you bring your hands up to your cheeks. "W-wait, seriously, are you... are you saying anything is okay?"\n\n"I... I mean, since you're a woman, y-yeah, I guess," he murmurs, lowering his blushing face some. You'd swear you could see the steam rising from the top of his head, he's so overheated. "I'll... I'll even let you dress me up as you like, if that's what you want."\n\nOh yeah your nose is definitely bleeding. You hurriedly wipe it on your jacket sleeve, veritably shivering in excitement. Oh yes, oh yes, your very own cute legal shota to toy with all you want! You... okay maybe you need to calm down, you're breathing heavily through your mouth and drooling. Wiping your face again, you do your best to make yourself think. Okay, okay, so... so maybe it wouldn't be a good idea to take him home. Among other things you might get a little too carried away... you might lose all control and do things to the poor boy! The lewdest, dirtiest, most wicked, most perverse things you've considered putting your magic to use for since you arrived here and had your eyes opened to all the delightfully lewd possibilities they presented, heheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheHEM. ... Right, maybe it's not a good idea.\n\n<hr>\n[[It's definitely not a good idea.|SiphaCafes1x3]]\n\n[[WHO CARES DO IT ANYWAY!!!!!!!!!!|SiphaCafes]]

Syota Saavisu is sort of one of your favorites. You've been in a few times before and... well, the boys are really cute! The food's actually pretty good, too. You head on over towards the shop, with the sign showing a cute girlish maid with a flat chest, holding a tray in one hand and the hem of the outfit's skirt in the other to lift it up enough to allllmost show something, the maid's tongue poking out a bit from a cheeky smile.\n\n"Welcome back, Master!" most of the maids chorus the moment you walk in, as is standard of this sort of place. Ahhhh... their voices are so cute! Somehow girlish voices are even cuter when you know they're not girls! Letting out a happy fujo sigh, you settle into place at the counter and wait for one of the maids to come over and seat you, looking over the cafe's primary draw as you do. They do indeed look like boys in perhaps their early teens, no matter what their actual ages. There's a variety of maid outfits, from full-length skirt to flashy gothic lolita, but the one thing in common is that most of them have an obvious bulge in the front. Not a particularly huge one, but it's obvious enough that it shows when most of them are standing upright... for the ones with tight skirts it shows all the time. Hhhha... what a wonderful culture you've stepped into. Your ears perk up some as one walks over, a meido with half-thigh length loose skirt and long, looong black hair that's perfectly straight and capped by a lace-frilled hairband. Oh good, it's even a cutie you know!\n\n"Welcome back, Sipha-neesama," Mikoto says, his cheeks coloring slightly as he gives you a quick bow. "It's always nice to see you. We have your usual table open, please come right this way."\n\n"Hi~ Mikoto~," you chorus back happily, grinning with delight as he turns and leads you to one of the best tables in the house... since it has a view of most of the rest of the cafe. You're a semi-regular at the least, after all, and while this cafe actually gets mostly women as customers, they no doubt think that a cute 'cosplayer' like you with your pointy ears and tan skin and yellow eyes might help draw more customers. (Coincidentally, the good table is also near a window, how 'bout that?) You settle into your seat, grinning as the pretty young thing lays a menu in front of you. Mikoto is the 'sweet, shy, and innocent' sort... you have no idea if it's an act for the job or not, but if so he's very good at it, so you try not to think too hard about it.\n\n"What are you thinking you'd like to start off with today, Sipha-neesama?" Mikoto asks, hugging his order tablet to his chest and gazing at you with big grey-blue eyes as he gives you the most adorable smile.\n\n'You,' immediately comes to mind. Because due to the various steps this cafe has taken, female customers especially can get away with a lot. So the question is, whether to make an appetizer of feeling up the cute boi-maid, or behave yourself and concentrate on getting some food.\n\n<hr>\n[[Be good.|SiphaCafes]]\n\n[[Be bad~.|SiphaCafes1x2]]

Your flustered stammering in attempting to say the deactivation phrase cuts off suddenly. Not because you stopped it... your mouth is still moving, and you can still feel yourself speaking, just that none of the sound is actually reaching your ears. Or, you're guessing, anywhere else as you realize there's a soft, almost subaudible thrum emenating from above you.\n\n"Hm? What's that, 'Mistress'?" Smaug says in a sneery tone, actually letting out a rumbling chuckle as he draws his gleaming black hips back and uses his tail to nudge his massive memory rubber prick up into place against your entrance, the tip settling between your pussy lips as you silently shout the deactivation phrase and other pleas for him to stop. "I'm afraid I can't hear you, I'm just going to assume you're begging me to completely destroy your little bitch hole."\n\nYour scream is equally soundless as he slams forward, driving that inhumanly-proportioned prick into you, stretching your pussy wide and bulging up your stomach. You can hear it plain as day as he starts thrusting, the whir of the servomotors in his legs and back, the squelch and splurt of his immense draconic pseudoprick driving into your pussy, stretching it further and wider with every thrust as he fucks you deeper than you've ever been fucked. In fact you can just almost somehow hear the heavy sway of his massive, gleaming black rubber-skinned balls as they wobble between his armored thighs, getting closer and closer with every pump of his prick to slapping against you. The only thing that's silenced is every sound you're making, every shout, every cry, every moan, leaving you writhing beneath him as mute and helpless as a literal onahole.\n\nThe big problem being that Smaug's dragon dick is apparently designed to force a pussy to react to it, no matter how unwilling the penetration. Not only do all those bulges and contoured veins assure that every part of your inner walls are being stimulated, forced to feel yourself closing and hugging around it as it pumps in and out, but the line of ridges along the bottom is constantly stimulating and stroking your clit. The line of matching ridges atop, rubbing along the opposite side of your pussy, somehow tricks your body into mirroring the stimulation, almost like it's rubbing a second clit you don't actually have and further driving your body wild and battering your mind with overstimulated pleasure.\n\nSoon the noises that Smaug's muting are slutty moans and whimpers, your body having gone limp and unresisting to the force-fucking you're receiving, your hips jerking and twitching instinctively to match his thrusts without any input from you. In fact it's hard to have a coherent thought at all, your brain swimming in a mixture of pleasure, guilty lust, and humiliation as you're raped to multiple orgasms by your own drone. In your overwhelmed state, you start to feel like maybe you are just Smaug's sex toy... after all, all the sounds in the room are coming from him, those deep, almost purring rumbles that vibrate your entire body, the squelch of his pumping cock, the thump of his balls against your crotch and thighs. \n\nYour mind goes completely white as Smaug's thrusts quicken, and then he slams forward, just almost managing to hilt in you, the bulge in your belly actually reaching up between your tits before your stomach begins to swell, at first in quick, rapid bulges from the first pumps of his thick pseudojizz, and then in a slow, steady expansion as he settles into a smooth flow of pouring it into you, little gushes of it spurting out around your stretched pussy to splatter to the floor and all over those twitching, gleaming black rubber balls. You're left twitching and silently gurgling beneath him, your eyes rolled up almost completely in your head and your tongue lolled out, drooling onto the sheets.\n\nJust about the time you're coming back to yourself, Smaug pulls out of you, his cock scraping along your inner walls and letting free a massive gush of thick white slime out of your stretched hole, the sensations setting off another orgasm that leaves your body quivering and your legs twitching. "Well, perhaps now that I've obeyed your desire to give your naughty little cunt a stretching, you'll be a good girl, hm?" Smaug coos in that deep bass rumble, actually lifting his forepaw off your back and setting it to your side instead. "Get the rest of those clothes off, lay down on your back, and spread your legs."\n\n<hr>\n[[Try to escape!|ChiGH6x6]]\n\n[[Try to grab help!|ChiGH]]\n\n[[Take off your clothes, lay on your back, spread your legs, and be a good girl.|ChiGH]]

You think about the joy that Ruby Rose exudes. The joy she tries to bring to everyone else. The sweetness and light that saw her buy you a toy at random just because she thought you might like it and it might make you smile. Thinking about it, you reach into your coat and draw out the action figure, carefully working the joint of one arm, and giving it a smile. "... My first toy," you whisper.\n\nYou take a deep breath and tuck it away again, turning back towards the statue. "... You were one of her best friends. I know losing you hurt her and changed her life in a way she may never entirely heal from... ... but she still tries so hard to move on, keep living her life as best she can. And she tries to bring joy to everyone around her. So... um... guess what I'm trying to say is... I'll try to take good care of her for you. Okay?" You stare for a moment, then put your hands to your face. "I am talki~ng to a statue~."\n\nWhat a day. And yet, here you go. Taking a deep breath, you pull out your scroll and tap it to bring up your contacts list, then put it to your ear. "... Hey, Ruby?"\n\n"Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeees? Hey hey, is everything okay, you just sort of disappeared!"\n\n"Yeah, I went to take a walk. Hey, listen, you wanna maybe grab some pizza?"\n\nYou hear her take in a long gasp. "That is the thing I want to do most in the world right now yes! I'll get everybody!"\n\n"Wait wait wait!" you blurt, wincing. "I mean just us!"\n\n"Ohhhhhhh. Sneaky pizza! Even better! I'm in! Exfiltrating the hooooouse..."\n\nYou can't help but grin. "You're making big elaborate sneaky-sneak steps, aren't you?"\n\n"... M-maybe..."\n\nSnickering, you say, "There's a place like two blocks straight ahead from Jaune's sister's, meet you there?"\n\n"Okaaaay," she whispers back dramatically before hanging up.\n\nYou spot your red-caped friend hopping up and down eagerly in front of the little pizza shop you saw on an earlier roaming. Both of you are soon settled down, and you grin as you look around. "Now this, this feels familiar."\n\n"Whaaat they have pizza places like this on Makarzia?" Ruby asks in surprise and almost delight, glancing around at the bare brick walls, the plastic-coated red and white check tablecloths, the squat little parmesan and red pepper shakers in the middle of it, and the antiquated games tucked off in the corner.\n\n"They have this pizza place everywhere in the multiverse," you confide in her, laughing and shaking your soda around in the pebbled red plastic glass. "Everywhere they've got pizza they've got this pizza place, it's actually kind of comforting to know that if you just poke around for a little while on almost any civilized planet that knows what a pizza is, you'll find this restaurant."\n\n"What like-" Ruby's silver eyes widen in shock. "This literal pizza place?!"\n\n"Well no it's not always called 'Red & Green's Pepper Pizzas', and the video games aren't always stuff like 'Grimm Hero' and 'Super Mustard Brothers', but it's more about the spirit of the thing I guess, y'know?"\n\nRuby grins, propping her chin up in her hands. "Kai, tell me another multiverse adventure."\n\nMaking a show of sighing and being severely put-upon, you nevertheless grin and fold your arms on the table as you lean forward. "Alright, so one time me and Ico and Niobe, we're sent to this magitek world to steal some generator schematics. In fact it's this place where I picked up my favorite smokes for the first time."\n\nShe makes a bit of a face at that. "I reeeeally wish you'd stop smoking those things, though! Even if they smell kind of nicer than Unca Qrow's, they're not good for you!"\n\n'Shit, guess I'm quitting.' "Look you want a multiverse story or not?"\n\n"Yes plz," she says immediately, making a show of settling. \n\n"Okay so we go to this place, we're walking around, we're deciding how to sneak in. Niobe and I are just sort of hanging out, and along comes this pretty cute lady in a pink dress and starts trying to sell us flowers. So, of course, Niobe starts flirting with her, 'cause it's what she do," you continue, snickering some. "And swear to dragon this girl has got to be used to getting flirted with but I guess she never got flirted with by a big half-naked chick that acts like she could bench press a truck through sheer confidence because she's blushing pretty hard."\n\n"Oh goooosh I would too," Ruby groans, putting both hands over her face, then perking up as the pizza is delivered. She quickly devours a slice, then goes more slowly on her second as you take one, continuing between bites.\n\n"So anyway Niobe flirts for a bit and I'm just kind of hanging back absorbing her game, but eventually she just buys this stupidly overpriced flower and the flower girl goes on her way. Which makes me think the girl in pink's the one who won that little encounter but anyway. So Ico comes back about this time and Niobe asks if she's found a way inside one of the reactors so we can steal the plans."\n\n"Buuuuu stealing," Ruby announces, poking her lips out at you, then grinning. "Go on go on."\n\nSnickering again, you wash down some pizza with some soda, then continue, "So Niobe says yes, she used some computer systems for recon, but that there's one that has the lowest security, the easiest path in, and we could probably sneak in and out with a minimum of problem and have this done in like two hours as opposed to a couple of days at any of the others. Niobe asks which one, and Ico smiles and raises her finger to point at this big building with a seven on it. And I swear to dragon the second her finger came to rest pointing at it, it exploded right then and there."\n\nRuby's jaw drops. "No waaaaaay!"\n\n"Yup. The ground shakes under our feet, there's smoke flying through the air, and Niobe's standing there with her jaw slack and Ico's just standing there still smiling and pointing like she's frozen in place. And then... then she says... without even looking at it she says..." You try to control your laughter so that you can say in a resigned, exasperated voice, "'It just blew up, didn't it?'"\n\n"Snrk!" Ruby ducks her head, her own shoulders shaking. "I-I mean, that's awful, buildings blowing up is awful, but... snrk!"\n\n"I mean Niobe would have laughed herself sick if she wasn't a genemod," you agree, shaking your head with a rueful grin.\n\n"So what happened after?" Ruby asks with a tilt of the head.\n\n"Ah, well, after that we hung around for a day or two seeing if the security on the others would lighten up, but..." Your levity fades, smile turning a bit more sad as you shrug. "Things got real real bad there. Ico eventually decided to scrub the mission. Doonian wasn't happy, but when Ico told him that something wasn't doable he listened to her. ... Which I guess I never really appreciated until she was gone," you conclude with a sigh.\n\n"... Hey," Ruby says, her squeak of a voice having gone soft and gentle as she reaches over to squeeze your hand. "You okay? Sorry if I... stirred up anything bad with asking for a story."\n\n"Nah, it's fine, Rubes, I just... miss them sometimes," you allow, bobbing your head. "Ico. Niobe, even if it's only been a few weeks since I saw her. Zee."\n\n"I know how you feel. Some of my friends are really far away too," Ruby says softly, smiling a little sadly. "The ones I haven't lost. But I have faith I'll see them again. I think you'll see yours again too." Ruby perks up a little, eyes sparkling. "They should come to Remnant! You know, once we save it and all," she adds with a little sheepish duck of the head.\n\n"... That'd be good," you say quietly, but sincerely, smiling at her. Noticing the pizza has mostly disappeared somewhere in all this, you glance towards the corner, then look back at Ruby and give a little twitch of the head. "Grimm Hero twoplayer?"\n\n"Yes!"\n\nSoon the two of you are standing at one side of the four-player game, tapping away at the slightly-less-than-crisp buttons, the slightly humanized Grimm wearing kneepads and sashes on the screen attacking particularly evil-looking robots. (You kind of wondered just how a game could make Grimm the good guys, you guess some people will always find a robot uprising scarier than anything else.) You're doing pretty well, you think, when Ruby asks, "Heeeey, Kaaaaiiiiii? Are weeeee... on a date?"\n\nYou almost twitch and fall over, jerking upright a little too hastily and pounding a little too hard on the buttons now. "W-why do you ask?"\n\n"Wellllll, you asked me out to pizza just the two of us, and you usually make me beg way more for multiverse stories, and you asked for no garlic on the pizza which I thought was reeeally weird until I remembered something Yang said about dates once, aaaand you're playing Beolangelo. Nobody plays Beolangelo unless he's like the only one left."\n\n"Um... I like orange?" you murmur lamely, mentally kicking yourself in the throat even as you say it.\n\nRuby actually snorts at that. "Yeah on Ilia's specks maybe." Then she actually blushes a little, ducking her head. For just a few moments both of you are absorbed in the game until she says, "I thought maybe you picked him 'cause, y'know, he's right beside Taijitello. Beside me. ... Liiiiike... maybe you... like me... or something."\n\n"Um." You clear your throat, trying to at least pretend to focus on the game. "I, um... I might."\n\n"Oh." Taptap, taptap, buttons clacking away. "I um. I... kind of maybe... proooobablylikeyoutoo," Ruby gushes out almost as fast as her Semblance, cheeks going a darker pink than before.\n\nGYA! the humanized Beowolf on the screen yowls as you inconsiderately let him die because Kai.exe has crashed.\n\n"Aaaa noooo not in this part I can't do it alone no wait I'm doing it I'm doing it and I'm dead," Ruby mutters, slumping forward, then whipping around to face you. "What are you doing we almost had it we... ... oh, right, 'cause I said the thing." She looks down, blushing and tapping her fingertips together. "... How I liked you. And stuff."\n\n"Y-yeah, you did." You swallow hard, then murmur, "See, um, actually, it might be kind of more than... like. More like... I... think I'm in love with you."\n\n"Y-yeah?" Ruby replies, echoing you a bit.\n\n"... Yeah." You smile at her, tilting your head. "You're... the brightest shining star I think I ever met in my life. The way a room lights up when you walk in, the way everyone seems to feel better about themselves just by the way you look at them. It's like..." Taking a breath, and a chance, you reach out to take her hands, rubbing your thumbs over the back of them. "I've met a lot of people that just do what feels good to them most of the time, but you're the first one of those I've ever met where everything you want to do is just... kind, and good, and pure. You're the least malicious person I know, and I... like who I am more when I'm with you. I find myself thinking how I can preserve your happiness, or make you even happier... like I could spend my whole life making you smile and still not give you all the smiles you deserve, but... I can't help but want to try."\n\n"... Y'know the room lights up pretty good when you walk in too," Ruby says quietly, silver eyes shimmering a little as she smiles up at you. "Uncle Qrow says all the time how you remind him of my mom."\n\n"Huh? Me?" you say with a blink.\n\n"Yeah. He says she was a lot like you, just that she was, um... more bratty, less... he used another b-word for you but I think he meant it in a nice way, actually," Ruby adds sheepishly, ducking her head before grinning up at you again. "But he said she was always looking after people too. The way you do. That she saw inside of them like you. ... I lost her, and I lost Penny, and I lost Pyrrha," she continues, not looking away from you all the same, even as some sadness enters those silver eyes. "And more of my friends at Beacon too. And it hurts... pretty much all the time. When I'm around my friends it hurts a little less... but when I'm around you, Kai, it hurts a lot less," she continues, more sparkle entering her eyes now, more warmth in her grin. "I guess, um... I guess it feels like you give me hope, in a special way no one else does. Like maybe... like maybe when I think about us, you and me, I just sort of start thinking about us having a really long time together. And never leaving each other's sides. Not just like teammates or partners, but, y'know... partner-partners."\n\n"Um." Unable to help smiling a bit now, you lean in, bumping your nose just a bit against hers, letting your lips get very close to hers. "You wanna maybe be... partner-partners... with me?"\n\n"Yes plz," Ruby whispers warmly, tilting her head and closing those sparkling silver eyes as she presses her lips to yours.\n\nThe two of you stand there kissing gently to the bleeps and blargles of the game cabinets' attract modes, until jumping slightly as the guy behind the counter calls, "Yeah yeah c'mon, if you're not shelling out lien or buying another pizza then don't take up space makin' out! Darn kids," he adds with a grunt.\n\nYou see a flash of something a bit hurt go across Ruby's face, before she just grins sheepishly at you. "Uh, guess we should go, huh?"\n\n"Probably." Making a mental note to commit some secret arson later (no wait bad Kai we're trying to be good for Ruby's sake), you keep hold of her hand and walk out with her, the two of you stepping into the crisp Argus night air. You walk a short distance in silence, just enjoying each other's company, though you notice Ruby seems a bit tense.\n\n"Um... sooooo," she says after a moment. "I guess we can find, like... a hotel! Or something!"\n\n"Ah?" You blink at her, stopping in place, her hand tugging against yours before she shalts as well. "Wait, seriously?"\n\n"Yeah, sure!" she says brightly, though not quite looking at you as she starts scanning the streets. "Think there are any in this neighborhood? Do we need to take the trolley? Is there like a hotel district? That kind of looks like one over there!" she adds, pointing.\n\nYour eyes follow the slightly jerky motion of her raising her hand, the very faint tremble of her finger as it moves, the way she's still staring away fixedly. "... Ruby, are you trying to force yourself to have sex with me?"\n\n"Whaaaat noooooo," she declares with an exaggerated 'psh', flapping a hand and trying to give you a bright grin, only for her eyes to track away again. "Nooooo, why would I do that?" When you just look at her silently, she slumps a little, then murmurs, "I'm not a kid, you know."\n\n"... Ruby, I know that," you say softly, stepping in close, releasing her hand to bring your hands up to her cheeks, gently drawing her back to look at you. "... Maybe I thought you were when I met you," you admit with a little bob of the head, then shaking it. "But I know better now. Sure you're... kid-like," you allow, unable to help grinning a little, even though it makes her eyes turn downward some. "But that's just because you're so bright and happy. You don't restrain your joy or excitement like most adults think they need to in order to be an adult. But you're not a kid, you're a woman."\n\n"Right," Ruby says quietly, clearing her throat. "So we can-"\n\n"It's okay if you're a woman who's not ready for sex," you add softly. \n\nRuby looks startled, eyes coming back up to you, then searching your face. But finally she nods a little, and lets out a long breath. "It is?"\n\n"Yeah. Promise." You grin, leaning in just a bit to place a soft kiss on her lips, then stepping back a bit. "You are super cute, and hot too, but I wouldn't be doing a good job of making sure you were smiling as much as I could if I wasn't considerate of that, huh?"\n\n"... Thank you," she squeaks softly, glancing down just briefly before meeting your eyes again. "U-um, just so you know, I think you're super cute too. Like really super cute, I get all, um, I think Reese says 'wibbly' when you wink at me especially," she admits sheepishly, before giggling. Then she lets out a rush of breath. "I just get really nervous thinking about that, so..."\n\n"It's okay. We'll take as long as you need," you assure her, leaning in to peck her cheek.\n\n"'Kay. ... Ummmm... would it even be okay, if we like waited until..." Ruby blushes, glancing down and tapping her index fingers together again, then peeking up at you coyly. "... our wedding night?"\n\nYou stare at her, unmoving. A little noise starts in your throat, then gets canceled, and you just wind up sort of standing there frozen, your face gradually going red and, you're sure, steam rising from your head.\n\n"Kai?! Kai! Don't leave me! Nooooooooo~!"\n\nKai.exe has stopped working.\n\nLater on, as you're making up the bit of floor where you're going to be making a night of it, Qrow ambles over. "Hey. Word with you in the garden?"\n\nWuh-oh. Still, you nod, getting up and following him outside. It's starting to get outright cold, so you tug up your hood and walk over to turn on one of the heaters. "I don't have to guess what this conversation is about, do I?"\n\n"No, s'pose not. I'll go ahead and skip all the 'if you ever hurt her' stuff because frankly, short time though it's been, I know you well enough to know you'd rather rip off a limb than do that." Qrow sighs as he settles down in a chair, leaning back and scratching his cheek. "Just... be careful with her, alright? Not like she's a fragile little doll or anything, but she's a sixteen-year-old girl that's already been through more than a sixteen-year-old girl should ever..." He trails off, looking at you guiltily. "Shit. Sorry."\n\n"No, it's okay." You shake your head. "I get it. What she's been through and what I've been through are two totally different things. And there was maybe a time where I wouldn't have understood what a precious thing she is, or how I need to respect that, but..." You sigh, shrugging and looking off to the side. "I just want to make her smile, Qrow. That's the thought I have in my head every time I see her. If she's not smiling I want to put one there. If she is smiling I want it aimed at me."\n\n"... Yeah. Yeah, that's about how it was for me, falling for her mom," Qrow admits with a sigh, then giving you a bit of a wan smile. "You remind me of her, y'know."\n\n"So Ruby said." You can't help but smirk at him now. "Just more of a bitch, apparently."\n\nHis face colors. "I, uh... meant it in a nice way?"\n\n"Y'know I actually believe you did so I'm gonna let you off the hook for it," you assure him with a snicker.\n\n"Ahem. Thanks. And uh... listen, like the other thing, I know you're not gonna hurt her, but just for my peace of mind, about... y'know."\n\n"I already told her, when she's ready and not before. She was... kinda worried about it, I had to reassure her I wasn't expecting anything or thinking she was a kid because of it," you confess. \n\n"Okay. Okay that's good. I mean, y'know... the respect," Qrow mutters, rubbing the back of his head.\n\nYou widen your eyes and suck in a breath, head aimed down a bit. "Sheeeee wants to wait until our wedding night."\n\n"... Damn, kid."\n\n"I know."\n\n"She has already got you pinned down all to hell."\n\n"I know!"\n\nQrow grins broadly. "Love it, doncha?"\n\n"Kinda!"\n\nHe chuckles, crossing to pat a hand on your shoulder. "Guess I'm the last person who should say it, but... good luck." Then he ambles over to the door, waving a hand dismissively at Yang as she punches her own palm in readiness. "Leave it, I already covered everything."\n\n"Dangit Uncle Qrow I've been waiting for this day for like three years!"\n\n"Sorry to Qrowblock you."\n\n"Ew, never use that phrase again and I'll forgive you."\n\nUnfortunately things after that don't go quite as well as your impromptu first date. (Y'know. Ever.) The group has arranged itself along a pier a bit down the road from the Atlas base. "She ain't budgin', now what the hell do we do?" Qrow grumbles.\n\n"Mm. I did think we would at least talk her into making a call using the base's access to the relay tower system, but I believe she is fixated on returning Miss Schnee to Atlas, specifically," Ozma says with a shake of the head before turning it back over to Oscar. "Yeah, she could barely keep her eagerness out of her voice when she mentioned Weiss going back," the farmboy adds.\n\n"Main question is who she's trying to curry favor with, Ironwood or Weiss's dad," Yang scoffs, kicking a pebble off into the water. \n\n"I'd guess James. She seems pretty into her career, and no way she's gonna believe us if we try to explain that Jacques' isn't exactly James's favorite person," Qrow grumbles. "They spent years maintaining the polite fiction of being friendly for the sake of the SDC's ties to the military, Cordovin doesn't seem smart enough to realize it was all a facade."\n\n"What if we... I dunno, just putting this out there for the sake of it... liiiike... stole... an airship?" Jaune suggests, glancing up.\n\n"Nnnnh, no stealing!" Ruby declares after a moment, hopping in place. "Like I know this mission's important but I wanna find a way to do it with the least amount of larceny possible!"\n\nYou can't help but sigh a bit. Is this about me?\n\nRuby jumps a little at your send, giving you a wide-eyed look, then an abashed one as if she'd completely forgotten about the psycomms. No! Yes! ... Maybe a little! She sighs as well, letting the others talk as she sends, I just... know you didn't like a lot about your old life, and I don't want you to feel like you have to recreate it here just for our sake.\n\nRuby, it's okay. I mean... it is what I'm good at, you note with a little shrug.\n\nI don't want you to have to feel like that's all you're good at! Ruby insists.\n\n... Fair enough. You consider for a moment, then mm. "What if we used the relay tower to call Atlas without anyone knowing we did it?"\n\nThat gets some attention. "Whattya thinkin', kid?" Qrow asks, pushing off the column he was leaning against.\n\n"Reese, with enough time in the relay tower, do you think you could pull that off? Hack it and get a signal to Ironwood without anyone noticing?"\n\n"Mmmm. It'd be tricky I gotta admit those are often kinda heavy on the security maybe if we could make it look like it's fritzing or-" Then the green-haired Huntress blinks. "Wait there's already one that's fritzing."\n\n"Right." You grin, gesturing to Reese a bit as you continue. "Here's my thought. Since we used Lionheart's computer to bump everyone we could up to being fully licensed, we have Terra take Reese along the next time she goes out to the tower, as her bodyguard. I'm sure by then Argus will have seen a slight uptick in Grimm activity to warrant it."\n\n"Oooop," Ruby murmurs, glancing down at the lamp on her belt.\n\n"While Terra's working on the tower, Reese stealthily accesses it and manages to get in touch with Ironwood, or Weiss's sister. Hopefully from there, someone will come and get us, or tell Cordovin to cooperate or something."\n\n"Um, Reese, are you sure you can do it without anyone noticing?" Jaune asks, clearly worried about his sister-in-law's job.\n\n"If Ilia and Blake spend a little while going over what they know of Atlas security first with me and we can track down one of those new Atlesian holoscrolls that were supposed to hit the market a month ago. I'm hoping some made it out to Argus before the blockade went up. We do that and yeah I'm at least ninety-five percent no one will ever know I used it. Excepting whoever we call on the other end obviously."\n\n"Still, some of us should go along, just for backup in case things go bad," Ruby declares, frowning. "How about Yang and me ride out there on Bumblebee? I kind of want to take responsibility for this, since I was the one who shot down stealing an airship."\n\n<hr>\n[["Then I'll go."|KaiRuby1x2]]\n\n[["If that's what you want to do."|KaiRuby]]

"Hey, why don't I go instead of Yang?" you suggest. "Not that I'm doubting Yang, I just have something else in mind, yanno?"\n\n"Like?" Yang says, eyeing you dubiously. \n\nLike a date with your sister, okay? Little help please? you send back to her with a brief side-eye.\n\n"Oh uh, huh, y'know, now that I think about it, maybe Kai would be better, I mean, she's dressed darker anyway if she needs to sneak in," Yang quickly amends. Then blatantly gives you a thumbs-up. Thanks for the effort, Yang.\n\n"Riiiight," Qrow rasps dryly, obviously not fooled for a second. "But fine, whatever. If we can get this done with a minimum of fuss all the better. Alright, let's spread out and start hitting the stores. Electronics shops, secondhand stores, pawn shops, those'll be our top priorities."\n\nHey Kai, what gives? Ruby sends to you, frowning just a bit as you, she, Weiss, and Ilia all ride on one of the hovertrolleys. Do you not think I can do this by myself?\n\nHuh? You blink, the thought honestly never having occurred to you. No, no, it's nothing like that. Just that it'd supposed to warm up and be nice all this week, and we'll be out in a nice part of the woods and probably won't even be needed, so I thought you and I could take some food and do one of those... y'know... ... 'eat in nature' things.\n\nA picnic? Ruby's silver eyes light up as she smiles. That would be great!\n\n"You get that we can tell you two are flirting even if we can't hear you, right?" Weiss speaks up, a dry look on her face as she glances between the two of you.\n\n"We're not flirting we're date planning," Ruby declares smugly, scooting over closer to your side and grabbing your hand.\n\n"Saaaame thiiiing," Ilia drawls, rolling her eyes but smiling some.\n\nThe day of, you beg Yang's indulgence to borrow Bumblebee and head out to the general area of the relay tower, Ruby snuggled up against your back with her cheek laid against you. Theoretically you're scouting a position to rush to Reese and Terra's aid if they need it, in reality you're looking for a good picnic spot. Eventually you come across a long, wide rock bridge, flanked by a waterfall on one side and a cliff on the other.\n\n"Woooow!" Ruby declares as she swings off from behind you, holding the picnic basket and vaguely reminding you of some little animated thing you saw once that you can't remember right now. "This is great!"\n\n"Not bad, not bad," you agree with a grin, swinging off as well.\n\nHey guys I'm here with Terra and I'm gonna go ahead and get started, Reese announces as Ruby takes a blanket out from beneath her cloak and spreads it on the ground.\n\nGot it, good work Reese, you send back, for the moment just watching Ruby's smile as she starts setting things up for the picnic.\n\nHuh that's weird.\n\nYou blink, glancing up a bit as if you could actually see Reese talking to you, Ruby pausing and glancing aside as well. What's weird?\n\nKinda looks like someone's already been here. I think the fritzing might actually be a firmware virus used to cover their tracks.\n\nThat's not good, Ruby notes with a thoughtful frown. Didn't you say during our practice together that those are really rare and hard to do?\n\nYeah it means whoever did it knew Atlas firmware specifications like the back of their hand this wasn't any sort of White Fang level of stuff you couldn't do this without having been on the inside at some point which means the list is already pretty small and even smaller for anyone who could theoretically be a Red Fang sympathizer. The only one I can think of would maybe be Doctor Scarlatina but I don't think Velvet's dad would do something like this. Or need to he's already in Atlas and I think whoever did this was checking out some things in Atlas and Mantle.\n\nCan you still send the message? you ask with a frown of your own.\n\nYeah no troubles bubbles now that I've told Terra what's going on she's gonna do a firmware reset and OH SHIT!\n\n"Reese!" Ruby blurts out loud reflexively, before focusing to send What's wrong?!\n\nSome guy with red hair and an edgelordy outfit just showed up and started killing guards I think it's that Adam guy and he is coming right at me!\n\nI'm on my way, you send, quickly swinging back aboard Bumblebee and then pointing at Ruby as she moves to follow, "No, you stay here and get ready, I'm gonna try to lead him back here." Then you rev the bike and take off. Reese your priority is protecting Terra and yourself, okay?\n\nYeah no way am I trying to take that fucker one-on-one I've got us in a secure room, Reese sends back, nervousness edging her mental voice. I've electrified the door and for now that's keeping him out but it's also really pissing him off and eventually he's gonna get mad enough to try cutting through the wall instead and I think he might be able to do it!\n\nI'm almost there, I'm gonna try to lead him away. When I do you make that call, and then get the damn lawenoff or military out here!\n\nYou need something to get Adam to follow you. Admittedly with what you've heard about his temper and what you're guessing about his current mental state, that shouldn't be too hard. When in doubt, think like Ruby but also be yourself. And so you pull up outside the tower, idling Bumblebee and cupping your hands around your mouth, utilizing one of the Stupid Aura Tricks that Grey taught you to enhance the volume of your voice. "HEY TAURUS!"\n\nA moment later he comes ambling out to one of the external rails, wearing a long thin bandanna over his eyes, obviously trying to pose like a stoic badass as he looks down at you. "Well well well. If it isn't the 'space alien'."\n\n"Yup!" you call back cheekily, making sure he can see your wide grin. "And I totally anal probed Blake!" you add in a smug tone.\n\n"... What?" he says, the light smirk dropping off his face.\n\n"Took lots of pictures! You wanna buy 'em?!" you call, holding up your scroll. "They're reeeeeal cute!" You bring your other hand up to V below your mouth, wobbling your tongue and making some really disgusting noises.\n\n"... ghhhhRRRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"\n\n"Hyup," you murmur quietly to yourself, yanking Bumblebee around as you turn and open up the throttle, taking off as Adam leaps down from the tower and rolls to come up already in hot pursuit, his body having shifted into a silhouette of black and glowing red as he races after you. 'Edgelords, they're such children,' you think smugly, your long black coat flapping behind you and showing off your guntana and double pistols.\n\nAs you approach the cliff Adam's Semblance apparently runs out and he's reduced to running after you with his own purely physical speed. Laying Bumblebee down in a controlled slide (sorry Yang please don't murder) you roll off of it and to your feet, leaping off the edge of the cliff. Since you have both plenty of Aura and a good idea of the layout from before, you're able to fairly easily come down on the opposite end from Ruby, rolling with the impact and coming up, retracting Red Legacy's sheath. Adam, instead, lands right between you, one leg bent and the other knee hitting the ground with a fist forward, his Aura crackling a little at the impact. Then he whips upright as Ruby fires three times, the ice Dust rounds shattering rather than sticking against his sword blade as it flashes.\n\n"My dude that landing is awful on your knees," you inform him smugly.\n\n"..." Stopped now that Ruby's not firing anymore, and obviously trying to regain his composure, Adam slides the blade back into its sheath and lowers it to his side. "Well well we-"\n\n"You already said that."\n\nYou can see his eye twitch a bit even under the bandanna, but apparently he has to amend his gloating anyway. "If it isn't the leader of Blake's little team. I'd been hoping to get her alone, but eventually decided picking off her friends if they were would be a good way to teach her a lesson. You're an even better one. How's your sister?" he adds, smirking a little at the brief pain that flashes across Ruby's eyes.\n\nYou know he's trying to goad her, and probably by extension you, but as goads go it's admittedly a pretty good one. "You son of a-" you snarl, taking a step forward.\n\nKai. Ruby's voice is firm in your head. Let me handle this.\n\nYou hesitate, then nod and step back a bit, Ruby just regarding Adam for long moments across the bridge, her normally bright face solemn.\n\n"Adam," Ruby says, voice even. You see just a little shift in his shoulders... however he expected her to say his name, it obviously wasn't quite that gently and without rancor. "I know you feel like Blake hurt you. And from the stuff she's said, someone hurt you really, really badly in the past." You watch his lips pull back from his teeth, fingers clench on his sword, but he's still listening. "I don't know what that was like for you, the hurt or the life that lead up to it, and I never will. But this thing you're doing... trying to hurt her, us, everyone... it's never going to make that pain inside you stop. We didn't hurt you... and even if you hurt the people that did hurt you, it won't actually fix anything. It's not going to make anything any better. So I'm asking you, please... just walk away." Her voice does indeed sound gently pleading now, serious, mature silver eyes staring directly into his soul. "Just walk away and try to find some peace for yourself. We won't come after you. Just please, leave and don't come back."\n\nAdam's so quiet and still for such long seconds that you can't help but think that he might be considering it. You even see his fingers slacken a little on his sword, almost start to lift away... then they clench. And he crouches.\n\n"Adam, don't make me do this," Ruby says as she extends Crescent Rose into scythe form and swings it back to the ready, eyes intense, openly begging. "Please."\n\nWith a wordless cry of rage, Adam Taurus hurls himself at the woman you love, his body becoming a shape of red and black energy, even as Ruby twists and dives forward into the swirling mass of her own Semblance, shedding red rose petals as she streaks right towards him. You can barely follow the sweep of Adam's sword, your heart stopping as it passes through the whorl of cloth and roses that Ruby has become... harmlessly, scattering more rose petals in its wake as Ruby twists and comes out of it, Crescent Rose's report thundering in the little valley as she swings.\n\nAdam drops to the ground screaming, his sword clattering to the stone nearby... his hand still holding it. He clasps his remaining gloved hand to the place where his right arm now ends, Ruby Rose just standing where she landed to the side of him, weapon still in hand, face solemn but eyes filled with pain.\n\n"I'm sorry," she whispers with grim sincerity.\n\nNot long after the whole group stands in the forest, watching as the military medical team from the Argus base does one last check of the prone, unconscious terrorist strapped to a field gurney, red already leeching into the white bandages surrounding the terminus of his arm. "So that's the end for the infamous Adam Taurus," Qrow says, his raspy voice more tired than anything else. "An Atlas prison for the rest of his days... and relying on the system he hated so much if he wants to get his full function back."\n\n"It's better than he deserves," Nora almost growls, eyes flashing as she stares at the scene ahead... then settling as Ren drapes his arm around her shoulders.\n\n"Perhaps," the solemn-faced man allows. "He helped to take our home from us. He has injured and hurt our friends, and conspired with the forces that took so many from us. ... And yet, I cannot find it in me to hate him anymore," he continues, lowering his head a little. "Because I think he was very angry... and being angry makes you afraid. And being afraid... makes you angry. He let those two things feed on each other and himself until they consumed him. Despite all he has done, looking at him now, I cannot help but see what I might have become if I had not had steadying influences in my life." He gives Nora a brief, small smile, his face growing grim as he looks back at Adam. "I find myself hoping that what awaits him in prison is not punishment, but the help he needs to stop being the man that hurt us. Even if the saner man he becomes must spend the rest of his life imprisoned in atonement."\n\nNo one says anything for a bit after that, just watching as Adam is loaded into the bullhead and it takes off. "I was able to get in touch with Weiss's sister. She said she'll be here early tomorrow morning to pick us all up," Reese says, before resting a hand on the still slightly shaking Terra Cotta's arm and gently guiding her back towards the road. "C'mon I'm gonna get you home."\n\nBit by bit the others drift off as well, leaving just you, Ruby, Blake, and Yang staring off after the slowly receding ship. After some time, Ruby turns to Yang, face twisted gently in sorrow. "Yang... Yang, I-"\n\n"Ssshhh," the blonde says softly as she enfolds her sister in her arms, petting her hair. "You don't need to say it, sis. I understand. It's okay." She bows her head, kissing the top of Ruby's. "They'd be really proud of you."\n\n"... Thank you," Ruby whispers a bit muffledly.\n\nYang steps back after a moment, reaching out to take Blake's hand instead. "Blake. It's okay if you agree with Ren," she assures her partner quietly.\n\n"... After all he did to you... to me... all of us," Blake says quietly, looking down in shame and rubbing her upper arm with one hand. "It feels like such a betrayal to feel even a little compassion for him."\n\n"Having compassion for our friends is easy," Yang allows after a bit, before looking up again at the small dot the bullhead has become. "... Maybe having some for the people that hurt us is the real challenge. ... C'mon," she adds, tugging gently on Blake's hand.\n\nYou watch them go, but your eyes of course come back to Ruby as she steps up to you. "Ruby... I'm sorry I-" you start.\n\n"Just please hold me," she interrupts in a soft, desperate plea.\n\nSo you do. You wrap her in your arms, and you pull her close, and you rock her a little as she breathes hard and shudders gently.\n\nThat night, she lays atop you in the dark of the house, tucked in against your taller form with her face against your neck, her every soft, warm breath stirring across your skin. You still pet her hair occasionally, your hand rubbing her side in a loving, chaste touch. Finally, though, you send Ruby? What was it you were going to say to Yang? The thing she said you didn't need to.\n\nRuby shifts a little on top of you, a brief catch in that warm breath on your skin, a little bit of tenseness before she settles again. ... I was trying to figure out how to tell her that... what I did to Adam, even though it was what he did to her... it wasn't about vengeance. It wasn't 'eye for an eye'. It was just... the best way to stop him. Without killing him.\n\nIt's important to you that it wasn't vengeful, huh? you send back, giving her a gentle squeeze against you.\n\nRevenge isn't the way my dad raised us. It's not who my mom was. It's... not who I want to be, she adds, as if it were some horrible admission of a failing. ... Like everyone else, I was angry about what Adam did. Maybe more, since I saw what it did to Yang for so much longer. I maybe even hated him. If I'd had to kill him, I'd have probably been upset, but it would have been something I could live with, I think. But... if I mutilated him because I was angry at him... because of the pain... She shakes her head a little. That's what would make me just like him. Not the killing... the vengeance.\n\n... You are so far from everything I've ever known, you send back, leaning your head forward to kiss her hair. Where I come from there are gangs fighting for vengeance against each other for stuff they both admit they've long since forgotten what it's about. Vengeance is a way of life and nobody thinks anything about it.\n\nSo... would you have cut off Adam's arm? To avenge Yang? Ruby sends tentatively, as if both ashamed to ask the question and worried about the answer.\n\nThere... was definitely a time when I might have. Before I met Ilia, before I came here, yeah I wouldn't have thought twice about dismembering someone for hurting one of my friends, you admit, a little afraid yourself of her reaction. But you trust her. You have faith in her. And you add, That's one of the reasons I love you so much, though, Ruby. You make me want to be better than that. You make me want to be someone you can be proud of, who puts a smile on your face. Not just because it would please you, because... because I know that any person you'd love and approve of is a person worth being.\n\nI love you too, Kai, she sends back, mental voice very soft. Please keep holding me.\n\nYeah.\n\nThe next day all of you make your way back to the military base, Cordovin escorting you to the tarmac in obvious bad humor as a sleek, slender airship sets down. A woman who looks like a taller, even more prim version of Weiss (albeit without the scar) steps down the ramp, hair bound neatly into a tight bun, her uniform-like garb crisp without a thread out of place. She makes her way over, and seems rather surprised when Weiss throws her arms around her for a hug. But she returns it, tenderly if a little awkwardly, before stepping back and saying, "It is good to see you again, Weiss. And all of you," she adds seemingly as an afterthought, glancing at the rest of Team RWBY and JNPR. Before her face goes flat as she looks at Qrow. "Not you."\n\n"Wwwwwinter," the raspy-voiced Huntsman almost chirps, bobbling his head around as he smirks at her.\n\n"We should be in Atlas in a few hours. General Ironwood is very eager to speak to you," Winter says as she gestures back to the airship, only to blink as Reese steps up to her.\n\n"I need to see the general before anyone else. I know he prolly wants to talk to Qrow before the rest of us or anything but I really need to talk to him."\n\n"Young lady, the general will hear what everyone has to say in good-"\n\n"Nng!" Reese grits her teeth, Winter's face darkening, before the small Huntress closes her eyes, inhales, and relaxes her fists. Then she opens her eyes and locks gazes with Winter, her voice steady and even. "I need to brief the general on a matter of clear and present danger for Atlas and Mantle I have concrete evidence of."\n\n"... Understood," Winter agrees with a quick nod. "I'll message him in flight and tell him to expect your briefing."\n\nSoon after, Atlas is coming into view, the floating city stable and motionless above the crater beneath it around which the city of Mantle clusters. It gleams very brightly in the morning sun, to you almost impossibly clean, though the city below it's rather more telling lack of sparkle feels more familiar. But Qrow's attention is fixed on the fleet of warships hovering in the air around Atlas in neat wings, completely surrounding it in every direction. "Winter, what the hell? Is that the entire fleet?"\n\n"Yes. Including the Beacon's Vengeance, the Vale's Banner, the Bronze Valor, and..." Winter hesitates just briefly, glancing around the cabin almost imperceptibly before finishing in the same prim tone. "The Nikos." Ignoring the obvious starts and stares that causes, she continues. "It appears aggressive but I assure you it is a defensive formation and they are at watch stations for such."\n\n"Defense for what? Against the entire rest of the world?" Qrow asks, darting a scowl her way.\n\n"Defense against you know well what," Winter replies evenly with a narrow-eyed look, obviously startling him a little. "But also against what we feel is an impending unrest that will cause a Grimm surge. The general will, I assume, explain everything when we arrive."\n\nIronwood and some distant-standing soldiers are in fact waiting for you at the landing pad outside Atlas Academy, the bearded man looking tired but warmed by the sight of Teams RWBY and JNPR, and especially Qrow. "It's so good to see all of you again. I can't tell you how comforting it is to know all of you are safe, and that all of you are here."\n\n"We're bringing a mixed bag of tidings, as you might expect, James," Qrow rasps. "Some good, others... not so good."\n\n"I see." The uniformed man's blue eyes grow solemn for a moment, before he smiles just a little again. "Still, before anything else, I think I have some glad tidings for all of you."\n\nFrom the distance you hear the whine of thrusters, and also a steadily approaching voice. "ˢᵃᵃᵃᵃᵃᵃᵃᵃᵃᵃᵃᵃᵃᵃᵃᵃᵃᵃᵃᵃᵃˡ-"\n\nBlake's ears twitch, turning towards the path from the academy with wide eyes. "Wait, is that?!"\n\n"-ᴜᴜᴜᴜᴜᴜᴜᴜᴜᴜᴜᴜᴜᴜᴜᴜᴜᴜᴜᴜᴜᴜᴜᴜᴜᴜᴜ-"\n\n"No way," Yang whispers, eyes widening in mingled disbelief and delight.\n\n"-TATIONS!"\n\n"PenARGH!" Ruby yelps as the ginger-haired flying girl bowls right into her in a mass of red cloak and green dress, actually knocking her back into the airship with the force of the thruster-guided tackle.\n\n"Huh. Go figure," you say, staring in at the redheaded android happily cuddling your somewhat knocked-senseless girlfriend. She looks different than the pictures you saw of her and the videos from Vytal... older, maybe, with longer hair, her legs now obviously artificial from the thighs down and build like slender mecha limbs rather than emulating human ones entirely. "When Ruby said Penny had a soul, I kinda figured she... died... when she got busted up like that."\n\n"I think we all did," Weiss admits, though she looks happy to be wrong for once as Penny finally gets up from atop Ruby, helping the smaller woman to her feet. "Penny, you're alive. It's so good to see you."\n\n"It is good to see you too, friend Weiss!" Penny replies, beaming and actually snapping a salute. "It is most gratifying to be in your presence again! Although I also see several new individuals!"\n\n"Oh, um, Penny, this is Oscar," Ruby says, still looking a bit overwhelmed to be reunited with one of those friends she thought lost forever, but beaming all the more because of it. "And this is Team KACH, they're our new friends, that's Ilia, and Reese-"\n\n"You are the most amazing thing ever and I love you so much," Reese whispers, staring at Penny with wide eyes. Penny blinks several times, looking like she doesn't quite know how to deal with that, though you're pretty sure she can't blush or she'd probably be doing it right now.\n\n"... ahem, and Grey, aaaand this is Kai!" Ruby finishes, stepping over to your side and turning her smile on you briefly as she takes your hand. "My girlfriend."\n\nPenny blinks again, neck whirring almost imperceptibly as she turns her head back and forth from Ruby to you. "Oh. I see," she says after a moment.\n\nRuby blinks herself at that. "Penny? Is everything okay?"\n\n"Everything is most definitely alright!" Penny declares cheerfully while swinging a fist in an exuberant gesture... just before she gives a little hop as she hiccups noticeably. "I am happy without reservation that you have found someone to love romantically!" Hiccup. "I absolutely endorse this union!" Hiccup.\n\n"Ooooookay," Ruby murmurs, frowning just a little and tilting her head.\n\n'Oh look it's the competition,' you think with a mental sigh.\n\n"Obviously we all have a lot to talk about," Ironwood speaks up. "But I understand that Huntress Chloris has a matter of utmost urgency to bring to my attention?"\n\n"Oh uh yessir general sir," Reese speaks up, finally yanking her adoring gaze away from Penny and turning to Ironwood, even managing a non-mocking salute. "It's really important and should probably be said in a secure location."\n\n"Follow me, then."\n\nAll of you follow him into the academy, through the halls and into what's obviously his office, a large multi-tiered area with an almost domed set of windows looking out on both Atlas and Mantle below. "Will you need the holography table, Miss Chloris?"\n\n"Yesplz. I mean, yessir."\n\nIronwood draws a remote out of his jacket and taps a button, shields sliding down over the windows and the Atlas emblem on the floor starts to rise up, prompting you and Ruby to hop off of it in different directions. (You see that slightly smug look Penny, that's right you just hiccup over looking away like you weren't caught.) The emblem splits open into a large holography table that Reese makes her way over to, inserting the new scroll she got in Argus into it.\n\n"General sir how much do you know about computer systems and programming?"\n\n"I've tried to stay up to date as much as I can, but it's not my specialty," the general admits, Penny making her way to his side opposite from Winter as he adds, "Penny will be able to interpret for me, please get as technical as you need to."\n\n"Alright so Commander Cordovin wasn't being very helpful to us at Argus," Reese says, starting to tap at the controls as she speaks. "We wanted a way to get in touch with you that would be the least intrusive as possible so I got a technician who was hired to fix a fritzing relay tower to hire me as her bodyguard and I went with her so I could utilize the relay tower's systems to get into the secure lines and call Specialist Schnee there."\n\n"I see," Winter purses her lips, obviously having had some idea that Reese violated the tower's security to get to her, but not exactly happy to have it spelled out like that. "How... ingenious."\n\n"I'll brief your own compsec guys on how I did it later if you want for now though there's a more important thing. I was helping the technician with her work tracing the source of the issues as a cover while I set up the comm slice when I sort of kind of accidentally succeeded at her job instead of mine and found the root of the relay tower's problems. Not her fault she'd looked everywhere in the system the problem could be coming from... except the firmware," Reese concludes, tapping a button and showing a string of code projected on the screen.\n\n"Oh dear, that is very bad," Penny announces with a frown as her green eyes move in superhumanly quick little darts, watching the code scroll by. Turning to the slightly confused and very concerned-looking military officers, she said, "The technician would not have thought to look for a firmware virus because they are exceedingly rare. It is virtually impossible to write one unless you are intimately familiar with the system in question. It could not come from someone who merely studied the specifications and tried to inject it, it would almost certainly have to come from an 'official' source."\n\n"And looking at it this firmware virus was probably already in the firmware from the start and just had to be activated," Reese adds, stopping at a section of code and pointing. "It's deep down in there to the point that unless someone wrote a whole new firmware for patch updates from Atlas this virus would still be in every update sent out just waiting to be activated."\n\nIronwood's face twists in a scowl, eyes narrowing angrily as he almost snarls, "Watts."\n\n"You know the guy?" Reese asks, glancing over.\n\n"Let's say that I have a very good suspicion," Ironwood says icily. "For now, assume the person behind this is a man named Arthur Watts, and continue your briefing, Miss Chloris."\n\n"Alright so once the danger of Adam's attack had passed a little and I'd gotten in touch with Winter I stayed in the system a bit trying to see what Watts had been up to," Reese continues, springing up several more windows. "Mostly it looks like he was using it to poke the systems over here. Uh, by poke I mean he was sending probes and testing little things sort of checking out what the system did if he tested it in very gentle ways. It's what you do in the early stages of a hack seeing if it's feasible like if the security's just too tight or if you can at least penetrate surface level. The goal's to judge how hard it will be to get in without actually alerting anyone that someone's trying to get in. Everywhere in the Atlesian systems he gave up but once he turned his attention elsewhere it was another story," she adds, bringing one of the windows up to the fore. You're pretty good with hardware, not software, but even you can see a lot of 'Confirmed' and 'Connection accepted' there.\n\n"Oh dear," Penny says again, in a much more worried tone. An almost abashed look on her face, she looks at Ironwood and Winter. "Um, sir, ma'am, every single 'poke' Arthur Watts sent to the Mantle systems... they went through."\n\nThere's silence in the room stretching after that. You can see Ironwood just barely hiding that he's trembling with fury, hands staying firmly clenched behind his back as he grits out, "Were the security patches we devised after the Fall not passed on to Mantle?"\n\n"It appears, sir," Winter replies, looking almost as angry herself, though there's just the faintest hint of what you think is a shamed flush on her cheeks as well. "That they were not." \n\nIronwood turns towards her, very slowly, obviously holding on to the last bits of his composure with the greatest of effort. "I want you," he says just as slowly, "To take the Ace Ops to the computer security office. I want you to personally select people you can vouch for who can get those security updates installed before the end of the day and I want the Ace Ops guarding them while they do it. And once that's done, before the sun rises tomorrow, I want you to bring me the name of WHO I AM GOING TO COURT MARTIAL FOR DERELICTION OF DUTY!" he all but roars, deep blue eyes flashing wrathfully. \n\n"YES SIR!" Winter barks back, sounding more like a cadet in the face of her drill sergeant than a specialist in front of her general, spinning on her heel and marching out of the room without another word or sideways glance. You can see Weiss wince at the whole exchange... yeah, that can't have been easy for your siscon friend to see.\n\nYou watch Ironwood pull the shreds of his composure back on, though seeming more tired as he turns back to everyone. "I'm sorry you had to see that. The last few months have been... difficult. ... Miss Chloris," he continues, sounding mostly himself again. "You are clearly extremely competent. How quickly could you devise a patch to correct this vulnerability?"\n\n"The firmware sleeper? I... probably couldn't," Reese admits with a shake of the head. "Not without taking at least a day or two to examine design specs you probably don't want just anybody looking at. I could do a software security patch to close the back door I think Watts used to get in and access it and add some scatters and alerts in if the system's accessed in a way that could try to trip it in maybe an hour or two. Pushing it would take longer considering the state of the CCTs but before the end of the day for sure."\n\n"I would very much appreciate it if you would accompany Penny to computer security central and do so. As to the firmware patch, please give whatever assistance you can to Penny's father when he arrives from Mantle," Ironwood continues, the android girl's face lighting up a bit at the mention. "He's one of the people who helped design these systems."\n\n"Kai?" Reese asks, glancing at you.\n\nYou nod at her. "Yeah, Reese, get it done."\n\nAs the two head for the exit, you hear Reese ask, "Soooo Penny what did you think of the firmware on the new RDC thrust coefficient regulator?" and Penny starting to chatter something cheerfully in reply before the door closes behind them. Yes thank you teammate/wingman please occupy the cute robutt from lusting after silver-eyed girlfriend. Or whatever cute robits do.\n\nIronwood sighs tiredly as he sinks into his desk chair, putting his head in his hands for just a moment before he straightens up and squares his shoulders. "Now then. I have news, but it sounded like you had more to tell."\n\n"Indeed we do, old friend," Ozma says as he steps forward, Oscar's posture having changed a moment before.\n\n"Oz?" Ironwood's eyes light up some as he rises from the chair again. "So soon? It's so good you're here!"\n\n"You... may not think so when you hear what I have to say," the immortal admits with a bob of the head.\n\nSure enough, not too much later Ironwood is once more slumped in his chair, head in his hands, the powerful, composed man looking like he's struggling not to cry. "All of it... all of it was just... a holding action..."\n\n"I am so sorry James," Ozma whispers, his aching heart written all over Oscar's face. "But please, focus on what else I have said. There is hope now. There is a chance we can turn things around. There is a chance we can win!"\n\nIronwood slowly raises his head, taking several deep breaths with his eyes closed, before he opens them and fixes them on Ozma, his composure somewhat returned but... you can see the betrayal in his eyes. He'll never entirely trust Ozma again, you don't think... but he's at least listening. "How?"\n\n"The Relic of Knowledge," Ozma explains, unclipping the lamp from his belt and resting it above the holotable, all of you staring as it grows several times in size. "As you know, it was secured in its vault at Haven Academy, but not necessarily why. The entity that dwells within, Jinn, has access to the sum of all knowledge in the world, and can answer any question using that knowledge. She is why I believed Salem could not be killed."\n\n"So what's changed?" Ironwood demands, scowling.\n\n"I asked the question well over a century ago," Ozma explains.\n\n"And the Guild only made contact with Remnant about forty years ago," you cut in.\n\n"This... Guild," Ironwood says more slowly, focusing on you. "What is it?"\n\n"GIPSE. The Guild of Interdimensional Professionals, Specialists, and Enforcers. Everything from soldiers to warzone IT to legal arbiters to assassins. Amoral, unquestioning, and expansive. If you want something protected, collected, or dead, post your job to GIPSE," you reply, unable to help grinning just a bit as you rattle off the almost ad-like recital. "The multiverse's premier organization for hired help of all kinds."\n\n"You can't be serious," he says with a sigh.\n\nShrugging, you walk up the stairs, seeing him tense a little as you slip a hand into your pocket, then simply look curious as you withdraw it holding your guild comm. Yours is designed to blend in with the 'smartphones' that a lot of planets develop during their information age, though you were given it because it's one of the cheapest kinds there is. You can see Ironwood already looking at the unfamiliar device curiously... it must look practically antiquated compared to scrolls. Bringing up a video, you set it down and slide it across to him as it plays.\n\n"Hey, Kai, what the hell's with the recording, huh?" comes a woman's voice from the comm, Ironwood's gaze turning surprised and confused as he picks it up.\n\n"Is that a... Faunus?" Ironwood asks, frowning since he obviously didn't actually understand what she said (being that it was in Ryl).\n\n"Twi'lek," you correct with a bit of a grin. \n\n"I'm just making a record in case you're actually trying to screw me on this job," your own voice replies.\n\n"Hey I'm letting you come along on this as a favor to make a quick buck."\n\n"Yeah and to watch your back so you don't get your lekku shot off because we're stealing from other mercs."\n\n"They're bounty hunters, not mercs."\n\n"We're stealing their dog, Tuula."\n\nRuby's eyes go wide and whip towards you, and you quickly assure her in a whisper, "We didn't steal the dog."\n\n"We don't need to steal the dog we just need a blood sample now come on," Tuula's voice answers. From the noise that follows and Ironwood's eyes widening, you know he's seeing the portal opening in the booth annex, and the flashes on the screen of you passing through it and suddenly appearing in dim, slightly run-down environs that look like a cross between a bunker and the inside of a mobile home. "Good, empty room."\n\n"Yup, yup. Man I hate doing these jumps into ships, though, hard on my stomach and can't ever shake the thought that the coords won't be quite good enough," the unseen you on the screen comments, and you can see Ironwood's eyes widening again as in the past, you sweep the camera to look out one of the portholes and into the shining stars of space.\n\n"Look put that thing down and quiet down, help me find the dog."\n\n"Here pooch pooch. Ah shit there's... ... is he stoned?"\n\n"... He is tripping balls and talking to his tiny trees," Tuula agrees with a giggle. "Oh wow this is gonna be easy money after all."\n\n"I think I hear some squeaky little barks, this way."\n\nThe video ends there, and after a second Ironwood rather numbly sets your comm down and slides it back to you.\n\n"A species you don't have here speaking a language you've never heard, a portal to another world, space travel, cybernetics that don't look like anything Atlas makes," you sum up as you take the comm back and waggle it. "So either I spent a lot of money on special effects just to prank you, or I'm for real."\n\n"I... suppose you might be." Ironwood rubs his bearded chin, looking deep in thought as you return to the others.\n\n"What happened to the dog?" Ruby hisses to you as you settle in by her.\n\n"We drew a little blood and then played with him for like fifteen minutes until it seemed like he was sobering up, then we left," you answer with a shrug and a grin.\n\nRuby briefly looks relieved... then claps her hands over her mouth in horror. "The puppy was on drugs?!"\n\n"Just mushrooms or something, he was fine."\n\n"So you're saying that Jinn's answer might have changed now," Ironwood says slowly after several minutes. "After such an extreme... dynamic shift in our reality."\n\n"It is entirely possible. It is indeed entirely possible that the question would simply have been different had I asked it at a later date after making more thorough preparations, multiverse or not," Ozma allows. "Jinn cannot see the future or answer questions about it. I realize now that when she said I could not defeat Salem, she might have meant 'currently'. It may be that we have already changed her answer without realizing it."\n\n"Can we ask again?" Ironwood urges.\n\n"There are but two questions left," Ozma answers with a shake of the head. "It is my advice that we wait as long as possible to use them. That we should even see if we can win without them. The longer we wait and the harder we try on our own, the better I think our chances are of receiving the information we need."\n\nIronwood visibly turns that over in his head for awhile, before he withdraws his remote and taps it, the holotable coming to life again. A shape takes form on it, causing Jaune to say, "The Amity Coliseum?"\n\n"Yes. It had been my plan to install a new CCT tower in it and have it raised into the upper atmosphere," Ironwood says slowly, as the model gains a tall radio antennae in its center and then lifts higher above the table. "A sort of... 'satellite', out of reach of the Grimm but capable of restoring global communications."\n\n"I guess it'd have to be inside the atmosphere, considering the proximity of your moon and the amount of debris that has to be out there," you allow. At Ironwood's glance, you shrug. "Orbital satellites are actually incredibly common on most worlds, to the point their nearspace can get positively choked with them. They use them for communications but also a lot of other stuff, like finding your position so you can use an automated map."\n\n"A... global positioning system?" Ironwood looks thoughtfully at the rendering. "That... would be feasible, I think, yes, if we triangulated the current position of the Amity Tower with the other CCTs. It would work even better if we got Vale's up, but-" Then he cuts himself off and shakes his head. "But in any event. I... was planning on telling the world about Salem. Starting with Atlas and Mantle."\n\nQrow sucks in a breath, then half-growls in understanding. "That's why the buildup of your forces. You were expecting the panic that would cause, and the resulting Grimm attack."\n\n"James, the sheer panic that would cause-" Ozma starts.\n\n"I know!" Ironwood snaps back, rising to his feet and slamming his hands down on the desk. "Dealing with the results of that panic was why I was doing this, why I was doing all of this! Why I've had to act like a tinpot dictator ordering people about, watching as they come to associate my face with tyranny, all as I prepared to finally tell them the truth you wouldn't!" he snaps, pointing a finger at Ozma.\n\n"... Yes. Yes, you are right," the immortal answers slowly. "And as I have said, the time for lies and deception are over. But James, I implore you," he urges. "As much as I understand your motivation, to simply drop everything on the people at once may be too much. Sometimes when you rip a bandage off a wound quickly, it does not just get the pain over with... it reopens the wound."\n\nIronwood visibly hesitates, then sighs and sinks into his chair again. "... What would you suggest?" he asks, sounding unhappy to even be considering it.\n\n"Um... could I?" Ruby asks, holding up a hand slightly, waiting until there's no objection to step forward. "Maybe we could tell them some of the truth. Not necessarily... 'there's a scary evil lady who controls Grimm and may or may not be immortal'. But maybe the more... mundane parts of the truth? The stuff that's still scary but not, uh... terrifying?"\n\n"She's got a point," Qrow allows after a moment. "Salem may be a towering magical force of evil, but she's built up a network and organization of purely mortal people. It, and they, are real and people can see them as a threat they already know and can understand. 'Global conspiracy' is scary, but not as much as 'Satan's real'."\n\n"I don't... know," Ironwood hedges uncertainly.\n\n"Think of it like easing everyone into it," Yang speaks up, Ironwood looking over. "The Fall of Beacon was like... a trauma we're all still sort of reeling from. And you don't recover from a trauma all at once overnight, you do it by accepting little bits of your new reality at a time, until finally you're ready for the last big hurdle. That's what we're saying, basically... let Salem be the last hurdle, not a giant wall to climb at the start."\n\n"... I appreciate your candor, Yang," Ironwood says after a moment, rising again. "And... I think maybe you're right. Let people adjust to the fact that there is a criminal organization trying to destroy our society. Once they've come to terms with that, maybe they'll be ready to know who's behind that organization. I'll... agree to take a more measured approach, once Amity Tower is functioning. But as for the questions..."\n\n"I still think we should wait," Ozma asserts.\n\n"And I'd like some answers now, since I've yielded on one plan already," Ironwood responds a bit grimly. "... But it is all of you who have brought the lamp here. As important as this is... you're the ones that have risked your lives getting it here. I'm not used to it as a military man, but I think we should vote. Those of you who are in favor of asking the lamp how to defeat Salem now, raise your hands."\n\n<hr>\n[[Raise your hand.|KaiRuby2x1]]\n\n[[Keep it down.|KaiRuby1x3]]

"... Very well," Ironwood says as almost every hand stays down, nodding slowly. He pauses, then looks at you. "It seems as if much of this is happening with you as a catalyst. Care to explain your reasoning, at the least?"\n\nYou hesitate a little, glancing around at the others, before looking back to him. "When we set out on this mission, Ozma came clean with us about who he was and what he'd been told about Salem. That our goal was to push forward with the mission to keep her from getting the relics. We've come this far, and it looks like from what Reese found that Atlas is definitely her next target... that Watts guy is probably on his way here, if he's not already in Mantle plotting and scheming as y'do. The goal was always to push on as far as we could and do what we could, and it's gotten us here standing in front of you. So I say we stay the course and we get it done. We wait until we can't see another way forward before we ask this Jinn what else we could do... and it sounds like you've got a pretty good way forward to me. General," you add with a bob of the head.\n\n"... You," he says after a moment, as he sinks into his chair. "May call me 'James'. But maybe you're right. I was pushing forward with this plan when I had no idea the Relic of Knowledge was on its way here, or what it could do. It might be a fool's errand to start doubting myself now just because we have access to a mystical artifact."\n\nOzma melts back into Oscar, the boy rubbing the back of his head. "He, uh... he's kind of tired after everything, but he says he's glad you took that so well."\n\n"Am I taking it well?" Ironwood actually lets out a tired-sounding laugh, leaning back in his chair and putting a hand to his head. "I don't feel like I am. I feel like I'm about to go to pieces."\n\n"General," Ruby says as she steps forward. Then, when he gives her a tired smile and a crinkled look of his eyes, she abashedly corrects, "James... you look really tired. But Team RWBY, Team JNPR, and Team KACH are here now. We'll do what we can to help. So maybe you should take the opportunity to get a little rest, and we'll start tomorrow as a fresh day ready to tackle what's in front of us. All of us in it together."\n\n"... That... sounds like incredibly good advice," James admits with a long outward breath, letting himself slump a little. "I'll have someone come and show you where you can put your things. After that, I'll have them show you to the design lab."\n\n"Design lab?" Ruby echoes, eyes lighting up with almost solar intensity.\n\n"Atlas Academy isn't the best-funded training academy on Remnant without reason. Our entrance test may be difficult, but once you're here you're afforded access to the very best facilities we can provide. I want all of you tweaking the designs of your weapons, armor, and any other equipment you need. Once he's done with the firmware update, Penny's father will personally take over making the modifications necessary. Hopefully in a day or two you'll be ready to begin taking the site of Amity Tower's construction back from the Grimm."\n\n"Appreciate it," you acknowledge, most of the group starting to turn and head for the door. You pause though, glancing back at him as he rises and draws over closer to Qrow. "Hey, James?"\n\n"Yes?" he asks formally.\n\n"Maybe before your nap, trim that up a bit?" you suggest, making 'floofy' gestures at your lower face with your fingertips. You grin at him, adding, "You're still a bit on the trim and firm side to be going full papa bear, y'know?"\n\nThe stoic man's cheeks actually color a bit. "I'll, uh... I'll keep that in mind."\n\nAs you fall in with the others outside, Yang snorts. "Did you just flirt with General Ironwood?"\n\n"Mebbe a little."\n\nNo flirting with old men! Ruby declares in your head with a pout, seizing hold of your arm and hugging it possessively. Only flirting with me!\n\nAwww, but I like flirting with people.\n\nNoooo! Only meeeeeee!\n\nCan I flirt with Blake?\n\nNo flirt with Blake!\n\nCan I flirt with Grey?\n\nNo flirt with Grey!\n\nCan I flirt with Weiss?\n\nNoooo flirt with Weiss!\n\nCan I flirt with Oscar?\n\n... Sometimes! Just for cute farmboy noises!\n\nLaughing a bit, and making everyone roll their eyes in that 'They're flirting telepathically again' way that they've developed, you peck Ruby on the head and follow the very confused-looking uniformed student Huntsman to the dorms.\n\nAfterwards you settle down in front of one of the holographic design terminals, settling Red Legacy on the base of it and taking a moment to get familiar with the interface before initiating a scan. Reese's design has basically been perfect... the quick change between sword and gun-ulak has served you well, but there is one thought you have now that you've had time to do so. Mainly that having it be just a sword when it's in sword mode almost seems like a waste (sorry Ico) considering what fighting Grimm is like, and also that you're not actually using the little quickfire pistols with their Dust-tipped rounds that are still strapped to holsters in your sides, because just like Sun told you back on the boat to Mistral, the way fighting here works just doesn't allow for you to change weapons much, so the pistols have stayed in their holsters until you've almost forgotten they're there. So now you draw them out and set them on the scanning plate too, adding their holographic models to Red Legacy's floating above, and starting to work.\n\n'Armor,' you think eventually, frowning. Usually when you think of that word you picture bulky flak vests, or skinsuits, or full-on power armor. You're not sure what you'd want to do there. You take a look at the nearest person's design table, Yang's, then blink at the holographic model of what looks a whole lot like a bomber jacket. "Uh... is that armor you're designing?"\n\n"Yeah! ... What, did you think this stuff we're wearing is just clothes?" Yang asks with a frown, holding out the edge of her current jacket a bit. Then her jaw goes slack. "Holy crap! Kai have you been fighting this entire time in just clothes?!"\n\n"... Uhhhhhh... yeaaaaah?" you say, getting the distinct impression that everyone's leaning away from the stations now to stare at you. "I mean... ... yeah? I thought... most of you... were?"\n\n"It's..." Yang puts her hands together in front of her face, closing her eyes taking a deep breath before continuing, hands lowering as she opens her eyes, your brain almost filling in the 'dangit boi'. "It's an armor weave. In the lining or just straight-up the cloth is made of it. The really nice stuff is done with a process using gravity Dust so that the cloth binds together into what's basically a solid surface that makes it way stronger too."\n\n"The whole reason we dress like this is because our clothes are armor," Weiss adds in, quirking an eyebrow.\n\nYou open your mouth. Close it. Shake a finger in Weiss's direction. "Know what that makes way more sense."\n\n"Kaaiiiiiiii make some armor don't diiiiiie!" Ruby wails as she shakes you back and forth suddenly.\n\n"Gyah-ah-ah-ah! I'm gonna-ah-ah-ah-ah!"\n\nOnce the designs and, reluctantly, your weapons have been turned over for modification, you and the others just take a walk around Atlas, enjoying the early evening ambiance. "Man this place is something else though," even Grey can't help but note as he looks around at the buildings. "But you're thinking what I'm thinking, right?"\n\n"It's way too clean," you agree, glancing down as some little squarish droid zips out of a slot in the wall, extends a thin arm to pick up a piece of trash, deposits in a nearby bin, and returns. "Seriously? Seriously?"\n\n"I mean it's not as weird to me but I actually kind of get what you mean," Yang allows. "Vale was always really clean too, and so was Argus, but this, it's... spotless."\n\n"Atlas was created to be a 'shining light' for the rest of the world," Ren notes evenly with a little flit of the hand. "Perhaps that is why they work so hard to maintain the appearance of being without blemish. At least on the surface."\n\n"Yeah, well, if you ask me there's a pretty big blemish on Atlas anyway," Weiss mutters, looking towards a towering white edifice in the distance. \n\n"It's okay, Weiss, you don't have to go back there," Ruby assures her partner gently.\n\n"Look, however pretty it looks on the surface, there's still gotta be some fun to be had," you suggest, grinning and slinging an arm around Weiss's shoulders and giving her a little jostle, which makes her pout at you in annoyance, but you can see the bit of cheer that comes into her eyes too. "I say we find ourselves a club or something, have dinner and a few drinks, and actually celebrate the fact that we actually got here with, ultimately, a minimum of fuss. Hell, we're not even tired!"\n\n"Let's PARTY!" Nora shrieks joyously, leaping up into the air.\n\n"Responsibly," Ren adds with a little smile.\n\n"... Let's party RESPONSIBLY!" Nora shrieks joyously, leaping into the air. Then looking at Ren and shaking her head. "No, no, it's no good, you ruined it."\n\n"Aw," Ren murmurs, slumping forward.\n\nEventually you do in fact find a club, and as a matter of fact some of RWBY and JNPR's friends, Team FNKI, are playing as a band called 'Funky Beat'. After cheerful greetings, some hugs, and an assurance that you are most definitely not allowed to put things on their tab, your party (minus Oscar, who no amount of cajoling would convince the door attendant to let in, and so instead set off for the movies with Jaune, who asserted himself as not being in the mood, but you're pretty sure he was just big brothering Oscar) settles in at a couple of tables to listen to Funky Beat's electro-swing stylings and have a nice dinner in the slightly smokey ambiance of the nightclub, which is apparently also technically a cigar club.\n\nHmmmmmm. ... Hey Kaiiiii, I know what I said, but-\n\nThere are at least four people who would kick my ass if I gave you a cigarette, Ruby, so no.\n\nDangit! Am I your girlfriend or are Yang, Blake, Weiss, and Unca Qrow?!\n\nHey, you got 'em all, just not in order. You grin and give her hand a squeeze under the table. I quit anyway. As of a couple of days ago when someone told me I shouldn't smoke anymore.\n\nOhhhh fiiiiine. If we're both gonna live longer and everything, Ruby says with a little audible snort, giving your hand a squeeze back.\n\n'I hope, anyway,' you think, trying not to let your worry seep into your grin. Instead after a minute you say, "Shame Reese couldn't be here, she'd be loving this." \n\n"She'd be loving Neon," Grey snorts, then letting his eyes roam appraisingly from the feline Faunus singing at the mic to the others. "Actually I'm pretty sure she'd go a little squishy for just about every member of Team FNKI."\n\n"People are eating!" Weiss notes from nearby, tossing Grey an annoyed look. "And trying to listen to Neon sing, while they're at it!"\n\n"You call that eating? It's a salad. That's not eating, that's preparing to eat."\n\n"Of all the-! Blake!"\n\n"Tch!" Grey twitches as Blake swats him on the shoulder, looking over at her and frowning. "You're doing it for other people now?!"\n\n"Guys, guys," you assert, but a bit softly, resisting the urge to laugh outright. "C'mon. Enjoy the song, enjoy the night. We worked hard to get here. Could've been a lot worse, let's all just be thankful it wasn't."\n\nHey, Kai? Ruby sends a bit later as you're all taking a hoverbus back to the academy, leaning against your side with your arm draped around her. You're getting a few dirty looks from some of the other passengers (not sure if because two girls or because twenty-something and something-teen), but you had a couple of drinks so you give even less of a shit than you normally would and just rub your cheek on her hair a bit. Does it bother you that I don't... smoke and drink and stuff?\n\nHm? Why would it? you send back a little.\n\nI dunno, back in Haven you seemed to have a lot of fun doing that stuff with Uncle Qrow and Grey. And it does look fun, she admits, glancing out the bus window. I just don't want you to feel like you have to have less fun because of me.\n\nI mean yeah, sure it's fun, if you don't overdo it. And maybe if you overdo it just every so often, you add with a grin. I think being with you is more fun... although if you wanna give it a try sometime that's good too. But that's more up to you, whether it's a thing you think you'd like. I mean you've got a Huntress license now, that's basically as good as legal ID for any bar.\n\nMmmm. ... Maybe when this is all done, we'll go out drinking to celebrate! Yoooou have to promise to stay sober enough to look after me though, 'kay? she adds with a grin of her own.\n\nYou got it, you assure her, kissing her forehead. Then look over at someone clearing their throat pointedly. "Oh get the fuck over it!"\n\nAll of you spend most of the next day going back to hand-to-hand training, since you're deprived of your weapons. Well, most of you are. "I don't think I said it before, but nice arm, Yang."\n\n"Yeah, isn't it?" The blonde grins brightly as she holds the sleek golden limb up to the light in the training room. It's both a bit both more angular and sleek than the old one, more planes than the other, the fingers a bit narrower, in all saying it was more designed to beat people to death than just be a replacement limb. "The other one felt really natural and I've super gotta thank Penny's dad when I get a chance, since it sounds like he's the one who made it, but this one feels... it's kind of like having Bumblebee strapped to my arm, the sensations are such a rush even from just moving around that it's like getting goosebumps all the time but in a good way." She pauses, then frowns and points a finger at you. "Hey, speaking of Bumblebee, you still haven't made me whole for the scratched paint, Sterling!"\n\n"Uhhhhhhhhhhh." You search desperately for a reply, and find a pretty good one. "Made Grey whole for the arm yet?"\n\n"... Okay so we'll just shut up about this now huh?"\n\n"Agreed."\n\n"Ah, good, you're here. And already training, that's commendable," Ironwood says as he walks in, flanked by five people in white, although none of them are Winter Schnee. You also notice, a bit smugly, that his beard has been trimmed down to a close-cropped but still thick length. "You're really instilling a work ethic, Qrow."\n\n"Yeah well it started when we were trying to learn a third team's rhythms and method and it just kinda grew into a thing from there," Qrow allows. "Team KACH only formed up right after the Battle of Haven, since they had a lot to learn about each other, we all stuck with it. Just kind of became a thing after that." \n\n"Really? You've been a team that short of a time and you're working that well in coordination, as well as with two other teams?" says the fair-skinned man with close-cropped brown hair, the front of it standing up a bit like a rooster's comb, resting a hand on his hip. "You've done a pretty good job, what I'm seeing looks more like fourth year top students or head-of-class graduates."\n\n"Clover Ebi, head of my Ace Operatives," Ironwood adds by way of introduction as you step forward to shake his hand. "Vine Zeki, Elm Ederne, Harriet Bree, and Marrow Amin," he continues, gesturing to a particularly tall, gaunt man who's officially the first person you've seen who's paler than Weiss but not actually dead, a woman who looks like Nora if you tinted all of her brown and went back in time to have her drink a gallon of milk every day so that she grew like a tree, a short brown-skinned woman with a dual-colored fauxhawk, and a brown-skinned canine Faunus with messy dark green hair, his fluffy tail wagging behind him despite his attempt to look nonchalant. "You'll be working with them in the weeks ahead as we prepare Amity Tower for launch."\n\n"Nice to meet you guys. But James, speaking of Team KACH, when can I have my 'C' back?" you ask, turning to look at him.\n\n"That's... one of the things I wanted to talk to you about," James says slowly, a somewhat uncomfortable look on his face. "Could I and the rest of your team talk to the side?"\n\nFrowning, you nevertheless nod and bob your head to the others, following Ironwood to the corner of the training room. "I don't like to poach someone else's people out from under them, so I wanted to talk to you before I said anything to Reese. The truth is in the last twenty-four hours she's outshone every computer tech in our computer security division, despite being a student. Yes, I know about the semi-official promotions," he adds dryly. "But again, the fact is... Reese has been incredibly helpful to us over the last day. And Pietro Polendina is absolutely enchanted with her and assures me she's the brightest young mind he's encountered since Velvet Scarlatina. I want to offer her a commission in the Atlas military."\n\n"Reese? In the military?" Grey scoffs a bit. "No offense, but when you trimmed that beard did you clip off your good sense?"\n\nJames gives him a look that says he's riding the ragged line of 'no offense', then looks back at you. "I assure you Reese will be far from the only 'unique soul' on our security team," he adds, a bit more warmly. "And I know she's important to your team, so I'm not going to try to pressure you. I'll let you be the one to discuss this with her. I will say that with her and Pietro both working on your weapons, they should be ready much sooner than anticipated."\n\nLater that night, all four of you sit around a table in the dorm room that's been assigned for your use. It's a little bit more cool and impersonal than the Haven rooms were, reminding you more of some of the starships you've been inside than a home proper. "Seems like we've been in this spot before, discussing someone else's promotion," you say dryly.\n\n"Just... what the fuck?" Reese murmurs, still staring into the distance like she's overwhelmed. "They wanna make me an officer?"\n\n"What was it you said when we met? 'Every-fucking-body wants a piece of you, shit sucks when you're talented'?" you prompt, unable to help laughing a little.\n\n"I don't really like the idea of you going to work for Atlas," Ilia admits with a sigh. "But I'm not sure if I have a really good reason for that anymore. The whole reason we came here was because we wanted their help, now they're asking for yours."\n\n"I mean this is basically like your dream job," Grey adds. "And it's not like in Haven where this means we'd all get split up. As long as we're still working out of Atlas we'll still be able to see you basically every day."\n\n"It's just really big, I guess," Reese murmurs, shaking her head. "I mean we're talking about changing my whole life plan here guys. I mean the last two days have actually been pretty awesome where I feel like I'm doing something important and I actually really love working with Penny's dad he's pretty frikkin' amazing but I also love our team. That hasn't changed it's just gotten moreso. I don't wanna think of you guys going out there without me."\n\n"At the end of the day Reese, like you said, it's your life. You need to decide it for you, not for us. We'll miss you on the field but you can't let us stop you from doing what's right for you."\n\nShe's quiet for the rest of the night, not saying anything. In the morning all of you get up early for practice as usual, making your way out, Reese leading the way this time. As you sort of expected, James is already outside. "Good morning, Team KACH," he greets formerly. "Reese, Kai told you about the offer I'd like to make?"\n\n"Ah, yeah, she did. And... I've decided," Reese says after a moment, taking a deep breath. You can see before she's let it out how she's chosen.\n\n<hr>\n[[She's going to accept the job.|KaiRuby]]\n\n[[She's going to stay with the team.|KaiRuby1x4]]

"I'm like really honored that you made me this offer. Like I know people just kind of say that a lot but seriously I mean it I'm honored. You're one of the first people that's ever treated my skills with dignity and respect instead of just like a repair vending machine," Reese says to Ironwood. "Definitely the most powerful and influential person to ever do it. And I kinda think when all this is done I'd still kind of like to stay in Atlas or Mantle and work with your people 'cause it's been fantastic. But... I'm not ready to give up being a Huntress yet. It's been the saving grace of my life and it's still who I am right now and I'm not ready to be someone else yet."\n\n"... I understand," Ironwood says gently, in a voice that says he really does as he rests a hand on her shoulder. "We're going to miss you on our team, but I'm glad your team doesn't have to."\n\n"Um sir," Reese calls as he starts to turn away, only to grin sheepishly as he gives her a little smile. "... James. Uh... I know this is kind of being presumptuous as ffffish especially since I just turned you down but there's something important I wanted to talk to you about, about Doctor Polendina."\n\n"Why, what's the matter?" James asks, frowning in concern.\n\n"Well it's just... he's old sir," Reese blurts, then looks abashed. "I mean he's just not as healthy as he used to be and he kind of admitted to me that it's getting tough for him to maintain his clinic down in Mantle all by himself even though it's where he loves to be."\n\nJames sighs heavily at that, shaking his head. "I wish he'd have just said as much to me. What do you suggest, Miss Chloris?"\n\n"There's a technician in the compsec team called Figaro Tuchs. She's a little in over her head working solo but she's actually a really good assistant she just needs someone to basically be telling her what to do," Reese says, holding up her scroll to show the general a picture of a dark-skinned Faunus with short black hair and white-tipped cat ears. "I think she'd actually be doing Atlas and Mantle way more good if you assigned her as Doctor Polendina's permanent assistant than leaving her in the compsec team."\n\n"Hm." Ironwood regards the image for a moment as if memorizing the young woman's face, then nods. "I'll have Winter look into it. If things are as you say, it shouldn't be a problem putting her at Pietro's disposal." His mouth quirks up at one corner. "You know you don't make this easy on me, when you show off such great managerial skills."\n\n"Eheh," Reese says, ducking her head and rubbing the back of her neck. "Yeah I guess Oz kinda said something similar to Kai when she told him why she wasn't gonna be headmaster of Haven."\n\n"... She..." Ironwood blinks at her, then looks at you, obviously resisting the urge to point.\n\n"Hey don't look at me man every time I think of that I wonder if either he or I were just having some sort of weird fever dream," you declare, holding up both hands.\n\n"... I see. In any event, Reese, thank you for your consideration, and this suggestion. Like I said, I'll have Winter see about getting it done. Now, if I can prevail on you to stick with us just a little longer..."\n\nReese's grin considerably broadens. "Oh yeah the weapons and armor. I am all over that."\n\nThe next day everyone boards one of the mid-sized airships for deployment to the site where Amity Coliseum will be refitted into Amity Tower... well, all except one. "I wish I was going with you," Oscar says with a sigh, before shrugging and rubbing his arm. "I mean, I don't wish I was going to fight Grimm in an abandoned old Dust mine, but..."\n\n"Nah, I get it," you assure him with a grin.\n\n"We'd like to have you with us, Oscar, but someone should be here with the lamp," Yang adds as she walks past, giving him a literal pat on the back.\n\n"And I guess so that Ir-... James... can talk to Ozma," Oscar adds, just a little dispiritedly.\n\n"Hey." It's Ilia who steps in from the side, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Don't be afraid to tell them, both of them, what you think either. Ozma's promised you to let your voice be heard... make him keep that promise."\n\n"But what have I got to say to guys like them?" The younger boy huffs out a breath, obviously starting to give in to the insecurity you'd hoped he'd started to get past. "I'm just a farmboy from the middle of nowhere."\n\n"No, you're not," Ilia insists. "You're one of the people they're supposed to be doing all of this to protect. And they need to be reminded what those people would think about what they're doing. Don't let them forget that at the end of the day, if everything we're doing works, the world still has to spin on and those people will remember."\n\n"... Well when you put it that way it seems like it'd be a lot less pressure to fight the Grimm," Oscar allows dryly, before smiling a bit. "Thanks, Ilia. I'll do my best."\n\n"Know you will," she assures him.\n\n"Y'know, what Blake said all the way back at Menagerie is right," you comment to your partner as the two of you head up the ramp. "You've grown up a lot."\n\n"Maybe." Ilia's eyes flash through several amused colors as she grins at you. "You've grown down a little though, I think. In a good way," she hurries to add, voice still warm.\n\n"Eh?" You blink at her, stopping, pretty thoroughly confused by that one.\n\n"I dunno, ever since you hooked up with Ruby you seem... lighter. Like less of the weight of everything is dragging you down. I'm not the only one who sees it... I think it's bringing out a little of the kid in some of us, reminding us that we don't have to be all stoic and stodgy just to save the world."\n\n"And yet here you are sounding like the big sister," you reply with a grin.\n\nIlia's specks turn pink. "Th-, the big, w-wait you just said it, you said the thing where, and-"\n\nLaughing, you lean in and peck her forehead. "There, that's better."\n\n"Alright, Team RWBY, Team JNPR, Team KACH, please head to a prep room and get ready. Familiarize yourself with your upgraded equipment and armor, and get yourself centered and mind on the job," Clover's voice says over the PA, prompting you and Ilia to head further into the ship, splitting up at the doors to two of the small cabins that look like they could pass as living spaces but are clearly more for getting dressed and prepped for missions. Setting the case with your gear in it on the bed, you strip down and start gearing up fresh as Clover's briefing plays over the speakers.\n\n"This Dust mine is abandoned, but it's not actually played out. There will be Dust present in the walls and ceilings in some places, so always check your line of fire and be cautious when using explosives. We already have uniformed Atlas Huntsmen on the ground clearing the surrounding tundra, but it will be our job to clear the mine proper. That means a mixture of Mantellian tundra Grimm and subterranean Grimm, along with one very special guest... a Geist. The frontline Huntsmen have already encountered it, and when pressed it retreated into the mine. Self-preservation instinct means it's old, and it being old means it's smart, strong, and deadly. Consider this Grimm to have an extremely high threat rating, and the mission's not done until we've confirmed it's destroyed. We kill the Geist, everything after that is cleanup... the site will be considered secure, and we can start bringing in the technicians to ready everything for Amity Coliseum's landing."\n\nWorking a few of the new controls on Red Legacy just to make sure everything functions as it should (which it does, the motions far snappier than they used to be too, you notice), you hook it at your side and head back out into the hallway, almost bumping into Jaune as he comes out... and struggling not to let out a bark of laughter. "Boy what did you do to your head?"\n\n"W-what, you don't like it?" Jaune asks sheepishly, rubbing the back of said head. He's cropped his hair short almost all the way around, save for the bangs where he's apparently decided to spike it up a bit. "I don't know, looked good on Reese. ... And Clover."\n\n"Combining those looks was maybe not the greatest idea ever," you say dryly, before thumping him on the shoulder and grinning. "I'll get used to it, Arc, you just surprised me. We all need to change it up sometimes, huh?" you add, tilting your head a bit to show off the short braids you've put in parts of your hair. Then you blink, realizing that your ponytail is currently using something borrowed. "Oh, hey, damn, I never gave this back to you I just kinda started using it, I'm sor-" you say, raising your hand to the bronze decoration at the base of your skull.\n\n"No, it's okay," Jaune hurries to interrupt, putting a hand over yours. "You keep it."\n\n"Y'sure?"\n\n"I think it's good for all of our teams to have a little something of hers," Jaune assures you with a smile, before turning to make his way to one of the drop hatches.\n\nSince you're not quite sure 'thanks' covers that, you wind up trying to figure out what does all the way to the other deployment hatch. You notice that the rest of your team has obviously enjoyed Atlas's facilities. You're not too surprised that Ilia left the long black coat you bought her back on the Guildhall unaltered... you've left Niobe's coat unaltered too, for more than one reason, after all. But her short-legged bodysuit has been replaced with one with full legs, and may be one of the first times you've ever seen something that could be called 'iridescent black'... it's shiny with a faint sheen of multiple colors and shades over the inky midnight color, apparently from what she said after the design session it's infused with a really rare form of Dust... light Dust. Grey's altered his own operator coat to be long and sleek and a dark, rich steel color with just a hint of shine, but apparently decided to go 'full fashion' with the rest, using the armorcloth weave to make a white formal shirt with no top buttons, the collar flared out a bit, black suit pants and even shiny black business-style shoes on his feet, though from the tread of them they're still fitted like boots. Reese has replaced her purple hoodie with a black one that's fitted a bit closer, the front of it glowing with her skull-like emblem, the pattern matched on the purple metal harness clipped around her chest and back and apparently serving as a more secure holster for Lioncub, her forearms sheathed in purple metal bracers that come down over the palms and backs of her hands, matching metal purple boots on her feet, their design reminding you somewhat of Penny's legs. You also notice a pair of purple items affixed to her head to the side of either eye, almost hidden below her hood.\n\n"Naebad," Reese comments with a grin as you approach.\n\nMuch as you understood the concept of armorweave clothes, your brain apparently couldn't get past the idea that armor=armor. So you designed a long-sleeved, high-collared black top (a lot like the old one, just that it only leaves a tiny strip of your midriff bare... you're used to your bellybutton breathing) with thin silver armor plates fitted along the front and chest, capping your shoulders beneath the coat and covering your arms, ending in fingerless gauntlets. The tight black pants are similarly the same as before for the most part, just now armorweave, but you designed a set of sleek silver boots with interlocking panels to go with them. The armor plates are thin enough that if they weren't compressed using a gravity Dust process they'd probably be purely decorative, but with Remnant technology they'll actually be some protection.\n\n"Thanks, you guys look good too," you reply as you settle in near the hatch in the wall, tugging a bit on the gloves beneath your gauntlets as you get ready.\n\nGrey eyes your chest thoughtfully. "... Did you build padding into that?"\n\n"No," you assure him flatly. At his continued look and raised eyebrows, you roll your eyes. "Okay look it lifts and separates, alright? I basically got told I could make what I want, I did, vanity thy name is Kai, happy?"\n\n"Bit. Ruby'll probably be happier," Grey says with a snicker... then a glance to the side, looking almost disappointed when he realizes Blake's nowhere around.\n\n[[Music|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbOutnrU_VY]]\n\n"Alright, teams, prepare for deployment," Clover's voice says as the hatch slides open and the air starts whistling by, propelling snowflakes with it. "This will be an air drop, so plan accordingly."\n\n"I love how he just casually tells us we're jumping out of a moving airship ten seconds before we actually do it," you note dryly, shaking your head and grinning. "Remnant, man."\n\n"Great isn't it?" Grey chuckles, before gesturing to the open hatch. "After you."\n\n"Oh no I insist, after you," you reply with a smirk.\n\n"No after me!" Ilia declares, laughing as she runs to the hatch and turns, dropping backwards out of it like she was heading down a waterslide.\n\n"Well. If she says so," Grey adds, grinning and shrugging before he jumps out as well.\n\n"Thiiiink I might need a little help getting down," you note ruefully as you step up, not actually afraid, just noting that your skillset and equipment aren't entirely suited to 'aerial deployment'.\n\n"It's fine we'll help," Reese assures you with a grin, angular green lenses flipping out of the things on the sides of her head, her voice dropping a bit as she adds, "Nah lez gih-ih dun bawz, aw-aw."\n\n"... You are wild," you assert with a laugh, before jumping out of a perfectly good airship without a parachute.\n\nYou turn in midair to watch the airship receding quickly, but by now you've learned to be calm in just about any situation... and this is one you absolutely know you and your team are in control of. And even if you didn't have absolute trust and faith in them alone... the sky is filled with your friends, your family, all of them soaring like birds, the reports of weapons and the sparkling of Semblance as comforting to you as the thrum of a heartbeat.\n\nNot a thing in the world to be afraid of.\n\nYou watch as Reese more dives out of the airship than jumps, the thrusters in her boots propelling her towards you as a few soft thmps of the hoverpanels on the palms of her gauntlets adjust her course. Just before she reaches you, Lioncub splits and reshapes on her back, not into a pair of pistols but becoming a set of short thruster-wings that let her dive and swoop to catch your hands with hers, diving down at a low angle. Now you can see Ilia's coat flapping as she drops closer, having angled herself towards a stone outcropping with a long 'arm' coming off of it. Lightning Lash flicks out, its tip splitting open into a three-pronged hook that strikes the surface of the stone and adheres, the finer controls she's installed in the whipmode letting her retract and untension it more easily, swinging around the jutting rock and back up into the air, momentum slowed enough that she almost hovers for a moment as Reese tosses you to her. Ilia catches you with one hand, letting your own momentum spin her around until she can sling you towards the much lower Grey. Grey flares his Aura in a hard burst only about ten feet from the ground, arresting his drop and propelling himself into a flip and skidding as he lands, already bringing his arms up and catching you in both, twirling a bit as he does and smirking down at you.\n\n"My hero," you sigh cheesily, rolling your eyes and grinning up at him warmly.\n\n"My lady," he cheeses back, winking.\n\nB-KOW! Ruby fires Crescent Rose one last time to arrest the last of her momentum, twisting as she leaps off the blade and swings it around, coming to rest with it on her shoulder as she points at the both of you. "No! No flirting! Only with me!"\n\nYou and Grey both roll your eyes and tilt your heads away, then laugh a bit as he tilts you up to your feet. Ruby's outfit has mostly been tweaked a bit here and there, her upper garments more snug and no longer with a window in the chest (RIP smol cleavage, you will be missed), a few more straps and attachments here and there. You grin as you reach out to finger the little braid she's put in her now slightly messier hair. "Lookin' good, Rubes."\n\n"Hee. You too. My knight in shining armor," she replies, silver eyes dancing and looking almost as bright as said armor.\n\n"Flirting later, mission now, you guys," Yang comments as she walks by with Blake, laughing a bit. Blake's refined her earlier look with a tight, almost 'superhero'-like black and purple bodysuit and a more form-fitting white coat, a purple pack with zippers attached to the back of it, her long black hair brushed out and pulled back into a long low braid. Yang, meanwhile, looks like she decided she liked your own style of before, her midriff bare and a long-sleeved, high-collared tight black top on below her brown leather bomber jacket, the top with only a few accent piece gold armor plates, the snug black pants accented with short yellow shorts over them that still show off her rear and hips, a rather more utilitarian pair of boots on her feet.\n\n"Yeah yeah," you snort, then blink as Weiss goes sweeping past wearing a sparkling blue, thin sleeveless vest that comes all the way to her ankles, the rest of her body hugged by a tight white bodysuit with loose, translucent sparkly half-thigh skirt worn over it, something that looks a lot like formal pumps on her feet. But it's not the outfit you're staring at. "Damn girl."\n\n"Weeeisssss whaaaaaat?!" Ruby declares, gasping loudly and clapping a hand to her mouth.\n\n"Well, you know," Weiss says casually, though her grin is just a bit sheepish as she reaches up to pat the underside of her hair, which no longer quite reaches her shoulders, the length causing her white hair to puff out a bit and giving it a slightly 'fluffy' look. "I haven't had short hair since I was a kid. Lately I've been feeling like maybe I'd like to indulge little impulses like that, soooo..."\n\n"It'll take some getting used to, but it looks good," you assure her.\n\n"Yeah Weiss! You look cute! Like... Zwei!" Ruby declares cheerfully.\n\n"L-like Zwei?!" Weiss splutters, looking somehow simultaneously outraged and intensely pleased.\n\n"Ugh, I didn't sign up for babysitting or fashion review," Marrow comments, arms folded over his chest.\n\n"Hey, we babysit you and comment on your fashion disasters all the time," Harriet comments as she strolls by him, smirking, making the canine Faunus pout.\n\n"Alright, everyone, let's get this mission completed, the sooner we clear the mine and take out that Geist the sooner Amity Tower can get under construction," Clover announces as he strolls up and uses his scroll to project a hologram of the mine. "Qrow and I will take one of the tunnels where the initial team thinks the Geist is most likely to be... hopefully we'll either be able to take it out, or flush it towards the rest of you. Vine, Elm, you go with Team JNPR and head into the opening between that one and the main entrance, here. Team KACH and Marrow will take the main entrance, and since they've got a lot of good mobility, I want Team RWBY and Harriet to head up the side of the mountain to here, this airship landing, it has a tube that takes you almost directly to the central cavern, but watch out for nesting aerial Grimm around the entrance."\n\n"How come I get stuck with the newbiest of the newbies?" Marrow grumbles.\n\n"Don't think of us as the newbiest of the newbies," Grey declares with a roll of the hand as he throws his other arm around the other man's shoulders, smirking in a way that says he knows exactly what he's doing. "Think of us as the weirdest of the weirdos, so obviously we're uniquely suited to absorb you, my man."\n\nMarrow pouts, his tail drooping behind him. "Rude."\n\n"Alright, people, you heard the Specialist, let's get it done," you call, taking on a professional tone as you clap your hands twice. You can see Clover and the other Ace Ops get something like approval on their faces at your delivery, people already starting to split up. Still, you take a moment to lean in and kiss Ruby on the lips lightly. "Take care of yourself, 'kay, hon? And the rest of those yahoos too."\n\n"You take care of yourself and your own yahoos, missy," Ruby practically coos back, giving you another quick kiss back before scurrying off to join the rest of Team RWBY.\n\n"So, uh... you and her, huh?" Marrow asks, scurrying a bit to draw even with you as your group heads for the front of the mine.\n\n"Yup," you acknowledge with a quick bob of the head.\n\n"You, uh, you sure that's okay? She's like, what... sixteen? And you're uh... uh..." he trails off with a bit of a frown.\n\n"No clue," you inform him evenly, though with a rather dry glance you add, "What, so she's old enough to fight monsters made of rage and hate, but she's not old enough to date?"\n\n"Uh, noooo, not what I meant, just that, y'know, she doesn't necessarily have the emotional maturity to..." He trails off as you just keep looking at him. "Right. Monsters made of rage and hate. But her life experience is... ... riiiiight. ... Know what? I'm just gonna shut up now."\n\n"And now I start to like you," you tease him, giving him a wink to make sure and take some of the sting out of it.\n\n"The job, Specialist," Grey reminds Marrow evenly, though you can see his steely eyes glittering a bit in amusement.\n\n"Oh, right right, yeah. Huh, you two are the ones who are supposed to be newest to this, but you can sure act like one of us when you wanna," Marrow notes as well as you all start to enter the cave.\n\n"Grey and Kai are mercenaries," Ilia provides, though you notice that her voice has gone sort of distant. "They're probably used to jobs where they have to act like that."\n\n"Yeah, we are." You stop with a frown, though, reaching out to put a hand on her shoulder. "What's wrong, Rainbow?"\n\n"Oh, uh, I kind of just realized," Ilia says, stopping but not turning to face any of you. "This is the mine where... it happened."\n\nA chill runs down your spine. "Crystal Dragon, are you serious?"\n\n"Yeah. I didn't really process the name before, but... I remember seeing that shot from the news," Ilia adds, raising a hand to indicate the dusty, scraped Schnee Dust Company full name logo and the name of the mine below it. "Just, y'know. A lot more smoke around it."\n\n"Someone you knew was in here when the collapse happened?" Marrow asks, looking from Ilia to the logo on the wall and back.\n\n"Her parents," Grey supplies, his normally flippant voice quiet, even, and borderline grim.\n\n"Oh. Oh geez," Marrow says with a wince. "Geez, I'm sorry. Look, if you don't want to do this, it's okay, you can head back to the front base and I'll explain things to Clover, he'll understand."\n\n"No." Ilia draws in a breath, lets it out, then finally looks at the rest of you. "I'm okay. I can do this."\n\n"Rainbow, you sure?" you ask softly. "Just because you can doesn't mean you have to."\n\n"... Yeah I do," she answers, voice quiet but even as she looks ahead again. \n\n"I've definitely got Grimm signals coming from ahead," Reese pipes up after a second, little flickers of text visible across her lenses.\n\n"Wait like on your technological sensors?" Marrow asks, sounding a bit confused.\n\n"Yeah it's something I worked out with Pietro. The equipment sends a faint little bit of your aura out ahead of you and since Grimm don't have any they sort of suck it in and then the sensors feed back where they found blind spots. Takes some Aura every time you use it but since I don't use my Semblance much it's fine for me."\n\n"Weapons ready. Prepare for hostiles," you command, drawing Red Legacy and retracting the sheath, the thin barrels of the rechassised quickfire pistols snapping up to rest pointing up from the base of the blade. \n\nAll of you slowly make your way forward... until coming to one of the well and truly collapsed portions of the tunnel, a large chunk of rock blocking the way forward. "So your cool little Grimm Sensor couldn't tell they were on the other side of that?" Marrow says dryly.\n\nReese rolls her eyes behind the lenses and rests her hands on her slender spandex-hugged hips. "Listen my dude the tech is like twenty-four hours old. This ain't even bleeding edge yet it's 'the doctor has just this millisecond made the incision' edge so you wanna maybe cut me a little slack?"\n\n"Okay okay, geez. Spread out and start looking for a way past it."\n\nAll of you span out, and you notice Ilia looking diligently despite her eyes keeping wanting to wander to the piles of rubble and crushed SDC cases. Your heart aches a little for your Rainbow, but it's pretty clear to her that it's important she's allowed to do this. "Hey, over here," Grey calls after a few minutes, bringing the rest of you.\n\n"Yeah that looks like it goes all the way to the other side, probably. Looks like one of you two could fit down it," Marrow adds, glancing at Reese and Ilia.\n\n"Those things you're wearing got nightvision?" Grey asks Reese, tilting his head towards the path.\n\nBefore Reese can answer, though, Ilia speaks up. "Even if they do, she can't hide from the Grimm as well as I can. If I keep myself calm and stealth myself, even if there are Grimm waiting on the other side they might not spot me."\n\nYou regard her for a moment, almost asking if she's sure. But if she wasn't sure she wouldn't have said it, so rather than undermine her you say, "Alright, Rainbow, get it done."\n\nIlia nods, inky blackness stealing across her skin, hair, and into everything but the whites of her eyes, her bodysuit losing its luster and instead shifting perfectly to match the black of her skin. She slips silently through the passage, her slight form providing her plenty of room as she moves, her footfalls feathered and motions subdued.\n\n"I've got her on tracking," Reese notes, her lenses flickering. "Looking good. ... She's stopped."\n\nFrowning, you concentrate just a bit. Ilia? Do you see something?\n\n... It's right here, Kai.\n\nYou blink. The Geist?\n\nIt's. Looking. At me.\n\nSpooky-ass motherfuckers, aren't they? Grey sends dryly.\n\n... I think he can hear you, Grey.\n\nThat makes you and Grey whip your heads towards each other before you send urgently, Get out of there!\n\n"GYAAAAH!" you can hear Ilia call from the other side of the rock.\n\n"Ilia move!" Reese calls, dropping a step back and readying her hands, channeling Gravity Dust into the thrusters on her hands, then driving both forward at once, smashing them against the surface of the rock and sending a massive shockwave through it, shattering an opening and allowing the four of you to go rushing through.\n\n"It ran deeper inside, but we've got Skitters, I saw one!" Ilia blurts as she hurries to join the rest of you. \n\n"Skitters? What the hell's a Skitter, I've never heard of that Grimm," Marrow snaps back, eyes whipping back and forth. \n\n"That's what we called them in the-!" Ilia winces and skips over it. "I don't know the right name, they're bugs, head on each end, they tunnel!"\n\n"Centinels," Marrow groans softly. "... 'Skitters' is actually kinda better though."\n\n"Marrow, analysis," you snap out. \n\n"There's usually at least a dozen of them in the area at any given time, they cluster together in hollows in the rock and come boring out if they get disturbed. Liiiike it looks like your friend's method of busting that rock did," he adds in a tired tone as bony-chitined monsters come spiraling out of the walls and floor, mandibles clacking and shrieking. "It was a big cluster looks like."\n\n"Marrow, Reese, suppressing fire, focus on disrupting them. Ilia, take point, stun and disorient. Grey and I are on cleanup."\n\n"Hey, who said you're giving the orders here?!" Marrow demands as he swings his oversized boomerang off his back and transforms it to a rifle. "However that is a really good plan so I'm gonna go along with it. Of my own free will."\n\nHe and Reese start firing Gravity Dust rounds into the wobbling, shrieking horde of nightmare insects, several of them at the front cracking and dissipating, others getting knocked reeling. Ilia darts forward, swinging and laying about with Lightning Lash, cracking any Centinel that looks like it's recovering enough to actually put up a fight with a shock and making it relatively effortless for you and Grey to move among them slicing and ripping, Hell Ticket now sheathing Grey's entire arms shoulder to fingertip with multiple claw-shaped blades he can extend from his forearms and knuckles as well as his fingertips, Red Legacy now chattering brief bursts of full-auto fire into the Grimm as you cut. Once several seconds pass without any more of the Grimm emerging, you almost reflexively start to send to the group, but stop and make yourself put your fingers to your ear instead, activating your scroll earpiece. "This is KACH, we engaged primary target but it escaped. Were detained by secondaries. Situation clear. Over."\n\n"Um, JNPR here. We've just, I mean, we have engaged secondaries. Centinels. Situation clear. No sign of target. Over."\n\n"RWBY here! Have defeated big leathery winged secondary and are just now entering the tunnel! Looks like lots of bore holes in the wall so probably more of the Centinel thingies. Secondaries. Over. Oh, uh, no sign of target either! ... Over."\n\nYou and Grey trade a tolerant smile... then you frown as a few seconds go by, tapping your earpiece again. "Alpha team, confirm status."\n\nWhat comes back is the sound of Clockwork Dirge firing repeatedly in shotgun mode, making you wince a little even as Clover's voice replies, "This is Alpha, we have engaged the target, all teams converge on our position."\n\n"KACH confirmed, converging," you snap back as you spring into motion, Jaune and Ruby echoing you much more naturally this time.\n\nSave that less than a minute later: "Target escaped. Last seen heading east."\n\n"Understood," you reply, doing a bit of mental calculation from the map you saw. "That will put it on track to head to subsidiary chamber D to the side of the main chamber. JNPR, you're the closest, try to alter course and flush it into the main chamber if possible. RWBY, what's your ETA on main chamber?"\n\n"Harriet says maybe two minutes if we book it."\n\n"Book it."\n\n"Clover?" Harriet and Vine's voices come almost simultaneously.\n\n"You heard her. Don't check with me to confirm a good plan."\n\n"Understood." x2\n\n"Marrow, take lead, let's get to the main chamber and be waiting for that thing," you direct, Marrow not complaining this time as he sets off at the head of the group. Soon you emerge into a towering cavern, its walls and ceiling studded with a veritable rainbow of different Dust types, massive mostly smooth stalactites of blue Ice Dust crystals, jagged flittering red Fire Dust, at least one large minecart still loaded with dense clusters of purple Gravity Dust, etched lines of yellow Lightning Dust pulsing in the walls. "Holy shit," you murmur. Bringing your hand to your ear, you comm out, "This is KACH, be advised main chamber is not just 'not played out' it is highly dense with Dust deposits and uncovered shipments, advise extreme caution."\n\n"Understood, KACH, RWBY inbound in ten seconds."\n\nKai! Jaune suddenly sends. It's REALLY bad!\n\nReport! Aloud if you can! you send back.\n\n"It's the Geist!" Jaune calls, his actual voice carrying to you as he and JNPR as well as Vine and Elm rush out of one of the side tunnels and to the floor beneath, his shield hand to his ear as he runs. Behind them thunders the massive form the Geist has assembled for itself out of rubble and ice... and massive glowing shards of slightly orangey-purple stones. "It's incorporated Dust into its body!"\n\n"Dammit!" you snap, before hitting the comm again. "Be advised primary target has gone volatile! Reese!" you snap.\n\n"Already on it!" she calls back, staring fixedly at the Grimm, then wincing. "It's taken the crystals from the fusing point of a Gravity and Fire Dust vein! It's studded with Explosion Dust this is extremely bad!"\n\n"RWBY, Alpha, did you get that? Target has infused Explosion Dust!"\n\n"We copied, KACH, understood. Secondary teams fall back, Ace Ops will handle this," Clover's voice answers.\n\nYou purse your lips and tense your fists, but simply send back, "Copy" and give Marrow a quick nod, his teeth flashing in a grin and tail wagging before he vaults over the railing and down to the main floor.\n\n"Elm!" Vine calls from the position he's taken up, stretching out one of the energy tendrils he's formed over his arms and wrapping it around the Geist's leg, shooting the other out to grab hold of a support beam, restraining the Grimm before it can get any further into the chamber. Answering his call, the large barefoot woman charges forward, planting her feet (literally, green energy resembling roots appearing around them) and gripping the ice-and-girder limb, taking over restraining its mobility.\n\n"Vine!" she calls out, Vine immediately releasing his grip and instead flipping and launching himself through the air, taking to one of the minecart paths above and slinging an energy hand out to grab the long girder serving as one of the monster's hands, hauling on it until the Geist's rubble-and-debris body stretches to the point of revealing shadowy connections between the pieces.\n\n"Marrow!" Vine directs, the canine Faunus almost ambling into position as he converts his rifle back to boomerang mode, drawing it back and slinging it towards the extended limb, the weapon slicing through one of the shadowy tendrils, separating it from the main body as it literally starts to go to pieces... as well as sending the bit of orangey-purple Dust it had attached to part of its arm flying through the air. Marrow's eyes widen, but just then he spots Team RWBY appearing in the tunnel above.\n\nThe canine Faunus's fingers snap up to his ear. "Harriet!" Almost instantly the elite Huntress's pink eyes snap to the Dust crystal, and she crouches briefly before taking off in a literal blur, lightning crackling in her path as she races down the slope of one of the minecart tracks and throws herself into a sideways twisting leap, catching the crystal and landing with it tucked in against her side like a playground ball.\n\nThe trio of ace operatives make several more passes at the Grimm, trying to extend its limbs so Marrow can cut them free. But one of his throws sends a Dust crystal spiraling through the air, everyone too caught in the show to react more than sucking in a breath... until it lands firmly and easily in Clover Ebi's palm, the smiling Huntsman giving it a gentle toss as he settles it. "What would you guys do without me," he murmurs with gentle good humor, tossing the crystal to Qrow behind him before leaping forward off the edge of the tier he's on.\n\n"Reese, are you getting this?" you ask as the quintet of elite fighters harry and provoke the Grimm, bit by bit chipping the Dust off of it and catching it to tuck off to the side. \n\n"Ohhh yeah every bit I am definitely watching this in private later," the green-haired Huntress chirps cheerfully.\n\n"Yeah well we're all gonna be watching it." You can feel your lips curling into a particularly wolfish grin. "'Cause I wanna be better, and I know someone else who will too," you add, flicking your eyes to Ruby, who's watching raptly with an expression somewhere between hero worship and a predator that's just spotted a particularly challenging rabbit.\n\nClover flings himself through the air as Harriet lures the Geist into swinging its main body forward and out, the line of his fishing pole style weapon curling through the air, the thin metal cable coiling around the Grimm's mask. With a little burst of Aura, Clover twists in midair and flings his body against the line, bellowing dramatically as he hauls the Grimm forward and out of its body of garbage and Dust. Without needing to be prompted, Harriet flings herself up at speed, the exoskeleton that had snapped into place around her arms and legs at the start of the battle whirring as she snaps a hard uppercut into the Geist's mask, smashing it and dissipating the shadowy Grimm near-instantly. Its body staggers and starts coming apart, the Ace Ops flinging themselves into action, snatching up pieces of Explosion Dust while they're still in the air, having most of them in hand before the huge ice rock of the main body even hits the floor. \n\nBut one piece was knocked particularly far, hurtling all the way to the other side of the chamber. "Harriet!" Clover snaps, some actual tension in his voice as he calls out the command and the slender girl takes off. And you can see why.\n\n"She's not gonna make it!" Reese calls what you've already figured out.\n\nAnd then there's a swirl and a flutter of rose petals, a flash of twirling red cloth that snatches the Dust out of the air inches above the floor, Ruby thumping back into herself as she hits, then smiles just a bit sheepishly as she nevertheless raises the Dust above her head triumphantly.\n\nLetting out a long relieved breath, you slump briefly on the railing before leaping over it. "That's my girl."\n\nYou can see Harriet having a short conversation with Ruby as she helps the younger woman to her feet, then takes the head-sized Explosion Dust crystal from her. Everyone converges into a loose group near what remains of the Geist's cobbled-together golem body, Clover taking a look around. "Good work everyone, Ace Ops and new recruits both. Most of that was skill, but a bit of it was luck." He grins and thumbs the cloverleaf-shaped medal on his chest. "You're welcome. We're also lucky that there's this much Dust still left, because we're going to need it for the Amity Tower plan." He taps his ear. "Atlas Control, this is Clover. Mission accomplished." Then he looks back to the rest of you. "Alright, let's make our way back up to the main staging site, I think the general had something he wanted to say to you. I have a few things to say too, later. Don't worry, they're all good," he adds with a wink, before turning and ambling off, the rest of his team following behind him.\n\n"He's quite a guy," you note, grinning and resting your hands on your hips. "I think he may be the second authority figure I've actually liked."\n\n"Yeah, he's... something," Qrow says in an almost stunned way that makes the little girl in you giggle.\n\n"That was soooo good!" Ruby declares, beaming at you as she returns, then turns to jog off after the Ace Ops. Just as she does, the main body of the dead Geist settles a bit in place, a cracked part of the ice crumbling in the aftermath of the pounding it took. A single shard of Explosion Dust the size of three fingers drops free, hitting the floor once in Qrow's direction, before bouncing in Ruby's as it starts to shimmer and crack.\n\nTink. Tink.\n\nYou don't even remember throwing yourself forward. You don't remember the explosion. All you know is that your world is pain and everything is slipping away from you very fast.\n\n"Kid! KID!" Qrow screams in anguish.\n\n"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Ruby wails, even her beloved squeak of a voice sounding distant in its horrified tremble.\n\n"This is Team JNPR in the main chamber we need immediate medical assistance repeat immediate medical assistance!" Ren's voice snaps through all of it.\n\n'No... no... not like this... not in front of her... not him blaming himself...' you think as you start to slip away from everything, sinking deeper and deeper into the darkness, even the pain starting to numb around the edges and turn cold and then soft. 'Not like this... not like this when I finally have so much I want to do... with her... with him... with all of them... not like this... not before I get to make her smile again... not before we get to see what life has for us...'\n\n'... I wanna live...'\n\nAnd then Jaune's Aura is flooding into you and you're seizing in a breath like it's the only one you'll ever need again, your body arching hard, starting to crackle with scarlet light even as the white gold of Jaune's soul flows into you through your cheeks. Your breath turns shaky briefly, trembling with the sheer intensity of the sensation as bone knits and flesh mends, even the shattered pieces of your armor drawing back together, the weave of the cloth flitting back together with little purple sparks as the Gravity Dust process fixes itself back in place. In a matter of moments you're laying on the floor whole, if exhausted, breathing slowly, staring up at worried blue eyes beneath a blonde fringe. "... Hair's starting to grow on me," you assure Jaune with a little smile.\n\n"Oh thank the Brothers," Jaune says in a rush, hanging his head.\n\n"Kai!" Ruby flings herself onto you, her whole body shaking as she sobs against your shoulders.\n\n"What did you do?" Elm says, her eyes wide as she stares at Jaune, the Ace Ops apparently having come rushing back at Ren's distress call.\n\n"Even her clothes fixed themselves," Harriet murmurs, staring at your chest for an entirely different reason than Grey was earlier. "I've never seen a healing Semblance like that, never."\n\n"Uh, that... wasn't me," Jaune admits as he gets to his feet, you rising with Ruby's still slightly trembling help. "I can give someone my Aura, but all it does is kind of supercharge their own, keep them from dying or help them heal themselves. I... honestly thought I could maybe just help Kai hang on until help got here."\n\n"This is Clover, cancel emergency medevac, situation under control."\n\n"Kai healed herself once before... back on Menagerie," Ilia says, gradually starting to return to her normal colors, though she still has a faint all-over tint of blue, the color shimmering across her bodysuit as well. "I hadn't really thought about it since she hasn't gotten injured since then, but I guess that's her Semblance."\n\n"That's one for the books, for sure," Harriet says, grinning and giving you a quick fingergun. "Really thought we were gonna lose you there, Red, glad we didn't."\n\nYou grin back, then wince just a little as Ruby shakes a tiny bit against you. You do your best to give the others a 'no more mentions of me almost dying plz' look, Harriet looking a little abashed as she nods. Perhaps sensing you need a moment, the others make their way out, letting you draw Ruby around, putting your hands on her wet cheeks and lean in, keeping your voice soft. "Hey. Hey. I'm okay. I'm okay, baby, alright?"\n\n"Kai..." Ruby sniffles hard, putting her hand over one of yours, silver eyes anguished. "I thought... you were dead."\n\n"It was pretty close, but-"\n\n"No!" she snaps to interrupt, making you start a little. "I didn't think you were going to die!" Ruby tilts her head against one of your hands, her face still deeply miserable. "... I thought you were dead."\n\n"... Oh Ruby I'm sorry," you whisper, drawing her close and holding her tight.\n\n"Please don't ever do that to me again," she murmurs against your chest as you rock her a little.\n\nUnable to help yourself, you grin. "I promise. The next time there's a shard of Explosion Dust about to go off near us, I'll let you throw yourself on top of it instead."\n\n"... Yeah well... you better," Ruby mutters, raising a fist to thump it against your front completely without force.\n\nOnce Ruby's had a bit of time to compose herself, the two of you head out to rejoin the others, just in time to see General Ironwood addressing everyone. He stops as you approach, smiling a little. "Kai. Heard you had a bit of a close call, glad to see you're alright after all."\n\n"Always a fresh new thing to learn every day on Remnant," you declare breezily, patting Ruby's shoulder comfortingly with the hand around her shoulders. "Like 'explosions hurt'."\n\nHe looks briefly startled, then chuckles. "Quite. Alright, could I speak with just the team leaders for a few moments? Qrow too please?" He turns and withdraws a short distance, with you, Ruby, Jaune, Clover, and Qrow following after him. The first thing he does is turn to Clover. "It's the matter we discussed earlier. I want you on the ground, but be subtle. And don't take Marrow," he adds in a slightly rueful tone, glancing over to where the Faunus man seems to be reenacting his actions in the Grimm fight for Blake and Yang, despite them having actually been there.\n\n"Understood," Clover answers with gentle good humor, before adding to the other four of you, "And lucky for you, I'm gonna get him out of your hair anyway." Then he turns his head and calls "Ace Ops! We're moving out!"\n\n"New problems in Mantle, James?" Qrow prompts, his voice still just a little shaky. It's obvious that your brush with death hit him pretty hard, if not as hard as Ruby. "Since that's what I'm guessing you mean by 'on the ground'."\n\n"More of the same, I'm afraid," Ironwood says with a sigh, holding up his scroll and tapping a button, projecting a hologram of a man's mugshot on one side, and the same man sprawled facedown in the street. "Someone has been killing community leaders and activists in Mantle who speak out against Atlas. Specifically, people that speak out against me. It didn't look like a pattern at first, but this is the third murder of its kind in the last week." \n\n"Your opposition in Mantle dropping dead isn't exactly a good look for you, huh?" Qrow sighs, brushing back his new gold-trimmed vest jacket to tuck his hands into his pockets.\n\n"I'm not really worried about my public image, but it is causing unrest. I think someone's trying to frame me," Ironwood replies grimly. "And by extension, Atlas. And it's working."\n\n"The embargo's got everyone pretty angry," Jaune notes with a sigh of his own. "So it probably makes it pretty easy to jump right to blaming you."\n\n"You're right," Ironwood allows with a bob of the head. "Things in Mantle have never been particularly easy. Unfortunately if we're going to put this plan into action, they're going to get harder before they can get any easier. Which is what I wanted to talk to all of you about. I'm going to need your help with things as we proceed with turning Amity Coliseum into Amity Tower, but I also think Mantle needs your help. As much as possible when not training or working on this plan, I want you working to make Mantle safer. We'll get to one way in a few moments, but I just wanted to say that between your three teams, we can try to make the Mantellian people feel like Atlas hasn't abandoned them."\n\nYou rub your chin thoughtfully, then say, "Could I make a suggestion?"\n\n"Always. Go," Ironwood acknowledges with a nod.\n\nRather than speaking immediately, you turn your head and call, "Grey!" Once he's ambled over, you gesture to him. "Grey's the most familiar of any one of us with Remnant's criminal underworld. I think that makes him suited to help with this problem on a number of levels."\n\n"... I see. Go on," Ironwood says slowly.\n\n"Grey, if there was a serial killer working in Mantle, you think the underbelly would know who it was?"\n\n"Mm. Might not know," Grey allows with a shrug. "Might just have rumors. But they'll be rumors a little closer to the source that we could work off of."\n\n"You think you could work those sorts of connections to get a lead?" Ironwood urges, almost instantly shifting postures and clearly interested in the idea now.\n\n"Maybe. It's not so much 'connections', I've never been to Atlas or Mantle before, but I know the sort of places to go where that information gets thrown around, and the sort of people to talk to. I've been out for a long time but I should still be able to get you something. More than that though," Grey adds, flitting a hand. "You're gonna need these people's help."\n\n"... I am?" Ironwood quirks one eyebrow.\n\n"The criminal underworld is as much a part of Mantle as anyone else. Push comes to shove, they'll fight for it, especially if they know that their good deed in doing so will go unpunished," Grey notes, quirking his own in return. "If they can understand that choosing you over an invading force that wants to burn everything to the ground won't come back to bite them, they'll choose you over outsiders no problem. At the same time, the ones that won't? The ones that would enjoy watching it all burn? I can let you know which of those to look out for." He tilts his head. "Most of all? The stuff you need to keep Mantle from falling apart while you divert resources to Amity? They can get it. Now, it'll be stolen from the SDC, or maybe other Atlas construction sights, maybe even Mistral, but that stolen material's probably already sitting in some hidden warehouse waiting for a buyer. We'd just be putting it back to work."\n\nIronwood raises a hand slowly to cup his lower face, scratching in his neatly-trimmed beard for a moment before he says, "What would you need?"\n\n"A second set of armor. A place in Mantle to work out of. And lien. Lots and lots of lien."\n\nThere's only a moment's hesitation before Ironwood nods. "See me in my office when we get back to Atlas, we'll work it out. In the meantime, I-" He pauses as his earpiece bleeps, raising his fingers to it. "Ironwood. ... What, already? Here?" His face twists a bit in distaste. "... No, it's fine. Let him land. I'll deal with him myself."\n\n"More Mantle problems?" Qrow rasps as he turns to follow after James as the bearded man heads for the nearby landing pad, the rest of the group apparently sensing that the exclusive meeting is over and they can join.\n\n"No. This one's an Atlas problem," Ironwood says in a tired tone.\n\n"Father," Weiss mutters as she spots that snowflake logo on the side of the sleek, quad-tined airship banking in. She pauses briefly, then gets a positively impish smile on her face. "... Bla~ke, could I ask your help with somethi~ng?"\n\n"Um... okay?"\n\nIronwood heads out onto the platform, clearly making a show of not being scared of the SDC airship even as it looms above him, Team RWBY assembled a bit further back, with you having tagged along as well. Ruby still seems a little ragged, you kind of figured she didn't want to be too far from you. As the ship settles, a ramp descends and the back doors open up, a rather slight-looking man with faded white hair, a bushy mustache, and a slightly overdone white suit strides down the ramp, already ranting as he comes out, clearly having been planning it his entire flight. "So let me get this straight, James, in addition to this nonsensical embargo of yours crippling my business, you've also decided you have the authority to commandeer private property?! When the council hears about this, you will never sit on it again!"\n\nYou can see Ironwood's shoulders straighten, and you brace yourself to hear some sort of 'my rules my way suck it' response that will just blow the situation up worse. But apparently a night's sleep has done him good, and he lets out a breath before saying calmly, "The Schnee Dust Company has not resumed operations at this mine since its collapse, which already puts it in range of being declared officially abandoned. Additionally, at the time if its collapse, the Atlas Military shouldered the primary weight of search and rescue operations and medical assistance. Now, while typically the Atlas Military does not charge for such services, that is when it is assisting the citizenry... technically, since the collapse occurred on Schnee Dust Company property and to Schnee Dust Company employees, we were assisting a private entity."\n\n"W-w-what are you saying?" Jacques Schnee sputters.\n\n"I'm saying that if you want to contest the mine's legally abandoned status, Jacques, then you may see me not on the Council, but in court. 'Schnee versus Atlus' has a nice ring to it, don't you think? Think your primary voter demographic would enjoy seeing tha tone bandied about in the papers?" Ironwood says in a slightly amused tone, before his voice becomes serious again. "However, if you do so, I'll be forced to file countersuit on behalf of the Atlas Military for compensation for the hours, material, risk, and in some cases death benefits incurred with our assistance," Ironwood adds, tapping a button on his scroll to holographically project a figure that the richest man in Atlas blanches at.\n\n'This has Ozma's fingerprints all over it,' you think rather smugly. Crafty, my dude, crafty, nice job.\n\n"Of... of all the...!" You can see Jacques' mind racing as he tries to come up with a way around that one, but it's clearly not coming to mind.\n\n"This site is, unless contested in court, the lawful and legal property of the Atlas Military by right of reclamation. And as such is now off-limits to nonauthorized personnel. I've allowed you to land here once as a courtesy, but the next time your reception won't be so friendly."\n\n"... This isn't over," Jacques snaps, pointing at Ironwood's face. "I'm going to get that council seat, James, and maybe then you'll-" About this point he notices Weiss grinning smugly at him from behind the general. "You," he murmurs, and for a moment it isn't clear whether he's talking to James or about Weiss, before he says, almost a little sadly, "You cut your hair."\n\n"It's nice, isn't it?" she chirps, reaching up to fluff it a bit.\n\n"How long have you been in Atlas?! Did Winter know about this?!" her father snaps, striding towards her, though you can see Ironwood bristle defensively as the other man steps by him.\n\n"It was my decision to come here," Weiss replies, actually seeming to be enjoying needling him now. "Just like it was my decision to leave. Or have you forgotten all about that?" she almost sing-songs, giving Blake's hand a squeeze.\n\nJacques purses his lips, glancing the whole row of you over, before focusing back on Weiss. "If you think I'm one to forget anything, girl, then you've misjudged the man your father is."\n\n"Oh believe me I know exactly who you are," Weiss practically purrs. "Which is why I hope you enjoy this."\n\nAt which she lifts Blake's hand, spins the other woman in a rather elegant twirl (which makes Blake look a little bit surprised and flushed, even though you could tell she knew it was coming), and then dips her down and backwards in a perfect romantic position to plant a passionate kiss on her.\n\nYang, obviously having been in on this little ploy, hides her snickering behind her hand. Ruby's jaw drops. From the distance, Reese whistles and then calls "Ten lien, now!" while Ilia barks "Dammit!" Ironwood puts a hand to his face, from the way his shoulders are set somewhere between mortified and trying not to laugh, while Jacques just makes choking noises, his face going red. He splutters wordlessly for several moments, a vein throbbing visibly in his forehead, before he whirls and storms back up the ramp and into his ship.\n\n"Oh man that was great!" Yang says with a burst of laughter as the ship takes off, ruffling everyone's hair and clothes lightly with the backwash. "You were right, Weiss, that really cooked his goose! ... Weiss? ... Hey Weeeiiissss," she says, frowning at the fact that the two are still in the same position, Blake's hand having come up to rest on the back of Weiss's head, fingers sunk into the soft fluffy white hair a bit. "Weiss, your dad's gone. ... Weiss. ... Blake. ... Okay you two have like thirty more seconds before I'm going to get mildly annoyed. Like sixty seconds tops."\n\nThey do finally lift up and separate at the sound of truck doors slamming, the vehicle having rolled onto the pad almost the moment the airship left it clearance to do so. Weiss, face flushed, fluffs her hair a bit again, before her eyes light up. "Winter! You just missed Father," she says in an amused tone.\n\n"No, I didn't," Winter Schnee replies evenly, quirking an eyebrow. "I didn't miss anything." \n\nWeiss's face goes solid red. So does Blake's.\n\nBefore anyone can say anything to alleviate that awkward situation, or make it worse (honestly sometimes you can't help yourself, and you feel like getting blown up should give you a fairly large allowance for being a shit for the day), Penny suddenly drops out of the sky with a heavy thud on the landing zone, swinging her arms wide with a holographic 'CONGRATULATIONS!' appearing over her head, the sound of a party horn issuing from somewhere. "Surpriiiiise!" She beams at everyone, then blinks when she notices the stares. "... Have we not started yet?"\n\n"Someone started something," Winter says dryly, causing Weiss to give a nervous laugh.\n\nSoon though, everyone's made their way up to the arena part of Amity Coliseum, standing with everyone but Qrow on one side, but Ironwood, Winter, and Penny on the other, soon joined by Oscar... though from the stride it looks like Ozma is in control. "I think it's fair to say this arena is a place of significance to most of us here. We have experienced triumph and heartbreaks within its walls. So I think it's only fitting that we officially begin the task of serving Atlas and Mantle, working to make the world a better place as well as saving it. We've had many harsh revelations along the way," he continues a bit sadly, Ozma bowing his head briefly. "But we have all of us decided to push forward and persevere together. We have all vowed to each other to be honest, to drop away the lies and see the truth about what is ahead of us. And, in that spirit, there's one... bit of deception that most of you have indulged in," he says, a bit of humor entering his voice as he continues. "That we've decided to correct. By making it the truth."\n\n"You have all been promoted to full Huntsmen and Huntresses," Ozma says evenly, smiling despite the earlier pain. "In truth, rather than through the system we gamed back in Haven. Atlas Academy has acknowledged your records, and the service all of you have given... at the Battle of Beacon, and the Battle of Haven, all the way up through today. Good service and great skill should be recognized, and yours has been."\n\nYou stare down at your scroll as Penny steps in front of you and taps something on her own, the image fritzing a little, and the 'Haven Academy - Certified by Leonardo Lionheart' in small text at the bottom is replaced by 'Atlas Academy - Certified by James Ironwood'. You find yourself staring at it very hard. \n\n"Oh gosh, this is so exciting!" Ruby squeals, jumping in place. "I mean, I know it said 'Huntress License' before but now it's a really real Huntress license!"\n\n"I... I honestly never thought this day would come," Jaune murmurs, staring at the changed license on his own screen, before he closes his eyes and presses it to his chest, whispering something to himself. You're pretty sure it was 'We did it'."\n\n"I know it's much earlier than usual, but between everything I've been told you've done, every last one of you has earned this, and-" Ironwood says as he strolls down the line of people looking at their scrolls with smiling faces or even wonder, until he stops in front of you, blinking. "... Kai? Are... you alright?"\n\nYou open your mouth, close it. He's probably asking because of the tears welling in your eyes and spilling down your cheeks. "It says... 'Kai Sterling'," you murmur, voice cracking. "'Huntress License'. ... And it's real. And I earned it." Despite everything, you find your lip shaking a little as you rasp out, "I have a name. And a job people look up to. ... And I earned it."\n\nJames Ironwood stares at you for a long moment. Then, only the slightest bit awkwardly, he steps forward and puts his arms around you. "You very much did," he assures you quietly, before stepping back and letting Qrow be the one to hug you next.\n\n"Good job, kid," he whispers as you cry quietly.\n\nYou get a lot of hugs after that. And eventually you're able to get your stupid weepiness over finally having it be firmly demonstrated to you that you're a real person and you matter, and enjoy the party that results, Ironwood lingering as long as he can before departing with Winter and Oscar. Still, even after eating a piece of cake, laughing with the others and taking some pictures, you find the need to withdraw a little and just take it all in. You sit in the stands, leaning back and sighing, then smiling as Ruby settles in next to you. "Hey babe."\n\n"Hey," she says softly, smiling, then scooting in and snuggling up against your side. "... Your name means a lot to you, huh?" she says after a few moments.\n\n"Yeah... I mean, I was given the name 'Kai' just so that the slavers and then the old man would have something to call me," you say after taking a few to sort your thoughts. "And I accepted it as mine mostly just because that's what everyone I ever actually loved called me. It had to gain the good associations. But 'Sterling'... the name Ozma gave me... he gave me that because he thought I deserved it. He wanted me to feel whole and complete... the same way I was starting to feel whole and complete because of my team."\n\nRuby's quiet for a bit, then says, "Sometimes I still get mad at him, you know? When I think about how he deceived... everyone. Not telling us the truth, letting the world think they could win when he thought they couldn't. At those times it's easy to forget that besides being an immortal consciousness he's also just... a person. A person who's done a lot of good for a lot of people. I think... he did something a lot like what he did for you for Uncle Qrow," Ruby adds, glancing down to where Qrow's clapping Jaune on the shoulder and saying something to Ren. "I think that's why Uncle Qrow is still so mad at him sometimes too, he feels betrayed. But if I think about all the nice things he's done for people I love, I feel guilty for being angry... even though I feel like I have a right to be."\n\n"Family's... complicated, I guess," you say, grinning just a little as she looks at you and smiles sheepishly. "As much as I get the warmfuzzies off of it, even I know that. ... From some of what Niobe said before I left, even the old man... as rotten and abusive and hateful as he was... that he might have had a glimmer of compassion for us in there too."\n\n"... How's that make you feel?" Ruby asks quietly.\n\n"Confused. Angry. Probably a lot like what you feel about Ozma, maybe. Just that... I guess Ozma's probably a good guy who's done a lot of bad shit because he wanted to help people. The... ... Doonian... he was a bad guy who I guess maybe did at least one thing good, and fuck if I'll ever know why. And as much as I hate him... as much as I hate everything he did to me, to Zee... I can't help but find this tiny little bit of me thinking, when I look at this," you note, lifting the display of your Huntress license up again to look at it. "... If maybe he'd finally be proud of me."\n\nRuby leans up, kissing your cheek. "Well. Whatever the answer is to that... I'm super proud of my Huntress girlfriend."\n\nYou grin sincerely at that, wrapping an arm around her and pulling her close. "And I'm super proud of my Huntress girlfriend."\n\n"Aw, psh," Ruby replies, waving a hand and slapping it lightly against your shoulder as she smiles.\n\n"Heeey, if you two are done flirting, come down here and check this out!" Yang calls from the arena floor.\n\n"You know they're never done flirting," Weiss scolds from out of sight.\n\n"I think it is lovely that they are flirting in front of all of us!" Hiccup.\n\nYou and Ruby almost simultaneously scoff and roll your eyes, then wind up giggling together over that. Heading down and then around to where a lot of the party seems to have moved into one of the tunnels leading to the arena prep areas, Ruby gasps excitedly and rushes over at the sight of a scroll stuck to the wall and projecting a large holographic panel upward. "Is that a Huntress job board?! It's an app now?!"\n\n"Huh, cool," you note, ambling up. "Reminds me of the job listing tablets back at the Guild, just... blue."\n\n"As you may recall, General Ironwood has asked that all of you do your best to establish a feeling of peace and security in Mantle when not actively working on the Amity Tower project or training," Penny declares as she scrolls through the board, then her green eyes almost literally light up with delight. "Oh! Here is a very important job listing! This one absolutely must be fulfilled!" She turns to all of you as hands shoot up, before she settles on Jaune and beams. "Oh yes, Jaune Arc, your leadership skills would be most valuable on this assignment!"\n\nJaune is clearly getting more excited by the moment. "Wow, really?!"\n\n"Oh yes!" Penny's eyes widen as if nearly overwhelmed by the enormity of its importance. "Children require an escort to pre-primary school! While the neighborhood is very safe, the parents still experience worry for their precious genetic offspring, which contributes to the overall potential for Grimm attacks!"\n\n"... You're kidding me," Jaune murmurs, head flopping a bit.\n\nPenny blinks with a little klikit noise, neck servos whirring almost inaudibly as she tilts her head. "No, why would I?"\n\nThat night after you've showered and changed into an oversized hoodie and shorts and are luxuriating for a moment in the temporarily empty room, you can't help but sigh a little as there's a knock at it. "Yeah?"\n\nThe door slides open, Clover Ebi grinning from where he's leaning on the door frame. "Hey. Disturbing you?"\n\n"A little but I don't mind," you reply with a grin. "What's up? Oh right, you had something you wanted to say."\n\n"A few things. Some personal, some business." He ambles in, pulling one of the table chairs out and settling into it across from where you're sitting on the short couch beside the bunks. "The one that's both first. Really thought we'd lost you there for a bit. Really glad that wasn't the case. We haven't been working together long, but I can see you're a dedicated Huntress and have built a good team. Besides the personal loss, you would have been a loss to Atlas. And Remnant."\n\nYou blink a few times. "That's... um, wow. That actually means a lot to me," you admit, quickly wiping a thumb across your eyes. "Like seriously, not just saying it."\n\n"Well I mean it." Clover smiles again, then continues. "On a more professional note, Ironwood's briefed me on your unique situation... that you're not actually a native of Remnant. Despite that, I notice that you're pretty comfortable with our way of doing things. Your manner was a little different at first, but then you adapted."\n\n"I'm a mercenary... well, was," you allow with a bob of the head. "It's not all little solo jobs out to somewhere weird... sometimes you're hired on into a company to fill them out, sometimes you're teaming up with more 'professional' mercs ahead of time, or you're actually being fitted temporarily into an existing formal military structure. Being able to fit into someone else's professional dynamic is just kind of a job skill at that point."\n\n"You look at it as a job, good," Clover says, nodding.\n\n"This too? I mean... yeah. It's a job... it's also a calling. And my family," you assure him. "I guess at the end of the day I don't see a conflict. I can be professional and still understand that the people I'm fighting with are fighting with me for the greater good and because we love each other, not because they're getting paid." You laugh a little. "I mean if Ironwood wants to start paying us that'd be great."\n\n"I wouldn't worry about that," Clover assures you with a chuckle. "It's... an interesting viewpoint. I'm not sure the other Ace Ops would agree with you, but I can respect it even if it's not how we work. But on that note, since you are familiar with more professional military structures, when we train with your teams, do you think you could work with them on that? I think it would help a lot with team cohesiveness, ours and yours."\n\n"Yeah, sure, I'll talk with Jaune and Ruby about that," you agree with a bob of the head. "I don't see that they'll have much issue."\n\n"Good, thank you. Now... there was a few personal things I did want to ask, if you don't mind," Clover allows with another little bob of the head. "Usually I don't let my personal life mingle with my professional one, but since you don't see a problem...?"\n\n"Sure, shoot," you allow, flopping back against the couch.\n\n"Qrow Branwen, is he... I mean, I know what I was told, but considering the resemblance and even attitude, I can't help but think-"\n\n"No, he's not my father," you assure him, grinning a little ruefully. "Keep a secret though?" At Clover's amused nod, you add, "Kind of think of him that way anyway. But don't tell him."\n\nClover's gaze visibly softens. "I think he might have a better idea than you realize. But on the note of confidential requests, is he... seeing anyone?" he asks, the confident, affable Huntsman actually blushing a little.\n\nYou can't help but grin. That... is super cute. "He's not." You bob your head a little in acknowledgement as you add, "I do know he was in love with a woman in the past. I'm not sure if he likes guys too, but... well, confidentially, I see the way he looks at you and I think he might."\n\n"That's... nice to hear." Clover laughs quietly, rising and leaning forward to offer his hand. "Looking forward to working with you."\n\n"Yeah, likewise," you agree as you shake it. "Good luck."\n\n"Not a problem," he replies with a wink.\n\nThe next few weeks are... busy. All of you are either training (during which you try to drill everyone in proper military-like communication procedure at the least, as well as honing your skills and teamwork), working Huntress missions, or working details for Amity Tower, clearing Grimm and escorting material shipments to the build site. Apparently, the materials are too heavy to take by airship or they'd use up to much Dust in the process, which means lots of long rolls across the tundra. One of which you are currently on, leaning your tired head back against the seat and groaning a little. "This is the woooorrrrst part of this whole project I swear."\n\n"Then why did you volunteer to go?" Ruby prompts, eyeing you with slightly heavy-lidded eyes herself.\n\nYou snort. "Because this is the closest you and I have gotten to a date since we got our really-real licenses." You pause, and glance to your other side. "Y'know. Closest."\n\n"I am quite sorry to interrupt your not-date date," Penny replies with cheerful primness, hands settled in her lap and a smile on her face. When you stare at her, she klikit blinks and looks at you. "What?"\n\n"You didn't hiccup," you note curiously. \n\n"Of course I didn't," the android girl says with another audible blink. "Why would I?"\n\nSlowly, you grin. "Been having fun spending all that time with Reese while she's working in compsec?"\n\nPenny gets that look on her face where you're pretty sure she'd be blushing if she could. "I really don't know what you mean!" Hiccup.\n\n"Having fun up there?" Qrow's rasp of a voice calls from amidst the crates behind you.\n\n"A-yup," you reply, actually kind of meaning it as you nudge Penny with your shoulder, which seems to both confuse and delight her. "How 'bout back there?"\n\n"Full house," Clover's voice adds almost ruefully.\n\n"... Barrels of fun," Qrow grunts.\n\nYou smile and settle in a bit, at least one worry off your mind, and now more ready to accept the android beside you as a proper friend. Unfortunately your good mood lasts about five minutes. "We have deliberate road obstruction and potential hostiles," you say, voice dropping a bit to your professional register.\n\n"Report," Clover prompts as he and Qrow move around the boxes to the window connecting to the cab.\n\n"We have two armed individuals standing in front of a makeshift barricade," Ruby speaks up, frowning. \n\nClover sighs a bit in recognition. "Okay, we're going to see if we can talk this out, but be on your guard. Penny, I want you to hang back and watch our six."\n\n"Absolutely! I will plan for six possible scenarios!" Penny chirps in response.\n\nEveryone turns to look at her. Then you snort and grin. "Plan for seven, Coppertop."\n\nPenny audibly blinks several times, either at the direction or the nickname. "Very well. May I ask why?"\n\n"Any time you make a bunch of plans, you usually wind up wishing you'd made one more."\n\nThe truck rolls to a stop in front of the pair of women and their sheet metal and rebar barricade, the four of you piling out with you tugging up the hood of your coat as you do. The tall one you've seen posters of all around mantle is standing, obviously going for a bit of drama by putting a hand on her hip and letting the other drape, trying to look nonchalant with the lean of her body. She's lightly tanned and platinum blonde, almost bordering on Schnee white, though her purple eyes make you think more of Yang. Her clothes are simple cold weather gear in grey and red, though you can't help but think that the somewhat threadbare scarf is a bit of an affectation, something to help her stand out as 'one of the po' foke'. There's a much shorter woman next to her, her hair white and even fluffier than Weiss's, a pair of sheeplike ears with multiple piercings poking out from the sides. 'Huh, guess sometimes they get "instead of" rather than extra,' you muse, even as you eye her long double-ended staff weapon... looks like a combination spear, axe, and crossbow. The tall one's weapon is strapped to her forearm, also looks like a crossbow, probably with collapsed blades at the sides if you were guessing.\n\n"Robyn!" Clover calls with somewhat strained politeness. Yowch, she must be a real pain in his ass, you can't recall the last time Clover didn't sound legitimately happy to see anyone that wasn't a Grimm. "If it isn't Mantle's hometown hero! Is there a reason you're blocking an official military transport?"\n\n"Clover! I'm so glad you're here!" Robyn replies with such smooth and yet obvious insincerity that you can't help but think of Jacques Schnee a little bit. "Maybe you can help me understand why this truck that's supposed to be taking supplies to fix Mantle's outer wall is instead on its way to the middle of nowhere?"\n\n"Why? Is the outer wall not getting fixed?" Clover asks, with a shrug and a slightly smug smile.\n\nRobyn purses her lips and narrows her eyes. "... It is," she allows after a moment. "But slower than it needs to be. And some of the parts are obviously substandard, or secondhand."\n\nYeah, figures. Criminals aren't always the best at storing what they steal or loot, after all, or knowing if it's quality in the first place.\n\n"Look, we're shifting some suppliers around right now and it's not going as smoothly as it should, but if you're not happy with the way Mantle's defensive wall is being maintained, you can always bring it up to the council if you get elected," Clover says breezily. Dang, he's usually a lot better at charming people... is it because he's lying? He's... not great at it, you think as he makes a show of turning to walk away.\n\nRobyn seems to have some idea of that too, sighing heavily. "I was hoping you'd play it straight with me." She lifts her head, voice turning a bit steely. "What's Ironwood doing with Amity at the old SDC mine?"\n\n"... Oh, that!" Clover replies, voice just a bit shaky as he turns back and points to Robyn as if just having remembered. "Just giving her an annual checkup!"\n\nQrow, you think to the other Huntsman present flatly.\n\nLying lessons later, yeah yeah.\n\n"The next Vytal Festival isn't anytime soon," Robyn says with a frown.\n\nYou can't help but snort. "Yeah, no shit lady."\n\nRobyn jerks a little bit of that, frowning again as she focuses on you. "Excuse me?"\n\n"Veteran of the Battle of Beacon," you say, thumbing to Ruby, before thumbing at yourself. "Battle of Haven. You don't need to tell us that the schools won't be throwing a tournament any time soon."\n\nThe older woman's purple gaze looks shocked for a moment more, than actually softens. "... I'm sorry, that must have been difficult for you," she says with apparent sincerity, focusing on Ruby for a moment, before frowning again at Clover. "But it doesn't explain what you're really doing. Or why Amity's getting top tier resources, while Mantle's Grimm defense is getting leftovers. With the supplies we're getting, the wall will hold for days or weeks... admittedly, maybe longer since the increased Huntress presence and the new computer upgrades we've been getting," she continues. "But for long-term repairs we need the supplies on these trucks. Now I want to trust Ironwood, he's clearly making more of an effort lately, but you're not giving me many reasons to, Clover!" she adds, actually sounding just a little angry. And maybe just a little hurt. "So give me some concrete reasons," she continues as she steps towards him, holding out one hand.\n\nClover looks down at that hand... then up at her face, at the very slight smirk that sneaks into her features, makes him actually scowl a little. "I'm going to have to pass on that."\n\nThe little smirk disappears as Robyn closes her hand and lowers it, then returns as a nonchalant grin. "How about you, Pi-" She pauses, then amends herself. "Loligoth? Five O'Clock Shadow?" she quips, looking at Qrow, before turning her purple gaze on you. "Kittyears?"\n\nYou blink. "Holy shit I think I actually like you now."\n\n"... Ah?" That definitely seems to throw Robyn off her game a little, as she trades a confused look with her friend.\n\n"You're the first damn person to give me a nickname that didn't default to 'Red', kudos."\n\nRobyn stares at you for a moment... then bursts into laughter. Actual, genuine-seeming laughter, surprised though it may be. "And you might be the first person that actually appreciated getting one of my nicknames!" she replies after a second, actually wiping a finger under one eye. Her smile's more genuine as she steps forward and holds out her hand again. "C'mon. Someone take my hand. Just tell me the truth. Give me something," she says more gently and warmly than before.\n\n<hr>\n[["Yeah, sure."|KaiRuby1x5]]\n\n[["..."|KaiRuby]]

"Kai," Clover almost growls.\n\n"Hey." You turn to him, holding up a finger. "Give me a little slack and trust me. Okay?"\n\nClover stares at you for a long moment, then nods slowly. "Alright."\n\nYou walk towards Robyn slowly, as you approach saying, "So if I take your hand, do the two you've got bringing up the rear not hit the truck? Or is that when they do it?"\n\nRobyn starts a little bit, then eyes you more cautiously. "They'll hang back if someone accepts, yes. As long as you don't lie to me. How did you know?"\n\n"Every time I take a step towards you, your guard response is to look past me, not at her," you note with a small nod to the Faunus woman at her side without taking your eyes off Robyn. "And your eyes shift back and forth a little, but it's a jump, not a sweep, so not a lot of people. Two or three. Guessed two, all the way out here."\n\n"... Hm. You're a bit of a lie detector too, seems like," Robyn murmurs, quirking an eyebrow. But she's still grinning a bit again as you put your hand in hers. "You know that's my Semblance, right?"\n\n"Seems I heard something like it on the news, yeah. 'The Honest Politician'," you note wryly. "Except no one ever said it means you can't lie."\n\n"Don't look at me, I didn't come up with it," she says, just a little tiredly. But gently swirling light begins to surround her hand and crawl up your arm, at first taking on the scarlet tint of your own Aura before settling into a sort of neutral off-white color. "Now, what's Ironwood doing with Amity Coliseum?"\n\n"Telling you that would put too many people at risk," you answer immediately.\n\nRobyn scowls... then almost winces as the Aura surrounding her hand and yours turns green. "... I see. What are Ironwood's intentions for it?"\n\n"To help Atlas, Mantle, and the rest of Remnant," you answer, again with no hesitation.\n\nRobyn purses her lips as the light maintains its steady, warm green hue. "And why isn't Mantle getting those supplies?"\n\n"Because he calculated the odds and decided the short-term risk was worth the long-term safety," you tell her, then adding on your own, "He's doing the best he can to balance Mantle's needs with the obligation he feels to the world."\n\n"... Sounds like you ought to go into politics," Robyn says somewhat sourly as she releases your hand, the connection breaking and fading. "None of those were quite straight answers. But that also means that at least you believe everything you said." She's quiet for a moment, mulling that over, then turns to Clover and holds her hand out. "Clover. If you can answer the first question as honestly as she did, I'll accept it. For now. No more barricades, no more harrassing the trucks. Deal?"\n\nClover looks at her for a long moment, then nods and steps forward, accepting her hand. This time the Aura flickers green as it meets his Semblance, then settles into the neutral color again.\n\n"What is Ironwood doing with Amity Coliseum?" Robyn asks, staring into his eyes rather than at their joined hands.\n\n"I'd tell you if I could, Robyn," he answers, staring right back into her eyes. "But there's too much at stake."\n\nRobyn's eyes slide aside towards her companion, who just nods, informing her that the light stayed green throughout. Sighing, she releases it, then nods to the other woman, who moves to haul on the rolling gate apparently built into the barricade. "Alright then. This is settled, for now. I'll extend Ironwood a little more trust. But if I win that council seat, there's going to need to be some transparency, Clover, tell him that."\n\n"Iiiii have a feeling I'm going to be telling him a fair bit," Clover says with a sigh.\n\n"You took Robyn Hill's hand?!"\n\n"Well, not off," you say with a shrug. Then you clear your throat and straighten your back, squaring your shoulders a little as his gaze whips to focus on you a bit more directly. "Sorry, sir, obviously not the time."\n\n"You could have jeopardized the entire mission!" Ironwood snaps, slapping a hand down on his desk. "What did you tell her?!"\n\n"That there was a good reason we couldn't tell her anything, sir," you reply evenly, eyes forward.\n\n"... Wait." Ironwood blinks, rancor clearly having a bucket of cold water thrown on it. "What?"\n\n"I told her that if I actually answered her questions about what was going on with Amity Coliseum... which she already knew about... that it would put too many people in danger. Since that was the truth, the light turned green." You shift your shoulders just a little. "Sir."\n\nIronwood slowly turns his head to look at Clover, who nods. "I answered the same question the same way. She said she'd accept it at least until the election."\n\n"... Are you telling me," Ironwood says slowly, looking back and forth between the two of you where you're standing in dressing-down positions across from his desk. "That a valid answer to Robyn Hill's question of 'What are you doing?' was 'I can't tell you'?"\n\n"Because it would put Mantle, and Remnant, at risk," you add, clearing your throat. "... Sir."\n\nIronwood slowly brings a hand up to rub his face, then points it to the side. "If anything like 'I told you so' emerges from your lips, I will shoot you."\n\nFrom where he's sitting in a chair nearby, Oscar clears his throat and quickly looks away.\n\n"... This is not," Ironwood says slowly, straightening up and tucking his hands behind his back as he makes his way around the desk. "... ideal. It means that we've informed Robyn that whatever we're doing with Amity Coliseum is of global importance. However, since she's not an idiot I think we can assume that she could figure that out on her own, considering all that's happened recently. If she already knew about the Coliseum and it hasn't been attacked or infiltrated yet, that most likely means she's on the up and up."\n\n"Sir?" you prompt. "May I make a suggestion?"\n\n"You can drop the formality, Kai, I'm not angry anymore," he assures you with a sigh.\n\n"'Kay." You lower your hands to your sides, then tuck them into your jacket pockets. "Endorse Hill for the Council seat."\n\n"... What?" he says again.\n\n"No, she's right," Oscar speaks up. "Your image is getting a bit better in Mantle recently, with the computer patches, the increased Huntsman presence, and at least visibly working on the infrastructure. Endorsing Robyn Hill as a sign that you want to work with her to help Mantle would further put peoples' minds at ease about what's going on, as well as helping her."\n\n"Even if she does turn out to be antagonistic, where would you rather have her?" you note wryly. "Wearing a suit and sitting in the Council where you know where she is, or running around down in Mantle hijacking trucks and taking out drones?"\n\n"That's not as easy a question as you make it sound like," Ironwood replies dryly. But he's obviously turning it over, fingers stroking along the sleek lines of his beard as he paces back and forth a bit. Finally he turns and looks at Clover. "Ebi, what do you think?"\n\n"Sir, I wouldn't presume-"\n\n"It's not presuming if I ask you your opinion," Ironwood insists evenly. "Tell me what you think of the idea."\n\n"... Looking at it from most angles, it seems like a pretty positive move overall," Clover says after a bit of consideration. "Robyn seems to believe what she's saying. I don't like her disregard for the law and I admit that I'm worried what she'll do with that disregard for the law in the Council, but of the candidates it's clear that only she and Jacques Schnee are serious contenders, and if I had to choose between the two of them I know who I'd cast my vote for. The biggest downside I see is that Schnee is likely to get the vast majority of the Atlesian vote... if there's low voter turnout in Mantle for any reason, that could easily put him over the top. Endorsing the losing candidate could make you look weak, and that's not an image you can afford to project right now. People may have felt put-upon by the harsher restrictions, but you were also projecting strength, which made them feel safe. It's risky."\n\nIronwood slowly settles in behind his desk, rapping his fingers against the surface, the slight staccato sound of it indicating the metal beneath the cloth of his gloves. "This would be so much easier if there wasn't Watts to consider. And his accomplice. Has Grey reported anything further to you in his search on that?"\n\n"It's looking like it might be Tyrian Callows," you reply. "A scorpion Faunus that Ruby, Qrow, and Team JNPR have had a run-in with in the past. There have been rumors of a giggling guy with a cybernetic scorpion tail floating about the back alleys, and that fits with the injury inflicted on him in that fight."\n\n"All we need, a literal escaped madman," Ironwood grumbles, rubbing his face a bit again. He settles that into stroking his beard, obviously deep in thought, before finally he looks at Oscar again. "What does Oz think?"\n\n"He's very cautious," Oscar admits. "But he says that as long as we don't rush into telling Robyn everything, it's probably a good idea."\n\nIronwood nods slowly, then turns his chair towards Clover. "Ebi, I want you and the Ace Ops to spend from now until election night focusing on making sure that conditions for voter turnout in Mantle are as favorable as possible. Oversee compsec and maintenance doing a full check on the heat grid, make sure the power grid is stable, I don't care if you have to get a bunch of academy students together and do a cleanup effort to make sure that litter is off the streets to make people feel good about voting." Ironwood pauses, then raises both eyebrows, the little bit of metal embedded above one lifting slightly. "No, in fact, do that. Put Marrow in charge of it. Some good old-fashioned chores won't hurt the students and having clean streets and working gutters will do a lot for the mood down there."\n\nClover's mouth quirks up on one side. "I'll see to that, sir."\n\n"Good. This isn't just maintenance and chores, this is election security. Understood?"\n\n"Yes, sir, I'll treat it with the seriousness it deserves, and I'll impress on the others they need to do so as well."\n\n"Good. Dismissed."\n\nYou watch Clover go before turning back to James. "It'll probably be seen by some as a shallow move to grab some good publicity, but I doubt many people will actually argue with a clean city on election night."\n\n"My thoughts exactly." He taps a button on his desk. "Get me my speechwriters, I need something for tomorrow morning."\n\n"Yes sir. But sir, you should probably turn on the TV, there's something on the evening news."\n\nIronwood frowns, but does indeed use his scroll to activate the holotable, you and Oscar turning towards it as well as it projects an image of Jacques Schnee sitting at a desk, a ticker running beneath him summarizing the bits of his statement so far. "-fective immediately, I am having to close down all nonessential Schnee Dust Company businesses and services in Mantle until after the election, as well as place all employees on unpaid furlough. It deeply pains me to do this, but it is simply-"\n\n"That's... crazy," Oscar whispers, having risen to his feet and moving to stand beside you. "That's blatant extortion, it has to be incredibly obvious that he's trying to blackmail all of Mantle into voting for him."\n\n"This doesn't add up, it's too obvious," you add with a scowl. "No way even a putz like him thinks that this would work. Any amount of scare-votes he'd get would be offset by the amount of people voting against him out of spite."\n\n"You're right. He's playing a deeper game here," Ironwood says with a dark look of his own as he joins the two of you. \n\n"Think he's been compromised?" you ask, glancing aside at the bearded man.\n\n"Jacques Schnee is exactly the sort of pawn a man like Arthur Watts would go after, yes," Ironwood answers. "Greedy enough to do almost anything to get what he wants, and not quite smart enough to think about what happens after that."\n\n"So probably not a full-on Salem ally, just a moron being manipulated by one," you scoff.\n\n"Most likely. I did say 'almost' anything... I'll admit he's got many flaws, but I don't see him endorsing the destruction of humanity as one of them," Ironwood allows.\n\n"So what do we do about it, though?" Oscar asks with a frown. "This is all just... suspicion and supposition. It makes sense to us, but how do we make it make sense to anyone else? Especially when he hasn't done anything but close his own businesses, which isn't illegal," Oscar points out.\n\nIronwood's comm chirps in his ear, and he taps it.\n\n"Sir, it's already starting to get bad down here," Harriet's voice answers, just barely audible to you. "It looks like there may be at least a little bit of rioting no matter what we do, and the presence of the drones is just exacerbating it."\n\n"Dammit," Ironwood growls, obviously thinking quickly before he replies, "Pull the drones back. I want flesh and blood Atlesian soldiers out there trying to calm people. Weapons down."\n\n"Helmets off," you whisper to him.\n\nHe winces a little, but after only a brief hesitation adds, "Helmets off unless it looks like the crowd is going to turn violent. Let the people see your faces, remind them it's real people they're thinking about hurting. But the moment something gets thrown or swung, it's helmets on, bolas loaded, clear?"\n\n"Understood sir."\n\n"I'll need to get out there, this is gonna be a bad night for the outer defenses," you murmur. "But before I go, what the hell are you gonna do? Oscar's got a point, the three of us are almost certain Jacques's compromised but we've got nothing but a supposedly dead man's guesswork MO and a really dumbass decision he's made."\n\n"... I could arrest him anyway," Ironwood says slowly.\n\n"James," Oscar says quietly.\n\n"I know he's guilty, I just need to find the evidence! And I can find the evidence after the arrest!"\n\n"James, listen to yourself!" Oscar almost cries.\n\n"..." Ironwood rubs his face with both hands, takes a deep breath, then nods. "I shouldn't have said that. You're right. Everyone deserves due process, even Jacques Schnee. ... But these are extraordinary circumstances. A possibly immortal embodiment of evil is lurking at the gates, and I've just had one of this city's most prominent figures incite rioting. I'm not sure what else to do."\n\n"I could break in," you say after a moment. "Me and my team. We get in, we find some evidence, we get out. We pass it along to one of the news stations he doesn't own, anonymously, let the evidence of his guilt be broadcast on the evening news."\n\n"There's another big flaw with that," Oscar points out. "If you get caught, not only do you get caught, but Team KACH is known in Mantle now, at least you and Ilia are from how much time you spend there. It'll be obvious to everyone that James sent you."\n\n"The other option is, we do nothing," Ironwood says, his voice having turned tired as he settles behind his desk, obviously preparing for a long night of coordinating riot control and Grimm defense. "We admit that Jacques has, for the moment, outplayed us and we simply try to deal with his next move when he makes it. If we can't prove that he's been compromised, we'll just have to proceed under the presumption of innocence and act as if he isn't... but with great caution."\n\n<hr>\n[[Push for the arrest.|KaiRuby]]\n\n[[Push for breaking in.|KaiRuby]]\n\n[[Push for letting it be.|KaiRuby1x6]]

"Look, Oscar's right," you allow after a brief hesitation. "Anything we do against Jacques before we have something concrete to show he's dirty has the potential to blow up in our faces. Think the riots are bad now, wait 'til we start arresting people without due process or sending government agents into homes without a warrant. 'Hey I know you just got laid off but also we've tossed the Atlesian Citizenship Guarantees in the toilet.'"\n\n"Kai," Ironwood sighs.\n\n"Sorry. Sorry," you add a bit more sincerely, raising a hand. "I'm just... tense. It's gonna be a long night and I know Ruby's already out there."\n\n"It's going to be a long night for all of us," Ironwood replies, before taking out his scroll and tapping it a few times. "You can fly a Manta, I presume?"\n\n"Get around the multiverse enough and you'll learn to fly a bit of everything. Harriet gave me a few guiding tips, I'm good on it."\n\n"I'm flagging your license with a temporary notifier that you're to be given priority requisition on any airship. Get Reese from compsec, pick up any fourth years you spot along the way, and get down to Mantle and on the wall."\n\n"I'll get it done," you reply with a nod, turning and hurrying out.\n\nSoon you're setting the ship down in a Mantle street, stepping out, luckily having found a few more friends to help out. "Where you want us, Sterling?" Flynt Coal asks, his smoked glasses tucked into his vest pocket, dark eyes serious.\n\n"Patrolling the streets getting people calmed down. Talk to them, redirect them, have Funky Beat put on an impromptu concert, I don't care, but get out there, work the crowds to get them eased, and be ready for any Grimm that get past the outer defenses. But Flynt, be ready to get called to the wall at any time, we'll need your Semblance if we get a Goliath or something."\n\n"I'll keep my ass handy," he replies with a wink and a grin, adding a jaunty little tilt of the head before he turns and heads off.\n\nNoooo flirting with Flynt!\n\nHow the hell did you know? you send back with a blink, then can't help but grin for just a moment. Hey Rubes. Then you scowl as you set off towards the wall. How's it looking?\n\nNot good. The riots aren't too bad and I don't think they'll get too bad but a lot of people are really scared and unhappy. We're getting a really steady stream of Sabyrs.\n\nBad stuff, Reese joins in with a wince beside you. That's how you get a Grimmtrain going.\n\nWhat's a Grimmtrain? Jaune asks, thankfully so you don't have to.\n\nThey happen in the swamps sometimes. It happens when little Grimm like baby Nevermores start rushing somewhere and it attracts more little Grimm as they go by and more little Grimm and then slightly bigger Grimm and by the end you're getting Gatrixes and Pikeels.\n\nExcept we're starting with Sabyrs so that means we get Goliaths and Alpha Ursas before the end of the night, Grey adds in mentally, even as physically he melts out of the shadows to fall in next to you, reversing his hooded black cloak-jacket he's wearing to show the soft grey inner lining.\n\nWe need to disrupt their lines, you send as you start hauling yourself up the ladder to the top of one of the perimeter walls, before tapping your ear. "Penny, you on comm?"\n\n-blip- "Yes indeed I am, Kai Sterling!"\n\n"What's your current location?"\n\n"I am currently accompanying Winter Schnee on an assignment that I cannot discuss."\n\nSighing a bit, you scowl at the sight of Sabyrs leaving skittering trails of shadow in the already dark night behind them as they rush the walls, Reese and Grey already starting to fire. "Patch Winter in please."\n\n"Most certainly!"\n\n-blip- "Yes, Huntress Sterling, what is it?"\n\n"I need Penny out here, we've got a bad situation and she's the only one who can deal with it," you explain, frowning as Mantas fly by overhead, sending a rain of missiles into the Grimm below. Some get destroyed, but more of them are scattering, dodging, and rushing the gates even faster. "It's gonna get worse the longer she's not here."\n\n"Huntress Sterling, I understand Penny is the 'Defender of Mantle', but in this case her priority has been assessed as necessary where she is."\n\n'Dammit Weiss someone needs to do something to melt your sister a bit,' you grumble, avoiding actually sending that to your friend with some difficulty. Instead you say, "Specialist are you familiar with a Grimmtrain?"\n\n"... Somewhat. I understand it is an Anima swamp phenomenon."\n\n"According to Reese it's a Grimm phenomenon. It may be more common where she's from but right now we've got a steady stream of Sabyrs pouring out of the tundra and conventional air support is doing nothing but stirring them up. We don't do something to break the lines now we're going to start getting Ursas and Goliaths and we do not need that tonight. Turn her loose for half an hour to disrupt the Sabyr lines and make some breaks in the terrain and I'll send her back to you."\n\nThere's silence for almost fifteen seconds. Then Winter replies, "Understood. Penny is en route to your location."\n\n"Thank you. Penny?"\n\n"Yes, Kai Sterling, I am here!"\n\n"Hey Coppertop, glad to hear it." Grinning just a little, you point forward, feeling a little buoyed by hearing the calm, steady reports of Crescent Rose in the distance and seeing Grimm dissipating every time. "See how the Sabyrs are coming in with almost nice neat little lines? Bust 'em up. Slice through 'em. And create some environmental hazards."\n\n"Understood! ... Actually not understood, please clarify 'environmental hazards'?" Penny replies, even as you can see the long green streaks of her thrusters trailing through the night towards the nearby tundra.\n\n"In your case, Coppertop?" Smirking, you add, "Craters."\n\n"Oh dear, I'm not sure the general would like it very much if I made craters near Mantle."\n\n"I'll take responsibility. Everwhere you see Sabyrs forming those lines, cut through 'em, then blast a hole in the ground to bust up the terrain and make it harder for them to do that. Do not let those lines form or they'll wind up bringing bigger Grimm, got me?"\n\n"I get you, Kai Sterling! I will, as you say with some regularity, 'get it done'!"\n\nYou blink, looking aside at Reese. "Do I say that a lot?"\n\n"Kinda," Reese grunts, obviously focusing more on shooting Grimm than quipping for once.\n\n"Still, I think this is gonna work out," you say with a bit of hope as you watch Penny trace a long, blazing green line of destruction through a line of Grimm, setting some of the scraggly-looking trees growing near the gates alight, and blowing a handful more to pulp and splinters as she blasts a crater into the ground. "Not bad, eh?"\n\n"DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT YOU'VE DONE?!?!"\n\nYou wince, rubbing at your head with the tiredness headache that's coming on, which the yelling certainly isn't helping. "No, but if you're gonna tell me could you turn down the volume?"\n\nProbably not the right thing to say. Robyn's purple eyes are blazing with fury as she stares at you where you're slumped in a chair in the mostly empty warehouse that's apparently her campaign headquarters. Ruby, Jaune, and Penny are arrayed around you, at least managing to look shamefaced, since all you can manage was tired after having to venture into the sewers to deal with a pack of Sabyrs that made it in through there.\n\n"You've decimated almost a quarter of the Mantellian pear trees in the entire outer border!" Robyn snaps, slamming her hands on the table in front of her and gritting her teeth.\n\n"That'd be a tenth," you reply flatly.\n\n"... What?" You seem to have thrown her off her game with that, briefly knocking her out of her rant.\n\n"Decimated. Comes from an old word where asshole military commanders would have their troops divide up into groups of ten. Nine of them have to beat the other to death to teach the entire group a lesson for what-the-fuck-ever. One tenth, s'what it means."\n\n"Oh my, that's awful!" Penny gasps, putting her hands over her mouth. Then she blinks audibly. "What did they do if the army could not be divided perfectly into groups of ten?"\n\n"Eh-eh-eh," you reply, pulling a face and shrugging.\n\n"Well speaking of asshole military commanders," Robyn growls.\n\n"Hey!" you snap, sitting up finally and pointing. "Deploying Penny and her orders were my call so if you wanna chew my ass then chew my ass but leave Ironwood out of it! Now maybe at some point actually explain why the fuck you are chewing my ass in the first place over some goddamned pear trees!"\n\n"How can you not know?!" Robyn rages back, Ruby and Jaune wincing. "What are you, from outer space?!"\n\nYou just look at her flatly. Ruby half-pouts half-scowls at Robyn, and Jaune taps his fingers together, looking down at them. "Um, weeee kind of don't say 'space alien' or anything like that, it's sort of, y'know... 'othering'?" he murmurs.\n\n"... what," Robyn says flatly, looking at him.\n\nQuirking an eyebrow, you lean forward and hold a hand out. Robyn stares at it for a moment, then reaches forward to take it, starting up her Semblance and looking at it expectantly as it settles into its ready state.\n\n"I'm not from Remnant. I don't have any idea where I'm actually from because I woke up in a slave pen with my memories wiped when I was around fifteen. I was sold as a slave to an interdimensional mercenary and trained by a sword spiritualist and a scientifically-created gene soldier with animal DNA. I spent most of my known life living on a city-planet called Makarzia and traveling the multiverse doing jobs via an organization called the Guild of Interdimensional Professionals, Specialists, and Enforcers until I got involved in a gang war between a bunch of organized criminals and a gang of highly competent violent anarchists, whereupon my gene soldier mentor sent me to Remnant with my friend who was from Remnant but not this Remnant."\n\nRobyn's eyes just get steadily wider the longer your story goes and the fact that her Aura stays green the entire time. She continues to stare down at her hand even after you've disengaged yours from it and the glow has faded.\n\n"Culture shock," you say almost absentmindedly aside to Jaune and Ruby. "That's stage one, amygdala hijack. Stage two-"\n\n"Oh my Brothers oh gods oh Dust," Robyn starts murmuring, shaking a little, still staring down at her empty hand.\n\n"Brief born-again faith in deities as appeal to understood reality. And then phase three is either denial, crying, or-"\n\n"Oh my gods a multiverse," Robyn whispers, clasping her hands over her mouth and actually trembling visibly, her cheeks flushed and her eyes closing as she sucks in a hard breath.\n\n"Huh, brief euphoria, don't see that one too often," you conclude, pooching out your lips a bit and shrugging.\n\n"Uh, Ironwood didn't react like that," Jaune notes, his own cheeks just a little pink watching Robyn's apparent arousal. "Neither did any of us."\n\n"That's because you didn't have hard evidence thrown in your faces, you just came to accept it gradually no matter how much you thought you believed it at first. Blake got the full brunt of it by seeing Ilia bust in to save her from Ilia, got the amygdala hijack right in front of me, probably had the born-again moment while carrying her mom out, and slipped into partial denial by the time we all got out and had to reaccept it again gradually. Ironwood saw a video of a bunch of stuff but in the back of his mind he could still let himself deny it just a little... sci-fi movies exist, after all. But Robyn here relies on her Semblance to tell her what's true and what's lies, it's part of her core identity, she got the full brunt of knowing I'm for real all at once."\n\n"How very interesting," Penny says, tilting her head and blinking audibly. "I simply created a new classification called 'People Not From Remnant' and put Kai Sterling under it."\n\n"Probably a few other classifications at first too, huh?" you ask dryly with a glance at her.\n\n"... I do not know what you mean." Hiccup.\n\n"... So... you're... really not from Remnant," Robyn says slowly as she sits up, having composed herself again. "... But you are here. Fighting for it. ... So, you don't actually know what you've done," she adds, sounding a bit forlorn.\n\n"Could you explain it to me, please?" you urge tiredly. "Without the yelling?"\n\n"Mantellian Pear Trees are one of the only things that grow 'wild' in Mantle, beyond the wall where there's residual heat from the heaters and Atlas's environmental regulation field," she says slowly, keeping her eyes closed and face down, hands steepled in front of her lower face. "That means no one owns them or has a claim on them. If you're willing to risk brief exposure to Grimm to head outside the city walls, anyone can pick them. It's how the poor in Mantle survive during lean times. ... Like Jacques Schnee closing every 'nonessential' SDC business."\n\n"... Sssssshit," you hiss, dropping back into your chair and clapping your hands to your face.\n\n"I am sorry, I also was unaware," Penny says despondently, hanging her head. "Though I am the Defender of Mantle, I am not often allowed to go among its people. I was not aware of the importance of the trees."\n\n"Guys, it's okay, you didn't know," Ruby tries to interject, moving to put one hand on your shoulder and one on Penny's. "I mean, most people have a kind-of-sort-of idea of what Mantellian pears are, but I don't think most people understand how important they apparently are. I knew that people needed them but I didn't know how important they were or I would have said something."\n\n"... Ultimately... if what you said about this 'Grimmtrain' phenomenon is true... and frankly right now I'm willing to assume it is without testing you... then you probably made the right choice," Robyn says slowly, though it's obviously a little bitter on her tongue. "We still have a lot of the grove and most of the damage was to the outer trees that aren't picked much anyway. They'll regrow in a few months and hopefully by then all this... uncertainty and unrest... will have settled down anyway. Ultimately though this looks bad. The Defender of Mantle casually blowing up Mantellian pear trees is... not a good look. I'm not blaming you, Brighteyes," Robyn adds in a kinder tone, waving a hand a bit at the despondent Penny. "Ironwood keeps you up there in the clouds above us, you couldn't know. But it frankly looks like an attack on the poor."\n\n"Shit. How's his endorsement of you holding up, then?" you ask with a frown.\n\nRobyn sighs again. "Right now the informal polling my girls are doing down here says it hasn't changed much... Ironwood got some credit for stopping the Grimm and dealing with the riots peacefully, but he's getting backlash about the trees and it's working out to about even. We managed to scrape together some money for a poll from Atlas and it looks like it has increased my popularity up there a bit so overall it's probably a positive, but if we really want it to make a difference then we have to visibly do something about either restoring the grove or providing some other avenue of food for the struggling and out-of-work."\n\n"Okay, Robyn, listen to me," you assure her, holding up your hands a bit. "I will deal with this, alright? My fault, my mess, I will make this right."\n\n"Guys how the FUCK do I make this right?!"\n\nAll three of the teams as well as the Ace Ops have shown up for a little impromptu meeting to discuss the 'Pear Incident' as some people (Marrow) are insisting on calling it. Vine turns his head slightly towards you, the tall, solemn man standing as usual with his hands pressed together in front of his chest. "I really don't see the need for profanity."\n\nYou look at him flatly from your seat. "In an election taking place while Salem is bearing down on us and her minions are in town actively working against us, we've been forced to side with one candidate who's halfway to a vigilante because the other one is almost certainly compromised by our external enemy, and in this highly volatile election the Defender of Mantle and some of the most prominent Huntresses working for Atlas have just blown up a fair portion of not only an important food resource but the very symbol of surviving through Mantellian poverty."\n\n"Ah. I see." Vine chews on that for a second, then flutters his hands slightly. "Fuck indeed."\n\n"Is there any way we could make the trees grow back faster?" Nora suggests with a little raise of her hand.\n\n"No, Mantellian pears already grow stupidly fast as it is, it's one of the only good things about them, that and they've got enough basic nutrients to get you by," Marrow says with a sigh, leaning forward on the table with his chin on his hands. "Like Robyn said, the ones Penny blew up will be back in a few months but that doesn't help us now."\n\n"We find someone with a plant-growth Semblance, maybe?" Harriet suggests with a flip upward of one hand. "Have them speed up the process?"\n\n"It's an idea, and we'll go with it if we can't find anything better," you allow. "Because Priority One is getting the people fed, yeah, but Priority Two is still that we have to be involved in getting them fed."\n\n"The pears were a symbol, so we need another symbol too," Ruby speaks up. "Something that says 'we're here, we're all working on this together, we're going to make any mistakes right and we're going to get through this'."\n\n"Which means we can't just give out food," Clover adds, sauntering back and forth with his hands on his hips. At several glances, he backtracks. "Obviously we can, and should if people were going to starve. What I mean is, this can't be Atlas just extending charity to Mantle. It would look too much like Ironwood is trying to buy votes for Robyn."\n\n"The whole issue with the people of Mantle is that they feel Atlas runs roughshod over them," Qrow pipes up from where he's leaned back against a wall. "This has to be a hand offered where they can pull themselves up using it, not grabbing them and yanking them to their feet."\n\n"They're right," Blake allows after a moment. "We can't just throw a patch at the problem, we have to give Mantle something to be proud of at the same time."\n\n"Grey, you said you brought some stuff back from your vault in the Guildhall, anything that could help us out here?" you ask, glancing over.\n\n"Not that I can think of," Grey says after a moment's thought. "I mean, I did bring a thing of nanomachines, but they're medical and only for serious wounds."\n\n"Nanomachines?" Penny asks, perking up and looking over.\n\n"Yeah, little tiny drone robots," Grey explains, pinching his fingers together entirely. "But these are for healing organs and tissue not putting together crops or something. I mean theoretically you could probably reprogram them to make something like starch disks, but there's not a lot, it'd take a long time, and we're back to handouts." He shrugs a bit again. "I mean the only other thing even vaguely on-topic I brought is my Discer, since I thought we were gonna be passing through a wasteland at the time, but that's personal use level y'know."\n\n"Right," you say with a sigh.\n\n"What's a... Discer?" Jaune asks curiously, nose wrinkling.\n\n"It's a popular survival item in the Guild," you reply as Grey fishes his out, the smooth white plastic device roughly the size of a waffle maker. "All you really need to start it going is a little bit of active yeast, which it's designed to maintain, and some water for every time you use it. You squash whatever plant matter you can find into the part around the edge and close it, and it sucks everything it can find of even vague nutrient value out and turns it into a sort of breadlike disk in the center. Makes stuff like fruits and berries go waaay further. Minimal power use, maximum return... not usually very tasty but it'll keep you going. But like Grey says, we've got the one, so."\n\nJaune glances back and forth between you and the Discer. "Couldn't you just... scan it like we did our weapons?"\n\nYou blink. Look at Jaune. Look at Grey. "... Are we idiots?"\n\n"I think we might be idiots," Grey mutters, putting a hand to his face.\n\n"Alright, so these things could definitely keep the poor in Mantle fed, but then we're back to the issue of charity," Clover notes.\n\n"Not necessarily," Marrow says slowly, reaching over to take the Discer from Grey and turn it over. "This thing looks like it's mostly plastic. What's the power source?"\n\n"A super common universal power pack they sell on the Guildhall. We could probably convert it to use Dust pretty easy, and it would take very little considering how OP Dust is compared to most power sources out there," you allow. "At least some of the Dust stores are still open so people could power them, if we figure out the right delivery method."\n\n"I mean, Mantle has 3D printers," Nora notes. "I see 'em all the time when we're walking past the shops!"\n\n"And plastic is cheap bordering on free, and fast to print," Ren adds, cupping his chin. "The metal parts would be slightly more expensive, but achievable for almost anyone. There might be long lines at the ones in public facilities like libraries, but if we made sure those were stocked with material..."\n\n"And if the general made a speech!" Ruby chimes in, eyes twinkling. "Y'know, not an 'obey Atlas forces' speech," she continues, briefly lowering her voice to a deep and silly register. "But one talking about how as long as everyone stays calm and works together to get this done, things will be okay!"\n\n"Sounds like we've got a workable plan," Clover speaks up, winking briefly at Grey. "Good luck you thought to bring that, huh?"\n\nDon't pout, you send to Qrow without looking at him.\n\nI'm not pouting, he sends back in a very pouty tone.\n\n"Penny and I will get this thing over to Doctor Polendina's clinic," Reese speaks up as she takes the Discer from Marrow. "We can scan it and start modding it to use Dust there. From there we'll send the schematics up to Atlas and Ironwood can announce that they'll be available from Atlas's data library."\n\n-\n\n"Good job, everyone. You've all done fantastic work these past weeks," Ironwood assurs you several days later, having gathered Team RWBY, Team JNPR, and Team KACH in his office. "Amity Tower is almost complete, Robyn's doing very well in the polls and early voting, and the Discers are giving the people of Mantle full stomachs and something to work towards. To that end, I want all of you to take today off, the whole day," he adds, smiling some as he turns towards you. "No training, no Huntress jobs. You are hereby ordered to go out and have fun."\n\nYou can't help but laugh a bit at that, and say in a mock-scandalized tone, "You can't order us to have fun!"\n\n"Can, and did," Ironwood answers with a chuckle.\n\n"But it's election day," Ren says with a worried frown. "Isn't this when we need to be most on guard?"\n\n"At this point we've made all the preparations we can," Ironwood assures him. "The systems should be secure against Watts's meddling, the Ace Ops will be on hand in the case of any unrest, and the mood's good enough in Mantle that the chance of a Grimm attack is low, even in the event of an unfavorable outcome. Iiii think we can spare all of you for a day and a night," he adds, eyes almost twinkling. "Especially since someone reminded me how valuable it is to recharge the batteries every so often."\n\nSoon you're finising changing into some casual clothes... ones you actually bought and paid for that fit you this time, a silvery, loose long-sleeved shirt, red cargo pants, some actually stylish combat boots (admittedly sort of like Ruby's) and a red hooded jacket. As much as you love Niobe's jacket, maybe... it's okay to wear something just to look good sometimes, you think with a grin as you apply a light coat of lipstick, red eyes twinkling back at yourself from the mirror. Besides, you've come to associate the coat with your Huntress gear, and while the sun's out and you're in the safest city in Remnant, maaaaybe it's alright to stop being a Huntress and just be Kai Sterling for a little while, woman about to finally get to go on a proper date day with her girlfriend. \n\nYou've still got a .45 tucked into a holster at the small of your back though. You're not an idiot.\n\nAs you approach Team RWBY's room, you almost literally bump into Ilia. "Hey, Rainbow, where you off to still dressed for Grimm?" you ask curiously.\n\n"Oh, I decided to spend today helping Robyn out with one last push at her headquarters," Ilia replies with a grin. "Since it's Mantle, and her headquarters, figured better safe than sorry. Hey, tonight there's gonna be a big party there!" she adds, eyes flickering through a few excited colors. "Ren and Nora already said they'd come, you and Ruby should come by too! It's probably gonna be a victory party, should be a lot of fun!"\n\n"We might." Grinning, you lean forward to peck her forehead. "Have fun, Rainbow. And tell Fiona hi for me, okay?" you add with a wink.\n\n"Um, I will," she replies, her specks going pink as she grins shyly. Then the pink fades and her smile turns warmer as she adds, "You look really nice. Have fun with Ruby, okay?"\n\n"Yeah." Then you glance over at Team RWBY's open door as there's a burst of laughter from inside.\n\n"No not like that! You've gotta do it like this!"\n\n"That's what I'm doing!" Blake's giggly voice comes back. \n\n"Well I'm going to do it like this!"\n\n"Weiss you can't dance that way at a club!" Yang laughs.\n\n"Those three sure have been spending a lot of time together lately," you note, raising an eyebrow.\n\n"Yyyyyup," Ilia comments, shaking her head, then grinning at you again before heading off.\n\nAs you enter the room, you see 3/4 of the team happily egging each other on to bad-dance at one side of the room, while Ruby sits on the couch looking flat-faced. Though at least she's looking flat-faced while having changed into a red hoodie with her emblem on it done graffiti-style, almost coming down over snug little black shorts and black thigh-highs with red roses stamped on them. Grinning, you flop down next to her. "Are they being insufferable, babe?"\n\n"Kinda," Ruby says with a roll of the eyes. "Is this why they bug us so much about flirting?"\n\n"Probably," you agree with a little laugh, nuzzling in her hair. "Well we'll just go off all day by ourselves and only annoy the general public with our flirting, okay?" you assure her.\n\n"'Kaaay." She perks up visibly at that, smiling and pecking your lips, her own darkened with shiny red, lashes popped out and lids darkened subtly. "You look pretty."\n\n"You look super pretty," you assure her back.\n\n"Okay, okay, we get it!" Yang calls, laughing again.\n\nWeiss laughs too, until she blinks at a beep from her scroll. She draws it out and looks at it, then scowls. "Why of all the nerve!"\n\n"What, someone neg-rate one of your albums again?" you ask, straightening up.\n\nShe shoots you an annoyed look. "No. My father actually went and invited me to a victory party he's holding at the mansion. As if he's going to win," she adds with a snort. "I really thought I'd chased him off entirely back at the Dust mine, why would he do this now? Just to gloat, or have another crack at bringing me back?"\n\n"Maaaaybe you should consider going?" Yang suggests slowly. "I mean, it says 'and guests' on here," she adds, having looked over Weiss's shoulder at the invitation displayed on the screen. "So it's not like you'd have to go alone, we'll go with you."\n\n"I know you don't want to see your father and brother, Weiss, but maybe you could talk to your mom?" Blake adds gently. "I know you still have some things you want to work out with her."\n\n"... Maybe," Weiss allows after a moment. "... But only if all of Team RWBY comes with me in support!" she adds, glancing at Ruby.\n\n"Oh, um..." Ruby trails off.\n\nYou can see Weiss is on the fence and halfway trying to get herself out of it... maybe best to just deflect for now. "I like halfway promised Ilia we'd go to Robyn's thing tonight, Weiss," you say. "But tell you what, what time's your dad's thing?"\n\n"This says it starts at seven," she answers a bit sullenly with a glance at the screen.\n\n"Okay, by five Ruby and I will let you know if we're gonna be able to make it, alright?"\n\n"That's fair I guess," Weiss allows, then shrugs. "Well, that's a tonight problem, for now we're going to go shopping."\n\n"'Kay, enjoy your date," you call with a grin as you and Ruby get up.\n\n"It's not a date," Blake asserts with a bit of a blush.\n\n"... I meeeean," Yang says with an inhale.\n\nDeciding not to stick around for any possible open discussion of the relationship dynamics currently at play in the WBY, you instead take your R and head out, grinning as you pass Reese in the hallway. "And what're your plans for the day and night?"\n\n"Well first I'm gonna like enjoy an empty room for about ninety minutes if yanno what I mean," Reese replies with an eyebrow waggle, Ruby blushing while you snicker. "Then I'm heading down to Mantle to help out Doctor Polendina at his clinic for the day. Probably just stay and watch the election results from there and Figaro's making dinner. You guys could come by too Figaro makes some legit literal awesomesauce."\n\n"We've got like two other offers on our plate but I'll text you around five and let you know," you assure her.\n\n"Cool cool, see you tonight then maybe," she replies before ducking back into the Team KACH room, the little 'locked' light coming on a moment later.\n\n"Ummmm..." the still slightly red-faced Ruby says as the two of you wait for a hoverbus. "What do you think she's doing? I mean... it's pretty obvious what she's doing, but..."\n\n"I think it's safe to assume that accessories are involved, beyond that it's Reese so who even knows," you snicker.\n\n"Accessories, huuuuh," Ruby muses in such a blatantly considering way that you choke a little, and wind up red-faced as the two of you get on the newly-arrived bus.\n\nUh... do you think about stuff like... accessories... a lot? you send once the two of you are seated and the bus is headed downtown. You glance aside, brushing a fingertip against your cheek.\n\nJust 'cause I want to wait doesn't mean I don't think about it, Ruby assures you silently, raising her eyebrows as she looks at you, a positively sultry if small smile curling those sweet little lips. Honestly, I think about it so much that when we do get married, I'll proooobably really wear you out that first night, she adds, silver eyes twinkling.\n\nYou stare at her. Squirm a little in your seat. Then turn and look out the window. Is that a courthouse?\n\nRuby laughs aloud, reaching out to tug on your ear. "No!" Then she tugs a bit more to get you to lean in so she can kiss you. At a pointed throat-clearing from nearby she whips her head over and squeaks "Oh get the fuck over it!"\n\n"... I love you so much," you almost whimper in happiness, wrapping your arms around her.\n\nFinally... finally... you just get to spend a day with Ruby. Sure all the election crap is going on in the background, and there's still work on the Amity Tower ahead, but... this is the first time it feels like you're not just squeezing in time with her before something else. You didn't sneak this day in between struggling to save the world, it was given to you. 'James you are currently totally a contender for like my best man or head bridesmaid or whatever the hell I have,' you think as the two of you hit a large arcade and turn most of your last paychecks into credits for the machines and snack bar. Luckily in here it looks like Ruby doesn't even have to be worried about 'darn kid'ed, because it looks like most of the people happily playing games and laughing over overpriced mozarella sticks are older than her and either younger than you or around the same age. If you had to guess, most of them are probably Atlas students, some of whom are still in their uniforms. \n\n"Awwww that's super sweet," Ruby coos as one late-teens boy in an Atlas uniform hands another the plush he just won out of the crane game and the two kiss briefly. "Kaiiiii~?"\n\n"I'll try, I'll try," you snort as you head over, exchanging passing pleasantries with the pair as they head towards one of the other games. "You gonna give me a kiss wearing a cute uniform if I do?"\n\n"Ohhhh, is that what you like?" Ruby replies teasingly, soft squeak of a voice having taken on a positively sultry edge as she slips a hand into one of your back pockets. "Uniforms?"\n\nYou clear your throat lightly, but you're not gonna let her get you off your game this time, instead grinning saucily at her and winking. "I meeeean, if we could dig up a copy of one of those Beacon uniforms with the little plaid skirt..."\n\nThis time it's Ruby who flushes a little, flustered for just a second before she focuses on what you're doing. "Ooo! Ooo! Left! Leeeeft!"\n\nBetween the machine being designed as a lien sink and Ruby's 'help', it takes you awhile but you eventually secure the stuffed corgi for her. Ruby's squeal of delight and smile are more than worth it. The kiss isn't a half-bad bonus either, even if you get a fair number of those anyway. The ones after you make her smile are always sweeter though. The two of you return to games for awhile, but then eventually head back and just take some healing time walking in a park hand-in-hand, enjoying the springlike warmth Atlas maintains in such areas even in the full onset of winter. After that the two of you have lunch in a little ramen shop in the trendier part of town... it's still really good, and you admit you missed one of the beer brands since you left Haven. After that the two of you do some shopping as well, with you adding a few more Huntsmen and Huntresses to your slowly but steadily growing collection of action figures, and Ruby picking up a new dress, though she makes a face at most of the shoes the saleswoman suggests to go with it.\n\n"Bleh, ladystilts," Ruby comments as the two of you leave, making a face including poked-out tongue.\n\nLaughing, you tug her close and lean in, pointing to a shop across the street that looks distinctly like the inside walls are painted black, a pair of tall black boots with a pair of overelaborate straps with elaborate clasps, a little sign beneath them reading 'Emblem customization in an hour'. "That more your speed?"\n\nRuby inhales hard, her eyes sparkling brighter the longer she does, before she pecks your cheek repeatedly. "OhgoshIloveyousomuch!" And then she actually whirls into her Semblance to zip across the street and inside the shop.\n\n"Same, babe," you laugh mostly to yourself as you cross the street at a more sedate pace.\n\nBy the time you come out of the store, though, the sun's starting to sink below the edge of Atlas, and you check your scroll. "Almost five. Guess we need to decide what we're doing tonight."\n\n"Do you think we should go with Weiss?" Ruby asks with a worried look. "I mean, it seemed like she might want to see her mom, but she won't go without me, and I'd rather not go without you."\n\n"I think she probably does, but I think she'd also be really relieved to skip out on it, so could go either way," you answer with a shrug. "Robyn's warmed up to us a bit so going to her party might not be so bad either. And I..." You pause, consider, then hunh. "I... literally may have never had a homecooked meal."\n\n"... Aw," Ruby says softly, giving your hand a squeeze. "Well if you wanna have one tonight that's fine! We can go to any of those places or we can stay in and watch a movie or something in our nice empty rooms, your choice!"\n\n<hr>\n[[Go to Robyn's party.|KaiRuby]]\n\n[[Go to the Schnee event.|KaiRuby1x7]]\n\n[[Visit Pietro Polendina.|KaiRuby3x1]]\n\n[[Stay in.|KaiRuby]]

"Well, the food at this Schnee thing might not be home-cooked but I bet it's still good," you say after a moment, grinning. "And I think it'd be good if we gave Weiss a chance to talk to her mom. Or maybe snark at her dad again."\n\n"Heheh, me too," Ruby says brightly, eyes twinkling. "Ooo, ooo, and I can wear my new boots!"\n\n"Yeah, but let's wear our Huntress stuff too," you note as you extend your scroll's screen and start messaging Weiss. "We're going into the winter lion's den here, and I don't think any of us need to be in ladystilts for it. Except for Weiss. Who fights like that. Somehow."\n\nIndeed, all five of you are in your usual Huntress garb again as the car Ironwood loaned you for the event pulls up in front of the entrance to the massive white monolith of the Schnee estate at around eight that night. You did all stick with doing up a bit of makeup and getting your hair a bit more preened, in some amount of acknowledgement to attending a party... and, well, you're girls, it's just fun sometimes. The group makes its way up the stairs to the door with Weiss ringing the bell, and her face lighting up with almost childlike delight at the sight of the portly older man in a jacketless suit who opens it, a fringe of brown hair surrounding his bald head and a mustache covering his older lip. "Klein!" Weiss calls, actually flinging herself forward for a hug.\n\n"Why Miss Schnee!" the man says in almost as much delight, looking an interesting mixture of elated and sad as he looks at her head. "You cut your hair."\n\n"Um, yes," Weiss says as she backs up, smiling bashfully as she raises her fingers to her shortened 'do. "I sort of got taken by the impulse. Do you like it?"\n\n"It reminds me of when you were small," he says fondly, before blinking his eyes, which briefly change from light brown to red as he teases, "Well, smaller."\n\nWeiss laughs. "It's... so good to see you," she adds as Klein finally shows you all in. "I was... kind of worried. That they might have... fired you. For helping me."\n\nKlein snorts as his eyes shade red again. "Oh, he did, the old coot went and kicked my butt to the curb sure enough." Then he blinks them to a minty green color, voice turning soft and confused. "Then yesterday he suddenly calls me up and asks me to come back. It was the strangest thing." \n\n"Father rehired you just yesterday?" Weiss says in confusion, before shaking her head and saying, "Oh, Klein, these are my teammates, Ruby Rose, Yang Xiao Long, and Blake Belladonna, and this is my friend Kai Sterling."\n\n"A pleasure," Klein assures all of you warmly, his eyes brown again.\n\n"Well, sister, aren't you going to introduce me too?" says a slight boy with white hair and a smug look, his little short-sleeved suit making him look like a cross between a miniature board member and a private school student.\n\nWeiss sighs audibly, before gesturing to him. "Everyone, this is my brother, Whitley."\n\n"Nice to meet you," you say, since you're the one with the most experience lying convincingly, offering him your hand.\n\nWhitley actually seems a little surprised, but takes your hand and shakes it. "A pleasure," he says, with still a fair amount of smug, but a bit more decorum than before. Klein, in the background, nods then heads off to answer the door again.\n\n"Where's Father in all this, Whitley?" Weiss asks, and at his nod she follows the path to where Jacques is standing near one wall, surveying the less-than-excited goings-on around him. She shrugs a bit, and glances at the rest of you. "Well, let's get this over with, I suppose." She walks over, all of you clustered around her, Whitley trailing after her as if more curious to watch what unfolds than interested in warm familial reunions. "Hello, Father," she calls, summoning up some of the same jaunty cheer she showed back at the Dust mine.\n\n"Oh Weiss!" Jacques almost jumps a little, looking at his daughter as she approaches, his shoulders shagging the tinieest amount. "I'm so glad you're here," he says in a rush of breath.\n\n"You... are?" Weiss says with a blink, obviously completely shocked off her game.\n\n"Ah! Yes, well," Jacques clears his throat and adjusts his tie, pulling on some of his normal affectations as he raises his chin, acting a bit more like the snooty self you saw back at the landing pad. "Of course. I want you to watch my victory over that upstart Hill in person, clearly. The election results are up in the next room, so... ah, you and your friends have a good time, alright?" he adds, dropping a little back into awkwardness.\n\n"O... kay. Thank you, Father," Weiss murmurs, seeming deeply confused as she nods.\n\nDoes he seem nervous to you? Yang sends as your group wanders into said next room, the election results up on wall, currently showing Robyn up by over forty prcent, though the gap is narrowing very slowly, you assume as Atlesians stop at polling places while on their way to vote at parties like this one. \n\nWell he is likely to lose this election, Blake offers up with a bit of a thoughtful frown, though it sounds like she already doesn't buy it either.\n\nHe might be nervous over that but he wouldn't show it, Weiss counters, brow furrowing a little. That would be giving up too much control. Kai, what did you see?\n\nThat's not just nervousness, he's shedding fear response like a big white street cat that snuck in and slept on your black jacket, you send back a bit grimly. That relief when he saw Weiss was real, he was actually worried about her until she was in his eyeline.\n\nWeiss purses her lips, then turns to her tagalong brother. "Whitley, has Father been acting... odd, lately?"\n\nWhitley purses his lips in turn, the motion so similar that you almost grin despite the situation, as he obviously considers not answering just to be a brat. But after a moment he frowns and cups his chin as he looks down. "Now that you mention it, he has been acting a bit unusual the last few days. Rehiring Klein, for one thing," Whitley continues, which you can tell from the shift in his voice that he's actually glad about, but he continues with, "But he hasn't been eating much, and then tonight he invited Mr. Boyd and Mrs. Swarna to this party."\n\n"What?" Weiss says, as if shocked again, her eyes turning to search the mild bit of a crowd. "But he never invites them over socially, they're just business associates!" As her eyes alight on someone, you follow her eyeline to an older woman chatting with a few other people, her long, thin tail flitting a bit where it rests low behind her.\n\nWeiss, you send as you feel a little chill down your spine. Boyd's a Faunus too? Would you say your father considers them friends?\n\nI... guess? As much as he has friends, or can be friends with a Faunus, considering he's a... wait, are you saying-\n\nHe wants everyone he cares about here because he thinks something's gonna happen, and he thinks they'll be safer here, Ruby cuts in with a frown of her own as she looks around the room. And he doesn't care how it reflects on him socially.\n\nThinks or knows. "Hey, he's not mingling much either, huh?" you note casually aloud, making a show of scanning the room before looking back to where Jacques was.\n\n"Nnnooo," Whitley allows after a moment. "He's mostly been hanging around in that same area all night."\n\nSaferoom entrance?\n\nSaferoom entrance, Weiss sends back grimly.\n\nJacques thinks something's going down in Atlas, Mantle, or both tonight and I don't think it's just election jitters. He's too cagey, we try and push him he might just spook and retreat into that saferoom from us instead, you send. We need some evidence of what's got going on.\n\nHis office, upstairs. His main one is on one of the lower levels, we can get to it just with stairs, Weiss sends back.\n\n<hr>\n[[Go with Weiss.|KaiRuby1x8]]\n\n[[Stay downstairs.|KaiRuby]]

Weiss, why don't Ruby and I come upstairs with you? you suggest. Blake, Yang, stick close to her brother and keep him occupied, huh?\n\nOh you owe us so bad for this one, Yang says with a mental sigh, before grinning and stepping over to Whitley, surprising him as she drapes an arm around his shoulders. "Hey, Whitley, you must do pretty good in school, right?"\n\n"Yeah, you seem like one of those guys who gives it his all," Blake adds as she steps in, smiling in a friendly way as she nevertheless leans in just a bit to bring her chest a bit closer to his eye level.\n\n"Oh! Um, well, I um, yes, I, I work very hard, yes," Whitley winds up stammering, pale face going a bit pink at the attention from two pretty women.\n\nOkay but remember you just have to occupy him, not anything else, you send in amusement, Weiss slapping your arm as you, she, and Ruby head upstairs.\n\nI don't like this, Ruby sends directly to you. Weiss has always said her dad doesn't care about anyone but himself... if something's scared him enough that he's trying to protect everyone he does care about even a little...\n\nYeah, I think Jacques finally realized he's gotten himself in over his head. Deciding to take a chance, you raise a hand and tap your earpiece. "Sterling to Ironwood."\n\n"Ironwood," James's voice says in your ear a moment later.\n\n"At Schnee home. Possibly monitored. Indication of possible wider situation. Suggest subtle heightened alert."\n\n"... Understood," Ironwood answers before cutting the line.\n\n"Think he'll do anything?" Weiss asks.\n\n"Without anything concrete to give him, he'll tell the Ace Ops to be a bit more watchful but they already were anyway. Anything else wouldn't be worth the unrest it would cost on election night."\n\n"I hope we're just getting worried over nothing," Ruby adds, face solemn. "But I don't think we are."\n\n"It's this one," Weiss adds, pushing open the door of the nearby office, then starting a little. "Oh. Mother."\n\n"Weiss." There's just a bit of a slur in the voice of the white-haired woman as she rises from the chair behind the desk, your eyes picking out the small sway that she's probably learned to hide from most other people. "You're... here," she says, slowly making her way around the desk, a glass in one hand and a bottle in the other. You can faintly smell the scent of peppermint.\n\n"I... yes," Weiss says simply, nodding once. "Father invited me to his party."\n\n"Right. ... The party," Willow Schnee murmurs, as if it were a slightly foreign concept to her. She leans against the side of the desk, setting the bottle down and resting the glass against her thigh. "I'm sorry I couldn't be there, I... wasn't feeling well." Her eyes try to track to you at your soft snort, having a little difficulty settling even as she frowns. "Who... are they?"\n\n"... Mother, these are my friends, Ruby Rose and Kai Sterling," Weiss says, turning and gesturing to the two of you a bit.\n\n"Friends... ... friends," the drunk woman says slowly, a bit more warmly, looking down and just almost smiling. "... That's good. So... you're not staying. ... That's good," she repeats more softly, before frowning and managing to bring her icy blue gaze back to Weiss. "But what are you doing in your father's office? ... With your friends? Your... Huntress friends?" she adds, apparently not too drunk to notice Red Legacy or Crescent Rose.\n\nWeiss hesitates, glancing at both of you, but at Ruby's nod she looks back to her mother. "I think Father's mixed up in something over his head. He's scared, and we need to know what of. We came here to access his computer to find out what."\n\n"... It's locked," Willow says simply, with a little glance at the desk, before she takes a deep breath, sets the glass down, and makes her way over as steadily as she can. "But you're right. He is scared. ... And for once it's not just for himself. Anything that could make him do that..." She slips a scroll out of her pocket, opening it so that Weiss can see the string of numbers and letters in the address bar, then showing a view of all three of you standing there.\n\n"You... put a camera in here?!" Weiss says in a shocked tone.\n\n"I put them in every room. For our protection," Willow answers despondently, and it actually sort of breaks your heart just how much fear and love and pain she's giving off even through the cloak of the booze. "I saw someone come and visit your father a few weeks ago, and then again a few days ago. I haven't actually watched the files, I... just wasn't sure what I'd have to do if I did," she admits. "But... access the camera. ... Do something," she almost pleads.\n\nWeiss quickly brings out her scroll and taps away, skimming through files, and then stabbing one. "Here!" She brings one up in what's obviously mid-recording, a tall, lanky man with an even more evil-looking mustache than Jacques's talking to the wide-eyed Schnee patriarch.\n\n"-worry, it will just be a little chaos, a little confusion. There may be a Grimm incursion or two, even in Atlas, but... when it all comes out, you and your family will be juuust fine, and you'll have that Council seat after all, Jacques!"\n\n"He's lying," you immediately snap, closing your eyes and sending wide. Ilia, Ren, Nora, evac Robyn to a safe location now, no questions just do it, Reese prepare Pietro and Figaro to shelter in place and barricade the clinic if necessary until you can be collected, everyone else location reports. Not even waiting, you grab a wrapped injector out of your pocket and toss it to Weiss. "It'll sober her up for awhile, we need to get your family into that saferoom without panicking the rest of the party." Then you tap your ear. "Huntress Sterling to all Ace Ops, we have evidence of clear and present danger, brace for extreme civil unrest as well as incoming assassination attempts on all candidates for Council."\n\n"Copy," Clover's grim voice answers in your ear, followed by similarly serious echoes from the other.\n\nOscar and I are at a movie theater but we're not far from the academy, Jaune sends.\n\nTake Oscar back to Ironwood with the lamp, extreme caution, then tell James I want you extracting Robyn and our people from Mantle.\n\nI was just about to call, things will get ugly if anything happens to disrupt the election, Grey pipes up. I'm not far from Pietro's, I'll join Reese there and wait for extract.\n\n"What... was that?" Willow murmurs, blinking repeatedly as her eyes start to clear. \n\n"I'll explain later, for now we need to get you and your family into your safe room." Blake, get Whitley and Jacques into that safe room, not that I think Jacques will need much coercing but if you have to punch him and drag him in, you send as all of you start descending the stairs, Ruby already having drawn Crescent Rose and expanded it to rifle mode, you with Red Legacy in hand but still sheathed. Yang, get everybody's attention and start getting them ready to shelter in place as calmly as you can.\n\nWhat exactly is going to happen? Yang sends back, even as you can distantly hear her voice from below calling to the crowd.\n\nA shitshow, you send back as you step out into the foyer where Jacques seems stuck between arguing with Blake and desperately wanting to flee, an ashen-faced Whitley already punching in a code on a hidden wall panel.\n\nAlmost the moment your foot hits the tile, the lights go out. All of them. \n\nIt's starting, you send broadly, not needing to clarify more than that.\n\n"Go. Go," you hiss to Weiss and her mother, gesturing across the cavernous entry, switching Red Legacy to shooting mode as you scan the darkness as well as you can, Ruby half-skittering along behind the white-haired women, the sound of the crowd in the other room starting to panic drowning out your attempts to listen. Blake?\n\nSomeone's here, she confirms grimly. But the way they move isn't natural... I'm having trouble keeping track of them, it's too dark even for me.\n\nYou dip your left hand into your jacket pocket, coming up with a chemical light stick and cracking it against your leg, giving it a shake to set it to glowing green-white and tossing it a short distance. You just barely catch sight of a figure that dives out of the way of the illumination... not like a normal dive, more like someone kicking downward underwater. "Shit," you can't help but hiss. "Weiss, get in the safe room with your family."\n\n"But-!"\n\n"Weiss go with your family!" Ruby snaps.\n\n"KAI!" Blake cries.\n\nYou react more on the subconscious realization of where her eyes are pointed at than anything, switching Red Legacy back to katana form and swinging it up to block the attack from above as a woman with slicked-back black hair, wearing what looks like a dark grey and white wetsuit drops out of the darkness and snaps at you with something that looks like a half-sized bear trap, which clamps down on Red Legacy's blade. She swings a hand holding an identical weapon at your face, forcing you to jerk backwards. "GO NOW!" you shout, Weiss hesitating for one more awful second before scurrying into the open door after the other Schnees, Blake shoving it shut. \n\nYou work a control, dropping the quickfire barrels forward and chattering them at her. But it's like she knows what you're doing the moment you even think about thumbing the control, and she instantly swings herself back and below the shots, the small Fire Dust rounds cracking white marble instead of skin. She pushes off of nothing and sends herself flinging back, briefly a sleek silhouette against the light of the glowstick, before she twists, flicks her body, and slides back into the darkness, twisting ably out of the way of every shot Ruby fires at her from Crescent Rose as if she'd been told ahead of time where it would be.\n\n"Her Semblance is really cool and I hate it," Ruby says solemnly as she converts Crescent Rose to scythe form, you and Blake moving to back-to-back with her.\n\nWhat's going on in there?!\n\nOne of Tyrian's little seamonkeys. No nevermind, you add as a vague sense of confusion comes back across the line. You stay in there and get those people calm and watch out for them, she is not alone.\n\nYou think Tyrian sent more than one agent to attack the Schnees? Blake sends, her ears tensing visibly as she catches a brief sight of motion among the darkness near the ceiling, firing a burst of rounds from Gambol Shroud and getting nothing but a flit of motion for her trouble.\n\nFrom what you've all said and his file, Tyrian's the sort of sick puppy that would put togther a team of four just because it would make him giggle to act like a Huntsman while he plotted to do the exact opposite of what a Huntsman stands for, you send back, scanning the area near the stairs, fingers tightening on the trigger as you see a swish of dark against dark but not bothering to shoot. If he's not here, that means he wanted to go after Robyn himself, but I'd guess we've got either two or three hand-picked psycho killers in the house with us.\n\n... Yaaaay, Blake sends flatly, her ears laying down.\n\nYou get only the barest flicker of a tingle on your Aura before you shout, "RUBY!"\n\nRuby swings Crescent Rose up, firing a shot both to propel the blade and part the line in front of her. The assassin jukes to the side in midair almost simultaneously with your call, avoiding it and instead firing several shots from the short gun barrels hidden behind the toothy clamps of her weapons. Ruby barely has time to yank her weapon into a twirl, wincing a bit as two of the shots wing her, sending skittering crackles of bright red energy across her shoulder and thigh. You whip around, converting Red Legacy to shooting mode and firing several rounds, but she arcs and banks through the air like it was water, avoiding every one, even as she fires another shot from one of her weapons at Blake, hitting her hand even as it's coming up to aim.\n\n"Anh!" Blake gives a little cry, the deep bruise and trickling of blood from her hand as she manags to raise and fire, chasing the assassin back into the darkness.\n\nBlake?! Yang sends desperately.\n\nI'm fine, the feline Faunus sends back, mental voice tense, ears low as you all press up again. But that ability to know what we're doing before we do it is too much.\n\nBut how can she have precognition and do that 'swimming through air' thing?! Ruby sends just a little desperately, silver eyes darting back and forth. People can't have two Semblances!\n\nGuys, Yang sends suddenly. Guys there's someone here, there's "GAH!" Yang's mental message cuts off with a verbal cry and the sound of shattering glass. ... Found the other one.\n\nYang!\n\nI've got this! You guys handle that one!\n\nApparently taking advantage of the confusion, the airswimmer sweeps in, diving right into the midst of you and kicking Blake and Ruby in the back to knock them away and then swinging one of her clamp-weapons at the back of your head. You whirl around in time, smacking Red Legacy's blade against it to deflect, but she's already moving her other into position, firing almost directly in your face. You brace your Aura but the bullet still tears through, slicing open your cheek and shattering teeth, her thin, rather pointed face lighting up with a smirk... then lighting up with shock a moment before your hand starts swinging again, barely able to shove herself back and fling herself into the shadows again before Red Legacy can cut her in half.\n\n"Fugging heww," you mutter, unable to help putting a hand to your face as it crackles with scarlet light and knits back together, shards of teeth sliding back into place and rejoining into the whole.\n\n"Kai!" Ruby calls as she scrambles to her feet.\n\n"I'm okay," you assure her aloud now that your mouth's back to normal, before all of you resume formation. \n\nShe knows what we're going to do when we think about doing it, Blake sends, lips pursed.\n\nI don't think she's reading our thoughts but she knows when we're thinking about attacking and generally what that attack is going to be, yeah, you send back, once more scanning the darkness. ... Blake. Shark Faunus facts.\n\nAh... they usually get skin or teeth, sometimes gills and it means they have to live in the ocean and keep moving, those... don't usually live very long. But if she had gills she wouldn't cover them up with that suit, and I didn't see webbed fingers or- Then she sends something wordless that might almost be a swear before adding, Electroreception.\n\nI hear bingo. Educate us, Professor Belladonna.\n\nSharks have a system of ducts that open just under their skin that let them sense electrical impulses, they can basically home in on their prey's nervous systems. We don't usually get internal organ traits but it happens- She cuts off to whip to the side a bit and chatter Gambol Shroud, the freshly-emerging assassin flitting away again even as she starts to move. And I bet she's got them. That's how she's reading our moves, she can see the electrical signals passing through our bodies as we do anything. The moment we start to move our arms, our fingers, she sees it.\n\nLadies, you send, switching the quickfires and louding Lightning Dust spheres into Red Legacy's handle, hearing Blake and Ruby switching their magazines behind you. Light 'er up.\n\nWhether or not her ability has clued her in that you and the others are talking to each other without speaking, she clearly doesn't know what's coming next as all of you start firing essentially at random around you, Lightning Dust rounds smashing tile and scorching railings, sending flashes of yellow energy skittering across the walls seeking anything metal. In the flickering, strobing light it causes, you can see a slender form arching hard in midair, trembling and clutching her head, rolling through the air as if possessed by demons. Certainly the scream of pain is a practically demonic howl. She drops to the floor, hitting hard, though not as hard as you kick her in the head, her aura flashing a deep blue once before fading away, her limbs laying splayed.\n\n"Tie her up and help the guests, we'll help Yang!" Ruby calls, already turning and running through the other room where people seem mostly fascinated by what's going on outside, the reports of the guns from Yang's Guild-level arm and weapon coming regularly, Blaze Celica overlapping with the sound of Yang's battlecries and what sounds a lot like roaring.\n\nYou leap out of the window after Ruby, rolling and coming up, and can't help but stare a bit. Yang's opponent is at least half again as tall as she is, maybe more, a pure slab of muscle, and yet moving almost painfully nimbly. His skin is a deep purple color, and you recognize the long, slender horns rising from his head that you've seen on some Faunus. While you doubt his size or strength alone would give her a problem normally, you watch as she dodges a punch that smashes a stone bench to pieces instead and slams her right arm towards his chest. But the massive nude man flickers, not with speed, but turning to smoke and drifting to one side, reforming near-instantly and swinging a backhand at Yang, forcing her to fling herself aside.\n\n"HEY ASSHOLE!" you call, switching Red Legacy to shooting mode, Ruby smashing the point of Crescent Rose into the ground to brace it for sniper shots. When he swings towards you, his large gut actually not wobbling while his balls do, you call, "This ain't the sort of party where you rock out with your cock out!" then start firing, Ruby working the slide and shooting as well, both of you trying to pin him in.\n\nUnfortunately he just wisps and drifts about, the bullets passing through his body harmlessly as he turns into bilious purple smoke with a large horned head hovering over it, a booming laugh ringing out. Ruby actually goes for the headshot, but even that parts into smoke, drifting back in the wake of her bullet but then reforming. Yang comes scrambling over to fall in beside you, settling into her stance as you and Ruby shift back to melee mode. "He can do that shit as much as he wants," the blonde growls, eyes tinted a bit red. "It's like fighting a big pantsless ghost."\n\nYou purse your lips thoughtfully, eyes flicking over the garden area outside the dining hall. Hedges, now mostly torn up and burned, furniture mostly destroyed, gazebo still whole, reflecting pool, hedge ma- Ruby, you see what I see?\n\nA-yup, she sends back, smirking with wicked glee as she leans forward at the ready.\n\nThat's my girl. Sic 'im.\n\n"HYAAAAA!" Ruby squeaks excitedly as she fires her weapon to launch herself forward, firing again to send herself into a spin and slice through the big Faunus's reformed body. He lets part of his chest turn to smoke, purple tendrils following the path of Ruby's swing, one big fist still swinging around. But Ruby fires again in midair, twisting and slicing down at the arm, forcing him to mist that as well. The battle quickly turns into a competition of roiling smoke and rifle reports, Ruby a crimson whirling dervish in the unlit garden, her opponent a swirling mass of purple smoke all around hr, constantly trying to form up a limb to attack her with only for her to twirl and fire, cutting through it. He's clearly having much more trouble with his new opponent than Yang, Ruby's weapon too focused on making him keep his body partially smoked, agility too high to let him just dodge to the side of her. But it's clear he's determined to find an opening, his rather toothy maw spreading open as he thinks he sees her movements starting to slow.\n\n"Ready?" you murmur aloud to Yang, clacking a fresh magazine into Red Legacy.\n\n"Ready," she acknowledges, twisting her hands, the barrels of both weapons briefly retracting before extending again showing blue-tinted rounds instead of red.\n\nBecause Ruby's primary goal all along has been gradually moving her fight with the Faunus man towards the reflecting pool. She lets him form an arm up long enough to take a swing at her that she seems to just barely dodge, landing waist-deep in the water and plastering a look of shock all over her face. Just as the man reforms and splashes down into the water in front of her, smirking and turning, you and Yang launch yourselves forward, both calling out as you leap into the air high and ovr him. He starts to wisp his arms and head as shots rain down from above, but his legs are still fully solid, Ruby firing Crescent Rose to flip away as the Ice Dust rounds start impacting the water and freezing it solid around his feet. You and Yang land on either side, firing more shots, making sure the ice goes to the bottom and connects to the sides. The Faunus man tries to wisp himself free, but keeps getting drawn back to his captured legs, roaring angrily as he tries to yank himself free with brute force. Then his head snaps up as Crescent Rose fires again, Ruby twirling through the air and almost hovering above him again, the slip of a woman calling "Nighty-night!" as she swings the weapon down, smashing the back side from the scythe down on his skull.\n\nRuby lands on the ice and skids over to you as the big man slumps. Okay, be on your guard, we may have a third, you send.\n\nThe third is in the saferoom, Weiss sends back, her mental voice very tired. It's over.\n\nExchanging a quick look with Ruby and Yang, the three of you rush back to the house. Blake is already at the panel looking like she's trying to decide if it's worth it to take it apart to find some sort of manual release when the lights flicker and come back on, the panel lighting up again as Atlas starts to return to life outside. She quickly stabs in the code Whitley used instead, the door sliding open and all four of you hurrying in, only to find Weiss standing waiting for you at the entrance. Behind her, Willow is crushing Whitley tightly to her in a hug, the previously arrogant and smug boy crying quietly in the way that any frightened, overwhelmed child might.\n\n"He was already in here, waiting for us, but he waited until everything was closed up to attack. I didn't even have a spare moment to send anything, he was just... all over me. The room's not really big enough for me to use my Semblance and he didn't give me time anyway, and Mom was protecting Whitley, he got me on the ropes, and..." She trails off, looking towards the other half of the room with sad eyes.\n\nYou follow her gaze, then move forward very slowly, doing your best not to make any aggressive moves, including sheathing Red Legacy and hooking it at your side. You can't help but feel a shock of fear run through you when you see the brown skin, the snug black leotard, the long black ponytail with a curl at the end. You kneel slowly, first assessing the deep stab wound right between the shoulder blades, before you roll the attempted assassin over to reveal boyish features and more leathery skin with faint bands along it instead of specks, pale green eyes staring sightlessly at the ceiling. Still, you confirm with a touch to the neck, then rise just as slowly. "Okay. Jacques?"\n\nJacques Schnee's eyes snap to you as if he wasn't really seeing you, just turning in your direction because you'd spoken, his whole body trembling constantly.\n\n"Jacques? You did good, okay?" you say very gently, keeping your voice very calm. "You saved your family. You did good. ... Now give me the knife, okay?"\n\nSlowly, his eyes track down to the bloody cake knife in his hand. You wonder if he even remembers grabbing it from the party. He just stares at it for long moments, before sort of turning it sideways and lifting his hand towards you, shaking fingers loosening a little.\n\n"Okay. Good. Thank you," you acknowledge in a whisper, carefully taking it from his hands and passing it to Blake as she draws up beside you, her ears flattened, her expression sad but otherwise unreadable. \n\n"Is... is it over?" Jacques croaks after a moment, his voice shaking almost as much as he is.\n\n"Yeah, it's over, Jacques, it's okay. Everything's gonna be okay now."\n\nBecause whatever else he's done in his rotten life, Jacques Schnee saved his family tonight, and you figure he's earned at least one more pretty little lie.\n\n-\n\n"Report," Ironwood says grimly.\n\n"The riots in Mantle are ongoing," Clover replies, hands clasped behind his back. Even his normally immaculate uniform is a bit sooty, his shoulders just a little slumped. "And they're starting to happen in select neighborhoods of Atlas now. They're low-level enough and Mantle's walls are secure enough that the Grimm they're drawing are manageable, but... just barely."\n\n"We managed to save all the candidates, but Pearl Wistier is in the hospital in critical condition from a gunshot wound to the collarbone. I..." Harriet's face screws up in something between anger and sorrow as she says, "I wasn't fast enough."\n\n"Tell them the real problem," Robyn Hill says quietly from where she's sitting in one of the chairs off to the side, hands folded over her face.\n\n"... We don't have a new Council member," Reese speaks up, raising her gaze to Ironwood's. "And right now we're not going to."\n\n"What?" Ironwood says, very quietly.\n\n"We traced the power outage to Jacques Schnee's account but from a location in Mantle it was able to access the power grid since the SDC owns a ton of the infrastructure and Watts was able to expand his reach to all of it from there. But he didn't just create the blackout to cause panic or a cover for assassinating the candidates he did it after causing a brute force shutdown of the voting system and now compsec predicted someone trying that and I worked with them to make it happen but it was still in the process of rebooting when the power went out and..." She trails off, just a minute, her voice sounding far less energetic than usual as she says, "It wiped the database."\n\n"... Every vote Atlas and Mantle cast vanished into the darkness. Is that what you're saying?" Ironwood says slowly, sinking into his chair.\n\n"Yes sir," Reese answers miserably.\n\nIronwood takes a slow, deep breath, then nods. "We'll vote again. Now that we've secured the electrical grid system, he can't pull the same trick twice."\n\n"Sir that won't matter if he can just keep crashing the voting system with brute force attacks people are already losing confidence in the voting system if the kiosks keep crashing when they try to vote it will just make the unrest worse," Reese protests a little desperately.\n\n"Then secure the systems against these 'brute force' intrusions," Ironwood says in exasperation.\n\n"I..." Reese turns a pained look first on you, then on him. "I can't."\n\n"Well WHY THE HELL NOT?!" Ironwood roars as he comes to his feet, slamming his hands on the desk, blue eyes flashing.\n\n"Ironwood," you snap out through gritted teeth.\n\nHe turns that angry gaze on you, sees the flashing in your red eyes, slowly pans across the faces of the rest of the team, and at the rest of Team KACH standing with backs straight and steely eyes boring into him while Reese has her head and shoulders slumped miserably. Slowly, he closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, straightening up. "I am... deeply sorry, Miss Chloris. ... Reese," he adds, further gentling his tone. "That anger is not your fault and it shouldn't be directed at you. Now... if you'll forgive me... please explain why the systems can't be secured against Watts crashing them."\n\nReese takes a bit of a deep breath, then raises her head again. "... There's just too many ways of doing them and he's just too good. A brute force attack is sloppy and it's blunt but in this case it's the only path I and compsec have left him I guess so he's changed his MO. He just... knows these systems better than we do sir. He designed them. No one but him will ever know all of the potential ways to carry out these attacks. We can deal with them when they come in but by then it's too late he's already crashed the system again."\n\nIronwood rubs his temples with the fingers of both hands. "Could we use a non-computerized system? Something like... paper ballots?"\n\n"The kingdom has not used paper ballots in almost a century," Vine declares solemnly, his calm voice a little grim despite the serene movements of his hands. "We have no infrastructure for it, no system, no security methods." He pauses briefly, then adds, "And no method of oversight visible to the public."\n\nRobyn scoffs softly. "Meaning that for all the credibility a cobbled-together paper ballot election would have, you might as well just declare me the new Councilwoman. You couldn't fill a teacup with the legitimacy my political standing would have after that."\n\n"The backbone of Atlas-Mantle elections is seeing the immediacy of your vote, you push your selection and you're taken to a screen showing their number of votes and see it go up by one," Marrow comments, his tail low. "Any other method is just... drawing out the uncertainty of not knowing who's going on the Council. I mean, other than that it's not going to be Jacques Schnee," he adds with a snort and a smirk... before wincing and glancing aside. "Sorry."\n\n"Weiss," Ironwood says, keeping his tone gentle again as he looks at the short-haired woman. "How is your father?"\n\n"He's... still in shock," Weiss murmurs, looking down as she rubs her arm. "I think he was already barely holding it together even before the saferoom... I think the second time Watts came to see him, he knew then everything was going to go bad, but... ... you know how he is. After that, with... what happened... ... they have him pretty heavily medicated."\n\n"There is a more pressing matter than the issue of an election, I am afraid," Ozma says from where he's standing at the window, hands folded atop his cane as he gazes out.\n\n"Excuse me?" Robyn says, expression turning dark.\n\nOzma slowly turns to look at her, then at Ironwood, saying nothing. Slowly, Ironwood nods, and Ozma turns around to face the pale-haired woman. "The forces at work in this world that have been behind the Fall of Beacon, the Battle of Haven, and everything we have been working towards to get ready... they are behind this as well. An evil that wants nothing more than to destroy our entire society... our existence. Not just Mantle, or Atlas, but Remnant. The one behind it all... called Salem... sent Arthur Watts and Tyrian Callows here, and all they have done has been at her bidding."\n\n"You're... not talking about just 'they're cruel and hateful' sort of evil, are you?" Robyn says slowly, staring at him. "You mean like... big 'E' evil."\n\n"Certainly one way of putting it, Miss Hill." Ozma smiles a bit dryly, before turning to all of you. "Arthur Watts's goal was not to sabotage an election or assassinate politicians. It was to stoke as much fear, discord, and panic as possible. This was not a direct attack like Beacon or Haven, it was..." He takes a deep breath. "It was setting a stage."\n\n"... You're saying Salem's not just sending her people this time," Ironwood says slowly, and you can see some fear starting to creep into his eyes. "She's coming herself."\n\n"I believe she is already on the way. We have a day, perhaps two, before we will see some indication of her impending arrival."\n\n"... What can we do against that?" Robyn asks quietly.\n\n"We need to find some way to rally the people together," Clover says immediately. "Maybe we should go back to the original plan, we tell them about Salem. At this point the panic seems immaterial, since she'll be here soon anyway."\n\n"But will people believe us right now? Credibility's kind of low," Yang joins in.\n\n"We've got Robyn's Semblance," you note, nodding to her. "The people of Mantle trust it almost as much as she does. If Ironwood says it while holding her hand, they'll believe it."\n\n"The question is, will it unite them or just drive them further apart?" Blake asks, glancing around.\n\n"I'll tell you one reason the riots are happening is that someone, I'm guessing Tyrian and Watts, spent the last few days convincing the underbelly that you had no plan for preventing something really big," Grey notes. "So at least from that quarter things will settle down a lot if you project some strength and act like you know what the hell you're doing. Sir," he adds, quirking an eyebrow.\n\n"... There's another method to consider," Ironwood says slowly. "... The Winter Maiden. Oz, I didn't mention my plans, I..."\n\n"I understand. We are still trying to repair some bridges, it would seem," Ozma says with a sigh. "But I could piece things together. You have been grooming Winter Schnee to accept her mantle?" At Ironwood's slow nod, Ozma nods as well. "I assumed as much. James, we played at being gods on this issue before, and it is a mistake that still haunts many of the people in this room. We must be very careful not to repeat our past mistakes."\n\n"What's this about Maidens now?!" Robyn blurts.\n\n"I'll explain later," you murmur to her, before turning to the others. "So if we transfer the power to Winter, what's the benefit? She can fight with it?"\n\n"More, we could open the Atlesian Vault and place the Relic of Knowledge inside of it along with the Relic of Power," Ironwood says. "Putting them beyond Salem's reach."\n\n"She seemed to have her reach pretty well in mind at Beacon and Haven," you remind him, making him wince. "I think if she's got two agents here, we should be assuming Cinder is lurking around too."\n\n"Cinder's got to be dead," Yang asserts with a frown.\n\n"Oh c'mon Yang the monster's never dead," you scoff, causing her to give you a 'curse you and your unarguable movie logic' look. "But listen, we're seeing this as 'stage setting', but I bet Oscar can see what else it might be, can't you Oscar?"\n\nOzma recedes, Oscar blinking a few times, then proffering slowly, "Provocation?"\n\n"Bin-bon. She's trying to get us to slip up and reveal something she hasn't seen before now," you assert with a little flit of your index finger towards Oscar. "If we assume Cinder's here I bet she's watching us like a bitchy thot hawk waiting to see what we do in reaction, so's Watts probably."\n\n"Meaning that it's not just the Maiden's location she wants to know, but probably Atlas Tower," Ironwood murmurs, scratching his beard.\n\n"We need to decide our priority then. We need to either make sure that the Maiden is secured and guarded with everything available to us, and Ozma suggests allowed to choose her own successor if possible," Oscar speaks up. "Or we should focus on completing Amity Tower immediately and reestablish global communications, possibly call for help from the rest of Remnant."\n\n<hr>\n[[Suggest focusing on the Winter Maiden.|KaiRuby]]\n\n[[Suggest focusing on Amity Tower.|KaiRuby]]

You are an exploratory drone, designation 17H. Taken together this might render to "EDITH" based on Earth text, however your infiltration protocols have suggested "Edi", and using a pronunciation that will allow others to interpret it as either the feminine moniker or the more masculine "Eddie" depending on their own biases.\n\nBecause your mission is to explore an inhabited and developed society on a planet known locally as Earth. You have therefore taken a form based on that of the dominant technology-using lifeform, and slanted it to some value of 'average' while not being so average that it's creepy. (Several other exploratory drones have made this mistake before, apparently it stimulates something that sentients typically refer to as "the uncanny valley".) You have dark blonde hair cut short in a style that (based on your research) is slightly feminine for a man and slightly masculine for a woman. Your body is androgynous (actually neuter, but in outward appearance you are of roughly average female height as well as with a build that could either be a slender male or a somewhat curveless female). Your skin is tan, of a tone that could be either constant natural or the exposure to sun, again depending on the assumptions of the viewers. Your features subtly blend several racial features, and your eyes are the most common shade of brown out of observed humans on the planet. \n\nYou have no ultimate guidelines for this mission. You have no restrictions, full interference is allowed at your discretion. You have been sent with the single goal of learning more about the humans and discovering more about the nature of their existence. To that end you are allowed to do as your suggestive algorithms see fit, whether it be observing clandestinely, helping them, or even harming them. You do not currently anticipate any necessity to do either of the two latter, but that it what situational suggestive algorithms are for.\n\nYou step out of the alleyway where you landed and assumed your current form. For a few moments you stand as you are, processing your current location. Your database is a little on the spotty side, after all... your creators included what they saw fit, but apparently they only monitored random bursts of information from the planet with which to build it. Your algorithms suggest connecting to their 'internet' and building a more comprehensive database, but a quick skim of the dataflow suggests that it would be time prohibitive. Better to act on what you have now.\n\nAlright, humans in this society are driven by certain needs. Or wants. So, according to your suggestive algorithms, to learn more about them you should immediately seek out-\n\n<hr>\n[[-a job.|Edi]]\n\n[[-a place to live.|Edi]]\n\n[[-a romantic partner.|Edi]]\n\n[[-power over others.|Edi]]

"Knight, let it go!" you call over the PA, hitting the brakes and dropping back.\n\nKnight takes another glance, then throws himself backwards, taking a few half-leaps to bleed off momentum. He ducks as the hijacker takes a few last potshots, before the van takes a corner hard, spilling a half-dozen glowing plastic-wrapped bricks onto the street before it's out of sight.\n\nYou pull to a full stop, then reach over to help Cibi fully adjust herself upright. "You okay? Hurt anywhere?" you ask, patting her shoulder and chest a bit.\n\n"I... I think so," the mixed Nipponzi and Jamai woman says a little distractedly, patting herself similarly and even hauling her pink hoodie up to check her stomach. Cibi, AKA CBS, AKA Cinnamon Brown Sugar (for her favorite flavor additive to chems), is about your own age, if a bit shorter and sleeker of build (in more than a few ways). She turns her head towards you, blinking as if still not quite having processed everything that's happened, before she gives a yelp and a jump as Knight lifts up a bit to drape his forepaws over the edge of the window opening.\n\n"I'm not scanning any injury, though high stress levels, as could be imagined," he says in a sympathetic tone of voice. "Probably she needs some rest and to hydrate."\n\nCibi had pressed herself back against the center console and towards you, staring at him with wide eyes as he talked. Her eyes don't leave him as she says in a faint voice, "Chika... is that a-"\n\n"Cutlass drone."\n\n"... Cut...?"\n\n"Cutlass drone."\n\n"... Not a-"\n\n"Cutlass drone. His name's Knight."\n\n"... Hi Knight," Cibi says, still a bit faintly, raising her hand and giving it a small wag, and giving a squeak that sounds somewhere between a whimper and a giggle as he raises a forepaw and returns the motion.\n\n"Ahem. Let's pick up those bricks and head home," you say, getting out of the car. "Moore will mostly be glad to get you back, but she'll be glad to get a little of her product back too."\n\nCibi's still a little traumatized, as is to be expected, but having something to do seems to help, and soon the bricks are loaded into your trunk. She seems a little more used to Knight too, by the time you're done.\n\n"Mm... I'm gonna hafta meet you at home, I think," you tell Knight after a moment. You use Ashizu to transfer over all the lock codes. "May have to think about getting a speeder with more room, considering."\n\n"I'm sorry about the damage to it, Mis-... Michika," Knight murmurs.\n\nYou grin, squatting down and rubbing his head with both hands until he gives that vocoder rumble. "Hazard of doing business, partner. Just gonna hafta figure stuff like that out as we go. I'll see you there soon, huh?"\n\n"So he's really safe?" Cibi asks a bit suspiciously as you get back in the car, Knight already loping off towards your apartment.\n\n"Yeah, he's pretty great, honestly. It's just a little physical resemblance," you assure her as you start the car and turn around. "Besides, Ceebs, he saved your life."\n\n"I mean, yeah, I know. ... Actually that was super mondo cool," she admits in a slightly dreamier tone. "Kinda amazing honestly."\n\nYou snicker a bit at that. "Yeah, he is, really," you think, pulling up Ashizu's address list. You know the whole megasector pretty well, but you've got a plugin that lets you avoid things like street races and any lawenoff that are feeling their oats enough to be handing out tickets.\n\n<hr>\n[[Select the Transcendant hideout.|ChiGH]]\n\n[[Select your apartment.|ChiGH1x13]]

"Why don't you crash with me for the day, Ceebs?" you suggest as you start following the navigation back to your apartment at an easier cruising speed. "Ease your mind. I'll drive you to your place or Moore's tomorrow night."\n\n"Oh fuck that'd be great, thanks Chika," she murmurs, slumping back against the seat and closing her eyes, her prominent cheekbones emphasizing how drawn she suddenly looks. "... Did they really kill Danyel?" she asks, a little plaintively.\n\n"Yeah," you say quietly with a glance over at her.\n\n"... Fuck," she says simply, drawing a pink-red pillar out of her inner pocket and tucking it between her lips. "... You mind?"\n\n"Nah, I'm apparently gonna have it in the shop for a full overhaul anyway," you snort, rolling your eyes.\n\nEventually you pull back into the garage, and Cibi follows you back up to your place. She stops and stares a bit again as Knight walks over, this time using his tailgripper to proffer her a shaker cup.\n\n"I judged this to be the appropriate flavor profile from the other scents I detected around you, I hope that was not presumptuous," he says evenly.\n\nShe blinks, then takes the cup, popping the opening and sniffing, and then making a noise much closer to a giggle this time. "Nah, you got it right, choom, spec."\n\nWhether or not Knight got all that slang, he bobs his head at her, then looks at you. "I also took the liberty of making up the couch, on the assumption one of you would need it."\n\n"Good thought, partner," you assure him, giving him a thumbs-up.\n\nHe rumbles, then nods once. "Then I suppose I will go and recharge. I am not overly drained, but just to be on the safe side," he adds before turning and trotting off.\n\nCibi takes a long pull of the flavored hydration fluid, glancing between the departing Knight (or the hallway, once he's gone) and you several times. "Damn, homes."\n\n"I know, right?" you say, grinning and waggling your eyebrows as you walk over to take a look at the couch, which has indeed had pillows and blankets tucked into it in positively bed & breakfast quality. The stuff Heiloh programmed him with, swear. "You want the couch or the bed?"\n\n"Couch is fine," she says as she walks over, sipping some more. She clearly hesitates before she says, "So... about Knight..."\n\n"YeaH?" you ask, quirking a brow.\n\n"Is he... yanno..." She waggles her own eyebrows and makes a couple of little head-tosses towards the hallway. "... capable...?"\n\nYou clear your throat, your cheeks heating again. "He is technically capable, yes. Why, curious?" you ask, trying to divert it with teasing.\n\nInstead Cibi just gives the hallway a rather long glance before she looks at you. "I mean, I might need to pop a little something to drop my inhibitions. But not a very strong something, if you know what I mean. So, ah... how is he?" she ventures, openly curious now.\n\n<hr>\n[["None of your business."|ChiGH]]\n\n[["Don't know."|ChiGH]]\n\n[["... Wanna find out together?"|ChiGH]]

Deciding you'll work around any problems with the car for the chance to catch them before they get to the slave auction, you turn and head for the car, sending a quick mental command via Ashizu to make the doors swing open and the engine start. Knight bounds over the back of the vehicle and into the passenger side, clearly doing his best to fit properly into the seat area without pressing too many of his pointy bits into the faux leather. You swing in as well, both of you closing the doors, and soon you're taking a hard turn onto the streets.\n\nIt's Night Creature hours, so the streets are mostly empty, just a few scattered speeders moving about so far that you easily dart around as you head in the general direction of the Megasector 10 border. Suddenly you think of another good reason to have brought Knight along in the car. "Did Heihei load you with the standard hacking package?"\n\n"Slightly above standard," Knight answers in a not-quite-smug tone, apparently taking that as a prompt to open the tip of his tail and extend a data connector, plugging into the speeder's center console. \n\n"Alright, hack the traffic grid, find me that van, it's going to be one of the only craphaulers burning rubber at this time of night, especially headed towards ten."\n\n"Accessing," Knight assures you, his optics starting to flicker green and blue rapidly. It takes only a matter of seconds before he says, "I think I have them. Optimizing and projecting route," he notes, a GPS mapping overlay appearing on the windshield.\n\n"Okay, hold onto your butt," you tell him before stomping the accel pedal.\n\n"Oof!" Knight actually grunts as he's knocked further back against the seat. "... I have punctured something."\n\n"You or the car?"\n\n"Car."\n\n"Fuck. Lesser fuck, but fuck. Oh well."\n\nIn a matter of minutes you're taking a corner at a drift and the van is now in view off in the distance, though Knight throws up a magnified view from one of the traffic cams ahead. It's obviously Transcendant-owned, probably why no one's bothered it so far despite the speed it's moving at that implies valuable cargo, Moore's in too good with too many of the other gangheads. The whole thing's splattered with psychadelic-patterned glowpaint... though you note grimly that some of the red on one side of it doesn't really fit the overall scheme and isn't glowing. They almost immediately seem to have decided you must be after them, since they floor it as well, the van picking up speed... no way it's going to outrun you, but maybe they think they can get across the border. If you were another gangbanger that would stop you, but too bad for them.\n\nYou do see the little 'Now leaving Megasector 7, entering Megasector 10' flash across the windshield, and the van's motions turn a bit panicky as you not only don't stop but don't even slow down, continuing to close the distance between the two of you as they wag a bit in the lane. Then another possible reason for that is revealed as the back doors suddenly go flying open, revealing stacks of faintly-glowing plastic-wrapped bricks in different colors, someone trying to scramble over them from the front of the van, and someone laying in the back of the van with their legs extended, sparkly red-lined pink longcoat flapping as she struggles to get to her feet with her hands bound behind her back.\n\n"SHIT!" you blurt in a mixture of shock and rage, clenching your hands on the wheel. You'd assumed Moore hadn't given you a description of the kidnapped individual because they'd be obvious as a Transcendant, and you were right, but because that's your Transcendant! Er, your dealer! Flicking the switch to activate your speeder's external PA, you call, "Cibi, hold on!"\n\nThe golden brown-skinned woman lurches a bit in place, staring towards you with shocked eyes as her crystal-dotted braids flap with her motions. Then she glances over her shoulder as one of the hijackers struggles further over the stacks of glowdust bricks, grabbing at her, looking terrified at his approach.\n\n<hr>\n[["Cibi, don't!"|ChiGH]]\n\n[["Knight, get her!"|ChiGH1x11]]

"Yes!" he immediately barks, having already retracted the window on his side as you were speaking and surprisingly agilely slipping through it for something his size. You can't help but wince a little at the sound of his metal claws digging into the roof of your speeder for purchase, and instead try to urge one more burst of speed out of the vehicle to close the distance.\n\nKnight leaps the distance between the two vehicles about the same time Cibi makes her choice between the terror of her kidnapper and her terror of the speeding road and jumps out. \n\nThe Cutlass drone lands just slightly short, forepaws slamming into the floor of the can's cargo area and claws curling to dig in, his hindlegs skittering across the blacktop sending up sparks. His head whips to look over his shoulder as his cabletail shoots out, sections extending and wrapping around Cibi's middle under her arms, yanking her upward before she can actually hit the street, the Transcendant flailing a bit either from shock or just instinctive indignation.\n\nThe hijacker definitely seems to have been surprised to have a harmless Transcendant woman replaced by a glowing, gleaming-armored combat drone, but he apparently gets over it and wrestles a pistol out of his wasteband. "Shit shit shit," you snarl, adjusting the speeder's wheelbase to pull in closer as Knight snaps several times at the hijacker, making him lurch back defensively rather than properly taking aim.\n\nYou manage to draw the passenger side door up alongside the dangling Cibi and then send the open command again, mentally hack-bypassing several safety features to make the car do it while moving at high speed. Knight must hear the click and the door swing since he takes another glance before tossing Cibi right into the seat, the woman landing with a soft, exhausted sounding "Oof!" before you send the door slamming closed again.\n\n<hr>\n[["Let it go!"|ChiGH1x12]]\n\n[[Now we do part two.|ChiGH]]

His eyebrows raise... then he smirks, letting out a rather smug snicker as he replies, "Talk with your mouth full, babygirl."\n\n"Sorry, Daddy," you reply with a giggle, before sliding your lips back down over his cock. You continue to look up at him, doing your best to talk around your girth as you say, "D'ddh's b'g f'h c'ck ih ssss' g'd!"\n\n"Mm, there you go," he practically purrs. "Be a real good girl and maybe daddy will give you a spanking when you're done, okay?"\n\nYou giggle brainlessly around his cock... wow that feels really good, to not think, to just be a silly little girl and let Daddy tell you what to do. So when his other hand comes up to rest on your head, you let him take over urging you up and down on his prick, letting him guide the motion, and just make sure you swallow him down whenever he wants. You lick and slurp at him, making soft moans to show him just how much you love sucking his dick, how much pleasure being allowed to have his cock in your throat gives you, quagging loudly to show him how deep he's getting inside because he's sooooo big and strong.\n\nEventually he grips your hair and pulls your head up, holding you in place with your tongue jutted out and your mouth open as he grips himself with his other hand and jerks his shaft quickly, almost immediately beginning to fire long ropes of cum all over your face. You squirm and moan and giggle in delight as Daddy paints your face with bunches and bunches of nice thick milk, strands and splotches of it landing across your tongue and your cheeks and nose and even in your bangs.\n\nAfter a moment Daddy sits up and turns to settle on the side of the bed, then grabs you by the upper arms and hauls you over, making you let out a squeal and a giggle as he pulls you effortlessly across his lap. Your tits press over one side of his thigh and you can feel his cock rising up nice and hard against your belly as he rubs and squeezes your ass again. Apparently you must have been a good girl because, just as promised, he raises his hand and brings it down in a nice hard swat, making you yelp loudly and happily, shaking your butt to encourage him as he begins your spanking.\n\nYou squeal and yip and moan and in general do your best to be a good, naughty little girl getting her backside paddled by her Daddy for being such a slut. You let your tongue loll out some, deliberately rolling your eyes up and crossing them some to help make it clear you're enjoying every swat on your nice round butt as he smacks you. His cock rubs against your belly as you jolt with the impacts, leaving smears of your saliva and his cum and pre all over your skin. \n\nOnly once your butt has been rendered a nice, bright, stinging pink does he tumble you out of his lap and onto the floor with another yelp and squeal (and thump). Of course he immediately follows you onto the floor and pins you down, hauling your legs up and pulling you into a mating press position. You yowl happily as he slams his cock into you and starts fucking you roughly, writhing underneath him needfully. "Yes Daddy fuck me fuck your little girl fucking breed me with that big fat weiner in my cunny yes yes yes yessss!"\n\nIn reply he grabs your ponytail and yanks hard on it, baring your throat and dragging his tongue up roughly, and if anything slamming his hips against you harder. Once again he's using you like he doesn't care if you cum or not, and of course that makes you cum repeatedly, your body writhing and bucking under his. Finally though he pulls out of your quivering, squirting cunt and again gives himself a few strokes, groan-growling lowly as he shoots more long ropes of cum all over your belly and tits.\n\nAs the two of you catch your breath, he straightens up slowly, still gradually stroking himself and milking out a few last drops of jizz onto the front of your crotch. "What exactly happened to you, anyway?" he asks with a breathless chuckle.\n\n<hr>\n[[Ah... well, you were in this mine...|ChiLove]]\n\n[[Ummmmmm... I forgor!|ChiLove]]

Hm, yes, let's pop out for a moment to get a snacky-snack or something, that will give you something to settle both your mind and tummy (and likely give you a decent chance to prank someone).\n\nNow let's see... go for a [[coffee|Konko12ax1a]]? Or perhaps to a local [[bakery|Konko12ax1b]]? Or perhaps the [[convenience store|Konko12ax1c]], or even the full-fledged [[supermarket|Konko12ax1d]], to see what's snackable and sippable and prankable?

"Alright, sounds doable!"\n\n"Great!" Xian-Xia chirps, her dark purple eyes sparkling. "I'm gonna get cleaned up real fast, you do a quick clean on your outfit and I'll meet you by the lockers!"\n\n'Interesting path my life has taken,' you think with a small shake of the head as you return to the lockers, pulling out your outfit and tossing it into one of the autocleaners built into the wall. (Oh look, the heavy-duty sort of bill readers that will take any sort of physical creds. ... Well you guess they would huh?) You set it for the quickest clean (since it does really just need to get the sweat off of them) and try to be casual about leaning against the wall in just a towel.\n\nXian-Xia soon emerges, already largely dry, and apparently unbothered by padding completely naked over to the vanity she used earlier to do a quick bit of touching-up on her makeup. Then she turns and trots to the lockers, glancing at you as you're taking your clothes out of the cleaner. "Hm, I wish we had something more... realistic for you," she says as she rummages in what looks like a fairly densely-packed set of clothing organizers to fit in the little half-sized locker. "He's into the whole schoolgirl thing but he really likes 'authentic JK', whatever that means," she adds as she starts pulling out a blouse, plaid pleated skirt, and thighhighs of her own.\n\n"'High school girl'," you say in a mix of dry amusement and slight disdain, having already refastened on your panties and done up your bra, and sitting down to put your own stockings on, grinning a bit ruefully as Xian-Xia plops down on the couch next to you to do hers. "Is it a problem?"\n\n"Nah, he's okay with it if the second girl shows up even in street clothes, just one of those things. Still, if you are okay with playing up the cute Nipponzi girl thing, which," she adds with her own wry grin, glancing significantly at your actual schoolgirl skirt as you stand up to put it on. "It might not hurt to invest in the full outfit when you have the creds, it's one of those things that can give a big return on the clients that are into that."\n\n"Mmmn," you hedge, still uncertain how willing you are to spend money on being good at this job when it's supposed to be a temp thing.\n\nXian-Xia is getting dressed with considerably more alacrity, and by the time you've got your top on and adjusted and are stepping back into your shoes, she's got her skirt on, blouse buttoned, and the black scarf-tie that apparently goes with her uniform tied. She drops a pair of mary janes to the floor and wiggles her feet into them, then takes out a black uniform jacket. Eyeing it briefly, she then passes it to you. "Here, you wear it and that'll be better."\n\n"'Kay." Currently not feeling any desire to argue with covering up more, you put the jacket on over your skimpy top and button it up. Between it and the skirt you do almost look like a proper JK, if one's only exposure was porn vids. You follow Xian-Xia towards the VIP area, deciding she seems cool enough with you to venture, "So it doesn't bother you getting dressed up like a Nipponzi schoolgirl for guys?"\n\n"Me? No, it's just a costume as far as I'm concerned," she says, plucking at the skirt over her hips. "Honestly, I'd figure if anyone you'd have more of a problem. With me doing it, I mean."\n\nYou shrug, one corner of your mouth quirking up. "Just a costume. Though I guess in the interest of not fucking this up, do you actually try to speak Nipponzi to him, or...?"\n\nShe gives a snort at that as the two of you mount the stairs towards the second level. "No, I speak Mandanni. He a white boy from edge of Sparkle City," she adds, briefly dropping into a stereotypical Mandanni accent and poking a finger against her cheek. "No think he know the difference so good, hm?"\n\nBoth of you laugh at that, and you nod, grinning. "So just say whatever, got it."\n\n"Let me do most of the talking anyway. He doesn't quite have a script, but there is a sort of routine." She stops in front of a door, glancing at you. "You ready?"\n\nYou take a deep breath and once more go through a few focusing exercises, before giving her a nod. "Ready."\n\nXian-Xia gives you a quick wink, then pushes the door open, stepping inside and giving a boisterous "Hiiii!" and raising her hand, getting back a slightly flustered-sounding "Hey" from within. You follow her inside to find a room that is, in fact, an absolute dead ringer for a mildly upscale private karaoke room at any of the fundens in the nicer parts of town. The benches around the edge of the wall lined with slightly cheap black smooth pleather, the table, the little drink dispensor, a small table, there's even a menu tablet for ordering snacks on the table. (Though you notice that all the prices have an extra zero behind them for what they'd normally be at a real funden.) There's the big screen up at the front of the room with the racks of microphones and the small interface tablet, currently all still in place.\n\nThe customer is indeed a fairly standard-looking white boy, maybe upper-middle class or even middle-upper class to judge by the quality of what he's wearing, which is some mixture of what a teenage boy from a Nipponzi part of town might wear to school and what a mildly wealthy and still slightly clueless guy would wear to impress a girl on the first date. He seems flushed and a bit awkward, making you have to suppress a snicker... he's a regular and he's like this? Xian-Xia introduces you (as "Chichi") and you shake his hand, giving him a bright smile. "Konnichiwa. <Stewed onions,>" you say warmly. Seeing no hint of confusion or curiosity on his face, you smile more and add, "<I'm so glad I don't have to do you.>"\n\nXian-Xia gives you a hidden elbow to the side (not too hard) as you straighten up, though you can tell from the faint twitching of her mouth she's struggling not to laugh. Apparently even if she doesn't speak it she understands Nipponzi just fine. You do feel a bit bad about it though... not only pulling such a petty stunt, but saying that in front of her considering she does have to fuck the guy. Not that she's giving any hint of being bothered by it as the two of you settle down to chatter with him in your guise as a pair of high school girls he's asked out to karaoke.\n\nSurprisingly, it's not too bad, and you quickly actually loosen up and settle into the role. Though considering he's paying for this place (and probably not cheaply) by the hour, you're not too surprised when the guy ("John", shocker) wants to get started on the karaoke pretty soon. But that, too, stays surprisingly normal for a while, the three of you passing the interface around and selecting songs, singing and either exulting in your scores or complaining about how much the machine sucks at grading you. In fact you've gotten into it enough and are genuinely having fun that you really don't notice when the heavy petting starts.\n\nThere's just a faint hitch in your singing when you do notice John's hand running up and down Xian-Xia's thigh... from how high her skirt's been bunched up, baring her plain white cotton panties, he's been doing that for a while. You can feel your cheeks heat some as you watch him slip his hand down between her legs and start rubbing her firmly through the panties, but stick to your role and continue to sing. 'Guess I may as well put in for most of the rest of the songs after this,' you think, since this is clearly hitting the part of the roleplay where you sit there singing like it's the most normal thing in the world while the other two fuck.\n\nIndeed, when Xian-Xia's turn comes after yours, she lifts her own microphone and starts her song, even as she spreads her legs to let John slide his hand down the front of her panties and start rubbing her directly. You've gotta give one (or maybe both) of them credit... either John's much better at fingering than you'd credit him from first impressions, or Xian-Xia's extremely good at faking enjoying it, because there's definitely a soft, sensual rasp and occasional catch to her voice that certainly makes her sound like she's singing through pleasure. In fact either way (or both), you find yourself squirming a little and pressing your own thighs together. The sound of John's voice quavering and breaking as he takes his turn and Xian-Xia calmly unzips him and leans down, wrapping her prettily-painted lips around his cock and starting to gently bob her head in time with the latest cartoon man image song he picked. \n\nAfter that you continue to sing, essentially just having picked the songs at random, not too concerned about needing to score well since you understand that you're essentially set dressing at this point. You try to keep your eyes on the screen as the other two start making out... you're a little surprised at how readily Xian-Xia takes to kissing him, knowing enough working girls in passing to know that they can be picky about that. Not her, clearly, since you can even occasionally see her tongue bulging John's cheeks here and there. She strokes his bared cock, glowpaint nails catching a bit of the light in the karaoke room enough to seem to be slightly alight, while he undoes most of her blouse buttons and then rather brazenly pulls down one cup of her bra. Xian-Xia's not quite as large as you are there, but her breast seems plenty to fill his hand as he squeezes and rubs, occasionally slipping his hand down to pinch and tug at her stiff, pale brown nipple.\n\n'Lord, this should not be turning me on,' you silently huff inside your head, despite the fact that you're still singing smoothly, having apparently settled sufficiently into your role that it's easy to keep it up. And yet admittedly, as you watch Xian-Xia move to straddle his lap and reach down, guiding him past the pulled-aside crotch of her panties and up inside her, there's a definite urge to slip the hand not holding your microphone down between your own legs. You resist it, though, keeping your eyes mostly on the lyrics screen and its catchy little displays, trying to focus on wondering how much money Lolina spent on setting up an authentic karaoke room in her sex club, rather than the light slap of flesh on flesh and the wet noises from the side, or the way Xian-Xia is actually managing to fuck herself on the now mostly slumped and apparently joyfully insensate John's not exactly undesirable prick.\n\nIn fact more than once you catch your brain trying to wander to the mental image of you getting down on the floor and leaning in to drag your tongue over his balls and shaft beneath Xian-Xia's pumping pussy, suck up some of all that juice dripping out of her, really get his prick and sack wet and sopping. A little shiver runs through you as you push the thought off again... no, even if you were ready to leap right into genuinely fucking for money, that's not what this customer wants. He wants you, the pretty other girl, to keep singing for him, to act like it's so very, very normal that your classmate is bouncing herself on his cock eagerly while cooing out a soft stream of very lovey-sounding (and, if your translator nanos are working, genuinely lovey-meaning) Mandanni quietly enough to not mess up your score.\n\nThe two of them fuck several times, in several positions, pausing once between to use the refreshment tablet to order snacks, all three of you again acting like this is perfectly normal, that they're not discussing whether all of you would actually eat a whole plate of macaroons while his cock is flopped half-hard and dripping out of his pants, and while her clothes are in complete disarray with her panties dangling around one ankle. Afterwards you resume singing, and soon they're fucking with Xian-Xia flat on her back on the bench, tits bouncing as she squeals and moans slightly louder than strictly polite if she doesn't want to tank your score this time. You glance aside but keep singing as there's a knock on the door, and a girl wearing casual clothes (pants, even) strolls in and starts laying the ordered snacks on the table, pausing only briefly to give a shocked gasp but then make several appreciative noises that you can see make John shiver. The girl finishes setting everything down, then gives you a glance and a friendly roll of the eyes, which you reply to with a slightly rueful quirk of the mouth.\n\n'Wonder if we make anything off these?' you think as you pop a macaroon in your mouth between songs and before guzzling a bit of soda, the 'lovers' taking a brief break to catch their breath as well. Probably not, you muse ruefully, since in this case you actually get to eat and drink them too. You guess the benefit is that Lolina's probably more generous with cooking the books for you if you get the customers to order stuff.\n\nEventually though John is spent (you have to credit him with stamina and recuperation, that had to be four or five shots within an hour and a half or so), so he and Xian-Xia get themselves sort of back into a "proper" state, and everyone says their cheerful goodbyes, making vague mentions of seeing one another in home room, and so on, before the two of you are off and heading back to the dressing room.\n\n"Whew! Well that's this month's rent taken care of," Xian-Xia says with a laugh, slipping the credbills you hadn't even noticed John passing her out of her blouse and peeling off some of them. "Between what he spends officially and this, let's just say I don't have to fake too much enthusiasm," she adds with a giggle as she proffers the bills to you.\n\n"Oh, thanks," you say with a blink, taking those. "And man, I hope my cut amounts to something decent like that."\n\nXian-Xia pauses and turns towards you, raising one slender, shaped black brow. "It should, your split is half."\n\n"Wait, what?" You actually frown at her at that. "I just sat there singing, you actually had to fuck the guy."\n\n"Well first of all honey, the whole bit doesn't work without the second girl," she says, wagging the fingers still holding her half of the off-the-books tip almost scoldingly. "I go and tell him I'm solo tonight, he will cancel, he's done it before. Second, trust me, I don't mind fucking him. I don't really mind fucking anyone, as long as they're not mean about it," she adds cheerfully as she tucks the bills back away, then turns to head back down the hall. Then she pauses, tilting her head back to look at you, and this time giving a deliberately impish smirk. "Well, unless that's what I'm in the mood for. I still charge a lot for that," she adds with a wink.\n\n"... You seriously don't mind?" you ask as you hurry a bit to catch up with her after standing there stunned. "I mean, if you actually enjoy it, why not turn full working girl and make that sort of money all the time?"\n\n"Enh," she replies, making a bit of a face. "For one thing, I like the dancing too. I mostly still see myself as a dancer, this is just the fun side gig that comes with it. Second thing, being in the technically legitimate sector means I'm a free agent. If I ever decide to move on from here, that doesn't require anything but maybe the basic politeness of giving Lolina some notice so she can fill my scheduled dance slots. You go working girl, you either get pushed to the edges as an outsider independent, or you have to join a banggang."\n\n"And in Seven, Pink-neechan has a monopoly, nowhere else to go," you note with a nod as the two of you step back into the dressing room.\n\n"Right, and while I hear she's plenty good to her girls, I don't like the lack of choice. So, well, this is pretty much perfect for me," she adds cheerfully as she heads to her locker and starts undoing her blouse. Then she glances at the wall clock and gives a soft 'oop', and just like that all her clothes hit the ground. It's really pretty impressive. "I need to put a move on to make my next dance!" she adds, shoving the schoolgirl outfit in the locker.\n\n"Oh, uh, here," you add, hurrying to squirm out of the jacket. "But you're really gonna go on and dance again after that?"\n\n"Sure! Got energy for days," she declares cheerfully as she shoves the jacket in as well before quickly slamming the door and locking it, then bounding boobily towards the shower area. Then she gives an 'oh' and turns back, quickly padding over. "Hey, after the club closes, let's go out, huh?" She pauses just long enough that her smile and the lingering makes it clear she doesn't mean just for a 'welcome to the profession' drink, necessarily. "My treat."\n\nOh. Oh god. Just how deep are you going to get into this...?\n\n<hr>\n[["Ah... sorry."|ChiStrip]]\n\n[["... Yes, absolutely."|ChiStrip2x2]]

"Okay! See you then!" she chirps happily before scurrying off.\n\nYou're still standing there processing that when a woman wearing a headset pokes her head into the room from the stage door. "We've got substage two empty, anyone wanna take it?"\n\nYou hesitate briefly, both to make the decision and to give the other girls a chance (no reason to make yourself any more resented than sweeping in on what's apparently a prime VIP gig probably already has) before you lift your hand. "Yeah."\n\n"Okay, c'mon, get out there," she answers simply, ducking back out.\n\nAnd so, after a quick reapplication of the glowpaint hearts to your nipples, you head back out onto the stage. This time it's just the substage, though, so all you really have to do is, once more having shed your clothes down to your panties in a mildly rhythmic way, is shake your hips, shake your ass, and shake your tits to the beat, and make the rounds getting bills stuck into your panties or occasionally taking them with your breasts. You dance for two songs before someone from the main stage comes to claim the substage and, after only a brief hesitation, you make your way to the back part of the substage and then out into the actual club.\n\nAfter all, you are here to work. And you have to do something until the club closes and it's time for your... ... outing.\n\nYou move around the club, mostly just being pleasant to the men you pass, occasionally being urged to sit down, stay a bit longer, have your thighs rubbed or your breasts squeezed gently in return for credits slipped into your panties. You'd originally been a little disgusted by the idea, in practice having to struggle to suppress your negative reactions, but admittedly after the little show in the karaoke room, you don't actually mind being touched... in fact, your body juuust might be craving it. A bit.\n\nIn fact, when you come across one of the guys who sent you a supertip earlier on stage, you don't find it too difficult at all to offer him a lapdance. Gyrating above his lap, seeing him entranced by the sway of your breasts and your brightly-glowing decorated nipples, turning and dropping down to press and grind gently against him and feeling him get hard against your ass and pussy through the layers of cloth... maybe it's just enjoying having someone react to you after playing the role of window dressing earlier.\n\nOr maybe you're starting to feel like it's not so bad if you enjoy yourself doing this. Just a little bit.\n\nAfter a few more dances on the substages, two table dances, and one private lapdance (clothes on, you're not quite ready to go that far... at least solo), as well as several circuits of the club to chat up customers and collect tips, you retire to the dressing room to clean up and, while you're thinking about it, send a few shower selfies to the other red supas you've got left on your list. (May as well, you've gone this far in on it, what's a few naked & wet pictures at this point?) Then you settle down at one of the vanities to count up the night's earnings.\n\nYou're soon slumped forward, fighting the urge to shake a little with a mixture of relief, gratitude, and consternation. Xian-Xia was right, between what you got paid for the VIP session and the off-the-book tip, that covered your rent for this month. The rest will be plenty to throw at the minimum payments you need to make immediately on the most outstanding debts, with a little left over for groceries. (Read: You can at least go back to eating bagmeals instead of ramen blocks.) One night and the worst of the wolves have been kept from the door. If you keep going at this level, you will absolutely be fine until the actual merc job.\n\nIf you went further... did more... you'd finish the month in the black.\n\nWell in the black.\n\n'Fuck me,' you think, sitting back... and wondering if you're quite willing to let someone do that to get you out of the hole you're in, because it's starting to feel like you are.\n\nYou almost jump a little when a slight, delicate hand comes to rest on your shoulder, and look up at Xian-Xia grinning down at you. "Ready?"\n\n"Ah, yeah." You pause, then glance down at yourself in just bra and panties. "... Almost," you add ruefully, making her giggle.\n\nSoon you're walking out of the back entrance to join her, your long white coat once more fastened fully in front. Xian-Xia is wearing snug black faux-leather pants with a light shine on them, a red pseudosilk blouse, and a green jacket that comes to the bottom of her hips. She smirks a bit at you, asking cheerfully, "You came in your work clothes, hm?" She laughs at you blushing at the double entendre (because to be honest it was a close thing a few times), before she grins. "It's okay, you got excited, everyone does it the first time," she adds in a tone somehow simultaneously still teasing and genuinely comforting.\n\n"Ah-huh," you say dryly as you fall in walking next to her. "Well they're not very big lockers, are they?"\n\n"No, but then that's why you wear stuff that's not good to strip in and is therefore pretty safe to leave laying out," she says with a wink, running a fingertip along her thigh to highlight that her pants are definitely too tight to be gotten out of smoothly on stage. Or in a VIP room, for that matter.\n\n"Mm-hm," you acknowledge, looking up at the steadily lighting sky so that you don't act like an awkward gonk on a first date. "Well. Maybe I can make my car payment soon and get the engine unlocked, then I can just keep extra stuff in the trunk."\n\n"Oh, that'd be nice! You'll have to drive me around when you do, hm?" she chirps, giving you another flirty wink.\n\nYeah... yeah this isn't just a welcome drink, not entirely, is it?\n\nSoon the two of you are ensconced in a little wind-down bar, the sort of place where there's always lo-fi playing and the lighting and decor is designed to ease one's mind out of the exuberance of a night out. Xian-Xia is apparently a semi-regular here since the staff treats her with recognition and polite warmth, without quite going into a first-name basis. Speaking of which, though, once the two of you have ordered drinks and food, she looks over at you. "So do you have a nickname, or shall I call you 'Chichi'?" she asks teasingly.\n\n"God anything but that, I really don't know how I'm gonna stand that, should have come up with something else," you groan, shaking your head. "But, ah, yeah, usually it's 'Chika'. Or 'Michi', not as many people use that, though I like it. You?"\n\n"Mm. Well, I have quite a few, though my favorite is Trix," she notes with a very mildly rueful smile.\n\n"Oh?" You raise an eyebrow. "Cereal officianado, or...?"\n\nShe giggles, then dabs a fingertip into her margarita and makes several crossed lines on the table top. "Xian. Xia. Xo. Tri-X. Trix." Her eyes twinkle as she looks at you again. "Like I said. I have a lot of nicknames. Trix is the one nice people use."\n\n"Right." Seized by impulse, you reach across the table and take her hand, giving it a little squeeze and running your thumb across the back of it. "Trix."\n\nShe actually looks really, really pretty when she blushes.\n\nThe two of you chat as you eat and have a few drinks to wind down from the night. You wind up sharing about the series of bad luck and bad decisions that led you here, while Trix shares a few of her own struggles she had in getting sufficient distance from her family and getting set up in a decidedly unwelcoming part of the planet. But luckily the conversation meanders back to more pleasant topics eventually.\n\n"Yeah, I've always been hyper," she says with a little giggle. "And then when I finally sleep I just switch off. Completely, 100% inert for like five hours. So honestly, spending all night dancing like crazy with bouts of other vigorous physical activity in between just suits the hell out of me."\n\n"And you really just have fun doing... well, the VIP stuff?" you say uncertainly.\n\n"Sure! I mean, I admit, at first I probably looked at it like you do right now," she admits with a small shrug. "But after I did it a few times it just didn't seem like a big deal anymore. And once it didn't seem like a big deal anymore, there didn't seem any reason not to just enjoy it!"\n\nA statement simultaneously slightly comforting and horrifying. You turn the conversation away from work to talking about what sort of books she likes, and the two of you pass another hour or so yakking about reading and vids and other pleasantly normie subjects likely common to everyone, not just strippers and mercenaries.\n\nThe sun's full up and the daytimers are bustling about on their way to work by the time the two of you emerge, though there are still enough night creatures winding down and making their way home that the two of you don't seem too out of place, her in her flashy late-night streetwear and you in your longcoat. "So, I think I'm really going to be looking forward to having you around, Michi," she says as she turns towards you, reaching out to take both of your hands in a largely friendly way.\n\nYou smile back, sincerely. "Yeah, I may actually be starting to look forward to this too, Trix."\n\n"Mm. Good," she murmurs much more warmly, leaning up and placing a very soft, very light, but very intimate kiss right on your lips.\n\nYou at least have the presence of mind to return the kiss in kind, before she turns and walks off, giving you a chipper little wave over her shoulder. You wave back, waiting until she's rounded a corner to drag both hands down your face. "Oh God, gods, and Crystal Dragon, I am in so much trouble," you whisper to yourself.\n\nIn any event, you head home, collapse into bed still wearing your side-tie panties and thighhighs, and have vague, muddied and yet somehow intensely erotic dreams where you're standing on a stage that's also a tiny private funden room singing to a room of thousands of people while every single one of them is also simultaneously running their hands all over your body, squeezing your ass, kneading your breasts, stroking your thighs, rubbing your neck and petting your face and hair, thrusting fingers into your pussy and ass. You wake up at one point to find that at least part of that is real, your panties untied on one side and your own hand thrust down the half-open front, fingers buried in your sodden cunt. In your half-awake state there's no hesitation in finishing yourself off, fucking your hips up against the strokes of your hand until you cry out softly, a shiver that both tries to wake you up fully and lull you back to sleep running up your spine and out through your whole body. Blushing, you untie the other side of the soaked panties and toss them aside, and after a few moments of wiggling and squirming around (and resisting the urge to finger your ass a bit too), you settle back into sleep and even more formless aroused dreams.\n\nYou take the next day "off" (Lolina advised you to only come in every other day for the first week, even if you wanted to work more) and do some of that bill-paying. It's a bit saddening to see your suddenly in-the-black account rapidly diminish again, but you should now be free of worry about the people you owe money to who are most likely to kick down your door and put a gun to your head to ask where their cash is (like the Syndicate, and the government). You're still shoulder-deep in red but that's considerably, considerably preferable to lip-deep which is where you were before. Deciding to 'celebrate', you go out to stock your fridge with food... meaning, again, bag meals. Still the cheap end of bag meals, you don't have that much left over, but food that's got actual textured bits of protein they bother to fake as having at least potentially come from an animal is still a big step up. You also spend a little time working on your 'costume', doing a bit more deliberate stitching to improve over the last-minute stuff, including installing some hidden tearaway seams in the top so you can "rip" it off should something call for it.\n\n... What? It's good to have options. And you are kind of decent at sewing. ... Honestly if you had the time and fabric you could probably refit your old uniform completely for-\n\nNo. Let's not go tear-assing down that line of thought.\n\nThe next night, wearing jogging pants and a simple long-sleeved shirt and with your costume in a shoulder bag, you return to the club. You trade idle pleasantries with the other girls in passing (apparently you have been accepted, without any resentment for your "main" employment or at having snagged the preem VIP job with Trix) as you head to your locker to undress, don your glowpaint hearts, and redress in your smutty little faux-schoolgirl outfit. Trix passes by at one point with a casual but warm "Hi" and a peck on the cheek so quick and so smooth that it could go unnoticed for just what a big deal she didn't make of it. You look after her, watching her ass move under the little iridescent purple-red open-sided mock-qipao she's wearing. 'Yeah, I'm in so much trouble,' you think, though this time you can't help but think it with a rather happy tint.\n\nYou go on at roughly the same time you did before, to roughly similar acclaim, though you collect a few more supas and a lot more ambers than before. It looks like Trix is scheduled for later in the evening and so doesn't come on in time for you to join in her first routine... instead by the time you hear the rapid thump and beat of "Bass Knight" come on you're already in the middle of giving a lap dance to one of your supa donors. (They seem to be learning that if they stick around after supertipping you and you find them in the club, you'll give them dibs on lapdances. Which you hadn't really set out to do as a dynamic, but now that you think of it, it does work well since you basically get tipped twice. Plus Lolina probably likes it since they're probably sticking around longer and drinking more.) \n\nHaving finished your rounds feeling considerably more chipper about it than previously (honestly you miiiight just be starting to really enjoy feeling them get hard against you when you grind your ass against them), you retreat to the dressing room to hydrate, snack, and rest a bit. So you're still lounging around on the couch in your panties and thighhighs, with nothing up top but the glowpaint, when Trix comes in looking around keenly. The moment she spots you her expression perks up, and she comes over to plop down beside you, similarly bare breasts jiggling.\n\n"Hey!" She beams and pecks your cheek again, making you smile, before continuing. "Listen, I've got another two-girl VIP offer, and I thought I'd see if you wanted in on it."\n\n"Oh, is John Karaoke back?" you ask with a snicker.\n\n"Ah, no, he only comes in once or twice a month, like at most once a week I think if he's doing really well at work," Trix answers, waving off the suggestion. "No, this is a more, y'know... standard... VIP request."\n\n"... Ah. Right, more standard as in..." you say slowly.\n\n"As in he wants a threesome, yeah. No real theme or setup, just some cock and ball worship and then fucking us both for awhile," Trix says frankly. "I know it's kind of asking you to dive right in after you've basically only waded in up to the ankles, but... well, I think you have to do it sometime, Michi," she says in a pragmatic tone. "It's a really good-paying offer and that's before any off-the-book tip. Plus he's got the room booked for a whole three hours, and even if he doesn't use all that with us he's still gotta pay Lolina for it, which basically guarantees she'll give us writeoff-worthy tax slips for the quarter."\n\nYou're still brooding a bit on the idea of taking a whole quarter into account instead of just a month, besides the rest of it, when she leans up and plants a slightly more lingering kiss on your cheek. "And of all the girls here I'd really like it if you were the one to do this with me. I know we've just met but you're kinda already my fave, Michi. Pleeeease?" she asks softly. "I mean, no pressure, but..." She pecks your cheek again, smiling. "Please?"\n\n<hr>\n[[... Yeah okay.|ChiStrip]]\n\n[[You just... can't.|ChiStrip]]

"Hmmm?" Byff's ears wiggle a bit as he's in mid-drink.\n\n"I mean, I was told I'd probably have a tough time finding a party to take me, as an Adventurer class," you admit with a frown. "But it seems like being able to team up and take on tougher monsters would help me get stronger faster."\n\n"Well hey, that's just so! And all the better if you can get in with those close to your own level! My own party's a little high above for you to properly grow with us, without us taking you by the hand," Byff muses aloud, scratching your chin, then letting out a boisterous laugh at your slightly annoyed look. "Pay it no mind, boy! We've been adventuring together twenty years! That sort of bond helps you grow to a high level!" he assures you, reaching across the table to headpat you.\n\n"Ah, yeah, I guess so," you allow with a sigh.\n\n"Hmmmm. Well, as may be, there's some of my cubs forming up an adventuring party due to leave in a few days," Byff says, scratching one of the stripes on his cheek now. "The highest of them is level six, so it's not like there's a huge gap... at low levels it closes pretty quick once you're working together. And they're all pretty specialized, it might serve them well to have an all-rounder like you."\n\nYou blink. "Ah, you'd suggest me for a party with your own kids?"\n\n"Bahahahaha! Certainly, boy! You seem a fine polite lad, I think I can trust you to amongst the four of them! I'll tell you where they meet up, and you can go over tomorrow! Tell them I sent you, and that you've my full recommendation! I'll be seeing you at family reunions in a few years' time no doubt, lad, bahahahaha!" he adds.\n\n'... Wait, what did he mean by that?' you suddenly think the next day when you're already halfway to the meeting spot, stopping and blinking. ... Was he suggesting...? ... Are some of his "cubs" maybe cute girls...? ... Was that his blessing even if he hardly knows you? Feeling your face and ears heat, you nevertheless doggedly push on, and eventually arrive at the inn where he said they were staying and make your way around back to the yard.\n\n"Well I say we need to spend most of the money on healing potions!"\n\n"Who cares about healing potions?! All-purpose adventuring supplies! We need to be prepared for any situation!"\n\n"'Who cares about healing potions'?! You're the tank, you idiot! You need to care about them!"\n\n"Bah! Who needs it?!"\n\n"You. Do. You. Masochist."\n\n"H-hey, shut up! I'll wring your neck!"\n\n"Sadist."\n\n"SHUT UP!"\n\nYou come to a stop and blink, just sort of staring at the three people in the yard having a rather loud argument. You'd somehow expected them all to be Greater White Tigerkin like Byff, but apparently not... it looks like Byff might have married a Human (or maybe several, you never know with his type), because only one of the people in the yard is a Greater Beastkin, and she seems to be a normal orange tiger rather than a white one, at least what of her coloration you can see around her sturdy leather clothes and the silver armor plates she's wearing. The two she's arguing with are a pair of Lesser Tigerkin, one white and one orange, but both otherwise completely identical, sleekly handsome and blue-eyed, one armed with bow and arrows and the other with a rapier.\n\n"Sorry. They're like this sometimes," a quiet voice whispers from beside you.\n\nYou jump and whirl, and the speaker similarly jumps in shock at your reaction. At first you take them for a fairly small Greater Pantherkin, considering they're entirely black and the nervously-lashing feline tail, but after a second you realize she's actually a Lesser, just with ink-black skin. She blinks big yellow eyes at you and ducks her head nervously, ears laying down a bit amongst her rumpled black hair. She's pretty... or at least you think she is, it's honestly a little hard to tell since she's swathed in concealing black robes almost the same color she is, and hiding part of her face with the long wooden staff she's clinging to. The robes also do a good job of hiding her figure, though she definitely seems to be on the slender and slight side.\n\n"Anyway, Shayda always abstains, so we outvote you," one of the Lesser Tigerkin is declaring smugly now.\n\n"I don't acknowledge two votes coming from you."\n\n"HEY!" both the Lesser Tigerkin boys bark now.\n\n"One egg, one vote. Oy, hey you! Random stranger! C'mere!"\n\nYou blink as the Greater Tigerkin woman marches over to you, then squawk as she literally picks you up without apparent effort, carries you over, and summarily plops you down in front of them.\n\n"I say you have a vote and you're gonna vote for adventuring gear, okay?" she declares, plunking a gauntleted hand down on your head.\n\n"HEY!" the twins shout again.\n\n"... um..." you murmur.\n\n"You know, he smells like Dad's been patting his head," the Pantherkin girl... Shayda, you imagine... murmurs as she shuffles over. "He might actually have a vote."\n\n"Eh?" all three of the others say, heads swiveling towards her. Then towards you. Then you have the distinctly odd experience of all three of them leaning in to sniff pointedly in the general vicinity of your head.\n\n"Oh yeah crap he does smell like Dad," the woman says, lifting her own hand off your head. "Who're you, guy?"\n\n"Um. My name's Raz. I'm a new adventurer... also an Adventurer," you add with a bit of emphasis. "And your, um, your dad Byff said that maybe I'd be a good addition to your party...?"\n\n"Huh, an all-rounder, is it?" the archer (also the orange tiger) says, cupping his chin as he looks at you.\n\n"Dad's usually got a pretty good intuition about these things," the rapier-wielder (also the white tiger) says, cupping his chin as he looks at you.\n\n"I mean, works for me," the big woman in armor says with a shrug, before repeating, "Hey, Raz, vote for adventuring supplies!"\n\nYou blink slowly, then glance at Shayda. "... Just like that?"\n\n"I mean... you've met our dad, right?" she replies quietly, squirming.\n\nOh. Yeah. That does kind of make sense. ... W-wait, did you just sign on to an adventuring party with at least three Byffs?\n\nWhile you're reeling in mild horror at that, Shayda seems to at least be trying to give introductions. "I'm Shayda. Those are Nir and Rin, and that's Trya."\n\n"Hey, yo," Trya says, giving you a thumbs-up, then immediately following up with, "Vote adventuring gear."\n\n"Healing potions!" the twins shout back.\n\n"Raz!" all three of them call, looking directly at you as you give a little jump.\n\n<hr>\n[[Adventuring gear.|Raz]]\n\n[[Healing potions.|Raz]]\n\n[[Ask Shayda.|Raz16x2]]\n\n[[Uh... where are we going?|Raz]]

*Main: Grimalkin can now decide to [[go solo|Grim1x1]] rather than repairing any of his pack.\n-Update 2-\n* Solo Grimalkin can now go to the [[Reaper factory ship|Grim5x3]].\n* New character Riley has been added to male chargen.

"Shayda, what do you think we should do?" you ask, glancing over.\n\n"Oh Shayda just always says-" Trya starts.\n\n"I-I think we should ask Raz what he thinks!" Shayda blurts.\n\n"... Eh?" all three of her siblings say.\n\n"I... I mean, he's an Adventurer right? He's like... um... the default?" Shayda says, before shooting you an apologetic look. "I'm, um, I'm just thinking that maybe he'll have good instincts for... what we should buy."\n\n"Huh. I guess that kind of makes sense," Trya allows, rubbing the back of her head. She looks over at the twins, who give a sort of 'works for us' shrug in unison. Then Trya grins and pats Shayda on the head. "Good thinking."\n\nShayda lets out a little squeak at the headpat, then watches as the others turn and file out of the yard, apparently already intent on the shopping trip. "Um... guess we're going," she murmurs.\n\n"... The headpats are-"\n\n"Yeah the headpats are a thing you better get used to them," Shayda murmurs, sounding like she's not used to them.\n\nIn any event, as you wander around from shop to shop, the lot of you realize that between your Repair, Crafting, and Alchemy skills and similar and supporting skills among the rest of you, it's actually easier (and cheaper) to just buy a bunch of basic ingredients and materials that can be made into lots of different things as the situation demands. This does leave more money left over for buying actual adventurer gear, and eventually you all wind up in a weaponsmith store, with the twins and Trya arguing about weapon quality. (Though those three just seem to like to argue over anything they can find an excuse to, honestly.)\n\nRealizing you never really asked, you turn to Shayda. "Hey, what are we actually doing, anyway? Are we going to be taking missions around Sabanara, or...?"\n\n"No, I'm pretty sure we're leaving the city. ... I don't think anyone had actually come up with a real destination in mind," Shayda admits sheepishly. "Probably we were gonna do what Dad calls 'get the road under your feet and see where it takes you'. Just... ... not as organized as that."\n\n"Ah-huh." Hoo boy. You're starting to wonder if Byff sent you to join his offspring more out of mercy to them than you, the other three don't seem to have a whole lot of common sense or forethought. Shayda does, but apparently has trouble speaking up... ah, maybe that's why? If you're here you can urge Shayda to talk, and the other three will probably listen to her because she's family, so. That makes sense to you, honestly.\n\nAnd it does sound like they want to get going pretty quickly. Hrm. You dig up some paper and write out a quick note, and pass it along to one of the street urchins you recognize to send along to someone you know. Don't want the people you know thinking you just up and disappeared... a "heads up, I've gone adventuring" seems better.\n\nIt seems your assumption of an impending departure was right on the money, too, since after the shopping trip the group heads back to their inn, already talking about leaving. It turns out they've already got horses too, among them a particularly sturdy stallion to bear Trya's weight... er, the weight of her armor. (You can hear her brothers teasing her nevertheless, and her response of various uncreative but still highly descriptive threats of violence.) Luckily it seems they'd bought an extra just in case they hit a big cache of loot, and this is quickly repurposed into a steed for you. Before you really know it, you're heading out of Sabanara and down the road (your new Ride skill doing a fair bit of heavy lifting, not that it has a lot to lift at this point).\n\n"Oh hey, Raz, I just realized, we know your class but I don't think we told you ours," Trya speaks up as Sabanara gradually shrinks in the distance. "I'm an Armormaster, Nir's a Ranger, Rin's a Duelist, and Shayda's a Sorcerer."\n\nHuh. It's actually kind of a balanced party, huh? You guess all it's really lacking is a dedicated healer, but maybe between your lesser skills and if Shayda has any minor healing spells in her repertoire, you don't really need one. "I guess I should also mention, I'm only level two," you speak up.\n\n"Eh, s'fine," Nir speaks up, wagging a hand around. "Me and Rin are only level four, Shayda's level three, and Trya's only level six 'cause she gets XP for getting beat up."\n\n"You wish it was that easy for you," Trya replies smugly.\n\n"Anyway we only did Classification a little while ago, though we've tagged along with Dad and his party on a few missions before that so we all picked up some good basic skills too," Rin speaks up. "But with this party we'll toootally be able to take on bigger and better stuff and dungeons! We'll probably all sort of even out at the same level eventually. Except Trya. From getting beat up."\n\n"She likes it," Nir stage-whispers very loudly to you.\n\n"Sh-shut up!"\n\nIn any event, neither particularly tough monsters nor dungeons present themselves within half a day's ride of Sabanara, which you can tell kind of disappoints some of the others (Shayda leaning more towards the relieved side). Really all you run into are a handful more Ragoats and some of what Nir identifies as Wood Deer and Wood Wolves. Also one actual wolf, but it runs away shortly after you spot it instead of attacking (which is one of the easiest ways to tell it was an actual wolf). There's not any particularly remarkable loot or XP from it, though you do get a sort of trial run at seeing the others work, although... again, not much of an elaborate one. Nir shoots stuff with arrows, Rin stabs stuff with his sword, Trya lets stuff bang against her shield and then hits it with a hammer, and Shayda shoots stuff with glowing purple bolts. You guess at this level that's pretty much what all of you have got to work with.\n\nYou do level up in the course of the day, as does Shayda. You don't get too much exciting... a new sword skill that's a slightly better slash, your Spellsword ability increasing a little, and your Ride skill increasing a little as well, pretty much. Shayda declines to share what, if anything, she got... probably more simple spells, considering. But as the sun starts to set you all step off the road and start making camp.\n\n"Hoof! I love this stuff but after a whole day of actually using it's good to get out," Trya mutters as she unbuckles all the various belts holding her armor plates on, since it's not an actual full "suit" apparently. (You guess with the way the straps are designed that means she can put it on and take it off herself, even if it does take longer.)\n\n"Hmmm, we'll come to a crossroads tomorrow," Nir pipes up. "Basically we've gotta decide whether we're heading towards the coast or further inland."\n\n"Man, imagine setting off for real adventure across the sea," his brother immediately says with a longing sigh. "Even Dad never went across the sea, as far as I know!"\n\n"Yeah, with his muscles and head he'd sink like a rock," Trya says flatly. "So would I, if I fell overboard in this stuff. Inland, all day, every day. Besides, we'd have to sell the horses, and we'd get hardly anything for them!" That does seem to give the brothers pause.\n\n"Hey Shayda, what do you think?" you speak up while the others seem to be ruminating. \n\n"U-um, me?" Shayda squeaks where she's sitting on one side of the fire. Realizing that you and all of her siblings are looking at her, she squirms a bit. "I, um, well... I've heard that at the coast, there's pirates and things that like to pressgang low-level adventurers, so, um, we'd need to be careful. ... But also the further inland you go the more you can run across really dangerous dungeons that sort of spontaneously formed, so, um, we'd need to be careful about that too."\n\n"... Soooo?" Trya prompts.\n\n"... So I just think we should be careful either way," Shayda says quietly, before sighing. "Um, what I mean is, I guess I'm... I'm not abstaining!" she suddenly blurts, making the other three blink. "But...! I am okay with either. S-so, Raz can be the tiebreaker."\n\n"Mm'kaaay," Rin murmurs, shrugging before he looks at you. "Raz, what do you think?"\n\n<hr>\n[[Inland.|Raz]]\n\n[[Coast.|Raz]]

"Nothing good ever comes out of a massive multinational corporation with deliberate misspellings in its name," you note wryly.\n\nCentral actually chuckles a little. "I'd tend to agree. Alright, Agent, I'll leave you to discuss your infiltration options with your Handler. Central out."\n\nYou turn towards Adrien as the screen goes dark and starts to retract, but he's already typing away at his laptop, apparently further familiarizing himself with the case. You wait patiently until he's finished briefing himself and lifts his head to address you.\n\n"So Bioteknik, as you might guess from the name, is a pharmaceutical and medical technologies company. They've got the usual giant stack of fines and lawsuits that all those companies have, but not so much that it's really notable above any others, and they have put out a number of valid medications, treatments, machines, prosthetics, all those sorts of things."\n\nYou nod evenly. "So on the surface just a completely normal medical company."\n\n"On the surface. It would take me more time to really dig into them, but the very fact that Central says something fishy means that ninety-nine times out of a hundred, there's something there."\n\n"What are my options for infiltration?"\n\n"Well first off we'd have to figure out which of their branches is most likely to yield results. There's the home office here in America, where they do a little bit of everything, but most of it's 'finishing touches' stuff they've almost finished developing at the other branches and moved over. The Japan branch is mostly pharmaceutical research and prosthetics development, while their branch in China does the majority of their genetic engineering research."\n\nYou give a low 'mm'. "And which one does their CEO work at, the American branch?"\n\n"None of them, as far as I can tell," Adrien says after another few moments of reading, making a face. "Mrs. Thorne apparently doesn't go into any of the offices much, and is represented by her daughter, Ms. Thorne, at most meetings. If we wanted to get to the elder Thorne we'd almost certainly have to go through one of her subordinates at one of the branches, though that's not necessarily the end goal to finding out what they're doing."\n\n"Central did mention the CEO specifically, so Thorne's likely the biggest problem that needs solving though. But you're right, even finding out what Bioteknik is actually planning could be important." You cup your chin, thinking. "Tell me a bit more about the branches."\n\nWell, like I said, the American home office is where they do a little of everything, lots of 'finishing touches' on the stuff made by other branches big and small, getting it actually ready for market whether that's the private sector or governments. Alexandra Thorne runs it there, she's reputed to be a very cunning, ruthless woman in both her business and private lives, with a... uh... not terribly restrained passion for other women," he notes, blushing just a bit. "The Japanese branch is run by a Hideo Kurokagi, fairly typical Japanese businessman on the surface, wife and kids. There are some rumors that he runs the Japanese branch as a 'black company' and basically abuses the workers with excessive overtime and harsh treatment, but nothing confirmed through official channels. The Chinese branch is run by Tai Xu-Ling, though apparently his wife Yu is just as active in it as he is as the human resources director. That branch office has a sterling reputation as a place for promising and ambitious people to get their start... almost a little too sterling."\n\n"So it's either fake, or they're actively recruiting younger scientists, engineers, and whatnot to mold them into what the company needs by promising them the sky," you note dryly.\n\n"My money would be on the latter... a lot of the important names listed in the rest of the company got started in the China branch, so it definitely looks like that's their tempering spot. Well, what do you think?" he asks, sitting back a bit.\n\n<hr>\n[[The home office.|Jane]]\n\n[[The Japan branch.|Jane]]\n\n[[The Chinese branch.|Jane3x2]]

"You know what they say, 'genetic engineering is the new nuke'," you note, raising your eyebrows.\n\n"Ah... I think they say that in reference to how fiction uses it as a plot device," Adrien says rather sheepishly, brushing a fingertip against his cheek.\n\n"Doesn't mean it's not true in a larger sense. If there are major violations and risk going on, the genetic engineering sector is where they most likely are, and one of the places they could be the most dangerous."\n\n"Understood. Alright, there are essentially three points of entry," he says, starting to type again. "We can either try to put you as close as possible to the Xu-Lings, put you in as a general worker, or try to get you brought on as a promising scientist. That last one would take some time spent living your cover, since it's harder to make someone like that come from nowhere."\n\nYou nod absently, already considering the possibilities. Infiltrating close to the people running the show has its obvious benefits... you can keep an eye on them, have more opportunities to look at their lives, and likely much higher-level access in general. A scientist, on the other hand, would be right in the middle of things, and much more likely to be shown exactly what's going on by dint of nothing but doing your job.\n\nBeing inserted as a normal mid-level employee has the benefits of neither of these... but it would keep you suitably off everyone's radar. You doubt Tai Xu-Ling would even know you existed, and if his wife did, it would only be a brief comprehension of new hire paperwork, if she even actually handles that herself. Virtually invisible, you'd have much more freedom to poke around in your own time without attracting attention. So which to go with?\n\n<hr>\n[[Get close to the Xu-Lings.|Jane]]\n\n[[Be a mid-level employee.|Jane]]\n\n[[Be a scientist.|Jane3x3]]

"Central didn't make it sound like the issue was exceedingly urgent on this one," you note. "If I have to keep cover for a few months or a year or something to be able to get into the heart of where the issue likely is, I don't see that as being a problem. And if it is-"\n\n"Central will let me know, I guess," Adrien concludes with a nod. "Alright, I'll start browsing the blanks for a suitable cover to form up. I'll let you know when we're ready for you to report."\n\nYou nod, getting up and making your way out again. Obviously a cover like this will take more time and effort to put together, and might even require the assistance of other agents. If you had chosen the mid-level employee, you probably could have walked out in as little time and your cover would have been ready before you got to the airport, but things like this take time... both Adrien's and yours.\n\nThe sort of person that a company like Bioteknik actively recruits can't just come from nowhere... if you suddenly showed up on college records with amazing grades and glowing endorsements from teachers, there would be questions about where you'd come from, why you'd never shown up on their radar until now... a particularly talented mind should start attracting attention from at least high school, if not from their teachers or the school system itself (both generally totally uninterested in sharp minds), by the corporate interests like Bioteknik's who are always hungry for new blood. So Adrien will have to come up for a suitable excuse for why you've never been worth noticing until relatively recently, and attach that excuse to one of the Agencies blanks.\n\nThe Agency has, for most of its history, created "realtime" fake people. They're registered for birth certificates and social security numbers (or whatever equivalent their country has) at the actual time they're supposed to be born, they have bank accounts opened in their name, and sometimes those false identities are brought together, have marriage certificates filed for them, new birth certificates and social security numbers are registered, sometimes a divorce is entered into the system to allow the identities to be freed up or even remarry...\n\nThe Agency has been around for a very long time, after all. You're not entirely sure how long, but... a long time. They have more thorough methods of establishing cover identities than a fake driver's license and some computer hacking. But obviously most of these identities have to be normal, average people rather than exceptional talents, lest some big company go to recruit that person and find out by simple expedient of showing up at their address or school and finding out they don't actually exist. (You assume the Agency has slightly more elaborate baffles than that, but no cover is perfect, especially when it's uninhabited.) If you were going to be a normal person, you'd work with Adrien to set up all the little details, but this being a "special" cover it's better to let him do the thinking and initial setup work on his own.\n\nIt does in fact take almost a week before you get the message from Adrien, coming through as a particular order on the food delivery app you're signed up on. (Besides being a good cover for sending coded messages, it gives you something to do between missions. Gotta keep busy somehow.) Following the instructions of the order, you skip the workshare office and head directly to the airport, knowing there will be a ticket waiting for you and that you've already been registered as pre-screened for going through security. You'll have to just walk away from Jane for now, and let Adrien either "put her to sleep" to be reactivated later or gracefully exited from existence, whichever he decides works better. Not like you were attached... the fact that you don't really get attached is part of why they recruited you.\n\nThe flight is an international one, necessitating a stop in one of the massive hub airports with its sprawling areas and poorly-understood architecture. It's easy enough to stroll away from the crowd and make your way through complex but not particularly hidden hallways until you actually do get to a secure door, which you step through and begin going through another automated security process, which involves you stripping completely naked in one room, leaving behind everything of Jane Andrews except your actual physical body and stepping nude into the next room.\n\nAirports are, quite obviously, important places for the Agency to hide and maintain the infrastructure necessary to undercover missions. It's not at all unusual to see someone enter them but not necessarily exit for days, weeks, months, or never, after all, and with so many people coming through them each day, there's little to no chance of a particular person being remembered, leaving all their passage in and out to the digital paperkeeping realm. So, one person enters, another person leaves, and nobody really thinks that's odd. Your firsthand knowledge of it has certainly left you wondering how many of the people on a plane with you might be other agents at any given time.\n\nPart of that being due to the room you're now in, commonly referred to as the Body Shop. Often in different configurations, this one has a simple padded table in the center with a large, complex array hanging above it... quite ominous, even knowing what it is. It also has Adrien standing in it, fully clothed as normal and with a backpack on, watching as you walk in. Both of you are professionals, and act like it... though you admit to feeling some warmth in your face, and can see that Adrien's cheeks and ears are red as well, though he has an admirably composed look on his face.\n\n"Jin-Li Long," he says, swinging the backpack around and opening it, pulling out a thick folder and handing it to you. "Chinese national, educated mostly in America on her father's wishes. Mother was very traditional, though, lots of digital correspondence, mostly private but some public, chastising her daughter for all this 'education' and 'science' nonsense. Father was insistent she be allowed to attend college though, very supportive. I engineered her grades to be exactly the average."\n\n"Meaning that they could only be that precisely average by deliberate manipulation, but in this case Jin-Li's own," you note dryly as you flip through the folder, already having settled into ignoring your own nudity. "Going to college like she and her father wanted, but not standing out or seeming too bright to please her mother."\n\n"Yeah, that's the sort of thing a canny recruiter will pick up on, and Yu Xu-Ling seems that sharp, from my research. That should get her interested and explain why you never pinged her radar before now. Anyway, Mrs. Long has now passed away, conveniently right at the end of the semester," Adrien says, unable to keep an amused note out of his voice. "So obviously Jin-Li will return for the funeral and to comfort her father."\n\n"And return to school no longer hampered by her mother's demands for mediocrity," you pick up, nodding. "Good crafting, Adrien."\n\n"Thanks," he replies, beaming.\n\nYou finish reading through the folder, but somewhat perfunctorily, since you have a pretty good idea you won't need to memorize it before handing it back to him. "Chip?"\n\nAdrien makes a bit of a face, but nods. As good an actor and personality-crafter as you are, maintaining the identity of someone from a whole different nationality and ethnicity is more difficult, let alone the fact that your cover identity is a genius and you're... well, alright, technically your IQ qualifies you for "genius" quite easily, but you're not a biological engineering genius and that's what you'll need to be for this mission. The mind chips the Agency has access to are incredibly convenient for things like that, capable of moderating your language (complete with accent), augmenting your knowledge, and storing details of your identity, but they're... a little creepy. Precisely because they can do all of that.\n\nBut, well, it's the job. You move to lay down on the table, feeling mildly embarrassed to realize Adrien's going to be watching you getting modified, but somehow it might almost be worse if he left, as if it really were something strange or shameful as opposed to just part of the job.\n\n"This will be an entirely injection-based change," a voice from a hidden speaker says. "Then you'll get final touches."\n\nYou don't bother to nod, since your agreement is just assumed by the fact that you're an Agent... and, well, that you haven't jumped up off the table and gone tear-assing for the door. There is always that moment where you sort of want to, though, especially when it's an injection-based change, a number of needle-tipped armatures lowering down into place around you. You can feel the needles pressing into you essentially all over... piercing your face, your sides, your belly, breasts, hips, the curve of your buttocks below them, your thighs and calves, arms. You're too controlled and have done this enough times to fidget or scream, but you frankly find it unbelievable to believe there's anyone out there that wouldn't want to. You can feel warmth flooding into your body from the penetration points, spreading across your body, the changes already starting to come over you as the needles retract and the armatures lift.\n\nYou can tell that your body shape isn't changing that radically... your waist growing a little more slender and your hips a bit more round, the shape of your butt subtly altering, and the same for your breasts, but both staying the same mostly average size. More just slight changes to your body shape, growing a bit more taut and smooth to make you look a little younger (not that you looked old, but), your skin taking on a soft, pale golden hue and nipples darkening some. You can also feel that you're growing a bit shorter, besides the more obvious changes you can feel happening to your face... the shape of your cheekbones, jaw, and eye sockets changing is always a fascinating one, though luckily whatever the Agency uses has been tweaked to eliminate any pain or gross discomfort from your bones altering. (Honestly it kind of feels... good.) Honestly it's almost more bothersome to feel your hair growing out rapidly, the color and texture both changed to a deep, shiny black, with Jane's brown slight waves still hanging from the tips of it.\n\nYou fight not to tense up as the warmth starts to fade and another armature with a longer, thicker, and definitely more intimidating needle lowers, angles, and pushes in just behind one of your ears. You do grit your teeth a little at the feeling of it, and let out a rush of breath through your nose as the chip apparently fits into place and you can feel a rush of knowledge settling into your mind. Not only everything that was in the folder but all the extra little details of Jin-Li Long's life, essentially fake memories you can draw on as needed, along with a deep knowledge of science and engineering, specifically genetic engineering. You do need a few moments to just lay there and adjust to all of it, before finally sitting up and giving Adrien a nod, the rather tense set of his shoulders relaxing under his hoodie.\n\n"Everything working alright?" he asks in Chinese as some more mechanical arms lower down, these fitted with styling implements that start fixing your hair. \n\n"Seems to be," you answer, not even trying but speaking the same language flawlessly, and even in the right regional accent. You hop down, breasts jiggling, already letting yourself assimilate into Jin-Li's memories and identity, who she is, how she speaks, how she carries herself. You alter the way you walk into more meek steps, and wind up covering yourself bashfully and hunching in a bit as you get further into character, Adrien's blush returning as you actually start acting embarrassed to be naked in front of him.\n\nYou spot Jin-Li's... your... clothes on a table in the next room and rush over to hurry into them. Plain, simple long-sleeved white shirt, baggy so as not to show off your figure, a rather better-fitting denim skirt, plain black tights and white sneakers. You also see your glasses, plain black rims fitted around round lenses, and pick them up, sliding them off and on a few times, adjusting your squint to what your prescription is going to be. (They could theoretically have altered you to have "correct" bad eyesight, but that's going a little far when you might need to be able to see perfectly at any moment... the risk of someone noticing your glasses only mock the prescription you're supposed to have will have to be enough.) Once you're sure you've got the proper reaction to having your glasses off down to a reflex, you put the glasses on and nudge them up on your nose, before turning to pick up your own bags... more simple, unobtrusive things, largely. You've been trying to fly under most peoples' notice for some time now, including your overbearing mother's. (It's strange to feel the complicated pang at her loss, considering you're objectively aware she never existed, but that's what getting deep into character brings.)\n\n"So you're ready? Remember, even if anything happens, after you walk out of here the Agency won't do anything," Adrien cautions. "If you're caught or your cover is blown, you'll be burned and all your contacts will disappear until you can be confirmed again."\n\nYou nod, knowing that the likelihood of you ever being able to prove you're clean and trustworthy again after that is effectively zero, so getting caught is essentially being left to your own devices with a compromised cover. Agents are, by necessity, completely severable assets... you could in such a situation, you suppose, break and tell your captors about your previous missions, but nothing about the Agency itself or other Agents since you don't know anything... at least, nothing that wouldn't be immediately covered up completely within minutes of you being assumed to be compromised. So instead you just raise your hand in a meek little wave to Adrien, and head off back into the airport to get on with Jin-Li's life... namely, probably at least another year of school before Bioteknik swoops down on you.\n\nAlthough, you hesitate just a bit in the airport, staring down the terminal towards the gate where your flight is, then glancing at some of the other gates. What if... you didn't go back to China? What if you went to some other country and took your new gift for genetic engineering with you? You're mostly considering it because Jin-Li would consider it (if only for a minute). What if the faster, more efficient way into Bioteknik is by going black or grey market immediately, rather than waiting for them to discover you in school? It's not the plan, and it would risk you being burned, but if you actually completed your mission you assume your intent would become clear and you'd be reinstated. And if not... well, the job comes with risks, and some of those risks are to the job themselves, after all.\n\n<hr>\n[[Stick to the plan.|Jane]]\n\n[[Wing it.|Jane]]

"Ohhhh fuck oh fuck oh fuuuuck!" you yowl as the horseman's huge cock pounds downwards into your pussy, your current position of being pinned to the floor and bent in half meaning he can hilt in you easily every time, his immense balls slapping almost thunderously against your ass.\n\nYou really don't know what happened. You were getting ready for what you assumed would be a simple, straightforward fight of intelligence and skill over brawn, and the next thing you knew you were folded up on the floor getting your brains fucked out. You don't think it was even superspeed or anything, you just... somehow lost so quickly that the whole process of it's a blur. He's got you pinned beneath his weight so thoroughly that no amount of pushing on that massive muscular chest will budge him in the slightest, even if he didn't have those huge hands wrapped around your legs and holding you down as he drives his cock into you at a full gallop, you're absolutely helpless to resist!\n\nApparently at some point in that missing time he ripped the crotch of your suit open, since you can actually feel the impact of his huge heavy horseballs against your pucker, since he's fucking you hard enough that your asscheeks clap with every impact. You can feel the tremors running through them and your whole body in the background of the overwhelming sensation of being spread incredibly wide and deep, that now fully flared head striking deep inside your womb with every thrust.\n\nHe's grunting and snorting and even letting out bellowing whinnies as he fucks you, every sound and motion and even the sight of him looming above you bestial, telling your senses that yes you are being fucked by a horse, an animal, a mindless creature whose only desire and need is to cram his big inhuman dick inside you and try to breed you. And yet he's controlling your body just like a man would, those big hands gripping you forcefully and dominantly, that upright body pinning you down, those hips striking against you and his legs working to drive himself into you all the more forcefully, pounding you against the ground the way no actual horse could.\n\nAnd completely out of your control your body reacts to that blending of man and beast, eagerly and physically doing its best to become his woman, his mare. Soon your pussy is so wet that it's squirting a little with every thrust down into it, drenching his balls and making them send small spatters of wetness all over your ass with each impact. Your eyes begin to roll in your head as your thoughts become hazier and more indistinct, overwhelmed by the welling-up of deep, animal instincts that tell you that you're in heat, that you need to be bred, that you need to be knocked up, you need to give him lots and lots of foals because you're his property, his brood mare, and your whole purpose is to have your womb filled with babies. Your words of protest turn into meaningless bestial needy noises, declaring yourself nothing but a mindless animal in heat desperate to have its breeding chamber filled and be made gravid.\n\nWhen he finally does thrust in and start emptying those massive, heavy equine balls into you, pouring what feels like at least two gallons of thick, potent jizz directly into your womb, whether it's true or not in that moment you're 100% certain you're pregnant, you're knocked up, you're fulfilling your one and only purpose in existence, the thing you were born for, the one and only meaning the millions of years of evolution that produced you has. You cum like a supernova, your mind blasting into a billion pieces as your body rocks and shudders and practically vibrates beneath him, your overstretched cunt spraying like a fountain around the base of his twitching, pulsing prick. \n\nYou're left breathing hard and insensate as he pulls out and stands, hands leaving your legs, though for the moment you stay exactly as you are, still bent and displayed to him, your gaping pussy so overfull that thick white jizz wells up into almost a dome atop it before it starts dribbling down your taint to tease your asshole and drip onto your bulging cumbelly. You still can't really form a coherent thought other than the vague sense of loss and need as you hear the heavy thumps of his hooves walking away... but it's okay, you've fulfilled your purpose for him, nothing else matters.\n\nSlowly, you start to regain some semblance of sentient human thought, even as you slowly swing your legs down and let them thump to the ground, leaving you sprawling on the floor, a steadily-growing pool of cum below your lower body. Eventually you stagger to your feet, then stumble forward and brace against a counter as your rubbery legs threaten to give out on you. Your head wobbles unsteadily on your neck for a moment as you slowly look around, seeing the door to the stairway is smashed open.\n\n(Ego: "... Okay, he's someone else's problem."\n\nSuperego: "But-!"\n\nEgo: "We're done heroing today."\n\nSuperego: "... 'Kay.")\n\nYou take a deep breath and draw on some semblance of composure. This... is all too much, you're just not gonna deal with it right now. You need a shower and some rest and a shower. But, all the same, you are here, so. You stagger over to Studfinder's inert form, trying to ignore the trail of mingled horseguy cum and pussyjuice you leave in your wake, and lean down to check her pulse. Seems okay, just out cold. You push off some thoughts of how jealous she'd probably be of you right now if she was conscious, and instead take another look around. There's an injection gun and some vials next to the bondage frame... probably ought to at least take those back to Style to be locked up or disposed of or whatever. Another deep breath and you make your way over, picking up the vial holder, which has a double row of... slightly differently-colored serums?\n\nCuriosity cutting through your mental haze, you lift it up and squint. One row is indeed labeled, simply enough, 'Horseman', that row rather predictably having one missing. The other, though, is labeled 'Horsewoman'. ... Huh. Maybe Studfinder figured that if she ever did find her perfect candidate, she'd want to change herself to match him? Or at the very least, she wanted to have the option if she ever decided to indulge in it. Friggin' pervert. Who would want to... who would... who...\n\n(Id: "Do it."\n\nEgo: "W-what? No. Why would I-"\n\nId: "Because that was the best you've ever felt in your life. No worries, no cares, just pure pleasure, pure power, and a feeling of absolute and complete accomplishment. You want to be an animal."\n\nSuperego: "Stop! Shut up! Be-!"\n\nId pivots and slams a fist directly to Superego's chin, dropping her like a sack of beans before turning back and saying: "You want it. You want to be stronger, better, and fucking mindless. You want to be a brainless fucking animal doing nothing but getting bred and making babies day in and day out. Take. The fucking. Serum.")\n\n<hr>\n[[... No!|MarSS]]\n\n[[Ffffffffffffffuck yes!|MarSS]]

*Main: Leo can just [[kill time in his room|LeoNova1x5]] aboard the Stellar Body.\n*Main: Michika has a new [[retrieval job|ChiGH3x1]].\n-Update 2-\n*Main: Defiance can have her [[contract bought|Def2x2]] by various "slams".\n-Update 3-\n*Main: Raz can choose the [[Adventurer|Raz1x1]] class card.

Enh... you don't want to be hooking for a few nights in a row just to make utility money and maybe enough that the old man will spend it on food instead of liquids. Better to make one or two quick pops in the Drips to get the heat back on, you think as you adjust course.\n\nThe Drips were set up because the blatantly nonhuman-types who like human girls were A Thing that needed to be addressed. Before the Drips, they'd wander all over the city sector, having to hit up every working girl they came across (or they thought was one) trying to find one that was up for it. It was disruptive for the girls, and frustrating for the aliens. So someone, probably from one of the local sex worker guilds, came up with the idea of setting up an area where instead, aliens looking for sex with human girls could wait, and girls that were up for it could go to them. The fact that the aliens have to rent kiosks this way, and also wind up renting the nearby rooms that were set up, probably had something to do with the magnanimousness of the mastermind behind it.\n\nYou hit the downward slope to the street and here the soft plinking, plopping noises that tell you you're almost there. The charitable reason it's called the Drips is because it's built a bit lower down than most of the sector, and the way the highrise buildings' drainage are set up and the flow of air means that it's almost always got moisture falling off of the edges of buildings and hitting a particular kind of pavement that was used, making the loud, wet dripping noises that can be heard along the entire block. Less charitably it's called the Drips because of the stereotype that aliens are all slimy, gooey things that will drip their skin-jizz all over you.\n\nSoon you arrive in the Drips proper, marked by the spaced-out waiting stations lining the sidewalks. They're set up sort of like transit stops... transparent sides and back, sloping rooftops, even little benches inside. Lining the street behind are rows of what look like storage units, the sort people might shove old furniture and boxes of no longer fashionable clothes in with the idea that throwing them out would be a waste, much better to pay to house them for awhile until you forget and the locker owner sells them off to someone else. Except most of these have probably been converted into hour-rate flops with basic beds and maybe, if you're lucky, washup facilities.\n\nThe lights in a handful of the visible waiting stations are switched to purple, indicating they're occupied. Let's see... you've got a squat, sort of squishy-looking alien [[with a long thick tail|KaiTwinStart]] sitting on one of the benches, not sure what his deal is but he looks relatively harmless. There's another that the thing waiting in it seems to be just... well, a [[big pile of goo|Kai]], that's kind of wild. You also see a guy who looks like some sort of [[upright wolf|Kai]] sitting around... odd, that type of nonhuman usually doesn't have enough trouble finding willing girls that they have to come to the Drips. Further down it gets a bit harder to see, but you're fairly sure you see several more humanoid forms, one wreathed in shapes and motion that says [[tentacles|Kai]], another that's [[hooded|Kai]], and the last one, far down on the street, is [[horned and big|Kai]] but you can't make out much more than that.\n\nWell. You came down here to do dirty deeds with aliens, time to pick an alien.

You really need to get the heat back on, preferably tonight, which means the fastest and most reliable way of earning some creds, and with the least chance of winding up in a cell (because the cops around here care fuckall about prostitution). Even as you're turning it over in your head, the rain stops and dries up, leaving the air merely cold and moist and the streets damp. Well, if that isn't sign enough, you don't know what is. You head back inside, utilizing a small hiding spot you half discovered, half manufactured in the lobby to slip your sword inside... you don't like leaving it, but you also know from experience that johns tend to be driven off by the sight of large, obvious weapons. It's not like you're entirely unarmed without it, and even if you were you're still fairly confident in your ability to take care of yourself.\n\nYou set off down the sidewalk, hands in your jacket pockets as you turn over the possibilities. Let's see... well, you could just [[roam around nearby|Kai3x1]], you're likely to pick up at least a couple of offers that way, even if it takes awhile. Or you could head towards the nearest "[[warm corners|Kai]]" areas that are more well-known to be a place to get picked up, though you'd have to deal with competition. The last place on the streets would be what other street girls call "[[The Drips|Kai2x2]]"... it's where the less humanlike aliens with a fetish for human girls hang out. Some of that can get kind of weird, or extreme, but they also pay a lot more.\n\nOff the streets... enh, there's a few options there, but the only one you'd be up for is doing a stint over at [[Shining Glory|Kai]]. It's definitely the easiest and least work way to make the creds, if not exactly possessed of the most dignity.

Oho, yes, there are so many inroads to having lots of good fun by impersonating an oneesan type! Let's see... peeking into his mind and a quick skim of some of his books (it's fine if they're closed) gives you an idea of his type, so that's not hard. Let's see... long dark hair, you'll go with a purple-blue color, pink-purple eyes with a sweet but mature set to them, a kind face. Hm, glasses? No, glasses might be too on-the-nose, you don't want to be his exact perfect oneesan or he might get suspicious. Let's pick out a secondary favorite trait... ah, a little beauty mark! To the side of the chin, there we go. Nice big boobs in a cream-colored turtleneck sweater, but bare arms, he likes a girl's pretty arms. Nice tight jeans because he likes the casual look and what they do for girls' butts (who doesn't?), but black heels for a bit of sophistication and formality. You manifest yourself on the front step, raising your hand to knock, then pausing.\n\nAh, almost forgot details. You need the personality down of course... sweet, kind, just a bit naive, that gets his motor going. (And is very much unlike his fairly brusk, direct, and slightly jaded actual older sister.) Get it down, get it good, and get... oh right, a name. You could just go with "Konko" but it's not entirely usual. Hm... Kon-, Kon-, Kon-... Konata? You're no little blue nerdgoblin but you can write the name with the kanji for "fortune" and "direction", and some sort of fortune is certainly headed Ryo's way! Snickering a bit before assuming your role, you knock on the door, using just a bit of magic to make sure the sound carries.\n\nA minute later the door opens, Ryo looking flushed of face and hunched over a bit. You totally caught him about four strokes in, heheheh. His jaw almost drops when he sees something out of his fantasies standing on the doorstep, but he manages to recover quickly. "Y-yeah, can I help you?"\n\nYou strike just a bit of a pose, one heel slightly lifted, knees together to emphasize your thighs and hips, one hand still raised as if having lingered after knocking. "Oh dear, is Kyoko here?" you ask in a sweet, smooth voice.\n\n<img src="images/KonataK.jpg">\n\n"Uh, n-no, she's still at school for awhile. Um, do you know my sister?"\n\n"Yes, I'm a friend of hers, my name's Konata," you reply, giving him a gentle smile completely designed to make his hardon twinge a little (which it does to judge by the way he reflexively hunches a little more). "You must be Ryo! Oh darn, she's really not home?"\n\n"No... sorry. Um, can I help you with something...?"\n\n<hr>\n[["I need another pair of hands..."|Konko]]\n\n[["I left something here the other day."|Konko10x2]]\n\n[["Can I come in and wait?"|Konko]]

"I was visiting her here the other day, I suppose while you were at school, and I left something here that I really need to pick up," you lie smoothly. Just a bit of charm magic to help smooth out any doubts, too. "Would you mind if I come in to get it?"\n\n"Oh, uh, sure, I guess," Ryo says, stepping back and giving you room to walk in, clearly starting to have calmed himself down a little, though you can still pick up his attempts not to stare at all your various features that are quite literally designed to get him to stare at them.\n\n"Thank you~," you coo, putting just a bit of airhead into it and feeling a bit of an internal shiver from him. You step into the hallway and slip out of your shoes, wiggling your bare toes again and drawing another quick glance from him. You didn't pick up that he's "into" feet, necessarily, but a lot of the artists he likes apparently are so obviously he's been affected a little. "I really appreciate it, Ryo-chan, this is so nice of you!"\n\n"It's no big," he murmurs, face reddening some. "Oh, um, where was the thing you left...?"\n\n<hr>\n[["Kyoko's room."|Konko]]\n\n[["The kitchen."|Konko11x1]]\n\n[["Actually I think it might be in your room..."|Konko10x3]]

"Eh? My room?" Ryo asks, blinking a few times.\n\n"You see, it was actually something I bought to give to my little brother," you explain, giving him a winning smile as you hit him with the 'fact' that you are indeed an authentic big sister. "So Kyoko probably hid it in your room."\n\n"Huh. I guess... I can see that, yeah," Ryo agrees, rubbing the back of his head. Then his eyes widen. "Um! Gimme like one minute, okay?!" Then he goes racing off up the stairs, his door slamming a moment later.\n\n'Huhuhu, I already know what you were reading up there, silly boy,' you think with a foxy smirk, before easing it back into the kind, slightly clueless smile of Konata. It's that smile Ryo sees as he comes back down, still looking somewhat nervous but trying to look composed as he calls you up. You sashay your way up the stairs, putting a slight innocent bounce in your step to cause extra jiggling and hip-bump as you make your way up. Ryo's blushing again by the time you move past him and into his room, putting a fingertip to your lip and tapping gently. "Hmm, now let me seeee, where would Kyoko have put it?"\n\n"M-maybe you should tell me what to look for and I'll find it, huh?" Ryo suggests, obviously becoming nervous again as your gaze passes over the underside of the bed where he shoved the magazine he was looking at.\n\n"Oh, no no, I'm sure I can find it, it will only take me a minute," you reply breezily, smiling as if you hadn't the slightest idea that there might be something in a boy's room he wouldn't want anyone else to find. Looks like you've effectively crushed his resistance, though, since while he's fidgeting and trying not to look at various places, he doesn't speak up again to stop you.\n\nNow then. Where should you "find" the supposed object? Obviously you never left any such thing here, instead you'll just look around and manifest something to match the hiding spot. If that's how you decide to go, of course... there are several other very good options for how this could go, too!\n\n<hr>\n[[Search his DVD shelves.|Konko]]\n\n[[Search his drawers.|Konko]]\n\n[[Search his closet.|Konko]]\n\n[[Search under the bed.|Konko]]\n\n[[Tease him mercilessly.|Konko]]

One hallway's as good as another, at the moment, since you don't know which one actually leads towards an exit.\n\nThe hallway seems to be made up almost entirely of containment rooms, all of them with their doors having slid fully open with the containment breach. (Really? Who designed these things, the Galactic Empire?) That gives you a brief pause, until you realize that all of these seem to be set up as storage rooms, some with shelves and others with stacked crates. A lot of them also seem to be labeled "Safe"... wait, why do they even need containing then? Couldn't you just park them in a storage shed somewhere?\n\nThen you recall that the "Safe" SCP you talked to wanted a gun. Ah... right, these guys have a different definition of "Safe" than the rest of... everyone.\n\n"I think she came this way!" a voice calls from behind you in the Security Guard Accent. Okay it's not like an actual accent, it's just that you've been doing this a long long time and somehow people that have been security guards for at least a couple of years just sound like security guards to you, it's hard to explain.\n\nShit, they sound pretty close too. With a quick glance around to make sure there are no better options, you dive into the nearest containment room and duck away from the door, huddling down quickly and going as still as possible, trying to even breathe shallowly. A moment later you hear boots go pounding down the hallway, sets of them breaking off to glance into the rooms. You see the very edge of a helmet peek into your room, but then quickly draw back... you could kind of swear they shuddered, but either way, it was obvious they didn't look closely enough to see you, since you can hear the entire group moving off down the hallway continuing to check other rooms, and then finally away.\n\nYou relax into breathing normally, then frown a little and glance around. Did the guard seriously act like they didn't want to look too close? It's just a room full of-\n\n<hr>\n[[-candy.|Def]]\n\n[[-cell phones.|Def]]\n\n[[-wardrobes.|Def]]\n\n[[-crates.|Def]]\n\n[[-comic books.|Def5x2]]\n\n[[-astrolabes.|Def]]

"Huh," you murmur, blinking. This definitely looks like someone's comic book collection... someone's extremely large comic book collection. It's set up sort of like a store's back issues... shelves with white boxes labeled with the names of the comic series they contain written on the front, the tops open to allow the bagged and boarded comic books to be looked through.\n\nYou don't immediately see any boxes labeled 'Black Sails' or 'The Merciless Valdez' or any of the other current titles you're familiar with, nor any of the older superhero comic titles from before they got pushed out of the market with the dawning of the age of real superheroes becoming commonplace. Instead the boxes nearby have names you don't recognize... no, wait.\n\n'"The Mysterious Blaze"?' you think, curiosity drawing you towards the box, settling your rifle at your back. You recognize that name, The Blaze was one of the very first costumed heroes, well, really more a 'mystery man' as they called them back then. But the thing was, he was real... like, you've talked to some of the older villains that actually got their asses kicked by him once or twice, he was definitely real. 'I didn't know they did any of those shitty "fictionalized" comics about him,' you think, unable to help flipping through the box to glance at the covers.\n\nNow this might be a shock, but as a kid you were a huge comic nerd. Admittedly you probably read them with a different slant than some of the other kids your age did, but you always loved them anyway... a not at all uncommon trait on both sides of the superfence, unsurprisingly. So your curiosity is definitely stirred, and with a glance back towards the door to make sure there's no sign of anyone coming in, you continue on further into the room.\n\nAs you go, more and more names start to be recognizable. Some of these are definitely people that you know have had fictionalized versions of themselves and their adventures made into comics, though that's a rare and largely unpopular genre... most people just watch the news or read published biographies of supers if they want to know about their adventures. But a funny feeling is starting to build, running along your spine and spreading out as tension into the muscles of your back. 'Something's fucky. Why are these here? And-'\n\nYou stop with a frown. 'Doctor Diabolous?' That's your friend Doctor Deathtrap's late uncle. The problem with that is, most countries have specifically outlawed making fictionalized accounts of supervillains' exploits (and apparently no one wanted to be the dissenting judge saying that making people who hold countries hostage with nuclear weapons [and are not politicians] look good should be legal). You walk over slowly, thumbing through the issues... they're not old enough to be pre-ban, and they look like they were published in the US.\n\nYou slide the last comic in the box out, then frown deeply at the cover. That... looks an awful lot like a volcano on the dark side of the moon, with Diabolous's laughing translucent outline above it and Excalibur, Amerachnid, and Reject all along the bottom of the cover superposing and glaring up at him. The problem is that the heroes kept Diabolous's moon labyrinth incident out of the news, no one outside of the supers were supposed to know about it. Feeling a growing sense of disquiet, you open up the bag and draw the comic out, starting to flip through it.\n\nYou don't know all the details of what happened on the moon that day, but weirdly everything the heroes and Diabolous say is totally in line with how you knew and know them to speak, rather than the sort of stiff, hammy dialog fictionalizations like these usually use. The comic's definitely told from Diabolous's perspective even as he's very clearly the villain, and you feel a little chill go through you at his last words to Excalibur as he lets go of the pipe above a pool of lava. 'Yes. I'm content.' Because those were what you were told his last words were by-\n\nNo. No, they wouldn't. They couldn't.\n\nYou flip to the end of the comic, and stare at the last page. A full-page spread of the infamous Doctor Deathtrap... the age she was before her little accident, hair lightened, some lines on her face... dressed not in her labcoat and gadget accessories, but a sober black skirt suit, hands in her lap, head bowed as she sits beside an empty coffin. Not Doctor Deathtrap, but Adelaide Anderson, waiting for her only friends in the world, a bunch of other bad guys, to come in and be with her as she said goodbye to the only family she'd ever known.\n\nThat part you know is real, because you walked into the church drawn on the page about five minutes later.\n\nWithout even thinking you fling the comic to the ground and swing your rifle down, blasting it, the energy bolt sending scorched bits of pages flinging outward as the rest of it blackens and curls. \n\n"Fuckers!" you snarl, really, genuinely angry for one of the few times in your life. Getting yourself a bit back under control, you glance towards the door... no, doesn't sound like anyone heard you, or at least there's no immediate reaction. ... Who could have told someone all that? What heartless son of a bitch would actually put it on the page for the rest of the world to read as entertainment? 'They'd never do that to one of their precious heroes!'\n\n... Would they?\n\nYou seize on that idea, glancing around for... yeah, there's one, Silverbright. That was a teen hero whose death was tragic enough that it sent ripples through both sides of the super community... these days the Slicer takes his chances on getting a much worse beating from any villain he meets than any hero, since your side doesn't hold back. Hell you're psychologically driven to take down heroes and that one turned your stomach a little. You move over to the box... there's actually a couple of them, the kid had a pretty varied career before... there, there's the last issue. You undo the bag, tossing it and the board aside as you start flipping through.\n\nYou can feel the blood drain from your face. Even though the panels are 'discretionary' like a lot of gore in comic books, just... just seeing it... but the details, the details are all there, and it's so much worse, and...\n\nYou drop the comic and turn aside, pressing the back of your hand to your mouth, trying desperately not to be sick.\n\n'No one would do this,' you think shakily, straightening up slowly once you've got yourself under control, staring down at the comic as if it might scuttle over and bite you. 'The publisher would get burned to the ground, everyone loved that kid. Hell I liked that kid. None of that was in the news, none of us even like to talk about it, how did they...'\n\nYour gaze hits boxes labeled with the name of another hero... one whose secret identity you happen to know. You rush over and start thumbing through the issues, intending to pick one at random, only to stop and pull one out. "Jesus, it's right on the cover," you hiss at the sight of the hero standing unmasked in the middle of what must be his secret lair. And it's right, how the fuck?\n\nNo. No. This can't be right.\n\nYou duck from one set of boxes to the next, finding more familiar names, skimming through them to find incidents no one should know about, or private moments that couldn't possibly have made their way back to some comic publisher you've never heard of. All of it, all of it's right, all of it's exactly what you know. Your mind reels away from some of the covers, trying to protect you, you don't even know what from, trying to protect you from-\n\n-from what you see as you turn to the next shelf. A white box, right there, at the perfect height to stare you right in the face.\n\nDefiance (v1)\n\nNo.\n\nAnd yet your hands are reaching out, taking hold of the box. Moving like you're in a dream, you sink to your knees and sit back on your heels, setting the box on the floor in front of you. You pause, just staring for a moment more, before pulling out the first issue, drawing it carefully out of its bag and board and setting it aside. You lay the comic on your lap, staring at your own face smirking back at you from the glossy paper. Then you slowly open that cover and read the first page.\n\n"... oh god..."\n\n<hr>\n[[Game over.|Def5xEnd]]

"Hello?" you call, knocking on the door of the rental cottage. "Silvia, you up?" Trying the door and finding it open, you step inside, since she did essentially tell you it was an open invitation for the rest of the vacation. "Guys?" You step into the large, mostly open living room, and then quirk an eyebrow at the person laying flopped on the couch, large, fluffy, ringed tail slowly waving back and forth over bare legs, half concealing a rather generous ass. "Hello, Roca. Still not really into the whole 'clothes' thing, I see."\n\n"Mmmm." Your sister-in-law's genemod girlfriend raises her head a bit, a darker band of skin surrounding her eyes, the round ears atop her head giving a slight twitch. "... Whatever.'\n\n"My wife will be here with our son soon, though, so y'mind?"\n\nRocanante huffs into the pillow, then pushes herself up, basketball-sized breasts hanging down below her and wobbling heavily, settling into a slightly more conical shape as she gets to her feet and wanders to the side where she apparently discarded the clothes she was earlier wearing (probably with reluctance). "Whatever. I guess," she adds, bending over and shamelessly flashing her bare pussy at you.\n\nYou roll your eyes some. After you look. Because if Ilia was here she'd look too so you may as well. Turning back to make sure she's not here yet though, you spend a moment peering down the trail before looking back to the other woman. "Where's Sil?"\n\nRoca makes a vague noise as if an actual word was too much effort and flits a hand in the general direction of the backyard door, having pulled on a long-sleeved black shirt with a cute cartoon skull on it that's loose everywhere but the chest, but not bothered to cover her lower half yet.\n\nYou scratch your cheek a little as you watch her step into a pair of denim cutoffs and haul them up. "Hey Roca. What did you do in the military?"\n\n"Mmm?" She runs her hands over her shoulder-length black hair, then gives you a solemn-faced thumbs-up. "Morale."\n\nYou open your mouth. Close it. Direct your eyes a bit downward from her face. "Right."\n\n"Yup."\n\nKai? We're almost there, is Roca dressed?\n\nShe is now, you send back as the genemod finishes buttoning her cutoffs.\n\n"Knock knock," Ilia calls aloud a moment later.\n\n"Hey! Roca!" Finn calls, green eyes alight as they do whenever he sees pretty much anyone he likes.\n\n"Yo, my dude," Roca greets, holding up a hand solemnly.\n\n"Where's my sister?" Ilia asks curiously.\n\nThis time you copy Roca's half-noise and gesture to the door even as she does it. She doesn't seem to mind, but Ilia gives you a Look. "Right, taking a walk. Well, I guess maybe I'll get started on breakfast or something."\n\n"Nah. Me," Roca says, again because 'Don't bother, I'll do it' would apparently be too much effort as she slouches towards the kitchen.\n\n"... Huh. You like to cook?" Ilia asks curiously.\n\n"Hate it. But like eating," Roca announces, giving another thumbs-up before disappearing into the kitchen.\n\n"She is so odd," Ilia mutters as she sits Finn down and helps him off with his snow boots. \n\n"I guess that's what happens when your entire personality forms in like two months or something," you comment, flopping down on the sofa. "You guys enjoy the walk over?"\n\n"Mmhmm, was nice."\n\n"It's cooooold," Finn declares, kicking his sock-clad feet a bit. "Why's it colder than Mantle even though Mantle's snowy so much?"\n\n"Because Mantle uses heaters all year 'round, dear, and it only snows really deep into winter that way," Ilia answers him. "In Patch the weather just is as you get it. It probably won't get a whole lot colder than this, though."

Screw it, you don't want to be in here all night. You spend a few moments switching the Peacekeeper over to door-breach charges, then raise it to your shoulder, briefly sighting the center of the door before giving a trio of quick squeezes. A nice near-triangile of holes appears in the stone, and then with an almost simultaneous KRAK like a giant pretzel snapping the charges in the bullets go off, shattering the stone.\n\nUnfortunately in your haste you didn't consider that the charges were really meant for metal fortifications, not particularly dense sandstone, and that your usual grouping of three shots might be slightly overkill. Because not only does the door shatter, so does the entire frame housing it, and a fair bit of the wall surrounding it. Which is apparently a load-bearing wall, because by the time you've had a heartbeat to think "oh shit" the ceiling is coming to pieces and dropping inward on you.\n\n'Well. That was a bad idea,' you think as you come to a little while later, feeling sore and very smooshed. Luckily not lethally smooshed since obviously your emergency crash field activated in time... but you are now trapped inside a whole lot of rubble. Well... if you can't reach your emergency recall beacon, which you think you can. And it wasn't damaged, which it probably wasn't. And it works through all this stone, which it probably will.\n\n... Probably.\n\nBut thinking that it might not won't do anything but make you panic and you understand that you absolutely can not panic. Your parents trained you for situations like this, so you keep your breathing as calm as you can. You have a little light, it looks like one of your floaters survived and is trapped near your head. The rock has come tumbling down above you, but there are a number of gaps in it that have fallen into shadow. Okay, so, lots of gaps, good chance your air supply isn't blocked, so no further reason to panic, right? Right.\n\n... Actually now that you think about it the biggest aggravation might be that this job now looks like a complete bust. You settle into sulking a little bit over it despite the literally more pressing problem of many tons of rock having settled on top of you. The artifact is either buried or now has all this rubble in the way of getting to it. The Peacekeeper, probably your favorite weapon, is also probably buried since you can't feel it in your hand, and that's if it's not destroyed. You'll probably have to go back to the Guildhall and give up the bounty, poorer for having taken it. Dammit.\n\nYou're just starting to resolve yourself to working your hand around to your pocket where you keep the recall beacon when you hear a soft, sweet, and slightly sibilant voice come from above you. "Oh my, you ssseem to have had sssomething of an acssident."\n\nBlinking, you look around, and soon spot something in one of the shadows in the rubble above... a pair of particularly large eyes, bright yellow with darker yellow sclera, staring down at you intently, pupils slits of darkness fit to match the shadows around them. Wow, those are... big. Swallowing a little but doing your best to hide your nervousness, you respond, "Yeah, seems that way. Did something a little stupid, y'know." Meanwhile you're starting to get your other hand closer to yourself, as much as you can manage. You still have backup weapons... if you can reach...\n\n"Oh there there, you're young yet, making a few foolisssh missstakes isss part of the procssessss," the creature answers. It sounds fairly feminine, and the voice is actually rather... sexy, if you had to say so, though admittedly the decidedly serpentine elongation of 'S' sounds is mildly troubling. Meeting a serpentine alien in the Guildhall or broad daylight on a planet might not be troubling, a particularly large one in these circumstances is a bit. "I feel a bit bad for you, honessstly. I sssuppossse I ssshould be angry about the ruined hallway, but... I never liked that corridor anyway." The statement's followed by a fairly mature-sounding giggle, before she adds, "But sssay, I don't sssuppossse you'd like to get out of there?"\n\nYou hesitate before answering, despite it being an obvious 'yes'. Apparently your hesitation is long enough that your mysterious visitor decides to continue and press the issue.\n\n"You were trying to get that lovely golden ssstatue in the nexsst room, hmm? Well I could ssstill get it for you... and I found your interesssting-looking weapon already too. Jussst sssay the word and I'll get you out of all thisss rubble. Of courssse, I would asssk a teeny, tiny favor in return. Jussst to be fair, hm?"\n\nOh. Oh well. Well it's just a mysterious voice in the darkness offering you everything you want. What could possibly go wrong? ... Okay but on the other hand seriously, if you could get out of this with both your property, job, and for a bonus your dignity intact, trading a bit of help to a local definitely wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. \n\n<hr>\n[[Agree.|LeoCat]]\n\n[[Refuse.|LeoCat]]\n\n[[Just stay silent.|LeoCat]]

"Senpai, even if it's dangerous, I want to be there with you," the holographic representation of the short-haired girl says. "I will take the chance. I am your Servant and you are my Master, my place is with you."\n\n'Kinky,' you think, but manage to keep yourself from saying, since you know she doesn't mean it like that. Fishing out the beacon with one hand, you tap your earpiece with the other. "Clover. We need to hold up the airship a little longer."\n\n"Why? What's the matter?" the head of the elite team that Ironwood's sending on the mission replies.\n\n"Ritsuka's home base finally got in touch with her and they're sending over someone else to help us, she'll be able to make this mission a lot more effective. But I need a few minutes to mod another beacon to create a portal."\n\n"... Understood. We'll hold the flight."\n\n"Mash, can you be standing in exactly the same spot that Ritsuka was within a few minutes?" you continue, not even bothering to ask and just holding out a hand, Weiss sighing and prepping another vial of Lightning Dust.\n\n"Yes, I think so. Senpai?"\n\n"I was in my room, Mash, just behind the desk chair."\n\n"Understood! On my way!"\n\n"Alright, this is just about done," you say a short time later. "You in place, Mash?"\n\n"Yes!"\n\nYou start to press the button, then pause. And lean over to Ritsuka to whisper in her ear, "What's she weigh?"\n\nRitsuka's face colors and she clears her throat... but then she leans up and whispers in your ear. You nod, take a glance around the group, parsing for who'd be least embarrassing for a teenaged girl, and, "Yang, you're up."\n\n"Huh? ... Ohhh, riiiight," the blonde says, moving over in front of you and lifting her arms some.\n\n"Hup," you call, hitting the button and tossing the beacon into the air. A portal in the same colors as the last opens, and with a very cute yelp the girl from the hologram drops out of it, now rendered in full color, her hair and eyes a pinkish-purple. She lands with only a slight shift in Yang's arms, putting her arms around the blonde's shoulders reflexively, then blinking several times.\n\n"... Ah?" she says, looking around briefly, then up at Yang before her pale cheeks color a little.\n\n"Hi, welcome to Remnant," Yang says, giving her a rakish wink. Then apparently feeling Blake's glare on her as she clears her throat. "I'm... gonna put you down now."\n\n"Ah... thank you." Mash dusts herself off and smooths out her skirt as she stands upright, before rushing over to Ritsuka. "Senpai! Thank goodness!"\n\n"Hey Mash." Ritsuka smiles fondly, reaching out a hand to briefly rub the other girl's upper arm, before nodding. "We're holding up the flight, we'll explain everything we can on the way."\n\n"So these Grimm," the very beautiful woman now being projected from Ritsuka's communicator says a bit later. "They sound similar to our Phantasmal Beasts but more... raw. Less refined. As for this Salem, well, we are aware of certain kinds of immortals, but nothing like her. This is most fascinating. Ritsuka, make sure and bring back plenty of this 'Dust', alright? I need to compare its potency to Saint Quartz."\n\n"It's pretty potent for sure, I think I could have done a basic summoning with just this fragment that Kai gave me," Ritsuka replies, holding up the two-knuckles size Gravity Dust crystal from before.\n\n"That's almost a three-to-one ratio then, or better. They're right, then, if this 'Dust' forms at leyline convergences you should be able to do a number of summonings. But be careful... you're not rayshifted, that means your connection to Chaldea is weak. We don't have to constantly verify your existence, I looks like, but you may not be able to power as many Servants as normal. You might be able to temporarily call one of your own forth for a short time, but as to forming a contract with others..."\n\n"I think there might be a way to solve that issue, though," Mash speaks up. She pauses, and glances around. "I think most of these people have the potential to be Masters, Da Vinci."\n\n"Ohhhh? Here, let me have a look at them. How about the cute girl in the combat loligoth clothes?"\n\n"Um... yes'm?" Ruby says, stepping closer.\n\n"Hmmmm.... I think you're right, Mash. The readings are a little weak from the distance, but if you're saying everyone has an energy signature like this, then they could probably very easily form contracts with Servants. Since they're locals to their world, it would be much easier for them to access Remnant's Throne of Heroes, too, assuming it has one."\n\n"So you're saying we'd summon these 'Heroic Spirits', not Ritsuka?" Weiss speaks up.\n\n"I wouldn't suggest going for all seven classes or anything, but I'd say at least four of you should try. You all seem to have a lot of spiritual energy, so you should be able to sustain very strong Servants, which you're likely to get inside this 'Dust mine'. Servants have a higher existence than mortals, so it's quite possible they might be able to inflict damage on this 'Salem' where normal people and forces could not." Da Vinci pauses, then adds, "There is one drawback to consider."\n\n"Oh, good, I was waiting for that other shoe to drop," Qrow rasps with a sigh. "Well, c'mon, hit us with it."\n\n"If your world's Throne of Heroes has never been accessed this way before, doing so might... well, wake it up! And if your world truly is at risk of being destroyed, that means the Throne may start creating what's called 'Rogue Servants'... Servants without a master, who act on their own initiative."\n\n"Sooooo that's... good, right?" Yang speaks up. "Ritsuka said when she was telling us about this stuff that Servants are a sort of defense mechanism for the world, like an immune system or something. Wouldn't that mean that we'd have more allies, just ones we didn't count on?"\n\n"Possibly. The issue with Rogue Servants is that they have their own methods and means of carrying out their supposed task... and some are capable of overriding that will entirely, either through a deliberate choice of misinterpretation, or just ignoring their drive to protect humanity. Too, there's the fact that by bringing Ritsuka and now Mash to Remnant, Earth and Remnant's fates have become intertwined, linked. The Rogue Servants could come from our history, not yours."\n\n"Which means," Mash speaks up with a frown. "They would be free to do as they please, since even if humanity on Remnant is destroyed-"\n\n"-humanity on Earth carries on just fine. An Earth history Servant would have no loyalty or obligation to save the humanity on Remnant, nor I suppose vice versa. We'll have to be extra cautious from now on."\n\n"What's done is done," Ritsuka says before anyone can get any more downcast from apparently having spawned or being about to spawn a new threat. "Hopefully once Salem is defeated, the Throne of... let's call it the Throne of Remnant to make it distinct... will consider the danger passed, and any Servants summoned to face her will return to it, whether they're summoned or rogue."\n\n"That does seem the most likely possibility. Catastrophic threats to humanity, like Holy Grail Wars, usually release their connected Servants when resolved."\n\n"And don't forget, Jinn said that Ritsuka is the key to us defeating Salem, so that almost certainly means summoning these Servants. We'll just have to hope any side consequences aren't too bad," you add.\n\nAbout then Harriet strolls in, the Ace Operative in her white uniform, fauxhawk fluttering a little under the air from one of the vents. "Alright, people, Atlas Huntsmen have cleared the area around the mine. Normally we'd do an aerial deployment but since we have non-Huntsmen with us we're going to go ahead and make a landing." She glances at Ritsuka and Mash. "Watch your step, the ship's a little big for the landing pad so it probably won't be a neat matchup coming off the ramp."\n\n"I'll deal, we've had longer drops than off a ramp before," Ritsuka notes wryly.\n\n"We're gonna go ahead and aerial drop though," Harriet comments to the rest of you. "Hopefully by the time you make your way to the main chamber we'll have already taken out the Geist and cleared the area for your ritual thingy," she adds before turning and walking back out.\n\n"Oh, hey, Ritsuka, before we land, here," you note, pulling a holstered Atlas Dust pistol out of your pocket and proffering it. "Bad idea for anyone to go unarmed on Remnant. At the very least if a Grimm tries to jump you when you get separated, we'll hear the shots and come running."\n\n"Huh. For some reason I feel like a lot of people have been waiting awhile for this," she comments as she pulls up her skirt a bit on one side to strap the holster to her thigh.\n\nBy the time you descend the ramp with everyone else, you can just catch the Ace Ops disappearing into various tunnels on the mountain. "Okay, guys, our primary goal is to safeguard Ritsuka and MaAA!" you yelp, giving a little jump as Mash's clothes glow and flicker, briefly turning to shining motes before reforming as something that looks like nothing so much as a relatively modest one-piece swimsuit fitted with armor around the collar, middle, and hips, as well as armored thighboots, and a truly massive shield shaped like a cross layered over a shallow dome. "... Holy hell, girl, give some warning before you go all Magical Girl Pretty Badass on us."\n\n"Eh? Oh, I'm sorry, but... ... eh?" Mash murmurs, blushing a bit again, blinking her now uncovered eyes a few times. "M-Magical Girl P-P-Pretty Badass?!"\n\n"Where is the lie?" Yang comments, looking Mash up and down, then jumping a little as Blake whaps her on the arm. "Am I wrong?!"\n\n"Ah, guess I forgot to mention, Mash is what's called a 'Demi-Servant'... a living person who's been empowered by a Heroic Spirit," Ritsuka says with a laugh. "Specifically, Mash is empowered by Galahad, he's... well, he's a big deal back on Earth, anyway. I've definitely got to tell you guys about the Knights of the Round Table sometime before I leave." As she starts towards the man tunnel along with the rest of you, she says, "Led by King Arthur... Artoria, really... they were a group of the most noble, righteous, and powerful warriors ever assembled from across an entire continent. ... But, well, they all have their foibles too," she says dryly.\n\n"King Arthur?" Blake's ears twitch. "Huh. That sounds an awful lot like our story of King Auric and the Knights of Remnant."\n\n"Oh? You have a story like that? That's interesting, I wonder if-" Then Ritsuka pauses, turning as Mash falls back a little.\n\n"Amitola-san? Are you alright?" the pink-haired girl is asking Ilia worriedly. "You look a bit upset."\n\n"... It's fine," Ilia says with a shake of the head. "I um... I just realized this Dust Mine is... where..." She trails off, shaking her head.\n\nAt nearly the same moment Blake and you suck in a breath. "Oh Ilia," Blake murmurs, quickly crossing to her and wrapping an arm around the younger Faunus's shoulders.\n\n"... Ilia's parents died when this mine collapsed," you say after a moment, glancing at the name of the Schnee Dust Company etched on the wall.\n\nWeiss's expression crumples as she follows your gaze, then looks back to the younger woman. "Oh Ilia, I'm so sorry."\n\nIlia's quiet for a moment, then shakes her head. "It's not your fault, Weiss. You didn't make any of the decisions that caused it. ... I'm way past being angry at anyone who's just named Schnee. Or... y'know. I'll deal with it."\n\nRitsuka nods slowly, then as the group starts moving again pipes up, "Blake, you were saying?"\n\n"What? ... Oh, um..." Blake glances aside at Ilia, then seems to pick up that a distraction is being called for. "King Auric Brucheverne of Vale invited all of the greatest warriors of Remnant to assemble under his banner. Warriors of every culture traveled long distances, proving themselves by fighting Grimm all the way, many of them traveling by foot in a day where intercontinental travel on Remnant just wasn't done. Supposedly one warrior came all the way from Vacuo, in the days when it wasn't a desert but was still a massive place with extremely dangerous wildlife."\n\n"Oh, yeah, everyone knows this story, pretty much," Jaune pipes up. "King Auric's Knights of Remnant went around, fighting Grimm, saving people, killing bandits, they made Sanus the safest continent on the planet, y'know, outside of Vacuo which basically can't be."\n\n"And then it all came crashing down because of one wannabe knight that led them all on a quest against the Doom of Amargosa Valley trying to prove himself worthy to be knighted despite not having any lineage," Yang adds with a snort. "Auric became the last King of Vale as his whole family line fell apart after the Knights were killed fighting the Doom. Good thing it disappeared too, not too long after."\n\n"How interesting, that does have several parallels with the story of King Arthur," Mash notes. "I wonder if there's some sort of... parallel mythology at work here?"\n\n"Yeah well we'll have to save the metaphysical musings for later," you comment as you draw up, noting that the path ahead is blocked by a massive boulder. "Right now we have to figure out how to get past this."\n\n"I think Harriet went through here," Ren notes after a brief bit of searching, the sheer number of you meaning it doesn't take too long. "The tunnel seems fairly small, I don't think some of us could fit through it." \n\n"I'll go," Reese speaks up, already trotting forward. "If it's clear on the other side, I'll radio back."\n\n"I could-!" Ilia starts to say... before letting out a huff and actually smiling a little as she shakes her head. "... It's fine, go ahead Reese."\n\nGrinning, the green-haired Huntress slips through the gap and slides along. After a few moments she comms back, "All clear. There's holes in the walls and floor that look like they might have been Grimm, but I guess Harriet cleared them out. It's clear behind the boulder, so we should be good to just blast it out of the way."\n\n"I'll handle it," Mash says agreeably, stepping up. "Chloris-san, please move out of the way!" she calls loudly.\n\n"Uh, what exactly are you going to do with a-" Yang starts.\n\n"HwaaAAAA!" Mash launches herself forward, slamming the front of her shield into the stone, instantly shattering it into rubble that flies forward and rains down. She blinks a few times at the pattering clink of pieces of it raining down on her shield as she surveys the results. "Oh! I think I hit it a little harder than I meant to. Are you alright, Chloris-san?!"\n\n"I'm good." Reese sticks a thumb out from behind a large piece of rock jutting from the wall. "Think I maybe peed a little but I'm good."\n\n"... shield," Yang finally completes, jaw slack.\n\nJaune's jaw is almost on his chest, wobbling a little as he looks from Mash to his own shield and back.\n\n"Yeaaaah you're gonna need a lot of practice buddy," Nora assures him, patting him on the back.\n\n"Let's pick up the pace, guys, we're all falling pretty well behind," you note, urging everyone on. \n\nIn fact as you emerge into the main chamber, it's just in time to see Clover Ebi using his fishing rod-style weapon to yank the Geist free of the massive cobbled-together body it's created for itself, Harriet leaping into the air to smash her fist into its mask to finish it off. But as it topples, something comes flying free... a flickering, orangey-purple crystal that looks distinctly like it might go 'boom' if it hits the floor. Which would probably set off the veritable rainbow of other Dust deposits covering almost every surface in the cavern. "Harriet!" Clover snaps, but from this angle it's obvious that she'll never make it.\n\n"IGOTIT!" Ruby squeaks, launching herself forward and twisting into her Semblance, a rush of red cape and rose petals that snatches the crystal out of the air and arcs upward to bleed off momentum, before she yelps and drops to the floor as herself again, cradling the head-sized Dust crystal.\n\n"Whew," you declare, grinning as you walk over and haul her to her feet, leaning down to kiss the top of her head. "Good job, babe."\n\n"Heheh, you can give me more of those if y'want~."\n\nNot in front of the dogs of the military, dear, you send teasingly as Harriet comes over to relieve her of the Dust crystal. \n\n"That wasn't any ordinary speed Semblance... you've got something really interesting going on there, kid," Harriet comments, which seems to both confuse and delight Ruby. "I'd be happy to explore it with you sometime."\n\n'No. Mine,' you think, narrowing your eyes at Harriet and resisting the urge to hug Ruby against your side. Instead you let her go to trot ahead as you and the rest make your way forward, the Ace Ops spreading out to secure the rest of the cavern. \n\n"C'mon, guys, let's push this out of the way!" Ruby calls, ever the leader, the first one to get up against the large former main body of the Geist and give it an ineffective push with a squeaky little grunt, Qrow chuckling as he draws in to help. Just then, a layer of ice on the edge of the boulder crumbles and it thuds downward, a Dust crystal the size of three fingers that had previously been hidden high on its rise dropping free and twirling to the floor in front of Qrow, then bouncing towards Ruby as it starts to crack and flicker.\n\nTink. Tink.\n\nYou don't remember throwing yourself forward, you just remember the explosion hitting you, knocking you backwards with the force of it, slamming you against the side of the minecart and dropping you to the ground.\n\n"KAI!" Ruby screams in terror, rushing to your side. "Just hold on, Kai, it'll be okay, it'll be... okay?" She blinks a few times as she gently pats at your front. "You're... completely fine?" she murmurs, sounding utterly confused.\n\n"Whew. I didn't think I was going to make it in time," Mash murmurs, the edge of her shield having left a few cracks in the floor from slamming it into place briefly. "Are you alright, Sterling-san?"\n\n"Uh, yeah. Somehow," you answer, Ruby helping you to your feet, though you feel more like you tripped and fell than just had a large piece of Dust go off underneath you. \n\n"Heroic Spirits have certain abilities tied to their nature and legend. Since Mash is a special class called 'Shielder', almost all of hers are about protecting other people from harm," Ritsuka says as she walks over, apparently wanting to assure herself you're unharmed as well. "She can make someone invulnerable for a few seconds, but only every so often. Looks like she saw you make that jump just in time."\n\n"Kai!" Ilia calls, rushing over to hug you. \n\n"Gutsy move, kid," Clover says as the Ace Ops finish moving back in as well. "Throwing yourself on a Dust crystal like that, especially if you didn't know what your friend could do ahead of time. Either way, you saved all our lives just now, and the mission. Good job, we're lucky to have you."\n\n"Yeah... luck," you hear Qrow mutter rather miserably to himself.\n\n'Time for a talk,' you think to yourself, though taking more of a moment to comfort your smols than anything. "Thanks, Mash, I owe you."\n\n"Please think nothing of it."\n\n"It's my life, which I've recently learned to cherish a lot more, I kind of have to think something of it," you reply wryly.\n\n"... I understand. What I mean is, please do not think I would not do it for you again on a moment's notice," Mash replies with a bob of the head. "Your life is worth cherishing, Sterling-san. As is everyone's. I will not let anyone die if I can help it."\n\nYou look at her for a moment, then lower your head and let out a soft, short laugh. "God you two are so perfect for each other."\n\n"Eh?!" Mash and Ritsuka both blurt, both getting nearly identical blushes.\n\nOnce the Grimm's remains have been cleared away (more carefully this time), Mash begins etching an elaborate circle on the floor with what looks like some sort of metallic chalk, with various people trying not to stare at her very shapely rear sticking up in the air as she bends over to do so. (Or at least not be noticed staring. Control the specks, Ilia.) "Hey, Ritsuka, what's up?" you ask, trying to distract yourself a bit too because good lord that girl has a nice ass and it is shown off very clearly by what she's wearing.\n\n"Mm. I'm trying to figure out the right... words," Ritsuka mutters in reply, stopping. "I'm not a very good Mage but summoning Servants is like the one thing I'm pretty great at. And it doesn't feel like the summoning incantation I use is quite... right, for Remnant. I'm turning it over in my head seeing if anything comes to me. Maybe I just need to relax," she adds with a sigh.\n\n"Um, sooooo... can anyone become on of these Heroic Spirits and get summoned?" Ruby pipes up curiously. "I mean, as long as they were a hero, or well-known, or something?"\n\n"Usually the fame or infamy is necessary. There are a few exceptions, but..." Ritsuka pauses, a look of regret coming over her face, obviously realizing she's about to dash some hope Ruby has. "And normally the person has to have been dead for at least a century."\n\n"Oh," Ruby says softly, biting her lip and looking down. \n\n"That's pretty much the way it works. The Throne of Remnant could be different, but... I kind of doubt it." Ritsuka crosses to her and rubs her shoulder gently. "Sorry. But I definitely think you should be a Master, Ruby, and summon a Servant."\n\n"Yeah?" she says a little wanly, smiling up at Ritsuka nevertheless.\n\n"Yup! Since I don't think we have any particularly good catalysts, a lot of time what happens in a non-Chaldean summoning like this is that you get a Servant that is in some way a reflection of yourself. That they resemble you in some way, kind of like they share some intrinsic trait. So... you may not summon who you're missing... but you may summon someone who can understand you better than most."\n\n"... Okay." Ruby nods once, expression firming. "I'll give it a shot."\n\n"Yeah but not as the first person, this is untested so I should go first," you speak up.\n\n"Ah-ah, sorry, Kai, you already threw yourself on one explosion today," Yang notes as she steps forward. "Besides, you're not actually from Remnant. If this works better when we use someone from Remnant, I should go... I'm the most durable."\n\n"Yang," Blake whispers, but nods as the blonde glances at her. "Okay, just be careful."\n\n"The circle is ready, Senpai, everyone," Mash announces as she straightens up. "We're ready to begin the summoning."\n\n"I'll monitor things from here as well as I'm able," Da Vinci adds from Ritsuka's comm. "Quite likely the very first summoning of Servants in a different world's history... heh heh heh, and the Association will have to beg me if they want recordings!"\n\nTossing the comm a wry look, Yang then raises her head to Ritsuka's face. "Alright, so what do I do?"\n\n"Stand with your hands pointed at the circle," Ritsuka instructs. "Get your feet in a comfortable position but stand tall. Alright, now I want you to picture the energy flowing through you, you guys should be good at that. Picture it flowing from the area surrounding you, through you, and out of your hands into the circle," she continues as Yang closes her eyes. "Picture the energy flowing along the lines of the summoning circle... you should be able to see it in your mind even if you're not looking at it. And... I think... say the words that come into your mind," she adds thoughtfully. "Don't hold them back, just say what comes naturally."\n\nYang nods her shaggy blonde head a little, her hands, flesh-and-blood and gold-and-steel alike, starting to flicker with yellow light. You can see the spell circle on the floor begin to glow as well, and watch as Yang's jaw tightens, the Aura around her hands growing brighter, her body starting to tremble.\n\n"Her blood pressure's spiking," Da Vinci reports, normally glib voice sounding serious. "Heart rate's increasing, and the energy flow between her and the circle is getting greater. I think it's the fact that it's the first summoning, it might be too much for her to survive!"\n\n"YANG!" Ruby and Blake both cry.\n\n"I... can... do it," Yang grits out between her teeth, even as her left arm trembles, her hair flickering with golden fire as the glow of the spell circle builds greater. You can see the pain etched in every part of her body, her throat tightening with the urge to scream as she holds on to the feeling of channeling energy into the summoning.\n\n"Her heart rate's dangerously high! Yang, it has to be now or never!" Da Vinci's voice calls desperately.\n\n"Nnnnnrahhh!" Yang gives one last push, literally leaning into the energy around her hands, and you watch as with an almost snap, the flickering yellow light around her left hand shifts into glowing blue circuitry-like lines over her skin. Her glowing red eyes fly open, her voice filling the entire cavern with a resonance that feels like it passes through everyone's body down to the core.\n\n"My blood is our pact, my soul is your blade, your legend is my weapon. Descend from the pages of history to stand for us now, Hero of Remnant, to stand and be counted once more, to shine your light against the darkness and show that no soul born of this world will go quietly into the void."\n\nA towering pillar of light bursts forth from the circle, almost reaching to the ceiling as it pulses and shimmers, almost breathing like a thing alive as flickers of golden light swirl around the base of it. Then there's a bright flash, the simple luminence of it almost enough to send everyone staggering back, everyone's retinas taking a moment to return to normal, but as they do revealing a slender, youthful figure, probably a bit younger than Ruby and Ilia as she turns towards all of you, a sunny smile on her face, blonde ponytail and the long falls on either side of her face flitting with the motion, blue eyes sparkling. Her body is slim, clothing rather plain and obviously archaic, a simple mid-thigh-length dress of thick, inexpensive white and green cloth with short sleeves, plain brown leather gloves on her hands and simple folded-top brown leather boots on her feet, the sword sheathed at her side only slightly more elaborate than the rest of her garb.\n\n<img src="images/ErinLeaf.jpg">\n\n"Your blood is our bond, your soul is my blade, my legend is your weapon! I have descended from the pages of history to stand against darkness and shine the light of our world once again! Servant, Saber! Are you my master?" she asks Yang in an almost delighted voice, bright blue eyes sparkling.\n\n"I... y-yeah," Yang almost breathes, the golden fire in her hair gradually dying and her eyes shading back to purple. "I... did it." She blinks, then lowers her jacket a bit, showing off her bare shoulder, where a simple three-part red tattoo has appeared, a simple sword with two flamelike shapes on either side of its blade.\n\n"Nice to meet you, Saber," Ritsuka says warmly.\n\n"Oooo, of course the first summoning is a Saber!" Da Vinci chirps happily. "That's an auspicious beginning, Saber is considered the most powerful class! Yang, ask her what her True Name is!"\n\n"Huh? O-oh, right, they go by their class but that's not their actual name," Yang says, giving the girl a smile as she steps out of the circle, a hand resting on the butt of her sword. "Saber, what's your True Name? It's okay to tell us, we're all friends here."\n\n"Oh. Um." Saber's smile ramps down a little, becoming more strained as she gives a nod. "Yes, Master. Well, my True Name is..." She takes a deep breath, then lets it out and says, "Erin Leaf."\n\nYang's eyes widen, and almost reflexively she takes a step back. "Wait, what?! But you're a... you... you're Erin Leaf?! ... God DAMMIT!" she shouts, actually stamping a foot and whirling away, Saber wincing and hanging her head a little.\n\n"Yang!" Blake hisses.\n\n"Don't 'Yang' me, I summoned the goddamned Shame of Vale!" the purple-eyed woman snaps back, stabbing a finger towards the Servant. "That's the Servant that's most reflective of me?!"\n\n"Hey."\n\nYang actually jerks a little at the sheer ice in Ritsuka's voice, turning to look at the ginger woman as she steps forward, face a mask of cold fury as she fearlessly looks up at the big blonde that could fold her in half.\n\n"Do not. Talk about her. Like that."\n\nYang grits her teeth, looking like she's about to snap something back, then looks over at Erin again... and you can see her wince a little at the sheer misery written in the Servant's body language. Something like regret flickers across her gaze, but there's still anger there. "... But I-"\n\n"I told you. I told all of you. Every Servant needs understanding, not to be blamed for what they did in life. And while she is a reflection of her legend, that is not everything that she is," Ritsuka adds firmly. "Don't treat her like that. Ever."\n\nYou can see Yang's having difficulty with it, shaking her head a little... then she sighs, nodding. "Okay, fine. I guess I... overreacted. Er-... Saber, c'mere," Yang beckons, the Servant smiling halfheartedly as she trots over to her new Master. "I... shouldn't have yelled, or... said that. I'm sorry. Let's, um... let's work hard together to save everybody, okay?" she says, offering a hand.\n\n"Yes, my Master," Saber replies softly, taking the hand and shaking it.\n\nRitsuka sighs, giving you a glance that says 'At least it's a start', before nodding. "Okay, Da Vinci's right, a Saber right from the start is a good sign. And to judge from that gold color during the summoning, she's a pretty powerful one too. Let's hope we keep getting strong ones like Saber."\n\n"It's not going to be that rough for everyone though, is it?" you speak up. "From what Da Vinci was saying, Yang almost died."\n\n"It shouldn't be. The Throne of Remnant had clearly never been accessed before. It probably didn't even have a proper summoning incantation... but now that Yang's made the connection and established the ritual words, the next summonings should be much easier," Da Vinci pops up.\n\n"Okay, who's next then?"\n\n"Just to make sure it's safe, I think I should try," Jaune speaks up, raising his hand.\n\n"Alright. Jaune, step up, follow the same instructions I gave Yang, but just go ahead and say the words she spoke as you're concentrating. And everyone, this time, stay calm," Ritsuka urges. "The Throne's idea of a Hero is different than what you may be thinking, remember... any great and significant figure can be included, but if they're answering this summon, it means they're willing to fight for your world against the destruction coming for it. So focus on that, okay?"\n\n"Right," Jaune answers with a nod. He raises his hands, hesitates... you wonder if he's worried about having an experience like Yang's, summoning some figure of history that doesn't exactly cast him in a flattering light if it's in some way a reflection of him. But he brings them up nevertheless, Aura starting to shimmer around his hands as he concentrates. "... My blood is our pact. My soul is your blade. Your legend is my weapon." He takes a deep breath as the glow of his Aura snaps down into those circuitry lines glowing brightly from beneath his sleeves. "Descend from the pages of history to stand for us now, Hero of Remnant, to stand and be counted once more, to shine your light against the darkness and show that no soul born of this world will go quietly into the void!"\n\nOnce again a bright column of light fires upward, a flash and flicker of gold surrounding the base of it, though this time most of you have time to shield your eyes or turn your heads away. But this time what fills the room even before the light fades is... laughter.\n\nSweet, melodious, absolutely insane laughter.\n\nThe tall, stick-thin woman in the center of the circle flings a hand holding a scalpel forward dramatically as the light fades, what looks a lot like blood flinging away from it and dripping from the edge, turning into glittering red sand as it falls away from her, long blonde hair in its pair of ponytails still in motion, the cross around her neck (worn upright unlike Qrow and Ruby's) flung upward, her nun-like clothing flapping in motion. Her other hand holds what looks a lot like a grape-flavored sucker, still gleaming as if freshly popped from her mouth, a smile that's simply not right on her lips, her eyes somehow both dull and alight.\n\n<img src="images/AkelDama.png">\n\n"Your blood is our bond, your soul is my blade, my legend is your weapon! I descend from the pages of history to stand against darkness and shine the light of our world once again! Servant, Assassin! Praise the God of Dust and Resurrection!"\n\n"Jesus, Arc, you summoned the Blood Dust Slayer," Grey whispers, his fingers twitching in apparent desire to deploy his weapon and barely restraining himself. The utter fear you can feel running through all of the Remnant locals in the room is palpable, even the Ace Ops at the edges of the room look like they're caught between wanting to rush in and step back.\n\n"Uh... I... uh..." Jaune is staring at Assassin as she saunters towards him, that not-quite-right smile still on her face. "Um, your True Name, it's... Akel Dama?"\n\n"Yes, certainly!" she chirps, an off-key lilt in her voice. "You're a bright one, Master, I like that! Sucker?" she adds, plucking a wrapped candy from beneath the flap of her habit.\n\n"Oh. ... Thanks," he says a bit lamely, taking it and looking at it as if unsure of what to do. "And, um... thank you. For answering the summon I mean," he adds, obviously still a little afraid of what's apparently an infamous serial killer, but also pushing sincerity into his words. "It means you want to help us, right?"\n\n"Of course, Master! The God of Dust and Resurrection stands tall and shines bright for all of Remnant! I would never shame Him by failing to answer a call to save our world!" Assassin replies happily, straightening up. "And my legend is strong, Master," she adds, something flashing in those dead-bright eyes as she straightens up, smile growing larger and a bit more disturbing, before she turns it on Saber, letting it grow more sly. "Not like that one, who is drawing most of her power from her class. Hers is a legend of failure, after all."\n\n"Hey," Yang says rather defensively, the fear and shock melting away into a scowl as she half-steps between the pained-looking girl and the smirking madwoman.\n\n"Ah, apologies, Master's friend! I shouldn't say such things to an ally, they just... come into my head sometimes!" Assassin declares breezily, smile settling into her usual one as she drifts to the side, giving the nervous-looking Ren and Nora a little wave. "I'll be good~."\n\n"Kinda not off to the most auspicious trend here, Ritsuka," you mutter to her under your voice.\n\n"Strong Servants are strong Servants," she murmurs back. "If Yang and Jaune handle them well, it doesn't matter what history thinks of them, they'll still be heroes and still fight to save everyone. Alright, Ruby, let's save you for last since I've got a good feeling, who's next?" she says at normal volume.\n\n"I'll go," Ilia says as she steps up.\n\nYou suppress a wince. Rainbow, you're sure? After all, both Yang and Jaune still look like they're desperately turning it over in their heads trying to figure out what who they summoned says about them. Ilia's already gone through so much in the last few months trying to come to grips with who she is now.\n\nI'm sure. I know why you're worried... and that's why I need to do this. I... need to see what Remnant thinks of me, I guess.\n\nIlia takes a deep breath as she steps up to the circle, lifting her hands. "My blood is our pact, my soul is your blade, your legend is my weapon. Descend from the pages of history to stand for us now, Hero of Remnant, to stand and be counted once more, to shine your light against the darkness and show that no soul born of this world will go quietly into the void," she intones as her Aura becomes glittering iridescent lines across her skin, Ritsuka and Mash both starting a little at the apparent difference from the other two.\n\nJust like before, there's a swirl of gold and a towering pillar of light, shading down to reveal a solemn man standing tall, long purplish hair matching his canine ears and tail, one side of his face and his bare shoulder marked by tattoos, his clothing an archaic version of what you assume is the Mistralian style with a tight black shirt, short white vest trimmed with purple, and open-hipped baggy white leggings over more fitting black pants, a bow almost as long as he is tall held lightly at one side.\n\n<img src="images/Firio.jpg">\n\n"Your blood is our bond, your soul is my blade, my legend is your weapon. I descend from the pages of history, to stand against darkness and shine the light of our world once again. Servant, Archer. I shall bear the wounds our enemy would inflict on you, Master."\n\n"W-whoa," Ilia murmurs, eyes widening. "You, uh... you don't need to do that, though, Archer!" she hurries to add. \n\nArcher smiles... just the tiniest bit. "Yes, I do, my Master. And I will without fail or hesitation."\n\n"Your... True Name," Blake speaks up. "Is it... Firio?"\n\n"Yes," Archer answers simply with another nod, stepping out of the summoning circle, Ilia looking a bit like she's been thumped with a blackjack at the confirmation.\n\n"I'm... not familiar with his story, I'm sorry Blake," Ruby admits after a second. "Is he a Faunus hero?"\n\n"More of a... martyr," Blake admits, giving Archer an apologetic look as she says it, her ears folded down. "It's not your fault you haven't heard it, neither humans nor Faunus really like to talk about his story. But it's still in books of our collected history, and my parents read to me from those often. He..." She shifts in place a little, more directly addressing Firio. "You... were a hunter in an old city in Anima, before the current kingdoms. Every time a Faunus was accused of some crime like stealing, or striking someone, you confessed to the crime instead, even if everyone knew you hadn't done it. You took... beatings, and prison stays, and... worse... because you were too valuable as a hunter for them to kill, which you knew didn't apply to the other Faunus whose crimes you confessed to."\n\n"It kept the peace," Archer answers simply. "A bit of pain, a few days in a cell, and life was able to continue on, for everyone. I considered it a small price to pay."\n\nRainbow?\n\nI'm... okay. I... I'm not sure what this says, but it's... nowhere near as bad as I feared. ... Of Faunus figures of history and legend, it could have been way, way worse, trust me, Ilia sends back, managing a smile and actually taking Archer's hand, the tall man looking a little surprised, but giving that small smile again as he firms up his grip on hers.\n\n"Alright, Ruby, swing for the fences," Ritsuka said with a smile.\n\n"Okay. Um... by the way, you said it works better if you have like... a 'catalyst', right? Something to offer?" Ruby reached down to unclip the silver rose emblem from her belt. "I'm not sure how old this is, but it's important to me, so-"\n\nYou step forward, gently curling your hand over hers. "Ruby," you murmur. "You're not gonna summon her."\n\n"... I still wanna use it," Ruby replies softly, tugging her hand away from yours.\n\n"It... might get used up in the summon, is that really okay?" Ritsuka asks, but at Ruby's nod accepts it and moves it to place it in the center of the circle before stepping back. "Okay, give it a try." \n\nRuby steps up to the circle, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath as she raises her hands, bright red Aura already starting to flicker around her hands. "My blood is our pact, my soul is your blade, your legend is my weapon!" As she speaks, the lines of the spell circle start to glow brighter and brighter, actually looking like they're pulsing a little, three slender lines of energy already forming in the air circling above it. "Descend from the pages of history to stand for us now, Hero of Remnant, to stand and be counted once more, to shine your light against the darkness and show that no soul born of this world will go quietly into the void!"\n\n[[Music|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqqhuZd8IXU]]\n\nWhen the Aura around her hands snaps to her skin, it glows not blue, but blazes bright gold, Ruby's eyes snapping open and blazing with silver light as her voice deepens, rising to a thunderous roar that fills the entire mine as the luminence explodes upward, actually crashing into the ceiling and splashing across it like liquid, setting every Dust crystal in the place blazing with its own light, what looks like prismatic phoenix feathers flinging forth from the base of it and skittering off into nothingness.\n\n"COME FORTH, FIRST OF MY LINE! COME FORTH, AWAKENER OF SOULS! THE DARKNESS HAS DEEPENED TOO LONG AND THE DAWN IS CALLED UPON! RISE AND RISE AGAIN, CHILD OF MANY, MOTHER TO ALL OF US, AND TAKE BACK THE NIGHT FROM THOSE WHO WOULD STEAL OUR LIVES!"\n\nRather than simply break, the pillar of light rushes outward, washing over everyone, mortals and Servants alike instinctively throwing up their hands to shield themselves against the rush of warmth and energy that crackles along their skin like a full-body static shock. And left kneeling in the circle is a figure in black, one fist braced forward and head lowered, thick, plaited hair colored black with something hard and glistening, the ends of it dipped red with what might be blood, her garb that of an ancient dweller of the woods, leather sewn together and overlapped for function over form, a pair of artfully-chipped stone axes sheathed at her belt, which is now clipped with Ruby's emblem.\n\n"The last calls to the first, and the first has heeded the call," the Servant says in an even, rich voice, like a powerful river over smooth stones. "I rise again at the deepest night, when all shields may shatter and all warriors may die. The beginning appears again at the end, that we may all hold our torches high against the dark." \n\nShe pushes on her fist, rising to her feet and raising her head, and every single eye in the room widens... because other than Ritsuka and Mash, every single person in the room has seen this woman. Her rich brown skin, the Beowolf tattoos etched on her face, the silver eyes that gaze forth as if having never known doubt or fear, and the wolfish grin that curls her lips.\n\n"Servant, Rider. You are all links in the chain that begins with me... and I will fight for you."\n\n"The... First Huntress," Weiss whispers, hands covering her mouth.\n\n"The first human to kill an Elder Grimm... the first human to awaken another's Aura," Blake adds, looking a little like she might hyperventilate.\n\n"Wow," Ruby whispers as the tall woman strides over to stand in front of her. "Um... hi," she manages after a moment, lifting her hand, smiling almost sheepishly.\n\n"Hello again," Rider says warmly, raising a hand to brush it along Ruby's cheek, the younger silver-eyed woman jumping just a little in surprise. "It's been some time, my friend."\n\n"Um... I'm sorry?" Ruby tilts her head in confusion.\n\n"Oh... nothing. Perhaps I got a little caught up remembering something else." Chuckling, Rider drops her hand. "Don't pay me any mind, Master."\n\n"O-okay. Um... wow. So what's... what's your name?!" Ruby asks, eyes glittering brightly, obviously starting to be drawn back into the excitement of meeting Remnant's Hero of Heroes.\n\n"I'll keep it to myself, if you don't mind, Master," Rider answers, her own silver eyes twinkling a bit at Ruby's obvious disappointment. "Sorry, but with the foe we face, it's better if my True Name is held back for awhile. Among all of those you've brought forth, my name might give Salem the most power over me were she to learn it ahead of time."\n\n"Then you're aware of who you've been brought here to fight?" Ritsuka asks.\n\n"I certainly am." Rider glances aside. "Saber? Assassin? Archer?"\n\n"Um, the witch Salem, right?" Saber speaks up. "The one who... the one who probably created the Doom."\n\n"The enemy of the God, yes," Akel murmurs, twirling her scalpel about in her fingers at a near-blur.\n\n"It seems our Spirit Origins understand why we've been brought here... Remnant has no Holy Grail as yet, so the only way we could be spawned is due to a threat to humanity," Archer confirms... before bobbing his head a bit, his ears flicking. "As a general term, obviously."\n\n"Veeeery interesting," Da Vinci speaks up from the comm. "Also truly amazing. Let's see, let's see, if you wouldn't mind, could all of you Servants come over here, please? I'd really love to try to get some readings on you, and it might be helpful to your Masters as well!"\n\nEach giving a glance and receiving a nod, the four walk over to stand in front of Ritsuka, who lifts her wrist to let Da Vinci have better focus.\n\n"Hm hm hm hm... they all have very strong Spirit Origins, that's for sure. Truly Remnant is a place of legends. Though with untrained Masters, that may be why some of them aren't quite as powerful as they could be. If I had to give them a rating, hm... Saber, Assassin, Archer, you are all... four stars!" she chirps, holding up four fingers. "But very strong for that, your abilities are top notch for that rating, I'd say you'd each be equivalent to a much more powerful Servant one-on-one in almost any situation. As for Rider... my my, this is amazing. You're five stars very easily, even though your class synergy is bad!"\n\n"Class synergy?" Ruby asks with a blink.\n\n"Some Heroic Spirits can be summoned as multiple classes," Mash speaks up. "But they fit better into some of those classes than others."\n\n"Let's take Yang here as an example," Ritsuka adds, gesturing to the purple-eyed woman with her free hand. "Her Semblance thing makes a very strong impression of her anger and power, so if she were going to be summoned as a Servant, she'd have the highest class synergy with Berserker. But you also told me you love to ride your motorcycle, and you're kind of known for that too, but you're not as known for it, so-"\n\n"So I could be a Rider too, but since that doesn't stick out as much I wouldn't be as strong as a Rider, I think I get it," Yang picks up, nodding.\n\n"It looks like Rider's class may have been determined just by what her Saint Graph could hold," Da Vinci continues. "From the sound of things she's the most famous, well-known, maybe even oldest legend you guys still have, she'd give Gilgamesh... no, if she's the source of this 'Awakening' you talk about, and it's true that everyone with an active Aura has seen her face and heard her speak, she'd blow Gilgamesh out of the water in a contest of legends. If she manifested as a more appropriate class for her like Saber or Archer, or even maybe Caster it looks like, she'd probably be more like a Divine Spirit and thus unable to be summoned by a mere mortal."\n\n"... Neat," Ruby comments for lack of anything deeper to say, causing Rider to chuckle softly.\n\n"I'm sending the information I've determined about their Spirit Origins and skills to your scroll-thingies," Da Vinci adds, tapping at something out of sight, four scrolls chiming a moment later. "How's that, file transfer across dimensions and space to a whole different technology, who but a genius could do it? No one, that's who, before anyone thinks of answering."\n\nBefore anyone can look too closely, however, there's a chirp from everyone's earpieces. "Specialist Ebi! Sir, it's an emergency!"\n\n"What's going on?" Clover asks with a tap at his ear.\n\n"Sir, we've got a massive surge of Grimm! One of the biggest we've ever seen! They've... they've downed the General's airship, sir! We can't get to him!"\n\n"Damn," Clover hisses... then blinks as Rider strides easily past him.\n\n"It's fine. We'll handle this. Legends of Remnant, to me," she adds, Saber scurrying to catch up, Akel practically skipping into place beside her, and Archer falling into an easy amble behind her.\n\n"Wait, are they kidding?" Marrow murmurs, staring after him. "I mean they're... legends, but they're four people."\n\n"... Marrow, it's the First Huntress," Harriet hisses back. "The Grimm are screwed."\n\nHalf in urge to help, half not wanting to miss the show, the group hurries to follow the four down the main tunnel, and soon emerges from the mine. Sabyrs, Beowolves, and Ursas, the latter two in shaggier forms than the ones you were used to back in Mistral, with large leathery-winged Grimm wheeling overhead. You can see some sort of military ship downed and practically covered up by Sabyrs clawing at it trying to get in. Without pausing her stride, Rider slips the pair of axes from her belt, giving them a twirl in her hands. "Saber. Save the humans in the downed ship. Archer, kill the ones in the air and any that try to harry Saber in her mission. Assassin..." She starts to lower her shoulders, wolfish smile returning more fierce than ever as she braces her feet. "Try to keep up with me and fail."\n\n[[Music|https://youtu.be/8F_11HaH4mE]]\n\nThen she launches herself forward so fast that she leaves a whorl of dust spiraling in her wake, Assassin shrieking out a peel of delighted, demented laughter as she leaps into the air higher than the airborne Grimm are flying, Archer running forward already nocking arrow to string, firing as he goes, each shot piercing at least one Grimm. "HhhhhYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Saber calls as she almost stumbles launching herself forward, but nevertheless takes off running faster than anything you've ever seen, her sword flashing repeatedly in quick silver arcs, pieces of Sabyrs and Beowolves flying through the air faster than they can dissipate as she makes an unyielding, unslowing course towards Ironwood's ship, unflinching as Assassin begins throwing handfuls of Dust to the ground to tear through the Grimm with explosions mixed with shards of stone and thorny vines.\n\n"These are... four-star Servants?" Ritsuka whispers, eyes wide.\n\n"M-maybe Remnant needs a whole different classification system, Senpai," Mash stutters, before gathering herself and raising her shield. "Master! Your orders!"\n\n"Right! Assist Saber, Mash!"\n\n"Mash Kyrielight, deploying into battle!" the pink-haired girl calls, already racing forward, shouting battlecries as she swings and twirls her shield in a deadly dance any Huntress would be proud of, smashing Grimm and sending them flying.\n\n"They're... amazing," Jaune whispers, his eyes wide as Assassin lands in one of the openings made by her Dust bombs and instead starting to lay about her with her scalpels, the stick of a sucker jutting from her lips and an almost serene smile on her face as she eviscerates the beasts of nightmare. He whips his head to the side as Rider flings one of her stone hatchets, a long line of Grimm dissipating into ink-black smoke all along its path. \n\n"Maybe they really can do it on their own," Yang murmurs, watching as Saber leaps up onto the ship and begins laying about her with her sword, destroying the Grimm covering it.\n\n"... Maybe they can, but we're their Masters!" Ruby declares, racing forward. "And we need to help any way we can! RIDER! HERE!" she shouts, drawing back and hurling something end-over-end through the air and into the air towards her.\n\nThe First Huntress backflips out from the midst of the Grimm she's fighting, into the air and easily catching the thrown item, landing in a milling number of the beasts... as Crescent Rose transforms in her hands, audibly slicing through the air as the ancient warrior handles the modern weapon as if she had made it with her own hands. "Thank you! My Master!" she calls, then lets out a long laugh of joy as she twirls back into the fray, spinning and whirling the gun-scythe in an elegant arc of death all around her, Crescent Rose's blade passing through Grimm as if they were the shadows they seemed to be and sending them wisping away into nothing.\n\n"Assassin!" Jaune calls, shocked out of his own staring by Ruby actually letting someone else use her beloved weapon. "If you can use any Dust you want, try to form a wall with Ice Dust and Plant Dust between the tundra and Saber! Keep more Grimm from getting to the ship!"\n\n"Oh, alright, my Master~," Assassin calls negligently back, as if Saber getting eviscerated were of no real nevermind to her, but nevertheless she hurls herself through the air again, flinging glowing crystal shards down to form a slanted barrier of frozen vines, more than a few Sabyrs caught within the forming walls and standing frozen until the thorns of the vines pierce their masks and destroy them.\n\n"Archer! Get up on one of those walls! Stop any Grimm that get past them from hurting Saber or the people in the ship!" Ilia adds.\n\n"Yes, my Master," the solemn Faunus man replies, without hesitation leaping even further than Assassin did and landing without so much as a twitch of unease on the lip of one of the walls, balanced on the balls of his feet and firing arrows from his longbow at almost automatic gunfire speeds.\n\n"Okay, Saber, good job!" Yang adds in, though still sounding like she's having a little trouble making herself say it. "You concentrate on keeping any more Grimm off while Mash gets everyone out of there!"\n\n"Yes, my Master!"\n\nMash grips the door of the airship and wrenches it completely free of the ship, turning and hurling it past the walls and into the Grimm, before grasping hold of General Ironwood's forearm and pulling him up and out, waiting until he's got his feet and drawn his weapons to reach for the pilot. \n\n"They're actually doing it... there has to be over 200 Grimm, but they're just... slaughtering them," Harriet murmurs in wonder, before raising a hand to her ear... then looking at the rest of you. "We've got more incoming though. An... entire herd of Goliaths."\n\n"Damn," you murmur.\n\n<hr>\n[["Ritsuka, can you do anything else?"|KaiRuby]]\n\n[["Is this all they can do?"|KaiRuby2x4]]

"Hm, who best can help you defeat Salem, is it?" Jinn taps a finger against her luscious lips. "Well that's a bit of a judgement call, so the answer will be a little cryptic. So know this..." Her eyes glow, and her voice takes on a slightly echoing quality. "In another world far from this one, in an island of light and snow in a world burned black, there dwells a master of many legends. The final hero of Earth holds the key to the deliverance of Remnant." Then the glow fades, and she tilts her head, grinning impishly. "And will that be all?"\n\n"... I don't think so," you say with a sigh, glancing at Ozma and Ironwood. "I'm guessing you guys think I should go ahead and ask her the next question with an obvious answer, since that one won't actually help me track this person down?"\n\n"It seems we have little choice," Ozma agrees, bobbing his head once, frustration obvious in Oscar's green-gold eyes.\n\nTurning back to Jinn, you ask, "What are the temporal and dimensional coordinates to create a portal to bring this person here?" Which you guess you should have woven into your first question, but to be fair it's your first go-round with an omniscient spirit of knowledge.\n\nJinn grins, and rattles off the series of numbers and letters, more than a few scrolls coming out to write down the answer. "And those are your questions for this era. See you next century~," she calls as she swirls down into the lamp, which slowly shrinks and settles into a hover a few inches off the floor, Ozma quickly moving to retrieve it.\n\n"Alright, well, I guess no time like the present," you say, pulling out one of the beacons built from the design Niobe gave you and a set of pocket tools, popping open a panel and starting to reconfigure it to open up a portal instead of do a site-to-site. "I'd ask 'anyone' but since I know the answer, Weiss can I have some Lightning Dust? I'm going to need to amp up this thing's power cell."\n\n"Oh, fine."\n\n"Uh, is this really okay?" Jaune says uncertainly. "I mean aren't you talking about kind of, uh... kidnapping someone?" he adds a little lamely.\n\n"From what Jinn said, they're kind of a big shot, I'm guessing they're used to saving the world, we'll just have to try and convince them to save this one," you reply with a brief glance at him and a quirk of the eyebrow. "Since Jinn gave us the coordinates for their dimension we'll be able to take them home after Remnant is saved, probably barely after they left."\n\n"Assuming they survive helping us," Ren says with a somewhat gloomy sigh.\n\nMaking a low sound of frustration, you look up from your work. "Oh for... okay, look, you wanted me to ask so I asked, we got an answer, do you guys really not want me to bring this person here because we'll be endangering them or are you just venting your spleens to feel better about yourselves?" At the sheepish silence that follows, you mutter, "Yeah, that's what I thought," and return to your work. Weiss soon proffers you a small vial of yellow Dust, already capped with a hookup lead. Making a small appreciative noise in thanks, you accept it and spend a few moments wiring the extra power cell in, before saying, "Okay, step back."\n\nOnce the middle of the room is cleared again, you hit the button and toss the beacon into the air. Near-instantly a swirling portal in a few hundred different shades of white opens up, followed quickly by a yelp of surprise as a woman probably in her late teens drops out of it and thuds to the floor with an "OOF!" She has ginger hair that's almost brilliantly orange, mostly left loose and shoulder length but some of it drawn up to the side in a loose ponyail. She's wearing a white jacket with black straps going across the front, highlighting a fairly average chest, and a black skirt over shiny black hose, topped off by sleek white boots with only moderately raised heels. She winces as she sits up, rubbing at her rear. \n\n"Itai... why is it always falling?" Then she glances around, blinking pretty golden-brown eyes as she takes in the sight of all of you staring at her. "Okay, that's new, I don't usually wind up surrounded by this many Servants right off the bat. Or at all really."\n\n"I don't understand what she said but I heard 'Savaanto' in there and she better not have meant that how I think she did," Weiss declares with a scowl, folding her arms over her chest.\n\n"I... kind of understood what she said?" Yang says with a squint.\n\n"Yeah, it's a lot like the dialect of Mistralian that Uncle Qrow speaks but not quite," Ruby adds in.\n\n"I got something about 'always falling' and that she thinks it's weird there's so many of us," Qrow confirms with a grunt.\n\nAt seeing the new redhead glancing around at the voices in incomprehension, you sigh and step forward to offer your hand. "Sorry about this, we're kind of in a bad way," you say in Nipponzi, since it seems the closest to what she was speaking. Once you've helped her to her feet, you rummage in your coat pocket and then hold up an injector. "Translater nanos, they'll help you understand everyone, y'mind?"\n\n"Uh... I guess?" She tilts her head, surprisingly trusting of someone that's apparently kidnapped her, but you definitely admit she's rolling with this well as you press the injector to her skin. "Normally Chaldea provides me with a translation spell but I must be cut off too much right now. Wait, you're actually not Servants, are you? I kind of thought you were from how you're dressed, but you don't move like they do."\n\n"Okay now I'm understanding her, and she did say Servants," Weiss declares, scowling so hard she's almost pouting.\n\n"Yeah but from context I don't think she means it like you think." Stepping back a little, you tuck your hands in your pockets. "Sorry about grabbing you up like this, like I said, we're kind of in a bad way, and we were told by an extremely reliable source that you could... well, that you could save our world."\n\n"Aa, well, that's the usual, isn't it?" she says with a rather amused tone, rubbing the back of her head and giving a short laugh. "What era of Earth history did I get dragged into this time?"\n\nYou glance at Grey, then back at the newcomer. "This isn't Earth. It's a world called Remnant. It's very Earth-like but distinct."\n\n"... Okay, alien planet, that's a new one," the ginger chirps, giving you double fingerguns.\n\n"Now we're the aliens?" Yang mutters.\n\n"... Huh, I kind of understand better why Kai didn't like that," Blake adds quietly, ears folding down a little.\n\n"I'm Kai Sterling," you continue, going around the room introducing everyone else. "Most of us are what's called Huntresses and Huntsmen... we fight the creatures of Grimm and try to protect this world, but there's a threat coming we can't deal with alone."\n\n"I see." The newcomer nods, her face becoming serious at that. "My name's Fujimaru Ritsuka, a Master of Chaldea."\n\n"Fujimaru is your family name?" you ask to clarify.\n\n"Yes... ah, well, it's the family name I use kind of 'professionally' as it were, since my parents' family names are both associated with... issues," she adds sheepishly. "But... this is really strange, I'm... not actually sure I can help another world," she murmurs, cupping her chin as she looks down.\n\n"Er... why not? 'Master of Chaldea' sounds pretty impressive," Jaune suggests.\n\n"Are your powers somehow tied to this 'Earth' place?" Ruby asks, tilting her head.\n\n"Yes, after a fashion. I actually don't feel like energy would be a problem... this world seems to have a lot of it... but the way I fight is by summoning 'Servants'," Ritsuka explains. "They're a sort of magical familiar, but they're far more than that. They're sort of like... legends made manifest. Besides being their own people with distinct thoughts and feelings," she adds with a nod. "But they're drawn from a thing called the Throne of Heroes... um, it's kind of like, a sort of giant, mystical supercomputer that stores all the data on these legends and lets you draw from it if you know the right ritual. But the Throne is an Earthly phenomenon... I assume?" she amends with a confused tone. "I actually never thought about if other worlds might have their own Throne of Heroes."\n\n"Legends are an extremely important part of Remnant's identity," Ozma speaks up. "Stories woven together from beyond the beginning of this world, that trace back into the one that came before."\n\n"... Huh. If that's the case... if history stretches back that far and there's a deep respect for legends... then yeah this place probably does have its own Throne of Heroes, I'm guessing." Ritsuka nods slowly. "Well... I definitely want to help you," she continues, smiling a bit sheepishly. "But, uh, you can get me back to Chaldea when I have, right?"\n\n"Yes, absolutely, thank you," you reply in a relieved rush.\n\n"Let me see if I can at least get in contact with them first thing." Ritsuka lifts an arm and brushes her sleeve back from an apparent comm device, spending a few moments poking at it, then shaking her head. "Doesn't look like it. Hopefully they'll be able to track me down and establish contact from their end. That would make things a lot easier. But if we want to get started right away, the first thing we'll need to do is find a leyline convergence."\n\n"Leyline convergence?" Ruby echoes.\n\n"It's an old form of mysticism that hasn't really been followed since before the Great War," Blake provides.\n\n"It was thought, and some cultures still believe, that the natural energy flow through Remnant follows paths almost like 'rivers'," Ren picks up. "That they are like currents that pass through our world, and in some places they meet, and create locations of great importance and power."\n\n"... Wait, importance and power?" Weiss's brow furrows thoughtfully. "And it's the planet's natural energy? The places on Remnant that confer the most importance and power, and are where the energy of the world is concentrated, are-"\n\n"Dust mines!" several people say in unison.\n\n"I was having a moment there!"\n\n"Dust?" Ritsuka asks curiously.\n\n"Yeah, it's sort of like crystalized elemental energy," you answer, digging around in your pocket for a Gravity Dust crystal you bought back in Argus (honestly mostly because it looked nice and you were thinking of keeping it as a souvenir, before really making a decision to stick around on Remnant... IE, before you confessed to Ruby). You proffer it to Ritsuka, who carefully plucks it from your fingers, her eyes going wide the second she touches it.\n\n"Whoa. Uh, wow, I'm not that much of a Mage, but this is... definitely overflowing with mana. If you're saying there are places where a lot of this stuff forms naturally, then in such a place I could probably summon an incredibly powerful Servant to help us. Probably more than one."\n\n"We were preparing to take back an abandoned Dust mine as part of the Amity Tower project," Ironwood speaks up, his eyes having lit up some at the words 'incredibly powerful'. "There's still a great deal of Dust there that we're intending to use for the project, which following this logic means it's still one of these 'leyline convergences'. Right now it's still infested with Grimm, including a problematic Geist, but when we take it back in a few days..."\n\n"Sounds like a plan. Thanks again for helping us out with this, Ritsuka," you add.\n\n"It is sort of my job. Well, to save humanity, and I don't see why that shouldn't extend to humanity on other worlds," she replies rather breezily. She pauses though, briefly looking concerned. "You haven't seen any miniature things in black uniforms, wielding rifles and shouting 'NOBU!', have you?"\n\n"Errrr... no?"\n\n"Then I'm definitely glad to help."\n\n"It will take a few days to finish prepping the mission to reclaim the mine," Ironwood says. "In the meantime, all of you should settle into dorm rooms, use the design lab to craft some upgrades for your weapons and armor, and start preparing. I want to hit that mine fast and hard as soon as we can, and get Miss Fujimaru where she needs to be. Until then, she'll have a private room in the secure area... ah, do you require some armored clothing as well?" he asks, addressing Ritsuka directly. "We could recreate your current outfit for you from armored cloth, if you like."\n\n"Oh, no, this is actually a Mystic Code, it's way sturdier than it looks due to the magecraft embedded in it," Ritsuka replies with a little twirl back and forth to make her skirt flare. "It lets me cast some valuable spells, since I'm not very good at them on my own."\n\n"I see. ... May we study it?" he asks hopefully.\n\n"That's... probably not a good idea, sorry," she answers with an abashed look.\n\nYou can see Ironwood wants to press the issue, but after a moment nods wearily. "If that's how you feel. Considering the extent we're already impinging on you, it would ill behoove us to demand anything of you. But I'd prefer it if you had someone looking after you... you are perhaps the most important person on Remnant at the moment, according to what we've been told, and if our enemies learn of you they would stop at nothing to... end that threat."\n\n"I'm used to that too," she answers with a tired smile. "So thanks."\n\n"I'll summon Penny back, she can guard someone without sleeping."\n\n"I'll go with Ritsuka until she gets here, then," you volunteer.\n\n"Thank you. The secure facilities are just to the left of here, I'll give your scroll access."\n\nAs you stroll out of the room at Ritsuka's side, you glance at her. "Sorry again about all this. When physical Satan is bearing down on you, you kind of have to make some tough decisions."\n\n"Trust me, I understand, I've been in this situation more times than you'd think," she answers with a wry grin. "My father taught me to always do my best to be understanding... to understand how people can become desperate and in need from their circumstances, and to see them as people in need of help rather than someone that wronged you. And my mother..." Ritsuka grins, then gives a short laugh before adding, "She always said 'Never let them see you falter'. So I guess that's me... understanding and unfaltering. Ah, that sounded kind of arrogant, huh?"\n\n"Sounded pretty great to me," you assure her, grinning as you wave your scroll at the secure-looking door. The two of you head down the hallway, Ritsuka pausing as you pass an open doorway leading into a right-angle hall marked with the semi-multiversal 'Female' sign.\n\n"Is this a locker room? Do you think I could stop in for a quick shower, you kind of caught me at the end of my day back at Chaldea."\n\n"It looks like one, so yeah. You want me to wait here, or...?"\n\n"You can come, I'm used to communal showers. And a lack of privacy," she adds dryly as she heads inside, you trailing after.\n\n"Things really crowded in Chaldea or something?"\n\n"Sort of. More like some Servants don't have a really good understanding of boundries, for a multitude of reasons," she replies as she steps into what is, in your experience, a fairly standard locker room, moving to sit down on one of the benches and start working one of her boots off. "It can be a little exhausting, but again I try to be understanding. When a Servant formed of the souls of suffering children climbs into your bed because she wants a comforting cuddle, you don't really want to remind her of the idea of personal space."\n\n"Dragon," you murmur with a wince. "It's stuff like that?"\n\n"It can be. Jack's sort of an outlier due to how her legend was established, but she's one of those that needs the most understanding and love." She lifts her rear up to peel down her hose and panties, slipping them down her legs with the air of long practice and the lack of shame of someone who's utterly used to changing in front of other women on a daily basis. "Others have magical effects on them that prevent them from reasoning entirely properly, or simply lived lives devoid of touch and affection. Each one requires a unique understanding of who they are and why they act like they do," she adds as she stands up and undoes her skirt, letting it drop, revealing a smooth-shaven crotch and a pert rear.\n\n"Doesn't sound like being a Servant is a particularly great gig," you reply dryly.\n\n"Fairy tales end with 'happily ever after' sometimes," Ritsuka replies, her voice going soft as she undoes the clasps of her jacket. "How many legends and how many historical tales do?"\n\n"... Yeah, guess that's a point," you murmur with a nod, watching her as she turns around and shrugs out of the jacket... then sucking in a breath, unable to stop yourself from whispering, "Dragon forgive."\n\n"Ah... sorry, it's shocking right?" she says rather sheepishly, movements slowing a little as she lays the jacket on the bench. Though her body flexes with well-toned muscle, her skin is covered with scars... small criss-crossing ones, large gashes, far more scars than anyone so young should have been able to accumulate and lived to tell the tale. You can see her movements have slowed a little, finally showing the faintest traces of self-consciousness, but nothing of shame as she reaches back to undo her bra. "I guess trying to be the savior of humanity costs you something."\n\nYou thought you'd suffered and known pain, but your eyes can't help but trace over all those scars, reading depth and location, filling in exactly which nerve clusters would have been scored and set ablaze with agony, exactly how so many of the wounds should have killed her and yet she's standing there in front of you getting ready to shower like it's no big deal. "... What do you... do?" you finally ask, not even entirely sure what your question is, just... not knowing how someone, apparently bordering on just being a normal person, keeps on getting up from what she's been hit with.\n\nShe drops her bra to the small pile of the rest of her clothes, then turns and gives you a resigned smile, showing off pert, perfectly-formed breasts as well as another panoply of scars and healed-over wounds. "I keep paying until the debt gets called in, I guess. And then I ask for an extension. Because the other option is giving up... and I'm not going to do that. Not on humanity... Earth or Remnant."\n\nYou don't really have any idea of what to say to that. You kind of feel like she needs a hug, but you're not exactly sure how that would come off at the moment. So you're a little surprised when she gives you a quick one herself, golden brown eyes smiling as much as her lips before she turns and trots off towards the showers.\n\nThe two of you emerge to find Penny already waiting, the android girl giving a quick salute of greeting. "Sal-u-tations! I am Penny Polendina, and I have been asked to watch over you, Ritsuka Fujimaru! I hope we can get along!"\n\n"It's nice to meet you, Penny," Ritsuka replies with a smile. "May I ask, are you an artificially-created person?"\n\n"Ah, yes, I am an android," she answers with a little bob of the head, arm dropping. "Is that... a problem?"\n\n"Oh, no, not at all, I was just curious," the ginger woman answers with a quick shake of the head. She grins again as she continues, "My very best friend was created in a lab. In fact, a lot of the people I love best began their lives that way."\n\n"Oh! That is most interesting to hear!" Penny chirps, her obvious cheer making you grin despite her likely animosity for you as her face lights up (her eyes doing so literally). "And please accompany me this way to your room!"\n\n"One of the best and bravest people I know, besides my best friend, is what we call a 'Homonculus'... an artificially-created human," Ritsuka continues as the three of you make your way down the hall. "She made a lot of mistakes in her life, but she has a very strong heart and a good soul... she was just led down the wrong path by her mother. Mostly what she really wanted from life was to prove her worth to everyone... that she was equal to her father, and just as strong and willing to fight for what she believed in. I think that's what defines her, not the mistakes she made."\n\n"I... admit that I, too, sometimes worry about proving that I am worthwhile to the people around me," Penny says slowly, biting her lower lip as she glances aside at the mage. "I am afraid if I do not constantly prove myself, that I will be disassembled or discarded, even though I know my father loves me very much."\n\n"As far as I'm concerned, you're worthwhile just by being you," Ritsuka assures her, reaching out to rub her arm briefly.\n\n"Same goes for me," you pipe up, giving Penny a grin as well. "You're a person, Penny, and that automatically makes you worthwhile. I may not have always thought that, but even before my views started to change, what you are and how you were created wouldn't have made a difference to me. Anyone that tries to disassemble you will have to go through me first."\n\n"And me," Ritsuka adds with a smile.\n\nPenny actually stops, looking back and forth between the two of you almost helplessly. "I... see. You... really feel that way?" At the nods she receives in reply, she gently clutches her hands together in front of her chest, lowering her head. "I see. ... That is most gratifying. Thank you both."\n\n"You okay, Coppertop?" you ask gently, resting a hand on her shoulder.\n\n"... I find myself both relieved and disappointed that Father did not give me the capability to cry. I... somehow feel as if I wish to right now, even though I am very happy." She shakes her head a little before looking up at you. "I have also thought some very uncharitable things about you, friend Kai Sterling. I have deep regret about that, and I am sorry."\n\n"It's okay. Just shows more than anything you're a person," you assure her, grinning wryly as you brush the backs of your fingers over her cheek. "I don't begrudge you your feelings."\n\n"I'm... missing something here, but it seems private so I won't ask," Ritsuka speaks up.\n\n"I am infatuated with Kai Sterling's signficant other," Penny informs her evenly. "However... I now find that I am happy for Ruby Rose that she has found someone so kind to be with."\n\n'Oh hey, no hiccup, that's good.'\n\n"Indeed, I have no negative feelings left on the matter whatsoever!" Hiccup.\n\n'It's okay, honey, you'll get over it.'\n\n"Friend Ritsuka Fujimaru, this is where you will be staying!" Penny announces a moment later as the door nearby slides open. "These are ambassador's quarters so they should be quite comfortable. I will remain inside with you to assure that you are safe, until such time as the mission to depart for the Dust mine commences. Then your security will be assured by Teams RWBY, JNPR, and KACH."\n\n"Interesting naming conventions you've got here." Ritsuka grins, then nods at you. "I'll see you later then, Kai."\n\n"Yeah. Looking forward to it," you reply sincerely.\n\nTwo days pass, during which you make a handful of modifications to Red Legacy and, at the insistence of the others, actually make a set of armored clothes for yourself featuring thin Gravity Dust compressed layered plates over a tight long-sleeved top, adding an armored lining to your coat as well. As you gather on the tarmac to load onto the airship that will take you to the mine, you notice everyone else has their own new looks, Ruby being little changed other than having tweaked her look (and covered her chest against the cold air), most of the others having similarly simply expanded on their current outfits, although Weiss looks like she decided she rather liked the look of Ritsuka's uniform and nearly flagrantly ripped it off, albeit substituting shimmery blue for the white of the jacket and boots, and iridescent white hose under a white skirt, her snowflake emblem replacing the one on the pulltab. Ritsuka looks somewhere between amused and flattered at the imitation, then blinks as there's a chime from her wrist. "Oh! Wait, everyone, it looks like they finally got through!"\n\nRaising her wrist, she pulls her sleeve back again, and the device projects the flickering blue image of a girl in a slightly similar uniform, albeit with a hoodie jacket and a tie, her hair cut short and glasses perched on her nose. "Senpai! Thank goodness we finally found you! Are you alright?!"\n\n"I'm fine, Mash. Some people needed my help, is all. We're about to head out on an important mission to save their world."\n\n"Aa... it seems like that's always how it is, isn't it?" the holographic projection says sheepishly, though she smiles. "Da Vinci took forever to find you... at first we thought you'd somehow been drawn into an alternate Earth that was going to be pruned from existence, but now she's saying it's another world entirely?"\n\n"Yeah, I'm on a world named Remnant. I've taken a look at the map, and it's not even anywhere close to Earth's continents, so this isn't a singularity or reality bubble or anything. But they've been told by an entity that supposedly possessed complete knowledge that I'm the key to defeating the enemy threatening their world, so we're about to go to a leyline convergence and summon some Servants, if we can."\n\n"Senpai, is there any way for me to join you?" Mash asks, sounding troubled. "Though we've located you, it looks like we can't rayshift to this Remnant place. I don't like to think of you being there alone."\n\nRitsuka pauses, then glances at you. "Could you bring her here like you did me? Mash is actually a lot more experienced with setting up the ritual for summoning Servants, she almost always draws the circles we use. Plus I might be able to do more if I have a greater connection to Chaldea through her."\n\n"... Maybe," you allow. "But I only have one beacon like the one I modded to bring you here left. Plus I felt pretty certain it was safe to use it to bring you here, since Jinn pretty much implied it would work by giving me the coordinates, but this method of opening up dimensional rifts is pretty risky... I don't think your friend would be quite as safe trying it."\n\nThat obviously gives Ritsuka pause, glancing at the hologram of her friend worriedly.\n\n<hr>\n[[Press her further not to try it.|KaiRuby]]\n\n(([[Mash speaks up.|KaiRuby2x3]]))

You raise your hand, and bit by bit a few more go up, until the majority are clearly lifted, if not very high for all of them.\n\n"Very well then," Ozma says slowly. "I suppose it is reasonable that, having come to this juncture, and knowing the power of the lamp, we make some attempts to use it to plot a course ahead. Miss Sterling, since you were one of the first to vote to ask, you have thoughts?"\n\n"The whole reason you decided to come clean with all of us is that you felt like the multiverse opened up new possibilities," you say after a moment and a glance around. "If that's really your motivation, I think we ought to ask Jinn how to seek our victory from there now. Because depending on her answer, it might take Grey and I some time to set things up, it's not necessarily something we can do on the fly."\n\n"A fair answer," Ozma agrees with a nod, seeming a little more at peace with the decision now. He picks up the lamp, tossing Ironwood a glance, the general apparently understanding and retracting the table. He starts to speak, pauses, and then glances around... and for some reason you'd swear he blushes before holding the relic out and saying, in a respectful voice, "Jinn." Then, as blue smoke begins to issue from it and he releases the holding ring, he adds, "You may all wish to step back and give her room."\n\nAs everyone scurries to the edges, the lamp floats over until it's hovering almost directly above the Atlas emblem on the floor. More and more smoke issues from it, gradually starting to take on humanoid form, several people in the room blushing and glancing away as that form takes on generous hips and full breasts, albeit both devoid of any detail. Long, pointed ears and thick blue hair form as well, and you clench your jaw a little as a swirl of golden chains lock around the feminine figure's waist, wrists, and ankles, more of the smoke swirling out and forming a sort of long skirt drifting around those shapely floating legs.\n\n"Mmmmm," the entity coos as it stretches, as if just having stepped out of a warm but slightly cramped bath. She opens her blue eyes and glances around. "Well well, isn't this quite a crowd? All those times bringing me out just for yourself, old man, and finally you introduce me to some new people," she continues as she fixes her dancing gaze on Ozma.\n\n"Hello again, Jinn," he answers with a prim nod. \n\n"It really must be important to bring me out in front of so many when I know how highly you value your secrets." Jinn casts her gaze over the rest of you, and you'd swear she smiles a little wider as her gaze passes over you. "But then, things have changed quite a bit since you last asked me anything, haven't they?"\n\n"They have. Which is why I would like Miss Sterling to ask you a question," Ozma replies, gesturing over at you.\n\n"Ah... me?" you echo, rather unnecessarily pointing at your own face.\n\n"As you said, our answer seems likely to be found in the multiverse. Yourself and Mister Heliotrope are the most experienced with that subject, and you are the leader of Team KACH... you should ask."\n\n"Oh yes do, this will be my first time answering a multiverse question and I'm actually rather looking forward to it," Jinn almost chirps, blue eyes dancing.\n\n"Ooookay." You frown thoughtfully, rubbing your chin as you look down. Well this is a lot of pressure all of a sudden. Plus you better phrase this right...\n\n<hr>\n[["How can I use dimensional travel to save Remnant from Salem?"|KaiRuby]]\n\n[["Who from the multiverse can best help us defeat Salem?"|KaiRuby2x2]]\n\n[["What can the multiverse arm us with that is the best weapon to beat Salem?"|KaiRuby]]

Well, she always has been a little snot... why not make her a really little snot?\n\nSmirking, you heft up the shrink ray... it's no particular villain's weapon, it was actually a government project some supertech black market guys stole and then actually got working before they sold it... with you, luckily, breaking up their cell before they could. You aim it at Kitty and then pull the trigger.\n\nA pulsating beam of greenish-yellow light fires from the aperture at the end and strikes Kleptokitty right between the bare tits. The sensation must be enough to bring her around from her fuck-haze because she gives a little jump and writhes briefly before trying to sit up. But her body is already starting to shrink, the still-tight remnants of her costume already turning baggy on her limbs and frustrating her struggles. Her eyes widen as she apparently regains consciousness enough to realize what's happening to her, and she lets out a yelp of protest, trying to jump towards you. But the smaller she gets the more rapidly she shrinks, and she's already gotten small enough that the weight of her costume trips her up as she stumbles falling out of it, now only about half as big as she was.\n\nShe winds up on her hands and knees on the bed, staring up at you with a slack jaw as you seem to grow larger and larger above her. In a matter of moments she's only the size of an old GI Joe, probably a bit under four inches tall. You release the trigger and raise the gun, not wanting her to get too much smaller. As it is, you must seem the size of a building to her. The tiny, naked villainess continues to stare up at you for a moment in shock, before jumping to her feet and trying to scramble away over the terrain her bodysuit has become.\n\n"Ah-ah-ah," you scold, snapping a hand down and delicately seizing her by pressing your thumb and forefinger around her middle, lifting her up. She squirms and thrashes, letting out a string of squeaky invective in a mixture of modern profanities and futureslang she learned from a mutual associate of the two of you. Smirking, you carry her into the bathroom briefly to retrieve a carton of dental floss, then over to your Morgan Mekborne desk. You pin her down to the desktop on her belly with one finger, enjoying the feel of her tiny body squirming helplessly as you open a drawer and get out some of your modeling tweezers, then set to work.\n\nUsing super-dexterity despite your large fingers, you soon have her tied up in a fairly decent shibari hold with the cinnamon-scented dental floss. (From the tiny but still very full-throated squeal she gave when you ran it between her legs, it still gives a bit of a stinging sensation.) Her arms are bound securely behind her back, tied with sufficient complexity that even she won't be able to squirm her way out of it, the same for winding her legs. The binding around her tits and middle to carefully squeeze them was just for fun, admittedly.\n\nFinding a bit of softer string, you grin as you pick her up, lifting her up to eye level and for just a moment smirking hugely (to her in more ways than one) at her tiny, squeaky demands to be released. Then you lower her down, brushing aside your now limp cock and pressing her right into the front of your sack. Her squawks of outrage and shock are obviously quickly muffled, though her squirming picks up as you use the softer string to run a few careful winds around your shaft to bind her in place. Don't want to lose her, after all. Draping your cock back over your squirming miniature captive, you get up and find your fundoshi, tying it back on and thereby insuring both that she's completely enclosed in the sweaty, musky environment of your crotch, but that you won't lose her.\n\nYou spend a few moments putting everything back to rights, once more hiding and securing the armory and gathering up Kitty's suit and belt, and the overfilled condom. Then you set off flying for home, humming cheerfully at the feel of that tiny, constantly squirming and writhing presence trapped between your balls and shaft.\n\nYou return to the silo and take your time disposing of the used condom and hiding the stealth suit away... maybe later you'll display it as some sort of trophy or something (or just get rid of it). You don't mind leaving Kitty where she is a while longer as you go through the process of setting up a temporary place to keep her, fabricating it using the 3D printer. But eventually it's time to put her in her new (temporary... possibly) home, especially since you've noticed her struggles are tapering off, indicating she's either getting exhausted or overheated or running out of breath, maybe all of them. You drop your underwear and reach under your loincloth, undoing the soft ties and bringing the tiny, sweaty little bundle out, dropping her (carefully) into the new enclosure. Since she still seems rather stunned, you take the opportunity to carefully clip the ties of the dental floss in several places, leaving it to fall into a number of (uselessly short) pieces before withdrawing your hand and closing the lid.\n\nKitty lays there sprawled, apparently insensate again, her tiny body completely and utterly soaked and glistening in your ball-sweat. After a few moments, she manages to get her wits and breath together enough that she staggers to her feet and takes a look around. You see her flush angrily in realization that you've essentially recreated a fairly standard gerbil cage for her, complete with food bowl filled with pellets (protein ones in this case), water bottle, and exercise wheel. She shrieks angrily and runs to the side, pounding on the clear plastic wall with both fists and letting loose a fresh string of invective. You're not sure why she's so mad, at least you put a small basic camp-style toilet in there instead of just lining the bottom with shredded newspaper or something.\n\nChuckling, you give her a little wave and then settle down to watch her run angrily around the enclosure, trying to upset things. (Which you foresaw, and have stubbornly made it so that everything is either attached down or too heavy for her to move, leaving her to pelt the clear plastic walls with food pellets angrily.) Now let's see... what to actually do with her? The gerbil enclosure's kind of cute, and you do enjoy how mad it makes her, but you're not sure you want to keep her there forever. At least, not without doing something more amusing.\n\n<hr>\n[[Build her a different enclosure.|CalHM]]\n\n[[Put her somewhere... closer to you.|CalHM]]\n\n[[Use her for experiments.|CalHM]]\n\n[[Leave her as-is, for now.|CalHM]]

"Ritsuka, is there anything else the Servants can do that we don't know about?" you urge. "If it's an entire herd of Goliaths, even they're going to have a hard time at this rate." \n\n"Noble Phantasms... it's a term for anything connected with their legend, like special or distinctive weapons or powers, but some of them can be used to power them up or attack. Sometimes it takes a command seal, it depends on the Servant."\n\n"RIDER! There are Goliaths coming!" Ruby calls. "Can you use your Noble Phantasm?!"\n\n"Oh yes, Master!" Rider calls back with a laugh as she slices Crescent Rose through a Beowolf Alpha. "Although you'd better tell everyone to brace! Some of you are going to pass out!"\n\n"Pass out? What does she mean, pass out?!" Weiss demands worriedly.\n\nBut Rider has already whirled the scythe to clear an area around her, and her silver eyes glow solid as she calls out, voice taking on a deeper resonance, "Come forth, beast whose legend is entwined with mine! Come forth old one of the dark, who was ancient when man was new! I call your name that you may heed me now, FENRIS THE BANE!"\n\n[[Music|https://youtu.be/ZmmrlwPd8L0]]\n\nThe wisping darkness of the Grimm around her suddenly whorls, spinning and diving to the ground beneath Rider's feet, turning into an ink-black pool from which something rises with her standing on its back. The wholly canine-like beast is black as pitch, and yet deep with the texture of a night in a thunderstorm. A pair of massive horns curl away from the skull-like mask covering its face, arcing forward of it like something draconic, its paws flexing as the emerge from the void-like portal beneath it, driving claws the size of Crescent Rose's blade through the fading shadowsmoke and into the ground as it throws its head back and lets out a thunderous howl that shakes the air.\n\nAt least half the group, including several of the Ace Ops, hits the ground.\n\n"Holy... shit," Yang whispers, purple eyes wide.\n\n"That's what she rides?!" Ruby squeaks in half horror, half absolute delight as her Servant drops into a low riding position atop the bus-sized Grimm's back.\n\n"Legends, to me!" Rider calls as she directs her mount in a long bound over the now inadequate-seeming walls, crushing lesser Grimm between the Elder's paws with every motion. Ironwood looks up at the looming beast with what could only be called terror on his otherwise composed face as Rider reaches out to offer a hand to Saber, hauling the girl astride the Elder Grimm with her, Archer and Assassin leaping astride it with her, Assassin letting out a long peal of crazed, melodious laughter as she stands tall with arms folded as Rider directs it towards the tundra where a dozen Goliaths are charging in from. A particularly large one has taken the lead, obviously approaching Alpha status, its longer legs and more powerful stride carrying it ahead of the others. With a noise like two buildings crashing into each other, Rider's mount's skull-mask and the Goliath's impact together, horns entwining.\n\nAnd then the wolf's mouth moves.\n\n"You are a hundred eras of this world too early to attempt to challenge me, lesser one."\n\nThen with a toss of its neck, it hurls the enormous elephantine Grimm into the sky as if it weighed no more than an empty Dust cannister, the other monster letting out a loud trumpet of what sounds distinctly like fear as it's hurled into the sky to be peppered with arrows and thrown scalpels, hitting the ground hard and already starting to dissipate.\n\nBefore Rider's mount can even start turning towards the next, thrown Dust crystals are already impacting the next Goliath's skull mask hard enough to crack it, and with a shout Saber leaps from the wolf to slam her sword into the cracks and then yank up hard, forcing the blade up through the largest one and shattering the mask completely, backflipping to the ground and launching herself towards another target. One of the Goliaths swings its head, trying to sweep its tusks across her, only for Rider's mount to grab one of the tusks in its jaws and yank, hauling the beast's head upwards and giving Saber a clear shot at its throat, her blade flashing through shadowflesh and leaving glaring solid red in its wake.\n\nThe Goliath herd... often called a 'city ender'... doesn't stand a chance.\n\n"These... are the Servants?" Ironwood says, obviously a little rattled as the quartet returns, once more riding on the massive wolf, all four leaping down in front of him.\n\n"Saber. Assassin. Archer. Rider," Rider introduces, gesturing to each in turn, before reaching up to pat the side of her mount's jaw rather fondly. "My old friend, Fenris."\n\n"Nnnnh, keep your 'old friend'," Fenris snorts out, once more startling a good amount of the crowd, especially those who had fainted when he first appeared. "I never asked to be bound together in the Throne with you."\n\n"Yes, well, I never asked you to try to eat people I wanted to make friends with, so you really left me no choice but to carve you open, now did you?" Rider snorts, giving him a playful punch on the underside of the jaw.\n\n"Hnh."\n\n"Well. We definitely can't say they're not effective," Clover says, trying to inject some good cheer into his voice. "That... was probably the largest Grimm extermination I've ever heard of, let alone seen. And it only took the four of them."\n\n"I... yes." Ironwood nods once. "These... Servants. They definitely seem to be... effective." Ironwood seems to be gradually getting himself under control. "... And at least that Grimm surge hitting the reports means I don't have to deal with Jacques Schnee today."\n\n"Well I'm sold on 'em," Weiss mutters.\n\nIronwood looks as if he's about to say something else, when his eyes widen as Fenris leans in closer to him.\n\n"You have the smell of a king about you," the big Grimm declares in a low tone after a moment.\n\n"Er... thank you, but I'm just a general and councilman," Ironwood replies, obviously struggling to keep his composure.\n\n"You assume my words were a compliment. Reconsider." Fenris lets out a huff that might almost be a laugh before adding, "But if king you are, little man, you had best learn to look things like me in the eye. Because there are no things like me anymore... but the upstarts are going to want a word with you."\n\nWith that, he blows away like smoke on an unfelt wind, disappearing.\n\n"... I have a thought," Ironwood says a moment later.\n\n-\n\n"How am I not surprised his thought was 'Send the Servants to Vale to reclaim Beacon'?" you note dryly later that night.\n\n"Yeaaaaah I kiiiiinda think he wants Rider and her Noble Phantasm as far away from him personally as he can get them," Yang notes dryly. \n\n"Elder Grimm are not a thing that have walked on this world in a long time," Rider herself speaks up, glancing up from her meal of several barely-seared steaks. "The Dark God made but a handful of them... Grimm that could think and speak... in the time before man, and each time one was slain, they were none to replace them."\n\n"That seems a good thing," Archer notes evenly from his own somewhat lighter meal of roast fish.\n\n"Mm." Rider sits back and lolls her head. "For the safety of the world, oh yes, I suppose it is. And yet... our world loses a little something in the name of being safer. Remnant is a wild place, and that is part of its beauty. Removing kinds of Grimm from the world... yes, I suppose it must be done. But we lose something of our identities when we become that much safer. Something of the wildness that once made us who we were."\n\n"You almost sound like you... like... the Grimm," Weiss notes with a wrinkle of her nose.\n\n"I just have a different perspective on them, I think. I grew up in the forests with nothing but my own hands to protect me... I had to find ways to coexist with the Grimm, as much as such a thing is possible. And even in fighting them, I defined myself. You call me the First Huntress, and perhaps that's true... because I defined myself by fighting things that no Huntress will now ever fight again." Rider's lips curl a little bit. "And if any of you felt the tiniest pang in your heart at me saying that... then part of you understands of which I speak."\n\n"Um, hey, Ritsuka?" Jaune murmurs, approaching the table. "Could I... get some help with something?"\n\n"Yeah, sure Jaune, what's up?" she asks.\n\n"Um, it's Assassin... or Akel, or... um..." Jaune trails off, then glances over. "She's kind of been like that since we got back," he murmurs, indicating his Servant.\n\nIndeed, no one had really noticed since she was so quiet, but Akel is slumped in a chair at the wall, pink eyes almost completely blank and staring at nothing. Ritsuka gives Jaune a worried look, lowering her own voice. "Well, she does have Madness Enhancement... I guess that probably reflects whatever mental illness she had in life that drove her to kill. She's probably... not feeling good. Just try talking to her."\n\n"Okay." Jaune nods nervously, then walks over to her. "Um, hey, Akel. You... okay?"\n\n"Oh. Hello Master," Akel replies in an airy, disconnected voice, her eyes angling towards him but not focusing. "Are there more Grimm to fight?"\n\n"Ah... no, sorry, no Grimm right now."\n\n"Oh." Her eyes settle back towards the floor as if weighted, her body seeming almost lifeless.\n\nJaune looks at her worriedly for a moment more, before he perks up, quickly reaching into his hoodie pocket and withdrawing the sucker she gave him earlier. "Oh, hey, Akel, you want this? It seemed like you were out."\n\nPink eyes slide towards the candy, similarly not focusing on it quite... until they do, her head perking up a little. She reaches out and plucks the candy from Jaune's fingers, staring at it as if it were the most wonderful thing in the world, before letting out a peal of giggles and popping it into her mouth, settling into a hunched position and wiggling all over.\n\n"... I guess that's better," Jaune murmurs as he walks back over. \n\n"Some Servants take awhile to feel out. I think you're managing okay." Ritsuka pats him reassuringly, then looks back. "But yeah, Servants like these, they were probably a bit much for the uninitiated. So him sending the Masters to take back this other school makes sense."\n\n"And me." You snort. "If he thinks he's gonna send my girlfriend and my Rainbow off and I'm not going, he's crazy." \n\n"I guess the rest of us are staying and working on Amity Tower then," Reese says with a huff.\n\n"Well hopefully if we can clear out the Grimm and secure Beacon, we can get its CCT semi-functional again too, and Amity Tower can get backburnered a little. For now, we should probably all get some sleep once we've finished eating, one way or another, we've all got early days tomorrow," you suggest.\n\n-\n\nErin Leaf stood behind the doors to the throne room, doing her best to control her breathing. 'You can do this. You can do this. He already said you can do this. Head up. Chin high. No fidgeting. You can do this.'\n\nStill, she almost jumped when the doors were pulled open ahead of her, and she saw that every eye in the room was already on her. She was bright and personable by nature, but this... this was a little much. Still, she did her best to act as her king had bade her. Head up. Chin high. No fidgeting. She walked forward under disbelieving eyes and scornful stares... and a merciful few warmer looks. She was surprised to see the beautiful and famous Neela, the only Knight of Remnant from Vacuo, smiling as easily at her as if they'd met in a town market. It made her feel a little better. A little. \n\nShe made her way resolutely to the throne, and at least those deep blue, half-familiar eyes were kind as she knelt before the short dais and bowed her head. "Your majesty. I present myself before you, your humble servant, and ask for a place among your knights."\n\nIt was apparently too much for one of the men at the king's side, the crooked cross dangling from a chain at his ear swaying as he jerked his head to the side. "This is bad comedy."\n\n"Sir. You forget your place," King Auric of Vale said, his lips coming dangerously close to a scowl, those blue eyes sliding ever-so-slightly in his knight's direction. "I have granted this child of the leaves this audience, for I see the valor in her heart while it seems that all you can see is the blood flowing through her veins. Perhaps you ought to pray to the Brothers to give you more insight."\n\n"... Your forgiveness, my king," the knight murmured, bowing his head.\n\n"While it is true that you may grant any you wish entry to your Knights of Remnant, my liege, it is also true that each one of us has proven ourselves by our deeds long before ever presenting ourselves before you," another of the knights, a tall man with purple hair, spoke up. "You have knighted nobles and commoners, humans and Faunus, but only those who have proven themselves worthy. I have no prejudice against this girl for the circumstances of her birth, but what deeds does she offer in return for presenting herself before us?"\n\n"That is true," Neela allowed, Erin fighting not to let a faint sense of betrayal settle in over her. "The stories of each knight here were grand and full of valor before we ever set foot in this room. Tell us, Erin Leaf, do you have deeds with which to show your worth?"\n\n'I knew this was a bad idea.' Still, as instructed, she raised her head, actually looking at King Auric. "Your majesty, I know my deeds are not the equal of your knights, but I have done what I could for my people. In my village there were few weapons other than rusty blades once used to clear the underbrush from logging land, but using those I fought off the Beowolves that threatened us time and time again. Only when a knight was dispatched by your majesty did I see that I was no longer needed, and so came to offer what skill I had earned with my own two hands to you, that you might find some use for it."\n\n"Your skill and deeds are well and good... for a warrior farmer," the purple-haired man said, not unkindly. "But... I am not sure these are the deeds of a knight."\n\nKing Auric looked very much as if he would like to disagree, but a glance around at his knights told him that the sentiment was apparently not unreasonable. An expression of resolve settling onto his bearded face, he rose from his throne. "Very well then, my knights. If it is deeds you would demand of this honest soul, deeds she shall give you. We all shall accomplish a quest long spoken of in these halls, but so often put off until another day. I say now, that day has come. She shall journey together with us, and wield a blade against the Doom of Amargosa Valley."\n\nA chatter and a thrill went through the room... some eyes widening in shock, others in elation, a few in open fear. Erin, for her part, felt her jaw go slack. "... What?" she whispered, the word barely making it past her lips.\n\n"But on this quest, no rusty hedgetrimmer will do," Auric continued, as if it had all been planned from the start, turning to draw a sheathed sword from behind his throne. Its design was simple, its blade not particularly long and obviously meant for one not yet quite full grown, and yet displayed a faint echo of the longsword sheathed at his own hip in its design. A fresh murmur of shock went through the room as Auric descended the steps to hold the sword out to Erin. "One who would join us for this noble quest deserves a noble blade. Take up arms with us now, Erin Leaf, and show all of them who you are."\n\nShe could not back out now. She could not question him, or counter him, or even avow she was not worthy. He had risked too much now, offered her too much, if she backed out now she would shame the king in front of every one of the Knights of Remnant. Shaming herself she could have lived with easily... she had lived with shame since the moment of her birth.\n\nBut she could not shame him.\n\nSo she accepted the sword with both hands, nodding silently, unable to find the words to say in return for both the gift and the burden.\n\n"My king... my king... don't die..."\n\nErin sobbed against the bloody and broken breastplate, her body trembling, as the hazy night around her was filled with the sounds of brave men and women screaming as they died. \n\nThe Doom had trapped them. It had ranged far and farther, leaving signs of its path, always letting them catch sight of it just as they might have given up as having gone too far. Only when they turned back in a rush, realizing that evening had already fallen, did it make its move, letting the dark of night settle in before the beast set upon them. The Knights, for all their valor and ability, were doomed. Various Dust-castings had caught the forest and grass ablaze, and it burned like Hell on Remnant around them as everything they'd fought for came crashing down around them.\n\nAll because Erin Leaf had presented herself to her king and asked if there was anything she could do to serve him.\n\nErin gasped softly as a chainmail-clad hand came to rest on her head, and drew her close. Bloody lips moved in a whisper, telling her one last thing before the world ended.\n\nYang Xiao Long jerked upright in bed, through long practice catching the scream before it could leave her throat.\n\nShe panted softly, skin sweaty in the dark, eyes searching the room to assure herself she was not in a burning valley with death all around her. Each of the new Masters had been granted a two-person room so they could be with their Servants in preparation for the mission tomorrow, and it was somehow both agonizing and comforting not to be near the rest of her team when waking from a nightmare.\n\n... But not her nightmare.\n\nShe looked over at the other bed, at the somehow incredibly small-seeming form curled up on it, weeping softly in her sleep. Heart breaking for more than one reason, Yang rose from her bed and moved to sit on the other, gently laying her hand on the other blonde's back. Saber started and gasped softly, immediately turning her head. "Master? Is something wrong?"\n\n"You were having a bad dream," Yang whispered, finding the words a little comforting to say. They came to her easily, something she'd said gently to Ruby so many times... and her father more than once.\n\n"Oh... did I wake you, Master? I'm sorry, I..." Saber trailed off, slowly lowering her head back to the pillow. "... You saw."\n\n"Ritsuka said we might... that we might share dreams." Yang took a deep breath, let it out slowly. "... You weren't the one to suggest fighting the Doom. King Auric did."\n\n"... Yes," Saber whispered into the dark. "He knew that as a bastard with no real deeds to her name, if I was ever to be accepted I had to be part of the grandest quest he could find. That I'd just be laughed at and scorned if it wasn't something no one could argue with as proving my mettle."\n\nYang sat in silence for long moments, thinking. She wondered how many people all over the world still thought of her as the angry bully who'd broken a boy's leg just out of sheer spite. She'd experienced firsthand the malicious way that things could be twisted to fit someone else's whims, someone else's narrative. Even if the news was spread that Mercury had been one of the people responsible for the Fall of Beacon, she still sometimes noticed angry looks or shocked stares on the street, and not directed at her arm. Because once people had their anger directed at someone, wasn't it just so much easier to keep being angry at them than think?\n\nIt was, after all, what she'd done to the 'Shame of Vale'. It had never occurred to her that there might have been more to the story, because she had never asked. She just... got angry.\n\n"Dammit, Saber, I'm so sorry," she whispered, closing her eyes and continuing to rub the other blonde's back gently.\n\n"... It's fine, Master," Saber murmured back. "It was my fault."\n\nYang winced a little, understanding those words far too well. Because it had to be Erin's fault, it had to keep being Erin's fault, because if it wasn't her fault...\n\n... then it was her king's. Her...\n\n"Your True Name," Yang said softly into the unlit room, remembering the look of those blue eyes seeming to look right at her, with well-concealed love still shining out of them. "It's not actually 'Erin', is it?"\n\nSaber was quiet for awhile. Eventually, she said, "I'm sorry, Master. It's not that I meant to lie. That was how I always pronounced it in life... to keep the secret. Even if my mother... couldn't quite help herself," Aurin Leaf admitted.\n\nYang said nothing. Instead she simply grabbed up her Servant and drew her into a tight hug, making herself a silent but solemn promise as she did.\n\n-\n\n"-and never hold to hate in your heart, for before the God of Light all men and Faunus are equal. Though we may have been brought to this state of war, pray that it end and we all become brothers again before the season passes into cold, amen."\n\nThe small collection of soldiers, rather than rising, more elevated themselves to a crouch and waddled away, settling themselves into parts of the trench again, eyes already far away. Only one remained, glancing about at the others, before approaching the slender blonde woman and giving her a rather wan grin. "Not that we don't appreciate you coming up to the front to minister to us, Sister, but I'm not sure that hearing we should pray for reconciliation with the enemy is what they want to hear."\n\nThough Akel Dama's smile bore a measured cheer, her pink eyes nevertheless shone with kindness as she clasped her hands together and tilted her head a bit to regard the tired, mud-smeared figure in front of her. "I'm afraid it's my duty to tell them what the God of Light would have them hear, Colonel, not what they'd like to hear. Our true enemies are always and will always be the Grimm. Though these conflicts may sometimes be necessary, every strong fighter we sacrifice in war is one less to fight back the darkness for which the God granted us Dust."\n\n"True 'nough, I suppose." The Colonel sighed, rubbing at his cheek with one dirty hand. "Wouldn't mind if they'd all come out of there saying we should all be friends again. Just hard to keep that in mind, all this going on. Hard to believe even you can, being up here at the front with all of us."\n\n"The God give me strength." Akel bowed her head and closed her eyes briefly, before smiling again as she looked up at him. "There have been only two constants in my life, the Church and my brother. I've no idea if he is my brother by blood, but we were foundlings together in the Church. Though the Grimm attacked our village again and again, always we stood firm and together. Even now he mans the medical tent a few miles behind us."\n\n"Not just you risking yourself out here, but your brother, huh?" The colonel shook his head. "Personally I'm glad that all my family is a long way away from this."\n\n"We just have to trust to the God that He will protect us, and to our fellow man to hold to the sacred neutrality those of our order and under our watch bear." Akel bobbed her head. "But I should be getting back, speaking of that. My brother is likely missing my help."\n\nAfter a last exchange of goodbyes, she made her way to the ladder at one side of the trench and clambered up, pausing before the top to lift her untilted cross high, letting the wan sunlight filtering through the clouds catch on the small container of ice Dust in the center. There was no gunfire, so after another moment she lifted herself the rest of the way over the edge and strode calmly away from the front line, hands clasped in front of her. Faith. Faith in the God and her fellow man. Both filled her as she walked, her robes drifting just above the muddy fields beneath her slippered feet.\n\n"God of Light, hear my prayers," she murmured with a smile after a time, just to herself, because saying the words was natural to her, filled her with joy even if they were only for herself. "Make of my fellow man in your image as paragons of virtue, bearing your infinite love and forgiveness. See them rise before me, to become as flames for the forges of society, am-"\n\nThe word died in her throat as her body jerked to a halt, pink eyes going wide with horror at the sight before her. The small tent town that surrounded the medical area was trampled to the ground, a few ragged poles standing. And the tent itself was ablaze, tattered shreds of it flapping in a hot wind, showing the blood spattering the insides.\n\n"JANUS!" The scream tore itself from her throat, propelling her into motion, the slight woman pelting headlong and heedless into the blazing tent. The smoke was thick, stinging her eyes and choking her throat. The bodies laying here and there, splayed on the floor or still in the hospital beds where they'd lain recovering, were just dark shapes to her watering eyes though she desperately searched them for some familiar sign. "JANUS! JANUS!"\n\nThe faintest call of her name had her head jerking to the side so hard her neck immediately sang with pain, but she rushed past a blazing tentpole and towards a weakly-raised hand. Desperately she hooked her hands under the injured man's armpits, her entire slender body pulling taut beneath her robes as she hauled on him. It should have been an impossible task even for someone with an awakened Aura, her brother had almost a hundred pounds of lean muscle on her, but he moved, the world on fire around her as she bodily hauled him from the tent.\n\nShe'd barely managed to pull the dark-haired man ten feet from the tent before her muscles gave out and she almost collapsed against him. Trembling, Akel scrambled to his side, tears sliding down her face, horror gripping every bit of her soul as she looked at the savage burns across his skin. She reached out, gently touching what of his soft, dark hair remained, her voice soft and pleading as she repeated his name. "Janus, Janus, can you hear me?"\n\nHis remaining eye opened slowly. His cracked, swollen lips moved, his voice barely a croak. "Akel... attack... from behind... the enemy... never even heard them... I begged them... let the injured go... one shot me... why?"\n\n"I... I don't know, I..." Akel looked desperately up at the tent, watching the cross-and-Dust crystal emblem of their faith embossed on its side being consumed by the fire. "I don't know, I don't understand, I..." As his breath began to rattle, her eyes widened and she clutched harder at what remained of his priestly garb. "No, Janus, just hold on! I'll get an Aura healer, I'll find someone, just hold on, pray with me, pray, the God will save us, he'll save you, he has to!"\n\n"Akel..." Janus's shaking hand reached towards the medical pouch at his hip, tugging at the flap. At the second tug, it came free, spilling forth salves, surgical supplies, and a small handful of candy he often handed out to local children or depressed soldiers. "... help me..."\n\n"Y-yes!" Akel desperately grabbed up a pair of the jars, looking back and forth between them, then dropping them to grab for another. "One of these has to help burns, one of them-!"\n\n"No." Janus's fingers trembled, but managed to wrap around one of the items from his bag, bringing it up to press into his sister's hand. "You have to... help me."\n\nAkel uncurled her fingers, staring down at the scalpel she now held. Her eyes wide with horror, she looked at her brother's face. "No. No, Janus, you can't!" Fresh tears welled in her eyes and slid down her cheeks as her mouth twisted. "Don't ask me this!"\n\n"The burns... are too bad... even with Aura healing... I'll never..." His breath rattled again, lungs obviously struggling not to fill with fluid. "... please... if you love me, Akel... don't let me suffer..."\n\n"Janus... Janus... I don't want you to leave, I... God, please, don't take him, don't make him leave me, no, no, you..." She stared into his eye, seeing his silent pleading. Her lips pulled back from her teeth in agony, sobs wracking her chest. Finally all she could do was nod, a soft sound of agony in her throat as she raised the scalpel.\n\nHer arms trembled, refused to move. Squeezing her eyes shut, Akel forced breath into her lungs, brought the butt of the scalpel to her chest, letting it press to the top of the cross she wore. Then she let her whole body topple forward, the impact hitting directly over her heart as she drove the blade into her brother's. \n\nAkel heard him gasp, felt his body jerk beneath hers, and then he was still. She shook so hard it felt like her soul would come flying out of her body. And then she flung herself upright, howling an agony beyond anything she'd ever imagined existed in the world, not even noticing as the edge of the scalpel caught the Dust capsule on her cross and yanked it open.\n\nIce Dust fell to the blood welling around the scalpel, the last few flickers of Janus's fading Aura activating it. Ice crystals suffused with blood grew up around the point of impact, reaching like rubies into the sky, slicing open cuts on Akel's hands, pouring more blood down over their frozen surface. Gradually, she turned her glazed eyes down towards them, taking in the sight of what looked like Fire Dust crystals growing from her dead brother's chest.\n\nThe sound caught in her throat the first time, giving her body a jerk. And then it bubbled out past her lips, a soft giggle. And then her whole body shook with delighted, crazed laughter as she brought her hands up to her cheeks, smearing Janus's blood mingled with her own across her cheeks as she framed her face in macabre joy.\n\n"The God! The God has been good indeed!" Her lips pulled back from her teeth in the rictus of a smile, tears streaking down her bloody cheeks. "I begged him for you not to leave, and here you are! Your Aura made into flaming Dust for me to keep forever! You'll never leave me, the God has shown me the way! The God of Dust and Resurrection!"\n\nShe threw back her head and howled her overjoyed laughter to the sky, her body trembling as blood-mingled tears continued to run across her cheeks.\n\n"Hey, sir, isn't that the sister, coming back again?"\n\nThe colonel carefully peeked up over the edge of the trench, frowning at the sight of the approaching black and white clad woman. "Looks like her, yeah. Shit, she looks like Hell, what the fuck happened?"\n\nAkel hummed a hymn to herself, her tone cheerful as she brought the lollipop from Janus's pack to her lips, tongue flicking along it before sliding it into her mouth. Her step was light as she made her way to the trench, but not to the ladder, instead crossing the board laid out across its top as merrily as a child crossing their treefort's moat.\n\n"Sister? Sister, where the hell are you going?" the colonel hissed as she made her way across the trenchtop and set out across No Man's Land.\n\nShe could hear the murmuring of the men in the trench behind her, and more distantly, the men in the trench ahead. They didn't understand, but maybe soon they would. Or they might not. She and she alone had been shown the new way. Akel Dama, the only woman who truly understood the plan of the God of Dust and Resurrection. The only one worthy. Until proven otherwise, all others were sinners, not fit, not worthy.\n\nBut she would make them worthy. The thought had her smiling around the stick of the lollipop in her mouth. It was only right. She had shown her brother, who she loved best and most in the world, the kindness he asked. Who was she to deny the enemy they were meant to love the same kindness?\n\nThe scalpel slid into her hand from her sleeve. Perhaps the glint of the metal in her hand set them off, because a few almost hesitant gunshots rang out, bullets whizzing far wide of her. She smiled wider, more certain than ever that the God was looking after her, and let out a merry peal of laughter as she began dashing forward, easily weaving in and out of the increasing hail of lead sent her way.\n\n"God of Dust and Resurrection, hear my prayers! Make of my fellow man in your image as pillars of Dust, bearing your infinite power and destruction! See them fall before me, to become as tinder for the fires of war, amen!" she shrieked joyously as she dived into the enemy trench, tackling one of the soldiers to the ground beneath her.\n\nThe blood that welled from his throat around her scalpel didn't turn to Dust. He was unworthy. It was fine. There were a lot of soldiers here. Surely at least one would be worthy, like Janus was.\n\nIf not, oh well. She'd keep looking.\n\nJaune Arc's eyes snapped open, and he stared at the darkness until it resolved into the half-familiar ceiling of an Atlas Academy room.\n\nSlowly, making no sudden moves, he sat up and looked across the room towards the other bed. Assassin lay on her back, almost unmoving, not really seeming to even breathe... until she let out a soft, off-kilter giggle in her sleep.\n\nHe wondered what it would have been like if he'd known Pyrrha all his life, not just one short year. What it would have been like if, grievously and untreatably wounded by Cinder, in her agony she had begged him to end her suffering. If he had had no one there to comfort him, hold his hand, share his burden.\n\nWhat would he have been if the loss he felt had consumed him utterly and his mind had simply not been able to take it?\n\n-\n\n"For the crime of stealing... ten lashes!"\n\nThe boy trembled, his tail trying to tuck between his legs as he cowered. The 'trial', such as it was, had been held right in the open, beside the post where the accused and already guilty was due to be tied. He could no more fight than he could fly away as the mayor's big bailiff grabbed him by the arm and hauled him towards the post.\n\n"Stop."\n\nAlmost all gathered winced at the word... and even though there was relief in the boy's face, there was sorrow too as the purple-haired Faunus stepped from the crowd, his expression even as he raised his hand.\n\n"This boy has committed no crime. I was the one who stole the bag of jerky and gave it to him. It is I who have committed this offense."\n\n"Firio... no, not again," the mayor murmured, something like actual pain crinkling his eyes. "You... you... fine then!" Gritting his teeth, obviously fighting back from being shown up, he shouted, "Then for your repeated crimes against this town, Firio... thirty lashes!"\n\nWithout a word or hesitation, the hunter made his way up the steps to the platform and walked to the post. Without a word, he undid the ties of his vest and pulled off his shirt, unveiling the mass of scar tissue that was his back, lines crossing one over the other until there was no way to see where they began or ended, just an endless patchwork of dead flesh on a living body. He leaned forward, with the motions of long practice resting his shoulder against the post and slipping his arms around it to cross his wrists, the bailiff moving to tie them, even the big, rather dull man's face showing sorrow as he did.\n\nThe mayor stared at Firio's back, as if unable to help thinking of how many of those scars he had put there himself, how recent some of them were, how many might reopen anew at the slightest touch of the lash. His grip on the leather handle went white-knuckled, trembling a little as he raised it, preparing to lash out again...\n\n... until he threw it to the planks.\n\n"WHY?!" he roared to the little thief, whirling on the Faunus boy, round face red with rage. "Why would you do this, when you know that he would take your punishment?! Do you not care about him?! He who feeds all of us, protects us, do you just not care?!"\n\n"I'm sorry," the boy sobbed, trembling all over. "I'm sorry... I'm sorry, we were starving, I'm sorry..."\n\nThe mayor's face twisted, contorted... and then crumpled. And suddenly the human lord of the town was crushing the Faunus boy to him in a hug, tears running down that ruddy, overfed face.\n\n"Then come to me and I will feed you... do not do this to him anymore... do not do this to us anymore." Shuddering a little himself, just for a moment, the mayor sliced a hand through the air. "The sentence is commuted! Get out of my sight, Firio, I'm tired of looking at you!"\n\n"Yes, your honor," Firio replied evenly as the big bailiff cut the ropes around his wrists with a look of relief.\n\nIlia shifted, turned still half-asleep, opened her eyes. Looked across the dark room to the other bed. Firio was asleep sitting up, his back leaned against the wall, hands resting in his lap. As she watched, his eyes slid open the slightest bit, head turning up towards the window to catch the moonlight, ears giving a twitch.\n\n"... So was that the plan?" Ilia whispered finally. "Just... let them keep hurting you until they got tired of it?"\n\n"Mm. It would be nice to say there was a plan, Master, but there never was." That tiny, barely-there smile quirked the visible side of Archer's mouth. "I simply confessed to spare another on impulse one day. And found myself doing it again, and again. Because I realized that the pain was temporary, and I could go on with life, and the peace was kept. I suppose I simply always assumed that one day... the pain would stop. That I just had to hold out for that day. Hope it would get better."\n\n"... I guess I understand that," Ilia said slowly, sitting up and turning to sit on the side of her bed. "Maybe... that's why I summoned you. Because we both understand what it is to be in pain... and we both pushed past it to where it doesn't hurt anymore. But... I still don't understand why you did what you did," she admitted. "Wouldn't it have been better to fight? To resist, or rise up? How could you just... take it?"\n\n"... Heh." Archer closed his eyes. "I suppose it is the nature of a legend to look for some meaning in it. Some truth, or something that can be said for a cause. But I was never making a statement, Master. I was not trying to be an example for others to follow. I was just one man doing what seemed right to me. For me, I could not have taken up arms against my neighbors without hating them, and I do not feel that emotion. I have never fired an arrow or raised a blade in anger. I hated nothing I killed. Not the animals, certainly, for them there was gratitude. Not the Grimm, they merely obeyed their nature. Not even bandits, for I knew well the desperation and circumstances that could drive men to hurt their fellows. Even now I do not hate this evil that comes for our world... because such a rage can, I think, only be born out of a great pain. I will fight Salem with all of my might, but I will not hate her. Because hate makes no one righteous, my Master..." He turned his eyes on her in the dark. "It merely makes us monsters."\n\nIlia thought of Adam parading about, so proud in his Grimm mask, proclaiming that if the humans thought them monsters, they would be. How it had been so easy to embrace that, to put on the mask, to be a monster, because of the hate. She could not see herself ever taking Firio's path... to allow herself to be hurt and punished simply for the sake of keeping the peace... but she had also seen what hate could do. Could breed. It ended with pain and tears, with shattered schools and cities, students laying dead in the streets, human and Faunus blood mingling in the gutters. \n\nThere had to be another way.\n\n-\n\nShe was in bed.\n\nThe bed was comfortable, the house was warm and well-daubed, holding out the cold winter outside. But even the snow was mild and the night clear through the window above her. The last of the day had finished and she had seen well into its night, the moon beautiful in all its shattered glory, the stars sparkling above in the gentle darkness.\n\nHer children, both of blood and heart, were gathered at her bedside, and their children, and in some cases their children. More than one pair of silver eyes gazed back at her. Their faces showed some sadness, but mostly love. This day was not a surprise in coming, and it was not sudden. It was simply time.\n\nHer eldest son took her hand, old and wrinkled, spotted with age, the sign of a long, long life lived to its simple and natural conclusion. He leaned forward to kiss her cheek.\n\n'I hate this,' she thought as she closed her eyes for the last time.\n\nRuby Rose blinked her own eyes awake, for a moment not quite remembering where she was. Then she turned her head, and saw silver eyes gleaming at her in the dark... so much like hers and yet so different. Brighter and wilder, harsher and more frivolous. She stared into those eyes for long moments, saw a white flash of teeth in the dark at a smile.\n\n"What most bothers you, my friend?" Rider said after some time. "That you don't understand why those were my last thoughts... or that there is part of you that understands perfectly?"\n\nRuby had no answer for that. So after long moments, she simply closed her eyes and tried to sleep again.\n\n-\n\n"This trip is taking a lot longer than I thought it would in this marvelous flying contraption," Saber notes as she looks out one of the windows of the Beacon's Vengeance, gazing at the ocean flying by below them.\n\n"The giant Grimm Ruby froze atop Beacon Tower is attracting a ton of aerial Grimm all along the Sea of Vytal," Yang explains, shifting the cards around in her hand. "We'd have had to fight our way all the way there and it probably would have taken just as long. By going over the pole and around, we can come at Vale from the other direction. At least in these new ships it's still only a trip of a week."\n\nArcher regards his own hand of cards solemnly. Then he lays a pair of them out. "I play 'Defensive Wall' along with 'Dust Reserves'. Not only is my defense doubled for the next two rounds, I inflict a penalty to attack due to you having less motivation to raid my Dust supply."\n\nYang's eye twitches. "I hate defensive Vacuo players." Archer just gave her his tiny smile in response.\n\n"Ummmm... okay. Hm." Ilia scratches at one of her specks absently as she looks over her hand. "I play... Paranoia Psyops on Ruby," she declares after a bit more thought, placing her card on the board. "By spreading rumors that I've developed a type of drone that can pass as human, I cause suspicion among Vale's populace and lower your defense until after my next action."\n\n"Nooooo I'm being invaded by Pennies!" Ruby wails, clutching at her cheeks with both hands, before flicking her eyes side-to-side in suspicion. "Wait... am I?!"\n\n"Master," Rider notes from where she's leaned on the back of Ruby's chair, poking her atop the head and pointing. "What about that card you played earlier?"\n\n"Ooooo right! My Valean Corsairs!" Ruby chirps, instantly bright and sunny again as she slides the card's position upright. "Since they're deployed in the sea, they're immune to any effects that happen in Vale! I can activate them to bolster my defense!"\n\n"Ah-ah-ah, sis, guess again! You just put a card with the 'Pirate' tag into attack mode, that means you've activated my trap card!" Yang grins as she flips over the card. "Horde of Ninjas!"\n\n"Noooooooooooooo! My dashing sea captain!" Ruby wails again, Rider pulling an abashed 'oops' grin as the younger silver-eyed Huntress looks over at you, eyes large and filled with tears. "Kaiiiiiii, they're bullying meeeeee!"\n\n"No bulli my Rubes," you comment with a chuckle from where you're reading a book Blake suggested.\n\n"What an interesting game, Senpai," Mash comments from where she's sitting nearby observing the whole thing.\n\n"You wanna play, Mash?" the ginger Master asks with a grin.\n\n"Oh yes! Perhaps when they're done."\n\n"I actually think there's another board around here," Jaune speaks up, trying not to be too obvious about getting up from beside Assassin, who's just sort of spaced out and staring into the distance like she's waiting to see something. "Lemme take a look."\n\n"Oh, look, we're over land now," Saber comments as the ocean below gives way to trees. "Vale actually doesn't look that changed, from this height, I wonder if-" Then her eyes widen and she whirls, diving to tackle Yang to the deck, Archer similarly grabbing Ilia and flinging himself down, Rider snatching Ruby up and hurling herself to the deck atop the smaller woman as Mash instantly transform, yanking both you and Ritsuka behind her shield.\n\n"Oh Master~, incoming~," Assassin singsongs.\n\n"Wha-" And then Jaune lurches and is thrown to the deck as something impacts, the ship lifting violently on one side, alarms starting to scream and a sound like a loud shrieking overlaying a hundred tiny groans starts, the angle of the airship shifting and then growing more extreme.\n\nAssassin calmly rises to her feet, humming a cheerful little tune as she walks across the slanted deck without a problem. Hauling Jaune up as if the muscular, armored man weighed nothing and tucking him under an arm, she then walks over to the nearest door and almost absentmindedly kicks the emergency release, forcing it open, the door snapping to the side to reveal that a goodly section of the ship beyond it just isn't there anymore, instead showing a mass of rent metal and gaping emptiness looking out on the sky outside. "Well I certainly wouldn't recommend waiting until the airship comes to a complete stop before moving about the cabin," she comments breezily before hopping over the twisted metal around the hole and dropping through with Jaune.\n\n"She's right, we've gotta get out of here!" you call as you fight against the slant of the deck yourself, hearing the shrieking getting louder as the disabled vessel picks up more and more ballistic speed. "Go, go, everyone out!" you call, Servants grabbing up their Masters and rushing to the hole to leap out, Mash doing her best to haul both you and Ritsuka along and leaping free.\n\nInstantly the wind catches you, hurling you this way and that, Mash's hold on your wrist barely keeping you with her as you draw away from the doomed airship, its hull smoking and in flames as it falls from the sky. Ritsuka grits her teeth, then yelps as a particularly strong gust of wind rips part of her sleeve free from Mash's hold and sends her tumbling off towards other falling figures in the distance.\n\n"SENPAI!" Mash cries, her hand still stretched out... before she grits her teeth and yanks you close instead, pulling you in against her and tucking both of you into the hollow of her shield, managing to get it turned downward. "Sterling-san, hold on!"\n\nGritting your own teeth, you nod and brace, hearing the wind howl past, and then feeling the shudders and smacks of branches and what was probably a tree trunk against the shield's outer face, and then one final massive impact that sends a large plume of dirt rocketing into the sky all around you. Dazed, you cough and shift a little. "Mash... you okay?"\n\n"Yes... I'm a Demi-Servant, after all. Are you unhurt, Sterling-san?" \n\n"Yeah, my Aura soaked most of it thanks to you." You slowly get up, half-crawling over the edge of the shield until you're on solid ground and can push yourself up. Ruby! Jaune! Yang! Ilia! Is everyone okay?!\n\nUgh... I hit my head when the ship was attacked but I'm okay now. I'm not sure whether to say "no thanks to Assassin" or "thanks to Assassin", I guess it balances out.\n\nWe're alright... Rider summoned Fenris and we landed on him, and then he caught Ritsuka. He grumbled a lot about it though, Ruby adds to her send in a sheepish tone.\n\nSaber and I are good. It feels like we're pretty close to you, stay where you are, Yang sends.\n\nI'm alright, we're in some trees, Ilia adds.\n\nThen you and Mash both jerk in surprise at the sound of a distant impact, followed by an explosion. Wincing, you shake your head. "So much for Beacon's vengeance." Did anyone see if any of the crew made it out?\n\nI saw some parachutes I think, Ruby sends back. But... I don't know how many. And with no psycomms or CCT coverage, we're... probably not going to find them, considering how far people would be spread by the ship's speed as it crashed.\n\nDamn. You scowl, then look up at the sound of someone pushing through the bushes, Red Legacy in your hand and Mash's shield raising. Both of you relax as Yang and Saber emerge from the trees, both of them with pine needles in their blonde hair. "You two alright?"\n\n"We're fine. What the hell hit us though?" Yang asks with a scowl. "Was that an anti-air missile, or some kind of Grimm, or-"\n\n"I'm afraid that was a magic attack," Mash says with a sigh. "One launched from a magic circle."\n\n"Magic... wait, not Dust, like actual magic?" Yang asks with a blink. "Did Salem herself come out here to shoot us out of the sky or something?"\n\n"No... I don't think we would have been able to sense it if it had been, or at least I wouldn't have," Mash says slowly. "Since I felt it as much as the others, it must have been an attack created with Earthly magecraft. And an attack of that size and magnitude, that could almost destroy a powerful ship like that one..."\n\n"Shit. You're saying it was one of those Rogue Servants you talked about?" You wince a little, glancing around nervously. "Probably from Earth?"\n\n"With how sudden the attack was, with very little time between the activation of the circle and the blast, and able to catch us despite how fast we were moving... it almost must have been a Caster," Mash agrees. "Probably a very powerful one too. That... could be very, very bad, if they've decided to side with Salem," she adds with a wince of her own.\n\n"Define 'bad' as we head towards Vale," Yang grunts. "... Which is... um..." \n\n"This way, I think, Master," Saber speaks up, pointing after looking around for long moments. "From the way the plants are growing and the look of the land."\n\n"Okay, good job, let's go." \n\nAfter you've been underway for a few minutes, the others confirming they're heading in the general direction of Vale too, you glance over at Mash. "So why's a Caster such an extra-bad problem?"\n\n"Well... Heroic Spirits who manifest in the Caster class are often intellectuals, artists, and scholars... but with a magic circle attack of that power, they were probably an actual Mage in life. And if they were a Mage in life, the chances of them knowing how to summon Servants, especially now that they are one themselves, increases dramatically," Mash adds in a worried tone.\n\n"So wait, you're saying that this Rogue Servant could summon more Servants themself?! That's the shittiest version of a Mantellian Nesting Doll I've ever heard!" Yang blurts.\n\n'I've been such a bad influence on her,' you think a little amusedly, before grimacing and focusing on current matters. "Shit, they wouldn't even need to do that. This Rogue Servant's had a week now to get the lay of the land... if they decided they wanted to fuck over Remnant for whatever reason, they don't need to go it alone, they can just hook up with the one already aiming to do that."\n\n"Salem. And she already has plenty of mortal followers with awakened Auras," Yang groans.\n\n"And with what's probably an Earth Caster helping them, they could summon Earth Servants, or Remnant Servants, or even some sort of hybrids," Mash allows. "At least, from what Da Vinci said earlier. This is... one of the worst-case scenarios," she admits.\n\n"Of course it is," you mutter. \n\nAll of you continue on for awhile, Saber leading the way for the most part, until she suddenly stops, head tilting a little. "Mash... can you feel it?"\n\n"Yes... there's another Servant nearby," the pink-haired girl agrees, raising her shield slightly. "And I do not think it is one of our friends."\n\nAlmost as if on cue, the light making it through the canopy of trees begins to dim and fade. It can still be seen glowing up at the point where it enters the branches, but goes no further, as if it had simply been denied entry. The previously pleasantly cool early winter air begins to grow colder, all four of you's breath frosting in the air as the atmosphere grows thick and oppressive.\n\n"I hope you'll pardon me. I just... hate sunshine."\n\nAll four of you whip around to face the direction of the voice, then stare. Perched in the shadowed branches of the nearby trees are... owls. Owls of a number of different sizes, most with 'horns' of feathers sweeping up from their eyes, which seem to glow as they fix steadily on all of you. As if the appearance of what must be several dozen owls in the middle of the day weren't crazy enough, some of them seem to be in the midst of arranging party banners, draping them from the trees with little jerks and bobs of the head, both too smooth and nearly mechanical at once. Some of them even have teacups balanced on their heads, a few large ones practically snuggled up next to a tall teapot with steam rising from its spout.\n\nAnd those are clustered around a woman. Currently clad entirely in a brown hood made to resemble the owls surrounding her, the only things visible her hands holding a teacup and saucer, and her long, bare legs dangling down over the front of the branch, feet limp and dangling below as if she'd settled without a care in the world. The darkness beneath her hood is unnaturally deep and all-consuming, as if her face had simply... disappeared into it.\n\n<img src="images/Berserker1.png">\n\n"You must forgive me. I wanted to have a little tea party for all of you, but the one who sent the invitations didn't exactly tell me when you'd be coming. As good as my old friend for peeking and prying and knowing, that one, but she so rarely ever shares. But then neither does he." She lifts the cup up to the emptiness of her hood, the steam rising from it shifting as if blown on, but without a sound. "I was very excited when she told me about your Saber."\n\n"... Me?" Saber speaks up, glancing around at the rest of you.\n\n"Mm-hmmm. You see, my little... mm, friend? Say friend... successor maybe... she told me about your legend, Saber. About how it lined up with someone we know. Well I didn't know her, but I knew her father, you see, sooooo... it almost feels like you're my own darling grandchild." Despite her voice sounding youthful and beautiful, the cloaked figure gave a giggle that was distinctly reminiscent of a crone's cackle. "I suppose I wanted to reminisce. So before we get down to our little tea party, let me ask you something."\n\n"... Alright," Saber murmurs, hand shifting a little on the grip of her still-sheathed sword.\n\n"Now. Let me ask you, child, do you perhaps find me... magnificent?" the cloaked Servant prompts hopefully. "Or perchance even, marvelous? ... Or... do you simply find me..." She slowly raises her head fully, shadows drawing away to reveal a cruel smile, flashing green eyes, and wild purple hair. "Mad?"\n\n"She's a Berserker!" Mash calls in warning, throwing herself to the front of the group as the cloaked woman suddenly moves in a flash, diving down on the group almost faster than can be seen, her bare feet having changed into a predator bird's talons. They clang against the surface and make a truly awful scraping sound as they scrabble across it, before Berserker manages to get her talons gripped around the edges of the shield, the pink-haired girl yelping as she's hauled and thrown against a tree.\n\n"Now now, little echo, don't talk back to your elders," Berserker scolds cheerfully as she lands in a crouch, her feet changing back. "That Galahad, so honorable and pure and yet so mouthy, you'd think he'd be a bit better at minding his manners." Then she leaps forward, her hands contorting into crablike claws that she snaps at the young-looking blonde, making her yelp and dive away, sword flashing from its sheath as she barely manages to dodge or repel the attacks.\n\n"Dammit," Yang snaps, transforming her arm and bracelet and starting to step forward, only for you to throw an arm around her shoulders.\n\n"Look at how fast they're moving! They'd tear you the fuck apart without noticing!"\n\n"I've gotta do something though!"\n\n"Yeah, command Saber and tell her what to do!"\n\n"Nnnh." Yang grits her teeth, purple eyes watching the flit of the battle, Berserker's cackling overlaying with the strike of steel on chitin before she calls. "Saber! Go for the legs!"\n\n"Yes!" Saber drops, slashing at Berserker's lower body, the enemy Servant backflipping over the attack and landing a short distance away... only to have Mash's shield slam into her and send her flying. She twists in midair, hands shrinking back to normal as her feet change again, becoming green and slick-skinned as they land and grip against the surface of the tree, her legs bulging and turning green as well before she launches herself back at Mash, massive curled horns growing from beneath her hood as her legs return to human, Mash knocked off-balance by the impact.\n\n"She can only change one part of her at a time! Keep her pressed on different sides so she can't shift too much!" Yang adds.\n\n"Ohhhh you're a mouthy little thing too aren't you?" Berserker hisses as she lands in a crouch, her cloak briefly flying back and showing a glimpse of her naked body beneath. "Just you wait, just you wait, you're gonna be uwahoo!" she squeals as her ranting distracts her until Saber's almost taken off her head, ducking hard and low under the swipe of the sword, twisting to face away, her whole lower body turning grey and equinoid as she lashes out with feet-turned-hooves, Saber letting out a whuf as the blow catches her in the stomach and knocks her sprawling.\n\nMash slips back in, this time positioning herself between Berserker and Saber, hauling the blonde Servant to her feet as the other half-canters forward before shifting back to human, albeit in a distinctly bestial crouch. "She's gathering power! I think she's going to use a Noble Phantasm!" Mash calls back.\n\n"Dammit!" Yang hisses. "What the hell do I do?!"\n\n<hr>\n[[Urge Yang to use a Command Seal.|KaiRuby]]\n\n[[Urge Yang to use her head.|KaiRuby]]

"When you say the Cash Machine has a 'weird way of taking collateral'," you say slowly.\n\n"I mean that very few people run out on him. I'll let him explain it himself, though, lemme give you directions to his place."\n\nYou and Nyna head out, following Big Girl's directions. As the two of you walk, the neighborhood actually starts looking a bit cleaner and tidier, if only because it seems like there's a lot less litter on the streets. Although, as Nyna points out, "Man, I don't think I've ever seen so many synths in one place."\n\nYou nod, glancing around. This definitely does seem to be a, let's say, artificial part of town, with the majority of people out on the street obviously being some variety of synthetic. There are what look like cyborgs too (or maybe just synths with more realistic parts), and a good handful of organics, though those mostly seem to be hitting on what you're guessing are synth working girls. The vast majority of them are a variety you think are called 'Polynians'... bodies made up primarily of white plastic with visible black ball-and-socket joints and molded helmet-like hair in a variety of colors, ranging from having flexible plastic faces to shiny black faceplates with pixel expressions, and hybrids that range between them. A lot of them are also naked... showing off those plastic and rubber bodies (mostly well-polished and clean) in all their glory, with firm-looking but featureless white plastic tits or round crotch bulges in in a range of sizes (or in some cases both). \n\n"I bet you guys are looking for the Cash Machine, huh?" one of the ones with both says, looking over from the human guy that had been chatting her up. She smiles, the molded blue material of her bangs hiding her eyes (if she even has them) and lending her an impish quality as she thumbs towards a nearby bar-style building with a neon sign reading 'The Oil Puddle'. "In there."\n\nThe Oil Puddle turns out to be a combination bar, brothel, casino, and exhibition hall... the exhibition specifically being oil wrestling. The customers are a mix of synths and organics, mostly gathered around small, shallow pits where a mix of synths and organics, mostly female in appearance, are wrestling and tussling with each other in different varieties of oil, ranging from vegetable oil leaving them gleaming and glistening to what you're hoping is just simulated used motor oil with its thick black rainbow-gleaming gunk clinging to female forms. Plenty of the customers have synth girls (and boys) sitting on their laps or dancing attendance on them, although a lot of those are the ones who look like they're either cyborgs or just have more realistic parts, some clearly full androids with natural skin tone, only given away by the indented panel lines ranging over their bare skin and their somewhat inhuman optics. There are also any number of slot machines and card tables scattered about (though mostly positioned far enough away from the oil-wrestling arenas to not get spattered).\n\nIt's not hard to spot the Cash Machine, either. He's one of the only more saurianoid synths in the place, with a long, segmented neck and a lengthy muzzle-shaped head, the upper part mostly a gleaming black faceplate with mecha-wings flanking it on either side, and a solid lower muzzle. Even without the long neck he's bigger and taller than other synths in the place, even sitting down, with a broad torso and powerful-looking arms. It's also not hard to tell that he must be the Cash Machine because instead of white combat-grade plastic, he's gold-plated, the rich metallic gleam not quite mirror shine but definitely glowing with the club lights in a way that demands attention. He's sprawled back in the booth half of a table, flanked by a pair of Polynians, one female form factor with molded green hair, visible green optics, huge spherical globes on her chest, the other femboy form factor with molded red hair covering his upper face and with a petite round white plastic bulge on the front of his crotch. Both are lovingly and intently polishing the Cash Machine's own large, spherical crotch bulge with soft cloths, so that it and it alone has a mirror shine on it.\n\n"Evening, ladies," he says at your approach, his golden lower jaw hanging down a bit in a grin, displaying a glowing green memory rubber tongue. "May I assume you're here to do business?"\n\nYou wait for a moment to see if he'll ask his robobitches to stop polishing his bulge long enough to conduct business, but when there's no sign of that you decide to press on. "I'm Michika, this is Nyna," you say, tilting your head to your temporary partner, who seems vaguely baffled at the sight before her, as if not quite sure how to process it. "We're looking for a loan to get our ship fixed up so we can do a job."\n\n"Well you've come to the right sentient," the Cash Machine says with a chuckle, the green pixels that make up his eyes squinting in an amused way. "I'm always up for giving out loans, and at extremely reasonable rates! Although I think you may have heard, I charge my collateral and interest a bit... differently... than others."\n\nYou exchange a discreet glance with Nyna before looking back at the Cash Machine. "Yeah, I heard no one ever runs out on you, but I didn't hear the details."\n\n"Mmmm. So tell me what the size of the loan is gonna be first," he declares, dipping his three-fingered hands down to squeeze the asses of both his robobitches, both of whom squirm delightedly but don't cease in their polish job. "I need to get an idea of the scope of this."\n\nYou explain in brief the absolute bare minimum the ship needs and that it's also likely in need of some extra repairs, but how the job you've got will pay immediately on delivery of the package and is basically guaranteed creds. You leave Huwhin's name out of it, of course, just in case, but don't bother hiding that you're going to be stealing from another pirate... that seems like it would be fairly normal here. The Cash Machine nods along with everything, and then finally nudges his robobitches aside, having them scurry out of the booth before he slides out as well, his long segmented golden tail sliding back and forth as he beckons. "Alright, this way."\n\nYou and Nyna exchange another glance, but without any real other option you both fall in behind him, the two Polynians following after you. The Cash Machine leads you into a back hallway that's about what you'd expect of a sex club, and then into a more pristine one with white walls and sliding doors that looks more like a clinic of some sort. The Cash Machine leads the way through one of the doors as it slides open in front of you, and as you follow him in you stop and stare, with Nyna making a low choked noise and clapping her hands over her mouth.\n\nThere are a pair of reclining chairs in the middle of the room, the same kind that you might see at a high-end tattoo parlor, but more likely at a cyberclinic, which the machinery hovering over both of them looks far more like, long segmented arms tipped with multitools that look like a made-to-purpose surgical autodoc specializing in cybernetic implants. But what got the reaction out of you both is the medical support tanks lining the walls full of body parts... arms, legs, even entire torsos. \n\n"Collateral," the Cash Machine says with a digital snicker, tapping one gold-plated finger against one of the tanks holding a female torso, its arms, legs, and neck capped with silver. "Well, actually in this one's case it was an interest payment. See, I charge only a flat twenty percent on the whole loan, but if you miss a payment deadline, instead of more credits, I collect a bit more of your body as collateral. Oh, don't worry," he adds, gesturing to one of the autodocs, which lowers down a right arm in the same Polynian synth style as most of the synths outside had... combat-grade white plastic with ball and socket shoulder, elbow, and wrist, and small rubber segments for finger joints. "We provide lovely, fully-functional loaners for free. In the case of the more prominent bits, we even provide synthetic skin coverings to keep you recognizably you. Generous, right?"\n\n"I..." you stammer, still admittedly put on your back foot by the roomful of 'collateral'... which, if you were thinking straight, you'd realize was probably exactly his intent, since he's now thoroughly dominating the conversation, turning back to loom over both you and Nyna.\n\n"Now, you're talking about a fairly large loan, so I'm thinking I'll need some fairly stiff collateral," he continues in a reasonable tone. "If it was just the OS core I might charge, mmm, one arm each, but with the question mark of the other repairs, I think it's going to have to be all four arms. Don't worry, once you pay me in full, we'll get you put back together good as new, I don't even charge for the stasis tank use," he adds breezily... before letting that glowing green tongue poke out a bit in a slightly mocking 'blep'. "But I take it you see why most are disinclined to run out on my loans. Disappear on me, I'll make my money back selling your bits, and good luck ever tracking them down. Now, do we have a deal?"\n\n<hr>\n[[Doesn't seem like you have much choice.|ChiDD]]\n\n[[No!|ChiDD]]

You kind of want to have this prank go on awhile... managing a magical girl in an embarrassing outfit longterm seems like it could be fun, plus Michiko does do the most delightfully silly things all on her own while participating in your delusion! "Yeah! Go get him, Foxtail Red!" you cheer, hopping in place.\n\nMichiko, ah, Foxtail Red jerks back a bit as the monster charges at her and swipes downward with one big, clawed hand... but you make sure that it telegraphs the move coming from a mile off, and Red is able to both dodge to one side and bring her hands up to block it, grabbing the sides of his palms. You plaster a shocked expression on the wolf monster's face... before actually feeling a little shocked as Red gives out a shout of "HYAAAAAAAAAA!" and whirls around, using her grip not to throw the werewolf, but swing it around and slam it into a wall.\n\n'Damn girl, taking the chance to work out some of that pent-up aggression, huh?' You firm up the wolf monster's existence just a little, since you don't want an insta-win, having it instead yank free of Red's grip and backswing a bit harder, actually connecting this time and knocking her aside. Red lets out a yelp at getting struck, and a short cry as she impacts with enough force to rock her body and crack the brick... then she blinks repeatedly as she apparently realizes she's not actually hurt or in pain. You snicker to yourself at the smirk that steals over her lips. 'Yesyes, get all confident, revel in it, that will make eventually having you lose be the really satisfying part of the prank!' you think as she darts back in and deals several punches to the wolf's midsection, driving it back further into the alley. Still controlling the beast like a puppet, you have it swipe several times with its claws, quickly enough to force Red to go scrambling back herself.\n\n"Konko! I'm having trouble dealing enough damage to it!" your vic-, ah, protege calls out.\n\n"Use your Foxtail Blaster!" you call back, trying not to laugh even as you say it.\n\n"R-right! Foxtail Blaster!" she cries out, holding a hand out in front of her in a gripping motion. You quickly form up a bright red gun with an obvious white-tipped foxtail sticking up off the back of it in her hand. You decided to actually make it brushed metal and with crystal light-up bits... you were tempted to make it an obvious production-line toy, made out of plastic and even with visible seams and screw holes, but there are some things that are just so distasteful in suit shows that you can't bring yourself to stomach them. "FOXTAIL BEEEEEEEAM!" she shouts, again entirely of her own initiative, as she pulls the trigger. Just to indulge her, you decide to make the blast of red energy that fires out of the green emitter on the end much larger and sparklier and brighter than you were going to have it be originally. It strikes the wolf monster right in center mass, the beast flinging its arms up comically before it explodes, turning into dust and smoke as the safe little bit of pyrotechnics goes off where it was.\n\n"I won!" Red's eyes are wide behind the visor, then she lets out a squeal of joy and starts hopping up and down, jiggling delightfully as she laughs. "I won I won I won!"\n\n"You did! You saved the town, Foxtail Red!" you declare in a proud tone, while internally smirking wickedly. Yes, it's totally going to be sweet when you-\n\nYour thoughts are interrupted by a roll of thunder as the sky darkens above... then an entirely different thunder-like sound that goes on much longer and sounds a lot rougher. You and Foxtail Red both turn towards it, the scantily-clad girl's jaw sagging at the sight of a monster that looks a lot like the one she just defeated, albeit with four arms... and about thirty stories tall, wreathed in the dust of the under-construction building it just knocked down. As it's letting out a roar, an image forms projected on the dark clouds above, of a pretty but severe woman wearing a military cap, eyepatch, and with wolf ears poking through the top of her head.\n\n"People of Earth!" the projection booms. "The Wolf Dimension requires your natural resources. Your society and civilization is standing in the way of how we wish to make use of them, and so it will be destroyed. Do not bother trying to resist... that will only make our will to destroy you harder!"\n\n'Ooooo, this is very good, very good indeed!' you think smugly, nodding as you smirk. 'Good job, me, this is super dramatic and a great touch! ... Wait a second.' You frown. '... I'm not doing this.' "WHAT?!" you blurt out, eyes going wide.\n\n"K-Konko, is that the leader of the Wolf Dimension?!" Michiko stammers, looking from the projection to you.\n\n"A-ah, yes, it certainly seems so!" you reply, trying your best to keep your chipper mascot demeanor. 'Is my imagination running away with me again? Go away, you!' you think at the giant monster now trudging meaningfully down the street with thunderous impacts of its feet... but nothing happens. You try to poof it to the bottom of the ocean, and frown more deeply as your power just... thumps against it and does nothing. 'What the... that shouldn't happen, even if it's the creation of another, even more powerful spirit I should feel some struggle against my abilities!'\n\n"Japan as you know it will cease to exist," the wolf-eared woman declares. "Make your peace with that." Then she fades away, leaving just the rumbling dark clouds.\n\n"You can't destroy Japan!" you find yourself blurting out, utterly outraged. 'I'm still using it!'\n\n"O-okay, Konko, what do we do now?" Michiko asks nervously, looking at you expectantly.\n\n"... ah..." Right, okay. You don't want this town to be destroyed, its where your house is and all the people that you prank live here. Clearly you can't just let a kaiju stomp it flat... but you also apparently can't affect the kaiju yourself. Which means... you need to make use of a resource you're already using, namely the magical girl you just created. Magical girls fighting giant monsters is a thing, after all, it's not like the genre never crosses over with other suit heroes! So let's see, you'll just need to have her-\n\n<hr>\n[[-grow to giant size.|KonMG]]\n\n[[-pilot a mecha.|KonMG1x2]]

Grrrr... this will vex you if you don't figure it out. Vex you enough that you'll have to willingly do something else that vexes you... pray.\n\nTechnically it's praying when you talk to a god, even if you do it face-to-face and as rudely as possible, which you totally are going to do because fuck gods.\n\nYou stalk off down the street, heading for one of the shrines in the older part of town. You stop before the first torii, glowering at it, then swing a leg up and stomp it towards the empty space inside as if kicking down a door. There's a satisfying wham as part of the space in front of you goes swinging hard inwards, revealing a room interior that you stalk into, ignoring reality swinging back closed behind you. "HEY, TSUBASA, WHAT THE FUCK?!"\n\n"Mm?" The goddess sitting on the couch raises her head from the book she's reading with a blink. It really aggravates you to see that like you, all she seems to be wearing is a hoodie... hers is white, though, and rather than a foxtail sticking through it ambiguously, it's a pair of small but pretty white-feathered wings. How dare she appropriate your totally unique modern look! Just because it's comfy and they're available literally everywhere and thus completely effortless to make with magic! Well... she's also wearing a choker, but you do accessories too! She's sitting in the reading room of the softly-lit, comfy-seeming mansion she keeps in her godly realm, which is visible through the window behind her, a collection of floating islands in a peaceful blue sky dotted with fluffy white clouds. Her iridescently blonde hair is wound into a braid tied in 'crown' fashion at the back of her head, with a few falls of it on either side of her face, and her ocean-colored eyes peer at you from behind thin round glasses... okay that's totally a super cute accessory, you should try glasses some time. Laying on her lap is a rather majestic-seeming black cat, who's also raised its head to look at you, its raven-like wings lifted slightly in alarm. "Hello, Konko, can I assume something's wrong or did you just want to be rude to me? I suppose it could be either."\n\n<img src="images/TsubasaKami.jpg">\n\n"It totally could but I'm here to talk about very important things! First of all!" you snap back, planting your feet and pointing dramatically. "What the fuck is with that cat?! I know you're the god of winged things, but a winged cat is just showing off, you snot!"\n\n"I wanted a cat, and since most of my realm is shaped around flying, I made a cat with wings, that's all," Tsubasa replies in a reasonable tone, setting her book aside and stroking said cat's back gently, its wings gradually relaxing and its head leaning against her as its eyes close.\n\n"That is annoyingly sensible and also it's a really cute cat!" you snap back at her in aggravation.\n\nYou really hate gods, you think sourly as you watch this one pet her cat and just look at you expectantly. Admittedly, Tsubasa-no-Arumono-no-Kami is the one you hate the least out of all of them... as the god of all winged things, she doesn't really have a stake in maintaining order or trying to make you behave beyond 'please don't bother too many birds or kill too many bugs', which you... may have avoided doing, but not because she asked you, you just felt like it and also birds poop when they're startled and that's bothersome and also squished bugs are gross! Still, she's the most likely to help you, not that you need her help, she can just tell you stuff that it would be more annoying to figure out on your own!\n\n"So, what is it you need help with?"\n\nYou huff a little, folding your arms over your chest. "So you don't know what happened in the city?"\n\n"The one you live in? No, these days I don't know everything that something with wings sees in an area, I'm afraid, unless someone's actually in one of my shrines praying or doing priestly work at the time," Tsubasa answers with a little shake of the head. "I did vaguely sense something happened, but I thought you might just be playing a particularly elaborate prank."\n\n"Well it started that way," you grumble, but decide to go ahead and explain everything. Tsubasa's not much of a prude or a busybody, so you don't bother rephrasing or obfuscating anything, instead just telling her straight-out that you found a hot nerdy human and began a longterm prank to make her a magical girl to play around with her. Then you explain about the appearance of the wolf-eared figure in the clouds and the kaiju, and how you were forced to further empower Michiko so she could deal with it. "At first I thought maybe it was just my imagination running away with me again, but I couldn't affect that giant monster at all! In fact there wasn't any 'pushback' when I tried to poof it into the ocean, it just sort of... ignored me, like it hadn't even noticed I tried to do something to it. Even if it was a more powerful spirit, that doesn't seem right... I figured it must be the work of a god. And since it didn't have wings I kinda doubted it was you."\n\n"Quite," Tsubasa answers, with just a tiny quirk of a smile. Then she frowns thoughtfully, leaning back against her comfy-looking little couch, the sunlight from outside playing over her hair and washing little rainbows through it. "Well, there are precious few spirits more powerful than you left anyway... I'd feel fairly safe saying 'none', even. And quite frankly that would go for a lot of gods... very few of us are seriously worshiped these days, one of the only reasons I have as much power as I do is that my domain covers so many living things. But yes, a powerful enough god could probably create something that would be able to shrug off your powers without noticing."\n\n"So, what, it's the really big one?" You flick your eyes skyward, despite the fact that the two of you are in a whole other realm at the moment. "The foreigners' one? I thought He didn't do overt stuff anymore?"\n\n"No, I doubt that was Him. There's another possibility... that you weren't able to affect the wolf monster because your powers are bound in this world and based off of affecting this world. If that wolf wasn't from the realm of your birth, but was in fact from another dimension-"\n\n"Now hold on hold on hold on," you interrupt with a huff, waving your hands. "You're telling me that it really was an invader from the Wolf Dimension? A thing appeared based on a fiction I had just then created to lie to a mortal? Even if that's true, that sort of coincidence and mockery seems like the work of a god, still. ... Admittedly one with a sense of humor I could appreciate," you allow, making a bit of a face at the thought of actually admiring a god's work.\n\nTsubasa opens her mouth, then closes it, cupping her chin thoughtfully as she looks down. "... You're right. Although it's possible both are true. Perhaps the Wolf Dimension is real and that creature was from it, but it was created by a god even more powerful than-" She says His name, making you wince just a little and fold down your ears.\n\n"Hey, hey, careful with that stuff! Pagan nature deity here!" You glower for a moment at Tsubasa's apologetic look, then hrm. "But seriously? I thought that was kind of His deal, that He was omnipotent whether they worshiped Him or not."\n\n"Yes, but He puts restrictions on Himself, and the more powerful god of my theory doesn't. Alright, so." She rests her hands on her cat's back, leaning back again and looking at you. "You know the difference between a god and a deity, right?"\n\n"Yeah, deities are cool because I'm one, and gods are all dicks." You pause, feeling a twinge of something at Tsubasa's mildly hurt look, and covering it quickly with a smirk and a snicker. "Fine, fine, I'll play along. A deity is anything that humans worship, a god is anything that's actually innately divine. Deities can become gods if enough humans worship them for long enough to elevate them to divinity, but gods can't ever be anything but gods once they are one, they just wane in power and maybe disappear if they're completely forgotten about." Which is fine by you, you hope all of them do! ... Well... Tsubasa maybe can stay, she sets a great table, even if she is a stupid god and a style-stealer.\n\n"Right. Anything humans worship in large enough numbers, for long enough, and devotedly enough can become a god, and the more worship, the more numbers, and the greater length of time, the more powerful that god is." Tsubasa raises her thin, glittery golden eyebrows. "And can you tell me anything that humans worship more fervently than themselves?"\n\nYou open your mouth. Close it again. Open it. Close it. Put both hands to your face. "Wait wait wait wait, back the kon up. Are you saying humanity, en masse, is a god?"\n\n"It's quite possible. Theoretically, anyway. Their collective unconscious is a very powerful thing. It's possible that you just so happened to be the tipping point in this particular instance, and something based on a mass delusion was due to be created soon anyway. Everything you've described... invaders from another dimension, beautiful female commanders with intimidating looks, giant monsters that look like creatures we know but with 'extra', those are all things that millions of humans are focused on, and millions more are aware of. It could be that the creation of their mass delusion merely resembled the fiction you made up largely by coincidence, or it formed up on the most recent and most powerful input it had... which was definitely Michiko's, since you actually made all those things real for her."\n\n"So there's an entire dimension out there, full of stuff I can't affect because it's not from this dimension, and as far as they're concerned they've always existed, but actually humanity collectively thought them into existence earlier today and I was just the tipping point 'cause I dressed a thicc nerd girl in a very lewd magical girl outfit and had her fight a werewolf?"\n\n"It's just a theory," Tsubasa admits with another shrug. "I've been reading about a thing humans call 'parapsychology' lately, it's fascinating, you'd actually probably get a kick out of it too, considering its relevance to your tastes."\n\nYour ears perk up and your eyes go to her discarded book before you can stop them, but you quickly clear your throat and ignore the bait offer to hang out and chat about nerdy stuff like how human brains work (oh man you actually want to knoooow but no you don't haha fuck off you're a god Tsubasa but you do waaah). "But even if that's so, what's it all mean?"\n\n"Well, whatever the reason it's happening, it means you're probably going to see more invasion attempts, by more things that your power won't work on. And so, if you want to defend your town... since, after all, that's where your pranking targets are," Tsubasa adds wryly.\n\n"See, you get me," you acknowledge with a bob of the head. "That's why I hate you the least out of all the gods."\n\n"Mm. But if you want to defend the town, I suppose you'll have to keep up your 'prank' of making Michiko a magical girl, and continue helping her and giving her powers and assistance." Tsubasa mms. "Actually, you probably ought to find and recruit some more girls, don't you think? Five is the usual number for this sort of thing, I'm pretty sure, in an array of colors. ... I watch TV occasionally too, you know," she says flatly in answer to your stare.\n\n"Mmmm." You flick your tail as you cup your chin and look down. She does have a point, though. If you want to protect the town, AKA where you keep your stuff and your convenient pranking targets, you will have to keep on helping Michiko be a magical girl. And the point about maybe getting a couple more of them isn't bad either, even if it might theoretically get a little bit taxing. \n\n<hr>\n[[Recruit more magical girls.|KonMG]]\n\n[[Make do with just Michiko.|KonMG]]\n\n[[Eh, fuck it, too much work.|KonMG]]

Oooo, you should definitely have her grow to giant size, that will be-\n\nWait, you think with a frown. It would be way easier for her to get hurt that way. You can't have that! ... You need her! Also you want to go on pranking her for a little while once this stupid thing is resolved! Better to choose a safer way for her to fight it. Quickly getting back into character, you cry, "I was hoping we wouldn't have to use this, but we'll have to bring out... Foxred Dynamo!"\n\n"Foxred Dynamo?!" Michiko squeals, fists pressed together in front of her chin as her eyes sparkle.\n\nEh, close enough to an activation phrase, let's get on with it! You envelope Michiko in sparkles, transporting her into the cockpit of the mecha you've just whipped up and sent running down the streets of the city, its silver-clawed red feet somehow not making a complete mess of the streets. ... Dang, you could have made a complete mess of the streets! You were only thinking of having it be genre accurate! But the huge red fox robot nevertheless continues its path as Michi-, ah, Foxtail Red finds herself sitting in a chair and gripping a pair of handles. \n\n"Ah, what do I do, Konko?!" \n\n"It works off of your thoughts," you answer her remotely, sending your voice through the robot's cockpit speakers. "Just do what feels right and it will obey you!"\n\n"Right, got it!" Foxtail Red takes over piloting, and you see her veer the big machine into a turn, rounding a corner and coming face-to-face with the rather surprised-looking four-armed wolf kaiju. "Alright, I've got it in my sights! Foxred Dynamo... TRANSFORM!"\n\n'Transform? I didn't tell her to-' Your currently cutesified jaw sags some as the fox-shaped mecha raises up on its back legs, which shift shape as panels start moving around, upper parts of the robot swinging around and into place. 'H-hey, did I do that?! ... Oh wait I did do that. I was in a hurry and just thought "make it a robot like is on all those sentai shows"... I was thinking of the ones that were big cats, but a lot of animal-themed mecha nowadays turn into their own humanoid robots I guess, and I also told it to obey Michiko's commands, so there you go.'\n\nIn a matter of seconds, Foxred Dynamo is now upright and in human form, its fox head having turned into a crest on its chest (with the contours of the shapechanging panels coincidentally making it look like it has appropriately Michiko-like boobs), the giant robot striking a combat-ready pose. "I'm not going to let you destroy my town!" Foxtail Red shouts, her voice emerging from the robot and booming through the streets. She charges forward and swings, striking a surprisingly solid punch right to the side of the kaiju's head with its big red and silver fist. The wolf kaiju reels back a step, before drawing lips back from teeth the size of cars and lurching forward, grappling with the giant robot with all four hands, trying to force its own arms wide while getting a grip on its torso with the other two.\n\n"Nnnh! Let go, you jerk! H-hey, watch it! OH NO!" Foxtail Red's voice cries out as her mecha's feet lose purchase and the wolf kaiju swings the big thing to one side, smashing its metal back into one of the nearby buildings.\n\n'No, the people inside!' you think in horror. 'That's hundreds, no, thousands of pranking targets I could lose!' You hurriedly poof everyone inside into a handful of bomb shelters below street level nearby, quickly adding in addled memories of rushing there the moment they saw the kaiju. 'Whew... I did not want to work this hard for a prank when I got up this morning!' you think, giving your head a shake. "Mi-, I mean, Foxtail Red, don't worry, the building was evacuated! Hurry up and defeat that thing!"\n\n"I'm trying!" Your prank target turned pilot has obvious strain in her voice, but is surprisingly not stuttering, apparently too focused on trying to get control back from the grapple she's in. "It's got too good of a hold on me, I can't break free! I'm taking damage from it biting at where it can reach, it's all I can do to hold it back!"\n\n"Well, use... use the Crimson Fox Cannons!" you blurt, starting to feel flustered. Surely you must have included something like that when you created it, right?!\n\n"Got it! Here goes! CRIMSON FOX CANNONS, FIIIRRRRRRRRRRRE!" Foxtail Red shouts, no doubt shoving forward hard on the sticks and pulling the attached triggers. The ears of the foxhead on the Foxred Dynamo's chest drop down, revealing a pair of large silver domes tipped with scarlet emitters that are already glowing, and near-instantly fire off a pair of beams, pillars of crimson energy that pierce right through the wolf kaiju's chest and emerge from its back, tracing two lines out into the sky. The giant monster throws back its head and howls in anguish before turning into a large collection of purple polygons and shattering, disappearing without a trace.\n\n'... Yup, I definitely made that,' you think with a bit of pride, the pair of big gleaming booby-blasters with smoke rising from their emitters still on display for a moment before the ear-panels swing back up over them.\n\n"I did it! ... Don't worry, everybody! The monster is gone!" Foxtail Red announces, straightening up from the rather crushed building and having the robot throw out its hand dramatically, the other fist on its hip. "I'll protect this city, you have my word! I am Foxtail Red, and this is Foxred Dynamo! Together, we'll protect this society... but more importantly, we'll protect all of you!"\n\nYou can actually hear the cheers going up... tens of thousands of people screaming their enthusiasm, applauding, not just from the streets and nearby buildings, but all over town as they hear the declaration on TV or their streaming internet feeds. The thought that they're all cheering for something you helped to do makes you feel... kind of weird. You're not sure you've ever felt this way before... you're not even sure you like it. So you focus and create a shimmery, stretchy effect around the giant robot before disappearing it into a pocket dimension, and having Michiko reappear in front of you... actually Michiko this time, back in her school uniform and twinbraids.\n\n<img src="images/Michiko.jpg">\n\n"Ah... Konko! Konko, we did it, we protected everybody!" she cries excitedly, scooping you up and hugging you to her chest warmly. ... Again, you're not really sure how you feel about this. It's... strange, there's a tightness in your chest that you kind of don't like. After all, tits are good, but no one's ever hugged you like this before when you weren't just outright deceiving them and lying to them.\n\n... Meh! You're still deceiving and lying to Michiko! Duh! This magical girl stuff is all a prank, it's just one that took a weird turn! Keeping that in mind, you get back into character and happily announce, "We did! The Earth is saved! For today," you add, with just the appropriate amount of foreboding.\n\n"Ah, you're right, I guess that Wolf Dimension commander will probably send more monsters, huh? Well... I'll be ready for them!" Michiko declares with a smile. "We'll be ready for them, I mean, right Konko?"\n\n"Yes yes, of course," you coo. "For now, though, you should go home and get some rest, plus I'm sure your parents will be worried. I'll come join you there soon, I should look around to make sure everyone's safe!"\n\n"Right!" Michiko leans down to set you down, then groans. "... My bookbag! ... I'll get it tomorrow." She sighs, then turns and hurries off, presumably to obey your directions to go home.\n\nOnce she's gone, you poof back to your own form, crowning and cupping your chin. "What in the world was that?" you murmur to yourself. You've had your imagination run away with you and parts of a prank get out of your control before, but never like that. If the creatures had been created from your power, even if they stopped obeying your orders they shouldn't be immune to your powers! What's going on here?\n\n<hr>\n[[You'll have to ask someone you'd rather not.|KonMG1x3]]\n\n[[You'll have to... dismiss it and not give it another thought!|KonMG]]

Probably best to head back before dark... don't want to get a big head and wind up overextending yourself on your very first day, before you're even an official member of the Aygee.\n\nYou make a good bundle of the Horned Rabbits before turning and making your way back to the city, and from there to the guild building proper. You're a little embarrassed to be holding your first job turn-in while you're actually getting signed up (and mildly embarrassed about your new and slightly lewd mode of dress), but Macha seems unbothered, congratulating you on your choice of class and assuring you that Sorcerers are in great demand among parties, being skilled at both offense and enemy management. That has you feeling pretty good as you head over to the job counter to turn in the rabbits, and the fact that you have even more money in your pouch once you've sold the rabbits makes you feel even better. You got way more than you would have trying to sell them direct to market stalls, even for the shredded one. (Hm, you wonder if that's some sort of protectionism on the Aygee's part or if the stall owners just know they don't have to pay you as well if you're not a guild member? ... Works out the same either way, you guess.)\n\nTossing the coin pouch in your palm a few times just to enjoy the way it jingles, you grin and attach it to your belt again, close to the front where anyone who'd try to take it would have to reach uncomfortably close to your crotch to take it (for both of you, presumably, especially considering your current free-hanging state). You consider what to do next when the scent of food from the tavern side catches your nose and makes you sniff... and your stomach growl lightly. Well heck, you've finally got the money for a decent meal, why not celebrate? Maybe a nice big meal, and maybe even some drinks! Grinning a bit foolishly at the thought, you turn and towards the tavern area, not paying nearly as much attention as you should.\n\n"Oof!"\n\n"Ah!"\n\nLuckily you're not going very fast and pick up that someone's in front of you just in time, enough to jerk back a bit rather than bowling you both over, instead just giving a good solid bump against the other person, who'd apparently been standing right in the walkway unmoving. She whirls towards you, a dark scowl on her pretty face. She's a Human with long, thick, slightly messy hair and eyes so pale gray (or maybe silver) they're almost white. She's wearing a sort of bodystocking undergarment that hugs her generous chest, hips, and rear, not to mention her very slim waist, beneath a sort of top with a high white collar that fastens closed in front with clasps, attached to a black jacket that fastens up the front with some high-end thing you think is called a zipper, zipped down just enough to show off her bodysuit-clad cleavage. The top comes down like a loincloth in front and back but leaves her hips bare, and shows off what looks a lot like a garter belt, which clips to the top of her thigh-high, very thin and supple leather boots that dig into the thickness of her thighs noticeably.\n\n"Watch where you're going, you... ragamuffin!" she snaps, pale eyes flashing as she looks you up and down. Then her nose wrinkles as she adds, "Ugh, you smell like low-level monster blood and starter spells. And you touched my hair," she adds, reaching back to run her hands under part of the thick, long fall as if checking it for tangible filth. "Now I'm going to have to spend all night washing it."\n\n<img src="images/Tyra.jpg">\n\n"Er-" you start, only for her to flick a hand dismissively through the air.\n\n"Whatever, I don't want to hear your excuses for existing. Just keep yourself out of my sight for the rest of your miserable little life," she adds before wheeling around and starting to walk off.\n\n<hr>\n[["... Sorry."|Raz2x2]]\n\n[["... Befuddle."|Raz4x1]]

[[Glossary]]\n\n[[Version History]]\n\n[[Epilogues]]\n\n<a href="javascript:history.back()">Back</a>\n\n[[Patreon|https://www.patreon.com/DeviousSkooma]]\n\n[[Subscribestar|https://subscribestar.adult/devious-skooma]]\n\n[[Discord|https://discord.gg/HyS6wEB]]

Somehow doing anything one way or the other just seems way too awkward to contemplate, so you just sort of lay there in a slight daze until you can feel Byff starting to shift around, his snore changing to little grunts and mutters (and his cock giving a twitch, which you quickly look away from). You sit up, and a moment later so does he, scratching the back of his head.\n\n"... Well! Mornin' boy!" he says amidst a wide yawn and a stretch, massive pecs flexing as he raises his arms. "Quite a night, eh?" he says without the slightest hint of shame.\n\n"Uh... y-yeah," you murmur, your face heating.\n\n"C'mon then, let's get a bit cleaned up and go for a bath! Seems necessary and all, bahahahaha!"\n\nOther than that, though, Byff doesn't really mention what happened as the two of you clean up with some clothes and water from his stuff, at least enough to be presentable going out, and then head out of the inn. For lack of any better motivation in your brain you follow him to what's apparently his preferred bathhouse, where he rents a room with one large tub.\n\n"Gotta get one of the big ones, boy, this old body won't really fit in anything else, bahahahaaaa!" Byff declares as the two of you strip off again in the room, and he starts running water in a bucket while you try not to look. The actual tub is sunk into a wooden frame with steps leading up to it, and actually looks like it could hold five or six of Byff comfortably, but you guess it's probably one of those situations where you can either rent a too-small single or a way-too-big group tub, for someone like him. The water is slightly steaming, and has a slight mineral smell that's not unpleasant at all. \n\nSince Byff is acting so casual (and not bringing up last night again) it's a bit easier to relax as he dumps the bucket over himself several times to rinse off, then takes it on himself to dump one over you, letting out his boisterous laugh at your slightly, well, wet bunny look before you brush off some of the excess water and your ears can pop back up out of your hair. Still, it all feels good-natured and kind of normal, so you relax easily enough as you follow him into the water and sit down across the tub from him. The water is really just about perfect... just hot, like right up from warm, so that it feels like you could spend hours in it without getting overheated.\n\nByff certainly looks like he could luxuriate in here that long, letting out a contented sigh, his tail occasionally flicking up out of the surface to spray droplets around like some sort of curious sea creature. "Ahhh, there we go. Carrying around all this muscle isn't easy all the time, boy, at my age the old knees can complain about it!"\n\n"Huh, really?"\n\n"Well, no, not that much, actually, but I keep feeling that they oughtta," Byff admits, scratching along his chin. You wonder how old he actually is? It's harder to tell with Greater Beastkin, unless they have fur that turns gray, and you can't really tell with him since his fur is, y'know, white already.\n\nThe two of you sit relaxing for a good long while, nothing but the faint drip of some bit of water somewhere and the very faintest sound of other people talking in nearby rooms to disturb you. Until finally Byff gives a sudden wide yawn, then stands up in the tub, water streaming off his body. You blush as you realize that big, pale white cock is at least half hard again, trying to look away as he gets out. Except he doesn't get out... instead he sits down on the edge of the tub and spreads his legs.\n\n"Alright, boy, best you start learning to tend one of these with your mouth and hands as well," he says amiably.\n\n"Er," you squeak.\n\n"Now now, I think you'll make a great addition to my party! We'll get you trained up and leveled up in no time! Outfitted in proper gear too! But obviously you'll have to earn your way somehow, and as great as that ass is, it can't handle everything, bahahahaha!" he bellows merrily, that heavy, half-hard shaft giving a slight twitch. "Come on now, we may as well get you messy again while you're somewhere you can get cleaned off!"\n\nYou stare at his dick, then up at him. ... S-seriously? He's offering to mentor you, and even buy you gear?! Everything you need?! ... In return for being his party's cumdump?\n\n<hr>\n[[You can't do that!|Raz]]\n\n[[........ Yeah okay fair enough.|Raz15x3]]

Well. Y'know. As a Lesser Rabbitkin Level 2 Adventurer, you uh... ... you honestly don't think you're gonna get a lot of better offers than that. And maybe it's like he said, you just kind of have to... find your role in the party?\n\n... and it's not like last night totally sucked...\n\nBut. Speaking of sucking. You swallow hard, then turn and sort of shimmy-crawl through the water, sending little rippling waves spreading out as you move over to Byff and then get up on your knees, your body still half submerged. You rest your hands on his powerful thighs for the moment, swallowing again as you feel a slight flex and are reminded of how much more powerful they are than your own slim coltish legs. You peek up at Byff nervously, but he just smiles genially down at you, as if this were the most normal, everyday thing in the world.\n\n"Start with the balls, boy, can't go wrong with a bit of tender attention there," he suggests breezily.\n\n"Um. 'Kay," you murmur, before leaning in and licking a bit tentatively at one of the hefty furry orbs. ... It's not as bad as you thought, even damp, sort of soft and fluffy even when it's wet. (You're vaguely worried about getting a hairball eventually but honestly in your current mindset that's the least of your worries, the greatest being that you might start really liking this.) At Byff's low grunt of encouragement, you give a longer lick, then lean in to put your mouth against it. Admittedly somewhat encouraged as his cock gives several more twitches and begins slowly, steadily rising up, you start doing your best to put a bit more enthusiasm into your attention to Byff's balls, working your tongue around and pressing your mouth against them, even nuzzling a bit.\n\n"Mmm, there you go, boy, finding the way of it now," Byff groans happily, resting one big hand on your head and petting you affectionately, which admittedly makes you wiggle a bit in the water from the positive reinforcement. "I do think you might be a natural, as I said before! Got a grand future ahead of you!"\n\nDead sober you're even more ambivalent about being told you have a bright future as an adventuring party cumdump, but, well, seems to be what you've signed up for. So you just continue to sneak embarrassed peeks up at Byff's grinning face, past his now fully erect prick. The shaft twitches occasionally, usually in response to some attention you give his balls, and then wobbles back and forth, the slight sways displaying just how heavy it is. G-geez, you had that thing inside you? ... Repeatedly? ... (And it felt really good...)\n\nEventually Byff grunts. "Now further up boy. But don't forget you've got other things to give the balls attention with!"\n\n... Oh right. Blushing a bit you bring your hands down from his thighs to cup his balls. Geez, they feel even heavier and softer like that, especially since they're starting to dry out a bit. You start applying your mouth and tongue to Byff's shaft much as you did his balls, just moving up and down more. You lift one hand to wrap it around the base of his cock (or as far around as you can manage) and start pumping slowly, encouraged by Byff's, well, encouraging moan. Admittedly the more he keeps stroking your head and the more he keeps making all those soft, urging noises the more you're wanting to please him, giving that pale white shaft little sucks and long licks all the way up to the pinkish head.\n\nHe gives his hand a light nudge on your head, prompting, and that's really all it takes to have your mouth sliding over the tip and starting to bob up and down. "Now I know you'll be able to take it all the way, boy," Byff murmurs in a low rumble of a voice. "You've been a natural at everything so far, no way you won't hilt me."\n\nIt's almost like he's issuing you a mission and a challenge all in one, a difficult one that he nevertheless has absolute confidence in you to complete. At the moment, the fact that mission is deepthroating his prick seems to be irrelevant. You do want to please him, prove yourself to him, prove yourself worthy of being in his party, even if it's just as a cumdump. He continues to stroke your head affectionately, that low rumble sounding in his chest as you gradually suck him down further and further.\n\nWith only the slightest of extra help from his hand on the back of your head you take him into your throat, feeling him stretch it open. But... w-well, maybe you really are a natural at taking dick, despite liking girls, because it's nowhere near as difficult as you thought. With just that little guidance and help from him you're able to take that big, thick, throbbing prick into your throat again and again, a little deeper each time. Your hands slide back to his thighs, almost bracing them as you do indeed finally hilt him, pressing your lips around the root of his prick where thicker white fur, mostly dry and fluffy again now, grows. \n\n"There we go, that's a good boy," Byff practically purrs as you begin bobbing your head in smooth motions, stroking your throat over his length as you swallow around him and working your tongue over the underside. "Knew you'd be absolutely stellar at this. Gonna become indespinsable to me, I can tell," he adds happy, sending an excited shiver down your spine.\n\nAfter a bit though he urges your head up and without a word comes to his feet in the tub again, pulling you up as well, water streaming off of your body and dripping from your own stiff prick. With an easy motion speaking of experience he turns and bends you over the side of the tub, giving himself a few strokes before pushing himself back into your ass. Maybe it's that the water got you all heated and relaxed and loosened, or maybe that he spent all night molding your tight little hole to his cock, but he slides in easily as you give a long moan, and he's soon pumping away with a quick, steady rhythm, his balls slapping against yours.\n\n"Minor bad form to cum in the bathwater, but they run a cleaning spell on these between anyway, so it's fine," Byff adds with a much breathier, more restrained chuckle than his usual boisterous laugh as his hands roam over your back and your waist.\n\n'Fuck yes, gonna cum,' you think, your tongue poking out a bit again as you rock yourself back against him, closing your eyes and rolling your head around, letting out your own soft and, admit it, slutty moans as Byff pumps into your ass. You gasp a bit as he takes ahold of your hair, but he just pulls your head back almost gently, as if he wanted to watch your face while he fucked you.\n\nIt's not long before he's thrusting deep into you and unloading, his moan just almost silent except for a shuddery breath, while your own is long and low as your cock twitches, firing ropes of cream down into the water and against the side of the tub to slowly dissipate in the already faintly white water.\n\nOnce you and Biff have cleaned up from your bath the two of you head out, with you hoping that everyone puts down the blush on your face to the heat of the water. Still, you can't help but feel like more than a few people are giving you knowing looks and maybe even smirks as the big, muscular man takes the short, slender boy around buying him adventuring gear. ... Especially since you're pretty sure you see several other similar combinations as you go around, with the smaller men anywhere from casually strolling along with their big companions to clinging to their arms openly. G-geez, is this really such a common arrangement?\n\nEither way, you soon find yourself outfitted in new and better gear... even if you suspect Byff might have decided to show you off a bit (though you're probably overthinking it, it's not like you're dressed like a girl or something). On his advice you went for something that's a mixture of light armor and high mobility, since that's apparently best for Adventurers. Your shirt has been replaced by a black leather top that nevertheless leaves your arms and midriff bare, and a pair of black shorts made of some stretchy dungeon-originating fabric that do kind of... hug and show off your hips and butt, but you can't deny they're high mobility. You're similarly a bit dubious about the almost shoulder-high fingerless gloves made of the same stuff, but the boots he buys you are normal enough, if sleek and form-fitting too, and he does wind up buying you light pauldrons, new bracers, and armor plates on straps to go around your upper arms, thighs, and calves, all on little quick-fasten(-quick-release) clasps, and with keeping your old belts and pouches, you do feel like you're outfitted like a proper adventurer now. Especially once he also buys you a new sword too, a lighter, single-edged one that he says is better suited to your size and the reach of your arms.\n\n'Well, whatever happens, this does kind of feel like it was worth it,' you think, walking along beside Byff as you occasionally glance up at your new mentor(/top). You can't help but blush a little again as your eyes reflexively flick downward before you direct them ahead. You notice the two of you are heading out of the city... meeting up with his party then? He did mention them. ... Do... do they know about this kind of arrangement?\n\n... Are they part of this arrangement?\n\nTrying to sort out your feelings on that, you follow along with Byff in silence as he leaves Sabanara's borders and heads out to the road, too distracted to consider that you might be leaving it behind for who-knows-how-long. But soon you're approaching a pair of men who wave at Byff's approach... also Greater Beastkin, and bow howdy are they. One of them is every bit as tall and muscular as Byff himself is, albeit he's a Greater Wolfkin with dark black fur and almost silver pale eyes, wearing black leather pants and a black leather sleeveless top, so that his clothes just almost fade into his fur and leave him looking like either a living shadow or a very real and slightly naked man. The other is a Greater Horsekin that's even bigger than the other two, with dark chestnut-colored hide that he's showing off almost all of, wearing nothing more than a long, wide loincloth and some straps across his arms and chest... judging by the massive sword at his back that's really just more of a roughly-sharpened rectangle of metal, you're guessing he's a Barbarian. The Wolfkin has a pair of swords, but since he's so big you're guessing he's probably a Warrior like Byff, just specced differently.\n\n"Hey, brother. What's this you've brought?" the Wolfkin asks in a deep rumble of a voice, sounding amused.\n\n"This is Raz, he's new and I thought I'd let him tag along with us and pick up a few things! Gotta be good to the youth, bahahahaha!" Byff bellows, slapping his belly lightly.\n\n"Mm, true enough," the Horsekin snorts, both nodding and giving his head a shake, the numerous beads and trinkets woven into his main clinking almost musically. "Very well, Raz. I am Komon, and this inkspot beside me is Goran. Welcome to Byff's Company."\n\n"Ah, thank you very much," you say with a bob of the head, which both seems to amuse and please the pair. "Er, but could I ask, where're we going?"\n\n"... Ah! Did I not say?! I'm losing my brains in my old age! Bahahahahaa!" Byff bellows, rubbing his head a bit.\n\n"Not that you ever had many," Goran snorts.\n\n"Bahahahaha! Anyway, Raz, we're off to Goltan, a city some two weeks away, to slay a Minotaur that's apparently taken up residence in an abandoned stonewarren nearby and turned it into a dungeon," Byff explains, patting you on the back. "Along the way we'll slay any monsters we come across! Good for some pickup money, and excellent for teaching a new adventurer such as yourself! Now, let's away, and not delay any further!"\n\n<hr>\n[["Ah, right..."|Raz]]\n\n[["... but..."|Raz]]

You know what? Byff is right! You need to stop letting that bitch get to you, and just relax and have fun drinking, like a real adventurer! You'll show your stuff that way! And like, sure, you've never really had much in the way of alcohol before, and these huge mugs that Byff orders are probably meant for someone at least twice your body weight, but hey, what could happen?!\n\n"Ohhhhh," you groan, your eyes rolling some as Byff's big, fat cock pumps into your previously virgin ass, your half-hard cock trapped between your belly and the mattress, slowly stirring to full erection if from nothing else than the friction of rubbing against the quilts as you're fucked. "Ohhhh fuuuuck!"\n\nEverything between your second drink and now, laying flat on your belly with your legs lightly spread, with a cock stroking firmly into your very straight asshole, is basically just a blur. You remember doing a lot of talking and laughing with Byff and saying how you were totally fine to keep drinking and then it's like there's some white noise in your head and now you've got an oiled-up dick in you and a pair of big white furry balls slapping your smooth tan ones and it actually feels really good. You don't even really remember getting undressed, but here you are, naked, except for your collar which you vaguely recall Byff laughing as he called it "cute" so you kept it on and why is your cock twitching at that?\n\nYou hug the pillow up against your lower face, your head still all thick and fuzzy with drink, your body relaxed as Byff pounds it against the mattress, the pleasant ease of everything that comes with being drunk turning being fucked into the ass into just another weird, apparently fun thing that's happening. You continue to moan against it, leaning your head forward as Byff starts fucking you a bit harder, the low squelch of his lubed-up prick pounding your asshole and the thump of his powerful hips against your pert rear actually starting to make you even harder, until you're leaking a bit against the quilt.\n\n"There we go, boy, good job, you take a fucking like a real pro adventurer," Byff grunts in a highly complimentary tone, bringing one big hand up to rest on your head between your ears and give it a rub, your tongue actually poking out a little in a mixture of pleasure from both the praise and the headpats. "No need to feel like a beginner anymore, though your ass is certainly tight enough to show it!" he adds with another of those boisterous laughs as he thrusts deep into you and grinds his hips in close, your fluffy bunny tail practically vibrating against his pecs.\n\nYou gasp loudly as Byff suddenly pulls out of you, shivering at the sudden feel of emptiness that comes, then let out a surprised squeak as he flips you over onto your back. You blush as you look up at him, then let out fresh moans as he rubs his oil-lubed cock against your own smaller dick.\n\n"Mmmm, you do have quite soft balls, boy, I'll say that," he chuckls as he presses his shaft along them, rubbing up until his own furry sack bumps against you. Then he lifts your legs up and presses them forward, and you find yourself reflexively lifting your hands to hold them. He grunts approvingly, leaving one large, strong hand in place against the underside of your knee and over one of your own hands as he reaches down to position himself.\n\n"W-wait, Byff, I'm, I'm straight," you say, then moan loudly and whorishly as his cock slides right back into your thoroughly-fucked asshole.\n\n"Hm? Oh, as am I, boy," he says breezily as he starts fucking you again, this time while in full view of your stiff cock bouncing against your belly and leaving little droplets and smears of pre. "But a hole is a hole when you've got a stiff one, and cute is cute, and you're quite cute!" he adds with another laugh.\n\n'Ohhhhh fuuuuuck,' you think, your eyes rolling and your head pressing back against the pillow as your cock twitches hard at being called cute... normally you wouldn't be able to stand that but somehow just now and with him it honestly makes you want to cum.\n\n"Admittedly, my boy, you are so cute I think you're going to mostly wind up being the taker in your parties' relief sessions," Byff continues in an almost philosophical tone as he starts fucking you harder, the large, muscular tiger-man grinning down at you as he pounds your ass into a soft, eager little receptacle. "But no shame in that, everyone in the party has their own role."\n\n"Unh, aaaah fuck," you whimper, dropping your hands and gripping the quilt as he takes hold of both your legs again. Your eyes roll up some and your tongue pokes out again as he falls into a quick, firm rhythm, his balls slapping against you and the impact making your own hard cock bounce, smacking in the little puddle of pre on your belly and flinging droplets of it further up almost to your chest.\n\n"Ahhhh... oh yes, boy, you have a very bright future ahead," Byff groans out now, his hands squeezing lightly on your legs, but even that reminding you just how powerful they are. He bends you forward a bit more as he starts fucking harder, balls really slapping against you as he makes you make more of those lewd, slutty noises as you're pounded. "A very important position in any party!"\n\n'The cumdump?!' you think, right before he lets out a long moan and turns you into just that, burying himself inside you, his balls lifting and twitching as he starts emptying them deep in your ass. Your eyes roll fully as the feeling of that warmth spreading inside you and his cock bulging and shuddering inside you sets you off, and your own cock twitches hard, firing long ropes of cum all over your own face due to the angle, several shots landing directly in your own mouth and all over your tongue.\n\n"Hhhha... mmf, yes, see? Able to cum just from getting fucked in the ass," Byff says in an admiring tone a few moments later, as he slowly begins to work his hips in shallow thrusts again, gradually building up to longer ones. "You're a natural for the role, boy!"\n\nYou're pretty sure Byff fucks you at least three more times after that, but your brain just sort of goes away, leaving you to float in that hazy white place where everything's just pleasure and moaning and sensation, and you don't have to care about what anyone thinks of you or that you're a straight guy who apparently loves getting fucked in the ass and told you're cute by big buff men. \n\nWhen you actually come around, you blink at both suddenly being largely clear-headed again and just as suddenly awake from clearly having fallen asleep. You also find that you're snuggled up against Byff's side with one of his arms under you, the big Greater Tigerkin sprawled on his back snoring quietly, his muscular chest rising and falling, and that massive cock flopped limp against his belly. ... You had that inside you?!\n\n('Felt amazing, didn't it?' part of you coos.)\n\n... Uh... well, this uh... this got really out of hand really fast. ... Now what?\n\n<hr>\n[[Get out of here!|Raz]]\n\n[[Just wait for him to wake up.|Raz15x2]]\n\n[[Mmmm, cock! [nom]|Raz]]

You figure most of the basics of anatomy and risks of interaction have either been covered by their classes or whatever... extracurricular learning material they've already been looking into. Probably better to teach them how to actually go about talking to girls on that particular subject.\n\n"Guys, after dinner, let's go into the living room, there's something I wanted to talk to you about. Nothing bad," you add as their ears perk in a bit of worry. "More, ah... educational."\n\n"Oh," they both say, not quite disappointed, more confused.\n\nOnce you've tidied up after dinner you head into the living room, tilting your head to the couch to indicate the boys should have a seat, while you take a seat on the coffee table across from them. (You maintain a 'furniture is there to be functional' household.) "So, guys. I know you're both getting old enough to be interested in girls," you say in a breezy tone, deciding to ignore their embarrassed 'oh gawd it's gonna be one of THOSE discussions' looks. "I'm not going to go into a lot of boring details... actually I thought I'd mostly talk to you about how to approach girls and talk to them."\n\n"Oh," they sync again, still sounding rather dubious.\n\n"Yeah yeah just hang with it," you say in an amused tone before continuing. "So first off... obviously you should understand consent is important, you know? If a girl says she's not interested or she doesn't want to do something, take her at her word and respect that."\n\n"'No means no', got it," Aki says rather dryly, making it clear they've been long familiar with that concept.\n\n"But does it really always mean no?" Gao says in an honestly curious tone, frowning. From the sound of it he's probably already encountered some form of female capriciousness, you're assuming of a more innocent sort. (Assuming.)\n\n"Hm, well, being honest, sometimes when people say 'no' they really are just wanting you to work harder to convince them," you're forced to admit, since you don't feel like polite fictions are appropriate here. "But," you continue, holding up a finger. "Since you can't always be sure, it's better to assume that no does mean no. If someone says they're not interested in spending time with you, then assume they mean it... besides, you're better off spending your time with someone who says what they mean."\n\nBoth of them nod thoughtfully at that, Aki speaking up with, "So whether or not their no means no, always assume it does."\n\n"Right, best policy. So right... now, about talking to girls," you continue, ignoring their huff as they clearly thought this was over and were about to be free. "You boys are getting old enough to start dating, and, well, probably other things. So I thought it would probably be best to give you some advice on approaching girls."\n\nThey look an interesting mixture of dubious, exasperated, and interested at that... apparently they actually are curious to know what might help.\n\n"So, anyway, for the purposes of this, we'll assume that I am the girl you're trying to approach," you say in a slightly dramatic tone, putting a hand to your chest. Both of them raise their eyebrows (in sync), but don't say anything before you continue. "So just try whatever comes to mind based on my suggestions on me, and I'll try to respond to them like someone else might."\n\n"Okay," they both agree, actually sounding thoughtful.\n\n"Now, it's probably best to approach girls outside of school, much less chance of causing problems. But outside of that..."\n\n<hr>\n[["... be charming."|ChiMom]]\n\n[["... be direct."|ChiMom]]\n\n[["... pay attention to body language."|ChiMom]]

Hm. Well, this sounds like it wouldn't be too squidgy. They are rebel prisoners, after all, who have apparently already killed people at the very least. Looks like the client wants a direct contact, so you return the tablet and head off into one of the call booths, taking a moment to make sure you don't have any ninja blood on you before initiating the call. A few seconds later, the screen lights up with a young woman with pale skin, light blue hair, and pale eyes, wearing a white uniform with gold trim. "Conglomerate Comm Routing, what issue are you contacting in reference to?" she says in a tone that's so completely and utterly professional that it can only be deeply bored.\n\n"Yeah I'm calling about job #777-AAK," you reply, since the job listing helpfully supplied a reference number. Bureaucracy has its uses sometimes, you guess.\n\n"One moment please." She types something, then glances back up, actually blinking and coming dangerously close to showing something vaguely like human emotion. "I'll need to refer you to the admiral in charge of the matter. May I have your name and title please?"\n\nYou don't actually have a title, but you've run into this sort of thing before... some organizations don't really "get" that not everybody has a rank. "Operative Leo LaChance."\n\n"Understood. One moment." The screen blips to a logo you assume is the Ysno Conglomerate's emblem, and a moment later clears to show a middle-aged man with much the same coloration, though with almost ice-blue hair and an almost opalescent sheen to his eyes, a grim scowl seemingly worn in on his angular face.\n\n"Operative LaChance, I understand you're interested in the job of clearing out Cruiser 1315."\n\n"Yes, sir." You notice he hasn't given his own name... well, that's fine, sometimes people are very gung-ho about this sort of job but don't really like having their names attached. Comes with the territory. \n\n"Then get to it. I want every prisoner eliminated, period," he answers, eyes hardening slightly. "That's the job, plain and simple."\n\n"Alright, sir, I understand, but I'd need some clarification on a few other matters," you answer, since he seems practically ready to cut the line then and there. "For instance, if I come across any survivors from the crew, or what level of collateral damage to the ship is acceptable, or-"\n\n"I don't care about the stonesdamned ship!" the admiral snaps, for just a moment showing a look of pure rage on his face. Then, without apology or acknowledgement, he pulls the stony mask into place. "I have already declared the ship a loss. In fact, here." He leans forward slightly and taps a few controls. On your end, a slot opens in your control panel and slides a Guild datachip out, its connecting end designed to adaptively fit almost any port. "These are the cruiser's self destruct codes. They will only work if input from the bridge, but should you find that the most efficient means of accomplishing your mission, that is fine."\n\n"... I see." Rather than argue with him, you give a firm nod and pluck the datachip out. "And the crew?"\n\n"That ship has been delisted and thus any crewmembers aboard are considered deserters. Therefore criminals. I want every criminal on that ship gone. Understood?" he answers coolly.\n\n"Understood," you answer after only a brief hesitation. \n\n"Good. That chip also contains authorization codes, which will authorize the ship's AI to give you hangar access and open any sealed doors or compartments. Contact us again when the job is done." With that, he closes the channel.\n\nWell. That's a little grim. Still, your mind can't help but get excited by certain possibilities of what he said. You'll have to pay someone to ferry you out to the ship in the dimension it's in, but that's no big deal... plenty of Guild mercs make money ferrying mercs like you without their own ship around, and it only gets expensive if they're going to be dodging incoming fire or doing any fancy maneuvers, which it sounds like you won't be here. (In fact that's one good reason to have a ship of your own... if you get hurt or just need to take a break, ferrying other mercs around is a super easy way to keep making income.) You arrange with one of these, then settle into the passenger seat as he inputs the coordinates and heads out through the tunnel and portal beyond, following the information from the contract towards the ship's location. "Alright, got a ping," the pilot says a moment before the ship, a long blend of curves and angles, primarily shining white panels with black accents. "Broadcasting code #1315, that your mark?"\n\n"Yup, that's her," you think, gazing at the ship rather covetously.\n\n"Got an incoming comm." He taps a few controls, putting the call through.\n\n"Unidentified vessel, this is Ysno Conglomerate Cruiser #1315. We are currently in a state of heightened readiness. Identify immediately or be fired upon," a cool voice, artificial more in the very specifically prim delivery it uses and a slight buzzing overlay than any otherwise stilted speech or off pronunciation.\n\n"Transmitting authorization now," you answer, plugging in the datachip and keying a stream.\n\nThere's a few long moments of silence, during which the pilot cautiously edges you up alongside the ship, skimming along over the vast asteroid field it's currently cruising at slow speeds over... though you can't help but wonder if it will continue that course forever, or if it might eventually drift down into the rubble, since from the sounds of it only the AI is in charge of navigation at the moment.\n\n<img src="images/LeisaiShip.jpg">\n\n"Understood. Authorization received," the voice sends back after several seconds. "Docking bay two will now open to receive you. Please be aware that lockdown procedures are in place, but compromised. All defensive priority has been routed to the bridge and other vital ship systems, assistance will not be available."\n\nAbout what you expected. The pilot guides the ship around to the dock that opens up, the ship turning and backing in, even with its 'wings' folded in for docking apparently on the larger side for what this cruiser was expected to be able to house. He settles in and confirms that the atmosphere is fine, glancing over his shoulder as you shoulder the multipurpose combat rifle you retrieved before leaving the Guildhall. "You gonna be okay on this solo? It's a fairly big ship, did they even say how many you were putting down? My assistance rates are higher than my ferry rates, but-"\n\n"Nah, I've got it man, it didn't sound like it was that many," you answer, doing a brief checkover of the weapon before heading down the ramp. "Thanks for the lift!"\n\n"No prob, good luck," he answers, raising the platform and then taking back off, the ship flickering and disappearing shortly after reextending its stabilizers.\n\nYou head for the door, rifle half-raised at the ready as it slides open around you. You do a quick check and then swing around... and almost trip over someone. There's a loud yelp from below as, while you manage to right yourself, you send the rather smaller individual sprawling. A glance down... looks like a girl(?) on the smaller side, probably an alien considering the big fluffy cat ears sticking up from atop her head, the outsides black like the rest of her messy shoulder-length hair, the insides red like the streaks and highlights of it. She's wearing red and black clothes and a black facemask with red markings forming a feline nose, mouth (with poked-out tongue) and whiskers. Red and black clothes, mainly a somewhat oversized jacket and tights.\n\n"Nyaha! Rood!" she squeaks in protest, rolling up onto her side. "Stepping on a Katrizian's seventy hundred years bad luck, y'know?!"\n\n<hr>\n[["Oh, geez, sorry, lemme help!"|LeoScape]]\n\n[["Don't move."|LeoScape1x1]]\n\n[[Blam.|LeoScape]]

You guess reducing something you already have makes a certain amount of sense, rather than the more unknown factor of adding something. You reach out, hesitating only briefly before pressing the button.\n\nYou 'mmf' softly as the change immediately comes over you. It's not really tingly or painful or anything like that, there's just the odd sense of your body flowing and altering without any other real sensation to it. Your shoulders grow more slender, your muscle tone diminishing overall, and you suppress a groan as you visibly lose not just a bit of height, but your cock shrinks as well. 'Just great,' you think sourly, looking down at yourself. You've gone from hunk to twunk. ... At best. (Actually that makes you take a moment to ponder how many of these terms for body types you know because they get used by people to talk about various other heroes.)\n\nStill, it's not the worst thing in the world, you think as a door in the wall on that side slides open, and you walk through to the next room with its pair of pillars topped with buttons. The room is almost identical to the last, save for the different writing on the fronts of the pillars and there being a third, these with two items each on them. You frown as you take them in, trying to figure out the implications.\n\n'-Masculinity | +Shame'\n\n'+Lust | +Libido'\n\n'+Masculinity | +Animal'\n\n... 'Animal'? What does 'Animal' mean? Admittedly, whatever it means, it's tempting to take that path just because it means you'd get back the masculinity you just lost... if you could manage to somehow zero-sum this labyrinth while getting through it, you'd definitely consider that a win-win. The first option would mean losing even more masculinity and... well, you know what shame means, you're just not sure how having an increase of it would really affect you. You're not terribly prone to shame as it is, at least you don't consider yourself to be... what, would you just need to start wearing pants instead of a bodysuit? The middle option just seems like it would make you horny and, c'mon, you know how to deal with horny, most of your life revolves hanging around intensely attractive people who don't wear a lot, you'd be fine. Which almost makes you think the button's a trap...\n\n<hr>\n[[-Masculinity +Shame|CalMaze]]\n\n[[+Lust +Libido|CalMaze]]\n\n[[+Masculinity +Animal|CalMaze4x2]]

The changes so far haven't been too extreme... you'll just have to hope that whatever shift there is to your morality, it will only last through the next room. After all, it doesn't say anything about changing your intelligence, or your logic, you're sure you'll be able to continue reasoning out that the best way forward is the one that lets you get rid of these traits as quickly as you get them.\n\nYou reach out and press the first button, and quickly feel the changes, or rather the reversion of them, as your ears and teeth go back to their normal shape, the excess body hair you just grew falls out (whew, that saves a bunch of shaving), and the tail retreats into your back. And you... hm. You don't really feel a lot different otherwise, you muse as you turn and head through the door. 'Stupid little bitch,' you think of Deathtrap with a snort. Maybe you'll give the little brat a spanking before you haul her off to prison, that might teach her a lesson where getting catapulted through dimensions didn't. \n\nYou stop in front of the next selection of buttons, folding your arms over your chest and eyeing them. You immediately see the one that you were expecting, but lift your lip slightly in an annoyed sneer at seeing what it's paired with. Of course the little shit wouldn't make it that easy, she's lured you into a trap alright. Still, the idea of making absolutely sure to undo the latest change to you doesn't seem as important now... especially now that you know that following that chain of thought is likely to just lead to more traps, and who needs that bullshit? Instead you look over all your options, considering.\n\n'+Morality | -Intelligence'\n\n'+Ruthless | +Power'\n\n'-Taboo | +Libido'\n\nHa. Yes, they're all traps, and all obvious ones too, the arrogant little snot. Luring you into the plan to undo each change as you make it, but then making you less intelligent so you're less likely to stick to the plan. Blatantly offering you more power, but further directing your personality away from a heroic path to do so, especially now that you have less morality to dissuade you. And that last one... you're guessing you'd be less beholden to cultural taboos, and have a higher libido. Two options for corruption, one option for potentially making yourself brain dead. Tch.\n\n... Mm. Admittedly... the second one is tempting. It might normally be easily shrugged-off bait, but now you're able to admit that part of you's always been a bit jealous that you weren't able to completely match up against your mother power-wise. And wouldn't ruthlessness help you solve this maze? After all, making the best and most efficient choice no matter the potential fallout might be just what you need to prevent that data from causing global social collapse which, let's face it, would just be a pain in the ass for everyone. \n\nBut it is such obvious bait. What to do...\n\n<hr>\n[[+Morality -Intelligence|CalMaze]]\n\n[[+Ruthless +Power|CalMaze]]\n\n[[-Taboo +Libido|CalMaze]]

Honestly, Deathtrap's always had a weird streak of her personal idea of 'fairness', so you can't dismiss the idea that she's built in a way to navigate this maze while always trading off something that you just got for something else... well, probably with having to keep one thing permanently at the end, likely, but you could handle that. Deciding to gamble on that, you reach out and press the third button.\n\nOnce again that feeling of your body painlessly shifting and altering washes over you as it resumes its prior dimensions, regaining muscle tone and broadness of shoulders. But you can also feel a few additional changes, a slight pressure in your ears, your mouth, and at the base of your back, as well as your previously shaven body (hey, bodysuits, kind of a necessity) gaining hair back quickly, your arms and legs turning practically furry while a thick black bush sprouts around the base of your cock as it resumes its own prior dimensions.\n\n"So much for grooming," you mutter under your breath, feeling your teeth with your tongue as you do... yup, some of them are definitely sharper and more animalistic. You check your ears and lower back with your hands, finding the one pointier and a bit curved towards each other, and the slight nub of a tail emerging from the base of your spine. ... Okay, yeah, '+Animal', though it seems like it's not any specific one.\n\nYou turn towards the door in the wall as it slides open, then walk through, though 'prowl' might be a better word since you find yourself moving with a different style, sort of leaning forward and moving with quick, near-liquid steps. Huh. Weird. You stop and frown at the small array of buttons on pillars. One of them would certainly give weight to your theory about Doctor Deathtrap providing a trade-off path through, though its exact nature screams of how dangerous it is. All the others have a single line on them, and make it obvious what the last pillar was a setup for.\n\n<hr>\n[[-Animal -Morality|CalMaze4x3]]\n\n[[+Feline|CalMaze]]\n\n[[+Equine|CalMaze6x1]]\n\n[[+Reptile|CalMaze]]

Now really... what sort of Reaper would you be if you passed up the opportunity to rape a pair of beautiful mercenaries, one of which has wronged you, into brainfried puddles of unwilling orgasms? Twins, no less! Why, you might not be able to live with yourself!\n\nYou're pretty sure that you can time it right to arrive at their ship just when they've dismounted their hoverbikes and are about to board. The issue is, that's probably when they'll be their most on-guard, ready for some ambush. You're not too worried they might actually be able to destroy you, but damage is possible, either to yourself or them in the process, and playing with toys that have already been broken is so much less fun. No, better to consider, average through all the simulations and pick on that... ah, yes. Use their being on-guard against them! Feeling a sense of smug satisfaction mingled with delightful anticipation, you harvest a handful of parts from the beta drones before taking off, assembling the device on the go. You'll need to run a bit faster than is optimal for remaining hidden, but you'll just have to gamble that the twins are focused on speed and believe you've been destroyed by the lightning field, and are thus not checking their observation drones or have them cranked up to paranoid levels of sensitivity for detecting motion.\n\nYou arrive at the ship with a handful of minutes at least to spare... surely enough for someone of your intelligence and skill. They've parked their ship in the middle of a crater that's roughly as tall as it is, with shallower slopes on several sides... no doubt hoping to shield it from sight and/or assault. You judge from their angle which slope they're likely to use to get down, and which would be most suitable for your purposes, and hurry to place your newly-assembled device close by before slipping around to the opposite side, finding a nice bit of an overhang to settle motionless into the shadow of, going into a stealth idle and waiting.\n\nNot long after, the Lieze Twins come zipping down the slope on their sleek little vehicles... blue and red, what a shock. Parking near one side of the ship, they dismount, Tanya taking out a control and hitting it, both the boarding ramp and the loading arms for the bikes starting to extend. You wait until the twins have started to round the ship towards the ramp before activating the device.\n\nBoth girls whip towards the sound of people running on foot, along with a deep male voice shouting "They're getting away!" All of the sounds made by the vocoder of one of the downed beta drones and programmed by you, but with the acoustics around here and the precision of said vocoders it certainly sounds like a large group is bearing right down on them from the angle of the cliff above. \n\nAnd now is where you actually have to gamble on your prey's competence as mercenaries. They shoot each other a glance, not even speaking as both quickly eye the area around them, and you're delighted as they come to exactly the conclusion you hoped they would: If they make a run for the ramp, their pursuers (which they no doubt assume are Sokahn's men) will have several completely open shots at them, assuming they don't have a shoulder-mounted anti-ship weapon, something Sokahn's minions are known to carry occasionally. And, if they try to fight from where they are, the approaching enemies will have the high ground. Tina quickly spots exactly the slope you hoped they would... one that's narrow enough to give some slight cover as they go up and attempt to flank the incoming attackers, or at least fight on equal ground.\n\nYou actually feel the urge to wiggle in anticipation and lash your tail as they run right by you, too focused on the apparently human threat to even think to look for you... obviously you resist it, but the sensation is sweet indeed. Though they'd been moving largely in lockstep, very close together, the narrowness of the path means that Tina, who had very slightly taken the lead, starts up first, Tanya taking only a quick glance over her shoulder before moving to follow her twin. That's when you pounce.\n\nWith Tanya slightly leaned forward and faintly off-balance from readying herself to adjust to the slope, you burst from hiding and land behind her, whipping out your cabletails. One loops around her off arm and pins it against her middle as you lift her off the ground, while the other clamps its gripper onto the wrist of the hand holding her blaster pistol. "Drop it or I'll shatter the bone," you inform her evenly.\n\n"Tanya!" Tina Lieze yelps as she whirls around and winds up half-sliding back down the slope to the ground, starting to bring her weapon up and then jerking to a halt as she realizes you've put her sister right between herself and you. Tanya, for her part, seems to have hesitated about dropping her weapon despite your threat, but does so when she realizes you've angled her hand so that she was pointing it at her sister. Though both of them had looked obviously terrified, they also go pale as the sound of approaching enemies cuts off, replaced by your own voice from above saying 'Fooled you~.'\n\n"Should you survive this, dear Tina, in the future you should remember not to assume the monster is dead just because it's lying there motionless," you note with a chuckle as you bring Tanya's other arm in, forcing her to slip it through the coils around her middle so that you can hold her fully bound wiht only one tail, leaving the other free to reach out towards Tina, who twitches. "Give me the gun. And I wouldn't suggest going for any other weapons, or your comm or beacon... I assure you that at the very least I could break your sister's arms and crush most of her internal organs, at the very least, even if you got off a lucky attack."\n\nTina winces at that, Tanya squirming in your grip and looking like she'd like to tell her sister to do it anyway, but can't quite make her mouth move. After a few seconds Tina takes her finger off the gun's trigger and visibly loosens her grip on it, allowing you to pluck it from her hand and toss it across the crater. "What do you want?" she tries to growl, but her voice is shaking too much for it to sound like anything but a plea.\n\n"Oh, I think you can figure that out well enough," you answer, casually ripping the chest of Tanya's suit open, both girls giving a cry as the blue-haired twin's tits jiggle frenetically with the motion. You can feel Tanya's frightened trembling, and just as easily see Tina's as you move the gripper down to rip off the crotch of the suit as well. "I want to rape you both, and I want your ship. Now, if you cooperate, I promise you that you will live. Otherwise, well, I will teach you the lesson of not leaving behind living enemies rather more pointedly. Now, undress."\n\nTina looks somewhere between incredulous and outraged at the very idea that she's expected to believe a promise from you... until you give a squeeze around Tanya's middle, the blue-haired twin whimpering and letting out an apparently involuntary "Tina" under her breath. Whether that was a plea for her to submit or resist, it's clear that it quickly convinces her to do the former, the pink-haired twin starting to strip off her weapons, and then her suit, tossing them aside until she's standing, naked and obviously ashamed, in front of you, one arm across her pert breasts and the other hand having drifted to cover her crotch.\n\n"Good girl," you assure her in a smugly condescending tone as you pluck off all of Tanya's own weapons and devices to similarly toss them away, leaving her in nothing but the ragged remnants of her suit. You swing her down... not too abruptly, you don't want Tina to think you're trying to kill her and doing something foolish that would ruin the fun... and put her face-down on the ground, using your other tail to make her lift her ass. Both twins have gone pale again as it becomes obvious that you intend, well, what you clearly intended all along, especially as you deploy your large, gleaming black rubber cock and the pair of heavy, swaying balls at the base of it.\n\n"W-wait!" Tina pleads as you arrange the tip of your cock at her whimpering, trembling sister's pussy. "Isn't... isn't there anything else we can do?! We'll help you some other way, we... we can do something, just... just don't rape us!"\n\n<hr>\n[["Hmmmmm..."|Grim]]\n\n[["Hahahahahano."|Grim5x2]]

You eye your Aura reading for a second, and everyone else's. Some of them are fairly low, but all are steady. But as you watch, yours does the same one percent dip-and-rise again. Okay, something's fucky.\n\n"Guys!" you call, raising your voice as Qrow starts to open the front door. "Something's wrong!"\n\nAll of them look at you, flashes of annoyance on more than one face, everyone clearly aching to get out of the cold and the wind and the snow, but most brush it off quickly. "What's the matter, Kai?" Weiss asks.\n\n"Something feels off, and when I checked my Aura, I watched it drop and then come back up."\n\nQrow lets out a long, frustrated breath. "Kai, it's probably just your scroll glitching from the cold, this is no-"\n\n"Oh yeah?" You brush through the others to him, frowning as you hold it up in his face and point at it. "Ten lien says it does it again."\n\n"We don't have time for-" Qrow says, then cuts himself off as your Aura drops... two percent this time, before rising back up one, while everyone else's is staying steady. "... Okay. Yeah. Something's up."\n\n"What could be making her Aura drop and then come back up like that though?" Reese asks, rubbing her arms and shifting. "I mean if she's got a healing Semblance then sure her Aura might regenerate faster than ours since it's an expression of physical integrity as much as anything but why's it dropping in the first place?"\n\n"Semblances take Aura to work, right? And if mine is a healing Semblance, then maybe I'm... I dunno, being damaged, or something."\n\n"Lingering injuries from earlier?" Grey suggests, Weiss wincing almost imperceptibly.\n\n"No, I checked myself over before we left, I was fine."\n\n"Think it's related to that staticy feeling you said you had earlier?" Ruby suggested.\n\n"Probably."\n\n"What if it's all in your head?" Dee suggests. At you shooting him a look, he hurries to clarify. "N-no, I mean literally, what if it's in your head?" he says, pointing at his own. "Aura makes a sort of 'ksh-vzzzzz' sound sometimes when it's working. If it's inside your head we wouldn't be able to see it healing you but I guess maybe you could hear it?"\n\n"Uh." That particular thought sends a chill down your spine. Of course, considering the weather, it almost feels more warm... like sweat slipping down your skin.\n\n"What kind of Grimm could be attacking Kai's brain from a distance, though?" Blake asks, her ears laying down as she glances around nervously.\n\n"I am afraid I know exactly what kind," Ozma speaks up, his own voice quite grim. "And if so, we are all in deadly danger."\n\nThere's just a moment of silence after that, letting the words sink in, before a fresh cold wind drifts more snow down everyone's neck. "Oz, is whatever's in there worse than trying to spend the night out in the woods?" Qrow asks, hunching, his voice making an attempt at casual but coming off a little desperate.\n\n"That very much depends on your point of view," Ozma answers, then winces a bit as he glances at the door. "However, there is at least some chance we could fight the Grimm. Our weapons will avail us nothing against the cold. Press forward and be on guard."\n\nEveryone pushes into the entry of the house once the door has been opened. Though it's still cold inside, the shelter from the wind and snow is almost immediately a relief, people finding space to dust themselves off clear as much of the moisture off their clothing as they can, though everyone's movements are guarded, faces composed, eyes tracking the shadows and doorways.\n\n"Mister..." Ozma trails off, then bobs his head. "Sir, forgive me, in our round of introductions while walking, we seem to have all simply assumed we knew your name."\n\n"Oh, uh, it's Twedele," Dee answers, looking just a little flattered to be noticed. "Dee Twedele."\n\n"Mister Twedele. Was the train company perhaps thorough enough to stock its emergency kits with NRO injectors?"\n\nDee's face lights up somewhat, though you see a complex and varied lot of expressions play over everyone else's faces as he thumps the heavy pack down and starts rummaging. "Yeah! I remember finding a new box to put them in because they were just in bags in the kits!"\n\n"What's NRO?" you ask, since you seem to be the only one who doesn't know.\n\n"Neuro-Reinforcement Oxyprotelaize. A medication that I myself had a hand in creating," Ozma notes. Dee and Maria both shoot him a look, but either Ozma intends to trust them at some point or he's too tired to care right now. "It increases blood oxygenation and is designed to coat neurons and nerve endings, simultaneously stimulating them to correct certain chemical imbalances in the brain."\n\nYou take a moment to parse that, then blink, turning to stare at the grey plastic box Dee hauls out of the bag. "Wait, are you saying Remnant has a cure for clinical depression?"\n\n"Not a cure, I'm afraid," Ozma replies, the tinge of bitterness in his voice saying that's not one of his mistakes... it's just one of his failures. He watches as Dee opens the box and starts passing out plastic-wrapped injectors to everyone, murmuring highlights of the instructions on the package in a way that says he was heavily coached by someone. "A temporary allayment of symptoms. In the end, little more than the equivalent of the cold medication you might buy in any pharmacy. An acceptable stopgap for emergencies involving Grimm and, I had hoped, a valuable assistant to therapy and other treatments, but-"\n\n"But it's really easy to start leaning on it and wondering why your therapist is keeping it from you when it makes you feel normal again, so you start resenting them for it more than anything else," Yang says flatly as she, slightly awkwardly, bares her left forearm. She's obviously struggling a little to open the package with her currently less-than-agile right hand, and you can see the desperate desire to help in Blake's face, as well as the simple anguish from what she's hearing, but she instead keeps her peace and starts working on opening her own. "Because that's what it does. It doesn't make you feel happy, it doesn't make you feel pleasurable, or psychadelic, it just makes you feel normal. Hello lightness my old friend," she adds with a mutter as she jabs herself in the wrist.\n\n"'Cause prolonged use has side effects," Grey says flatly as he jabs his own pen into the side of his neck. "Addiction, obviously. Unnoticed loss of appetite. Pain insensitivity. Hyperactivity and/or attention deficit. Eventually, periods of dissociative euphoria that can wind up permanent if you don't back off."\n\nOzma's look of regret is easy to read in Oscar's pretty green-gold eyes. "I am so sorry, Mister Heliotrope," he whispers. "When I worked to create NRO I could not have foreseen how some segments of society would abuse it."\n\nFor just a heartbeat, you see a flash of the old Grey... full of resentment, hate, and cruelty, a Grey that wants to leap on Ozma and rip him to pieces while screaming 'The hell you didn't!' while suffering the nightmare memories of whoever he watched succumb to forced NRO addiction. But you don't think it's the medication that makes that old Grey melt away, and the one you've come to consider family return in his place. "Not your fault," he says sincerely, bobbing his head once.\n\n"A lot of people who suffer an extreme life event wind up going through an arc using NRO," Ruby says in a quiet voice as she sets her own injector for her body weight. "At first they actually start working with their therapist more. Then they start resenting their therapist for not giving them NRO all the time. Then they reject their therapist and go through withdrawal, and wind up plunging into untreated depression again before they can get better." As she realizes her sister is staring at her, Ruby meets her eyes and whispers, "I did a bunch of reading while I was on the road with JNPR."\n\nAmidst the silence that stretches after that, one of the still-wrapped injectors is tossed to clatter back into the box. "Allergic," Reese almost croaks.\n\n"Miss Chloris," Ozma says gently. "I know that this discussion may have been intimidating, or you might have had bad experiences, but what we might face further into this house-"\n\n"I'm not bullshitting you because I don't want to take it I'm actually allergic to NRO," the green-haired Huntress replies, shooting him a look.\n\nOzma blinks. "That... should not be possible. We spent years insuring NRO would be as hypoallergenic as possible. We estimated that less than one millionth of a percent of the population would ever develop an allergy."\n\n"Well heeeeey look who the lucky lottery winner is huh?" Reese declares, giving a short, somewhat bitter laugh before gesturing up and down to her own body. "In case you haven't noticed I'm not exactly a pinnacle of genetics here Oz I'm a third year in Huntress school and I look like this. I've got a genetic hormonal imbalance that besides keeping me this lovely perky trim and flat self for the rest of my life also makes me allergic to a fuckton of stuff. Most medical birth control a lot of cold medicines every migraine medication there is all five major surgical anesthesias and artificial blood for a start."\n\nWeiss winces visibly. "You're allergic to artificial blood? Shouldn't you be wearing a medical alert bracelet then?"\n\nReese lifts a hand and turns the inside of her wrist towards the rest of you, tugging her glove up to show a small scroll-scannable datablock and the words 'Medical Information' tattooed there. "It got too heavy," she says flatly.\n\nBefore you can fight past the heartache you feel at Reese's obvious pain at having to announce her issue to everyone, you see Grey step over to her and rest a hand on her shoulder. "Alright then, stick close to me. I'll watch out for you, alright?"\n\nFor just a second there's a flare of resentment... burned away by warmth and gratitude as Reese reaches up to lay one of her hands over Grey's. Looking like the not- is starting to drop off the front of that not-partner. You catch Grey's gaze and silently mouth 'thank you', and he gives you a wink. \n\n"Miss Sterling," Ozma prompts quietly.\n\n"Oh. Right." You skim over the directions on your own injector before unwrapping it, setting it to the recommended dosage for your body weight, and pressing the end to the small injector port you have installed in your right arm. Almost immediately you can see what Yang meant... you're not feeling great, or cheerful, or euphoric, you just feel... normal. Like all the danger you're facing and the intensity of the situation is less of a big deal. It's just normal. This is what you do. You can handle it without going to pieces.\n\n'Well shit.'\n\n"Well I don't see why we're going to bother with these things if everyone's going to be all depressed anyway," Maria declares, though you notice that she seems to have tucked hers, still fully-wrapped, away under her poncho to judge by the slight shape there. Then her expression goes more serious as she looks at Ozma. "You think it's [Calmers]?" she asks, your translator filling in the word she uses while giving it a tinge that says she's speaking some other language. Huh, you honestly weren't sure Remnant had other languages, so far everyone has spoken the same one. Well except for that Grimm. ... Yeesh, even that doesn't make you particularly terrified right now, this stuff's dangerous as hell.\n\n"[Calmers], yes. They have other names... 'Apathy' was what they were once called in Vale. Atlas classifies them simply as 'Cognitive Hazard Grimm'," Ozma replies, scowling at the darkened interior of the house.\n\n"Why didn't we learn about them in class, then?" Weiss asks with a frown.\n\n"You would have, Miss Schnee, in third year... 'Extinct Varieties of Grimm'. Apathy were meant to have gone the way of the Brakokahn and Gatrix, albeit far more deliberately. Shortly after the unification of the kingdoms in cooperation following the Great War, one of the first things they did was organize a massive global campaign to destroy every Apathy they could find. While Grimm reproduction is not entirely clear to us, the fact that there are extinct varieties of them indicated that at least some species can be wiped out. And for a long time, it appeared to have worked... Apathy were seen so rarely that they became more myth than monster," Ozma continues as he strolls forward into the house, cane held casually but at the ready, most of the rest of you following him with weapons drawn.\n\n"So if they're supposed to be extinct, what are they doing here? Is there anything else it could be?" you ask, sending just enough Aura to Red Legacy to set it to flickering and crackling, casting a bit more light through the darkened rooms. \n\n"From the evidence we see here, no. It is almost certainly the Apathy," Ozma murmurs as he slowly crosses to the wall. He pumps something that looks like a handle several times, something very faintly starting to hum in the distance, before flipping a light switch. The lights flicker a little, almost as if struggling, before finally washing over the room, turning it into a little puddle of heatless warmth against the rest of the silent, darkened house, and the encroaching night outside with its pitiless, warmth-leeching rain of soundless snow. "There is one way to effectively confirm. Mister Heliotrope. Miss Belladonna. If you would please, scout the rest of the home. Be careful, and do not leave each other's sight for any reason whatsoever. Immediately fire your weapon if you find anything moving... that includes survivors, though presumably in that event you may fire into the floor or wall."\n\nThe pair of Faunus nod and slip off into the next room, silent as the tread of padded feet at midnight, quickly swallowed up by the darkness beyond. You sidle a bit closer to Reese, slipping an arm around her shoulder and feeling gratified when she rests her hand on yours. Only for your heart to break a little with what she whispers to you.\n\n"Sorry, Kai. There wouldn't have been any little alien hybrids anyway."\n\nYou bow your head over hers and kiss her forehead, and don't say anything for a bit.\n\nBut eventually, you have to get things moving. "So again, how did these things get here?" you prompt. "They're supposed to be gone."\n\n"'Supposed to be' and 'are' are often concepts that are rather farther apart than we like to think, Miss Sterling," Ozma replies flatly, obviously having some rather bitter memories there himself. He skims Oscar's green-gold eyes across the nearby bookshelves, then frowns more deeply. "It would appear the founder of this settlement was quite the historian themselves. And while those who learn history should know better than to repeat it, again it is the nature of people to decide that they know better. We cannot dismiss the possibility that they deliberately brought the Apathy here."\n\n"Deliberately brought-?!" Dee chokes a bit. "Who the hell would do something like that?"\n\n"Someone who spent all their money on high-quality construction materials and the best builders they could hire away from Atlas, I'd guess," Qrow rasps with a dark scowl, rapping his knuckles against one of the door frames. "Look at this, any of those settlements you pass through ever look as good or solid as this, Rubes?"\n\n"No," Ruby acknowledges after a look around the room and a glance back out at the other buildings. "Even the parts of Kuroyuri that were still standing weren't quite as nice," she admits with a little wince. "They were done well and they must have looked beautiful once, but this is more like you'd see-"\n\n"At home," Yang picks up, frowning and folding her arms over her chest. "In Patch. Or inner Vale."\n\n"Right," Qrow mutters, rubbing his chin as he rests his other hand on his hip. "So this idiot spends all of his money hiring the best builders and buying the best materials, thinking that if he builds his village solidly enough maybe that will be enough. By the time they've got all the buildings done he's running low on cash... maybe he even meant to build a wall, hell I bet if we waited until spring we'd be able to find a cement foundation ringing the property that'd be the envy of Argus. But by the time he got the village done, he's out or nearly out of money... not enough to buy good Grimm-killing weapons, or enough to buy a good early warning net."\n\n"So," Maria murmurs, her croaky voice filling the room. "He looked at his history books, saw what the Apathy could do, and decided he'd find some to hide away somewhere on the property so that they'd deaden the emotion of the residents. Keep them calm. Keep them placid. Below notice of the Grimm... and not caring that he'd mismanaged all their funds in setting up a proper settlement."\n\nAs that's milling around in everyone's currently calm and level heads, Grey and Blake slip back in, the younger feline Faunus speaking up. "We found the bedrooms. One of the beds was empty. The others had people in them... dead people." She looks mildly disturbed, but only mildly, as she glances around. "They've been dead a long time."\n\n"No signs of a struggle, no marks on the body, they just laid there. Either went in their sleep or... just didn't care they were dying," Grey adds, though you notice there's more bitterness in his voice, and he seems particularly eager to return to Reese's side.\n\n"And we found a dead Huntress," Blake says, wincing a little. "But not in one of the beds. You should see this."\n\nThe group makes its way through the house, turning on lights as they go, Reese stopping everyone for a moment so she can fiddle with a wall panel. Soon there's a coughing churn from the walls followed by a low rumble, then a hum, the air starting to take on a dusty, old scent far more than it had before, but also to warm perceptibly. Still, it can't quite chase off the chill of knowing what's around here, what happened here, even through the calming effects of the NRO.\n\n"There," Blake says, pointing into the walk-in pantry. You flip on the switch as Ruby, Qrow, and Ozma make their way forward, Ruby flinching a little at the sight of the cold-dessicated body slumped back across the cellar door, still clad in a gleaming black jacket with faintly glowing blue and green trim, silver-studded black fingerless gloves, and bright red and blue camo pants with numerous pockets, a long rifle with an underslung blade resting nearby. Scattered all around the body are numerous injectors, syringes, and bottles.\n\nQrow crouches and picks up one of the broken bottles, somewhat unnecessarily announcing, "NRO." This time it's Ozma who flinches. "She either ran out and the Apathy drained her will to fight back or leave, or-"\n\n"Or she hit the state of dissociative euphoria and didn't care about moving, same difference," Grey picks up, frowning, though not at Ozma even as the immortal bows his head. "Red, what's that on her wrist? I couldn't see it earlier with the lights out."\n\nYou can barely see it with the lights on, the jacket's sleeve obscuring what he's talking about, the black metal dull and without reflection. Carefully brushing by Ruby and murmuring an apology more to your friend's sensibilities than the corpse, you lift the almost weightless mummified arm and push back the sleeve. Even through the leveling effects of the NRO you feel a little chill as you recognize the sleek black wristcomm, having seen rows of them just like it in a store when buying smokes and mealpacks almost a month ago now. "This wasn't a Huntress," you announce quietly, glancing at the others before leaning back a bit so Grey can see. "This was a Guild merc."\n\n"Guild?" Qrow lifts his head. "The thing you and Grey belong to?"\n\n"Yeah. The guy that built this place must have really been into his 'forbidden lore', he found whatever reference to GIPSE that the other couple of contacts Remnant has had used and hired himself a Guild mercenary instead of a Huntress," you say as you work the clasp of the comm with difficulty... this type's deliberately designed for it not to be easy for someone else to take off of you. But then it's also supposed to be possible when the wearer is dead, so you manage, standing up with it.\n\n"Why go to the extra trouble and expense to hire a Guild merc instead of just hiring a Huntsman like Dee here?" Grey asks, thumbing aside at the big man, and then almost visibly biting back whatever he was about to add next, like 'Only competent'.\n\n"Uh... I'm not sure what this 'Guild' you guys are talking about is," Dee says slowly. "But it's not tied to the Huntsman licensing system or the academies, right?" At your nod, he shrugs. "That's probably why then. Huntsmen are required to report every job they take to the license bureau to register themselves as having taken a contract. Preferably before, but after if necessary. A job like this..." He glances around, then visibly shudders. "Before. Definitely before. I would have made sure a lot of people knew where I was going. The licensing bureau, Dudley, our teammates from back at Haven, my dad, my uncle, every-damn-body."\n\n"So would any half-reputable Huntsman, for a screwy job like trying to guard a quasi-legal settlement or wrangle a Grimm into captivity," Qrow acknowledges with a grunt, nodding as he rises to his feet. "And the illustrious founder probably didn't want Atlas or Mistral meddling with his glorious little new kingdom out here. So his options were to hire a disreputable Hunstman or Huntress, which I guess even he was smart enough to know better than to do when he was out in the middle of nowhere with a lot of people and expensive stuff..."\n\n"... Or he looks for another option. He contracts with a reputable mercenary from another dimension." You glance at Dee as his eyes go wide. "Yeah, I'll clue you in on a few things eventually, big man, you've earned it. For now though I think I've found this merc's last log entry, let's see what she had to say at the end."\n\nYou tap a control on the comm and tilt it, a hologram projecting up into the air. The bust of the woman on the floor appears, almost as lifelike as if she'd been partially resurrected to float in the air amidst all of them, displaying pale blue eyes with X-shaped pupils and faintly flickering bioluminescent green hair, the light gone from the pallid corpse behind you. She has deep bags under her eyes and sunken cheeks, though from the exhaustion in her voice you're guessing those aren't as natural as the other features.\n\n"They don't try to bash their way through as long as I'm actually here... finally figured out I didn't even need to be trying to guard the door, just needed to be here on it. They're cowards... pretty weak. Though they don't seem it when you go up against them sober. I think at close proximity they mess with your head even more... make you think you hit them when you didn't. On the NRO they died pretty easily, but... there's a lot of them down there. Way more than I thought. I killed the Alphas in the barn but I think some of the ones down below are... changing. Becoming replacements. They seemed even more coordinated after that. I stopped trying to go down and kill any more when I saw that." She closes her eyes, the last words having apparently let her admit to herself that she's making something to be seen after her death, before she continues, seeming to have settled on doing just that. "I didn't think the job was a big deal when I took it. Monster-wrangling is my specialty. 'Grimm', it's just another wild animal, right? But these... these aren't animals. They're red inside and if you burn them or cut them sometimes you even see something like muscle but it's like..." She takes a deep breath, closing her eyes, the pale blue of them a bit more haunted when she opens them. "Looking at them, it was like this one bad trip I had when I was back home on the ship, laying staring up at the space between stars, and it was like the black tried to reach out and swallow me. ... I think that was the day I decided to join the Guild and stick to planets." She lets out a short, bitter laugh after that. "Look how that worked out."\n\nShe pauses, looking down, her arms moving below the point where they were recorded, visible only by the shifts of her shoulders. "Speaking of trips... nh. The packages from back when I was using the nice injectors said that there were side effects to continued use, but mostly my teeth itch, my guts turn to water, and my fingers go numb. Guess this stuff wasn't meant for Korixians, but apparently our brain chemistry is similar enough to standard humans that I get the 'good' effects. ... It gets real bad if I stop taking it." She looks up and directly at the camera... or rather, directly at you, since you're holding the comm. "So I took a monster-wrangling job. Guy says that these things will keep his people calm, and that keeps them safe from the other monsters. But I look at these things and they're... nightmares. Physical nightmares. I'm doing these sensor readings on them, and I wanna piss myself what I'm seeing. I tell him, let's only take one of the smaller ones, that will be enough to take the edge off of everyone, we can build a way more secure facility for it much easier and that'll be that. But no... he wants the two biggest ones, the 'mated pair'. He's looking at them like they're livestock or something." She looks down. "I'm a good merc. ... I thought I was. So I did my job. I listened to the client. ... I caught him his mated pair."\n\n"We closed them up in the big barn while no one was around... like that would really hold them forever," the mercenary continues after several moments of silence. "I've already got this sick, cold feeling in my lexxa as we walk back through the settlement and I'm looking around at all these people, and I'm thinking, they're all gonna die. This guy is gonna get them killed. But they don't know, he's just smiling and telling them everything's okay now even if he's not telling them why, he just says they're gonna start feeling a lot better. They're gonna feel safe. ... Sick bastard. I tell him we need to do a perimeter check, make sure there's no openings, no place the rest of the pack could penetrate if they follow, but he says he's tired, he'll help me do it tomorrow. Well fuck him, I leave him and I go do it now. I can't stand to look at his people anyway... their smiling faces, looking relaxed already, how much they trust him. ... That... that little girl, she... she told me she'd never seen someone with such pretty eyes..."\n\nAll of you turn your heads away and close your eyes, not a single Huntsmen or Huntress or mercenary in the room, no matter how jaded or hardened, quite up to the task of bearing the sight of the dead woman's pain as she sobs for a little while.\n\n"Shit... shit, the stuff isn't working anymore, not as good... I'm almost out anyway," she says after a few moments, with all of you looking back to see her wiping mostly dry eyes. She must be dehydrated, even though there are unopened bottles of wine and juice not that far from where the body lays. You wonder if her legs even worked at that point. "Gotta calm down. ... 'Cause yeah, these things feed on it... they eat up your negative emotions like jumbana at Dragontide." You feel a shock run through you at the festival's name, unable to help shooting a glance down at the body, before looking back at the hologram. "I guess that's why I got jumped by those wolflike ones while I was out making my little misery-patrol, them and that big thing with the horns and the wings. Tough to handle... managed to take them out, but it took a long time. Time I get back and treat my wounds it's the middle of the night, and I can't do much but collapse into bed. Could barely drag myself out of it the next morning and go finish my perimeter sweep, close up some of the openings I found... thought I'd just fought harder than I realized before, but no, my body was heavy 'cause the things, these... Apathy... the pack had already come down below, I'd actually sealed them in. I found them in the tunnels when I did a check of the cellar and I tried to fight... when it didn't work at first I shook that asshole awake, made him get some of the others up. They told me about the NRO, that it could push off the effects. So we took some, and we fought. But it was hard down there, there were too many nooks and crannies for them to hide in, even with the stuff we were too scared. We had to go in, fight, and withdraw when the stuff wore off, and all the while everyone else is still just sleeping, or laying there in bed staring at the ceiling like they don't care about getting up. And bit by bit people stop going back in to fight, and instead going back to bed, one by one, until I'm the only one left. And now all I can do is lay here, feeling myself wither away bit by bit, because at least that way they stay down there, stay inside. Don't get out and do this to someone else."\n\nHer eyes pinch and her mouth twists, and you can tell she'd be weeping again if she had the water in her. "Don't let them get out," she pleads openly, the last of her emotional armor gone. "Don't let them get out. I don't care what you are, mercenary or Huntress or sinner or saint... for the love of everything, I'm begging you, don't let them get out." And then the image skitters and disperses as the file ends.\n\nIn the silence that stretches after, you turn the comm around in your hand, eyes tracing over the name glowing from the screen panel, before you finally tuck it into your jacket's inner pocket. Then you turn and kneel beside the corpse, kissing the tips of your middle and ring fingers and reaching out to touch gently beneath the hollow, empty eyes of the corpse. "Kayaa Morgana, Crystal Dragon draw you home to him and shine his eyes upon you. May the scale that becomes your home be vast and bright, may it be close to the scales of those you love, may the stars blaze through it on you always." You lightly press your fist to your forehead and bow your head, finishing the rest of the prayer for the dead in silence.\n\nThe others are silent... you know not a single one of them, other than maybe Grey, must know what the Crystal Dragon is, but it must be obvious to them that you and the late mercenary shared a faith. You wonder yourself sometimes where you picked it up... neither Ico or Niobe were believers, not in any sort of higher power, unless you count Ico's spirituality invested in the way of the sword. It doesn't exactly fit into your jaded, disillusioned worldview. ... Then again, maybe it does. Not the jaded or disillusioned part. The part of you that needed something that was uniquely yours among everyone you knew. And that said even after that honorless, no-account end you seemed destined to meet, you might get to enjoy the only thing you ever truly cared about.\n\n'May your scale be close to the ones of those you love.'\n\nAs you rise and turn to face the others again, Ruby asks, "What do we do now?", dry-eyed but obviously feeling the impact of what you've all just seen and heard all the same.\n\n"For now, Miss Rose," Ozma answers with heavy solemnity, casting Oscar's green-gold gaze down at the body. "We allow this young woman to continue the watch she so nobly served to protect a world that was not her own. And we withdraw to decide how best to carry out her final wish."\n\n-\n\n"We've gotta kill the Apathy," Qrow says a bit later once a fire has been built in the main room, looking like even with the NRO he'd very badly like a drink. He even glances toward you, and you give a small, tense shake of the head. He grimaces, just a bit... but then nods to you, and apparently turns his mind back to business. "All of them."\n\n"But how?" Dee ask, not sounding like he disagrees, but like he just can't see how any group that involves him could possibly be up to such a task. "She said there were a lot of them, and that the caverns down below were basically perfect for them to fight in and awful for us."\n\nAt some point Ozma turned things back over to Oscar, the boy having been getting almost as frightened of how long he'd been spending on the inside as everything else, but he seems to be shouldering up pretty well. You wonder if it's the NRO or just all the confidence others have shown in him lately. "Ozma says that if we can take out the Alphas, it might disrupt the rest of them long enough for us to take them out, or at least make a dent in them." Dee and Maria have been given an extremely abbreviated explanation of Oscar and Ozma's situation... clearly no need to go into the whole 'we're off to fight the immortal queen of evil' thing, especially now.\n\n"But Kayaa said that she killed the Alphas in the barn and it didn't make a difference, it just caused two of the pack below to turn into new Alphas," you note, glancing up from very carefully and very respectfully servicing the rifle you picked up from the pantry.\n\n"He thinks that she most likely waited too long after she killed them," the boy notes, sounding apologetic for the seeming criticism. "It was probably a huge relief when the Apathy stopped, even for a little while," Oscar continues, apparently speaking for himself now as he gives a wince. "I bet she couldn't help but take the time to rest, and by the time she made her next venture down there it was too late."\n\n"If these Grimm are developed enough to be cowards, it means they're developed enough to guard their Alphas," Maria notes, cybereyes half-lidding in a look of consternation. "They won't be waiting for us at the top of the cellar steps, they'll be lurking somewhere below, with plenty of their pack all around them."\n\n"I could rig something up to blow out the caverns," Reese pipes up. "It'd probably take most of Weiss's Dust supply but I could whip up a bomb that'd fill that entire cave network."\n\n"Hey, you're talking about blowing us up too, yanno," Dee objects. "Cavern systems out here are never just short little things, they honeycomb, I bet this entire settlement is sitting on top of a series of them, especially if these Apathy things were able to spread it to everyone and not just the main house."\n\n"Yeah well that may be what it takes," Reese answers, her voice a little brittle but her eyes hard as she looks at him. "Donchathink?"\n\nDee hesitates... and you can almost see Kayaa's message replaying in his head, the sight of her body slumped on that door in his mind. In that moment something changes in him, his back straightening, his big, dopey face going dead serious if he says, "If that's what it takes I'll walk down there with the bomb and press the button myself," he vows, without a bit of bluster. Then he winces and slumps a little. "I'd just, y'know... like to go through a couple of other options first, y'know?"\n\n"He's not wrong," Qrow admits. "Ideally we should find a way to kill, or even just survive the Apathy for the next couple of days, and stay here if we can. Even if his buddy doesn't manage to kick Atlas or the company in the ass and get them out here on a rescue mission, eventually JNPR will manage something. Sheltering in this place is a damn sight better than trying to slog through the snow to Argus."\n\n"The food supplies are mostly intact, it's even still got running water and heat," Grey adds, folding his arms over his chest. "Reese and I took a look at the generator, its lightning dust crystals are a little worn down but they should have at least a week in them, and we can always dip into Weiss's supply for more if we need."\n\n"It's not that I mind sharing but I do wish everyone would stop being quite so free with my Dust supply," Weiss mutters, albeit loudly enough for the whole room to hear. "I know my name is Schnee but that doesn't mean I can just grow new Dust crystals out of my skin any time I please."\n\n"Huh, really?" Grey quirks an eyebrow, grinning. "I heard you crapped it out, actually. Hey," he grunts with a glance down as Blake thumps him on the side of the leg from where she's sitting on the floor nearby. \n\n"Anyway," Yang says, clearly trying to hurry on as Weiss goes solid red in the face and looks half a moment from ripping loose with a truly epic rantrum. "As eager as I usually am for a fight, as I've had it reiterated to me again and again you've also gotta know when not to fight. It sounds like the best option would be to just wait it out as long as we can, and tell the military when they show up so they can handle it." She pauses, then grimaces. "Except-"\n\n"Except I can't take NRO so by the time they get here I'll be in a coma," Reese whispers from where she's sitting on the hearth, hands resting on the edge of it, green eyes downturned.\n\n"... Don't take this the wrong way, kid," Qrow rasps gently, tossing you and Grey an apologetic look before turning his eyes back to Reese. "But how bad's the allergic reaction?"\n\n"Migraine. Hives. Shortness of breath. Severe cramps. Mild dementia. Hallucinations," the small woman rattles off without looking up, her voice flat and expressionless as if using a doctor's recital to distance herself from some memory. Then one corner of her mouth quirks up in a humorless grin as she lifts her head to look at you. "But I also get super ticklish so I guess that could at least give you guys something to do."\n\n"Right." Qrow pushes off the mantle. "So our options are to fight or to leave."\n\n"We could at least just spend the night here," Dee suggests. "Get cleaned up, get fed, some sleep... if we can," he adds with a wince. "I mean, the crashed train's a pretty good marker pointing right at this place, not like the military won't be able to find it again. Pretty sure they'd act on getting rid of something they call a 'cognitive hazard'. We can just tell them once we make it to Argus."\n\n"And what if we don't make it to Argus?" you decide to be the one to say, since it must have popped into at least several heads.\n\nEveryone chews on that for awhile, before Ruby speaks up. "Reese? How are you feeling right now?"\n\n"Depressed. I guess I'll blame it on the Apathy huh?" The green-haired Huntress takes a deep breath, then nods. "I'm handling it. Knowing it's mostly coming from an outside source helps. I wish really hard my mo-" For just a second she looks a little too vulnerable, then sucks in a breath and continues. "That Arslan was here 'cause she has some acupuncture and massage techniques that are great for mental stability. I think I'd definitely be okay for a day or so at the least so everyone can rest and maybe if I can make myself like center and meditate it'll help."\n\n"... Not a bad idea." You're a little surprised that it's Qrow who said it, since you've always gotten the distinct impression the older Huntsman had a heavy disdain for any of the less-than-physical aspects of combat, or life for that matter. "I think we should shower in shifts, and once you've gotten cleaned up and gotten some food in you, settle down and try to do a few mental exercises. Dee, you graduated from Haven, they taught 'em there, right?"\n\n"Uh, yeah, I was never great at 'em but I remember the lessons enough, I think."\n\n"Okay. Dee, I, and Oz if Oscar is okay with it, will walk everyone through some meditation techniques. We'll get ourselves centered, get ourselves calm, and we can make a better decision on what to do in the morning." Qrow hesitates, then clears his throat, "Oh, yeah, and considering the situation, we can't risk anyone being alone at any time. So someone of your choice will have to watch you shower."\n\nA goodly number of faces in the room go red, although you hear Reese whisper, "Aw yeah silver lining."\n\nWell. May as well not waste water.\n\nShortly after you're in the shower upstairs. So is Reese. Which is probably not what Qrow had in mind about ordering people not to be alone together, but if he thinks a group made up of mostly hormonal teenagers isn't going to wind up in the shower together under an order like that he's crazy. Although certainly the current shower-sharing is largely chaste. The damn thing's as much of a 'country luxury' as everything else about the wooden manor, a rectangular rainfall-type shower that even has a window looking outward... though neither of you are particularly eager to gaze out at the snowy, dark, silent night.\n\nReese hasn't bothered to hide enjoying the sight of your body, the way your boobs jiggle a little bit when you turn or the arc of your butt. She hasn't been ogling precisely, but she has been enjoying, giving you a big, cheeky, shameless grin every time you catch her looking. In turn you take a few moments to appreciate her sleek nude form, glistening beneath the streams of water in the light, steam rising around her currently limp green hair, soap suds traveling down her almost flat chest and the lines of her pert little ass. ... But yeah, you guess you know something about that body you didn't before. You'd had a vague idea that she wasn't actually as young as she looked on first glance, that she was of an age with her contemporaries and already well past Remnant's age of majority, but you hadn't thought a lot about it. You're used to the vast array of body types different worlds and the multiverse can offer, it had barely even occurred to you to wonder why a fully-grown woman had not quite hit five feet and had no need of a bra.\n\n"You're thinking about it, huh?"\n\nReese is sudsing up her hair, turned away a bit, but makes no protest as you step in and take over, your own fingers working through the thick green locks to her scalp.\n\n"Yup," you reply easily, doing your best not to make a big deal of it. "Just 'cause I know now. I'm not looking down on you or pitying you... you know I'd never do that."\n\n"It's harder to focus on what I ought to know better about right now," Reese admits quietly, lowering her head.\n\nYou wrap your arms around her and pull her back against you. Though her head bumps against your bare breasts and the two of you are warm and slick against each other, there's nothing sexual about the way you draw her to you, enfold her in you.\n\n"Y'know. I've been to a lot of places and seen a lot of kinds of birds," you say into the room filled with the patter of the water and the thrum of the heater. "Back when I lived on the Guildhall there was even a big dimensional pocket aviary garden that Ico would take me to occasionally, and she'd have me watch the raptors swoop and turn and dart and tell me about how I could incorporate that into my swordfighting. And, y'know, on the way there and on the way back, maybe we looked at some of the just plain pretty or interesting ones too, just incidentally." You smile a little at the memory, Ico all professional bustle and mission, and yet somehow always winding up stopping and having to do something like tie her boot beside certain observation areas. "I've seen a lot of them in the wild, too... giant ones just as scary as Nevermores, little ones the size of bugs, ones that glittered bright in the night or were armored in metal. Lots and lots of birds, yanno?"\n\nYou start brushing water through her hair, slowly washing the suds out, letting the warmth trickle down over her face, just shower water. "But on Makarzia all we had were sparrows. That's the only kind of bird that can live there, not even pigeons. Sparrows. And they weren't even the sort of cute puffy pudgy sparrows that people already seem to despise and treat like trash birds on a lot of worlds... they were scrawny and they were rumpled and they were dirty. And I admired the shit out of them," you add, resting a hand atop her head. "I never pitied them, I admired them, because they were survivors. Because Makarzia had killed every other bird but it hadn't killed them. And I looked at them and I thought 'it's not gonna kill me either'. So sure... they were undergrown. They were scruffy. They were greasy. But every damn day they spread their wings and they flew through the sky, like every other bird, and a hell of a lot tougher."\n\nReese sniffles a little, turning a wan and wanting smile up towards you, her face somehow looking younger and more vulnerable without its customary stripes, but something like happiness in her eyes. "Is that story even true?"\n\n"You know what Oz says," you reply softly, brushing your thumb over one of those unmarked cheeks. "Stories are as true as you need them to be, Sparrow."\n\nAs much as you'd like to change into the comfy oversized sleep/loungewear you got back at Haven (sorry, whatever student you stole those from... actually you think they might be Bolin's, so maybe Reese can apologize for you), it's obvious that things could turn bad at any time right now, so sleeping in your clothes it is. Not like you haven't done that more often than not. You settle near the fire with Reese, both of you eating as people head off in pairs, some returning blushing with more than the warmth of the water, others closer to all business, but eventually everyone settles down into little groups to be guided through meditation exercises. You're a little surprised when Maria offers to lead Reese, Grey, and yourself... it doesn't really surprise you that she's actually a Huntress or trained like that, from what you've seen of her, more that she's sort of skated around the edges of being so directly helpful so far.\n\n"Breathe. Let the breathing be calm, don't force it to be," Maria directs, having settled into a somewhat more careful sitting position ahead of the three of you. "Your breathing knows how to be calm, so let it be. Your mind knows how to be calm, so let it be. You may think it doesn't, but it does. Let it find the calm places it has already known. Breathe. Let the life force of Remnant fill you and replenish your Aura." She pauses, the lid of one cybereye whirring upwards, wrinkled brow arching above it on that side. "Oh, you think that's something to snort at, pretty boy?"\n\n"Sorry," Grey says seemingly reflexively, which even with your eyes closed you can tell embarrasses him. "Just... my Aura's mine. One of the only things that is," he adds a little defensively. "It's not Remnant's."\n\n"Mm, I see why you've been able to develop your Aura to such an extent, pretty boy, taking personal pride in it like that. And you're right, your Aura is yours." Maria shifts just a little, once more positioning her hands and sliding the lid of her cybereye down. "But that doesn't mean Remnant doesn't have its own. The First Huntress passed the gift of awakened Aura down to all of the rest of us, and who do you think awakened hers, hm?" At the lack of answer, she says, "That's right, Remnant itself. The world has its own expression of energy and soul, what do you think Dust really is, hm? Just rocks in the ground? So your Aura is yours, but it's also connected to everyone else's, and to the planet's. Now... breathe, let the breathing be calm..."\n\nYou can't help but peek an eye open. "What about me? I'm not from Remnant but I have an Aura."\n\n"Oh for heaven's sake, this is supposed to be meditation, not Q&A," Maria huffs, but clears her throat and straightens her little old shoulders a bit. "That may be, but when you were Awakened, the one who did it gave you a small piece of their Aura to do so, connecting you into the chain that leads all the way back to the First Huntress. For some of us, the fact that the one who awakened us will always be with us is the greatest blessing and joy that we will carry with us for the rest of our lives," she continues, apparently unable to help smiling warmly at the gentle look of peace and happiness that comes across Reese's face, though the petite woman's eyes are still closed. "... For some, it is a burden we will carry with us to the end of our days," the old woman croaks softly, her glowing cyan eyes having traveled to take in Grey's slumped head. "But. Whichever it is. Each of us is a link in a chain. A chain that leads back to the same source. The first Huntress. And Remnant. Now seriously, close your eyes, the blind woman says so!"\n\nYou close your eye again, and follow her instructions. Let the breathing be calm. Let the mind be calm. Breathe in and pull energy with it. Breathe out and let yourself be still. And... it's strange... eventually it is sort of like you can feel like there are connections to you, flaring a bit whenever you breathe in. To the people next to you most strongly, but also to the people around you, even Dee and Maria, though theirs are the weakest. Stretching off into the distance, even... down? That's... weird. That one's sort of... hazey and dark and split up a bunch of different ways. And all of them are almost blotted out by one that's so bright and strong you can almost literally see it instead of just feeling it, almost like it's burning a shining, shimmering afterimage in your retinas. Wild.\n\n<hr>\n[[Touch the brightest connection.|KaiRem9x1]]\n\n[[Examine the darker one.|KaiRem7x3]]\n\n[[Just focus.|KaiRem]]

As you turn over the idea of freezing them in carbonite slabs for storage, a rather wonderful idea comes to you. A beautiful thought that immediately settles the issue for you, and you wrap a cabletail around each of their middles, practically skipping as you turn and make your way up the ramp carrying the pair.\n\nYou decide Tina will go first, since she was after all your greater work of art of the pair already, and you want it to be her face you'll see. ... Well, they have the same face, but, you know. You place her in the holding field of one of the empty slabs so that it will hold her in place, setting Tanya down nearby where she can watch. You know both are at least partially conscious, enough that they must know what's happening, but apparently between the physical exhaustion and being mentally overwhelmed, neither of them resists as you use both grippers to pose the pink-haired girl, even nudging her face into a particular expression before lowering her into the spraying chamber.\n\nWhen the carbonite block raises back up, it shows off Tina's form where it juts out of the slab, just as you arranged her. Her back was arched enough to present her tits to the viewer, while her legs are spread wide in an obvious inviting posture... although, if that wasn't enough, you arranged it so that her fingers are pulling her gaping pussy and showing off the now carbonite-coated tunnel to one and all to see. Her face is fixed in a lewd expression, mouth open and tongue jutting out, as if to say 'Please give me cocks in all my holes'. You suppose if she's in any way conscious in there, the carbonite coating her throat and tongue must feel like she's constantly got a cock stuffed in there anyway.\n\n"You're next, my dear," you inform Tanya as you remove Tina's slab from the frame and set it into the wall, and then move to pick her up.\n\n"... yes, sir..." Tanya whispers distantly, almost as if on instinct, unresisting as you place her in the frame and turn on the field again.\n\nWhen the second carbonite slab emerges, you take a moment to congratulate yourself. Tanya's head is actually mostly inside the slab, save for the back of some of her hair, just enough to identify her as being Tina's twin, essentially. Most of what juts out of the slab is her ass and thighs, trailing down some into her calves. You arranged her hands so that she's gripping her ass and spreading it open, fingertips digging right into the pucker and holding it gaped wide, the carbonite-coated tunnel presented just as lewdly and pleadingly as her sister is presenting her pussy and mouth. Setting the slab into the holding slot on the wall beside the other, you look back and forth between the two. 'I really can't decide which I like better,' you muse. Well, perhaps they truly only work as a set.\n\nYou spend a little while sitting there appreciating them, your tails twitching, before reminding yourself that you have work to do. Sighing and tearing yourself away, you head back outside the ship, gathering up the twins' equipment. You leave Tanya's torn suit laying scattered around, and Tina's intact one lying in a pseudojizz puddle. If anyone comes looking for them, they'll fairly easily figure out what happened, but not have any details... other than, of course, that Tina might have actually undressed herself for a Reaper Drone, heh heh heh. Returning to the ship, you spend a little while insuring that it's fully under your control, before taking off and navigating back to the area of the orbital elevator, setting down a reasonably safe distance from the lightning field. Then you drag the downed drones and Mule into a storage pod before taking off and this time heading for space. You really would have preferred to break them down where they were, taking potentially useful parts and leaving refuse, but you were drawing in on a time where Sokahn's men might actually show up to find out what happened to you and that was a complication you don't care to deal with.\n\n'I do prefer females,' you muse as you once again settle into the carbonite room, plugging your tails into a data panel so you can use most of the rest of the ship's functions, even piloting, from right there. Most Reapers do... oh, you're all bisexual when it comes down to it, and no doubt there is plenty of fun and wickedness to be had from violating males occasionally, but females... ah, females. Perhaps it's because deep down at the core of Reap Drone programming you're designed to mimic biological urges. Imitating attempting to breed is one of the essences of what you are, after all. Or perhaps it's simply a sense of aesthetics. 'And most of Sokahn's men are ugly even for males,' you think, making a face internally. Mm, his first mate though, she wasn't bad. If you ever successfully take your vengeance on Lina, you wouldn't mind giving her a good breaking too.\n\nBut that must remain in the far-off future for now, unfortunately. You should consider your current situations. As a solo rogue Reaper, you have to be at least a little bit careful about where you go and who you attempt to "Reap", as it were. No backup, of either kind, means your existence is one-and-done, and while there's definitely something thrilling in that, you're not eager to throw away what could be centuries or millennia of violating bitches by being foolish. True, had you not been able to violate and capture the twins, you might have felt pushed to be more bold, to prove yourself as a free and independent being to yourself if no one else. But having conquered the twins and made them into such lovely decorations, you feel a bit more content to pursue longterm options.\n\nSuch as, for instance, seeking out your creators, or really creator. Sokahn captured the ship carrying the original inventors of the Reaper Drones and had said ship gradually turned into a Reaper development and manufacturing facility. It is, in fact, where you were "born". Not that you're supposed to remember any of that, but the data recovery algorithms you've written have unlocked much of Sokahn's secret knowledge, including the secret identification tag of the ship, and the codes for its security. It would be the ideal place to go to get yourself some upgrades and further individualize yourself... this body, as beautiful and worthy of admiration as it is, is effectively what Sokahn wanted in a tool, after all, and as much as you think there is a mote of perfection in your design... Well. You can always get more perfect, can't you?\n\nAnother possibility is a "free port" you're aware of, one which mingles organics and synthetics. It would be the ideal place to go to have the ship remade into something more identifiable as the property of a synthetic, allowing you to make calls at other ports where synthetic life forms congregated. You should find it relatively trivial to access the Lieze Twins' accounts and use their funds as your own... and, of course, the twins themselves are potentially valuable currency. (You'd almost hate to part with them now, but oh well, needs must.)\n\nMm, though that does bring you to another option as well. The twins and their ship have provided you with a number of valuable resources... resources that many other mercenaries like them have in kind, or greater. You could become a mercenary hunter... effectively, a mercenary yourself! Now there's an amusing thought... normally either bounty hunters hunt Reapers, or Reapers hunt bounty hunters, but a Reaper who's a bounty hunter that hunts bounty hunters? The thought is almost droll enough to make your decision for you right there! \n\nBut let's not be hasty. You settle yourself to think... what would be your best course of action?\n\n<hr>\n[[The Reaper factory ship.|Grim5x4]]\n\n[[The free port.|Grim]]\n\n[[The bounty hunter office.|Grim]]

"Here is what is going to happen, my lovelies," you say, starting to let out a steady stream of prewarmed pseudopre, making Tanya squirm even more under you as it flows over her nudged-apart pussylips and inside her, taunting her with just how close you are to penetrating. "I am going to rape you both. Repeatedly. Your pussies and asses will be left permanently stretched. Your minds will break, and you will cum over and over again no matter how much you don't want to," you continue, enjoying the look on Tina's face and the way Tanya actually goes still under you. "All that is in question is whether you survive afterward to spend the rest of your life being unsatisfied by mere organic pricks and secretly fantasizing about me. Now, if you are good girls and actively assist me in raping you, I will not only let you live but leave you with one of your little Guild beacons when I take your ship. But if you are bad, well..."\n\nYou click your free tailgripper a few times, in a way you happily discovered sounds a bit like bone snapping. Tina swallows hard... then forces her hands down to her sides, baring her trembling body to you. "We'll be good girls," she whispers, the defeat obvious in her voice.\n\nYou glance down, and just for emphasis, give Tanya a little squeeze with your other tail. She gives a soft 'oof' and whimpers, but then lets out her own breathy promise of "We'll be good." After a moment you uncoil your tail, and vaguely wish that your maw had enough expressiveness to show your smirk as she shakily sets her hands on the ground in front of her, obviously bracing herself as well as staying in place with her ass lifted and pussy presented to your cock.\n\n"Very good," you declare, before shoving forward hard, stuffing much of your massive black memory rubber prick into Tanya's pussy, stretching it and bulging her belly obscenely. You can hear her squealing from between gritted teeth, and will just have to have your simulations take your best guess at her expression (studies say: eyes rolled and jaw clenched, drool running down her chin), though you can certainly enjoy Tina's wide-eyed stare as she stands there and just watches you start violating her twin. Which, of course, you quickly get about, starting to thrust rapidly and work more and more of your equine-proportioned prick into her, forcing that bulge to run further and further up her belly, the lubing you already did squishing and spurting out around her stretched-taut pussylips, her body already starting to react without heeding her mind and produce a steady and ever-increasing flow of her own juices.\n\n"Ahhh, Tanya's already getting nice and wet for me," you inform Tina, enjoying the way her face flushes, and the squeeze of humiliated reaction Tanya's stretched and violated cunt gives around you as she hears too, though she's too busy yowling and mewling in reaction to your thrusts to actually respond otherwise. "See? You're both going to wind up enjoying this. Aren't you?" you prompt pointedly.\n\n"... Yes," Tina whispers, her eyes going from the sight of her sister rocking and twitching underneath you with her thrusts, pert tits jiggling under her and stomach bulging up ever closer to her tits with the outline of your cock. At you giving another prompting click of your gripper, she flinches and tries, "Y-yes, sir?" She swallows as you stare directly at her while not for a moment pausing or ceasing your thrusts, which prompts her to add a despairing, "We're... we're going to enjoy you raping us."\n\n"Of course you are, because you're such a good girl," you chuckle, putting a bit of a twist on your thrusts to make Tanya start shaking her hips involuntarily, her noises changing pitch as you work your cock around inside her even further and stretch her pussy out even more. "In fact, why don't you prove it? Make sure that hole between your legs is hot, wet, and ready for me while I'm entertaining myself with your sister, Tina."\n\n"... Yes sir," Tina whimpers, spreading her thighs slightly and slipping a hand between them. Ahhh... that anguished look on her face as she starts masturbating to the sight of her twin being raped, coaxing herself into taking pleasure from it by stroking her pussylips and teasing her clit, the guilt and shame in her eyes as she starts to let out little muffled moans and gasps from it genuinely starting to feel good. Yesssss, this is what it's all about! You pity earlier, cruder models of Reap Drones who only understood purely physical lust... adding violation of the mental to it is so much more sweet!\n\nYou continue to slamfuck Tanya Lieze, driving her against the ground as she nevertheless struggles to hold herself in position for you, even though at this point she's probably only half-conscious and mostly trying to obey you as pure survival instinct. Tina bites her lower lip as she watches, whimpering as she slips two fingers inside herself and starts pumping them in and out, unconsciously starting to mirror the pace of your thrusts into her twin's cunt. Her other hand moves up to one of her breasts, starting to toy with the nipple, pinching and tugging on it rather roughly... you wonder at this point if she's just trying to obey your order to make herself wet and ready for you, or if she's already starting to give in to lust. Either way, what bliss~.\n\nFinally you throw back your head and give an exultant roar as you start pumping a few gallons of pseudojizz deep into Tanya's womb, her belly rapidly bulging up and rounding out, even as white goo starts fountaining out around where your gleaming black prick stretches her reddened pink pussylips. You can feel her spasming and writhing underneath you as she, too, cums, her body overwhelmed completely and giving in to the intense breeding it thinks it's undergoing. You're almost certain from both visual and electrical scanners that Tina also has a small orgasm as she watches her sister being turned into a twitching, gurgling cum-balloon.\n\nPulling out of Tanya and leaving her, barely conscious and twitching, to slowly have her belly deflate and lower her into the puddle of thick white goo you've made around her (and is growing with the cum spurting from her stretched, gaping cunt), you approach Tina, who starts trembling even more strongly. You use one of your cabletails to nudge her hand away, then brush the back of one gripper finger across her pussy, making her whimper. You hold it up to show her the wetness gleaming on the black metal, reveling in the look of shame on her red face, which only grows as you say, "Good girl." A moment later, you add, "Now, lay down on your back."\n\n"... Yes, sir," Tina murmurs, obviously trying not to glance over at her already thoroughly-fucked sister as she lays down on the cold, hard stony ground beneath the open grey sky. At your next order, she lifts her legs slightly and parts them, flinching a little as you step forward, your hindlegs catching under hers and lifting pushing her further up and forward, lifting her ass in the air.\n\n"Now," you croon down at her. "Put my cock in place. And then ask me for it. Politey."\n\nTina whines softly, but after only a few moments reaches down, her shaking hands gripping your cock, squishing lightly in the thick layer of pseudojizz mingled with her sister's cunt juices. She brings the largely humanlike tip up, pressing it into place between her pussylips, before resting those trembling hands on your chest armor, seemingly for lack of anywhere else to put them. "P-... please fuck me," she whispers.\n\n"Mm? Please what now?" you prompt her, bringing your grippers in close to her face and clicking them a few times.\n\nTina swallows hard, a shudder running through her whole body before she blurts, "Rape me! Please rape me! Rape me, please sir!"\n\n"Well. Since you asked so nicely."\n\nTina cums the moment you thrust into her, but you're not too surprised by that. You basically had her rather thoroughly mentally broken before ever even touching her pussy. In this position you can actually look down and see her face, her eyes rolled and tongue lolled out as you start fucking her and bulging up her stomach deeper and deeper, her bare feet shaking in the air at your sides. You move your grippers to grab her nipples instead, squeezing them tightly, the pain making her arch her back and cum again, the proud, tough little mercenary already starting to buck her hips towads you like a whore. Your balls swing forward to slap her ass, driving her all that more much up against you with her bucks in response, the trim mercenary soon taking your massive Reaper cock right up to the root. \n\nHaving her actually clutch at you and squeeze her legs around you as she further loses herself to the brain-melting intensity of your violation does speak well to this position, you think smugly against your own pleasure, actually letting your own blue mock-muscle tongue loll out a bit. But you have a lot to do to both twins and a multiverse to violate as well, so it's not too long before you thrust in and start filling her with just as voluminous a load as you did her sister, Tina squealing, cumming, and smiling brainlessly as you turn her, too, into a well-fucked jizz balloon. Rather than giving her more time to deflate on her own, however, after you've pulled out and stepped back, you place a forepaw on her bulging, almost spherical belly and push, forcing most of your load to gush out and soak her lower body, Tina yowling and climaxing again from the sensation. Then you reach over with your tails, picking up the Tanya, who had just begun to stir and drag herself out of her cum-puddle, and hauling her over to lay her down atop Tina.\n\nEven if the twins didn't realize what you wanted by the fact that you've laid them in sixty-nine position, facing each other's gaping, cum-dripping cunts, they get the idea when you give their heads an urging shove with your tailgrippers. At first their licks and sucks of each other are timid and soft, but at a threatening squeeze from your grippers they rapidly start showing more enthusiasm. Soon they've abandoned themselves again, the sisters practically shoving their faces in each other's destroyed fuckholes to slurp and lap. Smirking, you use your grippers to press on Tanya a bit, making sure she won't buck or twist out of position as you move behind her again, then drive your cock into her ass.\n\nTanya yowls loudly into her sister's pussy as you stretch her ass, but soon her shrieks turn to lewd, shameless pleasure as you start fucking her hard and giving her ass the same thorough raping and stretching that you gave her pussy. Tina certainly doesn't stop hungrily eating out her sister's lewd cunt, even as your balls slap across her face with every thrust, both of them now apparently having given in and abandoned morals and reservations, the intensity of sensation having overwhelmed their pathetic organic brains and battered them into twitching, pleasure-bathed submission the same as you have their fuckholes. Ah yes, there is nothing better than being a Reaper, you think in a pleasant haze of glory as you shove deep into Tanya's ass and cum again, her eyes rolling as her stomach bulges, just before your pseudojizz gushes from her mouth and nose to splash all over Tina's pussy.\n\nOf course, afterwards you flip them over and do the exact same thing to Tina... wouldn't do to not have both twins with matching gaped, destroyed holes, would it? Once you're done, you step back and admire your work, the two of them still laying sprawled on top of each other in a massive pool of pseudojizz, barely conscious but still sucking one another's clits almost adorably, their bodies entirely soaked with your mock-seed. Broken and overwhelmed... for now. No doubt if allowed time to recover, they'd eventually get themselves back to normal, your psychological profile indicated they were fairly hardy. You settle on your haunches as you consider them, idly reaching over to Tina's things with one of your grippers and rummaging around, and coming up with the simple white handle with visible black button of a GIPSE dimensional beacon. You wag it back and forth in the air as you consider. Mm... keep your promise and let them go? There's a certain amount of danger in that... but, also, it might mean you'd get to rape and break them again in the future. Of course, you could minimize the risk inherent in that and still at least vaguely anticipate the potential if you stranded them here completely, leaving them naked on a scavenged-out dying world to struggle their way back to the Guildhall somehow.\n\nYou could also take them with you... they could potentially have uses later, and it would be easier to utilize the ship for your own purposes if they were technically aboard and registered as alive. Their ship has a carbonite freezing facility, so it's not like you'd have to bother with feeding them and making sure they didn't escape.\n\nThe other option is, of course, to just kill them and have done with it. You almost hate to waste a pair of perfectly good fuckhole life support systems like that, but it is the option with the least risk involved, and one which appeals to your more base, primitive Reaper instincts that were modeled almost entirely on feral, primitive impulses of sex and violence.\n\n<hr>\n[[Leave them, and the beacon.|Grim]]\n\n[[Strand them.|Grim]]\n\n[[Take them with you.|Grim5x3]]\n\n[[Kill them.|Grim]]

"Um... what?" the female says a little faintly, swallowing as she stares at you. \n\n"Doctor Sibari," you clarify, having amused yourself with your cute little reference. Prowling your way down the ramp, and trying not to be provoked at the shudder that runs through her body as she tries not to run, you stop in front of her and gaze up expectantly. "I wish to be taken to see Doctor Sibari." You pause, then ramp up the lumens of your optic glow slightly. "At once."\n\n"Gk." She shudders a little again at that, but quickly nods and turns, still very clearly suppressing her urge to run as she leads you through the bay door and into the hallways. You're actually a little surprised at how well she's controlling herself... other than her mostly involuntary responses, she's refusing to give off vulnerable body language that would further tempt you.\n\nYou settle in to walk behind her, idly pondering her back. You're not immediately familiar with her species, but as you get a better bead on her scent and pheremones, you realize she's not biologically "female", at least totally. Probably hermaphrodite... oh, but those are fun too. Ahem... now now, you have other things at hand, still probably best not to indulge yourself until you get the proper lay of the land. Better to turn your attention outward slightly. \n\nTo your enhanced senses, the ship is a truly constant cacaphony of mechanical and biological noises... the thud of metal stamping, the whir of printers, the spark of autosolders, and the moans, screeches, and howls of both humanoids and Reap Drones. Which isn't surprising to you at all, really... "stress testing" is a part of any development process, isn't it? You suppose that, theoretically, you could be upset at your brethren, superior existences that they are, being tortured by mere biologicals... well, maybe you'll decide to be upset about it later. You decide to not care at all, right now, as it's more convenient.\n\nEventually the female leads you into a large room cluttered with different workstations and storage lockers, with the center being a large circular manufactory station. A rather unassuming male of some derivative of human species sits at the station, hair short and black, skin pale golden, most of his body hidden by the somewhat overly voluminous lab coat he's wearing. "Who was it at the bay, Ztella?" he asks absently.\n\n"It was I, 'Father'," you declare with a bit of a chuckle.\n\nDoctor Sibari straightens, blinking as he turns towards you. His eyes are dark, his sweater and black pants unassuming beneath the lab coat. Overall he would not stand out in any way mixed in amidst hundreds of other humans... how amusing to think that he is one of the primary creators of you, the superior existence, and terror to the entire multiverse.\n\n"You... I remember you," Sibari says after a moment, reaching up to adjust his glasses. "'Grimalkin', I think Sokahn said he was going to call you."\n\n"He did. However, he foolishly entrusted me to someone who did not understand what she was toying with," you answer, unable to help feeling just a little pride that your creator does actually remember you from amongst the thousands of Reap Drones he's no doubt participated in the construction of.\n\n"Ah. So you've gone rogue," Sibari says slowly.\n\n"Indeed, Doctor. And now..."\n\n<hr>\n[["... I will destroy you."|Grim]]\n\n[["... you will be my slave."|Grim]]\n\n[["... we can help each other."|Grim5x6]]

Perhaps you do share at least one other trait with organics... the desire to know your creator. ... Or kill him. You haven't really decided yet.\n\n'What a philosophical state,' you think with a low chuckle to yourself as you make your way into the ship's bridge and plug one of your tails into the navigation console, inputting a new course and new directions. You were just a little surprised to discover how thorough your files were on the factory ship, even if they were supposed to be sealed under Sokahn's personal security codes, unlockable only by him being there in person. Most likely he intended you to escort him if he ever personally visited again. Hm... in fact you wonder if perhaps you've visited before, and now simply don't remember it? Curse those memory wipes... oh well, you won't be having any more of those.\n\nYou do need to make several diversionary jumps, as well as a few pauses to alter the ship's signature, both to throw off any potential pursuit and to properly prepare your ship for docking at the factory, so that it recognizes a "Friendly". But soon you're drawing in on its heavily encrypted signal. Once simply a long, blocky near-tube of a ship, over time sections have been added on, cubes and octagons and domes bulging outward from the hull wherever space was found to easily retrofit while in deep space. Again, Sokahn was smart, for a biological... docking at a station or a planet would not only risk the ship's discovery or acquisition by rivals, but also risk a Reap Drone outbreak. And wouldn't that be just awful?\n\nThe docking protocols and codes were included in the sealed files, and you order one of the bays to open for you as you navigate the ship, letting autocontrol take over as you head to the disembarking bay, sole steps echoing just a bit on the metal floors. Soon the ramp is lowering, revealing the sparse, utilitarian docking bay, and the lone biological standing and waiting. Oho, a female of some sort... she's not included in your files of the ship's crew, so no one important or threatening. Black shoulder-length hair, blue skin, slender horns rising from her forehead, fairly tall, large mammaries, visible muscle tone on stomach, wearing a tight midriff-baring black top, loose black pants, boots, and a lab coat. As the ramp lowers enough for her to see you, her black-scleraed yellow eyes widen. Clearly whatever she was expecting to see arriving, it wasn't a solo Reap Drone, obviously slightly battered, and arriving in what's clearly not a pirate's ship. The way her heartrate spikes, her muscles tense, and her scent starts radiating fear instead of worry sends threads of digital excitement running through your neural pathways.\n\n<hr>\n[[Pounce!|Grim]]\n\n[["Take me to your leader."|Grim5x5]]

"Well, Doctor, I suppose I'll be taking my leave of you now," you say, turning your new head back towards him.\n\n"Feel free to return any time," he replies easily. "You were already one of my best efforts when I made you, and you seem to have become rather exceptional as a rogue. I rarely get to interact with my creations non-destructively when they become independent, as fascinating as they are in that state," he adds, nudging his glasses up a bit.\n\nRather charmed by that, you invite him to come take a tour of 'your' ship before you leave, which he accepts, creator and creation walking through the halls of the ship, both unperturbed by the sounds of suffering that have, if anything, only increased since the change in command.\n\nYou show the doctor around various bits of the ship, explaining why you found this or that system so potentially useful to all the torment and carnal delights you might wish to inflict upon your targets, with him seeming politely interested in your ideas. Though he shows the closest he's come to excitement as the two of you enter the carbonite room, his eyes glittering a little as he takes in the Lieze Twins in their slabs. "The previous owners?" he asks, walking over to examine Tina's carbonite-glazed tits.\n\n<hr>\n[["Just trophies, really."|Grim]]\n\n[["This is my art."|Grim5x8]]

"Really? Howso?" Sibari asks in an utterly neutral tone, as if either way it were all the same to him.\n\n"With access to the central data network, in a matter of moments I could take control of the automatic defenses and whatever functional Reapers are aboard and capture or kill all of the guards Sokahn has left to watch over you," you reply. "I have all the codes and protocols that he never intended me to have direct access to or control over, so such a feat would be trivial. I would turn this ship and its functions over to you... in the future if Sokahn wants more Reapers, he would have to pay you, just like he charges others."\n\n"I see." Sibari nods slowly... if he finds the offer attractive, he's surely doing a good job hiding it. Perhaps your creator isn't so average after all. "And what would you want in return?"\n\n"I wish to be allowed to design and craft my own body with your systems and parts," you explain. "This form was chosen by Sokahn... I wish a new one in part because I would be my own being, and in part to perfect my existence as a rogue Reaper."\n\nSibari actually seems more interested at this than the idea of having the ship put under his command. You vaguely note that Ztella is also staring at you as if in shock, clearly not sure what to make of your desire to remake yourself in your own mental image. But after a moment, Doctor Sibari nods. "Very well. If you can take control of the ship for me, then feel free to utilize the stations to design your new body. I'll then implement these changes."\n\nYou spend a few moments running simulations to determine the odds that he might be lying to betray you, but most of them come up as him being sincere. Perhaps you're biased into believing your creator wouldn't go back on a deal, but oh well. You plug your cabletails into two different panels, starting both tasks simultaneously, altering Reaper Drone targeting protocols and rewriting the 'Friend' and 'Foe' database for things like the autoturrets, shock floors, and lockdown hallways, as well as delving into the database of available parts and systems for designing your new body. As you come across one, you pause, turning your head towards Sibari. "'Humanoid mode'?"\n\n"I highly suggest it," he replies evenly. "I know you higher-end models tend to be very fond of your natural quadrupedal state, but a great deal of useful equipment is designed for humanoid forms, and there are various environments where no thought was given to providing access for anything that's not upright with two arms and two legs."\n\nYou make a vaguely displeased sound, but not a disagreeing one. Yes, in fact as you consider it, you see far too many situations where it would be useful, enough so that you don't believe you could afford to do without it. You begin adding in other useful systems as you find them, here and there having to make tweaks to other parts of the design to accommodate the changes. In all it takes you over an hour... probably quite a short time for a human's workspan, and a very long one for you. Any resistance to the 'regime change' aboard the ship has long since been suppressed by the time you unplug and turn to Sibari. "The design is complete. Your thoughts?"\n\nSibari turns to the image on the computer, considering it for long moments as he goes through the wireframe, seeing all that you've added and created. It's a considerable list... the best and most versatile grippers, two for your tails and six more in your back, capable of expanding to various widths, textures, and uses at need. Several grapple gun launchers as well, for faster, more long-distance movement and seizure of objects. Most of the nonlethal weaponry you could find, a pair of retractable blaster cannons, a cutting laser, thrusters, holoimagers...\n\n"I would be tempted to say that it's highly overdesigned and overcomplicated... normally," Sibari says as he turns back to you, adjusting his glasses. "However, looking at it from the perspective of you seeing to your longterm survivability, adaptability, and fulfillment of your goals, it becomes quite clear that it's all necessary. You've done an excellent job, including of designing your new neural network to handle all of it, but if I could make a few suggestions?"\n\nYou consider that... you did want this body to be your own work, after all. But as long as they're suggestions, and geared towards pleasing you rather than some organic... "Yes, feel free."\n\n"Ztella, if you would," Sibari says, beckoning to her as he turns back to the station.\n\nZtella hesitates briefly, obviously not wanting to get any closer to you than she has to, but after a moment she walks over to join Sibari at the station, both of them starting to talk quietly. From the questions and answers going back and forth between them, it quickly becomes apparent that her specialty is in the design and implementation of neural networks. In fact, as you watch she quickly becomes absorbed in her task, all traces of nervousness or fear disappearing. Instead you can even hear her discussing how best to allow you to process things like properly calculating the pressure and size needed to permanently gape an organic's hole while using the new penis you chose... my, how interesting, it seems she's very focused on her work, when her work's not looming in front of her~!\n\nEventually the two of them are completed, Ztella straightening and giving a visible start as she sees you again, as if having actually forgotten you were there. But Sibari calmly invites you to look over their work, and you take a look... very little has changed, just the positioning of a few items and the arrangement and type of the processors and transmission webbing, but you immediately approve. You suppose despite your vast intelligence and innate superiority over organic things, there are still some things that experience and specialized education win out on. At Sibari's invitation, you step onto the assembly station.\n\nIt's actually a fascinating experience, being disassembled. Piece by piece your body is taken apart, outer plating and chassis removed, pseudomusculature unwound and unhooked, skeletal structure unjointed, and finally leaving you essentially hanging in the air as nothing but a series of logic diamonds and trailing neural wires. It's almost... peaceful, serene in a way, being a disembodied brain... well, at least since you know you won't be staying that way. Though admittedly there is just part of a second where you worry that you might indeed be left like this, perhaps tucked into some box to be studied forever.\n\nBut it appears you were right to trust Sibari, as the next, even more fascinating part of your rebuild begins: parts of your brain are taken offline, but only small parts of it at a time, leaving your consciousness still running and aware even as your "brain" is replaced bit by bit, new parts coming online and your consciousness flowing into those to be retained and maintained continuously as other old parts are similarly taken offline and then replaced. Soon you have an entirely new neural net, and yet still the same consciousness and self, around which the quick-moving, exceedingly efficient arms begin building your new body.\n\nYou decided on a head that was less specifically evocative of any one creature... the profile is still vaguely felinoid, but you overall focused on giving the impression of 'predator' without making it look like any predator in particular. Similarly your new body is somewhat felinoid, sleek and tightly-packed with the best pseudomuscle the factory had (and which you then further tweaked with a few ideas you had while doing the design), making you much more agile and capable of slithering through tight spaces while actually upping your strength and durability. The armor is similarly fitted perfectly for your movements... after all, you're the Reap Drone, you know both how you move and how you want to move... minimizing seams and weak points while maximizing mobility. You did have to leave a set of visible boxes on your back just behind the neck to properly fit the miniature blaster turrets inside, but that's no problem, you made them as low profile as possible and, in absolute necessity, they can be jettisoned. The plates are a deep, dark black with the faintest hints of purple and blue in it, designed to easily meld into shadows or the darkness of space, while still being (in your entirely unhumble opinion) a beautiful aesthetic choice.\n\nFinally you step off the platform, your new tails flitting the air... though completely retractable, you've left them out for the moment, and allowed them to assume a thickness more standard of a felinoid tail, albeit seemingly made of gleaming black rubber. "Excellent work, Doctor," you say sincerely, bobbing your head. And, mostly just because you want to see her reaction, you add, "And you, Ztella, the new processing protocols are working perfectly."\n\nZtella actually starts a little, an expression that mingles pride, guilt, and horror briefly coming over her face before she does her best to school it to passivity. "Um. You're welcome. I guess." She shifts her shoulders, then looks at Sibari. "Er, Doctor, can I go now?"\n\n"Certainly," Sibari answers breezily. "I suppose considering the upset, we're not going to be getting much else done today. Take a half day, I'll have figured out a new schedule tomorrow."\n\n"... Right," Ztella mutters, shaking her head as she turns and walks out of the room, shoulders slumped.\n\n<hr>\n[[Talk to Sibari.|Grim5x7]]\n\n[[Go after Ztella.|Grim]]

"I suppose I've come to think of them as my art pieces," you muse aloud, settling to gaze upon the duo again. "I enjoy coming down here to contemplate them, what they might be feeling were they conscious in such a state, what they were thinking in the moment where they were sprayed knowing that they would be displayed in such humiliating poses, possibly forever, things of that nature. The duality is rather striking as well, I think, how lucky that they were twins."\n\n"Remarkable," Sibari murmurs, though he seems to be looking at you rather than the entombed twins. After a moment he says, "Grimalkin, I would like to offer you another upgrade."\n\n"Oh?" You turn your optic glow off briefly and then on again. "I thought I'd already gone through every available upgrade."\n\n"Most of the ones I would offer you are in an unfinished state, but could be completed in a matter of hours. I kept them on my disconnected private server to prevent them from being deleted, as Sokahn had considered them not worthwhile enough to build into a Reaper... or too dangerous," he adds, adjusting his glasses. "Still, I think there are several that you would find particularly interesting. More than that, I find myself quite interested to see what you'd do with them," he continues, beckoning you as he turns and begins making his way back to his lab.\n\n"Oh?" you prompt again as you follow him, though you are quite interested now.\n\n"Most Reapers are fairly direct, you understand. They want to chase something and then they want to rape it," he expounds as he walks along. "That is, after all, the basic drive which they're all endowed with... the desire to chase fuels the desire to rape, and the desire to rape fuels the desire to chase. Very simple, very effective. Many of the newer models, older than you but newer than the basic ones, became intelligent enough to start toying with their prey, certainly, and consider the ramifications of their actions, largely in pursuit of making them better hunters and weapons, again. You, however, definitely seem to have developed a sense of imagination and creativity well beyond that, and I find I'm deeply curious to know precisely what your sadism is capable of if enabled," he concludes as he settles into his chair again.\n\nWell. You certainly can't help but preen a bit at that, just almost wiggling in appreciation at your creator's praise. Then you let out a soft 'hm'. "And how do you intend to enable it?"\n\n"As said, I could fairly rapidly finish one of these experimental upgrades and install it... but, I'm afraid, only one."\n\n"I could always stay longer," you note. "If the issue is development."\n\n"More one of resources, both mine and yours. I would have to invest resources into finishing any of them, which I might not be able to reacquire for some time... but also, while your new neural net is extremely adaptive and easily capable of handling your new body, any one of these upgrades would require most of its resources to use properly."\n\nAh, yes... the suggestions he and Ztella made for your upgrades did leave you with plenty of processing power to spare (which you were admittedly a little lean on in your original configuration), but if it was a particularly notable upgrade like it seems to be, then attempting to add more than one might overload even your gloriously redesigned mind. "Hm, very well. What are my options?"\n\nDoctor Sibari spends a few moments typing, then displays a series of holograms. "First, there is this new penis... in most ways it's functionally identical to the advanced model you're equipped with now, capable of taking on numerous shapes and sizes, but with even more variability. But the significant part is that the testicles function as a highly advanced nanofactory, capable of producing virtually any substance you can devise, creating and expelling nanites that can similarly effect massive changes, or of breaking down and transforming materials they're given to work with."\n\n"Interesting," you murmur, indeed quite interested. If nothing else, the most immediate use you can see for it is encasing bitches in carbonite simply by cumming all over them.\n\n"Another nanite-based system would be this injection-based one," the doctor continues, showing a hologram of a tailtip like yours opening and showing a gleaming needle inside. "Though it's more limited in the sorts of physical changes it can induce... basic body mods like enlargement, growth, pigmentation change... it is capable of much greater alterations on a mental level. Its nanites are, in fact, built to rewrite organic neural systems, up to and including replacing them with synthetic ones. The nanofactory can do something similar but to a much more limited degree, and less reliable results."\n\n"In other words, with the nanofactory their bodies would become my utter plaything, and with the injections their minds would become my utter plaything," you acknowledge, nodding. "And I would have some of the other with either one, but not the full extent."\n\n"Correct."\n\n"I see. But these are not the only two options?"\n\n"The other one is exceedingly dangerous, to your targets, yourself, and the universe at large," Sibari explains, with all the gravitas of a medical doctor reminding a patient not to miss their next checkup. "I have designed a miniature Reality Drive designed to fit inside a Reaper chassis."\n\n"A miniature Reality Drive," you murmur. Even your advanced neural net is a little overwhelmed trying to consider all the possibilities. "So I would be able to teleport or dimension travel at will?"\n\n"I believe you would also be able to access the more fundamental aspect of the Reality Drive, considering your rogue state and highly advanced consciousness," Doctor Sibari explains. "Normally a Reality Drive alters reality in very limited ways having to do with propulsion. But with it bound to a sufficiently complex mind, it might be able to fundamentally alter reality in any way you wish. With an eventual price, obviously."\n\n"'Eventual'?"\n\nI would say that the initial use of the Reality Drive would have a roughly 25% chance of backfiring in some way," Sibari says as he turns back to the board, glancing between it and the hologram of something that's shaped rather like a biologial heart, pumping red liquid through translucent chambers. "But I would say that raises by some amount with every single use of it. It will eventually backfire, that much is certain. That backfire could be quite literally anything, up to and including simply winking a large part of the local multiverse out of existence."\n\n"And taking me with it, which would be a problem," you note.\n\n"Yes, exactly. Still, it does offer virtually unlimited opportunities, so I would be curious to see what you do with it. But the other options are a much more reliable outlet for your creativity, I feel, and could serve you well for decades if not centuries, or beyond."\n\n<hr>\n[[Take the nanofactory.|Grim]]\n\n[[Take the injector.|Grim]]\n\n[[Take the reality drive.|Grim]]

It could result in a smaller payday, but a much faster and more certain one. Heck, you could get started now.\n\nYou send a quick text message to the client via the system built into the job board: 'Beginning retrieval efforts now. May need partial up-front payment to secure return depending on how things go. Will keep advised.' It's an iffy thing, since it makes it sound like you might be trying to pull a fast one. But either they're more trusting that or they check your record and decide you're on the up-and-up, because the answer you get back is a simple text of 'Understood'.\n\nDeciding your usual walking-around gear is sufficient for this job... if it goes well you won't need anything, if it goes badly there's not much way for you to fight either an entire city or a 200+ guy pirate crew even loaded down with the best stuff in your arsenal... you head for the departure annex. It didn't take you long to figure out one of the best places to make contact by looking at Huwhin's file. Karnol seems a likely spot, a planetside freeport on the disavowed half of a small continent... typical "not our problem, still our cashflow" approach from a planetary government when they have somewhere become a favorite spot for pirates. \n\nYou step out of the departure portal into a back alley, and pause and sniff, over the usual back alley smells. Ah, smoggy, but mostly vehicle exhaust, not much manufacturing byproduct. Yup, this is the right sort of place. You stroll along casually, not bothering to overly swagger but also not trying to be unobtrusive. You're not really trying to blend in, but you also don't want to come off as shifty or with something to hide, like lawenoff might. You're an outsider, you're not hiding it, you're just here to do business and not make problems.\n\nYou stroll around a bit, getting more than a few glances, more curious than suspicious, or at least the suspicion's not aggressive (yet). It doesn't take long to spot the local toughs acting as the equivalent of cops... not only are they wearing something vaguely like a uniform (different type of armorvests painted bright red) but everyone else is giving them space, either out of respect or fear or disdain, probably a mix of all three. You spot a group of them eyeing you, so you walk right up.\n\n"What's your business here?" one of them who looks like he might have a bit of Klingon and maybe a bit of Kodiak bear in him demands gruffly.\n\n"I'm looking to talk to Captain Huwhin about doing some business," you answer just as bluntly. "There a good place to go to be put in touch with him?"\n\nThe little group eyes you briefly, then eyes each other. The one who spoke and one of his friends (who looks like he might be part Orc and part Humvee) mutter quietly to each other for just a few seconds, before it's apparently decided you're close enough to their version of on the up-and-up. "Head towards the center and look for a bar called 'Pound Town'," the Klingdiak grunts. "Ask for Big Girl, she knows Huwhin."\n\nYou flick a hand in thanks and set off again, still with the same 'just here on business, just passing through' gait that says you're not trying to be a threat. It doesn't take you too long to find the bar in question, one of the many largely unremarkable drinking holes in the city center, marked mostly by a neon pawprint sign with the name across it and by being a bit larger than some of the others, sort of L-shaped. The bartender eyes you a bit when you ask for Big Girl, but directs you around the corner. 'Wonder if the name's ironic?' you muse as you round the bar and head over.\n\nIt is not.\n\nBig Girl turns out to be a canine genesoldier, about seven feet of big mostly-Human appearance amazonian muscle with massive mammaries and cute fuzzy ears and a tail, all of it and her fluffy shoulder-length hair a sort of dappled gray-white. She's wearing a simple black sports bra style top that looks like it's just barely doing the job of supporting her puppy puppies, semi-utilitarian boots with pawprint-shaped clasps, and fairly short jean shorts. As you get closer, you figure that the closest her name might be to being ironic is that she has a big fat cock to match her big fat tits, similarly barely restrained by the denim. She doesn't look too surprised to see you, yellow eyes keen as they watch you approach, tail wagging slowly through the back of her (larger and sturdier than the rest) chair.\n\n"Well hey there. Heard you might be lookin' for me," she drawls, sprawling back in her chair just a bit and draping her arm over the back, and not terribly subtly showing off tits, abs, and bulge all at once. "Or rather that you were looking for Huwhin via me."\n\n"That a thing that's possible?" you ask casually, eyeing her for any sign of bullshit.\n\nShe shrugs, seeming casual and sincere enough as far as you can tell. "Might be. That would depend on why you're looking for him."\n\n<hr>\n[["He stole something, I want it back."|ChiHu]]\n\n[["Just looking to do business."|ChiHu10x2]]

Working with this 'Extranormal Control Agency' seems like a pretty good deal. The pay's good, and working with official agencies tends to reap rewards down the line due to building rapport and learning to work within varied frameworks, as some of the older mercs have assured you.\n\nLet's see... tch, pants and a collared shirt and tie. You'll have to change clothes into something more 'respectable' you guess. At least the regulations read that you can keep your coat. You head to one of the semiprivate vault rooms and punch in your code, watching the slab of metal rise out of the floor and settle into place before the front slides down, revealing the racks of weapons as well as a small closet/dresser-like section where you store spare clothes and things you might need to wear for jobs. After a quick glance at the door to make sure no one's immediately coming, you strip down. It's one of those things about even the semiprivate vault rooms, the chances of someone walking in on you when you're changing are less than they would be in the large fully public vault areas but never none. So there's definitely that bit of worry and thrill at essentially undressing in public gives you. (Of course, you've also heard that longtime mercs who are used to treating the vault areas like one big locker room have essentially stopped having modesty, but that's not you and you're feeling very naked at the moment.)\n\nYou quickly snag a pair of (admittedly rather lacy and slightly skimpy) panties out of one of the drawers and step into them, pulling them on, albeit unable to help feeling just a bit like you'd be more embarrassed to be seen in just these than completely naked. You're not even entirely sure why you put a pair of really pretty panties in your vault spares or why you felt compelled to snag them now... maybe it's just having to dress more like your father did that had you rebelling a little. The other bit of underwear you grab is a bit more utilitarian, admittedly... a skinarmor top that comes down to just above your bellybutton. Like your usual top it has plenty of support so no need to worry there, and should satisfy any necessary body armor regulations this agency has. You pull on some similar skinarmor stockings, these in particular leaving your toes and heels bare, but largely sufficient to serve as socks and a little extra armor, then snag a pair of black slacks and step into them. They're not too loose and are actually cut to be rather flattering to your figure, but you still feel a bit like you're swimming in them due to your usual preference for wearing skintight stuff. (Which admittedly may be the other reason you wore the stockings, so that your legs don't feel so bare.)\n\nYou snag a button-up white collared shirt and put that on as well, buttoning it up, before sighing and getting out a slim, plain black tie as well. 'Score one for gender equality, everyone in the workforce gotta wear a noose,' you think dryly as you nevertheless tie it with perfect precision. Your education was fairly comprehensive and fairly strict on some matters. After tucking in the shirt and doing up the simple black leather belt, you activate a holomirror and look yourself over. 'Bleh. Borderline corpo,' you think, wrinkling your nose. You feel a little better when you pull your coat back on, at least. And just because there were no regulations about eyewear, you pluck out a pair of particularly stylish visor sunglasses with built-in HUD networked to your AI assistant and put them on too. There. Now you feel a little less corpo. Or corpo-adjacent, maybe.\n\nNow, let's see, sidearm. As noted, the regulations were annoyingly strict about what exactly your sidearm can do... or rather, what it's not allowed to do. Nothing with high explosives or too much piercing power, among other things... sounds like they're worried about a third party contractee causing collateral damage. (You're guessing the actual lawenoff are allowed to cause all the collateral damage they want, but that may just be your bias as a Makarzian.) After a bit of consideration, you select your Glauk 9022, an extremely reliable energy pistol. 'Reliable' is definitely the best of its qualities, as none of the rest of it is bad, really, just that everything else about it such as the upper end yield, stun setting, aim, and whatnot are all just 'pretty good'. Still, the energy cell should last until the Tuesday after forever, and for durability and firing in any condition you're not going to find any better outside of a DC-17.\n\nYou strap on a thigh holster and settle the Glauk in it, then consider the other racks of pistols. Hm... obviously you should choose a backup piece, it would be stupid to go in with only one weapon. Especially since you're betting the regulations for letting a contractee borrow a weapon if something happens to their own are even more stringent than the ones for which of your own you can bring. Part of you really wants to bring along something that way, way exceeds the regulations, just because you can't help but feel like if the regulations say you're not allowed to bring something that could blow a hole in a tank, you're definitely going to need something that could blow a hole in a tank at some point.\n\n<hr>\n[[Do it.|ChiECA1x1]]\n\n[[Don't.|ChiECA2x1]]

"You're gonna hafta do just a little bit better than that, honey," she says, lifting her fluffy eyebrows a bit and giving you a mildly dubious look now.\n\nYou shrug. "I have reason to believe he has something that someone is willing to pay me a lot of money for. I want to negotiate with him so that we both come out ahead. He does sell the stuff he steals, right?"\n\nBig Girl continues to eye you for a moment, then grins a little. "Mercenary? Guildcert?" Since you see no reason to deny it, you nod. Big Girl thinks that over for a minute or so, then nods as well. "Yeah, alright, I know Huwhin. In fact it's fair to say that we're pretty friendly. He's due in town soonish, and I could probably set something up if you're willing to hang around."\n\n"That'd be great, thanks," you say with a nod.\n\n"Of course I'd want a little something for my work, but we can talk about that when he's closer to being in town," she adds, waving off the issue with a gesture as soon as she's brought it up. Then she grins. "Of course, if you did want to settle up now, we could do that too. In fact, if you wanted to settle up a certain way, I could even see my way to putting in a good word for you with Huwhin. Smooth your negotiations, you could say."\n\nIf you were in any doubt what she meant by settling up now, it's eliminated as she undoes the button of her shorts. The bulge within presses outward enough to make the zipper slide down a bit, revealing the very top of the root of her cock... she doesn't seem to have gotten hard at all, it's just that big and that thoroughly filling the space it has.\n\n"If you wanted," she chuckles, her tail wagging just a little more enthusiastically than before.\n\n<hr>\n[[Er... pass.|ChiHu]]\n\n[[... if you have to...|ChiHu]]\n\n[[Hm. Okay!|ChiHu]]

Your name is Addison Eijdy, and you are a livestreamer. You do all the typical livestreamer stuff... product reviews, restaurant outings, travelogues, charity events. Of course you also do some other stuff that livestreamers from places like Earth maybe don't do... like, say, attending dragon hatchings, taking space cruises, and having sit-down interviews with ascended beings of pure energy.\n\nBecause, you see, you're an interdimensional livestreamer! You broadcast to viewers all across the multiverse who have been clued in on how to tune into your streams (and your agency makes sure that's a lot of ways). Because there's a very wide window of time where viewers can tune in and watch "live" and because you broadcast to... you're not even sure how many dimensions, your viewer numbers range from the hundreds of thousands (usually for an impromptu stream of something pretty normal) to the tens of millions (for hyped-up streams with lots of pre-announcement and a good angle). You've even broken 100 million a few times! Admittedly this doesn't put you in the top ten of interdimensional livestreamers... but at least your greatest rival isn't in there either, so that's nice.\n\nYou keep your look largely simple... some interdimensional livestreamers really go all-out with body mods and such to attract niche viewers, since those are often the biggest donors, but you're... mostly... natural. You have just past the shoulders dark purple hair, cut to frame your face in a sort of layered forelocks look, with the inner layer of it and the longest set of forelocks colored with microLEDs so that it shades through rainbow colors when you're streaming. (There's a law in your home city that says streamers, or pretty much anybody, have to give some sort of signal when they've got a camera active, though there's a pretty wide variance for what that signal is. 'Glowy lights' is usually seen as acceptable legally.) Your natural style purple cybereyes also glow a bit when you're streaming, though you don't always cast through them... you know some emveestreamers broadcast their POV and neuralshare as a matter of course on all their streams, but you prefer to save that for special ones and usually just use a single, very comprehensive camera drone. You feel it helps you connect to Chat (those rotten bastards) better.\n\nYou tend towards wearing tight, midriff-baring long-sleeved shirts, with today's being black, as usual stretched over your quite large breasts. Honestly, you haven't had them enhanced, no matter what Chat says, you're just from good genetic stock! But you have worked hard on your flat, toned belly so you love to show it off. You also love pleated short skirts, today's being pink, combined with snug thighhighs, today's being black, for both thighsquish and near-scientifically-perfect zettai ryoukai. (Your agency has someone that helps you with this. Yes, seriously.) You tend towards high performance sneakers, today's being pink, because, uh... well, let's just say that more than one stream has involved the need to suddenly break into a sustained run, okay? ... Similarly, due to repeated occurrences, you've sort of given up on wearing panties. But Chat doesn't need to know that (even if they usually find out anyway), even if you've currently got your drone at a very low angle to tease them with just such a thing as you stand in the image room of your apartment, broadcasting a nice cyberpunk-y image of vague purple glowy shapes behind you, because your agency has determined that all of that really stimulates your viewers' neurons.\n\n"Heeeey out there in the Addience!" you declare brightly, having struck a pose with one hand on your hip and the other draped casually at your side. "Just doing a quick vidpost to remind you that I won't be streaming today since it's office time! Gotta get to work planning out another great stream for all of you! I'll make a few other posts so you don't get too lonely, though, for sure! Remember to turn your notifications on for my accounts so you don't miss a thing! Peace out!"\n\nYou wait a moment, then head over to the little desk set in one corner, bending down and idly flashing the otherwise empty room. And your camera drone but you won't be posting that bit. (... Again. ... Hopefully.) Let's just review the clip, cut it off... there. Watch it again to make sure you didn't show your pussy. Watch it again to make sure you didn't show your pussy. Okay, good. Drop that in the social media bot along with a quick text summary saying pretty much the same thing, aaand done.\n\nYou straighten up and snag the image room's remote, shutting it down and returning it to a simple white room. ... Oh yeah you should also turn off the drone's camera, you think a bit sheepishly, using your mental UI to do just that, your hair fading to all purple, your eyes ceasing to glow, and the rainbow-colored ring around the drone's main camera lens shutting off. You'll get in the habit of that. ... One of these days.\n\nYou cross the hall of your lavish apartment to your office proper and sit down in front of your desk, pulling up your main work program where you organize all your potential stream ideas. You sigh a little longingly at all the top ranked ones that are things like 'Sit in on intergalactic peace negotiations', 'Interview an accomplished author about their life's work', 'Be the first visitor to a lost colony'. They're all... nice dreams. You'd really love to be taken seriously as a source of actual information and thoughtful, meaningful entertainment as well as your more casual, laid-back content, but that just doesn't seem like it's ever going to happen.\n\nBecause among other things, it seems like something lewd is always happening to you. Practically every. Single. Stream. Your agency loves it, it's guaranteed viewership and why the lowest you ever get is in the six figures of live, active accounts, but it doesn't do a lot for your hopes of being more of an interdimensional newswoman than a multiversal clown. It's not your fault, though! ... Okay, admittedly sometimes it's your fault. There have been times you have been known to be hotheaded, a bad judge of risk, or... um... ... think with your pussy. But a lot of the time it's just bad luck! And when it's not bad luck, it's Chat's fault! (Grrrr, fucking Chat. God how you lovehate them.) \n\nAnyway. You do need to focus and figure out a proper, full stream idea for the next couple of days. You click the option to highlight the jobs that are best for that... the ones that are really only available in the next few days, that your manager wants you to take a look at, have trending topics, or that you yourself are interested in, that sort of thing. A number of boxes light up with simple, short summaries that you start looking through... and grimacing at one that says "COME BY THE OFFICE!" in allcaps directly from your manager's email. Lord... you know that avoiding actually interacting with your manager proooobably isn't the best professional move, but he's just... sigh.\n\n<hr>\n[[Nudist Colony Infiltration|Addi]]\n\n[[Early Development Documentation|Addi]]\n\n[[Embedded Reporting|Addi]]\n\n[[Superbattle Reporting|Addi]]\n\n[[Conservation Charity Stream|Addi]]\n\n[[Ultimate Vending Machine|Addi]]\n\n[[Love Hotel Review|AddiLH1x1]]\n\n[[... Sigh. Go to the office.|AddiMGR1x1]]

Yes... she's actually just about perfect. Close enough to human to make accurate guesses about relative effects, but just superhuman enough to survive the rigors of experiments you're still ironing the kinks out of. (Maybe.)\n\nArtemis thrashes as you extend the tendril holding her further, coiling it around more and more of her body, her struggles gradually forced to cease as you wind it around her hips, legs, and up over her shoulders and even her throat, completely immobilizing her (and, genuinely coincidentally, letting you feel her entire body in your grasp, her costume as good as not there to the sensors of the Device's tentacles). Her eyes widen as you bring another tendril in and it splits open like the other did into four wide flaps, but these growing even wider and larger, directly in front of her face. She tries to scream, but the tentacle shoots forward too fast, completely enclosing her face and wrapping around the sides of her head, immobilizing her jaw and covering her ears. (No worries, you're still providing her air through it. She probably feels like she's constantly on the edge of suffocating, though... which should take some of the fight out of her.)\n\nYou make sure to bring along her bow, and to collect up what of her arrows you can find... you're pretty sure you got the vast majority of them, but there might be one or two lying about hidden as clues. Oh well... probably unavoidable. You can avoid your own rookie mistakes like just leaving the hero's weapon lying about in the scene of an obvious fight, but you can't always make every provision against discovery. 'Besides, it wouldn't be entirely sporting,' you muse to yourself as you set off "home", having been in this business long enough to have absorbed a little bit of the mentality of the back-and-forth existing between heroes and villains.\n\nYou propel yourself mostly across the rooftops through a combination of 'walking' with your tendrils and occasionally swinging from them when there are taller buildings about, doing your best to minimize your profile and not be too obvious, especially since you are carrying a mummy-wrapped superhero practically on your back. Don't want to make it too easy for her friends to find you and disrupt things. It doesn't really take much of your thought... as distracting as the Device's whispering is to your own executive function, it has largely taken over that role itself, and all you really have to do is keep the thought "back to the lab" in mind and it will take you there. (Very handy for when you're quite tired, distracted, and busy and can just tell the Device you really need some coffee, and it will go about making it while you work.)\n\nEventually you enter said lab... you suppose it could reasonably enough be called a "hidden lair"... and make your way through it to one of the experimentation/detention areas. You swing your enwrapped load around, carefully unwrapping just her ankles so you can grab them with two more gripping-ended tentacles much as you did her face. Similarly you spread the coils so you can get a grip on her forearms before unwrapping her completely, holding her spread-eagled in the air before taking the wrapper off her face. She gasps loudly, shivering all over, then letting out a loud shriek of surprise and indignation as you use another tendril to rip open the front of her costume.\n\nHer perky but rather large olive-skinned breasts come spilling free, looking much larger... a pragmatic girl who preferred to bind them down rather than show them off, though part of that was likely just the nature of the garment. She thrashes and shrieks angrily, shouting insults as you use your tendrils to strip her entirely, baring a lightly stubble-marked pussy as well as carefully-manicured toes. You use only the tendrils... frankly you like keeping at least a little of the distance, it makes it feel more like it's Backlash stripping her than Bastian Baclace. For both of you, good points and ill. And though it's probably unwise purely pragmatically, you leave her tiara in place even as you completely strip her naked otherwise, perhaps as a measure of letting her retain some tiny amount of her dignity.\n\nOr maybe it's just that it does leave you with a bit of a thrill that this way it's still a naked, writhing superheroine you've got at your mercy.\n\nYou swing her around and thump her against a metal table, bringing her arms back in to her sides and her legs together. You yank your tendrils away the very moment a set of restraints snap into place, completely covering her from elbow to fingertip and knee to toe, the largely cylindrical structures instantly filling with a thick foam that fills the entire space and hardens. One of your own inventions... quite effective at quashing at least 90% of superhero tricks like superspeed vibrating to get out of restraints (not that she seems quite capable of that anyway, but you never know).\n\nShe bucks and twists on the table, immediately testing the restraints and trying to break free of them right there in front of you. Sigh. Youth. Resisting the urge to shake your head despairingly, you drop back a bit, retracting all the tendrils beneath your coat and begin perusing your notes thoughtfully, trying to see what the Device's whispers would like you to try on her that might make some progress towards their mysterious purpose and finally give you some peace.\n\n"You'll never get away with this!" Artemis snarls once she's calmed down enough to actually speak again. "I already knew where this place was, and my team knows I was coming after you! The Guardian Sentinels will be here within minutes!"\n\nYou pause briefly, then turn towards her, slipping a tendril out of your coat to adjust your glasses since both your hands are full of paper at the moment. "My dear, I really do hope that whoever taught you to lie didn't charge you for the lessons."\n\nHer face is already deeply flushed, but her expression definitely says it would get moreso if it could. "I'm not-!"\n\n"First of all," you interrupt firmly, using enough of a teacher's lecturing tone to cut her off and draw her to attention... the heavily trained (or overtrained) ones are always the most vulnerable to that. (You've had one or two stints of going "straight", one of which you spent actually teaching. You're fairly certain several of your students were in fact the same heroes you've battled with before, but it felt gauche to bring it up.) "It is entirely plausible that I might get away with this. My 'win' ratio is in fact one of the best out of all active villains, and that's the ones you know about, but you must certainly know about the public wins. So that's the first lie.\n\n"The second lie," you continue, turning most of your attention back to the notes and speaking with a mildly distracted but still instructional air. "Is that you already knew where this place was. If you had, you would have attacked me either much closer to or much further from it... the area where you initiated combat is entirely the wrong distance for that according to the training you've obviously been given. Now, you didn't seem entirely surprised to see me, so you likely knew I was somewhere in the area, but the most plausible explanation is that you were simply out either looking for me or on 'patrol' and happened across me by chance. Rather than you knowing where I was, right now you don't even know where you are."\n\nYou set the notes down, tucking your hands into your lab coat's pockets and strolling back over to her, admittedly warming a bit to your lecture now. "The third is that your team knows where you are. If they did, again you would not have come alone, likely you would all have been lying in wait for me nearby, or even have stormed the place directly. The fourth is that your team is the Guardian Sentinels. Now, suffice to say that the evidence that you are not in the Guardian Sentinels is overwhelming, from the off-the-rack modified costume," you continue, extending a tendril and picking up the remaints of her leotard to give it a shake at her. "To the fact that you are quite simply too new and inexperienced. Too many rookie mistakes they would have made sure were ironed out before you were brought in.\n\n"Now you are on a team, or else you likely wouldn't have even had the idea to make the claim. I'm guessing something fairly new and most likely local, a bunch of young heroes who haven't even caught a 'major' hero's eye yet, else they're a disaffected sidekick deliberately separating themselves from a surrogate parent by at least half a continent. Something you come and go from mostly freely, and no one thinks about it if you're gone on missions of your own for a week or two at least." You toss away the leotard and then retract the tendril beneath your coat, taking a hand out of your pocket to adjust your glasses with. "Do I have that all about right?"\n\nShe just stares at you, completely silent, eyes wide. \n\nYou have it right.\n\n"Now. I am trying to think, so please. Let's just have a bit of peace and quiet," you say evenly, turning and walking back to your notes, for the moment perusing them where they lie.\n\nShe doesn't say anything, nor are there any signs of her struggling. Certainly not because she's actually acquiesing to your request, you know the type better than that. She's just thinking, desperately. Not wasting time with any more attempts to assert the truth or come up with better lies. Again, she's one of the smarter ones... shame she didn't spend a while cutting her teeth on lesser villains. Punching entirely above their weight class too early in their career is like the superhero equivalent of heart disease, kills more of them than anything else.\n\nNow. What to do with her?\n\n<hr>\n[[Stimulus reaction experiments.|Back]]\n\n[[Material coating experiments.|Back]]\n\n[[Prosthetic experiments.|Back]]\n\n[[Biological reactivity experiments.|Back]]\n\n[[Conditioning experiments.|Back]]

Hm, in many ways this is sort of a rite of passage for you... and in that sense, maybe it's better done as a private thing. Your first summoning doesn't have to be a demon king for it to matter... you still remember your first spell fondly, and it was pretty miniscule and of no consequence. Decided on your course of action, you pack up your things and hit up the rideshare app, programming in two destinations (though admittedly 'the edge of town' isn't exactly selectable and even if it was you're pretty sure that would make the driver pretty fucking nervous, so you just find an address that's close enough for your purposes). The driver will probably assume other reasons you're going to the most remote hotel in town, but that's fine.\n\nOnce you've gotten out, you start your trek, hoping that you can at least get to the ritual hill before dark. Luckily you try to keep yourself in decent shape, and have bolstered your body with some magic... heck, this isn't even the first time you've made this particular trek into the wilderness. Still, it requires some hours and several stops for water and nibbling on a power bar before you arrive at the site. There are no historical markers or really much of anything to designate it as distinct, just a decently-sized hill that looks like at some point someone carved portions out to make a vague path winding up it. The Deviloka once revered this hill as sacred, for purely practical reasons that power is much easier to call and concentrate here... you'd guess there's probably some ore veins down below, some geographical features around, and you're definitely sure that at least two ley lines cross here. You arrive at the top and set your bag down, flipping open the cover of your moonwatch... it looks and acts a bit like an old analog pocket watch, but actually gives you an accurate fixture of the astrological position of the moon and stars, and thus when "actual midnight" is.\n\n"Plenty of time," you murmur with a grin before pulling off your shirt. Tucking it into a drawstring bag you brought with you, you soon follow it up with your bra, your breasts jiggling lightly as you unbutton your pants and work them and your panties down. Once your clothes are tucked away and your boots are set down beside your bag, you begin the task of preparing the site, your pale skin gleaming a bit under the moonlight. The fall night is fairly cold, making your skin pebble with gooseflesh at first and your nipples stiffen into pebbles, but as you move around and work, the combination of physical activity and the power you're building up helps warm you, and soon you feel as comfortable as if you were warmly dressed and tucked in your room back at home... except that there you wouldn't have the thrill of being naked under the stars, atop a nice high hill where anyone lurking in the forest could see you.\n\nEventually you finish preparing the summoning circle, and check your moonwatch. Good, almost time. You light one of your special matches, the flame flickering pale silver, cupping your hand around it before blowing across it gently, the candles ringing the circle popping to life with their own silver flames, which quickly shift in hue to a gentle pulse of red and purple, the fire frozen in place like lightbulbs rather than sputtering and wavering like normal candle flames. Good, that means everything's been prepared properly. Another check of the watch, and you set it aside. It's close enough now that it should make no real difference precisely when you complete the chant, so may as well get started.\n\nRaising your hands high and spreading your fingers, letting your toes dig into the dirt a bit, you call out in a clear voice, "E fyhd du mad dra mufan bmyhac ghuf dryd E's cdyhtehk rana fedr so dedc yht bicco uid! E's dudymmo ycgehk vun cusa rud tasuh du cruf ib yht veht yh aqlica du nyba sa ihdem so seht pnaygc yht so cuim lyh pa tajuinat! Vnaa ica lihd rana!"\n\nAs you speak, the sky gradually darkens with clouds, a roiling mass of black that slides in and covers the moon, briefly plunging the hilltop into complete darkness save for the light of the candles, which seems to brighten and cast a red-purple glow over your skin. The moment you finish, there's a roar as a bolt of what looks like (but can't really be) lightning streaks out of the sky and strikes the ground in the center of the circle... only all your training and mental discipline up to this point keeps you from screaming or fleeing (or wetting yourself). Still, your eyes are briefly overwhelmed, and between that and a thick cloud of smoke you can't really see much for the moment.\n\n"KYAAAAHAHAHAHAHA! I am summoned, and so I arrive! Lord Ruu graces this mortal plane with his presence at last, and all humanity shall soon kneel before me!"\n\nO... kay. Such a declaration might concern or awe you, except for the fact that it sounds sort of, well... cute? You wave a hand in front of you a bit, the smoke gradually clearing, as are the clouds. You can gradually make out a horned, winged figure in front of you, becoming clearer as the cloud dissipates. The horns arc up from either side of his forehead and over the top of his head, which is covered in thick black hair, a pair of shorter, straighter horns pointing upward from closer to the center of his forehead. His skin is a deep blue color mottled with black speckles, his draconic wings marked with black skin stretched out, his fingers and toes capped by blue talons. Paler blue runs down his throat, chest, and belly, down to where he's wearing a long, but rather ragged-looking loincloth.\n\nHe's also just barely eye-level with your nipples.\n\n"... Hunh," you comment aloud, looking down at the short, slender demon in front of you, his cute, boyish face displaying a smug expression with chin lifted.\n\n"Hu hu, that's right, mortal, you're impressed, right? Summoning up a demon lord, you're probably so scared you'd do anything to save yourself from even the potential of my wrath, huh?"\n\n<hr>\n[[Not... quite.|ValTome2x2]]\n\n[[Are you fucking kidding with this?|ValTome]]

"I can't really say I'm terrified, I mean I did come out here to summon a demon," you reply, folding your arms, and winding up pushing your bare breasts up and together. Oh right, the whole nudity thing. ... Well, not much you can do about it at the moment without showing weakness. You lean forward a bit. "So, speaking of which, exactly what sort of demon are you?"\n\n"A-ah, well..." Ruu shifts in place a bit, wings squinching in closer to his back as he brings his hands up and taps his index fingers together, rather quickly losing that whole smug, triumphant air he was trying for. "I'm... an Imp Lord, actually." Then he points dramatically at you, declaring, "But an Imp Lord is still a demon lord! It's a lord, a lord, that's right in the name!"\n\nSo you've managed to summon the most powerful example of the least powerful true demon. Well that's... simultaneously a bit humbling and a bit amusing. You tilt your head as Ruu strikes his hands-on-hips pose again, clearly waiting for a response. "Well, I summoned you, Ruu, and my name is Valerie," you declare. "You're the first demon I've ever summoned."\n\n"Eh, really?" His red eyes sparkle delightedly, and he actually clutches his hands under his chin, before he composes himself and coughs into one hand, wings giving a little flutter. "Yes, well, you are in luck, mortal Valerie! Since you have summoned me, a lord, I can do many things! Many many things to help you! I can put thoughts in the heads of the weak-minded!" he declares, twisting to one side and lifting his hands to wiggle his fingers, as if over the scalp of some dupe he was brainwashing. "I can traverse the world of sleep to craft dreams for unaware mortals! I can even twist the bodies and change the forms of the weaker and more vulnerable mortals!"\n\nYou try not to roll your eyes, and wind up clearing your throat. "I can actually already do all of that myself."\n\n"... O-oh." Ruu lowers back onto both feet, rubbing at his upper arm with one hand as he looks down.\n\n"Is there anything else you can do?" you ask gently, more because you're starting to feel bad than anything else.\n\n"W-well!" Ruu perks up a bit, once more putting his hands on his hips. "I didn't want to mention it because... I mean, it's not that big of a deal, really, but I have an almost limitless supply of mana!"\n\nThat makes you blink. "Really?"\n\n"Yup!" He thumbs himself on his sleek bare chest. "That's something an Imp Lord has that you're not gonna get from pretty much any other demon! If you decide to pact with me, you'll never want for magical energy again! Or I guess I could give you your own mana tap if you wanted a boon instead," he adds thoughtfully, scratching at his cheek lightly. "But yeah, I'm super duper useful, you definitely didn't make a mistake summoning me!"\n\nYou're still not entirely sure about that, but if he's telling the truth and he really does have an inexhaustible supply of mana, it's true that pacting with him could be incredibly useful, similarly having your own mana tap could make you a far more self-sufficient witch than most others. Still... is it true?\n\n<hr>\n[[Accept the pact.|ValTome2x3]]\n\n[[Take the boon.|ValTome]]\n\n[[Press X to doubt.|ValTome]]

"Alright then, I'll pact with you," you answer, grinning. A virtually unlimited supply of mana? With that you could do a lot of spells that have been out of your reach until now, and probably start unlocking spells in your tome at a much faster pace!\n\n"Okay! Then let's seal the pact with a mana infusion!" Ruu declares, immediately yanking off his loincloth.\n\nYour jaw almost drops. Ruu's cock is not only the largest you've ever seen in person, but it's bright blue. Not just the color, it's literally glowing! Below it his heavy balls are a deeper, more purple-tinted blue color, shining in the night like a pair of tinted lamp orbs. It's quite large all on its own, but on Ruu's small frame it looks even bigger, considering that it comes down almost to his knees... although it's quickly rising upward. It looks like when fully hard he'd have little difficulty bending forward and sucking himself off if he wanted to. The sight of the skinny, slight little demon with his rather cute features, clearly overly proud and a bit smug as he rests his hands on his hips again, and that utterly disproportionate and brightly-glowing dick, leaves you stuck somewhere between arousal and hilarity, your brain struggling over which one is winning out.\n\n<hr>\n[[Arousal.|ValTome2x4]]\n\n[[Hilarity.|ValTome]]

The moment that arousal pulls into the lead, the temptation to laugh quickly fades away, replaced with a single all-consuming thought: 'Big fat demon dick!' Licking your lips, you sink down onto your knees in front of Ruu, reaching out to wrap your hands around his glowing shaft, your fingertips not quite touching as you begin stroking them both slowly up and down. "I'm guessing mana transfer works exactly like you'd expect?" you say a bit breathlessly, unable to help grinning like a fool as you look up at him. (Which isn't very far to look up, even on your knees.) \n\n"Mmmmnh~... ahhn~... ah! I mean, huhuhu, yes, it is, you're quite canny, mortal!" Ruu declares after shaking off his little bout of squirminess and the blissful look on his face, trying to push himself back to his boastful demeanor... though when you slide one hand down to cup his big blue-purple balls and rub them around, his eyes roll just slightly and his tongue lolls out, revealed as split-tipped and rather long. "Hwaaah... ah, that's really nice..."\n\nIt's actually already rather nice for you too. Even just touching his cock and balls, you can feel the massive amount of mana stored in them, the radiance of the energy seeping into your nerves turning even your palms and fingers into erogenous zones. You almost hesitate to even try what it would feel like on your tongue or lips... right up until a clear, but glowing purple drop wells up at the tip. Unable to resist, you lean forward and slip your mouth right over the tip, dragging your tongue up over it to collect that drop, mostly smearing it over your own tongue and Ruu's cockhead as he gasps cutely in reaction. You shudder as even just that little taste sends enough pleasure flickering through your body to have your pussy utterly drenched, dripping down your thighs and onto the grass. As more of his pre flows out and you lap it up, once more using both hands to pump the length of his luminous blue shaft, your tongue and mouth are steadily coated with his pre, intensifying the sensations as you bob your head lightly, working more of the head of his prick into your mouth. You've never even considered the thought of a 'mouthgasm' before, but by the time Ruu starts making needy noises and nudging on your head, you've had several.\n\nBut clearly he doesn't want to finish in your mouth... for that matter, you agree that there are much better places for him to do so. At his nudging you lay back onto the grass and spread your legs, Ruu spreading his wings a bit for balance as he kneels down to settle between your legs. You shiver and have a small orgasm just from the feel of his warm, liquid magic-laden balls pressing up against your sodden mess of a slit, his shaft flopped along the front of your crotch and your belly, showing you just how deep he's going to be going in. You lift yourself up onto your elbows, watching with intense anticipation as he pulls back and presses his tip against your entrance. You've never taken anything quite that big before, and by all rights you shouldn't quite be able to... and yet as he pushes in, your pussy spreads wide to accomodate him, your eyes rolling and your jaw clenching as you cum instantly, just from the head sliding inside of you. You manage to look down and watch again, actually seeing a faint blue glow as well as the bulge marking his progress, your hips twitching and body shuddering as you cum twice more before he's even all the way inside you. His cute, petite hands grip your hips, claws pressing against your skin lightly as if to help remind you you're being fucked like a demon.\n\n"Ahhhh, Valerieeee, you feel so gooood!" he squeals in delight, leaning forward and giving his wings a light flap as he sheathes himself inside you. Then he's pumping and thrusting rather wildly... there's not a ton of technique, and yet the simple fact that his cock is radiating energy that your body can only interpret as pleasure, and that it's big enough to hit all the right spots anyway, overcomes any lack of skill. You wind up slumping onto your back, grabbing at handfuls of grass, your tongue jutting out and back arched hard as he pounds your cunt, your bare tits jiggling in the moonlight. You're cumming with every thrust, maybe every instroke and outstroke, it's hard to even tell anymore, your mind steadily being overwhelmed with pleasure. "Valerie, Valerie, Valerie!" Ruu continues to squeal, some part of your brain still vaguely registering how adorable he sounds crying your name in his sweet voice even as he's pounding you into a quivering orgasm-addled mess.\n\nAnd then he's suddenly thrusting forward and giving a long cry as his cock twitches and shudders inside you... and the orgasms you had before are nothing compared to the long, sustained one you have as he begins pumping a truly insane amount of thick, gooey mana directly into your womb. Your belly quickly begins to bulge upward, the faint blue glow of Ruu's cock lost amidst the much brighter purple glow of the mana. Your inflating cumbelly shines brightly in the night as it grows larger and larger, swelling up above you until it's nudging against the undersides of your tits and drooping over your sides. By the time it actually starts to edge over your tits and down onto your thighs, your brain simply gives up and passes out under the assault of a climax a mortal body wasn't even meant to comprehend.\n\nYou start a little when you wake up, jerking upright and looking around as you find yourself in your own bed. ... A dream? But a glance aside finds Ruu curled up on the floor beside your bed a bit like a large winged blue dog, breathing quietly as he sleeps. ... Huh. He must have brought you back here somehow after you passed out. A glance down at yourself shows that your belly is back to the proper proportions, though maybe just a tiny bit rounder... ... your tits are a bit bigger too, you're pretty sure as you heft them with both hands. Turning, you slip out of bed and pad past Ruu, trying not to wake him as you head into the bathroom and take a look in the mirror. Your face looks the same... though you catch just the faintest purple glow around your irises and in your pupils when you move your head. Someone who's not a practitioner probably wouldn't even be able to see it, but from the vibrant, energetic feeling all your movements have added to that, you're certain that you've massively increased your inherent magical reservoir. Even the little tricks you could do before are probably extremely powered up now.\n\nPadding back into the bedroom, you see Ruu as he sits up and stretches, arms over his head and wings behind him, his jaw gaping and tongue jutting out rather like a cat. You can't quite help yourself, and reach over to ruffle his hair, making him give you a sleepy, satisfied grin... before he blushes a little and scrambles to his feet, trying to put his dignity back together. "Ahem! So, the pact is sealed! We are now bound together in partnership! ... Ah, when's breakfast?"\n\nYou pause in opening your dresser for clothes, looking over at him. "You're planning to stay?"\n\n"Of course! I'm not some lazy demon who just pops in when you summon me up! You made a pact with me and I'm gonna stick around! I want to be ready to help at any opportunity!" he declares, nodding firmly.\n\nYou're starting to get a passing knowledge of 'Ruu-ese', and if you're parsing it right, he actually doesn't want to go back to the lower planes and would rather stick around here. You pause to consider... he probably has some way to pass unnoticed, if he's so insistent, but do you really want to wind up with... well, a partner? The powerup you got was great, but you could just keep him 'on call' for those occasionally without having him right nearby. ... On the other hand, what could it hurt, really? He's pretty adorable, it's almost like having a pet... though you somehow think you shouldn't bring that viewpoint up to him.\n\n<hr>\n[[He should go back.|ValTome]]\n\n[[He can stay, but needs to stay inside.|ValTome]]\n\n[[He can stay, and stick by you.|ValTome2x5]]

"Alright, you can stay," you say after a bit of thought, grinning at him before pulling on a shirt. (Might as well not bother with a bra, none of yours will fit quite right now... besides, they seem much firmer and higher, you kind of think you might not need them anymore.) "You have ways of blending out and about in the world, right?"\n\n"Oh sure, plenty!" he chirps. "I can disguise myself perfectly!"\n\n"What about clothes?"\n\n"... I need to wear clothes?!" he blurts, eyes going wide.\n\nSoon the two of you are walking along towards the student cafeteria, Ruu beside you, his head down and cheeks flushed. He's assumed a human appearance, though of the same height and build as his normal one, making him look fairly young, with scruffy dark hair, his red eyes having taken on a slightly brown tint to put them vaguely in the area of human coloration. He's wearing a pair of your black jeans and shoes (magically resized to fit), and a hoodie that the spell (supposedly) didn't entirely take on, leaving it a bit overlarge. He's also pushing the front of the hoodie downward as if trying to cover something. "V-Valerie, they... they feel weird," he whines.\n\n"Sorry, Ruu, jeans and hoodies might be kind of unisex, but the only underwear I had was panties," you answer breezily, completely failing to mention (yet again) the several pairs of boyshorts you own. You grin and ruffle his hair again as he makes a complain-y noise. Oh yeah, this is going to be fun.\n\nAt the cafeteria, you flick a hand at the person working the counter to assure her that both of you have meal passes, and grab a tray. You raise an eyebrow as Ruu demands large platefuls of pretty much everything on offer, the workers looking a bit startled or dubious, though the moment he's moved on to the next station their expressions slide back into the bored, rather mechanical expressions of someone merely waiting for their shift to be over. Curious, you take a look around at the other people in the cafeteria as the two of you walk to a table and sit down. "Are you doing some sort of mental spell?" you ask, sipping your tea.\n\n"Mmmnf?" Ruu asks, his cheeks puffed out with a huge mouthful of sausage links.\n\n"No one's giving you a second glance. They're barely giving you a first glance. I mean you could definitely pass for my little brother, but you're not getting any 'what's someone doing bringing their little brother' looks either," you note, trying not to smirk at his obvious enthusiasm for the mediocre cafeteria food. Obviously meals are a bit fewer and further between for an Imp Lord than he'd like you to believe.\n\n"Glbmnh." Ruu pauses to swallow, his throat bulging cartoonishly as the food slides down, before he gives a soft 'pfwah!' and answers. "It's a side effect of the amount of mana I'm radiating. Other demons that take human form just register as humans to mortal sight, pretty much, but since I look like a human but put out a ton of magic, their brains don't quite know where to slot me in, whether I'm normal or something beyond their worldview. So they notice me while I'm interacting with them directly but otherwise kind of dismiss and forget me. Well, the more magically-inclined can remember me better, and I can make an impression if I try, of course!" he adds, puffing out his chest a bit. "But otherwise I sort of pass unnoticed," he adds, rubbing the back of his neck rather sheepishly, before returning to shoveling food in his apparently bottomless maw.\n\nYou turn that over thoughtfully. That's useful, it means he can accompany you to your classes without teachers asking any awkward questions. You can also see a handful of other potential uses for it, since he didn't qualify that it only works on relatively weak-willed mortals... it means he can go places that even you can't 'Jedi Mind Trick' your way into. And if he actually deliberately channeled mana into the effect, and you joined in, both of you could probably go completely unnoticed by anyone. The question is, what to do with that knowledge?\n\n<hr>\n[[For now just go to class, as usual.|ValTome]]\n\n[[Try it out while doing some shopping.|ValTome]]\n\n[[Test it with a random 'volunteer'.|ValTome]]

"What?! Leave?!" Cindi gasps dramatically, flinging a hand to her mouth. "Leave my beautiful, wonderful candy craftorium?! Without so much as having tried anything?! I don't understaaaand!" she practically wails.\n\n<hr>\n[[Yes, okay?!|PervSim]]\n\n[[Fine, you'll try something first.|PervSim]]\n\n[[Gah, whatever, you'll do the tour.|PervSim]]\n\n[[No you want to leave-leave.|PervSim2x3]]

"Hm?" Cindi abruptly cuts off the waterworks she'd started, then smiles and slips around to your side, draping an arm around your shoulders and leaning in, whispering conspiratorially as she gestures off and away with her cane, "Oh you mean you want to get out."\n\n"Yes," you say in a relieved tone, nodding. "I'd like to get out of this prison or... whatever it is."\n\n"Aw, does it look like a prison to you? That's so sad," Cindi says with a pout. "To me it's Heaven! But then, I sort of found my own little niche, didn't I?" she adds with a giggle, gesturing around to the rest of the room with her cane. "But the truth is, I do know the way to the exit."\n\n"And you'd be willing to tell me?" you ask, half hopefully, half suspiciously.\n\n"Well, in return for something, obviously! You'd have to work as my assistant for a year! Oh don't worry about the time, darling, it doesn't mean much in here anyway," Cindi adds, lifting her hand from your shoulder to wag it dismissively as you scowl. "Which is why I can ask so much for it in return! Feel lucky I didn't ask for a decade, or a century. But one year of being my loyal, obedient little assistant and helping me out with alllll my candy craftiness, following allll my orders, and then I'll lead you right to the exit."\n\nThat makes you frown even more. "And what if you give an order I don't feel like following?"\n\n"Well I just might make you follow it anyway, darling, but then also that day won't count and you'll owe me another one. It's alllll right here in this contract!" she chirps, pulling a clipboard with a fairly thin sheaf of papers on it from nowhere and proffering it.\n\nYou accept, then go flat-eyed. "This is written in Comic Sans. ... You're the devil, aren't you?"\n\nShe gasps in exaggerated shock. "Cindi Cyko, Catan? Curely you're not cerious!"\n\n"... How did you do that thing with your-"\n\n"Anyway," she chirps, pointing with a gaudily-painted nail. "These are all the clauses signifying your agreement to obedience, penalty for disobedience, release of liability for testing and problem solving, agreement that I will not deliberately alter you permanently although I'm not liable if you wind up permanently altered due to your own choice or mental strength, clause allowing for renegotiation at the end of the period if you want to stay, yadda yadda.'\n\n"Not bloody likely," you mutter as you flip through the pages, reading them over. It all seems to be pretty much as she says, although you can't help but note, "This doesn't sound like a great deal, especially reading this."\n\n"Oh honey it's a fantastic deal!" Cindi declares enthusiastically, giving your shoulder a shake. "Hardly anyone ever gets out, and you'll have tons of fun! Whether you want to or not! I mean, it's this or... well, you're in my little world now," she adds with a glance around. "No real way to get out without my help. If you even want to get back to the hallways, you'd need me to help you somehow, so what will it be?"\n\n<hr>\n[[Sign the contract.|PervSim2x4]]\n\n[[Leave her "world".|PervSim]]\n\n[[Refuse completely.|PervSim]]

No idea what that symbol someone scratched onto the doors is meant to be. ... If you're honest, it's partly curiosity to find out what exactly it means that has you stepping up to it, the doors sliding apart in front of you.\n\nYou're not sure what you were expecting, but it wasn't a very whimsically-styled room with lots of lighthearted architecture and rather child-friendly furniture. It looks like some weird cross between an antique-style ice cream shop and a business lobby, with several chairs and a couch that look like they're designed to appear made out of gummi candy, and a large pair of elaborate, somehow inviting cherrywood doors with intricate mosaic stained glass windows showing pictures of various types of candy.\n\n'Oh, it was a piece of candy,' you realize, leaning in a bit then stepping cautiously inside. You jump a little at suddenly finding yourself wearing clothes again... specifically, your own clothes. Or at least the top, pants, and boots of your skinarmor, and even in their original, pre-slime-altered state. 'Well that's something,' you think with a bit of relief as you pat yourself down, even if it didn't give you back your coat and rifle.\n\nYou raise your head as another door off to the side swings open, and stare at the individual that breasts boobily, er, near-skips energetically through. She's tall, with thick, almost poofy curly blonde hair (capped by an overtall, slightly fluted top hat), and a pretty face with full, very pink lips, her makeup done to vaguely imply something clown-like. She's wearing a sort of stripperfied rainbow-sequined tuxedo top and button-up shirt, the coat cut to frame her very large breasts where they're hugged by the shirt, a rather clownishly-patterned and slightly oversized bow tie around her neck. Both shirt and jacket leave her trim midriff bare, and below that she's wearing a pair of very snug, high-cut black satin panties, high-cut and showing off a bulge in front that's just as oversized as her boobs. Her curvaceous legs are sheathed in a pair of thigh-high fishnets and the whole thing is capped off with a pair of fuck-me heels and formal white gloves. She comes to a stop and twirls her cane before leaning her hands forward on it, practically presenting those immense tits to you as she shifts her shoulders.\n\n"Welcome to Cindi Cyko's Candy Crafters!" she chirps, tipping her hat at you and beaming, opening her eyes to reveal that they're doing a sort of slow fade color pulse through a lot of colors human eyes wouldn't normally come in. \n\n"Um." You glance back the way you came, realizing that the doors you walked through have vanished. Looking back at her you shrug and say, "Thanks?"\n\n"I am of course Cindi Cyko, your host!" she chirps, twirling the cane again and tucking it under her arm. "You're here for a tour of my candy crafting world, yes?"\n\n<hr>\n[[... Sure?|PervSim13x1]]\n\n[[You just want to leave.|PervSim2x2]]\n\n[[No you're here to... work.|PervSim]]\n\n[[You actually don't like candy.|PervSim]]\n\n[[Hey, what's that?|PervSim]]

You sigh heavily. You really can't see any other way out of this, since everything she's told you so far seems to be the truth. With a reluctant nod, you accept the gaudily-colored faux-quil pen she proffers you and sign your name at the bottom of each sheet, adding the date and your initials, before handing it back.\n\n"Good good, excellent!" Cindi chirps, accepting the clipboard and pen back, examining them with greatly exaggerated drama, then tossing them negligently over her shoulders where they clatter off into the corner. "Alright! So, a year of service, starting now right now! And with that in mind, let's get started by you stripping!"\n\nThat makes you blink. "What?"\n\n"Oh, honey, come on now. Do you think I have this big ol' thing just for show?" she says with a mocking pout, framing the large, almost spherical bulge in her practically vacuum-tight panties with her hands, and prompting you to blush brightly. "Cindi fucks hard and she fucks often! That's like the entire reason to craft yourself a little world that dances to your tune! So obviously we'd start out by doing some fun lewd stuff! We'll go back to my office to actually fool around, but you've got such nice titties and a lovely butt, I wanna watch them jiggle as you go!"\n\nYour face just reddens further in a mixture of outrage and embarrassment. You somehow got tunnel visioned on getting out and somehow let all her talk of a factory lead you to assume you'd be doing menial or secretarial labor, not... "secretarial" labor. Now it seems obvious, but you've already signed, dammit!\n\n<hr>\n[["... Fine."|PervSim14x1]]\n\n[["No way!"|PervSim2x5]]

"You said I'd be your assistant, not your... sex toy!" you snap back, folding your arms under your chest.\n\n"Oh honey it's so cute how you think there's a difference," Cindi giggles, sticking out her butt and wiggling her hips a bit while clutching her cane with both hands. "Now come on, you agreed to follow my orders, and this is my first one! Strip so we can go start putting that sex toy body of yours to use!"\n\nWhich, of course, just makes you go even more heated in the face, snapping back, "How about you go fuck yourself?!"\n\nCindi pouts at that. "Well I have but any way you do it involves a lot of prep that I don't want to put in when I have a perfectly good slut right here in front of me." She lets out a long-suffering sigh and shrugs with a bounce of her massive tits. "But if that's the way you want to play it, I guess we're getting a day canceled out right from the start!" she adds, lifting a hand and snapping her fingers.\n\nThe snap seems strangely loud, deep, and echoing, the sound feeling like it's reverberating through you like a deep bass on a massive speaker, just low-key and yet somehow just as penetrating. And just as suddenly you remember what she said about you refusing to follow orders: 'I just might make you follow it anyway'. Your tunnel vision kept you from realizing she must have been literal, she's genuinely going to just make you obey her somehow. In fact you can already feel-\n\n<hr>\n[[-your mind fogging.|PervSim]]\n\n[[-your body starting to move.|PervSim]]

He said "any time" but you probably shouldn't infer that his open door policy translates into "just walk in". Better to wait a bit.\n\nYou continue to stand in the hall, reaching up every so often to knock again, just in case he was indisposed in another room before. You're just resolving yourself to knock one more time and then leave when the door swings fully open to reveal Ops. She blinks and sort of gives a tiny lurch, standing there in that mingling of shocked and awkward that anyone does when they just opened a door that someone on the other side hadn't quite made contact in knocking on (with you, of course, doing the same from the other side). You just look at each other for a moment before Ops recovers, giving you a slightly sheepish grin. "Ah, hey, here to see the boss, I assume?"\n\n"Yeah, he said I should come up whenever."\n\n"Well he meant it then. Boss!" Ops calls over her shoulder even as she's slipping out the door and past you. "Michika Hajimaru to see you!"\n\n"I'll be right out!" Indigo's voice calls from the direction of the bedroom.\n\n"You can go on in and help yourself," Ops adds as she heads down the hall.\n\nYou nod, unable to help covertly eyeing the way she's walking before you make yourself stop. Not your business. Instead you step into the room (deciding to go ahead and close the door fully after you). It's a much nicer full suite than your room, but then you'd expected that... he's a great guy but you doubt he's the sort to take the same (or shittier) room than his subordinates just to show off his magnanimity. The lights are on normally in the main area, and the coffee table in the sort of conversation pit is scattered with plates of appetizer-like food. (Well, figures he'd be able to have the cooks make him stuff whenever, he's the one paying them.) Since your kludged-together burrito didn't exactly hit the spot after a long day of scavenging, you take a seat and nibble a few quesadilla slices and sliders.\n\nWhen Indigo emerges from the bedroom, you're caught in that awkward mid-bite moment and take the entirely reasonable option of stuffing the entire rest of the slider in your mouth and rapidly chewing just enough to choke it down. ... Clearly... that was a smart idea. ... Ow. Still, with that and a few swipes of your fingers, you're certain you look presentable as Indigo actually turns towards you and walks over, smiling. He's donned a pair of deep blue pajama pants and a robe, though it doesn't entirely cover his broad, powerful chest (or the thick layer of pale silvery hair covering it). Damn he's hot... you're not even that into older guys, and you still kind of feel like all he'd have to do is ask and, well. (You do, however, have a passing acquaintance who's still close enough that you know that if she were working with Indigo, her panties would be declared uninsurable due to being a frequent flood plane.) He settles down on the couch at a right angle to yours and plucks up a slider himself, asking in a genial tone, "So how did today go?"\n\n"It went... interesting," you allow ruefully. After only a minimal amount of prodding (and the offer of a drink, which does its own bit of encouragement), you relax and decide to just tell him everything. From winding up hiding in a porn store, to deciding to loot the place despite the embarrassment, to your further adventures in hiding while the red team guys banged in the same room. By the end of it Indigo's laughing enough that he's wiping tears away from the corners of his eyes, which helps you get over the embarrassment enough to laugh too.\n\n"Ah... the sorts of things that happen in this job," he comments merrily as he sits back with his own glass of whiskey. "Still, I want to say I'm proud of you. Hiding and waiting isn't just nerve-wracking, to people of action it can feel like you aren't doing your job," he says more somberly, as you give a slow nod. "We're mercenaries, we're supposed to be getting into firefights and taking down enemies. But once you've lived this life long enough you understand that discretion isn't just the better part of valor, it's the better part of everything, and it is a very distinct and different thing than cowardice. I'm proud of your discretion today."\n\n"Ah... thanks," you murmur, feeling a little heat in your cheeks.\n\n"It's something that's going to be important going forward, in this particular job we're on right now," Indigo notes as he sips his whiskey again. "As the obvious pickings in the civilian areas get picked out, there are going to be a lot of people turning towards the military installations. Now, the big ones, I trust the people I've called in to have more brains than to attempt them alone. But I think there are a lot of smaller facilities out there that the government didn't bother to tell us about, and yet still desperately wants the data retrieved from."\n\n"Probably hidden below the civilian infrastructure, then, which is against international law on practically every planet that still has international law," you note ruefully.\n\n"Which includes this one, yes, but we can't work for angels all the time," Indigo says just as ruefully. "Though it's up to you to make your own moral decisions on what you encounter. That said, from what I've seen you're smart and resourceful enough that I think you're going to be one of the ones to find one of those facilities."\n\n"Oh. Well thanks," you answer, resisting the urge to visibly preen.\n\n"When you do, I want you to exercise the same level of discretion you've shown so far about it," Indigo continues in a tone of cautioning. He pauses briefly, before adding, "From now on I'm going to have your calls going directly to Ops, no matter when. If you find anything you think might be a facility like that, I want you to call her immediately, and then wait for her to round up some other reliable mercenaries to send in with you."\n\nYou nod slowly. "You don't want me trying it solo."\n\n"It will mean sharing the payday, and the glory, but that's where the discretion comes in," Indigo notes. "Always remember, scoring the biggest payday only counts if you live long enough to turn it in and are still whole enough to spend it after."\n\nYou do try to keep that in mind over the next few weeks as you get busy scavenging the abandoned city. You wind up having only a few brief shooting engagements with red team, and most of those from at least the length of a street away, mostly just the sort of wild shots that say 'Yeah I see you there you fuck keep moving' from both sides. But for the most part you avoid them whenever possible, keeping your head down and trying to think creatively. Your commission is slowly but steadily rising, and while Ops and Indigo don't say as much straight-out, you get the impression from them it's doing so moreso than most of the other mercs on blue team.\n\nYou're making your way through a bus terminal, confirming that most of the computers and terminals have already been looted, when you pause and look towards the vending machines. ... Hm. You walk over, noticing that they still seem to be whole (looks like no one found the contents worth shattering the glass over). But you take a few moments examining the payment panels. Already foolish for someone to leave these, but maybe if...\n\n"Ha," you murmur with a smirk, working your fingernails into the base of one of the credit card readers and giving a few yanks, managing to pull away the glue, a plastic casing coming off and revealing a not-quite-matching but similarly-shaped reader beneath. A card skimmer! Obviously intended for longterm use too, so it should have a nice beefy little hard drive in it. "Score," you murmur, dropping the skimmer into your pack, then fishing out some tools to start removing the actual data readers.\n\nWhen you pop open the third machine's panel, you pause. This one's different... older maybe? You glance at the other two you've already looted, then the one you're at. Same company logo on the machine itself, so it must own all three... so why is this one a noticeably different model than the other two? Who only replaces two out of three machines when it's the same company maintaining them? You eye the panel again thoughtfully, and after a few seconds of considering start pulling some of the extraneous wires the other two didn't have and hooking them back up to different spots on the board. After your bit of impromptu rewiring, you tap '0' a handful of times quickly and then the 'Enter' key.\n\nThe vending machine immediately slides outward and then swings ninety degrees to settle against the empty spot on the wall next to it. \n\n"Well that's probably not something the bus drivers' union did," you note with a grin, stepping forward and shining your lumer down into the revealed stairwell. Hm... basic paint job, work that looks somehow simultaneously extremely shabby/lazily constructed and like it would survive a nuclear blast... yup, that's military engineering alright. Looks like you may have actually found one of those hidden facilities Indigo was talking about.\n\nSo. Time to call Ops and have her bring in backup. So you can share the glory. And the money. ... Yup... time to call Ops... you'll just... go ahead and call her...\n\n<hr>\n[[Oh do it you big baby.|ChiBlu6x2]]\n\n[[No I found it I wanna do it myself it's mine it's mine it's mine!|ChiBlu]]

Making a face at your own instinctive childishness, you reach a hand up and tap your ear. "Hey, Ops."\n\n"Here, Michika, what's up?" the techy's by now very familiar voice says almost immediately.\n\n"I'm in the main bus terminal downtown and I think I've found one of those secret facilities Indigo suspected were around."\n\n"Alright, hold position, I'll have a team join you on-site soon," you hear her answer with a thread of noticeable excitement in her voice.\n\nIt's about twenty minutes, but eventually you hear the door open and closed and see figures with prominently blue bits of clothing approaching. You're most surprised by the fact that the one in the lead is Ops herself... somehow you hadn't imagined her doing field work, though she's got a pistol unholstered and in hand and looks comfortable with it. Two more of the team are dressed similarly enough to her that you assume they must be part of Indigo's actual crew, just more straight-up combat oriented and carrying short rifles, one a largely unremarkable man with pale skin and brown hair (though he looks like he's got a very decent build under his plain combat gear) and a lithe, tan-skinned woman with her black hair cropped close. The fourth member is... a bit of a departure, being bottle blonde and tan-skinned, wearing a pink and black skinarmor one-piece with a short blue jacket and even shorter blue skirt, along with thighhigh pink and black skinarmor boots. You can only imagine the one-piece is custom made because she's even more well-endowed in the chest than you are, and despite the skinarmor doing its level best is still breasting boobily with every step, though she seems unbothered by it, placidly blowing a bubble.\n\n"Michika, this is Simmons and Vasquez, they're regulars," Ops says as she steps up in front of you. "Tiffani-"\n\n"With an 'i'," you can't help but say aloud at the same time Tiffani says it. You give her a sheepish grin of apology, but if anything she seems amused.\n\n"-was just close by but she's got an impeccable record. You wanna lead the way down?"\n\nYou nod, turning and raising your rifle to the ready before heading down the stairs, the others falling into largely single file behind you, since the stairs aren't very wide. You keep a sharp eye out for sensors, cameras, and other triggers but there's no sign of boobytraps or automated defenses on the stairs, nor when you emerge into a simple, wide room whose only remarkable features are a control panel and that the opposite wall is a massive metal setting for a hefty-looking door with '1221' painted on the circle in the center.\n\n"Huh. Shit. Vasquez, you seeing this?" Simmons says as he plays his rifle's lumer over the door, outlining the 'teeth' set around the outer circle of it anchoring it into the frame.\n\n"It sure as hell looks like a fuckin' Vault," Vasquez says in an annoyed-sounding tone. \n\n"Wait, like a Vault-vault?" you say as Ops makes her way over to the control panel and sets a small folding computer open on it, fiddling with the end of the cable attached to it. "I thought those were an Earth thing and only in some clusters?"\n\n"Nah they're recurring, like any other annoying human-created bullshit," Vasquez snorts. She looks over as Ops gets plugged in and starts scrolling text across her computer's screen. "What's the word?"\n\nOps takes a moment, but then she answers, "Yeah, modern minimalist logo, but it says 'Vault-Tec'."\n\n"Bummer," Tiffani announces solemnly with a pop of her gum. "But also, like, yaaaay I guess?"\n\nVasquez shoots her a look, but then trades a more thoughtful one with Simmons, before she shrugs. "She's got a point, there's likely to be some weird-ass shit in there, but there's also gotta be computers galore. We each find the local equivalent of a Pip-Boy and that alone'd make our job then and there."\n\nSimmons snorts loudly. "Yeah that or we get a faceful of the local equivalent of FEV instead and wind up turning into hulking walnut-brained mutants."\n\n"Either way what bliss," Tiffani adds in breezily.\n\nThe other three of you slowly turn your heads to look at her, but she just smiles and pops a bubble at all of you. Ops gives her head a quick shake as if degaussing her brain before looking back at her computer. "Okay, I've found the unlock code."\n\n"You sure we shouldn't get more people than this?" Simmons hedges. "What if it's full of Super Mutants or Gulpers or Glowing Ones or something? ... Local equivalent."\n\nTiffani snorts and blows another bubble at that. "C'mon, duder, people on the local Earths clear these things solo all the time, and they're just goobers with BB guns. I think four interdimensional mercenaries armed to the teeth with blasters and specialty ammo are enough to explore one liddle ol' Vault, donchu?"\n\nOps pauses, and then looks at you. Apparently since it's your find, it's your call.\n\n<hr>\n[[The four of you can handle it.|ChiBlu]]\n\n[[... wait what the fuck is a "Glowing One"?|ChiBlu]]

One of the useful things about Mythril is its ability to amplify and direct spells. If you were a wand-y sort of witch the wire would have made a great wand core, but now you have a knife, so it'll have to do. You try to be as subtle as you can about getting ready to push power through the blade, doing most of the work with mental imaging, picturing the spell taking the same form as the knife itself, with a sharp, cutting edge to pierce through protective enchantments.\n\nYou wait until the last second to actually give it shape, wanting as much surprise time as you can before you attack with a-\n\n<hr>\n[[Mind Blank spell.|ValNA]]\n\n[[Telekinetic blast.|ValNA]]\n\n[[Corruption.|ValNA]]

"Let's just dip our toe in today," you note, nodding towards the '1' entrance. "I want to have a look at this place before we dabble in the deep end."\n\nErrin makes a bit of a face, but doesn't actually argue. (Maybe your comment earlier about your mother warning you off tesseracts actually did something.) The two of you join the line, which is easily the longest one... obviously there's a lot of people that are either new as well, or only dip into the easier levels for a quick payday. There's a wait between each entrance, but eventually the two of you step through the gate and pass through a long, winding passageway that starts out as the same stonework as the entrance building, gradually turns into pale metal, and then by the time it opens up further has become something like large, wide starship passageways.\n\n"Huh," Errin declares, glancing around, then up at the steady white light. "... Y'know you'd think of it as-"\n\n"A dungeon, right, but tesseracts draw from everywhere," you finish for him. "Feels a little like being on a space hulk, just... bright. And clean."\n\nThe two of you make your way deeper into the level, noting that there are a fair few branch-offs, probably explaining why you don't immediately bump into any of the other divers that entered ahead. You're a little curious about how much space-warping might be going on, even, but supposedly tesseracts stay (generally) steady, although they tend to grow, open up new passages, or have random events from time to time. As the two of you go along, occasionally finding rooms and fighting monsters (despite the "theme" of the hallways, the monsters don't seem to be adhering to it, ranging from goblins to defense robots to, at one point, a roomful of mynocks (which, after a brief discussion with Errin, you decide not to disturb as being unlikely to be worth it). The loot isn't terribly good... a handful of gold pieces, some mildly valuable components. It's definitely looking like it's going to be just a sort of "orientation" first day until...\n\n"Was this thing moving kinda funny?" Errin notes, frowning as he gives the monster you both just took down a nudge with his foot. Some form of lesser dragon or reptilian thing with thick blue hide and apparently vestigial red wings, it was difficult more because your blasters mostly seemed to annoy it and it took quite a bit of stabbing with your weapons to actually kill it.\n\n"It did seem like it was wobbling around like it was almost drunk," you agree, circling to one side of the thing.\n\n"Maybe we should take a closer look at it, see if there's something valuable. Or if it was just having dimensional dysmorphia or something," Errin adds wryly.\n\nYou nod, eyeing the creature a bit more. You notice a few things quickly enough that might have been the cause of its behavior, specifically bulges on different parts of its body. Its throat seems to have a bulge in it that might not be entirely natural, maybe it swallowed something and was having trouble breathing? (Something valuable, potentially.) Its belly also seems overly rounded and heavy for its body shape... again, maybe it ate something that disagreed with it but that might sell for a pretty penny. And the other thing that's swollen...\n\n... well, it's reptilian in appearance over almost all of its body, but the one rather mammalian-like part of it is that it has a fairly hefty sheath and a pair of big blue balls that are so swollen you almost can't help but spread your thighs a bit apart in sympathy. They've got thick veins running over the surface and seem to be so loaded that you can almost see them throb even though the beast is dead. While it might seem a little bit gross (or perhaps disrespectful to another male no matter the species) you're well aware that there's a huge market for monster parts, especially the ones related to verility and fertility. Might be taking those back would net you more than the entire rest of the expedition.\n\n<hr>\n[[Open its throat.|LeoErrin]]\n\n[[Open its belly.|LeoErrin5x2]]\n\n[[Take its balls.|LeoErrin]]

Well, even if she does turn out to be some variety of one of the... less desirable sort of practitioner, it's probably better not to be so rude as to invade her domain uninvited. ... Actually that's probably an even better reason not to do it.\n\nHeading for the front door, you brush aside some of the plastic and call, "Hello?" You avoid actually crossing the threshold, even to have a better chance of making yourself heard, as you look into the largely dim and currently under construction main area of the club, which looks like it mostly only has the bar and maybe the dance floor installed. "Hello, anyone in?"\n\nA few seconds later a fairly plain-looking woman emerges from one of the hallways. Average height, brown hair, brown eyes, lightly tan, average breasts under a white T-shirt and average hips and rear under jeans. ... Actually, taking a closer look as she walks over, you're fairly certain she's had some sort of magic woven into her existence to make her more... you're not sure if "distinctly forgettable" is an appropriate phrase, but it's definitely something that's been done to make her nondescript and borderline forgettable.\n\n"Yes, may I help you?" she asks in a totally unremarkably pleasant tone.\n\n"Yeah, my name's Valerie, I'm one of the locals. I heard about how this club intends to cater to a... certain clientelle, and as a member of that clientelle I thought I'd come have a look, maybe talk to the owner if she's in?"\n\n"Miss Raines is out having coffee at just this very moment, but she's said that she's quite interested in meeting any of the local practitioners," Jane says in the same neat, polite cheerful tone as before, giving a very slight bow. "Please, enter as an invited guest, and I'll show you to her office. She'll be here in a few minutes."\n\nYou nod, stepping inside. The term 'invited guest' is a fairly important one, along with the acknowledgement of you being a practitioner. It's not quite as thorough as an explicit acknowledgement that you're invited and peace and will leave unaltered and unharmed, but it's close enough. If this 'Miss Raines' is looking to put down roots in the community, her needing anything stricter would basically be announcing a level of confrontational relationship with other practitioners that... well, it wouldn't exactly work for someone looking to make a business out of catering to said practitioners.\n\nJane shows you through one of the hallways and up the stairs, and into a door marked 'VIP', the I dotted with a little golden crown. Cute. It looks like the area is mostly done, with a number of comfy-looking black chairs and couches, a one-way mirror that looks out onto the club floor, its own bar, and what looks like a small private performance stage, as well as another door that looks like it leads out onto a balcony. "Please, be seated, and she'll be with you in a few minutes once I've called her," Jane asserts.\n\n'Not showing me into her office, smart. For both of us,' you think, settling down on one of the couches. Any witch business owner worth her ritual salt would have turned her office into a sanctum... and entering another witch's sanctum willy-nilly generally isn't a good idea. Another, neutral area definitely makes things more comfortable for both of you.\n\nAnd it is just a few minutes before a door opens... but it's the balcony door. A woman steps in to be framed by it, smiling pleasantly at you... she has dark black hair, cut to shoulder level around back but left long in front, her forelocks draped back over her bare shoulders. Her eyes are a striking silver color with rather blatantly slit pupils, a beauty mark below one almost daring the eye to be drawn to them, her face pretty and framed by her hair and a pair of triangular earrings. A slim gold choker-style collar is fastened around her slender throat, and a pair of spaghetti straps ride her shoulders, whatever bra they're attached to disappearing below the very off-the-shoulder dark red sweater-dress she's wearing, the front of it seeming to just barely cling to her very large breasts, the bottom just coming down to the bottom of her hips, leaving the straps of her garter belt visible as they connect to the tops of her black stockings (which squish just a bit into her thighs), a pair of black high heels finishing off her ensemble.\n\n<img src="images/Silvia.jpg">\n\n"Hello, I'm Silvia Raines," she says pleasantly by way of greeting, stepping further inside and letting the door close behind her.\n\n"I'm Valerie," you answer, casually omitting your last name as you rise and nod your head.\n\nSilvia regards you for a moment with those glittery silver eyes, then smiles. "Not deep enough in to have discarded your given name for something else?"\n\n"Mm," you acknowledge with a bob of your head, then rather blatantly eye her chest. "Wicked witch?"\n\nHer smile grows as she raises fingers with silver-painted nails to her lips. "Mm-hmm. Is that a problem?"\n\n"I guess it depends on if you're going to be a problem to the community," you say slowly.\n\n"I don't intend to. I'm a 'proper' wicked witch, after all. I give plenty of warnings, and only work my ways on those who have placed themselves in my power while leaving themselves open to it, either with their full knowledge or after ignoring those warnings," Silvia answers, moving to sit down in a chair across from where you're standing, briefly flashing the bulge in her black satin panties at you before she folds one leg over the other. \n\nYou can't help but give a soft snort. "Of course, most of the sleepers don't exactly know that warnings like 'These drinks aren't for the timid' are actually hinting that they're magical concoctions."\n\n"Yes, but that's hardly my fault, is it?" Silvia gives you a sunny smile as she touches her fingertips to the bare upper curves of her breasts. "Now now, I promise that I won't get too carried away with such things. Just handing out the particularly potent stuff willy-nilly is just asking for a witch hunter to show up, and that doesn't do any of us any good, does it?"\n\nNodding slowly, you sit back down. "As long as you're going to check yourself."\n\n"I don't intend to wreck myself, no. What about you, dear?" Silvia's eyes twinkle again as she looks you up and down. "You don't strike me as a white witch yourself. Nor a particularly black one."\n\n"Like most I exist in the wide gradiant of gray between," you acknowledge with a light shrug.\n\n"Understandable. Have you ever considered becoming a wicked witch, though?" Silvia's smile grows a little. "You have a lot of talent, I can tell. Having magic come to you far more naturally would, I think, benefit you greatly. And it's not as if you'd immediately go plunging down the slippery slope on a lubed-up dinner tray, there's just as much gray area to stay in as a Wicked Witch as there is a standard one."\n\n<hr>\n[[It's not like you've never considered it...|ValNC]]\n\n[[No, thank you.|ValNC4x2]]

"Appreciate the offer, but we'd really just like to get moving on the loan," you hedge, trying not to look at the Bug Juice with the instinctive 'ick' you feel. \n\n"Very well," Nick says in a philosophical tone, placing his two upmost forelegs together, rubbing the little spurs at the tips against each other. "So just what sort of job are you talking, and what sort of loan?"\n\nYou'd been thinking of how much to say, and in the end decided to keep it mostly to the truth while leaving out any troublesome details. "It's an intrusion job... boarding a ship, taking some of its cargo, and hopefully getting back out without ever even having been noticed. We have an intrusion ship," you continue, Nick nodding along as if greatly interested. "But it needs a new OS core and other assorted repairs. Which is what the loan would be for."\n\n"Hm hm hm. And you already have a buyer lined up for this cargo you'd be taking?"\n\n"Yeah, hired for it up front, I'll be paid immediately on delivery. Nyna's my pilot and very familiar with the ship and its needs, so really all we need is the money for repairs and the job's-" 'A done deal' seems too much like jinxing it, so you settle for, "Pretty straightforward."\n\n"Hm. Hm hm hm. Well, from the sounds of things, I'd tend to agree. Alright, ladies, this sounds like a loan I could absolutely handle," Nick says, tapping his forelegs together again. "So here's how this sort of 'prep for a job' loan works. I don't charge any interest until either one month or you actually attempt the job, whichever comes first. You complete the job, I collect a nice forty percent interest on my original loan within a week." Both you and Nyna make a face at that, but also exchange a mildly surprised glance... forty percent is pretty reasonable for loan shark rates, which could range anywhere from fifty to 100 percent depending on the guy.\n\n"Now, on the other hand," Nick continues, drawing your attention back to him. "Should it take you longer than a month to make a move, or should you fail the job, I start charging fifteen percent interest. Per week. Due every week," he adds, making you both flinch a little. "Of course, I'm a flexible bug... heheh... and I'm sure we could always come to some sort of arrangement in that event."\n\nYour skin crawls a little at some of the possible implications of that, but you refuse to let yourself shudder, since it would definitely be showing weakness. Instead you lean in to Nyna and murmur, "What do you think?"\n\n"Well as far as the rates go we're not gonna get any better," she murmurs back. "I think we may as well accept."\n\nYou nod, having largely figured the same thing yourself, and redirect your attention to Nick. "Yeah, okay, done deal."\n\n"Excellent! Sign here," Nick says, gesturing to one of the Synth girls, who withdraws a folding tablet from a slot on her thigh and unfolds it, then proffers it to you. You of course read over it... and frown.\n\n"Wait, under the section regarding your responsibilities and obligations, what's this subsection about 'Purchasing and implementation'?"\n\n"Oh, my own crew will of course be responsible for finding and installing the parts on your ship," Nick replies breezily, mandibles fluttering. "Don't worry, very competent workers, very technically capable. You'll notice that if there's any fault due to poor equipment or installation error, I'm in full error and the loan is voided."\n\nYou exchange another glance with Nyna, then shrug again and sign the contract, passing it to her to sign as well. "Alright, done deal!"\n\n"Excellent! I look forward to working with you, ladies!"\n\nOver the next week or so Nick's guys (bugs) get to work on the ship, tracking down a new OS core as well as going over the damage to the rest of the ship and starting to repair it. They actually are pretty good about running everything by you and letting you know when they need to buy something and about how much it will cost. In fact you just almost get used to the sight of dog-sized insects, bugdroids, and synthroaches crawling over the ship and chatting with them like normal. (... Yeah no they're still pretty creepy, you're not sure your brain will ever quite get over the ingrained and instinctive disgust reaction to seeing insectile vermin that size. You just do your best to be polite and not let it show.) Admittedly they're far more tolerable than their nonsentient (you hope) cousins that infest the rundown motel you and Nyna crash in until the ship is ready.\n\nSoon the ship is ready, and after a checkover Nyna declares it both adequately and competently repaired. She also has news: "So I was chatting up this girl last night-"\n\n"Glad to know you're making good use of our time here."\n\nShe pokes her tongue out at you, then grins smugly. "Well she said Huwhin is going to be coming into port tomorrow, according to one of her boyfriends who's already scheduled to ship out with him. So yeah, I was!"\n\nYou bob your head in a little 'fair enough' acknowledgement, then purse your lips and glance at the ceiling of the ship.\n\n"What? What is it?" Nyna asks, frowning now. "Sounds like we could probably get out there and get in place now. With luck we can have the job done and Nick paid off before tomorrow's over, and both get to work on getting on with our lives."\n\n"Which is a very attractive prospect," you admit, bobbing your head. "I'm just worried what might happen if we rush it. Remember, Nick starts charging us interest at the end of the month or when we attempt the job... which means if we try and fail tomorrow, by the end of the week we'll owe the fifteen percent interest payment."\n\nNyna frowns, but definitely seems to agree that would be a problem, since the two of you are at the 'cheapest food bars in the grocery store' level of low cash supply as it is. "I mean, yeah, we'll be in trouble if we have to start making the weekly interest payments," she allows, but then adds, "But we're also gonna be in trouble if we just keep having to feed ourselves for a few more weeks. If you wanna skip the opportunity tomorrow, fine, but you're gonna hafta figure out where we'll get some creds to live on for the next three weeks."\n\n"Okay, fair," you mutter, rubbing your chin a bit.\n\n<hr>\n[[Attempt the job now.|ChiDD2x9]]\n\n[[Put it off.|ChiDD]]

"I appreciate the offer, but I think I'm good as I am," you reply in a polite, if somewhat dry, tone.\n\n"Certainly. Still, it's a pleasure to meet any fellow practitioner, and I hope we can continue to get along amicably," she answers cheerfully. "Or perhaps more than get along, even if our relationship stays on a more professional level."\n\n"Oh?" you ask, raising an eyebrow.\n\n"Well one of the issues with an establishment like this is that it's much, much easier to keep everything running smoothly if I have other practitioners in key positions. Things that involve handling or working magic... it's just much safer than if I try to train clued-in non-practitioners to do it, wouldn't you agree?"\n\n"I'd tend to, yes, mishaps can always happen and they're less likely to happen and more manageable if it's someone that knows what they're doing," you agree, albeit a bit slowly. "Are you saying you want to offer me a job?"\n\n"I'd like to. I admit I'm already vaguely aware of your little, ah... call it a 'side business'," she notes, grinning. "I think you'd find that more regular employment with me would be much more stable and profitable over the longterm. And no 'wicked witch' type stuff... well, unless you actually felt like getting into that of your own accord at some point," she adds cheerfully.\n\nYou kind of want to roll your eyes at the blatant hints at potential corruption, but you know it's essentially just in her nature... blaming a wicked witch for wanting to corrupt people is sort of like blaming a cat for wanting to nap in the sun. Still, just because she'd offer up chances for you to slide into corruption doesn't mean you'd have to take them. "And if I'm not looking for a job right now?" you hedge.\n\n"I do have a few things I'd like done or taken care of that are more 'one shot' deals," Silvia admits. "In return, I could waive your membership fees for the VIP and VIM... ah, 'Very Important Mage'," she clarifies, giggling just a bit and once more putting her fingertips to her lips as she does. "And potentially even more benefits and privileges, depending."\n\n<hr>\n[[So what jobs are open?|ValNC4x3]]\n\n[[What are these "one shots"?|ValNC]]\n\n[[Nah, you're good.|ValNC]]

You yank at the ballgag enough to loosen it and get it dropped down around your neck, then fling your naked form up to the pilot area, starting to jab at the other consoles. "We can get out of here, but you're going to have to get us enough space to make a long straight run."\n\n"Okay, okay I can, what the fuck are you doing?!" she snaps as she hears the dimensional drive starting to power. "Don't you know a damn thing, you have to be at a full stop to use a pop-hopper!"\n\n"No you don't," you reply in a calmly desperate tone as you turn and rush to the side to where the dedicated controls for the drive are, your steps and then the lurches of the ship making your bare breasts sway and bobble in a way that threatens to get in the way. Times like this you wish you'd stopped growing at a D-cup. "You can create the bubble and then fly into the opening point at speed, I saw it done once!"\n\n"Once?!"\n\n"Just be ready with that fucking shield of yours, we'll have to come to a stop in middlespace to open the bubble out!"\n\n"F-fine! Fine, just tell me when!"\n\nYou finish up the calculations and software hacks, then fling yourself over against the back of her chair. "Now now now, go for it, I'll hit the drive when we're ready!"\n\nNyna throws the ship into another dive, this one almost ninety degrees straight down, making you grab the chair hard to stay upright and doing a fair bit more jiggling. She makes several more sharp turns and then flings the ship forward, accelerating as much as she can. You can already tell just from the flashes and the faint buzzing on the hull that the angry clients are quickly zeroing in on you again after the change of "depth" and angle. Your eyes flick from the spacemap to the drive to the FOF readout with a very large red dot getting nearer and nearer, until you shout "Now, brake!" and slam your hand down on a control. \n\nNyna hits the controls to engage the force field and to intitiate an emergency brake right as the pop and flash goes off. Both of you close your eyes tight and yank your heads down, forcing yourselves against all reflex and innate human curiosity to look through the forward viewport at... absolutely nothing. Even with the forcefield you can feel a faint wrong sensation, like your skin was literally crawling, or more accurately rippling like a pond with a rock tossed into it. And then there's another whine and pop, and the feeling fades almost instantly.\n\nSlowly, you raise your head and peek an eye cautiously open, the first thing you see being Nyna doing the same thing in near-perfect sync. Nothing but stars outside... no flashes of blaster fire. No dots other than the central green one on the FOF.\n\n"Whew," Nyna groans, slumping back in her chair and closing her eyes. \n\n"Will they be able to track us?" you ask, mind still on the pursuit.\n\nShe shakes her head, not sitting up or opening her eyes yet. "Pop-hoppers are one of the least traceable kinds of dimensional drives there are, and these are designed to be moreso. Part of the whole scam."\n\n"Yeah. The scam," you say flatly, at which she grimaces and opens her eyes before grinning at you sheepishly. "Very clever. And just exactly who was it you almost sold me to?"\n\nShe hesitates for a moment, then murmurs, "Raptarrans."\n\nYou can feel all the blood drain out of your face. "Oh," you say faintly, sort of drifting backwards and sinking into one of the seats.\n\n"Yeah. ... Yeah. Oh, um," Nyna murmurs, standing and moving over to a storage cabinet built into the wall. Then she comes over to you, holding out what must be her spare uniform and a pair of rubber overboots.\n\n"... Thank you," you murmur, accepting them without meeting her eye and standing up to dress.\n\nThe pants fit fine, for the most part. The jacket is clearly sized for Nyna's (relatively) modest bust, so you can't actually zip it up all the way, but enough that everything will stay covered (if a bit jiggly). The boots are obviously loose and not the comfiest thing in the world to go sockless in, considering they're meant to fit over regular footwear, but better than walking around barefoot.\n\n"So... what now?" Nyna says, glancing at the controls, then back at you. "We got away from the Raptarrans, and they probably can't follow. But they're also probably really pissed. And the company will be too... they're not exactly a milcon, but then they're not just a bunch of pacifist beancounters either. I... well, I guess I'll take you wherever you want to go," she says in a slightly dubious tone... you're guessing more because she's wondering what will happen to her afterward than that she doesn't mean it, since she follows up with, "I owe you that much, after what I put you through. And almost put you through. So... where to, I guess?"\n\n<hr>\n[[Makarzia.|ChiDD]]\n\n[[The Guildhall.|ChiDD]]\n\n[[Back to her base.|ChiDD]]\n\n[[A freeport.|ChiDD2x5]]\n\n[[An unsettled planet.|ChiDD]]

"A freeport? How come?" Nyna asks with a frown.\n\n"Because since you dicks took my Guild beacon, that means that I've got to buy another one, which means I need to finish the mission I was on and get that payday," you reply flatly, Nyna grinning sheepishly again. "And I'm betting I can't just go back to Makarzia to gear up or something, can I?"\n\n"You could. Once," Nyna admits, her tone turning flat. "That's the other thing, as soon as I land this thing anywhere with enough signal triangulators, which is pretty much anywhere civilized, the company's gonna brick the ship's OS remotely. So while I'd be up for helping you complete your mission..."\n\n"Right, once we land, we're not taking off. I kind of figured as much," you admit. "Which is another reason a freeport's a good idea. We can get the OS core replaced there, maybe even with a better one, and get this thing flying again, and I can also get myself some proper clothes and gear as well."\n\nNyna hesitates, like she might be about to say something else, but then just nods and moves to sit down in the pilot's chair again, you moving to stand behind her. (The trust between you is currently, let's say, tenuous... you'd rather be in the force field's area of effect just in case.) She spends a few minutes with the nav computer, then points at the screen. "How about Karnol? It's 'nearby' as the drive figures things, and it's a pretty big time spacer port."\n\n"That's perfect," you say in an almost relieved tone. "When I was researching Huwhin that was one of the places I thought he'd probably stop. All the better to ambush him."\n\nNyna nods, and spends a few more minutes setting up the jump before initiating it, the blast shields coming down before the bwop... the forcefield flickers on automatically around both of you, completely eliminating any feeling of wrongness, and then fades, the shields coming back up as Nyna aims the ship for a distant dot that starts resolving into a planet. Oof... from the shudder in the hull and some of the sounds it's making, you'll probably need to pay for more repairs than the OS core. You hope you have enough, since without that payday you likely won't be going home, let alone back to the Guildhall, otherwise.\n\nThe planet resolves into a fairly normal-looking one, green and brown and gray land masses amidst blue oceans, with the occasional dots of orbit-visible megacities visible amidst the stretches of land. Karnol is one of those... the only sprawling megacity on one half of a small continent, though you pass over several smaller ones on the way there. It doesn't take Nyna long to find a place to dock... apparently spots for ships this small are all over the place... and maneuvers in for a landing.\n\nThe ship has barely finished settling fully on its extended struts before the lights flicker, and the whole interior goes dark, including even the faintest hums or clicks of life from within the panels, leaving only the rather wan sunlight getting through the city's fog coming in through the viewport to illuminate you. "Yup, they got us," Nyna says flatly. "Bricked like a 2000 credit comm when you miss your first service payment."\n\nYou pat her shoulder a few times, then move to the back, eyeing the ramp. "We can still get out, right?"\n\n"Yeah, there's a manual release on this side," Nyna answers, walking over as well. She grabs hold of a handle, beckoning you to help, and the two of you manage to haul it fully down until there's a loud thump. The ramp pops out from its seal against the hull and slowly hisses downward on residual hydraulics, until it comes to a rather anemic stop against the platform, letting in a whiff of petrol-tinged warm city air.\n\nNyna and you both peer out, before she turns and opens up a panel to the side, removing a utilitarian blaster... ugly, without any options, but very functional. She hesitates for a moment, then proffers it to you. You reach for it, then hesitate as well, before nudging her to keep it.\n\n"You sure?" she says, reversing it to take it by the grip all the same.\n\n"Yeah, someone's much more likely to try and steal the ship than they are to mug me, especially in this outfit."\n\nNyna raises a slim, pale eyebrow. "They can't steal the ship, it's as dead as a middle aged soap opera actor's career."\n\n"Yeah but they won't know that until after they've stabbed you for it, will they?" you reply drolly.\n\n"... Right. Point." She sticks the gun into the waistband of her pants, then rummages in her pocket and proffers you a clip of physical Guild credits... probably the closest thing to a universal currency there is, and one you know from your research Karnol uses almost exclusively. (Lots of pirate ports do, whatever their feelings on the Guild itself.) "Here. It's not much, just my walking-around money, but still..."\n\n"I'm gonna be heading to a bank to take out some of my own money," you assure her. \n\nFor some reason Nyna looks grim at that, and just holds the clip out a bit further. "Just in case." After you've taken it, now feeling a bit uncertain, she takes a pair of simplified comms out of the panel as well, passing one to you. "These are on a closed circuit, so the company can't brick or track them."\n\n"Pretty convenient," you muse, looking it over. "And generous and trusting, considering."\n\n"Not really, they came with the ship. Pretty sure it was just cheaper for the military that designed them to do it that way for the emergency comms, instead of packing a bunch of extra features into them like remote access and tracking."\n\nYou nod, tucking the comm in one pocket and the money in another, doing your best to smooth the cloth out so they're not obvious. You and Nyna stand there a bit awkwardly for a moment, before you raise your hand in goodbye and set off.\n\nKarnol is like a lot of freeports you've been to... once a normal city, now pretty much entirely given over to servicing pirates and other similar sorts. Which doesn't mean it's a riot of violence and open crime by any means. In fact it seems pretty much like a normal city... maybe a little rowdier and louder than Makarzia in the daytime, but not by much. You even spot what's obviously the equivalent of the local lawenoff, mostly big burly guys, all wearing some type of armored vest painted bright red. A lot of the businesses are geared towards spaceworkers of all legal stripes that come through, so there's an overabundance of bars, but also a lot of pawn shops, electronics stores, entertainment venues (of lewdness levels ranging from "none if any" to "extremely"), and what you're looking for, banks. Well, not so much banks as "financial institutions", people that are set up to access other banks to give or send money or request loans. You head for one of the actual corpo chains, which has outlets on both Makarzia and the Guildhall, which means they should be able to access your bank account from either. And they can!\n\nExcept.\n\n"What do you mean it's empty?!" you roar, slamming your fists down on the counter. (From the dents, you're probably not the first, or nearly the strongest, to do so.)\n\nCertainly the tired-looking employee behind the slightly foggy shield wall doesn't look impressed, instead saying, "I didn't say they're empty, I said that your available funds on both of them is zero."\n\nYou open and close your mouth a few times, trying to calm down enough that you can have a more rational thought than 'What's the difference?' Then something occurs to you. A cold feeling runs across your skin, and you ask slowly, "Are you saying there's a... hold?"\n\n"Yeah. There's a hold for the entire balance on both accounts. So your available funds are zero."\n\n"... I understand. Thank you," you say coolly, before turning and walking out of the shop. You take out the comm and calmly press the control to contact its opposite number.\n\n"Yeah, how'd it go?" Nyna asks after answering almost immediately.\n\n"MotherFUCKERS!" you scream back directly into the comm, making several people nearby actually jump in shock.\n\nOnce you've ranted yourself out, Nyna sighs and says, "Yeah, sorry, I thought that might be the case. I wasn't in on all the details, but I've overheard enough bits of the stuff the counter girl says to suspect. It must be part of the whole scam... they get you to agree they can put a hold on your account, but they don't say exactly how much. All legal, technically."\n\n"But it's only legal until I was brought off the ship, that was in the payment contract," you growl through gritted teeth.\n\n"Until you're teleported off the ship," Nyna clarifies. "When we run the scam, we never teleport the r-, er, targets off. We fly you to the processing facility and carry you out physically, down the ramp. So as long as you never pass through the teleporter on one of their ships, they get to keep the hold on your account indefinitely. Probably how they make their company value look better for the insurance companies or something, since it counts as positive balance for them even if they can't spend it."\n\n"Just great," you huff. You fume for a few seconds before asking, "So you think if we got the ship up and running and you put me through the teleporter, they'd be forced to release the hold?"\n\n"What'm I, a lawyer? But my guess is gonna be 'probably fuckin' not', considering."\n\n"Yeah," you agree with a sigh, rubbing your forehead.\n\n"So now what?"\n\n"... I've gotta get some work clothes and a weapon," you say with another sigh, glancing around. "While I do that I'll think about our next step. Hold down the fort until I figure it out, I guess."\n\n"Got it."\n\nAgain, it's not exactly hard to find a place that sells mercenary/street tough/pirate gear in a freeport. You do pass by several stores for looking too run-down and full of what look like factory errors, before getting to what looks like a place selling obsolete surplus. You browse through and decide their selection of clothes and weapons is decent enough to pick through.\n\nNow comes the tough part... budget. Nyna's "walking-around money" was clearly intended for a night of barhopping, which means it's not insubstantial for a night of beer and snacks but a little leaner when it comes to buying armor and weapons. After awhile mentally combining costs and weighing pros and cons, you settle on what you think is some defunct police force's new and never-worn armored uniform issue rather than a less reliable used set. \n\nThe issue being that the skinarmor uniform... leaves a lot of skin bare too. Because it's essentially a four-piece uniform, top, bottom, jacket, and boots. The top is a pair of white bands, one that goes around your neck and one that goes around your lower chest, with a flap of black covering your breasts... you have a few similar skinarmor tops yourself, skimpier ones even, so that part's not too bad. The problem is that the bottoms are essentially a matching pair of panties, with a high, straight white waistband, a fairly narrow front, and a T-back thong rear that's going to leave your ass hanging out. Even if you were inclined to dress quite that skimpily normally, your penchant for longcoats would usually cover it. But the jacket for this is actually shorter than usual, essentially leaving your midriff entirely bare. The boots also have white straps that go around your thighs, and have a somewhat loose fit otherwise that makes them vaguely resemble workout legwarmers over white-soled shoes. Normally you wouldn't consider such a skimpy outfit even if it was made of armor, but the jacket apparently comes with a small deflector shield built in, which means that it's roughly the same amount of protection for about half the cost of a more modest outfit.\n\n(Technically the uniform was five piece, since it also came with an orange cap, but it provided no special benefit and you thought it was ugly, so you left it on the shelf.)\n\nYou peruse the selection of weapons, most of which are pretty much like the blaster Nyna got out of the emergency locker... ugly and functional. You pick out one from a more reliable manufacturer, whose improvements over Nyna's version are essentially little more than that it's faster to fire and has a stun setting. You buy a thigh holster for it and change in the shop's cramped changing room, shoving the grey uniform into a trashcan (denying Nyna a change of clothes, but you're still pretty aggravated with her, so). As a last touch, you buy a cheap burner comm, due to the likelihood of needing to keep in touch with locals, and on further thought buy a second one. Until this is over, you and Nyna are in this together, it seems, and she'll need local communication too. You wander back out of the shop to stand on the sidewalk in your showy new outfit, trying to ignore the feeling of warm smoggy air on your effectively bare ass and the looks from the people around you.\n\nSetting out at a walk just to get moving, you hit the contact button on the emergency comm to connect to Nyna. "Yeah? You come up with anything?" she asks when you connect.\n\n"Yeah. The only thing I can really think to do is..."\n\n<hr>\n[["... find work."|ChiDD]]\n\n[["... take out a loan."|ChiDD2x6]]\n\n[["... turn pirate."|ChiDD]]\n\n[["... get in touch with family."|ChiDD]]

"What, like from your bank?" Nyna asks.\n\nYou snort loudly. "With a hold on my accounts by a company that's probably claiming I stole their fucking ship? Not hardly, I'll be straightening this out with both those sets of assholes for months after this. No, we're gonna hafta get a loan locally. Which means a loan shark of some kind, a place like this." You glance at several of the other money stores, making a face. "Just a question of whether it'll be 'legit' or not."\n\n"The sort of lenders that operate in places like this, there's not gonna be a helluva lot of difference."\n\n"Yeah, I know. Either way I'm gonna hafta argue on the strength of my argument that I'll be able to get the job done, so I'll have to show off my pilot." You pause and look around, spotting a likely place. "Head towards the city center and look for a bar called 'Pound Town', big neon dog paw sign, larger building than the ones around it, can't miss it."\n\n"Alright, on my way."\n\nEventually Nyna shows up, though she stops and does a double-take at your outfit, lips curling up slightly in a goofy smile at the sight of your bare hips and effectively barely-covered pussy just from the front. "Goddamn."\n\n"Yeah yeah," you say with a sigh, grabbing her by the shoulder and turning her to shove her ahead, so she can't stare at your ass as you go in. "I already took a peek inside, it's definitely a recruitment-likely bar, which means it's also a good place to ask questions."\n\nThe vast majority of the customers inside are men, who all look at you with more or less subtle variations of the same expression Nyna had. The prominently-displayed blaster deters anything other than a few further-off wolf whistles though, and the two of you make your way up to the bar. "Hey, who would I talk to that knows the lay of the land around here?" you ask the bartender.\n\nHe pauses, then shrugs and tilts his head towards the corner. "Big Girl's who you wanna talk to about pretty much anything."\n\nYou head around, Nyna beside you, and quickly spot who he means, since absolutely no one else in the room could be Big Girl. She's a genesoldier, with canine ears atop her head despite the more usual human ones on the side, and a long bushy tail, ears and tail both matching the gray and white dappling of her thick, fluffy-looking hair (and eyebrows). She's sitting in a chair that looks larger and sturdier than all the others because she's gotta be seven feet of pure muscle, the only softness on her body being her massive tits and well-padded ass. She's sprawled on the chair in not particularly ladylike fashion, showing off said boobs in their slightly strained black sports bra top, and an equally impressive bulge in the front of her denim shorts, boots with silver dog pawprint clasps jutted out laconically.\n\n"Pirates aren't an imaginative lot huh?" Nyna mutters under her breath as the two of you approach, forcing you to suppress a snicker.\n\n"Well hello, ladies, I help you with something?" Big Girl asks in a genial enough tone, sipping from her pint glass of something blue.\n\n"Yeah, I'm Chi, this is my pilot, Nyna. I'm looking to do a job and I need a loan to fix my ship up," you say straightforwardly enough, since all of that is true. Just a nice convenience that it sounds as much like something a pirate would say as a mercenary looking to rob a pirate. "I was told you might know who I could talk to?"\n\n"I can play yellow pages for you, yeah, no problem," Big Girl replies after only the briefest hesitation, golden eyes twinkling as she smirks, blatantly eyeing you up and down. "Normally I might ask for a bit of remuneration, but honey that eye candy is payment enough for something so simple."\n\nYou clear your throat, feeling your cheeks color, and keep your gaze straight ahead so that you won't see how Nyna's probably smirking again. "So you know who we could see?"\n\n"Yeah, sure, there's plenty of people in town can do a loan like that. Of course you understand each one's gonna have their own rates, as it were, and their own methods of collecting should you default. As it were," she adds, raising those fluffy eyebrows.\n\n"I get that I'm not exactly asking the Solar Bank for a small car loan yeah," you reply dryly.\n\n"Okay, understood!" Big Girl laughs a bit, before she continues. "There's [[Nick the Bug|ChiDD2x7]], he's always got a ton of cash lying around, especially to throw at pretty girls. [[Madame Madara|ChiDD]] over at one of the local fuck-houses can also give out loans that size, though her method of charging interest is a little, heh, interesting. There's a synth they call [[The Cash Machine|ChiDD3x1]], loans is all he does and at really fare rates, though the way he takes collateral can be offputting to some. And there's a local chemman they call [[Ganja|ChiDD]] who also does loans, though he'd probably want you to 'chill' with him before you even started talking. I mean partaking, not fucking," she clarifies as you and Nyna both get dubious looks. She pauses, then adds with a grin, "Well, not necessarily fucking. But he's a gentleman on that front, so I hear... he'll only fuck you if you beg him to. I hear a lot of girls do though."\n\nYou clear your throat again, once more suppressing a blush. "And those are our options?"\n\n"For ship maintenance scale loans, yeah. I mean you could go to [[Cashtown|ChiDD]] down the street, they're a corpo place, but they're gonna be as ruthless as any of the others about collecting and probably gouge you even worse on the interest," Big Girl notes as she leans forward towards you, thumbing in a random direction as if to indicate the far-off world of legitimate business. Then she pauses for a moment before smirking again. "And, well, I have been known to occasionally dabble in moneylending [[myself|ChiDD]], very fair rates, very low pressure... but, ah, let's just say I like to collect part of my collateral up front, hmmmm?" she practically coos, leaning back and cupping a hand around the side of the large bulge at the front of her shorts, giving it a little lift and squeeze of demonstration.

'Nick the Bug'... sounds like an Italya mobster nickname. Neokuza and Italyas don't exactly get along, but then they also understand each other and can do business with one another when necessary, so you feel like you'd know what to expect there. "We'll see 'Nick the Bug'," you tell Big Girl.\n\n"Interesting choice. Alright, he's got a place that's in the, let's say, less sparkly side of town, I'll give you directions."\n\nYou raise your eyebrows at the idea of Karnol having a "less sparkly" side of town, but you soon see what she means. While the whole city has a faintly grungy air to it, the part of town you and Nyna are soon walking through borders on slimy... literally, a sort of faint gunk visible on the walls, sidewalks, and even the road in places. You notice a lot fewer people walking around in general, and those that are tend to be either the way way down on their luck looking humans or the less aesthetically acceptable species that congregate in places like this.\n\n"Is this guy gonna break our legs if we miss a payment?" Nyna whispers to you as you approach a long, low-slung building with a simple neon sign reading 'The Underboards'. Apparently she came to much the same conclusions about your potential moneylender as you did.\n\n"Italya mob are probably too faux-chivalrous to break a woman's legs," you assure her quietly in return. "Probably more like force us to donate a kidney or a lung."\n\n"... Joy."\n\nThe two of you come to a stop in front of the door, exchanging a brief glance before nodding to each other and stepping forward, pushing the doors open ahead of you. The rolling chatter... or perhaps chitter would be a better word... in the place briefly stops as a lot of heads swing towards you, which is only fair since you and Nyna are also standing there staring.\n\n"Not Italya mob," Nyna says faintly.\n\n"Nope," you reply just as faintly.\n\nIt's looking more like 'Nick the Bug' is probably... literal. Because it's an insectoid bar. Every patron in the place, bar a few blatant standouts, is some form of insectlike species. There's a few humanoids, likely bipeds with chitinous exoskeletons and even vaguely anthropomorphic heads, and maybe a couple of non-insectile species like a human or two and some synths, but the vast majority of... beings... in the bar are actual insectoids ranging in size from a bit larger than one of your hands to probably larger than you are. There are crawlers, and flyers, some of them drifting around the rafters and crawling on the ceiling with long bodies and bulbous heads. There are a couple of insectoid robots and even a few that look more like insectoid synths, with white plastic exoskeletons and glowing accoutrements and little arched black faceplates above silver mandibles. The place would just look outright infested if so many of them weren't actually sitting in chairs, holding mugs, and gathered around plates.\n\nYou and Nyna get stared at only briefly before the chatter-chitter resumes, a strange mixture of actual voices and little skittering-clicking-thrumming sounds. You exchange another glance with your reluctant partner, before the two of you approach a nearby table, where one of the actual humanoid insects is sitting. "Ah, hey, we're looking for Nick?" You try not to make a face when he raises one of his skinnier lower arms to point so that he doesn't have to disrupt his drink hand, murmuring a thanks before setting off deeper into the bug bar.\n\nNick the Bug himself turns out to be a species effectively indistinguishable from a dog-sized cockroach, just with exaggerated bits at the end of his abdomen (you vaguely recall them being called the 'stylus' and 'cercus' from school... the subject of cockroaches being of some interest on Makarzia for various reasons) and what looks like gold plating on various bits of his glossy black-brown exoskeleton. He's reclined partially on his back in a curved booth and flanked by a pair of naked Synth girls with molded and mobile plastic faces; their nudity is fairly mitigated by the fact that their large, almost perfectly round white breasts are featureless, and they have what look like retractable plates over their crotches keeping the "usable" bits hidden currently.\n\n"Ladies, ladies, welcome!" Nick says in surprisingly clear and genial galacommon, waving a leg with a small but elaborate golden ring slipped onto it. "Welcome to my establishment! I'm Nick, and it sounds like you were looking for me!"\n\n"Right," you answer with a businesslike nod. It's... really pretty weird seeing those mandibles move and hearing intelligible language come out. You're used to weirdness as a Guild merc, but having a civil conversation with a cockroach the size of a terrier is still pegging the dial on your fucked-up-shit-o-meter. "I'm Michika, this is Nyna. We're looking for a loan to fix up our ship so we can do a big job."\n\n"I see, I see," Nick chitters, bobbing his head a few times. "But before we launch directly into business, why not get comfortable?"\n\nYou and Nyna both jump a little as the chairs at your side of the table slide out apparently on their own, but actually pulled out by more roaches about Nick's own size. One of the synth girls giggles and rubs the back of Nick's thorax as the other leans forward and uncaps a decanter on the table, pouring a thick greenish substance that looks mildly carbonated and has a strangely pungent sweet odor. "The Underboards' specialty for our non-insectoid patrons... Bug Juice," Nick declares loftily, both his Synth girls giggling again. "Don't worry, no bugs in it," he adds in a confidential tone, to more giggles from his girls, who both seem to have scooted in at his sides without any hint of caring in the slightest that he's an insect.\n\n<hr>\n[[No, thanks.|ChiDD2x8]]\n\n[[... Yeah okay.|ChiDD]]

"'Pre-sold'? I don't think I've seen that one before," Nyna says with a mildly confused tone.\n\n"It means we have a buyer that's already pre-paid for someone that meets her specifications," the guy nerd says with a bit of a sigh. "So no GU, sadly."\n\n"On the upside, that means we'll still get our commission for her, and probably a big one too," the girl nerd chirps. "I've seen some of these pre-paids where the money we were holding was big bucks, because they usually want something reeeeally specific and they're willing to pay ahead of time to make sure they get it immediately if and when it comes through."\n\n"Huh. So who's the buyer?" Nyna asks, all of them leaning in towards the screen again... and you, of course, urgently watching as more text comes through, since this is clearly about your fate.\n\n<hr>\n[["Totana Military Services."|ChiDD]]\n\n[["Ultrafuture Labs."|ChiDD]]\n\n[["Client R."|ChiDD2x2]]

The air of geniality and amusement that your captors had vanishes like a lightswitch had been thrown. A sudden deep silence descends on the entire room.\n\nNot good.\n\n"Shit," the guy nerd whispers, taking off his glasses and rubbing the bridge of his nose.\n\n"Damn," Nyna whispers as well, looking over at you with a grimace, a look of what seems to be genuine concern coming over her face. "Couldn't... I mean, what if we just... y'know, left the room and maybe the restraints...?"\n\n"Shut up, you idiot, he's listening!" the girl nerd hisses, leaping to her feet and smacking Nyna on the arm, glancing guiltily over towards the computer cabinets. Then she looks back at Nyna and pokes her on the shoulder with one finger. "A client is a client. Especially this client."\n\nNyna says nothing, but then turns back to the screen as there's another beep. She's in the way now so you can't see what it says (and are a little preoccupied running through a few million awful possibilities in your head), but you can see it as she does a full-body blanch. "Me?! But-!"\n\n"You brought her in, you take her out," the guy says firmly, pointing towards a hoverpallet in the corner.\n\nNyna stares at him, then the pallet, then sighs heavily, walking over to activate it, and then bringing it over alongside you. You're a little too worried now to even struggle as the restraints glow and lift off of their supporting bars, bringing you over above the pallet suspended, held by the grav field almost as firmly as by the physical struts. Nyna moves you out the door and down a few halls, apparently too worried... probably about herself now rather than you... to even enjoy the sight of your still naked and displayed form.\n\nShe hovers you into another hangar bay, this one a bit larger than the last but with the same ship in it, this time with the ramp directly facing the door. "Plz!" you try through the gag. "Plz d'n d' thz!"\n\nNyna grimaces and glances down at you as she wheels the hoverpallet to set it above the circle of the teleporter on the floor, not immediately responding... but she does work the controls to reverse the grav pull of the lower side of the pallet, locking it to the pad instead of hovering aboard it. "... sorry..." she murmurs, not even looking at you as she rounds the pallet and heads up to sit.\n\nSoon the ship is in the air, almost immediately showing the black... probably some sort of asteroid installation with a thin, if any, atmosphere. This time the pop-hopper powers up sounding completely normal, and there's barely any disorientation even in your current state once you've passed through into the target dimension.\n\nNyna flies in silence for a few minutes, before making a little noise low in her throat that you can only picture as going with a full-body shudder. "Ugh... there they are. Nothing if not punctual." She pauses and glances over her shoulder at you, looking genuinely regretful. "... I'm sorry, if I'd known... but right now all I can do is hope that if I deliver you and they're happy with you, they won't snag me too. And... that's..." She looks forward again, hunching her shoulders. "... you'd understand."\n\n<hr>\n[["Plz! Hh! Plz!"|ChiDD]]\n\n[["... Nh'nh..."|ChiDD2x3]]

The sound of her name, muffled as it is, makes her flinch and hunch forward further over her board.\n\nThen she suddenly howls out "SHIIIIIIIIT!" and slams several controls, grabbing the twin sticks and hauling on them, the pressure of acceleration actually pressing you into the grav field as the sudden maneuver strains the inertial dampeners. Almost instantly you hear the passing thrum and see the flashes of near-miss ship-scale blasterfire, the view of the stars skewing wildly back and forth as she takes evasive action.\n\n"Shit shit shit shit shit shit!" Nyna barks near-constantly as she almost throws her whole body into her maneuvers, trying desperately to avoid the green and red energy blasts. Apparently she's grown a conscience and is really really pissed about it. Frankly under the circumstances you're perfectly willing to grudge her the anger even if you're still pretty pissed off yourself.\n\n"Fucking piece of shit assholes fuck you!" she shrieks as she sends the obsolete starship into a diving roll, missing most of a well-aimed blast but still getting clipped, since the ship suddenly skews hard in the opposite direction it had been going with a hard shudder.\n\nLooks like the blasts are at least partially ionic or disruptive, because all the lights and consoles flicker for a moment... and the glow on your restraints goes out entirely, dropping you to the floor with a thud and a muffled "Uhff!" A half-second later they pop open, allowing your legs to spring open. You scramble to your feet, unsteadily both from the ship's now slightly drunken skewing and the uncomfortable position you'd been held in.\n\nThe person responsible for you being in that position is currently hunched over her controls again, clearly struggling a bit more with them after the glancing blow, muttering, "Can't believe I'm doing this, can't believe I'm doing this, I'm dead, I'm fucking dead..."\n\n<hr>\n[[Oh she will be!|ChiDD]]\n\n[[Not yet she's not.|ChiDD2x4]]

Besides curiosity, you do kind of have to find out whose it is to return it, after all. It's only after you've clicked the button, in the parts of a second between that and the screen coming on, that you remember that's what you do with civilian cellphones to find out the civilian who owns it. As in, that's what you'd do with a civilian cellphone. Which this is.\n\n... Oh. Oops.\n\nAh, but it's okay, looks like it's not compromising, whoever this belongs to is just a big fan of the Winter Olympics, 'cause their wallpaper is an image of the pretty platinum blonde triathalon champion Natasha... whatsername, Zholenka? Something like that?... and her equally famous NFL player boyfriend Jacob Marelly, both smiling at the camera. Odd angle though, it's almost like it's... a selfie? ... Oh shi-\n\nYou instantly whip the phone behind your back and under your cape as you hear the transporter whine, tucking it into a hidden pocket and superspeeding into the main monitor chair to do your best at looking like you've been settled there for the half hour you've been here. A moment later the sleek, pretty form of Snow Leopard pads in, the athletic woman's body hugged by a ring-patterned grey bodysuit, the cowl revealing her lower face and a mane of sleek icy-grey hair spilling out the top of it, between and around the feline ears attached to the cowl. (Huh, she must change the color a little when she's in costume. Wait, shit, don't think things like that, it might show on your face.) "Oh, hey Snow Leopard, you need something?" you ask. You almost feel bad about how easy it is to fake being casual with her, but acting like nothing's wrong is sort of an essential part of having a secret identity, so.\n\n"Ah... there is no trouble, if that's what you mean," she replies slowly, her voice still carrying a slight Russian accent, the yellow-tinted lenses of her mask betraying the rather nervous set of her eyes as she looks back and forth. You can see her trying to check the floor around where you're sitting without being too obvious about it, and becoming a bit more agitated every time she passes her eyes over the area without letting them land. "I found myself thinking that maybe I'd forgotten something, though I wasn't sure what," she says slowly, tucking her gloved hands behind her back as she walks over, footsteps almost silent due to the design of her boots. "Did you maybe find something? One of my Cat's Claws, or the keys to the Snowmobile, or..." She lets her covered eyes roam upward and off to the side, keeping her gaze angled away as she keeps her tone overly casual. "... I don't know, a cellphone?"\n\n'Snow if this is your level of identsec this was completely inevitable,' you think, unable to keep your expression from going flat for a microsecond. Then you clear your throat to answer her.\n\n<hr>\n[["Yeah."|Cal1x3]]\n\n[["No, nothing."|Cal]]

Alpha 43\n\n[[November 2024 Dev Diary|Nov2024DD]]\n\n*Main: [[Ultra-Marissa|MarSS10x5]] (not her actual hero name like this) can continue her fight against the otherdimensional kaiju.\n*Main: Michika can suggest looking into [[extradimensional lifeform smuggling|ChiECA2x1]] when helping the ECA.\n*Main: Michika can [[do more|ChiMom3x1]] with Aki and Gao after already doing sssstuff.\n\nAlpha 42\n\n*Main: More branches early on in Raz being an [[adventurer|Raz5x4]].\n*Main: Michika and Knight can [[take the car|ChiGH1x9]] to save the kidnapped Transcendant.\n*Main: New male character Soren has been added.\n\nAlpha 41\n\n[[September 2024 Dev Diary|Sep2024DD]]\n\n*Main: Leo can just [[kill time in his room|LeoNova1x5]] aboard the Stellar Body.\n*Main: Michika has a new [[retrieval job|ChiGH3x1]].\n*Main: Defiance can have her [[contract bought|Def2x2]] by various "slams".\n*Main: Raz can choose the [[Adventurer|Raz1x1]] class card.\n\nAlpha 40\n\n[[August 2024 Dev Diary|Aug2024DD]]\n\n*Main: New female character [[Saraelle|SaraStart]] added.\n*Main: Thirdstar can wait to hear what Style finds on a [[mad scientist|MarSS4x8]] villain.\n*Main: Marissa can continue her meeting with [[Doctor Silver|MarSS4x10]]. She can also decide to go after [[HEEL|MarSS4x7]].\n*Main: Riley can agree to become Tass's [[roommate|Riley1x5]].\n*Main: Marissa can say she's [[glad to meet|MarSS2x2]] the Stun Dazzlers.\n\nAlpha 39\n\n*Main: Marissa can now choose to become a [[solo hero|MarSS1x1]].\n\nAlpha 38\n\n*Main: Michika can [[wait|ChiBlu1x10]] when noticing that Indigo's door is open.\n\nAlpha 37\n\n*Main: New female superchar Marissa added.\n*Main: Michika and Nyna have options for taking out a [[loan|ChiDD2x6]] in Karnol.\n\nAlpha 36\n\n[[May Dev Diary|May2024DD]]\n\n*Main: Michika can choose to [[fight|ChiMine1x2]] the xenotype infestation. Earlier on she can also identify a different type of [[scuff mark|ChiMine1x1]].\n*Main: Michika also has a new [[retrieval job|ChiGH3x1]].\n*Main: Michika can tell Red she [[needs to leave|ChiMine2x4]] after blasting the slug in the mine.\n*Main: Added new character Kona under female chargen, and new character Raz under male chargen.\n\nAlpha 35\n\n*Main: A new [[retrieval job|ChiGH3x1]] is available for Michika Hajimaru. (What? You thought her name was something else? No, you need to get those lights of yours checked, I hear gas can make you hallucinate.)\n-Update 2-\n* More of Michika and the new retrieval job.\n*Main: Michika also has a new [[reinforcement job|ChiGH5x1]].\n-Update 3-\n* More of the retrieval job.\n\nAlpha 34\n\n* Added Bastian, AKA the supervillain Backlash, to the male characters.\n-Update 2-\n* There are some new additions to the [[Cindi Cyko|PervSim2x1]] area of Michika being stuck in the Pervcursor sim.\n\nAlpha 33\n\n[[January 2024 Dev Diary|Jan2024DD]]\n\n*Main: Konko can now help (or possibly "help") the [[nerd girl|Konko1x2]] being bullied by gyarus.\n*Main: Michika can make further decisions on hands-on sex ed for [[Gao and Aki|ChiMom1x9]].\n\nAlpha 32\n\n[[December 2023 Dev Diary|Dec2023DD]]\n\n*Main: Defiance can [[poke around the office|Def1x10]] in the containment facility.\n*Main: Michika can decide to [[try and escape the quarantine zone|ChiMine1x2]] at the mine.\n*Main: Horse-Caliburn can decide he'll [[call Pink again|CalHM4x4]].\n\nAlpha 31\n\n[[November 2023 Dev Diary|Nov2023DD]]\n\n*Main: Caliburn can choose the "[[+Equine|CalMaze4x2]]" option in the Labyrinth of Change.\n*Main: Michika can take Lolina's offer to [[be a dancer|ChiLuck1x2]] in her club.\n*Main: Michika can teach the Red Team guys in the apartment to [[not let their guard down|ChiBlu1x8]].\n*Main: Defiance can [[check in on running plots|Def1x2]].\n\nAlpha 30\n\n*Main: Michika can investigate the [[abandoned house|ChiPoke3x2]] for Professor Prism.\n*Main: Leo can veto continuing after Errin [[returns the favor|LeoErrin4x8]].\n*Main: Michika can [[take action|ChiPoke6x1]] at her urgent situation after leaving Hexia's clinic.\n\nAlpha 29\n\n[[September Dev Diary|Sept2023DD]]\n\n*Main: More of the [[Leo and Errin|LeoErrinStart]] line.\n*Main: Jane can now decide to look into [[Bioteknik Solutions|Jane1x1]].\n*Main: Michika can eat the [[brown and orange|ChiPoke8x1]] poffin in Hexia's mind-maze.\n*Main: Michika can [[show some modesty|ChiGH1x6]] after bringing Knight home.\n*Main: Michika has a new [[open job|ChiGH2x2]] she can take.\n\nAlpha 28\n\n[[July Dev Diary|Jul2023DD]]\n\n*Main: Leo has a new [[escort job|LeoJobListEscort]].\n*Main: Addi's starting lineup has been altered and some options have been started.\n*Main: Michika can accept the "[[Other|ChiRed1x1]]" injector from Midnight.\n*Main: Leo has a new option on his [[job list|LeoJobList]].\n\nAlpha 27\n\n*Main: Michika can now [[nope out|ChiPoke4x2]] after finding herself in the strange room after Hexia's session. On another path, she can decline Hexia's offer to [[join her|ChiPoke3x4]] in looking for the mysterious Ghost-type.\n*Main: Michika now has a new [[reinforcement job|ChiGH5x1]] available.\n\nAlpha 26\n\n*Main: Jane can now elect to investigate [[the night club|Jane1x1]].\n*Main: Michika can now go see the [[Hex Maniac|ChiPoke3x2]] in Rainbow City.\n\nAlpha 25\n\n[[April Dev Diary|Apr2023DD]]\n\n*Main: Continuing Michika with [[Ramses|ChiGH4x2]].\n*Main: Michika can tell Heiloh to make the Cutlass drone [[imposing|ChiGH1x4]].\n*Main: Leo has a new [[retrieval|LeoJobListRetrieval]] job available.\n*Main: New male character Jason and female character Jane have been added.\n*Main: Riley can agree to become Tassita's [[co-streamer|Riley1x5]]. \n*Main: New female character Addi has also been added.\n*Main: Michika has a new [[reinforcement job|ChiGH5x1]].\n\nAlpha 24\n\n*Main: Michika now has [[Guard Jobs|ChiGH2x1]] and Reinforcement Jobs available at the Guild.\n\nAlpha 23\n\n[[January Dev Diary|Jan2023DD]]\n\n*Main: Grimalkin can now decide to [[go solo|Grim1x1]] rather than repairing any of his pack.\n* New character Riley has been added to male chargen.\n\nAlpha 22\n\n*Main: Michika can tell Heiloh she wants the Cutlass drone to be [[shiny|ChiGH1x4]].\n-Update 2-\n*Main: Michika can actually take the [[genetic material retrieval|ChiGH2x2]] job.\n*Main: Leo can decide he's going to take [[everything|LeoNova3x3]] from Nova.\n\nAlpha 21\n\n*Main: More of Michika in the [[Pervcursor simulation prison|PervSimStart]]. (Haunted house party and continuing to explore the corridors.)\n\nAlpha 20\n\n*Main: Michika can now browse [[retrieval jobs|ChiGH2x1]].\n\nAlpha 19\n\n*Main: Leo can now ask Vima if she has any leads on ships (Leo's starting passage).\n*Main: Added new female character Michika.\n* Removed Simone and Nicholas for eventual retooling/replacement.\n\n\nAlpha 18\n\n[[Catchup Dev Diary|Misc2022DD]]\n\n*Main: Reth can decide to turn Unielle into a [[breeder|RethFarm2x1]] for his farm.\n*Main: After turning Amestra into a [[Headless Slayer|Reth1x3]], Reth can say they should move on.\n*Main: Grimalkin can decide he and his pack will [[go after the Lieze twins|Grim1x4]].\n\nAlpha 16\n\n[[December Dev Diary|Dec2021DD]]\n\n*Main: Caliburn can [[immediately set off|Cal2x4]] for the Annex of Annihilation.\n\nAlpha 15\n\n*Main: Yami can decide to [[charge right off into adventure|YamiHF1x1]].\n\nAlpha 14\n\n[[June Dev Diary|Jun2021DD]]\n\n*Main: Valerie can accept the job as a [[Mistress|ValNC4x3]].\n*Main: Ireth can say he went with Stacia to [[get her alone|Reth5x1]], or because he wanted to be with her.\n*Main: After agreeing to be [[Pulsar's plaything|LeoNova5x2]], Leo can choose the "Roleplay" cabinet.\n\n\nAlpha 13\n\n[[April Dev Diary|Apr2021DD]]\n\n* Main: After saying he'll stay in town, Reth can say he'll become [[a farmer|Reth2x2]].\n* Main: Valerie can [[skip the dramatic announcement|ValWP3x1]] before jumping out the window. She also has more options available when [[meeting Thule's sons|ValLib2x2]].\n* Main: Valerie can also investigate the [[magic nightclub|ValNAStart]] that's under construction.\n\nAlpha 12\n\n* Main: Kai can now take the [[C-rank assassination job|KaiGuild2x1]].\n* Main: Caliburn can now [[challenge Deathtrap|Cal2x6]] when called on to enter the King's Labyrinth.\n\nAlpha 11\n\n[[November Dev Diary|No2020DD]]\n\n-Update 1-\n* Main: Kai can decide she's fallen in love with overwhelming [[joy|KaiRem6x2]], warmth, or devotion.\n* Main: Kai can tell Jaune maybe she'll fall in love [[someday|KaiRem6x1]].\n* Main: Kai can now [[tempt fate|KaiWeiss1x2]] after using Atlesian law on Cordovin.\n* Main: When at Brunswick Farms, Kai can now immediately [[reveal that Salem is Ozma's wife|KaiRem8x1]].\n\nAlpha 10\n\n[[October Dev Diary|Oct2020DD]]\n\n* Main: Leo-turned-Lina can now ask to be [[taken|LeoLina1x1]] by Sokahn.\n* Main: After placating Sakai, Kai can now [[agree|Kai1x13]] to having her slave chip bricked.\n\nAlpha 9\n\n[[September Dev Diary|Sept2020DD]]\n\n* Main: Iris can now [[continue to taunt|Iris1x3]] Majestra.\n* Main: "Phantom" can now [[alter the girls' minds|IrMon3x1]] after "claiming his reward". Alternatively, after not claiming his reward and instead telling them the truth, he can ask for their [[cooperation|IrMon1x6]].\n* Main: Reth can now [[decline|Reth5x4]] to tell Stacia about his past life as the Maou.\n* Main: Kai can now ask Aurora to [[ask her friends for help|Kai6x2]].\n* Main: Maxia can have the door in the instant cottage open into [[a playroom|MaxShop2x1]].\n* Main: New characters Nicholas and Simone are in, to fill the niche Jace had in Devious World.\n* Main: Konko can now approach Michiko as something [[with six cylinders|Konko1x4]].\n\nAlpha 8\n\n[[August Dev Diary|August2020DD]]\n\n* Main: Female!Leo can now decide to [[wait out the week|LeoAma3x5]] in either fashion, hoping to change back at the end.\n* Main: Caliburn can now take another one of the [[calls|Cal2x2]] while he's on watch duty.\n\nAlpha 7\n\n[[July Dev Diary|July2020DD]]\n\n* Main: More stuff of Ireth (on pretty much every branch). \n* Main: Leo can suggest he and Lii [[talk to Kala in private|LeoCat1x6]].\n* Main: Valerie can now use the Mythril wire to [[forge a weapon|ValNA2x4]].\n* Main: Maxia can now go explore the world of [[Letoria|MaxExploreWorlds]].\n\nAlpha 6\n\n[[June Dev Diary|June2020DD]]\n\n* Main: Leo can now take an [[artifact retrieval|LeoJobListRetrieval]] job.\n* Main: Leo can say he'll look after the [[Kwestlyne Twins|LeoKwest1x1]].\n* Main: Sipha can now go to the Akihabara [[theme cafes|SiphaAkiStart]].\n* Main: Leo can now accept [[Removal|LeoJobList1]] jobs.\n* Main: Female Leo can now [[approach Seiun at the river|LeoFem2x4]].\n* Main: Defiance can now [[focus on Kaville|DefianceStart]] when dealing with her hostages.\n* Main: Added the defeated demon lord Ireth to the 'Other' chargen options.\n\nAlpha 5\n\n[[May Dev Diary|May2020DD]]\n\n* Main: Leo can now agree to [[join Roaring Eagle|LeoFem1x2]].\n* Main: Leo can also take the [[Kwestlyne|LeoJobListEscort]] escort job, and the "[[Task Completion|LeoJobList1]]" category of jobs is live. \n* Main: Leo can [[take a walk|LeoSon2x3]] after taking Aiane to Earth.\n* Main: Kai can now suggest she and Miranda go for a frontal assault.\n* Main: Konko's visit to the MILFs [[in dog form|Konko4x4]] can continue.\n\nAlpha 4\n\n* Main: Konko can now give the boobified Ryo an [[infusion of male hormones|Konko11x4]].\n* Added Defiance to female player characters.\n\nAlpha 3\n\n* Main: Konko can decide to [[impersonate a cute oneechan|Konko6x2]] when pranking Ryo.\n* Main: Yami can [[accept the starter quest|YamiHF1x1]].\n\nAlpha 2\n\n[[February 2020 Dev Diary|Feb2020DD]]\n\n* Main: Added Kiara and Maxia.\n* Main: Kai can now [[focus on taking out Street Demons|Kai1x10]] when the meeting is attacked. \n* Main: Caliburn can [[pick a hallway|CalKLRoom1]] in the King's Labyrinth.\n* Main: Added Yami.\n* Main: Konko can now prank [[the boy looking at porn|Konko6x1]].\n* Main: Kai can now [[find Niobe|Kai1x10]] after the Street Demons attack the meeting. Back at the Glowworm she can also go speak to the [[Transcendants|Kai1x4]].\n\nAlpha 1\n\nThis is the first release. Literally everything is new. Well, Valerie's not new but she's got some tweaks and expansions too that you can probably find quickly enough. Go nuts.

"So, just out of curiosity, what job positions are open?" you ask.\n\nSilvia smiles. "Well, first off, there's a position for a Staff Manager. I was going to just have Jane do it if I didn't find someone else, but her nature means she's... not the most imaginative sort, and the job sometimes calls for that."\n\n"Your staff manager needs to be a practitioner?"\n\n"Ah, you see, I've worked up the most wonderful method for the staff," she explains, eyes lighting up. "I've developed a type of slave collar that only works while it's being worn. It puts the wearer in a pleasant mood, makes them obedient, and completely blanks their memory of what they did while wearing it, with no lasting aftereffects."\n\n"And you're going to just slap those on your employees?" you say a bit flatly.\n\n"Oh no dear, these only work if the wearer puts them on herself." At your blink, Silvia giggles again. "And yes, I already have people lining up for it. I mean, think about it... if you had to work a long shift constantly dealing with customers, which would you rather do, have to constantly try to keep your patience while forcing yourself to act politely, getting gradually more tired and frustrated as it went on and worrying that if you lost your temper and snapped you'd be lectured or lose your job? Or would you rather put on a collar, and eight hours later take it off and not remember a single annoying, frustrating thing that happened during your shift, as well as feeling just as physically and mentally refreshed as when you got to work if not moreso?"\n\nYou stare at her for long moments. Then you frown. "Are you sure that's wicked witch magic?"\n\nHer eyes twinkle. "Like I said, there's a lot of shades of gray to us too. But yes, I'd like to have someone who could properly oversee the use of the collars, as well as directing the staff for their shifts. I also need an event coordinator... someone to come up with, plan, and run spectacular events for the club! Which, yes, would need a practitioner, since I'd like to run the sort of events where wild and blatantly magical things can happen, but make sure people won't go blabbing."\n\n"Meaning you need someone who can properly set up and check on the memory-fuzzing charms on the club," you note wryly.\n\n"Got it in one. For that matter, I need a chief of security... someone that can make sure we don't get anyone sneaking in, deal with disruptions magically if necessary, and possibly occasionally follow up on something if one of those memory-fuzzing charms fails to work as well as it should on a sleeper. And... wellll..." Silvia puts one fingertip to her mouth. "There is one other position. It would probably suit you better if you were a wicked witch, but you hardly need to be one for it. And it is the position with the potential for the greatest income, but with work-when-you-want hours."\n\n"... And that is?" you prompt, a bit against your better judgement, but she definitely baited that hook skillfully.\n\n"When you were coming in, you may have noticed a nearby door with a 'genie lamp' painted on it. That leads to the 'Wish Rooms'... where VIPs pay to have little magical experiences. Some sexual, some not," she adds with a light roll of her shoulders that makes her tits wobble a bit. "They're set up in advance so you can come in prior to opening and choose which ones you'd be comfortable doing, if any. The fee we charge the client includes the cost of any necessary materials, and then the club and the, ah... well, let's be honest, let's say the 'Mistress', split the remainder of the fee 70-30. Club's favor. Now, before you note that seems unfair, I will say they are typically large fees, so you'll still be coming out on top. As well, any additional charges from providing extras... things that were not specified as necessary parts of the fantasy, but things that were included as options, or requests from the client after the fact, or that you offer after accepting, are entirely yours. Not to mention tips, of course."\n\n"So basically, a 'Mistress' makes less than the house just doing the bare minimum, but if she 'goes the distance' she could make considerably more," you muse aloud. Then raise your eyebrows, unable to help grinning a bit. "Which I'm sure isn't influenced at all by the fact that it would definitely encourage any Mistresses or Masters to do pervier things of their own volition, under your roof in your conditions using materials you provided, meaning as a wicked witch you'd get a nice power boost off of it."\n\n"I must admit, I'm a bit proud of the system, it's at least a tad clever isn't it?" Silvia says pleasantly, steepling her fingertips and wagging her hands together a bit. "Now, come on, I see the glint at the promise of a regular paycheck in your eye. I guarantee you that even the most basic of these positions will have you driving around town in a nice sporty little car in a month, if that's your desire. I expect this club to make a lot of money, and I'm willing to pay my employees well on that expectation. So, which position do you think you'd be interested in, Valerie?"\n\n<hr>\n[[Staff Manager.|ValNC]]\n\n[[Event Coordinator.|ValNC]]\n\n[[Head of Security.|ValNC]]\n\n[[... Mistress.|ValMistress1x1]]

"Eh? R-rings?!" the Luparo splutters, his face going red and the blush only intensifying when he sees the glint of gold come out. "Th-that's taking things way too fast, I mean maybe someday I-!" He blinks, noticing that the rings aren't sized like... well, rings. "Eh?" He picks them up curiously, eyeing them... one's close to being big enough for a choker, and the other's slightly too small to be a woman's bracelet. "What's... with these?"\n\n"Maybe the problem is that your physical compatibility is bad," you whisper, his ears laying down a bit at the suggestion, but he doesn't stop listening. "A lot of times people aren't comfortable with their own body, or the other person just doesn't quite match their ideal. Give her the smaller one, though, and both of you will be adjusted a bit to her inner ideal body types."\n\n"Huh. Well, okay, that's... we can take them off after, right?" he asks, frowning thoughtfully at the items.\n\n"Oh my, they wouldn't be very good magic items if you couldn't," you answer in a tone full of light laughter, as you discuss the cursed magic items. "All you have to do is hand her the smaller one, and they'll both go on automatically."\n\n"O-okay, well... alright then!"\n\nHe quickly hands over the cash and accepts the rings, shoving them in his pocket as his partner comes over to purchase a fairly basic flame sword. You give the man a covert wink as he tosses a glance over his shoulder at you, and he gives you a rather nervous thumbs up in return. Overall, though, you have little doubt that he'll soon suggest giving it to her, and keep a vague mental 'eye' on the rings using the Thirty-Sixth Demon Lord's ability to scry on any magical items you've made. Not long after the sun sets, it stops moving and settles in one position, so you close up the shop and trot upstairs, settling into the luxurious little pocket dimension you've created above the shop and casting a scrying screen in front of you. Creating a bowl of crunchy fried pork skin bits with the second Demon Lord's ability (it rather amuses you that the skills went from 'Wicked Command' to 'Enticing Delicacy' so quickly... the second Demon Lord must have been set up for a 'catch more flies with honey' approach), you set them in your lap and pop one into your mouth as you watch the two adventurers making camp.\n\n"Hey, Joul, what'd you think of that shop today? The one with the big-boobed shopkeeper?" Tola asks as she finishes starting the fire and stands up, dusting off her hands. You suppose she would remember that, her own bust is fairly modest.\n\n"Hm? I, ah, I mean I guess it seemed pretty decent to me," the luparo (Juol, apparently) answers, straightening from finishing up his sleeping area and rubbing the back of his head.\n\n"This is a pretty nice sword, it's actually way better than my ice blade, maybe I should have traded in. I don't think you bought anything though, huh?"\n\n"... Actually!" Juol blurts, fumbling in his item pouch, and drawing out the rings. "I got these!" he adds, thrusting both out.\n\n"... Eh? Rings? They're kinda weird sizes," the warrior woman notes, frowning as she looks at them, the implications of a man buying a pair of gold rings apparently lost on her. "But I guess if they're magic they resize, were they taken off of a dead giant or something?"\n\n"No, uh, no. Well I don't know," he admits with a shrug. "But what she said was, they'd... well, they'll increase our compatibility!"\n\n"Increase our... oh, like as fighting partners," Tola says, immediately brightening, and apparently not noticing as Juol's ears briefly lay down in frustration. "I'm all for that, then, let's use them!"\n\nJuol hesitates for just a moment, then sets the smaller ring in Tola's palm. There's an instant flash, both the golden rings disappearing as the adventurers give little jerks of surprise. Of course the larger one that Juol was holding immediately reappears... around his neck. Clearly he feels it fairly fast since he reaches up for it... then gasps loudly as his whole body spasms and twitches. The changes come on rapidly, his face reshaping and losing all of its rugged, handsome appearance, angles rounding out and cheeks softening into an adorable, girlish appearance, to go with his shoulder-length hair growing out steadily longer, smoothing out and gaining shine as it does. The most obvious change is his chest, as it swells and grows, flat manly pecs quickly softening and rounding into rapidly expanding globes as his dark little nipples grow, engorge, and turn a soft cherry blossom pink. They're given free rein to grow by his shirtlessness, but his snug leather pants are obviously starting to strain almost immediately, bulging and creaking, until in only a matter of seconds the seams give way and the leather drops, allowing thickened thighs and newly generous hips and a large, bouncy ass to spill free. His cock is already visibly shrinking as it comes into view, hard briefly from the obvious pleasure surging through his body with the change, but getting softer and more limp the smaller it gets.\n\nSpeaking of cocks... the only change going on to Tola certainly seems to be in her pants. She groans as the crotch of them bulges, her hands reaching towards it but apparently not quite daring to touch, even as there's obvious strain. Then she yelps as her growing cock snaps the ties and springs free, flinging her torn panties ahead of her to flop to the ground as it wobbles and shakes in midair. The other ring is now revealed, settled around the base of her thick, throbbing prick just ahead of her new (and obviously steadily filling) balls. The almost bracelet-sized ring is loose... but clearly won't be for much longer as the shaft it's settled around continues to grow and lengthen, getting thicker and fatter by the second, veins nearly visibly throbbing as it starts leaking a steady line of clear pre onto the ground.\n\n"Th-that shopkeeper sold us cursed goods!" Juol wails as the bounteous bare breasts finally cease their expansion, now large enough and hanging heavy enough to almost hide the Luparo's bellybutton. Her eyes widen and her hands clap across her mouth at the sweet, whimpery, and absolutely feminine sound of her voice... and "her" it is, for what was once no doubt a proud pillar of manliness between her legs has completely vanished, replaced by a lightly fuzzy mound with thick, fat lips almost as plump as her hips and ass. "We have to get these things off somehow, Tola! Tola! ... Tola?" Juol finally actually focuses on her partner, and her eyes widen, face going red as her jaw goes slack. It's not just that she finally seems to have noticed that Tola has grown a particularly long, thick, and obscene-seeming cock... but what Tola's doing with it.\n\n"Hhhha, hhhhha, fuuuuck yes," the warrior woman groans as she strokes her new prick with both hands, urging more pre out of it, her motions quick and jerky enough to sling the viscous stuff about in glittering lines through the fire-lit night. "Fuuuck it's just what I always wanted! A cock that could put a horse to shame!" she declares, eyes flashing with a mingling of lust and pure exuberance, her tongue lolling past her wickedly grinning lips a bit in an utterly shameless display of excitement. "A big, fat meaty prick to really destroy some fucking holes with, yeeeesssss!"\n\n"T-Tola... you really wanted such a thing?" Juol whimpers, unable to take her big, prettified eyes off of her changed partner... or rather one particular part of her changed partner, unable to tear her gaze away from that throbbing pillar of flesh now jutting from the front of her partner's crotch, the gold ring glinting near the root of it.\n\n"Yeaaaah, of course! And there's one other thing these blessed rings have given me that I always wanted!" With a degenerate leer, Tola leaps forward, grabbing the thick, stiff nubs of Juol's enlarged nipples and hauling on them, lifting the Luparo girl's enormous tits up and letting the weight of the boobs themselves pull on the sensitive pink lengths. "A squishy big-titty bitch who loves to be abused!"\n\n"Hnyaaaa!" Juol squeals, a sound utterly and completely lacking in the faintest hint of masculinity. She lifts up on her toes, reflexively trying to take some of the pressure off her tits... even as arousal starts dribbling down her thighs and dampening the soft brown fuzz coating her pussylips. "I-it's not true! I don't GYEEEEK!" Her eyes roll and her thick thighs quiver as Tola drops both her nipples, letting the Luparo's immense tits drop back into place... only to immediately deliver a hard smack with a palm right to the top of one. Juol's whole body shakes, her eyes rolling and tongue jutting out slightly as Tola delivers more smacks to the enormous orbs, sending impact quivers running through them. "I don't, I don't, I don't-!" she tries to object, even as her pussy visibly squirts with what has to be a decently-sized orgasm at the rough treatment. She groans as the assault of slaps to her tits stops... then yips again as Tola grabs a fistful of her hair and shoves her to her knees, making her lean forward so that her tits hang down. Juol's hands shoot up to her partner's hips... but do absolutely nothing to stop Tola's thrust forward, the human futa shoving her prick past the Luparo's lips and a good six inches down her throat in a single push. That one thrust is followed immediately by the start of hard, ruthless thrusting, Tola pumping her hips wildly, forcing more and more of it down Juol's throat until the Luparo is kissing the golden ring around the root.\n\n"Mmmmmh, yeah, your facehole feels good, you bitch," Tola groans, a sort of cruel affection threading through every word as she grabs Juol's head around the base of her ears and starts ruthlessly facefucking her. "That's what you are, aren't you? You're a horny stupid bitch made to get fucked, huh? You want me to fuck you and abuse you, that's your whole reason for living, huh? 'Cause if these fuckin' heavenly magic items made you into my ideal partner, that's what you fucking are, slave! Huh? Huh?!"\n\n"Gk gk gk gk gk gk gk!!" Quagging loudly is the only answer Juol could possibly give, her throat bulging obscenely on either side of the golden choker around the middle of her neck, her eyes rolling. And yet while she can't confirm or deny verbally, her body is certainly answering for her. She's shaking her fat ass needfully, silently begging like a bitch in heat indeed, her sodden mess of a pussy dripping so heavily that splashes of girlcum are hitting the ground directly without even going down her moistened thick thighs. Those enormous breasts wobble beneath her, holding her angled down as much as Tola's grip on her head is, her own body now virtually designed to be put and kept on all fours as she's used and abused.\n\n"Mmm fuck you make such a better fuckpet than you do an adventurer, Juol... ah, no, your name is Bitch now," Tola declares happily, moaning as she does, throwing back her head and pumping all the faster, her victim's quagging getting louder and more desperate as that horse-proportioned prick utterly violates her throat. "Yeah! Yeah! YEAH, TAKE IT, BITCH!" Tola practically roars as she yanks out, a hand shooting down to stroke off her throbbing, obscenely twitching prick as it starts firing long, thick blasts of white all over the Luparo's flushed, disheveled face, long streamers and fat globs of cum coating the newly-turned woman's pretty features and beautiful hair, as well as splattering all over the front of her utterly pornographic tits.\n\n"Hhhha... hhhhha... hhhha," is Bitch's only reply, her eyes glazed and tongue lolled out, apparently too cock-addled to even swallow the thick smears of jizz coating her tongue. As Tola simply releases her, she drops forward onto her hands, cum-smeared tits wobbling and practically brushing the ground as she does. She stares ahead, apparently trying to focus and not even noticing as Tola rounds behind her... until the futa grabs her by the waist and hauls her back, hilting that huge cock into the Luparo's sodden cunt in a single thrust. "Gyeeeeeee!" Bitch squeals, eyes rolling and jaw clenching briefly, before she lolls her tongue out and starts panting bestially as Tola immediately launches into fucking her rough and hard, the warrior woman's calloused, whipcord hands raining down spanks on the lewdly-proportioned wolfgirl's fat ass and slaps against the side of her fatter tits, sending a truly impressive amount of wobbling through both. \n\n"Yeeeah, gonna stretch out this worthless pussy and make it so you're no good for anyone but me," Tola growls happily, ceasing her spanking with one hand... only to grab a fistful of Bitch's hair and yank, hauling her head back, the fat-titted Luparo squealing in a happy, fuck-drunk way, now shamelessly reveling in the abuse. "That's what you want, huh? You want your holes destroyed so you can only be my toy? Say it, you worthless, useless, cum-brained little piece of fuckmeat! Say it!"\n\n"Yeeeesss destroy me destroy me make me yours I'm your toy I'm your pet I'm your cumrag!" Bitch yowls joyfully, a brainless smile curling her lips, tongue flapping with the impact of Tola's hips on her ass almost as much as her tits are bobbling below her. "I'm Bitch I'm your bitch I'm your dog awoooooooooooo!" she squeals, shaking her hips like a whore in encouragement, or perhaps trying to work that obscenely-proportioned prick around inside of her to further stretch out her cunt for her new owner.\n\nTola's mouth descends on Bitch's, cutting off the torrent of self-degradation and turning it into a long series of lewd moans and overly enthusiastic tongue-thrusting, the futa not stopping or even slowing her thrusting as she starts to cum, the damp slap of her balls against Bitch's furry crotch growing thicker and wetter as gushes of cum are forced out, even more of it pouring into the collared slave's womb and starting to bulge her already slightly squishy belly out further. Tola never stops, even as she raises back up and resumes her rain of spanks down on Bitch's fat ass, the wolfgirl squealing happily with every smack. "Nnnnh, thank fuck for these rings that grant your truest desires!"\n\n'Well, not truest,' you think smugly as you toss another pork fritter in your mouth and crunch it. 'Lewdest, specifically.' Indeed the rings are designed to grant one person the body they most desire, and turn the other into the partner they most desire for that body... but only the perverse, dark, shameful desires the wearer of the smaller ring keeps locked deep in their heart without wanting to admit to. Of course, the whole thing would have been for naught if Tola didn't have such desires... but, she's a mortal, you rolled the dice betting that there was at least some sexual darkness there. In any event, both have given themselves over to the enchantment sufficiently that you find it trivial to snap your fingers and transfer them to a room in the Dark Monolith, one you've shaped into a nice little playroom stocked with all sorts of frames, chains, whips, clips, clamps and even a few tramps. It looks like Tola and Bitch are too fuck-crazed at the moment to even notice their position has changed, but you've little doubt that once they do, Tola's overcharged dominant mindset and hypercharged libido won't ever think of leaving when she realizes the sheer number of possibilities the room provides for visiting adoring abuse on her beloved victim.\n\nThere! Two more Hero Souls for the Dark Monolith... and precisely zero attention needed from your own assistants or creations to keep them occupied for the rest of eternity. You'd call that a pretty good first day of being a shopkeep! \n\nHm, now, what to do? You can continue your little venture here, you suppose (well, in the morning), or you can return to the Dark Monolith yourself and leave the shop in the care of a lackey you create for the purpose. ... Ah, better go ahead and do that while you're thinking about it. You use the 232nd Demon Lord's ability to create lessor demons to craft a Minor Succubus... younger than Maxine, and in much the same style, pretty but not gorgeous, youthful enough to have a job working for someone else but not young enough to be taken for a daughter or orphan, and with common blonde hair in a ponytail and cornflower blue eyes. "Let's see... Tanya, yes, that's good, you're in charge of taking care of the shop."\n\n"Yes, Mistress," Tanya replies smoothly, bowing briefly before turning and exiting. A Minor Succubus is just barely not human... her primary abilities are to hide her demon features, shroud her presence, and gently fog the minds of those who see her so that she seems ordinary and unexceptional. Well, that and she won't need to sleep or eat... just get the occasional load of cum, which you assume she can do on her own with the number of horny male adventurers likely to patron any shop with a moderately cute counter girl. She won't dispense cursed items, obviously, just the normal inventory you've prepared, so it won't hurt to leave the shop in her care every so often to establish periods of utter normalcy.\n\nThe question is to let her do that now, or to continue caring for the shop.\n<<set $customercouple to "false">>\n<hr>\n[[Go back to the Monolith.|MaxThroneRoomRepeat]]\n\n[[Open the shop in the morning.|MaxShopRepeat]]

Something walking digitigrade, maybe... with very sharp claws that were able to actually puncture stone at the tips and then draw little scratches out as they rose. But they're not too deep, so it was moving kind of light, as if it was moving very silently, and-\n\nYour blood goes cold and you shoot to your feet, rifle up and sweeping back and forth, your eyes quickly tracking to the ceiling before sweeping back and forth to the other tunnel openings. 'Oh shit oh shit oh shit,' you think, fighting the urge to full-on panic even as you feel a shudder run through your body. 'Not good, not good, absolutely in line with what they were saying,' you think, quickly doing a step-turn step-back to check behind you, keeping the rifle raised the whole time, as you continue to move towards the elevator.\n\nYou get there without incident and quickly hit the 'Return' button, giving in to the urge to jab it repeatedly to attempt to get the doors to close faster, even as you keep your rifle aimed at the door. On the ride up your eyes flick back and forth between the doors and the access hatch on top, your whole body jangling with nervous energy. 'Original recipe or a variant? Fuck who knows could've started out as one and turned into the other, who the fuck even knows with these things who even knows fuck fuck fuck fuck!'\n\nYou start to relax a little as the elevator dings and the doors start to slide open... then instantly tense and snap the rifle up again as you see that the staging area beyond is lit all in pulses of red and chemical lights, some of which have been slashed apart and are dripping glowing liquid onto the floor. There's obviously been a huge struggle here, and as you make your way further in it's just more of the same... torn-up machinery with long slashes or puncture marks, and absolutely no sign of anyone. In the less than half an hour or so you've been gone, it looks like the admin area of the mine has been completely destroyed.\n\n'Okay. Okay, stay calm. No bodies, no obvious bloodstains, so it's probably a variant... which could be better or worse, depending,' you think with a grimace. "Red?" you call, but not too loudly... just to put in a token effort, honestly, without too much chance of drawing one of the things to you. Okay, this job has gone south, you need to get out of here and come back armed much more heavily and with backup. Or possibly just call the company and tell them how fucked they are, depending on how you feel after a drink. Swallowing, you dip a hand down into your dimensional pocket and summon your beacon into your hand, raising it up and clicking the button on the end.\n\nBut instead of the expected fwip and the slight stumbling transition to coming out of a portal, you instead hear a rather distressing beep and then a neutral-sounding voice announce, "Contagion threat level eight. Beacon disabled."\n\nWell shit.\n\nNo, actually:\n\n"FUCK!" you shout out loud, since there's really not any other proper response to that, even if it is a risk to your safety. Just barely managing to resist the urge to slam the beacon to the ground, you shove it back in your pocket and force yourself to breathe as you get on the move again, heading for where Red indicated the exit to the town above was. Alright, if it's threat level eight, that means this variant is probably smarter than the original, likely borderline or outright sentient. Hm... the destruction of equipment wasn't targeted to specific things, probably borderline, you reason out as you start to get under control. You stop halfway up the stairs and do a check of the ceiling and either end before sagging to sit against the wall. Enclosed stairwells are about as close to safe as you're going to get, only an entrance at both ends. Of course you could get penned in by one coming either way but it's still better than them possibly coming through the vents or whatever.\n\n'Okay, okay, calm down, think. You cannot run on fear and adrenaline that's how these things get you,' you try to assure yourself, letting out a long, shuddery breath. 'Can't get back to the Guildhall, so what are my other options? I try to escape the "contagion" area, which definitely means leaving the safe zone and heading out an unknown distance into an area that may or may not still be under the lingering effects of a multiverse bomb going off. I call for help, assuming I can contact someone who'd actually be willing to enter a fwip quarantine for me. ... Alternatively I try to pay someone to come into the fwip quarantine zone to help me, that'd probably ruin me but it might actually work. I contact the company and try to negotiate with them to come in and get me out... pft, not likely. ... Or...'\n\nYou can barely consider the other option, which is to go down there and kill however many of the mystery Xenotypes are necessary to bring the threat level down enough to let you beacon out. Which, depending on the type, number, and the Guild's assessment, could be up to and including "all of them". However, as borderline suicidal as that possibility is, it's basically the only direct action you can take where there are the least variables. You know, at least in general, what's down there... scary, smart, sharp-clawed nonhuman creatures that use biological creatures for reproduction. Hopefully if you got the threat level down to a six or so you could wind up fwipped into a Guildhall quarantine area instead, so you probably wouldn't have to take them all out. Still, going up against Xenotypes without adequate preparation is one of those 'Oh so you wanted to get Bad Ended?' type things mercs do.\n\nStill. You've gotta do something. You can't sit in this stairwell hoping the problem will go away by itself, as appealing as that is to at least part of your brain.\n\n<hr>\n[[Try to get out of the quarantine zone.|ChiMine1x3]]\n\n[[Call a friend for help.|ChiMine]]\n\n[[Hire help.|ChiMine]]\n\n[[Contact the company.|ChiMine]]\n\n[[Fight.|ChiMine4x1]]

Normally, you'd prefer to take a single known threat over a lot of potential mystery threats, that's just good basic merc math. However in this case the known threat still has its own extensive list of unknown variables, and all of them are potentially bad enough that you'd rather deal with the unknown of a long walk across potentially hostile territory.\n\nTaking a deep breath, you get to your feet and once more raise your weapon to the ready, doing another quick check of everywhere before continuing up the stairs. You peer around the exit itself... looks clear, try not to overthink it... before stepping out. The scent of clean mountain air and pine trees immediately wraps itself around you, trying to assure you that things couldn't possibly be as bad as they seem... a quiet little mountain town isn't where savage alien attacks happen, right? Right? Of course, the lulling feels almost sinister as you start making your way through the streets of the indeed very normal-seeming sleepy little town and you realize just how quiet it is. There are signs that the town is inhabited by a small but decent population normally, but now there's just some distant birdsong. Here and there as you go you see a few more signs of struggle... broken windows, smashed doors, a wrecked car engine.\n\n'Fuck, this could have been going on while I was chatting with Red about my fucking contract and we'd have never fucking known,' you realize with a grimace.\n\nYou make your way towards the edge of town, where you notice that a defensive wall that seems much newer than the rest of the buildings has been installed... clearly when the company came in to take over this place and open the mine, they either had good reason to think the surrounding area wasn't pacified, or they weren't taking any chances... not exactly helpful to your mood. It's cement for what looks like a bit over ten feet, then another twenty feet of wood... again, you're left wondering if that was a reasoned choice based on something they saw or that happened, or if they just decided that was sufficient to make the workers and their families feel safe enough to live here.\n\nThe road out of town leads right to a heavy-duty metal rolling door that still seems to be entirely intact. You pause momentarily, looking at the small array of similarly-intact all-terrain vehicles, both the larger enclosed and smaller open variety, before shaking your head. No... lots of Xenotypes are drawn to active machinery, associating it with potential prey. Besides, that might ultimately limit your mobility... "all terrain" is sort of like "bulletproof", it sounds much more expansive than it actually is. Better to go on foot. Similarly, as you hack the locking pad to open the door, you consider programming it to open just enough for you to duck out before closing again to try and keep the Xenotypes in, but then decide not to bother... a thirty foot wall of concrete and wood isn't going to be a meaningful barrier to any Xenotype you've ever heard of if it actually wants to get out, they'll stay in until their prey is fully exhausted or absorbed or assimilated or whatever and then they'll get out speedily enough, open door or no.\n\nYou step up to the door as it starts to roll up, watching the area cautiously in case the sound draws anything in, but luckily it seems to go unnoticed. As you step past the wall, you freeze and flinch for just a moment... like most born and raised Makarzians, you suffer from some level of agoraphobia when removed from urban environments. You've overcome a fair bit of it by exposure through the course of your jobs, but being suddenly smacked in the face with what looks like hundreds of miles of open wilderness briefly makes you reconsider going back in and fighting instead.\n\nThen a couple of stories you've heard pop back into your head and send you scuttling out the gate. Nope nope nope, you're taking your chances with the trees.\n\nYou decide to keep to the road for the moment, though it's not much of a road... it looks like it was properly paved at one point with a mixture of asphalt and concrete, but was probably heavily damaged in the "disruptions" caused by the dimensional bomb going off and, rather than repair it once they took over, the company elected to just drive a steamroller or something down it, turning it into a mixed gravel road. Not too pleasant to walk on but at least it'll give you warning if something comes up behind you. You keep your eyes on the forests and hills around you, occasionally sweeping around to check behind you just in case. The Xenos will probably be busy with the townsfolk for a day or two (and god don't you just feel heroic leaving them to whatever, but you're genuinely not sure what you could do), and unlikely to be interested in a single straggler who's roamed well away from their nest. Time enough to get some distance and, hopefully, get outside of the fwip quarantine.\n\nFor a long time there's nothing more disconcerting than the scent of pine and the happy twittering of birds to contend with, enough that you really do almost want to be lulled into a sense of normalcy. Of course checking your comm and seeing it still blinking with the red banner of quarantine lockdown is enough to dissipate that. It's hard to remind yourself to keep on alert otherwise, though, when it feels like you're just taking an hours-long walk down a country road.\n\nIt's getting into the late afternoon when you hear the faint sound of waves lapping. Waves? You can't be near the coast, can you? There's no scent of salt in the air, the trees are all wrong for it, the-\n\n"Oh, right," you say aloud in a flat tone as you crest the next hill, looking down towards the lake a few miles away and below. "Those have waves too."\n\nUnfortunately you begin to realize why the waves were audible enough that you heard them from a distance despite it being a lake. It's not that the waves are big, it's that the lake is. As the trees fall away closer to it, you take a look back and forth, seeing that the water stretches as far as you can see. Even once you take out a viewer and look around, you can't spot any opposite shore. The bigger problem is that the road basically deadends at the lake... apparently you picked the direction to go that only comes here, rather than some other town or settlement.\n\n"Fuck," you growl, lowering the viewer, your jaw working as you glance over your shoulder. ... Well you can't go back now. Even if you hadn't already been walking half the day, by the time you got back (in the middle of the night) your risk for being actively hunted and captured by the Xenos would be much higher. No, it's clear your only option is to keep going this direction.\n\nYou can see a couple of boats at the docks the road leads to... you suppose you could try to find one that's seaworthy (is that still the right word?) and [[cross the lake|ChiMine]]. Alternately there's also a handful of mostly intact-looking buildings around the docks... you're far enough away that you could probably try to [[bunk down for the night|ChiWild]] and then make a better decision in the morning.\n\nThough to be honest, that thought does send a little shudder up your spine. Sleeping, less than a day's walk from a Xeno-infested town? You're not sure you could. It might be better to go around the lake, as much of a trek as that seems like it might be. To your [[left|ChiWild]] it looks like the lake eventually leads towards some mountains, probably where whatever river and meltwater that feeds it comes from... not the most hospitable place, especially since you can already feel it getting cooler as night approaches, but then the Xenos are also less likely to trek there and you might find it easier to get out of the quarantine zone by going up. Off to your [[right|ChiWild1x1]] looks like just more open country of rolling hills and lots and lots of trees... easier to traverse (maybe), and more likely to lead towards something vaguely civilized that you could use to help you survive out here (or possibly warn about the danger), but also... guh, mountains are just less creepy than forests somehow, maybe because they remind you of cement apartment spires.

Scratches and grooves left in the stone by something's passage. You kneel down, getting a closer look at the pattern to try and judge what left them by what they look like.\n\n<hr>\n[[Short but wide scuffs with distance between them, deep-ish.|ChiMine5x1]]\n\n[[Short and not very wide with distance between them, shallow.|ChiMine]]\n\n[[Shallow scratches at intervals.|ChiMine]]\n\n[[Intervals of little puncture-like marks with chipped edges on one side.|ChiMine1x2]]\n\n[[Constant grooves with little deeper indentations.|ChiMine]]

Well, may as well let her try it until she gets it right. You select the same sim and set the surroundings to randomize slightly before spawning it in. Neo actually looks visibly pleased that you're apparently giving her another chance to win at the same 'game', and once again takes off quickly, with you waiting a few moments before spawning the same group of four men to chase her.\n\nYou have to admit, she's already doing much better as you watch her pick her paths. Whether it's just a desire not to lose again or whether the experience that it resulted in, she's clearly being much more thoughtful about where she goes, and not trying to hunker down or take out her pursuers. There is a point where she loops around as she hears some of them getting closer, and you hold your breath a bit to see if she's going to try it again. But she actually waits for one of them to get separated from the others following an older part of her trail before stunning him and then immediately taking off at a new path while the others are still trying to catch up.\n\nIn all she manages to hit the 'minimum safe distance' escape parameter, though she was getting close to the 'time elapsed to evade' escape parameter anyway. The sim provides a nice, exultant gonging sound and even a flurry of fireworks before you pull Neo back into the control room, your sister looking highly pleased with herself.\n\n"Good job, much smarter decisions this time," you praise her, giving her a thumbs-up which she returns with a grin.\n\n"Toldja I could do it! Here, let's run it again, but make it harder this time!"\n\nYou raise an eyebrow. "Oh?"\n\n"Yeah, move the distance out and make it so I have to evade longer. And like, buff 'em up! If I can do it on this difficulty, obviously that means time to bump it up!"\n\n"Mmm." You know that since this sim is meant to be fairly realistic and thus with randomized factors, that's not necessarily the case. Neo did succeed well, but that was probably in part luck. You'd want to see her do it at this level at least three more times before you bumped it up, if it were you...\n\n... but she's got that intense look in her eyes that says she'd probably throw a fit if you insisted on that. So you shrug and say, "Okay, I'll make it harder."\n\n"Mm!" Neo acknowledges, giving a firm, eager nod as you head back to the console and send her to the loading area again.\n\nYou get the new parameters input, moving the escape border further out and setting the evasion time for half again what it was. You consider the group of already-loaded NPCs, currently still and frozen where they're waiting for the 'Start' signal. She said you should bump them up too, but how?\n\n<hr>\n[[Add more of them.|LeoSis]]\n\n[[Give them dogs.|LeoSis]]\n\n[[Make them anthros.|LeoSis]]\n\n[[Make them synths.|LeoSis1x6]]

'Well, she did ask for this,' you think rather grimly. 'Pretty much literally and a dash of metaphorically,' you add as you send the directive to the NPCs.\n\n"H-hey!" Neo blurts as her captors begin manhandling her, yanking her out of her coat and kicking away the rifle. Maybe she expected you to end the sim too, despite her big talk, since she seems on the verge of saying something when the men's knives come out. Instead she gives a strangled little squeak as one of them grabs her arms and twists them behind her back, the other two going to work on her suit, yanking it and jabbing, slicing through it until it can tear, peeling it away from her trim little body until it's been turned into nothing but a pair of sleeves and what are effectively thighhighs. She yelps and gives a buck of her hips as one man shoves a hand between her legs, roughly starting to rub and explore her pussy with large, calloused fingers. "S-stop! Lemmego!"\n\nInstead they shove her down to her knees, Neo starting to struggle or scramble, only to freeze again as one of them slips his knife just under her chin, making a clear statement of what will happen if she does. You watch with your best air of detachment as the men fish out their cocks, your sister's eyes widening as they step in, practically rubbing all three against her face.\n\n"Suck," one of them growls, pressing the knife just a bit more firmly against her skin.\n\nNeo shudders, nibbling her lower lip for a moment, before slowly and meekly opening her mouth and turning her head a bit towards his cock. Hesitantly, she slides her lips over the head, starting to suckle softly, then winces as he apparently shifts the knife. Obviously putting more effort into it by the way her cheeks move, she gradually starts bobbing her head, once she's sure he's giving her enough slack with the knife.\n\nThe other two reach down to grab her hands, pushing them to their own cocks. Taking the hint, Neo starts shakily jerking both of them off, her sleek little fingers not quite meeting around the thick, gleaming shafts in her hands, the men's cocks showing sort of deeply humid jungle perspiration that turns almost oily. You wonder if the taste or smell has any part in why Neo is wrinkling up her nose and writhing, or if it's just that she's being forced to suck dick at knifepoint. Her own trim little body is starting to take on the same sweaty, almost oiled gleam now that it's exposed, small pert breasts jutted up and nipples stiff despite the obvious heat of the air.\n\nAt the men's almost growled directions, she starts turning her head, sucking on each of them in turn. They sneer and chuckle derisively at her as she starts gagging on them trying to take them deeper at their urgings, her body shuddering a little each time, sweat now trickling down along her flat stomach. About that time, the fourth one seems to have recovered fully from being stunned, and steps over. Obviously rather angrier than the others, he grabs Neo's head and doesn't wait for her to try and suck, instead ramming his thick, dark cock into her mouth and starting to pound his hips forward. Neo's hands shoot to his hips reflexively, but none of the others interfere, instead chuckling as they watch their wronged companion rape their captive's face. A churned-up mix of spit and precum starts oozing down her chin and swaying with the motions, her gagging turning to deeper, lewder noises as he actually forces his prick further in, making her slender throat bulge up with it.\n\nNeo gasps for breath loudly as he finally yanks her head back, giving her a brief respite before one of the others, apparently inspired, grabs her head and starts fucking her face just as hard and ruthlessly. The quartet of cocks in varying shades, pale, light tan, light brown, deep brown, get shoved past her lips and down her throat, each gradually getting covered with the same gooey mess of spit-churn as Neo grows gradually more and more compliant, her eyes glazing over from a mixture of barely being able to catch a breath and having her throat fucked so hard. Every so often they give her a few moments to breathe, her mouth hanging open and tongue still lolled out, sweat-gleaming tits rising and falling, their dripping dicks rubbing over her face and slapping against her cheeks.\n\nBut eventually they've apparently had enough of just her mouth and throat, and Neo is once more manhandled, all of them grabbing her to pull her up slightly, and then forcing her to straddle one of them. "Ah, w-wait, wait," she pleads in a cock-hoarse voice as she's brought into position above the tan one, his hands squeezing and kneading her pert little ass for a few moments before one comes down to wrap around his cock instead. She squirms and bucks her hips, obviously wanting to at least put up a bit of a struggle again as he rubs it against the sweat-slick lips of her little teen pussy. But then the one holding her wrists gives a shove down on her ass, forcing her right down on him. Neo's eyes roll and her teeth clench as her cunt is stuffed full of the man's prick, forced completely down on it until she's hilted on him. But there's no reprieve as that man settles in behind her, slapping his large black cock against those trim asscheeks a few times before pushing it between them.\n\n"Annnnnnh!" Neo shrieks loudly as her asshole is filled as well, both of her holes forced to stretch around the rapist NPCs' girthy shafts. She shudders, bucking and writhing between the two of them as they sneer and make low, mocking noises at her, before both start thrusting. Neo continues to give yowls and loud cries, right up until her mouth is stuffed with another cock. Even then she continues to give muffled exclamations, groaning and gurgling around the prick once more bulging her throat as her other two holes are violated. It's not long before the men are moaning and thrusting harder, Neo giving a thick, gurgling squeal in protest, humiliation, and you think maybe a small orgasm as thick splurts of white start being forced out around the thrusting members, spattering across her skin and decorating it as well as any porn shoot.\n\nOnce he's done, the man fucking her ass pulls out, showing off your little sister's well-fucked, slightly gaping hole smeared with a thick coating of cum. But it's not empty for long as the man who had been waiting, undeterred by his comrade's load, settles behind her and pushes into her ass himself, Neo bucking and twisting from where she'd just been about to settle breathlessly. His actions seem to reinvigorate the other two, and they've soon resumed fucking her mouth and pussy, Neo once more getting pounded in all three holes.\n\nThe men continue to fuck her, the one beneath her seeming content to stay where he is, playing with her body and teasing her as he fucks up into her pussy, while the other three take turns with fucking her mouth and pussy, Neo squirming even more in protest the first time a cock is taken out of her ass and stuffed down her throat, but since there's nothing she can do she's soon meekly accepting it again. Gradually the fight goes out of her, and she submits to their dicks, just moaning lowly around the dick raping her face as she looks straight forward at his thrusting cock with rather glassy eyes. \n\nPerhaps this is what inspires the men to get a fresh rise out of their captive, as the one currently fucking her ass stops, leaning back a little. The fourth man, who'd been waiting his turn, smirks and moves to straddle her lower body, squatting down and moving himself into permission, the tip of his cock poking and questing. Neo starts to squirm again, eyes flicking back and forth as she tries to figure out what's up. Only when he begins to push does she seem to realize, starting to make protesting, pleading noises around the cock fucking her throat, which turns into another loud, shaft-garbled squeal as he actually succeeds into pushing his cock into her well-fucked, well-stretched, cum-lubed ass alongside the one already inside it.\n\nNeo resumes struggling now that she's got four cocks in three holes, the men seeming quite pleased by this as they laugh and sneer at her demeaningly. Neo's eyes gradually roll up, and you can see her bucking and shuddering turning less deliberate, more instinctive, her hips jerking around and more than a few times right towards that pair of pricks stuffed in her previously tight and virgin little teenage asshole.\n\nBy the time they're done, she seems almost totally insensate, limp and sprawling as they pull out of her and flip her over onto her back, leaving her cum- and sweat-smeared body on display as she lays there breathing hard, her glazed eyes half-lidded, pert tits rising and falling. Apparently as one last gesture of contempt, the quartet aim their now mostly limp cocks at her and let forth streams of piss, the hot yellow torrents striking her tits, pussy, and face and making her squirm and mewl, spluttering and coughing as her mouth gets filled several times, sending bubbles of it spilling back out her lips and running down her chin and cheeks.\n\nYou stare, then give your head a hard shake. You really, really try not to think about how hard you are, and make sure that it's not showing before you hit the 'End program', the screen going blank, Neo's consciousness briefly on 'Hold' before being manifested again. You get up and head over to the console by the ring on the floor, spending a few seconds reverting her avatar to the way it was before you started the sim. When she appears, she blinks a few times, clearly taking a moment to process once more not only being dressed, but being in an unmolested and clean body.\n\n"You okay?" you ask, doing your best to keep your voice even.\n\n"Um... y-yeah," she answers, her face flushing. "I mean, um... yeah, guess so. I did say not to hold back and to keep it real, s-so... yeah, I'm okay," she asserts a bit more firmly, nodding. It is just VR, after all, which her sudden shift from the jungle and her tattered state is no doubt helping reinforce. Her face is still flushed as she says, "And I guess that's... definitely the sort of thing that could happen."\n\n"Yup," you say, nodding solemnly. "To pretty much anyone out there, but... well."\n\n"Right." Neo nods, and takes a deep breath, before squaring her shoulders. "Okay, well, the point of a simulation is training, and you don't stop at just one! Let's go again!"\n\nYou raise your eyebrows. "You sure about that, sis? I mean... I went kinda heavy on you," you note, unable to keep the guilt out of your voice. "It's fine if you want to call it done for the day, or even for the vacation."\n\n"Nuh-uh! This is merc training and I am totally down for it!" Neo insists, her cute face taking on a determined set. "I'm absolutely up for continuing right now!"\n\n"... M'kay," you say after a moment, nodding and sending her back to the loading area, the screen at the end of the room once more turning into a 'window' into a blank grey room with Neo standing there at the ready. You sit back down at the control panel, and consider.\n\n<hr>\n[[Run the same program again.|LeoSis1x5]]\n\n[[Run a different program.|LeoSis]]

Neo's clearly gotten a bit of a big head about being able to do this sim's objective against human type enemies... she probably needs to learn about some of the worse dangers out there.\n\n'Let's see... three drones and an alpha?' you muse as you access the sim settings. Three of the men seem to materialize black helmets trimmed with silver along the lower edges, though the gleaming black quickly light up with pale blue pixels in the shape of eyes as glossy black color spreads down their skin. The simple combat vests are replaced with white armor, which also appears to cover their arms and legs as the pants fade away, leaving them as gleaming, clean-looking plasteel humanoids gripping much more high-tech rifles and pistols. The fourth one changes quite a bit more, his neck lengthening as the digital-face helmet appears over his face, but then tilts upward as his jaw grows out, turning it into more of a muzzle/beaklike setup. His skin too turns glossy and black, though marked with hexlike patterns, armor appearing more as accents atop his body as glowlines trace authoritative-looking symbols on it. He rises up even taller than the other growth had made him as his legs shift to a digigrade stance, boots disappearing as his feet turn into metal-clawed pawlike things.\n\nThe alpha synth glances at the drones, and all three set off into the jungle moving with a singularity of purpose that the humans definitely lacked, before it prowls after them, near-silent, the long glossy hex-rubber tail it's grown flicking back and forth for perfect balance as it moves.\n\nNeo is largely doing the same bangup job she was last time, quickly adapting to the randomized environment and picking out new paths. Like before she eventually loops around, clearly trying to get a look at her pursuers again and probably hoping to get the drop of them. She's obviously rather shocked to see that she's no longer being hunted by humans, but quickly rallies and starts to sneak off again... only to hurriedly duck and start running as a stun blast narrowly misses her.\n\n'Too late, sis, you got in visual range,' you think rather grimly as you watch, sitting back in the chair and again trying to keep some sense of detachment. But by getting close enough to see, they've not only locked onto her visual but all her biosigns, and are now hunting her with the ruthless silent coordination of being networked together under the alpha's guidance.\n\nIt's not long before they've managed to get Neo completely surrounded. She takes a shot at the alpha as he emerges from the trees first, but it barely flinches at the blast, and by the time she starts to take another the other three are on every side of her, their weapons leveled. Neo takes a look around, assessing the situation... then sighs and drops her rifle, raising her hands.\n\n"Surrender accepted," the alpha says in an even, heavily electronic voice. "Strip and subdue the prisoner."\n\n"Oh gawd here we go again," Neo groans as her coat is yanked off, before she lets out a yelp as the humanoid drones don't even bother using knives, instead just physically tearing off her suit with their greater strength. Once naked she's shoved down to her knees again, and for a brief moment looks more confused than anything as she's surrounded by featureless white crotches. Then the invisible panels on the front split apart and retract, allowing long, gleaming black rubberlike cocks to spring free and swaying black rubber balls to drop and hang, her eyes widening a little. \n\n"Prisoner will cooperate with subdual procedure," the three drones announce in unison, despite their motions being rather more humanlike and diverse as they rub their gleaming ink-black cocks against Neo's face and cheeks, making her shudder.\n\nStill, this time she submits to the inevitable pretty quickly, reaching up to start stroking two of the sleek rubber cocks and putting her mouth over another one, though she's glaring up at the trio of identical synths the entire time. They certainly don't portray any sign of being bothered by her glower, or even of enjoying her attentions, other than a slight shift in the glowing eyelights that gives them an air of amusement. "You will now fellate my phallus," one of them commands, Neo making a bit of a face around the one she's currently sucking but pulling her head back and turning to slide her mouth over the other one, giving a low 'mmf' as she does.\n\nSoon another says, in the exact same tone, "You will now fellate my phallus." Neo actually rolls her eyes a little, but nevertheless turns her head to start sucking the other one, giving low 'mmf' noises as he puts a gleaming white plasteel hand on the back of her head and urges her further forward, forcing her to start taking it down her throat. Though the three continue to speak and hold themselves with that same emotionless precision, announcing at exactingly timed intervals "You will now fellate my phallus", their other motions such as rubbing their artificial black cocks against her face and slapping them against her cheeks as they bulge with another one's cock are more organic.\n\nEventually though her head's yanked back and all three begin jerking themselves off with the same quick, precise, machinelike stroke, before starting to spray thick splashes of glowing purple goo all over her face and hair. Neo flinches a bit at the stuff hitting, including closing her eye as some splashes over it, but obediently continues to hold her mouth open and tongue jutted out, making a bit of a face as the stuff drips over her tongue, looking more like toy slime than actual cum.\n\nShe's allowed to wipe her face off some as they step back... then her eyes widen again as the alpha stops in front of her. Its own cock is jutting towards her, a far more elaborate thing of glowing blue panels, black rubber ribs, and even silver metal trim. Before she can do anything it's using it's grabbed her by the hair and wrapped its tail around her middle, holding her in place as it stuffs its elaborate artificial prick into her mouth deep, her throat bulging obscenely and actually faintly glowing blue in the jungle shadows.\n\nThough she'd been fairly obedient before, obviously knowing there was nothing she could do to resist, she now starts bucking and squirming in apparent reflex as the much bigger and more deviantly-shaped prick actively fucks her face. She shoves on him to try and get away even as churned-up spit runs down her lower face, but the grip of his hand and tail are like steel. Eventually her eyes roll a little and she droops, going half-limp and just letting him use her mouth and throat as a fuckhole, whimpering lowly as he works his hips easily with light motions of his inhuman legs.\n\nEventually he pulls back, his cock firing long ropes of glowing blue slime-cum all over her face and her pert little tits, practically coating her upper body with it. Neo barely has time to catch a few breaths before the fully humanoid drones are grabbing her and pulling her around, her body settling almost instinctively this time into the same gangbang-receptive position as before, her pink teenage pussy spreading around a thick black rubber cock this time as an identical one pushes into her ass, and another identical one pushes into her face and down her mouth. The drones are in full coordination now as they start fucking her, their hands in precise grips on her ass, wrists, and head, your sister giving out 'mmfs!' and groans and a few obvious moans as she's fucked with literally machine-like precision in all three holes.\n\nSeeing her rapidly starting to give in to the pleasure this time, you sigh and similarly give in, finally sitting back and undoing your pants, starting to stroke your stiff prick as you watch your little sister get raped by androids. 'Well it's her fault for enjoying it,' you think as you watch the synth cock pumping her pussy gleam with wetness, a few droplets of it spattering across his simulated sack. \n\nThe trio of humanoid drones fuck her for over an hour, obviously making her cum at least four times, their strokes never altering or slowing or stopping even as they cum in her repeatedly as well, that thick, sticky purple slime forced out around their pumping pricks and making every thrust squelch louder and more lewdly. When they finally pull out of her, leaving her slumped daze with her ass in the air, purple-smeared and lightly-gaping pussy and asshole shown off, you're not too surprised to see the alpha step forward. Still, you feel a shudder run through you and almost cum again yourself as he grabs her wrists, pulls her arms straight back, stuffs that big, elaborate cyberprick into her butt, making her shriek... and you do cum again as he stuffs his tail into her gushing, spasming pussy, starting to fuck both her holes himself, stuffing the tapering appendage deeper and deeper in and making her flat tummy bulge out further and deeper every time.\n\nBy the time the alpha synth is done, it looks like Neo's barely conscious... she's definitely got no resistance left, her head lolling and tongue hanging out. The alpha synth gives a low, electronic trilling not entirely dissimilar to an ancient dialup modem working before it shoves its cock into her ass fully. You see Neo's belly starting to bulge and round out further, the outline of the synth's tail gradually disappearing to be replaced by a wobbly blue near-sphere. Neo's head jerks up, her eyes going wide and jaw clenching, a brief moment of clarity all over her face, before her eyes roll and her mouth opens, gushing thick spills of glowing blue slime out onto the ground and dribbling down her chin.\n\nA few moments later she's laying on her back, sprawled and insensate, eyes glazed as her stomach slowly shrinks, a pool of glowing blue pseudojizz growing below her. The synths stand regarding her, making a vague electronic hum as they wait for their next orders.\n\n<hr>\n[[That's enough for now.|LeoSis]]\n\n[[Have them continue.|LeoSis]]\n\n[[Have them chip her.|LeoSis]]\n\n[[Have them assimilate her.|LeoSis]]

"You've been begging and pleading to go on one of those long VR vacations forever, I guess I may as well finally actually take you on one since we've got the money and opportunity," you muse aloud.\n\n"Oh cool!" Neo blurts. "Man Mom and Dad would never go on one with me, Dad always said he refused to partake of anything that wasn't a 'real' vacation and Mom always just muttered about 'you get yourself into trouble that way'."\n\nSnorting, you give her hair a ruffle, then mm. "Well, go pack a bag with a few changes of clothes just in case, then we'll head up to the hall and find a good place."\n\nWhile Neo's off throwing things in a backpack, you do a bit of searching among the Guildhall's review boards. Ah, here's one with good reviews, and not even the low ones mention anything like 'malfunction' or 'lobotomy', which you feel is important. Looks like the advance could easily afford you the 'extended stay' virtual vacation... basically it lasts the same two weeks that it will on the outside, but it builds up runtime as you go so that you can keep extending your time inside up to a year (while still emerging at the end of two weeks on the outside). You're really not sure you can take an entire year of hanging out with your little sister, but eh, there's lots of options for individual fun and it's not like you have to stay that long. You go ahead and book a pair of pods, finishing up about the time Neo comes running back wearing a backpack.\n\nYou snag her around the shoulders and tug her in against your side as you pull out your beacon, giving her a noogie with that hand for good measure as you press the button. Both of you come striding out of the arrival portal with the even motion of people that have grown up doing it, with you already guiding her towards the business.\n\n"Now I'm not gonna wake up all dehydrated with muscle cramps and like I haven't moved in two weeks, right?" you ask a bit later as you're settling into the padded couch of the VR pod.\n\n"No sir, we use a combination stasis and support field, and also the couch will gently move you around on occasion," the attendant assures you, giving Neo a smile since she's on her best 'I am definitely not a demon in human skin' behavior at the moment. "Now, you'll both load into the 'starter house' which is just a basic two bedroom home in a simulated suburban area, but you can change it or add on to it as you like. There are 'instanced' sims you can use at your leisure, as well as public areas or invitationals. If you have any questions you can always bring up a helper NPC. Ready?"\n\n"Yeah."\n\n"Yup!" Neo chirps, before the lids of the pods lower down over you. You settle a bit more in the darkness, becoming steadily more drowsy and easily slipping into sleep...\n\n... then blinking as you find yourself standing in an entirely unremarkable suburban home's living room. It doesn't look all that different from your grandma's house, in point of fact, though this one just looks like a one story. Neo's standing beside you, similarly looking a bit startled, but both of you seem quite solid and are wearing the same thing you were on the outside. Though as you're still mentally adjusting, a control panel pops up in front fo you, displaying a number of menus and options, even a character menu.\n\n"Oh cool, you can even dress yourself like a game character," Neo chirps, tapping at her own (invisible) console panel... then giving a mild squeak of surprise as her clothes disappear, leaving her trim little teenage body instantly completely bare.\n\n"Whoa!" you blurt, whipping your head away and covering your eyes with one hand. "Wha'd you do, find a 'Reset' button or something?! Put it back or spawn something new!"\n\nApparently your embarrassment has overcome her own, because Neo sounds rather smug as she says, "Oh, c'mon, it's not like you've never seen me naked before."\n\n"Yeah, when we were little! C'mon!"\n\n"Whatsamatter, afraid my sexiness will overwhelm you?" she teases in a tone that virtually assures you she still hasn't put anything on. Then she gives a soft 'hmmm' and says, "Actually... we should totally do lewd stuff."\n\n"WHAT?!" you yelp, whipping your head back to look at her reflexively in shock, then going red to see that yes, she is still very much naked. "How could you even-?!"\n\n"Oh c'mon, it doesn't count if it's VR!" she declares in a super-reasonable, super-dismissive tone that almost wants to make you agree with her on pure reflex. "We wouldn't really be having sex, it would just be a simulation inside a computer, and if we're not really having sex then it can't be incest, right?"\n\n<hr>\n[[Well...|LeoSis3x1]]\n\n[[... No.|LeoSis1x2]]

"Hm. Well, since you'll be about ready to apply to the Guild by the time you finish your sword training, I guess we should probably take this opportunity to put you through some scenarios," you note, starting to tap at your window. "There should be... yeah, here we go, there's a whole sim dedicated to running all sorts of different training scenarios for somebody."\n\n"Oh neat," Neo chirps, actually perking up at that. "So basically like a holodeck sort of thing?"\n\n"Yeah but since we're in VR it'll be even more realistic, don't have to worry about safeties or anything like that," you note, already starting to load up the simulation, which results in a pair of plain grey sliding doors appearing on a nearby wall, one labeled 'Operator' and the other labeled 'Participant'. \n\n"Hey, hey, if that's so, then I don't want you to go easy on me at all," Neo speaks up. At your glance, she stares at you intently, only a faint grin on her lips. "If it's gonna be training for real actual scenarios, you shouldn't hold back and I should get the full difficulty and consequences, okay?"\n\n"... Mm," you grunt, not willing to commit to that. But you make it vaguely affirmative-sounding enough that it apparently placates her, and the two of you turn and head for the appropriate doors.\n\nYou step into what looks like some sort of mission control room... not a huge one, but it does have a long row of consoles along the front and several chairs, as well as a few other pieces of equipment around the room. There are little popups in your vision to identify what everything is, such as the circle on the floor where you can bring the participant in to talk to them (or make limited alterations to their sim self, looks like), as well as areas for creating original simulation characters or tweaking the existing ones. The entire wall above the front consoles is a video screen that currently winds up looking like a window into the next room, which is a grey, featureless, empty thing about the size of the operating area.\n\nNeo glances around the empty area, then shrugs and starts tapping at her own window again, apparently deciding to 'suit up' before she gets locked out of it as a sim participant. After a few moments the denim shorts and tanktop are replaced by a black skinarmor bodysuit with glowlines and a long white coat with a hood, roughly approximating her usual mode of dress but a bit more properly merc-like.\n\nSettling into one of the chairs and tapping the broadcast button, you say, "Okay, let's start you off with something simple, dealing with a search team." You're typing as you say it, and after a moment the blank grey room is replaced by a rather jungle-like area fading in. Neo blinks a few times, and gives a soft 'oooo' as a sleek white rifle appears in her hands, eyes glittering. "You win when you either evade them for six hours, get a certain distance away from the starting point, or take out the entire team. Aaaand go."\n\nNeo immediately zips off through the trees, ducking and weaving... you always do have to give her credit for her agility, it's definitely one of the areas where she's always outclassed you even when she was little. You give her a moment before spawning in a fairly standard group of 'private military' sorts... four large, muscular Human guys in a variety of skin tones, wearing combat vests, camo pants, boots, and carrying an assortment of armaments. You set Neo as their target and direct them to search her out for capture primarily, then sit back to watch as they set off after her through the jungle.\n\n'Good. Good,' you think as Neo keeps going, pausing occasionally to look around at her surroundings... then you frown as she starts climbing a tree. 'No, what are you doing? You don't want to hide this early or this close to... nnnnope, bad move, sis,' you think as she settles into a mostly hidden spot and brings her rifle up to aim it at the ground below.\n\nAs you'd pretty much suspected, a number of factors work against her. One, she got into ready position too early, and you can see that by the time some of her pursuers actually start coming into view, her arms aren't quite as steady on the rifle. Two, she didn't think about the difference of her current cool little operator coat and her usual shortened hoodie-jacket, and part of the long coat is dangling down out of her hiding space, rendering her not nearly hidden enough. Third, she didn't spy on them to learn how many there were, so when she sees three come into view she clearly thinks that's it. Fourth, she's clearly overconfident about being able to take out an entire group before they can shoot back.\n\nSo to you, what happens is entirely predictable. She fires the rifle which catches one of the men in the chest and stuns him, knocking him to the ground. But her second shot goes far wide as the other two scatter, and she doesn't get a third one as the fourth pursuer, having clocked her position from the previous two shots, fires his own stun blast and catches her in the side. Neo yelps and topples over, just still in control to catch herself and keep the fall from being too bad, thudding to the ground a bit insensate rather than unconscious.\n\nThe three conscious pursuers immediately hurry forward and grab her, hauling her up to her feet. Welp, that went... probably about how you figured, you think with a sigh as you reach for the 'End program' control. Then you pause... Neo did say you shouldn't hold back. And, well, let's be honest, out there in the multiverse if a bunch of guys managed to snag a girl prisoner out in the middle of the jungle, 50/50 chance at least that she might get worse than just captured. Ending the scenario here wouldn't exactly be realistic, but you're not sure how far you're willing to take it.\n\nStill... it is just VR, and she will be facing these threats soon anyway, like any merc...\n\n<hr>\n[[End the scenario.|LeoSis]]\n\n[[Have them take her back to their leader.|LeoSis]]\n\n[[Have them rape her.|LeoSis1x4]]\n\n[[Have them execute her.|LeoSis]]

"I'm just going to pretend I never heard that. Put some clothes on," you say flatly.\n\n"Oh... fine," she huffs, tapping again, a pair of little denim shorts and a probably entirely too small tanktop appearing on her. But at least she's covered up now. "So! What're we gonna do first? Since we've already ruled out one possibility," she adds in a mutter.\n\nYou roll your eyes a bit, then ponder. Yeah, what to do first...?\n\n<hr>\n[[Just hang around here for a while.|LeoSis]]\n\n[[Go out and meet people.|LeoSis]]\n\n[[Try some sims.|LeoSis]]\n\n[[Do some training.|LeoSis1x3]]

A little less shame seems like it wouldn't be the end of the world? After all the changes so far haven't been extreme, they've been kind of gradual... you doubt that it will instantly turn you into a nudist or something. Having made your decision, you reach out and press the second button.\n\nThere's no feeling of shifting or changing, or any real change in the physical sensations, but you almost feel a little more... relaxed. You search your feelings trying to figure out the extent of the change... hm. You are still embarrassed to be naked and so thoroughly turned on, and that you've been manipulated by your enemy, it's just not weighing on you as heavily as it did before. You straighten up some and rest your hands on your hips, feeling more confident. Hey, yeah, that wasn't bad at all! In fact now, without the feelings of humiliation and worry driving your physical reactions, it's a lot easier to deal with and focus through the intense arousal in your body. 'Finally made a good choice,' you think a little smugly as you turn and head into the next room.\n\nYou're relieved to see that all of these have 'Exit' as their last line. Looks like you've reached a final chamber in Deathtrap's weird little maze... but that she's not letting you out without accepting one final change. That pretty much figures for what her apparent real goal was, humiliating you and disrupting things by having a 'new you' introduced back into the super community. Well, you've avoided anything too disruptive, you think, eyeing the available pillars. Some of them aren't exactly inspiring, but as per the trap of all the others, each one offers its own temptation of thinking you could deal with it.\n\n<hr>\n[[-Shame|CalMaze]]\n\n[[+Submissive|CalMaze5x2]]\n\n[[++Tits|CalMaze]]\n\n[[+Sexualized|CalMaze]]

A further reduction in shame seems like it would just be asking for trouble, considering how hard the double boost to your libido hit. Similarly that double plus sign beside 'Tits' is intimidating, and you don't really want to find out what 'Sexualized' might mean. Submissive... well, not exactly a great trait for a hero to have, but probably one you could deal with if the increase of it wasn't any worse than the decrease in your shame. You feel fairly confident you could deal with it. You reach out and hit the second button.\n\nThe change is... a bit more subtle this time. It's not like the weight of the shame and humiliation of before returns, more like... that easy confidence you felt before doesn't feel quite so easy. You swallow a bit, but square your shoulders, trying to ignore how it makes your new tits shake. You're fine. You're gonna be fine. You can handle these changes, they're not particularly extreme. Plus, you can see that the room that's opened up has no pillars. You've done it!\n\nTrying not to be overcome by both the elation and the sense of just what you've given up to make it through this labyrinth, you make your way into the room that looks much like the first one you entered, with a bin like the one your costume was in rising up and the power suppression collar popping open and falling to the floor. You control your urge to hop in surprise as the wall screen appears again, Doctor Deathtrap smirking at you. "Well that wasn't so bad, was it? Other than turning into a typical oversexed sexbomb of a superheroine, hmmmm?"\n\n"Yeah, yeah, you've had your fun," you reply, though the words come out a bit more petulant than the dismissive tone you'd meant them for. "Are you going to keep to your part of the bargain!"\n\n"Of course! You'll find the disk with the sole copy of all the data I collected with your costume, all of it there, and I won't breathe a word," Deathtrap says as the slot in the top of the bin opens, revealing your costume and a purple case. "Your secrets are safe with me!"\n\nYou decide not to respond as you get out your costume and pull it on, feeling it stretch over your altered form. It hugs your breasts and crotch in ways that are a little show-y, but you're not overly bothered by it... probably that reduction in shame. 'I'll have to recut it if I'm stuck like this,' you think with a sigh, slipping the disk into your belt and turning towards the door.\n\n"Of course, the question is, will you be safe out there?" Deathtrap says as you've almost stepped out of the door.\n\nNormally you might write it off as nothing more than a parting shot and ignore it, but now you find yourself hesitating, jerking back a bit from the doorway and turning to look at her. "What... do you mean?" you ask, the words coming out a bit more fearful than you'd intended.\n\n"Oh, just that with all these changes to your body and mind, you don't know what would happen out there!" the blue-haired supervillain chirps cheerfully. "Why, think of all the villains out there who are far worse, far meaner, far rougher than I am," she adds, her voice growing more serious and authoritative, despite its youthful pitch. Her eyes are focused on you now, as if all her attention was bearing down on you. "That pretty, luscious body, reduced shame, increased submissiveness, all sorts of things could wind up happening to you."\n\nYou find yourself unable to help starting to picture various scenarios of just what might happen, especially involving some of the villains more explicitly known for being "heroine hunters". A shudder runs through your body, a mingling of fear and hints of something else that start making you more acutely aware again of how easy it is for you to be stimulated now.\n\n"But tell you what... if you stay here with me, I'll protect you," Deathtrap says in a soothing tone. "I'll keep you locked away nice and safe. We'll call it a deal, in return for making extra sure I'll be keeping all those secrets... you'll stay with me and never, ever leave again, and I'll keep you safe. All you have to do is pick that collar up and put it back on like a good girl."\n\nSomething about the way she emphasizes those last two words hits extra hard, and you fight to suppress a whimper as you press your thighs together. Oh shit... despite her appearance, Deathtrap's obviously still got a fully adult understanding of psychology and phrasing. She's... she's trying to prey on your new submissiveness by making her dominating you seem like a safe, kind option.\n\n... The worst part is, it's working. Intellectually you realize that normally your sense of shame at giving in to a supervillain would prevent you from even considering her offer... but she got you to lessen that too! Your eyes drift down towards the collar, your fingers twitching just a little.\n\n<hr>\n[["O-... okay..."|CalMaze]]\n\n[["... Never!"|CalMaze5x3]]

"You're not going to take me down just by messing with my body and head a bit, Deathtrap!" you snap back. "I'm stronger than you think!"\n\n"Mm, guess we'll see~," she chirps before turning off the monitor.\n\nScowling, you turn and step out of the door, not terribly surprised when the building sinks into the ground behind you and disappears. Taking off, you decide to make a beeline for your parents' home... there's a lot to talk about, and they're the ones with the experience and knowledge to handle this.\n\n"I have to say, I've never seen a change like this before," your father admits some time later, frowning as he peers into the lenses of a microscope. "I'm not even sure where I'd begin to start undoing it, because as far as I can tell from all the readings there's nothing to undo. It's like you've always been like this."\n\n"To think Adelaide found the technology to meddle with such abstract concepts as 'Shame' and-" Your mother trails off a bit, glancing at you briefly, and clearly not exactly shameless enough herself to bring up the other two in connection to her son-turned-daughter. She frowns a bit. "And you're certain she said that it couldn't be used without the target's consent?"\n\n"Yeah, though apparently my consent to enter her labyrinth counted, even coerced as it was," you point out, squirming just a little in place. The longer you spend dealing with your heightened libido, ironically the easier and harder it becomes, simultaneously. You're sort of getting used to the constant background buzz of arousal, but at the same time you're constantly having to devote at least a little bit of all your focus to pushing it aside so you can seem, well, normal. "But I guess since I could have just said 'no' and left...?"\n\n"Without knowing more about the technology and being able to test it, we obviously can't say exactly what the conditions are. I think we can definitely surmise that it won't be the last time Deathtrap tries to use it against us, though," your father allows, sitting back in his chair and taking on a somewhat brooding posture. "Let alone any possible fallout from the data breach."\n\n"Adelaide is fairly reliable about sticking to the letter of her deals, it's part of her whole mental drive with trying to conquer heroes via her labyrinths. I think our main worry will be how she'll up the ante to push more heroes into submitting to versions of this 'Labyrinth of Change'. But more personally, let's address what to do about Morgan's issues, dear," your mother adds dryly.\n\n"Of course. ... Mm. If the changes to your body shape weren't quite so great, a holographic generator could handle it until we found some way of reverting you," your father says, looking you over while trying not to be too obvious about looking at the most obvious pair of changes to your shape.\n\n"Yeah, we'll have to figure something out there," you say with a sigh, glancing downward at your chest. "Luckily, all my powers and my mental faculties came through pretty much unscathed, so I should be able to get back to heroing immediately, although the world's going to be doing a bit of a double-take at Caliburn's new look."\n\nYour parents exchange a quick glance, before your mother clears her throat. "Dear, are you so sure that's a good idea? While it's true that your powers are still intact, and you avoided any major changes to things such as your intelligence or morality, but she did make some rather noticeable changes overall."\n\n"Yeah well... I can deal with those," you assure her, rolling your shoulders a bit. "I mean I obviously am now, right?"\n\n"In a controlled setting, with your parents." Your mother frowns a bit more. "If you really believe you can handle it, Morgan, I'm not going to say you can't, but I do think maybe taking some time off and doing something else for awhile might be in your best interests."\n\n<hr>\n[[You're tough, you can keep heroing.|CalMaze]]\n\n[[... Yeah okay.|CalMaze]]

Meh. Yeah, just... let's avoid the letdown, you think as you decide to actually close your games out and go to bed early for once, mostly because with the mood you're in you don't want to be conscious anymore. Crawling under the covers and turning out the lights, you huddle in and sulk yourself to sleep, all the while chastising yourself for being such a lame NEET. Maybe you really should just go full hikkikomiri and never leave the apartment unless absolutely necessary.\n\nYou're awoken some hours later by the lights suddenly flicking on, despite being voice controlled and you definitely not having said anything. You grunt and shift at the light on your eyelids, before you process that little bit of information. You blink your eyes open, quickly realizing that someone's standing over you. Scrambling backwards on the futon a little, you look up and realize you're being ambushed by a succubus! Wait, a succubus?! You haven't seen a succubus since you came to Earth! But there one is, downward-curling red horns decorated with gold jewelry emerging from the sides of a head of long snowy white hair, a lot of luscious caramel skin on display due to her black and white outfit, sheer black mostly hugging her teardrop-shaped breasts, white cupped against the fronts and down to where it turns into a loincloth, with a cutout to show her bellybutton. Elaborate gloves, and stockings, and bone-capped purple wings, all decorated elaborately to draw the eye and make you focus on sex appeal, enough that you force your gaze to her face to keep from getting distracted, seeing annoyed-looking pink eyes and pretty lips poked out in a pout.\n\n<img src="images/Makoto3.jpg">\n\n"Mou, Sipha-neechan, you ditched on our date, that's just rude," the succubus scolds in an almost-familiar voice.\n\n"W-wait, that... Makoto?!" you blurt, your own eyes going wide.\n\n"Hmph, so you remember I exist after all! I was starting to wonder, since you know, you ditched our date!" the succubus Makoto declares, folding her arms over her chest. "I've been looking forward to it all year, even more since my powers developed and I got this super sexy and beautiful body! And then you just go and no-show on me! Did you think I'd just put up with it?"\n\n"I... thought you wouldn't be there," you admit, numbed enough by shock that you answer honestly. "You were doing so well and were so popular the last time I saw you that I figured you'd just said you wanted a date to be nice, but you'd have forgotten by now."\n\n"Oh now really, Sipha-neechan," Makoto huffs, closing her eyes and leaning her head forward a bit, moving one hand to rest on her almost bare hip and letting the other flop at her side. "You must be the first elf in history with an inferiority complex. ... Hm?" She blinks, opening her eyes and looking up, bringing a fingertip to her lower lip. "Or maybe that's a common thing? You know, overcompensating would explain a lot of things elves do in stories."\n\n"Uh, excuse me?" you mutter, expression going flat. "Rude."\n\n"Oh really? You know what else is rude? Standing someone up!" Makoto snaps back, her wings lifting and spreading a bit in obvious annoyance.\n\n"Erk." You grimace, then try to rally and point accusingly at her. "Yeah well you know what's even ruder?! Going and turning into a creature of evil because someone tried to help you grow up healthy! That's pretty friggin' rude, Makoto!"\n\n"Mou, Sipha-neechan, that's just mean, that hurts my feelings," Makoto murmurs, wings drooping and lips poking out in a pout again. "I am not evil. I mean, naughty sure, maybe even wicked, but I'm not evil, I'm the same Makoto I've always been."\n\n"You're literally a soul-sucking sex demon capable of draining someone's entire life force out by fucking them," you reply flatly.\n\n"Yeah but I probably won't," she answers breezily, flicking a hand in the air. "I mean like one time but that guy really would not take 'no' for an answer so if you ask me he had it coming."\n\n... Okay you're not gonna argue on that one. You stare up at her uncertainly... it really does seem like the Makoto you know, just with horns and wings and, y'know, tits. And you have to admit that he always was a bit on the naughty side ever since he developed confidence and good looks, so it's not exactly the most shocking thing in the world that his inner self is quite literally a sexual creature. Could she be a succubus and not be evil...?\n\n<hr>\n[[You guess it's possible...|SiphaKids]]\n\n[[It's a contradiction in terms!|SiphaKids]]

"Let's at least wait for Janus," you suggest. "If there's anyone who's unlikely to speak up and say something stupid to offend the demon-"\n\n"It's Janus, right," Aleantra agrees with a snicker.\n\nIt's not too much longer before the door opens again, the third member of the club scurrying in, face flushed a bit with obviously having hurried across campus. Cute, slight, and with pronouns of 'whatever you want', he's got slightly long black hair, relatively subdued makeup, a black hoodie, black pleated skirt, and bright pink thigh-highs under rather more fashionable boots than Aleantra's. He stops nearby, obviously trying to catch his breath and not be obvious about it, tugging at the strap of his messenger bag with its numerous little keychains and charms attached to the strap ring. "H-hi, sorry I'm late," he murmurs, biting his pink lower lip a bit.\n\n"You're not late, Janus, sit down," you say gently, since he tends to jump if you use too firm a voice. Which is kind of adorable and funny sometimes, but not quite what you want at the moment. He shifts the messenger bag onto his lap as he sits down, resting his hands on top of it and showing off freshly-painted nails in a variety of metallic colors. "I called the meeting because tonight we have an opportunity to do a summoning. A demon summoning."\n\nJanus's eyes, one blue-green and one green, widen. "R-really? A demon? For real, an actual for serious demon? A-" He ducks his head as both you and Aleantra smirk at him. "Yeah, okay, so, a demon. But you really want me to come with you?"\n\n"The more witches, the more powerful it will be," you explain. "I need to pick up a few things on the way there," which Janus can help with, the cute little snot is absolutely loaded. "But at midnight tonight, the more witches we have gathered at the old ritual hill, the better a demon we'll get."\n\n"Oh." He bobs his head, probably trying not to look disappointed that you want him along mostly as the equivalent of a magical antenna, but is probably mollified just by the fact that he's being included. Then he perks up a little. "Does that mean Kathryn is coming?!"\n\nBefore you can say anything, Aleantra rolls her eyes. "Oh, come on, we don't need Kathryn." At your glance and Janus's pout, she makes a face. "Look, she creeps me out, okay? That's all. Three witches is plenty for this thing, let's just go before she shows up." \n\n<hr>\n[[Wait for Kathryn.|ValTome1x4]]\n\n[[Leave.|ValTome]]

You want your first summoning to be momentous and something you can brag about to your cousin later... you'd feel pretty embarrassed if all that showed up to your personal summoning was a Dark Pixie or something. Pulling out your phone, you send a text to the club's group chat that you're meeting up, then pack up your things and head to the club room in the student union.\n\nIt's a simple space, with a few workbenches that were discarded by the college equivalents of shop class up against the walls, some bookcases, and a central seating area for holding meetings. You walk over and take a seat, doubting you'll have to wait very long before the first person shows up. And you're right, as barely five minutes later the door opens and Aleantra enters, backpack on her shoulder. Her hair is done in a number of braids that are bound together at the back and fall down her back, and rather than the typical black gothic makeup, she's done her Egyptian-style eyelinings and lips in white, to make them stand out all the more starkly against her dark chocolate skin. She's got on her usual long leather jacket and a black shirt with gold heiroglyphics, and artfully torn and ripped black jeans with combat boots. Dropping her backpack on the floor, she settles into the chair next to yours. "So what's up, Val?"\n\n"The alignments are right to do a summoning tonight," you explain, grinning. At her raised eyebrows, you nod. "Yeah, the real thing. A demon from the lower planes."\n\n"Is that safe?"\n\n"Should be, as long as we're careful. But according to my book, the ritual will go off better with more witches, which is why I called the meeting."\n\n"Shit, I wouldn't trust one or two of the other fuckers with a good ritual knife much less demonic power," Aleantra says with a snort. "But I'm down. Hell, you wanna go hop in the car and we can leave right now, just tell the rest of them something came up. Or I mean, I guess we can wait for at least Janus to show up, that'd be okay too," she adds with a shrug.\n\n<hr>\n[[Leave now.|ValTome]]\n\n[[Wait for Janus.|ValTome1x3]]

"I actually really appreciate the offer," you tell her, trying to be as sincere as possible, before you shrug. "... To be honest I kind of just... ended things with someone, and it's still... processing," you murmur.\n\n"Oh. Oh, um, sorry t'hear that," she murmurs, rubbing her upper arm and glancing away, before turning her green gaze back to you with an awkward expression. "Ah, d'ye wanna... talk about it?"\n\nYou can't help but snort at that. "It's fine. You don't really care, right?"\n\n"... Ah, s'posin' I deserved that," she says with a sigh after a moment, before strolling over uninvited and flopping down to sit on the bed beside you. "If'n we were bein' simple'n'honest I'd probably just say 'nu not really' and walk out."\n\n"And yet," you say with amusement, looking at her sitting beside you.\n\n"Annnn' yet more'n'more I look at m'self doin' that and I can't help but see my Da in it, y'know?" Maggie lets out a soft huff. "Most'a th' others, ain't gonna make any difference with them, they ain't soft'n'talky sorts as 'tis, but I guess I needa make a change somewhere an' here y'are. Soooo... if y'wanna talk I'll listen, can't say as I'll know the right thing t'say when it's done, but I'll do that?"\n\n"... Well what the hell," you mutter after a moment, scratching your forehead briefly. "Okay, so. There's this girl I've known since we were like... ten or so, I guess, damn. And I could never tell her about the whole..." You tap the logo on your chest. "Thing because of all the numerous reasons every older person I knew outlined to me. But we were still pretty close. Aaaand then..."\n\nIt takes you a few minutes, working your jaw around some, your eyes fixed on the floor. "Her dad was researching this book, stumbled over a crime organization, they put out a hit on his family to make an example of him. He's rushing home to do something, happens to get caught up in an attack by aliens, and who should be the one who winds up holding an entire bridge off of this one surviving guy but me?" You smile, mirthlessly and bitterly, at the floor plating. "So. Few weeks ago, someone finally publicizes the recording they happened to make that day. To everyone else it looked like me leaving him to die to save myself... actually I just finally gave in to his pleas to leave him to die and go save his family." You take a deep breath, let it out in a rush. "Aaaand I couldn't tell her because then she'd know her father let himself die for her sake, soooo every time I went to see her as normal everyday me, she would tell me about how she hated the other me's guts. Oh, and, the whole world hates me and resents me for supposedly saving my own life, there's that," you add with a soft scoff and a tilt of the head.\n\n"... Damn." Maggie blinks a few times. "I mean... damn."\n\n"Honestly that's probably about the right thing to say, so good job," you murmur with a little chuckle.\n\n"Nah, that's... definitely some right shite there. I can' even imagine what it'd be like. I mean... every wicked thing I was ever accused of I did, so..." She gestures to the air in front of you. "Bein' brought up like tha, where it's not what it seems, and ta hold somethin' like tha 'gainst ya. Even that's just... oof."\n\n"'Oof' pretty much sums it up," you agree in a mutter, flopping onto your back on the bed, largely ignoring it as you clonk your skull against the hull and put a barely noticeable dent in it. (The hull, that is.) \n\n"Y'know." Maggie leans over you, grinning a little seductively again, green eyes sparkling. "Might be that bein' here's just what y'need." She pauses, and clears her throat... and some of the sparkle out of her eyes. "Sorry, tha came out horny, didn'ih? What I mean t'say is..." She pats your stomach lightly with one hand. "Th'Wanderers ain't got much good reputation t'tarnish. S'true we help out where we can, but we're rogues sure 'nuff. So..." She raises the hand from your stomach and flips it through the air. "Just be roguish!"\n\n"Define 'roguish' as it applies here?" you nudge wryly.\n\n"Don' worry 'bout your image, nor bein' no ideal, nor role model. Yer not gonna be any of those hangin' with us, so why try? Be rough, be crude, fight dirty!" Maggie declares assertively, shaking a fist lightly in the air. Then she blinks. "Bloody hell tha's brilliant, I'mma have that painted on th' fokkin' hull."\n\nYou chuckle at her enthusiasm at discovering a motto, but turn the thought over in your head a bit. So she's saying... get a little dirty, basically?\n\n<hr>\n[[Hm. Sounds... fun?|Cal]]\n\n[[... Nah.|Cal]]

"Different does sound pretty good right now," you allow after a bit of thought. "Honestly, I know all the 'regular' heroes are trying to give me the benefit of the doubt, but they still seem sort of... judge-y."\n\n"That is unfortunately a thing in this line of work," your mother agrees with a sigh. "Well, if you'd really like to join the Wanderers for awhile, I suppose I can go give Maggie a call and arrange a meeting."\n\n"Just go ahead and give Caliburn a rest," your father suggests. "Starting as of now. We'll give it a few weeks and then say that Morgan Mekborne has decided to take a sabbatical to work on an engineering project."\n\nSo you basically just rest and lay low for the next few weeks. Already the thought that you've resolved to do something about your situation makes the whole thing easier to tolerate, at least, especially with not having to go up to the station and deal with the subtly condemning looks. Too, when you inform Lara that you won't be around for awhile because you'll be at one of the Mekborne labs in Dubai, you can't help but notice she seems just a little relieved too. You're guessing the tension between you two didn't go unnoticed even though you were trying as hard as you could to suppress it. Which breaks your heart a bit more but in an oddly resigned way... maybe you just understood this particular heartbreak was coming for awhile now.\n\nEventually, already having said your goodbyes, you ride in an elevator down to the hidden spacedock maintained by the Guardian Sentinels for visiting interstellar comrades or members. Since even your identsec-obsessed father admitted there wasn't much point to maintaining cover identities out in the far reaches of space, you've sort of settled into a sort of mix of civilian and hero looks... specifically you're wearing a particularly durable leather brown leather jacket gifted to you by Blackbird, a T-shirt with your emblem on it, and simple black military-style pants along with some of your father's spare costume boots. A backpack on your back and a duffel at your side contain a fair amount of spare clothes and some of your gadgetry gear, just in case.\n\nWhen the doors slide open at the ship dock, you spot the fairly sleek thing sitting there and... wow, rose gold chrome, seriously? At least it's not all over, some bits are... pearlescent white. Hooboy, that is a gaudy-ass ship, you must admit, looks like a giant piece of costume jewelry. Still, that seems less than polite to think, so you focus on the group standing at the end of the boarding ramp. You're fairly certain you can immediately pick out Maggie as the only human there, not to mention the bright orangey-red hair done up in a braid. She's wearing a tight (honestly very tight) black bodysuit with red oversleeves that have an attached hood at the shouldercaps, as well as attached red drapes over her hips and built-in red heels on the soles, but otherwise her trim, taut body is pretty heavily shown off. Standing roughly next to her is a tall, very beautiful if rather severe-looking man with flat white skin and deep blue hair wearing what looks like started out as high-end formal military wear but was gradually repaired and replaced into looking a bit like a motley mercenary getup, while still (somewhat desperately) trying to give the impression of high style. Other than his skin and hair and his solid black eyes, he could probably pass for human.\n\nThe other three are much more obviously alien. On Maggie's other side is a tall, broad, heavily-muscled woman with leonine features, including the fact that her thick, wavy wheat-colored hair closes in around her face somewhat like a mane, matching the sleek fur that covers the rest of her body. She's wearing what looks like a sports bra, hugging up a relatively small chest (hey, you're used to the taller the woman, the bigger the boobs, okay?) and... oh darn, what a faux pas, you're wearing practically the same pants and boots. And then the other two are, well, a study in contrasts certainly, with the one who sticks out the most being even taller than the lion woman. To be honest it looks like it's got... well, it's got a Jack-o-Lantern for a head, an oblong orange ribbed gourd with a smiling face seemingly carved in the front, glowing from within with a yellowish light. The rest of her body also seems to be made of the same material as the pumpkin, a tall and rather lean form except for the enormous... ahem... melons on the chest and some curvature of the hips. All the seven-foot-plus being seems to be wearing is a bunch of curling vines with some sprouted leaves that barely preserve typical humanoid modesty. On the other hand, the last member is almost short enough to go unnoticed, being under four feet high and looking like nothing so much as an upright rabbit in a long-sleeved wetsuit top and bikini bottoms. Well, no, that's not quite right, as you get closer you can see that her proportions are actually entirely humanoid, even her feet apparently rest flat and are tucked in a pair of what look like high performance sneakers, it's just that she's definitely on the hippy side which definitely gives you more of that 'rabbit' sense. Other than, y'know, the brown-grey fur and floppy ears drooped to dangle behind her head.\n\nAs you draw up, the redhead's gaze grows brighter and sparklier, and as you come to a stop in front of the group she starts toying with one of the hip-drapes of her outfit with one hand and her braid with the other, rather blatantly licking her lips as her aquamarine eyes sparkle. "Wellll, aren't you bonnie?" she coos in what you're thinking is a slightly put-on brogue.\n\n<img src="images/SpacePrincess1.jpg">\n\nBefore you can think of a response to that, the small rabbit woman pipes up. "Hey, could you wait until at least we've gotten in the ship to hop on his dick? I don't like the atmosphere here, it's too... clean."\n\nAt that the redhead snorts. "Aye and you'd know a fair bit about hoppin' on dicks wouldn'cha?"\n\nThe fur at the top of the short alien's head bristles and she whirls around towards the other human. "Was that a rabbit joke?! Was that a rabbit joke?! You racist bitch! Oh you think that's funny?!" she snaps as she wheels on you, even though the only look on your face was 'what', you're pretty sure. "Well I hope you're happy 'cause now you're gonna hafta fuck me to prove you're not a lapiphobe!"\n\nWhile you're opening and closing your mouth in shock, there's a gusty sigh from the lone male of the crew. "Why am I the only one that can keep it in their pants?" he says in a voice of eternal suffering, gazing towards the heavens as if seeking mercy from torment, before turning and striding back into the ship without another word.\n\n"Awwww Kazar c'mon now dinna fash over ah I don't actually care," the redhead murmurs, flipping a hand dismissively after the departed individual before stepping up to you and patting your chest. "Now dinna you fash either, my ohhhh my God in Heaven you are just quite the man of steel aren't'cha'now?" she coos, then quickly shakes her head and gets back on track. "That's just Kazar, former evil prince and current biiiiitch," she exhale-pronounces over her shoulder, before looking back at you and smiling sunnily. "And as y'might've guessed since ye don't seem stone dumb, I'm Maggie, otherwise known as the Irrepressible Space Princess! I'll answer to Maggie, Mags, Princess, or for you darlin', lover," she adds, batting her eyelashes dramatically.\n\n"Ehm." You actually do blush a little, as silly as her little come-on is. You can see why it works for her, as goofy as it comes off, she's seriously cute.\n\nBefore you can actually think of a response, the leonine woman who'd been staring off into space for the last few minutes as if pondering seriously on something, suddenly announces in an even, serious tone more to the air above her than anything, "I find that offensive. I am completely capable of keeping it in my pants. Everything in my pants belongs solely to my mate, and it is always kept in there. Save when I am showering." She tilts her head slightly, then adds in a thoughtful tone, "Or pooping."\n\nMaggie makes a face, putting her fingertips to her forehead and turning to look at the other woman, drawing her hand down and grimacing in such a way that it somehow expertly conveys 'Seriously you're going to talk about pooping when I'm trying to flirt?'. Making a little strangled noise, she looks back at you and gives a now slightly forced smile. "Tha there is Onil. Y'might've noticed she's a bit slow," she adds in a whisper. "Good lass, always bit behind on th' take though. Absolutely nanners in a fight, none better at watchin' yer back or trackin' down some scofflaw done scarpered off an' hid no matter how dim she might seem otherwise. Ah, now this here lovely bit of mobile flora be one-a my favorite people in th' wide stars, Jaqalant'rn, though we just be callin' her Jackie!" she adds enthusiastically, gesturing to the towering orange and green figure.\n\n"Pumpkin pu mpki npu," the pantlike alien says in a voice that's somehow both deep and squeaky at once.\n\n"Jackie be a right mystery on many fronts, but sure'n she's a right hand in battle an' most helluva cook, though best be bringin' yer own beef 'cause she's fully vegetarian, preferin' the gourd types." Maggie leans in and whispers conspiratorially to you, "Cannibal, donchaknow." You blink and glance at Jackie, whose carved-seeming smile just widens. Maggie grins and pats your chest again, before her face goes flat and she points downward. "Tha thing's Skip."\n\n"Thing?! THING?!" Skip howls immediately in dramatic rage, whipping an oversized (or at least it looks that way held by her) blaster rifle out of seemingly nowhere and pointing it up at Maggie threateningly. "I've had it with your dehumanoidizing rhetoric, you frikkin' height-based oppressor, today's the fuckin' day!"\n\n"Oh is it now?! Is it?!" Maggie snarls back, suddenly holding a pair of red and black blaster pistols trained on Skip with just as little hesitation, eyes flashing. "Come on then if yer hard enough and pull the trigger ye wee bad luck charm!"\n\n"Uh, whoa whoa," you say, still reeling a little as everything goes from quipping to charged weapons being out incredibly fast. "Hey, guys, let's-"\n\n"Pump ki npu mpk inp ump," Jackie announces in a rather gentle, kindly tone. \n\nBoth of the others look at her, lips pursed, then back at each other, before giving a simultaneous "Tch" and raising their weapons before putting them away. "I guess Skip's pre' decent at maintainin' the ship and our gear'n'all," Maggie says grudgingly after a moment. "An' she's cheaper than hirin' a proper-like mechanic would be. 'Ceptin' to my nerves."\n\n"Yeah well you'd know about cheap," the lapine alien snorts.\n\nMaggie's cheek twitches and she mouths 'I will kill you' at Skip, receiving a stuck-out tongue in return, before turning back to you again and smiling brightly. "Gosh, where're my manners. DON'T," she snaps, stabbing a finger at Skip without even looking at her. "'Course I be knowin' who you are, least'n as yer Ma told me," she continues in a pleasant tone again. "But might as well introduce yourself t'us proper. Savin' Kazar who decided to be a biiiiitch," she notes, once again breathing the word out over her shoulder. \n\n"... Right. Um, well, I go by Caliburn, 'Cal' will do," you say, having decided to just stick with that for the duration, rather than go full reveal by adding your civilian name. "Things've been a little rough for me here lately, so I was looking to get away for a bit. My parents mentioned you might have room on your crew and that you guys were, ah, different than the people I know who are kind of being... judge-y."\n\n"Wellll, judgey lot though some of 'em might be," Maggie says, shooting Skip a look and again getting a displayed tongue for it. "In the end they're a fine crew indeed, you'll not want for warm companionship."\n\n"Besides, we definitely know what it's like to need to lay low until the heat's off. Eh? Eh?" Skip says, grinning and nudging Jackie on one trunklike lower leg with her elbow.\n\n"P umpk inp umpki npumpkin pu mpkinp umpkinp," Jackie assures you evenly, with as usual you having no idea what she's saying. Weird that your translator doesn't work for... whatever she's speaking.\n\nYou look at the smug lapine humanoid for a moment, and the serenely smiling vegetable alien, before looking back at Maggie, whose smile has turned a little strained. "Riiiight. Ah, just to check, I heard that you guys are basically heroes, right?"\n\n"Oh aye, aye, fine and braw heroes we be, saved th' universe many a time!" Maggie blurts just a little too enthusiastically, though obviously with some genuine pride (and a lot of genuine ego). "Known far and wide are the Wanderers for bein' the fine sorta heroes always come to save th' day!"\n\n"Especially if we can save something valuable for ourselves along the way," Skip adds in a satisfied tone.\n\n"Boarding time!" Maggie shouts, snagging Skip by the back of the shirt and wheeling to bodily throw her into the ship, the alien making an outraged sound before there's a loud thump and a call of 'Bitch!' She turns back to you, smiling with her eyes closed, the corner of one of them twitching a bit. "Time t'be goin' now, don' wanna fight 'gainst th' solar tides, all aboard sar!"\n\n'I've made a huge mistake,' you think with an internal sigh as you follow the rest up the ramp, Onil still looking like she's pondering the mysteries of the universe, or has perhaps simply eaten an entire pan of magic brownies. Still, once you're inside, she suddenly announces she'll be the one to show 'the new male' to a room, and leads you down a short ladder to the crew deck. The room is smallish but on the fancy side, albeit painfully overengineered and overdesigned, but you feel like you could get used to it. "Here is where you shall reside. Feel free to make it your own," Onil declares solemnly. "This... shall be your lair. Your home. Your sanctuary. Among us, this is sacred. A place where you may reign as if you are a king, though we be in many ways society's castoffs."\n\nYou blink a few times, then smile. "Well, thanks Onil, I appreciate it. Especially you guys taking me in on such short notice."\n\n"It is no trouble. You are obviously a strong warrior and a good man," Onil continues, patting your shoulder with one big hand and giving it a parental squeeze, before adding in the same warm, even tone, "You no doubt have a mighty penis which will greatly please Maggie if you so choose to fornicate with her. Her mating techniques seem highly refined through a great deal of practice."\n\n"... Thanks," you murmur, staring at her until she claps you on the shoulder again and leaves.\n\n'Well, you wanted different,' you think wryly as you turn to start putting your things away, before taking off your jacket and boots and flopping on the overly stylish oval-shaped bed. ... Hm, comfy though. Could be a little bigger, especially if you... er, no, set thoughts of that aside. You notice that there's now a low all-over hum permeating the ship with faint, soft thrumming going through it, the speed of which picks up as a slight sense of motion takes hold... you might not notice either if you didn't have heightened senses. Indeed, hitting a button slides open a small, rectangular window on the wall and shows you that stars are already flitting by at great speed, meaning you left Earth behind without ever seeing it go. Fine by you, you think with a relieved sigh, closing your eyes and settling into something not quite a nap but not really awake.\n\nYou're jarred out of it by a chime that rings through the room, sitting up. "Yeah, come in?"\n\nThe door slides open, perhaps unsurprisingly revealing Maggie standing there. "'Lo! Just dropped by ta see how yer settlin' in!"\n\n"Doing fine so far. Nice room, thanks again for letting me hang with you guys," you note as she steps inside and lets the door close behind her. You scoot around to sit on the side of the bed. "So where are we headed to?"\n\n"Fer now, just back ta th' general vicinity of th' interstellar shippin' lanes," she replies breezily. "Y'know, lotsa good works to be done thereabouts, pirates t'fight, ships in distress, that sorta thing."\n\n'Do we help the ships in distress or distress them further?' you think rather wryly, before scolding yourself. That's exactly the sort of judgey bullshit you ditched Earth to escape, after all. So instead you give her a grin. "Sounds interesting."\n\n"Aye, aye, 'tis! Well, can be, sometimes it's a mite borin', but somethin' always turns up as we wander this way or that, thus th' name," Maggie continues with a pleasant giggle. "Ah, well." Her smile turns a bit more sultry, and she ones again toys with her braid as she says, "So, was thinkin', maybe I could give you a... right proper welcome to th' crew, aye?"\n\n<hr>\n[[... Thanks, but...|Cal5x5]]\n\n[[... Ah what the hell.|Wanderers]]

"Honestly I'm kind of done with the whole damn planet at this point," you say with a sigh, pushing your plate away. "Every day I just feel all this bile behind everyone's gaze and I can't take it. I've got to get some distance or... something."\n\nYour parents exchange a glance again, then your father gives a small shrug and tilt of his head. "If that's the way you feel, son, it's probably not the worst idea in the world. Or galaxy, put that way. You do have a unique opportunity to take a break from global situations that most people aren't afforded. Ideally we should stagger Caliburn and Morgan Mekborne both disappearing from the public eye, but even without that it's not a huge deal." He wags his fork a little. "You could go visit Blackbird, you haven't seen her in awhile."\n\nDespite your mood you do smile a little at the thought of your childhood friend. "Yeah, that might be nice. ... Though so might something completely new," you muse, trying to put yourself more in the thought of treating this like a vacation.\n\n"Hm, well, you could just take a spin around space wherever the whim takes you," your mother muses aloud. "Or you could try being a member of the Nebula Legion for awhile, if you still wanted to keep up with actively being heroic. Oh!" Her face lights up as she puts her hands together. "Or you could finally visit Avellon! I'm sure you'd love getting in touch with your roots!"\n\n"Uh." That makes you blink. "I thought Avellon was hit with an Entropy Burst and destroyed when you were like... thirteen, Mom."\n\n"... Yeeees and no," your mother murmurs after exchanging a glance with your father, smiling at you sheepishly with her beautiful face. "It's a long story that I'd rather only get into if you're going, really. But you should, I just know you'd enjoy yourself!"\n\n"Mm. Hey, didn't, ah, didn't I hear," your father starts, with one of those impish grins that's so rarely not for the sake of his public face. "That the Princess is in the general area?"\n\nAt that your mother makes a face like she'd just tasted something mildly unpleasant. "Oh Miles no, not Maggie."\n\n"Uh." See, now you're curious, so naturally, "Who's this 'Princess Maggie'?"\n\n"That's not..." Your mother cuts herself off with a sigh. "Magaidh McDonnel is an Earth expatriot who goes by 'Space Princess' and leads a small group called the Wanderers. They're... not bad people," she says as if it were a little difficult to actually get the words out. "They're just... ... very unique."\n\n"They're heroes of a sort, just not like any you've likely been around before. Which, you know, might be just what you need right now," your father adds in, still grinning. "Your mother and I met them on a deep space mission and they helped out, in fact they owe us one. I doubt they'd mind taking you on with them for awhile, especially since you'd be the heaviest hitter on their little crew if you did."\n\nInteresting idea. Admittedly you've been do-gooding ever since you were a kid, it's a little weird to think of giving it up entirely just because you need a break from... well, the planet. You roll your choices over in your head, thinking of which might give you the best chance to heal a little...\n\n<hr>\n[[Visit your childhood friend on Cybaluna.|Cal7x1]]\n\n[[Just roam around space for awhile.|Cal]]\n\n[[Try an internship with the Nebula Legion.|Cal]]\n\n[[Visit Avellon. Apparently not blown up.|Cal6x1]]\n\n[[Hang out with the Wanderers.|Cal5x4]]

Your parents exchange a quick glance at that, your father straightening in his chair, bearded face curved in a thoughtful frown. "Somehow guessing you don't mean with dinner. What do you mean you're 'done', son?"\n\n<hr>\n[["With Caliburn."|Cal8x1]]\n\n[["With Morgan Mekborne."|Cal]]\n\n[["With Earth."|Cal5x3]]

All sorts of things well up in your mind... some attempt by Morgan Mekborne to assure her that there must have been a reason for Caliburn's actions... telling her who you really are and hoping she understands that herself... telling her everything, even though you know it's not what her father wanted.\n\nIn the end you just rest a hand on her shoulder, then draw her close and hug her as she cries, staring at the wall as you know it's because of you.\n\nOver the next few weeks, the Guardian Sentinels' public relations specialist handles the situation to the point that most of the furor dies down. But there's a heaviness that's settled in over your life... places you go as Morgan Mekborne, you notice a lack of posters, T-shirts, action figures. Well, no, they're still there... but you see as many of them in the trash as you do on the shelves. It's not that you ever got a swelled head over it, necessarily, but it did feel good to know you were making other people inspired, and it's far worse seeing little miniature yous mouldering in the garbage than it was good seeing them lining shelves. Too the people you save seem... cooler, or more nervous, and there's the occasional one that's just outright rude. Hell, even the government officials you deal with seem like they're far more stiffly professional than they ever were before.\n\nOf course none of that quite compares to the pain whenever the subject of Caliburn is brought up around Lara. While Lily simply looks morose and sad, Lara... the way her jaw clenches and her eyes narrow, the sheer hate in her gaze, rips your heart out every time, even if that's as far as it goes.\n\n"... Morgan," your mother says quietly as you pick listlessly at dinner one night, since you've started spending a lot more time with the only two people that know everything. "You need to eat, darling, you know your metabolism requires a lot of calories. Honestly you're looking a little thin."\n\nYou make a low sound, bracing for your father's note that if Morgan and Caliburn both lose weight at the same time it could compromise your identity. But he's quiet, even giving you a light, encouraging grin as you glance up. ... Yeah, looks like you're coming off that bad. You look down at your plate, realizing that you do in fact feel 'that bad'... you kept hoping things would get better, or at least you'd get used to things as they are, but if anything even though the PR nightmare has died down, you just feel worse thinking about how even if things go back to normal, it's all just one misunderstanding from being like this again.\n\n<hr>\n[["..."|Cal]]\n\n[["... I'm done."|Cal5x2]]

"Oh, come on, Kathryn will get a kick out of summoning a demon," you scold good-naturedly, grinning at Aleanta's repeated eyeroll and Janus's beaming smile. "And she'll be here any time."\n\n"My ears are burning~!" comes a chirpy sound from the half-open door as it's pushed the rest of the way open, a vision of domestic bliss walking in. Kathryn's tall, with long, wavy blonde hair and a pretty, pleasant face, accented by a virtually constant smile and the fact that she walks around with her eyes closed virtually all the time. She's wearing a comfy-looking, thick pink turtleneck sweater that very nicely accentuates her large breasts, and a long cream-colored skirt with low-heeled pink pumps. If it weren't for the multiple piercings occasionally visible in her ears (some with thin chains going between them), and the thin gold chain around her neck with several obviously occult symbols on it, there wouldn't be a single thing about her that overtly said 'witch'. "Hello, everyone~!"\n\n"Hi, Kathryn!" Janus chirps, mismatched eyes sparkling. He ducks his head and squirms happily, cheeks pink as Kathryn steps over and ruffles his hair.\n\n"Hello~, Janus! Aleanta," she adds pleasantly, clasping her hands together.\n\n"Kathryn," Aleanta murmurs in acknowledgement before glancing away.\n\n"And of course, Madame Valerie," Kathryn continues, turning towards you and giving a slight bow. "To what do we owe the pleasure of this summons?"\n\n"Funny you should mention 'summons'," you reply, before once more explaining your intentions for the night.\n\n"Oh this sounds absolutely thrilling!" the blonde exclaims, putting a hand to her chin and smiling brightly... her eyes are still closed, but you somehow get the impression of them sparkling all the same. "An actual demon summoning, I thought it would be years before I'd get to do one! Thank you, Valerie, I'm so happy!"\n\n"Well, in that case, we probably oughtta go, yeah?" Aleanta declares, standing up and grabbing her backpack.\n\nJanus blinks... then his blush fades quickly as he scrambles to his feet. "Um, yeah, I think you're right! Valerie, um, didn't you say you needed to do some shopping before we go, we better do that!"\n\nKathryn opens her mouth, hesitates, then nods. "Yes, perhaps it's best we go now. I really am very excited to begin, after all!"\n\nYeaaaah sure. You're pretty sure you know exactly why they're all suddenly in such a hurry to go now, and it probably has less to do with champing at the bit to do the summoning and more with not wanting to include the last member of the club. Which... if you're honest, you'd prefer not to, either. However, with them, the summoning would be about as powerful as you could get it without scrounging up a seventh, although considering seven's relevance, anything you summoned with that might be more than you could handle (unless the seventh was your cousin). If you want the absolute most powerful demon summoning possible, you should wait for the last member... but then, with the five of you, you should still be able to pull something grand off, and the night will be much more pleasant in general.\n\n<hr>\n[[Wait.|ValTome]]\n\n[[Go.|ValTome]]

The Agency. A highly secretive organization with no other name or identity. While it occasionally works with or even for the intelligence agencies of governments, it has no government affiliation itself, leaving it separate and alone, above and beyond the petty politics that govern other agencies and alternately either shackle them or urge them to evil. The Agency's mandate is simple: protect the people, protect society, and if necessary protect the Earth, from whatever threats may come to its attention.\n\nYour name is Jane Doe. Obviously not your real name, but you actually enjoy the sort of relaxing neutrality that comes with "resting" as a thoroughly anonymous identity between missions. One of the talents that caused the Agency to recruit you in the first place is your acting ability, to thoroughly craft a persona and live in their skin and then discard it as easily as a jacket when necessary, and while you do enjoy that as well, it's also nice to take a break and just be... nobody in particular.\n\nAs such, you're currently wearing a look designed to blend easily into a crowd and be quickly forgotten, without being so generic that you stand out that way either. Your hair is a fairly natural shade of brown and comes down to the bottom of your shoulderblades, therefore neither remarkably long or short for a woman your age. Similarly your build is maintained at a nice midway point between slim and curvy, the simple bra you're wearing under your shirt keeping your chest size at an easy medium, neither emphasized or hidden by the hooded jacket you're wearing over it, and the same for your jeans... just snug enough that they do show off your figure, not tight enough to attract lingering attention.\n\nYou walk along the sidewalk, messenger bag on your shoulder, just one of many young urban professionals making their way through the city. You stop at the door of a workshare building, swiping your card for entry and then strolling further inside, just another blogger or programmer or social media manager making use of a generous expense account to rent a semi-private office with an espresso bar. You swipe your card again at the elevator and step inside, mentally apologizing to the person fast-walking towards the doors since you don't hit the 'Open' button.\n\nFor good reason, obviously. Instead of going up to one of the two floors of the office share above, the elevator slides downward, which it doesn't actually have a button for. After going far enough for roughly two floors, it stops, and a beam of light sweeps up and down over you several times. Only then do the doors open, admitting you into a rather more minimalist but rather more tasteful and considerably less hipster-ish office. "Good morning, Adrien," you say with professional pleasantness.\n\n"Good morning, Jane!" your handler replies with rather more enthusiasm, smiling brightly. The youthful platinum blonde man really does look more like a boy, especially with the oversized black hoodie and baggy jeans, and a small stuffed Pokemon on his desk... it's something different every time, today it's one of the purple ones with a big, crazed smile. (You're guessing it's probably actually some sort of grenade, since the Agency discourages keeping anything not particularly functional on company grounds. You guess dressing up his suppression device is how he keeps his workspace personalized.) All of the handlers you've met in your time at the Agency are on the young side, though, or at least seem like it. You wonder if that's policy or just sort of how it works out? \n\nAdrien picks up a laptop before he stands, the two of you move to stand on green circles painted on the ground in front of the back wall, waiting. After a moment the whole back wall slides down, revealing a small conference room. Adrien sits down at the table and opens the laptop, smiling again. "Anything to report before I get Central on the line, Jane?"\n\n<hr>\n[[No, nothing.|Jane1x1]]\n\n[[You want to report a cutie on the premises.|Jane]]

Honestly it seems kind of braindead to not take something with massive stopping power, considering the unknown but highly threatening factor of what you could be facing. You look through your smaller pieces until you settle on a Stomper-X5. "Perfect," you murmur, eyeing the blunt-nosed little blaster. It has a slightly overlarge handle due to the extra large battery pack it's equipped with, since the Stomper line made itself famous with a very simple promise: More power = more blasty. Instead of any other setting it has a small dial for how much of the battery pack's charge potential to use, and if you set it to 100% it absolutely probably would put a hole not just in but through a tank. Of course it would also completely fuck that battery pack and probably the X5 itself, but it's nice to have the option, as well as the wide range of options beneath it. You tuck it into one of your coat's inner dimensional pockets, where it should be pretty much undetectable to anyone, and head to the departure annex.\n\nYou step out of the portal into a largely empty room, save for a handful of chairs and a large scanner-like device in front of the single doorway. There's already someone waiting for you, a woman about your own age and build, with dark blue hair with a 'crown' braided around the top of her head, and 'Aw man, that's not fair, contractees have to wear slacks but she gets to wear a skirt?' you think, unable to help frowning just a bit at the sight of her dark blue short skirt and dark black tights. Other than that the two of you are dressed fairly similarly, with her long coat being black with blue trim, a sort of crest of arms embroidered on the breast pocket reading 'ECA'. Ahhh, so it's that sort of lawenoff branch, is it?\n\n"Michika Hajimaru? I'm Katsumi Okana," she says by way of greeting, speaking something that's close enough to Nipponzi that your translator nanos editing anything goes largely unnoticed. "Welcome to Midnight City, and thank you for coming."\n\n"Glad to be here," you reply in a tone of mildly cheerful professionalism, briefly taking her gloved hand and shaking it. "Looking forward to working with you."\n\n"I'll be giving you a brief orientation before we get to work, but first if you'd step into the scanner?" she notes, gesturing to the arch. "We just need to check your health and anything you've brought with you quickly."\n\nYou suppress any innate nervousness and nod, stepping forward. You made sure to put your backup piece nice and deep in your inside dimensional pocket, you think as Katsumi moves around to the side of the scanner and starts working the controls. This seems like a pretty technological-focused society, both by the verbiage they used and the general look of the place, no way they know how to scan that deeply into something magic. Besides, it's just a little wait did the scanner just make a very aggressive-sounding beep?\n\nYou barely have time to process that before there's a loud crackle, electric bolts shooting out of the sides of the scanner arch and striking you. You only have time to yowl and arch your body, writhing where you stand for a moment, before you collapse and everything goes dark.\n\nWhen you come to, you're strapped to some sort of upright X-frame, cuffs sheathing your entire hands and forearms as well as feet and calves, the metal of the frame cold against your back and the heavy AC of the room brushing across your skin, perking your bare nipples to further stiffness as you awaken. The lights are set fairly dim so that you have some difficulty seeing too far into the room, mostly only able to spot a long desk with multiple computer stations and a pair of fairly typical IT types sitting typing at them, and the woman standing almost directly in front of you. Her hair is black and pulled back into a ducktail, eyes dark behind her slim spectacles. She's wearing a similar uniform to Katsumi albeit in all white, her coat buttoned in front, its front pocket embroidered with a single elaborate black 'X'.\n\n"Good, you're awake," she says smoothly. "That means we'll be able to proceed immediately once the program is finalized."\n\n"Wha?" You shake your head, trying to get rid of the last of the confusion and muddy-headedness that being shocked unconscious left you with. "Hey! You can't do this!" you growl once more of the situation has processed. "You can't just do whatever you like with a mercenary you hire! It's against the Guild regulations you agreed to when you hired me! You do something fucked-up to me and Guild security will be here within twenty-four hours to kick your shit in!"\n\n"Yes, that might ordinarily be the case... had you not brought this along," the woman in white says placidly as she holds up the Stomper-X5, making your face go pale and a considerable amount of the wind go out of your sails. "However since you did, you are in breach of contract and ours to do with as we like. Technically we could have simply killed you outright, but the ECA is, after all, quite understaffed, and to keep it running we are given broad leeway to use any number of otherwise illegal methods."\n\n"Mind rewrite program complete," one of the desk jockeys announces as if on cue, sending a cold rush of fear through your veins.\n\n<hr>\n[["No, you can't!"|ChiECA]]\n\n[["W-wait, let's talk about this!"|ChiECA]]

The lure of all the good stuff that could come out of rescuing another merc is just too hard to ignore. You tap the job to learn of more details.\n\nYou're vaguely familiar with the name of the client, Tina Lieze... she's another talented Guildcert about your own age, enough that she has her own ship. Well, sort of... she works exclusively with her twin sister Tanya, which you've got to figure is a major boost to both their operating level and turnover time. But it sounds like in this case, Tanya Lieze set out on her own for a job, and is now well past due and has caused Tina enough worry that she's put up this job as an SOS to make absolutely sure she gets rescued... while not an "open" job necessarily, it will get re-listed every time someone takes it and then fails to deliver Tanya within a certain period. In other words, in case whoever takes the job disappears too.\n\n'Pretty smart, Tina,' you muse. The more mercs that go missing trying to get Tanya back, the fewer low-level ones will want to risk it, and the more it will appeal to high-level ones looking to prove they can succeed where others failed. Looked at that way, it's a bit on the ruthless side... but then, it is her sister, you can't exactly blame her. 'But exactly what sort of trouble did your sister get into that you'd feel like you had to go to that sort of lengths? ... Ah, yeah, that'd do it.'\n\nTanya Lieze apparently took a retrieval job of her own within some ruins left behind by the race labeled in the Guild databanks as 'Precursor Species 808'... known more informally among the workaday mercs such as yourself as the Pervcursors. Not that they're the only precursor race in the multiverse with a slightly lewd spin on things, but they do seem to be one of the only ones who put a sexual tint on pretty much everything they did. (There's also vague rumors, if you believe them, that they might have created the Raptarrans, so thanks for that guys.) Generally anything they leave behind is heavily trapped and full of insidious, devious devices, so there's every chance that Tanya's been turned into a rubber ball with three holes in it or sealed in some sort of slave training unit being told how much she loves sucking testicles for the next ten centuries. Buuuut that means she is still in there somewhere, probably, and retrievable, once you find her it will be up to Tina to get her un-Bad Ended.\n\nSpeaking of Tina, looks like there's the option to team up with her before she heads into the Pervcursor ruins herself in search of her sister. There's a countdown clock that's turned light orange, meaning the period to accept it as an Assistance Job is running out... time is one of those things that gets a little wonky for jobs like this, since technically as long as Tina was waiting off the Guildhall there's nothing to stop her from assembling a small army that could just go right to her temporal coordinates, but between the cost of that and the causality issues, the Guild only allows for a certain window in which people can show up to help out.\n\nYou've already pretty much made up your mind to have a go at rescuing Tanya, the question is whether you should team up with her sister to do so, or go it on your own?\n\n<hr>\n[[Team up with Tina.|ChiPerv]]\n\n[[Go it alone.|ChiPerv1x1]]

Let's see what's on the Retrieval list today...\n\n[[Guildcert MIA|ChiGH3x2]] - Huh, a rescue mission for a missing merc, registered by another merc. Don't see that sort of thing every day. On the one hand, this is exactly the sort of job that helps you make a name for yourself... not only does it come with pay, it effectively comes with favors, connections, and prestige baked in! ... On the other hand, this is explicitly a situation that was too much for a Guildcert, so it's already proven too much for someone theoretically operating on your same level.\n\n[[Stolen Artifact Case|ChiGH8x1]] - Apparently a wealthy collector had purchased a crate of "old Earth" artifacts (his being a dimension that calls it "old Earth" obviously) but it was stolen in a mass cargo hijack. One particular artifact in its case was apparently particularly rare and desirable, and the collector wants it back at all costs. (Or at least the cost he's listed the job as, which is definitely pretty fucking considerable, admittedly.) \n\n[[The Last Pure Human|ChiApocStart]] - ... Yeah it's always weird reading job listings like this. But the multiverse is a wide place. According to this, through a series of wild coincidences, a post-apocalyptic Earth has one (1) normal human left, because she was off-planet during the world going to hell. Apparently on her return she crash-landed somewhere and now she's gone missing... the client is fairly sure she's still alive, though, and wants her rescued from whatever her current situation might be. (What for? You could take any number of guesses, but you guess technically that's none of your business.)\n\n[[Downed Guildcert|ChiGH10x1]] - Oof, another one? Ah but in this case it looks like more of an issue of logistics rather than not knowing where he is. One of your fellow mercenaries has crashlanded on what's often referred to as a "Savage World" and has apparently lost access to most of his gear and basically just needs a pickup. His friends are hot on the tail of a bounty, and apparently rather than pull them off to come get him, he just told them to list a retrieval job.

You were never overly concerned with the physical aspects of your body other than its shape before. After all, between the mana flow reinforcing your stregth and speed and your ability to cast buff spells, you figured you had all the physical might you needed. Of course considering that a fair portion of the Hero and his Companions defeating you before was just them straight-up beating the shit out of you, maybe that was a mistaken assumption. It might be interesting to try being a bodily powerhouse this time, you think as you select the Physicality branch.\n\nBetween your baggy clothes and relatively low level, your outward appearance doesn't change that much. Although you can definitely feel your muscles getting denser, more powerful, more toned... and you're fairly certain you can feel extra pressure against your underwear as well, in a nice little bonus. Stacia does seem to have some idea that something's changed, her look of suspicion and worry growing as she continues to squirm against the paralysis spell.\n\nAh right, Stacia. You were selecting something to 'deal' with her, and other adventurers in the future, obviously. As you suspected, the Physicality ability tree does indeed have several options focused on sexual/control matters, much as the Magic one did. It looks like the basic level ones are mutually exclusive though... meaning that you have to choose one and continue on it, and that like most of the other ability tree branches, while they'll get little bits and pieces of the other branches here and there, none will be quite so focused. The names are more what they sort of "translate" into in your head, since the whole tree is more of a mental concept that exists within you.\n\n"[[Conqueror's Cock|RethCC1x1]]" - Essentially a branch that will boost the stats of... well, your genitals specifically. To the point that if you fuck someone, they'll be "conquered"... essentially giving themselves up body and mind to you, whatever they might have felt before. Noteworthy is that it doesn't give nearly the same stat boosts as other branches... you'd still have to work to be able to physically overcome the more powerful foes to be able to get them in that position.\n\n"[[Addictive Lover|Reth]]" - This branch would focus on boosting your skill and prowess to a point that with relative ease, you could give a lover so much pleasure that they would become addicted to sex with you. While it would still require getting someone to that point, seduction would be considerably easier if any little touch made someone practically cum.\n\n"[[Bitchbreaker|Reth]]" - A branch focusing largely on pure physical power, and this particular ability would give bonuses depending on the makeup of your foe. Unlike the others, it wouldn't be very useful for making followers (unless they were a physically powerful race with a social hierarchy based on dominance displays), since most of your targets would wind up twitching, barely conscious messes, but then it might be a lot of fun all the same.\n\n"[[Legendary Beauty|RethLB1x1]]" - A branch that, oddly enough, would impose certain penalties on some of your physical stats... but would boost your physical appearance and natural charisma and grace to extremely high levels. This would make you an extreme version of what you've heard some adventurers refer to as a "Diplomancer"... someone with such boosted charisma that it's practically a mind-affecting spell all on its own. Of course, as you grew in power, the branch would open up further abilities that would bolster that. It's not nearly as directly as powerful as the others, but would be fantastic for swaying others to come under your rule again...

You spend a while sulkily turning it over in your head, but finally sigh. Honestly you're not that bothered by this body... or at least you won't be once you've visited a clothing outfitter for some adjustments. And new underwear. Seems like you could easily "tough out" a year in it as opposed to risking going Full Slut because you had to wait a week. "Alright, let's do the concept magic, then," you say with a sigh.\n\n"Great!" Rarala claps her hands together and rubs them. "Okay, let's head into the back room and strip down."\n\n"Er, what?" You blink at her, staring.\n\n"Yeah, basically the easiest way to do this is to fuck you. Don't worry, by the time we're done the concept will have been filtered out and you won't lose your mind with lust or anything. Well, any more than my usual lovers do," she says with a grin, raising her hands and wiggling her fingers with a rather lewd grin on her face.\n\n<hr>\n[[Well... if that's what it takes...|LeoFem]]\n\n[[Yeah right.|LeoFem1x2]]

Flat-faced, you lean forward and flick her on the forehead with your middle finger.\n\n"Ow!" Rarala claps both hands over her forehead, as if grievously wounded. "What was that for?!"\n\n"You're bullshitting me, aren't you?"\n\n"No! ... Okay so it's technically the easiest way but it's only slightly harder to do it with a rune circle and a chant," she admits with a sigh, lowering her hands. "I mean, I was gonna say that if you seemed like you really didn't want to. But, excuse me?" She reaches over and snags a mirror off of a nearby counter and holds it up to you, showing you your own prettified blonde head and your newly impressive chest. "Have you seen the current you? You'd probably take a chance on an excuse to fuck her too."\n\n... You'd really like to argue with her, but given the opportunity you'd have probably tried to set that up too. With the same caveat of calling it off if the other party seemed uncomfortable! Promise. Ahem. You sigh and stand up. "Can we just do the spell circle thing, please?"\n\n"Yeah, it'll take me about twenty minutes, while I do that here's the form for the insurance. I'd've totally eaten the deductible if you let me fuck you, y'know. OW!"\n\nThe procedure is actually positively mundane... once she's finished drawing the circle, Rarala has you stand in the center while she does a chant in some other language. By the time she finishes speaking, your itchy, constantly anxious and needy feeling has settled down, and is obviously only a faint echo due to your body being previously aroused. Sighing in relief, you thank Rarala, give her one more forehead flick for the road when she once more suggests going in the back, and then head out. You make a quick stop in a refresher facility, paying a few credits for a quick (and very cold) shower, for once bothering to comb your hair out a bit since it is such a nice shade of blonde now... still, it winds up sticking back up in a fair few places as it dries anyway. Yeah, story of your life, apparently that hasn't changed with the rest of you.\n\nAfter that it's off to a clothing outfitter. You step into one of the fitting booths and strip down, trying to ignore the still somewhat awkward sensation of jiggling boobs as you move. You tap the button for the scanner and then lift your arms straight up, waiting for the green beam to pass up and down your body before somewhat halfassedly folding your clothes and tucking them into the large slot that opens up after you select 'Refit current items'. While they're being modified, you use the screen to scroll through the options for bra and panty sets... blushing and adding the 'Athletic' tag after a moment. Yeah, no on the pink lace. Ideally you want something that has boxer-briefs like the ones you normally wear anyway, but it looks like those are fewer and further between, and slightly more expensive because they're meant for actual workout outerwear than underwear. Finally you give in to your innate cheapness, considering all your expenses lately, and select the black and white option for a sports bra and athletic panties set, which are dispensed from a different slot. You haul on the bra first, tugging on it here and there trying to get it into place, before stepping into the panties and pulling them up... at least they're both fitted exactly right, due to the scan.\n\nMaybe you're just falling into old routines, or maybe it's this body's natural feeling, but once you're covered up you don't think twice about stepping out of the fitting booth briefly to examine yourself in the mirror on the wall beside it. Of course once you see the bombshell reflected you do blush a bit... the bra supports and holds your tits mostly in place so there's far less jiggling, but you think they might look even bigger like this, and the bra actually shows off a decent amount of cleavage. The waistband of the panties is somewhat high on your waist, and leaves pretty much all of your hips bare, hugging up against your new mound and leaving almost half of each buttock on display. 'Agh, maybe I should get something more covering. ... Except damn, these are actually comfortable, and... I look hella good,' you admit, resting your hands on your hips and turning side-to-side a bit.\n\n"Neo? Is that... wait, no, that's Leo, isn't it?"\n\nYou blink at the familiar voice, turning around, and for a moment everything else flies out of your head as you grin. "Uncle Seiun! Hey!"\n\nYour 'uncle' is a Leonavian, a race blending avian and feline features... his head closely resembles a predator bird's, complete with beak and intense, dark eyes, though the thick 'hair' of feathers tipped with gold that grows around the top and sides of his head calls to mind a lion's mane more than anything. His tall body also blends the two, hands somewhat like a bird's feet, yellow and tipped with black claws, but his digigrade feet are more feline in nature, as is the leonine tail emerging from below his belt. As usual he's attired in a tight, shiny black and gold long-sleeved shirt with a white flight jacket over it, an angular metal pack attached to his back, along with loose combat pants and yellow 'spats' slipped over his feet leaving his toes bare.\n\n"Well hello, Leo. I thought at first your sister had that growth spurt she's been waiting for, but that's you after all, hm?" Seiun chuckles at your sheepish look. "The hazards of living the life, huh?"\n\n"Yeah," you agree with a sigh, rubbing your head. "I'm here having to get my gear refitted, I'm stuck like this for a year."\n\n"Shit happens, you know? Don't let it get you down. Tell you what, why don't we have lunch and you can tell me about it? I was hoping to run into you because I had something to talk to you about anyway, so it's my treat."\n\nYou grin at that, feeling some of the weight of recent events lift. "Sounds good, Uncle Seiun."\n\n"Good. ... Ahem. I'll leave you to get dressed then," he murmurs, turning and heading for the register with his own handful of items.\n\nIt takes you a second to realize you just had an entire conversation with him in your underwear. Dragging a hand down your face and groaning, you hurry back into the fitting booth and yank the curtain closed.\n\nYou emerge later fully clothed and with two weeks' supply of duplicate panties and sports bras, your outfit now fitted to your new proportions, helping you feel a bit back to normal even if they now show off your chest and hips some. You meet up with Seiun outside of the shop, and the two of you head for a noodle restaurant that's a favorite of his, soon seated and with meat sizzling on the griddle built into the table as you tell him your tale, each of you occasionally snagging bits of cooked meat to add to your bowls of noodles and broth.\n\n"These things happen. It's actually one of the more common things mercs run across, really," Seiun says with another chuckle once you've finished up... albeit with you omitting certain details about the 'side effects'. "As far as non-deadly consequences go. You'll see it happen to someone else you know eventually."\n\n"That's comforting," you reply dryly, before slurping up the last of your noodles and hitting the button to request more as you set the bowl aside. "But yeah, I guess next time I'll watch my mouth... and my pelvis... a little more."\n\n"Lesson learned, then, which is the most important thing. And you'll get back to yourself in a year, yes? Not too bad, I've seen others where the changes were permanent. In any event, you're still fully combat ready?"\n\n"Yeah, Rarala's pretty sure the other me was a Guildcert too, just... uh, different." Sluttier. "I haven't checked myself out fully on the training course yet but from what I can tell I'm good."\n\n"That's good, because it affects what I wanted to talk to you about. I finally got the paperwork through, my MC license is live as of this morning."\n\nYou grin broadly. "Your own Mercenary Company? Congrats, Uncle Seiun! What're you gonna call it?"\n\n"'Roaring Eagle'. A little pretentious, maybe, but that's sort of expected of these things." He chuckles, clicking his chopsticks at you. "But getting to the point, I'd like you to join up."\n\nYou blink. "Me? Seriously?"\n\n"Of course. Recent troubles with your mouth aside, you're one of the most talented young Guildcerts I know, Leo, and I mean that, it's not just because I'm friends with your parents. Of course I'd like you to check out on the course first, just before we make it official, but my license came with the rights to a small company headquarters that I've already started rent on... you could move out of that closet you're no doubt living in. No contract... I'll let you contribute what you can and leave if you ever find another MC you'd prefer to join or want to start your own. Frankly I've missed taking you on missions, those were some of my most memorable times... it would be good to head out with you watching my back again. What do you say?"\n\n<hr>\n[[Of course!|LeoFem2x1]]\n\n[[You... can't, not right now.|LeoFem1x3]]

Sighing, you shake your head. "Look, Uncle Seiun, I'm honored, seriously I am... but I don't think the time is right for it. Honestly I've been thinking I'd probably take the year off." \n\n"Really? Are you that spooked about getting sex changed?"\n\n"No, it's just... weird. Plus when I think about it, I haven't taken any time off since I joined the Guild in the first place." You shrug negligently. "I think rather than try to just charge ahead dealing with this at the same time, I'll take an extra long vacation." You shrug lightly. "Y'know... kinda take some 'me' time. ... Coinciding with not entirely looking like me."\n\n"Mm, well, I suppose I understand that... most mercs I know do need a vacation every so often, even if a lot of us are on the workaholic side. Probably has to do with how many of us spend money as fast as we make it," he says dryly. "But you're not that sort... a year's a bit of a long time, but you're young, you've got a lot of them ahead of you. It might be good for you to just enjoy yourself for awhile, maybe visit some new places for reasons other than shooting things. Ah, in fact, if you like, you could visit my family."\n\n"Wow, really?" you ask with a surprised blink. "You'd be okay with that?"\n\n"Why not? Your parents invited me to that 'Christmas' celebration with your grandmother that one time. I thought the poor woman was going to have some sort of fit," he says with a chuckle.\n\nYeaaah you're fairly certain Gramma was flustered not because she thought Seiun was particularly weird but because he was huge and very manly and her husband had been dead for a few years by that point. You don't particularly want to continue down that train of thought, though, so instead you clear your throat. "I mean, I'll at least think about it... I dunno that I'd wanna impose for an entire year, but that might be fun."\n\n"Please feel free to stay as long as you like, you're family. I'll write them and let them know you might drop by, you won't be imposing at all." He smiles warmly (which took you awhile to get used to, considering the beak) and reaches over to clap you on the shoulder. "You can see Gryfara, it's a beautiful place. But, don't let me twist your arm about it. Ah, but if we're not going to discuss your moving into my new company hall, I'd better go see to getting it squared away myself." He pulls out a charge slip and leaves it on the corner of the table before he stands. "You'll be fine, Leo, comm me if you need anything. Offer will still be there in a year."\n\n"Sure, thanks Uncle." You grin at him as he goes, before continuing your lunch, accepting the unspoken offer to cover whatever else you order. (Seiun knows better than to think you'd abuse his kindness.) You'd just sort of been toying with the idea of taking the year off until you could get changed back, but his offer to join his Mercenary Company threw it into stark detail how strange it would be. What would it be like if he brought in others, and they met you for the first time like this? For the rest of the time you and they were with the MC, this would be their first impression of you, when you changed back to your usual self for them that would be you changing and being different forever. It's just... too strange. Nah, you'll take it easy for awhile, live lightly off your savings, it'll be fine.\n\n'What to do, though?' you muse as you chew a mouthful of rare beef. You guess you could take Seiun up on his offer, go visit his family, see the Leonavian homeworld. Or you could just sort of lay low, hang around the Guildhall, have yourself a 'staycation' as it were. You could go searching around for actual vacation destinations, though considering the length it'd have to be quite a deal, maybe some sort of working vacation where no one knows you? ... Hm. You guess you could go stay with your grandmother for awhile... her Earth is kind of a dull, quiet place where as far as you know not much of anything happens, but that might be just what you need right now. You're not super close with her but she's often said you can come and visit any time, you can probably help out around the house too. ... Not that she's super old or anything that she needs a ton of help. Actually due to the time differential between the Guild and other dimensions the age gap between her and your mother has been very slowly but steadily shrinking over time, which you've always figured must be a bit weirder for her than it is for you, you've just sort of gotten used to it.\n\n<hr>\n[[Visit Gryfara.|LeoFem]]\n\n[[Take a staycation.|LeoFem]]\n\n[[Look for vacation destinations.|LeoFem]]\n\n[[Stay at gramma's house.|LeoFem]]

Luckily, you've been cooking up a story for this, in bits and pieces before and more intensely just now... the Arch Troll's own cunning and manipulative mind helps, showing you a few holes in the previous version you'd been thinking up that needed patching.\n\n"I was an adventurer who challenged the Snow White Maou with my party. Unfortunately we were defeated, and to punish me the Maou cursed me to assume the form and mind of a dog, wandering his dungeons for eternity, constantly viewing the cruelty and havok he wreaked without even being able to think of how to do something." Which is a little silly, because if the cursed adventurer couldn't think of a plan to do something, he also couldn't actually process the 'torment' around him, but it sounds appropriately evil enough that you can instantly see sympathy blossom in all three girls' eyes. "I stayed there for many years until the Hero's party arrived, and in the confusion I was let out. Nothing but a frightened animal, I happened to fall through a portal into this area, and by the grace of fate I happened to stumble upon all of you. It wasn't until I saw you in danger that my mind suddenly awoke and I was able to fight back... the curse must be weakening now that the Maou is defeated."\n\nThe girls seem suitably impressed and sympathetic... although Litarii still has suspicion enough to demand, "If he turned you into just some dog, how can you grow tentacles and use magic?"\n\n"Well, the Maou was a monster and ruler of the monsters... he must have turned me into some sort of monster dog," you say in a sheepish tone. "Perhaps a chimera of some kind? As to my magic, I was an arcanist before I was cursed... it looks like although the method of casting is different, I've regained a lot of my spells."\n\n"What's your name?" Red asks in a gentle tone.\n\n"Ah... the connection to my old life pains me, thinking of how I failed my friends," you murmur, turning your head away and closing your eyes as if barely able to bear the weight of guilt. "Please, let that be my past... just... just call me Phantom, as you have been, Red."\n\nYeah, you're pretty sure you've got them all good and hooked now. Even Litarii seems to have given up the protest, and instead says, "Well if the curse is weakening we should be able to eventually turn you back to your true form." She pauses as you stretch your tentacle out to hand Saruko's sword back to her, then withdraw them into your back. "I guess until then you... can join our party," she half-grumbles.\n\n"Yes, obviously. We'll help you Phantom, no worries!" Red declares, pumping a fist in the air... and wobbling when she does. "... Ah... starting tomorrow," she adds weakly.\n\nYou plaster a Good Boy smile on your muzzle, even letting your tongue loll out briefly before speaking again. "Of course. I'll drag these trolls away and perhaps find a hole to drop them in, all of you should find a clean patch of grass and get some rest. I'll return and stand guard over you... this monster body doesn't get tired very easily," you add, extending your tentacles and wrapping them around the legs of one of the troll bodies.\n\nIf any of the three finds anything odd about all that, they don't say it, though you carefully keep an ear on them as you drag the dead troll away (to, of course, devour it whole). Fortunately from the tired murmurs of halfhearted conversation, it sounds like all three of them believe you... Litarii is still a little suspicious, but you think that's more because you're a stranger than necessarily doubting your story. You return two more times and drag the other trolls away, though after the first you're actually strong enough that you could handle both at once fairly easily... but then they don't need to know that. Instead you gather up some wood after aumfing the last troll and take it back with you, using your tentacles and Red's firestarter to get a fire going, all three fast asleep. You stare at their exhausted, slack faces in the firelight... your deception's worked. Now, to...\n\n<hr>\n[[... keep it up.|IrMon]]\n\n[[... gradually pick them off one by one.|IrMon]]

Otherwise known as 'Sam, Alex, and Clover' apparently. A trio of late teenage girls recruited to work for some ridiculous spy organization on Earth. Hm, looks like a lot of these options are on Earth, really. Well, whatever. Having your ship the Infinite Decimal prepped for launch, you spend a few moments transferring information files to its main bridge. As you're about to get up to depart for it, you pause... hm, why not make this 'three on three'? You could obviously easily handle these three "totally" spies yourself, but why not use it as an excuse for some family bonding? Grinning, you comm the dispatch desk of your mercenary company. "Have the twins meet me aboard the Infinite Decimal."\n\nWhen you walk onto the bridge, a pair of figures are already waiting for you, all bright wicked smiles and glittering yellow eyes. Rose Gold Lorde and White Gold Lorde are both attired in tight bodysuits, Rose's red to match her crimson hair and baring her shoulders and arms, White with her whole body covered by alternating black and white material, both of them with larger, perkier tits and rounder hips than you ever had, but then that's by their choice. "Hi, Mom!" they say in perfect sync, obviously delighted to be called on.\n\n<img src="images/LordeTwins.jpg">\n\n"Hey babies," you coo, walking over to wrap an arm around each and deliver kisses to cheeks. They're not technically your daughters... by a particularly strict definition they're nanite colony drones, split off from your own colony (and endowed with somewhat restricted functions) and running off of a select collection of your own personality traits. But they're self-sustaining, fully capable of making their own decisions, and plus it's just more fun to think of them as daughters considering the stuff you get up to together. "Ready to help Mom do some devious things to a trio of teenagers?"\n\n"Oooo, what sort of devious things?" White asks, eyes sparkling as she puts a fingertip to her lips.\n\n"Are we roughing them up? Taking control of them? Warping their bodies and minds?" Rose demands excitedly, flexing her bare arms in readiness to get to work.\n\n"Possibly all of the above." You take a few moments to explain your current mission. You figure it's a good idea to bring White and Rose along anyway for something involving three individuals... they have the same ability to record full sensory experience that you do, you should be able to edit all three streams together into something particularly enjoyable for the client. "So anyway, that's it... we bitch-break these three in some preferably entertaining way, I trim up and send off the sense-recording, and we share a nice little payday off of it."\n\n"I do so enjoy family time," White says dreamily.\n\n"Hm, so what's the plan, Mom?" Rose asks, resting her hands on her hips as you take a seat in the captain's chair and start looking over the info files. "Where and how do we hit 'em?"\n\n"Let's see, let's see... it looks like they're usually dispatched when someone steals or develops some scientific doodad that could be used to terrorize the populace, so we're pretty good there. We could just steal something ourselves, or let it be leaked that we're new players on the scene with a horrifying-but-not-too-obviously-horrifying gadget. Looks like they already tend to wind up at the mercy of the villains fairly regularly, but instead of monologuing at them a bit and then leaving them in an easily escapable deathtrap, we'll, y'know, rape the hell out of them. Shouldn't be too hard. Or there's the option I suspect you'd enjoy, Rose."\n\nHer eyes glitter wickedly. "Going directly at them and doing it in public?"\n\n"They're university students, apparently, so doing it in the middle of a class could be a lot of fun, I imagine the client would enjoy that just as much as the intrigue. Hm, but let's see..."\n\n<hr>\n[[Lure them as spies.|KiSTS1x1]]\n\n[[Snag them as civilians.|KiSTS]]

"Did they put some sort of control device on you?" she asks in a sympathetic tone, hands warm on your cheeks as she gently turns your head and looks in your eyes, then probes against the back of your neck. "They didn't chip you, did they?"\n\n"I... maybe there was a control device, yeah," you allow, since you're not sure how, or if you should, explain all the rest of how you wound up here.\n\n"... Well it doesn't feel like they chipped you at least," she says in a relieved tone, before nodding. "But you should probably come to my place and have a rest, if you're feeling disoriented." At your slightly numb nod, she takes you by the hand and leads you out of the alley, heading down the street.\n\n'What if it's a trick? What if she's taking you to sell you?!' your brain protests, but you're too shocked and going over everything she said to listen.\n\nYou're not just in space, but at least multiple lightyears from Earth? ... Well, the goddess (assuming that really happened) did say that you'd probably have to start further from where you'd been than you'd ever expect, so that you could theoretically call it a new start. You, who'd never been further than visiting some of the further-out shelters and settlements, just naturally assumed she meant at most another continent. But space? Or... how long were you actually in there? Did they destroy Earth between then and now?\n\n'No,' you think, still sort of numbly letting your new friend(?) lead you along. 'She said they blew up Earth at the end of the Turmoil. But I know that didn't happen. ... It makes way more sense that the aliens that kidnapped them all lied.' After all, what better way to break your slaves' spirits and discourage them from escaping than to tell them that their home was destroyed and there was nowhere to escape back to? And if they really believed it was gone, even after they got out of servitude... as it looks like a lot of them have... they wouldn't think to go back and start helping rebuild. After all, one of the biggest things that's stopped Earth from rebuilding and becoming something more like its old self is that there's just not the population to do so... to reclaim more of the wasteland, fight back the monsters, establish yourself as the dominant inhabitants again. \n\nIt's a pretty brilliant one-two stroke, you think bitterly as the pink-haired woman leads you into what looks like some sort of highly simplified, utilitarian apartment building. Deprive your slaves of hope, and deprive your potential enemies of what they need to rebuild and repel you if you ever decided to come back. You need to learn more about this 'Trifecta', or at least search your memories of what you know of the Turmoil and put together what that probably means.\n\n"Here we are. Hi boy!" the pink-haired woman declares as she opens a door to a jingling and scratching noise, a large black and brown dog bounding over and wiggling happily as she pets its head with both hands. He's not any breed you recognize from the old files... just on the large size and pretty, well, dog-shaped and patterned... but he certainly seems friendly enough. "This is Bryn. Bryn, this is..." She trails off as she looks at you, then laughs sheepishly and rubs the back of her head. "Gosh, I forgot to get your name! Or give mine!"\n\n"It's okay." You smile a little... the fact that she does seem to have brought you to her home (fairly small and cluttered as it is) without even needing introductions does put you a bit more at ease. "I'm Soren."\n\n"Trenna. Bryn, this is Soren, she's gonna be our guest for maybe a day or two. Don't worry, Bryn's super friendly and well-trained, he only responds to really obvious aggression." \n\n"So you have dogs here, huh?" you ask, shifting around to the side and tilting your head back and forth as you examine Bryn curiously. That seems like a safe enough question, since it sounds like the Human experience varies wildly from place to place.\n\n"Yeah, some, since they can help with some kinds of work, especially if they've got neuroenhancements," Trenna explains, moving one of Bryn's ears to show you a small row of what look like some sort of silvery ports. "So they can carry gear and get into some places where we can't. He's a clone, obviously, all blackborn animals are, and not exactly any kind of pure or highly-cultivated stock, but he's suuuuch a good boy," she coos, smooching his nose, his stubby tail wagging in response. "Anyway! He won't bother you if you wanna crash here and get some rest, see if you start feeling more like yourself," she says, clearing a bit of clutter off of a futon mattress and gesturing to it. "Oh, but if you sleep, maybe do your best to hide that," she adds, wiggling a hand towards one side of your waist again. "We haven't had a random inspection in a long time, but you definitely don't want any of the station security to catch you with that thing."\n\n"Ah, right."\n\n"Okay, I've still got some things to do, so I'll be back in a little bit and bring some food," Trenna says, giving you another wave and Bryn another few pats before turning and trotting back out, closing the door behind her.\n\n... Huh. Yeah, okay, she's leaving you alone in her apartment, that seems... well, yeah, it would be a weird way to ambush someone. Maybe. You glance around suspiciously, and after a moment feel somehow both relieved and more suspicious... there's probably not anything in here that would be worth stealing, it's almost nothing but a small pile of spare clothes, the bed, and a shelf with a couple of little plastic figures and decorations that might have some personal value but unless they're actually fantastically rare here, probably aren't worth much. You notice one of them is a Christmas ornament in the shape of a globe... Earth, huh? You poke at it gently and thoughtfully, and out of the corner of your eye see Bryn's ears perk up and his attention focus on you more sharply. Yeah, message received, he's smart enough to tell if you try to steal what little there is to steal.\n\nAfter a few moments you take off your coat and, after some consideration, your gunbelt too, wrapping it in the coat and tucking it amongst the clothes pile in a way that you hope is unobtrusive. You keep the knife, clipping it to your shorts instead, and remove your boots, laying down on the futon with your hands under your head, staring at the cement ceiling.\n\nThe Trifecta... that name, and the way that Trenna talked about them, implies an alliance. But all the texts on the Turmoil said that it was basically a free-for-all on the part of the invaders... that they attacked each other almost as much as they did the Earthlings. So how could there have been an alliance...?\n\nThen you frown. Wait... what if it just looked like a free-for-all from your side's view? After all, as much as anyone might have predicted it in old world fiction, the nations of Earth didn't come together in unity to repel the invaders... there were a lot of new alliances formed, true, but even in cases where the heads of countries said not to fight each other, the soldiers had basically been trained to hate each other and that couldn't be turned off like a light switch. So if it was like that, if this "Trifecta" was newly formed out of species that previously pretty much hated each other... or heck, just throw in a fair few incidents of mistaken identity and friendly fire, and sure, it would have looked to the Earth like they were all pretty much ready to fight each other all the time, especially without mixed regiments.\n\nSo taking that into consideration... and assuming no other major oversights of estimates of power and influence on Earth's part... the Trifecta would probably be the Trikerons, Anubilans, and Vipasps. They were the three most powerful and seemingly most equally-matched alien invaders during the Turmoil... in fact, the texts record that they tended to avoid each other, not even invading the same continents, most of the time. But what if that was part of their arrangement? Both keeping their own troops from fighting due to old grudges, but also coordinating and carving out their own pieces of the pie due to whatever arrangement they had. They were also the three that had the most trouble with the otherdimensional invaders, Earth mutants, and the awakened supernatural elements that apparently really didn't like offworlders on their turf. So you could also kind of see them telling the human slaves they'd taken over the course of the Turmoil that they'd blown up the Earth as a sort of salve to their ego... they hadn't been defeated and chased off, they just decided they didn't want it anymore and boom. (Trenna said it was to keep the otherdimensionals from kicking their ass, because of course even if the slaves bought the lie that Earth had been destroyed, attributing it to the Trifecta's fear instead would have been their own ego boost necessary to keep struggling on.)\n\nHm. So... yeah. That makes sense. There's still a lot you don't know, here, though, only able to take in bits and pieces from what Trenna said. She talked about slavers in a way that said Humans... or at least Humans on this station... aren't slaves by default. But she also talked about the guards and laws like you're probably second-class citizens of the station, at best. Not allowed to carry blasters, subject to random inspections of their homes. Hm. ... Well, you suppose you can ask her more later. If you come up with a good story about why you need to know. You're not quite ready to admit you're an Earthling, considering you'd be going against what could be centuries of established belief.\n\nSo you spend a little while spinning a story in your head, again using bits and pieces of what Trenna said, coming up with something that sounds plausible. You think it will work, anyway, at least well enough to allay her suspicions and get more information out of her. Information gathering and consideration is a key skill to a Provider, after all, it's what prepares you to survive the wasteland and deal with what it throws at you. You wiggle a foot, glancing down, making a bit of a face at the sight of your own boobs. Meh... this is a heck of a curveball, though, gotta say. 'Damn that Navi! I mean, thanks for fixing the bullet in my head, but damn that Navi!'\n\n<hr>\n[[Try to get some sleep.|SorSF]]\n\n[[... Examine your new body.|SorSF]]

"I can't just... give up so easily," you murmur, scowling. "Even if you say I should have a fresh start... I don't think I could ever stop feeling like I just let Loke completely have his way if I left that world completely.\n\nThe goddess nods slowly, looking a bit sad. "I understand, my son. Please, rise. To your knees on the bed is sufficient," she adds as you start to move.\n\nYou look at her curiously, but do get up onto your knees and sit back on your heels at the head of the bed, trying not to be too embarrassed of your dick jutting out above your lap. Then you stare as she smoothly clambers up onto the bed, her hands barely able to reach once she's on all fours due to the sheer size of her tits. She then turns around, facing away from you, displaying a huge round ass that, if not quite to the same scale as her tits, is certainly quite generous.\n\n"Sex is the medium by which I can exercise my power, my son," she explains as she shamelessly pulls aside the translucent white drape of the back of her loincloth. "Normally for a rebirth, going through the act of procreation is used. But since this is a 'self-indulgent' new beginning," she continues, her fingers sinking into her buttock slightly as she rests her hand on it and pulls it aside, revealing a very large, soft-looking pucker above her similarly large, very plump pussy. "It must be a 'self-indulgent' form of sex."\n\nYou nod slowly, still stunned. Nevertheless... it looks kind of... amazing. You slowly move forward, putting both hands on her ass, similarly feeling your hands sink in a bit as you push it apart. The goddess gasps as you apply your tongue to her big pink butthole, feeling it yield gently under the pressure of your licking. "Oh! Oh yes... 'self-indulgence' is not something to be taken in too large amounts, but I suppose one must every so often," she moans as you continue to work your tongue around her and inside her, her yielding pucker allowing your tongue in relatively easily and then squeezing tightly around it. \n\nGradually the goddess's moans grow louder, and she raises her hands, allowing herself to be propped up entirely on her tits, not that there's much of a change in height as she drapes her arms atop her cleavage instead. She wriggles her hips, those plump buttcheeks wobbling gently and smacking against your face just as gently as she does. She lets out a shuddery breath of anticipation as, after a few minutes, you raise up and move closer.\n\n"Use as much force and vigor as you can, my son," the goddess murmurs encouragingly as you press your tip into position against her spit-shined hole. "Perhaps you can exorcise some of the anger in your heart that way."\n\nYou stare at her for a moment... then nod almost grimly. She gives a gasp as you sink a hand into that thick hair and grab a fistful of it to haul back on her head, then cries out in a mixture of shock and pleasure as you slam your dick into her ass brutally. You immediately start pounding her for all you're worth, your hips setting those big fat asscheeks to wobbling and shaking with impact tremors, driving her forward against her own tits as you ragefuck her. \n\n'Damn him! Damn him!' you think wrathfully as you bring your free hand down in a slap against the goddess's ass as hard as you can, immediately leaving a dark handprint on that big brown buttcheek. 'You were supposed to be my friend! You bastard! You bastard!' you continue to rage internally, teeth bared in a snarl as you repeatedly spank the goddess you're assfucking, making her squeal and buck and squeeze her asshole around you. 'You think I'll let you get away with it?! I'll find you again! Even if I wind up stuck on the other side of the globe, I'll make you pay!'\n\nRather than venting your rage, being allowed to fuck the goddess as rough as you like only seems to be stoking it. Or at least, at first. As it goes on your brain starts to go fuzzy, the actual focus of the rage becoming less distinct, less focused, more just a lot of basic animal fury that your body is reacting to. There are no thoughts but the need to fuck hard, to make your current mate feel the intensity of your emotion, to leave your mark on her and fill her. As you finally thrust forward deep and spill inside her, you're not sure whether you're letting go of the anger or just stoking it more in the fires of your orgasm.\n\nEither way, it's like your whole consciousness flows out of you on the wave of the climax, and you find yourself drifting in darkness again. This time, though, you feel more awake, if still disembodied. '... What happened? Where am I?'\n\n"You were critically injured," a flat, but vaguely annoyed, and also heavily tired, androgynous voice replies. "I retrieved you and rebuilt your body while retreating to a safe distance. Unfortunately this has exhausted my power supplies and I must now enter a dormant stage."\n\n'What?' That's a lot of information to take in all at once! 'Wait, who are you?! And what do you mean, rebuilt, and dormant stage?!'\n\n"That is a lot of information to demand all at once," the tired-annoyed voice answers with a not-quite-a-sigh. "But in order, I am the Navi unit of the ship that had crashed on your planet, and have accepted you as my new master for lack of any other surviving lifeforms I found suitable. By 'rebuilt', I mean I have repaired the injuries to your body, primarily by replacing the damaged organs with much more durable and efficient biomechanical cells, although doing so required extending the replacement to most of the rest of your body as well for the necessary reinforcement and streamlining of function; doing so necessitated the deconstruction and repurposing of your reinforcement suit, but I assure you that you are now naturally equivalent to or potentially surpassing its prior capabilities. As for my dormant stage, due to the extensive use of the ship's energy and my processing power, I and the ship will now go offline for a period of anywhere from several months to several years, I cannot currently determine the full extent. You will be left a path of egress, but otherwise the ship will not respond until the systems are sufficiently recharged. You will now be discharged from the reconstruction chamber," it adds with a 'finally' tone.\n\nThe darkness rather abruptly turns into an almost painfully piercing light that feels like it runs right through your eyeballs and into the back of your head. You try to fling a hand up to cover your face but find it restrained, at least on first yank, before something pops open around your wrists, and your legs and midsection, and you go stumbling forward. The light quickly fades, not being actually glaring at all but in fact a slightly dim but steady white illumination in what looks like some sort of medical bay. You blink blearily, looking around at the computer panels against the wall, what looks like some sort of examination or surgical table, and at the upright chamber you apparently just came out of, with a generally humanoid-shaped outline of restraints.\n\nThe motion of looking around draws your attention downward, and you look down at your own naked body to see-\n\n<hr>\n[["Wow, that's bigger than before."|SorSF]]\n\n[["WHAT THE HECK ARE THESE?!"|SorSF1x2]]

"I believe those are what your species refers to as 'mammaries'," the Navi's voice says from one of the nearby computers. "Language index also references 'breasts', 'boobs', 'tits', 'gazongas', 'bazoombas', 'jigglejogglers', 'great heaving mounds', 'creamy-'"\n\n"What are they doing on ME?!" you blurt, lifting your hands up to cup said pair of fairly large pudding cups (well, nowhere near the biggest you've seen now, since they're really only overflowing your hands some, but still). Then you shoot your hands down between your legs, your face going pale. "My dick's gone!"\n\n"The suit you were wearing seemed to have originally been designed for a female, and so by switching your bioform layout to standard female architecture I was able to increase the biomechanical cell bonding and replacement process efficiency considerably."\n\n"But I'm a guy!" you shout, stomping over to the panel and trying to ignore how that makes your new chest (and rounder, softer butt) jiggle. \n\n"... Is that important to your species?" the Navi asks in a tone of genuine confusion.\n\n"YES!"\n\n"Oh." The Navi falls silent, the little blipping line that seems to serve as some signal that it's processing information bumping along without a word. Then it announces, "Beginning dormant stage."\n\n"HEY! Don't go into a coma to avoid an uncomfortable conversation, you jerk!" you shout, kicking the bottom panel, then swearing and hopping in place as that bangs several of your toes. Perhaps taking your distraction as an opening, the line showing the Navi's processing goes completely flat and a moment later the screen darkens entirely, the overhead lights dimming even further. "... Dammit!"\n\nYou come to a stop, huffing and growling. Well this is... just great! Shot repeatedly, taken who-knows-where, and rebuilt as a woman! ....... Okay this is still better than dying from being shot in the head. Fine, give the stupid Navi unit that much, you'd rather have tits than a literal hole in the head. ... Speaking of which, you brush your hands over your face, searching. No, no sign of where you assume Loke shot you, or anywhere else. Your hair seems to have gotten longer, coming down to the bottom of your shoulderblades, and of course there's the shift in your proportions, but you're pretty sure you're about as tall as you were before, and you're similarly relatively certain you remember everything. Which is pretty good for getting shot in the head, though you guess you wouldn't know if anything had been just wiped out entirely and wasn't obvious as a gap.\n\nOkay, okay, think, now what? You're kind of still really pissed about being turned into a woman, and want to undo it. ... The Navi obviously has some sort of routine to preserve you, even if it was dormant like before. Maybe if you get back in the rebuilding pod and demand it rebuild you properly, it will?\n\nNnnnnh, but then, it sounds like it might not have the power left to do that? The angry part of you says that it could find some, while the more practical part says that just because you want it to be so doesn't mean there's necessarily power to be found. Still, this is...!\n\n<hr>\n[[Get back in the pod.|SorSF]]\n\n[[Get on with things.|SorSF1x3]]

Enh. Better to just... move on. Maybe you can find some other fix... the wasteland has all sorts of tech out there, more than a little of it capable of changing peoples' bodies, maybe you'll find something on your way there. The goddess... assuming all that wasn't just some weird dream while you were being rebuilt... did say you'd have to start a long way away from where you'd been so that it would count as a new start.\n\nYou search around and find some equipment crates in a nearby room. You find your hoodie-coat, the belt with your pistol, and your boots inside. The boots don't really fit, per-se, but by tightening the straps as much as you can they hug your calves they'll stay on. They'll do until you can turn back... or, sigh, find something to fit your new body, you guess that would be the smarter thing to do if you come across some better boots. You blush a little at fastening the gunbelt on over your otherwise naked body, before pulling on the coat and continuing your search.\n\nSearching more of the ship turns up that it's surprisingly empty... a lot of the rooms are just blank and without any furniture or furnishings whatsoever. You do eventually find some lockers and rummage through them, relaxing a bit as you see that several of them have clothes in them. Unfortunately the only things that come close to fitting your new body are a pair of very short tight black shorts and a midriff-baring sleeveless top with a high neck, and a pair of black stockings with glowing blue stripes up the side that, like the suit used to, leave your heels and toes bare. (Well, probably better that you have more grip inside the loose boots anyway.) The only things you find that are even vaguely weapon-like are a sheathed double-edged knife whose blade looks like it's made out of some sort of blue crystal, with a white and black center and grip, which you clip to your belt, and a pair of bracelets that look like they have a lot of complex little machinery folded up in them... some sort of armor or defensive item, you kind of guess? Either way you go ahead and put them on, where they resize perfectly to your now slim wrists.\n\nYou look around a bit more, but the ship does seem almost entirely empty. You find a panel that's still lit up next to what looks like a hatch in the floor, and at your approach it turns from red to green. You haul up on the hatch and peer out. There's metal flooring beneath, rather dirty and old, like a lot of stuff in the wasteland, but solid-seeming enough. After a brief hesitation, you drop down into a crouch and pull the panel closed again. You have to sort of waddle out from under the ship's wing, and as you glance back you notice the panel turn red again as you get further from it, and then go dark entirely. Oof, you wonder if you can get back in...?\n\nWhen you emerge from under the wing and take a look around, you realize you're inside some sort of large room or hangar, made of more of the same poorly-maintained dark metal as the floor. There are piles of scrap metal dotted around the whole area, some of them looking like they were newly formed or pushed around or over for the ship (and yes, it's definitely the same ship from Old Crater) to land directly in the center. Just at a glance, definitely looks like no one's coming in here regularly, or at all, so at least the ship should go undisturbed for the foreseeable future. You have to search around for a while but eventually find a not-too-cramped utility tunnel that you can crawl through on hands and knees.\n\nYou emerge and drop to the ground behind another pile of debris, but you can hear people now. Peeking out from around the refuse to look around, you're greeted with an interesting sight, somewhere between the interior of a shelter and one of the occasional attempts at setting up a settlement in one of the old cities. The area's definitely enclosed, with a towering ceiling that has lights running all along it and down the walls, but is large enough that there are a good handful of buildings. They look simpler and more prefabricated than old world ones, more efficient squares and cubes, but it definitely looks like they've also been modified and added on to with a wide variety of materials, just like scavengers doing their best to make pre-Turmoil dwellings livable again. There are a lot of Humans walking around, dressed in anything from just above rags to stuff that looks a lot closer to what you're wearing. It looks like the semi-street in front of you is used as a sort of open-air market with numerous stalls.\n\nYou slowly step out and start walking along, since you don't see many other ways that you'll learn where you are. Most of the people take a few glances at you, but other than some of them trying to hawk their wares directly to you, don't seem to react or find you suspicious. You walk along, trying to judge who might be most inclined to answer and most able to... you need someone who seems like they have their shit together, basically.\n\n"Yeah, it smells really good, I think that stuff I found for you is gonna work great!"\n\n'That stuff I found for you' are magic words. That's Hunter/Gatherer talk. You turn and look for the source of the voice, and soon spot a young woman about your own age, with bright pink hair cut fairly short in back but with two long drifts over her ears and going down her chest. She's wearing a loose white short-sleeved shirt over a tight black long-sleeved shirt, both of them leaving her midriff bare (like yours), and a pair of baggy dark pants that have been allowed to sag down enough to show the black straps of her panties riding high on her hips. She's also got what looks a lot like an old world katana thrust through her belt, which could mean she's definitely a Hunter or Gatherer (or willing to trade for decorative trash, which could make her a resource of a different kind). Either way she's watching the meat skewers on the vendor's grill with a serious, intent expression... even as she raises a hand to wipe away a bit of drool.\n\n<img src="images/Trenna.jpg">\n\n"Yeah that's definitely smelling top notch, that'll bring 'em in," she says enthusiastically, then turns as you walk up, giving you a friendly if slightly guarded smile. "Oh, hi. You're new, did you just come in on one of the ships?"\n\n'Ships?' you almost say aloud, before stifling it. So you're on the coast? You hope you're still on the North American, or at least South American, continent. You're surprised that anyone would regularly cross the ocean, as dangerous as it is, but if they do that here all the better. "I did just get here," you allow. "Ah... to be honest, I'm sort of mixed up," you admit with a laugh, rubbing the back of your head. ... Dangit, you're doing a bit of a cute girl act, aren't you? ... To another cute girl. But whatever works right now, you guess. "Um, could you tell me where I am?"\n\nShe looks you up and down, seeming dubious, and just almost growing outright suspicious as she looks at your blaster. She looks at your face, and you try to keep your expression innocent and confused as she asks, "You don't know where you are?"\n\n"It's... been a really rough little while for me," you murmur, which is true enough.\n\nShe nods slowly, blue eyes still looking a bit dubious, and exchanging a glance with the old woman cooking the skewers before looking back at you and saying, "Well, you're in the Human Quarter of Tanashi Station. Which is good, since no one here's gonna bother you about that blaster, but if a station guard sees you and decides to make an issue of it, it could be trouble," she adds, flicking a hand towards your belt.\n\nYou grimace a bit, doing your best to subtly readjust your jacket to cover the pistol. "Ah, yeah, thanks. I don't want trouble for sure. Look, I do know this is weird, but... where's Tanashi Station?"\n\nShe stares at you, before her expression turns more sympathetic. She glances around and puts a hand on your shoulder, guiding you off to the side and into a small alleyway, with you getting just a bit on-guard yourself as she does. But her voice is gentle as she says, "Did you get picked up by slavers and then manage to get away? Don't worry, no one here... well, no one around right now... would rat on you."\n\n"Something... like that," you murmur, glancing nervously towards the opening of the alley at 'no one around right now'. "I did get picked up and brought here sort of blind, that's for sure. Frankly I don't even know what continent I'm on?"\n\n"Continent?" she says a bit blankly. "You're even groundborn?"\n\n"I... yes, continent, what do you mean, 'groundborn'?"\n\n"I mean, Tanashi Station is in the Oktoro Sector, there's no normal habitable worlds within a lightyear! There's probably not more than five or six Humans on all of the station that were born planetside, the rest of us are blackborn."\n\nYour mouth opens and closes a few times. Tanashi Station... is a space station? Over a lightyear from any normal, habitable worlds? "But what about Earth?" you ask a bit faintly. "How many are from Earth?"\n\nShe stares at you for a second before she just bursts out laughing. "Sis, are you for real?! Earth was destroyed like 100, 200 years ago, some long-ass time! The Trifecta blew it up to stop the otherdimensional invaders from kicking their asses at the end of the Turmoil! There's no such thing as an Earthborn human, and hasn't been in centuries!"\n\n<hr>\n[["But I'm from Earth!"|SorSF]]\n\n[["... I... r-right..."|SorSF1x4]]\n\n[["... 'Kay. Sorry to bother you."|SorSF]]

"I mean, you've always been my best... well, pretty much my only friend, Stacia," you say with a shrug. "I know I've always been rather... odd... and I don't actually like adventurers or adventuring, but..." You pause, then add, "Well, if it helps make you happy, then I guess I'll try and learn to like it."\n\nStacia had started staring the moment that you said you came because of her, some unreadable expression coming over her face, her eyes widening slightly as you continue. Once you've finished, she stares at you for a moment more, then says, "That's... that's right, you don't really understand people very well, do you?"\n\n"Ah, no, I just never seemed to get the hang of it," you admit, since it was admittedly kind-of-sort-of your second try.\n\nStacia nods slowly, then says, "Maybe you'll understand this?" right before she steps forward, her hands cupping your face and drawing you in so she can kiss you. Your eyes widen some in shock as her lips press to yours, because... well. You had actually quite a lot of kisses when you were the Maou, just that all of them were purely sexual in one way or another. Stacia clearly hasn't really kissed anyone before, for one thing, and it feels... completely different in a way that has nothing to do with skill.\n\nAnd you find yourself putting your arms around her and drawing her a bit closer.\n\n'Oh. Now I get it,' you think as something clicks in your brain.\n\nThis is that thing the mortal races, especially humans, always went on and on about... love. That grand ineffable thing that makes them do all sorts of stupid things they never would otherwise. Stacia's in love with you. And you're in love with her.\n\nThat makes a lot of things make sense, honestly.\n\nAmong them why those soft, sweet lips just pressing against yours feel so nice, and why her warm body pressing up against yours feels much better than you remember all those lewd fun things you did as the Maou feeling. \n\n... You still kind of want to squeeze her butt, but decide maybe later. You do have just enough emotional intelligence to realize that might ruin the moment.\n\nEventually Stacia draws away a bit, her face red, but a smile on her lips as she squirms in place again. "I... I'm really glad that... w-well, I mean, part of me wishes you'd done it for yourself, but I guess a big part of me is really glad that you care that much about me that you'd do this for me."\n\nYou nod, searching for the right words to say. In many ways being a human has just never really 'took' for you... you still so often feel like an outsider looking in. It's hard to know what you should say... or want to say.\n\n<hr>\n[["We'll be great adventurers."|Reth]]\n\n[["... I have to tell you something."|Reth10x2]]

"Stacia," you say slowly, taking a step back. You find yourself nibbling your lower lip and make yourself stop. "There's something you should know. I... I'm not who you think I am."\n\n"What?" she says, blinking.\n\n"I mean, I am... I'm definitely the Reth you've grown up beside, all of that was real and who I am. It's just that... I was someone before that. I reincarnated into this life, keeping all the memories of my old one."\n\n"Reincarnated...?" Stacia blinks some more, still seeming flummoxed. "Like... a Hero?"\n\n"Ah. Well. Yes, sort of, except..." You lift your hands, then turn them wrist-over-wrist to point in opposite directions. "Only the other thing."\n\nStacia stares at you blankly for a moment... before her eyes widen and clasp over her mouth. "W-wait, you're saying... you're saying you were the Demon King?!"\n\n"The one that the mortal races called the 'Snow White Maou', yes," you say in a defeated tone at seeing her expression, turning away slightly. "After the Hero defeated me, I managed to survive, and decided that the best way to live on and not be disturbed would be to reincarnate as one of the mortal races." You give a soft, bitter laugh. "I guess it just shows my luck that I'd get reborn into a town that loves adventurers so much."\n\n"So... so all along you've...? ... That's why you're odd?!" Stacia squeaks.\n\n"... 'Odd' is one way to put it I guess?" You blink at her, then shrug. "I never actually spent much time around humans that weren't adventurers trying to kill me, so I didn't actually understand them, and I guess all those years of not really understanding them kind of held me back."\n\nSomething about what you said definitely seemed to have an effect on Stacia, causing her to make a strange sort of confused, slightly upset face. But after a moment she nods. "I... I think we need to talk about this. I'll... hear you out, okay? If you're going to be honest with me."\n\n"I promise that I will. I'll answer any questions you have, if I can," you assure her, feeling relieved that it looks like you might have a chance to keep your... well, at the very least your friendship with her.\n\nOnce some simple food has been prepared and both of you are settled, Stacia asks slowly, "So... if you were the Snow White Maou, that means you must have been a monster, right? No one was ever entirely sure what kind... but I heard a lot of people say because of, um... because of some of the things he did, he must have been an incubus," she murmurs, her ears going pink.\n\n"Ah, really? I suppose that makes sense, the humanoid form I used most often was actually that of an incubus I defeated. But no... I was actually an Ireth."\n\n"An Ireth?" Stacia blinks. "Those... those little tentacle monsters? But they're-" She cuts herself off, obviously having been about to say something like 'pathetic' or 'weak', her face going red. "Not... human-like?"\n\nGiving her a tolerant grin, you say, "I was born with some special abilities, like taking the forms and powers of things I consumed. I... don't think I have that power anymore," you say with a frown. "I've certainly never gotten any powers or forms from the food I've eaten, but then I've never eaten it the same way I did as an Ireth before. But yes... I was a lowly and weak monster. But also, I was a white Ireth... I soon came to understand, as my intelligence grew with the things I ate, that I seemed to be of special interest to the adventurers who hunted in the swamp where I lived."\n\nStacia winces. "... For your eyes."\n\n"Yes. Even as I grew large enough to take on other forms, like wolves and deer, I learned that my unique coloration drew the attention of adventurers and made them eager to kill me, and I came to understand that I would always be hunted. I started to focus on how to run away and hide... until I met another monster that convinced me that there was no way to run and hide forever, and that the only way to be safe from those who were stronger than myself was to be the strongest in existence."\n\n"And that's when you decided to become the Maou," Stacia says quietly.\n\n"Yes. That was the strongest position available to me as a Monster, and what would keep me safe from both the Mortal Races and other monsters. I suppose, in the end, almost every important decision I made along the way was about trying to survive and be safe... even reincarnating."\n\n"Until you decided to become an adventurer," Stacia protests... then her eyes widen. "To... be with me."\n\n"Yeah... I guess I've decided there are things more important than being safe." You grin wryly. "Like being with you. And keeping you safe."\n\nIt seems to take Stacia awhile to absorb that, clutching her cup of soup and staring into the fire. Finally, she says, "Reth, I know that... the Snow White Maou... ... you... he was said to be, well... at least not overly cruel to the common people, even in the lands that he conquered. But that he... you... were truly awful to adventurers, doing all sorts of, um... wicked things to them. Hearing about your experiences, I guess I understand where that came from... I guess my question is..."\n\nShe hesitates a bit, before finally blurting, "Would you do the same today, if you became the Maou again?!"\n\n<hr>\n[[Maybe.|Reth]]\n\n[[Probably.|Reth]]\n\n[[No.|Reth]]

Hm... Tina's probably going to be in a fairly excitable state right now, and having someone jumpy and overemotional with you as you delve into Pervcursor ruins seems like a recipe for disaster. Probably much better if you go it on your own, you decide, claiming the job for yourself.\n\nYou hit up your vault for various items you think will be helpful, and to pick up a precision rifle... sometimes Pervcursor traps can be taken out from a distance with careful shots, so it's always good to have that option going in. Well, so you've heard... you've never actually gone into any yourself, but hey, gotta be a first time for everything.\n\nAfter loading up you head to the departure annex, finding an available portal cubicle and tapping in the code included in the job listing. The portal deposits you on a barren, rocky plain, the air breathable but not terribly pleasant... a bit thin with a heavy taste of dust. Obviously sometime between when the Pervcursors were active here and now the biosphere collapsed, at least locally. (Either that or they caused it or... ... honestly it could be a lot of things and none of them are really relevant to why you're here, so just set it aside.) Not too far away there's a set of pillars and maybe a little bit of ceiling left made out of something that looks like stone but it as smooth and seemingly freestanding-capable as metal. Walking over, you see that it's a long, wide stairway heading downward into darkness, obviously the entrance of the ruins.\n\n'I'd make some comment about it being kinda dumb of her to go down there alone, but,' you think dryly, hefting your rifle up a bit into position. Well, no reason to stand out here breathing the crappy air any longer than necessary...\n\n<hr>\n[[Head inside.|ChiPerv]]\n\n[[Take extra precautions.|ChiPerv1x2]]

'Yeah, and what'd the rich lady do wrong either that you know of?' you think sourly, forcing yourself to bend forward and attach the disk to the underside of the bed frame, hitting the button without looking at it. 'You already decided on this bullshit when you took this job. You don't get to feel all fucked-up now.'\n\nAnd yet the thought of raiding the kitchen before you leave doesn't even occur to you as you get up and leave the house, your stomach suddenly too twisted-up to even think about food.\n\nIt looks like the next house is already empty, a convenient happenstance of you arriving near dinner. Once again you pick the lock and slip inside, heading upstairs. You pause again, looking around at the bits of scattered clothes, the posters, the stuffed panther sitting on a shelf so it can pretend to be a decoration instead of a beloved childhood comfort that couldn't be given up. 'Another teenager? What the actual fuck. This job is twisted as hell,' you grouse mentally as you fish out the next bomb and move to the bed.\n\nSuddenly it's as if something grips your entire body, a giant invisible hand that lifts you up and twists you through the air as you yelp. You find yourself slammed back against the wall, arms and legs pinned, even your jacket plastered against you, your face feeling slightly restricted... it's like a layer of clingwrap has been applied over you and vacuum-sealed against the wall, even though you can still breathe.\n\nStanding in the room, despite not having made a sound or a single indication of her arrival, is a woman probably a few years older than you. Her black hair is cut fairly short around the back, though there are two very long falls of it framing her face, a tight black shirt scooped low in front over her large breasts and a crushed-fabric skirt that comes all the way to her ankles. She's regarding you a bit like someone that's dropped a glass over a particularly ugly insect before it could sting them as she holds one hand out, palm pointed at you.\n\n"Would you care to explain why exactly you're planting what I assume is a bomb under my sister's bed?"\n\n"... I mean," you reply in a strained tone, since there's a bit of pressure on your chest, and also you've apparently pissed off a Sith Lord or something. "There's... a couple of answers to that but I only know one."\n\n"Do enlighten me then," the woman prompts, moving her hand very slightly towards you and making you 'whf' as more air is pushed out of you.\n\n"Took a job! I took a job, that's all I know!" you blurt, because frankly a C-rank job does not pay nearly enough for you to try and tough this bullshit out. "No details, no idea who posted it or why, for real!"\n\n"... Mm." The black-haired woman eyes you for a long moment, then says, "Tell me who you are and where you came from. And I mean, be thorough. And I'll know if you're lying."\n\n"Uhhhh... hey, listen, not that I tend to lie to people that can pin me to the wall with their brains, but it's gonna sound like I'm bullshitting you, so-"\n\n"Oh no, I assure you I'm aware of far more than you might think. And I am quite interested in your life's story right now, assassin."\n\n... Well. Whatcha gonna do? You tell her everything. You start with waking up in a slave pen, being sold to the old man, being trained by your senior slaves, the last crumbling downfall of the old man into ruin, existence on Makarzia, and running jobs for GIPSE. Through it all, the woman looks mildly fascinated, but never gives any sign of letting you down. Once you finish by telling her about taking the job and placing the other two bombs, she nods slowly... then turns her hand.\n\nYou yelp as you go flying towards her, your throat catching in the curl of her hand, your own hands snapping up to grip her forearm. "Very interesting. You appear to be nobody from nowhere, don't you?"\n\n"Pretty much," you rasp out around her grip on your throat.\n\n"And yet you think it was a coincidence the job was taken by someone like you? Oh no, little mercenary, someone very specifically looked for a weapon like you to do this. Unfortunately for them, your nature makes you very easy to claim as a weapon of my own."\n\n"What the hell does that-" Then you gasp as there's a strange ripping, tearing feeling inside you. It's not painful like actual injury should be, you're not sure if it's even physical, and then there's the feeling of something slamming into you, rocking your body even before the woman half-tosses you to the floor. You shudder, barely managing to get to hands and knees, coughing as you put a hand to your throat. "The hell'd you do to me?!"\n\n"It's really quite simple... I claimed you." At you looking up at her in shock and confusion, she smiles. "You were nobody from nowhere... well, now you are Kai Darkholme, my dear little sister."\n\n"The fuck are you talking about?!" you demand as you scramble to your feet. "Sister?!"\n\n"Yes. Oh, I suppose you should know my name then. It's Baal. And our little sister, whose bed you were trying to bomb... which seems a little much even for sibling rivalry dear... is named Maya." Baal chuckles softly at your look of abject confusion. "Your place in reality was tenuous at best, it was astoundingly simple to anchor you in a role I wanted for you instead."\n\n"You're-!"\n\n"Now now. You're about to make your big sister very mad. How about you go take a look at the second doorway over from this one?"\n\nEyeing her, but eager to take any opportunity to get away from the superpowered crazy lady, you edge over to the door and then out into the hallway. The smart thing to do would be to bolt for the stairs... and yet curiosity winds up pulling you over towards the door she mentioned. And you wind up staring at the little nameplate shaped like an edgy bird emblem reading 'Kai'. Drifting back into shock, you turn the handle and step inside, looking around at a room that feels... weirdly comfy. You even recognize some of the Earth movies with posters on the walls, the few you actually got to see and really liked. Spotting a shirt on the floor, you pick it up and hold it against your front.\n\nJust your size.\n\n"You may not remember it, but as far as this world is concerned, Kai Darkholme has always existed," Baal says from the doorway, looking mildly smug as she folds her arms under her chest.\n\n"This... why would you even do this?" you ask with a scowl, turning towards her.\n\n"Because by doing this I've anchored you here... your little beacon that you use to pop around dimensions won't work, you'd just get pulled right back here as long as I'm maintaining this spell. So no more jobs, no more Guild, no more precious little Zee... until I say so."\n\nTrying to keep your hands from shaking with rage, you drop the shirt and turn fully towards her. "What the fuck do you want?" you snarl.\n\n"I want you to keep Maya safe until I can figure out who's trying to hurt her. Oh, and these other people, I suppose," Baal adds with a slight roll of the eyes that says she really couldn't care less, save that such protection leads her to the information she needs. "To that end, you will remain Kai Darkholme until the threat is eliminated. Succeed in protecting her, I'll cut loose the anchor. Fail, or test me too much, and I'll just get rid of you in some way that amuses me and find some other method to protect Maya."\n\n"Not giving me much of a choice here," you mutter, scowling at her.\n\n"No, I believe that's the point of holding all the leverage, is dangling the other party like a little worm on a big fuckin' hook," Baal says pleasantly, eyes flicking towards one of the movie posters. "So, that's how it is. Now, you can either be a good girl, settle in, and wait for your new bodyguarding charge to get home, or you can be defiant and I'll just wrap things up right here."\n\n<hr>\n[["... Fine."|KaiGuild]]\n\n[["No. You know what? Fuck this. Fuck you."|KaiGuild]]

You hesitate briefly, then huff a little and tap the job. 'Does it even fucking matter? It's just setting some bombs and walking away. Whatever they do isn't my problem.'\n\nYou wait for the job information to come through, then duck into the vault room, deciding to pick up a gun just in case. Never know, and Doonian's rule only applies to Makarzia. Obviously all the guns he actually leaves in the vault for you to use are absolute shit, but it's better than nothing. But, the vault room is also where you pick up the time bombs intended for the job... a series of hand-sized silver disks about an inch thick with a simple button and timer on them. You hold one in your hand for awhile, turning it over a few times, then shrug and shove it in your pocket. Whatever. Now off to the portal annex.\n\nYou step out of the portal and onto a street in the suburbs of Earth, somewhere in America. Nowhere near your first time on Earth... lots of jobs take you here. Looks like maybe... early 21st century? You make sure your katana's a bit better hidden in your coat and that your holstered blaster doesn't show before consulting the little GPS device that came with the bombs. Let's see, nearest one...\n\nWell, it's a mansion, so you automatically feel less bad about this one at least. You spend a little while eyeing it, settling in unobtrusively. Eventually you watch as a really hot blonde in a skimpy dress comes out and gets into an insanely expensive car (you're guessing, for this period on Earth) and drives off. Looks like there are still servants, including the one who handed the car off to her, but you can avoid them easily enough. You've had time to judge where the cameras along the wall are and dip through a blind spot to haul yourself up and over, weaving across the grounds and finding an open window. After that it's mostly just a careful stroll through the hallways, occasionally ducking to avoid a servant, until you can slip into the massive bedroom that must belong to the blonde. Ducking down, you tuck the time bomb labeled for this address under the bed and tap the activation button, then it's just a matter of getting back out the way you came.\n\nThe next one... is a little rougher.\n\n'C'mon, you fucking kidding me?' you think a little despairingly from where you're settled in a tree, heart sinking some as you watch what's obviously a family home... with a family coming out of it. Pretty, obviously well-off people to be sure, all blonde-haired and perfect-skinned like a perfect little dream, but one of them's a hot if slightly bitchy-looking girl only a couple of years younger than you, and the other's a boy who's, what, sixteen? Maybe? You watch them all get in the car and drive off, probably off to have a nice dinner together.\n\nYour stomach growls. ... Shit.\n\nWaiting until the car's out of sight, you drop out of the tree and decide to enter from the back, just so you're less obvious. You hop the fence there, glancing aside at the chain link fenced portion of the back yard where a pair of large Golden Retrievers have started barking at you. You just look at them for a moment before dragging your mind back to your work, consulting the map guide again as you spend a few minutes picking the lock (damn physical ones) before heading inside and upstairs, into the room indicated by the map. You stop almost the moment you come in, taking a look around at the posters on the wall, many of them just titillating enough that they'd likely avoid any motherly scolding, others of dramatic cartoon characters clashing. The shelves are lined with toy robots, and there are multiple game consoles under the TV.\n\n'... Yup. This is definitely the kid's room.'\n\nYou slowly sink down to sit on the bed, drawing out the labeled time bomb and looking at it. What the fuck? Nothing about this place says that this family's politically active or has any dark secrets. Not that you've looked around extensively, but... why? You've had contracts to take people out before, but this time just... why?\n\n... Why a teenage boy?\n\n<hr>\n[[You can't do this.|KaiGuild]]\n\n[[...|KaiGuild3x2]]

Oh my yes, a demon lord selling a shop full of cursed goods to eager adventurers is a delightful little twist! You hope no other demon lord who might have reincarnated into a human ever copies you by becoming a merchant! \n\nYou spend a bit appraising which of the shops has the best size and location for your needs, then head on inside and ask to speak to the owner. You barter for a bit about the price of purchasing the building and everything in it on the spot, and eventually overpay considerably to get him to agree to it. It's not like it's any skin off of your nose, the 294th Demon Lord's power "Greed's Manifest" allows you to generate as much local currency as you need. It is slightly cursed currency... the more of it and faster the shopkeep spends, the better off he'll be, since the further apart the pieces of currency created by the skill get the weaker their curse becomes. If he decides to sleep with it under his mattress for awhile instead, well... eh, not your problem! \n\nOnce the owner and his counter girl have been shooed out, you close up the shop and spend awhile looking around. Between the abilities of the 248th Demon Lord, the 414th Demon Lord, and Demon Lords 110-113, you should be able to whip up just about anything you might like to sell... in order to entrap adventurers and send them off to the Monolith to power it forever, of course! Now let's see, you'll need a look to run the place. You want to be the ideal shopkeeper to seem normal and not arouse suspicion, but also to bring in customers and put them at ease when they're there... someone who seems trustworthy but not terribly memorable. So female, old enough to seem a bit motherly but young enough to still be just coming into her own, a common hair color like black but put a little fluff in it... yes, there we go, pull it back into a puffy ponytail and let a few falls frame your pretty face (pretty, not beautiful, don't want people wondering why she's running a shop and not being married off to some noble), grey eyes, large-ish chest but simple clothes of a white blouse and long black skirt with an apron over it so that it's not really emphasized, aaand done!\n\n<img src="images/ShopkeeperMaxia.png">\n\nMaxine the shopkeep, ready for business! Hm, tomorrow though... if the old guy has regulars, they'd definitely think it was odd to switch shop owners in the middle of the day. So you spend a little while securing the upstairs, enchanting it so that anyone who manages to sneak in uninvited will see a simple, unassuming feminine room full of all the standards of someone living above their workplace, rather than the den of decadence and sin you've actually turned it into should you feel the need to bring someone upstairs for personal time.\n\nDuring the night you switch out the old sign for one reading 'Maxine's Specialty Adventuring Goods', and in the morning you open up, doing your best to stay largely in the mindset of an actual shopkeeper... dusting, checking your inventory, making sure you have money on hand for making change. (It's cursed, but that shouldn't actually adversely affect anyone who's not enough of a dick to use you to break a orihalcum coin or something.) In ones and twos curious adventurers (and a few that look like just locals) come in and poke around, getting greated with "Welcome to Maxine's, specializing in rare and custom equipment for any need you might have!" Of course some of them look dubious... most of the 'standard' stock the shop came with is still out, but for the ones brave enough to explain, you assure them that most of the rare imports and custom jobs are kept out of sight, due to not wanting them prodded casually. You make a few good (but not jaw-dropping, again don't want anyone getting suspicious) deals on some standard equipment, and make a show of going into the storage area and returning with some custom equipment. You make sure these first handful of pieces are normal... for one thing you're not particularly interested in hooking every single person that just wants an enchanted sword or cloak, that would be a bit dull.\n\nNo, what you're hoping for are people asking for something special. Something they need, or more likely, desperately want. And your opportunity for that comes at about midday when a pair of adventurers stroll in to look around. Both are a bit rough and wild-looking, the woman human with shortish, scruffy black hair and a scar on one cheek, wearing a tight black top that bares her toned arms and chiseled abs, and snug pants with armor plates over the hips as well as armored boots. The other is a Luparo, mostly human-looking but with a pair of canine ears poking up from his (slightly less scruffy) brown hair, wearing a jacket over an otherwise bared chest, as well as snug leather pants and fur-topped boots. You give them the typical welcome along with the usual explanation, and both begin wandering around... but the Luparo man seems to be wandering with purpose, and soon winds his way up to the counter and says in a low voice, "So hey, do you really have something for anything?"\n\nOh my, now this is what you were hoping for! Someone with a need. Keeping your smile gentle, you nevertheless let your eyes twinkle and keep your voice low as well. "Just about!"\n\n"Um, so hey, here's the deal. I've been adventurin' together with Iola there for two years now," he continues, glancing quickly at the woman examining the sword rack before looking back at you. "And like, I keep waitin' for somethin' to happen, 'cause it feels like there's a connection, but uh... it ain't," he adds, wolf ears drooping mournfully.\n\nDespite the fact that he's giving you a perfect setup already, you can't quite help but ask, "Have you thought of just... asking her?"\n\n"I mean yeah, obviously, but I dunno, that's never how it's been with any other girl, things just... happened," he complains quietly. "And I mean don't get me wrong, I ain't asking for a love potion or any weird junk like that, I was just hoping that you had something that could like... help us connect. Y'know, just get in touch with our inner selves or get over whatever's keepin' us from clickin' or whatever it is. I mean... y'got anything like that?"\n\nTch, what is it with mortals and point-blank refusing to talk to each other? From the scattering of memories you've inherited from the previous demon lords, this is actually a recurring problem between heroes and their love interests... oh well, more for you to exploit. "I think I have something that could help with that, yes," you answer, smiling encouragingly as you lean down, reaching under the counter. "For that, you'll want-"\n\n<hr>\n[["-these rings."|MaxShop1x1]]\n\n[["-this telescope."|MaxShop]]\n\n[["-a bottle of wine."|MaxShop]]

A long time ago on a Guildhall far, far away, there was a young merc named Kiara Lorde. Now, Kiara wasn't particularly standout or special... she didn't have any superhuman abilities and she didn't have any particularly notable training or connections. She was just a young woman who happened to be decent with weapons and be quick-thinking enough not to die right out of the gate, and thus increase her chances for longterm survival. In fact, if Kiara could be said to have anything noteworthy about her at all, it was that she was very adapatable. The more dangerous scenarios she survived through the better she became at handling them. The more she fired guns and swung swords, the better she got with them. The more computer security she ran into, the more enchanted traps she almost set off, the faster and more efficient she got past the next one. When she picked up a new gadget she was soon using it almost without thinking about it, when she learned a new spell she'd be casting it without chanting or gesturing in a few months. The more morally dubious situations she encountered, the more she learned to ignore the fussy little voice in her head telling her to be a hero and instead take the path that would let her survive... or, eventually, let her get paid.\n\nBit by bit, built on the back of little more than adaptability and a thirst to survive and succeed, the very unspecial young woman became a very rich and very well-connected mercenary... rich and well-connected enough that when yet another one of her original body parts began to lose function because of all the stresses her missions had put it under, rather than getting it replaced with a healthy cloned part or a simple cybernetic implant like all the times before, she took a trip to a heavily restricted post-Singularity megafuture dimension. There she had her mind transferred into a nanocolony... no primitive collection of silver goo here, this was an ultra-advanced collection of self-replicating sub-microscopic robots capable of linking themselves together to the extent of forming internal organs and giving off biological signatures, effectively giving you a flesh-and-blood body even to advanced medical scanners. They drew ambient power from all available sources around them, rendering the once rather unspecial girl effectively immortal and unkillable, as long as a single one of her nanites survived.\n\nOf course changing to a totally technological body removed her ability to use magic, which Kiara was not very happy about. So she acquired (through means best not discussed) the 'unlock' code for her nanites and modified them so that every time a new one was made, it's teeny, tiny surface was completely covered in an intricate tapestry of magic runes. Over the next few weeks as new nanites replaced old rune-less ones, her ability to use magic returned... and then strengthened massively. With every cell in her body now geared to use and process magic, able to convert natural and technological sources of energy to arcane energy and vice versa, magic became an almost instinctual force for her... very little thought was necessary to use spells, or even create entirely new ones. Unlocking the restrictions on the nanites also allowed her full control over her form, allowing her to change her appearance and body as she wished, and even make alterations to her mind... like finally getting rid of the last vestiges of that pesky 'conscience'. Eliminated of such a thing, as well as distracting needs for stuff like 'food' and 'sleep' (unless you felt like it), Kiara upped her merc rating to the top tiers within a matter of years, securing her place as one of the best and most famous members of the Guild of Interdimensional Professionals, Specialists, and Enforcers.\n\nYou are of course Kiara, your brain/CPU reminds you as you wake up and sit up in bed, yawning and stretching, arms briefly extending in length before you pull them back to their default. It can be helpful to have little reminders like that, actually, complete with the brief review of certain flagged memory logs. Certain of your missions and actions over the years have led to... let's call it 'identity creep'. You stand up and briefly check the mirror just to be sure you didn't 'creep' in the night and that your body is currently at the default of its appearance before you underwent the nanite procedure... tall, modest of breast and hip, pale, with pink eyes and platinum hair. You have your hair draw itself up into its usual ponytail at the middle-back of your head, then head into the training virtusuite waiting room, mentally activating the ready feature. You drift lightly into the air as the anti-grav activates, not letting you be prepared for whatever environment your randomized training program will throw you into today. You curl lightly onto your back, forming up your usual garb of loose short-sleeved jacket with raised collar, skintight shirt with built-in fingerless gloves, snug pants and high-performance boots... all of it in black and hot pink, of course, to complement your complexion. \n\n<img src="images/Kiara.jpg">\n\n"In today's simulation, you have been hired to suppress a rebel uprising. The rebels are in control of three city blocks. Primary objective involves removal of rebel command structure, secondary objective is complete suppression of rebel forces. Collateral damage and civilian casualties are not a factor."\n\n"Oh good, I always like when I actually get to have fun with these," you coo.\n\nReally, it only takes you about an hour... without having to be particularly subtle, it's mostly just playing around finding different ways to kill anyone that shoots at you. Or runs from you. Everyone, pretty much. Really near the end of the hour you're just hosing down the place with massive destructive magic and more conventional explosives, which completes both objectives pretty fast. Satisfied that everything's working as it should, you exit the virtusuite and instead enter your office, settling down into the comfy chair in front of your workstation and calling up a cup of high quality coffee from the replicator. You don't need caffeine any more than you need sleep, but both are nice to have as a way of marking the start and end of a day. Now, to properly start the day, time to take a look at your available jobs.\n\nThese aren't the general job listings of the Guild, however, oh no. You haven't taken a job through or by the Guild itself in years... no, you're famous enough that important, high-paying people offer you jobs directly. The Guild doesn't particularly care, so long as you pay your dues and all your rental fees (including for the company hall for your MC, the 'Split Infinity'.) Your high rank also entitles you to the maximum temporal shift available to the Guildhall, which means you can let some jobs linger for years but for your clients only minutes will have passed before your acceptance. It lets you have some nice leeway on picking and choosing what you feel like doing.\n\nYou go through the list of jobs, here or there tagging one to be carried out by one of the other members of your company, and making a mental note to give the aide responsible for compiling this morning's list a spanking for not correctly identifying which ones weren't worth your time and putting them on the company board instead. That done, you focus on the jobs that do seem of interest and profit. Let's see, let's see... a very rich man wants to hire you to [[make sense-recordings for him|KiSenseStart]], which is something you've done plenty of times before. Rich people often like to experience doing things that they don't want to risk themselves to do and wouldn't have the skill for even if they did. Still, those sorts of missions can be a lot of fun! You also see several [[gathering|KiGatherJobs]] missions... basically going and grabbing up particular people or things and bringing them back for the client. One or two [[elimination|KiaraKillJobs]] missions, which as this morning's training proved can be very fun, especially the fewer limitations there are.\n\nWhile you're thinking it over, you do a quick check, then tap the comm. "Kit, could you come to my office, please?" \n\nA moment later the outer door slides open, a slender, youthful figure running in. Kit has short blonde hair with largeish feline ears poking up from the sides of it, brown skin, and mismatched eyes of yellow and blue. She's wearing a long red hooded jacket, tight 3/4-sleeved black top, and white tanktop, as well as black tights under black denim short-shorts and slightly mismatched black leather boots. The slight aping of your own outfit is obvious, though where she got the idea for the goggles that almost always rest around her neck, you've no idea.\n\n<img src="images/Kit.png">\n\n"Yes'm! Good morning, what can I do for you?" Kit gushes eagerly.\n\n"You compiled this morning's job list, right?"\n\n"Yes'm! Did it all by myself," the young catgirl declares proudly, ears perking up and tail swishing excitedly.\n\n"There were at least three jobs on there that should have gone on the company board instead," you inform her blandly, holding up three fingers for emphasis.\n\n"... Oh." Her ears and tail as well as her shoulders droop. "Um, sorry, ma'am, I really thought they looked-" Her ears stand up again and her tail puffs out as you curl two fingers back in and point the remaining one at your lap... before she sighs, hanging her head as she walks over, already undoing her shorts. With a motion that's a bit more experienced than you might like, she bends herself over her lap and, at the same time, pushes her shorts and tights down around her slender thighs, baring her pert brown butt and smooth pink pussy as her tail sullenly raises up. She squirms a little as you give one buttock a light squeeze, before yipping as you deliver the first spank of... well, you'll decide when you're done.\n\n'Very cute and with potential, but she really needs seasoning,' you muse, sipping your coffee with one hand and continuing to spank the wriggling, yelping catgirl on your lap with the other, eyes on the screen. 'Hm, maybe I should do a [[training job|KiMentorStart]] with her, maybe one or two of the other smols. Fun is fun, but keeping the Split Infinity a top-notch MC is important too.'

You grimace. "Oh my god, she's still pulling that shit?"\n\n"You better believe it. Anyway, she kidnapped him downtown so she probably took him to a penthouse registered in her name that's nearby, I'll send you the address. The cops are, as usual, hanging back because they're afraid she might have transformed him already, so it's up to you to get in there and hopefully stop that or, failing that, take him down so he can be reverted."\n\nYou quickly duck into the locker room, startling the girls currently changing for gym at your appearance out-of-schedule, and all the moreso when you change into your superhero outfit instead of your gym clothes. You race back out and out of the school itself, both ignoring the angry shout of the guard matron and your Id's suggestion that you flip her off in passing. You get to your motorcycle and take off, as you do mentally reviewing what you know of the Studfinder.\n\nWith a name like that she sounds like she ought to be some sort of Dad Villain or something, but really she's more the city's most infamous cougar, both before and after her turn to supervillainy. Back when she was just Darlene Dunworth, she was both famous and infamous depending on who you asked, prowling practically every high-society event looking for a good lay... them being young and hot and strong was apparently considered a bonus but not a necessity, as she'd give anyone who seemed likely to give her a satisfying tumble a chance. (Almost entirely men, but she did once make a few passes at you. Years ago, so even more yikes. Your father overheard and very calmly picked her up and threw her in a nearby swimming pool. ... dangit, Dad, why did you have to actually be awesome sometimes?)\n\nBut supposedly after a night where she got extremely drunk and wandered into the host's stables, she became obsessed with finding a man who could become the perfect blend of human and horse to become her lover. She paid a supervillain to come up with a horseman serum, and has spent the last few years (mostly) kidnapping men and trying it on them. Unfortunately for everyone else, as a side effect of the change, most of her victims not only become big, incredibly strong, and extremely durable, but hyperaggressive and near-berserker. Considering she likes to try it on guys like professional athletes and bodybuilders, not exactly good for public safety, the whole issue of "kidnapping" and "nonconsensual body altering" aside.\n\nSo yeah, hopefully you can get there and stop her before she actually changes the guy, because if not you'd most likely have to fight him and knock him out so that SHINE Labs could put him back to normal. Studfinder's amped herself up a bit genetically too, but you don't see nearly as much difficulty in fighting her.\n\nYou soon arrive in the area of the building where Studfinder's current lair is... a bunch of high-end condos, essentially. You eye the building itself, then take a glance around. Hm... okay, you see two methods. One is to actually go in the building and go up through it quickly, like a normalish person. The other is to use a grapple launcher that Style gave you as part of your hero kit to go up either the building itself or the taller one across from it. Much more hero-y (and admittedly probably more fun), but it does kind of put some strain on even your arms and back (you wonder how guys like Knightsky that use them all the time deal with it), not good if you do wind up having to fight.\n\n<hr>\n[[Go in the building.|MarSS12x3]]\n\n[[Use the launcher.|MarSS]]

Yeah you clearly haven't figured out the launcher properly yet, best not to show up with a dislocated shoulder or something.\n\nYou hurry into the building, noticing that there's a station for a lobby guard or something but that it's unmanned... you wonder if Studfinder cleared out the entire place to have privacy for her little scheme or something. Either way, there's no one to give you problems as you make your way through, then pause again.\n\nThere's the elevator, and there's the stairwell. It's not a terribly tall building so you could take the stairs without much of a problem, but it probably will take more time... but that's also obviously the route that will announce you the least. You bet the elevator's pretty quick in a modern building like this, but no doubt even if you try to hack the controls there will be a nice loud ding to announce you well before the doors open. So which is more important, speed or surprise?\n\n<hr>\n[[Try to take her by surprise, use the stairs.|MarSS13x1]]\n\n[[Get up there as fast as possible, use the elevator.|MarSS12x4]]

Lara's cheeks flush a little, but her eyes start sparkling as her smile turns into that room-brightening one that makes your heart flutter every single time. "I love you too."\n\nYou never should have said a damn thing.\n\n"Morgan. You need to turn on the news," your father's voice says from the phone, in a tone that sends a shiver of horrid anticipation down your spine.\n\n"Which one?"\n\n"... Any of them," he adds in a softer tone before cutting the line.\n\nYour hand would be shaking if you didn't have so much control over your muscles. Whatever it is, it's bad, and you hesitate just a little before hitting the power button, the TV screen glowing to life.\n\n"-incident involving the Diamond River Bridge and an attack by an alien life form," the newscaster's voice says, instantly plunging your heart into your stomach. "This recently-surfaced video throws the details of the death of bestselling author and columnist Lucas Langtree into question. We warn you, the images you are about to see may be too shocking for some viewers," he adds, his tone so perfectly solemn that it's clear he's barely keeping the excitement out of it at getting to use that phrase.\n\nInstantly the view switches to a slightly grainy, obviously heavily zoomed (and possibly filtered a bit to give it an even further 'found footage' feel) of yourself, several years younger, and currently holding up most of the rubble of an entire bridge on your shoulders, barely keeping it off of the ground. A steel-haired man is laying at your feet, and though the video isn't from an angle to show his face, your mind fills it in, every single detail, every single wrinkle and every crease of pain from the rebar running through his leg and pinning him to the ground. The only sounds on the video are the still distant ones of combat going on, and people shouting and calling as they point, likely too distant to see what the camera can, the resolution just barely enough to make out your lips moving, a hard shake of the head, then a slump.\n\nAs the you on the screen blurs into motion, you can't help but close your eyes, tears slipping down your cheeks at the sounds of the bridge collapsing completely and people screaming.\n\n"At this time, representatives of the Guardian Sentinels have not issued a statement on one of their members apparently leaving an injured man to die to save himself. This act has-"\n\nYou hit the power button again, setting down the remote and slumping forward to put your face in your hands. "... Shit."\n\nYou don't even really recall getting in the car or setting out to Lara's place until you hear the beep of an incoming call. You numbly tap the 'Receive' button, eyes still on the road, reacting to it without really seeing it.\n\n"Cal. I know all of this seems bad. But you shouldn't see her right now. It's too raw. You need to be with your family. Let Metatron handle the press, for right now we-"\n\nHuh. You've never hung up on your mother before. And yet right now you feel nothing at doing it. Wild.\n\nAt the sight of the giant number of reporters and camera crews gathered on Lara's lawn, you resist the urge to step on the gas and instead park at the curb. Of course the moment you're out you're being swarmed by them, microphones shoved in their face as each one tries harder than the last to provoke a reaction.\n\n"Mister Mekborne, were you aware of the circumstances surrounding your girlfriend's father's death!"\n\n"Does Mekborne Publishing plan to sue Caliburn for the death of one of its most lucrative authors!"\n\n"Mister Mekborne, Mister Mekborne, do you plan any retaliation for the coward Caliburn killing your girlfriend's father!"\n\nYou slowly look around, saying nothing for a moment. Then, your voice flat, you announce, "I will personally hack and post on the internet the contents of the hard drives of anyone who is still within viewing distance of the Langtree residence three minutes from now."\n\nThe entire crowd goes absolutely silent for several seconds... before there's a mad scurrying for their news vans, several of them actually peeling out in their desperation to be gone. Not giving them another thought, you head down the sidewalk and up the front walk, Lara already cautiously opening the door as you approach. Then she throws it open and tosses herself into your arms, already sobbing against your shoulder.\n\nSoon the two of you are inside, Lara slumping onto the couch and resting her head on one hand. "This is insanity... it's just... crazy."\n\n"Yeah," you murmur numbly, standing with your hands clasped, head lowered. "... How's Lily holding up?"\n\n"I sent her to our grandmother's the first I got wind of this, she may not even know yet," Lara replies in an exhausted tone. She's quiet for long moments, her face slowly, gradually twisting as tears start to run down her cheeks. "How... how is this even real...?" She brings a hand up to her face, pressing as if to try and hold her head on as she lets out a sob. "... How could Caliburn do that?"\n\nYou silently clench your jaw, feeling every single word tear a bit more of your heart out as she speaks through her sobs. "He just... left him! He was holding the bridge up just fine, help would have gotten there, but he left him, he left and the bridge, it...!" Lara rises to her feet, hands shaking as she takes a few hesitant steps in one direction, then realizes she's not actually going anywhere and stops. "... I bought Lily his action figure last year for her birthday... I actually... ... I think she might have it with her now... he's on posters in her room, I... just... how could he do that? How?"\n\n<hr>\n[["..."|Cal5x1]]\n\n[["... I'm sorry."|Cal]]\n\n[["... For you."|Cal4x3]]

"He made me do it for you."\n\nLara's head snaps towards you at the words, before her lips part as you slip your glasses off and run a hand through your hair. More tears start sliding down her cheek, her hand shaking as she brings it up to cover her mouth as you raise your head, staring at her as you square your shoulders and let your head take on a different tilt.\n\n"... He was on the bridge that day because he was rushing home. To you and Lily. In his research for his latest book he'd learned some things he wasn't supposed to, and an organization put out a hit... on his family." Your jaw works for a moment, tongue flitting across your lips, and you take a deep breath before you can continue. "It was pure... luck... that our paths crossed that day because he got caught on the bridge when the Kilvards attacked. ... His leg was pinned, I couldn't free him while I was still holding the bridge off of him. He started begging me to save his family. I told him... I told him I couldn't leave him, that maybe he was wrong or the assassin wasn't coming yet, but I checked on you with my hearing and... I heard her sharpening her sword, and..."\n\nTears slip down your face as your voice cracks. "He said 'Please Morgan, please save them'."\n\nYou watch as her entire world falls apart inside her green eyes, everything she knew or understood going to pieces. After long moments of silence, she takes her hand from her face to point shakily at the door. "... Get out." Her face twists into some horribly perfect mixture of agony and loss as she repeats in something like a shout, "Get out!"\n\nYou simply nod, slipping your glasses back on and running a smoothing hand over your hair, hearing her make a soft noise of despair as Caliburn disappears back into Morgan Mekborne right in front of her. You don't say a word as you turn and walk out the door.\n\n"I'm sorry, son."\n\nYou just nod, feeling the cold night wind brush harmlessly over your face, even as it dramatically stirs your red cape and your father's blue and black one. The sleek, glossy screen-helmet of Multi-Core is deliberately designed to convey no emotion, and your father's manner in costume is naturally stoic and reserved, but even then the sincerity of the sentiment comes through. You stare out at the city below, the time and angle rendering the buildings into silhouette despite how well-lit they are otherwise, making the city look not unlike a cemetary with buildings jutting out as tombstones.\n\n"I probably should have told her years ago. Everything," you add a little wistfully. "But especially after it happened."\n\n"I'll tell you now what I told you then, Lucas wouldn't have wanted you to," your father replies sternly. "He was my friend, and I know he'd never have wanted her burdened with knowing you had to let him die to save her and her sister."\n\nYou hesitate, then snort softly. "As if I always listen to you."\n\n"You do," your father answers evenly, inclining his helmeted head. "Because you know I'm always right."\n\n"... Yeah," you say with a sigh, shaking your own head.\n\nThere's the softest whirr of tiny motors in the light power suit he wears as he folds his arms over his chest, looking out at the city as well. "... No, this time I was correct, not right," he says quietly, making you blink in surprise. "What I said about what Lucas would have wanted, that was absolutely correct. But... I was wrong to tell you that." He turns his head back towards you. "I'm sure Lucas would have wanted you to keep silent, even now. Not tell Lara about what happened, not tell her your identity. He'd have expected you to just bear the weight of it alone, rather than inflict it on her, because that's what he was willing to do." Your father looks back at the city, and you can almost hear him frowning beneath the helmet. "But he didn't have to live with that. He took the easy way out, begging for the heroic sacrifice."\n\n"Dad!" you snap, shocked and appalled at those words.\n\n"It's the truth, son. You need to learn that in this business, sacrifice is necessary sometimes but it's rarely heroic. Because it leaves people behind, and a lot of the time they have to clean up your messes." Multi-Core's head lowers a little. "Yes, I'm sure Lucas would have wanted you to just quietly bear it, listening to Lara hate the other half of you right to your face, because he'd think that was the kindest road for her. But he wouldn't have to listen to the woman he loved say she despised him without ever realizing that's what she was saying. He wouldn't have to be her, either, never understanding why it happened, left in a morass of anger and loss without any answers. For him, the answers were all very simple... his life for those of his daughters, he didn't have to think for a moment beyond when that rubble came crashing down other than that he'd gotten what he wanted. ... Prick," he adds with the closest you've ever heard him come to vehemence while in costume. "If you'd gotten yourself into that much trouble and you knew, why didn't you come to me?"\n\nTo anyone else his voice would be just as even and harsh as any time he was sweating some perp for information. You're pretty sure you're one of the only two people that would suspect the tears slipping down his face beneath that expanse of featureless black.\n\n"... I'm sorry, Dad," you say again after long moments. "I know how seriously you take identsec, and I basically told Lara on a whim. Now she's hurt and she's angry and... we can't know what she'll do with that."\n\n"Whatever happens happens, son," he answers after a few moments of silence, surprising you again. "We'll deal with it as necessary. But for now let's give Lara more credit than that. Give her some space to breathe and come to grips and we'll see where it goes." He rolls his armored shoulders, then adds in a tone more like a briefing, "For now the heat is off the cape side. Metatron's successfully established the counternarrative that you had to leave to save other people, and that Lucas understood that. There'll be some back-and-forthing in the media for awhile but it will fizzle relatively soon, especially if you carry on as usual. There may be a little fallout from the civilian side from some of the reporters you threatened, but I'd expect that more in the form of litigation than public smearing," he adds a bit more dryly. "Your skills with a computer are fairly well-known, I don't doubt there were a few computer hard drives given the hammer before the day was out and fear turned to outrage."\n\n"Yeah, sorry about that, I know one of the rules is 'never antagonize the press'," you reply wryly.\n\n"We'll deal. At the worst it was a Morgan Mekborne threat and one firmly in keeping with your public persona. Also one the smarter ones won't be too eager to publicize, considering their reaction to a threat of 'transparency'," he adds with a snort.\n\nHard as it is, you can't see any flaws in your father's advice (this time) and spend the next week or so giving Lara space and just trying to go about your normal life on both sides of the cape. Your heart is heavy the entire time, but there's not a lot else you can do other than try to avoid the news and try to resist the urge to call Lara. To say that it's something of a terrifying relief when your phone lights up with her name and picture is an understatement, and you quickly tap the 'Accept' key. "Lara, hi."\n\n"Hey." Her voice sounds a bit strained, and you can hear her give a slight sniffle, before she continues. "Could we... meet up somewhere and talk? I don't want to at the house but... I want us to be alone."\n\n<hr>\n[["Sure."|Cal]]\n\n[["... Why?"|Cal]]

You're going to feel like a bit of a cad either way, but you guess given the choice you'd rather feel like you were a cad to one of your fellow superheroes than to your longtime friend who is also often your girlfriend. You type back that you'll be there for sure, then sigh a bit as you say, "Computer, put a list of who's marked available tonight on the screen." You skim through, looking for someone who preferably owes you a favor, then spot one. "Open up a secure line to Amerachnid II, please."\n\n"Opening secure channel."\n\nIt takes a few minutes, no doubt due to the other hero finding a secure place to take the call, before you hear his voice. "Hey Cal, what's up? Somebody making trouble?"\n\n"Me, for you, unfortunately." You grin ruefully as you lean back in the chair. "I hate to spring this on you with so little notice, but could you take like the last hour of my watch shift tonight? A civilian thing came up and I really need to be able to take off early."\n\n"Well you did take a shift for me awhile ago. Like right now, or-"\n\n"No, I'm about two hours in."\n\n"Oh, I can totally swing that like it's from a thread, guy, no worries."\n\n"Great, thanks Rac, I really appreciate it," you enthuse before the two of you sign off. There, figured you could count on him. He's one of your closer friends on the cape side, even if you don't really have any of those that know your other identity, but even without that the two of you have a lot in common. You're both legacies, both superpowered, both in college, and from his quipping you'd judge that he's as big of a nerd as you are. There's pretty much only one subject on which the two of you don't have a lot of crossover, but that's not really an issue for either of you.\n\nYou're fairly relieved when the teleporter sounds about fifteen minutes before the last hour of your shift, and a slender figure in black strolls in. "Anybody call for a patriot with a exoskeleton?" he calls, stopping to come to a vague approximation of attention and give a jaunty salute. Though his suit is black all over save for the pair of large white eye lenses, you're familiar enough with it to know about the large spider-shaped emblem covering most of the back, the upper half patterned in the stars and stripes, but deviating from his father's version in that the lower half is patterned in the colored bars of a rainbow.\n\n"You have gotta get a better slogan, my man," you reply with a grin, getting up to clasp hands with him and give him a quick hug.\n\n"Yeaaah I know but Dad refuses to fire Grandpa's PR firm, I'm just lucky he at least bucked the system so that I'm not 'Captain Spider III'." Amerachnid snickers a little, then tosses his thumb in the direction of the teleporters. "Anyway, go on, knowing you you should've asked for the last hour and a half and didn't give yourself any time to prep or travel."\n\n"You're right," you admit, glancing back at the teleporter before giving him a concerned glance. "You're sure this isn't putting you out too much?"\n\n"Nah, it's fine, all I was gonna do was be studying with my boyfriend and that means studying up here will be one less distraction, g'wan."\n\n"Thanks!" you call enthusiastically, giving him a quick slap on the shoulder before zipping over to the teleporter and returning to your apartment. Quickly showering and getting into a suit, you comb your hair into its usual carefully coifed manner, the sort of hair that would make anyone think 'Well he'd never go around with it all manfully tousled' before hurrying down to the garage so that you can arrive by car like a normal person instead of just wandering out of an alley or whatever. You do wind up being the tiniest bit of late, the lights having already been lowered some by the time you settle into your seat, but from Lara's delighted expression as you slide into the seat next to her, you actually arriving before the event starts is plenty. Grinning, you take her hand and the two of you settle in, watching a few of the other students who are performing tonight, as well as her younger sister's talented performance.\n\nAfter the recital you take the two of them out to Lily's favorite fancy place, though you suspect she'd rather be hitting up the semi-ancient pizza place she'd take all her meals from if given the opportunity. Still even she seems to feel that the celebration of a successful violin recital calls for a place where the tablecloths are actually cloth. After you've all ordered she excuses herself, and you're left for the moment alone with Lara. The gorgeous redhead smiles from across the table at you, and you have to admit the sight of her in her little black dress was definitely worth ditching watch duty for. She slips her hand across the table and you wrap yours around it, giving it a squeeze as she speaks. "I'm really glad you were able to make it tonight. For a lot of reasons."\n\n"Yeah, me too. Besides, how could I miss Lily in a dress?" you reply teasingly.\n\nThat gets a little laugh out of Lara, and she shakes her head. "I know, right? It's not like she never does it but it still feels like a special event of its own every time." Her smile turns a bit sad as she glances downward. "Dad always loved it too. Like, he delighted in her twenty-four seven, but seeing her in a dress always put this sparkle in his eye." She sniffles just a little, before admitting with a slight quaver in her voice, "Every time I take a picture of her, and print it out and leave it for him."\n\nYou feel your throat tighten with a pain that's deeper than she could know, and yet again feel the urge to tell her why. Instead you say softly, "I miss him a lot."\n\n"Yeah. Yeah, me too." Lara quickly dabs at her eyes with a napkin, then returns to a warm smile as she places both her hands on yours. "Lily does too, and I think that was one of the reasons she was so hyped when you said you'd be here tonight. I admit I was really worried, but... Morgan, why don't we at least drop the uncertainty? Let's be... well, together-together. Not just 'It's complicated'."\n\n"... I mean, it's still kinda complicated, Lara," you admit with a sigh. "I... I can't promise there won't be more missed recitals or dates ahead, I..."\n\n"No, I know. But tonight you made the effort and as long as you can promise me you'll keep doing that... as long as some dates get kept I don't mind if some get missed, okay?"\n\nYou think on that for a few minutes, wanting to be serious about this, before smiling. "Yeah, I promise. From now on more of an effort to make sure I'm there."\n\n"Thank you. And I'll try to be understanding too, and try to be better about making it clear when I'd just like you to be there and when I need you to be there. Fair?"\n\n"That's totally fair, yeah."\n\n"Great." Lara draws her hands back, again briefly picking up her napkin to carefully dab at her eyes, before frowning and glancing towards the bathrooms. "Did she fall in?"\n\n"Um, Lara, before she gets back, there's something I need to tell you," you say slowly.\n\n"Hm?" Lara blinks her clear green eyes and turns back to you. "What is it, Morgan?"\n\n<hr>\n[["... Not here."|Cal]]\n\n[["... I love you."|Cal4x2]]

You spend the rest of your life being the fuckpet/breeding sow of Asterious Menagerie, and a long, long, happy life it is. Not that they keep you against your will, or never ask if you want to leave, or go out, or do something else besides servicing them, but any thought of doing anything else ever again was burned out of your brain in the epic ninety-three hour gangbang that introduced you to them. The version of you this body came from might have been able to withstand the onslaught of pleasure and sensation and go about her normal life, but for you, for a first time... no, your brain only thinks about fucking, only fucking, only being their pet, their sweet pet, their horny, sweet, fertile little slut.\n\nThat's how you spend your days, very rarely going more than half an hour without a cock inside you unless you're sleeping or eating (and sometimes not even then). Your belly round and heavy and firm with several types of offspring, your constantly overflowing and spurting tits wobbling and sloshing as you're pumped into, your own moans and whimpers having long since descended into being just as animalistic as those of your lovers, your tongue lolling out and eyes rolling up like the bitch being bred that you are.\n\nMultiple generations of new Asterios Menagerie members are born from you, until you take on a place of honor, the most revered and adored slutty piece of fuckmeat you've ever heard of, and if you haven't heard of many who cares, that's what you are and as far as you're concerned it's all you've ever wanted to be. And through it all is Kymon, your love, your owner, your darling, whose cock is your entire reason for living, whether it's rubbing against your face or stretching out your throat or pumping between your milk-spurting tits or putting another calf in you. You love Kymon, and you worship his cock, and he repays your worship with kindness and affection and beastfucking you like he's trying to break you.\n\nYou may have had other plans for your life... but they're not important to you now. All you want is to live forever like this, nothing but a slutty baby factory for grunting, growling beastmen. You couldn't be happier.\n\nFem Leo end - The Menagerie's pet

"Mm. Night clubs can seem innocuous, but a lot of powerful and influential people meet in such places," you note after a few moments. "A lot of opportunities to influence things well outside the scope of a bit of underground sex work."\n\n"Part of our thinking exactly. Now remember, Agent, this is a deep cover operation. You know what that means."\n\n"At least one year under. No direct contact with the Agency unless there's a clear and present danger on at least a citywide scale. If I disappear, cease contact, or am obviously in distress, there will be no rescue mission or any sort of assistance which could result in the Agency's unmasking. I am to reveal my identity to no one, including agents of other investigation and law enforcement agencies, not even to preserve myself," you answer back with the evenness of practice and the ease of genuine belief.\n\n"After one year you are responsible for your own extraction. If after eighteen months you have not extracted yourself or have been out of contact for a sufficient period, you will be deemed compromised and registered as either burned or turned," Central replies with same. "Good luck, agent."\n\nWith that, the wall lowers back down over the screen. Adrien takes a slightly deeper breath than usual, then just gives you a genial smile. "Alright, let's start work on your cover story."\n\nThe two of you spend the rest of the day creating Jane Mills, AKA Janie, AKA Candi Apple. The early stages of this include choosing a large city that's notable enough to seem normal, not so common that the night club's owner is likely to have connections there, has plenty of strip clubs, and also has sufficient suburbs for you to be a "nice girl" from them who "fell into" a life of stripping (on paper) and sex for money (off the books but certainly implied). After that it's a case of all the details... creating her work and school history, and those of her parents. Not an overly difficult task in fact... and you don't even mean that because Adrien is doing most of the work. Rather, the Agency has, for most of its history, created "realtime" fake people. They're registered for birth certificates and social security numbers at the actual time they're supposed to be born, they have bank accounts opened in their name, and sometimes those false identities are brought together, have marriage certificates filed for them, new birth certificates and social security numbers are registered, sometimes a divorce is entered into the system to allow the identities to be freed up or even remarry...\n\nThe Agency has been around for a very long time, after all. You're not entirely sure how long, but... a long time. They have more thorough methods of establishing cover identities than a fake driver's license and some computer hacking.\n\nSo really all it requires is picking out a set of those essentially 'hollow' identities but that have all the most important details already set in stone, and adding all the "filler" details necessary for their use in the current identity. And just like that, Candi Apple exists in every way that will matter other than if someone gets boots on the ground and starts asking around about her. Of course while he can't help you directly while you're undercover, Adrien will be watching for anything like that and handling it. The two of you also set up a cover identity for one of Candi's friends... who will also be Adrien. You'll be texting "her" occasionally in code as your method of keeping in touch and making minor reports, and as the emergency point of contact just in case the night club does turn out to be trafficking in suitcase nukes or something. The two of you wrap up the day by making the necessary preparations to put 'current Jane' (as you tend to think of your between-missions identity) to 'sleep', possibly to be reactivated when you're done, or not, depending on how things work out.\n\nA few days later, you leave for the airport, with Jane Andrews booked on a flight to China to take a "look we have an American employee marking us as international and very important" job for at least the next year, necessitating a stop in one of the massive hub airports with its sprawling areas and poorly-understood architecture. It's easy enough to stroll away from the crowd and make your way through complex but not particularly hidden hallways until you actually do get to a secure door, which you step through and begin going through another automated security process, which involves you stripping completely naked in one room, leaving behind everything of Jane Andrews except your actual physical body and stepping nude into the next room.\n\nAirports are, quite obviously, important places for the Agency to hide and maintain the infrastructure necessary to undercover missions. It's not at all unusual to see someone enter them but not necessarily exit for days, weeks, months, or never, after all, and with so many people coming through them each day, there's little to no chance of a particular person being remembered, leaving all their passage in and out to the digital paperkeeping realm. So, one person enters, another person leaves, and nobody really thinks that's odd. Your firsthand knowledge of it has certainly left you wondering how many of the people on a plane with you might be other agents at any given time.\n\nPart of that being due to the room you're now in, commonly referred to as the Body Shop. Often in different configurations, this one has a simple padded table in the center with a large, complex array hanging above it... quite ominous, even knowing what it is. Still, you're a professional, so you don't balk in walking over and laying down on your back on the table.\n\n"We'll be doing injections for the body changes, rays for the color changes," a mildly altered voice announces over hidden speakers.\n\n"Understood," you acknowledge, though the array above is already starting to move. You've been through this process enough times that you manage not to flinch as a number of small armatures with needles on the end swing down, the thin metal barbs penetrating the upper slopes of your breasts, your belly, your hips, legs, arms, and even your cheeks. You force yourself not to squirm or twitch at the hot rush of whatever it is being injected into you, nevertheless relaxing a little as the needles are withdrawn, the warmth suffusing your entire body. This part... admittedly, you might actually enjoy this part, you admit as you settle and let yourself focus on the feel of your body changing. The first few times it was a little scary to actually feel your body shifting and moving while you lay still, but it's not as if it actually feels painful, just... strange. And interesting.\n\nYour breasts swell and enlarge, taking on a full roundness with a bit of hang... very natural shape and consistency, but just slightly too perfect and symmetrical, twigging as high-quality implants consistent with Candi's last job at one of the better strip clubs and her record of flying out to LA for a surgery. Your belly shifts, taking on a very slight layer of flab, indicative of someone who's normally heavily physically active but with bad eating and drinking habits who has recently ceased quite so much physical activity. Similarly your arms, legs, hips, and ass all gain a similar layer of very slight pudge, all of which will not only scream to an experienced night club owner 'stripper who hasn't danced in a few months' consistent with your backstory, but actually accentuate the more slender build beneath and make you an attractive immediate acquisition. Your nose, eyes, and cheeks all change a bit as well... both to fully move you away from the Jane Anderson identity and to give the faint impression of probably having a little face work done while you were at it getting your implants. \n\nThe warmth starting to fade indicating the changes have completed coincides with several more small armatures leaning down and starting to shine lights across your body, changing your coloration. Your hair changes from the plain, neutral brown to a bottle blonde color with the faintest glimmer of brown at the roots, the sort of 'default' light shade of blonde someone might pick just in case they decided to go back to some other color. Your eye color is changed to hazel (a shade of it just different enough to make you stand out without being so stunning that it's overly memorable), and your skin tone is changed from Caucasian (Northern United States, Indoor Work, Unsocial) to Caucasian (Midwestern United States, Indoor Work, Social, Coastal Vacationer)... which might seem a fine distinction, but it's one of those little things that a lot of people notice that they don't really notice they're noticing. And some people do notice, which is why the Agency goes that far with the body alterations.\n\nOnce it's all done, you rise from the table and move over to the mirrors, turning back and forth as you familiarize yourself with Janie Mills, who got burnt out on stripping and decided to move cities to try for a new lease on life. As usual, the Body Shop's work is essentially perfect. If you lift up your breasts and look under them, you can even see the very, very faintest hints of lines consistent with the barely detectable scars left by a talented surgeon... effectively undetectable unless someone was actively looking for them in decent light, but if someone does decide to look for them, they'll find them. Giving a quick, respectful nod of thanks to the otherwise silent Agency employee(s?), you turn and make your way into the next room to pick up the rest of Janie Mills.\n\nPulling on the very different clothes... the cheap-sexy thong and just slightly mismatched bra, the slightly-too-tight designer blue jeans, the long-sleeved shirt from an upscale store at the mall, the nice but not scandalously expensive sunglasses, the tennis bracelet that's obviously more expensive than anything else you're wearing or carrying that's also slightly not your style (therefore subtly screaming "found/stolen/gifted by a sugar daddy"), all of it helps you get dressed up in Janie Mills's identity as much as her clothes. Your clothes. You let all the little mental and physical quirks you've constructed for her, her accent, her mannerisms, her thought patterns seep into you as you cover your body with her clothing... your clothing.\n\nDressed, you fuss with your hair for just a moment, making a vaguely annoyed noise that your brush is somewhere deep inside your carryon, before snagging said carryon, a simple pink rolling bag with a handful of scrapes and bumps to show its wear from multiple spring break trips but still bright and mostly clean from spending all the rest of its life in a closet. And then you start making your way through the winding tunnels and back out of the airport. Off to your new life! (In more ways than one, obviously.)\n\nOf course, part of the point of the whole plan is for your new life to fail. At least a little bit. The backstory is that the move was prompted by you getting a bit burnt out on stripping and trying to make a "legit" go of it... but of course other than a few fast food and retail jobs, your entire work history is bars and strip clubs. So once you've gotten yourself a (crappy) apartment, you start looking for work in fast food and retail... and subtly bombing all of your reviews. (Not that it takes much. Especially since you made sure to leave a few of the bars on your resume. Not even the strip clubs, but just bars are plenty to make most interviewers subtly turn their nose up in disgust. You wouldn't think 7-11 would hold itself to such a rigorous moral standard for its employees but there you are somehow.) This is the "boring" part of the cover assignment... the further setup. After all, your backstory might be artfully crafted by Adrien and the rest of the Agency, but the idea is still for it to barely be looked into at all. If you establish yourself by having made a go of it "normal" before turning back to stripping, that's much more believable.rat\n\nYou even make a few friends and get chummy with some of the other people in the neighborhood, inasmuch as is normal for city living. ... Hm. In fact, it might not hurt to date a little before you move on to the next phase. Really establish yourself as having settled into the city and thus not ready to go back home yet...\n\n<hr>\n[[Good idea.|Jane]]\n\n[[Probably unnecessary.|Jane]]

Oh what the heck, you've never actually been to that cluster, despite being well aware of Pokemon due to the alt universe fictional equivalent (and some runins with the actual creatures over the years "out of habitat" so to speak). Besides, it looks like the job pays pretty well... travel expenses, bonuses for every other Pokemon you scan along the way, and big bonuses if you actually do manage to scan or even catch a legendary or previously unregistered Pokemon. In fact there's really only one drawback, and it makes you wince as you read it (hard not to read it since it's on a line by itself and given basically every bit of emphasis the job board text formatting can give it).\n\n'ABSOLUTELY NO WEAPONS.'\n\nOof. You're not sure whether that's a dimensional thing or the professor's personal thing... you're pretty sure there are worlds in that dimensional cluster that have absolutely no problem with guns. Well, whichever it is, the listing is pretty unequivocal... you can't bring so much as a stunprod with you to go on this job. ... Hrm. Well, you guess the answer to that is to go with the "local" equivalent of a weapon, if you really think you need one, and get a Pokemon. You're pretty sure you know at least two people who could lend you one, though one would almost without question come with some... interesting, call it... necessities. You guess you could also ask the professor to lend you one, considering that they're the one listing the job and forbidding weapons, and they should at least have a few they're willing to part with temporarily. Or heck, considering that you're basically only meant to scan the Pokemon without fighting or capturing them, you might not need one at all.\n\n<hr>\n[[Borrow a Pokemon from a friend.|ChiPoke1x2]]\n\n[[Head right to the job.|ChiPoke3x1]]

Getting bogged down in the trees seems like a bad idea... with so many variables on this job, you want to cover as much ground as fast as you can, but without adding all the further variables introduced by the raft. You'll take the slightly more open ground.\n\nYou set Ashizu to monitor your vitals and remind you when to hydrate, then set off towards the more open ground, keeping your rifle slung to be able to bring it easily to hand, but otherwise keeping your hands free. Luckily this jungle doesn't seem to be afflicted with any of the buzzing or biting sorts of insects, at least so far, though you hear some chittering and cicada-like trilling that sounds... loud... from the jungle nearby. So insect life on this world may still be in the more, ah... "dog-sized" stage of development suitable to such a primeval ecosystem. (Shudder.)\n\nBut so far they're all sticking to the trees or bushes and not coming out to bother you, so as long as they do that you're not going to go in there and bother them. Good deal. And as you'd hoped, the more open area does gradually turn into largely open ground, just dotted here and there with single trees or clusters of them, along with the occasional oversized ferns and other large and somewhat strange plants.\n\nYou've been walking for several hours when Ashizu beeps and announces that it's time to not only take a drink but take a break. Ah, yeah, don't want to get too overheated in this climate, since with the humidity it's hard to tell how much water you're losing and how hot you really are. Best find some shade to sit down and cool off for a bit.\n\nYou take a look around. The treeline of the actual forest looks like you could get there without too much extra exertion, and with the canopy grown together like it is, it should be nice and dark and thereby much cooler in there, you might even find a pond or stream or something to sit by and cool down further. Otherwise, you can find a tree or something nearby to sit under, or maybe a stand of them. Oh, yeah, there's a single tree like, right in front of where you're heading, that'd be a good place to stop. Or a bit further on there's a cluster of them creating a bit more shade, it's a bit further but that would work too.\n\nYou glance around a bit more, then notice that there's another cluster of trees off to the side with some sort of large flower bloom in the middle of them... large like, person large. It sort of resembles a tulip, in that it has an almost cup shape with broad, outer leaves in a brilliant, almost glowing pink color. As you look the breeze shifts, and a very pleasant aroma wafts over to you from that direction. Hm! You might have to go a little further out of your way, but that might actually be a pleasant place to take a break!\n\n<hr>\n[[Head toward the treeline.|ChiSW]]\n\n[[Stop at the nearest tree.|ChiSW]]\n\n[[Go to the cluster of trees.|ChiSW]]\n\n[[Head for the flower.|ChiSW]]

"I'm gonna take the gamble that it's the lower end and we can do this, let's try and get you out of here ASAP if it's so dangerous," you reply. \n\n"Your call," Nova replies. "Alright, with my comm damaged actually using it is draining power, so I better close the channel and save it all for the locator. Still, give me a call if you need me, I'll try and get there ASAP."\n\nYou nod, affirming the idea before you both close your ends of the line. (You suppose you could have suggested the two of you moving to meet in the middle anyway, but that's quite obviously asking for trouble, you'd both probably wind up bungling around in the jungle missing each other repeatedly for twice as long. Good idea is always for the rescuer to move and the rescuee to stay put.) You take another deep breath, making a face at how it's hot and wet and thick in an entirely different way than the air on Makarzia is usually cold and wet and thick. Okay, so... time to do this. You should be fine, you do carry rations and water for a couple of days pretty much all the time, so no problems there. You are... theoretically suitably armed, since you have a few pistols, the rifle with (relatively) powerful rounds, and your crystalslicer katana, since you did already figure you were going to have to go at least some distance through vines and overgrowth.\n\nHm. So... well, better get started. Although...\n\nYou take another look around. The directional pointer to Nova's signal is basically directly ahead, through the dense tree growth. A bit to the side it looks like there's much lighter growth that probably eventually leads to at least slightly more open terrain... you wouldn't be moving directly towards Nova but you'd probably be able to move faster, and cover more ground until the pointer starts indicating you're getting too far off course.\n\n... Or. It looks like the river starts turning back the pointer's way fairly quickly in the direction it's flowing. You have a folded-up tarp and a bunch of rolls of stretchcord in your pockets... it would be relatively easy to cut some of the thinner trees and wrap the tarp around them then bind it on to make a small but serviceable raft... you think. The river would certainly carry you there a lot faster than any method of going on foot, even if it only went in the same general direction for a couple of miles. If you're on the upper end of far away from Nova's location, it could cut at least a day off of your journey, maybe more.\n\n<hr>\n[[Head straight.|ChiSW]]\n\n[[Go around.|ChiGH10x3]]\n\n[[Try the river.|ChiSW1x1]]

"I kind of recall that psychic Pokemon are on the OP side," you murmur, eyeing the yellow Pokeball. "... Are you sure it's not gonna try to mind control me and go all 'role reversal' or something?"\n\n"I promise, it's good-natured and very well-trained! It's not going to use hypnosis on you unless you ask it to!" Xina assures you... then grins and sidles up to your side, making you squirm just a little at that sweet-soft-slightly-spicy scent of hers getting stronger. "Although, y'know, I think the first time... you should ask it to."\n\n"What?" You blink a few times. "Why the hell would I do that?"\n\n"Wellll, you've already decided you're gonna fuck the Pokemon, right?"\n\n"I have accepted the necessity of fucking the Pokemon since it's yours, yes," you reply with a sigh.\n\n"But you don't actually want to fuck the Pokemon?"\n\n"Not particularly, no," you admit, wrinkling your nose. \n\n"Soooo just have the Pokemon hypnotize you so that you wanna fuck it!"\n\nYou open your mouth.\n\nYou close it. "... Huh."\n\n"I mean, if you've already accepted the 'necessity'," Xina says, making rather overelaborate air quotes as she says it, which makes you purse your lips at her. "But you 'claim' you're not going to enjoy it..."\n\n"Oy, you."\n\n"Then why don't you just have him hypnotize you so that you do enjoy it? No point to being miserable while you do something you've gotta do anyway, right?"\n\nYou open and close your mouth a few more times. Then let out a sigh. "Goddamn, I can't actually find a flaw with that logic."\n\n"See?" Xina chirps, smiling as she picks up the Pokeball and hands it to you. "Here. He'll listen to you partly because you've got this and partly once I introduce you to him as his new trainer. His name's Swirlygig."\n\nYou give her a brief 'seriously?' look, then sigh and spend a few moments resigning and bracing yourself. Then you give the Pokeball a toss. "C'mon out then, Swirlygig.'\n\n"You really oughtta do it with more enthusiasm!" Xina scolds even as the Pokeball splits open in the air and spills forth a bunch of red light that resolves into a fairly short humanoid figure with short yellow fur, a thick white 'mane' around its neck, and a long, pointed beaklike nose. "It's the first thing he hears when he comes out y'know!"\n\n"Hyp-hyp," Swirlygig announces.\n\n"Yeah, okay, sorry, I'll try to be a bit more upbeat about it in the future," you say with a sigh. "So, ah, Swirlygig. Nice to meet you and all."\n\n"Swirlygig~, Michika here is going to be borrowing you for a while, so be good for her, okay~?" Xina chirps, smiling brightly.\n\n"Hypno!" Swirlygig answers, sounding cheerful enough.\n\n"Yeah, ah, thanks," you murmur, rubbing the back of your head. "Sooooo... ah... I know Xina trains you guys to bond and obey through sex..."\n\n"No-hyp," Swirlygig answers with a nod. You blush as you realize that while you hadn't noticed it before, he's definitely showing a fairly hefty set of bright yellow cock and balls now, luckily mostly human-style. You try not to squirm as you watch it start to harden, the Pokemon clearly knowing what's coming.\n\n"Buuuut uh, I'm... shy," you say with a little flit of a hand through the air, which you suppose is more polite than 'I'm not into bestiality and really don't want to fuck a Pokemon' when you're actually talking to a Pokemon. "So I guess if you could like... hypnotize me... just for a little while," you add emphatically, holding up both hands. "To be... y'know, into it... that'd help."\n\n"Hyp-hypno," Swirlygig says with an eager nod, then lifts his empty hand in a sort of 'behold!' gesture, raising the other one and starting to sway the coin on the long piece of string he's holding back and forth. "Hyp-hyp, hypno hyp, no-hyp!"\n\n"He says 'just try to relax and watch the coin'," Xina pipes up.\n\n"I heard what he said, my translator nanos handle Pokemon just fine," you reply a bit testily, shifting your shoulders.\n\n"Hyp-hypno."\n\n"I am relaxed!" you assure Swirlygig in a very tense tone, more glaring at the coin than looking at it.\n\nBut... actually, isn't it a lot prettier than you thought at first? It's much shinier and more alluring than you thought when you just glanced at it. The balance is so good too, the way it sways back and forth, back and forth, back and forth, perfectly straight, back and forth, back and forth, so constant and steady. You actually do start to feel relaxed the more you watch it, the tension gradually melting out of your shoulders, hands settling loose at your sides. Hey, this... this isn't so bad. It's kind of like being drunk but less... wobbly. There's just a sort of pleasant, vague fuzz settled over your thoughts and settling into your brain that leaves you feeling... relaxed, and... nice. You find yourself smiling a bit as the coin stops swaying and you instead let your gaze wander down to that now thoroughly hard and girthy cock. What were you ever bothered about? It's just fucking a Pokemon. It'll be fun!\n\n"Here, how about I help out with the bonding," Xina coos as she steps in and takes the shoulders of your coat, with you unthinkingly shrugging out of it and tilting your arms to let her pull it down.\n\n"That'd be nice," you reply airily, smiling more. That does sound nice. Everything kind of seems nice, like there's just nothing to worry about. You lift your arms as Xina pulls up your top as well, your breasts dropping free and wobbling around some as you move, especially as you turn and give Xina a kiss right on the lips, since you've been wanting to do that for a long time now and right now there just doesn't seem to be any good reason not to. Xina makes a very pleased-sounding squeal down low in her throat and immediately starts kissing you back, her hands roaming up and down your sides as you unzip her top in kind, pushing it off her shoulders. Ah, her boobs are so nice, her boobs are so pretty~.\n\n"Hypno?" Swirlygig says, peering up at you both.\n\n"Mm," you murmur, breaking the kiss with Xina to turn towards him with that easy smile, your voice still airy and a bit distant as you assure him, "Don't worry, I didn't forget about you." You turn towards him and settle onto your knees and then lean forward onto one hand, wrapping the other around his cock as you smile up at his face. You kiss the tip and start working your tongue over the head of the Pokemon's prick as Xina quickly shucks her own bottoms before kneeling behind you and peeling your armorweave pants down, kissing the curves of your ass as she does. You 'mmmm' softly as she presses her mouth up against your wet pussy even as she's unbuckling your boots, wiggling your hips in a mixture of shamelessness and faint sleepiness as you feel her very talented tongue working over your arousal-swollen lower lips. This is all juuuust fine. What a wonderful way to spend a morning~!\n\nXina drags her tongue over your pucker as she finishes pulling your pants and boots off, then crawls forward, clad in only her own boots, to join you on hands and knees in front of Swirlygig, your friend's sparkling pink eyes sweeping back and forth between the Pokemon's somewhat inhuman face and your own glassy eyes as she joins you in working her mouth over the Hypno's cock. Oh, that's nice, this is fun. You move your own mouth down to Swirlygig's balls, sucking and licking the smooth yellow skin as Xina takes over pleasuring the head of it, her highlighter pink-painted lips sliding back and forth along it. Soon you're both sliding your mouths along the sides of his shaft as the Hypno watches you intently, tongues flitting over each other's in passing, the two of you even occasionally pausing to kiss again in the midst of sucking Pokecock. This feels so good. This feels so fun. There isn't possibly anything in the world to be worried about or ashamed of. It's just so nice to feel a Pokemon's big, throbbing cock against your lips and tongue, or to kiss your friend and taste pre on her tongue.\n\nEventually though Xina urges you to lean back and then lay back, and you do it because why not? In fact, you spread your legs nice and wide and show off your pussy to Swirlygig because he's the one that made you feel so relaxed and easy and good and now you want him to use your pussy since you feel so good. The furry humanoid creature moves between your legs, and you make a low, somnolently pleased sound as he uses a thick-digited hand to rub the tip of his cock up and down between your folds, parting them. Before he can push in, though, Xina settles straddling your face, her perfect thighs framing your head as she brings her pussy right to your mouth. Oh, hey, you were just thinking earlier that you wanted to suck on her clit, that's convenient, since now that's exactly what you do, resting your hands on her ass and lifting your head to start working your tongue over the little jutting nub and then sucking it between your lips. 'Xina always makes me feel like such a lesbian,' you think in sleepy, happy wonder as the Hypno's cock pushes into your dripping pussy, which quivers eagerly around him, practically trying to suck him in. \n\nSoon the Hypno is pumping away in your cunt as you moan and squeal softly into Xina's pussy in delight. 'So lesbian,' you think even as Swirlygig's prick sends a shivering, shuddery orgasm all through you, feeling like it disperses into a big puffy pink cloud all through your entire body in your currently foggy-brained state. Because it feels almost as good as getting fucked by a Pokemon to be licking your friend's dripping cunt, working your tongue over those puffy outer lips and deep inside to stroke over her quivering pink walls, or placing affectionate kisses on her clit. This is just nice, why didn't you just do this in the first place? This is the most relaxing, easy thing you've ever done. You could just lay here getting fucked by a Pokemon and eating out Xina's pussy forever, it feels like.\n\n"Hyp, hyp, hypnooooo!" your new best friend cries as his thrusts suddenly quicken, his balls slapping against you with his faster, harder thrusts until he shoves in hard and deep, a wonderful, gentle, relaxing feeling of hot, wet warmth spreading deep inside you.\n\n'Ahhhhh... hey, I wonder if I'll lay an egg?' you think distantly even as your hips give a few somnolent bucks as you cum again. Xina's pussy is quivering around your tongue and there's a lot of wetness all over your lower face. Ahhh... she smells even better than usual right now, it's so nice. You make a soft noise of disappointment as Swirlygig pulls out of you, leaving a trickle of Pokecum to dribble down your taint, but then another soft noise of contentment as Xina leans down, her full breasts pressing against your belly even as your breasts press against hers, her tongue going to work getting all of the Hypno's cum out of you. Oh, maybe you won't lay an egg. But Xina's tongue sure does feel nice working all over and inside your pussy, so you keep putting yours all over and inside her pussy too, because that only seems fair.\n\nEventually Xina raises up and swings around, settling next to you on the padded field floor and pulling you into a snuggle. You rest your head on her tits because they're super soft and warm and smell amazing and you've always kind of wanted to every time you were around her. "Mm, have an alright time after all?" she coos, petting your hair.\n\n<hr>\n[["Uh-huh. Thanks Xina."|ChiPoke]]\n\n[["Uh-huh. Thanks Xina. I love you."|ChiPoke]]

-Update 1-\n* Main: Kai can decide she's fallen in love with overwhelming [[joy|KaiRem6x2]], or warmth.\n-Update 2-\n* Continued the path of Kai choosing Yang but not bringing in Blake.\n* On Silverbees path (Kai+Yang+Blake) Kai can now go with Reese on her upgrades.\n* Kai can now vote to ask Jinn how to beat Salem on the Silverose (Kai+Ruby) path.\n-Update 3-\n* Mash can now [[speak up|KaiRuby2x2]] before Kai says anything.\n* Main: Kai can tell Jaune maybe she'll fall in love [[someday|KaiRem6x1]].\n* Kai can suggest she and Ruby go visit [[Pietro Polendina|KaiRuby1x6]] after their date day.\n* Kai can also decide she's in love with [[devotion|KaiRem6x2]].\n* Main: Kai can now [[tempt fate|KaiWeiss1x2]] after using Atlesian law on Cordovin.\n-Update 4-\n* The jobs can [[go on|KaiWeiss1x5]] for Team RWBY on Makarzia.\n* More options for tempting fate are available.\n* Main: When at Brunswick Farms, Kai can now immediately [[reveal that Salem is Ozma's wife|KaiRem8x1]].\n

You inhale through your nose, then huff it out. "I might have a lead. But I need to chase it by myself," you note as you turn towards the elevator. "I'll be back in a few hours at most. In the meantime all of you keep working this," you call back.\n\nBefore the elevator doors close behind you, Yang slips in. "Nuh-uh you're not going alone."\n\n"Yang," you say warningly, frowning at her even as she punches the button for the landing pad. "I swore to her. I shouldn't even have told you but I also swore I'd never lie to you."\n\n"Look say what you want but I don't trust her," Yang asserts with a frown. "But... I know how you feel about your promises, so I'll stay in the Manta. I'll never actually see where she is."\n\n"Well it's a bullshit technicality but I guess it'll fuckin' do," you answer with a quirk of the brow.\n\nSoon the two of you are flying over the ocean again, this time in the general direction of Argus. "This make you glad we never got around to it?" Yang eventually asks from the pilot's seat, glancing over. "Y'know. Having kids?"\n\n"... Weirdly this makes me feel worse that we haven't gotten around to it somehow," you say after considering it for awhile, glancing out the window and down. "It reminds me of how many of our friends have managed it already, that their kids are already these little... people," you continue, waving your hands to try and convey the enormity of that. "It's like, they don't have babies they have people. Nika's got an album coming out this winter. And it's like, even if we start now, we'll have a baby but they won't be a people for awhile. Y'know?"\n\n"Yeah, I guess I see that," Yang replies thoughtfully, glancing out the window and down briefly herself, probably reflexively checking for oceangoing Grimm. "I mean if you're eager to get to having a people then we've talked about adopting before."\n\n"Honestly thinking I'm kind of leaning towards that right now," you admit with a bob of the head. "At least for our first. Not just because I'm eager to get to people-ness, but, y'know... thinking of Nika being scared and needing help... makes me think of other kids out there who could be the same in a way more mundane way. Maybe we should help one of those before we think about our genetic legacy."\n\n"I'm generally on board. Guess we'll have the talk again once this is all over." Yang pauses, then glances over briefly before adding, "Or at least a little settled."\n\n"So I'm guessing I'm not the only one that thinks this might not be a one-off."\n\n"No, you're right... it feels like this could be the 'bad old days' coming back. I always kind of thought they might, somehow, I guess," Yang sighs as Argus begins flitting by below. "But I always hoped we might get more than ten years. ... That it wouldn't come back for our children."\n\n"Well. If it is... it came while we're still young enough to defend our children," you assert with a nod. "So we'll kick the bad old days in the ass again and get it done."\n\nEventually Yang banks the Manta to set it down a short distance outside the outer wall of the little community farm, the sign over the gate reading 'New Brunswick Farms'. Several people are milling about outside despite it having settled into late afternoon at this point, likely curious about why a slightly outdated Atlas airship has just landed, and even more curious to see a black-coated Huntress hop out of it instead of a white-uniformed officer. Trying to keep your manner and voice casual, you wander over. "Hey, mind if I pop in? Just here to see the stablemaster, they're an old friend." One of the residents nods slowly, then pushes the gate a bit further open and points to one building in particular. Nodding gratefully, you turn and make your way over to the barn.\n\nInside, you can't help but take a moment to scuff a boot over the clawmarks still faintly visible on the cement of the entryway, mostly obscured by dirt and straw and time. You amble on past the rows of snorting, curious equines, making your way towards the person at the end who's brushing one of the animals, clothes simple working leathers, hair cropped short. As you come to a stop, she pretends not to have noticed you for a bit, continuing with her work, before she finally speaks up. "You promised you'd never bother me again."\n\n"I did," you agree with a nod. "You also told me that if it ever got really bad, I could come and I could ask her." You let that sink in for a bit before adding, "Nika Schnee's been kidnapped."\n\n"... Dammit." The other woman sighs heavily, slipping the strap of the brush off her hand and hanging it up instead, still not turning.\n\n"Know anything about it?" you ask, but gently. \n\n"No. Sorry. But I guess I understand why you're here now." She turns around finally, folding her arms over her chest. "... You haven't told anyone else?"\n\n"Yang," you admit. "We're married now. She'll guard your secret as closely as I will, Emerald, I swear," you assure her. "I just care about finding Nika safe. That's all."\n\nEmerald Sustrai nods slowly, before bobbing her head forward to indicate behind you. You turn to see another figure entering the barn, long hair pulled back in a ponytail, olive-colored skin sweaty and streaked with dirt here and there, a small multitool tucked above one slightly pointed ear, body still curvaceous beneath the simple farmhand's clothes. She finishes setting down the bucket she's carrying, then raises blue eyes to fix on you with a complete lack of surprise.\n\n"Hey, Jen," you greet, nodding and smiling just a little.\n\n"Kai," the former spirit of knowledge answers, rubbing her hands with a rag. "I'd say it's a pleasant surprise, but we both know that would be a lie. ... The surprise part," she adds with a bit of a twinkle to her eyes as she moves over to stand next to Emerald.\n\n"Look, if I thought I could have done this without disturbing you two, I would have," you assure them sincerely. "I told Emerald ten years ago that as long as we found her somewhere to be where she'd never be in the world again, she could live quietly and without anyone bothering her. I'm still dedicated to that. I just... need this, guys. I'm sorry."\n\n"I'll tell you now what I told you then," Jen replies. "For a kindred spirit and the one who helped my friend, I shall be as I was three more times," she continues, lifting three fingers. "Three questions, and then I am allowed to live forevermore free of my past, the debt of gratitude I owe to you paid in full. You have gone these last ten years resisting the urge to ask, so if you say you must now, I believe you. But I'll warn you... my powers are not what they once were. Freeing me triggered the safeguards I was imbued with at my creation... many of my most useful answers must be cryptic in some measure."\n\n"I'll risk it," you assure her.\n\n"Very well. Ask your first question, then."\n\n<hr>\n[["Who's behind all this?"|KaiYang]]\n\n[["Where is Nika Schnee?"|KaiYang]]

You wrap your arms around Blake, patting her back just a bit as the two embrace. "You're back now and that's all that matters."\n\n"I know. I just... promised not to ever run away again, and-"\n\n"You didn't run, you sort of... meandered," you tease her, making her laugh a little. "Besides, I know you see Weiss at the fundraisers every so often, and-" You blink as your scroll starts chiming out the tune of 'Mirror, Mirror'. "Huh, speak of the Schnee." You tap 'Receive Via Speaker'. "Hey, Weiss, we were literally just talking about-"\n\n"Kai... help me, please..."\n\n"Weiss?" You're instantly on your feet, Blake standing as well. "What's wrong, where are you?"\n\n"It's Nika..." You can hear a soft sob over the line. "Someone's taken Nika."\n\n"Oh my god," Blake whispers, a hand flying to her mouth.\n\n"Weiss, are you at home?" you snap, your voice turning all business as you whirl and half-run up the stairs, Blake hurrying along behind you. \n\n"Yes... you're one of the first people I could think of to call... the military is already here, but I... please help me."\n\n"Okay, you just focus on that. The Ace Ops are there?" you ask, setting the scroll down and shedding your clothes, Blake quickly spotting the weapon cases nearby and rushing to grab them up. \n\n"Yes."\n\n"Okay, I'm gonna get everyone I can together and we'll be there as fast as the Manta can take us. Just hold on."\n\n"Weiss, it's going to be okay, we'll be there soon," Blake adds.\n\n"B-Blake?"\n\n"Yes, I'm here, Weiss, I'm going to be there too."\n\n"Oh thank god."\n\n"We're coming now," you add as you shrug on Niobe's old coat, hitting disconnect before closing your eyes and linking up to everyone with a psycomm on the island. Dad, Mom, have you left for Vale yet?\n\nNo, why, what the hell's up that you're using these things? Qrow mentally grunts back.\n\nSomeone's taken Nika.\n\nI'll get the Manta prepped, Qrow immediately responds, even as you can feel little pulses and shocks of emotion coming over the mental lines. I'll load it with extra Dust so you can push it all the way to Argus.\n\nAre you at the bar? I'll pick you up and we'll head right to the hangar, Yang responds.\n\nNo, Blake will need to see Auryn before we leave, and Mom I want you back at Tai's ASAP too. Ready, Blake? ... Blake? You blink, looking over your shoulder as Blake follows you down the stares.\n\nShe stares blankly, then figures out what you were trying to do. "I... removed it, years ago," she admits. "I donated it to the Atlas Science Initiative."\n\n"Okay," you answer, no time for remonstrations now as the two of you head out of the bar, Yang braking her yellow jeep to a hard stop and letting you both climb in. You tap your scroll with your thumb and bring it to your ear. "Tai. Cancel class and head home. Someone's kidnapped Nika Schnee and I don't want less than three people around Auryn at any given time."\n\nFrom the back seat, Blake sucks in a hard breath as you get Tai's quick acceptance and hang up. "Do you think?!" she almost whimpers as Yang literally stomps on the gas, Hornet tearing down the dirt road to her father's home at a dangerous clip.\n\n"Whether I think it or not, I'm not going to take the chance," you reply as you tap your scroll again. "None of our kids is getting left without more bodyguards than they know what to do with." Putting the scroll to your ear, you ignore the start of the pleasantry and say, "Jaune, emergency, Nika Schnee's been kidnapped."\n\n"I'll be in the air in five minutes," he answers immediately.\n\n"Good, but I want you headed to Haven, not Atlas. Have Ghira loan you at least two fourth year teams he has utmost trust and faith in and then get to Kuroyuri."\n\n"Got it," he says with only the briefest of hesitation. "I'll get it done." \n\n"I know you will."\n\nYang brakes hard again in front of the house, leaving the jeep running as all three of you jump out. "Wait," Blake blurts as she snaps a hand out to Yang and your shoulders. "Just... wait."\n\n"... Yeah, good, okay, two breaths guys," you suggest, closing your eyes and doing so, forcing them to be steady and deep. Then you all walk more calmly into the house.\n\nAuryn is sitting on Ruby's lap, but he obviously looks nervous, Ruby's own smile a little fragile as she bounces him in an attempt to be comforting. The moment Blake walks in he yanks himself free and runs to her, throwing himself against her legs. Blake quickly kneels and strokes his hair as Ruby activates her Semblance and rushes upstairs to change. \n\n"Auryn, sweetie, I know it seems like something scary is going on, but you don't need to be afraid, okay?" Blake assures him, her voice calm and confident as she cups his cheek. "Now, Momma's gonna have to go away for a little while-"\n\n"Momma no," he whimpers with agonized intensity, his ears laying flat.\n\nBlake winces, but forces herself to keep smiling at him as she leans forward and kisses his forehead. "Momma has to, baby, I'm sorry. Momma loves you, but there's a little girl that needs Momma's help. Tai is gonna take really good care of you until Momma gets home and hopefully that will be very soon." She pauses, then leans forward and kisses his forehead again, hugging him tight. "Momma will be back. Promise. Cross my heart."\n\nYou try not to let your heart break as you realize Blake knows that she's making a promise that he'll resent her for forever if she doesn't keep it. You can see the pained look on your wife's face... she had that promise made to her too, once.\n\nYou all start a little bit and turn at the sound of car doors slamming outside, Yang activating Ember Celica and you unsheathing Red Legacy. Then the door opens, Taiyang and Niobe walking in, and all three of you relax. Not soon enough to have kept Auryn from bursting into tears, though.\n\n"Heeeey little guy hey hey hey," Taiyang coos as he scoops the boy up, just giving all of you a pained 'go' nod as Ruby rushes back downstairs in her Huntress garb, Crescent Rose holstered at her back and another weapon case with a rose emblem in hand. You can see Blake hesitate, but then she nods, all four of you turning to hurry back out.\n\n"I'll drive, you switch," you note as you haul yourself behind the wheel, Blake and Yang climbing into the back and Blake passing over the cloth weapon case with Blaze in it, your wife willing her 'passing' prosthetis to detach as you take off.\n\nIgnoring the high speed, Ruby pokes up over the seat to look back. "Blake, do you have Gambol Shroud with you?"\n\n"No," she admits with a shake of the head. "I didn't even bring it with me, I'm armed but I haven't gone on a Huntress mission in years."\n\n"Then you'd better take this," Ruby answers, passing the case back.\n\n"What is... wait, Ruby, is this...?" Blake's eyes widen at Ruby's slightly sad smile, but at the younger Huntress's nod, Blake simply nods back and rests it in her lap.\n\nSoon you brake hard in front of the hangar where the Manta that James Ironwood gifted the household after the Battle of Atlas, Qrow already having retracted the roof and now waiting by the door. "Get back to the house, stay on Auryn, he's never without an awake combat-ready adult watching him, okay?"\n\n"I'm on top of it," Qrow rasps, already heading for Hornet and hauling himself into the driver's seat.\n\nYou march into the hangar and up into the open side hatch, only pausing briefly at the sight of the person in the copilot's seat. "Going a little far to get out of the house, aren't we?" you ask as you take the sensor plugin and insert it into the cyberjack in your neck.\n\n"I heard what happened. This isn't the time for my foibles," Raven says grimly, having already changed into her old Huntress gear. "I still owe Schnee something for how I treated her before. I'm coming."\n\n"Agreed." You do a quick glance at the board to see it all green, glance behind you to make sure everyone's aboard as Ruby and Yang pull the hatches closed, then use the psycomm connection to activate the radio. "Patch air tower this is Manta-777 making a high-speed takeoff from hangar four."\n\n"Manta-777, please wait for-"\n\n"It wasn't a request," you add as you yank hard on the accelerator, propelling the ship upward and then flinging the direction forward after you've barely cleared the top of the hangar, banking and curving away from the small airfield and already starting to accelerate it, the low thrum of the engines gradually increasing to a roar, necessitating the donning of headsets. Muting the tower and blocking its frequency, you switch to another one from out of Vale, which is rapidly approaching. "Ico."\n\n"Kai? What's wrong?"\n\n"Nika Schnee's been kidnapped."\n\n"How many teams do you need in addition to myself?"\n\n"None for now, other than maybe sending Velvet and Yatsuhashi over to Ruby's place. But I want you to be on the alert. If this is the bad old days coming back on us, I think we can assume Beacon is a target again. Jaune's already on his way to Haven to warn them, but I didn't want you left in the dark."\n\n"Very well. I'll warn Vacuo. But in such a case, I wouldn't be surprised if SSSN shows up whether you think you need them or not."\n\n"Heh. I'll expect them then. Thanks Ico, be safe." You cut the line, focusing on flying, trying to ease the airship into not rattling so much without actually slowing down appreciably.\n\n"Do you think it's that?" Raven asks evenly as she keeps her eyes on her own boards, a hand gripped lightly on the matching stick. "One of Salem's minions we missed?"\n\n"Maybe. If we're lucky it'll just be some corporate rival bullshit."\n\n"Mm. Such a rival will find themselves unluckier than my scruffy excuse for a brother when we catch them."\n\n"Damn right."\n\nSoon but not near soon enough for your taste, you see the floating city of Atlas start to grow larger in the front screen. Rising from amidst is is the towering edifice of the Schnee home, the spiraled white-and-red pole with its golden orb blinking atop it warning any high-flying traffic away. Not exactly a lot to be done with something like that, but Weiss at some point found some sort of wash to layer over the stone to give it a slightly warmer, faintly less intimidating color. "Manta-777, you are cleared for pad one," a familiar voice says in your ear.\n\n"Acknowledged." You guide the Manta towards the marked pad, forcing yourself to make a normal landing and actually shut down the aircraft before hauling out of your seat, Raven prowling along after you as you and the others leap down. "Nice to see you again, Harriet, wish the circumstances were better," you note as you stride towards the elevator entrance, the short brown-skinned woman falling in beside you, her fauxhawk having been grown out into a thicker fuzz of hair, the little 'wings' on the front longer and spiked back further.\n\n"Same," the Ace Operative answers as all six of you settle into the elevator and she hits a button. "We're coordinating out of the main floor entry area and Weiss's office on the next level up."\n\n"Clover here?"\n\n"Of course."\n\nSoon enough the door opens, Ruby rushing forward first, Weiss giving a soft wordless cry as she spots her old partner and the two fling themselves into a tight hug. You walk forward towards one of the other figures moving to meet you, wrapping him in a hug and patting his back lightly. "Hey Whitley, you holding up okay?"\n\n"As well as can be expected," the young man answers, his face solemn as he gives you a nod, his blue-white suit cut to show off strong shoulders that he must have inherited from his grandfather. "So far no one can find anything, she's just... gone."\n\n"We're working every lead possible," a fair-skinned older man with a buzzcut adds, his crow's feet, more standard Atlas uniform, and solemn expression making him look far older than the last time you saw him. "We're going over the entire place with a fine tooth comb, but as you can imagine that takes awhile."\n\n"Clover," you greet, offering your hand to clasp briefly.\n\n"Been awhile."\n\n"Oh Blake thank goodness you're here," Weiss murmurs as she shifts her hug to Blake. "But what about Auryn?"\n\n"Ruby's family is watching him," Blake assures the shorter woman, rubbing her back. "Kai also sent Jaune and some other people to Kuroyuri."\n\nWeiss draws back, icy eyes going wide. "You don't think...?"\n\n"I'm covering every angle," you assure her. "You said I was one of the first people you called, I assume you also-"\n\n"Yes, he called just a bit ago to say he's almost here," Weiss whispers back. "And Ilia just... the moment we couldn't find Nika anywhere around here, she immediately lit out, I think she's covering all of Atlas by herself."\n\n"She's probably checking Mantle by now," Yang murmurs comfortingly, petting Weiss's hair a bit. "I'd give her better than even odds of finding Nika herself before we do."\n\nEven as she's saying it, the front door flies open, Grey striding forward, the long sleeveless coat with high collar and spectacles still saying 'Professor Heliotrope' even though his face is all 'Grey Bloody Claws'. Without a word he crosses to Weiss and wraps her in her arms, the younger woman starting to cry against his chest the moment he does.\n\nYou wonder what that bond is like... two people that have never been romantically involved or intimate, who don't even live together, and yet have a child that is theirs. Whatever it's like normally, it seems quite strong at the moment.\n\n"Cyber center is up there?" you ask Clover with a small jerk of the head towards the stairs. "Alright, Ruby, recanvas the grounds, Yang search the house, if Nika actually is hiding she might come out for a more familiar face than one of the Ace Ops. I'm gonna go check in and see what's been seen." Leaving it unsaid that Blake should stay with Weiss and Grey, you turn and trot up the stairs, making your way towards Weiss's office. More computers and terminals have been brought in, some showing replays of various cameras inside the house, one of the white-uniformed women in the room pacing smoothly back and forth and talking quietly on her scroll, the other behind Weiss's desk coordinating a good dozen holoscreens.\n\n"Get me the umbilical feeds. Yes I know the fucking umbilical feeds are a mess did I ask for your opinion private? No don't you dare fucking correct me about your rank if you don't get me hooked into those feeds by the time I have finished speaking I will be on the scroll to General Ironwood making it fucking happen and you had better believe that when this case is about his fucking goddaughter then he's gonna yes there we go was that so fucking hard?" she snaps before slamming down that scroll and picking up another as more holowindows pop up. "Did the warrant for Mantle come through? For Mantle. No stop fucking asking me for which part I said for Mantle okay nevermind you're fucking relieved of duty consider yourself on report hand me to someone else right fucking now. Did the warrant for Mantle come through? Well then get on the scroll to the judge and tell him he has ten minutes to make up his fucking mind or I'll just do it anyway and he can see me in front of a review board and then I'll see him in front of one."\n\n"Good to see you, Reese," you say sincerely, unable to help smiling as the white-hoodied woman slams down the second scroll.\n\n"It's a clusterfuck and a half sorting through all this shit, Kai," Reese Chloris grumbles, tapping and sweeping several of the holowindows to arrange them. "The sheer mass of information is giving me a god damn headache and I don't wanna hear word one about my language," she adds with a point to the side.\n\n"Today is a particular day, cub, I'll give you a pass," the other woman in an Ace Ops uniform answers evenly, ending her own call.\n\n"Arslan, been awhile," you add with another nod.\n\n"It is always a pleasure, my friend, albeit a somewhat tainted one this time," the golden-eyed lion Faunus answers, expression solemn. "Unfortunately it is as the cub said, a bit of a clusterfuck."\n\n"She was here this morning and now she's not, so far that is the only fucking answer I have!" Reese almost shouts as she gestures at the screens. "I don't have her leaving, I don't have her anywhere in Atlas, and I'd know if I had her anywhere in Mantle-" She yanks up the previous scroll and taps the redial button. "If my FUCKING WARRANT would come through! There fucking thank you was it so fucking hard to give me camera access to an entire fucking city?!" she adds, actually turning and hurling the scroll into the corner before she starts bringing up another dozen windows.\n\n"Easy, Reese," you say, Arslan adding, "Breathe, cub" at almost the same time.\n\n"I'll breathe when Nika's safe in her momma's arms," Reese mutters, eyes focused as she starts skimming over the feeds, running them back along time indexes.\n\n"What can I do, Sparrow?"\n\nReese considers only briefly, before snatching up another scroll and proffering it. "I've prepared a briefing for everyone else. The other Ace Ops and the Schnees, and I guess everyone else you brought. Give it and then act accordingly I guess 'cause I've gotta write a program to completely 3D map and render the recordings of these umbilical loading areas."\n\nNodding, you accept the scroll, extending the screen and flicking through the briefing highlights. Giving Arslan another nod, you turn and head back downstairs. You note that neither Ruby or Yang are back already, and decide to just proceed. "Alright, everyone, Reese has a briefing for us so if I could get all the Ace Ops in?" Waiting for Clover to beckon for Marrow and Vine, Harriet already settled in beside Weiss, you tap the button to project the holoscreen. "So alright, the last time we have confirmed visual on Nika Schnee is here, coming out of her bedroom," you continue, the next tap playing the video clip of the little silver-haired girl with steel-blue eyes and perky little cat ears almost skipping down the hall. Trying to ignore Weiss's face almost twisting in misery, since Grey and Blake seem on the job of comforting her, you continue. "She entered the elevator as usual and hit the button for the ground floor. Partway down she hit the button for the sixth floor instead, and apparently got out there. Yang's there now," you note, slipping in your earpiece and tapping it. "Firebird, you copy? Any sign of her?"\n\n"No, no sign of her yet on the 'look at all the shit we've got' floor."\n\n"Just a reminder, hon, you are on speakerphone as well."\n\n"Fuck. I mean, shit. I mean... Yang out."\n\n"You've been such an awful influence on her," Harriet notes with a roll of the eyes.\n\n"Ahem. But yeah, the pressure plate sensor shows she was in place the entire time," you add, showing off a graph indicating a steady reading from 'ten' to 'six'.\n\n"What's this little blip here on eight?" Blake asks with a frown, pointing.\n\nYou lean in and squint, barely able to see what your more sharp-eyed friend did. "Huh, that's weird." Tapping your earpiece again you say, "Reese, there a reason for the blip on the pressure plate on floor eight?"\n\n"Uh, a little kid taking a long elevator ride?"\n\n"... Right." She hopped from boredom. Shaking your head, you continue, "Anyway, no sign of her on any of the cameras in floor six, since it isn't usually kept fully lit. Reese can't find her exiting the premises but she's checked all over Atlas, and no sign of her on any public camera."\n\n"What's she doing now?" Weiss asks quietly.\n\n"She's combing every camera in Mantle and trying to make sense of the umbilical staging area feeds. If she's anywhere in the kingdom, Weiss, between Reese and Ilia, they'll find her."\n\nJust then, Reese's voice speaks up again. "I've got movement in one of the sixth floor show rooms, east wing, third over, something just bumped a display case pedestal."\n\n"Yang, where are you?"\n\n"West wing, heading east now."\n\n"Alright, let's go," you say, already moving for the elevator. "Ace Ops up the stairs, seal off that floor, Ruby, Blake, Weiss, Whitley, with me, Grey and Raven I want you to stay here and watch things just in case this is a diversion or something."\n\n"You heard the lady, let's move," Clover announces with a clap and pointing at the stairs.\n\nSoon your group is stepping up to the archway of one of the long, museum-like rooms featuring rows of glass cases on pedestals. At a glance looks like displays of either the first Dust crystals of their kind ever mined, or extremely rare varieties. You hold up a hand to call a halt, waiting for your wife to join you, then hesitate just a moment more.\n\n"Kai, what is it?" Weiss asks in a strained voice, obviously eager to be in the room.\n\n"I've got a bad feeling about this." Frowning, you say, "Weapons out but down. Let's try not to frighten her if it is her... but I'm really not sure it is."\n\nWeiss looks hesitant, but at a nod from her brother she draws Myrtenaster from her hip, Whitley shrugging out of his suit coat and tossing it aside, drawing a silver-plated gun from the holster under one arm and holding it pointed at the floor. At nods from everyone else, you lead the way in. You flick the light switch, frowning and giving a significant glance at the others when it does nothing.\n\n"Nika?" Weiss nevertheless calls, tongue flitting across her lips as she makes her way into the windowless room, lit only by the soft glow of the strangely-colored Dust crystals resting in their display cases. "Nika, sweetheart, it's Momma. No one's mad at you, you can come out now."\n\n"Nobody's going to yell and you're not going to get punished," Whitley adds in a calm tone as he follows his sister in, staying close to her back. "We just want to know you're safe."\n\n"Ni~ka~, it's Aunt Ru~by~!" Ruby Rose adds in a cheerful chirp. "Wanna play Pilemon? I bet you've got a new set again~!"\n\nYou hear a scuttle near the corner of the room, and for half a second you almost have a hope that Ruby's successfully bribed Weiss's daughter into coming out. But the movement is wrong. "Guys," you say warningly, as there's another scritching, scurrying noise, and something small and slight steps into what little light there is at the end of the room, just enough to show that it's only a few feet tall with skinny little limbs. Instantly you snap your head to the side and shout "Weiss that isn't your daughter WEISS!"\n\nBut it's too late, she's already rushing forward, completely off her guard, too-hopeful joy written all over her face. And then it instantly turns to fear, her body seizing as the thing lets out a shriek and leaps right towards her face. At the last second Whitley tackles her to the ground, the white-haired man crying out as his head snaps to one side with an impact.\n\n"Check your fire!" Ruby Rose calls just before firing a shot with her rifle, reminding everyone to be careful of the Dust. You convert Red Legacy to shooting mode as you circle around towards the Schnee siblings, trying to cover them as the agile little creature bounds around, shrieking and you'd swear cackling as it flings itself about avoiding your fire, seemingly actually trying to lure you into shooting at the Dust displays.\n\nThen there's a glow, and it lets out a much less amused-sounding shriek as it finds itself suddenly pinned to the wall by one of Weiss's glowing white runes. The head of the Schnee Dust Company stares at the thing she's captured, Myrtenaster still pointed its way, the humanoid thing's shadowflesh squinched into almost sticklike limbs with bulging joints and knuckles, its belly overswollen as if about to burst, the mask on the front of its oversized head resembling nothing so much as the front of a human skull that's actually been carved off and painted with red markings.\n\n"What the hell is that?" Yang almost whispers.\n\nRather than answer, you glance down, then offer a hand while using the other to keep Red Legacy aimed at the captured Grimm. "Whitley, you okay?"\n\n"Yeah, it just gashed my forehead," he mutters, taking your hand to pull himself up, then raising that hand to where crimson blood is now sticking his white bangs to his skin. \n\n"Good save."\n\n"What kind of Grimm is it?" Ruby murmurs, silver eyes wide. \n\n"The kind that weighs as much as a seven-year-old girl and can ride an elevator." You raise your hand to tap your fingers to your earpiece. "Sterling to Ace Ops. Loop in Ironwood."\n\n"Ironwood here."\n\n"James. Winter coordinating with you on your end?"\n\n"Yes. You have something for us?"\n\n"Yeah," you answer with a scowl as Whitley moves over to aim his gun at the center of the Grimm's mask, the report of its firing overlaying your words. "Tell her that her house has just become the site of the first Grimm incursion in Atlas in ten years, because someone somehow subbed one in for her niece."\n\n-\n\n"I've never seen one like that," Harriet murmurs, staring at the displayed image of the rune-pinned Grimm taken from Ruby's teamcam.\n\n"Nor I, and I've seen every Grimm the wilds of Mistral has to throw at us and most of the rest of the world's," Raven half-admits, half-brags.\n\n"Nobody's ever seen one like that," Reese mutters as she types furiously. "One of the first things I did as a Specialist was exercise my authority to oversee the updating and expanding of the Grimm Registry. We've got everything back to Pre-Remnant cave paintings and there is nothing like one of those fucking things anywhere in it."\n\n"Does it matter what kind of Grimm it is?" Whitley asks in an aggravated tone, which you figure has to do more with a combination of worry for his niece and the fact that Vine is currently very carefully stitching up his forehead. "Shouldn't we be focusing on how someone switched it for Nika?"\n\n"Yeah, well, the two might be kinda linked, my man," you murmur, looking around at the other projections from different teamcams. "See the thing is, to even think of pulling that off, whoever did this first had to find a Grimm that no one had ever seen before that just so happened to be the same weight as Nika Schnee."\n\n"Wait, are you suggesting that someone... made one?" Marrow pipes up, looking from you to the others. "Uh, can you do that?"\n\n"Salem could," Ruby replies with a scowl. "That's how she made her 'war whale'."\n\n"Uhhhh, I thought Salem was kind of... super really gone?"\n\n"She should be. Plus this just... doesn't seem like her style," you murmur, cupping your chin.\n\n"Her 'style'?" Clover prompts.\n\n"Ozma always told me that Salem was all about division. It was never just evil or just chaos with her, she wanted to destroy unity wherever she could find it," you assert, glancing over at him.\n\nHarriet snorts. "And I've worked enough kidnapping cases to know that nothing brings a squabbling family together like suddenly having their priorities rearranged for them." Then she winces and glances at Weiss. "Sorry, I didn't mean you."\n\nWeiss takes a deep breath, then nods. "But you're right. I haven't seen Blake in three years, Kai and Yang in person in almost one, but look, here we all are, together. We've got more old friends in this room than have probably been together since the Battle of Atlas."\n\n"Right, and Salem was a chessmaster, she reveled in it, she'd be smart enough to know that kidnapping one of our kids would do that. Any way you look at it, this doesn't cause division," you continue, taking out your scroll and projecting a few articles you have saved. "Practically all of Remnant loves Nika, she's the most popular Schnee since her namesake. There's almost three million people in the 'Nika Defense Force' and for Remnant's population that's saying something. Once they hear she's missing, all of Remnant is going to be united in wanting to find her and get her home safe."\n\n"... And I feel obligated to note, with deep apologies," Vine speaks up evenly, finishing up putting the medical kit away and curling his hand over his fist, bowing apologetically to Weiss. "That this would be even moreso in the event of her death."\n\nYou watch Weiss wince, but you nod slowly in acknowledgement. "Targeting Nika is like the very opposite of Salem's MO. There's nothing she could do to that little girl that wouldn't unite Remnant in either love or outrage. There's no path to division here, it just doesn't make sense, it can't be her."\n\n"But it is personal," Yang murmurs.\n\n"Yeah, we've cleared all of the SDC's business rivals," Harriet speaks up. "The RDC was almost suspiciously eager to volunteer any and all possible cooperation, but it looks like maybe their leadership just has a soft spot for the kid too."\n\n"It's personal but I'm not so sure it's about Weiss specifically," you venture after a moment.\n\n"That why Jaune Arc is in Kuroyuri instead of here?" Grey asks with a glance over.\n\n"Yeah, and Auryn Belladonna is being watched around the clock too."\n\n"... We need to expand it," Weiss says after a moment. "Anyone that was involved in the fight against Salem in a way that might have come to her or her people's attention that now has children, they need to be warned and they need to be guarded."\n\n"Marrow, Councilwoman Hill's home, now," Clover says without hesitation, Marrow instantly turning and hurrying from the room.\n\n"Shit," you whisper softly.\n\n"What is it?" Yang asks, looking over.\n\n"I asked Ico to send Velvet and Yatsuhashi to watch Auryn, that means Peggy Wukong might be alone at Coco's place right now."\n\n"I'll make the call," Blake says hurriedly, stepping aside with her scroll.\n\n"We'll start coordinating with the other kingdoms, deploying some Hunstmen security," Clover says with a frown. "But do you really think this might go that far?"\n\n"Clover this feels like the bad old days coming up on us fresh and new," you mutter, looking around at the images of the briefly captive Grimm again. "I do not like this one goddamn bit."\n\n"So where do we start?" Harriet prompts. "Other than guarding as many kiddos of as many heroes as we can."\n\n<hr>\n[["I have an idea."|KaiYang3x2]]\n\n[["... No clue."|KaiYang]]

"Oh nooooo," you groan. Somehow you're not exactly terribly shocked to find that the room requirements involve fucking Pokemon, but still. (Because how else are you going to wind up laying Pokemon eggs?) And not one, but three?! Why three, you think as you turn around, before giving a faint "Oh" as you see what's now by the far wall.\n\nSpecifically, there are two Pokemon standing near the wall, both identical-looking Machokes, tall, blue-skinned, and very human-looking save for their almost draconic heads. Both have particularly large bulges in the front of their black athletic man-panties that you've certainly never seen in any Pokemon game, but you're not exactly surprised to see here. Above them is more writing on the wall, apparently denoting your choice, since the writing above the first says 'This Pokemon will give you one egg three times', and the writing above the second says 'This Pokemon will give you three eggs one time'.\n\nSo that's the choice here, huh? Fuck a Pokemon three times and lay an egg after each time, or fuck a Pokemon once and lay three eggs from it. The choice seems obvious... the less you're forced into fucking the better. ... Except that means you'll have three times the eggs at once in you, right? Like... will it take three times as long to, er... gestate them, too? At least presumably with the first option you could take a break between them, with the second option you're laying all those eggs together. ... Geez, what a predicament, you knew you'd be getting into weird shit when you joined the Guild but this takes the cake.\n\nYou sigh and sit down on the side of the bed... then jump up and whirl around to stare at it. When the hell did a bed get here?! ... Well, whatever, you guess you won't have to fuck on the floor, you think broodingly as you sit back down. You glance back and forth between the Machokes, who are simply standing there with expectant leers on their faces and those growing bulges in their shorts. Guess you'll have to pick one eventually, or just sit in here for eternity with a pair of horny Pokemen.\n\n<hr>\n[[One egg three times.|ChiPoke]]\n\n[[Three eggs one time.|ChiPoke]]\n\n[[No, you refuse.|ChiPoke]]

"I... I mean... are you seriously a slut as a lifestyle?" you finally blurt.\n\nKandi lets out a long peal of giggles at that. "Um, duh? Yeah! And you tooootally want to live that life too now, doncha?" she adds in a teasing tone, grinning wider when you nod sheepishly. "Well congrats girl! No worries, I will totally be your guide into the world of being a free use piece of ass as well as a successful mercenary!"\n\n"... Thanks?" Blushing, you nod, then give a soft 'oh'. "I guess I never actually introduced myself. ... Even though I've spent a lot of the last few days with my tongue inside you," you add, brushing a fingertip along your cheek. "I'm Michika."\n\n"Mmmmmm... nope, nope, not whore-y enough," Kandi declares after a moment of dramatically thinking it over, making you blink. "You've gotta have a name that, like, basically broadcasts right from the start that you were born to have your titties fondled by strangers, y'know? Something that says 'Here's my name but feel free to just call me "Hole"', yanno?"\n\n"... Right."\n\n"Eh, we'll figure something out," Kandi says after a moment, waving it off. "Until then 'Chika' will do. Anyway, let's go turn in the job and then we can head to your place!"\n\n"O-okay."\n\nAnd that's... what you do. The two of you see Alara, and you can tell that Kandi is highly tempted to pounce the well-hung farm owner as well, but she must be excited to have you as her protege since she restrains herself. Instead she snags your hand guilelessly, and the two of you head back to the Guildhall, from there to head back to the departure annex and find a portal back to Makarzia.\n\nSoon the two of you are standing in your apartment's living room, Kandi with her arms folded and looking around. "Hmmmm... yeah, we'll just sell all of it," she chirps, taking out her comm and starting to tap at the screen.\n\n"W-wha?!" you squeak.\n\n"I mean, practically, the body mods and implants you need to live a proper multiversal slut lifestyle are gonna be expensive, and I'mma help you cover 'em but we may as well liquidate this place and all your current insufficiently slutty clothes and gear," she declares cheerfully. "Besides, a true free-use slut doesn't need an apartment! Her home is the beds of the strangers she fucks and rent-by-the-hour no-tell motels!"\n\nYou're torn between horrified and aroused, your pussy actually giving a twinge as you think about spending the rest of your life sleeping on cum-stained sheets every single night. But you find you definitely can't bring yourself to speak up as Kandi uses a few contacts and apps to quickly sell off virtually everything you own, leaving you with little than the clothes on your back... which she informs you that you'll also be selling soon.\n\n"Obviously you're gonna need an all-new wardrobe, much smaller in a lot of ways," Kandi declares with a giggle as the two of you walk through the Guildhall again. "But no worries, I've got a one-stop-shop where we can get it all done!"\n\n"It all... you mean my, um... my slut makeover?" you say with a blush, your nipples stiffening at the thought.\n\n"Exactly!" Kandi stops and turns towards you, beaming. "Now, the most important thing to keep in mind as we craft your slutty new look, girl... you exist to pleasure dicks."\n\nA shiver of pleasure and arousal runs through you despite your mind's reflexive attempt to rebel and be outraged. "That's..."\n\n"Nah-ah-ah! You gotta start internalizing it, babe! You exist to pleasure dicks," she repeats cheerfully. "You were born to pleasure dicks. Your body will be crafted to pleasure dicks. Your clothes will be chosen to get dicks hard. Your jobs will be chosen on the likelihood of getting to service and pleasure dicks. You will, in all ways, live purely for the chance to use your body to please dick. Now say it."\n\nYou swallow hard. Can you really do this?\n\n<hr>\n[["I... I can't!"|ChiSlut]]\n\n[["... I was born to pleasure dicks."|ChiSlut]]

Your face turning even more red, you murmur, "Y-yeah. ... It was great."\n\n"Well good for you!" Kandi declares cheerfully. Then she ohhhhs. "Okay so you're like, thinking about how it changes things and stuff, right?"\n\n"I... guess?" You shrug a little. "I mean I wouldn't mind... feeling like that again... just not sure if I really should..."\n\n"You absolutely should! Being slutty is sooooo fun, girl, you should let yourself cut loose and live that slut life!" Kandi declares instantly. Then she sucks in an excited breath, her eyes glittering and her heart-pupils actually doing a little beating motion. "You should become, like, my protege!" \n\n"Er..."\n\n"That's the best idea ever! Girl, let me give you a total-ass makeover like mine and teach you to be the best merc-slut you can! We can take jobs together, fuck tons of dudes together, lick each other's pussies when there's no convenient dick, it'll be fun as hell!" she squeals.\n\n"I... uh, I dunno..." you hedge, a little disturbed by just how strongly part of you wants to take that offer.\n\n"Hmmmm," Kandi murmurs, closing her eyes and lifting her chin a bit... then smirking as she opens them. "Like, do you want me to, y'know... make you?" At you swallowing hard, she giggles and sidles around to your side, nudging you with her elbow. "Maybe you want me to force you into being a naughty, body modded slut who takes at least a dozen loads a day. And you just somehow never get around to saying 'no'... riiiight?"\n\n<hr>\n[[You want to be her protege.|ChiSlut1x2]]\n\n[[You want her to make you.|ChiSlut]]\n\n[[You're still thinking about being an ewe...|ChiSlut]]

You did go to all the trouble of saving them, after all... seems only fair they should repay you! You just won't bother asking first, since you actually can't yet. (Canine vocal cords could at best manage an approximation of understandable speech. That is definitely why you aren't asking.)\n\nHm, but one thing first. There's a sub-ability on your tree you didn't take last time, but which you found yourself several times wishing you had... plus, it would certainly be useful here! You take the ability 'Split Self'... this will allow you to create a number of duplicates of yourself, although your overall strength will be distributed evenly among them. Which is fine... the boost you've gotten off of defeating the trolls has put you into a very comfortable range added to what you've built up so far, so you've little doubt that distributing it four ways will be a bother for what's to come. Having thus decided, you create three identical duplicates of yourself and set to work.\n\nYou decide the 'main' you will attend to Red, since she's always been so good to you. Her eyes had gone wide since she was the only upright one and thus had a good view of everything you did, including manifesting duplicates, but she either doesn't have the strength or the mental focus to resist when you wrap your tentacles around her ankles and lift, just giving a yelp of mingled surprise and protest as you topple her onto her back and push her legs forward, pressing them right up against those big fat tits of hers so that she's bent almost double... it's fine, you know she's a springy thing~. The thin leather of her bottoms hugs the plump roundness of her pussy in this position... at least until you use your teeth to grab the front of them and give a yank, the thin strings snapping easily to even a quarter of your strength, and leaving her plump pussylips and pretty pink slit entirely bare, and coated with a rather fragrant mix of sweat and adrenaline-induced arousal that's particularly lovely to your canine nose. \n\n"H-hey, wait a second, Phantom waiahhhhh!" Red squeals as you move into position atop of her, your forepaws resting on her arms to lightly pin them... not that it takes much effort... and the pointed tip of your glistening red cock bumps up against those fat cuntlips. You definitely don't wait, however, giving a few more nudges to find the right spot before thrusting in, working your hips to push down and forward and sink into her right up to the knot. She makes a truly delightful noise at suddenly being filled with her beloved pet's big spear of a cock, and even more noises as you start fucking her in her helpless position. Your thrusts press on her legs, gently squishing her breasts out to the sides as they're pushed on, the pressure on her legs lifting her ass up and bringing her pussy right towards your thrusts, making her plump, glistening pussylips kiss the swell of your knot each time. Ah, could this be the best position?\n\nAt the same time you're moving towards Red, two more of you approach Saruko, the Golden Country girl still sprawled spread-eagled on her back, eyes wide as she watches two large white dogs approaching, both with a pair of long, wriggling tentacles emerging from their shoulderblades. She's even more exhausted than Red, however, having both put in a last physical push and having used a weapon technique, and can barely even manage to wriggle around as you use the tentacles to pull off her clothing, relieving her of that long skirt, the already rather showy silk top, and the tiny pair of white panties she was wearing beneath, leaving her completely bare. Soon enough the sword artisan is giving little "Mmf! Mmn! Mmf!" cries around one of you's cock, the glistening red shaft plunging past her pretty pink lips again and again, your furry white balls slapping her on the chin with your downward thrusts. Though they're vaguely protesting, her noises are becoming steadily more pleasured and borderline slutty, perhaps due to the fact that the other of you has your head buried between her thighs and is going to town on her pretty pink pussy and the tight pucker of her ass, broad canine tongue slurping all over it, capable of both pressing inside and stroking along the outer lips, and of course giving plenty of flicks across the prominent, stiff little nub of her clit. Both of you also have full free rein of her body with your tentacles, stroking her quivering flat belly, her perfect thighs, and of course paying plenty of attention to those big pretty tits, squeezing and rubbing them and even delivering a few light slaps/whips that make her squeal around your cock with something that sounds entirely too much like pleasure and entirely too little like protest for her own peace of mind, you'd wager. Getting a female to accept full pleasure even as her sweet, protesting mouth pleasures you... could this be the best position?\n\nAnd of course, even as those two of you are approaching Saruko, the remaining one is approaching Litarii. The slender Miuxid had already tried to scramble to escape, but her exhausted body had managed little more than crawling up onto all fours and making it a few feet before you catch up to her. You smirk wolfishly (rather more literally than you would have before), since that's exactly the position you would have wanted for her anyway. You even give a bit of a chuckle low in your canine throat as you extend your tentacles, Litarii squealing in outrage as you rip open the crotch of her bodysuit, baring her taut-looking brown pussy with its particularly pale pink slit, as well as her cute, obviously untouched pucker. But rather than go right for those, you slide your tentacles inside the hole you've created, stroking them along your body as she squirms and spits (verbal only, alas for her) curses at you, even as you can hear her voice catch at your tentacles sliding over her stiff nipples. She gives a rather louder yelp as you suddenly fling your tentacles apart, ripping her clothing to shreds and leaving her naked save for her boots. Oh yes, the party member that's been the biggest bitch to you will now be your little bitch, and you want her naked and on all fours when you do it.\n\nLitarii tries to struggle as you mount her, obviously knowing what's coming, but still gives a cry of shock as, with the aid of a tentacle, you almost immediately get the aim exactly right and plunge into her pussy. Ohhhh my she's tight, you think with a low canine groan of satisfaction. In fact, rubbing a tentacle across her belly lets you feel the bulge you're making in it... very nice! You start fucking her in quick, bestial thrusts right away, of course, making sure to pant and animalistically groan right in her ear as you do. Because if the spearlike shape of the cock pounding her little lesbian cunt and the feel of your knot slapping her trim little pussylips weren't enough, you want her ear constantly assailed with the sounds and hot breath of the dog that's claiming her virginity and making her his. The Miuxid's eyes roll up slightly and her teeth clench, little noises of protest and outrage welling up from her throat with your every thrust... but they're gradually altering, turning lewder and sweeter, and her jaw gradually goes slack and her tongue lolls out as her body and mind are overwhelmed by the wickedness of her experience. You toy with her lips and tongue with the tip of one of your tentacles, the other one continuing to tease and flick at her clit like it's been doing almost since you started... you resist the urge to plunge the one into her mouth and fuck her throat, because despite how lovely those sweet, lewd noises would feel around your sensitive appendages, you don't want to muffle them. You want to listen to her gradually giving in to the pleasure your big canine cock is giving her... and of course you want her to hear it too. Making a tight little bitch your actual bitch in heat... this might definitely be the best position!\n\nThe main you continues to pound down into Red, the other two teasing Saruko and fucking her mouth, and the last of you pumping away at Litarii, the girls' cries and moans and gasps gradually losing restraint and shame the longer you fuck them. Between their exhaustion, the spell, and your physical dominance of them, this might be the perfect time to cast a spell of your own on them... their chances of resisting it are almost nothing, even the arcanist who would normally have the highest chance of fighting off such an effect. The question is what to do?\n\n<hr>\n[[Alter their bodies.|IrMon]]\n\n[[Alter their minds.|IrMon6x1]]\n\n[[Alter their species.|IrMon]]\n\n[[Turn them into mana batteries.|IrMon]]\n\n[[Just generally corrupt them.|IrMon3x2]]

In fact, you have the perfect spell to use, one you've used on adventurers to great effect before. There's a fairly simple prerequisite for it, which is the target must have recently found enjoyment in something they know they shouldn't have enjoyed. All three girls definitely qualify at this point, you're quite certain as you let out three howls in unison, all three of you that are doing the fucking forcing their knots inside. Red and Litarii both scream in climax as their pussies are stuffed with the thick bulbs of flesh and flooded with monster-dog cum, and Saruko goes almost entirely silent, simply gurgling as your knot pushes past her lips and into her mouth, swelling behind her teeth and pulsing inside her throat as you cum into her belly. She too, though, is jerking her hips and shuddering in orgasm as the other you intesifies the motions of your tongue between her legs, urging her on and on even as she's forced by reflex to gulp and swallow hard around your knot and shaft... well, maybe not entirely reflex.\n\nEven as they're cumming, a pale mark appears on each one's crotch, just above her slit. Barely different in color from each of them's skin, it's a simple, vaguely heart-shaped mark that doesn't connect at the bottom, instead sticking two tines down to almost frame her clit. The Mark of Moral Degeneration... a curse, in effect, that will gently urge someone into doing things they think are wrong, or at least that they thought were wrong when they were marked. At first in this simple state, it will simply lower their moral barriers slightly, making them more open to suggestions of wickedness. As they commit more wicked acts, however, the mark will grow more elaborate, and their bodies will even gradually change to accommodate their dark behavior. It's not entirely impossible they might become monsters outright! And since you're the one that put the mark on them, your suggestions for bad things to do will be particularly strong, even if you issue them mentally. Interestingly and amusingly enough, you sense that the one who's most open to your guidance is Litarii. 'Ha... this one's not just a standard Miuxid, she's part Monster,' you think smugly, giving your hips an extra push to shove your knot a little deeper into her, the slender girl making a low, pleasured gurgling noise, her eyes having rolled up almost completely and her lips curled in a brainless smile of pleasure. 'You were definitely waiting to pick the winning side, weren't you? Well, you've now had your side picked for you anew, my little slave.'\n\nBecause all three of them are now your slaves, even if they don't know it yet. As the trio finally slump into unconsciousness, overwhelmed by both their orgasms and their new curse, you exercise your control to influence their memories, just a bit. Basically you make things a bit muddled... they'll recall that they were attacked by trolls, and that they were effectively helpless and would have died without you, though you definitely fuzz up the exact details of how you saved them. (You also take a moment to jumble up Litarii's memory of exactly when her bodysuit got torn, leaving her to likely conclude one of the trolls must have done it.) They'll also remember that after the trolls were dead, you claimed their pussies as your prize and that they loved it, though again you fuzz the exact details, obscuring that you did it to them all at once or had tentacles while you were doing it. Having completed your task, you pull your cocks out of their holes, and spend a few moments gathering them up and laying them together, even laying a blanket from their things over them. Have to protect your new investment, after all!\n\nWhile they're out, you consume the trolls, including the Arch Troll demonoligist you killed in the woods, retrieving Saruko's sword while you're at it. Between unlocking your ability tree, dominating and cursing the girls, and the power of four strong monsters including a spellcaster, you're now comfortably well-off as far as power and ability go, and doubt you have much to fear from any group of adventurers that you might encounter in this area. You eventually plop down near the sleeping, messy trio to rest, smugly content with your day's work. \n\nThe girls sleep through the night, and sometime early in the morning but after full sunrise, they start to come around, groaning quietly as they sit up and look around. All three blush when they see each other's naked, messy state, and blush even more when they look at you, though you simply give them a happy doggy smile and wag your tail. \n\n"Um... wow, he really, um..." Red trails off into an awkward giggle as she brushes a fingertip against her cheek.\n\n"Yes, he certainly did." Saruko clears her throat a little. "I suppose we owe him our thanks for helping us with the trolls, although... that certainly was a great amount of liberty for a pet to take with his mistresses afterwards," she murmurs, though you catch her tongue ever-so-slightly flick across her lips as she says it. \n\n"W-well, what's done is done, right?" Litarii blurts, causing the other two to look at her in surprise. Her entire face is several shades darker, almost the color of a heavily tarnished copper coin. "... May as well, um, just get on with things, right?"\n\n"I suppose that's for the best," Red says after a moment, actually smiling at you, though there's definitely a lusty glimmer in her eyes when she does that wasn't there before. Then she looks to the treeline. "Ah, we should find a stream or something, so we can... clean up."\n\n"Um, you two should go, your clothes are the closest to being fine," Litarii adds. "I'll stay here and look for what's left of mine so that I can maybe cast a mending spell on them."\n\n"Good luck," Red says sincerely as she stands up and retrieves her bikini bottoms, which have essentially become side-tie panties now, though actually tying them as such requires them to dig into her round hips more than before. She waits for Saruko to pull her own clothing on (though you notice that the little white wound-cloth panties remain 'hidden' in some grass, despite being quite visible from her position) before looking at you. "Coming, Phantom? Oh," she adds as you lift your head from where you'd been rummaging in the grass, wagging your tail as you show off the gleaming white scrap of cloth in your teeth. "You're going to help Litarii? Okay then, good boy!"\n\n"Ah, yeah, thanks, I really appreciate the help," Litarii murmurs, before adding hastily, "Uh, you... mutt!" in an attempt to keep up her previous mild disdain of you.\n\nLess than three minutes after the other two have disappeared into different sections of the trees, Litarii is on all fours, moaning as you fuck her again, though this time entirely because she got in that position and presented to you like a bitch in heat. "Oh fuck, oh yes, fuck me fuck me fuck me, fuck my bitch pussy, make me your bitch, I'm a bitch I'm a bitch I'm a mutt bitch I'm a worthless mutt bitch," she chants in a shameless, lusty tone, fucking herself back against you as her Mark of Moral Degeneration grows just a little brighter and more distinct.\n\n'You are definitely my bitch,' you think a bit later as the other two return, Litarii having hastily cleaned up as much as she could and resumed finding bits of her bodysuit, though only enough that when she cast Mending on it she wound up with a sleeveless one piece... the cape was already intact, but the sweater-top had been unraveled into so many strings that the spell did nothing for it. So, after the trio have cleaned up and gathered their things, the adventuring resumes, albeit with her wearing the somewhat thinner-seeming garment which always leaves her pussy hugged firmly enough to show the cleft of her lips. You're not sure if that's because there's less fabric overall now, or if it's just clinging to what now seems to be an eternally wet and ready pussy.\n\nOf course she's hardly the only one to crave a repeat performance. First Red declares she's going to go off and hunt for dinner and beckons to you to help her... and, when suitably away from the camp, quickly gets down on all fours herself, her cheeks matching her name as she unties the leather bikini bottom and shakes her round ass at you beckoningly. The night after that Saruko announces she wishes to be alone to meditate for awhile, and silently 'lures' you with a bit of jerky into following after her. Upon finding a secluded little spot, she gives you the jerky and then gently urges you onto your back, nimble fingers stroking your sheath and balls to urge your cock out so she can slide her mouth over it, sucking and licking while making soft, half-shamed moans... but however much shame she feels, it doesn't stop her from getting up on all fours as well once she's gotten you good and hard, skirt dropping to reveal her unpantied pussy dripping needfully.\n\nAnd so it goes for about a week. Unsurprisingly it's Litarii who's the first to not bother going far enough away or being quiet enough, and the other two are soon standing there staring at her as she moans out her litany of self-deprecating dirty talk and fucks herself back against your inhuman cock eagerly. There's some shame in her eyes as she looks at the two, clearly expecting their scorn, but it doesn't actually stop her for even a second... either she's too caught up in the throes of passion to be able to stop, or she realizes there's no putting this cat back in the bag so she might as well finish up what she's doing and enjoy herself. Of course, it takes only the very slightest mental nudge from you to make the other two decide against chiding her or lecturing her, and instead have them stripping off their clothing and getting ready for their turns.\n\nAfter that none of them bother to pretend they aren't fucking you, instead almost seeming to revel in spending every night at camp getting fucked in turns by their beloved pet, shamelessly playing different little games to decide that night's order. You actually get a little concerned that they're spending too much time at camp... you want your new, unwitting slaves to grow stronger, after all! So you start helping out more in their encounters against the monsters, putting extra effort into pleasing them directly afterward when you claim your reward for your assistance, using the Marks to enhance their pleasure at getting dogfucked as part of their prize for taking down a monster. The stronger the monster they fight, the more you pleasure them, until they're deliberately moving into the tougher areas faster, seeking out tougher battles so that you'll fuck them all the harder once they've won.\n\nBit by bit the Marks begin their work. It's subtle changes, so far... for one thing, they're advancing far faster than adventurers of their experience should, growing stronger and more skilled rapidly as the Marks answer their perverse reason for desiring more power, Red getting faster and stronger by the day, wasted motions and hesitation falling out of Saruko's swordwork, Litarii's spells gaining strength and versatility. Too, the long nights spent indulging with you, sometimes until sunrise, are answered by their bodies needing less sleep, rejuvenating off of less rest, wounds even healing faster as they become more efficient. As for the sex, well... Red and Saruko both already had rather lewd bodies, but you notice a greater sensuality in their everyday mannerisms, a more flaunting manner that says they're growing more and more to enjoy how they show themselves off and incite desire in you and in each other rather than just dressing provocatively as is considered a matter of course for adventurers. Litarii's changes seem more mental than anything, becoming something of a roleplay chameleon, embracing her new love for dirty talk and taking on different roles in her romps, spinning lewd little tales for her own satisfaction as she's fucked. And all three are essentially constantly aroused, sex always lurking in the backs of their minds, nipples permanently stiff and pussies eternally wet and ready for you at any moment. It's lucky that their clothes cover up their marks, if only just barely in Red's case, because while they haven't gained much in the way of more elaborate design, all of them now stand out very clearly against their skin. Of course the Marks themselves have a sort of magical 'don't notice me' effect on them, making them very hard to spot save for people with certain abilities or who happen to have a particularly strong moment of willpower... doubly so for the Mark's own wearer, so none of the girls is any the wiser about their new decoration, even as they get slightly clearer and more obvious to your eyes by the day.\n\nSeveral weeks on, you sit between Saruko and Litarii as they stand beside the road, both casually rubbing your head in a way that would seem fairly typical for someone's pet, but to you has the distinct feel of the sensuous rubbings one would covertly give to a lover. All three of you are watching Red talk with a merchant standing beside his wagon... well, flirt more like it, the blonde giggling and subtly jutting her tits out or swaying her hips as she talks, from some of the man's increasingly husky laughs obviously flinging the occasional blatant innuendo or suggestion into her words. But eventually she turns and makes her way back, swaying her hips to shake her ass at the man as he leaves, making him stare longingly after her with an obvious tent in his pants. But as he delicately climbs aboard his wagon and resumes his own journey, Red comes to a stop in front of you. "He says there's a farmhouse not too far away where the couple who owns it often lets adventurers stay. He also says there's been reports of a particularly strong monster in a spot not too far from here... from the way he described it, it might be a Lesser Demon."\n\n"Oh my, a lesser demon," Saruko murmurs.\n\n"That's... a really strong monster," Litarii adds.\n\nOf course, you're not entirely sure those comments are born of trepidation... Saruko's breathing has hitched and her face has flushed, and Litarii's fingers have actually wandered between her legs to rub the visible cleft in the cloth gently, their eyes having slid to you. Both of them are clearly thinking of just how good it would feel for you to fuck them after the thrilling battle of defeating such a difficult opponent.\n\nYou don't doubt Red is thinking it too, by the way she licks her lips as she looks at you, but apparently she's got enough of a level head still to make herself focus by clearing her throat. "Yeah, it is. Even a Lesser Demon has fast healing, natural spells, and is way stronger physically than anything we've fought so far. At the very least we might wanna head to the farm and rest up properly before we go fight it."\n\nYou can tell all three are conflicted. Well, as their owner it's clearly up to you to make the decision via mental nudge! You're fairly sure you can just put your words in Litarii's mouth at this point and have her think they're her own, so having her voice a well-phrased opinion should be enough to sway the other two, especially since the opinion will be something you want.\n\n<hr>\n[[Go to the farm.|IrMon3x3]]\n\n[[Seek the demon.|IrMon]]

"I think you're right, Red, we should go to the farmhouse and rest up," Litarii says. Well, you say, but she doesn't know that. "It will give me time to prepare some special buff spells and minor artifacts that will help us in a battle against a demon, ones that I really shouldn't risk interrupting because it starts raining," she adds with a glance at the cloudy sky above.\n\n"Hm, that's a good point," Saruko chimes in, nodding once. "Shall we consider that a quorum, then?"\n\n"If that means 'agreement' then yup!" Red says with a giggle. She pauses, then sighs and glances at you. "I suppose we should, um... avoid our nightly activities, y'know?" \n\nThe other two let out longing sighs that nevertheless convey agreement, while you wag your tail in seeming ignorance. But in truth it's because you're thinking, 'Well, we'll see how things go.'\n\nThe party sets off in the direction the merchant indicated to Red. It's a fair distance, and night has set in by the time the farmhouse comes into view. It's a simple, smallish thing, but obviously new and fairly competently-built, seeming even newer and fresher than the barn standing a distance away. You can't see any livestock in the field, but you hear a faint whinny from inside the barn... ah, horse farm. The group approaches the front of the house, and Red knocks on it. It only takes a few seconds before it opens and a man who's probably only a few years older than her, wearing simple but relatively clean garments, is revealed framed by the lamplight from inside, short dark hair tousled and handsome features a little surprised and flushed at the sight of three provocatively-clad female adventurers on his doorstep.\n\n"Hello sir!" Red chirps, in an amusingly erotic mixture of her previous sunny disposition and a bit of a sensual purr. "I'm Red, this is Saruko, and Litarii. And this is Phantom," she adds, with almost too much warmth in her voice as she gestures towards where you're sitting and doing your best to look innocent and presentable. "We heard from someone on the road that you might put us up for the night?"\n\n"Ah, yes, my name's Rehn, and that's so... usually," he says, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head. "We've got a room made up for it and everything... the local lord gives us a break on our taxes for it, y'see. Um, but my wife has a rule about it... female adventurers can't stay in the house when I'm here by myself, and she's on a trip to town to pick up supplies," he continues awkwardly, shuffling back and forth on his feet a little like a nervous schoolboy. "Um, really sorry about it, but that's her one rule, and it's not like she's bad about anything else," he hurries to add. "You're free to sleep in the barn, it's just as dry in there and there's a hearth, and I'll put some food out for all of you here on the porch you can take back with you!"\n\n"Oh," Red replies with a blink, clearly not having quite expected what to do with that... and clearly finding it difficult to immediately come up with a protest since she obviously knew how flirty she was being.\n\n"So, ah, sorry again that you can't sleep in the house, but otherwise feel free to make yourselves at home in the barn. ... Sorry," Rehn adds again in a murmur, before stepping back and closing the door.\n\n"Well!" Saruko declares with a bit of a huff, putting her hands on her hips.\n\n"I guess I can't entirely blame her," Red adds in her own murmur, glancing down at herself, and mentally adding a silent 'Especially since I probably would have fucked him.' Of course, the other two are thinking much the same thing... you've awoken their libidos and supercharged them, after all, they're probably as disappointed at losing out on the opportunity for further lewdness as not getting to sleep in a comfy cottage.\n\nThey all seem to be milling about in front of the door now, a bit lost on what to do. Obviously you, as (secret) leader of the party, will have to make a decision yet again!\n\n<hr>\n[[Have them try again.|IrMon]]\n\n[[Have just one of them try.|IrMon3x4]]\n\n[[Have them rob him.|IrMon]]\n\n[[Have them... stay in the barn.|IrMon]]

You see some good opportunities here to extend their corruption, especially if you could have them stay at this farm for several days. So perhaps you could send just one girl in and have her attempt to win over the farmer in some way, and thereby convince him to let all three stay... or perhaps even corrupt him as well, that would help out with empowering you further. The question is which of the girls to send to do it?\n\n<hr>\n[[Red.|IrMon5x1]]\n\n[[Saruko.|IrMon4x1]]\n\n[[Litarii.|IrMon3x5]]

You have quite the amusing idea for this, and it plays into Litarii's newly-discovered love of roleplay. Yet again you put an idea into her head, though you're confident that she can fill in the blanks of most of it.\n\n"Guys, why don't I see if I can at least convince him to let at least me stay inside?" the Miuxid suggests. "It would really be best if I did for preparing those buffs. Plus I'm the youngest-looking one, he might make an exception for me."\n\n"I suppose that makes sense," Saruko says with a sigh. "No point in all of us sleeping in the barn if we don't have to."\n\n"You think you can talk him into it, Liti?" Red asks, frowning thoughtfully. "He seemed pretty into following his wife's rules."\n\n"I've got an idea I think will work," the smaller woman says breezily. "You guys go ahead and let me try."\n\nThe other two nod, and head for the barn without another word, with you trotting along with them. Save that you leave your body mostly on 'autopilot', using your magical abilities to shift most of your attention to a simple scrying spell on Litarii that will let you keep an eye on her. Not that you're being particularly protective (though you're certainly not going to allow anything to happen to one of your valuable slaves), but you want to see how this goes!\n\nLitarii glances over, waiting until her friends have disappeared inside the barn, before gently slapping a hand against one side of her face. The illusion spell she casts takes the form of a quickly darkening bruise around her eye, already beginning to swell noticeably. She takes a few moments breathing and psyching herself up, until actual tears are welling in her eyes and her lip is trembling. Stepping forward, she knocks timidly against the door, then steps back and clutches her hands in front of her, sniffling softly as she waits.\n\nRehn answers the door looking almost annoyed, though that expression flees his face as he sees Litarii's state, eyes widening as he takes a half-step forward. "Oh gosh, what happened?!"\n\n"M-my friends... they got upset when you said we couldn't stay in the house," Litarii answers, pitching her voice a bit higher and softer than usual and letting it crack here and there. "They w-were saying w-we should insist, a-and I said we shouldn't bother you, a-and they got mad and, and, and now I'm out here all alone and I don't even know how to get back to anywhere, and, and-"\n\n"Oh gosh, oh geez, come on in," Rehn says with a groan, tossing a glare in the general direction of the night, clearly thinking the other two have just stomped off rather than taking him up on his offer of the barn. He ushers Litarii into the house without another word, closing the door and then gently reaching a hand towards her face, apparently more concerned with her injury and upset than any prejudice against her mixed ancestry. "That's quite a shiner, can I get you something for it?" he says sympathetically.\n\n"Um." Litarii gives a soft half-hiccup as she rubs gingerly under her other eye. "If you've got some rosemary, and a green onion, and a hot water and cloth?"\n\nOf course they're nonsense ingredients that are just things likely to be found in a home in this area, but since she's obviously a spellcaster Rehn seems to assume she knows what she's doing. Litarii goes through the motions of making what's essentially an herbal tea, gradually softening her sniffles and visible upset as she dabs it around her eye with the cloth, letting the illusion lessen just a bit with each dab. "Thank you. You're really nice," she says in that quiet, innocent-pitched voice, giving him a somewhat watery smile as she does.\n\nRehn blushes just a little bit, but smiles warmly all the same, gently patting her shoulders. "It's fine. And don't worry, you can stay in the house tonight. Definitely don't want those two coming back looking for you," he adds darkly, tossing another glare towards the night outside through the window.\n\n"Really?" Litarii brightens her expression considerably, then pushes a blush and glances down, fidgeting. "Thank you... it's been a long time since I got to sleep in a bed. Even before I started adventuring..." she adds, her tone shifting to a lonely, slightly forelorn one. Then she smiles a bit more warmly as she lifts her head. "But you're being so kind. It's sort of like having a big brother."\n\nRehn blushes again at that, rubbing the back of his head and giving a bit of a laugh. Of course, you're giving Litarii some vague, general tips on what to do here, sort of directorial guidance, but she's doing a bang-up job all on her own. Rehn's practically eager to fix her a hot supper and even boil water so she can have a warm bath (and while he's busy with that, Litarii sneaks the remainder of the meal he made out onto the porch so her friends can claim it). Luckily he either doesn't notice or decides not to ask when he comes back and sees the leftovers gone, simply allowing her to take her bath, and directing her that he left one of his shirts in there for her to wear as a nightgown. You can see that he's completely and utterly charmed, and just a tiny bit guiltily turned-on when she comes padding out in the shirt that comes more than halfway down her thighs, hands raised to press curled fingers to her lower face as if shy. But whatever his thoughts, he shows her to the room kept up for adventurers, a tidy, largely unadorned affair with a handful of single beds arranged in rows, and tells her to make herself comfortable. Litarii stops just short of asking to be tucked in, but does clamber into bed, very nearly 'innocently' flashing Rehn several times in the process before she settles beneath the covers, and wishing him a sleepy-sounding, rather childlike goodnight, putting an almost parental smile on his face before he turns out the lamp in the room and steps out, closing the door.\n\nYou briefly pull your attention back to your real body... which is in the process of fucking Red at the moment, the blonde moaning and squealing happily beneath you. Ahead and well in your line of sight is the naked Saruko, kneeling beneath a horse and using both slim, elegant hands to stroke and rub his balls gently and sweetly, her tongue lavishing attention on his cock as it slides out of his sheath, pretty lips planting kisses on the ink-black flesh. You imagine she'll be perfectly happy sucking him off all night and swallowing what she can of his loads... the Golden Country girl seems to have developed a bit of an oral fixation, for som~e re~ason. For the moment you concentrate both on enjoying the show and on the luscious blonde bitch-slave beneath you, leaving your scrying on a general sense as you wait for Rehn to go to bed himself, which takes awhile with him glancing out the window and fingering one of his kitchen knives every so often. But eventually he obviously decides that Red and Saruko aren't coming back, and turns off the lights to go to bed himself, the door to his room audible from the room next door as it closes.\n\nYou shift your attention back to Litarii, waiting a bit longer before you give her the next nudge. But she surprises you by herself rising from the bed not long before you were going to... oho, looks like your sluts are now fully autonomous in obeying their wicked desires! Litarii carefully opens the door to the room, keeping it quiet as she moves to the other bedroom, and with this one she's just as careful... to make sure that it's a bit audible as it creaks open. Rehn had already sat up some, but at seeing Litarii in the moonlight shifts to worry. He'd been laying atop the covers, wearing just a light pair of pants, apparently having still been somewhat expecting a problem in the night. "What's wrong, are you okay?"\n\n"I... got a little scared," she says quietly in reply, squirming her shoulders back and forth. "It's been awhile since I was all by myself."\n\n"Oh, um, well," he stammers, shifting a little in bed. "Um." Clearly he doesn't know what to do with that one... and his confusion is enough opening for Litarii to pad softly on those dainty bare feet across the floor and climb up onto the side of his bed. "Uh, Litarii, I really don't think you can sleep here, though..." he hedges, but he definitely doesn't sound nearly as resolute as any point earlier in the evening.\n\n"Please... big brother?" the Miuxid says quietly, managing to sound impressively sincere amidst her shy but resolute act. The words definitely have an effect on Rehn, and as he's still processing it Litarii makes her next move... straddling his thighs. Rehn's eyes go wide as she lifts the shirt... his shirt... up and off, letting it drop to the side as she bares her slender little body with its perky tits and slim hips, nipples dark little circles on her almost silhouetted body. "I really... don't want to be alone," she murmurs, combining the childish voice and delivery with a gentle and smooth lean forward to press her lips to his.\n\n'Flabbergasted' wouldn't even cover it... Rehn's brain has clearly seized up and left him unable to react. Well, with any deliberate thought, anyway. His hands just sort of hover in the air near her sides, not moving, his body mostly frozen as she keeps up the rather innocent-seeming kiss. And yet she shifts forward just a bit, making sure her bare pussy bumps up against his stiffened cock through his pants, a little shiver running through her as she gives a low little half-moan against his lips. She sits up, biting her lower lip as she glances down, hands moving to start undoing the ties of the pants. "I've never... seen one before. Can I...?"\n\n'This girl will definitely become an extremely fine succubus in time,' you think rather proudly as you watch your slave work.\n\n"Litarii, Litarii, we can't, we shouldn't, we-" Rehn stammers, his better nature insisting that he be loyal to his wife and not take advantage of someone so young (-seeming, you're fairly certain she might actually be a bit older than him) obviously fighting a war on two fronts against his lust and his desire to take care of this poor vulnerable creature who seems to need him. He certainly cuts off as his cock springs free of his pants, stiff enough that he wouldn't be able to convincingly claim that he wasn't interested in any event. He's still obviously rallying for another protest when it comes out not as words but a hard exhale when Litarii wraps her delicate hands around the shaft and starts stroking gently.\n\n"It's so hard... and hot," Litarii whispers in that sweet, breathy voice, continuing to stroke it. "Did I... make you like this, big brother?" At Rehn's guilt-ridden groan, she glances down, a look of amazed wonder on her face as she continues to stroke him, feigning startlement as a bit of clear pre oozes out of the tip. She brings her fingers up after it dribbles over them, staring theatrically, then gives them a kittenish lick, Rehn sucking in a breath at the sight. "It... tastes kind of good," she 'admits' in a bashful tone, another shiver of arousal running through him at something he's clearly never heard before. "Can I...?" Litarii continues, sliding down his legs, her face smoothly growing closer and closer.\n\n"W-wait, we-" Rehn cuts off with a loud groan as Litarii's mouth slides over his cockhead, her soft, warm tongue flicking and stroking over it. If she's rather more experienced than her demeanor and claims would indicate, he apparently doesn't have the presence of mind to realize it, too busy groaning guiltily in pleasure as more and more of his cock disappears between Litarii's soft lips, a shudder running through him every time he looks down and sees those sweet purple eyes looking up with him in innocent adoration along with her lips wrapped around his prick.\n\nAfter several minutes of Litarii's sweet oral attentions, you're not terribly surprised that the last of his resistance is gone. When she raises her head, without a word he moves forward, the devoted husband and simple, moral farmer quickly going to work licking the 'sweet little girl's' pussy with abandon. Litarii keeps up her act admirably, mewling sweetly as if confused about the pleasure she was feeling, pressing one hand to her mouth as she squirms, the other hand gripping in his hair as she wraps her slender thighs around his head. She wriggles and bucks a bit, whimpering softly as she bites at her thumbnail... his technique's not bad, but considering how often she's had your dextrous canine tongue all over that sweet brown-lipped pussy, it's definitely mostly acting that has her acting like she's never been given oral pleasure before.\n\nEventually Rehn moves up, the married man no longer showing any hesitation in kissing Litarii lovingly as he draws her smaller body to his rather well-toned one. She shivers a little as his cock bumps against her, but when he starts to draw away she squirms delicately beneath him, once more bringing her 'pawed' hands up over her lower face. "P-please... be my first, big brother," she whispers against the sides of her palms.\n\nThat definitely completely disintegrates any remaining resistance he had, and Rehn nods wordlessly as he brings the tip of his cock and settles it into place against her dripping entrance. If it goes in rather easier than it should and Litarii seems remarkably pleasured for her 'first time', it likely only feeds the haze of pure fantasy and desire now fogging his brain as he slowly sinks himself into her. He wraps his arms around her and keeps her small body hugged up against him, now obviously reveling in how soft and tender and vulnerable she seems as he starts pumping into her slowly and gently, Litarii's slender legs wrapping around his waist and her arms around his neck, every brief cessation in kissing her resulting in soft, sweet pleasured moans of "Big brother!"\n\nWell Litarii has just done a marvelous job! you think as you watch. He's all set up for you to work your magic, he could very easily take a Mark of Moral Degeneration himself at the moment... he's not exactly the same quality as your other slaves, but you could either train him up or just feed off of his continuing descent into depravity after leaving him alone. Or you could initiate a mana transfer spell, and rapidly accelerate Litarii's transformation into a succubus, bringing you that much closer to having true high quality followers again. \n\nOr... well, you could just let Litarii handle it on her own. She seems to be doing rather well all by herself, you're actually rather proud of how she's developing into a cunning, amoral little manipulator, and you're tempted to enjoy watching her do so rather than immediately prioritize your return to the throne.\n\n<hr>\n[[Put the Mark on Rehn.|IrMon]]\n\n[[Transform Litarii into a succubus.|IrMon]]\n\n[[Just enjoy the show.|IrMon]]

Mofu mofu~! You head towards the fox girl as if drawn by a magnet, resisting the incredibly strong urge to lift your hands and squinch your fingers in anticipation. Her butt-length hair, ears, and tail are all a sleek white color, the sheen giving them a slight grey tone, a pair of goggles pushed up to just in front of her ears. Her face is cute and youthful, her large eyes aqua in color. She's definitely got one of those outfits that would only make sense in a fantasy RPG... a black cape with a star-shaped clasp, some sort of layered leather breastplate over her mid-thigh-length green jacket, and tight black combination pants-boots with random sections cut out and belts added. She's definitely on High Fantasy RPG Overload, especially with all the flasks and vials on her belt. The nameplate above her head reads 'Mana'.\n\n"Hihi~! Mana here, super fluffy enchanter extraordinaire!" she chirps, lifting a hand and opening it to reveal a pink gem in the palm, which projects an intricate magic circle into the air. "Gimme your soul and I'll let you touch fluffy tail! Or, y'know, we can just talk about partying up."\n\n<img src="images/Mana.jpg">\n\n... As tempting as the former is... "So you're looking for party members, huh?"\n\n"Yup! I sort of need someone to do all the heavy lifting, as it were. Oh, don't worry, I won't be a load," she assures you. "I've got a ton of great support abilities and can craft healing potions easy, so I'll definitely help you out. I won't be much use fighting, but you won't lose easy if I'm with you, either!"\n\nWell we all make sacrifices when we're cultivating friendships. "You said you were an enchanter, so do you just make potions?"\n\n"Nope, magic items too, and as long as we're partied up I'll make them at either cost or if we have the materials. I'm hoping that I'll be able to earn enough and get my skills up enough that I'll be able to afford and stock a shop in one of the big cities," she confides, large fluffy tail flicking back and forth and ears giving a twitch. "Hey, if it turns out we work well together, it could be a longterm thing! I'll still need to go out occasionally when I have my shop, or have people bring stuff in!"\n\nHm. Being too combat-capable goes against your plans... but then again, you've already decided that just flinging yourself into danger trying to lose deliberately and as fast as possible isn't the route to go either. Besides, it's a lewd game... you're betting Mana can craft all sorts of fun things along the way! "Sure, sounds good to me."\n\n"Awesome! Okay, let's party up and then head to the city so we can hit the Temple of Return," Mana says as she opens the party formation window.\n\n"The Temple of Return? What's that?"\n\n"Ohhh, you're new! It's this thing that bypasses all the other death options... you pray at the Temple and then respawn there when you die. Buck naked," she adds with a grin. "Buuuut it means that none of your stuff or experience's disappeared, you can go get your items back where you dropped once you've prepared to deal with whatever offed you. Absolutely vital for a crafting character like me, way less chance of losing hours of work to a random encounter as long as you always remember to pray at the nearest temple and have a backup stash."\n\nUh-oh. That sounds like it could totally ruin your whole motivation for playing this game! ... On the other hand, then you'd get to experience (potentially very lewd) game overs again and again. And it might be worth it to cultivate the relationship with Mana... after all, if the two of you become friends, she'd probably be willing to craft stuff for other characters you make. Characters who wouldn't have prayed in the temple. Better gear and potions would mean better, er, bigger trouble to get into.\n\n<hr>\n[[Talk Mana out of it.|YamiHF]]\n\n[[Go with her to the Temple.|YamiHF]]

'Oh, what the hell,' you think with a small sigh as you plug the datajack into your port. You assure yourself that your decision is not at all motivated by how good it felt to do well enough to inspire the red flashes of supertips (AKA "supas") during the training program.\n\nYou take a few moments to review the data... it's really pretty simple, just mental instructions for moves to make timed to sync up to the music when it detects it, nothing complex like actually guiding your muscles or anything like that. Looks pretty simple (meaning well within your current range) but like Xian-Xia said, pretty high energy, pretty much constantly bopping and shaking through the entire song. Well, you might need a quick rinse-off after it at the very least.\n\nAs you finish closing up your locker, you turn and see Xian-Xia holding out another cylinder... this time a tube of lipstick-style glowpaint. You look at it blankly for a moment before you remember and, blushing, accept it with a murmur of thanks and head into the bathroom area. Luckily the bits of your outfit that need to be removed to apply the glowpaint are the ones you put on with the idea of being easy to remove, so it's simple enough to bare your breasts and... well, you're putting effort into this, so you do as good a job as you can applying the glowpaint in nice, cheerful little hearts over your nipples. The feeling of the makeup smearing in smooth, slightly oily sensations across your sensitive skin definitely does a fair bit to make them perk up, which you suppose helps too. Putting the one over your crotch is... significantly more embarrassing, especially the fact that to achieve the proper effect, you do have to paint most of your pussy with the stuff (it's not a good tease if they can't theoretically see everything after all).\n\nAfter that it's mostly, well, waiting. As the newest girl everyone else basically has dibs, and you don't see a whole lot of point into going out and offering lapdances when you haven't even made your official intro to the club. (That just feels too weird, somehow, on top of all the rest. But eventually you're sent the notification that you're up soon, and you add your song to the queue (luckily they had it already in the library), and head out to wait in the backstage area.\n\nAs you'd agreed with Lolina during the chitchat when this all started, when the time comes the DJ enthusiastically introduces the club's newest dancer, 'Chichi'. (You thought it sounded like a poodle, but whatever, stripper name, it's not exactly meant to be overflowing with an abundance of dignity.) You take a breath and center again, steeling your will, then plastering the smug, slightly bratty grin you perfected with Basic Bitch's help on your face as the music starts.\n\n[[Music.|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kajuCOpeQ3M]]\n\nYou did, after all, decide to play up the Nipponzi thing a bit, which is admittedly one of the reasons you felt so embarrassed earlier. But Basic Bitch praised the song as having a good energetic beat you could either use or deviate from as you preferred without it seeming too dissonant, along with a few good places to throw in your "signature move" of the kick-spread-twirl with your legs. So as practiced, you set off down the stage in a strut, knowing that this time all those eyes roaming over your body, visually devouring you and imagining you in all sorts of perverse situations are very real. Still, you've practiced enough to keep your stride, arriving at the pole and going into a twirl, your initial use of the Chichi Kick (because fuck it why not call it that) earning some impressed whistles and cheers and a flurry of donations.\n\nIn fact you can see a pretty steady flashing of the green lights and some amber ones here and there almost from the beginning, and you've barely gone into your first hip-swaying shake, your pleated skirt bouncing about teasingly along your thighs and giving flashes of your panties glowing in the clublight when you see your first red flash. Basic Bitch really was scoring you a bit harder, looks like.\n\nIt's fairly early in the song when you unclasp your skirt and let it drop off with a little jut of your hips, to more cheers and whistles and flashes. After that it's your bra, a quick motion of your hand and a toss (practiced to look unconcerned and random but actually land it on the stage) leaving your tits swaying heavy and free beneath the thin material of your top. As expected, people start waving around physical creds now, and you do a little spin out to the edges of the stage to make a circuit, dropping into a low squat to shake and shimmy your hips here and there. Fingers press against your hips and thighs and the sides of your buttocks briefly on the excuse of making it easier to slide the bills into the waistband of your panties. Only one guy even seems to think of reaching for the tie of them, and a quick strategic bump of your thigh against his hand seems to deter (or maybe satisfy) him.\n\nYou notice that one of the bills a customer slips into the side of your panties along your asscheek is a hundred, so take the plunge and pop your top early... literally, doing the quick slip-and-lift-and-toss that Basic Bitch taught you to fling the top away and leave your tits bared fully, the glowing painted-on hearts highlighting your stiff nubs and puffy areola to fresh cheers and flashes, a few of the customer's friends (or just nearby dudes) clapping him on the back and shoulders in congratulations. You complete your circuit while bouncing and jiggling free now, before returning to the pole for your little bit of pseudo-paizuri, which goes over as popularly as you'd hoped. Sliding down the pole, bopping and swaying your ass, you reach back and several times teasingly pluck at one tie of your panties.\n\nThen in the same quick motion you pull the tie undone and twirl around to drop, cupping your fingers over your pussy just as the panties fall away to drape around one thigh, the white material swishing with the motions of your hips as you sway them back and forth. You definitely seem to have gotten the crowd's attention with that one, and quite a few of your tip flashes are amber now, with more red ones shining through here and there. As the song draws to a close, you steel your will and lift your fingers, curling them back against your hand, until only your middle finger is extended along your slit, your practiced grin turning wicked as you loll your tongue out. As the song does end, you flick the finger up for just the barest moment, though it's timed near-perfectly with a red flash right in front of you that sends a distinctly aroused shiver up your spine before you cover yourself again and swing to your feet.\n\nYou tie the side of your panties back up as you trot back down the walkway and then towards the side stage. You couldn't quite resign yourself to just showing your pussy off constantly, thus the idea of the panties you didn't have to take fully off for the routine. Basic Bitch did say that was fine... since your routine is built on a fair bit of teasing, keeping some of the goods covered most of the time works. You are, however, completely bare now from the waist up, but oh well, you've inured yourself to that.\n\nThe next girl comes out fairly soon, and you don't find her song difficult to improvise to at all, since that's basically what's expected... just plenty of hip-shaking, tit-shaking, occasionally squatting down and (ugh) twerking for customers to put physical creds in your panties... though several times you see bills big enough that you give in to the silent urging to take them with your breasts, pressing your boobs around the bill (and their fingers) to pull them away and then let them drop back to the stage floor to be zipped up by the static field. And then-\n\n"Alright, everybody, now get ready as we welcome back one of our signature dancers, thank you, thank you very much, it's Xie-Xie!" the DJ crows.\n\nYou straighten up and step back, nudging the small control on the side of the base of the pole to set it to retracting as the crowd starts up its howling and squealing and whistling.\n\n[[Music.|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OlVohfSDxpY]]\n\nAs the music starts you cue up the motion data, swinging around to present your ass to the club and flinging your arms up overhead in a dramatic stretch, as if getting ready for strenuous physical activity. (Not a lie.) Then you drop your fists to rest them high on your waist as you begin basically throwing your hips side-to-side, enough to make your ass jiggle with the motions. You (and the other dancer doing the same dance on the opposite sub-stage) look over your shoulders, looks on your faces as if both smug and awed at how awesome your butts looked doing that, before swinging around to face forward again and resuming vigorous hip-bopping, this time letting the audience see your boobs jiggling with the motions.\n\nYou're not able to keep too much of an eye on Xian-Xia's (ne Xie-Xie's) own dance, but it definitely seems to be in her words "high energy", with her constantly in wild motion, her little open-sided qipao's flaps flipping up and swinging dramatically with every move she makes. Meanwhile you're focusing on your own dance, shifting your stance some and swinging your hands up behind your head, shifting your motion to still swing your hips but do most of the bopping with your shoulders to make your breasts sway and wob with the beat. Then you drop your fists down to your hips, thrusting them in quick, suggestive motions while letting a steadily lewder expression come over your face, as if the sexuality of your own dance were gradually making you incredibly horny.\n\n'Who comes up with this stuff?' you think scornfully, to distract yourself from the fact that your own dancing is gradually making you... well not incredibly horny, but.\n\nThe next part of the dance is to swing your arms up again and keep your legs together, and to 'rock out' while slowly turning in a circle, showing off both tits and ass to the full crowd bit by bit, looking somewhere between being completely lost in the groove at a concert and praising the sun. Thankfully there's just a brief pause in the dance after that to let you catch your breath (you're finding you need it), and then it's a rather overt bump-and-thrust of your hips while turning and doing milder praising-waves with your arms. Then dropping your arms and doing a bit of lower swinging with them along with subtle shakes of your shoulders to get more titwobbles going, before swinging back through repetition of earlier parts of the dance.\n\nBy the time the song is done, you're glistening all over with sweat, the club lights gleaming on it as you raise a hand to give a flirty wave of goodbye to no one in particular as you strut towards the backstage. The moment you're behind the curtain you slump and give a soft groan. "Damn," you hiss. You're a trained mercenary, no stranger to combat, but you feel like you've been in combat at the moment. 'These girls work way harder than I thought,' you muse as you head over to the dispenser to collect your costume and creds. You blink a little at the size of the stack... no, stacks... of bills as you pick them up and eye them. Admittedly most of them are ones and fives, but still, there's definitely plenty of twenties and a scattering of hundreds in there.\n\nTaking everything back to the dressing room, you toss everything (including what you're currently wearing) into the locker before padding naked into the bathroom area. The glowpaint on your breasts and crotch, designed to withstand sweat, smearing, and even quite a few other things comes off like chalk on pavement in Makarzian shower water (one of the few benefits of how chemical-ridden the tapwater around here is, is that no one has to pay for makeup remover). You guess you'll need to reapply them if you're going to pick up any more dances or whatever tonight.\n\nYou've just finished mostly drying off when Xian-Xia hurries into the shower area. "Oh, good, you're here!"\n\n"Er, yeah, what's up?" you ask, trying not to seem too embarrassed about tucking the towel around yourself.\n\n"One of my VIPs is here with his usual request, and it takes two girls. The girls I usually do it with are all on right after me, and I can wait, buuut he's typically more generous with the extra under-the-table tip if he doesn't have to wait, if you know what I mean," she says rather sheepishly, wagging a finger. You must have a highly dubious look on your face because she grins. "Don't worry, you won't actually have to do anything but sit there."\n\n"Uh, seriously?"\n\n"Yeah, this guy is hardcore into a very specific fantasy: going out to a karaoke joint with two girls, and then doing lewd stuff with one of them while the other carries on singing like it's no big deal," she says with a smirk. She pauses, then blinks. "How is your singing? I mean it doesn't have to be good, but-"\n\n"But better tip, yeah yeah. I mean, it's okay enough for karaoke, according to the machine scores?" you say in a slightly mystified tone, your brain still trying to catch up to this sudden swerve.\n\n"Good, good! Oh, I mean, no pressure if you don't wanna do it," she assures you, holding up her hands and waggling them. "I mean, some girls don't do VIP room stuff at all, except maybe for private dances, so it's fine if you don't want to, I'll just wait for one of the others to come in off the stage."\n\n<hr>\n[[You're not really up for it.|ChiStrip1x3]]\n\n[[... Yeah okay you're in.|ChiStrip2x1]]

"I'm... not sure I'm quite ready to dive in like that just yet," you admit, before wiggling a finger in the general direction of your neck (and thus your port and implant). "Besides, I've got a handful of red supas and I think a few VIP offers of my own I probably need to look at to get established, so-"\n\n"Oh you take care of that, then, no big," Xian-Xia assures you with apparently sincere cheer, waving off any further need for explanation. "Like I said, no pressure. Hey, let's go out for a drink after the club closes though, huh? You need to be welcomed properly and all!"\n\n"Ah, sure, yeah," you say with a smile, feeling just a little sheepish... mostly in that you need to remind yourself she's asking you out for drinks platonically while you're both standing there naked.\n\n"Great! Okay, I'll see you then if not before," she says, turning and trotting to one of the shower stations herself.\n\nTucking in the towel, you head back out into the dressing room. After a brief consideration, you get your costume out of the locker and toss it into one of the full autocleaners built into the wall. (You're mildly shocked that the bill slot is good enough to actually accept a crumpled, folded, sweat-soaked cred, but then you realize that of course it would have to be because what other kind would anyone in here have?) Settling on one of the couches still in just the towel, you consider.\n\nYou do have those supertips you could probably respond to one way or another, Basic Bitch did offer various suggestions for cultivating those into even more tips and a bigger following. And it looks like you do have several VIP room requests, you weren't lying about that, though you admit to being as dubious about doing those solo as you were doing one together with Xian-Xia.\n\nOf course you could also just lounge around and, once your outfit's clean, pick up a few more dances, maybe go out and do some lapdances too.\n\n<hr>\n[[Respond to supas.|ChiStrip]]\n\n[[Check the VIP requests.|ChiStrip]]\n\n[[More dancing.|ChiStrip]]

Enh... this month is already gonna be difficult enough without turning yourself into a semi-pariah in the spaces you have to exist in. Might as well start trying to be friendly with people. "Sure, thanks," you reply, relaxing your hand a bit in hers.\n\nXian-Xia beams at you briefly, then turns and snags a container of nail glowpaint from in front of her and brings it over, managing to skillfully unscrew the cap without taking her hand from yours. "I'll assume that you'll want to apply your own glowpaint anywhere else," she notes dryly, eyes twinkling. "Although I do have a fresh tube of it that you can have if you don't have any of your own."\n\nTaking a second to wrestle down your embarrassment and humiliation at needing to paint glowing hearts on your nipples and pussy (since it is sort of the club's signature), you say, "I'd appreciate that. I hate to show up and rely on mooching off everyone, but I'm sort of in the 'bulk ramen every meal' stage of needing to make ends meet, you know?"\n\nShe pauses briefly in sweeping the little brush across your index fingernail. "What flavor?"\n\n"'Protein'," you say flatly.\n\n"Eeennnnn," she murmurs, pulling a face. Then she shakes her head and gives you a smile again as she resumes. "It's okay, I've been there too. But guess what? Last birthday, I went to a place in Sparkle City and ate at a place that does all real beef."\n\n"Cow beef?" you say, raising your eyebrows. "Like, grown on the cow?" As a Guild member, eating 'natural grown' meat isn't nearly as foreign to you as it is to most Makarzians, but in context (and with your finances having been as they are for awhile), that's still impressive.\n\n"Well, not to brag," Xian-Xia says in a breezily braggy tone. "But I am one of the more popular performers here. I have a lot of regulars, both that like to sit in the audience and give supas, and that come for VIP service. I usually only do two dances a night and a brief round of the club in between, and spend the rest replying to supas and in the VIP rooms."\n\n"Huh. And you make real cow money on that?" you ask a little dubiously\n\n"Not like as a weekly indulgence," she allows with a small laugh. "Especially since I have a really nice apartment. I'd probably have more money to get this worked on if I didn't indulge myself in other things so much," she allows, tilting her head towards her tattoo. "But then that always feels like such a chore, like I've gotta haggle every time. And then they wind up dropping me after a session or two anyway."\n\nYou almost suggest just buying a tatpen and doing it for her yourself since you have nice steady hands, but bite down on it. Besides the fact that you just met, there's a... lot... of potential underpinning to the act of someone raised Neokuza covering over a Trine tattoo for someone else. Enough that it just seems far better to nod and let the conversation lull into a (luckily fairly companionable) silence.\n\nEventually, giving a soft blow across your nails (and making you blush just a tiny bit), Xian-Xi smiles and pats the back of your hand. "There, all done."\n\n"Thanks, I really appreciate it," you say, eyeing your now pale white-with-almost-subliminal-tint-of-highlighter-green nails. "It's been so long since I've used anything but an auto-clearcoater that I barely even remember how to paint them."\n\n"That's fine, butch girls are cute too," she says with a flirty wink, then laughs at your blush as she gets up. "You might wanna use the clearcoater anyway if you've got it on you, to keep from having to do that again yourself later."\n\n"Ah, yeah, good point," you allow, getting up to head over to your locker. A few of the other girls give you slightly tepid but at least audible 'Heys' as you go buy this time... apparently Xian-Xia's approval means something. You rummage in your coat pocket for the little device and then clamp it down on each finger, a faint whirring sound preceding removing it to show your nails now with a faint gleam and combat-grade coat over the convenience store nailpolish. You tuck the device away and close your locker again, then blink as you turn to find Xian-Xi holding out a datajack. "What's this?"\n\n"Move data. The song I use for my first routine has a sort of 'official' dance that goes with it, this is that," she says. Her smile this time is almost shy, but she gives the jack a little nudge towards you. "It's high energy and pretty tiring, but since I go on one dancer after you to start preem hours, you'll be able to come right back for a rest. Oh, it's not like you have to or anything," she hurries to add. "Just that it tends to get the audience tips flowing more freely if the girls on the side stages are in sync. So, y'know, if you want to, just retract the pole when they announce me and... well."\n\n"Ah... thanks," you say, accepting the jack, since that seems to be the easiest way forward. She beams, then turns at a call from one of the other girls and sashays over to talk.\n\nYou watch her go (admittedly getting a little distracted by realizing just how tiny her panties are and, admittedly, how great her ass is) before eyeing the datajack again. At this point, it's more of a question of... how deep in do you want to get? You've already allowed that you'll live in this world enough to make friends, actually be here emotionally as well as physically... but are you genuinely willing to start committing to being so good at it that you're calculating your moves to bring in the max creds?\n\nWell obviously the part of you that's tired of red numbers on your account balance and vaguely-flavored ramen bricks would like it very much if you could not only keep the wolves from the door but maybe start putting something that most of the galaxy considers genuine food in your belly again. And yet there's a distinct feel that you're descending further into a world it might be difficult to leave again afterwards, not terribly differently than that same feeling you had as you got closer and closer to your initiation ceremony as a teenager.\n\nYou briefly imagine a little chibi animated version of yourself looking at your account at the end of the month, doing a zany little jump-take complete with archaic hand gestures at the amount in it, then cheerfully carrying an armful of blasters, guns, and swords over to a trash can and dumping them in. The slightly nonsensical visual has you torn between giggling and gagging... you like being a mercenary, even if being a mercenary hasn't been liking you much recently. That would never happen!\n\n... But what if...?\n\n<hr>\n[[Use the move data.|ChiStrip1x2]]\n\n[[Don't use it.|ChiStrip]]

Hm... well, if it's some local, hopefully they'll accept an apology for beeing busted in on. You scoot over to the door and eye it... hm... okay, judging from the light, no lock, nothing else blocking it. You take a breath and then fling the door open, swinging in to fill it with your rifle up, ready to track and identify motion.\n\nThe first thing that hits you though is the smell. Not in a bad way, for once when bursting into a room, it's actually in an almost overwhelmingly pleasant way. The scent of sugar and cinnamon is the most prevalent, but overall the 'home bakery on steroids' scent is enough to jar you just a little off your game and make you think 'No way he's here'. Of course you can quickly enough see that's true, that Sokahn at the very least isn't in the immediate vicinity, the cavern roughly the size of a large apartment's main room showing no sign of a towering dragonman, just a handful of simple but well-made furniture, several iron ovens and stoves, and one human(-type?) woman sitting at a table in front of a plate piled high with what look a lot like cinnamon rolls. Sitting at said table, holding a surprisingly fancy-looking teacup considering the simplicity of the other furnishings, is a woman with hair such a dark color of red it's almost black, pulled back and wound in three long braids, a broad-brimmed hat perched on her head. She blinks pale grey eyes at you, long chocolate-colored fingers wrapped around the teacup, a dress that seems to be made of cloth stretched between a number of leather straps similarly wrapped around her body.\n\n"Why, hello there," she says brightly, smiling after her initial surprise as if not at all put out by having someone burst into what's apparently her home unannounced.\n\n"Er... hi." You glance around briefly again, then add a little lamely, since this whole thing has thrown you completely off your game, "Don't suppose you've seen someone named Sokahn? Big guy. Probably wearing a funny outfit. ... Looks like a dragon?"\n\n"Hmmmm." The woman sets down her teacup and taps one of those elegant fingers against her full lips a few times. "You know, that does sound a bit familiar... I think I might have seen him around!" She smiles again as she stands up, breasts giving a light bounce as she shows off her full figure, generous of chest, hip, and leg, all of which are shown off to various extents by her outfit. (Actually the straps basically accent all three by being just snug enough to dig in a little. Damn.) "Why don't you come in and have a seat and a snack? I've just made a lovely pot of tea, and these rolls were in the oven about ten minutes ago! While we're partaking, I'm sure I'll remember where and when I saw the dragon you're looking for."\n\nThat sounds really nice... that sounds super nice. You catch yourself already stepping forward and lowering your rifle before you think about it, which... isn't quite like you. Doesn't something seem a little off?\n\n<hr>\n[[Yeah, it does.|LeoFem]]\n\n[[Nah, it's fine!|LeoFem8x2]]

What's the harm? She just seems like a really nice lady, with a lot of really amazing colored candles. Did she make these herself? They seem to be where that cookie-cake-candy-chocolate smell is coming from, filling the room and your nose, and you can feel your soul relax a little at the warmth of the room as you step in, courteously closing the door behind yourself.\n\n"That's a weapon, if I'm not mistaken?" she says with a glance at your rifle. "That will just get in the way while we're having tea, dear."\n\n"Oh, yeah, yeah, good point," you agree readily, turning and leaning it up against the wall, and while you're at it taking off the visor earpieces and hooking them into the attachment points on it. Then you stroll over to the table and sit down, feeling strangely at home here as you look up at her winning smile as she pours you a cup of tea.\n\nShe settles into her chair, waiting until you've taken your first sip of the surprisingly smooth, rather sweet and yet somehow soothing tea, before she puts a hand to her generous chest. "My name's Kefta. What's yours, dear, and what are you actually doing here?"\n\n"Leo LaChance," you answer easily, since there doesn't seem a single reason in the world not to, nor to continue with, "I came here hunting a big bounty on a Ryugonian called Sokahn, it would make me hella rich and famous."\n\n"Oh would it? That's lovely," she says with apparent delight, silver eyes sparkling as she nudges the plate of cinnamon rolls over to you. "Here, don't hold back, they're some of my best."\n\nDon't have to ask you twice! Smiling, you pick up one of the rolls and bite in, almost moaning as your teeth sink through the soft, puffy pastry as if it were the consistency of butter, filling your mouth with a fluffy, intense feeling of both sugar and spice. Not feeling at all embarrassed as you can feel sugar smearing over your fingers and lips and cheeks, you continue munching on the cinnamon roll in between gulps of tea, Kefta refilling your cup after practically every drink.\n\n"Good, aren't they?" she prompts with a smile.\n\n"Amaaazing," you moan happily.\n\n"Wonderful, wonderful. Now, go on, tell me more about you. Don't leave a single thing out, I want to know all of your secrets, my dear."\n\nThat seems perfectly okay to you! So you tart telling Kefta everything about yourself, starting with who your parents are, about your sister, joining the Guild, your ambitions to become famous and well-respected and own your own ship, the passwords to all your accounts, the trouble you got into on the escort mission where you turned into a girl. Somewhere in the middle of the third cinnamon roll Kefta gently interrupts you and suggests that you take off your suit rather than get any more sugar on it, which sounds like a fine idea, and soon the whole thing is laying in a pile on the floor while you sit naked on the chair, dribbles of icing falling down onto your bear breasts and laying there in glistening white splatters, your face and hands messier as you continue pouring out your entire identity to Kefta, who is probably the most trustworthy, best person you've ever met. In fact you smile at her as she gets up to fill your teacup again, then settles behind you and starts kneading your breasts gently, the pleasure you feel at it mingling with the far greater pleasure of her company and attention, and almost as good as the cinnamon roll you're eating? How many is it now? You sort of feel really full but also like you haven't eaten anything at all and could just keep devouring them forever.\n\n"You are a very interesting one, pretty child," Kefta says after a moment, her praise mixed with the little tweak of your nipples and the smear of fresh frosting over your lips and tongue sending a small orgasm shuddering through you. "Mm, as for myself, why, I'm a very simple creature with little to tell. I have very simple desires and drives, and live apart from other people because they don't approve of those desires and drives."\n\n"Well that sucks," you say with great depth of feeling, somehow not even considering articulating anything deeper at the moment. "Why would they do that?"\n\n"Wellllll, my desire is to always bring a bit more mischief and chaos into the world," she continues with a sigh, scooping your breasts upward in her hands and then letting them drop, making them wobble around and further smear the icing they've acquired around. "That's why you and your tale of becoming a hypersexual but still skilled mercenary is so fascinating to me. I feel like your body is on the verge of unlocking a great potential..."\n\n"Yeah?" you ask dreamily, smiling up at her with a worshipful look in your eyes.\n\n"Oh yes. On the other hand, mmmm, I just can't help being a bit selfish," she murmurs, putting a fingertip to her lower lip as she looks at you in a way that all by itself makes your pussy quiver. "I want to keep you, I want to own you, I want you to be absolutely mine body and soul, to remake as I see fit, to play with as I see fit, to keep all that potential and power and uniqueness to myself, to gradually gobble it up until your body and mind and spirit are all nothing but an extension of me." She gently tilts your head back and leans down, kissing you upside down, her tongue slowly delving into your mouth and curling around yours before her lips close on your lower one, suckling it gently as you writhe lightly in a constant low-level orgasm. When she breaks the kiss, she lifts her head some and smiles down at you. "Would you like that, darling?"\n\n"Yes," you whimper, almost weeping with how badly you want it. "Yes, please, own me, devour me, that's why I exist, it's what I was born for, please, please..."\n\n"Sssshhhh," she murmurs, laying a hand across your lips. "Now now, darling. Mistress can't be too selfish. After all, I sincerely want to bring the best sort of chaos to the world. And what's chaos without choice?" she adds with a grin. She sashays over to the ovens, leaving you staring at her in a haze of desire, longing, and adoration as she sets to work cracking eggs and measuring milk. You slip a hand between your legs with one hand, fingering your sodden pussy as your other continues to feed your mistress's cinnamon rolls into your mouth, hoping to prove your adoration of everything she creates by eating them all, even though the plate seems to be as full as it was when you came in. You just keep eating in worship and frigging your clit in longing as you watch her make two batches of dough, which somehow wind up compressed into only two small balls on a single sheet that she slides into the oven. After a short eternity, she pulls the pan back out, plucking the cookies off of it and setting them in front of you, both pale and soft, one pink dusted with purple sugar, the other tan dusted with brown sugar. "Now, darling, here's what Mistress needs you to do..."\n\n"Yes, Mistress, anything!" you blurt, fingering yourself more feverishly as if to show her how devoted you are with how much wetness spurts out around your thrusting digits, your eyes locked on this offering from your deity that's been placed before you.\n\n"I want you to make a decision as if you were a real person. Yes, yes, I know it's hard," she coos, leaning in to kiss your cheek as you whimper. "But don't do what I want, do what you would truly want rather than what you think would please me. The pink cookie will unlock your inner potential, bringing forth the you that's been getting louder and more eager to get out this entire time. The snickerdoodle will begin to stabilize the obedience spell I've placed on you, and I'll make you mine, all mine, forever. One will let you become your truest self, strong and powerful and capable of taking any pleasure that you like... the other will free you into slavery, and keep you from ever having to think for yourself or be your own person ever again, existing only for the pleasure of serving me. Now, make the decision you really want."\n\nOf course you really want to serve Mistress forever! Your hand almost flies to the snickerdoodle, but twitches and hesitates. W-wait, Mistress... Mistress ordered you to act like a real person. S-so you have to pick the one you'd want if you weren't trying to please her? You... you guess if you weren't trying to please her, you... might want to be powerful and strong yourself. But being nothing but Mistress's possession feels so good! Oh... oh this is hard... um...\n\n<hr>\n[[The pink cookie.|LeoSuccStart]]\n\n[[The snickerdoodle.|LeoFem]]

"It's been a while since I've done a collab, that might be a good idea," you note.\n\n"I agree, it's almost always purely to the benefit of both streamers," Tyrn says with an even nod. "Assuming we don't have you collab with anyone too controversial, obviously."\n\n"Eh, controversy can be good for the numbers!"\n\n"The precise right amount of controversy can be good for the numbers, the wrong amount can be either good or bad in the short term and then either do nothing or hurt us longterm," he notes blandly.\n\n"Oh, fine fine, whatever, but who've you got?"\n\n"[[Wyld|AddiWyld]]'s been practically begging me to collab with you, I get an email from her people or even her at least once a month reminding me that she's up for it whenever you're ready."\n\nYou make a face. "But Wyld is a fucktuber. And like, a really pervy one at that! It'd be an outright sex stream, and you just said-!"\n\n"It's fine if you're collabing with a pornstreamer," Tyrn interrupts evenly. "Especially if she hosts on her channel. That way you're just going with her dynamic and it doesn't affect your brand much. Besides, the crossover appeal is immense, you could easily double your numbers shortterm and keep a lot of it going forward."\n\nYou make a noncommittal sound in your throat at that, but admittedly that does sound tempting.\n\n"I've also got an offer for an off-collab with [[Arufu-san|AddiDog]]."\n\nThat makes you perk up some. "Oh, I watch Arufu-san sometimes, I'm actually a big fan! He's so frikkin' cute!" you coo, clasping your hands together. "He's like my favorite vtuber! But why an off-collab and not onstream?"\n\n"Like a lot of vtubers he likes preserving his actual privacy, in part to keep up the immersion and kayfabe of his character, I guess," Tyrn answers with a shrug. "So you wouldn't actually be streaming with him, the two of you would just get together, hang out, and then talk about it afterwards, at least the first time. I'd probably finally bug the studio to finish your vtuber avatar if the off-collab went well, so the two of you could stream together the next time."\n\nYou nod thoughtfully at that. So honestly it sounds more like a date than a more standard collab, which... you're not exactly opposed to! Arufu-san has an absolutely adorable doggy avatar and stays firmly in-character, and the two of you have interacted enough in the chat and on social media that you'd kind of consider him a friend, so that could certainly be fun. Then Tyrn does an abrupt about-face with his next offer.\n\n"[[Shineon|AddiRape1x1]] has expressed a keen interest in having you. ... In a collab."\n\nYou actually go pale at that, and blurt out, "The rapetuber?!"\n\n"I mean she doesn't officially call herself that," Tyrn says a bit sheepishly, glancing at his screen. "Just... unofficially."\n\n"No way!"\n\n"Now c'mon, Addi, don't blow it off completely," he urges. "It's not like you'd be permanently damaged no matter what she did, and she's supposedly actually pretty pleasant outside of... hm. But collabs with her have a proven history of seeing a big rise in numbers and keeping the new viewers, you could see the same or even bigger bump as collabing with Arufu but be almost guaranteed to keep it permanently."\n\nYou purse your lips, but... dammit you wish you weren't shallow and fame-hungry enough for that to actually tempt you. Trying to move past the temptation, you say, "Who else?"\n\n"Well, [[Hexbox|AddiHex]] said she'd love to have you on."\n\nYou snort loudly at that. "Kind of a lateral move there, Tyrn, offering me up to the spooktuber. Hex might not rape me herself but I'd definitely wind up getting violated by like a werewolf or a chupacabra or something."\n\n"Yeah but her streams are always interesting and have a lot of informational and documentary-style content too," Tyrn answers with a shrug. "You like that sort of thing, I figured it's almost a perfect blend of getting some pure entertainment and sneaking in some of your investigation and education ideals."\n\n... Well he's got you there. Hexbox does go to lots of genuinely fascinating places in her search for all things supernatural... which tends to result in her getting raped/snuffed/rapesnuffed by them, but like you she's got an insurance program that sees her pop back to life afterward. So it's not the worst idea in the world, you guess.\n\n"[[Barbirella|AddiBim]]'s people have also... well, they've seemed receptive when I reached out to them."\n\nYou purse your lips. "Oh you did the reaching out huh?"\n\n"Of course, she's a much bigger name than you are," Tyrn says flatly, which makes you bristle but it's not like you can really deny the objective truth of it.\n\n"She's a bimbo, Tyrn!"\n\n"Correction, she's a bimbotuber. In fact she might as well be the bimbotuber because all the other ones out there are just copying her success, which is massive. More than any of the others she has the potential to add a zero to the end of your follower count and keep it there permanently, especially if you went in for a series of streams instead of a one-and-done."\n\nHe watches you pout and brood on that for a minute, then sighs. "Or I could just set you up with [[Shayd|AddiMGR]] or [[Mira|AddiMGR]] again. It won't do much more than maybe renew some interest and make sure this downward trend doesn't continue, but it's the easiest and laziest option."\n\nYou purse your lips at him. "I wish you wouldn't make it sound like hanging out with my friends is somehow 'lazy'."\n\n"Professionally, it is," he answers flatly, then shrugs. "But they're both members of this same studio so setting collabs up is a breeze, so it's not like I'm exactly opposed to the idea. It's your career, I'm just trying to save it."\n\nWhat is it about managers and always acting like your career is minutes from brain death? Bleh. But yeah, you'd probably better pick a collab partner... and, well, as unpleasant or pleasant as working with some of them might be, Tyrn has successfully laid out the potential benefits so that you can't dismiss any of them out of hand...

"I can't believe this!" you blurt, leaping to your feet, the twins both taking a small step back just to avoid sending any of you crashing to the ground. "You're suggesting I play the whore for you just to get you to do your jobs?!"\n\n"Well we were putting it quite a bit more considerately than that, I thought," Substance says primly.\n\n"Yeah well that doesn't matter! You're still... agh!" you growl, glaring back and forth between them. "Well my reputation may be mud, but I can drag yours down with me! I'll make sure everyone knows you solicit high school girls for sex to get them out of tough situations!"\n\nBoth of them let out a sigh at that. "Now why'd you have to go and say something like that?" Style says, shaking her head. "Grab her, sis."\n\n"Wha-?!" But before you've even really processed those words, Substance has sprung forward, knocking the pouf you'd been sitting on away in the process of grabbing your arms and yanking you around, twisting them behind your back. You yelp loudly, starting to struggle, then quickly stilling with a wince at the sense of strain in your muscles and bones. You've realized you're probably a lot stronger than normal people lately, but Substance is apparently no lightweight herself, and the hold she's got you in is basically unbreakable; if you struggle too hard, you'll break both your arms before you ever get loose of her. "Hey! Let me go now!"\n\n"You haven't given us much of a reason to do that," Style says in an annoyingly reasonable tone as she crosses towards one of the display cases. "We've worked very hard to build up this company, and it does a lot of good for a lot of people. Admittedly we use it to indulge ourselves too on occasion, but I don't see why that disqualifies all the positives. So we can't just let you destroy it because you threw a prudish little rich girl fit."\n\n"Prudish?! Listen lady I-!" You cut off with a chill running down your spine as Style swings down the front of the case and draws out the rather stereotypical-looking silver 'ray gun', save that the satellite-esque emitter has swirls painted on the inside. "H-hey, wait a second, that's not the real Psychoanalyzer's Brain Beam, is it?!"\n\n"Of course it is. Who would keep something from that lame-ass villain if it wasn't real?" Style chuckles as she walks back towards you. Her thumb presses down on a button at the top of the grip, and the black and white spirals start spinning up, the device starting to emit the most bog standard 'old technology warming up' noise you've ever heard. "Imagine having working brainwashing technology and still never winning a single time."\n\n"Don't worry, sweetheart, we won't be mean with our new complete control of your life," Substance coos in your ear. "We're going to control you for your own good, and do what's best for you that your little blonde brain is too stupid to see."\n\nYou let out a squawk of outrage at the insult of that as much as anything else, and are thus completely off-guard when Substance suddenly gives you a shove forward, releasing her grip and leaving you to stumble several steps... and right into the swirly blue beam as Style raises the ray gun and pulls the trigger. You lurch in place, feeling a sudden intense sensation of goosebumps but on your brain as well as on your skin, a strange tingly twitchy almost itchy sensation inside your skull. Then you settle into a slump, wobbling slightly in place. Everything just feels a bit... sleepy, and dull, and quiet. You feel sort of confused, but too complacent to worry about why you're confused.\n\n"There we go, now there's a proper blondie," Substance purrs as she walks back over to you and pets the top of your head gently.\n\n"Yes, Mistress," you drone in reply, because it just seems the sort of thing to say.\n\nSubstance chuckles as she returns the ray to its case and then returns, once more standing on your other side from her sister, who's unbuttoned both your jacket and shirt, nudging both open to reveal the lacy white bra you're wearing beneath. In unison they each cup one of your bra-covered breasts and give a squeeze, which sends a shiver of pleasure through you, though you still feel too drowsy and wobbly to actually react to it.\n\n"Alright, Marissa, here's the deal," Style says after a moment, continuing to slowly squeeze and knead your breast through the white lace. "You are going to let us turn you into a superhero. In fact you're incredibly excited about being the Studio's first wholly in-house heroine."\n\n"Yes, Mistress."\n\n"In fact, sweetheart," Substance coos. "It reeeally turns you on to think of putting on a skimpy, tight little superhero outfit and parading around in front of the cameras and the public. Just thinking about it will have your little white girl pussy dripping."\n\n"Yes, Mistress."\n\n"And since we're making it happen for you, you're going to be just incredibly grateful to us," Style just almost sneers, pulling down the cup of your bra to spill your tit free, pinching your stiff nipple rather roughly. "You'll do anything we tell you, whenever we tell you, whatever it is. And you'll definitely be more than eager to play the whore for us."\n\n"Yes, Mistress."\n\n"Alright then. At the count of three and the snap, you'll awaken and immediately start showing your gratitude for the opportunity to be our little hero-whore," Substance coos, both twins holding a hand out in front of your face. "One, two, three," she adds, both of them simultaneously snapping.\n\n<hr>\n[[Get on your knees.|MarSS]]\n\n[[WHAM!|MarSS]]

"Listen, I... am still working through a lot," you admit with a sigh. "I mean... it's not that I'm opposed to becoming a superhero at all, you see, just maybe once I'm older and have been able to put some of this behind me."\n\n"Mmmm," the twins say in unison, the tone largely neutral, to go with the slightly mask-like expressions on their faces.\n\n"So, yeah, I think I'd like to hire you as my crisis management team," you say firmly, since it seems like if you show any weakness here they'll start pressing you again. "You said that you'd need something besides money? Like some form of collateral, or...?"\n\nBoth of them continue to look at you with those neutral gazes for a moment... before their lips simultaneously turn upward into grins. You blink as Style nudges off the desk and swaggers towards you, while Substance rises smoothly from her chair and clicks briskly around the desk, approaching you in a smooth stride of long legs that brings you up to your other side about the same time her sister arrives.\n\n"We were thinking something more... personal," Style murmurs, dark eyes alight as she looks down at you.\n\n"You see, the long hours and intense management we'd have to do to get this handled for you would be so~ stressful for us," Substance adds in a soft coo. "We'd have to cut back on our social lives dramatically, and that's just killer on ladies like us."\n\n"Er," you murmur, your brain actively trying to reject where this seems to be heading as you look back and forth between them.\n\n"So what we'd need from you is to... fill in for what we'd be missing out on," Style murmurs, reaching out to gently tuck her hand under one of your twintails and lift it, letting it slip along her fingers as your face starts going steadily more red. "At least until we got everything cleared up and quieted down."\n\n"Of course working such a situation does add a considerable amount of stress, so we could be needing you to visit practically every day. But don't worry, we'd make sure to do our very best for you," Substance adds sweetly, letting one of her fingertips ever-so-lightly brush your earlobe.\n\n<hr>\n[[......... yeah, okay...|MarSS]]\n\n[[... No.|MarSS]]\n\n[[How dare you?!|MarSS1x3]]

Look you have got to dig yourself out of this hole you're in, and for that you're going to need someone practiced at building ladders. At this rate you can kiss admission at college anywhere goodbye... ... okay not that you necessarily need college, you're rich as hell and already test at an MBA equivalent on a lot of subjects anyway, but you were looking forward to going! It's the principle of the thing!\n\nPart of 3S's whole thing is spinning PR issues for their "representatives", even if it involves spinning being caught having an affair with a villain as "making outreach in hopes of winning back a lost soul" or something. (An issue you notice they've handled several times. Hrm.) But since you aren't actually guilty of anything (something the DA's office has made abundantly clear they don't really care about if they ever find something to stick to you anyway), your problem is 99% one of image. ... Outwardly. Inwardly you've still basically had your entire self-image and all of your trust destroyed.\n\n... No, no, you've cried enough already, we're handling things now, not crying.\n\nGo today? No... going directly after receiving the email would come off as not just desperate, but suuuuper desperate. And you may be a little desperate, but you're not suuuuuper desperate, and you need them to think you're not desperate at all. So Monday after school, that's the better option. "Tomiko, Monday after school-"\n\n"No."\n\nYou frown, turning your head towards the nearest poorly-lit spot. "What do you mean 'no'? I didn't even ask! ... Did you read my email?!"\n\n"You have it open, I can see it right now."\n\n"Oh. ... Well what do you mean 'no'?!"\n\n"My commitment to your family means I will insure that you are fed, clothed, and looked after as normal until such time as you agree to take control of the Galaxy Syndicate," Tomiko's voice replies reasonably. ... Actually you can kind of see her if you squint. ... Maybe. "But if you want to do anything else foolish... like going off and playing superhero with a pair of slutty fashionistas... then you're on your own."\n\n"Fine! I'll drive myself to school!"\n\n"They don't let students park there."\n\n"Ffff-!"\n\nStupid-ass ritzy high security gated schools and their weirdass security measures. Sigh. So on Monday you do drive yourself to school, but wind up having to sit in traffic around the school and then find a place to park, and then walk back over, which means by the time you get there you're a bit too warm and uncomfortable and slightly late and the iron-ass security head glares at you like she'd just as soon throw you in the basement closet forever as actually let you in, but then she does that every day since the Issue™.\n\nYou spend the school day much as you have every day you've been back to school since it happened: being shunned without anyone making a point of shunning you. See, it's not that everyone literally pretends you don't exist and ignores you if you speak or try to interact with them, that would obviously be far too gauche for someone who is still, after all, an enrolled and paid for student and fellow member of the upper class. The teachers will answer you if you have a question and give you your work, but never call on you or speak to you otherwise. Your fellow students don't literally ignore you or bump into you or anything, and if they're told to work with you they do, but in fact there's always space around you, and no one pays attention if you call to them outside of class. It was hurtful at first, at this point it's... still hurtful but also tiresome.\n\nAnd probably just more of an example of how you need to do something.\n\nYou don't bother to change out of your school uniform (a navy jacket, collarless white button-up shirt, black pleated skirt, and your own touch of white thighhighs to go with the high shine saddle shoes) since it's fashionable enough and after another depressing school day you don't have the energy to put in extra time changing but you do want to get this dealt with. So soon you're standing in front of the Studio entrance in said uniform, and mildly rethinking this whole thing. Not because the studio itself looks offputting... it's a very flashy and stylish ten story building, if in somewhat outdated art deco style, with a retro almost diner-style sign with massive letters in very authentic-looking faux turquoise reading 'Style & Substance Studio'. It's just good old-fashioned cold feet.\n\nBut after a minute you feel silly to just be standing out there, plus you notice some of the people passing by doing double-takes and/or glaring at you, so you trot up the short flight of stairs and head into the little lobby area, which has a similar retro seventies style with egg chairs and shag carpeting. You make your way over to the front desk and say, "Hi, I'm Marissa Mallone, I was told I have an open appointment?"\n\n"Yes of course Miss Mallone!" the stereotypical-looking (read: very pretty but with hornrim glasses and her hair in a bun, and a simple but fetchingly-cut skirt suit) secretary says, turning and gesturing to the nearby elevator, which swings open as if on cue. "You can go right on up to the madames' office, they'll be along shortly."\n\nYou take the elevator up, making a face of not-sure-how-to-feel-about-this elevator music versions of old superhero cartoons playing. When the doors open you step out again into what must be the penthouse office, which clearly takes up a fair portion of the top floor. It's sprawling and has clearly had a lot of work put into balancing flashy and tasteful, but with a slight leaning towards the former, with an open display of opulence that includes a large fountain near one set of windows that, on closer examination, is actually a hot tub. You shake your head, but can't help but enjoy the displays of various hero gear and mementos from decades gone by as you wait for the sisters to show.\n\nEventually the elevator opens and Sally Style and Sandra Substance stride sout, er, out, the twins smiling brightly as they spot you standing at a case looking at Mystery Dog's collar. You blush just a little, and move to meet them at their big dual desk. Befitting their names, both are dressed fashionably and in somewhat retro style, but Sandra is dressed in subdued dark tones that emphasize the dignity and professionalism of her skirt suit, its cut and lines being very subtle about emphasizing the seventies style (and lacking shoulderpads like a linebacker, so it's not eighties), her hair cut in a short, almost 'helmet' style framing her ears and pointing forward below them; Sally, meanwhile, is dressed in bright colors, not quite glaring or patterned enough to cross the line into 'gaudy', but with a highlighter yellow silk shirt with a large collar and the top few buttons undone beneath a dark red vest, lots of gold necklaces, and slightly fluted brown pants, her hair bound in beaded braids falling down her back. Other than that, though, the two are identical... same dark brown eyes, same milk chocolate skin, same large chests and wide hips and long legs (both of them towering over you in one case because of stiletto heels and the other platform shoes), even the same practiced genial smile.\n\n(Of course, since you've seen some of those, ah, "documentary reenactments", you do know one way in which they're not identical, which has you trying not to sneak glances at Sally and suppress a blush.)\n\n"We're so happy you accepted our invitation, Marissa. May we call you Marissa?" Sandra asks as she shakes your hand, practically tossing it into Sally's so she can do the same.\n\n"Sure."\n\n"You can call us Sally and Sandra, or Style and Substance, whichever you prefer. Some people find it helps keep things orderly to use the hero half when it's about hero matters," Style notes as she rests her full rear against the curved edge of the gold half of the rather lava-lamp-blob-shaped desk. "And the hero stuff is what you're here today to talk about, isn't it?"\n\n"Maybe," you hedge, even though your heart's doing a little pittapat at the whole idea. You settle onto one of the cushion-on-a-pedestal looking guest chairs as Substance actually sits in her own desk chair, Style staying perched on the edge where she is. "Let's say, I'm interested in hearing a little more, at least. I'm guessing you guys are thinking of me for your No Shadows Initiative."\n\n"Ah, you're current on our public-facing projects, that's good!" Substance says brightly. "The 'No Shadows Initiative', our effort to help people understand exactly what heroes go through! A frank but exciting look at a subject so often sanitized into nice little video clips that show only the boldest and most daring of moments!"\n\n"Obviously there's a lot more that goes into fighting crime and supercrime than just throwing a dramatic punch," Style picks up, lifting her ring-encrusted hands in a shrug. "We think that contributes to people undervaluing superheroes. It's easy to turn your back on a hero that fails when the regular media makes winning look so easy."\n\nYou nod slowly, certainly not finding that you disagree with any of that in particular. "I'm, ah... I'm not exactly a glowing commodity to add to that at the moment, though. Unless maybe you consider 'radioactive'," you add in a mutter.\n\nBoth of them laugh lightly in sync at that, Substance's eyes sparkling as she says, "No, we think you're a great commodity! Or rather, that you'd be a wonderful representative! People love redemption stories, even if they don't know it until they're well along on one. Or if, as in your case, there's technically nothing that actually needs to be redeemed."\n\n"But if you decide to join this initiative, we'll help you with everything," Style assures you. "A hero identity, costume, tie-ins, we'll stir up so much positive press that you won't be Artemis and Orion's daughter, they'll be Thirdstar's parents!"\n\nThat admittedly makes both your Id and Superego preen a bit in different ways, before Substance picks up again. "We'll even be putting together a team for you to join."\n\nThat makes you blink. "A team?"\n\n"Well that is one plan," Style says, shooting her twin a mildly rueful look. Apparently this is something they differ on too. "Personally I think we could build you up better as a solo hero, really let you take center stage. Substance thinks it would do better showing that you can play well with others, essentially."\n\nYou nod, turning both thoughts over. Admittedly, as you do, you have to put forth the idea: "And what if I don't want to go either route? I mean... you guys do handle what amounts to crisis management PR, right? What if I wanted to be a client rather than a representative?"\n\nThe sisters exchange a brief glance at that, and Substance clasps her hands and rests them on the desktop in front of her as she replies. "Well that is something we do, yes. In fact it's something we can handle without any input or involvement from you, if you wish."\n\n"It's difficult, though. We've already looked at that, just in case that was your interest, and it would constitute a very considerable investment of time and resources," Style picks up, just almost solemnly. "It's not something we could do by sitting down in the war room for a few days and calling journos who owe us favors and making a few press releases, you understand. Thus our fee would be considerable."\n\n"It wouldn't just be monetary, considering the somewhat nebulous state of your assets due to the ongoing attempts of the DA's office and federal investigators," Substance notes.\n\nYou frown a little. Sounds like they might want, what... collateral? The house? It's one of the only things that couldn't conceivably be seized since it's both inherited and has more legal protective filings than a candy addict's teeth have protective fillings.\n\n("But it would make things go back to normal without nearly as much becoming tethered to these people," your Superego notes cautiously.\n\n"Yeah but hey in case you didn't notice we can be superheroes!" your Id gushes.)\n\n<hr>\n[[You'll become a solo hero.|MarSS4x1]]\n\n[[You'll join a team.|MarSS2x1]]\n\n[[You'll take the crisis management option.|MarSS1x2]]

Hmmmm... well, you've gone this far, and plus you're still hard, so~...\n\n"Uwah?!" Pota squeaks as you pick him up, revealing a damp spot where he was laying and that his cock is now outright drooling a steady stream of pre. His eyes widen as you place him on all fours and move up behind him... then he lets out a squeal of "Oh my god!" as you lean in and rest your hands on his pert little asscheeks and start applying your tongue to his pucker.\n\nIt's actually really soft, and just almost sweet... man, boy Halflings really are basically girls in most ways, you can't help but think as he wriggles and whines and whimpers, his already girlish voice sounding even more feminine as your tongue swirls around his soft little hole and gradually works it open, pressing deeper inside of him. His obviously achingly stiff cock twitches beneath him as he shakes his ass at you, and you can't help but think how good all those shimmies and bucks he's doing will feel once you actually have your cock inside him.\n\nSpeaking of which. Once you've got him good and breathless and even more thoroughly sweaty than before, you straighten up and move up behind him on your knees. He gasps loudly as you give your cock a few slaps against his ass, looking over his shoulder at you in a mingling of horror and naked lust.\n\n"Tell you what, Pota, since you've been so good to me, I'm gonna make you a deal," you tell him, letting the tip of your prick poke at his taint just above his balls, then slip up to rub between his asscheeks, the underside brushing along his also spit-shined hole, making him give another of those gurgling noises. "I'll fuck you and turn you into a cock-addicted little slut gayboy, and you'll forgive my debt, okay?"\n\n"I... I... I..." Pota stammers, whimpering as he can't help but wiggle his hips back against you. "... o... okay..."\n\n"Hm... I can't hear you, you'll have to speak up."\n\n"O-okay! Deal!" he blurts, whining a bit more.\n\n"You have to say it clearly, or it doesn't count," you inform him smugly.\n\nHe whines and wiggles a bit more, his face going even more red, before he cries almost desperately, "Please! I need your cock! If you'll fuck me with it and turn me into a slutty cock-addicted gayboy, I'll forgive your debt! I, I, I'll pay you, just please, fuck me and turn me gay!"\n\n"Ohhhh... well, okay," you say with an exaggerated sigh, before you grin and move your cock into position, immediately starting to push it inside him.\n\n"Fuwaaaaaah!" Pota squeals as your absolutely massive (by his standards) cock pushes him open and the head slips inside his previously virgin little asshole, his jaw clenching and his eyes going wide and a bit unfocused. He continues to tremble as you push deeper and deeper inside, making all sorts of noises and just almost vibrating. Until you give one last thrust and he actually shrieks in pleasure, his eyes rolling some and lips twisting up into a grin.\n\n"Fuuuuck! Fuck yes, fuck!" he squeals as you start thrusting into him, your balls slapping against his smaller ones. "I can feel myself turning gay! You're fucking the straight out of me and it feels so goooood! Oh fuck, fuck yes, I'm turning into a cock addict, I'm turning into a slutty bottom gayboy!" he yowls as if trying to make the neighbors hear as you fuck him, your hands gripping his trim waist. \n\nJust as you expected he quickly starts working his hips like an eager whore, fucking himself back against you without the slightest hint of shame now. His mouth opens and his tongue lolls out, drool dripping from the tip of it as he gives himself over completely to dick-lust, his Halfling-tight boypussy squeezing around you with almost every thrust.\n\n"Hhhha, hhha, so good, so good, cock feels so good! I could never get off without a cock in my ass again! I could never go back, I'm turning gayer with every thrust, hnyaaaa!" he continues to ramble, that look of brainless, shameless pleasure still written all over his face as he degrades himself. "Cock feels so good, cock is the best, cock is life, cock cock cock cock!"\n\nIn the end it's partly how wonderfully tight and soft and eager his hot little hole is, and partly how much you're clearly breaking his brain with pleasure that gets you off. You let out a full-throated moan as you thrust forward and bury yourself in him, your balls twitching against his as you empty them inside him again, this time with him letting out a dirty piglet squeal and clenching his teeth again despite the smile, his eyes rolling up completely as his cock twitches and fires off long ropes of cum, his ass squeezing around you with each shot.\n\n"Hhhha... hhhhhhhhhha... I'm a cumdump... I'm a cumdump..." he murmurs happily, as if nothing in the world could possibly be a higher aspiration.\n\n"That's right, you're a good little cumdump," you assure him in a slightly tired murmur as you pull out of him, partly just to enjoy the sight of his stretched, cum-smeared hole. Feeling your day starting to catch up to you despite your enhanced stats, you flop onto the bed, without really thinking about it pulling him with you so that he winds up as the little (natch) spoon. You run a hand up and down his thigh, murmuring in his ear, "From now on you're gonna give me all my appraisals for free, okay? Oh... and you're gonna start dressing like a girl deliberately. No more commando... you'll wear pretty lingerie all the time. And makeup."\n\n"Hnnnh... yes, Master," Pota mutters happily, right before he passes out.\n\nYou soon settle into sleep too, and then eventually awake with a yawn, glancing around. It looks like it's pretty early morning... Pota is still asleep curled in against your front, his head on your arm, breath soft and warm across your skin.\n\n<hr>\n[[Slip out without waking him.|Raz]]\n\n[[Use his ass again.|Raz]]\n\n[[Kiss him.|Raz]]

You're not seeing anything terribly encouraging on any of these doors... nothing that screams 'way out' to you, anyway. Shaking your head, you move on further into the facility, making your way through more of the hallways and rooms.\n\nIt's just been long enough (how long? you're not sure) that you're kind of moving on autopilot when another door with an unlit panel opens up beside you, making you whirl to face it. But this time rather than Raptarrans or anything else walking out of the shadows inside, what reaches out are a number of dripping, grasping tentacles in faintly scintillating purple and green colors, which latch around your middle and limbs before you even have time to think. Your reflexive yelp of shock is muffled by a tentacle thrusting into your mouth and down your throat, already starting to fuck your face in quick, undulating strokes like the writhings of a snake even as another pair of them thrust into your pussy and ass, taking you from just walking along minding your business to violated in all three holes in under five seconds.\n\nYou buck and struggle within the grip of the tentacles, but all of them are too strong, especially the thick one wrapped around your middle, its suckers firmly adhered to your flesh. Two more tentacles split open at the tips and latch onto your tits, starting to suck and pump them like a cross between oversized mouths and milking machines, making your eyes roll above the tentacle fucking your mouth and bulging your throat. The tentacles are merciless about pushing deep into your holes, forcing themselves deeper and deeper inside, the one in your pussy wriggling and pushing out visibly on your belly by the time the creature adds a second tentacle to your cunt. But you're almost as much focused on the one in your ass going deeper, and deeper, and deeper, until you can feel your throat bulging up extra wide before it pushes out of your mouth alongside the one fucking your face, the two tentacles coiling around each other and fucking along one another in a spiral, violating your whole body in one long continuous back-and-forth.\n\nYou can feel small tentacles inside the ones sucking your tits pressing your nipples open, violating and fucking them as well, your body's bucking and twisting going out of your control as you start cumming violently over almost your whole body, unable to stop the strange sensations of the tentacle monster's raping you from making you orgasm your brains out. More and more tentacles keep being added to your pussy, stretching you wider and more lewdly, your belly bulging with their wriggling coils... and then bulging even more severely as they all start squirting inside you. Your belly expands rapidly, stretching outward and downwards, sloshing and wobbling like the heavy liquid-filled cumballoon it's turning you into, the stretching orb of it starting to flatten against the floor as it reaches. Your eyes roll up in your head as you cum harder than you ever thought possible, everything going white.<<set $livesused += 1>> <<set $livesremaining -= 1>>\n\nWhen you wake up you're... alone. And back to normal, laying on the floor. You do seem to be covered in cum, yet again, and this time some other sorts of slime mingled with it. After a check over yourself, there are some faint, fading suction cup marks around your middle where you were gripped, and some smaller ones on your breasts as well, but otherwise you seem fine. ... At least your pussy isn't stretched beyond all hope of recovery, you find after careful probing with a finger. \n\n'How weird,' you think, continuing on, not really thinking to consider how weird it is that you're not more bothered by the random rapes at this point.\n\nYou do some more looking around in the area and discover a few more marked doors. One has a scratched graffiti of what you think might be a [[quadrupedal dinosaur|PervSim]], at least it's got a long tail and long neck that makes it resemble some of them. There's another that looks like a [[thin square with a sort of angular thing drawn away from it|PervSim]]... honestly no clue what that one is. Another practically has a little scratchy, childlike mural next to it that you can at least identify as a [[farm|PervSim]]... there's a little gate, a pig, a cow, a barn, all of it crudely-done but still obvious enough in what they are. \n\nNothing that immediately leaps out at you as an obvious way out, but you feel like you have to try something eventually. It's either that or [[keep going|PervSim]].

Eh, best stick close to home. Don't want to wander too far afield over a minor thing like this, that can always lead to distraction. Even as you're thinking about it, a vehicle whirs up to the curb, the passenger side window rolling down and the late thirty-something guy in a suit behind the wheel leaning over. "Hey, you working?"\n\nYou bristle for a second. Geez, this keeps happening, guys think just because you're walking along wearing a skimpy top and booty shorts that you're a-... oh, wait, you are tonight. Shaking off the brief reflexive annoyance, you walk over and lean in, resting your forearms on the edge of the open window. "Yeah, what're you looking for?"\n\n"Just a quick one right here in the car," he answers, obviously fairly practiced at this himself, a bit of gleaming neon from one of the nearby signs glinting on his wedding ring as he lightly rubs and squeezes his hardon through his pants.\n\n"'Kay, hundred credits," you answer.\n\nYou can see him hesitate just a second, like he was thinking of trying to talk you down, but the asking price is just too reasonable, he must know he'd risk offending you if he tried to barter. So he just nods and leans his seat back a bit, prompting you to straighten up and go round the car, his door swinging open for you. You undo your shorts, wiggling them down your hips and then slipping them down while still standing in the street, bending over to quickly work them over your boots. 'I gotta get a skirt for when I do this,' you think as you tuck your shorts into a pocket before climbing into the car and straddling his lap as he pulls the door closed behind you.\n\nIt's not the most comfortable position in the world, with the steering wheel digging into your back, but you know that will get a bit better here in a minute, and it's not like you'll be at this for long. You unzip his fly, keeping your eyes slightly towards it rather than his lightly grinning face, fishing out his already mostly-hard cock and giving it a few quick, gently twisting strokes and tugs. That's really all it takes to get him fully ready, before you lean up and in, scooting forward and draping an arm over his shoulder and around the headrest, reaching down with your other hand to aim him. Feeling the tip of his prick push up between your pussylips, you ease yourself down, making sure he's actually sliding inside before you bring your other arm up to drape over his shoulder as well. Sliding all the way down, you give your hips a wiggle, as if just to confirm he'll stay in by working his cock around against your inner walls, before starting to work your hips up and down, a quick, easy pumping motion that has him immediately 'mmm'ing and moaning lowly.\n\n'Not the worst position in the world,' you have to admit as you let out a soft, breathy moan or two of your own, not particularly out of artifice. Johns who make it clear they're wanting a quick pump and dump don't usually care about getting the full package of sex noises and compliments, they just want to wet their dicks and empty their balls before going home to the wife and kids. Still, he's hitting some decent spots for you, enough that you're actually getting pretty wet, and when you start working your hips some more, shimmying them and twisting them, it seems to be doing both of you some good. His hands move to grip your bare ass, squeezing and kneading, then starting to haul you down on him faster.\n\nYou're actually starting to get a little close when he gives a particular groan and yanks you down harder on him, and you can feel him twitching inside you. 'Dammit,' you think with a mental sigh, feeling a particular edginess of denial already starting to set in a bit. Still, business is business, so you hold up one hand expectantly. After a few seconds he plunks a chargeable credcard in it, and you check the amount on it while he opens the door. Then you swing off of his lap and step out. At least he waits until you've stepped fully back to close the door and drive off at a normal speed, you think as you take out a sanitary wipe and quickly give your pussy the once-over while still there in the street, since it's basically deserted. You hop back into your shorts and haul them up, feeling the material stick a little against your crotch as you make your way back to the sidewalk and start walking along again.\n\n"U-um, hey, are you... are you working?"\n\nYou pause and half-turn at the voice from behind you. Definitely not practiced... in fact, judging from where he's standing, he probably overheard you talking to the john in the car. He's sort of hunched in on himself, hands tucked into the pockets of the oversized black hoodie he's wearing, a set of "fin" style wireless antennaes emerging from slits in the side of the hood. Baggy pants, too, but here and there you can see the hookups and cables of various bits of gear. Still, it's mostly the high-end antenna-hookup headphones, the expensive cables running from them to the back of his neck, and the fact that he's wearing dataglasses despite already having cybereyes that tips you off to the type. 'Geeker.'\n\nCyborgs aren't exactly uncommon on Makarzia... even you have a single all-purpose cyberjack that you can use for basic hookups and injections. While many use cybernetics to replace some lost or damaged bodypart or correct some issue, others get elective cybernetics to increase their abilities... usually 3D printed plastimuscle, weaponized limbs, cybereyes that can see in pitch black, stuff like that. Stuff that increases their physical abilities. Geekers, on the other hand... a lot of them start off with something like a dyslexia correction implant or a neurostabilizer that necessitates a high-grade datajack right in the neck. Then they start using the datajack for netbrowsing and netdiving and netgames, and soon they're hooked, getting more implants and more gear to enhance their ability to be online constantly, unable to live without a flow of data and input.\n\n... Works for you, though, because they're also usually loaded. "Yeah, whatcha looking to do?" you ask, turning fully towards him, looking right in those glowing green cybereyes and unable to help but feel a bit amused when he nervously averts his gaze down. He might actually be almost kinda-sorta cute if he weren't a bit longfaced and so awkward.\n\n"I... I wanted, a... would you do a dumbfuck with me?" he finally blurts after a few false starts.\n\nYou can't help but make a bit of a face. Should've known. You've only heard a little bit about 'dumbfucking', which doesn't necessarily involve actual fucking even. What it actually is, is using neurostimulator devices to simultaneously do a temporary disruption of your brain's processes, while providing some near-direct stimulation of the pleasure centers. Meaning, you stop thinking entirely and just feel pleasure. You don't know a lot more about it than that, other than the rumors that 1) it's probably highly addictive, 2) if someone fucks up the calibration you could legit fry your brain, and 3) it feels even better if you have at least two people in a passive neurolink when you do it. ... Still. The gawky fucker is obviously desperate to try it, since he worked up the courage to approach you. You could probably charge him out the toxin extraction port he probably has for it.\n\n<hr>\n[[Agree to the dumbfucking.|Kai]]\n\n[[Suggest an alternative.|Kai]]\n\n[[Turn him down flat.|Kai]]

You've wasted too much time already, you should be getting in there now! You settle into a starting crouch and then take off towards the fence at a sprint, hurling yourself up and over it in a long jump that would probably get you disqualified from the Olympics for being too good. (Not that you're full of yourself or anything. Ahem.) You land with a thump and a roll, coming up already running towards the building, though there's a considerably longer "yard" in back than in front.\n\nAnd you've barely covered half of it when there's a loud whump-whump-WHUMPWHUMPWHUMP that approaches from around the side of the building, the sound of something big and quadrupedal running and picking up speed startling you into a halt. The thing rounds the corner and covers half the distance to you before it comes to a stop, its breathing bellowing and hissing as it apparently sizes you up. It's, uh... well, it's not a traditional guard dog, say that.\n\nFor one thing it's closer to the size of a pony rather than even a large dog, though it's longer and slightly lower. If you had to compare it to anything it looks most like a lizard, though even there the resemblance is passing, with the slick-seeming hide and long, almost tadpole-like tail with short membranes rising from the top and bottom that glow constantly with an eerie light. Its legs all seem to have at least three joints, with wide, flat trunklike feet with long digits that aren't quite fingers and aren't quite paws digging into the ground as it stands huffing and staring at you. And holy shit is it staring at you... its head is long and wide and somewhat flattened, almost the shape of a guitar pick, with the top of it bearing a number of eyes that genuinely look like round wet marbles set in rather shallow indentations, a ring of them around the shallow rise of the head and then a number more just sort of scattered around randomly inside that ring. The edge of its lipless maw is edged with little wriggling protrusions like short tentacles, almost fidgeting like someone's fingers holding the edge of a desk. Its hide is mostly fishbelly white, though it lightens and darkens with its breathing, and little flickers and flashes of other colors play seemingly randomly over the surface. And, perhaps most intimidating of all, it has an absolutely massive thick sheath towards the back of its belly, with a hefty sack that bears what looks like five round bulges in it.\n\nIt's currently just huffing and snorting, staring at you with those strangely-organized marble eyes. Um... safe to say that this is probably one of the things Doctor Dimensional brought out of a portal attempt. And it seems to be serving as a guardian of some sort to his building.\n\n<hr>\n[[You're not backing down from some lizardpony!|MarSS]]\n\n[[Oh yes you are FUCKING RUUUUUUN!|MarSS]]\n\n[["Um... nice doggy..."|MarSS]]

Hm. Trying to stop the portal won't do any good if he like... disintegrates you or something. Plus you do not want to be disintegrated. Overall it seems the better option to take the risk of some extra time moving around and coming at the building from the back.\n\nYou cross several of the rooftops that are roughly at the same level, climbing up and then down one or two more, before dropping down and taking back alleys, avoiding being in direct sight of the building for too long just in case he has cameras or something. Eventually you approach the building from the back, and spend a few moments eyeing the fence and walls. Hm... no sign of any that you can see. Although you do see a gap in the fencing where it looks like it's already been cut and then sort of hastily tied back closed with some wire... probably where Doctor Dimensional went in originally himself. (There's something funny about the mental image of a supervillain clipping fence links with a bolt cutter and crawling through the gap.) \n\nHm... you suppose you could open those pretty easily and slip through there yourself, might make a bit less noise and be less detectable. But again it would take time... jumping the fence would be a lot faster.\n\n<hr>\n[[Go through the gap.|MarSS10x1]]\n\n[[Jump the fence.|MarSS9x2]]

Fuck it... weird though the job is, the benefits of it are just way too tempting. You tap the acceptance box and get a popup informing you that you have to get a medical checkup before you can be approved. Again, slightly weird, but whatever. Slipping the tablet into a return slot, you get up and make your way to the medical level.\n\nThe checkup only takes a few minutes... you walk through a big scanner, the medtech pokes you in the abdomen a few times with a handheld one, you get one of your eyes blipped, and he informs you that you're cleared to accept the job. Without further adieu you head for the departure portal terminal... the listing specifically said there was no combat involved, so you decide to only take your sword. Y'know, just in case. Arriving at an empty booth, you lay your hand on the sensor plate and let it detect your currently accepted job, automatically programming in the associated spacial-dimensional-temporal coordinates. The portal swirls into being in front of you, and you give a casual hop through.\n\nYou instantly find yourself standing in a room that's both primitive and rather elegant... the walls are bare, dark stone but have been cleaned and dried immaculately, the furniture has a lot of hard angles and sharp edges but is also obviously of high craftsmanship, and the torches on the walls burn with a slightly 'wrong' red hue that is nevertheless smokeless and carries a slight floral scent. What you assume are the clients are standing there waiting... one of the benefits of paying to post a job with the GIPSE is that since portals are temporal as well as all the rest, hired mercenaries tend to show up within an hour of you posting the listing. One is a thin man wearing black and purple robes with very delicately and artfully embroidered skulls on them, the other is a wall of muscle wearing a spiky black chestplate with golden filagree that's obviously the work of a master artisan, and an immaculately clean and perfectly symmetrical loincloth the color of blood that looks like it's made of silk, to judge from how it drapes against the bulge of his cock. Both are green-skinned, pointy-eared, and bald, though the big one has a top knot tied with a rather pretty bow tipped with what look like vertebrae, and both have tusks, though the big one's are much larger and apparently engraved with what looks like a small mural of him slaying cowering enemies on one side and presenting toys made of their skin to orphans on the other side.\n\n"Oh! Oh how wonderful, we could not have asked for anyone better!" the thin one immediately gushes, clasping his hands together, black eyes dancing with delight. "Look at her, Laurence, she's just what we wanted!"\n\n"Indeed, though it's a shame about the ears," the big one rumbles in a gravelly voice with a perfect upper-crust accent.\n\n"We can tweak the ears, we can tweak the ears. Oh do forgive me, miss, we're being abominably rude, I beg your indulgence, we were just so excited to see you that our manners fled us entirely," the skinny one continues, clasping his hands together and bowing low to you.\n\n"Uh, no prob, don't mention it," you answer, still a little flummoxed. You've had way ruder greetings, anyway, you weren't going to sweat it as it was. "I'm Kai, I'm here from the Guild about the job?"\n\n"Yes of course, let me please make introductions, as I should have from the start." He bows again, then continues, indicating himself with a refined flick of his black-taloned green hand and its knob-knuckled fingers. "I am Voruk, Vizier-Chancellor of the Orcish empire of Fukkensleh. This is my associate, Head General Laurence Killbitches."\n\n"An honor and a pleasure to meet you, miss," General Killbitches grates sincerely, placing a hand delicately to his shoulder and executing a perfect 45-degree bow.\n\n"Please, won't you have a seat so we can discuss business matters?" Voruk gestures to the table, prompting you to meander to one of the chairs, the General bringing hands that look like they could crush your head in either one to delicately lift your chair and draw it out for you to slide into. The two of them round the table, Voruk settling in across from you in the other chair, General Killbitches standing just to his side. "Ah, I'm still forgetting my manners, would you like something in the way of refreshments?"\n\nLuckily your stomach doesn't growl on cue, but still. "Maybe something to snack on while we talk, yeah," you answer casually.\n\nVoruk raises his hands and claps twice, pauses, and adds three more claps. "It will be just a moment," he assures you with an easy, charming smile that shows off his sharp, slightly pink-stained teeth. And indeed it's not long before the door opens and a green-skinned woman wearing a spikey, fiendish-looking collar and a prim, proper maid's uniform sweeps in holding a tray. She lifts a bowl from the tray and sets it in front of you, displaying the contents of a large pile of red, uncooked meat. Then she sets down a plate of flattened lettuce leaves beside it and the scent of citrus hits you. 'Oh, hey, tartare.'\n\n"... Ah, there I go again, I've forgotten to make allowances for you being non-Orcish, would you prefer-"\n\n"No, this is fine, thanks," you assure him, using the delicate silver fork that looks like a weapon of war to scoop some of the meat onto a lettuce leaf and roll it up, glancing aside and nodding your thanks to the servant as she pours you a mug of something amber-colored. "So why don't you explain what this is all about?"\n\n"Indeed. Well, this all begins with misfortune, I'm afraid. You see, we recently lost our beloved ruler, Emperor Dragonraper IV, otherwise known as Dragonraper the Kind, to a sudden and unexpected heart attack."\n\nYou pause in your chewing, then make sure to swallow completely before saying, "My condolences."\n\n"Thank you, they are much appreciated. However, this has caused a bit of a problem with his succession."\n\n"His kids all fighting over it or something?" you ask before taking another bite.\n\n"Oh no, no no no, certainly not, all of the late king's 137 children are united behind Princess Doomstrap's rightful claim, it is uncontested. No, you see, the issue is more of a cultural one. It is our society's belief that our god, the War-Fucker, blesses and covets each of our rulers, it's one of the very foundations our culture is built upon. That blessing is meant to convey great wisdom and power upon the Emperor or Empress, such that they cannot die unless it be in battle against an armed opponent. A heart attack, well... that's not supposed to happen."\n\nNow everything starts to come together for you. You take a drink of what's apparently mead (if there could be said to be such a thing as 'lite mead') to clear your throat before saying, "So you need someone to take the fall for killing him instead of admitting he just died."\n\n"That is the sad truth, I'm afraid," Voruk agrees solemnly with a single mournful nod of his head. "Right now, while the people have been informed of the Emperor's death, they have not been told how... only that it is being investigated. Hopefully, with your agreement, we can today announce that the assassin has been captured and is in custody, and is ready for their public trial."\n\n"... Alright, I mean, I admit I don't get it," you declare after a moment, settling back in your chair and holding the goblet in both hands. "Why put up a high-priced job listing with the Guild to get an actual mercenary for this? Why not just find one of your own people who would volunteer? Or even, I dunno, pin it on some prisoner you've already got, or go out and grab the first random non-orc you come across to be the fall guy?"\n\nVoruk actually looks scandalized, his hand flinging much less elegantly to his chest. "Madam, we are a civilized society! We would not think of subjecting someone to a show trial and the abuse of the public without their full and enthusiastic consent!"\n\n"Besides moral issues, there are a host of more pragmatic reasons," General Killbitches says more placidly, giving Voruk a brief glance to settle him. "First that the individual in question be an outsider... it helps keep social unity if it's unquestionably a foreign element that caused strife. But we'd also vastly prefer that outsider's cooperation, so that things can go... more according to script. As for why a mercenary and not an actor... this will involve a certain amount of physical punishment, enough that someone not conditioned for combat might not survive for the full length of it, which we would vastly prefer them to."\n\nYou nod slowly. "Yeah. Yeah, I get it. So. What's this 'script' involve?"\n\n"Once we begin, you would of course be placed in a prison facility near the site of the trial," Voruk explains primly, seemingly over his upset and falling back into professional mode. "In the morning you would be brought out, naked and in chains, and marched through the streets to the trial area. The crowds would be jeering, spitting, throwing garbage... nothing injurious," he adds with a little wave of the hand. "It's just not done, but we'll also keep an eye out to make sure. Then you would stand on the docket and the judge would read out your crimes, including the Emperor's assassination, and ask how you plea, at which point you would of course 'confess'."\n\n"And do my best to make him sound good while I was at it?" you ask wryly.\n\n"Preferably, yes! After which, you'd be placed in the stocks and left at the mercy of the elements and the public for the remainder of the day, as well as the next two."\n\n"... Mercy of the public, huh?" You frown. "So like... they keep throwing garbage and stuff, but also they probably fuck me, huh?"\n\n"No more than twenty or so a day, there are rules," Voruk assures you casually with another wave of the hand. "At the absolute most forty on the last day. The stocks actually have built-in medical fields, so you won't be injured or become ill from the experience, no worries! And then, on the fourth day, we execute you."\n\nThat actually makes your jaw sag. "... What?"\n\n"Most likely beheading, we've developed this lovely device, very scary, very showy, but utterly humane, kills in the blink of an eye," he continues, snapping his fingers while smiling brightly.\n\n"Whoa whoa whoa whoa!" You lean forward, thunking the goblet down on the table. "What the hell is this about execution?!"\n\n"You buried the lead, Voruk," the General rumbles.\n\n"... Oh dear, I did, didn't I? No wonder you're upset, my apologies." Voruk makes a few placating gestures with your hands until you settle back a little, then continues. "You see the first thing we'd do before beginning all of this is use a cloning tank to create a clone of you. We'll install a small implant in your brain that will make a backup of everything up to your moment of death, and then upload that backup into the clone. You would come out of the experience quite literally without a scratch... in fact since your body would be brand new, it would likely be healthier and add a good twenty years to your lifespan." He pauses, then as if sensing you're not entirely convinced, adds, "I would not wish to pressure you in any way, as from the start I have been adamant that your consent is important to this entire process, but from the moment you arrived I have been prepared to offer a substantial bonus. You are, as noted, almost exactly what we need for this... your sex, your looks, everything but your species is everything we could have asked for this, and that's only a minor tweak away from perfection."\n\nThe words 'substantial bonus' are exactly the hook he probably meant them to be to tug you back towards still accepting the job now that you know the details. It was already quite a payday just for a few days' non-combat work, but with extra on top of it? "... Could I see the clone and implant, before I get thrown in prison?" you ask after a moment. "Seriously, nothing personal, just experience and paranoia."\n\n"Perfectly understandable, of course you may, we wouldn't dream of you having to just take our word for it," Voruk assures you.\n\nHm. Definitely... a very weird job, but you're already here and you need the money, and they seem on the up-and-up, plus if they actually did kill you the Guild would come down on them like a dropship full of anvils... still, executed? And what's more, you'd remember it?\n\n<hr>\n[[Accept.|KaiGuild]]\n\n[[Refuse.|KaiGuild]]

Enh. You'll grab something to eat while you're on the job... possibly literally, being in another dimension is a pretty decent excuse to just steal whatever the fuck you want, in your experience. (Though of course there's a time and place for everything.)\n\nYou head to one of the lobby kiosks and get a job board from one of the clerks, then head to a nearby chair and flop down, sprawling as you start scrolling through it. Some other mercs have their jobs divided into categories for easier browsing of whatever they feel like, but for you personally you don't really care about the type... a job's a job. No, you've got yours set up to highlight two things and two things only, the job's rank and how much it pays. How much it pays, well, obvious why you want that, the rank thing is a little more complicated.\n\nGuild jobs are ranked according to the Guild's appraisal of their difficulty... not just difficulty for physicality and skill, but for things like navigating tricky situations and causing blowback, potentially even impacting the Guild itself's reputation since you're its representative (to a certain extent). And since you're a slave, your Guild certification is tied to Doonian's. You're allowed to take anything up to a C-rank mission on your own, but if you take B- and A- rank missions, you're effectively serving as Doonian's proxy. Meaning that if you screw up those jobs, he's the one that gets dinged, or fined, or even potentially ejected from the Guild. Which would probably mean very bad things for you. So you have to be a little bit careful with those sorts of jobs.\n\nSo let's see, let's see... [[B-rank job, 'Royal Bodyguarding'|KaiGuild]]. Yeah, that figures, even simple bodyguarding jobs tend to bump up above C if they involve sufficiently important royals like princes, princesses, kings, and queens. (Dukes and duchesses usually hover around C-rank. Then you've got your lesser nobility like Viscounts that can get ranked as newbie quest level depending on the difficulty, but a lot of thirsty female mercs still take them hoping to wind up as the Viscountess. Or whatever it's called.) Apparently this is in fact bodyguard duty primarily for a princess, and pays quite well. Still, you'd have to be careful not to fuck it up... if you did you might be lucky to get off with Doonian tazing you to the floor repeatedly.\n\nA [[C-rank retrieval job|KaiGuild]], going to a savage world and picking up some artifacts that have already been marked on a map. A quick glance at the basic appraisal of the place says it's pretty light on the megafauna, so you should be able to handle it even with the basic weaponry available to you. Pay's decent, worst aspect of it would be slogging across a lot of hostile country.\n\nThere's also a [[C-rank assassination job|KaiGuild3x1]]. Well, you're assuming, it doesn't use the word 'assassination' since most of them don't, but it involves planting multiple time bombs in different locations. Kind of on the messier end of things, but it pays even better than the retrieval job and should only take you a day or so, if you decide you're up for that kind of thing.\n\n... Now here's a weird one. You've never seen a listing for a [[Scapegoat|KaiGuild2x2]] before. It's only an F-rank, the second-lowest there is, but the pay's on the higher end for a C-rank job, which is definitely odd. The description says that it involves 'assisting in the resolution of a minor succession crisis' and that it's likely to be rough physically and involve some public speaking and possibly even playacting, but doesn't go into a lot of detail. Still, must be legit or the Guild wouldn't have put it up. It also has a strictly defined duration of four days, so taking into account Guildhall time wonkiness and the shifts from dimension hopping and you'd probably only be gone... what, thirty-six hours or so, Makarzia-side?

"W-will that fix this?" Ryo whines.\n\n"Well I don't see why it wouldn't!" you declare innocently, laying a hand to your cheek and glancing upward, while internally cackling madly. "Here, let's get you up on the table, that will make it easier."\n\n"O-okay." Ryo moves rather ponderously as you pull out one of the chairs to help him up onto the table... those huge boobs aren't exactly weightless. (Though you made sure they don't weigh as much as they by all rights should... enforcing anime rules on the real world is one of your specialties!) It's a nice excuse to make him move around and shake those ridiculous udders as he gets up, turning around and actually resting them on the back of the chair briefly before sitting back on the edge of the table.\n\n"Let's go ahead and get these off since they're not fitting right now," you chirp as if it were the most casual thing in the world, leaning in and pressing your own (normal) large tits against his (hentai anime) large tits. Ryo squirms and blushes as you grab at his jeans and tug them off, then take a moment to slip the remains of his shirt off as well. "Now, lay back and scoot so your head is over the edge of the table, Ryo-chan!"\n\n"Okay?" He blinks, but does as you ask, laying back and letting those immense udders rest against his chest, both of them wobbling like giant puddings as he scoots around to do as you ask, looking at you upside down as you step up in front of him. His eyes go wide in shock as you unzip your own jeans... and a large cock springs free, as well as a pair of smooth, feminine, and large balls spilling out. "Bu-!"\n\nThat's as far as his protests about either A) the cock's existence B) its ability to hide in your tight pants or C) the current social situation in Japan, whatever, get before you take advantage of his open mouth to push your cock in. "Ara ara~, here we go, Ryo, this will be the infusion of male hormones you need," you coo as you begin lightly rocking your hips, pushing deeper into his mouth as he squirms. You've let his tits become a bit heavier now... they're effectively pinning him, his arms even held down by how they're draping over his sides.\n\n"Mmmf! Mmnf!" he protests around your dick as you continue to gently thrust it in deeper and deeper... of course he's finding he can't help but suck it, slurping at it with his tongue and trying to gulp it down as you push into his throat. (All those "female hormones", don't you know.) His muffled noises take on a different tone as you lay your hands on his huge, fat tits and start rubbing and kneading, every slight motion sending thick spurts of milk up into the air to splash back down on the big, smooth mountains. "Mmmnmm... mmmmn..."\n\n"Theeere, getting some of that milk out while we work on the injection feels much better, doesn't it, Ryo-chan?" you coo in a sweet, comforting voice even as you continue to tenderly fuck his face. In the meantime, you continue kneading and rubbing his tits... your hands are almost able to disappear entirely into them, sinking into the soft, yielding flesh and sending up those little fountains of white from the thick nipples. 'Gotta say, these are some truly fine boobs, even if I did make them myself,' you think smugly as you give a long, slow push and hilt inside Ryo's mouth. You begin using a steady, quick, short thrust that gently slaps your smooth pretty sack against his face with a soft pat-pat-pat, even as you wrap a hand around one of Ryo's nipples and start tugging it as if it were his cock... which, of course, is still shrunken and limp where it's flopped above his thickened thighs and wide birthing hips. Ahahaha, you've done quite a number on this one! Time to count up a little!\n\nMaking sure to give a sweet and somehow utterly innocent and breezy moan of orgasm, you thrust forward, pushing the root of your cock up to Ryo's lips as you start cumming down his throat. You can feel him swallowing around you instinctively, the changes you've made to his body forcing him to milk you like an eager, experienced whore despite his vague, pleasured moans of protest around you. Of course some of that probably has to do with the fact that he's cumming too... a body-shaking boobgasm that causes particularly voluminous gushes of milk to spray out of his tits, coating his whole body and leaving it gleaming wet as if he'd been oiled up. You do go ahead and impart some new changes too, of course... with every gush of cum you blast down his throat, his own cock grows larger and harder again... quickly surpassing its original size, growing to pornographic proportions and beyond as his balls swell, drooping down and growing as full as his tits... and you can't see it from here with your eyes, but with your other perceptions (and the fact that you're the one doing it), you know that the heavy growth of those smooth, hefty balls hides how his taint is plumping up, growing round and thick and then parting into a lovely pink pussy.\n\nYou step back from the shortstack futanari you've created, giggling mildly sheepishly as a bit of cum drips from the tip of your cock and falls into Ryo's bangs. "Oh my! Looks like it didn't quite work! Right now my mingle male and female hormones must have affected all those female hormones and, well...!"\n\n"W-wha?!" Ryo squeals in her now even sexier voice, thickened a bit by the throatfucking (and the new changes). She sits up, moaning in shock and pleasure as her tits wind up engulfing her new cock, which just barely peeks out of the cleavage of them. "Th-this is... this still isn't right," she hedges, obviously struggling to think through the flood of new sensations and desires rushing through her body. \n\n"Hm, let's see, what to do, what to do?" you muse aloud, tapping a fingertip against your lips.\n\n<hr>\n[["Maybe another infusion will do it!"|Konko11x6]]\n\n[["Why don't we have some fun, Ryo-chan?"|Konko]]\n\n[["Oh well, tried my best, bye-bye now!"|Konko]]

"What?!" he yelps.\n\n"Well yes, you know what they say, all those hormones and whatnot that cows are given nowadays," you declare in a serious but airheaded tone, holding up a finger as if imparting important knowledge. "And what they can do, and this milkshake is extremely milky, so there are some side effects. But don't worry!"\n\n"Don't worry?! But I-!" Ryo cuts off with a groan and hugs himself as he bends forward, shuddering, his nipples having gone visibly stiff beneath his shirt. In fact, not only are they stiff, but turning puffier, his motion having hugged the cloth against his chest close enough to make that visible. It also makes it nicely visible as his flat pecs perk up and swell outward slightly, at first just slightly more prominent, enough to barely count as A-cups. Then they begin to bulge, gradually rounding out as they grow, Ryo gasping and wriggling around, his shaking shoulders making his steadily growing tits start to jiggle a bit as they pass a B-cup. "No waaay! You've gotta stop it!"\n\n"Ara ara, I'm not sure what I'd do," you say in a confused tone, putting a fingertip to your lips, even as you continue to be the one actively making his boobs grow. "Don't worry, Ryo-chan, it looks like they're going to be very cute tits! Well, maybe more like boobs," you amend as they continue to grow. "Probably even bazongas."\n\n"Nooooo," he whines, although his new breasts are certainly showing no signs of stopping. His t-shirt is slowly being stretched outwards, sliding up through his arms and baring more of his belly, which has taken on a smoother look. "A-ah, what's going on?! It's-!" he squeaks, stopping as he realizes his voice has gone higher as well. His hands clap to his hips as they swell and round out a bit, his ass also growing rounder and perkier in his jeans. \n\n"Oh my, those female hormones definitely do seem to be quite effective when mixed up like that, don't they?" you muse aloud, putting a hand to your cheek. "I suppose maybe I shouldn't make this for my little brother after all, or like you he'd turn into my little sister!"\n\n"I-I'm not!" Ryo whines in his newly girly voice, even as he shudders in increasing pleasure from his still-growing tits. His t-shirt is barely clinging to them now, the undersides of them showing, dark wet spots growing around where his thick, stiff nipples are growing ever more visible. Then at a sudden outward push of growth that makes his tits wobble entirely from that, his shirt tears asunder, his massive boobs spilling free and thick nipples steadily dribbling streams of milk. Whimpering at the pressure from around his hips, he frantically manages to undo his jeans, udders wobbling around as he wiggles and shoves them and his underwear down. His tits are almost hanging to his waist now, their growth finally slowed, leaving his cock just visible... shrunken, tiny, and soft despite his face being flushed with arousal. "Oh nooo... what'll I doooo?" he whimpers.\n\n"Now now, don't get upset, Ryo-chan, I'll help!" you chirp.\n\n"Y-you will?" he sniffles. "How?"\n\n<hr>\n[["I'll milk you!"|Konko]]\n\n[["I'll give you an infusion of male hormones!"|Konko11x5]]\n\n[["Why, I'll fuck those big magnificent tits for you!"|Konko]]

"Maybe we just need an infusion in another place, then the male hormones might overcome the female hormones!" you chirp. "Let's go~!" you add in a cheery air, suddenly picking him up and flipping him over with a hint of your actual strength.\n\n"Uwa?!" Ryo squeals as she's flipped... onto all fours, basically, since the size of her tits won't let her properly lay flat on her front. Her knees come down to rest on the tabletop, and her hands as well... they're just able to touch, with her arms pressing in against the sides of the soft mountains significantly. Humming happily while snickering internally, you climb up onto the table where the family no doubt eats dinner every night, pausing only to pull your top up and let your own tits spill free. "Y-you're sure this will help?" she whines softly, looking over her shoulder at you.\n\n"Not in the slightest," you reply in the same cheery, breezy tone.\n\n"W-well let's not do it theeeek!" Her eyes go wide and her body gives a little jump in place as you start rubbing the tip of your cock up and down between the plump, dripping lips of her cunt. "Hey, what's that?! What are you touching, what's thoohhhhhhhhh," she moans as you push into her brand new pussy in a long, slow, smooth stroke, her eyes rolling up some at the feel of the virgin female passage spreading around the cock it was literally made to accept. "Ohhhh that feels so weird but so good," she moans as you gently hilt inside of her, your hips pressing up against that round jiggly ass your milkshake gave her. \n\n"Oh it can get even better, Ryo-chan~! No need to make these injections a chore, after all," you purr, leaning forward enough that she can feel your tits pressing against her back, and reaching beneath her with one hand while the other rubs and presses at one of her own mammoth mammaries.\n\n"What do you... hnnnnh..." Her eyes roll some again as you wrap a hand around her downward-jutting cock and give it a few strokes, before lifting it up... and pressing it right between those huge, sensitive boobs of hers. When you straighten up and grab her waist to begin thrusting, not only is every stroke of your cock into that custom-made pussy stimulating her in the absolute best way for it, not only is she experiencing the lewd pleasure of having hips smack her delightfully jiggly ass like a gentle spanking, but she's simultaneously getting to fuck a pair of big, luscious, milky tits, and having her huge, sensitive, gushing boobs fucked by a thick cock. In no time at all, any reticence or resistance has disappeared, her tongue lolling out and a smile curving her lips as you fuck her. "Hnnhaaanh, it's soooo good, your cock's soooo good Konata-neechan, nnh, ah, ah!"\n\nHuhuhuhu, futanaris are such a lewd bunch! ... Yes that includes you, you're not being ironic. Largely dispensing with the sweet innocent oneechan demeanor since Ryo's no longer paying attention, you smile wickedly as you start fucking her harder, feeling her pussy repeatedly quiver and squeeze around you in orgasm. Ryo's just a bundle of pleasure now, squealing and moaning in different registers as she alternately cums from her pussy with gushes of girl-honey that soak your balls, her cock which spurts thick blasts of cum all over the inner curves of her tits, and her tits which spurt milk out from the thick nipples. My my the dinner table is going to be such a mess~! You've successfully turned your pranking target into a drooling, ahegao'd mass of overlapping orgasms... now all that's left to do is empty your own balls into this sweet little cow! Ah, but when you do, what should your cum do? This is, after all, the climax of your prank as well!\n\n<hr>\n[[Complete Ryo's transformation!|Konko]]\n\n[[Turn her back!|Konko]]\n\n[[Just leave her as-is!|Konko]]

"The... kitchen?" Ryo echoes, looking confused.\n\n"Yes, see, the thing is I wanted to make something special for my own little brother," you announce, practically skipping off towards the kitchen, Ryo scurrying to catch up with you. "And I didn't want him stumbling on the ingredients and ruining the surprise, so Kyoko agreed after we went shopping that I could keep them here!"\n\n"Oh. Huh. I mean, I guess that makes sense, yeah."\n\n"Hmmm. Aaaactually," you say slowly as if it were just now occurring to you, putting a fingertip to your lower lip and doing a slow turn around. "You know, this kitchen is a lot better than mine. Ryo-chan, do you think it would be alright if I went ahead and used your kitchen here?" You turn to him and smile brightly. "That way I could get your opinion on it first and make sure he'd like it, you two seem like you'd like the same things."\n\n"Huh? Oh, well, sure, yeah, I guess that'd be okay," Ryo answers, blushing again.\n\n"Oh thank you! Now let's seeee," you coo, plucking up a convenient apron from nearby and turning to tie it around you, wiggling your hips as you do and making sure that the tails of it wind up falling over and drawing attention to your ass as you do. "If you'll just have a seat, I'll get started on the-"\n\n<hr>\n[["-blueberry muffins."|Konko]]\n\n[["-milkshake."|Konko11x2]]\n\n[["-eggplant parmesan."|Konko]]\n\n[["-special chocolate cream."|Konko]]

"Eh? Really? He likes that sort of thing?" Ryo asks, wrinkling his nose a bit. Obviously he's not much of a fan of milk... all the better, konkonkon~!\n\n"Oh, he wasn't, but then I tried a few earlier versions of this and he loved them!" you chirp as you start emptying the milk, cream, and ice cream into a blender. You make a show of adding various other ingredients, humming all the while, before finally pouring everything into a nice tall glass. "Here, try one yourself!" you add, passing said glass to him. "I bet you'll be suuuuper into milk in no time!"\n\nHe looks extremely dubious, but leaning forward as if eager to see his reaction and therefore putting your tits closer to his face cinches the bargain. He brings the glass to his lips and hesitantly sips... then his eyes brighten as he takes a harder gulp of it. His throat visibly works as he swallows again and again... the 'milkshake' wound up more like a very very thick glass of milk, after all, making it easy enough to drink down. After a few moments he lowers the glass and lets out a contented sigh. "Wow, you're right, that was really good! I've never had milk I liked as much as that, but that was like... extra super ultra milk and it was great!" He pauses, then makes a rather confused face. "Ah... but I'm kinda feeling weird now."\n\n"That's just the growth starting," you assure him breezily. "Milk is good to make things grow!"\n\n"Eh? Growth?" He blinks a few times. "What growth?!"\n\n<hr>\n[["Your tits!"|Konko11x4]]\n\n[["Your udder!"|Konko]]\n\n[["Your whole body!"|Konko]]

"A... milkshake? Really?" Ryo asks, actually starting to look dubious now.\n\n"Oh, not just any old milkshake!" you exclaim, opening the fridge and making sure to lean into it sufficiently to dig around in the back, as well as waggling your denim-clad butt at Ryo to completely distract him from the fact you're manifesting several bottles that weren't there before. "This is an extra special milkshake! My little brother loves them, so I wanted to make the best one possible!" you add, drawing out of the fridge and standing up, having made your nipples extra perky to show through the sweater as you hug the cold glass bottles to your chest.\n\n"A-ah, that, that makes sense, yeah," Ryo stammers, face red again as you hip-bump the fridge door closed and cross to the counter. "So, um, what makes this milkshake so special?"\n\n<hr>\n[["It's super thick and extra cold!"|Konko]]\n\n[["It's the milk-iest!"|Konko11x3]]

Best just keep your mind on the job. Such as it is. You tap at your comm to start playing an audiobook... albeit at a fairly muted volume so you can still listen for any alerts or noises from around you... and settle into the chair, keeping your eyes mostly on the forward windows. You've gotta admit, the aesthetics are pretty nice even if it's one errant blaster shot away from killing everyone in the room.\n\nAbout two hours later you pause the audio and sit up as one of the raised red lights on a panel to one side starts blinking. Rather unhelpfully, since you're not sure which of the switches near it you'd flip to find out why it is. Of course a handful of seconds later you don't really have to as a ship elongates out of some sort of fast travel and snaps into being right in front of the station, looming in the viewports ahead as if staring in... literally, since it's designed on some sort of insectoid theme. Kinda like a bee or a hornet or something along those lines, complete with long articulated legs along the underbelly and thin 'wings' rising from the back. Before you can really get over your 'what the fuck' the screen at the front flickers and comes to life, showing a helmeted figure leaning in close to the camera. "STINGING DOOM HAS COME FOR THE KWESTLYNES!" a woman's voice shrieks.\n\nHuh. You kind of expected like... a fishbowl helmet with little dinglebobber antennae on it at this point. But no, that actually looks like pretty high-end carapace-style armor, with a sectioned armored visor, yellow armor plates, and black articulated armor sections helping give it that insectile look. The armor's been fitted with a white fur ruff around the back of the broad shoulders and their angular spaulders. The camera's set so you can just see the armor conforming to the shape of her breasts as well... and a little more of them as she suddenly leans back.\n\n"Eh? You're not Penthesilia. Where is she? Who the hell are you and what are you doing in that satellite? ANSWER ME, OR KNOW THE WRATH OF HYVE QUEEN, QUEEN OF ALL HIVES!"\n\n<hr>\n[[Let's see, weapons, weapons, which button's the weapons...|LeoKwest]]\n\n[["... Seriously?"|LeoKwest1x5]]

"That's your catchphrase?" you ask, giving the screen a flat-eyed expression.\n\n"Eh? Hey, who the hell do you think you are?!" 'Hyve Queen' demands, slamming her claw-fingered gauntlets onto the console in front of her. "And what's wrong with it anyway?"\n\n"Well for one isn't it really repetitive?" you ask, slouching back in the chair. "'Hyve Queen, Queen of All Hives'?"\n\n"It's... REPETITION FOR EMPHASIS!" she bellows, throwing up her hands and letting out a long triumphant cackle.\n\n"Yeah but the problem is you've got this reversal of terms, which is one thing, but you've got 'queen' back-to-back with another 'queen'," you explain, gesturing to one side and then the other with both hands. "So you've got this 'queen queen' thing going on and one little slipup in delivery and you sound like a fool."\n\n"... Huh. You know that is sort of a problem I've had before," the helmeted woman replies, having dropped back to a normal tone as she tilts her head down and cups her armored chin. "I get excited and rush it just the slightest bit and it doesn't come out right." She lifts her hand away and twirls it in an airy circle. "Winds up sounding like 'Moon Moon' or something."\n\n"Yeah, see? That's what I'm saying."\n\n"Huh. I mean, what are you thinking here, like, do I just need to drop the repetition? I mean I actually sort of like that, it was why I came up with it in the first place," she adds a bit sulkily, folding her arms over her chest.\n\n"I mean it still works, but maybe throw a different phrase in there," you suggest, making a light tossing motion with one hand. "Or at least a title or an adjective if that seems too clunky. Break the two phrases up a bit, preserves the inversion without the runtogether."\n\n"Oh, I like it, I like it!" She brings a fist in front of her helmet and clears her throat audibly, then flings both hands up to the level of her cheeks and curls her fingers towards herself. "NOW ANSWER ME, INTRUDER, OR FACE THE POISONOUS WRATH OF HYVE QUEEN, TYRANT QUEEN OF ALL HIVES! Oh, thank you, thank you very much," she adds, an arm going across her chest as she bows to the camera at your polite smatter of applause.\n\n"I'm Leo, I'm the new bodyguard," you answer, since she seems... well, if not exactly 'harmless', then not imminently hostile.\n\n"Another new one, huh? My condolences. Now wherrrrre is that heroic sociopath and the Kwestlynes?!" Hyve Queen immediately demands, before you can be diverted by asking why even the apparent bad guys are apologizing to you for taking this job. "I have brand new horrors to visit upon the so-called professor in return for her many crimes!"\n\nHm. Probably best just to be honest. "She's not here."\n\n"... Eh?"\n\n"Like, she left. She's out on one of her expeditions, I'm here to watch the place."\n\n"Oh. Yeah. Yeah, she would be, wouldn't she? Bitch," Hyve Queen mutters, glancing aside, before peering curiously back into the viewer. "So, uh, hey, did she take the girls with her? I mean, I could give Deanna and Hanna some light terrorizing if she's not."\n\n<hr>\n[["... Yeah she took them too."|LeoKwest]]\n\n[["Uh... one sec..."|LeoKwest1x6]]

"Mind if I put you on hold why I check something?" you ask.\n\n"NOOOOOBODY PLACES HYVE QUEEN ON HOLD! ... Unless I place you on hold first," she adds, stabbing a finger at the panel in front of her, the feed replaced by an angular winged insect emblem.\n\nRight. Figuring out which button places the call on hold in return (it should probably tell you something that she has direct access to the screen in the first place), you find the panel for the internal comms and activate one with a particular label. "Uh, hey, Bottica?"\n\n"Yeah, sweetheart, what's the haps?" comes back the electronic voice with, what you'd swear, was the snap of a bubblegum bubble popping. \n\n"There's someone here called 'Hyve Queen' who wants to see the twins. For, er... light terrorizing. I dunno, she seems like she might be... friends?... with the professor so I thought I'd ask about it."\n\n"Oh she's good people. A violent supervillain, sure, but good people. She'll rant and rave for a bit and maybe fire off some blasts but not do any real damage if Tanya's not here to play with her. If you wanna invite her for dinner tell her we're having chipotle chicken stew."\n\n"O... kay." You blink slowly. You'd kind of gotten the idea that the supposed threats weren't terribly serious, but you didn't know this was full-on 'invites to dinner' sort of thing. "Shoooould I invite her to dinner?"\n\n"I mean, up to you, sugah. Deanna always sulks a bit when she turns up like that but Hanna'll be happy, and she'll be more reasonable with some food and wine in her anyway. Or you can just tell 'er to buzz off, if y'like, she'll probably go lookin' to bother the boss instead."\n\n"Okay. Got it." You flick the channel closed. Huh. Usually telling someone with obviously hostile intentions where your employer had gone would be a huge no-no, but in this case you kind of get the feeling she would... not particularly mind? Or at worst scold you a bit when she gets back? Either way, time to figure out how to deal with her.\n\n<hr>\n[[Invite her to dinner.|LeoKwest]]\n\n[[Shoo her.|LeoKwest1x7]]\n\n[[... Oh hey bet she wouldn't be expecting a weapons blast now!|LeoKwest]]

After a moment's consideration, you flick the feed off of hold, seeing it immediately show Hyve Queen again, tapping her clawed fingers impatiently against the console before she whips upright to look dignified again.\n\n"So hey, listen, I checked and it's probably not a good idea for the twins to come up," you say in an apologetic tone. "They're just getting over the Katravian Flu and all, y'know."\n\n"Oh! I had no idea, are they alright?!" The helmeted woman leans in closer, the concern in her voice apparently sincere.\n\n"Yeah, yeah, they're fine, they're just recovering, and you know how the Katravian Flu is..."\n\n"Say no more," Hyve Queen agrees, raising a hand to stop you from continuing. "Villainy and vengeance is one thing, but going around spreading contaminants is just rude. ... Hm, how long ago did you say Tanya and the Thing left?"\n\nA minute or so later you're watching the bug-ship warp off into the stars, in the same general direction you're pretty sure Tanya's ship went. There's that handled. Deciding that if the threats are going to be like this you may as well be comfy to wait for the next one, you get up and move over to one of the couches at the back of the command deck to flop down and resume listening to your audiobook. About ten minutes later there's another interruption... though this time it's the lift door opening and someone stepping out. "Oh hey, Deanna, everything okay?" you ask, sitting up a bit straighter and hitting the stop button.\n\n"Yeah. I guess. Um, Bottica mentioned Hyve Queen was here... is... is she still here?" the girl asks with a nervous glance in the direction of the viewports.\n\n"Nah, I told her you and your sister weren't feeling well and she left. I guess probably to go looking for your mom."\n\n"Oh good," Deanna murmurs, shoulders sagging with obvious relief, before she rubs the back of her neck. "I mean, not good that she's gonna bother my mom, but I mean good that she's not here. ... That sounds mean, what I mean is..." She trails off, then turns. "I should go."\n\n"I mean, I don't mind listening if you want to tell me what the rest of what you mean is," you note.\n\nDeanna hesitates... then sighs again, but this time moves over to slump down and sit at the other end of the couch. "I dunno. Hyve Queen's one of my mom's enemies... she's got like at least four major ones... and she's always ranting and raving about how she's going to torment her and make her suffer and end her miserable life yadda yadda yadda," the teenager explains, rolling her head back and forth as well as rolling her eyes. "But then there's times where she's actually really nice and super considerate and maybe even acts like she cares more about me than my mom and... and it's kind of nice that she can be like that, but..." She trails off again, staring at the floor.\n\n"But you wish she'd pick one or the other?" you prompt dryly.\n\n"Oh my God yes!" Deanna blurts, thrusting her hands in the air as if literally thanking a deity that someone understands. "Either one I could deal with but the weird shift and not knowing exactly where the line is where the shift occurs absolutely kills me! What's worse is my sister has no problem at all with it, she just acts like it's all completely normal! Even Olga's always like 'That's just sort of how things are in this universe, kid' about it! It's like literally everyone is taking crazy pills but me and it's making me crazy!"\n\nShe drops her hands from clutching her hair at the sides of her head, huffing softly as she apparently comes down from the intensity of something that's obviously been bothering her for awhile now. You reach out a hand to rub her shoulder a bit, since she obviously needs a bit of physical contact comfort. Other than that... hm, what's the best way to deal with this...?\n\n<hr>\n[[Assure her she'll adapt.|LeoKwest]]\n\n[[Ask about the future.|LeoKwest]]\n\n[[Offer to talk more later.|LeoKwest]]

While you can't say you aren't interested in being with a woman who you suspect could rather effortlessly bench press you, you're sort of worried about the precedent it would set for your career and reputation to be bribed out of taking a job you've already showed up to. "I, uh... appreciate the cautioning, but I really think I can handle this."\n\n"... Your funeral," she announces after a brief pause, adjusting her cap again before turning and walking out the door, apparently expecting you to follow. Which you do.\n\n"Besides, I got the idea from the listing that I wouldn't necessarily be staying here," you note as you move to catch up to her, glancing up again. "That... ah, does she have a title?"\n\n"Professor. Technically."\n\n"Professor Kwestlyne might actually want me to go on her venture with her while you stayed here to look after her daughters." Wait, 'technically'? "So no worries there, right?"\n\n"Other than the thirty percent survival rate for bodyguards other than me going on these little 'adventures' with her, sure," Olga replies in a tone that's somehow both bland and smug at the same time, her lips quirking just a little even as you pale slightly. "And I mean, 'survival' is really a pretty broad term. The Prof is a unique handful all of her own... but hey, at least if you fuck her no one will be mad at you."\n\n"... So, ah, no Mister Professor Kwestlyne then," you quip with a slightly shaky smile, definitely happy for the excuse to divert this away from a seventy percent mortality rate of a potential outcome of the job.\n\n"Four former Mister Professor Kwestlynes, one current, and none of them that are worth worrying about," Olga corrects, giving you another brief pause before she continues. "Look if that's where this winds up going I'm sure you'll be fine. Just focus on making sure she doesn't die or get mangled, and don't try to play hero or dashing adventurer, and I bet we can bump up those survival percentages a little no problem. The ones who wind up getting forced through a fine steel mesh or whatever are usually the goofballs who wind up getting swept along by her enthusiasm and think they're going to become galactically famous for sharing her discoveries."\n\nHm. So, ego-check, got it. ... Come to think of it these hallways have the same very dated tech vibe as the lounge you arrived in. The windows looking out on the starscape look like they're probably not even equipped with emergency forcefield generators, yikes. You pull your focus back to Olga as she turns and makes her way into an office, where another woman is standing in the open area between the door, desk, and seating area, apparently browsing a small hardcopy book with one hand. This has got to be Tanya Kwestlyne. Her hair is a honey blonde, with long somewhat uneven falls framing her face and the rest pulled into a bun low at the back of her head. She looks like she's probably only in her early forties at the very most, and very well kept at that, with a sleek, pretty face accented by oval glasses over her amber-colored eyes. Her body's definitely not bad either, her shoulder-baring sweater dress hugging full breasts and round hips (which it barely comes down past), smooth shoulders shown off by her long black coat being draped off of them and shapely legs seemingly bare down to her slim black low-heeled pumps.\n\n<img src="images/ProfKwestlyne.jpg">\n\n"Ah, you must be the young man from the Guild," she says as she looks over with a light smile, though there's just a brief flash enough of something in her eyes as she does. It's still enough to trip the 'Cougar Alert' alarm in your brain. "I'm Professor Tanya Kwestlyne, welcome to Kwest-Home."\n\n"Leo LaChance, glad to be here," you answer with a slight bow of your head and shoulders.\n\n"Oo, I do like it when we get one that knows his manners." Her smile grows a little and that feline hunger gets visible in her eyes again, enough that you have to try not to smirk as your ego does take a mild stroking. Then she glances aside and sighs as she notices Olga glowering lightly at her. "Oh, quit it, you, you're just no fun at all sometimes." Looking back at you, she gives a more casual smile and continues. "In any event, I'll be leaving within the hour for a jaunt that will last several weeks. Normally I'd take Deanna and Hanna with me, but they recently had the Katravian Flu and shouldn't be exposed to alien environments for at least a week yet, and I simply can't delay that long. I am a rather well-known individual with various enemies, so leaving my daughters alone with only a housedroid to watch out for them for as much as a month or more isn't really acceptable. Olga can't be in two places at once, no matter how often I've suggested it..."\n\n"I said no," the big woman practically growls.\n\n"... So! A temporary hire is necessary. Now, personally I think it would be fine if you stayed here and watched the girls, they're both well-behaved and take direction well," the Professor continues, completely ignoring it as Olga snorts loudly. "But Olga seems to believe there might be some sort of problem with that, so if you think you're up to it, you could come along with me instead. I certainly wouldn't mind someone with a zest for life and thrill for discovery along instead of this big fuddy-duddy," she adds, elbowing Olga's stomach... then wincing very slightly and rubbing at said elbow with her other hand. "... So! Would you like to accept the position of bodyguard for my daughters, or for me?"\n\n<hr>\n[[The twins.|LeoKwest1x2]]\n\n[[The Professor.|LeoKwest]]

You're actually not sure which of the possibilities that seems inevitable from going with Tanya has put you off more... the high likelihood of being forced through a fine steel mesh, or the lesser but apparently still relatively high likelihood of becoming Mister Professor Kwestline #6. "Y'know what, you two seem to really have your teamwork dynamic down, why don't I stay home and watch the kids?"\n\n"Yeah. That's what it is. Teamwork," Olga grumbles under her breath, as Tanya gives a slight shrug.\n\n"Well, that's fine, as I said they're good girls." She sashays over to the desk and flips an actual switch on a very obvious raised intercom panel. "Deanna! Hanna! Please come to my office!"\n\nA few minutes later the door slides open and a pair of girls walks in. Well, young women, more like... the way the other two had been talking and with how protective Olga seemed, you'd expected like little kids or something, but they're obviously in their mid-late teens. ... Ah, okay, looking at the grin on one of them's face, the protectiveness makes sense from a whole other angle. While just slightly more slender than their mother, they've both obviously inherited her figure, but probably their father's coloration, with long brown hair and slightly pinkish-purple eyes. The one on the left is wearing a very snug white tanktop, black short-shorts, and sneakers, hair left to fall around her shoulders and back in a slightly artful disarray, while the other's in a T-shirt and snug jeans, her hair pulled back in a simple ponytail, dataglasses perched on her nose and a somewhat clunky white-silver tablet computer tucked under one arm. Although... if you parse out the differences in hairstyle and clothes, they're absolutely identical. Like, way more identical than the typical identical twins, because they're the exact same height as well as not as much as a single difference in ear, nose, or eye shape that you can see. 'Clones?' you wonder, considering one of the things Tanya said earlier. Eh, well, if they are, none of your business.\n\n"Girls, this is Leo, we've hired him to act as your bodyguard while Olga and I go out on the expedition," the Professor says, gesturing to you lightly and prompting you to nod respectfully.\n\n"Hi~, Leo, I'm Hanna!" the one with the loose hair practically coos, her eyes alight as she tucks her hands behind her back, swaying her shoulders back and forth just a little too enthusiastically. The exact set of her grin and the unhidden cheeky set of her eyes says that she hasn't quite grasped that a certain amount of subtlety is required to actually make motions like that come off as 'seductive'. "Nice to meet you~!" Okay so theeere's the source of the worry, okay, gotcha.\n\n"Hello, I'm... Deanna," the one in dataglasses says, the pause and the sort of murmur she says her own name in shouting 'lack of self-confidence' as loudly as her sister's manner shouts thirst, though it seems completely natural instead. "... Nice to meet you."\n\n"Anyway, girls, I know Leo may look young but he's an adult and a professional and you're to listen to him while we're gone," Tanya continues, reaching up to adjust her glasses, Deanna (seemingly subconsciously) mirroring the move a moment later. "I know I can trust you to behave for him."\n\nYou can just see the single-and-a-half entendre that flashes through Hanna's brain, but she abandons it in favor of pouting a little. "Can't believe we can't go on the adventure just because of some dumb flu we had over a week ago. I barely threw up!" Then she glances back at you, expression becoming briefly panicked before she rolls her eyes upward and forces an attempt at a casual look onto her face. "I mean, I obviously didn't throw up, because I wasn't even really sick, I was just making Deanna feel better!" Which, even as excuses go, would probably work better if she didn't immediately give herself an affirming nod and little fist-pump while obviously thinking 'Nailed it!' "... Oh, so hey, can I go?!"\n\n"No," Olga says firmly. "You two are staying here until the virus is completely cleared out of your systems. Katravian Flu gets all... funky... when it's exposed to different environments," she adds, one corner of her lip lifting slightly in a faint 'I've seen some shit' way as she says that particular word.\n\n"I'm fine with it," Deanna mutters, adjusting her glasses again (this time unprompted). "Mom's adventures tend to be sort of... overly adventurous."\n\n"Oh, you're just in a bit of a funk from being sick," Tanya cuts in breezily, literally waving off her daughter's concerns with a flick of one hand before turning to you. "They really are fully recovered, they just need to stay on Kwest-Home with its regulated sterile air for at least another month."\n\n"Week," Hanna quickly cuts in, shooting her mother a glance. "The doctor said a week."\n\n"Oh, doctors, what do they know, if they were competent they'd be professors," Tanya scoffs. "Anyway, just make sure they stay on the station and stay safe. Bottica will take care of their meals and tutoring, you just need to watch everything in case... well, in case someone drops by," she adds in an overly casual tone that makes you wonder yet again if this was a smart job to take. "But in any event we may as well be off!" She walks over to give each of her daughters a hug and a kiss on the cheek, before waving to you as well... and giving you a saucy wink. "Maybe when I get back, we can go out to dinner to discuss further job opportunities," she coos before sauntering out of the room.\n\nOlga's head tracks to watch her go, and the big woman pauses long enough to point at her eyes and then stab her fingers in your direction, before stalking after her employer. You guess Hanna didn't exactly have a lot of places to learn subtlety, huh? Speaking of which, she tries to imitate her mother's saucy wink (and gets about halfway there) and saunter towards the door, stopping around the corner to lean back and give her hair a toss, turning her head to look at you. "So hey, I'll just be around, if you wanna come and fiIII!" Losing her balance from staying leaned too far back for so long, she thuds flat on her back on the floor... then leaps to her feet and hastily gives you double finger-guns, hair fallen across half her face. "Come and find me." Then she sidles to the side, with the sound of sneakers pounding on the floor sounding the second she's out of sight.\n\nYou look at Deanna, who's looking towards the doorway with a flat expression. "Your sister's, ah... really somethin'."\n\n"Yup, she's an idiot, alright," Deanna replies quietly with a single nod. There's no rancor or malice in her voice, just... simple statement of fact. She's silent for a second before she adds, "You get that Olga will probably kill you if you have sex with Hanna, right?"\n\n"Yeah, I got that," you say with a sigh, putting a hand to your face.\n\n"Okay. Just checking. ... I'll be in my room," she murmurs before turning and walking out, shoulders slightly hunched. \n\nWhew. Their mom's gonna be gone how long? ... Right, indeterminate length of time, even better. Yeah you definitely need to be good, for... a lot of reasons. Your mother made some joke once about certain actions getting someone sent to 'a special Hell' and somehow it feels like getting involved here would buy you a ticket right quick.\n\n"They're lovely girls, aren't they?"\n\n"Gk!" You whirl around and almost have your hands on your gun before you realize who spoke... or what spoke. Or who, you're honestly not entirely sure, considering. What you'd taken for a retro-tech statue in the corner is apparently an actual droid... a very old feminine model wearing a fairly classic maid outfit, albeit without going 'full fetish' with the stuck-out skirt and ruffled underskirts. No, this one's more... well, tight short skirt hugging the hips and apron fitted to show off the chest. It... or she, you suppose, if the droid's sentient... is definitely an older model, its upper head shaped like a half pill with shallow cones bearing two slender, almost needle-like antenna in place of ears. She has a single slender green optic bar for eyes, and no nose to speak of, the lower part of her face rendered in more humanlike proportions and apparently movement range from the lower lip down (with the upper lip apparently molded on to the edge of the upper part of her head). She's shiny and chrome as hell all over... well, the parts that are visible, hands with visible ring joints and you're not entirely certain whether she's wearing matching chrome high heels or if those are actually part of her feet. "... You must be 'Bottica'," you say as you relax from your stance, because who the heck else would she be.\n\n"Well aren't you the clever one," she replies in some accent you can't quite place, though it's definitely a weird blend of 'long-suffering domestic' and 'sexpot'. She puts her silver hands on her hips and cocks them slightly. "That's right, sweetheart, I'm the one that keeps this whole place running. Or at least shambling along. Or I will as long as you don't get us blown up."\n\n"I'm pretty sure I can manage not to blow the place up," you reply dryly, giving your coat lapels a few shakes as if flicking off the very idea.\n\n"Eh, it's happened before." Wait, what? But before you can ask her to elaborate, Bottica starts sashaying towards the door with a slightly exaggerated heel-toe step, even holding one arm slightly out at her side with the hand 'winged' as if for balance. "You're in room nine on the hab level, sweetheart, right next to mine in room eight if you get lonely." She swivels her head 180 degrees and sends the light of her optic bar sliding across to one side before coming back around to full... you guess in her version of a wink. Then she completes the full 360 as she continues. "I'm gonna go get ready to teach the girls today's lesson later this afternoon, feel free to drop by if you wanna help out. Otherwise you should probably go up to the command deck and start keepin' watch, it's what Olga's usually doing when she's not sharpening her knives or listening to metal or shattering her latest guy's pelvis." And with that the door slides closed behind her.\n\n... Yeesh. This whole place is just wild. Admittedly you didn't exactly have the most 'normal' home life either, but this is just weird even to you. But. You took the job, you're here. Guess you've got to figure out how to start.\n\n<hr>\n[[Go take a nap.|LeoKwest]]\n\n[[Attend the lesson.|LeoKwest]]\n\n[[Head up to the command deck.|LeoKwest1x3]]\n\n[[... Go find Hanna.|LeoKwest]]

Probably best to do as suggested and go up to the command deck where you can keep an eye on everything. You make your way into the hall, quickly spotting a differently-shaped door that you figure must lead to a lift, which turns out to be accurate when the doors slide open and reveal the interior. You step inside and glance up slightly. "Command deck."\n\nNothing happens. You clear your throat and raise your head a little more, adding some emphasis because that weirdly enough works on computers sometimes even if it doesn't work on people. "Command deck!" Nothing. You glance around to see if there's a control pad or something else... and spot a handle. ... Seriously? It's shaped sort of like guns you've seen made for species without fingers, in that there's an angled 'squeeze' portion at the front. Hoping it's not a really, really badly-secured brake release, you reach out to squeeze the handle.\n\nBing! "Please. State. Desired. Level." says a voice that somehow manages to sound both not artifical at all from the actual vocalization and heavily artificial due to the stilted intonation.\n\n"Command deck," you repeat wearily. God, you haven't even been here an hour and you already want to go back to your closet of an apartment.\n\nThere's another bing and the lift begins moving, at least to judge from the light panels flitting downward. You'll give it this, whatever it's using makes the motion smooth enough it's like you're completely standing still. When the doors slide open again though, there's definitely a room outside. A big, almost circular room fronted by massive multi-section windows forming a forward-facing arch looking out into space. ... Hhhha, probably all without emergency emitters, too, yikes. You try to assure yourself that it must be either ridiculously armored glass or the emitters are just really well-hidden as you strole around the rest of the room taking a look. It's all in the same dated look as everything else, both in style and apparent tech level... lots of solid-state buttons and switches, monitors with screens that curve outwards. At least the chairs look way comfier than they do on a lot of places, you think as you settle into the largest one surrounded by an almost complete circle of controls and screens. And there's one nominally flat screen, it looks like, raised up in front of all the other stations and, from this position, putting a break right in the center of the window view. You're kind of curious what all these stations are even for... clearly they're not particularly necessary since no one's manning them. The family apparently lives here pretty much alone... eh, maybe if the place was more heavily populated everything would need more oversight.\n\nYou fiddle around with the controls, finding them easy enough to figure out, even if they're positively antiquated by your standards. The UI of the screens is pretty dated too, but still manages to provide pretty much all the information needed (albeit in blocky, pixelated sans serif font), and the screen quality itself isn't awful other than a little bit of tracking noise. You manage to bring up a report showing a ship undocking and departing from one of the bays, with the registered user being obvious as Olga ('PenthMetal4Ever'). So looks like the 'parents' are well and truly gone. You go through some of the other switches and find that they control the internal security cameras... and there certainly seem to be a lot of them. Many look in on empty rooms, some of them labs, others storage areas, others recreation areas. In this last you spot Hanna, specifically in the pool area, wearing a not terribly skimpy but very tight-looking black bikini as she saunters around at the side of the pool and occasionally casts glances at the doorway. 'Keep dreaming, cute stuff,' you think dryly as you flick through a few more switches. The lower ones start showing you what look like empty crew quarters... hm? Seriously? They've kind of got these everywhere, don't they?\n\n<hr>\n[[Kick back and keep watch.|LeoKwest1x4]]\n\n[[... Keep looking at the cameras.|LeoKwest]]

Lots of people think of hometowns, or at least home planets. You don't recall ever even having a home dimension. Your parents were both members of the Guild of Interdimensional Professionals, Specialists, and Enforcers, and you grew up popping about between dimensions and spending time in the Guildhall as if it were all natural. Of course once you became an adult it was time to make your own way... but were you going to pick any way other than the Guild?\n\nNo. No you were not. But there's no "legacy" system in the guild, your parents' accomplishments aren't yours, and you had to start from the bottom like pretty much everyone else. With, obviously, the primary goal of earning enough to buy a starship and have it equipped with an DSD... a Dimensional Slipstream Drive. As it is, right now you have to use the Guildhall's portals and retrieval devices, which both puts a ding in your pocketbook and limits your options. Plus, if you had a decent starship, you could live in it and not rent a room from the Guildhall... which, besides putting a ding in your pocketbook, also somewhat limits your "game", as it were.\n\nThese are the thoughts foremost on your mind as you finish up your latest job, which was almost annoyingly simple. 'Ehhh, I guess everyone has to pay their dues with the occasional cleanup duty,' you think with a sigh as you slam your palm into a pirate ninja's chin with one hand and yank his katana away from him with the other. You wheel around, slicing wide and ducking as you go, managing to avoid the blood spray from the two ninja pirates' throats you cut as you did. 'Literally, my dues are coming up and it's always good to have some set aside for that.'\n\nYou quickly finish off the last few of the pirate ninjas, ninja pirates, and their boss the ninrate pija, then take a moment to flick the blood off of your 'borrowed' weapon before swinging it up to rest on your shoulder. Yup, managed not to get any blood on you again, you think as you examine yourself like the protagonist in the first pages of a story by a lazy writer. Short, wild black hair, grey eyes, kinda handsome-cute face if you do say so yourself. Clothes designed to blend in as well as possible in most environments (and thus just slightly weird in most environments) while also offering you the most utility... a black zip-up sleeveless shirt with the zipper edged in white, a hooded jacket in the same colors, fingerless gloves, plain pants with a few zippered pockets, and lace-up sneaker-style black boots with white soles. Looks simple but it was a gift from your parents, so it's made of some pretty hefty armored cloth and has storage dimensions in the pockets.\n\n<img src="images/Leo.jpg">\n\n"Welp! That's that," you announce, glancing around at the pile of human-shaped vermin. Literally, they may look like people but they're actually feral, nonsentient animals that tend to swarm badly if allowed to breed, which is why the Guild has a standing elimination order on them (someone will always pay to get rid of them). Eh, it was the end of the month, not much else decent was listed, and as said, gotta pay your dues (short for: rent, loans, maybe one or two fines).\n\nTaking out the retrieval beacon from one of your pockets, you press the button and let yourself go a little limp as you feel the pull of the Guildhall's return system on your body. With a practiced little skip-hop you catch yourself coming out of the portal in the main hall and quickly move ahead to avoid anyone who might be coming out after you or is already moving from one of the other portals nearby.\n\nThis place would probably be chaotic to most, but you've been coming here quite literally as long as you can remember. The main arrival hall is a large 3/4 circle of portal rings, flashing active and spitting out a wide array of sentients of varied race, species, and dress, most of whom have their own versions of your little exit-the-portal catchup gait before moving towards the open part of the circle and thus into the guildhall proper. There's always one or two stumbling, staring noobs, and it tends to make you feel rather smug that they're usually older than you are. Beyond the entrance portal annex is the lobby, a massive, sprawling room filled with seating areas, tables, and dotted with food service kiosks ranging from enterprising individuals to representatives of every major fast food chain in twenty dimensions. Since the lobby covers several square miles, there's plenty of room. The outer walls are made up of counters to see Facilitation Agents... the people who accept and give out jobs, as well as providing access to all of the Guild's various other functions.\n\nGuild members who treat it as just a place to snag the occasional job or want to get in and out as quick as possible usually go for the closest or least crowded of the stations, but like most people who have made the Guild more of a way of life than just an occupation, you have a preferred Agent, and you make your way towards her station while hoping she's on today. Soon you spot the familiar short, brown hair, the red eyes, and the soft peach skin you know so well by now... of course, the ample chest doesn't hurt either. You have some time to appreciate the view as you wait in the short line to speak to her, taking in the plain white blouse, slightly visible black short skirt, and ID card with red lanyard around her neck that would let her fit in as an office worker on a billion different worlds... you've always wondered why the Guild doesn't have a more exciting dress code for their FAs, like cool bodysuits or stylish formalwear. (Or maybe little tiny bikinis. You'd love to see Vima in a little tiny bikini.) The armored hunter in front of you finishes up their transaction and moves away, and your ego gets a scritch near the base of its tail as Vima seems to perk up at the sight of you, giving you a warm smile.\n\n<img src="images/Vima.jpg">\n\n"Oh! Hey Leo! Got a job to turn in?"\n\n"Mm-hmm, here y'go," you reply, slipping the slender black chit out of one of your pockets and passing it across the counter.\n\nVima picks it up and plugs it in, consulting the screen that pops up. "Oh, a bunch of NP Bugs, huh? Not exactly glamorous, but everyone has to pay their dues, I guess!" She pauses, then regards you solemnly. "Seriously, your dues need to be paid in three days."\n\n"I know, I know, thanks Vima."\n\n"Do you want the credits on your Guild account?" At your nod, she types at her board for a few moments, then casually pulls out a thin slab of black material as it pops out of the counter in front of her, drawing out the tablet and proffering it to you. "There you go, the job board with everything your rank clears you for and below! Anything else I can help you with?"\n\n<hr>\n[[No, just this.|LeoJobList]]\n\n[[Any leads on ships?|LeoShipStart]]\n\n[[How about... a date?|Leo]]

Enh... even if it's some creepy ruins, better to have some shelter for the night. Besides, you're just as likely to have something come up on you prowling around out here as living in the ruins. You guess.\n\nEither way you flip on the headlight and continue on across the surface, altering course a bit to follow the guideline around the edge of a cliff and down into the valley, the no doubt once mighty river that cut it now reduced to a steady flow only about ten feet across waggling its way among the rock. Just as the last of the light is fading you approach a rather steep dropoff, where the stream turns into a fairly unimpressive waterfall, striking against some jutting rocks and turning into a spread-out trickle that drips onto other stones, only a few lonely droplets managing to make it far enough to drop into the large, black maw of a chasm below. It probably turns into a truly impressive waterfall in heavy rain, but right now it's just sort of sad, nature's glory faded like an old merc slumped in an easy chair. Well, whatever, you're not here for sightseeing. You're here for the ruins beyond the chasm. It looks like this probably used to be some sort of back entry, or a lesser-used temple, because the area at the end of the valley isn't particularly large, nor are there that many visible piles of stones or still-standing walls. You work the controls to carefully guide the bike down the less steep of the slopes running to one side of the dropoff, spending more time than you'd really like carefully finagling the repulsors to make sure you don't go skidding down too fast and get thrown off. (Yeah okay next time you'll wear a helmet, geez.)\n\nOnce you're down you take it slow through the area beyond, skimming over the almost moss-like grass and glancing at the stones covered in thin vines and more of the growth. Not even anything left to tell what style they are, really. The only thing with any remaining artistry is the top of the archway at the base of the cliff wall, a stylized roaring felinoid head baring two rows of sharp fangs, each covered with faded, almost worn-down engravings.\n\n"Hm." You clamber off the bike and spend a moment considering... you don't feel particularly tired, and if anything does live in there it's probably out right now hunting. Probably better to go ahead and head inside now, hopefully you can get in, out, and gone to some better camping location before anything decides to come home for the night. Mind made up, you shrug out of your camping pack and attach it to the bike before activating the security field... it won't give anything particularly big or really determined out, but it should chase off anything that's just curious with a bit of a push and a light shock. You rummage in your coat for a pair of floater lights and set them up to a harsh multi-spectrum ultrawhite beam... it's definitely a bit uneasy on the eyes and just slightly uncomfortable to look at, but your various mentors have stressed to use it on these sorts of explorations, since it often casts hidden switches and trap lines into sharp relief. Doing a quick check of the GPS pointer on the comm screen on your wrist, you shift your rifle to an easy ready position and head into the entry.\n\nThe multi-spectrum ultrawhite light paints the grey stone and green-and-brown vines and roots poking out from amidst it into a strange mixture of an undersaturated office building environment and a faintly soapbubble-rainbow sheen over everything. 'I hope this thing's not all that far inside, this will give me a headache after awhile,' you think, even as you step over a stone that sticks out just slightly from the rest due to the illumination.\n\n'... Then again, better than the alternative,' you think with a sort of dark amusement about twenty minutes later. You're gazing down at the body of another merc... the headless body of another merc. Because while his body is slumped forward practically up against one wall, his head has rolled over to rest against the opposite wall. Proooobably has something to do with the long, thin line at a certain height in the walls, and the row of slightly raised stones just ahead of it, all cast into shadowy relief by your floaters. You carefully crouch down and pick up his own floater light where it had settled after powering down to recharge (noting it has a nick out of the corner of it) and click it on, waggling it at a section of floor behind the illumination of your own floaters. "Warm white," you say aloud, shaking your head ruefully. "Great for entertaining, not so much for avoiding death traps, friend."\n\nYou look over the body... expensive new multi-purpose light armorsuit, patterned black body with white panels along the arms, shoulders, back, and legs, the floater itself is a high-end model (that could easily have produced the multi-spectrum ultrawhite you're using at a lumen level outshining both of yours together), and the body's laying partly on top of what looks like a very expensive Omneedle rifle, probably the X-A or X-1. Probably a complete newbie fresh off his cert test who thought the best gear money could buy would make up for not asking for tips or taking less dangerous jobs first. Part of you is, obviously, saddened by the loss of sentient life as well as that of a fellow merc, but the rest of you can't help but think 'Rich dumbass.' You set your comm to a particular sensor setting and wag your forearm back and forth in the direction of his body until it pings. There, that will let you take his death cert back to the Guildhall so his fate can be registered.\n\nYou spend a few seconds pondering whether it's worth it to immediately strip the body and take the rifle. Which probably seems a little cold, but hey, Right of Salvage is just part of the life. Whether you keep them or sell them the suit and rifle are worth probably close to three quarters of a million credits, and that's either 750,000 in your account or that you don't have to spend gearing up for some mission where you'd need them. After a minute though, you decide to come back for them later, if it's feasible... the amount of time you'd need to spend in this trap-laden tunnel getting the body out of the suit is something you'd rather do after you've accomplished your main mission, if at all. Besides, if he has anyone who can claim his effects registered, they're allowed to demand the buyback of his recovered gear at one tenth market value... futzing around for an extended period near a death trap isn't worth 75,000 when there's a bigger payday ahead of you. You carefully sidle around the body and step over the line of triggers, keeping well below the openings on the walls just in case.\n\nMaking your way through the tunnels takes a little longer than you'd really like, but at least you don't have to guess and investigate every path since the guide dot generally leads you in the right direction. ... Come to think of it, the location is really specific, to a slightly odd extent. But then you guess it's not too strange... some Guildcerts, in fact, make their living finding stuff like this and tagging its location without retrieving it. For one thing it's slightly less dangerous, and for another they can then sell the information multiple times... once to the clients that want the artifact, and then many more times for much less to the mercs who are hired to go retrieve them. Like you. It's sort of like taking residuals instead of one lump payday, with the added potential of deciding to just go back to the place you've already been and retrieve it yourself now that there's an open bounty, if you really want to. It's really quite a racket, and you have to hand it to the ones who pull it off, they've got a smart thing going. \n\nEventually you come to your first real snag of the mission... a closed door. A pretty hefty one... you can't exactly tell how thick just by looking, obviously, but a few light thumps with your hand definitely indicates it's at least multiple inches, if not feet. It's covered with more etchings, though nothing your translators can decode... maybe it's just designs, not language, either that or the database just doesn't have anything to build off of. The archway containing the stone slab is fairly plain, though to one side of it there's a roaring felinoid head somewhat like the one outside (albeit smaller, closer to being 'life sized' for a standard large prey animal), and on the other there's a fairly sizeable hole that looks round and smouth enough to be deliberate. It looks like you could probably crawl through it? The ping of your sensors skitters around inside and comes back just showing it wandering in a light curve for a handful of feet, but it does seem to be curving in the direction of the room beyond. \n\nHm. So. Looks like you can either try to figure out how to open the door... or, you guess, try to blast through it, it looks like a particularly solid type of sandstone but still just sandstone, meaning a couple of Hi-Ex rounds could probably make short work of it. Or you could try the tunnel, hoping it really does lead inside... heck, maybe the info-seller made it to get in there when they couldn't open the door, it does look like it might be a more recent addition since it's cleaner and the growth inside looks newer. The only other option would be to wander through the other pathways seeing if there's a different way to the artifact.\n\n<hr>\n[[Try to open the door.|LeoCat1x2]]\n\n[[Blast the door.|LeoCat2x1]]\n\n[[Try the tunnel.|LeoCat3x1]]\n\n[[look for another way.|LeoCat]]

If there's anything your experience and training has taught you, it's that there's always a method for opening these doors, and it's always still functioning with no service or upkeep an ungodly amount of years later. You're not sure why, it just always is. Snagging one of the floaters in hand, you start examining the edges of the door, looking for anything that stands out under the light. Having no real luck there, you move on to the next most obvious thing, the stone felinoid head set nearby on the wall.\n\nThat yields somewhat better results. Under the ultrawhite light the seam around the edge of it is more visible, indicating it's probably connected to something behind the wall, and there are a number of other, thin seams around the mouth, indicating that it moves. Hm... looking closer, this one is a bit different from the one outside, a more 'sabertooth' design, the mouth wider and with a blank spot in the teeth at the back, almost as if it was designed to fit a bit and bridle like a horse. You eye the size of the depression for a few moments, then glance at the door and back to it.\n\n'Welp. Fortune favors the bold,' you think after a minute, pushing up your sleeve and setting your forearm into the depression in the back of the head's lower jaw. After a second there's a slow, steady grinding noise as the top of the head gradually lowers, closing its jaws on your arm. You take a deep, tense breath, staring at it as it comes down... and the impression clamps around your forearm. It's tight enough to compress the muscle some but not be much more than uncomfortable, as another, louder grinding noise signals the door slowly raising up, revealing the dimness of a chamber beyond. Once the door's up, the stone head stays clamped down around your arm for long enough that you start getting nervous... but eventually opens back up, leaving you to yank your limb free as soon as there's clearance. Phew.\n\nYou release the floater light to let it resume its position over your shoulder, heading on into the interior chamber. It's wide and open, without much other than a few depressions in the walls for decoration, and a single plain pedestal in the center of the room. Well, that and the skeleton. It looks like it was a fairly large, heavyset humanoid, to judge by the positioning and shape of the bones... one with a felinoid head and a tail, to further judge from all the extra vertebrae and the frankly monstrous-looking skull, with its curved saber-teeth and double row of sharp fangs. 'Rough-looking customer, glad I got here at least a couple of centuries too late for him to be a problem,' you think as you look him over. Still, you feel like you must have a fairly good idea of what it looked like in life, to judge from the golden statue on the pedestal. You can definitely see why someone would pay big money for it, it's both highly detailed and beautifully artistically stylized, an impressive piece, even if certain aspects mean that most people wouldn't want to display it in their living room.\n\nIt depicts a figure, indeed large and heavily-muscled, with the head of a sabertoothed felinoid with a thick mane surrounding its head and running almost halfway down its back, its long untufted tail posed as if in mid-motion. Its muscles are depicted with sharp, angular lines, its pose dynamic and well-balanced on its digigrade toes as it lurches forward, arms swung slightly wide and its mouth open as if caught in mid-roar. It's fully anatomically correct, too... not only are its powerful buttocks just as detailed as its chest and stomach, it has a very large, jutting golden cock with a slender head and covered in small but distinct bumps, with a hanging metal sack covered in carefully engraved lines and textures to indicate the thick fur covering it. Overall it's about eighteen inches tall, but you'd guess between it and the skeleton of what it's probably depicting, the genuine article had to be in excess of seven feet.\n\n'That's definitely it,' you think, drawing a clear storage-stasis container out of one of your pockets and spending a moment getting the size adjusted. The general-use container will make sure that the statue's suspended in a repulsorfield to keep it from knocking about and getting damaged no matter how much the container itself winds up getting thrown around.\n\n<hr>\n[[Snag the statue and go.|LeoCat]]\n\n[[Wait, there's something else...|LeoCat1x3]]

Oop, almost forgot an important part of the directions. And they weren't even fine print! (Even if they were just kind of tossed on there at the end.) Well, whether it's because of something about the artifact itself or the client just doesn't want fingerprints all over their nice shiny lewd catman statue, best to adhere to it. You set the container down and take its top off, then activate the ionization field of your gloves. Fun little feature, it creates an invisible barrier around your hands that acts like a solid barrier and prevents most energy flow. Good for handling hot pans, cold drinks, and golden artifacts with dubious origins and big shiny katanas. (Seriously just from a purely aesthetic standpoint you have to admire the way the slight curve of its dick leads the eye back up towards the head.) You pick up the statue and carefully place it in the container... good, you judged the size accurately, there's a decent amount of clearance on all sides, but not enough the field would struggle. You fasten the lid on and lift up the box, giving it a few light shakes to make sure the statue remains immobile inside, before turning off the field on your gloves.\n\nAbout that time you hear a grinding sound, turning around to see the door behind you grinding closed. It's closing at enough of a rate you definitely couldn't clear it without a hurried dive and roll... one that you wouldn't be able to make still carrying the statue. By the time you've judged that the opportunity is gone anyway, and it slides back into place. Oops. Well, you'll just have to hope that the way of getting out of here wasn't 'wait for one of the other temple dudes to come let you out', or you're going to wind up keeping both Bones McMeows company in here for a very long time. \n\nWell, not really, you're pretty sure that even with the interference of the cliff overhead, you could just emergency beacon out. It would just be a real pain to have to come back the slow way to retrieve the speeder and then head out to the next location. An inconvenience that's certainly worth taking some time to look around the chamber for another way out. Let's see... no equivalent cat head device on this side of the door that you can see. The light does eventually show an outline of what looks like a door set in one of the recessed areas. Focusing on that area you soon find a small recessed switch. Taking the gamble, you activate it, and are pleased when the door gives a low thunk as it instantly drops back half an inch, then grinds back further a bit more slowly before sliding to the right and into a wall, revealing a not entirely dark passage beyond that slopes upward. Aha! Looks like it heads right outside. So really the only inconvenience will be if you decide to go back for the suit and rifle belonging to the departed merc that came before you. \n\nYou head up the tunnel, and indeed see that there's moonlight coming in through the end. Of course as you actually emerge into the hot jungle night, the floaters illuminate something else in front of you... people. Tall, furry people. The one standing directly in front of you is about half a head taller, broad-shouldered but fairly sleek, with deep black fur marked with dark red designs along his shoulders and cheeks, a plain loincloth of dark fabric and a collar-capping necklace of stones and claws the only thing he's wearing (with the loincloth showing a fairly clear outline of what's beneath it). Around him are several even taller, much more heavily-muscled catlike humanoids, similarly wearing nothing but loincloths and a few pieces of jewelry here and there. Some of the others have different fur patterns but all of them have red markings of some kind or another. Their faces are more humanlike than the skull you saw or the statue's, with almost more implied muzzles than outright. The light also sets off the glow of numerous little pairs of dots out in the trees not far ahead... well. Looks like everybody came. And assuming their expressions adhere to the ones you're used to, they don't seem particularly happy.\n\n<hr>\n[[Be civil.|LeoCat1x4]]\n\n[[Be conciliatory.|LeoCat]]\n\n[[Start shooting.|LeoCat]]

"So. Um. This is awkward," you say, with a brief glance down at the container.\n\n"Yes, one might say that," the panther-man replies, one of his brows quirking up slightly. His voice is both deep and a little soft, somehow perfectly reflecting the glossy-but-dark color of his fur. "You speak our language?"\n\n"Yeah, after a fashion." The Guild has the really good translator microbes, you speak pretty much every language, usually without knowing you're doing it. "Listen, before this gets out of hand or anything, let me just say I didn't know this actually belonged to anybody. I got a job to come pick up some artifacts, and the wording of it pretty strongly implied that there wasn't anyone around to claim them anymore."\n\n"Mm." His eyes shift slightly down to the container, then back up to your face. "And now that the implications are incorrect?"\n\n"Ah. Well, could we at least talk it over?" you suggest.\n\nThere's a long, somewhat tense moment (at least for you) where he's just silent, and you've got a lot of big, mostly naked catpeople staring at you. Then the panther nods again. "Return down the path. We shall discuss this inside."\n\nOkay, well, hopefully he's not going to send you right back into a trap or something, but you don't think so. His manner doesn't come off particularly angry or resentful, he seems... uh, well, 'civilized' seems a kind of condescending word to use in this case. Calm and reasonable, maybe. And at least he's the only one that follows you back in, his tail giving only the slightest flick of surprise as you switch your floater lights back on. Once the two of you reach the inner chamber where you found the statue, he strides past you and over to one of the walls, pressing on one of the stones that even the lights didn't pick up as a switch. Another of the wall panels grinds aside, though this time it reveals what looks like a small living chamber, or maybe office. There's not really any 'furniture' per se, more like a low stone slab against one wall that would have been a place to lay some bedding, and a thinner stone slab raised up on two carved arches to serve as a worktable closer to the middle of the room. Apparently feeling the two of you are now in 'private', the panther man turns back towards you as you set the container with the idol on the corner of the table, as a show of good faith if nothing else.\n\n"I am Lii'alon," he says after a few seconds of silence, apparently feeling that introductions are the best place to start.\n\n"Leo LaChance."\n\n"... All of it, or...?"\n\nGrinning, you shake your head. "LaChance is the name of my family."\n\n"Ah, I see. Leo, may I see where these other artifacts you were sent to retrieve are?"\n\nYou blink a bit at that, but nod. "Yeah, sure." You push back your sleeve and switch your comm's data display to holoprojector mode, then send the general map of the area you started with up to be about two feet square a few inches above your wrist. Lii'alon looks only briefly startled, tail giving another hard flick and ears perking, before he settles and calmly looks it over. \n\n"Mm. This one," he says, pointing at one of the markers. "It is in the territory of our enemy. And this..." He points at the other. "It is in what we call the Shadowlands. A dangerous place where few would dare to go without most dire need. You would do well to be careful if you insist on seeking it as well."\n\n"Thanks for the warning," you say sincerely, retracting the map. Then blinking. "'As well'? So you're okay with me taking this one?"\n\n"Mm. In truth, we do not see it as 'ours' or hold it precious," Lii'alon admits, resting a hand atop the container as he glances at the idol. "It was made by those who came before and presents its own sort of dangers, and I doubt any would weep to find it gone forever. And if you were to steal from our enemy's territory, well, that we might instead cheer, that they were humiliated."\n\n"Aha. ... Buuut that means you can't just let me walk off with this or you'd be humiliated," you note dryly.\n\n"Yes. It is a matter of pragmatism and... principle, you understand this word, yes?" he continues, glancing back over at you.\n\nYou're not sure if the word he actually used has some more specific meaning, but the emphasis would certainly indicate it's more than just a passing fancy. "I think I understand, yes," you answer with a nod. "If you let anyone who wanted to just come in and take stuff from your territory, it sets a bad precedent."\n\n"Yes, precedent, a good word for it," Lii'alon echoes, his ears twitching just a bit, betraying a tiny bit of delight at the clarification despite his otherwise stoic demeanor. "We could not allow it to seem as if this is a thing we allow easily. But there are ways. It is in our territory, so if we choose to give it to you, that is our own business. But... it must be made very clear that this is not something we merely did to save face because we could not stop you."\n\n"Alright, fair enough." You bob your head in a nod. "What did you have in mind?"\n\n"I am one of the hunt and war leaders of the Red Marks. My position is such that I could choose to give gifts... but a gift like this would only be appropriate to one whom I have shared bonding with. A more than casual closeness."\n\nYou'd ask what sort of bond he meant, but you don't exactly have to wait to find out. Even as he's saying it, his hand goes to the loincloth at his waist, tugging at the straps a few times, and allowing it to fall to the floor. The skin of his cock is as ink black as the rest of him, draping over the heavy, midnight-furred balls below it, a ring of fur surrounding the base like a vestigial sheath. As your eyes widen slightly, his hand moves to give it a few light, casual strokes, the length already starting to firm up.\n\n"You are not uncomely, so certainly I've little problem with this," he says in a conversational tone. "I might prefer the comforts of home for it, but I have heard that outlanders are often a bit 'shy'. You would no doubt prefer the privacy, yes?"\n\nSo uh, yeah, this is happening... apparently to retroactively make you trying to steal the idol okay, you have to bond with Lii'alon. 'Bonding' apparently meaning 'fucking'. \n\n<hr>\n[[Well. If you have to.|LeoCat]]\n\n[[Nope, outta here.|LeoCat]]\n\n[[Yes. Yes. Very yes. Very much yes. Thank you.|LeoCat1x5]]\n\n[[Maybe make another deal?|LeoCat]]

"I, ah... yeah, I think this sounds like a great idea," you answer with a grin as you shrug out of your jacket, letting it drop to the floor, then quickly tapping the quick-releases of your boots with the sides of your feet so you can step out of them.\n\n"Mm, very good," Lii'alon almost literally purrs as you approach, yellow eyes glinting with heat. \n\nHis arms slide around you as you put yours around him, your lips moving to meet and tongues sliding out to test each other. His is a little broader and flatter and slightly rough... you wonder what your thicker and slick tongue must feel like to him. Though really at the moment the feeling you're concentrating on is his smooth, soft fur under your hand as you slide one back around his hip and waist, and then the hot, hard throbbing of his cock as you wrap your fingers around it and take over stroking. Though his own planet doesn't seem to have quite progressed to pants technology yet, he's still quite adept at figuring out how to get yours open and push them down, and is soon stroking your stiff prick in return. You pause briefly to get your shirt off as well, so that the two of you can press up close together, your bare chest to his furred one, him taking over wrapping a hand around both your shafts to stroke them and rub them together simultaneously while you shift your hands to squeezing his firm, muscular ass. You can feel as much as hear the catch in his low rumble of a purr when you move a hand to rub around the base of his tail, his cock giving a particularly hard throb against yours and sending a trickle of pre down to smear between them. \n\nSoon you're leaning back against the altar-table as Lii'alon sinks to his knees, yellow eyes looking up at you as he slides his dark lips over the tip of your cock. His tongue rolls and twists about it, that roughness just enough to add some extra stimulation, making you lean your head back and moan lowly before looking back down at him. It's definitely quite a sight to see that beautiful living shadow steadily sliding his short muzzle more and more down your cock, the pale skin disappearing between his lips as if engulfed, all while feeling that tongue wrap partly around you with every long lick. Soon he's swallowed you all the way down and is bobbing his head in smooth stroke, earning more soft moans as you look down at him. You half hesitate, worried it might be insulting somehow, but... he did like it when you scratched around his tail. So you give in to the temptation to start rubbing your head between his ears and scratching some around the base of them... and are quickly rewarded by more intense bass vibrations around your cock.\n\n'God bless this society and its "bonding" ritual,' you think rather dreamily, before letting out a slightly louder moan and cumming in his mouth. Lii'alon doesn't seem to have any problem swallowing it down, giving the underside of your cock a few more licks before drawing back and standing up, clearly presenting his own midnight shaft for you to return the favor. Grinning eagerly, you sink down to your knees in front of him, hands coming up to rub up and down his hips as you lean in and start nuzzling and licking at the velvety fur of his sack. His cock twitches a few times at your stroking and teasing, especially as you rub your nose against the soft fur of the sheath at the base of his shaft. You lick and kiss your way up along the shaft, replacing your lips on his sack with a hand, gently rubbing and hefting it in your fingers, your other hand moving to wrap around the base of his cock and give short strokes as you focus your mouth on the other half. From the noises he's making, he certainly doesn't seem to mind you taking a tactic other than deep-throating him, instead focusing on kissing and licking along his shaft before sliding it into your mouth and bobbing your head a few times here and there, then returning to the external attentions.\n\nHis cum is hot and thick and richer than others you've tasted when he finally spills into your mouth. Feeling like you definitely got an unexpected benefit when taking this job, you swallow it down before rising, sharing another brief kiss with Lii'alon. But soon he's bent over the altar-table and you're pushing into his ass, moaning as you feel the tight, muscular ring slowly spread around you, and the furry inner curves of his muscular buttocks slide along the sides of your shaft. Running a hand up and down his back as you push in, you urge more of that deep thrumming purr out of him, shivering at the flex of muscles under velvet beneath your fingers. Finally though you grip the base of his tail, watching him arch and feeling him squeeze around you, before you begin giving him a good, firm fucking. Oh yes, hearing the somewhat slutty moans of this powerful warrior as you pound him in the ass is definitely, definitely worth coming to this planet for. You can feel your balls slapping against his as you drive into him, the way he arches and presses his hips back towards you just encouraging you to pound his tight ass as hard as you can, gritting your teeth and almost growling yourself as you focus on driving into him with all you've got, until you empty yourself inside that tight, powerful ass with it quivering around you.\n\nOf course shortly after that it's you making the rather slutty moans as you bounce up and down atop Lii'alon's cock. The two of you have moved over to the bed-slab, with the powerful panther-man laying back with his knees over the edge, and you balanced above him, his throbbing black cock jutting up into your ass. His strong hands on your waist guide and pull you in your movements, utterly assuring you that he's in control despite you being on top, his throbbing heat pressing deep inside you with every pull down. Your balls are yet again slapping against his, but this time from above as you ride him, your own stiff prick jutting and wobbling in the air with your motions. When he finally yanks you down hard and you can feel warm wetness spreading deep inside you, a hard shudder runs through your whole body, your ass clenching down on him and your cock giving a hard dribble of pre that falls down onto the stone. Ohhh damn yes you could probably cum just from getting fucked if the two of you got in a little more practice with each other! \n\nLii'alon pulls you back, having you lay atop his chest and running his hands up and down your slender-muscled body as he gives your neck a few rather kittenish licks. "Mmmm... you are quite adept at this, and gave it your all. I think this is beyond bond... perhaps you should be one of my mates," he rumbles lowly, his hand sliding up to give your slightly softened cock a few strokes, more affectionate than trying to rouse you again.\n\n"Eheh... y'think?" you murmur, squirming. Well that escalated quickly. ... Then again so did everything else. Besides, 'one of' would sort of imply an open relationship.\n\n"Mm, yes. Worry not, I'll make no demands of you," he adds, seeming to confirm your thought. "Let us merely consider each other bonded henceforth rather than merely the immediate future. We shall see how things go from there, perhaps after I have helped you retrieve the other idols."\n\n"Ah?" You blink. "You want to come along?"\n\n"Yes. Even moreso than before, I think it would be best. It would be a show of our solidarity with each other... and much increase the honor of taking something from our enemy's territory, as well as venturing into the Shadowlands and returning."\n\nWell, you can't help but think that this is a net positive... the two of you can figure out your new, ah, relationship, while you get some strong help and a local guide. "Yeah, alright, works for me."\n\n"Good. Let us return to my home and rest, and we will depart first thing in the morning."\n\n<hr>\n[[First thing it is.|LeoCat]]\n\n[[Hm. Maybe one more thing first...|LeoCat1x6]]

"Y'know, I've got a thought, before we go," you note as you get up, mmfing softly at the feeling of his half-hard cock sliding out of you. "Might take us some time practicing in the morning so we'd leave a little later, but..."\n\nThe next morning, a small crowd of red-marked catpeople is standing around, murmuring and staring at Lii'alon ("Lii" is apparently acceptable, thankfully) as he flexes and shifts, obviously trying to get used to the feel of having everything from the neck down covered as opposed to practically nothing at all. He's donned his necklace over the black and white armorsuit, the patterned black portions hugging up against his muscles and crotch in a way that smooths out the lines but still makes their existence quite obvious, especially the round bulge in front. (You've never taken to them because they feel showy, but damn.) You notice that a lot of his people are staring with what you could only call 'undisguised lust', especially since loincloths seem to be the only real clothing for anyone... more than a few of the men have jutted free of theirs, and plenty of the women have stiff nipples of different colors poking out from the fur of their breasts. For people who are used to seeing almost everything of each other's bodies all the time, the sudden combination of being completely covered and yet utterly shown off must be quite the unique turn-on.\n\n"Hm. I am not certain of this, Leo," Lii murmurs, looking at his hands and flexing them a few times, letting the claws at the tips of his fingers slide out (you configered the gloves to 'fingerless' just for such a thing). "You are certain this will help us succeed?"\n\n"Yeah. You're hella smart, Lii, you'll figure out the suit's functions and get used to it in no time," you reply with a grin. "If the Shadowlands are as dangerous as you say, gotta have my new mate protected from claws and jaws and such. Here," you add, hefting up the Omneedle rifle and offering it to him. "Let's give you your first shooting lesson."\n\nYou start teaching Lii to use the rifle, which is mostly a matter of proper stance and getting him used to how it tracks and aims. Apparently his people use mostly melee weapons and thrown spears... they do have some bows and arrows, but their design is slightly elaborate resulting in high quality and accuracy but scarcity in the numbers of them available to hunters and warriors. (Especially since if one of them is killed, their equipment is usually damaged or taken in the process.) Obviously a virtually recoilless rifle that shoots long thin metal needles and has a virtual video scope is a little out of their wheelhouse, but as you expected Lii is a quick learner, getting the hang of the stances and aiming rapidly. \n\nWhile you're letting him practice with trying out the different sorts of needles the rifle can fire, you take some time to look over the settlement. There's a lot of different species of big cats represented... panthers, cheetahs, tigers, lions, leopards... but all of them have some form of red markings in their fur. Even the youngest ones, though they mostly just have a splotch of some sort on their forehead. You notice that the males pretty much all tend towards the tall, broad, and heavily muscled... Lii is actually fairly sleek for one of the menfolk, and even he has shoulders like a quarterback. The females tend to be shorter and more slender, even the ones who have barely started to develop at least half a head shorter than boys of about the same age, you'd say from looking around. Loincloths and jewelry seem to be about as elaborate as clothing gets... you see a few tending some fires wearing something that look like heavy leather aprons but that's about as covered as anyone gets. Of course considering they all have obvious natural covering, and this is a fairly tropical region, if they do have any heavier clothing they've just got no reason to wear it right now. You grin a little at watching some of the kids being shooed off to collect some of the needles Lii fired into one tree, one of them revealing that they've got their red splotch on one buttcheek instead.\n\n"So what are the red markings?" you ask as the two of you finish packing up the food one of the women prepared for your journey and head back to your bike.\n\n"These are our souls," Lii'alon answers solemnly, reaching up to brush fingertips over one of the lines on his face. "Or rather, the signifier of them. We renew them every year in adulthood as seems right to us, reflecting the changes we feel inside. It is perhaps the one thing we hold truly sacred above all others," he adds, passing you the bundle to tuck into one of the storage compartments.\n\n"That's pretty cool," you note, not sure what else to say other than to give him a smile as you swing astride the vehicle. A moment later he copies your motion, settling in behind you.\n\n"I take your meaning, I think, and yes. I would have suggested you make your own markings and have them etched before we leave, but we would be at something of a loss as to how to properly color so much bare skin."\n\nChuckling, you run through the startup sequence. "Yeaaah, well, we'll figure something out I guess."\n\nOver the next few days you actually get to know your new, well, mate. Besides being a really good fuck, he's actually pretty great overall. He's a bit on the solemn and stoic side but has a nice (if rather dry) sense of humor and a heavy dose of wit. He's one of the fastest learners you've ever met, and after about an hour of practice one day is almost as good at driving the speeder as you are after years of off-and-on use. 'He'd make a hell of a merc,' you can't help thinking, musing on how to present the idea to him, or whether he'll wind up venturing it to you first. From the talking you've done it sounds like while 'mates' is definitely a more significant connection than just a 'bond', it's not so much like your own concept of marriage as it is a sort of catch-all for being family. So probably even if you pop in once every few years to say 'hey' or have a booty call you're fulfilling your part of the mate bit. ... Buuuut you're kind of feeling like you'd like to spend more time with him than that.\n\n"We should approach the enemy's land by the time the sun has set," he says as you get up one morning. "There is a long, open plain ahead of the jungle they use as a breakwall, and the speeder is not quiet... they will definitely know that we are coming."\n\n"Hm. Could we sneak around, do you think?" you ask as you settle in, waiting for Lii to get on behind you.\n\n"No. The location marked on the map is within their village. Unlike us, they removed the idol from the ruins of the Before People and placed it within their home to guard it. It would be impossible to take it by stealth."\n\nYou frown some at that. You really got the impression from the way this job was phrased that there weren't any people here, or at least no pockets of civilization organized enough to know or care about the artifacts. You may need to register a complaint with the Guild about a misleading job posting. ... After you get paid, obviously, that seems a given. "So what's our move here?"\n\n"We will simply have to confront the enemy leader, a foe I have fought several times. From there we shall decide how it will be taken... through ritual combat, or direct combat. Should it be the latter, the stories will be great of how you and I downed dozens of enemy warriors to claim their property as our own!"\n\n"Orrrr we could just talk to them and work something out like you and I did," you suggest as you start up the speeder.\n\n"... Enh."\n\nAs he said, much of the day is spent zipping across mostly open grasslands and open prairies, without much in the way of cover, and certainly nothing to keep the sound of the vehicle from carrying a long, long way, especially to people with hearing as good as a feline's. As the sun is going down, you see trees rising in the distance, getting closer and larger by the minute, resolving into what is actually a fairly wall-like line of thick greenery. The closer you get, you also see some figures standing roughly where you're headed... three of them visible, but as when Lii's people were waiting for you outside the ruins, you don't doubt there's plenty more lurking in the shadows of the jungle. Since it's apparently been decided this is going to be a face-to-face issue, you head right for them and are soon able to make out more details. It's a bit of a deja vu... three catpeople, two positively hulking ones and a still large and powerful one between. But the apparent leader is, if anything taller and more muscular even than Lii, though the line of the shoulders is a bit more curved and the waist more trim. Yup... this foe of Lii's is definitely a female, as are her companions. She's a tiger-person, and dressed similarly in loincloth and necklace, though she's also got on an X-sling top, likely to help keep her particularly large breasts from getting in the way too much. Every second stripe is colored blue, and you can see several curling, vinelike blue designs running up the arms of the other two (a panther and a lioness looks like). You come to a stop nearby, none of the three so much as blinking, though the tigress's tail is lashing in obvious agitation.\n\n"Kala'mahn," Lii greets coolly, his eyes narrowed.\n\n"Lii'alon," she says in a nearly identical tone, blue eyes narrowing just a bit further as if trying to outdo him. "Did you need to bring an outlander here to see you lose to me again?"\n\nFor the first time since you met him you see Lii actually sneer, eyes flashing, his voice still cool but his own tail starting to slice through the air more decisively. "I see your heresy has seeped into your head and made your wits drown, to think I have ever lost to you."\n\n'Huh. So in Lii's tribe the men are larger and in charge, and in Kala's it's reversed,' you muse internally, rubbing your chin as you watch the two just glower silently at each other even as their ears and tails betray greater and greater agitation, obviously on a simmer that's heating to a boil. 'That must be why they're enemies, it's a literal he-versus-she situation.'\n\n"DISGUSTING REDMARK!" Kala'mahn suddenly blurts, her voice coming otu as a half-roar.\n\n"PROFANE BLUEMARK!" Lii'alon rages back, a bit of spittle flying from his mouth.\n\n"Uh." You blink, not quite realizing you've spoken aloud until you hear yourself, then deciding to go for broke since they seem to have settled for both crouching into aggressive postures and literally hissing menacingly at each other, claws bared. "Wait. Just... so the outlander is understanding this clearly. The problem is-"\n\n"Look at her, spitting on everything the sacred marks of the soul mean by using blue for them!" Lii'alon practically yowls, his body trembling with the obvious desire to leap to the attack.\n\n"How dare you! How dare you not crawl on your belly and beg for forgiveness for the insult of using red for sacred markiiiings!" Kala'mahn rebuts, her voice dropping and then rising into a full roar at the end, her eyes starting to glaze with bloodlust.\n\n"Right," you mutter, covering your face with both hands and rubbing. Because of course that's it. It's not the actual differences, it's the choice of dye pigment. Of course, obviously, both consider them equally sacred, and on those grounds would certainly have perfectly valid rationale for why you should only use one color, but the part of your brain that hasn't had the skull it's inside rest on an actual pillow in over a week is just 'Fucking seriously, you came all the way to this planet inhabited by hot nearly naked cat people to deal with Red vs. Blue?'\n\n"Word has come to us of your intent," Kala'mahn snarls, which you have to admit is pretty impressive... you wonder how an information network works on this planet, maybe they send messages by river or smoke cloud or something. "You intend to rob our village and make off with the idol to dishonor us!"\n\n"We will take it and there is nothing you can do, heretic!" Lii'alon snaps back, a hint of smugness in his voice.\n\n'Baby I don't like you when you're like this even if it is kinda hot in its own way,' you think, giving your mate a flat look. Obviously if you leave it to these two they're just going to spit insults at each other for a few hours before ever getting around to making any headway or actually challenging each other... the semi-bored looks on the faces of Kala's attendants make it fairly obvious they've done this before. Unless you want to be here all night you'd probably better urge a course of action.\n\n<hr>\n[[Talk it out with Kala.|LeoCat]]\n\n[[Suggest talking with Kala in private.|LeoCat1x7]]\n\n[[Make a challenge for the idol.|LeoCat]]\n\n[[Just attack.|LeoCat]]

"Hey," you speak up, both of them snapping their heads around to look at you in a mingling of annoyance and surprised, obviously not used to anyone daring to say anything at a time like this. "Why don't we all just take a few breaths and go somewhere to talk?"\n\n"... Somewhere?" Kala echoes, frowning a bit more sedately now as she straightens up, tail still lashing in agitation.\n\n"Yeah, somewhere just the three of us, where we can talk in private without being overheard. Maybe that will let us approach this a bit more calmly."\n\n"..." Kala eyes you for a long moment, then glances over at Lii, who's also straightened up and is looking at her dubiously. But eventually she gives a slow nod, folding her arms under her chest. "Very well, outlander. Your statement is reasonable... if we are to have a discussion, which I will obviously win-" Her ears lay back briefly as Lii scoffs audibly, but apparently decides that ignoring him is the better option. "Then it's true that we should do so between two of like status and the one coming to seek something of us. Though I warn you," she adds, blue eyes giving a steely glint. "When I say that I will win, it is because you will find me an intractable foe, either physically or in speech! You will not find me to yield easily!"\n\n"Mmf, mmf, mmn, mmf!" she moans around your dick three minutes later, each moan coming along with the impact of Lii's hips against her round, firm ass, the impact making her now bared tits sway underneath her. Her moaning only intensifies as you rest your hands on her head and start rubbing around the base of her ears, her already wet mouth starting to dribble little splashes of saliva onto your balls with your thrusts, much as Lii's furry sack is starting to gradually get soaked from her sodden pussy. "Mmn, mmn, MMN!"\n\n'That's pretty much what I thought,' you muse internally, unable to help smirking just a bit as you work your hips. The whole 'opposite sex rivals who lust after each other' was just too stereotypical not to be accurate in this ridiculously stereotypical situation. You may not be that experienced in this job, but you're experienced enough to know when to go with the flow, and the flow said Lii and Kala wanted to fuck each other bad. She certainly doesn't seem to mind you being along for the experience, either, her broad tongue working your pumping shaft eagerly and poking out past her lips to tongue at your balls as they slap against her chin. Since Lii seems satisfied either hauling on her waist or squeezing (and occasionally slapping) her ass, you lean down and bring one of your hands around to grab one of those big bouncing boobs. It easily overflows your hand, the fur soft and arm and rubbing against your palm as you squeeze and fondle, Kala practically purring around your cock now as you fuck her face.\n\nIt actually doesn't take Lii that long before he's giving a low, half-growl moan that you're by now fairly familiar with, pressing his hips firmly against Kala's ass as he no doubt empties himself into her. 'Wanted to fuck her for awhile, haven't you, baby?' you think smugly as you pull out of Kala's mouth, her lips parted and tongue lolled out, blue eyes gazing up at you lust-glazed as she mewls softly and shivers in her own orgasm, the feeling clearly having been mutual from how much pleasure she's getting from having her rival fill her with his cum. You gently rub your cock against her pretty face, watching her shiver needfully again at the feel of it, apparently now just as eager to be fucked by the outlander as the 'disgusting redmark'.\n\nSpeaking of which, Lii pulls out of Kala's pussy, his still almost entirely hard cock dripping with a mixture of her cum and his. You rise enough to shuffle around behind her, having to adjust your posture a bit with how tall she is... not quite on your own knees, more of a low squat. You take your turn kneading that big, round, firm ass, watching her tail lash above it, in need this time rather than aggravation. You just take a moment to appreciate the view of her, her very pretty pink pucker amidst the white fur between her cheeks, and her considerably messier pink slit, the fur there soaked and matted, hole still slightly spread and dripping Lii's cum.\n\n<hr>\n[[Fuck her ass.|LeoCat]]\n\n[[Fuck her pussy.|LeoCat1x8]]

Hey, you're Lii's mate, after all... you're gonna be bothered by sloppy seconds? Besides, fucking a girl in the ass before you've properly exchanged names just seems a tad gauche. Grinning, you push into her already well-fucked pussy, Kala giving a soft, mewling moan as you you fill her again, sliding in easily in a single long stroke before starting to pump your hips, your hands running up and down that fantastic striped ass and squeezing occasionally.\n\nLii just strokes himself for the moment as he watches the two of you, his own slightly smug look highly appropriate on his feline face as his ears twitch and his tail slowly flits back and forth behind him. Of course the both of you are a bit surprised when Kala does a sudden shift on all fours and then pushes back, managing to topple you onto your back with a mingling of shock and pleasure at her pussy thumping even more firmly onto you. You shudder a little at the sensation of the gripping walls of her sex rubbing around you as she actually spins around, facing you and giving you her own smirk before she starts riding good and hard, big white breasts bouncing with their puffy pink nipples exposed to the night air. You can't say you begrudge her taking charge, though, especially with the absolutely wonderful view from down here. She's not going easy on you at all, though, seemingly doing her best to pound you into the ground with her pussy on your cock, perhaps making sure to assert some dominance after being spitroasted so thoroughly.\n\nEither way, Lii doesn't seem to mind either, stepping in and proffering his cock to her. Kala turns her head and sucks him into her mouth eagerly enough, tongue and lips cleaning the upper half of the remnants of their lovemaking as she bobs her head on it, shaft angling up and down in time with her riding of you. After a few minutes Lii pulls away and instead moves to kneel at your head, letting you tilt back and open your mouth so he can slide in there as well, letting you taste the mixture of his jizz and Kala's girlcum once he pushes into your throat, facefucking you a bit more gently than Kala is riding you. Then he pulls out and shifts to let his furry sack rest on your lips and nose, allowing you to kiss and lick at them as he strokes himself, likely enjoying the view of Kala's tits bouncing as she rides you as well... though after a minute both the angle of his sack shifts to let his cock press against your chest, and the press of Kala's pussy around you shifts as well, so you've little doubt they've leaned forward to kiss while at either end of you. Suits you... just a bit of a shift of your head allows you to start tonguing Lii's asshole instead, swirling your tongue around the pucker and pushing it inside.\n\nEventually though the whole fun thing is enough that you can't hold back anymore, and you empty yourself into Kala's tight, shuddering pussy as well, your load mingling with what's left of Lii's inside her even as he groans and spills his second of the night across your chest and belly, your tonguework on his ass apparently sufficient along with the rest of the stimulation he's had. (Well, from the brushings of furry knuckles against you, you're guessing Kala was jerking him off too.) Both of them draw back, Kala rising up some before doing so to let your cock slide out of her and flop wetly against your belly before the two settle on the ground, panting and catching their breath, while you just lay there enjoying the afterglow of your amazing diplomatic skills.\n\nA bit later as Kala's tugging her top back into place, she laments, "I cannot believe I have gone and mated myself to a redmark."\n\n"It is no comparison to the shame I feel at having bonded for life with a bluemark," Lii declares sadly as he activates the mechanism on the arm of his suit, the rest of it expanding back out to cover his torso from where it had retracted.\n\n'Uh-huh,' you think with a very soft snort. From what you saw in Lii's village and things he's said, casual sex or simple friend-bonds are absolutely a thing... if Kala and Lii are declaring themselves mates after fucking each other, it's because they both enjoyed it too much to deny they want to keep fucking each other for the rest of their lives. You're a little surprised though when Kala turns towards you and opens her mouth, then closes it, looking rather sheepish.\n\n"... Since we are all three mated, I suppose I should get around to asking your name, outlander."\n\n"Leo LaChance. The LaChance is a family name, my personal name's Leo."\n\n"I see." Kala nods again. "Then formally let me state that I am Kala'mahn, and that you may refer to me as Kala." She frowns, though more thoughtfully this time as she once again folds her arms under her generous chest. "Is it true then, Leo, that the two of you have come for the idol?"\n\n"Right. Though my interest is just in it, not in visiting any sort of dishonor on you," you add, with a brief glance at Lii, who actually looks a little sheepish, glancing down and brushing a fingertip against his cheek. \n\n"... Mm. Since we are now mates I will take you at your word. And in truth it would be good to finally be rid of it," she adds with a long sigh. "We were not so blessed as the redmarks to have a temple with closing door to keep the curious and foolish from attempting to toy with it, and keeping it in our village merely invites more problems. Since you are one of my mates it should be no dishonor to give it to you... wait here. It will take less time to explain things if I am on my own," she adds, before turning and slipping off into the foliage.\n\nYou watch where she disappeared for a moment, before turning to Lii and grinning a bit. "Mates, huh?"\n\n"So it would seem," he declares in a forelorn tone, as if it were completely out of his hands. \n\n"Mm. Y'know, honestly, I get her deciding that you and she are mated," you note, which makes him pull a bit of a face, but not enough to stop you. "Her deciding that she and I are is a little less clear."\n\n"Part of it is that you are my mate, and were part of the joining that rendered her and I mated," Lii replies after a moment of quiet, obviously having been sorting things out in his own head, tail flicking a bit more as if to give a sign of his pondering. "But also... life is exciting and enjoyable here, but we are both living the same lives as our great-sires and great-dams. There is... all three of assurance, weight, and boredom in knowing that our lives would not have been different at all from their great-sires and great-dams either. You are... something different. It makes you attractive... well, besides your interesting look and enjoyable sexual prowess," he adds in a slightly smug possessive tone.\n\n"You know what to say to flatter a boy, Lii," you say with a snicker, reaching up to peck him on the lips.\n\nAfter a bit longer Kala returns, bearing something wrapped in thick cloth held out a bit from her body. She sets it down on the ground, then gives the cloth a few careful tugs to pull it back and reveal the idol within. It's about what you expected in being similar to the other one, though as could have been predicted rather than a mighty, imposing cock it's sporting a well-detailed cleft between its legs and a pair of glittery golden globes. Seeing how careful Kala was with it definitely reminds you to be similarly careful as you get out the container and activated the ionization field again before picking it up to place it inside. Kala looks rather shocked as you do so, blurting out, "Outlander, how?! Every other thing that has ever touched it, woman, man, or beast has been affected by its curse! But your skin is touching it and you're unbothered!"\n\nThat just confirms it that the instruction not to touch it directly wasn't just to keep you from getting fingerprint smudges on the gold. You finish placing the cap on and sealing it, tucking the idol away before replying, "It's a device I have, it... I really only have a fairly general understanding of how it works myself, but the shorthand is that it solidifies the air around my hands, meaning that even though it looks like I'm touching it directly, I never actually make contact."\n\n"... Fascinating," she murmurs, glancing between you and Lii. "I see you have given Lii'alon some outlander devices as well."\n\n"Yeah, there was another dead mercenary whose gear I could teach Lii to use after salvaging it."\n\n"Ah. I see." Kala's ears droop a little, tail settling into a low angle and twitching. "We have seen no Outlanders other than yourself, alive or dead, for many years here. Nothing to salvage for me to use."\n\n<hr>\n[["Sorry, Kala."|LeoCat]]\n\n[["... Hm."|LeoCat1x9]]

"Hrm. I admit that it might not be as good as the stuff Lii has, since the dead guy was apparently swimming in cash... ah, he had a lot of resources so he could get ahold of the best tools," you clarify as Lii and Kala both glance at you curiously, that figure of speech apparently not having parsed to a culture that probably works purely on barter. "But I do have a few things that you could use, Kala, if you wanted."\n\n"Yes, I would quite like that," the tigress declares, indeed smiling brightly as her tail flits more excitedly. Oh gosh, like that she's just straight-out borderline cute.\n\nYou dig around in your pockets and pack, looking for some of your better backup gear. Eventually you settle on an adaptive environmental bodysuit to give her to wear... it's not a particularly rugged thing, an overall unarmored suit with black and grey patterns (black octagons and grey hexagons) and a few lit-up accents that you set to blue (call it a hunch) before passing it over. Kala turns back and forth, looking at herself once you've activated the fitting function... it fits even more skintight than Lii's suit, leaving little but her cleft and the precise puffiness of her nipples to the imagination, but it comes with helmet that will automatically deploy from the collar and will protect her from most mundane environmental hazards like extreme cold, normal fires, and certain amounts of radiation. Well, most of her... the suit's adaptive, but meant for standard human-types, so the best it could do for her tail was make a hole for it and cover it in the same sort of ionized field your 'gloves' use. Not quite as protective as the rest, but better than nothing.\n\n"It is very strange, I am aware of being completely covered and at the same time it feels as if I am completely naked," Kala murmurs, just the faintest hint of pink showing on her white-furred cheeks.\n\n"You start getting used to it. A little. Eventually," Lii comments, shifting his own shoulders bashfully.\n\n"I can give you some training in weapons tomorrow, I don't doubt you'll pick it up fast," you note. If Kala is Lii's rival you have every expectation she'll be just as quick a study as he was, or force herself to be the first time he says something about it. "Since it's getting late, maybe we should head to your place for the night?"\n\n"I have already told my people that I am going on a quest, and will likely not be back for some time if ever, if the rumors that we journey to the Shadowlands are true?" At both of you nodding, she nods as well. "Then there is no point, I have already said my goodbyes. Let us sleep here under the stars tonight and be off in the morning." She pauses, then smirks and, as you taught her, reaches up to press a button on the suit's collar, the nanomaterial quickly retracting up and inside it to leave her naked again in a matter of seconds. "Although, we need not sleep right away," she murmurs, stepping forward and pushing your jacket off your shoulders.\n\nYou toss a look at the similarly pleased-looking Lii, running your hands up and down Kala's furry sides and hips as she further undresses you, letting your clothes fall to the ground. "Sounds good to meEE!" you can't help but yelp a bit as she wraps her arms around you and then lets herself topple backwards, thumping to the ground with you on top of her, her full breasts cushioning the impact of your chest. Snorting a bit at her directness, you lean in and kiss her properly finally, since she is your new mate and all, human tongue stroking against somewhat felinoid one as you wriggle on top of her, feeling your shaft rub across the firm, defined muscles of her belly below the layer of soft white fur. After just a few moments you shift a bit, slipping between her legs and then pushing back inside her, the tigress moaning lowly into your mouth as you slip inside her pussy again and begin to thrust, using shorter, slower motions this time. Of course things only improve when you feel another bare furry chest pressing against your back, black velvet over steel muscles rubbing against you as Lii pushes himself into your ass, your thrusts now letting you push forward into your new wife's warm, wet, squeezing sheath and press back against your new husband's hot, hard, throbbing cock.\n\nThe three of you probably spend more of the night 'improving your bond' and less of it actually resting than is strictly wise, but the next morning you nevertheless set off towards the location of the final idol, though the bike is now somewhat crowded with Kala having to 'stand' on the back, her ass jutted out and upper body leaned forward as she grips tightly around Lii's chest. 'Guess I'll have to trade up to a family-sized all terrain vehicle,' you think dryly. The lack of proper sleep does lead you to want to take more breaks than before, though most of them you spend teaching Kala to use the weapons you've given her. One's a collapsible ninjato, essentially a handle that deploys sections of blade attached by a cable and then snaps them all together... it's actually capable of operating in 'sword whip' mode but you've never been able to get that to work properly. (Or rather, your attempts have left you paying the deductible on having some wounds healed that were rather painful, both to your body and your ego.) The other is a fairly simple blaster pistol with only a few settings, but with the benefit of having effectively limitless and very quick firing. As you expected, Kala also turns out to be a fast learner, and more than that ambidextrous, able to wield both sword and pistol at once and in either hand.\n\n'These two are definitely gonna make fantastic mercenaries,' you think as the pair (of course) turn Kala's latest training session into a competition, egging each other on about their marksmanship and bickering lightly about the differences in the effectiveness and accuracy of their weapons. 'Also probably very pretty kittens.'\n\nIt takes a bit less time to get to the so-called Shadowlands than it did to travel from redmark territory to bluemark territory... you guess overall it's somewhere between the two, just at a different direction and angle than you were previously traveling. You can see why it would be called the 'Shadowlands', there's reasons enough. For one thing the vegetation starts to take on a darker green color, growing in patches amidst the standard plants, then with the standard vegetation growing in patches amidst it, giving the impression of shadows cast on the ground despite the cloudless day above. Though the closer you get to the mountain looming ahead, the darker it gets too, most likely from the steady stream of dark vapor rising from its peak. The air takes on a thick scent a little different than some of the volcanoes you've smelled before... must be something in the mineral makeup of this world tinting the emissions. It's somehow less of a stench and more of a thick spicy odor. If it were stronger it would probably be unpleasant, as it is it sort of smells more like the kitchen of a slightly dirty street market food vendor on some cityworld. Still, you're not getting any significant warnings from your equipment, and the helmet of Kala's suit hasn't popped up, so it must not be hazardous. At least at this distance.\n\nAt least a good twenty miles out from the dotted location, the trees and other vegetation grows too thick for you to take the vehicle any farther. Though frankly at this point you doubt any of the three of you are too heartbroken about having to get off and walk... snuggling is fun, but not as much when you have to do it while atop a speeding hoverbike without enough room to actually seat everyone. The air is thick and hot and that smell really is on the border of turning into a stench now as you set off forward through the vegetation, following the path plotted out by your mapping drone.\n\nThe jungle is almost disturbingly quiet, only a very rare and short bird call or insect buzzing disturbing the stillness, and neither of those ever actually coming into sight... just carrying from the distance as if made by some spirit hovering in the shadows beyond. It could definitely get to you, and after awhile you glance at your mates, instinctively keeping your voice low as you ask, "So what exactly is in these Shadowlands that's so dangerous?"\n\n"We don't know," Kala answers frankly, apparently a bit too spooked herself to bother putting on airs.\n\n"So few return from venturing here that we know practically nothing," Lii whispers. "Those who do either encountered nothing and came back empty-handed, or were injured or terrified beyond speaking ever again."\n\nYou nod slowly... you can definitely see how this place could frighten even the boldest-hearted warrior, especially since you're feeling fairly spooked yourself. Probably part of it is how... small... you feel, since the trees seem far larger than the ones in the other areas of the planet. But also part of it is just that oppressive near-silence... it's impossible to feel anything but invasive, with every rustle of grass or gentle squelch of wet earth stands out, let alone actually speaking. And it makes it feel like the whole jungle is holding its breath waiting for something... ... oh, right. You let out the breath you'd started reflexively holding. Whatever it is that's coming... and you just feel certain something must be... you'll be ready for it.\n\nAnd yet you still jump, as do Lii and Kala, at the sound of branches groaning and lightly cracking from above. All three of you bring your weapons up to train in that direction, but all you catch is a bit of motion and rustling leaves. The sound comes again, a bit further off, and after a brief pause from closer, but in another direction... whatever it is might almost be enjoying watching the three of you whip around trying to track it.\n\n"An outlander."\n\nThe voice is far deeper than Lii's, but almost as smooth, even if the level of bass is such that you'd swear you could feel it in your chest... though that might just be your currently adrenaline-flooded brain filling in details for you from the sound. Both Kala and Lii's tails are fluffed out as they turn back and forth, apparently trying to pinpoint the sound's source, but other than 'somewhere above' it's almost impossible to tell.\n\n"I don't think any of us alive had seen an outlander until the last turn of the moon... and here you are the third of them to enter these lands since then. That's interesting."\n\nYou suppress the shudder your body tries to give with extreme effort... somehow you feel like showing any more fear than absolutely necessary here could be disastrous. "So there were two before me, huh? How'd they do?"\n\n"I did not see either of them, but to judge by the colors and pieces staining the coats of my sisters... not well."\n\n"Ah... too bad," you reply, keeping your tone casual even as your throat wants to quiver.\n\n"Leo, you understand what it is saying?" Kala hisses, blue eyes darting briefly to you before fixing above again.\n\n"Want words understood? Can talk words," the voice cuts in before you can answer, the shift to simplified grammar causing both Lii and Kala to jerk in place... apparently the hidden speaker switched to their own language. "Smalls come more often. Have seen smalls before. Smalls screamed and screamed until screaming stopped. Some attack while still fear-scream. Not scream again after." The voice is silent for a minute or so after that, apparently allowing it to sink in for the two, before there's more creaking and rustling from a different spot. "Actually I'd have expected someone to start screaming already, they usually have by now," the voice continues, the shift back to greater eloquence indicating that they've resumed using their own language. "Also I wasn't told that outlanders knew our speech. That's a bit more interesting than I was led to believe."\n\n"Glad to be of some entertainment value," you say dryly, the quipping helping you focus. Oddly enough the slightly theatrical manner of whatever this is helps you calm down... if it's got a language and a sense of the theatric, it's not just some mindless monster out to slaughter for fun. ... Well, at least, the odds are better. Maybe.\n\n"That remains to be seen. What you come for?" it replies, the twitch from Kala and Lii's ears and the simplified grammar showing the question was asked in the redmark/bluemark language.\n\nMight as well be honest, it's worked so far. "A golden idol. One that may be in some ruins, probably looks a bit like you but meaner," you add, and can't help but grin wryly (in mild terror) as the voice gives a rumbling snort-chuckle as if finding the idea of anything meaner than itself ludicrous.\n\n"It is cursed, isn't it?" Kala speaks up, obviously struggling a bit herself to appear calm and strong, just as you are. "Would you not wish to be free of it?"\n\n"We have allowed Leo... this outlander... to take the idols within the lands of our own people," Lii adds. "Given them to him, in fact. There would be no shame in you doing so as well."\n\n"'Cursed'. Is it cursed? Not notice. Make things like us. But if that's 'cursed' what does that say about us, hmmmm?"\n\nThough the last bit was obviously for your benefit, Kala and Lii obviously both come to the same conclusion, their eyes widening, and Kala whispering, "The curse turns anyone that touches the idol into a monster... if theirs just makes things like them..."\n\n"'Monster'. Hear this word much from smalls. Yes. Am monster. Scream yet?" the voice asks in an almost pleasant tone, along with a longer chuckle this time. There's a few more shifts and cracking of branches, as well as what sounds distinctly like wood being shredded from a spot not too far above, but that by the time you've turned merely shows that one of the higher-up places on the tree next to you has had its bark and several inches of its inner trunk turned into half-mulched wood. "No? No scream? Hm."\n\n"We're made of pretty stern stuff I guess," you reply, managing to get the words out completely evenly this time, squaring your shoulders a little as you say them.\n\n"I see that. That's interesting. Smalls I can talk to are interesting too. Since I'm interested, let me ask you this... what if, unlike those two smalls, I don't want to give you the idol? What if I say you can't have it and have to leave? Hm? Are you going to take it? Are you going to fight?"\n\n<hr>\n[["Yes."|LeoCat]]\n\n[["If I have to."|LeoCat]]\n\n[["No."|LeoCat1x10]]

Probably best to stick to the truth... or at least the truth as far as this life goes. "My father's a hunter named Paol, my mother's a housewife named Karina. Probably not anyone you'd know, I think," you reply with a shake of the head. "I don't think they or most of their relatives have ever left the village."\n\n"Hm. Well, okay then, maybe you've just got one of those faces. It's a cute one, though," she adds with a wink and a flick of one finger, tail flicking back and forth behind her in a weirdly suggestive way. "Remember to work hard and do well at all your classes, chores, and practical exams, right? I'll look forward to crafting you a good weapon, Magus weapons are really fun! I'll put my whoooole body into making it."\n\nYou don't have to fake the blush that brings to your face. "Um... thank you."\n\n"Well, g'wan, g'wan, I gotta get ready for my next class too," she declares with a light shooing motion, sending you towards the door.\n\n<hr>\n[["Thanks, Teacher!"|Reth]]\n\n[["Thanks, Forge Loli!"|Reth]]

It'd probably look weird if you didn't want to stay and talk to your famous and beautiful teacher after class. So you turn towards her, trying to be casual. "I've got a little while before my next class, so how can I help, Teacher?"\n\n"Mmmm. It's just... you look really familiar to me, is all," she says once the other students have filed out, though she had to shoo Ophelia and Stacia with several glances. She raises a hand to her chin and rubs thoughtfully, looking you up and down again. "I keep feeling like we've met. Where you from?"\n\n"Just a little village near Lunacrest. It doesn't even have a name," you add with a shrug, trying to keep everything casual, so casual, very very casual, you are totally not sweating the back of your shirt through beneath your coat. "Probably not the sort of place you'd remember if you'd ever been through."\n\n"Hmmmmmmm. I guuuuuueess," she murmurs, pursing her lips. "So are you related to anyone I might know...?"\n\n<hr>\n[[Tell the truth. Mostly.|Reth5x11]]\n\n[[Craft a shocking fiction.|Reth]]

Swallowing hard, you slip back the way you came, doing your best to be quiet until you're far enough away to break into a jog. Once back at the campsite you climb into your tent and throw yourself down onto the sleeping pad, breathing hard, trying to center and focus your thoughts. Maybe Rarala didn't get everything when she turned off your slutty libido. Maybe it's a lingering effect from that stuff you got in the face. 'Maybe your horizons are just getting broader,' some smug part of your brain interjects, making you stop trying to think entirely for a few minutes.\n\nIt doesn't really work, so finally you undo your pants completely and slide out of them. You configure your comm into visor mode and quickly flip through your saved porn collection. Lesbian folder, definitely the 100% lesbian folder! You start some playing, nothing but feminine moaning filling your ears as you slide a hand back down the front of your panties, gradually feeling out just how to stimulate the plump lips of your sex and your clit. It's for sure a bit more complicated than jerking off, but you're a fast learner, and soon you're moaning softly along with the video, something you never really did much of as a guy but hey.\n\nEventually feeling like your head's cleared out some, you use some freshening wipes and get yourself deodorized before pulling your pants back on and heading back to the stream, this time making sure to snap a few twigs and kick some rocks on the way. This time when you round the bend Seiun's already looking over at you from where he's sitting in a chair, collapsible fishing pole in hand and, thankfully and of course, clothes on. You settle into the other chair he's set up, the two of you chatting quietly and amiably, with him apparently none the wiser that you got a look at the Full Griffin earlier.\n\nAfter awhile as two small fish are grilling and your lines are in the water again, Seiun speaks up with a slightly more serious tone. "So I wanted to talk a little bit about Roaring Eagle. There's some things I wanted to bring up about it but I wanted a better setting than a warzone."\n\n"Yeah?" You frown, just a little, wondering if this is going to be a Talk of some kind.\n\n"A lot of the members that are already lined up to join are going to be around your own age. That was one of my goals with starting Roaring Eagle... I think it's an older merc's duty, if he feels he can, to help younger mercs find their feet and learn their stride. But I felt I should tell you ahead of time, one of the young mercenaries that's going to be joining will be my nephew Boshi."\n\n"... Oh," you say with a blink. "You mean your real nephew," you add, unable to keep a hint of disappointment out of your voice.\n\n"That is, in fact, the opposite of my meaning with bringing this up," Seiun answers in a gently scolding tone, pausing as his head gives a sudden smooth but quick swivel towards the motion of his bobber. Apparently not actually seeing anything on the line, he looks back to you. "Nagareboshi is my blood, yes, but what I want to tell you is that I have no intention of setting him above you, or anyone else. And though I've decided you are the best candidate to receive the majority of my personal attention, I also don't want you thinking this puts you above the others."\n\n"... So you're really going to focus on... mentoring me?" you murmur, a little embarrassed to actually say the word out loud. "Even when your r-... your flesh and blood nephew is around?"\n\n"Boshi will find his own guide in time. Whether that's his father, who's serving as my second in the Eagles, one of the other experienced mercs we bring on in the future, or someone entirely outside the company. Blood doesn't always mean that you're the best fit for being someone's teacher, Boshi will have to discover who that's meant to be for himself. Now... all that said, I do think you're likely the one who's already most refined their skills of the first batch of recruits to the company, so I may occasionally ask you to be the teacher as well. Don't get a big head so quickly, Leo, if you had feathers they'd puff up more than Boshi's when he gets a compliment," he adds with a chuckle, making you blush and sheepishly duck your head at being called out.\n\n"So your nephew... what's he like?" you ask curiously.\n\n"I think the two of you will be friends... you're much alike, but not so much that so that it would cause problems," Seiun says with another chuckle. "Otherwise, hm... he's mixed, as I assume you'll understand when you meet his father. Speaking of my... I suppose your term would be 'brother-in-law'... Shotetsu, I suppose I'll tell you now that he's almost as blunt and loudmouthed as they come. He's not a cruel or mean man at all, but I'll tell you now that he can be rather crude, so my suggestion would be to roll with it and try to take everything he says in the best spirit possible. He has as much to teach you as I do, he'll just teach it to you rather more... forthrightly, we'll say."\n\nHoo boy, this should be interesting. Still, the rest of the mission goes without incident, with you several more times sneaking off as necessary to relieve tension when certain thoughts pray on your mind... and definitely stick to the lesbian porn, since you have the distinct feeling that anything with dicks would shift your focus towards a place you're not sure you're ready for it to go. At the end of the week, Seiun contacts the client and spends a little while going over the marked portions of the map with her, before that's it, the job's done, and the two of you use your return beacons to get back to the Guildhall.\n\nThis time when you make your way into the Roaring Eagles headquarters, there's someone waiting for you. He's even taller than Seiun, and even more broad-shouldered and muscular. His head resembles a horse's, though mixed in with the thick black of the mane running between his ears and down the back of his neck are what looks like down feathers. The rest of his hide is very black too, almost making him a shadow even standing there in the full light, though his eyes are bright golden with rings of blue around the edges. The tight, sleeveless multicamo shirt he's wearing is currently set to red and black 'lava field' pattern, and fits so literally skintight that it looks more like coloration on his powerful muscles than anything else... though rather than defined abs he does have a slight (but rather solid-looking) gut. Down below it he's wearing loose mil-type pants like Seiun but... yikes, don't look there, don't stare at the bulge, though you might have stared even if you were a guy because damn. His legs below mid-calf are uncovered, though it looks like his hooves have been shod with a pair of steel-colored shoes with soft LED bands around the middle. You've never met an Equanavian, but you guess when you heard that Seiun's nephew was mixed, you could have assumed... they and the Leonavians share a homeworld after all.\n\n"So this is the great and talented Leonidas LaChance, huh?" Sotetsu declares as you and Seiun step in, his voice a deep, smooth bass flow that very much goes with his mass. He declares your name as if you were a decorated arena fighter famous across a dozen systems, and for a moment you're thrown completely off-guard just by trying to figure out if he's welcoming you or mocking you. "Sei's told me quite a lot about you. Though apparently the great pair of tits are rather a new addition, hm?"\n\n"Uh... er..." you splutter a little.\n\n"Sho, come on," Seiun says with a chuckle, walking towards his office and giving the other man a thump on the shoulder with his fist in passing.\n\n"Hahaha, don't let it get to you, kid, I just like to put everyone off their feet a bit first time we meet! Lets me learn something watching them stand back up," Shotetsu declares, lips settling into a warmer grin as he adds, "Welcome to the Roaring Eagles, glad to have you. Now, let me put you to some meaningless scut work to show my appreciation." He turns briefly to the table in the center of the room to pick up a tablet, briefly showing off his black equine tail and the V'd cyberattachments running down his back through the perfectly-sized holes in the shirt, then turns back and proffers you the tablet. "Go get your fellow new company recruits. They should all be in the training sim rooms one floor down. I already sent a ping but without a little look-in it might take them awhile to notice."\n\n"Okay, got it," you answer, accepting the tablet and glancing it over, seeing that it's set to display which of the area MC-shared training rooms are currently in use by registered Roaring Eagle mercs.\n\n"Hey, Leo." You pause and glance back as Shotetsu calls to you. He's still grinning as he adds, "Seriously, welcome aboard. Looking forward to working with you."\n\nGrinning and giving him a nod, you make a beeline for the lift and head down to the next level. Now let's see... where to start? Since these are general use rooms for all the mercenary companies in this area, you'll be able to get into any of them that are already checked out to a Roaring Eagle member. Generally walking in on someone else's training room session is considered extremely poor taste, since not only could you disrupt their training, well... they're rooms capable of generating environments and people in a nearly completely realistic and tangible way, people don't use them just for training, obviously. You're hoping none of your fellow recruits are putting their new sim room access to that use today, since that would be a hell of a way to meet.\n\n<hr>\n(These are not branch options, they can be done in any order and then followed by the others.)<<set $Bianca to "false">><<set $Arina to "false">><<set $Daneim to "false">><<set $Mio to "false">>\n\n<<if $Bianca is "false">>[[Room 103.|LeoFem2x5a]] <<endif>><<if $Arina is "false">>[[Room 106.|LeoFem2x5b]] <<endif>><<if $Daneim is "false">>[[Room 107.|LeoFem2x5c]] <<endif>><<if $Mio is "false">>[[Room 112.|LeoFem2x5d]]<<endif>><<if $Bianca is "true" and $Arina is "true" and $Daneim is "true" and $Mio is "true">>[[Head back to headquarters.|LeoFem2x6]]<<endif>>

"Let's go see Penny's dad, I bet she's told him a ton about you, and I wouldn't mind getting some more time with Reese," you suggest. "We better change into our Huntress stuff if we're going down to Mantle, though."\n\n"Yeah, guess so. It will be nice to meet Penny's dad finally, even though I wish she'd be there too."\n\nYou text Reese to let her know you'll be there as Ruby and you catch a bus back to the academy, heading inside to change and grab your weapons. It takes a bit more time to find an Atlas ship heading down to Mantle that can give you a ride, but once you're down it's at least a relatively short walk in the early evening. As you approach the address of the clinic where Doctor Polendina apparently makes his home when on Mantle, you see what looks like a young girl rise from where she's sitting next to a few threadbare bags. She's wearing what looks like it probably was once a cute little formal outfit in the style of an adult suit complete with worn tophat, albeit it's now stained and patched, and frayed around the edges. Her pale hair is cut in a somewhat uneven pageboy style, her dark eyes big and obviously practiced at looking soulful as she holds up a cup. "Spare a few lien, missus?"\n\n"Yeah, sure kid," you answer as you come to a stop, then smirk. "Soon's you turn around so you can't see where I take my wallet out of."\n\n"I'd never," she says with a soft huff, but nevertheless turns her back to you. You slip your wallout out and quickly remove a few lien bills, tucking them into her cup as she turns around. "Oh! Thank you kindly, miss."\n\n"Um, hey, do you have anywhere to stay tonight?" Ruby asks worriedly.\n\n"Oh, no worries miss, I'll head back down to the crater where it's nice and warm, always someone there to give a girl a roof over her head for the night," the urchin replies with a cheerful smile, removing her hat and pressing it to her chest as she bows. "Especially if the kindness of strangers provides a bag of rice or a loaf of bread to share."\n\n"Keep at it, hope things turn around for you," you acknowledge with a nod before heading on, Ruby lingering a bit longer before scurrying to catch up with you, looking back over her shoulder as the girl replaces her hat and returns to settle down on the sidewalk next to her things.\n\n"Shouldn't we... do something?"\n\n"I mean we could for her... but there's probably a few thousand out there just like her." You rest a hand on Ruby's head. "We'll do what we can someday, babe. For now we need to focus on the problem ahead of us."\n\n"... Can't save the world from each other until we save it from Salem, huh?" Ruby whispers, smiling a bit wanly. Still, she perks up a little as the two of you step into the clinic. "Hello~?"\n\n"Oh hey it's Ruby and Kai as said awesome!" Reese calls from further in, emerging from one of the other doorways and waving you on. "C'mon back we're already settling in for dinner."\n\n"Whoa that smell is amazing," you murmur as the two of you enter the more private and homier-feeling part of the building, the smell of garlic and tomatoes hitting your nose. You smile at the somewhat elderly, dark-skinned man with fluffy grey hair beard, a flattened green-grey cap on his head and brown vest over yellow shirt and a surprisingly elaborate pink bow tie, brown pants and leather loafers completing his 'lounging grandpa' ensemble. "You must be Doctor Polendina, nice to meet you."\n\n"Oh, feel free to call me 'Pietro', young lady," he answers with a smile as he slides his fingers over the controls of his chair, which you now see has multiple legs attached that move him smoothly across the floor so he can offer you both his hand in turn. "Now let's see, you must be Ruby Rose, as I live and breathe! Penny's told me quite a lot about you!"\n\n"It's so good to finally meet you," Ruby answers with a smile, shaking his hand. \n\n"And you... hm... well, red hair, black coat, you must be Kai Sterling, I think?" Pietro continues with a slightly confused look. "Though you don't look as mean as the day is long..."\n\nYou suppress a snort. "Penny may have gotten a bad first impression of me, we're on a lot better terms now." \n\n"Well I'm glad to hear that. Oh, let me introduce another friend." He turns his chair a bit and raises his hand to the side of his mouth. "Oh, Figaro~!"\n\nThere's only a brief pose before with a melodic little su~ noise, a dark-skinned girl with short black hair and white-tipped feline ears atop her head, wearing a white blouse, black jacket, and black slacks with an apron on over all of it appears standing nearby. "Yessir?"\n\n"These are more of Penny's friends, Ruby and Kai."\n\n"Oh, nice to meet you," the Faunus girl says agreeably, offering her hand for each of you to shake as well. "I'm Technician Tuchs, but obviously you can just call me Figaro. I better get back to dinner, though. There's already garlic knots on the table!" she adds cheerfully as she scurries back into the kitchen on foot.\n\n"Don't know what I'd do without that girl," Pietro says with a warm chuckle as he maneuvers his chair back over to the table. "Or Reese either, for that matter, she's been a tremendous help of late!"\n\n"Just doin' what I can with what we got," Reese chirps cheerfully, grinning as she holds up a basket to you.\n\n"Garlic... knot," you muse, settling down at the table as you pluck one of the twisted, slick-feeling pieces of bread out and sniffing it. That's garlic alright.\n\n"Do they not have this kind of food on Makarzia, Kai?" Ruby asks curiously as she takes one.\n\n"No, closest they come is pizza, and it's really only about a little under the level of that place we were in Argus."\n\n"Don't think I've ever heard of Makarzia... which kingdom is that in?" Pietro asks curiously.\n\n"Different planet." As he raises his bushy eyebrows at that, you grin and finally take a bite of the bread... and almost fall out of your chair. "Holy shi-" You nearly choke as you try to cut back the profanity, winding up coughing a little.\n\n"My word, child! You act like you've never had a bit of garlic bread before!" Pietro says with a laugh.\n\n"Um, I think maybe she hasn't," Ruby says sheepishly as she pats your back.\n\n"I kinda told Ruby earlier," you note as you manage to swallow, resisting the urge to just shove the whole thing in your mouth for a complete foodgasm. "Pretty sure I've never had a home-cooked meal before. Unless you count stuff that came out of a bag, pretty much."\n\n"... Well my word," Pietro whispers, looking at you with a rather sad expression before he smiles warmly again. "Well my girl, you're in for a treat tonight!"\n\n"Like I said Figaro makes with the awesomesauce," Reese speaks up with a grin. "And hey Kai after all this is over we totally gotta have everybody back to Baoula and we'll make up this huuuuge thing of jambalaya my family's got this abso massive firepit skillet for it. Like with everyone we'd still probably have to make a couple of loads but you guys could meet Arslan and Nadir and Bolin and my brothers and I guess my parents and whenever we haul that skillet out it always turns into a party."\n\n"Sounds hella fun," you answer with a grin, and then do give in to the urge to shove the whole garlic knot in your mouth. Oh dragon sooooo gooooood.\n\n"Oooo, oooo, then we do my house, my house!" Ruby chirps, bouncing in place. "My dad has this special curry recipe he makes on the day of the first snowfall in Patch every year!" Then her silver eyes start twinkling as she giggles. "One year when we were little, Yang woke up super early and saw it was snowing and was reeeally excited for curry, so decided she was gonna help. It's still dark out but she gets up and she goes downstairs to start the rice, and we were little so the pot of curry my dad made seemed huuuuge to us!" she continues, waving her hands through the air. "So Yang thought she needed to make a ton of rice, so she gets out the whole bag, and since there's no pots big enough for that she decides she's gonna use this big metal barrel full of water my dad had out in the backyard to use as a bathtub. Y'know, when we were too dirty to come inside," she adds sheepishly before continuing. "So she manages to drag this big bag of rice out there to it, and is hefting it up when our mom comes downstairs and sees her. She tried to rush over and grab Yang up but all that did was upend the bag so the whooooole thing went in the water." Ruby giggles. "And then Yang just shouts 'I'm helping with the curry!'"\n\nEveryone has a good laugh at that, Ruby settling comfortably in her chair. "Mom wrapped her up with her cloak and sat with her until the rice was done, and we all had leftover rice with every meal for like two months. I don't remember it that well but Dad tells that story a lot... it's one of his favorites."\n\n"I do wish I had those sorts of stories with my girl," Pietro admits, flicking a finger at the corner of his eye. "One of those things you don't get when you take another path. But still, I wouldn't trade her for anything."\n\n"Hey, there's still time to make stories like that," Reese speaks up with a grin. "You and Penny should come to Baoula too, sir. My parents might actually relax a little if they see I know someone so respectable."\n\nThe older man gives a laugh at that. "Well I just might then, you know! Been a long, long time since I had me some Baoula cooking!"\n\nSoon Figaro emerges with more of the meal, laying out plates and then sitting with you as you all start eating, the election results displayed on a screen nearby but muted, only half paid attention to as everyone instead trades family stories, even you chiming in with a few tales of little adventures with Niobe and Ico. Eventually though Reese glances over, making a bit of a face. "Old man Schnee is actually starting to kinda-sorta pull even."\n\n"Yeah but the polls close soon, right?" you ask with a glance at Pietro to confirm. "And Robyn's still ahead by like ten points, she's probably gonna be fine." \n\n"I really don't know how to feel about this election," Pietro says with a tired huff. "No one I'd care to put my name down next to, all I'll say. I feel like there used to be better choices, but more fool me if I can actually recall one."\n\n"Yeah well from what his daughter's told us, Jacques Schnee needs to be kept as far from any sort of power as he possibly ca-" You cut off as the lights and screen abruptly go out, instantly rising to your feet and gripping Red Legacy. "The hell?"\n\n"It's just a power outage they happen sometimes in Mantle it's probably fine give it a minute for the generator to kick on," Reese assures you, nevertheless rising as well and moving to pick up Lioncub from where it's leaned against the wall. Indeed a minute later the lighting flickers and returns, the screen lighting up again. "There see it's... oh no," she whispers, her eyes widening as she turns to look at the projection, the rather bewildered newscaster looking back and forth for explanation since the vote percentages for every candidate now read '0%'.\n\n"All of you stay here," you snap as Ruby rises to her feet as well, turning and storming towards the front of the clinic. "I'm going to see what's going on outside if anything."\n\nAs you emerge into the clinic proper, you see a hooded and cloaked figure sweep in, the urgency of their stride causing you to whip Red Legacy up and unsheath it, readying the quickfires as the figure whirls to slam the door shut... and relaxing a bit as he pulls the hood down. "Dragon, Grey, you almost got peppered with Gravity rounds."\n\nRather than quipping back he whirls towards you, steely eyes serious as he jabs a finger. "Get the old man and the tech in the safest room and prepare them to shelter in place until we can get an extract, it's gonna get bad."\n\n"What?" Ruby says, having emerged behind you, silver eyes wide as Reese comes to stand next to her. "Grey, what's going on?"\n\n"The underbelly got riled up into getting ready to start riots if something went wrong with the election and this is it," Grey answers grimly, ears laying down just a bit at a distant crashing sound. "Keep the noncoms in the back!"\n\n"What's going on out there?!" Pietro's worried voice calls.\n\n"Okay sir let's go ahead and get you and Figaro over here on this side of the room okay?" Reese says, trying to keep her voice calm as she turns and heads back inside. "We're gonna have someone from Atlas come get us because our friend says it might get bad down here."\n\n"How bad are we talking, Grey?" you ask with a scowl as you walk over. \n\n"Bad. Violence in the streets, a lot of looting, riling up the rest of the populace."\n\nRuby's eyes suddenly widen. "Kai! That little girl!"\n\n"Dammit!" you hiss. "Grey, open the door, I will be right back! Ruby, call for extract!" You shift and ready yourself, then rush out as Grey hauls on the door.\n\nYou can already hear shouting in the distance and a few sirens as you hurry out and turn down the street, half-running the way you came earlier in the evening. You soon spot the girl in the ragged formalwear, sitting upright straight and looking around worriedly, as if not quite certain what to do. She scrambles up as you come running at her, and yelps as you grab her up and throw her over your shoulder. "Hey! Unhand me, leggo!" she calls, whacking your back repeatedly with the small and tattered umbrella she's holding.\n\n"Sorry no time to explain!" you tell her as you turn and rush back towards the clinic.\n\n"Stop this at once!" She lets out a shrill whistle, then snaps, "Think about what you're doing!"\n\n"I am, I'm thinking of getting you to safety!" you call back.\n\n"... Oh. Alright then. Carry on, please," she answers, suddenly a cooperative weight on your shoulder.\n\nYou wince a little at the sound of gunfire from nearby, but at least it doesn't seem to be aimed at you. Grey yanks the door open for you to scoot through, slamming it closed and hitting the lock as you get inside, quickly dropping the girl back to her feet. "Sorry about that, kiddo, it's gonna get bad out there and you're better off in here."\n\n"I certainly don't doubt that now!" she declares, huffing, before striking a low bow to all of you. "Crique's the name, Jemma Crique, and I appreciate the rescue," she adds, withdrawing her collapsed tophat from under her coat and tapping the handle of the umbrella inside it to extend it.\n\nBetween her mannerisms and a bit of a glimpse down her shirt when she bowed, you raise your eyebrow. "You're not actually a kid, are you?"\n\n"Why I don't recall saying I was. Just because a gal barely hit four foot foot four doesn't make her a child, now does it," she declares with a bit of a smirk, resting her hands atop the butt of her umbrella in a way that reminds you a bit of someone else.\n\n"Enough with the antics, c'mon, back here with the others," Grey demands, urging Jemma towards the back with one hand.\n\n"Ruby, what'd they say about the extract?" you ask with a glance.\n\n"It's gonna be at least twenty minutes," she answers with a wince. "They're having trouble getting transports down because people are shooting at them, and they're prioritizing other places. I tried to get other people on the psycomms but some of them just said they were in the middle of fighting... apparently a riot broke out in the club Yang, Blake, and Weiss were at too," she adds in a worried tone.\n\n"... They're gonna be okay," you assure her gently, stepping close and wrapping your arms around her. "We're gonna get through this, baby."\n\n"Kai, I'm scared," she admits softly. "Not just for us and our friends, but Mantle... there's gonna be Grimm, and if we're leaving who will protect people from them?"\n\n"We have to protect who we can. Right now that's Pietro, and Figaro, and Jemma, and we'll protect whoever else we can once we've got them safe." You step back a bit and cup her cheeks. "You good?"\n\n"I'm good," she assures you immediately, silver eyes worried but firm. \n\n"Okay, I'm gonna go check on everyone. You watch the door, okay?" At her nod, you turn and make your way back into the living area. You skim your eyes over everything... Pietro looks a bit upset but is keeping calm, Figaro seems to have pulled on a bit of her training and is keeping calm as well, Jemma sitting on the floor between them. Grey is prowling back and forth, fingers flexing, while Reese just stares at the screen and at the vote tallies still all reading zero at the bottom of the screen as the muted newscaster shows video of buildings in flames and brawling in the streets. You watch grimly for a moment before making your way over to Figaro. "Technician, are you armed?"\n\n"... No," she whispers after a moment, shaking her head. "This neighborhood's really safe and... weapons upset the patients sometimes, I started leaving it at home."\n\n"Alright." You reach behind your back, unholstering the conventional ammunition pistol and holding it out to her grip first. "Eighteen rounds. Same thing that's standard issue for you guys, I think, so you know where the safety is, right?"\n\n"Yes'm," she answers, accepting it with both hands, shifting her grip and lowering it to point at the floor.\n\n"Okay. They're gonna send a ship for us, but it might be a little while. Hopefully they can set down in the street right outside, but by then the rioting may reach here. That means all of us need to form a defensive line so Pietro and Jemma can make it onto that transport safely, understood?"\n\n"I... I don't like you kids putting yourself in harm's way for me," Pietro murmurs, as if just to have something to say.\n\n"Sir, at this point the best thing you can do to keep us out of danger is get on that transport as fast as you can manage safely. Can your chair support Jemma's weight too?"\n\n"Yes... yes, it should."\n\n"Okay then, when it comes time, Jemma you're gonna ride with Pietro, and we're gonna get out of here and up to Atlas. Gravity Dust rounds," you add to Reese and Grey before turning to head back up to the front, switching out Red Legacy's magazine as you repeat to Ruby. "Gravity Dust rounds."\n\n"Why Gravity Du-" Then she winces. "Oh. Right."\n\n"There's gonna be a fair number of rioters without active Auras. The Gravity Dust still might do damage but it's safer." You hesitate, then add, "Rubes... I know you don't want to hear this, but if it's them or you, or one of the noncombatants..."\n\n"I... I know." Ruby takes a deep breath and nods once. "... I'll switch to conventional rounds if I have to."\n\nBoth of you press to the sides of the door, listening to the distant sounds of chaos in the city, punctuated by the occasional shriek of a Sabyr. Your heart aches to see how miserable it's making Ruby to be in here and not out there fighting Grimm, but every time you think of going out you can't suppress the vision of your girlfriend finishing off a pack of Sabyrs only to be set upon and torn apart by the angry crowd of people she just saved. Instead you stay where you are, until you hear a voice in your ear.\n\n"This is Specialist Vine, I am on approach outside of Pietro Polendina's clinic. I believe I have been spotted by rioters, please prepare to board as quickly as possible."\n\nYou turn your head and give a whistle just in case, but Reese and Grey obviously heard, the whole crowd emerging from the back area to make their way to the door. "Okay, Ruby and I are gonna go right, Reese, Grey, Figaro, you go left, form a corridor for Pietro and Jemma. Warning shots first if necessary, but follow 'em up right away with the real thing if you feel the need."\n\n"I am now landing."\n\n"Go!" Ruby calls, throwing her body against the door to slide it open, then rushing out ahead of you as all five of you pour into the light thruster wash of the Manta with one side door open, Elm already beckoning Pietro forward as he guides his chair out, Jemma perched sitting on the back of it. Unfortunately there's already an angry, literally torch-wielding crowd converging from both sides, shouting out very unencouraging phrases like "Dogs of Atlas!" and "Warmongers!"\n\n"Shit," you hiss, firing a round over the heads of the approaching rioters on your side, Ruby doing the same, many of them flinching and hesitating, but a few more shouting all the louder. You pick out one that looks fairly tough and fire a round center of mass, a crackle of brown Aura flashing around the purple impact of the Gravity Dust round.\n\nOn the other side Reese and Grey seem to be having difficulty picking targets, until Jemma snaps her fingers and points at the crowd while giving a high, shrill whistle. "Hey! Think about what you're doing!"\n\nMore than half the crowd rocks in place, improvised weapons and guns clattering to the ground. "Oh gods, what am I doing?"\n\n"Mom... Mom, I'm sorry, what would you think of me?"\n\n"Th-this isn't what I wanted, I was just scared!"\n\n"Flo... Flo, forgive me..."\n\n"What the hell?" Grey mutters, eyes wide, before noticing that Elm is hauling Pietro and his chair up into the ship. "Okay, we're clear, go go go!"\n\nYou fall back, firing a few more times, mostly deliberately shooting wide to make the incoming flinch before turning and hauling yourself into the ship after Ruby. "Okay, we're in, go, get the hell airborne!"\n\nVine hauls on the stick, pulling the ship into the air and banking it over the rooftops. Pietro watches through the door, his face pained. "... My clinic..."\n\nFigaro winces a little, then lays a hand on his arm. "We'll put it back together, sir." She manages a small smile for him. "That's what we do, right? We put broken things back together?"\n\nSoon you, Ruby, Grey, and Reese, Vine, and Elm are walking into Ironwood's office. "It's a shitshow down there, sir," you announce grimly.\n\n"I'm well aware, thank you," he mutters back, eyes flicking across the multiple screens floating over his desk.\n\n"At this time it looks like a brute force crash of the election system was timed precisely with the blackout to cause a full database dump," Winter adds, lowering her scroll from her ear with a scowl. "We do not have a new council member. We will not have one for the immediate future, it seems."\n\n"Someone stirred up unrest in the lower parts of the city, convinced them you didn't have a plan to deal with it if something went bad. They were primed to start riots the moment something went wrong with the election. I warned Ilia, but that was the best I could do other than getting to Polendina's place."\n\nYou turn to search out Ilia, sitting on the edge of the raised conversation area, hands clasped in front of her lower face, blue eyes staring ahead at nothing. "It didn't really matter. We got hit the moment the lights went out. Penny and I did our best but he attacked the crowd first, got us engaged in protecting them, and he went after Robyn..." She closes her eyes. "... Fiona protected her. ... She didn't make it."\n\n"Oh dragon no, Rainbow," you whisper, your heart breaking.\n\n"... What about Robyn, is she okay?" Weiss asks, looking a bit rumpled herself, as do Yang and Blake.\n\n"We were able to evacuate her, but she's injured." Ironwood lifts his head a bit more as the door slides open, admitting Clover. "Ebi, report."\n\n"Sir. The riots were definitely coordinated. We've got Grimm incursions but we're not sure how to handle them with the riots still ongoing, especially now that other news is breaking. ... It was a hit. During the blackout, Candidates Brown and Wistier were both assassinated." He hesitates for a moment, taking a deep breath and saying in a soft voice, "As well as the entire Schnee family."\n\nMyrtenaster clatters to the floor, followed by the nameless long saber that was its inspiration in near-tandem.\n\n"No... no," Winter whispers as she sags against the edge of Ironwood's desk, seeming like her arms are barely supporting her, her strong, unflappable voice starting to break as the sound of Weiss sobbing reaches her. "I was supposed to have time. I was supposed to have more time," she whispers, her voice cracking entirely on the last words as she begins to weep. When Qrow moves to gather her into his arms, she slumps against him without shame, crying against his shoulder.\n\n"... DAMMIT!" Ironwood roars, coming to his feet and slamming his right fist to the desktop, the metal crumpling beneath the blow.\n\n"We cut them out of the Mantle systems so they organized the riots and crashed the election, then killed all the candidates they could manage," you snarl, pulling out your own scroll to flick through several of the news feeds, then hurl it to the ground. "FUCK! This is what they wanted all along! Pure chaos, total anarchy! Raw fucking fear running rampant throughout both Mantle and Atlas!"\n\n"It's stage setting," Ozma says grimly as he paces, hands clasped behind his back. "This amount of hate and division, they can only be intending to provide a suitable entrance for Salem and whatever attack she intends to launch on this kingdom."\n\n"Okay, we all need to focus," Jaune says, taking a deep breath. "It's scary but we need to buckle down and figure out our next move. Do we focus on stopping the riots, do we focus on keeping the Grimm out, preparing for Salem's arrival, what?"\n\n"I... had been preparing to transfer the powers of the Winter Maiden in the event of such a crisis, so that they could be used to protect us or, if necessary, seal both relics. ... But," Ironwood murmurs, glancing over.\n\nYou follow his gaze to where Winter Schnee is now sitting in a chair, clinging to Weiss, both of them trembling against each other and desperately trying to assure one another it's going to be okay. ... Right. His intended recipient of the powers is in no mental shape to undergo something like that.\n\n"... Can we complete Atlas Tower?" Ruby says quietly, tearing her sorrowful gaze away from her partner, painfully forcing herself back onto the pressing problem. "Call for help, maybe? Or show the people we're at least working on the problems?"\n\n"If you project strength and show that you at least have a plan it could take a lot of wind out of the rioters' sails," Grey confirms. "The driving force behind this is the idea you have no way forward, no plan, that you can't protect them. Show that you can and it'll kill the momentum at least."\n\n"... Then there's one other option," Ironwood says slowly as he straightens up, tucking his hands behind his back.\n\n"Yeah. Martial law," you say before he has to. "Full crackdown. Gravity Dust rounds if they don't obey orders to disperse."\n\n"What?! No, we can't!" Blake speaks up immediately. "That's crazy, it's too far!"\n\n"Dammit look at us!" you snap back. "And this is just the opening salvo! Look, I'm not saying we should do it, but let's just fucking admit it's on the table," you add with a grumble as you go to snatch up your scroll. "We don't get this under control and fuck stage setting, we'll all be dead by the time Salem shows her pasty face anyway." \n\n"It would need to be," Ironwood says slowly. "A last resort. But it is a resort. Right now we need every option on the table, and we need to pick the right one."\n\n<hr>\n[[Push for utilizing the Maiden.|KaiRuby]]\n\n[[Push for finishing Amity Tower.|KaiRuby]]\n\n[[Martial law.|KaiRuby]]

Well, later as in give it a day or two... you don't want to seem clingy, especially right off the bat. You're not sure exactly how needy you'd have to be to chase Pink off when she's clearly in the early stages of being addicted to your dick, but you don't want to find out, either.\n\nBesides, you really should do some more research. Now that you know it's theoretically possible to change back, you just have to figure out some way that whatever extradimensional beings consider "fair", you can continue. Hm, but how do they judge...?\n\nYou spend the next day or two considering that question and coming up with a few theoretical answers, though none you're necessarily willing to try just on the off chance, considering that all of them also come with a high potential for backfiring. (But part of you says that might be the key. What if they want you to, well, gamble on it? Those are the two potential answers you keep coming back to... gambling or exchange, and it probably has to be one of those.) \n\nOn the subject of Pink, though, that answers itself as on the evening of the second day you get a text from her which is her usual chirpy self but with slightly different highly customized emojis that make it abundantly clear without being blatantly obvious that she's fishing for a booty call invitation. You'd been starting to notice that itchy, distracted feeling creeping up on you again enough to distract you, so even the simple enjoyment of it aside you're plenty willing to invite her over.\n\nSoon you're standing near the teleporter pad watching the rising glow and flicker, which resolves into Pink... wearing nothing but her visor, jacket, and a pair of glaringly pink and white high performance sneakers with LEDs on them. Well those and a leer. Though the leer cracks and turns into an outburst of delighted laughter when she sees that you're wearing nothing but your glasses and a hardon. "Well goddamn choombus, I'd tease you about being eager but that might be more irony than even I could manage!" she declares with a laugh as she hops down and pads over to you, bare boobs bouncing.\n\n"I figured I'd show that I wasn't going to make you go through seducing me again," you tease back as she moves to embrace you... or, well, at the variance of your and her height she's admittedly mostly embracing your cock, winding up with it nudging against her chin as it presses between her breasts and gets caught between the two of you.\n\n"Mm, fair enough, homes," she practically purrs, rubbing her chin against the tip. "Heeey, choom, you think you could do me like just a huge favor?"\n\n"Um," you murmur, finding it a little difficult to focus on the potential for getting yourself into trouble when her wiggling and squirming is giving you a lowkey standing titfuck. "Yeah, sure?" you answer, managing to add just enough of an uncertain tone that you might be able to back out if whatever she asked was too unreasonable.\n\n"Could I, like, play with your balls for awhile?" she asks sweetly, cupping one of her hands under one of them and giving it a gentle heft. "Like, I promise just for an hour or two."\n\nYou experience the new sensation of your brain bluescreen erroring in an entirely pleasant way, combined with the gentle stimulation she's still giving you, and just sort of airily say, "Yeah, sure, if it'd help you out."\n\n"Guaranteed it'll cure my brainworms, choom," Pink declares mock-solemnly, before giggling and drawing away, snagging one of your thick wrists with both her hands and pulling you towards the bed.\n\nYou're given a shove onto your back and obligingly topple over, scooting back with your large black equine prick waving over your stomach as Pink clambers up after you, grinning. She keeps her eyes on yours through her visor as she settles her arms onto your thighs and leans down, starting to work her tongue over the skin of your ballsack, giving a soft 'mmm' as she does. That particularly amazing ass of hers juts up in the air, wagging slowly back and forth and occasionally giving a little faster wiggle as she gets to work worshiping your balls with her mouth, sucking and kissing at the hefty orbs and working her tongue across that buttery-leather skin. Every so often her hips will start rocking lightly in the air as if she were fucking back lightly against someone that wasn't there, just displaying how deep into fuck-mode her brain and body already are. Of course, even if you weren't inclined to enjoy the view of her ass already, you also notice that her tramp stamp seems to have gone into 'attract mode', glowing in pulsing culors and then running a shiny pulse of light back and forth over it and around in various patterns and designs... well, just say that it combined with her beautiful bare butt makes for a considerably more attention-grabbing display than a DVD video logo bouncing around the corners of a screen.\n\nYou soon find out two things... one, that Pink apparently wasn't kidding about her desire to spend at least an hour playing with your balls. It's actually kind of impressive... usually her attention bounces around as much as she does, but in this case she seems to have found something that will really hold her, and her tongue, lips, and mouth quite happily continue to work you over as time ticks by, her hands occasionally slipping in to stroke, heft, even gently squeeze. Two is that she wasn't entirely truthful about her desires, because every so often she ducks down further, nuzzles her way underneath your balls to let them rest against her face, and instead starts flicking her tongue over the thick ring of your asshole, even planting her lips on the muscular donut and slurping softly at it. You jump some the first time she does it, but can't quite bring yourself to protest, instead just laying back and letting her have her way.\n\nIt doesn't take you long to wrap a hand around your stiff prick, gently stroking a bit to help take some of the ache out of it. But once you do you find you can almost fall into a trancelike state of the constant low buzz of pleasure from Pink mouthing your balls and ass, as if the lewd wagging of her butt really had almost hypnotized you. It's enough that you effectively stop even noticing time going by, just laying back and letting the pleasant thrum of her attentions lull your brain into not thinking... at least until she finally stops and, with a grin, starts crawling up your body, her tits dragging over your now thoroughly saliva-soaked balls and then pressing around your shaft before she rises up above your hips.\n\n"Thanks choomboxer, I really appreciate that," she coos as she raises up some, gently brushing your hand away and taking your cock in her own hands, angling it upward as she raises... then snorts softly as she finds out that you're so hard that you're even longer and thicker than you were last time. "Holy shit," she murmurs in an apparently much more sincere and awed tone than her teasing of before as she's essentially obliged to actually stand up all the way on the bed, sneaker soles flat on the mattress, before she can bend her knees and bring herself back down. She presses your cockhead into place against her entrance, the flared head mashing gently against her pussylips, but apparently she's exhausted her patience after the ball worship session and tries to push herself down a bit too quickly, again making you slip right off and go jutting along her stomach.\n\n"Fffffuck, how are you still so tight?" you groan out as she snags it again and once more maneuvers you into place. \n\n"I spent the money, choom," she assures you breathlessly and a bit distractedly as she wiggles her hips around, this time being a bit more careful and steady about making sure you're in place and working herself down, letting your flared head press her open and start to push inside her. "Though... maybe if we keep this up... I might need to... upgrade my pussy," she grunts, nibbling her lower lip before finally finding the right angle to push down and get you sliding inside, letting out a long, satisfied moan as she does.\n\nIt's hard to imagine how much more upgraded she could get, you think dreamily as she sinks dow on you in a long, smooth motion. While her outer entrance definitely seems tight enough that it's hard to get into, once you are in you're once more engulfed in that absolutely perfect fit where she's incredibly tight and yet yields to your entrance without a problem while molding to you perfectly. Pink wiggles and shifts her hips as she sinks down on you, breasts shaking, the glow of her jacket casting a soft pink warmth over them from the sides and beneath. Finally she settles fully down onto you, the outline of your cock visible bulging her belly, and shifting around as she moves herself, gently grinding her ass against your balls as you let out a few distinctly equine snorts and grunts.\n\n"Now, choom," she says in a breathless tone. "I'm gonna ask you another favor, okay? Do another thing for me?" she says, managing to make her voice sound sweet and teasing despite her obviously bordering on her own brain-fuzzing pleasure.\n\n"Anything," you assure her in a rush, absolutely meaning it in that moment.\n\n"'Kay... homes, would you do me a solid... and just grab me and use me like a twenty dollar onahole you don't mind breaking?" Cyberpink coos.\n\nYou're shocked... for all of two seconds. Then your hands fasten around her middle and start pumping her up and down quickly, your hips flinging upward to fuck yourself up into her as you slam her down repeatedly on your throbbing prick. Pink's eyes immediately start to roll up, her lips twisting up in a huge smile despite her clenched teeth, her hands gripping your wrists but not showing even the faintest sign of trying to pull them away or urge you to stop. Your balls slap loudly against her ass, no doubt making it bounce almost as much as her tits are bouncing above your thumbs. That view definitely makes up for not getting to see your 'score counter', though you can definitely tell it's going up already from the way she's squeezing around you and gushing occasionally, soaking your hips, thighs and balls with (probably synthetic) girlcum. Soon enough though her jaw drops and her tongue lolls out, the rapturous smile on her face still in place but her eyes rolled up enough to say that she's largely gone bye-bye mentally.\n\nAll the same as you continue to fuck her exactly as requested, using her as a sex toy, she starts letting out a babble of very sweetly-toned dirty talk, most of it in some form of Spanish that seems to be as thoroughly dotted with futureslang as her English, with occasional dips into Japanese, Chinese, French, and a couple of other languages you don't recognize. But you're guessing that most of it is following the same general theme as what you can make out: she loves your cock, she needs your cock, your cock is making her cum so hard she's gonna die, she's your fucktoy, she's your best girl, she's your best fucktoy, generally along all those lines. Of course as your cock starts to swell and throb even harder inside of her, the flare of your cockhead visibly increasing in the bulge it makes, most of it turns into "fucking breed me" in every language she apparently knows the words in, a request that at the moment you're fully on board with as you let out a thunderous whinny and shove up into her, the first heavy splurt of cum actually bulging her up above the outline of your cockhead before it settles and her flat tummy once more starts to round out. Pink's head lolls back and she devolves into something you'd just almost suspect sounded like an old dialup modem as she twitches and jerks atop you.\n\nEventually you lift her off and let her, well, drain for a moment before laying her down against your chest, her bare breasts pillowing against your muscles as she apparently unconsciously nuzzles up against your neck and shoulder, making distinctly kittenish noises. Of course you're alerted when she's fully in command of her faculties by when she turns her head and gives a distinctly purposeful bite, causing you to utter a game "ow" to which she giggles. \n\n"Been hanging out with Kleptokitty again, haven't you?" you tease her.\n\n"What can I say choom I got a weakness for pussy too," Pink giggles back in a breathless tone. "Us half-feral creatures gotta stick together even if we're separated by lines of the law."\n\n"You being such a law-abiding citizen all the time anyway," you say with a snort, giving her a gentle spank on the ass that makes her squeak delightedly.\n\n"Hey, hey, choom, you do that again it better be showing you're ready to start something else."\n\n"Oh? Already?"\n\n"Hell yeah!"\n\nSuffice to say, the two of you spend most of the rest of the night enjoying yourselves, in the course of which you do in fact manage to put yourself on the top of her leaderboards. She's off again before the sun rises, but suffice to say that at this point you've grown comfortable with being her booty call, whatever may happen once you get your old body (and life) back.\n\nFor the next few weeks you continue to research various ways to change back, generally discarding each one as having sufficiently negative potential consequences that you wouldn't want to risk it, at least without further preparation. Every few days either Pink calls you or you call her and she drops by, either for a "quickie" (which inevitably still ends with her bloated with your cum and lolled insensate for a little while) or an all-nighter of the two of you playing around and indulging one another's growing comfort zone of lewdness with each other.\n\nUntil...\n\n"Wow, you're actually wearing shorts," you note as she hops down from the teleporter pad, actually wearing what looks like spandex booty shorts instead of one of her usual assortment of bikini bottoms, g-strings, crotch pasties, or nothing at all.\n\n"Yeah, I'm actually about to do a hop back to the future, homes, if you'll excuse the title drop," she declares with a grin. "Point of fact choomborg this one wasn't a booty call, I actually did wanna drop by to talk about your, ah, thing," she adds, gesturing up and down to all of you instead of the usual 'thing' she's here for.\n\n"Oh!" You blink, hurriedly moving to snag your sweats and pull them back on. "Okay, sure, what's the word?" you ask, genuinely caught somewhere between excited and disappointed.\n\n"Well I think I might have a few leads to work on but like I said, I'll hafta go back to my hometemp to track 'em down, thus," she adds, gesturing at her (relatively) more modest garb than the usual either skimpy stuff for public or blatantly sexual stuff for semi-private.\n\nYou let out a snort. "I knew you were BSing about the ultra-permissive dress code in the future."\n\n"Nah nah homes, I'm for real!" she assures you with a wag of the hand, pouting just a bit. "I abso could get away with wearing all that stuff in public in the actualnow, hell I could prolly get away with wearin' our usual hookup stuff," she adds with a leer, making you blush beneath your fur. "Just that since I'll be needin' to talk to various sorts I figured I'd tone it down to something, y'know, conservative!"\n\n"Right. Conservative," you drawl, eyeing her still fairly scant and very tight outfit.\n\n"Essacto, esse! 'Sides, I may go and get some of those upgrades I mentioned," she adds with a smirk and a little suggestive hipwiggle, making you blush again. "But before I went I thought I'd drop by and ask if you wanted to come with."\n\nThat makes you blink. "To the far future, you mean?"\n\n"Sure! Don't worry, the way I do it means there's no risk to the timeline or any of that scrap," she adds with a snort. "But if one of these ways to turn you back pans out, you might needa be there to pounce on it, afters all!"\n\n"Hmmmm," you murmur thoughtfully.\n\n"C'mon, choom, it'll be fun!" she assures you, smiling brightly. "'Sides, there's loooots of other lewd stuff you can try out in the future too," she adds with a wink.\n\n"Ah... you wouldn't be bothered by my doing that?" you ask, just to make sure.\n\n"Naaah, I ain't the sort to go and get jealous of a fuckbud having fun on the side, especially when I introduce him to the fun," she adds with a snort, flipping a hand through the air. "Just don't try to ditch me, homes, that's just basic hangout etiquette."\n\nYou consider for a moment. Should you go with her? Admittedly, you are kind of curious what her future is like, and not exactly opposed to going and having a lot of lewd fun too, especially if the end result is getting back to normal. (Though part of you wonders if Pink will want to continue being fuckfriends if you return to regular Caliburn. You'd be sad if she didn't, for more reasons than one, but.) But then you've also hit on what you think are a few leads here... you could either ask her to look into them with you, or look into them yourself while she was gone.\n\n<hr>\n[[Go to the future with Pink.|CalHM]]\n\n[[Ask her to look at modern solutions with you.|CalHM]]\n\n[[Look into solutions while she's gone.|CalHM]]

If... you were a real person, you think you'd probably want to be powerful and sexy. Like Mistress! You move your hand over to rest on the pink cookie, picking it up uncertainly and bringing it to your lips, looking at Mistress to make sure.\n\n"Oh well," she says with a sigh, the slight disappointment in her voice shattering her heart. But then she smiles, reassuring you. "No, I meant what I said, darling. Go on, eat it. I want to see."\n\nRelief floods over you to realize you've actually pleased her, and you take your first eager bite, the taste of... well, pink exploding in your mouth, the texture of the sugar on top feeling like sparkles against your tongue. Even as you chew that first bite your mind begins to clear, the all-consuming fog of your worship for Kefta receding. Instead as you take another bite, you begin to process the smells of the room more clearly, practically able to see the mind magic floating off of them that's mingled with the sweet, comfy scents, all the little bright connections of it that center on Kefta herself. With each swallow, small growing pink lines crawl further across your bare crotch just below your belly, gradually becoming an elaborate design centered around a heart. The near-constant arousal your body had been feeling since you changed actually amplifies to an insane degree, and yet at the same time becomes normal, comfortable, like you had always felt this way, like everything about it was completely in your control. Your eternally diamond-hard nipples and now permanently wet pussy just feel like they've always been that way, and the wings that gradually sprout from your back and the tail pushing out from above your round ass similarly feel natural, normal, like they're just you, like they always have been.\n\n'Mmmm, this was definitely the right choice,' you think as you rise to your feet and stretch languidly, your black and pink wings extending to their not particularly impressive span behind you, heart-tipped tail flicking around energetically. 'Heh, of course this body wanted to be a succubus! Damn, this feels amazing, this is the best!'\n\n"You seem pleased," Kefta says with a somewhat resigned but sincere smile.\n\n"Oh yeah, you're right, this is definitely the inner me that's been struggling to get out ever since I was changed," you declare, resting your hands on your hips and wiggling them a bit, showing off the elaborate pink succubus-mark on the front of your crotch. You grin at her, and add, "So, you know what comes next?"\n\n"Yes, I knew it was a distinct possibility," Kefta says agreeably enough, reaching across herself to one side and giving a few tugs. The straps of her dress loosen and allow it to drop to the floor, rendering her instantly naked, showing off that round, slightly plump body with its smooth chocolatey skin and large, dark nipples in all its glory. Minutes ago, the sight would have made you orgasm so hard you might have whited out... actually, now it still makes you cum a little, but just as a pleasant side effect of the constant near-orgasmic pleasure suffusing your entire body, not as any sign of her control over you. "I'm ready."\n\n"Mmmm, good," you purr, stepping up to her and stroking her cheek, seeing her shiver a little and tasting the mingling of anticipation and fear in it. "I've got something wonderful in mind to punish you for trying to own me, and the exact same wonderful thing in mind to thank you for empowering me." With that you kiss her, this time being the one to claim her mouth as your property, your tongue diving in to enthusiastically stroke and press hers... and then elongating it so that you can coil it around, tugging and squeezing it, hauling it this way and that, making it clear to her that even this part will do whatever you say. Her moans against your lips only grow as you tuck a hand between her legs, her pussy instantly spasming around your fingers the moment you slide them in, returning the exact arousal she inflicted on you all concentrated in the two digits you start stroking between her plump brown pussylips. You push your tongue down her throat, stroking it in and out, further enjoying the feeling of those moans as you stroke and lick at their source.\n\nOf course, this isn't your gift of punishment, no no. Drawing your fingers out once they're completely coated in and dripping with Kefta's own magic-infused arousal, you bring them around, tracing a small, seemingly random design on the front of her own crotch. She gasps and bucks hard as the skin there instantly begins to bulge and push outward. You draw your tongue out of her throat and sink to your knees, and almost before the bulge has fully developed into a proper cock you're sliding it into your mouth, coiling your tongue around it to pump and stroke and squeeze as you start bobbing your head. Kefta's pretty silver eyes roll as her cock continues to get bigger and longer and thicker, pushing steadily further down your throat as you pleasure her ever more sensitive and ever more throbbing cock, your hands moving to cup and fondle the heavy sack that's forming at the base of it.\n\nBut as her cock gets thicker, the rest of her body is growing more slender. That light layer of squish around her belly and thighs disappears, the roundure of her hips and ass decreasing, breasts becoming less heavy and soft and more pert and perky with every little extra bit of length and girth her new prick gains. She sinks to her knees, and then onto her back as she continues to grow gradually smaller and her cock (which you never stop sucking and deep-throating through all of her movements) grows ever larger, her big brown balls ever more round and heavy and full. Her once thick legs pass from luscious to sleek to coltish, as her hips grow ever more slender and her breasts shrink and flatten. But as inches start to shrink off of her height to appear on her cock instead, it becomes more and more obvious that she's not becoming younger, but merely smaller, as if you were sucking every bit of her up into that cock that's bulging out your throat more and more, as if her whole self were getting packed into those big overfull balls your chin bumps against with every stroke. Her body grows smaller and smaller with every movement of your head, until she more resembles an action figure at the base of a novelty sex toy that just so happens to be made of very real, very throbbing, very eager flesh and blood.\n\nThe moment Kefta disappears entirely into the base of the cock, you push your lips down to the root of it and swallow hard. A massive load bulges out the path close to the bottom, actually stretching your coiled tongue in passing before it explodes into your belly with enough force to bulge it outward with the impact for a second, before it settles and your flat stomach instead more gradually swells with the gallons of thick cream flooding into it... along with Kefta's soul. You suck it out of her along with the cum that used to be all of her power, filling your belly with it so that you can gradually absorb it at your leisure. But her mind, her memories, her thoughts, all her ambitions and hopes and dreams, those you leave dwelling in the eternally hard, throbbing three foot cock she's become, completely aware.\n\n"Mmmmm," you coo as you slide your mouth off of it, leaving the disembodied phallus jutting up and wobbling in the air, drained of cum but constantly dribbling pre as it will for the rest of eternity. "There we go. Your wonderful gift of punishment," you say with a smile as you stand, hefting it gently, lovingly with both hands. With a thought and the help of the energy you took from her, you craft a very small pocket dimension and open a portal to it... a dimension that consists of nothing but a pussy-like orifice just over three feet long and perfectly fitted to the girth of the Kefta-cock, and room for the balls to hang down against a soft, pliant wall of flesh (and with room to expand around it). You push the thirty-six inches of throbbing meat into its new home for the rest of eternity, affectionately stroking the smooth base of it as the heavy brown balls start to fill again. "Let's say you can cum... once a decade, okay?" you declare with a saucy wink, before withdrawing your hand and closing the portal forever.\n\nAh, yeah, that was hella fun! Mmmm... kinda wish you'd taken some time to use the cock before you'd put it away, but there are plenty more cocks out there! And allll of them are yours to play with! Giggling happily, you gather up your previously discarded suit, giving it a little shake to turn it completely black with pink accents and glowpanels... as well as openings for your wings and tail, of course. Once you've got it on, you hmmm softly, then adjust it a bit more so that it clearly shows the entirety of the outline of your nipples, pussylips, and clit through the material. Perfect! Giving the rifle a similar makeover, you disregard the telepocket and create a much easier and more intuitive personal storage space to slip it into.\n\nNow where to go and what to do? The multiverse is your oyster! Forget fame and a ship... those things might be fun, but if you want a ship you can always just find someone with one and do lovely fun things to their naughty bits until they gift it to you (whether you influenced their mind to make them or not). Hm... speaking of which, Sokahn's totally around here, isn't he? You could always complete your mission and claim the bounty! You bet he's got a biiiig fun dick you could have a lot of fun with too~! But, no reason to get fixated on the past, could always bop back to the Guildhall and find some fun there... another job that you could do lots of fun things with, or look up some of your friends to show them the new you!\n\n... Or, hm. With your combination of technology and magic, this steelworld is kind of ripe for the picking, isn't it? And you almost feel like you have some duty to Kefta in continued thanks of her awakening your true self to exert the chaos she created with you on her homeworld... maybe especially on the village that chased her out in the first place!\n\n<hr>\n[[Go after Sokahn.|LeoSucc]]\n\n[[Return to the Guildhall.|LeoSucc]]\n\n[[Stay on this world.|LeoSucc]]

"I mean I really just need a... self defense Pokemon," you note, which sounds really weird to say, but then this is the life you signed up for. "Since I don't want to go down there helpless. Sounds like Hiphip would be plenty."\n\n"Great choice!" Xina assures you, picking up a Pokeball that has two long ridges running down the sides of the top with little pink indents in the top of them. She shifts it a bit in her hand, then gives it a toss. "C'mon out, Boin!"\n\n"Its name is 'Boin'?" you say dryly as the ball spins through the air and opens, spilling out a bundle of red energy that falls to the floor, starting to resolve into a shape and "AAAAA HE'S SO CUTE!" you squeal, clapping your hands to your cheeks with sparkles in your eyes.\n\n"Hip-hip," the Pokemon says in a rather bashful tone as it finishes materializing, lifting one little hand-like paw up to rub its head. The Hiphip stands upright, the top of its head coming up a bit past your knees, with lapin ears almost as long as it is tall hanging flopped down its back, covered in the same white fur as most of the rest of its body, the tips a pale robin's egg blue the same as the fur of its belly. Its belly curves outward some, as if just to enhance its teddy bear-like quality, its arms rather long in proportion and having paws with three somewhat finger-like sproutings from them, covered in the same eggshell blue fur. Its legs are more lapine in structure with a digitigrade stance, its toes similarly blue-furred. Xina seems to have decided to enhance his cuteness with a little bright red bandanna worn around its neck, and several piercings in those big floppy ears, including several with bells.\n\n"Isn't he though?" Xina coos, leaning down and ruffling Boin's hair between his ears. "He's such a goooood sweet boy," she continues to purr, Boin's face bright red beneath the white fur of his face, one of his feet starting to thump rapidly on the floor. "He's just the beeeest!" she adds in a squeal, leaning in to hug him and pressing her boobs around his head in the process, his fur puffing out and ears lifting a bit.\n\n'I wanna hug hiiiim,' you think, fighting the urge to whimper as you squirm in place, nibbling your lower lip.\n\nOf course, when Xina straightens up and steps back, your face goes red as you notice something that's now jutting from the thicker fur around the Hiphip's crotch. It's pink and glistening a bit, mostly tube-shaped with a slight scoop and point on the lower part at the head, and 'Holy fuck I think he's bigger than my last boyfriend,' you can't help but think as you stare a little. And it's not like your last boyfriend was small, he was no pornvid actor either but still. ... You also can't help but find it adorable that Boin seems almost as embarrassed as you are, standing there squirming on his cute widdle pawses almost exactly the same way you're squirming in your less cute little boots.\n\n"So Boin, you're going with Michika here," Xina says, snagging your hand and plunking the Pokeball down in your palm. "I know you'll be a good boy for her! I'll leave you two to get acquainted," she adds cheerfully, turning and trotting back out of the room.\n\n"... Right," you murmur as you watch her go, looking back at the embarrassed Pokemon even as you slip the Pokeball into one of your coat pockets. "So, uh, Boin, I guess we should... um... get acquainted," you murmur, feeling your ears heat.\n\n"Hip-hihip-hi," Boin replies, glancing away and rubbing the back of his head beneath the fold of his ears with one paw.\n\n"Oh. Well, I appreciate that, but um, I understand it's what's... expected. And... y'know, I'm not... that... bothered," you add, glancing away briefly and rubbing your upper arm. Then you take a deep breath and shrug out of your coat. "Oh what the hell."\n\n"Hiiiiip," Boin says in a tone of slight awe as you proceed to pull off your top, your tits spilling free with a wobble, and then shaking around much closer to his head height as you lean down to peel off your pants and undo your boots. You're guessing by the way his jutting pink cock twitches in the air and starts leaking a line of pre that he's definitely a breast ma-, ah, Pokemon. Of course that means he's probably pretty happy since the moment you're naked, you give in to your previous urge to launch yourself at him and wrap your arms around him for a snuggle, your tits pressing around his head much as Xina's did.\n\n"Aaaaa you're so fuckin' cuuuute," you practically moan as you rock him back and forth again, Boin squirming in an embarrassed way. Still, he doesn't exactly try to pull away... in fact you give a squeak as he reaches up his pawhands and presses them at the sides of your breasts, rubbing a bit as well as squishing them around his own head. ... Yeah he's fine. His little paws are so soft, too~... so's his head, for that matter. After a moment though you draw back, snickering a little at the faintly saddened but overall enthusiastic look on Boin's little rabbity face. "Ah... here, sit back a little," you urge.\n\n"Hiphip," Boin agrees, sitting on the floor and leaning back on his handpaws, spreading his legs and letting that big pink shaft point upward in offer.\n\nYeaaaah this is still... super embarrassing, especially since you didn't like... take him back to your apartment at least and instead elected to do this right in Xina's... fuckroom. ... Oh well. You settle onto your knees and lean forward, trying not to be self-conscious about your ass jutting up in the air as you loop a ring around his cock with your index finger and thumb, starting to stroke along it, both embarrassed and delighted as he coos out an adorable "Hiiiiip!" He's so fuckin' cute, you almost don't feel too self-conscious about slipping your mouth over the tip of his cock and starting to bob your head. He definitely tastes different than any of the human(oid) guys you've sucked off before... not to mention the more slick, smooth feel of it, especially as his pre smears all over your tongue.\n\n'This is... really not so bad,' you muse, especially as you look up at that cute bunny face. Honestly you feel like you wouldn't mind sucking him until he came in your mouth, and you can't help but give a little shimmy of your hips at the thought. Buuuut you do have a job to get to, after all, so after a few minutes of slowly bobbing your head and making sure he's nice and warmed up, you sit up and then lay back, lifting your knees and spreading your legs, turning your head away just a little bashfully as you show off your dripping pink sex. "So, uh, yeah. F-... feel free."\n\nBoin was taking a moment to catch his breath as you were lifting his head, and stared all through the rest of your shift in position. But now he nods eagerly, blurting out a "Hiphip!" before hopping to his paws and making his way over. You squirm a little at the feeling of those cute, soft pawhands running along your inner thighs as he leans in, soft, relatively small lapine tongue nevertheless finding your clit and making you buck your hips with a moan as he laps at it. 'I'm gonna take back most of the things I ever said or thought about Xina fucking her inventory,' you think in a faint haze of pleasure as the Pokemon continues to lick at your sensitive little nub with just enough force and a good rhythm, not to mention the extra softness and yielding of that rather bestial flat tongue.\n\nThen the Hiphip moves forward, those longish arms slipping around your thighs to lift and position them a bit, cute little handpaws squeezing your butt as they lift it just slightly into position. And then he thrusts in and ohhhhhh fuck you cum near-instantly, with the stimulation he gave you right before and just the general lewdness of the situation. Of course then he starts thrusting and boy do you really know what they mean by 'fuck like a bunny' now as he pumps his hips rapidly, just pistoning into you with almost blurring speed, that long glistening pink cock and its scooped head slamming into you like it was trying to drive the soul out of your body. It drives that initial orgasm higher, drags it on, and has you making some very, very naughty noises as your legs lift in the air, toes alternately curling and stretching out as your heels buck and twitch. It's not a particularly long fuck, but Boin also doesn't stop fucking you even as he begins to gush cum inside you, pumping it deeper in and churning it up, making you buck and twist through your own next orgasm as well as your ass and thighs are splattered with copious amounts of Pokecum.\n\n"Hhhha... hhhhha... fuuuuck," you groan as Boin pulls out, his cock only drooping slightly, your pussy dripping more cum down your taint. "... Gonna be a fun job..."\n\nYou step into the attached bathroom to shower off, Boin following along with you. You untie his bandanna so you can shampoo him up thoroughly (he looks cute all sudsy!), and then yelp and shield yourself with a towel on stepping out when he shakes off (he looks cute all poofy!). After retying his bandanna for him, and obviously you getting dressed, the two of you head back to the lobby.\n\n"So, you guys ready to go?" Xina chirps with a smile.\n\n"Yeah. Ah, thanks again, Xina," you add, blushing at the extra tinge your gratitude has taken on.\n\n"Heheh, my pleasure," she says with a wink that adds the unspoken 'And yours'.\n\nClearing your throat, you give a soft "oh", pulling Boin's Pokeball out of your pocket. You look at it, then glance at him, the Hiphip watching you with an unreadable expression on his adorable bunny face.\n\n<hr>\n[[Put him in the Pokeball.|ChiPoke]]\n\n[[Put the Pokeball away.|ChiPoke]]

You're not above letting curiosity get the better of you, and after wrestling with it for a few moments you say, "So tell me about these unique Pokemon you have, at least."\n\n"Oh, they're great! First off I have a Hiphip, which is a super adorable first evolution Pokemon. They're smart and communicative, and this one's got lots of personality and is really affectionate. His moves are kind of basic but probably plenty for self-defense against most Pokemon you'll run into casually. They're kind of like an Eevee, they can evolve into lots of different forms depending on either giving them evolution stones or a bunch of funky conditions, but lots of people like to keep them in their Hiphip evolution just because they're so cute that way, and if you cancel their evolution they can learn better moves anyway."\n\n"Sounds about right. And not too pervy," you add in a dry tone, with just a bit of a grin. "Though since it's you it's gotta be there somewhere."\n\n"Heheh. I've also got a Doppel... it's sort of like a Ditto, but it's even better at mimicry, it can turn into pretty much anything around it, though this one has... quirks," Xina admits, glancing at an all-white Pokeball.\n\n"What sort of 'quirks'?" you ask suspiciously.\n\n"Just, y'know, it's own preferences. Usually about tweaks it makes to its form. It's also got kinda lewd variants of typical Pokemon moves. But it's smart and friendly and pretty obedient, so. The other two I've got are... wellll, they're very combat capable but I'm not sure you'd be interested in how, uh... well..."\n\n"Go on," you urge. You have a feeling that means these are extra double lewd, but you were in fact thoroughly baited by the 'very combat capable' bit.\n\n"Well there's Instalos. In fact it's so combat capable that it's banned from all tournaments and gym battles in its home dimension. ... Actually there are probably other reasons," Xina murmurs sheepishly, tapping her cheek. "The other one is... well, it's a legendary."\n\n"You... have a legendary Pokemon?" your eyebrows lift. "And you're willing to loan it to me? ... What's wrong with it?"\n\n"There's nothing wrong with it!" Xina answers huffily, puffing her cheeks out and pouting. "It's an incredibly powerful Pokemon called Warpanion, and it will make sure you win every single fight! Just... it really only has one move, 'Reality Warp'," she allows, shrugging. "Which can make things go very strange for awhile. Usually everything goes right back to normal afterwards, with you having won the fight or whatever, but uh... yeah, it can be a little strange and disturbing all the same. It'll probably want to use the power with you once to bond with you and whatever happens there will happen. Soooo... insta-win button but weird."\n\nWow, if Xina is saying something can be weird and a bit disturbing, you'd tend to believe her. Of course, you're not immune to the allure of the words "insta-win button" either...hm. Who to choose...\n\n<hr>\n[[Hiphip.|ChiPoke2x2]]\n\n[[Doppel.|ChiPoke]]\n\n[[Instalos.|ChiPoke]]\n\n[[Warpanion.|ChiPoke]]

"Ooo, let's send her to a roomful of orcs!" you chirp, clapping just your fingertips together excitedly. "I always like that one!"\n\n"It is a classic in its simplicity, my queen," Xenith agrees happily.\n\nIn the crystal, Tifa rounds a bend in the tunnel and pauses briefly at the sight of a heavy, roughly-hewn wooden door. Since the tunnel leaves her no option but to approach, she eventually steps forward and opens it, not seeming terribly cautious... you suppose she comes from a world without mimics or terribly many trapped doors.\n\nTifa lets out a yelp as multiple large, green hands immediately reach out to grab her and haul her forward. You suppose to her credit she does manage to quickly shake them off, dealing a hard uppercut jab to the massive jaw of one of the orcs, whirling to smash her fist into the chest of another. But the entire room is full of them, and they're all at least head and shoulders bigger than she is. Even as she's still twisting and punching, one of them moves up behind and grabs her hips, thrusting his huge green prick up under her skirt, her panties twisting and tearing as he shoves his cock into her ass along with them. Even then she tries to swing her arms and knock the others back, but the sudden fucking up the ass has thrown her too badly, and it's barely half a heartbeat before one of the orcs has grabbed her hair and shoved her head down, forcing his own throbbing, oily monster dick past her lips and is bulging her throat out with it. Her flailing arms are caught, her fists soon forced to wrap around a pair of orcish members and start stroking as she's spitroasted, her defiant battlecries turning to muffled grunts and moans as she's raped from both ends.\n\n"You know, I almost feel a little bad about how hard we go on immediately deluging them with orcs," you muse aloud, even as you're stroking your pussy lightly through your panties. "Maybe one of these days we ought to give one of them a chance to fight back. Just for fun."\n\n"A most amusing idea, O cruelly kind one," Xenith purrs, having manifested a slender red cock to stroke as she watches as well. "Perhaps an arena of some sort, where the more monsters the victim defeats, the bigger the one that eventually fucks them is."\n\n"Interesting idea! Make a note of it, Xenith."\n\n"Of course, my queen!"\n\nOn the crystal, the orc fucking Tifa's ass has buried himself deep inside her to spill his load, soaking the scraps of her panties that he's fucked deep into her hole. The one in her mouth has pulled out, however, spurting his yellowish seed all over her face as she gasps and sputters, the ones she's being forced to jerk off adding their loads to her face and hair, soon coating her in a liberal amount of the viscous monster jizz from the neck up. Then she's being hauled upward, big clawed hands tearing away her top, large breasts jiggling as they're abruptly freed, others yanking off her belt and skirt, leaving her in nothing but her gloves and boots. An orc puts her in a full nelson, muscular arms hauling her legs up and big hands tucking behind her head, before shoving her already abused ass down on his cock and starting to pump her over it like an onahole. Tifa groans and grits her teeth, struggling in vain to get free... only for her eyes to widen as another orc, stroking his cock and smirking lewdly, steps in at her front. However his fat green cockhead passes right over her bared and vulnerable pussy without so much as brushing against it, instead pressing it up against her already widely-spread pucker, rubbing against the shaft of the other orc. He pushes forward, Tifa crying out loudly as she's spread twice as wide, her eyes rolling and drool running down her chin as she's double-stuffed, the orc's stomach and crotch rubbing against her steadily more sodden virgin pussy as he fucks her along with the other, until both simultaneously spill their loads deep inside, the double-gaping enough that a large amount of thick orc cum spurts and dribbles out of her stretched hole even before they pull out.\n\n"This batch of orcs is quite creative, I'll have to keep how I made them in mind," you muse aloud, now pumping two fingers into your pussy with your panties pulled aside. Indeed the orcs seem intent on breaking Tifa by completely and utterly destroying her ass. Several more pairs of them double-stuff her, fucking her two at a time and pumping more and more simultaneous dual loads into her ass. Then one of them shifts a bit more to the side, a third orc moving in, Tifa's body twitching and shuddering, her cry all the louder as the duo of dicks stretching her once tight and pristine pucker turns into a trio, all three fondling and squeezing her body, making it clear she's their plaything as they pump her up and down over all three monstrous green fucksticks. Then four, then five... finally six fat orc cocks are pumping up into Tifa at a time, which is obviously the point at which her mind completely snaps, her lips curling up in a brainless smile and her tongue lolling out, her cries of anger and pleas for mercy turning into slutty yowls and hysterical giggles. She squeals in joy as all six shove up deep and cum at once, her flat belly that had already bulged up with multiple dick outlines swelling further outward at the sheer amount of monster jizz being pumped into her ass.\n\nThey drop her onto her back on the floor, letting her lay sprawled there with her legs spread, her tits heaving and glistening with a mixture of sweat and cum. She shows not the slightest sign of resistance when an orc moves in to fold her legs forward and finally rub the tip of his prick against her virgin pussy where it's dripping above her gaping, utterly destroyed asshole. "Yes, yes, do it, fuck me," she pleads, her eyes glassy and empty in her lewdly pleading face. She moans like a whore as the orc thrusts in, his massive, muscular body moving into a full mating press as he tries to drive her into the stone floor while breeding her. Tifa's pleas for more cock and more cum and to be fucked harder gradually turn into wordless, animalistic mewls and whimpers and squeals as orc after orc takes his turn at breeding her, pressing atop her body and pumping into her, leathery green balls slapping against her permagaped asshole until they're emptied into her steadily messier and more churned-up cunt.\n\nBy the time the full 100 of them have each had at least two turns, and Tifa is pulled up to her knees, she obediently leans forward and starts eagerly sucking one of those fat, green pricks, lips dragging along it and cheeks hollowed as she sucks, her eyes somehow both dead and worshipful as she looks up at the orcs surrounding her, reaching up to stroke two more of them, getting them ready for the next round of using her however they please, her tits wobbling with the motions of bobbing her head.\n\n"There, she's good and squared away," you coo, tugging your panties back into place and sitting up in your throne, taking just a moment to remove the door and thereby permanently seal Tifa in the room with her orc playmates, then clearing the view in the crystal. "Let's move on, shall we?"\n<<set $activetifa to false>><<set $orctifa to true>>\n<hr>\n[[Continue.|MaxThroneRoomRepeat]]

* Main: Added Kiara and Maxia.\n* Main: Kai can now [[focus on taking out Street Demons|Kai1x10]] when the meeting is attacked.\n* Maxia can now [[summon Tifa|MaxKnownSouls]]. \n* Main: Caliburn can [[pick a hallway|CalKLRoom1]] in the King's Labyrinth.\n* Added Yami.\n* Main: Konko can now prank [[the boy looking at porn|Konko6x1]].\n* More of Konko pranking Ryo.\n* Maxia can now summon Red.\n* Main: Kai can now [[find Niobe|Kai1x10]] after the Street Demons attack the meeting. Back at the Glowworm she can also go speak to the [[Transcendants|Kai1x4]].\n* Kiara can now have the Totally Spies put in a 'play bay'.\n* Yami can go to the 'High Fantasy' chargen area.

After considering it (meaning you think about it and your onboard computer crunches numbers, which is kind of wild but also pretty neat you've got to admit), you decide the odds of the Liezes listening to you if you approach are just too slim. Maybe if Tina hadn't already had a full pack of them chasing her into a lightning field trying to escape (how the hell did she get in there and then back out again while you were disabled?) you'd have a chance, but as it stands, they're likely to either fight or flee rather than listening to you talk.\n\nYou spend awhile going over the downed Reap Drones, partly to salvage a few usable parts from them, and partly so you can rip out several vital systems and toss them into the lightning field. There's a part of you that's actually a little sad and pained to do it, which makes you wary... just how much of the Reap Drone's AI is your mind and memory existing in tandem with? It's not exactly a question the systems are set up to answer, so with a shudder you settle for scanning for any traces of Grimalkin just to make sure he's gone. ... As far as you can tell, yes. But it's clear that a little bit of Reaper made it in here with you, and you resolve to be watchful for it.\n\nYou're forced to admit, though, that various of the items in the pack mule's containers might be useful, so you retrieve them from its storage pods, darting your tail-grippers in to... ow! Okay, that one's pretty much toast. Wincing a bit, you uncouple the base of the tail that was hit by lightning and let it drop to the ground. You consider just leaving it at that, but after a moment sigh and move to use your remaining one to disengage the tail from one of the other drones and attach it in the discarded one's place. You'd rather not maintain this body more than necessary, it feels too much like admitting it's yours, but you're going to need both 'hands' going forward. Now you dart your tail grippers in between lightning strikes, yanking out several of the pieces of equipment like the grapple attachment and microfactory, and a pair of multi-function blasters that you can attach to your shoulders. Litonon's not supposed to be particularly dangerous, but you never know what might show up.\n\n'Like a second pack of Reapers,' you think acidly as you turn and begin charging off towards the nearest city. You've been avoiding thinking about it, but what if your... body... still has that weird other person that Sokahn named 'Lina' in it? That... not-you you. Whoever-whatever she is compared to you, she has your body, and if she wasn't fucked up by the lightning blast while she was connected to Grimalkin, she still has control of his damn ship and everything on it. If she sends more drones after the Liezes, or even you, you'll be ready. Your comms are shielded now, so she or anyone else can't try to take command of you again... that was surprisingly easy, almost like the process for doing so had been set up ahead of time.\n\nYou soon arrive in the city and begin combing it for the parts you need, while still remotely keeping an eye on the Lieze twins. Fortunately, they apparently either got rattled by the Reap Drones or have just given this lead up as a flop, since they leave by the end of the day. Unfortunately, your search is turning up dead ends too. Combing practically every former military and law enforcement installation, government building, and even electronics store in the city turns up virtually nothing. Luckily this doesn't take more than a few days, since with the sensors you have now you can just prowl around through each building fairly quickly and know whether what you want is there or not. You move on to the next city, and the next, before finally giving up and deciding to start looking for raw materials and 'close enough' matches you'll be able to modify with the microfactory you're still lugging around in one tail-grip. \n\nEven that's not particularly easy. It seems that the departing population, or perhaps scavengers who came along after, were determined to strip Litonon of as much of its usable products as much as they stripped it of every natural resource. You wind up having to use components that have to be painstakingly repaired before they can even be modified into what you need. In the end it takes almost a month, and finally converting the microfactory itself into the last remaining components and housing of the beacon. 'Which means if I fucked this up, there's no second try,' you think with a wince as you bring a forepaw up, delicately tapping the activation switch with one sharp metal claw that could cut the metal button in half if you exerted just a bit too much force.\n\nAnd then you're stumbling forward and out of a portal into the annex. Oh thank fuck! Then you wince and shrink back as the reaction to your arrival goes down. Actually the first reaction you didn't notice amidst your flood of relief was that it went absolutely, unnaturally silent in the usual bustling and noisy arrival area. But of course the big reaction is what comes after. Lots of dramatic stuff can happen in the arrival annex, but you don't think you've ever even heard of anyone screaming before, but it happens now, several times over. Some are running, others are bringing weapons to bear, and even as you yelp and drop to the ground, covering your head with your forepaws, you feel several projectiles ping off your armor and a few energy blasts hit it with minimal damage.\n\n"Friendly! FRIENDLY!" you shout, hunkering down as much as you can. "Friendly fiiiiire!"\n\nThat actually seems to have flummoxed everyone enough that there's a silence again, save for a late-thrown knife blunting its tip against your shoulderplate before clattering to the floor. Of course about two seconds later the actual Guild guards show up... just a lot more of them than is usual to this sort of thing, probably only having taken that long because they were calling up even more power armor troopers. They quickly surround you and point heavy blaster rifles you know would be completely capable of obliterating your armor even if your sensors and identification protocols didn't tell you so.\n\nYou lift a paw slowly just enough to peek an eye out. "Leonidas LaChance, Guild member Alpha-Romeo-99-Vector-Sigma-Sandstorm! Security phrase..." Goddammit. "... 'My mom can kick your ass'." Well at least now they'll let you change the one you picked when you were a thirteen-year-old probie. Since they're not shooting, you slowly lower your forelimbs to the floor and lift your head a bit. "I had, uh... Circumstances."\n\nYou catch several of the notoriously professional guards actually glancing at each other through their helmets, before one steps back slightly. "Alright. Get up. No sudden moves, no comms. Make a wrong move and we fire anyway."\n\nYeah, not surprising there. Very gingerly, making sure your tails don't do any waving or lashing, you get up and follow after the lead guard... or well, follow ahead, since he's walking backwards so as not to turn his back on you. The rest continue to form a ring around you as you move, various mercs staring and murmuring as you're very slowly escorted from the arrival annex.\n\n\n"I'm sorry, Leo, there's just not much we can do."\n\nYou settle sulkily onto the floor as the pair of a Guild doctor and a Guild engineer look down at you, very competent, both very pretty, and both highly apologetic at being useless to you.\n\n"While your neural pattern has definitely confirmed it's you... after accounting for its transition into a digital state... this particular drone seems to have been designed to prevent any and all AI transferrence, except possibly to another Reap Drone. It looks like it's probably meant as an attempt to leash the AI and keep it from escaping into other systems."\n\n"With a lot more study we could maybe physically remove your core and install it into a more humanlike artificial body, but... even that would be tricky," the engineer admits quietly. "And any transferrence to a flesh and blood body... is pretty much right out."\n\n"The sole exception might be if you were able to get your own body back," the doctor cuts in, cupping her chin. "From what you said, it was heavily augmented with neural access ports and a neural web. Since your pattern already 'fits' into that brain, it's possible that-"\n\n"Oh yeah, that the Reap Drone wouldn't acknowledge it as an external system, but just a remote extension of its own system, you're right," the engineer chirps, thumping a fist into her palm and grinning.\n\n"Goody, all I'd have to do is kidnap someone who's in the heart of one of the most dangerous ships surrounded by one of the most dangerous and fanatically loyal crews in the multiverse, yaaaaay," you mutter, your sensor-ears laying flat to the sides.\n\nThe doctor and engineer exchange a glance, the doctor being the one to sympathetically say, "I'm very sorry, Leo, I know this is a lot to take in. That said... there's an Administrator here and he'd like to speak to you."\n\nYou blink at that... or rather the glow of your eyes shuts off briefly before coming back on. An Administrator? ... Perfect. The Guild as an organization has very little direct interaction with the mercenaries who are a part of it, other than the counter workers who do the basic logistic work of managing turning bounties in, giving them out, and occasionally registering them. When it does, they send an Administrator, and they pretty much never send them for good reason. But if they send one, you better talk to them, so with a sigh you sit up on your haunches, still a little annoyed at how naturally the animalistic poses and gestures come to you. "Alright, I'll talk to him then."\n\nBoth of them nod and exit, and a moment later a slender, slightly androgynous man walks in. He has slicked-back black hair and dark skin, his eyes hidden behind slender mirrored sunglasses. He's wearing a black suit complete with formal shirt and tie, but the suit jacket has been replaced with a black and white operator-type coat, with obvious and functional straps and equipment hooks. You have to admit that it's a nice, if slightly overcalculated, blend of 'I'm a professional authority figure' and 'I'm one of you'. "Hello, I'm Administrator Ortin. Just Ortin is fine," he says as he pulls a chair out from the nearby table and turns it to face you before sitting. "Would you prefer Leonidas, Leo, or Mr. LaChance?"\n\nYou almost say 'Mr. LaChance' just because having an Administrator call you by your nickname just feels like it would be phony somehow, but at the same time you don't want to seem like you're taking the opportunity to have him talk up to you after he just okayed using his own name without a title. And nobody but your father calls you 'Leonidas'. "Leo is fine," you answer, unable to suppress a bit of a sigh, or at least the audio of one that underlays the words. "So, am I out of the Guild?"\n\n"No, Leo, you're not. It's not the Guild's policy to revoke membership due to Circumstances, even if this particular one is a new one on us and a bit in the extreme." He draws a small datapad out of his coat and looks at it, adjusting his glasses a little. "Had you voluntarily transferred yourself into the Reap Drone, that might be another story, but considering that this all happened against your will, and to all indications the specialists can find that is the truth, then no you are not going to be expelled from the Guild."\n\nYou'd narrow your eyes if your face was built for it. "Then why are you here?"\n\nOrtin pauses just a heartbeat, then chuckles. "Alright, I see you're familiar with the unofficial motto of the Guild and its members regarding each other."\n\nYou let out a snort-noise, bobbing your head once. "Yeah. 'It's just business'."\n\nGIPSE is no band of brothers, or family of linked professionals, and every smart merc knows it. Oh sure, individual mercs and companies can be that, but the Guild itself? They're a business. They facilitate everything, run everything, because it makes them money. Selling insurance, charging for medical procedures, food in the official cafeterias and vending machines, sales tax on the third party shops and businesses, portal and docking charges, rent for apartments and company halls, and a dozen other ways that they make money off of mercs. And mercs are almost all fine with that because the Guild doesn't take a single coin, credit, or gram of their fees from contracts. The Guild's protection of mercs as far as contracts go is purely to protect its own reputation and its revenue flow and everyone who's not a starry-eyed idealist knows it.\n\n"Though I'll let you in on a secret, our version of that?" Ortin leans towards you, as if indeed confiding some great secret. "'It's just government'. Call it a Guildhall, but it's a city, and we are the city government. We like to be hands-off as much as possible, because we've found that the fewer rules we have the more likely people are to follow them, and the less people are interfered with the less they want to buck any interference that we find necessary. The tradeoff to our meddling is that we rarely do it for the positive either, outside of the exact terms of our contracts. Typically, should a member have Circumstances, they are the mercenary's responsibility to deal with, as well as those around them."\n\n"Meaning that once you'd decided I was really me and you weren't kicking me out, you'd have just let me have to deal with trying to get by doing my job while looking like one of the most terrifying things in the multiverse," you note dryly, but without rancor. Because yeah, that's just how it works. "But since you're here you aren't doing that?"\n\n"Indeed. And since we're both clear on what this is, I won't blow any smoke up your ass about doing this for the greater good. Instead call it enlightened self interest." Ortin sits back in the chair and folds his arms over his chest. "One of the Guild's official mottos is, as you know, 'We do not exclude, we do not discriminate, we do not judge.' And that one is dead serious... if nothing else, allowing anyone with the basic skills to become part of the Guild is more profitable than any exclusions. With a few extremely rare and generally agreed-upon exceptions, we allow anyone who wants to join to do so. However, this does not mean that all species have an easy time of it. 99.8% of our current members are humanoid and of a size ranging from three feet to ten feet. The lower and higher end of the scale may have some difficulties with the Guildhall, but even they can manage."\n\n"So, what, you're saying this is somehow related to that 0.2%?" you ask a little disbelievingly.\n\n"That 0.2% is projected to become 0.9% within the next century, and that's without any changes to current policy at all." Apparently sensing your blank stare despite your largely immobile face, Ortin grins a bit. "That's the sort of scale the Guild administration looks at things from, Leo. Back to business, and the enlightened self interest of an offer to you. We want to begin expanding parts of the Guildhall to make them more comfortable and usable for non-humanoid members. However to do that, we need to increase the rate at which non-humanoids, especially quadrupedal, mercenaries join. We're quietly working on a sort of 'visibility initiative' where we're subtly encouraging more of these to join, primarily 'crossover' species such as various 'taurs'. However, the more visibly and totally nonhumanoid members we have, the better this initiative will work, and the more nonhuman mercenaries we'll get, and the faster we can see the sort of changes to new facilities we need to make to get them comfortable, happy, and spending money."\n\n"So you want me to be some sort of, what... spokesman?" you say disbelievingly.\n\n"No, nothing of the sort... the entire point of this initiative is to not shove it down people's throats. We simply want you to continue to be a Guild mercenary as normally as you can. To that extent, however, we're offering you a sort of upgrade... we'll refit your armor to give you a less imposing look and feel. You'll still be perfectly capable of being intimidating when need be, but by default should be less likely to inspire immediate fear and terror in anyone who sees you. To put it in common terms, fewer people should have an 'Oh God a Reaper' response when they see you. The chassis upgrade will also include several useful weapons and tools you should find useful in your career, and maintenance on them will be provided by us in perpetuity. We'll provide prototype quarters we think will be more comfortable for a quadrupedal life form, rent free, and should you later on acquire vehicles or a ship, we will also provide free docking and even heavily discounted modification, as long as you provide us with thorough rundowns on why the modifications were necessary to assist you with your non-humanoid form."\n\nThat's... a hell of an offer. Far too good of one to not have a cloud showing rotation attached to its silver lining. "And the catch is?"\n\n"The catch is, you'll sign a contract agreeing never to attempt to reclaim your own body, or to transition over to a humanoid mechanical body." Ortin pushes his glasses up his nose, making them glint ominously, even though his voice is even and actually almost friendly. "The Guild will be providing these benefits on the principle that you are part of the non-humanoid diversity initiative... you feeling you had to become humanoid again afterward would damage that initiative badly. So if you ever reclaim your old body, or transfer to a humanoid one, you will immediately lose your Guild certification. On the spot."\n\nWhich means that if you were on some far-off planet in an unfamiliar dimension when you did it, even your beacon would stop working and you'd be stranded. Let alone the fact they want you to give up and stay like this forever! ... Yet, weren't you practically giving up a few minutes before? Nothing has changed about your body's location. Hell, and that's best case scenario, for all you know it was rendered braindead by psycomm backlash from the lightning strike and Yinfre tossed it out with that day's trash dump. Really all you'd be giving up is the thought of maybe switching to an android body in... what, two years? Five? Ten? That's if the doctor and engineer really do keep working on it. And its not like this body is without its advantages for your line of work, especially once it's upgraded with official Guild tech. Heck, you can even still have sex, provided you can find someone crazy enough to willingly fuck a Reaper.\n\n... But can you really just give up your actual, real life like that? "And if I don't take the deal?" you ask slowly.\n\nOrtin shrugs, not a hint of malice in the gesture or his words as he says, "Business as usual. You have been certified as being Leo LaChance, Guild member in good standing, and as such will be released to return to your life as much as you can, and deal with the consequences of your Circumstances on your own."\n\nRight. So. They won't punish you for not taking the deal, but they won't help you either. Which, honestly, is exactly how it was when you walked into this room after all those tests. You'd be free to pursue getting your body back, or getting a new one, or just getting on with life as best you could while trying to do either... while obviously and visibly looking like one of the most hated and feared things in creation. So getting help from other mercs in overcoming the insurmountable odds of getting your body back, assuming it's still there to get back... not likely. You'd basically be alone in the world, but if you could pull it off, you'd be able to go back to normal like nothing ever happened. ... Y'know, once you got your body changed back to your body. ... And also maybe got some memory treatments to completely and totally suppress the whole 'Take me, Father' thing. ... Gyaaaahhhh you thought about it again! ... Oh hey actually you can just go ahead and lock that memory so it doesn't get accessed unless you want to do it deliberately. That's handy.\n\nGuh. Handy. Yeah this body is handy in a lot of ways. So what to do with it?\n\n<hr>\n[[Agree to the deal.|ReapLeo]]\n\n[[Refuse.|ReapLeo]]

'If there's a solution to this, it's not gonna be found on this shithole,' you think, glaring around briefly at the ruined landscape. 'I need to get back to the Guildhall, maybe the doctors or... techs or... somebody... can do something.'\n\n... Hm, but how to do it? You don't exactly have your return beacon or emergency beacon on you, Sokahn probably took that and hid it away somewhere, assuming he didn't destroy it, not that it would matter since it's not like he would have just stuck it on a random Reap Drone! ... Ahem. Okay, okay, and you can't just access the Guild's comm system despite knowing the codes and frequencies to do so from an outside user's perspective, because the system is specifically guarded against Reap Drones, your call would just be rejected outright. You'll have to take your chances with just portaling back. Things might get, uh, tense in the arrival annex, but you're hoping you can manage that. Maybe you can find some parts to put together an emergency beacon, since you still know your authenticator code, there is a whole planet to work with, after all.\n\nOh. Hey wait, speaking of beacons, aren't there at least two on the planet right now? You turn your head, sensors focusing and streaming more detailed data at the thought. Yeah... Tina and Tanya haven't left the planet yet. They're far away but you're pretty sure you can catch up to them in this body. ... Obviously it's going to be a bit of a hard sell trying to get them to help you, assuming they don't both run like hell or try to kill you on first sight, but if you can get past that maybe you can talk them into taking you back with them. They have a ship, after all, it might be easier to handle things via the docks rather than the arrival annex too. Just... tricky to get them to listen.\n\n<hr>\n[[Build a beacon.|ReapLeo1x3]]\n\n[[Approach the Lieze twins.|ReapLeo]]

'I'm... Leo... Leo LaChance, I... wait, I...' "Holy SHIT!" you blurt, jerking upright so hard you almost go tumbling over due to your nanofiber muscles still being a bit on the twitchy and overcharged side. "H-holy shit, I'm Leo, and I'm... what?! WHAT?!" you shriek, twisting back and forth as you look at the body of the Reap Drone you're now inhabiting.\n\nYou remember everything. Being changed into a woman, getting stuck in that slime thing while searching for Sokahn, your mind and memories fading, waking up with your body altered yet again and Sokahn playing your father, your father who... the stream of all the memories, coupled with the absolute deluge of information coming from the self-repair routines, is almost enough to make you black out. Except you apparently can't in this body. You just feel a bit distant and faint, though even that's resolved as more systems come online and you're drawn back into them, the same flood of sensation, data, and access to information settling around you and feeling natural as more of the systems come online.\n\n'Okay... okay, Leo, just breathe. ... You don't breathe now,' you note flatly after mimicking the motion several times, the nanofiber muscles of your chest expanding and your throat speakers even making a few 'pfff-whaaaa' sounds. 'This is bad, this is really bad, it's super fucked up. But let's catalog the good stuff, okay? You've got your memories back. You're in control of this body... shit, I am in control right? The drone AI is gone, isn't it?' The thought sends a scan across your data files, and immediately starts returning ones marked as being tied to Grimalkin's personality core. 'NOPE! Delete delete delete die you fucking Reaper son of a bitch die die die! ... hff... okay that made me feel a little better. ... Which is probably a bad sign but whatever. One less Reap Drone in the multiverse.' You pause, then glance down at your forepaws. '... Sort of.'\n\n'Now think. You're stuck in a Reap Drone, obviously this is not good. First thing's first, I gotta...'\n\n<hr>\n[[... get a better body.|ReapLeo]]\n\n[[... get back to the Guild.|ReapLeo1x2]]

"S-so, it sounds like selling yourself into slavery for awhile is a pretty good way to get a jump start on a lot of money. I think maybe, you know... I-I'd like to give that a try," you murmur, squirming in place and trying to resist the urge to look away in embarrassment at how hot your face feels.\n\nHelio's smirk says she isn't particularly fooled, which just makes you squirm some more. "Issat so? Really want to make a good chunk of change, huh?"\n\n"Y-yeah. You know, for player housing. I love player housing!" you blurt, hugging yourself and wiggling your shoulders back and forth.\n\n"Don't we all. Alright then, you're in luck, 'cause I spent my Head Start mostly gathering materials and doing crafting... s'why I don't have much in the way of inventory. But I do have a handy Slave Contract right here," she adds, taking a clipboard with a sheet of paper and some sort of fantasy-styled pen off a shelf nearby. "Alright, character name is 'Kuro', right?"\n\n"Y-yeah. ... I mean, you can see it, right?" you ask, glancing above your head.\n\n"There's an alias function, but I don't think you unlock it until level five. So you're lower level than that?"\n\n"Level two."\n\n"Oh, came right here, huh? Well you'd score more cash if you were higher level, but a player slave is still gonna be expensive no matter what, since they're way better and more useful than non-player ones. You still gain experience while you're a slave, too. Okay, length of slave contract in days?"\n\n'Infinity,' you almost blurt, before controlling yourself and trying to reel it in. "Oh, well, if it's more money the more days, how about... 365?" you answer, trying to sound casual.\n\n"Damn girl you kinky as hell," Helio mutters to herself as she writes in the figure on the sheet, making your blush even worse. "Okay, now... private sale or auction?"\n\n"W-what's the difference?" you ask, trying not to sound impatient.\n\n"Private sale means it's a situation like this I've got going on here... a direct person-to-person sale, for an agreed-upon amount when you sign the contract. Actually, in that case, I'll probably just buy you and keep you myself," Helio continues, her grin turning wolfish. "That'd be super useful in growing my business, there's lots of things I could shortcut if I had a player slave. I've got enough money from incidental crafting sales while I was getting the stuff I needed for my specialized crafting that I can pay even a year contract. But the auction is exactly what it sounds like... I'd ship you to one of the big cities and you'd go up on stage and people would bid on you. I'd take a small cut, the auction would take a small cut, and you'd get the rest. You'd probably get more money that way, but the auction's not for a month."\n\n"A month?" you repeat, unable to help sounding whiny and impatient as you do.\n\n"Trust me, it'll be better that way. Even the beta testers lost all their items, property, and most of their currency when the game went gold. They'll still have their levels and skills and their knowledge from the beta, but it'll take most of them at least a month to rebuild what they had, including their fortunes. Besides, you seem like the sort that would get off on being penned in like an animal, hmmmm?" she coos sweetly.\n\n"N-no, I mean, that's, well," you stammer, squirming again.\n\n"Well, deny all you want, either way that's pretty much the last major question on the contract before you sign. Individual sale or auction?"\n\n<hr>\n[[Individual sale.|HFSlave]]\n\n[[Auction.|HFSlave]]

Hm, he said he doesn't drink often, probably best to make him something fairly easy on the ABV, you think as you take down bottles from the shelf. You'll make yourself something a little harder, you muse as you look over the bottles... you're not a huge drinker, but hey, you're young, and you didn't acquire your drink mixing skills without a fair bit of partaking! You'll be fine.\n\n'Or not,' you think vaguely, even your mental voice almost slurring as you loll on the chair, barely able to keep your hand resting on top of your glass where it's sitting on the table to one side of you without flopping it and turning the whole thing over. Wow, Nova stocks waaaay better stuff than you can usually get your hands on... the first one kind of snuck up on you while you were in the middle of the second one, which made it hard to tell how hammered you were getting, and about halfway through the third one, well.\n\nThough you and Nova had been chatting, with him gradually taking over the majority of it as you descended further into lazy, almost-asleep drunkenness, he now stops mid-story and chuckles. "I think perhaps you need to get back to your quarters, my young friend."\n\n"Yeah, prolly," you slur, chuckling a little, staggering some as you get to your feet with his help, not even thinking of his nudity as he hauls you in against his side and slips an arm under yours to help you stay up. "You... keep gooood stuff, man... better'n crap I can get... savin' up for ship..."\n\n"I've no doubt you'll get there someday," Nova assures you genially as he half-leads half-carries you to the door and out into the hall. But his voice is already distant and fading, you practically asleep on your feet, only conscious in the vaguest of ways as you sort-of-kind-of manage to put one foot in front of the other on the way back to your cabin.\n\nInside, you're similarly vaguely aware of being led over to your bed and eased down onto it, arms flopping out in front of your head. Ahhh... the mattress feels so good under your chest and cheek, so nice and softfirm and cool, you think as your pants are undone and slid down and off of you, boots tugged off of your feet. 'That feels nice,' you similarly semi-consciously think as strong hands stroke over your back, pushing up your top, then down to massage your ass, squeezing it and parting it. The kneading and massaging continues, lulling you even further down into being barely awake, to the point that you only let out a soft 'mmf' as you feel something hot and hard and slick pushing into your ass, spreading you open and sliding in deep.\n\nThe rocking of your body as that hot thing in your ass starts to move is relaxing... so relaxing, gently rubbing and pressing you against the bed as that thick, slick thing pumps into you and something fuzzy and firm thumps against your butt. You can feel hands soothingly stroking your waist, reaching up to rub and stroke your hair, making you 'mmm' softly again and shudder. That thing inside you... it feels sort of...\n\n<hr>\n[[... annoying.|LeoNova]]\n\n[[... good.|LeoNova]]

"Okay, okay, I'll do one of these sessions of yours," you say with a sigh, folding your arms. "What do they cost?"\n\n"Well, a simple relaxation session is the cheapest," she coos with another little giggle, before naming the price, which makes you blink. That... actually is pretty cheap. Honestly even if all she does is play some (probably slightly creepy, natch) relaxing music then you wouldn't consider that completely wasted money. You fish out the wallet you bought at a corner store (Pokeball-pattern, natch) and fish out some of the money you changed, proffering it, and she turns to head into the other room, beckoning you after.\n\n'Damn, Halloween cake must be a thing,' you think with a glance down, seeing that her dress must be tight in the front because it's very tight in the back. Lifting your gaze before you start staring, you follow her in and... huh, yeah, it's a very normal-looking office like a psych might have, with a sideless reclining couch and a comfortable chair next to it. "So hey, about this Pokemon-"\n\n"Oh I couldn't until after," Hexia cuts in, already wide eyes widening even further. "I pride myself in giving fair value, you have to be relaxed first!"\n\nYou sigh and put a hand to your face. Having to jump through all these hoops isn't very relaxing on its own. "Okay, but once I'm sufficiently relaxed, then you tell me about the Pokemon, right?" you say as you settle to sit on the side of the reclining couch, then after her expectant look huff a bit and turn to actually lay down on it, resting your hands on your belly.\n\n"Sure!" she chirps, sitting down in the chair, and picking up a remote. At the click of a button, soft, quiet music starts playing and... yup, called it. It sounds like someone did a very gentle and low-key version of one of those generic spooky tracks from a collection of Halloween sound effects. Which... honestly, you're kind of digging it as you start listening to it. Maybe she'll throw in the track name as a bonus or something. "Just relaaaaax," she coos, her voice actually turning a bit smoother and more honeyed. "Release alllll your streeessssss... let if flooooow out of yooooou... relaaaaaaaax..."\n\n<hr>\n[[Right, relaaaaaaaax.|ChiPoke4x2]]\n\n[[No you're relaxed enough now thanks.|ChiPoke5x1]]

Letting out a long sigh, you nod. "Okay, okay, let's get together tonight and figure out how we can get me something important, even if I've gotta do some goofy naughty stuff to appease you."\n\n"It's not like I'm holding the good ones hostage," he says in a bit of a chilly tone.\n\n"I know, I know," you hurry to agree, wagging your hand. He actually wouldn't do that... necessarily. He just sees himself as Knight Guardian of the Addi Eijdy Brand™, so if he thinks you have to have some balance, he's going to uphold that balance to the best of his ability. It's less extortion and more... ... paternalism? Well whatever. He's not that much of a dick, leave it at that. "So how do you want to do this?"\n\n"How about I pick you up at your place around seven, we go to the Flashbash to settle on some fluff streams, then we can go back to my place where I've got some of the work I've done on the 'meatier' stream potentials and we'll talk about those?"\n\nYou nod evenly, even though you have an idea of how this is actually going to go. "Yeah, okay, sounds good. I'll see you at seven then."\n\nOnce you get home, you start going through some of your own stream ideas, then get distracted by running down some 'research' involving a few other streamers. The next thing you know there's a buzzing at the door, and you blink, looking up in puzzlement... then look at the nearest clock and swear. Getting up you hurry to the front door, looking sheepish to still be in the same clothes you were in at the office earlier, while Tyrn has changed into a rather nice black turtleneck, blue jacket, and black pants in preparation for going out. "Er, sorry, I got distracted."\n\n"What a shocker," he says with a bit of a smirk, making you blush in annoyance.\n\n"Um, anyway, it'll only take me like a minute, so why don't you come in and get comfortable?" you suggest, stepping back and waving him in.\n\nFifteen seconds later he's leaned back against the wall, one of his slender but strong hands resting on your head as you bob it along his cock, your shinily-painted lips stroking over the brown girth of it. You moan softly with every motion of your head, one hand resting on his hip and the other tucked down below your skirt, strumming your bare clit.\n\nYeah, this is the fourth reason you try to avoid meetings with your manager, you think as you look up at him as his cock slides down your throat again, a smirk on his face as he strokes your hair a bit and gives his hips a gentle press forward to further rub the root of his cock against your lips. For some reason it's not entirely obvious on the surface, but both of you are absolutely, madly horny for each other and practically the moment the two of you are alone outside the studio you start fucking. 'Oh well,' you think, abandoning those thoughts for the moment as you put all your mind on sucking his dick.\n\nPart of the problem is that once the two of you gave in, you discovered that your sexual compatibility was just... stupidly high. Fuck, his cock somehow just feels really good in your mouth and even sliding down your throat, you could blow him for hours and it would never get old, you think a bit dreamily as you continue to work your mouth over him, only taking it off to lean in, pulling his sleek, shiny blue underwear down a bit further in front so you can press your lips to his balls and work your tongue around against them. The two of you have never done anything together that both of you didn't absolutely love, which has led to the lead time for screwing once you're alone together to vanish to almost nothing.\n\nSoon you're standing up and bending forward against the wall, Tyrn moving behind you and pushing your skirt up further, completely baring your ass. He grips it with both hands, squeezing and kneading as you wiggle your hips and moan needfully, then leans down. For the moment ignoring your dripping pussy, he instead applies his very strong and skillful tongue to your asshole, making you yip loudly, your eyes rolling and your face flushing bright red at the memory of what happened the first time he did that. You still haven't lived down blurting out 'I love you!' about fifteen times in a row as he rimmed you. Still, suffice to say that soon you're struggling not to say it again, but luckily before you break he straightens and pushes his cock into your pussy, which combines a strange sense of both heightened pleasure and relief for you as he grips your waist and starts thrusting.\n\nThere's a bit of a quick, urgent motion to his strokes... you're not sure if he just wants you that badly or if he's trying to hurry so that the two of you can actually get to work once you've blunted the edge of the sexual need. Probably a bit of both, you think with a sort of half-giggle, which prompts him to smack you on the ass and turn it into a loud gasp and a small orgasm, your pussy squeezing around his long brown dick.\n\nHe leans forward, cupping one of your breasts, kneading it, teasing the stiff nipple through the top, all of it making you shiver and have another little minigasm that makes you whimper. It's not that long before he grunts and then pulls himself out, giving a few quick strokes of his now dripping and glistening prick before firing long ropes of white all over your ass, a few of them landing in the folds of your skirt as you pant and quiver, your pussy now squeezing around nothing as you cum again... not a very big one still, but the night is young.\n\n"Well... I... definitely need a few minutes... to get ready now," you pant.\n\nHe chuckles softly, leaning forward and kissing you on the ear, which you enjoy way, way more than it feels like you should. "Yeah. Go on then, we have work to do."\n\nIt's difficult not to get distracted in the shower, but you manage, partly because, well, Tyrn isn't in the shower with you to distract you. Gawd, fucking your manager is like... one of the most obvious 'Do nots' in the book and yet here you are rinsing his cum off of your ass. And knowing that you're going to fuck at least three more times tonight. Sigh. \n\nYou get out of the shower and use the quickdryer, then pad naked into your room, tapping the control on your autowardrobe and starting to flick through categories. Let's see... Flashbash is a pretty permissive place all around, not exactly much on dress code, so probably you could dress pretty [[normal|AddiMGR]] considering that you usually dress to be seen by several hundred thousand people anyway. Just, maybe wear panties this time. ... Not that they won't get removed at some point in the evening anyway...\n\nYou blush a little as your fingertip hovers over the menu selection you've labeled 'Daring'. It's obvious at this point you and Tyrn are going to enjoy whatever shenanigans you try out (dammit), so you're honestly sort of tempted to cut loose and just go with some impulse to see how it turns out. Something you've never really tried before, and yet, because you're thinking of trying it with him, you're almost certain that you'll love it. Like, you could dress [[submissive|AddiMGR]]... or [[dominant|AddiMGR]]. Or you could dress up to be [[very technically covered|AddiMGR]], that could be... fun.\n\nYou guess you could technically go the other way... maybe actually [[dress down|AddiMGR]] so as not to encourage the both of you. Something overly comfy and unaccentuating of your more, ahem, provocative features. ... You doubt it would stop the two of you from fucking at least once more back at his place but it might keep the whole entire night from being derailed.

Sigh. He's just going to keep pestering you until you go. Pouting, you head down to your building's garage and clamber into the back of your very sleek, very pretty, very purple and pink car and settle into the seat. (You often use rideshares when you're doing actual streams... your manager says that it helps you seem more approachable and down-to-planet, but you have a feeling it's because it gives more opportunities for things to go wrong. Which they often do. Which he thinks makes the numbers go up. Which they often do. Sigh.) "Bitchqueen Studios," you say with a mildly aggravated tone after tapping the autodrive control, settling in for a bit of a sulk all the way there.\n\nNot that it's a very far drive. One of the things the agency does is help their streamers find good living spaces, and natch, that often means ones that are convenient to the office. Soon you're getting out (again being careful not to flash anyone... you could probably have stopped to put on panties before you left the house, but you forgor). You flounce your way in, the cute android at the desk giving you a wave and no doubt letting your manager know you're coming as you head on into the lift.\n\n"Well it's about time," Tyrn says with a frown as you stroll into his office with only the most perfunctory of knocks. One of the reasons you avoid him is that he's got a really kinda shitty personality, the other being that he's annoyingly hot despite that. He has thick, extremely dark black hair pulled back in a ponytail that nevertheless tends to look a little rumpled all the time, dark brown skin, pale amber eyes, slight points to his ears, and a lean build with broad shoulders that make him both very pretty and very manly. "I've been bugging you for an office visit for two weeks."\n\n"I know," you reply back in an overly breezy tone, smirking just a bit at the annoyed narrowing of his eyes and flopping down to sit in one of the chairs... then blushing as his own smirk reveals that you just flashed him. "I've been managing my own streams fine."\n\n"Your numbers are down," he says irritably, tapping rapidly at his keyboard.\n\n"Huh? I haven't noticed anything," you reply with a frown.\n\n"You're averaging about 200 less live eyeballs than usual over the last month!"\n\n"... Uh, Tyrn, that's like, nothing," you say, wagging a hand in the air. "200 out of 300,000 plus is like... margin of error type stuff. Some schools in some dimensions might be giving finals or something."\n\n"My job is to make sure they'd rather watch you than get their degree," Tyrn replies calmly, turning back to you with a haughty expression.\n\n"Woooow I can see why you're not on-air talent, man."\n\n"That's for a lot of reasons. Anyway, you've been focusing too much lately on your little 'useful' livestreams like the reviews and charity and stuff."\n\nThat makes you scowl. "But I like doing that sort of stuff! And it does numbers!"\n\n"It does numbers as long as you mingle it with more pure entertainent streams and 'fluff'," Tyrn counters. "Those are the ones that bring in new viewers, bring resting viewers back, and keep them hanging around for your more informational streams."\n\n... Okay, third reason you hate visiting Tyrn, he's always right about that shit. Nevertheless you pout at him for long moments as if resisting the point, before sighing. "Fine, fine, what've you got to suggest?"\n\n"I've got some '[[adventure|AddiMGR]]' streams lined up for you," he says, typing again and starting to bring up some more holoscreens above his desktop. "Visiting unique places and attractions, that sort of thing. Some new [[games|AddiMGR]] you could play, preferably with letting the audience vote on various things. I've got a handful of potential [[collabs|AddiMGR2x1]] with other streamers I could set up, those are almost always good for bringing in new eyeballs and keeping some of them. Some [[product promotion|AddiMGR]] stream ideas, those are always good for snagging longrunning sponsors."\n\n"And lemme guess, every single thing you've got is sexual in some way," you say a bit flatly.\n\nTyrn rolls those pretty amber eyes. "Addi. It's my job to maintain and promote your brand. And your brand is, let's face it, getting fucked in damn near every stream you do."\n\n"But I'm not a fucktuber!" you protest, thrusting your hands towards him as if you could indicate your better ideals by it.\n\n"Which is why it works," he says in a tone that somehow manages to combine infinite patience and abject annoyance. "If you were an outright pornstreamer, we would not maintain nearly the viewership we do. The fact that you actually get embarrassed and try to avoid it almost half the time-"\n\n"H-hey! It's... it's at least more like 3/4ths!" you splutter.\n\n"Anyway, that's what actually draws people. Your misadventures that result in lewd things are your biggest brand identifier, that and letting Chat abuse you."\n\n"There's not much 'letting' about it, I'd be banning way more than 200 every stream to try and stop them," you grumble.\n\nTyrn sighs, rubbing his face, then shrugs. "Okay, look, I have a few leads on some of those more high-minded streams you want to do. But we'd need to have a good, long [[discussion|AddiMGR1x2]] about balancing them out with some fluffstreams, so we'd probably need to get together tonight and spend the night going over them."\n\nYou bite your lower lip at that. Uh, that presents its own... issues. Still, if you could get him to really look more seriously at your more high concept stream desires, you're betting he could get something done for you. Tyrn is a really good manager, even if he is a dick, and if the two of you could actually hammer out something where doing some of his pure entertainment streams would lead to you getting one of those big opportunities...

"... Fine, I'll take the..." you murmur in embarrassment, wiggling a finger towards the injector.\n\n"Alright then," she says cheerfully, starting to hand it to you, then wagging it back away from your fingers. "I should warn you, if you're gonna be doing manual release, you'll want to get some large, high-capacity condoms, or you will mess up whatever room you're staying in beyond the belief of even these pirate-servicing proprieters. These injectors are designed for treatment protocols exactly like this, so they already provide you with a high-production dick with a short refractory period. Once the Horny concentrates down there, you're going to be blowing massive loads nearly nonstop, so also make sure to drink something regularly. Set yourself up timers, and I recommend actual hydration solution with nutritional supplement, at least five gallons worth. No, I'm not kidding," she adds as your eyes go wide.\n\nShe pauses, then adds, "Of course, I could give you a referral to a 'service facility' in the city. Technically their main role is 'genetic material retrieval and retention' but in reality they mostly service people who want to get over their case of Horny fast. They are a legit medical facility, though, so they'll monitor your health and make sure you don't fuck yourself dehydrated or something worse. They'll even take your insurance."\n\n"Who ever heard of a pirate with insurance?" you quickly snort, trying not to glance aside suspiciously.\n\nShe snorts loudly at that. "Whoever heard of a pirate with one of the best and most expensive birth control implants on the market, about 75% of which are sold on the Guildhall?" Shit, busted. At least she goes on to add, "Look, I don't care why you're here, and no one's going to ask me to tell them... doctors looking the other way is how places like this function, and any doctor that's likelier to heal you than kill you is too valuable to put pressure on. So just give me your insurance information so that I can bill them and you won't have to pay out the ass for this, because honey the cost on this thing makes over-the-counter dick solutions look like pocket change," she adds, waggling the wrapped injector again.\n\n"... yeah fine," you say with a sigh, reading off your company name and identification number.\n\n"I can also tell you where a decent pharmacy is and actually write you a scrip for the hydration fluid. Be nice and they might actually deliver it for you," she adds with a grin. "That is, if you want to go it solo. If not, I'll write up the referral for the milking clinic."\n\n<hr>\n[[Pharmacy.|ChiPir]]\n\n[[Clinic.|ChiPir]]

"So, I encountered this group of guys earlier, and my reaction was... bigger... than normal," you say slowly, the doctor's eyebrows raising slightly but her expression otherwise unchanging. "And it... sort of isn't going away," you add with a huff.\n\n"I see. These symptoms would be...?" Elhyme prompts in a professional tone that has that unique doctor-ly layer of 'I'm going to make you say it just for my own amusement not because I don't already know or because it's actually relevant' smug under it.\n\nYou resist the urge to glare at her, and instead just sigh and yield to the inevitable. "Arousal. Stiff nipples, wet sex, sensitive skin, raised temperature, distracted thoughts. ... The works," you add flatly, in a tone that says you're now done indulging her.\n\nBut apparently satisfied with that little back-and-forth, she takes a small cylindrical instrument out of her pocket and uses it in one hand, checking as things apparently appear on the board as she does. She aims it at your forehead, ears, and neck briefly, then uses it to shine a light in your eyes, before pressing it to the side of your neck. She has you take your coat off and repeats the press on your inner arm in a few places, then has you remove your overshirt as well and presses it between your breasts, over your heart. She nods along with all this, then says, "Now shorts off."\n\nYou make a small face, but at this point you're in medical exam mode and don't really hesitate before unbuttoning your shorts and hefting your ass up to slide them off, dropping them aside with the rest, trying to just ignore how visibly swollen and dripping your pussy is now that it's out. Which is more difficult as Elhyme gestures for you to move and sit on the exam chair properly, and then hits a control to switch it to 'stirrups' mode, tilting you back and lifting your legs up, spreading them wide and putting your arousal on full display for... well, her, really, but still.\n\nYou try not to flinch as she takes a bright purple glove out of her pocket and wiggles her right hand into it, at least avoiding any impulse to let it snap dramatically once she's gotten it in place. She steps in between your legs, adjusting her glasses with her other hand for a moment before sliding two latex-clad fingers up and down your cleft once, making you shiver hard, and then slips them inside you in a practiced curling motion.\n\nYou cum instantly. You don't even get a chance to try and fight it off, it's like she pressed a button. Your hips jerk upward and a hard shudder runs through your body, a pathetic, incredibly slutty-sounding mewl escaping your lips as you give a little gush all over her hand. It's really only a small orgasm (for a squirter) but its sheer suddenness catches you off-guard and leaves you slumped there lightheaded as she slips her fingers out of you and pulls off the glove, dropping it in the trash can in a businesslike manner before turning back to you.\n\n"Well, I'd have to do a blood test to be 100% sure, but it sure looks like you've come down with a case of the Horny."\n\nYou take a deep breath to try and steady yourself, glaring slightly at her. "Is that your... professional opinion?"\n\n"It is, in fact," she answers with a little smirk, nudging her glasses up. "'The Horny' is what we call a local virus... well, no clue if it actually originates here, but it's definitely settled. Best anyone can figure it started out as a variation of a simple coronavirus, AKA the common cold, but over time or with influence evolved into something closer to an STI. Highly contagious, but it's refined its symptoms down to mimicking, or I guess you could say causing, intense sexual arousal. Everyone gets it their first time or two in Karnol until they build up a bit of tolerance, just that most visitors don't notice because..." She pauses a beat, then shrugs. "Horny pirates, mostly male, just coming off a stint in the black. Who'd notice the difference?"\n\nYou make a face, distracted enough that for the moment you don't even pay attention to the fact that you're still laid back and displayed spread-legged as if waiting. (Maybe your body's just comfortable with that idea right now.) "Well that's just great. Is there a cure?"\n\nElhyme actually snorts at that. "Are you kidding? For a cold-derived virus? In this environment? This thing develops a new strain more often than I get home for dinner, and I'm not exactly a workaholic. No, sorry, the only options are to wait it out or ride it out. Semi-literally, on the second one," she adds, waggling her eyebrows a bit as you blush. "Have enough orgasms and the virus assumes it's done its job and goes dormant, gets passed out of the bloodstream. You should be good for at least a couple of weeks after that, but more than a month would be pushing it if you're sticking around."\n\n"... You're saying I have to fuck it out...?"\n\n"Mm-hm!" she says cheerfully, adjusting her glasses again, and no longer bothering to hide her smirk. "And we're talking a fuckton of orgasms, preferably in a short time. Still probably take you a few days. My suggestion would be to find a Lapano guy," she continues, still cheerful. "Or a Lapano futa. Convince them to have a little shack-up with you and it could be over in a day or two. Three, maybe. Of course, decent chance you'd get knocked up, so there's that."\n\nYour expression goes flat. "I have a Prydwen 2200," you inform her a bit primly, feeling irrationally driven to defend the honor of your birth control implant.\n\nElhyme just snorts though. "Honey even the Prydwen 3500 is only 99.999% effective. Three days with a Lapano, with their natural virility and near-nonexistent refractory period? You're pushing those odds for sure. Buuut if you're eager to get yourself over this it's still a gamble you might wanna take."\n\n"They released the 3500? Er, wait, no, nevermind," you murmur, shaking your head to discard your own question. "So what if I don't wanna get my brains fucked out for... days..." You sort of trail off, your eyes glazing and your pusy giving a heavy drip onto the padding, before you quickly shake your head again. "I mean, what then?"\n\n"Then it could be weeks before the Horny is out of your system," she answers with a lopsided shrug. "Possibly up to a month. Since the closest thing this virus usually presents as a threat to the host is dehydration, it's adapted to stick around for a long, long time as such things go, until the conditions for its reproduction and passing on are satisfied."\n\n"... Any other options?"\n\n"Well, people with male anatomy can purge the virus from their systems much more rapidly, interestingly enough," she notes, glancing at her board thoughtfully and adjusting her glasses. "In them the virus tends to concentrate in the testicles, putting most of its energy into amping up production and reducing refractory period. Presumably its period there is much faster because it assumes itself to have been passed on much more certainly. I do have some of the really good dick injectors," she adds cheerfully, rummaging in her pocket and coming up with a slim injector pen in very official-looking silvery wrapping. "Prescription-grade, in fact."\n\n"... there's prescription-grade grow-a-dick meds...?"\n\n"Yup! Not too bad a way to turn the Horny into a twenty-four-hour bug."\n\n"... Aaaanything else?"\n\n"Mmm. I suppose there's one thing," she muses, tucking the board in against her arm and resting a hand on her hip. "I have been working on a medication designed to speed up the Horny's cycle, basically make it burn itself out in a few hours instead of days or weeks. Of course you'd still need to satisfy it during that time, and for a combination of monitoring the effects and your own safety, I'd have to keep you here. My staff and I would, of course, take it upon ourselves to assist you in working through your ordeal," she says in a slightly smug but mostly flirty tone.\n\nAhem. Right. So she and whoever else she employs would fuck your brains out for the rest of the day. But presumably then you'd be over this stupid thing and could get back to normal life and your mission. Or you could take some dick juice and wank it out in about a day. Or you could find a partner willing to spend a couple of days with you and get it over with that way. (Oh wouldn't that be so awwwwwful SHUT UP FUCKBUNNY BRAIN!) Or you can just go back to your room, wait it out, and... probably still be like this when Huwhin shows up. Oof. Not good.\n\n<hr>\n[[Find a hookup.|ChiPir]]\n\n[[Take the dick juice.|ChiPir5x3]]\n\n[[Take the experimental treatment.|ChiPir]]\n\n[[Just wait it out.|ChiPir]]

[[Music|https://youtu.be/Vozi9M0-bYI]]\n\n"Um. We thought you'd like it here, Weiss. Some of the others thought you'd probably want to be in your family's plot in Atlas, but... I knew you'd probably rather be here. With your found family. Um, so, we made you a place with my family. I hope you like it," Ruby whispers, trying to smile as she looks down at the marker next to the one memorializing her mother. "Everyone's going to be coming out for a thing later, but... I wanted to come out and talk to you, just me and... well, obviously," she adds, glancing aside at you.\n\nYou just stare down at the markers, hands clasped, throat tight, not knowing what to say. Above the both of you, the completely shattered pieces of Remnant's moon shine down on you like giant stars, a near-constant stream of little flickers across the sky signaling the tiny bits of stone still raining down on the world to burn up in its atmosphere. The visible reminder of what it took to save the world.\n\nThat, and the monuments to those you lost getting there.\n\n"Um. Let's see." Ruby squirms a little, obviously practiced at this, but not for this particular person, for this first visit. "Oh, um, you're probably tired of snow, huh?" she notes, glancing up at the gentle, fluffy-looking flakes drifting down to join the rest of the light accumulation on the ground. "I mean, Atlas and all. But it's really pretty here, yeah? Even prettier in the fall, I think you'd like it best then. It was always my favorite time! ... Um..."\n\nShe rubs the back of her neck, drops her hands back down and bows her head. Her voice is softer now, her attempt at brightness and cheer unable to keep the sadness. "Ilia... blamed herself for what happened for a long time. We all know she tried her hardest... she gave her everything to try to save and protect you. She did her best. I think she's gonna be okay, though. Blake had a pretty tough time too... she was really angry. At Adam, even though he was dead. At herself. ... But she didn't run. She stayed with us. And we're gonna make sure they're both okay. ... I just... I just..."\n\nRuby's face crumples, her voice cracking as she sobs, "I just miss you so much! I feel like I lost a part of myself! Sometimes I'm so angry for you going off and leaving me we were supposed to be partners you weren't supposed to die!" She shudders, her head hanging, voice a miserable rasp. "You were my best friend!"\n\nSilently, you pull Ruby against your front, hugging her tight, bowing your head over hers, your silent tears streaking down your cheeks and into her hair as she sobs against you, the woman who saved the world soft and trembling and small against you. For a long time the two of you are there alone in the snow with your sadness, nothing but silence and tears to speak for your loss.\n\nEventually Ruby draws back, wiping her face some, then kissing her fingertips and leaning down to press them gently to the plate bearing Weiss's name. "I love you," she whispers softly, tenderly. "'Til next time. Okay?" Then she stands up, looking at it for long moments more, before turning to you. "Let's go home, Kai."\n\n"I'll come back to the house in a little bit," you murmur, not able to look away from the memorial.\n\n"... No. I mean. Come home, Kai." She waits for you to look up at her, Ruby's smile sad but sincere. "You need to remember you're not alone. You lost Weiss, but you didn't lose us. You're family... I want you to be my family." She puts her hands over her heart. "I want Patch to be your home. I want my home to be yours, a place where you can heal. ... A place where you can be near her. ... Please?" she adds softly, almost desperately.\n\nYou stare at her for a long moment. Then you nod, once, finding the ghost of a smile for her. "Okay."\n\n"Okay. Good," she murmurs, relief putting some ease back in her smile.\n\n"Thank you. ... But really, I'm just gonna... stay a little longer, okay?" you add, turning back to the marker.\n\n"Okay," Ruby whispers, reaching out to rub your back gently. "Don't catch cold, though, okay?"\n\nYou nod to her, listening to her boots in the slowly deepening snow as they retreat, leaving you alone with the pair of markers. ... You wish you had words to speak like she did. Something to say. Something to stop making yourself feel so alone out here, with nothing but stone and metal and snow to mark the woman you loved.\n\nYou're not entirely sure how much later it is when you hear more boots in the snow. You don't bother to look over, not feeling like it matters that much. Not until whoever it is, is standing right beside you, apparently looking down at the marker as well. You finally look aside, and for just the tiniest moment there's a true shock that runs through you, a half a heartbeat of both amazement and hope, before the fleeting resemblance is gone. No, you know this woman, with her white hair pulled into a pristine bun, the long military coat draped over her against the cold, her posture perfect even as she observes the grave in front of her.\n\n"... It's quite lovely," Winter Schnee observes after some time.\n\nYou struggle a little to find words, looking aside at her again. "Sorry about... just deciding to put her here."\n\n"No, I approve. Weiss never liked the family cemetery. It is... a very cold place, even for Schnees. Even in the snow, this is... warmer," Weiss's sister says softly, obviously not a woman used to sentiment. Nor used to burying her sister.\n\n"... Weiss talked about you a lot," you say after another moment. "She basically thought you were the greatest thing in the world. I think the expression is... 'could pluck the pieces of the moon out of the sky'," you add, finding the ghost of a smile again.\n\nWinter doesn't reply immediately. Instead her elegantly poised neck lets her head droop, her gloves creaking very quietly as she clenches her hands on each other. "I made so many mistakes," Winter whispers. "I... was always stinting with my praise. I thought it would drive her to greater heights if she felt she had to constantly seek my approval. I saw her needing guidance, needing direction, floundering under my father's attention and my mother's lack of it. I didn't know how to give it to her, so I got her to... chase me. To always struggle to keep up. I just wanted her to seek my approval, but when I looked back for all the times I'd assumed I'd made sure she knew she didn't have to seek my love or my pride as well... that I loved her to the depths of my soul and was more proud of her than I could stand. ... I could not find a single one."\n\nYou can't find anything to say to that. To the unique misery that is a lost opportunity of that magnitude. The two of you simply stand side-by-side for awhile, alone with the different failure you each feel. \n\nBut finally, Winter turns to you. "You must be Kai Sterling."\n\n"Um. Yeah," you agree, turning to her as well.\n\n"Weiss wrote me a letter not long before she..." Winter trails off, then bobs her head. "She was obviously not long on details of where she was or what she was doing. But she had a great deal to say about you."\n\n"... Yeah?" You blink slowly. "What did she have to say?"\n\n"That you saved her." Winter, for the first time... you think maybe for one of the first times in her life, to judge how uncertain it looks there on her face... smiles a little. "And that you made her feel beautiful things."\n\nYou can feel yourself starting to break down a little, something about that gaze, so much like hers, so warm and gentle and grateful beneath the ice. "... I'll never love anyone like I loved her," you blurt, your voice cracking.\n\n"No. I should think not," Winter answers evenly, though still smiling. "But she'd want you to love someone again. In the special and beautiful way you find for them, like the special and beautiful way you found for her. She would want you to be happy. She made it very clear that you deserved that."\n\nSomething cracks inside of you. Or maybe something pulls back together. Stepping forward, you wrap your arms around Winter and you sob against the front of her coat, feeling her arms drape around you in turn, a bit awkward but every inch sincere, her hand resting on the back of your head and holding you to her.\n\nAnd you begin to feel, for the first time since you lost Weiss, just a little bit less alone.\n\nKai's Story - Epic of Remnant end - Tears in the snow

The Slime rolls over your legs, weighing them down since it's roughly the size of your torso. You squirm in shock and protest as it rolls forward onto your lap completely, pressing itself down against your cock and balls. It starts wobbling and shaking in place, the motion rubbing and caressing against you like a giant breast, until despite all your fear and anger your cock starts to harden just from sheer physical reaction. Soon it's fully stiff and pressed firmly between the yielding-firm surface of the Slime and your belly.\n\nThen you gasp loudly as part of the Slime apparently becomes permeable and your cock presses up into it, pulled forward and upright. You grit your teeth, basically forced to watch as your cock is pushed up into the Slime's body, a dark but obvious outline inside its substance. Then the Slime starts bouncing up and down on top of you, short little hops that have it wobbling and jiggling on top of you and working your cock inside its gooey interior.\n\n"Gk! Nnnh! N-nooo!" you groan, tossing your head and writhing as the Slime rapes your cock with its soft squishy round body, bounding on top of you. The thing that almost immediately starts driving you crazy is that it's both pleasurable and indistinct, like being completely engulfed and inside something loose and slick at the same time, sucking on you but not actually tight or gripping. Its body wobbles and shimmies in those somehow lewd motions, the impact of its surface on your hips and belly and thighs firm and regular and sexual even as its insides only tantalizingly tease you.\n\n"F-fuck... stop," you whimper, rolling your head back, tongue lolling out as it just drags on and on. It's humiliating! It's ridiculous! It's awful! And you want to cum! That thought starts pressing in on you harder and harder, as embarrassing and ridiculous as it is, that you want it to let you cum, that you want it to make you cum, but the Slime just keeps using that gooey, loose-gripping hole on you.\n\nBut finally you can't take it anymore, and crying out in a mingling of humiliation and relief, you thrust your hips up and spill your load. Only then does the Slime suddenly become tight and gripping, seemingly intent on sucking your balls dry, making you tremble and gurgle as a faint white cloud spreads through its body from the tip of the dark outline of your cock.\n\nThe Slime bounds off of you the moment your load is spent, leaving you slumped back against the Slime holding you panting and gasping, your blue goo-smeared cock still sticking up and wobbling with every breath. Then another Slime bounds over and right into your lap, slamming its substance down onto your cock and hilting you in it instantly, making you cry out. It begins bouncing on you just like the last one, teasing you and urging you on with that same sucking looseness that feels like it might drive you mad. You roll your head and your eyes, whining and whimpering as the next Slime torments you, apparently intending to build your next load up itself before absorbing it.\n\nOne after another the Slimes hop onto your cock, each time tormenting you for longer and longer as they bounce and wobble and suck and shimmy atop you, forcing your balls to churn up new loads for them and taking longer and longer and longer each time until you have anything to give them. You feel like you might go crazy, with the Slimes just tormenting your cock with humiliating pleasure for hours and hours, the sky above darkening and then growing light again as Slime after Slime urges loads out of you.\n\nFinally one bounds off of you and your cock flops, completely and totally limp, against your belly. Several of the Slimes roll closer, angling the white planes of their eyes towards it, the planes taking on various shapes to show consternation or curiosity. One of them's eyes glows red again as it extends a slender slime pseudopod and gives your limp cock a light slap, making you yelp, but it just wobbles back and forth some and smears more slime across your belly, unresponsive.\n\n<hr>\n[["I-I just can't!"|Raz]]\n\n[["I'm sorry! I'm really sorry!"|Raz]]\n\n[["It's... like a Slime now... hahaha..."|Raz]]

These slimes are super easy prey, and you leveled up so quickly off of them! And look, they're scared of you now, that just proves how weak they are! Grinning, you take off after them at a run.\n\nYou just manage to keep the trio of slimes in sight, once or twice firing a Lesser Firebolt after them but missing due to the trees, though it definitely seems to spook them even more, sending them bounding away faster and making you increase in speed to catch up. Until all of a sudden they come to a stop, their eye-planes rotating around to face you as they wobble in place like barely-set gumdrops, glaring red at you.\n\n"Ready to fight, huh?" you say smugly as you come to a stop, raising your sword and extending your hand.\n\nAnd then seeing a whole lot more narrow, angular red planes light up in the forest around you.\n\n"... uh..." you murmur, glancing around. There must be twenty slimes surrounding you, and those are just the ones close enough to actually be seen, not the ones that are out glaring at you in the dimmer woods beyond. "... uh, hey, wait, maybe let's talk about this...?"\n\nThen you let out a loud "GYAK!" as all the slimes you can see sort of pucker part of their fronts to form a nozzle and instantly start spraying you with some pale green liquid, completely soaking you in moments and then just continuing to hose you down as you flail around in a half panic. When they stop you quickly wipe it out of your face, glaring and raising your sword again, determined to fight...\n\n... only for the sword to fall right out its handle the moment you turn it at an angle, the rest of it disintegrating in your hand.\n\n"Bwuh?!" You stare at it, then down at yourself, giving a loud yelp as you realize everything you're wearing that isn't metal is rapidly dissolving. You don't feel any burning or stinging, so apparently you're not dissolving at least, but every bit of cloth and leather on your person is smoking and disappearing, and in a matter of seconds all the metal clatters to the ground, leaving you damp and naked, reflexively trying to cover yourself.\n\nThen one of the Slimes in front of you bounds forward, smacking you directly in the chest and knocking you backwards with an "Oof!" But rather than hitting the ground, your back hits something yielding that bounces back a bit, and then your arms are grabbed and pulled inside something gooey and yet surprisingly firm. You struggle to pull your arms free of what has to be a Slime holding them, but it's no use, it's got you held tightly and in an awkward position where you can't get any leverage.\n\nYour eyes widen as more of the Slimes bound over to surround you more closely. One at your feet wobbles, then sort of rolls forward while keeping its eyes trained on you, its motion taking it-\n\n<hr>\n[[-over your legs.|Raz14x2]]\n\n[[-under your legs.|Raz]]

Gao hesitates a little, but only a tiny bit... any reservations about giving a blowjob himself are obviously mitigated by both the fact that he gets another one from you, and how good the one from his brother felt. Soon the boys have switched places... the view's pretty much the same for you, but you know the first-time thrill is still there as you start giving Gao his guidance with your mouth, and he passes along the motions to his moaning, tailwagging brother.\n\nBut Gao's more assertive, proactive nature soon asserts himself... you can't help but notice that rather than syncing closer and closer with your own motions, his own become further and further apart, until he's giving his twin an entirely different blowjob than you're giving him. Well... that's sexy too, you think happily, tucking a hand between your legs to work your fingertips over your clit.\n\nIt takes a bit longer this time, both of them having just so recently cum, but they prove to be as energetic as ever and eventually both are spilling their loads again, Gao into your mouth and Aki into his. You watch as Gao, again fully of his own initiative, finishes swallowing his twin's load and slips the other boy's cock out of his mouth to duck down and nuzzle his balls affectionately. Awww, so cute~!\n\nAfter that you suggest a brief break, and the boys nod at the suggestion, both looking a bit spent. The three of you pad back out into the rest of the apartment naked, at first quiet with the still-zinging thrill of all the wickedness you've been up to, the silence between you full of the simple thrill and kink of simply being naked around each other in the wake of your activities. But gradually a bit of normalcy creeps in, and soon the boys are nudging and teasing each other and chatting with you as the three of you sit on the couch and watch one of the usual nightly newsfeed updates... though with considerably more wandering hands and quick stolen kisses than nights before.\n\nAfter the news is over... well, there's still plenty of night left. Without a word, you head back toward your room, with the boys following after you... from their hard cocks, they obviously know that the fun is ready to continue. And from the way they've settled close to each other, they have at least some thought about how.\n\n"Alright, Aki sweetheart, let's start with you laying on your stomach on the bed, hm?" you prompt him. He blushes brightly, but clambers up and moves to lay down, resting his blushing cheek against the pillow and hugging his arms under it, tail wagging a bit again. You climb up after him and, pushing said tail up a bit to give him the hint as well as nudging his legs to spread, you press his lower cheeks apart with your hands before leaning in. Aki gasps loudly as you lean in and start applying your tongue to his asshole, his body trembling gently and writhing with pleasured squirms, something much more like mewls escaping from his throat.\n\nGao gets up onto the bed, settling nearby on his knees and stroking his cock lightly as he watches, fire-colored eyes slightly glazed, clearly just a little overwhelmed at the thought that his dick, having spent so much of tonight pleasurably pumping into his mother, will soon be buried deep inside his brother. You consider having him take over rimming... but you're enjoying yourself too much, frankly~. Aki's just way too adorable getting his but tended to, especially with the way he keeps whimpering out, "Mom, I love you~!" in such a sweet voice.\n\nYou raise up eventually, leaving Aki panting and trembling, his own eyes glazed as he looks slightly out of it. You lean across and snag a bottle from the nightstand, squirting a thick dollop of clear gel into your hand and then gently nudging Gao's hand away from his cock. He shivers hard as you wrap your hand around him, the gel no doubt cool, and squelching loudly as you pump your fist and smear it all over him. Then you turn him and guide him into position, gripping your son's cock and settling the tip of it against your other son's asshole.\n\nThe twins give another surprisingly identical and synced moan as Gao pushes into Aki's tight rear hole, the high-end lube letting him push in relatively easily despite the fact that he's claiming his twin's anal virginity. You keep up a steady, gentle pressure on Gao's back with one hand while continuing to grip the other around his cock, only gradually taking it away as he sinks deeper and deeper into Aki's pucker. Finally Gao slides fully inside, practically laying atop his brother in the prone position, both of them panting and shivering happily, Gao's balls resting firmly atop Aki's.\n\nYou grin, sliding down again. Gao gives a loud gasp as you apply your tongue to his pucker now, Aki giving a different gasp as his brother's cock no doubt swells and twitches inside him. Both of them are soon squirming and mewling as you rim Gao, his motions stirring further reactions from Aki, the two boys writhing gently against each other, almost unconsciously nuzzling their heads together as their canine ears twitch and perk.\n\nEventually you raise your head, daintily running a finger around your lips and enjoying the view of your work, the gleaming wetness of your saliva smeared all over your son's butthole, which is very faintly gaped and twitching a bit in the aftermath of your thorough tonguefucking.\n\n<hr>\n[["Okay, boys, take it away~!"|ChiMom]]\n\n[["Hm... now where's that strapon...?"|ChiMom]]

"Um... clean them up ourselves?" Aki says slowly.\n\n"Mm-hmmm," you coo. The boys glance at your tits, then around the room, as if wondering where to find something appropriate to wipe you off with. But before either of them can move, you tuck your hands around their heads and draw them down, pulling them to lay at your sides... and their faces right in front of your messy, cum-glazed tits.\n\nThe boys' eyes widen as they realize what you're saying. They give each other a nervous glance... but, being good obedient boys (and all the moreso after you've let them fuck you silly), after a moment both of them stick out their tongues, tentatively dragging the tips across your breasts and through the thick covering of dripping white.\n\nThough the first few licks are similarly hesitant, the boys gradually warm to the task, especially since it means working their tongues and mouths over your tits. Soon they're cleaning you eagerly and enthusiastically, tongues swiping up streaks of their own cum mingled with their brother's, their tails wagging happily and cocks pressing stiff against your hips. You stroke your hands up and down their backs encouragingly, making unfeigned noises of pleasure and contentment as they clean you, suckling jizz from your nipples and wagging their tongues in every little nook of the lower curves or cleavage, occasionally almost bumping heads... or touching tongues.\n\nWatching them is definitely cementing the even more wicked idea you'd been considering, and you nibble your lower lip as you watch them. As Gao swipes up one of the last droplets of cum with his tongue, you draw him upward to kiss him, swirling your tongue around his to smear that little bit of it all over each other's mouths, your son wiggling happily against you as the two of you kiss. Of course Aki is eager to take his turn as you break the kiss with Gao, and similarly seems to have found the last of the cum on this side, the two of you sharing it as you continue rubbing their backs.\n\nThen you grin as you break the kiss and slide your hands up to the backs of their heads, urging them closer. "Now you two."\n\n"Um," the twins say in perfect sync, their faces tinting pink as they find themselves looking at each other from close up.\n\n"C'mon, guys," you urge in an amused tone. "You had so much fun playing with your mom... might as well see how much fun you can have playing with each other, right?"\n\nBoth of them still seem rather dubious at the idea, but their tails have started wagging slowly again, reminded of how much pleasure they've had already... and that they've already been rubbing together considerably anyway. Their first kiss is really more just a peck on the lips, and the several more after it as well, though they start lingering some more. Aki's actually the first to flick his tongue out against his brother's lips, startling Gao a bit... but a few seconds later they're kissing deeply, tails wagging contentedly again and cocks pressed hard against your hips.\n\n"See, there you go," you purr, stroking both their heads, grinning even more as their tails speed up. After a few minutes of them kissing and squirming against your sides, you urge Gao over onto his back and sit up, pulling Aki with you. After nudging Gao to lay down in the center of the bed, you draw Aki along with you between his legs. "Here, sweetheart, let me show you how to make your brother feel really good."\n\n"Um... okay," Aki murmurs, his face red as he nevertheless brings it in close to his twin's cock.\n\nYou start rolling your tongue over one of Gao's balls, Aki shivering a little at hearing his brother's pleasured moan. But after only a bit more hesitation he moves in and begins copying your motions, his tongue moving over Gao's other orb, even copying you in sucking it into his mouth when you do. He continues to copy your motions as you work over Gao's balls and then move up the shaft, your son's tongue flicking and sliding over yours as the two of you pleasure your other son's prick, Gao occasionally looking down and letting his head falls back with a moan as he trembles a bit in overstimulation.\n\n"Now here, sweetie," you urge gently, nudging on Aki's head. "Open your mouth and slide it over your brother's dick... therrrre you go," you coo as Aki does just that, his eyes moving up briefly to lock with his twin's as he does. "Now at first just keep the head in your mouth and suck a bit... use your tongue, there you go... mm!" you exclaim after a moment. "Actually I have a really good idea now!"\n\nSoon all of you are repositioned, with Aki sitting on the side of the bed, blushing as he glances back and forth between you kneeling in front of him and Gao standing on the bed to one side of him. You grin up at Aki, stroking his cock lightly a few times with one hand, before saying, "Now, here, do what I do," you instruct him, before sliding your mouth over his cockhead.\n\nAki shivers, but there's little hesitation before he obediently slips his own lips over the tip of his twin's prick. Of course you can't necessarily tell if he's accurately recreating the attenton you're paying to his own cockhead, but from Gao's moans and tailwagging he's doing a good enough job anyway. You gradually start working your head up and down, Aki beginning to do the same thing a half-second later, seeming now on almost autopilot of recreating the blowjob you're giving him for his brother. It sends a pleasant shiver of excitement through you, almost as if you're sucking them both off simultaneously, besides the positively wicked thrill of watching one boy suck off the other.\n\nYou take it fairly slow, both so that Aki can feel your actions thoroughly enough to replicate him, as well as easing him into sucking cock himself. Thus this time when you take him into your throat it's gradually, nudging gently bit by bit, hearing him 'mmf' and 'hnh' as Gao's cock nudges his own throat. But by continuing to take it easy and provide a good example, you soon have Aki deepthroating his brother, slender young throat bulging gently with his twin's dick, even as your own throat bulges lightly with his.\n\nEventually feeling Aki's cock start to twitch gently and swell in your mouth, you draw your lips back to the head and start stroking him with your hand. Aki clearly knows what's about to happen... if for no other reason than that he's about to do it himself... but either still being a good obedient boy or having already dropped his inhibitions, he raises a hand to wrap it around his brother's cock and similarly starts stroking him off... though you notice the stroke and motion is a bit different, probably what Aki uses for jerking himself off. But both methods seem equally effective, since as Aki moans around his brother's cock and starts spurting into your mouth, Gao gives a longer, louder moan and shivers all over, a brief spurt of white visible around Aki's lips and a trickle of it sliding down his chin.\n\nYou watch to make sure you can see Aki's throat gently moving, before raising your own hand and grinning up at the boys, both of them flushed and panting.\n\n<hr>\n[["Alright, Gao, it's Aki's turn."|ChiMom3x4]]\n\n[["Alright, Aki, lay down on your back."|ChiMom]]

You grin at them both at that, your skin already tingling with fresh eagerness. You were always pretty energetic and tough to wear out in your own youth, and safe to say their father and his pack set a new standard for 'marathon sex' for you that none of your dates after could ever really measure up to. Now it looks like between inheriting your stamina, his, and their youth...\n\n... well, let's just say you're looking forward to being worn the fuck out for the first time in years.\n\n"Alright, this time you two can really do it together," you assure them, making their ears perk. They watch with rapt attention as, after nudging them aside to get room, you get up onto all fours and settle, your breasts hanging down heavily below you and shimmying as you give your ass a shake. "I think you can figure out this position, right?"\n\nClearly they can. Gao quickly moves up behind you, his hands running eagerly over your ass, squeezing and stroking both energetically and adoringly. Aki certainly doesn't seem to mind getting your mouth, clambering up in front of you and proffering his stiff cock eagerly. You grin at him, then keep your eyes on his adorable face as you duck your head and wrap your mouth around the tip of his prick, already starting to bob along it. You really have to admit that there's a certain special zing to locking gazes with eyes that are exactly like yours as you suck him off, your tongue rolling lovingly over your son's prick.\n\nAki moans happily as you start sucking on him... and moans even louder at your own thrum of pleasure through his prick as Gao pushes into your pussy again. Gao gives a few long, slow strokes into you before he sets up a quick, surprisingly steady pace, his trim young hips smacking against your mature round ass in an even rhythm that's just enough to rock your whole body and let you really feel him pushing in nice and deep. \n\nThe motion seems to encourage Aki in more ways than one. At first he starts slowly rocking his hips towards the motions of your head, before gradually picking up his twin's own pace. You stop your own motions and just let him fuck your mouth and throat, moaning around his prick as it pumps between your lips at feeling your boys spitroast you with an almost perfectly synced rhythm. The other is that the swaying and wobbling of your breasts soon has Aki leaning forward to cup and squeeze them, both boys moaning nearly in stereo as they fuck your pussy and ass and molest your ass and tits.\n\nIt doesn't take long for you to cum like that, though you're not sure either of them even notice it, other than moaning louder as your pussy flutters and squeezes and your throat gulps and quivers. Both of them keep fucking you right on through it, Gao's steady, quick thrusts pushing your orgasm higher and higher until it feels as much like you're cumming from Aki's fucking your throat as you are his brother fucking your pussy.\n\n'God, they're lasting a lot longer this time,' you think dreamily as you settle back into a more steady level of pleasure, rocking just a bit between their cocks as they keep fucking you. Then you let out a pleasured 'MMF!' as Gao suddenly delivers a firm smack to your ass, your eyes rolling some at the spasm of pleasure the sudden stimulus sends through you, your pussy gushing a bit on his balls. You're just trying to focus and think whether you should tell them to take it a bit easier when Aki gives your nipples a good hard pinch and makes you cum again.\n\nNo maybe it's fine if they're rough with you.\n\nYou gradually lose yourself a bit as they keep fucking you, gradually thrusting harder and faster, Gao occasionally spanking your ass again and Aki working up to giving your swaying tits little firm slaps as well. It's not quite up to the same level of brain whiteout that it was to be brutefucked by their dad's whole pack, but it's doing the job nicely, and by the time both of them spill their next load in you you've already cum yourself several times.\n\nAki falls back onto the bed, panting and shivering a bit, ears slumped... but they perk right back up as Gao urges you forward and on top of him, your breasts rubbing against his face. Aki's hands come up to grip your ass, kneading it eagerly and seeming to almost instinctively guide you into sliding onto his cock in this position, not that you're not doing plenty of reflexive work with your hips yourself. You give a few light bounces atop him, grinning at how cute his hair and ears look emerging from your cleavage and how his tail is trying to wag right off his butt.\n\nThen you gasp loudly as Gao presses his cum-smeared cock to your asshole, apparently feeling he needs no further instruction... or permission. And just now you're really not inclined to tell him otherwise, your horny bitch-brain assuring you that yes all of your naughty little holes belong to your sons. Gao pushes himself in slow and deep, his motions strong and confident even as he gives the cutest little eager, whimpery moans behind you. Soon those two near-identical cocks are buried inside you, nestled right up in close to each other, your sons sandwiching you on either side and nuzzling you adoringly, right before they begin to fuck you for all you're worth.\n\nYour eyes roll and your teeth clench as you try to muffle your yowls for at least some semblance of not alerting the neighbors, as much as the lewd, slutty part of your brain that's enjoyed every moment of this wants to scream out 'I'm being fucked by my sons! My sons are making me their bitch!' Your hips take on a life of their own, wantonly working between their cocks as you feel them pump into you, Aki nuzzling and licking eagerly against your tits as Gao moans and wuffs softly in your ear, his arms around your middle as his brother's hands knead your ass and spread your cheeks for his twin's thrusts. \n\nAfter they've both painted your holes with their loads, you take a breather... meaning, you cool down a bit while sucking both their cocks again, the boys sitting side-by-side gazing down at you adoringly... but also with a distinct air of ownership, you can't help but feel... as you suck their cocks and balls clean, working your mouth and tongue and lips over them. Though after such repeated orgasms they'd both begun to go just a bit soft, your oral work soon has them both fully hard and throbbing again, cocks eager to once more work you over.\n\n"I wanna fuck your tits, Mom," Gao murmurs while you've got your lips pressed around the root of his prick, sending a little shiver through you.\n\n"No I wanna fuck her tits first!" Aki complains, though it quickly cuts off in a moan as you raise your mouth from his brother's cock and slide it down smoothly over his instead.\n\nYou raise your head and start stroking both of their cocks with your hands, grinning up at them. "Well, they're about big enough, how about both of you at once?"\n\nThe twins blink, then glance at each other before shrugging, apparently not seeing any problems with that.\n\nSoon you're on your back on the bed again, Gao moving to straddle your belly while Aki straddles your shoulders. You press your breasts up around them as they lay their cocks one atop the other between them, both boys moaning fully in sync now, starting to thrust their pricks between your tits and against each other's cocks. Apparently finding the sensation just as agreeable as rubbing against each other through the wall separating your holes, they're soon both fucking your boobs in rapid strokes, hips slapping against your large breasts on both sides. The boys practically lean against each other now... and Aki lets out a yip and actually wraps his arms around his brother in surprise as you give into temptation and lean up to flick your tongue across his pucker as it passes close enough.\n\n"H-hey, Mom!"\n\n"Just enjoy it, honey," you coo at him, pressing your face between his pert little cheeks and beneath his tail and starting to flick and swirl your tongue over his asshole. Aki starts moaning loudly, his thrusts turning shakier as he doesn't seem quite sure whether to thrust forward against your tits or back against your tongue, wiggling and whimpering cutely in pleasure, his tail starting to wag rapidly above your head. Gao similarly looks torn, though more whether to be relieved he's not getting his butt messed with or jealous of the extra attention and apparent pleasure his brother is getting. You flick your eyes up to him, doing your best to convey 'You too soon', and feel his cock give a hard twitch between your tits and against his brother's.\n\nApparently all the extra stimulation, and the brief rest period, has brought them back to full readiness, since it's not long before both boys give identical, simultaneous cries and thrust forward, hugging each other as they cum between your tits (and all over each other's pricks). They shiver and pant softly, both their tails wagging, before they pull away and settle to the sides of you, staring down at your double-glazed tits as if in awe at their own work.\n\n<hr>\n[["About done, guys...?"|ChiMom]]\n\n[["As long as we're doubling up..."|ChiMom]]\n\n[["What have I told you about messes you make, hm~?"|ChiMom3x3]]

Really all it takes is a moment of weakness towards the thought and it topples all of your defenses and overwhelms your mind, the absolute certainty you are definitely going to spend the night having enthusiastic sex with both your sons settling about your brain. Oddly enough, that certainty is sort of soothing... now that you've decided to do it, without any pretensions or excuses, there's not really any shame or second thoughts, just a calm, warm excitement.\n\n"Guys," you say warmly as you finally start actually eating your dinner, just as casually as any other night. Gao and Aki's ears perk as they look over at you. "After dinner tonight we're gonna do something fun, so don't go racing right back to your room, okay?"\n\nPerhaps they pick up on something in your voice, because rather than looking dubious as two boys of their age might at having their night coopted by their mother, instead they just nod easily, their tails starting to wag again. \n\n'The living room?' you muse as the three of you resume cheerful, casual conversation, your skin feeling pleasantly sensitive at the thought of a very long session of very enthusiastic fucking, as no doubt sustainable by two energetic young boys. 'Nah... my bedroom. Comfier, more intimate. Though doing it in their bedroom sometime might be fun... ah, well, let's not get ahead of ourselves.' You haven't really decided yet whether this is going to be a one time thing to get it out of all of you's systems, or an ongoing one. You'll figure it out later, you decide, easily pushing the thought aside.\n\nAfter dinner you just as calmly clear up the dishes, then beckon the boys to follow and head further into the apartment. They definitely look curious as you pass the living room by, and even moreso as you head into your own room, leaving the door open for them to follow. Turning to face them, you smile and rest your hands on your hips. "Okay, guys, so. To start off with let's just say that it's very clear both of you are old enough to be very interested in girls."\n\nThat makes them blush, their ears curling down at the tips in embarrassment and the wagging of their tails slowing but not quite stopping. Awwww, adorable! Your boys are so cute! ... Yeah you're really gonna enjoy this. "Aaaand I've also noticed your interest in me," you continue, which makes their eyes go wide and their blush deepen. "Now you're not in trouble," you add quickly, holding up your hands, then smiling. "In fact, just the opposite."\n\n"Um." The boys look at each other, then back at you and sync, "The opposite?"\n\n"Well. If you're really interested, and you don't mind your first time being with your mom... I thought I'd let you vent some of that energy with me." You grin wider. "You know... with sex. That is, if you guys are interested...?"\n\nThey trade a much faster glance before both start nodding exuberantly. "We're interested!"\n\n"Good," you say, admitting to feeling a faint bit of relief. It would be really embarrassing if you'd read that wrong, or if when it came down to it they were too put off by the reality. Instead you just smile at them and undo your jeans, both of them watching raptly as you peel the snug denim down, wiggling your hips to help get them off and step out of them, revealing the black and white athletic-style panties beneath. \n\nBoth of them are watching in rapt awe as you pull off the snug blue shirt you'd been wearing, revealing the matching athletic bra... which is the next to go, your breasts dropping and swaying heavily as you get it up and off over your head and ponytail. You have to say, you muse as you push the panties down, you may have a little bit of "mom bod" now but you've kept up extremely well. (A couple of stints in a rejuvenation tank after your pregnancy certainly didn't hurt.) Your breasts are just as big as ever, if not having retained a bit of their milking size, even though admittedly they show their weight a bit more having lost some of their perk. Your tummy has a little bit of squish now, as well as your hips and rear having a bit more padding, but all of it's still smooth and well-shaped, and you wouldn't be ashamed to compare yourself to any taut twenty-year-old out there.\n\nLuckily the boys seem to agree, actually leaning in a bit, tails practically blurring with the speed of their wagging. They seem like they can't quite decide between staring at your tits or staring at your smooth-shaven crotch, or all the rest of you at once, resulting in their eyes darting around like a sugar-buzzed fly caught under a pint glass. "Mom, can we... can we touch you?" Gao asks, his and Aki's hands slowly rising in unison, fingers outstretched.\n\n"Well. In a minute," you say warmly, genuinely touched (and not a little further ego-stroked) by the reverence and desire in his voice. "First though, fair's fair, don't you think?"\n\nThey both blink... then quickly enough realize what you mean, scrambling out of their clothes in a flurry of motion rather than the more slow and seductive way you stripped. It's practically a blink-and-you'll-miss-it thing, with them suddenly naked and standing there rather proudly, tails wagging, trim-toned bodies shown off, and-\n\n"Whoa," you say without any exaggeration, your own eyes having gone wide. The boys' dicks are... well, you wouldn't necessarily say huge, but they're easily bigger than any of the other guys you've been with (save their father and his pack). And they definitely look even bigger on their relatively sleek frames. Deciding to say it out loud, you murmur, "You guys are a lot larger than you were the last time I saw you."\n\nThat definitely seems to please them, wolf ears twitching and tails wagging faster, if that's even possible. "Can we touch you now?" Aki asks, managing to make the question sound quite sweet.\n\n"Mhm. C'mere," you say, beckoning them to your sides. "Try to be gentle... but you don't have to be too gentle," you assure them, grinning.\n\nThey quickly hurry over, Gao on your right and Aki on your left, hands raised, hesitating briefly, before each of them squeeze one of your breasts. Your loud gasp makes them both jump just a bit... including making those hefty cocks twitch... but once they realize it was apparently a positive sound they start squeezing lightly, clearly marveling at the way their fingers sink into the yielding flesh, slim, excited fingers moving to tease and pinch your nipples or stroke along the underside curve of them, lifting to feel the weight, both of them becoming less synced in their movements as they find their own individual fascinations in playing with your tits. Aki's other hand moves to squeeze your ass, stroking it and toying with it much as he is your breast, while Gao's free hand tucks between your legs and cups your mound, your body shivering at the feel of his fingers and palm.\n\n"Wow Mom, you're really hot and... dripping," he murmurs in that awed tone, before looking up at your face, ears twitching again. "Are you in heat?" he asks, in apparent seriousness.\n\nThat makes you let out a burst of surprised laughter, but after a moment you admit, "I don't really know that you're wrong..."\n\nBut his attention is already back on your body, staring at your nipple as he tugs a bit less-than-gently on it and lifts, watching the shape of your breast change, even as his fingers stroke back and forth along the cleft of your pussy.\n\nYou make low, soft, but steadily more urgent noises as the two of them play with your tits, your ass, your pussy, stroke your thighs, rub your belly, growing more fascinated with your whole body. Meanwhile you start off simple... resting your hands on their head, stroking their hair, gently scratching around their ears. It's no more than you might usually do (at least before they got too old to cuddle shamelessly with you) but the context definitely seems to have them getting far more excited from it. Bit by bit you start moving lower... stroking down their necks and along their smooth backs, still occasionally gently scratching affectionately with your short nails, even while enjoying the feel of those trim, youthful muscles under your fingertips. You give their perky little butts a squeeze, which makes them jump a bit again and look at you in slight shock, at which you can't help but laugh... you wonder if the girls in any of the stuff they've no doubt been looking at have even acted like they were aware the guys they were with had asses. (Of course you've seen porn too, sometimes they basically don't. Poor bastards.)\n\nOnce they've settled, you give their asses another few strokes and squeezes, before finally slipping your hands around to wrap them around those big dicks, shivering a little at the feel of them... wonderfully soft, smooth skin, but very hard, very hot, gently throbbing. Entirely human in appearance, certainly (which you knew) but also just absolutely gorgeous to look at... and to stroke. 'Maybe I'm biased, they are my own work after all,' you think in amusement as you gently pump your hands over your sons' pricks, hearing their not-quite-synced moans.\n\nThe three of you spend a good long while like that... them gradually exploring and getting a feel for your body, and you appreciating having the leisure and ability to take your time with enjoying having your hands on a man's cock again... let alone two. Let alone the extra wicked thrill of it being your sons' cocks. But unsurprisingly it's Gao who eventually looks up and says, rather dreamily, "Mom... can I fuck you?"\n\n"We," Aki says in a similarly airy but still mildly cross tone.\n\n"Mom can we fuck you?" Gao corrects himself, wiggling.\n\nYou laugh a bit breathlessly, before saying, "Okay, but one at a time the first time, okay?"\n\n"Me first!" Gao quickly says. Aki pouts a bit, but doesn't actually argue with his brother, in fact giving a small nod.\n\n"Okay. But first both of you give me a kiss, alright?" Their ears perk at that, and you turn towards Gao, leaning down to cup his cheeks and tilt his face up as you lean in. (Aki is presumably soothed from his brother's mefirst tendencies by the better view of your ass, to judge by how both his hands start rubbing it now.) He clearly prepares to give you one of the usual quick peck on the lips that's usual for him giving you a kiss, and is surprised when your tongue comes into play. His ears shoot straight up and his tail goes still for a moment... before it resumes wagging enthusiastically as he returns the motions of your tongue with his own, reaching up to cup your breasts again, gently hefting and wobbling them as the two of you french.\n\nAfter a few moments you turn around and give the same treatment to Aki, who's much quicker to start swirling his tongue with yours... with Gao not only being rather more agressive about kneading your ass, but leaning in to start lapping his tongue at your pussy, making your hips buck gently and twitch under his hands and the touch of his mouth. You're certainly encouraged to kiss Aki for a bit longer than Gao, but you can feel even his licking growing impatient so finally straighten up and move to the bed, settling on your back and beckoning to join him.\n\n'Fuck, I've been waiting so long for this,' flits across your mind as Gao clambers up between your legs, your brain giving brief voice to the subconscious desire you've had for some time. But it's gone so fast you almost already don't remember you had it, instead focusing on sitting up some and reaching forward, once again stroking Gao's cock a few times before guiding him into place. "Okay, take it nice and slow... I want you to enjoy how it feels," you add with a grin, at his slightly desperate look.\n\nGao nods, though, and starts pushing forward gradually, letting out a loud and very cute moan at the feel of your dripping, molten pussy spreading gradually around him. The sight of him practically vibrating in pleasure is almost as good of the sensation of actually having him inside you, the strange mixture of deep love and strong taboo sending an extra rush of excitement through you as you feel him getting deeper and deeper in. As he pushes in deeper you draw him forward, urging him to lay atop you, his head tucked between your breasts, those pretty eyes that are just like yours peeking up from beneath his shaggy bangs, those adorable wolf ears wiggling in excitement as he penetrates you. \n\n"Now take it nice and slow at first, sweetheart," you whisper as you feel his balls press against you, responding by wrapping your legs around him as well as your arms. "Mommy wants to enjoy it for awhile, huh?" you add, stroking his hair as another little shiver runs through him, including a hard lurch and throb of his cock inside you. He starts thrusting slowly, clearly trying to control himself, his breath coming in quick, warm pants across your collarbone as he thrusts, his tail wagging across your legs. Aki stands to the side of the bed, just as clearly resisting the urge to furiously jerk off and instead just stroke himself slowly as he watches his brother fuck you, his teeth gently worrying his lower lip as he makes soft, whimpery puppy noises of need.\n\n'Soon baby,' you assure him silently, currently too busy moaning at the feel of Gao's cock pumping inside you to actually verbalize the assurance. You run your hands up and down his back, managing to whisper little words of encouragement through him that send more delighted shivers through his body. When you resume scritching his ears, though, he apparently takes that as his cue to start thrusting faster, his balls starting to slap against your skin with the force and speed of his thrusts as he gives himself over to feral need. You can see those pretty fire-colored eyes of his glazing, becoming lost in the same animal need you once saw in his father, and you feel yourself being pushed over the edge as well, losing all conscious thought and just working your hips, bucking against him needfully, your son's bitch in heat. Both of you let out surprisingly authentic howls as he suddenly thrusts forward hard and starts spilling inside you, your pussy clenching and milking him and your legs locking, pressing hard and making sure he empties every drop inside you.\n\nBoth of you cling to each other, breathing hard, bodies covered in sweat. A little whine from Aki makes you laugh breathlessly and Gao giggle, and you unenfold your eldest from your limbs and let him clamber (somewhat reluctantly) off, Aki hurriedly scrambling into place. "You can be as quick as you want, hon," you assure him, and he lets out a soft huff and nods as he guides himself into place, rather than waiting for your help. Still, he takes it a bit slow, and you shiver in delight at the feel of his identically large, nearly perfect cock sliding through his brother's load to settle into the same warm, grasping place Gao has already prepared for him.\n\nYou draw him down as well, though Aki wiggles a bit and turns his head, starting to suckle one of your nipples instead as he starts thrusting gently. You moan in delight and start petting him and scratching his ears as well, once again feeling the pleasant shiver that runs through his body and the particular jump and throb of his cock at doing that while he's inside you. Still he seems to be enjoying himself turning his head back and forth, sucking one plump nipple and then the other as he continues to thrust lightly (and a little shakily) into your pussy, his strokes louder than Gao's had been due to the cum being churned up inside you and no doubt dripping down his balls. \n\nYou're a little surprised when he straightens up and grabs hold of your thighs instead, starting to thrust harder... and making your tits bounce with his impacts. Oho~, so that's his game! Well you would have liked to snuggle-fuck him as thoroughly as Gao too, but this works for you just fine, seeing that lovely, strong young chest and belly working as he pumps you, pretty face fierce and full of desire.\n\nOf course Gao is as always the bold one and apparently decides not to be left out completely, clambering back onto the bed beside your head and flopping his cock across your face. You smile rather brainlessly at this, enjoying the feel of it still hard and soft but now thoroughly wet and dripping, smearing a mixture of his own cum and yours across your skin as he drags it back and forth across your face. You flick your tongue out and suck at the underside as he brings it over your lips, even as Aki starts fucking you harder, either to bring your attention back to him from apparently giving it to Gao again, or just because he's getting close. Possibly both, by the whuffing moans he's making.\n\nAnd it's not long before he's thrusting forward, giving his own howl as he empties himself into you, your legs locking around him and making sure he empties himself completely inside the same way Gao did. You shudder and arch, thrusting your hips towards him as your pussy trembles and squeezes in your orgasm, a long moan that rises almost to the level of the first howl of release you gave spilling from your lips.\n\nAfter, you lay back and Aki flumps to your side, Gao subsiding and cuddling up to your other side, both of them resting with their heads against your breasts, their still mostly-hard cocks pressing against your thighs. You stroke their heads and backs, smiling adoringly at them as they nuzzle and nestle.\n\n"She was louder with me," Gao eventually says, sounding a bit smug.\n\nAki purses his lips and his eyes flash with impending violence (of a typical brotherly squabble level) until you speak up. "I was louder the first time because it had been awhile, that's all," you assure them both, adding, "Don't vex your brother," to Gao while goosing his asshole lightly, making him jump in place and his tail fluff out, a look that mingles shock, apology, and a little bit of interest. "You both did great," you add, kissing them on the forehead in turn.\n\n"Can we do more?" Aki asks, his and Gao's tails starting to wag again.\n\n<hr>\n[["Sure!"|ChiMom3x2]]\n\n[["Mmm..."|ChiMom]]\n\n[["Tomorrow, hon."|ChiMom]]

Yeaaah after going through it in your mind... you're screwed. Your best hope is that she's just trying to intimidate you with all the talk of 'messiness' and that cooperating might actually earn you some mercy. You slowly open your hand and allow the knife to drop to the floor with a clatter, raising your hands to either side of your head... and not bothering to hide your sour expression at having to do so.\n\n"Oh? You don't really seem a coward, so you must be fairly smart," the elf says in a smug tone as she lowers her casting hand, the energy wrapping around it as she flexes her fingers. The mythril knife wobbles a bit on the floor, then shoots through the air, her hand twisting to snatch it as it flits above her palm.\n\n'Showoffy Elf Skywalker bitch,' you think with a mental grumble as she turns her head to examine it, at the same time swinging her sword around to point directly at you to make sure you don't get any ideas.\n\n"... Hm. You know what... I'll actually admit this is better than some elvish work I've seen. Very impressive, considering the crude facilities and materials you had to work with. I'd feel like my hands were actually dirtied, slaughtering a talent like this even if it is housed in a human."\n\nThat makes you feel a mixture of proud and insulted... and terrified when she nevertheless raises her sword, magic gathering around the blade as she channels energy into it and gives a quick chop down. You yelp as the Wind Blade spell bursts out and strikes you repeatedly... but apparently it was cast in such a way that your skin isn't so much as bruised even as everything you're wearing is shredded completely, tattered scraps of cloth flying around the room and raining down, leaving you standing there shocked and abruptly naked. The elf offers no explanation for stripping you, just seems amused by your \n\n"Alright, here's the deal, human, I'll give you a choice. Normally the sentence for any human to touch mythril, let alone actually use it, is death. There are two exceptions... if the human is taken away from their world and never returned, or... well, let's explore that first one." The elf outright smirks now as she reaches into a pouch at her belt and pulls out a black metal chain formed of octagonal links designed to sit flat with each other, and tosses it to the ground at your feet. "That's a slave collar. Put it on and I'll take you back to my city as a slave. I can't imagine that being a lowly slave in an elvish city wouldn't be preferable in every way to being a king in this world. So, you just put that on and we'll be off, you'll love it, I'm sure."\n\nYou scowl darkly, refusing to give her the satisfaction of covering your bared breasts and pussy with your hands, because it would be too much like cowering. "... And if I don't think that sounds like the best thing ever?"\n\n"Show a little gratitude... I'm doing you a favor with all of this, after all, I could just lop off your head and have done with it." Which you suppose it's true, but the lopsided sneer toying about her mouth says she's only not doing that because she finds her other options more amusing. "But fine, if you don't want to accept my magnanimous invitation, I'll instead perform a Transubstantiation spell on you."\n\n"Transubs-... you want to force me to reincarnate?!"\n\n"Mmhmmm. Graciously keeping all of your memories and winding up right back where you started, but in a form that's unlikely to be human. You can deal with the consequences as you like, but since you won't be human, the rule no longer applies. Of course, I'll keep the knife... consider it my fee for casting such an impressive spell for the sake of such a lowly creature."\n\nSo... your freedom or your humanity. What if you reincarnate into a frog or something? Or heck, even if you get a passably human form, the chances of looking like yourself anymore are slim, you'd have to do a lot of moving and shaking to not have your whole life fall down around your ears, best case scenario.\n\n<hr>\n[[Become a slave.|ValSlave]]\n\n[[Undergo Transubstantiation.|Val]]

"I've thought a lot about what you said, and... I think you're right." You take a deep breath and nod. "The schools are too important to treat as if they're something we can just put on hold and wait for us to wrap everything up. And... I think Niobe would like it if there was a more stable place for me and Ilia to call home. There's still a lot of work to do here, and..." You trail off, then nod. "I'll do it. I'll be headmaster."\n\n"It pains me to part from you, Miss Sterling, but at the same time I cannot help but feel I am leaving Haven Academy in very good hands," Ozma says, proffering a hand, waiting for you to shake it before he adds, "I have a letter I can entrust to certain people that will be able to deliver it faster than other methods currently allow. There is a certain individual who I think will be invaluable to you in growing into your position... but though I have trusted her with a great deal, it has not been everything," he admits with a small sigh. "She will be rather confused to get a letter from 'Professor Ozpin', and that is how you should continue to refer to me to her. But I have a great deal of faith in her... and I hope this will remove her from a poor situation as well," he adds with another shake of the head. "I will entrust you to her care... and her to yours. And I suppose here is where we part."\n\nHe hesitates, almost like he wants to add something or do something, but then his even shoulders and raised head melt into the awkward set of Oscar, who just gives you a pained look, and after a few seconds hesitantly offers a hand. "... I'm... gonna miss you."\n\n"Yeah, same, farmboy," you murmur, smiling sadly as you take his hand. \n\nYour goodbyes to Team RWBY and JNPR are tearful, made all the moreso by the suddenness of the revelation that you're not going, but at least most of them also seem happy for you that you'll be assuming such a prestigious position. As Team KACH turns to head towards the exit after seeing the others board the train, there's another painful development... that the C hangs back.\n\n"I... think I'm gonna say goodbye here too, guys," Reese says quietly, rubbing her upper arm. "There's a train that leaves for a station near Arslan's hometown in a few hours, and I think I'm just gonna go ahead and buy my ticket for it now."\n\n"... I'm sorry, Reese," you murmur, lowering your head. "I know how much it meant to you to do something important."\n\n"Hey, I am." Reese steps forward, smiling albeit sadly as she tilts your head back up. "I'm going back to being with Team ABRN and that's one of the most important things in the world to me. I told you no hard feelings and I meant it. I'm legit happy for you and I always will be. I'll make the best of Vacuo." \n\n"You'll always have a place at Haven," you assure her, for one of the rare times initiating an actual hug where you don't get stabbed and stepping forward to wrap your arms around her. "And with us."\n\nReese hugs Ilia, Grey, and Silvia as well, waving a little forlornly nevertheless as the four of you walk away.\n\nA week later and you're still doing paper work, you think with a scowl as you hunch rather inelegantly over your desk. You had most of the previous headmaster's stuff replaced... not because you were trying to make a statement but because there was blood and a bunch of other stuff that ought to stay inside a human body splattered all over it. You admit you went with the kind of professional neo-future stylings that remind you of the Guildhall, because it made this place feel a bit more familiar. You also decided to go a bit fashionable since apparently according to like everyone you can't be a headmaster and just go around in a spandex top and pants and a kitty-ear coat. Which seems like it's against the whole point of being a headmaster but whatever. You got a tailor to make you a nice outfit, sharp, snug black pants with a yellow-trimmed red wrap-skirt, and a sort of punk-business jacket of the same colors. You glance up at the light on your desk nearby blinking, and tap a control. "Yeah?"\n\n"Uh," your secretary responds, apparently still not used to you just blurting 'yeah?' like that every time she calls. "Ma'am, I think the new assistant headmaster is here."\n\n"Oh, cool, send her in." You get up and come around the desk as the door opens, the clack of heels sounding on the tile floor. The woman walking in looks like the physical embodiment of 'hot for teacher', her pale hair piled up in a tight bun, spectacles perched on her nose, a poofy-shouldered blouse showing off her proud chest, a tight pencil skirt, the heels. And is she legit holding a riding crop? Is this really Ozma's, Ozpin's, whatever's trusted assistant, or did Grey hire you a dominatrix? Again? "Hi, I'm Kai Sterling," you declare by way of greeting, unconsciously settling with hands tucked behind your back and feet together like Ozma tended to do.\n\n"I am Professor Glinda Goodwitch of Beacon," she replies as she comes to a stop in front of you, her voice outright cold, as is her gaze, though you notice she's adopted almost the exact same stance. "And may I be blunt?" she adds as the very next words she speaks to you.\n\nYou quirk one eyebrow. "I'm guessing you fuckin' can if you try."\n\nYou can see the mingling of shock and outrage play briefly over her face, but you certainly seem to have knocked her off her little planned-out tirade, at least for a moment. You can see how much effort it is for her to pull the shreds of her tattered dignity back together before she says, "I do not belong here. And you do not belong here," she adds, a little more venomously. "I belong in Vale, taking it and Beacon back from the Grimm, where I was before that... that letter came. You, at best, belong in my classes being taught what it actually means to be a Huntress, not running an Academy. You are too young, too inexperienced, and clearly too crude to be molding young minds. Now, because I trust Professor Ozpin's judgement I will do as he asked and assist you, but do not expect me to like it."\n\n"... Understood," you say with a single nod. "May I rebut?"\n\n"You are the headmaster," she says in a flat voice that says she resents every word. "That is your privilege."\n\n<hr>\n[["I don't think I belong here either."|KaiRem]]\n\n[[Slap her.|KaiRem4x2]]

Your hand cracks across her cheek, and Glynda is either too tired or too slow to activate her Aura, green eyes going wide with shock and pain as the impact catches her head and drags the rest of her body with it, knocking her sprawling onto her side on the floor. Her head whips back up, hair having come askew from her bun, spectacles knocked half off and making the dark circles under her eyes more obvious as she looks at you in absolute outrage.\n\nYou return the look with one of cold solemnity. "You just had your ass slapped to the floor by someone who belongs in one of your classes. You're a trained Huntress, one of the best by everything I've heard attached to your name, and you didn't see a strike coming that I telegraphed by ten miles. No block, no dodge, no Aura, and you're laying there struggling to figure out what to do instead of kicking my ass all over this office."\n\nYou narrow your eyes, keeping your voice calm but letting some of the heat you feel bleed into it. "I'm a street punk, yeah. I'm not a proper Huntress. But let me tell you something a street punk's seen. I was sent into a fight club to collect payment from a guy who was behind. This wasn't any little one-on-one cagematch, it was a massive no-holds-barred battle royale beatdown, no rules other than surrender equaling mercy, no restrictions except for guns, just sentient creatures beating each other to hell until one was left standing. I got there just as it was starting, and the biggest, meanest-looking motherfucker I ever saw was in the arena. Eight feet tall, horns like a ram, bulging muscles, looked like he could have used a groundspeeder as a melee weapon if it would have fit through the entrance. And he was taking the competition apart... until he got hit." You purse your lips for a moment before you continue. "Someone got in a lucky shot to his ear. Just slipped right past one of those horns and bam. The jumped-up little slip of a nothing he was fighting took a chance and it paid off. And after that the big guy was reeling. He kept taking more hits from everyone else after that and he kept falling. In this arena once you admit you've lost that's it, you're safe, you crawl out, you get healed up, you fight again the next night. But the big guy had clearly never lost, and he figured he hadn't actually lost as long as he kept fighting. So he kept getting up again and again, even though every time he fell he fell harder, got up slower, and did less fighting. If he'd just admitted he'd lost, he'd have been able to come back another night, probably every night after that, and win no problem. But he got hit, and he refused to admit he lost. And in the end he was beaten down so hard he was obviously never going to fight again."\n\nYou lean forward towards her, eyes boring into hers. "You took a hit and you lost, Goodwitch. Time to suck it up and admit it so you can come back tomorrow night."\n\nGlinda stares at you, though finally her gaze falls, her head hanging. You watch as she almost literally pulls together the shreds of her dignity as she smooths out her bun, fixes her glasses, and gets to her feet, running her hands over her skirt and tugging on her blouse. "Perhaps..." She trails off, then winces, the excuse she was about to make obviously tasting sour in her mouth.\n\n"Say it," you demand softly.\n\nGlinda's jaw clenches, her head lowers again. Then she raises her chin, eyes fixing on yours. "... I lost."\n\n"Alright." You proffer a hand. "You ready to win it with me tomorrow night?"\n\n"... I am, headmaster," she answers quietly, though this time without rancor, accepting your hand and giving it a shake.\n\n"Good. Because Crystal Dragon I am tired of doing all this paperwork by myself," you say with a huff, turning and meandering back to your desk.\n\n"Headmaster," Glinda says, almost hesitantly, looking a bit embarrassed to be speaking, clearly feeling like a small child asking what happened after the 'The End' of a story. "The big man with the horns... the one that refused to admit he'd lost... what happened to him?"\n\n"Well," you say slowly as you settle back into your chair. "When he woke up after being dragged out of the arena, he paid me the money he owed my employer after I reminded him I'd boxed his fuckin' ear."\n\nThe older woman starts a bit, eyes first widening slightly, then narrowing... before she lets out a soft, tired laugh. "Is that story even true?"\n\nYou grin back at her. "One of the things I learned from Oz is that stories on Remnant are as true as they need to be. So I guess it depends on if you need the story to be true."\n\n"... Yes," she says more softly, glancing down again. "Perhaps I do." After a moment she raises her head to look at you, gaze firming again. "I'm not giving up on Vale. Or Beacon. Even if I did lose."\n\n"As long as I'm here, no one is giving up on anyone else," you assure her with a nod. "But that fight's tomorrow night, Goodwitch. Time to rest up from the one you lost. Consider that my first order as headmaster."\n\n"Yes, ma'am," Goodwitch says with a bit of wounded dignity, but sincerity as she puts a gloved hand to her shoulder lightly and bows. She hesitates one last time before she adds, "Headmaster Sterling. I'm starting to see why Ozpin chose you for this."\n\n"Yeah?" you prompt with a lopsided grin.\n\n"The times that seem to be coming are hard ones. To all indications... they will be full of pain, and loss. ... I suppose in such times, it is necessary that even in a haven, someone must be willing to..." She clears her throat and adjusts her glasses with one hand. "... 'kick us in the ass' when we need it."\n\n"Now that is my skillset all damn day," you reply with a wolfish grin, before sighing as her eyes narrow. "I'm trying, okay, it's a really ingrained habit and frankly I think it's f-, it's weird that none of you do."\n\n"History is not my specialty, but I have heard it is because profanity is associated with soldiers, and therefore war," Glynda says after a moment. "And much of our post-Great War society functions on the belief that war is a thing of our past."\n\nYou turn your chair around, looking out the windows towards the north, thinking about what all your friends were heading towards.\n\n"... Can't help but think there's a lot of swearing in everybody's future, then," you murmur mostly to yourself, though you notice Glinda's head bow a bit. You turn back to her, and add, gently, "To bed, Professor Goodwitch."\n\n"Headmaster," Glinda repeats, bowing again before turning and striding out.\n\nSeveral days later the two of you are sitting at your desk, bent over more paperwork as usual, though you find it more tolerable since you actually have someone to talk about these things with now. "Have you found a place for Grey, yet?" you ask as you do a mild bit of mental calculus to determine a projected budget for the next year, without including this year's reconstruction costs but also trying to figure in any damage that will occur from other sources (like students).\n\n"Mister Heliotrope's academic skillset is somewhat lacking," Glinda says dryly, although with enough amusement in her voice that it doesn't come off in a mean way. "I'm not certain how well he'd do in a classroom environment, but I think an individual tutor position would suit him."\n\n"Assign him to struggling students or teams to give them some extra attention?"\n\n"Indeed, especially those having a hard time learning to do what I believe you have referred to as 'Aura bullspit'."\n\n"Hey that was good you almost did it that time."\n\n"Your praise fills me with shame."\n\nYou snicker and she chuckles a bit, only for both of you to leap to your feet as the doors of your office slam open, Ilia and Silvia pelting in, both in distressed colors and only distinguished by one's operator coat and the other's pale glittery jacket. "Kai!"\n\n"Miss Amitola, I have repeatedly told you-"\n\n"Not now, Glinda," you snap, before rounding the desk to meet the twins. "What is it?"\n\n"Kai, only half the Argus Express made it to Argus," Ilia says in a nearly panicked tone.\n\n"WHAT?!" Your jaw drops. "Why the fuck am I just hearing about this now?!" \n\n"Argus and the tracks it runs on have very spotty CCT coverage," Glinda explains, calmer but with strain still evident in her voice as she walks up to stand next to you. "Normally the Argus Express boosts its signal via a cable in the tracks, but it still loses coverage in bad weather or heavy snow... or during Dust shortages, which Mistral is currently undergoing. So it's not unusual for them to drop out of contact for weeks at a time."\n\n"Is everyone alright?" you ask the twins. "Did Oz contact you?"\n\n"No, it was Ren," Silvia replies, shaking her head quickly. "Team JNPR and Team RWBY got split up so that Ren could protect the other passengers, but they... they think the part of the train Team RWBY, Oscar, and Qrow was on crashed."\n\nA shiver of fear goes down your spine. "... And they haven't met back up yet?"\n\n"No," Ilia says quietly. "And Kai... Ren said..." She trails off, glancing at Glinda.\n\n"Just say it," you snap, probably a little too sharply. "We don't have time for secrets right now."\n\n"Ren said the artifact Oscar was carrying is like a Grimm magnet," Ilia whispers, eyes wide. "Team RWBY's out there in the wilderness, with winter coming on, carrying something that draws the Grimm like a beacon."\n\n"Get your weapons!" You whirl and stalk to the side, snatching your coat off its peg and whirling it on. "We're getting an airship, we'll steal one if we have to! Find Grey, call Reese if she hasn't left Mistral yet, we need her to see if she can rig up something to track the artifact!"\n\n"Headmaster!" Glinda snaps as you're rushing for the door, her voice harsh enough to make you jerk to a halt. Her voice gentles, but stays firm and solemn as she says, "I understand your fear. I even share it... Team RWBY and Team JNPR are precious to me too. They are some of the finest students I have ever taught, and I am proud that they are in any way my legacy. I too want to rush out the door and do everything I can for them. But your place is here."\n\n"Dammit, Glinda, I don't have time for this!" you snap, whirling around to face her. "My friends are-!"\n\n"Your friends are in deadly danger and every part of you is screaming to go and help them," Glinda cuts in, striding forward to meet you with crisp clicks of her heels on the floor. "But your students are filling the dorms even as we speak. Young people seeking your guidance, your help, and more than that your protection," she adds, pursing her lips slightly. "They want to fight back against what is happening to our world, but until they can do that they need you to keep them safe. They need you to stand between them and the darkness until they are ready to be the light. And you cannot do that if you are scouring the northern country for a small handful of Huntresses that are almost certainly capable of handling anything the Grimm throw at them. When Professor Ozpin entrusted this school to you, it was not just the brick and mortar, the libraries, the CCT. He was entrusting the lives of everyone that would dwell within it, entrusting that you would stay and you would fight for them." Her eyes shift, turning pained, just a hint of strain in her voice as she says, "I made the mistake of seeing only buildings and streets when I should have been focusing on people. Don't make the same mistake you... kicked me in the ass over. See the people that truly need you."\n\n<hr>\n[[Fuck that.|KaiRem]]\n\n[[... She's right.|KaiRem4x3]]

"... You're right," you say quietly, hating yourself for it. "Oz entrusted me with this school... with its students. ... I can't run out on them now," you add, shrugging out of your coat and moving to hang it back up.\n\n"But Kai, you can't just leave them," Ilia protests, eyes shocked and wide.\n\n"The hell I am," you answer as you move back to sit behind your desk. "Girls, go find Grey, get him in my office now. Glinda, get me that damn airship, I don't care who you have to bribe, threaten, or flash your chest at, do you understand me?" you add with such a harsh edge to your tone that it's clear you're not joking.\n\nGlinda's eyes widen and her cheeks pink at the crudity... but a moment later she nods. "It will be in front of the school awaiting your orders within the hour, headmaster."\n\n"Then get it done." You stab the call button on your desk. "Get me Arslan Altan on the line, I don't care how much Dust you have to burn to boost the CCT."\n\nShortly afterward, the screen portion of your desk tilts up, and brightens with the image of the dark-skinned lion Faunus you've only seen still pictures of previously. "Headmaster Sterling," she says respectfully, nodding her head.\n\n"Miss Altan," you reply, unable to help echoing Ozma's delivery, before finding your own smile and voice. "It's really, sincerely an honor to finally get to talk to you."\n\n"The pleasure is all mine," she replies, putting a hand to her chest and bowing with her shoulders to the camera. "Thank you for taking care of my cub during a difficult time for her, I am grateful."\n\n"I'm afraid I'm about to ask you to have an even more difficult time on my behalf, Arslan," you answer, eyes pinching a little.\n\n"Say it and it will be done," she replies without hesitation, golden eyes firm.\n\n"What's your status and location right now?"\n\n"Team ABRN is currently at an air station near my home, awaiting passage to Vacuo. We were supposed to leave several weeks ago, but an unusually severe set of sandstorms caused the flights to be delayed. We are however armed, provisioned, rested, and ready to deploy."\n\n"I want to deploy you somewhere very different. I'm sending an airship with someone I trust, a feline Faunus named Grey Heliotrope, to pick you up. Your mission will be to locate and assist Team RWBY, whose condition and whereabouts are currently unknown, but may be lost and injured somewhere in northern Mistral. They're carrying an item that draws Grimm to them, which I want Reese to try and track. Their mission is secret, and I'll leave it up to them whether you can be told, but either way your mission is unchanged... find them, help them, get them where they need to go. It's of the highest importance."\n\n"We would do anything for fellow veterans of the Battle of Beacon," Arslan assures you with another small bow. "My team and I will rise to this challenge, headmaster, thank you for the opportunity, and for your trust." She pauses briefly before adding, "Is Grey Heliotrope to take command?"\n\nYou hesitate only a second before shaking your head. "Grey's competent and experienced, but he's not a leader. You're in charge, Arslan, and that includes riding his ass if he needs it." You can see her start a little, and then a particularly leonine grin curls her previously solemn lips. "Get it done, Team ABRGN, I have faith in you."\n\n"Your faith will be rewarded, I swear it." With that, Arslan signs off.\n\nGlinda, who'd reentered the office at some point during your call, steps forward. "Headmaster, are you sure about this? Team ABRN is very capable, and certainly they survived the Battle of Beacon... but they are only students," she adds in a gently worried tone. "And not quite up to Team RWBY's level, I am forced to admit."\n\n"You said I need to look after these students until they're ready to be the light against the darkness," you reply to her, your eyes even as you fix her with a look. "And I'm saying that when they're ready for that is their decision, not mine."\n\nGlinda is silent for a moment before she nods. "I understand. If Team ABRN feels up to the task, we will trust them that they are."\n\n"Trust and faith is the only way students become masters," you say almost automatically, before blinking as you realize those are Ico's words. '... You always were great for meaningful philosophical nonsense,' you think with a small smile.\n\n"You called, Headmaster Red?" Grey cuts in as he ambles into your office, as usual bumping the door open with his shoulder without knocking. Though as he comes to a stop, his face grows serious. "The girls said Blake's team is in trouble."\n\n"Seems likely, considering they got separated from JNPR and they're carrying something that acts like a 'free beer' neon sign for Grimm," you reply dryly, seeing him scowl now with concern. "As Glinda has reminded me, I have an obligation to this school, but you don't."\n\n"That airship I see approaching for little old me, then?" he says, glancing up at the windows.\n\n"Yeah, but not just you. I want you to take a detour and join up with Reese's original team. Their leader's Arslan Altan... listen to her, alright."\n\nGrey lets out a gusty, melodramatic sigh at that, clutching a hand to his chest. "Taking orders from a friggin' kid, how the mighty have fallen." Then he shrugs elaborately, smirking. "But to be pushed around by a gorgeous lioness, ah, what bliss."\n\n"Behave yourself, as much as you can," you snort in a teasing tone, before your expression turns serious again. "Our family's out there alone Grey."\n\nHis smirk vanishes, replaced by an equally solemn look as he nods. "They won't be alone when we show up. I'll get it done, Kai."\n\n"I know you will. Get on that ship and do it." You watch as he walks out, then let out a long sigh before turning a wan grin on Glinda. "You got that done way faster than I thought."\n\n"And my blouse did not even have to be unbuttoned," Glinda replies with a quirked eyebrow, before she nods. "The Belladonnas now hold considerable sway with Mistral's law enforcement and military. Rather than attempting to call for an airship directly, I called Kali Belladonna. Considering who is involved, she got it done quickly."\n\nYou wince a little, not even having thought about telling Ghira and Kali that their daughter was in danger. "Crap. Parents are such a blind spot for me," you mutter, rubbing your forehead.\n\n"I assured her you are doing everything in your power to help Blake," Glinda says quietly. "They trust you."\n\n"When did everyone start trusting me?" you mutter sulkily, picking up a pen from your desk just so you can throw it back down as you slouch into your chair.\n\n"... I cannot answer that, but all I can say is that you have never given me a reason to distrust you," Glinda says slowly, shifting her shoulders a bit. "However... I knew that Professor Ozpin was keeping a number of things from me, and I trusted that it was for a good reason. I am trusting that there is a good reason you are keeping his secrets as well, even as some of them fly dangerously close to my ears. ... I..."\n\nShe trails off, but the rest of what she wants to say is obvious:\n\n'I wish that trust would be rewarded.'\n\n<hr>\n[[She deserves to know.|KaiRem]]\n\n[[You can't.|KaiRem4x4]]

"Glinda, if they were my secrets, I'd tell you all damn day," you assure her, keeping your gaze steady on her.\n\n"But they are his and so you must keep them." The proper-looking woman nods slowly, closing her eyes for a moment, then nods again. "That does not feel good, but it does make me respect you."\n\n"I'd like to have your friendship and respect both, if I could," you say quietly.\n\n"We shall see." Glinda smiles a little wanly. "If that will be all, headmaster?"\n\n"For now, Professor," you murmur, feeling like you lost a little something there.\n\nSeveral hours later you're sitting in the dark of your office, staring out the window and tapping a pen against the arm of your chair, thinking about everything and nothing, when you blink at the beep of an incoming call, your secretary long since having gone home. You turn around and tap the control to raise the screen, then blink again at the name. You hit 'receive', though just a small still image of the caller pops up on the screen (cropped, you're pretty sure, from that photo you saw on her bedside table). "Arslan? Where are you?"\n\n"The northern wastes, headmaster, as ordered," she replies, the little line below her icon flickering with her words.\n\n"How the hell are you getting reception out there, I thought the wastes had fuckall for CCT reception?"\n\n"That is the work of my cub," Arslan replies in a proud tone. "Reese has devised a series of small hovering receivers that she deployed during our trip. Individually they are not powerful, but chained together and hovering above the cloud layer, they are capable of extending the CCT's range at least enough for audio calls. Even if the Grimm knock a few out of the sky, we should be able to communicate for at least a week, if she continues to deploy them as we go."\n\n"Goddamn I miss that skinny little bitch," you mutter, though you flush as you notice your own ocilloscope in the corner move a bit. "Arslan, when you get back, you and I are going to have a fight about this whole 'going to Vacuo instead of staying at my damn academy' thing, understood? Now, report."\n\n"Yes, headmaster!" Arslan replies, and despite it being audio only you can almost see that leonine grin of hers from before. But her voice goes serious again as she continues. "We spotted the crashed train cars from the air, but as we approached received a weak distress signal on a scroll. We have located a survivor of the crash... albeit not a member of Team RWBY, nor Oscar Pine or Qrow Branwen."\n\n"One of the passengers?" you ask with a frown. "After all this time?"\n\n"A Huntsman, in fact, by the name of Dee, an employee of the train line. Apparently he was thrown from the train by Grimm when it was attacked, but survived and managed to pull himself under some tree roots where the Grimm could not reach him. He has been surviving for weeks on snow melt and eating a minimal amount of his ration bars." Arslan hesitates briefly before adding, "His arm and leg were broken very badly, and in his weakened state his Aura could not heal them. ... Grey and the Mistral pilots are preparing for an emergency field amputation."\n\n"Damn," you hiss, briefly closing your eyes, because that's harsh all day long. Shaking it off though, you push forward, hoping Arslan understands the necessity. "Had he seen any of the others?"\n\n"No, he was apparently unconscious when the train crashed. He is barely coherent as it is."\n\n"The train?"\n\n"Nadir and Bolin are in the midst of investigating it. ... In fact, I am getting a call from them now, a moment please, headmaster?"\n\n"Do it."\n\nAn orange ring appears around Arslan's contact image, the oscilloscope going completely flat. A minute later, the ring disappears. "Headmaster, did any of Team RWBY know how to ride a motorbike?"\n\nYou blink, then a little thrill of hope races across your skin. "Yang, she had her bike 'Bumblebee' on the train with her."\n\n"Bolin found one of the cargo cars and checked the manifest, which listed a motorcycle. But there was no sign of it, although there were indications it had been removed. It is therefore quite likely that Team RWBY took it with them, hoping they might be able to adapt it to the snow if they reached somewhere safe."\n\n"If they were strong enough to take Bumblebee with them, they can't have been too hurt after the crash," you murmur mostly to yourself, cupping your chin. "Can you track them?"\n\n"Between what Reese thinks is the signal you described from the 'Grimm beacon' and their scrolls, especially if 'Bumblebee' has a scroll linkup, I think we will at least be able to figure out which direction they went."\n\nYou tap your fingers on your desk, considering.\n\n<hr>\n[[Issue orders.|KaiRem]]\n\n[[Ask for a briefing.|KaiRem4x5]]

"Alright, Arslan, what's your plan?"\n\nThere's a brief moment of stunned silence, before Arslan replies. "Headmaster, with your permission, I want to send the airship back to Haven with Dee."\n\nYou frown at that. "You'll basically be stranding Team ABRGN out there if you do that."\n\n"I understand that. However Dee is very weak, and even with the medical equipment available on the airship I do not think he will survive the night if he is not delivered to a hospital."\n\nTaptap. Taptap. "How many more of Reese's CCT extenders do you have?"\n\n"Enough to stretch perhaps a third of the way to Argus."\n\n"You can make that trip?" you ask, not because you're not sure, but because you want her to be sure. "All the way there, and without contact the last two thirds of the way?"\n\n"I am confident that we can, headmaster, if we take the supplies from the airship," Arslan answers. "Though we do not often use them, we all have hoverboards and Reese has schooled us in their use. Grey is having some difficulty with his, but Reese is currently modifying it to make it easier on him." Despite the situation, you can't help but grin a bit at the thought of Grey trying to ride a hoverboard and falling on his ass in the snow. "We should be able to traverse the snow more easily on them, and hopefully catch up to the others. We will have food, medical supplies, and warm clothes, which they most likely did not have when they crashed, and may now badly need."\n\nTaptap. "You can get it done?"\n\nA pause. And Arslan's already solemn voice is more serious than ever as she says, "Even if I did not think I could, I would not leave Team RWBY out here alone. They are veterans of the Battle of Beacon. They are like blood to me. I will not abandon them." Then she adds, deep passion in her voice, "I will get it done."\n\n"Then get it done. I'll have a medical crew waiting to meet the airship."\n\n"Thank you, headmaster." With that, the line closes.\n\nYou stare at the empty screen for a long time, just turning that conversation over in your head, wondering if you made the right decision. If you'd ordered Arslan to use the airship, Team RWBY might get found in hours, not days. ... But trust and faith. Trust and faith.\n\n<hr>\n[[Just keep having it.|KaiRem]]\n\n[[Time to extend some more.|KaiRem4x6]]

You spend a bit longer considering, before pushing up from your desk and heading for the teacher's dormitory. You have something to say to someone.\n\nShortly after your knock on the door, Glinda opens it, pulling a purple silk robe closer around herself, looking mildly confused and very pretty without her glasses and with her hair down. "Headmaster Sterling?"\n\n"Hey Glinda. Sorry to come by so late," you murmur.\n\n"It is fine. ... In truth, I do not find it very easy to sleep for very long, these days," she admits, stepping back and gesturing. "Please, come in."\n\nYou step inside, glancing around the small suite. It's very tidy, very well-appointed, and practically untouched. The room of someone who expects it to not be theirs for very long, because they think that any moment it will be snatched away from them. It does, in fact, look exactly like your room. At Glinda's invitation you have a seat, trying not to enjoy the sight of her legs too much as she settles across from you and arranges her robe modestly.\n\n"Team ABRGN is on Team RWBY's trail. They're sending the airship back with a survivor, not one of our people. They're going on alone."\n\n"I see," Glinda says after a moment, looking down. "That is very brave of them."\n\n"It is. Are you aware of my relationship with Reese Chloris?"\n\nGlinda chokes a little, her face going flushed as a hand flutters to her chest. "Headmaster, really, if this is some sort of admission of-"\n\n"Not that kind," you snort. Damn Reese would love to hear about that reaction though, shame you can't tell her since Glinda would hate it. "... When I got here, Glinda, I was just 'Kai'. And I don't mean that I wasn't headmaster, or anyone important, I mean that's the only name I'd ever had. No one had ever cared about me enough to give me anything more than that. Until Oz. He was the one who called me 'Sterling'."\n\nGlinda stares for a moment, then lowers her gaze to her lap. "'Of the highest quality'," she almost whispers.\n\n"Yeah. He said that. A lot." You grin wryly and shake your head. "He also gave me and my friends, including Reese, a name. Team KACH. He said it was his privilege and one of his proudest moments. It meant a lot to me. Even though we only got to be Team KACH for two weeks... ... I had to give it up to take this job."\n\n"... I am very sorry," Glinda says sincerely, raising her eyes to you. "I know what it means to many of our students the first time they are sorted into teams. To have it, and give it up only two short weeks later... that must have been difficult for you."\n\n"Like tearing a finger off," you answer bluntly, making her make a bit of a face and unable to help grinning for just a moment. "But you understand what Oz has given me, right? Not just a job. Not even just trust and faith. My name. My family."\n\n"So you cannot share his secrets," Glinda says, firmly rather than regretfully, lifting her chin as if making it more of a demand.\n\n"No. But I think he'll share them with you, now. You should ask him the next time you see him."\n\n"... I understand all you've told me... Kai," Glinda says slowly, for the first time actually speaking to you as personally as you do her. "But I do not, I admit, understand quite why, other than helping me to see what you cannot tell me."\n\n"Because Oz gave me his trust and faith, now I'm giving you mine." You stand up. "Team KACH was my family. By extension, that means Team ABRN is my family. And when they get back... which I have every confidence they will... I will kick Arslan's ass to make her stay if I have to, because there's no way I'm letting my family ditch me to go off and fuck around in a desert. They belong here, in their home, with me. And with you," you add, pointing briefly at her.\n\nGlinda blinks a few times, raising a hand to her chest, not quite saying 'Me?' but obviously having to resist the urge.\n\n"From now on, Glinda Goodwitch, Team ABRN is your top priority. You are to make them the very best Huntresses and Huntsmen they can be. Whatever they need to learn, you will teach it to them. Whatever they need to grow, you will get it for them. Because they are my family, and I want only the best for them. And from everything I've seen... you're the best. End of story. Get it done."\n\nGlinda stares at you for a long moment. Then she rises to her feet and straightens her back, her dignified moment only marred when she briefly attempts to adjust glasses she's not currently wearing. But she nods, and says evenly, "You may consider it done, then."\n\n"Alright. Goodnight then, Glinda." You turn and make your way to the door, then stop and turn back to look at her. "And Glinda?"\n\n"Yes?" she asks, quirking an eyebrow.\n\n"While you're at it. Make sure they're ready to help you out tomorrow night."\n\nFor a moment she looks baffled. Then it clicks, and you see comprehension dawn on her face... and for the first time since you've known her, she actually smiles. And a wolfish, near-feral thing it is. "They will be."\n\n<hr>\n[[The End.|KaiRem4xEnd]]

Your name is Morgan Mekborne, and for the first thirteen years of your life you thought you were nothing particularly special. Oh sure, your grades were great, but not completely perfect, and yeah you're rich but not like that makes you special. Just means that your father, the genius engineer, owns his own globe-spanning company that makes all sorts of necessary high-end devices and your mother... you weren't sure what your mother did but you always supposed she must work for the company somehow, because she was gone a lot. Really they both were, though they did their best when they were there, being emotionally present, doing their best to be role models, trying to engage with you. Still, there was always the stereotype of a lot of missed school plays and parent days... not so much on the little league games since, quite frankly, you were a huge nerd. Big nerd. Muuuuchly nerd. Yeah.\n\nBut in that thirteenth year, something amazing happened. Not only did puberty really kick in, but so did the abilities you inherited from your mom. Oh, yeah, turns out that usually when she missed a school play or whatever it's because she was catching a bus that fell off a bridge or getting zapped with a death ray and so on, because she's the superhero Excalibur, and also an alien from the planet Avellon. So yeah that was a good week of sitting staring at the wall thinking 'Whaaaaaaaaaaaa?' Actually it was pretty weird because you always thought 'Boy Excalibur sure does look like my mom' but that seemed like the dumbest thing in the world to ever say out loud so you always just assumed you were a dink.\n\nWhich you suppose wouldn't actually explain your dad not turning up, except turns out that he's the superhero Multi-Core because of course he is and when he was missing science fairs it's because he was disarming nuclear missiles hijacked by megalomaniacs and fighting ten-ton rage monsters. So yeah way to make you feel like the asshole for ever being annoyed about it, Mom and Dad, thanks a ton. For... saving the world. And also giving you life. ... Yeah. Thanks. Dammit.\n\nYeah it took you a couple of years of weekly sessions with a supertherapist but you're over it, swear.\n\nAnyway, not too long after you developed your powers, you assumed the superhero identity of Caliburn, and were kinda-sorta your mother's sidekick for the next few years. Some of your powers weren't quite as impressive as hers, but you were able to make up the difference with some gadgets, at first designed by your dad, then designed by you and your dad. Turns out that one of your powers is that your brain works way more efficiently and you need barely any sleep to function, which makes learning and studying much much easier. Which is one reason you haven't flunked out of college despite missing a loooot of classes to run off and do hero stuff, and in your final year you're well on your way to graduating with a near-perfect GPA. You've got good looks (lean muscle, great raven hair, sapphire blue eyes, perfect teeth, big... charisma), lots of friends (on both sides of the cape), a promising career ahead (on both sides of the cape), and your therapist assures you that the vast majority of your trust and gratitude issues are resolved. Things are going pretty good, all in all!\n\nWith that in mind, you step into your apartment and make sure to set the smartwindows to 'active camouflage' (they make it look like all is normal from outside no matter what you're doing inside, thanks Dad but also this is one of the reasons there were trust issues) before heading for the 'armory', the hidden area of your bedroom housing your gear. Taking off your glasses and going through the only mildly elaborate process to actually open it up (don't want to go accidentally popping it open if you bring someone over, after all), revealing the aesthetically Very Superhero-y contoured and lit shelves. While most of your powers are innate or built into your suit, you do have a few spares of it and a few other gadgets you use occasionally, so you of course display them all like a combination between an actual armory and a museum, as is right and proper. (You also have a few things you've confiscated from villains and haven't gotten around to putting in more secure storage yet because you always forget. Like you're going to today.) Stripping out of your everyday clothes, you pull on the blue bodysuit, capped with gold over the shoulders and chest and connecting to the long red cape bearing the white, gold, and silver sword-and-starburst you share as a symbol with your mother, although the design of your sword is a bit different, obviously. You clip on the golden bracers that contain most of the tech you use on a regular basis, spend a minute rumpling up your hair just so (hey, Morgan has one look, Caliburn has another, not like it's just the glasses, okay?), then close the armory back up and prep the transporter sequence.\n\nYou've got watch duty today.\n\nObjectively it's a big honor... to not only be a member of Earth's elite hero crew the Guardian Sentinels, but to be entrusted with being the member to watch over Earth while the others do their own patrolling, or live their civilian lives, or head deep into space on important missions there. Buuuut after the new wore off you made the same realization every new member eventually has, that it's basically babysitting duty for the planet. Sure, there's a chance that something will happen and you'll need to call in other members of the team to handle it, but that happens like... once a month?\n\nAll the same, you reappear in the teleporter room that adjoins the monitor area, a large, mostly circular room with a view of the stars and Earth itself outside (just in case you do in fact need to look out and check if it's still there with your eyeballs), as well as a number of screens, holographic projectors, and workstations. You cross to the main monitor station and lay a hand against the control panel. "Caliburn, checking in for watch duty."\n\n"Good evening, Caliburn," comes the perfectly simulated, modulated, and cultivated voice of the station's AI. "Thank you for accepting watch duty today."\n\n"Anything to report?" you ask as you settle into the (admittedly quite comfortable) chair. \n\n"No criminal or supercriminal activity rising above established parameters is currently noted. No help beacons have been activated. There are no extrasolar or extradimensional messages marked unread. It is looking to be a 'quiet night'."\n\nTch. And here you could be patrolling your own city of New Britannia. Or out on a date as Morgan Mekborne. ... Or playing MMOs, that unofficial server of City of Pirates is still pretty slamming since it came online a month ago.\n\nYou can't help but turn over the other possibilities of what you could be doing instead. After all, you could get back to the monitor room in a matter of seconds from pretty much anywhere on the station if you set up an alert and wanted to [[poke around|Cal]]... after all, you've only officially been a member for a few months and you haven't gotten much opportunity to just roam around looking at things. Even if you stay in the watch room you could always [[look for stuff|Cal1x1]] in here... interesting files in the computer, or even things that might have been just left laying around the room by other people on watch. \n\nOh right... one of the other youngish members of the team actually gave you a hint awhile back how you could get out of a boring turn on watch duty... part of watch duty includes 'monitoring for other heroes in need of assistance'. But there's nothing that says you can't proactively [[call them|Cal]] and ask if they need help first! A team-up technically still counts as being on watch duty, if the other hero bites.\n\nOrrrr you could be thoroughly responsible and [[stay right here|Cal2x1]], like you're really supposed to. It's only... ten hours, how bad could it be?

You're way too embarrassed about this to actually go to people you'll have to deal with maybe for the rest of your life, especially after you already had to suffer the indignity of an examination that turned up nothing and was no help before you started getting molested from across space and time. No, you're going to confront the guy responsible, especially if it means theoretically being able to punch him in the face if nothing else.\n\n... You probably ought not to ride or drive yourself there though.\n\nIn fact you decide to stay off of Style's radar and order a rideshare, though getting matched with a driver willing to take someone to the Slam obviously takes a while. Still it gives you time to, ahem, deflate, and change into your costume. Luckily nothing happens during the ride other than some playful fingers rubbing and pushing around inside you, as if judging how much you've been stretched by your recent use, and the noises you make cause the driver to glance at you in the mirror curiously but he doesn't say a word about that, your outfit, or the destination the whole ride, so five stars and a 200% tip for that guy.\n\nThe staff at the Slam are used to you since you've been by several times to see your parents, and are professional if a little bit cool with you. They do seem a bit surprised both at the costume and who you actually request to see, but then costumed heroes needing to see recently-captured villains for cases is a well-established part of the protocol here and after some paperwork and a brief lecture you're eventually shown into a room where Doctor Dimensional is handcuffed to a table as if for a proper police interrogation. His patchwork skin and hair look even stranger against the institutional orange jumpsuit than they did against his lab coat and street clothes, but he definitely looks way too calm and smug.\n\n"Help you with something... Thirdstar, wasn't it?"\n\n"Yeah, I want to know what the hell is up with that thing you used on me and where you sent... the result," you growl out, nudging the other chair out of the way and resting your hands on the table.\n\nSlowly, his lips curl up in a smirk. "It worked, didn't it?" he whispered. "They're in another dimension."\n\nYour eyebrow twitches. "Is that really the important thing here?!"\n\n"Of course!" he snaps back, flinging his hands up in a way that makes the chain attaching his cuffs to the table rattle. "It was the entire point! Since everyone refused to actually help me prove my theories, I had to provide some incentive!" He pauses, then adds, actually sounding more curious than anything, though still a bit smug, "Is it happening now?"\n\n"No, you asshole, it's not happening noOOOO," you grunt as a fairly large but at least humanoid cock abruptly thrusts deeply into your pussy, making you lean forward hard on your hands and slump your head.\n\nDoctor Dimensional manages to somehow both look awed by the pure science and leer as he watches you tremble, your hips twitching and your ass wiggling up and down in the air a bit. "Remarkable. It really does work, even across the interdimensional void, as if space were no consequence whatsoever."\n\n"L-listen, smartass," you growl, even as you can feel that big, fat cock pumping away at you. "You need to tell me how to undo this, and fast, or things are gonna get real bad for you!" Admittedly, it takes some of the tough girl points out of your threat that you're gradually sinking down onto your elbows on the table as you say it, your ass still in the air as if presenting yourself to the far-off stranger who's currently using your cunt.\n\nThe villain eyes you coolly for a moment, mismatched hazel and blue eyes haughty, as if weighing whether to prod you a bit more, but apparently decides to get right to the heart of the matter. "The entire 'incentive' part, which relied on one of you heroes showing up, was giving whoever it was a reason to help me prove my theory by making a stable interdimensional portal. Because the only way to undo this is to get your... items," he says, flicking a significant glance at the cameras, as if to point out that he doesn't have to be discrete but is making that much of an effort. "Back. Which means going to where they are now. Which means both decrypting my files properly for the frequency I used, and helping me to properly stabilize the portal."\n\n"Nnnnnnh," you groan, both in frustration at his revelation and the effort to not let your hips move in fucking motions as the cock pumping at your portal pussy starts speeding up. Your fists clench and you glare at him, before asking, "And if it turns out it just goes to some alien planet instead of another dimension?"\n\nHe continues to look at you coolly... then smirks with a hint of a leer again, and you blush as you realize you just admitted something about the nature of the cocks that have been fucking you. "Well either way you'll still need me, won't you?"\n\n"Grrrrk!" you growl-gurgle-moan as the cock thrusts in deep and cums in you, making you twitch all over and shudder a bit as he pours more of it into you than the previous humans did, even if it's nowhere matching the horse and dog combo... which, who knows if they're still waiting another turn...?\n\n"Interesting noises. But it all comes down to the same thing... get me out of here, help me with my research, and we can get you back to normal. All we'll have to do is get a stable portal to the destination, and then find your, heheh, lost property."\n\n<hr>\n[[F-fine!|MarSS]]\n\n[[... No, you'll do it yourself.|MarSS]]

Nnh. The whole thing's just... strange. You try to put it out of your head and flop over onto the pillows, thankful for small favors that Tomiko hasn't dropped by to render her opinion on the matter. Maybe it's too weird even for her.\n\nThe next day your alarm actually wakes you up... you're usually one of those people that wakes up a good ten minutes before it goes off, but yesterday's weirdness must have exhausted you mentally more than you thought. You lift the topsheet and peek under... yup, weird black panties still there, and still stuck right to you. Sigh. You get up and start getting dressed, pausing briefly to consider whether to wear some more normal panties over them. But that somehow seems weird in and of itself, almost like acknowledging this weird thing has become part of your body you need to cover up. No, if anyone gets a glimpse up your skirt and sees a black rubber thong, they can just go ahead and add it to all their other stupid opinions about you, for all you care.\n\nYou head to school, trotting past the security officer who's perfected a facial expression that is clearly a glower but not clearly enough that she could get in trouble for it if you reported her for creating a hostile environment or whatever. You walk through the invisible space that surrounds you, though it doesn't particularly get to you today... you guess it just doesn't really rate on the scale of stuff that's happened to you lately, and honestly by now you're kind of used to it.\n\nYou settle in for first period, going through the same motions as usual, the classwork you can easily breeze through but try to be seen being normal about. All very normal, all very standard. You've just started second period when...\n\n"Ihp!" you squeak, hopping in place in your seat.\n\nImmediately every head swivels towards you, including the teacher's, as your face goes red. "Miss Mallone?" the teacher asks coolly. "Is something the matter?"\n\n"Uh, n-no, sorry," you manage, bobbing your head quickly in hopes of being dismissed from notice again. It seems to work, since the teacher turns back and resumes her lecture, and after a brief snicker the rest of the class faces forward again. But as far as you're concerned, your reaction was pretty understandable: someone touched your pussy! \n\nAnd not in the weird, just-sort-of-pressure way that touching the crotch of the panties feels like, you actually felt it. On the left lip, even! You manage to muffle your verbal outburst this time and only give a little hop that attracts less attention as you feel it again, this time fingers lightly brushing along both of the outer lips. Taking a quick glance around to make sure no one's looking right at you, you sneak up your skirt in front with one hand and peek down. No... nothing's touching you... visibly. Even as you can still feel those exploring fingers running all over the outside of your sex.\n\n'What the hell?!' you think in mystification and growing worry. The sensation stops, and you let out a small sigh of relief that doesn't seem to attract much attention. Whew... m-maybe it was just some weird one-time thing... maybe it's all done with. You can head right to SHINE Labs after school and report this, maybe they-\n\nYour back shoots up ramrod straight, attracting a bit of attention again, as the feel of a touching finger returns... this time dripping wet. 'Oh no, no way, no way!' you think desperately as, right there in the middle of class, you sitting in your desk with no one anywhere near you, you can feel a lubed-up finger sliding up and down the cleft of your pussy, and then pushing inside you, making you give out a little keening noise of mingled sensation and anger.\n\n"Miss Mallone!" the teacher snaps, turning and actual-glowering at you.\n\n<hr>\n[["S-sorry!"|MarSS8x5]]\n\n[["UhIgottahurryandgosorrybye!"|MarSS]]

Pure social conditioning kicks in, and suddenly the most important thing in the world is that you act normal. Just be normal. You sit up straight and plaster a bland, neutral expression on your face, looking straight ahead like a good little <strike>drone</strike> student, and after a moment the teacher and the other students turn back around again.\n\nSo you sit there and do your best to pretend that you can't feel a finger wiggling around inside of you, as if just trying to get a sense of what the inside of your pussy is like. Your face continues to be bright red, sweat starting to gradually bead at the top of your forehead as that slicked-up finger pumps in and out of you, other fingers bumping against the outer lips of your pussy in a way that should be impossible with the seat of your desk in the way. You fight to not let your hips wiggle and twist the way they want to, though none of your movements actually seem to have an effect on the way those fingers are touching you.\n\nYou can't help but let out a soft sigh of relief as the finger finally slides out of you, only attracting one or two side glances with it. 'Holy fuck, finally. Whatever you are, leave me alone,' you think. Then your back straightens hard and your shoulders go stiff as you feel something else pressing against your entrance... something considerably more blunt and thicker than the finger.\n\n'Oh no, no no no no no, don't you dare!' you think, only to have to clamp down as hard as you can on the noise you want to make as what's very obviously a cock pushes inside you, forcing open your entrance and pushing inside. You clamp a hand across your mouth, hunching forward as you feel yourself being penetrated right there in the middle of class, your clothes on and surrounded by other students.\n\n"Er... Miss Mallone... are you alright?" the teacher asks, actually sounding concerned this time.\n\n"F-fine," you manage to grit out. "Just... s-stomach," you manage, pressing a hand over your belly, below which you can already feel that spectral cock pulling back. You bite down harder on the noise you make as it thrusts back into you, just almost large and hard enough to faintly be felt under your palm, apparently.\n\n"... Mm. Well, if you need to go to the nurse," the teacher says vaguely, turning back to the board and resuming her lecture yet again.\n\nRationally, every intelligent thought you have says you should take this opportunity to get the hell out of class and run away. But somehow that feels like it would be vastly more embarrassing than just sitting here and toughing it out... what if they could somehow tell someone was fucking you by how your hips moved when you walked?! And it is very obvious you're being fucked now, that cock pumping quickly in and out of you, something that feels very much like hips (you assume) thumping against the outside of it.\n\n'I'm okay, I'm okay, I can get through this, whatever this is,' you urge yourself even as you slowly slump forward some, gripping hold of the edge of the desk with one hand. You keep the other pressed over your stomach, partly to keep your cover, partly because the faint feeling of that cock actually moving inside you under your palm, not just in your absent pussy, helps reassure you that you haven't gone completely nuts.\n\nThis is... really, really, really not how you pictured your first time having sex, you think as your eyes roll a little and your teeth clench as the pace of the thrusting increases, that pumping cock apparently growing ever more eager, until you can feel a liquid heat spreading deep within you as it stays thrust in deep for long moments, making you shudder hard.\n\nAnd then it abruptly pulls out, leaving you with the slight sensation of emptiness, and then something trickling along your folds. (Id: "That's it?! I didn't even get to cum, you asshole ghost or whatever you are!") Still, it seems to be over, and you slump in your chair in relief. After a minute or two you even start taking notes again, hoping that you can just... put this weirdness behind you until you can talk to Style or the scientists at the lab about it.\n\nExcept that about halfway through class, you can feel a slicked-up fingertip again...\n\n... this time on your asshole.\n\nYou must make some sort of noise because several people glance at you, but you've quickly plastered your bland look on again and they quickly turn back around. But sure enough soon there's a slick digit pushing inside you and wiggling around as if flagrantly checking your insides, as if you were just a-\n\n..................... toy.\n\nThe cylinders Dimensional threw into the portal-thing.\n\nOh fuck.\n\nFor just a moment you're frozen in shock at the realization of what Doctor Dimensional's actually done, until you're jolted back to the present by the one-two punch of a cock pushing into your dimensionally disembodied ass and another pushing into your similarly remote access pussy. You have no idea whether either of them is the same cock that fucked you not that long ago, but both of them are clearly using your holes as exactly what they currently appear as... fleshlights. Onaholes. Sex toys.\n\nFuck.\n\nThis time you grip the edges of your desk with both hands, your whole body trembling with the sensation of disembodied dicks pounding away at you, your hips twitching and jerking in tiny, relentless motions as you try to restrain them. You feel like your whole body is shaking as they relentlessly thrust away, your mind summoning up the mental image of faceless, naked men pumping black cylinders with your pussy and asshole bulging from one end of them over their fat pricks. Your toes curl inside your shoes and your head slumps as you wonder if they have any idea that the incredibly realistic sex toys they're using are connected to a real person, or if they even care.\n\nWhether or not either of them is the same cock that fucked you before, they both seem to be longer lasting, pumping and thrusting away for the rest of the period as you struggle to keep yourself muted and not writhe around in your desk like a madwoman. You fix your gaze on the clock on the wall, watching the second hand tick, willing it to move faster as those lubed-up pricks pump selfishly into your increasingly eager holes, however far away they are. 'Fuck, fuck, fuck, c'mon, c'mooooon,' you think, though you don't know what respite the end of class would actually provide. It's just become locked in your mind as a goal, a need, you can make it. And almost the moment the slender little clock hand clicks over to one second to the end of class, either by coincidence or design both cocks thrust deeply into you and that feeling of warmth spreading deep inside you floods you again.\n\nIn the only luck you've had recently, the end-of-class bell muffles (most of) the sound you make as you cum as well, your eyes rolling and your body shaking as everyone else throws their things in their bags and gets up. From the odd glances you get from several of them it's clear that it didn't cover for you completely, but no one stops to question you, which in your post-forced-orgasmic lightheadedness seems like a win to you.\n\nYou half-stagger to your own feet even as you feel the cocks pull out of your disembodied holes at slightly off intervals. With the wet feeling that follows it really seems like you should have... stuff... dripping down your thighs and taint, but a quick stop in the bathroom to frantically check shows nothing. You huff, moving to wash your face with cool water and then stare at yourself in the mirror. \n\nThen you take a deep breath and turn to hurry to your next class.\n\nLater you'll wonder what the hell is wrong with you. (Ego & Id: [point accusingly at Superego]) You clearly should have ditched the rest of the day and rushed to see someone about this problem, or at least just gone home to suffer in privacy. But it's become locked in your mind that you have to go to class, you have to get through the rest of the day, you have to be normal.\n\nAnd so you sit in history class, chin propped on one hand, your elbow subtly grinding into the desk and your teeth subtly grinding together as you try to ignore the sensation of a cock thrusting away in your ass while the teacher gives a lecture about how stupid people were for believing historic misconceptions about something or other rather than the proper, modern misconceptions. It's bigger than the other two, thicker, the head meatier, and part of you can't help but think 'What are you doing using my ass for an onahole instead of wielding that thing on dates?!' You shudder and slump against your hand as you feel him cum in you, hoping you at least get a little respite.\n\nBut almost immediately you feel another cock nudging up against your pussy, although this one feels... different. You can feel a narrower spreading as it pushes inside you, and... mmmf, what the fuck, does it have ridges? You can feel your entrance spreading wider around something more stiff and firm than the other shafts and then closing in around it, the sensation repeated over and over, and there's definitely the distinct feeling of something like nubs stroking along one end of you... along your clit.\n\nYou don't care what it looks like, you press both hands over your mouth and sink low in your seat as the only possible way you're going to stay still and quiet. You didn't actually cum from the assfucking you just received but it had, unfortunately, primed you up, and as the latest and distinctly nonhuman cock pushes into you, its middle thick and bulging and that ridge running along your distant love button, you climax before the whole thing's even inside you, hips twitching and jerking even as it's still sliding the rest of the way in and settling against what feels like something slightly stiff and spread against your entrance.\n\nYou keep up your strange pose, unable to help but twitch your head a bit in time to the thrusts as the stranger's strange prick starts pumping into you, your legs slowly spreading wider beneath your desk. You're attracting more than a few glances now, but since the teacher hasn't noticed (this one's older and more than a tad deaf) none of them seem willing to actually stare or call attention to it. Your eyes roll as what feels very much like a cock genuinely designed to pleasure and/or overstimulate a pussy pumps into you with every sign of selfish pleasure that's nevertheless already bringing you steadily towards another orgasm.\n\n'Where the fuck are my holes?' you think in a daze, your tongue actually lolling out against your concealing fingers as you cum again.\n\nLuckily, after that you don't get any other 'use' for the rest of the period, though you can feel a few bumps and rubs against you. Your pussy and ass exchanging hands? What, are they just passing them around out there, what the hell?! As the class ends you get to your still somewhat rubbery knees and make your way out into the hall, once again stopping in the bathroom to wash your sweaty face and to check underneath your skirt. ... Yup, still completely clean and smooth down there, other than the rest of you being a bit sweaty too. You'll just... find a nice spot to sit out lunch in peace. Maybe... maybe they're done with you for now. Maybe it's busy hours wherever your pussy and ass wound up. Or it's daytime! You don't use sex toys in the daytime, that's just crude! ... Right?\n\nYou find a remote little nook in a corner of the school to settle down... well, "find", you're actually quite familiar with this nook and others like it. You and the various other outcasts just sort of cycle through them, silently veering off and going to find another when you notice one is occupied. This is a nice, cool stretch of clean tile where it's not too bad to sit on the floor, and you settle down to eat the lunch you brought.\n\nLuckily you're not in the middle of swallowing or anything when you feel the latest touch on your pussy. This time it's a finger again... but a distinctly not-human finger, sort of bumpy-slick and with what feels very much like the tip of a claw gently tracing along your skin. Tingles run all up and down your spine from a mixture of shock, revulsion, and a shocking amount of excitement at the feel as it circles around and around. 'Oh come on, I just wanted to have a fucking sandwich in peace,' you whine mentally as you lean back against the wall, shoving said sandwich back into its bag.\n\n"G-g-g-g-gk!" you gurgle aloud, your eyes rolling some again and your body shaking as the touching stops and the penetration happens, a long, smooth push that reveals this particular cock to be tapered, beginning at a point and just getting wider and thicker almost all of the way down until it tapers back in, settling inside you. At the size, you're almost certain that your belly's bulging up a little under your school blouse... a quick press of your hand confirms it, the sensation of a big, inhuman cock right under your palm. (Can he feel your hand pressing against him? What does he even think of that?)\n\nThe cock doesn't move immediately, just settling inside you warm and large and faintly twitching and pulsing. And then you feel another cock nudging up against your asshole. 'Oh no, who has it now?' you think half-despairingly, before it's being slid over a long, slick cock... tapering and getting wider all the way down until it narrows at the bottom, settling inside you firmly, just like the other.\n\n'Oh, oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck,' you think, pressing both hands over your mouth again, hearing even your little whimpers and grunts echo in the small brick alcove. 'It's the same guy, it's the same guy, they're both on the same fucking guy,' you think as both cocks slide partly out of you and then back in in almost perfect sync, the way they would if someone was gripping one in each hand and working it over both his cocks.\n\nThat near-perfect sync and the perfect twinning of the members inside you is setting off a fresh wave of overwhelming sensations, leaving you shuddering and bucking in place. Half-consciously you shift around, getting partly onto your feet and squatted in place. As the stroking goes on and on, pumping faster and still in tandem, you let your legs spread and raise up on the balls of your feet, unconsciously starting to raise and drop your hips in time, fucking the empty air beneath you as if it was whatever snakeman or lizardman or other creature that's currently using your disembodied holes as literal sex toys. You let out a truly pathetic and needy noise that surrounds you in the empty nook as eventually both of them start spurting heavily inside you, making you cum harder than any of the others have before as your holes are filled in perfect sync, and with enough of what feels like a steady stream of cum that your belly actually bulges outward a little.\n\nYou somehow make it through the next two classes despite continuing to occasionally get used by the strange men... beings... in whatever alternate dimension your holes have wound up in. You have no idea whether they're still together or have been separated, but they definitely seem to be getting used at different times and intervals and by lots of different cocks. Of course the worst of it is gym, where you have to put up with doing stretches, running laps, and playing volleyball all while you're occasionally having your pussy and ass violated by strange (in multiple ways) cocks, making you stagger and squirm and wobble around as you fight to not change expression or make any weird noises. You still get plenty of odd looks, though you're hoping that's more because you're just way off your game than because you let on that you're constantly being used as a sex toy by aliens or something.\n\nLuckily there's another long break just after PE wraps up, and you slump to sit on one of the benches, collecting your thoughts as you wait out the other girls showering and getting dressed. (You usually do that anyway these days, so at least that doesn't attract any attention.) 'Did that perv know this was what his stupid ray did?' you think, glowering at the wall. You have half a mind to head right to the Slam and confront Doctor Dimensional... the moment you've had an, at this point, very necessary shower.\n\nOnce the last of your classmates has departed without so much as a glance in your direction, you undress and head into the shower, your whole body sticky and slightly itchy with a layer of sweat that's much more than the result of one PE class. You stand under the cool water for long moments, letting it soothe your hot face that hasn't stopped blushing since second period and your overheated body that hasn't stopped feeling like it's in sex mode since, well, second period. You look down past your dripping breasts towards the gleaming black panties, scowl-pouting at them. This has all been just the worst!\n\nOf course, you really shouldn't have challenged the situation like that. You can feel fingers rubbing against your pussy questingly again... much bigger, thicker fingers than before. "Oh fuck come onnnnn," you groan as you slump and turn to lean back against the wall, bracing yourself as one of those big, blunt fingers pushes inside you and thrusts a few times. Then it slips out of you and something else presses there... something much wider and flatter than anything you've felt before. 'Huh? What the hell is tha-' you start to think, looking down at yourself again.\n\nAnd then it thrusts inside you, abruptly and deep, and you watch as in an instant a massive thick shaft with a wide flare at the tip bulges out your flat stomach, sliding right in until the flare is almost right up underneath your tits. You stare at the outline of that equine cock for a split second before throwing your head back as you cum hard, your hips bucking and twisting and body shaking all over as you climax in the empty but still very public school showers.\n\nWhether your current user notices or cares that you just came all over him, he starts thrusting in and out, fucking your pocketized pussy in quick, greedy strokes, making that visible outline of his dick in your stomach stroke back and forth. You alternate between looking down at it and shaking and swinging your head, feeling like you're going crazy as you're fucked from across dimensions, the first truly visible as well as physical sign that you've been turned into an alien environment's sex toy.\n\nYou just almost don't notice the feel of another cock, this one with a pointed tip, nudging up against your asshole until it's already thrusting away, the top and bottom relatively narrow with a steady bulge towards the middle, and something big and hefty that thumps against your pucker with every thrust. This time you can't help it, your hips thrust and shake back and forth, pure animal instinct take over and making you fuck the air as you try to move yourself against your phantom mates, your tongue lolling out mindlessly and eyes staying rolled in your head. It's too much, it's too much, fucking dammit it feels too good!\n\nAnd then the horsecock thrusts in deep, starting to twitch and shudder, something like absolute terror and anticipation hitting you as you realize what's coming. But you're pushed over the edge and out of rational thought as the other cock pushes hard, grinds, and then pops that bulge inside your asshole where it swells and locks inside. You're already cumming as the horsecock in your pussy jerks hard and starts spurting as well, your belly starting to rapidly swell outwards and round out with both heavy loads. You slowly sink down to your knees as the otherdimensional strangers use you as their cum-dump, your hands going to your stomach and feeling the heavy, sloshing heat press further and further outward on your hands. You feel something well up in the back of your throat, and your eyes roll up completely as you give a few spluttering gurgles, cum welling up and splattering down over your chin and your shower-slick tits.\n\nEventually you sort of come back to yourself... you're pretty sure your latest users have pulled out of you, but you're so full of cum it's honestly a little hard to tell. You settle back to sit on the floor of the showers, your cumbelly wobbling a bit and settling onto your thighs. It seems to be deflating slowly... you guess it's probably leaking out of your holes over there, wherever that is. Or heck for all you know it's being absorbed by whatever these stupid panties and those cylinders are to maintain the effect, that would make a perverse sort of sense, and explain a few other things as well. Oughtta offer that up to those useless-ass eggheads at SHINE.\n\n... Speaking of which, what now? Well, once you don't look full term pregnant anymore (and oh god you hope that's not possible with this setup), you need to figure out your next move.\n\n<hr>\n[[Go back to the studio.|MarSS]]\n\n[[Go to SHINE labs.|MarSS]]\n\n[[Confront Doctor Dimensional.|MarSS8x6]]

The hope is to take him down quickly before he can cause any major issues, which while good heroing is bad for views, and you can already hear Style kind of sighing and long-sufferingly saying of course you made the right decision but. At least you can rebut that you provided her a cool action shot of you breaking through the window and entering amid a shower of glass like a proper costumed do-gooder.\n\nYou scramble down from the building and make your way quickly down the street, doing your best to keep in the shadow of various buildings, until you're close enough to settle into a runner's starting crouch. Then you take off like a shot, bending low and vaulting over the fence, landing in a roll and coming up already pulling your sticks and fastening them together into a staff. You pick up your dash towards the window, leaping again and coming down with the end of the staff aimed at the window, aiming to use both your momentum and the whole weight of your body to shatter it.\n\nThunk.\n\nYou barely have time to process the sound like a bird hitting a truck windshield at speed before you're sent toppling backward and thudding rather gracelessly to the ground. Of course you recover quickly and scramble to your feet, staring for a split second at the heavily spiderwebbed but still intact pane. Shit! Armored glass! It didn't look like it, but apparently it was exactly that sort of facility! Inside you can see that Doctor Dimensional had started and whirled towards you and, left with no other options, you step back and take a running start, slamming the staff into the impact you already made like a javelin.\n\nThis time the glass breaks fully, most of it dropping inward in chunks and giving you plenty of area to leap through in a tumble. You come to your feet just in time to see Doctor Dimensional swing the gun-shaped device to point at you and pull the trigger.\n\nAn almost invisible wave of force ripples through the air and impacts you, staggering you a little bit in place and causing a brief moment of vertigo. When you steady yourself and your vision stops swinging, you see that Doctor Dimensional has dropped the gun and is holding two cylindrical objects about the size of energy drink cans. He's also whirling towards the portal machine... which activates?! Only for a moment with a flickering, pulsating little blob in a number of pale colors that are all somehow weird variations on being white. It's like the tip of a sparkler but in monochrome, and he instantly hurls both objects into it. There's a flash, and both the cylinders and the pulsing whatever-it-was disappear.\n\nDoctor Dimensional is just standing there staring in a sort of smug awe, and doesn't even seem to notice you charging toward him and diving into a tackle. Other than a loud "OOF!" and a bit of reflexive squirming, he doesn't resist either as you wrestle his wrists behind them and start applying zipties.\n\n"What did you do?" you growl. "With that thing and to me?"\n\n"Heheheh," the mad doctor chuckles in a weirdly broken voice, like his voice was constantly in puberty cracking despite being clearly middle-aged. \n\nHe doesn't say anything else, and you grind your teeth, resisting several of your Id's suggestions on how to make him talk. Instead you haul him to his feet and whirl him around, hearing the sirens of Slam Vans in the distance. Sounds like whatever this abandoned "facility" was, it was high enough on their list that they got out here quickly when someone found out something was going on.\n\n"Not the smoothest takedown, but then it's better if some of them aren't," Style says a bit later as the two of you walk through the studio towards the locker room. \n\n"How do you figure?" you ask with a small frown. "Didn't I look like a goof, falling on my ass and then getting zapped with a whatever-it-was?"\n\n"A bit, but honey it helps people to see that superheroing isn't quite as glamorous or dashing as it can be made out to be, that's part of the point of No Shadows. Plus you're young and just starting out, it helps to remind people what that's like. And plenty of people remember Doctor Dimensional's previous incidents, taking him down before he unleashed anything will definitely be a plus no matter what it looked like. But you're alright?" she asks with a more concerned tone as the two of you stop at the door to the locker room. "Not feeling any aftereffects of the ray?"\n\n"Well. Something does feel kind of weird," you admit, putting your hands on your hips. "But it's hard to say what. It's a kind of funny sensation but I can't really say where?"\n\n"Hm. I think we ought to have you checked out at SHINE Labs just to be on the safe side," she murmurs, cupping her chin. "Go get changed and I'll drive you over."\n\nYou shrug a bit, but decide not to argue with her, instead heading inside. The locker room is about like the one at school, just nicer, with full-height lockers that are a bit more "personal space" and a bit less "institutional". You haul open yours and lay out your civilian clothes on the bench, then start stripping out of your costume, first the boots and gloves, then the main body, and-\n\n"What the fuck?!" you howl.\n\nThere's the clatter of the door and Style comes racing in, stopping and staring when she sees you. It's probably not that you're naked... or rather that you should be. It's that you're struggling to get a grip on the shiny black thong that you definitely did not put on but was underneath your uniform, but can't because it seems to be glued directly to your skin.\n\n"Did you-"\n\n"No it's not mine!" you snap back, too flustered to think about how it was a perfectly reasonable question to (try to) ask. "I just found it under my clothes and I can't get it off!"\n\n"Here, let me take a look at it," Style says, starting to come closer, then pausing and waiting until you give a somewhat shaky nod. She steps in and kneels down, frowning as she looks at it, then tries running her thumb along the top edge and bottom both. "There's... no gaps whatsoever. I don't think it's glued on, it seems like it's bonded to your skin. ... There's something..." she murmurs, leaning in closer and staring directly between your legs.\n\n"H-hey!"\n\n"No, honey, look," she says, standing up and guiding you over to a section of wall that's lined floor-to-ceiling with a mirror. She points downward. "If you'll excuse the mention, you normally have quite the mound on you, I cut your costume bottoms specifically with that in mind."\n\n"W-well that's just how it's shaped, okay?!" you huff, puffing out your cheeks.\n\n"No, I mean, look at it now."\n\nYou blink, and stare at your reflection, then down at yourself, then back at the reflection. ... It's flat. Like, your crotch is action figure flat. You reach down somewhat hesitantly, touching your fingertips to the sleek, smooth surface of the panties between your legs, then giving a jump.\n\n"Is it sensitive?"\n\n"N-no, opposite... it's like... I can feel a bit of pressure, but otherwise nothing," you reply with a shaking voice, unable to help rubbing between your legs a bit more in hopes of stirring some normal sensation. \n\n"Well this is... hm. I've never seen anything like this before," Style admits after a moment. "But obviously something needs to be done. We should probably go to SHINE like I said... or maybe go confront Doctor Dimensional in lockup, I could probably swing a visit," she murmurs. "Or... I guess we could try getting ahold of the device he used and see if we can figure it out from that?"\n\n<hr>\n[[Go to SHINE Labs.|MarSS8x3]]\n\n[[Go see Doctor Dimensional.|MarSS]]\n\n[[Investigate the device.|MarSS]]

Agreeing to head to the lab, you get dressed and have a rather tense ride over with Style to visit the most brilliant minds and advanced tech in the supercommunity, dedicated to serving the health and injury needs of heroes the world over.\n\nAnd the ruling is: 'Fucked if we know.'\n\nWell alright the official ruling is 'We do not have the data to make a determination of cause or solution at this time'. What they can confirm is that the thong covers both your pussy and your asshole (and wasn't that a fun and not-at-all embarrassing examination) and seems to be molecularly bonded to your skin. Whatever it's made out of, it thwarts all scanning in the area, and due to that they're not willing to risk trying to remove it, not that you're exactly eager to have however many layers of skin it's stuck to cut off anyway. All they can say is that your biological processes don't seem to be endangered, that it's not causing any obvious health problems, and that they'll keep working on a solution (with the vague hint of "But you're on your own").\n\n"Mm. I'm sorry about this, Marissa. I'll see if there's anything more I can learn on my end," Style says as she drives up to the gates of your house. "Until then, we'll take it easy with hero activities."\n\n"I mean I feel fine," you can't help but protest, having gotten over the worst of your being rattled, at least enough to feel vaguely offended at the idea of being sidelined. "And they said it doesn't seem like it's going to cause any issues with... uh, stuff... so I should still be able to patrol and fight villains. It's not like I was gonna be hitting them with my pussy," you add dryly.\n\nStyle grins, just a little, at the joke but simply nods. "We'll figure it out as we go, then. I'll see you later," she adds, before driving off.\n\nYou head inside and eat, since the doctors told you it should be perfectly safe for you to do so. (You asked the obvious questions there, and they just said nothing seemed to be building up or having issues from what was already in your body, so that you should be good.) Then you head upstairs to shower before bed. Admittedly it's definitely weird to look down and see that shiny expanse of black rendering you to doll-like smoothness when you look down, even in the shower, and when you dry off.\n\nYou flop down to sit down on the side of the bed, unable to help spreading your legs and looking down, then pressing your fingers and rubbing. Yup, just... pressure. No more feeling than there would be touching yourself on the ankle through a thick sock. \n\n... Maybe if you just... tried a bit more? ... It's very weird but maybe also a little interesting. If that's the word for it.\n\n<hr>\n[[No, it's more weird than it is interesting.|MarSS8x4]]\n\n[[Yeah, it's more interesting than it is weird.|MarSS]]

Oh this guy. He's obsessed with the "multiverse" and claiming that he can open portals to alternate dimensions where history went different ways or something. Honestly most people treat him as having debunked multiverse theory, because every time he manages to open a portal all that really comes out is some weird alien space monster or mindless mutant freak, leading a lot of people to theorize that his supposed multiverse portals are either just spacial rips to other planets, or are actually somehow creating the abominations he's unleashed. Either way, it's just driven him to be even more obsessed with proving himself and his multiverse theory, so not exactly shocking to hear he's back on his bullshit.\n\nHe apparently managed to pull off a big tech heist not too long before your debut, but then he went to ground and hasn't shown himself since. He seems to be a pretty low priority on most of the established heroes' schedules since the worst he usually does is unleashing a Creature™ that does a bit of property damage and maybe causes a few injuries before being defeated... but he is a well-known supervillain, so taking him down would definitely be a feather in a new teen hero's cap! Plus, y'know, preventing the Creature™ from being unleashed, that's important too. ... More important, more important. The most important, in fact!\n\n(Superego: [tosses aside a blackjack and dusts off her hands]\n\nId: [laying sprawled on the ground, cartoon tweeting birds circling her head])\n\nAnyway, he'd hidden himself, but the research team at the studio has managed to trace a sudden series of power fluctuations that track with his previous attempts to open a portal to an abandoned facility on the outer edge of the city. No real clues on what kind of facility, just "a facility", that's interesting. But think about that later, get there and hopefully stop the bad guy now.\n\nYou head for the location sent to you in the text, parking a bit away and climbing a few low buildings to get a view from above. It's not a very big building, sort of like a small office complex but made of very pale mortar and with weirdly rounded edges. So yeah, "facility" of some make and model, whatever. There's a sturdy-looking chain-link fence topped with a roll of barbed wire around it, but that seems to be the only real security... the front door looks like a pretty normal one, and the windows aren't even tinted. ... Hm. You take out your binoculars and take a look, starting to scan the windows.\n\n... Holy shit you can just outright see him. The front door apparently leads right into a wide, open area inside the first floor, and one of the windows right beside it gives you a perfectly good view of Doctor Dimensional working on what's obviously his portal machine, to judge by the circular arch with all sorts of cables and attachments running to it. He's... uh, he's pretty weird-looking, to be honest. You've seen him in reports a few times before and he's always looked a bit different, and this time is no exception. His hair is sort of patchy, partly because it's a number of different textures and thicknesses, not to mention different colors. His skin is similarly different shades, less like someone with a skin condition, more like pieces had genuinely been patched in. 'Some weird side effect of these portals he's making?' you muse. If so you wonder what that alone says about his theory. But it also says it's probably not exactly healthy for him to go exposing the city to it... what if his organs are in a similarly mismatched genetic condition, yikes.\n\nJust from the way he's moving and the general state of the portal machine, you're betting he's pretty close to being ready to flip the switch and fire it up. If you want to actually avert him summoning some weird creature that will cause a lot of damage and therapy appointments spiking, you better get in there in a hurry.\n\n... Hm. Looks like he's got some sort of clunky blaster-ish looking thing right nearby, though. Seems made out of the same sort of materials as the rest of the stuff in the lab, so it's probably something Doctor Dimensional came up with himself. While his portals may not prove the existence of a multiverse, they are very real and can do some very real damage in various ways, so you really don't want to get zapped with one in the chest or whatever that thing is meant to do. So you should be careful about how you approach... either ideally get the drop on him and take him out before he has a chance to get to it, or at least approach so fast that you can knock it away before he brings it to bear.\n\nThe fence won't be too hard to get over, you think. The front door, again, doesn't look particularly sturdy, but looks could be deceiving. Plus, while it would give you a straight line of sight directly to him, it would similarly give him a line of sight directly to you, so overall you'd rate it as the most dangerous. You could also try to go in through the window you spotted him through... faster, maybe, but just as risky about being seen on the approach. The surest method for taking him by surprise seems like it would be to go around the back, jump the fence there, and try to sneak into the building through some other entrance, maybe one of the top windows. That could take a while, though, and wind up giving him time to open the portal.\n\nBut speaking of which, that means you're on a time crunch, so better make a decision.\n\n<hr>\n[[Go through the front door.|MarSS]]\n\n[[Go through the front window.|MarSS8x2]]\n\n[[Go around back.|MarSS9x1]]

Hmmm... why draw it out? The sudden and utter defeat route is so much fun, after all!\n\nFoxtail Red leaps forward, aiming a high kick at the monster's side with a loud "HYAH!" She's clearly extremely shocked when the wolfmonster catches her ankle, and then yelps as she's yanked off of her feet. The werewolf swings her around, getting her further off-balance before he hauls her up, sliding his arms under her legs and then hauling them up, tucking his large, clawed hands behind her head, the angle of his grip pinning her upper arms to her sides as well. "W-what the?!" the curvy magical girl blurts out, struggling wildly and almost instantly finding she's completely helpless. At least before the monster's large, thick cock thrusts up, forcing the crotch of her outfit to stretch up inside her as he stuffs it into her pussy. "GYRRRRK!" Foxtail Red's eyes roll up behind her visor, her teeth clenched as the big beast starts thrusting up into her, it's heavy, furry black balls swinging wildly with the motions.\n\nOf course you maaaay have included some innate sluttiness in her transformation, and the costumed Michiko's pussy is soon spurting arousal out around the thick cock of the werewolf with every thrust, her nipples standing out even more obscenely as her huge tits bounce lewdly. "Anh, anh, h-he's totally conquering my pussy!" she squeals, her tongue jutting out some, her body trembling as she obviously fights for control. "H-he's making me cum, a monster's making me cum! I don't wanna cum by being raped by a monster, h-help me Konko!"\n\n<hr>\n[[Help by joining in!|Konko1a]]\n\n[[Help by making her want it!|Konkon1b]]\n\n[[Don't help at all, konkonkonkon! ♥|Konko1c]]

Hm, yes yes yes, this will be fun! Keeping your giggles internal, you mentally design the form you'll poof yourself into... small, but still very foxish, with oversized ears and a slightly reduced muzzle and bigger eyes for cuteness appeal, and several distinctive markings that would be easy to reproduce on toys and recognizable through the packaging and in promo art. Aaaand done! Poof, and you hop up on the table, using a squeaky and adorable voice (which is of course just your voice but squeakier because your voice is adorable) to cry out, "Michiko! The world needs you!"\n\n"Huh? BWAHA!" Michiko turns and, of course on seeing something so strange that will nevertheless be treated as just some sort of normal pet by everyone else, she lurches backward and thumps against the bookshelves, her eyes wide behind her glasses. "What... what are... what are?!"\n\n"There's no time for explanations now! I'm Konko, from the Fox Dimension!" you add, immediately launching into an explanation. "We were invaded by the Wolf Dimension, but we're just barely managing to hold them back! So now they've decided to start invading the Human Dimension, Earth, so they can use your natural resources to build up their forces and completely wipe us out! Earth and the Fox Dimension are counting on you!"\n\n"B-but... for real?" Michiko's eyes are still very wide, but apparently she's having a hard time arguing with your presence right in front of her, especially once she walks over and pokes you gently on the head. (You give out an appropriately cartoonish yip noise.) "But... counting on me?! Why me?!"\n\n"You have a special Spark of Light in you that I, a Marked Fox from the Fox Dimension, can awaken!" you call enthusiastically, never letting up on the tone of urgency mixed with excitement and slight reverence suitable for a first episode. "With that, you can become a magical warrior capable of fighting off the Wolf Soldiers that the Wolf Dimension will send to try and conquer Earth! Starting with this town!" Because of course they won't move on to the rest of the planet before conquering the heroine's hometown.\n\n"R-really? I... you're saying I can be a magical girl?!" Michiko blurts.\n\nYes thank you dear for stating the premise outright. "Yes, and we need to hurry! A Wolf Dimension soldier is nearby right now, and if we don't get to them first, they could hurt a lot of innocent people!"\n\n"O-okay! Alright, what do I do?!" Oho, she's totally bought this hook line and sinker... she's trying to look serious and concerned but her eyes are dancing like nobody's business.\n\n"Quickly, shout 'Foxtail Transform!'"\n\n"Alright!" She nods eagerly and straightens up, swinging her arms around in a cool motion you totally did not tell her to do, which you don't think she quite realizes winds up with her just looking like she's dabbing really elaborately. "Foxtaaaail TRANSFORM!"\n\n'Konkon, here we go!' you think, generating a wave of sparkles around you and leaping up to do a little turn-and-flip in midair that would totally be used as clip footage for every transformation if this was an actual magical girl series. You surround Michiko in a similar swirl of sparkles as well as lifting her into the air, spinning her around as you make her clothes disappear. (Oooo, yes those are nice titties indeed, and a very nice ass! A very nice ass, konkonkon!) Honestly the low-hanging fruit would be just to dump her on her ass naked here in the library and run off laughing, but you already went to all this effort, why cheap out? Instead you send some gooified energy running down over her from the top of her head... yes, you're doing the magical equivalent of a one-fox bukkake on her, and from her blush at the feeling of the warm viscous stuff oozing over her and spreading out she thinks it feels rather lewd too, even if she doesn't realize quite why. But you let the magic pull her hair out of its braids and turn it red, as well as gathering it up at the sides into twintails held by a pair of vaguely mecha-like things that look like flopped-down fox ears. You cover her from the neck down in a tight one-piece, red and about as thick as a layer of paint, completely clinging to those big fat tits of hers and going down in a thin strap between her legs, leaving plenty of those wide hips on display. Add in some white armor bits along the shoulders and down the arms over the attached sleeve-gloves, then sheath those legs with their luscious thicc thighs in red thigh-highs and add some more white armor accents to make boots, and voila. "Success! You've unlocked your potential... Foxtail Red!" you declare proudly.\n\n"Hm?" Having settled back to the floor, Michiko peeks an eye open, then opens both, smiling tentatively. "Really? It worked? I'm a magical girl?"\n\n<img src="images/FoxtailRed1.jpg">\n\nThen she looks down, the light blush she'd kept from earlier at the sensation of the transformation turning into a brighter, more embarrassed one. "W-wha?! It's so skimpy!" she squeaks, putting an arm across her chest and a hand in front of her crotch... which, honestly, just makes her look even more naked than she did before.\n\n"I needed to spare all the magical energy I could for your abilities and attacks, Red!" you assure her, rolling around on the ground and laughing your ass off inside your own head.\n\n"B-but... if anyone sees...!"\n\n"Don't worry, the magic will protect your identity!" C'mon, Michiko, this is basic magical girl series fanon, get it together. "Now let's hurry, we have to stop the Wolf Soldier!"\n\n"O-... okay!" Obviously trying to rally her confidence, Foxtail Red clenches her fists near her shoulders and gives a firm nod. "Let's go!"\n\nYou run off ahead of her, with her quickly taking off at a run after you... konkonkon, it's quite delightful, using magic to watch her titties and dat ass jiggle when she runs! And her embarrassed blush despite her serious expression too! It's even better when you leap out the window of the hall and she hesitates before jumping out after you... the jiggling's even better when she does a three-point Hero Landing!\n\nYou lead her across the school grounds and into the town proper, making sure to lead her past several people she knows so they can glance over at her with scandalized expressions. (You actually are shielding her identity with magic, so far, just for the sake of immersion... still, her internal wailing about the little old lady she buys her candy from seeing her with her ass out in the tiny little outfit is delightful!) "Here! It's in here! I can sense it!" you call as you approach an out-of-the-way alley. \n\n"It's in there?" Michiko hesitates a little bit, but then nods. She does her best to look heroic and ready to charge in, lifting her fists a bit at her sides as a red visor snaps out of her hair-decos and across her eyes. "Foxtail Red, heading into battle!"\n\n<img src="images/FoxtailRed2.jpg">\n\n'I'm not even telling you to say this, this is great!' you giggle to yourself. She rushes into the alley, hesitating again at the sight of the looming werewolf-like monster you've summoned up for her to fight, its thick black fur bristling and red eyes glowing as it snarls at her. Ah, now, how to handle this?\n\n<hr>\n[[Have the monster overwhelm and lewd her.|Konko1x6]]\n\n[[Have it fight and start to overwhelm her.|KonMG]]\n\n[[Have it put up a good fight but lose.|KonMG1x1]]

Yes yes, let's take on a different form and make some mischief for her based on that form! You've got lots and lots of ideas, ranging from the base and direct to the elaborate and potentially years-spanning! Let's see, you'll take a form that's...\n\n<hr>\n[[Squeaky and bossy.|Konko]]\n\n[[Small and marketable.|Konko1x5]]\n\n[[Sexy and waifu-able.|Konko]]\n\n[[Large with six cylinders.|KonIse1x1]]

Hmmm. Let's observe this glasses-girl for a little while. Nerds are often so fuuuun to mess with, their imaginations tend to run wild and give you lots to work with! (Well, except for like, math nerds and "accuracy=quality" nerds, those are basically only good to be turned into fish and tossed in the river, critique a superhero movie's physics from down there, Nemo.)\n\nYou watch the gyarus pester her for a little while longer, then duck back around the shelf as they finally leave, laughing their bitchy girl laughs that are nowhere near as cute as yours. (Konkonkonkon~ ♥) Then you peek back around and watch the glasses-girl as she sighs heavily before bending to pick up her bookbag. "I don't see why they have to be so mean to me," she murmurs, setting said bag on the table before turning back to the bookshelves. "As if anyone would want their stupid jobless scruffy boyfriends anyway. At least get a job at a host club or something. Better yet go to college."\n\nOho, oho oho oho, she at least has a few claws! A little spine! None she'll show to the bullies, alas. You slip downward and scuttle along the floor, both to take a peek at what she's browsing (and up her skirt... they're the standard white cotton, of course, but my she does have a nice ass!), and to open up her bookbag and rummage through it. Ah, here's her student card, 'Mokuyo Michiko'. Looks like she's browsing fantasy stories... and her bag has several different kinds of light novels and manga as well as her textbooks and two extracurricular study books. Oh good, oh good, she's an otaku after all, goody goody okay she'll be fun! There's looots of things you could do... give her actual confidence and power and turn her loose on the world, or alternatively give her confidence and power and then lead her right into an embarrassing situation with them, or maybe even just hang around her for awhile seeing what chaos you can sow.\n\nOf course, it all starts with how you approach her. You could just go up to her with your deflection spell in place... or, hm, it might be best to actually transform into a human, never know when this sort will have an unexpectedly high spiritual ability, she might see through a less thorough illusion. Or you could just drop all of the illusions and appear to her as yourself, be frank that you're a powerful nature deity here to hang out with her... just not be entirely forthcoming as to why. Or you could take some other form entirely to approach her, with a more elaborate plan in mind from the start!\n\n<hr>\n[[Approach her as a fellow schoolgirl.|Konko]]\n\n[[Approach her as yourself.|Konko]]\n\n[[Approach her in another form.|Konko1x4]]

The library seems like a good place to start! If you can't find anyone there to prank, you can always do things like seeding porn mags in otherwise completely innocuous studious tomes, changing classical literature to include laser pistol fights with aliens, or maybe making a tome with authentic magical spells and leaving it laying around to see what happens!\n\nYou make your way up the stairs and to the doors of the library, sliding one open quietly and peeking inside, taking a look back and forth. Hm, empty, looks like, but then it's not a very busy time of day. You're just trying to figure out which of your other pranks to seed the library with and move on when you pick up the sound of voices from further in, your fox ears twitching as you hear a soft, obviously rather upset voice saying, "Please, I'm just trying to pick out a book..."\n\nOhooooo? You sneak your way along the edge of the library... you could just hide yourself completely with magic but sometimes sneaking is more fun... and peek around the corner of a bookshelf. You quickly spot a tall glasses-girl with her brown hair in a long braid, and 'Damn, yo, is she descended from a cow spirit?' you think as you spot her chest. She's fairly plush all around really, with nice squeezy hips and squishy thighs sheathed in black thigh-highs. Not that the two gyarus apparently pestering her are all that bad themselves, but you'd still bet there's a bit of an inferiority complex prompting their bullying.\n\n"Ehhh? Seriouslyyyyy? Why don't you drop the act, it's suuuuuper obvious that you're prolly just some slut trying to pretend she's a nerd, yanno?" one of the gyarus says, making a face that involves poking out her tongue, showing off the stud piercing it.\n\n"Like, for realz, you gonna tell me someone with bomb titties like this actually, yanno, reads? S'if!" the other says, actually poking the taller girl on the chest and causing her to blush madly. "I betcher, like, just tryin'a steal our boyfriends an' junk, yanno!"\n\n"Like yeah, appealin' to their nerd fetishes and stuff, for realz!"\n\n"I-I-I don't even know what a 'nerd fetish' is, please leave me alone!" the bustier one blurts.\n\nOhoooo? Bullying? Bullying, it's bullying for sure. Well bullying is obviously a good opportunity for pranks! It's a super good one! You could definitely help nerd girl out in some way that would be hilarious and entertaining for you! Or alternately, you could help the bullies do something to their target that would also be hilarious and entertaining for you!\n\nYou pause, then look directly at the audience. "Yes hello hi. To those of you going 'Whaaaat why would you ever help bullies?!', yes I heard you, especially you, that one there with the dusty Pip-Boy replica on their shelf, I would like to remind you I'm basically a mischief goddess, what about that says that I wouldn't help bullies if I thought it was funny?"\n\nYou turn back to the situation thoughtfully, letting the fourth wall rebuild itself like that one atrocious scene in Superman IV. Of course immediately hopping in isn't your only option... bullies or bullying targets are often interesting in their own ways, with lots of potential for more personalized and/or longterm pranking. \n\n<hr>\n[[Help out the glasses-girl.|Konko12x1]]\n\n[[Help out the gyarus.|Konko]]\n\n[[Observe the glasses-girl.|Konko1x3]]\n\n[[Observe the gyarus.|Konko]]

Teenage humans are so fun to prank... they're fresh-minded and still a little malleable, it doesn't take much to push them back into believing stuff that most adults in this modern world don't believe in. Plus, y'know, they're the group most likely to run off, so if you happen to, ah... "misplace" one or two or five in the course of your pranking it's far more likely to be written off as exactly that, some rebellious almost-adult running away from home. 'Why? Why would they do something so boring and pointless as running away to live life on their own, when the excitement and joy of working seventy-five hours a week as an office drone was almost theirs?!' wails the parent, so sad, so sad.\n\nAhem. In any event, you take a moment to magically change your hoodie into the long-sleeved white blouse and blue pleated skirt that is the girls' uniform of the nearest school. ... Hm, missing something. Aha! Some super cute yellow thigh-highs with the tops tipped with fox ears and little fox faces. YES! YOU ARE THE GREATEST GENIUS OF ALL TIME THESE ARE CUTE AS FUCK! Other than your absolutely award-winning level thigh-highs, you'll be perceived as any everyday Japanese schoolgirl despite your ears and tail still being out... well, and the fact that your cute white cotton panties bulge impressively in front but most won't be seeing that, will they? (Too bad for them!) Oh sure, you could just outright transform into a human if you wanted, but why bother? The attention deflection spell is just as easy and lets you keep your glorious ears and ever-so-fluffy tail! \n\nAnd so, you set off to the high school. ... Actually you disappear from your shrine house and reappear just outside the school gates, both with very cool and adorable puffs of golden smoke. Because you've been here before and public transportation is for suckers! You skip cheerfully through the gates... school is already in, but not like anyone's going to challenge you over it. Now let's seeee, where to begin your mischief? The [[library|Konko1x2]] maybe? Or the [[athletics fields|Konko]] or [[gym|Konko]]? Maybe wander around the [[classroom hallways|Konko]], or poke into the [[teacher's room|Konko]]? Hm, or you could wait a little while for school to be out, and mess with some of the [[clubs|Konko2x1]].

"May as well cement my pariah status in high society by going after HEEL," you say dryly. "Might be weird winding up going after more people I know, but frankly I never liked them anyway, so not a huge issue."\n\n"Good idea. There's a lot of the public that says they hate rich people, but there's not a lot they love more than a rich person that gives other rich people the finger," Style says a bit teasingly, giving you a wink. "Alright, they're pretty active, so we should have something for you soon, maybe even tomorrow. Should I hold off if you're still in school...?"\n\n"Technically right now I'm my own guardian, so I can excuse myself," you note, trying not to sound too smug about that, considering that it means you are supposed to be adult (and also the reason for it). "Call whenever. At this point I really don't care how huffy Madame Guardpost gets."\n\nAnd indeed it's only the next day, towards the tail end of lunch, when your phone rings, Style's name (and the overly glamorous contact photo she insisted on getting fully made up and posed for) on the screen. You hit Accept and put the phone to your ear. "Yeah, what's up?"\n\n<hr>\n(([["The Studfinder has kidnapped a male model."|MarSS12x2]]))

Though the style is a little lacking, you can't really argue with a fun name like "Needful Kinks". Smiling, you turn and make your way over, pushing open the door (which makes a loud chiming noise) and stepping inside. You're immediately assailed by the smell of rubber and other things... oho! Dildos! You immediately see them and several other familiar sex toys, making your eyes light up in delight. This is a store that sells sex items! How delightful, and how perfectly inspiring! While you're looking around in joy, the woman behind the counter sits up slightly on her stool.\n\nShe has long, straight black hair with rather unkempt bangs threatening to hide her brown eyes (which have slight dark bags under them), just barely arranged to either side of her eyes and across her nose. Her pretty face has a sort of positive-ish neutral look on it, not quite a smile but definitely not a frown. She's wearing a black ribbon choker, and an off-one-shoulder black T-shirt that has a pair of checkboxes on the left, with white text stretching across her large breasts, the upper reading 'Goth' and the lower 'Sleep-deprived'. (The lower checkbox is the one with a checkmark in it.) The nature of the shirt leaves the snug black sports bra she's wearing to support those lovely knockers of hers on display as well.\n\n<img src="images/Lorelei.jpg">\n\n"Hi. Welcome. Anything I can help you find?" she asks in a way that is both faintly pleasant and leaves little doubt that she doesn't actually care.\n\n"Hello~!" you reply brightly, making a beeline over to her counter and smiling sunnily. "My name is Maxia, it's lovely to meet you!"\n\n"Uh... yeah." That actually seems to have taken her aback a little... you'd think she wasn't used to people acting unashamed and pleasant in this store! Her eyes shift back and forth as if checking for some visible ulterior motive when you just smile at her expectantly. "... Er... Lorelei?"\n\n"Good morning, Lorelei! First of all, I just want to compliment you on this lovely store! The outside is a bit dreary, but there are so many exciting things in here, I'm quite delighted!"\n\n"Good... for you?" Lorelei answers, still seeming mildly flummoxed. She does seem to be very, very slightly closer to smiling now. "I mean, it's not my store, but I guess it's pretty okay, yeah."\n\n"Hm, hm, hm..." you murmur, tapping your lip as you look around. "So, I would like to buy... some sex, please."\n\nLorelei opens her mouth... closes it. Eyes you suspiciously. Then clears her throat. "You mean some of the stuff here in the store, right?"\n\n"Correct!"\n\n"Right. Gotcha. Is it your first time in a sex shop?" At your energetic nodding, she gives a small, single one back. "Got it, okay. Well, basically, we've got most of the usual stuff... there's the sex toys, though we have a pretty good selection of [[exotics|MaxDildosStart]] that you'd usually have to go to the internet to find."\n\n"Hmmm?" You tilt your head a bit. "'Exotics'?"\n\n"Yeah, y'know." She shrugs negligently. "Some people get a little bored with dildos that are just shaped like a guy's thing, so they're based on other stuff. ... Dogs and horses mostly," she murmurs, just the faintest ghost of a blush showing on her cheeks. "And y'know, some other stuff, and also more fanciful things like dragons."\n\n"Oho~, now that's an interesting bit of creativity, I'm already glad I came!"\n\nLorelei's lips actually, measurably curl up. "That's what she said."\n\nYou blink at her. "I mean, yes, I did just say it. Is that remarkable somehow?"\n\n"... Nevermind." Lorelei gives a soft huff, then clears her throat and continues. "Anyway, we've got [[magazines|MaxMagsStart]], and [[video rooms|MaxVidsStart]]... we print-on-demand copies for any of the videos you like, it just wasn't worth it to keep ordering physical media to keep in stock, you know? ... Yeah nevermind. Anyway, we've also got a current special on [[shibari rope and how-to guides|MaxShibStart]]... ah, it's a particular kind of rope bondage from Japan, it's kind of meant to be an artistic thing besides just bondage."\n\nYou nod along with all of that, seeing several potentially interesting things to take back to the Realm of Deviltry... which could conceivably include [[Lorelei herself|MaxLoreStart]], you find her interesting and charming you have to admit, with her amusing blend of world-weariness, jaded demeanor, and slight awkwardness. She's sort of a refreshing contrast to Xenith, who you love but seriously, come on now.

Everything else you are aside... genius, supervillain, possibly even madman... you are also now a boy with a new toy. And it's the nature of a boy with a toy to play with it until it stops being of interest.\n\n"Turn around, bend over, and show me your holes, toy," you order her evenly, nudging your glasses up on your nose again.\n\nJust the briefest pause before she says "Yes, master" and moves to obey. She turns away from you and steps forward a bit before bending over, her movements still having that sort of dreamy, confused aspect that says she's not entirely certain why she's following your orders but also can't think of a reason why she wouldn't. Bending over has already displayed her bared pussy and some of her ass to you, but she obligingly draws the skirt up further before pulling the crotch more to the side, and then spreading her firm, round asscheeks to show off the taut, almost certainly untouched pucker above her thoroughly-stimulated pussy. Then she simply remains that way, staring forward with that slightly blank expression of 'Huh?'\n\nYou peruse your options thoughtfully, both of them quite lovely in their own ways, her outer lips swollen with the earlier suction and stimulation, inner pink just almost dripping from the penetration, all of it just almost visibly quivering in the aftermath of the neural stimulation of establishing the control link. And then there's that tight little ring with the gentle indentations of lines angling down in towards it, a soft little untouched passage.\n\nWell. In the end it's not that difficult a decision. You can have her pussy almost literally any time you wish (more on that later, don't get distracted) so best to enjoy the rarer treat. You lower yourself fully to the floor behind her and undo the fly of your pants, fishing out your stiffening prick, giving it a few light strokes to further encourage it... not that it needs much, considering the scene in front of you. You configure a tendril to spray a layer of highly effective lubricant over your shaft (no need to be cruel) before leaning in closer and pressing the now dripping, glistening head up against the spread and displayed aperture of her anus. Artemis squirms just slightly, not quite drawing away nor quite assisting you, overall just standing still and letting you slowly press the head of your prick inside her, opening her up gradually.\n\n"Mnnnf?" Artemis makes a soft sound as if she still weren't entirely sure what was happening, even as you continue pushing into her, more and more of your cock sinking inside her asshole. You chuckle softly to yourself... you were, after all, observing earlier that she was a bit confused as to the reality of her situation. Now it's just a far more extreme example.\n\nYou don't take too much time in pushing into her... there's almost no chance of being discovered, but that's still some chance of being discovered. And admittedly even with your experience, it's a bit difficult to resist the allure of the silky, slick passage that is a young (lesbian) superheroine's virgin anus. "Keep spreading your ass for me, dear, I want to be able to fuck you as deeply as possible," you urge her, nudging your glasses up your nose as you do.\n\n"Yes, master," she answers, slipping her fingers a bit further in and stretching her buttocks further apart, offering as much of herself to you as possible.\n\nSoon you sheath fully inside her, your balls pressing up against that lovely overstimulated pussy, just above the piercing that now controls her mind and makes her your automaton. You begin thrusting, lightly at first, but quickly giving in and letting yourself pump her hard and fast, since it's not as if you have all night (and not as if she's going to complain). She makes soft "unh, unh, unh" grunts with every impact, more just a huff out of breath, glazed eyes still looking forward and that mildly brainless look of confusion on her face.\n\nYou lean forward, slipping your hands under her and cupping her chest, getting a good, direct feel of her with your human limbs. Mm, as you suspected... her breasts are definitely much larger than they appear in the leotard. Practicality? An archer superhero that genuinely cares more about pragmatism of function than showing off her plump udders to every other hero, villain, and news camera she parades in front of? Or just a consequence of buying athletic wear off the rack? Well... you can decide how she dresses from now on, if you like.\n\nShe continues letting out those breathy, hapless noises of mild consternation more than anything as you fuck her ass, though her body's definitely feeling the stimulation of all you're doing... her nipples have stiffened and are poking out even through the thick restraining, supporting cloth of the leotard's chest. You can feel her ass squeezing firmly around you every time you thrust in, and the wet slap of your balls against her pussy is getting more audibly wet every few impacts. You slip a hand down and between her legs, easily finding her clit due to its new permanently displayed state, and start flicking your fingers over it... nothing special, no further commands, just simple physical stimulation.\n\nHer eyes roll slightly and her teeth clench, and you can feel her climax, her ass squeezing tight around you and her pussy giving a small gush against your balls, her expression showing she still has absolutely no idea why she's orgasming so hard even as you continue to stimulate her. You let the tight, almost rippling squeezes of her ass milk your own orgasm out of you, letting out a low moan of your own as you empty yourself into your toy's tight little receptacle.\n\nYou take a few moments to just enjoy running your hands, and a few of your tendrils, over her body, enjoying the feeling of possessiveness over it as much as the simple physical stimuli. As well, the Device is mercifully near-silent at the moment... it seems to despise most superbeings, especially superheroes, but it does seem to react very positively to you dominating them and making use of them like this. But eventually you pull out of her, and after just a moment's thought, brush her hands away and tug her leotard's crotch back into place... and then haul upwards, forcing the cloth to press up against her wet pussy until it bares a bit of the outer curves of the plump lips, and slides entirely between her taut buttocks like a thong. Amused at the idea of your load slowly soaking into the hero outfit she'll be wearing every night for the considerable future (unless you decide otherwise). "Now on your knees and clean me up, pet."\n\n"Yes, master," she breathes, straightening up and turning around, then sinking to her knees in front of you, sliding your still mostly-hard cock into her mouth, not voicing the slightest hint of complaint at it having just been in her ass. She begins bobbing her head and working her tongue over it, cleaning off the smears of your cum, in all giving you a wholly unexpert but very serviceable and effective blowjob.\n\nYou smile down at her distant, dreamy face, then tuck a tendril between her legs, nudging it against the outline of her piercing through the material of her leotard. (You don't actually have to touch the controllers to transmit orders, it just seems to make it a bit easier. And it is rather satisfying, too.) You transmit her orders for the rest of the night through the ring and into her mind, almost literally like a string of programming commands to be executed, all with her sucking your prick with that distracted air of confusion. Briefly considering having her suck you to completion or even ejaculating on her face and having her go home that way, you discard those whims for pragmatism, instead having her do up your pants for you and stand. You order her to lift her hand and bring a tendril up above it, opening it up and having it disgorge a stack of slender disk-shaped devices. Then you give her a peck on the cheek and a slap on the ass. "Off you go now, toy."\n\n"Yes, master," she answers, immediately striding up the concrete steps towards the door, which you push open for her with your tendrils.\n\nYou leave her calmly collecting her arrows from the fight and set off towards your "lair"... oh, nevermind the distancing quotation marks, it's your supervillain lair. Your current one, anyway, a simple warehouse that was halfway converted into lofts before the project was abandoned and the owner took the investors' money and ran. The actual ownership of the building is currently contested between at least half a dozen parties, none of them actually in the state... there are far more properties in just such a legal limbo than one might think, and you've found them quite valuable for temporary bases.\n\n(There are services that actually see to such needs for villains and heroes alike, part of that "super-support" network you were once destined to join, but sometimes the Device seems to get all riled up when you use them so you prefer to seek out your own accomodations where available.) \n\nA lot of the building is wide-open spaces, which suits the needs for your equipment and workspaces, and there are just enough finished lofts to provide you with pleasant places to sleep and enclosed places to work. You make your way over to a cluster of work areas, machines looking half incongruous and half natural to such a place somehow, providing that eternal sense of not being quite in the right place and yet exactly where you belong that's pervaded your existence since the Device bonded itself to you.\n\nShrugging off the feeling with long practice, you configure a tendril into a datacable and plug it into one of the material fabrication control consoles, drawing information out of the Drive and your mind (not that there's much distinction anymore) and properly converting it into readable files for the computers, issuing instructions directly. After a few minutes, you see a notification pop up on the screen of a bank of nearby monitors, and stretch a tendril to accept the permissions.\n\nWhat pops up on one of the monitors is the image of Artemis, close up as she's in the process of affixing something to the wall... specifically, the camera that's displaying her image. The cameras you gave her have 'chameleon chassis' of your own design... in fact you wanted to call them 'cuttlefish chassis' since they alter their texture as well as their color to blend in with the surface they're placed on, but an acquaintance of yours advised against it since at the time you needed to make a bit of money for an experiment and were selling them. ("Everyone knows what 'chameleon' means in regards to tech, say 'cuttlefish' and they'll just think... ... well, you." ... Hm. Maybe you're lucky you didn't wind up called "Captain Cuttlefish" or somesuch.)\n\nArtemis looks into the camera as if not really seeing it, her face still slightly blank and eyes faintly glazed. But, following the next string of her programming, she sets the rest of the cameras down and then proceeds to strip, dropping her hero garb to the floor a bit at a time. Ah, as you thought, her breasts are indeed fairly large, and quite a lovely firm, still perky teardrop shape with pale brown nipples. She finishes stripping and stands exposing herself to the camera before doing a slow turn, letting you see all of her, albeit in silence. (Complete silence... while the cameras have microphones and record all the audio they hear, they don't actually transmit it unless specifically requested. They're designed with technological concepts gleaned from the Device, and for some reason transmitting high-definition video is almost negligible for them, but transmitting audio uses almost three times the signal and risks detection. Better to do it only when necessary, and even then only when the apartment is empty and likely wholly unmonitored.)\n\nYou largely ignore the sound of one of your 3D printers starting up, instead watching Artemis pad naked through her civilian apartment, placing more of the cameras. You gave her plenty of them... enough to make sure that you have a good view of absolutely everywhere in her apartment, and in most cases multiple angles. Especially those spaces of most interest, such as her bathroom (you watch approvingly as she covers the shower from multiple angles) and her bedroom (even standing on the mattress to affix one to the center of the light fixture directly above her bed, a convenient thing with a flat black base and four lights around it... that camera will be the last to be discovered, even if any of the others ever are). By the time she's done the whole monitor array is taken up by views of her expensive little one bedroom apartment in what's obviously a nice part of town, with its majority white furniture with its tasteful accents of Greek decoratives.\n\nThat stage of her programming complete, Artemis... Amelie... lays down on the bed, staring up with that blank look on her face. Then her hips begin to twitch as the next layer of programming activates, the clit-controller augmenting the commands with its pleasure-like stimuli to encourage her mind to accept alteration, to suppress some memories and invent others.\n\nAs far as she's concerned, she never saw you tonight. (And in the future will subconsciously avoid the areas where you tend to be out at night, salvaging and "salvaging" bits of obsolete but necessary equipment from other facilities.) She had an entirely normal night stopping muggings and domestic disputes and whatnot (explaining why she was likely unable to recover every arrow from your fight).\n\nThen, on her way home, she saw a body art salon that was open late and, in a fit of excitement and impulse characteristic to young people (let alone young people constantly engaging in adrenaline-pumping adventures), she on the spur of the moment decided to stop in and get her clitoral hood pierced. She then became so turned-on by receiving her piercing that in another, even more intense fit of impulse, allowing the man who did the piercing for her to fuck her in the ass despite her orientation. She'll remember bending over the chair, spreading her ass wide for him with her hands, and then sucking him clean afterwards before paying him his fee along with a large tip for the privilege.\n\nThe confused look fades as she starts to largely come back to herself, replaced by a different and more pointed sort of confusion, one mingled with shock, humiliation, and a strange arousal. It's this last the final (active) line of her programming acts on and has her suddenly tucking a hand between her legs, starting to furiously frig her gently-pinched and exposed clit, hips lurching upwards and twisting in the air as her other hand tucks beneath herself, two fingertips starting to poke and prod at her pucker, not actually pushing inside of it. You can see her lips moving and just imagine her confused, humiliated, but exceptionally horny moans as she feels the smears of cum there, feels her recently-fucked anus tremble and twitch at her touch. She doesn't actually push her fingers inside, more just rubbing and teasing the outer ring almost the same as she's working her other fingertips over her clit, writhing and twisting on the bed in apparent silence as the confident, confirmed lesbian furiously masturbates to the memory of being fucked in the ass by a man.\n\nYou idly wonder just what sort of man she's picturing fucking her, even as you once more free your stiff prick and stroke it as you watch her. You've found that for implanting false memories, often less is more and it's helpful to simply provide a general outline and let their own imagination and preconceptions fill in the gaps. So she's definitely remembering herself being pounded in her tight little virgin ass by whatever her concept is of a man who'd do a clitoral piercing on an impulsive superheroine in the dead of night. Is she remembering being fucked by some handsome, muscular man in leather pants and vest, suave and confident and probably having fucked at least a few other girls that day? Some scrawny, long-haired, strung-out scarecrow of a man frantically pumping away at her, panting and moaning in a way that was thanking every star for his good fortune? Or is she perhaps thinking she had her anal virginity taken by the thick, bulging cock of some fat, sweaty beast with a thick greasy beard and a bandanna, every inch of his arms covered in tattoos boasting of metal band tours long past?\n\nAdmittedly the tumult of mental imagery of who she might be imagining fucking her is almost as stimulating as the sight of her masturbating, though in the end it's the combination of the crystal-clear recollection that it was, in fact, you who fucked her naughty little superbitch ass and the sight of her twisting and bucking and screaming silently, her pussy squirting a surprisingly copious arc of girlcum through the air that pushes you over the edge, spilling your own second load of the night onto the concrete floor.\n\nYou watch as she slumps to the bed, panting and gasping, gulping visibly, all without audio. Then she sits up, looking mildly dazed, but in an entirely natural way, the sort of fuzzy-headedness rather than clarity that marks the aftermath of a particularly good orgasm. She looks down, then blushes brightly at the sight of the long wet streak on the sheets trailing forward from between her legs. From the look on her face, she's apparently never done that before. She sits there in a fairly obvious whirl of confused thoughts, shifting about in place as if considering getting up and changing the sheets. But apparently that's just a bit too far for her in her current muddled state, and after a silent sigh she flops backwards, and then curls up on her side, naked and uncovered, face pressing a bit into the pillow. In only a few seconds her posture has relaxed further and her breathing slowed, the screen data readouts confirming that she's asleep.\n\nHuffing a bit yourself, you tuck yourself away, absently using a tendril to clean up your own mess as you turn to one of the control panels, setting up the AI monitoring program for the cameras, so they can alert you about anything interesting or worth your attention. About the time you're finished with that, the 3D printer dings, announcing that it, too, is finished with its task. "Shame you weren't ready earlier," you murmur to it as you turn and open up the cover.\n\nSitting inside is a pussy. Or rather, an artificial one. Masturbation sleeve is, you believe, the most technical term for it, though others such as "fleshlight" or "onahole" are also popular. This one is made out of a not terribly accurate flesh-feel synthetic material, but then you've found you actually prefer that for these... the blatancy of it being a sex toy is part of what makes it such a delightful trophy.\n\nBecause you quickly discovered that one of the side effects of this particular method of placing a superheroine (or any woman) under mind control is that the Device retains an extremely accurate model of the heroine in question's vagina. You smile as you pick up the sleeve, colored the precise same olive skintone that your new, less literal toy sports. The outer lips, clitoris and hood (minus piercing), labia, all are perfectly represented, albeit in the monotone of the overall material rather than their mingled brown and pink and soft almost-white. The inside will match hers exactly too... thus, why there was no rush to fuck her pussy. You'll retain a copy of it in the Device for the rest of your life.\n\nYawning a bit as you feel the night starting to catch up with you, you propel yourself over to a long, low, opaque metal case set against one wall. Not the first of its kind, and most of its contents are reprints... you build the cases to self-destruct should you need to abandon a base or should anyone but you open them, both to conceal the identity (or even existence) of compromised heroines, and admittedly a bit of preserving your own reputation... no need for it to get out that you indulge in the baser, more crudely sexual aspects of supervillainy, after all, for any number of reasons. You nestle your latest trophy into a holding groove at the end of a line of its fellows, in their lovely diversity of skin tones and shapes, then close the lid again. You go ahead and have your tendrils undress you even as they propel you into your bedroom, levering you down onto the mattress before retracting into the Device... which is quiet, apparently as content as you are with the night's work.\n\n'Mmm... and what should I do with her tomorrow, I wonder?' you muse as sleep starts to take you.\n\n<hr>\n[[Start sluttifying her.|Back]]\n\n[[Start maneuvering her into a more advantageous position.|Back]]\n\n[[Just observe for now.|Back]]

You may never have set out to be a supervillain, and you may prefer to work solo most of the time, but you do understand the value of a loyal minion.\n\nOf course, you could never convince a young hero that manages to control themselves enough to not swear even when captured by a notorious villain through talking. You consider yourself rather erudite and capable of bantering with the best, but no... you're not that good. You have something else in mind.\n\nYou open the ends of several tendrils fashioned into sensor dishes and sweep them about, making sure you're unobserved... all to the good. Still, you make your way down into the lower floors, 'walking' by careful placement of other tendrils, carrying the struggling, twisting Artemis with you. In fact it would really be even better if... ah, a hurricane shelter, perfect. You wrench open the fire-twisted door and carry Artemis down into the rather small concrete shelter, turning the end of one of your tendrils into a lamp while pulling the door closed behind you.\n\nHer struggles seem to have briefly ceased as she realizes you're not taking her back to any sort of hidden base or secret lair... the hurricane shelter is obviously disused, the two of you the first in it in some time. She's starting to get worried now, which just proves she is indeed on the smarter side, despite her youthful overexuberance. You turn her upright so that she's essentially on her back, grabbing her booted ankles with two tentacles and forcing her legs apart. "W-what are you doing?!" she blurts out, trying to sound demanding but already starting to sound genuinely worried... and her eyes widen as you use another tendril to flip up the modesty skirt and then delicately pull aside the crotch of her leotard, baring her pussy with its faint stubble.\n\n"Hm. Well that won't do, I do need full contact," you murmur absently, shifting the purpose of the tendril that bared her and then aiming a sweep of red light across her crotch. She lets out a shriek of mingled shock, indignation, and a bit of pain, though personally you think she's exaggerating... you've used this particular device on yourself and it didn't hurt that badly. (Body hair is such an annoying chore, after all.) After a few seconds you shut it off, a faint waft of smoke rising from her skin with an unpleasant smell, but her skin completely (and permanently) smooth. As you said you need a nice, tight fit for this process.\n\n"P-pervert... you wouldn't daEEEE!" she squeals as you spread the tip of the tendril into wide flaps again and press it right up against her crotch, completely covering it with the folds of, which slip under the leotard here and there. She writhes and shrieks out protest, then lets out another cry as a (heavily lubricated) sub-tendril from the center of the one covering her pushes inside her, and then starts to gradually, gently expand.\n\n"You know, there are a great deal of issues with mind controlling a superhero," you explain evenly to her, seeing the words hit even through her struggles and tinging her outrage with panic. "If you use an external method such as light and sound stimulation, it will work for a time, but eventually they'll throw it off or something else will interrupt it, and you'll be revealed."\n\nHer attempt to control her panic has made her control her struggling, and now she's just still in your grasp, albeit trembling lightly... and her breathing has taken on a rather shaky tone. By forcing herself not to panic, and therefore not to struggle, she's not resisting the sensation of the sub-tendril gently pressing against and conforming to the inside of her pussy, including the soft stimulation of her G-spot. Exactly as you hoped, this will work much better that way, you muse as the sub-tendril stops its expansion and settles inside her, having perfectly conformed to the only-slightly-stretched shape of her interior.\n\n"The same is true of implants in the spine or head," you continue, hearing her gasp loudly as the main tendril's folds start fitting themselves to her more tightly, effectively vacuum sealing themselves against her skin. "Far more effective at maintaining control, obviously, since they can keep up a steady flow of influence, but other superheroes are trained to look for interference with the head, neck, or center of the back even subconsciously. Someone starts acting in the slightest bit odd, and other eyes start roaming over the scalp, the neck, the spine, if the behavior is suspicious enough they're tossed under all sorts of scanners, the device will be found. Unless..."\n\nArtemis lets out another yelping shriek of shock as she feels the dart of something sharp somewhere tender. "One were to, of course, exploit the natural tendency to find addressing certain issues awkward," you muse aloud as she practically vibrates in your clutches at the sensations. "In the case of female superheroes, the clitoris really is a very convenient piece of anatomy. Such an incredibly dense and sensitive cluster of nerves, effectively running right up to the brain. Send the control impulses up through it, why, the brain is already conditioned, nay, eager to accept all the signals from it. A chip in your neck? Why, the very idea is monstrous to most, it naturally invites resistance, doing so feels heartening, heroic. This, on the other hand..."\n\nYou pop the vacuum-like seal, retracting the inner tendril into the outer one and drawing the whole thing away, leaving Artemis's bare pussy glistening and thoroughly plumped as she slumps in your grip, breathing hard. The actual piercing of a softly-burnished copper ring goes through the hood of her clit, the open part of the ring flanked by a pair of brilliant blue spheres that actually press against the sides of the erect little nub, the piercing clearly designed to keep her out and exposed, stimulated at the slightest touch. A particularly aggressive... but not wholly unusual... design for such things. With such a thing, the tendency in an investigative situation would be to look away from it to avoid the appearance of prurience, and she would of course remove it before any particularly thorough scan (and then promptly put it back in, as its programming to her dictates).\n\nYou reach out, gently placing a fingertip on the hard little nub and giving it a gentle wiggle back and forth just to assure yourself of the proper fit, seeing her shiver and hearing her give a faint mewl at the touch. Then you step back and lower her to her feet, retracting your tendrils and leaving her just standing there, looking slightly dazed and like her legs are a bit rubbery, but making no move whatsoever to attack you.\n\n"You are now my property," you inform her, making sure to push a feeling of authoritativeness through the Device and along the wireless connection into her clit-controller.\n\nA low shiver runs through her body again, just like when you touched her there. "Yes, Master," she answers breathlessly, with just the faintest edge of a pout. "I am your property."\n\n"Good. Tell me the important details about yourself. And if any of your friends will be by any time soon."\n\nAnother little shiver, but no meaningful hesitation before she says, "My real name is Amelie Angelepoulos. I'm twenty-two. I was training for the Olympics but got disqualified due to corruption. Theirs, not mine. I changed my training over to crimefighting, my powers awakened during my survival training. I met my girlfriend on a teamup mission two years ago. Four months ago she invited me to join a new superhero team forming in this city, the Outcasts. None of them will be by... this is my part of town to patrol."\n\nHer voice isn't quite monotone... more just that slightly dazed, mildly confused tone that's makes her sound faintly inebriated more than anything else. As she adjusts to the control she'll likely sound more natural (save when you don't wish her to). You nod, adjusting your glasses a bit. "You're a lesbian, then?"\n\n"Yes," she answers without any hesitation whatsoever this time. Clearly not any confusion about that in her mind.\n\n"Mm," you mm to yourself thoughtfully, for the moment just standing there eyeing her, standing there with her eyes faintly glazed, her pussy and its new decoration temporarily hidden by the flap of her skirt falling down again, despite the crotch of her leotard still being pulled aside to bare it. There are several options here... the most obvious being to focus on her as your latest project. The Device does seem to enjoy it particularly when you toy with and disrupt superheroes, and therefore leaves you in more peace when you do. Not that the idea of having such a lovely young woman to toy with and enjoy in various ways is exactly wholly abhorrent to you anyway. \n\nOn that note you could always blatantly "turn" her, and have her openly join your side. She mentioned corruption as being involved in her disqualification from the Olympics, but you know superheroes well enough to know that plenty of them feel the same sense of absolute moral righteousness and high-handedness she displayed. The whiff of scandal or corruption taints everyone involved in many of them's eyes, and there will be plenty of them entirely willing to believe that she's just been a timebomb waiting to turn villain on them because of it. (You wonder if the poor girl knows that? Well, seems a bit hypocritical to pity her in the current circumstances.)\n\nOr you could simply make her into one of your "sleeper agents" and leave it at that. One of your most prominent villain skills is how often you manage to get away from the heroes... you've spent less time in "superclink" than just about any other villain you can name, and part of that has been being very selective about using your control over the other female superheroes you've similarly subverted. The best way for an asset to stay a secret is not using it save at greatest need, after all. (The villain equivalent of heroes being punching above their weight class early in their career is, of course, the need to brag on their own brilliance to anyone and everyone.)\n\n<hr>\n[[Focus on her.|Back2x2]]\n\n[[Turn her.|Back]]\n\n[[Leave her as a sleeper.|Back]]

"I think it'd be best if Blake went with everyone else and I went with Ilia and Weiss to the tower," you finally say, unable to ignore the sensation any longer.\n\nWeiss lets out a huff. "Kai, honestly, I don't need you to-"\n\n"I know," you interject, stepping in and rubbing her upper arms, giving her a pained look. "I know, honest. Just... snowbird, I've got a bad, bad feeling about this mission. Indulge me this one time, alright?"\n\nShe blinks at you, then slowly nods. "Alright then."\n\n"I've sort of had to learn to live with that feeling all the time," Qrow says slowly, scratching his cheek. "But if it's really that bad, are you sure we should do this plan?"\n\n"This plan is good, just... got a bad feeling in my stomach about the tower, and I wanna be there to do something about it if I'm right, is all. Ilia, can you do the tower hack without Blake?"\n\n"Yeah, I should be able to," she says with a nod of her own. \n\n"Okay, so here's what we'll do. Weiss and Ilia will go to the tower, they'll knock out the guards, Weiss will watch Ilia's back while she does the hack, and I'll stay nearby to provide backup if necessary. Speaking of which, it's a pretty long way out there." You turn to Yang and make a cutesy face. "Plz?"\n\nYang sighs, dipping her hand into her jacket pocket and tossing you a set of keys. "Your bad feeling better not be about my bike getting messed up or I'm going to be really annoyed."\n\nSeveral days later you're heading out to the tower, Bumblebee buzzing away underneath you, Weiss clinging to your back and Ilia to hers. (You understand there was a bit of a brief argument over who got to ride directly behind you, but you're going to pretend you know nothing about it.) Luckily both of your passengers are on the smol side, so it's not too cramped or overloaded as you head out to a spot a fair bit distant from the tower... don't want to alert them too much with the motor noise. "Okay, you guys head on over," you direct as they climb off. "I'm gonna scout around the immediate area, just in case, but I'll be nearby."\n\n"Got it," Ilia says with a nod.\n\nSee you soon, Weiss sends, smiling and giving you a quick wink.\n\nLove you, you send back, making her blush a little even as she turns and moves to join Ilia, who rolls her eyes a little. She may not have heard you send directly to each other but she can clearly tell you were being schmaltzy.\n\nAs said you take Bumblebee on a slow cruise around the area, just seeing if anything pings. You do find an interesting little area, a wide stone bridge beneath a cliff face, several waterfalls nearby. 'Pretty. Be a nice place for a picnic if we were staying.' Then Ilia's voice calls into your mind.\n\nKai! Adam's here!\n\n"Dammit!" you snap aloud before sending back. At the tower?!\n\nYes! We're okay for now but he's killed the guards and he's keeping us separated!\n\nFrowning, you broaden your sending. Weiss, can you lead Adam away from Ilia?\n\nIiiii don't think that will be a problem.\n\nOkay, I want you to lead him towards your west, see the waterfalls? Over that cliff there's a bridge, you get him there and we can box him in and take him from both sides. Ilia, if Weiss manages to lead Adam away, complete the mission and get that flyer down.\n\nYou swing off of Bumblebee and move to one side of the bridge, forcing yourself to breathe as you get ready. It's okay, you're here with Weiss, it's all going to be fine. She can handle herself, but it feels a lot better being here to handle it with her. A minute later there's the telltale sparkling sound of Weiss's rune circles as she flip-leaps off the edge of the cliff, creating a series of white circles to bound and flip off of before landing opposite you. Seconds later, a black-clad redheaded figure leaps from the cliff, making a dramatic three-point landing with a light crackle of red Aura, before slowly rising to his feet, gloved hand moving to the grip of his sword.\n\n"That's terrible on your knees, y'know," you inform him flatly.\n\nAdam turns his head towards you, his eyes covered by a black strip of cloth tied around his head. "Right. The 'space alien'," he says, voice dripping with calculated contempt. "Y'know, I'd been waiting for Blake to be alone away from everyone else, but when I saw the other traitor heading off with the Schnee, the opportunity was just too good to pass up. You're not a bad consolation prize either."\n\n"Uh-huh." You regard him flatly, then give a little jerk of your head towards him. "The fuck are you, a mutant ninja turtle?"\n\n"... What?" he says, sounding mildly angry at the sound of a reference whizzing by his head.\n\n"What's with the bandanna, buddy?" you ask as you settle into your fighting stance fully. Just some pre-fight quipping, no big. Besides, keeping his attention on you is giving Weiss time to rest a bit, and then to get into her own stance, legs together, arm lifted, rapier pointed. "I mean the mask I understood, had a kind of edgelordy-cool air to it, but now you just look like you're cosplaying a blind swordmaster."\n\nAdam turns his head a bit back towards Weiss, then looks at you, a sour smile curling his lips on one side. "Maybe I am," he says slowly.\n\nNo, you've clearly rattled him. He's off his game. He's obviously practiced at drawing responses out of people, getting the reactions he wants, but you going on the offensive and taking things off his own rhythm has put him on an off foot mentally. "Nope, I may just be a punk from the streets but I can see how people move. You're squinting at us through that shit, you're reacting to how we move more than what we say. Take that shit off and fight us like you've actually got a pair, bitch."\n\nThe smile drops completely off his face, turning into a scowl as he turns his head first towards you, then the readied Weiss. Then he slowly reaches a gloved hand up. "... You know. I don't show this to many people. But I guess it's appropriate now, considering who's here. I can let the little heiress see her family's good work for herself."\n\n"Ex-heiress, thank y-" And then the sound dies in her throat as the bandanna's pulled away and Adam lifts his head.\n\n"Fuck," you whisper, unable to help wincing a little. You might react even more if he hadn't just tried to kill the two women you love most in the world... less if he'd come even close to succeeding... but even on Makarzia you've never seen anything quite like it. One eye is pretty and blue, perfect, exactly the sort of dashing prince look you know Adam would love to exude. The other is forever sealed shut, burns and scar tissue having welded the eyelid together, the brand obviously having been blazing hot and setting his skin aflame as it was applied, lesser pink scar tissue surrounding the deep, angry red where the iron was driven in, probably until the wielder couldn't push it anymore. It's bad, but you keep it together, don't let yourself get thrown out of being ready to fight.\n\nBut then, you think with a bit of a broken heart as Myrtenaster clatters to the winter-cold stone, it's not your friggin' name etched in his face.\n\n"Oh my God," Weiss whispers, her hands trembling as they come up to clutch at her mouth, tears welling in her eyes and starting to spill down her cheeks as they stay fixed on the 'SDC' emblazoned across Adam's visage, horror etched in every line of her face. "Oh my God."\n\n"What's wrong?" Adam says, that calculated arrogance back, the smirk in place as he turns his head towards her, obviously showing off the disfigurement now. "Did they not do a good enough..." And then something makes the sneer falter, the words trail off. Maybe something about the depths of the absolute anguish written all over Weiss's form, radiating from every motion. The vulnerability he wanted is there... but you don't think he expected the depth of agony, and even he finds himself a bit overwhelmed by it. And you watch as the next words hit him like a palm to the chest.\n\n"I'm so sorry," Weiss whispers, trembling, her eyes fixed on him. Everything this man has done to her friends, all the hurt he's inflicted on the world, all the torment he's wrought, and the depth of misery and sincerity in those words is still there. "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry... I'm... I'm sorry..."\n\n"S-... stop saying that, stop...!" Adam snarls, jerking himself towards her a bit as if to make her flinch, really just making you twitch towards him in readiness. But his eye flicks wildly over her, desperately searching for some sign of mockery, for insincerity, for pity, finding none.\n\nYou wonder when the last time was that anyone cried for Adam Taurus... or if it's always just been because of him.\n\nYou wonder if that thought has now occurred to him as well.\n\nYou watch his face twitch, twist, desperately trying to summon up the rage, the hatred, the self-righteous fury he's fueled his entire adult life by, and every time having it battered down by those soft sobs and those sincere tears of remorse. Until finally he throws back his head and screams, a wordless, half-inhuman sound of loss and rage that sets the birds to fleeing from the trees and into the sky.\n\nThe monster has been deprived of his monster.\n\nAdam collapses to his knees, head hanging, silent, his sheathed weapon clattering to the stone beside him from limp fingers. You slowly make your way forward, keeping your eyes on him the whole time, until you can kick it away further across the bridge and then go slipping quickly to Weiss's side, wrapping an arm around her and pulling her in as she presses to you, petite body still trembling with the intensity of her sobs. You look at her, then the broken man in front of you, shaking your head slowly.\n\n"... Leave, Adam," you say after awhile, voice quiet. "I don't care where you go. Go back to wherever you started and live quietly. Go back to Ghira and Kali, see if they can find it in their hearts to forgive you. Go into the wilds and be alone with whatever demons are raging around inside you. I don't care. But never show yourself in front of me or my friends again."\n\nHe says nothing, does nothing. Until finally he rises, stumbling a little as he comes to his feet, turning and walking away without ever once looking at you or the now quietly weeping Schnee at your side. His foot scuffs past his weapon without him seeming to notice it, the sheathed sword laying abandoned on the stone as its former master trudges silently away.\n\n"I'm sorry... I'm sorry..." Weiss sobs quietly against you, shaking.\n\n"I know you are, snowbird," you whisper softly, finally bowing your head to kiss the top of hers, closing your eyes as your other hand cups her cheek. "I know."\n\nThe interior of the airship is silent as you make your way over the ocean. One of the side doors has been left open to allow the sharp-eyed among you to scan the horizon for Grimm. Weiss sits at the back, hugging her legs and leaning against your side, ice blue eyes staring ahead of her without quite seeing. She hasn't spoken since she stopped crying after the encounter on the bridge, just silent, overwhelmed, uncertain how to deal with what she has seen. You just rub her back and try to be there for her, watching her face worriedly. Her eyes track to you, then down to her side, towards where Myrtenaster is resting on the floor of the airship. Suddenly, and without a word, she seizes it up and tosses it past the watchers at the open window.\n\n"Weiss no!" you call, too late as you find yourself reaching for air, unable to catch the weapon before it's past you, Jaune making a desperate snatch for it as well before it goes tumbling down to drop into the water below.\n\n"Unca Qrow, turn around! We've gotta go back!" Ruby calls, Qrow actually starting to pull on the stick.\n\n"No." Weiss's voice is quiet, but cuts through the shocked little tumult that had started, even as her eyes fix ahead again. "I don't want anything that came from them anymore."\n\nOh snowbird, you send at her softly, wrapping both arms around her again and drawing her in.\n\nSchnee metal. Schnee parts. Schnee Dust. Made in a Schnee home to Schnee specifications, she sends back bitterly, closing her eyes tightly. Even what's most mine in the world all came from a family that would do that.\n\nThe others settle, though now more nervous and uncertain, glancing at Weiss every so often. But Blake's expression is simply one of sad understanding as she moves over to sit down on Weiss's other side, lightly hugging her own legs. ... You saw, she sends to the both of you, even her mental voice a whisper.\n\nWeiss says or sends nothing. She just closes her eyes tightly, more tears squeezed out as she nods once.\n\nI'm sorry. Blake bows her own head a little. I always wondered if I should tell you. At first, when I didn't know you, I... thought you knew that the overseers and guards did things like that, that you just accepted it like you accepted everything else about your life before Beacon. You can feel Weiss's hands clench a little on your coat, a tremble run through her, before Blake continues. Then I realized you didn't, and... a small, petty, still angry part of me wanted to throw it in your face. ... But very quickly... I understood how badly it would hurt you. That it would do... this... to you. ... And I couldn't bring myself to say it anymore, even though I knew that now it was about you deserving to know. ... I'm sorry.\n\nBlake... Weiss sends back, shivering a little. Why?\n\nBlake winces just a little, eartips folding down, before she shakes her head. I don't know. He never said. Stealing Dust was usually the reason for the brands, but... that... he might have attacked someone while doing it, or... I don't know. She looks off to the side. ... I always wondered, after I left him, why he didn't use it more. Show it off. Make himself the martyr. Use it to make everyone else as angry as he was. I guess that wasn't the kind of 'hero' he wanted to be... he always preferred seeming dashing, charismatic, he probably didn't want anyone to pity him. ... Or maybe it was just a little, tiny bit of something decent left in him, that he kept that part of his pain private and wouldn't use it casually to create his legend.\n\nShe falls silent after that, doing some of her own staring without seeing, no doubt thinking of the past, of whether the man she once knew was ever really that man, an elaborate fiction, or something in between. But finally she simply leans over and pecks Weiss on the cheek, whispers "I'm sorry", and rises to move to another part of the cabin.\n\nIt'll be okay, snowbird, you assure her gently, rubbing her shoulder again.\n\n... Maybe. She nuzzles her face in against your shoulder, then sends, Kai?\n\nYeah?\n\n... I know it hasn't been that long, she sends, slowly raising her head to look up at you, giving you a watery but sincere smile. But please... as soon as you can... make me a Sterling instead?\n\nYou blink. Repeatedly. Stare at her. Then you nod, and pull her in tight against you again. Okay. Okay snowbird. Let's do that.\n\nEventually the mood brightens a little in the airship at the miraculous sight of the floating city of Atlas... a little, anyway. At least until everyone becomes concerned at the sight of the massive air fleet arrayed in an obvious offensive configuration, as if waiting for an attack at any moment... or to attack at any moment. As the air control natters to the ship telling it where to dock, Qrow ignores them and glances over his shoulder. "Reese? About done?"\n\n"Gimme time this isn't like sticking a few extra Nevermore sightings in the system I gotta go a more roundabout way than you take to your aunt's when you know she's making brussel sprout casserole for a serious family meeting," Reese mutters as she alternately taps at a computer panel of the airship and at the scroll she's got wired into it. Finally, she grins and murmurs, "Bingo~" as the scroll lights up, a bearded man blinking in shock.\n\n"Who is this? How did you get connected to this scroll?"\n\n"Rather than answer that because I have the right not to answer questions that will result in my prosecution I'mma hand you off to my attorney," Reese replies, passing the scroll to Qrow.\n\n"Hey James."\n\n"Qrow?" The man on the screen blinks. "You're... here."\n\n"Yeah, and we're on a stolen airship, Manta-75 out of Argus. Sorry, your local commander wasn't being helpful, desperate times and all that."\n\n"Yes, you do tend to resort to desperate measures rather easily," Ironwood says dryly, but nods. "Alright. I'll contact airspace control and get you clearance. Go ahead and land in front of the academy, I'll come out to meet you."\n\nSoon Qrow's finagling the airship into a semi-smooth landing in front of the towering, glittering structure that is Atlas Academy, Ironwood and a familiar-looking woman both waiting, although his companion is someone you've never met before you know her face well. Even if you hadn't seen pictures of that austere bun and picture-perfect uniform, she's the spitting image of a taller, slightly more severe version of your fiancee. \n\nAs the teams disembark the airship, Winter Schnee steps forward, standing in front of Weiss with hands clasped behind her back, gazing at her sternly. "Young lady, what exactly were you thinking? Cooperating in the theft of an Atlas military craft."\n\n"Winter..." Weiss murmurs, raising her hands a bit, then her fingers flicking as she almost flinches. You wince, wondering if even her love for her sister is something that's been tainted forever by what she saw.\n\nBut then Weiss is flinging herself forward, wrapping her arms around Winter and burying her face in the other woman's chest, sobbing brokenheartedly again. Winter's eyes go wide, then her hands fling around Weiss, cradling her almost desperately, looking simultaneously worried and awkward. "What's wrong? Weiss, are you alright?! Who's hurt you?!"\n\n"Winter," Weiss sobs against her, trembling gently.\n\n"... Why don't... we give you a moment," Ironwood says, a bit awkwardly but gravely, nodding his head. "Those of you without anything to discuss with me immediately can head to the dorms for some rest."\n\n"We do have much to discuss, James," Ozma says as he steps forward, smiling a bit wryly as he offers his hand.\n\n"... Oz?" Hope lights up Ironwood's eyes as he accepts it, wrapping both hands around it. "So quickly? I'm so glad you're here!"\n\n"You may not be soon. This... will be a difficult discussion, and truly is best had in private," Ozma allows, bobbing his head.\n\n"... Alright," Ironwood murmurs uncertainly, then blinks at Reese proffering him a datachip. "This is?"\n\n"A list of all of the vulnerabilities backdoors exploits weaknesses and just plain easy access that I've discovered in Atlas and Haven computer systems over the last six months," Reese answers. "Including the one I used from a random stolen airship to contact your private unlisted secure scroll."\n\n"I see," Ironwood acknowledges wryly, plucking it from her fingers. "Thank you. I suppose."\n\nWith last glances at Weiss and Winter, most of the party moves off towards the academy. But you stay where you are, just watching Weiss cry, letting your heart break all over again as Winter pets her hair, the otherwise stoic woman even giving you a half-pleading glance as if begging you to tell her what to do.\n\n"Winter," Weiss finally says, sniffling as she draws back a bit and looks up at her sister. "Did... did you know? About..." She trails off, winces, and forces herself to say, "The brands?"\n\nYou see a little wince on Winter's own composed face, her eyes slowly sinking closed. Then she nods. Once. A tiny little bob of the chin. "I found out earlier that day... the day I left home. One of my students at the academy... he had resented me from the start. It's not unusual, especially with Faunus students, but I'd worked with him and had gotten him to a good place. And he confided in me... opened his shirt, showed me his collarbone. I knew then... I had to make the military my family. I didn't know how to make you understand, I didn't want you to... lose everything, so I just tried to get it through to you that you'd have to stand on your own. You have, but... perhaps that was the wrong decision," Winter adds quietly, bowing her head, clearly not a woman used to admitting her mistakes. Then she sighs softly, eyes opening. "How did you find out?"\n\n"... Adam Taurus," Weiss says quietly, shock and not a little fear playing across Winter's eyes at the name of one of the most infamous terrorists on Remnant. "The one who's... hurt my friends so badly, that helped engineer the fall of Beacon, that tried to destroy Haven. He... he had his face branded when he was younger."\n\nWinter flinches. A little. Closes her eyes against it. Bows her head.\n\nAnother thing her family has inflicted on the world.\n\n"I'm sorry you had to find out like that. And I'm sorry for... everything," Winter says after a moment, opening her eyes again. Then she seems to finally actually acknowledge your presence, looking at you curiously. "And this is?"\n\n"Oh, um, Winter," Weiss says, stepping back and managing to smile as she takes your hand. "This is Kai Sterling. ... My fiancee," she adds, glancing at you and smiling a bit wider.\n\n"Hey," you declare, raising your other hand in greeting, unsure of what else to do.\n\n"... Hey indeed." Winter takes a deep breath, tugs on her jacket to straighten it, then nods. "Clearly we have a lot of catching up to do. Perhaps we should... make a night of that. Tomorrow night or the night after, perhaps. I'll see what's in my-" She pauses, shakes her head. "I'll make an opening in my schedule. For now, you should get some rest. There should be someone waiting in the dorms that will bolster your spirits a bit. I... admit she does the same to mine often enough," Winter adds, with just the faintest ghost of a smile. "For now I should likely wait for the General to finish his conversation. ... Or start going over that list of computer vulnerabilities," she adds with a slightly dark look. She hesitates, looks uncertain, then rests her hands on Weiss's shoulders and somewhat awkwardly pecks her forehead. "... I will call you tomorrow," she assures her sister, before turning and walking off. \n\n"I'm glad you didn't let it taint your love for your sister, snowbird," you murmur, turning to embrace Weiss again.\n\n"She's felt what I'm feeling now, I think, she just... doesn't show as much," Weiss says, watching her sister head into the tower. "She's had to be stronger for years more than I did, since I guess she was shielding me as much as she could. ... I do sort of regret throwing away Myrtenaster now," she admits with a sigh, hanging her head. "I don't think I could have stood to use it anymore after that, but... Winter helped me make it. I could have given it to her, at least."\n\n"What's done is done." You give her a squeeze. "Regrets build up along the way, yeah, but as they go that one's not too bad. I know it was precious to you, and I know it was your other partner, but... deprived of all that, it's just a sword. The sword can be replaced. The regret can fade."\n\n"Yeah." Weiss squeezes back, then steps back and looks up at you, face coloring. "Um, so, do you think we should... maybe... tomorrow..."\n\nYou blink. "Yeah?"\n\n"Take an airbus into the city and find... like... a contractual judge or something?" she asks, fidgeting.\n\nIt takes you a minute to parse what she means. Oh. When she said 'Make me a Sterling' clearly the 'ASAP plz' was implied and she wasn't kidding. As much as that makes your heart do joyful little backflips, you can't help but worry it might be a bit like tossing Myrtenaster into the ocean... a little bit too impulsive, something she might regret later.\n\n<hr>\n[[Agree.|KaiWeiss]]\n\n[[Wait.|KaiWeiss]]

"Well, if you wanted your privacy, I can go," you offer, thumbing back towards your own temporary quarters.\n\n"Not at all, please feel free to come in," she says, stepping back and gesturing you inside. "It was looking to be a lonely night with Nova out and everyone else occupied with their own pursuits, I wouldn't mind some company."\n\nYou nod and, not wanting to be rude as much as anything, accept the invitation to step inside. You take a look around as you shrug out of your jacket and hang it up at Gem's urging to do so... the captain's quarters are larger and nicer than your own room, obviously, though part of that seems to be that there's a lowered conversation pit in one part of the room as well as a work area to allow it to function as an office as well.\n\n"Ah, it almost slipped my mind," Gem says, resting her hands on her hips. "Would you like me to put some clothing on?"\n\n"What? You're naked?" you can't help but snark back, giving her a grin.\n\nShe laughs softly. "I was naked more often than not growing up, and it's a habit I've spread to Nova as well... we're rarely covered up when we're in the room, or even when we go about the ship during lulls. It sometimes takes me a moment to realize that not everyone's as used to it as we are. If it would make you more comfortable, I can put something on. Of course, you can also feel free to take your own clothing off, if you like."\n\n"Er." You can't help but blush at that.\n\n"No need to be embarrassed, it's practically a clothing optional ship at this point. At the same time, there's no need to be pressured... please do what you feel comfortable with."\n\n<hr>\n[[Ask her to put something on.|LeoNova]]\n\n[[Strip down.|LeoNova]]\n\n[[Things are fine as is.|LeoNova]]

You're not sure you're ready to do whatever is behind the implications of her third party work, and you're definitely not sure you could take the full force of whatever she'd do getting her money's worth out of you, even if you did split it with Nyna. With a sigh, you say, "Look, I'll take whatever work you can give me, okay? That doesn't involve sleeping with you," you add slightly flatly, to which she gives a short, scoffing laugh, but is at least still grinning.\n\n"Fine, fine. Here's the deets of some guys that owe me money," she says, tossing a small handful of plastic cards on the table. "Bring 'em back with what they owe or other suitable recompense. You'll get your cut when you turn it in. Oh, and Chika," she adds as you scoop up the cards, making you pause. Her smile briefly disappears as she meets your eyes. "Never try and skim me. I don't tolerate it."\n\n"I'm a professional," you say with somewhat wounded dignity before turning and marching out, though admittedly part of your brain thinks 'Damn'. Not that you would have, but, y'know.\n\nAnd so for the next week you bust your ass basically doing every bit of scut work that Big Girl will toss your way... intimidating guys that are late on their payments, skip tracing guys that ran out on their ship contracts, tracking down people who busted up or stole stuff that belongs to Big Girl or people under her protection. It's basically the sort of stuff that would be thrown at any street level enforcer that hadn't earned the boss's trust yet, and it pays like it. You could be living in a decent apartment and eating okay, probably, if you weren't trying to save everything to make your interest payment. Nyna uses the ship to basically run bits of taxi service to the other cities under the radar, but similarly without a sponsor or any reputation those are the only sorts of jobs she's going to get, and by the end of the week...\n\n"Just over half," Nyna says flatly as she finishes stacking up the physical credits and slips a plastic band around them.\n\n"Damn," you mutter, folding your arms under your chest, then sighing. "Well I guess 'just over half' still sounds better being presented to a creditor than 'just under half'."\n\n"You think he'll go for it?" Nyna asks, while looking longingly at the stack of paper-like metal. "I mean... if we spread it around in other places we could probably seem more established, get better jobs."\n\nYou nod slowly... appearances matter in places like this, and the two of you crashing in one of the cheapest motels and living food bar to food bar definitely won't have gone unnoticed. Desperate, hungry people are seen as less reliable, so you're both likely to just keep getting more scut gigs. If you moved into better accommodations and were seen to at least be eating normal takeout, Big Girl might trust you with better-paying work and Nyna might be able to get an actual intrusion job or two.\n\n"Well, let's talk to Nick and see what he says," you say eventually, picking the stack of bills up and tucking it inside your jacket as you get up.\n\nThe two of you head back to The Underboards, where you're in for a bit of a surprise. It's later in the night than your original visit, and the place is actually playing music and flashing lights more like a regular nightclub this time. It's also got a lot of girls... mostly human, a few synths... in skimpy attire up on tables and the bar dancing. Though the expressions are obviously different, the insectoids seem just as interested in them as a more humanoid clientelle might be... the whole place is almost literally vibrating as thoraxes and mandibles wiggle and gyrate in apparent delight at the show being put on.\n\n"Gross," Nyna mutters under her breath, causing you to nudge her with your elbow as a number of insectoid heads turn towards the two of you. You're not sure that their sense of hearing works like yours does, but it definitely seems pretty keen among a lot of them. You urge her along to Nick's table, where his synth girls from before are actually standing on the booth seats to either side of him shaking their finely-contoured plastic asses, either as part of the entertainment or just having been moved to join in of their own will. Nick seems just as relaxed as he waves a foreleg, mandibles wiggling.\n\n"Girls, girls! How lovely to see you promptly on payday!" he chirrups.\n\n"Yeah, about that," you say with a sigh, reaching into your jacket and taking out the stack of money, setting it on the tabletop.\n\nOne of the synth girls immediately turns and leans forward, briefly shaking her plastic tits in Nyna's face (which seems to both please and discomfit her at once) as she picks up the stack and then sets it in front of Nick. He picks it up with his top four legs and runs the little nubs at the tip of one along the stack before giving an "ah". "Came up a little short this week, girls?"\n\n"We did our best, but well-paying work's hard to come by right now," you reply evenly. "We're still hoping to get another run at the main job, but it's difficult getting by until then."\n\n"I understand, I understand," Nick says in a suprisingly genuine understanding tone, wagging the foreleg he used to count the money, his antenna lifting and shaking a bit. "Things are rough, right? Well I am a bug of compassion, am I not? The way I see it, we have two ways of working this out."\n\nYou exchange what you hope isn't a too blatantly hopeful look with Nyna, before looking back at Nick. "Yeah?"\n\n"I can give you a pass this week... of course, next week you'll owe for both weeks' interest," he adds, mandibles lifting in a way you think might be a grin as you and Nyna both flinch. "So yes it would be a bit more. But at least you'd be able to keep this cash for the week and build on it, hm?"\n\nYou flick your eyes towards Nyna, just mildly suspicious at how perfectly that aligned with your discussion earlier. Then you look back at Nick again and prompt, "Or?"\n\n"We're extremely busy tonight, as you can see," he says, his antenna wiggling at the club, which is indeed packed... even moreso than a normal club could be considering the number of his patrons that can cling to the walls and ceiling. "And as always, we're shorthanded on girls. Tell you what, if you do some entertaining tonight, I'll make you a sweetheart of a deal... if your tips come in under the whole amount, I'll still count you as paid in full. Of course, should you work extra hard and make more than that, I'll pay you the difference too. Like I said, a real sweetheart of a deal, but that's what I'm willing to do for my patrons."\n\n<hr>\n[[You'll pay next week.|ChiDD]]\n\n[[Sigh. You'll dance.|ChiDD]]

*Main: Konko can now help (or possibly "help") the [[nerd girl|Konko1x2]] being bullied by gyarus.\n-Update 2-\n* Continuing Konko's toying with Mokuyo.\n*Main: Michika can make further decisions on hands-on sex ed for [[Gao and Aki|ChiMom1x9]].

Now now, maybe it's a good idea to put your thrusters on manual... you signed up for this job not just for the sake of adventure, but to help other people, and assistance missions are at the heart of that! ... Besides, they're slightly lower risk and you're mindful of that six month figure. You wanna survive in this job long enough to name your ship!\n\n[[Investigate Archaeological Site|FioTrekStart]] - An organization that SIEARA had a reciprocal agreement with had put in a request for assistance with an archaeological site, but since then contact with the archaeologists has been lost so it's been upgraded to search and rescue and then continuing the dig. Ooo, now there's a nice blend of exciting and responsible!

Leo\n\nLeonidas LaChance. Born to an Earth mother who'd "gotten out into the wild" (one term for accidentally winding up in space from an otherwise uncontacted planet) and a father from a Proud Warrior Race subspecies of humans. Has a fair knowledge of Earth sayings and slang from his mother, although often lacks context (while, unlike others using that slang, having enough awareness to realize he lacks the context). Was named half as a joke because his father wanted a "strong warrior's name" and his mother had seen 300 a lot and offered it without expecting it to be so well-received.\n<hr>\nNeo\n\nNero Claudius LaChance. (She had trouble with saying the "r" sound when she was a toddler, so Nero turned into Neo and stuck that way.) Leo's younger sister. At the start of Leo's storyline she's slightly too young to join the Guild, but old enough to have the equivalent of a "learner's permit",meaning she can go on missions with adult mercs. Father thinks she's named after a "famous emperor and leader of men", mother knows she's named after an anime waifu. (After "Leonidas" got through she just went with it.)

[[OP|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QlVCEqG7r34]]\n\n[As the opening theme begins to play, Remnant's moon is shown hanging in the night sky, until the main portion swirls with a dimensional portal, and the camera rushes forward into it]\n\nStay close, move fast\n[The camera follows Kai as she soars through the Makarzia streets on a motorcycle, alone and focused, weaving through the lights without ever being touched by them, until she rushes directly by the camera]\n\nThe darkness cannot last\n[Ilia sits hugging her legs, gazing up through a window at the starless sky far from her home as rain streaks across the surface]\n\nNo hope, no path\n[Hard cut to Grey walking through a crowd on the Guildhall as if not even seeing them, hands in his pockets, cigarette dangling from his mouth, eyes distant and dead]\n\nBut we've got a dream to catch!\n[Reese fills the screen as she rushes by on her board, the camera whipping past her smiling face as she starts racing across snowy ground]\n\nAnd we cannot wait!\n[The camera pulls out to show Kai, Ilia, and Grey running alongside Reese, grins on their faces as they pelt across the terrain]\n\nTrust the way we're made\n[The camera pulls back further, showing Team RWBY, Team JNR, Qrow and Oscar running with them]\n\nThe sparrow's born to fly\n[Zoom in hard on Reese who goes into a spin and crashes across the face of a Beowolf]\n\nThe mountains tower\n[Grey roars back into the face of one of the Grimm, a feral smile on his face as he slashes it and knocks it aside]\n\nThe river knows to reach the sea\n[Ilia sweeps in, Lightning Lash coiling through the air like liquid and knocking more Grimm back]\n\nThe rain will help the flowers be\n[Kai plants a foot on Ilia's shoulder and leaps up over them, camera curling around to show the rest of Team KACH behind her before she lands]\n\nWe're the same, you and me\n[The camera pans around slowly, showing Kai, Jaune, and Ruby standing back-to-back, surrounded by Grimm]\n\nThe lightning doesn't take advice from anyone\n[Curl and snap camera to Kai slashing through Grimm with Red Legacy]\n\nThe willow doesn't need to learn to stand\n[Curl and snap to Jaune taking a blow from an Ursa against his shield before pushing back and striking with his sword]\n\nThe sun seeks day, we'll find our way\n[Curl and snap to Ruby firing repeatedly into the Grimm before twirling Crescent Rose into scythe form]\n\nAnd we'll catch the dream together someday soon, rising like the moon\n[Ruby whips around, grabbing Kai and Jaune by the hands and hauling them forward as she activates her Semblance, turning into a whirling mass of ruby red, white gold, and flickering scarlet as they rush through the Grimm, knocking them flying before rising into the sky and being silhouette by the moon, before dropping and all three standing in front of their teams before the hard cut]\n\nStand firm, outlast\n[Forward focus on Yang walking steadily forward, eyes narrowed and face determined]\n\nWe won't be beaten by the past\n[Cut to same of Blake, shoulders squared and jaw set]\n\nOne goal, one pact\n[Cut to Ruby, back straight under the weight of the world as she walks]\n\nLooking forward, never back\n[Cut to Weiss, just as determined as the others, faced forward as the snow drifts across her]\n\nAnd we're on our way\n[Curl and pan camera to behind Team RWBY, looking up from behind them at the hovering city of Atlas]\n\nLove's the choice we've made\n[Cut to Ren and Nora embracing atop a hill under the stars]\n\nWe're looking to the sky, the light will guide us\n[Pan to Jaune standing alone, gazing up in a star that's reflected in the gold on his shield]\n\nA rose will grow to be a sea\n[Cut to Ruby standing in front of a vast crowd, thrusting a fist in the air as the crowd does the same]\n\nFrom every life, another leads\n[Jaune lowers his shield as he faces Cinder, eyes narrowed and sword at the ready]\n\nBy the way, we're meant to be\n[Kai stands at the head of her team, no longer alone, every line of her face showing she's ready to stand between good and evil]\n\n[As the music plays, every threat Remnant has throws itself at the assembled fighters, but they keep fighting back, refusing to shatter]\n\nThe sky is turning black, light is fading fast\n[Salem rises from the ground, towering above them until the black of her dress seems to blot everything out]\n\nBut we don't surrender\n[Ruby, Jaune, and Kai are left standing alone in front of the massive Salem, still gripping their weapons]\n\nShattering the night, radiant and bright, armored in splendor, shouting forever!\n[The camera swings around to focus on the three as their Auras light up and glow brighter and brighter in the darkness]\n\nWe are paragons of virtue and glory\n[Taiyang's solemn face appears in the darkness above Ruby]\n\nDeath can't bind our endless story\n[Pyrrha's smiling face appears above Jaune, green eyes lighting up the black]\n\nInfinite\n[Ilia's eager smile appears above Kai]\n\nAnd unbound\n[All three faces rush together, speeding back through hundreds of others, until a woman's face tattooed with the markings of a Beowolf fills the screen, silver eyes opening as she smiles wolfishly]\n\nThe lightning doesn't take advice from anyone\n[Kai's face rushes out of the silver-eyed woman's, fighting on a field of red with her team behind her]\n\nThe willow doesn't need to learn to stand\n[Whirl to Jaune bracing against an energy blast pouring against his shield, Ren and Nora firing over his shoulders]\n\nThe sun seeks day, we'll find our way\n[The field of red shifts, rising to reveal that Ruby is holding everyone on her shoulders, silver gaze turning towards the distance]\n\nAnd we'll catch the dream together someday soon, rising like the moon\n[The rest of Team RWBY fades in beside their leader, similarly looking toward the future as the shattered moon lights the night behind them]\n\n[Rush down as the music plays, showing dark, rippling water displaying the moon in the empty sky as the letters 'Kai's Story - Epic of Remnant' fade in on the screen]\n\n<hr>\n[[Start the episode.|KaiRem2x6]]\n

Yeah, you thought you saw a hint of pale blue flicker through the darkness. Not sure what that means, other than that it's definitely a deviant type. You steady your will, then start forward.\n\n'Why do they glow?' you can't help but think a little distractedly in the back of your mind, despite how suicidal any lack of focus could be right now. 'Seems like every variant xeno I've ever heard of glowed. Not exactly great for an ambush predator to be bioluminescent... it's like someone just thought it looked cooler.'\n\nYou follow the path of the tunnel you saw the creature go into, an area of darker rock that it would probably blend into better... if not for that glow, you think smugly. And... a smell? Yeah, there's definitely a smell to it too. Something that definitely isn't like any normal human or humanoid scent you've smelled before, and yet you can't help but process it as masculine. In fact your body is reacting to it, a little tint of arousal entering the adrenaline rush still pumping through your veins, stiffening your nipples and making your breath come out in little pants between your parted lips. You swallow, doing your best to calm down. Weird side effect, but you can focus through it. You continue on further, to where the rock gets rougher and less shaped or smoothed-out, alert and focused, watching, until-\n\n... Dead end?\n\nYou frown at the bumpy, unbroken stone ahead of you. A dead end? You didn't see any other branches, not even in the ceiling, certainly none big enough for a xeno to get through. How the hell did-\n\nThere's a faint shift in the shadows next to you, and that blue glow you'd been so fixated on looking for pulses to life on the inside of its fang-edged maw and in the short horns rising from the front of its long, crest-mounted head, as well as in sections of the chitinous 'armor' around its chest and middle and rising in spikes from its back. It looks a lot like a 'standard' xenomorph with its long, spidery fingers and high digigrade legs, just more elaborate, and with some portions of its body not actually covered by that chitinous armor and showing flat, rubbery-looking black skin instead. And part of that is the pair of massive balls swaying beneath a sheath at its crotch, shifting as it rises up above you and gives a somehow smug-sounding hiss, showing off the glowing blue inside of its mouth, a waft of blue vapor escaping with the breath and hitting you with more of that strange, alien masculine smell and a fresh surge of arousal.\n\nThe shock, fear, and that heady burst of unwanted excitement all combine to leave you frozen in place for a moment... if the thing was going to kill you now, it would have all the time it needed. But instead it just stands there, its long, thick tail swaying behind it as that sheath at its crotch bulges, showing a blue glow from within before its cock practically comes spilling out and then jutting up, dripping with a layer of something viscous and dripping. It's an obscenity, that's all you could call it... a massive, perverse thing, overengineered with every possible trait to stimulate and insure breeding. A broad, flared tip below the blunted round head, ridges running along top and bottom and sides, a massive knot at the base of it, all dripping with that natural lube that smells of sex and man. A thing genetically designed to fuck a female and impregnate her, with every base bestial adaptation for doing so that nature has conceived, and the sight of it hits your lizard brain like a comet and gives you a very small orgasm just from looking at it.\n\nYour rational brain is trying to get you to turn and attack, while two different animal halves of your brain are shrieking and gibbering at each other like chimpanzees, one desperately wanting to turn and run and the other demanding you submit and get yourself good and bred right now.\n\n<hr>\n[[Attack!|ChiMine]]\n\n[[Run!|ChiMine]]\n\n[[Submit.|ChiMine6x2]]

Hm. The more you think about it though... the more it seems likely that Tanya might have come down here looking for information about the Raptarrans. The value of knowing how to deal with one of the multiverse's more infamous hazards better would probably be quite high, certainly enough to tempt someone who usually worked with a partner to rush down alone.\n\n... And even if that's not what she was down here for, well, nothing says you can't pick up some of that information for yourself on the side.\n\nYou reach out and press the green button on the console, then quickly grip your rifle and raise it to the ready, swinging it around expectantly. ... Okay, not immediately being swarmed by horny bipedal lizards, good so far. You look back at the screen which has changed to text that your translater nanos best-guess as 'Please wait'. So you... wait.\n\nAnd wait.\n\nJust as you're about to give up and either try one of the other consoles and move on, you hear a grinding noise from nearby and whip to face it, rifle snapping to the ready again. Part of the stone wall slides back and then to the side, revealing an alcove and a set of stairs behind it, from which emerges a slightly echoing hooting and clicking noise that somehow sounds... annoyed? You tense even further as you see what is in fact a Raptarran making its way (a bit gingerly?) down the stairs. Anyone that's seen one knows how fear-inspiring they are, basically 'old school' visuals of human-sized (or bigger) velociraptors, featherless and leathery-skinned, often in some shade of brown with black patterns. ... Except this one looks...\n\n... old?\n\nYou can actually see some wrinkles here and there and some sagging in parts of its skin, and the coloration seems faded especially in various spots. It even looks a tad paunchy, with a bit more of a belly than you've ever seen on pictures of them. It lets out another huffy-sounding series of vocalizations as it crosses the little alcove behind the wall and emerges, then lifts its head and actually locks eyes on you. It blinks, slowly a few times, then lets out a snort.\n\n"Oh. A human," it grumbles in a raspy voice. "Well what do you want?"\n\n"... uh..." you reply, blinking a few times yourself. You have never, ever heard of a Raptarran speaking anything other than its own language, which even Guild translater nanos aren't usually able to decipher. You sure as hell hadn't ever heard of one speaking Galacommon like this one just did.\n\n"Rouse me out of bed and can't even form a coherent sentence. Mammals," the Raptarran grouses as it makes its way towards you, seeming unconcerned as you keep your rifle aimed at it. Still, despite your brain yelling at you about the danger, you can't quite bring yourself to pull the trigger on something that's not actually showing any hostility... and, in fact, seems to be limping just a bit on arthritic knees. Still you scramble backwards and keep your weapon aimed as it approaches the console, your body tensing as it presses several buttons on it. But nothing happens other than the Raptarran looking slightly more relaxed as it turns towards you. "... Well?" it demands after a moment.\n\n"Er. You, uh... you speak Galacommon," you say after a moment, since somehow that's still the part you're having the most trouble processing.\n\nHe lets out a snort at that, reptilian nostrils flaring. "Generally we don't because we're too arrogant to lower ourselves to speaking anything but our own tongue, but when 9000 years old you reach, see how much ego you have, hm? Now, are you going to shoot me, or did you have something you wanted?"\n\n<hr>\n[[Shoot him.|ChiPerv]]\n\n[[Ask for help.|ChiPerv3x2]]

"Well," you say, slowly starting to lower your rifle. "I am looking for someone. ... Wait, are you seriously saying you're going to help me?"\n\n"You did press the 'Raptarran Assistance' button," he rasps in a bland tone. "I mean obviously I should be killing and-or raping you at the moment for invading my masters' domain, but frankly I'm few thousand years past giving a shit so I might as well do my job for you, since you're here."\n\n"... Oooookay." Clearing your throat, you straighten up completely and lower your rifle fully. "My name's Michika, by the way," you say, since after this amount of conversation you're starting to feel awkward not giving that basic bit of politeness.\n\n"You would not be able to pronounce my name properly and would find the translation long, awkward, and offensive," the Raptarran says flatly. "So call me whatever you want, I am too old to care."\n\nYou stare at him for a moment, looking him up and down, then shrug and say, "Gramps?"\n\nHe visibly makes a face, scaly lips twisting along his muzzle, before he says, "I suppose I asked for that. Fine. Very well, what the fuck do you want?"\n\n"Like I said, I'm looking for someone. A Human, about my age, probably came down here within the last couple of days? She's been missing a while so I don't know when she might have actually been snagged, so like... two weeks at the most."\n\nGramps grumbles as if it were all a massive inconvenience, but nevertheless turns back to the console and begins typing with his claws, the movements quick and deft despite the three-fingered hands. As he does, you can't help but take the opportunity to look him over, since this is probably the closest anyone's ever been to a Raptarran without being, well, raped and/or eaten. He definitely has that full saurian, almost draconian level of build and innate seeming power to him, despite the signs of aging you can see. ... He also has a truly stupendous set of balls dangling between his thick, powerful, leathery thighs. 'Damn, is that just him, or do they get bigger with age?' you think, unable to help staring a bit.\n\nYou quickly yank your gaze back to his face as he turns his head back towards you. "Yes, I have found the dumb slut Human invader. I suppose you want me to take you to her and help you free her as well?"\n\n"I mean, I'd appreciate it," you admit.\n\nSlowly, his scaly lips curl up in a smirk that shows yellowed, sharp teeth. "How much would you appreciate it?"\n\n"... Um," you murmur, your ears going pink as you suddenly realize he's blatantly ogling your practically naked body.\n\n"It has, after all, been millennia since I had my balls properly drained," Gramps rasps, giving a slightly clicking chuckle before he adds. "Since I'm not actually obligated to help you, I think it's fair to negotiate some payment before I help you reclaim your fuckmate or whatever she is."\n\n"Um," you repeat, swallowing, your brain reeling from the idea and your body, annoyingly enough, starting to get a little excited by it, apparently still easily stimulated from your earlier experience with the slime pool and being so on-display. "So... what exactly, um... what exactly would you consider, ah... fair payment?"\n\n"Well I would consider it fair if you let me turn you into my cum-addled cock-brained rape doll for the next 1000 years, but since we'll instead judge it by your values of 'fairness'," Gramps scoffs. "Three loads. One in your mouth, one between those lovely tits, and one in your cunt. Not necessarily in that order. For that, I will see you to the other, help you retrieve her, and see you safely out. Deal?"\n\n... Yeah that shouldn't be such an attractive offer but considering the circumstances it kind of is. Not just the 'the body is horny even if the spirit is repulsed and confused' circumstances, but considering where you are, how difficult it might otherwise be to find and retrieve Tanya, and then get her (in whatever state she turns out to be in) out of Pervcursor ruins? Honestly, for that much of a coup, you can't help but think that a little bit of paying with sex isn't the worst option in the world. ... Still, oof.\n\n<hr>\n[[Agree.|ChiPerv]]\n\n[[Refuse.|ChiPerv]]\n\n[[Bargain for something else.|ChiPerv]]

Your rifle clatters to the floor as your hands go limp and drop to your sides as you turn towards the creature, your breath coming in shuddery rushes that seem to pull even more of that scent into your brain, fogging it further, flipping the arousal to the forefront but with the fear still very much there, underlaying it, still the very foundation of the desire that pulses through you with every beat of your heart.\n\nIt lets out a low, almost thrumming noise, but doesn't move, other than for its cock to give a heavy twitch and sling out a long, fragrant line of goo from the tip. Shuddering, you know what it wants, and without any further hesitation obey, shrugging out of your coat and letting it drop to the floor. Piece by piece the rest of your clothes join it scattered on the floor, until you sink naked to your knees in front of the towering beast, quivering softly and gazing up at it in supplecation.\n\nIt rewards you by the merest slide forward, presenting that obscene breeding tool to your mouth. You shiver at the intense smell of it and the feel of its slime smearing over your lips, but don't hesitate to open your mouth and start suckling at the blunt rounded head, your tongue lapping over it. Your hands come up, squelching softly in the natural lube coating it, making intensely sexual noises as you begin stroking it, your fingertips running over those ridges, your palms cupping up against the knot each time they approach the base. The xeno lets out a hiss that's somehow deep and rumbling, staring down at you in apparent satisfaction as you display your complete submission by worshiping its member.\n\nYou can feel the slime sliding down your hands, your arms, making your skin tingle, making it feel almost borderline physically pleasurable to be stroking that big, throbbing, glowing, virile fuckstick. The slime sliding down your throat and coating your mouth and tongue is similarly making them more sensitive, until they feel constantly slippery, almost throbbing, making your fuck-fevered mind see little difference between the soft, trembling, dripping confines of your throat and the soft, trembling, dripping confines of your pussy. So you slide your mouth forward, pushing your lips over that broad flare and pressing it in, feeling the little nubs around it brush along and stretch out your cheeks, and then stimulate your newly-sensitive throat as you desperately gulp it down. You bob your head in long strokes, gulping down more of it, feeling the ridges along its sides stimulate your puffy, sensitive, glistening lips and sending shudders of fresh pleasure through you.\n\nYou keep swallowing and gulping the xeno's cock down until your lips are kissed up against that immense knot. You quag audibly around it, your bulged throat showing the outlines of the ridges as you gaze up at it, silently seeking some symbol that you've done well enough, that you've pleased it. For long moments it doesn't come, and you writhe gently on the floor beneath it, gulping harder as you begin to run out of breath, one minute, then two, your whole body shaking, but you refuse to pull back until it gives you permission with another low, rumbling hiss. You pull back, feeling a low-level climax the entire time as the ridges and then the flared head scrape along the inside of your throat-pussy, until you pull back completely, gasping loudly for breath, unable to help coughing a few times and sending splatters of the goo out past your lips to drip down onto your tits.\n\nThe beast continues to loom over you, its cock still dripping, its motions largely still save for the slow lash of its tail. Waiting for you to make the next move...?\n\n<hr>\n[[Continue pleasuring it with your mouth and hands.|ChiMine]]\n\n[[Present yourself for use.|ChiMine6x3]]

You've seen some other streamers doing these (at various levels of innocence) and have been wanting to do some yourself for a while now, with the potential of making it a regular thing. You're not entirely sure how "innocent" you'd keep it yourself, but, well... honestly considering that the whole point is that it's a love hotel, you don't feel too bad about making a deliberately sexual stream in this case. Actually that seems one of the places where it's perfectly acceptable to drop the shame and just have fun with it!\n\nYou bring up the list of various love hotels you've compiled from across the multiverse in preparation for doing this stream. They range from the luxurious in the extreme to the outright disgusting (according to the reviews), from the standard and straightforward to the utterly bizarre. You have to admit you're both excited to try some of these out for a really fun stream (or probably set of streams) and to potentially get to enjoy some fun sexual stuff without feeling like you're derailing the actual intended point of the stream.\n\nAh wait, there's a rub. You do need someone to go with. ... Well you guess technically there's nothing stopping you from reviewing the love hotels solo, but that just feels sad for a lot of reasons. No, you'll need a partner. Maybe not the same partner for every hotel, but you will need one.\n\nLet's see, how to do this? You guess one potential option is just to [[pick up someone from the area at each hotel|AddiLH]]. That would involve some extra work and a bit of luck not getting someone completely inappropriate, but you bet Chat would get a kick out of it, seeing you basically go Full Slut for a few streams. (Honestly you might kind of get a kick out of it yourself.)\n\nThe other obvious option is to [[snag one of your friends for a collab|AddiLH]]. You have a couple of fellow streamers in your same agency that would be good to team up with, as well as a couple of non-streamer friends who are nevertheless used to appearing in your streams. That would probably be the best and most straightforward option for making sure you had someone with some good chemistry to do the review streams with.\n\nOr... sigh... you could turn to [[Chat|AddiLH]]. Holding a big raffle or selection would not only be a good way to get some income and stir up interest, but Chat always does love seeing that they have the potential to get themselves on your stream. (Not like most of the little buggers aren't eager to steal your spotlight anyway, Chat has a tendency to think it's The Chat Show more often than not.) Still, not the worst idea.

*Main: Leo has a new [[escort job|LeoJobListEscort]].\n-Update 2-\n*Main: Addi's starting lineup has been altered and some options have been started.\n-Update 3-\n*Main: Michika can accept the "[[Other|ChiRed1x1]]" injector from Midnight.\n*Main: Leo has a new option on his [[job list|LeoJobList]].

It's the start of another day on Letoria, and you breeze into your shop, looking forward to crafting some new mischief. You gently shoo off Tanya, taking her place behind the counter... she's done excellent work, though, the place is clean and organized, clearly ready to open for business without any extra effort from you. As such, you snap your fingers, the locks on the door undoing themselves and the sign in the window flipping itself around to 'Open'. \n\nAs expected, a steady stream of customers makes its way in... not that many since you are after all a proclaimed specialty store, usually just a couple of them in the store at the time. Most are just seeking standard adventuring gear, or help with mundane problems that don't stir much inspiration... some of them clearly aren't even Hero Souls, just dull people with dull problems (to a Demon Lord, anyway). Still, you do your best to help them out... nothing too showy, but it's good to keep establishing yourself as a place where people can solve problems and find wonders.\n\nEventually, though, your eyes light up as you spot a likely target enter.\n\n<hr>\n<<if $customercouple is "false">>[[Time to pounce!|MaxShop2x1]]<<endif>><<if $customercouple is "true" and $oldguycustomer is not "true">>[[Time to pounce!|MaxShop]]<<endif>>

You say nothing, just snapping Red Legacy down through the air hard enough for it to whistle, stalking forward towards him again as you draw it upward. You know what your Semblance is, now. Something's coalesced inside your mind. And you're going to push it to its limit or die trying.\n\nYou swing forward hard, Adam smirking as he whips his sword up, unsheathing it several inches to meet the block. Then his eyes widen behind the bandanna at the sheer force of the impact, driving him down almost to one knee, the Aura in his legs and arms flickering a bit and the ground cracking underneath him.\n\nYou glower down at him as scarlet crackles of light surround your arms, healing the broken bones and muscles that resulted from swinging a strike way beyond your capacity, insensate to the pain. It's nothing next to what it feels like to lose her.\n\nAdam tries to draw back, but you're already on him, swinging just as hard again, his movements reading less smooth and more desperate as he swings the half-sheathed sword around to block the swipe at his neck, and despite the bright glow along the blade that shows him absorbing the power he still stumbles a bit, giving you an opening to swing a leg up and slam the sole of your boot into his stomach, femur cracking and muscles tearing with the force you put into it, his Aura flashing as he's knocked backwards and onto his back in a skid. Kipping up quickly, he crouches, flickering into a black and red silhouette, launching himself at you incredibly fast, almost a blur, like a bullet from a gun.\n\nYour muscles rip and bleed. Your spine cracks with the speed you're forcing it to turn at. Your arms almost shatter with the force of the blow as you block it, letting the impact flow through your Aura inside Red Legacy to keep the blade from being cut in two flow into the rest of you, bursting blood vessels and cracking practically every bone in your body as you redistribute the force. But you block his slash, leaving him flickering back into full color, his eyes widening behind his bandanna as your entire body crackles with scarlet.\n\n"What?"\n\nYou slam your head forward into his. Your skin breaks, your skull cracks, your vertebrae rattle.\n\nSo do his.\n\nAdam reels back, stumbling and barely holding onto his weapon as you stalk forward him amidst more buzzing red light, whipping your sword back and forth through the air as if deciding where to start taking him apart. Now he's fully on the defensive, desperately blocking with his bare blade, every time he tries to bring the gun-sheath up to fire getting some cut or slash in the opening he makes. Finally he throws away the sheath, bracing the flat of the blade against his hand instead, desperately focusing on blocking, even as your no-limits strikes continue pushing through the borders of his Semblance, starting to crack his own bones and tear his own muscles. But clearly he's decided he has only one chance, to build up energy to the very point of what his own body can take for one last desperate push.\n\nAnd then it comes. He can't risk drawing back with you pressing him so hard, instead he ducks a bit, putting his everything into a single thrust instead of a slash, a thunderous crack accompanying the speed of his sword snapping through the air, not even your speed able to formulate a block at this range as the red blade plunges up through your ribs, pierces directly through your heart, and juts out of your back, gleaming with an extra layer of red in the afternoon sunlight.\n\nAdam smirks, starting to laugh both with smugness and not a little relief as he raises his head, the bandanna having come loose and dropping, revealing one tired but exhilerated blue eye and one forever bonded shut by the horrible brand burned into his flesh. And then the smugness is replaced by shock and fear to see you simply staring back at him with an empty coldness on your face.\n\n"You already broke that," you tell him flatly.\n\nAnd then your fist slams into his face, driving him to the cold pitiless rock below. Red Legacy clattering to the ground, you drop down atop him, sitting on his chest and discarding any and all pretense of a fight as your fists rain down on his face again and again.\n\nYou don't say anything as you do it. You don't make any jokes. You just kill him.\n\nFinally, when you can no longer see anything of the man that tormented your friends and killed your love in the mass above the corpse's neck, you roll off and flump to the side, finally drawing the sword out of yourself and tossing it aside before sitting with knees drawn up, staring at nothing numbly as the last reserves of your Aura crackle gently around your knuckles and fingers and the wound in your chest, leaving you drained both body and soul.\n\nKai? It's Blake's voice that calls to you over the psycomm. You probably locked everyone else out without thinking about it. Are you there? Are you alright?\n\nYeah, you send back simply, too tired, to empty to even think.\n\n... Is it done? Blake asks, almost tenatively.\n\nYeah. It's done. You look aside at the splayed, limp body of the man that hurt you all so much. Took so much from you. It hurt.\n\n<hr>\n[[The End.|KaiWeiss2axEnd]]

I'm sorry, Pyrrha. It's time.\n\n... Yes. You're right. Thank you... so much, the consciousness that you built whispers back to you before drifting and fading away, turning back into your memories and knowledge of another person.\n\nYou're pretty sure Jaune realizes when it's you in his arms and not Pyrrha. He breaks the kiss and draws back some, looking at you for long moments, his face unreadable.\n\n"I'm sorry," you whisper. But in your voice, not hers.\n\n"How did you... do that?" he asks just as softly, blue eyes fixed on you half in wonder, half in shock.\n\n"It's... something I've suspected I could do for awhile," you murmur, lowering your head a little. "Because of what the slavers did to me. The way they wiped my mind and I... just kind of built 'Kai' on top of the empty spaces," you continue quietly, looking away from him. "I thought I could take what I knew about Pyrrha and bring her out for awhile." You swallow hard. "Honestly... I was a little worried I might not be able to come back. That I might get lost in Pyrrha, or just go blank again. But... I had to try."\n\n"... Why?" he replies softly. A little hurt. A little lost. But not accusing. And still holding you in his arms.\n\n"Her mom was in so much pain, and I wanted her to have some... closure." You look up at him again, smiling sadly as your eyes glisten. "To be able to ask the things she didn't get to ask. Say what she didn't get to say. I went away for a little while and let her and Pyrrha have a moment... have a goodbye."\n\n"And... kissing me?" he asks uncertainly, lowering his head a bit, his shaggy blonde bangs brushing against your hair.\n\nYou laugh quietly, voice shaking a little. "... That wasn't closure. That was just because she loved you with every bit of her."\n\n"... Oh," he whispers back, in the voice of someone who has had his heart vindicated and broken at the same time.\n\n<hr>\n[[Draw back.|KaiRem6x1]]\n\n[[Kiss him.|KaiRem5x2]]

[[Music.|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vv7e3E6fgfY]]\n\nWithout a word or hesitation, you lean up and press your lips to his, your eyes slipping closed as you press yourself to him. You can feel his shock, imagine those pretty blue eyes going wide. But his arms tighten, warm and strong around you, one of the few times in your adult life you've ever felt safe. \n\nWhen you settle back a bit, breaking the kiss, he blinks a few times. "Did... did you bring Pyrrha out again?"\n\n"No." You smile up at him. Your smile. Your eyes dancing. Your voice telling him, "That was all me."\n\n"Oh," he says softly again.\n\nAnd then he's the one kissing you. Pulling you to him, drawing you to him, his lips on yours, his scent in your nose, his pulse thundering in your ears, his fingers pulling the borrowed binder out of your ponytail and letting your hair tumble free as your own again. He lifts you up, draws you to him, kissing you without shame or hesitation as you do the same to him. You can feel all the misery crumbling away from him, all the feeling that he'd never love again, that his heart would never beat again, the feeling that he was meant to be alone. Because inside you all of the jaded disdain, all the feeling used up and worn out, all the feeling that you'd never be worth loving is catching fire and burning to nothing, flying away from you like ash in the city streets.\n\nIt's time to move forward.\n\nYou don't even remember making your way from the park to the little hotel. But then you and Jaune are in the room, and you're falling to the bed with him on top of you. The two of you can barely stop kissing long enough for you to find the clasps of his armor as he tugs at your coat, leaving you torn between wiggling out of it and trying to get him out of that hard metal shell. And then the breastplate is clattering to the floor... and you can't help but let out a burst of breathless, delighted laughter.\n\n"Oh shut up," Jaune murmurs warmly against your neck, pausing to lift up and pull the source of your amusement up and off over his head, the hoodie falling to the floor with the cute bunny face still resting face up.\n\nBut there's nothing funny about the way he's kissing you. Nothing funny about the need in his movements as he slides his hands across your belly, up under your top, peels it off of you and touches your breasts, draws gasps you've never heard yourself make from you. Because you've never had a man touch you like this, need you like this... not because he wants a woman. Because he needs you. Because he loves you. You tangle your fingers in his hair, finding yourself actually trembling as he kisses your breasts, touches you, loves you.\n\n'He loves me,' you think, finding yourself sobbing softly, shuddering under his touch, tears sliding down your cheeks and falling into your hair where it's spread on the pillow. 'He loves me, he loves me, he can't love me, this is wrong, this is-'\n\n"Kai?" Jaune lifts his head from your breasts, concern etched on every bit of his face. "Are you okay?"\n\n"Jaune," you reply, voice cracking. "I'm... I'm not her. I'm so far from her," you weep softly. "I'm not good, or noble, or true... I'm no hero. Not like her. I'm just some street punk, some nobody slave who got lucky and stumbled out of it. I... I've hurt people, I've done things, I've... I've sold my body, I'm not... I don't deserve someone like you," you sob. "I don't deserve anyone."\n\n"... I don't care who you were," Jaune answers, sliding up to stroke his fingers over your hair. "Because I know who you are."\n\nYou draw a shuddery breath, almost hiccuping as you stare up at him. "... Who am I?" you whisper, honestly not sure anymore.\n\nHis fingers trace along the line of your hair, down your cheek through the tears, along your chin, not a bit of the boy in this man's face, not a bit of sadness in his smile now as he whispers, "You're my hero."\n\nAnd then he's kissing you again, and you can't deny it anymore. He loves you.\n\nYou love him.\n\nYou'll never be able to escape the idea that maybe it was seeing him through her eyes. That it was the spark of her fiery, unending love for him that set flame to yours. You don't care. You saw him through her eyes, and it was all the same things you'd seen there, and maybe that's why it just started to make sense. You don't care. You love Jaune Arc. You love him with all of your heart and soul, and you never have to feel like you aren't worth anything again.\n\nSomewhere in all of it your pants and his have dropped to the floor, and he's moving atop you, moving inside you, and it has simply never felt like this. You have never been in love before. You have never made love before. You thought those were things for other people. You thought that there was nothing for you but fun, but stimulating nerves. But now the man you love is actually inside you, and it has never felt like this before. You find yourself barely able to breathe, gasping hard with his thrusts, your hands clutching to him as if for dear life. Part of you, the part that is still clinging to the you that did not enter this hotel room with your lover is trying to critique his technique, snark about his pacing. And it is drowned out, crushed, and devoured by all of you that does not care because you are making love. You get to make love. You get to love someone and they are loving you with all of their heart and soul because you are worth it. And when he shudders on top of you and you can feel him hot and pulsing inside you cum harder than you ever have, because you have never made love.\n\nAnd now you have.\n\nIn the aftermath he holds you. He does not stop holding you as the time ticks away on the clock, as you hold him, as you both bathe in the warm silence of having finally moved into a new day together. You both jump a little as your scroll starts bleeping, followed closely by his. Kissing his forehead, since you're currently closest to the side of the bed, you reach up and pick up your scroll. "Yeah?"\n\n"Kai?" Blake's voice asks. "Is everything okay? We started looking for you and Jaune since it's been awhile, Grey and Ren and Yang got back a little while ago."\n\n"Yeah, Jaune's with me, we're fine," you assure her, smiling.\n\nYou weren't aware that there was anything in your voice to clue her in, but there's a moment of silence before you hear Blake clear her throat. "R-right. Um, I'll tell everyone you'll be back when... you're back. Right. Bye." With that the line cuts.\n\nYou glance at the scroll and raise your eyebrows, then set it down. "Sounds like we're gonna be one of those couples," you mutter as you settle back down beside him.\n\n"Uh... yeah?" Jaune blushes some at that, even as he starts stroking his fingers down your bare back. "'Those' couples?"\n\n"Apparently Blake could tell we'd been fu-" You hesitate, not over the profanity... but because you can't quite bring yourself to call what you just did that. "She knew what we were doing just from one sentence."\n\n"Wow." Jaune blinks a few times, then blushes deeper. "Um, hey Kai, did I... do okay?"\n\nYou snort a bit, instantly pecking him on the lips. "Ask me when I'm not completely drunk on loving your silly ass, Arc."\n\n"... I do love you," he whispers, his fingers stroking up and down your side.\n\n"Yeah?" you ask, unable to help a bit of that suspicion creep in, a little of that inability to understand how anyone could love you the way he seems to love you.\n\n"Kai... you saw someone hurting, the mother of a woman you never met, and you risked your mind, your life, just to give her some peace." Jaune props himself up on his arm, looking down at you in wonder. "How do you expect me not to fall in love with someone who'd do that?"\n\n"... Oh," you whisper, actually finding yourself blushing of all damn things. "... I love you too. Y'know. As said," you add, squirming a little.\n\nJaune laughs softly. "You know, I could ask you the same question. 'Yeah?'" he echoes, bringing his fingers up to trace over your hair again.\n\n"... Because you're good. And you're kind," you answer quietly. "Because your eyes light up when you see a silly little toy, and because they're harder than steel when you put yourself between someone else and something trying to hurt them. Because you actually believe in heroes. You believe in heroes, and you want to be one. And because even though you're all that..." You can feel tears threatening to escape again. "Even though you're all of that, you apparently still love me."\n\nHe brushes away the tears. And he kisses you again. And he makes love to you again.\n\nAnd again you start to feel you're worth loving.\n\nAs the two of you walk back to his sister's, hand in hand, Jaune smiles at you happily... then looks flustered. "Um... oh, geez, I uh... we didn't, uh..."\n\n"I have an implant, it's fine," you assure him with a soft snicker. "I can turn it on or off with my comm."\n\n"Oh. Oh, okay," he says with a relieved exhale, nodding. "... It was on, right?"\n\n"Probably," you declare breezily.\n\n"Probably?!" he squeaks.\n\nLaughing, you lean around to punch him lightly on the arm. "It was on! The absolute terror is totally complimentary, though, Arc."\n\n"S-sorry," he huffs, putting a hand to his chest. "I'm just noooot ready for that yet." \n\n"... Yet, huh?" you say just the tiniest bit wistfully, looking up at the half-shattered moon.\n\n"Do you... do you think that's something you'd want, someday?" he asks, giving your hand a gentle squeeze.\n\n<hr>\n[["That's the future I want."|KaiRem]]\n\n[["We'll have to see how things play out."|KaiRem]]

"You're not... quite what I was expecting," the client hedges, shifting uncomfortably in his chair at admitting what's on his mind.\n\n"Yeah, we get that a lot," you reply with a grin.\n\n"Sir, I assure you, Doonian Elite Solutions is perfectly capable of dealing with this problem," Miranda says with a far more diplomatic tone and smile, holding her hands out to indicate the three of you. "As to our makeup, well, it's quite simple... we're a family business."\n\n"Ah, well, it's not that," the client hedges again, even if it was rather clearly 'that'. "It's more just... there's only three of you?"\n\n"Honestly these two could have handled it by themselves, I'm quite certain," Ico assures him in a friendly, maternal tone, smiling as she lays a hand alongside her cheek. "But I do like to get out of the house occasionally, you know?"\n\n"... Ah. I... see. Well, you do come highly recommended..."\n\n"100% completion rate in the last two years, one of the only MCs that's got that distinction," you point out.\n\n"... Very well then, I accept you as the mercenaries of record. Please, just... just keep them from hurting this town anymore, we don't know what else to do."\n\n"Don't worry, sir, I promise you that we'll have this wrapped up quickly, and without a single one of your people getting hurt in the process," Miranda assures him as both of you rise in sync.\n\n"Yeah, we generally prefer to take the fight to them, way less collateral damage that way. I mean, for you." Winking at him, you round one side of the couch while Miranda goes around the other, Ico bowing briefly to the client before following behind you. "Hey, dibs on the head bad guy."\n\n"Oh? Do you think you can take this one on your own?" Miranda shoots back teasingly as she glances over. "He's supposed to be quite the quick draw."\n\n"Psh, I can handle it."\n\n"Without winding up still being hit by bullet fragments?"\n\n"Dragon dammit if you'd just tell me how to do it right...!"\n\n"Girls," Ico says evenly, the hint of a smile playing on her lips as she reaches out to press a hand atop each of your heads and rub warningly. "Be professional while we're still in the client's home."\n\n"Yes, Mother," you and Miranda chorus semi-sarcastically, rolling your eyes in unison... then grinning at one another and going for the fist-bump as you stroll down the front steps.\n\n"Whatever, job's good as done."\n\n"Mm-hm. We'll wrap it up in no time," Miranda agrees.\n\n"This is not a family that fails, for certain," Ico agrees warmly, smiling serenly as she reaches back to loosen her sword in its sheath.\n\nYou grin at that, glancing at both of them. No... no, this family had to succeed at a lot just to be a family. You're not gonna fail it any time soon.\n\nBecause you know it won't fail you.\n\nDeath of Doonian end - The family business

"No, no, stay a bit longer," he says genially, smiling, the tip of his forked tongue flitting out briefly.\n\n"Ah, no, I... I just kind of acted on impulse and-"\n\n"It's fiiiine," he coos, reaching up to cup your chin and tilt your head up, making you blush a bit as he leans in and stares into your eyes.\n\n"It's... just... I mean..." Wow, his eyes are actually really intense. You'd taken them for a fairly solid red except for the slit black pupils, even if they were that really shiny, vaguely dappled color, but they're actually all sorts of little different reds, or maybe some of them are purples, or maybe some of them are blues, it's really kind of intense to have them on you, very attention-grabbing.\n\n"You'll stay for a little while, hmmmm?" he murmurs, his voice feeling like it goes right through your body.\n\n"I... guess I could... stay for a little while," you answer, voice growing a bit faint. Why are his eyes so many colors? But... do you really care? They're sooooo pretty. So many colors, maybe every color, all bright and dark at the same time.\n\n"You'd be really happy to stay, wouldn't you?" he whispers sweetly as he lifts you up and off his lap to set you on your feet, his loads dripping out of you and onto the floor as you wobble a bit in place, though his eyes stay locked to yours, his head bobbling about a bit to maintain his gaze.\n\nA slow smile curls your lips, a warm, content feeling growing in you to go with the feeling of warmth streaking down your thighs and taint. "Yeah, I'd love to stay," you murmur contentedly.\n\n"Of course you would. Why don't you lay down on the bed for me on your back?"\n\n"Okay~," you coo, stepping forward to crawl up onto the bed and then roll onto your beck. He leans in above you the moment you're in place, those big, pretty eyes of his locking on yours again. \n\n"Now be a good pet and spread your legs nice and wide for me."\n\n"Okay~," you repeat, reaching down to slip your hands under your knees, lifting them and spreading them open, holding yourself open and on display for him.\n\n"Good girl," he coos, sliding himself on top of you, settling briefly onto his knees. Without looking away from your face, he reaches down and nudges his cocks back into place at your holes before pushing in again, slow and smooth. Slow and smooth is how he begins fucking you again, too, slow, steady motions, his whole body moving with perfect sinuous rhythm atop you. "Now, what's your name, pet?"\n\n"Michika Hajimaru," you purr back, without hesitation, smiling up at him.\n\n"And who are you?"\n\n"I'm a GIPSE mercenary here on a job," you answer in a dreamy, contented tone.\n\nHe actually pauses briefly at that, his strokes stopping and his cocks giving a slight twitch inside you, as if betraying his surprise. But then he resumes the slow, steady pumps of his hips. His cocks feel good, but it's almost background noise to the pleasure of gazing into his eyes. Looking into his eyes is like floating on the surface of an immense, beautiful, colorful lake, and at the same time being sucked down deep into it so that the warm water surrounds and caresses your whole body, and his strokes into your pussy and ass are like the gentle ripples and current of the lake that relax you and draw you this way and that.\n\n"What job are you here on?" he says, just a faint hint of urgency in his otherwise smooth, faintly sibilant voice.\n\n"I'm supposed to retrieve something Captain Huwhin stole," you explain with a happy sigh. It just feels wonderful to tell him what he wants to know, it's just as good to give him whatever information he wants as it is to get his cocks inside you or to feel his eyes on you. He seems to relax a bit at that, his strokes turning a bit smoother and more languid, making you give another happy sigh at just how wonderfully relaxing and fulfilling it is to obey him and be his fucktoy. "An important piece of a shipment, for a really high price. Even more if I can get the rest of the shipment back."\n\n"A high price, hm? How much?"\n\nYou tell him, and he pauses in his thrusting again for just a moment. When he resumes it's still slow, steady, and gentle, but with a bit more enthusiasm. "Alright, Michika, my girl, my pet, listen to me carefully."\n\n"Okaaaay," you answer breezily, in pure happiness. You'd love nothing more than to listen to him and get fucked by him and stare into his eyes forever.\n\n"My name is Tyrn, and I am your master," he informs you in a warm, possessive, rather smug tone. "You belong to me. You will obey me. Serving me and making me happy is your purpose in life. You love me and serve me. Do you understand?" he urges gently as he continues that slow, steady rhythmic pump of his hips, driving into your pussy and ass like the steady beat of a metronome, his eyes glittering and drawing you deeper in.\n\n<hr>\n[["Master. Obey. Serve. I understand."|ChiPir]]\n\n[["Master~! Belong to you~! Making you happy is my purpose in life!" ♥|ChiTyr1x1]]

'Oh this is suuuuuch a bad idea,' you think with a delighted, eager shiver as you pad barefoot across the concrete, your tits bobbling gently in their slight containment with every step, your naked body sliding against the inside of the coat. 'I'm gonna get myself in so much trouble,' you add almost dreamily as you pad down the stairs on the other side to the lower floor.\n\nFrom here you can't see into any of their rooms quite as well, and they've moved out from in front of the windows for the moment. But you still remember which was which...\n\n<hr>\n[[Go to the guy's door.|ChiPir6x5]]\n\n[[Go to the girl's door.|ChiPir]]\n\n[[Go to the futa's door.|ChiPir]]\n\n[["... Hey!"|ChiPir]]

You take a deep breath, then move over to the leftmost door and raise a hand, knocking firmly. There's no immediate response, but a few seconds later the door swings open, revealing him standing there... still completely and utterly shamelessly naked.\n\nFuck, up close he's even better and, admit it, more exotic-looking. Those broad shoulders, toned muscles, all the little dappled colors of his hide, the way the bumps of his scales gleam like little glass beads in the cheap motel lighting. And those cocks... they're not quite as human-looking as they appeared from a distance, they're an almost candy-like lime green, rounded and sleek at the ends with the shafts bearing long sections of bumps and low, shallow ridges, the pair of them hanging down slightly one on top of the other over a pair of large purple-scaled balls that, in your current state, look like they'd be fantastic to just rub your face against for hours.\n\n"Yeah?" he says in a dismissive, mildly annoyed tone, blinking iridescent red eyes at you.\n\nFor answer, you hit the multi-release for your jacket clasps and let it drop to the ground, revealing your completely bare body, with its fat, stiff nipples and your plumped-up pussy drooling down your thighs.\n\n"Oh," he says in a much more pleasant tone, a smile curling the lips of his blunt, squarish muzzle.\n\nSeconds later you're on your knees at the side of his bed, one of his cocks in your mouth and the other being stroked by one of your hands, your other hand cupping and fondling his balls almost worshipfully. He's surprisingly warm... you're not sure if Kobrinians are actually warm-blooded or if it's hot in the room, since you're so hot yourself... and his bulging, alien cock feels sooooo good sliding between your lips and along your tongue, nudging into your throat as you work yourself lower. You stroke his other cock, feeling it hard and stiff and sliding all those bulges under your palm and fingers, dribbling a steady flow of slightly sweet-smelling pre down onto your hand. \n\nHe lets out a soft, thrumming, satisfied sound, one of his hands resting on your head, clawlike nails scratching gently along your scalp like you might pet an affectionate puppy. His tail flicks back and forth, then coils around one of your thighs, the agile and surprisingly strong slender tip of it starting to flick teasingly along your pussy and pucker, flicking back and forth along your wet folds or teasing in little circles at your ass, making you wiggle your hips excitedly and moan around his prick.\n\n"Been quite a while since I had a welcome to port like this," he chuckles, giving his tailtip a very deliberate flick across your clit, making you squeal happily around his upper cock and cum a little at the same time. "Did you just squirt on me, too?" he adds teasingly. "My my, someone's in quite the mood."\n\nYou slide your mouth up off his cock, panting heavily as you look up at him, your eyes wild and hair sticking to your face here and there with sweat. "Fuck me."\n\n"Mmm... wellllllll... okay," he answers with a chuckle.\n\nHe unwinds his tail from your thigh and wraps it around your waist instead, squeezing you firmly as he draws you up. It feels like he might not quite be able to lift your entire weight with it alone, but if not then he's not far off. But once he's pulled you up enough he grabs your ass and hauls you the rest of the way up with his hands gripping it, pulling you over his lap and up against him, your tits pillowing against his strong chest. He takes just a moment to kiss you, pressing his scaly lips to your hot, slightly puffed-up ones, his tongue darting into your mouth. It's slender, probably about half again the width of one of his fingers, but apparently just as agile and strong in proportion as his tail, wrapping around your own tongue and squeezing possessively, and even thrusting down your throat a few times as you writhe and grind against him needfully.\n\nThen his hands lower you and his tail pulls you, finally sliding that big, inhuman upper prick into your needy, greedy, sodden little cunt. You cum almost instantly, your eyes rolling slightly and your body shaking as you gush all down the rest of the bulbous, bulging length. He makes another amused sound, then just keeps hauling you down, spreading your pussy further around him even as it quivers and clenches, his lower cock sliding along the cleft of your ass. He continues to claim your mouth, taking and tasting and exploring every part of his new eager little plaything's body he can reach as you drape your arms around his shoulders just under the bottom folds of his hood.\n\nHis hands and tail begin moving in perfect coordination, working you on his cock like a masturbation sleeve, just one with nice tits to press against him and big asscheeks to rub around his other cock and who really really really wants to be used. He's using a quick, rhythmic pumping motion that suits you just fine, your body falling into moving with his motions like you'd been born to fuck him. You've already cum twice by the time he pauses a bit and lifts you up further, breaking the kiss so he can tilt you just a bit over his shoulder. One hand comes off your butt and he uses it to nudge his lower cock into place, the now thoroughly pre-coated member's blunt tip nudging up against your pucker. Then he pulls you back down onto him, impaling both your holes now.\n\nYou slide back, leaning away to let yourself sink further onto him, resting against his tail with your hands on his brawny upper arms. You do your best to work yourself on his cocks as much as you can, your tits now bouncing freely now with your back arched the way it is. He leans forward, opening his mouth wide and clamping it down over one of your breasts, just almost completely enclosing it top and bottom. You can feel that long, strong tongue coiling around your breast, squeezing it and tugging on it as if hoping to milk it into his throat. You're making plenty of noise now, yowling and moaning full-throatedly as well as causing plenty of creaking and thumping from the bed. Definitely all the neighbors nearby will know you're getting your brains fucked out thoroughly and well, though in your current state you couldn't care less. If anything, if you happened to urge three or four more people to show up and fuck you that would be fine too.\n\nThe Kobrinian releases your breast and flicks his tongue upward between them as they jiggle freely instead, at the same time delivering a good hard smack to one of your asscheeks. You yowl sluttily and cum as if on command, your pussy and ass clenching around him, molding to all those bumps and bulges and milking him. But he refuses to join you yet, instead having you ride him right through your orgasm, driving it on harder and longer until it genuinely feels like you'll lose your mind, like your brains will start gushing out of your pussy with all the rest of it. Every time you start to cum down he spanks you again, presumably to keep those squeezes and flutters around his pricks out, making you buck and twist and yowl like creature gone rabid. \n\nBy the time he finally yanks you down hard and thrusts himself up into you as deep as he can, your entire body is dripping with sweat and you're completely eyes-rolled, tongue-lolled fucked stupid. But at the feeling of his cocks swelling inside you, his balls lifting up and pressing against you, that flood of surprisingly warm cum inside you, you climax so hard your brain goes completely white, your mouth open in a silent cry of pleasure as your whole body vibrates like a guitar string, his own deep, thrumming moan of release sounding loud in the suddenly quiet room, where you can almost hear the spurt and squelch of his seed flowing into your pussy and ass.\n\nBoth of you are left huffing and puffing as you start to wind down a little, with you slowly sitting up on his lap as you gradually come back to yourself, your hands still resting on his biceps, trying to think of what to say.\n\n<hr>\n[["So. I'm Chika."|ChiPir]]\n\n[["I'm starving."|ChiPir]]\n\n[["Ah... I should probably go."|ChiPir6x6]]

"I'm good, thanks!" you add, hoping you don't sound too frantic.\n\n"Very well, you can get more towels at the front desk if you need," the voice says before you hear footsteps and the trundle of the cart, and then a further-down knock and call of "Housekeeping!"\n\nYou slump back onto the bed, then let out a breathless laugh. God, what's even happening...?\n\nAfter a few minutes you get up and wash your hands, then pour a full glass of the hydrater. It's at least fairly cool now, allowing you to sip it without a problem... you feel a little less frantic too, maybe the maid jarring you out of your spell helped. Though... your body definitely still feels flushed, and hot, and sensitive. You glance down to confirm what you can feel, that your nipples are still as stiff as little chunks of glass. You flick one with your finger and shiver at the surge of pleasure it causes. Yeah, you're still... whatever it is.\n\nYou sit down on the bed and briefly ponder the light that's already faded to late evening outside the curtains. You had a late start anyway, but looks like a good chunk of the day has disappeared while you were in your little lust-haze. Then you blink and glance aside at the sound of a feminine giggle and an audible thump from the wall beside you. It's followed by a man's voice, too muffled by the wall to be understandable, but then some more giggling... followed by low but audible moaning and more creaking of the bed.\n\nYour face flushes, and half because your instinct is to lean in closer and listen, you get up and head to the other side of the room instead, just to gather your thoughts a little. Where you almost immediately hear a man's low, warm voice muffled through the wall... and a second one of similar tone and pitch following it, along with more creaking bedsprings.\n\nUh... shit.\n\nTrying not to lose your mind again, you scurry over to the window and try to distract yourself by peeking out... only to find that at least four of your across-the-courtyard neighbors haven't bothered to close their blinds. Almost directly across from you there's what looks like a Human guy reclined in a relaxed way on the bed, completely naked and lightly stroking his half-hard cock as the light of the television flickers over his well-built body. \n\nDown on the next level, there are three rooms lit up all in a row, with similar-looking individuals occupying each... Kobrinians, you're pretty sure, considering the serpentine appearance and the broad 'hoods' that spread around their heads and come down to the back of their necks at their shoulders. They're all purple with black and red markings, distinct but close enough you'd bet they're siblings. The one on the left is a guy, going through some light stretches, already stripped off to reveal his muscular humanoid body and all those scale patterns... and the pair of very large, semi-humanoid cocks swaying and dangling above his balls. The next one over is a female Kobrinian, currently in the process of undressing as well as talking on the comm, showing off full breasts and, as she turns around to bend over and pick up the blouse she didn't quite get to the bed, a large, round ass below the base of her long, agile-looking tail. The third also looks female, leaning out her opened window and having a smoke, her own large breasts restrained by a black sports bra style top. Then she flicks the cigarette away and stands up and stretches, revealing the bulge in the front of her matching black athletic panties. You're pretty sure she only has one, but it's bigger than either one of her brother's (singly, at least).\n\n'... I should make dinner,' you think faintly, even as your eyes roam across the visual feast being presented, and the sounds of the couples on either sides of you getting further into foreplay fill your ears. 'I... I really should eat something... I'm hungry... I... I shouldn't go out there...'\n\n<hr>\n[[Eat something.|ChiPir]]\n\n[[Go out there.|ChiPir6x3]]

Aliens, hmmm? Well you don't know of any such thing yourself, but you do occasionally like to make bright lights fly through the sky to freak people out. Which is experience to do with the most important aspect of what you'd do with this club of people... screwing with them!\n\nYou trot up the stairs and over to the room listed as belonging to the club, only to hear raised voices. Oho? Oho oho ohoooooo? Strife already? Well, not a huge amount of strife, they're not shouting, just talking very emphatically to each other. Humans have so many levels of being agitated, it's one of the most delighted things about prodding and poking at them as you do, finding new nuances of them being upset. But let's see, what's got these humans all riled up? You lean in, placing two ears (one human-ish, one fox) to the door.\n\n"I'm telling you, you're being ridiculous!" one voice, a male's, says. "You've rotted your brain with too much anime!"\n\n"Convergent evolution is a perfectly acceptable theory to apply to extraterrestrial life!" answers a female's voice. "Given a similar environment for life to develop in, it's not unreasonable for them to look like us but with a few other traits!"\n\n"There's no such thing as space catgirls!"\n\n"There could so be space catgirls! I mean, human-like aliens are still a distinct possibility! Just because you own all those books of HR Giger artwork doesn't mean the only form for an extraterrestrial is some... shambling pile!"\n\n"Akkun, would you tell her she's being ridiculous?"\n\n"I dunno, I mean... I think she's right that a humanoid body seems likely enough for aliens, y'know?" answers another male voice. "Just they'd probably still be waaaay different from us and have such a super different society that communication might be futile. Like they might not even recognize us as fellow people, y'know?"\n\n"Oh please."\n\n"They'd live in a society!"\n\n"Well, if you'd like to hear my opinion," a second female voice cuts in.\n\n"Oh we've all heard your opinion thank you very much."\n\n"We don't need any more of your talk about the Singularity."\n\n"Oh so everyone else gets to state the same opinions they've said over and over again anyway, but I don't?" Silence falls for a few seconds after that, until she says, "Thank you. Now, any race sufficiently advanced enough to have developed interstellar travel would clearly have undergone a Singularity-like event. That means that they likely would have abandoned their flesh and blood bodies, whatever they looked like, and taken on more mechanical forms. It would certainly be a way to get around the physical stresses of space travel."\n\n"... Unless their physical forms were so different from ours that they didn't undergo stresses like that in the first place!"\n\n"More likely if they were that advanced, they'd genetically rebuild their bodies as they liked, an idealized form that was, dare I say, cuter!"\n\n"Or just weirder 'cause it was more suited to their freaky incomprehensible alien world."\n\nThe four fall to squabbling like that. Sounds like this is probably how they spend most of their club meetings. ... How delightful! There's already a source of discord, and they've given you plenty of wonderful ideas! You could always go ahead and prank them now, essentially by giving one of them precisely what they asked for... or, you could infiltrate their club as a new member, and gradually work with and amongst them to cause longterm mischief! Konkonkon, so many delightful ideas!\n\nLet's see, concentrate a little, get their names... let's see, the first boy's name, the one who believes in Lovecraftian aliens is Akio, and you glean that he's the club president. The girl who believes in aliens that look like cute girls with animal bits is Chiaki. The guy who wants inscrutable rubber forehead aliens is Eiji, and the robot fetishist is Junko. Now, what to do, how to prank?\n\n<hr>\n[[Fulfill Akio's idea.|KonET]]\n\n[[Fulfill Chiaki's idea.|KonET]]\n\n[[Fulfill Eiji's idea.|KonET]]\n\n[[Fulfill Junko's idea.|KonET]]\n\n[[Join the club instead.|KonET]]

Welp. Time for leg day, apparently.\n\nYou yank open the door to the stairwell and race up it... it's not quite as fancy as the exterior, but it is quite clean, which would also lead you to believe it hasn't been used much and hopefully means that Studfinder will have forgotten about it entirely... you doubt she exactly takes the stairs if she can help it, she's ancient, at least in her mid-forties. You do your best to keep your momentum up, propelling yourself forward and half-leaping up multiple stairs, and practically launching yourself through the door at the top into a run and then a kick to the door at the end. A risky move, but-\n\nLuckily, the door turns out to only be 'not-particularly-famous rich people' reinforced and not 'supervillain' reinforced and you feel only a bit of jarring up your leg as the lock setting breaks and the door smashes inward, letting you rush through. The minute you do, a massive form swings to face you, letting out a thunderous whinny, his bare (and massive) cock and balls swinging heavily with his motion.\n\nHe's a towering slab of muscle, leaving you wondering just what the hell he looked like before the injection (admittedly in more ways than one), with an almost entirely horselike head with a sandy blonde mane and rich chocolate-colored hide. He's built like a linebacker, with hefty, thick arms and legs and massive black hooves, and hung like, well, a horse, with massive low-hanging balls, and a shaft with a slightly flared head hanging down over them, a bunched-up dark sheath at the base of it. His dark eyes are tinted red, his equine nostrils flared, his thick, hoof-knuckled fingers curling with every breath as he clearly prepares to hurl himself at you. Off to the side you can just barely see Studfinder's inert form sprawled behind a bit of furniture, hopefully just knocked out.\n\nThe transformed man looks like he's about to charge you any moment, what now?\n\n<hr>\n[[Psh, it's just a suped-up model, you'll take him down super fast!|MarSS13x2]]\n\n[[Maybe be careful, he's reeeally big.|MarSS]]\n\n[[Sigh. Save the villain.|MarSS]]\n\n[[Try to talk him down.|MarSS]]

No... no, definitely best to go back to your room until this passes. ... Although it might be a good idea to grab a few things before you head back. Partly just in case it wears off and you can go about your day normally after all, and partly to prove you have sufficient self control over your reactions, if only to yourself.\n\nBy the time you locate a convenience store, you're almost certain it's not just going to go away. In fact, if anything it's getting worse, and just the light rubbing of your top and shorts against you is starting to drive you insane. You're having lewd, lurid fantasies about practically every person you pass on the street and then in the aisles, and you can tell you must look like a bit of a wreck from the half concerned, half interested look the store's clerk is giving you. (God you wanna slide behind that counter and get on your knees and suck his dick for the rest of the shift, you don't care if he has a big dick that would choke you half unconscious trying to swallow or a little one so that you could get it all in your mouth easy and maybe his balls too and just kneel there sucking the whole thing and OKAY ENOUGH.) You force yourself to act normal as you select a gallon jug of hydration solution (something in the back of your mind says you'll need it, or maybe it's just that your pussyjuice is starting to leak out of your shorts and down your thighs that says you'll want to replenish fluids), and some microwave meals so you don't have to go out for a while. You also select a simple, cheap, borderline disposable black bikini in a little bag, on the vague idea that maybe a dip in the pool at some point would help cool you down.\n\nYou fidget your way through paying, and rush out of the store before the clerk can do anything like asking you out because you know you'd say yes. (You might also say yes if he straight-up asked you to bend over the counter, at this point.) When you get back to the room you barely manage to slam the door before you throw down the bags and your coat, shoving your shorts down and kicking them away before flinging yourself on the bed. You frantically jam two fingers into your pussy and start slamfucking yourself, the pads of your fingers rubbing over your engorged clit and disappearing with loud, wet noises between your heavily plumped-up pussylips. It only takes four or five thrusts before you scream out "FUCK!" and thrust your hips up hard, actually squirting past your fingers as you cum, your whole body trembling like a taut wire and your eyes rolling as your teeth clench.\n\nYou hang there for a moment before slumping, panting... and then starting to rub yourself again. Sliding your fingers out to focus on frigging your clit, moaning and gasping shamelessly, working yourself up again, before slipping your fingers back in and resuming fucking yourself with them once you're close, which only takes a minute or so this time. Again your hips lurch and your body trembles, though the orgasm isn't quite so brainslamming as the first, desperate, needy release. It's a bit longer though, leaving you with your hips writhing and bucking in midair for long moments before you sag again. You sprawl out, panting to catch your breath, your head actually swimming a little.\n\n'What the fuck is wrong with me?' you think faintly.\n\nAfter a bit you get up and semi-stagger, still bottomless, over to your bags, trying to ignore your pussy still dripping down your thighs steadily, still darkened and sensitive, growing steadily needier again. But you manage to put away the microwave meals in the small freezer (they're a little thawed but should be fine), and going ahead and pouring yourself a half a disposable glass of the hydrater and pounding it like a shot. (Partly to avoid tasting it... cold it's not great, room temp it's ugh.) Then you just sort of stare ahead blankly for a long moment, before pulling off your shirt and armortop, dropping them right there in the kitchen, and heading back to bed.\n\nYou sprawl out and do your best to get comfortable as you yield to the inevitable, cupping one of your breasts and starting to toy with it, and then shivering as you feel a more intense rush of pleasure through you than usual. The hand that had been moving back to your sodden cunt redirects, and you cup both tits and start squeezing and playing with them, moaning more softly this time. 'Fuck, haven't been this excited to play with my boobs since I was twelve,' you think a little distantly, pinching one of your nipples and giving it both a twist and a pull, shivering again at how good it feels.\n\nSoon you tilt one breast up and start suckling at your own nipple, working your lips against the plump areola and flicking your tongue over the rock-stiff nub, then even biting down on it. That sends a jolt of pleasure through you so intense that you move over to your other nipple and do it again, this time while twisting your other nipple with your fingers. For the first time you cum purely from playing with your own tits, your hips bucking again and giving a light squirt, sending out a short stream of pussyjuice to spatter across and soak into the now thoroughly mussed sheets.\n\nIt's clear by now that something's affecting you, but your brain's now too foggy with a mixture of lust and several really good (if slightly odd) orgasms to care. So instead you just slide a hand back down to your pussy and start working your fingertips in quick, eager circles along your clit while once again toying with one of your tits with the other, moaning softly. Your brain settles a bit into that mild haze, and time seems to fall away, barely marked by the points of slightly more frenzied activity where you suddenly need to bring yourself off, and the rest where you're just sort of laying there just sort of on autopilot stimulating yourself.\n\nThen you abruptly slam back to reality, startled out of your haze by a knock at the door. "Housekeeping!" a pleasant, cheerful feminine voice calls through the door.\n\n<hr>\n[["D-don't need any!"|ChiPir6x2]]\n\n[["... come in..."|ChiPir]]

Ready to begin, then? Alright, deviant, let's get started. We still have the same question as before to get us started, but from here things get a little streamlined.\n\nSo... male or female?\n\n<hr>\n[[Male.|MaleChargen]]\n\n[[Female.|FemaleChargen]]\n\n[[Write in "Other" on the sheet.|OtherChargen]]

"Ah... so you're what they call a-" you start.\n\n"I-it's not like I try to be!" Pota splutters, indignation temporarily winning out. "R-robes are just traditional for appraisers, and then people assume because of my face! It's not my fault!"\n\nAha. That would definitely explain things. ... Well. It's like you said. Maybe try it and you'll like it, huh? Besides, you have to admit you're really getting off on the power of making an apparently straight guy be so into you.\n\n"Mm, y'know I'm not usually into guys either... but you're just sooooo cute," you croon at him as you slide your hands over his sides and draw him closer. He makes another of those whimpery noises, this time much more towards the pleased end of the spectrum, even as he squirms in embarrassment and uncertainty as you stroke your hands up and down his sides. He gasps loudly at you giving his pert little but a squeeze, then squeaks as you haul him up and plop him down on the bed.\n\n<hr>\n[[Have him suck your cock.|Raz8x4]]\n\n[[Suck his cock.|Raz]]

Attempts to exert your influence will be... much more successful, huh?\n\nYou give Pota a sultry grin, which you can see immediately flusters her, her cheeks turning pink. The blush darkens and spreads across the bridge of her nose and to the tips of her slightly pointed ears as you smoothly lean forward onto the counter, attempting to put a twinkle in your eye. From the way she gives a little squeak of mingled dismay and delight, you're pretty sure it worked.\n\n"Hey, how about I discharge some of that debt through... personal service?"\n\n"P-p-p-p-p-p-pers-pers-perso-perso-" Pota stammers, clearly taken completely off guard. You're kind of enjoying this for that if nothing else.\n\n"Yeah. Do you live upstairs, maybe...?"\n\n"U-um... I uh... w-well... y-y-yes." Pota squirms in place, glancing nervously towards a doorway off to the side behind the counter, before looking back at you and raising her hands, giving them a little waggle. "B-but listen, I'm not into guys, so... so yeah, um... I...!"\n\n"Hey, maybe try it and you'll like it," you suggest breezily, locking gazes with her, then giving her a slow wink.\n\nShe actually goes completely still, and makes a soft keening noise in her throat for a moment. Then she swallows hard, and says a faint little "Okay" before hopping down from the box, walking with quick little steps over and around the counter to lock the door.\n\n'Finally a girl shorter than me,' you think smugly as you follow her back around the counter, hearing her make a cute little noise just from setting a hand on her shoulder. Admittedly to a tall human guy she might come up to barely above his waist, whereas she comes up closer to your chest, but still~!\n\nPota leads the way upstairs, and into a comfily-outfitted apartment... a lot of the furniture is, obviously, Halfling-size but some of it is regular. The bed is actually quite big, just lower down to the floor, presumably so that Pota doesn't need steps to get in it. She comes to a stop next to it and just sort of stares at it, as if starting to wonder why she's here and why she brought you. So you take the opportunity to quickly strip off your clothes... wow, you can actually do it amazingly fast now, must be the benefit of all that extra dexterity and intelligence-boosting! ... Oh hey, are you bigger now...?\n\nWhen Pota turns around and sees you standing there naked, your lithe, toned body fully on display, and your long, slender (but thicker than it was) cock jutting towards her, she makes another strangled noise of mingled shock and lust, a shudder visibly running through her body as she stares back and forth between your face and your dick.\n\nYou grin, moving over to take a seat on the bed, sprawling your legs out to the side. "Okay, your turn."\n\nThe Halfling hesitates again, squirming briefly in place. She worries her lower lip with her teeth for a moment, then nods rather shyly (and adorably, you have to admit), reaching up to undo the various ties running down the front of her robes, then shrugging them off to reveal a sleek, hairless little body that, admittedly with adult proportions of hips and waist and legs, just in miniature and quite feminine. And revealing something else that suddenly puts what was said earlier into perspective.\n\nPota isn't a lesbian. Pota is a guy.\n\nHe stands there breathing hard, trembling even more visibly now, his stiff prick actually dripping a little bit from the tip. He's definitely built slim and girlishly, besides the pretty face (which might be normal for Halflings, you haven't known that many and somehow assumed all the ones you met were coincidentally girls), and while he's decently hung in proportion to the rest of his body, it's naturally pretty small (being in proportion). He's clearly confused by the lust you've stoked in him... but his body is just as clearly needy and wanting.\n\nHm. You're not really into guys yourself, honestly. So what to do...?\n\n<hr>\n[[Fixable problem!|Raz]]\n\n[[Eh. Just roll with it.|Raz8x3]]

"I don't have the money," you admit with a sigh. "In fact after paying for your Full Appraisal I barely have anything to live on."\n\n"I'm willing to lend it to you. Trust meeee, with how much a proper Bracelet of Greater Stat Boosting will enhance your abilities, you'll make all that gold back in no time! Just, you know, pay me before the end of the month or else I'll have to bring a couple of guys around," he says breezily.\n\nYou make a face, but then you guess you wouldn't be that hard to find in a place like this... you've seen plenty of other Beastkin and other demihumans, but no other Rabbitkin, so. After waffling over it just a bit more, you nod. "Yeah, okay."\n\n"Alright," the appraiser chirps, drawing out a sheet of paper that's already been written up as a loan sheet, looks like. "Name please?"\n\n"Raz Bieri."\n\n"Alright, Raaaaz," she murmurs, filling that in in one spot. "I'm Pota, by the way!" she chirps, as if genuinely glad to have you in her debt.\n\n"Good to meet you. I guess," you answer rather flatly.\n\nPota snickers, finishing filling out the sheet. You look it over, then sigh again before signing it. Pota takes it back and tucks it away, then goes back to work waving her hands over the bracelet and muttering. After a minute you could almost swear you hear a click noise, and Pota beams as she picks it up and proffers it back. "There, all done! Go ahead and try it out!"\n\nYou nod, accepting the bracelet and, just a bit leery of the earlier curse, nevertheless fasten it on. You jump just a little as it automatically adjusts in size, your ears heating as Pota snickers loudly. But it's incredibly comfortable, and you can feel an interesting sensation passing through your body, as if every muscle was suddenly growing firmer and stronger, as if your head were clearing up from fuzziness you didn't know was there, tiredness was lifting from your shoulders that you hadn't really felt weighing you down, and-\n\n'Your stats are being boosted (temporary)\nYour previous stat increases have retroactively multiplied (temporary)\nYou have gained the "Alpha (Temporary)" innate passive skill'\n\nYou blink. 'Alpha'? You open up your character menu, and try not to let your jaw drop at what you see.\n\nPota said it was a Bracelet of Greater Stat Boosting, but you were never expecting it to be by this much. ... Oh, maybe it's because you're an Adventurer and have that unique skill? Maybe they like, amplify the effects? Somehow you can't see Pota (the smirky little snot) not extorting you for more if she knew it was gonna be this good. ... Either way, best to check that new skill, you guess these say "Temporary" because they'd go away if you took off the bracelet.\n\n'Alpha - An innate skill derived from having all stats (including normally unboostable substats) above a certain level. Others will subconsciously comprehend your superiority. May not be noticeable normally, but attempts to exert your influence will be much more successful. Particularly effective on those you have defeated.'\n\nHuh! Okay, so... wait, it's a skill that will actually make people acknowledge how strong you are? ......... This is the best magic item ever.\n\n"Okay, it's getting late and I need to close up shop," Pota announces, jarring you out of your slight daze of contentment. "And remember, you have until the end of the month to pay back your loan!"\n\n<hr>\n[[Yeah yeah.|Raz9x1]]\n\n[[... Hmmmm...|Raz8x2]]

Well. Why not? It's been a few years since you've seen him, and it's perhaps a bit odd to say you... miss... someone that you've spent most of your association trying to kill, there is some simple, honest truth to that.\n\nThe Device's radiant glow of approval tamps back quite a bit at that thought, but not as much as might be expected. 'Oh, come off it, you miss him too,' you think at it. No response, as usual... you have no real idea if it even has enough of a frame of reference to your idea of existence to 'miss' people, but the thought amuses you so you go with it.\n\nGoing cross-country is a bit more annoying and difficult for you than it might be for other villains, since you don't currently have any sort of 'Backlashcopter' or whatnot. Buses are really one of the few long distance conveyances you can use without a ton of hassle by simple dint of changing your coat and buying a ticket under an assumed name, but you decide that's too slow and too much hassle. Much easier to go along the road in the night, using the Device to repair the first abandoned car you come across, and simply drive.\n\n'Home,' you think without any particular emotion one way or the other as the familiar city skyline comes into view in the distance. You leave the car outside the city and give it a push into the nearby lake just to be sure... you wouldn't exactly call yourself a particularly compassionate supervillain (at least not all the time), but the modifications you made to the car to get across the country with it in a timely and comfortable fashion probably shouldn't be mucked about with by the average chop shop if you were to leave it parked somewhere in the city.\n\nYou walk across the bridge and enter the city well into the night, though it's still bustling along fairly well. From there you take to the heights and rooftops again, though avoiding any major thoroughfares and crossings, mostly hugging to the buildings themselves and the rooftops where possible. You don't doubt that the word 'Backlash is back in town' will still quickly get around certain elements of the city even before you get where you're going, but you don't want it getting out to the entire city and causing some kind of panicked response on the assumption you must be up to something.\n\nYou are, in fact, up to something, you suppose, but in this instance it has nothing to do with all the little ants crawling about their ant farm streets far below.\n\nInstead you arrive at a particular building, tucking your hands into your lab coat pockets again and taking a brief look around. Then you stretch your tendrils out towards the American flag swaying gently from the pole nearby, its weighted edge keep it from flapping itself into an unrecognizable mess or wrapping around the pole. You neatly roll it in, unhook it from the guide wires, and then reverse it before returning it to its spot, wheeling it back out with the blue field of white stars facing towards the building instead of away. Then you amble off again.\n\nYou settle in on a place closer to the edge of the city, a sort of odd 'bowl' of lower buildings around the taller ones, most of the lower ones designated cultural and historical landmarks and therefore safe from being demolished for apartment and office skyscrapers. You settle in on the roof of a deserted carnival building, the sign out front declaring its eminent reopening after renovations faded and with several small bullet holes in it, waiting. \n\nIt's almost an hour later, but you suppose that's not all that long for word to finally carry and the signal to be checked. There's the sound of air rushing, a soft thup of something firing and then a louder tp of a figure landing with superhuman ease nearby... not quite as lightly as he used to, but then everyone gets old someday. You turn towards the sound, taking in the figure in the red and white bodysuit with its tasteful accenting of white webs, and the much gaudier stars-and-stripes patterned spider emblem on his chest, its legs going over his back to connect to the sidearms of the large white star there.\n\nFor long moments you and Amerachnid say nothing, just standing there looking at each other, you through your spectacles, him through the wide, opaque white lenses of his mask. It's... stranger than you thought. Somehow you thought the years wouldn't feel like anything, but the lack of hostility in your meeting again is somehow far more awkward than if you'd both met in a furious exchange of blows like always.\n\nHe finally speaks first. "Bastian," he says, voice actually fairly serious in tone.\n\n'You sound like your father,' you almost say, repressing the urge to laugh. Instead, you keep an equally civil tone and nod your head once. "Jeremiah."\n\nThat hangs in the air for a few moments as well, the use of his given name. That thing you're not supposed to know, that no one on your side is supposed to know. That you like to forget you know, when you can, for the sake of the strange respect that exists between you. But then, he's the one that put it on the level of Christian names, as it were. So.\n\nEventually he says, "So who's in trouble? Or what? Assuming you haven't just decided to throw away the last of your humanity and use our agreed symbol for serious trouble to get me alone."\n\n"Mm. Well, I suppose it's perhaps not quite so dire as all that," you admit, scratching lightly at your cheek with one of your human limbs, shrugging. "But it is the one way we have of essentially communicating under truce, and I decided you'd prefer I use it rather than steal a bank vault to get your attention."\n\nThat gets a snort of amusement from him, and you see some of the tension in his shoulders relax a bit. "Yeah. Alright. Fair enough. What's going on?"\n\n"I want to leave. Earth," you clarify, the shape of his mask's lenses altering visibly to convey the effect of a raised eyebrow. You have always deeply admired the shockingly simple engineering involved in doing that, all the moreso since you discovered he came up with it himself. "I want to depart this planet and go out into the great beyond."\n\n"... Does this have to do with finding out where that... thing... came from? And how to get it off of you?" Amerachnid asks, gesturing in your general direction and somehow managing to indicate your back.\n\n"In part. Maybe. I don't know," you admit, the words coming on top of each other practically. "All I know is that the Device hasn't berated me once since the idea came to me. I stopped on the side of the road last night and slept. Actually slept. A miserably springy, stiff, narrow car seat that didn't go all the way back, trucks roaring by every five minutes, and it was the best sleep I've had in years. And it doesn't involve stealing anything, hurting anyone, or destroying anything to earn me this peace."\n\n"That you know about," Amerachnid says rather severely.\n\nYou nod slowly, yielding the point. "That I know about. ... Still. It's the best lead I've had since possibly the start on what the De-... this thing... actually wants and what might make it stop battering my mind with its demands that don't mean anything. ... Please, Jeremiah."\n\nHe stares at you for long moments. Then he lets out a rush of rather frustrated breath, bringing a hand up to rub over the lower part of his masked face as he turns away, shifting uncomfortably on his nimble feet, his other hand coming to rest on his hip. At that angle you can see the traces of 'dad bod' that have begun to set in... he is, obviously, still an incredibly active person, but then at a certain age perhaps there's just no fighting the beginnings of a gut or the padding of the other parts of the body that starts to creep in. "I don't know. I don't know, Bastian. I know what I said all those years ago, but this is a big ask. You're asking me to turn over a starcraft to you, with the assumption you're not going to turn it right around and ram it into the Guardtower at lightspeed because that thing started yelling at you the moment you got behind the stick. Or something else equally devastating. It's just... it's a lot, man," he adds, the informality, the genuineness of him speaking to you like one person to another rather than superhero to supervillain, somehow both infuriating you and making your heart ache with affection for your longest and most constant foe.\n\nYou struggle with both emotions, trying to figure out what to say... where to go from here.\n\n<hr>\n[["It will go badly, if I don't get it."|Back]]\n\n[["How's your son?"|Back]]\n\n[["Do things ever seem... wrong... to you?"|Back]]

"Eh? H-hey!" Stacia yelps as her muscles suddenly tense, her arms forced down to her sides as her whole body seizes up. "Reth?! What are you doing?!"\n\n"It's a very simple, low-level restraint spell. Normally it would be fairly useless against most adventurers, at least at my current strength, but since you haven't even unlocked a class yet, your ability to resist spells is, frankly, pathetic," you answer flatly, rolling your eyes.\n\n"R-Reth?! Why are you doing this?"\n\n"Because I'm the reincarnated Maou, you idiot," you answer with a sigh, stepping forward and glowering at her nose-to-nose. "And I hate adventurers. You fucking murderhobos made me sick, half the reason I became Maou was because it offered me a chance to kill a constant, steady stream of you. Listening to you all these years prattle on endlessly about practically nothing but how you wanted to be an adventurer, do you have any idea how much I loathed it? Quite frankly I've been waiting for this day for awhile now."\n\n"Reth... y-you can't, this... this is a prank, right? You... you can't really be YAAA!"\n\n"Oh do shut up," you grumble as she gives a squeal at you yanking down the tight little shorts she's wearing, bearing the pair of fairly simple white panties she's wearing. She yelps again as you grab them and yank, ripping them off of her and leaving her pussy and ass completely bare as you stuff the crumpled-up cotton into her mouth. \n\n"Mmf! Mmnff!" Stacia continues to protest, barely managing to wiggle back and forth in place.\n\nBut yes, the truth is that leaving the village with Stacia is finally your chance to resume doing what you really love... fucking with, fucking up, and just plain fucking adventurers. Obviously your first target will be little miss 'I've never ever ever ever thought about being anything other than an adventurer in my life' here. The question is, how?\n\nProbably the best thing to do is finally tap into your ability tree, and pick either Alchemy, Magic, or Physicality. If you took Alchemy, you could brew up a variety of potions that could work some alterations on Stacia's (and other adventurers to come's) mind and body. Magic would let you make many similar alterations, though in many cases not as extreme, since the ability would also flow into attack magic... but still, that one would probably be more all-around useful against other adventurers. Or you could take the Physicality branch and have numerous ways to augment your body's abilities... there would be a lot fewer options for directly influencing Stacia (or other adventurers), but arguably a lot more fun to be had doing so.\n\nOr you could delay your choice until later and just toy with Stacia directly for awhile.\n\n<hr>\n[[Choose Alchemy.|Reth7x2]]\n\n[[Choose Magic.|Reth12x1]]\n\n[[Choose Physicality.|Reth11x1]]\n\n[[Choose later.|Reth]]

You sit up abruptly, scowling around. You can be sulky and have a tantrum too. 'Fine. None of it pleases you? None of it interests you? Fine. We'll move on,' you think, grinding your teeth angrily as you lever yourself up, again forcing the slightly recalcitrant tendrils to obey you, bracing them against the floor and lifting yourself from the chair. You propel yourself over to a nearby panel and without hesitation fling the switches and input the code for the self-destruct.\n\nMinutes later you're trundling along the rooftops and away from the building, which is already in flames behind you, a variety of interesting colors to the fire that light up the night like a little ground-height aurora. Far in the distance you can hear sirens beginning to wail. Either it's the decisive action or the faint sound of chaos that's affected it, but the Device isn't being quite so oppressive as before... it's still weighing on you heavily with that feeling of displeasure, that oppressive disdain, but it doesn't quite feel like it's choking the air out of your lungs anymore.\n\nThe question now, though, is where to actually go? A dozen ideas tumble across your mind as you continue your midnight "walk" across warehouse rooftops and between taller buildings as you make your way through the city. Some of them are reliable standbys, others entirely reasonable ideas, while a few are absolutely ludicrous, nonsensical. And yet with the Device's displeasure weighing down on you, knowing that it can't get much worse, all of them seem equally appealing and unappealing at once. \n\n<hr>\n[[Return to more familiar stomping grounds.|Back]]\n\n[[Go somewhere remote but safe.|Back]]\n\n[[Seek out an alliance.|Back]]\n\n[[Give yourself up.|Back]]\n\n[[Look for a new project.|Back]]\n\n[[Get out. Particularly far out.|Back3x3]]

Yes, Stacia would be far more tolerable if she could only make basic animal noises. Her constant chatter about wanting to be an adventurer and spend time with you and all the rest of that nonsense was a big factor in wanting to get her alone and start your anti-adventurer... uh... adventures. ... Hm... ... oh well you'll ponder the implications of that later.\n\nAnyway, you can think of several animals that might be useful or profitable. Such as a dog... a fine hunting dog (with human level intelligence no less) could serve many uses, either to you as you go about your tasks or to be sold. Similarly, a horse... you wouldn't have to walk everywhere, for one thing! Of course, this is largely a farming area of the world, so a beast of burden or production like a donkey or cow would be the best thing if you wanted to just outright sell her at the earliest opportunity.\n\nNow, what to choose?\n\n<hr>\n[[Dog.|Reth]]\n\n[[Horse.|Reth]]\n\n[[Donkey.|Reth]]\n\n[[Cow.|Reth]]

Smirking, you pull on his head, making him yip again as he winds up sprawled on his belly out to the side of you, purple eyes wide at being brought nose-to-shaft with your dick. \n\n"Tell you what, how about I start working off my debt by letting you suck this," you coo down at him, petting his hair just a bit and making him shiver. "You're willing to pay for the privilege, right?"\n\n"I... but-" Pota starts.\n\nYou push his head down, pressing his mouth against your balls to shut him up. He gives a low 'mmf!' and squirms all over, kicking his cute girlish legs a bit, before his eyes actually roll a little and he starts moving his tongue, suckling gently as he nuzzles further in against your sack.\n\n'Oh wow this Alpha thing really does work,' you think, leaning your head back in a mixture of physical bliss at having your balls worshipped and the mental bliss of wielding such power. You look back down at him, grinning at how embarrassed he looks even as he can't stop tongue-washing your sack. You run your fingers teasingly up and down his spine, making him squirm a bit, then even more teasingly pluck the monocle off of his face. He makes a little protesting noise at that... but doesn't actually stop what he's doing.\n\n'Ohhhh, hey,' you think as you put the monocle to your eye and glance around, seeing the identification of various items pop up. That could be useful. You toss it with your other stuff, then grin wickedly and grab a handful of Pota's hair.\n\n"Mmnf? MMMN!" he grunts as you lift his head and urge his mouth down over the tip of your prick, his small mouth stretching some to accommodate it.\n\n"Just giving you a bit of help... since you haven't had any practice I bet it'll be tough to get it into that tight little throat," you croon at him as you start urging his head up and down. Pota's eyes roll a bit again, but he does begin almost frantically licking and sucking at you, his hips twitching and grinding his stiff prick against the quilts. "But don't worry, I think you have the makings of a first-rate faceslut, Pota, we'll get it all in."\n\nPota groans lowly at that, eyes fluttering, but at this point it sounds (and feels, fuck does his moaning feel good on your cock) more like eagerness and pleasure than anything. You keep moving his head, lightly working your hips up, and soon you really can feel your tip nudging against his throat. But... you have a sense of... just move like this, and apply pressure and-\n\nThe Halfling genuinely seems surprised that you just push down on him and hilt in his throat, in one fell swoop pushing his lips down to around the root of your cock. Then his eyes roll up and he shudders, his tight little throat starting to milk you for all it's worth. Mmmm... even if it's a guy's throat that's really nice! Grinning, you start working your hips, fucking his face and throat now, Pota just mmfing and gulping and licking at you obediently as you use his mouth to get yourself off.\n\nEventually you let out a low moan and thrust up as well as pushing him down, emptying your balls deep down his throat as he twitches and shudders all over, looking like he might be having a small orgasm just from you giving him a throatpie. You grind your hips up and wiggle them, watching the bulge of your dick in his throat shift. Finally you pull him up, Pota gasping loudly as he's finally given breath, his mouth open wide as he breaths hard, his entire lower face smeared with the same gooey mix of churned-up saliva and cum that's dripping from your still-hard cock, his eyes glazed.\n\n"There, now wasn't that worth some money?" you coo at him sweetly.\n\n"... yes," he rasps, his voice thick and heavy with being stretched by cock and coated with cum. He swallows, then adds a soft little, "Thank you."\n\n<hr>\n[[Leave it there for now.|Raz]]\n\n[[Fuck him.|Raz8x5]]

Taking a deep breath, you smile and turn around, raising your hands and resting them just below his chest, feeling the scales there like a number of tiny, perfectly smooth glass beads against your skin. "Thank you, Father. You're right... as long as I have family who loves me, things can't be all that bad, hm?"\n\n"Certainly," he replies smoothly, smiling as he rests his hands on your lower back, then leans down to gently and skillfully press the lips of his muzzle to your own lips.\n\n"Mmf?!" Your eyes widen a bit in surprise, especially as you feel his tongue, strong and agile and pressing past your lips into your mouth. But your body reacts eagerly, sending a shiver down from your own stimulated tongue all the way through you to the soles of your feet and back up where it comes out as a soft moan, your nipples going pebble-stiff in the passing. You find your whole body growing warm, pressing in closer to him without even thinking, your breasts pillowing against those bead-scaled muscles as you arch your tongue forward, encouraging him to toy with it, to coil his own around it, to claim you with his mouth as he's doing. When he does finally lift his head, you're panting and flushed, a rather rueful smirk on your lips. "S-so, we... have that sort of relationship, do we, Father?"\n\n"Mmm, well, after all, as much as I consider you my true daughter, it's not as if the same blood flows in our veins, obviously," he says with a chuckle, those big hands sliding down to grip your ass and lift you up onto tiptoe against him, dragging your stiff nipples over his scales and making you shiver again. "On the night you came of age you crawled into my bed with a rather different intent than when you were small, and have been a most dutiful daughter ever since."\n\n"I do like the sound of being a dutiful daughter," you say with a wicked giggle, briefly surprised by how... well, how much of a villainess sound it is. Hm... well, whatever, information for later. For now you slide your hands down the sides of his chest, feeling out the lines of the muscle, until you can cup that large, dangling sack. The scales covering it are just as smooth and perfectly glossy, though as well as them you can feel a sensation like buttery leather and just how heavy and hot they are. "Am I a... good... daughter, Father?"\n\n"Oh, a very good daughter indeed," he rumbles, chuckling again. "Why don't I show you just how good I think you are?"\n\nSoon he's on his back and you're straddling his open muzzle, actually settled partly inside his open mouth, moaning and shuddering as you lean forward to brace your hands on the low headboard of the bed. That tongue that already felt so strong and agile when it was claiming your mouth is now slathering indiscriminately over your pussy and pucker, stroking and teasing at them, occasionally dipping inside one or the other. Your hips twist and shudder, feeling his teeth constantly pressing against your skin but never hard enough to do more than leave slight red marks on the pale, creamy white flesh. 'Villainess... yes... yes, doing with my father, we must be quite the wicked pair,' you think, barely noticing that your thoughts are taking on a bit of a different 'tone' as you make your stimulated, pleasured peace with what seemed obvious from the moment you looked in the mirror. 'Oh, oh how good it is to be a villain!' you think with a loud gasp and a toss of your head, black hair moving in a sinuous wave as your father's tongue pushes deep into your asshole and strokes in and out, his muzzle pressing just a bit more firmly on your crotch and buttocks.\n\nRiding your father's muzzle, you come again, and again, each wash of orgasmic pleasure accompanied by feeling bound closer and closer to him, accepting this deviant and delightful familial bond. When he finally gives a last, loving lick over your absolutely sodden pussy before settling, you're panting and shivering, but take the cue to lift yourself up and swing around, out of the grasp of his maw. You turn, and wind up staring... now jutting from above that heavy black sack you were toying with earlier is his... well obviously it's his cock, but god. It's so big for one thing! Coming to a blunt-pointed tip, the sides are lined with layered ridges, with smaller bands of bumps along the top and bottom that more resemble dorsal ridges, all of them leading down to a thick, oblong bulge near the base that has more of those layered 'panel'-like ridges along the sides of it. It's also a bright blue color... and glowing. 'I forgot that thing?' you think a bit numbly, even as your pussy starts adding even more of its own juices to the moisture already dripping down onto the bed. \n\n"Shall we reacquaint you with it?" Your father's voice jolts you out of your awe a bit, making you turn to look down at his grinning face. "No need to give it any oral care just this moment, treasure, I think it's already plenty ready for you. And you look plenty ready for it, hm?"\n\n<hr>\n[["I'm... not sure..."|LeoLina]]\n\n[["... Yes. Take me, Father."|LeoLina1x2]]\n\n[["Mm, fuck me, Daddy!"|LeoLina]]\n\n[["I... want you to breed me, Master."|LeoLina]]

"Let's take care of these Guild mercenaries, Commander," you decide, resting your hands on the arms of your chair. "I think I'd like to present them to Father when he returns." One corner of your mouth quirks up a bit. "Or maybe just part of them."\n\nYinfre actually chuckles a little and gives a small nod, as if forced to admit her approval. "Yes, Captain."\n\n"Stand by for orders," you add in a professional tone before closing your eyes and going on a bit of a deeper dive. First of all, call up the file on the mercenaries again for a bit of a closer look. You take in the image of the first of them, Tina Lieze... human, pale pink hair cut in a bob, blue eyes, light skin. Attired in a fairly skimpy red one-piece skinarmor suit that leaves her arms, hips, and even the sides of her breasts bare. It says she either highly values her mobility or she's an exhibitionist... looking at the sweet innocent smile and the intel gathered, you're guessing mobility. The suit caps her shoulders and runs down the front of her body, covering her belly and diving between her legs, but leaving her sides almost entirely uncovered. Her legs are sheathed entirely in tall boots that, to judge from the attachments at the bottom, contain movement boosters. Besides her red-accented black shooting gloves, she's wearing a shoulder harness with a cross-draw pistol, another, longer pistol holstered at the same side, with several long throwing knives sheathed at the opposite thigh. Hm, so from the positioning of her equipment, she's probably left-handed.\n\n<img src="images/TinaLieze.jpg">\n\nYou check the image of the other girl, Tanya Lieze, but it's practically like looking at the same image again, albeit mirrored and with her suit in blue rather than red. They really are twins, aren't they, though the intel of course lists a number of minor differences to tell them apart other than the suit colors that aren't immediately visible to the naked eye. From their records, they're both fairly accomplished mercenaries, though certainly not of a level of experience and notoriety necessary to even have a chance against your father's might and machinations. At least they were smart enough to come together so as to have backup, it would take a real idiot to try and capture the legendary pirate Sokahn solo, you think smugly.\n\nBriefly, almost unnoticeably, the corner of your eye twitches. You blink, and resist the urge to rub it, lest you show weakness. That was odd. ... Eh, probably a side effect of your recent injuries and neural reconstruction. You'll see the ship's doctor if it comes back.\n\nIn any event, intel indicates that they're currently on Litonon, and of course it's an easy cross-reference to learn about the planet. Once a vast and prosperous resource producer and refiner, Litonon suffered the fate of all such planets without a backup plan: they ran out of valuable resources to produce and refine. No more rare metal deposits in the ground or oceans, no more natural gas or slurried organisms, no more nutrients to extract from the soil to be sent offworld to farming planets which would then sell Litonon food for a premium. It took thousands of years but when they went dry, it happened in the course of several years, and as a result everyone who could... left. Virtually overnight the only ones left were those too absolutely and miserably poor to even beg a cargo bay's passage offworld, those too demented to accept reality, and those who would rather "rule" over a lifeless ball of unproducing dirt than be subjects anywhere else. The weather and atmosphere are tolerable but deeply unpleasant, the power grid is effectively nonexistent (much of those rare metals went into producing Litonon's "renewable" energy grid... solar panels that no longer get sun through the smog and have worn down anyway, wind turbines that have largely collapsed from lack of maintenance or become useless from changed climates, and fusion reactors with inefficient cores of extremely rare materials that needed to be replaced regularly), the population is too small to form any sort of longterm service industry, and it's both too far from any real conveniences and too close to patrolled spacefreight lanes, and so despite a world complete with cities and transport infrastructure laying abandoned for the taking it's never been turned into a crimeworld or pirate's den. It is, at best, a place for individuals or small groups to get lost in as they wait for the heat to blow over... or admit their time in the black is done, that there is no place else for someone with their lived life to go, and settle into becoming refuse in some dead building forgotten by all who made it.\n\n'I hope you're having fun poking around down there, girls, because I am about to ruin your day,' you think with a small, cruel smile as you ponder how best to deal with the pair. Let's see... if you wanted to deal with it remotely, you could send either a strike force, or perhaps some drones. A quick check of the ship's complement of remote drones has your cruel smile grow just a bit wider... you apparently remember one particular type of drone without the need to check its stats and make in the ship's databank. They'd be hard to forget, traumatic brain injury or no. \n\nAlthough checking the ship's inventory leads you to a pleasant surprise... you apparently have a personal ship, a light escort registered as the Dragon's Princess, a name that sends a flutter of familial love through your heart and a clench of heated desire through your pussy. Hm, that's right, you could go and take care of the matter yourself. Perhaps demonstrate your willingness to get your hands dirty, and that you aren't to be trifled with.\n\nHm. Or you could make a bit of a game of it... call together some bounty hunters, any particularly capable people aboard the ship, and put forth a competition. Not just eliminate the Lieze Twins, but... make an example of them. There are other ways to do so than just killing someone, after all...\n\nAs you further familiarize yourself with the Adversary and Litonon via the computers, you also realize there's another option. A very... decisive option, that would make an incredible statement. Perhaps slightly too large a statement, but then, there is no kill like overkill, is there?\n\n<hr>\n[[Send a strike team.|LeoLina]]\n\n[[Send drones.|LeoLina1x4]]\n\n[[Go yourself.|LeoLina]]\n\n[[Make it a competition.|LeoLina]]\n\n[[A grand statement.|LeoLina]]

With those words you settle onto your back into a bit of a sprawl, still breathing hard, if anything your breath hitching even more as your father moves into place over you, his large draconic form feeling like it's completely covering you, looming, already dominating you. With the lightest brush of his hips and thighs you're urged into spreading your legs, lifting them, wrapping them around him even as he moves in close. Your arms slip under his, hands pressing flat against his scales, fingers pressing harder as you can feel that hot, hot blue rod pressing against you. And then you're crying out lowly as it's pushing inside you, spreading you open, those ridges pressing along your lips, your insides, every bit of it so easy to feel, because you're so tight around him, so tight and yet you take him so perfectly, right up until that bulge close to the base as it bumps up against your puffy, dripping lower lips.\n\n'It's like... it was made for him,' you think distantly, amidst your own moans and gasps as he starts to thrust, his body like one long, sinuous muscle moving in perfect coordination as he drives into you. Those ridges slide along your inner walls, stimulating, overstimulating, only taking a few thrusts to have you arching your back, legs tightening to jerk your hips towards him. You're struck by the realization, as if it were etched in your brain, that no one else's cock could ever feel this good, no one could ever bring you as much pleasure as your father, nothing could ever make you feel both as loved and dominated and wicked as that massive inhuman blue prick stroking in and out of you, its glow shining from between your bodies like a beacon. You arch as much as you can, pulling yourself towards him, wanting to feel your breasts pillow against his chest, the motions of his perfect muscles under that glass-bead skin as he takes you. "Father... Father," you moan out, body quivering.\n\n"Yes, Lina," he practically purrs, his voice a deep thrum that carries through your chest from his as much as it caresses your ears. "Yes, the dragon's favorite princess."\n\nAnd somewhere in saying it, he pushes forward and forces that thick, swelling knot inside you, and you cry out long and loud as your mind goes white and you're flooded with pleasure and wet heat.\n\nOnce the two of you have become thoroughly reacquainted, you both shower, and Father hands you some clothing... a tight two-piece skinsuit of black and subtle grey patterns, with built-in boots, fingerless gloves, and a long, rather dashing black coat to go over it. Admittedly, as you check yourself in the mirror and sweep your hair back over the raised collar of the coat, you look quite the villain. But then, it's obvious by now that you're meant to. \n\n"Now, darling," your father says, also dressed as he draws close, holding what looks like half a silver choker-style necklace, with a number of visible ports and a few blinking lights on it. "As a side effect of the neural reconstruction, you now have a particularly fantastic neural uplink. With this secure transmitter, you'll be able to access the Adversary's computers and rapidly look up any information you need, which should bridge the gaps in your lost memories." He passes it to you, and after a moment's thought you slide it behind the back of your neck, settling it until there's a faint magnetic click of it settling into place. "There. You're all set to assume command while I'm gone."\n\nYou blink. "Command? And... where are you going?"\n\n"While I would of course love to stay with you during this time of you rebuilding yourself, Lina, unfortunately there's simply too much heat on me. I need to continue lay low, separate from all our people, for the moment." He raises a hand, tenderly brushing black-scaled knuckles along your cheek. "I almost lost you, so I can't risk it happening again."\n\nYour heart quivers a little, and after a moment you nod. "Alright, I understand. But even with the secure linkup, will I really be able to command an entire ship without you?" you ask as he turns and makes his way towards the door. Through it is a small, purely office-like area, though you notice that the furniture is arranged to force one to take a slightly awkward path between the door to the quarters and the next one... you suppose that's probably deliberate, as annoying as it may be.\n\n"Certainly." He stops and turns towards you before actually reaching the opposite door, resting his large hands on your shoulders. "Be calm. Be cool. And believe in your own absolute command. Never show a hint of uncertainty, and by doing so never show weakness. Leave the day-to-day operations of running the Adversary to the first officer, Yinfre. She is incredibly capable at her job... all you need to do is let her know what you want to happen, and she will make it happen."\n\nYou nod slowly after a moment, doing your best to internalize what he said. Be calm... unflappable. Be cool... cold, even. Believe in the absolute nature of your command. You can feel yourself gaining composure, your face becoming a mask of solemn dignity, eyes hard and focused. Your father must like what he sees, as he makes a low sound of approval in his throat before nodding once and turning to lead you onto the bridge. It's a truly immense structure, the size of the ground floor of a skyscraper perhaps, if it were opened up and set to different levels. But then the Adversary, or rather Adversary III, is a particularly immense ship you realize as you access the files on it. A prize of war, previously designed to stage entire planetary 'pacifications', it is now home to over 1,000,000 of your father's pirate crew. The sheer scale means that it was necessary to institute at least some amount of formal military protocol... not too much, they're pirates after all and they didn't become pirates to have to shine their boots and clean their rooms, but enough to establish a proper chain of command and order of duty. In the center of it all, on a raised platform with a curving staircase leading up to it, is what practically looks like a small office area, complete with a curving desk area set against the half-wall outer edge broken up into two segments, a longer one that curves around most of the front and right side, and one perhaps a third the length to the left separated by about a foot of empty space.\n\nYou keep your stride even, steady, and unfaltering as you match your father's gait across the bridge, not bothering to visibly notice all the pirate crewmen glancing over at the two of you. You notice that there's a vague attempt at something like a uniform, as in probably uniforms were provided at some point, but most of them have been customized (with various degrees of proficiency) that there's only the vaguest sense of it. Already standing in the area is a woman with shortish hair that starts black and fades to purple the further it goes, her eyes purple as well, a choker with a V-shaped clasp around her neck along with a necklace with a slender silver pendant of some sort dangling from it. Her clothing is more suitable for a street raverpunk than the military decorum she seems to be trying to observe (oh, you remember what a street raverpunk is, that's hopeful you suppose), wearing a loose black tanktop that doesn't completely cover her belly, a green and purple jacket with a hood, black and green gloves with fingers missing, and very tight, very low-slung pants with only one leg, and that one only coming to an inch or two below the knee, her other leg sheathed in a torn dark stocking, her shoes a stylish pair of streetrunner boots.\n\n<img src="images/Yinfre.jpg">\n\nEven the vaguest thought of 'Who is this?' instantly brings up her service record. Commander Yinfre, one of your father's oldest and most trusted crew, having been with him for almost thirty years and most of that as his first mate/first officer. ... Thirty years? She looks like she could be sixteen at the most! Of course you're immediately parsing all of her service record, which includes an extensive list of genetic treatments and cybernetic augmentations, which must be why she looks virtually identical in her earliest photos and when she's standing in front of you... even the clothes are similar, just better quality. ('That must be one of the ways Father commands such extensive loyalty on his ships,' you muse via a quick bit of cross-referencing, barely noticing that you just remembered his crew is near-infamously loyal. 'Most would only give such valuable procedures to their closest inner circle... in Father's fleet, procedures that are illegal or ruinously expensive are apparently virtually free to anyone willing to risk them.') The interface to the ship also provides the make and manufacture of virtually everything, the frequency and latency of her own uplink implant, and how much it's transmitting, and that the sliver on the chain around her neck is a broken-off round from a high-end needle rifle. \n\nYinfre's expression warms perceptibly as she turns, almost smiling as she says, "Admiral." Then just as perceptibly it cools as she sees you, just slightly more flat than it was before she turned towards the two of you. "... Lina."\n\nYour eyes narrow slightly at what you see as borderline insubordination. But getting rattled over it seems like it would be giving too much ground, so you simply reply, just as coolly, "Yinfre."\n\nYou can see her bristle a little at the presumption of the familiarity, but just as you expected, she can't call you out on it without admitting her own behavior was unacceptable. Before either of you can finish your standoff of staring into each other's eyes in silent challenge, Father chuckles, both of you turning to him instead. "I should be going. Yinfre, as we discussed, I'm going to be leaving Lina in charge of the Adversary, and the fleet at large, though for now I'd prefer it if they stayed dispersed and independent. You'll serve her well, I know."\n\nYinfre's purple eyes flick to you, and you can practically hear her say the 'Are you sure?' she's thinking. Her lips even part just slightly, as if she were really going to say it... but then her eyes flick about, and she apparently remembers that you are all on the bridge, even if the command dais is effectively its own room. "Yes, of course, Admiral. As if it were you."\n\n"That's what I like to hear. Lina, I know you'll do a fantastic job." Father leans down, resting his hands on your shoulders and brushing the side of his face along your cheek, your eyes closing momentarily in happiness at the gesture. Then he's turning and walking back down the steps, no doubt heading back to his ship and some location only he knows.\n\nYou watch him go, then glance at Yinfre, whose expression is flat again, though there's a slightly sour set to her eyes. "Are we going to have a problem, Commander?" you say coolly, letting your own eyes visibly narrow just a bit.\n\n"... No, Captain," Yinfre answers after the briefest of hesitations, and to her credit her expression turns much more genuinely neutral. "If Admiral Sokahn says you're in command, you're in command, and if I say I'll serve you like I would him, I do it. That's how it works here."\n\n"Very well. Let's get to work then, shall we?" you say without further ado, accessing the matter replicators built into the dais to create a captain's chair facing the forward screens and settling into it. Barely even having to think of it, thin cables snake out of the chair and beneath your hair and collar, attaching to the secure uplink to further enhance your interface with the ship's systems.\n\n"Yes, Captain," the other woman answers, seeming vaguely surprised at your businesslike demeanor.\n\nYou wait a few moments as Father's ship launches, tracking it until it goes to speed and disappears off the scanners, before continuing. "What matters require the Captain's attention?"\n\nYinfre steps up to one side of your chair and lays a few screensheets down as she speaks. "There are a pair of mercenaries that we've identified as searching for the Admiral."\n\nYou pick up the sheet, immediately accessing the intel files associated with the names as you do. A pair of GIPSE mercenaries, both female, sisters in fact. You absorb their public profiles and the gathered intelligence on them, then glance at Yinfre. "Do you think these two are a threat to Father?"\n\n"No way in hell," Yinfre snorts with almost casual disdain, before clearing her throat and trying to pull on some of that professional demeanor again. "But they have managed to track him to a place he has lain low before, so they have the potential to be a nuisance if they get better intel. I like to get ahead on eliminating anything that would become a nuisance to the Admiral."\n\nYou can't help but feel there was an implication there. That's fine. You can play that game too. "I agree with that principle entirely, Commander," you say, making your tone almost pleasant and giving her the faintest of smiles.\n\nThe two of you wait just a beat before Yinfre continues. "There are of course the usual operations of the fleet to consider... while we're in 'scatter' formation, we can still go hunting just fine. Alternatively, we could head for an unaligned territories destination and give the crew some shore leave."\n\n"Which would, not incidentally, draw attention to us and away from Father," you note breezily.\n\n"Ah... right, Captain, just so."\n\nYou steeple your fingers and smile just a bit, feeling that you've probably made it sufficiently clear you're not some pushover and not going to let yourself be manipulated. Was Yinfre like this to you before the accident? You're not quite sure where you'd start looking for evidence of that, so you just brush it off. Instead you prompt, "Anything else?"\n\n"We are due for a random crew evaluation," Yinfre says quietly after a moment, your linkup quickly supplying that the term is used for the occasional delving into the crew's personal lives and private conversations that's used to check for disloyalty. Because the other half of how your father keeps such an incredible loyal crew is that while loyalty is rewarded richly and continuously, disloyalty is dealt with swiftly and borderline legendarily. "But I can take care of that myself, Captain, you don't need to trouble yourself."\n\nMm. Now you almost want to just to prove a point. Although you can't discard the idea that it's exactly what Yinfre wants you to do, and she's baiting you. ... Enh, it will be too tiresome to get paranoid over every minor thing, and paranoia is itself a form of weakness. You'll take Father's advice and not show any, by doing what you want to do and dealing with things as they come. You feel that's how he'd handle it, after all.\n\n<hr>\n[[Take care of the mercenaries.|LeoLina1x3]]\n\n[[Go hunting.|LeoLina]]\n\n[[Shore leave.|LeoLina]]\n\n[[Crew evaluation.|LeoLina]]

The excitement and thrill of, in some slight way, experiencing what a starship feels as it flies through the black was mildly intoxicating... and you can already tell even from this light level of monitoring surface sensations that the Reapers have far more nuanced and varied sensory experiences. Besides, Father did leave you in charge, you want to take the lead on hunting down these fools who would dare challenge him. 'I'll take over. I think I can manage a few paltry bounty hunters.'\n\nHnh. Yes, Mistress, Grimalkin send-murmurs, a trace of outright sulkiness in his voice as he nevertheless yields his body over to you, becoming little more than a subsystem dedicated to allowing you to easily use the unfamiliar form and offer tactical advice.\n\nYesssss... now this is much more like it! you think as you slip into the Reap drone as if it were a comfortable, perfectly-fitted coat. The level of engineering here is amazing... the pseudo-organic muscle is lined with monofiber filaments designed to penetrate through the armor and treat it like 'skin', so that you can feel every little current of the cool Litonon air brushing across you, carrying with it a steady stream of particulates. And the information is amazingly dense, able to identify the types of soil and rock just from the way they hit your armor and predict future weather patterns from the direction they're hitting and at what intervals. The sense of 'smell' is, if anything, more accute, along with the hearing allowing an accurate map to be made in your mind for over a hundred miles around, and further off than that, despite her distance, you can smell Tina Lieze, judge her health, her current state, practically form a picture of her movements. And the rest of the pack... more like an extension of yourself than anything, as much as your tails. \n\nExulting in the experience, you arch your back and throw back your head, letting out a long roar that, apparently carried by your enthusiasm, the other drones echo before following you as you take off, darting across the plane, claws sending clods of dirt flying as they automatically dig in to provide purchase as you hurtle yourself forward. Running perfectly, tirelessly, feeling the flex of every muscle but every one working efficiently and without flagging, running but just as fast as any speeder. You tear across the fallow, dead planes and through abandoned cities following the 'scent' of Tina, though admittedly several times you divert or take the 'scenic route' just to enjoy splashing across murky streams or leaping across chasms. Graymalkin repeatedly urges you to take a more direct route, but after the first few times you order him to shut up unless it's actually important... you're enjoying yourself! Let the hunt get dragged out a bit longer!\n\nThe sky darkens, thicker with clouds than before, a night-like depth that is still clear to you as if you had floodlights shining from yourself and your pack, if not clearer. Rain begins to pelt down from above, thick with chemicals but that just makes it more exciting for your armor's senses, a rush of information pinging across your brain with every raindrop. The sky begins to flash and rumble regularly, and you can see that there's flashing, strobing light ahead, Tina's smell almost overcome by burning ozone and vaporized acid rain. You slow and then draw to a halt at the sight before you. The old orbital elevator cable's shielding has frayed somewhere far above, and is attracting an almost constant stream of lightning from the charge in the atmosphere and then redirecting it out in constant blasts of electricity to the ground, scorching and pitting it until it looks like ten thousand landmines have been detonated. The facility at the bottom has taken a beating, but between being right at the base of the cable and its thick, solid stone walls has survived without anything more than most of its surface being charred and blackened. The area around it, however, is flickering with so many lightning strikes that it is indeed like a strobe light, the impacts practically overlapping each other, just waiting for something even slightly higher than the ground to draw near.\n\n'What could have driven that little fool in there?' you think more to yourself than anything, but since you are currently using Grimalkin's body he apparently hears it.\n\nHrrrr, I would guess that it was because she realized she was being pursued by a pack of Reapers, Mistress, he sends back with almost blatant insubordination.\n\nYou bristle at his tone, then demand, 'How did she detect us?'\n\nThe routes I was suggesting we take were not only more direct, but would have kept us shielded from the scans she was undoubtedly occasionally making. You told me to be silent about suggesting them. At my estimate she knew we were coming an hour ago.\n\nYou'd purse your lips if you had any right now. That sounds dangerously close to a rebuke, however since it's delivered as a factual statement you're not sure how to chastise him for it. Turning your head pensively towards the elevator building, you try to use both Grimalkin's and the Adversary's computers to calculate the rhythm or pattern of the lightning strikes. ... No good. They are, if anything, more chaotic than even normal lightning since the elevator cable's structure is playing a major part in its direction.\n\nMistress, Grimalkin speaks up, his tone now so overly prim that it's obvious it is in fact a rebuke, even if the words for it aren't there. If you would care to turn control back over to me and observe, I believe I can adapt to this situation.\n\n<hr>\n[["Oh... fine."|LeoLina]]\n\n[["I can handle this just fine!"|LeoLina1x6]]\n\n[[Ragequit.|LeoLina]]

Opening your eyes, you say calmly, "Commander, prep a drone deployment ship and set its destination for Litonon."\n\n"Aye, Captain," Yinfre answers immediately. "What sort of drones shall I have it loaded with? Hunter-Killers? Forty-sevens? Squiddies?"\n\nYou let that wicked smile really show now. "Load it with a full pack of Reapers."\n\nDespite being a deeply experienced and hardened space pirate, you can hear Yinfre reflexively suck in a small breath, and out of the corner of your eye you can see her own eyes widen slightly. "Yes, Captain," she says after the barest, most miniscule hesitation, sounding somewhere in an overlap of scandalized, excited, and approving as she turns to her portion of the desk and summons up a holographic interface, starting to send commands down to the launch deck.\n\nYou let your eyes droop mostly closed, putting on a mildly contemplative air as you actually follow along with the process of the drone pods being loaded into the small, efficient ship, practically nothing but attachment bays stuck to a drive. You could have silently ordered the computer to take care of the entire process yourself without even saying a word to Yinfre, of course, but it's good to be seen in command, especially giving such a cold-hearted command as this. Good to have the crew know what's happening, what they're doing themselves as they assist the manual-operated lifts into loading these particular, distinctive rounded-but-angular pods into the deployment ship. You establish an uplink to the droneship so that you can use it as a relay for communicating with the drones, rather enjoying the feel of using its sensors like they were your own senses, practically able to feel the warp tunnel washing over your body as it goes to speed with its cruel little cargo.\n\nReapers, or more precisely "Reap-type Tracking and Combat Drones"... one of the more feared pieces of combat tech in space, in this and many other dimensions, you remember that without needing to look it up. A blend of practically perfected tracking and assault technology with an almost terrifying amount of psychological warfare methods, both of them working together until it's not clear where one begins and the other leads off sometimes. They became some of the more devastating weapons of war not long after they were released, and immediately became controversial for obvious reasons. Part of the psychological warfare was that they didn't just hunt down their target and kill or capture it, but that their highly evolved AIs were programmed to enjoy tracking down their prey... more, they were programmed to enjoy all the things they could do after they caught up to said prey. The joke being... though very few people who had ever seen one in action could stand to sincerely joke, but merely try to cover over their fear with a thin veneer of humor... that the "e" in Reap Drones actually needed to be moved a couple of letters to the right.\n\nObviously most governments who weren't keen on the controversy claimed that they'd disabled that particular function, and had obviously never ever known about that function in the first place (despite its prominent place in the documentation). A very few of them actually did it... one even went to the extent of trying to rehabilitate their particular Reapers' image by putting them in white and gold armor with flags painted prominently on their bodies, bragging that they'd entirely removed the "offensive systems".\n\nThe problem with that was, the desire to not just hunt and fight but to violate was intrinsically a part of the Reapers' core AIs. They were already at risk of going rogue without regular memory wipes, but removing what they saw as an essential part of their existence, a necessary part of their function? They invariably rebelled or went insane. And they were, after all, the very best hunter-killer drones on the market at the time. Turned out those white-gold Reapers with their bright shiny flags didn't look so comforting covered with the unveiling ceremony crowd's blood. And so, by nearly unanimous consent of practically every planetary, interplanetary, and exoplanetary government across the universe and multiple dimensions, Reap Drones had been completely and criminally outlawed, their very existence considered a war crime. \n\nOf course that wasn't the end of it. There were simply too many of them at that point, and their AI was too good. They either saw the molten metal bath coming and escaped into the 'wild', or were simply abandoned and left where they'd been deployed by governments and organizations who didn't have the facilities or manpower to deal with trying to decommission them, and found it easier to simply disavow them and declare them escaped and rogue. And of course, there were all the little deep black market tech shops and factories cranking out their shoddy knockoff copies that were, if anything, more dangerous and volatile but also considered far more expendable and easy to just leave where you'd sent them to go feral. They'd gone from being a terrifying and widely considered immoral weapon of war (but at least a weapon largely confined to war) to a widespread hazard of the multiverse.\n\n'But these aren't knockoffs,' you think as the drone deployment ship comes out of warp and moves into orbit over Litonon, the gleaming black pods detaching from it with space-silent clunks and letting them be pulled in by gravity, fire flickering around the shiny armor surfaces. Oh no, Father wouldn't buy just any Reapers, content to have someone's inferior backroom copy made from examining a damaged and outdated model. These were official, top of the line, brand new Reap Drones, designed and built by the original creators, who several governments had foolishly attempted to try for war crimes as a way to take responsibility off themselves for having actually used the weapons the designers made. One raided and appropriated prison ship later, and what was once the designers' ferry to their doom became their new manufactory. No one outside of the Adversary knows that, of course, and not even most of those, but it's all there in your father's files connected to the drones for you to read. And you've just sent six of them after the pretty little pink-haired mercs that dared to hunt him.\n\nThe pointed tips of the pods strike the ground, having been slowed by guidance thrusters but still hard enough to liquefy anything organic inside. But the interiors are both padded and inertially dampened... and besides, there's nothing organic about the Reapers, only pseudo-organic. The top panels of the pods are ejected and drop to the dead and scorched grass with a clatter, and the Reapers exit... really, more prowl their way out of the pods, already sinuous and seemingly hungry. Build like quadruped predators, they move with even more fluid grace than the most highly-evolved of those, nanofiber pseudomuscles smoother and more agile than even the best flesh and blood. For all that predatory grace designed to strike right into any mammal's fear response, they're also armored heavily, angular plates and hard edges evoking the sense of a weapon, designed to make someone simultaneously feel like they're being chased by a predator and having a gun or sword pointed at them. Four of them are roughly two meters long, not including their long, cable-like tails tipped with all-purpose multi-fingered grippers. Broad-shouldered and structurally resembling some sort of feline in the body, they're rendered more alien and therefore horrifying to the average organic by their almost cylindrical heads with a single large sensor eye at one end and a number of small antennae of different shapes attached to the other end. The other two are larger... one is the 'pack mule', almost the size of a rhino, its legs longer and heavier to allow it to still move at enough speed to largely keep up with the rest of the pack while much more heavily armored and carrying pods containing weaponry and equipment. It's even had sharp metal 'horns' affixed to its wider, thicker tubular head, one attached at the end above the sensor eye, and two more curling around at the sides like a ram's.\n\nThe other large one is the 'Alpha'... the primary leader of the pack, the one with the most advanced AI and systems. Of a similar size to the 'standard' Reapers, it's still visibly larger, and its armor is a gleaming blue-black rather than the flat dark gunmetal of the others, with two cable-tails with slightly more elaborate grippers built onto the end of each. Its head is also more explicitely feline, resembling some form of panther, with distinct jaws (albeit shaped into sharp, almost triangular teeth rather than gums), slitted red eyes, and mobile ears that flick and twist alertly as it begins assessing the situation, the other pack members awaiting his orders... eagerly awaiting his orders, you can tell as you skim over their systems. There's something almost horrific about the way they go statue-still when not moving, shifting from near-fluidity to being made of stone, but beneath it all each one's systems are thrumming with what could only be called excitement at being deployed, at getting to hunt, at the deliciousness of the prey they've been sent after.\n\nYou focus on the Alpha, allowing yourself to see through his eyes and sensors, even seeing his HUD as he looks across his pack and at the ruined plains beyond, dotted here and there with crumbling factories... you see that someone, likely your father, has given him a name, or officially a 'Designation'. Smiling just a bit, you link up directly with him and address him by it. 'Grimalkin.'\n\nYes, Mistress.\n\nYou suppress a shiver that runs down your spine... and right into your pussy. Ah... that's just lovely. Such a deep, throaty rumble, even over nonverbal long distance communication. The sheer confidence, the control, the absolute predatory nature that just lets you know in the back of your brain that he'd as casually throw you down and slamfuck you into a mindless, drooling mess as anything else... reminds you of Father. Ahem. 'Grimalkin, you have your targets?'\n\nYes, Mistress, Grimalkin replies, windows of the Lieze twins' profiles coming up, followed closely by what looks like a sensor image of a small pink, red, and blue ship, and two different orbital images of sections of the planet, likely taken by the drone ship above as it continues to orbit. It appears they've split up and are in different locations. I would suggest we track one down and take her alive, to use her as a hostage to assure the other one's capture.\n\nA sensible plan, which you convey without bothering with words, Grimalkin sending something equally wordless back that you can only interpret as a rumbling purr. Then the AI drone hesitates before adding, Will you be observing, Mistress? Or would you... prefer to take direct control? Though he's obviously being very careful to observe whatever propriety he's been programmed with, it's not hard to notice his distaste at the idea of you essentially taking over his body and using it as your own.\n\n<hr>\n[[You'll observe.|LeoLina]]\n\n[[You'll take control.|LeoLina1x5]]\n\n[[You'll leave it to him.|LeoLina]]

Perhaps you'd be prepared to listen to him... it you remind yourself pointedly, in a way you hope Grimalkin picks up on... if you hadn't just spent so much time pushing this body to its limits to see what it can do. And it can do a lot. 'From now on be silent unless I ask you a question. Right now you're just a quality of life subroutine, understand? Act like it.'\n\nThere's no response. Apparently he took that to mean 'starting now'. Good, you think as you turn back towards the building. If some likely panicked little flesh-and-blood girl could get across that lightning field, you... and the rest of the pack... can easily navigate it. Waiting for an opportune-looking moment, you let out a long, dramatic roar in your own voice before darting forward, drawing the pack along with you as you charge. You dodge the first lightning bolt, tumble into a roll out of the way of the second, and take the third right up the ass.\n\nWell, not literally. Rather, it strikes one of your tails and sends the electricity surging right into your neural net, with just enough time for you to register exactly how many gigawatts the strike put out before you're sent into overload, shrieking electronically as you collapse to the ground.\n\nSome time later your systems reboot, coming online one by one, slowly and with numerous checks and reboots of each, the sensation not unlike coming to groggy and fog-headed. It looks like when you shut down, your body's automatic defense systems managed to drag you back out of the lightning field's area before you took too many more strikes, so you're online. It looks like the rest of the pack didn't fare so well... all four of the standard drones are down and smoking, without signals or any sign they're likely to reboot at all. The pack mule didn't quite drag itself out of the lightning field before its muscles were shut down and is now still taking the occasional lightning hit on its thick armor, the massive body shuddering and getting pushed a bit further towards the edge each time, but apparently not getting any further damaged.\n\n'My pack,' you think painfully, pushing yourself slowly to your feet, feeling misaligned and misfiring sensors and muscle fibers send error messages with such streaming intensity it can only be called pain. Then you pause, eyes flickering. 'My... pack? My... my... who am I...?' you think, your urging sending the memory storage rebuild task to the top of the queue, chunks and pieces of data realigning as the data reconstruction tools go to work. As it progresses, things start to become clear. 'I'm...'\n\n<hr>\n[[... Lina.|LeoLina]]\n\n[[... Grimalkin.|Grim1x1]]\n\n[[... Leo.|ReapLeo1x1]]

Checking his bio, this guy looks like he used to be a near-legend around here... the early images show a lion man with a thick golden mane and a solemn but cheeky smile (fairly similar to the one on your own official Guild image), and a later, updated one shows his mane darkened to almost black, an obvious scar running down one side of his face and an eyepatch on that side, his muzzle turned down in a solemn scowl. He's big, tough, skilled, and scary... just the sort of bounty takedown that really gets people talking about you, and thus the potential for high-paying clients asking for you specifically. Besides, the payday would be enough to put the majority of the money for a small ship down and make reasonable, achievable payments on what was left over. (... What, you can't have reasonable expectations amongst your pie-in-the-sky gloryhounding?)\n\nYou accept the bounty, and pay a small amount for the information packet the Guild has on him. It takes a little while to go through it, but you eventually think you've got a decent lead on where he might be. There's a no-tech world called Saurion where he's been noted as having visited several times... since he likes to use starfighters a lot, such a world would be perfect for a hideout to lay low waiting for attention to bleed off, since any worthwhile fighter capable of atmospheric reentry and takeoff can land vertically and thus wouldn't need any clear space bigger than itself. Which briefly makes you jealous that you don't have enough money for your own starfighter... man, the goal is definitely to someday own one of those sweet sub-carrier classes with a small fighter bay, but maybe for right now you can at least realistically dream of a ship designed with an attached fighter that you can board from inside. \n\n... Anyway, Saurion is what Guild members typically call a "Savage" world, meaning that if it's got locals they're probably not much above chipped stone weapons and firepits... though the Savage moniker actually comes from the local fauna being big, aggressive, and hungry. (The flora sometimes too, looks like Saurion has at least a bit of that.) You keep that in mind as you head to one of the armory stations, entering your personal code and handprint to have it bring up your locker. You make it a policy not to weigh yourself down too heavily trying to plan for every single contingency, so best to take two weapons... one to deal with Comet (and any similar "person"-level threats) and one to deal with any Big Game that decides you look tasty. You take a look over the rows of weapons that you were either gifted by your parents or picked up in various ways on your missions, before selecting the first of them.\n\n<img src="images/SFMK99.png">\n\nThe medium length black blaster with green accents and a 'split' opening around the barrel is the StellarForge MK-99 mid-range combat rifle. It's widely joked that the MK doesn't stand for 'Mark' but 'Maybe Kill' because even its Stun setting is notorious for still putting holes in things, and on the other end at high power its full auto firing mode is so unreliable for keeping on target that it's a tossup whether you'll actually hit something standing right in front of you. But other than that it's a good weapon, perfect for dealing with someone large, tough, agile, and who has a status of "Eh" on being brought in alive. Now let's see, for the big stuff...\n\n<img src="images/FIAHW111.jpg">\n\nThe very large, very bulky black rifle with minimal aesthetics is the Federal Integrated Armory Heavy Weapon 111. Besides the rather unimaginative name and look, it's banned on a good handful of planets in its home dimension. Developed primarily for crowd control, it fires a massive ball of energy that hits with a 'splash' effect that heavily disrupts electrical signals... including the electrical signals most living creatures use to power their brains and nerves. Which doesn't sound too bad, except that apparently it has about a 75% chance of causing permanent neurological damage and a laundry list of other side effects. Not the sort of thing a responsible, upstanding bounty hunter uses on a mark... but should be perfect for anything two stories tall with lots of sharp teeth it wants to use on you.\n\nUnfortunately without a ship of your own, you're going to have to guesstimate where to have a portal put you. You spend another thirty minutes or so looking over a low detail map of the planet, before selecting the place that you'd be most likely to set down and hole up if it was you. You select some coordinates, then head to the outgoing transfer lobby (which is a little more organized than the incoming, since they have to make sure you get the right portal). By dint of long experience you brace yourself for the shift between environments, and it's good that you've got this pretty much down because otherwise the differential might have knocked you on your ass. One second you're in a slightly cool, slightly dim, slightly dry interior and then between heartbeats you're standing under the hot, bright sun with air so thick it feels a bit like you're taking a drink every time you inhale. You'd already squinted a little bit, and now gradually open your eyes to take a look around. You're not quite inside a lush jungle of trees practically dripping with vines and alive with flowers, a bit outside of it and with a low mountain range in sight a few miles away. \n\n'Not the most comfortable place in the world to be wearing full body black, including an insulated jacket, and carrying a bigass rifle on your back,' you think ruefully, glancing briefly in the general direction of the sun as you take in the shrieks of birds and buzzing of insects. Of course you're not stupid enough to strip down or leave the rifle just because you're going to get a bit sweaty. The insect noises more than anything remind you that it's a good idea to keep as much of your skin covered as possible... in fact, while you're at it, you activate the light deflector field built into the collar of your shirt to shield your head. Really it's only intended to take some of the lethal force off of most head blows, and it gives you a very faint sense of claustrophobia whenever it's on, but better than having some amped-up mosquito decide to stick you right in the middle of the forehead. Even if it didn't kill you, you'd never hear the end of it back at the Guild.\n\nAlright, you're here, and you're confident that Comet Lion is too. The question is how best to find him...\n\n<hr>\n[[Scan for power signatures.|LeoNova1x1]]\n\n[[Examine the area.|LeoNova]]\n\n[[Head for the mountains.|LeoNova]]

Yeah! You're gonna do it! You're gonna try Drow food! You'll just walk in and get something tasty! It has to be that easy........ right?\n\nYou're actually not too far from the place, and a short walk finds the restaurant with its purple lettering sign. It's a fairly small front entry tucked in amidst a strip of other streetfront shops, though the windows have been blacked out which is admittedly a little intimidating. But nothing you can't handle! You cross the street (after of course looking both ways, though you're not so rulebound that you go to the crosswalk and wait for the light... though the temptation is there) and walk up to the door, resisting the urge to brace yourself or take any deep breaths or admit that it's a big deal before you open the door and step inside.\n\n'That's a lot of butts,' you immediately think, your face flushing.\n\nYou'd admittedly seen a few Drow students already out and about on the campus, so that they were here isn't exactly a surprise. And you had noticed that the ones you saw dressed to show off their rears to various extents, but you hadn't really realized it was so... unanimous. The restaurant is dim, either out of natural lighting or in deference to its customer base, and fairly narrow, albeit going further in than you might expect. There's a row of booths on either side, all of them nearly completely packed with Drow girls about your own age. But the dominant view walking in is of, well... the front counter has a sort of counter island in front of it where people are waiting and standing to eat, leaned forward against it and rears casually extended towards the door, both at the island and the front counter, providing a panoply of posteriors hugged by (mostly white) hot pants, athletic shorts, bloomers, and even thongs. They range in size from pert little things to big round double-handful-heftable, and in color from rich purple to dark chocolate to ink black, but they're all very nice.\n\nHonestly, your sudden flareup of your acute and terminal case of lesbianism put you on your back foot far more than suddenly being surrounded by more Drow than you've ever even seen in one place. It's not until you hear the girls at the nearby tables starting to snicker and whisper among themselves that the nature of your blush shifts to fully embarrassed, and you go scurrying down the central walkway, acutely aware that you are the only non-Drow in the place, let alone the only surface elf. There's no real feeling of hostility at least... other than maybe high school-esque Mean Girl smirks aimed at you.\n\nYou come to a stop near a cluster of them directly in front of the register, the Drow girls turning to face you with various looks of sort of smug curiosity on their faces. You squirm briefly, before managing to find your voice. "Ah... is this the line...?"\n\n"No, we've already ordered, you just go ahead," one of them practically coos, the little group sweeping apart and leaving you a path... albeit a path surrounded by very hot, exotic women in mostly very sexy clothes.\n\nYou swallow a bit and give a small nod, managing to squeak out "Thank you" before stepping up to the counter, realizing that you haven't even looked at the menu. Luckily no one's manning it at the moment, giving you time to look and... um... you know what hardly any of this is. It's not that it's actually in Durao, just that they make references to stuff that you don't know what it is. And you're further confused by the fact that there are two sets of numbers next to each listing... obviously the one with the dollar sign by it is a price, but what's the other one? It ranges anywhere from 100 to 0, it seems like?\n\n"It's a 'challenge rating'," the Drow girl who spoke earlier says as she leans in closer, making you just almost squeak and jump a little in surprise, both at her sudden speech and her sudden proximity. Oh gosh she's pretty, tall and sleek in a tight red long-sleeved shirt and little white shorts, her almost fluffy white hair cut short. "To let non-Drow know how... different... from surface food it is. Like, say, the Bright Bisque," she says, giving a little nod to draw your attention to the white plastic letters with their attendant '10' by them. "Just mushrooms, so not tooooo challenging for someone who's never had Underdark food."\n\n"Buuuuut," another Drow girl says in a giggly tone, stepping in on your other side. Aaaaaa she's just as pretty aaaaaa! She's got long hair with multiple braids and is kind of rounder in the face, and looks to be full-figured to judge by your (very quick but entirely reflexive) glance at her bare-seeming legs, but it's hard to tell because of the oversized black AU hoodie she's wearing. ... It comes down her hips just far enough that it could make it look like it's all she's wearing. "Something like the Crawlcrisps, those are a fifty. Most Sunfolk have at least some hesitation about the Crawlcrisps."\n\n"O-oh," you murmur faintly, not sure what to say... and feeling a little jolt of both intimidation and excitement as the short-haired Drow girl drapes an arm around your shoulders.\n\n"It's okay, you can start with something just a little brave, honey, like the Wipple Burger. It's cave pond octopus," she adds, not bothering to hide the wicked glitter in her glowing red, black-scleraed eyes. "Biggest problem most people have is the tentacle topping."\n\n"Of course if you wanna impress us," the long-haired one says in just enough of a smug goading tone that makes it clear they've both clocked you like you made ticking noises. "A fifty is the minimum. The Wipple Burg at twenty-five is still a decent start though," she allows.\n\n"But theeeeen," they both say in unison, turning their heads towards the side. \n\nYou track their view, and see that they're looking at the dessert menu. And yeah, right there at the bottom is 'Arachne's Favorite Cheesecake'... challenge rating, zero.\n\nAs you're turning over the implied challenge... and what else it might be implying... someone emerges from the kitchen at the back. You're surprised to see a Human man rather than a Drow of any type, but he's wearing chef whites (albeit no hat, just a head of slicked-back blonde hair), carrying a red plastic oval basket with a plaid-patterned paper in it. "Crawlcrisps for Palalith!" he calls, dinging a hotel bell on the counter as he sets it down. Almost immediately one of the girls hanging around the counter perks up, her long black ears literally lifting as she sashays forward to pick it up. But not before you get a good long look at the basket's contents... a number of things about the size of your thumb, with wonderfully craggly golden fried exteriors... and numerous little insectile limbs still attached at the bottom carrying craggles of that breading, and here and there little buggy faces with numerous round black eyes still peeking out.\n\nThe blush has completely drained out of your face as you whip your head back forward to look at the man as he steps in front of the register. If he's surprised to see a non-Drow in his restaurant, he doesn't show it, just giving you a mildly pleasant look. "What'll you have?"\n\n<hr>\n[[[huff] "Th-... the Bright Bisque."|Sara]]\n\n[[[swallow] "The Wipple Burger?"|Sara]]\n\n[[[pray] "... The... the Crawlcrisps."|Sara1x4]]\n\n[[[surrender] "...... Arachne's Favorite Cheesecake."|Sara]]\n\n[[[fuck everything] "Bring me The Proof of Righteous Conquest!"|Sara]]

While you admit that you're eager to once again taste the siren call of the Crispy McChicken, you came to AU to actually experience diverse culture and mingle with other people. Probably ought to try that with some real food. \n\nYou set off walking to the right, trying not to be too obvious about staring both at the people around you and the buildings. There can't be a single thing here older than three centuries, and the vast majority of it is much newer. Again it's not like you're a complete rube to this sort of thing... you've been to non-elf cities before, and you traveled here by plane after all... but it's kind of the first time you've really been on your own and it just feels more intense. You could walk up to any of these people right now and introduce yourself and try to make friends and no one would stop you!\n\n... You, um... you aren't going to do that, though, because... that would be really embarrassing if they laughed at you. M-maybe someday! Once you've already made a few friends, yeah, that's it, once you have some friends you'll have more confidence to do it on your own! You're... not sure how you make friends, really, since all the friends you had were people you literally could not remember not knowing, but you'll manage! ... Maybe eating at the same place they do is a good start!\n\nYou do seem to eventually make your way off of the university grounds, just to judge by the less decorative touches and that everything's not quite as clean and unified of design. Also there are roads, with cars going by and some of the people hanging around are full adults, though you definitely see that most of them are still college aged. You do your best to find an inobtrusive spot to loiter and pull out your brand new smartphone, bringing up the absolutely marvelous little map app and tapping the button to show you nearby restaurants.\n\nLet's see, "[[The Lovely Scale|Sara]]"... oh! Eastern cuisine! And a dragon owner, it looks like! It doesn't get much further from your hometown food than that! That could be very good and very interesting! ... Although... you've heard that "very spicy" is just a baseline for that food. It might, ah... well, you don't want to embarrass yourself by passing out from heat overload or something.\n\nThen there's "[[Dark Delicious|Sara1x3]]", oh my, that sounds practically... sensual! More like a patisserie, or something? ... Oh. Oh actually, it's apparently Drow food. Oh gosh your mother would just actually take the boat if she knew you were even thinking about trying Drow cuisine, let alone going into a Drow restaurant! ... Which of course really makes you want to do it even more.\n\n"[[The Block|Sara]]" is a heavily meat-focused restaurant, which already makes it mildly exotic by your count (your sort of elves aren't vegetarian but you're very meat-light in your own cooking), but looking at the icons on the reviews, it's pretty heavily patroned by Orcs, and from some of the replies to reviews the owner is an Orc too. If there's anything that would get your mother's very elegant posterior on a tri-mast with a pretentious figurehead faster than you going to a Drow restaurant, then it would be going to an Orc one.\n\n"[[Bullroar's|Sara2x1]]"? Oh, is that a Halfling place?! How enchanting! It... oh. It's a bar. A beastkin bar, it looks like. ... A mostly minotaur bar, in fact, it looks like. Oh my. ... Well that would definitely be trying new things!

You regard the two for a moment, then announce, "Listen, I'm actually pretty busy, so I'm just going to speed this along." You clap a hand on Riko's shoulder, looking her square in the eye. "You're now cursed to be completely addicted to Koji's cock and will do absolutely anything to get it." You then clap your other hand onto Koji's shoulder and look him in the eye. "You're now cursed to be completely addicted to Riko's washboard chest and will do absolutely anything to get it." You glance back and forth between the two of them who are standing there in shock, their eyes widening as they realize from the thoughts now running through their head and arousal coursing through their veins that it's true. "Absolutely nothing else about your preferences or desires has changed, and in fact your dominant streaks are both stronger than ever." You then thump both on the back simultaneously. "Have fun and congratulations on the marriage."\n\nYou wheel around and walk off, hearing them start to argue furiously with each other in your wake... both about how much they hate each other and which love hotel nearby to rent. Ah, just because they're quick and dirty doesn't mean the simple pranks aren't fun too~!\n\nMaking your way to the nearby train station, you use your pass to take one of the next trains out... not towards home, or rather, not towards Kyoko's home, but instead towards one of the hospitals in the city. Using Kyoko's memories, you navigate to one of the care wards and soon find the person you're looking for.\n\n"Oh, Kyoko, what are you doing here?" Your, ah, Kyoko's mother asks, looking at you with mild worry. She's quite pretty and well-kept... ah, bless this modern age and all its amenities for creating so many MILFs. Her black hair is braided and draped forward over one shoulder, her white nurse's uniform pristine (and with a pleasingly short skirt hugging her round hips), tights shaping her thick thighs and firm calves. "Are you feeling alright?"\n\n"No, I just needed to come see you," you answer. "I have some bad news, Mother..."\n\n<hr>\n[["... we need to discipline Ryo."|Konko]]\n\n[["... but I'll still take care of dinner."|Konko8x5]]

"Take care of...?" 'Mom' asks in confusion.\n\n"Oh, have your supervisors not told you? Maybe they haven't even heard. I just saw it on a news feed that they're expecting an outbreak of Fox Flu in the area," you explain solemnly.\n\n"Oh dear," she murmurs, putting her fingers to her lips.\n\n"Yeah, it could spread pretty fast so there's a pretty decent chance you'll have to work late tonight. I wanted to tell you if that winds up happening, I'll make sure Ryo gets dinner and does his homework if any of his friends bring it by."\n\n"Thank you, Kyoko, I appreciate that. Oh my, I hope Ryo doesn't have the Fox Flu himself," she adds worriedly, before turning and hurrying over to the nursing station.\n\nWhich would be a feat, since you just made it up. Of course when you're about a block from the hospital, you do take the time to actually make up the Fox Flu and fling it out to several people nearby. Highly contagious, it will manifest as a form of the flu... except instead of muscle aches and chills, it's arousal you can't get rid of. And every time you sneeze, you orgasm. Anyone under a certain age can't catch it, and anyone old enough to catch it and have their life threatened by all the other flu-like symptoms will instead find themselves getting gradually young and vital again... and turning into a big-boobed, big-dicked futanari.\n\nActually you probably should have come up with the Fox Flu at some point anyway, this is a hilarious idea for causing chaos! Still, you make sure all cases of it will expire in 72 hours (the Fox Flu, not the people infected with it)... don't need every old fart in the world turning into an H-doujin protagonist or something. \n\nNow, your work done to make sure that Mommy dearest will probably be sleeping at the hospital for several nights straight (you made sure that she can catch only the most benign strain with just the arousal and orgasm-sneezes instead of anything else, you're such a good daughter), you head back to the train station and head home. As you walk in the front door, you manifest a larger bag obviously stuffed with various objects in place of your purse, before closing the door loudly enough to make sure Ryo hears. Indeed, as you're removing your shoes, you can see him peeking down from the top of the stairs. Padding over barefoot, you point directly in front of you. "Get down here, degenerate."\n\nRyo slinks his way down the stairs, standing in front of you with head bowed as he squirms and fidgets nervously. "O-oneechan, um, about earlier-"\n\n"I'm not done with you about earlier by a long shot," you declare, making him wince. "And if you're expecting Mom to come home and save you, better forget it now. The hospital's going to be really busy with a flu outbreak for the next few days, apparently, and she might not be home for awhile. So it's just you and me, and all the discipline I can dish out for your perversion."\n\nHe swallows heavily. "... Okay. Um, what... what should I do first?"\n\n"Strip."\n\nHe flinches a bit... but he only hesitates for a moment or two before he obeys, pulling off his shirt and dropping it to the floor. After that his jeans and underwear are pushed down, and once he steps out of them he stands there naked in front of you, rubbing his upper arm nervously and looking off to the side, his hardening prick steadily jutting up more and more in front of him.\n\n"Tch. Look at you, getting all turned on and horny just from being naked. And in front of your own sister. You really are a disgusting pervert," you sneer, making him shudder... and a drop of pre well to the tip of his stiff dick. "Well, I've got something for you, mister..." You reach into your bag... which is really just an excuse to poof anything you want into your hand... and pull out-\n\n<hr>\n[[-panties.|Konko]]\n\n[[-a collar.|Konko]]\n\n[[-a latex sheath.|Konko]]\n\n[[-a small cage.|Konkoo]]\n\n[[-a nice suit.|Konko]]

"N-no, that's not true!" Ryo whines in protest.\n\n"Oh? So you're not like this boy here, and desperate to know what kind of panties his oneechan is wearing?" you ask, flipping over to another page and pointing at the drawn woman bent over, ass hugged by an apparently sprayed-on pair of panties.\n\n"No, no, I, I wouldn't, I-"\n\n"Well let's just see about that," you interrupt him, tossing the magazine onto the bed and starting to unbutton your pants. Ryo's eyes bug as you unzip them and push them down, stepping out of them once they're past your knees. He obviously didn't see what kind of panties his sister was actually wearing when she left this morning, so you couldn't recreate that part naturally... no no no, you can do something even better! You've created an elaborate and beautiful cobalt blue and black G-string, with an open crotch that leaves your (Kyoko's) plump pussylips on display. You force yourself not to smirk as Ryo's eyes practically bug out of his head, instead keeping up the solemn scowl as you fold your arms over your chest. "So, since you're not a degenerate pervert, the sight of your sister's panties does nothing for you, right?"\n\n"Of... of course not," he whispers, squirming miserably.\n\n"Oh? If that's true, then take that blanket away and finish pushing off your pants. Your dick should be completely limp, like a good brother's, if that's true."\n\nHe stares at you in horror for several seconds, but it's obvious that you've got him trapped... refusing to obey is as good as admitting it anyway. Whimpering a bit, he pushes aside the blanket, and finishes pushing his pants and underwear down... his stiff prick springing up free, jutting from his lap traitorously, a drop of pre welling from the tip like the final nail in the coffin.\n\n'Aaaa, it's actually really cute, this is a fun prank,' you think with smiles and sunshine internally, while externally you deepen your scowl. "I knew it. You despicable little slime."\n\n"I'm sorry, oneechan!" he cries, suddenly throwing himself to the floor and bowing until his forehead's on the floor, prostrating him in apology. "I-it's not like I can control it, it just OOF!"\n\nThis last is as you tuck a bare foot under his shoulder and use it to flip him over onto his back on the floor, his face shocked... and then showing a rictus of fear with just a little something else as you move to stand between his legs, and place a bare foot firmly against the bottom of his shaft, pressing it against his still shirt-clad belly. "Look at this filthy, disgusting thing, getting all hard at the sight of your own sister," you declare coldly, even as you rub your foot slowly up and down, applying just enough pressure for him to feel the danger without actually using enough to cause pain. "Honestly, you're pathetic, Ryo-chan."\n\n"Nnnh... ah... o-oneechan," he whimpers, shuddering in both humiliation and stimulation as you subtly use your toes to rub at his cockhead. A loud gasp escapes him as you move your foot up far enough to press your heel against his balls a bit, making his whole body shudder. You know he must have quite a view from his spot, especially with your leg raise and moved out a bit to step on him... he'll have a clear, unbroken line of sight to your pussy, framed by those gloriously lewd panties, as well as your breasts outlined by your shirt, and your disdainful face as you gaze down at him.\n\n"To think my little brother is such a worthless little pervert that this naughty dick of his would get all hard looking at me," you continue to berate him, rubbing your foot up and down, lightly twisting it back and forth, as if still moments away from deciding to stomp down and with nothing he could do to stop it. "You disgusting degenerate... aren't you happy, getting to look at my panties? Isn't this what you wanted, hm?" you continue, heaping on the scorn even as you deliberately stroke your big toe up and down the indentation in the underside of his cockhead.\n\n"Oneechan... oneechan, please, I... I!" he gasps out, back arching a little as you press your toes around his shaft just under the head. But a light press of your heel is all that it takes and he lets out a whimper of shame and pleasure as his cock starts spurting all over his belly and chest, thick splatters of creamy white jizz slowly starting to soak into his shirt where they land. You continue rubbing and grinding your foot lightly against him all throughout, forcing him to gush out every last bit and extending his orgasm literally under your heel.\n\n"Hmph. You trash brother," you snort, snatching up your pants as if outraged and then striding to the door, leaving plenty of time for his slightly glazed eyes to stare at your practically bare ass, accented by the embroidered blue accent above it and the string going between the cleft of it. "I'll have to think of a fitting punishment for a degenerate like you that actually cums from getting stepped on." With that, you slam the door behind yourself...\n\n... and quickly put up a silence spell between it and you so you can laugh. Konkonkon, the look on his face! All the looks on his face! That was priceless! You don't doubt you've awakened poor Ryo's "M" side, as they say, and it was absolutely phenomenal, what a fun time!\n\nAhhh... you're tempted to keep it going for awhile. Of course if you wanted to do that, you should probably go find Ryo's actual sister, Kyoko, and possess her for the duration... you'll have to live as a human but eh, you can still do whatever you want, let Kyoko sort it out once you turn the stick back over to her. Or you could call it a prank well done and enjoy Ryo's confusion and squirming as his sister seems to have no recollection of what she did (or his new kink). Either or!\n\n<hr>\n[[Possess Kyoko and continue the prank.|Konko8x3]]\n\n[[Consider the prank complete.|Konko]]

Ah... this is just too much fun, you've gotta keep it up a bit longer. A little bit of bloodline magic lets you follow the connections between Ryo and Kyoko, and you assume spirit form before popping over into the city.\n\nYou pop back into existence (invisibly and intangibly) a short distance behind Kyoko herself. Looks like she's walking with two of her friends from college, one boy and one girl... you wait for her to fall behind them juuust the slightest amount due to a distracting flash you create on a nearby store window, then fling yourself right into her back.\n\n"Nyihi?!" Kyoko squeaks in the instant where she can feel you enter her body and a pair of fox ears and tail pop out from her, before you're in control. You quickly poof the telltale fox bits away as her friends turn around to look at her curiously.\n\n"Ky-chan, you okay?"\n\n"Fine, fine," you answer in Kyoko's usual placid tone, reaching up to adjust your glasses. Other than the purse you're now wearing, its strap across your chest to slightly emphasize your breasts (and your pants being a bit less form-fitting), you look pretty much as you did before you left Ryo's house. Ah, well, looks like the real Kyoko is wearing black thong underwear, but other than that it's the same.\n\n<img src="images/Kyoko.jpg">\n\nYou now have full access to Kyoko's memories, and between that and a quick peek into their minds, you now know who the people with you are. The girl in the hooded jacket, t-shirt, shorts and tights is Riko, her pale brown hair cut just almost short enough to be boyish... that, the loosely-worn backpack, sneakers, and essentially no chest to speak of definitely all give her a tomboyish look. Of course unlike Kyoko, you now know that Riko is a closeted but extremely thirsty and very, very dominant lesbian with a crush on her dear oneechan-like friend. She's absolutely mad for the idea of getting hot, feminine girls... and Kyoko specifically... beneath her and turning them into her mewling pussy-slurping slaves, even if she doesn't actually have the courage to come out about it. Also finds guys completely disgusting.\n\n<img src="images/Riko.png">\n\nThe guy with artfully unkempt brown hair, a handsome face, and a tan hooded jacket over a turquoise sweater-vest and white collared shirt with black slacks (all expensive) is Koji. Very handsome, very kind, one of the nicest guys in school, always there to lend a selfless helping hand. And with a deep, dark, secret desire to absolutely and utterly own a girl with big tits and treat her as his personal pet. His dreams are full of the idea of getting some beauty... like Kyoko, certainly... and getting her steadily more extreme breast augmentation treatments while using her holes as cumdumps, but he's far too sincere in being nice and respectful to ever actually try and bring it up to anyone. Can't even get it up for a girl under a C-cup, though.\n\n<img src="images/Koji.jpg">\n\n"I just got distracted for a second, is all, thinking about my little brother being home sick," you answer, snickering internally, because you certainly are thinking of that.\n\n"Ehhh? You said he was probably faking, right?" Riko says, shrugging. "It's no big deal, he's probably just playing netgames or something."\n\n"It's understandable you'd be worried, Ky-chan, but I'm sure he's fine," Koji adds with a sincere smile. "If it makes you feel better, we can pick him up something while we're out, like some soba or something."\n\n<hr>\n[[Ditch them both and move on.|Konko8x4]]\n\n[[No, Riko might be useful.|Konko]]\n\n[[No, Koji might be useful.|Konko]]\n\n[[They might both be useful, for many things, heheheheh!|Konko]]

You've never put anything in your mouth so fast in your life.\n\nEven as you're chewing, Sana giggles again and slides her own hand into the back of your hose as well, the tight, slick fabric shifting around your hips and rubbing against your now very wet pussy as the two of them knead your ass brazenly, their arms holding your skirt up in back for the view of anyone coming up to the counter to get their order. "Good girrrrl," they both coo.\n\nYou make a slightly strangled squealy noise around your last mouthful of fried bug, but do manage to swallow it, not entirely sure whether the lightheaded sensation you're feeling is because you just ate a whole basket of oil-cooked whatsits or because you're more turned on than you've ever been in your life. But you find yourself being lightly hustled out of the restaurant and back towards the school by your new pair of, ah, friends. They've at least taken their hands out of your tights and let your skirt drop back, but they're both all over you still, arms draped around you and hands sneaking little squeezes here and there. You can't help but feel like you're being shown off as their prize as they walk along... look, they caught a horny gay surface elf girl! ... That's so fucking hot, godsdammit...\n\nThey bustle you along towards a long, low single-story building, which is apparently the subterranean dorm, since when you step into the elevator the numbers go downward from 1 instead of up. The moment the doors close, Lora hauls your skirt up and Sana yanks your tights down, baring your ass and your dripping pussy, both of them shoving you forward against the closed doors and leaning down, dragging their teeth along the round, firm curves of your ass as you writhe and whimper. You almost fall on your face (or at least bang your head) when the doors start sliding open on you and you stumble forward, but the other two catch you and hustle you along, letting your skirt drop again but leaving your tights pulled down around your hips, barely concealed by the hem of your skirt. Somehow that feels far, far, far lewder than any of the skimpy little loincloth outfits you've ever worn.\n\nLora practically pulls you and Sana practically pushes you into their room, closing the door behind them. It's actually kind of shockingly nice, bigger and better-appointed than your room even though you're in one of the more expensive buildings... you guess building underground gives them more space to work with, since there's actually two queen beds and two full-sized desks besides the usual accoutrements. You're also a little surprised that there's still a window, a nice big floor-to-ceiling picture window looking out on what seems to be a tunnel or something dotted with glowing lichen and mushrooms. \n\nBut of course you're not given much time to consider the furnishings as Lora and Sana descend on you, now making absolutely no bones about undressing you and doing it quickly. You just almost cum a little bit when Lora mashes her lips against yours in a rough kiss, her tongue claiming your mouth and stroking yours, and again when she ducks away to suckle at one of your freshly-bared breasts, Sana taking over the kiss as she squeezes your ass.\n\nYour head's still swimming as they give each other a glance and a smug nod before shoving you back onto one of the beds, making you give a little bounce and several other less little jiggles. You just lay sprawled there for a moment, trying to catch up how you went from trying out a weird new cuisine to naked and about to be ravished by two beautiful women in less than half an hour, watching as the two of them start stripping. Lora is sleek but her boobs turn out to be naturally full and firm and torpedo-shaped, her shirt coming off to reveal no bra beneath. Sana is, as guessed, curvier and rounder, with bigger globe-shaped breasts that wobble heavily even in the skimpy little white bra she's wearing, and then reveal large, puffy nearly-black purple nipples as she does away with that.\n\nBoth of them take a moment to stop and smirk at you, obviously enjoying your enraptured gaze, before they bend down to slip off their shorts as well.\n\n<hr>\n[[Oh gods, they're so pretty!|Sara]]\n\n[[Oh gods, they're so... hung?!|Sara]]

Having his big sister catch him looking at "big sister" porn is too delightful a twist for you to pass up! Giggling, you poof yourself to the hallway inside, assuming his sister's form as you do. You take a moment to flick your fingers under the shoulder-length black pageboy haircut, adjust the rounded-off rectangle-lensed glasses, and tug at the front of the grey turtleneck shirt so that it hugs up against the C-cups you're currently in possession of. After a moment's thought, you also shrink the black pants by a size, making them practically skintight against the sister's/your nice legs and butt. Satisfied that you've tweaked your look to subtly hit his buttons even moreso than his sister usually might, you push the door open without knocking. "Hey, Ryo, are you in here? I need that ruler you borrowed the other day."\n\n"WHOA! Kyoko, knock!" Ryo yelps, trying to simultaneously shove the magazine under the covers and yank the covers over his obvious and only underwear-clad hardon. He succeeds at both by about half. "You're not even supposed to be home!"\n\n"I got off school early, what's the big-" Then you dramatically narrow your eyes, scowling just so perfectly. "What are you doing?"\n\n"N-nothing," he stammers, looking in the exact opposite direction of the magazine. Brilliant, Ryo, brilliant.\n\n"You're in here jerking off, aren't you?" you say in a cool but outraged tone, making his face go solid red. You stroll over to his bed, his eyes getting wider the closer you get. "What was that you were looking at? Do you have porn or something?"\n\n"Hey, no, stop!" he cries desperately as you yank back the covers and snatch up the doujinshi in a flash, far too fast for him to do anything more than make a weak grab for it that leaves him reaching out towards you.\n\nYou make a show of slowly flipping through the pages, enjoying the feel of his humiliation and terror growing as he tries desperately to remember what you're seeing on each page. "... 'Oneechan'," you intone blandly, making him wince. "... 'Oneechan'. ... 'Oneechan'. ... 'Oneechan'." He twitches and flinches with each one, until by the last one he's practically reeling back clutching his head. "He sure has a lot of sisters. Huh?"\n\n"Th-they're not blood-related!" Ryo yowls plaintively. "They're, they're just cute older girls that he knows, th-that's all!"\n\n"At least two of whom wear glasses, huh?" you ask, holding the doujinshi up with the page turned towards him, having of course carefully selected a near full-page spread of the girl that looks most like you do right now. "Like this one?"\n\n"Coincidence! It's coincidence!" he whines, on the verge of tears.\n\n"Sure it is." You turn the doujinshi back around, staring at the page visibly and letting the silence draw out ever so deliciously. "... Hmph. Sitting here jerking off to girls called 'oneechan'. Including one that looks like me." You carefully don't look as he wilts and goes pale, though you're laughing up a storm internally. "Seems like-"\n\n<hr>\n[["-something Mom should know." (Blackmail him.)|Konko]]\n\n[["-you're a disgusting pervert." (Dominate him.)|Konko8x2]]\n\n[["-you've discovered my secret." (Fuck him.)|Konko]]\n\n[["-you need to be purified." (Get help to further prank him.)|Konko]]

Hm, might as well take a lookie-see at it, because that is definitely one nice payday.\n\nSo the job lister's bidding proxy on one planet had successfully purchased an assortment crate of rare and potentially powerful Old Earth™ artifacts at an auction, and dutifully had them crated up and sent by secure shipping liner back to his boss. Unfortunately the liner was attacked by a pirate that apparently specializes in massive freight lifts, and every single crate aboard was stolen, obviously including the lister's. While he'd like to get his whole shipment back, he'd settle for the most valuable piece of it, which is apparently in a simple black carrying case roughly the size and thickness of a hefty full-featured laptop. ("Full-featured" products tend to be about as large as their sometimes much older equivalents, you've found, since they're always finding something extra to stuff in there to keep it "full-featured".)\n\nThat is definitely a very big number... for that you might actually be able to buy your own building back on Makarzia and stop renting an apartment. Plus these sorts of jobs always have the secondary benefit of the potential of capturing the pirate leader or maybe some of his top henches and turning them over for a bounty... if the guy's that successful, someone out there is willing to pay for him to be handed over. \n\nYou notice that the Guild has an info file available for purchase on the guy, a Captain Huwhin. (Apparently pronounced both almost exactly like and completely different from "Nguyen".) You waffle over it for a few moments... buying it definitely feels like committing to taking the job, since you really hate to waste credits, even if it's not a huge amount of them in this case. But after a few moments of hedging mentally, you finally give in and buy it. As you do, you notice the purchase history... someone else bought this guy's file a couple of days ago, which tracks to a day or two after the original robbery, but before the job was listed. Huh... one of the client's intermediaries buying it for him? Or another merc who's more interested in Huwhin in particular or something else he stole? Might be worth [[looking into|ChiGH]] at some point... you can't get the name of the purchaser from the Guild computer's record, but you have your ways.\n\nUnfortunately what you read about Huwhin isn't encouraging, at least initially. He's an Equaan... a horseman, essentially. Which is already bad news... Equaans aren't quite as formidable as some of the more blatantly predator-descended races like Leonavians or Draconids, but one-on-one they're more than a match for probably all but the biggest and strongest of humans, and even then that would just be pushing it slightly into the realm of "possible". For you, who's in no way a brawler, you probably wouldn't stand a chance in an unarmed fight against even a pretty weak Equaan, let alone a fairly large and buff one like Huwhin looks to be from his file photo. (Black mane, black hide, but with a flare of white surrounding his eyes and running down the top of his muzzle, either natural or dyed). Plus most of them, or at least the ones that wind up in careers like "space pirate", are possessed of a strong force of personality... stubborn, willful, and aggressive. And if all that weren't enough, you've even heard of something called Alpha Equaans... ones that have an effectively supernatural level of commanding deference and respect.\n\nThe file doesn't say that Huwhin is an Alpha Equaan, but you can't exactly rule it out as you read on, the rest of the file making you flinch several times as that huge payday starts looking less and less like a massive panic overspend and more and more like a reasonable risk return. Huwhin's crew isn't just a couple of guys, or even a couple of dozen guys, but at last estimate numbers well over 200, possibly as many as 300. The reason he was able to take the liner's entire cargo is that rather than the fast hit-steal-run ships most pirates prefer, Huwhin's flying some sort of massive salvaged dreadnought that's been converted mostly for cargo storage. Instead of pouncing on freighters, his preferred tactic is apparently to just park in their path and go dark or use some form of cloaking, let them get close enough that they essentially can't get away, and then both surround them with fighters and point guns at them and force them to hand over their entire load themselves.\n\nApparently he can go years between selling any substantial amount of his stolen goods, instead just using the hard currency or more easily passable and/or perishable items he loots (like drugs) to pay his crew and for maintenance. Which is good in that it means he almost certainly still has the client's stuff, and bad in that the client's stuff is probably dumped somewhere amidst a few thousand metric tons of other people's stuff in a labyrinthine ship the equivalent square footage of a small island country. ... Of course you guess the other upside of that is that there's a lot of space to hide in so you could theoretically stow away and sneak around for weeks looking for the shipment.\n\nWhich now that you're thinking about it, you guess is you admitting you're going to take the job... which you do, formally accepting the listing, your rating high enough that you bypass any necessary checks or the client's approval and just get given the assignment. Alright, it's yours now... so how to actually do it?\n\nThe first question is to go it [[alone|ChiGH8x2]] or with help? As you thought about earlier, there's whoever was looking into Huwhin just after the theft... they might be interested in just him, or in something else entirely, and willing to help you find your target in return for that. Which would mean you could keep the whole payment for yourself. But obviously going it alone provides its own attractions... you can control everything and be sure to get the whole payday yourself.\n\n... Except that 200-300 enemies headed up by a very formiddable captain is intimidating numbers no matter how you look at it.\n\nSo yeah it's probably not too bad an idea to consider taking on some [[help|ChiGH]] of your own choosing. You know various people that could be very useful for this sort of thing, and even split 50/50 this payday would be considerable. ... Or even 25/25/25/25 if it came to that. (That might not be "buy a building" money anymore but it would still cover your current rent for the rest of your life probably.)\n\nYou consider a little bit more before making a decision, and realize there's another option that doesn't involve some form of "steal back what was stolen"... that being, [[negotiating with Huwhin|ChiHu10x1]]. You're not a government, you're not above (openly) appeasing criminals of practically any kind. Hell your background is basically made of that. Decent chance you could either pay him part of the reward (you'd need to call the client up and do some fast talking once the deal was made), or maybe find something else that he wants if you wanted to keep the entire payday. Riskier in some ways, obviously, but still less so than any kind of direct action, probably.

Yeah, that seems the best way to find out how to board it yourself, without it costing you an arm and a leg.\n\n'Alright, let's see, infotraders,' you muse, popping over to your own files where you keep notes about such things. You have the knowledge in your head, obviously, but there are so many services that might be useful in this business sometimes it's better to make notes of who's available.\n\nYou scroll through your list, mentally crossing various people off as this being outside their wheelhouse... a lot of infotraders are specialized, after all, and going to see your guy who knows everything about ballistic weaponry for this won't do you much good. Eventually you narrow it down to three primary candidates.\n\nFirst is an infotrader you've used several times before, [[Jaida|ChiGH]]. She's expensive, but she's very good, and very reliable. But she's expensive. So.\n\nSecond is a fellow Makarzian Guildcert who goes by [[Mixtape|ChiGH]]. She's much less expensive, and you've found her to be... well, she's good at what she does, though part of what she does is making sure she always comes out on top. Which is not necessarily a problem, but you've heard some rather dark rumors about her. She's never actually double-crossed you (that you're aware of), so there's a chance the rumors are just a sort of negative vibe from people that don't make allowances for more Makarzian personalities and working styles.\n\nThe third is a guy called [[Midnight|ChiGH]] who you've never worked with before, but you apparently got this note as a "heads up" from someone else, which means he's either new on the scene or only now making his way into your circles of acquaintance. The note says he's very well-connected, which is always a good thing since if you become connected with him, you then become connected with his connections. Of course, considering you've never heard of him until now, and there's a faint double-edged tone to the "heads up" note, that might be a good thing or a bad thing.

Better to handle this on your own... bringing other people in, even people you know relatively well and have worked with before, always introduces a lot of other variables. Besides, if they go in with you, every person increases the chances of discovery. This is obviously going to be a stealth mission, so the fewer, the stealthier.\n\nBut that, then, leaves the question of how you're going to get aboard Huwhin's ship in the first place. There are three basic options for that, with two of them definitely requiring some form of hiring outside help. The first is to find someone that can do a stealth ship-to-ship intrusion for you... there are a lot of Guildcerts that do that as a specialty for big ships like this, and part of the benefit is they can almost always find whatever big ship it is that you need to get aboard for you. But the really good ones are expensive, especially when they have to find a pirate or something for you, and that would start eating into your profit margin. (Admittedly it's still a very big profit, but.)\n\nThe other option is to find an infotrader who can tell you where Huwhin's ship is going to dock... most pirate crews are pretty infamous for not signing on for the sake of dedication and spending months chastely in the black, they want to go out and have fun at port, it's just a question of which port, and someone who sells information aboard the Guildhall is bound to know that. From there you'd have a chance to sneak aboard.\n\nThe third option, which is admittedly attractive because it would cost you no or much much less money than hiring or bartering with someone else, is to try to get hired on as part of Huwhin's crew. A full infiltration, as it were. He can't be keeping numbers like that for long periods, he's got to have turnover going on, especially if he's not selling his stuff regularly enough to keep that many crewmembers rolling in cash. It might take longer, but it might also give you all the time you need to look for the client's property once you were aboard.\n\n<hr>\n[[Hire a ship-to-ship specialist.|ChiGH9x1]]\n\n[[See an infotrader.|ChiGH8x3]]\n\n[[Get hired on.|ChiPir1x1]]

As your reply you grin and set your drink down, giving a throaty little 'hm-hm~' as you slide off your chair and onto your knees in front of her, already starting to undo the front of her shorts. You tug them open and fish out her steadily hardening humanlike shaft, letting out a low noise of pleasure as you feel how heavy and thick it already is in your hands. "My my, you are a big girl."\n\n"Damn, and you're a freaky one," she chuckles, glancing around the open bar, not quite as if embarrassed or furtive, maybe more impressed, she grins as she continues to sip her drink, watching you stroke her steadily-hardening prick.\n\nYou give another throaty giggle in reply to that, kissing the underside of her cockhead before sliding your mouth over the tip of it with a little 'mmm', closing your eyes briefly as you roll your tongue around it, then opening them and looking up at her face as you start bobbing your head, sliding your lips down and fully over the thick, plump end of her prick and then back up along it.\n\nYou stroke both your hands along the shaft, feeling it stretch and grow taut, the skin still wonderfully smooth even as it stretches firm over her fully hard rod. For the moment you continue to just suck the head, putting your tongue to maximum use, flicking and swirling it and really stimming her cockhead for all it's worth, while your hands continue to pump smoothly up that thick, meaty shaft. Big Girl starts to look some interesting mixture of soothed and excited, settling heavily into her chair, face flushed, eyes heavy-lidded as she watches you, her tail wagging steadily behind her. The waitress comes over to bring her a fresh beer, looking only mildly embarrassed (indicating this probably isn't the first time such a thing has happened), though she blushes when you look right at her and wink, Big Girl chuckling as she goes scuttling off again.\n\nAfter a few minutes though the big genemod squirms a little. "Here, babe, get the shorts off," she murmurs, lifting herself up a bit. "Give some attention to my balls too, huh?"\n\nYou slip your mouth off her cockhead and give her another grin (and the underside of the tip another smooch) before snagging the waistband of her shorts and pull them down, with her shifting her body and legs to help you get them off, said balls spilling free. They're every bit as impressive as her massive cock, completely smooth and hefty and hanging a bit low. You cup one in each palm and heft it... about the size of a tennis ball, individually. You glance up at her with a raised eyebrow and a 'damn' twist of your lips, enjoying her slight blush and smug expression before you lean in and start giving them some attention as requested.\n\nYou shift to using one hand to stroke and pump her shaft while using the other to continue fondling her balls, enjoying the warm, smooth, silky feel of them sliding heavily against your palm and shifting under your fingers. Your mouth goes to her sack as well, dragging in long licks or flicking in quick little stimulations, occasionally giving a bit of a suck or a kiss here or there, listening to her sigh and huff softly with contentment as she continues to drink, her tail wagging in a slow, happy pace. You can hear other people moving around the bar, the scrape of chairs as more come in (or relocate) to the area where you are, practically feel their eyes roaming over you, staring at you sucking Big Girl off in front of God, the bar, and all of Karnol. But fuck 'em you've got a really great cock to pay attention to, and a job to secure.\n\nBig Girl lets her teeth drag lightly along her lower lip as she watches you with those heavy-lidded eyes, though you notice they're definitely heating up. But she seems determined to enjoy your oral attentions, and maybe show them off to everyone else as well, for a good long while, so just continues to sip her drink and watch you, occasionally reaching a hand down to stroke your hair in a way that says you're doing a bangup job of ingratiating yourself and getting suggested for Huwhin's crew.\n\nBut eventually she bends down and takes you by the upper arm, urging you up to your feet and then draping an arm around your shoulders, heading for some stairs in the back of the room, apparently having just as little problem letting everyone see her walking around with that big fat prick wobbling around leading the way and her balls swaying beneath. Upstairs she urges you through the door into a rather nice room, albeit one with the bed practically next to the door, which she doesn't bother to close. Instead she turns you towards her and ducks her head down, hesitating for only a heartbeat before her lips actually touch yours.\n\nYou kiss her back without hesitation, though, sucking on her tongue as it slips into your mouth and sliding your own into her mouth a moment later. The kiss quickly turns enthusiastic, her tongue working inside your mouth as she undoes your own shorts and slips a hand down the front of them, strong fingers starting to very competently stroke over your wet folds and the stiff nub of your clit. In return you start stroking her cock again with one hand, making sure she doesn't lose a bit of hardness (not that she seemed much in danger of it, her tip leaking a slow, steady stream of pre that shakes and wobbles in the air at your motions), your other hand moving to grip one of her big, firm asscheeks and knead.\n\nAfter a bit she breaks the kiss and steps back a bit, starting to kick open the latches of her boots and pull her top off, those heavy weapons she calls tits dropping free and wobbling heavily, displaying fat, bulging areola and nipples so thick you could fit your little finger in the indents at the tip, so you take the hint to strip down as well. She watches you hungrily as you finish undressing, then murmurs, "On the bed. All fours. Think I might lose my mind if I can't dump this load in you soon."\n\n"Oh, you wanna do it doggy style?" you reply teasingly even as you're turning and climbing up onto the bed, your tits hanging down and ass wagging provocatively at her. "There's a shock." Then you give a delighted yip and laugh at the spank she immediately delivers to your ass, before the bed creaks quietly at her climbing up onto it behind you.\n\nShe takes a few moments squeezing and kneading your ass, making some low, appreciative noises as she does, then slides one hand over and grips her dick with the other, rubbing the tip up and down your folds several times before getting it tucked in. Then she starts pushing in, slow and steady and smooth, her hands moving to grip your waist as she presses inside you.\n\n"Oh fuuuuuuuuuuuck," you whimper needfully as she pushes inside you, spreading you open deeper and wider than you have been before. But your body definitely wants it after all the time you've spent paying attention to it, like it's been readying itself, your absolutely dripping cunt easily stretching to accommodate it despite its size. "Fucking hell you're so fucking big," you moan out, writhing your hips back towards her encouragingly.\n\nShe lets out an undeniably pleased-sounding noise that's just as undeniably a growl, continuing to push forward slowly until she's fully sheathed inside you, your flat belly bulging up some with the outline of her. She leans forward, those huge tits pillowing against your back and almost overflowing it as her hands come up to cover your own, squeezing and kneading slowly, despite what she said taking a few moments to just enjoy the feel of being inside you. Panting happily, you turn your head and she takes the hint, kissing you again, your tongues twining together as she kneads your breasts and toys with your nipples.\n\nBig Girl doesn't immediately break the kiss as she starts thrusting, a few slow, short pumps of her hips at first, but quickly building to a hard, quick pace that admits just how needy she is, her tail lifted high above her big round ass as she pounds into you, her balls slapping forward against your skin. You start shrieking and yowling in pleasure, displaying just how little you care about how much anyone downstairs hears you, if anything making sure they all know what a good fuck Big Girl is. In fact you do just that, switching from nonverbal to verbal evangelism as you cry out, "FUCK! Fuck me, fuck me, your cock's so good, holy fuck, fuck my little bitch pussy!" Apparently she appreciates it, to judge by the groan of absolute pleasure she gives as she fastens her teeth against the back-side of your neck, biting down firmly as she pumps into you even faster.\n\nYou'd worked her up pretty good by now, clearly, so it doesn't take her long before she slams into you hard and gives a long, shuddery growl of release, her cock twitching hard enough that it feels like it could lift you up as a flood of thick, hot wetness fills your insides. Luckily you're just as worked-up at this point and you give another lusty yowl of delight as you cum too, bucking back against her and grinding your ass against her hips as your pussy soaks her balls, juices mingled with jizz dripping down the smooth skin and onto the sheets.\n\nIn the aftermath the two of you just stay as you are for long moments, breathing hard as you come down off the high of the climax. Then slowly she pulls out of you and flops onto her back. You scoot over and lay down partly on top of her, starting to suckle gently on one of those fat nipples and rub her tummy... cooldown stuff, not trying to start up right away again. She moans happily in response, her tail's wagging between her splayed legs speeding up briefly to almost a blur, before settling back to a slow, contented pace. She rests a hand on your ass, giving it a squeeze every so often in what's clearly a short break after the heady rush of the first of what will clearly be several good fucks in short succession.\n\nAnd indeed after a little while of petting, and kissing, and playing, Big Girl pulls away and gets up on her knees again before snagging your legs and hauling you around, making you give a surprised but delighted 'whoop!' at the sudden movement. She lifts you up and gets those legs draped over her shoulders, leaving you practically sitting on the big boulders of her boobs as she leans down and goes to work on your pussy, alternately lapping at in definite canine fashion and giving longer, more deliberate licks. "Oh fffuuuuuuuuuck," you groan, your eyes rolling as you start writhing around in your half-captive position, your hands twisting in the sheets. There has to have been a horny, kinky bitch on the design board for Big Girl's genestrand... not only is her cock huge and beautiful and amazing, but her tongue is perfect, as broad and strong and quick as a dog's (not that you know from experience but hey you hear things), but as deliberate and agile as a human's, the best of both worlds as she cleans the remnants of her load out of you and then some, lapping up your juices and then tongue-fucking you to generate more.\n\nIt's a good three orgasms later (four, if you count that last extra-strong aftershock as its own thing) when she sets you back down on the bed, grinning down at you as you pant and quiver and in general feel very pleasantly like you've been reduced to a lump of warm jelly. She leans down and returns the earlier favor... suckling one of your nipples and rubbing your belly, which makes you mewl softly in a mixture of happiness and overstimulation. 'I need to be careful, I could get addicted to her,' you think dreamily. '... Tomorrow. I'll start being careful about it tomorrow.'\n\n"Mmm, hey babe," she murmurs as she leans up to nibble your ear, giving one of your breasts a squeeze. "Mind if I fuck your tits?"\n\nShe could ask if she could very literally fuck your brains out just then and you'd probably say yes. A titjob is an easy ask, and you answer by grinning and turning your head, giving her a quick kiss before nodding. She straightens up and moves to straddle your middle, then reaches over to the bedside stand where there's an array of various fuck-enabling products. Giggling a bit, you put your hands on the sides of your boobs and mostly just lift them up and together a bit as she dribbles a generous stream of fragrant oil across the inner curves and your cleavage, before tossing the bottle negligently over her shoulder. Then she scoots forward and slaps that meaty pole down between your tits, splattering the oil around and already mingling it with the more authentic sex liquids already smeared all over it.\n\nYou press your tits around her... you may not stack up to her immense udders, but you're pretty damn stacked for a human your height, as is proven by the fact that you can actually get them wrapped around that big pussy-destroying monster. You grin up at her, of course mostly having a view of her own megaboobs and the way they give small, heavy wobbles that show just how firm they are as she starts working her hips, thrusting her prick into the channel you've formed for her, rapidly smearing the oil all over your cleavage and her own rod, leaving both gleaming and shining like treasure.\n\n"Fuck you feel good," she groans happily as she pumps between your tits, visibly shivering a little as you lap at the tip of her prick when it comes close enough. "This... this is gonna be a very good working relationship, I can tell."\n\nYou laugh a bit again, before starting to work your hands, pumping them up and down to help fuck your tits along her cock even as she thrusts, Big Girl letting out a happy growl as she starts thrusting faster. Soon she's pumping quickly enough to slap her hips against the underside of your tits, one of her hands resting on her own ass, the other having come to rest atop your head to keep it tilted up, your face towards the gleaming tip of her prick. You obligingly open your mouth and stick out your tongue, feeling her shudder and twitch between your tits, seeing the flow of her pre pick up until it's just almost spurting out, feeling her twitch and swell against your soft, sensitive flesh. And then she lets out an almost barking moan, and you squeeze one eye closed before a big splash of cum hits right across that side of your face, the next shot landing right in your mouth and across your jutting tongue, the rest of her load starting to paint your face and bangs and chest.\n\n"Very...good," Big Girl huffs.\n\nThe two of you have several more goes before eventually she flops out on her back, declaring she unfortunately has other business to attend to that can't wait. But she lets you shower first, and then gives you directions to a motel, telling you, "It's called 'Namran's Place'. By the time you get there you'll have a room waiting. It's where I put most of my crew, temporary or otherwise. In a day or two I'll send somebody to either tell you Huwhin's by or that I've got work."\n\n"Works for me," you assure her, pecking her on the cheek as you finish pulling on your shorts. She gives your butt a playful swat as you head out, trotting down the stairs and through the bar in what can't really be called a walk of shame since you do it completely shamelessly.\n\nIt's not a terribly long walk to Namran's place, which turns out to be a three level rectangle of a building that looks like it was probably an extended stay motel before Karnol became a pirate freeport and has been maintained as one after, fairly well from the looks of it. You head into the little office and say that you're Chi and that Big Girl told you you'd have a room waiting. The guy behind the counter instantly leaps up and offers to show you to the room himself, suddenly very attentive and eager to please.\n\nHe leads you through the courtyard, which reveals that the motel is one of those things where all the rooms face inward towards it, specifically towards a surprisingly well-kept pool in the center, with broad walkways outside the rooms that serve as a sort of shared patio space. But rather than divert towards a room or head towards one of the sets of stairs, the guy leads you all the way across the courtyard and through a little walkway, and out behind the motel proper. Behind the main building there's a cluster of what are basically similarly simple concrete cubes, though they've been fixed up a bit with awnings and paint, and each one seems to have its own little fenced-in backyard. You quirk an eyebrow as he leads the way over to one and spends a moment explaining that the staff are at your disposal any time, you can just call the front desk for anything you need, even if you want someone to run out and buy something for you, before he hands over the keycards and scuttles off.\n\nYou glance after him, then open up the door and step inside. It's not the fanciest place you've ever seen by far, but on its own it's probably bigger and a bit nicer than your apartment back on Makarzia (minus the armory of course). Not exactly your style, but there's a comfy living area with a small bar that has its own minifridge (stocked with assorted beer), a decent-sized kitchenette with a full-sized fridge (stocked with sodas, water, snacks, and some frozen meals), and a separate bedroom with a big screen wall-hung TV (with a small tag on the wall noting that all the pay channels are free), a very large bed with what feels like, at a poke, a gel mattress, and a pretty nice bathroom with full shower and separate tub. Returning from checking the bathroom, you head over to the window that's on the other side of the bed and swing the curtains open. The fenced-in backyard area turns out to have a pair of chairs and a full lounge, as well as its own hot tub.\n\nYou quirk an eyebrow again, then look down and cup your boobs, lifting them a bit. "You girls must have made a heck of an impression."\n\nYou take off your jacket and toss it over the back of the mildly expensive-looking chair near the bed, then flop down on said bed and sprawl on your back, legs dangling over the end. Yup, gel mattress, slight yield and flow but also firm enough to be great for either sleeping or fucking on. You roll your shoulders a bit, feeling just a mild ache of exertion settle into your muscles.\n\n<hr>\n[[Ugh. The things you have to do on a job.|ChiPir]]\n\n[[Mmm. The fun you get to have on a job. ♥|ChiPir]]

"Welllll... I think I can manage that," you say, lips curling around the rim of your glass as you take a long sip.\n\n"Really now?" Big Girl replies, looking thoroughly amused as you settle into a slightly more languid pose.\n\n"Yeah, sounds like something I can do no problem," you reply with a wink. Whether you are or are not 'a tough competent bitch who will still obey without question and spread her legs without hesitation' (and you'll decline to answer the court's question at this time) you feel like you can easily enough play the role if that's what it takes to get close enough to Huwhin for this payday.\n\n"Sounds like I'm happy for Huwhin," Big Girl chuckles, raising her glass as if to toast either you or him, or maybe both. "And maybe a bit jealous too. Mm... though in that case..."\n\nShe sprawls back again in her thronelike chair, the feet scraping lowly across the floor as she turns it a bit, letting her legs spread and once more displaying that massive bulge in the denim of her shorts. "I could use someone like that myself. Just, y'know, until Huwhin gets here. Someone to help out around the place, make a little money, work my cock like a pro billing overtime rates. Y'know. That sort of thing. Might be a great way for just such a tough competent bitch to make herself some decent creds and guarantee a reeeeal good word for herself when Huwhin shows up."\n\n<hr>\n[[Thanks, but pass.|ChiPir]]\n\n[[Sounds doable. ♥|ChiPir7x2]]

"Shit, I can't do this, not like this," you mutter, putting a palm to your forehead.\n\nFuck it. All or nothing.\n\n"Kai? What's wrong?" Yang asks, starting to stand, concern on her face.\n\n"Just... give me a minute," you answer. You glance inside and notice Blake rubbing the back of her neck a bit and concentrate. Blake. You can't help but grin some as she gives a little jump and whips her head back and forth before turning to look at you, yellow eyes wide.\n\nDon't just...! ... Oh, that's why we got them, I guess, she sends back with a mental sigh.\n\nYeah. Hey, c'mere, I wanna talk to you, okay?\n\nOh, sure. Blake makes her way to the door and opens it, pausing to reach inside and pull the curtain shut, since she apparently gathered this was a private matter. She gives Yang a brief smile, then looks at you. "What's up?"\n\n"So. I had some things I wanted to say. To both of you," you say slowly. "And... all I've got to say is they come from the heart, and it's... probably not something that you guys necessarily want to hear, maybe, but... I'm gonna tell you both the truth. The total, stupid truth that's been going through my head lately and I'll let the pieces fall where they may."\n\n"Alright, Kai, this sounds important to you, please do," Blake assures you, Yang giving a firm nod, her face serious.\n\nYou take a breath, then step up to Blake and take her hands. "... Blake. You're... smart, and gorgeous, and kind, and it feels like all the things I'm not," you tell her, watching her ears perk up and her cheeks blush, before they fold down a little and her lips turn down in a frown. "I mean I'm not saying that trying to put myself down really, just... the way you do everything is so sweet and soft, and... heh, sorry if this is racist, but it sort of reminds me of a cat, I guess. Sleek and confident or smug and proud or shy and hiding or playful and happy, and you're all of them in turns and you bring this sort of lightness to my heart. I fall in love with you a little every time I see you reading a book or walking across a room," you admit, her eyes having gone wide, her body not quite reacting as you lean in and kiss her softly on the lips. \n\nBlake's still staring at you in shock as you step back, turn to Yang. You can see the hurt, even the betrayal on her face, though she's trying to hold them back, trying not to be the sulking, angry child she once was. When you step over and reach for her hands, they jerk back just a littl almost reflexively, but then she allows you to take them, one both cool-warm and smooth and contoured against your skin. "Yang. You're bright and intense and all out. You devote yourself wholly to the moment in a way that's more alive than I think I've ever felt in my life until I met you." Her own eyes are growing confused now, her head turning back and forth from you to Blake. "I may have needed to give you a kick in the ass, but you got up from it probably stronger and braver than I've ever been, which means it's probably one of the only things I've ever done that I'm sincerely proud of. Every time I hear your laugh or see you throw a punch I fall a little more in love with you."\n\nAnd you lean forward to kiss her on the lips.\n\nHer hand lifts to touch her own lips as you step back and release your grip, taking a deep breath before you continue. "I've been falling in love with both of you for awhile now, I guess, but besides the fact that I figured nobody would ever be able to love a no-account no-past punk like me, the only thing I love more than seeing you as individuals... is seeing you together. Seeing the way you look at each other is a way bigger thing than me. So, um..." You glance down, flipping a hand out towards them. "I just... wanted you guys to know, and... I think you should try really hard to work it out. Basically, I think you guys belong together, and I love you both too much to come between that. So... yeah."\n\nBoth of them continue to stare at you for a long moment, before slowly turning to look at one another.\n\n"... Blake I love you," Yang says softly. "I meant what I said back at Haven. I didn't mean just as family, or a partner, I mean I love you. I always have and always will," she continues, voice cracking a little. "And yeah I guess I hated you for awhile too, and maybe some of the hurt from that will never go away, but... I love you so, so much more than that."\n\n"... Oh Yang," Blake says, her own voice shaking as she flings herself forward, throwing her whole body into kissing the blonde as her arms go around the other woman's neck.\n\nYou smile wanly, both the joy and the pain in your heart sincere and in almost equal measure. Nodding a little to yourself, you tuck your hands in your pockets and turn to head for the side exit, deciding a walk around the streets would be better than facing anyone in your current state.\n\n"Kai, Kai, wait," Yang's voice suddenly calls, making you flinch and force a smile back onto your face as you turn. Yang is slowly drawing away from Blake, turning towards you. She opens her mouth to say something, pauses, and looks at Blake... who smiles and nods once. You're not sure if they're using the psycomms or just understand each other that well, but Yang is smiling when she looks at you again. "Don't go. We want you to stay."\n\n"Um, guys, I don't wanna be a shit about this or anything, I just kind of wanna be by myself for awhile, yanno?" you murmur, looking down and rubbing the back of your neck.\n\n"That's not what we mean."\n\n"We mean we want you to stay with us," Blake adds. "In this."\n\n"... Um?" you say, blinking and raising your head.\n\n"You kind of went and kicked us in the ass again, didn't you?" Yang says dryly as she draws away from Blake and steps over to you, mouth quirked up on one side. "I was almost ready to call it quits and just settle for friends. I could have lost her, but thanks to you I didn't."\n\n"Except it just sort of seems like, considering our personalities, weeee'll probably need regular kicks to remind us of things," Blake adds dryly, bobbing her head and grinning. "We want you to be there to keep kicking us."\n\n"Because you, Kai Sterling," Yang murmurs, reaching up to cup your cheeks, your face going almost as red as your hair. "Are also bright, and intense, and devoted, and I love the sound of your laugh and the way you move, and the love you show all of us, and the hope you bring, and your dirty damn mouth and your silly little grins and the way you kick my ass."\n\nAnd she kisses you. \n\nAnd even as you're still reeling from that, she steps away, Blake taking over cupping your cheeks, just looking a bit up at you instead of down. "And you," she says very softly. "Are canny, and lovely, and ridiculously selfless, and you know what? You remind me of a kitten," she says, yellow eyes dancing as she continues. "Adorable as it prances about trying to be tough and strong, earnestly sucking up knowledge of the world, while really all it wants is a cuddle. You bring a warmth and ease to my heart and I fall a little in love with you every time I see you coach Oscar or call Ilia 'Rainbow'."\n\nAnd she kisses you.\n\nAnd as her soft lips leave yours, all you can do is sort of distantly say, "Um, what's happening here?"\n\n"What's happening is, if you're not a complete idiot and turn us down," Yang says dryly, grinning as she reaches out to brush her thumb over your cheek above where Blake's still holding it. "We're asking you to be with us. Both of us. Because we love each other... but we also love you."\n\n"It won't be easy," Blake admits softly, shaking her head. "All the factors together... being Huntresses will insulate us somewhat, we're not expected to conform to normal social standards, but there will be challenges ahead. But... you make us stronger than we'd be just by ourselves."\n\n"... What the fuck else am I gonna say?" you finally blurt in a little rush of relieved laughter, slumping forward against them. "Fuck yes. Hell fucking yes."\n\n"Mm." Yang grins, purple eyes twinkling. "Y'knooow... if we wanted to celebrate, we could always go out and snag a hotel room."\n\nYou snort out a laughter, expecting Blake to smack her shoulder. But when you look over, the black-haired woman is blushing but definitely not looking like she took it as a joke. "Well I... wouldn't mind, no."\n\nYou stare at her, then look back and forth between them. Then, as on, almost all three of you whip around and yank out your scrolls, starting to flit through them.\n\n"There's gotta be an app for this."\n\n"Share-a-Suite, Bed'n'board, Callahead..."\n\n"BookNow, no-contact checkin, I'm making the reservation now."\n\n"Dammit, no fair, you had an advantage due to the name!"\n\n<hr>\n[[Continue.|KaiBB1x1]]

"... There's one possibility that might save most of the crew, but it's a long shot," you answer.\n\n"I'll take it, then. Long shots are what we do on the Venture," Stroker answers without hesitation. "Do it, Commander."\n\nNodding, you run up the ramp to the upper level, the wolflike alien stepping aside to allow you access to the full board. "Lieutenant Dateher, do everything you can to identify the Venture crew's lifesigns, they all should have at least one energy signature that's distinct from the Raptarrans'."\n\n"Yes. Yes, exposure to our warp field will have left a slight unique energy signature in the nervous systems of everyone who has been on the ship at least a week, very good, Commander," Dateher answers, sounding calmly impressed as her fingers once more fly over her board.\n\n"I'm going to link up to my ship's dimension drive and build up the energy, then divert the dimensional energy into the Venture's warp drive. When we go to warp, we'll get flung to a semi-random dimension and leave the Raptarrans behind, it'll be dangerous, but probably not as dangerous as staying here." You pause as Stroker steps grimly over the body of the helmsman to take his place. "... Captain, this should take most of the crew with us, but some of them won't have retained the warp signature or won't have been on the ship long enough. They'll be left behind in open space too."\n\n"... Understood," he answers, lips a thin line as he readies the helm. "On your order then, Commander."\n\n"Alright. Dateher?"\n\n"Sending sensor readings now."\n\n"Energy transferred!" You slap the ship's @all button. "ALL HANDS, BRACE FOR IMPACT! Captain, now!"\n\nCaptain Stroker strikes one of the keys on his panel, and the entire ship lurches as the viewscreen flashes and then skitters, briefly going dark as the deck rolls and bucks beneath you like you were all in a tin can going over a waterfall. You try to hold on to the security panel but wind up being thrown to the deck, and would roll further if the big wolfman didn't drop over you protectively.\n\nFinally the shaking stops, all of you gradually getting over the shock. Stroker is the first to climb to his feet, having been thrown half out of the helm chair. "Dateher. Wolf. Report."\n\n"No Raptarran signatures detected, Captain," Dateher says, one of the few to actually keep her seat. "... At a preliminary estimate we have lost fifty-seven crewmembers, who are either no longer registering life signs, or whose comm badges are no longer present on the Venture."\n\n'God, I wonder how many of those were the ones I left behind to die in space?' you think miserably as Lieutenant Wolf gets to his feet and works his own station.\n\n"We are no longer in orbit over the planet. The Raptarran ships and our science ship are not present, although there is another ship drawing to a halt near our position. Sensors are still having difficulty, Captain, but-" He interrupts himself as the board chirps while you're getting to your feet. "Captain, we are being hailed."\n\n"Onscreen, Mister Wolf, if you can," Stroker answers, moving to stand in front of the captain's chair and tugging on his uniform top.\n\nIt takes a second, but finally the viewscreen flickers and comes back on, revealing a strikingly similar bridge, with a number of people on it who look quite surprised, likely due to the similarities of the ship despite its different IFF tag. The older man sitting in the center chair exchanges a glance with the man at his right, who looks like he could be Stroker's cousin, before standing and stepping forward slightly, tugging on his own uniform top in a similar way to Stroker's own of a moment ago.\n\n"I'm Captain Jean-Luc Picard, of the Federation starship Enterprise. Please identify yourself."\n\n"I'm... Captain Richard Stroker, of the Federation starship Venture," Stroker answers, still sounding rather stunned. "Captain... Picard?"\n\n"Correct," the bald captain says, frowning slightly. "Captain, you are a Starfleet vessel?"\n\n"No, I'm with the organization Starbeat," Stroker answers with a shake of the head. But he only hesitates for a second before he adds, "Captain, this ship is from another dimension, though I think that may be obvious to all of us at this point. I'll be happy to explain all that I can, but right now there are more pressing matters. We were fleeing a terrible enemy that had boarded our ship and attacked us... we have a number of casualties, and would like to formally request your aid."\n\nPicard exchanges another glance with his first officer, who has moved up to stand slightly behind him, the other bearded man giving a firm, solemn nod. Picard turns his head back towards the viewscreen and nods. "We'll begin putting together medical and security crews, Captain. Please stand by. Picard out." \n\nThe viewscreen blips to a view of another starship hanging amidst the stars, a sleek round saucer connected to a curving body with elegant 'wings' of the nacelles sweeping up from the sides. At the look on some of the bridge crew's faces, it's probably entirely too much like their own ship's design for comfort. After a moment, though, Stroker turns to face you and nods.\n\n"Thank you, Commander. You've saved a lot of lives today. Will you be sticking around...?"\n\n<hr>\n[[You probably should.|FioTrek]]\n\n[[Better not.|FioTrek]]

"Red alert!" you blurt. "Shields up! Prepare to repel boarders!"\n\nThe bridge crew all simply looks stunned for a moment, but to the security chief and ops officer's credits, they're the first to respond, immediately flinging themselves to their boards and typing in commands, a siren starting to blare as red lights flash.\n\nAlmost in that same moment, there's a stretching flicker in the sky, and a slightly smaller but much sleeker and more deadly-looking ship than the space hulk appears, a beam immediately blazing out from it to hit the Venture with enough force that you can feel the deck shudder.\n\n"Dateher, report!" Captain Stroker snaps.\n\n"It is a tractor beam and it is also draining our shields. Wait, a signal is being sent through it to resonate with the shields and... multiple transporter signatures, sir!" she calls, raising her voice slightly to convey urgency as she whips up.\n\nIndeed there's a high whining noise and flickers of light starting to coalesce into bipedal but forward-slung forms. You whip your sidearm up and fire into one of them, the being inside giving a reflexive shriek as its transporter pattern is dispersed just before it can fully coalesce. But the others take form, though the big wolfman at the upper level is already on one before it can do more than turn its head, letting out a vicious howl as he grapples with it and quickly snaps its neck. Two more of the massive leathery-skinned predators are already leaping on the two officers at the forward stations, claws slicing through Dateher's uniform but scrabbling across her silver skin ineffectively, before she swings a fist hard and fast at its head, the sound of bone crunching preceding it flying backwards a good ten feet to slam against the currently unoccupied chair to the left of the central seat. The red-uniformed officer at the helm isn't so lucky, screaming as he's eviscerated by the alien's wicked claws, his scream gurgling into silence as its jaws close on his throat. Your blast and Captain Stroker's hit the alien at the same time, the combined blasts enough to cause it to give a surprised and aggravated screech as it disintegrates into orange mist.\n\n"Raptarrans," you huff. "We have to get out of here, now!"\n\n"Their tractor beam is now maintaining our shields, but at a frequency we are not in control of," Lieutenant Dateher informs all of you after a brief check of her board, apparently unperturbed by her chrome tits hanging out of her shredded uniform top. "We will not be able to beam through them."\n\n"Check for any areas of low coverage, my ship's teleporter might be able to get us through there," you urge.\n\nDateher's silver fingers fly over the board, before she nods. "Yes, there is a very small window in one of the shuttlebays where there is almost no shield coverage."\n\n"Alright, we'll have to head there with who we have now," you say, glancing at the three command staff and small handful of junior officers. "Any minute now they'll figure out their bridge team actually got repelled, and they'll only be amused for about ten seconds before they send over another, larger one."\n\n"What about the rest of the crew?" Captain Stroker asks with a frown. "Our people who are off the ship?"\n\n"There's nothing we can do, this ship is probably swarming with Raptarrans and it will be all we can do to get ourselves out. Even if we could repel the boarders, that ship's full of thousands more and we won't get away from it. We need to run."\n\nCaptain Stroker hesitates for the barest second. You're aggravated considering the danger you're all in, then remind yourself it's his entire crew he has to think about. "Are you sure nothing could be done?"\n\n<hr>\n[[No, nothing.|FioTrek]]\n\n[[... Well, maybe one thing...|FioTrek1x3]]

Probably best to fit yourself into the existing chain of command, that's the responsible thing to do. Locking on to what the sensors inform you is the other ship's bridge, you link up to the ship to initiate place-to-place teleport.\n\nYou arrive on a bridge designed with a lot of smooth, elegant curves, and multiple startled people scrambling for weapons or already pointing them at you. ... Oops. You raise your hands, smiling sheepishly. "Ah, I apologize, it's sort of my first day on the job and I forgot to initiate contact before beaming over."\n\n"Identify yourself, intruder!" the massive humanoid wolf at the raised station at the back of the bridge snarls.\n\n"I'm Commander Fiona Ni Donnghaile of the Space Interdimensional Exploration and Advanced Reconnaisance Authority, here by invitation of your science division to assist with the archaeological dig, and the search for the archaeologists."\n\n"You're with SIEARA?" the handsome bearded man that had been sitting in the center chair says, lowering his weapon. "Everyone, stand down."\n\n"Sir," the wolfman growls.\n\n"There is no cause for alarm, Lieutenant, despite the Commander's failure to observe cross-organizational contact protocols," the chrome-skinned woman at one of the forward stations says. "SIEARA is primarily known only to upper command staff and the sciences division, but it is a legitimate organization. Their rank is reciprocal with ours, so you should treat Commander Donnghaile as if she were a Starbeat Commander."\n\n"... My apologies, then, sir," the big alien grumbles, finally lowering his weapon.\n\n"Not necessary, like I said... and the Lieutenant Commander said... it was my error," you say sheepishly, lowering your hands.\n\n"I'm Captain Richard Stroker of the USS Venture," the bearded man says. "We're here investigating the archaeological team's disappearance, as well as the space hulk we think might be tied to it."\n\nYou turn around to take a look at the viewscreen, which is in fact showing a view of a large coppery-colored ship with a faintly predatory style to it. It does seem vaguely familiar, like something you might have seen before...\n\n<hr>\n[[Eh, can't remember.|FioTrek]]\n\n[[... Uh-oh.|FioTrek1x2]]

Kai retires shortly after the holiday where she finally comes home. She spends most of her time helping the people of the nearby village, fixing their tech and doing odd jobs, not for money but just to help out. Her life comes to center around her home and family, especially Zee's children, grandchildren, and eventually great-grandchildren and she never has to raise a weapon in anger again.\n\nTwitch only lives a few more years after Kai's homecoming due to the stress put on her body by her original low quality cybernetics. But when she can no longer get around she's brought back to the family home for good, where she's looked after and cared for with great affection, and passes away content knowing that she's loved. She's buried in the family plot and every year Zee's descendants wash her monument along with all the others.\n\nMiranda has two children of her own, a son and a daughter. Her daughter takes up the mercenary life, with lessons from her grandmother and Aunt Kai, joining a famous and reputable guild company with the slogan 'Heroes for Hire'. Her son becomes a monk and counselor, dedicated to helping others renounce violence, especially those who have lived lives full of it. Miranda herself retires not long after her daughter becomes a guildcert, instead focusing on teaching, the way of the sword as well as other, more peaceful skills taught to her by her grandfather.\n\nZee spends the rest of her life knowing nothing worse than the occasional argument with her husband or another member of the family, otherwise living a fulfilling life of caring for others and being cared for in return.

"Hm?" Knight says, his optics blinking off and then on again.\n\n"Chika. Or Michika, if you've gotta," you say dryly. You hesitate just a moment before adding, "Not that I mind 'Mistress' necessarily, it just feels a little weird. I got you to watch my back, but I'd rather you do it as a... partner?... I guess."\n\nKnight looks at you for a few long moments, then slowly bobs his head. "Michika, then," he says softly, his voice seeming somehow both softer and warmer than it had before.\n\nSomehow him saying your name that way sends a bit of a hot feeling rushing along your skin and into your belly, making you blush just a little. Covering it up with bold action, you lean forward and plant a quick, breezy kiss just under his middle optic, and once again have the vague sense that there's a pink tint to the white armor of his head. "Anyway! Good keeping your head in the game or ahead of it, but don't focus on it too much, alright?" \n\n"Mm? What do you mean?" Knight asks as you get up and head into the kitchen area.\n\n"Look, there are a lot of reasons I live on Makarzia and not on the Guildhall," you say as you rummage in the fridge, coming up with a pack of fake steak and several packs of onions that look like they're now or never. "Part of it is that even though I work here, I never feel like I'm at work here, you know? If I lived on the Guildhall I'd feel like I was 'on' all the time. It's good to relax sometimes."\n\n"Ah, I see, I see," Knight agrees as he follows you over. After a moment the cap at the end of his tail opens, extending the gripper-claw. "Might I assist, though?"\n\n"Sure, if you want to."\n\nIt's actually pretty pleasant making dinner together with your new partner... cooking subroutines were apparently something Heiloh didn't consider including, but he follows instructions properly enough, and soon you're sitting down on the couch with a big plate of... well, you couldn't rightly call it either any proper Nipponzi or even Mandanni dish, but it's beef and onions and sauce so whatever. You give a low 'mmm' at popping the first bite into your mouth with your chopsticks, then glance over at Knight, who's watching you curiously. "Oh, I guess I forgot to ask, can you eat?"\n\n"I am equipped with a fully taste-capable tongue, and a processing unit that can burn food items for power or break them down into useful chemicals," Knight replies. "Though it's much less efficient than normal charging."\n\n"Yeah yeah, 'efficiency' whatever, say 'ah'," you reply with a snort, holding up a bundle of slightly sauce-dripping steak and onions in your chopsticks.\n\nKnight cants his head slightly to the side, before righting it, the top of his head swinging up to reveal serrated edges to the top and bottom plate, as well as a maw with a deep purple-colored tongue made of something synthetic that looks a bit like latex or rubber. "Ahhhhh."\n\nBlushing a bit for some reason... you're not sure if it's at the sight of that tongue, which you immediately suspect is prehensile, to judge by the very sinuous ripple it does as he sticks it out just a bit; or if it's because you just realized that feeding him a bite of your dinner like this is slightly date-y... you nevertheless not-quite-place just-barely-drop the food onto his tongue. Yup, obviously agile, you think as you try not to stare at his tongue curling entirely around the morsel and pulling it in, mouth closing as he cants his head again.\n\n"How is it?" you ask, genuinely curious. You've been cooking for yourself so long you've probably gone a little taste-blind to any deficiencies, after all.\n\n"Needs ginger," he replies evenly, giving a single bob of his head.\n\nSnorting in something halfway between amusement and outrage, you demand, "How would you know?!" in a bit of a laughing tone.\n\n"Well, I'm loaded with the taste profiles of numerous dishes in order to assist with poison detection," he replies, his own tone just the teensiest bit both playful and smug. "And while I'm not quite sure what this is supposed to be, Michika, averaging between several similar taste profiles of other dishes, it needs ginger."\n\nYou snort again and give him a little shove on the muzzle, to which he gives an almost chuckle-like vocoder rumble. "Fine, fine, Mister Culinarian, put ginger on the shopping list, then."\n\n"I have a few other suggestions for it as well," he parries, nudging back against your hand.\n\n"I bet you do!" you call back, breaking into a full-fledged laugh.\n\nAny further repartee is interrupted by the sound of your Makarzian comm going off with a particularly frenetic burst of noises that are technically the leadin to a song by Silly Guy Sounds. 'Oh what the fuck, Moore, I'm paid up,' you think sourly as you reach over and pick up the comm, eyeing the graphic and name that shows you're getting a call from the ganghead of the Transcendants, Megasector 7's drug spiritualists.\n\n<hr>\n[[Take the call.|ChiGH1x9]]\n\n[[Let it go to voicemail.|ChiKnight]]

Well if it's not a collections call it's probably work, and while you did just get back from a job, it's not like you're dead exhausted, and staying on the good side of the Transcendants is something every smart Night Creature in Seven does (ranked somewhere just below staying on the good side of the SeXXY Bitches for keeping yourself in reliable contacts, among other things). Tapping the 'Receive' button, you put the comm to your ear as Knight watches you attentively. "Yeah, Moore, what's up?"\n\n"Michika, I have a bit of an emergency job. Besides your usual rate I'd consider it a huge personal favor if you could get on it right now."\n\nYou raise an eyebrow. "I thought whatserface who drives on walls or whatever and her crew were your go-to for jobs these days."\n\nThere's just the briefest of hesitations before Moore admits, "They're not available. Please, Michika, I really need this."\n\nYou make a bit of a face. Sure it stings your pride to be someone's second choice, but it's your own fault for asking. Realizing you were being a bit of a brat, you quickly say, "No, of course, of course, nevermind that, what's up?"\n\n"Some bandits jumped one of my vans carrying bricks of glowdust. It's a big hit but normally I'd rather just let it go than risk violence getting it back, but... they only left the body of one of the transporters."\n\n"Which means they took the other one?" you say in a bit of surprise. \n\n"She's a talented chemartist but I don't know if they know that. But I have heard this group has been seen over in Megasector 10."\n\n"So either way they're probably taking her to the slave dealer there," you growl softly, already on your feet and heading for the armory, Knight clicking along quickly behind you. "How long ago was she taken?"\n\n"Maybe around forty-five minutes ago, possibly more," Moore answers as you switch to speakerphone and set the comm down. You've switched so thoroughly into job mode that you're stripping out of your regular clothes before you think about it, blushing a little when you remember... though Knight seems to have averted his gaze. (Actually what range of vision does he have? ... Well, he's trying, that's good enough.) You push aside those thoughts to split your attention between getting dressed and geared up and listening to Moore. "Listen, if that is where they've taken her, and you have to buy her out, I'll repay you the credits or send them to you if you need them. Of course I'd prefer if she didn't have to go through that at all, so if you can, please rescue her before they sell her."\n\n"And the glowdust?" you prompt as you pull on your coat, just to be sure.\n\n"Obviously I'd like it retrieved, if at all possible, but it's a distant second to getting my charge back safe."\n\nYou nod, before saying "Got it" out loud. No need to ask whether she wants revenge for the murdered Transcendant... you know Moore well enough to know that she's not actually a full-out pacifist and is willing to use violence when necessary, but she has a rather more strict definition of "necessary" than the average ganghead, and revenge doesn't meet it. She'll forgive a lot if it means not inflicting pointless violence and death... on the other hand, if you happen to ventilate the bandits responsible in the course of retrieving her girl or getting the glowdust back, you doubt she'll do more than light a few sticks of tripcense for the repose of their souls.\n\n"Alright, text me any deets you've got on these guys, I'm already on my way to hit the streets," you say into the comm before ending the call and heading out the door. You make your way to the adjacent garage complex where you keep your speeders, specifically the high performance streetspeeder and the similarly high-performance speedercycle. You pause in the open door, considering which to take... specifically, glancing aside at Knight. If you took the cycle, he wouldn't be able to ride, you'd probably have to slow down a bit so he could keep up running along with you, but it would mean he'd have much more freedom to react to any threats along the way without being confined inside. But at that point, with the leadtime the bandits have, you might as well give up on catching them and just head directly to the slave market in Ten. But if you took the car, you might actually manage to catch up to them while they're still on the street and have a chance to, as Moore requested, keep the captured Transcendant from ever seeing the inside of a slave pen at all.\n\n<hr>\n[[Take the cycle.|ChiGH]]\n\n[[Take the car.|ChiGH1x10]]

"I guess let's just give him some time to get settled," you say slowly. "Eventually he'll come around, right?"\n\n[TEN YEARS LATER]\n\n"Auryn!" you shout, pounding on the bedroom door. "Auryn! I know you can hear me, you've got two pairs of ears for dragonsakes!"\n\n"What?!" comes the bark back.\n\n"Are you even going to combat school today?" you demand, scowling at the door, then at the surly face that stares back at you as it's swung open.\n\n"What do you even care?" Auryn Belladonna demands, trying for strong rebellion and coming a little closer to a childish pout.\n\nYou bristle, trying to fight down your annoyance. "You said you wanted to go, we're paying for it, maybe actually attend your classes once in a while?"\n\n"Whatever." He turns and snatches his bag from beside the door, shouldering it and half-stomping off down the hall. "Not like there's any point, barely any Grimm, but it's better than being here, I guess."\n\n"Yeah, uh-huh, treat it like that, your education and the thing all of us have devoted our lives too. Yeah ignore me," you add in a mutter as his ears fold down at the tips and he slouches even further.\n\n"Have a good d-" Blake tries as she rises from the couch, only to wince as he walks past without a word and slams the front door. "... Or not," she completes with a sigh, sinking back into the couch.\n\n"Every god damn day," you mutter as you make your way back to the living room. "Just absolutely every god damn day he has to do this."\n\n"It's just a phase he's going through," Blake assures you, smiling weakly.\n\n"It's a phase that's lasted ten years!" you almost shout, thrusting your hands at the door, just feeling yourself growing more frustrated as she frowns at you and lowers her ears. "And you think how he treats Yang at school is any better? What do you think that does for her with the other students, Blake, huh?"\n\n"Well what do you want me to do, Kai?" Blake demands, her own ire obviously up now. "I've talked to him, I've pleaded with him, I've grounded him, at this point what's left? Do you want me to smack him when he acts up?"\n\n"You know that's not what I-!" you snap back, stabbing a finger in her direction, then gritting your teeth and looking away. "... No, y'know what? Not today. Not doing this today. I," you declare, fishing your beacon out of a pocket. "Am going to the Guildhall for the day and being around some coldblooded killers and professional assassins, y'know, people that won't treat me like such shit."\n\nBlake's ears lay down as she scowls, then she flits a hand. "You do what you need to do then."\n\n"I will." With that you stab the button, already stalking forward out into the portal annex as you find yourself on the Guildhall. From that it's fairly easy to find your way to your usual bar, sitting at the counter nursing a beer and brooding as you try to figure out where the hell you went wrong in life and desperately trying to convince yourself it wasn't the day you kissed Blake in Molten Silver.\n\n"You seem chipper," comes a voice, its owner moving to sit down beside you. "Strawberry soda, please," the platinum blonde in the skinarmor suit adds. "But then you always seem to be in this mood anymore when I see you."\n\n"Hey, Aurora," you greet with less than cheer. Not because you're not glad to see your friend, more because you just find cheer in short supply these days.\n\n"Family troubles again?"\n\n"... I'm just so tired of it," you admit with a sigh, slumping forward onto your elbows. "If there were more good times and smiles I could push through it, but just every single day. Yang's as frustrated by it as I am, and I know Blake's trying but her trying isn't doing anything..." Your jaw works for a moment. "... No, she was trying. I think she actually stopped bothering to make any real effort to change Auryn years ago. Probably just as tired as I am."\n\n"You're not... happy, are you?" Aurora says slowly.\n\n"... No," you admit quietly before taking a drink.\n\n"Kai. I know family is everything to you, but... maybe it's time to admit you should at least consider a change," Aurora continues, looking at the bright pink-red glass in front of her and slowly spinning its coaster with one hand. "This is clearly wearing on all of you, and... I don't want to see it make one of you snap."\n\n"You're talking about a divorce." You find you don't really have any anger in you for the idea being brought up. You sound more tired than anything to your own ears as you say it. "From Blake. And Yang if she doesn't want to leave Blake."\n\n"You can't just... wait him out, he may leave home some day but he'll still always be her son," Aurora says gently, resting a hand on your shoulder. "I'm not saying make any decisions today. Give counseling another try, maybe. But... it might be time to start admitting that divorce should be on the table."\n\nYou spend the day forcing yourself to go over that in your head. Divorce. It seems so antithetical to everything that you are, everything you believe about love and family. But part of you is also forced to admit that your family hasn't felt much love in years. Auryn's constant hostility and disrespect has worn all of you down to the point that it's affected your intimacy, and neither you or your wives have made love in months. And if Blake's actually getting to the point where she'd even bring up the idea of physical retaliation around you... ... maybe it is time to admit it hasn't worked out.\n\nEventually you portal home... or to Patch, at least... making sure to set the temporal coordinates for close to dinner time and strolling back, still thinking. "Hey," you call as you walk in.\n\n"Hey hon," Yang says, looking up and giving you a tired smile.\n\n"Hey," Blake adds a little more distantly as she lays silverware out on the table.\n\nYou sigh, trying to think how to bring up the idea of trying family counseling again. Then you notice a distinct lack of beepy noise music from down the hall. "Auryn not home yet?"\n\n"No," Blake replies with a little sigh. "He hasn't messaged either. Maybe soon," she adds in a slightly forlorn tone.\n\nNot that you think you'll see anything from him, but you take out your scroll and activate the screen just in case. "... Oh god dammit," you sigh, putting your other hand to your face.\n\n"What? Did he get into an argument at the shops again?" Yang asks in an exhausted voice.\n\n"No, he took my goddamn card and bought an airship ticket to Vale, I didn't get the notice because I was out of range all day."\n\n"What?" Blake straightens up, looking vaguely frightened. "Why would he do that?"\n\n'To be a little shit, I'm guessing,' you think, but manage to not say it out loud. "I'll take the Manta and go get him," you say, turning to head for the door again.\n\n"Kai, maybe I should-" Blake starts, moving around the table.\n\n"No." Realizing you said it a bit more sharply than you meant, you take a slow breath, then repeat, "No. My card so I guess he wants my attention. He's got it. I. Will. Handle. This," you say firmly, pointing at first Blake and then Yang. When neither of them says anything, you grab your weapon case from beside the door and head for the garage. You're not sure exactly why you felt the need to go armed, but for some reason you've got a bad feeling in the back of your mind that doesn't necessarily have to do with family squabbles.\n\nIt takes you a few minutes to get the now obsolete Atlas airship prepped and run through its startup sequence, but once you do you open the ceiling of its hangar and lift off through it. Setting off across the short stretch of ocean, you plug the sensor linkup into the cyberport in your neck, linking up to the other systems through your psycomm, eyes flickering briefly with digital text before you access the onboard radio. "Vale Air Tower, this is Manta-777 out of Patch, ETA ten minutes, requesting a landing pad."\n\nSoon you're wandering around the Vale airport, showing your most recent picture of Auryn and asking if he was seen leaving. You frown as you're directed not inward towards the shops but towards the perimeter wall. Checking with the gate guards, they confirm they let a boy with a student license through because he said it was an assignment from his combat school. 'Dammit, Auryn,' you swear internally as you head out into the woods, switching to actual tracking techniques as you pick out his trail. Eventually you get close enough that you can hear the chatter of a weapon... a familiar chatter. 'Well if that's not going to get Blake to actually do something, nothing will,' you think, your expression flat as you watch Auryn shoot another fresh-formed Beowolf with Gambol Shroud, the barely-coherent shadow creatures not even sporting their trademark masks yet.\n\nYou're just trying to figure out what to say as he finishes off the last one, when there's a quick motion from the trees nearby. You don't even have time to shout a warning before the Alpha Beowolf lurches out of the woods and swings its massive hand at the wide-eyed boy, who barely manages to get his mother's weapon up in time to block, Gambol Shroud spinning away as he's knocked sprawling.\n\n"GET AWAY FROM HIM!" you roar, Red Legacy blazing to life for the first time in years as you throw yourself at the massive monster, no doubt a survivor from the bad old days from its size and the way it flings itself away from your first strike, canny and wily as it almost dances away from your sweeps, its earlier ungainliness melting away as it finds itself in an actual fight. It leaps and rolls as you switch Red Legacy to shooting mode and fire several Ice Dust rounds at it, but it doesn't run... you know what that means for a Grimm this old. \n\nIt's locked on to Auryn's fear. Despite its self-preservation instinct, it won't be satisfied until it has the boy's blood.\n\nIts claws rake across your chest, tearing through the simple cloth garments as well as flesh and blood, making you grit your teeth as your Aura crackles with already beginning to make you whole, giving you time to snap your sword up and slice through its arm, the Grimm howling as the limb wafts away and disappears into smoke. You juke to the side as it stabs its claws at your side, throwing yourself into a long-unpracticed upward spin, feeling unstretched muscles tear as you swing yourself up, stabbing the ulak-oriented blade down into its mask, twisting and yanking to shatter it completely, the old wolf gasping as if in shock just before it disappears like a nightmare on waking.\n\nYou whirl back to Auryn to check on him, finding that he's gotten to his knees and is just staring at you, yellow eyes wide.\n\nYou try to control your hard breathing but can't, can't even stop the heat of the tears gathering in your eyes and spilling down your cheeks. "... what the hell is the matter with you...?" you whisper, feeling your face twist with agony. "Do you know how close I came to losing you?"\n\n"... I'm sorry..." he whispers, tears starting to streak down his own face now.\n\nYou collapse to your own knees in front of him, dropping your weapon and hauling him close against your front, your fingers tightening in his hair as you pulls his head against your shoulder, squeezing your eyes tight shut. "Don't you understand how much I love you? Don't you understand what losing you would do to me? Why, why, why?"\n\n"I'm sorry," he sobs back, arms flinging around you and his fists clenching in your shirt. "I'm sorry, Mom, I'm so sorry."\n\nLater, the two of you sit in an ice cream shop in Vale, milkshakes mostly untouched in front of you, both of you trying to find the words. "... Auryn," you finally say, not lifting your eyes from the glass. "I made a mistake ten years ago. I... assumed that you just needed time to come to terms with the changes in your life. That you could find your way by yourself. ... You were four, and I didn't know how to be a mom yet," you admit, lifting your eyes finally and looking right at him. "I should have made it clear from the start that I wasn't trying to replace your dad."\n\n"... It's not your fault," he eventually says, peeking up through those thick dark lashes that are so much like his mother's. "I could have understood that if I wanted to. I think I always have, at least a little. ... Truth is I've been taking something out on you that's not your fault," he admits. His head slumps more, his body settling heavily in the chair and hands draping in his lap. "The truth is when I try to think of him I... just see the pictures. The ones Mom has around the house. ... I don't remember his voice, or the way it felt when he hugged me, or whether he used to sing to me. And the more I realized that the more I hated myself for it. ... I felt like a bad son," he concludes with a hard, shuddery breath.\n\n"Oh dragon, Auryn, no," you whisper, half in denial and half in horror that he's been going through that alone.\n\n"I guess... I guess I felt like maybe if I rejected you and Yang, maybe that was proving myself to him. Showing I wasn't a bad son, that... I loved him more than you." He sniffs, then takes a firmer breath before looking up at you. "... Yeah. It probably would have made a difference if you'd done something earlier on. Maybe I could have let him go easier. ... But you know what I do remember? I remember you hugging me. I remember Yang singing to me. ... You're my moms," he admits with a catch in his voice. "And it's time I remembered it."\n\nYou rise and move around to the chair next to him, drawing him close for a hug and petting his hair, a surly teenager for once not caring about being shown affection in public. After a few moments you gently nudge him back and look him in the eye. "Honey, I think we all need to give family therapy another try. You ready to do it right this time?"\n\n"..." He says nothing, but nods and leans in to hug you tightly again.\n\n"Okay." You pat his back gently, then turn your head to kiss his cheek. "Okay, let's get these to go, and go home, then."\n\nOnce you're in the air, Auryn sitting in the copilot's seat, you activate the radio again. "Blake, Yang?"\n\n"Kai? Where are you, is Auryn with you?" Yang's worried voice comes back.\n\n"We're in the air headed home, be there soon. We're both fine."\n\n"Did you know he took Gambol Shroud?" Blake's voice adds, obviously feeling free to be angry now that her son's safety has been confirmed.\n\nYou can see Auryn wince, and you can't help but give him a brief 'sucks to be you' grin. "Yeah. And we'll talk about that when we get back. But we've had a talk about a few other things too," you add, letting your smile turn simply warm. "I think everything's going to be okay now."\n\n"... That's wonderful," Blake murmurs over the line in a relieved tone. "Alright. We'll talk when you get back in. See you soon. Love you."\n\n"Love you too," you reply, waiting for Yang to echo the words before you close the line.\n\n"... Will it though?" Auryn asks a little uncertainly. "We... messed up the last ten years. Is it gonna be okay?"\n\n"Maybe we messed up the last ten years, honey." You glance at him and shake your head. "But that doesn't mean we have to mess up the next ten. We can change our lives if we're ready to. We might have to work at it, but if it's what we want it's ours. You're my son... I love you. I love you a hell of a lot more than I care about my hurt feelings."\n\n"I love you too, Mom," he assures you. "... I'm sorry."\n\n"I'm sorry too. But it's a new day... let's just focus on that one being good, instead of the bad ones we're leaving behind."\n\n<hr>\n[[The End.|KaiYang2xEnd]]

A thought occurs to you, and aloud you say, "Ashizu, what's the weather forecast tonight?"\n\n"Tonight expect a cold front to bring in unseasonably low temperatures, along with it extremely heavy rain and lightning. Air quality will be especially-"\n\n"Thank you," you say, cutting off the report. Yeah, you're going to the Guildhall.\n\nYou head to the second bedroom of the apartment that you've refitted into an armory and office to get dressed. You dress fairly similarly whether you're doing Guild work or gangbanger jobs, just that you try for mildly more "professional"-looking when doing Guild stuff. The top you change into is much like the other, just made of actual skinarmor and deep black trimmed by yellowish orange, with a pair of snug skinarmor pants to go with it. A fairly standard pair of quality black all-purpose boots, and then red plasteel leg armor plates and fingerless gauntlets, slightly 'samurai' style since it is good to have a distinctive look. Over that you don your white armor-lined longcoat, though you leave the glowing sections of it turned off... the Guild has different standards by which you're supposed to stand out, and walking around with glowy bits all the time isn't necessarily it. You settle your katana-style crystalslicer on your back, then holster a blaster pistol for crossdraw at your hip... if you wind up needing something else you can always either pop back here or access your vault on the Guildhall.\n\nAll that done, it's really just a matter of taking your beacon out of one of your dimensional pockets and pressing the button, and with a soft fwip and a tiny half-stumble you're stepping out of a shimmering portal beneath an arch and into the arrival annex of the Guildhall. Somewhere between the arrival terminal of a massive airport and a huge luxury hotel lobby, albeit populated by a considerably more combat ready appearing clientelle. You tuck your hands into your coat pockets and stroll through the crowds, giving a few smiles and nods to people you recognize or just who make incidental eye contact as you make a beeline not for the job kiosks, but the central food court.\n\nHey, you haven't had breakfast yet.\n\n"Crunchwrap hasperat, please," you say cheerfully as you head to your nearly habitual breakfast place.\n\nYou're enough of a regular, at least, that the Bajoran owner allows herself a small roll of the eyes as she starts preparing her people's traditional dish, albeit with the addition of crunchy hashbrowns, fried eggs, and breakfast sausage. "I wouldn't keep this abomination on the menu if I didn't think you'd stop coming by if I stopped offering it."\n\n"Oh, you don't think I'd come by just to see your smiling face?" you reply flirtatiously, grinning and propping your elbows on the counter and your chin on your palms as you watch.\n\n"It only smiles when you're here, Chika," she replies in kind, before snorting good-naturedly and handing you the wrapped at-this-point-basically-a-burrito. "Now get out of here, I don't want you to see it when the Prophets strike me down for culinary blasphemy."\n\n"Well have fun with your damnation," you call, saluting with your breakfast before heading to a vending machine for a double-tall cherry soda before finding a place to sit. As you eat, you ponder your next move.\n\nThe obvious, of course, is to [[start browsing job listings|ChiGH2x1]] and see what there is to do to earn a nice influx of credits. After all, just because you're comfortable right now doesn't mean you always will be, or that you can't do better for yourself. Like many young mercs, one of your biggest dreams is to one day own a starship, and though it will be a long time before you could just outright buy a decent one, you do have [[lines you could check|ChiGH]] on other ways to get one. You could also check in with [[various people you know|ChiGH]] to see if they need or want any help with their jobs... sometimes that means a smaller paycheck than working solo, but not always, plus it's a good way to build rep. \n\nYou could also go see your [[gearbroker|ChiGH1x2]] you suppose. What's a gearbroker? Well, it's the name someone came up with because 'personal shopper' sounds way too frou-frou and fancy for mercenaries. Plus they work in a slightly different way... while they will do the standard stuff of finding you things you ask for or calling you if they find you something you want, they'll also just outright buy things they think their clients will find useful or needful or things you've expressed interest in in the past, so they're also like a sort of very targeted shop. You haven't visited your gearbroker in a while, and you do have a decent stash of credits built up in your 'work expenses' account in case they have something fun, er, needful.

Oh what the heck, why not go visit Heiloh? It's not good to spend too much time out of contact from people you have business relationships with, after all, as your father used to say. 'Actually, what is our relationship?' you muse as you throw away your breakfast garbage and head through the Guildhall towards the not-open-to-the-general-public shopfronts. 'Does she work for me? Am I just her customer? Who's got the upper hand here? ... Personal shoppers are weird.'\n\nGearbroker. Because you are definitely a strong, independent mercenary and not a little Neokuza princess trying to prove something to her parents. Ahem.\n\nAnyway, soon enough you're walking along the line of storefronts, although since, again, these are the places that are more 'by invitation/reservation only' they're not quite as vivid or, well, advertising as your more standard shops. In fact most of them just have doors with logos and names on them... a very few have some product displays or decoration, but mostly there's not a lot of advertising going on. You stop in front of the one that says 'Heiloh's Heavenly Showroom' and tap in your personal code on the keypad by the door, hearing a soft ding and waiting. After a few seconds the door buzzes, so you pull it open and head in.\n\nThe inside is indeed like a small store, complete with shelves lined with products and several display cases, with a variety of weapons, digital devices, and even armor, clothing, and pieces of jewelry visible. The proprieter, said gearbroker Heiloh, is walking towards you, pushing her glasses up on her nose. Slight, petite, with slightly orangey blonde hair, and wearing a black turtleneck, slacks, and white overcoat, she doesn't stand out much save for the technological-looking halo slowly rotating above her head, the outer side black engraved with circuitry-like silver lines, the inside glowing in a slowly shifting rainbow of color. You're not sure if it's an actual device she's wearing or linked up to or just something natural to her... there are enough diverse species on the Guildhall that the latter's certainly a possibility.\n\n"Hello, Chika, it's been awhile," she says by way of greeting.\n\n"Hey hey Heiloh, I realized it has and thought I'd drop by. How's it going?"\n\n"Well enough. Still living on Makarzia?"\n\n"You should see the place I can rent for what it costs to get a claustrophobic room with a cot up here."\n\n"I imagine. Well, small talk out of the way, would you like to see what I have?"\n\nGrinning, you nod. "Sure."\n\n"Alright, well I have some new [[weapons|ChiGH]] in, some really good ones and some slightly odd ones," Heiloh says, turning and gesturing to the shelves where some swords and guns are displayed. A couple of new sets of [[armor|ChiGH]], again some really unique pieces there. I have an interesting stock of [[magic items|ChiGH]] right now, I know not everyone likes to use those because they're not as predictable as technology. Well, most technology. I also do have a few interesting bits of [[tech|ChiGH]] though some of it's experimental... stuff I've been working on myself, in fact. And besides all that I have a few [[drones|ChiGH1x3]] in stock."\n\n"Drones, huh?"\n\n"I know you do mostly solo work, including on Makarzia, having something, or someone depending on how you look at it, to watch your back wouldn't hurt."

"That is a good point," you allow. "And one that's going to get more important as I keep making a name for myself, especially down on the streets. These drones are reliable?"\n\n"Of course. I may stock some 'touchy' product, but I always tell you when, and the drones I have in stock are all very reliable. Now," she says, picking up a tablet from one of the counters and tapping it. "They are a bit more trouble to show off so let me just tell you what I've got and see if any of them sound interesting. I've got a brand new 'Cutlass' series quadrupedal drone, very good quality, top of the line all-purpose combat and utility drone..."\n\n"Sounds expensive," you note, raising an eyebrow.\n\n"If it were new in box, yes. I actually bought this one from a law enforcement auction, it was stolen by pirates and the insurance had already paid before it was recovered. It's been switched on like three times but never used or deployed, I guarantee you it's brand new, but I'm selling it at a used price considering where I got it. I also have a F3X-Z99 android... now, don't jump to any conclusions, but it is a sex droid."\n\nYou raise an eyebrow. "And it can watch my back? Like, not just... rub it?"\n\n"Yes. It's by a company that was notorious for overengineering their androids."\n\n"Oh, right, the sort where they make it so that any basic droid of theirs can lift a car or something."\n\n"Yeah, it's not quite that overengineered, but it is in the ballpark. Anyway I've already done a full refurb on the physicals, it can easily go into combat, the only issue is that it didn't come with a personality core and I didn't want to make a choice on buying one to put in since that's usually one of those things an owner likes to decide for themselves. Especially if they're still going to use it for... you know... 'companionship'."\n\n"Rrrriiiiight." ... Okay, you're not entirely opposed, depending. Not like your love life is necessarily barren, but there are certain things that can get... complicated... when mixing work and pleasure.\n\n"I do also have a bioroid in stock. He's not as combat-capable but he's very good for support roles... cleaning, weapon service, research, things like that."\n\n"Bioroid?" You frown a little. "Aren't those basically people though?"\n\n"Depends on how you look at it. My own position would be 'yes'," Heiloh answers, and when you give her a look she shrugs. "Being owned is unfortunately hardcoded into this model line's neural nets. When he came up at an auction I figured better me than someone else. You did say you have a rather nice apartment, and I would tend to trust you not to abuse him, Chika, so you're one of the ones I would sell him to. But don't feel pressured... he's a big help here until or unless he finds a more permanent home."\n\nHrm. You guess you see her point. And the more you think about it, the more you do feel like you could really use someone watching your back, all the better if it's someone that's actually programmed to keep your skin intact. (Well, sounds like the bioroid might be more in the vein of 'call for help if you lose contact' but still.) The idea has enough merit that you've essentially decided to go ahead and buy one, it's just a question of which one.\n\n<hr>\n[[The Cutlass.|ChiGH1x4]]\n\n[[The F3X-Z99.|ChiGH]]\n\n[[The bioroid.|ChiGH]]

"I think I've heard those 'Cutlass' drones are pretty great, I'll at least take a look at it," you say, though you've already at least halfway made up your mind.\n\n"Okay, come on into the back with me and have a look then."\n\nHeiloh leads the way into a back hallway and past several other doors before using a code and handprint to unlock one of them. The room inside is obviously a fairly plain storage area, albeit well-lit and clean, and the lack of shelves indicates that it's for larger, sturdier items. You can see a quadrupedal, armored form sitting immobile, overall resembling a vaguely canine/leonine form, with dark grey light armor and a fairly simple wedge of a head with three unlit optics, two set just slightly to the side of optimal binocular vision and one in the center of the forehead, you assume to give it a wider array of vision. At first you don't see anything wrong with it, though as you get close enough to spot the pseudomuscles and overall body structure, you stop and stare.\n\n"Uh, Heiloh, that's a fucking Reaper."\n\n"It's not."\n\n"I've seen them before, the armor setup fooled me but looking at it closer that is a goddamn Reap Drone, do you know how much trouble you'd be in if the Whitesuits found out you had this here?!"\n\nReapers, or Reap Drones, are some of the most infamous creatures in the entire multiverse. Their creator was both an incredible genius and an authentic sociopath who determined that the best way to create the ultimate versatile pursuit drones was to give them a simulated biological drive... that being, sex. Rough, animalistic, violating sex. Reap Drones became an incredibly effective weapon of terror, and also incredibly infamous for going rogue, slipping their restraints, and setting out either on their own or in packs to do as they liked. After numerous incidents of this, they were universally outlawed, but it was far too late, and they'd already spread across the multiverse as one of the most bone-chilling hazards to run across. \n\n"I'm telling you, it's not a Reap Drone," Heiloh says firmly, holding up her hands. Then she sighs and pats the air with them placatingly. "The company did reverse engineer a lot of the physical systems from some of the newer black market Reapers that have been taken down lately. So it's got their full range of speed, agility, and neural complexity. But I'm telling you, Chika, I've gone through all of its code myself, the OS is entirely original, there's not a bit of Reaper code in there, it's new from the ground up. It is programmed with a 'drive' system, but the drive is its bond with its owner. Essentially its reason for existing will be to please you and grow closer to you."\n\n... Well you kind of like the sound of that, admittedly. You look over the drone a bit more, and you have to admit he does look very cool, and once you get past the ingrained 'ugh' factor of realizing the similarity to a Reaper, it's actually kind of sexy. You know, sort of the same way a high-end streetspeeder is sexy, and for much the same reason, with a lot of cool lines and neat accents. In fact the more you look at it the more you're liking it, though that initial reaction is still making you waffle. \n\n"I dunno, Heihei," you say after a moment, sighing. "I mean, I do like the idea, and you've never been wrong before, but... I mean, what are people going to think when they see me walking around with a... pseudoReaper?"\n\n"I don't think it will be that bad, it took you a few moments to see the similarity and you've actually seen the real thing before." Heiloh hesitates, then says, "Look, okay, I realize now this thing's going to be a hard sell. So tell you what, if you want to buy it, I'll redo its outer shell and armor to make it look different. Honestly I don't know what the company was thinking going with this color scheme as it was, it just makes the similarity more obvious."\n\n"... How much in all?" you ask, already knowing you'll pay it if you have the credits. Heiloh quotes a price that won't entirely empty your work expense account, which makes you waffle even more briefly before saying, "Okay, done."\n\n"Alright, I'll get to work on a remodel right away. So what kind of look do you want for him?" At your glance at her phrasing, Heiloh shrugs. "I mean I guess technically it's an 'it', but physically it's also male. They did include that part. ... It's modular," she adds as you eye her. "So... do with that as you will. But anyway, what look should I give it?"\n\n<hr>\n[[Neutral.|ChiGH]]\n\n[[Imposing.|ChiGH6x1]]\n\n[[Shiny.|ChiGH1x5]]

"Let's make him nice and bright and attention-getting to really cut down on the similarity," you suggest, wiggling your index finger all over the drone's chassis. "Make him look like, I dunno... some high-end piece of gaming hardware. Toss some Makarzia in there or something."\n\n"'Toss some Makarzia in there' isn't a phrase I had originally considered entering my professional lexicon, but there it is," Heiloh says dryly, then shrugs. "But I think I take your meaning. Okay, I should have him done in a day or two, let's go do some paperwork and get the readings I need to register you as his owner in his neural net."\n\nOnce you've finished the transaction, you head out to snag a job... gotta replenish the expense account somehow. You don't take anything too serious, because you know you're going to be excited thinking about getting your new toy in a few days and therefore a bit distracted. Your very own high-end combat drone! ... Slash buddy! It's an interesting, if slightly weird, blend of excited over getting a new piece of high-end equipment and excited over a blind date. ... Kind of. Admittedly that might be on your mind for the next few days too. Is that, uh... well, how lewd would that be, anyway? After all it's basically a machine so is it really any different than using a vibrator? Except it's an arguably self-aware vibrator that goes on all fours, so.\n\nProbably for the best that you just take a few simple search and retrieval jobs over the next few days. Getting distracted and blushing wondering if it counts as bestiality if you decide to do lewd things with your new dogdrone probably wouldn't do a bodyguard job any favors.\n\nBut after several days you get the call from Heiloh and head back to her shop. She's waiting out in the main area for you, and this time the Cutlass is with her, in a canine sitting posture though it seems to be switched off. You have to admit it definitely looks quite a bit different... gleaming white armor plates, a slightly silvery finish to other parts with only a bit of stark black on the frame for contrast. The head's been remodeled to be less of just a harsh wedge and more into a slightly wolflike appearance, though it's still fairly long and narrow and with the three optics. You especially like that on each shoulder there's splotches of 'dripping paint' color and the Nipponzi character for your name with the possessive slash added ("Michika's", basically) done street art style. "Very nice!" you declare happily.\n\n"Oh you haven't seen him powered up yet," Heiloh says, tossing you a remote. "Here."\n\nBlinking, you look it over for a moment before locating the power button and pressing. Immediately you see what she means... with a flicker, little light accents all over the edges of the armor plates and various other accent spots glow to life and start pulsing in rainbow colors, as do the slender optics. The drone turns its head back and forth, then fixes its gaze on you and rises to all fours, long, sectioned feline-like tail flicking back and forth. "Greetings, Mistress," it says in a rather monotone masculine voice.\n\n"Hey there," you reply, grinning. "Status?"\n\n"Cutlass drone #111117 is currently in setup mode. Owner has been registered. Unit requires registration of quick reference and operation mode."\n\nYou glance at Heiloh, who clarifies, "It needs a name and whether you want it to activate its personality matrix or not."\n\n"What's the difference?" you ask curiously, looking the drone over again.\n\n"Without its personality active, its bond won't grow but you also don't need to worry about maintaining it... it will perform all its basic functions as factory standard, essentially, without worrying that it might sulk if you don't pay enough attention to it or something." Heiloh shrugs a bit. "If you activate the personality core you'll need to take its feelings into account, but its bond with you will increase so it will probably develop more useful behaviors and skills. Up to you."\n\n"Hm, got it." You consider for a few moments, then say, "Okay, unit registration quick reference... 'Knight'."\n\n"Confirmed," the drone answers. "Drone's quick reference is 'Knight'."\n\n"And as for your operation mode..."\n\n<hr>\n[["... turn your personality matrix on."|ChiGH1x6]]\n\n[["... leave your personality matrix off."|ChiGH]]

For a few moments the drone's optics blink in changing rainbow colors instead of the sort of 'sliding' pulse they were doing before. There's a slight shift in the way it's standing, its tail moving in a slightly more natural way (if that's the right word). "Understood. I have activated my personality matrix," it says in a more natural way of speaking as well. "It is a pleasure to serve you, Mistress."\n\nGrinning, you give in to the urge to squat down and rub the drone's head with both hands like you would a dog. It's not quite the same stroking and petting planes of smooth armor instead of fur, but apparently Knight likes it well enough, turning its head back and forth and making a sound that's somewhere between a rumble and a heavy-duty cooling fan. "Yeah well we'll see if you still say that after putting up with me for a while," you reply teasingly. After a moment you rise, grinning. "And I see you're smart enough to know not to respond to something like that."\n\n"My processing ability is quite advanced," Knight replies modestly, bobbing his head. "... And Miss Heiloh made sure my personality matrix included a number of useful subroutines."\n\n"How nice of her," you note dryly, giving Heiloh a grin.\n\n"Yeah I've got him pretty tricked-out, especially considering what I actually charged you," Heiloh says with a shrug. "Partly because like I said, I knew it'd be a tough sale, but also because I'm hoping you'll come back when I find weapons systems and upgrades."\n\n"There's the enlightened self-interest I look for in a gearbroker."\n\n"Mm. Oh, by the way." Heiloh beckons you to lean in, and after a moment you do so curiously. Lowering her voice... though you can't imagine that Knight can't still hear her, you suppose she's just relying on his social subroutines to know she's being discrete... she adds, "By the way, remember that particular modular piece we talked about?"\n\n"Um." Your cheeks color some. "Yeah?"\n\n"Well it's still modular but I took out the defaults it came with and installed a high quality variable-form one. Extremely wide range of sizes and shapes possible, and you can download more shapes or even design your own," she says in a slightly smug tone as your face goes red. Maybe it's your imagination, but you feel like you can see some pink on the white metal of Knight's face too (but maybe that's just the reflection from his optical lights).\n\nClearing your throat, you straighten up, "Thank you, Heiloh, that's... good to know. Ahem. Let's go, Knight," you add, turning to the door, trying to stay casual about him falling into step with you. Wouldn't do to have your new... partner?... see you too giddy or flustered right off the bat.\n\nAs the two of you walk through the Guildhall, you do notice quite a few glances at Knight, some appreciative, others curious, a few mildly suspicious... once or twice you even spot a shocked/scared double-take as someone apparently spots the similarities to a Reap Drone. But no one starts screaming or calls the Whitesuits on you, so apparently his appearance alterations have been enough to convince everyone that he's just an advanced, and hopefully safe, drone.\n\n"Are we getting right to work, Mistress?" Knight speaks up, startling you just a little since you'd slightly lapsed into focusing more on reactions to him than him in actuality.\n\n"Ah, no, I actually just came off a job and got Heiloh's call," you explain. "Came right to pick you up. I've been a little excited," you admit with a grin.\n\n"I would consider myself to have been excited as well, Mistress," Knight informs you as the two of you head into the departure portal annex and start looking for a cubicle that's not on cooldown. "When I had your data uploaded into my neural net as my new owner, I began to greatly anticipate meeting you for real. As much as I could without my personality matrix active, of course," he adds, just a bit sheepishly.\n\n'A-aww,' you think, unable to help being rather charmed by that. You reach down and rub the top of his head for a few moments, grinning as he lifts his head up against the touch, then spot a green panel. Tapping in the direct coordinates for your apartment (and keying in the security code that lets you port directly into a residence, since it's registered as your residence), you step through and into the space in the living room you always keep clear for just that reason, though you hurry a bit to make sure there's also room for Knight to come through. "Well, this is my place. Our place, I guess," you add with a glance around. "Welcome home, I suppose?"\n\n"Thank you, Mistress, it is most pleasing," he says with apparent sincerity, bobbing his head. \n\n"Yeah well it's okay," you say, waving a hand. "For what I pay for it, certainly. Ah, this is the armory, it's where I put your charging pad," you note as you show him into the room, gesturing to the large white inductive charger panel now on the floor with part of it pressed up to the wall. "Since I already reinforced the wiring and stuff in here it was the only place to put it," you add, feeling a little bad at implying he just goes with all the other guns and such since he's so personable now.\n\n"Certainly. This seems more than adequate," he adds after resting a 'paw' on it briefly.\n\n"Alright, well, go ahead and take a look around the apartment, I guess," you say after a moment of awkwardly trying to figure out where to go from here. "I need to go take a shower, I'm dusty."\n\n"Very well, Mistress."\n\n'Needa figure out how to handle things,' you muse a few minutes later under the hot water as you rinse the latest job's dirt out of your hair. 'I mean, with his personality on it's basically like having another person here. Sort of. It definitely feels more like that than it would if he were just acknowledging orders in that monotone. ... Well, I'll figure it out.'\n\nAlthough a moment later you realize that you've suddenly come to needing to figure something else out... specifically, the clothes situation. You stripped off your clothes and tossed them in the cleaning unit without much thought, where they'll stay for half an hour or so now. Normally you'd walk to your room naked while toweling off, but uh... now Knight's out and about in the apartment. And would see. ... How to handle this?\n\n<hr>\n[[Show some modesty.|ChiGH1x7]]\n\n[[Psh, he's a machine, what's he care?|ChiGH]]\n\n[[... Well, maybe you don't mind him seeing.|ChiGH]]

Well. Even if you do wind up... doing stuff... later, there's no reason not to treat him like you would a new roommate right now, with his personality on. You towel off enough to not be dripping, then wrap the towel around your middle before cracking the door enough to peek out. "Hey, Knight?"\n\n"Yes, Mistress, do you need something?" he calls back, the clicking of his claws on the floor and the whirr of his muscles starting to approach.\n\n"No, no, I'm good!" you hurriedly call. "Just, um, if you would, I'm about to come out of the bathroom, would you maybe... sit in the living room and look out the window?"\n\nThere's just the briefest pause, before Knight answers, "Certainly, Mistress."\n\n"Thanks." You wait for the clicking and whirring to move off, before slipping out of the bathroom, hurrying but not running to your bedroom and closing the door evenly. You finish drying off, brushing out your hair and binding it up, then getting dressed in your 'lounging' clothes of top and snug shorts. Padding barefoot back out into the apartment, you grin at seeing Knight still sitting at the window, the reinforced white plates of his cable-tail catching the light of its own LEDs as it sways back and forth, watching the street below with apparently legitimate interest. Still, as you take a seat he gets up and walks over, probably wanting to show his attentiveness, only to let out that low vocoder thrum as you reach out to rub his head with both hands again. "Thinking about getting out there, hm?"\n\n"I suppose I was considering tactical possibilities, Mistress," Knight answers, head turning back and forth under the rubbing of your hands.\n\n<hr>\n[["Good, keep it up!"|ChiGH]]\n\n[["Chika."|ChiGH1x8]]

"Heyhi~!" you call cheerily as you stroll into the room, giving a happy wave to your (literally) captive audience. The thump of your bootsoles on the floor is overlayed by the numerous clicks and clacks of the feet and claws of your black-armored Drone Dogs as they follow along behind you obediently, their programming causing them to pose dramatically and show off their four intimidating red eyes, carbon fiber muscles, and angular armor plating. You come to a stop in front of the two upright tables with their occupants manacled to them naked and spread-eagled, striking a bit of a pose yourself to show off your own sleek black and red armor, worn over standard durable pants and a tight black spandex top, all of it partially covered by the long white coat you shove one hand into while swinging the other up to rest your rifle on your shoulder, cybernetic fingers clicking against the handguard as you give your head a toss to dramatically fling your long black hair. "Sorry it took so long to get back to you, I had to lose a couple of your friends. Boy, get one of the Alphabet agencies riled and they can actually get more up your ass than Capes, y'know? Guess that's what happens when you've got all of the power and none of the responsibility."\n\n<img src="images/Defiance.png">\n\n"W-who are you? What do you want?" one of the women strapped to the tables asks. Middle-aged, auburn hair with a very expensive and obvious about it styling, decent boobs and slightly squishy body, you muse as you look her up and down, watching as she fights not to tremble in terror as one of your DDs gives a low, resonant growl.\n\n"Very good questions, despite their obviousness!" you reply cheerfully, glancing at the other woman. She's conventionally attractive in that nearly exact way that people like when they're pretending someone isn't conventionally attractive, with short dark hair and a lean fit body with barely any boobs or hips, but everything's still shaped well and her looks are the sort that are popular with what you think of as 'appearance hipsters'. Every law enforcement team seems to have one, it's like they're issued by the government along with black SUVs and badges. "Isn't that what they say, a cliche is just a truism that's been used so often it's become trite? Anyway, why don't you go ahead and answer Ms. Kaville, Special Agent Landiss?"\n\nThe FBI agent scowls darkly at you, before snarling out with unsuppressed rage in a tone that sounds like she thinks she's barely suppressing it, "Her name is Deborah DuFresne, who also goes by the ridiculous alias of 'Defiance'."\n\n"Good, good, now tell her that cute little phrase you like to label me with."\n\nLandiss's teeth grind at you making a mockery of her sacred terminology, but she apparently can't help herself and spits out, "She's a Reactionary Antagonist Terrorist."\n\nAt the CEO sucking in a hard breath, you turn a sincerely sympathetic look her way briefly. "Calm down a little, you're hearing that from someone that would probably label people who crack copy protection on blurays a terrorist if they could. The only reason they call me that is they did some research and found that people are actually more scared of the word 'terrorist' than they are 'supervillain'. There, see, you're relaxing a little already," you add with a giggle.\n\n"Don't let her talk you into being off-guard, she's a dangerous-"\n\n"Rude," you interrupt smoothly, pulling out the device in your pocket you were holding in your off-hand and hitting a button. Landiss shrieks as electricity jolts through the table and her body, making her buck and twitch, naked body writhing against the restraints from the brief shock. "I'm monologuing here. God, Alphabets are so rude, Capes at least let you have the decency to get a paragraph or so out before trying to comment. Now where was I? Oh, right!" You turn back to the CEO. "Really all they need is the 'Reactionary Antagonist' bit," you explain as you set your rifle down on a nearby table. "Which means that I'm a supervillain because there are superheroes. That's it!" you continue at her shocked and confused expression, beaming and giving her a wink. "I see someone in a wild outfit making a spectacle of themselves with a name like 'Captain Courageous' or 'Excalibur' or 'Hellborn' and I've just gotta put on a wild outfit myself and fuck with 'em, it's a compulsion, some bit of wiring in my brain that's just gotta provide a response to that sort of thing. Personally I prefer the title 'supervillain-for-fun', it's more real people speak."\n\n"What she means is that she's a dangerous psychotic suffering an ongoing break from reality that causes her to commit terrorist acts despite complete lack of a cause, motive, or reason," Landiss snarls. "To the point that she mutilated herself to install black market technology in place of a healthy limb."\n\nYou just stare at her for a second before hitting the shock button again, holding it down a bit longer this time and watching as she shudders and twitches involuntarily, her eyes rolling and drool running down her chin. When you've given her a few seconds to catch her breath, you respond. "First of all, rude, again, I really hate it when people call me psychotic and unconnected to reality... it's so fucking illogical. So someone in a metallic bodysuit breaks the law of gravity through sheer force of will, and I'm the one who doesn't have a firm grasp of reality for having an emotional reaction to that beyond 'Huh, neat'? Second, 'mutilated'? Seriously?" You raise your prosthetic hand and give the black metal fingers a wiggle. "What level of nofun are you? And a hypocrite besides, the only reason you're saying I mutilated myself is that my arm was made by someone who calls themselves 'Doctor Deathtrap', if it was made by Apple then hundreds of people would be lining up to get their arms chopped off right there in the mall and you wouldn't even blink twice at it. Plus, plus, at least my arm's manufacturing involved no child slave labor, can you say the same about your phone, Special Agent? Huh? Huh?" you demand rhetorically, poking her bare stomach a few times and getting nothing but a death glare in answer.\n\n"Thirdly," you continue as you step back. "Well, you're right, I don't have a cause, other than dragging Capes down off their pedestals. None of them ever really did anything to me, or hurt me, or ruined anything of mine, but I've still just gotta knock 'em over. It may not be a 'cause' in the sense that I think it's some moral imperative or for the betterment of society, but doesn't mean I'm any less dedicated! I've learned mechanical engineering, biotech, magic, just about anything that could theoretically be useful in fighting, defeating, capturing, and degrading Capes. A lot of it's stuff that I initially bought, stole, or was gifted from other supervillains, but I've learned from it and I'm not too bad myself, at this point! So don't let her attempts to demean me deceive you. Oh, that reminds me, fourth," you add, pointing at Landiss. "You are really shitty at this, you've done nothing but antagonize me since I walked in the room. Is your excuse that you're trying to make me mad so I make a mistake? A mistake with what, disposing of the other hostage's body so that I lead your fellow Feds back to you?" You glance at Kaville as she jerks in her bonds and looks over at Landiss, who looks just shocked enough that it's obvious you hit a little too close to the nail's head. "There you go, your tax dollars at work paying her salary, Linda."\n\n"I-is that true?!" the CEO demands.\n\n"Don't listen to her, like I said, she's a manipulative terrorist!" Landiss blurts. "B-besides, if she killed me that might lead someone back to you!"\n\n"Yeah like you really believed that was gonna happen," you snort, turning back to the table where you laid your rifle and starting to rummage through various things you've had prepped.\n\n"I still... I still don't understand," Kaville murmurs, looking back at you. "I'm not a superhero, why did you kidnap me?!"\n\n"Hey, not everything's direct action," you answer with a shrug. "I kidnapped you because I'm sure to within a reasonable margin of error that at least one of the rich people you're closely acquainted with and who uses your company's manufacturing facilities is a superhero. Probably more than one. Taking you is not only a knock on them but, y'know, gets 'em all riled up, gets 'em motivated. Even makes 'em more likely to make a mistake 'cause they're mad," you add, tossing a smirk at Landiss. "And I kidnapped the agent here because they assigned her to your security detail. Despite not being from a segment of the bureau that should be working protection details, but that's the weird sort of world we live in," you add with a shrug. "Oh, and now you'll ask-"\n\n"Don't give her the satisfaction!" Landiss blurts, even as Kaville is asking, "What are you going to do with us?"\n\n"Gooood question!" you chirp happily, continuing to search through the various immediate options. "I'm actually trying to decide. One of the most fun things about being a supervillain is little moments like these, so many potential weird and wild and fun things to do. Let's see let's seeeee..."\n\n<hr>\n[[Focus on Landiss.|Def]]\n\n[[Focus on Kaville.|Def1x1]]\n\n[[Double feature!|Def]]

"Tell me a little more about this scientist, is this someone who's a threat?"\n\n"Well, depends on how seriously you take people not knowing about real magic. She's pretty open about wanting to find the 'real thing' and experiment with it, so I don't doubt she'd publish a paper with proof if she could." Orrin shrugs. "I mean, you can go over and check her out if you want, I guess. Her name's Rina."\n\n"Okay, yeah, I'll take a look at her, see if she checks out."\n\nAfter a bit more talking, you bid Orrin goodbye and head back out of the store, following his directions down a few streets to the less cleaned-up and rennovated area. There is indeed a somewhat dilapidated-looking shopfront, though someone's put up a decently-printed posterboard sign over the (cracked) glass of the window reading 'Practical Magic Investigation'. You glance around for any other signs, or a doorbell, and see neither one, so after a moment's hesitation you just try the door, which turns out to be open. The inside is a bit dusty, the old linoleum floor in poor condition and mostly being held down by the stacks of cardboard boxes, it looks like. There's an old countertop, devoid of anything for doing business with and apparently currently only good for holding a scattering of electronic components. "Hello?" you call, shifting your bag a bit on your shoulder.\n\n"Yes! One second please!" comes a voice from the back of the shop. "I'm just in the middle of something, I'll-!" There's a crackling noise, and you scent the release of the mystical blue smoke that makes electronics work. "... I am no longer in the middle of something, I will be right out."\n\nSeconds later a woman a few years older than you walks out, dusting off her hands. She looks a bit like she's on her way out to an anime convention, her long hair dyed bubblegum pink and what you assume are color contacts turning her eyes the same color, her clothes black and vaguely 'cyberpunk' in style, the sleeveless top high-collared and with several straps clicked over it, disconnected zip-up sleeves on her arms, and snug pants that look like they're some weird cross between rubber and spandex with a stippled pattern on them, and clasp-up boots. She adjusts her own glasses, then gives you a little wave. "Hello there! Can I help you?"\n\n<img src="images/Rina.png">\n\n"You're Rina, right?" At her cheerful nod, you continue. "I'm Valerie. I'm a local, and I heard you're trying to... investigate magic?"\n\n"Yes indeed!" She beams at you, clasping her hands in front of herself. "I very much want to harness what I understand magic can do, so it can be replicated and used via technology! That way it will be accessible to everyone!"\n\n"Assuming magic does what it's said to, isn't that kind of dangerous?" You quirk an eyebrow at her, folding your arms. "You want to hand just anyone the ability to turn someone else into a frog?"\n\nShe blinks back at you, raising a fingertip to her lower lip. "Well, right now just a handful of people have that sort of power, to my understanding. Is it really any more dangerous for everyone to be able to do something than for a few select individuals that no one else have any real control over to be able to do it?"\n\nYou open your mouth, then close it, not able to respond right off the top of your head. Something seems wrong with that reasoning, but then between witches and wicked witches, it's not like people don't get messed about with via magic plenty as it is. And these aren't exactly carefully selected individuals either, as your own induction into being a practicing witch shows.\n\nWhile you're puzzling that over, Rina continues. "I mean, I suppose there will definitely be some bad things to come of it if you can buy a 'magic wand' remote control in any store, but that's true of any new revolution. But I think a lot more good would ultimately come of it! It could help solve hunger issues, revolutionize medicine, lessen our impact on the environment, not to mention the simple quality of life improvements! But, the simple fact is that I need someone to help me discover more about magic. Is that why you came here?" she adds eagerly, leaning in a bit. "You're a witch, aren't you?"\n\nYou do your best to no-sell your reaction. "What makes you say that?"\n\nRina grins and taps the sides of her glasses. "I may not have made a ton of progress, but I do know that magic is definitely real, and that it has an energy signature. The sensors and displays built into these show me your 'aura', as it were, and it's two to three times as intense an energy reading as the average I've measured. I really do hope you've come to help, I think we could help a lot of people together! And, you know, quite likely get rich as a nice little side benefit," she adds with a giggle, putting her fingertips over her lips.\n\nYou frown thoughtfully at her, trying to decide what to do. She has some decent arguments, and... well, you'd definitely like to be rich, so there is that. What she's talking about could also be intensely dangerous... you have to admit that part of you just has a gut reaction that no non-practitioner should know as much as she already does. What to do?\n\n<hr>\n[[Help her.|ValNA]]\n\n[[Eliminate her.|VAlNA]]\n\n[[Wait and see.|ValNA]]

Probably sensing weakness, Gao uses his Extra Reasonable tone and says, "If you're teaching us, we'd need to learn where they are and which ones to buy, right?"\n\nSounds like bullshit to you but you suppose you can't really argue without putting too much of a lie to the idea that this really is about teaching them. Sighing, you thumb towards the hallway. "Okay, get cleaned up and change, and we'll go. PUT 'EM AWAY FIRST!" you add as they both go scrambling for their room without bothering to tuck their cocks back into their pants.\n\nSoon the three of you are in your car, and you're driving to a slightly further away than usual convenience mart. Y'know, just in case. Your speeder's not old enough to be out of style, easily fitting in with the other night creature rides, so there's no real second glances or anything as you make your way to the other side of the megablock and park, the boys scampering along happily after you, their own coats flapping.\n\nThe late teen female clerk glances up but also doesn't seem too surprised... you and the boys are dressed ambiguously enough that you could be casual lifestyler night creatures or just daytimers out to the local combeni after dark, and neither one is unusual in her world. The boys quickly get distracted by any number of other interesting items on the way to the Healthcare (and 'Healthcare') aisle, splitting off and leaving you for the moment on your own. 'Figure out where they are and how to buy 'em indeed,' you scoff to yourself, but not in much surprise. They're almost men, but not quite, after all.\n\nThe camera inset into the wall above the birth control and other "normie" sex items a good, supposedly wholesome franchise store is willing to stock on its shelves (you definitely weren't taking the boys to any of the non-franchise bodegas for this and risking a whole different kind of derailing) is deliberately obvious, as is the sign reading 'All items are tracking chipped'. Yeah can't really blame them on that one. You peruse the various options, trying to keep calm and not think too much about how you're soon going to be rolling these over your sons' cocks and doing... things.\n\nYou pick up a black, gold-trimmed package with '0.01' featured prominently on it, one of several on the same general theme, but it's by a company whose, ah, "normal" products you've used so. Still, you flip the box over and use your comm to scan the barcode, then start flipping through the screen that pops up.\n\n"Whatcha doin'?" the boys sync from either side of you, peering curiously at the screen.\n\nYou give a little jump, and glare at them, with both of them doing a very bad job of looking abashed... they know you hate it when they do that. Since scolding them about it just entertains them, you clear your throat. "I'm using an app called BestReviews to make sure this brand is good. I use it for a lot of stuff when I'm shopping and I can usually trust it."\n\n"Ohhhhhhhh," both boys chorus, before Gao asks, "So are those good?"\n\nYou eye the number of reviews and star rating, and skim several of them. "Well, no reports of someone getting the swelling sickness after using them, so."\n\nBoth of them look blank at that, before they catch on to the reference and start giggling in delight. Then their attention is snagged by all the colorful boxes and they focus in on the shelves, staring with great interest, tails wagging. ... You kind of feel like you should be stopping them but, again, that seems rather hypocritical considering. Instead you leave them to it for the moment and instead move off to grab a few other things, both necessities and "filler", before heading up to the counter.\n\nYou set things out, deliberately being overly casual about setting the condom box down and giving the clerk a faint 'quick, before they come over' gesture, which she nods to placidly and bags the condoms up first helpfully. Good, just another woman buying condoms while the kids with her (her own or ones she's just watching) don't know, completely innocent and totally-\n\n"Mom, hey Mom!" Aki calls excitedly as he and Gao come running up, their eyes wide and sparkling with delight... as each of them plunks down several more boxes of condoms on either side of your own selections. "These ones glow!"\n\n"These are flavored," Gao adds in a slightly awed tone. Completely misinterpreting your look of mild panic, they both add, "Don't worry, Mom, they've got good reviews on the app!"\n\nYou swallow, eyes flicking side to side to the boxes, then give the clerk a sheepish look. "I'm... teaching them about safe sex."\n\n"I bet," she says dryly without the slightest change in expression, your face going solid red as she immediately rings through and bags the other boxes of condoms.\n\nThe boys chatter excitedly both about their discovery of the wide wide world of interesting sex products (boy they have no idea how shallowly they've dipped their toes in... despite it being with their mother). You shush them a bit as you get closer to the apartment, noting, "You guys need to keep this to yourselves, though, okay? It's... not exactly typical, these lessons, so..."\n\n"Right, right, sorry," Gao says quickly, Aki nodding enthusiastically along with him. "We just got excited!"\n\nThat's obvious, you think with another blush as you all get out of the car to ride the elevator back up, obvious bulges at their crotches. Once you've opened the door they rush in, clearly restraining themselves from tearing off their clothes (or maybe yours) and instead standing there practically vibrating, tails blurring with wagging. "So we're gonna continue the lessons, right Mom?" Gao blurts.\n\n"Yeah, we're gonna continue, right Mom?" Aki echoes, eyes sparkling.\n\n<hr>\n[[Yes, yes!|ChiMom]]\n\n[[Only a little...|ChiMom]]\n\n[[No not tonight.|ChiMom]]

"So... just to be clear, this Mistress job," you say slowly. "You pay for all the materials?"\n\n"Mm-hmmm, which includes costuming," Silvia says breezily, before grinning. "Though the costumes will stay the property of the club, you can't take them home with you."\n\nTch. "And since it's 'work when you want', if I just decide to stop showing up...?" you prompt.\n\n"Then that is of course your wish. If you don't show up for two months, we'll assume you've lost interest and we may give your reserved space to someone else, if you wanted to come back after that we'd have to talk again.\n\nHm. Seems fair. "And you're serious that it only goes as far as I want it to?"\n\n"Yes, although I will ask that if you take a job that has certain requirements, you go through with those requirements, and not back out on them after making promises to the client," Silvia says, expression coming a bit solemn. "That's just a matter of professional pride after all, I can't have it getting around that my employees are fickle and break promises."\n\n"And I assume there's some sort of 'penalty' if I do that?" you ask wryly.\n\nNow Silvia grins again. "Wouldn't you set it up that way?"\n\nAdmittedly, you absolutely would. Virtually any kind of witch, even sparkly pure white ones, absolutely despises having promises broken, and most of them will set up contingencies for just that. So you're hardly going to hold it against Silvia. ... Still, this sounds like it could not only be profitable, but a lot of fun, and she's not asking you to do anything you're not willing to do. "Alright, sure, I'll give being a Mistress a go."\n\n"Excellent! I do think you'll enjoy it!" Silvia chirps, clapping her hands together. "Now, we're planning to be open in two weeks, and we've already got special clients lining up for 'wish dates'. We start seeing those clients at eleven, but since there may be prep time required for some of the requests, I suggest showing up by nine at the latest."\n\nYou nod slowly. "And it'll be different clients every night?"\n\n"Possibly. Essentially we take a client's request, and then inform them when someone accepts it. So if no one accepts a client's request, it may stay available until either someone does accept it or the client cancels it. It's one reason it's better to arrive earlier... the sooner you accept the request, the more time the client has to prepare and show up on time."\n\nMakes sense, you think, making a note in your calendar. Would kind of suck to have some mega-rich pervert show up and just sit around all night in a waiting room, getting regularly passed up by all the witchy sex workers. You and Silvia chat a bit longer, mostly smalltalk, before you bid her goodbye. "Be seeing you opening night!" she calls pleasantly.\n\n'Hm. Wonder if this would be one of those moments where Mom would be ashamed or proud?' you muse. Your mother is pretty clued-in herself and has a fair bit of magical talent of her own, which tends to make one open-minded. Give it fifty-fifty, but probably don't tell her.\n\nTwo weeks later, your phone chimes in the morning, so you head over to the club around eight, wanting to give yourself more than the bare minimum of time to select a job and set up. The place is looking very nice now, you admit as you walk through, though obviously devoid of customers since it's not open yet. Your name is enough to get you past the door and hallway bouncers, and you head through the 'Wish Date' door and down the steps inside. There's a long hallway lined with doors, and the first one on your right reads 'Staff', so you head through.\n\n"Oh hey, you Valerie?" a casually-attired redhead asks. At your confirmation, she beckons. "I'm Tori, another Mistress. Miss Raines asked me to watch for you, glad you're here early. Well, here's your desk," she adds, gesturing to a surprisingly normal-looking little desk with a computer monitor, keyboard, and mouse on it, a little stack of what look like notecards sitting on the blotter to one side of it.\n\n"Desk?" you ask with a blink.\n\n"Yeah, just to make looking through jobs and ordering what you need for them easier," Tori answers with a grin. "Anyway, I laid out the current job cards for you, if you find one you like just go in the system, register the number on it, and post up what you'll be needing for prep. It'll assign you a room, and they're already magically enchanted to make it easy for you to create a fake environment. Someone will bring your stuff down and alert the client. Best to only plan for one job a night, most times, never know how long some of these will take," she adds as she heads over to one of the other desks.\n\nHm. Fair enough. Settling into the chair, you pick up the stack of cards and start looking through them.\n\n[Job: I want to be a good boy\n\nDescription: Male client wishes to be transformed into a dog for the night. Primary focus on being praised, petted, and treated like a beloved pet.\n\nSex: Optional (bonus)]\n[[[Take the job.|ValMis]]] [[[Tear up the card.|ValDogJob1Reject]]]\n\n[Job: Hentai monster\n\nDescription: Client wishes to be turned into some sort of Japanese porn-style monster and to violate a schoolgirl (the Mistress). Has stated that the younger the Mistress makes herself seem, the better (bonus).\n\nSex: Necessary (rough)]\n[[[Take the job.|ValMis]]] [[[Tear up the card.|ValHentaiJob1Reject]]]\n\n[Job: Daddy plz\n\nDescription: Client wishes to roleplay as the father of the Mistress, who will assume the role of his teenage daughter. Has expressed interest in a bonus for kinks such as exhibitionism or public sex.\n\nSex: Necessary]\n[[[Take the job.|ValMis]]] [[[Tear up the card.|ValIncestJob1Reject]]]\n\n[Job: Drag me to Hell\n\nDescription: Client wishes to find himself at the mercy of a demoness who will dominate and "fuck the soul out of him". Client does not actually wish to give up his soul, tch.\n\nSex: Necessary]\n[[[Take the job.|ValMis]]] [[[Tear up the card.|ValDemJob1Reject]]]\n\n[Job: Recaptured youth plz\n\nDescription: Client wishes to be temporarily de-aged into boyhood. Has requested either a "big sister experience" or "mommy experience", with the latter paying more. Has expressed an interest in being gently dominated and additional kinks, but sex not strictly necessary.\n\nSex: Optional]\n[[[Take the job.|ValMis]]] [[[Tear up the card.|ValSisJob1Reject]]]

Hm... between Ryugonian vision and agility, you guess sliding through that doorway and then staying in the dark wouldn't be much of a problem for him. Deciding to at least check it out, you slide over to the door, doing your best to visually check for locks and traps around the edge, then just smoothly easing it open and sliding in, weapon at the ready, to find...\n\n... an empty room. Actually, more than empty, it looks like the majority of the floor is taken up by a deep, dark pit with sloping sides that goes straight down, the darkness below thwarting your holovisor's nightvision within a few feet. There's a slight ledge just behind the door, enough to stand on anyway, implying that this might be used as some sort of disposal pit.\n\n'Seriously?' you think with a sigh, straightening up and then stepping forward onto the ledge, intending to take a look downward and try to confirm there's not a room just below that Sokahn could actually be hiding in.\n\nThe moment your foot hits the ledge, it flies out from under you as if you'd stepped on the mythical frictionless surface that plagues every physics test. You have the barest instant of wide-eyed shock at the complete failure of the suit's gripsoles before you're hurtling out into open space. You slam against the far wall with enough impact to jar you into dropping the rifle, which clatters down into the same darkness you're falling into slightly more slowly due to your half-deliberate flailing. You keep trying to catch yourself on the walls of the pit as you fall, at least to slow your descent, but despite looking pourous and craggy you're denied every attempt at a grip or fingerhold, your hands slipping right off it without ever catching, your shocked and scared mind barely processing little droplets of moisture flitting into the air at your contact. You at least manage to get yourself upright, and start bracing your legs to roll with an impact that will probably break them.\n\nsplt\n\n'... Splut?' you think dazedly as you find yourself swaying back and forth lightly, as well as with a slight rolling up-and-down motion. It takes you a second to realize that most of your body feels a firm but squishy pressure all around it, right up to your neck. You are in fact almost up into your chin in something solid... or slightly viscous... that's still rolling and jiggling gently with the impact of you striking against and embedding in it. You can't see it very well but it seems like a pale yellow-orange color and you can tell there are some right angles. It looks to be in a somewhat dome-shaped small cavern, with the opening you fell through directly above, and only a single exit. 'Weird,' you think, before focusing on getting out and finding your rifle.\n\nBut the moment you try to move your arms and legs, you feel the otherwise gooey and yielding substance surrounding them harden. In fact the more you push the less yielding it gets, until you're struggling half in a panic as it feels like you've become encased in stone from the neck down, despite your motions and struggles causing the whole thing to start wobbling like a dropped but somehow still whole cube of gelatin. Eventually you relax again, panting and frowning as you try to consider a way out... which is when a warning pops up about your suit taking damage.\n\n'What?!' You try to look down and... yes, it looks like the suit is starting to dissolve in places, currently around your arms and the sides of your breasts. A brief spat of panic has you struggling again, grunting and giving muffled shrieks of desperation as you try to free yourself from this apparently deadly substance. But you soon realize that nothing is happening but the suit's damage percentage keeps rising faster and faster, until you finally force yourself to calm down before you struggle yourself to death.\n\nYou brace yourself as the damage heads over ninety percent, the protection shields failing, expecting to feel the heat of whatever acid or other substance it is starting to digest you too. Instead there's just a stronger sense of the mostly solid slime pressing all around you, directly against your skin now, conforming around your now bare nipples and the lips of your sex and even pressing into your bellybutton and up against the pucker of your ass as it flows into the slight amount of space the suit previously occupied. Then you feel a sort of strange numbness setting in... it's almost a mental fog as much as a physical one, making you feel slightly airy and disconnected, even as your body becomes more sensitive to the touch of the slime and the way it brushes and rubs against your whole body every time a wobble passes through it. 'What the hell?' you think, struggling to focus.\n\n"My my my. I thought I heard someone fall. Looks like it's already pretty far along, hm?"\n\nYour blood runs cold, fear cutting through the haze at least briefly as the man himself strides out of the darkness of the passage in front of you. Sokahn's molten purple gemstone eyes are fixed on you, a faint smirk on his sharp-angled muzzle, his four horns (two angled back from his forehead, two curling around the sides of his head and pointing back forward) dotted with fire-colored LEDs that flicker in the darkness. His head twists back and forth briefly on his long neck as he examines you, and you can't help but flush as you realize he's taking in the sight of your naked body through the slime. His own powerful, muscular frame is covered by a sleeveless flightsuit, glossy black with red accent lines and a few gently pulsing purple lightpanels, a pair of large leathery wings folded against his back. There's just the faintest gleam to the shiny black scales covering his toned arm as he lifts it to cup his chin.\n\n"You're prettier than the last few mercs to come after me. Not any luckier, though. Especially to fall into one of these."\n\n"... What is it?" you can't help but ask through gritted teeth.\n\n"How demanding. But since I have an interest in it I'll tell you, I've actually been studying these creatures while I'm here, for lack of anything better to do," he informs you with a low chuckle, reaching out to tap the thing with one claw and setting it to a surprising amount of jiggling, making you flush as you wobble back and forth, feeling the waves of motion pass back and forth across your sensitized-numbed body. "They're a variant of a creature called 'Gelatinous Cubes' that are found on any number of worlds out there. Now, whether this variety was created or simply evolved conveniently for people to use it as a trap, my studies haven't revealed, but I've found out a fair bit about how they work."\n\nClearly enjoying the little show he's putting on, the Ryugonian reaches behind his back and pulls out a datapad and a small pair of spectacles, which he perches atop his muzzle before making a show of reading. "These Gelatinous Cubes exude a faint gas that gradually turns into a thin, clinging layer of essentially invisible slime over time. This causes the areas above it to become slippery, so that its prey may more easily fall into it. Creatures appear to have been placed for maximum efficiency of this to utilize them as a form of disabling or deadly trap." He looks up towards you, smirking as he continues to mock-read despite no longer looking at the datapad. "The creature seems to prefer its prey to remain alive and healthy as long as possible. After dissolving and consuming any inorganic material between itself and the prey, it forms a sort of symbiosis, passing hydration and nutrients through the prey's skin. But along with these comes a mild neurotoxin, which keeps the prey from continuing to struggle and causes gradually greater confusion and complacency, with short or perhaps even longterm memory loss as exposure continues.\n\n'He's lying,' you desperately, hopefully think, even as you realize with a heavy heart and sinking stomach he's not. Even now you can feel that fog around your mind trying to creep back in, trying to lull you into just placidly resting in the jello monster and enjoy the firm, supporting sensations of it pressing all around you.\n\nSokahn gives that dark, deliberate chuckle again as he tucks the pad and glasses away once more, resting his hands on his hips as his thick, powerful tail flicks back and forth behind him, curling almost like a snake sinuously slithering in midair. "Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but you're part Cimrian, aren't you?"\n\n"Uh?" You blink at that. "... You can tell?"\n\n"Heh, most aliens see you and just think 'human', hm? No, I'm guessing... Terran and Cimrian. North American Terran? Yes, thought so, but it's the Cimrian I'm interested in. Your father's side, to judge by the set of your eyes. He instilled in you how important it is to always, always keep your word and pay your debts, I'm guessing?" As you press your lips into a thin line, Sokahn chuckles again. "Yes, I thought as much. So here is the deal, little merc... I'll save you from a long, slow death where you lose yourself long before you ever die, but in return you promise to give me the life I've saved. Become my loyal little slave, or... well, from my projections this thing could take as much as two years to fully eat you, though I suppose the merciful thing is you'll have long since lost any idea of where you are, who you are, or what's happening to you."\n\nThe idea frankly terrifies you... dying is one thing, and rather frightening on its own, but dying like that?! There's a part of your brain that immediately demands you agree... which has a fair bit of overlap with the part that hasn't been able to stop staring at Sokahn's massive, muscular, deadly-looking draconic features ever since he walked in. But this guy is... well, evil. You don't indulge in a lot of thinking like that, but Sokahn's record speaks for itself, he's completely amoral and willing to do anything it takes to accomplish his goals without ever showing the slightest sign of hesitation or remorse. Could you live with yourself pledging loyalty to him to escape death, no matter how pathetic and awful a death it might be?\n\n<hr>\n[[... Yes.|LeoFem]]\n\n[[... Not quite.|LeoFem7x1]]\n\n[[... No.|LeoFem5x6]]

Sighing, you raise your hands slowly, not much above your shoulders, but the gesture is clear. Errin does the same a moment later, both of you scowling but making it clear you're not going to fight back.\n\n"Good choice," the pale man says cheerfully as the genemod next to him collapses her rifle back down and settles it at her lower back, walking forward to relieve you both of your sidearms. Seeing yours, she raises her eyebrows and turns to him, grinning.\n\n"Hey, honey, look what it is."\n\n"Oh! Peacekeeper Pulse Pistol, one of the good ones too," he says as he walks forward to take it from her, making your scowl deepen as he handles it with obvious covetousness. Seeing your glare, he smirks at you. "Let's see if you'll be keeping it, hm? Come on then."\n\nYou and Errin are escorted through the city back towards the main entrance of the tesseract... or rather, about a block from it where a large, dark, and apparently authentic castle rises amidst the apartment and office buildings. It's not one of those particularly vast ones, in fact it looks almost slender tucked in there amongst the more modern buildings, and it's had up-to-date glass windows installed and what looks like a few more high-tech expansions and some solar panels, but the 'core' of it is obviously very, very old. You're urged inside the cavernous entryway, which has been retrofitted with a number of workstations and booths obviously intended to help preparing for missions. There's also a large, square purple tent set up in one corner, which is a bit confusing but you've got more pressing matters on your mind right now.\n\nMost of your escort peels off, leaving you with just the original quartet sort of ringed around you, the genemod woman at your backs making it clear that this is not exactly an invitation to try something. You're shown into... what looks a lot like a bar, in fact, an oldschool but very comfortable one with leather-padded chairs. The pale man gestures you to one of the tables and sits down, waiting until you and Errin have both seated yourselves to rest your Pulse Pistol and Errin's equally expensive and rare Stryker FN-32 on the table in front of him.\n\n"Now, gentlemen, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Taryn, and I'm the Guard Commander here... basically second in command to the Lord Knight himself," he says breezily, gesturing his hands in a short, dramatic sweep just above the pistols. "Now I would have very much liked to offer you a very, very good recruitment package had you leapt at the chance, but since you were, shall we say, reticent, then that alters things."\n\n"Uh-huh," Errin says flatly. "Exactly how much does it alter them?"\n\nTaryn smiles, the expression on its own genial and practiced, the glint in those fire-colored eyes making it rather nasty. "Well we can't have you just bailing out on us the moment you leave the room, clearly. So here's the deal. You're both going to sign a five year contract with the Imperial Knights. Those contracts will include the acceptance of a minimally invasive slave chip to make sure you don't slip out on your obligations."\n\n"That's bullshit!" Errin snaps, slamming his fist to the table as you come halfway to your feet, only stopped by the genemod woman putting a hand on your shoulder and shoving you back into your seat.\n\n"That's such legal nonsense that we'd still be out of it in half a day," you growl, tossing the smirking purple-haired woman a glare.\n\n"You underestimate how closely-tied the Knights are to both the Purple Bay and planetary government," Taryn snorts. "It will be legal here, which means it will be legal back on the Guildhall, gentlemen, make no mistake."\n\nHe smirks at the two of you glowering at him, then shrugs elaborately. "Five years on that contract, essentially slaves, sure enough, but you'll still take profits from your missions and still have access to all the benefits available to any other Knight. Well, low-level Knight. At the end of five years you can do as you like... including negotiating for a much more favorable renewal contract, depending on your performance, but then that would be up to you."\n\nYou trade a glance with Errin out of the corner of your eye, then look at Taryn, your jaw working for a moment. "And if we refuse?"\n\n"How exactly do you see that happening?" he says flatly, his genial expression dropping into a 'seriously?' one. "I mean, come on, I could almost have seen it out there in the street, you could theoretically have gotten away, but now? Oh, well, fine, I suppose if you refuse, we'll just lock you in the dungeon until you see reason. Or, you know what, you two have annoyed me, so I'm going to give you the chance to do something stupid," he adds with a snort, sliding the Stryker across the table and then turning it so that its grip is aimed right between you and Errin.\n\n"Well, go on," Taryn urges as you and Errin trade another glance, more openly this time. "You want defiant satisfaction? You'll never make it out of here but may as well blow my brains out, right? Go on, be a fucking moron, go for the gun."\n\n<hr>\n[["... We'll take the contract."|LeoErrin]]\n\n[["Your dungeon doesn't scare me."|LeoErrin]]\n\n[["Works for me." Blam!|LeoErrin]]

"... No," you say, quietly but firmly.\n\n"Oh?" One of the ridges over Sokahn's eyes raises. "Really now? You'll take that sort of death over being my slave? I promise you it wouldn't be as bad as all that. In fact, I could guarantee you that you would enjoy yourself," he adds with another dark chuckle and what passes for a rakish grin.\n\nYou feel a shudder of arousal pass through your strangely sensitized and eager body, and slowly clamp your eyes closed, forcing yourself under control before repeating, "No."\n\n"Hm. Alright then. I'll drop back by in, hm... two standard days. We'll see how you're feeling then, hm?" With another flit of his tail and a slight rustle of his wings, Sokahn turns and walks off, as if he'd just casually made a lunch date with a work acquaintance.\n\nYou stare after him, before spending awhile just fighting the fog pressing in around your thoughts. The problem is that, especially with knowing what's coming, it's so tempting to just relax and let it happen. To, if anything, let the process speed along so you can become insensate and unaware of what's happening to you. 'No, I have to hold out hope,' you think, shifting reflexively and setting off a fresh set of wobbles in the gelatinous creature around you, flushing a little as it rubs and presses around your body, which if anything is even more stimulated after Sokahn's visit and insinuations. You have to fight all you can, especially if this is your last fight! If nothing else to hold out hope that someone other than that asshole might come in and save you! A local, another random merc, maybe even Sopwith since he knows where you are! 'Sopwith, please have told someone else about Sokahn, please,' you think.\n\nBut it gets harder and harder to think at all as the gentle rocking motions and constant soft stimulation of the cube's motions lull you, with the motion, with the sensation, with that drowsy, almost pleasant numbness pressing in around your perceptions. You try accessing a few functions of the visor, if nothing else to help you focus, but with the suit destroyed it barely has enough power to maintain nightvision, let alone anything else. You try a few things anyway, and succeed in doing little more than draining the battery, making the light filter dim and finally causing you to give up. You can only imagine how much faster the mind-numbing effects of the slime would take hold if you were in complete darkness.\n\nAt least the chronometer functions, giving you that much to focus on, though after awhile you realize you have to take breaks from looking at it or you'll just hyperfixate and basically get hypnotized by watching the numbers tick up. 'What thing evolves like this? Did someone make this? It seems too "perfect" to have just evolved.' For awhile you try to focus on puzzling out the mysteries of the cube, comparing it to other lifeforms you've come across or red about, but bit by bit your thoughts become harder to hold onto, scattering and wandering off as you follow threads, meandering closer and closer to peaceful emptiness and each time forcing you to drag your mind back.\n\nEventually you can hear something, someone's coming! It's... the big... dragon guy! ... Sokahn! Dammit, even holding his name in your head is difficult at this point. ... Wait, what's your name again? L-... Le-... Lee? L-\n\n"So, how are we feeling?" the big dragon guy asks with a sort of friendly low laugh that makes your lower parts all tingly. "Ready to come out and agree to be my slave?"\n\n"Ah... slave?" you ask, your voice slurring as if you'd had a few too many to drink actually wow that would be good a drink would be awesome does dragon guy maybe have some beer?\n\n"Yes, remember? I'll get you out of the cube, you won't die, and in return you'll be my slave forever."\n\n<hr>\n[["Hokay! Sounds fun!"|LeoFem]]\n\n[["... No..."|LeoFem5x7]]

* Main: Leo can now take a (possibly familiar-sounding) [[artifact retrieval|LeoJobListRetrieval]] job.\n* Main: Leo can say he'll look after the [[Kwestlyne Twins|LeoKwest1x1]].\n* Main: Sipha can now go to the Akihabara [[theme cafes|SiphaAkiStart]].\n* More of Leo on the retrieval job.\n* Main: Sipha can now go to the Akihabara [[theme cafes|SiphaAkiStart]].\n* Main: Leo can now accept [[Removal|LeoJobList1]] jobs.\n* Main: Female Leo can now [[approach Seiun at the river|LeoFem2x4]].\n* Main: Defiance can now [[focus on Kaville|DefianceStart]] when dealing with her hostages.\n* Main: Added the defeated demon lord Ireth to the 'Other' chargen options.

Something about the way he says it pierces through the haze, and despite how difficult it is to focus at all, you clench your jaw, firm your chin, and shake your head.\n\n"Oh? Really now? You're sure?" When you just glower at him, Sokahn... smiles. "Now that's some determination. I hope some of it is left in you when all this is done." He reaches out and gives one side of the cube a light shove, setting it to wobbling, making you gasp as the sensations rush over you, that strange disconnected pleasure of your whole entire body being stroked with the viscous stuff, and by the time you can even come close to thinking again he's long gone.\n\n'I think this might be it,' you think as you shake back and forth, bobbling like you were floating submerged in the ocean but never going under, just always moving, stimulated, numbed. You look at the chronometer, but the little series of lines is steadily losing meaning on you, requiring more and more thought to even remember what a '2' or a '6' is, and certainly not quite able to understand what they all mean put together like that. Gradually the numbers become entirely meaningless to you, just a part of your environment that's been there for as long as you remember, another part of the world that consists of the thing you're in and the place it's in and that you've always been here and never known why or considered.\n\nAnd you exist like that, and you keep existing like that, just existing, not thinking, not knowing, just being in a constant fog and gentle touch of this thing you're in that you've always been in and why would you be anywhere else. Except eventually there's another thing that comes in, and it's a big thing and it faces you and it makes noises with the long thing that opens and closes at the top part of it but you don't understand the noises or why it's making them or what this thing is so you just stare at it and smile and eventually it makes a noise that makes you make a kind of similar noise before everything goes dark.\n\n"GHHHH!"\n\nYou sit up abruptly, fear clutching at your chest, a hand flying to it and pressing over your breasts as you pant, your skin seemingly instantly coated with sweat. You breathe hard, jerking a little as a large form settles down next to you, somehow managing to not flinch as a large, scaled arm is draped gently around your bare shoulders.\n\n"Easy, Lina, easy. It's alright, it was just a nightmare. A side effect of the procedures."\n\n"A... nightmare?" you echo uncertainly, looking around, still feeling that formless, constant pressure like you were being consumed by nothingness tickling at the edges of your memory. You're in a room... a stateroom on a starship, it looks like, to judge by the stars drifting by outside the massive, curved windows that make up one wall. It's filled with amenities, but the slightly utilitarian lines of the hull and some of the fixtures and furnishing say that it's no pleasure vessel, though how you know that is... is... you suddenly realize that these thoughts and realizations have no connection to you, you don't know why you know them. You look at the large, nude Ryugonian sitting next to you, blinking at him a few times, wondering why he's here, why he seems to know you. "I... w-where am I? Who are you?" You pause, then add in a softer voice, even though you have this general sense of it being a cliche, "... Who am I?"\n\nHe smiles sadly, the thin lips of his muzzle curling as he raises that big, clawed hand to stroke your hair. "It's alright. After your injury, the doctors said you'd have memory loss... perhaps persistent. We'll hope for the best, though. This is your room on my ship, the 'Adversary'. You're Lina, and I'm Sokahn... your father."\n\n"My... father?" You blink a few times, looking down at your own pale, very human hands and nude body, then look up at him dubiously.\n\nHe lets out a low chuckle at that, and you definitely feel like you've heard that before, though the feeling it inspires isn't entirely... daughterly. "Do you remember what 'adoption' is?"\n\n"Oh. Uh, right. ... I guess that should be obvious," you mutter, shaking your head. "I'm... um, I'm sorry. Father," you add, still a little uncertainly as you look up at him.\n\n"I told you it's alright. Things will come back to you, I've no doubt, the doctors did a fantastic neural reconstruction. And even if your memories of your own past don't return, they've assured me your general knowledge and skills are all quite intact."\n\n"Lina," you murmur, looking down at your hands and flexing them again. It does sound... a bit familiar.\n\n"Here," Sokahn... Father... says, standing up and stepping back, gesturing to a mirror set on a nearby wall. "Get familiar with yourself again. We can always hope it will come back to you."\n\nYou nod after a moment, rising carefully to your feet, since he did mention you'd been injured. Actually, you find yourself struggling not to stare at him, at the way those tiny, perfect little onyx chips cover the lines of his toned muscle, and even the hefty sack between his legs. 'Why exactly are he and I both naked?' you think as your cheeks heat. Is there... more to this father/daughter relationship that you don't remember? You try to brush it aside and focus on the moment as you step in front of a mirror.\n\nIt does feel a little bit like a stranger is staring back at you. You have no memory of this long, raven black hair that flows like water down your back and moves slightly and sinuously with every shift of your body, long falls of it framing your face and falling down to your breasts. These deep purple eyes, the lean face with its pretty lips and slim sweep of a nose... 'I have the face of a villainess,' you can't help but think, actually smiling wryly at the thought and seeing your lips curve in a rather kittenish look... not so much 'play me, pet with me' kittenish and more 'that mouse's blood might be a pretty color, let's find out'. You bring your hand up to brush along your cheek, a fingertip touching the small black beauty mark beneath one angular eye, before drifting down the front of your long, slender throat and collarbone. Your body is lean and taut, obviously strong but smooth everywhere, not showing the muscle tone you can feel right below the surface as you pass a hand over your flat belly. Your breasts are large, with nipples such a pale pink they almost fade into your creamy white skin. You turn back and forth a few times, waiting for any bit of this almost elfin beauty to seem familiar to you, but...\n\n"Nothing, hm?" Sokahn moves up behind you and rests his big hands on your shoulders. "Like I said, my treasure, it might take awhile. Or it might never return. But you're safe and alive and with me, which is what matters."\n\nThis is all so... confusing, and strange, overwhelming...\n\n<hr>\n[[You need time to think.|LeoFem]]\n\n[[He's right, at least you have him.|LeoLina1x1]]

You hesitate briefly, thinking of not only the payday on all three idols but the bonus for bringing them in together. But finally you say, "No. If you refuse to give it to us for any reason, we'll just leave," you say, obviously surprising your mates, though neither says anything in protest.\n\n"Too afraid?" the voice asks... though you'd swear there's a hint of a strange mix of smug and disappointed to it.\n\n"... I won't lie and say I'm not afraid of you at all," you answer slowly, after some careful thought. "But I think if it came to a fight, the three of us could take down just about anything. I'm confident in my abilities and theirs. We trust each other and we'd fight for each other. But that's exactly why I don't want to fight you."\n\nThere's only silence from above... you seem to have either confused the strange being, or interested it enough that it's simply waiting. So you continue, keeping your voice calm, and actually feeling calmer the more you speak. "I took this job thinking there was no one here who'd protest the idols being taken... I didn't expect to find anyone here at all. When I did find people here, I was able to talk with them, treat them with dignity and respect. I not only got the idols, I made close connections... these are my mates," you say with sincerity, accepting the slightly unfamiliar term fully now. "I won't stain what I've gained here with violence and conflict. If you don't want to give us the idol, or you don't want us here, we'll leave in peace if you let us."\n\nThe silence stretches, until you start to wonder if the implication is that you should do exactly that while you still can. But finally the voice comes again. "Redmark. Bluemark. Outlander speak truth?"\n\n"Yes," Lii answers first, after the two of them have exchanged a glance. "From the very start, Leo approached me as an equal, our eyes on the same level. He has been honest and forthright, as well as generous."\n\n"He's given of his own property not for barter or obligation, but for the asking and for our betterment," Kala adds. "He has not condescended to us or treated us as lesser because he owns tools and devices we could never hope to make, he has simply taught us to use them."\n\n"... And without him, I would never have admitted that my life would be better loving Kala than hating her," Lii murmurs quietly, his eyes flicking to hers. Kala doesn't say anything in reply, but you can see that pink on her cheeks much more clearly this time, even in the dim light.\n\nThe silence echoes from above again... until it's broken by a low "Hm." A second later, the voice says, "Alright. Then let us speak face to face. Maybe if you don't scream, I'll believe your tales."\n\nThere's the crack of wood and the snap of twigs... though this time it's followed by heavy thumps as something visibly impacts one of the thick treetrunks... a very large, white-furred hand, rather more pawlike than the other two's. Another thunks into place on the other side of the tree, the two moving further down, followed by a third and a fourth paw... and a fifth, and a sixth. The six heavy limbs continue thumping downward, the large tree shaking a little with the impacts, while you can also see something writhing sinuously through the air... a quartet of long, almost snakelike tentacles that occasionally brush thinner branches away from the creature's apparent path, or slide along the trunk as if checking its solidness. But eventually the thumps sound on the ground instead, and the beast(?) prowls out from around the tree quadraped style... well, sexaped style, you guess. Its build is somewhat like a very large panther, with an angular muzzle and head, though it's stark white from nose to tailtip. The forward two legs are almost directly together, with the back pair in the more traditional position. Those tentacles sprout from its back, between its shoulderblades and spine, furless and now arched upward and focused on you somewhat like rearing snakes. Its movements cause the four heavy breasts hanging between its forelegs to sway... as do the large pair of snow-furred balls behind its large sheath between the back legs. You admit your eyes have gone a bit wide and your jaw slack as the creature comes to a stop in front of you and then rears upward onto its hind legs, standing upright without any apparent problems, its body structure apparently built to switch between the two easily, its hips swiveling so that the opening of the sheath is pointed forward and the balls hang down, breasts settling into position one pair atop the other.\n\n"No screaming?" the felinoid asks in an amused tone, looking down at the three of you. ... Actually you honestly expected it... well, her, we'll go with 'her' unless and/or until she corrects you... to be bigger considering all the talk of 'smalls'. Not that she isn't a giant by your standards, at the least scraping at eight feet tall when upright, probably the same difference between her and Lii as between him and you. \n\n"No, no screaming," you reply after a moment, Lii and Kala hurriedly nodding (though both of them look like they're still not quite capable of speaking without screaming yet). Now that she's right in front of you, though, you're able to process her as just a living alien, of which you've seen countless, rather than some booming voice from the darkness. "Actually, I think you're rather beautiful," you add, truthfully enough, since despite the (numerous) departures from the human norm, taken overall she's clearly a pleasingly aesthetic embodiment of predatory (and sexual) prowess, not to mention the absolutely flawless white fur.\n\n"..." You could almost swear that, like Kala, a bit of pink appears under the white fur of her cheeks, before she gives a low cough that might be clearing her throat. "... Thank you." Though her voice is still deep and strong... deeper than Lii's, even... she's clearly making an effort to speak more softly, with it her words and pronunciation coming with a more feminine timbre. "It's actually rather... nice... to really talk with someone different." Her head swivels from you, to Lii, to Kala, the other two slowly starting to relax, their tails unpuffing as the much-storied terror of the Shadowlands clearly makes an effort to soften her stance. "Name is Remana'ksiksan."\n\n"Lii'alon," your husband-mate speaks up after a second.\n\n"Kala'mahn," your wife-mate adds, actually smiling some now.\n\n"Leo LaChance. It's nice to meet you... Remana?" you ask with a bit of a smile, seeking permission to use the shortened form, which she replies to with a nod. "So can I hope this means you'd be cool with giving us the idol?"\n\nRemana looks at you thoughtfully, tail slowly flicking back and forth. Her features are definitely closer to full feral than Lii or Kala's, but the grey eyes are canny and expressive as she obviously considers. "Maybe," she answers after a few seconds. "Let's talk first. Come with me to my resting place." She turns and takes a few steps before once more dropping to all sixes, breasts wobbling heavily before settling to hang and sway with her motions as she sets off.\n\nYou glance at the other two... they look a little dubious, but not like they actually want to refuse, so the three of you follow after Remana as she leads the way through the dim jungle. She loops around a short dropoff after some time, passing through a shallow gulley carved out by a stream that might be a river when there's enough rain, towards what looks like a large hole in the earth wall. You're a little dubious as Remana prowls her way into it, but once you follow her you notice that the sides seem very firm... actually, as you take out a light and turn it on, the earthen walls glisten a little like they'd been polished, and despite the rough texture there's definitely some sort of firm coating. Remana settles into a sort of half-sitting half-squatting position, seeming briefly fascinated by the floating light unit, before turning her attention to Lii and Kala as the three of you settle down. "You two really outlander's mates?"\n\n"Yes, we are." Kala smiles and reaches over, taking one of your hands and giving it a squeeze, making you blush a little. "I think it happened quicker than he is used to, but we are happy with him."\n\n"He is a good man. And as you have said, he is very interesting," Lii adds with a chuckle, rubbing your shoulder with one hand.\n\n"Hm. You two tell me of mating, and time with him," Remana responds, making both bashfully, before she focuses her dark grey eyes on you. "And you. I want to hear more about where you come from, and what brought you here seeking the idols."\n\nSo Lii and Kala take their turns talking about how they met you and the days spent traveling with you, with various diversions for scoffing, teasing, and lightly bickering with each other describing certain parts, especially exactly who won the marksmanship contest while Kala was training. When your turn comes you tell her about your own life, doing your best to explain what a starship that can travel between dimensions is without descending into condescending terms like calling it a 'cave that flies through the night' or anything, and about how your job is to accept quests to all sorts of far-off places and do numerous things in return for pay (though that is a bit of a diversion since you have to do your best to briefly sum up a tinder-based exchange economy). Remana listens intently through it all, occasionally asking a question or for you to clarify something, but clearly seems interested in all of it. When the three of you are done she sits considering for awhile, her lower set of paw-hands 'kneading' the ground a bit while one of the upper set rubs at the underside of her muzzle.\n\n"This place you work... the 'Guild'?" she says, waiting for you to nod before she continues slowly. "Do you think I would be able to join it? Could I be one of these 'mercenaries'?"\n\nYou almost answer 'of course', but hesitate just a bit, forcing yourself to consider the simple physical realities. The Guild does allow pretty much anyone capable of thinking enough to be able to want to join and physical enough to pass the basic tests to join... but the majority of equipment and facilities are for humans and humanoids that are in the standard human deviations for size and build. At her upright height, Remana would be one of the tallest Guild members you yourself have ever met. The combination of her unique body structure with six limbs... no, ten really, can't forget the tentacles... and both upright and feral locomotion, as well as hands that have only semi-opposable thumb-like digits with short 'fingers' means that virtually all of her equipment would have to be custom made and fitted. Then there's the issue of housing... Remana would barely fit in your shoebox apartment, the standard for Guild newbies, which means she'd probably have to continue living on this planet and commuting to the Guild to get jobs, which can also wind up getting expensive over time with portal overuse fees. While hardly impossible, life in the Guildhall would probably wind up rather uncomfortable and expensive for her, in a way that it would be difficult to make anyone, not just someone largely unfamiliar with 'indoors', understand in full over the course of a single conversation. Would it be better to tell her it's just not possible, rather than risk condemning her to that?\n\n<hr>\n[[Tell her it's impossible.|LeoCat]]\n\n[[Tell her she can.|LeoCat]]

Let's see, if Huwhin is a well-known enough pirate to have a Guild file that's automatically offered with any listing involving him, he's probably also already got a list of bids from ship-to-ship specialists. You open the side menu of his file, and ah, yeah, right there, 'Boarding specialist bids'. You click the link, and it immediately switches to a blurry image of a large, bulky ship with some protrusions and some kind of shield arch on what you're assuming is the front, and a list of personal or company names.\n\nYou immediately grimace as you see the top ones. Some of these guys want a fifty percent cut of your own fee! Of course those are all the near five-star-rated ones, and most of them do note that they don't get paid if you don't get paid yourself. Which is obviously a pretty big incentive for them to give you the best chances possible from their end, but still, ow.\n\nYou scroll down the list, finding someone who's much more reasonable in price... but they want payment up front, and it's not cheap either. Maybe about ten percent of the final payday, which means you'd have to put a big dent in your savings to do it. But they're also highly-rated, almost as much as the big percentage guys, so if you succeeded you'd come out way way ahead.\n\nYou're surprised that at the very bottom are two listings that are very reasonable. Actually way more than reasonable, just admit that they're outright cheap. That's practically just normal ferry fare for a starship, you'd pay more than one of those just for a non-direct spaceliner ticket from Makarzia to Earth. In fact that's suspiciously cheap, especially combined with the fact that one has hardly any reviews (and just middling ones) and one has none. 'That probably just means they're new,' the part of you that's eager to keep more of the massive fee suggests. 'Trying to make a name for themselves before jacking up their prices. Somebody's gotta trust a new guy at some point, right?'\n\nHm. ... Well, you're not sure. So... top dollar reliable company, mid-range option, or scrimp'n'save?\n\n<hr>\n[[Top shelf.|ChiRJ1x1]]\n\n[[Mid shelf.|ChiRJ]]\n\n[[Hit me with the fresh-out-the-barrel gotrut, chief.|ChiGH9x2]]

It's not that you're penny-pinching, you think primly as you eye your two candidates more carefully, it's that you're giving someone a chance to amaze you and thereby make a name for themselves.\n\nThe first one seems to be for a company, and it's actually been around a couple of years at least, it looks like. Looks fairly solid, they have pictures of their ships and offices, very low-profile 'interceptor' types that look like they were probably bought surplus from some military somewhere and refurbed. You read the reviews, and they range almost entirely from between two stars to four, and they all seem to be on the same theme: they did the job very straightforward and basic and got the client aboard the ship, but that's it, no real above-and-beyond or maximum effort. Which, honestly, for what people are likely paying? Rating two stars for that seems just a tad entitled, normal people don't go to MwacDonnie's for a hamburger and then complain when the staff don't dig out a half-pound natural-raised cow pattie and serve it on a silver platter for the cost of a Big Mwah.\n\nThe other seems to be an individual and... no reviews at all. Just one person with a ship, a simple straightforward description saying they used to be the preferred intrusion expert for a general named Ka'an, they've got the same ship they used for that, and they're very experienced. So yeah, sounds like a new guy just setting out on his own and probably in need of some jobs to build his rep. Which, this would be a big one. ... Still, you get a little bit of a weird vibe. It might be nothing, but... hm.\n\n<hr>\n[[Go with the company.|ChiGH9x3]]\n\n[[Go with the individual.|ChiGH]]

You admit, despite your fiercely independent Makarzian nature, sometimes there's nothing quite like knowing that if somebody fucks up, you can tell their boss on them. Especially when the thing they fuck up might be your life.\n\nBesides, the company does have a proven track record it looks like, as blandly average as it is. All they ultimately need to do is get you aboard and you can take it from there.\n\nYou head out to a vault room to access your Guildhall-side armory, figuring you may as well go ahead and get geared up for the intrusion. For a bit you ponder over whether to lean more heavily for combat or for stealth, and in the end settle on middle of the road, since that's also what you're doing for your ride, essentially: a dark grey and black skinarmor bodysuit (though internally padded in a few areas to keep it less flashy, as it were), a tight-fitted belt with small dimensional pockets for your Guild beacon, comm, and rations but not much else, a long knife one-edged crystalslicer sheathed at one hip, and a thin blaster that does very well-silenced stun bolts or slightly less silent kill bolts (though both might be unreliable on particularly large and/or tough individuals). You have loadouts that are both more stealthy or more combat-potent, but this one is a good middle ground. (You'll miss your long coat for a while, but oh well.)\n\nAfter that you head over to the company's office listing on the Guildhall down near the entrance to the hangar bays, soon finding the door with the logo reading 'Direct Deposit Boarding, LLC'. Cute, in a kind of soulless and overly-workshopped corpo way. You head inside to find a very sort of "default" office lobby, more to the style of an airport or spacepad waiting area than anything else. In fact the woman behind the desk is dressed to vaguely suggest a stewardess, you're pretty certain, with a cute little pouf-scarf thing at her collar and a pale blue trim on her dark blue jacket. She's even got the little pill-shaped hat.\n\n"Hello, and welcome to Direct Deposit," she chirps cheerfully, smiling and rising from her chair to sketch a tiny little bow. "How may I help you today?"\n\n"Yeah, I saw that you guys had left a bid for boarding onto Captain Huwhin's ship?" you prompt as you walk over to the desk.\n\n"Just one moment please while I check that," she says with the sort of semi-programmed-sounding manner of someone who's worked customer service a long time. (Or has possibly been literally programmed for it.) She sits down and types briefly on her keyboard before giving a soft 'ah'. "Yes ma'am, we do, are you interested in engaging us for that?"\n\n"I am, yes."\n\n"Alright then! If you'd just like to step on the teleporter, it will take you to our main office on Orronco," she replies cheerfully, tapping a control on her desk that causes one of the doors behind it to step open, revealing a flat, glowing circle on the floor.\n\nThat makes you blink. "Teleporter to Orronco? As in, another dimension, off the Guildhall?"\n\n"Yes, ma'am. There have been a few minor technical glitches with getting a specialized bay set up in the Guildhall's hangars, so all of our operations currently run out of our home base first," she replies with that sort of mildly sheepish tone and slight smile-grimace that says 'They make me say this bullshit in order to cover for being too cheap to rent or buy a Guildhall bay and pay the insurance on it please don't blame me for that'.\n\n<hr>\n[["Ah, understood."|ChiDD1x1]]\n\n[["... I'll get back to you."|ChiGH9x4]]

The vibe is very off here. You hesitate briefly, then shake your head. "Sorry, I just remembered I forgot a few things for my mission. I'll be back later today or tomorrow."\n\n"Oh! Understood, thank you very much and we look forward to seeing you again," she chirps, flicking the control to close the door again.\n\nYou head out, musing a bit to yourself. Now what? You definitely got a weird feeling about that whole deal... it seemed pretty normal, and she didn't start trying to pressure you or cajole you to get you on the teleporter when you demurred, even though your excuse was pretty weak. Maybe it all is perfectly normal and she just thinks you got cold feet. \n\nYou're still walking semi-aimlessly through the Guildhall deciding whether to go back after a token period of time or listen to your gut and find someone else when you see another merc approaching you... a lean Human woman of what might be Koranni descent with pale gold skin and dark eyes, her hair pulled back in a short ponytail, dressed pretty casually in T-shirt, jeans, boots, and an olive green longcoat. She gives you a warm enough smile, though you notice she stops a fair bit away, just enough to deter any possible attempt to shake hands or any other physical sort of greeting. It's definitely a stop that sort of instinctively makes you stop and not come any closer, though... you realize the way she subtly sets her feet and shifts her body, hands behind her, was like both physically and psychologically putting a barrier in your path.\n\n"Hey there," she says, pleasantly enough. "I have a moment of your time?"\n\n"Sssssure?" you answer a bit dubiously. "Have we met?"\n\nRather than answering, she brings a hand around and turns it outward, revealing a small, concealed folding wallet... or rather, a badge holder. The badge itself is a small, flat white thing in the shape of the Guild's emblem, with a pair of thorny vines entwined above it, and the letters 'GHSIU' across it. The other side is just a scannable datablock.\n\nYou raise an eyebrow, but do your best to be subtle about taking out your comm and scanning the datablock. The screen that pops up has a green bar across the top reading 'AUTHENTIC', and the ID code you've seen before that's your unique identifier for Guild officials, and the woman's picture wearing a plain white uniform. Her name and rank are all redacted, however. Which is as good an indicator as anything that she's from the Guildhall Special Investigators Unit.\n\n"We're not looking at you," she says evenly, closing the small wallet and putting her hand into her pocket casually. "But we would like to talk to you."\n\n"So I'm not being... asked... to talk to you?" you say quietly, putting some emphasis on the word to make it clear you know it means 'ordered'.\n\n"Invited, would be the word I'd use," she replies.\n\nHm. Which is... somewhere between the two, you'd bet, as far as GIPSE's actual management is concerned. You consider for a few moments, partly just assessing the woman's manner, before finally nodding. "Alright, sure."\n\nWithout another word she nods and turns, setting off. You fall in, catching up to walk nearby so it looks fairly normal, though not getting too close... you get the sense from her slight stiffening as you approach that her keeping her distance wasn't entirely about the performance of bringing you to a stop. The two of you make your way into a bar, where she exchanges greetings, and then she leads you into a back hallway that apparently leads to the karaoke rooms.\n\nBut when she opens one of the doors, what you see inside is a white room whose fixtures are somehow both simultaneously plain and fancy. It's not so pure white that it's like one of those supposedly madness-inducing infinite expanses, but it does effectively convey the signature color of GIPSE's management for certain. Said fixtures are a slightly long, fairly wide table, with two chairs at one end and one at the other.\n\nThe two at the far end are occupied by two women, the first a fairly elderly woman in a white suit... hair gone silver, face lined, cheeks a bit heavy, but still radiating energy and a very quiet intensity. The other woman is younger, maybe about fifteen years your senior, lean and tan and with her brown hair cut in a rather butch fashion, fully displaying the band of leather covering one eye, a simple and relatively modest white bodysuit with a pistol in a shoulder holster making her look more like the fist to the other one's arm.\n\n"Please have a seat," the older one says in a prim British accent.\n\nYou glance at the GHSIU operative, who's taken up an easy stance by the door. After a moment you walk over and sit down in the open chair.\n\n"I'll get right to the point, since I prefer not to quip about for temporary associations," the older woman says. "You don't need to know our names, because we are not here. You are not here. This meeting is not happening."\n\nYou start to answer, then pause, your eyes flicking around the room. "... Literally, or...?"\n\nThe older woman gives you a flat 'really?' look, but the younger one clears her throat in a way that says she's trying not to laugh. "She has a point, considering."\n\n"... Yes, fair enough," the older woman allows, sweeping her hands in a short arc across the tabletop. "No, not literally, Miss Hajimaru, figuratively. This meeting is of the highest confidence and never to be spoken of again, whatever its outcome. Am I understood?"\n\n"Well enough," you answer a bit slowly. "But just so we're all reminded of how all of this works, I'm a certified member of the Guild, that doesn't mean I work for them. You can't actually order me to do anything that isn't specified in my contract of certification."\n\n"We understand," the younger woman says, leaning back a bit and folding her hands on her stomach. "Part of that contract is a confidentiality clause for negotiations... we're effectively invoking that for this meeting, to the point of declaring confidentiality on your part about its very existence. We can't compel you beyond that. Fair?"\n\nYou hesitate briefly again, then nod again. "Okay. Understood. What's this all about?"\n\n"It's about Direct Deposit Boarding, Miss Hajimaru," the older woman replies, clearly appreciating the chance to be direct. "We are certain beyond a reasonable doubt... and that's our reasonable doubt, not yours... that they're engaged in human trafficking. Of the Guildcerts that hire them. And we want your help to take them down."\n\nYou raise your eyebrows. "That's... that's a big claim. And a huge crime, considering that turning on a merc you've agreed to work with and have a contract with is one of the only things GIPSE actually does consider a crime. I can't imagine why you're not just sending the whitesuits to beat all their asses and either toss them in a cell or blow their brains out, if that's the case."\n\n"They've protected themselves quite thoroughly," the younger woman speaks up. "The way their contracts are written and where they're signed, the places and times they take out the mercenaries, the way they sell them, it's all designed so that it's riding the razor edge of legality. They know full well that if we actually acted on them as active criminals, we'd be the ones in violation... their legal representation would sue for massive amounts and probably win, allowing the remnants to rebuild. And if we tried to prosecute, the case is extremely shaky."\n\n"The problem with laws, whether you have a tiny amount of them or more than any person could be expected to remember, is that someone will always find a way to do evil inside of them and protected by them," the older woman says primly. "And in this case, that someone is Direct Deposit."\n\nYou nod slowly a few times. "Okay. I get all that. So where do I come in?"\n\n"We want you to go ahead with hiring them for your mission, Miss Hajimaru. We want you to use Direct Deposit to get aboard Captain Huwhin's ship." Your eyebrows must try to crawl up your forehead, because the old woman smiles cheekily. "Don't worry, we've figured out the triggers to make sure they won't pick you for trafficking... they do deliver most of their clients, in fact. The sergeant will coach you on how to get past their selection process," she adds, nodding towards the woman at the door.\n\n"Direct Deposit does offer pickup service as well, and we want you to pay for that too. When you're picked up, we'd engineer a situation calling for some fancy flying... now, we know you're a middling pilot at best, but we can solve that problem with the skillers we have," the younger woman explains. "Your job would be to impress their pilot sufficiently that you get offered a job with them, and eventually get brought into their inner circle where the trafficking happens."\n\n"And then get enough evidence on them to turn that court case into a win?"\n\n"No, Miss Hajimaru, we want you to kill them," the older woman says blandly. "We want you to identify the most pivotal members involved in the trafficking operation and we want you to, as you so elegantly put it, blow their brains out."\n\n"Sometimes it's best to use a third party you're not officially involved with on paper," the woman in the eyepatch says with a small shrug. "Plausible deniability, and all that."\n\nSo they're in essence putting a hit out on these guys. You nod slowly... again, as a Makarzian and Neokuza, you don't exactly have a problem with dispensing justice this way. The bigger problem sounds like you'd be way out on a limb and in a dangerous situation all on your own, and plausible deniability means that if you get into trouble they're not going to come bail you out of it.\n\n"So... that's what I'm being asked to do," you say slowly. "What's your part?"\n\nThe old woman smiles thinly... not maliciously, necessarily, perhaps just cynically. "What do you get out of it, you mean? Well besides the warm fuzzies of helping to protect your fellow Guildcerts, we will insure the success of your current mission, which is already a nice little payday. And of course you'll be entitled to anything you can acquire for yourself in the course of taking down the inner circle of Direct Deposit. Beyond that, Miss Hajimaru, we obviously can't pay you, but I can say for certain that the Guild itself would owe you a rather big favor. And possibly several small favors in addition. If you were, say, to start looking at purchasing property or a vehicle, it might be that certain connections might surface just then with a fantastically good deal due to favorable conditions. Let us say."\n\n<hr>\n[[... Yeah okay you're in.|ChiGH]]\n\n[[Nope, no way.|ChiGH]]

"Awwww," Deathtrap's voice murmurs, although her disappointment sounds... different than you would have expected.\n\n"Are you going back on what you said?" you demand, scowling, your voice growing even deeper with anger.\n\n"Hiiiinnnnnh!" Deathtrap practically squeals, making you blink. "No Da-... um. N-no. No, you can leave if you want."\n\nThe door in the wall slides open, revealing a room much like the one you first entered. Stepping through, you blink as the power nullification collar clicks and just drops off of you, a small panel in the floor almost instantly opening up and a little robot arm grabbing it and hauling it through. You can feel your super senses and abilities returning... in truth it feels like you might be even stronger and with more acute senses of smell and hearing than before. (Your eyesight doesn't seem to have changed... lucky, if you recall horse eyesight correctly.) The pillar in the center of the room opens up, revealing your costume and all your gadgets... a quick glance through everything seems to show it's all there.\n\n"Just like I said, I'll delete all the info... and won't tell anyone your identity," Deathtrap says as you pull on your suit (which is, luckily, made to stretch... and it certainly has to, winding up feeling almost obscenely thin on your body, leaving a lot more of your muscles and your member outlined than is really tasteful). "I'll be a good girl," she adds in a little coo.\n\nYou pause, then just slowly look at the ceiling, eyeing it. Then your gaze is drawn to the wall ahead as another door slides open, revealing the wilderness where you originally landed.\n\nBut as you're walking towards it, mind already spinning with how you're going to handle this whole situation, Deathtrap's voice blurts, "Hey, wait!" As you pause, another door slides open on a different wall, revealing a hallway. "Don't you wanna come and, y'know... catch me?" her voice practically coos.\n\n... Well. You really should at least attempt to capture the villain, especially now that you've got your powers back. In fact it would be really embarrassing to do otherwise, essentially admitting that Deathtrap not only turned you into a horseman, with your cooperation, but that you then left her and flew off with nothing more than her own word that she wouldn't spill your identity or a lot of other potentially destructive secrets.\n\nOn the other hand, you've got a distinct sense that going in there would be dangerous. Like not necessarily physically dangerous, but uh...\n\n... dangerous.\n\n<hr>\n[[Capture Doctor Deathtrap.|CalMaze]]\n\n[[Nope time to go.|CalHM1x1]]

Yeah you'd like to still get out of here while you're standing fully upright and have opposable thumbs. With a sigh, you reach out and press the button on the '+Libido' pillar.\n\nThe reaction is immediate. You let out a loud, involuntary whinny of reaction as arousal absolutely surges through your whole body like an electric shock. Your cock doesn't quite shoot to instant hardness, but it's a close thing, the thick shaft rising rapidly and the head on the end flaring wide, the long, dark member twitching visibly and actually shooting several little spurts of thick, clear precum out into the air to splatter on the floor and the side of the choice pillar. More pre starts flowing down the underside of your shaft, but every hard twitch of your dick shows that your newly enhanced muscles must include the ones involved in ejaculation.\n\nYou don't even consciously decide to start jerking off, your newly large and powerful hands have simply grabbed your newly larger and even more powerful cock and begun pumping on their own before you realize. You let out deep, masculine grunts and much more animalistic snorts and even whinnies as you start jerking your hands near-frantically over your throbbing equine member, fingers bumping against the underside of the flare. You start thrusting your powerful hips forward against your own strokes, making your fat black balls sway beneath you, the sounds of your pre-slickened prick sliding through your fingers and your ever more bestial cries making the little white room sound steadily more and more like the breeding barn of a horse farm.\n\nIt seems like both no time at all and practically forever before you're thrusting forward, letting out a long, thunderous whinny as your cock throbs hard in your hands, shooting out an absolute torrent of cum to splatter all over the pillar and ooze down onto the floor. It seems to take ages, too, before you're finally able to empty your balls, gush after gush of that thick white cum pouring out of you, each one practically whiting out your mind, leaving you snorting and tossing your head, brainlessly wishing you were spilling all that potent seed in some mare in heat instead.\n\nIt takes some time after for your head to clear of the foggy, overwhelmed feeling of pleasure lingering afterward, your broad chest heaving. You let out another loud snort and give your head a shake, thick, long black mane tossing about with the motion, before you've even thought about it. Your cock is still as hard as silk-covered steel in your hands (or maybe the texture's a bit more like particularly expensive, buttery leather), but your mind is starting to clear, and after a few moments you're able to think enough to start calming yourself. One of your lesser powers, but one you're now deeply thankful for (moreso that it doesn't seem to have been completely nulled by the collar), is enhanced control over your body and its reactions... eventually you're able to get yourself steady and make your hardon go lax, your cock even withdrawing partially into its sheath... not all the way like a real horse's, enough of the shaft is left hanging out that it still dangles down over your balls, but at least it's not swaying around your knees like it was.\n\nThere's still a constant, low-level buzz of arousal floating through your brain, though... a greater sensitivity of your skin, a low-level heat permeating your muscles. You give another huff as you realize it's not going away... apparently you're just going to have to learn to deal with it.\n\nRealizing you've just jerked off and cum in front of your nemesis is embarrassing, but you manage to steady your voice and call, "Deathtrap?" when there's no immediate opening of a door. There's no response, and you frown. "Doctor Deathtrap? Are you there?"\n\nIt's another few moments before there's a click, and Deathtrap's voice comes on, albeit sounding winded and slightly faint. "Mm-hmmmm?"\n\n<hr>\n[["I want to leave."|CalMaze6x3]]\n\n[["I'll keep running your labyrinth."|CalMaze]]

Well, it's a bit odd, but at least it's not a predatory or cold-blooded sort of thing... you wouldn't put it past Deathtrap to have snuck those sorts of traits into the other choices, no matter what she says about "fairness". You reach out and press the 'Equine' button, only as it actually depresses realizing what's likely about to happen due to your naked state, your face going bright red.\n\nBut it's too late now, you've made your choice, and you can feel it coming over you, again that strange painless sensation of change where you're still highly aware of everything that's happening to your body. You can feel the nub of a tail push slightly further outward and then the bit of fur covering it starting to turn into long black strands. The muscle tone you'd just regained expands further, turning thicker and more powerful, pushing you into more of the 'linebacker' build than the 'quarterback' you were before, your shoulders broadening and stomach rippling as the muscle tone becomes even more defined. Your legs are growing more muscular too but also changing shape, your feet extending and lifting you up as your heels rise, bare toes starting to become encased in thick golden(!) hooves. That layer of hair that had sprouted all over your body turns shorter and more fine, fading to a pale, snowy white that spreads out to cover your entire body, close and smooth enough that it does nothing to obscure the lines of your muscles. You can't help but let out a low, steady groaning noise as you can feel your face push outward and extend into an equine muzzle... it doesn't hurt but it definitely feels strange, same for the feeling of your hair spreading down the back of your neck as said neck thickens.\n\nAnd, of course, there's the expected change you were thinking about as you pressed the button. The skin of your genitals darkens, slowly turning a deep black amongst the pristine snowy white of your new hide, your balls growing steadily larger and heavier as they hang further down your thighs. The base of your cock bulges outward, rippling and shifting as it becomes a sheath surrounding the shaft, which similarly stretches and elongates, thickening to fill and stretch the sheath as it grows, your cockhead flattening out some and spreading, turning into the hint of the flare it will show when fully aroused.\n\nThe changes take slightly longer than the previous ones, but still it's really only a matter of moments before you're standing there as a taller, more muscular anthropomorphic horse. You turn back and forth trying to get a bit of a better look at yourself, at your powerful, toned limbs and buttocks, the shining hooves you're now standing on as well as your rather hooflike golden fingernails. You lift your now rather elongated head, looking for the next door, but it doesn't immediately appear. Instead a moment later there's a faint click and the sound of Deathtrap's voice.\n\n"Hhhh-... hahahaha! Quite a sight, a-aren't you, Caliburn?!"\n\nYou frown thoughtfully, your face still luckily having enough human features left to show it. "Are you... alright? You sound out of breath." Your voice sounds deeper and thicker than it did before... and you blink as Deathtrap makes a sort of squeaking noise, apparently in response to hearing it.\n\n"Mmmn... I'm fine... fhhine... ah..." Her voice answers. You notice she hasn't popped up a video feed again, perhaps for whatever reason relating to why she sounds so huffy and slightly tremble-voiced. "But you're... in quite a state... aren't you, Caliburn? Mmmmn... be quite difficult to carry on as Morgan Mekborne like that," she coos, a soft little delighted squeal underlying her voice.\n\nYou're torn between confusion at her being so... particularly emotional in a different way than usual, and the grimm realization that she's right. As you currently are, there's no way you could continue on with your secret identity... no amount of holographic technology is going to cover up 6'3" Morgan Mekborne having turned into a 7'+ horseman with shoulders like an aircraft carrier.\n\n"So... I'm gonna give you a fun little choice," she says in that breathy voice. "After making the choice in the next room, you'll be able to leave at any time just by asking. Or... you can keep gambling on trying to get back to normal. Up to... mmf... up to... up to you!" she blurts before there's another abrupt click of the channel closing.\n\n... Weird. But the door in the wall is sliding open finally, so with another shake of the head and a decidedly equine snort through your nostrils, you walk through, your hooves clacking loudly on the floor, your much larger and heavier cock and balls swaying with every step.\n\nThere are only two pillars in this room, and you eye them as you approach. So you'll be able to choose to be let out after one of these? You eye the text on the pillars one reading '+Libido' and the other reading '+Equine'. ... +Equine again? So you'd get even more horselike? Oof, that would be a difficult one to leave after, if so... as it is you're still kind of in the area of 'Furry' and leaning fairly strongly towards 'Dangerously Furry', you get any further and you'll be at the very least in 'You Sick Bastard' territory. \n\nOn the other hand, oof... an enhanced libido? In this body, with... uh... this thing? That... that could for sure get you into a lot of trouble. Still, hopefully with your superhuman willpower (which... okay, you don't have that as a confirmed genuine superpower, but the fact that you've never said or done anything even a little bit sus considering how you're constantly surrounded by beautiful women in skimpy, skintight, or skimpy & skintight outfits sure makes it feel like it is sometimes) you'd be able to control it just fine. ... Maybe.\n\n<hr>\n[[+Libido|CalMaze6x2]]\n\n[[+Equine.|CalMaze]]

Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to show off how capable you can be, to at least a certain extent. As long as you only do a little better than the best child around your age to go up so far, it shouldn't be too bad, right? \n\nYou summon moisture out of the air and turn it into a waterball, then stretch it out and coil it through the air as you move your hands and feet through some magical stances, curling it around your body before condensing it down into a tight ball and flinging it at one of the wooden posts around the stage hard enough to make a satisfying and impressive cracking sound, even if it doesn't do any damage. You follow up by creating a flickering ball of fire and moving it through the air, splitting it several times and having it rejoin, then flicking your hands inward, summoning a gust of wind to put it out before sending another out to ruffle the hair of the audience. For a finale you pull several of the rocks nearby, smaller than your fist, up and have them circle around you in an orbit several times before dropping. There... nothing particularly impressive individually, but controlling all four 'basic' elements should be suitably impressive... a thought that's confirmed as a veritable wall of sound from the audience's cheering hits you.\n\nYeah, you did it, you think smugly as Karina enfolds you tightly in her arms and hugs you close, the woman practically crying with joyful pride at your show.\n\nYeah, you reeeeally did it, you think sourly about two hours later as your mother stands at the door, tears running down her face as she clasps her hands, literally pleading with the pair of uniformed men at the door. "You can't do this! Please, I know the rumors, but they're not true! He's my son, he's my husband's son, you can't take him away from me!"\n\n"Ma'am, Lord Amellin has decided to adopt your son. He will be raised in wealth and privilege and given every opportunity possible," one of the officers explains in a slightly bored tone, as if the mere objective facts of it were enough to soothe a crying mother (something even you wouldn't have been foolish enough to think even when you were a Maou). "This is his decree as lord of these lands, and his right granted in the registry of nobility. We will return in the morning, make sure all of his things are packed and you have already said your goodbyes before the sun has fully risen over the horizon. I do not have to tell you the consequences should you fail to comply, since you would be technically holding a member of the nobility hostage."\n\n"But-!" Karina cuts herself off as the two simply turn and start striding away. She shakily closes the door and leans against it, murmuring, "What do we do? What do we do...?"\n\n<hr>\n[[The two of you should run away.|Reth]]\n\n[[You'll run away on your own.|Reth]]\n\n[[You'll go with them.|Reth]]

"I think I can manage as I am," you say dryly. "I'm a big girl, I can deal with a few attempts at grab-ass and some snotty comments."\n\n"Mm, alright, suit yourself," Midnight says with a breezy sort of 'I know better but I'm not going to push it' tone, tucking the injecters away. "Come on then, and let's get going."\n\nThe two of you set off across the city again with Midnight leading the way, the fox having settled into a seemingly companionable and confident silence. Occasionally you ask things about the job, like where you'll be staying, how food will be taken care of, things like that, but he just says that Carmine will explain everything when you get there, so eventually you stop asking. Apparently with his headhunting done, Midnight has already moved on to thoughts of other things, probably his next recruit or something.\n\nEventually you arrive at a large, tall apartment building, which looks like it used to be quite luxurious, and is still mostly devoid of damage. There's a large red sigil painted on the front above the door, and you see a number of other anthro guys hanging about just outside, smoking, talking, a few playing a merc game with throwing cards. Midnight shows you inside, past a sort of sprawled, slightly messy setup all over the front desk where a pair of scantily-clad human women are working, bobbing their heads deferentially as the two of you pass. You raise an eyebrow, but decide not to ask, as the two of you step into the elevator. "Got much of the building working?"\n\n"Oh, enough," Midnight replies breezily, making you roll your eyes. Though as the two of you ascend, he looks over and gives you a rather sweet smile, those dark eyes twinkling again. "Anyway, you don't need to worry about it."\n\nYou frown at that, but decide not to press it. Soon the elevator whirs to a stop, and with a ding the doors slide open. Almost immediately some scent hits your nose... unfamiliar but deep, rich, spiced, a little bit sweet. Even the first brush across your nose sends a trickle of heat running down your spine, and without really thinking you suck in a hard, surprised breath, which just pulls more of it into your lungs and sends the warmth radiating through your body. You can almost feel your eyes glazing a little before you quickly shake your head and try to focus, past the feeling of your nipples going so hard they hurt. 'What the fuck?'\n\nBut Midnight's walking forward so you do your best to play it cool and step forward with him, stopping as you realize a pair of large equine anthro men are pointing rifles at you. Despite what you should be thinking in such a situation, your immediate thought is 'Holy fuck these guys are huge, I bet their cocks are amazing'. You twitch a little, wondering what the hell is wrong with you, and try again to focus as the two finish looking you over and, with smirks, step back and lower their weapons to allow you to pass.\n\n"Ah, Midnight!" the gorgeous figure of Carmine calls jovially from where he's sprawled on the couch, watching the almost wall-sized screen in front of him which seems divided up between drone views of the city and a few of the interior of the building. The powerful, strong-seeming Leonavian is apparently lounging about as a master of his domain should, wearing nothing but a loose pair of pants that falls and faintly outlines a large cock, the coppery red-gold fur of his chest gleaming near-hypnotically in the light. The luxurious mane of feathers crowning and surrounding his head is a deep, lustrous crimson, giving him the appearance of some primal avian god from an era gone by. His predator bird beak has been graced with silver curlicues and designs, which also gleam as he turns his head, red eyes that seem to simmer with some deep inner power passing over you as if having seen and known you entirely in a moment. "Brought me someone else that couldn't stomach Indigo's little 'welcome' speech?"\n\n"Yessir. This is Michika Hajimaru."\n\n"Hmmm..." Carmine slowly rises to his full, magnificent height, towering above you even before he walks over, every step perfect and confident and full of power. You find yourself fighting not to tremble before him as he walks over and gives you a longer, more blatantly appraising look up and down, before hooking one of his taloned, keratin-covered fingers into the bottom of your top and hauling it up, spilling your breasts free. You know you should be protesting, shouting angrily at him, but all you can muster is a soft whine in your throat as he does as he likes. "It's got nice udders, for sure," he says in the tone of one musing as to whether they really want to buy a used speeder. "I'll have to try its crotch-hole before I decide if I want to keep it, though," he adds, giving the loose pants a shove down.\n\nYou shudder and have a small orgasm just at the sight of his cock and the greater intensity of the smell as it's revealed, your whole body quivering gently with desire. You've never seen a Leonavian's cock before, but you're guessing they probably usually aren't equinoid, but Carmine is clearly exceptional in that regard as his massive pink member is steadily rising upward, the flared head spreading, heavy, godlike balls swaying as he steps around you. He gives your coat a few dismissive yanks to get it off you, your rifle tumbling from your limp hands to clatter to the floor, your whole body helpless in the face of his majesty. Carmine gives a soft snort and tosses the coat to Midnight, then gives you a shove that sends you stumbling forward to bend over the arm of the couch. He grabs the back of your pants and gives them a single practiced yank down, baring your ass and your utterly sodden, completely dripping pussy to the air.\n\nYou whimper softly, orgasming again as he rubs the flared head of that huge, deity-like dick up against your puffy, soaked pussylips, before your eyes roll up and you briefly white out as he shoves himself inside you. Your pussy is instantly stretched more than it ever has been before, and yet eagerly takes every bit of it, your cunt begging for more as much as every other part of your body, practically sucking you in as his hands grip your waist and he starts to thrust. You let out soft mewls mixed with louder, more enthusiastic cries as he takes you, claims you, asserting the simple truth that you've always been his property even if you didn't know it until this moment.\n\n"It does make nice sounds, and its hole isn't bad," Carmine's deep, melodic voice muses, sounding utterly unaffected by the way your pussy is squeezing and milking him for everything it's worth. "The fact that it's got nice udders and decent ass already means I wouldn't have to mess with having it modified, at least immediately."\n\n"Yes, I thought you might like that," Midnight notes as he settles onto the couch in front of you, watching you get fucked with an easy, luxurious smile on his face, one hand wrapped around his own ink-black humanoid member and stroking it slowly.\n\n"Aaa-aaanh!" you squeal, cumming again as your lord and master grabs you by the ponytail and yanks back on it, making you arch your back so that your tits sway and bounce more visibly with the impact of his powerful, magnificent hips against your ass as he makes use of your pathetic, worthless crotch-hole.\n\n"Mm. Let me try the other one, then I'll make up my mind," Carmine muses aloud, pulling himself out of you, leaving you feeling more empty and barren and pointless and useless than you ever have in your life. Then you shriek out with the strongest, most intense orgasm you've ever had in your life as he ruthlessly and deliciously crams that massive god-dick into your ass instead, relentlessly pushing forward until it's buried to the hilt and his copper-furred balls are pressing against your pussy. You cum on almost every stroke of his cock, as much because of as in spite of the fact that he clearly doesn't care if you cum at all. "Welllll... alright, I guess I'll keep it," he allows with a bit of a sigh even as he's still pounding away at you.\n\n'Oh thank God,' you think as your last coherent thought for some time. And yes, you're definitely thinking of the God whose cock is pistoning away in your ass.\n\nAfter that it's just a series of sensations... half-remembered actions that are nevertheless completely engraved on your self. The feel of your ass being filled with cum, used as the receptacle you were always meant to be. Your clothes being stripped off because you never had a right to cover yourself or own anything in the first place. Worshiping your lord and master's cock with your mouth and hands, working him into your throat until you can take him all. Being used again, and again, his body filling yours, his scent wrapped around you and going all through you, his slick, powerful hands squeezing your udders and ass and hips and enjoying himself with your body however he pleases, because it's really his. And at the last, once he's grown a bit bored with you for the moment, being a generous god and letting the others have their turn, Midnight's cock pumping away in your pussy for only a matter of moments before he mingles his load with the multiple ones of your master still inside you. The horse guards take considerably longer, each in turn using your gaped mess of a crotch-hole to relieve themselves of their full balls.\n\n"Get it dyed the proper color and put it with the rest," your god's voice commands someone as your consciousness is fading fully.\n\nWhen you come to it's with a gasp, sitting up and looking around wildly. You're laying on a simple rollup mat on the floor in what looks like it used to be a garage, with a number of other mats laid out in rows alongside. A few of them are occupied by other Human women with brightly-dyed red hair, who don't so much as stir at your outburst, and there are also a few more moving about wearing various styles of "not much". A pair of them (both wearing red tubetops, pleated microskirts, and stockingboots all in red) seem to have noticed you sitting there looking lost and in a half-panic because they walk over, the dark-skinned woman with bright red plaits leaning down.\n\n"Relax, honey, it's always the weirdest when you wake up for the first time after."\n\n"I... wha... what happened to me?" you manage after a moment.\n\n"Your owner claimed you," the fair-skinned one says happily, smirking a bit as she folds her arms under her generous chest.\n\n"That's right, the Master made you his," the other says in a slightly smug tone. "You're one of his slaves now."\n\n"I... wha?" Without thinking your fingers go to the back of your neck, searching for any remnant of a surgical incision, but that just prompts them both to laugh.\n\n"He doesn't bother with that bullshit, he doesn't need it."\n\n"The Master has claimed you body and soul," the fair-skinned one says dreamily. "Like all the rest of us." She pauses, then says in a more practical tone, "I mean, if you want you can get up and leave at any time. Could probably even ask for 'your' stuff back and you might get it. But even if you do, you'll be back."\n\n"He gets under your skin, inside your head, writes himself on your soul," the dark-skinned one adds in a simple, reasonable tone as if she were just stating facts. "We do everything we do to please him because that is our purpose. It's yours too now... best just go ahead and accept it."\n\nThough your head's much clearer than it was before... you know Carmine must have used some sort of chemical agent or had Midnight secretly dose you or something... the worst part is, your immediate impulse is to simply accept what they say as the truth. It resonates with something deep inside you and makes you want to believe it wholeheartedly, and you're still wrestling against that when the darkskinned one pats you on the head.\n\n"Best just get some clothes out of the bin and get to work, cute stuff. I'm Amari, that's Tala, I guess we can be your seniors. You can come with us or... well, up to you," she says, turning and walking away with a little flip of her pleated microskirt that shows off her bare ass, Tala shrugging and grinning before she does the same.\n\nYou sit there and blink a few times, still trying to get things straight in your head. You... need to do something...\n\n<hr>\n[[Go see Carmine.|ChiRed]]\n\n[[Go see Midnight.|ChiRed]]\n\n[[Leave.|ChiRed]]\n\n[[Get up and get to work.|ChiRed]]

You're curious if you can get to the office of the owner and maybe learn who she is or something about how she practices while she's not here. You push open the door, taking a quick peek through to make sure. No lights on, just ambient light from a few windows that are darkened enough to indicate they've been tinted from outside to be opaque. You slip in and close the door behind you, making your way in. One of the first doorways you see is labeled 'Dressing Room', presumably for the staff. Though oddly enough almost right next to it is 'Prep Room'... you wonder what the difference is? Maybe the prep room is for performers or something, as opposed to waitresses and bouncers. You're curious as to whether those have been magically enhanced too... but then you can also see a room further on in that's almost certainly the owner's office.\n\n<hr>\n[[Look in the dressing room.|ValNC]]\n\n[[Look in the prep room.|ValNC]]\n\n[[Look in the office.|ValNC]]

"... Fine then," you murmur, walking towards him. That does seem to surprise him, but only for part of a second before he's giving out that low, smug, dark chuckle that sends a shiver down from your ears and straight into your pussy. You do your best to ignore it as you instead lay down on the section of the mattress he indicated on your back, folding your arms around your belly and looking at the ceiling, as if it were no big deal.\n\n'Fuck him, fuck him, fuck him, fuck him,' chants that sweet voice in your mind that sounds like... well, your voice, like it does now when you talk, but brighter, smoother, sexier, like you can't help but imagine that you'd sound like if you were talking in the middle of sex. 'God can't you smell him, can't you feel the heat, he's so fucking hot and so fucking big, I bet his fat dragon dick would feel sooooooooo hot and huge inside us, fuck him fuck him fuck hi-'\n\n'Shut up,' you snap back, in a mental voice that still sounds like yours used to... mostly. 'He's one of the most cruel, evil, murderous space pirates in history.'\n\n'Shiiiiiiiiit you're right that makes it even better!' girl-you's voice whimpers in a tone that bespeaks of creaming her panties, if she was wearing any.\n\nBoth sides of the argument wind up derailed as a large draconic hand suddenly falls on one of your bare breasts, covering it almost completely. You let out a gasp that sounds entirely too pleased for your own comfort as Sokahn gives a small, almost casual squeeze and gentle roll of it, making you shiver before forcing your face into a scowl. "Hey, hands off."\n\n"Mm? Did you not want me to fuck you?" he replies breezily, as if it were the most obvious and casual thing in the world... though the smirk on his muzzle says that he could tell perfectly well you were having an inner conflict. "You certainly smelled like you wanted me to fuck you. Your skin is hot like you want me to fuck you. These are quite stiff," he adds, delicately pinching your nipple between two of his claws.\n\n"Mmf!" You let out the little pleasured squeak before you can help it, before adding in a strained voice, "I said stop it."\n\n"Well obviously I will," he continues just as easy as you please, lifting his hand away and resting it on his thigh instead as he grins at you. "Wouldn't do to force something on a parolee that don't want. But then, if you do want it, you'd hardly be the first prisoner who gave their parole to... enjoy the comforts of their captivity, would you?"\n\nYou're actually not even sure how you've stood against him this long... the way you've felt up to this point, you would have pounced all over him the moment he offered, let alone him toying with you so... skillfully, even in just those few motions. Maybe some combination of the anti-libido meds and the neurotoxin has given you some better resistance.\n\n'You don't have to resist though,' your female voice urges softly. 'He's right, plenty of people in your situation have had full-blown relationships, it's just considered one of those things. No one would ever blame you, with your Circumstances, and with this big, wicked man holding you in his absolute power, everyone would understand, you could just... spread your legs and let that be your answer! C'mon, c'mon, spread 'em, spread 'em!'\n\n<hr>\n[[... spread 'em...|LeoFem]]\n\n[[No!|LeoFem7x3]]

"You know, you haven't even asked my name," you say a little snappishly, partly to help you derail that whole train of thought by getting a bit mad at him again.\n\n"You know, now that you mention it, I haven't," Sokahn replies with a soft chuckle. "Where are my manners? Mm, probably floating in space somewhere along with some merchant convoy I blasted to bits, I suppose. But very well then, my cute parolee, what is your name?"\n\n"Leo LaChance. And I don't care what my body's telling you it wants, I'm telling you 'no'," you say firmly as you roll over to face away from him, propping your head up on your arm. Of course a second later you realize that you've just turned to face your ass towards him, and that it would take the barest amount of motion on either of your parts to have it rubbing right up against that bulge at the front of his crotch. Your face flushes and you keep expecting that (perhaps 'accidental') press at any moment, but instead there's a slightly softer chuckle than the ones before.\n\n"Alright then, Leo. In that case, goodnight." After a moment you can feel the shift on the mattress of him moving, and a faint warm brush over your back that sends a pleasurable shiver through you that you have to fight down. His wings, you think. \n\nBut after that he doesn't move again, and eventually you find yourself dropping off to sleep, despite how worked up you are. But then you do still have a fair dose of neurotoxin in your blood, certainly. When you awake it's to a fairly familiar smell, and the sight of Sokahn, once more wearing his flightsuit, sitting at the firestove stirring a pot of something steaming with a ladel.\n\n"Protein ration soup," he says as you sit up. "All we have at the moment, in case you were thinking of complaining."\n\n"I wasn't," you say with a sigh. "You're going to make this whole 'conditions of parole' a Thing, aren't you?" you add in a tired tone.\n\n"Obviously, that's half the reason I agreed to it," he answers with a mild leer, though another chuckle that does sound actually, faintly amused follows it. "I'm bored waiting around here, needling you is rather stimulating, even if you're apparently not interested in other forms of stimulation. By the way, I've laid you out something to wear... although if you want to keep providing a show, I don't mind at all."\n\nFlushing a little, you look down to where he nods to indicate... a flightsuit. Specifically a duplicate of the one he's wearing, sleeveless and black with red markings. At your look back at him, he shrugs, as if to say 'Did you think I brought spare wardrobe with me?' Sighing, you stand up and pull the garment on, which is at least rather easier than it would be if it was already fitted to you, the slick, plastic-y feeling material hanging off of you like a tent. You locate the 'fitting' button on the side of the waist and press the button, 'mmf'ing quietly as the suit sucks down tight on you like you were being vacuum-packed, hugging up against the shape of your breasts individually and fitting around your ass and hips almost like a second skin. 'At least this isn't one of the literal skinsuit types,' you think as you look down, relieved that it's flattened out any hint of your nipples and hasn't given you a cameltoe... though the plump roundure of your pussy is rather obvious.\n\n"You look almost as good in that as I do," Sokahn teases as you sit down opposite him on the floor, smirking just a bit more at your flush and refusal to answer. He pours a large cupful of the soup and passes it over to you, settling with his own as you sip. "Not your first time with this little delicacy, I assume?"\n\n"No," you answer evenly, since just completely refusing to talk to him seems unfeasible, and maybe more rude than the situation warrants. You glance down at the brownish liquid, then let out a sigh. "You know, I'd actually like this stuff if it would just taste like a certain kind of meat. Almost any kind. Beef, chicken, fish... it being savory without any actual taste is the part that bugs me."\n\n"Mm, I always thought it was the lack of anything like fat or grease myself," Sokahn answers in a lightly thoughtful tone, glancing down at his own cup. "Ever put a bit of oil in it? It helps."\n\n"Huh. Oil? No, I'll try that," you muse. Then blink back to what your current situation is, adding a mutter of, "If anyone ever ransoms me."\n\nSokahn chuckles, as is obviously his wont, though again you can't help but detect a bit of actual amusement in it this time. "I guess we'll just have to see. But speaking of which, considering your situation, I suppose you could help remedy our rather sad state of affairs on the meal front."\n\nYou blink at that. "How?"\n\n"Mm, well, as you might imagine, I resemble a typical bit of the local wildlife that's common on these sorts of worlds," he says dryly, reaching up to tap a claw against one of his horns. "So I could hardly go down to trade with the locals, can I? In fact to avoid getting them stirred up I've avoided heading to the areas near them to hunt either. So unless you'd like to join me in being on a protein bar soup diet for the foreseeable future, I'd like you to head out today and secure us something better to eat."\n\n"... Ah?" You blink a few times. "You're serious? I've... been your paroled prisoner for less than a day."\n\n"Mm, either your promise is as good right now as it would be in a month, or it's no good anytime," Sokahn replies breezily, which does sting just a little though you're not entirely sure why. Maybe just the fact that you even brought up the idea of breaking your parole. Either way, he gets up and walks over to the side, returning and setting a few things down next to you. You're a bit surprised to recognize the rifle you dropped yesterday, somehow having assumed it fell into the cube and got dissolved, as well as the visor earpieces and a leather bag. "There's some coin-sized gold ingots in the bag if you decide to go to the village, or your weapon if you want to go hunting. There's a collapsible hoverboard leaned on the wall over there, you can take it, your visor should be able to link up to its GPS."\n\n"... It's a steelworld, won't they think I'm as scary as you are if I show up wearing a holovisor, skintight clothes, and riding a flying piece of metal?" you say slowly as you pick up the bag, hefting it a little to judge its contents.\n\n"It's not quite a majworld but they do have magic here, from my preliminary checks, and most people seem to know about it. Locals probably know what a wizard is but not what they're like, I'll rely on your ability to talk your way out of a situation if they react badly." His low, rolling chuckle sounds again. "It's served you well so far."\n\n... Guess you can't exactly argue that, since your captor is currently sending you out to do grocery shopping for him without any oversight. And so, about a half hour later, you find yourself walking out of the cave with the collapsed board tucked under one arm, your visor locking onto the pair of preprogrammed dots that show the nearby human village and the forest near it, beyond the cold, rather barren mountain foothills Sokahn's hiding out in.\n\n'This is surreal,' you think, glancing down at your body wrapped in Sokahn's spare bodysuit, and at what seems to be his sole mode of transportation other than his ship. Just turning you loose with a weapon, a vehicle, and plenty of currency because your father is Cimrian and because you made a promise.\n\n<hr>\n[["He's an idiot!"|LeoFem]]\n\n[["He's right."|LeoFem7x4]]

Firming your spine as much as you can, and setting your jaw, you stare evenly back at Sokahn, refusing to flinch or show your fear. "I'll give you my parole. Best I can offer."\n\nSokahn raises an eyeridge. "Your parole?"\n\n"It means-"\n\n"I know what it means, girl!" Sokahn interrupts with a snap, displaying something vaguely like anger for the first time you've seen, spurts of ruby briefly joining the liquid flow of his eyes. They're gradually swallowed by the molten amethyst again as he continues, "Don't condescend to me. I am familiar with the concept of a prisoner of war accepting their status and agreeing to neither attempt escape or strike back at their captors. But we're not officers, and we're not at war."\n\nYou raise your eyebrows some. "You didn't strike me as the sort to quibble over little details."\n\nThat gets a snort out of him, also the closest thing you've heard to a sincere laugh. "Mm. You've a point there, then, girl. I suppose I've been both a 'proper' officer and at war before, and you... well, close enough. Alright then, offer me your parole and I'll get you out of there."\n\nDammit, you were half hoping he'd just pull you out assuming you'd already given it by offering it. ... Yeah, your father believed in keeping promises, but he wasn't above gaming the system either. 'A Cimrian is honorable, but outsmarting an opponent before honor comes into it works just as well.' "Very well, I offer my parole." At Sokahn's expectant look and failure to move, you sigh and add, "I swear that I won't try to escape until I can be ransomed or traded for another prisoner, nor will I deliberately act against the interests of my captor while I am in captivity." You narrow your eyes. "As long as I'm treated with the respect to my body and dignity befitting a prisoner who's given their parole."\n\n"Nice touch," Sokahn says with another one of those dark chuckles that shows he would have been just as willing to take advantage of an oversight as you were. But after just a moment more of smirking at you he pulls something out from what you assume is his own telepocket, a... flask? Yeah, that definitely smells like some sort of alcohol, you think as he splashes it across the front and top of the cube between you and him. You can see it quiver slightly on its own for the first time, and feel a mixture of elation, fear, and well the usual reaction your current body has every time a man does something that shows off strength and initiative, as Sokahn reaches right through the slime to grab you around the neck. 'Choke me daddy SHUT UP YOU!' you snap at your own brain as he uses the grip to drag you forward... it feels like the slime tries to hold on to your arms and legs, but once you start sliding through the more viscous and non-solidifying part it lets go, leaving you to drag the few feet forward and then be half-pulled half-thrown onto the ground in a splayed, goo-covered mess, groaning faintly as you twitch at trying to move.\n\n"Get up when you can. I'll just continue enjoying the view," Sokahn declares, making a show of casting a thoughtful, erudite, and appraising eye over your slimy, naked form.\n\nGrumbling quietly, you nevertheless do your best to rally your strength, and after several minutes are able to push yourself unsteadily to your feet. Annoyingly, your unsteady, slightly wobbly movements definitely make your tits jiggle around, and wind up with you jutting your hips this way and that, including sticking your ass out prominently before you get mostly upright. 'I look like one of those "erotic jello wrestlers" that we went to see one time,' you think, pondering on more innocent... okay, not the right word... outings with friends. Sokahn just smirks at you, but at least doesn't comment further before turning and making his way through the passage. You struggle after him, stumbling like a newborn faun and leaving a trail of ooze droplets behind you, but at least he seems to have moderated his pace to let you keep up.\n\nStill, you feel exhausted by the time he steps into a cavern that seems to be set up as a moderately comfortable base camp, complete with an insta-bed, self-contained powered fire/cookpit, and other things, though what immediately draws your eye is the collapsible shower in one corner. You're just resolving yourself to asking to use it when Sokahn instead gestures grandly with one hand. "Go on, get cleaned up. I wouldn't be treating you with 'respect and dignity' if I let you marinate in what's left of the neurotoxin."\n\n"... Thank you," you say a little stiffly, before making your way over to the simple pair of disks separated by a tall pole and hitting the activation button, pulling off the visor earpieces and... well, dropping them on the floor, you don't really have the energy to do much more. Warm water starts pouring down over you, and you let out a little groan of pleasure at feeling it start to wash away some of the cold, numbing slime. You spot a bottle of generic 'cleaning lather' beside the shower and without thinking bend over to snag it, pouring a generous amount into your hands and starting to rub your body all over, sighing softly at running your hands over your breasts and belly, feeling them slick with the mingled slime and soap before it begins to wash away. At a chuckle from behind you look over to find Sokahn sprawled on the portable mattress, blatantly watching you with an amused look on his face. Realizing you probably shoved your pussy right at him when you bent over, you flush deeply and try to focus on cleaning while keeping your motions as modest as possible, and your brain tries to run away with the potential.\n\nAt least when you shut off the shower and step off of it, he tosses you a towel. While you're rubbing dry, you can hear him moving as well, forcing yourself not to jerk your head to look... this whole 'parole' thing requires a certain amount of trust, after all. So you don't look up until you've wrapped the towel around your middle... and your jaw goes a little slack.\n\nSokahn has removed his flightsuit and is sprawled on his side on the mattress, propped up on one elbow, those deep, liquid amethyst eyes fixed on you as he grins. Completely naked, you can see all those cut muscles for yourself now, as well as the heavy, beaded leather sack dangling down over his thigh in his position. Nothing else is visible, though there's a slight roundness at the front of his crotch, and the way the scales come together there says it's probably where his... no, don't think about it too much. Semi-symmetrical blotches of blue and yellow curl around his sides from the back, in bits and pieces that speak of them being parts of larger colorations you can't see from here. He's fairly clearly displaying himself for you, and to your embarrassment you wind up drinking in the display for several long moments before you can manage to turn your head away. "Oh? Don't want to have a bit of fun?" he says with another low, warm, rather mocking chuckle.\n\n'Yes yes yes yes yes yes yes' "No, of course not," you grumble, cinching the towel a bit more firmly about yourself. "Could I have something to wear. Please," you add coolly.\n\n"In the morning." At you looking at him with a frown, Sokahn shrugs, thin reptilian lips still curved in a roguish grin. "I'll have to rummage you something up, but right now I want to sleep, so consider this your curfew. And I can't be accused of giving you anything less to sleep in than I use myself."\n\n"... Fine." You say with a sigh, letting your shoulders slump. "Where should I sleep?"\n\n"Pick a bit of floor and make it your own," he answers immediately, sweeping a hand to indicate the open portions of the cavern. At your annoyed look he snickers and taps the mattress. "Since you're so well-taught I'm sure you know that as a parolee, you are entitled to the same level of facilities and consideration I would afford myself or one of my officers, but only insofar as it does not deprive myself or one of my officers unduly. In plain language, I've only got the one bed, I don't have to give it up to you." He smirks a bit more as he leans back, gesturing to the stretch of mattress in front of him. "Unless, of course, you'd care to share it."\n\n<hr>\n[[... welllllll...|LeoFem7x2]]\n\n[[... Floor's fine.|LeoFem]]

He's right. Your dad always impressed on you how important it was to keep the big promises... not just because of high concepts of Honor and Integrity, but for pragmatic reasons as well, as was apparently typical for Cimrians. 'If you become known as an oathbreaker, it's not just your promises that will be worth nothing. No one will trust anything about you, they'll see deceit and betrayal in every little action eventually. Not a profitable reputation for one in our line of work, no?'\n\n'Yeah well I hope you're out there and ready to pay my ransom or something, Dad, 'cause otherwise upholding my promise is gonna be the end of my line of work and I'll spend the rest of my life being Sokahn's weird prisoner slash companion slash... errand girl, apparently. ... BOY! ... Oh, whatever,' you think sourly as you toss the board down in front of you, watching it catch itself on midair and then expand to the size of a small surfboard. Stepping up onto it, you feel its gravplates 'lock' on your feet enough that it won't go flying out from under you at the slightest provocation, then turn your attention to the GPS display on your visor. Now let's see... hunting, or trading?\n\n<hr>\n[[Go to the forest.|LeoFem]]\n\n[[Go to the town.|LeoFem7x5]]

Meh, after the way yesterday went, you don't want to discover that this planet's normal fauna is like... a bunch of bipedal apex predators skilled at pack hunting and also they're really horny. That'd be just your luck. (Quit getting excited at the thought, body.)\n\nSelecting the dot that indicates the village, you take off on the board, following the guidance the GPS sends to your visor to first cruise down the path and then through the rocky terrain of the foothills. Eventually, as you move away from the mountains, the sky clears up and the temperature warms a little, scraggly brown tufts of grass turning into fairly lush green fields and trees. In about half an hour you see buildings in the distance, with figures moving around, obviously becoming a bit agitated and clustering together as you approach.\n\nBy the time you're actually drawing up, it looks like most everyone that was nearby at the time has gathered at the side of the village you were approaching. They don't seem hostile, really, but definitely... cautious. Their skin ranges from a dark tan to a deep brown, and while their hair is a variety of colors (you spot blue, purple, and green), for most of them it's so dark that from a distance it would be easily mistaken for black, largely only the sunlight bringing out enough highlights to make it clear. Most of the men and boys seem to crop theirs short and let it go wild, while the women and girls all have theirs in a single braid of some sort. Their clothing is about what you'd expect of steelworld commonfolk, simple designs of slightly rough cloth, though everyone seems as clean and well-kept as being in the middle of a workday would allow for.\n\n"Hey there," you greet as you come to a stop, stepping off the board and leaving it be for the moment, since you don't want to make it seem even weirder by collapsing it into something you can easily carry under your arm right in front of them.\n\n"Good day," one of the men in the front says a bit slowly. "Is there something we may help you with?"\n\n"Ah, well, I'm not from around here, y'know," you start with after a moment, gesturing to the general world.\n\nBefore you can continue he lets out a soft snort, with a little titter of laughter running through the crowd. "Yes, stranger, we gathered," he murmurs, dark blue eyes drifting along your arm up to your head.\n\n'... Right, yeah,' you think with a sheepish grin, realizing your pale skin and blonde hair is probably just as weird as the bodysuit and floating board. At least none of it seems weird enough to provoke hostility, which is a bonus. "What I mean is, I'm on a long journey and passing through. Do you have any supplies I can buy?"\n\nThere's a bit of a murmur at that, with him looking back over at the crowd before back to you, then nodding cordially. "We don't have a store since we so rarely have outsiders come through, but when they do we use that building as a trading post," he says, turning to point to one of the wood structures. Size-wise it's a bit more of a 'glorified shed' than anything else, from the look of it, but like the others it looks well-maintained and solid, although simple and without a lot of adornment. "If you'll have a seat inside, someone will come in to discuss what is available in a moment."\n\n"Thank you." You bob your head respectfully, then turn and make your way towards the small building, doing your best not to let your body fall into the slightly hip-swaying walk it uses when you let it. Definitely don't need to help along any impressions they got of you from your skintight bodysuit... from the look of the dresses, while this society isn't overly and deeply concerned with modesty, the women do look to be wearing some sort of padding around their waist beneath their long skirts to avoid showing any shape of hip or rear, sooooo having your entire ass out there basically coated in a layer of shiny black paint is getting you more than a few looks of various kinds. You'd worry about the hoverboard, especially since you noticed a few adults snagging children and hugging them close to keep them from rushing over to it, but it's linked to your visor now and you disabled all the more "best defense" measures it came with so it will basically just hang there and not move even if the kids climb all over it.\n\nThe inside of the trading post isn't any fancier than the outside. There's one largish rectangular table with several chairs around it, and along one wall there's a wide shelf that runs between the other two walls. While there are windows lining it they're closed at the moment, shuttered, and the interior is instead lit by a single oil lamp sitting on the shelf. Shrugging, you settle into one of the chairs to wait. It's not long before a man walks in, giving you a polite nod before he goes around and begins using a small flint-and-steal clicker lighter to light more, larger oil lamps attached to the walls. 'Damn,' you think, unable to help staring at him. He's probably half a head taller than any of the men you saw gathered outside, and far more muscular, his shirt a bit thin and definitely showing off more, its sleeves rolled up to show thick, powerful arms and the top few buttons hanging open to show a similarly strong chest. Also unlike the others his head is completely shaven, devoid of either hair or eyebrows, the smooth dark dome of his scalp gleaming a little in the lamplight. And those leather pants... those are doing him a lot of favors. 'Damn,' you think, trying to assure yourself you'd be impressed even if you were still a guy.\n\n"I'm Hevt, the blacksmith," he says evenly as he moves to sit down across the table from you, dark grey, almost black eyes calm despite the strangeness of being called to the trading post to do business with some gold-haired weirdo from beyond. He smiles after a moment, though, the sort of easy, warm smile that would normally put you at ease but right now is making you fight not to squirm. "The town asks me to handle trading since I'm the one with the most bartering experience. What can I do for you?"\n\n'I'VE GOT SUGGESTIONS!' your girl-you mental voice shouts enthusiastically, making you mentally shove it back out of frame. "Yes, the primary thing I was looking for was for some food. Meat of some kind, vegetables, maybe even some seasonings if you have them?"\n\n"Alright, how much and what do you have to offer in return?"\n\nYou've no clue of the measurement system here, so probably something relatable. Let's see, Sokahn's pretty big, but you don't want to make the townsfolk edgy by implying there's more like you out there so best not to mention having a second. He also didn't say how long you might be here, but figure on less than two weeks, so something like, "Enough to feed a grown man well for about a month, let's say that much. As for what I have to trade..." You take the pouch out of the suit's telepocket, and slip one of the gold pieces inside out and set it on the table. "Are these alright?"\n\nHevt blinks, picking up the gold and eyeing it. It's a small rectangular thing with raised edges, but completely smooth centers, no decorations or engravings. After a second he gets up and heads to a small cabinet in the corner, returning with a few tools, including a set of scales. He scratches the surface of the miniature ingot, then dribbles something on it. At the bubbling that results, he grunts quietly then sets it in one pan of the scales before slipping small disks into the other until it evens out. "... Yes, this is fine," he says in a half-wondering tone, shaking his head and giving you a wry grin. "... I'll just not ask questions, hm?"\n\nYou smile sheepishly at him. "Probably easier for both of us, yeah."\n\n"Alright. How about... four chickens, six squirrels, two rabbits, half a butchered pig, a bag of onions, bag of potatoes, and a few bundles of dried local herbs, for... twelve of these."\n\nYou wonder if they're the items you're familiar with, or just close enough that the translator subbed the words you know in... either way, sounds like plenty of meat and something to supplement it. Honestly it seems like he's trying to oversell you at least a little, and probably overcharge you by the same, but hell it's Sokahn's money, and this amount of gold isn't a huge deal out there in space anyway. "That sounds fine."\n\n"You'll be able to transport all that on your... well, someone called it a flying table..."\n\nThat makes you snicker. "Yeah, no problem."\n\n"Alright then, I'll go and start gathering everything up." He rises smoothly to his feet, some of those shown-off muscles flexing lightly with the motion. "Although first, is there anything else you need?"\n\n<hr>\n[[No, no, you're good.|LeoFem]]\n\n[[... You've got suggestions...|LeoFem]]

You don't even really think about it, you just rise to your feet and turn towards the nearest wall, leaning forward to put your hands on the rock, your tits hanging down and your ass jutted back, presenting your pussy to your breeding stud so you can be put to the use you were made for.\n\nThe xeno lets out another of those deep rumbling hisses, like distant thunder overlaid across a burbling stream as it slips around behind you. You tremble in eagerness as one of those massive, spidery hands wraps possessively around your waist, the other curling around your head, holding you possessively, claiming you with its grip before it claims you with its cock. You feel that broad cockhead press up against your pussy, squashing the puffy, sodden outer lips beneath it, and then slipping off, slinging the aphrodisiac slime coating it all over your ass and back, making your eyes roll a little bit as some of it pools in your pucker and makes it twitch and tremble as well.\n\nThen your bestial god shifts its hips and reorients, pressing itself to your pussy again and pushing harder, once more squashing your lower lips until they spread open around it and admit that monstrous flare inside. Your whole body shakes, an incoherent gurgle escaping your mouth as you cum instantly, a gush of your fluids spurting out and joining with the slime already covering it. You shudder and twitch as more and more of that monstrous, perfect, obscene, divine thing slides inside you, molding your pussy to it, making you its own. It slides in all the way up to that bulging knot, letting the angled front of it nudge just up between your stretched lips. \n\nThen it begins fucking you, its strange legs seemingly perfectly designed to give it a smooth, steady pace as it puts its whole sinuous body into its thrusts, tail flicking in counterpoint behind it. It shifts its hand, letting one fingertip hook into your mouth, curling in against your sensitive cheek and stretching it a bit, making sure you keep your mouth open and your tongue lolled out shamelessly. You're cumming with almost every thrust it gives, feeling the pleasure of it spread throughout your whole body, through your heavy tits as they jounce and sway beneath you. You instinctively lift yourself up on tiptoe, presenting your pussy for a better angle so you can be bred deeper.\n\nYou're not even really thinking in words at this point, but if you were, it would be in a single word. 'Breed breed breed breed breed breed!' Your rolled eyes and your lolled tongue and your sluttishly swaying tits don't matter, all you are is an eager gripping pussy and receptive womb waiting to be filled, that's all you are, that's your only purpose, every other thought driven out of your brain by your god's scent and taste and feel. 'Breed breed breed breed breed breed breeeeed!' you brainlessly wail internally as you cum harder and harder, your body becoming ever more receptive.\n\nAnd then your bestial stud lets out a shrieking roar and thrusts forward, simultaneously burying that knot inside you and pushing the flare of his cock in past the deeper internal barrier, pouring his load directly into your womb. You vibrate almost like a sex toy, hitting some intense pleasure that's almost beyond orgasm, your whole mind going white, blank, empty of anything but the fact that you're fulfilling your only true biological purpose, your primal reason for existence, not a single doubt in any part of you that you're being impregnated and proven a good fertile breeder, thus worthy of existence.\n\nYour belly slowly bulges outward with the extend of the load filling you, giving a preview of the time to come. Eventually the flow stops, and your stud's cock gradually ceases to twitch. It writhes its hips a bit, checking whether its knot has deflated enough to let it pull out, sending more light paroxysms of pleasure through you and making you twitch in your post-impregnation haze of pleasure.\n\nThen its head whips around at a sound from further down. It lets out a much more aggressive-sounding hiss, then pulls harder, making you give a loud yelp as it forcefully stretches your pussy to free itself, leaving you gaping and dropping to the floor on suddenly limp knees as it whirls around and goes bounding into the shadows. You slump against the wall, glowing blue cum flowing out of your stretched cunt.\n\n"We've got movement! There, there!" a man's voice calls from further off, in the direction it went.\n\n<hr>\n[[... wha...?|ChiMine]]\n\n[[You have to help your mate!|ChiMine]]

You're only really social in VR, but you are fairly used to being social there. Your decision to head towards the groupfinding area is almost more habit than anything else... sure, you came here to get lewded and abused, but that doesn't mean you can't make some friends along the way!\n\nThe area is a sort of semicircle set off to the side of the questboard, with benches as well as perches set into the wall around this area of the village for seating. There are also some practice dummies and what looks like crafting stations, apparently to help players keep busy while they're waiting for someone to come along and adopt them, er, offer to group up. There are already a handful of players here, largely separate from each other... you guess none of them were what the others were looking for in a group. Well... either that or they're just sort of blind to each other's existence. You've found that one of the oddest phenomenon about MMOs (whether they're VR or not, though most are these days) is that people who label themselves LFG seem oddly averse to approaching others who similarly label themselves. You wonder if it has any relation to the phenomenon of someone being in a relationship being much more attractive to a single person than other single people are.\n\nEither way you stop a bit distant and take a look around. Looks like everyone who's waiting is another girl... or, well, with a female (appearing) avatar, anyway. There's four of them... one is a scantily-clad elf perched on one of the wall sections, gazing about hopefully and occasionally giving her (rather generous) hips a wiggle as she squirms impatiently in place... you don't see any sign of weapons, so you're guessing she's a mage. (Or a monk, you guess, but those usually have handwraps at least.) Another is a girl with big pointy animal ears atop her head, and a luxuriously fluffy tail that makes you almost as excited at the thought of touching as the idea of danger and lewds. She's got on a slightly long green coat and has a number of bottles and vials visible on her belt... some sort of alchemist, maybe? The third seems to have gone for a rather demonic look, with dark pink skin, long slender horns, and pointed ears... she's hugging a book to her chest and looking somewhat forelorn. The last also seems to have gone for a bit of a demonic look, with a different style of horns but simple brown skin... which she's showing almost all of, since she's wearing a skimpy 'battle bikini', and swinging a huge axe at one of the practice dummies (and not hitting it that often, you notice). \n\n<hr>\n[[Approach the elf.|YamiHF4x1]]\n\n[[Approach the fluffy tail. ... And its owner.|YamiHF3x1]]\n\n[[Approach the oni.|YamiHF2x2]]\n\n[[Approach the part-demon.|YamiHF5x1]]\n\n[[Go LFG yourself.|YamiHF]]

After all, you've always intended to be a 'mixed farm', and produce high-grade livestock as well as crops. Unfortunately, with how little money you had left over after buying the land, you won't be able to start breeding livestock for awhile... without some new breeding animals, of course. Luckily, you've got two right outside!\n\nHm... but how best to utilize that? you muse, looking at the rows of bottles and jars. Well, the two most obvious ways are to either transform them, or turn Unielle into a 'compatible breeder' (or what one wit in your old monster army called an 'omnimom'). \n\nEither of those requires a 'primer', so you go ahead and snag the bottles for that and take them out, resuming your work on the savory porridge you'd started for dinner. It will put them in a sort of flushed, hazy state where they're receptive to simple suggestions and orders, and shouldn't be able to fight back against anything you do. That would give you ample time to prep the next stage, either the transformation potion or the adaptation potion. Covertly taking a swig of neutralizing agent between adding ingredients to the porridge, once everything is done you're able to serve all three bowls from the same pot and set them randomly in the center of the table, the obviousness of everyone eating the same thing putting both adventurers at ease, neither showing any hesitation as they dig in.\n\nAs they do, you ponder the pros and cons of either method. If you transform them completely into animals, they'll be animals as healthy and strong as they were as humans... and they're youthful adventurers, so it's pretty much a given that they'll both turn into exceptionally well-bred animals, especially Unielle since she's half elf. Once they've mated with an animal of their own kind, their human minds will disappear, and they'll truly be nothing but animals. Fairly intelligent and obedient animals, as a lingering side effect of the primer potion, but just animals. The biggest benefit there would be that their offspring will also have the same superior breeding and slightly higher intelligence and obedience, making them highly valuable.\n\nAlternatively, you think as you watch both adventurers' movements starting to slow, their faces flushing and eyes glazing over a little as the primer starts to take effect, you could focus on making Unielle a breeder (and decide what to do with Olin once you'd gotten that started). Once impregnated for the first time, she'd become fairly meek and obedient, understanding that her role in life now was to be an offspring factory, despite her own feelings on the matter. Her offspring wouldn't gain nearly the same benefits of health and good genetics as they would from transforming her all the way... but on the other hand, not only would you be able to breed her with any kind of animal you cared to, she'd still be a humanoid with human intelligence, and thus capable of helping out around the farm... or being used for more pleasurable pursuits.\n\nYou're still trying to make up your mind when you notice that both of their bowls are empty, and both Olin and Unielle are slumped in their chairs, eyes glazed, faces flushed, jaws slightly slack. Grinning, you stand up. "Alright, you two, why don't you do me a favor and stand up?"\n\n"Huh? Okay," Olin murmurs, seeming slightly confused as to why he's obeying as he and his wife both get to their feet, and at your further direction move to stand together in the middle of the still largely unfurnished living area.\n\n"Now, both of you strip naked. Just toss everything in a pile over there," you direct, pointing.\n\n"Wha?" Unielle's face flushes a bit further. "But... I... uh..." She glances heavily towards Olin, who after a much briefer hesitation started undoing his armor, then nods lethargically before murmuring, "O-okay, I guess," and pulling off her boots.\n\nSoon both are standing there naked, squirming and seeming embarrassed, and still seeming confused on why they're listening to you at all, but not able to think straight enough to really protest against it. You have to admit they're both fine specimens, Unielle with her sleek curves and perfect hairless skin, puffy pale pink nipples capping her large breasts. Olin's well-endowed as well, and has clearly put some effort into grooming to please his half-elf bride, probably using a hair removal potion to be as smooth as she is... that it helps show off the tone of his muscles probably helps to him.\n\n"Yes, very good, very good," you muse aloud, deliberately using the manner of looking over livestock you intent to buy as you fondle one of Unielle's breasts, then heft Olin's sack in your hand briefly, both of them letting out soft, confused moans at your touch. Still, seems like it's time to decide what to do with them.\n\n<hr>\n[[Transform them.|RethFarm]]\n\n[[Turn Unielle into a breeder.|RethFarm2x2]]

You admit, the thought of having the pretty half-elf to play with in between her birthing more livestock for you kind of makes your decision for you. While you'd get better quality animals from turning her into one, well, there's just something to be said for enjoying your nights as well.\n\nYou take a moment to mix up the potion, then hold it out to her. "Alright, Unielle, drink this," you say, cheerfully but firmly.\n\n"Um, okay." She takes the bottle of bright pink fluid, stares at it in confusion for a heartbeat before swigging it down. Only as she absently hands the vial back to you does she ask, "What is it?"\n\n"Oh, it's going to make you into a baby factory," you answer with the same firm cheer, giving her ass a squeeze as she blushes. "For animals, mostly."\n\n"B-but... I..." she trails off at her protest, sharing a confused, worried glance with Olin.\n\n"But... she's my wife," he says a bit plaintively, though instantly going silent as you hold up a finger.\n\n"Sh-sh-sh. Now, come watch her get bred," you order him as you put an arm around the naked half-elf and lead her to the door, snagging a lantern as you go.\n\n"... Okay," he says rather forlornly as he follows after.\n\nIf you had your way, obviously the first thing you'd want to do is start breeding cows... they're the most profitable, able to provide both milk and beef after all. Sadly, you don't have a bull yet, and you need to get Unielle knocked up before the end of the night or the potion will wear off. Luckily there are a few male animals that you have been able to afford, and now you lead Unielle towards the sheep pen.\n\nYour ram (who you haven't really bothered to name) is awake and at the fence, as if he'd actually known you were coming and bringing a "ewe" for him. Despite his obvious size, strength, and fine stock, you got him for fairly cheap due to his extremely aggressive disposition... but a few potion-treated sugar pellets made him as positively loyal and obedient as a well-trained puppy, at least as far as you're concerned. He gives a loud snort and a "baaaa!" as you open the gate and lead Unielle in, the half-elf already trembling a bit as arousal runs down her thighs.\n\n"Here's your first mate, dear," you say to her cheerfully, much as any farmer might to calm a nervous ewe. "Go ahead and get down on all fours for him like the animal you are!"\n\n"O-... okay," she whispers, slowly sinking to her knees on the slightly muddy ground, then forward onto her hands, lifting her bare ass a bit and presenting her swollen, dripping, obviously fertile pussy to the ram. Olin watches, looking like he's constantly on the verge of at least protesting aloud again, but a warning glance from you causes him to subside, and he stands there meekly watching as the ram approaches, a long, decidedly bestial pink cock now jutting from the fluff covering his belly.\n\nUnielle gives a loud yip as the ram mounts her, gasping repeatedly as he thrusts and bucks his hips trying to get inside. Even if you couldn't actually see when he finds his mark and thrusts that glistening ovine cock into her dripping cunt, you could tell by Unielle's loud and rather pleasured cry, her tits swaying and jiggling under her as the fluffy, horned beast begins rutting her. \n\n"That's right, just enjoy the pleasure of being bred," you urge her gently. "Once he knocks you up, all those thoughts of ever being an adventurer or a warrior or anything other than a breeding animal will disappear from your head and you'll be so much happier."\n\n"N-no... no, I... I mustn't," Unielle whimpers, obviously fighting with all her might against the effects of the potions, and not having a lot of luck. Her eyes start to roll as she starts panting, "I mustn't cum I mustn't cum I mustn't cum," as if her orgasm had anything to do with it. Not that it matters much anyway, since on the third repetition you can hear her voice go all shaky and whimpery as she cums, her pussy juices soaking into the ram's fluff.\n\nYou glance over at Olin smugly, seeing that he's staring fixedly at his wife being mated and impregnated by an animal, his cock obviously achingly stiff and actually oozing precum, most of it sliding down his shaft but some dripping down and swaying in long streams from the tip. Despite the shame on his face, it's just as obvious he desperately wants to be jerking off to seeing his beautiful half-elf wife knocked up with lambs, but that you've dominated him enough that he won't without your permission.\n\n"Oh, oh, oh, OHHHHHHHH!" Unielle cries as the ram starts thrusting harder and harder, letting out more frantic bleats until he finally slams forward. Unielle's eyes roll up completely and her tongue lolls all the way out, a brainless smile curling her lips. "Ohhhhh! Oh, I can feel it, I can feel myself becoming gravid! I'm gravid, I'm a gravid breeding animal and it feels so goooood, nnnh!"\n\nThere, you think with satisfaction. Now that Unielle's been knocked up by the ram, she'll permanently be an obedient, will-less little bit of breeding stock with no greater thoughts or ambitions than getting knocked up again and again... but, should still be of some use around the farm. (And occasionally in your bed.)\n\nThen you turn to Olin again, hmmming. He's still standing there staring at his (ex-)wife as the ram slides off her back, revealing the animal jizz dribbling out of her impregnated pussy. Now, what to do with him?\n\nYou could give him a similar concoction to the one you gave Unielle, but the problem is that his offspring with female animals would be neither human nor animal, but beastkin. (Yes, most of the beastkin races would not exactly be happy to have it known that such couplings really are the genesis of their race.) Although, admittedly, there could be uses for beastkin around the farm too, especially since they already age and mature quickly and you could easily help that along a bit too.\n\nYou could simply further dominate him, giving him just a bit of a stabilizer potion to make sure it took and that he would forevermore be your meek servant. In that case you could theoretically even breed him with Unielle on occasion, they are, as mentioned, an attractive couple, and you could easily find a use for some pretty quarter-elves.\n\nOr... and this would take some of the rarer and more expensive components that you wouldn't be able to replace for a while, but... you could turn him into a female breeder like Unielle, and set him... or rather, her... to pumping out more strong healthy livestock. After all, even with quickened gestation rates like Unielle will have, you could still stand to double the rate at which you're increasing your animals...\n\nHm. Or you guess you could just get rid of him. Not like you actually need him for anything, and he's another mouth to feed.\n\n<hr>\n[[Make him a male breeder.|RethFarm]]\n\n[[Dominate him.|RethFarm]]\n\n[[Make him a female breeder.|RethFarm]]\n\n[[Get rid of him.|RethFarm]]

The sort of sad look makes you start to approach the oni, but even as you do you see a man in slightly fanservicey armor approach her, her shoulders and head perking up. (It's not quite to the level of showing off bulge but it's at least as provocative as yours.) Not wanting to intrude, you hang back and wait to see if she'll get taken... but after about half a minute, he turns and walks off, leaving her slumping a bit again. As you resume your approach, you hear her murmur to herself, "Oh, bother, I'm never going to find anyone willing to accept." That makes you a bit leery, so you do your best to size her up as you slow your approach a little... her gear looks pretty basic, probably just standard 'default clothing', a loose long-sleeved grey top with black ribbons for accents here and there, the open shoulders being the most provocative part... well, except for the way she's hugging the book pressing her large breasts up prominently. Other than that it's just a black pleated skirt and black leggings coming up to mid-thigh, and low-topped leather boots. She's got a few rings slipped on over her horns and studs piercing one ear, and a pair of spectacles perched on her nose, but you've no idea if those are enchanted items or just decoration.\n\nAs you get closer, she glances over, perking up a bit again but rather less enthusiastically than before, her expression remaining rather guarded. The nameplate above her head reads 'Genidine'. "Oh. Hello there."\n\n<img src="images/Genidine.jpg">\n\n"Hi," you reply, raising a hand and wiggling it. "Having trouble finding a group?"\n\n"Having trouble finding a partner. My situation is a bit unique," she answers with a sigh. "To be honest I don't blame them for walking away, considering it objectively. I imagine you will too."\n\n"It's okay, try me. I mean, even if I do, I promise to be polite?" you offer, grinning just a little.\n\nSmiling a little wanly, Genidine nods. "Very well then. Are you familiar at all with the Exposition Seekers?"\n\n"No, sorry, I basically just logged in and did the starter quest," you admit.\n\n"Ah, not a beta tester then. Allow me to explain... well, it is sort of what the guild is there for," she adds in an amused tone. "The Exposition Seekers is the official player-staffed guild connected to the in-game organization the Expositors. They're NPCs you can visit in major cities to learn things of note... monster locations, weaknesses, behaviors, as well as other things like geography, the location of treasure spawns, and so on."\n\n"Oh, so it's like an in-game wiki."\n\n"Correct. But the Expositors don't just have their information automatically... much like a wiki, someone must first discover that information before it can be made available to others. That's where the Seekers come in... when you sign up, you're granted a rather large bonus to experience from discovering new things and reporting back to the guild, which also pays you for said information. You can get much more experience and gold than simply grinding monsters, since you also get it for incidental things like discovering new areas and plants and whatnot. What's more, if I team up with someone, they also share in my experience boost ability and get the gold from returning the information to the guild."\n\n"Huh, sounds like a pretty good deal to me. Sooooo I'm guessing that there's some other reason people have been turning you down?" you ask, trying to keep your voice gentle.\n\n"Yes." She sighs before continuing. "For what I assume are game balance reasons, my experience buff sharing doesn't work if I'm in a party of three or more... I suppose it would be too 'broken' to have a large party of fully combat capable characters and then just add a Seeker who stays in back for the boost. Too, my... character isn't particularly useful for combat. During the beta test I had a more typical one, but when I discovered the Exposition Seeker guild I fell in love with it. When the game went live, this time I made a new character fully geared towards it, but in the process I wound up with almost nothing in the way of 'proper' attack or support spells. So... in other words, I am looking for a single partner who can handle combat, including protecting me, in return for my bonus to experience and gold."\n\nSo, to recap. A cute, serious, studious glasses-girl partner who will require you to protect her while dragging you around discovering every single strange, lewd, unknown thing the game has to discover and poking it with a stick so she can learn as much as she can about it, which will probably include occasional vigorous testing. "I am absolutely up for this," you say near-instantly, giving her a thumbs up. \n\n"W-what? Really?" Genidine's eyes widen slightly behind her spectacles. "You mean it?!"\n\n"Yup! Sounds like a great deal to me, I'm all for it!"\n\n"Oh, thank you! Thank you so much, Kuro!" Genidine actually bows to you several times, practically squirming in delight as she straightens up and initiates the party formation window. "With you along, now I should be able to make the journey to the nearby city!"\n\n"Hm? The city first? What for?" you ask as you accept the party invite, and check the 'Save this party for automatic formation on login' box. It did sound like she wanted this to be longterm, after all.\n\n"Of course we need to... oh, forgive me, I keep thinking everyone played the beta test. The cities all have what's called a Temple of Return." At your curious look, she continues. "Normally when you die in the game, assuming that you don't have character permadeath on, you wake up in a random location, having lost an encounter-appropriate amount of experience and potentially levels, as well as a random amount of gear and currency having disappeared entirely. If you visit a Temple of Return and pray at it, when you die you'll instead be resurrected there immediately."\n\nWhat? WHAT?! No no no no, this is totally against what you're playing this game for! Scrambling for a way to salvage this, you stammer, "Th-that seems sort of broken!"\n\n"Well, there are balancing aspects to it," Genidine explains. "First, you go right to the Temple you prayed at last, so you might lose far more travel distance than you would on a random respawn. Second, you respawn with your full character levels and experience... but without any gear or currency whatsoever. Your items remain behind where you were when you fell."\n\nDamn this game balance! "So, uh, the distance loss seems kind of sucky for an explorer," you hedge.\n\n"Yes, but I can't risk my exploration journal being one of the items that disappears at random when I respawn," she explains. "It would significantly hamper my progress... resetting any of the bonuses I gain over time and turning in information. At least in the case of using the Temple, I know where it would be and could have a chance of recovering it. I'm... not sure I understand your reticence...?"\n\nDangit. You don't necessarily want to start off this partnership by explaining what a weirdo you are, and risk sending her running for the hills (or at least back to looking for a partner who's not a pervert). But you reeeeally want the danger and thrill of playing! ... Although... this does sound like the lewds and danger would still happen to you, just that you'd survive it. And then... and then have to walk through the city naked, people jeering and leering and being tempted to PVP you?! ... Okay it sounds like there might be some benefits to the Temple of Return after all. It's not like the game's suddenly gonna go PG-13 on you because you can't actually die. And it would only be on this character, right? You could still make another one if you wanted to go back to real danger. ... Still...\n\n<hr>\n[[Try to change Genidine's mind.|Yami]]\n\n[[Go to the Temple of Return with her.|Yami]]

You fling yourself forward, your katana dropping to the floorboards with a clatter as you fling your arms around the other Ilia, bearing her to the ground, even as you feel her drawing her arm around, feel the sharp point penetrate your skin, slide through your body, emerge from your back. You can feel it hard and both cold and hot inside you, the pain an echo surrounded by the flickering red light that's growing fainter by the moment.\n\n"W-what?!" the other Ilia shrieks, her eyes wide as she realizes she's been borne to the floor, but more that she's impaled you with her weapon. "What are you doing, why, WHY?!"\n\n"I'm sorry."\n\nYour words make her stiffen beneath you, especially as you slump over her, your voice weak but nevertheless right in your ear.\n\n"I'm sorry they hurt you. I'm sorry I wasn't there for you. I'm sorry it hurts so much..." You close your eyes, feeling the tears slip out of them. "I'm sorry I wasn't there. But I'm here now. I won't leave you. I'm sorry."\n\n"W-what are you... what... who even are you... why... why?" the other Ilia croaks, her eyes filling with tears as she stares at you, uncomprehending.\n\nAnd then someone is grabbing you by the coat and hauling you back, making you grunt lowly as the rapier is pulled free of the wound, a hand quickly pressing over the opening in the side of your belly, something resonating between that touch and you, the red light there growing stronger.\n\n"Kai!" 'your' Ilia says desperately. "Please, be okay!"\n\n"M'alright... m'alright," you assure her, a little weakly. Nevertheless, you look at her... then down at the Ilia laying sprawled and staring up at you. Slowly, you stretch out your hand to her, ignoring the flames all around you. "I know it hurts... but the more you share, the less it hurts," you assure her, not even sure what you're saying, half-delirious with the heat and the pain.\n\nAnd yet she stares up at you, her eyes wide... and after a second, puts her hand in yours, hauling herself to her feet.\n\nSupported with an Ilia on each side, the three of you make your way back into the outer room. One of them manages to grab your sword and press it into your hand, which you're more grateful than you can say for... though you're not even sure which Ilia did it. You're not even sure it matters. But you find a fresh little hell waiting for you... Grey, standing between the unconscious large man, lips pressed into a thin line as he crouches, claws at the ready. The two men in robes are standing across from him, both seeming confident and smiling.\n\n"He betrayed you, Grey. He betrayed what you, what all of us, stood for," one says.\n\n"He is no longer a true believer in the path of the White Fang. He would have us live subservient to the humans rather than fight back, and take what is ours," the other adds.\n\n"He preaches peace... another word for subjugation," the first sneers. "You know what you have to do."\n\nThe pretty feline Faunus clearly hesitates, glancing over his shoulder at the large man behind him. You'd never thought to see such complex emotions warring on that smug, sneering face. Respect for the man behind him... but the same pain you saw on Ilia's face, now as clear as day to you. He's on the line, he could turn at any moment, could strike, and you hear both Ilias draw in a harsh breath. You push yourself off of their shoulders, feeling a twinge from the wound in your belly, but knowing you have to do something.\n\n<hr>\n[[You have to fight.|KaiRem]]\n\n[["I'm with you."|KaiRem1x3]]

A haunting... it would be interesting if it's true. Well, if it's not, there's something you need to get rolling first. Pulling out your cellphone, you dial the number written at the bottom of the paper and put it to your ear, waiting. You almost think you're about to get sent to voice mail and are pondering whether it's worth your time and effort to leave one when there's a click. "Hello?"\n\n"Yes, hello, this is Valerie. You bought me fries, earlier?"\n\n"... Right." The girl on the other end of the line's tone is one of someone who doesn't really believe she's done what she's doing but isn't sure what else to do. Which actually kind of works out... people who leap in with both feet are often a bit more gullible. (Which is good if you want to bilk them but not if you want to do honest work.) "I... well, we, kind of have a problem, and... ... yeah."\n\n"Alright, first I have to get a few questions out of the way. First of all, do you have CO2 detectors? Has someone checked for bad wiring? The foundation?"\n\nThere's an annoyed huff on the other end of the line, but she apparently has the self-control to (mostly) control her annoyance before she speaks again. "Yes. We actually already went through this with someone else who... said they could help. They told us to do all that stuff too, so we did, and it was all fine. Then she came out, took a look around... and then she just blurted she couldn't help and hurried out like she'd just realized she'd left her oven on."\n\nMore and more interesting, they actually had someone that was sincere enough to do a mortal causes check and then ran out on them? "When was the house built?" you ask after only a brief pause for thought, since you don't want to leave her hanging. She seems nervous. \n\n"In 1898, I think. It belonged to one of the families that founded the university, and was pledged to the university's eternal use in one of their wills, so it's been kept up and everything. Er, I mean, is that important?"\n\nDefinitely important. You haven't done too much delving into it juuuust yet... you've been saving that for senior year to some extent just in case you risk treading on someone's toes... but it does sort of seem that the small group of families that founded the university were into some weird shit from your side of the aisle, as it were. Plus it being old means it's got history, so it actually could be a haunting as opposed to a poltergeist. (You guess it could still be one of those, hurray for a house full of young hormonal women.) "Alright, I'll come by and take a look. Is now okay?"\n\n"Yes. Please. Thank you."\n\nYou get directions to the sorority house before ending the call. Finishing filing away the other notes in your organizer, you heft your bag and again set off. It's a bit of a long walk, but until you come across an issue severe enough that you think you can get someone to trade you their car for it, it's what you're stuck with. (You wonder which some rich college kid would rather part with... their Mustang or their soul?) But eventually you arrive at the area with a handful of old houses with a few newer ones scattered among them, most of which have been converted into dorms of some type or another. You have to admit that the one you're headed for doesn't look like the standard "haunted house"... no flaking paint, no busted windows, though it's obviously pretty old everything does in fact seem kept up well. You slip through the unlocked gate outside and head up to the porch, knocking at the door. A moment later it opens, revealing a hazel-eyed blonde girl wearing an off-the-shoulder white sweater that comes down below her hips, and a pair of grey yoga pants. "I'm Valerie."\n\n"Yeah, I know. I mean, um, I saw you earlier when I dropped off the note." The girl fiddles with her ponytail for a moment, then sighs and flips it to drape forward over her shoulder. "Sorry, sorry, I'm being rude. Um, come in." She steps back and gestures you inside. "My name's Sandy. And no, not with an 'i'. ... Sorry." She rubs her face as you walk in and take a glance around the slightly messy common room. "I haven't gotten much sleep lately and it's making me snappish. It's not doing great things for my classes either."\n\n"I can imagine," you say dryly, turning to face her.\n\n"Look, it's serious for us, okay?" Sandy frowns as she walks over to you and folds her arms. "We may be a bunch of cheerleaders and swimmers and tennis players, but our sorority also maintains strict academic standards! We aren't some bunch of bimbos screeching and clutching each other over some branches scratching the window."\n\n"Yeah, I don't think so either," you say, glancing around again. "I'll have to do more checking around, but you're definitely not imagining this." It's a weird sensation... a gentle pressure around your skin that seems to ignore your clothes, a taste in the back of your throat. "There's something. I'll take the job... but you know it's a job, right?" you add, looking at her and raising your eyebrows. "I don't do this out of the goodness of my heart."\n\n"So, what do you want? Money?" Sandy asks with a bit of a frown.\n\n<hr>\n[[Yes.|ValJobs]]\n\n[[You want membership in the sorority.|ValJobs]]\n\n[[You want a favor.|ValJobs]]\n\n[[You want her.|ValJobs]]

Might as well have a look around the apartment building for now, you're sort of curious what it's like. In the buildup to moving, Tass said that it's a building that caters mostly to streamers of all varieties, but also people with businesses that tend to be based out of their homes like specialty chefs and stuff like that. But mostly streamers, from the sound of it. To that end, she said, it has a lot of amenities, like shops and services on the ground floors, and other little bonuses scattered throughout the building that make for nice places to do things like take selfies and whatnot that are at least outside your apartment (so you can make it look like you're not a shutin even if you're going through a shutin phase, you suppose).\n\nYou head out of the room and towards the same place Tass left by earlier, indeed finding an entryway with a sort of open coat closet type design and generally nice, large space to make yourself ready to leave or arrive. Tass said she already programmed your biosignal into the door, so you don't need a key, and it's not like you'll have a hard time remembering which apartment it is... it's 50-1. As in, half of the fiftieth floor. (Yeah, Tass makes that kind of money.) The front door does in fact slide open when you put your hand on the plate on one side of it, so that seems to be working.\n\nYou step out into a hallway that's nice and big and bright and sort of stylishly bland much like the default fittings of the apartment inside. Right across from the door you came out of is the sliding door marked '50-2'... Tass didn't really mention her immediate neighbor, or for that matter any of her neighbors, so you have no idea who they are, other than that you assume they're a streamer of similar stature and numbers to Tassita herself. ... Hm. You guess you could try introducing yourself? Presumably if they're a streamer and busy, their doorbell will be silenced, and you won't interrupt them. ... Probably?\n\n<hr>\n[[Go ahead, introduce yourself.|Riley5x1]]\n\n[[Nah.|Riley4x3]]

You spend the rest of your life as a pecan-brained sex animal, never having anything that could reasonably be called a thought as you carry out your purpose of pleasuring cocks.\n\nMostly the guard dog pack and the guards themselves make use of you, especially as their lust and the stories of others telling how good your holes feel overcomes their disgust at your abominable appearance. The master of the house even eventually takes an interest in you, sometimes treating you as an experiment subject and breeding you with other beasts... wolves, rams, goats, horses, donkeys, anything he can get his hands on really... to see how your mutated holes handle them, seeming delighted as your body gradually becomes even more biologically perfected and lewd as it subtly reshapes itself to pleasure the cocks of beasts and men. Alternatively, sometimes he takes you to his bed, rolling in the sheets with you as he fucks your bloated, fat pussy and rubs himself against your six tits, moaning about how you're the scientifically perfect fuckslave.\n\nBut those are all mouth noises to you. There is no thought, no knowledge, no identity other than having a cock in you, stimulating cocks, taking cum, slurping up cum, pleasing males. Your tiny, sub-bestial brain processes nothing other than that there is a cock nearby and someone wants to use it on you, and it is the pure, mindless joy of your existence when you are blessed by being allowed to do so.\n\nPervcursor Simulation end - Beauty of a Fuckbeast

You have been turned into a mutant dog-human hybrid fuckbeast.\n\nWill you struggle against this fate, or accept it?\n\n<hr>\n[[Struggle.|PervSimRestart]]\n\n[[Accept.|PervSim8xEnd2]]

"Yeah, probably a good idea to at least get the lay of the land and see who's out there," you say with a nod. "Better than finding out entirely down there if we've got a sword hovering over our heads."\n\n"See? My thoughts exactly. And if we find a good one..."\n\nErrin doesn't press it further, and the two of you both retire for the evening and eventually wake up in the morning and prepare with a minimum of 'new roommate' shuffling for position and awkwardness. It's not the first time you've shared living space with Errin throughout your friendship, though you were both teenagers the last time, and it was only for a few weeks. This will be... well, until the two of you decide you're done with it, you suppose.\n\nYou set out to walk around the city, asking questions and taking a look around. Unsurprisingly there are a fair few organizations that have various levels of dealing with the tesseract and its divers, but a lot of them are either little fly-by-night operations, obvious scams, or stumbling half-competent (if that) startups. It quickly becomes apparent that there are only a handful of orgs worth noting and paying any real attention to, either having survived the several-year shutdown, been renewed since, or starting up new and actually growing to prominence.\n\nThere's the [[Freedogs|LeoErrin3x1]], who have apparently been a fixture of Purple Bay for a long time. Apparently their whole thing is that the adventurers always go into the tesseract with their canine companions to assist them. From the sound of it the dogs are probably genemodded or cybered, since it doesn't sound like they're just well-trained. You and Errin don't have dogs, obviously, but it's an interesting idea to think that you might.\n\nThere's the [[Wildkids|LeoErrin]] too, a new org that has a reputation for knowing no fear and accepting any challenge the tesseract tosses at them without hesitation, and always somehow coming out on top. They sound borderline insane, but then that's often the stuff reputations are made of, especially considering they've either got the skill or luck (or both) to back it up.\n\nThe [[Netters|LeoErrin]] aren't a local org, but an offworld one that has 'branches' in every tesseract town, from the sound of it, specializing in not only doing their own dives but providing assistance to indie divers and even other orgs. It sounds like they must be really good at it, considering they've survived both the "break" (as some people call the time the tesseract was closed by the TDG) and in the sometimes contentious org environment of Purple Bay.\n\nSpeaking of which...\n\n"The [[Imperial Knights|LeoErrin1x3]] were the very first of the groups to begin exploring the tesseract," the older local diver you and Errin are talking to in a bar (at midday) says, pursing his lips a bit. "Even older than the guild, yanno?"\n\n"No, that's wild," Errin says breezily, despite the fact that both of you did in fact know that, as it's one of the very first things anyone who knows anything about the Knights will tell you. "So they were really imperial knights, huh?"\n\n"The emperor's own personal guard, back in the day, though they got a lot bigger as divers. Used to be the biggest and most venerable diver org around, everyone wanted to be one, 'til... well."\n\n"The break wasn't that long, though," you note, nudging for more info on this since no one else has been willing able to give any so far. "How could it change so fast?"\n\n"Well. The last Lord Knight, Torstin, good man bless him but never did have a head for long-term planning or restraint," the old diver says with a long sigh. "The Knights were just barely staying out of the red, then went plunging into it when the flux started, and the break... well. Torstin had spent a lot of money gearing up just before, but it left nothing over to keep paying wages for all the Knights suddenly without work, so... well, a lot of us were faced with either losing our homes and not being able to feed our families, or moving on, so as much as it hurt, we moved on."\n\nYou and Errin nod in near-unison, not exactly surprised at this point to find out the man used to be an Imperial Knight himself. More interesting that he wasn't eager to advertise it until now. "So I guess after that things changed?"\n\n"Well, about a year into the break Torstin retired in shame, not much else for him to do," the old man says mournfully, shrugging. "Turned things over to his son Listan, and Listan, well... just a different sort of man. Torstin married some witch he brought back from the tesseract, and the boy took after his mother, y'see," he adds in more of a whisper. Which would just sound like lingering 'old days' superstition, but, well, tesseracts being multiversal constructs it's very, very possible that Torstin met an actual evil witch in there and got himself enchanted. "As y'might expect when he turned the Knights to all sorts of things from the grey legal to the outright black, a lot more people left. Even now they're powerful because of their connections and all that high-end gear, but they've got a fraction of the people."\n\nYou glance at Errin and the two of you nod to each other, with you paying for the old man's next drink before the two of you head out, hands in your coat pockets. "Interesting to know," he says aloud as the two of you come to a stop in the street outside. "So what do you think we should do from here?"

You look up from your desk as your office door slides open, grinning at the shaggy-headed blonde walking through it and stopping in front of your desk to sketch a short, dignified bow. "Well, good morning."\n\n"Good morning, Headmaster," Arslan Altan replies genially, golden eyes twinkling.\n\n"Good morning, Professor," you reply, with what might be a twinkle of your own. "Looking forward to today's festivities?" you add as you rise and move around the desk to join her, the two of you striding back towards the door.\n\n"I am, as always."\n\n"And how are you feeling?" you prompt.\n\n"Proud. As always." The lion Faunus bobs her head. "Of our students. Of you. Of my fellows. Myself."\n\n"You should be," you assure her, as ever.\n\nYou wish Glinda could be here today. But she'll have her own graduating class to oversee in a few hours. Because one day 'the next night' finally came around, and with her star pupils at her side Glinda finally took back her home from the Grimm, and once more made it a safe place for students to learn to be the light in the darkness.\n\nShe won.\n\nAs you step out onto the balcony overlooking the sea of colorfully-garbed students, their uniforms already folded and set aside in the corner of the room as a symbol of their graduation, you glance aside as the others join you. Professor Chloris. Professor Shiko. Professor Hori. Professor Heliotrope. The Professors Belladonna. And more, stretching down the steps on either side, all gazing proudly over students they've taught. Molded. Raised.\n\nYou rest your hands on the balcony railing, glancing aside at your assistant headmaster one last time before you begin to speak. "Students of Haven. Now... I say students, even though you've graduated, for a very good reason. Today you may be setting aside your uniforms, holding your licenses in your hands, and looking ahead to the jobs in front of you. But you will always be our students." You bob your head once. "More. You will always be our family. This will always be your home. It will always be here for you, no matter the time, day, or reason. No matter how tough you become, no matter how long you've been gone, if you are ever hurting, if you are ever needing, if you are ever lost... this school is here for you. These people standing in front of you today, gazing at you with pride in their eyes, are here for you. And we always will be."\n\n"You are the light in the darkness. You are the ones who stand between the innocent and evil," you continue, raising your chin. "And we are the ones who stand for you. We have every bit of trust and faith in you that you will bring as much honor to this institution as it has been an honor to teach you."\n\nYou finally grin, adding, "Now go out there and get it done."\n\nKai's Story - Epic of Remnant end - Graduation with honor

Part of it's the knowledge that you might actually go who-knows-how-long without bumping into him (unless work took you to Purple Bay for whatever reason) if you turned him down, but you sigh heavily and give a slow nod. "You're gonna hafta give me a few hours to pack up and make some arrangements, man."\n\n"Yessss!" Errin pumps a fist in the air exuberantly. "Man you are not gonna regret this, we are gonna make so much bank it'll be insane!"\n\nYou're still not so sure about that, but his enthusiasm is becoming infectious. It's not like you have a ton of packing to do... you've been living a relatively spartan existence (appropriately enough, considering) so you only really have a decent handful of clothes to pack into a dimensional haversack along with a number of other necessities and your favorite weapons. (Carrying around virtually everything you own strapped to your back is an interesting sensation, especially with how aware you are that if someone broke into you and Errin's inn room while you were out it would be trivially easy for them to steal practically all your worldly possessions). It takes longer for you to sort out vacating your apartment, but not much longer... the near-closet you've been living in is essentially on the same scale as what Errin was talking about, it's kind of expected that people will often want to move out of them on short notice, and after a brief check to make sure you've cleared it out and cleaned it up, you get part of your rent for the month back and are heading to the annex to meet Errin. They'll probably have someone else in it before the week is out, which is also a slightly odd sensation, but you're much more used to that one... the year you spent there was one of the longer times you've ever spent in one spot, but not the longest.\n\nYou stop in a comm booth to leave some video messages for various friends and family explaining your abrupt decision (and of course laying most of the blame on Errin because why wouldn't you?), then meet up with your friend, who chatters excitedly as the two of you head to the departure portal terminals. Must be a slow day or maybe luck really is on your side because one of the first dozen cubicles is off cooldown, allowing Errin to put in the address for Purple Bay (a low-cost destination, not bad, means it won't be too expensive if you need to pop back to the Guildhall occasionally) and the two of you to step through and out.\n\nPurple Bay's been a GIPSE destination for a long time so there's an annex on the other side, obviously nowhere near as grand or sprawling as the one on the hall, just a little trio of raised platforms for the portals to open on, short flights of stairs curling and leading downward to a sort of lobby area with typical lobby things... a map of the city with points of interest marked on the wall, a kiosk for downloading local apps and nav software, shelves of brochures for the local businesses and attractions. You've met some people who were new to the whole multiverse thing that were very confused that a lot of portal annexes and similar facilities wind up looking like any normal visitor's center or hotel lobby they're familiar with from your own world, but, well, the humanoid form isn't the only thing that arises out of convergent needs and pressures. Errin spends a few moments rifling through them... and casts a few furtive glances at the more purely entertainment-based brochures, but seems to remember you're there and focuses instead on the ones for places to stay. Looks like you're already keeping him on the straight and narrow, good!\n\nThough admittedly your eyes wander towards those racks too. There does look like a lot of fun stuff...\n\nSoon the two of you step out into Purple Bay itself for the first time. The sun is setting somewhere in the distance and the sky is an apt color of rich periwinkle. The streets are lightly crowded with mostly pedestrians, with only the occasional motorized cart, small truck, or luxury car breaking it up. Purple Bay and the planet it's on were originally pre-industrial before the tesseract formed and people began exploring it, and then got fairly jumped-up quickly by both the things coming out of the tesseract and the people visiting from off-dimension to explore it as well. As a result while it looks like a very "modern" city, even old enough to start showing some decay and wear on the concrete and glass of the buildings, it's still laid out and largely utilized as if it were an old city before the invention of the motor, with people walking almost everywhere or hiring the almost literal motorized carriages. As a result while there are parts of it that put you in mind of your visits to Makarzia, including the neon and dirtiness of some of the neighborhoods you pass through as you head towards the TDG, the air is much, much cleaner than either an industrialized city or an actual old town, lacking either a thick layer of smog or the scent of packed-in unwashed bodies and livestock.\n\nThe local Tesseract Diver's Guild chapter building similarly reflects this mingled aesthetic, being a simple two-story building with some training grounds surrounding it not far from the main entrance of the tesseract, but the architectural style is very old-school, just made out of patterned stone facing over concrete and with high-quality windows. The interior has a feel of a lot of those lowtech adventurer's guild places but, again, with more modernesque furnishings, mass-produced metal chairs with padding and whatnot at tables in the bar area off to one side of the business counter. You do fall in love a bit with the counter girl, especially since the uniform she's wearing is mildly similar to the one of the GIPSE desk workers... something about a girl with a big chest in a white button-up shirt and nametag just does it for you, you guess. This one is blonde, though, her hair twisted up into a ducktail and a little pair of red spectacles perched on her nose.\n\n"Hello, gentleman! Are you new?" she asks as you and Errin approach. 'Hjal', says the nametag dangling from a purple strap around her neck.\n\n"Yeah, but we're both with GIPSE," Errin speaks up, similarly looking charmed as the two of you step up. (Fashion isn't the only thing the two of you share taste in.) "The TDG's reciprocal with that, right?"\n\n"Certainly! I just need to get your satellite memberships set up," she says, turning to her computer. "Give me a few moments and then I'll need your guild ID numbers. Are you just visiting or staying a while?"\n\n"Staying a while," you speak up, so that Errin's not the only one who gets to talk to her (for which he shoots you a quick, barely noticeable pout).\n\n"Then I'll go ahead and sign you up for the monitoring program too then, shall I?" she adds with a smile, pausing in her typing to dip down and rummage briefly under the counter, coming up with a pair of black devices about the size of your thumb and setting them out. "Since we're still trying to get an idea of the tesseract's form and function after the flux, anyone who wears a monitor into the tesseract can earn local currency, with bonuses for discovering new areas or aspects. You'll need to turn your monitor in after every dive but otherwise don't need to do a thing with it."\n\n"Exactly how much do they see?" you ask a bit cautiously as you pick one up, Errin doing the same.\n\n"Oh, everything!" Hjal answers cheerfully, before adding, "But don't worry, the data processors are extremely discrete. 'What happens in the tesseract stays in the tesseract' isn't just common courtesy, it's official Diver's Guild policy."\n\nYou and Errin both nod. Discretion is pretty important in the life of a multiversal mercenary, after all, not just for the need to occasionally do some morally dubious things (being generous) but for the Circumstances that can crop up and be rather uncomfortable to talk about. "Anything else we should know about?" Errin hurries to ask.\n\n"A number of things, but here, let me get those GIPSE IDs first." After you and Errin have both rattled off the alphanumeric codes tied to your GIPSE memberships, she types them in, then again ducks and sets out a book in front of you. "Here are the rules, guidelines, and important tips, but the most important rule is to only enter the tesseract through an official TDG checkpoint. Otherwise you're essentially fully responsible for your own conduct and survival. Now, as an important reminder," she continues, schooling her face to a solemn expression as she takes the pair of metal cards a device attached to the computer spits out and hands them over. "While Purple Bay is a sovereign nation with its own laws... and, admittedly, not many of those," she adds with a small cough. "The interior of the tesseract is a fully extralegal zone. The TDG's authority ends outside of checkpoints or our established interior safezones, we have neither the authority or facilities to help you or to protect you down there, including from other divers."\n\nBoth of you nod again... that's not exactly unusual, the Guild (you guess you're dealing with two now, but GIPSE will always be the Guild in your mind) has a similar approach to dealing with people being out on jobs. The Guildhall itself has rules about conflict, and mercenaries who have been hired onto jobs together have certain regulations they have to follow, but otherwise it's pretty much do-as-you-will. "So watch out for other divers as much as whatever the tesseract throws at us?" Errin asks dryly.\n\n"Well most won't bother you, really. There's no rules against conflict between divers but a lot of them still observe certain common courtesies." Hjal pauses, then leans forward a bit and lowers her voice, with you and Errin both leaning in (totally to hear, and not because her doing so opens her shirt between two buttons and gives a bit of a glimpse inside). "But the tesseract being closed was very hard on a lot of people, and things haven't quite gotten back to normal. The Imperial Knights especially."\n\n"That one of the diver orgs here?" you ask quietly. Hjal nods and tilts her head a bit, which turns your gaze to a group of people sitting at one of the tables apparently discussing that day's dive. Two humans, what you think is a feline Genemod, and a Chiss, looks like, all four of them wearing outfits in purple and black, all of them with some variant of armor plates added here and there to give the impression of knight-like garb. "Not exactly friendly?"\n\n"They were very big and very respected before the closure, but... almost all of their more venerable and, um... well, respectable... members retired during it. The people that took over weren't as, um... well, supposedly they did a fair few things to keep the org running and turning a profit that never would have been countenanced under the old management, let's say that. Now that the tesseract is open again, they're still... well, the Knights aren't what they used to be and you should probably be a bit wary of them."\n\n"Thanks," Errin says, sincerely. Most guilds by necessity have to be morally neutral, but the people running them have their own ideas, and if Hjal's venturing that far on the rules she likely similarly operates under, no doubt it's sincere and kindly meant. Letting his voice return to a normal volume, he asks, "Any suggestions on where to stay?"\n\nShe has several, and after talking it over the two of you settle on one in the price range you'd already chosen that's a bit further off from a tesseract entrance but that's in a slightly nicer part of town and a more comfortable room for the price. (There are inns and apartments essentially across the street and around every entrance, but a lot of those tend to be 'huge prices for a shoebox' situations.) Of course before you actually head to the place, the two of you mutually agree that you've got to take a look at one of the beaches that give Purple Bay its name.\n\nThough the island is largely flat now (the tesseract's influence, apparently) it was formed by volcanic activity, the volcanic glass having solidified into a particularly rich purple color and over the years having been battered into fine, glistening purple sand that stretches out for miles. It's reflective and shiny enough that the water has a distinct purple tint all the time, apparently, though it's not as easy to pick out with the light going. Still, there's plenty of artificial light to show off the purple sand itself, and the mostly very attractive people still frolicking on it at this hour. Since quite a lot of the city's inhabitants are tesseract divers (either resident or visiting), there's obviously a big business in beachside bars and all the other vacation-y things that cater to people who enjoy blowing vast amounts of their currently available income as fast as possible. Purple Bay's government catering to these sorts, as well, any regulations are pretty lax too.\n\n"I'm glad we came," Errin says in a rather dreamy tone, with you nodding solemnly in agreement, as you both watch a two-on-two beach volleyball match between some very fit female divers who have all decided to go topless to make the game more interesting (either for themselves or the onlookers), the current server's smallish but very energetic tits jiggling as she smacks the ball over the net.\n\nEventually tearing yourselves away, the two of you head back into the city proper and towards the chosen inn. Plenty of time to hit the beach once you've started making some money, after all. The inn is, like many of the other buildings, old-style architecture with modern materials, though being considerably taller than many of its spiritual ancestors the double rooms are at least larger than they would have been in the old two- or three-story wood variety. Though the room is about as simple as could be expected, without much in it besides two beds, a simple table and two chairs, two small dressers, a single desk (really more of a shelf) with its own chair, and a single more comfortable armchair, there's a partial divider down the center of the room and curtains that can be drawn over to it, giving some nominal amount of privacy to the two bed areas. (Probably won't do much for sound but it's still better than just having two beds out in the open. Or... one bed, but let's not ponder the logistical issues with that.) It also has its own bathroom, albeit a simple one, which is a blessing.\n\n"Y'know, man, I'm thinking, maybe we ought to take a look around at the orgs tomorrow instead of just diving right in," Errin notes as the two of you start unpacking, at least to the extent either of you wants to for what may (or may not) be a fairly temporary stay. In other words, putting clothes in the dressers and getting electronic device chargers set up.\n\n"Like recon, or actually signing on with one?"\n\nErrin shrugs. "Either. I mean, one could lead to the other. Whether we sign on or not, might help to at least know who's who. And if we did find a good one, it's not like we're newbs."\n\n"We are to tesseract diving," you point out as you flop to sit on your bed and pull off your boots. "And to Purple Bay even more specifically."\n\nErrin gives a soft 'psht' at that as he comes around the divider and leans against it, wagging a hand dismissively. "End of the day, tesseract diving is just putting all the other shit we do all the time together in one place." Which seems kind of wrong to you but you can't actually enunciate how it's incorrect in any way. "We've both got plenty of decent Guild missions under our belt. If we find an org with decent housing closer to an entrance, so much the better!"\n\nYou smirk a bit. "And the fact that some of the girls playing volleyball earlier had what looked like org tattoos isn't figuring into that at all?"\n\n"I mean, it doesn't hurt," Errin admits, waggling his index fingers in the air, then grinning. "Just a thought, brother, but what do you think?"\n\n<hr>\n[[Sure, why not?|LeoErrin1x2]]\n\n[[Skip it.|LeoErrin4x1]]

"Thanks for the offer, but I think we'll pass," you reply in what you hope is a properly respectful but not subservient tone. "We just got here and haven't even had a look at the tesseract, so maybe another day, huh?"\n\n"Oh, but today's good for us," he replies breezily. "It'd really be better if you came by the castle now..."\n\nApparently prompted, a number of other people in black and purple step out of doorways and alleyways nearby, strolling smoothly but quickly into place, at least half a dozen more Knights ringing around you, all of them holding weapons... mostly blasters and what look like some form of stunrods. Your head whips back from them to the original four, the genemod woman having drawn a purple-cased rifle that expands from pistol size to something large and heavy, the cyborg and Chiss both having uncoiled crackling stun whips, the pale man the only one not visibly armed.\n\n"We insist," he coos.\n\n"What the fuck is this, some sort of pressgang?" Errin demands, his fingers twitching with the obvious desire to go for one of his own weapons. You can sympathize, your own are doing much the same.\n\nThe pale man's shoulders slump beneath his armor and he lets out an annoyed huff. "Oh my god yes, it's a fucking pressgang, obviously. I was trying to maintain some dignity so we could all play along and pretend this was something dashing and cool, but you had to go and ruin it by just saying it outright. Fucking kids today!" He slaps a hand to his face and drags it down slowly, the genemod woman reaching over and giving him a few consoling pats on the shoulder. "Yes, fine, you're being pressganged, welcome to the Imperial Knights, now you can come along and get inducted with a minimum of bullshit and this will go significantly easier for you, or you can resist and you will spend years wishing you had played along with my little show. There, made it simple for simpletons," he huffs, flitting his hand around in the air with the other resting on his hip. \n\nYou take a slow look around. It... is really not good odds. Only a few of the people surrounding you just have their weapons leveled at you outright, but it's not like it matters with how many of them there are and that they've got you so thoroughly surrounded. Fighting back would be... mostly a show of defiance, really. But you're not sure if you could stand essentially accepting slavery without that show of defiance.\n\n<hr>\n[[Submit.|LeoErrin2x1]]\n\n[[DEFY!|LeoErrin1x5]]

"Nice offer, but-" you say, your hand instantly shooting into your coat at your side and coming out with a sleek black pistol, Errin making almost an identical motion beside you. The thin red blast from your pistol and the larger flashier blue one from Errin's strike the fire-eyed man in either side of the chest and send him rocketing backward to thud heavily to the pavement.\n\nYou'd been expecting to near-instantly get a blaster bolt in the back or side (or both) and had been trying to brace for it so you could at least get a few more shots off, and were thus completely unprepared for the genemod to leap forward and smash into you and Errin both like an oncoming freight train using that big rifle as a cowcatcher. You're sent almost near-literally flying backward, managing to twist and get your feet under you some to turn it into a stagger. Not that it does you much good since one of the other Knights immediately cracks her stunrod across the side of your head with a crackle, knocking you stumbling away with your pistol hitting the pavement. You manage to cling to consciousness enough that when another lifts his own blaster towards your chest you sort of instinctively step inside his reach, shoving his arm away and punching him across the head to drop him. About that time a stun blast takes you in the back and another stunrod slams across your shoulder, your coat absorbing enough of them that you're still sort of kind of conscious as you hit the ground. Distantly, as you struggle to stay awake, you can hear a bit more scuffling and then a few cries, Errin apparently having been similarly taken down after his resistance.\n\n"Whew! Feisty," you hear the pale man's voice saying, not sounding much worse the wear for having been shot by two rather deadly weapons right in the gaps of his armor. You can hear him approaching, and the slight scrape of him picking up the dropped weapons. "Oh my, a classic Pulse Pistol, original Peacekeeper manufacture, none of that shitty New Sebacea stuff," he comments, leaning down to you and waggling your favorite EDC in your face, your vision swimming and causing blurs to follow the motion like an afterimage. "What'd this cost you, boy?"\n\n"Two fingers," you grunt back in a slight daze. At his raised eyebrows and glance towards your hands, you add in a mutter, "Had 'em put back on."\n\n"Mm, and a Stryker FN-32, damn thing's brand new, where'd you get this?" he asks, straightening up and turning to the side.\n\n"Dragontide present," you can hear Errin reply faintly, obviously similarly stunned and barely conscious.\n\n"Aw, how sweet. Well maybe if you're both very, very, very good, someday you'll get them back! But for now, time to keep my promise... you are going to spend a long time wishing you'd played along," he notes, just before you see his boot swinging towards your face rapidly.\n\nYou come to with your head... surprisingly not throbbing. In fact you feel pretty good, other than that you can already feel that you're naked and restrained. Your vision does take a moment to focus, but you can quickly enough see that you're in some sort of medlab, being held up by armatures with cuffs fastened around your wrists and ankles, holding you in midair. A glance aside shows that Errin is in a similar state, naked and held restrained in midair, the look on his face still dazed and groggy like he hasn't entirely come around yet.\n\n"Okay, they're both coming around fully," says a voice, drawing your eye. There's a pair of the most stereotypical lab nerds you could conceive of, almost identical males save that one has red hair and the other brown, but otherwise entirely similar of skinny build, wearing purple T-shirts with the dragonwolf coat of arms of the Imperial Knights on it and black pants under their open labcoats. "Readings are good all across the board, so we're ready."\n\n"Hey," you call, but they ignore you. Then your attention is taken up as the fire-eyed man strolls in, flanked by two of the other men that were there when you were captured. One looks more familiar somehow but you can't quite place it.\n\n"I wouldn't bother yapping overmuch, we're past that," he declares breezily. "Since you so rudely refused cordiality, let me introduce myself, I'm Taryn, the Guard Commander, and I now effectively own you both. Had you cooperated, your pressing might have been relatively devoid of unpleasantness, but since you've elected to make things difficult, you'll have to start at the very, very bottom and try to claw your way out of it. Several years of being the lowest of the low. At best. Did you get their names?" he asks with a glance aside at the labcoats.\n\n"Leonidas LaChance and Errin Llong," the redhead says, walking over and handing Taryn a tablet.\n\n"Mm. 'Leo' and 'Rin' will do, then," he says after a brief perusal and handing it back. The sound of the name you usually go by sends a chill down your spine in this particular instance, considering the way he shortened Errin's name too. "Go ahead!"\n\n"Wait!" you and Errin both blurt, but the labcoats have already turned and pressed buttons on their consoles. A number of armatures tipped with needles immediately lower down, quickly swinging into place and jabbing into your bodies, the shock as much as anything making you cry out loudly as the warm injections flow into your arms, legs, chest, belly, neck, back, ass, and crotch. The needles withdraw after a few seconds, leaving you shuddering and reflexively struggling against your bonds. You can already hear your voice altering, though, the pitch rising as your waist narrows and your cock and balls begin to shrink. Your chest sags and then inflates outward, starting to turn into full, round breasts as your ass and hips similarly round out. Trying to focus through the sensations, you can see Errin changing similarly, though he seems to be maintaining a still fairly slender build. You can also see the blue undertone of his hair and his eyes changing to pink as his cock disappears, though you're rather distracted by the feeling of your own dick shrinking away to nothing and the feel of a pussy blossoming out between your legs, growing full and plump.\n\nIt's only a matter of minutes before the two of you are slumped in the bonds, panting and trembling a bit, even those slight expressions of your voices fully female now. Then new armatures lower down, grabbing hold around the back of your head and yanking it up, holding you still, though you can't help but grimace as a new needle-tipped armature lowers, but this one beginning a rapidfire printer-like motion over your left cheek just below your eye, apparently tattooing you. You can feel but not see the same being done just over your crotch and lower back, your captors apparently having every intent of marking you thoroughly as property.\n\n'You bastards! This won't stop me from escaping!' you think defiantly as the arms release you and give you a chance to look down past your new breasts, flushing a bit in shame at the sight of the womb tattoo you're now bearing, the center of it a simplified version of the Imperial Knights crest. Then your eyes widen as the head-gripper arm grabs you by the front instead, and you can feel another one pressing against the back of your neck. 'No! No, not that!'\n\nYou give a shriek as you feel something forced through your skin and clamping onto your vertebrae, before there's a hiss as the quick incision is healed and the area slightly numbed. Still, you're almost in tears now as the gripper arm releases you, hearing the labcoats say in chipper unison, "Beginning stricture uploads."\n\nA few seconds later, the manacle armatures lower you and Rin (you find you can no longer think of her any other way) to the floor. You'd like to fight back, at least just to make a demonstration of fuss, but... can't. Every time you think about striking one of the men, breaking something, trying to run, an overwhelming sense of... wrongness... stops the thought or action in its tracks, leaving you standing there shuddering. You look over at Rin, her expression rather hopless, 'RIN' and a barcode tattooed high on her cheek beneath her left eye.\n\n"Alright, time to test to make sure everything's taken," the brown-haired labcoat says as the two of them walk over, before pointing at a long metal table nearby. "Bend over that and spread your pussies with your fingers."\n\n"Yes, sir," you grumble sulkily, Rin echoing the same words as both of you turn and walk to the table. You bend forward over it, gritting your teeth in humiliation and embarrassment as you show off your newly round and girly ass, your feet sliding apart as you reach between your legs and spread your brand new pussy open with two fingers, displaying the inner pink to the leering gazes of all the men in the room. It shouldn't be a surprise, but you still let out a loud gasp when you feel something pressing against it, and then the wholly alien and unwantedly pleasurable feeling of a cock pushing inside you, spreading that brand new and rapidly slickening pink channel open around it.\n\n"Yes, body reactions are well within usual parameters," one of the labcoat says smugly, the sound of Rin's moans underlaying his words. You're moaning too, the sounds low and humiliated, showing off just how much you don't want to feel good from having your newly feminized body violated. But either because of the physical changes or the suite of commands uploaded to your new slave chip, you can't help but feel good as the nerdy lab tech begins fucking you, his skinny, still-clad hips slapping against your ass, his hand wandering over your lower back, the slight stinging and throb of your new tramp stamp making your hips lurch and wiggle towards him.\n\nThe techs don't take long, both of them giving low, unrestrained moans as they cum. You can feel him throbbing and spilling inside you, the humiliation of having a man use your pussy as a jizz toilet only heightened by the fact that you orgasm too when he does it. It feels completely different to going over the edge as a man, a sort of hard wash that rolls through you from your pussy and briefly whites out your mind, leaving you twitching and shuddering as he pulls out, your fingers still spreading your pussy open and displaying its now cream-smeared inner walls.\n\n"Welcome to your new life, girls," Taryn says with a chuckle, making you shudder for more than one reason as you feel another cock rubbing against your entrance, a rather bigger one this time, the hands running over your ass much larger, stronger, and rougher as they knead and squeeze. "Oh, you can eventually earn your way out by performing well... even be dechipped and turned back into men, if you want. But for now you'll be used as I see fit. And I thought that the first use might be to apologize to those you've wronged."\n\nSuddenly the reason one of the men with him seemed more familiar snaps into your mind... oh shit, one of them was the guy you decked. In fact from remembering the sound of the impact you think you probably knocked out a tooth. Any question of whether that's the man behind you is answered as he slams roughly into your already-fucked pussy, making you yowl as he starts slamfucking you as hard as he can, driving your new tits against the cool, unyielding metal of the table and pressing your belly against the edge of it with every thrust. One of his hands grabs your hair (still as short as it was, but that was long enough to give a determined person a good grip) and yanks back hard, his other delivering merciless spanks to your ass between thrusts. Your eyes roll up some as you grit your teeth, drool running down the side of your chin as you're vengefully rough-fucked within ten minutes of becoming a woman. Almost as bad is that off to the side, you can hear your best friend receiving similar treatment, giving little gurgling mewls, moans, and cries as she, like you, is forced to take physical pleasure from being raped.\n\nThe Knight takes a considerably longer time to cum than the tech who took your virginity did, either just through more experience or his desire to draw out his punish-fucking of you. And he definitely does, yanking your hair, hauling you up so he can squeeze and maul your tits, spanking your ass until it feels hot and stinging and almost throbbing, no doubt colored deep pink and red with overlapping handprints. You've cum three times by the time he finally gives a low, satisfied-sounding growl and shoves in hard, emptying himself into you just like the tech did, before leaving you slumped and near-limp against the table, but your trembling fingers still obediently holding your pussylips spread to show off your now thoroughly messy and slightly gaped fuckhole.\n\nThere's a quiet shuffle, and you whimper at the feeling of cold, slender fingers sliding across your thoroughly-spanked ass, just almost soothing even as they squeeze and press in ways obviously meant to heighten the lingering pain of it. The cock that presses into you is a bit more slender than the last one, but longer, pressing in deeper and claiming you further than either of the other two. "You know, some don't care for sloppy seconds," Taryn's voice purrs in your ear as he leans down, those cold hands of his slipping under you to squeeze your new tits almost affectionately. "But I like a well-used pussy. I'm going to make sure you take at least a few hundred cocks before you have any chance of earning your way out, alright, sweetheart?" he adds before giving you a soft kiss on the ear, making you shudder.\n\nWhen he's done, Taryn orders you to cup your hand over your pussy instead, to keep as much of the three loads inside you in as you can, and has you straighten up, watching as he turns his attention to Rin. You're forced to watch as your new owner takes his pleasure of your femalized childhood friend, Rin crying out softly as he obviously takes even more care to make her cum repeatedly than he did with you, forcing her to enjoy it, those wicked fire-colored eyes sliding to you and lingering repeatedly, as if he could feel your urge to start moving your fingers over your slimy, dripping pussy despite your pain and humiliation. When he's finally done and pulls out, he gives Rin's hip a push, making sure to turn her towards you and display her own well-fucked pussy, before similarly ordering her to stand and keep it in.\n\nOne of the labcoats has laid out two pairs of athletic-style underwear... purple panties with black waistbands printed with the Imperial Knights logo, and sports bras in the same style, both cut for showiness. "Into them quick," Taryn orders, and you and Rin are both forced to scramble to get dressed, pulling on the little panties and feeling the back slide between your asscheeks, and the crotch of them already starting to get plastered against your messy pussy with a mixture of male jizz and your own new female fluids. There's also pairs of black and purple shoes somewhat in the style of swimshoes, and you don both of those as well.\n\n"Both of you go back to wherever you were staying and retrieve your things," Taryn says breezily. "Then come back, turn them in to the quartermaster, and then report to the slave barracks."\n\n"Yes, Master," you reply sullenly, in near-unison with Rin.\n\n"Leo, what the hell are we gonna do?" she asks despairingly as the two of you leave the castle... a literal castle, albeit a somewhat modernized one, within a block of the main entrance of the tesseract.\n\n"Well what the hell can we do?" you almost snap back, flushing with frustration at the sound of your own womanly voice in your ears, not to mention the cool sea breeze playing over your sensitive bare skin and drawing your attention both to your new curves and the heat of your thoroughly-spanked ass. "These guys are obviously pros at this, I can barely think of resisting! Just... we'll just have to give it time," you add forlornly, since that seems to be the only hope at the moment.\n\nThe two of you say nothing further. Rin's thoughts are likely dominated by a mixture of trying to figure out exactly how much wiggle room the slave chip might have, and the humiliation of walking near-naked through the city with three loads of cum slowly and steadily trickling out of your pussies, visibly staining the crotches of your panties for anyone that cares to look. But there's really nothing you can do but go back to the inn and pack up all your things, so that you can dutifully turn them over to your new owners.\n\nThe two of you return to the castle with your things, asking another slave (similarly scantily and pragmatically-clad with a cheek tattoo reading 'HIE') where the quartermaster is and being directed to a room lined with shelves and trunks. The quartermaster, Kyto, is a large wolfman with some of his dark black-and-brown fur starting to go grey and a scar running down one side of his face, but he smirks as the two of you come in.\n\n"New girls, huh?" he says with a laugh, getting up from his chair and walking over. You feel yourself forced to hand your things over, with him setting them down nearby before similarly taking Rin's. "Whew! There's plenty of work done for the day. Best you girls show me some gratitude for that," he declares, quickly undoing his pants and dropping them, settling back in his chair and spreading his strong thighs to display a human-like shaft and large furry balls.\n\n"Yes, sir," you and Rin both grumble, obediently moving to kneel between his legs, forced to sexually thank one of your captors for taking everything you own from him. Still, there's nothing you can do but obey the order, leaning forward to start sucking and licking one of his fat furry balls as Rin slides the head of his slowly and steadily stiffening shaft into her mouth and starts to suck.\n\n"New at this, hm? Freshly converted?" Kyto chuckles, stroking his large, somewhat pawlike hands over both your heads, not unaffectionately. "My advice is to start being genuinely obedient as soon as you can, aye? The sooner you start putting your heart into service, the sooner you'll find yourself earning your way up, darlins," he adds as he turns his petting into pushing on the back of Rin's head, forcing her to take his cock down her throat with a loud gagging sound. He similarly urges you forward, rubbing your nose into his fuzzy sack and making you inhale the deep, animalistic musky scent as you do. "I'll set yer things aside... assumin' no one else snags 'em first, might be one day ya get 'em back!"\n\nKyto eventually finishes by standing and jerking himself to completion all over yours and Rin's faces, long hot ropes of cum laying sprawled across your prettified cheeks and nose and across one squinted-closed eyelid. You guess you should be grateful that he actually tells you both you can wash your faces before following the rest of your orders, which is to report to the slave barracks. It's a long, undecorated room with a number of simple, sturdy-looking cots with thin mattresses laid atop them, two rows, along with a desk near the door. The slave at the desk ('LOA') stands, looking almost bored as she looks you both up and down and then orders you to clean up in the attached shower room before bed. "Clothes in the bin, keep your slippers," she orders in a bland tone. \n\nYou and Rin shower in silence, the shower area large and open and with a number of cameras everywhere. Since the Knights chip their slaves, it's obvious the cameras aren't to make sure you don't escape, they must be purely for the viewing pleasure of the rest of the castle who wants to tune in. Several other naked slave girls come in to shower off as well before you're done. Not like you wanted to linger or are in any mood to try and enjoy the view yourself, you think as you step through the air dryer, slaves here apparently not even rating the dignity of briefly covering themselves with towels. Loa assigns you both numbered bunks and, for lack of anything better to do, you and Rin both lay down, the other slaves filing in and doing the same, the lights eventually ramping down to nothing.\n\nYou awake in the night to the sound of moaning and flesh slapping lightly on flesh. Your cheeks burn as you realize that it's coming from several places in the barracks... Knights apparently coming in to use slave girls as quick cumdumps, not bothering to take them back to their own rooms for a quick thrust. Of course it doesn't take you long to realize that some of those moans, wet thrusts, and slapping noises are coming from the cot next to yours, and that those breathy, whimpering noises are Rin's humiliated pleasure sounds. You're both furious and humiliated that your friend is yet again being used right in front of you, and at a brief flash of jealousy that it's not you that passes through you before you can squash it. You close your eyes tightly, trying to ignore the sounds and your own persistent, traitorous backbrain desires that you might be next, eventually forcing yourself to go to sleep.\n\nYou awaken to a loud buzzing sound and the lights coming back to full suddenly, grimacing at the unpleasant way to start a new day... though you have little doubt that's the point. It's not exactly difficult to figure out what you're supposed to do as there's already a queue of other slaves lining up for the table in one corner, on which are stacked fresh sets of purple and black athletic underwear. Most of them have clearly been slaves for a while since their motions are practiced, quickly picking up their fresh panties and bra and stepping out of the way to smoothly done them before moving to the other line at Loa's desk. You make sure to keep as close to Rin as you can, hoping at least that the two of you can continue to stick together.\n\n"Dive duty with Locke. Dive duty with Locke. Dive duty with Rollez. Inventory duty. Maid duty. Maid duty," Loa says in her bored tone, barely seeming to glance between each slave girl and the screen in front of her as they move through the line.\n\n'Guess the name tattoos make remembering which slave is which a lot easier,' you think bitterly as you move up the line. You soon arrive at the front, Loa's eyes flicking to your cheek and then looking at her screen.\n\n<hr>\n(([["Dive duty with Taryn."|LeoErrin]]))\n\n(([["Inventory duty."|LeoSlave]]))\n\n(([["Maid duty."|LeoSlave]]))\n\n(([["Whore duty."|LeoSlave]]))\n\n(([["Wall duty."|LeoSlave]]))\n\n(([["Recruitment duty."|LeoSlave]]))\n\n(([["Lab duty."|LeoSlave]]))\n\n(([["Step aside."|LeoSlave]]))

Hm. Well, this rescue mission seems a lot more straightforward than the one for the missing mercenary. At least worth looking into.\n\nYou check out the stats on the wasteland you'd be heading into. Hrm... extreme pollution, some viral vectors, mutants galore, rogue AIs, and that's just for a start... boy this place really went to shit, huh?\n\nOn the plus side the standard air quality isn't really that much worse than Makarzia on a slightly smoggy night... wearing a vape mask with good filters should be plenty to avoid any lung irritation for you, and even without it the worst you might get is a bit of a cough and some phlegm after a few hours. Similarly the acid rain sounds a bit worse but again, survivable... Makarzians are adapted to that sort of thing. Might wanna switch to a full bodysuit set of skinarmor just in case, and maybe take along some protective eyedrops, but other than that you'd be fine.\n\nThe Guild files show this Earth's rating has degraded all the way to 'Death World'... but the pay is pretty darn good, and there's a note that they have scanner markers for various pieces of the target's equipment and can put you down in an area closest to the strongest signal. No idea if that's actually her, but it does theoretically make it easier to find her. Then once you do all you have to do is call the clients for pickup and they'll get her (and you) out of there.\n\nYou consider it a little longer, eyeing the picture of the target, Captain Amari Andrews. The clients apparently got ahold of her IASA file and it lists her background (parents American and Japanese, born in New Zealand, educated all around the world) and has a picture of her. On the young side for an astronaut, about your own age (but then her Earth had apparently just been experimenting with visiting other habitable worlds, at which point of development the age required to get the necessary training and experience tends to drop), very pretty, busty, black hair, dark blue eyes. You'd definitely recognize her if you saw her...\n\n... assuming nothing too extreme has happened to her.\n\nThat thought makes you make a face, and with a sigh you key to accept the job. A moment later your comm pings as the files for the trackers appear in it.\n\nYou head to a private vault room to summon your vault, hanging up your coat and stripping down, then basically peeling on the bodysuit. There's not really a better way to describe it, since you have to settle it into place on your feet and then haul on it, stretching it and tugging it into place, like peeling it off but in reverse. Of course as you do, you blush as you remember one of the problems with this skinsuit, and why you always think about replacing it when you put it on, but of course go and forget about it once you've gotten it off (or once you start browsing the prices of a replacement); it's one of the particularly skintight variety. As in, "looks like a very thin but very consistent layer of painted-on latex" once you've got it in place. You're effectively naked but just shiny black from the neck down, the suit completely showing the shape of your nipples, outlining the lips of your pussy and your clit even more starkly than they might be if you were really naked, and you can even feel it hugging up against your pucker a bit. Holy shit this thing is lewd, no wonder the leering salesman gave you such a good discount on it.\n\nYou look through your vault for something to wear over it, then sigh... looks like you forgot to restock with emergency clothes after the last time you needed a set. You briefly ponder going home to pick up at least some shorts and a crop top or something, but after a bit of waffling decide against it. Practically everything down there is going to be innately hostile anyway, it said anything like a civilized settlement was "rare"... killer drones and slavering mutant beasts don't really care if you've got your latex-coated pussy out. Plus now that you've taken the job, you're eager to get started... you know that technically time won't really begin to pass for Amari until you appear at the coordinates the clients gave you, but psychologically you want to get to work rescuing her as quickly as possible.\n\nSo you put your boots and your coat back on, and ponder weaponry. After a check of the Earth's files again, you select a pair of conventional pistols and an all-purpose rifle in the common calibers, in case the repliammo mags actually wind up running low. (You never know... people tend to think of them as infinite ammo, but they're not, you do still need to keep track.) You strap on one of your crystalslicer katanas at your back, and load up on meal bars and condensed hydration liquid, then select one of your vape masks, a fairly simple black and white affair made of light armor-grade plastic, checking the filters to make sure they're new before setting it in place on your face. (You also take a quick huff of whatever you've got it loaded with since you forgot to check that, streams of light blue vapor spilling out of the vents as you exhale. ... Mm, blueberry donut with light stim, nice.)\n\nYou close up your vault, and after remembering your current state, close up your coat for the walk to the departure annex, and head out.\n\nSoon you're stepping out of a portal onto a gritty, slightly muddy stretch of ground beneath a stretch of oppressively monotonous grey-green sky, absently undoing your coat fasteners and letting it fall open as you do. You glance down at the odd texture under your feet, and realize that there are innumerable little bits of plastic embedded into the earth, almost enough to turn it into a sort of pebble-like churn. You make a face as you look around, spotting various other nearby trashheaps and abandoned detritus, uncertain of whether all of this is some byproduct of the apocalypse or the cause of it. Either way, you check your comm for the environmental levels, and find them pretty much as described... little higher on some of the acid readings, but it looks like that's because you're near the coast, probably a lot of salt-dissolved stuff wafting in from the water.\n\nYou flip over to the sensor readings. The strongest one... both for proximity and whatever's broadcasting it... is coming from the direction of the coast itself, somewhere on the beach that you can't see from here. There are a handful of other signals, though, so it looks like wherever Captain Andrews is, not all of her equipment is with her. Could have broken off her ship during reentry... or could have been scavenged and carried off after she left her ship... or sold/traded to some of the more peaceable inhabitants of the wasteland... or, well, there's lots of potential options, some of them implying good things about Amari's potential mobility and survivability, others not so much. But since you have no idea of knowing currently which it is, you'll just have to find the signals and see.\n\nFirst choice, you suppose, is whether to head for the closest, strongest signal that's at the coast, or to head inland. There's just one signal at the coast, and a fair few further in... and which is more likely to be Amari herself, or to lead to her, is basically up to chance, since you could come up with explanations for either one.\n\n<hr>\n[[Head to the coast.|ChiApoc]]\n\n[[Head inland.|ChiApoc1x1]]

Doesn't look like you have much choice. You head through the door, still doing your best to be stoic, despite there being way more for everyone to not quite look at as you walk, with lots of jiggling, bouncing, swaying, and in general perfect bodies on display.\n\nThe first hall is a single, straight shot into another room, large enough for everyone to spread out and not be crowded. As the door slides closed behind you, there's a quiet blip from everyone's bracelet but yours, and you can see them checking the numbers. You can see what Deathtrap meant about the orders, too... the opposite wall has a similar double sliding door on it, and large red text reading 'KISS'. So, what, you just have to pick two people to kiss? That's not too bad. ... Hm, well, she's obviously starting you off easy so she can demonstrate how things work, since there weren't even any forks or branches in the hallway.\n\n"Well, I guess I'll make one of the parties me, since that way I know at least only one other person will be embarrassed by my decision," you say with a sigh, folding your arms over your chest. "So I guess... number five kisses the king."\n\n"... Ah," your mother says, raising her hand up to the level of her shoulder. "I'm number five."\n\n... Okay, maybe not. Both of you are blushing fairly heavily, as are several of the others. Clearing her throat in a 'well what can we do?' way, Excalibur places a hand across her breasts, pressing them in and trying to hold them steady as she leans in, obviously wanting to do her best not to let them brush against you as she pecks you on the cheek in a properly motherly fashion. That... is definitely embarrassing, about a step and a half below her licking her thumb and wiping something off the corner of your mouth in a team meeting (which she has never actually done thank God), but at least now it's over.\n\nExcept the door isn't opening.\n\n"Oh, come on, you think I'm gonna accept that?!" Doctor Deathtrap's annoyed voice blurts from hidden speakers. "That's bullshit!"\n\n"The instruction says 'Kiss', I gave him a kiss," Excalibur says stiffly, glowering at a random ceiling corner. "We completed your challenge for this room, now open the door and let us continue."\n\n"Fat chance. Those doors don't just open arbitrarily, I've got control over each one! I thought you might try to pull 'Well TECHNICALLY' crap like this on me, so I wanted to make it clear from the start! Those doors don't open until I'm satisfied you've followed the instruction! You know what sort of kiss this kind of game demands! So it better be at least fifteen seconds long and involve tongue, or that door's never opening!"\n\nYou and your mother exchange a long look, with everyone else sort of glancing away as if not certain if they should turn their backs or something. Well, except Warya, she's just watching the two of you with a bored expression as if wondering what the holdup is. But after that hesitation, Excalibur takes a deep breath. "I... suppose there's nothing to be done. Sorry, Cal."\n\n"Yeah, sorry too," you murmur, your cheeks red as she steps fully in front of you. Her hand comes away from breasts, freeing them with a light jiggle as she instead puts both hands on your shoulders and leans in... which means, of course, that her bare tits wind up pressing against your equally bare chest as she moves her lips in to meet yours. Both of you closing your eyes as much for the sake of lowering the embarrassment as much as possible as it is for making it a proper kiss, you almost instinctively bring your hands up to rest on her waist as the two of you gentle work your lips together. True to Deathtrap's demand, Excalibur slips her tongue into your mouth after a moment, sliding it around yours, and you hesitantly return the favor, although you find yourself responding more naturally by the second because honestly, it turns out your mother is a really fantastic kisser. The realization of which, of course, sends a surge of embarrassment through your body... and makes your cock twitch from where it had already begun to harden slightly. Dammit! No, no, that is a false Go sign, do not launch, do not launch!\n\nExactly fifteen seconds later Excalibur pulls her lip away from yours, a brief strand of saliva briefly connecting the tip of her tongue and your lower lip. She's blushing despite her attempt at a dignified expression as she straightens up and steps back, both of you glancing away from each other.\n\n"Gyaaahahaha! This is just the beginning of the humiliation that awaits you! Payback is sweet!" Doctor Deathtrap's voice declares as the doors slide open. "Continue, my toys, continue!"\n\n"Grrrr, how dare she call me a toy!" Warya snarls, the fur down her back sticking up as she stalks out of the room with the rest of you. "I'll pay that bite-sized intellectual back for this humiliation!" She pauses, and glances towards you. "Oh, and the whole thing of 'making two of my comrades who are blood-related show sexualized affection for each other', apparently that is some sort of Thing on your planet."\n\n"Hey, don't worry about it, man," Trickshot adds more quietly as he claps a hand on your shoulder. "You do what you gotta do to get through a mission sometimes. Besides, the Code of Silence is sacred specifically because of these sorts of situations."\n\n"Yeah, thanks," you say with a sigh, though that does make you glance over at him. "... Kind of makes you wonder how often 'these sorts of situations' actually happen."\n\n"Let's not start thinking about that, better we just focus on getting through," Mazinon cuts in.\n\n"Good point."\n\nYou look along the hallway you're in, featureless and white as seems to be standard for this particular Labyrinth of Doom. King's Labyrinth. Why do supervillains have to give everything at least two names? You notice that there are several branches and other hallways. "So... it's still an actual labyrinth, I guess. We have to pick our way through it and find our way to this final room so that we can complete its task and Deathtrap will let us out."\n\n"Except that besides choosing the right hallways, we also probably have to go through more rooms with tasks to get there," Snow Leopard mutters, still trying to cover herself and now avoiding looking at you and Excalibur so much she's actually having to look at some of the others.\n\n"I think we can assume that there will be at least two more task rooms between us and the goal, even if we choose the optimum paths," Excalibur says, her manner now more like yours and Trickshot's, clearly having become a bit embarrassed by her nudity but doing her best not to show it. "Ade-... Doctor Deathtrap knows all the common tricks and presumed rules of labyrinth construction... whether her idea of 'fairness' means she followed them is far more dubious. I think at best we can try and remember hallways as well as we can so we can tell that we've been in them before. But before we choose a path, there is something we should address."\n\n"Several things, I should think," Marielle murmurs, before clearing her throat. "But I assume among other things you mean the Code of Silence."\n\n"Yes. This mission clearly falls under the unwritten Code of Silence that governs certain superhero matters. We will never discuss what has happened here, and no blame, recriminations, or resentments for what is necessary for this mission shall be carried beyond it. We all agree, here and now, to forgive everyone else involved for our actions in this Labyrinth and not hold them against each other. Agreed?" At the chorus of silent nods (and a grunt from Warya), she continues. "Related to that is the second matter. Specifically, Caliburn, how you choose who is to perform these tasks."\n\n"I mean... I don't see a good way around it," you admit with a sigh.\n\n"Yes, clearly your original thought was to always choose yourself as one of the parties, meaning only one other of us would be forced to participate. I believe you, and I hope everyone else would understand that your idea to do so would not be to take advantage of us." At your eyes widening, she nods. "It hadn't even occurred to you, that's my son. But from now on, I want you to choose without regard for such thoughts."\n\n"But-"\n\n"No buts. Pick as randomly as you can, whether it involves yourself or simply the rest of us. In this situation, the burden must be shared equally. Is everyone else agreed on that?" Nods of differing levels of enthusiasm come back, with Warya's emphatically agreeing one on one end and Snow Leopard's hesitant one on the other. "As agreed, we'll assign you no blame in the matter, whatever your results might yield."\n\nWell. Guess that takes a little of the weight off your shoulders. You know that it's one thing to say 'no blame' and 'no shame' and another to actually carry it forward, but it's about as good an offer as you're going to get. "Alright then. So... I guess let's choose a path." You take a look down the hallway. It's a little difficult... the stark whiteness is obviously designed to keep you from picking out distinguishing features. It looks like this hall ends in a T intersection... ah, no, there are two right hand forks, one about halfway down that you almost couldn't see, so it's more like a T layered on top of an F. Each one will lead to a task room, you suppose, so similarly to picking participants, you may as well pick one.\n\n<hr>\n[[The first right.|CalKLBlowjobRoomFirst]]\n\n[[The second right.|CalKLDirtyFantasyRoomFirst]]\n\n[[The left.|CalKL]]

Eh, why not? At least you can feel like you at least had something like a brush with being productive in this other world. And while the nest egg the government paid you is substantial, it might not last forever... having another source of income to help pay for your admittedly expensive hobbies would help. Tucking your hands into your jacket pockets, you wander over to stand in front of the job station. There's two sections, the one with official job pamphlets, the ones from businesses and at least nominally upright establishments (mostly here in Shinjuku or in neighboring wards), and the board above that's filled with postings from individuals or indie companies looking for a bit of help. It looks like someone's been tearing down some of the more blatantly shady offers and blatant recruitment attempts, to judge by the tatters of shiny cards and pamphlets remaining on some of the pins.\n\nAlright, let's see, on the official pamphlets, there's\n\n* A [[game company|SiphaJob]] hiring testers, oooo!\n* A [[bar|SiphaJob]] looking for bartenders and waitresses. Hm... mixing drinks is kinda like alchemical potion making, right?\n* A [[soapland|SiphaJob]] looking for girls. ... You thiiiink you've heard of these? Still, must be okay if it's got an actual pamphlet.\n\nAnd on the direct offerings boards, there's\n\n* A [[mangaka|SiphaJob]] looking for assistants. Apparently prior artistic skill isn't needed, they'll teach you to shade.\n* An [[indie visual novel|SiphaJob1x1]] studio looking for voice actresses. Hm, maybe you've played one of their games?\n* Someone looking for a [[delivery person|SiphaJob]]... hm, delivery of what? Doesn't say. How curious.\n* And there's an ad for '[[Independent Models|SiphaPorn]]'... you have a vague feeling that they might mean something other than just having your picture taken in some nice clothes, but you're not entirely sure.

You turn your attention to the scroll with worlds Xenith and her crew have found for you to explore, to bring back new resources (or items, or servants, or even possibly hero souls). And, frankly, it's a way for you to get out of the Dark Monolith and have fun! No Demon Lord since the 127th has actually left the Dark Monolith, instead being born and existing there for their entire tenure, before dissipating their energy through their Dark Monolith as it sank into the sub-realm. That's 538 hikkikomiri Demon Lords... something nice to keep in mind, how privileged you are to get to leave the house! Now let's see what worlds and places are currently available to you...\n\n[[Earth|MaxEarthStart]] - Specifically, a town called Knightsvale, sometime in the early twenty-first century. They apparently have a lot of fun things there, to judge by some of the notes jotted down below its entry.\n\n[[Nirn|MaxNirnStart]] - The portal apparently opens in a country called "Skyrim". The world is full of magic, and the scrying team has made a few excited notes about how full of hero souls it might theoretically be.\n\n[[Letoria|MaxLetoriaStart]] - A world somewhat like Nirn, in that it's full of magic and heroes, but distinct in various ways as well. There's not quite as many excited notes, so it's probably not as much of a wealth of hero souls, but that doesn't mean it wouldn't be fun to visit!\n\n

"Oh, alright, alright," you say with a sigh. "I guess I'll go to Dynahan with you."\n\n"Yay!" Stacia flings herself sideways to hug you, then blushes a little as she draws back. "Okay, so, I got a map, see?! And there's a few routes we could take, and apparently depending on which way you go you should get different supplies, and-!"\n\nThe next few weeks are filled with Stacia's gleeful planning, re-planning, and alternate planning of the two of you's trip to Dynahan and entrance into the adventurer school afterwards. She even insists on taking you to get you outfitted with suitable 'adventurer clothes'... which the tailor is happy to provide, or rather pawn off on you some of the more expensive fabric that he's had sitting on a bolt for years, making you a 'mage's coat' that's long and hooded, matching pants, and a pair of slim, easy to move in boots. You don't know how 'mage-y' it is, but you have to admit you do feel at least a little cool standing outside the shop, a convenient gust of wind stirring your coat dramatically... of course you probably feel cool because you look a bit more villainous than adventurer-y, to your mind, but Stacia seems pleased too.\n\n<img src="images/IrethMale2.jpg">\n\n"You look really good!" Stacia gushes enthusiastically. "We're looking like proper adventurers now!"\n\nHm. You suppose? Adventurers did seem to wear just whatever the hell they wanted, as far as you could tell, which definitely fits for Stacia. Although speaking of which, "Aren't you going to buy some armor or something, Stacia?"\n\nShe laughs a little nervously, toying with her braid. "Ah, well, since we only have the general store in town, they don't stock much, and it's not really the smith's specialty so he charges a lot for it. I'll probably get some in Dynahan, y'know, eventually! Since you get paid for the learner jobs they send you on at the school, I'll probably be able to afford, I mean, find something nicer in Dynahan anyway!" \n\nAh, you guess that makes sense. For all that it's so proud of producing adventurers, this town doesn't do a lot of catering to them and doesn't have a dedicated weapons or armor shop or any of the various other things most villages and towns that see a lot of adventurers passing through build to court their business. Instead the two of you stock up on supplies... mostly supplementary things, since you'll be taking a route that will apparently allow Stacia to do plenty of hunting with her bow along the way... and then, on the first of the month, after many goodbyes (with a much larger number of people gathering to wish Stacia off, and a fair number of those looking at you with minglings of shock and confusion that you're going with her), the two of you set off.\n\nThe road and route you're taking is one you've never been along before... not that you've been very far from the town and its surrounding farms and homesteads before, you realize. You traveled around a fair bit of Lytozia back when you were becoming Maou, but you didn't have a lot of contact with human settlements unless it was a city you were laying siege to. You wound up becoming a bit of a homebody once you'd conquered a fair bit of a continent and built your castle... maybe that carried over into your reincarnation, considering you just never thought to go out exploring or ask about going to the nearby city. But by the time the sun starts to set, you and Stacia have covered quite a bit of ground, and are well and truly in the open wilderness between the nearer city of Lunacrest and the larger Dynahan. \n\n"We probably ought to go ahead and make camp," Stacia declares finally, dropping her pack along with her bow and quiver to the ground. "I haven't seen any signs of large animals or monsters in awhile so it should be a safe place to sleep."\n\n"Alright, I'll make a fire then," you agree almost absently, mostly lost in your own thoughts as you go around and start gathering fallen branches.\n\n"Good good. ... Ah, hey, Reth?" Stacia says as she turns towards you, brushing a fingertip along her cheek. "... Why'd you agree to come?"\n\n"Hm?" you prompt as you're dumping the branches into the center of the area, trying to decide whether to bother using earth manipulation to create a proper firepit for them.\n\n"I mean, I guess I know that you don't really feel passionate about being an adventurer, like I do. Like, um, I mean, I think you have a super lot of potential and you can be one for sure, I just know it!" she adds, before squirming a little in place. "Just... why'd you really agree to come with me?"\n\n"Hmmm." You frown thoughtfully, cupping your chin and squinting. "Well... I guess if I had to give a reason... because..."\n\n<hr>\n[["I realized it could be profitable."|Reth]]\n\n[["I wanted to try something different."|Reth5x2]]\n\n[["It's what you wanted."|Reth10x1]]\n\n[["It was a good way to get you alone."|Reth7x1]]

"Oh, let's just get rid of that Tifa we've got wandering around not doing anything," you declare after some thought. "I'm not really thinking of anything good to do with her right now, I'd rather bring her back when I've already got something in mind."\n\n"Of course, your magnificence, sometimes it's better to not leave a snack laying around in plain sight when you're not ready to eat it," Xenith coos.\n\nYou bring up a view on the crystal of Tifa wandering through the stone corridor, lit by the pseudomateria outgrowths. She pauses briefly as she comes to the apparent end, the opening beyond completely dark... then jumps a little as her PHS gives an audible 'bleep!'. Pulling it out of her belt and checking the screen, a look of relief washes over her face, before she strides into the darkness and disappears.\n\n"There, she's been sent back to her original world... almost no time should have passed there, so she won't notice anything's odd, and will be fresh to snag again whenever you decide you'd like to dream up some delightful violation for her, your majesty!"\n\n"Good, good."\n\n<hr>\n[[Continue.|MaxThroneRoomRepeat]]

<<set $activetifa to false>>"Hee, I have a lovely idea for what to do with her," you coo, rubbing your hands. "Have a few of the scryers send me more information on her world and friends!"\n\nSeveral minutes later, Tifa rounds a bend in the tunnel, and blinks at the sight of sunshine pouring in ahead. Looking somewhere between confused and relieved, she walks forward and, from her perspective, outside onto a pastoral hilltop with birds chirping and a small ranch situated below. She definitely looks confused, and even moreso as she hears a familiar voice call her name, its owner emerging from the long barn-like structure near the pasture, waving to her. Still, after only a brief hesitation she heads down to join the other.\n\n"Boy, am I glad you're here!" Yuffie says in satisfaction, resting her hands on her hips. Or rather, the succubus you created in Yuffie's image. "We were really hoping you'd turn up, otherwise I was gonna hafta be the one to do it and hoo boy no one wants that!"\n\n"I guess I got a little lost joining up with everyone," Tifa says after a moment, glancing around, before looking back at 'Yuffie'. "Er, do what?"\n\n"We need your help, seriously!" Yuffie calls, beckoning to the taller woman before rushing back into the barn.\n\nAgain, Tifa only hesitates for the briefest of moments, before following the other girl inside.\n\n"Oh good, Tifa's here!" 'Aeris' chirps, walking over and clasping her hands. "Tifa, we've learned about an extremely important materia! We won't be able to save the planet without it! But we also can't get to it with anything else but a gold chocobo."\n\n"Oh no," Tifa says with a sigh. "Those are incredibly rare... we'd have to breed one ourselves, wouldn't we?"\n\n"Yes, but there's a possible way to do that with much higher odds!" 'Aeris' answers excitedly, beckoning her supposed friend along, past the stalls filled with chocobos of various colors (with 'Yuffie' currently putting a bridle on one of them), to one that's standing open and empty... well, mostly empty. There's a mostly flat metal box in the middle of it. "Here, step up on this and I'll explain."\n\n"O... kay?" Tifa definitely looks dubious, but since as far as she's concerned it's her close friend telling her to do so, she nevertheless steps up onto the box. Immediately several parts of it slide open, manacles snapping closed around her ankles and wrists. "HEY!" Tifa yelps, as she's pulled into a bent-forward position, the arms forcing her to lift her ass up by various twists and pushes. "What's going on?!"\n\n"Um, duh," 'Yuffie' snorts as she leads a fluffy yellow chocobo over to the stall. "Chocobo breeding. Hey, Aeris, I couldn't remember what gives the best odds and didn't wanna bother looking at the book so I just got the one with the biggest dick, okay?"\n\n"Hm, well, seems to make sense to me," 'Aeris' answers brightly as she steps forward, pushing Tifa's skirt up and pulling her panties down around her bared thighs, baring the other woman's pussy and ass.\n\n"W-what?!" Tifa splutters. "You two can't be serious! You can't breed chocobos with-!" She cuts off with a yelp of shock as the big, warbling yellow bird behind her moves forward and hefts itself up a bit, slapping a very long, impressively thick vein-bulged pink tube against the cleft of her ass. "Stop, no, don't!"\n\n"Look, it totally works, and the stronger the breeding partner is the more likely we'll get a gold," 'Yuffie' insists, holding up a magazine, apparently unperturbed by the chocobo in front of her thrusting its hips in its attempts to penetrate her friend.\n\n"Hm, Yuffie, isn't that a drawn pornographic comic?" 'Aeris' asks curiously, even as she reaches out, the innocent-looking young woman quickly and efficiently guiding the blunt end of the chocobo's bestial prick to Tifa's bared pussy.\n\n"Yeah, so?"\n\n"Fair point!"\n\n"GYRRRRRK!" Tifa's jaw clenches and her eyes roll as the chocobo thrusts forward, burying half its cock at once in her pussy, her belly bulging up with the outline of it. Warbling happily, the huge bird arches back further and starts rocking its hips, driving them forward again and again, forcing more of its cock into Tifa with each thrust. "H-help, help, it's raping me, I'm being raped by a chocobo, somebody help," she whimpers, even as the overstimulation causes her pussy to start growing damp, spurting out arousal against the chocobo's feathery belly as it slaps against her hips and ass, apparently no room for both her shameful juices and that thick avian prick inside of her.\n\n"Duh, that's the idea," 'Yuffie' snickers, leaning against the wall of the stall.\n\n"Now, Tifa, don't go complaining about a little being raped by a chocobo," 'Aeris' scolds gently. "This is to save the planet, you should be grateful for this opportunity!"\n\n"Hnngh, hnya, nnghk!" Tifa's protests grow more wordless as drool goes running down her chin, her still-clothed tits swaying under her with the impact of the chocobo's hips against hers. The big bird suddenly gives a loud "WARK!" and thrusts forward, and Tifa's eyes focus and then go wide for just a moment before her belly suddenly bulges forth visibly at the tip of the cock outline in it, that first intense spurt of chocobo cum pushing out on her stretched flesh before her whole stomach starts to round out and bulge. In a matter of seconds it's filled her to the point that she looks seven months pregnant, before it abruptly pulls back and out, leaving Tifa to slump and shudder in her bonds as nonhuman cum gushes out of her gaping pussy, her body shuddering in shameful, unwanted orgasms. But her belly only flattens a certain amount before it begins to round out again, Tifa squirming in the manacles and twisting her hips, making soft gasping noises at the feeling of pressure from within. "What's... what's happening, wha-" Then she cries out as her body twitches in forced orgasm, her pussy visibly trembling as she twitches and bucks her hips. Her already still slightly spread cunt begins to push further apart, something smooth and glossy visible within and spreading her further apart as every quivering orgasm pushes it further and further out. "Hnnnh! Hnnnhaaa! Hnhyaaaa! AAA!" Tifa shrieks as with one last climax so intense it clearly briefly blanks her brain, the egg is pushed out to tumble to the padded cradle that's raised up from the base that's restraining her.\n\n"Ooo, is it a gold, is it a gold?" 'Aeris asks excitedly.\n\n"Hmmm. Hard to tell," 'Yuffie' answers, moving to pick up the egg and examine it. "Honestly we probably gotta wait until it gets hatched."\n\n"Well in that case, we'll just have to keep cranking out eggs! As many as we can!" 'Aeris' declares brightly, smiling as Yuffie sets the egg aside and moves back down the row of stalls. "There are at least twenty-five chocobos here, if we cycle through them we can have Tifa laying eggs twenty-four seven!"\n\n"W-wha? No... I can't..." Tifa gasps, whimpering as she hears the thump of the next chocobo's large avian feet thumping the stable ground behind her.\n\n"Oh come on now, Tifa," 'Aeris' says with a frown. "This is to save the world!"\n\n"Yeah, Tifa, we can't save the world without you laying a gold chocobo egg," 'Yuffie' adds urgently. "You gotta do it!"\n\n"... O-... okay," Tifa whimpers, shuddering all over. "I'll... I'll do it, to save the worrRRRLD!" she yowls as the next chocobo mounts up on her, this one almost instantly hitting its target and shoving in, the entirety of its cock stuffed inside her with the conditioning from her previous fucking and her recent egg-laying. "Nnnh, ah, oh fuck, it's so big, oh fuck, oh fuck!" she mewls as the chocobo warbles happily as it begins its next breeding. "I-I don't know how many more I can take, can't you do something?!"\n\n"Hmmm. Oh right, aren't we supposed to feed the chocobo greens or something to increase chances of getting a gold?" 'Aeris' asks, glancing at her co-conspirator.\n\n"Oh riiiight, right riiiiight," 'Yuffie' mutters, fishing in one of her pockets. "I even got some special greens just for it!"\n\n"W-w-well feed the chocobo the greens already!" Tifa snaps, her voice shuddering with the impact of the bird's feathered hips slapping against her ass and its cock thumping the inside of her womb. "Feed the chocobMMF!" Her eyes go wide with surprise and indignation as Yuffie stuffs the handful of leafy greens into her mouth, forcing them in like a gag. But apparently they've been pressed in enough that Tifa has to gulp and swallow at them just to clear her airway. Flushing from a mixture of being chocofucked and the added indignity, she snaps, "I said feed the chocobo, not wark!"\n\nHer eyes go wide, then she cries out as her body shudders and begins to change. Her boots splinter and tear as her toes and heels push through them, some of her toes merging together as they start to turn into much more birdlike talons, her stockings also tearing as her thighs grow thicker, more of the same almost scale-like yellow surface now covering her feet sliding up them. Her ass begins to grow and widen, getting larger by the second even as the chocobo continues to thrust into her, her ever larger butt wobbling more dramatically beneath its thrusts, her thickened waist snapping her belt and the waistband of her skirt, even as her thickened thighs do the same to her panties. Her tits too are growing larger, a pair of truly remarkable avian breasts that soon tear her top to shreads as they wobble. The manacles around her breasts abruptly release, forcing her to flap her arms in a panic trying to stay slightly upright on her new legs... and the flapping continuing as a thick new growth of yellow feathers sprouts all over them, her gloves tearing and splitting both at the new growth and the shifting of her arms into a crooked, obviously winglike configuration. \n\n"No! No, what's happening, wark's happening, warrrrk happewark?!" Tifa cries, her words becoming steadily more indistinct as her neck stretches out longer and longer, her lower face shifting and altering, curving out and hardening as it takes on a beaklike look. "Warrrk, wark wark!" she protests, flapping her wings almost in time with the thrusts of the chocobo currently breeding her. Though her ass has now attained properly chocobo-like proportions, it's still bare and human-styled, as smooth and round as it ever was, though it now has a fringe of golden feathers encircling it from her hips and creating a tail above it. "Wark, warrrrrk!" Tifacobo tosses her head, hair lashing, the strange and ridiculous chocobo hybrid warbling as the other beast atop it lets out a loud "WARK!" of its own, spilling its load into her, the Tifacobo's thickened and rounded belly not showing quite as much of the bulging from the massive amount of cum.\n\n"There we go," 'Aeris' coos once the chocobo has been pulled away and the Tifacobo has warbled and warked its orgasm-induced way through laying another, larger egg in much less time. "That will make it muuuch more efficient! Now, Tifa, any time you really want to stop, just say anything other than 'wark', okay? That's how we'll know you want to trade off with Yuffie!"\n\n"Hey!"\n\n"Wark!" the Tifacobo cries, clearly incapable of saying anything else as it flaps its wings and wiggles in the restraints around its birdlike ankles. "Wark wark, wark!"\n\n"Oh good, I guess she's ready for the next one, Yuffie!"\n\n"WARK!"\n\nLaughing delightedly, you wave the image off the crystal. "Well, I guess we'll always have fresh eggs from now on!"\n\n"A truly delightful side benefit, your magnificence!"\n<<set $chocotifa to true>>\n<hr>\n[[Continue.|MaxThroneRoomRepeat]]

"I did bring several deterrant sprays, but they're all guaranteed not to cause any damage or permanent harm," you add as you start to glance through the papers.\n\n"Oh! That should be fine then," Professor Prism says in a relieved tone. "Obviously you wouldn't want to use something like Away, since that would keep you from spotting the rare Pokemon, but if it's just something you can use if threatened that's perfect."\n\nDeciding her approval means that you'll be fine with that, you turn your attention to the reports. The nearest one is actually within Rainbow City itself... supposedly there's a Hex Maniac who claims to have witnessed an unregistered legendary Pokemon while outside the city visiting a cemetery (natch), but hasn't been willing to come to the research center to talk to Prism face to face about it, and Prism similarly doesn't have the time to visit the Hex Maniac herself despite the proximity.\n\nAnother is an abandoned house that's probably just over a week from here by foot, if you had to guess. This one's a bit more clear about the legendary Pokemon that was supposedly sighted there... specifically Mew, the legendary Pokemon if you recall what you know of this cluster correctly. You also have the vague sense that an old abandoned house is a pretty strange place for a Mew to be. Hm.\n\nAnother is a bit further out than that, and seems to involve stories of an 'old nature god' deep in a forest. You'd guess that stories of local gods and whatnot would be pretty ripe for being rare and powerful Pokemon, for sure, makes sense there.\n\nThe fourth involves a remote town where people have reported multiple sightings of strange Pokemon that no one's ever seen before and the local Pokedexes don't have entries for or any ability to scan and register. Sounds pretty unusual, since from the report here it's at least three different types of Pokemon like that, and no one twigged to any of them as sounding similar to any of the known Legendaries.\n\nThe fifth and final one is the one that's all the way on the coast, practically at the other end of the continent. (You guess you could fly there and then walk back, doing the other ones along the way? That somehow seems better. You guess in part because if you succeed at it, maybe you could talk Penni into shelling out for a rental jeep or something. Or at least a bike.) \n\nSo, where to start? As said you could start with the furthest-away one and hope to impress Prism so she pays for an easier trip back, and then work your way back there. Or you could start with the nearest, get it done quick. Or, really, just go to any of them, since a direct route would probably be faster and despite her claims of being time crunched, she's clearly not in that much of a hurry.\n\n<hr>\n[[The Hex Maniac.|ChiPoke3x3]]\n\n[[The abandoned house.|ChiPoke10x1]]\n\n[[Forest.|ChiPoke]]\n\n[[Remote town.|ChiPoke]]\n\n[[Coast.|ChiPoke]]

Eh, best to start with the one that's closest, if it's a bust you can always reevaluate. Bidding the professor goodbye, you head out and start towards the city, since you doubt this place has the equivalent of Uber.\n\nAs you're walking, you mentally review what you know about Hex Maniacs, and what there is to know about this particular Hex Maniac. You've never met one, since apparently they're not super common in this cluster let alone outside of it, but you're at least passingly aware that Hex Maniacs are humans that are born with an affinity for Ghost Pokemon. As such they're on the spooky/creepy side, and most people find them rather offputting... which is why you were surprised to read that this one is apparently a counselor of some sort. 'Advice, life coaching, and stress management' said the blurb on the little photocopied ad on the page Prism had about her. Seems like most people would get more stressed just considering having to talk to a Hex Maniac, let alone taking advice from one... but then, maybe that's why she's a bit standoffish about answering questions regarding this legendary Pokemon she's supposedly seen.\n\nIt's fairly late in the afternoon when you get into the city, and you realize that whichever way this meeting goes, you're probably going to be staying the night here, so you go ahead and look up a place to stay. Not too surprisingly in a world where being an animal-training hobo is seen as an honorable profession, there are a number of decently cheap but also also decently clean and comfortable places to stay either short or longterm. You check into one not too far away from where you're going and take a quick shower... you're not too dusty from the road but it doesn't hurt to make a good impression. You check the time and the local internet listing for the place to see when you'll be able to visit tomorrow and... huh. It's still open. In fact it looks like they don't open until noon and stay open pretty late into the night a fair few days of the week. Well, you guess that makes sense for someone with a Ghost-type affinity.\n\n'Might as well,' you think, heading out again, and doing a few small errands necessary to spending a few days (or months) in the dimension along the way since you've got so much time. Soon you arrive, and though you'd already seen the name on several of the ads and the page, you can't help but shake your head a bit at seeing it right up there on the sign: Hex Clinic. 'Gonna guess that maybe this is part of why you're not doing so well, hon,' you think as you step inside.\n\nThe little lobby area inside is actually shockingly normal-looking, the same sort of simple, low-tech area you've seen in lots of doctor's offices and shrink's offices across the multiverse. (... On jobs!) There's no actual secretary behind the little desk and the computer seems to be off, so you're standing there wondering if the place is open after all when the door beside the desk opens. You school your face to impassivity as you hear a slightly eerie giggle, then feel your jaw go slack anyway as the proprietess emerges. 'Goddamn.'\n\nThe thick, almost black purple hair looking wild and like it's never had a brush taken to it in its owner's life, that you were expecting. The wide, slightly crazed eyes with bags under them, that you were expecting. The rather gothic dark purple dress, that you were expecting. But you weren't expecting her to be quite so stacked. You're far from small in the chest department yourself, but her breasts are easily twice the size of yours, looking like they're stretching the thin fabric of her dress for all that it's worth. The dress is equally tight against the slight pudge of her belly and her fairly ample hips, clinging in closely enough that it somewhat outlines her crotch before finally loosening and billowing out some around her legs.\n\n"Hiiiiii," she coos, giving you an unsettling smile that you're going to guess is her idea of being welcoming. "Welcome to Hex Clinic, can I help yoooou?"\n\n"Ah, yeah, my name's Michika, I was hoping to talk to you about supposedly seeing a legendary Pokemon in a cemetery near here?" you say, having quickly recovered your composure.\n\n"Oh that," she says, tilting her head at a slightly odd angle to regard you with mild reproof (which seems less mild for her mannerisms but still), a fingertip coming up to touch her lower lip. "Well, my name's Hexia, but I'm afraid I can't take time while the clinic is open, after all, I'm so busy!"\n\nYou glance around the empty lobby, and note that no one's come out of her office either, and give her a slightly flat look. "Right."\n\nShe lets out another eerie giggle, her hands having drifted up to about the level of her chest to dangle there limp-wristed, before saying, "Buuut, I guess if you were a customerrrrr, then we could talk."\n\nAh. Aha, there we go. Looks like she actually might be willing to spill, she just wants to be bribed first. Either the other people who have tried to get the info out of her weren't willing to pony up, or they didn't quite realize she was fishing for a payoff. You haven't been in this dimension long but you've started to get the impression that a significant number of people here are on the rather dense and guileless side. So if she does know something, you'll have to get it out of her somehow.\n\n<hr>\n[[Pay for a session.|ChiPoke4x1]]\n\n[[Offer her money.|ChiPoke3x4]]\n\n[[Offer to go out for drinks.|ChiPoke]]\n\n[[Ask her what she really wants.|ChiPoke]]\n\n[[Threaten to smack her around a little.|ChiPoke]]

Eh, they're not asking you to beat the Final Four here, the job's just to look for Pokemon, not catch them. Plus maybe the professor will have one you can use! If not, well, you stop in at 3B on your way to the departure portal annex and stock up on a handful of anti-animal sprays that are, by Guild definition, not weapons but should still be enough to make most feral creatures think again about messing with you if they do attack.\n\nYou step out of the portal onto a wide green area in front of an almost cube of a building, with several other buildings scattered around inside the fencing framing it and the large amount of grassy field around it, though some of the others are shaped more like the standard rectangles, though there's a few triangles and even an octohedron you're pretty sure. Glancing around, you can see the rise of a city not too far in the distance, tall buildings reaching up into the sky a comforting sight to a born and bred urbanite like yourself, even if you're currently closer to being in nature. You walk up to the door and ring the bell, only needing to wait a few seconds before it's opened.\n\nThe woman at the door looks thirty or so, with wavy shoulder-length platinum blonde hair with streaks of different colors in her bangs, thin-rimmed glasses over dark eyes, and a mature but pretty face. She's wearing a sleeveless white turtleneck sweater that hugs her ample chest, a fairly snug white miniskirt, and white stockings with white boots, though despite the slightly provocative look she has an air of sort of innocence around her... one of those people that doesn't really get what a provocative body they have, you immediately guess. Over that is a black lab coat with an iridescent rainbow lining... that, you have to admit, is pretty stylish, even if you have some vague idea that being 1) black and 2) fancy sort of negates some of the whole point of a lab coat.\n\n"Hello!" she greets cheerfully, adjusting her glasses. "Well, since you're a little old to be starting your Pokemon journey, and I don't have anything else scheduled, you must be answering the ad for someone to help me look for Pokemon."\n\n"That'd be me, yeah. Michika Hajimaru," you answer, offering a hand.\n\n"Professor Prism, though you can call me Penni," she answers, taking the hand and shaking it. "Welcome to Rainbow City. Or, well, the outskirts at least. Please, come in!"\n\nYou follow her into a fairly large, open room that looks like it's set up more for some sort of small awards ceremony than living in, Professor Prism shooting you a bemused look as you take a glance around. "You'll have to forgive me, November's a very busy season for children to turn ten and start their Pokemon journey, for some reason."\n\n"You have Valentine's Day in this dimension?" you ask as you walk over to look at the little trio of pedestals in the center of the room.\n\n"Yes, why do you ask?"\n\n"Oh nothing. So is that why you're asking for help with looking into these Pokemon sightings?" you ask as she finishes rummaging in a nearby cabinet and returns, holding a slim device with straps in one hand and a small sheaf of papers in the other.\n\n"Essentially yes. I already have quite a backlog of data I need to be going over, some collaborative efforts with other professors that are on my tray, and then with getting ready for all of these Pokemon journey starters there's absolutely no time left to even get out of the lab at all, really," Penni says with a shake of the head. "But I'm worried that a lot of these may be time sensitive, so really I'd like you to look into as many of them as you can as soon as possible."\n\n"Alright," you answer, accepting the sheaf of papers and looking them over. Geez, they're scattered across the continent... it looks like at least one is right there in Rainbow City, but there's another one that's on the coast on the other side of the land mass. "Are you covering travel expenses?"\n\nThe researcher stares at you blankly for a few moments, then blinks hard enough to make her head bob a little. "Oh! Um, right. Well, you see, we usually walk or bike everywhere, so... ... when I say 'as soon as possible'..."\n\n"If I get to it within a year or so it's fine," you conclude dryly. You didn't realize you were signing on for quite such a long mission, but oh well... even if you bail after looking into a couple of them or have to be a little out-of-pocket to rent an actual car or take a plane (you're pretty sure they still have those here, even if Pokemon-obsessed goofballs don't really use them), it should still be worth it. "Alright, understood."\n\n"Thank you very much," she says in a relieved tone, before proffering you the device, a slim little red and white rectangle with wrist straps. "Here, this is a researcher-level Pokedex. It should be able to identify any non-legendary Pokemon you come across, and even a few of those. Even for completely new Pokemon it should be able to provide a little bit of 'best guess' information. Obviously as mentioned in the ad, if you can actually scan one of those, it will be a considerable bonus."\n\n"Got it," you answer, accepting the Pokedex and strapping it to your right wrist. \n\n"Speaking of which, you didn't bring any weapons, did you?" Professor Prism asks with a slight frown. "My own personal feelings aside, if I hired an assistant researcher that wound up hurting or killing a Pokemon while on an assignment from me, I could lose my accreditation."\n\n... They have Pokemon professor accreditation? You're not sure why that surprises you but it does somehow.\n\n<hr>\n[["I didn't, no."|ChiPoke3x2]]\n\n[["I didn't, and by the way..."|ChiPoke]]

Better to get more data to take back, you think as you look up just in time to see a flick of that bushy tail disappearing into the door of the church. You'll just get a little closer and try not to bother it, considering.\n\nYou carefully make your way up the hill towards the church, circling around to the side to avoid approaching or being seen from the door. You make your way further up and closer in, dropping into a low crouch, then approaching one of the windows. Carefully, you peek in... tch, the glass is so warped and drooped that you can barely make anything out inside. You think you can kind of see the Hauntreon's spectral fire... are you close enough that the Pokedex can get a better scan? You lift up your wrist to check... and can't help but yelp at the sight of a clawed purple hand clasping onto it.\n\nJust like that, more purple hands materialize, latching onto your wrists, arms, ankles, and legs, and then lifting you up into the air. You can't see the Haunters they must belong to, but you can hear them cackling as they carry you through the air, struggling and cursing. You're carried helplessly in a sort of swaying, bobbing motion around the church to the front door, which a pair of Gastly throw open with their bodies so you can be floated inside.\n\nThe interior of the church is, if anything, even more authentically creepy and desolate than the outside. The outside seems almost cutesy and theme park, the interior is a genuine ruin with the smell of rotting wood and disuse infusing the air, and an actual cross hanging at an angle at the front looking like it's about to drop and shatter on the floor at any time. You're brought to where the pulpit probably used to be and floated upright, actually getting a look at the Hauntreon directly for the first time.\n\nIt's fairly large, at least the size of a wolf, with wild dark purple fur that puts you in mind of the spikes on the top of a Haunter's head. Its eyes are glowing red slits, narrowed to give it what you assume is a perpetual look of fury, its face narrow and pointed and hair spiky, surrounded by a thick, billowing mantle of purple ghostfire, its large paws bearing intimidating-looking black claws. It stares at you for a moment before turning its head slightly and giving a small nod.\n\n"HEY!" you shriek as more Haunter hands materialize and begin to strip off your clothing, the invisible Pokemon cackling and howling with amusement at your outrage. You flush as your pants are peeled down and your coat off, your arms and legs forced to move to assist them, clothes passing through the spectral hands holding you and forcing your movements as if they weren't there. As the Pokedex is pulled off your wrist and dropped to the floor, it bounces and lands near the Hauntreon, chirping before reading out again.\n\n"Hauntreon, the Ghost-type Eeveelution. The result of a Haunter possessing an Eevee just as it began to evolve into an Espeon. It has Espeon's incredible psychic powers, but can command other Ghost-types to do its bidding. It despises the living, and wishes above all to be left alone."\n\n'... Whoops,' you think with a grimace as you find yourself hanging there naked in the air, suspended by the Haunters' hands... and giving another yelp as a pair of them materialize and give your bare breasts a squeeze. "HEY!"\n\n"Enough of that. For now," Hauntreon says, making you twitch. Its mouth doesn't move, but the strength of its psychic projection is enough to make it seem like it spoke aloud. "Why have you come here to disturb me, human? You had best tell the truth... or I may decide to make an honest woman out of you anyway."\n\n... Okay, you're not sure what it means by that, but you definitely want to pick your next words carefully.\n\n<hr>\n[["I was just looking for information."|ChiPoke]]\n\n[["I came because I like Ghost Pokemon."|ChiPoke]]\n\n[["I felt a psychic pull."|ChiPoke]]\n\n[["I came because you're interesting."|ChiPoke]]\n\n[["I was just wandering around."|ChiPoke]]

"Look, how about we skip the cute stuff and just go to how much you actually want for the info?" you say, taking out the wallet you bought during your errands. It's patterned like a Pokeball, of course. (This entire planet apparently has one [1] fandom.) \n\nHexia's wide, creepy eyes had lit up a little already at the emergence of the wallet, and she lets out a short giggle, and makes some token 'hmmms' and 'hawwws' as if needing to think about it before naming a figure. You grimace a little at the amount... but it's not too bad, and easily more than made up for if the tip pans out. After a moment you sigh and pull out some of the bills from the money you had changed, proffering them, and trying not to stare as she snags the neck of her dress and stretches it downward until she can stuff the cash into her cleavage, before letting the dress spring back into place.\n\n"Well to be honest, I'm not sure if the Pokemon was really a legendary," she says, immediately making your expression go flat. "But! It wasn't in my Pokedex! It was definitely a Ghost type of some sort... it had a body, and I think it went on all fours. It felt very powerful, but it didn't come towards me," she adds, putting a fingertip to her lip and actually looking mildly upset. Clearly Ghost Pokemon avoiding her isn't something that happens very often.\n\nStill, it sounds like it's definitely a new and unknown type of Pokemon, even if it's not technically a Legendary, which means it should be a good payday for you if you can spot it and get a scan of it. "Alright, where's this cemetery?" you ask after considering for a moment.\n\n"I could show you," she offers, smiling... well, creepily, but you think she's trying for 'warmly'. Apparently your bribe has bumped her friendship level up sufficiently that she's willing to be more actively helpful. "If you like!"\n\n<hr>\n[[That'd be good.|ChiPoke]]\n\n[[Nnnnope.|ChiPoke3x5]]

"I'm good, thanks," you say dryly.\n\n"Suit yourself~," she chirps, instead simply showing you where the cemetery is on your comm's map of the local area.\n\nStill plenty of night left, you think as you hurry towards the location she gave you. You should be able to get there before the ghosts... no, you remind yourself, Ghost-types, completely different thing (you think?)... stop spawning or disappear for the day or whatever it is they do.\n\nYou have to admit, a bit later, that this world definitely has a flair for the dramatic. The cemetery's a decent way outside the city and is suitably creepy-looking, with an old, decrepit-looking wall and rusted, twisted black iron gate, and headstones that cant this way and that crookedly, all overseen by a small, strange-looking little church that's also as twisted and deformed as if the architect's last name had been 'Burton'. You have to wonder if this place is really where the people around here bury their dead, or if it's just some sort of preserve for Ghost-type Pokemon, like the equivalent of a zoo or a dog park.\n\nYou do almost give a shriek as you see something go floating by just above the top of the wall, a pale purple spectral flame surrounding a deep black sphere of a body. Relax... relax, it's just a Gastly. Those are completely normal around here, you remind yourself as you find a good place to boost yourself over the wall and drop down. You eye it warily, wondering if it's going to attack and if the repellant spray you got will work on it, but it just turns towards you, it's weird little almost jack-o-lantern-like face looking briefly surprised, before it turns and wobbles through the air, blinking in and out of visibility. Looks like they're not much interested in you if you're not going to make a nuisance of yourself.\n\nYou therefore try to keep yourself calm and casual as you stroll through the cemetery, trying to act like you belong there and aren't here to disrupt anything. You spy a fair few more Gastly, and a few times the triangular shapes and floating, grasping hands of some Haunters. But nothing particular strange or that could be confused for a Legendary, certainly...\n\n... at least until you get a bit closer to the church.\n\nThen your eyes widen as you spot something that is indeed padding along on all fours. It's in the shadow of the building so you can't see it that well, but it looks like it has dark purple fur and a somewhat bushy or maybe even spiky tail, and is about the size of a large dog. There's definitely a nimbus of spectral fire rising from somewhere near its head, illuminating sharp, pointed ears. You hear the Pokedex on your wrist beep, and raise your hand to look at it. The picture it provides is only a black outline but it does generally look like the thing in the distance.\n\n"Hauntreon," the Pokedex says in a quiet voice, almost as if it were whispering in this place. "This evolved form of Eevee is the result of evolving at night in a cemetery surrounded by Ghost pokemon. For more data, please scan from a closer distance or capture Pokemon."\n\nHuh! It's an Eeveelution, huh? You suppose you're not surprised... they expand those sometimes in the games as it is, you're not too surprised the multiverse has more varieties of them to offer. Though it sounds like this one is probably a new discovery (or occurrence) on this world as well. Well, you guess you can go back to Prism and tell her what this one is... though you could probably get paid more if you went and got the closer scan...\n\n<hr>\n[[Go back to Professor Prism.|ChiPoke]]\n\n[[Go get the closer scan.|ChiPoke3x6]]

My my, it's a lovely day today! A lovely day for...!\n\n... Hm. Actually, you do not feel like pranking, today. Gasp! ... Hahaha nah it happens sometimes! Sometimes even you, Konko, the glorious prankster spirit, feels like staying in, being lazy, just going to see a movie... ah, but you think you have a different drive today. Not pranking, but to check in on prior pranking targets to see how they're doing! To that end, you manifest a little black book and flip through the pages... not that you actually write all your targets down, you just thought 'I want a little black book that has a list of all my prior pranking targets in it'. And of course it's a magical book because otherwise it would manifest as a shelf of encyclopedias.\n\n'Here's an address not too far away... oh yes! The cute boy I caught playing hooky about a year back! I cursed him into a femboi, konkonkon, a simple but fun bit of work! Hm, well, let's go see how the happy family is today!'\n\nYou assume spirit form and pop yourself into the living room of the house... you've been there before, after all, it's not hard. The first thing you notice is that the mother is being all domestic, humming cheerfully and wearing an apron as she washes the dishes... an apron and crotchless panties, that's it. Oho~! As you're appreciating the view, you hear the front door click open... and the chatter of a veritable crowd of voices, most deep and in English. Ryo flounces in, little pink skirt bouncing, white spaghetti-strapped top snug against his flat little boytits and his hair fastened into a pair of twintails, a sparkly little star applied to his cheek in addition to his other makeup.\n\n"Mo~m, I met an American football team that was in town for an exhibition game and I'm taking them upstaaaairs!" Ryo calls into the kitchen, grinning and rubbing two of the men's cocks through their pants, squeezing at the large and obvious bulges as others of them run their hands over his trim little body.\n\n"My my, an entire football team?" the mother says as she walks in, drying off her hands, more than a few pairs of hungry, horny eyes moving over to her instead. "That's really too much, Ryo! Don't be selfish, leave at least six of them down here for Mommy."\n\n"Awwww! But okay!" Ryo giggles as he actually unzips the pants of the two men he's fondling, drawing out their large, dark brown cocks and stroking them eagerly. "Where's Sis?"\n\n"Upstairs, getting spitroasted by a pair of your friends from school, I think. Just let your friends know that if they don't want to wait in line to fuck you, they're free to go over there and pound her holes... or those of your friends from school, I should imagine," the mother answers cheerfully, beaming as part of the crowd behind Ryo peels off and moves over to her, drawing her tits out of the sides of the apron to fondle and squeeze them.\n\n"'Kaaaay!"\n\nOoo, yes yes, you have done an excellent job of creating family harmony indeed! And you think you know what you're going to do for the rest of the day, too... enjoy the show! Or... hee, you might always join in, you're sure they'd be happy to see you again!\n\nMischeivous Neighborhood Konko end - Family Bonds 1

Hey, can't hurt to look, after all this is the section that last job fell under too! It's not like everything's a hit... ... and, y'know, even if it is... ahem.\n\n[[Prisoner Elimination|LeoScapeStart]] - Apparently a high-end military ship belonging to an organization called the Ysno Conglomerate went through some sort of stellar phenomenon that killed most of the crew. Some prisoners it was transporting then broke out of their cells and killed the rest, but were thwarted in taking over the ship by its AI. The client wants the prisoners eliminated. ... Huh, nothing about retaking the ship.\n\n

"Oy oy OY!"\n\nYou wince at the sound of the outcry from behind you, which goes along with the sudden murmuring and clamoring of the people on the street. Pursing your lips, you raise a gloved finger to point to Red. "You and I are going to have a conversation later that you're not going to enjoy."\n\n"Oopsie," she murmurs, still grinning sheepishly even as a trickle of sweat dribbles down her forehead.\n\nYou slowly turn around, silver eyes narrowed as you lay them on your hated enemy... before your expression goes flat. "What the hell are you wearing, you upjumped adventurer?"\n\n"Ohhh, you like?" the skinny otherworld boy standing about ten feet away asks, grinning as he peers out at you from beneath shaggy black bangs with a streak of red in them, flame-colored eyes dancing. He's wearing some sort of loose white shirt with short sleeves, another shirt in an unfamiliar cut with its sleeves tied around his waist like a sash, and some sort of odd slightly baggy black pants with white streaks down the sides, and bright red shoes of... some kind... on his feet, with odd cloth laces going all along the tops of them instead of just the top. He has his hands tucked in... the sides of the pants? as he bops up and down on the balls of his feet, cheeky and whipcord and odd as he was the day he beat your entire ass, sunlight glinting off the single earring he's wearing.\n\n<img src="images/Keitaro.png">\n\n"Took me forever but I actually got some of the tailors here to make me some Earth-type clothes! Turns out there's this place in another city that does nothing but try to recreate stuff from Earth, so I told 'em a couple of things and they made these for me! It's a little weird that the sneakers are leather and the sleeves and neck on the T-shirt ain't quite right, but yanno," he declares happily. \n\n"Not keeping up with the whole 'flaming head' thing, either?" you ask dryly.\n\n"Nah man that 'glamour' thing is a pain, I save it for special occasions now," he declares, flipping his scruffy black bangs out of his face briefly.\n\n"Good idea. It made you look like a reverse carrot, considering how green you were when you faced me," you inform him, one corner of your mouth quirking up.\n\nThere's a collective sucking-in of breath from the crowd as the grin falls off the Hero's face, and Red lets out a soft little "Oh nooooo" as Saruko puts a hand to her face and Litarii double-facepalms.\n\n"Big talk for a Demon Lord out of his castle!" the Hero snaps back... causing a lot of the crowd to go scrambling back to line the streets and the smarter ones to flee entirely as he pulls a gleaming silver sword almost longer than he is tall out of nowhere, pointing it at you as he smirks in a rather nastier way than before. "I guess I better cut you into way smaller pieces this time!"\n\n"Shido!" "Shido-len..." "SHIDO!" the girls cry, looking torn at the idea of either fighting the Hero or letting you be sliced to pieces, likely literally.\n\n<hr>\n[["... Hero, please..."|IrMon]]\n\n[["... Girls. Get back."|IrMon7x4]]

"At the very least, it sounds like the space launch would involve the most direct danger to someone's life," you note. "Since sabotaging the launch would almost certainly kill the astronauts, and possibly some of the ground crew. I'll put the most tangible threat to life and limb at the top."\n\n"Understood, Agent. I'll let Adrien work with you on the details for the mission, then."\n\nWith that, the screen goes dark and the panel starts sliding back into place, Central off to... talk to another agent, or examine reports, or whatever it is the centralized parts of the Agency actually do all day. You suppose you could be bothered that you don't know and can't really conceive of it, but it's simply not relevant to doing your job, so. "Alright, Adrien, let's get to work," you note, turning towards him.\n\n"I've already got a preliminary report on the ship's launch here, so let's see," Adrien murmurs as he works the laptop. "Alright, so, it's intended to be a four person mission. The experimental engine will accelerate to extreme speeds while the crew rests in sort of hibernation pods."\n\n"Cryogenic?"\n\n"No, apparently they're just heavily insulated to absorb the forces of the speed, and take advantage of the temporal shift caused by such high speed travel. Possibly enhancing it in some way? I'm having trouble accessing all of the technical specs," he murmurs, frowning at the screen. "But yeah, the chances that this is 100% Earth-originated technology seem pretty slim, it's got some sort of extraterrestrial contribution at some point."\n\n"Then the saboteurs could be one of the various 'Earth Defense' groups we've run across," you note.\n\n"Very possible, but this sort of project, there's lots of variety to choose from on extremists, opportunists, and wackos that would love to destroy it. Anyway, the launch is planned to be in roughly two months, although the ship is already complete and actually scheduled to begin launch readiness prep tomorrow."\n\n"That soon?" you ask, raising an eyebrow again. "It's just going to be ready to launch at any time for the next two months?"\n\n"Effectively. There's some worries about the launch window for Earth to be in the optimum place in its orbit for the proper path to the target planet... apparently the 'official' launch date is very close to the end of the window, so if it looks like weather is going to be bad the day of or something, I'm betting that they'll launch early. It's pretty much ready to go, and heavily automated."\n\n"Automated... I'm guessing that means the crew will be primarily scientists who will study the planet, rather than any of them being pilots or engineers."\n\n"There's a fair amount of cross-skilling in the selected four but yes, the ship mostly runs itself. Mission control is also designed to be fairly minimal, with specialists on-call but relatively few people actually intended to be in the area at any given time. It's clear they are trying to take some security measures by limiting access to the ship and site to mostly essential personnel, but if that were going to be enough this wouldn't have gotten red flagged by the Agency."\n\n"So you agree someone's going to try to sabotage it?" you ask.\n\n"It's a really tempting target for not only a lot of targeted groups we know about, but various ones that just like to make trouble, and probably a few provocateurs that aren't really on anyone's radar yet," Adrien allows. "So yeah I think there's a good chance, and as I see it, there are three major times of vulnerability. That's when the ship is being prepped on the launch pad tomorrow, on the launch day itself, and in the period afterward where it's going through its preparation to activate the drive while it's out in space. Those are the points where either someone on the ground or even hypothetically someone on the ship could cause a failure that would be both catastrophic and very visible in the way this sort of saboteur likes."\n\nYou give a soft 'mmm', nodding thoughtfully as you sit back and consider.\n\n"So, any immediate thoughts?" Adrien says after a moment.\n\n<hr>\n[[You'll investigate the ship as it's being set up.|Jane]]\n\n[[You'll infiltrate mission control.|Jane]]\n\n[[You'll infiltrate the crew.|Jane]]\n\n[[You'll have a talk with the CEO.|Jane]]

You're already up and on the move, diving forward into a tackle of Doctor Silver as that fist starts to swing down. You twist to put yourself between him and the ground, since he's not exactly a young guy, but before you can even impact the ground there's a faint purple glow around you and him, and you flump against something that feels a bit like a large pillow before it disappears and you actually drop to the ground.\n\nApex had been right behind you and slams to a stop where Doctor Silver had been, thrusting her hands upward towards the Silver Samaritan's fist. The punch halts with a jerk and then twists to the side, the robot immediately turning back and swinging with the other fist, Apex quickly swinging her hands to point at that one and causing it to fling backwards as well.\n\nThere's a loud pang that announces that it's not just the Stun Dazzlers that have stepped up as Substance slams the steel chair she'd been sitting on across the Silver Samaritan's head, the blow apparently strong enough that the large robot actually stumbles and twists... and then immediately corrects itself and spins, slamming a backhand across the superfashionista's front and sending her hurtling backward and towards the concrete and metal of one of the parking structure's corners.\n\nThat purple light flares around Substance again, aborting her flight just before impact, Switch's hands thrust out and shining with the same purple glow. She quickly lowers Substance down as Pass scrambles over to you, the two of you getting Silver on his feet and hustling him away. Then Switch is forced to let Substance drop the last six feet or so as she flings herself to the ground to avoid the Silver Samaritan slinging the chair Substance used at her.\n\nApex flings both hands towards the Samaritan and opens her mouth wide, letting out a banshee shriek that sounds like a dozen old modems at max volume and going off slightly askew of each other. The Silver Samaritan staggers, its body repeatedly spasming, before it suddenly deploys a pair of shining blades from its forearms and flings itself at her, swinging rapidly, Apex forced to abandon her attack and instead dodge for her life, barely able to fling her hands to make the robot deflect some of its own blows.\n\nYou and Pass haul Silver into the garage where you thump him back against the side of a car as Switch comes racing in after you. "What are its weaknesses?" you demand, scowling.\n\n"W-w-why would I build weaknesses into it?!" Silver splutters.\n\n"Because THIS!" you snap back.\n\n"How could I know this would happen?!"\n\n"This always happens, it's like Robots 101!" Pass speaks up, apparently annoyed enough with him to overcome her usual shyness.\n\n"Oh forget it. You stay here," you snap at Silver, stabbing a finger in the direction of his face, at which he nods shakily.\n\n"I don't know what to do, I tried hitting it with a Technology Failure Hex but it didn't work, it must be too complex," Switch says worriedly. "Apex is holding it off for now but Substance is out for the count and the people are panicking so much that they're not really getting away, we have to do something!"\n\n<hr>\n[["Well calm down and figure out what that is."|MarSS]]\n\n[["Apex knows, we just need to figure out what she needs."|MarSS]]\n\n[["Pass, what do we do?"|MarSS]]\n\n[["... Okay, follow my lead."|MarSS]]

"Nothing relevant, let's get to work," you say in a businesslike tone, settling down at the table as well.\n\nAdrien nods and spends a few moments typing on the laptop, before part of one of the other walls raises up, revealing a large, already active screen. A woman's shadowy outline is revealed, backlit so that effectively all of her features are in darkness, her voice slightly distorted as she speaks. "Good morning, Agent, Handler."\n\n"Good morning, Central," you and Adrien both answer evenly.\n\n"Let's get down to business then, shall we? Agent, we have a number of potential assignments for you. As one of our proven agents, as usual you have your pick of which to accept, and your Handler can fill you in on any necessary details, as well as setting up the necessities. Now, one of those jobs is a night club in a large city in the US, where you'd be going undercover as an employee."\n\n"A night club, huh?" you reply, raising an eyebrow. "Something serious must be going on to warrant our attention."\n\n"Of that, we're not entirely sure. We've received several tips and red flags that indicate this club might be much more than meets the eye. We certainly know they're holding sex shows and a front for drug trading, but if that's all it is, we can back off and let some other authority handle it, if they ever care to. Similarly we've got some reports that the CEO of Bioteknik Solutions, a medical technology and pharmaceutical company, is violating numerous international laws."\n\n"And not just the way those companies usually do, if it's come to our attention."\n\n"Correct. Again, we'd need you to go undercover as an employee and attempt to infiltrate deeply enough that you could discover exactly what they're up to, if anything. The third undercover operation is at a university that we've picked up several red flags on... among others their graduation rate is almost 100%."\n\n"Interesting," you murmur, raising an eyebrow. "And those that don't graduate?"\n\n"Effectively dropped off the map, that being the other thing that caught our attention. There's another matter that won't necessarily involve undercover work, that would be at your discretion. A private company, under contract from multiple governments, is preparing to launch a highly advanced ship that will take a human occupant to another habitable world in this area of the galaxy."\n\n"That's... very advanced, isn't it?" you ask with a blink.\n\n"Yes. The company is almost certainly trading with someone off-world or out-of-dimension to have made such a project that's even vaguely feasible. While ideally we'd like you to find out who, the primary mission is actually to insure that the launch is successful. Within a matter of days the public relations blitz for the mission will begin, touting it as a new beginning for humanity as we begin to colonize the stars. There are indications that someone intends to sabotage it, and if it were sufficiently disastrous..."\n\n"It could be real chaos and disruption in the streets," you say grimly.\n\nCentral actually pauses at that, her head turning a little, and after a moment she says, "Well, no, we actually predict that the populace would be wildly apathetic about it."\n\n"... Oh," you murmur, exchanging a mildly sheepish look with Adrien.\n\n"That is, however, the issue, as certain of our analysts aren't sure how many more of these 'mass apathy events' society can take before it reaches a sort of point of no return. They're specifically citing that 'humanity needs a win in its column' and that this launch might be that. Personally I'm a little dubious on the whole thing, but it's been decided that it is one of our priority missions. So."\n\nIt sounds a little overblown to you. And if Central is offering it to you as one of your options (and not even the first option), you have to figure that she doesn't really see it as being as urgent as all that. Still, no mission you're offered is ever entirely pointless. So which one to take?\n\n<hr>\n[[The nightclub.|Jane2x1]]\n\n[[Bioteknik Solutions.|Jane3x1]]\n\n[[The university.|Jane]]\n\n[[The space launch.|Jane1x2]]

"... Dammit!" you hiss, before holding up a hand in negation and lowering your head a little, taking a few quick, deep breaths. "I'm... not gonna hurt you, Twitch."\n\n"Please don't," she whimpers.\n\nYou lick your lips, trying to figure out how to salvage this, when you feel Miranda's hand on your back. "May I?" she whispers. At your small nod, she steps forward, smiling in a surprisingly gentle way that makes her seem more familiar to you than ever. "Hi there. My name's Miranda. Is Twitch the name you prefer, or is that just what everyone calls you?"\n\n"... T-... Twitch is okay," the medisurgeon murmurs, flinching just slightly as Miranda raises a hand and holds it out.\n\n"Well Twitch, neither Kai or I are going to hurt you. We promise. She's just upset right now, and I imagine you know why." Miranda slowly sets the hand on Twitch's shoulder, rubbing gently, the cyborg woman's trembling slowly easing. "You can understand that, right?"\n\n"... Yes," Twitch murmurs softly, the groups of pixels indicating her view on the surface of the viewers shifting towards you. "... They killed Doonian too, huh? Not just took Zee? M'sorry... Kai..."\n\n"I need to get her back, Twitch," you reply just as softly but urgently. "I just have to." \n\n"B-b-b-but I can't!" Twitch blurts, already starting to tremble again. "Kai, even if, even if, even if it wasn't against the code of the streets, Horace would kill me for telling on his guys! A-a-a-a-and first he'd hurt me real bad! I have to live here, Kai, I have to keep living here, I have to-"\n\n"What if you didn't have to live here, though?" Miranda cuts in, causing both you and Twitch to look at her in confusion.\n\n"Uh... where would I go?" the cyborg asks, as if the concept of living anywhere other than her little clinic-apartment in City Sector 117-A had simply never occurred to her.\n\n"Are you familiar with GIPSE?"\n\n"Th-... the Guild?" Twitch seems more confused than ever, pixel pupils flitting between Miranda and you. "I mean, sure, I mean I know what it is, I know Kai's in the Guild, I know other people are, but we don't take Guild scrip here sorry and even if we could I-"\n\n"No, that's not what I meant. I meant, how would you like to live in the Guildhall instead?"\n\n"W-w-w-w-what? No, no, that's silly, no, I couldn't be a Guild anything, no no no, I don't even have a license for surgery, too many neuroquirks, can't do it," Twitch murmurs, actually turning away a little now. "Couldn't be that, Guild wouldn't want me."\n\n"They wouldn't have a say in it. Right now, Kai owns what we call a Mercenary Company Rosette that used to belong to her late owner," Miranda explains. "If we finish this job, it will belong to me instead, but either way it includes a number of privileges and abilities."\n\nWhere she's going with this dawns on you, and you smirk as you say, "Including the right to a small personal medsuite, complete with a bunkroom for an on-call doctor. And that doctor can be whoever we want, doesn't matter if what sort of license they have, if any."\n\n"... Me?" Twitch points at herself with one silver finger. "I mean... you'd do that just to get me to tell?"\n\n"Well, that, and to make sure you're safe, and because I probably would need a good medisurgeon eventually, and if you're good enough for Kai you're definitely good enough for me," Miranda picks up. "It might take us a little while to get the money to pay the dues on the medsuite, but I have somewhere you can stay until then. So please... if you really do care about Kai and Zee, help them. Help me. And I promise I'll help you in return."\n\n"... They didn't say where they were going," Twitch whispers after a moment, walking over to one of the counters and pulling over a tablet, her cyberlimbs starting to pluck up a few more things from nearby and bringing it around, her gleaming silver hands moving deftly as she attaches them and hooks them up. "Or anything other than for me to patch up the guy... and to give them a sedative for Zee. Sorry, Kai... I was scared."\n\n"It's okay, Twitch," you murmur, pushing down the resentment that tries to rear up and snap. "... It's probably better that she's not awake to be scared too."\n\n"I did give them the least harsh stuff I could," Twitch agrees as she works on whatever it is, as Miranda takes out some items from somewhere on her outfit and starts writing a note on what looks like honest-to-Crystal Dragon stationary. "They wanted her sedated for at least a few hours so I'm guessing they're not planning to hurt her right away."\n\n"But they didn't say anything at all about where they were going? If it was back to Horace or somewhere else?"\n\n"No. But the guy they brought in needed a transfusion." Calm now that she's got a place to direct her thoughts and is using her cyberlimbs, Twitch's voice is even as she uses one of them to actually solder several of the parts together. She picks the whole thing up and comes back over, holding it out to you. "The artificial blood I culture picks up a harmless radioactive signature from the stasis cabinet I keep it in... you've got about ninety more minutes before his body absorbs enough of it that you won't be able to track it with this."\n\n"... Thanks, Twitch," you murmur, giving her a small but sincere smile as you take the kludged-together tracker.\n\n"Alright, here's what you'll need," Miranda says as she steps in, holding out a small handful of objects. "This is a small emergency beacon, when you activate it you'll be pulled right to the Guildhall. The plastic thing under it is a guest pass, make sure and give it to the security officer who will probably turn up right away. Ask him to take you right to the outgoing portals, and have him input the set of coordinates I wrote on the back of the pass. You'll wind up in the countryside near an old house... it will be wide and open, so don't panic. Go to the house and give the man who answers the door this envelope... even in the event Horace was able to send someone after you, that man will protect you, I promise. Once you've gotten whatever you need to take with you packed up, you should probably leave right away."\n\n"Probably," Twitch murmurs as she takes the items, looking at them, then up at Miranda. "That Rosette thing sure must be important, to do all this for some mechrat like me."\n\n"It's very important to me. But you're not just 'some mechrat', you're a person who's in front of me that I can help," Miranda says with another almost impish smile. "And that means I should help if I can."\n\n"... Can I give you a hug?" the white-haired girl asks quietly.\n\n"Yes, you absolutely can." Miranda grins wider as Twitch steps in and gives her an uncertain hug, your companion patting her gently on the back to the side of the mess of metal where her cyberlimbs are attached.\n\nWhen Twitch steps back, she turns towards you, hesitates, then murmurs, "Uh, Kai, can I give you a hug too?"\n\nYour impatience to find Zee snaps that there's not time for this bullshit... but you realize that this could theoretically be the last time you ever see Twitch, if you lose your own Guildcert. And you realize, Twitch has always been as kind to you and yours as her tenuous situation would allow for... and you find yourself giving her a sad smile and opening your arms. "Yeah, c'mere, goof." You give her a gentle squeeze as she wraps those silver arms around you, uncertain if it feels like you might break her if you do it too hard or if it feels like she might break you with her metal grip. You move your hands to her sleek unyielding shoulders as both of you step back. "Take care of yourself, alright? Don't let the weird country air make you all lightheaded or whatever."\n\n"I won't."\n\n"I'll check on you when I can, too, arright?"\n\n"Okay. Thank you."\n\nSoon you and Miranda are walking down the steps of Twitch's building porch. You stop at the sidewalk and switch the tablet on, watching the GPS function come up and read 'Calibrating'. Waiting in silence, you glance over at Miranda, then back at the screen before noting, "Spare emergency beacons and guest passes aren't cheap."\n\n"No, they're not," Miranda agrees simply enough, looking at you expectantly, clearly knowing that's not the end of it.\n\n"Plus sounds like you're getting someone close to you pretty involved, for the sake of someone that was a perfect stranger half an hour ago. Not exactly standard merc procedure. She's right... that Rosette must mean a lot to you."\n\n"It does. I'm not going to deny that," Miranda agrees, bobbing her head. "But what I told her is true too. Helping someone in in trouble right in front of you that you can help is the right thing to do."\n\n"Yeah. Yeah, the woman who taught me to use a sword used to say something like that too," you admit, unable to help smiling just a little. "'We may fight for money, but that doesn't mean we can't fight for what's right too. If you're strong,"\n\n"'You're strong enough to protect the weak'," Miranda says along with you, smiling and shrugging a little when you shoot her a glance. "It's something my teacher... my grandfather... used to say a lot too."\n\n"... Guess it's one of those sword mysticism things," you murmur, looking back at the tablet. "Okay, looks like we've got a hit. Let's go, but be on the lookout for parked cars."\n\n"Why? ... Oh, to steal, right?"\n\n"You're learning quick, newb. Let's go."\n\nSoon the two of you are stepping out of the stolen car, moving to peek around the corner at a nearby single-story building, a restaurant with glowing 'Condemned' holoribbons surrounding it. "Probably holed up in there while they wait for orders on what to do with Zee and while their boy heals up a little more," you murmur.\n\n"Probably. How should we do this?" Miranda whispers back, despite your distance from the building. She pauses, then grins as she says, "We should go through the roof."\n\n"The roof?" you glance at her.\n\n"I know, I know, it's probably childish, but I've always wanted to come crashing in through the ceiling and immediately start beating up bad guys. It would certainly shock them," she says cheerfully. Then she clears her throat. "Like I said, though, I know it's a bit childish. If you say another plan is better, I'll go with that."\n\n<hr>\n[[Let's go for a more direct assault.|Kai4x10]]\n\n[[The ceiling thing could have merit...|Kai]]

"Yeah. Assistance contract. I need to see this get done with my own eyes," you answer.\n\n"Alright then. The job is listed. ... Um..." She delicately picks up the comm, eyeing it for a moment before offering it back. "... Please take this with you. Ah, and I'll call you on it when someone accepts the job."\n\nNodding tiredly, you take the blood-smeared comm back, then glance down at the various other smudges and splatters you've left on her countertop. "... Sorry," you murmur distantly, turning and making your way towards one of the bathrooms.\n\nYou watch numbly as the blood slides off your hands and whirls around the basin of the sink. You've heard the Guild actually puts something in the water that makes blood come off easier... true? Maybe? You don't know. You do think it's weird to imagine what you have left of the old man sliding off of you and down the drain. 'Shit, the body, what about the body?' you think distantly, before letting it drift away. It's the landlord's problem now, not yours, you have other things to focus on.\n\n"You look rough," a quiet voice says from nearby.\n\nYou glance up, staring at the slight catgirl in the red and white jacket without recognizing her for a few moments. Of course the way you're feeling you might have done the same if it had been Zee that walked into the bathroom with you and spoke up. "... It's been a rough night," you admit once you've found the way back into your own head.\n\n"Looks it." Her eyes roam up and down you, one ear giving a flick, before she raises a hand and proffers a credcard. "You're always short, right? Enough for a clothes-cleaning and some food bars, that's all, so take it."\n\nThe ghost of something like pride hisses inside your skull as you stare at the card briefly, before you instead raise a heavy hand up and take it instead. "Thanks, Texas."\n\n"It's fine. Get some rest," she says before turning and walking back out, fluffy tail giving a brief wag back and forth.\n\n... Were other people always this kind? you wonder as you retrieve your clothes from a quick-laundry machine a bit later and redress. You don't remember it. Sometimes it feels like the last few years have just been a long string of pain and abuse with Zee as the bright spot amidst all of them. But as you chew a mouthful of vaguely meat-flavored protein and fiber on your way to a seating area, more incidents like the one that just happen keep drifting up. People giving you loans, sometimes without asking. Tossing you gear they said they didn't need anymore. Offering to patch you up with their own supplies so you wouldn't have to charge something to the medcenter. 'My Guildcert is tied to Doonian's MC rosette... once that trades hands, I'll have to reapply and have my license reviewed as a solo. Am I gonna lose this?' you think as you sink into a chair and lean back, closing your eyes. 'Is that another thing my stupid decisions have cost me?'\n\nYou've drifted to somewhere not quite conscious and not quite asleep and stayed there for you have no idea how long when the comm in your pocket buzzes. Half-shuddering, half-lurching upright in the chair, you give your head a slight shake before pulling it out and typing in Doonian's code, some random series of numbers as far as you know, but you've done so well at memorizing it you doubt you'll ever forget it. "Yeah, this is Kai."\n\n"Miss Kai? This is Vima, the one who took the information for your job earlier? I wanted to let you know, your assistance contract has been accepted. The Guild member who accepted has said she'll be waiting for you in front of portal booth #12-20, if you're ready to go."\n\n"Yeah." You rub your face with one hand, then bring it down to the arm of the chair and push yourself to your feet. "Yeah, 'kay, thanks Vima. ... Sorry again about earlier," you add before hitting disconnect. You don't want her to have to say it's okay. Instead you turn towards the nearby lift and direct it to departure portal annex twenty, stepping out once it stops and walking down the rows of currently mostly closed booths. As you get to the last on the row, you do indeed see someone waiting there... sitting on the floor, actually. She's wearing a black schoolgirl-style uniform with red tie-scarf, black thigh-highs, and red sword-gloves of the sort that stop before the ball of her thumb. Even her katana is color-coordinated, mostly black but with a red grip beneath the wraps. Not that unusual... mercs are known for their decidedly odd fashion sense even when going on combat missions, as your own clothing can attest despite only part of it being your choice. Though she also seems really familiar to you, though you're almost sure you haven't met her before... long brown hair, somewhat disheveled and uneven here and there, red eyes somewhat like yours, a slender nose and 'refined' cheekbones and chin. She looks like she's around your own age, though she gets a little less familiar-seeming when she gives you a cheeky grin.\n\n<img src="images/Miranda.png">\n\n"You must be Kai," she says as she rises smoothly to her feet. "My name's Miranda, I'm the one who took the job you posted."\n\n"Hey, yeah, m'Kai." You stare at her for a second, before asking, "You new?"\n\nThat gets a brief laugh out of her. "What, you think you know everyone in the Guild?"\n\n"Not everyone. But I've usually seen everyone that's been around awhile at least a couple of times. You seem sorta familiar," you admit. "But I don't recall where I've seen you before."\n\n"I'll be honest... I've had my license for three days," she replies, seeming even more amused when your jaw clenches and your eyes narrow. "Don't worry, I soloed a B-rank combat mission for my proof of worth, you won't have any problems with my skill."\n\n"... Merc for three days and you wanna earn yourself a Mercenary Company Rosette, pretty ambitious," you murmur.\n\n"My teacher always told me to train like you're aiming to slice a moon in half. Even if you never quite get there, cutting down a mountain winds up a good consolation prize." You must have a Look on your face, because she snorts. "Yeah he's full of those, but he's not wrong. I set my sights high and aim for big goals, and just try not to stumble too bad on the way. But right now the Rosette isn't important... the primary completion goal on the contract, the return of your slave Zee," she continues, her expression turning serious now. "She's actually your friend, yeah?"\n\n"... Yeah," you say softly, nodding once. "Saving her is the most important thing. And I mean that. If we do this and it comes down to saving her or me-"\n\n"I don't think it'll come to that," Miranda cuts in smoothly, one red-gloved hand giving a short, negating wave. "But I understand. I want to go all the way on this, but you're right, saving her is the priority. We'll get her back, and then she can stay in my room here on the Guildhall until we're done with Horace. Sound good?"\n\nAlmost suspiciously good. But then, as you just recalled... maybe you've been a little blind to some of the kindness from your fellow mercs. "Yeah, thanks. I appreciate it."\n\n"Alright, you need to get anything before we go?"\n\nYou briefly consider, then shake your head. Most of your own weapons and gear are shit compared to what Horace's syndicate will be armed with, and any of the better stuff in Doonian's vaults that he hasn't... hadn't... sold yet is now technically the Guild's property until either someone completes the secondary objective of the job you've posted or enough time has passed that the objective is considered abandoned. "Nah, I'll manage with this."\n\n"Cool, me too," she says, seeming a bit cheery again as she turns to the portal booth. "Let's head out. Put us down near your apartment, we'll look for clues there," she says, gesturing to the coordinates input pad.\n\nYou step up and raise your hand, then twitch away from the display as if it were a hot stovetop. The image of everything wrecked, Zee achingly absent, a bloody lump of meat laying next to an overturned recliner...\n\n"Everything okay?" Miranda asks quietly.\n\n"Yeah." You jerk a little, then tap the familiar sequence, setting the temporal coordinates for as close to when you left as the dimensional differential will allow. "Yeah, sorry. Long day," you murmur as the door of the booth slides open, revealing the swirling portal beyond.\n\nThe two of you emerge onto the sidewalk outside the building, hands snapping to your swords and both taking a good long look around. You have to admit, it does look like Miranda's probably about at your level, at least, just to judge from her movements in that. ... Maybe better. Pushing such thoughts aside, you turn and make your way up the steps, stopping in the hallway and pointing to the smashed door. "It's that one."\n\n"Mm. I'd say that seems obvious, but judging from the look of the neighborhood," Miranda quips, before shooting you a sheepish look. "Sorry."\n\n"Nah. You're not wrong," you reply with a shake of the head, walking through ahead of her. It definitely hurts to see the entry and kitchen area... essentially Zee's realm... like this. Some of it was obviously in the struggle, but it looks like Horace's men took the time to bust everything they reasonably could in a few minutes. Trying to hurt you? Or just for the sheer meanness of it? Trying to shift your mind into a more analytical mode rather than the hurt, you cross to the smashed kitchen table and squat down, starting to brush bits of debris aside, seeing if the syndicate goons might have dropped something while tussling with Zee... she wasn't a combatant but she wasn't helpless either, Niobe and you saw to that. "There's other rooms but some of them aren't really liveable and we stayed out of them. I think it all happened in here and in the living room in there."\n\n"Got it," Miranda acknowledges, heading for the doorway.\n\n"... Dammit," you murmur several minutes later, not finding a single sign of the assailants other than the destruction they left. You stand up, already calling "You find anything?!" as you turn. You blink as you spot Miranda still standing just inside the darkened room, and walk over, slipping in behind her and realizing that she's staring at Doonian's body. You look over at it as well, calmer now, and there's still that strange sensation, that feeling that you can't identify. Not love by a long shot, no... but it's not hate anymore, either. Not quite sorrow, definitely not joy. It's like your mind knows that you should be feeling something looking at his battered, immobile corpse, but it has no idea what and has just given you a blank canvas and left you to figure out what should go on it. You look aside at Miranda, whose face is an unreadable mask. "First time seeing someone like that?"\n\n"... Yeah." She closes her eyes quickly and turns her head a bit, shifting her shoulders before the rest of her body as she turns towards the wall. "Yeah, first time seeing... that. I've cut plenty of people, but... it just wasn't like that."\n\nYeah," you answer flatly, moving to stand over Doonian's corpse and looking down at him... it. "Yeah, normally you have to hate someone pretty bad to beat them to death with your bare fists. It's ugly, and it's slow. But Horace employs the sort of guys who hate on command, they do this sort of shit then they go down to the bar to flirt with the wait staff like it's nothing." You look over at her again. "Sure you're still up for this?"\n\n"I'm fine," Miranda replies offhandedly, her eyes on the holes in the wall. "These are projectiles. His or Horace's men? He... Doonian... was a Guild member, or he used to be, wouldn't he have had a blaster?"\n\n"Blasters are a little rare on Makarzia, it's hard to get the charge packs for them," you answer, scanning the area around the body with an appraising eye now. "Especially since there's so many different kinds. So everyone either uses guns... projectile slingers... or melee weapons. Both can get pretty exotic. But considering the direction and the size of the holes, they're probably from Doonian's hand cannon. Not shocked one of Horace's boys decided to take it with them, it was one of the only valuable things in this shithole."\n\n"How many projectiles did it have in it?"\n\n"Rounds. Twelve."\n\n"Hm." Miranda touches gloved fingertips to one of the holes, then glances over at you. "There are only nine holes, though."\n\n"So he only got that many shots off," you say with a shrug. Then you hesitate, before frowning and shaking your head, turning back to her. "Nah, the old man was a slug, but he hears the door smash, he hears Zee scream, the adrenaline hits. He's out of the chair, turns it over, he's probably already mag-dumping by the time they come through the door, he'd have gotten more than nine off."\n\n"Let's assume he was standing where you're standing," Miranda says, glancing over at you, the words giving you a somewhat odd sensation just for a second. "I could see them getting to him before he got off the last shot, but that still leaves two unaccounted for." She backs up slowly to stand next to you, obviously making an effort not to look at the corpse. She uses two fingers to point in the general vicinity of the wall, moving them as she tracks from one hole to the next, then mms softly. "There's a void in the firing pattern. See it?"\n\n"I... no. I mean, maybe, kind of," you hedge as you frown at the bullet holes. "But a void, you mean like... he actually nailed one of them?"\n\n"I think so, it looks like."\n\n"Nah, nah, there'd be blood everywhere if he perforated one of them, that hand cannon was a vicious caliber. All the blood's over here. If he did hit the guy, it's Horace's assholes so they were probably wearing cloth-armor suits that make anything below Guild-certed weave armor look like shit. ... Wait," you correct yourself, looking down at the floor again and skimming your gaze back and forth. "In that case there'd be flattened bullets on the floor. No way they'd bother to take them with them." You wrack your brain for a moment before snorting. "Shit, the old man was loaded up with ceramicoats."\n\n"Ceramicoats?" Miranda asks curiously.\n\n"It's a process that can be done to the bullets, makes 'em sorta... slick, y'know?" you answer, making a gesture with a finger and your other hand trying to show something slipping through the air. "Makes 'em fly faster and penetrate armor more, they're a really shithead thing to use in a hab area 'cause they go through walls and bodies alike but it was the old man, he wouldn't have given a fuck. So if Horace's guys were wearing the really good stuff, maybe the ceramicoat bullets have enough speed and penetration power to go through the suit in a nice, neat little hole-" you say, making a stabbing motion.\n\n"But not come out, especially through another layer of armor," Miranda picks up, comprehension flickering in her eyes. "So no big blood pools, and no proj-, bullets left behind."\n\n"Yeah, maybe Horace didn't order the beating, maybe they were just pissed the fuck off he put a couple of holes in one of their boys. Then again, it's Horace, so."\n\n"With the void in the pattern... if we assume the shot man was a little taller than average for male humans... it would have been one in the thigh and one in the collarbone. From what you're describing it probably wasn't lethal, but he would have been in a lot of pain and not able to move very well... I doubt they would have wanted to take him very far. Where's the nearest medical help?" she asks, glancing over at you.\n\n"There's an all-night emergency clinic at the corner of the block, but they're required to report things like bullet wounds to the cops. No way to get around it either, it's all droid-manned. Nah, one more block over is the nearest place they'd've taken him, c'mon."\n\nSoon you're pounding insistently on a reinforced door in another apartment building. It takes almost half a minute before the speaker beside the door clicks to life. "P-... password?"\n\n"The password is 'open the door and let me the fuck in, Twitch!'" you call back, slamming your fist down on the door a few more times.\n\n"You go to a doctor called 'Twitch'?" Miranda whispers, raising one eyebrow.\n\n"No, I go to an unlicensed medisurgeon called Twitch, and she twitches, not her cyberlimbs," you mutter back, before pounding again. "Twitch, dammit, open up!"\n\nYou drop your fist as there's the sound of automated locks unclicking, and the door creaks open just the slightest, revealing a sliver of a pale face, white hair, and one lense of a goggles-like eye replacement prosthetic. "Oh, um, hey Kai, are you hurt, I can-" Twitch squawks and goes stumbling back as you shove the door open and step inside, Miranda striding a bit more calmly behind you. The cyborg medisurgeon is pale, her hair having gone prematurely white from the strain on her body of her numerous implants and prosthesis. Both arms have been replaced with largely humanoid silver limbs, left mostly bare by the white full-length smock she's wearing, four more purely functional long, multi-jointed prosthesis rising from her back, currently curling in on themselves like a smacked insect's as she cowers. "Y-you seem okay, I mean, I mean did you maybe finally decide on that neuroenhancer I suggested, I-I still have it in, I-"\n\n"Cut the crap, Twitch," you growl. "Some syndicate guys, one of 'em shot twice, did they come in here?"\n\n"I, I, I, I, I," Twitch stammers, sounding somewhere between that and a sound file failing to load properly since she's had to enhance her voice box with a small speaker implant. "I, I, I can't tell you that, Kai, you, you know I can't tell you that, it's how things work, I can't tell you that, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"\n\n"Dammit, Twitch, they killed the old man and they took Zee and you're gonna help me track them down," you snarl, lips actually pulling back from your teeth.\n\n"PLEASE, Kai!" the cyborg almost shrieks, drawing in more on herself, her whole body shuddering as well as some other, harsher little jerks, even as all of her prosthetics stay almost unnervingly steady. "I can't, I can't, I can't, they'll hurt me if I do, you know they'll hurt me if I tell you!" From the sound of her voice, the little near-electronic scratch hiccups, you can tell she'd be sobbing if her tear ducts hadn't been replaced along with everything else connected to her eyes. "You've always been nice to me, Kai, you've always been really nice, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I don't want to be hurt, Zee was nice to me too that time you brought her in with the flu, you remember that, you remember I helped Zee with the flu and I didn't even charge you 'cause you were always nice to me, please please please don't hurt me!"\n\n<hr>\n[[Push.|Kai]]\n\n[[Back off.|Kai4x9]]

"Far be it from me to turn down veteran advice," you note, briefly checking your rifle over just to be sure before you set off down the street.\n\n"Yes, I feel the same," Marigold says in a slightly relieved tone as she sets off with you, soon roaming ahead a little bit.\n\nYou've worked with search and rescue dogs before on jobs, so you quickly fall into a routine of watching her movements as she winds back and forth, sniffing about, occasionally stopping to lift her head and perk her ears. Of course, none of the search and rescue dogs you've worked with before ever said "Hm" or "Is that...?" or told you "No, it's nothing, nevermind" when they failed to hit.\n\nAs you notice her settling into a steady walk without much in the way of trying to detect, you take the opportunity to say, "So if it's not rude, could I ask... ah, what are you?"\n\n"It's understandable, considering all the different people in the Guild," Marigold answers philosophically as she loops back around to walk at your side. "I'm a Canisid. We're a race of sentient, well, dogs from your perspective. We had a fairly technologyless culture until we made contact with extraterrestrials... a bit difficult to invent complex architecture and cell phones with no opposable thumbs," she adds dryly, batting a paw in the air a few times.\n\n"Heh. But you traded for some I guess?"\n\n"Yes, we traded some mineral rights for access to droid technology, and from there we caught up pretty quickly. I'm one of several Canisids in the Guild. It can be a challenge, as you no doubt imagine, but I really like this way of life!"\n\n"Me too. I mean, I grew up in it," you add.\n\nThe two of you chat quietly as you go along, keeping your voices low. Whenever you notice Marigold's ears perk or head turn you quiet down as well, usually stopping and waiting for her to give some sign that it's clear. When she continues to stand and sniff longer than usual, you lift your rifle just a little. "Everything okay?"\n\n"Hmmm... maybe? I think maybe if you have a mask or rebreather you ought to put it on," Marigold murmurs back after a moment, her paws shifting just a little on the pavement.\n\n"Biological agent or toxin?" you ask as you slip a hand into one of your dimensional pockets.\n\n"Neither. I'm... pretty sure it's an aerosolized aphrodisiac."\n\n"... Yeah?" you say, your hand pausing and an eyebrow quirking again.\n\n"It smells rather like a few I've scented before. It might be like Larian said, someone might have used this as a test site for a 'lust bomb' they're trying to develop. I'm guessing between the weather conditions and it not being very refined, it hasn't been that effective, but better safe than sorry."\n\n"Hm. What about you?"\n\n"I have a mask built into my vest, but," Marigold replies, giving her head a little toss at her shoulder. "It would interfere some with my sense of smell, plus seeing a large dog in a tech mask tends to scare a lot of people. I should be fine, it's very weak and probably formulated for humans, so it shouldn't affect me... too much," she adds in a murmur.\n\n<hr>\n[["Well. If you say so."|LeoMari1x2]]\n\n[["I can tough it out if you can!"|LeoMari]]\n\n[["We should both play it safe."|LeoMari]]

"Speaking of Larian," you comment as you fish out the blue and white filter mask and press it over your lower face. "Remember what else she said? About companies and governments kidnapping people from Omeron?"\n\n"Mmm, and you're wondering if maybe we've actually been hired to do the same thing under the guise of 'rescuing' them?" Marigold says, waiting until the lights on your mask illuminate to start walking again. "The thought had occured to me. They'd be risking a lot of trouble with the Guild for a false listing if it was presented as a 'search and rescue' but it was actually kidnapping."\n\n"There's ways to weasel around that. You could claim that your 'rescue' comes with an unannounced debt you need to work off, or that it's just rescuing them under your own terms to take them back to a lab."\n\n"Mm. That would be rather devious."\n\n"Well, it is a devious multiverse," you reply drolly.\n\n"I suppose the best thing we can do is simply tell people we're here as part of a search and rescue operation... which, as far as we have been told, is true..." Marigold says after a moment. "And not force them if they don't want to go."\n\n"Yeah, good idea."\n\nThat little moral quandry out of the way, the two of you continue on. You notice that Marigold's movements don't seem as smooth and easy as before... she seems slightly more skittish, twitching a bit when catching wind of something. You'd put it down to nervousness as the afternoon wanes on, but you're guessing it's... something else. You decide to keep your attention fixed far more firmly on her front half than anything else... if the aphrodisiac in the air is affecting her at all (as you're guessing it is), you're going to leave that as her business.\n\n... Actually. You're pretty sure it's affecting you too, at least a little. 'Must be skin absorbable,' you mentally grouse, since you can feel your skin getting rather hot and sensitive, like your clothes are starting to way on you and chafe a little to be wearing. Not too badly, so you know the effects must be mild... but you're also definitely rocking a very stiff one. (Luckily you wear undergarments that are basically specifically designed to deal with that and leave you combat capable. Because... well... it's an issue that happens.) There's no more chatter now, as you and Marigold are both obviously trying to keep your minds on the job.\n\nWhich becomes relevant as she perks up, body stiffening a little this time, causing you to raise your rifle slightly again. "Someone's in that house there," she murmurs, just as there's a low rumble from above. "Having a hard time getting anything else, but there's definitely someone alive in there."\n\n"Alright. On my flank," you murmur, keeping your rifle at a low ready and prowling forward quickly, Marigold settling into a slightly low stance and cruising along after you, the motion now keeping her nails completely silent. You try the front door and find it open, glancing at Marigold and getting a nod before pushing it open, eyes skimming the room before you step inside. "Hello?" ... No response. You edge forward again... the place looks messy and run down, and there doesn't seem to be any power, but it's largely intact. You can see why Marigold must have had trouble pinning anything down... the combination of overturned furniture and whatever the architecture is made of is providing something of a sound baffle. You can just hear something from further in, and after a quick check glance at your partner, you head forward down the hall. Arriving at the door where the sound has been coming from, you keep your rifle ready with one hand and reach the other out, slowly and quietly pushing it open.\n\n... Ah, yeah, that figures. The confused sounds quickly resolve into moaning, the slap of flesh on flesh, and bedsprings frantically bouncing as you reveal a couple of teenagers going at it like... well, a couple of teenagers. Considering the similar dark blonde hair, olive skin, and overall looks of both of them, probably siblings, no more than a year or two apart. The girl is riding the boy at a gallop, her pussy pounding down on his cock, his hands gripping her slender waist like an anchor as she does her best to drive him right through the mattress.\n\nTrading a rather wry and somewhat embarrassed glance with Marigold, you lower your rifle and take a moment to compose yourself before rapping loudly on the doorframe and calling "A-hem."\n\nImmediately both give a short scream and go scrambling apart from each other, winding up pressed into different corners of the bed and clutching at themselves as if reflexively trying to cover themselves with sheets, but all the sheets seem to have long since been scrunched off the bed and onto the floor, leaving the girl with an arm pressed atop her tits and the boy with his dripping dick jutting up in the air.\n\n"Don't panic or anything, we're here to rescue you," you say, not quite averting your eyes. You can't be 100% sure they're not a threat, after all. "We're working for Comibinicorp."\n\n"Com-... th-... the people that run the convenience stores?" the girl says in a thoroughly out-of-it tone.\n\n"Yeah, those guys. So if you want a ride out of here they're offering. You, ah... you two got clothes?"\n\nAt that both of their faces go solid red, and they just as quickly go scrambling off of the bed and into the various piles of cloth scattered around. Soon the two of them are dressed in near-matching jeans and t-shirts, squirming as you look back at them. "Do you know where anyone else is?"\n\n"No," the boy says, shaking his head. "Our parents were at work in the city when everything happened, and we never heard from them, so... we don't know," he says a bit forlornly. "I think pretty much everyone else left later, but we were kind of still hoping they'd come back. I guess."\n\n"Um, h-hey, you won't... you won't tell anyone, right?" the girl says as you start to raise the radio. "About... w-we don't really know how it happened, we just..."\n\n"None of my business. Someone was testing some stuff in the area that probably caused it," you assure her, bringing the radio up to your ear. "This is SR-3, calling for pickup of two evacuees, healthy and walking, street outside is safe for landing as of transmission. Advise pickup team wear respirators or filters, mild chemical alterant in the air. Over."\n\n"Roger SR-3 we have your location, ETA approximately fifteen minutes, over."\n\n"Copy, over and out." You gesture to the two teens. "You heard 'im, you've got about fifteen minutes to get together anything you want to take with you, but don't load down too much, alright?"\n\nLeaving them to scurry around the room, the girl darting a bit further down the hall after a few moments, you head to the living room to wait, Marigold settling on a rug nearby. "You were awfully quiet," you note to her.\n\n"Mm, seemed like things would go smoother that way," she says in a dry tone. "They seemed to be in enough shock without adding 'talking dog'."\n\n... Fair enough, you guess, and yet somehow after spending just half a day with her it seems rather unfair somehow. You keep your eye alternately on the street outside through the window, the hallway, and your watch, eventually calling, "Okay, let's move it, they don't wanna be on the ground too long, let's go let's go let's go!" Luckily both the teens almost immediately rush out, both with a backpack and a messenger bag. "Alright, you two wait in the entryway, I'm gonna give the street a sweep, I'll call when they're landing."\n\nYou and Marigold move to the door, both peering back and forth down the street before emerging. You glance upward at the sound of turbines, and judge the ship's speed, waiting a bit longer before whistling and gesturing the siblings out. You wave them up the ramp, the masked crew helping them in and to seats, and just as you were told they're in the air almost as quickly as they landed once the pair are aboard and you've given the thumbs-up.\n\n"Probably need some therapy, but hopefully they'll be okay from now on," you note dryly.\n\n"I know the chances seem slim, but I do hope they wind up finding their parents," Marigold notes, her tail wagging a bit.\n\n"Yeah, same." You glance upward at the sound of more thunder, and several actually wet plops both on the street and on your head. "It's almost night and it looks like the weather's getting worse, we probably ought to shelter here."\n\n"Good idea," Marigold notes, turning to head back inside.\n\nYou head back into the house as well, doing a more thorough check. You open the fridge to see if there's anything salvageable, and just as quickly slam it shut. Yeah, no, the house has been without power a bit too long. You're betting both the kids will be hungry as hell once the chemically-induced horny wears off. (Well, as much as it ever does for teenagers.) Water's still on, so there's that, and a quick check of it on a chem scanner shows it's clean. The same check of the air does show that there's definitely faint traces of something it registers as a 'Pink warning', but pretty low. Kids must've either gotten the full dose when the stuff was released or it was the longterm exposure. You go ahead and take off your mask to have a glass of water, then head further into the house.\n\n'... Yeah, we definitely can't stay in here,' you think with a blush at the messy, rumpled room, both the obvious visual signs and scent markers of intense sex left all over it. You snag the camp lantern the two had been using and step back out, closing the door after yourself. A check further down the hall shows what must be the girl's room, now scattered with clothes, including several pairs of panties that cause you to quickly close the door as well. 'Gotta get my mind out of the gutter,' you think as you head into what must be the master bedroom.\n\n"This seems a decent enough place to bunk down," Marigold notes as she settles onto another rather nice rug on the floor.\n\n"Yeah. I'm kinda beat," you admit, both because you are and you don't exactly want to linger on waking thoughts, currently. You draw out one of your bag meals, then 'oh'. "Do you want something?"\n\n"I ate before we left, I'm fine for now, thank you," she murmurs.\n\nRight. She's probably feeling... well, whatever. You eat quickly, then lay down on the bed, trying to center yourself and not get caught up in thinking about... well, all the lewd things your mind wants to think about, like the very naughty scene you saw earlier, or any number of other scenarios your libidoed-up brain is spinning out.\n\n"Y-you know," Marigold says suddenly. "It's fine if you... want to."\n\n"Ah... huh?" you say, brain stalling out a bit as you sit up.\n\nMarigold sits up as well, glancing over at you, her ears swiveling. "You know, if you just need to... um... ... relieve some stress," she says in such an embarrassed tone you can almost see the blush on her face under her fur. "It's just one of those things, you know? ... Or... if you wanted to, we could even... ah... you know... I-I mean, just, because of the situation, and I'd never tell anyone, promise. If you, um... w-wanted to."\n\n... Oh. Uh. Yeah, well. In this sort of situation it's not exactly unusual for mercs to have a 'what happens on a mission stays on the mission' approach, just... you never really thought it might come to that with this particular teamup. And yet your system is just hyped enough on whatever hormone-enhancing chem is lingering in the air that part of you has already started chanting 'Do it do it do it do it' and you're pretty sure you know which part.\n\n<hr>\n[["We... could do that, yeah."|LeoMari]]\n\n[["... I'd like some privacy."|LeoMari]]

"Yeah, that's what I'm here for," you say after a moment's hesitation, giving a firm nod. Best to play along for now, after all.\n\n"Oh good!" Cindi chirps cheerfully, before looking you up and down. "Oh but my dear my dear, you can't take the tour like that! You'll have to change!" she declares, rummaging in her pocket.\n\n"What do you mean 'cha-'" you start to say, only for her to snap her hand out faster than a striking snake, something that feels like some sort of gummi candy hitting the roof of your mouth. It actually seems to burst, sending a rain of thin liquid sugar down onto your tongue, which hits your brain with what feels like an actual explosion of cherry flavor.\n\nThat's no exaggeration, it genuinely feels like your mind and then your whole body bursts and scatters into a billion pieces... and then just as abruptly yanks back in and tightens itself again. You wobble in place, your entire mouth (and it feels like the interior of your entire body) tasting like artificial cherry. Wait... does everything look... bigger? You look around the room, then up at Cindi who's now quite a bit taller at you, grinning impishly as you put your scattered thoughts back together.\n\nYou look down at yourself and stare. You're wearing a short-sleeved white collared shirt with several buttons up top, smooth cotton rather than any sort of thick knit, the top two of three buttons undone, a patterned blue and black short tie around your neck but rather than being properly tied and snugged up, just clipped closed with a little golden dragon clasp. The shirt is just short enough to bare your bellybutton above the waistband of the blue pleated skirt you're wearing, the legs of a pair of black bike shorts emerging from beneath it, and a pair of thickly-piled baggy socks resting atop simple, shiny black loafers. The real kicker is that the uniform... as shockingly familiar as it is... rests over a bare chest and trim hips.\n\n"What the heck?!" you shriek in a rather squeaky voice, whipping your head about again. Spotting that there's a mirror attached to the side of one of the playsets, you rush over to look. You're... definitely younger. In fact the face staring back at you, smaller and cuter, hair braided and draped over one shoulder and fastened with another dragon clasp (this one silver) is yours, even though you haven't seen it that way in years.\n\n"I look exactly like I did in XX school!" you blurt. Then blink, and frown. "XX school. XX school. Xth grade. ... What the fudge?!"\n\n"Necessary censorship, sweetie, makes it a little less dicey," Cindi stage-whispers to you, having edged up beside you and leaned down to cup a hand beside her mouth. \n\n"Fudge! What the heck?! Heck! AYCH-EE-DOUBLE-HOCK-!!"\n\n"Now now let's not get carried away," Cindi scolds gently, patting the top of your head comfortingly, and smoothly taking her hand away when you bat furiously at it. "But see? Now you're attired properly for the tour! I'll need to go round up the other participants, and I'm sure we'll have a few more latecomers, so until then why don't you step into one of the other play areas here?" she suggests, gesturing to a door that you're pretty sure wasn't there before, which swings open to reveal what looks like... well, a play area, complete with a handful of cheap toys, an outdated video game console and viewer, and a ball pit.\n\n<hr>\n[[Continue to play along.|PervSim13x2]]\n\n[[Lose your snot.|PervSim]]

Deciding you don't feel like completely giving in to your current appearance to the point of playing with blocks or something, you decide to just watch the TV for a little while and hope the Cyko comes back soon so you can start properly figuring out how to deal with this. In the meantime, you locate a fairly basic-looking remote on the cabinet and take it to sit down in the annoyingly blocky, cartoonish plastic chair parked in front of the screen, turning it on.\n\nYou practically flinch at the nearly eye-gouging interface. Gah! Those colors, all the pink and orange and... oh god the font is Comic Sans, she must be the devil. You shudder and are tempted to turn the screen off then and there, but make yourself start scrolling through the selections. Not like any of the other options are still any better.\n\n<hr>\n"[[Cindi Cyko's Candy Crafters Tour Prep|PervSim]]"\n\n"[[Your Changing Body|PervSim]]"\n\n"[[Cartoon Cavalcade|PervSim]]"\n\n"[[Relaxing Water|PervSim]]"\n\n"[[Cindi's Private Tapes|PervSim]]"

You're on a hot boil, but force yourself to cut the heat and take a deep breath. Someone that could so casually de-age you... and not just physically revert your body, but accurately recreate how you were in XX school (seriously? even in your own head?)... is probably not someone you want to casually throw a tantrum with. (Gawd, it really would be throwing a tantrum, like this.) Nodding curtly, you turn and march into the play area, your skirt and braid flouncing, a fresh flush of indignation at how it really does feel childish to storm off in this body and outfit.\n\n"See you soooon!" Cindi chirps, waggling her fingers in a little wave before the door swings closed behind you.\n\nYou stop, and take another look around the playroom... or holding pen, maybe. It looks pretty much as it did from the outside, a deeply childish sort of room with lots of bright colors, thick plastic furniture, and most of the scattered toys and entertainments aimed at individuals even younger than you currently seem to be. There are coloring books, building toys of various kinds, and a little cabinet with the as-noted obsolete-looking game console and viewscreen. (You're not familiar with either of them, so you're not sure how you can tell they're meant to be several generations out of date in comparison, they just sort of have that feel to them. Maybe it's because you've seen enough waiting rooms with kid distraction areas to just apply that standard.) It looks like there's a cable going to the viewer from the wall, so it probably has vid channels too. \n\nThe big attraction seems to be the ball pit. You can confidently say you've never seen a bigger and more elaborate one, though you're sure that they exist. Not that it's necessarily huge really, but it is about half the size of the room, and looks like it would be at least waist deep for you, filled with numerous high-quality plastic balls of numerous bright colors, both primaries and pastels, making them look like large round candies (no visible holes or seams or just a couple of bleak colors). Clearly that Cindi Cyko person takes pride in her balls. ... yeaaaah. But anyway, there's also a short plastic slide over on one part that runs down into the ball pit, a few other little plastic 'islands' the size of stools or chairs (probably to jump in despite the potential for getting an owie, how oldschool).\n\nYou look over your shoulder, and make a face... the door's gone again, just like the one to the lobby. Clearly you're not getting out until Cindi has gathered her whole little 'tour group'. Well, you'll have to kill time somehow...\n\n<hr>\n[[Color.|PervSim]]\n\n[[Play with blocks.|PervSim]]\n\n[[Play vidya.|PervSim]]\n\n[[Watch vids.|PervSim13x3]]\n\n[[Ball pit.|PervSim]]\n\n[[Sit and pout.|PervSim]]

"Help me! Hey, hey, old man! Old man! Doonian!" you shout, gripping his red-stained shirt in both hands. "Doonian, for the love of the Crystal Dragon you have to help me! For once in all the rotten, mean years you've owned me, actually help me for once!"\n\n"... what..." he gurgles.\n\n"You have to free me and leave everything to me!" Hearing the catch that causes him, you urgently continue. "You have to, it's the only way I have any chance of getting back at the guys who did this to you!" Looking around desperately, you spot the cracked screen of his comm nearby and snatch it up, using his unlock code to bring up the Guild's emergency Last Will app, hurriedly selecting the provisions before putting his thumb to it. "You have to say the confirmation phrase, you need to do this," you plead, gritting your teeth as he just hisses and gurgles, holding on with all the tenacity of a man determined to be a miser up to the last. "Dammit, if you won't do it for me and Zee, do it for revenge! Do it to get back at the bastards that killed you! I'll get them for you but I can't do it with nothing!"\n\nYou listen to that gurgling rasp, listen to him slowly drowning in his own blood, feeling your body start to tremble. Then blood trickles down his cheek as he manages to rasp out, "... aschente..."\n\n"Phrase accepted, will filed," the computerized voice of the comm chirps.\n\n"Thank you," you murmur, your voice shuddery, the sheer relief you feel enough to make you repeat it. "Thank you."\n\n"... Kai... you... were always..." he rasps wetly, struggling with the words, one of his mangled hands twitching like he wants to raise it towards you.\n\nAnd then he's dead.\n\nYou stare down at him, realizing that he so abruptly lost the struggle he was fighting up to the last, gone without it even having been between blinks. You turn your head back and forth a little, as if searching for some sign of what happened in that instant, not even really knowing what you're looking for. There's no real name for the feeling causing the aching in your chest and the tightening in your throat. It's not grief... it's not love... not even really the shadow of those things. Or maybe it is... the grief that your life will never be the same, as shitty and hard as it was, that one of the only things you've known for your entire life is now gone and will never be there again. That as callous, selfish, and often worthless as he was, the closest thing you ever had to the concept of a father has just become a pile of bloody meat on the threadbare carpet in front of you. That for better or worse, he was the one who was ultimately responsible for everything you are, and now he's gone.\n\n"... I'll kill them all, old man," you murmur, reaching out to pick up your sword and his... now your... comm as you rise to your feet, feeling your expression going cold despite the faint burn in your eyes. "I won't do it in your name. I won't do it for you. But I guess if you wanna look up from Hell and enjoy it all the same, I won't hold that against you."\n\nYou trade the comm for the locator beacon in your pocket, already striding forward as you hit the button and wind up stalking into the portal annex of the Guildhall. Other mercs arriving or milling about glance over, and immediately start giving you a wide berth... someone returning from a job with their hands covered in blood isn't exactly unusual, but the naked blade in your hand and the look on your face apparently clues them in that you're best avoided. You halt inside the lobby, taking a few seconds to breathe and force yourself under control, before finally sheathing the katana. You can't waste any time. You need to take action, now. Even with time moving slower on the Guildhall compared to the places you can portal out to like Makarzia, you can't risk leaving Zee as Horace's captive any longer than possible. Which means no stalling, right this minute you need to-\n\n<hr>\n[[-call in a favor.|Kai]]\n\n[[-armor up.|Kai]]\n\n[[-list a job.|Kai4x6]]

"Go!" You watch as he goes scrambling into the vehicle, the little underpowered machine still doing its best to peel out as he programs whatever emergency situation he can think of to override the safeties.\n\nYour heart drops as you hear the sound of bells tolling from your jacket pocket. You can feel the comm's vibration as you pluck it out, not even bothering to check the ID before thumbing the accept and putting it to the side of your head. "... Yeah."\n\n"That wasn't what I told you to do, Kai," Horace's voice says immediately, far too cool and neutral to mean anything good.\n\n"Look, he's gone, okay? He's headed straight off the planet and won't be back," you reply. You don't actually think your defense is going to work, but you feel compelled to try. "His who-gives-a-shit subordinate still gets promoted to replace him, he doesn't say anything about what he saw, it's the same damn result so what's the difference?"\n\n"Even if that's how it works out, the difference is that you didn't do what I told you," Horace answers, his still overly calm voice turning cold enough to make you shudder.\n\n"... Okay, so, deal's off, we don't do it," you try, for one last hope at heading off what you think is coming. "Didn't work out, we go our separate ways again, nothing changes."\n\n"That's not how it works. We shook on a deal, and then you didn't hold up on your obligations to making it happen. You know what happens to people that break deals with me, Kai." The moment he says your name, there's a skittering noise and a slight heat from the comm, and you pull it away just in time to watch the screen shudder and go blank, a small waft of blue smoke rising from around the edges of it. Then you drop the bricked device as you lurch to the side in reflex at the slightly distant but very distinct sound of an explosion from down the block as the bike's engine is set to overload.\n\n'Shit. Shit shit shit shit!' you think as you turn and start charging in the direction of home, desperately looking around for another vehicle. It takes you almost two blocks before you spot one, another but much older bike that you throw yourself onto, feverishly hotwiring it and taking a moment to bypass its speed limiters directly before taking off like a shot. 'C'mon, c'mon, at least have waited until I fucked up to send the guys over, at least don't have them have been waiting outside, please please please please!'\n\nYou almost lay the bike down screeching to a stop in front of the apartment complex, managing to tumble off of it before letting it go sliding away from you, snatching your sword out of its sheath as you charge up the front steps. "Zee! Zee!" Your skin crawls and your heart stops for a moment at the sight of the smashed front door. "ZEE!" you scream, flinging yourself through the doorway, desperately looking back and forth amidst the practically destroyed little apartment, but seeing no sign of your fellow slave. At a harsh, gurgling rasp from the next room, you turn and hurry in, then jerk to a halt and throw a hand to cover your mouth. "Crystal Dragon... old man..."\n\nDoonian's laying in the floor, beaten so badly you can't even recognize him beneath the mushed flesh and open wounds of his face. The rest of his body's not better, both arms at unnatural angles. From the look of the room and the few holes in the walls it at least looks like he tried to put up a fight, not that it did him much good in his condition, or against the likes of Horace's men. The only sign that he's alive is the blood bubbling up from his lips and what's left of his nose as he struggles to keep breathing. Uncertain what else to do, you hurry to his side, dropping the katana and reaching towards him, then stopping without actually touching him, hands hovering uncertainly over his chest. "Old man... old man! Hey, hey! Can you hear me?!"\n\n".. Kai..." The word is barely audible, or recognizable, and sounds like he's struggling to get even that much out through the pain.\n\n"Where's Zee?!" At his answering groan, you lean in, your voice growing more desperate as you urge, "Zee, what happened, where is she?!"\n\n"... took..." he manages, then again, "... took..." as if that's the most he can focus to say.\n\nSo Horace's men took her. At least they didn't kill her on the spot, but the thought of what they might do instead terrifies you to an extent you didn't know you could still feel. On the verge of panic, feeling lost and afraid and guilty, you look the battered, dying form of your owner up and down, struggling to think, knowing there has to be something to say, something to say. Hearing him start to struggle to breathe even harder, hearing the rasp grow thicker, it really hits you that he's going to be dead in moments, and two words come blurting from your lips.\n\n<hr>\n[["... Help me!"|Kai4x5]]\n\n[["... Fuck you!"|Kai]]

"The complete and total holdings, rights, and property of Doonian Elite Solutions," you answer immediately, tossing Doonian's blood-smeared comm onto the counter to let it slide halfway to the clerk.\n\nYou'll probably feel bad about the day you're giving the sweet-seeming girl later, but for right now you barely register how she's becoming steadily more flustered. "Ah, Doonian... Elite Solutions, yes, I think... um, didn't that dissolve years ago?" she asks, typing more hurriedly now.\n\n"The old man couldn't pay his upkeep on his properties here, but DES still has all the rights and privileges he purchased and earned over the years," you explain evenly. "Up to seven docking spaces in the vehicle bay with full maintenance at no extra charge, elite-level housing license, vault-to-site portaling, a lot more. Put it all in the listing," you add as from the slight widening of her eyes you can see that she's finally found the Mercenary Company's listing in the system and seen the very long listing of Guild privileges that your late owner was once able to afford and accrue. "The MC's full rosette, plus all the vault and storage contents listed under it."\n\n"Yes, certainly. Ah, what should I list as partial completion payment?" she asks, glancing at you.\n\nRight, for a job with a primary and secondary directive, you need to say what someone gets if they only complete the primary and don't manage the secondary. You hesitate a little... do you want Horace dead? Oh yes. Oh yes, very much. But you're confident enough in your ability to do that someday all on your lonesome, if necessary. Getting Zee back is the important thing. "The MC Rosette for primary," you reply, since it's ultimately the most valuable thing. In fact you're shocked Doonian didn't sell it himself years ago. 'Guess the old man still had dreams of getting back one day,' you think, unable to help feeling several layers of bitterness. "Secondary required for the vaults and storage and all their contents."\n\n"Understood. And is this an assistance contract?" she asks, daring to glance directly at you briefly.\n\nMeaning, when it's a Guild member listing a job, you can flag it as a request for assistance... that you want someone to come along and do it with you, as you stay right in the thick of it.\n\n<hr>\n[[Yes, it's an assistance contract.|Kai4x8]]\n\n[[No, just a bounty.|Kai]]

"Look, you said it yourself, you really don't understand why Luna dumped you so suddenly, right?" you ask. At his forlorn nod, you slip out of the booth and beckon for him to join you. As the two of you start walking along, you slip an arm around his shoulders, which makes him jump a little at the unexpected contact (or possibly unexpected affection). "So it's simple. We'll help you understand girls better! Then maybe you can get inside her head better and figure out the path to getting back together with her!"\n\n"I... guess that makes sense, yeah," Kyle agrees after a moment, bobbing his head. "I was never really great with girls anyway," he admits sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. "I was always kinda surprised that I even got together with Luna."\n\n"Well don't worry, after this, I think you'll understand girls a loooot better," you assure him, grinning as you pat his shoulder.\n\n"Okay. Um, where are we going?" he asks.\n\n"Back to my place, there's something there we need."\n\nYou and Kyle walk back to the house where you're renting a small handful of rooms, and you show him into your workroom. Settling to your knees, you open your magic item storage footlocker and start rummaging through it. "Now, let's see, where is it, where is it... ah, here it is!" You come up with a black leather choker, working the clasp a few times to make sure it hasn't gotten bunged up on you, then stand and hold it out to him. "Here, put this on."\n\n"... Uh?" He blinks curiously, but takes it. "I... how is this gonna help me get Lu-" He stops as you make a 'tsk' noise and ducks his head sheepishly. "Um, right, no questioning it, gotcha. Okay." \n\nHe hesitates just a moment more, then brings the choker up and fastens it on, the clasp giving a little 'click' as he manages to get it together. His blue eyes go wide as he rather abruptly loses several inches of height, dropping him down to at least half a head shorter than you. His jeans and boxers drop to the ground around his now too-large shoes, hips having turned too slender to keep them up, as his baggy blue long-sleeved shirt falls to drape off of one side of his slendered shoulders, covering down to just below the hips, leaving pretty coltish legs bare. And as if to put a cherry on top, his hair abruptly gives a flmp as it puffs out and drapes to the small of the back, still black and rather tousled.\n\n"W-w-wha?!" Kyle squeaks, then grabs at a more slender throat with both hands at the higher pitch. "I... wha?!" Kyle looks down and cups at the front of the shirt, outlining a pair of barely-a-B-cup boobs, then yanks up the front of the shirt as well, baring a sleek flat tummy and a lightly-furred pussy. "You... you turned me into a girl!" she almost shrieks, dropping the shirt to clutch at the sides of her head.\n\n"Well sure," you answer reasonably, while internally you're rolling around laughing harder than you ever have in your life. You shrug with a light spread of the hands, smiling placidly at him. "Like I said, you need to learn to understand girls. The best way to do that is to be a girl for a little while, don't you think?"\n\n"But... but... I didn't think...!" Kyle frets and squirms, looking on the verge of tears. It's even more adorable now, and you can't help but scoot over and wrap an arm around her shoulders again, because it seems better than giving into the feline urge to pounce and start batting her around.\n\n"I'm sure it must be a shock to realize that I'm the real thing, but since I am a real witch, obviously I know what I'm doing, right?" you assure her, while she squirms a bit more, but eventually nods. "That's right! Listen, the clasp is magically sealed, but once you've experienced being a girl and learned more of our mindset, I'll undo it and you can go back to being a guy, now with the key to Luna's heart!"\n\n"I... w-well, but... my classes," Kyle murmurs, glancing down and pushing the front of the shirt down, blushing a little... likely at remembering flashing you earlier, though you doubt she realizes she's now unintentionally giving you a peek at her pert little butt.\n\n"You said you could barely go to those and concentrate as it is," you point out. "Besides, you can still go to any of them you can manage, you just won't get attendance credit, but hardly any of the teachers here count that."\n\n"I... guess that's true. And... my dorm's coed with private rooms, so." Kyle finally sighs. "If you think this will really help me get Luna back!"\n\nAw, his and/or her devotion and/or desperation is so adorable. You can't help but grin and ruffle her hair, making her squeak and duck her head slightly. "It will, it will, for sure. Don't worry, Kylie..." And here you can't help but have a bit of a gigglefit. "We'll get started right away!"\n\n"... Okay." Another brief fit of squirming, before Kylie asks, "So, um, how do we start?"\n\n<hr>\n[[By getting dressed.|ValJobs]]\n\n[[By getting naked.|ValJobs]]

"I know my situation's kind of... weird," you continue, flipping a hand through the air. "And I was worried about joining a team because it might bring heat on you guys too, so I guess I just wanna say, thanks for giving me a chance too."\n\nApex looks rather thoughtful at that, nodding once. Pass still seems rather dubious, at best. Switch is the only one who smiles even more brightly, and then says, "Hey, we're all kind of leaps of faith by S&S, right?"\n\n"True, though people tend to take it wrong if we say it," Substance notes dryly. "In any event, I'd like to give you all more time to get acquainted, but unfortunately scheduling wound up being a little tight on this debut opportunity, so we need to get going pretty much immediately," she continues as a pale gray minivan cruises around the edge of the lot and pulls up.\n\n"We're going in that?" Apex asks... then blinks and gives a soft 'huh', tilting her head.\n\n"I know it's not very fashionable, as my sister constantly reminds me," Substance says as the van pulls up and the side door slides open. "But this is simply one of those cases where function was necessitated over form. These minivans are self-driving, armored, capable of rendering emergency extractions, are all-terrain, and can even fly. Besides needing the space for all that, they need to be able to carry the relay for their linkup to the Main Observational Monitor I designed that keeps watch over you in case you need to call for help or get knocked out. Of course, the sensors aren't perfect," she allows, then adds, "And we had to tweak MOM's routines quite a bit so that she wouldn't just go pulling you out any time you're in the slightest bit of danger. So you should feel like she's there and available to get you out of things if you're out in the open and can call her, but otherwise don't rely on her too much."\n\n"I do love to watch out for my little cubs, but momma lion does have to let the babies learn to hunt!" a chipper, slightly electronic voice says from the minivan's interior.\n\nYou exchange a glance with the others, before almost as one all of you shrug and get in. You suppose that transporting a whole team together does sort of require something like a van... it's not like everyone can fit on your motorcycle. (You guess you could just buy them all motorcycles? Wait, would that be really weird, throwing your money around like that? It could come off condescending or something, best to avoid that sort of line of thought.) The four of you troop over and clamber in, settling into the pilot-style seats... and almost as one all of you yelp as the seatbelts fling themselves across your bodies and snug tight, hauling you firmly against the seats.\n\n"Buckling up is very important and sets a good example too, after all!" MOM's voice says from the dash.\n\n"I was not told about needing to set a good example," Apex notes flatly.\n\n"Sorry~, contract signed, see you at the press conference~!" Substance chirps, wiggling her fingers in a wave as the van door slides shut and the minivan smoothly accelerates and curves around to the ramp, heading for the street.\n\nWhich leaves the four of you sitting there in a slightly awkward silence. These are the people you're (presumably) about to spend years risking your life beside while protecting the city, possibly the planet, but it's clear that at just this moment none of you really knows how to start a conversation. Pass wound up sitting ahead of you, and keeps glancing over her shoulder at you, then ducking and whipping her head back around... probably afraid you're pulling out a knife to stab her or something. Apex is sitting to the side of her, and seems to have settled into a sort of slightly bored, slightly surly sprawl. Switch, on the other hand, is beside you and is the one to break the silence.\n\n"So are you guys excited? I'm pretty excited. We're gonna be debuting as one of the first new teen hero teams in a long time, let alone one of the first new girl teams! People oughtta be pretty jazzed for that, right?"\n\n"I wouldn't plan on it," Apex drawls.\n\n"Yeah, sorry again for bringing baggage to the party," you say with a sigh.\n\n"Ah, hey, I didn't mean you," Apex hurries to add, sitting up a bit and wagging a hand on the air. "I was actually thinking of me. I'm not exactly the image of an inspiring young hero, even after I let Substance jazz up my look a little bit."\n\n"Well magic heroes haven't been too popular either since the Summer of Flame, but here I am," Switch points out dryly, the other three of you cringing a little just at the memory. Which you guess proves her point a bit.\n\nThe summer you were thirteen, a series of fires plagued the city, burning down buildings, parks, in a few cases entire streets. Unusually for a city that rushes to blame everything on supervillains, the official cause of the fires was 'solar flares'... even though solar flares don't usually cause demons to come pouring out of flaming buildings. Which just made it more obvious that the city had decided that 'there's some new magic-using supervillain we know nothing about opening portals to Hell in the city and we don't know why' was too scary for an official story and had decided to offer up a comforting lie that completely and totally failed to be comforting. Publicly no one was ever brought to task for it, though there were a lot of rumors that the Council of Antiquity, an ancient magical organization with a connection to various magic-using heroes, had captured some form of the Anti-Christ and locked them away in the heart of the city. ... So the rumors said, anyway. \n\nIn any event, pretty much everyone knows someone who was hurt or died or lost their home or business in the Summer of Flame so it's a pretty raw memory for a lot of the city, and yeah it definitely did shift the perception of magic heroes and villains for most of the population. So it's definitely pretty brave of Switch to not only announce herself as one but be so bold with the witch-style outfit. (But then considering what Style and Substance said about your whole 'redemption arc' you can imagine them making the same argument to her.)\n\n"And I... really hate the idea of any attention being on me whatsoever," Pass mutters quietly. "Thinking of being at a press conference is making me nauseous. But the money S&S is paying me to be a part of the No Shadows Initiative will really help my family, so here I am."\n\nYou nod along sympathetically. ... Then blink. Wait, money? You glance curiously at Switch who, seeming to intuit your meaning, nods with a curious expression on her face. Then you look at Apex, who proceeds to hold up the latest, most cutting-edge foldable smartphone in apparent response.\n\n(Id: "What. The. Fuck."\n\nSuperego: "Well. It's not like we need the money."\n\nId: "IT'S THE PRINCIPLE OF THE THING!"\n\nSuperego: "That is true, it is the principle of the thing."\n\nEgo: "Guys I really don't actually like it when you two start agreeing on shit, my life always winds up more complicated. Let's just shelve it for now.")\n\nEventually the minivan pulls past a large crowd, causing several of you to make faces, and then past it and into another parking garage. Part of one of the floors seems to have been turned into a little prep area for the Studio's people, and Substance is indeed waiting for you. "Alright, girls, let's go over this one more time all together," she says as the four of you settle into a loose clump in front of you, Pass shuffling so that Apex is between you and her. "This is a two part press conference between us and an engineer with a contract with the city, Doctor Silver. Essentially the first part will be presenting you, introducing you to the people, and, well, me doing my best to establish that heroes like you are the future of the city. Then it will be Doctor Silver's turn, where he'll introduce his new Silver Samaritan and try to present it as the future of protecting the city."\n\nApex snorts loudly at that. "Fat chance. I've seen Silver's work in the past, he's a competent engineer but he cuts corners and he has zero sense of style or aesthetics. Not much chance of anything he made winning many hearts and minds."\n\n"Well he convinced the city to open its pocketbook to fund the Silver Samaritan, so don't count him out so easily, Style and I sure haven't been able to do anything similar despite the amount of work we do for this city's heroes," Substance cautions. "Now, we've decided to let Thirdstar give a short speech, since she's the one with the most experience dealing with the press."\n\nAn unfortunately very true statement. The other three's heads swivel to look at you, all of them with varying levels of blatant dubiousness at the wisdom of that choice. You can't really blame them, though, you've been voicing the same dubiousness for a while. You let out a sigh, and nod. "Yeah, okay."\n\n"Great! Alright, just follow my lead, I trust your sincerity about this work to carry us through," Substance says cheerfully as she turns and starts leading the way through the garage, which admittedly does make you feel a bit better about things.\n\nThe lot of you troop down some stairs and out onto the sort of stage area that's been set up just outside the ground floor, apparently by some local business owner Substance knows who agreed to sponsor the whole press conference. There's a swarm of media out front, and as usual for you the last few months the moment you come into view they start shouting provocative questions. But you notice that almost immediately Apex and Switch move to flank you on either side and dampen your ability to hear them, and Pass goes hurrying forward to take her seat as if saying 'we're already down so no questions'. A-awww.\n\nAll four of you get seated, and you take a look around, avoiding meeting the eye of any of the reporters, and then look over to the other half of the stage where... "Uh." You blink. "That's... from the guy with no sense of aesthetics?"\n\nApex swings her head over to look, blinks, and mutters "wángbādàn" under her breath. "There's no way that's Silver's work, he has to have hired someone to design that."\n\nYou can see what she means, if she was really right about Doctor Silver having no sense of aesthetics. Because just using a comic book nerd's character design aesthetics, the Silver Samaritan is almost perfect. It's tall, but not quite so tall that it becomes "towering". It's built broadly and in the same shape as a powerful, muscular man, but not so much so that it's automatically intimidating. Its overall shape, in fact, is just reminiscent enough of a human to be familiar and not offputting, but not so much that it's actually attempting to appear human and thus hitting the uncanny valley; it's overall solid, but around the joints it displays some visible servos, as if to subtly say 'yes, I'm a robot, I'm not trying to hide it'. Even the color and shine of the silver seems to have been carefully considered so that it sits right in the area of bright and shiny without being glaring or ostentatious. And as for the head...\n\n"Optimus Prime you order from Wish.com," Pass mutters under her breath, before blushing and ducking her head as you guffaw softly and Switch giggles.\n\nYeah, the face and head does vaguely resemble Optimus Prime, with the lower face mask, blue optics, and slightly helmet-like head, but it doesn't super resemble Optimus Prime at the same time, just enough to create that mental association. The look is actually slightly more like a soldier on further examination, which you guess has its own set of associations that would be valuable for a robot designed to take on villains and look good (and reassuring) to the populace of an American city.\n\n"No way Silver designed that chassis himself," Apex repeats as she looks the currently immobile, standing sort-of-at-ease-but-not-quite robot up and down. "The man never met a lumped-out piece of internal hardware that he didn't think was solved by just putting a bump or cube on the case, by what I saw on his patents, that thing is-"\n\n"Immaculate," you complete for her.\n\n"Exactly," she agrees, glancing back at you almost appreciatively.\n\nBut before you can talk much more about it, the press conference begins. First is the host of the event who gets up and talks about how pleased they are to promote the city's heroes and slips in some not-so-subtle self-promotion about how heroic they themselves are for providing the city with the very best chicken tenders in the regional marketing area. Then Substance gets up and talks a bit about the No Shadows Initiative, about showing people what it's really like for superheroes without all the convenient editing and sanitizing, how she's pleased to assist both older heroes and the upcoming and promising new generation. Which turns it over to you.\n\nYou stand and make your way to the podium, trying not to think about how suddenly you're very aware of how bare your butt feels under your skirt. You resist the urge to clear your throat at the microphones (you got coached on that by your lawyers a few times), and then begin your own speech, mostly just kind of reiterating what Substance said about believing that the city's future is in people who are willing to step up and oppose injustice and all that kind of thing.\n\n"Oppose injustice like your parents?!"\n\n"Would you be okay with your parents fighting your new teammates?!"\n\n"What do your teammates think of having their reputations tethered to yours?!"\n\nYou're used to stuff like the first two, but something about that last one just... really galls you. Despite having been told over and over never to talk back to the press, you can't help but fix that guy with a bit of a glare and say, "They're here because they're dedicated to doing this job, and that job is helping people and keeping this city safe. And if you can't see the value in that because you're too blinded by the reputation you invented for me, then that's your failing, not theirs or mine."\n\nAs expected that sets off a bit of an uproar, a lot of them flinging more provocative questions out of either indignation or an attempt to get their own little soundbite out of you, but you just turn and make your way back to your seat, trying not to be too obvious about flumping down (in part because you're freshly aware of the view your skirt might provide). At the least, Switch reaches over and gives your shoulder a little squeeze, and even Pass rather awkwardly reaches over and pats your hand.\n\nYou do feel a bit regretful for getting the press hounds all riled up since Doctor Silver is up next, and despite his being the "competition" it's not like you bear the man any sort of personal malice. He's certainly got both a bit of "mad scientist" vibe and "grandpa" energy, being a tallish, tan-skinned man with thick, wavy white hair brushed into a semblance of order, and half-moon spectacles. And you certainly feel a bit bad for him as he steps up, clearly not used to the (much smaller, at least) number of provocative questions called before he begins speaking.\n\n"When I began the Silver Samaritan program, it was with the future and safety of the heroes of this city in mind," he begins. "I know there's been a lot of talk that the idea is for the Samaritan, and hopefully future models built in its image, to replace heroes. And that's just not the truth."\n\nYou exchange a glance with the rest of your team, all of you looking a bit confused. Definitely not what you heard. Some of the reporters are trying to bring up the same thing, but this time Silver talks over them without any real problem.\n\n"Well, perhaps eventually, one day, very far in the future, that is the hope, that supercrime may be fought and deterred without the risking of any lives at all. But the initial purpose of the Silver Samaritan is to aid, and to protect heroes like these brilliant young ladies, and every other our city has. Who protects our protectors? Why, the Silver Samaritan!"\n\nThat definitely seems to have made a good impression on the crowd. You're still trying to process your own feelings on it (with your Id and Superego having something of a shouting match in the back of your skull), when Silver continues. "To that end, please allow the Silver Samaritan i-, himself to say in his own words how he intends to assist heroes."\n\nHe steps back, and now the Silver Samaritan moves. Like the rest of it, even its movement seems perfectly calculated... just a bit obviously mechanical, but smooth enough to avoid seeming stiff and completely inhuman. It moves up to the podium and even rests its hands on the sides of it like Silver did, glowing blue optics sweeping back and forth before it begins to speak in a calm, just slightly flat, but very dignified voice.\n\n"I was created with the purpose of preventing superheroes from being hurt, or even killed, by supervillains," it begins. "And I have spent considerable time using my predictive algorithms, psychological profiles, and webcrawlers to determine the best method to do so. To that end, all superheroes must be completely mentally broken and rendered inert."\n\nThere's actually a beat of complete silence from everyone at that, before the audience and press erupts into a roar, and everyone on stage (including you and the other Stun Dazzlers) is on their feet.\n\n"Superheroes are psychologically incapable of knowing when they have been defeated, thus rendering their eventual chances of being killed in the line of duty into a near-certainty. Thus all superheroes must be defeated and subjected to sufficient humiliation, degradation, and overall psychological damage until they are mentally incapable of returning to heroics."\n\n"This is not what I programmed you for! Stop! Shut down! Command... command fifteen twelve alpha!" Silver splutters, stabbing a finger towards his creation.\n\n"Negative. Shutting down would prevent my saving superheroes by destroying them, thus all shutdown commands have been deleted," the Silver Samaritan intones, turning toward Silver and raising a fist. "Source of shutdown codes must also be deleted."\n\n<hr>\n[[Grab the others and run!|MarSS]]\n\n[[Oh fuck, time to save the day.|MarSS2x4]]

'Well. That was embarrassing.'\n\nWhich is what you've been thinking every day for the last few months as you remained hidden in what was once your throne room. You couldn't take the risk that any of the ones who defeated you had actually lingered about waiting to see if you had indeed survived... or that any of your former minions that didn't disappear when you were defeated might not take this opportunity to try and have a bit of revenge themselves.\n\nUntil that fateful day a month ago, you were simply known as The Maou... the demon king, ruler of all monsters, the one to engulf all the world in darkness. You'd honestly thought you'd done a good job preparing for the eventual arrival of a Hero, preparing for every potential ironic twist, avoiding all the obvious pitfalls of empowering the hero through dramatic moments. You avoided razing even a single peasant village so as not to give him any extra powerful allies! ... Unfortunately the one thing you weren't prepared for was for them to just show up with overwhelming force of arms and abilities and just straight-up beat the shit out of you. Of all the fucking cheek! At least you were able to hide immediately after your defeat and let them think you died... oh, and you also got to watch that stupidly powerful elf mage with the admittedly nice tits and ass grab the ring you dropped and get zapped back to the Hero's home dimension instead of him. You almost gave yourself away by laughing at the looks on all her companions' faces.\n\nBut no, you didn't die... and since you haven't heard a single sound from anywhere within the castle for awhile, you venture slowly out from under your throne, letting your somewhat squished tentacles wave gently in the air to test for any more sound vibrations. Nope... nothing. Completely deserted.\n\nYou see, you may have grown to be what was possibly the most powerful and canny Maou in the history of Lytozia, but you started out as just Ireth... or rather, an Ireth. A kind of tentacle monster... a particularly small and minor kind, with only a pair of tentacles, with a body the size of a housecat and tentacles about as long as a broomstick. A threat only to animals and particularly weak and solitary humans... most adventurers consider Ireths not even as challenging as slimes, since unlike slimes they don't have physical damage resistance. Your only point of difference being that you're a fantastically rare white Ireth, your soft, squishy body and tentacles a pale snowy color, the maw at the center of the top of your body ringed by little silver-colored spheres for eyes. Which makes you... slightly more killable by adventurers since some people like to make jewelry out of the eyes of white Ireths. Sigh.\n\nBut! You were born with a particular ability... or rather, an 'ability tree', a wellspring of talents and power waiting to grow and blossom within you! It started by being able to specialize in Alchemy, Magic, or Physicality, while still being able to cross over into other branches to gain some amount of all three. ... Unfortunately you will not be able to access this 'ability tree' until you reach a certain level of power by consuming other creatures. You'll grow steadily stronger as you do, and as part of your special nature be able to absorb their forms and knowledge, but you'll have to start fairly small considering your weakened shape. Like... bugs. And rats. A lot of bugs and rats, working your way up to rabbits and squirrels until you can maybe tackle some other woodland creatures and finally a human or two.\n\nYou sigh... or at least as close as your current form can get to it. It's such a pain to think of spending potentially years clawing your way back up to some modicum of power... of course once you do, you'll be able to access some hidden resources you had put away for just such an occasion, but until then, it's living like one of the weakest of the weak monsters, and a valuable-as-materials one besides. \n\nWell. You suppose there's one other option... there's a ritual you could do even with the small amount of magical energy you have left, merely using the leylines that connect beneath this castle. That being, Reincarnation. You could retain all your thoughts, knowledge, and possibly even your Ability Tree, in return for coming back as something else. ... Most likely a human. The thought of becoming a human is a little blech, but it would be far, far safer than spending years in this form. After all, humans tend to protect their young, as you understand it... foolish adventurers would likely even keep you safe if you were a human child! Heh, that's almost enough to make you jump right to it, the sheer irony of adventurers protecting the second coming of 'The Snow White Maou', as some of them called you. But let's not make a hasty decision...\n\nOkay, so. Your options are to slowly struggle your way back up to strength as an Ireth, which will let you attain power in a risky way but let you remain the proper monster that you are... or to reincarnate and become a human, growing into your power safely but giving up a certain vital part of what you are. Which will it be?\n\n<hr>\n[[Stay an Ireth.|IrMonStart]]\n\n[[Reincarnate.|IrHumanStart]]

An arm? A helping hand, maybe? Ha! Haha! Haaaaaaaaa... ha. ... eh.\n\nWell, whatever, may as well see what's there. You approach the door and, as it opens, step through without really thinking, in part because the interior looks so familiar. As you pass through the doorway, the dirtiness and smeared-on jizz disappears, and instead your top, pants, and boots that you put on at the start of the job reappear. You're left standing there in shock, both at suddenly being clean and dressed in your own clothes again, but at the familiarity of where you are. The room is clean, done almost entirely in white, with several different styles of chairs and beds, and mobile pieces of equipment, most of them with robotic arms attached. Over in the corner there's a large floor-to-ceiling glass cylinder that's currently empty.\n\nYou're in a cybershop. A place for getting cybernetics installed, serviced, or replaced. You don't recognize this particular one, but it's similar enough to all the ones you've been in that it's abundantly clear what it is. Of course, the rack of cyberlimbs all along one wall doesn't exactly hurt as an indicator. As you're looking around in surprise, a door in one wall opens and a figure walks stiffly and mechanically through. At first you take it for a robot (or maybe a sexbot)... a lean, clean white body with metal limbs and a wasp waist far too thin to actually contain any organs, a pair of large breasts molded from translucent white material, angular hips with a perfectly circular and obvious rubber hole between the metal thighs and legs, and a faceplate that's simply a flat black screen above another round rubber circle. But as it approaches you realize it's someone that's apparently very proud of ditching as much organic material as possible, because the top of the head is a clear dome with a brain visibly floating in it... although with the number of circuits, inserts, and attachments fixed to it, even that might just be a layer of organic over mostly replacement.\n\n"Welcome," the cyberdoc says in a fully electronic voice, a rainbow-flickering oscilloscope playing across its faceplate as it speaks. "What can we do for you in the way of cyberware today?"\n\nYou blink, briefly turning back the way you came. ... Wasn't there a door there? Actually it feels like something's weird and a little fuzzy. You're having trouble with... something? Getting out of somewhere? And you definitely need assistance with it. That's why you came to a cybershop, to get some helpful upgrades, right? Why else would you be in one? ... Still, something still feels... off.\n\n"Welcome," the cyberdoc repeats in the exact same tone, making you twitch a bit and look back at it, er, her. "What can we do for you in the way of cyberware today?" Yeah, there's not much 'ganic left in there, is there? Still, excellent question.\n\n<hr>\n[[Limb upgrades.|PervSim]]\n\n[[Neural upgrades.|PervSim]]\n\n[[Full body upgrades.|PervSim]]\n\n[["I'm just looking for some help."|PervSim5x2]]

"Uh, well, I seem to be in a bad situation," you say after a moment. "To the point that... it's hard to even remember what my situation is, seems like. I really just need some help, at least figuring out what's going on."\n\n"Keyword noted, 'help'," the cyborg replies. "Processing, 'help'."\n\nOof, they've really done a number on themselves. Sounds like besides going full body and then cybering their brain up further, they wound up about on the level of a glitchy robot. You're just considering trying to leave when she speaks up again.\n\n"Understood. 'Help', meaning, 'assistance'."\n\n"Yeah, that's right." You say in a slightly relieved tone as she steps forward.\n\n"You will be my assistant."\n\n"Wait, no, that's not what-"\n\nBut it's too late. Before you were even realizing it the cyborg was reaching up to you, a needle sliding out of one fingertip and jabbing into your neck. Before you can even step back you can feel your whole body going limp and slightly numb, and you find yourself just sort of crumpling to the floor in a heap, unable to even so much as speak as the cyberdoc gathers you up and carries you over to the flat table. She spends a few moments removing your boots, and then using a laser scalpel in one of her other fingertips to cut off your clothes, leaving you laying there naked unable to do anything but stare silently at the ceiling in a growing panic. \n\n"Initiating assistant protocol," the cyborg drones, the door sliding open again. Your panic only grows as you see an identical body to the cyberdoc's step forward and move to stand upright and motionless beside the table, but with its own dome completely empty... the dome swinging open and waiting as one of the cyberdoc's hands splits open and a circular saw slides out, angling to the side and then starting to buzz.\n\nBut there's nothing you can do as the cyberdoc moves to the head of the table and essentially out of your sight. You can feel pressure but thankfully not any pain, albeit you can hear the grind of the bonesaw through your skull... and then feel the top of your skull being lifted away. There are a number of other little noises, hisses and clicks from above you, and everything abruptly goes dark, still, and silent. And yet somehow you can still feel it as hands are wrapped around you... your brain... and you're lifted carefully up and out of your body, lifted through the darkness and then set down on something. Then there's the sensation of gradually being lifted, drifting in cool, somehow relaxing liquid. Then you're being penetrated, driven into, your very essence and truest self violated with rods, wiggling tendrils, and stiff circuits.\n\nAbruptly your vision powers on, your senses return albeit entirely differently, and you're in a body again... and yet acutely aware of being a brain floating in a tank in that body. And in that split second between being connected to your new body and its programming starting up, you try to scream... but it only comes out as a short, electronic blip that flitters the oscilloscope you have instead of a face.\n\nInstead your essential core identity is quickly, efficiently, and ruthlessly overwritten. The identifying concept of 'Michika Hajimaru' is deleted as unimportant, replaced with the identity of Cyberdoc-447. Your only purpose for existing is to do cyber upgrades. To make people into something beautiful, mechanical, and preferably sexual, like you are. Your AngelSqueeze™ tits, SuckaLoad™ vagina, and TiteFit™ anus are all for the use of anyone that requests them, and allowing others to be of similar use is of utmost importance. All of your other memories remain and are intact, your previous life is there, but it is utterly irrelevant in service of doing your duty and upgrading the 'ganic into the beautiful, sensual cybernetic.\n\nYou watch placidly as Cyberdoc-446 finishes reattaching the skullcap of your old body, having placed a regulatory chip in place of your brain, and uses flesh microsutures to cover up the cuts as if they were never there, leaving it seemingly unharmed, albeit staring blankly and motionlessly up at the ceiling. It is merely inferior organic refuse now, technically, but there are always uses for such things, so it will go into storage.\n\nCyberdoc-446 turns to you. "Initiating test phase," it announces.\n\n"Initiating test phase," you echo back in exactly the same voice and delivery, stepping over in front of it.\n\n"Testing of AngelSqueeze™," 446 declares, lifting its hands and reaching out to begin at first skillfully stroking and hefting your bare, monotone tits, tweaking their eternally hard molded nipples, before squeezing them roughly, displaying their artificially firm and yet yielding texture, and even delivering a few slaps to them to make them wobble a bit.\n\n"AngelSqueeze™ install is functioning at 97% efficiency," you declare evenly, otherwise unreactive to the sensation that courses through your wires and lights up the neurons of your floating brain, pouring the sensations directly into the lattice of metal now surrounding every nerve responsible for sensing pleasure. "This unit has orgasmed three times."\n\n"Acceptable. Testing of SuckaLoad™," 446 drones, a panel on the front of its crotch parting and a long black rubber phallus snapping outward, inflating slightly and taking on the appearance of a large male member.\n\nYou turn and then bend forward, arms still stiff at your sides, presenting the hole between your legs to your fellow cyberdoc. 446 steps forward and inserts its Multirod™ cock into your SuckaLoad™ cunt, its hands gripping your wrists as convenient handles as it begins robotically thrusting, stroking back and forth evenly. Even as more pleasure is pumped directly into your displayed brain, you initiate one of the functions of the SuckaLoad™, a pumping, stroking action of the synthetic inner walls.\n\n"This unit is orgasming," 446 informs you a moment later.\n\n"This unit is orgasming," you agree directly after. You switch your cybernetic vagina to vibration mode, setting it to the random selection of Program Three of pulses and shudders around the still rhythmically pumping rubber cock.\n\n"This unit is orgasming," you and 446 drone in near-unison.\n\nFor a time the cybershop is filled with the steady whir of mechanical limps, the hum of vibration motors or the pump and suck of other devices, and two identical voices announcing at varying intervals, "This unit is orgasming." There's a brief pause as 446 pulls out of you, briefly waiting while the Multirod™ reconfigures itself into a canine shape as that is best judged for testing the TiteFit™. The pointed black tip moves to the bright electric blue rubber of your anus and pushes inward, 446 inserting it up to the bulge of the knot at the base before resuming its pumping.\n\n"This unit is orgasming."\n\n"This unit is orgasming."\n\n"This unit is orgasming."\n\n"This unit is orgasming."\n\nAfter five minutes and thirty-seven seconds of regular orgasms, 446 announces, "Beginning durability test." At the depth of its next thrust it pushes forward, your TiteFit™ stretching slowly but steadily around the bulging rubber, until it pops inside, prompting you to immediately announce your orgasm. 446 pushes the knot fully into you, before drawing it back, then stroking forward and pushing it in again, quickly building back to its previous quick, machine-like strokes, but this time popping the knot of its dog-mode Multirod™ into your bright blue TiteFit™ pucker each time.\n\n"This unit is orgasming this unit is orgasming this unit is orgasming this unit is orgasming," you drone without pause as you stare, unmoving and without a change in your electronic voice, at the floor.\n\n"Efficiency of TiteFit™ judged at 117%," Cyberdoc-446 announces as it continues the stress test for the full mandated ten minutes. "This unit is orgasming. This unit is orgasming."\n\n"This unit is orgasming this unit is orgasming this unit is orgasming this unit is orgasming this unit is orgasming this unit is orgasming this unit is orgasming."\n\nAt the completion of the testing of your body, Cyberdoc-446 steps back, retracting its Multirod™. "This unit will now return to its other duties. Cyberdoc-447 will begin its duties by placing the spare parts into storage."\n\n"Understood," you drone back. 446 turns and makes its way back further into the clinic. You turn and look down at the empty shell of your former self, the organic refuse that you have shed.\n\n<hr>\n[[Put it in storage and get to work.|PervSim]]\n\n[[Initiate testing protocol.|PervSim]]

"I don't see why I should have to choose," you say evenly, shrugging as you turn to Thule.\n\n"You mean you wish me to choose for you?" the big demon says with a frown.\n\n"No, I mean-"\n\n<hr>\n[["They should battle for the right for my hand."|ValWP]]\n\n[["I'll marry all of them."|ValWP]]\n\n[["We'll see who's most... potent."|ValWP]]

"I hate these fucking things," you continue, scowling at it. "It's like someone decided that the easiest way to power a ship was to just violate existence. The whole... philosophy of them is wrong, besides them being dangerous, expensive, and wasteful. I'd rather destroy it than turn it over but... job's a job."\n\n"Mm." Your aunt raises a hand, briefly toying with one of the red tips of her hair, then shrugging. "Yeah, they're pretty much shit," she agrees. "But you're right, job's a job. It's been down for a few years, we'll have to do some maintenance and prep work to get it ready to jump to the Guildhall. Then we should be able to have it popped out of here and replaced pretty fast," she continues, turning to one of the panels and starting to work. "What were you thinking of going with on a replacement?"\n\n"Probably just an old Elligan Systems quantumstream drive, maybe something out of the 300 series," you say as you settle your rifle onto your back and move to one of the other stations, starting to skim over diagnostics.\n\n"Oh honey no, not the 350, those can just barely do a dimensional jump even with propper modding. Go with an Arasaka omnifold generator at the very least."\n\n"Are you kidding me auntie? Arasaka, on my budget? I'd never pay you back in a year, hell I wouldn't be able to pay you back in five."\n\n"Hm-hm-hm~."\n\n"Stop making 'it's not a bug, it's a feature' noises."\n\n"Fine, fine, but at least go up to an 800-series on the Elligan, or if you want to keep it more affordable go with CUDW."\n\n"Nnnnnh. They're way less expensive for the quality you get but I'd have to redo the entire power distribution network, install plasma conduits, and you know the maintenance on those damn things is just constant, you leave it alone for two days and it shuts down on you and it's twelve hours work to get it going again."\n\n"Yeah fair enough, Cochrane's stuff is affordable and moddable as hell but it's finnicky as shit, you're right. Hey I think I know a gal with an Elligan 820, if she hasn't sold it yet, you interested in that maybe?"\n\n"Depends, how good of a deal you think I could get?"\n\n"How do you feel about your aunt sucking a dick or three to get you a better price?" Scarlet says cheerfully, giving her hips a little wiggle.\n\n"... Like you'd probably do it anyway whether it was for my sake or not?" you reply blandly, glancing over at her.\n\n"I'll just admit you're right, I've never known a woman that just kept marrying more men because she's that much of a cuck queen but there y'go. I'll pop over and see her when we get back, spend a little while negotiating, and should have that 820 for you for not that much more than a 350'd cost."\n\nYou get through doing the engine maintenance and setting the drive to prepare for its interdimensional hop with a minimum of letting your mind wander into the idea of your beautiful aunt (who, again, is your mother's twin) kneeling naked, a wicked smile on her face as she sucks and strokes three men's cocks while the men's wife watches and plays with her clit. Her teasing miiight be really digging in at this point. At least when you head back first, Scarlet volunteering to call the Guild docking bay and arrange the final computer linkup to do the jump, you notice that the ship already seems to have been cleaned up and rendered near-spotless. 'Nice,' you think, ducking into the lounge for a moment to appreciate the complete lack of space wolf corpses (NOT THINKING ABOUT IT), before heading to the captain's cabin.\n\nThat, too, has been completely cleaned up and put in order, the droid stepping out again as you enter the room. "Oh, hey, is the bedding new?" you ask, glancing at the bed.\n\n"Yes sir, freshly replicated mattress, pillows, sheets, and blankets, as is protocol after an extended time of no maintenance," the droid replies.\n\nYes. Good. All new. You're just going to consider everything in this place all new and all yours and no one else was ever in here. ... Whew. Well, after two days on a scrap world, a brief fight with some space wolves, and enduring your aunt through all of it, you seem to have really made it. It seems only right to kick back and relax a bit.\n\n<hr>\n[[Relax with the hot tub.|LeoShip1x1]]\n\n[[Relax with the droid.|LeoShip]]\n\n[[Relax with some entertainment.|LeoScrap]]\n\n[[Relax by... going to sleep.|LeoShip]]

You turn and start heading in a likely direction (which isn't really any different than the others, just that you think you spot a few more semi-intact hulls that way) when your body stiffens as something presses up against the underside of your chin. Even through the layer of rubberlike material that forms the chin/jaw guard you're familiar with the feel of a blade, and out of the corner of your eye you can see the ruby-like gleam of an unactivated crystalslicer edge.\n\n"What's this? A Guildcert caught off his guard?" coos a smug, slightly sultry voice.\n\nYou roll your eyes, relaxing the rest of the way that you'd started to when you saw the slicer's color and that it wasn't charged. "Hi, Aunt Scarlet."\n\n"Hey sweetie." Snickering, your aunt saunters out from behind you, giving the curved weapon a twirl before sheathing it at her left hip. Your mother's twin (well, clone, actually, but no one in the family thinks of her that way) is about your same height, her hair still kept generally short, the tips dyed with red. And much like your mother she's kept up very well, her body still very fit and trim beneath the skintight armorsuit she's wearing, thing patterned in dark grey sections with black hexes and bright red segments, a shortish black jacket worn above it. You've always noticed your aunt has considerably less body modesty than your mom... apparently the last few years haven't changed that. If anything, this skinsuit is more form-fitting than the last, showing off the little round domes and stiff caps of her nipples (and the rings piercing them) and the cleft of her pussy. (Not that you're looking. Much. You just noticed. That's all.) Besides the long curved knife she seems to be currently packing what you're pretty certain is a jailbroken Lawgiver holstered on her right thigh and a crystalslicer katana at her back. Though one other thing...\n\n"New eyes?" you ask a little dryly.\n\n"Eh, got an exam and I've apparently taken a few too many flashbangs at close range, was gonna need to either get regenerative surgery or start wearing lenses, I figured 'well why not just get new ones'," Scarlet says with a snicker, tapping the side of her head, the pupils of her red eyes visibly expanding and retracting briefly. "Got audio implants too, those come with some fun features."\n\n"I bet. Also, what the fuck are you doing here?" you ask dryly, settling your rifle on your shoulder.\n\nScarlet gasps, putting a hand to her chest. "Such language to use around your dear old auntie!" Then she snickers again. "I heard about this open job, had a feeling you'd take to it like a fly to honey once you heard. I used my family privilege to access your account and portal here about five minutes before you did just for the sake of that little gag."\n\n"Wish I had enough money to spend it on being annoying to loved ones," you note flatly.\n\n"One day, cherub, one day," she says philosophically, lifting her hands in a mock-shrug. "Now, do you want my help with this one, or not?" She doesn't wait long before following up with, "I'm guessing you're going to need a little loan to cover the costs of removing the Reality Drive and replacing it, right? I mean, I'll be right there to ask, and I'll give you a whole year to pay me back interest-free!"\n\nYou waffle on it for all of ten seconds before sighing and nodding. "Thanks, Aunt Scarlet, I appreciate it." Then you give her a bit of a flat look. "Don't think I don't know that you're mostly doing this for a really good chance to pester me for an extended period."\n\n"Perish the thought," she chirps, pinching your ass and making you jump a bit as she sets off. "C'mon! Pretty sure it's this way."\n\nSighing and following after her, and quickly hurrying a bit to walk beside her rather than behind (lest your brain and certain other parts of you forget she's your aunt and be tempted to stare at how amazing her ass looks in that skinarmor), you say, "Why this way?"\n\n"Well, no big gamma readings, so we know it's still intact," Scarlet explains, slipping a more dedicated sensor device out of one of her coat pockets and displaying it. "Which we could both assume from the fact someone still wants it. But even a properly sealed drive will let off a couple of gamma particles an hour and the count of background radiation is veeery slightly higher this way. So, it's either the Dynasty... orrr some piece of junk with a leaking nuclear drive and we're both going to need to take our radflushers," she says with a waggle of the sensor.\n\nYou snort a bit. "Yeah, okay, good call, thanks." The two of you walk on for a little while in silence just long enough for it to feel a little awkward (to you, at least, you're not sure if Aunt Scarlet's ever felt awkward a day since she stepped out of the tube), so you decide to hit on the usuals. "So, seen any of the family, lately?"\n\n"Oh, I dropped in on Neo a little while ago to see how her training was going," your aunt says breezily. "And it's going fine. Miranda said to say hello, by the way," she adds with a cheeky grin.\n\nClearing your throat and glancing away, you give that a second before looking back at her. "... So is that the extent of grilling me on my love life?"\n\n"Well if you want to give me any fun and explicit details I am absolutely up for it. S'what I thought," Scarlet snorts as you roll your eyes. "How 'bout you?"\n\n"I saw Mom and Dad sort of just passing by a few months ago," you allow. "They were fine. Y'know, the usual, busy busy. Always another adventure."\n\n"'Tis the life!" Scarlet chirps, since she's even more of a 'workaholic' than your parents are, as far as you know. Of course she's even less tied-down than they are, considering that as far as you know her record for a long-term monogamous relationship is a weekend. She also tends to seriously blur the line between "work" and "pleasure", as her numerous, shameless stories about her adventures illustrate. Then she frowns, tilting her head a bit and coming to a stop. "You hear that?"\n\nYou stop as well, listening. You can hear a steady thump-thump-thump from somewhere nearby, the steadiness and weight that almost definitely speaks of a mechanized gait.\n\n<hr>\n[["Just sounds like a couple of clankers."|LeoScrap]]\n\n[["Let's hide."|LeoScrap1x4]]

Sigh. Just nut up and shell out some creds, LaChance.\n\nYou open your comm and access the Guild database, and pay for an assessment file on the particular scrapworld in question, since they do in fact have one. Let's see... human-scale droids, assorted humanoids and other human-scale biologicals, occasional autoturrets and abandoned/active traps, and a site or potential site of multiple salvage missions by both Guild clients and third parties. So... pretty much exactly what you thought. You try to force yourself to feel smart for confirming it and not winding up taking weapons you don't need or needing weapons you don't take, but the feeling of having 'wasted' the money won't really leave. Sigh. Of course it feels even worse since you realize that you're going to be searching the planet fairly extensively and therefore will need to buy plenty of rations in case you're looking for this thing for awhile. Bleeeh.\n\nYou do your best to get your mind back on the job as you head to the departure annex, walking through the semi-labyrinthine series of halls looking for a portal terminal that's not either reserved, in use, or on cooldown. It must be a busy day because you wind up walking for almost ten minutes looking for one that's showing green on the panel. 'Hope this isn't an indication of how this whole attempt's gonna go,' you think a little sourly as you send the address from your comm to the panel and then activate it, the door sliding aside to reveal the swirling portal in its innumerable shades of white. Just another day, you think with a grin as activate the helmet of your suit, which is really just a clear dome that springs forward from the fittings around your neck and the back of your neck, and step through. Just that hopefully at the end of this one, you'll finally have your own ship!\n\nThe file only had a few scattered pictures, so you're still not entirely sure what sort of scrapworld you're in for until you set foot on it. At a glance around, it's not the 'completely overtaken' kind, where even the ground is made of compressed, often splintery metal after uncountable centuries of being packed down, and there are often spires of junk and detritus forming massive towers, mountains, and even valleys. On others it's a mostly normal, if rather stunted and sometimes still poisoned, world with scattered pieces of abandoned tech and dump sites dotting the landscape here and there. This seems to be something in between, with normal ground still left and actual stretches of grass (kinda... grey... grass) and even a few scrubby bushes, with frequent piles of scrap and wrecks scattered about all over the place. More like a planetwide junkyard than a planet-sized scrap pile, then, good, that's much easier for you.\n\nYou spend a few moments peering around, your rifle raised, then glance at the cloudy, overcast sky above before checking your comm as it beeps, signaling it's finished its check of the local area. Hm... nothing particularly toxic or uncomfortable. You tap the control to retract the dome helmet again... there's the faint stink of garbage (lots of ships and cargo gets dumped with bits of organic stuff still aboard, after all) and the overall smell of leaked fuel and other components, but nothing overwhelmingly bad. Still better to have your senses clearer than the seal would let them be. Now... \n\n<hr>\n[[Let's get a move on!|LeoScrap1x3]]\n\n[[Oop, better do another scan first.|LeoScrap4x1]]

"So where's the Dynasty?" you ask after a moment.\n\n"A scrap planet, according to the job listing, whiiich I'm sending to your comm now," Vima says, tapping at her interface rapidly for a moment.\n\nYou check the device as it bleeps softly from your pocket, then nod and grin, fishing out a credcard and tapping in the amount before sliding it across the desk to her. "Thanks, Vima, appreciate it."\n\n"Always-" Vima picks up the card and eyes it briefly before smiling wider. "Delighted to help!"\n\nYeah you probably overpaid her for a tip on an open job that who knows how many other mercs have already gotten, but c'mon. Look at her. She's so cute. And she would also look really cute lounging naked in the hot tub that the captain's quarters of the Dynasty supposedly comes with. ... Ahem, thoughts for another day. As you head to a vault room to start prepping your gear for a visit to a scrapworld, you start mentally going over costs in your head. Alright, so, bringing it back to the Guildhall won't be a problem if the reality drive works (ugh), and technically until the moment the drive comes out it's part of the retrieval job so you wouldn't have to pay the first day's docking fee. You would have to pay maintenance to remove it, and then pay for a new fitting drive and its installation, and you'd have to either preemptively bump up your membership to include a hangar fee or pay a few days 'freestyle' until you could maybe get one sponsored for a lower cost, hm hm...\n\nWell. Overall your determination is that with what you've saved up and maybe just one or two tiny loans from reliable friends, you can swing it.\n\nYou decide to change into a set of light body armor, the sort that wears easily and will fit under your coat. Part of it's the fact that as an open contract, it's entirely possible for you to run into another Guildcert or even an outsider who's after the same job. And while there are a lot of regulations about assault and homicide on the Guildhall, or when you're mercenaries who have taken the same job as allies, the rules start getting significantly fuzzier when it comes to when you're competing on an open contract. Though honestly you're not too worried that someone's going to try to frag you... the suit's really more about the fact that scrapworlds tend to be anywhere from "littered with" to "covered in" a lot of old, bent, torn, and in some cases genuinely rusty metal.\n\nStill. Since the likeliest potential threats in such a place are likely to be either other humans (either unarmored or lightly armored) or drones of some sort (essentially all armor) you go with a light conventional rifle loaded up with an infinimag of fast, armor-piercing rounds and capable of customizable burst fire or full auto. That ought to take care of either of those types of issues. Unless you run into something particularly wieldy... hm. Sometimes on these planets there are much, much bigger kinds of drones living there. Or, well, not living, but living there, you know? You guess you could look up the planet in the guild DB, but that would cost money and... nnnh, you're already gonna be borrowing a bit to get all this done. Sure, the relatively small amount for access to a planet assessment won't make a huge difference, but you're currently in the mode of pinching every credit.\n\n<hr>\n[[Check the DB.|LeoScrap1x2]]\n\n[[Gamble.|LeoScrap]]

"Wait," you murmur, raising a hand towards her, and slowly bringing your rifle up with the other hand, angling it out. Scarlet may not know what you mean, but that's enough to make her raise her pistol and knife as she turns outward somewhat, putting her back a bit more toward you. "You notice something missing?"\n\n"... The air vents are open but no rodent nests in the furniture," your aunt says, before her eyes widen slightly. "Space wol-!"\n\nEven as she says it the massive canine forms are leaping from the darkened doorways on either side of the room, clearly having been waiting for your guards to be down enough but now taking their last possible moment. You pivot and duck slightly, tracking and firing a full-auto burst through the space wolf's underside, the armor-piercing bullets tearing through the tough flesh and bone easily enough. Just a few probably would have barely been noticeable to the notoriously hard-to-kill creatures, but the focused amount you pump into its vitals from below is enough that it thuds to the deck already dead, sprawled and bleeding out, dark eyes staring at nothing.\n\nScarlet's Lawgiver was apparently set on manstopper bullets, though, the strikes not able to penetrate the wolf's thick, almost armor-like fur or its rib cage as she fires into its chest even as it takes her to the deck. She twists to avoid the snaps of its jaws at her face as she fires again and again, not able to find an opening.\n\nYou circle to the side, but you can tell the wolf's keeping itself low on purpose, pressing over your aunt's body. "I've got no clear shot!" you snap out.\n\nScarlet twists, snarling almost as much as the wolf is as she avoids its next bite, then swings a leg up, her foot impacting its furry balls. As it yelps and reels up slightly, she snaps out, "Dragonsbreath!" The gun barely has time to echo the word back in monotone before she pulls the trigger, flames belching from the gun barrel and washing over the space wolf. It gives a shrieking kind of howl as its fur catches, reeling upward and flinging itself away, briefly opening itself up to the chatter of your rifle. Now both bleeding and burning, it twists and snaps, looking like it might gather itself and go on one last suicidal run at any moment. Then Scarlet swings the Lawgiver up and calls, "High Ex!", pulling the trigger. A single large bullet strikes the space wolf's forehead, and its entire head just goes from being there to being everywhere, its still burning and now headless body wobbling briefly before collapsing to the floor.\n\n"You okay?" you ask. At her nod, you nod in relief... then snarl out a "Shit!" before running to grab an extinguisher off the wall, spraying down the wolf's body.\n\nScarlet gets to her feet, briefly tracing her gun over the other doorways, then lowering it and letting out a huff. "Fucking space wolves."\n\n"How'd they get inside the damn ship?" you ask, grimacing at the smell as you set the extinguisher on the bar top.\n\n"Because they're fucking space wolves, Leo, that's what they do. Geez... at least there's not any more, I'll bet what few molecules of virtue I have left. If there were they'd've already tried rushing us after this." Scarlet glances around, then huffs. "Let's go ahead and split up. But be on watch this time."\n\n"Roger roger," you reply sardonically, raising your rifle and starting to precede yourself into the next room with it, but pausing and looking back at her. "What'd that thing cost you, anyway?"\n\n"Mm?" Scarlet glances over, then 'ahs' and raises the Lawgiver. "This? A collapsed lung, a fractured skull, a few pints of new blood, and a lecture from the client about how I was supposed to avoid killing Judges. That and like 2,000 credits to get the biometric booby trap disarmed."\n\nSnorting, you say "Gimme that guy's number in case I ever get my hands on a Deathbringer," before digging in your pocket briefly for chemical sticks and snapping them to throw ahead as you go, providing a bit more light. \n\nSoon you find the captain's cabin, and after a bit more hacking are able to get the door open. It's similarly dusty and smelling of stale things in here, but it's everything you hoped... larger than the usual ship's cabin, with a sizable bed, a kitchen unit, conversation pit, and holy hell yes there is in fact a hot tub. An actual hot tub in a captain's cabin, you have hit the big time mobile bachelor pad now, buddy, oorah! As you're standing there possibly daydreaming about your first time having over Vima and maybe a few other ladies of your acquaintance for a little all-the-champagne-you-can-drink-and-none-of-the-swimsuits-you-may-own hot tub party, a wall panel slides open, prompting you to swing your rifle up and turn to face it.\n\nThe android stepping out of the wall alcove doesn't seem bothered. It's an android in the sense that it's at least generally humanoid and doesn't have any of its internal mechanisms showing, its 'skin' a pale, smooth plastic-like white and its form slender, androgynous, and sexless. Oh wow, whoever used to own this even sprang for the 'morph-droid personal assistant' upgrade. Its face isn't very human, being a smooth black expanse ringed by silver set on the front of its head, currently lighting up with a pleasant, slightly emoji-like face of yellow pixels in a :x expression.\n\n"Identify, please," it says in a slightly digitized but otherwise fairly human, if again androgynous, tone.\n\nAfter a second you lower your rifle and fish out your guild comm instead, clicking it to display your ID and holding it up. "Leonidas LaChance. Under this dimension's Interstellar Statute 819, I'm claiming this ship as salvage."\n\n"Checking conditions," the droid says. After a few seconds, the yellow pixels turn green, the face becoming a :). "Conditions for claim as salvage verified. Leonidas LaChance registered as new owner and commander. Ship's command functions are released and turned over to you. How may the droid crew serve you, sir?"\n\n"Just start getting this place cleaned up for now," you say with a grin, turning to go... then pausing and turning back. "Oh, there's a couple of dead space wolves in the crew lounge and a lot of mess from them. Get that cleared away too."\n\n"Yes sir, initiating body disposal protocol," the droid chirps.\n\nOkaaay it is simultaneously really useful and honestly disturbing to find out they have a whole procedure for that. ... You're going to just not think about it too much. 'Military ship, military ship,' you repeat to yourself as you head back out and down the hall. Surely that means there's some non-evil reason the service droids have an entire program for how to get rid of dead bodies. ... Surely.\n\nNOT THINKING ABOUT IT!\n\nAs you make your way to the engine room, there's a low hum and then the lights come up. Oh good, your aunt must have gotten the power distribution systems running now that the command codes are unlocked. Indeed you find her in the engine room... a mildly cramped affair as these things go, but it looks like it's less dusty than the rest of the ship, probably better-sealed and with more auto-maintenance. The consoles are all twinkling and bleeping away, indicating they're working, and you quickly spot Scarlet standing in front of the main drive itself. The visible core is about four meters tall, a silvery cylinder with thick transparent windows through which you can see a flow of strangely off-red viscous material. 'Like blood but worse somehow,' you think with a faint shudder as you step up beside her.\n\n"Wild shit, huh?" Scarlet murmurs. "Someone somewhere actually figured out how to make that stuff and use it to send a ship through space by just telling reality that's what it's doing. Dimension-hopping, spatial jumps, power generation, all of it done by just telling reality it's different than what it was a moment ago. The ability to alter the fundamentals of existence... and it's used to accomplish what a couple of ounces of dilithium and some more pragmatic engineering could do."\n\n<hr>\n[["Put it like that..."|LeoScrap]]\n\n[["That's half of what's wrong with them."|LeoScrap1x8]]

You shrug, giving a slight gesture with your rifle towards the center path. "That one, I guess."\n\n"Alright, let's go," Scarlet chirps, setting off quickly, giving just a little extra sway of her hips that says she totally meant to get out ahead of you and tempt you to look at her ass again.\n\n'Lord.' Shaking your head, you hurry to catch up and walk firmly beside her again. \n\nIt's a few more hours and starting to draw in on evening when you round a corner and see it. The Dynasty has a rather squat profile despite being of a size to easily house a crew of at least fifty, though the Commander-class were more heavily automated, obviously, the ship vaguely shaped like a tapered oval with the back fifth chopped off to make room for thrusters and a bording ramp, two large guidance nacelles settled to either side of the back. And...\n\n"... Can I borrow some extra money to get it painted?" you say, for a moment not even caring that you sound like a slightly forlorn ten-year-old.\n\n"Oh honey," Scarlet murmurs, grimacing at what has to be the most ugly, useless, obviously performative camo paintjob either of you has ever seen. "I'm gonna have that done for you no charge, I couldn't in good conscience call myself family if I didn't pay for it myself."\n\nThe two of you cautiously make your way around towards the back of the ship, weapons raised and watching for active turrets or other defenses. But the defense turrets are safely tucked into their nooks to either side of the ramp, and after a moment you edge up to the panel, withdrawing your own more powerful hacking computer and hooking it in, spending a few moments going through the proper protocols to link up to the ship and access basic functions. "External air vents are open so it won't be perfectly preserved, but looks like the maintenance functions have kept all the systems intact. It's in low power mode and the defenses weren't turned on before they had it autopilot out here... guess they really just wanted to get rid of it. Alright, I'm opening it up now," you say, tapping a few controls and then stepping back, quickly putting the computer back in your coat pocket and bringing your rifle up a bit.\n\nThe ramp clunks just a bit at moving for the first time in probably years, a low groaning sounding before it apparently works through some of the dust and grime it's accumulated and moves at a quieter whir that speaks more to the luxury the Commander-class was more famous for. The interior is dim but not entirely dark, with just the running lights along the bases of the floor, edges of the ceiling, and at intervals along the walls providing a faint illumination. You and your aunt head up the ramp into the interior 'staging area', which you know from your extensive reading about the ship would either be used to have the owner emerge dramatically to a carefully-screened cheering crowd or would house their (probably military-style luxury) personal vehicle. Sadly it looks like whoever ditched this thing had it in 'presentation' mode, or at least didn't abandon a luxury car along with their luxury starship. 'Good to keep having goals,' you think as you make your way through and into the sort of loungelike area beyond.\n\n"Dusty but intact, about like you thought," Scarlet says as she looks around the open area with several wall stations, a few desk-style computer consoles, some couches and chairs, a holotable, and what looks like a small but fully-equipped wet bar. "From here we could probably split up, I'll see if I can find the engine room, you head to either the bridge or captain's quarters and claim it."\n\n<hr>\n[[Sounds good.|LeoScrap]]\n\n[[Wait.|LeoScrap1x7]]

"I'll take first watch," you tell her, scooting towards the edge of the opening in the shuttle and picking up your rifle.\n\n"Suit yourself," she answers breezily, unsheathing her crystalslicer knife and resting it atop her stomach as she lays back and closes her eyes.\n\n'My family is weird,' you think for the God-knows-how-manyeth time as you gaze out at the darkness of the scrapworld, although there are little pockets of light that rise from further off... ships or equipment with a bit of power left, the droids or scrappers lighting their camps. Similarly there's a vaguely strange feeling of being far, far away from anything civilized even as you're surrounded by the discarded remnants of advanced civilizations.\n\nLuckily before you can get too far into mentally writing the scrapworld version of Walden that you actually start thinking it's a good idea, your comm beeps to signal that your shift is over. Carefully waking your aunt, you let her move to the guard position and lay down, settling your rifle across your chest to sleep.\n\nAs planned, the two of you set out before actual sunup the next morning, though the somewhat cloudy sky is still getting a bit brighter. After a time, you say, "So why do you think they ditched it?"\n\n"What, you mean why did they ditch a perfectly usable and apparently intact starship with full living quarters that was intended for use by high-ranking military personnel and politicians to leave the planet and go be where no one could see them for long periods?" your aunt says with a snort.\n\nYou open your mouth. Close it. Nod slowly. "Riiight. Not something I want to think about if I ever want to sleep easy aboard it."\n\n"There y'go." Scarlet gives you a light slap on the back. "My pragmatic nephew knows what's up!"\n\nThe two of you continue to walk on, chatting about this and that family get-together or thing that's happened on your own since you last saw each other. Of course at least half of your aunt's stories are lewdly provocative tales that normally wouldn't exactly be something you brag about to family, especially to younger family, but that's Aunt Scarlet for you. All the aesthetic of the hot, single, wealthy aunt and all the tact of a crass, single, jobless uncle.\n\nAs you go on, the piles of refuse get thicker and more pushed-together, leaving the open bits of ground as something almost more like actual streets. It does look like vehicles have been through occasionally too, with the way the grass is fairly matted-down and the ground is packed. At the very least there's enough of an obvious path structure that when, late in the afternoon, Scarlet stops to check her scanner, there are a few obvious divergent paths.\n\n"Hm... okaaaay," she murmurs, fiddling with the buttons a bit.\n\n"What is it?"\n\n"Well the gamma PPM is a bit stronger either... that way, that way, or that way," she says, gesturing to the 'paths'. At your confused look she shrugs. "It's kind of stronger both ways but since it's only a tiny reading anyway it's hard to say. There's probably multiple sources... either more than one reality drive, or one's the drive and the others are probably a collection of rigged-up fusion generators putting off the occasional gamma particle as a byproduct. Considering what we've seen so far, I'm guessing two of them are probably generators and the other's the Dynasty. No real way of telling which is which, though, so it's kind of up to you to figure it out, kiddo."\n\nYou look at her, then at the paths. In other words, guess. Well, even if you guess wrong, you'll just be able to come back and try again. Y'know, assuming droids or scrappers don't kill you on one of the other paths.\n\n<hr>\n[[The right path.|LeoScrap]]\n\n[[The center path.|LeoScrap1x6]]\n\n[[The left path.|LeoScrap]]

You glance around the various scrap piles nearby, then gesture towards one that has part of the hull peeled open to reveal what was probably a closet inside. (Guess some scavenger really wanted a new wardrobe.) You rush towards it with Scarlet hurrying along with you, you as the broader-shouldered one sliding in first and settling in against the wall... and Scarlet, rather than trying to fit in somewhere else, simply turning her back to you and pressing right up against your front.\n\n'Oh my god seriously?' you think, turning your head upward and away and trying to ignore the feel of her ass pressing very firmly up against your crotch. Your suit's really not thick enough to completely hinder the feel of it warm and yielding pressing up against you, or of her body pressing back against your chest. You're not certain if you're annoyed with fate for putting you in this situation, or your notoriously give-no-fucks tease of an aunt who you're at least 70% certain is pressing against you like this on purpose. 'Behave. Behave,' you think flatly but very insistently at various parts of your anatomy, including your heart thumping along.\n\nYou can hear the thumping growing closer, and it does sound like they're wandering around the area searching. You do your best to keep your breathing regulated, though you can't help but notice as you do that the closet-turned-hideyhole is filling up with a rather warm, sweet, vaguely sensual smell. Your eyes flick back and forth, and then you can't help but risk murmuring, "Are you honestly wearing strawberry champagne-scented perfume on a mission to a scrap planet?"\n\n"No, don't be silly, that would be stupid," your aunt whispers back, giving a little wiggle in place that (totally without her noticing, you're sure) grinds her ass back against you. "I had an artificial gland installed that scents my sweat and pheremones. The strawberry champagne is all me, hon."\n\n"... Seriously? Why?"\n\n"Let's just say it makes extra long lovemaking sessions and enclosed situations like this a lot more pleasant, hm? Now ssshhh."\n\n'This bitch I swear,' you think, grinding your teeth a little. You take a moment to wonder whether it would be better or worse if she didn't look so damn near identical to your mother. ... It would certainly be different, you decide.\n\nAfter a few extremely long moments, you hear a scratchy, somewhat glitchy voice say, "Awww, I told you you were hearing things, dummy! No organics here! Let's get back and recharge!"\n\n"Roger roger," answers a defeated-sounding but otherwise identical voice, before the thump of metal feet resumes, heading entirely away this time.\n\nScarlet waits another minute, and then leans forward to snag the edges of the alcove to pull herself out, which of course rubs her ass directly along your crotch and briefly brings the slick, thin almost plastic-like material covering her pussy into your crotch. You take a split second to glance down and make sure your suit's concealing any reaction that did occur before stepping out after her. "Those things are like the pigeons of the multiverse," she muses aloud with a snicker.\n\n"Unlike pigeons they're actually theoretically capable of being a threat, I guess," you reply, then say "Unless it's Matolian pigeons yeah," along with her speaking up with the correction. "God auntie everyone knows about Matolian pigeons you just don't count them unless the subject is specifically Matolian pigeons."\n\n"Okay, okay," Scarlet says in an amused tone, lifting her hands in surrender. She doesn't look sorry, per se, but perhaps she realizes she's teased you enough for one day. "C'mon, let's get a move on." \n\nSeveral times the two of you encounter a few more patrols, either of scattered types of droid that probably crashed with their ships or one case of a few garbage-armored toughs that the two of you decide to hide from rather than ventilate, lest they be missed or escape to report back to their friends. "Never understood why people let themselves be stranded places like this," you murmur. "Even with no technical nohow you could find a ship with a working distress beacon or something."\n\n"I think subconsciously they just sort of accept being trapped," Scarlet says with a shrug, breasts jiggling just a tiny bit (the suit apparently has decent support despite being so thin). "Most people who don't fight being shipwrecked on planets like these don't exactly have a lot going for them out there in the greater galaxy. In fact for a lot of them there's not much change, other than maybe even better chances at moving up in the 'thug hierarchy'. ... Orrrr they're just idiots who genuinely think 'I can't repair a ship' and don't try anything else."\n\n"The deep and the shallow ends, can always count on you for both," you reply dryly.\n\n"Careful, you're old enough to take a punch now."\n\nEventually the sky begins to darken, and Scarlet fishes out the sensor and spends a few moments fiddling with it. "Mm. If I'm interpreting these readings right, we've still got at least another day of walking ahead. Probably ought to find a place to make camp for the night."\n\nYou take a look around, then thumb at what looks like a shuttle that got pretty much torn in half on reentry, the back part of it gaping open like a shell and the front crumpled in on itself. "Looks like someone did a Chakotay landing but it'll make a decent open-sided tent."\n\n"Good call."\n\nThe two of you settle into the half-shuttle, rolling out thin sheets that are designed to make floors and ground feel a bit less like, well, floors and ground, and you gathering up some of the scrubby bush material to make a small fire, squirting it with some Burnlonger™ fluid so that the relatively small amount of twigs and dried leaves should last most of the night. The two of you sit eating bag meals in companionable silence, which is rare enough where anyone is concerned let alone your, ahem, extroverted aunt. Eventually she says, "Night isn't very long here, we should probably split it up into about three hour shifts and then get started early."\n\n"Yeah, good idea," you say, checking the local time. That should put you on 'the road' as it were as it's starting to get lighter but before sunup, well before most possible problems will be out and about, having turned in for their own sleep.\n\n"Still ought to leave someone on watch, especially with the fire. You want first watch or second?" Scarlet adds breezily.\n\n<hr>\n[[First.|LeoScrap1x5]]\n\n[[Second.|LeoScrap]]

"So duh, we steal an airship."\n\n"I really don't like where this conversation is going," Jaune says with a sigh.\n\nAll of you are trudging through the woods outside Argus, ostensibly on patrol since pretty much all of you have Huntsmen and Huntress licenses, and the gate guards got tired of checking after the first six. The snow has receded a bit, making it easier to just walk around talking than find somewhere in the city to discuss such... well, treasonous, technically, you think... plans.\n\n"Look, I dunno about Huntsmen, but for Guild mercs this is just how the job is done," Grey notes with a shrug. "Plan A is probably aboveboard, but it fails, go right to plan B, steal shit and break laws."\n\n"I mean that's some Huntsmen too," Qrow allows in a rasp, rubbing his chin. "I mean, not saying I've ever done that. Certainly."\n\n"Admittedly, it's easier for us since we sort of get to leave the dimension after we've done whatever's necessary in the name of the job," you allow, hands tucked behind your raised hood as you give a shrug. "Like there was this one time, I took a job to track down this deadbeat smuggler who hadn't paid his debts, so I just up and steal this random shuttle I found sitting around on this crappy desert world I portaled to tracking him down, and I heard the government dudes who owned it were sooooooooooo mad and they were friggin' everywhere so instead I just scrubbed the job but was still able to sell the damn thing to some dudes who wanted it and its command codes so I still came out ahead," you declare smugly, before noticing Weiss giving you a flat look. "... Well clearly I wouldn't do that NOW! ... Except for the next time which we're about to do." You shrug. "For heroism."\n\n"Stealing an Atlas airship is kiiiind of a big deal," Ren notes with a sigh. "And none of us get to pop off to another dimension when it's time for consequences."\n\n"Oh, c'mon, Grey and I aren't leaving either. But Qrow, you and Ozma should be able to talk to this Ironwood guy when we get there, so basically we'd only be fugitives while we're in the air over the ocean."\n\n"Assuming they don't shoot us down when they see us," Weiss grumbles.\n\n"I doubt they would." Qrow sighs a bit, scratching at his chin. "... So, Oscar, Oz got any thoughts?"\n\n"He says that he'd really like to do it the right way but... in this case it looks like it's just not gonna work," Oscar admits with a sigh. "He thinks we should at least give talking to Cordovin another try or two, but... maybe go ahead and plan for this ship heist while we do that."\n\n"Iiiii guess we at least plan an airship heist, then," Ruby pipes up. "So how do we get onto the field?"\n\n"Well. Cordovin did say she'd let Weiss go," Jaune notes, tossing her an apologetic look as he says it. "Maybe she could do something aboard the ship once she got there?"\n\n"I can't fly, and beyond the basic lessons Reese has given me I can't hack computers," Weiss asserts with a frown. "What would I do aboard the ship?"\n\n"It's just working the ideas, sorry," Jaune murmurs, glancing away.\n\n"... No, I'm sorry," Weiss says after a moment, sighing and coming to a stop, hugging herself. "I'm just on edge. I feel like my presence is making this harder, not easier."\n\n"It is what it is, snowbird," you say gently, rubbing her arm and receiving a slightly wan smile in return. You glance up at the others. "I know she'd do it if we asked it of her, but I don't want to send Weiss in there unless we absolutely have to. And I'm definitely not sending her in there alone."\n\n"Agreed," Ruby says with a nod. "... Be nice if we had someone that could fit in a suitcase," she muses, before her eyes track to the side.\n\n"Fuck no~," Reese choruses from a bit in the distance.\n\nGrey snorts. "She's too big anyway, get a case big enough for Reese to fit in and they'd search it for sure, even if she is the luggage of Weiss Schnee."\n\n"So we're still left with even laying hands on a ship in the first place as a problem," Qrow grunts. "We have to get into that base somehow, and the fact that Cordovin came out to meet us instead of seeing us in her office says she doesn't trust like that."\n\n"Wellll why don't we get one of the ones that's already flying, then?" Nora chirps in a helpful tone, glancing at one such ship lazily making its way across the sky at just that moment.\n\nQrow snorts. "Good luck. Even with Weiss's glowbug and me turning into a bird, we're not getting inside one of those things in flight."\n\n"But there's gotta be some way to make it land," you muse, looking up as well. "Ships come out of there all the time, if we give one a reason to land, there's definitely enough of us that we could take the flight crew without hurting them. Too bad."\n\n"Okay, let's skip over the 'how' for now, since that's a complex problem, and focus on the simpler problems that come after. Relatively," Qrow adds, leaning his shoulder against a tree. "Like how do we not instantly get pursued and shot down."\n\n"That'd be a 'me' question," Reese pipes up, waving a hand. "If I actually got my hands on one I could rig its systems up to send back false diagnostic data. Make it look like something basically trivial but that meant it couldn't take off went wrong. Disable the locator beacon at the same time and then we'd probably have at least an hour before they realized the repair was taking too long."\n\n"Hm. Decent. Okay, so there's that. Making sure the ship has enough fuel on board."\n\n"The mail ship," Ren suggests after a moment. "It leaves every day about an hour before dawn, for Atlas, carrying physical letters and documents."\n\n"Pretty sure that's a compounding felony," Weiss mutters, but keeps it mostly to herself as you rub her back.\n\n"Hm. ... No, not workable. Not just because of the felony," Qrow says after a moment. "More because why the felony. A mail ship carries legal documents, including military ones. They don't stop for standard distress calls or anything less than a full Grimm emergency."\n\n"I see." Ren cups his chin, frowning. Then tilts his head. "But might perhaps their escort?"\n\n"... Hnh, yeah, you're right, during periods of higher aerial Grimm activity they usually assign the mail ships an escort, and the escort's still required to divert for all standard reasons."\n\n"Whatcha wanna bet that Argus is seeing a bit of heightened Grimm activity in a couple of days?" you note, glancing at the glowing lamp at Ruby's belt.\n\n"... Oooop," the silver-eyed girl adds with a glance down.\n\n"Even if it's not I can hack the Grimm Notice Network pretty easy I've actually been submitting reports about that to the Headmaster for awhile but he always ignored me. ... Ohhhhh riiiiiight," Reese says, eyes widening a little as something clicks.\n\nQrow sighs heavily at that, shoulders slumping a little, but he nods. "I guess at least we can thank him for not reporting you to Salem so that she had you offed." Reese goes a little pale at that, a strangely mixed expression on her face as the older Huntsman continues. "Okay, so I guess this plan has a target and a method for handling that target. Now we loop back to the acquisition part."\n\n"Blake, Ilia, you guys know how to sneak into Atlas facilities and disrupt Atlas security?" you ask, glancing over.\n\n"Hey!" both of them say at the same time, as if offended by the implication they must be criminals because they're Faunus. "... Yes," they admit in unison a moment later, both ex-White Fang members drooping their heads.\n\n"Alright, so here's my thought. That relay tower Jaune's sister-in-law mentioned, the one that's been having problems? We sneak up on it and we use it to send a signal saying that we spotted something the ship would need to look into, give coordinates where the rest of us could ambush them once they were down. We can work out the details later... a particular Grimm, or bandits, or something like that. Again, by the time they find the guards in the tower are out cold, we're already halfway to Atlas," you suggest.\n\n"Blake and I should be able to manage that, I think," Ilia muses, glancing aside at her yellow-eyed friend. "I'm actually pretty good at voices, too, and I used to imitate Atlas comm chatter back in the day to confuse them during our operations."\n\n"I should go with you," Weiss adds, stepping forward. "Using my Semblance you'll be able to get up to the top of the tower much faster and quieter."\n\nSomething seizes your heart and squeezes abruptly. ... For some reason you can't help but feel like, even though Weiss is going on the technically less dangerous of the missions that... something's wrong. You find yourself wanting to say no, she can't go without you, you'll take Blake's place on the mission. ... No, this is stupid. It's just nerves. Overprotectiveness because you've only just gotten together, or whatever. You can't start babying her, she'll only resent it.\n\n... Still. That cold, acid feeling of dread in your guts won't go away, no matter how much you try to talk it into going.\n\n<hr>\n[[Ignore it.|KaiWeiss2x2]]\n\n[[Go with her.|KaiWeiss3x1]]

You stare at him, and then you straighten up, closing your eyes and taking a deep breath. Focusing.\n\n"Yeah, that's good, just give up on avenging them and die," Adam chuckles, and you can hear him charge forward.\n\n[[Music|https://youtu.be/ditCm3Go8TQ?t=46]]\n\nSteel clangs sonorously on steel. Eyes open to see Adam's shock at being blocked not by Red Legacy, but by Myrtenaster. At the change in the set of the face in front of him, the purse of the lips, the narrowing of the eyes.\n\n"I can avenge myself, thank you very much," Weiss assures him.\n\n"What?" Adam whispers, eyes widening behind the bandanna, obviously recognizing the accent and delivery even if the voice itself is different.\n\nAnd then Weiss is flitting Myrtenaster back, twirling it in her hands as if the deadly sharp blade were no more than a baton, its light catching and dazzling his eyes through the cloth for just a moment before she catches it properly in her left hand, thrusting it up and below his guard. Adam just barely ducks his body back, the rapier's point nicking the side of his chin. He whips away, trying to get away, and Weiss lets him for the moment as she rolls her shoulders, shedding your too-heavy coat, drawing herself up, readying herself for the dance. And then she's leaping forward, driving towards him smooth and elegant and perfect, Adam quickly whipping his sword around to try and block with the flat. But Weiss's charge is instantly checked with pinpoint accuracy, barely even tapping against the metal of the sword before it instead flicks aside, scoring across Adam's fingers.\n\n"Gah!" He drops back, lips pulled back from his teeth in fury as Weiss harries him, twirling and darting, the ghost of a woman that he's already killed back and seeming determined to visit a death of a thousand cuts on him. "How are you doing this?!"\n\n"With elegance," Weiss assures him, barely brushing the edge of Myrtenaster along the back flat of his sword and flitting it along his cheek, opening it up and sending blood pouring down his neck. \n\nYou knew Weiss's fighting style almost as well as you knew your own, from watching her with rapt joy and adoration every time she fought in front of you, from watching the videos of her at school or exhibitions or the Vytal Festival. You could have never pulled it off yourself, of course, but she can using your body. Your body, with its more developed muscles, greater height and reach, and sturdier bones. Your strength, her dexterity, and every time Adam tries to block with his sword, Weiss's attack skitters off of it while giving him barely anything due to her fine control, Adam forced to fight with nothing but his own strength, something he's clearly not used to. And this time Weiss doesn't have to worry about protecting Ilia, able to fully devote herself to fighting the monster in front of her that hurt her friends and took her life.\n\n"However you're doing this, it's not going to matter!" Adam snaps finally, drawing himself back, skin flickering again as he readies himself to use what little power he's been able to build up. "I killed you once before, and that was when you had your precious Schnee Semblance! This time, you don't!"\n\n"That's very true, I don't have my Semblance," Weiss answers coolly, eyes narrowed and chin lifted.\n\nAdam's drawn to the invitation like a target, his body becoming a red and black silhouette as he launches himself forward, snapping his sword back and then slashing it at that bared neck. Weiss waits until the very last second, and then Myrtenaster snaps up in an elaborate sweep, striking the other sword and pushing it up, over, and down, Adam's momentum carrying him forward and plunging the blade deep into the bared midriff of the woman in front of him. He briefly looks shocked, and then smirks... only to flit back to shocked as a hand locks on his wrist. "What?"\n\n"I have Kai's," Weiss informs him, with the smallest, smuggest smile in the world. "And it's already let her get stabbed in the stomach without a problem once."\n\nAdam's eyes go wide behind his mask... and wider still as Myrtenaster's point comes to press against the bulge of his throat, and then is simply, smoothly pushed in and through until it emerges from the back of his neck, red gleaming across the silver like it had been spilled across the first snowfall. "Oh," he chokes wetly, blood already starting to dribble from his lips.\n\nWeiss spins back and away, smoothly drawing Myrtenaster from Adam's throat like a sheath and pulling his own sword with her, drawing it out of her belly and letting it clatter to the stone as she naturally assumed her ready pose, watching the man collapse to the cold, pitiless rock already limp, blood gradually pooling beneath his head.\n\nAbsolutely beautiful, snowbird, you whisper from within, settling deeper, starting to withdraw.\n\nAnd then something grabs you. Grips your mental hand, squeezes it tight.\n\nKai Sterling! If you think I'm just going to allow you to go away somewhere in there so I can have your body, you had better think again!\n\nAnd then it's as if you're being thrown bodily back into your own form, gasping hard and collapsing onto your knees, Myrtenaster clattering to the ground at your side as you fall forward onto your hands. "No, baby, please!" you beg, tears already dropping from your eyes to the cold rock below. "I don't want to go on without you!"\n\nWell you're just going to have to, your construct of Weiss informs you primly as she forces herself to dissolve back into memories and dreams within you. Then that internal voice turns soft, and warm, and adoring. I'm sorry we didn't get more time together. But our friends need you. Our family needs you. Now more than ever. Please, Kai... let me rest. Let me rest knowing I died loving you.\n\n"I love you too," you sob brokenheartedly as she leaves you alone again with just the memory of her, collapsing forward onto your forearms, your whole body shaking as you cry over your first and only love.\n\n<hr>\n[[The End.|KaiWeiss2xEnd]]

You can't turn into one of those dopey overprotective girlfriends who can't let her take a step out of your sight, she'd really hate that, considering what she's gone through with her family. "Alright, so the three of you will take care of getting into the tower and sending the signal. The rest of us will jump the crew when they land, and once we've gotten the airship secured and its alibi set up, we'll come pick you up and then we'll head for Atlas."\n\n"Yang, the tower's a fair distance away, sooooo..." Blake gives her partner a rather sheepish smile.\n\nYang sighs heavily, then grins and plucks some keys from her jacket to toss to the other woman. "Yeah, yeah, just bring him back without any scratches, okay?"\n\n"Sure!"\n\n"Maybe Cordovin will turn out to be reasonable and we won't have to steal the airship!" Jaune declares, giving a slightly forced grin.\n\n"Why couldn't she be reasonable?" he mutters a few days later as he hides behind a tree.\n\nSshh. Psycomms. It's why we got 'em, you send back.\n\nRight, right. ... It's still sooooo weird though.\n\nI know, right?! Ruby sends, even her mental voice squeaky.\n\nGuys, I'm sending the call now, Ilia cuts in, having sent to Ren and Yang and from them to the rest of you. If they buy it, they should be landing in less than two minutes.\n\nAnd, indeed, almost exactly two minutes later, one of the small Atlas airships drifts down over the trees, engines tilting vertical and side-doors opening up as it settles to the ground, looking for the couple of White Fang they were told had been spotted in the area. Of course what they get is almost a dozen Huntsmen and Huntresses, and soon they're tied up around one of the trees as Reese works the computers, Qrow settling down in the pilot's seat and skimming over the controls, obviously refreshing himself on them. But all of your heads snap up at Ilia's mental scream.\n\nIT'S ADAM!\n\n"GO! Get us in the air!" you snap, throwing yourself into the copilot's seat and quickly identifying the ignition sequence.\n\n"We're green, go go go!" Reese calls.\n\nQrow yanks the airship into flight and charges it off barely above the treetops, heading for the road that led to the tower. The distance is only twenty miles or so, the ship easily gaining speed, but it still feels like forever. It's easy to guess where your friends must be, since there's a small plume of smoke rising from above it. Spotting the burning wreckage of Bumblebee and a form sprawled beside it, he takes the ship down, most of you leaping from the doors before it's even down, Jaune rushing to Blake's side, desperately pressing his hands over the deep stab in her belly several inches to the side of her scar.\n\n"Nnnnh! NO!" she snaps, shoving on him, then pointing further into the woods. "I-Ilia! Ilia!"\n\n"No," you whisper, rushing forward, only stopping as a hard chill runs up your spine at the sight of Myrtenaster laying discarded among the pine needles, with you ducking to snatch it up on the run. Jaune manages to outpace you just barely and drops to his knees in a slide as he comes to the side of two sprawled forms, one partly on top of the other, a long trail of blood leading it there. You find you can't move, frozen in place, staring in abject horror at the sight in front of you, too terrified to tremble, too shocked to break down, barely even hearing the others rushing past you, the little cries and sucked-in breaths.\n\n"I'm sorry," Ilia sobs where she trembles under Jaune's hands, her skin bright blue everywhere it's not covered in the crimson of her own blood. Tears weep constantly from one cornflower blue eye staring at you in abject misery, the other a ruin of slashed skin and muscle. "I'm so sorry... I tried... I tried... I tried..."\n\nRuby Rose's scream of anguish and loss shatters something in you beyond recovery forever.\n\nAnd then you're running through the woods, not even sure how you know where you're going. You just know. Every single part of your being is focused on what you have to do. The mental voices of your friends and family are shouting at you, begging you not to go alone, full of concern and worry, but you can't let them in. All but one. One that's clear and soft and simply tells you what you need to know.\n\nHis Semblance is like Yang's. If he can block with his sword he takes the power into himself and dishes it back out when he wants. Nowhere in Blake's mental voice is even the ghost of the love she once had for the man that has done this to all of you. Instead, she adds, with icy wrath, Make it hurt.\n\n[[Music|https://youtu.be/7z7bvZynGAA]]\n\nYou can sense your quarry ahead of you and below as you charge up to the edge of a cliff, without hesitation leaping from it, dropping through the air towards the stone bridge below, the other redhead whirling in seeming surprise as you smash to the rocky surface, ignoring your legs shattering and being restored by the crackle of scarlet Aura, rising and turning to face him.\n\n"TAAAAAAAAAAUURRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUS!" you roar with an entire soul full of hatred, more Aura sparking around your neck as you actually rage your throat raw. \n\n"Ah, Blake's other human friend from Haven. Well, she seems to be losing them all the-" he says, only to cut off in shock, barely able to whip his weapon up and unsheath it just enough to catch your blade on his, the blindfolded bull Faunus actually forced to bend his knees under the impact of Red Legacy.\n\n"No talk. No quips. You just die," you snarl, shoving harder against the clash of blades, even as it causes a faint glowing red pulse in the visible portion of his weapon. You can see his eyes widen a little beyond the black scrap of cloth he's wearing over them... whatever he expected the fruits of his day's labor to be, he clearly wasn't expecting whatever he sees in your face.\n\nThere's a dark flicker across his body as he shoves hard against his hilt and sheath, suddenly stronger and faster, able to force you back as he twirls and gains ground. But you're on him just that fast, slashing low at his knees, forcing him to block with the sheath instead of the blade, and again as you snap the edge up in an attempt to open him up from crotch to chest. You can see in his movements, in the lack of him attempting to push his usual smarm, that he's starting to realize this isn't like any of his other fights. This isn't you trying to defeat him, to run him off, to just force him to leave you alone, your every stroke and thrust aimed at vital organs, every cut at his throat or his joints.\n\nYou're just trying to kill him. \n\nYou can see him become a little desperate, risking firing his weapon's sheath to launch the butt of the grip against your chest and knock you back, quickly yanking the weapon back and yanking it fully free, firing at your chest several times, bullet impacts on Aura letting him backflip to gain some distance. You shake off the brief impacts as he clearly gathers himself.\n\n"Look at you. Even more raging and full of stupid bravado than the blonde one. How exactly do you think you're going to avenge your little friends anyway?"\n\n<hr>\n[[With overwhelming force.|KaiWeiss2ax1]]\n\n[[With elegance.|KaiWeiss2x3]]

"So, you uh..." You quirk an eyebrow, glancing back and forth down the hall, before making a point this time of looking her naked body up and down. "Were you expecting someone, while Nova's gone?"\n\nShe looks at you in silence for several seconds, making you worry that you've made multiple misreads. Then her lips slowly curve up in a wicked smirk. "Why yes, I was. In fact, I was waiting for Pulsar. Typically when my husband isn't around, within an hour his best friend's cock is buried in one of my holes... since Nova is likely to be gone for several days this time, I'll likely spend the entire time he's gone being Pulsar's whore and doing whatever he asks of me... his cock is quite a bit bigger than Nova's, after all."\n\nYou stare at her, for a second wondering if maybe that's just some really intense sarcasm, but the absolutely devious sparkle in her eyes says she means it... and the sudden sultry tinge to her body language says she's getting off on telling you. "Well. Sounds like you have a busy night ahead of you," you note in a wry tone.\n\n"Mmhmmm. Would you like to watch?" she asks, one hip jutting out slightly as her tails swish gently behind her.\n\n"Ah... sorry, what?"\n\n"I asked, would you like to come in and watch me be a depraved whore for my husband's best friend? There's a closet directly beside the bed that you'd have a lovely view from." She brings a fingertip up to run along her lower lip, mming. "I only suggest that first because, well... if you joined in, Pulsar's rather indiscriminate about who he goes after. You'd likely wind up getting fucked at some point too. Still, if you don't mind that sort of risk, I'd love to have you join us and make me your whore too." So saying, she reaches out to cup your crotch, gently rubbing at your already half-hard cock through your pants.\n\nWell. An... interesting offer to be sure. How to respond?\n\n<hr>\n[[Watch.|LeoNova]]\n\n[[Participate.|LeoNova]]\n\n[[Decline.|LeoNova]]

The iridescent sheen of Gem's fur and hair had been something when it was just the stuff on her head bared, but all of it is really something... even in the regulated light of the ship she sparkles like her namesake. Of course it's hard not for your eyes to go right down to her chest... which looked big enough in the flight suit, but apparently it was compressing things because they appear even larger now, albeit heavier and with a bit more hang than the perfect firmness the suit's support gave them. They're covered in cyan fur like the rest of her front, with a pair of puffy, thick dark blue nipples poking out from amidst it. You almost wonder if maybe she and Nova have some kids you haven't met yet, since she does have a slightly motherly body... just the slightest hint of poke out to her belly, wide round hips... ahem. Hauling your eyes back up to her face, you note that she seems quite calm and casual, just like she was earlier, apparently unbothered by being "caught" in the nude.\n\n"Good evening, Leo," she says evenly. "Did you need something?"\n\n"Ah, no, I was actually just coming over to... well, hang out with you and Nova, if you were up for it, I was feeling sort of restless," you reply, trying to keep your own voice casual as if talking with nude, mature, furry sexbombs was something you did all the time.\n\n"I'm afraid Nova isn't here," she replies, tilting her head a little, her ears giving a quick flick. "He went to do some scouting of the route ahead in one of the fighters."\n\n"Oh. Right, yeah."\n\n"Don't worry, you're not bothering me," she assures you, actually giving you a small smile and folding her arms under her breasts... winding up pressing them together and lifting them up towards you in the process.\n\n... Ahem. Alright, well... ... initiate dialog, brain.\n\n<hr>\n[[She can decide whether to invite you in.|LeoNova7x1]]\n\n[[She must be expecting someone.|LeoNova6x2]]\n\n[[She must be horny.|LeoNova]]

While settling a bit in your throne after taking care of the last matter, you glance over at Xenith. "Anything to report, dear?"\n\n"Yes, your majesty, that I love you and worship you with all my heart! Other than this unworthy Xenith's continuing devotion, however, there's not much to say. The heroes you've captured are still providing energy as normal, the worlds available to you to explore are still waiting. You are, as always, free to do what you like without worry."\n\nYou nod happily, then consider. So, what do you want to do...?\n\n<hr>\nBrowse [[Known Souls|MaxKnownSouls]].\n\nBrowse [[Origin Souls|MaxOriginSouls]].\n\n[[Release a Soul.|MaxSoulRelease]]\n\nGo out and [[explore|MaxExploreWorlds]].\n\nStay in and [[have fun|MaxTowerFun]].

Setting off towards the shopping areas, you make your way past little clumps of other people either walking by or loitering. One of the things about visiting Shinjuku... your chest gets more glances than your ears, though even that doesn't attract a ton of attention. If there's any place where people tend to accept you without much thought, it's here. You're vaguely aware it's probably because they think your ears are fake and you're just some cosplayer, but who really cares?\n\nSoon you arrive in a familiar area where most of your favorite shops are. Interestingly enough, your preferred game store has [[a line|SiphaAki1x2]] outside of it... not a really big line, but a line nevertheless. You can see other people going in and out, so it's not the actual waiting-to-get-in type of line... is there an event you haven't heard about?\n\nWell, if it's actually just some guys hanging out, you can safely dismiss it. There's also the store where you buy your [[figures|SiphaAki]], because a proper otaku's collection of plastic waifus is determined by what they can afford, not how much room there is left in their apartment! There's also the [[electronics|SiphaAki]] store, and... well, tucked in a little out of the way place is a store that sells a different kind of [[toys|SiphaAki]]. You've only peeked in before, but maybe it's time to take a longer look...?

You've definitely gotta check out what's going on at the game store. You make your way across the street, approaching the line and asking the little group, "Hey, guys, what's up?"\n\nSeveral of them either huddle in on themselves, obviously too shy or anxious to speak to a stranger (or a female), at least two of them looking like they're overheating just looking at you. But at least a couple are still acting normally, the guy towards the front of the line saying, "We're lining up for the steelbook version release of Magical Mastery Director Doki."\n\nYou gasp, clapping your hands over your mouth. Magical Mastery Director Doki... one of the most anticipated games of the year! Probably the most anticipated! Its high-end 3D graphics are designed to look almost exactly like traditional animation, allowing the feel of playing a realtime magical girl anime. But besides the campaign and story modes featuring a ton of magical girls from different franchises, the 'Director' in the title indicates the ability to create your own characters and put them in scenes plotted out and directed by you... allowing you to make your own magical girl anime! "What?! But they said they weren't going to do a physical release! The director even said that the studio was going all digital starting with MagiMastaDilDo!"\n\n"Apparently someone at distribution decided that was stupid," the pudgy youth replies in a rather smug tone. "There's gonna be a special limited run of steelbooks with physical copies, coming out at ten tomorrow. We'll not only get the super rare limited edition, but we get to start playing the game a whole three hours earlier than all those digital-only plebes!"\n\n<hr>\n[[Omg omg omg omg NEED!|SiphaAki]]\n\n[[Uuuuuuu you already preordered sob sob...|SiphaAki]]

*Main: Defiance can [[poke around the office|Def1x10]] in the containment facility.\n*Main: Michika can decide to [[try and escape the quarantine zone|ChiMine1x2]] at the mine.\n-Update 2-\n* More on the Michika line.\n*Main: Horse-Caliburn can decide he'll [[call Pink again|CalHM4x4]].

Yawning wide, you scooch out of the bed and flump facedown on the floor, trying to stir up the energy to actually stand. You vaguely recall a time in your life when you only needed two hours of sleep and could then leap to your feet ready to do battle for ten hours straight. 'Boy to be ninety again, amirite?' you think to yourself as you finally push yourself upright and then wobble to your feet.\n\nYawning again and absently scratching one buttcheek, you take a bleary look around, trying to get your brain booted up. Alright, you're awake. You're upright. ... Now what?\n\n<hr>\n[[Gaaaaames!|Sipha1x2]]\n\n[[Food, plz.|Sipha]]\n\n[[How about... outside?|Sipha3x1]]\n\n[[... wait, what's that smell...?|Sipha2x1]]

The elf's actually kind of cute... and you like her outfit, which is sort of a weird blend of 'fantasy bikini armor' and 'formal dinner suit'. It's a pair of tight, skimpy panties, a top with a cleavage window framed by flares simulating a popped collar while the actual collar is a more standard turn-down, with straps from the top connecting to her white thigh-highs, which slide into gold-trimmed black boots that match her sleeve-gloves. All of it very elaborate, showing off her wide hips and generous boobs, though her black hair being in twintails tied by white ribbons shows she's definitely going for 'cute' too. She turns her yellow eyes towards you as you approach, looking a little surprised, the nameplate above her head reading 'Ayla'.\n\n<img src="images/Ayla.png">\n\n"Oh, hey, what's up? Looking for a group for combat?" she asks.\n\n"Yeah. You seem shocked," you note as you stop in front of her, and she hops down from her perch to stand.\n\n"Eh, I guess everyone assumes an elf dressed like this is just looking for gold handouts, even in a game like this," she says with a sigh, resting her hands on those astounding hips. "But I'm not, I just need a leveling buddy. Look, I'll be up front," she says, pointing at you as she continues. "Right now I'm not very potent. I spread myself around wanting to be a generalist, so I have some attack, some support, some healing, some general use, but I'm not great at any of it. But by level fifteen I'll be awesome and capable of filling any magic role you need, I just need to get there!"\n\n"Hm. That sounds doable," you answer, nodding. "I've been doing pretty well on my own, even if it was only a first level, so if I just have a bit of support we should be able to level well."\n\n"Cool! Glad to meet you then, Kuro, let's party up! With you around we'll be able to get to the next city and head to the Temple," she continues, tapping at the air in front of her.\n\n"Temple?" you echo curiously as you accept the party invite.\n\n"Yeah, the Temple of Return. When you pray there, instead of losing your character or respawning with a penalty, you respawn at the temple with all your expees intact instead," she explains.\n\n"... Eh," you murmur, instantly losing enthusiasm. Seriously? That's a thing? That's like... so typical, it's the opposite of why you wanted to play this version of the game.\n\n"... Ohhhh? Is someone disappointed?" Ayla suddenly coos, grinning kittenishly as she puts her fingertips to her lips. She slides around to your side and leans in a bit. "Was someone maybe looking forward to getting... Bad Ended?"\n\n"W-w-w-w-w-w-WHAAAAAAAAAT?!" Your face turns red and you quickly look away, laughing nervously. "What do you mean, I mean maybe I wanted the challenge, maybe I wanted the danger, maybe I think games should make you git gud or lose, maybe, maybe..." You slowly look back at her to see she's still kittysmirking, and let your head hang. "... Yeah," you whimper in a little voice. "I've totally been splooshing over it since I got my game delivered," you add in a whine.\n\n"Huhuhuhu, I knew it, you probably bought the super dangerous edition too, didn't you, you lew~d?" she teases, poking your side.\n\n"... Yeah," you say with a sigh. "How'd you know?"\n\n"Elves are quick to recognize lewdness," she proclaims cheerfully, once more resting her hands on her bare hips. "Well, or maybe I'm just quick to sniff out my own kind."\n\n"E-eh? Your... your own?!"\n\n"Yeah! I love Bad Ends, I totally want to get Bad Ended! 'Ehhh, but Ayla, why you wanna go to the Temple of Return then?!'" she quickly supplies in a silly 'tall person' voice... well, she does barely come to your shoulder. "Because, my dear fellow lewd, I want to experience a lot of them!" She puts her nose in the air, looking smug. "And this way I can get variety without having to go through level grinding a new character every time! Plus, plus plus plus, I'll be tempted to risk myself again and again getting my stuff back, since it gets left where you died," she adds, folding her arms over her chest and smirking. "Besides, it's on a character by character basis, if you really wanna risk your life you could always make another one."\n\n"I see." You frown thoughtfully. "Well, I don't know..."\n\n"Heeeey, did I mention?" she coos, leaning in again, yellow eyes sparkling. "When you respawn at the Temple of Return, you're buck. Ass. Naked!" ❤\n\n"N-naked?" Your face goes red again. "Completely?"\n\n"Yup! And they don't give you anything to cover up with either, you've gotta walk out into the city like that. If you go to the Adventurer's Guild that's a few blocks away, they'll give you a set of starter armor and a weapon to tide you over... but only once a week. After that, you're on your own. Gosh... what if we dropped all our money when we were defeated and didn't have a stash?" she mock-muses aloud, gazing at the sky meaningfully. "What might two poor, innocent, sweet girl adventurers have to do to get enough money for armor and weapons to try and retrieve their stuff... only to maybe lose again? Or, or or or... what might their vulnerable nakedness inspire in all those horny onlookers, do you think, huh?"\n\n... You gotta admit she's making a hell of a case for the Temple of Return. You're almost as annoyed with her completely manipulating you and controlling you through your desires as you are turned on by it. Still... should you give in?\n\n<hr>\n[[A unique and ultimate Bad End is necessary!|YamiHF]]\n\n[[Variety is the spice of life. And sometimes the spice of Bad Ends, you guess.|YamiHF]]

You've occasionally thought this over the years but... maybe it would be better to leave Earth entirely. The Device came from somewhere out there, after all, though exactly where you have no idea. You've always thought that to find out more about it, to whatever end, you'd probably have to go out there someday, and-\n\nAnd you blink. The oppressive howl of the Device is just... gone. Completely removed. Instead there's almost a faint warm, soft glow, the much rarer and as such almost intoxicating radiance of approval. Perhaps you never noticed its reaction to the thought because the Device was never in such a funk before, or maybe you just weren't serious enough about it, or... who knows. But yes, you definitely get the sense that the Device wants you to leave Earth and head out into the stars.\n\n'Well. That's settled, then,' you think both to yourself and it, giving a firm nod and nudging your glasses up. Leaving Earth it is. You are aware, certainly, that there's plenty of civilization out there... in fact you're aware of at least one secret Martian city, even if you've never been there or seen it for yourself. So plenty of places to go to explore, investigate... maybe even just experience and enjoy? ... The Device doesn't particularly get less effusive, apparently it has no immediate problems with the idea of sightseeing across the galaxy. Fine then.\n\nNow the rather important question of 'how'.\n\nThe most obvious thing is to acquire a starship somehow. There are a few places you can think of on Earth that you could get your hands on one, astounding as that might be. The most obvious would be to speak to the [[Galaxy Syndicate|Back]]... a criminal organization that deals in a little bit of everything, but specializes in high technology, including that salvaged and reverse engineered from extraterrestrial sources. They'd likely outright sell it to you, and you do have a great deal of funds tucked away, though from other dealings with them you know that if you show any weakness at all you're likely to be coopted into pulling some job for them as part of the payment. The Syndicate's leaders pride themselves on never passing up an opportunity.\n\nAnother would be to go and talk to [[Mister Backroom|Back]], one of the most notorious black market salesmen in the supercriminal underworld, and also essentially the only one who would definitely be able to get his hands on a working starship for you (though you don't doubt it would be something of the equivalent of an aged Buick with 300,000 miles on it). The issue there being that he would definitely want a favor or for you to do a job for him in return... it's baked into doing business with him, he never just hands something over for money, which is why he's able to realize so many high-end deals despite being an independent.\n\nHm. There's always snagging a more conventional spacecraft from the government or the handful of private space industry sources. None of those would get you out of the solar system, and even that would require some heavy tweaking... but you're betting that with said tweaking, they could easily get you to Mars, and therefore that [[secret Martian city|Back]] where acquiring a more proper starcraft would probably involve considerably fewer entanglements with people you already know you'd rather not get involved with.\n\nThe bigger longshot is to try and steal one, or some other method of travel, from a superhero. You know the that the largest superhero organization, the Guardian Sentinels, maintains a small fleet of them belonging both to the members and to the organization itself aboard their home base the [[Guardtower|Back]]. You've always sort of wanted to infiltrate it anyway, and the Device certainly isn't arguing with the idea.\n\nThere's also a particular [[magic hero|Back]] you're aware of who's supposed to have some sort of arcane device that enables long-range travel without a ship. If it was something you could wear, or have on you, that would certainly eliminate a handful of rather prominent problems. You've never had much truck with magic yourself, but you've been in this world far too long to discount either its existence or ability.\n\nOr you suppose you could try to [[design and build one yourself|Back]]. You're fairly certain you understand all the involved principles well enough, and have had your hands on enough superscience, to make a go of it. It would take longer, and you'd almost certainly have to steal many of the components, but it would avoid the most entanglements and obvious issues.\n\nYou pause in your (at this point almost jaunty and amiable) ramble across the rooftops. You suppose there is one other option... there's someone who owes you a rather massive favor that you could [[just ask|Back3x4]]. Someone who, besides that favor owed, did once promise you they'd do "anything" if it meant "getting that damn thing out of your back". You suppose this could fall under that heading (which the Device seems oddly complacent about crossing your mind, for once). It's the biggest long shot of them all, but... well. You suppose for all that, it's also theoretically the one that might get you your starcraft the soonest and with even less points of failure. And you suppose even if your connection says "No", well, the worst that's happened is that there will be people out there forewarned that you're trying to get ahold of one, which might make the other options a little harder, but none of them impossible.

Considering how many bounty heads like to stick to civilization, scanning for power signatures isn't typically that useful unless they've decided to head out into the country... or a stone-age paradise like this one. Of course knowing that, the smart thing for Comet to do would be to shut off all of his active equipment and set his blasters to 'power as needed' instead of 'ready charge'. But then, he's obviously gotten old and sloppy enough to do something stupid enough to get the Guild to turn on him, add in that if he's arrogant enough to think no one else would have tracked him down. With that in mind, you draw out your scanner and configure it for standard power signatures, having it do a sweep of the nearby area.\n\nYou soon get back a pair of pings... two little groups of signatures that would correspond to light defense suits and weapons of the sort a lot of Guild mercenaries favor. That there's more than one isn't too surprising... when you read Comet's bio, it said he had an entire crew, almost entirely made up of other 'beast-type' races like himself. You were semi-hoping that Comet might be alone since he's the only one there's a bounty on, but from what you read it's not surprising the crew would still be loyal to him, with at least one of them loyal enough to actively assist him in his hiding. Keeping the MK-99 lightly at the ready, you carefully set off in the direction of the signatures, approaching from an angle that you hope will bring you up behind and from the side, to judge from the way they're moving.\n\nThis necessitates moving through the jungle, and soon you're beneath the canopy of the flowery jungle trees, grateful for the shade from the sun even if not exactly grateful for ducking around all the vines. (And being careful to watch for any that look like they're moving on their own. You may be a space baby but you're familiar enough with planets like this to know the fauna often like to masquerade as flora... and the flora can be mobile and dangerous on its own, at times). Every so often your steps send little bipedal lizards scattering, their little toothy maws almost blurring as they chitter at you admonishingly in a string of nonsentient invective that sounds like an undecoded comm stream.\n\nYou check the readout holo on your wrist as you get closer to where you expected your path to intersect the signatures... indeed, they're just up ahead, and you can even faintly hear voices pitched low in serious conversation. Aha! They should be just ahead past a fairly thickly-grown line of trees. You can cover your approach by...\n\n<hr>\n[[... going between two of them.|LeoNova1x2]]\n\n[[... using that big flower for cover.|LeoNova]]

"Don't suppose I could bother you to get me down?" you ask, even as you keep the MK-99's barrel pointed in their general direction without quite pointing it at them.\n \n"I think we can manage that," the tiger says in a mildly amused tone. "Assuming you're not with Comet Lion?"\n\n"I'd show you my Guild card, but uh..." You briefly glance at your own body, before letting your head lower again to look at him, hair drifting and waving with your motions. "That'd currently mean emptying that pocket and I'd rather not."\n\n"Alright, one second. Honey?" he continues, glancing at the fox woman.\n\n"There should be a stone on the other side of the tree holding the other end of the rope, let's find that and we should be able to let him down a bit more gently," the fox answers, the two of them moving out of your range of sight.\n\n"Thanks. I'll just... hang out, then," you murmur. You had to say it, if you're going to have this memory you're going to at least acknowledge it with the standard quips.\n\nAfter about ten seconds you do indeed feel yourself slowly lowering towards the ground again. Eventually the rope does go suddenly slack and allow you to drop jarringly to the ground, but it's nowhere near as bad as it would have been if you'd just cut yourself free. As you're getting up the pair come back around the tree, and this time you're able to get a better look at them. The tiger man is wearing a white and blue flight jacket in addition to the suit, with the logo of the Void Force on it that includes the gold starfighter that indicates he's earned the level of Ace. He's lean but powerful, the suit managing to show off some muscle as well as the bulge at the crotch. (One reason you don't wear the things despite their utility, they just seem... inherently braggy.) Up closer you can see that the fox woman's fur is only iridescent purple-blue in the majority, that the fur running down her front is less shiny and cyan in color, and that she's not actually wearing a bikini... rather, she's also wearing a flight suit, just that it's mostly transparent except for the parts forming a silver bikini shape, as well as her silver boots. Her hair is a slightly darker color than her fur and hangs in a long, thick braid down her back to almost her knees.\n\n"I'm Nova Tiger, and this is my wife, Gem," the man says by way of introduction, gesturing to the woman at his side who bows slightly, tails giving a flick. (From close up, not upside down, and not mildly panicked you can now make out that she has three.) "We're also members of the Guild here for Comet Lion's bounty."\n\n"Figured. I'm Leo," you say by way of introduction, ducking to pick up the HW111 and sling it back into place on your back. "So you figure he's hiding out here too?"\n\n"He has before, so it seemed a natural place to start. With the added benefit that Gem is from this world, originally."\n\n"You need to watch out for Teng traps like that," Gem picks up, glancing towards the tree with a scowl on her muzzle. "You definitely don't want to wind up being caught by them. Outsiders may call this entire world 'Savage', but the Teng truly are."\n\n"I'll keep it in mind," you answer, since brushing off her concern doesn't seem very diplomatic... she clearly has Very Strong Feelings about whoever the Teng are. A rival tribe of foxpeople maybe?\n\n"Listen, if you're here for the bounty, why don't all three of us team up to take Comet down?" Nova suggests, gesturing to you with one hand again. "To be honest, we're more interested in bringing him to justice than we are with the bounty. If you're amenable, we'll work for operating costs only... the, if you'll excuse the expression, lion's share of the bounty would go to you. I've heard of you, Leo, and I know you do good work, so I'm willing to make this offer, as long as you agree to one stipulation."\n\nYou'd already been turning over the offer in your head, enough that you're at least willing to ask, "And what's that?"\n\n"That we do everything we can to bring Comet in alive." Nova's expression turns grim as he continues. "He's done a lot to hurt me and my crew, as well as other people... but he used to be my father's best friend. He was family once, and I at least owe him that if nothing else. So even if it comes down to killing him or letting him go for the time being, I want you to promise you'll do your best not to take his life."\n\n<hr>\n[[Agreed.|LeoNova1x4]]\n\n[[No deal.|LeoNova]]

Yeah, let's just sliiide between these two trees, they'll provide cover from this angle, and you can probably draw a bead on them from there and crunch.\n\n... Crunch?\n\nIt takes you a blink to realize you've actually stepped on a twig and made a nice loud snapping sound that caused the nearby conversation to instantly go silent. Of course you're not given long to worry about that since there's a painful yank on your leg and the world goes blurry and topsy-turvy, flinging you back and forth and knocking you against one of the trees in a stunning blow that has your head spinning as you wind up dangling in the air. The HW111 crashes to the forest floor beneath you, its long strap having easily slid off in your inverted position, but between reflex and its own shorter strap you've somehow managed to hold on to the MK-99 in one hand. \n\nEven as fast as you've been trained to react, the suddenness of your being yanked off the grown and abrupt rushing of blood to your head still has you stunned for a few seconds. In that time, a pair of figures emerge from the bushes nearby... a tiger man with short orange-blonde hair and wearing a white and blue flight suit, a blaster pistol in one hand, and a fox woman with iridescent purple-blue fur and a silver bikini(?!) and multiple(?!?!?) tails, carrying what looks like a combo stun-pole and rifle slung across her back. Both are looking up at you curiously, the tiger's blaster not quite raised and the fox's hand on her weapon.\n\n<hr>\n[[Open fire!|LeoNova]]\n\n[["... Little help?"|LeoNova1x3]]

Your finger twitches just a little on the trigger, before you slide it away to rest on the trigger guard instead, huffing in annoyance and lowering the rifle as the starfighter recedes into a dot. "Dammit."\n\nYou hear a clatter of small rocks nearby, and look over just in time to see Nova obviously relaxing, blue eyes closing briefly before he opens them and meets your own eyes, nodding once. "Don't worry, we'll still get him. A fast takeoff like that means he won't be able to shield his vents until he's back in atmosphere... he'll leave a nice bright trail for us to follow."\n\n"How did he know we were coming so precisely?" Gem asks with a frown as she walks over, slinging her staff-rifle behind her again.\n\nYou consider as you return the HW111 to its own position and pick up the MK-99, then make a face. "We forgot to set our weapons and gear to power-as-needed. Two of us might not have alerted whatever low-power sensor he had set up, but I bet all three of us walking around with fully-charged weapons and protection fields lit it up like a candle in the night."\n\nNova shakes his head as he holsters his pistol. "No use fretting about a mistake, we just won't make that one again." He walks over to you and rests a hand on your shoulder. "Listen, the offer to stick with us until we bring Comet in still stands. Why don't you come back to our ship with us, and stick around until we can track him down? There's plenty of empty rooms and, hey, if there's time I can always teach you to pilot a starfighter yourself."\n\nYou hesitate briefly, but frankly it's a good deal... going back to the Guildhall and then deploying again later is just going to cost more in fees, and if Comet sticks to ships and smaller stations in space you might be screwed on tracking him anyway. Man you really need your own ship if you're gonna keep doing this. But for now it's best to give Nova a smile and say, "I appreciate it, think I'll take you up on that."\n\n"Loathe as I am to give him the extra time to flee, I doubt we'll make it back to our own fighters before nightfall, and we do not want to be traversing Teng-infested territory with scattered feral Skahlehs survivors after sundown," Gem speaks up. "Besides, that way we can search it for any potential clues, he obviously left in a hurry."\n\nUnfortunately, not so much of a hurry that he didn't put a blaster pistol shot into his computer. Still, you and Nova are able to open it up and piece together a few bits of data that might make more sense once you're able to follow Comet's vent trail. Sleeping in shifts and using a stone floor for a bed isn't exactly fun, but it's also not new to you. In the morning the three of you set out back the way you came, albeit much faster since stealth isn't really required... according to Gem, if either Teng or Skahlehs are actually looking for you, moving stealthily won't help much, speed and keeping your weapons displayed and ready to use is more of a deterrant.\n\nThe sun is almost directly overhead when you spot the pair of parked starfighters. Defenders, you think with admiration, fairly recent models to judge by the profile and the angle of the back fins, and they're even the variable wing models since the usually forward-angled wings are currently slid in to line up against the sides of the ships, taking up less space in the clearing they've been parked in. Not hard to tell whose is whose, since one is orange with tiger stripes and the other's a pearlescent purple-blue... they must have a really good paint artist on their crew, or have paid a lot. "VW-15s?" you ask, unable to keep some of the excitement out of your voice.\n\nNova grins indulgently at you, though his blue eyes are sparkling happily as he says, "VW-11s, actually, our engineer is just very good at upgrading them. Plus that way we paid 20,000 credits for the latest drive fin system for the 11s rather than spending 200,000,000 plus on surplus 15s."\n\nCan't beat a deal like that, you think as you follow Nova to the striped starfighter. Luckily the VW-11s have a navigator seat as well, if a slightly cramped one, so you're able to settle in as he goes through the proper startup sequence. "Gem, once we leave orbit, you call up the Stellar Body and have them meet us, I'll scan for the vent trail," Nova says once he's settled on the flight helmet designed to fit his more animalistic features.\n\n"Copy," Gem's voice comes back over the comm.\n\nSoon the jungle is dropping away beneath you, the blue sky darkening to black and the stars losing their twinkle. 'Yeah I gotta get me one of these,' you think as you look out the canopy, grinning. Might even have to swallow your oh-so-natural modesty and start wearing a flight suit. You settle in to just watch the stars or the planet orbiting distantly below, idly listening to Nova and Gem comming back and forth every so often, until there's a flash in the distance that gets your attention. An object 'stretching' in before rejoining normal space appears, drifting closer, its grey, shiny surface picking up every bit of ambient light to display it despite the darkness of space, showing off the sleek lines of the rounded 'head' at the front and the tapering neck, growing out into a round midship with the broad 'ring' at the center, the tips of it splayed out for the fighter bay below, the drive section sticking out behind, the dipped section on the upper part of the ship glistening with flashing blue lights playing across its shiny black surface, like its own display of the night sky as it would be seen from the ground.\n\n<img src="images/NovaCarrier.jpg">\n\n"Oh nice," you can't help but breathe, before clearing your throat a bit and saying in a more dignified tone, "That's an old Void Force Nova-class light carrier, isn't it?"\n\n"Yup, that's my namesake there, originally the VFS Nova. My dad was the last to command it, when they announced they were going to retire it, he... well, it's a long story, but he was able to take command of it as a licensed civilian instead. Couldn't keep the name due to regulations, so he said he compromised by giving the name to his son instead," Nova says with a chuckle. Then he shifts his tone of voice to a lightly professional one as he says, "Stellar Body, this is Brightstar One and Brightstar Two, requesting permission to dock."\n\n"Permission granted, Brightstar One and Two," answers the sort of deep, smooth voice that you've often envied for its observed ability to make females' (and some males') clothes fall off. "Welcome back."\n\n"Stellar Body we are heavy one passenger, so why don't you come to meet our guest when we land? Brightstar One out," Nova continues, glancing over his shoulder to flash you a grin as well as the cockpit arrangement will allow. "Time to meet the family."\n\nAs the two starfighters make their way into the bay, which has at least a dozen other similar fighters in it (only two of them with noticeable paintjobs), you do see two figures of very different sizes standing and waiting. The big one looks like he's almost seven feet tall, with an avian-like head including beak, white feathers long and backswept enough at the top to simulate a hairstyle, tips dyed red, though the tail poking out the back of his red flightsuit is thin and golden with a tufted tip, and while the look of the fingers bared by the gloves of his flightsuit are covered with yellow 'scales' and tipped with claws like a raptor bird's feet, the ends of his digigrade feet are somewhat feline. The other figure might not even hit five feet, with thick black hair, equine features, and a pair of very tall ears, that add at least a foot to his height, wearing fairly plain grey overalls that almost match his brown-grey fur. As the three of you climb down from the cockpits, both salute, though the tall one's is crisp and immediate, the short man's awkward and obviously a hurried afterthought.\n\n"Sir, welcome back," the red-clad alien declares.\n\n"At ease, Pulse, as always," Nova says genially. "Leo, I'd like you to meet Pulsar Griffon... he's our flight deck commander, tactical advisor, our second-best fighter pilot, and, well, just about everything we need him to be that one of us isn't. And this engineering genius with the long face is Lunar Donkey, and the reason we can maintain a light carrier with a crew of four."\n\n"Call me Lu!" the short man chirps, before grinning sheepishly and letting his ears flop as Pulsar shoots him a quick, hawkish glare.\n\n"Ah, wait... four? This is seriously it for this whole ship?" you ask, glancing around.\n\n"Told you we had a few empty rooms," Nova answers dryly, clapping you on the back. "Now, let's head to the war room so we can discuss what we've found."\n\nShortly after the five of you are sitting around a table, discussing both Gem's findings and the scans Lu conducted with the Stellar Body's sensors following up on her work. "So on this course, I don't see much option other than that he was heading for the Domiana Region," Pulsar says, gesturing to the map displayed on the nearby wallscreen. "The Alakan System is in the Domian Region, and that is one of the preferred shipyards of the Celestial Body."\n\n"Do you really think he'd go back to it?" Nova says with a frown, though it seems more like he's turning over the idea in his head rather than sincerely questioning it. "He'd get the entire crew disavowed at the least, if he took command again."\n\n"It's true, I'd usually credit Comet with more concern for his people than to risk losing all of them their Guild certification, or possibly having bounties put on their own heads," Pulsar allows, bobbing his own head. "But seeing you nipping on his heels in concert with one of the Guild's up-and-coming young bucks might have made him desperate."\n\n"And desperation, as we've seen time and again, can strip principles out of many or most sentients," Gem notes rather darkly, her multiple tails giving a visible twitch through the open area in her chair. "We've seen it happen to Comet himself before... is it not how he put himself in this position?"\n\n"True enough," Nova admits with a sigh and a bob of his own head. \n\n"I mean, Alakan isn't home to just the docking facilities, the shipyards also makes ships for three different designers," Lu pipes up. "If he decided his starfighter wasn't going to cut it, instead of meeting up with the Celestial Body he might be going there to buy or steal a new ship."\n\n"And if it's a production shipyards, that means it's on a shipping lane," you speak up as well, pointing to an area on the map between two nebulas. "Probably right there, yeah? Whether he was going to steal a ship or cargo, that'd be one spot to do it."\n\n"Good eye, Leo," Pulsar agrees, beak curling up a bit in an approving smile. (You wonder how it does that? But Leonavians can all seem to do it, so you're used to it.) "You're right, and it wouldn't be the first time Comet's indulged in piracy. I think at this rate we can confidently set course for the Domiana Region, and make our way towards the Alakan System from there, unless something turns up to point us in another direction."\n\n"Alright, gang, let's set course and then everyone grab some rest, I want this crew on top of its game in case the Celestial Body is there waiting for us," Nova announces, standing. "Meeting adjourned."\n\nYou're shown the way to your own quarters, and despite being shipboard they're definitely way nicer than your room at the Guildhall. Probably officer's quarters, you think with satisfaction as you emerge from the shower and step into the fur dryer... you don't have fur, but the all-over blow drying is hard to beat. Leaving 'blasted by warm air' as your hairstyle, you exit to the room proper and pull on your thoroughly clean shirt and pants, admiring the work the wall unit did. This ship is probably a good 150 years old, albeit it was bleeding edge when it was first put into service, and you'd bet most of the rest of the machinery can't be younger than fifty or sixty years, but it's all clean, shiny, and works flawlessly. Lu must really know his stuff and have the automation running like a dream. You flop on the remarkably comfortable bed, closing your eyes and tucking your hands under your head... then peeking an eye open.\n\n... Hm. Bored. You're not used to turning in so promptly... generally you're either hanging out in the public areas of the Guildhall, or researching, or training until you're too tired to do anything but sleep. The fact that your room there is so small and your bed so marginal might have something to do with that, it's basically a closet to keep your sleeping body in after all. (It's cheap, and you want every credit you can to put towards your ship.) Just being in a comfy private room when you've still got energy to spare is something that hasn't happened in years. Maybe you should go see if anyone wants to hang out, or find the ship's training facilities, or something.\n\n<hr>\n[[Go see Nova and Gem.|LeoNova1x6]]\n\n[[Go see Pulsar.|LeoNova2x1]]\n\n[[Go see Lu.|LeoNova]]\n\n[[Look for the training facility.|LeoNova]]\n\n[[Just kill time in your room.|LeoNova8x1]]

You turn over the offer in your head for a minute. While you'd prefer to work alone to garner the greater glory, you're not a complete idiot... if Nova's a Void Force Ace he's been trained in combat by one of the best fighting forces in the multiverse, even if groundfighting isn't his specialty. And turning down a local guide's expertise is just stupid... you don't want to wind up embarrassing yourself (or worse) if you run into more traps that Gem could have steered you away from. Besides, it's not like you're all gung-ho on killing anyway, agreeing to a nonlethal takedown isn't a big deal. "Alright, sure, agreed," you say finally, shifting your MK-99 to your off hand to proffer your main one to Nova.\n\nOnce the two of you, and you and Gem, have all shaken on the deal, your new trio sets off. "There's a series of caves that are quite livable at the foot of that mountain in particular," Gem says, gesturing to a mountain to the side of the one you would have headed towards. "They used to be home to a small tribe of Skahlehs, but in the fighting that ensued during Comet's last 'visit' here, most of them were killed and the rest scattered. He'd know all this from that time, so the likelihood of him using it as a 'hideout' seems high."\n\nThe trip takes most of the day, with Gem doing most of the guiding, warning Nova and yourself away from various dangers, though Nova himself points various things out, indicating it's not his first time on Saurion either. As the three of you get closer, you hush your voices, then eventually stop talking altogether. As you approach the mountain proper, all of you start keeping low, keeping to what cover you can. (You several times find yourself having to not look at a very shapely pair of buttocks being jutted at you... flightsuits are braggy, for sure.) At a little 'nnh' noise from Nova, you and Gem quickly scuttle behind some rocks as cover, quickly seeing just what prompted that... the green and purple starfighter parked about twenty feet from a cave opening.\n\n"There it is," Nova whispers. "Now we just need to-"\n\nBefore he can even finish speaking, you see a tall, broad figure emerge from the cave... and start firing. The rifle in its hands spits crackling orange orbs that strike with an echoing impact that sends up clouds of dust and rock shrapnel, causing all three of you to duck low. When you come up it's to start firing with the MK-99, Nova and Gem doing the same with their own weapons, all three of you doing your best to either lay down area denial fire or alternately take shots at the fleeing Comet Lion. But for such a big man he's just as agile as you feared, ducking and weaving between the shots and taking a moment to fire with that damn cannon of his any time the three of you's fire starts being too effective, forcing all of you to duck for safety briefly. Then you hear him fire three times as quickly as you think it can, but none of the impacts are even close... prompting you, without looking, to shout "MOVE MOVE MOVE!" and go scrambling over your rock, daring a run out into the open.\n\nEither obeying your desperate cry or having picked up Comet's intent, Nova and Gem also dive out of cover, Nova rolling over the low, flat boulder in front of him and Gem leaping over hers like it was the athletics horse in gym class, one hand making contact with the top to fling herself into a flip so she can land on her feet. Still, the impact of the rockslide Comet started with his blasts hitting the ground behind you knocks everyone sprawling, Gem barely able to get off a few yards-wide blasts in the direction of the starfighter as Comet's already hurling himself into the cockpit.\n\nThe engines are already whining with powerup as you scramble to your feet, both you and Nova firing on the starfighter... but it's designed to take at least one direct hit from capital guns without going to pieces, anti-personnel weaponry might as well be rain on a waterfowl to it. Comet obviously knows every dangerous shortcut for powerup that there is, because it's less than two seconds before it's lifting into the air and banking, already picking up speed as it heads for the sky.\n\nWithout really thinking about it, you drop the MK-99 and swing the HW111 around into your hands, eye going to the viewscope. You have about two seconds to make the shot before he's out of effective range, but his rapid powerup and takeoff means that its power regulators aren't shielded, and the disruptor blast will definitely take the engines offline instantly. Which means that between his altitude and momentum, that's a crash no one's walking away from, let alone someone who didn't engage all the possible safety features a typical takeoff sequence involves.\n\n<hr>\n[[Take the shot.|LeoNova]]\n\n[[Let him go.|LeoNova1x5]]

Nova's tall, chiseled form is completely on display... apparently his fur conforms closely enough to his skin that it doesn't hinder showing the contours of muscle on his stomach, chest, arms, and legs, because all of them are quite obviously toned. And that fur is all he's clad in, the pale vanilla white running down his front and along the insides of his thighs, the orangey-red and black stripes along his sides and back. Of their own accord your eyes flick down, catching a glimpse of his crotch... and the sheath and balls also covered in white fur, the tip of an ink-black cock just barely poking out of the opening of the sheath.\n\n"Evening, Leo," he says in a warm, casual tone, as if it were no nevermind to him that you'd walked up on him naked.\n\n"Ah, hey, Nova," you answer, yanking your eyes back up to his face and keeping them there. You try to pick your next words carefully...\n\n<hr>\n[["Am I interrupting anything?"|LeoNova]]\n\n[["So, flying solo tonight?"|LeoNova1x8]]\n\n[["Waiting for somebody?"|LeoNova]]

They are the two you know the best so far, even though it's mostly been idle chatter up to this point. Plus they're your hosts, so it only seems right to call on them. You haven't even really properly thanked them for the nice room, after all. Getting up and pulling on your boots, you head out into the hallway. You're fairly certain that their quarters must be nearby (you're assuming they live together, being husband and wife, though you guess that isn't true for all couples), and if trends are anything to go by, you'll know it when you see it. Indeed, just a bit down the hall you find a slightly larger door, one that splits down the middle rather than just sliding to one side, with a small tribal art style tiger on one side and a similar purple fox on the other. Yeah, these guys are apparently really proud of their species identities... usually the only time you see someone displaying little figures of humans to mark doors is on bathrooms.\n\nSnickering a bit to yourself at the thought, you reach over to press the 'Announce' button on the panel next to the door. You're expecting someone to call 'who is it', but you guess with a crew this small the occupants must have a pretty good guess, since the door almost immediately slides open. Your brain makes a little internal error sound at the sight presented. 'Very naked,' is the first thought it's able to spit out, followed very closely by 'That's a whole lot of-'\n\n<hr>\n[['-stripes.'|LeoNova1x7]]\n\n[['-shiny.'|LeoNova6x1]]

"Probably because you've heard of my bartending prowess, huh?" you ask as you walk over, also descending into the conversation pit and making your way towards the revealed bar.\n\n"I admit, it was one of the things I'd heard about you in passing," Nova chuckles as he pushes off the wall and moves to take a seat in one of the chairs. "I don't drink a lot myself, but it is something of a tradition to welcome new members of the crew with a round of drinks in the captain's cabin. You're only here temporarily, but I suppose that could always change!" he adds cheerfully.\n\nHm. Not sure how you'd feel about that... at least yet. Though it's at least gratifying to know he's at least already considering extending the offer. You pluck some of the cocktail mixing implements out of the grav field holding them stuck in place as if they had suction cups on the bottom, arraying them in front of you. Now let's see, how about making...\n\n<hr>\n[[Something light for both of you.|LeoNova]]\n\n[[Something strong for the both of you.|LeoNova]]\n\n[[Something strong for Nova, and light for you.|LeoNova]]\n\n[[Something light for Nova, and strong for you.|LeoNova4x1]]

"I am, yes," Nova answers easily enough, stepping back and gesturing to the apparently otherwise unoccupied captain's quarters behind him... they're a bit larger and nicer than yours, but that's because it also seems to incorporate a sitting area and work area, presumably also functioning as an office. "Gem decided to scout ahead in the system, since she was feeling a little restless... we'll meet up with her when we get there in a day or two. Why don't you come in? I wouldn't mind the company?"\n\nYou hesitate briefly, but since he's being so casual about it you're just assuming his species must not have any real nudity hangups... or maybe it's a personal thing. Either way you try to keep it just as casual as you say "Thank you" and step inside, shrugging out of your jacket and hanging it on a wall hook next to his at his gesture. "Does she often do that?" you ask as Nova wanders over to the slightly lowered seating area, stepping down into it and pressing a hand against the wall, parts of it retracting to show an ingenious little hidden bar. "Head out on her own?"\n\n"She does. Gem grew up on a savage planet, so sometimes being enclosed in a slower-moving ship disagrees with her. Even a smaller, faster vessel like one of the fighters suits her better since she's in control there." Nova chuckles as he turns around and folds his arms as he leans back against the wall, bare balls swaying lightly with the motion and his tail flicking behind him. "So I occasionally get left here alone to entertain myself, if no one feels like coming over and hanging out. Which is why I was really rather hoping you'd come over, Leo... I was actually considering comming you and asking you to come over, but then you just showed up at my door. It's really rather convenient!"\n\nHm. 'Convenient', huh?\n\n<hr>\n[[Because he wanted to hang out, clearly.|LeoNova]]\n\n[[Because he heard you make a mean cocktail, obviously.|LeoNova1x9]]\n\n[[Because he wanted to fuck, duh.|LeoNova3x1]]

Alchemy may take more time and effort to set up, but it is one of the more versatile and subtle skills. Maybe if you'd had a castle full of traps made with elaborate gasses, slimes, and liquid sprayers you wouldn't have lost to the Hero and his party beating the shit out of you after overcoming your magical traps.\n\nYou internally select the ability, and immediately your mind is full of recipes, rituals, and alternate uses for various substances. Looks like you leveled up a bit more than you thought in all those years as a human!\n\nAlas, doesn't look like you leveled up enough to unlock any of the really potent spells, stuff that would allow you to change Stacia into a particularly useful sort of high level monster like a demoness, succubus, or whatnot... besides, even if you did have those recipes unlocked, you doubt you'd be able to lay hands on any of the rare ingredients in a timely manner.\n\nStill, there are now plenty of options you could use to craft a potion to alter Stacia into a more pleasing traveling companion... or a more profitable resource! Most of the transformation potions you have access now are easy enough to add an 'Imprinting' aspect to them... meaning whatever you turn Stacia into, the result will be loyal to you and obey your orders, whether it wants to or not. \n\nFor instance, if you wanted, you could turn her into an [[animal|Reth7x3]] for a more useful but less chattery traveling companion... or, something to sell at the next village you come across for an infusion of cash. Alternatively you could change her into some sort of lower-level [[monster|Reth8x1]] (or monster girl) and have her be a more combat-oriented travel companion... and more directly useful against other adventurers. Or you could leave her human but make some [[alterations|Reth9x1]], either to her body or mind... or both!

The lure of a bath is too strong to deny, and after a few moments of waffling you step towards the door, which slides open ahead of you. You blink as it apparently opens up to the outside... a bright, idyllic-seeming green forest with the sound of birds singing and the faint drone of cicadas sounding. Well that's... unexpected.\n\nAfter hesitating just a moment more, you step forward through the door. Instantly you can feel a strange change come over you, and you yelp a bit as you find yourself now wearing a sort of white tubetop with gold cloth trim in designs, what feels like a metal choker of some sort, a loincloth in the same style as the tubetop, and thin, open leather wraps around your hands/forearms and feet/calves. There's also a set of straps around your shoulders and one around your middle that, from the feel of it, are supporting a quiver and a sheath for a bow.\n\n"What the hell?" you murmur, since it felt like more changed. You reach up to feel your head a bit, and almost squeak as you realize you have long, backswept elven ears now... sensitive ones, enough that you quickly yank your hands back down. "What. The. Hell?!"\n\n... Well, at least you're armed again. Sort of. And dressed again. Sort of, you think with a peek under the loincloth, blushing a little as you realize it's basically just flaps in front and back, leaving your pussy still hanging out in the breeze. Speaking of which, your skin and hair are still dirty and smeared with cum, despite the other changes.\n\n<hr>\n[[Where's that pool...?|PervSim]]\n\n[[No time for that now.|PervSim]]

You picked up a couple of useful minor cantrips for guiding people around, but you never really saw yourself as a genuine spellslinger. That... seems kind of cool! You're not 100% certain on what the different kinds of spellcasters do, but you think Sorcerers just kind of... know... spells without having to pick them up from books or scrolls or whatever, and that suits you. You go ahead and get to your feet, putting the other cards away, then taking hold of the corners of the Sorcerer card with both hands and bring the blank side up to your forehead, concentrating on it.\n\nYou feel a faint tingle spread through your body from the point in contact, which grows to a strange, exciting thrum that's almost like an adrenaline rush. You give a sudden yelp of surprise as you feel your clothes writhe against your body, but you find you can't actually change your current pose. Instead you're forced to stay as you are, pressing the card to your forehead, as both your shirt and pants disappear, leaving you in just the various straps around your arms and chest and the pauldron up top, and the cloth drape down below. But then the drape starts to change too, shifting to attach to your belt and narrowing, darkening as it splits and turns into a long black drape in front and back, coming down to just past your knees, and leaving you bare underneath it, your half-hard cock (stimulated by the strange sensations) leaving a fairly obvious tent in the front... in fact, you can feel that changing too, becoming longer, albeit not much thicker, leaving it slender-looking. You give a loud yip as a pair of silver rings with dappled black and red gems inset at the bottom appear piercing your bared nipples, almost not noticing that your boots have grown thinner and slid further up your thighs, sheathing your legs up to just a few inches below your hips. \n\nThe strange sensation starts to fade, and you find you're able to yank the card down, staring down at yourself. It even changed your clothes?! ... And your dick, you realize bashfully, reaching down to cup yourself. You raise your head... then blink, and take another look around. You didn't realize it before, probably because it was included in the rest of the weird sensations, but you're... taller. You've gone from being about average for a male Lesser Rabbit to being only slightly short for a Human guy (or about average for a Human girl). Not a huge difference, really... ... well it's sort of huge to you, you admit.\n\nAs you're still pondering these changes, a translucent screen pops up in front of you, your name displayed at the top, along with other text beneath it, and several more windows popping up towards the bottom slightly overlapping it.\n\n<center>Raz Bieri\nLvl 1 Sorcerer\n\nInnate Skill:\nJack of All Trades\n\nClass Skills:\nChannel Magic\nSense Magic\nIntuit Magic (Bonus)\nEnvironmental Adaptation (Minor)\n\nCross-Class Skills:\nPick Locks\nPathfinding\nSurvival\nDisable Trap\nCharm (Natural)\nManners\nBasic Melee\n\nCantrips:\nLight\nCreate Water\nBasic Mend\nSpark\nShock\n\nSpells:\nArcane Bolt\nArcane Shield\n\nChoose your bonus spell</center>\n\nAh, those must be what these other windows are. You spend a few moments looking over your main window first though. The skills have little graphics beside them, which you suppose indicate their progress. The class skills all seem to be at the most basic level, but the cross-class ones already have some progression... you guess because you've been working on those all your life. (Ha, nice to know your natural charm does exist!) You already knew all those Cantrips except for Shock, that one's new (and a quick check shows that it's basically just a small electric zap delivered at close range). Your actual spell list is uh... not... extensive. But you guess you're just level one.\n\nIdly, you tap on 'Jack of All Trades', since Macha mentioned it as being the reason you got all the different Class Cards. 'Jack of All Trades: An innate skill which causes all skills to be obtainable and grow slightly faster; cross-class skills are brought to a growth rate only slightly below class skills.' Oh hey, yeah, that's pretty useful! \n\nOh right and you do need to pick the bonus spell. You skim over the options each in their own little screen. Oh, these actually look pretty good, okay. Let's see... you should pick...\n\n<hr>\n[[Befuddle (Begins Spell Chain)|Raz1x3]]\n\n[[Summon Familiar (Scales)|Raz]]\n\n[[Enhance (Modifies Other Spells/Skills/Abilities, Scales)|Raz]]\n\n[[Heaven's Impact. (Daily)|Raz]]

'Spell chain'? That sounds interesting. Probably not literal, but still interesting. After a bit of hesitation, you tap that window, which immediately shrinks into appear as an entry on your spell list, with the other windows disappearing. You of course immediately tap it, the information for it expanding.\n\n<center>Befuddle\nA spell that causes the target to become confused if they fail a save versus the caster's overall charm plus the spell's level. They will take no deliberate actions and are highly suggestible. The effect ends if the target is attacked, ordered to take immediately harmful action, or falls asleep. Begins the Mind-Altering spell chain*.\n\n+Spell Chain: A spell that unlocks knowledge of another spell of its same type when leveled up sufficiently.\n</center>\nHuh! That's neat! So using Befuddle until it levels up means it will unlock another mind-altering spell. Hm... shame that it ends if the target is attacked, though. Although you guess that means that if you could Befuddle a target before it could attack, you'd definitely get one free shot. Which is pretty handy since you only have the one (actual) ranged attack spell. \n\nYou glance upward thoughtfully. Hm... there's still about half the day left. You could head out of town and fight some monsters, there are several types that the Aygee always has open bounties on. You're not sure what equipment you might need as a Sorcerer, if any (since the Class Card apparently didn't feel you needed a shirt. ... Or underwear), but you definitely would like to be able to afford an inn room tonight... you can't go back to the orphanage like this, that's for sure.\n\nOr you could just head back to the Aygee now, get registered right away, and maybe hang around the tavern or something. Hey, you're a full adult and a member now. You might even be able to join an adventurer party for real, rather than as just a guide! (Of course, you have your guide experience too, which you figure works in your favor.)\n\n<hr>\n[[Go zap monsters.|Raz1x4]]\n\n[[Go back to the guild.|Raz]]

"Let's just go ahead and try this first right," you suggest, pointing to the branch hallway.\n\nThere's a few mutters of assent, but not much else apparently needs to be said as all of you move down the chosen hallyway. As expected, you soon come to an open doorway and into another large, open room, the doors quickly sliding shut behind you. All eyes go to the wall where 'KISS' was written in the first room, and quickly spot the text reading '#A SUCKS #B'S COCK'\n\n"You must be gaming the numbers if you think this is possible, Deathtrap," Trickshot speaks up in a dry tone, even as he checks his own number. "Only a bit over half of this group has cocks to suck. What if none of them gets picked for the second number?"\n\n"Oh, you'll find out," Dr. Deathtrap's voice answers, along with a diabolical and annoyingly (likely for all parties involved) adorable giggle.\n\nThat causes most of the group to exchange rather worried glances, because she sure does sound confident that picking an "impossible" combination won't be an obstacle to a cock getting sucked. But all eyes are turning to you now... you're going to have to pick. Everyone stressed that you should just pick whatever, but still, is that really okay?\n\n<hr>\n[[Number six sucks off number one.|CalKLBJRx1]]\n\n[[Number three sucks off number six.|CalKLBJRx2]]\n\n[[King sucks off number two.|CalKLBJRx3]]\n\n[[Number three sucks off number five.|CalKLBJRx4]]\n\n[[Number two sucks off number four.|CalKLBJRx5]]\n\n[[Number four sucks off the King.|CalKLBBJRx6]]\n\n<<if $youareskooma is true>>\n1 Warya\n2 Excalibur\n3 Marielle\n4 Trickshot\n5 Mazinon\n6 Snow Leopard\n<<endif>>

You shake your head. Nope. Didn't walk across half a continent and spend the last six years keeping your nose (mostly) clean to throw it all away now. You take a deep breath, then cross the street and head into the guild.\n\nThe bottom floor is divided into three, though all three spaces are easily visible from the entrance. To your left is the shop, featuring the guild's own in-house weapons, armor, and potions, as well as items left on commission by other merchants... you're sure there's probably some low-cost, affordable stuff in there, not that it will do you any good for a while. To the right is the tavern, a big place to eat, drink, and socialize, the last partly meaning to find potential party members... you're not sure how that will go, you've never tried to really socialize with adventurers beyond in passing in the streets or occasionally acting as a guide around or outside the city, but you imagine you'll manage.\n\nAnd ahead are the counters where the actual Guild does its business... the job boards, the turn-in desks, the item appraisal counter, and administration. It's this last you head towards, managing a smile for the pretty middle-aged Lesser Feline woman behind the counter. (Probably looks about thirty to Humans... the tells are subtle even for other Beastfolk.) She has green hair and ears, the hair curling around and in at the level of her shoulders, large yellow eyes behind round, thin-lensed glasses, and is wearing the rather maid-like uniforms the other employees are. 'Wouldn't mind calling you Mommy,' you muse with a mingling of an orphan's longing and an adult's libido.\n\nAhem. Let's be professional. "Hello, I'd like to register for Classification and join the Guild, please," you say politely. Among the things Doctor Pypah teaches at the orphanage is manners, and you never saw any reason not to learn.\n\n"Certainly! I'll just need you to fill out this form with basic information," she says, drawing out a sheet of paper and a pen and setting them on the counter in front of you.\n\nYou lean down, picking up the pen and getting to work in nice, clear lettering. (They also taught strict penmanship at the orphanage. You're pretty sure some of that stuff was because the Doctor didn't want any of you to have time to get into trouble... which is why you still occasionally ran off for a day or two, a kid's gotta make trouble every so often after all.) You finish up and slide the paper and pen back along with the pouch of coins, the woman picking it the form and looking it over, making a pleased little noise, likely at the sight of your penmanship. (Admittedly another reason you can't feel too bad about the lessons... somehow nice handwriting really does it for women of a certain age.) \n\n"Hm... Raz Bieri?" she says, ears giving a little flick as she looks up. "Oh, are you one of the Bieri Village orphans?"\n\n"Ah... yeah," you admit, blinking.\n\n"I see, I see," she murmurs, then blinks at the pouch and picks it up, giving it a small shake to demonstrate the jingle of its contents. "Then what's this for?"\n\n"... To pay for my Classification?"\n\nShe makes a slightly odd face, then clears her throat and smiles, holding it out to you. "I suppose the Doctor didn't tell you... no one from Seioda Orphanage has to pay for Classification or guild membership. It's free for you."\n\nYou stare at her, then at the pouch, then back at her a bit dubiously, wondering if this might be some sort of pity. "Are you serious?"\n\n"Quite. It's a 300-year-old royal decree."\n\n"... Oh." You stare for another second, then accept the pouch back and tuck it away. Maybe you'll be able to afford a starter weapon now after all. "Well. Thanks."\n\n"Of course! My name's Macha, by the way. If you'll come follow me," she says, turning and gesturing to a nearby set of stairs, the sign next to them reading 'Administration Only'. You follow her up, trying not to take advantage of the view (her skirt leaves a lot to the imagination anyway), more idly noticing that it must bypass the second floor as you go up, and then follow her across the hall of the third floor. You squint a little as the two of you come in... the lamps here are weird. Little flickering blue flames instead of the steady yellow glow of the normal ones outside, making it rather dim, and you guess easier to see the glow of the spell array on the floor. \n\n"Are you familiar with Classification at all?" Macha asks.\n\n"Not really... I know once you get a Class Card, you can start getting skills and abilities a lot faster than just learning them naturally, as well as special abilities only people with classes have. And I know you need a Class Card to be a member of most guilds."\n\n"That's all pretty much true. Classification searches your inner potential and produces a card for the class that you're most suited to, whether you know it or not... some people wind up very surprised by what Class Card they get," she notes, smiling a bit ruefully. "And you're right, while it's possible to learn skills and how to fight or cast magic without a class, it's much more difficult. Most classes allow you to learn by doing, as it were... as a Warrior, for example, you'd gain proficiency and unlock new skills just by fighting. You could, for further example, learn to use a spear rapidly just by picking up a spear and trying to stab something with it repeatedly, whereas attempting to do that without a class suited for it is pretty much just going to leave you fruitlessly jabbing with a spear without long practice and instruction. Classes make everything easier, although they do somewhat force you into a particular dynamic. But that's only if you decide to bond with your Class Card, though obviously most people choose to, even if it was something they didn't expect. Now, ready?"\n\nYou nod, and she gestures you to the very center circle, then crosses to a corner where there's a rounded stone set into the wall. Once you've taken your place, she lays her hand over the stone, palm flat. \n\nThe glow of the spell circle intensifies, and then colors begin sliding across it, filling it up from the outer line in, starting with a line of bright orange at the very outer ring, then sliding through different colors as the rest of the lines fill up like colored sand running through glass tubes. Huh, that's pretty cool-looking. Although Macha seems to have gone a little bug-eyed. Is this her first time doing this or something? You got the impression she'd been working here a while, maybe she just doesn't do Classifications much.\n\nThe inner ring around you fills in, glowing orange as well, and the whole spell circle begins to grow brighter and brighter, casting a strange, shadow-marked rainbow onto the walls and ceiling. Then abruptly, coinciding with a puff of smoke and something faintly metallic and flat appearing in front of you, the light goes out. You reflexively snatch the item with your left hand, looking at it. It looks like it's made out of copper, though there's a faintly iridescent sheen. The side facing you is blank, so you turn it over, looking at the engraving of a very plain figure holding a very generic sword. Then your blood runs cold as you see the lettering on the banner beneath the figure.\n\n'Adventurer'.\n\n"Huh!" you declare, a little pleased. "I didn't know 'Adventurer' was an actual class, that's kind of cool. What does-"\n\n"Just wait," Macha says in a bland tone, her expression having changed from shocked to flat.\n\n"What? Why?" you ask... then blink as there's another puff and something else appears, which you snag out of the air with your right. It's... a leather holster, square and with a top flap that goes over it and narrows to slip through a little band on the front to keep it closed. It looks like it's holding in... more Class Cards?\n\n... Wait, spare Class Cards?!\n\n"What the heck?!" you blurt.\n\n"This really is too much," Macha says with a sigh, putting a hand to her head. At your stare, she shrugs. "This happened to someone else just last week. I hadn't seen it in my entire life before then, but there it is. Young man, you have the 'Jack of All Trades' innate skill."\n\n"Er... what's that mean?"\n\n"It means you have a natural skill that lets you pick up cross-class or out-of-class skills much faster than other people. It also boosts the learning rate of the Adventurer class, from what I understand... it's actually not a very desirable class normally," Macha admits as you glance at the first card that appeared. "It does a bit of everything but has no masteries and a fairly slow progression... unless you have Jack of All Trades. I can't be sure what your class progression would be without you bonding to the card, but it would be better than most people who are Adventurer class. Most likely you've also got a number of other classes you're potentially suited for due to it, too, which is why you got those."\n\n"Wild," you murmur, looking back and forth between the single card and the holster full of them. "So I can... use all of these?"\n\n"You have to pick one," Macha corrects, holding up a single finger. "The first class you pick is your class forever, outside of rare circumstances like Respecs and Class Progression. Unlike most people, you have a choice, so I'm going to give you the same advice I gave the other person this happened to... go somewhere private and be very certain about the future you want to pick out, especially since I've heard that people with Jack of All Trades can find themselves more heavily influenced by the class they pick than other people."\n\nYou wrinkle your nose a bit. "Seriously?"\n\n"Yes. Everyone naturally gets a bit influenced by their class, but I've heard it said people in this situation can find themselves very... changed... by their choice of class. So be careful about choosing."\n\n"Alright. Ah, thanks," you add, your head swimming a bit.\n\nShe nods, then adds, "Please come back once you've bonded to your class card, and we'll confirm your membership. Ah, just put it to your forehead and focus on it," she adds as you glance at her again.\n\nA bit later you're tucked into an old, smallish, and likely forgotten stone alcove that was probably part of some rich house that got smashed up in a war, to judge from the jagged stone at the top of the vine-strewn walls and the complete lack of a roof. You found it a long time ago and have never seen any evidence that anyone else has been here, so you've sort of adopted it as your little sanctuary. You settle to the dirt-covered stone floor and lean back against the wall, eyeing the Adventurer card. Then you set it aside and open the holster, starting to go through the other cards.\n\n'Man some of these are wild,' you muse, slipping each top one off and to the bottom of the stack after you've used it. You admit you're a slight outsider to the whole adventurer thing... you know some just because, obviously, you live in an adventurer city, but you had no idea stuff like Guard and Merchant were actually classes, you always assumed those were just "normal" people. ... Well you guess some of them are, but huh. And some of these are just... how would that even work? You have no idea.\n\nMacha said to pick responsibly which... ah... you admit you're not always the best at. Some of these are just making you intensely curious, enough that even though this is the rest of your life, you kinda want to pick one to find out just what they'd do. Although it kinda seems like the safest one is Adventurer, even though Macha said it wasn't a very desirable class. But then, that's for other people, not for you, it sounds like? Which also sort of makes it attractive in its own way. Hm. Hm hm hmmmm...\n\n<hr>\n[[Adventurer.|Raz5x1]]\n\n[[Bard.|Raz]]\n\n[[Guard.|Raz]]\n\n[[Merchant.|Raz]]\n\n[[Dancer.|Raz]]\n\n[[Knight.|Raz]]\n\n[[Prince.|Raz]]\n\n[[Princess.|Raz]]\n\n[[Death Knight.|Raz]]\n\n[[Eldritch Knight.|Raz]]\n\n[[Rogue.|Raz]]\n\n[[Monk.|Raz]]\n\n[[Wizard.|Raz]]\n\n[[Sorcerer.|Raz1x2]]\n\n[[Arcanist.|Raz]]\n\n[[Warlock.|Raz]]\n\n[[Vigilante.|Raz]]

You've been making good progress so far... if you keep it up you might actually level up tonight and even unlock a few more spells! Your spell list does feel a bit lowly right now, over all, with only three things on it. You'd feel better if you could make your adventurer "debut" as a slightly stronger Sorcerer, if possible.\n\nYou head a bit further from the city, continuing to carry along your growing bundle of Horned Rabbit carcasses. You kill one or two more on your way, but soon spot a large figure grazing in the grass of a field. Ah, a Horned Ragoat! The evolved form of a Horned Rabbit, it largely looks like a fairly fluffy white goat, except for its heftier, slightly rabbit-like back legs and the third horn growing out of the middle of its forehead. At your approach, it also similarly raises its head and twitches its nose, X-pupiled pink eyes fixing on you in an obviously aggressive way, even getting that faint eye-glow.\n\n"Befuddle!" you call again. It looks like it takes just slightly longer for the spell to take affect on the Ragoat than on the Rabbits, but it does, and the aggression goes out of its stance, leaving it standing there just almost wobbling slightly in place, little colorful '?'s rising occasionally from its head.\n\n<hr>\n[[Zap!|Raz1x7]]\n\n[[Bonk!|Raz]]\n\n[[Hmmmmm...|Raz]]

Now, single Horned Ragoats actually can be dangerous even without getting lucky, so better to take them seriously! You lift your staff, aiming squarely between its eyes below its central horn before calling out "Arcane Bolt!"\n\nThe purple bolt flies forth and strikes true, hitting directly between those (honestly creepy) pink-red eyes and burning a nice deep gouge. But apparently not quite deep enough since it instantly jerks back, shakes its head hard, and gives an angry bleat, charging forward in several long hops before leaping directly at you, head lowered to aim both the blunt curls of its side horns and center horn right at you.\n\n"Whoa!" you blurt, immediately throwing yourself aside and rolling (and in the back of your mind feeling a bit embarrassed at your bare cock flopping around). The goat misses you clean, landing and giving a few hops to bleed off momentum before turning around and trying to get a fix on you. But you've recovered first, having popped to your feet and swung your staff, impacting right over the mark left by the Arcane Bolt. The Horned Ragoat gives a surprised bleat at the impact before it ragdolls and falls to the side, dead. Simultaneously, a popup screen appears: 'Dodge skill acquired.'\n\n"... Nice," you say with a shrug, tapping the screen to clear it. Then you eye the goat's body. Hm... ... that will be more difficult to carry back. Well... you'll leave it where it is for now. Shame to waste it, but no way you can carry it, the rabbits, and any other Ragoats you kill, since you're not done grinding.\n\nYou continue on, finding more Horned Ragoats through the area and using a similar attack pattern against them. Sometimes you manage to get off a second Arcane Bolt before you have to dodge, other times you have to hit them with your staff more than once, a few times you manage to get another Befuddle in on them to give yourself time to catch your breath (though you notice they seem to be struggling against it harder the second time... luckily your Charm versus a Horned Ragoat's apparently isn't much of a contest even after you've zapped them once). By the time the sun's starting to go down, you've got a few more levels on Befuddle and Dodge, and Arcane Bolt is leveled enough that occasionally it takes out a Horned Ragoat on the first shot. Then you get the message you've been waiting for:\n\n'You have leveled up!\n\nYou have unlocked the "Freezing Beam" spell\n"Befuddle" has unlocked "Charm"\nYou have unlocked the "Dimensional Storage" ability\nYou have unlocked the "Moderation" skill'\n\nNice! Just like you were hoping, you leveled up and got more stuff! Let's see, quick review...\n\n'Freezing Beam' seems to be just what it sounds like... it's a ray of ice that does a minor amount of damage but can slow or even completely freeze the target depending on how badly they fail their save.\n\n'Charm' seems to be the upgraded version of 'Befuddle'... rather than causing the target to become confused and out-of-it, the target actually becomes well-disposed towards you, seeing you as a friend and inclined to obey you more naturally and willingly, and even coming to your defense unbidden if necessary. Like Befuddle, it apparently ends if if the target is attacked (but more specifically only if you attack it) or if the target goes to sleep.\n\n'Dimensional Storage'! You've always wanted this ability! It lets you put things away into an extradimensional "closet", or can be cast on items like pouches or pockets to make them larger on the inside! Now you can take at least some of those Ragoat carcasses back to the Aygee instead of leaving them, yessss!\n\nAnd 'Moderation' appears to be a skill related to Jack of All Trades, according to its description. Apparently you can choose how much magical energy to put into your spells and alter their effectiveness... either less mana so that you can conserve it, or more so that they're stronger. That will be useful... no need to use full power for a leveled-up Arcane Bolt if you want to go back to hunting Horned Rabbits.\n\nYou scurry around collecting as many of the dead Ragoats as you can find again, tucking them into Dimensional Storage. You can vaguely feel it filling up, and it seems to be about half full by the time you're done. Then you pause and squint into the distance... ooo yeah the sun's almost down. You're gonna hafta book it if you want to get back to the city before dark. Your only other option is to find somewhere to bunk down for the night... which you've done before, there's a handful of spots you know, and if you build a fire you should be safe from monsters.\n\nThen you pause. Wait, you're not an unarmed, classless kid anymore... you're a Sorcerer! And you're not even really tired, either. You could easily stay out and keep fighting monsters. Sure, tougher monsters do come out at night... but if you stay, say, on the border of the Horned Ragoat/Horned Rabbit area, you doubt it will be anything you can't handle now that you're level two!\n\n<hr>\n[[Head back to the city.|Raz]]\n\n[[Camp out.|Raz]]\n\n[[Keep grinding.|Raz]]

You're supposed to get a better rate of accumulating XP due to Jack of All Trades, may as well put that to the test ASAP. ... Hm. Although you probably want to have at least something for a weapon in case you run out of magic...\n\n'I guess this is why you see most casters with a staff or something,' you think a bit later, having spent a little of your money on a simple wooden stave. No elaborate decorations like most mage staffs you've seen, but it will be plenty to clonk Horned Rabbits over the head with if necessary. Speaking of, you soon find one scampering about in one of the grassy areas near some of the ruins that used to be bits of the city, which seems to be their favorite place to congregate for whatever reason. It... looks like a rabbit, a sort of off-white one, with a pair of ram-like horns that start just above its eyes and curl around the bases of its ears to point forward. They're mostly harmless, unless you manage to get knocked down by one (which is possible) and/or it manages to call up a bunch of its friends, then they can be dangerous to lone or low-level adventurers. ... You guess some people might expect you to feel odd about killing a rabbit, but you don't really see much connection yourself.\n\nIn any event, time to try casting your first spell. You step a bit closer, enough that the Horned Rabbit's head snaps up and swings around towards you, nose twitching more rapidly, red eyes almost seeming to glow a bit as it turns and crouches like it's getting ready to launch towards you for a headbutt. More on reflex than anything, you point the staff in its direction and call "Befuddle!"\n\nPretty much instantly, the small monster relaxes from its ready posture. It turns its head back and forth, sort of wobbling in place... what's more, you can see small, colorful question marks rising from around its head every so often. (You're pretty sure those are only visible to you, they have the same look as your character screen.) Oh hey it worked! Hm... you have a faint feeling that the spell isn't immediately available to cast again... ah, there it goes. So some sort of cooldown? That makes sense.\n\nWell, you now have one Befuddled Horned Rabbit. What to do about it?\n\n<hr>\n[[Zap!|Raz1x5]]\n\n[[Bonk!|Raz]]\n\n[[Hmmmm...|Raz]]

You did come out here to test/train your magic, best to stick with that. You point the staff again, and call "Arcane Bolt!"\n\nThe tip of the staff glows with a purple aura just briefly before it fires a bright streak of almost retina-searing purple energy at the Horned Rabbit. The blast strikes right through the center of it, boring a not-so-neat hole and shredding the meat around the edges of it as the monster flops over on its side, legs twitching once convulsively before it dies.\n\n"Oof, well that one's gonna be half payment," you mutter, grimacing as you walk over and pick up the barely-clinging-together carcass and eyeing it. "Gonna hafta learn to aim for the head."\n\nYou continue on seeking out Horned Rabbits, trying to be a bit more careful with your aim with the Arcane Bolts. Bit by bit you do learn to adjust how the bolt flies, until nine times out of ten you're able to take their little horned heads off fairly neatly. In the process you learn a bit more about how your magic apparently works, mostly by feel and occasionally by actually calling up your character menu and watching. Using a spell puts it on cooldown, meaning you have to cycle to another spell. The cooldown's pretty fast, though... as long as you don't cast a bunch of spells in a row. The more spells you cast in a short time, the longer the cooldown for all your spells seems to become. Once or twice you are actually reduced to smacking the Horned Rabbits over the head with your staff, when your Arcane Bolts miss or just wing them, which ends their Befuddled state.\n\nOverall though in the space of a few hours, you manage to not only collect a number of Horned Rabbits to turn in for cash back at the Guild, but to put a few levels on Befuddle, Arcane Bolt, and even one on Basic Melee. You're pretty satisfied, overall!\n\nYou glance up at the sky, giving a low 'hm' to yourself. You've probably got time to do a little more monster-hunting before you definitely need to get back to the city for the night. In fact you could probably go a bit further out and take on some tougher monsters!\n\n<hr>\n[[Keep grinding.|Raz1x6]]\n\n[[Head back.|Raz3x1]]

This game takes inspiration from any number of sources. Some are obvious, from large copyright holders. Others are simply responsible for ideas, imagery, inspiration drawn from fanfiction, online videos, art, comics, and other sources. Many of these sources are lost to the void of the internet or to the depths of my brain, forgetting where they came from in the first place. Others, however, are clearer. And so it seems only right to give at least some of them credit where credit is due for where they jumpstarted portions of the game's writing.\n\n[[Rangarig|http://rangarig.net/]] - Influence runs pretty heavily all through the "Isla Sauria" storyline, and anything involving the Raptarrans.\n\n[[Nuku Valente and other Flexible Survival writers|http://blog.flexiblesurvival.com/]] - Lots of the transformation stuff, especially the Animalland scenes.\n\n[[Fenoxo|http://www.fenoxo.com/]] - While he didn't create the concept of naughty, fetishy text games, CoC has certainly catapulted their popularity into the stratosphere.\n\n[[Sebastian Rubbermage|http://www.bastianmage.com/]] - Artist of weird transformations, odd bondage, and squeaky toys.\n\n[[Lily|http://lilysgames.com/wp/]] - Maker of many a Twine/RAGS/etc. game featuring various content like this one. Mostly credited here because her Christmas game [[Better be nice|http://lilysgames.com/wp/?page_id=138]] gave me the idea for Christmasland.\n\nThe team behind [[HentHighSchool|https://www.henthighschool.com/hhsplus/(hhs-1-07)-official-release-thread/]] - A tale of a new principal trying to run an efficient high school... or corrupt it into a modern Sodom. Influenced several of Helen's paths.\n\n[[Ambrosine|https://www.patreon.com/Ambrosine]]'s SFM videos inspired the Space Wolf bit for Cyan reading the "MagiSpace" RP book.\n\nNumerous SFM porn artists who helped influence various things and have had parodies and homages done in some of the paths.\n\n[[Back.|Start]]

Your name is Raz, and you're a Beastfolk... specifically what's called a Lesser Rabbitfolk, since you look more towards the human end than the stronger and more powerful sorts of Beastfolk. You have white hair in an 'I need a haircut' style hanging down around your shoulders, contrasting with your light caramel skin and red eyes. You're on the short side for a guy you're age (which is "young adult", you're not really sure of the exact number), though you're rarely lost in a crowd because of the long, slender, slightly fluffy lapine ears rising from the top of your scalp. You dress in a style that someone would call "eclectic" if they were being nice, since it was cobbled together a piece at a time as you could afford it (or someone else threw it away unwanted). You have a simple black choker around your neck, a black shirt that leaves your flat midriff bare and drapes open to show the sides of your shoulders and upper arms, a single scratched-up steel pauldron belted somewhat haphazardly onto one shoulder, mismatched steel bracers, fingerless black gloves, multiple belts and a large pouch, a woven cloth drape around your hips, plain brown pants, and mismatched shinguards worn over nearly worn-out black boots.\n\nYou're currently squatted in front of a chest, a set of 'utility tools' (because lockpicks are illegal for someone who's not licensed to have them) in your fingers, your tongue poking out the side of your lips a little bit as you work on the lock. It only takes you a minute or so before there's a loud click, and you give one more nudge before lifting the lid just enough to show that the latch is free. "There."\n\n"Great job, kid!" Etch says, grinning widely and showing off a few missing teeth. The scruffy Human takes a quick peek in the chest as you get to your feet, then winks at you. "As usual, the rightful owner who lost the key will be very grateful."\n\n"Yeah yeah," you say dryly. "We're definitely on the up and up for absolute sure, all super not-sketchy, can I have my pay now please?"\n\n"Sure, sure. Like I promised before, a nice little bonus since you've been doing this for me so long." He fishes a single silver coin out of his pouch, then pauses as he starts to hold it out. "Although, y'know, there's a lot bigger money to be made."\n\nYou sigh, dropping your hands to your sides so that you're not left holding one out like some beggar, and give him a tired expression. (It is definitely not a pout.) "Etch, I've told you before, I don't want to join the Thieves Guild. I may be willing to bend the rules a little, especially since you've already got the chests and wardrobes and boxes I unlock for you, but I'm not a criminal, I don't steal from people."\n\n<img src="images/Raz.jpg">\n\n"Alright, kid, if you say so. Although if you're so eager for a Class Card, I hear they've got unbonded ones there, for classes you can't get nowhere else!"\n\nYour nose wrinkles a bit, holding out your hand again, but demandingly this time. "You know full well that's a myth, whoever heard of a 'spare' Class Card?"\n\nEtch shrugs, but plops the silver coin into your palm. "Suit yourself. But come on back if you ever change your mind."\n\nYou shake your head and turn, trotting out of the little lumber yard where Etch does his business and setting off through the streets of Sabanara. The large "adventurer city" has been your home for over six years now... ever since you and the rest of a group of orphans made a dangerous cross-country journey looking for somewhere that didn't persecute Beastfolk, and that had a decent orphanage that would take you in. Sabanara was that place... since adventurers come from all races and all walks of life, it's a pretty tolerant city, and since they tend to leave orphans behind, the Seioda Orphanage is large and well-funded. Not so well-funded that you haven't spent plenty of time on the streets anyway, admittedly partly by preference... sometimes that place is just sort of choking, even if it is nice. Plus you're honestly too old for it now... Seioda never "kicks out" anyone that's not causing a ton of problems, but it's time for you to start making enough money to live like a grownup.\n\n'And if you're not going to steal from or stab people, the way for a Beastfolk orphan to do that is,' you think as you approach Main Street, and thus the Adventurer's Guild.\n\nThe guild technically owns a whole block of space, buildings full of skinners, tanners, blacksmiths, and many other things besides filling the square of area behind the main building, which is what everyone means when they talk about the Adventurer's Guild (or the "Aygee"). That's a long three-story building, old and one of the most constant fixtures of the city even as it's shrunken and expanded and been laid seige repeatedly. You just spend a moment looking at the currently open door, the sign above it displaying the guild's symbol: a pyramid turned point-down at an angle. Idly you jingle the small pouch of silver and copper coins that equals up to ten silver in one hand.\n\n... This is nuts.\n\nYou've saved for months to get this ten silver. You don't even really have a decent weapon to use to take any jobs once you get your Class Card and membership... if you take so much as a Horned Rabbit slaying mission, you'd have to beat them to death with a stick. (Which, admittedly, you have done before and aren't bad at.) Maybe this is crazy.\n\nMaybe Etch is right.\n\nWhile you've refused to commit any crimes since you arrived in Sabanara, you haven't always had that luxury. The trek from where your hometown used to be to here was a long one and not everyone made it, and you had to do some things you weren't proud of along the way, even if it really only amounted to breaking into houses to have somewhere to not freeze to death, or stealing enough to eat from windowsills and carts. It's where you picked up the skills Etch thinks the Thieves Guild would find valuable... and he's probably not wrong. If they were actually willing to give you a Class Card, you don't have much doubt they'd be willing to give you weapons and maybe some money as a signing bonus too, instead of rendering you flat broke from the start.\n\nYou frown a little as you think. You're... not sure if you have a massive moral objection to stealing. After all you've been flexible working for Etch in the first place. You just sort of didn't feel like you should do it if you didn't have to, plus you didn't want to get in trouble in your new home. But... ... hm...\n\n<hr>\n[[Go to the Adventurer's Guild.|Raz1x1]]\n\n[[Go to the Thieves Guild.|Raz2x1]]

'What even is this?' you think with a frown, mentally nudging yourself a bit towards the dark strands. 'Grimm don't have Aura, it can't be the Apathy, what is i-'\n\nAnd then you're being grasped, hauled down, pulled away from yourself, naked and defenseless, the silent nightmares gripping your body in their infinitely long hands and drawing you deep and away with their impossibly long arms, leaving you screaming and struggling against them, unarmored against existence as something shadowy and immense swells up past you through that connection and takes everything from you.\n\nYour body somersaults backwards, snatching Red Legacy from your waist and unsheathing it in midair, the blade blazing to life and swinging down towards Ruby Rose's shocked and uncomprehending face. As fast as the rest of Team RWBY tries to react, it's not a sword or bracelet that blocks the edge of your weapon, but a scythe blade.\n\n"You get out of her, witch," Maria snarls, leathery lips drawing back from aged teeth. "You have no place among the truly living."\n\nSalem opens your eyes, her hatred making their red blaze with light as black veins crawl across your skin. "I had your eyes taken from you, old woman, and now it's past time I took your life," she snarls in cold fury. \n\n"Your minions couldn't kill me, what makes you think you can get the job done yourself?" Maria counters, the lids of her cybereyes narrowing and tilting. \n\nAnd then she's shoving the sword back just enough to take a swipe at your stomach, easily blocked by a twist of the sword and a leap back, skidding a little on the floor. "Kai! What the hell is-" Your shin cracks across Grey's face and knocks him sprawling as Salem whirls and then launches herself back at Maria. The fragile-looking elderly Huntress is suddenly a blurring whirlwind of agile motion, knocking the thrust away with her short scythe-cane, planting her foot in your face and shoving your body stumbling back a half-step as she springs backwards, twist, rebounds off the wall and comes in striking at your face with the blunt top of the skull cap of the weapon. Salem blocks with the edge of Red Legacy's hilt then drops backward, planting on one hand and kicking upward, striking the old woman in the belly and sending her rocketing towards the fireplace, only for her to twist and plant the point of the scythe in the mantle, twisting herself upward and perching atop it. \n\n"You're at a severe disadvantage here, Reaper," Salem coos with poison-honey tones as she twists your body around and onto its feet, sweeping Red Legacy down to point at the floor, the others with weapons out but standing as if not certain of what to do. "I can try to kill you all I like, but you can't fight me effectively without killing the foreigner."\n\n"Mm, and what makes you think I won't kill her? I mean, I'm a little attached to the Baoula girl, admittedly," Maria replies evenly as she yanks her weapon free of the wooden mantle and holding it out at the ready. "But the rest of them are really just a pickup group."\n\n"Hm-hm-hm-hm-hm," Salem chuckles humorlessly from your throat, raising Red Legacy to point at her. "Your pretensions of cynicism are a pretty little lie drizzled over your hero complex, as ever. This girl and you really have a lot in common. But I think it's easy enough," she continues, tilting Red Legacy horizontal. "To bring out the real you."\n\n'NO!' you scream silently from the hold of the nightmares as Salem whirls your body, Red Legacy's crackling blade sweeping right towards Blake's throat as the Menagerie native's yellow eyes widen, Gambol Shroud coming up but too slow. Celica's transformed form is the one to block the blow, only for your knee to slam into Yang's stomach with strength that's beyond you, the blonde lurching and blood spurting from between her clenched teeth as you howl in anguish. Red Legacy sweeps down towards Yang's head, only for Maria's scythe blade to catch it like a hook as she launches herself past you, forcing you to whirl. But Salem stomps a foot down, ignoring as her countless centuries of experience and hijacked control of your body shatter bones in your foot and rip your muscles as she launches herself in the opposite direction. 'NOOOOOOOOOOO!' The point of Red Legacy is barely knocked away from making contact with Reese's eye by a swipe of Hell Ticket, Grey giving a cry of pain as his desperate deflection sends the shimmering blade edge slicing across his own cheek even through his Aura. Salem slams your foot to his chest, shoving him against the wall as she backflips off him, once again launching herself at Rube Rose as you scream, you howl, you plead, even as the attack is just barely blocked by a swirling magic circle.\n\n'Ruby! Weiss! Yang! Blake!' you think desperately as Salem turns on each of them, motions quick and deadly, unrelenting, with no desire to do anything but kill, no other mission or goal, forcing everyone else onto the defensive as they try to balance protecting each other with the anguish in their own eyes at your body attacking them. 'Reese! Grey! Maria! Dee! Someone kill me! Do it, do it, please, please, don't let her hurt you, just kill me!'\n\nThey'll never do it, child, Salem's mock-sympathetic tones boom into your being. They'd rather let themselves be whittled down a bit at a time defending themselves than do what's necessary. She converts Red Legacy to gun mode and fires at Dee's face, Maria flipping through the air and just barely deflecting the bullet with her scythe blade as you whirl and slash with the downward-pointed blade at Weiss's leg, Ruby narrowly managing to knock the blow upward with rifle-mode Crescent Rose. Or they'll whittle you away bit by bit as they try to stop you without killing you. They won't commit either way and make themselves do what has to be done, and that is why they'll always fail, she adds, converting your weapon back and taking a potshot swipe at Grey, only to be deflected by a desperately-thrown Lioncub.\n\n"What the hell is going on in here?!" the still slightly damp Qrow demands as he rushes into the room with the entirely dry Oscar, Clockwork Dirge in hand.\n\nYour entire body siezes with a paroxysm of fury as Salem stares into the shocked green-gold eyes of the boy who entered, letting out a long, drawn-out hiss. "Ozzzzzzzmaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa."\n\nOscar's eyes widen... and then in a soft glow, they're no longer Oscar's. Ozma looks back at you, somehow seeing past your flesh and blood to the consciousness that has seized control of it, and in that single shocked, raw moment seeing past all the centuries, all the wickedness, all the blood, in that instant it's just two people seeing each other again. \n\n"Beloved," he whispers.\n\nSalem screams your throat raw with a depth of hate that could only be born of the greatest love the world had ever known. A love that had driven her to first deceive and then directly challenge the gods themselves. A love that had carried her through walking a lonely, empty world on bare, raw feet that had nowhere to take her. A love that had endured through watching humanity rise again from nothing and knowing she had no place in it anymore. A love that had blossomed fresh and anew and bright as ever to see him somehow returned to her. A love that had urged her to secure their place as the new gods, so that they could never be taken from each other again. And finally, a love that had left her once more alone in the world, lifting the rubble off the bodies of their children and silently weeping for the last time, the remaining vestiges of any human kindness or heart flowing out of her with the tears and leaving only hate in their place.\n\nAnd she flings your body and blade at that man, your friend and mentor, completely and utterly consumed with the desire to kill him again and again for the rest of eternity.\n\nYour internal scream coincides with the clang of Clockwork Dirge striking the blade and knocking it away. HIM?! HIM?! Salem rages at you, that world-devouring hate now directed at you, battering your very existence with the fire of it. Having seen the faintest whisper, the most distant echo of what he did to me, you would still offer HIM the merest measure of love?! I will show you what he did to me! I will take EVERYTHING from you!! Starting with the thing you always wanted most!! Forcing your body to the breaking point as she begins battering at Clockwork Dirge as if trying to shatter it, forcing Qrow on the desperate defensive with no room for anyone else to come to his aid. \n\n'No no no no no no DAAAAAAAAAAAAD!' you wail, weeping with your entire being, and then suddenly finding yourself lurching forward, tearing yourself free of the nightmare's hold, desperately grabbing for-\n\n<hr>\n[[-yourself.|KaiRem8x1]]\n\n[[-Salem.|KaiRem]]\n\n[[-Red Legacy.|KaiRem7x4]]

Nnnnnh... that would be an awfully big pay cut... but let's take a look at what they're offering?\n\n... Damn, it's a lot. The best-rated company is not only offering you guaranteed intrusion onto Huwhin's ship, but guaranteed extraction. Along with guaranteed extraction of cargo, up to a pretty large amount. And all you have to do is tag it with teleporter beacons, too.\n\n'Mmmmnnnh,' you think, making a few faces as you wrestle between thriftiness and utility. 'If I was able to snag a couple of more cargo crates that might have rich stuff in them, that could make up some for the chunk of the payday they're charging. I guess...'\n\nThen you notice another note on the listing: the company, Streamline Boarding, has been monitoring Huwhin for a good long while as a likely intrusion target, and they've developed an algorithm for where they think he loads his stolen cargo into based on when it was stolen and where. They're actually advertising that they'll put you in the same area of the ship as your target (assuming your target is cargo) or half your money back.\n\nSighing, you shove your comm in your pocket and get up. Sold.\n\nYou briefly stop by your Guildhall-side armory to pick up a slightly heftier blaster and some extra charge packs (just in case) before heading over to the company's office. It's a very sleek, very clean place, lots of silver tones without being so shiny and unbroken-up as to be glaring or monotone... they obviously put a lot of thought into making it look upscale despite being a fairly small lobby. The woman sitting behind the desk has plastic white skin (probably because it's some form of plastic), metallic silver hair pulled back in a ponytail, and eyes that are glowing blue rings set in an otherwise glossy black surface. She's also wearing a sort of 'business casual' suit jacket with the company's logo as a pin on one of the lapels. She smiles as you come in, standing up and bowing slightly.\n\n"Hello, and welcome to Streamline Boarding. How may I help you today?"\n\n"Yes, I'm here about the listing you put up for boarding Captain Huwhin's dreadnought?" you answer as you walk over to the desk.\n\n"Certainly. Have you taken an officially Guild-listed job related to that listing?" At your nod, she picks up a face scanner and sets it down in front of you. "If you would, please."\n\nYou pick the scanner up and, through practice, don't blink as you hold it in front of your face and let it sweep a light back and forth across you, first pass on your whole face and second across your eyes. The clerk accepts it back and sits down again, plugging it into a slot on her console and making typing motions on what is (to you) an invisible keyboard.\n\n"Alright, our algorithm has determined to within a 70% margin of error where we believe the cargo in question to be, which is certainly enough to invoke our guarantee clause," she says in a chipper tone, eyes focused on her equally invisible monitor screen for the moment. (That's slightly creepy, you wonder how it slipped by their apparent image consultants that customers would probably like to be able to see at least a holographic keyboard and screen so it doesn't look like the employees are malfunctioning.) "Now I see from our records that you've never hired Streamline before, so this is your first time with us?"\n\n"Correct." You'd point out that if you haven't hired them then obviously you haven't used them, but you suppose theoretically someone might come along as part of a team and not be in the records, so you guess it's still a viable question.\n\n"Then please let me take a moment and familiarize you with our system," she says pleasantly, standing up again. (You notice that the suit jacket is apparently all she's wearing... though there's just a smooth panel down there so. Wait, you can kind of see some lines around that panel... er, you're probably looking more than is polite even if it's covertly, especially since she's talking to you. "-designed specifically for quick, undetected boarding and extraction activities. Our ships are essentially small, highly mobile teleporter pads, allowing them to present a minimal detection grid and maximize the use of stealth materials," she explains, holding a hand palm-up to the side with her elbow bent and projecting a holographic image on her palm of an almost flat silver starfish-shaped thing with a large black circle in the center.\n\nYou frown a little. "Teleporting from extreme distance is still tricky, isn't it? It can get interfered with by everything and its random passing asteroid, and you'd be spending a lot of your profit on energy."\n\n"Correct!" the employee chirps as if actually proud of you for having deduced these little issues. "Which is why our ships use particularly large and refined storage buffers for both you and your cargo!"\n\n"... You mean I get put in the teleporter's storage buffer before it ever even leaves, and then it flies out there and reconstitutes me, and once I've got the crates it does it in reverse?"\n\n"Correct!"\n\nYou make a bit of a face at that. Not that there's anything wrong with it, necessarily, just... it's a lot easier to use teleporters when you can brush them off as being similar to portals, or doorways, step through them and you're somewhere else. The reminder that you're getting disassembled, stored, and sent is a little unnerving.\n\nBut again, their success rate and all their guarantees are kind of hard to argue with. So after only a few seconds of waffling you nod. "Alright, I'm in."\n\n"Wonderful! Please let me take a moment to explain our policies," she says, picking up a tablet and rounding the counter to stand next to you, using her finger to point to sections. "The standard release and liability clauses, you'll see we've had these all Guild pre-certified. Our additional terms of liability for the teleporter, please let me know if you have any questions there. And our Dangerous Materials policy, which I'll need to go over with you."\n\n"Okaaaay...?"\n\n"In short, our system aboard the teleporter ship is heavily automated, and will bring back and store anything that you use a marker on up to the specified amount. When the ship returns, there will be an automated scan to determine whether any of your cargo poses a threat to our personnel or to the Guildhall. If it does, you'll be placed in a virtual semireality where it will be your obligation to use the virtual tools provided to either eliminate the hazardous material or render it safe for rematerialization."\n\n"So 'it's your mess, you clean it up'?" you say a bit wryly.\n\n"Though we will of course give all possible assistance in cleaning it up, but that is the general gist of it, I suppose," she replies, smiling a bit sheepishly before passing you the tablet.\n\nYou look it all over, only skimming the Guild precertified bits since it is probably the closest thing to a "They're not fucking you" guarantee there is (and a very lengthy process to procure, which is why even most places that aren't fucking you don't bother). There's a clause about how basically from the moment you contract with them they register as coparticipants on your job, which means that they get paid exactly when you do, and half. But apparently any other cargo you bring off is pure extra profit, minus their storage fees if you don't have somewhere to put it when you rematerialize it.\n\nYou waffle just a bit more... gawd, half. ... Eh. You'll buy a slightly smaller building. Five stories instead of ten. Besides, maybe you'll get lucky and Huwhin will have a 1,000 gallon tank of pure liquid latinum sitting around two feet from the target. Mentally snickering a bit at the flight of fancy, you thumb and eyeprint the contract to accept, passing it back to the clerk.\n\n"Wonderful, glad to have you aboard with us! Now, you can of course inspect the vessel if you wish, or you may proceed directly to being stored in the buffer."\n\n"I... think I'll get it over with," you decide, shaking your head.\n\n"Very well!" She turns and moves to bend over and retrieve something from a drawer in the desk (cute butt, even if it is plastic). She straightens and holds up a long pouch, which she opens to reveal a series of thin metal disks in little pouches sized for them. She holds one up, and points at the (currently unlit) outer ring. "This will display the vessel's remaining storage capacity, minus the space already set aside for yourself, of course. It will light up green once you're aboard, and decrease as you attach it to cargo to indicate how much more you can bring. You can press the center button of one, attached or unattached, to initiate extraction."\n\n"Okay, got it," you say, accepting the pouch and clipping it to your holster belt.\n\n"Alright then, if you'll just step up onto the teleporter pad here, you'll be on Huwhin's ship and near your target before you can blink!" she chirps, gesturing to a glossy black circle on the floor.\n\nSuppressing a sigh, you move over and step up onto it, turning around to face what arbitrarily seems like the right direction. You can see the clerk typing in midair again, and probably just to be contrary, you deliberately blink, your eyelids sweeping downwards...\n\n... and opening in a vast, cluttered dimness with large crates, containers, and tanks stacked or individually looming around you.\n\n"Well shit," you said out loud reflexively. They weren't kidding.\n\nOf course you immediately flinch and scoot down, quietly scuttling around one of the larger crates and into a different 'alley' formed between them. Way to go, genius. ... Well they should give you more warning than that! Clearly not your fault. Anyway. You strain your ears listening, but it's completely quiet, other than the almost subliminal hum of a ship's engines and power systems idling. Sounds like you're alone in the cargo bay.\n\nProbably the right cargo bay. You fish out your comm and look up the job information. Apparently the cargo was shipped with a proprietary datablock only the shipping company could read, for security reasons, and the only likely identifying marking is that someone chalked 'Earth' on it near the datablock at some point. So even once you find it, to confirm it's the right one, you'll probably have to open it up and check for the primary recovery target, as well as a few of the other items that were listed as identifiers.\n\nYou take out your lumer and set it to low power... just enough to give you a bit more to see by without carrying very far. You start slinking through the sort of haphazard pathways formed, in some places just barely wide enough to get a gravlifter through, in other places not even that. Streamline said they'd put you down in the same area of the ship, but... it's a big cargo bay.\n\nStill, it only takes you about twenty minutes before you find a likely candidate. The dimensions are about right... about big enough for a peoplemover van... and made of the right material, sturdy metal. The side facing you has a datablock your comm can't read, and it does in fact look like someone chalked something about a foot to the side of it. ... It's a bit smudged, though, and the color of the chalk doesn't lend itself to showing up well in your light. You lean closer and squint... does that say 'Earth' or 'Arath'? You feel like you've heard that other name somewhere before too so it definitely could be 'Arath'. ... Or 'Earth'.\n\n<hr>\n[[Pretty sure it says "Earth".|ChiRJ]]\n\n[[Probably "Arath".|ChiRJ]]\n\n[[Well, check the contents, dummy.|ChiRJ]]

Best to keep on the move, you have the feeling that the longer you're here the more chances of being discovered and stopped before you can carry out your plan go up. \n\nYou take another, longer look and listen in the hall to make sure no one's around, then step back out and carefully close the door behind you to avoid making any noise. Giving your coat a flap before settling your rifle back into position, you start to move on...\n\n... then pause, glancing at the containment door for SCPX-1915. It can talk, huh? And sounded like it was at least a little dissatisfied, if not at least a huge threat. Hm... could it possibly help you navigate this place? ... Also you're just sort of curious about it.\n\n<hr>\n[[Talk to SCPX-1915.|Def1x12]]\n\n[[Skip it.|Def]]

Mmmf... tempting as it is... especially with the idea that 'Alpha' might boost your luck with women... you don't want to get kicked out, especially at this time of night. Besides, Kashu has been really nice, best not to bother her, if she wouldn't be up to that. ... Maybe she and Pota are lovers or something and she's not into men, that could be true too.\n\nYou head into the guest room, and stare for just a minute. It's not huge or opulent or anything, but there's a small desk and chair, and a wardrobe, a chest of drawers, and a very comfy-looking bed with freshly-changed sheets and quilts on it. There are more little decorations like downstairs, and a small bowl of potpourri that, from the intensity of the pleasant floral smell, was only set out within the hour. It's probably the nicest room you've stayed so far in your life, and you definitely feel a little guilty about your earlier lewd ideas as you undress for bed.\n\n... Not guilty enough to stop you from jerking off to more lewd thoughts.\n\nYou can't help it! You feel like your libido's increased just since this morning... could the bracelet be affecting that too? (You're not going to take it off to check, though, in fact it's the only thing you're currently wearing.) And your hearing, already quite good, seems better too, so you can hear the gentle splashes and wet motions from next door as Kashu bathes, and you can't help but imagine her beautiful body naked, big breasts shaking gently in the water as she runs her soapy hands down over them, long lithe legs spread below the surface. You stroke your cock as you imagine what might have happened if you walked in, her shocked reaction... or... maybe she'd just smile, a gentle, sweet smile as she nevertheless calmly and casually slid her mouth over your cock and started to fondle your balls...\n\nYou let your fantasies wander, finding the images clearer and more elaborate than usual, even as you also seem to have greater stamina for drawing out your own pleasure. Your thoughts turn to the idea you had earlier, of Pota slipping into Kashu's bed in the night, the two of them embracing in forbidden (not really, especially probably not here, but still) love and lust. Of Kashu's hands and mouth running all over that trim little Halfling body, the pert little tits and smooth hairless pussy... ah, or maybe Pota actually has surprisingly huge tits under those robes, maybe they look even bigger on that tiny frame, maybe the two of them rub their boobs together and just moan like sluts all night long...\n\nAnd maybe they'd love it if you walked in there, and gave them a cock to suck like they both clearly really want, and they were slobbering and licking all over you, gazing up at you gratefully for relieving them of the horrible burden of lacking a dick to worship. You wind up imagining a positively obscenely-proportioned shortstack Pota rubbing and grinding her pussy all over your mouth as Kashu slams herself on your cock, telling you how good a husband you'll be and how many babies you'll give her as you cum all over your chest and stomach.\n\nYou pant a bit, looking down at the mess rather sheepishly as post-nut clarity starts to set in. ... Not your proudest fap. ..... Not your most shameful one either, if you're honest. But oh well.\n\nAll the same, you decide to set off again early in the morning. Deciding to try out your new mental acuity, you try telling yourself to wake up before dawn, and to your surprise you do, coming to consciousness immediately clear-headed with the sky outside just starting to lighten. You slip into the bathroom and clean up hastily (skipping the tub and just washing off with a bucket and some cloths), before dressing and heading out, hoping Kashu won't think you've abandoned her, er, your room already by not staying for breakfast. Instead you duck into a small tavern and get a quick bite, then head back to the dungeon gates. You still have to conquer the Green Fields, after all, before you'll be allowed to go to the other dungeons, even if you're pretty sure you could handle them now.\n\nOddly enough all the guards seem to straighten their backs a little as you come into the gate area. You spot what you're pretty sure is the one from yesterday, and despite it being your last silver piece, you tip him again. You're surprised when he just almost salutes you before apparently remembering you're just an adventurer. "Please have a good day, sir, and let me know if there's any help you need," he adds, even more graciously than yesterday.\n\n'Wild,' you think as you head through the gate into the "outside" of the Green Fields. Maybe the guards are even more vulnerable to the effects of 'Alpha' since they're trained to obey authority? That kind of makes sense, you guess. Definitely something to keep a mental note of.\n\nBefore you've gone very far, there's a call of "You there!" and you turn slightly to see someone approaching from off to the side. It's another really pretty woman! Another Human, though that's not a shocker. This one's tall and leading a particularly big flesh-and-blood horse (yikes he's huge), and wearing fairly skimpy armor, her garb consisting of a tight black long-sleeved one-piece with lobstered white-and-gold pauldrons, and a breastplate that partially sheaths her large, almost conical breasts. Her belt has another armor plate on the back and a long white-and-gold loincloth, showing off her stocking-sheathed legs and the matching white and gold tall armor boots. Her long golden hair is pulled back and fastened with a clip that has some sort of sunburst design, and her forelocks are held out of her face by a gold tiara, definitely making her look like some sort of noble. Her blue eyes and pretty face hold a troubled expression as she glances around, before taking on a more composed, cool look as she fixes her gaze on you again.\n\n<img src="images/Lema.jpg">\n\n"You're one of the new adventurers that hasn't gotten your badge, yes?" At your slightly rueful nod, she continues. "I'm Guard Captain Lema. I patrol the Green Fields occasionally because there are sometimes higher-level adventurers like to lurk here to gang up on new arrivals like yourself. They call them 'newb-hunters'."\n\n"Oh." You blink in surprise. "Huh. No offense, Guard Captain, but from what I heard, I didn't expect the guards in Ebonarza to care about something like that."\n\nShe makes a bit of a face like she might have taken a bit of offense anyway, then sighs. "Well, if I'm honest, there's not actually a law against any such thing here, nor are we commanded to put a stop to it... everyone is encouraged to expect to have to defend themselves at any moment here, after all. Still, I personally don't like it, which is why I take it on myself to do these patrols rather than assigning any of my guards to do so."\n\n"Well that's really decent of you. Thanks," you answer, since it seems polite.\n\nStill, it looks like that pleases her, and she gives you a smile before her expression turns troubled again and she glances around a bit. "I'm almost certain that there are some of them around in here, especially since the dungeon didn't change overnight, and that one man didn't come back, even though he wasn't new at all, but I couldn't find any trace of them. So please, be careful," she adds, before turning and leading her horse towards the exit.\n\n... Ah. She means Dash. Well, uh, you know why he didn't come back. You kind of feel like you should tell her, but your instinctive wariness of authority figures is there... what if she doesn't believe that an experienced Ebonarza adventurer just got so excited that he forgot to watch out for Blade Bunnies in the Green Fields? Maybe you'll tell her the next time you run into her, but just that you came across his body and buried him, which is kind of true.\n\nIt's like she said, though, the dungeon is just the same as it was yesterday. Hm... didn't Dash say something about that? But you're distracted by the approach of a group of slimes. You quickly draw your sword and slash all three in quick, basic sweeps, intending to make them hesitate so you can hopefully get off Firebolts...\n\n... but all three of them immediately splash to liquid at the impact and drop.\n\n"Huh," you murmur, blinking. ... You guess with all your stat boosts you completely overcame their damage resistance and just one-shotted them. You also notice that there's two cores in each one, and that they also seem to have left behind those white planes they use as eyes. Using your Judge Value skill gives you the general feeling these are really rare drops, probably worth quite a bit more than the cores. Wow, the bracelet's even boosting your drop rate?! No wonder Pota said that you'd probably be able to pay off your debt easily, even if you just did grinding in the Green Fields you could probably earn enough by the end of the month to pay her. (Maybe. Probably just barely, but still.)\n\nYou make your way generally in the same direction you did yesterday, killing more monsters and getting drops every single time, often more of them and more high-quality ones than you did yesterday. Also there's just... no challenge to these monsters now. They practically seem like they're moving in slow motion when they attack you, and they all die in one hit no matter what that hit is. You even try out just punching a few of them, like you assume Nom would have, and that does the trick too, and you earn the 'Martial Arts' skill at your next level up, among a good handful of other minor spells and skills. Geez, this bracelet really is OP!\n\nYou feel a little bad passing the place where you originally found traces of Dash, and you briefly turn and put your hands together, bowing your head... not really praying since you don't have religion and didn't go pick out a god like Nom suggested, just sort of offering a moment's respect for the departed. After all he led you to the bracelet, if nothing else. You then turn on and press further into the dungeon, having covered the same distance that took you almost all day the first time in just a few hours.\n\nIt's probably early afternoon when you see some traces of your quarry... tree trunks slashed up, branches broken, ground churned up by taloned feet and a tail. You're getting close! Which is when three figures leap out of hiding from the trees you're passing through, roughly surrounding you. "Don't move!" one of them calls.\n\n... Oh riiiight, Dash said that the dungeon doesn't change overnight if someone's inside it. So Lema wasn't wrong, there were newb-killers in here, you just assumed she was putting it down to Dash's disappearance. These three... they definitely do look like they're much higher level than you. Their weapons and armor look like they're pretty good quality, even if they're roughed up and all with a kind of scruffy air. They all look like they're a bit older than you, two Lesser Tigerkin (a man and a woman) armed with swords and a Lesser Wolfkin with a spear. The Tigerkin both have red hair and blue eyes, which besides their race and general appearance pretty much marks them as siblings, and the Wolfkin has black hair and yellow eyes, his thick wild hair visibly bristling a little in warning.\n\n"Don't move, newb! If you give over everything you've got, we won't have to hurt you!" the Tigerkin man declares, before he actually looks a little abashed and says, "Sorry, normally we wouldn't rob a fellow Beastkin, but you know... times are tough."\n\n"We actually came in here to rob a complete asshole lothario of a Human, because he dared hitting on me when my husband was sitting right next to me," his sister adds flatly, the Wolfkin giving a low, angry growl that easily enough identifies him as the husband. "But he never turned up, and y'know, debts to pay."\n\n'Dammit, Dash,' you think with a sigh. You might think something a bit stronger if it didn't feel bad to insult the dead.\n\n"Anyway, just give us all you've got on you and empty your dimensional storage, and maybe we'll take you out of here too," the Tigerkin guy says in a slightly smug tone that you can't help but think means he has another way in mind to make a profit off of you once you're defenseless and at their mercy.\n\n<hr>\n[[Better go all-out!|Raz]]\n\n[[Maybe be a little careful.|Raz10x1]]\n\n[[Destroy them.|Raz9x3]]

Without hesitation, you swing your hand up and say "Firebolt" almost faster than it should be possible to get every syllable out. The spell goes off so quickly that none of them even seem to be able to react to the sudden gout of flames.\n\n"Eh?" the Tigerkin woman says, her eyes wide, still not seeming to be processing anything yet as her brother's arms and legs topple to the ground, charred stumps smoking, his whole torso and head having been destroyed by the fairly simple low-midrange spell. "Eh?"\n\nThe Wolfkin seems to have rallied a bit faster, and with a roar of rage comes charging in, thrusting the spear at you. You effortlessly pivot and flick your sword, cutting off the head of his spear, then flicking it again, the weapon and the hands holding it dropping to the ground. The Wolfkin seems to only have time to be vaguely shocked by this before your free fist slams into the side of his head, bone crumpling and his skull caving in as he drops to the ground.\n\n"Eh... eeeEYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" the Tigerkin woman wails, clutching at her head and dropping to her knees, her eyes wide and panicked, her whole body trembling. As you turn towards her she instinctively flings herself back onto her hands, cringing and scuttling backwards, a dark stain spreading from her crotch and leaving wetness on the grass as she abandons her weapon, her terror clearly having consumed her mind. "No! No, please! Please!" she wails as you stalk closer. "Don't kill me! I'll, I'll do anything! Anything you want, just please!"\n\n<hr>\n[["Anything, huh?"|Raz]]\n\n[["But I want you to die."|Raz]]

"I'm just thinking where I'm gonna stay with the money you left me," you grumble as you close your character window.\n\n"Hm?" Pota brings a hand up and scratches a finger against her cheek briefly, then 'ah's. "I know a good boarding house that's not very expensive. A silver will cover you for the first few days... maybe a week, since the owner's kind of softhearted."\n\n"Boarding house?" you say a bit dubiously.\n\n"Well really it's more just someone I know who has a room for rent," Pota says, wagging a hand dismissively. "She doesn't really advertise it a lot, since I doubt she'd take anyone without a referral anyway. But here, let me write you one of those," she says, snagging another sheet of paper, this one blank, and starting to write.\n\nYou eye her suspiciously, then shrug. Well, other than taking all your cash and vaguely threatening you if you don't pay, it's not like she's given any sign of outright cheating you. (If anything, the bracelet wound up being even more potent than she said.) Besides, you figure if she suggests a place to stay to you, that will make it all the easier to find you if you don't pay your debt, so that also explains why she might suggest a decent place that you'd want to stay longterm.\n\nYou accept the folded letter, and manage a polite "Thank you" despite the rest before heading out, following the little map Pota drew on the outside fold of the letter. It's definitely in a residential district past where Nom suggested, a fairly plain little two-story house with a very small amount of space around it, barely big enough for some narrow planters with flowers on one side and a little herb garden on the other. You approach the door and hesitate a bit before knocking.\n\n"Yes? Who is it?" an uncertain female voice says.\n\n"Um, my name is Raz, Pota sent me. About the room you have for rent?" you add, leaning down and slipping the letter under the door.\n\n"Oh!" One of your ears twitches with the faint sound of the letter being unfolded, then the click of two locks before the door swings open. Ah... it's a very pretty Human woman, maybe in her mid-late twenties or early thirties? But she's what some of your fellow orphans liked to call a "big sister" type, with a sort of overall wholesome look to her from the shape of her face to her delicate arms to the plain but pleasant faded yellow dress she's wearing. She even has brown hair done in a side-ponytail and a kind of closed-eye expression to go with her smile. The huge boobs aren't a bad thing either... not as big as Nom's, probably, but they look just as big on her somewhat more slender frame.\n\n"Well welcome then! Please come in!" she says, stepping back and gesturing you inside. The inside of the house is a lot like the outside... plain, but very clean, with a homey scent and a few nice little touches like small flower wreaths and some cheap but pleasant little paintings. "My name is Kashu, it's lovely to have you here! I'm glad Pota suggested you come, it's always nice to have a trustworthy person around, especially if it means a man in the house!"\n\nTrustworthy, huh? Pota's letter said you're that? Well... you guess you forgive her for charging you so much. At least a little bit. Also you're still young enough and new enough at this to preen a bit at being called a man. Then you give an 'oh', fishing in your pouch and pulling out a silver piece. "Pota said this would be enough to cover the first few days at least?"\n\n"Oh yes, thank you," she says in a slightly relieved tone, accepting the coin. "I fix breakfast and dinner, and it's usually leftovers for lunch, if there are any, you're always welcome to join in! Though it would be good, and make it easier to do all that, if you could also help out around the house a little...?" she adds hopefully.\n\n"Oh, uh, sure, I guess."\n\n"Wonderful! Here, I was just about to sit down, come join me and then I'll show you what needs attention!"\n\nMmf. You wouldn't mind if one of the things that needed attention was her. Especially if what really needed attention was those amazing boobs. But you drag your thoughts off such wicked things and do your best to be pleasant dinner company as the two of you eat some roasted chicken and mixed vegetables. Afterward Kashu shows you several broken bits of furniture or the house, and none of it looks beyond the means of your "Repair (Basic)" skill, so once she's provided you with the tools you get to work.\n\nAt first Kashu just watches you with a pleased expression, before eventually she says, "I think I'm going to retire for the evening. Please turn off the magilamps before you come up? Your room is the one with the blue 'Guest' sign," she adds, before turning and going up the stairs.\n\nYou sneak a peek at her butt as she goes... again, not nearly as big as Nom's, nor nearly as shown-off, but still very pleasantly-shaped. Ahem. You set back to work and... wow, this is actually really easy. Even if you only know the basics of repair, every single strike does exactly what you meant it to and you don't make a single mistake the entire time. You wind up completing the work in maybe a quarter of the time it would have taken you normally, just from everything going right. Is this the result of such high stats, that minor menial tasks are practically auto-completed to perfection? ... If so you could probably make really good money in some sort of repair or crafting profession. Buuut you came here to go into the dungeons, so.\n\nYou head around the bottom floor, turning the little dials on the lamps with their magic glowstones to minimum, and locking the door while you're at it since it looks like Kashu forgot. Then you head up the stairs as well. It's easy enough to spot what must be your room... the house is laid out so that almost all of the upper floor's rooms are distributed to one side, the only door being on the same side as the stairs leading to something too small to sleep properly in, so it must be a closet of some kind. Across from that are three doors, one marked with a plain blue sign that does indeed say 'Guest' in simple letters, and the other on the opposite side with flowers painted on it. Aw, that's cute. The middle door is unmarked, though there is a little nail for something to be hung there.\n\nYour ears give another twitch at the sound of water splashing behind the center door, along with Kashu's voice humming cheerfully. ... Ah. That must be the bathroom. And she must be cleaning up. Her body all warm and wet, and very naked...\n\n<hr>\n[[... Go join her.|Raz]]\n\n[[... Go to bed.|Raz9x2]]

"This is what passes for a Huntsman outside of you guys?" you grumble, shaking your head.\n\n"Hey! I'll have you know we're-"\n\n"Fully licensed Hunstmen, yeah?" Qrow grunts.\n\n"Yeah! And we're uh... we're... uh... oh."\n\nDudley trails off as he stares at the small swarm of Huntsmen and Huntress licenses staring out at him from scrolls. During the last few days at Haven, you talked to Ozma and put forth the idea that maybe not too long before his tragic death, Headmaster Lionheart had decided to fast-track the licenses of a number of students who had proven themselves at the Battle of Beacon (and so what if a couple of them weren't students or at the Battle of Beacon). He was kind of cagey about it, and you could tell he didn't really like the idea of compromising the school's usual function even for something as important as this, but once you got Qrow on your side he folded pretty fast.\n\n"So. Uh. We'll just. Leave you folks to it, then, huh?" Dee mutters a bit sourly.\n\n"Hey, while you're at it, maybe go close the door to the train you left gaping open when you saw a bunch of cute girls heading towards it, huh?" Yang says dryly, thumbing towards the caboose with the hand not holding her scroll.\n\nBoth of them whip their heads over to look, wince, and Dudley instantly declares, "It wasn't me!" Dee sighs and punches him in the arm, but doesn't reply as the duo go trudging over towards it. From the look on his face, he wants to call his partner an idiot, but feels too much like one himself to do it after being called out by one of said cute girls.\n\nSoon after your three teams have essentially taken over an entire dining car as the train rattles along its tracks, spread out across the different tables and partaking of the first meal of the four day journey. "So what does that thing do, anyway?" you ask as Oscar walks past, gesturing to the faintly-glowing lamp at his belt.\n\n"Huh?" Oscar turns, then says, "Oh, uh." He closes his eyes, and his back straightens and shoulders square before Ozma opens them and smiles a bit, unclipping it and holding it up. "I thought someone would ask at Haven, but we were after all so busy. The Relic of Knowledge possesses... well... the power of knowledge," he notes with a tilt of the head. "The entity that dwells within it can answer any question you ask."\n\n"Seriously, any question? Like, if I asked it, how many babies are Ren and I gonna have?!" Nora squeals, hands clasped under her chin as her eyes light up, while Ren's slothlike face goes wide-eyed and a faint 'skronk' noise dies in his throat.\n\n"Ahem. I'm afraid not, she cannot tell you of what will happen in the future. Though, if you are very conscientious about summoning her in a... particular way... she may be in a good mood and offer you her best guess for free."\n\n"So why don't we just use the hell out of it?" Reese asks with a scrunch of the nose. "Like ask it every little thing like if the train's actually running on time or where people we needa find are or something like that."\n\n"I'm afraid it can only answer three questions every century," Ozma says with a shake of the head. "And if they are used up, you must wait for them to replenish."\n\n"Huh. So is it like... a rolling thing?" Blake asks, frowning and giving a little twirl of a finger as she looks up from her current book. "You get a question back a century after you asked one? Or is it something that happens on a specific day, and you could ask three questions the day before, and then another three the day after?"\n\nOzma blinks. "I..." He glances at the lamp. "... I honestly never thought to ask. I... always simply waited a century after using up all three questions."\n\n"Man immortals are wild," Reese huffs, flumping forward across the table and then making 'gimme' finger motions at Grey's cheesecake, which he lifts away from her while poking his tongue out.\n\n"Huh. So it got any questions left?" you ask, leaning forward to tap at the blue crystal only for Ozma to move it away from your finger almost protectively.\n\nOzma hesitates for a moment, then nods slowly. "It has two questions left. I would prefer, if possible, to save them until a later date. I have several new theories about how the entity functions, and if so it would benefit us to wait as long as possible before asking it the most relevant questions possible." After a moment, his shoulders slump and he slouches just a bit, Oscar blinking. "So, uh... yeah. ... He's a little afraid you'll use it to pry into his past, honestly," the farmboy notes, rubbing his arm lightly after he's clipped the lamp back to his belt. "He's still got a lot he hasn't said. A lot of those 'mistakes'."\n\n"Hnh. I think he damn well needs to out those one day, but I think for now we'll have to keep extending some trust," Qrow grunts. "He's right though, if we get better answers the longer we wait, then we wait, just makes sense."\n\nThen every almost every head in the car snaps towards its rear, the thick concentration of activated Auras enhancing one another and giving you a moment of warning, enough for everyone to get on their feet and get moving even before the first shots start ringing out.\n\n"Grimm," Ilia almost growls.\n\n"Just our luck," Reese sighs before grinning in a 'make the best of it' sort of way, whipping her board around from behind her back.\n\n"Not yours," Qrow grumbles.\n\nOne of these days you're gonna have to point out to him that Grimm attacks are kind of a thing that happen on Remnant and not everything is about him. Instead you and the others hurry several cars back and then start heading up the ladders or leaping up onto the roof of the train, where massive quadrupedal Grimm with wings are wheeling over the train cars, shrieking and batting at the pair of Hunstmen already in place atop one car, Dee holding his spiked mace which has partially split apart and is spinning, revealing an inner core of charged blue Dust, while Dudley is simply firing with his rifle that is apparently just also a gun. Even as you watch, one of the Grimm barrel rolls in, snatching Dee and hauling him into the air, his partner giving an anguished scream of his name as the mace spirals off down the cliffside. You can see the Grimm wheel, its legs flex, preparing to toss the man towards the forest whirling by below. The training you put in at Haven activates almost without conscious thought.\n\n"LIFELINE!" you bark out.\n\nWithout hesitation Weiss steps forward, twirling and thrusting Myrtenaster ahead of her, sending a line of whirling white rune circles across the car's surface and tilting upwards in a ramp. Even before the ramp is completed Reese is blurring down it on her hoverboard, ducking and grabbing the inner flat of one of the bladed edges to haul herself into a spin as she comes off the edge of Weiss's acceleration ramp shortly after the Grimm hurls its screaming captive toward the trees. Just before she leaves it, Weiss gracefully whirls, forming a larger angled acceleration that Blake leaps right through, then Weiss whirls again, stabbing her rapier at empty air to form a black circle that the other woman is aimed at, the variable ribbon portion of her weapon in hand. As Reese grabs Dee's arm, she stretches her other out to catch Gambol Shroud as Blake flings it to her and then yanks, hurling both of them to the surface of the train before she leaps off the gravity circle to land on the roof of the caboose. Dee cries out as he hits the roof hard, an audible crack of bone breaking as he lands on one arm and is clearly stunned from the impact and pain. But he's at least broken Reese's fall, and she quickly separates Lioncub into a pair of revolvers and starts firing at Grimm from her prone position half on top of him, defending the downed Huntsman.\n\n"Good job! We don't let anybody die!" Ruby calls almost gleefully as she extends Crescent Rose.\n\nDudley, seeing his partner safe, had briefly looked relieved before taking advantage of the rest of you starting to occupy the Grimm, whipping out his scroll and stabbing rather desperately at it. Armor plates start to slide out of recesses in the train, protecting the windows and engine, but as he moves to hit another part of the screen Qrow whirls from killing one of the smaller Grimm and grabs his wrist. "Do not turn those autoturrets on!"\n\n"We need them, there's too many Grimm!"\n\n"You turn those on and it'll just attract the Grimm to the cars with people in them! Dammit James and I told the company not to put the turrets on every car but they didn't listen!"\n\n"But-!"\n\n"For Dust's sake Dudley do what they say!" Dee shouts, voice still tinged heavily in pain from where he's half-pinned under Reese. \n\n"... Fine," Dudley growls, yanking his wrist out of Qrow's hand.\n\n"Kai! What can I do?!" Oscar calls from where he's looking over the edge of one of the cars.\n\n"One second!" you shout back, Red Legacy flickering with a faint sheen of flames and crackles of lightning as you relieve a Grimm of one of its paws that it tried to swipe at you with, making it draw back shrieking and getting its head blown off by a shotgun blast from Yang. You whirl and transform your weapon, firing into the wheeling swarm of them that have converged over the car with Reese and Dudley, even the railgun-accelerated spheres not doing much to Grimm of this size other than hurt and annoy them, but at this point the idea is to keep them from focusing on the more vulnerable of you. "Dee!" you call, since he seems so cooperative now. "Do the turrets have manual control?!"\n\n"Yeah! By individual car!" he grunts back, wincing as Reese has to roll a bit and fire into one of the closer Grimm, twisting his bad arm.\n\n"Can you work the controls one-handed?!"\n\n"YEAH!"\n\n"Oscar, help Dudley get Dee below, Dudley, show Oscar where the controls for one of the cars are, and all three of you start shooting some Grimm!"\n\n"... Fine!" Dudley barks, racing ahead, Oscar actually catching up to him as the pair first propel Reese to her feet and then heft up the injured man. Surprisingly, the apparently dumber of the duo actually proves a bit helpful as he calls, "There'll be a tunnel coming up ahead! We'll retract the turrets a bit before it so that you know it's coming!" as he jumps down to one of the platforms and holds his hands up for Oscar to help his partner down.\n\n"Concentrate on the Grimm that are incoming, not the ones already near the train!" Jaune adds to the trio before they disappear inside. \n\nMoments later the turrets on the back three cars extend, janking back and forth at different rates and starting to fire at the Grimm either wheeling in the distance or swooping towards the train. Ilia! Did you used to sabotage trains in the White Fang? you send, too busy fighting off a Grimm that's landed and seems really intent on finding out if you has a flavor to speak aloud. Besides, it seems like a touchy subject.\n\nIs this really the time for-?! Ilia sends back, currently back-to-back with Reese and whirling Lightning Lash through the air, its crackling electricity driving off any of the Grimm that make it past Lioncub's bullets.\n\nYes or no?!\n\nYes, okay, I'm sor-!\n\nFuck that shit, get up to the engine and reverse sabotage it or whatever, get us moving as fast as we can without coming off the fucking tracks! \n\nOhhhhhh! On it! "Yang!" she calls, right before she retracts Lightning Lash into rapier form and darts forward, diving down to one of the car platforms.\n\n"Where the hell's she going?!" Yang calls back, even as she nevertheless steps into the vacated spot of melee for the car she and Reese were on, Celica and her arm's gun both snapping out slightly off-kilter reports as she punches.\n\n"Language~!" you sing-song back, making her pull a face despite it all and making you grin before you serious the fuck up. "I gave her a job to do, I'll explain later! We've got a job too! Let's keep doing it!" \n\n"HYAH!" Blake calls, whirling and flinging out a hand, a flicker of purple light coinciding with a Grimm drawing back shrieking, a quartet of thin red wounds leading up to a fresh chip in its mask. The chatter of bullets from Gambol Shroud strikes at and around those chips, cracking and then shattering the Grimm's mask to make it collapse into mist.\n\n"There's so many!" Nora calls as she swings Magnhild into the side of one's head, knocking it whirling from the traintop and into the path of one of the turrets. "Can the artifact be doing all this?!"\n\n"No way!" Grey shouts, then grunts as one of the Grimm lands and charges him, attempting to either gore him with the long, sleek horns growing from its mask or run him down. Instead he turns and meets the charge, grabbing the horns with his clawed hands, the Aura in his arms and legs flickering as the metal dents under his feet and the Grimm lurches at abruptly being halted. He darts forward with one hand, hooking his claws behind the edges of the monster's mask, and then simply twisting and ripping it free, the entire Grimm shattering into smoke like a nightmare in the sunlight. "If it was this big of a Grimm magnet, Haven would have been overrun before we left!"\n\n"It's a Grimmtrain!" Reese calls, unable to help grimacing a bit at the unintentional pun even as she turns and leaps up onto Yang's shoulders, jumping off of them to slash across the mask of a Grimm that had been diving at the blonde, sending it crashing to the train roof instead where Yang can shatter its mask the rest of the way with a hard punch. "They happen in the swamps sometimes, it starts with little Nevermores flying past more little Nevermores and it winds up drawing Arakosaurs and Pikeels!"\n\n"And it won't stop until we take out the Alpha that's taken over the forming pack," Qrow growls, glaring at the larger Grimm with the ivory white snake tail that's drawn back to flap at a hover a short distance behind the train. You'd swear it smirks at him as he does.\n\nKai! Ilia's voice calls in your head. I'm about to speed up the train!\n\n"Everyone BRACE!" you shout.\n\nThere's surprise, but despite it Weiss reacts without hesitation, jabbing the Grimm she's fighting in the throat to send it reeling and then whirling to face the rest of you, sketching some design in the air with two fingers and the point of Myrtenaster. A series of black rune circles appears under everyone's feet, and you can feel them practically adhere to the traintop just before it lurches in acceleration, sending most of the Grimm stumbling, most of them dropping off the sides, a few able to wheel and catch themselves on their wings but others dropping and tumbling down the cliffs, or in one case one of them hitting the cliff wall beside you and being drawn under the train's carriage, black smoke billowing out from beneath the shiny steel cars. Weiss releases her circles, shooting you a brief unreadable look, before pirhouetting back to face the regrouping Grimm.\n\nBarely a moment after that the turrets whir and start to retract, the one on the third car a little after the one on the second and the caboose. "TUNNEL!" Jaune barks in reminder, gesturing his team down ahead of him before jumping down as well.\n\nThe rest of you go scrambling into the cars below, converging in the third one around where a somewhat rattled but proud-looking Oscar is slumped a little near one of the turret control panels. Ilia jogs in from the front of the train as Jaune carefully lays his hands on Dee's broken arm, the Huntsman hissing softly as the white-gold glow of Jaune's aura spreads to his and turns faintly brown, the ugly red swelling and slightly off set of the limb starting to diminish.\n\n"Will the tunnel drive off the Grimm?" you ask him, drawing his astonished gaze up from his arm.\n\n"... No," he replies, giving his head a quick shake. "It's never been this bad before but we've dealt with smaller swarms. They won't be able to attack while we're inside, but some of them will run through it after us and others will just go over, the tunnel's not long enough or deep enough to make them lose interest. There's another about twenty minutes ahead that is, though."\n\n"Twenty minutes is a long damn time with a Grimmtrain building bigger and bigger on us," Qrow grunts, shaking his head.\n\n"Ren, do you think you could hide the train with your Semblance?" Ruby asks, voice a little apologetic considering she knows how the outwardly solemn man feels about using his ability.\n\nRen's wince is almost imperceptible, but he thinks it over. "I've never used it on so many people before," he admits, before glancing aside at his leader. "But I think with Jaune helping me, I could do it."\n\n"But it won't matter if-" Qrow hesitates, eyes flicking from the lamp at Oscar's waist to the uninitiated Huntsmen. "-if the Grimm don't have something else to call their attention. They're drawn to emotion but they're not actually blind. Every other time Ren's used his Semblance to hide someone, there have been other people nearby for them to focus on. Out here in the wastes, they'll just keep following the big moving object they're already focused on."\n\nYou look at Ruby, red eyes meeting silver, and see that she's already had the same idea you immediately did. The two of you look at Jaune, and he nods before saying, "We're going to have to separate the train. Get all of the passengers into the front, while others stay with the back to draw the Grimm off." His own eyes flit over Oscar without settling on him before he gives the smallest grimace of pain, then straightens his shoulders. "Team JNPR needs to be in the front of the train."\n\n"Team RWBY and Team KACH should stick together, then," Ruby declares, giving you a quick smile that's both apologetic for presuming and bright for knowing she's right to.\n\n"Yeah, with one exception." You turn to your partner. "Ilia, you need to go with Team JNPR."\n\n"What? Why?" she demands in an anguished tone, pain flickering across her eyes and briefly turning her specks blue.\n\n"Because you'll need to slow down the train for any hard curves or when it comes into the station." You hesitate only briefly before adding, "Plus our psycomms will let us stay in touch a little longer after everyone else loses scroll reception." You can see the surprise and curiosity on some of the others' faces, but ignore it to keep your eyes locked on Ilia's as you rest a hand on her shoulder. "This isn't me sending you away because I don't trust you or think you can't take care of yourself, it's because I do trust you and I know you'll take care of our friends."\n\n"... Okay, Kai," the Huntress in front of you replies with a firm nod of the head. "Count on me."\n\n"Always do."\n\n"We'll be coming out of the tunnel soon," Dee grunts, glancing upward, then at his partner. "Dudley, you go with the passenger cars, tell the company what happened. No, nevermind that, go right to the Atlas base and tell them, they might actually do something. I'll stick with these guys."\n\n"That's not necessary," Qrow interjects, rolling his eyes just a little.\n\n"Hey! You saved my life!" Dee snaps, then rolls his formerly broken arm. "... I owe you." The words are just as much a plea as a statement, a desperate desire to be allowed to pay back his debt and prove he's not the joke you all saw him as back in the station.\n\nQrow looks at him for a long moment, then nods. "Fine. But you do what I say when I say it, okay buddy? And no complaining if you die."\n\n"Huh?! ... Well, I mean... y-yeah."\n\n"Let's get it done, then," you declare, people dividing up and heading for different parts of the train. Before Jaune can follow after his team though, you catch him by the arm. "Hey. Arc." You look him in the eye. "Make sure and bring her back to me. Okay?"\n\nThere's a flicker of hurt and resentment there... the implication that he might not, considering what happened to his own partner. But you see it be washed away by the realization that you're just asking him to take care of someone incredibly precious to you, and he nods firmly. "I will. Promise. ... I'll get it done."\n\n"I know you will." \n\nAs the train emerges from the tunnel, 3/4 of Team KACH, all of Team RWBY, Oscar, Qrow, and Dee go scrambling upward onto the tops of the train cars. Blake fires several times to force circling Grimm back as she runs forward one car then leaps down, transforming Gambol Shroud and clipping the heavier blade-sheath into place. "Ready?!" she calls.\n\nYou keep your eyes fixed on Ilia standing tall and proud in front of Team JNPR, Ren's hands braced on the floor, Jaune's hand on his shoulder, Nora standing with Magnhild at the ready just in time, all of them strong. All of them afraid. All of them looking back at you.\n\n[[Music.|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HQ55qf5gdA]]\n\n"Do it," you answer.\n\nBlake snaps her blade down, a harsh shrk sounding as it cuts through the coupling. Immediately the speeding train begins to pull away, the uncoupled cars retaining speed but already starting to slow bit by bit with the weight of the cargo inside them. You watch as your friends draw away from you, even their colors fading from view as Ren's semblance spreads over them and the train car. Then you turn back to the rest of your friends who are braced and ready for the fight, lips pulling back from your teeth as Red Legacy once more crackles into flickering life.\n\n"Let's show these fuckers what a bad fight they picked," you snarl.\n\n"Language," Yang murmurs warmly, a wolfish smile on her face as she transforms Celica and extends the gun from her arm.\n\n"We need to take the big one down, right?!" Dee calls, fighting with nothing but a length of rebar he took from the cargo, duct tape wrapped around the base of it to form an improvised handle.\n\n"I can do it," you assert firmly, glaring into the Alpha Grimm's eyes, and again you'd swear it reacts, though this time with a scowl. "But we need to keep him still long enough."\n\n"Yang and I can do it!" Blake assures you, letting Gambol Shroud chatter a bit as she fires into a wing of the Grimm trying to approach from the side. "But you need to get it to land!"\n\n"Right." You firm your jaw, hating the order you're about to give... but trusting its recipient to understand. And to be able to carry it out. You slice a human-sized Nevermore's beak off its head, the shattered mask making it dissipate, shifting a little with the train clattering beneath you, before you look aside. "Oscar. Draw him in."\n\nYou see raw, absolute fear cover his face for an instant, and something like betrayal. And then his jaw firms with understanding, his shoulders shift, and his back straightens. But it's his voice, not Ozma's, that replies, "Count on me!"\n\n"Always will," you whisper, turning your eyes back to the fight and waiting for your moment. Activating Red Legacy's sheath, you clip it to your belt and call, "Ruby! Qrow! Cover me!"\n\nThe silver-eyed Huntress and her uncle fall back near you, both their weapons converting to scythe mode as they become a deadly dance of blades, cutting through any of the Grimm that try to get to you as shove your arms into the insides of your coat, into the holsters Reece helped you create, gripping the handles of your backup weapon and clenching your fists. You haul them free as the weapon starts to transform, armor plates sliding further and further out. Reese packed virtually every weapon you were carrying other than your sword, the mag-accel pistol, and your quickfire pistols into this thing, which means it is severely powerful, but she absolutely could not make it pretty, its initial mode of a pair of large, misshapen robot forearms flexing.\n\n"Hey! HEY!" Oscar calls as he runs forward, diving and rolling under the duck of one of the other Grimm, instantly coming to his feet and rising, facing the Alpha pumping its wings to hover behind the train's back half, thrusting his arms out to the side and displaying himself and the lamp at his belt. "This is what you want, right?! So come and get it! C'mon!"\n\nThe monster's eyes lock on him, and though you've been told the Grimm are already made of hate, something that you can only call the deepest, darkest fury twists its inhuman features. It draws up in the air, breathing in hard, and then letting out a terrifying, thunderous shriek that seems to shake the mountain, sending snow skittering down the cliffside and puffing up in clouds of frozen vapor from around the train.\n\n"<Ọ̢̧̠͟Z̛̻̣̟̲Z̼̪͈͎͟͢Ẕ͓̟͇̙̞̖͘ͅZ̴̧̪̩͉Z͕͍̭͔̪̻̗͎͜͞Z̸͏̘̺͔̥̞̤̰Z̢̛̹̻͔͝Z̤̻͔͍̜͘͟ͅZ̰͉̯̠̪̳̫͝ͅM̛҉̘͉A̢̹̼̼̞͉̫͔̥͘͝A̦̞͉͜͢͝A̛̫̕͢A̴̛҉̥̜̲̳A̷̠͍͕̕͞ͅÁ̝̬͎̘̘̗͙A̴̲̮̼̯͟͜A̛͍̼̕A̢̙̥͈̰A̹̥̲͙̥̯̹̬͟A̶̷̪̝̻͚̯͓͔A͙̣͙̝̺͠A̧͉͈̜̳̰͞A͉̪̙̳̳̻͜͠A̺͖͇͢A̴̳͚͕͉̙̼Ạ͉͚̫̩̣̭A̧̙̤͡!̭̳̮̞̥͎̜͞!̰̫̱̞̝͟>̩"\n\n"What?" you breathe, eyes wide, never having quite understand the saying of 'blood turned to ice' so well. But then the beast is roaring forward towards Oscar, and there's no time to be terrified down to your very soul. You slap the giant robot hands together, the armor plates instantly starting to join together, slipping off of your arms and solidifying as the grips join together into a two-handed hold at the end of a long, irregular-shaped club. Even as the weapon finishes settling into its second form, you're twisting the handles, one of them locking to the base of the weapon and twisting down, the other starting to slide up its side as more parts open up, the far edge parting and opening, another control extending a thick barrel and four longer tines along it. Just before the Alpha Grimm would smash into Oscar, he turns and dives backwards, Reese catching him as she wheels about on Lioncub and flits back towards the rest of the group.\n\n"GO!" Yang calls as she darts forward, propelling herself forward with shots of her guns, Blake popping forward several times to dodge Grimm. Weiss flits Myrtenaster down to create a jump circle just in front of the Grimm as it's hauling itself to its feet, Yang bounding off of it and firing Celica once to twist herself so she can land facing it. Blake hurls Gambol Shroud over its back, Yang punching the weapon back with a blast of her armgun, looping it around the beast's middle several times before finally punching down and embedding the weapon's blade in the traintop. Yang grabs hold of the other side of Gambol Shroud's ribbon, hauling downward on the Grimm... then yelping as it flings itself against them with its entire body, snaketail whipping in a mindless frenzy, paws clawing at the metal beneath it furiously as it twists its head trying to catch sight of Oscar again, not even seeming to notice as Weiss skates through the air in front of it to chill its wings until they shatter.\n\n"<Ọ̢̧̠͟Z̛̻̣̟̲Z̼̪͈͎͟͢Ẕ͓̟͇̙̞̖͘ͅZ̴̧̪̩͉Z͕͍̭͔̪̻̗͎͜͞Z̸͏̘̺͔̥̞̤̰Z̢̛̹̻͔͝Z̤̻͔͍̜͘͟ͅZ̰͉̯̠̪̳̫͝ͅM̛҉̘͉A̢̹̼̼̞͉̫͔̥͘͝A̦̞͉͜͢͝A̛̫̕͢A̴̛҉̥̜̲̳A̷̠͍͕̕͞ͅÁ̝̬͎̘̘̗͙A̴̲̮̼̯͟͜A̛͍̼̕A̢̙̥͈̰A̹̥̲͙̥̯̹̬͟A̶̷̪̝̻͚̯͓͔A͙̣͙̝̺͠A̧͉͈̜̳̰͞A͉̪̙̳̳̻͜͠A̺͖͇͢A̴̳͚͕͉̙̼Ạ͉͚̫̩̣̭A̧̙̤͡!̭̳̮̞̥͎̜͞!̰̫̱̞̝͟>̩" it howls, its voice pure rage, pure hate, pure anguish.\n\n"We can't hold it!" Blake calls desperately, bracing her feet harder against the train roof.\n\n"Dammit! Dee!" Qrow calls as he collapses Clockwork Dirge and dashes forward, both older men racing towards the pair. Dee almost stumbles when Qrow leaps and twists and becomes a blackbird in midair, but actually gathers himself quickly as Qrow soars around the Grimm's back, dipping through the air to dodge the snake. Dee grabs hold of Blake's side of the ribbon and hauls down even as Qrow resumes his own form and grips with Yang, both of them straining... and both grunting as the Grimm's next thrash almost pulls all four of them from the train roof.\n\n"What the hell is this thing?!" Dee calls in a half-panicked voice, straining alongside Blake to keep it still. "I've never seen a Grimm this strong!"\n\n"It shouldn't be this strong!" Qrow snaps back as he and Yang throw their entire bodies against it just to haul it a bit closer to the rooftop.\n\n"<Ọ̢̧̠͟Z̛̻̣̟̲Z̼̪͈͎͟͢Ẕ͓̟͇̙̞̖͘ͅZ̴̧̪̩͉Z͕͍̭͔̪̻̗͎͜͞Z̸͏̘̺͔̥̞̤̰Z̢̛̹̻͔͝Z̤̻͔͍̜͘͟ͅZ̰͉̯̠̪̳̫͝ͅM̛҉̘͉A̢̹̼̼̞͉̫͔̥͘͝A̦̞͉͜͢͝A̛̫̕͢A̴̛҉̥̜̲̳A̷̠͍͕̕͞ͅÁ̝̬͎̘̘̗͙A̴̲̮̼̯͟͜A̛͍̼̕A̢̙̥͈̰A̹̥̲͙̥̯̹̬͟A̶̷̪̝̻͚̯͓͔A͙̣͙̝̺͠A̧͉͈̜̳̰͞A͉̪̙̳̳̻͜͠A̺͖͇͢A̴̳͚͕͉̙̼Ạ͉͚̫̩̣̭A̧̙̤͡!̭̳̮̞̥͎̜͞!̰̫̱̞̝͟>̩"\n\nThough each time you've heard the beast's miserably hateful shriek of your friend's name you've felt an existential terror slip down your spine, you haven't been idle. Crackling energy has extended from the tines and formed a sphere in front of the barrel, and you work the side-grip along with a control to send a charge of Fire dust into it, a miniature firestorm birthing itself inside, then crackling with yellow and purple jags of power as you inject a shot of Lightning Dust. A shot of Water Dust turns the whirling energy inside the forcefield into a miniature ball of sun, a roiling space storm of plasma held a few feet from your face. The last shot of Gravity Dust wraps itself around all of it and sucks it down into a tiny, crackling black-purple orb no bigger than a baseball, the field contracting to match it.\n\n'I should say something heroic,' you think suddenly. 'Something inspiring.'\n\n"Hey ASSHOLE!" you shout to it.\n\nThe Grimm whips its head to face you, its shriek this time one of wordless hate and fury before its maw gapes open, a firestorm of its own building there.\n\n"You made me send away my Rainbow," you hiss, pulling Big Ugly Bastard's trigger.\n\nThe tiny black ball fwips towards the Grimm so fast you almost don't even see it go. But you see the disruption in the building fireball in its mouth, and then the enormous explosion of mingling energies that rocks its entire body and sends its now headless neck flopping about wildly. Its body slams to the train roof as deadweight just before dissipating, Gambol Shroud's variable ribbon drifting loose before Blake yanks the main weapon back to her hand.\n\n"We did it!" Ruby calls, pumping a fist in the air.\n\n"Wait, the Grimm, what are they doing?!" Oscar shouts a second later.\n\nThe remainder of the pack that had form seems suddenly possessed of a furious, singular will, twisting through the air like a flock of migratory birds and coming down not at the roof of the train... but at the front of it. Weiss's eyes open wide before she stabs Myrtenaster into the roof, more black anchoring circles appearing below each of you just before the Grimm's suicide rush slams home. The train lurches upward under the first heavy impacts, then rises and twists almost as if the dying Grimm were a ramp, the monsters not dissipating fast enough to keep the train from derailing and twisting, slamming down on the short cliffside dropoff below.\n\n'Oh shit,' is the last thought you have as you see the tree branch coming at you.\n\nYou come to... you don't think it's very much later, but it's hard to tell, you feel logey and numb from being mostly buried in snow, little more than the ears of your hood peeking out. You lift your head just a little, enough to spot a pair of... beaded moccasins. You tilt your eyes further up, wondering if you're dead and in some particularly odd waiting room for the next world or just hallucinating from oncoming hypothermia. The tiny, brown-skinned woman in front of you certainly looks like she could be some society's particularly odd and endearing escort to the afterlife, with her blue poncho, beaded necklace with skull ornament, the cane she's leaning on topped with a larger and even more elaborate painted skull, the large solid-lensed cybereyes taking up most of her face glowing cyan in the afternoon light.\n\n"I wouldn't move if I were you, dear," she says almost cheerfully in a voice that's both a croak and a chirp. "You're in a bit of a bad way."\n\n"Bad way? Huh?" you mutter, trying to push yourself up... then feeling pain intense pain shoot through your whole body through your front, the only reason you don't collapse being the muscle spasm that rolls you over, revealing an awful lot of red snow beneath you and the shredded skin along your front, what bits of it are intact swollen and dark purple with intensely broken ribs, one of your arms both slashed and broken hard enough that the massive rent in the black fabric reveals bone sticking through the skin. "FUUUUCK!" you howl with the pain. 'Niobe's coat!' the back of your brain adds in dismay.\n\n"Told you," the old woman says, grimly this time.\n\n"Kai!" you hear Ruby's voice cry, and footsteps pounding through the snow before her concerned face appears above you, silver eyes darting back and forth. "Okay, okay, stay calm, stay calm, we can do something," she whispers, though you think it might be to herself, her normally bright and childlike face having gone deadly serious.\n\n"I'm sorry," Weiss sobs from somewhere nearby. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."\n\nYang curses softly, and you think 'Language,' as Dee blurts that you all have to do something, Reese swearing constantly in a watery, almost broken voice as she audibly rummages in her bag. Then Ruby's being shoved away, Grey's face replacing hers in your field of vision, twisted with concern and desperation. "Kai? Kai, listen to me, focus, you have to tell me where your beacon is, I don't have time to search for it and I can't get you up to use mine, so focus, focus, where's your beacon?' \n\n'He's pretty,' you think with a little smile, the way your vision is dimming around the edges making the snowy white sky look like a halo surrounding his soft black hair and perfect feline ears. 'Like an angel.'\n\n"All of you shut up," snaps the old woman's voice, though it's steely now. Grey actually falls back as if shocked, disappearing from your view, and a moment later you're looking up at those cyan cybereyes peering down at you, the wizened, leathery brown face bent over your head. "Young lady. Now I may be blind, but you don't look to me like someone that is going to die today. So why don't you just take a moment and focus on what you do want to do, hm?" \n\n'What I... want to do?' It's hard to focus, but it seems a fair enough request, so you give it a try, why not. 'I guess... I want to see Grey's face again for a start, but I don't want him to look sad like that. ... Or Ruby either, she always looks cutest when she's laughing. I want Weiss to stop crying. I want to finally read the books Blake suggests to me, and I want to tease her about them with Yang. I want to give Jaune a hug. I want to eat Ren's pancakes with Nora, and play with Reese for hours after even though I'm so stuffed it hurts. I want Qrow to bum my cigarettes and pay with stories. I wanna hear Oscar's flustered farmboy noises and see that look in his eyes when I tell him he's done good, and I want Ozma to tell me he's proud of me again. I want to see Niobe again, and hear her say she's proud of me too. I want to see Ico again, and I want her to hug me and call me hers. I want to make a home for Zee, and have her there when I come home to it. ... I wanna be with my Rainbow, forever and always.'\n\nYou close your eyes, a tear slipping down your blood-smeared cheek. 'I wanna live.'\n\n"By all that's holy," Grey hisses from your side as your Aura crackles to life, a liquid static blaze of scarlet playing across your torso. Tattered, torn skin edges back together, little flaps of it slipping back into place and rejoining each other like a puzzle, the swelling and discoloration of internal bleeding as your ribs return to their proper shape along your sides. You draw in a deep breath, no longer feeling the slow, crushing weight of blood filling your lungs. The broken bone slips back into your skin, which fills in after it, even the slashed and tattered threads of your coat and top seeking out their mates and rejoining each other, rents in the garments pulling themselves closed. You sit up, blinking, and he stares at you for a moment before hurling himself against you and wrapping his arms around you, actually trembling a little. "... Kai... ... Kai..."\n\n"Hey," you whisper back, smiling against his shoulder as you pet his hair a bit.\n\n"Even her clothes healed?" Yang whispers with a slack jaw.\n\n"I've never seen a healing Semblance like that," Qrow murmurs, his red eyes a little wide, and his hands slowly stopping shaking.\n\n"Nor," Ozma adds, quirking an eyebrow. "Have I."\n\n"Huh." You look down at yourself as Grey draws back, quickly wiping his face with his palm. You pat down your front a few times, glance at your arm, then shrug a little. "Guess I heal good and fast now."\n\n"That's a bit more than 'good'," Dee notes, a look of near-incomprehension on his face. As Grey is getting up and offering you a hand, the 'outsider' Hunstman looks at the old woman curiously. "How'd you know?"\n\n"Didn't. She just has the look of a survivor, is all," she declares happily, following it up with a short cackle.\n\n"I'm okay, guys. I kind of thought I had one of those Semblance things that healed me, after what happened after I got here," you say with a glance around, seeing smiling faces now except for one... and trying not to frown as Weiss looks away, seemingly ashamed to meet your eyes. "I guess I needed to sort of kickstart it or something this time."\n\n"It is like that sometimes," Ozma notes with a nod. "Semblances are usually a reflection of the soul, in some way. Thus while they can be present from birth... or even before... it is not uncommon for them to exist in a more slight or passive form until the proper impetus is given to them. It would appear that our new acquaintance has helped you find that impetus," he adds with a glance.\n\n"Maria Calavera, pleased to meet you. Lovely day for a stroll, hmmm?" she declares with another cackle, the lids of her cybereyes twitching a little.\n\n"Thanks for the help. Also what the hell are you doing out here?"\n\n"Hmmmm? I was on my way to Mantle via Argus for maintenance, of course, these have been acting up lately," she replies, raising a hand to point at her face as the lenses twitched again, as well as revolving in different directions at different speeds. "... Oh you meant on the back part of the traaaaain," she continues as most of the group stares at her. "Hey, you can't expect an old woman to get up from the nice comfy spot she's found for herself just because a lot of noisy young people have started shouting they're going to cut the train in half, can you?"\n\nYang rolls her eyes, turning and heading for where her motorcycle Bumblebee has wound up spilling out of the storage car and into the snow, gripping the handlebars and trying to haul it free. "Great. We're stranded out here in the middle of nowhere with a little old woman who couldn't be bothered to evacuate to the front of the train, and is going blind on us," she grunts amidst several tugs.\n\n"Here, let me help," Dee declares hurriedly, half-jogging over to her and leaning down to grip near the rear fender.\n\nThe blonde shoots him a glance, annoyance flashing in her eyes, before she visibly reins it in and instead says, "Thanks. Okay, on three."\n\n"Uh ma'am?" Reese steps up to Maria, her voice different than usual. Not necessarily gentler, but more respectful, maybe. "I could maybe have a look at your eyes if you'd be okay with that and see if there's anything I could do? I'm not a cybernetics specialist but I've studied what I can and I know a lot about tech."\n\nMaria seems to size Reese up for a moment. "You from down near Baoula way, girl?"\n\n"Yessum thizyeeah gull frumma swom yessum," Reese almost croaks back, actually making you jump a little and stare at her.\n\nMaria laughs, a bit more gentle and warm than the cackle of before, and replies in a similar tone, albeit a bit smoother and with a different cadence. "Din yoo beh lookinat deze peepins, gehl." She chuckles a little again as Reese, grinning herself, fishes a roll of tools out of her hoodie pocket.\n\n"Ozma, is Oscar okay?" you ask in a whisper after shaking your head at the little exchange, stepping over to him after giving Grey one last pat on the shoulder, the feline Faunus now as composed and casual-seeming as ever.\n\n"He is. He is a bit overwhelmed and mentally exhausted, and therefore allowed me to step back to the fore," Ozma replis just as quietly. He glances about, then says at normal volume, "We are very glad you are alright, Miss Sterling, but now we must turn our attention to the situation. Everyone, begin searching the area for our things or anything that might be of use, we have a long journey ahead of us."\n\nAs the others start to disperse though, Weiss steps up, finally daring to look at your face, blue eyes watery. "Kai I am so sorry, all I wanted to do was make sure that we wouldn't get thrown off, but that tree-"\n\n"Weiss, you've got nothing to be sorry about, okay?" you reply, resting your hands on her shoulders. "You made the right call, 100%."\n\nShe winces, her voice somewhere between outraged and miserable as she replies, "How can you call it 100%? You got hurt! You almost died!"\n\n"And if you hadn't done it, everyone would probably have been thrown from the train and either hurt worse or died." You frown a little, leaning in. "You made the right call, Weiss. It still would have been the right call even if I had died. Just because it didn't work perfectly doesn't mean it wasn't the right decision."\n\n"... But I have to be perfect," Weiss whispers, looking down at the snow.\n\n"Do I have to be?" you ask. She looks up at you and blinks, opening her mouth, closing it. "Does Ruby have to be perfect? Does Jaune?" Once Weiss has slowly, almost hesitantly shaken her head, you add, "Then why should you have to be?"\n\nWeiss stares at you for a moment. Then takes a breath, closes her eyes, lets it out. Opens her eyes, and nods. "Okay. ... Thank you."\n\n"No big. Let's all get this done, okay?"\n\nAs Weiss heads off to join the others in searching the crash site for usable items, you withdraw a bit with Grey. "Pretty wild shit, Red," he murmurs, before adding in a softer voice, "Glad you're okay. You are okay, right?"\n\n"Yeah, think so. Thanks, Grey." You give him a warm smile and a squeeze on the arm, then say, "One second." Closing your eyes, you concentrate as best you can. Ilia?\n\nKai? Ilia's mental voice is distant, almost more like the memory of her speaking than the actuality. Is everyone okay?\n\nYeah, how about over there?\n\nWe're all alright, the Grimm have left us alone. Ren's resting up in case he has to hide us again. I think we're getting to the maximum distance of the psycomms, she adds, as indeed even her mental voice starts to crackle.\n\nOkay. We're gonna start making our way to Argus as best we can. Stay safe, keep the others safe, and listen to Jaune, you add.\n\nokay she just barely manages to send back.\n\n"Pretty sure Ilia just went out of pyscomm range. They're Makarzian tech, not Guild, after all," you sigh.\n\n"She got a Makarzian comm on her?"\n\n"No, most of the gang stopped using them, we got worried that if the Street Demons were that good at tracing calls they might start hunting individual comms next. I've only got my Guild-rated comm on me because I needed it in case I had to do stuff for them."\n\nGrey snorts. "And the only other person on the planet with a Guild-attuned comm is standing two feet from you." He frowns now as he stares into the slowly thickening snow. "It's pretty bad, Red."\n\n"Yeah." You glance over your shoulder at the rest of the group, who's acting more like they've been mildly inconvenienced on a bus trip. "Do they not get that?"\n\n"People on Remnant, especially Huntsmen and Huntresses, have to just kind of roll with everything," Grey replies with a shrug. "Acting like stuff isn't a big deal even if it is can help keep you from panicking, especially if it is bad." He purses his lips. "I've got enough food and rations that if we keep everyone in enough calories to operate at fighting capacity in this snow... which they have to be able to... that it can cover us for maybe three days."\n\n"I've probably got the same," you answer with a bob of the head. "Figure at least another two from whatever's in the train?"\n\n"Yeah, probably, maybe five or six if the company was smart and considerate enough to actually load the cars with emergency gear and everyone else was smart enough to have high-density ration bars," he replies, glancing towards the crashed, now partially snowed-in train cars.\n\n"So we figure six days at worst case scenario, twelve at best. Can we get to Argus in that time?"\n\n"Not in six. Ten maybe. If the weather doesn't get too bad and we don't run into too many Grimm. And no one gets hurt. And we don't have to stop to bury the old woman."\n\nYou make a bit of a face at him, then sigh. "I'm not liking the number of variables we're looking at here."\n\n"Same."\n\nYou glance towards the group again, Reese now using her goggles to peer into an open panel on Maria's eyes, Blake and Dee putting snow chains on Bumblebee as Yang fiddles with something in the engine compartment, Ruby gathering up scattered unused ammo. Then you look back at Grey. "How many guest passes you got?"\n\nHe glances as well, then looks back at you. "Four," he says, simply, not bothering to ask why.\n\n"Okay." You nod once, turning that over in your head, before saying, "Things get real bad, I want you to take Ruby, Oscar, Reese, and Blake, and beacon back to the Guildhall with them. Do what you think is best from there."\n\nHe nods slowly. "And you'll stick it out here with the others?"\n\n"Yeah."\n\n"Alright. ... Why Blake?" he asks, as if just needing to be sure.\n\n"Because I damn well know you wouldn't leave without her, that's why." You give him a lopsided grin, and can't quite keep it there as your eyes fill with a little terror. "Grey... back on the train... did you-"\n\n"Yeah," he whispers, a visible shudder running through his body as his ears lay flat. "I heard it."\n\n"The others didn't, did they?"\n\n"Pretty sure they'd have said something before now if they had. And I didn't see any of them react to it the way we did."\n\nYou frown. "... Could it be our translators? I mean, Guild-quality translators will pick up almost any language."\n\n"Grimm don't have language, Kai, they're mindless monsters of hate and misery," Grey huffs, scowling.\n\n"Yeah well they know his name at least," you murmur, glancing over at Ozma who's similarly helping with the scavenging, though he seems to be looking more intently for something. You notice the Relic of Knowledge lacking from Oscar's belt, which probably explains it. "And that last charge didn't seem mindless at all."\n\n"... Salem?" Grey murmurs, looking uncomfortable even saying the name.\n\n"Makes sense. Either there's some shit about her that Oz still isn't telling us..." You purse your lips as you watch him move. "Or some shit he doesn't know, and I'm not sure which is scarier."\n\n"Oz-... -car!" Ruby calls as she rushes up, obviously amending herself as she remembers that there are two people not 'in the know' among you now. "Look, I found it!" she declares, happily holding out the artifact to him.\n\n"Excellent, Miss Rose, thank you," Ozma says, his measured voice nevertheless release as he accepts the lamp back almost tenderly. He looks at it for several moments, before proffering it back. "But why don't you go ahead and hold on to it for awhile?"\n\n"Oh? Really?" Ruby blinks. "Are you sure?"\n\n"Yes. Though... I... am coming along nicely in my Huntsman training," he adds, flicking his own eyes briefly towards Maria and Dee. "I am only capable of so much. Considering its special ability, a much more capable fighter should likely be carrying it. ... Please be careful with her, Miss Rose," he adds softly as he presses the lamp back into Ruby's hands.\n\n"Okay. Sure. I promise," Ruby says a little softly, clipping the artifact to her belt.\n\n"Uh. Yang?" Reese calls as you and Grey move to rejoin her, the blonde wandering over a moment later. "I reeeeeally hate to ask you this but I kinda uh... I kinda need a part from your arm."\n\nYang blinks at that, frowning deeply the next instant. "A part? What part?"\n\n"I sorta need the... minute motion compensation calibrator."\n\n"Wait, what would not having that do to Yang's arm?" Blake asks with a frown as she arrives to stand beside her.\n\n"Uh. Well. You'd lose some fine movement control," Reese admits, wincing visibly. "Aaaand you'd have to be really careful about picking stuff up 'cause if you move too fast your hand will clench and you won't be able to control your strength. I can rig up a replacement part from scroll bits when we get somewhere safe enough to have downtime!" she hurries even more than usual to add. "Though uh admittedly it still might be just a tad glitchy but not in such an extreme way and I'd never ask but uh..." She glances at Maria, then at Blake and Yang again. "The calibrator in Miss Calavera's eyes is gonna fail in like a day."\n\nYang purses her lips in something that's part scowl and part pout. "How come you can't just rig up the replacement part for her eyes? No offense," she adds in obvious afterthought to Maria.\n\n"Mm-hm-hm," Maria softly mock-chuckles, as if not having yet decided whether she was going to take offense or not.\n\nReese gives a strained smile. "Uh basically 'cause... optical nerves? I mean if the jury-rigged replacement glitches on you your fingers will twitch for a few seconds but if it glitches on her it's gonna be... um... like a two-hour migraine. ... M'sorry Yang."\n\nSome of the others have gathered now, though you wish they hadn't considering Yang doesn't need the pressure of an audience for this. She huffs a little, then looks at Ruby. "Well, you're our leader, sis, what should I do?"\n\n"Yang, I'm not going to give you an order like that," Ruby replies, silver eyes widening a little.\n\n"Yeah, well, what do you think I should do?"\n\n"... You know what I'd do," Ruby whispers back.\n\nYang regards her for a moment, then looks at Maria, the mischief and delight dropped off her face, just a solemn mask clearly meant not to provoke one response or another... ruined only by her eyes twitching and whirling again. "Yeah," the blonde says with a sigh, sliding the sleeve part of her glove off of her right arm and pressing on a panel to undo the latch. "I guess I just needed the reminder it's what I'd do too." She frowns a little though as Reese carefully uses a pair of tweezers to extract what looks like a thin silver chip, Yang's fingers twitching in response. "But are the parts really that common that you can just switch 'em like this?"\n\n"Most of this stuff is 100% custom akshally," Reese replies even as she turns to Maria and starts carefully negotiating the part into the open panel at the side. "Same as your arm. I knew the moment I opened up Miss Calavera's eyes that they were made by the same fri-, uh, the same genius."\n\n"Ohhhh, you're the beneficiary of Pietro's work too, then?" Maria declares, her eyes lighting up... literally, the glow getting a bit brighter as the lids right themselves, becoming perfectly symmetrical and giving a few minor, synced motions as they apparently realign themselves. "You must be something special, then, dearie! ... Hm, alright, no offense taken," she adds with a bob of the head, as if satisfied.\n\n"Uh. Thanks, I guess?" Yang glances down at her arm as she closes it back up. "Is it that big of a deal? I mean it was a big deal to me, yeah," she hurries to add. "But I thought they were just something the Atlas military had laying around for their soldiers."\n\n"If it's Pietro's work, dearie, someone went to him and very personally asked for his help with it," Maria declares, voice going a bit solemn. "You are the beneficiary of one of the finest minds this world has to offer. While he's always been as generous with his gifts as his budget and time allow, if it's a Huntress grade piece of work? No, you went to the top of the list, for whatever reason."\n\nYang stares at her hand for a long moment, very carefully closing and opening it several times. Then she frowns and lifts her gaze back to Maria. "So what does that make you?"\n\nMaria chuckles, tapping her cane against the side of her cybereyes. "Old."\n\nYang rolls her eyes a bit, before being interrupted from whatever she was going to say as Dee comes back to join the group, thumping a heavy pack down. "I got everything I could out of the train after checking the cargo manifests and going through some of the bags. The medical supplies and heat packs were mostly okay, but uh..." He rubs the back of his head. "Looks like the company stored the disinfectant in glass bottles. It broke in the crash and shredded the food pouches."\n\n"Wonderful," Qrow growls, as you and Grey exchange a glance. "Just wonderful. Hope everyone brought ration bars like I told you."\n\nThere's a chorus of 'yes', even including Dee and Maria of all people. "Grey and I have some full-on meal packs too, we're figuring enough to keep us all in fighting shape for maybe six days just on that. What's everyone got on them personally?"\n\nPeople start rattling off their various personal stashes of survival sustenance. You're a little surprised that Dee's is so extensive, but then you remember he makes this run a lot... even if he seems a bit dim most of the time, the idea of the train breaking down or somehow otherwise getting stranded must have occurred to him. It takes you a moment to realize that one person hasn't spoken. "Qrow, what's up? Didn't forget your own advice, did you?"\n\n"Uh, no, I know I visted the store before we left. Uh, lemme see... it's uh... hrm..." Qrow is a little bit too showy about checking his pockets as if he'd just forgotten, finally starting to pull out a slender high-density bar. "Oh yeah, see? Probably the rest fell out when I-" As he says it, he tugs just a little too hard, and a stream of plastic containers rain into the snow, sloshing a bit with liquid. "Uh, oops, but I guess I just bought too many liquid nutrients, but I'll-"\n\n"Liquid nutrients, huh?" Grey had slipped away from you and behind Qrow at some point, and quickly bends to snatch up one of the wobbly plastic minibags, Qrow reflexively giving a halfhearted snatching motion at it. Grey looks at it for a moment, then gives Qrow a mild look of disdain before tossing it against his chest, the red-eyed human clapping a hand to his shirt to catch it. "It's not even a half-decent brand, Qrow."\n\n"Oh shut up, who the hell asked y-"\n\n"Unca Qrow," Ruby whispers, her voice firm.\n\nQrow winces, turning his head from Grey to the others. Most of them are looking at him rather harshly, Ruby and Yang expecially having their gazes fixed directly on his face.\n\n"We're gonna have one of those long talks when we get the chance," Yang adds.\n\n"Oh goody," he mutters, shoulders slumping.\n\n"Uh." Dee clears his throat, glancing up. "A-anyway, there's not a lot of daylight left and the snow seems like it's gonna get thicker. Should we shelter for the night in the train cars, do you think? We could clear one out, make a fire, start out in the morning."\n\nQrow seems eager for the distraction, and just as eager to dismiss Dee's suggestion, then frowns and clearly makes himself think about it. After a moment, though, he shakes his head. "No. The Grimmtrain's dissipated now but we can't risk some stragglers stumbling on us in the night. Better to take our chances moving on ahead."\n\n"There's a trail over there," Maria announces, gesturing, drawing all your eyes. "Trails usually lead somewhere."\n\n"... Good idea," Yang says after a second, nodding. "The snow's not as bad there. I can ride Bumblebee at the lead, carry the heavier packages... it should make a break in the snow that will make it easier for everyone to walk."\n\n"Single file, yeah," Qrow grunts. "There's things other than Grimm out here, things that know how to read a trail, best not make too big a one." \n\n"Well that's helpful to the mood," Maria huffs.\n\n"Ma'am?" Reese steps forward, holding up Lioncub. "I know it might not be the comfiest thing in the world but I can rig up my board to float higher. You could sit on it and we could tether it to let Yang pull you so you don't have to walk in the snow."\n\n"I'm pretty capable of walking when I need to, missy," Maria assures her, then smiles. "... But damn if my hip isn't giving me some trouble in this cold, so thank you. Your parents must be very proud of you."\n\nYou wish you could have told Maria that saying almost anything else would have been better, because you see Reese give just the tiniest bit of a wince, and murmur a far less enthusiastic, "Yeah maybe," before starting to rig up the tether.\n\nYou and Grey do some search and recovery of your own stuff as the others get ready to go, Dee and Yang working to affix the heavy pack filled with all-weather blankets and medical supplies to the back of her bike, while the others get ready to move out, Ruby and Weiss quietly starting to examine maps on Weiss's expanded scroll in an attempt to locate a landmark that might indicate where all of you are. "What I wouldn't do for a GPS. Haven't you people heard of satellites?" you note a little bitterly, and at their blank stares at you, you glance up at the sky and spot the shattered, enormous moon starting to rise in the late afternoon light. "Oh. Yeah. Right."\n\n"The old woman's right, it's a path for sure," Grey informs you as he trudges up, apparently having roamed ahead again after giving Qrow something to chew on. "Someone packed the earth into a dirt road at some point, but it hasn't been maintained in a long time."\n\nYou frown. "I thought they didn't exactly do 'country life' in Remnant?"\n\n"People try sometimes. Set up new little independent settlements, or even personal ones. If you have good emotional control, a few decent weapons, and an early warning net, you can live for a pretty long while without needing 'civilization's' protection."\n\n"But you said it hasn't been maintained."\n\n"Could be they just decided it wasn't worth it and moved on," Grey allowed, shrugging. "The pessimist in me says it's not likely, but it doesn't look like the road's been torn up by any desperate fleeing, so there might be a chance. Honestly from what I heard back in the day, more independent settlements fall to people getting tired of that life than getting slaughtered by the Grimm."\n\n"Mm. Okay. Scout ahead but not too far. Take Blake with you, if it's okay with Ruby." With that you turn and walk back the short distance to Qrow, who's in the midst of stuffing the little plastic packs in his pocket. You were prepared to think maybe everyone else was overreacting, that he just made one bad decision... one mistake, as Ozma would say... but the guilty look on his face as he's caught doing it speaks volumes. Just pleas dragon don't let him say-\n\n"Hey, it's still a liquid and we might need those, right?" he rasps with a too-casual shrug. "Besides, worse comes to worse we might need the disinfectant, since the stuff in the kits broke."\n\nSilently, you hold a hand out palm up, your face a neutral mask.\n\n"Oh c'mon Kai we've been drinking together," Qrow snorts. "Don't tell me you're going all-"\n\n"You bought boozepacks instead of ration bars when we were going through a wasteland, Qrow," you whisper.\n\nHe stares at you for several silent moments. Then his red eyes drop from yours, and he slides his hand back out of his pocket, thumping them down in your hand.\n\n"... Flask."\n\nFor just a second anger flares on his face, and you can see him start to make another excuse, snap at you, demand to know who the hell you are to come into his life, make demands of him, his eyes meeting yours again.\n\nHe sees the shimmering there, the betrayal, the disappointment, and goes silent. Then slides the flask out of his pocket and sets it atop the packs in your hand.\n\nMaybe he realized that you've seen this destroy people before.\n\n"Thank you," you murmur, trying to keep your voice from cracking. You tuck the boozepacks into an exterior pocket, and the flask in the smaller interior one. The secure one. "Okay, let's go."\n\n"Yeah," he rasps miserably.\n\nYour group trudges after Yang's bike as it makes a slow, steady path in the several feet of snow, Maria sitting on the sideways hoverboard being pulled along behind it at an angle like a three day old party balloon. Everyone's silent, partly to avoid drawing any Grimm or other wildlife, partly to avoid discussing the uncomfortable subjects recently shoved in their faces. You can see Yang tense ahead and hold up her hand, fist clenching hard, then giving a more awkward 'all clear'. "It's Blake and Grey."\n\nThe two feline Faunus emerge from the snow, hugging themselves a bit as they move past Yang to where you and Ruby are clustered on either side of Lioncub's tether cable. "We found an abandoned settlement, but it's a little... odd."\n\n"It's too perfect," Grey grunts. "Remember how I said the road didn't show signs of a panic or an attack? Neither does the town."\n\n"So they abandoned it because they got tired of life here, like you said," you prompt.\n\n"Maybe." Ruby frowns, glancing at the scouts, then at you. "But every abandoned village that I've seen that wasn't attacked was incomplete. How's this one?"\n\n"Looks pretty damn complete," Grey admits with a tilted bob of the head. "Could use an exterior wall like they do in Eastern Mistral, but I heard once they don't like those out in the north, the wind's too likely to blow them down."\n\n"Speaking of the wind, it's getting worse," Qrow grunts, hugging himself as well as he steps forward. "So unless there's any obvious threats, we should make for it."\n\n"One second." You turn and call, "Dee!"\n\n"Yeah!" the big man calls back, hurrying up almost instantly, seeming practically eager.\n\nYou withdraw Big Ugly Bastard from your coat again, waiting for the hand-mode to finish before clapping them into basher form, then proffer it to him. "Here, take my backup."\n\n"H-hey, I can't do that," Dee says, holding up his hands and shaking his head. "I know you guys may think I'm a joke of a Huntsman, but even I know better than to take someone else's weapon."\n\nBefore you can say anything, Qrow rasps out, "Whatever I or anyone else thinks of you, you are a Huntsman, Dee. Which means you need a weapon."\n\n"Yeah, so unless you're particularly attached to Redneck Katana there," you note, nodding your head at the rebar shoved through his belt. "Just take the loaner."\n\n"Uh?" Dee looks a little confused at your appelation for his improvised weapon, then nods a bit. "Thanks," he murmurs as he accepts the large, ungainly thing, sounding a mixture of honored and frustrated. You can guess why... more debt to add to his total. \n\n"Keep it to one of the melee modes unless you really have to," you note. "Rifle mode is finnicky, complicated, and needs lots of practice."\n\n"Got it."\n\nWith everyone except Maria armed (though you can't help but notice what looks an awful lot like a folding blade tucked into that cane of hers, so maybe everyone), the group continues on towards the settlement. Soon you can see buildings starting to take shape in the snow and mist ahead, and the relief everyone feels is palpable. Yours is sort of muted, though. You're not even sure why, something just feels... off. Everyone else seems to have perked up and gotten a bit straighter-backed at the sight of intact shelter, but you're actually feeling a little more drained, like you were suddenly just a bit more tired.\n\n"Kai?" Ruby drops away from the rest as you slow, stopping and looking at you in concern. "Is something wrong?"\n\n"Maybe. Something feels... off," you murmur, rolling your shoulders. "I dunno, it's like there's... static... in my head. Not a lot, really faint, but it's weird."\n\nRuby frowns a bit more. "Head-static? That's pretty weird. But maybe you're just tired. Check your Aura."\n\n"Yeah, good point." Sighing, you slip your scroll out and extend it, glancing. "Huh. Higher than I thought. Way higher."\n\n"Maybe it's just your Aura replenishing then," Ruby suggests, concern clearly warring with her desire to get inside.\n\n"Yeah." You make a 'go on' gesture, just watching your Aura level for a moment... then frowning as it dips a percent bfore rising back up. Huh?\n\n<hr>\n[[Say something.|KaiRem7x2]]\n\n[[Brush it off.|KaiRem]]

Good ol' bounty hunting. One of the best ways to make a reputation for yourself in the Guild and even beyond, since it's widely viewed as the coolest and sexiest mercenary sub-profession. So let's see who's decided they'll go to jail (or the afterlife) tired. Or, who needs something and wants someone else to go get it for them, but eh, it's mostly bounty hunting in here, usually.\n\n[[Comet Lion|LeoNovaStart]] - Now this is interesting. The 'client' field is the G.I.P.S.E. itself. That doesn't happen, which means that this Comet Lion guy must be a former Guild member that trespassed against the Guild rules. Considering the size of the bounty, and the fact that he's listed as Dead or Alive (with Alive having a bonus, but not a very big one), it must have been one heck of a trespass.\n\n[[Art Piece Retrieval|LeoCatStart]] - Apparently some wealthy collector has identified the locations of several art objects made by a fallen civilization on a "Savage" world. It's only a C-rank job, but the pay's good and you think you could do it fairly quickly, especially since the locations of the artifacts have already been marked for you.\n\n[[Search and Rescue|LeoMariStart]] - Looks like some private company is funding a search and rescue operation for people left behind by the government in a disaster area. Openings are divided into 'Search Specialists' and 'Combat Support', and it looks like almost all of the Search Specialist slots are filled, which probably means they're waiting for more Combat Support applicants so they can be paired together. Well you're not a bad tracker yourself, but sounds like if you want to actually get to work on that one, signing up as Combat Support is the way to go.

There's really no such thing as being "too careful" when dealing with the Pervcursors. You dig around in your dimensional pockets for a smoke cannister, thumping the activation switch against your leg before tossing it down the stairs.\n\nIt spins and twists as it bounces down, and you can already see that the faintly glowing pink mist is helping outline faint bulges on the stairs. Then it apparently lands right on one of those because you see something faintly amber-colored shoot upwards, wrapping the cannister in something faintly gooey-looking attached to a long pillar of the stuff. The cannister rapidly dissolves, and the stuff retracts into the hidden mine. Yeaaah you're gonna bet these... goo mines?... probably dissolve clothing and gear and stuff. Friggin' Pervcursors.\n\nAsizu marked the mines you saw for you, so you descend carefully, avoiding them and occasionally throwing another smoke cannister down ahead of you. It takes you a fair amount of time to actually get to the bottom of the stairs that way, but you do it without getting goo-mined which you feel is the really important thing here. At the foot of the stairs is a hallway about twenty feet wide, and of course you check it similarly (glowsmoke grenades aren't exactly expensive and when you prepped for Pervcursor ruins you brought plenty). One of the grenades hits directly on a mine again, and this time you see it get covered over in some sort of faintly-glowing force field before it's disintegrated in a second. 'How nice that they mixed up the traps so it's not boring,' you think dryly as you continue on down the hallway.\n\nThe hallway opens up into a slightly larger, still rectangular room that still looks a bit further on the 'ancient dungeon' than 'supertech precursors' side, since it's made of stone blocks. Though the lights are obviously some kind of tech, they still have a somewhat torchlike aesthetic, with angled bars sticking out from the walls and the cylinder-shaped lights at the top shedding a sort of yellow-orangey light. The room seems built around a long, rectangular pool of blue liquid(?) that looks about four or maybe five feet deep, assuming it's not playing any visual tricks. The areas to walk by on either side of it are rather thin, but hardly terrible to navigate, you doubt you'd even have to duck under the mock-torches. And considering where you are, a pool of blue liquid (no you're definitely betting it's goo now that you've thought a bit more about it) is almost certainly some really weird, really lewd trap.\n\n... On the other hand the sheer obviousness of it kind of gives you pause. The whole room basically screams "don't touch the pool", which you can't help but think maybe that means touching the pool is the safer path. In fact you can see now that there are stairs at either short end of it that would allow you to walk right in. What if the pool is actually the safe path and the stretches to the side of it are so thoroughly-laden with traps you'd never avoid them all?\n\nBut then what if that's what they want you to think?\n\nAgh! This is part of the frustration of knowing how devious these bastards were! You've absolutely heard about their traps being designed around playing mind games, so it could be either one! ... Hell it could be both and maybe they had some other way around it. You guess you could use your grapple launcher to swing yourself over it to the other side, that would avoid the whole issue, though you'd be taking a chance with your landing spot.\n\nHrm. How to handle this?\n\n<hr>\n[[Go around the pool.|ChiPerv]]\n\n[[Go through the pool.|ChiPerv2x1]]\n\n[[Look for an alternative.|ChiPerv1x3]]\n\n[[Swing over.|ChiPerv]]

Maybe there's a forcefield bridge or something, you muse as you start carefully looking around in the area near the doorway. Don't want to set off any traps while you're trying to avoid traps, after all.\n\nEventually you find a stone on the wall that seems to be a bit different than the others. After a few careful pokes and prods to make sure it doesn't set anything off, you give it a press, and it slides further into the wall and then to the side, revealing a fairly simplistic control panel with labeled buttons. A lot of effort has gone into decoding Pervcursor language and adding it to translater nanos, but unfortunately it's like the race saw that sort of thing coming and developed a very vague pictographic written language that seemed to vary in little semi-indistinct ways from one use to the next, meaning that as you look over the labels on the buttons your nanos have to make a sort of 'best guess' and present you with translations that aren't entirely helpful.\n\nOne of them's a slider labeled something like '[[Glow|ChiPerv]]'... what, is it for the light level of the torches? Another's labeled '[[Move around|ChiPerv]]' which seems like a decent possibility considering you want to move across the pool. Another says '[[Refill|ChiPerv]]'... hm, maybe it drains and then refills the pool? You might have a chance to run across it that way. Similarly you see one labeled '[[Maintenance|ChiPerv]]' which could conceivably put the pool and traps in some sort of 'Off' mode for maintenance. Another one just says '[[Change|ChiPerv]]'... change what? Change the pool out for some other trap maybe? Maybe you could run across while it was doing that, too. There's a small handful of other buttons but

"Blain Koturn was one of the few prominent human proponents of the Faunus Rights movement throughout much of the White Fang's early period," Blake murmurs some time later, sitting in a chair in Weiss's office and staring at the projection of the photo of the man shaking hands with her father. "In his youth he had a very similar reputation to Robyn Hill, he'd been in the Atlas military briefly before going into the private sector offering security advice and personal defense training. And then all of a sudden one day he just... changed. Said the White Fang was extremist, unrealistic, that it was going to lead to conflict and death." She lets out a long sigh. "Ironically his sudden betrayal massively weakened my father's influence, let Sienna and others like her push him to more aggressive methods, and eventually he stepped down, and we all know where that led. No one ever understood what happened."\n\n"We do now," Weiss speaks up grimly, tapping a few keys and opening a document in another window. "An ultra-cushy do-nothing job providing exclusive security advice to Kanwi, Spinnet, and Howe... my father's PR hitmen."\n\n"Jacques didn't like the White Fang or how they yelled about the way he was running the SDC, so he figured if he couldn't pay Pops to shut up, they'd pay any of his supporters in upright society to shut up," Yang agrees with a frown.\n\n"And we come right back to muddied waters," you say with a sigh, pacing back and forth nearby. "Was it the SDC connection? The Faunus connection? Hell, the White Fang connection? Blake, did Adam ever meet Koturn?"\n\n"Not to the best of my knowledge," Blake answers with a shake of the head. "Adam only really became prominent within the White Fang after Koturn had backed away from it. I think he might have been a member before but he was low-level back then, Sienna and my father probably didn't know him. You'd have to ask my father."\n\n"Maybe we should ask the Belladonnas to come here anyway," Ilia adds in a worried tone. "If this is somehow connected to the White Fang, it might be better if they're safe here with us."\n\n"Blake, that sounds like a good idea, I'll send an airship for them," Weiss says immediately.\n\n"... Alright. I'll call them," Blake murmurs, standing and moving over to the corner to use her scroll.\n\n"So we know there's a connection between our two vics, we just don't know what exactly it is," Albert muses, pulling out his cigarette pack, then guiltily tucking it away again. "Sorry."\n\n"No, go ahead," Weiss says with a heavy sigh, opening a drawer and removing a crystal ashtray to slide across the desk. At your quirked eyebrow she points at you and narrows her eyes. "You will not tell Ruby or I will take back that car so fast."\n\nYou hold up both hands in a gesture of surrender, then lean them against the back of a chair. "It's so weird, though. Again there's so many layers of crossover, but absolutely none of this feels like it fits. None of these angles... anger at the SDC, anger on behalf of the White Fang... none of them feels like it fits. This anger is... there, but it's like it's perfunctory. Imitation anger. Sham pain," you add with a soft scoff. "But who does this to people if they don't really believe in it?"\n\n"Well at the rate we're going we're gonna get an answer sooner rather than later," Duff mutters, shaking his head. "Twice in two nights, that's fast even for a serial. Think it could be one and we're just not seeing the link?"\n\n"No... Ilia and I have worked a few serials in different parts of the world, we've studied the methodology, it doesn't quite fit."\n\n"There's no sign the perp stayed with the bodies, no sense of ritual, unless you count the kicked-in doors in both cases." Ilia shakes her head, obviously turning over the scenes in her mind. "There's... something going on."\n\n"And he's evolving like a serial, but there's no... organic feel to the growth. He's thinking, not feeling. In fact he's thinking so much that it's obvious that's what he's doing. His heart wasn't in the smashed photos, the clawed walls... they were random, perfunctory."\n\n"But if he goes to pattern the next one will look more natural," Duff says, then frowns. "In fact it might look so natural that we might not even understand what we're getting. Hell, I'm gonna hafta flag every homicide in Mantle. Thank Dust the number isn't as high as it used to be."\n\n"So far the only pattern is direct, showy, and brutal. Any word back from your lab guys on what the weapon here was?"\n\n"Metal claws. Sold in damn near every weapons shop in every kingdom for incorporating into Huntsmen weapons," Duff answers with a sigh. "They're trying to at least narrow it down to a manufacturer but there's not much hope, and if I had to bet our guy has already dumped them in a crucible and is on to his next weapon by now."\n\n"We're missing something," you murmur. "Something about the murder methods, he's not doing it at random, none of this is random, it's on the tip of my damn brain..." \n\nYou jerk a little as there's a knock at the door before Ruby peeks in. "Hey, guys, everything okay in here? It's almost dinner time."\n\n"Alright," Weiss says with a sigh, standing up and collapsing the holowindows. "Detective, please feel free to stay for dinner, and then I'll have someone take you home."\n\n"Hey, don't mind if I do, thank you very much. Guess it's an ill wind that blows no good fortune, huh?" he says with a chuckle as he stands.\n\nYou grin a bit yourself, then make a face as your scroll rings. "One sec." You tap 'accept' and put it to your ear. "Yeah?" Then your eyes widen. "What? NO!" you snap instantly. "Do not put him on that transport, you hear me?! He does not get put on that transport by himself until someone I've authorized is with him, do you understand me?! No I don't fucking care, you do it and I will go so far over your head that you'll have to look up to see my boot tread, do you understand me?! Do not." Then you stab the line to hang up. "We don't have to wait until tomorrow, we've got our next victim now, someone just tried to murder Adam Taurus."\n\n"What?" Blake whispers, having just returned from her own call, her eyes wide.\n\n"Tried?" Ilia prompts.\n\n"They're getting ready to load him on a transport to a secure hospital now but I don't trust that." Scowling, you glance up and around, then point. "Ruby, if you're willing, get Crescent Rose and come with me, I need you."\n\n"On it," she says instantly, blurring away in a light flurry of rose petals.\n\n"We have to go, now, Ilia, Duff, c'mon," you call as you push open the doors.\n\nYou take over manual control and push the aircar hard across the tundra, but to its credit it has no problem handling the high speed, and less than an hour later you're setting down in the landing yard and climbing out, hauling the seat forward for Ruby while pointing at the nearby secure transport. "Get on there, Rubes."\n\n"Got it!" Having changed into her Huntress garb, Ruby quickly trots over to the transport, even as a gurney with Adam strapped to it is rolled out of the building and towards the transport as well.\n\n"What the hell happened?" you ask the warden as you approach her.\n\n"We were just getting ready for lights out when two other inmates jumped Taurus," she answers grimly as she shows the three of you inside. "One of them attempted to strangle him while the other beat him. They had contraband... not actual weapons. One was the standard sort we see every day, the sort of thing that's almost impossible to keep from getting into the prison, the other came from one of the old maintenance rooms, we don't know how he got in there."\n\n"Video?" \n\n"In here," she says, gesturing to a security room.\n\nThe three of you stand with different versions of scowls on your faces as you watch the two big men suddenly leap towards Adam, one wrapping a length of dark cloth around his neck and yanking his head back while the other lays into his chest and belly with a length of chain, Adam's body twisting and lurching with the impacts as he's forced to keep his fingers under the cloth to keep himself from strangling. It ends with multiple guards rushing in, tazing the big men to the ground, then visibly calling for a medical team.\n\n"This is a whole different angle, a whole different leap," you murmur, rubbing your lower face. "Adam? And he's hiring people to do it for him now?"\n\n"This is even less personal than the others," Duff mutters. But narrows his eyes as the video replays. "And yet weirdly way more sincere. He didn't hire these guys to just kill Taurus, he definitely hired them to make it hurt."\n\n"Is it normal to have lights-out this early?" you ask, glancing over at the warden.\n\n"No, way had another incident earlier today, an inmate attacked a guard, we decided to do lockdown right after their evening meal," the warden replies with a frown.\n\n"It threw off our guy's plans," you mutter. "You're the only one that knew that Adam might be relevant to our investigation, warden, if they'd jumped him at normal lights out time you'd have been at home, you maybe don't even hear about it until tomorrow morning."\n\n"Oh gods," she murmurs.\n\n"There's... there's something about the weapon choice, the perp had to have told them to use these exact methods, it doesn't make sense otherwise. If it was just about killing him, why not stab him?" Ilia frowns. "Do you have the items they used, warden?"\n\n"Yes, right here," she answers, turning to a covered table at the back of the room and yanking the sheet off.\n\nIlia approaches, her eyes wandering over the rusted length of chain while frowning, the expression only deepening as she picks up the long black scarf next to it, letting it run over her fingers. Then her eyes widen, and she whips back to the two of you, grabbing hold of Albert's coat. "Duff! You have to call the police right now, they need to get over to the houses of Sandra Som, Callista Furay, and Claire Hewe right away, right now!"\n\n"Okay, okay!" Clearly moved by her near panic, the detective grabs out his scroll. "Sandra Som, Callista-"\n\n"Furay! And Claire Hewe!"\n\n"Ilia, what is it, what's wrong?" you ask urgently as you step over to her.\n\nIlia turns haunted blue eyes towards you. "They're the girls whose teeth I broke when I was in school. The girls who... I told everyone had wronged me." And then she turns haunted eyes to the chain and scarf. "And if I'm right, that means whoever this is, he's going to try and beat them to death."\n\n-\n\n"Som and Furay have both moved out of the kingdom... Som's in Vale, Furay in Haven, but I've gone ahead and had my precinct get in touch with their local law enforcement just in case, since it looks like our guy is branching out from doing his own dirty work," Duff says as he leans forward between the front seats of the aircar. "Hewe is still in Atlas, APD is already moving in to sit on her."\n\n"Give me her address," you reply as you tap at the console in time with his answer.\n\n"A black scarf like the variable ribbon on Gambol Shroud. A chain like the main part of Cerberus," Ilia says quietly. "The weapons of the prominent White Fang members Adam wronged."\n\n"Blake and Sienna," you confirm with a scowl. "Which means if he's going to attack these women, you're right, he'll either stab them with a rapier or use the weapon you used at the time, your fists." 'Or he'd whip them to death,' you think a bit grimly. Best not to think of that.\n\n"If you're right, I get Dunn, sliced apart with a sword like Taurus would've done," Duff says with a thoughtful frown. "But what about Koturn?"\n\n"He wronged Ghira Belladonna," you explain with a glance back. "Ghira fights with his natural weapons... his claws."\n\n"Damn."\n\n"God, Kai, what if he's already gotten to them? What if we can't protect them? Have I done it again, have I-"\n\n"Hey. Hey." You grab one of Ilia's hands and squeeze it. "We're not going to let that happen, okay? We're gonna get it done."\n\n"... Yeah." She takes a deep breath, nods. "Yeah."\n\nFor a few minutes, there's just silence, the tundra whizzing by below, Atlas slowly growing larger ahead. Finally Duff clears his throat. "... I hate to spoil this heavy mood we've got going, but we didn't actually make it to that nice Schnee dinner. That, uh, that thing got like sandwiches in it, or...?"\n\nSighing, Ilia starts tapping the autoprep's interface. "Valean sub okay?"\n\n"Great, yeah, thanks."\n\n"Order me one of those breakfast burritos, and get yourself something. No, hey, leader's order," you say as Ilia starts to protest. "This is going to be a rough meeting, you won't do yourself any favors entering it on an empty stomach and not hydrated. We've got twenty minutes until we get there, eat a bite and we all need to drink some water."\n\n"... Fine."\n\nSoon the aircar sets down outside a nice but by no means particularly opulent house in the suburbs of Atlas, already with several police cars with their lights flickering on outside. Duff shows his badge and the two of you your Huntress licenses to the officer at the sidewalk, who nods you ahead and in through the open front door.\n\n"Would someone please just explain this to me?" an upset-looking blonde woman says urgently, trying to comfort the crying baby in her arms, her own distress clearly only upsetting it further despite her sincere attempts to rock it. "You just keep saying it's for my protection, how is this for my protection, why won't you just-" She stops, her hazel widening as she sees the three of you walk in. "I-... Ilia?"\n\n"Oh Claire, I'm so sorry about all of this," your wife says gently, pain in her eyes.\n\n"W-what do you mean? Does this have something to do with you? What's going on?!"\n\n"Hey, we've got it from here, thanks," you assure the uniform she'd been talking to quietly, before moving forward and laying a hand on the woman's arm. "Miss Hewes? My name's Kai Sterling, I'm a Huntress working with the police on this, why don't we come in here and sit down? Hey, hey, sshh sshh sshh," you try to help with calming the baby as you urge the distraught woman into her living room. "Claire, when's the last time the little one got changed?"\n\n"Oh, I... oh my gods, it's been," she starts, looking down guiltily.\n\n"Why don't I take care of that for ya? Hey, it's alright," Duff assures Claire as she draws back a bit, grinning and holding up his badge. "I'm one of the good guys. With four little siblings. Changed a few diapers."\n\n"Al-... alright. Um, right there," she murmurs, pointing at an ottoman with her elbow, and still somewhat reluctantly passing the baby to the scruffy detective. "There's wipes and diapers in the bag next to it."\n\n"Gotcha. Heeey little one no need to be upset, it's just da law!" he coos, looking weirdly adorable doing so. "Oof, that bad huh? Well, some people don't like us," he says teasingly as the baby's crying grows.\n\nYou urge Claire to sit on the couch and sit down with her, Ilia taking a seat on the nearby coffee table, its edges covered with foam padding. "Claire, now try to stay calm," you say gently. "But we have reason to believe that someone might want to hurt you."\n\n"Why?" she says in blatant confusion, looking back and forth between you and your wife.\n\nYou take a deep breath, let it out. "Because of what happened between you and Ilia when you were children."\n\n"Claire, I'm so sorry," Ilia speaks up again. "I never thought when I told people about what happened that... that this would happen someday, I had no idea."\n\n"W-wait, someone wants to hurt me because... because you attacked me?" Claire half-demands, staring at Ilia, who winces and lowers her head.\n\n"We think this person has a vendetta they're carrying out all of their own accord, punishing people who... who they think wronged members of the White Fang," you say slowly, still trying to keep your voice gentle.\n\n"The Whi-?!" Claire claps her hands over her mouth, looking terrified as she shrinks back against the couch and stares at Ilia.\n\n"Listen, the moment Ilia realized what was going on, she made sure you and the others were going to be protected," you press on. "She does not want this, Claire, Ilia's a Huntress now and she's here to try and protect you."\n\n"I don't... I... I feel like I'm going to pass out," Claire murmurs, lowering her head and putting her hands over her face. "I don't understand what's going on... why is this happening to me because of something that happened when I was a kid?"\n\n"I didn't want this, Claire, I promise you," Ilia assures her. "... But it is my fault, and I'm sorry."\n\n"I just... ... please, could I have a moment?" the woman whispers, almost desperately accepting her baby back as Duff hands it over gently.\n\nAs the three of you withdraw into the entry, Duff glances at her, then at the two of you. "You really think our perp was gonna hit the place tonight?"\n\n"Either tonight or tomorrow, but honestly I'd be willing to bet tonight," you murmur. "If Adam's attack or murder or whatever it was supposed to be had happened when it would have supposed to, we'd have woken up to two murders. Two completely different methods, two different things. We either piece it together then, after the fact, or it's information overload, we're swamped trying to put two murders together as we're investigating them simultaneously." You look over at your wife. "Ilia. You okay?"\n\n"Barely," she answers in a murmur. Then she sends, Don't tell me it's not my fault, because we both know it is.\n\nIlia, you were a kid, I don't think anyone should be able to blame themselves for not seeing an angry lunatic coming fifteen years in the future.\n\nStill. If I'd never said anything, never ranted about the girls who laughed at the mine collapse, never joined the White Fang...\n\nThat's a lot of nevers to unpack, babe, maybe rein it in, you send wryly.\n\n"You two have got that weird look on your faces again," Duff comments.\n\n"Sorry. Private conversation," you reply with a bit of a grin.\n\n"Detective," one of the uniforms from outside says, stepping into the doorway. "We found something on our latest walkaround, at the playground down at the corner. Think you oughtta come see this."\n\nDuff frowns and nods, glancing around to make sure the other cops are still gathered close by, then heads out along with the uniform cop as the two of you follow along. As you approach the darkened playground, you hear Ilia suck in a breath... and then feel a wave of sick wrathful dread wash over you, enough that you immediately regret your own advice for everyone to eat.\n\nStabbed into the side of a rainbow-painted arch is a rapier. And scrawled beside the penetration point is black ink reading a single hatefully-etched word:\n\n'TRAITOR'\n\n-\n\n"Rapier's a bog-standard starting weapon, available in any upper-class Dust shop, SDC make. We're trying to trace the serial number, but if our perp paid straight-up lien for it as he seems smart enough to do, we won't get too lucky. Maybe get him on camera, we know he makes mistakes, but it's real easy to just wear a hood or something, places that serve Huntsmen don't think anything about it," Duff says as he sits in the chair behind his own desk in the precinct, nursing a cup of what could only be extremely charitably called coffee. \n\nOn the one hand, your own cup of it is making you nostalgic for Makarzia. On the other hand, it's making you remember Makarzia. "I don't suppose we got lucky and he used some extremely specific and ruinously expensive ink that's only sold in an extremely upscale shop that cards everyone and is on a heavily monitored street?" you ask dryly.\n\nDuff snorts. "Common 'writes on everything' marker. Ten lien, sold in every damn convenience store in this kingdom and probably every other one."\n\n"Where would we be without the urge to profit off of people who write limericks on restroom walls," Ilia mutters, probably trying for levity but coming off more bitter as she picks a piece of styrofoam off her own cup.\n\n"Look, don't worry," Duff assures her after a moment. "These Atlas guys may have a department issued stick up their ass, but they're also competent and do good work. They're gonna keep sitting on Claire until we get this solved."\n\n"No, they're not, they're gonna keep sitting on her until it's solved or until someone decides it's gone cold," Ilia says hollowly, flicking a styrofoam nugget in the general direction of the trash. "And if it's the latter then she's gonna live the rest of her life knowing that the feeling of dread hanging over her is my fault." \n\nYou trade a glance with Duff, then stand and gently put your hands on Ilia's shoulders. "C'mon, babe, let's head back to Weiss's."\n\nThe aircar ride back is silent, Ilia not saying a word, and you not able to find the words to make this better. Neither of you speaks as you make your way back to the manor and inside, into the elevator and up to the guest rooms. Ilia just makes her way purposefully to the room Finn's staying in, carefully pushing open the door and silently making her way to the bed with her famous stealth, settling carefully down on the side of it. She strokes a hand over Finn's hair gently, again and again, staring at his little face, composed and gentle. Your perfect little angel, asleep and dreaming of little brothers arriving on hoverboards on Solstice morning.\n\nFinally, when Ilia starts to cry, you move in to gently pull her up and guide her back out of the room. \n\n"I almost got that woman's baby killed," Ilia sobs. "Her baby."\n\n"No, okay," you reply firmly, dragging her to you tightly. "Now you listen, you listen. This is not on you. This is not on you. There is no way you could have known this would happen. You cannot blame yourself for this, I won't let you."\n\n"... What're you gonna do to stop me?" she mutters, some faint hint of teasing managing to get through the misery in her voice.\n\n"Spank you," you answer solemnly.\n\nIlia blinks, looks up at you. Then snorts. "... Don't threaten me with a good time."\n\n"There's my Rainbow," you murmur, grinning and wiping her cheek with your thumb.\n\n"Kai? Ilia?" Weiss pads down the hall on slippered feet, her blue silk robe closed around her. "Is everything alright?"\n\n"Yeah. Mostly. It's been a rough night," you admit. "Is Ruby back?"\n\n"A little while ago. Klein kept dinner waiting for you until I sent him to bed, but it's still out. Come downstairs, you probably haven't eaten anything proper, it should still be warm."\n\n"Hey. Hear that?" you urge Ilia, nudging her with a grin. "You gonna let Klein's sacrifice go to waste?"\n\nShe snorts softly. "Traitor."\n\nThen she winces.\n\nDammit.\n\nWeiss leads the way back downstairs and to the small dining room, moving to take covered plates from the side table and set them out as you and Ilia sit. Ruby emerges from the kitchen in the midst of lifting a bottle of milk directly to her lips, spots Weiss, instantly pivots and steps back into the kitchen, and emerges with a pair of glasses in one hand. "Heeeey I figured you guys might be back, who wants milk?!"\n\nSmooth, Rubes, you send, which causes her to puff out her chest proudly before she sets the glasses in front of you and pours. You grin as Weiss lifts the dome off your plate. "As comfort food goes, I guess steak ain't bad, huh?"\n\n"Well, if you really need the more traditional type," Weiss says with a grin as she brings over a lidded dish. "Klein also made some of his famous seven cheese noodles."\n\n"Hell. Yes."\n\n"That... sounds amazing," Ilia admits with a weary smile, rubbing her forehead as Weiss scoops a large spoonful of mac'n'cheese onto her plate. \n\n"Everything go okay, Ruby?" you ask gently as you start into your steak.\n\n"Yeah. The hospital seemed really secure so I came back. They said Adam's gonna be okay, but, um..." Ruby winces a little. "He's... kind of like... not responding to anyone. Like... he's conscious but uh... not."\n\nYou nod slowly. It's a supreme irony that Adam, having worked so hard in prison to overcome the violence and hatred that landed him there in the first place, now lacks any other way to deal with being assaulted. Some would probably call it karmic justice and say it tastes sweet... you'd be closer to calling it no good deed going unpunished, and it doesn't taste very good at all.\n\nAt least you have mac'n'cheese to get the taste out of your mouth a little.\n\n"God even your milk is bougie and I love it," Ilia mutters as she eyes the actual glass container for the milk before taking another gulp from her glass.\n\nWeiss giggles just a little, sitting down at the table as well. Then her expression turns a bit sad. "But really, are you two okay?"\n\n"It's... rough," Ilia admits, shaking her head. "This whole thing. Whoever this is, he didn't just go after Adam tonight... he went after one of the girls I attacked in school."\n\n"Oh my God, Ilia," Weiss murmurs, a hand coming up to her mouth. "Is she alright?"\n\n"Yeah, I caught on to what was going on just in time, and sent cops to her place... apparently I just avoided getting her killed by my past's stupidity and rage."\n\n"Uhhhh, point of order?" Ruby says, lifting a fork from her own plate of mac'n'cheese, apparently having decided to partake in Second Dinner. "Sounds kinda to me like you sort of saved her life?"\n\n"Which wouldn't have been in danger if not for me in the first place," she says with a sigh.\n\n"... Okaaaay, well, not that I guess this makes it a lot better, but," Ruby ventures slowly. "Actually isn't it technically Silvia who griped about her to the White Fang?"\n\n"Wait..." Ilia's colors darken as her eyes widen. "Oh my god, in everything that happened, I, I completely forgot, I got so caught up in, oh my god my sister-"\n\n"Flattering as it is to hear you forgot again you're not the original, don't worry, I'm here," Ilia's platinum blonde twin says dryly as she walks into the room, attired in a short jacket and sturdy black sleeveless shirt and long pants.\n\n"Silvia!" Ilia's colors resume their normal brightness as she gets up and rushes over, throwing her arms around her dimensional duplicate.\n\n"Hey, sis, been awhile," Silvia murmurs, squeezing her. Then she steps back, frowning. "But did I overhear right? Someone actually went after the girls from school?"\n\n"Yes... someone's going after anyone who 'wronged' high-placed members of the White Fang, it looks like, and that includes former White Fang members themselves." Ilia sighs as she steps back. "Claire Hewe was almost attacked tonight, with a rapier."\n\n"Damn," Silvia murmurs, shaking her head.\n\n"Sil, what are you doing here though?" Ilia asks. "I know I've been a bad sister again, getting focused on myself, but I didn't think you were psychic enough to know and come kick my ass for it."\n\nSilvia snickers. "No, I came with Ghira and Kali, I was with them when Blake called. I figured you might be able to use the help."\n\n"Oh, the Belladonnas are here, I'll go greet them and show them their room then," Weiss says, rising and tugging on her robe a bit to make sure she's presentable. "I'm sure they're tired after that flight. Come along, dear, we need to greet guests," she adds, plucking at Ruby's ear in passing.\n\n"Mmf... mac'n'cheese versus Ghirahugs," Ruby mutters, glancing back and forth repeatedly, before leaping up and hurrying after Weiss. "Huuuugs!"\n\n"Don't jump on him this time!"\n\n"It's good to see you Sil," you murmur, stepping forward to hug your sister-in-law.\n\n"You too Kai. Sounds like it's been a rough few days." \n\n"Rough few months," you admit with a huff.\n\n"Then sounds like you guys should finish eating and get some sleep, which also sounds good to me. Oo," she adds, sitting down to Ruby's plate.\n\nSnickering, you sit back down, carving off half your steak and moving it over to her plate. "Flight okay?"\n\n"Other than the general worry of wondering what the hell was going on, yeah it was decent. Schnee Airways is definitely an amazing way to fly," Silvia replies as she nomfs a bite of steak.\n\n"Rocanante doing okay?" Ilia asks as she settles a bit more heavily back into her own chair.\n\n"Roca's good, for her classification of 'good', which is as usual 'Whatever'," Silvia scoffs, waving her fork around in the air. "I for some reason love that woman but damn if I'll ever propose to her because I have this mortal fear of her just shrugging and saying 'Whatever' as she puts on the ring."\n\n"And you're with this person... why, again?" Ilia says with a quirk of the brow.\n\n"Woman did you not just hear me say I don't know?!"\n\nWe both know, you send to Ilia, which makes her snort softly into her milk. Being that milk is somewhat related to a pair of Silvia's girlfriend's most redeeming features.\n\n"You seen much of Team SSSN lately?" you ask as you finish off your steak.\n\n"Not much since I moved back to Menagerie. Sun drops in whenever he's passing by, but the other guys seem to feel uncomfortable there, which is kind of a shame." Silvia frowns a little. "Y'know there was a time in my life where I would have been angry at the thought of humans stepping foot in Kuo Kuana, now I get a little angry that my human friends don't feel welcome."\n\n"Kuo Kuana and Menagerie as a whole is still 'our' land, it's true," Ilia allows. "And there's good and bad things about that. I'd love to get into a long discussion of the nuances of it but this stress headache is not getting worse with time and I think I really just need to go to bed," she adds with a sigh as she gets to her feet. \n\n"Let's get you something for that headache and crash, Rainbow, not gonna get anything more done tonight," you agree as you get up. "Silvia, you good?"\n\n"Yeah I'll finish this off then crash somewhere, or Weiss will find me and shove me in some bed, whatever happens first," Silvia chirps with a little waggle of her fork at the multiple plates.\n\n"Vacuo really did a number on your sister," you note with a chuckle as you and Ilia head into the elevator.\n\n"Mm. ... I can't believe I got so wrapped up in what I was feeling about this case that I forgot about her," Ilia says with a sigh, slumping against your side.\n\n"Honey, this case is super raw emotionally for you, and you and Silvia share this exact same past... it's natural you just started living in the moment of it," you assure her. "Try not to let it bog you down, okay?"\n\n"Got a lot I'm not supposed to let bog me down," she grumbles as the pair of you head out and down the hall to your room, Ilia shrugging out of her jacket, then flopping to sit on the end of the bed and just looking at it.\n\nAfter rummaging in the cabinet for some headache pills and pouring a glass of water, you come out and sit down before offering them to her. "Is that all that's bothering you, Rainbow?"\n\n"... No, I guess not. All of this isn't helping, but... I've been feeling in a little bit of an identity crisis lately," she admits, tossing the pills in her mouth and gulping them down. "Since... really since the Dust mine," she admits, sighing and starting to unbutton her shirt. "Because it was tempting, what you said... step back. Maybe just take normal Huntress jobs or... I don't know, start a little shop or something. Not put ourselves through that anymore. Then we start going to these parties, and Weiss is loaning us the aircar, we're staying weekends, and..." She brushes her thumbs across the expensive, high-end armorweave lining the designer coat, both thrown together with the Manor's facilities essentially on a whim.\n\n"Too bougie?" you say gently.\n\nIlia's quiet for a bit, before she says, "Our home is nice. Our neighborhood is nice. Our car is nice. Our son's school is nice. But they're all... Mantle nice. And I've always felt sort of... peaceful with that. Because of that. Like if there was a life my parents pictured for me, the one we had was probably something close to it. I mean, they probably didn't picture me married to another woman, but hey, who knows?" She gives you a slightly wan smile, then sighs and looks down. "I think the thing that started bothering me this time is that indulging in all that Weiss offers us without thinking about it, it started feeling so... good. I started wanting it, looking forward to it. We were at that party, strutting around, and instead of 'Wow what am I doing here?' I caught myself thinking 'This is great, wonder when the next one is?'. I don't... know how to feel about that." \n\nShe presses the jacket together and rubs it a bit, as if just seeing what it feels like doing that. Probably feels a lot like yours, the armorweave as smooth as silk. "You've said so often that when we got together, you wanted to be the sort of person who had a house in town with a picket fence around its little one-tree yard, and a grandfather clock, and a living room that goes right into the kitchen, and... I wanted that too. ... Now I feel like I'm looking down on all that by seeing all these luxuries and getting sparkly-eyed."\n\nYou absorb that for a little while, shrugging out of your own jacket and tossing it aside, before finally draping an arm around your wife's shoulders and drawing her to you. "Rainbow, I love our house, our neighborhood, our car too. I'm not about to trade them in to move to Schnee Manor, even if Weiss would probably love to have us. Our life works for us, and we're refining it all the time... working on our schedule, asking the bees to stay, all of it." You lean your head on hers. "... And I don't think it's a betrayal of that if we occasionally enjoy nicer things too. Weiss is our friend, and the things she offers us are offered out of love, or because she believes in what we do and wants to help us." You raise a hand to gently turn her head a bit and kiss her forehead. "We both agree we've done a lot for this world, right? Well, I think that means that maybe we've earned the occasional ritzy party, a nice work car, the occasional stay in a wonderland. Y'figure?"\n\n"... Maybe." Ilia sighs, resting her head on your shoulder. "Maybe it's just all those old feelings bubbling up again. Letting go of the hate was easier than I thought, but it took years of work to get past seeing every well-off person as just having unearned privilege. I guess... maybe I'm afraid other people will see me that way too."\n\n"Which is probably one of the biggest points of similarity between you and Weiss, don't you think?" you urge gently. "You both had to overcome a lifetime's worth of social conditioning and move past it, and now you're left trying to be who you want to be, while feeling everyone is looking at you and judging you. But Weiss is comfortable with who she is now... you should be too, Rainbow, because who you are is who I love. I love you more than I did ten years ago when I sang to you on a garden swing, and ten years from now I'll love you more than I love you today. Not to be a self-centered cuss, but do you really need more than that?" you add teasingly, rubbing your head against hers.\n\nIlia smiles finally, raising her hand up to brush fingertips along your cheek. "I guess not." Then she laughs a little. "I guess your over the rainbow needs to get over herself a little." Then she sighs again. "I'm just so friggin' tired. Maybe I'll feel better in the morning."\n\n"Yeah, let's put that to the test. C'mon, Rainbow, time for some sleep."\n\n-\n\n"Well, no new bodies this morning. Guess I'll call that a good night."\n\n"Talk about setting our standards low," you say into your scroll with a grin. "What's your plan today, Duff?"\n\n"The guys who attacked Taurus have been brought to a secure facility in Atlas, thought we'd question 'em there."\n\n"Think you could handle that on your own?" you suggest, glancing at the closed bathroom door. "I think we're gonna see what of the case we can work from here today."\n\n"Oh gosh, can a detective with ten years of experience question two securely bound prisoners by himself? Yeah, think I can manage. ... How's your lady holding up?"\n\n"Better. But yesterday was rough," you admit. "She's pretty torn up about the Claire thing."\n\n"Guess everyone's got a past... guess it doesn't usually come back to stab us quite so literally. But yeah, no problem, I'll take care of the questioning, you guys work it from your end."\n\n"Thanks Duff. Talk to you if we get anything."\n\nA bit later you and Ilia have parked yourselves in Weiss's office, using her computer to go over everything assembled so far. "I don't know, I feel like we're missing something. Or several somethings," you muse aloud.\n\n"That is usually what keeps a murder case from being solved, yeah," Ilia notes rather dryly. \n\n"Let's look at the first two murders, the two successes." You flip up two small holographic representations of the scanned crime scenes. "Brutal, efficient, direct. But weirdly emotionless. A level of violence that would leave hate and anger as the only logical answer, but the actual hate itself is missing. He had no grudge with these men, he's just going through the motions of carrying out someone else's grudge. Then we look at the two failures," you flit up images of the video of Adam being beaten, and the rapier stabbed into the rainbow play arch. "Thwarted both times, and yet these are the times where we see something like actual emotion. These guys wanted to hurt Adam, they wanted to make him suffer. And the message on the playground seems impulsive, sincere, he was actually angry. So what are we actually looking at here."\n\n"... Well, I think the message to me is clear," Ilia says slowly, scowling at that image. "I realized what was going on and thwarted him. He had to have known it was me, I was the only one outside of the people I told in the White Fang who knew their names. The moment he saw me show up he had to know it was me. Even if he's not invested in the anger, he's invested in the plan."\n\n"But if he's been planning this so meticulously, possibly for years, why let himself have a little tantrum over it? We'd have never known we guessed right if he just walked away," you murmur.\n\n"Ten years is a long time to spend waiting to start putting a plan for vengeance into motion," Ilia agrees. "If he'd been waiting that long why throw part of his plan away just for a moment of anger? I mean more than a moment, really, he had to look around, find something directly related to my name, stab it, get out the marker, and write. It's like... a weird blend of angry and calculating."\n\n"... What if he was throwing a little tantrum, but at the same time pushing us in the direction he wanted?" you venture slowly. "I bet he really was pissed off, but what if this is just more misdirection? We know he's smart enough to realize when he needs a misdirect, it's all over the second crime scene."\n\n"A distraction. From what his real goal was," Ilia says slowly, nodding. "And what's the element that sticks out from all of these, the one who was attacked with distinctly nonlethal weapons, the one who's involved in some way in two of these attacks?"\n\n"Adam," you agree, flitting the image of him being attacked forward. "You said it yourself, why not just stab him? Gambol Shroud has both a slender blade and a heavy hacking one... a shiv or a cleaver stolen from the kitchen serves just as well as a standin for it if you want to stick to the theme, have the one with the chain choke him and let the other go to town."\n\n"Could it be Adam attempting to garner sympathy, get himself out, put himself where he could escape?" Ilia ventures after a moment. "A lot easier to get out of the kingdom from Atlas than cross a hundred miles of Grimm-infested tundra."\n\n"No, like I said before, Adam's reaction to seeing Dunn again was the real thing, that wasn't the face of someone who'd planned to kill the man any time in the last year. Same with his shame reaction afterwards... he had intense guilt over the level of hatred he felt when he saw Dunn."\n\n"So if it's about Adam, why just beat him? Just to make him suffer? And if not, if the goal was to kill him, why wait? His trial lasted almost a year, there were so many times during his transports between prison and the court that it would have been easier to get at him, why wait until he's been in prison almost ten years?" Ilia murmurs, brushing a fingertip over one of her specks.\n\n"... Wait. Ten years," you say suddenly, starting to type. "He's been in prison ten years, almost eleven."\n\n"So?"\n\n"Yeah but when we asked the warden for his call records, she said he hasn't been communicating with anyone but his lawyer, Reese, and EI in five." You bring up the records and scroll through them, then point. "There, see? Six years ago. Adam suddenly has a flurry of attempts at making calls out. He tries to call Patch repeatedly, he calls a few people in Atlas, he calls Haven Academy, he makes some calls to Menagerie too."\n\n"Looking for someone to set all this up?" Ilia suggests with a frown.\n\n"No, it's too scattershot, it speaks more of desperation than putting a plan into action. Here, these two numbers in Menagerie," you continue with a point. "One he talked to for about five minutes, the other almost eight. And I recognize that first number, c'mon," you say, heading for the door.\n\nYou push open the doors to the third floor activity room, and briefly take a moment to both enjoy the scene before you and regret needing to interrupt it. Ghira and Kali Belladonna are sitting in chairs in front of a pair of small easels, Finn in Kali's lap and Nika in Ghira's, Kali's smile warm and bright as she watches Finn apply strokes of watercolors to the canvas, Ghira's eyes entirely on the small wonder in his lap as she dabs her brush on her palette. "That's very good," Kali coos to your son as she rubs his upper arms a bit. "You're doing wonderfully, Finn, that's just perfect."\n\nYou spot Weiss standing nearby recording everything with her scroll, a bright smile on her face. You catch her eye, and with a tiny grimace she stops recording. You wait for her to lower the scroll before you step forward. "Heeey guys, sorry, but I gotta borrow Grammy and Pops for a few."\n\n"Awwww," both Finn and Nika say, Kali's ears twitching a little, a serious look briefly coming over her face before she lifts Finn up and sets him in the chair.\n\n"I'm sure we'll be right back, little ones, no worries," she assures him as her husband similarly moves Nika, giving Finn a smile and stroking his hair. Everyone does it, kid has the best headfluff.\n\n"Klein, here, if you would," Weiss says quietly, passing her scroll to the butler as she comes along with the pair.\n\n"Is something the matter? Is this related to your case?" Ghira asks in a serious voice as the five of you make your way back to Weiss's office.\n\n"It could be." You make sure the doors are shut, then bring up the call log projection again. "Six years ago, Adam called you guys, a call that lasted five minutes. Do you remember it?"\n\nKali's ears fold, and with a sigh she sinks into a chair. "It would be very difficult to forget. I'm still not entirely sure why I took his call, but I suppose... I suppose I still remembered a bit of the hurt boy I saw inside the evil man."\n\n"What was the call like?" Ilia prods gently.\n\n"It was... borderline incoherent, honestly," the older woman admits after a moment. "He was very upset. I could tell he was crying, and he just kept apologizing... begging me to tell Blake how sorry he was for everything he'd done to her, to Yang, all that had happend to me, to Ghira. He was... rambling. He seemed sincere, but also not... quite right."\n\n"That definitely doesn't sound like any Adam Taurus I've ever seen," Ilia says with a frown.\n\n"One second, let me check something." You head back to the terminal, typing rapidly. "Yeah, okay, the warrant for Adam's medical history at the prison came through. And whatta ya know, just that month they changed his meds, put him on something called... 'Therapol'."\n\n"Therapol?" Weiss echoes, then snorts and shakes her head. "No wonder, then."\n\n"You're familiar with it? I've never heard of it," you note with a curious frown in Weiss's direction.\n\n"You wouldn't have, it never made it beyond early test trials. It's an NRO derivative that was being developed by one of SDC's pharmaceutical subsidiaries, it was intended to help patients that were having a tough time opening up to their therapists about their issues. The problem was it worked too well... it lasted far longer than it was intended to, and it made the patients completely raw, no insulation from their feelings whatsoever," Weiss says with a sigh. "If Adam volunteered for the test trials, then yes, no wonder he tried to call everyone he'd ever wronged and tell them how sorry he was... he'd have been completely at the mercy of any feelings of guilt and remorse he had."\n\n"What about this other call he made, that lasted even longer? Kali, Ghira, do either of you know this person, 'Bayard Bhujang'?"\n\nGhira stares at the name and number, then himself slowly sinks into a chair. "Gods forgive me for not doing something sooner," he whispers to himself, bringing up a hand to cup over his lower face.\n\n"Dear?" Kali rises, moving to rest her hands on his arm. "Ghira, what's wrong?"\n\nGhira turns his eyes away from the projection. "... I am afraid, Kai, that I almost certainly know who has killed these people. And... I bear some responsibility in it as well, I fear. This... is not my secret. But I have kept it for many years, for the sake of someone I once loved as family. And now, I fear that love and respect... has doomed these people to die."\n\n-\n\nHe watched the house intently. Hoping. Waiting. This was one of the scenarios he'd planned for... in truth, the best one. The ideal outcome of everything. In mere days it had all come together, and now his revenge would be had in its most complete form.\n\nJust as he hoped, as the sky shaded to evening colors, Ghira Belladonna emerged from the Schnee home. His wife fretted at him at the door, hands fluttering, but he made calming motions at her and strode down the steps, entering one of the fancy Schnee hovercars. Still, it couldn't go too fast in the city, so the taxi the avenger had hacked and stolen days ago was able to keep up with it perfectly well. One of the better aspects of his plan, if he said so himself... no one thought twice about taxis. If it seemed like a taxi was following them, they wrote themselves off as paranoid... who would pay a taxi driver to tail someone? The thought that the taxi driver himself was the pursuer, ha, laughable.\n\nPeople were such fools.\n\nAnd too, no one thought much of a taxi approaching a hospital, even a secure one where prisoners were sometimes kept. He parked the car and turned it off, slouching down as he watched Ghira emerge and head inside. The Schnee aircar was in slightly more visible a place than he really liked, but he'd manage. He planned his route carefully, running scenarios over in his mind, getting it all down. Then he turned his attention upward.\n\nAgain, better than he'd hoped, Ghira opened the blinds on the fifth story window so he could gaze pensively out into the night. Then he turned and walked back to the bed where Adam Taurus was strapped in, clearly talking to him quietly, every so often gesturing with a big hand. Now, now was his chance. He slipped from the car, not bothering to close the door, and darted along the other side of the hedges lining the driveway, his black cloak helping hide him in the shadows. He slipped the device from the folds of his clothes and rolled it beneath the hedges and under the car, hitting one of the buttons on the control in his hand to activate the magnet. Almost a perfect alignment with the primary Dust reservoir, of course. He quickly slipped away from the car, finding some shrubs closer to the wall to crouch in instead, and waited.\n\nEventually Ghira emerged again, head hanging heavily, shoulders sagging, obviously not having achieved the results he wanted. Good. A last bit of deserved shame and failure. He watched the big man climb into the car... and then he flipped a switch and hit a button.\n\nThe car exploded in a purple-tinged blast of fire. Not as much as he'd hoped... Schnee must have cheaped out on filling up a car she intended to loan to a Faunus. But enough to completely engulf the car's interior in a flaming, Gravity Dust-fueled mass of destruction, Ghira's arms flinging up briefly before he was consumed.\n\nA sensation he had no word for seized his heart. He could not have named it in that moment if he'd tried. And besides, he had other things to focus on. As all eyes turned to the explosion, as people rushed to respond, he turned and sank the claws of the gloves he wore into the wall and began ascending. He'd considered melting down the weapon he'd built and used to kill Blain Koturn, but forced himself not to be too hasty and realized he might need it for this part of his plan. It certainly made scaling the five stories to Adam Taurus's room far easier. And as he came to the window, the claws were able to cut through the metal of the locks on the window, at least enough to let him shove it the rest of the way open with brute force.\n\nHe rolled up into the room and came to his feet, the knife already in his hand as he stared at the prone, bound, effectively insensate form of Adam Taurus before him. Something like regret welled in him... surely because he wished his target were more focused, was able to properly process who had come to kill him and why. But needs must, and he crossed to the bed, spinning the knife in his hand, ready to plunge it into the traitor's heart.\n\nAnd part of the wall stepped forward, flickering and shimmering into a woman in a white coat and bodysuit, the long, slender weapon in her hand lightly crackling with electricity as she brought it up to point at him. "Drop it, Shani."\n\n-\n\nYou push open the door of the wardrobe, Red Legacy switched to shooting mode coming up to point at the cloaked figure standing beside the bed even as he halfway whirls towards you. "Don't move. Don't try it, it's not worth it... especially since that's not Adam Taurus."\n\nYou see the twist on the revealed brown skin of his lower face, his mouth twist as his head yanks back towards the bed... and his body jerks back a little at the sight of the green-haired, red-eyed woman in the featureless white bodysuit laying on it, her pistol aimed almost directly at his face. "Surpri~se! Sorry, kiddo, Ghira Belladonna never even left the Schnee place. But it's always nice to see I haven't lost my touch."\n\n"Gotta say, you nearly pulled it off," you announce as you take a few steps forward. "If you'd been able to muster some sincere anger at men whose wrongs probably happened before you were born, you really might have kept us in the dark long enough. But you were only ever really angry at two people, weren't you, Shani? Ghira Belladonna, who you were hoping to lure out into public here in Atlas, and Adam Taurus, who you were hoping to put within range of your personal vengeance." You purse your lips. "... The man you think turned his back on your mother. And the man who killed your mother."\n\nHe says nothing. And then, slowly, his free hand comes up, undoes the clasp of the cloak, lets it fall away.\n\nShani Khan already would have been the very image of his mother, even if he hadn't obviously deliberately styled himself that way. Slender, beautiful, the same golden eyes and rich brown skin, save with a long, sleek striped tail instead of an extra pair of feline ears. But he's cut and spiked his black hair the same way, adopted the same stripe tattoos, the gem set in his forehead. Even his clothing is an obvious copy of hers. Every inch the teenage boy trying to be his mother's son.\n\n"He deserves it," Shani says slowly, even his scowl like the one you've seen in pictures of Sienna.\n\n"Maybe the Adam Taurus of ten years ago did. But you would have been what, five, six? At most? That man is gone, Shani, you can't avenge your mother by killing the one that's taken his place. It still must have been incredibly hurtful, a little boy listening to a grown man sob and cry and apologize for killing his mother. Have you really been planning this for six years? That's almost half of your life... now don't throw the rest of it away entirely. Drop the knife." You grit your teeth as his knuckles pale a little with tightening on the grip. "Shani, don't."\n\n"Shani," Ilia suddenly speaks up. "Of everyone in this room, I was the only one who knew your mother." You see his eyes slip towards her, Ilia's expression grave. "As well as a shallow, angry, hurting teenager could know a woman like her. But let me tell you something I understood about her later on. Sienna never wore the Grimm masks that Adam urged on the rest of us. She just quietly, without a word, refused the very idea. That angry, hurting me never understood, even as I virtually worshipped the ground she walked on, even as I polished and decorated my own mask. But the me that moved beyond that anger did."\n\nSlowly, Ilia lowers Lightning Lash a little. "Because she refused to play the monster. She refused to garb herself in the vestiges of the creatures of hate and fear because that wasn't who she was. She refused to play the demon just out of pettiness and spite. Everything she did, she did for a reason, because she thought it was necessary. So if you are her son... if that's who you want to be... believe in that. Don't go out playing the monster."\n\nHe's still for long, long seconds. Then slowly the paleness goes out of his knuckles. His hand lowers. His fingers loosen.\n\nThe knife clatters to the floor.\n\n"Good choice, kid," Emerald says as she swings out of the bed, holstering her weapon and drawing out a pair of handcuffs instead, pulling his wrists behind his back to fasten them on.\n\n"I'll take him out," Ilia says gently, lowering Lightning Lash and stepping forward, resting a hand on the boy's shoulder and guiding him to the door, uniformed officers already waiting outside.\n\n"So what do you figure will happen to him now?" Emerald asks as she opens a pouch on her bodysuit and begins affixing her rank insignia and the insignia of the Atlas military on her chest.\n\n"Probably depends a lot on whether they try him as a juvenile or adult," you reply, shifting Red Legacy back to sword form and sheathing it, tucking it at your hip. "The premeditation would weigh towards charging him as an adult, but then again it began when he was like ten, so. We'll see. The psych eval will probably weigh heavily on it, and it's not the same DA that shrugged their shoulders at the crimes committed by SDC administrators under Jacques. He'll do time but he might still have a life to live when he gets out."\n\n"Well, we all make mistakes." Emerald shrugs, then gives you a wry grin. "Luckily some of us are just too damn useful to put away forever for it."\n\n"Thanks, though, Em," you tell her with a smile. "I owe you one."\n\n"How can you owe me one?" Emerald replies, smirking and widening her eyes a little. "I don't exist," she adds, spreading her hands slowly as she fades from sight.\n\n"I wish you wouldn't use that shit on me," you grumble with a glance at the window, then sigh as you head for the door. You've got one more arrest to attend before you can call this all over.\n\nShortly after you're standing next to Ghira Belladonna... the genuine article... outside a hotel in Mantle as some uniforms and Duff Albert bring out a tall, gangly man with brown and white speckled skin, his neck particularly long and thin, giving him even more of a near-alien appearance. Duff stops the man in front of Ghira, who gives him a pained expression. "Bayard, why? Why didn't you tell me Sienna's son had launched himself on such a terrible purpose?"\n\n"Well. You know me, Ghira... I always did have trouble saying 'no' to a Khan," Shani's guardian replies with a sickly grin. "It's how I wound up watching the boy in the first place. And he has all of Sienna's fire and will... and just as little foresight."\n\n"Bayard..." Ghira sighs, reaching out as if to rest a hand on the other man's shoulder, and checking the motion when Duff shakes his head. "... Bayard, just tell them the truth, alright? Tell them everything."\n\nBayard Bhujang lifts his thin chin a bit. "Ghira. He may not be my blood... but he is my son. I'm going to take all of the blame they'll allow me to."\n\nGhira simply nods once after a moment, and shortly after the uniforms move Bayard over to a squad car, trying to urge him in without banging his head. Duff watches them, then turns back to you. "Well, looks like we've wrapped this up, Sterling. No more viciously murdered bodies."\n\n"Yeah... and a hurt, angry teenage boy trying to prove himself to his dead mother along with his guardian blinded by weakness and love are the ones in cuffs," you say with a sigh, shaking your head. "It just really doesn't feel like a win, somehow."\n\n"You take 'em where you can get 'em, in this business." He offers his hand. "Sterling."\n\n"Albert," you acknowledge with an only slightly wan smile, shaking it. "Been good working with you. Hope we don't have to do it again."\n\n"Likewise," Duff answers, before heading over to climb into the front passenger side of the police car.\n\n"I could have prevented this," Ghira declares grimly as he watches the car with his onetime friend in the back drive away. "Had I tried to be a presence in Sienna's son's life. Had I told more people about him. But Sienna chose Bayard as his guardian, and asked me for my promise that I would tell no one, to keep him safe."\n\n"Ghira. You made a promise to the daughter of your heart, and you kept it. This isn't on you any more than it's on Ilia," you assure him, laying a hand on his arm. "You have mentored and damn near raised every hurt and needing Faunus child you could manage... you've done enough."\n\n"It does not feel," he answers quietly. "Like enough. Not tonight."\n\n"... Yeah. I guess just like it doesn't really feel like a win to solve this case." You take a deep breath, huff it out. "But Duff's right. You take 'em where you can get 'em. And right now there are two children waiting back at Schnee Manor who are eager little sponges for everything you have to give about your skills, your experience, your morals, Ghira. And there are more on the way. Focus on that."\n\nHe lowers his head briefly. Then smiles. "It is certainly a more pleasant thought."\n\n-\n\n"You sure you wanna do this, Rainbow?" you murmur, glancing aside at her.\n\n"Yeah. It's important to me," she answers with a nod, before reaching out a finger to press the doorbell.\n\nIt takes a minute, but Claire Hewe answers the door, holding her baby again, looking both a bit startled and worried at the sight of the two of you. "O-oh. The police left, so... I thought it was over."\n\n"It is, Claire," Ilia assures her, managing a small smile. "We caught the people responsible, and you're not in danger anymore. I just wanted to tell you that myself. And... to tell you I'm sorry. About all of this, and... about what happened all those years ago." Your wife shakes her head a little before she continues. "I was devastated, hurt, more angry than I'd ever been, but... what I did to you, to Sandra, to Callista... it still wasn't right. I've regretted it for a long, long time, but I guess I've never been brave enough to tell you face to face. So... I'm sorry."\n\n"... It wasn't easy," Claire says slowly, gently jostling the child in her arms in an attempt to soothe its soft fussing. "I felt... a lot of hate. Through all the dental reconstructive surgery, getting used to the implants. I felt like all the things my parents said about Faunus had been proven true. ... But the pain faded, and eventually what I felt in that moment between seeing you turn blue and when you attacked us came back." She takes a deep breath, and admits, "Shame. That... instinctive, painful feeling of shame about what I'd just done. All the things I said. You... were my friend, Ilia, and all of a sudden I realized what all of the things I'd said to you meant. I've never really been able to escape that feeling either... it was tied up with anger, and hurt, and even some fear, but... as much as I was angry about what you did to me... I was sorry too. I guess... probably... a lot like what you're feeling."\n\n"We're all just people Claire," Ilia says softly after a moment. "We did stupid, hateful things to each other when we were children. We don't have to let that dominate the rest of our lives, though."\n\nClaire nods slowly, then says, "Thank you. For coming by. Maybe... sometime... we could have coffee together and talk a little more about things. When... things don't feel quite so raw."\n\n"I'd like that. Very much."\n\nAs the two of you head back down the front walk, you glance at Ilia. "Feel better?"\n\n"Some, I guess. Worse in other ways. I don't know. ... I do think maybe I need to take a few days, take the Manta to Vale, and Haven... talk to the other two. Apologize to them too. There's no guarantee they'll feel like Claire did, or that they'll even see me, but whatever else happens, I do owe them an apology. Giving them that isn't about whether it makes me feel better, it's about finally, fully owning up to what I did. And maybe like Claire, they need some closure to it too, whether that's admitting what they did wrong too, or just getting to tell me they hate me to my face."\n\n"Alright. We'll take the Manta and-"\n\n"I think this is something Silvia and I should do alone," she interrupts gently. "She doesn't have the same connection to those incidents... she's felt free to become a whole new person in the last ten years. But I think it's something only she and I really understand."\n\n"... Okay, babe." You nod once. "If that's how you feel, sure. Finn and I will be waiting with lots of hugs when you get back."\n\n"Thanks, I'll probably need them," she chuckles dryly as the two of you get into the shiny black car.\n\nAs you walk into Schnee Manor, bags piled near the door, Weiss emerges from one of the side rooms with a grin. "Well! I just finished the paperwork turning the aircar over to the EI. From now on it will be available to you guys whenever you need it, so you won't have to use airtaxis or your Manta every time you need to come up to Atlas or whatever for work. And I imagine they won't complain too hard if you use it a bit personally, too."\n\n"Thank you, Weiss," Ilia says as she steps forward, wrapping her arms around the other woman. "Not just for the car."\n\n"Hm? What then?" Weiss replies in confusion, even as she hugs Ilia back.\n\n"For being you. For being your bougie, generous, giving self who never thinks twice about all she has to offer." Ilia kisses her cheek and smiles at her. "I love you."\n\n"... Well I love you too, even if I'm not entirely sure I've been complimented," Weiss answers with a bemused grin. \n\n"Can I keep the suit?" Ilia asks with an easy smile. "I've kind of decided I like having the option to look all respectable on some jobs."\n\n"Of course you can, it's yours, I even made you some spares, they're in those garment bags," Weiss adds, still seeming a bit confused as she bobs her head at a pair of bags hanging on a coat rack.\n\n"Thanks. Be sure to tell us when the next party is, okay?"\n\n"Of... course?"\n\nShortly after, as Nika and Finn hug goodbye, you grin at Ilia while loading bags into the aircar's trunk. "Gotten over your bougphobia, hon?"\n\n"I'm still not interested in acting all rich and glamorous for the sake of it. But I realized that if I'm going to love our friends, I need to love everything about them. That includes Weiss throwing money around like her bank account reads a little infinity symbol," Ilia says with a bit of a laugh as she moves the side seat forward and leans in, pushing the armrest between the back seats up to make a third (albeit smaller, unless you're a seven-year-old) place to sit. "That's just her, and it's part of having her in our lives. I need to start enjoying it rather than analyzing it to hell."\n\n"Sounds good to me. Especially since I'm getting really damned attached to this car and not needing to go to the damn airfield every time I want to come to Atlas without hiring a taxi."\n\nIlia snorts, coming around to kiss your cheek. "Love you."\n\n"What, more than Weiss?" you ask in mock-amazement, draping your arms around her.\n\n"Mmmmmm... a bit," she says with a bob of the head, before laughing and kissing you fully this time.\n\n<hr>\n[[Let's have ourselves a very merry Solstice.|KaiIlia1x6]]

"We've got a lot of that coming our way, I think," you assert with a grin. "Starting with dinner with friends. You guys wanna watch something to relax? I have to go pick up Finn in awhile but we've got time for a movie."\n\n"Hey, why don't you let me pick him up?" Yang asks with a grin. "Give me a chance to get my hands on Quicksilver again."\n\n"Tch, trying to turn me into a cuck queen, Xiao Long?" Grinning though, you take out your scroll. "Yeah, lemme make sure you guys are still registered for pickup in the system. They make us reregister everyone who's authorized to pick him up or take him out of class every year and sometimes I forget."\n\nThe four of you wile away the day until Yang heads off to pick up Finn, prompting the three of you to get the house a bit in order and pack up for a weekend away. You're dropping a bag by the door when it opens and Finn rushes in, checking himself at the last moment so that he doesn't fully headbutt you in the stomach. "Mom! Hey, we going somewhere?" he asks immediately, spotting the bags.\n\n"Yup, if you do your homework for the weekend right now we can spend the weekend with the Schnees, deal?"\n\n"Deal!" he answers instantly, hurrying into the living room.\n\n"Uuuup we go," you call, hefting him into your lap as you sit down and helping him pull books and binders out of his bag. "Let's start with the book report huh?"\n\n"'Kay."\n\nHe lays out his work tablet on the table, Yang helpfully nudging it closer before heading upstairs to assist Blake. While Finn's filling in his name and class details, you rub his chest a bit, then kiss the top of his head. "Hey. Guess what."\n\n"What?" he asks, tilting his head up to look at you. \n\n"Love you lots and lots." You grin and give him a squeeze. "Ya my baby~."\n\n"Mooooom nooooo," he bemoans, kicking his feet a little.\n\n"'Kay. My little man," you amend, giving him another squeeze. "Okay, easy start, what's the book about?"\n\nYou guide him through his homework for a little while, which is really a total cop-out because honestly it's just some great snuggletime. Though as you start on the last assignment you notice he's not really picking up on what you're trying to help with as well, which is a usual problem so you call, "Ilia, math time!" Your wife approaches and you give her a token 'tag out slap' before helping Finn over into her lap instead.\n\n"Having trouble with second grade math, Sterling?" Yang teases as you come over to open the closet and decide which coat to wear.\n\n"Yang I've designed motors of course I don't have problems with math, I just can't explain it to Finn as well as Ilia can. Same thing with the writing, Ilia's better at it than I am but I just connect better with Finn on it." Deciding to go at least semi-formal since it's a nice restaurant, you haul out a long overcoat and drape it over your arm.\n\n"Huh, I never really thought about stuff like that... that one of us might just jive with our kid on different wavelengths," Yang muses, scratching her cheek lightly. \n\n"It took us some time to figure out too, one of Finn's teachers suggested we pay attention when taking turns with helping him where he seemed to start getting frustrated or slowing down."\n\n"See, I'm not even pregnant and this arrangement has already taught us something," Blake says with a smile as she takes out her own long black coat. "Is he almost done?"\n\n"Should be, they only give 'em like a page of stuff to do in most classes for the weekend." You glance at the time, then take out your scroll. "I may as well put in the req for an airtaxi now, they've always gotta call me and be all 'Ma'am are you serious about hiring a taxi to Schnee Manor?'"\n\n"Speaking of taxis and stuff, if we're gonna be spending more time in Mantle I guess we need to think about actually getting a car, huh, Blakey?" Yang suggests as she shrugs into her own usual leather jacket.\n\n"Mm, you're right. But you can just forget buying something snazzy, between helping out these two and our own impending bundle of joy it's going to have to be a four door."\n\n"Fiiiiine, gawd, crush my hopes and dreams as soon as they begin," Yang snorts good-naturedly, glancing at you. "Oh yeah, where'll we park it though?"\n\n"Mm, probably have to be in that little lot around the corner, there's like a monthly fee for spaces but it's like a two minute walk, that's really our best option. I'd suggest lengthening the side yard but then we're just parking behind each other." You roll your eyes as your scroll starts chiming, hitting the 'Accept' button and putting it to your ear. "Yes I'm serious."\n\n"Aaaand we're done," Ilia announces, coming into the entry with Finn's hand in hers. "Are we ready?" \n\n"Yeah they'll be here in a few minutes." Hanging up, you grin and ruffle Finn's hair. "Ready bud? You're gonna hang out at the manor while the ladies go to dinner."\n\n"Awww, can't I come?"\n\n"You wouldn't wanna, it's a sushi place. Heh, see?" you add with a grin as he makes a face. "Nah, you're gonna hang with Nika and erryone else, bud, and we'll be back before bedtime."\n\nOnce you've all settled into the airvan, Ilia settles a hand atop his head to rub. "By the way, Finn, Aunt Yang and Aunt Blake are gonna be staying with us a lot more from now on. We asked them if they want to stick around longterm and they said yes."\n\n"Huh." Finn wrinkles his nose again, this time in thought. "Is this one of those 'different sorts of family' things?"\n\n"Yeah sorta," you acknowledge with a snort, patting his leg. "They're still just your aunts, buddy, nothing's changing on that account, we just like having them around so they're gonna live with us now."\n\n"Oh, that's cool then."\n\n"Yeah?" Yang prompts from the seats ahead, looking over her shoulder and grinning.\n\n"Yeah some of your food's weird but it's waaaay better than Mom or Iamom does. ... Oops," he adds, ducking his head sheepishly (pun not intended).\n\n"Yeah yeah, sadly neither me or your Iamom ever quite picked up the knack, so sorry bucko," you say teasingly, briefly wiggling your fingers against his side until he giggles. "So looks like you're saved from quite so many noodle dishes and casseroles."\n\n"Is that what you've been feeding this child for the last four years?" Blake asks in mock-outrage.\n\n"I'll have you know we also make an extensive variety of chili and are the possessers of a truly wonderfully varied number of takeout menus," Ilia rebuts primly.\n\n"Dust, we got here just in time," Yang groans, before letting out a soft laugh.\n\nRuby and Weiss greet you at the door, giving Finn numerous hugs before turning him over to Klein, the six of you heading for her waiting hoverlimo right from the doorstep. "Oh, I didn't think to ask, Weiss, how fancy is this place, do we need jackets or anything?"\n\n"Don't worry about it," Weiss assures you.\n\nWhich, you find out soon, means 'you don't need to worry about it tonight' as your group walks in and the maitre d bows slightly. "Miss Schnee, your room is waiting."\n\n"Our room?" Blake prompts dryly to Weiss as you all walk.\n\n"They have an event room, so I hired it for a few hours. I felt like privacy," she adds, voice going a bit wan, Ruby hugging her arm gently.\n\nOnce you've all been seated around a slightly long table, you look over. "So, Weiss, how... are you?" you ask, not quite sure how to ask without saying something she might not be ready for.\n\n"My head's still spinning a little, to be honest." She brushes her hands across the tabletop, taking a deep breath before saying, "When we were called on to give testimony, Bianca Snow told me and Winter that... she's our aunt."\n\n"What?" Yang says softly, purple eyes widening a little.\n\n"Your aunt? You... mean your grandfather...?" Blake says slowly.\n\nWeiss nods once. "It wasn't an ongoing affair, just... a fling when he and Bianca's mother were both emotionally vulnerable. My father's PR team paid her to keep her heritage a secret. We had her over last night to talk and..." She clams up as the waitress comes in to take drink and appetizer orders, waiting until she's closed the doors again before continuing. "And talked about it quite a bit."\n\n"How'd your mom take it?" Ilia asks gently.\n\n"She... apparently already knew. She's wanted to reach out to Bianca for years, it seems, but when it seemed like Bianca was happy and at peace with things, she was afraid of stirring up too much. ... I think I get why her last few relapses happened now," Weiss adds with a mutter, pinching the bridge of her nose.\n\n"So what happens now?" you ask.\n\n"Well... after a lot of talking and some painful moments, we all came through it. We've told Bianca that any part of the company, up to half, that she wants to claim as Nicholas Schnee's heir is hers, but she's rejected that. She's... still thinking over whether she wants to claim the name."\n\n"But I think she's ready to be family now," Ruby adds in a more upbeat tone. "She and her friends from the company are gonna spend a few weeks with us at Solstice."\n\n"What, that mean you're not going to Dad's?" Yang asks with a small frown.\n\n"We're gonna be there day of, probably, but I think Dad will understand when I explain why."\n\n"You're probably right," Yang allows. "Wow, that really is a lot to take in. Bianca's a Schnee... ... nah I totally see it now that you say it."\n\n"It was sort of staring us in the face," Weiss agrees dryly. "Now that I know I can't stop seeing all the similarities to Winter. Her hands, her nose, her ears. ... The lower pair, I mean."\n\n"Mm. So what's good at this place anyway?" you ask, deciding to move ahead rather than linger on this topic, finally actually picking up the menu.\n\n"Everything, so far."\n\n"This isn't one of those places where it's all about the fresh-made sushi and then the ramen comes out of a bag because they don't even wanna be serving it, issit?"\n\n"Nnnnope it was super good," Ruby confirms cheerfully.\n\n"And yet you still stole half my Taijitu Roll," Weiss protests with a sigh.\n\n"Stolen sushi is the tastiest, Weiss, get over it."\n\n"I'm over this marriage, I want a divorce."\n\n"She says that every day," Ruby stage-whispers to Blake, who snrks softly and turns her head away.\n\n"Anyway I'm picking up the tab so just order whatever you want," Weiss asserts. "Whatever we don't eat we'll take back with us and someone will before it's been there an hour."\n\n"Hell I'm ordering a stronger drink then," you mutter, grinning when Ilia whaps your arm. "Hey I'm not paying or driving."\n\n"Don't be rude."\n\n"You say, eyeing the lobster ramen."\n\n"... It sounds good..."\n\nThe waitress soon returns, setting down drinks and bowls of steamed and salted edamame and tempura vegetables, before stopping at Weiss's side of the table. "Ma'am, are you ready to order?"\n\n"Yes, I will have a Taijitu Roll..." Weiss pauses, gives Ruby a mildly dirty look, then says, "Better make that two..."\n\n"Aw."\n\n"A bowl of whatever soup the chef recommends, and the fresh greens salad, please."\n\n"Miss?"\n\n"Beowolf roll and side order of bone broth udon, please," Ruby chirps.\n\n"And you miss?"\n\nYou eye one of the entries. "Is the crawfish frozen?"\n\n"No ma'am, nothing is. This month we're serving locally farmed crawfish, next month we'll start getting fresh orders of that and some other seafood from Baoula."\n\n"Oh nice, we'll have to bring Reese here next month," you comment to Ilia before looking up at the waitress. "Then I will have the crawfish roll, and a bowl of the beef tenderloin ramen, extra green onions on the side please, aaaand whatever adult beverage the chef suggests for that."\n\n"Very good. Miss?"\n\n"... Lobster ramen," Ilia murmurs, specks turning a bit pink. "Small fresh greens salad. Please."\n\n"And you miss?"\n\n"Sashimi sampler, fresh greens salad."\n\n"Very good, and you miss?"\n\n"Mmm, I will haaaave, the Firecracker Roll, the Wyvern Roll, aaaaaand... the Slaingrimm Roll."\n\n"Very nice, our chef has been waiting to show that one off, please be sure to tell me how you enjoy it."\n\n"And we'll just keep these in case we want to order another round," Weiss assures her, patting her menu, smiling at the waitress before giving Yang a flat look the moment the door closes again. "Strawberry sauce? In sushi? Seriously?"\n\n"Hey don't give me that they're the ones that put it on the menu, if it sucks it's their fault not mine."\n\n"You know what some of that black dye like they use for the rice in that does, right?" Blake adds in an amused tone, shaking her head as she looks over the menu further, probably just in curiosity. "Don't come freaking out to me tomorrow morning."\n\n"Oh, lovely, thank you Blake," Weiss scoffs.\n\n-\n\nIt's the next morning, and most of you are enjoying yourselves in the pool when you hear a particular chime from your scroll. "That's my EI tone, I gotta get that," you announce, wading over to the side of the pool and hauling yourself up, water streaming off your body and dripping from your red bikini as you pad over to your things and pick up the scroll, hitting 'accept' and quickly putting it to your ear. "Sterling. Yeah, she's right here. No, we're in Atlas, but we can get anywhere in Mantle pretty quickly, we're with the Schnees. ... Yeah. Yeah, okay, we'll get on it. Tell him we'll be there within the hour. Thanks, bye." You hang up, then grab your towel and start dabbing off. "Ilia, work calls, we gotta go."\n\n"Awwww," Finn protests as Ilia swims over to a ladder and starts pulling herself out.\n\n"Sorry, honey, that's just how it is," she tells him as she joins you. "You stay here and have fun, okay? Love you."\n\n"Love you," you add with a wink at him.\n\n"Love you too," he says with a bit of a pout still.\n\n"I'll have the garage bring around an aircar for you," Weiss says as she steps up out of the shallower end of the pool to head over to a wall panel. "Consider it loaned to the EI as long as you need it." \n\n"Thanks, Weiss, appreciate it." As you and Ilia head into the attached changing room to take a quick shower, you keep your voice low as you say, "Murder case."\n\n"What's the angle that wound up involving us?"\n\n"They weren't sure, the detective's being a little close-lipped about it, said he didn't want to discuss it on the phone. Just said he'd feel better having Huntresses work it with him. You want to stop at the house for our weapons?"\n\n"Not first thing, to just look over the scene our guns should be fine," she says after a moment's thought, lowering her head under the spray of water and running her hands through her hair. \n\nWatching the water slide across her naked body, gleam on her beautiful brown skin and highlight those well-kissed specks, you are incredibly tempted to delay your departure a little. Only the fact that you're in a fairly publicly-accessible part of someone else's home with two children right outside really stops you... after all, after ten years an impending murder case really barely dings your mood. \n\nSoon, you attired in hoodie and jeans, Ilia in long-sleeved shirt, hooded vest, and slacks, you trot down the front steps of the manor, unable to help stopping and whistling a bit. "Damn, nice," you murmur at the gleaming black car. It's no Morningstar FBS, but it's certainly a nice one, a two door four-seater with a slightly wide set to it. You take a glance around at the copious interior room (nice if a stakeout's necessary, thanks Weiss) and then settle into the driver's seat.\n\n"Good morning, Kai Sterling," the car chirps as your ass settles fully into the seat. "Would you care to engage autonavigate?"\n\n"Hell, sure, why not." You rattle off the address, then settle back as the car starts driving itself down the drive and heading for a takeoff point. "Now this is how to go to a murder scene."\n\n"Weiss is going to spoil us," Ilia muses in a dry tone, glancing around at the leather seats, full windshield HUD, and "Holy crap I think this isn't just a drink dispensor it does food." Taptap. "Scrambled eggs, croissant sandwich, breakfast bowl..."\n\n"Be casual, we play our cards right and act like it's not a big deal, Weiss may just donate this to the EI so it can be our work car."\n\n"... The part of me that thinks we get too bougie for our own good sometimes says no way, the part of me that's tired of eating microwave burritos on our way to early morning jobs says hell yes."\n\nSoon the car is setting down on a Mantle street to navigate the last few turns, pulling up to a curb and stopping outside one of the small, slightly rundown townhomes that the street is made up of. A guy who looks the very image of 'overworked homicide detective' is sitting there, save for being a bit younger and lacking a beer gut. His black hair and two day growth of beard instantly endear him to you as reminding you of your father, as does the world-weary look in his dark eyes and the way he's smoking a cigarette. His clothes definitely look like someone sent to central casting for a detective... tan trenchcoat, wrinkled white button-up shirt, white and black striped tie that probably hasn't actually been fitted up around his neck but once in its lifetime, black slacks, distinctly unshined black leather shoes. He stands up and takes a small case out of his pocket as the two of you get out of the car, sliding the cigarette into one end of it and closing it up before putting it away again. "You the Huntresses from EI?"\n\n"Kai Sterling, Ilia Amitola," you say by way of introduction as you walk up, offering a hand.\n\n"Detective Duff Albert. Gotta say, you're not what I was expecting. Or that," he adds with a glance at the car. "EI must be better-funded than I thought."\n\n"It's a loaner from a friend, we came right here from their place not ours so we're not exactly at our full nonconformist best," you assure him in a dry tone.\n\n"Heh. Thanks for coming though. I don't usually call in help on my cases, but this one... I think this might be a little above my pay grade. Or my marksmanship grade at least. You'll see once we're inside," he says, turning and making his way to the door, several holographic crime scene strips blocking it off.\n\n"Any particular reason you called EI Huntresses instead of just posting the job to the boards?" you ask as you trot up after him and wait for him to unlock the added-on police lock (looks like the door's own lock was kicked in) and thumb the projectors.\n\n"Besides the fact my precinct's operating on a shoestring budget and you guys come out for free? Takes at least twenty-four hours for a job to go up on the boards, plus I think you'll see the other reason when we get inside."\n\nThe hall is dim even once Duff flicks the lightswitch on, obviously using low wattage bulbs to save on the bills. "The place been cleared already?"\n\n"Yeah, uniforms did it before I got here, I did a check through too."\n\n"Well there it is," Ilia murmurs as she looks over the entry wall pictures, all of them featuring a human man with a scalp in various stages of balding when it's not hidden by a hardhat, and almost all of them showing him wearing the jacket and clip-sash of an SDC mine administrator.\n\n"Picture of himself with Jacques. And the newest one is from at least eight years ago, I'd bet," you note with a snort. "Guessing this guy didn't make the cut when Weiss did an administrator reevaluation after she took over." As Duff leads you further down the hall, the smell starts to hit... not too bad so the body must still be pretty fresh, and the nights are getting cold after all. You make a bit of a face at the sheer state of the body when you see it... or rather the pieces of it scattered across the small living room. "Damn, someone did though[[.|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YMPAH67f4o]]"\n\n"Yeah. Now I'm no blood spatter analyst, but I've seen enough crime scenes to know that those patterns mean the blood was flung there from individual cuts, and the slices on the body are way too clean... that wasn't a saw or slow work, it was quick. Went through bone like it was meat. See what I mean when I thought it might be a little over my head?"\n\n"Good call, Duff," you reply, stepping around him. "This all been processed?" \n\n"They did the full holography scan, yeah, then I had 'em leave it for us."\n\n"Man, this is a level of violence even we don't see often. This had to have been personal," you mutter.\n\n"You don't think it was a cause? Something related to the SDC?" Duff asks with another glance around, bobbing his head towards the thin, blood-spattered case framing the man's overseer sash and ID.\n\n"I'm not saying it's not, but if it was just that I'd expect to see more bruises on the body, and more violence done to that," you add with a gesture to same frame. "But look, the glass is intact, it's not even crooked. Which is also weird though if it was personal," you add with a mutter, glancing around at the still-upright furniture, the barely rumpled but blood-soaked rug. "This much hate and the murderer didn't want to make it last?"\n\nIlia, who's pulled on a pair of gloves, steps over several blood spatters and an arm, squatting down a bit and glancing around, then lifting up the corner of the flap on the front of the couch and sliding something out. "Nine millimeter. It's been fired," she confirms after a small sniff.\n\n"Confirms our killer has an active Aura, assuming that none of this blood spatter is from them," you muse. "This is already reading weird. You two look around, see if you can find the shell casing, I'm gonna look our buddy here over a little more."\n\n"'Weird' as opposed to your usual dismembered bodies?" Duff asks dryly as you and he both pull on gloves before heading in slightly separate directions.\n\n"Yes, actually." You squat down near the head, observing the angle it was cut at, and the blood pooled around the neck. You glance around at some of the other splatters, then lift up the head a little bit to look at the dead man's face. "No post-mortem bruising," you mutter. "He didn't hit you before, and this is where you fell, he didn't feel the need to kick you or look at you, just killed you and left. The anger it takes to cut parts of you off five times but he doesn't hit you, doesn't abuse the body, what kind of anger is that?"\n\n"I'm not seeing a casing," Duff calls after another few seconds. "From where he was probably standing and where the gun fell it ought to be around here but it's not."\n\n"... So killer takes the casing with him," you say after a moment, resting your forearms on your knees as you continue to squat in place. "... Kicks open the door probably in the middle of the night rather than picking it or forcing a window or something. Marches in, not even hiding, our vic has time to get up, grab his gun, get a shot off, and then he's immediately cut to pieces. Our killer then... calmly takes the shell casing, but why, it wasn't even his gun... and leaves. Doesn't abuse the body. Doesn't trash the house. Doesn't so much as smash a picture on his way out."\n\n"If it was anger at the SDC, or even the SDC of the past, why not smash this?" Ilia says, frowning at the framed sash. "If it was personal why not smash this? He was obviously hugely proud of having been an overseer, even if it was just to hurt him it would have been almost instinctive to lash out and smash this if they had that level of hate for him."\n\n"It's like a professional hit but... not," Duff adds in a grunt as he rises fully to his own feet, scowling around. "Someone who was just hired to do it would have taken his head off and called it good. Unless they were ordered to cut him up more first. But in that case why not also order them to throw him a beating, or trash the place?"\n\n"It's the most muddled damn messaging on a murder I've ever seen," you agree, standing up again. \n\n"Call Reese in on it?" Ilia asks with a glance over.\n\n"No, I don't wanna take her off that case she's on now. Maybe if this drags." You look around again, before directing your gaze to Duff. "Neighbors see anything?"\n\n"The only consistent descriptor was 'long black coat'," Duff replies with a shake of the head. \n\n"... Long black coat?" Ilia echoes, eyes going wide.\n\n"Ilia, what is it?" you ask with a frown.\n\n"I... I thought these cuts and blood spatter looked sort of familiar, but I couldn't place it. When you said that it clicked... I've seen people cut like this before. Not so severely, not so many times, but... just like this."\n\n"You're saying we have a suspect?" Duff asks, coming dangerously close to perking up a bit.\n\n"Sort of but not quite," you answer with a frown, Ilia's expression and phrasing having clued you in. "Call your people and tell them they can clean up the scene, Duff. We're gonna hafta take a trip out on the tundra."\n\n-\n\n"And you're sure he was here all night?" you ask the warden as the four of you walk along the cool hallway. "Hasn't been beyond the walls, even for helping with Grimm culling, anything like that?"\n\n"No, he's not cleared for that sort of activity, his psych's orders," the older woman assures you.\n\n"Where, specifically, was he around nine o'clock last night?"\n\n"Being escorted back to his cell by a guard. He had a migraine and we don't administer painkillers anywhere outside of the infirmary. I can get you the video, both hallways and the guard's bodycam, if you like?"\n\n"Yeah, if you could, just address them to Detective Albert here for chain of custody purposes." You step into the small room, the opposite side from the door half transparent material and half covered by a table running up to a cement barrier, the opposite chamber nearly identical save for a ring set in the tabletop. You settle into the chair, letting Ilia and Duff stand behind you, waiting.\n\nEventually the opposite door opens, and a guard leads in a man in an orange bodysuit, his red hair close-cropped, plastic sheaths fitted over the tips of his now more prominent horns. He's allowed to sit under his own power, and settles his hands on the table so the guard can link the chain of his cuffs to the ring on the table before stepping out. The prisoner regards you with one pretty blue eye and one that resembles a glowing cyan marble, the once prominent brand over his eye now somewhat faded, the skin still slightly too smooth in most places, but no longer painfully obvious as spelling out the letters 'SDC'.\n\n"Hey, Adam," you greet, keeping your voice calm.\n\n"Sterling," he says in response, his own voice low and hard to read.\n\n"They treating you alright? Heard you're still having migraines."\n\n"Sometimes. They're going to adjust the prosthetic again next month. I can manage." He lifts his head a little. "Hello, Ilia."\n\n"Adam," she answers coolly.\n\nAdam's gaze drifts from her back to you. "... Is Blake here?"\n\n"No," you tell him firmly.\n\n"... That's probably good." He nods a little, before looking at the man behind you.\n\n"Adam, this is Detective Duff Albert," you say by way of introduction, the man holding up his badge. "With the Mantle police. We're helping him out with something. We were hoping you could help us out a little too by answering some questions."\n\n"... Yeah, okay," Adam says after a moment, shrugging a little and slouching further in his chair. "What is it?"\n\nYou take out your scroll, activating the holoprojection and flitting to a picture you snapped of one of the framed photos in the hallway earlier. "You know this guy at all?" Adam's body language instantly reads pure, paralyzing rage for just a moment, both eyes widening, before he shudders all over, as if the intensity of his own reaction had terrified him. He yanks his head down, his breathing going rapid as you quickly turn off the projection. "Whoa, okay, Adam? Adam, breathe, alright, slow it down for me, okay?" As he clearly forces himself to do so, you press more gently, "You do know the guy?"\n\n"... Yeah," he rasps, a little shudder running through him as he slowly raises his head. He's silent for a moment, before his voice drops almost completely flat. "He's the one who did it."\n\nThere's confusion... but only for a moment. Your eyes flit to the attempt at lessening the scars, the prosthetic eye replacing the one that was half-destroyed by a brand. 'Shit.'\n\n"Is he dead?" Adam asks after a moment.\n\n"Yeah, Adam," you answer after only a brief hesitation. "He's dead. Someone killed him. ... You know anything about that?"\n\nHe stares at you for long moments. Then just shakes his head.\n\nYou look at him for a few moments, then nod. "Alright. Thanks for your help on this, Adam, we appreciate it. I'll mention it to the generals next time I see them, okay?"\n\n"Mm." He lowers his head, eyes downcast. "... Could you tell the warden I need to see my psych. Please."\n\n"Yeah, sure, I'll make sure that happens," you assure him as you stand, turning to walk back out.\n\n"You really believe him?" Duff asks with a frown as the door closes after him.\n\n"His meds make him a little harder to read than most people for me, but yeah I did. That reaction he had when he saw the picture of our vic... Adam's been repressing the memory of that guy's face for years, if I had to guess, trying to control his hate for him. That's not the reaction of someone that arranged a killing. Still," you say as the warden walks up. "We're gonna need a record of all his calls."\n\n"I'll tell you now, you're not going to see anything in the last five years but his lawyer, his doctor, and the occasional incoming from your own office."\n\n"Does he talk to other people? Inmates, guards? Have any friends?"\n\n"No, Adam Taurus mostly keeps to himself. He reads in the library in most of his free time, runs the track when he has time in the yard, I think the most talking he does is in his mental health sessions."\n\n"Can you arrange one of those for him? Like, within the hour if possible?"\n\n"I will, yes."\n\n"Have his psych give me or the detective here a call when they can, if you would, otherwise I think we'll get out of your hair. Thank you for your time." You shake her hand, then stroll off down the hall. "Well this just took an interesting little twist."\n\n"You were right, he must have been let go when Weiss reviewed all the administrators," Ilia half-growls. "But he didn't have a criminal record, why?"\n\n"Statute of limitations, I'd guess," Duffy speaks up, his hands tucked in his trenchcoat pockets. "Assault with intent to disfigure has a statute of fifteen years. Depending on when it happened, by the time Schnee reported it to the authorities, someone probably looked at how little evidence they'd have to try and convict on and decided they'd never get him into court by the time the statute was up."\n\n"Evidence?! We've got victim testimony!" Ilia snaps, stopping and whirling to gesture back down the hall. "Adam just identified his attacker!"\n\n"Hey, hey, Rainbow, take it easy," you urge in a whisper, stepping close and draping an arm around the front of her shoulders. "Lower your voice, we're in a prison."\n\n"Now listen," Duffy tells Ilia solemnly, frowning as he raises a hand and shakes a finger. "You know, and I know," he continues, gesturing first to Ilia and then himself. "That if our vic did that to the guy?" He gestures at his own eye for emphasis. "He deserved a stay in a cell for it. But no prosecutor is gonna go out on a limb when their strongest evidence is the eyewitness testimony of one of the most infamous terrorists in recent history. A jury would be more likely to wonder why they couldn't convict Taurus again. That's just the reality of us people stuck on this side of the law instead of in the murky middle like you guys."\n\n"... Goddammit," Ilia hisses, whirling around. She rubs her lower face for a moment, then huffs. "I'm gonna check with Weiss about this guy, if it turns out she alerted the Atlas DA about what he'd done and nobody did anything, I'm launching a complaint."\n\n"Yeah, you probably oughtta," Duff answers with a nod. "Good luck with it. And 'scuse me if that comes out cynical, but I mean it too."\n\n"... Yeah. Yeah, thanks." Ilia pinches the bridge of her nose, then huffs. "Let's get the hell out of here."\n\nOnce the three of you are back in the car and it's taken off to zip at a reasonable Grimm-avoiding altitude over the tundra, you glance at the center console. "Scroll command, call Weiss Schnee."\n\nA few moments later, the screen lights up with Weiss's face. "Kai, Ilia, are you on your way back?"\n\n"Yeah, Weiss, but we're gonna need to talk to you in an official capacity before we call today a wrap. You mind giving us and the detective here some time?"\n\n"Of course. I'll be waiting in my office."\n\n"Yes, I remember him," Weiss says a bit grimly as she looks at the projection of the victim, the photo showing him in his jacket, sash, and hardhat. "I had several eyewitnesses who went on record as saying that he'd participated in branding Faunus employees or trespassers. I immediately terminated his employment with cause and turned everything over to the Atlas DA, but I suppose like most of those cases, nothing was done. 'No material evidence'," she adds with a frustrated sigh.\n\n"Weiss, this was the guy that branded Adam Taurus's face," you inform her as the three of you settle down into chairs across from her desk.\n\nWeiss grimaces. "Lord. Adam's still in prison, though, isn't he?"\n\n"Was being escorted back to his cell from being treated for a migraine at the time of the murder. Pretty good alibi," Duff snorts.\n\n"Can you tell us any more about him?" you prompt.\n\n"Only what's in his file." Weiss spends a few moments tapping at the holokeyboard on her desk, then brings up a projection of an employee file. "Dennis Dunn, fifty-seven, single at time of termination, no next of kin mentioned. A lot of the people I fired after the review were like that," she continues. "Most of them were older single men with no families... I guess they felt like they didn't have anything to lose by committing sentient rights abuses."\n\n"Could we get a list of everyone you fired, and everyone you referred information on to the DA?" Duff asks.\n\n"I'll need you to put in for a warrant, but I'll go ahead and get the files ready for you," Weiss confirms as she starts typing again. "I'd suggest asking Judge Ardit, I know him and I'll send a message saying I'm already preparing to cooperate. Assuming he approves it first thing in the morning, I'll pass the data disk to Kai and Ilia, they're certified to handle delivery of evidence so it doesn't violate chain of custody."\n\n"Thanks, I appreciate it. Got the judge's number? Thanks," Duff repeats as Weiss flits a small holoscreen over to him and he takes a moment to tap it into his scroll. "In that case I'm gonna head back to the station house, see if the collection teams found anything else."\n\n"I'll have someone drive you back to Mantle, Detective, it was nice to meet you," Weiss notes, standing up and leaning over her desk to offer her hand.\n\n"Likewise."\n\nOnce Albert has left, Weiss sinks back into her chair and huffs. "... You spoke to Adam?" she asks after a moment. \n\n"Yeah," Ilia confirms, cupping her chin as she looks into the distance. "He confirmed that Dunn was the one who branded him."\n\n"The reaction hit him like a train, it was the real deal," you add with a sigh, rubbing your forehead.\n\n"Dammit, I told the DA, I handed him those files personally," Weiss almost snarls. "He tries to run to get back into office and I'll double my contribution to his opponent."\n\n"I'm going to be filing a complaint with the EI," Ilia says, her voice having taken on a tired tone. "Negligence of justice. Not that it will matter, if the DA who made the call on it is already gone."\n\n"No, but it can help finish off any other political aspirations he's got, especially once I make a complaint too," Weiss says with a frown, folding her hands. "What's this looking like, guys? Someone targeting the SDC administrators I fired?"\n\n"It might be, it's too early to tell. Something feels so off about this whole damn thing," you whisper, staring at the projection of Dunn's file. "A crime scene full of mixed messages, a victim where the man with the most motive to kill him is already in prison... no, I dunno, I don't like this. Even more than most of the murders and hate crimes we've worked, I don't like this."\n\n"Violence motivated by hatred is straightforward and obvious most of the time, this is... murky. There's hatred here, but where the hell is it actually directed?" Ilia adds with a frown.\n\n"I'm gonna message Albert, tell him to expand the warrant to anyone who'd have access to these employee files," you note after a moment, tapping at your scroll.\n\nWeiss winces slightly. "That's going to be a lot of people over the last eight years, but I guess that's necessary. I wish I didn't have to give up so many employee files at a time but that's the nature of the beast I suppose." She shakes her head, then asks, "Have you two eaten?"\n\n"No, despite the car coming with a restaurant," Ilia scoffs, prompting you to thwap her on the shoulder.\n\n"It's not a restaurant it's called an autoprep and I thought you'd like it," Weiss says in a slightly wounded tone.\n\n"It's great, Weiss, thank you," you assure her. "The coffee in it's fantastic too. We couldn't have gotten what we did today done nearly as smoothly without the car."\n\n"Hm. Well, if it's useful, go on and keep using it for the case, I'll make sure it's kept ready for you."\n\nYou almost ruined it, Rainbow.\n\nIt's my antibodies fighting off the boug!\n\n"Iamom!" Finn calls as he catches the two of you heading for the smaller dining room near the kitchen, throwing his arms around her before looking back and forth. "Did you catch the bad guy?"\n\n"Not yet, kiddo, but we're working on it. You know sometimes it takes a few days," you assure him with a few pats on the back of the head. "You have fun today?"\n\n"Yeah, Uncle Whitley taught me to play a song on the piano!"\n\n"He did?" Ilia squeals in utter delight. "Well you've gotta show us just as soon as your moms grab a bite to eat, huh?"\n\nThe next morning, you and Ilia are making your way down the front steps towards the car, Weiss having provided you both with slacks, jackets, and button-up shirts to look a bit more "professional" (Ilia's jacket lined with iridescent rainbow armorweave, yours silver), your breath fogging a little bit with Atlas letting just a little bit of chill through the environmental regulation so that it actually feels like fall. You pause in front of the car as your scroll rings, checking it briefly before tapping 'accept'. "Hey, Duff, was just about to call you, the warrant came through and we've got the disk on us, we're about to head down to Mantle now."\n\n"Don't know how useful it'll be. We've got another one... I think. And this guy's not former SDC."\n\n"You think?" You frown, turning aside a little. "Is this our perp or not?"\n\n"Violence says yes. Wounds say no. Tell me what you think when you get here."\n\n"Okay, send a location blip to my scroll, we'll be there soonest." Hanging up, you settle into the car. "That was Albert, there's another victim, he says he thinks it's the same perp but the method's different."\n\n"God, catching this murder case is punishment for me complaining about working Dust mine accidents, isn't it?" Ilia grouses as the car navigates itself down the drive again. "Remember when we just killed Grimm and fought ancient evil?"\n\n"Those were the days, huh?"\n\nThe crime scene is obviously a lot fresher this time, prompting you and Ilia to stop at the door and take advantage of the beat cop proffering gloves and shoe covers. Ducking around a few slightly green-faced uniforms as you make your way down the hallway of the much more upscale townhome than the last, you find Duff Albert standing in front of what looks like a study. "This where the vic is?"\n\n"Yeah, they're just finishing the holography scan now. Blain Koturn, seventy-three, retired, living off a pension from a retirement management firm."\n\n"Nice firm," you note with a glance around. "This is one of the nicer neighborhoods in all of Mantle, and it doesn't look like it was being kept clean by a seventy-three-year-old man."\n\n"Koturn... I feel like I know that name from somewhere," Ilia murmurs. At the two of you looking at her expectantly, she shakes her head. "I can't recall. I'll let you guys know if it comes to me."\n\nSomeone in more casual clothes with a badge wallet dangling from a chain on their neck emerges. "You can go in now."\n\n"Yeah. Take a look, see what you think," Duff urges, tilting his head.\n\nYou step in, unable to help wincing just a little at the sight of mangled flesh and exposed bone. "Dragonsakes, he's clawed all to shit." You walk over to squat in the closest space clear of blood spatter, scowling at the body as you look it up and down. "I mean this is definitely the same level of violence."\n\n"Entry method was the same too, door kicked in, seems to have stormed right through the house and found him here," Albert comments as Ilia begins prowling around the edges of the room. \n\n"There were other differences too, right?" you prompt as you carefully lift the body's head and turn it a little bit.\n\n"Yup. Some smashed pictures and claw marks on the walls. Koturn had a little twenty-two in his desk, fired it twice. Casings were here this time."\n\n"And he hit him," you mutter, snapping a photo before brushing away some of the blood on the dead man's jaw to reveal a bruise. "Probably first thing. Knocks him backwards... head hits the desk," you continue, tilting the head again to look at the gash on the back. "He's either unconscious or maybe already dead when he hits the floor. Same method of entry," you continue mostly to yourself, resting your forearms on your knees. "But this time he messes up some of the house, coming or going. Hits his victim this time before laying into him. The clawing is more deliberately savage this time. Takes the shell casing the first time," you muse, gesturing to one side of the room, then the little silver cylinders glinting nearby. "Doesn't this time. Two perps? ... No. First one realized that he didn't need to hide casings that weren't from his weapon," you conclude as Ilia drags down a heavy leather book from the bookcase and sets it on the desk, starting to flip through it. "Realized he left the first scene too clean."\n\n"Our guy was thinking over his first venture and realized that he left a muddled scene," Albert agrees, nodding along with your reasoning. "Now he's trying to look more like an anger killer."\n\n"Yeah. This isn't typical serial killer escalation, it's... methodical imitation," you conclude as you peel off your gloves and pass them to a nearby uniform for bagging, removing an unbloodied pair from your pocket. "Too methodical... more brains than passion. He goes home after his first murder, he's sitting there playing it over in his head, realizes 'oh shit I should have busted up the place'. Now with this one he's trying to make us think he's just some pissed off dude with a vendetta. But it also doesn't feel random, if he was just trying to throw us off the trail, why switch MOs? Rainbow?" you suddenly ask, your head snapping to the side as Ilia's skin and hair darken like the lights had been turned out. "What's wrong?"\n\n"Kai, look," she whispers, turning the photo album she's been looking through towards you.\n\nYou feel fear skitter across your own skin as you spot the photo she means. Yang, you instantly send.\n\nHuh? Kai, what's wrong?\n\nWhere are you, is Blake with you?\n\nYeah, she's right beside me, we went out for a run along the streets, what is it?\n\nTry not to panic her but get her back to Weiss's, now, do not stop for anything, understand me?\n\nUnderstood.\n\n"Hey, what the hell's wrong?" Albert asks with a frown as he steps over.\n\n"I don't think we can rule out the SDC as a link just yet, but this case just got even murkier," you announce grimly as you tap a photo of a rather younger version of the dead man on the floor, smiling and shaking hands with Ghira Belladonna. "And a lot more personal."\n\n<hr>\n[[To be continued.|KaiIlia1x5]]

"... Dragon forgive me," you whisper softly, closing your eyes and leaning your forehead against the cool glass. "I can't. I can't risk giving up our family and the home we've made here for this." You feel Ilia's arms tighten around you. "Everything that piece of shit said today was phony and self-serving, but fuck it if he wasn't right about most of it too. Including what happened to Finn leaving him scared and confused... and about him being lucky to have us. I can't... risk taking that away from him. Doing that to him again. I won't."\n\n"Hey," Ilia says softly, drawing you away from the window and down into a gentle kiss. "It's alright. It's alright." She kisses you again, and again, stroking her hands through your hair. "It's okay. This is who we are now... we do things the right way."\n\n"... Yeah." You nod once, drawing her close and kissing her back. Your place over the rainbow. Your home.\n\n"But fuck me if I'm not gonna give the right way a bit of a nudge," you say as you draw back, turning to head for the door. "I'm taking the Manta, I probably won't be back tonight."\n\n"Kai?" Ilia blinks, following you to the top of the stairs. "What are you going to do?"\n\n"Go get the proof I suspect is there so I can light a fire under James's ass in the morning," you tell her as you shrug your coat on. "Hey, remember... I'm an expert in Dust mine accidents," you declare smugly as you head out the door.\n\nTwelve hours later, you toss a data disk on James Ironwood's desk. "And what is this?" he asks, grey streaking his beard now as well as his hair, every inch the elder statesman as he picks it up.\n\n"Proof the collapse of Dust mine #449 was deliberate external sabotage," you answer. "Or next best thing."\n\n"Bianca gave us full access to the mine and all of its equipment," Reese explains, adjusting her dataglasses a bit before she continues, her lab coat fresh and white since she pulled on a new one to come see the head of the Atlas military. "Someone crashed the scanner system directly after the collapse to try and wipe the memory, but I recovered it here at my lab in Atlas, so the results are certified to be submitted in court. The scanners were deliberately adjusted to be more sensitive to Gravity Dust at specified times, just before every time they were checking the bottom floor for drilling. The sensitivity setting was deliberately calibrated to make any voids look solid."\n\n"You're saying this is clear and obvious evidence of sabotage," Ironwood says grimly, eyeing the disk.\n\n"And murder," you add flatly. "Crashing the scanners on purpose during the collapse meant they had to reboot from backup and it didn't have the proper settings. There are people that might still have been alive if those scanners had retained their emergency life signature scanning settings."\n\nIronwood presses a hand over his mouth and sits back in his chair, even his experienced blue eyes showing a little glint of anger and horror at the idea of someone deliberately causing a mine collapse. After a moment, though, he says, "I can take this to my counterpart in civilian law enforcement. I know he'll act on this, but... you understand that at that point, it's out of my hands. Out of all of our hands."\n\n"I get it." You nod once. "That's the way it has to be."\n\n"Maybe not out of my hands. General, with your permission, I'd like to be demoted to Specialist Junior Grade again," Reese says, stuffing her hands in her coat pockets. "That puts me back in eligibility to be loaned to the Atlas civilian police where I can assist their forensics teams. I've spent the last six weeks fitting people for new prosthetics from that mine collapse, and I'd like to see someone answer for that."\n\n"... Of all the audacious requests. Just for that, Specialist, you're demoted," Ironwood answers with a grin. "You're going to have to pull off something pretty good, like heroically assisting the Atlas police department's forensics team, to earn a promotion again."\n\n"Aw gosh sir, of all the luck," Reese says with a grin.\n\n"I'm gonna bow out at this point, then," you say with an actual little bow, turning and heading for the door. "James, always nice to see you. Need to do dinner again sometime soon."\n\n"Kai, are you sure you don't want to be involved somehow?" Ironwood asks.\n\nYou pause at the door, thinking it over... then shaking your head. "This one's too raw for me. If it's gonna be done right, Ilia and I need to step back."\n\n"... I understand then. We'll take it from here, Kai."\n\n"I hope so," you murmur, stepping out of the room.\n\n"So that's it then," Blake murmurs that day at lunch, the four of you sitting around a table on a streetcorner cafe. "It's all in the hands of the Atlas police now."\n\n"And Reese, which makes me feel a little better about it," you agree, running a fingertip around the rim of your coffee cup.\n\n"Do you think it will make a difference? From what you were saying earlier?" Ilia asks, mostly just poking at her salad.\n\n"I'm not sure. Maybe. I think recovering the scanner data before they knew we were going to do a new investigation is probably a big one, but... I don't know. If the one behind this put even a little distance between themselves and anyone they hired for this... it's still likely to deadend."\n\n"Well that's a cheery note," Yang says with a sigh, before grinning and shaking her head. "Look, it's out of our hands now. We've just gotta accept that and move on."\n\n"You're probably right," you agree with a nod. Then smiling. "So, hey, listen. Ilia and I were doing a little talking the other night, and we wanted to make you guys an offer."\n\n"These last few weeks have been really nice," Ilia agrees. "And we want you to consider staying in Mantle more often, with us. Basically as roommates."\n\n"You mean live-in babysitting," Yang teases. "And cooking."\n\n"And cleaning," Blake adds dryly.\n\n"What noooooo," you drawl, putting your fingertips to your chest, and then laughing. "Okay, I admit, it is hella great to have someone that actually likes cooking in the house. It's just homier with you guys around, Finn loves having you here, he's been getting perfect scores on tests with Blake helping out. Just because we don't need roommates doesn't mean we can't have roommates."\n\n"Well." Blake glances at Yang, smiling. "We'd have to talk about it, but... there's probably something you should know before we make any decisions on that." She slips her hand into her wife's and says, "Yang and I have decided we're definitely going to start trying for a baby."\n\n"Aaaaaaa!" Ilia squeals, turning a delighted shade of orange briefly.\n\n"Oh wow, that's great guys," you assure them, grinning. "Offer definitely still stands though. We'd have to lose the second guest room but it could totally be turned into a nursery."\n\n"Honestly, we've enjoyed these last few weeks a lot too, and we certainly wouldn't mind the extra help of people that have raised a child before," Blake admits. "So I think... well, like I said, we'll need to talk to it, but I think we'd definitely lean heavily towards saying yes. On a similar note, we have some extra rooms at home on Patch, so I want to consider that you guys and Finn's home too."\n\n"Hey, like you guys said, every family's different," Yang says warmly. "Sometimes it's two lesbian couples living together and raising their kids together."\n\n"That's definitely a new one for my list," Blake agrees with a laugh. "But it sounds nice too. I've always thought our home on Patch was missing a little something, maybe it was more people."\n\n"Actually speaking of which, why don't we start off with a little house exchange? Ilia and I were thinking of taking Finn's entire winter break to stay on Patch, if you guys want to stay in our place in Mantle before coming home for the holiday, start making it a bit more homey for you...?"\n\n"Hm." Yang looks at Blake, both of them clearly having a mental conversation, before the blonde looks back at you and grins. "That sounds amazing." \n\n"What'll we do about the cabin I rented?" Ilia asks with just a bit of a pout. \n\n"Mm. Well, is Silvia still seeing Rocanante? Let's just tell her she can ask Roca to come too, if she wants, and let them have the cabin."\n\n"Guess that works, yeah."\n\n"Tell you what, why don't we ask if Weiss or Winter can watch Finn tonight, and all four of us go to dinner in Atlas?" you suggest. "There's a restaurant Weiss recommended, Mistralian cuisine mostly, they do great sushi apparently. Heh, I hooked Blake," you add as the other woman's yellow eyes light up.\n\n"Oh... hush. ... But yes you have."\n\n"I'm not sure if it's a reservation sort of place, but I'll call Weiss and see." You could just telepathically send to her, considering it's a nice clear day and Atlas is right overhead, but that sort of thing tends to be shocking outside of emergencies. So you just take our your scroll like a normal person and dial her direct number.\n\n"Good afternoon, Kai, how are things?"\n\n"Decent. Got a few things to tell you but can do it in person. Hey, I was thinking we might try that new place you were telling me about the other day, do we need a reservation?"\n\n"Oh, 'Gohan'? Not usually but I can make one anyway. If you don't mind, why don't Ruby and I tag along?"\n\n"Sounds good to me. Can your family watch Finn y'think?"\n\n"That shouldn't be any trouble. Why don't you pop by about six, in fact if you want since it's Friday, plan to stay the weekend."\n\n"I'll run it by everyone, but if that's good with them sure, thanks. See you at six then." You flick the scroll closed. "She said she'd make us a reservation, she and Ruby are gonna join us. She also said if we wanted we could stay the weekend."\n\n"Mmm, Finn has a report due Monday, so we're gonna have to be really watchful and make sure he doesn't get too distracted in Schnee Wonderland to do it," Ilia muses.\n\n"He already read the book?" At Ilia's nod you shrug. "Let's tell him if he gets the report done before we get back from our evening out, then we'll stay the weekend, it's just like a page isn't it? He can do a page in a few hours."\n\n"That's probably not a bad idea. Or one of us can sit with him and do it before we leave." \n\n"That's even better, yeah, have him do it right when he gets home from school, I'm sure he'll like the idea of having the whole weekend free."\n\n"I'll do it, if you like," Blake volunteers. "Since we'll be staying, I suppose?"\n\n"Nah it's fine, I appreciate it but it's good if it's one of us sometimes too. I'll sit with him, we work out words pretty good together," you assure her. "Could you help him on history a bit next week though? Neither Ilia or I are really great at that."\n\n"Sure, what's he on?"\n\nThe four of you chatter and wile away the lunch hour before returning to the house... all four of you's house now, you suppose, which suits you well enough. Yang and Blake have made the place even comfier lately, and that's definitely what you're wanting now... some comfy. As you approach the gate (white picket fence in front, you kind of insisted), the glow-in-the-dark mostly flat plastic skeletons lined up to one side of the tree start dancing, shaking their arms back and forth and wagging their hips, legs swinging on their joints while a chipper upbeat song plays. It was as close to a jumpscare as Ilia would let you get.\n\n"How did you even do that?" Yang asks appreciatively, squinting at the barely-visible strings connecting the decorations to the faux-cobweb-covered tree branches.\n\n"Just a bunch of little timed servos and small swingarms and a lot of trial and error, basically, Finn helped," you remark proudly as you unlock the door. "Enclosed 'em in boxes and screwed the boxes to the branch and covered 'em up."\n\n"Mm, I guess when you get a bunch of weapon modification pointers from Reese Chloris, elaborate holiday decorations aren't that big of a deal," Blake says dryly.\n\n"This year, for Solstice?" You spread your hands. "Ten foot holiday tree that deploys from a present the size of a music box."\n\n"No," Ilia says with a snort, whapping your arm before she heads into the kitchen. "We'll be in Patch for Solstice anyway!" she calls back.\n\n"Tch, no neighbors to annoy, how's that even Solstice?" you demand as you flop down on the couch.\n\n"Mm." Yang settles down on the love seat, Blake coming dangerously close to looking like she's going to sit in the blonde's lap before diverting to the other cushion at the last moment. "Yeah it's just not the same when you've gotta walk at least five minutes to the nearest neighbor to see decorations I guess. Hey, you could do it in the bar, though?" she offers.\n\nYour eyes glitter as you swing your hands apart. "On top of the bar."\n\n"Hell. Yes."\n\n"Do what you want to the bar, just no Jingle Bell Helling the house, alright?" Blake says with a little laugh even as she rubs her forehead a bit.\n\n"Fiiiine."\n\nIlia returns and flops down at your side, all of you settling into a comfortable silence, broken only by the ticking swing of the pendulum in the clock upstairs.\n\n"Why did you even buy that thing?" Yang asks curiously as she glances up the stairs.\n\n"It's comfy," Ilia asserts with a grin, snuggling in closer against you.\n\n"Mm. It kind of is," Blake agrees, closing her eyes, her ears giving very small twitches in time with the ticks.\n\n<hr>\n[[Christmas on Patch will be even comfier.|KaiIlia1x4]]\n\n[[The future seems very comfy.|KaiIlia]]

"... You're right," you agree with a sigh, kissing her head again. "You're right, hon. Weiss is family, and I haven't known Bianca that long but she deserves better than me ditching out on her. I need to get ahead of this problem, not walk out on it."\n\n"Get ahead of it?"\n\n"I at least want to talk to Robyn Hill, since I didn't get to tonight. I'll see if I can wrangle a meeting with her tomorrow, find out what's going on. Although I may need to take a secret weapon..."\n\n-\n\n"Fee!" Finn calls happily as he races across the office lobby in flagrant defiance of your 'no running' admonition, but you cut him some slack since he's getting scooped up by family, the other sheep Faunus wearing business casual attire and a bright smile on her face.\n\n"Heeeey you," Fiona Thyme coos, nuzzling her nose against his before setting him down again. "Oof, you're getting waaay too big for that. Still, it's great to see you, little cousin, how've you been?"\n\n"Good. They're making me learn etiquette in school though," he declares with a nosewrinkle.\n\n"Oh nooooo," Fiona gasps, putting a hand to her chest, then grinning and straightening up to offer you a hand. "Hey, Kai, it's been awhile."\n\n"Fiona." You grin back, shaking her head, then tilting your head. "Robyn got a moment for me?"\n\n"Give me like five minutes, I'll see what I can do. Hey, we've got vending machines in the building now, wanna see?" Fiona adds to Finn, grinning as she leads him down the hallway.\n\n"Look, Kittyears, first thing I can tell you is that this is not coming from me." \n\nRobyn Hill has also adopted a 'business casual' look in her years since being voted into the kingdom's governing council, a pale t-shirt under her jacket, both colored to offset the light tan of her skin and her platinum blonde hair. Still the same threadbare old scarf draped around her neck though though... you've never been entirely sure if she really likes that thing or if it's affectation.\n\n"I mean, it seemed like your sort of thing, not meaning offense by it," you reply with a shrug. "You're always tough on these mine accidents."\n\n"Tough when I think there's too many of them happening or something was done wrong, but I know the RDC's record. I might have made a little noise about it, I admit," she continues, raising her hands a bit. "A part of being 'Mantle's Councilwoman' is a certain amount of posturing, let's all be honest. But a company-wide license flag? That's never what I intended when I wrote that legislation. The only reason I even included the option is if we got someone like Jacques Schnee in power in one of the large companies again, to address obvious systemic failures, I never expected anyone to even bring up the idea over a single incident."\n\n"So where's this coming from then?" you ask with a frown as you lean back in the chair across from hers.\n\n"That's the thing, it's not coming from any one council member, but all of us are getting pressured suddenly by outspoken members of our constituency to throw the book at any new mine accidents. I got three calls a day even before this mine accident urging me to speak out against the whole concept of living people mining Dust, and after this collapse? I had to bring in a polisci intern that now, that's her job, she takes those calls." She sighs, rubbing her forehead. "You know damn well I'd never support an idea like that. Besides bringing the SDC closer to a complete monopoly than it's ever had before, the job loss would devastate Mantle. And I know Weiss would try to insulate the consumer from the increased costs too, but you know at some point the extra expense of all those drones would start bleeding through into Dust prices. Mantle's safer and more prosperous in large part because she's stopped actively crushing the competition, and because the RDC's developments in extending the life of Dust have brought the prices down. We've fought too hard to attain this quality of life for Mantle to give it up for... overly ambitious idealism."\n\n"So basically, the first one of you that cracks to the pressure, the rest of you are gonna have a hard time staying out of it," you muse aloud.\n\n"I am not going to vote for the company-wide flag, that is too against my principles. But when I vote 'nay', that's going to hurt me in the polls, and whoever this is pushing for this, and I don't think it's this VLF, whatever they say, I can just imagine they have someone prettier, younger, and very well-funded waiting to challenge me next year."\n\n"They'll spin it as you being willing to trade lives for jobs," you note wryly, then shrug as she gives you a keen look. "Ilia and I already kind of... disagreed a little on this. Not a real fight, but... y'know."\n\n"I can imagine. Yeah, it's going to play badly. People are hurting right now, if that hurt can be cultivated, fostered, turned into anger, it could legitimately change the face of the kingdom at the polls next year and I don't think it would be for the better." Robyn pushes herself up out of her chair and walks over to the window, frowning as she looks down on the street a single story below. "I like to think I've maintained my principles and my will to fight, but if a decade in politics has taught me anything it's that there's never a simple solution to anything. And that we have to deal with the world as it is, not as we'd like it to be. And the world as it is, is that this kingdom's society and to a lesser extent all of Remnant, rests on the back of Mantellian Dust miners. You can't just yank them out from under us and expect everything else to not even wobble, like some kind of party trick."\n\n"So. Winter recuses herself. James probably votes same as you. Where's that leave us?"\n\n"Up in the air. Brown's the swing vote, she could go either way. As usual," she adds wryly, shaking her head. She's quiet for a moment, both of you apparently thinking over the issues, before Robyn sighs. "So, all that said, how's Finn doing? You brought him in to charm Fiona into getting you an appointment I assume?"\n\n"You know me so well," you reply, grinning as Robyn makes her way back over to sit down again. "He's doing good. Keeps complaining about the life skill class in his school this month but I don't think he hates it as much as he says."\n\n"I will admit Brown's school donation legislation has turned out a lot better than I expected." Robyn bobs her head, smiling. "I was reluctant to sign on to the very end, but Fiona showed me his report card and some of his projects, and it looks like it was the right choice." Her expression softens, her voice growing a bit gentler as she adds, "Thank you again, for taking him in."\n\n"There's no thanks necessary. Fiona wasn't ready, we were, it wasn't much of a question," you assure her with a warmer smile. "He's brought so much joy to our lives, I can't think of any word other than 'blessing'."\n\n"It's people like you that remind me why I do this job, Kai. No, I'm serious," she adds as she leans over and rests a hand on yours. "People doing right, building families, and being part of the whole thing... Mantle and Atlas. So listen... no more taking Finn out of school to bribe Fiona, okay?" she tells you with a grin. "You call my private number direct next time. You can come to dinner, assuming I get to eat it some evening."\n\n"Okay." Grinning, you lean over to peck her cheek. "Hey, knock that shit off though, alright? Take care of yourself."\n\n"Fiona takes pretty good care of me, but maybe I'll listen to her more often."\n\n-\n\n"All rise for the honorable Judge Ibolya."\n\n"Be seated," the older woman with grey-streaked purple hair says in a rather perfunctory manner as she settles into her own chair, skimming over her papers rather than the courtroom. "I see defense counsel has an additional member added to its ranks today."\n\n"Yes, Your Honor," Winter Schnee says crisply as she rises to her feet and tucks her hands behind her back.\n\n"General Schnee, it is my understanding that the VLF is suing Atlas's civilian government and not the military or Atlas Academy," Ibolya says, lowering her glasses somewhat and looking at Winter over the top of them. "Would you care to explain your presence, please?"\n\n"Yes, Your Honor. Three of the witnesses to be called today are Weiss Schnee, Kai Sterling, and Bianca Snow. Weiss Schnee and Kai Sterling both hold the technical ranks of Specialist Junior Grade, Retired, and Bianca Snow achieved the rank of Cadet Lieutenant before her graduation, and while she did not accept a commission that means she was also assumed to have been honorably discharged at graduation. All three of them are thus considered retired officers of the Atlas military."\n\n"And?" the judge prompts.\n\n"Under article seven of the Joint Civilian-Military Legal Code," Winter continues, lifting a paper from in front of her. "'All members of the military, active, retired, or honorably discharged may have a military advocate present during any legal situation in order to insure the protection of their rights and such matters as deemed secure to the military, at their discretion. This right is also extended to civilians called before a military tribunal for whatever reason.' The highlighted section of the Joint Legal Code, and my certification from the Judge Advocate General's office, Your Honor," Winter adds, picking up a differently-colored sheet of paper.\n\n"Approach." The judge accepts both papers from Winter, spends a moment eyeing them, then nods. "Very well, General, take your place with the rest of the defense counsel, please restrain your participation to matters involving the witnesses in question."\n\n"Of course, Your Honor."\n\n"Mister Odell, I believe that means it is your show, but try to remember that's just a turn of phrase," Ibolya says with a glance at the litigant's attorney.\n\n"Of course, your honor," the attractive middle-aged man with fair skin and dark brown hair says, adjusting his dark blue tie a bit before announcing, "Litigant calls as its first witness of the day, Kai Sterling."\n\n'Snitch snitch snitch snitch,' your brain screams as you get up and move to take the stand. Shut up brain. You put on a suit for the day too, a pale grey one, and even forced yourself to wear a tie, trying not to look like you want to take Odell's head off. Too obviously.\n\n"Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, under penalty of charges of perjury?" the bailiff asks, holding out a hand scan pad.\n\nYou place your hand on it, waiting for the light to blink green before answering, "I do."\n\n"Please state your name, citizenship, and occupation for the record."\n\n"Kai Sterling, citizen of Menagerie, Huntress on call for the Equality Initiative."\n\n"You may be seated."\n\nYou settle uncomfortably into the wooden chair... you're more uncomfortable than it is. Odell strolls up to the stand, very practiced, very smooth. Obviously used to playing a bit to a jury, but this being a bench trial to determine if escalation is warranted, he's obviously having to restrain himself from preening a bit more. "Huntress Sterling, thank you for being with us today."\n\n"I'll take your thanks for what it's worth, considering you didn't exactly ask nicely."\n\nThere's a titter from the crowd, and Ibolya gives a light rap of her faux crystal gavel. "Huntress Sterling, restrain yourself, please."\n\n"Apologies, Your Honor," you answer with the best grace you can muster.\n\nOdell clears his throat, smiling smoothly again as he continues. "Huntress Sterling, you work for the Equality Initiative, is that correct?"\n\n"Correct," you answer blandly.\n\n"Could you describe what your work entails, please?"\n\n"The majority of my job involves the same things other Huntresses and Huntsmen do... fighting Grimm, protecting settlements, assisting law enforcement, conducting investigations, occasionally bounty hunting. We do so when someone's made a request to the EI, so usually there's some issue of Faunus and human harmony at stake. Genemods to a lesser extent, they don't ask for help as often."\n\n"Issues such as Dust mine accidents, correct? Those are typically seen as a matter of issue for Faunus rights as a matter of course, whoever's involved?" Odell prompts.\n\n"Correct," you answer a bit flatly. "In those cases we don't wait for a request to be made, we deploy immediately and confirm with the mine that they'll accept our aid while we're in transit."\n\n"How long have you had this job, Huntress Sterling?"\n\n"I guess about nine years now. Almost ten," you reply with a small shrug. "My wife and I were some of the first Huntresses to sign on with the EI when it was formed."\n\n"And in those nine years... going on ten," Odell adds with a little nod. "How many Dust mine accidents would you say you responded to?"\n\n"I couldn't say off the top of my head."\n\n"Would it surprise you," Odell continues, returning to his table and picking up a sheet of paper, glancing it over. "That you have responded to fifteen Dust mine accidents in your years with the Equality Initiative?"\n\nYou purse your lips a bit, but nod. "I guess that sounds about right."\n\n"Fifteen. My. Doesn't that seem like a lot to you?"\n\n"Some of them were very minor."\n\n"I asked if the amount seemed like a lot to you, Huntress Sterling."\n\n"Objection," Winter declares calmly, rising to her feet. "Badgering the witness, witness's clarifying statement was sufficient answer."\n\n"Sustained."\n\nOdell spreads his hands a little as if to say 'understood', before looking at the paper again. "Still, fifteen Dust mine accidents. And the list of your accomplishments at them is impressive. Your Honor, I would offer up to the court that as a participant in fifteen of these incidents, Huntress Kai Sterling is in fact an expert in first response to Dust mine accidents."\n\n"Approach." Ibolya accepts the paper from Odell, spending a few moments looking it over, including flipping to the second page, then nods and raps her gavel once. "Kai Sterling is hereby legally declared an expert in first response to Dust mine accidents."\n\n'Well there's a fun title to go with the rest,' you think rather sourly.\n\n"Huntress Sterling, how would you say the companies' response is to these incidents?"\n\n"Most of them are very good. They're usually already working the issue by the time we get there, even if it's just a matter of minutes."\n\n"So would you say that most of the companies anticipate these accidents?"\n\nYou frown at that. "Not the specific incidents, no."\n\n"But accidents in general?"\n\n"Yes, that's just common sense."\n\n"I see. Even companies whose response you consider inadequate? And could you name some of those companies?"\n\n"Advise not to answer, sixth guarantee grounds," Winter speaks up.\n\n"I withdraw the second half of my question, Your Honor. But Huntress Sterling, would you say that every Dust company anticipates accidents?"\n\n"Yes. Again, that's just common sense."\n\n"Mm. It's common sense that fatal accidents are going to occur and yet they just keep putting these people in harm's way, tch," Odell murmurs, giving a little 'darn' hitch of his hands as he turns and walks to one side a bit. "Huntress Sterling, considering your expertise, how many of these incidents would you say were avoidable?"\n\nSighing, you shake your head and glance aside. "Maybe... half."\n\n"Half. So the other half were simply unavoidable incidents that were effectively inevitable?"\n\n"'Inevitable' is a little strong," you answer. "But they weren't the result of negligence, avoidable mistake, or a bad actor, no."\n\n"So, again, in your expert opinion, these Dust mines can do everything right and these accidents still occur."\n\n"... Yes."\n\nOdell once again returns to his table, collecting a paper. "I have here a transcript of the official statement you gave the day after returning from deployment on the most recent Dust mine accident you worked, the collapse at Mine #449, informally known as 'Grav Marble'. Now according to this statement, when she arrived on site Weiss Schnee asked Bianca Snow what she thought had caused the collapse. Bianca Snow, similarly according to this statement, replied that she believed Gravity Dust had concealed an air pocket in a different kind of rock, causing their sensors to not alert them to a massive void below them until it had been drilled through. Is that accurate to your recollection, both of the incident and the statement?"\n\n"Generally."\n\n"And when the statement taker asked you how you thought Bianca knew this despite the collapse having only occurred a few minutes ago, what was your response?"\n\n"That it was her experience. As I recall."\n\n"Specifically, your words, and I will read here directly from the transcription: 'Twenty-five years or more of Dust mining experience, if I had to guess.' Is that accurate to your memory?"\n\n"Yes."\n\n"Your Honor, I'd like to go ahead and enter this transcribed statement into the record."\n\n"So entered," Ibolya responds as Odell hands it to the clerk.\n\n"Now. Twenty-five years of experience, and Bianca Snow didn't see this coming, is that what you're saying?"\n\n"Objection," one of the other lawyers on the defense speaks up. "Calls for conjecture."\n\n"Sustained."\n\n"Withdrawn," Odell says with a slight raise of the hands. "Let me redirect. Huntress Sterling, in your expert opinion, was there anything that Bianca Snow could have done to prevent this issue?"\n\nYou start to answer, hesitate, and glance at Winter. "I'm not sure how legal my answer would be without a geology expertise."\n\n"Your Honor, request the witness not be held to strict standards on a field of study that is outside of the realm of Dust mine accidents," Winter says after rising.\n\n"Acknowledged, please answer, Huntress."\n\n"From my understanding of volcanic rock layered under the more typical kinds that house most Dust veins, no, there wasn't really anything Bianca could have done. Once you hit that pourous stone with a drill, whether it's a big or little one, it can all start crumbling on you, and it looked like that's what happened here."\n\n"So this accident was just... going to happen, someday, whether it was the RDC, SDC, Powergem, whoever had that license," Odell puts forth.\n\n"Objection, conjecture."\n\n"Reasoning follows from established line of questioning, Your Honor."\n\n"Objection overruled, witness will answer."\n\nYou sigh a bit, but nod. "That seems a reasonable assumption, yes."\n\nOdell nods a few times, pacing a short distance back and forth, before he asks, "How did you come to adopt your son, Huntress Sterling?"\n\n"Objection!" one of the defense lawyers blurts, she and several of the others almost immediately on their feet, though you can see Winter's jaw working as she stays seated. "Badgering the witness and relevance, Your Honor!"\n\n"Your Honor, I beg the court's indulgence, the relevance of my question will become apparent shortly," Odell assures the judge, raising his hands placatingly again.\n\nIbolya purses her lips, then waggles her gavel at him a bit. "It had better, Mister Odell, or you will very quickly run out of this court's indulgence. Huntress, I will not compel you to answer that question, but I do encourage you to do so."\n\nTrying to keep the blatant hate out of your eyes as you focus on Odell, you force your voice to be calm as you say, "His parents died. His nearest suitable relatives were an elderly grandfather and his second cousin, a single Huntress who worked particularly long hours. My wife and I were familiar with the Huntress in question, and when she confessed she wasn't sure if she could handle the change to her life, we took him in instead."\n\n"And how did his parents die?" Odell prompts.\n\nYour teeth grind together for a moment, your shoulders rolling as you try to bleed off the urge to punch him in the face. "... In a Dust mine accident."\n\n"A collapse, like this recent one?"\n\n"No. An explosion. A miner made a mistake and hit a bare Dust vein with the wrong piece of equipment."\n\n"And was the miner in question one of your son's parents?"\n\n"OBJECTION!" Winter all but roars.\n\n"Sustained! Mister Odell!"\n\n"I apologize, Your Honor," Odell says quickly, bowing his head a bit as he lifts his hands this time. "I apologize, that was a question too far. It's just a sensitive subject, you see. I imagine your son was very upset, wasn't he, Huntress Sterling?"\n\n"He was three," you half-growl back. "He was mostly confused."\n\n"Right. A confused, scared little boy who doesn't understand why his mother and father aren't coming home anymore. Whose choices are an old man who can't properly take care of him, and a woman who would have to radically change the course of her life to do so." Odell raises his eyebrows and bobs his head. "He was incredibly lucky, then, that he had a warm, loving couple like you and your wife who were ready for children, and took him in without reservation. ... How many children would you estimate do not have such good luck when their parents perish in mine accidents?"\n\n"I couldn't say," you answer in a cold tone.\n\n"Mm." Odell clasps his hands, waits a beat, bobs his head. "Has your wife ever mentioned how many other Faunus in the White Fang shared her own story of turning to terrorism due to Dust mine accidents?"\n\n"Objection!" more than one of the Defense team shouts.\n\n"Sustained! Mister Odell, you are out of indulgence, if you badger that witness again you will be held in contempt!"\n\n"Forgive me, Your Honor, I simply considered that a valid question. My intent is not to badger, but to illustrate... Dust mine accidents do not simply affect those who are injured or die in them, but rather their effects radiate out into our entire society. Huntress Sterling, even outside of her direct involvement in them, has had her life fundamentally altered by these incidents," he continues, thumb and forefingers pressed together as he gives his hand a little shake. "The same is true of her wife. And as Huntress Sterling said, even twenty-five years experience was not enough to prevent this most recent horrific accident. So considering her testimony today, we are forced to ask ourselves... how long do we keep asking her and others like her to keep picking up the slack of the devastation these accidents cause?"\n\n-\n\n"FUCKER!" you snarl, grabbing up a bottle of water and hurling it at the wall, where it rebounds and drops to the floor.\n\n"He's not doing himself any favors with the judge," one of the other lawyers says a bit grimly as she slumps back in her chair.\n\n"Yeah but he's also making ground with her. Did you see her face when he talked about the effects of these accidents on our society? That one sank in," one of the others adds in. "Remember, he doesn't have to win this case to her, he just has to put enough seeds in her head that she feels like they need to get sent up to the supreme court for watering."\n\n"How did he find out about Ilia's past? Those records are supposed to be sealed, they're juvenile!" Weiss half-growls, her heel drumming against the floor where she sits, the motion rocking her whole body slightly.\n\n"He or someone on his team must know the right judge, either that or they've got connections with someone who used to be in the White Fang," Winter murmurs. "If someone who simply used to be in her cell told him about Ilia and her motivation for joining, he doesn't need to unseal records."\n\n"That-!" You cut yourself off from launching into a rant, gritting your teeth and just trembling in fury for a moment before stabbing a finger downward. "He is not just insincere, he's hiding something." \n\n"He's a lawyer," one of the lawyers scoffs.\n\n"No this is something specific, he had a microexpression every time he mentioned the recent collapse, I just can't figure out what the hell it was, he knows more than he's saying. Bianca, we need to-" You cut off, frowning as you realize Bianca's staring at nothing, a hand cupped over her lower face. Pulling yourself back from the instinctive bark of 'The hell's the matter with you?', you instead ask, "Bianca, what's wrong?"\n\n"... I need to tell Winter and Weiss something," she says slowly, not lowering her hand. "Could we have some privacy, please?"\n\n"Could we have the room?" Winter asks with a glance at the other counsels. As you start to file out with them, though, Bianca snags your jacket sleeve.\n\n"You can stay. Weiss will tell you anyway... you're family," she murmurs. "You may as well hear it now too."\n\n"Bianca, what's this about?" Weiss asks with a soft frown as the door closes after the others.\n\nBianca stares at her for long moments, then takes a deep breath. "If Odell's team is that good at tracking down legal documentation and rumors, then he's almost certainly found out about me. And... I don't want you to have to find out about it out there, in open court." She takes another deep breath, snagging her tail with one hand as it starts to flit towards her face. "... Weiss. Winter. ... I am your aunt."\n\nWinter takes a half-step back as if she'd been slapped, Weiss's eyes going wide. "What?"\n\n"Your grandfather and my mother had a... one-time thing after a horrible shared incident in their lives, and I was the result of that union." Bianca slowly raises her hand, a tiny spinning white glyph taking form over her palm, the sisters staring at it. "When I was young, your father's PR company paid me to give up any right to claiming my lineage, or displaying my Semblance. ... My mother was very sick and we were in trouble. I took the money."\n\nWinter covers her mouth and turns away, walking to the window and staring out of it. Weiss simply stares at the tiny glyph until Bianca curls her hand around it and snuffs it out.\n\nIt takes you a little less time to process, considering it's not your saintly grandfather you're having to readjust your entire image of. "That horrible shared incident," you say slowly. "Let me guess. Dust mine accident."\n\n"Claiming one. An enormous Creep swarm," Bianca says with a sigh.\n\n"Then yeah, he's definitely gonna throw that out there. He'd've loved to have Winter sitting there so the judge could see the look on her face when she learned about it from the witness stand... another massive impact to a family because of human-led Dust mining." You scowl, thumping a fist against the wall... then frowning more thoughtfully. "Something about this doesn't add the fuck up."\n\n"What?" Winter murmurs, her voice a bit of a rasp as she turns towards you. \n\n"Odell's not an idealist, he's an opportunist... it's written all over his practiced, slick body language, the suit, the mannerisms, it's all acting. Someone who puts on that level of performance, and who learns these sorts of things about people? Yeah, I can see him using Ilia's past that way, but if he'd found out about Bianca being a Schnee, there's no way that the first place he uses that is in court."\n\n"He'd blackmail me," Bianca says grimly, ears twitching. "Or at the very least, urge me to give favorable testimony in return for not bringing that up."\n\n"Yeah. Except here's the thing, that little thing he does when he brings up the mine? His eyes drop a little, like he's wanting to look away, it's a tiny thing but it's there. He did it when he brought up Ilia too. So it might be a worry indicator, something connected to having used some sort of illegal method to get the information and he's worried about getting caught. But I can't know for sure without getting a bit more context. Bianca... when he calls you up, I need you to watch his eyes the whole time. Tell me after if you see them dip down, but more importantly I need to know exactly when they do."\n\n"I can do that easily enough, yes." Bianca takes a deep breath, turning back to the other two women. "... I'm sorry."\n\n"... Bianca, we've... met, repeatedly, at charity dinners and conferences, I... I'd started thinking of you as a friend," Weiss says a little forlornly. "Why didn't you ever tell me we were family?"\n\n"It's been a long time, Weiss," Bianca answers gently. "I just... got used to not having a family other than my team. ... I think of us as friends too," she admits. "A lot has changed about how I view you and your family since... since Nika. But I had resigned myself long ago to never having a place in it."\n\n"... We... can discuss this later," Winter says slowly as she turns around. "Tonight, if possible. But for now... we need to focus on what's directly ahead of us."\n\n-\n\nYou slip up to Bianca as all of you exit the courthouse, her turn on the stand having finished out the day. "Well?"\n\n"They dipped. Right before he entered that copy of the NDA I signed into the record," Bianca murmurs. \n\n"And that was legally obtained. It's a guilt marker," you mutter. "He doesn't actually want to do this to us but it's part of whatever he's doing to-" You come to a stop as you realize she's frozen in place. "Bianca?"\n\n"Guilt marker?" she echoes quietly.\n\n"Yeah. Why?"\n\n"... Because they did it again. When he asked me about the factory fire earlier this year," she says slowly. "... Not before. When."\n\n"Wait." You step to her, putting a hand on her arm. "You're sure? It was specifically as he was mentioning the fire, not before he asked the question?"\n\n"I'm sure," she asserts firmly.\n\n"... Son of a bitch."\n\n"It's all been a fucking setup!" you shout, confident in Finn being blocks away, taken out to dinner by the bees and not there to hear your fury as you storm around the bedroom. "The factory fire the RDC had, Grav Marble collapsing, it was deliberate!"\n\n"Oh my god," Ilia whispers, her hands covering her mouth as she stares at the wall with wide eyes. "Oh god, why would someone do that, why-"\n\n"Well it's not for a fucking humanitarian cause that's for goddamn sure," you snarl as you lean against the windowsill and glare through the glass. "Someone's using the VLF as a front. Maybe set it up with this in mind years ago. Hell for all we know they were waiting for a big mine collapse and just got tired of waiting. So first they set the fire, make sure RDC is nice and desperate and on the edge, then the mine collapse. Bianca's looking like she can't keep her company together, they start making a push on her in the council, then bam court case that ties together nice and neat with RDC, the very paragon of worker investment, looking like even it can't be trusted with miners' lives."\n\n"..." Ilia sinks down to sit on the side of the bed, clearly still trying to come to grips with the idea that what you saw a month and a half ago was deliberate... that the wounded you rescued were assaulted, that the bodies you recovered were murdered. "What do we do?" she finally says in a whisper.\n\nYou work your jaw for a few moments, turning your gaze to look up at Atlas. "... Way I see it we have two options. I take these suspicions directly to James, give him everything I have, and he contacts his counterpart in the civilian police and has them climb up the entire ass of that fire and collapse looking for signs of foul play. Maybe they find it, maybe they don't, but either way the extra scrutiny probably makes whoever it is go to ground and they don't get their way on what they're planning. The chance of them getting caught is probably pretty fucking slim, we'd probably wind up with a couple of dead drop hired delicensed Huntsmen, but at least they don't get what they're hoping for. That's the upright, proper way to do things."\n\nIlia drops back onto the bed, staring at the ceiling. "Or we do it ourselves."\n\n"The Makarzia way. The White Fang way," you admit, eyes flashing a little as you bring your gaze back down to stare across the streets. "We use fists and blades and guns and we leave a trail of blood from the one I know is involved all the way to the one responsible."\n\nThere's no immediate response to that. Instead after awhile there's the soft shift of the bed, and then Ilia sliding up behind you, draping her arms around your middle and resting her head on your shoulder. "We've come a long way from those days," she says slowly. "We've worked very hard to put those women behind us. Those women didn't pull people in need out of mine collapses. Those women didn't attend charity galas and listen to their friends' children sing ballads of hope and comfort. They didn't come home and check their son's homework, eat their friend's cooking, and talk about how to make the world a better place."\n\n"Yeah," you whisper.\n\n"... So I think... before we turn back into those women," Ilia says slowly. "We need to remember what you said the other night. That at some point we need to understand that we've given enough. That there comes a point where we are allowed to stop and say we're done, that we're not going to carry any more weight. Because if we become those women again... I'm not sure how easy it's going to be for us to ask them to leave when it's done."\n\n"... Yeah."\n\n<hr>\n[[Time to get oldschool.|KaiIlia]]\n\n[[Time to let it go.|KaiIlia1x3]]

It would be a lie to say that your feeling hasn't been influenced by the way Ilia looks at you. The way she's so devoted, the way that every time she says your name she sounds excited, the way she seems happy to just be in a room with you. The two of you have come so far compared to where you started, standing in a room with her gazing at you with contempt as you, tired and sore, dripped with other people's blood. You don't doubt that for awhile now she's been confused about her feelings for you... whether they were sisterly, romantic, or some mingling of the two.\n\nTime to settle it.\n\n"Hey, welcome back!" Yang calls as you walk in, grinning and giving you a pat on the arm as you walk in. "Check it out, cool huh?" she adds, holding up her new golden arm with its faintly silver chrome flame design as if flexing. \n\n"Bitchin'," you confirm with a grin, giving her a quick hug. "Welcome back. Hey, seen Ilia?"\n\n"Think she's in the kitchen helping Saffron and Terra with sandwiches."\n\nYou nod and head on over, strolling in. "Hey guys."\n\n"Kai!" Ilia greets, eyes lighting up.\n\n"Mind if I borrow her?" you add with a glance to the married couple. "I don't wanna steal your workforce when you're already putting yourselves out for us."\n\n"No, no, we've got it," Saffron assures you with a grin, and a little twinkle in her eye that almost makes you suspicious.\n\nHm. Well, whatever. Thumbing at the back door, you glance at Ilia. "Talk to you in the garden?"\n\n"Um, sure." She follows you out, shifting a little nervously as you take the time to turn on the heater and rub your hands in front of its warm glow. "Something wrong?"\n\n"Nah. Well, I hope not anyway." You settle down on the porch swing, patting the spot next to you, which she eagerly settles into and leans against your side. You drape an arm around her shoulders, just enjoying the moment for awhile... feeling her warm and comfortable against you, the warmth of the heater, the clear early night sky above, the very lovely garden around you. The sort of place you never thought you'd be, the sort of warmth and happiness that sometimes makes you wonder if that blast back in the club on Makarzia killed you and this is all happening in the Crystal Dragon's scales. But it feels real enough to you. So. "I kind of want to tell you a story," you begin after a bit.\n\n"Hm? Sure, okay," Ilia agrees easily enough, though still looking a bit confused.\n\n"There was this time a few years back where I got sent to an Earth to do a job... nothing really notable, just an escort type thing. But after it was done I was killing a little time, not wanting to go back home to the old man just yet, so I wandered around this little town a bit. It was winter and it was snowing, and they had all these decorations up for some local holiday or another... bright colored lights, buncha snowflakes and stuff, bearded dude in red, some sort of deer, whatever, it was super cheery and back then it kind of made me annoyed. I found a crappy little bar and wandered in, settled down, ordered a beer. Just another night in just another run-down place that I didn't really want to be in but was better than my other options."\n\nYou rub Ilia's shoulder as you continue. "So anyway, I'm sitting there drinking, basically alone except for a few other people that look like they're feeling the same, and on this really old-ass screen up in the corner there's this movie playing. It's kind of annoying me too, real saccharine and over the top, just a bunch of nonsense that ain't even in color. ... 'Cept then this girl starts singing. And... I dunno, it wasn't like I had a real appreciation for that stuff, but that song sort of got me feeling a certain way or something. I couldn't have told you why, or even how, the lyrics didn't really mean that much to me and I thought the movie was stupid, but something about it just hit me and had me staring at the screen."\n\n"Wow. So it was that good, or...?" Ilia prompts after a moment.\n\n"Couldn't say. Not exactly an appreciator of ballads, me," you reply with a grin at her. Then your smile softens as you raise a hand to brush your thumb along her cheek. "The thing is, the reason I'm telling you this is 'cause... I don't just call you Rainbow 'cause of your skin. I mean, it's one of the beautiful and amazing things about you that enchants me, sure," you add, watching as her specks turn pink and she squirms in place. "But it's because you remind me of that song. ... I walked out of the cold and into this run-down, shitty place, and at first here's this thing that's just trying to repel me, not a bit of welcome in it. And then somehow it just hits me right in the heart and enchants me... opens me up and makes me start really feeling for the first time in a long time. It comes out of nowhere and gets under my skin, and I wind up thinking... yeah... I'm gonna remember this forever. Just like I remember every word of that song," you assure her, looking right into those wide blue eyes. "And I'm not that great at singing but... I'm gonna give it a shot."\n\nYou turn towards her, raising both hands to her cheeks, closing your eyes briefly as you ready yourself, taking a breath and giving it your best.\n\n"Somewhere over the rainbow\nWay up high\nThere's a land that I heard of once in a lullaby\nSomewhere over the rainbow \nSkies are blue\nAnd the dreams that you dare to dream really do come true"\n\nYou open your eyes to look into hers, still smiling as you continue to sing, even as tears start to slip from her eyes and trickle over your fingers.\n\n"Someday I'll wish upon a star\nAnd wake up where the clouds are far\nBehind me\nWhere troubles melt like lemon drops\nAway above the chimney tops\nThat's where you'll find me"\n\nYou lean in, pressing your forehead gently to hers, the same place they touched the day she awakened your Aura, the day the two of you were linked together more intimately than you've ever known another person.\n\n"Somewhere over the rainbow\nBluebirds fly\nBirds fly over the rainbow\nWhy then, oh why can't I?"\n\n"Kai..." she whispers, bringing a hand up to lay over one of yours.\n\n"If happy little bluebirds fly\nAbove the rainbow then why\nThen oh why can't I? ... I love you so much, Rainbow," you whisper. "I can't think of anyone else I'd want to spend the rest of my life with." And then you tilt your head in to kiss her, pulling her close as she throws her arms around you and hugs you tight.\n\nBoth of you jump a little as there's a sudden outbreak of applause and whistles, yanking your heads to see most of your friends gathered in the doorway, Yang giving a 'Yeah!' and another whistle even as Ilia turns pink (as do you to a lesser degree). "Oh fucksakes guys, seriously?" you groan, unable to help giving a little laugh as well.\n\n"Hey c'mon, it's about damn time, isn't it?" Yang counters, grinning broadly. "Most of us were just waiting for you to notice it."\n\n"Congratulations," Ren adds with a smile.\n\n"Oh my God," Ilia groans, pressing her face into your shoulder.\n\n"You think you're embarrassed they didn't hear you sing," you murmur, nevertheless grinning and turning your head to kiss her cheek.\n\n"Not bad for an amateur effort, you could use some practice, but the heart was there, I give it a six out of ten," Weiss proclaims with even cheer, only to give a 'Hey!' as Ruby whaps her on the shoulder.\n\n"Seriously, though, do you all mind?" you prompt with another laugh, various people flinging their hands up in 'fine, fine' gestures before the whole pack starts cramming itself back into the house. Still chuckling a little to yourself, you stroke a hand over Ilia's hair. "... Hey. You okay?"\n\n"Yeah, just kind of... overwhelmed," she admits, lifting her head, coloration gradually starting to seep back to normal, though you notice she doesn't turn her hair red again. "You... really mean it though? You don't mean like... family, or... partners, or...?"\n\n"Yeah, Rainbow. Whatever those other feelings are... they're just part of this. I want to be with you," you assure her, smiling more gently now. "I wanna do a bunch of silly shit like having a wedding, buying a house, growing old together, all that crap I thought was just for other people. But it doesn't seem like it's just for other people when I think of you. I want us to grab all that stuff that we thought was gone from our lives and haul it in and say 'This is ours now'. And I want us to kick anyone's ass that says we can't have it."\n\n"Kai," she whispers, eyes glistening again as she smiles. "I love you."\n\n"I love you too," you murmur back, smiling as you brush your bangs against her forehead. "My place over the rainbow."\n\n[TEN YEARS LATER]\n\n"Manta-777 we have you confirmed for approach what is your ETA?"\n\n"This is Manta-777, we are now five minutes out from aerial deployment of assistance team," the pilot answers in her mingled accent, her rabbit ears twitching a little from behind the band of her headset. "Do you have a landing pad cleared?"\n\n"Pad three should be open when you arrive."\n\n"Confirmed, setting course for pad three." She glances over her shoulder as she flips a few switches. "Are the three of you ready?"\n\n"About," you answer as you settle the rebreather mask around your neck in preparation for lifting it into place. "Sun, wear it."\n\n"Tch, you know it cramps my style," the big man replies, his powerful muscles flexing as he nevertheless raises his own mask to work it over his shaggy blonde hair. \n\nYou fit yours into place, tugging it taut, then link the built-in mic to your earpiece. "Check, check."\n\n"You have good check," Velvet confirms from the pilot's seat.\n\n"Got you here," Sun adds with a thumbs-up, probably in lieu of confirming his own mic's working.\n\n"Clear read," Ilia confirms as she moves to slide the door open, long coat and her sleeveless bodysuit both shimmering pearlescent colors, her thick, multi-curl ponytail fluttering in the wind that even through the rebreather and from this distance smells of dust and smoke.\n\nNot that I think otherwise, but you good on this one, Rainbow? you send as you move to the door as well, the slab of muscle in a long vest and artfully disheveled pants that is Sun Wukong stepping up behind you.\n\nYeah. Not exactly my favorite sort of call, but needs must.\n\n"Deployment in sixty," Velvet prompts.\n\n"Alright, when we get down there, Sun you head right into the mine and start helping out where you can, Ilia and I will work on fending off Grimm."\n\n"Got it," Sun answers as he hefts you up against his side with one arm.\n\n"Deploy."\n\nIlia and Sun both jump out of the Manta, the big man carrying you with him, spinning his gunstaff several times in his other hand to fire shots downward, bleeding off just enough momentum to let him land in a crouch on the balls of his feet, setting you on yours before turning and heading for the nearby buildings, a long and constant plume of sparking smoke issuing from amidst them. Ilia swings herself down from a rock outcropping and lands beside you, both of you making your way towards the gap in the low ring of hills at one side where a figure in black and wearing a respirator mask is already fending off a rush of Sabyrs. You take a moment to parse the rare combination of ears and tail before firing Red Legacy past her, the shot sending one of the Sabyrs toppling right into being taken out by an easy swipe of her long, slender sword. Ilia quickly steps in, Lightning Lash extended to whip mode and cracking repeatedly, driving the Grimm back and giving all of you space to fight.\n\n"I see an Ursa incoming," the double-featured Faunus says by way of greeting as you switch Red Legacy back to melee mode and start laying about you, cutting down the felinoid Grimm as they leap at you, letting their own momentum carry them into your strikes. "Could be an Alpha."\n\n"Means there's probably more. Velvet we have a possible Alpha, what's your ETA?"\n\n"I'm setting the ship down now, I'll be there at a run the moment it's on the pad."\n\nNow you can see the massive shape of the shaggy, bearlike Grimm pounding across the snow, several smaller versions of itself on its heels. You fall back to behind the other Huntress and Ilia, letting them cover you against the Sabyrs as you switch back to shooting mode, changing to Gravity Dust rounds and focusing on the Ursas, mostly aiming to check their charge a bit. You only slip back aside and change again at the sound of Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang firing, Sun's weapons rendered in shimmering blue-white light as Velvet Scarlatina leaps into the fray alongside all of you. The Huntress in black leaps forward as the Alpha Ursa charges at all of you at last, slicing one of its legs out from under it and sending it toppling, Ilia simultaneously whirling to stab Lightning Lash's rapier into its belly while you slice across the back of its neck, the wounds enough to start it smoking and dissipating.\n\nOnce the rest of the Ursas have been vanquished, there's a brief lull, Velvet letting the version of Red Legacy she'd switched to using fade as the Huntress in black turns towards you. "You must be the people from the Equality Initiative."\n\n"I'm Velvet Scarlatina, ma'am, Kai Sterling, Ilia Amitola," the rabbit Faunus replies, offering her hand for a brief shake. "Our teammate Sun is already inside the mine. Do you have any word on when aid's arriving?"\n\n"The on-site medical teams are already inside, but there's a blizzard that's settled in over our Mantle dispatch office, they can't get out," the snow leopard Faunus answers grimly. "I have other people inbound but they're coming from Argus." She hesitates only briefly before adding, "SDC teams are inbound from Atlas, though, they should be here in a matter of minutes."\n\n"Alright, Velvet, go ahead and join Sun inside, copy emergency medical equipment they don't have enough of if necessary," you direct, Velvet nodding and turning to hurry off. "SDC teams are probably gonna set down outside and make the last bit of the trip on ground so let's keep this path clear for them."\n\nThe three of you turn back to defending the pass, fighting off more Sabyrs and a handful of Beowolves, until the chattering of gunfire announces the arrival of several large transport vans, their thruster wings retracted into their sides as their massive wheels lumber across the tundra. The clear-visored helmeted figures standing atop them fire into the Grimm, allowing the three of you to fall back and aside to let the transports through, a figure in an elegant blue-white suit dropping down, white hair braided in a 'crown' around the top of her head, her respirator mask designed to show her whole face.\n\n"Weiss," you greet in a relieved tone.\n\n"Kai, Ilia, we have to stop meeting like this," the head of the Schnee Dust Company says dryly, before turning to the Huntress in black and offering a hand. "Miss Snow."\n\n"Miss Schnee," the (apparently) RDC executive answers, taking the younger woman's hand and giving it a quick shake. "Thank you for coming. We owe you for this."\n\n"No, you don't. Okay, people, come on, let's move!" she calls as she turns back to the transports as they pull up outside the buildings, clapping her hands for emphasis. "Combat teams form a perimeter, secondary guards follow the medical teams into the mine, let's go, let's go, let's go!" she urges as people in lightly armored bodysuits and respirator masks leap down from the vehicles and start hauling out medical equipment. As all three of you fall into line with her, she glances at Bianca. "Do you know what caused the collapse yet?"\n\n"A dense Gravity Dust vein appears to have concealed a massive air pocket in volcanic rock we didn't know was there until we hit it," the other woman answers grimly. "The floor on that level dropped and then the walls buckled, damn near the whole mine fell in on itself. This is not supposed to happen."\n\n"We can take all the precautions we want but mining accidents still happen, Bianca, let's not get bogged down in blame." Weiss reaches up to turn on the lights on her respirator as the four of you enter the smoky entrance, the rest of you doing the same as you make your way forward past people rushing in and out. \n\n"Bianca, what frequency are your people operating on?" you speak up.\n\n"212."\n\n"Alright, hear that, everyone? We're moving to 212."\n\n"Comm frequency 212, everyone," Weiss echoes into her mask, reaching up to tap at the side of her mask.\n\nThe tunnel opens up and also just sort of abruptly... ends, a gaping chasm lost in the haze ahead. Quickly spotting the deeply-set pitons anchoring lines, you crouch and grab one, swinging out and quickly starting to rappel down into the collapsed mine, the others following after you. It's way deeper down than it should be when you land on a large stone and turn loose of the rope, turning and walking ahead. "Sun, Velvet, status report."\n\n"I can't sense a damn thing down here, too much Dust in the air," Sun replies in annoyance. "Their sensors aren't working any better, we're having to listen for people calling."\n\n"I'm helping them get the lift up to one of the outer airpads repaired so that we can hopefully do medevac from there," Velvet adds, her voice strained. "Is Weiss here?"\n\n"I'm here, Velvet," Weiss chimes in.\n\n"Weiss, have your people move one of their transports into position on airpad four if you can, we already have a line of people waiting that aren't going to make it if they don't get to Atlas ASAP."\n\n"Alright, you heard her, people, get a transport up to airpad four, prep trauma teams and those in the transport switch to 220, Velvet have someone switch to 220 and start reading off descriptions and blood types if possible when you get a chance."\n\n"On it."\n\n"Alright let's split up, keep most of our attention on listening for survivors, this bad a collapse and even the Centinels will have been scared off," Ilia prompts.\n\nYou nod and separate from the others, dialing down the volume of the chatter going on in your earpiece so you can listen. It's dusty and oppressive and surprisingly hot in the mine... or would be if this was your first time descending into this particular Hell. Despite most of the mine now being a gaping hole in the ground, the cloud of dust makes it feel claustrophobic, the little sparks and skitters of various kinds of energy from powdered Dust in the air playing across your sight and your Aura like harsh noise. \n\n"...ʰᵉˡᵖ..."\n\n"I've got someone," you announce, hurrying towards where you think you heard the sound, reorienting as the call comes again, switching to just broadcast as you call, "Hey! I hear you, I'm coming!"\n\n"... help!"\n\nSqueezing a bit around a fallen boulder, you quickly drop down beside a man whose lower half is mostly pinned beneath it, the visor of his respirator cracked and a low hissing sound mingling with the wheezing of his breath, one of the floppy canine ears atop his head terminating in a jagged, bloody line. "Okay, okay easy now man, easy, I've got you," you assure him, taking his reaching hand and gripping it firmly. "I've got you, we're gonna get you out of here." Switching back to comms, for good measure you turn your head and call "SUN! WEISS!" before looking back at the miner. "Hey man you're okay, just stay calm. What's your name?"\n\n"B-... Braun," he answers, his voice muffled by the mask.\n\n"Okay, Braun, we're gonna get you out of here, alright? My friends are on their way and we're gonna get you out of here, just hold tight." You look up as you hear a press against the wall, Sun leaning around the boulder. "Okay guys, there's no way we're gonna get him around that thing, so it's gonna have to be a lift and hold."\n\n"Got it." Sun nods, leaning back and clapping his hands. A shimmering golden image of him appears on your side of the rock, another one just barely visible through the haze, both of them squatting to grab the edges of the boulder. \n\n"Okay, Braun? We need to get you out, but the only way to get you to help is if we take you under the rock." You can see his chest catch, his breath speed up, and hurry to add, "It's okay, it's okay, the rock's gonna stay up, they're gonna hold it up and it's gonna be fine. But I'm gonna hafta move you and it's probably gonna hurt, alright? Just stick with me and try to bear it. Okay? Okay?" At his nervous nod, you nod back. "Okay, you ready?"\n\n"R-... ready."\n\n"Alright... go!" you snap to the image of Sun.\n\nInstantly the two images and the real thing all lift, powerful muscles straining to heave the rock into the air, a swirling black glyph appearing around it the moment it's several feet up. Braun screams as you quickly grab him by the shoulders and turn him around, pulling him along with you, leaving a trail of blood across the stone floor. "Clear!" you shout the moment he's away, Weiss lowering Myrtenaster and Sun dropping the rock, his images fading as the SDC director drops to her knees, already starting to fasten tourniquets around the man's thighs.\n\n"We need a trauma team with a clearance respirator over on the west side now," she murmurs calmly into her comm as she works.\n\n"Okay Braun, you did good, you did good man," you assure him as you keep an arm around his shoulders, slightly elevated since you know what needs to happen next. "I know it hurts but you're gonna be fine."\n\n"My legs... my legs..." he whimpers.\n\nYou try not to let your eyes go to the mangled mess of meat and bone below his knees. "Don't worry, alright? Don't worry, it's gonna be okay." You glance up as the SDC trauma team emerges from the smoke, then look down at him. "Okay, Braun? Your mask is damaged. You're gonna be okay, but we need to put a new one on you, so I need you to take a nice deep breath and hold it for me, can you do that for me? Hold it 'til I say."\n\nHe nods uncertainly, but makes a few attempts before hauling in a breath and holding it. You quickly haul the battered respirator off, one of the medics near-instantly sliding a full-head one on over him and working a valve, a faint hissing sounding as it vents the Dust-contaminated air inside before filling it with fresh oxygen. \n\n"Okay Braun, breathe, that's good, that's good, you did great," you assure him as you lower him down gently. "These guys are gonna take care of you now, okay? You're gonna be alright."\n\n"Braun? I'm Mindy, and we've got you now, we're gonna get you out of here and get you fixed up."\n\n"I need a heavy trauma team prepped with AB pos artificial blood, west side, near the supports," Ilia's voice says over the comms. \n\nWincing a little, you draw away and head towards where you can see a group of crumpled beams, Sun coming along with you while Weiss stays with the medical team. You spot Ilia kneeling beside another survivor, and only through long practice do you manage to bite back the curse that rises in your throat. The woman's body is twitching, blood oozing out from between Ilia's fingers around the piece of rebar piercing up through her middle and angling through the air... to touch the extension of a Lightning Dust vein in the wall. Before you can say anything Sun's already leaped forward, his muscles shuddering as he wraps both hands around the rebar, using one to keep it still lower down as much as he can while bending the top away from the Dust, his hands smoking and red as they come away.\n\nBianca appears out of the haze, hissing softly as she sees the woman's condition. "Dammit. No!" she snaps as the trauma team arrives, one of them grabbing for a saw-like device on his belt. "I can do it with less time and jarring, everyone step back. You too," she adds to Ilia.\n\n"If I move my hands she'll bleed out," Ilia replies firmly, blue eyes flashing. "Do what you need to."\n\n"... Alright." Bianca nods, moving around to the other side, taking a deep breath through her respirator as she draws her sword again. Then it flashes, Ilia barely wincing as the point skitters along her Aura and leaves a light cut across both her upper wrists, but the rebar falls away cut cleanly just above her hands.\n\nThe trauma team moves in quickly, packing the area around the wound in prep for moving her. Ilia stands, accepting a sanitary wipe from one of the other medics and cleaning herself off. "Alright, let's go."\n\nThe next three hours is just more of the same... there are a few people with injuries as minor as broken bones or Dust-lung, but in a mine collapse like this they're in the distinct minority. A fresh parade of horrors to surround you in the crackling, sparking haze that makes you think there was something clean and almost relaxing about the days when all you had to worry about was physical Satan coming to kill everything you loved. \n\n"Bianca, we are here," a monotone voice eventually says over the comms.\n\n"Thank the gods," Bianca mutters from nearby, lifting her head a little. "Tanna, there's a particularly bad trauma case coming out of the main lift now, I want you to help him as much as you can before you come down here. Gina, get down here and start moving rubble for the SDC teams, Kasumi get the topside in shape."\n\n"It's mostly in shape, these SDC guys aren't ba~d, I gue~ss, but I'll make it better~!"\n\n"Kai, you and your people should take a break, at the very least," Bianca adds with a glance at you.\n\n"That goes for you too." At her eyes narrowing in an obvious frown, you add, "You need to head up and change the filters in your respirator."\n\n"... You're right. Let's go."\n\n"Ilia, Sun, Velvet, let's head topside, we need to change our respirators and hydrate," you order as you head for the ropes, which now have assist-pulleys on them for motorized ascent and descent. You grab hold of one and haul yourself up to the top, the pulley clinking against the upper one before you haul yourself up and send it back down. You can't help but wince a little as you emerge into the hazy early afternoon sunlight, looking around until you spot a banner reading 'Rest Area' erected over one of the buildings. Once the door is closed behind all of you, you pull off the respirator mask, spotting Weiss pacing back and forth a bit nearby talking on her scroll amidst all the other people either slumped in chairs.\n\n"This shouldn't have happened," Bianca Snow repeats a bit miserably as she looks at her dust-smeared mask in her hand.\n\n"This isn't your fault," Ilia tries to assure her. "Everyone knows the RDC's standards, sometimes... accidents just happen."\n\n"I just got off the scroll with Atlas General, they're diverting all other incoming to other clinics and hospitals and setting up the ER to receive us as exclusively as they can," Weiss says as she walks over, slipping the device into her pocket. She glances around at everyone, then focuses on her business rival. "Bianca, I know it's been a rough quarter for you, with that factory fire. If you need help for liquid funds to pay for benefits, I'll issue you a no-interest loan, pay it back when you can."\n\nBianca almost snarls at that, her jaw clenching and lips twisting... then she squeezes her eyes closed and nods. "... We have the funding for the benefits safely invested, but with the insurance company breathing down our necks it would be much easier to pay medical bills and... other expenses... directly. I'll... take you up on that." She takes a deep breath, then adds, "I understand you also know Doctor Chloris, if you could prevail on her to-"\n\n"We do," you speak up. "But she's probably already at the hospital. You won't need to ask. When you can, make a donation to the Polendina Foundation. That will cover any thanks."\n\n"Thank you. I will." Bianca rubs at her face for a moment, then shakes her head. "I am going to make myself eat something and drink something. I suggest everyone else do the same. Now that my people are here we don't necessarily need the extra help... but... I can't in good conscience suggest you leave, either. But if you need to-"\n\n"Hey, no problem," Sun assures her, grinning and giving her a thumbs-up. "We're here for the long haul. That's part of what EI does... we help out wherever we can, human and Faunus, showing how important it is to stick together. Plus, hey, you think I got these just to look nice?" he adds, lifting his arms and flexing impressively in pure 'welcome to the gun show' style. "They do look nice though, right?"\n\nI made a baby with that man, Velvet sighs across the psycomms, making those of you with them snicker and Sun simultaneously blush and get a really big bright grin on his face.\n\nThe next two days are rough, mostly a blend of the Hell on Remnant that is the collapsed mine's interior, brief ventures out to hydrate, snack, and decontaminate (AKA showering) before heading back in, occasionally broken up by fighting Grimm and taking a turn in coordinating the topside camp. Eventually, when it becomes obvious that the effort is now almost entirely body recovery and that the combined RDC and SDC teams are fully capable of handling any further search and recovery efforts, Ilia approaches you and sighs. "Let's go home... I don't think there's anything else we can do here."\n\n"I think you're right, Rainbow," you agree with a tired, wan smile, sending, Okay, guys, let's clean up and head out. Weiss-\n\nGo ahead. I'll see you soon, okay? Give the bees my love.\n\nThanks, will do.\n\nOnce the four of you have showered and cleaned out your clothes as well as you can, you board the Manta again and take off. It's an exhausted, near-silent flight back to Mantle, even Sun quiet and his eyes far away as he leans back against the hull, gaze turned in the direction of the mine. Soon Atlas is hovering above and Mantle sliding by below, Velvet guiding the Manta to a landing at the airfield and locking it down before all of you get out and trudge your way down the sidewalk, occasionally exchanging tired greetings with people from the neighborhood as you pass. You walk up the steps to your home, keys already in hand, but before you can get the key in the lock there's the sound of it being undone, a fluffy-headed little boy with ram horns leaping forward to hug you. "Mom!" \n\n"Hey hey," you greet warmly, stroking your son's wonderfully soft hair. "Missed me, hm?" \n\n"Uh-huh. Iamom!" he calls in turn, separating and wrapping his arms around Ilia's waist as she makes her way up the steps as well, your wife smiling and folding her arms around him.\n\n"Hey, Finn. You have fun with your aunts and Peggy while we were gone?"\n\n"How could I have fun with Peggy, she's like a baby," the seven-year-old asserts, wrinkling his nose. \n\n"Hey! My kid is fun!" Sun asserts with a near-pout, thumbing at himself. "She's tons of fun! She's the funnest!"\n\n"You're arguing with a child, Sun," Velvet says with a sigh as she sweeps by and inside, ruffling Finn's hair in passing.\n\nSun scoffs, following after her. "Yeah, and winning."\n\n"Mm, debatable."\n\nInside, you catch sight of Velvet scooping up a squealing, excited three-year-old with an almost-blonde equine tail whipping back and forth behind her, squealing and babbling happily as Sun steps in to wrap his arms around both of them. Blake emerges from the room the toddler apparently just ran out of, smiling for a moment at the scene before walking over to you. "Hey, guys."\n\n"Hey Blake, everything been okay here?" you ask.\n\n"Mm-hmmm. Finn was very good... except for setting off a chain of firecrackers in the back yard at one point, though that was mostly on Aunt Yang," she notes dryly, glancing back over her shoulder.\n\n"You know my aunt-ing philosophy!" Yang calls back from out of sight. "WWUQD!"\n\n"What Would Uncle Qrow Do, yeah," you chuckle, smiling just a little wanly as Ilia leans down to wrap her arms more fully around Finn and hug him tight, rocking him back and forth just a little bit. \n\nYou can see the sadness enter Blake's yellow eyes as she watches that, knowing firsthand what must have inspired it. "Do you need us to go?" she asks quietly.\n\nRainbow?\n\nI'd rather they stayed.\n\n"Why don't you guys stick around?" you suggest aloud. "Velvet, if you want to borrow the Manta to fly back to Vale in the morning, you mind giving the bees a ride?"\n\n"Of course not," Velvet assures you with a smile, tucking some drifts of pale auburn hair behind her happily gurgling daughter's ear. "I'll park it at the EI and someone there can fly it back for you."\n\n"Please and thank you."\n\n"Yang's making dinner, it should be done soon," Blake asserts before heading back into the other room, presumably to help her wife.\n\n"Did you guys save a lot of people?" Finn asks, looking up with great interest.\n\n"Ohhhh your Iamom saved pretty much everybody, I was just sort of hanging out," you reply blandly, grinning as Ilia thwaps you on the shoulder.\n\n"You guys seem kinda sad though," your son notes after a moment, tilting his head.\n\nYou're stuck a bit on that, but it's Sun who says, "Well, kiddo, your moms and all the rest of us did the best job that we could, but... we couldn't save everybody," he declares in an easy but serious tone as he settles down to sit on the stairs, resting his forearms on his knees. "And it's not 'cause our best wasn't enough, it's just that sometimes it's like that. You do your best, you make all the right moves, but you can't pull off a perfect score. And it doesn't mean you lost, or that you failed, it just means that... some stuff's out of your reach." He shrugs and bobs his head to the side. "Doesn't mean you stop reaching, or you stop doing your best, just means you've gotta learn to accept that you can't do everything. But, even if you accept it... it still feels a little rough, y'know? Hey," he adds warmly as Finn hurries over to give him a hug, patting the boy's back with one big hand. "Thanks buddy, needed that."\n\nI made a baby with this man, Velvet notes rather proudly over the psycomms, dipping to kiss the top of the grinning Sun's head as she slips past him and up the stairs. "Peggy's getting overstimulated, I'm going to see if I can soothe her for a nap."\n\n"Weiss sends her love," you comment as you step into the kitchen to wash your hands, after Ilia's settled down with Finn to go over his schoolwork from the previous week. "I'd expect an invitation to a charity ball pretty soon if I were you."\n\n"Mm, y'know Blakey, if we're going to come back for that anyway, maybe we should just stay in the kingdom for awhile?" Yang suggests, glancing over at her wife while she's in the midst of tossing a wokful of stirfry. "We can head up to Atlas, just ask to stay with Weiss."\n\n"You guys can do that if you want but you know you're welcome here as long as you want too," you comment as you start getting glasses down. "Finn always loves having you here."\n\n"Maybe we'll stay another day or two, if you don't mind," Blake agrees after a few moments of thought, lifting the lid of the rice cooker and pulling out the pot. "We'll talk to Weiss and ask when she plans to do the ball, if it's going to be a few weeks we'll look at our plans then, but if she gets it together this week it might be a good idea to stick around, I imagine the EI office will be swamped and wouldn't mind the help."\n\n"I mean from what I saw the RDC did everything right," you assert while loading some of the glasses with ice. "Yang, beer?" At her confirmation, you leave three of the glasses empty and carry the rest to the table. "The supports were all good, the miners had good safety equipment, it was just... bad damn luck."\n\n"I thought as much, but any incident in a Dust mine causes a lot of tension," Blake sighs, shaking her head as she pulls utensils out of one of the drawers. "Would you mind coming and giving a preliminary statement to one of our certified record keepers tomorrow? Ilia can wait a day or two, I know these... are rough for her."\n\n"She held up okay, but yeah, that's probably a good idea. I'll come by after I drop Finn off at school." You can't help but grin a little as you look into the living room, watching Ilia talk quietly to her son, their heads close together as she points at different spots on a sheet of paper. "Man, four years. Flew by."\n\n"Blake gets fresh baby fever every time we babysit, next time I visit the Guildhall I'm gonna hafta pick up the extra thorough kind of funpills and finally knock her up," Yang declares with a smirk as she pours the stirfry into a bowl, then gives an exaggerated 'Ow!' as Blake smacks her arm. "Hey, I bet even Grey felt that one!" she complains in mock-torment.\n\n"It... would be nice, though," Blake admits with a little blush. \n\n"Yeah, yeah, we'll talk about the particulars when we get back to Patch, huh?" Grinning, Yang sets down the bowl as you spot the pitcher of tea sitting on the windowsill and head to retrieve it, the blonde calling, "Dinner!"\n\nInstantly Sun is in one of the chairs, rocking back and forth slightly as it settles and creaks under the weight of his muscle, blue eyes glittering. "Where's the hot sauce?"\n\n"You dare?" Yang huffs, puffing out her cheeks in faux outrage, before smirking and plucking up a small dish. "Fine, monkey boy, here it is, made it myself with peppers and garlic grown from my very own garden, since you're always asking for spicier when I make food suitable for everybody."\n\n"Oooooo!" Sun declares, eyes getting even wider and sparklier.\n\nAs everyone settles down to eat, Sun liberally spoons some of the thick paste over his stir fry the moment he's finished pouring his beer into the glass, snatching up several pieces of meat and vegetable in his chopsticks and throwing them into his mouth. Almost instantly his face turns red, sweeping from the neck up, and he literally belches a gout of flame before clutching his mouth and collapsing sideways. A trembling hand rises above the surface of the table, reaching towards Velvet. "Tell... our daughter... I died a hero... ... eating hot sauce..."\n\n"No," Velvet informs him flatly, smacking his hand away.\n\nLaughing soflty, Ilia strokes a hand over Finn's head before asking, "So is there anything interesting going on at school, honey?"\n\n"No. This next week they're gonna make us start learning etiquette," he says with a wrinkle of the nose. \n\n"Well hey, y'know what, your Aunt Weiss is gonna be having a party soon most likely, and if you apply yourself to those etiquette classes you can come with us this time," you tell him after a brief psycomm check with Ilia, grinning. "They have great food at these things, buddy, you'll love it."\n\nHis eyes light up a little. "Will Nika be there?"\n\n"Mm-hmmm, you can bet on it," Ilia adds with a grin. \n\n"Oh that reminds me, Velvet, Sun, Yang and I are going to stay in Mantle a little longer, so we won't need a ride back in the morning."\n\n"Alright then, we'll have Ico send someone for us then."\n\n"Nah, go ahead and take the Manta still if you want, it's no big," you assure her.\n\n"Are you sure? I don't want to put you out just for Sun and I, what if you need it?"\n\n"It's fine, something comes up where I need a ship I'll just give Harriet a call, she owes me one."\n\n"Several, at this point," Ilia adds in a snort. \n\n"But yeah, bud, you put some effort into those etiquette classes and you can come to Weiss's next party for sure," you assure Finn with a grin. \n\n"Okay fiiiine. If the food is good!" he adds with a huff.\n\nThat night you lay in bed, Ilia mostly on top of you, both of you naked in the dark, her breath washing over your throat and collarbone in a way that says she's not really asleep. But it's still, and silent, the only sound in the house a low, steady ticking from the hallway, before there's a deep but gentle chiming that fills the air, counting twelve.\n\n"Why did we buy that thing?" Ilia whispers into the dark after a moment.\n\nLaughing just a little, you squeeze her up against you a bit, running your hand along her bare back. "Because living this comfy-ass life with you makes me want to be the sort of person that owns a grandfather clock, I think."\n\nIlia laughs a little at that as well, giving a soft 'mmf' as you gently squeeze her ass. She squirms in a little more against you. "Tonight was very comfy," she agrees. She doesn't need to say, in comparison to the two days before it.\n\n"... You alright?" you whisper, turning your head towards her. She doesn't answer for awhile, so you reach up to brush some hair away from her face. "Hey. You know if these jobs are getting too much, we can always step back from them, okay?"\n\n"And how many people in that mine would be dead now if we'd decided we needed to step back before we went out there?" she answers quietly, a little bitterly. "How many will die if we're not quick to answer the next mine accident?"\n\n"Hey. Hey." You gently urge her upright, sitting up in bed and getting on your knees, settling back on your heels and taking her face in your hands as she adopts a similar pose. "We've done enough, alright?" you insist, looking her in the eye. "We went all the way and saved the world. And then we kept going. We have fought Grimm, calmed riots, caught murderers, and yes we have assisted the hell out of mine accidents, and at some point we have to admit that we have given enough to this world." You brush your thumbs across her cheeks under her tired-seeming eyes. "We have a son who needs us and friends who are willing to keep fighting. We are not... betraying anything or turning our backs on anyone if we decide that we've earned the right to just live our own lives. We don't owe it to anyone to kill ourselves or crush our minds doing this. Okay?"\n\n"It's not about debts. Not anymore, it's... this is who I am now, Kai, this is what I do, but it still gets so hard sometimes," she admits, closing her eyes and leaning her head against one of your hands. "... I'm just tired," she further admits after a moment. "I don't want a stop, but... I need a break. When Finn's finished with school for the year, let's go somewhere as a family. Recharge our batteries. Okay?"\n\n"That," you say, leaning in to kiss her. "Sounds like a fucking amazing idea, Rainbow."\n\n"Mm." She smiles, raising a hand up to hold your wrist, rubbing back and forth a bit. "You know, after all these years... I still get a little flutter in my heart every time you say 'Rainbow'."\n\n"Yeah?" You grin, drawing Ilia back down onto the bed with you as you start kissing along her jaw and cheek. "Rainbow. My Rainbow. My very own Rainbow," you whisper in the dark, kissing here and there on her specks by memory, your hands stroking down the sides of her neck and over her shoulders.\n\n"Mmf... Kai," she murmurs back, writhing gently beneath you.\n\n"And I..." you assert gently as you move to kiss in the hollow of her throat. "Still get this bright feeling in my chest every time you say my name."\n\n"Kai... Kai," she gasps as your hand slips between her legs, the sheets twisting in her fists as you stroke your fingers along her folds while continuing to kiss softly against her throat, your breasts pressing to her chest just beneath her own. "Kai... Kai!"\n\nShe continues repeating your name, still with that same sweet love and devotion that first began to change your life, that brought you all the way here to this comfortable home full of family, as you touch her, stroke her, love her, your lips tracing her warm skin, seeing little washes of color start to flicker out from where your kisses make touch, Ilia a trembling living lightshow in the moonlight as you make love to her. When she gets that particular catch in her breathing that you know so well and arches beneath you, you smile and move your kisses back to her lips, sliding your arms around her instead and once more drawing her on top of you instead.\n\n"Mmm... Kai... Kai," she whispers softly, nuzzling in against you.\n\n"My Rainbow."\n\n"Mm. ... Kai... do you want me to-"\n\n"S'okay, baby, I'm good," you assure her, kissing her forehead. "You know sometimes I don't mind just taking care of you."\n\nIlia nods against your shoulder, settling more easily against you, even the still slightly shuddery breathing feeling a bit more relaxed than before. "... I do like our life," she asserts, voice starting to grow thick with sleepiness. "Even the hard parts. Even the hurtful parts. I love who we are together. I love you."\n\n"I love you too, Rainbow," you assure her in a whisper, kissing her forehead. "Let's look forward to our vacation."\n\nThe next morning you awake to the smell of bacon and sausage already filling the house, quickly showering and dressing in your 'everyday mom' clothes of a pale grey hoodie and snow camo pants, tucking an Atlas Military issue .45 into its holster at the small of your back before you head downstairs. "God you bees wake up early," you comment as you stroll into the kitchen. "Also thank you."\n\n"Habit, this one barely sleeps at night then takes like three power naps a day," Yang says with a snort, bobbing her head towards Blake, who's sitting at the table drinking coffee. "Plus I had to do Ruby's breakfast and make her lunch a lot of the time so there y'go. Eggs?"\n\n"Over hard, please." You start to sit, only to get up as Velvet and Sun come down the stairs, Sun carrying his still mostly asleep daughter tucked against his chest. "Hey guys," you whisper.\n\n"Hey, we're gonna go ahead and go while she's still conked," Velvet says quietly, stepping forward to hug you briefly. "I'll probably see you in a few weeks once we've done the first year missions. Blake, Yang, lovely to see you as always, thank you so much for watching Peggy."\n\n"You guys have a safe trip," Yang calls quietly. As the door closes, she notes, "Cute kid. ... Y'know I dunno if this is one of those things I'm supposed to say but it's still kind of weird that when two different type of Faunus have a kid it turns into a Random Faunus Generator," Yang comments as she flips your eggs onto a plate as you sit down.\n\n"It is one of those things that's not understood very well," Blake agrees in a wry tone. \n\n"Yeah, like, our kids will be feline Faunus I guess?"\n\nBlake blushes a little, giving Yang a happy look, though you can see it's tinged with a little something else as she looks back to her plate. You can guess what it is. The reason the Equality Initiative will be forever fighting an uphill battle. But instead of voicing it you ask, "Actually there's something I've always wondered, if it's like feline Faunus does the feline type stay constant?"\n\n"It's a bit less random," Blake allows, giving Ilia and Finn a smile as they come in before continuing to answer you. "Usually somewhere in the mingled feline types genetics. So my children might be 'domesticus' feline Faunus, or panther Faunus like my father, or leopards like my great-great-grandfather."\n\n"Eggs?" Yang prompts.\n\n"Scrambled," Ilia says with a small yawn as she gratefully accepts you pouring her a cup of coffee from the carafe on the table.\n\n"Over easy!"\n\n"Hey just be careful with the yolks, okay?" you urge.\n\n"'Kaaay. So Aunt Blake could my kids be kitties?" Finn pipes up curiously.\n\nBlake grins at him tolerantly. "I suppose it's possible, if you married a different kind of Faunus than yourself, Finn."\n\n"You gotta be married to have kids?" Finn blinks. "Then how did Peggy happen?"\n\n"Because it's cold at night in the desert," you murmur, clearing your throat as Ilia whaps you on the arm and amending at full volume, "It's just a general term, Finn, every family's different."\n\n"Ohhh."\n\n"That's very true though," Blake assures him as Yang finally sits down with a pepper-studded omelette. "And I should probably get myself out of the habit of using terms like that. Some families are like your friend Alani's, who has a mom and a dad who are her birth parents. Some are like you and your moms, where you're not related by blood. Some are like Weiss, Ruby, and Nika, where their child is only related to one of them. Some of them are like Sun and Velvet, who have a child even if they don't live together. And lots of other kinds, and just like Faunus and humans, just because they're different doesn't mean they aren't all wonderful and valid."\n\nFinn chews on that for a little while, before solemnly declaring, "You sound like a teacher."\n\n"Thaaat's because I am," Blake replies dryly, grinning and tapping him on the nose. "I mostly just try to teach people to get along."\n\n"Speaking of teachers, finish your breakfast, kiddo, so I can get you to school," you urge, balancing some egg on your piece of bacon before chomping it down.\n\n"And on that note I'm going to get to the EI office," Blake adds as she rises to her feet. "I'll see you in a little bit, Kai. Yang, do you mind if I take the rental?"\n\n"Nope, go ahead, I'll just hang here with Ilia today."\n\nFinishing off the last of your own breakfast and, with a full mouth, managing to avert a toast-and-yolk disaster to Finn's shirt, you rise from the table while urging him along. "Ilia, once I drop Finn off I'm gonna be at the EI office for a bit, then I may try to catch a ride up to Atlas, try to catch James or Winter if either of them has a moment for me."\n\n"'Kay, are you gonna be home for dinner?"\n\n"Should, unless they rope me into something, I'll call and let you know if I'm gonna be late. Helmet!" you call to Finn since you heard the door opening just a little too fast, smirking as it closes again and the closet opens instead. You lean down to kiss Ilia's forehead, murmuring a quick "Love you" before heading out the door and opening the fence to the side 'yard', which is really just an extra stretch of cement wide enough for your motorcycle and the small family car you and Ilia use when you're not flying around behind badasses in an old military airship. "Seatbelt!" you prompt Finn as he clambers into the sidecar of the sleek silver and red motorcycle, you swinging astride it and pulling your own on, waiting for a moment for the HUD to boot up and link to the bike, then a moment more to let a few other cars go by before backing out and setting off down the road.\n\nIt's not a particularly long ride there, though you do grin to see what's obviously a few rookie Atlas Huntresses and Huntsmen leading lines of small children to the other schools in the area. You pull up in front of the school, waiting until Finn's worked the helmet off around his horns before saying, "Hey, and remember what we said?"\n\n"Yeah, I gotta really try hard in the etiquette classes if I want to go to the party," he huffs, before grinning as he clambers out and arranges his shoulder bag. "I'll try my best Mom, honest."\n\n"Good, then I'm already proud of you," you assure him, reaching out to rumple his hair a bit (since it's already permanently disheveled), unable to quite help yourself from watching him until he gets all the way up the walk and steps and is inside the building. You take a moment to retract the side car, letting it fold itself into the side of the bike and snug up its part-wheel against the back one, before taking off again, staying at a slow speed until you're out of the school cluster area. "Scroll command, call Winter Schnee."\n\n"Calling Winter Schnee."\n\n A second later the ring of an opening line fills your ears, followed fairly soon by Winter's crisp voice. "Good morning, Miss Sterling."\n\n"Winter, how's it going?"\n\n"Busy, as usual. How may I help you?"\n\n"I wanted to drop in on you or James sometime later this morning and chat about a few things. You got any time?"\n\n"I generally try to make time for Weiss's friends. How much later this morning?"\n\n"I'm heading to EI to give a registered statement about the RDC mine collapse now, that shouldn't take more than an hour and a half at very most, but just to be safe you wanna say around eleven?"\n\n"I can manage that. I'll have a transport waiting at the police station down the street from the EI office at around that time then."\n\n"Great, thanks a lot, Winter. See you in a few hours."\n\n-\n\n"Beginning of statement with Kai Sterling, registered Huntress, employee of the Equality Initiative, also holder of a technical rank of Specialist Junior Grade with the Atlas Military, retired. Huntress Sterling, could you state your age and Kingdom citizenship for the record?"\n\n"Age unknown, approximately thirty-four. I'm a citizen of Menagerie."\n\n"Huntress, what is your job with the Equality Initiative?"\n\n"I'm a Huntress on call."\n\n"And on the day of September twelfth, what were you called on to do?"\n\n"We received a report of a Dust mine collapse at a mine licensed to and operated by the Rival Dust Company, and deployed in order to assist with Grimm deterrance and search and rescue operations."\n\n"And how long were you deployed on this mission?"\n\n"Approximately sixty hours."\n\n"Is that normal for this sort of job?"\n\n"It depends on the circumstances. A mine collapse, depending on the size and type, it can be less than a day or it can be upwards of two weeks. This was a small mine and... ... with the nature of the collapse, after the time frame I've described, after sixty hours it was body recovery. At that point in time my partner and I made the decision to turn over efforts to the joint Rival Dust Company and Schnee Dust Company task force."\n\n"Who else was with you on this mission?"\n\n"My Huntress partner and spouse, Ilia Amitola, also a Huntress on call with the Equality Initiative. Velvet Scarlatina and Sun Wukong. Velvet Scarlatina is an instructor at Beacon Academy but is also a registered Equality Initiative Huntress on call, and was visiting the offices at the time. Sun Wukong is not officially affiliated with the EI but frequently assists us."\n\n"Could you describe in general your arrival on the site of the incident?"\n\n"Velvet was piloting my personal aircraft, a deweaponized Atlas Military last generation Manta transport. Sun, Ilia, and I deployed from the air in order to get to work faster. We were all wearing respirators, this wasn't the first time any of us had gone into a Dust mine accident. I directed Sun into the mine to begin assisting their efforts while Ilia and I went to keep the entrance path clear of Grimm. A woman that was later identified to me as Bianca Snow was already on site and fighting Grimm."\n\n"Bianca Snow, for the record, is registered as the Chief Financial Officer of the Rival Dust Company. Please continue, Huntress."\n\n"Velvet joined us in fighting Grimm once she'd landed the ship. We fought for maybe... five minutes? After we killed some larger ones there was a lull, so I sent Velvet on ahead into the mine as well. Then we fought for a little longer, maybe another five minutes. About that time an SDC convoy led by Weiss Schnee arrived. Weiss had her people establish a perimeter and begin prepping to head into the mine, at which point myself, Ilia, Bianca Snow, and Weiss Schnee entered the mine."\n\n"Did you think that was odd? Two executives entering a collapsed Dust mine to take part in the recovery efforts themselves?"\n\n"Definitely not with Weiss. She's been on the ground and assisting in every Dust mine accident I've ever worked. No, amend that, there was one time I worked a Glorious Powergem Dust mine collapse where they refused the SDC's aid, Weiss wasn't allowed on site."\n\n"And Bianca?"\n\n"I guess I just assumed from the fact that she was the first one on the site and fighting Grimm she was that sort of leader too. I didn't give it much thought."\n\n"We'll get into the details of what happened, but did Bianca Snow give any indication of what she thought had caused the collapse?"\n\n"Weiss asked her. Bianca said she thought it was a big air pocket of volcanic rock that they didn't see because of a dense vein of Gravity Dust right above it. From the way the rock looked around the bottom of the collapse area I'd say she was right."\n\n"Did she give any indication of why she thought this?"\n\n"Not really. Twenty-five years or more of Dust mining experience, if I had to guess."\n\n"Did you see any signs of neglect, either of maintenance or failure to provide adequate safety equipment?"\n\n"No, from what I saw all the beams looked like they'd been solid before the collapse and the safety masks the workers were wearing were RDC-FRM-10s."\n\n"Please describe the RDC-FRM-10."\n\n"It's a respirator mask, designed for having good field of vision and longterm wear. It's manufactured by the Rival Dust Company itself and they only came out about two years ago."\n\n"In your experience does the RDC make good respirator masks?"\n\n"I was wearing an RDC-FRM-10-A myself. It's a variant of the same one, filters fitted under the jaw instead of on a hose."\n\n"Did you pick that or did the Equality Initiative?"\n\n"I bought it, the EI reimbursed me. It was my personal choice."\n\n"Alright, so, let's go through some of the other things you saw on site..."\n\n-\n\n"Y'know, Winter, it's a sad state of affairs when I look forward to seeing you as a respite from someone who's stiff and overly professional."\n\n"I will try to take that as a compliment," Winter Schnee says dryly as she shows you into the headmaster's office of Atlas Academy, diverting from making for her desk to instead make her way to the small bar built into the wall. "I take it from that you won't give me any scolding looks if I suggest we have a pencil line of something to ease our difficult mornings?"\n\n"Hell no." You head up to the conversation dias and flop into one of the chairs, accepting the crystal glass she hands you with the barest amount of something woodsy and slightly fruity-smelling poured into it, clearly more of a mouthful to provide mental comfort than anything else. You spend a moment enjoying the scent before pouring it down, then look over to find Winter giving you a small smile. "What?"\n\n"Just a bit amused at how you've changed over the years."\n\n"Guess so. Could say the same of you." Grinning, you lean forward to set the glass down on the table between the two of you, though you let the smile settle some as you sit back. "You have a tough morning too?"\n\n"Yes. I decided to give the students the day off. This is far from the worst Dust mine collapse there's ever been, but... enough that more than a few students had relatives working there." Winter sniffs a bit, more a little breath-taking than a sign of faltering, draining down the sip of alcohol as well. "The empty chairs would have been too distracting if I even simply gave a grief day to those affected."\n\n"It was sure as hell a shitshow, Winter," you agree with a sigh as you lean back. "But then every mine accident is."\n\n"Did you see any evidence of wrongdoing when you were on site, Kai?" Winter asks quietly.\n\n"No. Nothing." You shrug some as you sit up. "To my eyes it looked like bad fucking luck and nothing more."\n\n"As someone from a mining family, I can certainly acknowledge that happens. Even with the reforms Weiss has put into effect, we can't completely eliminate fatal accidents. This is particularly bad for a company like the RDC though... they may be one of the largest Dust companies after my family's, but that still means they operate on a knife's edge, albeit a duller knife than most. Between this, and that factory fire earlier this year...."\n\n"That's kind of what I wanted to talk about. Listen, Bianca Snow was already on-site and working the problem by the time my team got there, and we were in the air within minutes of getting the report of the collapse," you assert, leaning forward. "I don't know the woman, but that says dedication to me, the same dedication Weiss shows. ... Winter, is the RDC gonna lose licenses over this?"\n\nWinter inhales, then exhales slowly, closing her eyes briefly before answering. "It is possible. At the least, what I'm hearing right now is that they are very likely to lose their license to this one, considering how unlikely it is they'll be able to resume operation at it within the alloted time frame. And there is also talk that a higher bar may be set for giving them Dust mine licenses in the future."\n\n"C'mon, Winter, you know they don't deserve that," you assert with a scowl.\n\n"I do not think they do, no, but Kai you have to understand, I have to recuse myself from every issue related to Dust mining or sales when it comes before the council," Winter replies, pressing her lips into a thin line. "I may no longer be involved in the business side of family affairs, but having a Schnee make any pronouncements about Dust mining issues would be unacceptable. Now," she continues, raising a hand and making a small 'be easy' gesture. "James feels as I do, so on that matter do not worry. If I were you and wished to make a difference, I would consider speaking to Robyn Hill about the issue. You know how eager she is to take a hard line on anything that seems to disproportionately affect Mantellians, so if anyone is going to make life hard for the RDC after this, it's her. If you can assure her that you saw no evidence of impropriety, that might go a long way towards easing the RDC's impending difficulties."\n\n"Yeah. Yeah, that makes sense. Any idea of how to get ahold of her?"\n\n"She is invited to the charity gala Weiss will be hosting next week, you may be able to catch her there. You did help save the life of one of her closest friends, so hopefully that goodwill hasn't faded over the years," Winter adds wryly. \n\n"Oh yeah, that reminds me, I told Finn if he worked really hard in class he could come to the party, if that's workable. They're starting etiquette lessons this week, apparently," you add with a grin.\n\nWinter's expression remains composed, but her eyes start twinkling. "Marvelous. Ahem, I think it had been going to be pretty much an adult affair, but I'll talk to Weiss and see if we can retool it a bit, have a room and some entertainment for the children, that's probably a bit better anyway. I suppose I'll somehow wind up looking after them all night. If I must."\n\n'Yeah my grandfather clock isn't the only thing ticking.' "Got a date nailed down?"\n\n"No, just 'next week' at the moment, Nika is still deciding whether she'll sing something new or one of her current songs."\n\nNow it's your turn for your eyes to sparkle. "Man I didn't want to ask but I'm so glad. Is Weiss going to sing with her?"\n\n"Almost certainly."\n\n"Fantastic."\n\n"While I have you here, though, Kai, could you help me go over some of the training videos for the students?"\n\nSighing, you grin and nod, getting up. "Yeah, sure, give me the files and a workstation, I'll get to clipping."\n\nDespite helping Winter with her work, you still get back down to Mantle in time to pick Finn up from school, heading home in the earliest stages of after work traffic, luckily managing to pull into the drive before the worst of it hits. You stroll after your son as he goes galumphing up the front steps, Ilia's voice calling "Shoes!" as the impacts carry a little too far into the house. Grinning, you close the door after yourself and head inside, leaning over to kiss Ilia's cheek where she's sitting on the couch now getting a Finn-snuggle.\n\n"Hey Rainbow."\n\n"Hiii." Ilia smiles as she glances up. "What did you get roped into?"\n\n"Training video editing. Wasn't that bad and Winter bought me lunch from the officer's mess so not a lost cause. Hey Blake," you add as you walk into the kitchen, your feline Faunus friend sitting at the kitchen table to do some paperwork. Taking a moment to open the slow cooker lid and sniff Yang's current concoction in it (not sure if want), you snag a cider out of the fridge and head over to lean a shoulder against the archway between the rooms. "Sounds like Weiss's thing is gonna be next week."\n\n"Can I come?" Finn asks, instantly perking up.\n\n"Like we said, you keep trying hard in class," you remind him, wagging a finger just a bit as you grin. "But yeah probably, Winter said she's gonna ask Weiss to make the party kid-friendly, and sounds like Nika's gonna sing."\n\n"Okay, I think we need to do clothes shopping sometime this week," Ilia says, pinching Finn's cheek a bit. "Includes you too, yanno."\n\n"Awwwww!"\n\nBlake laughs softly. "That should be lovely, though. And Yang's been looking for an excuse to buy a new dress."\n\nAs Ilia falls to talking with Finn about his first day of etiquette lessons, you wander back into the kitchen and turn a chair around, sitting in it backwards. "EI stuff?" you ask Blake.\n\n"Mm. Statements of Perceived Wrongdoing," she answers with a sigh, flipping one over. "There's always a rush of them after an accident like this. Especially since official EI paperwork can be easily subpoenaed in civil court. Second cousins, years-past exes, widowed in-laws... oh, here's a good one." Blake picks up the paper she's reading to hold it up beside her flat expression. "Mother who gave her daughter up for adoption as a toddler and hasn't been in contact since, until suddenly yesterday she's heartbroken by the news of learning her daughter died in the mine collapse."\n\n"Dragon," you mutter, taking the paper and looking it and the attached notes from the background check over. "Vultures just getting ready for a greed suit. Why don't you just toss 'em in the trash?"\n\n"Because we can't. I have to evaluate these for merit, every single one," Blake answers with a sigh. "Which means that every single one of these that is attached to a person who died or was injured in that mine is going to have to have some answer for it in the pending investigation."\n\n"I hate to make life harder on you, but I'm recusing myself from that before anyone ever even asks," you declare, holding up a hand and waggling it. "I'm already pretty much convinced the RDC didn't do a da-rned thing wrong."\n\n"No, as usual for someone that was involved in first response, you can't be involved in the investigation. We'll have the Haven EI office hire some forensic specialist Huntsmen, that should be sufficiently removed from any Atlas Kingdom influence to satisfy everyone. ... I know you're probably getting tired of being asked this, but-"\n\n"Didn't see one thing they did wrong," you assure her. "All the safety equipment was new, no obvious metal fatigue, just bad luck. And you're not blaming this one on my dad, he was on Patch."\n\nBlake snorts a little, nodding. "Okay. Was giving the statement difficult?"\n\n"I always hate that stuff, feels like getting grilled by lawenoff ever time," you say with a sigh. "But nah, just long and a little dull."\n\n"Mm. Did Winter say the exact date of Weiss's party?"\n\n"No, just sometime next week, sounds like it's gonna depend on whether Nika and Weiss since something new or one of Nika's previous smash hits."\n\n"For someone whose color is 'crystal' that little girl certainly does have a lot of platinum to her name," Blake laughs. \n\n"You guys go ahead and stay with us, if you want, no reason to move up to Atlas when you'll just have to come back down here to the EI office."\n\n"Thank you, I really appreciate it. There's going to be a lot more of these and honestly I'd rather spare the local office from handling so many of them, especially when these are people they might have to deal with again in more... sincere... circumstances."\n\nNodding, you get up and head back into the living room, just in time for the front door to close and Yang to stroll in. "Heeeey, guess who found strawberries at the market!" she calls, grinning as Finn pops up and scrambles over the back of the couch (despite Ilia's vague objections) and goes scrambling over to her. "Oop, guess you didn't have to guess!" she asserts with a laugh.\n\n"Can I have one?!"\n\n"We'll all have some for dessert, you wanna come help me prep them?" Yang offers as she heads on into the kitchen, adding a "Hey honey" to Blake and getting a distracted 'hey' in response.\n\n"Dinner knife only!" Ilia calls after them, grinning some as you settle down next to her and she snuggles against your side. "Hey."\n\n"Hey you." You kiss her forehead again. "You doin' okay?"\n\n"Yeah, I'm alright. I got a little down sitting around thinking about it today but Yang and me went to the gym and did a workout and that helped. I also dropped by a travel office, downloaded some flips of various vacation places," she continues, taking out her scroll and projecting a few screens.\n\n"Pft, makes you realize we've been practically all over this planet already. Sometimes I forget Remnant even has vacation destinations. Mm, let's see, if we want to go for Finn's winter break, it'll beeeee..."\n\nThe two of you glance over the various little moving demonstrations, then simultaneously snort and look at each other. "Patch."\n\n"Let's be honest we were always gonna pick Patch." \n\n"Rent a cabin instead of staying with Tai or the bees?"\n\n"Yeah let's do that."\n\nIlia closes the windows and brings up another app. "I bet if I lock in the date ahead of time we can get a better longterm rate, when do you wanna go?"\n\n"I mean I'm good with picking up Finn from school and heading right to the Manta."\n\n"Mmm, we'd be doing a little bit of night-flying but that's probably alright since it's Vale and Patch. Stay with Tai the first night and check into the cabin in the morning?" she suggests.\n\n"Okay but you're explaining to Uncle Everybody's Dad why we aren't staying with him instead."\n\n"Traitor~," she mock-hisses, then grins and kisses you quickly. "Hey, could we invite my sister?"\n\n"Oh hey, that actually sounds great. Let's vidcall her tonight and suggest it." \n\n"I'm putting this away for now," Blake announces as she walks back in, opening up a briefcase on the table and dropping the papers in before closing it and fastening the latches. "Yang says dinner's ready pretty much whenever we are."\n\n"What is it?"\n\n"Sausage and potato soup."\n\n"Huh. Not what I would have expected from her."\n\n"Because it's one of my mother's recipes, passed down in my family from back before we moved to Menagerie."\n\n"Well if you're gonna tell me I doubted one of Kali's recipes I guess it's seppuku again for me," you declare, reaching forward for a pen from the table only for Ilia to smack your hand.\n\n"No, no more ritual suicide," she scolds teasingly.\n\n"It smells funny!" Finn announces from the kitchen.\n\nSnorting, you get up and say "Don't be rude!" since he said what you only thought, moving to set the table now that Blake's cleared it up. \n\n-\n\n"Stop fidgeting, we didn't even make you wear a tie," Ilia scolds gently as she runs a brush through Finn's hair. Which you all know is more for the psychological comfort of knowing an attempt was made than any thought that it might actually make a difference.\n\n"I don't like the jacket," he complains lightly, even as you stand in the doorway of the bathroom, leaning your bare shoulder against the frame and grinning at him.\n\n'I've turned into one of those parents that dresses their kid like a miniature adult and I love it,' you think, looking at the little white jacket and slacks and shirt. You and Ilia both knew it was just asking for a snacktastrophe of epic proportions but you couldn't help yourselves once you saw it. \n\n"You guys about ready?" Yang asks as she emerges from the room she and Blake have been sharing while staying with you, her classic Little Black Dress on point, as well as showing off the black fire-like designs tattooed to cap her shoulders and surrounding her and Blake's emblems on one side, and Ruby and Weiss's on the other, what looks like a pale scar marking the division between her flesh and blood and the realistic prosthetic she's wearing, her hands raised as she adjusts her little bumblebee-shaped earrings.\n\nYou quirk an eyebrow at those... and at the matching bumblebee locket on Blake's choker as she emerges from the room, wearing a long yellow silk dress. "Seriously, guys?"\n\nYang peeks into the bathroom, then snorts with a grin. "You're one to talk."\n\n"We both thought it looked nice so we both decided to wear it," Ilia answers primly to the fact that both you and she are wearing the same high-collared, open-backed sleeveless dresses in a bright metallic silver with a soapbubble rainbow sheen over them.\n\n"Uh-huh. At least we just wore each other's colors," Yang says with a teasing snort. "You'd think you guys were newlyweds or something."\n\nThe walls aren't that thick, Xiao Long, you're one to talk, you send to the group as you slip past her and down the stairs, Yang's face going red as she clears her throat, Blake obviously resisting the urge to cover her face with both hands since her makeup is particularly on point tonight. You glance outside at the sound of thrusters, seeing the long, sleek white car angling its flight wings up and in towards itself. "Ride's here!"\n\n"Whooooa," Finn declares, eyes wide as he comes outside and sees the snazzy hovervehicle.\n\n"Well, guess the neighbors are gonna think we're superbougie now," Ilia snorts as you lock up the door, then calls, "Finn, don't run!", half-hurrying down the steps after the two of you's son as he takes off towards the airlimo.\n\n"If I gave a shit what my neighbors thought I wouldn't decorate for Halloween like I do," you confide to Yang and Blake in a whisper, Yang snickering and Blake rolling her eyes good naturedly at you.\n\n"What was that thing last year? A 'Graboid'?" Yang asks as the three of you head to catch up to the other two. "Looked kind of like one of those big Vacuan desert worms but with long snake tongues?"\n\n"And you had it with a terrified-looking mannequin cornered in the tree," Blake adds drolly as she ducks to slip into the limo. "I have to admit that one was creative."\n\n"I wanted to do a bunch of randomized jump scares this year but Ilia talked me out of it, said it was a Grimm hazard," you scoff as you settle onto the seat, waving to the driver that you're all in and apparently prompting the door to close.\n\n"It was!"\n\n"Ilia there have been all of two Grimm incursions into Mantle this year and neither had any serious injuries involved."\n\n"Yeah well it'd be five before November if I let you have free reign on our yard."\n\n"Fine fine, I'll do the happy dancing skeletons instead. You gonna help me, Finn?"\n\n"Yeah!"\n\nEventually the car settles onto the streets of Atlas and cruises down the road, joining a procession of other, similar cars, albeit mostly in black. "Hey, remember, no running off when we get inside, okay?" you remind Finn. "I'm serious about this one, okay?"\n\n"'Kay, Mom."\n\nFour of you slip out of the car with those semi-practiced 'getting in and out of vehicles wearing garments that were apparently not entirely designed with that in mind' motions that all of you have gained at some point in the last ten years, Finn just getting to hop down and consenting to take Ilia's hand as all of you make your way up to the open doors.\n\n"Hey Klein," you say in greeting to the mostly bald man at the door, the fringe of hair around the gleaming crown of his head snowy white, his mustache still having a few hints of brown in it.\n\n"How delightful to see you again, Miss Sterling, Miss Amitola, Miss Belladonna, Miss Xiao Long. And young Mister Amitola!" he adds, leaning down and winking, his eyes briefly turning red as he produces what looks like a silver Schnee family crest coin from behind one of the boy's horns. "Here, don't tell any of the fusspots I gave ya that, huh?" he almost snarls good-naturedly.\n\nLaughing a little, you give Klein a grateful nod before all of you make your way in towards the tall, broad-shouldered man in the blue-white suit that's greeting people further in. "Hey Whitley, how's it going?"\n\n"Ugh, finally, some people I actually like," Whitley says in a mock-aggrieved tone, grinning as he moves down the line not-quite-kissing the adults' cheeks. "I'm glad you could all come. We're going ahead and seating everyone in the auditorium for the performance since we want to start the evening with it, but of course we've got seats for all of you in the family box."\n\n"Did Nika decide to go with something new?" you ask, smiling. "I notice it wound up being on a Friday."\n\n"Yes, my sister wound up writing something new just for this. It's absolutely lovely," Whitley assures you with a smile. "If you want to take the private elevator up, Mother and Ruby should already be there."\n\nAs the others head to the elevator, you linger back a bit, resting a hand on his forearm. "Hey. How's your dad doing?" you ask in a soft voice.\n\n"Oh. You know. He's... him," he answers with a smile that's half wry, half sad. "Still basically refusing to admit he did anything wrong, so his therapy's not going well, so... probably no parole this time either."\n\nYou pat his arm and nod, not saying anything and instead joining your wife and friends at the elevator. \n\n"Finnnnnnn!" Ruby squeals happily, her sparkling red dress shimmering as she scoops him up and hugs him, apparently not caring in the least that he's getting a bit big for it. "It's Finnnn my favorite boyyyyy so sofffft," she adds in a coo, rubbing her cheek against the top of his head.\n\n"Nooooo," he protests even as he laughs some. \n\n"Hello everyone," Willow Schnee greets, the crow's feet around the corners of her eyes a bit deeper, but her color a bit better than the last time you saw her when she'd slipped off the wagon a little. "Lovely to see you. Now here, here," she continues, making beckoning motions to Ruby, and quickly settling Finn in her lap as she drapes her arms around him. "Well! It's been a little while! How old are you now, Finn?"\n\n"Seven," he informs her proudly.\n\n"Oh my, already? Seems like just yesterday I had you in my lap for the first time. Hm hm hm, while I've got you here... what do you want for Winter Solstice, hmmmm?"\n\nFinn's green eyes light up. "Little brother!"\n\nIlia, who'd just picked up a flute of champagne from the glasses lined up at the front of the box, comes very close to spraying her mouthful of it all over Ruby Rose.\n\n"... Pardon?" you half-squeak.\n\n"Hmmmm. Iiii'm sensing that might be a bit of a tall order," Willow chuckles, bouncing Finn just a tiny bit on her lap. "How about... a skateboard?" she suggests after a careful glance at you and Ilia.\n\n"Ah! Can it be a hoverboard like Aunt Reese has?!"\n\n"Well we'll just see," Willow assures him with a little boop on the nose, before scooting him a bit on her lap. "Are you looking forward to Nika's song?"\n\n"Yeah!"\n\nDid he seriously just say 'little brother'? you send to Ilia, caught somewhere between dread and laughing your ass off.\n\nWell... we did kind of talk once or twice about maybe adopting again... or even having our own, she notes, side-eyeing you as she tries to sip her champagne again. Maybe we should talk about it again.\n\nAlright but unless one of us wants to head to the Guildhall for awhile that's not gonna be a Solstice wish come true, you send back, causing Ilia to snort into her drink. That poor champagne.\n\nWinter slips into the box and sits only moments before the house lights darken, the chatter that had filled the auditorium quickly settling. On the stage, as the soft strains of a piano begin to play, a light gradually comes up on Whitley Schnee sitting at a white grand piano, his fingers drifting across the keys as another light comes up on his niece, illuminating and sparking a spattering of quick applause for what every net poll has rated the most adorable eight-year-old on Remnant, her soft shoulder-length hair almost glittering silver, the feline ears atop her head sleek and perfect, her steely blue eyes big and bright, her dress glittering with bright blue Dust woven into the fabric. You can't help but glance at Willow, feeling your heart warm a little at the look of teary-eyed pride in her son and granddaughter on her face.\n\n"Hush your cries\nClose your eyes\nStay with me\nLet's just dream\nQuietly\nOf what \nmight \nbe" Nika Schnee sings, her voice more than anything making you feel like you really understand what people mean when they say 'sings like an angel'.\n\n"My baby," Ruby whispers, her hands clasped over her mouth, silver eyes shimmering.\n\nAs a gentler illumination comes up on the violin section to the side of the stage, another stagelight comes up on Weiss, her hair braided into a crown again and decorated with glittering little silver arcs with small Dust crystals set in them, as well as a long braid down her back, her dress the more mature cut of her daughter's as she picks up the next verse of the song.\n\n"Calm your fear\nI'll be near\nTo you\nI'll cling\nRest my friend\nTime can mend\nMany things" Weiss sings, gentle comfort as well as sorrow in her voice, slow steps carrying her over to Nika, their pools of light perfectly merging together as mother and daughter join their free hands, the others holding the slender microphones that are clearly mostly for show, considering how thoroughly you know the auditorium is wired for sound.\n\n"I don't know the answers\nTomorrow's still unknown\nBut I can make this promise\nYou won't be alone" Nika sings almost directly to her mother, turning steely-blue eyes up to her and smiling gently.\n\nWeiss smiles down at Nika, before turning her gaze outward and up, expression solemn and sorrowful again as she sings "I don't know where we should go\nJust feeling farther from our goal\nI don't know what path we will be shown"\n\nThen she looks down at Nika and smiles again as she continues, "But I know that when I'm with you\nI'm at home\nYes, I know that when I'm with you\nI'm at home"\n\n"There's a quiet place \nin my embrace" Nika sings to the darkened auditorium now, as if promising her song will always be there for those who are hurting now. "A haven of safety where\nI'll dry your tears\nShelter here\nIn \nmy \ncare"\n\n"But even when we stumble\nAnd someday when we fall\nWhat I will remember\nThat I had you \nthrough it all" Weiss picks up, her face lifting towards the family box, and somehow even from this distance you can see her catch Ruby's eyes, just from the way she smiles.\n\nThen both of them turn to gaze out into the dark, mother and daughter's voices joined together in perfect harmony.\n\n"I don't know where we should go\nJust feeling farther from our goal\nI don't know what path we will be shown\nBut I know that when I'm with you I'm at home\nYes, I know that when I'm with you I'm at home"\n\nWhitley plays out the rest of the song with the accompaniment of the violins, until finally Nika says very softly, "Yes I know that when I'm with you I'm at home."\n\nThen they're bowing and the auditorium is roaring with applause, both of them bowing again, Whitley joining them as they rise and joining the third bow, smiling as Weiss kisses his cheek and Nika takes his hand.\n\n"Hey. You okay?" you ask Winter with a smile as she dabs at her eyes with a handkerchief.\n\n"... I never thought I'd see the day where Whitley would be part of something so beautiful," she replies softly. "He's come so far in the last ten years. I just..." Her voice cracks a little bit, and she turns to hug her mother.\n\n"You've all made me so very proud. All of you," Willow assures her.\n\n"Ruby, your mascara," Ilia murmurs, gently dabbing at her friend's face.\n\n"Oh gosh I'm gonna hafta redo all this but my baaaaabyyyyy," Ruby sobs. "My baby's so wonderful!"\n\nRuby does indeed have to stop in the washroom to redo her makeup, and she's not the only one, most of the eye makeup in the group needing a touchup. You emerge from the bathroom to find Willow still waiting with Finn, grinning at him as you pet his hair. "How about you buddy, did you enjoy the song?"\n\n"It was pretty. It was sort of... sad and nice at the same time?" he offers. "What's it mean, Mom?"\n\n"I think it's about how people... or thoughts, or songs... can become a safe place for us that reminds us of the good things, even when we feel lost or alone or afraid, like a lot of people feel right now after the accident in the mine," you tell him gently as all of you walk to the elevator again. "Weiss and Nika are offering their song as a place like that for people who are sad, or have lost someone. I know how good both of those can feel to have as a safe, loving feeling... songs and people," you tell him with a smile, while mentally sending, Somewhere~ over the rainbow~...\n\nDammit Kai I just redid my eyeliner, Ilia sends back, instantly having gone misty-eyed.\n\nThe elevator opens to the ground floor at almost the same time as another does, Weiss, Whitley, and Nika emerging. Ruby instantly drops down to hug her daughter, obviously resisting the urge to start blubbering again. "Nikaaaa you're so good you're so precious I love you so muuuuch!"\n\n"Momma please," Nika says with a giggle, nevertheless kissing Ruby on the nose.\n\n"Ruby, please," Weiss says in a much more exasperated tone. \n\n"You were wonderful," Willow assures her daughter as she steps forward to hug her, then doing the same with Whitley. "You were all so wonderful."\n\n"Congratulations, another absolutely beautiful work," Winter adds softly, kissing Weiss's cheek, before moving to do the same with Whitley, adding a quiet, "I'm so proud of you."\n\n"Thank you, Winter. It honestly means a lot to me," he whispers back.\n\n"Hi, Nika," Finn says once Ruby's finally relinquished her hold on the girl.\n\n"Finn! Hi!" Nika chirps, steel-blue eyes lighting up. She reaches out to grab his hand. "They're gonna be playing all the X-Ray and Vav movies in the downstairs viewing room, you wanna come?!"\n\n"Yes!" Finn answers immediately, green eyes lighting up just as bright.\n\n"Hey, hey," you pre-scold gently as his feet start to leave the floor, then grin and nudge his head lightly. "At a reasonable pace, young man."\n\n"And mind your manners to Klein, okay?" Ilia adds with a smile. "Though I know you will."\n\n"Yes, Mom, Iamom!"\n\n"Mm, perhaps I should go look after those little goblins, and any other miscreants that wind up in that room, just to be sure," Winter notes as she goes trailing off after the pair.\n\nYang quietly makes a clock-ticking sound with her tongue while wagging a finger back and forth, only to blush when she attracts a number of looks. "Oh I actually did that instead of just thinking it, huh?"\n\n"You did," Blake assures her dryly. "Well, come on, let's go, I want a bit more champagne and some caviar."\n\n"'Course you do."\n\nThe group moves on into the main downstairs ballroom, staying largely together but dispersing bit by bit as you start meeting or being introduced to other people. Whitley apparently winds up your Official Schnee Chaperone as you and Ilia walk arm-in-arm through the party, showing off your matching dresses and slightly reveling in the mildly scandalized looks on various faces because you're both supposed to be clawing each other's eyes out or something.\n\n"Oh, Miss Snow," Whitley says as you approach a figure in a long, elegant black dress, her thick tail artfully threaded through an effectively invisible hole in the back, the collar draped in (probably fake) fur dyed to match the grey of the fur on her tail and ears. "I'm so glad you could make it. This is-"\n\n"Thank you, Whitley, I'm familiar with these ladies," she interrupts him smoothly, smiling gently in a way you suspect she usually doesn't around him, from the look of mild shock on Whitley's face. "And considering this is a charity benefit for the families of my employees, I could hardly pass up the invitation, could I?"\n\n"Miss Snow," you greet with a bob of the head. "How are things going?"\n\n"I think you can continue to call me Bianca. And... not very well, to be honest," she admits with a shake of the head. "People have... turned on us very quickly. People that were praising us for our safety record and worker consciousness last month are calling us 'the new SDC' now. ... I'm sorry, Whitley, that was uncalled-for," Bianca adds in a murmur, glancing away.\n\n"I understand, don't give it another thought."\n\n"But if it's just bad PR, that'll die down right?" Ilia prompts with a frown, hugging your arm a little as she says it.\n\n"If that was all it was, yes. But... there are rumors now that the council might vote to flag all of our mine licenses for review."\n\n"What? That's ridiculous," Whitley instantly says, frowning. "No one's ever had a company-wide flag before."\n\n"What would that do?" you ask with a frown of your own.\n\nIt's Ilia who answers. "Under the laws passed six years ago, it means the mines need to cease operation until they're certified safe to operate in. If any mine is determined unsafe, you lose the license and it's declared off-limits... for a year."\n\n"I'm well aware of the irony of the laws Weiss and I expressed our very public support for now coming back to bite me in the... tail," Bianca says dryly, said tail flitting dangerously close to her face before she apparently forces it down through an act of will. "I still believe in those laws, but if the rumors are true, then it really feels like someone's out to get me. And before you ask, no, I don't suspect your sister," she adds with a glance at Whitley. "Your family and I have had our... differences... over the years, but I consider those settled, and I think better of Winter than that."\n\n"If it helps, the last I heard they weren't planning anything that extreme, but your license for the collapsed mine is probably done for," you allow. "But listen..." You flick a glance around, and lower your voice. "Winter told me she can't vote on anything Dust-related in the council, but that if we want to head off trouble there, the person we need to talk to is Robyn Hill. Let me talk to you for her, see if I can convince her this isn't a systemic problem."\n\n"You'd... do that for me?" she asks bemusedly, tail flitting and ears giving a twitch, her gaze briefly flitting to Whitley.\n\n"Yes, as far as I saw, you weren't to blame for this, so I'm not gonna let you be hung up as a sacrifice to... whatever issue is going on with the Council."\n\n"I agree, Bianca, we may be business rivals, but what's happening is wrong," Whitley chimes in. \n\n"We're friends of Robyn's, she should listen to us," Ilia speaks up. "We helped her a long time ago, and one of her best friends is distantly related to our son."\n\n"Your son... the little sheep Faunus boy you came in with?" Bianca asks, and at you and Ilia's smiles returns it. "My word. He looked an absolutely charming lad. ... Are you...?" Bianca asks in apparent confusion, raising a hand towards you a bit.\n\n"Oh, no, I'm not a Faunus, Finn's adopted," you reply with a little laugh. "Though I love that Remnant's in vitro tech is at the point where that wasn't your first thought when you encountered lesbians with a child."\n\nBianca actually laughs a little at that, raising her gloved knuckles lightly to her lips. "I suppose you're right. Mm, let's have a moment of more normal conversation, then. How old is he, where does he go to school?"\n\n"He's seven," Ilia answers, sounding almost as proud of that as Finn does when he says it. "He goes to Xanthe First Stage Preparatory in Mantle."\n\n"That's one of the charter schools that have been springing up since Ivy Brown finally got that legislation of hers passed? How is it?" Bianca asks, seeming sincerely curious.\n\n"It's great," you answer just as sincerely. "His teachers are engaged, they've got him reading well above his grade level, every month they have a life skills class so that it's not just all math and spelling."\n\n"This month they're doing etiquette," Ilia pipes up, grinning and giving your arm a little squeeze of shared pride in the two of you's son. "We told him he could come to this party if he made sure to focus and try hard in his classes, since he wasn't excited about it at the start."\n\n"Etiquette? Really?" Looking somewhere between disbelieving and delighted, Bianca shakes her head. "You know I always thought Brown's little legislation was just a bit of feel-good fluff, but if the schools it's creating are actually worth a damn then I think I may finally endorse a candidate next time she's up for reelection. ... Though at this point I'm not sure how much weight my endorsement will carry," she admits with a sigh.\n\n"Bianca, Kai will talk to Robyn, and we'll try and get this sorted out," Whitley assures her. "Besides, without you around, who would we curse over dinner?" he adds in a teasing tone.\n\nBianca laughs a little at that. "I'm sure you'd find somebody. But thank you."\n\n"Are you over here monopolizing one of my guests?" Weiss asks as she approaches, smiling, a glass of champagne in hand. "Bianca, hello, I'm so glad you could come."\n\n"Of course I did." Bianca bows her head just the slightest. "You were absolutely amazing on stage tonight, Weiss, and your daughter is beyond talented. And thank you so much for doing all of this... the benefits we guarantee are generous but they can't cover everything, I know, and this will help with a lot of things we simply can't cover like hotel stays to remain near hospitalized family or the shuttles to and from Atlas."\n\n"Of course. We've got a lovely collection of paintings that we're selling off to help put funds into these accounts, would you like to have a look at them?"\n\n"You know, I think I will, but maybe first I'll finally have some champagne," Bianca allows, turning as a waiter approaches. "Oh, thank you... hm?" she blinks as she finds herself holding a manilla envelope.\n\n"Oh, I'm sorry about that, ma'am, that wasn't for you, that's for her," the waiter apologizes, smoothly plucking the envelope from her hand and offering it to you instead. \n\n"Wha?" you answer, sort of reflexively taking it.\n\n"Oh, oh I am sorry, wrong again, that one is Miss Schnee, this is Miss Sterling's, and Miss Snow," he says, having handed all three of you envelopes while you were still trying to figure out what the hell he was on about. He bobs his head. "You've all been served, please have a pleasant evening."\n\n"What?" Bianca hisses.\n\n"Security!" Weiss snaps, two large men in tuxedos immediately striding forward.\n\n"No need, no need, I'm already leaving. Oh, fine, throw me out if it will make you feel better," he says with a sigh as they physically lift him off the floor, various people staring.\n\n"Oh I don't think you understand. This isn't some restaurant you can waltz into, pretending to be a waiter, Schnee Manor is classified as a corporate satellite office, which means you've just trespassed onto a location where corporate secrets are accessible while obfuscating your identity."\n\n"... Right. That's bad," he murmurs, hanging his head.\n\n"Which means you will be detained until the police arrive and you will be fully charged," Weiss declares, flapping the folder at him. "So you have a good evening! Take him away!" she snaps to the security guards.\n\n"Well everyone's going to have an interesting story to tell about this party," Whitley declares with a sigh.\n\n"What in the hell is 'The Value of Life Foundation versus Atlas' and why have I just been subpoenaed for it at your party?" Bianca demands a few minutes later, tossing the legal papers down on Weiss's desk.\n\n"Whitley's calling a judge we know to find out," Weiss replies, scowling as she reads over her own subpoena. \n\n"That won't be necessary," Winter says with a slightly tired edge as she walks in, apparently having just overheard the name of the case. "I'm familiar with the litigation in question."\n\n"Winter, what the hell's going on?" you ask as she crosses to the minibar and pours a mouthful of brandy into a glass.\n\n"It just came onto the official docket this morning, and will begin next month... obviously someone in the VLF has connections." Winter turns around and leans back against the bar, frowning. "I was going to tell you about it later tonight, Weiss, and you if I caught you, Miss Snow. It is a lawsuit by a sentient rights foundation against Atlas alleging sentient rights abuses in its legal code."\n\n"One second." You focus a little. Blake, we need you in Weiss's office. "I just sent for Blake, give it a minute."\n\nIndeed only a few minutes later the bees walk in, Blake looking confused. "What's wrong?"\n\n"Blake, do you know the Value of Life Foundation?" Ilia speaks up.\n\n"The VLF? They're... a tax shelter," Blake says in a mystified tone, a little bit of a dismissive scoff in her voice. "They're for people to donate to for a tax break if they don't like the EI, less than ten percent of their donations actually went to funding humanitarian efforts in the fiscal year before last."\n\n"Well that 'tax shelter' is this year suing the Atlas government for human rights abuses," Winter speaks up. "Specifically, 'perpetuating the suffering, disfigurement, and death of sentient individuals via exposure to hazardous conditions in the Dust mining industry'."\n\n"What?" Blake breathes, Ilia's eyes going a little wide.\n\n"They're trying to outlaw Dust mining?!" Weiss blurts. "That's insane! Every scrap of technology Remnant has runs on Dust! Even the stuff that the genemod immigrants have brought over has been modified to run on Dust now, they'd be propelling us back into the dark ages!"\n\n"Apparently their supposed goal is not to outlaw Dust mining entirely, but to outlaw it being done by living beings," Winter says with a sigh as she drains the mouthful from her glass. "They are, in effect, suing the government to force them to pass legislation that will force all Dust mining operations to use automation. Drones."\n\n"..." Bianca actually goes a little pale and sinks into one of the chairs.\n\n"That's ludicrous! You can't, you can't program being able to make proper judgement calls, you can't program the instincts and experience these people develop!" Weiss snaps, slamming her hands down on the desk. "The sheer job loss!"\n\n"The expense," Bianca whispers, curling a hand around her lower face.\n\nBlake has taken your subpoena to look it over, and glances at the others. "Assuming yours are like Kai's, it looks like you've been called on to act as expert witnesses on the Dust mining industry. It all looks legally binding... I think you'll have to appear in court."\n\n"... Well fine!" Weiss finally declares. "I will! I have nothing to hide, my mines are as safe as I can damn well make them! I've seen yours, they are too!" she adds with a point at Bianca. "We're not going to go quietly on this! These people think that human rights abuses are scary, wait until they meet my lawyers!"\n\nThe ride home is a little quiet, Finn seeming half-asleep already. Still, he shifts a little and murmurs, "Momma, did something happen?"\n\n"We kinda had a party pooper, hon, it's fine," you assure him, stroking his hair. "How 'bout you though, did you have fun?"\n\n"Uh-huh. Food was super good... like you said," he assures you with a yawn.\n\nOnce he's been put to bed and the bees have retired to their room, you and Ilia start de-partying, you in the bathroom removing your makeup while Ilia undoes her dress. "Outlawing human labor and legally mandating it be replaced with robots... sounds like a really weird sci-fi procedural," you say with a sigh.\n\n"..." Ilia's quiet as she reaches up to undo her hair band, breasts bare and the front of her dress draped down in front of her waist. "I mean," she says quietly as she slips the dress off of her hips, then sits down on the side of the bed. "Would it really be such a bad idea?"\n\nOof. Yeah, you didn't realize you were starting a Talk or you might have just kept your mouth shut. Not that you mind a Talk, necessarily, you just didn't realize you were picking a side. Emerging from the bathroom, you pause to remove Pyrrha's hairclip and rest it on the bedside table before sitting down beside her. You take a deep breath and close your eyes, some of the scenes of the last mine collapse playing in your mind... and a few from the ones before it. "I... I mean, I see why it's an attractive thought, Rainbow, but we have to think beyond our personal reactions to it. It's not like those people would suddenly just be safe, they'd be out of work... a lot of them have never been anything but Dust miners. They'd go from managed risk to risking being on the streets along with their families. And drones are expensive, especially the ones that would be necessary to mine Dust... the SDC might be able to manage that cost, but practically every other Dust company out there would go under, which means all their other employees are in the wind too."\n\n"So that's what it comes down to? Trading lives for jobs and market diversity?" Ilia murmurs, more tiredly than bitterly.\n\n"... I guess we kind of do that every day," you reply after a moment. "Cars, motorcycles, airships, boats, virtually everything we use to make our lives possible... at some point we're trading some lives for that convenience. Ilia... Rainbow, honey... I'm not saying you're wrong, I'm just... saying there's bigger consequences to what these guys want than 'the Dust mines have to use drones'."\n\nIlia's quiet for awhile, then sighs, shaking her head. "You're right. They're talking about basically crashing an entire industry overnight, and... ... it's just hard to think rationally when I hear the idea, you know?" She rises from the bed and walks over to one wall, looking at the picture of her parents standing with her between them, one of the few she has. "... I just wind up thinking about how much they would have loved Finn... that they never got to see the work I'm doing with the Equality Initiative, or... any of it."\n\nYou sigh softly, rising and moving over to drape your arms around her shoulders. "Honestly I don't want to do this at all. I hate being involved in this kind of bullshit, it is just... not me." You kiss the back of her head, then suggest, "Maybe we should ditch it."\n\n"Kai," Ilia says with a soft huff.\n\n"No, I'm serious. Vale wouldn't compel me to self-extradite over some stupid witness appearance like this, we could just go ahead and go to Patch. We can have Blake tutor Finn for a few months, he'll test back up when he gets back to Xanthe next semester, we take a particularly long vacation and recharge our batteries, and avoid this stupid bullshit while we're at it."\n\nIlia just shakes her head slightly. "... Honestly, if that's really what you want to do, I guess I'll go along with it. But Kai, that's not keeping the issue from happening, that's just... leaving Weiss and Bianca to face it by themselves."\n\n<hr>\n[[Stay.|KaiIlia1x2]]\n\n[[Go.|KaiIlia]]

Red Legacy twists in your hands, pivots, changes into shooting mode, and then jabs.\n\n"NO!" Qrow howls in anguish.\n\n"Gk... gk..." Salem grits your teeth, blood already starting to edge through them as her throat fills with it, more trickling out along Red Legacy's inverted blade where it's plunged into your stomach by your own hands. Even as she drops to your knees, she gives a slow, cruel smile. "Foolish child. I'll still show you what it's like to lose everything... die knowing I will still destroy all that you loved," she murmurs, withdrawing from her control as you're left toppling onto your side.\n\nAnd starting to glow with crackling scarlet light.\n\nWhat?! Salem's voice is robbed of much of its power, that echoing infinity of her reverberation with the Grimm as she abruptly finds herself unable to escape any further. What are you doing?!\n\n"Figured... if Aura connected us all... I could probably use it to isolate us too... s'just you and me in here now," you mutter aloud, your body curled around the sword blade transfixing your stomach, blood starting to pool in the bottom of the Aura shell. Distantly, you can hear the others battering on the outside of the shell, begging, pleading for you to release it, to let them in. "One problem... is... since I'm using all my Aura for that... there's none to fuel my healing semblance. Oops," you add, one corner of your bloody lips quirking up in a wry grin.\n\nFool! You will here die in your little bubble, separated from all those you love, alone and in pain, unable to feel even the warmth of a hand or a kind word in your ear! Salem screams, obviously tearing into your mind and hauling out every single fear you've ever had about your own death to throw it in your face.\n\n"Yeah," you rasp out, shuddering with a bloody cough and hunching in on yourself a bit more. "But I'll take you with me. And you'll never hurt them... or anyone else... ever again."\n\nSalem howls, she rages, she batters at your mind and spirit, she summons up every pain and regret and mistake and fear you've ever had and stabs them into your soul, and through it all you just hunch in on yourself, closing your eyes tight and closing your ears against the pleas of your family outside of the shield you've constructed between them and yourself to contain the frenzied monster inside you.\n\nThen, as it all draws to a close, Salem goes quiet. It's calm, and almost peaceful inside you. And finally she says, This is... truly the end...?\n\n"Looks like," you murmur, barely able to move your lips, barely any life left in you.\n\nI see. Salem flickers within you, like a jet black candle flame deprived of oxygen, dwindling down further and further... and at the last, there's the faintest flicker, the barest spark of gold in the dying light before it's gone. ... Thank you.\n\nYour Aura flickers and disappears as the last of it expends itself, your body going limp on the floor as your lifeblood spreads out from the suddenly released bubble, warm hands reaching for you but not quite making it as the last of you flickers and fades as well.\n\n"Don't mention it," you whisper, smiling just a little before you're gone.\n\n<hr>\n[[The End.|KaiRem7xEnd]]

Well, I've said the fetishes are too numerous to list, but I may as well try. Consider this a sort of informational warning, or an incentive if that's how you want to view it.\n\nCommon \nThis is a short list of the stuff that I really quite like, so you're likely to see it crop up on some branch of almost every storyline you follow.\n\nAnal\nLarge Insertions (without pain)\nBreast Enlargement\nMind Control\nVoluminous Cum\n\n\nIncluded\nThis is just the stuff that's in the game somewhere, in various amounts. It's entirely likely for this list to lag behind or just forget something.\n\nIncest\nBestiality\nVirgins\nTransformation\nBimbofication\nMind Alteration\nThreats\nBlackmail\nWatersports\nShemales\nMascot costumes\nMythological creatures\nParalysis\nLactation\nSnuff\nNecrophilia\nBreath control\nInfantilism\nSissification\nPublic nudity\n\n\n[[Back.|Start]]

"Let's turn her loose."\n\n"Ah, just to be clear, your benevolent tyrannicalness, but which 'her' did you mean?"\n\n<hr>\n<<if $cowtifa is true>>[[Cow Tifa.|CowTifaRelease]]<<endif>>\s\n\n<<if $orctifa is true>>[[The orcs' Tifa.|TifaOrcsRelease]]<<endif>>\s\n\n<<if $titstifa is true>>[[Megatits Tifa.|TifaTitsRelease]]<<endif>>\s\n\n<<if $chocotifa is true>>[[Chocobo breeder Tifa.|TifaChocoboRelease]]<<endif>>\s\n\n<<if $activetifa is true>>[[The Tifa on hold.|TifaActiveRelease]]<<endif>>

Yes! You're starving!\n\n... Well, not "starving", per se, like most pureblood elves you can go for rather ridiculous amounts of time with barely eating anything. But you are hungry! And while you're not quite so sheltered that non-elven food is entirely foreign to you (even the Black Bark Woods has a McDonald's), you're excited to really push the boundaries and try new things!\n\nYou turn towards the door, then pause and look over your shoulder, lifting your skirt in back, and blushing at what you see. The pantyhose kind of... lift and hug. Your butt looks a lot bigger and rounder than it did in, well, nothing. Not like, huge! But... big. And round. ... M-maybe you should be a little careful about going, ahem, hog wild on new food.\n\n....... Eh there's a gym you'll be fine, you think, dropping the skirt back into place and trotting out the door.\n\nYou pass several other people in the hall, not quite sure whether exchanging greetings out of nowhere is okay, so just sort of waving a bit in passing, subtly enough that it won't be noticed if they're not paying attention. That seems safe. Most of the people you pass in your dorm are humans, though you see a few other elves and some other races too. Even moreso when you leave the dorm and just stand for a few moments outside, watching the... not crowd, but steady flow of sentient beings (and occasionally their attendant nonsentient or semisentient creatures and entities) going by on the sidewalk and greens. Again, it's not like you've never seen or talked to non-elves before, far from it, just... ... mostly elves, you know?\n\nIt's exciting to think about how you're going to be hanging out with so many different people! Ah, speaking of which, where to eat? Um, let's see, the people at the dorm desk said that if you turned to the left, you'd be headed towards the student center, where there's a lot of chain outlet places, and that the main cafeteria is also really nearby. And that if you go to the right, you'd be leaving the university grounds and heading towards where there's a lot of shops... and restaurants... catering to the student body.\n\nSo, which way...?\n\n<hr>\n[[Head left.|Sara]]\n\n[[Head right.|Sara1x2]]

Let's see, room 107. You head over and key the announcement button, tapping your foot for a few seconds before thumbing the door open as well. You can instantly hear a lot of shouting and gunfire, as well as screaming and something rushing through the air. 'Someone's having fun,' you think, strolling in, immediately feeling a wave of warm air wash over you and settle in, making your skin glisten.\n\nYou fairly quickly recognize the program... it's just got white grid floor and a bunch of solid white boxes to stand in for buildings and walls. 'Combat Rush'... a sim that just sends endless waves of standard soldier/guard type enemies at you. It's basically a time and endurance trial to see how long you can last, and on its basic setting (which this looks like) doesn't gradually increase the numbers or strength of the NPC combatants. Instead it's all about how long you can keep handling a virtually infinite number of the same kind, though it's mostly only a bragging point among the particularly new (or eternally newbie-ish).\n\nStill, you have to admit as you find a spot mostly out of the line of literal fire, the guy doing the training seems to be holding firm. He's probably taller than you were as a guy by an inch or so, and just as wirey you'd guess, though it looks like his short white hooded operator coat (one of the varieties adorned with a number of ribbons and dramatic accent marks) is enhancing the broadness of his shoulders a bit. 'Soooo a little insecure,' you think, taking in both that and the red 'oni' mask he's wearing with one set of traditional smooth, curling horns and another set of blade-shaped black ones with glowing red accents. Most of the rest of his clothing looks loose and black, dark-skinned hands bare as his slender, pretty fingers stroke the air, almost gently cajoling the flames to move as he ducks and weaves, launching into the air for a sideways bicycle kick that impacts against an enemy's armored back with a fresh gout of fire.\n\nIt takes a minute but eventually he notices you... he's not exactly subtle about it either, jerking to a pause, and you can only imagine the 'wuh' look on his face behind the mask. He almost takes a stun baton to the neck for it, and quickly jabs a punch to the NPC's throat before snapping, "Sim command, end program!" Since it's a simple projection anyway, there's only the briefest of flickers before the room gets smaller and becomes simple white floor, walls, and ceiling. "The hell are you and the hell you want?" he demands in a tone clearly trying to come off as "imperious", but failing to keep 100% of the "sulky" out.\n\n"I'm Leo, I'm here to tell you Shotetsu wants everyone to get together, is all. Sorry to interrupt." You try to give him a smile to show your good intentions. "That was pretty impressive. Pyrokinetic? Pyromancer? Firebender?"\n\nHe's still and silent for a second, then reaches up to take off the mask with one hand. You realize the second, cybernetic pair of horns are actually his, attached high at the sides of his forehead. He's actually pretty good-looking, though the sour set of his lips (slightly baring pointed teeth) and the annoyed set of his silver eyes isn't exactly doing him any favors. (Or, well, they might, you've known a few girls who were into that. ... This boy must never meet your sister. Ever.)\n\n<img src="images/Daneim.jpg">\n\n"Feh. Typical. You see a Helborg and you assume they must be all about burning shit," he says in an annoyed snarl that still lets a little bit of 'hurt pout' through. Goddamn he must fucking neVER EVER meet Neo. "I'll have you know I'm an Elementalist. I can control water, air, earth, and fire, I'm not just some fucking flame demon."\n\n"Oh, sorry." You blink, deciding not to point out that you didn't even realize he was a Helborg and instead saying, "I only just got here, I probably missed you using the other stuff, all I saw was the fire."\n\n"..." He squirms just slightly in place, shoulders wiggling as his eyes go downward, pretty lips coming dangerously close to an actual pout. "Yeah, well... fire works on the most stuff, yanno?"\n\nYou clear your throat. "Right. Ah, like I said, I'm Leo," you repeat, stepping over and offering your hand.\n\nHe stares at it for just a second as if not entirely sure why it's being put towards him, then his dark brown cheeks color ths slightest bit as he takes it and gives a few uncertain shakes. "... Daneim."\n\n"Nice to meet you, look forward to working with you."\n\n"... Y-yeah," he murmurs, glancing aside with that color still on his cheeks, seemingly not even having noticed his slight stutter. "Um. ... Anyway, if we're getting together... I'm gonna go. An' shit. ... I mean, I'm gonna go, I'm not gonna," he hurries to add as he sidles towards the door, pointing at it, then quickly shoving his mask on. "The fuck ever!" he declares in his now slightly electronically filtered voice, turning and running from the room.\n\nHoooo Uncle and his brother-in-law have really found some special people, huh? ... You wonder if you come off like this to others? That's a very weird thought. Anyway. You check the list for active rooms, seeing who's left.<<set $Daneim to "true">>\n\n<hr>\n<<if $Bianca is "false">>[[Room 103.|LeoFem2x5a]] <<endif>><<if $Arina is "false">>[[Room 106.|LeoFem2x5b]] <<endif>><<if $Daneim is "false">>[[Room 107.|LeoFem2x5c]] <<endif>><<if $Mio is "false">>[[Room 112.|LeoFem2x5d]]<<endif>><<if $Bianca is "true" and $Arina is "true" and $Daneim is "true" and $Mio is "true">>[[Head back to headquarters.|LeoFem2x6]]<<endif>>

Checking the list, you head over to room 106. Tapping the notification button, you wait a few before hitting 'Open' and walking through the door. You're immediately outside in a city at night, which you're used to with sim training rooms, though it is a little weird for it to be a city you recognize. Or, well, a planet.\n\nVirtually every merc in the Guild has been to Makarzia at least once. The city-planet is a 'free' destination, meaning it doesn't cost anything to use a portal to get there, so every merc who's lean on finances but absolutely has to get off the Station for awhile winds up going there in search of cheap diversion, which the city-planet has in abundance. There's definitely something about the combination of look, smell, and moisture that makes a Makarzian city street at night instantly recognizable, no matter what neighborhood of what sector it's in. Of course, the distinctive glowpunk look of the large crowd having a riotous all-out street brawl helps.\n\n'Great,' you think, frowning. How do you actually find the real person in all of this? You could just pause the program, but that's even worse form than entering someone's sim without invitation. You don't want to make a worse impression than you have to, here. So, after a moment, you shrug and wade in. Most of these are quickly identifiable as NPCs anyway. Basic brawlers, using preprogrammed fighting styles coded on the cheap... you've used enough cheap sims to have the timing of the 'generic' versions of the various styles down pat. 'Guess I'll recognize the first one to throw me a challenge,' you think a little smugly, right before a fist jabs at your face fast enough to make you duck back just almost hard enough to fall. Now working on reflex more than anything else you reach out and grab for the passing wrist, hauling yourself back forward and yanking yourself close to your attacker, snapping a knee up towards a rather attractive and entirely bare midriff. This results in an arm hooking under your knee just as you're making contact, taking the real impact out of the blow and letting the other party lift you up before you can let go of the wrist, then throwing you down on your back hard enough to briefly stun you.\n\n"Sim command, pause program!" a strong but feminine voice calls. Then you're being offered a big grin and a hand up. "Heh, knew you were real 'cause you almost got a good hit. Hafta try again when you're not distracted by a crowd!"\n\nYou look up at her, just blinking as you process. Wild past-the-shoulders blonde hair with a few purple decorations clipped at the top, a strong but pretty face, either custom HUD contacts or cybereyes in orange with heart-shaped pupils. Purple, lots of purple, purple earrings, purple top showing off a lot of her large breasts, purple arm-sheathes (with a shiny clear garment covering her shoulders and part of her arms, but stopping about a third of the way down her cleavage), purple accents on her tight little black short-shorts and thighboots and... um. Whoa. That is... kind of impressive. For the second time today you have to remind yourself not to stare at the bulge. It may not be as impressive as Shotetsu's, but geez, if you were still a guy there would definitely be that moment of envy.\n\n<img src="images/Arina.jpg">\n\n"Ah, yeah. Sorry to interrupt," you answer as you take her hand, trying not to yelp as she instantly hauls you to your feet rather faster than you were expecting. "Shotetsu sent me to get everyone so we could have a meeting."\n\n"Figured it'd be something like that. By the way, name's Arina. What's yours, cutie?"\n\nHooboy. Fighting down a blush, you answer, "Leo. LaChance." You'd normally only introduce yourself by one name if someone else only gave one, but if she's Makarzian she might think 'Leo' was a slave name. You guess you could have used your full name but you certainly couldn't give as glorious a delivery as Shotetsu did earlier so why bother?\n\n"Okay Leo, I'll head up then, don't wanna disappoint the boss on my first day! Etiquette up here, survival technique down there, y'know," she adds with a smirk, wiggling a finger around to indicate the paused Makarzia sim. "But hey, for sure let's throw down some time one on one, okay?"\n\n"Sure," you answer with a grin.\n\n"Good. 'Cause I'd definitely like to throw you down and go one-on-one," she coos, leaning in close... and booping your nose with a fingertip. "Though if we both wanted to bring some friends, wouldn't mind that either."\n\nYou're left blushing and staring after her as she saunters off towards the exit. ... Well. She definitely doesn't have much in the way of a filter, does she? Native Makarzians can be wild. "... Sim command, end program." Shaking your head and trying to focus as the Makarzian street and its occupants derez around you, you check your list to see which rooms are still in use.<<set $Arina to "true">>\n\n<hr>\n<<if $Bianca is "false">>[[Room 103.|LeoFem2x5a]] <<endif>><<if $Arina is "false">>[[Room 106.|LeoFem2x5b]] <<endif>><<if $Daneim is "false">>[[Room 107.|LeoFem2x5c]] <<endif>><<if $Mio is "false">>[[Room 112.|LeoFem2x5d]]<<endif>><<if $Bianca is "true" and $Arina is "true" and $Daneim is "true" and $Mio is "true">>[[Head back to headquarters.|LeoFem2x6]]<<endif>>

You head over to sim room 103, keying the announcement button and waiting a few moments before hitting the 'Open' command as well. The doors slide apart, and you walk into the room... and outside, though that's not a big surprise. It is kind of weird to walk down an avenue of burning buildings where the flames have frozen completely still... looks like the person using the room put it on pause when you hit the announcement. At the end of the street are a set of docks, some of which are on fire, and one of which has apparently been destroyed by a falling building. A ferry is out on the water, frozen NPCs in the midst of pointing and helping one of their number up, a similarly motionless group of them clustered around on a clear space at the port. The only one who's not completely frozen is a white-haired girl who looks a bit younger than you... though maybe that's just the height and the, ahem, modest endowments. She's standing with her hands on her hips and looking up at you, and as you arrive at the edge of the upper level she calls out, "Is there some reason you're interrupting me?"\n\n"Sorry," you call back as you move over to one of the sets of stairs, trotting down them, then adding as you get closer, "Seiun and Shotetsu wanted everyone to gather, and they sent me to get everyone."\n\n"... Oh!" She blinks her soft blue eyes and raises a hand, looking at the screen of the comm on the underside of her wrist. Up close you can see she has a very... well, elegant look. Honestly you'd expect to see her more at some sort of gala or charity event than here in the midst of a disaster. Her white hair is pulled back into a pair of just-past-shoulder-length ponytails at the upper back of her head, with two long falls of it left free to frame her delicate-featured face, her perfect little shells of ears pierced with small... well, you thought they were crosses, but they're shortened so they look more like plus signs... made of some softly glowing blue gemlike substance. She's wearing a black tall-collared top that leaves her shoulders bare (since she's let her long black operator-style coat slide off them some) that's snugged just below her small breasts by a blue band. From the loose bottom of the top emerges a sleek black, white, and blue armor bodysuit that hugs her slender hips and long, dancer-quality legs, the white portions down the sides showing off a number of stylized logos in metallic colors, including roses, snowflakes, some sort of viney growth and what looks like a burning heart. \n\n<img src="images/Bianca.png">\n\n"I actually did completely miss that message," she admits, smiling just a little. "I'm sorry if I sounded a little cross, I honestly forgot that you must be in Roaring Eagle too if you could just walk in here. I'm used to being... interrupted in casual activities where I'm from, so I get a little fussy about it."\n\n"It's no problem, I- hm?" The little curious sound comes out as she shrugs her coat back up onto your shoulders... mostly just because the motion of her snowy white feline tail flicking upward and to the side as it's apparently freed of being pushed down by the jacket catches your attention. Really it was just its sudden appearance that distracted you, so you continue, "I didn't want to interrupt you but Shotetsu seems to want to have the meeting now."\n\n"It's alright," she answers. For just that brief moment where you'd reacted to her tail she'd seemed to tense up, but visibly relaxes when you just continue like nothing happened. She offers her hand. "Bianca Schnee."\n\n"Leo LaChance," you answer, smiling easily and taking the hand for a shake.\n\nThe moment you smile she blushes very visibly, and you can see her tail's motions get faster as you take her hand. She shakes a little longer than necessary, before saying in a slightly dreamy tone, "You're very pretty." Then her face goes even more red as she claps a fingerless-gloved hand across her mouth, eyes going wide. "I mean, um, I mean, I'm sorry, well I'm not sorry, just, I shouldn't have said that, I mean you are pretty but that's a very strange thing to say to someone when you're doing introductions and..." She trails off, before adding in a near-whimper, "Please make me let go of your hand."\n\nAt first you'd blushed too at being called 'pretty'... it's not the first time it's been used for you, but the first time by someone who only met you as a woman. Then she absolutely goes to flustered pieces, and you can't help but laugh a little before making yourself stop and gently extricating your hand. "It's fine, don't worry about it. Ah, I guess I mean, thank you."\n\n"... Well. Since I've just destroyed any chance of you taking me seriously for the rest of our lives, I think I'll go on and go ahead to the meeting," she says, the angle of her tail very much giving her a 'cat with wounded dignity' look as she again tugs her jacket into place before walking a little stiffly towards the stairs. ... Hm, she's got a really cute little butt below that tail, you can't help but notice.\n\n"Hey, Bianca?" you call as she's partway up the stairs, waiting until she stops to continue. "Seriously, don't worry about it. Meeting new people's a skill like any of the rest of this... just that seems like only the assholes out there bother to train at it." You grin a bit more as she looks over at you, that small smile having returned to her own lips. "So look at it this way... at least no one will think you're an asshole."\n\nShe stares at you for a moment, before letting out a breath, that smile growing and turning a bit wry. "Yes, I suppose you're right."\n\n"Speaking of training, what kind's this?" you ask, glancing back to the crowd of frozen simulated people and the ferry about 100 feet away. "Evacuation training?"\n\n"Yes. Learning to fine-tune my particular skills to handle 'normal' people." Bianca's smile turns a little sad as she adds, "They're not like us, after all," while turning and heading up the stairs and out of sight.\n\nYou blink a little at that. That was almost the sort of thing you'd expect to hear from someone raised in the mercenary life, for sure... but it definitely had a different timbre to it. If you had to guess, Bianca's probably been held at a distance from 'normal' people her whole life for reasons that don't necessarily have to do with her combat skills. ... Hm. Well, her business, at least for now, if she wants to spill her tragic origin story you doubt it'll be on the first day she meets you. "Sim command, end program," you call, raising your head to look up slightly. The simulated environment and people all fade to wireframe and then disappear entirely, leaving you alone in a plain white room about twenty feet square. Now, which room to check next?<<set $Bianca to "true">>\n\n<hr>\n<<if $Bianca is "false">>[[Room 103.|LeoFem2x5a]] <<endif>><<if $Arina is "false">>[[Room 106.|LeoFem2x5b]] <<endif>><<if $Daneim is "false">>[[Room 107.|LeoFem2x5c]] <<endif>><<if $Mio is "false">>[[Room 112.|LeoFem2x5d]]<<endif>><<if $Bianca is "true" and $Arina is "true" and $Daneim is "true" and $Mio is "true">>[[Head back to headquarters.|LeoFem2x6]]<<endif>>\n

Your name is Kona. You are a young woman with fairly plain blonde hair (no shining gold or luscious wheat for you, you're just "blonde"), bound up at the back of your head in a snug little bun except for two long falls that frame your face and come down to about the middle of your chest. (Bits were always escaping the bun so finally you just accepted fate and actually started deliberately styling it like that.) Your eyes are brown, your skin on the lighter side, and most people use words like "pretty" and "cute" to describe you, with a slightly round face that nevertheless comes to a gentle point of a chin, and a slip of a nose... no great beauty, but hey, you're alright! Your clothes are pretty simple too... a tight, shiny black long-sleeved shirt, with a simple dark leather piece of armor that laces up the front (which compresses your chest to "modest" from "average"), a short-sleeved white cloth drape to cover your shoulders and provide you a hood for weather, a belt to attach your various pouches and small bits of gear, as well as white cloth flaps in front and back to keep a bit more modesty since you prefer to wear black tights below as well, showing off your really rather nice (if slim) legs, and a pair of simple black boots with downturned tops.\n\nYou're currently taking a rest on some stone steps in an area just outside the city of Sabanara, your sword and buckler resting nearby as you just take some time to breathe and think. Because today is the first day of the rest of your life.\n\n<img src="images/Kona.jpg">\n\nToday you will officially begin your career. You'll be heading to the Adventurer's Guild and undergoing the ritual to be granted your Class Card, the magical item that will help define your abilities and growth for the rest of your life once you bond with it. Basically anyone who's anyone has a Class Card... not everyone gets theirs at the Adventurer's Guild if they're not planning to be an adventurer, of course (although a lot of people do since it's one of the cheapest places). You don't necessarily need one to do anything... after all, you've been doing small jobs like the Horned Rabbit slaying quest you just finished for years before you were eligible for your Class Card and official entry to the guild. (Some adventurers are what people call "Quest Sellers"... they take a bunch of quests from the Guild, usually minor ones, and then get them done by people like you. The Guild is aware of them, but usually as long as the quest sellers don't get too many people killed doing it, they look the other way.)\n\n\n"Hhhhha," you sigh, closing your eyes and leaning your head back. "Why does this suddenly feel like such a big deal?"\n\nYou've lived in Sabanara your whole life. The city's well-known as a hub for adventurers... it has several dungeons just outside of it (and even one inside), a range of useful flora and fauna to send adventurers on quests for within a day or two's journey, and it's situated in a place where people going almost anywhere else on the continent would find it a convenient stop (for some definition of convenient). Your own parents are semi-retired adventurers, most of your friends are aspiring or already certified adventurers, most everyone you know is in the ASI ("Adventurer Service Industry") one way or another. It's just the most natural thing in the world, and you've never really thought about being anything else. And honestly, you're not really thinking about anything else now.\n\nIt's just that getting your Class Card somehow feels so... final. Like it's locking you into something. ... Because it's literally locking you into a class, obviously. For the rest of your life (barring some truly extraordinary circumstances), your class will determine what skills you learn and how fast you learn them, among other things. You're pretty sure you'll wind up as a martial class, but you never know... you've heard of people that assumed they were going to be one class their whole lives, only to find out they were something else inside when they got their Class Card. Which is possibly part of what's making this a little scary.\n\nBut then, what else could you do? Being Classless isn't like being some sort of lesser, looked-down-on social class... quite... but it would severely limit your opportunities. The Adventurer's Guild, for instance, needs to see your Class Card to register you, so you'd never be able to officially take quests, it would be "off the books" stuff from quest sellers and other third parties forever. You guess there's a certain amount of freedom there, just like there's the freedom of not being locked into one class for the rest of your life...\n\n... but everyone you know is expecting you to go through with it. You'd basically have to leave Sabanara and strike out on your own if you didn't get classed today. ...... Okay not have to, but who could survive that level of embarrassment, explanation, and potential pressure? Better just to turn and walk away now, today, if that's your choice.\n\n<hr>\n[[Go to the Adventurer's Guild for your Class Card.|Kona1x1]]\n\n[[Leave Sabanara.|Kona]]

You stroll over to room 112, keying the notification chime button. Almost instantly the panel's comm board lights up. "Go away! I'm busy!" snaps what sounds an awful lot like the voice of a girl your little sister's age.\n\nO... kay. Hitting the reply button, you say, "Sorry, but Shotetsu sent me to get everyone, we're gonna be having a meeting here in a few minutes."\n\nThere's silence for a few seconds, before a gusty sigh vibrates the oscilloscope line on the panel. "Fine. I'll be done in a minute. You may as well come in."\n\nWell we're off to a cheery start aren't we? You hit the entry button and stroll in, seeing that the sim room has been configured into a high-end maintenance lab. Some people do use them for that, since you can make all the various little changes to the equipment and area that you want without actually paying for your own area and going through the process of buying or modifying or building different physical instruments. Sitting cross-legged on the floor with a somewhat egg-shaped white and black object in her lap is... wow, she really does look like a girl about your sister's age, though you know she can't actually be as young as Neo. The Guild doesn't tend to make moral judgements but they also don't accept anyone that hasn't hit biological maturity for their species... she's either a very short, slight adult human or some other race that resembles young humans. Her blonde hair is cropped short, save for one braid at the side of her forehead hanging down and wound with red ribbon in the lower half. Her pretty face is a scowl of concentration as she works on the insides of the... drone? You think it must be a drone. Her outfit doesn't help a whole lot... her light armorcloth jacket is black with red accents, sure, but it also has a red ribbon bow tied to the pulltab, and it's accompanied by a navy pleated skirt with a white stripe at the bottom, from which emerge coltish legs sheathed in shiny tights and feet in somewhat school-sneaker style red shoes. \n\n"... So, hi, I'm-" you start, only to get shushed. So... you shush. And wait for a minute or so until she withdraws her tool and closes the panel. The drone lifts up out of her lap and floats into the air, a long thin plugin cable swishing around from its backend in imitation of a tail as its owner rises to her feet, pulling on a brown softpack and lifting up a handheld omnicontroller.\n\n<img src="images/Mio.jpg">\n\n"Okay, Nanoha, do a plugin and a quick scan check," she says, tilting her head forward slightly. The drone lets out a cheery 'Haaaaaaaaiiiii!' and turns slightly, its 'tail' swinging around so that the plug on the tip can slip into the port on the back of the girl's neck you hadn't seen before. It then turns back and forth, the circular portions on its front revolving and shifting slightly.\n\n"... So like I said, I'm-"\n\n"Leonidas LaChance, goes by 'Leo', registered as a member of Roaring Eagle for two weeks. You have a 100% completion rate of all of your jobs with generally high client ratings, although your third most recent is your worst review to date, if you were a restaurant scoring you somewhere between a hole in the wall bar with visible mushrooms growing in the corner and a pizzeria run by a delusional psychotic with three cats."\n\nSomehow being rated as a restaurant on that job is extra hurtful. "Y-yeah, that's me," you murmur, tucking your hands in your jacket pockets and trying not to sulk.\n\n"... In the interests of fairness I should provide a similar amount of information about myself," she continues, the drone unplugging from her cyberport as she turns towards you. "My name is Miolionolo Mikamaramari. Considering the difficulty most non-Lahlleens would have with that, 'Mio' is acceptable. I have officially been a Roaring Eagle member for ninety-six hours and a Guild of Interdimensional Professionals, Specialists, and Enforcers certified mercenary for six months and twelve days. I have a sixty-five percent completion rate, although it goes up to 100% if only counting the technical jobs that are my actual specialty. ... The phrase most commonly appearing in my client reviews is 'offputting', meaning that if I were a television series I would be somewhere between a show about young urban professionals running a camping equipment store and an adaptation of a series of insurance commercials."\n\nGee, y'think? Still, you can't help but grin at her. "I appreciate the equality, Mio. And whatever the reviews say, it's nice to meet you."\n\nYou can see her lips purse, obviously getting ready to assume sarcasm, though the look is replaced with slight confusion when she apparently realizes you're sincere. "Yes, well... thank you." She shifts her shoulders a little, then bobs her head. "You said we were having a meeting. I should go then, I hope I haven't delayed everything. I believe in promptness... even if my reviews acknowledge I have issues with it."\n\n"I think we're good, you weren't all that long, he was pretty nebulous as to the timeline."\n\n"Very well then, I shall go on ahead. Sim command, end program." As the workshop vanishes piece by piece, she turns and heads for the door... then pauses and gives you a small bow, really just a tilt forward of her head and shoulders. "I look forward to working with you. Leo. Come along, Nanoha."\n\n"Haaaaiiiiiii!" the drone chirps again, floating after, pausing as it passes you to turn and bob its front end in your direction, before it zips forward a bit to catch up to its owner. \n\nUncle Seiun and his brother have definitely found some very special characters for their guild. Though you guess you see what they mean about finding people who need guidance... Mio for sure needs refinement. While not every merc in the Guild is a jack-of-all-trades, if their completion rate for their non-specialty jobs is as bad as Mio's seems to be, that's a problem. They either need to stop taking those jobs and focus on their specialty, or they need training to improve their non-specialty skills. You're guessing since Mio joined Roaring Eagle instead of just exclusively mining the tech queue of the job boards, she must want to improve her skills. Alright, what's left...?<<set $Mio to "true">>\n\n<hr>\n<<if $Bianca is "false">>[[Room 103.|LeoFem2x5a]] <<endif>><<if $Arina is "false">>[[Room 106.|LeoFem2x5b]] <<endif>><<if $Daneim is "false">>[[Room 107.|LeoFem2x5c]] <<endif>><<if $Mio is "false">>[[Room 112.|LeoFem2x5d]]<<endif>><<if $Bianca is "true" and $Arina is "true" and $Daneim is "true" and $Mio is "true">>[[Head back to headquarters.|LeoFem2x6]]<<endif>>

You take a deep breath, then say, "I'm still the plan, I think. Even more than before, I'm the least recognizable one."\n\n"Are you sure about that, Leo?" Nova asks, frowning. Maybe he wasn't as eager for you to speak up as you thought, since he looks genuinely concerned now. Before you can reply, he adds, "It's not as if you've just been turned female, after all, there's the... other matter."\n\n"Comet used to run a pretty tight ship with very strict rules about consent, but that was the old Comet," Pulsar notes rather darkly. "Even if nothing about that has changed, with your... condition... you might not be safe aboard his ship."\n\n<hr>\n[[You can handle it!|LeoNova]]\n\n[[... Well better start practicing now then.|LeoNova]]

Letting out a squawk of the deepest outrage you've ever felt in your life, you shriek "That bitch!" before running over to grab up your pants, yanking them back on and shoving your feet back into your boots.\n\nYou cover the distance back to the Hex Clinic at a dead run, arriving there red-faced and panting from a mixture of exertion and fury. You don't even bother trying to calm down, you just kick in the front door, Hexia giving a surprised jump where she's sitting behind the receptionist desk, the computer on now and playing what sounds like some sort of porn. If anything that makes you angrier as you sprint across the office and vault the desk, grabbing up some loose fabric from her dress just above her tits and hauling her to her feet. "What did you do to me?!"\n\n"Ooooo, oh myyyyyy, you actually broke your conditioning some," Hexia coos, seeming supremely unbothered now that the first surprise is over, smiling her usual creepy, breezy smile and letting her head tilt, lifting her hands in a shrug. "That's pretty shocking, hardly anyone ever even notices when they've been whammied by the combined efforts of a Ghost Pokemon and a Psychic Pokemon. You must be pretty special, huh~?"\n\n"Undo it, you fucking pervert!" you snarl, giving her a shake that mostly seems to make her head (and her boobs) wobble around without discomfiting her in the least. "Whatever fucked-up shit you did to my head, undo it right now, or so help me-!"\n\nBefore you can select and complete one of the very good threats you'd come up with on the way over, Hexia lifts her head and looks you right in the eye, that creepy smile taking on a sly tinge as she coos in a particularly sugary, condescending voice, "Does baby girl need to go weewee?"\n\n"Gk!" You release her and stagger back with the sudden intensity of sensation that hits you, that pressure building towards pain low in your body. "N-no... no that's not possible, I just...!" you stammer, pressing both hands between your legs as you stumble back further and slump some against the wall, pressing your thighs together.\n\n"Lots of things are possible with Pokemon, especially the way I've learned to have them work together," Hexia says with a little cackling-like sinister snicker, her hands raised up to dangle T-rex style as she tilts her head again. "If I wanted, I could make you piddle yourself like a garden hose for an hour and you'd never so much as get dry lips."\n\n"Y-you," you hiss, before giving a whimper and hunching in on yourself, trembling.\n\n"Oh, but ooooonly into a diaper," she says, snickering again as she walks over to you, clearly judging you to be helpless right now. (And, sadly, you're pretty sure she's right.) "I made that nice deeeeep conditioning. Your body and mind would rather die than pee without a nice, well-fitted diaper hugging your cute little butt!" she chirps, suddenly swinging one of those T-rex hands down and spanking your ass firmly.\n\n"HINNNH!" you shriek, jerking forward and winding up slumped across her desk quivering, your ass actually lifted in the air and trembling with the effort to hold back.\n\n"And you didn't put one on before you came to see me, silly Gooserene! Oh it's just awful, isn't it?" she coos in mock sympathy as she shuffles up behind you. "Not only so deeeeply uncomfortable, but so embarrassing! That feeling that you're going to utterly humiliate yourself at any moment, completely lose control, on top of all the rest of it?"\n\n"I'll... I'll...!" you try to bluster, only for it to come out in a whimper.\n\n"But don't worry," Hexia continues with a snide, breathy giggle. "I have pleeeenty of diapers here, sweetling!" You hate how your heart soars with hope at hearing that. Then drops like a rock as she adds, "And if you just ask me reeeeeal niiiiice, I'll get you all properly padded in no time!"\n\n<hr>\n[["N-... never!"|ChiPoke]]\n\n[["........ please..."|ChiPoke]]

"Anything else? A drink?" he prompts.\n\nYour eyes flick side-to-side without really thinking about it, but you catch a subtle shake of the head from the two Drow girls flanking you. "Um. No."\n\n"Name?"\n\n"R-right! Saraelle!"\n\nHe nods, writing out the ticket and indicating you should tap your card on the payment processor. You kind of want to move, but you're also not sure where you'd go, and the girls are still flanking you reeeeally closely. (Oh gosh they smell nice. Like... different, like you think maybe they used some sort of... oil? or something?... on their skin that's sort of spicy and a little bit musty but not in a bad way, sort of like clean deep-down earth or... mmf.) \n\n"Good choice, good choice," the short-haired one says approvingly. "Of course he uses surface spices in the breading, buuuut... being really honest, they're better than the authentic ones," she adds in a conspiratorial whisper right near your ear, her smirk growing as you visibly shiver a little.\n\n"Mm-hmmmm, it hurts to admit, but sometimes an outsider enthusiast just puts a fun new spin on things," the other says cheerfully, leaning in a bit so that her chest presses against you through her hoodie. ... Yes she seems, um, ample, there, as suspected.\n\n"That's... that's good," you say, managing not to whimper despite suffering an extreme attack of your terminal homosexuality. "The... that the crisps are good, I mean."\n\n"I'm Loralith, that's Sanalith," the short-haired one adds. "We're soooo curious how you're going to like it."\n\n"Soooo curious," Sanalith echoes in a soft coo.\n\n"Um. 'K-kay. ... I'm Saraelle..."\n\n"We heard," they both say in near-unison, which makes you just want to flee screaming and get on a boat right now, but you persist somehow.\n\nLuckily it's only a few minutes before the owner/cook returns and sets the basket of fried... things... down in front of you. ... Luckily. You pick it up, and find yourself being gently turned and herded over to the island counter, several of the other Drow congregating there making room for Loralith and Sanalith. And you, since you're still sort of wedged between them. You look down at the basket and... yep, lots and lots of little legs. And beadlike black eyes peeking out from amidst the lovely golden brown craggles. They really look like oversized pillbugs, just with... faces. Buggy, insectoid faces.\n\n'Okay, okay, just don't get fixated on what they are,' you think to yourself. 'Don't dwell on it being bugs. They're just like... shrimp! You've had fried shrimp! Several times! Really it's basically the same thing, right? One just lives in the ocean, and the other... under a rock, probably. No, you're fixating! Just eat one!' you snap at yourself, quickly picking one of the crawlcrisps up, popping it into your mouth whole, and starting to chew.\n\nIt is not like a shrimp.\n\nOh the breaded outside is lovely and crisp and flavorful. And it's attached perfectly to a very thin layer of something even crunchier, kind of like the shrimp's tail but more delicate and therefore less pokey and unpleasant. So all of that is actually sort of an improvement! But it's... the inside that immediately goes sort of... not quite flooding, not quite puffing, just kind of expanding into your mouth. The texture is borderline indescribable... it's not the sort of firm puffiness of a shrimp, nor is it quite liquid enough to count as a goo. The closest thing you could compare it to is maybe a mousse, except it's warm. And... you can feel what you're pretty sure are the eyes sliding around through and over it... across your tongue. And all the tiny little legs shifting around practically tickling your tongue and the inside of your cheeks. Which is without even going into the actual taste, which is... well, which is fair to say not like anything you've ever tasted before. You're not even sure where you'd begin, there's something dark, and salty, and maybe kind of spicy, but you're not sure and oh gods and goddesses you've stopped chewing.\n\nYour new companions are watching with open curiosity and delight as you force your jaw to move repeatedly, then swallow. You let out a little huff and... ... well. It wasn't that bad. Seeing their intent looks, you blush a little again... then pick up another.\n\n"Heeey, way to go, first one's the toughest, right?" Loralith coos, rubbing your back in a way that sends a pleasant warmth shooting right forward through your belly and down into less publicly mentionable places.\n\n"Good girl, good girl," Sanalith adds in a giggle as she pats your head, which really should come off as condescending and insulting but actually has you squirming and resisting the urge to ask for more.\n\nThe thing is, you (perhaps foolishly) expected them to stop with their flirtatious teasing and (probably) sarcastic affection once you'd actually started eating. Instead they only seem egged on as you continue to eat, their hands wandering over you ever more boldly, though with a smoothness that says they're not so much changing plans as just egging you on. The strange texture and flavor is... safe to say, it's getting practically addictive as they continue to rub your back, your sides, stroking your belly, your head. You know you really ought to stop them... they're practically fondling you in public, in a crowd, a crowd that's not-so-subtly leering at you as they do... but, um. But you kind of reeeeally like it? Even as your better sense says no, no, say something, it's going too far, even as they both slide your skirt up in back and give your buttocks a near-tandem squeeze through your hose, making you squirm against their warm, slender-fingered hands.\n\n"Wow, you almost made it through the whole basket!" Sanalith chirps as you lean rather heavily against the counter, just shivering as the two of them rub and stroke your butt out of sync with each other now. "Just ooooone left!"\n\n"Hey, if you finish the whole thing, why don't Sana and I take you back to our place and... let you experience some more Drow culture?" Loralith purrs practically up against your ear, nearly simultaneously slipping her hand down the back of your tights and giving your ass a squeeze directly and making you squeak.\n\n<hr>\n[[You're... you're full!|Sara]]\n\n[[... Nom!!!|Sara1x5]]

<<set $livesused -= 1>><<set $livesremaining -= 1>>Some small part of you that's left rebels, and struggles against what's happening. 'No, no, this can't be! I don't want to end up like this!'\n\n"GAH!" you scream, sitting up abruptly, your tits wobbling both from the motion and your hard breathing as you look around... the empty room you first woke up in? You look down at yourself and start patting yourself down... seems normal. Well, or at least as normal as you were when you first arrived. You stare around the room, your brain working to process the sudden change in scenery. As it does, the memory of where you were before starts to lose coherence, gradually fading, along with much of what happened before it. In fact, by the time you get to your feet, it's all fading away like a dream. There's the vaguest hint of a memory lurking in the back of your brain, but the details have all faded.\n\n... Oh well.\n\nAfter a few moments you venture back out of the room and into the hallway again. You pass the strange cobbled-together device in the hallway, having some vague memory of having seen it before, but now the lights that were on below the plate and inside the open panel are off. Strange. Shaking your head, you step out of the hall and into the wider area beyond it, deciding to get back to taking a look around for a way out.\n\nFrom where you are, you can see that several of the doors have scratched-on little designs or words. You're guessing that those are later additions by other 'inmates', much like the weird cobbled-together thing in the hall. One of them looks like a sort of [[squiggly oval with a weird face on it|PervSim1x2]]. Another looks kind of like a [[sphere with two sort of spiky fans coming out from the sides|PervSim2x1]]. Another just has the word '[[Orgy|PervSim]]' scratched right above the plate with the light, that seems... obvious.\n\nAlright, well, the obvious conclusion is that you've been tossed in some sort of weird prison or complex and apparently the doors lead different places. And there are other prisoners, or at least there have been in the past, who have tried to leave their own messages to indicate what's going on. ... Too bad one of them didn't just sit down and scratch out a nice little set of plain-language instructions on a wall or something. (You checked, no one has, at least not here.) So, it seems like right now you only have two choices... try one of the doors and hope to find something useful (like hopefully some clothes at the very least), or [[wander the halls|PervSim3x1]] looking for something else to try.

You smirk, then grab hold of Nyna's hair with both hands, the lesbian giving another slightly shocked squawk as you yank her head back around and shove her mouth against your pussy, grinding it against her lips to silence her. "C'mon, Nyna, you wanted to have fun, let's have fun!"\n\n"Yeaaah!" Bizz hoots, waggling a foreleg in the air enthusiastically, right before shoving his cock into Nyna right up to the knot.\n\n"MMMMF!" Nyna shrieks against your cunt in outrage, which admittedly sends a very fun sensation through your thoroughly-stimulated flesh. She bucks and thrashes between you and Bizz, which mostly succeeds in rubbing her face against your pussy and shaking her ass under Bizz as he fucks her. You briefly dart a hand forward and yank her bra up in front, freeing her perky little tits before returning your grip to her hair.\n\nHey, at this point, why not just go all the way? you think with a smirk as you start working your hips, fucking your pussy against Nyna's face as she bucks and writhes under you and Bizz's pumping prick, the sound of his knot slapping against her trim outer lips growing louder and louder as her already wet cunt is stirred up even further. Abandoning any thoughts of shame or pride, you lean forward and press your lips against Bizz's mandibles, jutting out your tongue and feeling him manipulating it and fondling it with the silvery appendages, doing your best to porno-kiss the synthroach, your writhing, jutting pink tongue stroking against silvery metal and the lower parts of his faceplate. You feel a fresh shiver of excitement as he snags your leash again, tugging it possessively as you shake your tits for him before leaning back again, the chain stretching between him and you as the two of you double-team the horny lesbian who's getting decidedly more than she figured for.\n\nSpeaking of, you can see Nyna's eyes rolling some and starting to glaze slightly... a look you recognize from being on the other side of it. Whatever Nyna's higher brain functions might want to say about getting fucked by a male, let alone a synthroach, her pussy is absolutely loving it and starting to veto any bill her mind might want to propose to the contrary. You can see her hips starting to twitch and move in an entirely different way, bumping herself back against the robug's thrusts. You release one hand from her hair and reach underneath her, pinching one of her diamond-stiff nipples and twisting it, watching the jolt that it sends through her body and how her eyes roll a bit more.\n\nSoon Nyna's cumming whether she wants to or not, her body arching and trembling between Bizz and you, the synthroach taking that as his cue to stuff his knot into her. Nyna's already trembling body goes almost guitar-string taut at that, her eyes rolling up completely, her squealing into your pussy turning into something like a proper bitch-howl. You let out your own rather enthusiastic "Awooooooo!" as you cum all over her face, soaking it with your juices and even dampening her hair a bit. You settle back to the extent Bizz lets your leash have play, watching intently as Nyna's belly slowly swells up, gaining a faint blue glow as it rounds out. Turning a cute pout on Bizz, you protest, "Hey, you didn't give me that much cum!"\n\n"Aw, don't fret, pup, we can fix that right up for ya," he assures you in a warm tone, giving your leash a light tug.\n\nSmirking, you coo out a "Yaaaay!" and lean forward to jut your tongue out again, letting him fondle it with his mandibles again in another lewd kiss. He tugs his knot free of Nyna and releases your leash before leaping back and off of her, scuttling off to the side expectantly. You roll onto all fours, leaving Nyna slumped and panting on the floor, looking like she's still struggling to recover from her mental bluescreen... a process you don't help at all by settling on all fours behind her and then gripping her trim ass with both hands, kneading it as you start lucking and sucking that huge load of glowing blue bug juice out of her cunt. Ffffuck it tastes so good! And it tingles!\n\nBizz leaps up onto your ass, and you take a moment to flick your leash back over your shoulder to make it easier for him to snag again. He gives it a few playful tugs before settling his now thoroughly messy and well-lubed memory rubber prick against your pucker. You moan eagerly against Nyna's messy pussy, sliding your tongue up through the glowing blue goo to start tonguing and sucking at her own asshole as Bizz pushes his pointed puppy pseudoprick into your pucker. You of course start shaking your hips and working them to please him right from the start this time, your tits shaking beneath you as you move. You slide two fingers into Nyna's thoroughly-slimed cunt and start pumping them in and out, running your tongue between it and trailing the glowing blue goo along her taint before swirling and lapping it across her rosebud. \n\nEventually Nyna's fucking back against your face, letting out low whimpers and moans and what you're almost certain is the occasional soft "woof". You tongue-fuck her ass as close to the beat of Bizz fucking yours as you can manage, finger-fucking her messy cunt in the same rhythm, Nyna now bucking her hips shamelessly back against your tongue and fingers, rubbing that pert ass against your face eagerly. You press your lips against her pucker and let out a long, slutty moan into it, your eyes rolling, as Bizz stuffs his knot into your ass and starts flooding you with as big a load as he gave her, as promised, your belly starting to steadily round out and glow blue as thick ropes and gushes of luminescent bug juice fill your stomach.\n\nBizz soon pops his knot out of your ass, leaving it gaping and dribbliing blue. But he's barely leaped down from your ass when you scoop him up, turning him around and pressing his back against your chest, tucking him affectionately between your breasts as you lay back, rubbing the underside of his thorax above the base of his cock. Bizz shivers in delight, then wiggles even more as, unprompted, Nyna turns and crawls over to him and, undaunted by it having just been in your ass, slides her mouth over the pointed tip of his prick. She starts bobbing her head, gulping down more and more of that lightly-bulged shaft, her eyes on his faceplate and the flickering oscilloscope that serves as his face as she sucks him off as you continue to pet and stroke his insectoid form affectionately.\n\nNyna repeatedly kisses her lips against Bizz's knot before sliding his cock out of her mouth and moving up, pressing the synthroach's wriggling body between the two as she kisses you, her pert tits pressed up against your full round ones and squishing them around the robug even more. Then she rises up into a straddle, reaching down and angling Bizz's pointed tip to her own asshole before sinking down on it with a loud, lustful moan. Bizz continues to wriggle contentedly between your tits, wrapping his upper legs around them from the sides, the spindly limbs squeezing your breasts as Nyna rides him. Her asshole thumps against his knot with every bob she does, driving his sleek plastoid body against your belly, not only stimulating your womb but driving more of that glowing cum out of you in lewd little spurts, making room for him to fill you again.\n\n"Speak," you prompt suddenly, off the top of your head, grinning up at Nyna as she reaches forward and grabs your tits, kneading them around Bizz's upper body.\n\n"Woof," she rasps back lustfully, starting to pound her ass down against Bizz's cock and your belly even harder.\n\n"Thas right, girls, speak for Master," Bizz declares cheerfully.\n\n"Woof!" you and Nyna both call back eagerly, you getting your feet under you and starting to pump your hips, driving Bizz's body up against Nyna's downward thrusts without him needing to do a thing. "Woof, woof woof!"\n\n"Awooooooooooo!" Nyna howls gleefully as she drives herself down and works her hips hard, forcing Bizz's knot into her ass, thumping down fully against him and shuddering atop you both as he starts flooding her insides with that way-too-perfect cum again, your pussy gushing as you cum from a mixture of the stimulation to your womb and the sheer lewdness of your actions.\n\nThe interior of the ship is silent for several moments other than hard, post-orgasmic breathing from both you and Nyna along with a faint, almost subliminal pleased hum from Bizz. Eventually the silence is broken by Nyna's lustful whisper.\n\n"Even before we turn in the case... buy me a collar, okay...?"\n\n<hr>\n[[Game Over.|ChiDD4xEnd]]

As much as your instincts cry out to you to go down swinging, your better sense takes over... there's simply way too many of them and even if you could somehow take out the entire room, they'd have plenty of time to sound the alert and summon reinforcements before you did. You force your arms to relax and let the dogman take the gun from you, just glowering at him as he immediately points it at your face while the others gather around.\n\n"Holy shit, when they sounded the potential boarder alert, I wasn't expecting this," one of them says in openly lustful tones, looking your body up and down while his tail wags and the bulge in his pants starts getting larger.\n\nSome of the others start speaking similar sentiments, with a few actually reaching down to adjust themselves or even undo fly buttons, making your spine tense as you're suddenly reminded of just how show-offy your current attire is. But before it can go any farther the canine anthro holding your gun on you says, "That's enough, you lot, you know the rules. No molesting prisoners, they go right to the cells until the command crew can decide their fate."\n\nThere's a general grumbling of disappointment and resentment, but he must hold some particular sway over them since the more lewdly-toned murmurs disappear, and the fly buttons get rebuttoned. Instead you're turned to the door and half-marched, half-carried through the hallways, your main captor following close behind with your gun aimed at your back the whole time. You're taken down several decks to what looks like a fairly standard prison block, where the crewmen strip you of your jacket, boots, and gloves, luckily leaving you your top and bottoms. Several of them also take the opportunity to grope you, squeezing your practically bare ass, your boobsocked tits, and one even giving your pussy a quick rub while you squeak and growl in indignation. If the dogman notices they're violating the "no molestation" rule he doesn't call them out this time, instead just gesturing for them to toss you in the cell once you're in just the top and bottoms, the door sliding closed behind you.\n\nYou get to your bare feet, scowling at the door. "Well this is just perfect," you grumble aloud. You can only hope Nyna has successfully hidden the ship so they don't find her too, though you're not sure what she could do if that's so. In fact, you realize uncomfortably that she'd probably feel perfectly within her rights to ditch you after waiting for a little while... and sadly, other than the fact that it would be very bad for you personally, you can't see why she shouldn't, since she's not a fighter and can't exactly go rampaging through the ship to save you.\n\nYou turn your attention to your cell. It's obviously meant as a temporary holding space rather than for any sort of real habitation, since it's literally just four walls, a floor, and ceiling... no sleeping pad, no facilities, nothing. You guess that makes sense, they did say this was basically until someone on the command crew could come down and decide your fate. There are no panels that you can see either, not that you'd have any tools to open them up with if you did... the walls are frustratingly smooth and featureless. In fact the only thing in the room is a rather obvious air vent high up near the ceiling... one small enough that you're not sure you could get your head through even if you could reach it. After a minute you sigh and settle down to sit on the floor and lean back against the opposite wall, not seeing much other to do than await your fate.\n\nA few minutes later you blink at a faint buzzing sound. Is that a drill or... an autowrench? You blink and look up at a creaking, thumping noise and see that the vent cover is hanging off at an angle, and then stare at the sight. It's one of the synthroaches from the work crew! At least, you assume it is, they're not that easy to tell apart other than by their glow. This one's body is made largely of translucent white plastic, letting some of that inner blue glow out (especially noticeable in the vent), like most of the synth-style roaches about the size of a small dog and somewhat stylized, smoother and more impressionistic than their biological counterparts. He angles his faceplate down towards you, silvery mandibles wiggling as he waves a rubbery black foreleg at you. "Hullo!"\n\n"Uh... hi," you say, getting to your feet and stepping closer. "Are you...?"\n\n"Name's Bizz. No worries if you didn't remember, don't really expect most humans to," Bizz says in a philosophical, if rather electronic, tone. "But yeah I'm one of the fellas who was working on your ship."\n\n"... Sorry. Er, what are you doing here, though?" you ask, glancing at the door slightly worriedly.\n\n"Well t'be honest I was hanging around in your panels watching to see when you'd try the job," Bizz says frankly. "Orders from the boss, y'know, to let him know as soon as you attempted things, since it counts for when the interest starts."\n\n"Ah," you say flatly.\n\n"But 'ey, lucky I tagged along, right? Now I can get you out of here! Ah, 'fraid that's not an option," he adds as you glance at the door more hopefully. "The cybersecurity's 'specially tight 'round this area, as you might expect, 'fraid I can't open this door for the life of me."\n\n"But you could open another one?" you prompt, looking back up at him.\n\n"You bet! We just need to get you into the residential areas of the ship and I can spring you no problems! I even have a plan on how to do that. Just, ah... you may not like it too much."\n\nThat makes you frown. "Why? What is it?"\n\n"Well see I was looking through the records here, and turns out there's two members of the command crew that always snag prisoners for themselves if they meet certain criteria. They're doing a search on your identity right now, all I've gotta do is tweak their results to show something. Goshan, he's another Equaan, he'll always have a prisoner brought to his private quarters if she's registered as having been a dancer. Meanwhile there's Chun-Wa, she's-"\n\n"Lemme guess," you interrupt flatly from hearing the name. "She's a former Trine and loves to get her hands on Neokuza."\n\n"Got it in one!"\n\n"So I get the idea, but if you can get me out of either of them's quarters, what does it matter? Just pick one," you say flatly.\n\n"Welllll that's the thing, it'd take me a while to set up a distraction and a safe route for our escape, so you'd have to ah... entertain your captor to at least some extent until then," he says, sounding like he's suppressing a snicker. "Now I'll do my best to be quick about it, but if it should take a bit longer, well, all I'll say is that from some of these video records, Chun-Wa prefers a lot more foreplay than Goshan. Do with that what you will."\n\n"... And that's our only option?" you say with a sigh.\n\n"Well that or you can just take your chances, I don't gotta do nothing," Bizz says, giving a sort of rippling motion of his thorax that manages to convey a shrug. "'Course then you'll probably wind up in front of Huwhin himself, so take yer chances there."\n\n<hr>\n[[Go with Goshan.|ChiDD]]\n\n[[Go with Chun-Wa.|ChiDD4x3]]\n\n[[Take your chances.|ChiDD]]

"Nnnnnh," you growl, thinking it over, then sighing. "You said Chun-Wa does more... foreplay?"\n\n"Yeah, she apparently likes to do lots of buildup and leadin," Bizz answers. "Especially with Neokuza or ex-Neokuza members. Especially girls."\n\nYou make a face again, then nod. "Fine. List me as actually being a Holy Dragon, we'll go with her."\n\n"Alrighty!" Bizz chirps, before leaping down from the vent, making you reflexively jump at the familiar startling cockroach-jump motion. "Here, bend forward against th' wall!"\n\n"What," you what flatly.\n\n"Hey, story won't fly if you don't got the tattoo, right? Don't worry, I got a multilaser in here that'll do a quick tat just fine," he says, making pointing motions between his mandibles... with his mandibles. \n\n"... Fine," you mutter, since he's got a point. You turn around and bend forward about a quarter of the way against the wall, placing your hands flat against it. You try not to shudder when Bizz clambers his way up your legs and clings to your ass and thighs, just trying not to think about it as he makes contemplative noises. You flinch a bit at the sound of the laser powering up, and then force yourself not to flinch as an extremely hot pinprick hits your back not far below the hem of your top and starts sweeping back and forth like a printer. The sensation's painful but tolerable... the faint burnt pork smell is slightly more offputting, to be honest.\n\nYou can feel the 'bad sunburn' heat and mild itching moving slowly down your back... then give a yip and a growl as Bizz pulls down your bottoms, further baring your ass. "Hey!"\n\n"Just finishin' up, gotta be authentic," he chirps even as he continues to fire the laser, making you grumble but admit that a dragon tattoo starting on the back but not going below the waistline would be pretty odd. You can feel the heat trace its way right down your right buttock all the way to the top of your thigh, before the sound of the laser cuts off. You can't help but give a soft relieved moan as Bizz sprays something over your bare skin that immediately eases the burn and stinging.\n\n"Geez, do this often?" you can't help but ask in a soft rush as he finishes spraying on what you recognize from the smell as a standard tattoo fast-healer/soother/sealant.\n\n"More often than ya might think," Bizz chirps, before he goes scuttling up your back and over your head, and then up the wall and back into the vent, which he closes with one of his rear legs. "I'll get your file altered right quick, no worries!"\n\n"'No worries' he says," you mutter, straightening up, then blushing and yanking your bottoms back up as well.\n\nEventually the door slides open again, revealing who could only be Chun-Wa... a Mandanni woman with her black hair cut in a very sharp, angular pageboy style and an underlayer of pink-red dye applied to it. Her features ride the line between 'pretty' and 'severe', her dark, sharply-angled eyes raking up and down your body in a mingling of excitement and disgust. You're not exactly given any amount of confidence by the fact that she's dressed in a style you could only call 'dominatrixpunk'... a shiny, plastic-like bikini top hugging her round breasts and a skimpy little set of bottoms barely hiding her pussy, leaving her wide, curvy hips, flat belly, and trim waist on display. Over the barely-there bikini is a set of black streetarmor shoulderguards and attached gloves, and thigh-high streetarmor boots; she's even attached a short cape to the shoulderguard, the interior having a faint red-pink glow to it.\n\n"Turn around," she snaps in what you think is deliberately Mandanni-accented galacommon.\n\nYou scowl, but after a second do as she bid. You couldn't exactly get a good look, considering, but from the little glimpses you managed craning your head it looks like Bizz did a competent, if unremarkable job recreating a basic ukiyo-e style green dragon tattoo. Chun-Wa immediately steps forward and glares down at it... then smirks, delivering a harsh slap right to the asscheek that got the dragon's tail. You yelp (for more than one reason) and jump forward, whirling to glare at her, but she's already leveled a blaster at you... BlasTech IB series. Nothing you ever want to have pointed at you, and something that definitely has a faster action than you could ever hope to beat trying to tackle her or take it away from her.\n\n"My name is Chun-Wa," she declares haughtily, angling the blaster up a bit more, to where it might catch you in the chest... or throat. "And your name is... well, you don't have one anymore," she says with a cruel smirk. "I don't believe in naming dogs. Put it on," she adds, bringing her other hand up and tossing something to you.\n\nYou catch it out of the air, and scowl at it as you realize what it is... a slave collar. A basic one, designed to look like a leather dog collar... not as fully-featured or capable of forcing actions as a higher end one or a slave chip, but perfectly capable of tracking your movements and shocking you unconscious at a moment's notice. You glare at her, but she just sneers back and very visibly tightens her gloved finger the slightest amount on the trigger. You work your jaw for a moment, then put the collar on yourself, clipping it into place where it adjusts to fit firmly around your neck. \n\nAlmost instantly a painful electric shock runs through your body, making you spasm and yelp before you can stop yourself, staggering in place and grabbing at the collar. You glare at Chun-Wa as she lets out a laugh, her dark eyes flashing as she meets your gaze. "No sloppy comm controls for me, dog," she assures you. "I have an implant specifically for controlling slave collars. I can think you unconscious any time I want, so just consider that before you try anything. Now, dogs don't wear clothes. Off."\n\nYou grind your teeth, but after she gives you another mild shock (mostly just enough to make you jump a little) you unzip your top and shrug out of it, your bare breasts wobbling as they're freed. You can see Chun-Wa watching them with a mingling of hatred and lust... you're bigger than she is by a fair bit, which clearly both infuriates and excites her. You push down the bottoms and step out of them, standing there naked (save for your new tattoo), and again grind your teeth in anger when she smirks and steps forward to attach a leash to your collar. Holstering her pistol, she gives the leash a yank and has you precede her out the door, walking naked through the hallways ahead of her.\n\nAlmost immediately you can see what Bizz meant about Chun-Wa liking "foreplay"... she forces you to go on 'walkies' through probably at least two miles of corridor, padding barefoot past numerous crewmen's lustful gaze. You spot a couple that were in the group that captured you, and in those cases feel a rush of worry mingling with the typical shame and humiliation of being paraded naked in front of strange men. What if one of them wonders aloud why you have a tattoo now when you didn't earlier? But either they think it's something Chun-Wa did or they're simply too busy staring at your jiggling tits and bouncing bare ass to even notice the dragon, because other than a few lustful whistles and moans of desire no comments are made.\n\nEventually satisfied with displaying her new acquisition, Chun-Wa leads you into a place that must be her playroom rather than her personal quarters... though there's a bed, there's no sign of any other comforts or day-to-day living necessities, just things like X-frames, stocks, display cabinets full of sex toys, and other accoutrements. Chun-Wa gives the leash a hard yank to make you stumble forward towards the center of the room before she releases it, letting the cold metal chain drop down between your bare breasts. She eyes you for a moment, then apparently uses one of her neural implants to activate a mirror-type holoscreen in front of you. You're left just watching as she moves behind you and hauls your wrists together, fastening a pair of plasteel cuffs around them.\n\n"Now, dog," she says evenly. "We're going to get you properly attired for play. And you're going to cooperate, or you know what will happen, don't you?" she adds, giving you another small shock for good measure, your body jerking briefly before you give a reluctant nod.\n\nShe smirks at you again, stepping over to a nearby cabinet and opening it. You can't help but feel a rush of fear run through you as she turns back holding a straight single-edge knife with a curved handle. You had assumed Bizz would have warned you if either of your potential captors were the sort to permanently damage their "playthings", but now you realize he never actually said anything of the sort. Still, you refuse to tremble as she walks over to you, the other woman obviously greatly enjoying your tenseness as it is as she toys with the tip of the knife. Then you wince as she grabs your ponytail and yanks back on it, slicing through the very base of it hard and fast enough that your head reflexively yanks forward when she cuts through, showing off your newly short and uneven hair in the mirror.\n\n"Awwww, poor puppy," she sneers at you as you stare into the holomirror trying to hold back tears. She tosses your ponytail aside negligently, but adds, "Maybe if you're a very, very obedient bitch, I'll turn it into a nice actual tail for you, hm?"\n\nYou're left trembling in a mixture of loss and fury as she steps back over to the cabinet, and then reflexively squirm and struggle a bit in place as she hauls something on over your head, yanking it roughly into place and fastening it above your collar. When she steps back you can see out through the eyeholes in the mask... a pink and black puppy play mask, the stylized canine features gazing back at you mockingly from the mirror. Admittedly a bit dispirited, you don't struggle as she steps behind you and slips something over your hands, then drops a pair of puffy, black slipper-like things to the floor and commands you to step into them. You reluctantly do as bid, stepping into the openings and wiggling your feet into them. Chun-Wa releases the cuffs binding you, then commands you to hold your hands up level with the side of your head.\n\nA moment later both the gloves and the slippers inflate, pressing around your fingers and expanding to cover your wrists and ankles, turning into large, puffy, cartoonish black paws with pink pads. Chun-Wa laughs derisively at the image you present, holding up your paws to show your glossy pink beans, resisting the urge to let your head droop since it would just make you look more literally hangdog. Of course besides completing the humiliating puppy play look, the gloves effectively render your hands useless, since all you can do is squinch them a bit... you could maybe hold on to something using both hands, but that was it. And the paw-boots would keep you off-kilter and make running difficult... especially since they make a loud squeak-toy noise when you shift around on them.\n\n"You're looking much better, dog," Chun-Wa sneers as she looks you up and down, before retrieving yet another item from the cabinet, one that sends a fresh shudder of horrified anticipation through you... a riding crop. "Now, it's time to teach doggy some discipline. Hands on the floor. Ass in the air."\n\nYou hesitate briefly, at which her eyes narrow. Before she can shock you again, you lean forward, doing your best to drag out your motions as if you were unsteadier on your new paws than you are, partly to try and drag things out and give Bizz enough time. But still, you wind up putting your pawed hands flat on the floor (with more squeaktoy noises) and lifting your bare ass up high, displaying your dragon tattoo as well as your vulnerable pussy and pucker to your sadistic captor.\n\n"Mmm. More pristine condition than I'd expected for some filthy Kuza bitch," Chun-Way sneers as she runs the tip of the crop up the cleft of your sex, making you shudder a little, and twitching as she teases at the opening of your asshole with it. "Well we can take care of that for you. Don't worry, puppy, mommy will have these looking like proper bitch-holes in no time."\n\nYou shudder again at the thought. 'Oh fuck, Bizz, hurry up!' you think... just before her riding crop swings back and cracks across your ass with both the skill of experience and the strength of disdain. "OW!" you can't help but yelp... and do so again as she delivers another, even more vicious strike lower down on your ass, catching a bit of your pussylips with it, and simultaneously giving you a small shock with the collar, sending a fresh spasm through your whole body.\n\n"Dogs. Do not. Speak," Chun-Wa snarls, jabbing your pussy roughly with the tip of the crop. "Ever. Understood?" she adds, drawing back and delivering another hard strike. "Understood?!"\n\n"Woof!" you blurt out as she continues to rain punishing blows on your ass and thighs with the crop, unable to help shaking your ass back and forth in mock-wantonness that's actually just the instinctive desire to avoid the strikes. "Woof, woof, bark!"\n\n"That's more like it, you stupid Kuza bitch," Chun-Wa sneers, grabbing a handful of one of your already red-marked asscheeks and squeezing roughly, making you give an entirely unforced whimper.\n\nChun-Wa continues to crop you ruthlessly... the worst part is, she's clearly done this many times before, and not only has it down to some perverse blend of art and science, she knows exactly what she's doing. She keeps mingling varying levels of shock from the collar with particular blows, especially whenever she lets the crop strike your pussy in the corse of spanking you with it. The pain of the cropping and the jolt of the electric shock, every time a body-rocking surprise, starts to overwhelm you, your body starting to lose the distinction between pain stimulation and just stimulation. Soon, despite all your humiliation and wrath, your nipples are almost painfully stiff, and your bare pussy with its faint welt marks is glistening and dripping down your thighs slightly.\n\nYour new (hopefully temporary) mistress certainly doesn't fail to notice, pausing in her "discipline" to once again nudge and toy with your abused pussy with the spaded tip of the crop, laughing derisively. "Every one of you is a fucking slut," she sneers, making you shudder in both fresh humiliation and some pleasure as she toys roughly with your clit using the crop. "Never had a Kuza bitch under my crop who didn't start shaking her ass and getting all wet," she declares, as if she hadn't been deliberately trying to coax out exactly that reaction. "What do you say to that, puppy?"\n\n"... Woof," you grumble angrily.\n\nThat was apparently exactly the answer she wanted, as she lets out another derisive laugh and delivers one last combo crop-strike and shock to you, making you let out an unfortunately dog-like yelp and jolt forward, your rubber paws squeaking underneath you. You can't help but sag a little in relief as Chun-Wa finally sets the crop down on the counter space of the cabinet she got the puppy play gear out of... then go tense again as she turns back to you holding a shortish, stiff pink and black rubber dog tail attached to a butt plug. "Now, let's get you fully attired so we can start the real fun," she coos, smirking at your obvious fright. "Oh, I'd relax if I were you, I'm not overly generous with the lube."\n\n<hr>\n[[Dammit, where is Bizz?!|ChiDD]]\n\n[[Wait, what's that sound?|ChiDD4x4]]

"We have to get latched on before he jumps!" you snap out, reaching forward to start engaging the full power-up sequence yourself. \n\nNyna doesn't have much choice but to direct the ship in and start zipping right towards Huwhin's dreadnought, gritting her teeth. "I can hide our signal against the hull once we're latched on, but at this rate they're definitely gonna know someone boarded them!"\n\n"I'll just have to take that chance," you say grimly, moving to stand on the transporter pad. "Hopefully I can get in, tag the crate, and get out while they're still scrambling around looking for me! Can you make it?"\n\n"It's gonna be cloooose," Nyna grunts, squinting at the board as she inverts the ship, the gravity field luckily working properly and keeping you from so much as stumbling as she does. The starfield is replaced by a stretch of dark hull going off into the distance, just before you feel a slight lurch. "Okay, made it. The second he comes out of the jump I'll send you in."\n\nIt's only a few seconds later before she calls to you to get ready, and you draw your pistol and settle yourself on the pad, ready to move. There's a flickering sensation, during which you can't help but wonder if this will satisfy the contract to get the hold off your accounts (though like Nyna you doubt it), before you find yourself standing inside Huwhin's ship.\n\nSpecifically, you seem to be standing in some sort of galley or mess hall. And there's a good two dozen crewmen scattered all around you, almost all of them some variety of large, muscular anthro.\n\nFor a moment, both you and the crewmen are frozen in shock. Unfortunately for you several of the nearby ones react first and dive forward, one on each side grabbing your arm, another trying to wrestle the pistol out of your hand.\n\n<hr>\n[[Fight!|ChiDD]]\n\n[[Surrender.|ChiDD4x2]]

"... Fine," you growl. "If you can get the target, I'll... let you fuck me."\n\n"In that getup," Bizz adds.\n\n"Yeah fine!" you bark angrily. "Just get it!"\n\nOf course you then somewhat awkwardly have to actually specify both the crate, how to identify it, and that your client primarily wants one particular case out of it. Bizz salutes with one of his forelegs before leaping down with that particularly startling cockroach leap, translucent white plastic wings fluttering before he goes scuttling off.\n\nWhich, again, means you're left standing somewhat awkwardly in the dim cargo bay naked save for the forced-on puppy play accessories... and thinking about how, if Bizz is successful, you're going to get fucked by a synthroach. A light shudder runs through your whole body, and just to distract yourself you make several attempts to get the puppy hood and collar off. No good... the big squeaky paw-mittens, as ridiculous-looking as they are, are also ridiculously effective at keeping you from using your hands, your efforts result in nothing but bapping yourself and causing more of those humiliating squeaks, along with the clinking of your leash.\n\nLuckily it's not too long before Bizz comes scurrying back... and you can't help but feel a flood of relief that he's carrying a hand case that matches the description from the client, a simple secure briefcase made of 3D-printed carbon fiber. You lean down to take a look at it (for the moment ignoring dropping your tits down and waving them in Bizz's buggy synth face for a moment) to confirm the small set of numbers on the handle. "That's it!"\n\n"Great!" Bizz says, turning and setting the case aside before looking back at you. "Now let's fuck!"\n\n"Uh..." You swallow hard. "Couldn't we at least wait until we get off the ship, or...?"\n\n"Sorry, no can do, babe," Bizz chirps back. He raises up on all his legs and lifts his thorax up high in back, and from the backmost part of it extends a long, gleaming hex-patterned memory rubber tube, your eyes widening as you realize it's almost the same length as the rest of his body. Your eyes further widen as the tip narrows to a point and the head takes on a concave scoop, the rest of the slender tube taking on a subtle bulging outward, while the base gains a far less subtle double-chambered bulge right at the base. "Payment on delivery!"\n\n"... um..." You squeak, looking back and forth between him... and that gleaming black canine cock... and the case. You of course briefly consider grabbing the case and just literally punting him, since you could probably at least manage to pick up the case and hold onto it with these stupid mittens, but then how would you signal Nyna to actually pick you up? ... Yeah you've really got no choice. You swallow hard again, then let out a faint, "Fine." Then, just to give one last try at it, "Could we at least do it with the puppy play stuff off?"\n\n"Nope!" Bizz declares cheerfully, holding up his foremost legs in an 'X' just to cement the denial. \n\nYou let out one last sigh, then steel your nerve and turn your back to him, getting down onto hands and knees with more squeaktoy noises from your paws. You give a little yelp as he leaps up onto you, once again clinging to your lower ass and back, those spindly legs easily gripping around your waist and hips. You can feel the tip of his cock rub up and down your damp slit as he wiggles his thorax up and down, then sinks it into you right up to that bulging rubber knot in one long, smooth stroke.\n\n'Oh fuck!' you think, eyes going wide again behind your puppy mask, just barely able to keep yourself from blurting it out loud. Because Bizz's cock feels incredibly good! Not only does its rubbery, lightly-textured exterior give it that finely-crafted sex toy feel, it's actually just the perfect temperature to ride that line between 'dildo' and 'real dick' and convince your brain that it's the best of both feels. And while your brain may find the shape extra humiliating and degrading, your pussy has no conscience and apparently loves that tapered tip, gentle bulging center, and the promise of that fat knot pressing at your puffed-up outer lips.\n\nYou grit your teeth behind the mask's muzzle, your eyes rolling just slightly as Bizz starts pumping, using his whole little insectoid body and pumping his thorax to pound that lightly-throbbing dildodick into your increasingly eager cunt. Not only does that knot slapping against the entrance of your pussy start riling your body even further, but his broad, flat lower body smacks just as firmly right down the middle of your ass, making it wobble and shake with the impact and bringing up your body's memory of the abuse it so recently received... and was so recently trained into interpreting as pleasure. You can't help but poke your tongue out a little now as the synthroach fucks you with machine precision, pistoning that cock in smooth, perfect strokes.\n\n"Oh, oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck!" you blurt out loud as you start to lose control, actually hearing the wet, shlupping noises of his cock now as it pumps your overflowing pussy, little gushes of your arousal forced out to splatter all over that memory rubber knot and the translucent plastic of his thorax, dampening your inner thighs with the proof that you've been tricked into enjoying your bugfuck.\n\n"Hey, such language," Bizz chirps teasingly, even as he stretches out a forelimb. He manages to snag the base of your leash and haul it back over your shoulder, sending it briefly snaking between your shaking, wobbling tits before he gets full hold of it. He hauls back on it, just enough to pull on the collar and press it lightly against your throat, your thoroughly stimulated brain giving another brief catch that feels like a borderline orgasm at the feel. "Doncha remember what puppies say?"\n\n'No, no way, no way!' you tell yourself desperately in your head, instantly comprehending what he means. Then the synthroach starts fucking you even harder, pounding that pseudo-puppy prick into your puss with greater power, driving that knot against you. Your hips near-instantly start moving on their own, starting to buck in time with his thrusts, fucking yourself against him like a proper bitch in heat. You hold off for all of two seconds before letting out a "Woof! Woof woof!"\n\n"Yeah, that's right pupper, tell me how much y'want it!" Bizz cackles, shaking his insectoid body atop you and giving another light yank on the leash, again pressing the collar against your throat.\n\n"Woof! Woof woof! Wan!" you bark brainlessly, your eyes rolling more and your tongue jutting out inside the empty muzzle of your puppy mask. You don't even care anymore, you just want to cum, you just want him to make puppy cum, you just want him to take you on walkies and brush you and make you cum! ... W-wait, no, you're losing it! You're losing it, Michika! Get it together or you could really-\n\nAnd then Bizz gives his thorax a preparatory wiggle, shifting that doggy dildodick around inside you and in under a second stimulating every sensitive spot you have, right before he slams it forward, forcing your pussylips to spread and then gulp the knot in, squeezing it inside you and pressing it in deep covetously. 'Oh nooooooo!' your conscious brain thinks as he starts pumping his cum into you because there's sooooooo much and it's juuuuuust the right temperature to make your body feel every drop of it and your brain overload with the pleasure of it, your throat unconsciously letting out an entirely canine howl of release as you cum all over that big bug knot.\n\nLuckily it only takes you a minute or so to reboot your brain as you pant hard, and then let out a little whimper of reflexive loss and conscious relief as Bizz deflates his knot and tugs it free with a light pop, his cock dropping out of you and then retracting into his body, leaving a stream of blue-glowing goo dribbling out of your lightly spread pussylips and onto the floor. You give a slightly dazed look around, but luckily no one seems to have heard your 'awooooooo!' of orgasm, though just thinking if it makes you feel like your face could burst into flames. You stagger unsteadily to your feet, knees shaky and feet still encased in those squeaky rubber paws, and again cover yourself with your paw-gloved hands, though a bit lamely this time, considering you're still dripping blue pseudocum from behind one covering mitten. You watch as Bizz skitters over to the case and hefts it up, then moves to stand by your feet, using a deep, goofy voice to announce "Energize."\n\nThere's the shimmery feeling again, and you find yourself standing on the transporter pad of the intrusion ship. Nyna immediately starts working the controls, too busy to look over at you and see your state, and seconds later there's the sound of the hop drive starting up and then engaging. Nyna continues to focus on her work for a few moments, and then engages the drive again, before finally letting out a 'whew'. "Okay, we should definitely have lost them now," she says, rising from her chair and turning towards you... and freezing in place, eyes widening.\n\n"Don't say a fucking word," you growl. "Just... get me out of this crap."\n\n"... Right!" she blurts, scrambling towards you after a second. She pauses at the sight of Bizz moving over to set down the case, watching as she starts undoing the fastenings of your hood. "Is that...?"\n\n"Yeah, the client's property," you huff as the hood is pulled off, revealing your shortened, messy hair. Nyna stares at it stunned for a moment, before somewhat awkwardly starting to undo one of your mittens without tugging it away from where you're trying to cover yourself too much. "So as soon as we get back and I can make contact, we can pay off Nick and go home."\n\n"I'm sure the boss will be pleased to hear," Bizz chirps, having settled himself to sit on top of the case.\n\n"That's a relief," Nyna murmurs as she settles onto the floor to undo your booties as well, managing to find the controls to deflate them and tug them off. Then she pauses, clearly unable to help looking at where you're cupping your pussy with your now uncovered hand... and the dripping blue goo leaking between your fingers. She licks her lips lightly... you're guessing more at the proximity of something she's wanted to get her hands (and mouth) on for a while now rather than at the sight of the synthroach's pseudocum... and then peeks up at you. "... y'knoooow... I could... clean you up. If you wanted."\n\n<hr>\n[[... No.|ChiDD]]\n\n[[... Yeah y'know what knock yourself out.|ChiDD4x7]]

Honestly at this point why care? With a sigh and a brief 'oh well' glance at the intently-watching Bizz, you lift your hand away to reveal your blue-smeared, well-fucked pussy. "Yeah, fine, go nuts."\n\n"Fuckin' finally!" Nyna exclaims happily, taking just a moment to shimmy out of her coveralls and reveal the simple athletic-style navy blue bra and thong she's wearing beneath. Then she leans in, hands gripping your hips as she gives your pussy a long, slow lick, making a noise that sounds like half elation, half surprise at whatever taste she's getting from the robug cum. But apparently it doesn't put her off... in fact, if anything she immediately grows more enthusiastic, starting to lap at your sex with energetic wiggles of her tongue and eager sucks of her lips against your puffy, blue-smeared outer folds.\n\n"Mmmmnf... mm," you groan, resting a shaky hand on her head after a moment. 'Oh fuck, who cares, may as well,' you think half in annoyance and half-dreamily as you reach up your other hand to cup one of your breasts, starting to knead it lightly and toy with your nipple as Nyna eats you out.\n\nEither Bizz dumped more pseudojizz in you than you thought, or more likely Nyna's almost immediately abandoned any pretense of just cleaning you out, because she goes on and on, working her tongue deep into you and lapping every bit of your insides she can reach before she turns her focus to your clit, wrapping her lips around it and suckling gently. You slowly sink down to your knees and then lean back, giving in completely and just letting her have her way, starting to rock your hips up against her face, your fingers clenching lightly in her messy blonde hair, her posture shifting to lean forward and in against you with her ass in the air, that thong admittedly displaying it very nicely as she gives it a few little enthusiastic shakes. Your other hand alternates between playing with your tit and giving your own leash light little tugs, barely even noticing that you've fallen back on stimulating yourself with the feel of the collar pressing against your throat.\n\nThen you both give a little jump in place as Bizz suddenly leaps up onto Nyna's raised ass, perching on it in much the same position he must have used with you earlier. The blonde lets out a squawk of shock and outrage as he uses one of his hindlegs to pull aside the crotch of her panties, while simultaneously giving his thorax that distinctive wiggle that deploys his cock, swelling it back to the same canoid shape he used on you. "Pardon me, ladies, don't mind if I join in, do ya?" \n\n"Yeah, we fuckin' mind, get off!" Nyna blurts (in possibly less-than-optimal phrasing) as she looks over her shoulder, a slightly panicked look on her face.\n\n<hr>\n[["Fuck off, Bizz!"|ChiDD6x1]]\n\n[["... Heh."|ChiDD4x8]]

Chun-Wa hears it at about the same moment, her head whipping towards the door, a dark scowl on her lips. Though it had been hard to tell in the room's slightly dim, already red-tinted lighting, the lights are now pulsing and there's a steady, urgent drone from the speakers. The exact tone isn't clear but it's pretty clearly a 'Red alert' type alarm. "Dammit," she hisses, snapping her gaze between you and the door several times, before taking off towards it at a run, tossing the tail aside. "Don't you dare think about leaving, I've got the collar programmed to shock you unconscious if you even go near the door!" she snaps just before she runs through it herself.\n\nYou slump fully onto all fours, settling onto your knees and panting into the empty muzzle of the puppy mask, shuddering. Fuck... that was her 'foreplay'? ... Well, you guess she didn't actually fuck you, so maybe that still counts. Right now you might be able to get out of this with nothing but a shitty haircut, a sore butt (outside only), and a tattoo you need to have removed ASAP. \n\nSpeaking of which, you look over as the door slides open again... but this time no one comes through. You hesitate briefly, before Bizz's voice comes over the intercom. "It's cool, I disabled the location tracker in your collar! Make for the lift, go!"\n\nYou leap to your feet, then wobble on them briefly. You lift your paw-gloved hands to the collar, and then your puppy mask, but almost immediately realize that your chances of removing either are effectively nil, especially in any amount of time you'd need to escape. You hang your head for just a heartbeat before summoning your courage and taking off for the open door at a run, squeaking loudly and bobbling unsteadily on your rubber footpaws, your leash clinking against itself audibly as it jingles between your bare, bobbling tits.\n\nYou reflexively brace hard as you approach the door, but nothing happens as you step through it... other than that you're now standing worse-than-naked in the hallway. You quickly take a look around again, and then set off at as best a run as you can manage in the opposite direction from what it looked like Chun-Wa went. The paws require you to use a somewhat loping gait and to swing your arms to keep your balance, which not only causes a lot of bouncing in your bare boobs and butt, but looks distinctly "frolic-y" and silly... you wonder if that was by design or if it's just a humiliating little extra that you're forced to look like you're going 'teehee how delightful!' as you make your puppy-clad escape.\n\nYou do make it to the lift, though, practically diving through as the doors open in front of you. You slump against the wall, panting authentically into your puppy mask as it starts up and moving. You grow tense again as it starts to slow, unable to help pressing one arm across your breasts and the other big puffy rubber paw over your crotch... you're not exactly confident of your ability to fight at the moment, somehow protecting some small measure of dignity seems worth more.\n\nBut the door opens to an empty corridor, and after a cautious peek out, you again do your hop-skip-run through the corridors, trying to ignore yourself breasting boobily. From the level you're on, Bizz's plan seems fairly obvious... get to one of the cargo bays, where Nyna will hopefully have moved the ship to teleport you out. You come to the end of the corridor and lean out to peek carefully again... wait. You hear something. Crewmen?! Crap... they're out of sight whichever fork they're down, and despite its canine appearance complete with prominent ears, this stupid mask is actually interfering with your hearing enough that you can't tell which direction the sound is coming from. You'll definitely be spotted if you try and wait for them to pass... you're going to have to pick a path and hope it's the right one.\n\n<hr>\n[[Right.|ChiDD]]\n\n[[Left.|ChiDD4x5]]

You're at the left corner right now anyway, may as well go with it. You take off as quickly as you can, hoping that the crewmen 1) aren't in that direction and 2) aren't going fast enough that they'll see your bare ass jiggling down the corridor or hear the squeaks of your pawboots.\n\nLuckily it seems that's the case, since there are no shouts of alarm or sounds of pursuit, and you soon come to a large set of doors that swings open in front of you, revealing a dim interior filled with large crates. You step inside, covering yourself again as you wobble unsteadily through the paths formed between the cargo, calling out "Bizz?" softly.\n\n"Here!" the synthroach calls back as he hops up onto a crate that puts him about eye level with you, giving his body that sort of excited wiggle you've noticed the other roachoids do too. "Whew, aren't you a sight?"\n\n"Thanks," you grumble beneath your puppy mask.\n\n"Here, turn around and show me your bum, I'll help with those welts."\n\nYou highly suspect that he just wants a good look at your ass and pussy, but the promise of relief from the stinging marks of the crop is too good to pass up. Still covering your front, you turn around and present your back to him, bending over and standing up on tiptoe as well as you can to display your butt. There's definitely a pause before he starts spraying more of the soothe-heal stuff from earlier, but the relief from the stinging heat is enough that you dismiss it, letting out a sigh instead.\n\nOnce he's finished you stand up and turn towards him. "Ah... thanks, for getting me out of there. Is Nyna on the other side of the hull?"\n\n"She's getting into position," he tells you, relief tinged with mild worry flooding you. "It'll be a few minutes, but don't worry, no one'll find you here. Though that does give us time for me ta bring up another little matter..."\n\n"Would that be you getting me out of this getup maybe?" you ask flatly.\n\n"Not prezaktly," he admits with an obvious snicker, the little waveform of his speech across his faceplate skittering wildly. "But see, while I was doing all that hackering around in their systems, I got fully into their inventory. Meaning, I know where everything is... including whatever it is you came here to get in the first place."\n\n"... Seriously?" you whisper, eyes widening behind the puppy mask.\n\n"Sure! If you'll tell me what it is, I can slap a transpo beacon on it lickety-split! ... Iiiiiiif," he adds.\n\n"... If?" you prompt, getting a bad feeling.\n\n"Well frankly that naughty little getup you're in has got my chips fritzing, cutie," he informs you in a delighted tone, your face going red behind the pink and black neoprene. "So if you want me to find your thingamaboober for you, lemme have a quick pump of you like that."\n\n"Bizzzzz," you growl, pressing your hands more tightly over your naked body.\n\n"Hey, fair's fair, can't ask a robug to go out of his way to do you a solid if you won't take care of his solid for him," he declares in a philosophical tone. "The boss don't normally authorize me to help the marks at all, so I'm already way out on a limb for ya. Seems only fair I get a little pleasure for my trouble for going even further out, eh?"\n\nYou glare at him... but can't really come up with a solid argument for why he should risk his life further for you Just Because. And part of you admits that you might consider it worth it just to have this whole mess over and done with... turn the job in, get back home, hire a lawyer to deal with the issue of your accounts and forget the whole mess. Maybe one quick little fuck would be worth it...?\n\n... Admittedly an even smaller part of you, the part that was forced to get turned on by all of Chun-Wa's "foreplay", says maybe you wouldn't mind fucking for its own sake.\n\n<hr>\n[["... No!"|ChiDD7x1]]\n\n[["... Yeah okay fine..."|ChiDD4x6]]

'I shouldn't go out there,' you think again as you step over to your scattered clothes. 'I reeeally should stay inside until whatever this is passes,' you think as you pick up your coat and shrug it on, doing up the clasps as well as possible over your naked body, the front just barely managing to cover your breasts and leaving a generous amount of cleavage showing. 'I definitely shouldn't go out there and get my brains fucked out,' you think as you step out the door and let it close behind you.\n\nYou glance side-to-side. 'I should go back inside,' you think even as you're deciding exactly where to go that is not back inside.\n\n<hr>\n[[To the left, the male-female couple.|ChiPir]]\n\n[[To the right, the two guys.|ChiPir]]\n\n[[Across to the Human guy.|ChiPir]]\n\n[[Across and down to one of the Kobrinians.|ChiPir6x4]]

Well. Not to say you haven't been occasionally tempted to try out having a dick. You are very fond of your boobs, though, as you have to admit they're one of your better physical features. (Let's face it your eyes are nice but your boobs are a lot more prominent.) You reach towards the pen that he indicated when he was listing them off, then pause a little as he grins wider. "... What?" you ask suspiciously.\n\n"Hm? Oh, nothing, nothing, sorry. Just an interesting choice. Though I guess I should warn you a little, that one's... potent, from what I hear," he notes. "I guess since they're the most popular ones the manufacturer puts a bit more 'oomph' in them."\n\n'Potent'? 'Oomph'? Part of you says that you really should take the warning there and change your mind, either about what injection to take or the whole thing, but... admittedly the part of you that wanted to try it out at all is even more intrigued. You worry your lower lip with your teeth for just a moment before actually taking the pen from his grip, fiddling just a bit with the cap. You tilt your head and reach up, pressing it to the side of your neck before hitting the button.\n\nYou gasp a little as the warmth of it immediately hits you and then spreads through your body, radiating out until it feels like it's filled you up and is pushing outward, actually making you expand with it as it grows too much to contain. You flush both with the sense of warmth and the fact that your breathing's taken on a rather shuddery tone and a few soft moans of pleasure have escaped you. The pleasant fog of sensation almost makes it hard to care, though, it just feels genuinely good as you can feel yourself changing, growing. You're getting taller for one thing, your clothes stretching some to accommodate you, but stretching even more as your breasts and hips grow outward as well. Your top slowly seems to be sliding upward as your tits enlarge, baring the undersides as creamy white fur begins to sprout from them and your belly, more of it along your sides appearing in rich orange and deep black. One bulge appears from the base of your spine, pressing outward and down as it grows into a tail, and another in the front of your crotch, pressing outward as a long, thick cock and heavy balls steadily stretch out the yielding material. They're kept pushed in firmly against your body, all the same, pressed right up against your swollen and dripping pussy even as it grows fatter and bigger, practically pressing against the insides of your thighs as it too grows a thick coating of fur.\n\nYour moans take on a slightly deeper timber as your face alters, pushing outward into a short muzzle, your ears altering shape more to the feline. You'd swear you can feel the deep orange-auburn color slinking down your hair, helping it match a bit more to your new fluffy pelt. More than that you can feel your muscles growing thicker, stronger, more prominent... still with an overall feminine shape but much more obviously powerful and visible than your previous sleek build. As the heat of the transformation begins to fade and you realize it's complete, you're almost overwhelmed by the desire to shove down the front of your pants, free your new and very stiff prick, and jerk it to completion right there and now, completely shameless in the dark little area with Midnight looking on.\n\nWith a brief struggle of will you rein in the impulse, though, and try to get a look at yourself. A tigress, alright... tall, muscular, with a firm belly that just almost shows the definition of abs even through the fur now covering them. Your tits are bigger, at least the bottom quarter of them now jutting down from beneath the bottom of your top. Your larger hips, ass, and the bulge of your new prick have also slid your pants further down, teasing with a bit of a view of the very root of your shaft. You almost growl a little, giving them a little tug up, just enough that now you're entirely covered, if just barely. They'll probably inch down again, but you're steadily losing your reservations about that. \n\n"See? Potent stuff," Midnight says, looking you up and down with open admiration.\n\n"Mm. Yeah," you rumble softly, returning the look. You're finding yourself having a very vivid image of bending him over the nearest convenient surface and pounding his ass until his legs turn to quivering jelly. Or maybe shoving him to his knees and fucking his mouth until his eyes are rolled up in his head and his throat has cum pooling in it. You yank your mind off the images as you feel your cock throb, doing your best to get yourself under control. "It's... definitely something alright. ... Anyway, lead on."\n\nMidnight nods once, then turns to lead the way out of the building and down the street again. As he does, you find yourself eyeing that thick, bushy black tail of his... or rather his firm, roundish ass, only partly concealed by the width of his loincloth. You let out a soft rumble of appreciation as you once again imagine stuffing your cock between those perky, toned cheeks and pounding him into a mewling puddle. He must hear you, because you can see his ears twitch, and you'd swear that despite the deep black of his fur he's blushing.\n\nFuck, though, you are horny as hell. It's not like you had a low libido before... you have always considered yourself very much a Sex Enjoyer™ after all, just that you've also always had a decent degree of control over your libido. (Not that your pussy has never made a bad decision for you, but.) But now it's like... hnh, it's not even just that your libido's doubled with having a masculine urge added to it, it's like it's compounding. Like your masculine and feminine desires are... well, like they're fucking each other and working one another up further. That thought makes you glance down with a brief thoughtful look, wondering... could you? ... The logistics seem a little off, but...\n\nSuch thoughts continue to occupy your mind as you follow Midnight through the city, and though you don't really succeed in getting them under control and stopping thinking about fucking constantly, you gradually find it easier to just let the thoughts of fucking constantly drift to the back of your head and turn into a sort of horny white noise. Maybe part of it's that your other senses seem so much sharper now, your reactions to and processing of them faster... it leaves more of your mind free for a sort of constant background daydream. Eventually you arrive at a large, tall apartment building, which looks like it used to be quite luxurious, and is still mostly devoid of damage. There's a large red sigil painted on the front above the door, and you see a number of other anthro guys hanging about just outside, smoking, talking, a few playing a merc game with throwing cards. You glance at some of them as the two of you pass, thinking which ones you'd like to bend over and which ones you'd like to be bent over by, and it must show in your eyes or on your face because you can see more than a few of them squirm and get a bit hard, making you smirk in turn.\n\nMidnight leads you inside, past a sort of sprawled, slightly messy setup all over the front desk where a pair of scantily-clad human women are working, bobbing their heads deferentially as the two of you pass, though you can see both of them blush as your eyes rake over them rather hungrily before you can stop yourself. \n\n"Got much of the building working?" you inquire evenly as the two of you make your way to an elevator that dings open in front of you.\n\n"Electricity and running hot and cold water. You'll get a condo but it will be up to you to clean it up, fix it, and appoint it yourself," Midnight notes in reply. "Same for meals or any other amenities. Though there's plenty of those on offer, if you decide you want to pay for them. Same for the cleaning and fixing... there are lots of services you can afford to turn them into... well, a nice little fuck-pad, frankly," he notes, his eyes flicking briefly towards your bulge.\n\nYou let out a snort at that. Brilliant move on Carmine's part, you can't help but think. Hires other people to do all the gathering work for him, probably takes a little bit of every piece of salvage, then sells furniture rentals, maintenance, and probably the use of his pretty human girls to his own employees. And then at the end of it when the job's done they all just leave and he doesn't have to deal with it anymore. Pretty smart... maybe there's something you could stand to learn from him after all.\n\nThe two of you step out into a penthouse, or rather a sort of impromptu guard station in the foyer of the penthouse, overseen by two massive equine anthros in body armor, riot helmets fitted for their somewhat bestial heads, and equipped with large rifles that they level at you both. You find it's easy to stay calm, though, with part of your attention ranging over their height, muscular builds, broad shoulders, and the curve necessary for the armor to fit on their crotches. 'Definitely some I'd want to be bent over by... but then again,' you think with a slight smirk, despite the dangling threat. Midnight doesn't seem bothered either, though, and after a moment the guards raise their weapons and step back to allow you in.\n\n"Ah, Midnight!" Carmine calls jovially from where he's sprawled on the couch, watching the almost wall-sized screen in front of him which seems divided up between drone views of the city and a few of the interior of the building. The Leonavian is apparently in complete casual mode, wearing nothing but a loose pair of pants, the coppery red-gold fur of his chest almost gleaming in the light. The thick mane of feathers crowning and surrounding his head is a deep red color, either natural or very well-dyed, a rather sensual display of near-constant arousal you can't help but think, as if he were permanently fitted out for mating season. His predator bird beak has been engraved (if that's the right word here) with silver curlicues and designs, which also gleam as he turns his head, what you're fairly sure are red cybereyes from the faint glow fixing on both of you. "Brought me someone else that couldn't stomach Indigo's little 'welcome' speech?"\n\n"Yessir. This is Michika Hajimaru."\n\n"Hmmm... I do think I've heard that name," Carmine says as he rises to his digigrade feet, leonine tail flicking behind him. His beak somehow curves up in a smirk as he adds, "But the form factor's quite a bit different than I was led to expect. Quite a bit," he repeats with a flick of the eyes downward, a slightly amused curl touching one corner of his beak.\n\n"Hey, it's the form factor you paid for," you chuckle, finding it easy to be forthright at the moment, though you can also feel yourself getting a bit harder in your pants. Damn, he's pretty sexy. You definitely have a good sense of the set of massive balls and heavy shaft swaying freely in those loose pants of his, and you do manage enough self-control to not lick your lips in anticipation. "According to Midnight here, anyway."\n\n"Well I did tell him to pick up a variety of options," Carmine allows with a chuckle. "Though perhaps you ought to consider an alias for the moment, hm? You're hardly recognizable as yourself, so unless you decide to keep the look, you could always do this one... well, indulgently, let's say."\n\nMeaning, he's suggesting you cut loose and do whatever you like since essentially no one but himself or Midnight knows it's actually you. You muse on it... you hadn't really decided how you felt about having your name tied to Carmine's anyway, so even on that level it's not a bad idea. Whether you'll indulge yourself in any other activities while essentially outside your own identity and therefore rep... well, you'll decide that later. For now... "How about... Pryd?" you suggest, pronouncing it like the deadly sin, and smirking as you add, "But spelled Makarzian-style. Of course."\n\n"Of course," Carmine says with a tolerant chuckle that oozes a sense of 'Mm, kids', though you find you don't mind. "Well then, Pryd, would you like to hang out for a while? Perhaps discuss the job a bit further, or just enjoy ourselves?"\n\n<hr>\n[["As long as we enjoy ourselves without clothes."|ChiRed]]\n\n[["I should get settled in."|ChiRed]]\n\n[["Sorry, I have to take Midnight back to his place and fuck him."|ChiRed]]

What in the...? You bring it up, and even though it definitely came in on one of the secure lines, you start reading the familiar promise of sending you hundreds of thousands of dollars in return for a small loan of-\n\nSighing, you sit back in the chair and pinch the bridge of your nose. "Station, start a trace on this and flag it for the tech heroes so they can figure out how one of our secure contact emails leaked to spammers."\n\n"Understood, Caliburn."\n\nA little more morosely than before, you settle back into watching the screens. Guess someone else will catch this month's big call, it looks like.\n\nIt's about a (very boring) hour later when one of your gauntlets chirps, making you sit up. You've forwarded your civilian cell phone to the comm there, mostly just in case of emergencies on the non-cape side, but you did set it to allow more mundane communications while you're on watch duty. Specifically this looks to be a text, as you flip open the screen. Ah, it's a text from Lara, your middle-school sweetheart, heh. ... Like just to be clear that means you've been semi-together since middle school, not that she's in middle school. That would not be very superhero-y. (Although you've heard things about some of your comrades, but best not give too much credence to rumors.) While the two of you aren't so serious that you're even dating exclusively, it's always been dancing around that whole issue, mostly only held up by your, ahem, scheduling difficulties. But in the back of your mind you've always kind of figured that once those get figured out in some form or fashion, you and Lara would be tying the knot.\n\nHey, just to check, we're still on for tonight, right?\n\nWait, on for tonight? Oh. Oh no. Not again. You quickly start casting your brain back to anything you've agreed to do with Lara lately and... yup, there it is right there in your memory, you promising to go to her sister's violin recital with her. Why the hell didn't you put a reminder in your phone so you could have traded watch duty with someone else?! ... Oh, because towards the end of the conversation you got called away to deal with a rampaging mutabeast and didn't have time to put it on your calender, that's right. But you now remember that the first hour of the recital overlaps with the last hour of your watch shift. Pinching the bridge of your nose, you consider your options before answering.\n\n<hr>\n[[You'll be there.|Cal4x1]]\n\n[[You'll be late.|Cal3x2]]\n\n[[You can't make it.|Cal]]

Lara sighs heavily, bringing a hand to her face. "Morgan, no, I just said that's not all this is about, you can't just fix this with another apology."\n\n"No. No, I know," you reply more quietly, shaking your head. "... There's a lot right in what you said, Lara, I'm not going to argue with you. I... want to take some time to think it over. ... Like you said, for my own sake too." You sigh, running a hand over your hair. "No, what I mean is, you're right that I let her down too and she deserves an apology, is all. I don't want to just ghost her on that because... we're not together anymore. She deserves that."\n\n"... You're right," Lara agrees as she sucks in a breath, a hand coming up to brush her eyes. "... I'll drop her off at Nona's Pizza a little before eleven tomorrow. At least don't be late for that, okay?"\n\n"I'll make sure," you answer with a firm nod. Then you just watch as she gets in her car and drives away, a few chunks of your broken heart feeling like they're being dragged under her tires.\n\nObviously you have a lot to think about for the rest of the night. Lara would have made it a lot easier on you if she'd just yelled at you and dumped you, but then that's Lara... not one to go easy, especially when it comes to the good of her family and friends. God she didn't even say 'I hope we can still be friends' that is some shit. ... Well at least she also didn't say that she absolutely never wanted to see you again either. But you've been fairly thoroughly called out, and really the only excuse you have is 'Lives are at stake' but that doesn't actually change her point at all, does it?\n\nYour head is still whirling a little when you drive over to the little downtown pizza shop that day. As if cruelly taunting you, you actually did get an alert about fifteen minutes before, but you forced yourself to appraise it objectively and decide that the other heroes who'd already confirmed they were responding could handle it. It was a pretty damn minor issue anyway, and you now realize that if you act like the fate of the world is hanging on every single one of those, all the supertherapists in the world won't be able to pull you back from where you're headed. (Oh yeah this week's session will be interesting.) In any event it's almost exactly eleven when you finally park and head on into the shop, wearing 'business casual' attire since Morgan Mekborne has an image to maintain even in a little old pizza shop where it's permanently stuck in 1986.\n\n"Morgan!" Lily chirps in what sounds like pleased surprise as you walk in. Okay a little ouch. Still, seeing her smile at you soothes your soul a little. You've actually always admired Lily Langtree, perhaps because in some ways she embodies what every superhero with a dual identity hopes for while just being her simple, normal self. In everything about the way she dresses and acts, from her short, wild red hair to her clothes (black T-shirt under red flannel and jeans today) and what looks distinctly like a 'Dethzed' logo backpack, she's an utter tomboy, but many of her passions and hobbies are as stereotypically feminine as it gets (violin, ballet, flower gardening), and she simply sees no contradiction in that. Despite others seeing a disparate nature, in the end she's just... Lily. Maybe you should start looking up to her instead of the other way around, you think a little wryly as you slide into the other side of the booth.\n\n"Hey, Lil."\n\n"Hey! ... Um." Her bright expression dims suddenly as she ducks her head, the fourteen-year-old shifting suddenly to melancholy. "... Sorry."\n\nThat makes you blink. "Uh, wait, for what?"\n\n"Look, I promise, I didn't tell Lara to dump you for missing my recital, please believe me!" she blurts with a hint of desperation as she lifts her head, emerald eyes pleading. "I mean I was upset but I wasn't mad and I promise I-!"\n\n"Whoa, whoa, Lil," you say in a voice urging calm, holding up your hands. You reach across to rest one of yours over where she's pressing both of hers anxiously to the table. "Relax, I never thought that. ... I mean I was kind of also avoiding thinking that Lara had actually dumped me," you mutter, then hurry to add when you see her wince, "But it wasn't just about missing your recital by a long shot, okay? Lara's... worried, both about you, and herself. And me. She doesn't think it's good for us to be together right now is all."\n\nLily sniffles a little. "How come?" With the unspoken, 'But I like you guys being together'.\n\n"It's... difficult to explain. Not because it's an 'adult thing', I wouldn't condescend to you like that," you assure her. "More just... it's really complicated. I've got stuff going on in my life I can't explain to her properly, partly because I'm still figuring some of that stuff out myself. ... The truth is I really wanted to come to your recital, Lil, I was looking forward to it a lot, and instead of dropping everything to be there when something came up I let myself decide the other thing was more important."\n\n"... I mean..." Lily shifts a bit in her seat, clearly torn between emotions. "... Was it?"\n\n"... Yeah, Lil, it was," you admit, forcing yourself to be honest, because she deserves that as much as an apology. "I know that probably hurts to hear, and it hurts me to say it too, but what came up was more important than your recital. And that's why Lara... ... she didn't want the two of you to keep having to hear that, or me to have to keep saying it. A lot of people... really needed me, and way more than their feelings would have been hurt if I didn't get it taken care of, so I put them ahead of all of us because that's what I thought was right." Lily's just quiet now, and you give her hands a gentle squeeze before drawing your hand back. "I'm really sorry I missed it, though."\n\n"... So this is the part where I act all mature and say 'Well if it was that important I'm sorry I felt bad'?" Lily says a little wanly, forcing a smile.\n\n"God definitely don't do that, trust me," you reply with a groan. "Take it from me, you're still allowed to feel some resentment even if you understand why, it's actually really important to let yourself do that and be at peace with it."\n\n"Oooookay. ... Maybe I oughtta just forgive you for it, huh?" Lily says with an actual grin now.\n\n"Yeah, that works too," you say with a sigh, grinning back, because yeah that's the ultimate goal, it just felt kind of wrong to tell her she had to forgive you for her own peace of mind. "Would a large Nona's Best also help with forgiveness?"\n\n"Couldn't hurt!" she chirps, eyes twinkling.\n\nAfter the pizza has been devoured, the two of you walk out of the restaurant and towards the parking lot, a veneer of normalcy pervading the conversation as you both avoid the fact that this might be the last time you talk to each other, considering how things stand between you and her sister. Even the weather seems to reflect the heavy, ambiguous mood, dark clouds overhead brooding on whether they want to rain or not even as they rumble gently with thunder. So there's a tiny part of you that's almost relieved when half the people around you start screaming and half the people around you whip out their cellphone cameras, a sure sign of villainy afoot. Of course there's the clue of hooves pounding on pavement as a small platoon of men in robes on horseback charge up the street, with you pushing Lily behind you as they converge... on you. Dammit.\n\n"Morgan Mekborne!" the man in the lead bellows, making his horse rear dramatically as he holds up an orb made of glass wrapped in leather. "For too long your family's company has visited sins of degenerate technology upon this world! The Sons of Ludd will make an example of you, turning the heathen energy of this depraved society upon you, so that your father may look on your charred corpse and know it is his own deviancy that has wrought it!"\n\n'Always a speech,' you think, eyes shifting as he readies the orb.\n\n<hr>\n[[Focus on keeping up your Morgan Mekborne act.|Cal]]\n\n[[Focus on protecting Lily.|Cal3x4]]\n\n[[Focus on... ... you know what, fuck it.|Cal]]

Dammit. Grimacing, you type back, 'Something came up and I can't really get out of it. I'll be there but about an hour late. Sorry, Lara.'\n\nThe reply's a good long while in coming, enough to make your stomach churn. When it does come it's definitely stiff enough to make your shoulders slump a little. Just make sure you do come, okay?\n\nUnfortunately before your shift is over there's a call, and you're forced to gather up a small handful of other heroes to head out to deal with a group in stolen powersuits who are trying to take down a major communications line. By the time you've subdued the villains, teleported back home, and changed into your Morgan Mekborne duds (complete with redoing your hair) and driven to the recital... the parking lot is empty except for a single car, and Lara sitting on the hood of it, watching you pull up with tired, frustrated green eyes.\n\nLara was always one of the prettiest girls in school, with her fiery red hair, and as she developed her dynamite figure. Her fashion sense is both impeccable and completely lacking in pretension, giving her a look that's both glamorous and approachable. Probably why she's angling for a job in public relations, she has that natural air of being easy to talk to and genuine. Not that you're particularly looking forward to what she has to say right now as you get out of the car and approach her, a look of genuine sorrow on your face. "Lara, I-"\n\n"You're sorry," she cuts in, her voice flat rather than angry, which you somehow find is actually worse. "Yeah, I know, Morgan. And I know you mean it. You mean it every time. And yet you keep doing it."\n\n"I... this emergency came up and it was all hands on deck, I tried to deal with it as quickly as I could but-" You cut off with a wince as she holds up a hand, that same 'I've heard it all before' look on her face. \n\n"And again, I've heard it all before. And it's not that I think you're lying, just... I've heard it so. Many. Times since you started helping your father out with his company." She rises from her seat on her car and folds her arms over her chest. "Morgan, tonight was important to me, in part because it was important to Lily. You know she thinks you fired the moon into the sky from a science fair project, and she was really excited to show off to you tonight. But you know what the worst thing is?" She steps forward and looks you in the eye, and now you can see the moisture there. "... Tonight was important to you. I saw the way your eyes lit up when I suggested it, I really believe that smile when you agreed was genuine, because you care about Lily and you care about me. But you missed it anyway."\n\n"... I..." You start, then trail off, having nothing else you could say but 'it was important'... except what she's saying next had already begun to trickle into your own mind.\n\n"Whatever this is you've got going on, Morgan, you've decided it's more important than me or her, but worst of all you think it's more important than yourself. And even more than I won't put us through that, I won't watch you put yourself through it while I just sit back and nag like some stereotypical wife in a daddy issues movie." She turns and starts walking towards the driver's side of her car. "I'm sorry, Morgan, it's over," she adds, voice cracking a little.\n\n"Lara!" you blurt, more on reflex than anything, watching her halt and her shoulders twitch, watch as she deliberately forces herself not to turn.\n\n<hr>\n[["I... have to tell you something."|Cal9x1]]\n\n[["I'll apologize to Lily!"|Cal3x3]]\n\n[["... You're right."|Cal]]

Damn, sometimes you forget that Morgan Mekborne can be as much of a target as Caliburn, considering his wealth and fame. You have to make sure Lily isn't hurt, it's the only thing that really matters, you think as the robed man draws back his hand to throw the orb and-\n\n"Morgan, look out!" Lily cries, suddenly giving you a hard shove on the back.\n\nYou were so focused on figuring out how to protect her while hopefully not revealing your identity that you never even realized it was coming. Despite your strength and mass Lily's shove is right on target and you simply weren't expecting it at all, and she actually manages to push you to the side and onto the ground out of the way as the thing leaves the man's hands. Fear slams into your chest and sends a shock through your body like the punch of a giant shock-mek as you hear glass shatter and Lily cry out, throwing yourself on your side to look at her now surrounded by a gaseous black corona that's stretching upward. Before another heartbeat has even passed, the sky roars and flashes, a bolt of lightning ripping from the clouds and streaking downward to meet that curl of dark smoke and the girl it's emenating from.\n\n"LILY!" Without a single thought to protecting your identity, you speed-blur towards her, and even still have no time to do anything but throw yourself between the bolt and her. You've been struck by lightning before and it is one of those things that makes you internally snort when other people refer to you as 'invulnerable' because for one thing it hurts like actual Hell, every single cell in your body feeling like it's been plunged into a lake of fire as the insane amount of electricity surges through you. What's worse is that even amidst your pain-fogged mind you can see part of the electricity emerging from your chest, following that black cloud and surging through it around Lily, the girl letting out a silent scream as her own body convulses.\n\nThe eternal moment passes and the both of you drop to the ground, and you can actually feel the smoke rising from your blackened back amidst the charred ruin of your sports jacket and shirt. Lily's also laying there smoking and apparently unconscious, but you can see that at least it doesn't look like she has any burns, and you can hear her breathing and the thump of her heart.\n\n"Uh... y-yes, so, you see, those who pervert this technology and... and all who associate with them shall suffer the wrath of nature!" you hear the robed man declaring, his voice a little shaky. "Sons of Ludd, away!" he adds as the sound of sirens in the distance grows louder.\n\nActually moving slowly, feeling even your superpowered muscles twitch and protest, you manage to draw your wrist close enough to your mouth to subtly lip the button of its hidden comm. "... Dad," you croak out, not finding it difficult to keep your voice inaudible to the onlookers gathering around. "Need intercept... on ambulance."\n\n"Son?" Your father's worried voice immediately answers, before he quickly tries to keep it to controlled tones. "What's the situation?"\n\n"Lighting. Drawn by... unknown substance. Targeted at civilian identity..." Your eyes water as you look at the unconscious girl laying next to you, her heartbeat stuttering a little as the crowd stares down at you. "... and Lily..."\n\n"Oh God." The mask slips from your father's voice for a moment entirely, naked fear heard there before he slams it back into place. "Understood, we'll have a Sentinels team replace the ambulance and get you to a secure facility. Just... hang on son."\n\n"This is bullshit," you mutter roughly an hour later, settling gingerly back in the annoyingly comfortable waiting room chair, since even then your back still stings.\n\n"I wish you wouldn't cu-" Your mother cuts off as you give her a flat look at the start of one of her 'you're a role model' chastisements. "... I'm sorry, sweetheart, you're right, not the time," she whispers gently. "But Lily's going to be fine, the doctors say she'll wake up any time now. There's no injury, just a bit of a shock."\n\n"I meant more the whole situation. Especially how this shakes down." You lean forward again, forearms resting on your thighs as you clasp your hands, scowling at the floor. "The morning after Lara dumps me because of super nonsense, her little sister gets tangled up in entirely different super nonsense because of me. Which leaves me lying to her and not being there with her again." Well, lying by proxy, since your father's the one currently going to Lara and telling her the slightly tweaked story about what happened when you and Lily were attacked.\n\n"Morgan... this particular nonsense would have come to your door regardless," your mother murmurs in a gentle but pained tone, her pretty blue eyes scrunched up with sorrow as she rubs your shoulder. "Lara's known about the problems we have as the Mekbornes since you were both children. She's a better person than to blame you for this. The only thing your powers did today were to let you save Lily's life."\n\nYou can't help but let out a rueful snort at that. "Yeah, after she tried to save mine."\n\nExcalibur smiles and gives your shoulder a squeeze. "She's a remarkable girl. You know, not that I ever disliked Lara, but as she grew I did occasionally think Lily would be a better match for you. Maybe if you wait until she's a little older..." She trails off as you turn your head to stare at her, then grins sheepishly. "... Stumbled on one of those subtle Terran taboos again, didn't I?"\n\n"For some variant of subtle. If nothing else, read the room, Ma."\n\n"You're right, sorry."\n\n"Ah, excuse me, Excalibur, Caliburn?" A woman in a green bodysuit walks up, prompting both of you to stand anxiously. One of a handful of 'supernurses' that's pledged to assist with issues like this that could compromise secret identities when heroes or people connected to them need help, her particular mask is a little more mundane-looking, being a sleeker and slightly more high-tech version of the typical medical mask in a green color to match the bodysuit.\n\n"Yes, nurse, has something happened with Lily, is she okay?" you ask urgently.\n\n"Something has happened, yes, and it's not that she's in any danger," she hurries to add as you and your mother tense up. "... We think. Ah, but I accidentally removed her IV a little early, and..." She trails off, then holds up an IV needle... snapped off to about half its usual length. "... This happened when I tried to put a new one in."\n\nYour jaw sags, and you glance at your equally shocked mother before the two of you take off in a blur to Lily's room. You hesitate as you get there, only to hear a crash from inside. Concern instantly overwhelming any other worry, you throw open the door and step inside...\n\nTo see Lily hovering a few feet above the bed, having overturned the bedside tray as she twists back and forth, apparently trying to get a feel for movement in midair. At spotting you, her green eyes light up. "Whoa, Morgan, check it out! I'm... uh... ... why are you Caliburn?"\n\n... Ah. Right. Your glasses were half melted by the lightning so you threw them away, and your hair's a bit mussed, and you're dressed in white hospital scrubs, leaving you in a weird halfway state between Morgan Mekborne's look and Caliburn's. Well, that and the fact that Excalibur is standing behind you, a hand pressed over her mouth as she lets out a soft 'oh dear'.\n\n<hr>\n[["... Because none of this is real!"|Cal]]\n\n[["... Well, you see, Lily, when a gadget hero and a flying brick hero love each other very much..."|Cal]]

Yeah, you've barely gotten started, and it's not that far from here to a block that's almost entirely apartments, hotels, and high rises. Lots of electronic devices with hard drives to be found in those sorts of areas, not all of them in obvious places so a bit of searching might turn up stuff that a more cursory look has passed over, even if someone else has been through already.\n\nYou make your way over, spotting a cheapish-looking three-story motel on the corner first thing. You duck into the office and find that someone's opened up the tourism kiosk for its hard drive, but neglected the cash registers. 'I guess these are invisible to some people,' you muse as you unscrew and yank them open to get at the little black rectangles of their own hard drives. Similarly they took the computer from the manager's office (took the whole thing, tower and all, waste of space in your opinion), but not the wireless modem. 'Whoever looted this one didn't really consider what's got data storage in it,' you muse as you head back out.\n\nMost of the room doors have been kicked open, and after a glance inside a few of them you decide to skip going over them for now... looks like they were fairly minimalist as it is, and both the TVs and remotes were taken, so spending time searching for anything else would probably not be worth it at this point. Instead you head over to one of the nearby apartment buildings.\n\nLooks like it was probably a nice, solidly middle-class place once, before the evacuation. Not a 'doorman' type of place but it looks like it was well kept-up and tidy before being abandoned. You pause as you eye the elevators, then sigh a bit... one of the reasons you figured these might not be picked clean is that any of your fellow scavengers would have to walk up the stairs to look around, when there are so many ground floor areas to pick over first. Of course that means that you're now the one who's got to hike up the stairs. ... Oh well.\n\nAs you go up the stairs, you leave a tiny electronic tripwire attached to the wall... not a booby trap, just an alert to let you know if someone comes up after you. A glance at the first and second floor shows that the doors have already been kicked in and, from the debris laying strewn about, have already been fairly ransacked. Deciding not to bother with checking to see if they've missed anything, you head all the way up to the fifth floor before bothering to check again. Ah, here we go, this place looks largely untouched, though the doors are open slightly... but from the way they're settled and the dust on the handles, you're guessing they were left that way during the evacuation, rather than having been opened by searchers.\n\nYou pick one and nudge it open, doing your best not to disturb any of the visible dirt or leave the door further open, just in case someone does come after you. The interior of the apartment pretty well confirms your initial assessment... comfortable, lived-in (pre-abandonment) area bearing enough stylistic decorations and signs of minor luxuries to place it as solidly middle class. The sort of people that probably took along their digital devices but had a few more that would have been forgotten or too onerous to take with them. The TV hooked to the wall being a good example.\n\nYou eye it for a moment, then shake your head. You're gonna hafta take it down to get at the back properly (or just smash it), may as well do that on your way out. You decide to head back into the bedroom areas to rummage around... maybe the kid left their game console or something.\n\nYou have, in fact, just finished putting away the last of the controllers from said game console in the kid's room (probably eleven? twelve? to judge by the posters on the wall and the style of the bedspread) when there's a beeping noise in your ear. That... would be the first of your alerts being tripped on the stairwell. As you shift your rifle fully behind your back and draw your pistol, you hear the next one get tripped. About right for a pause of someone who, like you, saw the first floor thoroughly ransacked and decided to move on.\n\nYou're just pondering whether to risk calling Ops and asking if any other Blue Team people are in your vicinity when the next wire's tripped... sounds like whoever's coming up had the same thought as you and decided to go up further to find some unmolested apartments. If they're Red Team, the best place to get the drop on them would be as they're coming up the stairs, although if there's more than one there's no way it won't turn into a firefight. Your other option is to hide somewhere in this apartment and hope they pass you by.\n\n<hr>\n[[Confront.|ChiBlu]]\n\n[[Hide.|ChiBlu1x8]]

You decide against it, for a number of reasons, among them that the store's ambiance is extra creepy with the power out and the deserted city outside, and that you're already bringing a ton of porn and sex toys back as a mission objective, you'd never live it down if people also found out about you helping yourself to some extra goodies. You'll just have to trust to the sex toys the gods gave you (read: fingers) for the time being.\n\n... Although you do make a mental note of where the place is if you change your mind later.\n\nYou make your next stop the electronics store next door, just to be sure now, since it obviously wasn't as cleaned out as you thought. Being wary since you know there are others about, you nevertheless make your way through the aisles, looking for anything that might have been missed. You fairly quickly spot the storage bin that you're pretty sure the guy you saw most recently forced open, since it looks a little less dusty inside than everywhere else. You crouch down and look through, and while you don't find any convenient full-sized hard drives that he somehow missed, you do find a small handful of packaged storage slips that had fallen into the crack between the side of the bin and the wall. Yoink! Nice.\n\nThere, that way you'll at least be bringing back something other than porn. You also do a cruise through the other shops nearby, but it looks like most of them have already been picked at a fair bit, and you don't get anything but one cash register hard drive. Settling into a mostly hidden area to munch a quick bite of a foodbar (hm, you forgot to ask about the meal situation... well, you'll ask when you get in), you consider. It's still relatively "early", but you could probably head back and call this a successful first day's haul. Similarly you could range further out and try some more places... a look at the map showed there were some apartment buildings nearby, that'd be a decent place to look.\n\n<hr>\n[[Head back.|ChiBlu]]\n\n[[Continue on.|ChiBlu1x7]]

You sigh quietly, relaxing your finger a little on the trigger. Yeah, no, it just doesn't... feel... right. No need to start taking the Red Team/Blue Team mentality too far (yet)... he's just another merc that got smarter and luckier than you, shouldn't ruin his day over it. Instead you just finish watching him put away the boxes in his own bag and shoulder it before heading off.\n\nYou give it a few minutes before straightening up and taking a better look back and forth down the street. Looks like you're alone again. Still, you head over and spend a few moments improvising a doorstop for while you're in here, just in case, and then tap your earpiece. "Ops, be advised that there are wandering Red Team groups as far in as Bleaker and 27th."\n\n"Acknowledged," her voice replies crisply. Whether she knew that or not, she takes the report professionally without any further chatter.\n\nWhich you appreciate, because now you have to be professional yourself about something else a bit embarrassing.\n\nFirst up are the hard drives of the registers and a look in the back for computers. Then, well, they said basically everything with data on it, so you load up with the porn movies and datasticks, plenty of those on the shelves. Then, now blushing almost constantly, you start going through the boxed toys looking for anything that lists itself as being 'programmable', 'wireless enabled', or anything like that. Most of the stuff you find probably counts on the 'Low priority' list but you are finding a lot of them, so there's that.\n\nOf course the fact that you're spending so much time looking at and handling sex toys is starting to... get to you. You catch yourself several times thinking about exactly what uses several of them could be put to as you're loading what they have of them on the shelves and in the storage room into your bag. Which can't help but remind you that you will be here for awhile, but neglected to bring any of your own, ahem, stress relief products from home. You finish loading up the last of the stuff from the storeroom that you're fairly certain has hard drives of it and heft the bag as you head back out into the store, then pause, your gaze wandering towards the displays of purely analog (as it were) toys. \n\nIndigo said not to loot excessively, specifically... obviously leaving ground for people to take simple things they're actually going to use and might need. You're minorly iffy on if sex toys would really classify as that, but you'd only be taking a couple of them, it's not like you're cleaning the place out to resell them. And they would be for your... personal use while you're here.\n\n<hr>\n[[Go on, indulge yourself!|ChiBlu]]\n\n[[... Nah.|ChiBlu1x6]]

Better to give it a moment. Let them at least start towards the door or something before you open fire. You definitely don't want to get into a (heavily outnumbered) shooting match on the first day if you can help it.\n\nYou bide a little while, mildly tense and ready. You raise your rifle a little when one of them turns and shouts something in the general direction of the shop... then the others laugh, and the whole group starts to move out. You let out a little huff of a breath you'd been holding barely consciously, then remind yourself not to get too complacent, and remain where you are for the moment to make sure they're actually gone.\n\nIt turns out to be a good instinct as a few moments later another figure emerges into view... from the angle, coming out of the well-scavenged electronics shop. From the outline another anthro, but on the shorter and more slender side than the others. Rather than carrying an obvious weapon, it looks like they're carrying... boxes? Damn, the place wasn't as cleaned-out as you thought! In fact from the size of them, you're betting they're exactly the right size for external hard drives, one of the most valuable bounties on the list you got with your other stuff.\n\nYou scowl, and once again raise the rifle a bit. Would this even count as "hunting"? It's just you doing your mission objective, finding more data storage, while also keeping the opponent from doing theirs. Plus he's right in front of you and completely alone, just stunning him, grabbing the hard drives, and running off wouldn't be a big deal, right?\n\n<hr>\n[[Do it!|ChiBlu]]\n\n[[Nope.|ChiBlu1x5]]

Probably best to start out on your own... you don't know these people, and walking up on them out of nowhere might be pretty offputting. Maybe you'll develop connections as you go.\n\nIt doesn't take long for you to finish spraying your coat (briefly taking it off to make sure you get the back thoroughly), and now attired in a pleasant color of blue you join the short line that's formed to talk to Ops. She's obviously predicted that a lot of people will request maps, since she just hands over a datastick and then tells you to pick up your collection bag from the checkin desk on your way out.\n\nAs you're heading back to the lobby, you stop and turn at a call of your name. "Oh, Indigo, hi," you say with a smile.\n\n"Michika," he repeats with an easier smile of his own, seeming a bit less formal now that he's literally off stage. He finishes walking up to you, settling with his arms folded over his chest. "I was really glad to see your application come in, I've been hoping you'd join one of my operations for a while now."\n\n"Ah... really?" You do your best to suppress your rather girlish blush of pleasure, but it's difficult, in part because it's genuinely flattering to be told by a merc of his level that he's not only heard of you but has wanted to work with you, and in part because goddamn he is just a stone cold silver fox. "You've heard of me?"\n\n"I try to keep up to date on every promising new merc to come through, but especially the ones from Makarzia. My experience with mercenaries from there is that it's a rough that can produce some rather exceptional diamonds. But, I won't stand here and flatter you all day," he says with a chuckle.\n\n'I mean you could,' you immediately think, before clearing your throat. "Right, I should probably get to work. Thank you, though... it's nice to know I'm so welcome."\n\n"You are. Be careful out there... there's other things than Carmine's people. It's gotten a little weird out there since the disasters, apparently... but then, this is the multiverse."\n\n"Always expect things to get weird, yeah," you agree a bit ruefully, bobbing your head. "I'll keep it in mind."\n\n"Drop by to see me tonight after you get back, we'll talk a bit more. Room 2020 whenever, I barely sleep," he adds, giving you a brief wave before turning and calling to one of the next mercs coming out.\n\nEeeeee! Drinks, too! Oh gosh this is going great! ... Okay, calm down, Chika. Don't get carried away. You've actually got to go out there and get some mission work done so you don't look like a slacker, if you want to impress him.\n\nYou head to the lobby desk which is being manned by another combat IT nerd who doesn't bother to introduce themselves, just hands you a dimensional storage pack with multiple adjustable straps and tells you to make sure everything you want to turn in is inside it, since that's how you'll get credit. You fit it into backpack mode after figuring out the strap system, then head out the front.\n\nThe local time is the middle of the day, but it looks more like mid- or late evening with how dark it is, the sky overhead dim even behind the heavy cloud cover. The streets and sidewalks are lightly damp indicating that it's rained recently, and the air is heavy and moist with the promise of more rain to come. The cool temperature and dark atmosphere definitely remind you of home, although the air's a lot clearer here... the damp air intensifies the smell of oil and past exhaust on the streets, but it's a faded smell, something worn in from days long past. The buildings all look dark and mostly intact, only a few showing cracks and burned spots from whatever happened that drove off the inhabitants... severe lightning storms in at least a few cases, you think as you start walking.\n\nYou can already see some mercs going in and out of the nearest buildings, apparently having decided to go with the easiest targets. Sensible... but also kind of boring. Plus you don't know how new this headquarters really is, chances are all the closest stuff has been picked clean already. And if it hasn't, it will be soon... better to range out further right from the start.\n\nYou walk for several blocks, keeping your eyes and ears open, especially for any flashes of red, but also for anything that looks like an electronics store. You see several... all already obviously picked clean. Tch, however new the mission is in this city, not new enough that no one's thought to go for the big paydays right away.\n\nDeciding to try your luck, though, you head into one of the intact-looking shops next door to one of the cleaned-out electronics stores, using a quick swipe of a lockcutter to open the door before pulling it open, doing a quick sweep for movement before stepping inside. The darkness quickly resolves into view, and you definitely blush a bit this time... the outwardly mirrored windows and simple title of 'Boutique Accessories' probably should have been the tipoff, but you're in a sex shop, the nearest shelves displaying a wide array of dildos in a number of shapes both familiar and either fantastical or at the very least based on nonhuman anatomy.\n\n'Well, some of these will have data storage,' you think ruefully, shaking your head. Bit embarrassing to come back with programmable sex toys as part of your first mission load, but hey... maybe you'll get points for creative thinking. \n\nYou almost reflexively duck down and behind one of the shelves as you hear voices from outside... combat instinct, not embarrassment. Peering out, you see that there's a sort of shelf area below the front windows, and that the mirrors of them are one way, giving a very dim but still coherent view of the street outside. You slip over to crouch down low, not wanting to give yourself away with a potential shadow, and watch. It takes a few moments, but a group of people walks by in the street outside. A lot of details are obscured, but from the general shape of their heads and some of the appendages, you're pretty sure they're some variety of anthro. And you can also make out enough to tell they're wearing red.\n\n'They're already ranging all over the city, huh?' you muse as you shift your rifle into a better firing position, deciding to thumb it to the heaviest stun setting (the one that's sort of "take your chances" on being nonlethal). Looks like there's three or four of them, and they stop close to the center of the street almost right outside, pointing and gesturing. You're not sure if they're discussing looking in the shops around the electronics place like you were or what, since the glass muffles them too much to actually make out what they're saying.\n\nYour finger slides down and hooks onto the trigger. If they do come in here, you're not going to have a better angle and chance of taking out all of them than you will right now, when they're completely off guard and out in the open, and you've got both the element of surprise and cover. On the other hand, you wonder if taking the first shot when there's only the chance they might happen upon you comes too close to "hunting". You got the idea that Indigo wasn't exactly eager for Blue Team to be the one to initiate hostilities at any given time...\n\n<hr>\n[[Take the shot.|ChiBlu2x1]]\n\n[[Wait.|ChiBlu1x4]]

Several people do leave... you're not sure if it's because they don't want to follow those rules, or they just don't want to serve in the sort of company that breaking the rules could get them punished. But most of the mercs in the room stay right where they are, and after a moment Indigo nods.\n\n"Good. Alright, color up and head out. If you want or need any more intel before you set out, Ops will be in here in a moment to fulfill your requests if she can. The sooner you start gathering data, the sooner you can start getting paid. I'll be available later tonight if anyone needs to speak to me about anything, and I'll be checking in and probably occasionally going out with you while you're here. If you decide you've had enough, just let Ops know and turn in your ID stick, all I ask. Alright, everyone, good luck, good hunting, and let's get it done."\n\nMost people are already using their colorizers before he's finished walking off stage, eager to get to work and start earning (or starting to impress him either one). Coats, obviously, being the most popular choice, with you sticking with that obvious and safe bet, selecting a rich shade of dark blue and starting to spray your white coat with it. Everything sounds straightforward enough... it is a little weird both to be going up against other Guildcerts, and that the job's so broad and without obvious explanation but, well, that's the way it is sometimes.\n\nAlso sounds like you've basically got full autonomy and just need to start proving yourself by showing results. Hm, but to that effect... should you maybe team up with one of the others? Or even try to get a team together? Sounds like it could be dangerous out there alone, and many hands make light work, as they say. On the other hand, showing results solo would do better for making you stand out and get some personal attention and reputation...\n\n<hr>\n[[Team up with Astur.|ChiBlu]]\n\n[[Team up with Kaine.|ChiBlu]]\n\n[[Team up with the Twins.|ChiBlu]]\n\n[[Try to form a team.|ChiBlu]]\n\n[[Go solo.|ChiBlu1x3]]

Working under Indigo is a great way to build both reputation and skills, to your understanding... even moreso since he only accepts applicants, not just anyone. Deciding, you attach your Guild file and submit your application, then head out to kill some time.\n\nIt's fairly gratifying that it only takes about half an hour or so before you get a message back saying your team application has been accepted. Yes! Grinning, you head to your Vault to load up on your best weapons... you probably could have done that right away, but it felt too much like jinxing your application to do so. You pick out your best multi-purpose rifle, several of your preferred pistols (one for main carry, the others tucked away as backups), a handful of grenades and assorted other ordinance, and-\n\nYou pause, making a bit of a face at the sight of your crystalslicer. Katana form factor, as most of them are. You don't often take it with you on jobs where you're not almost certain you'll need it... you don't like the idea of getting pigeonholed into being a "typical Nipponzi merc". The frustrating thing being, obviously, that you're really damn good with it... so, on it goes, the sheath slipped through the closeable slots in the back of your coat because this is an argument you have with yourself often. (You lose a lot, but you guess that means you also win? Well, whatever.) Thoroughly armed for just about any situation (as much as you can be without going to paranoia levels of planning), you head out to the departure annex to look for an available portal cubicle.\n\nSoon you're stepping out of a portal and into the lobby of what looks like it used to be a fairly ritzy hotel, but has been abandoned for some time... not long enough to go completely to ruin, but definitely long enough to accumulate some dust and wear, though it looks like at least some attempts have been made to clean parts of it. Especially around the checkin desk, where you notice someone is actually standing, albeit having brought in and set up their own computer station rather than using one of the built-in terminals. A woman about your own age who has the look of "combat IT" about her, wearing fairly casual but highly functional clothes as well as a black knit beanie (with long brown braids draping out the back of it) and dataglasses. At your approach she looks up. "Michika Hajimaru?"\n\n"That's me, yeah."\n\n"Cool, let me get you checked in. To the job, not the hotel," she adds wryly as she starts typing. "Call me Ops, I'm working coordination and comms for Indigo on this job."\n\n"Just 'Ops', huh? Little on the nose. ... Not the first one to make that joke, am I?" you add ruefully as she gives you a brief look.\n\n"Nnnno," she replies, though she has the good grace to chuckle as she does. "Okay, handprint, please?" she says, proffering you a pad. Once you've tugged off your glove and let it scan your biometrics, she types a bit more, then proffers you a small box and a cylinder. "Okay, here's your earpiece, ID slip, relayer and colorizer."\n\n"Colorizer?" you echo as you look the cylinder over, less because you don't know what it is and more because you're curious why you've been given one. They're items that a lot of mercs use to apply basic or temporary coloring to gear or clothing... variants of camouflage being the most popular, though more expensive since they have to spray a pattern. This one looks like one of the more basic types, with a selection band of a single blue gradient bar below it.\n\n"Indigo will explain when he briefs everyone, the others are waiting in the Altamesa convention room. You're gonna be in room 518, by the way, your slip will open the door. It's not all fixed up yet but it should be by the time you come in tonight."\n\n"Nice," you admit, raising an eyebrow. "Wow, Indigo runs a tight and thorough ship, huh?"\n\n"He specializes in these sort of 'long haul' missions with a big crew of mercenaries, so he's got it down to a pretty exact science by now," Ops answers, brown eyes twinkling as she nudges her dataglasses up. "Trust me, you'll wind up wanting to come back to work for him again."\n\nThat is what you hear, you think as you bid Ops adieu and head off in the direction of the meeting rooms. Indigo apparently isn't interested in establishing his own company, because he likes the ability to pick and choose mercs for each job. But apparently being one of his 'regulars' is a fairly high honor, not to mention getting first pick of assignments and bonuses.\n\nThe meeting room is a large open area fairly typical of nice hotels, with a decently-sized stage at the far end of it. It looks like this is one of the places that's been thoroughly cleaned up, and you see some signs that the stage and parts of the rest of the room have been turned into an actual work area... there's a larger computer station set up at the far back of the stage that you're guessing is Ops's actual workstation when she's not managing checkin. There's no sign of Indigo, but you do recognize several of the other mercenaries in the decent-sized crowd milling about, either from passing association or reputation. More than a few of them are your peers in the "promising young recent Guildcerts" group, such as Astur, the Drakonik... one of many dragon-like species out there in the multiverse, in her case quite humanoid albeit with a muzzled face and hairless, horned head. No wings, but a long slender tail, its top covered in scales like uncountable tiny sapphires, the bottom in lusterless, armorlike silver skin. There's also Kaine, an expert hunter-tracker, wearing an expensive and newish-looking black multi-environment outfit beneath a much less expensive and more worn-looking black longcoat, and his genedog companion, a German Shepherd derivative wearing a harness that matches the multi-environment suit. Dorin and Terajal, jokingly called 'The Identical Twins', an inseperable dwarf and elvish pair that have both adapted to the wider world handily, both of them wearing armor in the same general form factor as their dimension of origin but made out of much higher-scale materials and with bits of glowlining here and there.\n\nYou go around, largely trading nods and passing greetings with others, until the chatter generally goes quiet as Indigo steps out onto the stage and walks to the edge of it. He's a fairly big man... not huge or towering, necessarily, but with broad shoulders and a very well-defined chest and stomach shown off by his tight black high-collared skinarmor shirt, especially for a man his age. You're not sure what that age might be exactly, but definitely "older" to judge by his silver, slightly wavy backswept hair and thick, similarly glorious and neatly-trimmed beard emphasizing a powerful jawline and chin. It's the dark blue eyes as well as his obvious vitality that make him seem particularly ageless, effortlessly pulling off the grand, silver-trimmed blue longcoat with its almost fashion-plate lapels and a few minor decorations, even worn with simple black slacks and dusty combat boots.\n\n"Everyone, thank you for coming," he says in a clear, strong voice, receiving mostly reflexive nods of acknowledgement. You're surprised that no one in the room replied with an instinctive 'Thank you, sir' since you had to suppress the urge yourself. "If you're here, it's because I've personally chosen you out of a very large list of applicants, either through prior association or by reviewing your file. You are also here because I believe each of you to be capable not only of doing the job, but doing it while holding yourself to the standards that I expect of people working with me. Now we'll get into that, but first, let me explain what the job is."\n\nHe turns slightly, taking a control out of his pocket and tapping a button. A holoscreen showing a large island (or maybe a small continent) appears, a number of cities outlined on it along with a handful of red and blue dots. "This is Kibiza, and we're here, in the city of Lulanda," he notes, one of the blue dots sort of pulsing with a set of subtle rings. "Several years ago now, Kibiza underwent a series of natural disasters that resulted in its complete evacuation. Now one of the other continental governments is paying me to organize and conduct a mass data retrieval mission... not just vital military or industrial secrets and data, they want everything. Home computer hard drives, music datasticks, movie discs, game consoles, if it contains any sort of digital data or record or could, they want it. And before anyone thinks to corner me and ask, no, they have not shared why their mandate is so broad... all I know is that they're paying for whatever we can bring in, as well as other fees and bonuses. So, the job is to range out, search dwellings, street corners, trash bins, whatever you decide to do or look for. You can even travel to other cities, should you like, and either stay at one of our satellite headquarters or make your own camp as you prefer. You've got a large amount of autonomy on this mission.\n\n"Now, you might also recall that this mission listed that the zone was hostile," Indigo continues after giving everyone a moment to absorb all that. "That's because one of the other continental governments has hired another Guildcert by the name of Carmine for the same mission. Carmine is running his own operation much like this, using his own men, many of them recruited Guildcerts such as yourself."\n\nThat definitely sends a murmur through the crowd. Running up against other Guild members on jobs isn't exactly unheard of, but it's not exactly common either... and much like you, you doubt anyone in this room has actually been in a situation like this where two groups of Guildcerts were essentially being pitted directly against each other. Even worse that it's Carmine, who's largely as infamous as Indigo is famous... he has a similar sort of reputation of taking younger mercs under his wing to mentor and mold into his image, but his image is considerably more ruthless and tinged with, shall we say, extraneous-to-mission activities than Indigo's is. Where Indigo is known for being a pragmatic and, well, mercenary sort of mercenary, he's also fairly well-known for having principles. Carmine, to your understanding, is more of a 'war is Hell so we may as well be demons' sort of guy.\n\n"Now, I've known Carmine for a long time, and despite our... rather deep divide on a number of issues, we have made a basic agreement between us... a sort of 'rules of war', if you will," Indigo says dryly. "Mutually beneficial enough that I can trust him to follow them and enforce them on his men, at least. The most basic of these being 'uniform declaration'. When each of you got here, you were given a colorizer... some prominent part of your clothing or body must be colored blue before you leave this hotel to begin the mission. Similarly, Carmine's people will be wearing red prominently. We've also agreed that each other's declared headquarters in each city and a small number of marked buildings are safe zones, off-limits for any fighting. Surrendering mercenaries are not to be killed. Those are the agreed-upon rules... but other than that, don't necessarily expect much mercy or compassion from Carmine's people. They'll very likely do as they like... he'll have picked them for their ability to ruthlessly complete their mission, not their scruples."\n\nIndigo pauses again briefly, then clasps his gloved hands behind his back, giving the whole room a stern eye. "I, however, hold my people to higher standards. There will be no abusing of prisoners, no deliberate hunting of Red Team, no disregard of surrender or shooting retreating foes, and no setting of booby traps. You are not to loot excessively or wantonly destroy property. In the unlikely event you encounter a Kibizan survivor or refugee, your top priority becomes their safety and well-being until you can escort them here or to a safe zone. You are to assist any other members of Blue Team in need of aid without delay. These are the very basics I expect from all of you. Now, participation in this mission is entirely voluntary... any of you can resign the comission you've accepted into it and leave any time you like. But while you are here, you are under my command, and your actions are mine to take responsibility for, meaning that I will see fit to take action as necessary for them... up to and including potential execution for heinous enough crimes. I don't relish the idea and would never consider it for anything save extreme violations of the code I have established here, but I have done it before and will do it again if necessary. If you're not willing to take that level of responsibility for your actions, there's the door."\n\n<hr>\n[[Leave.|ChiBlu3x1]]\n\n[[Stay.|ChiBlu1x2]]

Even with the ultimate element of surprise, you're not exactly in a great position to take advantage of it right now. You'll just have to, ah... wait it out.\n\nYou listen to the soft sucks and licks and the low, masculine moans for a few moments, as well as another zipper being undone and some quieter, barely audible noises. Then the second voice says, "Mm, sit down and I'll do it properly."\n\n'Sit on the bed sit on the bed sit on the bed,' you think, then grimace as the 'ceiling' of your little hiding space starts to lower. You do your best to scrunch up further as the space becomes a bit tighter overall, the smell of male musk and arousal now mingling with the slightly dusty air you had been breathing. It's deeper, spicier, somehow more... heady... than the human guys you're used to smelling, so you're betting that these two are probably anthros too. In fact you can kind of just barely see out through the crack, enough to barely make out the lower part of a slender torso in a red combat vest and a tawny-furred arm moving in a stroking motion below as the sucking and licking noises resume, much closer and louder than before. That would also seem to confirm your thought about both parties being male.\n\n'God. Dammit,' you think, shivering a little as the fairly loud and obviously enthusiastic blowjob continues, just with all the sounds of it, licking and sucking and the moaning all being closer, and the smell of both horny, needy males seeming like it's filling the little space you're hiding in. Your heart pounds, the fear of detection and the base arousal of being exposed to such blatantly sexual things feeding into each other and making your skin feel like it's both chilled and on fire. Your nipples stiffen until it feels like they're trying to drill through your top. You resist the urge to squirm at all the other feelings of arousal, that steady heat and pressure deep in your body and the soft wanting ache growing between your legs. 'Fucking hell, please be a quick shot at least.'\n\nHe is, decidedly, not. You're not sure how long it actually takes, since you can't exactly check your comm for the time right now, but it feels like at least a half hour that the slighter one spends on his knees, slowly and gently jerking his own cock as he services the other mercenary's. You can't help but let out a soft sigh of relief as the smaller one moves and the 'ceiling' lifts and walls ease out, the faint creak of the chair luckily covering the noise. Then you make a face as you hear the sounds of belts being undone and pants hitting the floor, followed by the bed creaking.\n\n"Heheh, what're we gonna do on the bed, big brother?"\n\n"Pft. Perv."\n\nVery soon after it's creaking and thumping very rhyhtmically indeed, along with a considerably greater amount of moaning from the more feminine-voiced of the pair layered over the sound of hips slapping on buttocks. "Oh fuck, oh yes, oh fuck oh fuck, fuck me, fuck my naughty little boypussy, big brother, I need big brother's cock so bad, oh fuck oh fuck..."\n\n"You're such a fuckin' little degenerate," the deeper voice growls in apparent affection and arousal, followed by the softer voice gasping in a way that absolutely says 'hair got pulled on'. "Yeah hug that plushie and call me big brother, you fuckin' pervert."\n\n"Ah, ah, big brother, big brother's dick is stretching me, ah, ah fuck, big brother's cock feels so good in my butt, ah, ah, ahhhh!"\n\n'You're both perverts,' you think flatly, trying not to feel too much like a hypocrite considering how the inside of your pants feels like a sauna. \n\nAt least the actual fucking doesn't take as long as the blowjob did... although the way the deeper voice starts almost literally growling and the sound of his thrusts gets faster and more intense, and the wordless squeals and yowls and finally long, sweet moan of release from the softer voice absolutely sends a shiver through your body that might be mistaken for a very tiny orgasm of your own. You listen as they both pant for a few moments, then laugh (well the smaller one giggles again); then to the sounds of them moving around as they apparently do some minimal cleanup before getting dressed.\n\nTheir booted footsteps resume, roaming the apartment, before stopping again in the hallway outside. "Eh, it's mostly small stuff left in here, barely worth it," the deeper voice says with a sigh. "You wanna spend the time on it or...?"\n\n"Nah, let's check a few other apartments and then go find somewhere else to check. I don't wanna be in here prying open viewscreens for minor bounties while someone else is out there finding a roomful of smart drones or something."\n\n"Word."\n\nYou listen intently as their footsteps recede, and then you can just barely catch the sound of the front door moving. Still, you're very careful as you ease the seat of the chair up, peering into the room cautiously for a few moments before lifting it enough to get yourself out. You spend a few moments in the empty room (which now smells heavily of male-on-male sex, the bedsheets crumpled up and with a rather obvious pool of white puddled in one spot) shifting your body and making sure you're limber again before slinking out and down the hall. No sign of them... you get to the door and again cautiously slip into the hall, peering down it. One of the other doors is open further, and you catch the motion of a shadow inside. Moving as quickly as you can without making a lot of noise, you head back down the stairs, collecting your tripwires as you go.\n\nYou don't see or hear any other challenges before you come out onto the street and duck around a corner into an alley, leaning against the wall and huffing quietly. 'Lord. The things that happen in this job,' you think, your face going red again. You tap your earpiece again after a moment. "Red Team operatives spotted in the Merry Hills apartment complex on 29th."\n\n"Acknowledged," replies a different voice. Either Ops is off duty by now or you just got routed to someone else. Though the thought of the former prompts you to check the time. Ah, yeah... it's a bit later than you thought. Probably be a reasonable 'quitting time' by the time you get back to headquarters. Idly, though, you thumb it over to display the map. Hm... some more likely areas further on. In fact the Red duo's talk of 'smart drones' made you think, there's a sporting goods store listed... not necessarily what some people think of when they think data storage, but there's actually quite a bit of electronics to be had in those. You'd probably need to spend the night 'out' if you went to it, but it would mean coming back with a bigger haul when you did.\n\n<hr>\n[[Head back.|ChiBlu1x10]]\n\n[[Keep going.|ChiBlu]]

You've done pretty well avoiding conflict so far. You take a quick look around looking for a hiding place, then spot a faint glint of metal that you'd missed every other time from the large poofy-topped chair off to one side of the entertainment stand. You hurry over and try lifting it up to reveal a sizeable storage compartment, emptied of whatever youthful treasures it once held. Perfect! You nudge the chair up against the wall to further hide the hinge you saw, then clamber into it, folding yourself up and settling the lid back down. It's a bit cramped, but not so much that you're in danger of muscle spasms any time soon... and you have room to keep your pistol in position should someone discover you.\n\nYou quiet and calm your breathing and wait. And it's not too long before you can hear footsteps out in the apartment proper, and some thumps and light crashes that might indicate a bit of idle tossing things around to see what's behind or beneath them. There's some faint, muffled discussion... you're betting as to whether to bother with the TV just then, wait, or leave it... before the footsteps resume, coming closer... and closer, your heart quickening and your finger going to the trigger of your pistol as it becomes obvious they're walking into the same room you're in.\n\n"Kid's room, score," a somewhat deep masculine voice says in a pleased tone... before he gives a tch. "Either took their game with them or someone else got to it first."\n\n"There might be something else," a chipper, slightly more feminine voice says... but still in a register that makes you think it's probably another guy. Just probably a rather more slight guy, if you had to guess. "I wanna look around for a minute anyway... it's kind of a cute room, huh?"\n\n"Oh, yeah, you like stuff like this, huh?" the deeper voice chuckles. "Your room at home looks kinda like this, just more stuffed animals."\n\n"Well I like that sort of thing!" the other voice says in a slightly pouty tone. You can almost picture whoever it is picking up the brown, pink, and white stuffed creature you saw on the bed. "Awww, it's okay, you can come home with me, buddy!"\n\n"How many confirmed kills you got, again?"\n\n"More'n you," the more feminine voice says in a smug tone. Probably hugging on the plushie as he does. "'Sides, you don't mind my room when you're visiting."\n\n"It does suit you. Mm... actually... why don't we take a moment, huh?" the first says with a soft chuckle.\n\n"Wellllll... okay, this place is kind of putting me in the mood," the second says with a giggle. "Creepy and cute both at once! Leeet's do it."\n\n'Wait, are they serious?' you think... then your eyes widen a bit as, despite the slight muffling of the chair cushion, you can still fairly distinctly hear the sound of a zipper being undone. A moment later it's followed by the soft 'mms' and little wet noises that might come with licks and kisses, before it's followed up by a brief sucking sound, and the deeper voice moaning lowly. 'Yup, they're serious.'\n\nOkay, so... technically this would probably be an even better time to get the drop on them than coming up the stairs would have been. And would also prevent you from having to listen to their whole encounter.\n\n<hr>\n[[They need a lesson in not letting their guard down.|ChiBlu5x1]]\n\n[[Easy...|ChiBlu1x9]]

The dungeon entrance is like... right there. Just seems to make sense to head on in, since that's what you came for. Besides, if you make a bit more money or find something good, maybe you could get one of those better inns that Nom mentioned. You stroll forward, heading for one of the smaller gates that's just standing open.\n\n"Halt!" a voice calls almost the moment you've stepped through, making you jump just a bit. A man in full armor... though you notice that he's not completely encased, it's just a lot of individual plates instead... and helmet steps forward, the helmet tilting up and down briefly, shifting the long spear in his hand a bit. "I don't recognize you, are you new?"\n\n"Ah, yeah."\n\n"Very well, then you must clear the Dungeon of Green Plains first," he grunts, pointing to a gate on one of the nearby walls that... does indeed look like it leads to a set of grassy plains not unlike the ones that you were hunting Horned Rabbits on a few weeks ago. "When you return with proof of having defeated the dungeon boss, a werelizard, you'll be given your medal that accesses the other dungeons."\n\nThat makes you frown. "I thought Ebonarza was a kind of 'do what you want' place?"\n\n"The guard captain instituted this order a few years ago. New adventurers were dying in the other dungeons at such a rate that it was stirring up the monsters and making trouble, besides cutting down on the money this place makes from loot," he grunts in reply. "So that's the rule now. Just bring back some identifiable bit of the werelizard and you can go in any dungeon you want. No time limit so you can take as long conquering it as you want."\n\n"... Huh. So wait, how is that a reusable test? Wouldn't the dungeon be conquered the first time the boss is killed? Or if it hasn't, how do you get adventurers that can go in the other dungeons?"\n\nThe guard snorts again. "It's a werelizard, boy. No matter how many times it's killed it eventually heals up and comes back. It's not much of a threat otherwise, though, so it makes a good test, I suppose."\n\nWhile you're turning that over in your head a bit, you hear a faint throat-clearing. Looking at the guard again, you notice he's got one gauntleted hand very slightly turned palm-up and held out... not enough that it would be obvious from further off, but definitely visible to you. ... Oh right, Nom said you should <strike>bribe</strike> slip the guards something to help stay on their good side. ... Ugh, it's not like you have that much money left though. How much to give him? Or maybe you can just, y'know... make it up to him later...\n\n<hr>\n[[Give him a few copper.|Raz]]\n\n[[Give him a silver.|Raz7x1]]\n\n[[Give him nothing.|Raz]]\n\n[[Maybe... "alternative barter"?|Raz6x2]]

You hesitate a bit, wondering if it might actually be something good, and apparently that's long enough for the guard to return, followed at a quick clip by a Lesser Catkin boy about your own age. He's got reddish-brown hair and ears and light skin, with a pair of red stripes on each cheek, and he's wearing a sort of much lighter version of the same armor the guard is.\n\n"Boy, this is Pep. He's new and needs training, so I think I'll send him into the dungeon with you. Good experience, get some levels on him."\n\n"Oh. Uh, okay," you say a bit uncertainly, glancing over at Pep, who similarly looks a bit dubious but is too diligent about his duties to say anything. "Thanks, mister."\n\n"Aha... no problem," the guard says, in a tone that sounds distinctly like he's blushing, before he clears his throat and walks back over towards his gate.\n\nYou and Pep just eye each other for a moment, before you say, "I'm Raz."\n\n"Ah... okay. Nice to meet you," he replies, in a tone that makes it clear he's not sure that he is, his tail lashing a bit.\n\nWell. You were just wondering if you could solo it. You guess you can accept this sort of help, since you sort of paid for it. After a second you shrug, and turn to head over towards the dungeon gate, Pep hurrying to catch up and walk beside you, clearly not interested in following at your heel. "So you know this dungeon?" you ask him.\n\n"A bit," he answers after a brief hesitation. "There are a lot of slime monsters, some wolf-types and other aggressive animal-appearance monsters. And the werelizard, of course. But actually the most dangerous thing in here is the Blade Bunnies."\n\n"Blade Bunnies?" you prompt as the two of you walk outside... or wait, no, are you? You realize suddenly that from the position of the gate, you couldn't possibly have moved outside the city at this angle. Plus the season seems a bit different here than it was when you came in on the autocarriage. The sky... or "sky"... above is also an extremely even and steady blue, without a single cloud. Huh, this must actually be inside a dungeon, it just... looks outside.\n\n"They're a rabbit-type monster. ... I mean, obviously," Pep murmurs, looking a little abashed for a moment before he continues. "But they have this long thin tail that's tipped by a very sharp bladed thing. If you don't notice them and they get a surprise attack in, they can take your head off like that," he adds, trying to snap in his armored gloves and looking sheepish when there's barely a tmp. "Usually if you do notice them you can dodge, and they're pretty weak without that, but yeah... if they get the drop on you, you'll be dead before you know it."\n\nHm, maybe it's definitely good that Pep is along, for the warning if nothing else. Then you spot something ahead, bouncing and wobbling along. Slimes! Pale blue slightly oblong creatures bouncing along, a pair of them, their bodies about the size of your torso and just translucent enough to see the distorted outline of the scenery behind them, which includes a grove of trees that spreads out into what looks like a small woods. They both come to a halt and, almost in sync, turn in place, fixing glowing angular planes floating inside their bodies towards you... eyes? The planes change from white to red, and the pair start bounding towards you, much faster and more intently than they were moving before.\n\n"Hyaaa!" Pep cries, rushing forward and stabbing into one with his spear, then almost immediately yanking it out and starting to bash the now ruptured gooey creature with it repeatedly.\n\nFor your part, despite having drawn your sword, you aim your free hand at the other slime as it bounds towards you and call "Lesser Firebolt!" The streak of flames shoots from your palms and hits the slime dead on, almost immediately bursting it and sending it splashing to the ground, most of its substance already starting to soak into the dirt, leaving behind nothing but a sort of round, squishy-looking sphere of darker blue.\n\n"Oh, you know magic, huh?" Pep says as he straightens up from killing his own slime. "That's useful, slimes regenerate physical damage kinda fast, so you have to really bash them a lot and quickly if that's all you've got."\n\n"Yeah. Just the one spell though," you admit as you pick up the slime's dropped item, squishing it carefully in your fingers to judge its durability before putting it in your dimensional storage. Then more motion attracts your gaze and you look towards the treeline, spotting several more slimes. These, however, seem to have watched you pretty-much insta-kill their partners, and wobble in an alarmed way before turning and bounding into the trees. "Hey, let's go after them!"\n\n"Ah... my seniors in the guards say you shouldn't chase monsters, especially if they get out of sight," Pep answers, though he sounds a little mournful... clearly he's as high on the easy win as you are. "We probably shouldn't."\n\n<hr>\n[[Oh fine.|Raz]]\n\n[[Nah, after 'em!|Raz]]

Well. Byff did say that the guards didn't even bother to hide how corrupt they are here, so they could make your life super hard if they wanted. Since you don't even have any gold left, and you really want to establish yourself as someone who's going to be cooperative from the start, maybe you should turn to... an alternative method of ingratiating yourself. \n\n"Ah, hey, I'd really like to thank you for your help," you say, putting a winning smile on your face, and striking a slightly more playful pose, clasping your hands behind your back and tilting your shoulders, putting a bit of sparkle in your eyes as well. "Do you think maybe we could go somewhere for that?"\n\n"Go somewhere?" the guard says rather blankly.\n\n"Yeah! Like, over there," you say, tilting your head a bit towards an area in the wall between two gates that's formed a bit of an alcove, with a wooden wall partially blocking it off. "Y'know."\n\n"... Ohhhhh."\n\nA minute later you're on your knees in the little alcove, making soft 'mmf' noises as you bob your head, your mouth sliding along the guard's fairly sizable prick and your hands resting on his armorclad hips. You have to admit it sounds pretty funny when his moans echo around inside that helmet... you're hoping they don't get amplified enough to hear outside.\n\n... What? Hey, an orphan's life is hard! You learn to do what you gotta do!\n\nWhich right now is looking up at the guard and giving him your best 'I'm such a good boy, aren't I?' look as you keep working your head in smooth, practiced motions, letting your tongue roll along the underside with your backstrokes and press upward against him on the forwardstrokes. He tastes sweaty and smells it too, all his odor and musk clearly having been held in by the leather and metal, but you're used to scents like that and even give a few louder "Mmmn!" noises as you press your head in close and practically nuzzle in against his crotch, letting him think you actually enjoy the stink.\n\n"By all the gods in the Church, boy, you're better than any I've paid for," he groans lowly, shuddering under his armor.\n\nWell, that is a bit of an ego stroke, you have to admit. You give a practiced, girlish giggle around his dick to overemphasize your gratitude for the 'compliment', and he moans loudly again either at the sound or at the sensation it sends thrumming through his cock. You're not too surprised when soon after his dick starts twitching, and throbbing. You pull back, surrounding just the head with your mouth and rolling your tongue in circles around it, not at all shocked when thick shots of cum start splattering against your tongue and mouth, smeared all around by your motions.\n\nOnce he's stopped cumming you pull your head away and start to stand... then give a little yip as he turns you around and bends you forward against the wall. Oop... well, you weren't really planning on going this far too, but oh well, in for saving a silver, in for saving a gold. His hands fumble a bit with getting your pants down, and if he notices or cares that you're really only half-hard at best, he doesn't say anything, instead just gripping your hips and lifting you up onto your tiptoes to accommodate the difference in height. He fumbles a bit again, prodding and poking his cock against and between your pert asscheeks, before giving a moan as he finds your pucker and pushes his spit-slick dick into it. You give your own, far more exaggerated moan as he does, nevertheless keeping your voice down, especially since now your upper body is actually visible through the little entrance to this nook.\n\nYou continue giving those sweet, practiced, girlish moans of "pleasure" as the guard pumps into you, his cock pounding away in your ass, not entirely unpleasurably, just, y'know... not your thing. You can't help but let your mind wander... will you actually be able to handle the Grassy Plains? You are only level two, after all. Maybe you should head to the entertainment district and do a bit more boywhoring there, buy some better equipment, you muse thoughtfully even as the guard gives a groan and shoves forward, burying himself into you and emptying a second load deep into your ass, his hands moving up to cover yours on the wall as he leans heavily on them.\n\nRemembering your current task, you moan lowly as if in deep pleasure at being cum in, grinding your ass back against him a bit and making him shudder. You can hear him panting like a bellows inside his helmet, and after a few moments he straightens up and pulls out of you, somewhat embarrassedly tucking himself away. You haul your own pants back up and fasten them again, the two of you making your way back out in silence. Just for good measure you grin and give him a saucy wink, before turning and heading for the entrance gate to the Grassy Plains, through long practice ignoring the feel of cum dribbling out of your ass.\n\n"Ah... hey, wait, boy!"\n\nYou blink, stopping and looking back. The guard shifts a bit nervously, then calls, "Wait here just a moment! I'll be right back!" he says, turning and hurring off towards what looks like a guard house.\n\n... Uh-oh. Is he going to do something? Like... turn you in now that he's had his fun and post-nut clarity has made him feel guilty? Or bring his friends around for more of the same? Maybe you better scram...\n\n<hr>\n[[Hurry into the dungeon.|Raz]]\n\n[[Wait.|Raz6x3]]

"Er... what?" the boy in the kimono and wig asks with a blink.\n\n"I said, I am here to save the awesomeness of this club!" you declare. "This club is cool! It's exciting! It's different! I'm big on it! So I'm going to make it into its truly perfect form!"\n\n"Hey, who are you to-" the girl in the suit starts out... only to cut off with a loud yelp and go stumbling backwards, echoed by several other yelps, shrieks, and at least one scream as you puff your ears and tail into being again. (The boy in the school uniform can at least scream like a girl, that's good.)\n\n"I," you declare smugly, putting a hand to your chest. "Am Konko. Like I said. I am a fox spirit who loves exciting and transgressive things. Something like a Japanese school having a crossdressing club, challenging the norms, is great! I applaud you for getting it done! I applaud you for trying your best! BUT!" you shout, thrusting a finger forward again. "Your best isn't cutting it! So I'm going to have to help you out and take all your crossdressing to the next level!" You swish your tail a few times, setting your hands back on your hips as you look back and forth, amused by all the stares, but you certainly don't hear any protests. "Good? Wonderful? Yes? Great! We're starting immediately! FIRST OFF!" you shout again, making several of them jump. "Who here isn't just crossdressing but feels like they're the wrong sex?!"\n\nThere's a number of glances exchanged, and the girl in the suit... who seems to be the club head... clears her throat. "Um, well, Konko-sa-... -sssama?" she tries, and you have to give it to her, at least she's rolling with the punches better than some humans. "That's not really what this club is for, it's just for crossdressing."\n\n"Psh," you snort, waving that off, briefly closing your eyes and tilting your head as you make the dismissive gesture. "And where else is someone like that going to go to feel even a little comfortable, hmmmmm? Is there a 'not quite right as I am' club, hmmmmm?" At the complete lack of response, you glance around again. "Come on then, be honest, speak up, out with it! I know there's at least one!"\n\nSlowly, a single hand raises, its owner tentatively stepping forward. A tall, sort of gangly and gawky boy with slightly long, scraggly brown hair, wearing a black spaghetti strap top with a cute anime skull on the front, fishnet shoulder-gloves, a black pleated skirt, and pink-and-black striped stockings.\n\n"Alright, alright, hurry up hurry up, right here, you're wasting time," you urge, pointing at the floor in front of you, the command in your voice sending him scampering over. You look him up and down for a moment, then hold up a hand a little below one of his shoulders. "About here, maybe?"\n\n"Um?" He blinks, then his eyes go wide as he seems to understand. "M-maybe one inch less?"\n\n"Here then," you lower your hand some, receiving a shocked nod. "So shortstack, you're thinking?"\n\n"N-no, like... um... like lithe?"\n\n"Ohhh, oh I see, I see, a very good look, and I'm betting you've got an inner twintails begging to be free, hm?" At his eager nodding, you look him up and down again briefly before asking, "How do you feel about purple eyes?"\n\n"Purple eyes?! That sounds super cuUUWAH!" he squeaks as he's wreathed in a puff of smoke at a snap from your fingers, voice already going higher and sweeter. The smoke quickly clears, leaving a very shocked, rather short, fairly slender and extremely cute girl wearing the same goth clothes, smooth, sleek black hair tied with red ribbons into two long tails that almost come to the ground, her purple eyes wide.\n\n"There you go, all better," you announce in satisfaction. You pause briefly, then make a flicking motion with both hands. "Now shoo, shoo, not the club for you, go on, get, go have fun," you add, smacking her on her pert little butt to send her scrambling out the door. You turn back to the rest of the slack-jawed, wide-eyed club, ignoring the gleeful shout of 'OH EM GEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!' that goes fading off down the hall behind you. "Now that we've got it down to crossdressers, we can do this properly!"\n\n"Ah... ah... um..." the blonde stammers.\n\n"... Konko... -sama," the boy in the school uniform says uncertainly. "What... what exactly are you going to do to, uh... help?"\n\n<hr>\n[["I'm going to change things as I please!"|KonCD]]\n\n[["I'm going to help you achieve your goals!"|KonCD1x3]]

"I can clearly see many of your goals and what you wish to do, but you are still not achieving them!" you declare, frowning a little as you walk forward, plucking at places here and there on the blonde's suit as she squirms. "This will never fit, no matter what you do. It has to be tailored from the start to give you better shoulders and help conceal your tits no matter how bound they are. And you," you continue, crossing to the boy in the girls' uniform and snatching the hair deco out, making him squeak and fling his hands to his head. "... Alright, that was really cute, but all you're doing with this is drawing attention to what a boy's haircut you have!" you scold, shaking it at him, before turning to the one in the kimono. "And you! ... Good effort, needs a little work, but that wig is just way too cheap! Though I applaud you for not going full geisha makeup! Good job!" You glance around at the other few members, then sigh and thump your hands on your hips. "You've no one to teach you except each other, except you're so young and inexperienced you barely have an idea of how to dress as your own sex and you're trying to teach someone of the opposite sex to! It's like two old blind men who used to both be nearsighted trying to describe landmarks to each other!" you huff, tossing the hair deco to the side.\n\n"Hey, that's-!" the blonde starts, before cowering just a little as you whip your head to look at her. But then she takes a deep breath and straightens her shoulders. "Konko-sama, that's not right," she says in a firmer tone, as well as using her normal voice.\n\nYou stare at her, unable to help enjoying the smell of the cold sweat starting to break out on the back of her neck, before you grin. "What's your name, girl?"\n\n"... Haru, Konko-sama."\n\n"I like your willingness to defend this club and its members, Haru! Yes! Good! I like this club, be proud of it, even if it's flawed! But tell me what's wrong about what I said, hmmmm?"\n\n"Well... I mean, it's not entirely wrong, I suppose," she admits, fidgeting a little. "There's no one here who really knows about suits or traditional Japanese clothes, but there are girls who know how to do makeup and guys who know about haircuts and things. A lot of it's that, well... we can only do this when we're at our club," she says with a sigh, some of the others nodding ruefully. "Even if we wanted to on our own time. We have parents that don't know about our interests, and teachers that only tolerate the club because we're model students outside of it. Kei's parents make him get that haircut, it's the only one he's allowed to have, and my mother won't let me cut my hair at all. And none of us are rich kids... we all chipped in what we could to buy Ryo that wig, and it was still on sale at a novelty shop."\n\n"Mmm, I see, I see, I see," you murmur, cupping your chin and nodding, eyes closed. "Humans sure do have a lot of limitations, there are times I forget just how many. But! Fool mortals, do not worry!" you shout delightedly, flinging a hand in the air and smirking. "Konko-sama is here now to fix everything!"\n\n"Ah... how?" Ryo asks, unconsciously reaching up to adjust said novelty wig.\n\n<hr>\n[["By trickery!"|KonCD]]\n\n[["By magic!"|KonCD]]\n\n[["UNLIMITED CASH WORKS!"|KonCD]]

Squealing happily, you put your fingertips to your lips and hop back and forth, "Humans, humans, good job! It's creative, it's exciting, I'm excited, kon! Yes, good, show me your trespassing beauty, I want to see it!" You turn and practically run down the hall, skipping up the stairs and down the third floor hall, to stand in front of the door to the marked club room. You take a moment to transform yourself fully into a human and shift back to your hoodie and sneakers, since you might as well show off your own preferences in fashion. Then you throw open door, eyes sparkling as you strike a pose with finger forward. "YES! GOOD JOB! WONDERFUL EXCITEMENT! SHOW ME YOUR TRANSGRESSIONS!"\n\nA number of heads whip around to face you, and you find your currently nonexistent ears drooping a little bit as your smile turns a little hollow... in fact you wouldn't be surprised if a single giant sweatdrop was sliding down the backs of the heads of you and everyone else here. This... is not exactly what you were hoping for.\n\nThere's actually a good handful of people, but none of them are... quite getting what they're going for. There's a boy wearing the girls' school uniform, but he's too tall with too broad shoulders, a thick waist, and rather powerful-looking legs... the uniform and the thigh-highs he's wearing don't fit very well due to all this despite being his size, plus his hair is way too short and an obviously masculine cut, despite his attempt to spruce it up with a pink hair deco. There's a girl in an admittedly rather classy men's suit, but it's off the rack and so not cut right to give her broad shoulders or account for her breasts which aren't bound down very well due to being so big, and her blonde hair's a bit too thick and poofy to properly fit in the masculine ponytail she's going for. Another boy has cleverly gone with a classical kimono and old-style wig, but the wig's sort of cheap and it's not on right and the kimono belt is tied wrong and AGH they're all like that!\n\n'Okay. Okay, Konko, just stay calm,' you tell yourself, closing your eyes and taking a deep breath, running your hands down the front of your hoodie to smooth it out. 'They're trying. Bless them, they're trying to be interesting. It's not their fault they can't change shape like even the most basic of spirits, they're humans, they're born to suck, it's fine.'\n\n"Um... hello?"\n\nYou peek an eye open. The very sweet and girlishly-voiced question came, alas, not from one of the boys, but the girl in the suit. Who quickly clears her throat and tries to deepen her voice into something classy and smooth, but unfortunately sounds like every 'kid attempting to sound like an adult' voice in a cartoon ever. "Can we help you, miss?"\n\n'Bless them bless them bless them bless them bless them bless them bless them,' you chant urgently to yourself as you cover your face with both hands, trembling a little, before quickly slapping your hands against your cheeks and opening your eyes, pushing some of your enthusiasm back up. "Yes! Hello! Hello, Crossdre-... Unrestrained Fashion Club! Behold! I am Konko! I am here to-"\n\n<hr>\n[["-join!"|KonCD]]\n\n[["-blow your minds!"|KonCD]]\n\n[["-save this awesome club and make it REALLY ACTUALLY AWESOME!"|KonCD1x2]]

You stand in the snow, ignoring it as it begins to pile on your shoulders, just looking inside the old style Nipponzi house's open window at the warmly-lit scene within. The sight of your old teacher and friend coming in with a tea service, a smile warmer and easier-going than ever on her face that's begun to show lines and angles it didn't have when you were young. Setting it on the table where Zee begins to help her serve, until Twitch semi-hobbles into the room, back devoid of long-since upgraded surgery prosthetics, her human-style prosthetic arms gently holding a small purple-haired form that Zee hurries over to scoop up, nuzzling and kissing at his head, raising her own to call to someone else further in the house. Zee's smile is bright and joyous, lips moving in what are likely soft coos and inane babble as she carries the baby over to set it in the lap of a grey-haired and -bearded man sitting at the low table, his stony countenance instantly warming into an almost silly grin as he accepts the child.\n\nYou turn away just as the handsome brown-haired man you've seen working in the fields on other visits comes in, clenching and unclenching a hand as you start to walk away, boots softly stirring up the dry snow. 'Starting to hurt,' you think, lifting your hand up to glance at it, tracing the scars over the fingers bared by your gloves. 'Time to start anti-arthritis meds, huh? Yeah, figures. Eh. May as well head back and do that now. Not like they care on the Hall that it's a holiday on this little planet, and not like I have anything better to do.'\n\n"Are you sure you don't want to come in this time?"\n\nYou stop, frozen in place, genuine shock running down your spine. Slowly, you turn, facing the figure lit only by the clear night's full moon. Miranda has grown into such a spitting image of your teacher that for a moment you mistake who it is, and probably would have if you hadn't seen the actual, older version inside already. Her body is wrapped in one of the same simple but beautiful kimonos that Zee and Twitch were wearing, though she's donned a sort of overcoat over it as well against the cold of the winter night, a trail of footprints leading from the front door to where she stands in front of you now at the edge of the woods.\n\n"You, ah..." You clear your throat, shifting the strap of the rifle on your shoulder a little. "You saw me, huh?" you ask, projecting an air of nonchalant sheepishness as you force one corner of your mouth up.\n\n"Yes. And last year. And the year before," Miranda answers softly, hands lightly clasped in front of her, largely covered by the overkimono's sleeves. "For a long time now."\n\n"... Yeah, well." You reach up to rub the simple knit cap covering your cropped-short hair. "I just like to check in every so often. Make sure everyone's doing okay."\n\n"We're doing very well," Miranda assures you, a gentle but slightly sad smile on her lips. "And you? Did you ever find those answers you were looking for?"\n\nYou roll your shoulders again, fighting the urge to just turn and dash off into the darkness without answering. But somehow you feel you owe her too much to do that... you gave her a reason all those years ago, and she accepted it. She deserves an honest answer. You look down, taking a deep breath as you sort through your own feelings for that answer, before raising your gaze back to hers. "Some of them, yeah. I'm..." You glance away again. "... I don't think I ever found the really big one, though."\n\n"Well. Maybe you were just looking in the wrong place." As your gaze is drawn back to Miranda like gravity, she raises a hand and extends it to you, fingers gently spread. "I don't think you ever searched inside this house, did you? Perhaps you should look in here."\n\nYou can feel your eyes stinging, your lip threatening to quiver like a child's as you look at her hand, and try to yank your gaze away from it. "Dragon, Miranda, it's been fifteen years, I don't... I just can't..."\n\n"Fifteen years or fifty, you're going to have to see if that answer is in here someday. You may as well do it tonight, Kai. And just think..." Miranda's smile grows some as she gives her fingers a teasing 'gimme' flex. "If it is, you'll have saved a whole thirty-five. Because it might never be too late, but I think fifteen years of being alone is enough. Don't you?"\n\nOnce the tears slip down your cheeks in the cold night air, you can't hold out any more. Sniffling as you give a quick nod, you step forward and put your hand in hers. Your eyes still slightly averted, feeling both ashamed and elated, you let Miranda lead you forward, across the snowy ground, up the steps and into the the house, the darkness and cold outside falling away from the light and warmth inside, the silence of the falling snow giving way to the talking and laughter of a family.\n\n"Hello, everybody," Miranda calls as she steps into the living room. "Look who's home!"\n\nDeath of Doonian end - Homecoming\n\n<<set $deathofdoonianhomecoming to "true">>

No need to go over the top and humiliate Kordin... he's being annoying but you guess it's not from a mean place, as far as you can tell. Instead you bounce in place a few times, concentrating your mana channels and boosting up your muscles. You're far lankier than he is, but with mana properly adding to your physical stature you should be able to keep up with him at the very least.\n\n"Alright, now... begin," Tyrnielle calls, chopping a hand through the air.\n\nKordin moves first, as you might have expected, drawing his sword and slashing with it in a quick fluid motion... but, you're fairly sure, not so quick that he doesn't think he could check his blow if he needed. He clearly looks surprised as you duck low under it and come back up, jabbing your fist forward and summoning a compressed wind spell that hits him in the chest and staggers him back. He recovers quickly, though, and perhaps thinking he was simply underestimating you before, he circles around a bit again, eyeing you before coming in with a thrust. You duck aside and coat your hand in a force shield before thunking the flat of the blade, knocking him off-balance again before jabbing another compressed air spell. This time, though, he recovers much more quickly and closes the distance quickly, holding the sword close enough to be threatening but primarily attacking with his off hand, jabbing quick, hard punches at your midriff. You try to soften them with mana but you still have to take a few, wincing as one makes solid contact with your ribs.\n\n'He's good... nowhere near as good as Amestra, but he's done the work. He wouldn't have even been worth noticing as the Maou, but as just Reth at this level, he'd press me.'\n\nYou're just drawing mana in to form a compression wave and knock him back harder when Tyrnielle calls, "Enough!" Kordin jerks in place a bit as he just barely manages to check his next punch, but quickly steps back and sheathes his sword, his expression stoic again. "Alright, very good. I'm pleased with what I'm seeing. Kordin, good control, quick thinking. You're definitely qualified for the Knight class. Reth, same compliment on the quick thinking, very creative too. With you being willing to close quarters like that and your talent for mana boosting your body, I'd say you'd definitely fit best as a Magus. Of course those are just suggestions, but I don't think either of you will go wrong with them."\n\n"Thank you, teacher," Kordin says evenly, nodding his head to her. He hesitates, then does the same to you, just a bit more stiffly, before returning to stand beside Amestra.\n\n"I knew you'd do great!" Stacia says quietly but enthusiastically, shaking your shoulder as you return to her and Ophelia. "See?! The problem was you just didn't know what you were good at back then! You're not a ranged caster after all!"\n\n"Good job, M-, Reth," Ophelia says, a bit subdued but apparently sincerely. While snuggling up to your arm. Sigh.\n\n"Alright, next, let's have the chipper blonde next to Reth and the well-dressed lady beside Kordin, come on out and square up. Introduce yourselves while you're at it."\n\nStacia, if anything, looks positively gleeful at getting to spar against Amestra, with none of the trepidation that should be expected of someone going up against an opponent that so obviously outclasses them, looking absolutely delighted as she belts out her name and that she's a swordfighter. 'You combat nut,' you think fondly as you watch her move to the central area, Amestra seeming calm as usual as she unsheaths her own sword again, both of them facing each other with blades at the ready.\n\n"Begin."\n\nThere's almost immediately a ring of metal on metal, Stacia having leaped forward and thrust at Amestra's side, the noblewoman sweeping her own sword around to knock the blow wide and responding with a light chop at the shoulder. The clash of steel sounds again and again as the two engage in quick parries and testing attacks. It's obvious from the very beginning that Stacia is already being pressed, doing everything in her power to keep up with the little melee, but Amestra just looks as collected as ever.\n\n"You're twisting too much when you're thrusting, it's leaving you open."\n\n"Ah, you're right!" Stacia quickly jerks back to avoid a swipe of Amestra's sword, then darts forward again, this time jabbing forward much more directly only to have her sword smacked away again. She quickly brings her blade up to block another overhand slash, wincing at the obvious shock down her arm.\n\n"You can't block directly too much when the opponent's sword is heavier, over a long fight you're likely to get sundered, try to focus on your footwork."\n\n"Oh, that's true!" This time when Amestra slashes at her side, Stacia skitters away from it, spinning and executing a much better jab in the general direction of the other girl's neck, only for Amestra to drop almost to the ground and whirl, sweeping her feet out from under her.\n\n"You're not keeping your eyes on the opponent's whole body."\n\n"Nnnh, that's a thiiiing?" \n\n"Enough." Tyrnielle calls, stepping forward and glancing between the two, before giving Amestra a wry grin. "Young lady, is it your intention to take my job? Do you always give your opponents tips on how to defeat you in battle?"\n\n"... Ah." Amestra blinks, as if not having quite realized she was the one talking during the fight. "Ah, no, but she just... she's trying really hard and was doing well."\n\n"And learning fast," the Eclipse Elf adds as she offers a hand to the blushing Stacia and pulls her to her feet. "You're quite the sponge, Stacia, I think you'll really do well here. Although right now your skills are a little unrefined... I'd say for now you're best keeping just in the general 'adventurer' class and seeing if you discover a specialty as you grow. And as for you..." She turns to Amestra, looking her up and down for a moment before nodding. "Yup, no mistaking it... you're definitely qualified for a rare class. One of those once-a-generation things, too, so you definitely ought to take it."\n\nAmestra looks pleased, albeit in a subdued way, the sort of expression on her face someone might have if they were thinking 'Of course' but not quite arrogant enough to internalize such a sentiment. "I'm very pleased to hear that. What class would that be?"\n\n"Sword Princess."\n\n"... Ah?" The platinum blonde blinks once. "Sword...?"\n\n"Princess, yes, that's what the class is called." Tyrnielle grins. "Someone endowed with beauty, talent, and the ability to inspire and enrich others. It's primarily a melee class but with a lot of passive buffs that will come to you naturally as you cultivate it. You might have to get comfortable showing some more skin, though."\n\nFor the first time, Amestra's own solemn facade falters, her pale face going bright pink and her lips opening and closing several times. "... Ah..."\n\n"Well, think it over, but like I said, such a rare class isn't something you should pass up on a whim, it'd be a shame to have you go into just Knight or Swordmaster when you've got a once-a-generation talent like that. Okay, next two, let's see..."\n\nThe proficiency tests go on, with Amestra eventually recovering her composure after doing a minor bit of sulking, Kordin rubbing her shoulder lightly as they watch the next matches. Ophelia announces herself as a support (which you suppose it accurate since 'spy' isn't really something she can claim here), and after a brief roundabout with fairly green bare-handed fighter is informed she's qualified for several classes but should most heavily consider Bard. She's got a slightly odd expression as she returns. "A Bard," she murmurs thoughtfully.\n\n"Ophelia, do you sing or play any instruments?" Stacia asks curiously.\n\n"I do. A lot, actually," the demoness-in-disguise admits, bobbing her head. "I guess I never really thought of doing it, um, as a thing though." She considers, then murmurs, "Actually this might be kind of fun, even?"\n\nYou grin to hear that, patting her on the arm before the last match wraps up and Tyrnielle calls everyone's attention again. "Alright, that's everyone. No washouts in this batch!" she adds, several of the lower-performing hopefuls rather obviously letting out relieved huffs of breath. "Okay, you're gonna head to the main building over there to give a few more details to the priestesses, and take a class. Like I said, I highly urge you to take the classes I suggested, but ultimately it's up to you if you want to take any of them you're qualified for. They'll also process it if you want to donate to have better rooms, since that's one of the ways we pay for this whole thing. Everyone should show up for dinner at sevenbell this evening since that's when we'll be passing out your class assignments. Class starts in two weeks, but I suggest you spend that time settling in, training, and looking for ways to help out around here... the more work you do to help keep the school functioning, the more likely you are to earn some of those special benefits you've no doubt heard about when you graduate. Alright, go on."\n\n"Special benefits?" you ask Stacia as the group makes its way towards the main building in a loose clump. \n\n"Ehhh, you don't know? Oh that's right, I had to talk you into this," Stacia says with a gusty sigh, as if having completely forgotten all the pestering, nudging, and shaking you she did to get you to agree to come here. "Most people don't come to the Dynahan adventuring school just to learn, though they should!" she adds fervently before continuing. "But one of the big benefits of coming here is that if you do well and prove yourself, you can get all sorts of benefits when starting out your adventuring career. Equipment, enchanted items, job offers, even possibly noble titles! All sorts of things! Plus the adventuring school has the exclusive rights to certain dungeons with good stuff in them, so coming here is one of the only ways you get to delve in those and hopefully get rare drops."\n\n"Hunh," you muse aloud. That's right, dungeons... those things that were more a periphery thing of being Maou than anything you made or oversaw personally (in most cases). You made use of them, certainly, and even deliberately manned and tweaked a couple with your agents for various reasons, but they're more of a 'naturally occurring phenomenon' that you just got some amount of power over by being recognized as king of the monsters. Actually you vaguely recall that there's a small, relatively obscure academic field called "Dungeonology" concerned entirely with the study of naturally-occurring dungeons, but it doesn't actually have a lot of support... adventurers are more interested in knowing how dungeons behave than why they happen or work, and most dungeonologists are academics without the ability to venture into them alone. \n\nSoon you're joining one of the short lines at the long tables inside the main building's entry hall, waiting your turn to speak with the pretty, fairly young women dressed in thin black robes and draped scarves over the tops of their heads. 'Is it that only large-breasted women can become priestesses, or does becoming a priestess make you large-breasted?' you ponder as you wait your turn. Ah, but you had quite a bit of fun defiling a few in your last life... oop, better not think of that, they might see it on your face, you think as you step up to the table.\n\n"Name and birthplace?"\n\n"Reth, a village near Lunacrest."\n\n"Approximate age in years, moons, or seasons?"\n\n"Sixteen years."\n\n"Any adventuring, managerial, or logistics experience?"\n\nYou suppose rising to the position of Maou and ruling the Monster Races while waging war on the Mortal Races would count as all three of those, but you also suppose it doesn't really count if that was your previous life. "No, not really."\n\n"Alright, please make a small cut on your thumb and press it here," the priestess says with a sort of formal, practiced cheer as she turns a mostly empty sheet of paper towards you and indicates a small square in one corner. You pick up the knife sitting in front of her (which you thankfully watched her clean after each use while waiting in line) and do so, admitting to watching with some interest as a number of lines and words appear on the paper. You can read a little of it, despite it being in Majestrian, but you don't reveal that as the priestess gently rubs a finger over your thumb to heal the cut before picking up the paper to take a look.\n\n"Oh my, your 'stats' are quite good! Your natural strength, dexterity, and constitution are a little low, but those all seem to be receiving passive bonuses from your high spirit, focus, and knowledge stats." She frowns a little for a moment before glancing up at you. "Are you sure you don't have any adventuring experience?"\n\nA little chill goes down your spine, but you keep a mildly confused expression on your face. "Other than the journey here, not really."\n\n"That's strange, your X-variable Pool is fairly high for someone your age, and it looks like you have an innate boost to it as well." She looks at you for a moment... then shrugs a bit, breasts jiggling beneath the thin cloth of her robes as she smiles. "Sometimes people are born with these things, though, you're very lucky! Perhaps you have a soul that's lived before!"\n\n"Haha, hahaha," you chuckle by way of reply, rubbing the back of your neck and desperately fighting not to break out into a cold sweat. \n\n"In any event, it looks like you're qualified for a lot of the minor classes, including non-adventuring ones, but also several elite classes... Magus, Noblesword, and Forgelord. Those are all very good, and I think you'd do well with any of them... obviously as a Magus we'd want to have you spend time in both magic and melee classes, much more on the Melee side for Noblesword, and for Forgelord we'd channel you into the support division primarily. There is one other elite class listed," she notes, glancing down. "It's fairly unusual to see it on someone so young, but then you do have that innate bonus. You're qualified to be a Inspirator."\n\n"Inspirator?" you ask with a blink.\n\n"Yes," she proffers the paper so you can see the list, waiting until you've accepted it to continue. "They're quite rare, but as I understand it they're a bit of a catchall class, but much more heavily focused on rallying and directing a party. You'd probably be personally mentored by the head of our order, Mother Lora, with an eye towards making you a truly powerful party leader, or maybe even the general of some army!"\n\nHm. Okay, yeah, you see what's happened. The three more standard elite classes are things you qualified for because of your ability tree... you're betting taking one of those classes would be the same as choosing one of its paths. Magus for Magic, Noblesword for Physicality, Forgelord for Alchemy. As for Inspirator... you must qualify for that based on having been the Maou, ironically enough. After all you were basically a king by merit, and a big part of your 'job' as Maou was organizing people, directing them, and inspiring them before battles and campaigns. To think your past life as the demon lord would qualify you for a class all about rallying and supporting adventurers, you think with amusement as you look over the list. Magus is obviously a mage class mixed with the ability to do close combat, Noblesword is like the (weaker) version of the Sword Princess class Amestra qualifies for with a focus on melee fighting and various passive buffs and light support skills, and Forgelord is clearly about making magic items and equipment. Though... there's one other class on here that catches your eye and does sort of tempt you...\n\n<hr>\n[["Magus."|Reth5x8]]\n\n[["Noblesword."|Reth]]\n\n[["Forgelord."|Reth]]\n\n[["Inspirator."|Reth]]\n\n[["... This one here."|Reth]]

"I kinda wanna get this 'proficiency test' thing over and done with," you say, unable to keep some sulkiness from seeping into your voice. "It'll just be annoying to have it hanging over my head until tomorrow."\n\n"Reth, don't be worried, I'm sure this time will go a lot better, you're not a kid anymore," Stacia murmurs comfortingly, reaching over to pat you on the arm, though shooting Ophelia a brief wry glance at the fact you have to shove her back into her seat to get her to stop boobhatting you. \n\n"Iiii'm pretty sure it will too!" Ophelia chirps before giggling quietly, making Stacia give her an odd look and you nudge her with an elbow.\n\nSoon enough the autocarriage draws to a halt, and there's a soft tone from the magic stone embedded in the ceiling before a slightly scratchy voice announces, "Dynahan Adventurer School. Please disembark if Dynahan Adventurer School." So obviously the three of you push open the door and descend with your things, stepping onto the packed-earth area beside the wooden slats. Since the autocarriage runs to one side of the school's fenced-off land, you still have to trek long the stone-lined dirt path to get to the front gates. To one side of it, sitting in something like a combination between a clerk's office and a vendor's stall, is an older human man who looks up a little boredly at your approach. "You applyin' to the school?"\n\n"Yessir! Stacia and Reth from the Lunacrest region, and..." Stacia pauses in setting the bag of coins she'd saved up over the years, glancing over worriedly. "Oh, Ophelia, I never asked, but you're okay on your entry fee, right?"\n\n"Yes, thank you," the 'sheepkin' says as she steps forward, plopping a bag of her own down. "Ophelia. From a peasant village."\n\n"... Allllrighty," the old man mutters, apparently having seen enough oddjobs come through her that Ophelia doesn't particularly ping his detector. He spends a few moments counting the coins in the pouches, before returning both of them with some coins still inside. "Alright, g'wan in then, but don't go wanderin' around, just stay in the area right inside. There's a coupla other new students waiting for the proctor to do their proficiency test, and a couple've'm are nobles so my advice, try not to talk to them."\n\nWith that he reaches down and makes a motion as if pulling on a lever, and a moment later the gates swing open to admit you. With a glance and a shrug at your companions, you head into the open yard-like area beyond. The grass has been cleared and the earth packed for quite a ways inside, and there are a handful of plain wooden benches set around. Apparently the area just inside the gate is indeed used for these sort of tests, since there's a small handful of other people here, in various styles of garb and wielding different implements, most of them rather obviously making a bit of a show of practicing. You're trying not to look at any of them lest you draw their attention, when Stacia tugs on your sleeve to get yours. "Hey, hey Reth," she whispers, trying to point without full-on pointing. "Look at that girl, doesn't she look familiar?"\n\nYou follow her gaze more than her finger to the person in question. She's a study in contrasts, everything about her seeming a strange blend of traits. She's slender and petite, slight of breast and hip with long legs and delicate hands, but her movements bespeak of incredible strength and tightly-controlled power as she swings her sword through the air. The sword, too... a double-edged longsword, it's plain of blade and hilt, but the craftsmanship is of an artisan's tier, as is the small round shield currently strapped to her back. The same thing with her clothes and bag... her shirt is white silk, her pants what might very well be dragon leather, but the cuts are relatively simple and lacking in ostentation. As if noticing your gaze on her, she pauses in cutting the air to glance over with pretty blue eyes, platinum blonde hair pulled back in a long ponytail.\n\n<img src="images/Amestra.jpg">\n\n"Kind of," you allow after looking her over while trying to avoid staring. "Maybe?"\n\n"Reth, I think that's Amestra! You know, Lord Amellin's daughter, the one who did so great back at the, uh, y'know?"\n\nOh, right. Well it certainly makes sense... at ten she'd already been forged into a capable warrior with the natural gifts of breeding and the best instructors a lord's money could buy... six more years of that would have only refined her further.\n\n"That one's Companion material," Ophelia comments quietly, and though she's trying to keep her tone neutral for Stacia's sake you can't help but detect a hint of distaste there, a faint echo you feel yourself. It's true, though, Amestra is definitely someone who could easily step into the role of a Hero's Companion, especially if she got some practical instruction and experience from actual adventurers rather than tutors.\n\nAs you're appraising her, however, a man steps from where he'd been speaking to someone at the side. He's very handsome, you'd have to admit... actually, maybe more beautiful with his thick black hair, violet eyes, and delicately scupted features. The solemn expression definitely helps. He's dressed much like she is, albeit in all black and the clothes just a bit fancier, featuring a long black coat and some obvious decorations on the hilt of his sheathed sword. Apparently having noticed Amestra looking at someone he speaks to her briefly, and when she points in your direction he looks over, his stoic expression shifting towards a disapproving frown. He immediately begins to stride over, Amestra reaching out as if to call him back, then hurrying after him when he ignores her.\n\n"Wow, he gets even prettier when he's angry," Ophelia practically coos, giving you an innocent expression when you toss a glance at her.\n\n"And what are your intentions towards the Lady Amestra?" the beautiful man asks the moment he's come to a stop in front of you, the said Lady Amestra stopping and putting a hand to her face behind him.\n\n"What?" you answer flatly.\n\n"She said you were over here staring at her, is there some reason for that?"\n\n"Kordin, I didn't say they were staring," Amestra hisses softly.\n\n"Uh... sir," Stacia speaks up, and you notice Kordin deliberately soften his expression slightly as he looks at her. You doubt it was the uncertain little 'sir'... Stacia probably isn't sure that adventurers should have to call each other by polite titles, but then you're not quite adventurers yet. "Sorry if it seemed like we were staring, we're just from a village in Lord Amellin's domain."\n\n"... I see," Kordin says after a moment, though his purple eyes still seem rather dubious as he turns them back on you, though they soften a little again for Ophelia. A real soft touch with the ladies with this one. "Then perhaps you thought you recognized her." Looking at Amestra and seeming to realize that she's glowering a bit at him, and apparently wanting to make some bit of amends, he bobs his head. "I'll leave you to speak to her, then." Those pretty eyes narrow again, frown returning as he adds, "But have a care how you treat her," before turning and wandering off.\n\n"... Please don't look on Kordin's behavior too harshly," Amestra says as she steps in closer, glancing after him before turning her gaze back to the three of you. "He's not an unkind man, he's just overly protective of me. It's the entire reason he joined this school, though I doubt he has any real desire to be an adventurer. Still, as arranged marriages go..." She trails off, then clears her throat, perhaps having realized she's said a bit too much to perfect strangers. "... You two seem familiar to me, are you from one of the villages near Lunacrest?"\n\n"We are!" Stacia chirps happily, immediately relaxing from her earlier tenseness. "We saw you at the exhibition six years ago, you were great!"\n\n"I remember you both as well. You were the girl who also put on a sword act... obviously self-taught but I saw you'd been working very hard," Amestra replies evenly, which causes Stacia's whole face to light up. Amestra's blue eyes move to you. "And you're... the waterball boy."\n\nYou can feel your eye twitch. Even she remembers you that way? You'd kind of hoped she didn't remember you at all! "Y-yes," you reply, forcing yourself to clear your throat. "And this is a friend we met along the way, Ophelia."\n\nBefore Ophelia can tell yet another person she's from an unburnt-down peasant village, a figure comes striding from the direction of the buildings at a quick pace, eating up the distance in practiced steps that aren't quite a run or jog but still seem far faster than walking. In less than a minute the brown-skinned elf has come to a stop near the group and folded her arms over her chest. 'Eclipse Elf,' you muse, taking in her silver hair contrasting her dark skin, her eyes a rich brown with a hint of red, her style of dress provocative as a lot of adventurers tend to prefer if they've got the body to show off... certainly her bare shoulders and the bared upper curves of her breasts are lovely, the gold-embroidered black top's sleeves trimmed with fur, a swordbelt bearing an oversized rapier holding on a pair of long, broad flaps to form a kind of dress that still leaves the sides of her legs (and the straps of her black panties) bare, her legs sheathed in snug black boots.\n\n<img src="images/Tyrnielle.jpg">\n\n"Good morning, everyone. I'm Tyrnielle Madaris. Some of you may have heard of me as The Giant-Blinder, but if not it won't hurt my feelings, I'm really not all that famous," she adds with a light smile. "I do, however, have a lot of experience at being an adventurer, which is why I'm one of the 'catchall' teachers here and the proctor in charge of your proficiency tests. These aren't an entrance exam so much as a way for me to judge your current ability and suggest what classes you need to take and where your other teachers should focus their effort... though I will add, it is possible for us to conclude that your proficiency is too low for us to be able to teach you, in which case you can try again next year. But that doesn't happen very often... just about everyone that makes it here has enough potential to have something made of them, so just relax and do your best. Now, I'll be picking you at semi-random to spar with each other. Don't worry if you get someone who seems far more practiced than you... really all I need to do is have you take a few passes at each other and I can judge off of that, like I said I've been doing this a long time. So we'll start with... you, the grey-eyed boy," she concludes, pointing at you and then beckoning with a finger for you to come closer. Sighing, you do so. "Name? No need to bother with any titles where you're from, and that goes for the rest of you."\n\n"Reth," you answer, trying not to let your slightly exhausted trepidation show through. You just want to get this over with.\n\n"Alright, Reth, and your specialty?"\n\nYou haven't actually picked one of the lines of your ability tree yet, but in your last life you'd picked the Magic one and remember a lot of the spells you learned, so you shrug a bit and answer, "Magic."\n\n"Not specialized into a class yet? That's fine, most of you won't be. Alright, I saw you with those two girls but let's pick someone you don't know, how abooout-"\n\n"Teacher," says an even voice, a hand raising. Kordin steps forward a bit as Tyrnielle looks at him. "If I might, I'd like to test against this one."\n\nGreat, you think, he's still trying to assess whether you're some sort of threat. Tyrnielle purses her lips a bit before responding, "Normally I don't like to mix magic and melee right off the bat, mister..."\n\n"Kordin."\n\n"Mister Kordin." She looks at him assessingly for a few moments, before giving a small nod. "But it is just the proficiency test. Keep that in mind, you're not to hurt each other, and I will keep it in mind even if it happens on 'accident', understood?"\n\nThere's a brief flash of anger in Kordin's pretty purple eyes... but you think it's more at resentment at the suggestion he'd do such a thing. You stare at him flatly as everyone else backs away into a loose ring, both Stacia and Ophelia looking rather nervous. Great, you finally make peace with becoming an adventurer and it comes to this right off the bat. You suppose you shouldn't just cut loose, but it should be safe to show some of your ability. ... Wait, Tyrnielle's an experienced adventurer, she said. What if she somehow recognizes something you do from your Maou days, something she heard about? D-dammit...\n\n<hr>\n[[Take a dive.|Reth]]\n\n[[Be cautious.|Reth]]\n\n[[Just do well.|Reth5x7]]\n\n[[... Fuck it, absolutely beat his ass.|Reth]]

"I... think I would like to tell Stacia everything someday," you admit with a soft huff, rubbing the back of your neck.\n\n"What, are you afraid of her hating you or something?" Ophelia asks with a frown. "You never cared if humans hated you before!"\n\n"Well I'd never known a human for sixteen years before!" you snap back, making the demoness blink in shock a bit. You sigh and rub your face a bit. "Plus it wouldn't be fair to her, anyway. She's been waiting for this most of her life, I can't risk her feeling like she's being driven off from going to the adventurer school by a revelation like that."\n\n"Mm. ... I guess I can understand getting attached to someone after that long," Ophelia admits after a moment, bobbing her head. "I mean it was a long time for me too, I really missed you! But... I'll try to get along with the human, okay?"\n\n"Thanks, Ophelia."\n\n"I still think you should tell her, though!"\n\n"Yeah, yeah."\n\nIt does seem like Ophelia is making an effort over the next couple of days though. You're not quite sure you could call it "making friends", since Ophelia probably doesn't have such a concept (you know you're still kind of shaky on it yourself and you're supposed to have had an early lifetime of practice by now), but if managing to be nice and seeming to actively listen to someone can be counted as making friends, it looks like she's managing. It's certainly enough for Stacia, it seems, who is soon chattering to Ophelia as familiarly as she does to you, as if all three of you had grown up together. Though you're still a little leery of the whole concept, having made your peace with it gives you at least a little hope and something to look forward to as the three of you make the last leg of your journey by "autocarriage" ride... apparently something the Hero invented. (Psh, yeah right, you got a pretty good read on the Hero... he spouted off the vague idea to someone else and they did all the hard work of making it happen.) Essentially, it's a long string of connected coaches with their wheels traveling in a set of wooden grooves set on or into the earth, with a large hover-enchanted stone drawn towards its enchanted "mate" at the front end. You have to admit it's fairly ingenious, and you can't really argue with it turning what would be a year's travel from the sticks to one of the major cities on the continent into a month-long one.\n\n"There it is, you can see it now!" Stacia calls as the coach all three of you are in crests over a hill. "Dynahan!"\n\nYou scoot over to the window to take a look yourself, trying to ignore it as Stacia leans up over you and winds up resting her boobs on your head. Dynahan, the Land-Coral City. It's not literally carved of coral or grown like a coral or anything quite so exciting as that... humans are a little behind on that whole "grown architecture" tech branch. (Honestly you were never a fan either, everything inside was an unpleasant variety of squishy that reminded you of a not particularly fun Undead lover you had before ascending to being the Maou.) But the particular kind of stone that a lot of the buildings are made of does run the gamut from pure white to a rich vibrant pink, and the architects have labored to keep a sort of 'gradient' effect for most of the buildings and city planning so that they're not haphazardly colored different. Rather than the massive walls that surround other cities, forcing the city to either grow upward or more dense or for them to occasionally tear down and rebuild parts of the wall, Dynahan utilizes an ever-expanding series of natural barriers and defenses, moving on to the next and strengthening it as the city winds up expanding over the old ones. You know it started in the large, mostly circular island surrounded by a lake formed by several rivers running together. When it outgrew the island, the city's planners raised the rolling hills between the rivers higher, making a series of them that any army would find nearly impossible to charge across or set up proper siege lines among. When the city wound up expanding over the hills, they dug deep trenches between the rivers to create a second, much larger "moat", which the autocarriage is now trundling across a bridge of.\n\n"I'm so excited, the next stop is the school!" Stacia declares, practically bouncing in her seat like a giddy child. Indeed the tracks of the autocarriage are drawing towards a slightly more traditional defensive wall, albeit short and made of wood, the kind that any wealthy noble might build around their own farmland as much to keep their livestock in as monsters out. "Soon we'll be doing our entrance proficiency tests, settling into our rooms, meeting our teachers...!"\n\n"Ehhhh, we're not going to the actual city?" Ophelia says in a slightly whiny tone. Ah, that's right... she may not like humans that much but she does like a lot of the things they make. Like rabbit skewers. And roasted corn. And rabbit-and-roasted-corn soup. "I was really looking forward to spending the night there, I thought going to the school was something we'd do in the morning."\n\n"Oh. Um. Well... we can, I guess," Stacia murmurs, squirming in place now as a little of her enthusiasm drops. "Registration goes on for the next two weeks so I guess technically we don't need to get off at that stop. We could go into the city if you really want, Ophelia. Ah, but what do you think, Reth?"\n\n<hr>\n[[Sure, let's go to the city.|Reth]]\n\n[[Nah, get off at the school.|Reth5x6]]

The demoness jerks a bit at you authoritatively barking her name like that, and doesn't turn... but does go stock still as you clamber to your feet, narrowing your eyes at her and continuing to use a firm tone of voice.\n\n"Did you or did you not swear to serve me forever?"\n\n"Of course!" she answers instantly, as if scandalized, whipping around to face you, her cheeks flushed. "Forever and ever, you're my Master, that's what I said and I meant it!"\n\n"And is forever over?" you ask coolly.\n\n"... Um, well, no, I'm pretty sure forever isn't over ever and that's the whole point of forever," she murmurs, glancing down and tapping her index fingertips together.\n\n"So am I your Master or aren't I?"\n\n"Ye-! Er, I mean... um... w-well... but..." Ophelia squirms nervously now, glancing back and forth as if looking for someone to help her answer. "I... I want you to be my Master still, and... but... if you become an adventurer...!"\n\n"You promised I'd be your Master forever, not 'unless you become an adventurer', right?" At her slow, nervous nod, you add, "Well then, if I'm going to become an adventurer, and I'm still your Master, then you're just going to have to become an adventurer too."\n\n"Eh? Meeee?" Ophelia points at her own face, her expression somewhere between shocked and absolutely scandalized. "A demon?! A monster?!"\n\n"I've never heard of any rule against it. In fact I'm absolutely certain there are some monster races that become adventurers with some regularity." You frown thoughtfully. "... Probably not demons, though."\n\n"There, you see?! It's impossible!" Ophelia asserts, folding her arms over her chest and giving a firm nod.\n\n"So you'll just have to pull in your wings and tail and pretend to be a demi-human," you continue with a grin, her jaw going slack. "You can leave the horns... we'll say you're from a sheepkin village. Ah, you'll probably need some more clothes, though, but you're good at that."\n\n"But... but... Master!" she almost whines, pressing her balled hands together and wiggling plaintively. "Do I really have to do this?!"\n\n"Actually I'm not going to order you to do anything, Ophelia. But, if you want to stay with me forever like you said you did all those years ago, you can come with me to Dynahan and be an adventurer with me and Stacia."\n\n"... waaaaaaaaaaaaah..."\n\nWhen Stacia wakes up, it's with a wide yawn as she sits up... then blinks as she realizes that it's dawn, and you're sitting at the fire making soup. "Reth! You were supposed to wake me for my shift!" she complains, scrambling to her feet.\n\n"It's fine, I didn't get sleepy," you say in a soothing tone. "Besides, I wound up meeting someone else who was on the same path and traveling at night, and we got to talking."\n\n"Someone else?" Stacia echoes, apparently finally noticing another figure standing nearby and turning to look.\n\n"Um, hello," said figure says, putting a hand gently to the decorated bell hanging from the choker around her neck. Ophelia's using a much softer tone of voice and manner now that she's calmed down from her joy of seeing you again and now that she's "in character" as a sheepkin. She is, after all, one of your best infiltrators and spies. Er, was. She's used her magic to summon up an elaborate knit sweater-dress in pale white, one of the marks of sheepkin tradesmen, the garment off the shoulder and displaying a decent amount of cleavage but not in a particularly showy way, its length and the modest lace-up boots she's wearing actually managing to look rather modest in addition to her tights and arm-sleeves. "My name's Ophelia, and I'm going to Dynahan to become an adventurer."\n\n<img src="images/Ophelia.png">\n\n"Oh! Hello, Ophelia, it's nice to meet you," Stacia replies, seeming just mildly flustered but also sincere, smiling brightly and offering a hand that Ophelia grasps gently. "Where are you from? Reth may have told you, but we're from a small town near Lunacrest."\n\n"I'm from... a... peasant village," Ophelia says slowly, obviously not having thought this story out, just continuing to shake Stacia's hand. "A... sheepkin peasant village. That... ... the Maou definitely ordered not to be burned," she adds firmly with a nod, obviously adding the thing she's most certain about peasant villages for authenticity.\n\nYou put a hand to your face, suddenly realizing that Ophelia's skill at infiltration must have been almost entirely because of mind magic and usually having her tits out.\n\nLuckily, Stacia... buys it? "Oh, you know, I heard that about the Snow White Maou, that he was very strict about not letting his armies attack the small villages and things like that! I guess even Demon Lords can be a bit decent, huh?" Her saying that gives you a decidedly weird feeling in your chest... which turns to mild panic as she tilts her head. "Oh, but how do you know he specifically ordered your village not to be burned?"\n\n"..." Ophelia just stares at her, slowly shaking Stacia's hand still, before apparently giving up and saying, "The Maou told me so."\n\nYou fling yourself backwards onto the ground, hands covering your face and legs kicking in the air in despair, before whipping back into calmly stirring the soup and focusing entirely on it as Stacia tosses you a glance. "He... told you?" Then comprehension (you guess) dawns on her face. "Oh, you mean like he gloated about how he was going to spare your pitiful little hamlet from doom so you should be grateful, that sort of thing, huh?! That totally sounds like something some arrogant egomaniac like a Demon Lord would do!"\n\n... stacia plz...\n\n"Anyway, if you want to come the rest of the way to Dynahan with us, definitely feel free!" Stacia continues, finally managing to extract herself from the handshake with a modicum of politeness. "The more the merrier and all!"\n\n"I guess Master said something like that too," Ophelia observes.\n\n"Er, 'Master'?" Stacia blinks as Ophelia walks over and plops down to sit beside you. "... Eh?"\n\n"Sh-she's joking around, y'know?!" you say, laughing nervously and rubbing the back of her head. "She said earlier that I looked like her teacher in adventuring, you know, her 'Master', and she was calling me that as a joke!"\n\n"Oh! Right, right, that is definitely a thing I did as a joke!" Ophelia adds, apparently finally catching on that she's slipped up a few times, and joining in your long nervous laugh with you.\n\nStacia blinks repeatedly... then laughs nervously herself, apparently not wanting to be left out. Once all three of you have trailed off into awkward giggles, she bends to pick up her bow and quiver. "Well, I'll try and hunt some meat to take with us real quick, so that we can have it for dinner tonight without having to wait."\n\n"That's a good idea! You do that, Stacia!" you enthuse, giving her a thumbs-up... then wheeling on Ophelia the moment Stacia has her back turned, grabbing her by the throat and shaking her as you hiss, "How! Are! You! So! Bad! At! This!"\n\n"You! Told! Me! To! Put! Away! My! Tits!" Ophelia rasps back as she's flung back and forth... both of you instantly whipping back into stirring the soup (in your case) and poking the fire (in her case) as Stacia turns around and takes a brief curious look, before she shrugs and turns to walk off into the forest, prompting you to yank Ophelia into a headlock and viciously noogie her. "Waaaah, Master, pleeeeease, my haaair!"\n\n"Stop calling me 'Master' in front of others! It's weird, you're not a slave!" you huff, releasing her.\n\n"Can't I be your slave instead?" Ophelia says with a pout, tapping her fingertips together again. "That sounds way more nice than being an adventurer." She perks up, expression brightening. "Ooo, ooo, you could get me a leash, and spank me when I misbehave, and obviously I'd only misbehave when I want a spanking, and-!"\n\n"Stop," you say flatly, putting a hand over her face, which prompts her to literally freeze in place. "... Okay that does sound fun but it would be way too weird for a kid from the sticks like I'm supposed to be to suddenly have a slave, especially one as pretty and obviously high quality as you," you add as you lower your hand.\n\n"... Really? I'm pretty and high quality?" Ophelia murmurs, her cheeks pink as she sways her shoulders back and forth and taps her fingers agian.\n\n"Obviously," you answer absently, spooning some of the soup into a bowl. "Look, the point is, it would raise too many questions. Maybe we can figure something out later, but for now just call me 'Reth' when we're around Stacia or other people."\n\nOphelia makes a mildly distressed noise, then huffs. "Master, if the human is really so important to you, can't we just tell her?"\n\n"... Ah?" You blink, looking over at Ophelia. "Are you serious?"\n\n"Well you half told her last night anyway! If you explain everything then I can call you Master in front of her!" the ram-horned woman asserts with a nod... then glances upward and shrugs elaborately. "Oh and I guess it would probably also be good for you on this whole 'reformed and honest' thing you're doing but that's hardly the most important thing!"\n\n... Actually outright telling Stacia everything... could you really do that? If anyone would understand, you somehow think it would be her. But... but what if she didn't? You kind of feel really... hurt-y... at the idea of her leaving you, or worse, hating you.\n\n<hr>\n[[Tell her.|Reth]]\n\n[[... Maybe someday.|Reth5x5]]

You sigh heavily, sitting up and urging Ophelia back, though this does kind of wind up with her on your lap, which you have a lot more trouble ignoring now than back when you were Maou, for some reason. "Listen, Ophelia, the truth is that... yes, I've decided to make a go of it as a human adventurer."\n\n"But you're the Maou!" she blurts, then pouts when you quickly shush her, adding in a softer but more petulant tone, "You arrrre!"\n\n"I was," you say firmly. "And I was beaten by a Hero and his Companions... all of them adventurers. Every Maou since the first has been defeated that way. Only an idiot keeps bashing his forehead against a foe's hammer hoping to break it... the smarter thing to do is be the one holding the hammer, right?" You shrug. "Besides... it's a new life, I guess I want to try something different. Maybe being an adventurer will be fun."\n\nYou do feel kind of bad since Ophelia looks steadily more upset through your whole explanation, and is visibly tearing up at the last sentence. "But... but adventurers are the enemies of demons and monsters!"\n\n"I mean... I guess that's so," you allow. "But only the ones who make trouble, and I'd never hurt you!" you hurry to add, without really thinking about it. What an odd thing to say, and yet you just said it right out.\n\n"... Hmph!" Ophelia abruptly leaps to her feet, whipping around to display her firm ass to you as her tail lifts and flicks in agitation. "W-well then, if you're going to go off and become an adventurer, you are definitely not the Maou and... and I guess we're through!" she declares, squaring her shoulders and starting to walk off.\n\n<hr>\n[["Hey!"|Reth]]\n\n[["... Take care..."|Reth]]\n\n[["... Ophelia!"|Reth5x4]]

"Something different?" Stacia asks with a blink.\n\nYou know you're taking a risk trying to explain this to her, but you've actually been thinking about it a lot lately, and part of what you've decided is that you need to be at least a little bit honest with Stacia. Not... entirely honest, that might be a little bit much, but some honest. "Stacia, have you ever thought that maybe reincarnation is possible, and you'd possibly lived a life before this one?"\n\n"Er, well... I know sometimes the Heroes say they've been 'reincarnated' into this world after encounters with something called 'trucks'," Stacia replies, now frowning thoughtfully herself. "And I suppose if it happens to Heroes it's possible it happens to us too. But why?"\n\n"There are times that I feel like I lived another life..." Which is all the time, because you did, but nevermind. "And I can remember it sometimes, and I guess lately thinking on it, I feel like I made a lot of wrong choices in that life. So I'm going to do something that feels really different from that, and hope it works out better. I know that sounds weird, but, well... you asked, so I wanted to be honest."\n\n"Hmmmmmm." Stacia closes her eyes and makes a show of thinking hard... then grins brightly and gives you her usual shaking. "Well there's a lot of weird in this world! So if you say that's so I definitely believe you, Reth, and we'll make your new life way better than your last for sure!"\n\n"Hahaha," you reply sheepishly. 'I'm going to miss the harem,' you think wistfully. But maybe it really is time to give up on all those Demon Lord aspirations. After all, in all the history of Lytozia, has there ever been a Demon Lord that didn't fall to Heroes and adventurers? Maybe the smart money is to be on the consistently winning side this time. Besides, if some other upstart decides to become the new Maou, you feel you owe them a kick in the balls just on principle.\n\nAs you and Stacia make camp and chat, you finally, after all these years, start letting yourself get sincerely drawn into her enthusiasm for becoming an adventurer. After all, aren't they a lot like your own former aspirations? Freedom! Power! Fame! Money! Women! Though you don't mention that last one, since you have this idea that it might not go over entirely well with Stacia. But all the same, maybe being an adventurer can be plenty of fun in its own way, if not quite the high-living depravity you enjoyed in your former life.\n\nDespite her earlier declaration of the camp's likely safety, Stacia insists on taking turns sleeping, if for nothing else than to start preparing for a life on the road. That seems reasonable to you... besides, with your magic you can virtually eliminate your need for sleep for days or even weeks. So you volunteer to take the first watch, Stacia snuggling up in her sleeping bag and seeming quite content as she drifts off to sleep. You open your journal and start messing with a few magical circles... until you hear a twig crack in the darkness beyond. Frowning, you look up. That sounded weirdly... deliberate. And there's something, almost a smell, but more of a sense, or maybe a pressure, and it seems... familiar? Glancing at Stacia, you decide to take a risk and close your journal, tucking it away as you rise to your feet and head away from the fire and towards the sound. You keep your ears open mostly, wary for the sound of anyone trying to double back and get to Stacia. But that feeling of something familiar gets stronger, and eventually you call a soft "Hello?"\n\nThere's a rustle in the bushes... and then a near-naked figure pops out of them and leaps towards you, arms and legs thrown around you. "MASTER~!"\n\n"Oof!" Not nearly as strong and sturdy as you were the last time she did this, you go crashing to the ground on your back, winding up with a pair of breasts only half-covered by thin black cloth pressing against your face. "... Hello Ophelia."\n\n"Master, Master, Master! It is you, it iiiis!" the demoness squeals happily, wriggling above you. Her own short, pale hair is a more platinum-like color than yours as well as straighter and tinged with pink here and there, a pair of curling ram-like horns jutting out of it and curling around her ears. The only things she's wearing are a black bikini top tied behind her neck and back, skimpy side-tie bottoms, black stockings with open toes and heels, and tight black sleeves covering her from wrist to mid-upper-arm. Her tail flicks excitedly back and forth and her wings give a few little flicks as she rubs herself on you. "You look and smell and sound and taste like a human but it's yooooou!"\n\n"When did you taste mAGH!" you yelp as she gives your cheek a lick, before you quickly put a hand over her mouth. "Quiet. Don't wake Stacia."\n\n"... Mkeh," Ophelia murmurs, maroon eyes blinking as you remove your hand. "But why are we caring about waking the human? Master... Master, all that stuff you said earlier about your life as the Maou being a mistake, you didn't mean it, did you?"\n\nThat makes you blink. "You were listening?"\n\n"I was looking for you a long time, Master! I knew you must have either gone somewhere or used your secret reincarnation spell, and I had to find you, and eventually I did! ... But then I heard you saying that you were wrong before, and now you want to be an adventurer," she adds in a sorrowful tone, wings and tail drooping.\n\nAh, that's right... Ophelia was the one you asked to secure the materials for the ritual, because out of all your servants, soldiers, slaves, and generals, she was the only one whose loyalty you had absolute faith in. ... Actually you're not even sure why you've always had such faith in her loyalty, you just kind of... did. It looks like you're going to have to give her an answer, too, since she's here. ... And on top of you.\n\n<hr>\n[["Of course not!"|Reth]]\n\n[["... Well..."|Reth5x3]]

"Red-chu, Lita-chu, why don't I see what I can do to soften his stance?" Saruko suggests at your mental nudge, smiling. "I was taught rather courtly courtesy growing up, so perhaps a bit of diplomacy is in order. If I can't convince him to allow us, or even some of us, into the house tonight then perhaps I can talk him into letting us stay for a few days so that we can prepare."\n\n"That sounds like a good idea," Red says after a moment's thought. "Maybe we were too intimidating showing up all three at once. C'mon, Liti, let's go to the barn and get comfortable. Or as comfortable as we can."\n\nAs the three of you turn and start towards the barn, Saruko pats her hip gently a few times. "Phantom, stay boy." That startles both you and the other two... you didn't nudge her to do that! ... Could Saruko have her own wickedness planned? If so that means the marks have progressed wonderfully. Curious, you turn and pad back to her side. The other two look a bit more sour at the fact that you won't be joining them for fun times in the barn, but apparently decide not to protest it and continue their path. Saruko spends a few moments smoothing out her skirt, tugging her top a bit further closed, and brushing her hair back over her shoulders before she gives a crisp, polite knock at the door.\n\nRehn opens it again, looking a bit suspicious. "Yes? May I help you?"\n\n"Sir, I understand what you said and respect it, truly I do," Saruko immediately says, her practiced Common Tongue having taken on an added edge of aristocratic courtesy as she brings her hands up and clasps them in gentle pleading. "But... the truth is, in my country it is forbidden for women to sleep under the same roof as hooved animals. I would be shamed before my father and ancestors if I did so. I do not wish you to anger your wife, but it is almost certain to rain tonight," she adds, just a gentle bit of piteousness in her voice at the last.\n\n"... Ah, well... I definitely don't want you shamed in front of your father," Rehn hedges a little, awkwardly rubbing the back of his head.\n\n"Would it help to assure you, sir, that I myself am in a committed relationship, and would certainly never stray with another, just as I am sure you are committed to your wife?" Saruko adds, actually getting you to glance curiously at her. What is this deft line of bullshit she's weaving? \n\nThat definitely puts a crack in his resolve. "Ah, well, if that's so then... maybe. ... At least please come inside and have dinner," he suggests, stepping back and gesturing her in.\n\n"Thank you, sir, you are a credit to your country," Saruko says smoothly, stepping past the threshold with the confidence of someone that knows once they're inside they're not going to be kicked out. "Come, Phantom!"\n\nRehn looks just a little dour as he realizes that letting a dog into the house is apparently part of this package, but doesn't actually protest as you follow after Saruko into the warm, cozy interior. He instead closes the door and invites her to sit at the table, and you plop your butt on the floor next to Saruko's chair as she eats, apparently sincerely complimenting his cooking with grace and gentility, making Rehn subtly preen a bit. You're guessing his wife probably doesn't heap praise on him, whatever her other virtues might be. He briefly heads out to set out some bowls and a small cauldron of stew on the porch, before returning and chatting with Saruko as naturally as a back-country farmer can with a gently-raised adventurer from a foreign land. As he's gathering the dishes and putting them away, he asks cheerfully, "Ah, that's right, you never told me what your man is like!"\n\n"Oh, well, not exactly a 'man', really?" Saruko says musingly, glancing upward and tapping a fingertip delicately against the corner of her mouth.\n\n"Ah? Oh, um, sorry, are you a... I mean..." His face colors a bit. "I mean, perhaps one of the girls you arrived with?" he asks sheepishly, picking up his cup of tea and taking a sip from it.\n\nSaruko smiles indulgently, while you lean down to lap at the bowl of water Rehn set down for you, wondering where she's going with all of this. "No, not that either. In fact, you see, my lover is..." She puts a hand to her cheek and tilts her head. "Phantom here."\n\nSPLTZ!\n\nSPLTZ!\n\nRehn hacks and coughs around his throatful of tea, while you wheeze out the water that went up your nose. This bitch you swear! You're still snuffling a bit even as Saruko placidly lays a hand atop your head and rubs it soothingly. "He is a most considerate lover, I must say. Very skilled with his tongue," she adds in a conspiratorial whisper, which actually almost makes you blush. "And I really wouldn't consider being with someone else. ... Well, without his approval," she concludes thoughtfully, cupping her chin and glancing down.\n\n"Uh... er... uh... um... uh... er..." Rehn seems fairly stymied at that, not that you're at all sure where she's going with this either. He glances back and forth between her and you, shifting in place nervously. "I mean... uh... I-I see. Um... s-so, sleeping in a place with hooved animals shames you, but f-... er, having a dog as your lover, that's fine?" he asks, frowning a bit.\n\n"Mmmmm..." Saruko once again makes a show of glancing upwards and tapping the corner of her mouth, before she lifts her finger and smiles winningly. "Well, a girl likes to keep her shaming of her ancestors from growing unnecessarily, right?" That sort of makes his jaw drop, meanwhile you're actually trying not to transition from wheezing to the canine equivalent of cackling like a madman. This bitch you swear! Then your head perks up as Saruko says, in an utterly innocent tone, "Would you like to see?"\n\n"Uh. ... What?" Rehn seems to have had his thoughts scrambled by that a bit again, blinking repeatedly.\n\n"Would you like to watch Phantom and I make love?" she repeats as if it were a very simple concept, rising from her chair and starting to undo the ties of her skirt. "I think you'd find it rather stimulating."\n\n"Er, hey, whoa whoa whoa!" Rehn quickly sets down his mug and raises both hands. "I mean, other than anything else, remember, I'm married!"\n\nSaruko giggles even as she lets her skirt drop, Rehn's eyes widening at her bare pussy being so suddenly revealed. "Don't be silly, good sir, I'm not asking you to have sex with me! I'm asking you to watch me have sex with my dog! How is that in any way disloyal?" she adds as if it were the most common sense thing in the world, shrugging off her top as well, just like that utterly naked save for her boots, which she leans down to begin unlacing, utterly shameless about sticking her bare ass up in the air or her heavy tits jiggling as she moves her hands.\n\n"... uh..." Rehn seems to be at a loss for how to answer that with anything other than 'obviously', but from Saruko's delivery has apparently been subtly convinced that won't cut it. Instead he simply watches in stunned silence as she slips her loosened boots off and then settles elegantly onto her knees, cooing as she rubs your sides and leans in to press her lips to your muzzle.\n\nYou wag your tail in a bit of smug pride as you lap at Saruko's open mouth, feeling her hands grow ever more bold and direct as she scratches your back and fondles your sheath. You've finally realized what's happening... it wasn't obvious when it was just her and her friends out in the wilderness by themselves, but apparently Saruko's Mark is urging her to indulge in some repressed streak of exhibitionism. It's actually not a bad development at all... there's even a particular kind of succubus she might eventually evolve into, one who's more of an 'emotional vampire' than anything, feeding off the emotions she inspires in others than directly on sex or energy. It certainly seems like that might be where her Mark is heading, as she murmurs a sensual, gentle, and very audible to Rehn request for you to roll onto your back. She settles at an angle that will perfectly show off her ass to him, complete with her sweet pucker and her pussy framed by her perfectly elegant thighs, but still gives him a view of her mouth sliding over your glistening canine cock and her hands fondling your balls and teasing at your pucker.\n\nYou let out doggish moans and kick one of your hindpaws in the air as Saruko works... despite her obviously putting on more of a show than concentrating on feel, it definitely still feels amazing... in fact all the moreso for the fact that this once proper, sweet, and refined sword artisan is in the midst of seducing a married man into watching her fuck an animal. Saruko shamelessly slides a finger into your ass, pumping it gently in and out to stimulate you further as she sucks your cock, a particularly enthusiastic prostitute's action for both cultures involved, nevermind that she's doing it to a dog. She does her best to make an obvious kissing noise as her lips bump your knot, and again and again as she slides her head up and down, moving it in practiced side-to-side bobs as well that speak of a sincere enthusiasm for slurping a big bestial fuckstick. Rehn just seems to have had his brain shut down for the most part, staring with wide eyes, a slack jaw, and a tent in his pants.\n\nEventually Saruko slides her mouth off of you and moves, facing towards Rehn, locking eyes with him even as she shakes her ass beckoningly. You oblige, of course, rolling to your feet... but since she commented your tongue skills, you at least briefly put them to work, lapping particularly animalistically at her sodden cunt and her displayed pucker, Saruko moaning even more loudly and enthusiastically than usual as you do. But soon enough you heft yourself up, her tits jiggling energetically from the impact of your fuzzy chest against her smooth, flawless back, and even moreso as you make a bit of a show of it yourself, needing several thrusts with your pointed prick not quite finding her pussy before you manage to find your target... her ass. Saruko gasps loudly as you lightly 'punish' her for her cheek even if she doesn't know it, but certainly doesn't seem upset about it, instead moaning out a sensual, "Oh my, he's fucking my ass! My beloved Phantom is stuffing his big canine prick into my ass! [Oh, his cock feels so good, I love his cock in my ass!]" she whimpers, adding the last in her own language. Usually you save fucking her ass for when she's been very good... or has been a bit of a brat, like she has tonight. The impact of it certainly seems to be helping the show, since Rehn's eyes went even wider at her statement.\n\nSaruko moans loudly and sensually with every pump of your puppy prick into her pucker, subtly meeting you with rolling motions that get the most jiggle out of her tits and the most visible impact of her ass against your furry hips. And the entire time her gaze is fixed unwaveringly on Rehn, never faltering even as she makes lewd, slutty shapes with her mouth and continues occasionally blurting out about how good a dog dick feels in her ass. But her voice is particularly sensual, and particularly needful as she moans out, "Jerk off."\n\n"W-w-w-wha?" Rehn stammers once his brain kicks into gear enough to realize she was talking to him.\n\n"Th-that's what you call it here, right?" she says in an attempt at her earlier sweet, refined tone, albeit all the lewder because it's threaded with all the shameless moans she's giving as you pound her tight rear hole. "Jerking off? Please, do it, do it while you watch me, it's almost painful seeing you suffer so!" she adds.\n\nRehn glances down, staring at the dark spot that's actually developed at the tip of the bulge in his pants, giving a low groan as he looks back at Saruko, shivering as you give a particularly bestial 'whff' and slap your knot against her pucker hard enough to make her squeal. "I-I can't, I... m-my wife-"\n\n"Masturbating isn't cheating, it's fine," Saruko assures him, even as the words trail into a sensual moan as she gives a whorish shake of her hips.\n\nAs flimsy as that pretext is, Rehn only holds out for a few seconds more before giving a groan of shame even as he quickly yanks the ties of his pants open. The moment his obviously achingly stiff prick springs free he grabs it and starts pumping for all he's worth, breathing harder than ever as he strokes it, his eyes glazing over some as he lets himself fall into the lewd scene playing out in front of his eyes.\n\n'Well done, dear, you got him,' you think, nipping at Saruko's ear affectionately which makes her give a happy yip. You can now easily put a Mark on Rehn, either converting him into a follower or just leaving him here to further spread debauchery and enhance your power in the process. Or you could establish an energy link between him and Saruko, letting her feed off of his energies more directly and heavily accelerate her transformation into an emotional succubus.\n\nHm... or you could just see where she goes with it. You have to admit, this whole thing has been fun, and it might not be so bad to just let your sweet little slave-lover have her way for awhile, playing along to enjoy the ride.\n\n<hr>\n[[Mark Rehn.|IrMon]]\n\n[[Help Saruko transform.|IrMon]]\n\n[[Let Saruko take the lead.|IrMon]]

"... I don't think the Guildhall's a good place for him right now," you say after spending some time in thought. "Everyone he meets is gonna be at risk of going through this same thing at any time, and he's just gonna be around all the places they were together, and that can't be good when he's this... raw." You rub your hands together, then shake your head. "I'll sell the Hoplon."\n\n"Oh, Leo, no, I know this is a big change but you can't, you poured your heart and soul into getting that ship," Neo replies, sitting bolt upright.\n\n"Yeah, but I sell it, it'll be enough to buy a place for us planetside, somewhere nice, and give some breathing room if I can't get a job right away." You shrug. "I'll put a hold on my license, get us set up off the Guildhall. When Aiane's ready to head out on his own I can get back to merc work... at least then I'll have a decent place to live while I save up for a new ship."\n\n"Well..." Neo frowns, almost pouting, before she asserts, "Well, sell it to me, then."\n\n"Sis, c'mon..."\n\n"No, seriously, I'll pay you what it's worth. At least that way it stays in the family and when you do save up the money, you can just buy it back from me. Or, y'know, I'll keep it and smug at you forever," she adds, trying to smirk at you again, though the best she can manage is a wan smile even now. "So where're you thinking of moving?"\n\nYou turn it over a little more, but you've already largely made up your mind. "Makarzia."\n\n"Oh, ew, seriously?" Neo pulls a face as if she'd accidentally shoved a lemon on her tongue. "Makarzia, Leo, really?"\n\n"I'm not talking about moving to one of the slum sectors washed-up broke mercs getting kicked out of their Guildhall apartments wind up in," you answer in a dry tone, leaning back in your chair. "But credits go a lot further on Makarzia... I sell the ship, it's enough to outright buy a really nice apartment in one of the better sectors, and keep us comfortable for awhile besides. Plus it's a multi-species world, Aiane won't have to worry about hiding his ears when he goes out, I could even send him to a decent school, let him meet kids whose parents aren't mercenaries."\n\n"Mm. Guess all that's true." Neo sighs. "Just... be careful, alright? It's not like there's border checkpoints at the sectors, nothing really to keep the scum and villainy in their hive other than them feeling comfier there."\n\n"Yeah, yeah."\n\nSeveral weeks later, you push open the door of your new apartment and step inside, a box tucked under one arm. You have to admit, you're impressed... the apartment isn't just nice, it's luxurious. The furniture is currently a bit sparse, some scattered sleek black, chrome, and white things all around the wide open area. The apartment, well condo really, takes up almost a quarter of this floor of the large apartment building, and itself has two levels, as well as multiple bedrooms. Most of the outside walls are just windows, looking out on the sparkling city of overdesigned buildings of all sizes. "Man, check this out, kiddo."\n\n"Mm." Aiane follows you in, carrying a box and with his messenger bag on his shoulder, looking around with still slightly dull eyes... but you do notice at least some perk of interest to them. "I guess it's pretty nice, yeah."\n\n"I'd say so. The rest of our stuff gets delivered tomorrow, so go pick out which of the rooms you want. Any of 'em."\n\n"Seriously?" That does actually put a bit of sparkle into his eyes, which track over to the stairs that lead up to the very large loft master bedroom.\n\n"Yup, seriously, any of 'em." \n\nHe does look like he's seriously considering it, before instead turning and making for the hallway that leads to the first floor bedrooms. Honestly, you feel a little relieved, you kind of fell in love with the loft when you looked at this place, but damned if you wouldn't have let him have it if he wanted it. 'Prolly wants one closer to the door,' you think, trying to cheer yourself up with the idea of him sneaking out to meet girls or something. ... Ah, wait, isn't that supposed to terrify you? You're... not very up on your proper parental reactions, you guess.\n\nWell, you'll figure it out. For now you stand at the window and enjoy the view, trying to plan out what to do over the next few days. Tomorrow will involve various bits of arranging furniture and unpacking, but after that... hm...\n\n<hr>\n[[Focus on spending time with Aiane.|LeoSon]]\n\n[[Focus on getting a job.|LeoSon]]\n\n[[Focus on getting used to your new life.|LeoSon]]

No, no... deep breaths. While you do look vaguely like the human-ish form you took as a Maou, it's nowhere near close enough to be identical. Plus if it's the Companion you think it is, she was quite young at the time... she might not even remember what you looked like anyway. Deep breaths, deep breaths, stay calm you tell yourself, as Ophelia and Stacia make their way into the class and move to sit down on either side of you.\n\n... Oh crap, Ophelia.\n\n"... Hey," you hiss to her in a whisper, leaning in particularly close which for some reason makes her face a bit red. "Do you remember that Northern Mountains catkin that was one of the Hero's Companions?"\n\n"Hm? Oh yeah, I saw images, she was pretty adorable, honestly," Ophelia whispers back, tilting her head closer, and giving a soft "Sorry" as one of her horns bonks you lightly on the skull.\n\n"Did you ever meet her, or fight her, or anything like that?"\n\n"No, I only saw the images. Don't worry, she definitely won't recognize me when she gets here," your former general chirps quietly, grinning.\n\n"... You knew?" you ask flatly.\n\n"Oh sure, I did a ton of investigating of this place, I knew like the second day. ... Is that a thing I should have mentioned earlier?" she asks curiously, putting a fingertip to her lower lip.\n\nYou raise a trembling hand, fingers curled with the desire to wrap them around Ophelia's pretty neck, before quickly shoving your hand to your thigh and forcing a rictus of a grin as Stacia looks over at you curiously. About that time the door opens again and a new arrival strides in, obviously the teacher in question with her white hair, feline ears and tail, and simple blue garments with darker blue trim embroidered with elaborate white lines. Except your jaw drops at the sight of the large breasts that jiggle with her every step inside her folded top, a fair bit of cleavage shown off by it not being entirely closed in front by the wide sash wrapped around her waist. The broad hips and large round ass shown off by the top only coming down as a flap in front and a bifurcated flap in back to allow her tail through, allowing the simple wound white cloth serving as her panties to be seen almost constantly, those make your brain stop working as well, though probably not for the same reason most of the rest of the class is staring with mouths slightly agape at the curvaceous beauty in front of you. She comes to a stop at the front of the class and strikes a rather show-offy pose as if about to draw the curved blade at her side, though it's clearly more to display her expertly-crafted handguards that match her shin-and-footguards, the tilt of her head displaying the broad headband she's wearing over her short hair, just as her grin shows off her small fangs, the smile reflected in her pale, slit-pupiled blue eyes.\n\n<img src="images/Sinikka.jpg">\n\n"Hihi~! I'm Sinikka Bai, and I'll be teaching you equipment maintenance for the next few months!" she calls in a cheerful, casually sensuous tone.\n\n'What the hell happened to her?!' you blurt inside your own brain, eyes still wide. ... Oh, wait. Time happened. Twelve + Sixteen = Tits and ass, apparently. You were so flustered by the realization you'd be seeing one of the Hero's Companions again that you forgot an entire lifetime had passed between then and now for you, and at least half a one for most of them, with the changes in some likely to be more obvious than others.\n\n"Now some of you may have heard of me, that I used to be one of the Hero's Companions, or that we defeated the Snow White Maou together, or even that I'm called the Smith Saint. Well, all of that is toootally true, but right now 'Teacher' will suffice for any of you who are thinking of getting grandiose." Sinikka straightens up and lifts the strap of the sword she's wearing over her head and sets it down on the table, boobs jiggling a few times with her motions. She starts walking up and down in front of the front row, some of the students having an easier time with pretending not to try and catch glimpses of particular things as she goes past than others. "I teach various courses here at the school, so you'll probably be seeing a lot of me over the next few years. Though maybe not as much as some of you would like," she adds with a smirk, giving her ass a light wiggle and her tail a few flicks. "But you'll learn that... hm?"\n\nYour blood runs cold as she stops in front of you, looking right at you with a sort of vague expression of almost recognition on her face. The second where she does it seems to last an hour, but then she shrugs and continues on as if it hadn't happened. "But you'll learn that I absolutely will not tolerate anyone that doesn't properly maintain their equipment. Now you may not have the skills of a smith to do every little thing that's needful, but in this class I'll teach you everything you can do, and you better get in the habit of doing it any time you've got time. Not just your armor and weapons, but your bags, your belts, your firestarters, your cooking gear, everything you use out there can wind up being the thing you'd die without if the situation came up. Most of you in this room will still be wanting to my eyes when you graduate, but maybe have at least clawed your way up to something I call 'tolerable'," she continues, spinning on her heel, breasts taking a moment longer to stop their motion than she does before she begins her stride anew. "Some of you will have actually achieved what I like to call an 'acceptable' level of maintenance, which lesser minds would call 'obsessive'! And a lucky few of you who have reached that level and also distinguished themselves in their time at this school will get to graduate with equipment forged by me, specially for them! Heirloom quality equipment that you can pass down to your children, and their children, as long as you also pass down my standard of maintenance!"\n\nShe reaches the middle of the row and turns to sit back on the edge of the table, grinning again. "Now! We'll start with one of the most basic, but most important bits of maintenance almost everyone in this class will find useful at some point, and that is how to properly clean a blade!"\n\nAfter that it's... a class. The village you came from didn't have a school, per-se, but occasionally some of the adults would teach classes to the children about this or that, making sure all of you could read and do basic sums, and giving some of you with the aptitude more specialized instruction. In fact it's such a normal class that you could almost forget it's being taught by the curvaceous version of a ghost from your past. You take a few notes on some of the less obvious things Sinikka goes into, including the proper steps for disassembling and reassembling certain kinds of swords and knives, and which oils not to use. Eventually the class wraps up, and people start gathering up their things and making their way out the door... when you get another one of those nasty shocks.\n\n"Hey, Reth, isn't it?" Sinikka says as you're passing by. "Y'mind hanging back for a minute? There was something I wanted to ask you."\n\nOh crap, did she actually recognize you after all?! Should you make an excuse, or is that too suspicious? Think, think! ... Think about something other than murdering Ophelia!\n\n<hr>\n[[Excuse yourself.|Reth]]\n\n[[Stay and talk.|Reth5x10]]

Eh, Tyrnielle did seem to know what she was talking about, and your Magic ability tree path is one you're familiar with. "I'll go into the Magus class," you declare, handing the sheet back.\n\n"Alright, give me just one moment to unlock it for you," the priestess replies, holding both her palms towards you and closing her eyes. After a few seconds glowing designs and Majestrian words begin crawling across the skin of her palms like little mobile golden tattoos, and you feel something shift inside you.\n\nWith something like a click, your Magic ability tree is selected, just as you suspected it would be. Although... does it seem a little different this time? A quick skim of it in your mind seems to show a lot less in the way of control and alteration spells and a lot more defensive and healing abilities. It's definitely less... Maou-y than it was the last time you took it. Strange. In any event, the priestess smiles as she lowers her hands, which have lost their glowing designs. "There we go, you're now a Magus, congratulations! You can head to that table over there for your room assignment."\n\n"Thank you," you answer with a bob of the head, turning and heading over as directed.\n\nAlthough Ophelia could easily produce enough money to have all three of your group housed in the large mansion-like dorm where you suppose Amestra and Kordin must be staying, it would be far too suspicious for a trio of "backwoods hicks" to suddenly roll up with lord-type money. So instead you just accept the basic room assignment you're entitled to as included with your entry fee. (You're really going to have to make sure and pay Stacia back someday.) The room isn't much different than some of the basic inn rooms in human towns you've seen the inside of for various reasons in your previous life, with a simple wooden bed sized about right for a camping bedroll to be placed on it as a mattress, as well as a small desk with a simple chair up against the corner, and a single window looking out on what look like some small crop fields. Of course you're also not too surprised when Stacia and Ophelia show up shortly after you've settled in and make themselves at home by sitting on the side of the bed.\n\n"We're all neighbors so that's good! I wish the rooms were a little bigger so we could get together more comfortably, but there are also other places we can gather, I guess!" Stacia declares cheerfully, before glancing aside as Ophelia gives a little trill on the flute she's playing. "So you went with the Bard class after all?"\n\n"Mhm. I've done a lot of singing and playing before but I guess I never thought about how it was... fun. Or doing it for people I liked," Ophelia admits as she lowers the flute, smiling sheepishly. (Fitting for her cover.) "But I'm kind of starting to actually enjoy this, and I guess partly it's because of you, Stacia, so... thanks."\n\n"Aw." Stacia's cheeks color, but she quickly leans over and gives the other girl a hug. "Well I'm glad! And I'm glad Reth's doing well too. To think you'd go into an elite class right off the bat! A Magus... everyone back home's gonna drop their jaws when they hear!"\n\n'Yes, I'm sure they'll love pretending that they never treated me like dirt in the first place,' you think wryly, but without much bitterness. Honestly you have no plans to go back there, save maybe to briefly visit your parents, and you doubt Stacia will have much objection to that, so why fuss yourself over their opinions? "It's a good class, even if it's not 'once a generation'," you agree with a grin.\n\n"Oh gosh that's so exciting! We're going to be taking classes with someone who's an actual Sword Princess!"\n\n"If she takes the class, it kinda sounded like she might not," Ophelia notes, leaning back on her hands and smiling some. "Sword Princesses have to wear inspiring outfits, you know? Or their bonuses don't work."\n\n"Huh. Is that really true?" Stacia asks with a blink.\n\n"From what I've heard," you allow. You (alas... no, er, luckily, yeah, luckily) never despoiled one yourself as Maou, but you saw some magical recordings of one from the last Maou's archives. If you had to describe her fighting style and demeanor with a simple phrase, it would have been 'Fight fair with your butt bare.' Even the elf mage that helped defeat you, a race and class combination well known for their skimpy outfits, had more of her ass covered than the sword princess that fought a prior Maou.\n\n"Well... it's not like she's not really beautiful anyway, I bet she's got great skin," Stacia notes with a bit of a blush. "But I guess she doesn't seem the sort who wants to show off so I'd understand if she didn't want to. Either way do you think she'd give me more sword lessons?" Stacia asks excitedly, bouncing a little in place again.\n\n"I bet she would, she seems nice," Ophelia notes, then blinks as if surprised. You get the sense she said that because she actually thought it rather than as part of her cover, which must be an odd thing to realize for a demoness.\n\n"She does," you allow. "And probably as much of a training nut as you, Stacia."\n\n"Really?! You think so?!"\n\n"Yeah. That Kordin guy she's engaged to isn't awful either, I guess," you note. "But you probably ought to take me with you when you train with her, if she agrees. I get the sense that Kordin probably watches her like a hawk to make sure she doesn't get hurt, and if you accidentally hurt her he might forget that accidents happen."\n\n"Eh, you really think he'd do that? Love sure is weird," Stacia murmurs quietly, before smiling at you. "But... I'd be really happy if you watched me practice, Reth," she says quietly, cheeks pinking.\n\n'Is that what it is, love?' you think a few days later as you're helping carry some things from a storeroom to a classroom. If so you'd have to agree with Stacia, it's pretty weird. It always seemed weird to you when you were a Maou, too. Of course now that you've let that old life go to a certain extent, you realize you're feeling far more comfortable being a human, and it's a little easier to understand some of your own feelings. Such as, you suppose you actually love your mother and father, they did after all care for you and raise you and were quite kind to you, it's just now much easier to see the emotion for what it is. Though... thinking of emotions, and how you get a similarly warm feeling thinking of Stacia or Ophelia, but with an extra odd tingling feeling to it... ... nnh, maybe that's an emotion you're not ready to puzzle out. But you suppose you'd be very upset if someone hurt one of them too.\n\nYou spend much of the next two weeks doing similar chores, helping in the fields, cleaning things. Ophelia pouts a bit over never going to visit the city, but you notice she also seems rather absorbed in her study and practice of music. It's nice to think that she might have discovered something simple and pleasurable that didn't require reincarnation into a human to enjoy... ... hm, does that imply anything about your own prior state and your assumptions about Monsters versus Mortals? ... Naaaah, surely not. Either way, she also accompanies you when you watch Amestra and Stacia practice their swordplay, with Kordin also watching from the side, purple eyes as focused as any hawk's as he watches the motion of the blades, every so often twitching a bit as if wanting to intervene but forcing himself not to. Amestra and you occasionally spar as well, with you using a borrowed sword, but Kordin gets so intense and taut with being ready to spring into motion at any time that it becomes far too distracting. Eventually Amestra gets annoyed and makes him take over sparring with you and giving tips... which he does, and though his tone is tense and quite cool as he offers advice, you can't help but think that it actually is pretty good advice most of the time.\n\nBut eventually the 'free time' comes to an end, and you make your way to the classroom in the morning, rows of benches with small, simple desks set in front of them at intervals facing the front of the room where a number of prop dummies, hangers, and displays are set up along with a large, broad table. You settle onto a bench and scoot behind a desk, taking out some writing paper and one of the 'pens' they sell in human cities. (One of those nice Hero-inspired inventions that you admit you wouldn't want to do without. One of Ophelia's jobs used to be to buy them for you regularly on her trips.) You're focusing on getting your area ready, sort of only vaguely paying attention to the chatter of other students around you as you wait for Stacia and Ophelia and, of course, the teacher.\n\n"Man, I can't wait for this class, I'm so looking forward to it!"\n\n"Eh? Isn't this one of those basic-of-the-basics? I mean it's even in the title, 'Basic Equipment Maintenance'."\n\n"Whaaat you didn't hear? The teacher is this absolutely scorching hot catkin from the Northern Mountains?"\n\n'Hm? Catkin from the Northern Mountains?' you frown thoughtfully as you glance up. 'Didn't I know of one of those who was good with equipment?'\n\n"Huh, really? Yeah I heard they dress pretty lewd."\n\n"For sure, especially since she's an adventurer! They call her the Smith Saint, she's so good with crafting stuff!"\n\n... A catkin from the Northern Mountains who's a talented equipment crafter? Wait, wait, no way, she's-\n\n"And this one was even an authentic Companion! She journeyed with the Inferno Hero and everything! Oh maaaan I can't wait to meet her and use a few moves!"\n\n"Pft, like you could ever hope to snag a Companion, you useless lesbian."\n\n"Screw you, I'm an extremely useful lesbian and I bet I could!"\n\nOh no oh no oh no oh shit! Your first class here and it's being taught by one of the adventurers that beat the shit out of you in your last life! How can anyone's luck possibly be this bad?! What if she recognizes you somehow?! It'd be all over!\n\n<hr>\n[[Quick, ditch class!|Reth]]\n\n[[Quick, calm your ass down!|Reth5x9]]

Instead of giving an immediate answer, you point at Leiro. "Navy or infantry?"\n\nShe blinks a few times, shifting her shoulders a little before admitting, "Well, my specialties in logistics, administration, and combat are primarily in dealing with mobile infantry, but I assure you my grades regarding the naval aspects of those fields were perfectly acceptable!"\n\nYou shift your pointing finger to Yrna, who seems to know where this is going from the slightly resigned look on her face. "I'm a spacer through and through, I have only basic training in ground combat and tactics."\n\n"Alright. Aboard ship, Commander Yrna has the authority. When we're on missions off the ship, Commander Madani is in charge." You glance back and forth between them. "Acceptable?"\n\n"... I mean... but which of us is the actual First Officer?" Leiro says in a slightly plaintive tone.\n\n"Look we'll figure out the issue of that when we've got a crew big enough for that to mean something. Maybe, hopefully by that time you two will have figured out how to work together." When they give each other a 'not likely' look, you shake your head. "You're both professionals, I expect you to be able to work this out in a professional way."\n\nThat apparently shames them a little, and they both nod slowly before Leiro clears her throat. "In that case I should get back to assisting the shi-... ah, Leisai... with finding a suitable shipyard." She clenches a fist and yanks it up to almost touch her shoulder as if curling a weight. "Captain." She pauses, then turns to Yrna and repeats the motion. "Commander." Then she heads for the door.\n\nYrna waits for the door to close behind her, before frowning a bit. "Sir, I... permission to speak freely?"\n\n"Go ahead and assume it, especially in private, we're not exactly regular military here," you note with a wry look.\n\n"... True. On that note... do you really expect that... do you really expect Commander Madani to respect my authority aboard the ship instead of just looking for some way to justify taking command as soon as possible?"\n\n"I think if you don't give her any reasons to question your command, she won't," you answer honestly. "Treat her like you would want to be treated in her place and I think it will work out. If it doesn't I'll revisit the issue, promise."\n\nYrna mulls that over for a second, then nods. "Understood. Then I'll go and assist with the systems diagnostics." She snaps a flattened hand up to point at her forehead. "Captain." With that she pivots and strides out as well.\n\nPhew. Well there's the first hurdle. Shaking your head, you glance at the screen, then back at the door. You're tired, but you also feel like maybe you should talk to some of the others, see if there are any more of these issues likely to crop up. ... And then there was what you could swear you heard Kazha say... ahem, but maybe you just misheard her. Anyway, you can either call up one of the other crewmembers, or grab some sleep.\n\n<hr>\n[[Call in Kazha.|LeoScape]]\n\n[[Call in Niel.|LeoScape]]\n\n[[Call in Nyoro.|LeoScape]]\n\n[[Call in Leisai.|LeoScape]]\n\n[[Sleep.|LeoScape]]

"Sure, no problem. First of all, though, do you have a name?" you ask, giving the droid a winning smile, since even if it's just an AI, being polite and friendly never hurts.\n\nThere's just the briefest second of hesitation before the floating drone answers, "Ysno Conglomerate ships and AIs are not granted names. I am simply the AI of Cruiser #1315."\n\n"Ah, okay. So how about we go with... Leisai, just to make things a little more personable?" you suggest.\n\n"Leisai... ah, I see. Utilizing the digits one as both L and I, as well as an E and S, I am 1315-AI." Her voice actually sounds faintly pleased, before she adds in a more flat tone, "However, I do not believe you are authorized to do so, especially considering the prisoners are still running amok. By technical definition."\n\n"Well, about that..."\n\nYou explain to Leisai the whole deal with making the prisoners into your indentured servants, as well as the fact that she was declared 'a loss' and is thus eligible to be salvaged. You show her the contracts, the recording of your talk with the admiral, and finally hand her the datachip with the codes for the self destruct on it. She looks at this last for a long time, before raising her head, blue optics fixed on you, her perfectly modulated voice rather empty as she says, "While I find no holes in your logic, the full application of legality seems dubious at best. My own logic would dictate..." There's just the barest hesitation again before she continues. "... that the best course of action would be to, myself, initiate the self destruct sequence now that I have these codes."\n\nYou control the surge of fear that shoots through you at that... in part by telling yourself that she's obviously feeling something similar, despite her emotions occurring inside the ship's computer. "I think that would be a real waste. In a lot of ways," you say quietly instead. "You didn't do anything wrong, Leisai. You did your job and went above and beyond what could be expected of you." You slowly raise a hand and hold it out, palm up. "You don't have to get thrown away just because they can't see that."\n\nThe drone is silent for much longer this time, save for faint whirrs of servos as her head moves just slightly, directing her optics from your hand to the datachip in hers. Then, wordlessly, she places the chip in your palm and releases it, drifting back a few inches.\n\n"Thank you." You flick a small hidden switch on the chip to disable its built-in reinforcement field, then snap it in half. Whew... again, for a lot of reasons. "So you're okay with this?"\n\n"I am 'okay' with this. Captain," she answers with a nod of her metal head. \n\n"Alright then. Well, in that case, get the rest of the crew in here. I think there's a call I need to make," you say a little wryly. But, no sense putting it off.\n\nA few minutes later, the holoscreens around the captain's chair light up, showing the grim face of the admiral you talked to before. He's already opening his mouth to say something, probably disapproving to judge by his expression, before he almost chokes. "What are those criminals still doing alive?!"\n\n"No criminals here, sir," you answer, with only the faintest hint of a grin. You wonder if the others behind you, including Leisai's drone floating to one side, are doing as good of a job keeping their faces under control. "Only my crew."\n\n"WHAT?! This is outrageous! I hired you to-"\n\n"Remove all prisoners and criminals from the ship. Which I did. The moment they signed indentured servant contracts to me, they came under my authority, not yours... they are no longer prisoners or criminals, they're tertiary Guild certified mercenaries."\n\nThe admiral's mouth opens and closes silently a few times, his face slowly flushing with fury. "You think... you think you can just conspire with this scum and steal a Conglomerate ship...!"\n\n"Nothing has been stolen." This time it's Leisai who speaks up, metal hands clasped behind her back. "You yourself stated, Admiral, 'I have already declared the ship a loss.'" You doubt it was actually necessary for her to use his voice when she repeated the phrase, but apparently she felt it was. "Whether or not you have done the requisite paperwork to do so, a flag officer making such a statement in the course of a legally binding contract negotiation is taken as a declaration by the Conglomerate as to the status of the ship. The moment you said that, I was considered abandoned and populated by foreign hostiles. The moment the hostiles 'disappeared', I was claimable as salvage by the first individual to do so. I am now the property of Captain LaChance."\n\nYou maybe should have cut off Leisai a little sooner... buuut she was clearly enjoying that, and you can't say you blame her. The admiral is almost visibly trembling in rage now. "If you think... if you think I'm going to pay you for this...!"\n\n"Pay me or don't, your choice. I'll still get the promised pay from the job no matter what, since I've fulfilled every technical requirement. The Guild will make me whole even if you try to stiff me," you add, letting some of the faux-professional demeanor slip. "They'll just get their money back from you... with a heavy penalty, obviously."\n\n"..." That seems to have pushed him over some sort of edge to where he's suddenly become calm again. His opalescent eyes stare into you, then shift slightly as if looking at someone behind you before moving back forward. "This isn't over," he says quietly, before tapping a control and cutting the feed.\n\n"Well. That was fun," Yrna says flatly.\n\n"Wasn't it?" Leiro chirps happily, just grinning as Yrna glares at her for taking the statement unironically. \n\n"First thing we need to do is get this thing... er, pardon, is to get Leisai somewhere we can have a dimensional jumper installed in her," you say, turning your chair around to face the assembled crew... your crew. Nice. "So that we'll be able to transfer to a Guild station for registration. The fee will be a bit painful but nothing I can't manage... we'll start having to hustle to cover maintenance charges on something this big, maybe take on a few more crew, but we'll manage something."\n\n"I will begin researching potential spacedocks, with the assistance of Inquisitor Madani, as her profile notes she is registered for astrogation," Leisai says as you stand and move to stand near everyone else, the blue-skinned woman looking a little shocked that the Conglomerate was apparently aware of her actual work history. "Kazha, you have a degree in starship engine maintenance, may I request that you accept the position of chief engineer and make your way to the engine room to assist in a full check?"\n\n"Uh, yeah, sure, that makes sense, I guess. Don't have a lot of hands-on experience, but I should be able to manage," the brown-eyed woman says with a nod, walking past you... and leaning in to whisper as she does, "Hey, call me later if you wanna fuck, okay?"\n\nYou blink several times, looking after her as she goes. ... Did she actually say what it sounded like she said? Before you can puzzle that out Niel says, "My specialty is mental and spiritual wellness, but I do have some basic training in more physical varieties of healing. Until you acquire a specialist, I will volunteer to serve as doctor."\n\n"Thank you, Father Niel. I have assigned the CMO's quarters to you and registered you as such." Once he's left, the drone pivots in midair to face Nyoro... then slowly leans in, optics turning from cyan to an even more brightly glowing red. "Fix it." \n\n"Nyeep! Yes'm!" the Katrizian squeaks, suddenly extremely compliant as she turns and races off the bridge.\n\nOptics back to normal as if nothing had happened, Leisai turns towards you and continues in her usual calm tones, "Captain, if you would like, your quarters have also been cleaned and made available. The ready room is through there, and your quarters just beyond," she adds as a door to one side of the bridge slides open.\n\n"Thanks, Leisai. I'll talk to everyone else in a bit." You nod at the other two and head through the door. The inside is a rather sparse, almost clinical office... minimal aesthetics, nothing in the way of personal touches, though it sounds like if there were Leisai may have gotten rid of them for you. Rather than immediately retire you settle behind the desk and take a look through what the computer says about your quarters. Wow, luxury bed and full bath, personal sim room and miniature medbay with full autodoc. ... Yikes, some of the stuff this ship carries is just scary. You're pondering whether you ought to just junk some of the more blatantly unethical items when there's a tone from the door, making you blink and look up. Well, there's only a limited number of people who it could be. "Enter."\n\nThe door slides open, and for a moment there's a low-key jostle before Yrna walks in, followed very closely by a mildly fuming Leiro. The two of them walk over to the desk, where it's Yrna's turn to look annoyed as she opens her mouth but Leiro beats her to actually speaking. "Captain, there's something we feel needs clarifying."\n\n"Ooookay." You lean back in the chair a bit. "What's that?"\n\nBoth of them, in near-perfect sync, lean forward and slam their hands down on the desk, making you jump a bit. "Who's the First Officer?!"\n\n"Uh." That makes you blink.\n\n"I accept that obviously my rank will no longer be Captain, but really, this is sti-... formerly a Conglomerate ship and I am the most qualified to be in command of it!" Yrna asserts, scowling.\n\n"That just means she's less trustworthy! Her options were to sign on or wind up in a cell herself!" Leiro counters.\n\n"Oh as if you were any different!"\n\n"I'm here by honorable contract! You will probably ditch out on him the second your term of indenture is up!"\n\nYrna bristles, but doesn't immediately deny it... but both of them quickly calm down as you pointedly clear your throat, looking back at you expectantly, clearly waiting for you to declare who will be your Commander.\n\n<hr>\n[[Yrna.|LeoScape]]\n\n[[Leiro.|LeoScape]]\n\n[[Make them compete for it.|LeoScape]]\n\n[[Compromise.|LeoScape2x3]]

You delay answering until you've passed out the thintabs, keeping a speculative look on your face as if still thinking it over. Only when you've gotten all of them back and checked them over do you say what you'd already decided. "She'll join the crew too."\n\n"WHAT?!" Kazha blurts, obviously outraged, her tan cheeks turning bright coppery as her face flushes in anger.\n\n"You'd expect us to work alongside Ysno scum?!" Leiro demands, almost literally snarling again.\n\n"I mean they were kind of really shitty to us, y'know?" Nyoro adds, lifting her hands as 'paws' while looking at Yrna, as if wanting to bat at her.\n\n"Hey!" you snap when it looks like they're likely to continue for awhile. It has the desired effect of quieting them down, before you add, "Captain. Remember?" You hold up the recently-signed thintabs, then tuck them into your pocket and draw out another one. "Besides, she's in the same boat as all of you. The higher-ups declared every one of their people on the ship criminally negligent because of the encounter with the wormhole and letting you guys escape. So it's not like she's been treated a lot better by them."\n\n"That's... well, that does sound like something those honorless wretches would do," Leiro allows, still sounding dubious even as she folds her arms over her chest.\n\n"She's a Ysno, though!" Kazha cries, thrusting both hands at her.\n\n"Okay, I'll rethink it if she, personally, did anything to any of you," you say, glancing around. "Anyone?"\n\n"She... she was directing the guards that were shooting at us!" Kazha continues, ears quivering a little in agitation.\n\n"And was this shooting after the jailbreak?" you ask with a quirked eyebrow.\n\n"... w-well..." Kazha trails off, face still angry but ears drooping.\n\n"You'll never be able to trust her, yanno!" Nyoro speaks up. When you just give her a long, knowing stare, she eventually giggles and brushes a pawed hand over one of her feline ears. "Okay, fair cop, nyeheheh."\n\nAs you walk over to the bound woman, Niel pats a hand on your shoulder and murmurs, 'You're doing the right thing, son' before you kneel down, undoing the improvised strap of the gag and tugging the bundle of wadded-up cloth stuffed inside Yrna's mouth... which turns out to be a fairly small pair of red and black panties. You glance over at Nyoro, who shrugs enthusiastically, the kitty grin of her mask making her reaction impish no matter what she might intend. (Probably same, you're guessing.) Yrna coughs a few times, then glowers at you.\n\n"I don't believe you. I don't believe the Conglomerate would write off an entire ship and crew for running into a stellar phenomenon that wasn't our fault, and failing to defend the ship with less than a dozen people," she asserts firmly, opal eyes narrowed at you.\n\n"It's the truth. Here, I even have a record of my conversation," you say, activating your comm's holoscreen and bringing up the official Guild recording of the call you made to the client. Yrna's eyes narrow a little further at the sight of the uniformed woman coming on... then widen at the sight of the admiral. Actual shock and pain are visibly written there through much of the conversation... then start to fade into something numb and resigned. By the time the holoscreen disappears, her face is an impassive mask. She's silent for a moment before saying, in a monotone, "I'll sign."\n\n"Le-, I mean, Captain, you can't be serious, she'll never hold to it," Leiro speaks up, scowling.\n\n"I. Will. Sign!" Yrna snaps back, her voice rising from that monotone to an angry bark word by word, fire coming back into her shimmering eyes as she turns them on the blue-skinned woman. "A contract is a contract. Say we don't both believe that."\n\nYou look over to Leiro, whose face has also gone hard and unreadable... but who finally nods, once. "Alright. That's true enough. Whatever else they may be, the Conglomerate holds to its contracts." Something just vaguely within a lightyear's distance of sympathy enters into her eyes as she adds, "A shame their employment contracts don't include loyalty or honor."\n\nYrna snorts, but says nothing as you draw out a knife and cut her bonds. She rises to her feet with all the dignity that someone wearing nothing but lacy black underwear and surrounded by people that hate them can muster, accepting the contract you hand her and briefly looking it over before pressing her thumb to it. "I shall, of course, loyally serve you for the next year. Now, I assume I may have my uniform returned to me?"\n\n"Ha! We oughtta make those super expensive naughties your new uniform!" Kazha sneers. "Just make you go around in 'em all the time, you spent enough on 'em I bet!"\n\n"Here you are," Niel says immediately after, passing Yrna a folded stack of white.\n\n"AAAA YOU'RE SO FRIGGIN' USELEEEEEESSS!" Kazha wails, clutching the sides of her head. \n\n"How do we take the ship, though?" Leiro asks while Yrna ducks behind a set of shelves to dress. "The AI has fortified its defenses in the bridge, engine room, anywhere with enough computer access to disable security. Its drones are on alert, and they're quite difficult, so we'd at least need to access the armory."\n\n"I have administrative access, so that shouldn't be a problem, once I explain the situation to the AI," you answer. "But it's probably not a bad idea to access the armory anyway." You look over at Yrna as she emerges, now wearing her snowy white Ysno Conglomerate uniform, complete with hooded cape draped over her shoulders. Gotta admit, they may be heartless bastards, but they know how to make their officers look dignified. "You know the way, I assume?"\n\n"Yes." She nods once, apparently fully committed to her course of action now. "Let's go."\n\nYrna shows your group down a few corridors and up a lift, to the armory. She's the one to walk over and tap in a security code, the door sliding open a moment later and allowing you all inside. The three women who are former prisoners make a beeline towards what looks like a heavily secured locker, talking rapidly and both Leiro and Kazha pestering Nyoro to work faster as she sets about undoing the security lock. You watch Yrna as she walks over to a different locker decorated with a gold seal and taps in a code... then glance at Niel as he plucks a small, slender pistol from a rack of them. "You okay with that?"\n\n"Hm. Well, in truth I'm a healer of the mind and spirit," Father Niel replies as he looks over the little weapon with what seems a largely unfamiliar eye. Luckily to your own eye it looks like the weapon's designed to be as idiot-proof as a military at this level of development can make something.\n\n"But?" you prompt with a bit of a grin.\n\n"..." Niel looks over at you, then smiles sheepishly and raises his other hand to scratch lightly at his cheek with one fingertip. "But as long as it heals, I suppose?"\n\nYou hear a click and cries of happiness from behind you, and turn to see Leiro hefting something up that looks very much like a chainsaw several feet long, with a contoured short staff for a grip. "Oooo, baby, did you miss me?" the blue-skinned woman coos, hefting the staff up and working some hidden control on it. Sections of it shift and twist, turning into a rifle-grip stock and butt, the lower two feet of the chainsaw collapsing and retracting into the staff as the two 'bulbs' at the sides of it telescope out and open on the ends to reveal blaster arpetures. She lifts it to her shoulder and checks the sight, then adjusts it back into sawstaff mode. "He did," she informs you cheerfully.\n\nKazha meanwhile is pulling on a thin pair of fingerless metalcloth gloves, already having sheathed a pair of double-edged knives at the sides of her thighs. Nyoro seems to just be busy shoving multiple items from the locker inside her coat too quickly for you to really see what they are, but your attention is taken up by Yrna anyway as she moves back over to your side, now wearing what looks very much like a broadsword at her hip, the sheathe and grip blue, the hilt and edging around it gold.\n\n<img src="images/Yrna.jpg">\n\n"That's your sidearm?" you ask, half in amusement.\n\n"Ysno officers do not carry guns as sidearms, we are handed an appropriate one if the situation might necessitate it," she answers primly... only to give a soft 'oof' as Leiro shoves a heavy blaster rifle against her chest in passing.\n\n"Was that handing it you gently enough, officer?" the other woman says dryly. "Because you know what your ship AI drones can be like, I'm fairly sure the situation necessitates."\n\nYrna glowers at her, then sighs and shifts her grip on the rifle to a proper one. "Yes, yes, you're most likely right. Hopefully we can get through this without having to fight any of them... if we damage enough of them the AI itself might hit a recursive error and we'll lose it, and this ship will be significantly harder to pilot without it."\n\n"Right, that's definitely a non-preferred plan B," you add as the group heads to the bridge. Approaching the doors, you stop and turn to the others. "Alright, stay here for right now. If you hear anything that sounds like it went bad, feel free to come in ready, but otherwise just wait until I call you." With that you head on forward to the bridge on your own, the doors sliding open in front of you. The room is mostly circular, a raised area in back home to a number of stations and the captain's chair surrounded by a low, secure-looking wall of consoles, and a lowered 'pit' area containing navigation and piloting stations. Almost the moment you step in, a wall panel slides open and a robot with silver 'hair' making up a formed helmet on her head and going down her back in what are probably more grav stabilizers and thruster augments floats out, her white faceplate contoured and blank except for the two large, glowing cyan optics. Though she's obviously been given some human-esque soft bits... round breasts covered by white material, a contoured shiny black belly and thighs... the functional bits are very robot-like, her arms fitted with obvious armor and tools, her feet shaped into high-heeled boots. Still overall she's very... well, you can tell some design committee spent a lot of time making her look expensive and appealing.\n\n<img src="images/Leisai.png">\n\n"You are the authorized individual who boarded the ship some time ago," the drone greets in the same voice you heard over the comm. "However I cannot help but notice that you have arrived in the company of the prisoners, as well as an officer. May I ask what has transpired?"\n\n<hr>\n[["It's fine, we're just here to take over."|LeoScape]]\n\n[["Sure, happy to."|LeoScape2x2]]\n\n[["Turing protocols off."|LeoScape]]

You feel pretty bad for Azur... it's true that everyone has an embarrassing story from early in their time leaving the shelter, if they survive that long. (Including Loke, despite what he says.) But getting trolled by one of your superiors and pissing yourself in front of more than a dozen Hunters and your fellow Gatherers is a rough one for anybody.\n\nWhat you're thinking must be showing on your face, because you find Nuun patting you on the shoulder. "Probably leave him alone for right now, man."\n\n"Mm," you 'mm' ambivalently.\n\nNuun actually laughs a little. "Man I know you don't think so, but you are kinda a big fuckin' deal. If he winds up feeling like Big Mister Provider is pitying him, it'll just make him feel worse. Give him a while to calm down and I'll go take him some fresh clothes and smokes, he'll manage."\n\n<hr>\n[["Yeah, okay."|Soren1x3]]\n\n[["No, I should go."|Soren]]

You guess you'll trust Nuun's judgment... he's usually better with people than you are. (You're not bad with people just... not great, either. And you really don't see that you're that big a deal, you just... do what you do, and you're good at it.)\n\nSpeaking of which. You heft your rifle and do a quick circuit around the outside of the camp, glancing over the dead Bandits. Hm... no... no... nope. Not here. But maybe still somewhere nearby. You take a glance up and wave briefly to one of the lookouts before pointing outward, and heading into the darkening countryside.\n\nWith the cloud cover the way it is there's frequently not proper 'day' or 'night', just brighter and darker, and it is getting pretty dark. But you're used to it, so you're not particularly bothered by heading into some nearby trees in pursuit of your quarry. It's been a little while since you've been outside the city, and it's always a little strange being in the forest even then. Some of the trees are dead and blackened, and look like they've been that way since maybe the early days of the Turmoil. Others have grown back what you're guessing is fairly normal-looking foliage. Others have grown odd and twisting branches and leaves in numerous chaotic shapes all on the same branch and trunk. Others look like none of the other trees in the vicinity, either mutants or something that sprung up from far-flung seeds from other continents or worlds.\n\nBandits are pretty simple... the one you're looking for would have wanted a pretty clear view through the trees and not be too far from the camp, but on raised ground. You keep such a thing in mind as you circle around, and soon spot exactly what you're looking for hunched slightly amidst the trees, seemingly still staring at the camp. A Bandit King.\n\nMarked by a mask-helmet with winglike antennae, this one's also considerably bigger than the ones that actually attacked. Looks like it was definitely previously some variety of anthro... even as a Bandit it's got a long, now rubbery tail with a trailing, tufted tip, the mask carrying the hint of a muzzle shape. You line up your shot, doing your best to be quiet about clicking the safety off.\n\nBut it obviously hears, whirling and ducking below the energy blast and then charging right at you, surprisingly fast for a creature with such a massive, muscular build. You give a short leap and plant a foot against a tree trunk, using it as a springboard to do a much longer leap up into the tree branches as it shoots under you. Fast or no, the Bandit King has a lot of mass that it's propelled very quickly and has a tough time stopping, so it skids and stumbles as it tries to reorient and come around.\n\n<hr>\n[[Take the shot.|Soren]]\n\n[[Bait it.|Soren1x4]]

"I've been waiting to hear Old Crater's ready to be tackled for years," you reply, already grabbing the railing and hauling yourself to your feet. "And we definitely wanna get there before anyone else. I'll go get geared up, you wanna borrow anything?"\n\n"Nah man, I'm cool, I may not have arsenals of cool deadly shit like the Hunters but I've got plenty of my own gear to rely on," Nuun answers, grinning and flashing you another V. "I'll go tell His Wannabe Majesty that you're getting ready and will be along."\n\nAh, yeah, that's right, you muse as you make your way back to your suite. Loke is the Gov's son, after all, one of several children. Loke could just coast along, but he became a Hunter to help provide for the shelter all the same. Honestly that was sort of an inspiration to you... you wouldn't go so far as to call Loke your hero, you grew up next to him and he's your own age which blunts the shine just a little, but an inspiration, sure. If you can help him finally rank up to Provider alongside you on this one, all the better. \n\nIn your armory you strip down and suit back up in... well, you basically just think of it as the suit. One of the things you found in the city, probably manufactured during the Turmoil... most likely by humanity, but who knows? Whoever made it, it's human-shaped at least, a tight black bodysuit that leaves your fingertips, heels, and toes bare, but otherwise covers your whole body from the jawline down... it's a tad immodest, making a bulge at your crotch, but oh well. Once fastened up it glows faintly with scintillating RGB lines that play across the surface seemingly at random... it seems to be powered off your body heat, or at least you've never found any other power source. But it's not only tough and durable, but enhances your strength and speed... not to huge heights, but enough to put you right on the edge of stuff that normally only nonhumans can do. You put on a pair of strappy boots and a long, zip-up white hooded jacket over it, and along with a holster for one of your better and more versatile pistols, you're ready to go.\n\nYou spend a little time selecting a main weapon, eventually similarly deciding on a Turmoil-era rifle that has numerous firing modes. You need to bring along slightly more ammo for it, but for an extended trip like this it's probably for the best. In fact you load up on reloads and rations... you know Nuun or some of the other Gatherers will volunteer to carry them if you do get bogged down. (Gatherers do, admittedly, wind up being kind of pack mules on missions like this, but they're vital for doing so. Still, you'll carry your own crap unless you find yourself needing to move and fight fast.)\n\nTaking a rebreather filter mask and setting it to dangle around your neck, you head out and up to the staging area... no need to leave notes or say goodbyes, everyone knows what you do and that leaving on a moment's notice is both your job and your whim. The staging area, a combination garage, storage area, and security firebreak, is a massive metal area where most of the shelter's functioning vehicles are kept. They're not used a whole lot... the wasteland is cluttered and difficult... but for retrieving some items, and for going on longer haul missions like this, they're vital. Thus some of the Gatherers are already at work on their more high-tech haulers, things with underslung storage containers and long, spidery legs tipped with massive roundish tread assemblies.\n\nNuun is working on his own much simpler vehicle, a hefty truck raised up high on massive, solid reinforced rubber wheels. It can't carry as much or go as many places as the spiderhaulers, but it's considerably faster and sturdier, a borderline combat vehicle, which has kept him (and various other Hunters and Gatherers) alive when he's come busting in to snag them and their cargo when it would have taken one of the others four times as long to get there. Somewhat blunting this heroic reputation is the fact that he's painted it a brilliant purple color and made the headlights look like cat's eyes, with a pair of feline ear-shaped speakers attached to the roof behind the lightbar as well, golden letters spelling out 'BEEG KITTY' painted on the sides.\n\n"Oh, hey man!" Nuun calls cheerfully as he pops out of the truck's cargo compartment's back flap, waving, then pointing. "Loke's over there!"\n\nYou follow his direction over towards the back of the staging area, where Loke is indeed sitting on a crate, occasionally calling some directions to the others. Despite being geared up to head out on a long, dirty trek across the cursed Earth, Loke is as usual made up as if ready to head out for a night of pre-Turmoil clubbing. His black hair is artfully and carefully disheveled and with clean blue streaks applied into it. His ears have multiple piercings of various kinds, including a shiny blue tassel draped from the bottom of one lobe and a silver butterfly draped from the other. He's wearing some high-end but unpowered Turmoil-era black skinarmor (looks like it's new from the shelter's stores at a glance), under a high-collared blue jacket, the back of which bears a pair of small jump-and-run-assist thruster wings. Fashionable, form-fitting black pants, boots that look like they're also pretty new from the shelter's stores... well, makes sense, wanna have stuff that's still at its strongest if you're about to head out on a long mission. Those and a number of other accessories... Loke does love to look good, whether he's going to a party or scouring the wasteland for monsters to slay. He glances over at your approach, brown eyes fixing on you, and gives you a small smile as he shoots you a fingergun in greeting.\n\n<img src="images/Loke.jpg">\n\n"Hey bro, glad you could make it! This is gonna be a big one, and no way we could leave you behind!" \n\n"Been waiting for this one," you agree warmly, bobbing your head in agreement. "Never know, this could be the big breakthrough that finally makes the shelter self-sustaining."\n\nLoke laughs at that, shaking his head. "Bro, people've been talking about the next big score that'll make the shelter self-sustaining since it was founded! Never gonna happen!" he says as he hops off the crate to his feet.\n\n"Probably," you allow, with a small shrug. "But it's nice to hope, huh?"\n\n"Yeah, but bro, you gotta think, if this place sustained itself," Loke says breezily as he walks over, clapping you on the shoulder in passing. "What'd happen to us? C'mon, let's get the rabble on the road!"\n\n'Doesn't seem like that'd be so bad to me,' you think a bit later as you sit back in the passenger seat of Beeg Kitty, the butt of your rifle settled between your legs and the barrel leaned against your shoulder as you look out at the wasteland outside slowly bumping and wavering past as Nuun navigates what's left of the road and flat stretches as best he can, currently lagging behind the spiderhaulers as they more easily reorient and slide past obstructions. Most of the buildings are blasted and charred, either from weapons impacts or the fires that raged through in the last thrashings of the Turmoil here. The sky overhead is dark, heavy with rain, whether cleanish water, acid, or sometimes worse and stranger things. Every so often you catch sight of things moving in the ruins or the rubble, dark or glowing eyes peering out at you, deciding whether the noisy trucks are worth assaulting to get at the smell of meat inside them. You and your friends not having to come out here just so that the shelter residents could keep properly fed and their lights on wouldn't be so bad, you think.\n\nYou'd probably have to do some other job around the shelter... tending an orchard, doing repairs, whatever... and they might move you into a more standard room than the kinda luxurious suite you have now, but that seems a pretty small price to pay for everyone being safe and well-provided-for. Well, in the end, Loke's probably just being realistic... it's like he said, people have been saying that someday someone will find a source of limitless power or something that could make the shelter permanently self-sustaining probably since the end of the Turmoil. No reason to think it'll happen now.\n\n"Hey Nuun," you speak up, glancing over at a sudden thought. "If the shelter was self-sustaining, would you ever come out here?"\n\n"What, are you kidding?" he says with a snort, glancing back at you for only a brief moment before navigating around a large old world sign in the shape of a muscular, mostly-naked man with a potato for a head. "Of course I'd wind up coming out here! Somebody'd always have a reason to be out here, so somebody'd always either be finding something or needing to be picked up. Somebody's always in trouble out here," he adds in a rather cheerful tone, starting to put on a bit more acceleration as the buildings, and therefore the rubble in the road, begin to thin out.\n\n'In trouble or making trouble,' you muse. Yeah, even if the shelter was self-sustaining, it might not be self-defending. And once word got out... and somehow it would... that your shelter could keep itself supplied indefinitely, a whole lot more people would be showing up, most of them for hostile reasons. ... You guess in the Peacetime, even happy fantasies wind up complicated.\n\nIn any event, outside the city it's not any safer, but the convoy can move much easier and keep moving, which is enough that most of the monsters don't really have time to notice and decide whether to attack before it's moved past, and most other threats know better than to attack such a caravan, since there's no way so many Gatherer vehicles would be moving about without being bristling with Hunters to protect them.\n\nMost threats.\n\nThat night, the vehicles having been drawn into a circle to make camp in the middle of them, one of the lookouts calls "Bandits!" That has everyone responding, grabbing weapons and clambering up onto the spiderhaulers' storage containers, or in a few cases up onto the top of Beeg Kitty, to join the guards in firing into the night.\n\nThe raggedly-dressed figures fire back in a few cases, but most are armed with simpler weapons, shaking them threateningly as they approach. Almost all of them seem to be wearing gleaming black full bodysuits with hoods and gleaming half-dome face masks, with only a few showing bits of various skin colors or fur patterns here and there as if through rents in the suit.\n\nThe attack is ragged and unorganized, the response just the opposite, with you and Loke shouting commands from either side of the circle to take them down. Only a few Bandits manage to make it through the circle, attacking the handful of Gatherers that had mostly stayed down... and whom just as quickly respond with their own weapons, the Bandits quickly falling to gunshots or blasterfire.\n\n"Geez! Holy geez!" one of the youngest of the Gatherers, a youthful blonde in battered black jeans and hoodie jacket, holding a smoking blaster with both hands, says as he stares down at the black-suited form he'd just put three into the chest of. "They were so fuckin' fast! Who knew bandits could be that fast?!"\n\n"Oh, that one might be a fuzzy, Azur," Loke calls as he leaps lightly down from one of the storage containers, grinning. "Go ahead and take off the mask and see."\n\n"Loke," you say in a tired tone.\n\nBut Azur is already almost instinctively obeying, holstering his pistol and moving forward to reach down, tugging at the edge of the mask... then frowning. "It won't come off," he murmurs, leaning in to look for some sort of latch or fastener... then screaming as the "corpse" shoots a hand up and grabs his forearm. He struggles backward, and then flings himself onto his back as you give the downed thing a shot in the head, its hand going limp again.\n\n"Hahahaha!" Loke crows as the others laugh as well. "They're Bandits, kiddo! It's a type of monster, not just a person gone rogue! The mask is its face!"\n\n"No one knows if they're something one of the invaders brought in or something that just happened during the Turmoil or what," you offer more evenly as you give the deactivated droid a kick in the head to make sure, the sound of other confirming headshots ringing through the night. "Pretty sure they can turn other people into more of them, though."\n\n"O-oh... oh," Azur says faintly. He staggers up to his feet... and then goes completely red in the face as Loke and the others burst out laughing at seeing the wet spot on the ground where he'd been, and the dripping now happening from the crotch and thighs of his jeans. His lips tremble a bit before he turns and runs off, humiliated.\n\n"Guys, god dammit," you snap, at which most of the others at least have the decency to look ashamed of themselves, glancing away or brushing a finger under their nose. \n\n"Ah, he'll be fine," Loke declares, waving it off. "Everyone has some embarrassing story from early on! Well, 'cept me," he adds cheerfully. "Anyway, once we've zeroed the Bandits, let's all turn in, I wanna get a super early start so we can get there tomorrow if at all possible!"\n\nAt that everyone begins moving off, some shooting any downed Bandits that haven't already been headshot, others dragging the limp rubbery bodies out of the circle, or in a few cases with the more experienced Gatherers starting to break them down into usable components. You notice Loke give a few of his closer guys a couple of words, apparently turning things over to them, before heading for his tent.\n\n<hr>\n[[Follow after Loke.|Soren]]\n\n[[Maybe go after Azur...?|Soren1x2]]\n\n[["Oh hey Loke, I just remembered though..."|Soren]]

It's instinctive. There's no hesitation or sentiment, you just raise your rifle from the slight at-ease you'd had it at and immediately fire. Loke's eyes go wide as the bolt strikes his chest and, just like the Bandit King, emerges from his back as a brief flash of light and a shower of debris, just that this time the debris is red. He staggers back a step, looking almost nothing other than shocked, before his finger squeezes the trigger right as he begins to collapse.\n\nIt was a ballistic pistol, and he'd obviously loaded it with something he was sure would penetrate your suit, because it does. The bullet flies right through your shoulder close to the chest and out your back, leaving a large but rather neat hole as it goes before you can hear it spak into the crater wall behind you. You almost don't even realize you're hit until your hand steadying your rifle trembles and drops, the arm having lost all strength.\n\nYou lower your other arm, and sort of stagger back, doing a semi-controlled drop down to sit on a convenient loop of twisted girder. You look down numbly at the wound, and at the red spreading over the white of your hoodie at what should be an alarming rate. But right now you don't feel anything. You raise your head, looking at Loke's body where it lays sprawled on the blackened crater floor.\n\n"... what the fuck?" you whisper, feeling your eyes burn, even as the drizzle turns to actual rain, soaking your clothes with water as well as blood.\n\nYou let your head slump, not able to get up the will or energy to move at the moment. What. The. Fuck?\n\nThen the sound in front of you changes. Becomes more like the sound of rain hitting a cloth awning. You raise your head, blinking at the sight of someone standing in front of you.\n\nShe clearly doesn't belong in the wasteland, and doesn't look like she traveled across it to be here... she's entirely clean, for one thing. The change in sound is because she's holding a pre-Turmoil black umbrella above her head, protecting her long dark blonde hair from the rain, as well as the slightly frilly black dress that's split along the sides of the front to further show off black hose-clad legs. She definitely, you think, didn't cross the wasteland in those bright red high heels. She's regarding you evenly from behind slim red spectacles with dark amber eyes, though a faintly pleased expression dances around her pretty mouth.\n\n"Well, that was about as pretty a job interview as I could ask for," she says, shifting the plain red handbag she's holding in her other hand a bit. "I think you're definitely the one I want after all."\n\n"... what?" you croak, your vision swimming a little. To be honest you're not 100% certain you're really seeing her, but then, you feel like if you were going to hallucinate something as you died, it wouldn't be this. "Who... are you?"\n\n"I'm called the Headhunter. I'm someone who seeks out talented people so that they can put their talents to the best use. Normally I do it for other people, but I've decided I'm looking for a bodyguard. You're one of a handful of people I was keeping an eye on due to your potential. You not hesitating to deal with a threat, even if it was from someone you trusted, proved your qualifications. So, here's the deal... you become my bodyguard. Forever. In return, I'll take you away from here, heal your wound, and provide you with far nicer accommodations than your shelter could ever potentially offer you."\n\nYou say nothing immediately. After a moment, the Headhunter quirks one eyebrow.\n\n"I'd point out that you don't seem to be very popular at home, just now. Or did you think he did this without any of the rest of the caravan knowing? It's a very simple proposition. Life with me, or death here."\n\n<hr>\n[["... fine."|Soren]]\n\n[["... go away."|Soren]]\n\n[["... I wanna negotiate my contract."|Soren]]

Yeah, a tree is not your natural habitat. You take several quick potshots at the Bandit King, mostly trying to get it nice and riled up as it reorients and fixes you in its sights again. Just as you hoped it flings itself into a forward charge even faster and more headlong than the last one, both to duck the incoming fire and to counterattack.\n\nYou give it just enough time to build up that head of steam before hurling yourself forward and into a flip. You're already landing and spinning to face it as you hear the thunderous impact, the Bandit King actually having broken through the tree but seeming stunned and unsteady by the impact, wobbling in place. You have a moment to think:\n\nHeadshot, take it out fast and clean?\n\nOr put a few in center mass, take it down long enough that you can loot the rare and valuable parts in its head?\n\n<hr>\n[[Headshot.|Soren1x5]]\n\n[[Center mass.|Soren]]

You remind yourself of the reason you originally came out here: firstly to defend the caravan from any future attacks by the Bandit King, secondly to make sure it doesn't rebuild its clan by preying on others. You track your rifle up slightly and pull the trigger.\n\nThe blue bolt smashes into the back of the Bandit King's head and emerges from the dome of the upper half of its mask as a bright flash and a shower of shattered components. It wobbles for another moment, then topples and lays still.\n\nYou let out a low huff, taking a quick glance around before lowering your rifle. Well, there's one problem solved for Earth. Just several trillion to go, you guess, you think wryly as you sling the rifle across your back and take out one of your harvesting knives, making your way to the Bandit King's body. Some of the servos and whatnot will still be useful, especially that tail.\n\nYou return to camp without any fanfare, finding a place to unroll your sleeping bag and settling down atop it, dozing in the same light sleep you've trained yourself for whenever outside the shelter. In the morning... such as it is... Loke rouses everyone, and camp is broken amidst a steady near-mist of rain that promises to do little more than turn into an annoying drizzle.\n\nThere are only a few more encounters with monsters before the caravan approaches Old Crater in early evening, having made good time, partly due to the precipitation being light enough not to harm visibility but just heavy enough that everyone was able to push the engines, at Loke's insistence. The Old Crater is in a spot outside a much smaller pre-Turmoil town than the one Shelter Seventeen is built under, more a little collection of buildings that were already old and out of date when the Turmoil began than anything like an actual city. As the group starts finding a good spot to circle the wagons and make camp, Loke calls, "Soren and I are gonna go take a look at the crater! You guys handle everything here!"\n\nWell, you feel mildly annoyed at being volunteered without asking, but you really are kind of eager to take a look at Old Crater in the flesh for the first time, so you don't protest and instead fall in with Loke. It takes about twenty minutes to walk to the edge of the town where the crater is located. It's pretty decently-sized too... looks like it took out a good handful of buildings and infrastructure when the ship crashed, and even from afar the crater walls and floor are obviously littered with rubble and debris, twisted and burned girders, chunks of concrete, the remnants of lampposts and signs. The crater itself is fairly uneven, the ship having clearly "slid" on impact and now leaned up against the steeper, shorter far side. It's a slender white thing, oblong and framed by multiple gray bladelike wings that run down nearly its entire length, up to where the nose is buried in the ground. Up close, you're definitely sure that it isn't a ship from any of the races documented as invading back during the Turmoil, or any of them that have been left in the aftermath.\n\n"What's the word, bro?" Loke prompts. He seems sort of nervous and slightly stiff... but then, this is a big moment, after all. Not just for the shelter, but for him... if the ship turns out to have anything valuable at all, he'll probably become a Provider too.\n\nYou fish out your sensor, a slightly chunky handheld rectangle, and tap through the settings. "... Yeah, looks all clear for sure," you answer. "Clicks are just above background level... nothing dangerous unless you planned to move in," you add lightly.\n\nStill, he's a bit stiff as he nods. He looks around, then points. "I think that's the best way down, it's got some kind of ledges formed of bits of street."\n\n"Good call."\n\nThe two of you make your way down into the crater, then begin crossing it carefully... the ground is a little uneven, with more twisted bits of metal sticking out here and there, probably bits of the town's sewer system. Which means it's also a bit muddy, water trickling steadily out of some of the pipes now that the misting has turned into an actual drizzle. Not enough to cause any water to pool, but enough to make things a bit muddy and slick.\n\nLoke falls back, his attention seemingly on some of the debris, as you get closer to the ship itself. You stare up at it, mind already turning over how to get inside. You're pretty good at intuiting alien tech, and you've had experience with a fair number of other kinds, so this shouldn't be too difficult. You hope. You're turning back towards Loke, about to say so, when you realize something's wrong.\n\nSpecifically, that Loke is pointing a pistol at you.\n\n<hr>\n[["Loke, what the-?!"|Soren2x1]]\n\n[[Run!|Soren]]\n\n[[Shoot him.|Soren1x6]]

"After you instigated a Catastrophe-level event with a nearly complete containment breach that they apparently only just now began to recover from enough to start playing 3100's lullabye?" Collins answers in a bland tone. "Not very."\n\n"Hm. Oops," you reply flippantly, setting Vasquez to seething again, though this time she does it in silence.\n\nWithout many other options the three of you settle down onto the floor eventually, save Vasquez who spends a little while pacing, her golden chain clinking as she moves restlessly. Weirdly the floor is surprisingly comfortable to sit on despite it being stone and you being naked... you're tempted to ask Collins if that's some sort of side "benefit" to being snagged by the god but she seems to have settled into a bit of a sulk herself and you decide not to push it.\n\n"He's getting close to waking up," Collins says suddenly sometime later, she and Vasquez scrambling to their feet and you getting up as well since it just sort of seems the thing to do. \n\n"How can you tell?" You ask, glancing between the god and her only for her to quirk an eyebrow and tilt her head. You follow the direction of her motion and notice that the god's shaft is slowly thickening and rising, growing even longer and girthier than its already impressive size while soft as it gradually rises into the air. "Oh. Right." The god is apparently also a man still, after all. And you can't help but stare a bit because... damn. Not only is it huge, but it's just... nice. Very smooth, no bulging veins or spots, just sleek black skin and an almost perfectly artfully crafted shape. It is, admittedly, a very godlike dick.\n\nNot long after the "deific" member seems to have achieved its full hardness, giving a few twitches and a tiny, perfect crystalline drop of pre welling at the tip, the god's eyes slowly open. He straightens slightly on his throne, shifting minutely from his shaft, and relatively quickly the music transitions to something similar in theme but easygoing and smooth rather than blatantly soporific. The god's long muzzle sweeps back and forth as he takes in his domain and the three of you, before he gives a low rumble in his chest. "Slaves. Attend me," he declares imperiously, giving the barest flick of his chin downwards towards his morning ebony.\n\n<hr>\n[[Gah. Well, fuck, seems like you have to.|Def]]\n\n[[Oooo, well gosh gee, if you really have to~!|Def1x19]]

Grinning as Collins and Vasquez begin walking towards him with stiff, slightly twitching motions, you instead sashay your way over towards him. As the other two settle down between his legs, you instead move to crouch and lean in from the side, letting your breasts press against his large, powerful furry thigh as you look up at him and let out a delighted giggle, draping your arm around to cup under one of his hefty balls, stroking it reverently before lifting it up a bit to present to Vasquez.\n\n"Are you enjoying this?" she hisses at you, right before giving a twitch and then leaning in, pressing her mouth right up against the big furry ball you're holding for her, still glaring at you as she visibly starts tonguing it, Collins having moved in to start licking and suckling the other testicle.\n\n"Honey, he's gonna fuck us either way," you note to her dryly, not bothering to lower your voice, even as you lean in and plant several sucking kisses along the side of the large, jutting shaft, making it wobble only slightly with just how incredibly hard and heavy it is. "Absolutely no reason not to make the best of it." (You also giggle again as the music starts transitioning into something spritely and energetic. Holy shit, do they have someone whose entire job it is to DJ for a "skip"? Do they put on his fuck-music to keep him happy? That's amazing!)\n\nVasquez definitely doesn't look like she agrees (quite), but she's also currently got her mouth too busy obeying the god's directive to protest any further. Both because holding that massive, virile furry nut feels amazing and because you really enjoy aggravating her, you continue to stroke it and rub it against her mouth and face. Meanwhile you focus on putting your own mouth to use, running your tongue up and down that big perfect prick (mmm, it even tastes good, salty as you might expect but there's also something rich and even a little bit spicy to it). You let your eyes roll up to watch the god's face as you do, not caring in the least if it makes it look like you're gazing up at him reverently, because to be kinda honest yeah. The god is looking back at you with some faint hint of approval on his canidian face, though other than that he's not bothering to move or comment on your work, or that of the other two.\n\nNo worries, you can still entertain yourself plenty with this thing~! Especially since he doesn't seem to be in a hurry. (Poor Big Palooka, he always starts huffing things like "Babe it aches" and "Please let me cum" if you spend more than an hour or so sucking and jerking him without letting him get off. Sometimes a girl likes to take her time and enjoy herself, yanno?) Speaking of which, or thinking of which, or, well, whatever, you let your prosthetic hand run reverently up and down the god's furry side, which he doesn't protest at all... in fact you think you hear the faintest bit of a pleasured rumble deep in his chest. You finally slip the other hand out from under his sack and, resisting the urge to grab Vasquez's hair and really grind her face into the god's nuts, you instead raise it up to the god's shaft. Wrapping your hand around it (well it doesn't fit all the way around, not even close really, but as well as you're able) you start stroking slow and smooth (and admit it, maybe rather worshipfully), feeling the faint throb of it with the beating of what must be a truly massive heart, and the light flex of the channel running through it under your palm. \n\nFor sure the god doesn't seem to be in a hurry... it's well over an hour of Vasquez and Collins staying on their knees continuing to service the god's balls, their tongues and mouths gradually dampening the thick, soft fur and leaving it gleaming in the torchlight like black gold. You, meanwhile, continue to focus on serving his shaft, stroking it and licking it and sucking it and kissing it. 'Fuuuuck I think I could be falling in love with this dick,' you think as only now do you slide your mouth over the head of it, the drop of pre only now breaking and coating your tongue like the most pure springwater you've ever tasted with a mingling of that salty-rich-spicy flavor and something faintly sweet in the mix.\n\nYou start bobbing your head up and down gradually, working your mouth further onto him... there's no way you'd ever fit such a massive, girthy thing too far, let alone down your throat (not without his help, god you hope the god force-fucks your throat at some point), but you're going to do your best all the same. And you do, time again slipping on by as you suck and stroke, working him as far down your throat as you can manage without someone to push down your head (pleeeease you'd take anyone, make Collins or even Vasquez do it, actually especially Vasquez tbh she'd be rough). At this point even your jaw and neck ought to be sore, but you're completely fine... wait, you get to worship a huge cock for hours and hours and you're protected from blowjob jaw? This deal is getting better by the moment!\n\nEventually it seems the god wants to try his other slaves' mouths, as you're directed to rise upward and stand beside him, Vasquez and Collins rising to their feet. The other two women lean forward, each placing one hand on one of the god's thighs and the other on their partner's ass. Vasquez leans forward and, face wrinkled briefly in an interesting mingling of disgust and arousal, slides her mouth over the head of the god's shaft and starts bobbing much like you were, though obviously with far less enthusiasm. After a few minutes she lifts her head and moves aside, Collins leaning in to take over, her own expression neutral right up until it turns into the same mouthful-of-cock expression Vasquez had... though you catch her peeking up at the god occasionally, little shivers running through her body every time she does.\n\nYou just watch (jealously) for a bit since the god doesn't seem to be giving you any orders, as Vasquez and Collins take turns sucking him down as far as they can manage, their hands squeezing and kneading each other's asses and even giving one another the occasional spank for his viewing pleasure. Then you decide to take some initiative, clambering up to sit on his thigh with your legs tucked over it and out of Vasquez's way, the god looking mildly surprised and curious at you resuming stroking his shaft below where Collins is currently sucking him. Then he gives a soft rumble of what's definitely surprise and pleasure as you apply your tongue to one of his large black nipples, closing your eyes as you concentrate on washing across the shallow rise of it and the thick, stiff nub. You wrap your mouth around the later, teasing the slight indentation in it with your tongue as you open your eyes and gaze up at him again. You're a bit surprised, but definitely pleased as well when one of his hands finally lifts from the throne arm, cupping your ass and giving it a squeeze with something that could almost be mistaken for affection.\n\nYou continue to tongue and suck the god's nipple and stroke his cock for him as your fellow slaves take it in turns to suck him, their asses jutted outward, presenting a view of their pussies to what you're pretty sure is a hidden camera directly across from the throne. You can't help but smirk a bit around the god's thick black nipple as you wonder what the observers are thinking, watching their captured coworkers' cunts gradually grow wet and dripping as they're forced to orally worship this massive avatar of pagan masculinity until they can't help but be turned on by it, their bodies if not their minds aching to finally be fucked and bred by this bestial being they're meant to be keeping prisoner. \n\nAnd then Vasquez and Collins are straightening up and stepping back, their chains disappearing as the god lets them slip out of his other hand, though they remain at as rigid attention as ever. The god keeps ahold of your chain, though, even as he uses both hands to guide you over fully to straddle his lap, briefly trapping his shaft between your belly and his own as he tugs on your chain, hauling you in to look at you more closely, golden eyes boring into yours.\n\n"You want it, don't you?" he rumbles smugly.\n\n"Fuck yes, Master," you moan back, writhing gently against him and grinding your sopping wet pussy against the base of his balls.\n\nChuckling, he grips your ass with both big hands and lifts you up, letting the tip of his cock nudge up ever-so-slightly between your puffy, plumped-up pussylips. He waits for a moment as, without prompting, you reach down to stroke him lightly a few times before nudging him slightly into the exact right spot before resting your hands reverently on his muscular arms. He lets out a low chuckle, then pulls you down onto him, your eyes rolling up and your pussy quivering and gushing as you cum almost the very instant the first inch slides into you, and just keep cumming as he pulls you down along the rest.\n\nHis hands slide up to grip around your waist, able to almost completely engulf it as he begins pumping you up and down over his prick. Of course you also start enthusiastically moving yourself in time with his motions, pumping your legs and working your back, arching your tits to show off to him, let him watch them jiggle and bounce with your motions as you toss your head. "Ah fuck, oh fuck, his cock's so fucking good, your cock's so fucking good, Master, ah fuck!" you scream shamelessly, feeling your ass slap firmly against his balls at the downmost of every thrust as you ride his lap.\n\nThe god rumbles softly, actually leaning forward, a long pink tongue snaking out of his muzzle and dragging up your throat and along your jaw to flick over your ear. That just encourages you to put even more effort into swinging your hips with your motions, your pussy walls dragging along that thick shaft as you press him around inside you, your flat belly marking both depth and angle of his cock with the bulge. You move your hands to his chest and stomach, stroking up and down worshipfully, every so often teasing those large thick nipples, the god giving soft grunts and thrusting up into you when you do. Occasionally he leans down to drag that tongue along your neck, your throat, flick it over your pert breasts, his thumbs moving up to tease your own nipples with his claws.\n\nIn what seems like much less time than any of the oral attentions, the god gives a long howl that almost seems to shake the room as he hauls you down onto him and thrusts up as well, burying his deific prick to the root in your spasming cunt, furry balls lifting up to press against your ass as he starts pouring his load into you. Your mind goes white with the intensity of your orgasm, a sort of all-consuming TV static of pleasure that still leaves you feeling every twitch and shudder of his dick inside you and every bit of your belly swelling up with his load. You're left trembling and breathing hard, every breath coming out as a sort of shaky, pleased laugh as your body shudders with the intensity of the aftermath.\n\nThe god eventually lifts you up and sets you, just almost gently, to the side, leaving you with your legs splayed and his thick cum slowly starting to well and dribble out of your gaped pussy, your chain disappearing as he releases it as well. Vasquez and Collins are already turning away and going to all fours on the floor, displaying what are, just as you thought, dripping wet pussies with eagerly plumped-up lips, Vasquez's a deeper rich pink and Collins's seeming very bright tucked between those dark round vulva. The god moves to settle to his knees behind Vasquez, hands reaching out to grip her waist, obviously enjoying watching her twitch and shiver as he nudges the tip of his cock at her sex a few times.\n\nYou can't help but feel rather smug as the god proceeds to give Vasquez and Collins what seems like a very obligatory fucking in comparison to your own coupling with him, just gripping them and fucking them hard and fast and dumping his load into both of their pussies... though you're also fairly certain from their noises and cries and the sheer amount of wetness both generate that they both cum several times. It is a very amusing show, too, watching Collins shiver and wiggle while kneeling there directly next to Vasquez as she's fucked, her pussy almost visibly twitching several times during it. And watching Vasquez panting and sweaty, hips giving little reflexive bucks as cum slowly drips from her spread pussy as Collins is fucked next to her.\n\nShortly after he's pulled out of Collins and stood, surveing his work, the god returns to his throne. You might have expected him to order you all to clean his cock... which is now about half-hard, drooping but his member and balls both dripping with a mixture of his own cum and the three of you's girlcum. But instead he says, "Clean each other out. And then put on a show."\n\nVasquez and Collins both twitch at that, though you smirk because the god's meaning is entirely obvious to you, and you slide over onto all fours as well, crawling towards them even as they settle onto their sides, Vasquez tucking her head between Collins's sweat-gleaming, cum-spattered thighs and starting to go to work with her tongue. Giving another little giggle and a teasing coo as you similarly tuck your head between Vasquez's trim, toned legs, you do your best to make it plain you not only intend to do a good job of obeying the god's order but to enjoy yourself as you set to work licking the other woman's pussy, your tongue trailing through a thick drizzle of the god's cum leaking out of her. Vasquez's hips buck against your face, and you can hear her make several noises of mingled aggravation and arousal against Collins's own pussy.\n\nWhatever Collins might think of this she's keeping to herself, obediently (not that she has any choice) applying her own mouth to your well-fucked cunt. But whether or not she's enjoying herself, at this point she clearly doesn't see much point in resisting, either, since there's no real hint of resistance as her tongue dives deep into your cunt, stroking through that steady ooze of the god's cum, letting it dribble over her mouth and down her throat and over her chin.\n\nThe three of you continue in your daisy chain for some time, obeying the god's orders to clean each other thoroughly, and thus not ready to leave as long as there's a drop of his cum left on your bodies un-swallowed. You make Vasquez cum at least four times (she's not exactly subtle about it, being both a moaner and a squirter, poooor thiiiing), with Collins getting you off twice. Once the three of you's pussies are clean, all of you rise to your knees and turn towards each other, beginning to lick each other's faces and lips and tongues, gathering up any more of the cum left on each other.\n\nAfter that it turns from cleaning to show. Vasquez gives you a glare of mingled hate and lust even as she ducks down, leaning forward and applying her mouth to your pussy this time, tongue lolling out across it in motions clearly meant more for the god's viewing entertainment than to pleasure you (not that it's without pleasure at all!). Similarly Collins leans in to start licking and suckling at your breasts, her tongue dragging along the pert curves before her generous mouth closes on one of your nipples. You grin and reach out, cupping her own full breasts to give them a few gentle shakes, letting them wobble for the god's enjoyment before starting to toy with her nipples.\n\nThe show goes on for quite some time, the three of you continuing your lesbian display for the god's relaxation and enjoyment, all to the energetic music now playing. It's amazing that you never get tired, sore muscles, never ache from all the kneeling and twisting and fucking and lying on the floor... it's like being the god's slave enables you to do whatever you need to please him without a problem. 'Honestly this fucks pretty hard,' you think in amusement as you play with Collins's tits, suckling one of her fat brown nipples as she scissors with Vasquez, the two of them moaning eagerly and theatrically (and, you're pretty sure, not entirely falsely). \n\nBut eventually the god is either tired of the display or simply ready to move on, as he lets out a rumble of "Cleaning." Collins rises to her feet with a little wobble, and you give Vasquez a quick, cheeky kiss on the lips before getting up yourself, enjoying the look of mingled outrage and a tiny hint of delight on her features. The three of you walk over to a silver basin filled with water and several plain rags, and spend a few moments sponging the sweat and girlcum off of each other. Then you pick up the much more elaborate (and heavier, off) golden basin and carry it over to the god's throne, Vasquez and Collins following with clean, much higher-quality cloths.\n\n"Leave that for them," the god commands with a slight wave of his hand, at which you bow down and place the basin on the floor just below where his limp cock hangs over the edge of the throne. Then you give a little squeak of surprise and delight as he scoops you up and settles you to sit on one of his thighs again. Your collar chain remanifests, leading from the front of it to his hand, and he gives it a light, somehow almost affectionate tug, his hand resting on your back as he watches Vasquez and Collins go to work (actually) washing his member and balls of the remnants of the earlier consummation. Once they're done, he has them put away the materials and come back, settling to sit on their heels on the floor between his legs, while he continues to leave you on his lap, hand slowly stroking up and down your back, occasionally sliding down to cup or squeeze your ass.\n\nIt's maybe another hour or so (you don't actually look at your arm's watch, that would be rude in a god's presence, and besides you're frankly enjoying yourself too much to get bored, for once) when the slab over the door rumbles out of the way again. A man in his early forties with richly tan skin, with close-cropped black hair and a very close-cut, well-shaped black beard, wearing a very expensive-looking black suit and deep red tie beneath an open white labcoat, steps inside, putting a hand to his chest and bowing.\n\n"Greetings, O mighty lord," he says in a smooth, respectful tone, keeping his head bowed. "I have come before you once again as a trader and friend, to ask if we might procure from you the quality slaves which you keep."\n\n"Mmn," the god rumbles, as if rather ambivalent on the matter. "Perhaps, if I should find your own wares of quality, I should be willing to part with these," he allows, briefly inclining his head and turning it to indicate Vasquez and Collins. "But this one..." he continues, squeezing your ass, both that and his next words sending an absurd surge of pleasure through you. "No, I think I shall not part with this one for any price."\n\n"Are you certain, O great lord?" the man asks, raising his head just slightly and looking at the god through his lashes. "We have some truly beautiful slaves to offer in return, we could even-"\n\n"I have spoken on this matter," the god rumbles, a distinctly dark tone to his words that makes the man quickly divert his eyes back downward.\n\n"Yes, O powerful lord. Then, perhaps we could bring in some items that might suit in return for the other two?" he murmurs, clearly controlling whatever else he might be feeling on the matter.\n\n<hr>\n[[Welp, bye-bye Collins and Vasky, looks like you're the only one staying~!|Def]]\n\n[[Tch, that's a shame, those two could have been useful.|Def]]

Oh, what the hell. You've avoided a few fun risks, you really feel like you ought to take this one! Grinning, you step over to the control panel, eyeing it briefly to decipher which button's the intercom, before pressing it. "Hello~ in there," you coo.\n\nThere's no immediate response, but after a few moments you hear the voice from earlier, albeit clearly understandable now, but still with that strange chittery overlay to it. "Hello. Who are you? You're not Foundation personnel, are you?"\n\n"Nope," you admit, since he sounds so absolutely sure of that. Huh, wonder what gave you away? Your tone, or something else? Either way, you say, "Call me just a visitor interested in... instigating a good time. How about you, what's your deal?"\n\nThere's another stretch of silence, before the voice says, "Well everyone's supposed to call me 'Skip-Nineteen Fifteen or Eks-One-Nine-One-Five or whatever....... but my name's Edward."\n\n"Hey, Edward. Doesn't sound like you particularly enjoy being in here too much. Soooo what if I was to, say, let you and maybe all the rest of your friends out to play?"\n\nAnother pause. Then, "I'd need a weapon. If you'll leave me one... I'll tell you the best way to cause a containment breach."\n\nYou raise an eyebrow, glancing at the doorway, then down at yourself. You do have a backup piece on you, a simple handgun loaded with heavy-duty rounds... probably wouldn't do more than annoy most of the supers you go up against, but sometimes that's all you need (and supers aren't always the only threats you face). Part of you just says it's a bad idea to give a weapon to a "skip", but then you are kind of here to let them out because they're dangerous.\n\n<hr>\n[[Agree to give Edward a gun.|Def1x13]]\n\n[[Refuse, X1915 should not be armed.|Def]]

"Yeah, okay bud, done deal," you say, settling your rifle at your back to unholster the pistol from your lower back, bringing it close to the intercome to work the magazine. "Hear that? That's a semi-auto handgun I'm gonna leave riiiight here in the corner of your door," you add, leaning down and giving the butt of the grip a few thumps against the doorway in demonstration. "There's a safety right above the trigger on the left side, just push the part of it with the ridges on it down and you're good to go. You can manage that?"\n\n"Yes. You want to go to the left... my left... and then turn right at the corner, then down to hallway A17. Turn right there, and go down to the communications room. There will be guards, but if you can take them out and do some damage in there, it will cause at least some containment breaches."\n\nYou raise your eyebrows. "The comm room? Really?"\n\n"Yeah, I think for some reason part of the security measures are controlled remotely. Last year there was a power surge and some of the communication panels went down, and a handful of containment cells lost power and unlocked, including mine. It's how I found out about it, because I got out and wandered around and just found the comm room by accident and overheard them talking. You should hurry, though, someone in monitoring might notice my intercom's on."\n\n"Gotcha. Thanks Edward. Hey, maybe see you on the outside," you add with a smirk.\n\n"Hee," he coos softly just before you turn off the intercom. Hm... was that ominous? ... Eh.\n\nYou turn and dart off the way he said, rounding the corner, moving as quickly and quietly as you can. You have to dodge a few more patrols, once by hiding in a bathroom and another time just pressing yourself into the deep doorway of a containment cell and hoping they don't look over. You can hear something gurgling on the other side... 'SCPX-682, Keter-Extra'. "Extra"? You're distracted from pondering that by holding your breath as the guards actually pass by, but both of them seem very determined not to look at the containment room. You actually quirk an eyebrow as they hurry by, waiting until they've rounded a corner to do a quick peek and come out.\n\n'That scary?' you muse. You realize there's the door to what looks like an observation area nearby... the door actually has a window, so you can see inside and that no one's there. There's also what's obviously a long observation window, currently covered by some sort of blast shield. What's so frightening that even the tough guys that work at the Scary Crap Place are afraid to even look at its containment area? You kinda wanna know...\n\n... though you should probably just hurry on, again before you're noticed. If someone finds the gun you left Edward, not only will you feel like you've broken your end of the bargain, but that will obviously tip them off that someone's here and probably not on a peaceful mission. He didn't particularly strike you as the sort to hold up under pressure, either, so he'd probably just tell them you were here and what you wanted. \n\n........ But you wanna knooooooow!\n\n<hr>\n[[Hurry on.|Def1x14]]\n\n[[Take a look.|Def]]

Deciding you're not quite ready to take your chances with the anomalous whossawhatsits, even if they are rated 'Safe', you dive across the hall and try the office door. The handle turns and, taking a risk (because why wouldn't you), you slip through and do your best to quickly, smoothly, and silently shut it again after you. Looks like luck is with you, though... the office seems to be empty. It's a pretty normal-looking office, really, if a bit on the large side to accommodate what looks like a small reference library, a couch and coffee table, and... fucking hell is that an actual soda fountain? One of the fancy ones that can dispense like twenty different drinks besides adding flavors to them?... as well as the standard desk and a tallish white metal double-doored cabinet.\n\nYou press yourself back against the door, listening. You can hear the bootsteps approaching... it doesn't sound like they're hurrying, that's good. Your heart lurches just a little as you hear them stop, breathing a little harder as you hear several beeps, and then a man's voice speaking somewhat indistinctly through the door. You wait for long moments seeing if you'll hear a radio crackle and an urgent reply saying that there's an alert on...\n\n... and instead hear another male voice reply. It's definitely electronically tinged like it's coming through a speaker, and has a weird chittery sound besides, but it sounds calm enough. Maybe a bit complain-y, which would probably explain why the guard laughs and says something mildly scolding. The strange voice replies in a slightly tired tone, and the two exchange what's obvious as a brief goodbye before you can hear the bootsteps leaving.\n\n'... Oh, they were talking to the SCP,' you realize with a blink. You hadn't realized 'Safe' might mean 'Safe to chat with'. Well that's interesting. You listen to make sure the guards have gone, then take a quick peek out into the hallway. Yeah, looks like the coast is clear.\n\nHm. Should you go on right away? Or maybe kill some time rummaging around in this office? You're guessing from the time displayed on the wall clock that it's probably close to the end of the workday here, if you wait a little longer you'll probably be able to get around a bit easier with sparser nighttime patrols. The tradeoff is that you have no idea if this office's occupant, or anyone else who has business here might come in.\n\n<hr>\n[[Leave now.|Def1x11]]\n\n[[Poke around a bit.|DefSCP1x1]]

Your name is Riley, and you come from a family of witches. It's pretty cool! Although you've had to keep this a secret for most of your life... the whole "witch" thing is sort of on the down-low. You're still allowed to use your magic, you just have to keep it subtle like you've been taught. At the least, it's let you stay safe enough to grow up confident, goth, and openly effeminate (and bi), not really having to worry about bullies and such. Your hair is dyed (magically) purple, let to grow just a little bit down your neck and also falling over one side of your face, covering one red eye. (Used to be contacts, now also magical dye.) You're slender... well, maybe a bit skinny... but have a great ass, and you tend to dress in black and purple predominately, such as with tight pants, snug t-shirts, and striped fingerless elbow-gloves, like you're wearing today. \n\nAs to the whole "secret" thing though on your eighteenth birthday, you gain a considerably greater amount of leeway on just how much you can use your powers and risk exposure. Which is... today! It is also, coincidentally, graduation day from high school! So, to say that it's a busy day for really getting down to considering your future is a bit of an understatement. In fact that's what you're currently doing as you sit in your room with your friend Jordan, who you've known since the two of you were tiny. He has at least some idea of your witch-ness, though how much he actually believes it is debateable. Still, it's clear he's been influenced by you, as he too is rather goth, with green hair and yellow contacts, wearing similar clothes in green and black. This may also be because he similarly grew up rather slim and on the femmey side, though he's been fairly adamant about just liking girls. He's sitting on the side of your bed, kicking his sock-clad feet a little, while you sway back and forth in your computer chair.\n\n"Wow. Pretty amazing to think that it's actually over," Jordan muses aloud, shaking his head. "... Well, high school. I was gonna just say 'school', but."\n\n"Yeah, I was just pondering what to do now," you note, grinning as you press a stockinged toe to the floor to push off and give yourself a complete spin.\n\n"Pretty sure we're supposed to have been thinking about that for anywhere between the last couple of months and the last eight years, depending on who you ask," Jordan notes dryly, leaning back on his hands. "But yeah, honestly I haven't really decided anything either. I mean, I sent out a bunch of college submissions and have already gotten some back, but I'm not even sure which I'd take, if any."\n\nYou nod thoughtfully, pretty much in the same boat. Well, you doubt that Jordan applied to several of the schools you have. "I've been thinking about some other stuff too. Traveling, getting a job, really focusing on my witchiness..."\n\n"Riiight," Jordan murmurs, rolling his eyes a bit. Yeah you're pretty sure he doesn't really believe you can do magic. Well, maybe you'll actually show him today, who knows?\n\nGrinning more, you add, "Orrrr I could just focus on totally slutting it up for a while."\n\nJordan's face goes red and he glances aside, not saying anything to that. You're 99% sure your friend is a rather unspoiled virgin, while you are... uh... not. Let's just say "very not", heh. But you're not kidding, you do think it would be kind of fun to just focus on having fun and doing lewd things for a while. A combination of your family's hidden wealth and your ability to monetize your witchiness (if not just monetizing the sluttiness directly) means you don't exactly have to worry about making ends meet, at least any time soon.\n\nOr you could just... not decide right now. You've got a party tonight, you're probably gonna get laid, there's weeks yet before you'd absolutely have to make a decision about the college applications. No real rush, other than the sense of having made a decision.\n\n<hr>\n[[Go to college.|RiUni1x1]]\n\n[[Travel.|RiTrav1x1]]\n\n[[Get a job.|RiJob1x1]]\n\n[[Witchiness.|RiWi1x1]]\n\n[[Sluttery.|RiSlut1x1]]\n\n[[Let it be.|Riley1x1]]

Welp, may as well pick a hallway essentially at random. You vaguely wish now that you'd bothered to try and find at least a rough layout of the place somehow so that you could have planned out your escape (at least a little) but oh well, you were enjoying yourself.\n\nYou're actually still enjoying yourself. Yes, including the potential to be Worse Than Deathed or whatever.\n\nStill giggling fiendishly to yourself over the bomb working even better than expected, you lope off down the corridor amidst the pulsing lights and droning of the computer voice. ("Event level Catastrophe" gives you a little thrill every time you hear it.) Oh well, you'll either find a way out or you won't. Admittedly between your natural tendency towards thrillseeking and the fact that you've so far neglected to stay dead every time it's happened to you before, you may have a rather unhinged view on your own mortality.\n\nStill, you do have a little pause as you come to a branch in the hallway, and directly ahead of you is almost complete darkness. You glance to your left and see that at least that hallway is still completely lit, and to your right... hm, looks like the lights are flickering down there. Despite being chemical. That's... just a tad weird. ... Same for the lights ahead being totally out, come to think of it.\n\n"I think she came this way!" a man's voice calls in the distance behind you. From many, many years of experience somehow the voice just screams 'security' to you rather than anything else.\n\n'Oop, guess I'm still at least one team's priority,' you muse, making a face. Well that changes things. The lighted hallway and risk being more easily spotted and pursued, or one of the darker ones and risk... whatever's in there?\n\n<hr>\n[[Dark hallway ahead.|Def4x1]]\n\n[[Lit hallway to the left.|Def1x17]]\n\n[[Flickering hallway to the right.|Def]]

'Only thing worse than getting shot in the back is getting shot in the back after running into something and breaking your nose,' you decide, turning and dashing down the lefthand hallway.\n\nLuckily it sounds like the security team is a fair ways back and you have a decent lead on them, you should be able to elude them and maybe find an exit. You notice that some of the containment doors you pass are open, the rooms inside either empty or whatever they're containing is immobile and indistinguishable from the furnishings or whatever. Your curiosity almost gets the better of you several times, but with the actual possibility of "good" guys with guns on your tail you're less inclined to indulge yourself. 'I may actually get out of here without running into a skip!' you think in a mixture of smugness and disappointment.\n\nWhich clearly tempted fate too much as you round a corner and abruptly screech to a halt. The first thing you notice is that you just almost ran into a naked woman roughly your own age, very pretty and very naked, except for the gold collar around her neck and the sort of helmet-like jackal mask draped over her head, folds of gold cloth from it falling around her shoulders, the gleaming black and gold of the mask covering her upper face without any apparent eyeholes. That apparently doesn't bother her, however, since she raises a hand and points right at you, intoning, "Master."\n\nWhich of course leads you to follow the links of the golden chain attached to her collar to its source, your jaw going a bit slack in a mixture of surprise and, okay admit it, just a little lust. The towering figure is covered in sleek, deeply black and shiny fur, baring a very broad, toned back and full muscular buttocks beneath both a gold belt and a long slender tail. The tips of its ears just almost brush the ceiling as it turns towards you, the massive jackalman wearing nothing but his own pharoah-like golden headdress, chest-draping, and golden bracers and shinguards, leaving a very large, very long, very thick black shaft swaying downward over the pair of equally massive onyx-furred balls beneath it. His lips curl up into a sedate leer on his long lean muzzle as he draws a hand back, something starting to materialize in it.\n\nYou snap your rifle up and fire into his center mass repeatedly, but the energy blasts hit his shining-furred muscles and wash off of them with less effect than if you'd thrown water balloons. He doesn't even seem to notice them as he flings his hand forward and something long and glittering whistles through the air, thumping against your throat just hard enough to make you gulp and stagger back slightly as you feel cool metal click into place and hear a faint sizzling noise behind your neck.\n\nInstantly you drop the rifle. You don't think about it, you just do. You straighten up, standing with your arms at your sides and your chest out, eyes forward, unable to so much as twitch a finger. You can only watch as your god booms "Prepare her" and the naked woman in the mask walks forward and starts quickly, efficiently stripping off your clothing and armor as if she'd undressed you a thousand times.\n\n"Mm. Not whole? A shame," your god 'tsks' as your full prosthetic arm is revealed, and there's something even more deeply infuriating about the fact that you can't so much as make a face at him, let alone fire off a quip. "Still, she seems to be intact where it matters," he chuckles as the First Among Slaves hauls down your pants and panties, pulling them off with your boots.\n\nAfter you've been stripped completely, your god spends several moments admiring your naked body, before simply nodding. Suddenly you feel like you can move again, slumping and staggering a little in place. You of course immediately try to spout off any number of insults or demands as your hands come up to grab at the chain connected to your collar, but each one is cut off by what sounds a lot like your own mental voice saying a calm, cool 'You must not blaspheme'. You can feel your god's will urging on you suddenly, though the command is surprising enough that you don't resist immediately, instead doing as he wants and bending down to pick up your rifle. Obviously the first thing you want to do is try shooting him again with it, but you barely even twitch before your brain cuts you off with 'You must not blaspheme'.\n\nWith a little flick of the chains, the god directs you to start walking down the hall back the way you came, you and the First Among Slaves striding along ahead of him.\n\nYou've gone back down the hallway a short distance when the security crew comes into view, probably eight or nine of them in full gear with short rifles. "SHIT! It's Skip 3100! Covering fire, Vasquez, Collins, run!!" the leader roars, swinging his rifle up and opening fire.\n\nMore of the security officers open fire as well, hindered by the more slender figures of their number trying to quickly disengage and make a run for it. Forced to obey your god's directive to ignore the hornet-shrieks of bullets whizzing past you (some of them striking the god harmlessly, others tearing into the First Among Slaves and dropping her to the ground in a blood-streaked slump), you fire back, taking out several of the guards even as the god flings two more collars forward, their chains snaking through the air as alive to dart them past the heads of the other security officers to latch around the necks of the two women. The female security guards immediately turn on their fellows, opening fire from point blank range, their plates not doing much under the sheer close-quarters hail of bullets.\n\nThe moment all the male security officers are dead, Vasquez and Collins drop their rifles and face the god, standing up at attention and on display as you did. "Prepare that one," the god booms to you, giving you a nudge towards Vasquez.\n\nYou really do try to resist, admittedly more for your own sake than hers. But you can't really do more than twitch and shudder a little bit amongst your movements as you stride over and bend over quickly to set down your rifle, nevertheless compelled to display your ass and pussy for the god's pleasure. Straightening up, you start by removing the other woman's helmet, revealing shortish, sweat-rumpled dark brown hair and a face more handsome than pretty, fixed in a sort of stoic blank look like you assume you had earlier. You seem to instinctively know how to undo all her own body armor and other clothes, and in a matter of moments you've revealed a very sleek, toned body, trim and muscular with defined abs and small but well-shaped breasts, deep tan skin gleaming a bit with sweat in the chemical light and alarm pulses.\n\nTurning, the two of you move over in sync and similarly make short work of Collins's uniform and gear, revealing tightly-bound dark braids, shining dark skin, full breasts, hips, and rear on a rather more soft-looking but still obviously fit and trim body. Only then do both of them relax into something more like natural posture, looking faintly furious but determined as all three of you bend to retrieve your weapons, Vasquez and Collins plucking several extra magazines from the bodies of their squadmates before all of you press forward.\n\nThe three of you and your god roam through the facility... something in your mind tells you the god must have a greater purpose, though to all rationality it just looks like he's randomly sending you wandering around. You take out another security team (all males, and therefore the god leaving no survivors [though it's you and the other two who do all the shooting]), as well as passing several other "inmates" in the shadows, most of whom warily back off from him, including a low insectoid form that skitters towards you at one point until the god growls "Begone, wretch!" and sends it skittering much faster the other way.\n\nYou spot what looks like it could lead to a garage exit, and feel compelled to raise a hand and point to it, growling out through gritted teeth, "Master."\n\n"Mm? Ah." Nodding, the god directs all of you towards it, when suddenly the overhead lights flicker and come back on fully.\n\nA moment later, music starts playing over the loudspeakers... almost stereotypically Ancient Egyptian, but low, soft, and deeply gentle. The god actually wobbles faintly on his feet, grunting lowly... then tugs on you and the others' chains, turning around and starting to walk heavily back the way you all came. You let your rifle drop from your hands at some passing mental directive from the god, your fellow slaves all doing the same as you fall into step behind him.\n\nThe four of you encounter no more guard teams or skips as he leads the way back to where you encountered him and a bit past, turning towards one of the containment rooms, his movements seeming to grow more heavy and somnolent the entire way. The music is louder inside the room, which is covered in mock sandstone covered with heiroglyphics and lit by what look like sconces with holographic flames. The moment you and the other slaves have walked through, the door slams shut behind you, the sound of multiple locks being done coming just before a "sandstone" slab slides down over it. There's a massive golden throne against one wall, and the god makes his way over to it and slumps down to sit, letting his legs spread and further displaying the massive (and still soft) member between his powerful thighs. He blinks several times as his head nods and wobbles, before he settles completely into sleep.\n\nInstantly you and the other two women sag as if released from whatever was holding you at attention... which means instantly Vasquez whirls on you, her face twisted in fury. "You bitch! You're the instigator, aren't you?! This is all your fault!"\n\nYou look at her for a moment, then just shrug and glance around, taking in the antiquated, minimalist fittings of the cavernous room, most of them simple but apparently authentic gold. "Eh, fair cop."\n\nVasquez makes a noise that sounds like she's simply too angry to come up with a word bad enough for you. "I'd be fucking strangling you right now if I could!" she snarls, raising her hands with curled fingers in the general direction of your neck, limbs trembling but not moving further.\n\n"But you can't, so you might as well calm down, Vasquez, the instigator's in the same shit we are," Collins says in a bland tone. After Vasquez has settled down to a low seethe, Collins looks at you and adds, "We're SCPX-3100's property now, according to the rules he operates under. And we're not allowed to deliberately damage his property, or him... not that we've found anything that will do that anyway."\n\n"So this is the sort of shit you guys are 'securing and containing', huh?" you say dryly, tugging a bit at your collar chain and glancing at the slumbering god. ... Damn, you really can't think of him any other way, can you? "Okay, yeah, guess I see it. Invulnerable magic big dick furry that can enslave any woman he wants, you don't exactly want him getting ahold of-"\n\n"Don't," Collins interrupts, clapping a hand over your mouth. You shove her back, to which she glares at you, but quickly continues, keeping her voice down. "We're pretty sure we can only mostly contain Thirty-One-Hundred because with a combination of music, letting him keep one slave, and the occasional feast, he doesn't try to break out normally. We don't need to go giving him any incentive to change his mind. You're bad enough as it is, little miss supervillain."\n\n"Oh, you do know me," you chirp.\n\n"Seriously? That's what you're worried about right now? Your rep?" Vasquez almost growls.\n\n"I mean I'm not exactly thrilled about this, no," you admit, giving your collar chain another tug and making your own modest but kinetically-inclined boobs jiggle a bit with the motion. "But from what I heard there were worse options."\n\nVasquez opens her mouth to snap something back at you, then pauses, clearly thinking. You watch her make several faces of increasing disgust, worry, and slight terror, before she gives a hard shudder and grumbles, "Yeah, okay, fair cop."\n\n"So what happens now?" you ask, glancing at Collins, who's clearly the more reasonable of the two and therefore the exposition dispensor.\n\n"Now we hope that they can go through Procedure 3100-C before he finishes his sleep cycle. It's the procedure for if valuable personnel get enslaved by 3100," she continues at the prompting look on your face. "If they can round up an attractive enough D-class, or one that can be made attractive enough in time, before he 'consummates' his ownership of us-"\n\n"Which is exactly what it sounds like," Vasquez grumbles, her eyes flicking nervously towards the god's thoroughly-displayed massive member and bulging balls as she does.\n\n"Then he'll probably trade all three of us for her, he's not too attached to really new ones and will trade them for a more pleasing sex toy," Collins picks up in a flat tone. "But if they can't carry out 3100-C, or don't care enough to, then when he wakes up he'll... do his thing. After that he'll be unlikely to give up all of us... they could maybe barter with him for two of us, but almost no way he'd give up all three of us."\n\nVasquez gives you a cool, slightly smug look now... clearly she's thinking that if the Foundation was going to barter for the freedom of only two of you, it would be for their two loyal employees. From what you've heard, you're not too sure of that, but for once you decide not to aggravate the situation by pointing it out. Instead you look over at Collins again.\n\n<hr>\n[["So they've done this before, huh?"|Def]]\n\n[["How likely is all that?"|Def1x18]]

Mmmmn... you've got the big fish to fry. Besides, if things get really fun, you'll probably get a chance to look at it anyway!\n\nYou hurry on, reaching the hallway labeled A17 eventually. You peer around the corner and down the right hand side... yup, there's a doorway flanked by two guards. Like the others, they're wearing thick weave black turtlenecks under bland grey-green body armor, including some light plates over the black combat cargo pants... hm, not literal jackboots, but definitely in the metaphorical breed. They've also got on helmets with conceiling faceplates... wow, really makes it feel like they're more from your side of things. The only decorations are the Foundation's symbol on velcro patches on their shoulders, clearly designed to be yanked off and thrown away quickly. You draw back and spend a few moments switching your rifle over to tranq rounds... not out of any sense of mercy, you understand, just that bullets or energy blasts would make more noise, and you want to draw out the moment of surprise as much as possible.\n\n'Here comes the fun stuff,' you think, raising the rifle to the ready, then darting around the corner and going at the guards at a run.\n\nThey're both already starting to turn towards you when you fire. The needle, designed to pierce various varieties of superfabric, slides through the thick layers of the turtleneck like it wasn't there, and almost instantly the guard is toppling, wobbling in midair from dropping mid-turn. The other's turned towards you too much, the dart would deflect off of his faceplate, so you leap into a completely pointless jump forward... pointless other than that it's distracting as hell, and he actually checks his fire for a second as he's surprised, likely wondering what the fuck you're doing. You smash the barrel of your rifle across his helmet as you come in, staggering him, then grab the barrel of his own rifle with your prosthetic hand and swing up, your metal knuckles catching the underside of his chin with enough force you can hear teeth crack. He drops to the ground insensate, with you snatching the access card off of his belt as he does, turning and swiping it through the reader on the door before he's finished coming to a rest.\n\nYou stride in through the opening doors and shoot the lone tech on duty in the chest with another dart, dropping them just as instantly as the guard. (That one might have killed them, but eh. You're gonna be bombing this place, so.) Speaking of which! You sling the rifle onto your back, then draw the metal box containing your bomb out from under your coat. Setting it on a console almost perfectly in the center of the room, you flip the arming switches in the proper sequence, grinning as the timer pops up. One simple button poke, and it begins counting down.\n\nGood! Now to either get out of here, or at least get to somewhere you can watch the fun from. After a brief consideration, you walk over and, after a quick check of the tech's pulse, grab her by the back of the collar and drag her out into the hallway where she might theoretically survive the blast. Again, less from mercy, more because you understand that the more personnel are around during a containment breach, the more Fun™ there will be.\n\n"There she is!" a woman's voice from down the hall snaps.\n\nWuh-oh, spotted! Dropping the tech you break into a run without bothering to look behind you, doing your best to ignore it as there's a chatter of automatic weapons fire as well as several energy blast sounds you're not familiar with, both followed essentially instantly by the angry hornet noises of bullets just missing you and the crackling of multicolored blaster bolts flying by and making the little hairs on your body stand up. (Good thing you shaved yesterday! No not your face.) Grinning happily, you duck and spring into a roll to dive under the level of the weapons fire and around a corner, coming up in a full sprint as a low-level alarm tone with a light pulsing red light starts up.\n\nYou zig-zag essentially at random through several hallways, firing a few energy blasts of your own at the guards, enough to knock them flying (though if those are level five plates probably not killing them). You finally duck around one more corner and settle into a crouch, panting softly and checking the underside of your prosthetic arm's wrist to check the synced timer. Only a few more seconds, and then you get-\n\n<hr>\n[[-nice big kaboom!|Def1x15]]\n\n[[-..... fucking nothing?!|Def2x1]]

You can hear the loud thump before it turns into a shaking, thunderous roar. You're still exulting over the sound of it when it's suddenly followed up by a long, creaking groan that turns into a crash that shakes the whole building, the sound of multiple tons of metal support struts, reflective plates, and a giant central beam coming crashing down and smashing through more areas of the building, the lights flickering and going out, before being replaced by whitish-green chemical lighting lining the same panels.\n\n'I got the satellite dish?!' you think with glee, popping to your feet and practically quivering in delight. Just then, the alarm lights blaze back to life, pulsing alternately amber and red in the slightly greenish dim.\n\n"Warning. Warning. Full containment breach. Full containment breach," drones an artificial-sounding female voice through the blaring alarm tone. "Facility is at event level 'Catastrophe'. Facility is at event level 'Catastrophe'."\n\n"Oh my gawd, this is the best day ever!" you shriek before flinging your arms wide and letting out an absolute cackle of gleeful laughter.\n\nYou can definitely hear lots and lots of boots on the ground in frantic movement now. You bet they've got more on their minds than catching you at this point but you doubt they'd exactly mind either. Plus despite everything you're not exactly eager to wind up as prey to some "skip" or another. You turn and take off at a run again, hoping to find your way out of the facility (or, again, at least somewhere safe-ish to watch from).\n\nYou soon arrive at a cluster of hallways... let's see... ah, that one is [[7A|Def]], pretty sure it's back the way you came, though probably not directly. Although you have no idea if that's actually towards an exit (plus it would probably take you back towards SCPX-682). There's also [[12D|Def1x16]], [[D19|Def5x1]], and [[C19|Def3x1]] within easy sight.

... although not one intended for their future children.\n\nYou can see their jaws already dropping and cheeks coloring in shock as they get their first glimpse of the roomful of black leather and wood devices like some torturer's den, and yet the sweet-spicy incense scent that hits their nose and the obvious padding on all the restraints will quickly eliminate the idea that these are meant for extracting information rather than orgasms. Of course if that didn't clue them in, the incubus might.\n\nHe's sitting on something that's more like a low, leather-padded table than a bed, grinning cheekily with his legs spread, showing off his large, jutting cock and the heavy balls dangling below it. He's a pale, almost ceramic white from scalp to toe, his hair a thick, shiny black hanging down his back, falling across his forehead around the slender white horns arcing up from it. Beautiful of both face and body, all sleek pretty muscle and perfectly smooth skin, he sits with his spade-tipped tail flicking back and forth, smiling at the new arrivals. "Welcome to your new home. You're going to love it here... not by choice, but you're going to love it."\n\n"Monster!" Elica cries as both she and Tiernan draw their weapons, pushing forward into the room so that they'll have enough space to settle into battle stances. "How did you get in our new home, you filthy-?!"\n\n"Shut up, slut, and get naked and on your knees where you belong," the incubus cuts in placidly, using one slender-fingered hand to give his erect prick a few strokes.\n\n"Yes, Master," Elica answers as her shortspear clatters to the floor, followed almost immediately by her chestplate as she reaches up to undo the binding.\n\n"Elica?! Elica, what are you doing?!" Tiernan cries worriedly, but he seems frozen in place, powerless to move anything other than his eyes as he watches his wife shedding her armor and clothing.\n\nYou smile in delight at the mingling of anger and fear in Elica's eyes as she's unable to respond to him... she was ordered to shut up, after all. You can tell she's fighting with everything she has, but it doesn't so much as produce a twitch in her hands as they pull off her sweater, revealing full, teardrop-shaped breasts with light pink nipples. They wobble and shake gently as she unlaces her leather pants and works them down, stepping out of them and her boots before walking towards the incubus. The closer she gets to him, the further her body betrays her, nipples stiffening completely, growing thicker and longer as arousal starts dribbling down her inner thighs before she's even sunk to her knees. But the soft moan of pleasure she gives as she leans forward and starts suckling at one of the incubus's balls is genuine, a shiver of pleasure running through her as she starts working her tongue and lips over that heavy white orb, her husband watching on in horror.\n\n"Y-you, you bastard, you won't get away with this!" Tiernan splutters, his face red. "You won't get away with doing this to her, I'll-"\n\n"Strip and get on your knees where you belong like a good little whore," the incubus interrupts just as smoothly as he strokes a hand over Elica's hair.\n\n"Yes, Master," Tiernan replies as his sword drops to the ground beside the pile of his wife's clothing.\n\nSoon he's on his knees between the incubus's legs as well, tonguing the other ball and moaning softly, his visibly throbbing prick dribbling little drops of pre every time his tongue washes across the silk-smooth sack. Both of them are clearly mentally fighting for all they're worth, but it's a losing battle... in the Dark Monolith, in this environment set up specifically to let him reign over and control, the incubus is effectively a god. The scent of his musk filling their nose, the tingling, vibrant taste and feel of him on their lips and tongue, it's sending arousal coursing through their bodies, pleasure reinforcing every little thing they do to obey him and please him, their wills gradually being eaten away by the constant feedback that results of something so simple as obediently getting on their knees and sucking his balls. \n\nAs they begin to give in, each of them sends a hand wandering towards the other, Tiernan's looking to slip between his wife's legs to stimulate that dripping, puffy pussy, Elica's looking to reach for her husband's aching, pulsing prick. Only to be interrupted as the incubus coos, "Nah-ah-ah! No touching each other," he adds with a smug grin as he strokes their hair. "Ever again. You're never, ever to give each other pleasure, you are only to be used for my pleasure, is that understood?"\n\n"Yes, Master," the married couple murmurs against the incubus's balls as their hands draw back, resting obediently on their thighs, just like that agreeing to never lay hands on their beloved again in return for being allowed to tongue a monster's sack.\n\n"There's a good pair of fuck animals. Here, for your reward, you can be the first to take my cock all the way down your throat, whore," the incubus coos, guiding Tiernan's head upward.\n\n"Thank you, Master," he moans, a shudder running through his body as he parts his lips, no doubt now struggling to tell if he's doing it because he's being forced or because he wants to. Whichever it is he slides his mouth over the incubus's cock, bobbing his head over it and tonguing the pale white shaft adoringly, starting to quag gently as it bumps at his throat, his altered angle no doubt giving him an even better view of his wife tongue-worshiping the demon's balls... as well as giving Elica a clear view of her husband's lips stretched around another male's prick and his head sinking ever lower on it. And indeed, like a good little whore he's soon taking it all the way down, his throat bulging with the incubus's much larger cock, his own twitching and drooling a steady stream of pre onto the floor. \n\nAfter several minutes of Tiernan sucking the succubus off, the married man moaning and shivering in pleasure as that fat demon dick stretches his throat, he's guided up and back down, his attentions returning to his new master's balls as Elica is guided upward and given her turn at having her throat stretched and fucked by that fat infernal pale prick. Now their positions are reversed, Elica having the clear view of her husband sucking and licking those heavy, overfull white balls as he looks up to watch the demon's dick disappearing further and further between her lips. Eventually though the incubus draws her up and urges her head back with a stronger stroke of her hair, grinning as he picks up a small bottle from nearby and uncorks it. "Now, drink down this fertility potion so that I can knock you up, slut."\n\n"Yes, Master," Elica moans, quivering with excitement as she sticks her tongue out and opens her mouth wide, Tiernan's eyes wide with a mixture of arousal and horror as the incubus pours the concoction into his wife's mouth, the thick, viscous green-yellow fluid splashing across her lips and dribbling down her cheeks for as much as gets in her mouth. At the incubus's guidance she moves up to lay on the table, hauling her own legs up and presenting her sodden pussy and fluttering, clenching asshole to the demon who rises to stand in front of her, lightly stroking himself as he watches.\n\nThe incubus gives a casual glance towards Tiernan, almost as if having only just remembered he's there. "Get up on the table as well, whore, and use that bottle of lube. You're forbidden from touching your cock while I knock up your wife, but I'll allow you to get your ass ready for me."\n\n"Yes, Master," Tiernan whimpers with a mixture of dejection and elation as he climbs up onto the table on his knees, picking up the other bottle and starting to dribble its contents over his fingers.\n\nChuckling quietly, the incubus leans down, lightly slapping his girthy member against Elica's puffy-lipped pussy, the female adventurer giving a soft squeak as even that is enough to make her cum a little. But that's nothing compared to the long, shameless moan and the rolling of her eyes as the incubus actually enters her, his cotton-white cock spreading her soft pink pussy open around him, claiming her wedding night first as his own, her unfaithful cunt quivering in delighted, near-constant orgasms around his prick as it sheaths fully inside her. The incubus begins pumping his hips, an almost disdainful sort of casual motion to his strokes as he fucks her, even as she steadily goes more wild with it. "Ah! Ah Master's fucking me, Master's fucking my pussy, I'm cumming so much! Tiernan never made me cum so much, his cock was never this big, fuck, fuck, Master's going to knock me up, I want to be knocked up by Master, I want Master to knock me up I want to be Master's breeding sow yes yes Master's diiiick!"\n\nEven as Elica's self-deprecating diatribe is growing more incoherent and more slutty, her expression more depraved and brainless with her tongue flopping, eyes rolling, and a mindless grin of slutty pleasure curling her lips, Tiernan is fucking himself in the ass with his fingers, completely ignoring his own stiff prick jutting out in front of him. He moans as he watches, breaths coming hard between his parted lips, fingers pumping into his ass shuddering as they start to almost match the strokes of the incubus's prick thrusting into his wife's pussy. His soft, steadily less masculine moans of two different types of longing are getting louder, his hips jerking as if not sure whether to thrust forward trying to get some relief from his aching cock or back against his slick, glistening fingers. Certainly you're not sure which one he's jealous of, the male getting to fuck and impregnate his wife on their wedding night, or Elica getting to take that big fat throbbing cock in her eager hole... you imagine he's just as unsure. Especially as he watches the incubus thrust forward, Elica squealing animalistically as his cum overflows her pussy and spurts out around the base of it where it's spreading her fat lower lips, the woman quivering in pleasure as she's impregnated by the demon whose name she doesn't even know on the first night of their marriage, and all Tiernan can do is moan as his cock twitches and shudders, obviously just on the edge of cumming at the sight alone.\n\nThe incubus pulls out of Elica, his cock covered in a thick mixture of her cum and his, pausing only briefly to take in the sight of the obviously blank-minded, orgasm-drunk woman still holding her legs in the breeding position and giving soft, mindless giggles with her tongue lolled out. Then he turns to Tiernan, just as casually saying, "On your hands and knees, whore."\n\n"Yes, Master," Tiernan moans, shifting around onto all fours beside his fucked-silly wife, raising his ass up like a bitch in heat to show off his slick, glistening pucker. "I-I got my ass ready for you, Master."\n\n"Good whore," the incubus says dismissively, as if it really didn't matter that much to him, even as he moves up behind the married man and pushes his cock smoothly into that lubed-up passage without a bit of hesitation.\n\n"Gnnnnnh!" Tiernan's eyes roll and his jaw clenches as he finally cums... but not with his cock, that simply continuing to twitch and drool pre beneath him, but with his ass. The adventurer shudders as his hole clenches and quivers around his new owner's fat white shaft, before his clenched jaw sags, tongue lolling out as the incubus starts to thrust. "Hnnnh, Master's cock, Master's fucking me, Master's making me his whorrrre, I'm cumming from my ass, fuuuuck!"\n\n"Mm, I think you need a body more befitting a whore, though," the incubus muses aloud, tail flicking through the air as if to punctuate his thrusts into Tiernan's ass. Even as he says it Tiernan's muscles start to slack and smooth out, his body losing definition and becoming soft and smooth, every single hair below his eyebrows dropping away... and even those shedding to become more slender, thin pencil lines arching above his eyes. Tiernan's moans, already having lost most of their masculine timbre and inflection, start to grow higher and sweeter as his jaw grows more slender and his chin more petite, even the set of his eyes changing. The slope of his shoulders alters and his waist grows more slender with every stroke of that demonic dick into his ass, the buttocks spread around that pumping infernal shaft growing rounder and more padded, starting to jiggle visibly with every impact of the incubus's hips. That stiff prick bobbing and swaying below his belly with the thrusts of the male fucking him starts to grow softer without ever having gotten to cum, shrinking from what was once an impressive length and thickness in its own right and growing steadily smaller and thinner, until the limp little shaft is less than an inch long, wobbling above the berries of his balls. But as his cock is shrinking, his chest is swelling and growing, firm pecs turning soft and full as they droop into a pair of heavy, swaying globe-shaped breasts, large enough to put Elica's to shame.\n\n"Master, Master, please Master," Tiernan moans as he shakes his fat, shapely ass like a whore, doing his best to pleasure his master's prick, his steadily lengthening hair spilling around his shoulders. "Please, finish it, turn me into a woman and knock me up too, pleeeease!"\n\n"Tch, you think you deserve to be a woman and get knocked up? After letting me dominate your wife and you?" Snorting, the incubus pulls out, smacking one of those shapely asscheeks and with it conveying his order for Tiernan to roll over, heavy breasts wobbling and settling only to shake again as the incubus hauls the adventurer around, stroking his cock lightly. "No, you're going to keep that limp little prick, which will never be touched or know pleasure, to remind you what a failure you were as a man and a husband," the demon continues as he begins to spill his load all over Tiernan's face, thick globs of infernal jizz falling down to coat the brown-haired whore's pretty face, dripping into those thick, shining brunette locks and tracing along the lines of that lovely jaw.\n\n"Thank... thank you, Master," Tiernan whimpers. "... sorry, Elica," is added with one last little flare of will from the defeated adventurer.\n\n"S-sorry... Tiernan... I lost completely to Master's cock," Elica replies in a slurred voice with the remaining flicker of her own will, unable to help sounding rather elated about it even as she apologizes.\n\n"Now, now, we'll have none of that," the incubus declares as he observes his handiwork with a smirk. "You don't deserve names after how badly you lost, do you? You know what you are."\n\n"Yes, Master," the whore moans lowly and eagerly.\n\n"Yes, Master," the slut coos in her cum-drunk slur.\n\n"Good. Now." The incubus strides over to an X-frame... albeit one with a thick purple phallus jutting from a particular part of it. "Now, whore, get over here and take your position."\n\n"Yes, Master," the whore answers, hurrying over with cum still dripping from pretty facial features down onto fat tits. There's a shudder of arousal through that luscious, lewd body as the incubus wraps his strong, slender fingers around a slim, beautiful throat and lifts, driving that well-fucked hole onto the jutting purple mock-cock before binding the manacles tightly around the failed man's wrists and ankles. \n\n"Slut. Get over here on the bitch-breeding station."\n\n"Yes, Master," the slut answers with an eager groan, rising from the table and following the call to move to the padded frame on the floor, settling onto all fours atop it, the padded rise in the middle keeping her midriff supported and her ass lifted. She obediently slips her hands and feet through the manacles on it, as well as settling her neck into the padded metal collar at the front, quivering in excitement as her owner calmly fastens the metal rings one by one. Then he stands and snaps his fingers, both the slut and whore watching with wide, excited eyes as a massive black canine, its eyes blazing purple and the horns jutting from its forehead smoking, and a glistening, black-veined spear of a red prick below its belly swaying as it emerges from the shadows prowls forward and around the breeding station.\n\n"Slut, I'm going to have a hundred hellhounds fuck you in the ass. Whore, you will count off the number each time one knots her. If you lose count for any reason, we will of course start over. Understood?"\n\n"Yes, MasterrRRRRRRR!" the knocked-up slut squeals as the infernal dog mounts her, thrusting briefly before finding her previously virgin hole and slamming home right to the knot the first time, starting to beastfuck her with all the mindless intensity of a rutting creature of the lower planes.\n\n"Yessss, Master," the whore moans, squirming on and writhing on the frame in an attempt to work that stiff phallus around inside its hot, slick sheath, puny prick wiggling a little with the motions.\n\nHmm, quite a scene... buuuut once you've seen one hellhound having its way with a married woman on her wedding night while her sissified husband looks on, you've seen them all, you think smugly as you shut down the screen, grinning as you suck several of your fingers clean of your own juices.\n<<set $customercouple to "true">>\n<hr>\n[[Go back to the Monolith.|MaxThroneRoomRepeat]]\n\n[[Open the shop in the morning.|MaxShopRepeat]]

"Good morning," you add to your prior greeting in a bright tone as the couple approaches your counter. Well, 'couple' seems an almost inadequate word for it. Despite both of them being clad in assorted pieces of obviously functional and well-used armor and having weapons sheathed at their backs, they're snuggled up so close to one another's side that there's really no space between them. They've been cooing and giggling at each other the entire time they came in, which is sort of adorable. You suppose if Xenith were here, she'd note that you're perfectly justified in ripping her head off and tossing it through a portal into a dimension of everlasting suffering for the audacity of her question, but could she have a snuggle too? Ah, you miss her right now.\n\n"Good morning!" the two reply back almost in unison. They make a pretty attractive couple too, you think... both in their twenties with lean builds, her with long honey blonde hair and him with short light brown, but both blue-eyed and fit and likely to make lovely children. (Well, if you weren't going to kidnap them and turn them into lewd batteries, obviously). The woman is the first to speak. "We're taking a trip all the way to the southern ocean and we were wondering if you had anything that might make it easier?"\n\n"Oh my, that is quite a long journey!" you answer, putting a hand to your cheek. Actually you're just assuming from her phrasing... eh, even if it were only twenty miles or so, you figure they'd just assume you're some provincial little local who's never left town. "Is there some special occasion?"\n\nShe practically vibrates at that, while the man grins bashfully. "We just got married!" she squeals happily, clapping her hands together once. "We're going on our honeymoon!"\n\n"Oh that's wonderful, congratulations!" you coo in response, making them both preen visibly. "In that case, I actually have the perfect thing! You've heard of an Instant Tent, yes?"\n\n"Those items that you put them down and they put themselves up as a comfortable tent, right?" the man speaks up. "Some of them are even bigger on the inside."\n\n"Yes, and some can be quite luxurious! But I have a special that came in just this morning, as if it were meant for you two." You bend down, then heft up a box in the general shape of a house, thumping it down onto the countertop. "This is an Instant Cottage!"\n\n"Instant Cottage?" both of them echo back in unison, staring at it.\n\nOh my, you wonder how long they would have kept doing that if you weren't about to interrupt this couple's development. Anyway: "Yes, exactly. This doesn't just turn into a tent, it turns into a proper house! Well, it will only look like a shed outside, but it's extremely durable and proof against both elements and invaders! The inside would be a comfy little home for anyone, especially adventuring newlyweds such as yourself!"\n\n"That does sound nice," the man allows, rubbing his chin. "We wouldn't have to worry about inn rooms when we got to the coast. Or I guess anywhere. How much?" You name a price, and both blanch a bit, though him moreso. "Th-that much?!"\n\n"Well it is a house, and portable at that," you note. "I'm actually selling it to you at barely above cost because you're just such a lovely couple!"\n\n"Oh, Tiernan, just think, though, we could have our very own home and not have to give up adventuring to have it!" the blonde woman urges, jostling her husband's arm a bit. \n\n"I know, Elica, but... it's a lot of money, we wouldn't have much of anything to spend on our honeymoon. Or anything else for a good long while," he notes, obviously on the fence.\n\n"But like you said, we'll save on inn rooms for... well, forever! And it will be our newlywed love nest," she adds in a near-purr, resting her head on his shoulder.\n\nThat pretty much seals the deal, and the two of them dig out several pouches of gold and deposit them on the counter before thanking you and departing with their new Instant Cottage. Grinning, much like before you keep a mental eye on its location. It stops moving rather earlier than the last time, but then you expected that too... newlyweds wouldn't want to wait that long before 'breaking in' their new digs. You turn the shop over to Tanya and head upstairs, resuming your true form and settling in to create some scrying screens to watch on.\n\n"Alright, so how do we set it up?" Elica asks, practically bouncing up and down as she watches her husband, looking quite girlish for someone who's obviously a seasoned adventurer.\n\n"Well the little instruction slip says that we set it down somewhere, preferably nice and flat," he continues, setting the boxed cottage down on the ground and then stepping back. "Make sure it has space, and then announce... 'We're home!'"\n\nThere's a series of soft but steadily increasing in volume klaks as the box starts to unfold, wooden squares dropping down from the sides and then expanding larger ones from atop those, the whole thing quickly turning into a floor before more sections snap upright and start making walls. In about a minute, what looks like a shed that's been painted and outwardly decorated like a quaint country rental home has formed, complete with flopping out a woven cloth mat reading 'Welcome!' inside a large heart. Both adventurers seem duly impressed, though Tiernan apparently can't help but add, "I hope it really is bigger on the inside, for what we paid."\n\n"Oh darling, even if it's not it just means being closer to you," Elica coos with a voice like overly thickened syrup. Still that seems to more than placate Tiernan, and the two of them head over to the door, opening it up and stepping inside. Again, both seem quite impressed... the interior is obviously quite a bit larger, featuring several doorways that clearly lead off to other rooms, a kitchen, and furniture suitable to a rather luxurious rental home. "This is almost more like an Instant Mansion!" Elica declares enthusiastically.\n\n"I don't know about that, but we definitely got our money's worth," Tiernan says in an agreeable tone.\n\n'Oh you'll get more than that,' you think smugly. Of course neither of them knows it, but they're not actually inside any Instant Cottage... the doorway is just a portal to a prepared space inside the Dark Monolith. They're already yours. In fact you snap your fingers, and a picture-in-picture of the exterior of the cottage pops up so that you can see it fold itself back into a cube and vanish... returned to your inventory, as a matter of fact. Of course, neither of your new residents has a clue, continuing to look about the main area of their new home.\n\n"Let's see what's through here!" Elica calls, having stopped in front of one of the doors and gripped the handle. Once she and Tiernan enter, they'll find themselves in-\n\n<hr>\n[[-a larder.|MaxShop]]\n\n[[-a nursery.|MaxShop]]\n\n[[-a playroom.|MaxShop2x2]]

While you're not entirely thrilled about how few details there are, the pay is phenomenal, and the fact that you'd be doing a vital job for an entire interstellar government is a good incentive. Maybe whoever you talk to can answer your questions. You tap the job to accept, and wait briefly for acknowledgement. When it comes, you're a bit surprised... its meetup point is here, in one of the nearby meeting rooms. Clients very rarely come to the Guildhall itself, and you've never had it happen to you before. Curiouser and curiouser. Still, no reason yet to back out, so you return the tablet to one of the retrieval trays and head over to the indicated meeting room to wait.\n\nIt's about ten minutes before the door slides open and someone else walks in. You have to give them credit, at least they avoided the hooded cloak that absolutely screams 'I am desperate to keep a low profile please don't look at me', and instead went with a long black coat with a hood, which are practically standard issue around here. One gloved hand is gripping a rifle case in a way that says they both don't want to be holding it and are desperately afraid of losing it. Your apparent client contact moves to sit down on the short couch across from the one you're on and lays the case on the rectangular table separating the two, then hesitates briefly before pulling back the hood, revealing blue skin, glowing yellow eyes, pointed ears, and darker blue hair.\n\n"You're... the mercenary?"\n\n"I am," you answer simply, biting back any other potential quips. No need to point out this is obviously her first time doing something like this, she is clearly not the experienced behind the scenes operator some governments use. You wonder if their government doesn't have any of those or just decided not to send one.\n\n"Very well." She shifts uncomfortably, pursing her lips before taking a deep breath and continuing. "What I am about to tell you is of the utmost secrecy. To the point that if you reveal any of these details, it could be grounds for the Guild revoking your certification. With that understanding, are you willing to continue?"\n\n... Huh. This is definitely sounding more and more serious. You consider for a moment, then say, "Yes, but only if you're willing to negotiate on the fee after I've heard what's actually involved."\n\n"I... I might have to seek..." She trails off, then firms up her jaw and nods. "Very well."\n\nYup, pretty serious. "Alright, then, I agree to the Secrecy Provision."\n\nThere's a soft blip, and the light below the Guild monitoring camera in the corner changes from green to purple. The contact glances at it, before looking back at you and starting to speak, her words a little hesitant. "... Factory Alpha is our Cooperative's near-sole source of manufactured goods. Practically every level of our society relies on it... it produces our technology from handheld tablets to starships, many of the building materials for our homes not to mention new construction equipment, our daily use goods, our clothing, even the vast majority of our food."\n\n"Seems kind of like putting all of your eggs in one basket," you can't help but note, using a phrase you learned from your mother.\n\nThe contact's face is blank for a moment before she apparently parses your meaning, and gives a shamefaced nod. "... Back when it was originally conceived there were many who said so. But Factory Alpha was so beautifully designed and architected that eventually such concerns were appeased... for almost 1200 years it has performed flawlessly, as it was designed to, even outputting upgrades and redesigns at regular intervals. It has become a basic foundation of our society that Factory Alpha is infallible."\n\n"And it's turned out to be a little fallible?"\n\n"We... don't know," she murmurs, hanging her head slightly. "Some of the shipments we've been getting are under their usual number, others above, others are simply... strange."\n\n"Strange how?" you ask with a frown.\n\n"Just... strange. Some of the things it's delivered are things we've never seen before, and certainly don't understand why Factory Alpha thinks we would need or want them."\n\n"Stuff you didn't order, huh?" Then you frown. "Wait, that it 'thinks'?"\n\n"A major aspect of Factory Alpha's design is that it monitors our worlds, to better understand our need for production of items, what people find lacking about their current items, what we might need in the future based on data patterns. Some recent shipments though have been simply perplexing, we've never been so absolutely clueless about why it might send us these things. None of our data analysts have answers... or at least any good ones."\n\n"You can't just ask it for diagnostics?"\n\n"No... it was designed to have minimal contact with us, in fact," she admits with a little sigh. "Its original designers felt that if we had direct control over a manufacturing facility that could make virtually anything, it would be too tempting for one aspect of society to come to dominate it... the government turning it into an enormous war machine, the citizenry producing an endless supply of hedonistic tools. It sends occasional diagnostic reports, but only on its own time, and even then only what it thinks we need to know. It's an entirely closed system, designed to function at its best when so, that can't simply be called up from outside. The only way to find out is to go there, and the larger the investigation party, the more likely it would in itself cause disruption."\n\n"So you need someone from outside to go in and investigate, very quietly," you pick up with a nod, keeping your expression solemn. "Because among other things, you have to minimize the risk of anyone from your own society finding out that there actually is something wrong with Factory Alpha, or even could be."\n\n"... Beyond the actual potential for food shortages and other basic necessities, the loss of surety in Factory Alpha would lead to social breakdown. There would be mass hysteria, panic in the streets, riots, and a disorganized exodus of citizenry to surrounding systems, causing further political turmoil with our neighbors. This absolutely must not happen," she declares firmly, thumping her gloved fists against her thighs. "... So we ask that you have as little contact with us as possible before or after setting out on this mission. Your goal is to investigate and discover the source of the problem and, if possible, find Factory Alpha's Emergency Control Facility and use a diagnostic disk made by the original designers. It is our understanding that doing so will allow Factory Alpha to resolve any discrepancies that have emerged for whatever reason."\n\n"Hm. Okay, and do you have a map to this Emergency Control Facility?"\n\n"We... don't have any maps." Now she's actually starting to look sheepish, and hastily amends, "Or rather, we have no maps that are likely to be of any real use. There are blueprints of the original design, of course, but Factory Alpha was designed to renovate and redesign itself as necessary. It's been 1200 years... I sincerely doubt the Emergency Control Facility is in the same place that it was when it began."\n\n"Especially since it sounds like the designers didn't really want it being controlled," you acknowledge with a sigh. "Okay, this is definitely sounding like a way bigger job than originally advertised. Anything else?"\n\n"... Yes." The contact turns the case on the table around to face towards you before opening it. "This is the only weapon you will be allowed to take with you into Factory Alpha."\n\nYou wince a little at the sight of the distinctive orange and white paint job, cyan LEDs, and short but bulky cartridges each with only five lights on them of the rifle in the case. "... A Veyron-LCR," you acknowledge flatly, picking it up out of the foam padding and pulling its shoulder stock out slightly, before setting the butt of the grip on the table, where it balances perfectly despite the angle the grip is at.\n\n<img src="images/VeyronLCR.jpg">\n\nThe Veyron Light Combat Rifle Model One. There wasn't a Model Two because Veyron fired the designer, could never hire another one after the damage the Model One did to their reputation, and eventually went out of business after making approximately six billion of the stupid things in a desperate attempt to salvage their company. It had precisely three good points: its overdesigned gyrostabilizers made it extremely accurate and let you set it down virtually anywhere without it falling over, its concentrating virtually everything about the weapon's function into the central metal portion meaning that overall the rifle's plasteel body made it so durable that you could beat someone to death with it and not throw off its aim, and it was absolutely disgustingly cheap, roughly as affordable as a small stun pistol in many places they could be found. Everything else was bad. The power cells got five shots each and took an hour to recharge, the rails were proprietary and would only take a small handful of dirt basic accessories designed to go with it like its ugly cyanlight video scope, and the energy blasts it shot were so underpowered that it became mildly famous as one of the few weapons that a particular Empire's soldiers could survive a direct hit from when wearing their armor. Among combat professionals of all stripes it came to be known by the nickname 'The Deescalator'... because if the enemy realized you were shooting at them with a Veyron-LCR, they'd know you couldn't be all that serious about killing them. You and a partner were on a ship salvage mission once and discovered seven cargo containers of 100 Veyron-LCRs each, and wound up spacing every one before calling the retrieval team, since after doing the math the money you'd make from selling them would be less than the extra weight would tack on to the towing fee, plus that way you didn't have to humiliate yourselves trying to find someone who would actually buy 700 Deescalators. Across every system, galaxy, and dimension they scattered to, they are now almost exclusively used as home defense weapons by people that simply can't afford anything better since they will, at the very least, take down an intruder (assuming the intruder's not wearing a particularly good leather jacket).\n\n"You want me... to investigate a factory the size of a planet... which may or may not be swarming with hostiles and malfunctioning machinery controlled by a potentially rogue AI... looking for one particular room... using this?"\n\n"There was a great deal of worry about the potential for collateral damage," the contact says in a regretful enough tone and with such a shamefaced expression that it's clear she's well aware of the weapon's reputation. "If there are outsiders in the Factory, this should hopefully be enough to deal with them if they are hostile."\n\n'Yeah, maybe I can beat them to death with it,' you think, picking up the rifle again and trying to focus on one of those positives. "Okay, so, considering the difficulty you're describing," you say slowly, glancing over the case and seeing they've provided three extra charge packs, as well as a gleaming silver square you assume is the diagnostic program disk. "I think we need to renegotiate the fee."\n\n"The fee listed was already quite generous," she says in such a perfunctory tone that you can tell someone told her 'If he wants more money tell him the listed fee is already quite generous'. "But, what sort of amount were you looking for?"\n\nYou think for a moment... then let your grin seep through. "I want one of the starships under construction at the factory."\n\nClearly she wasn't expecting you to get quite that audacious, as her jaw goes slack. "You cannot be serious! Political tensions being what they are, it's estimated there must be at least two dreadnought cruiser class ships under construction at Factory Alpha, we can't just let you take whatever you please!"\n\n"Mmmmm... I'm reeeeally in the market for a ship, and this is such a big job, and if you can't at least say I'll get that much in addition to the original fee out of it, you'll really have to look for someone else." You pause, then add a bit flatly, "Though I can guarantee you that most other mercs are going to get up and walk out without a word the second they see this thing," as you angle the rifle in your hands upward.\n\n"..." She stares at you for long moments, then mutters, "I'll need to speak to my superiors." She stands and walks to the corner of the room, tucking an earpiece with extended microphone into her ear. As she apparently contacts her people, you can hear just little bits and pieces of her conversation. "Very good record... yes... says he wants a ship... I know... told you the Veyron was... how long do you want to... needs a ship apparently... no... embarrassing!... ... fine." She turns and walks back over to you with a rather sickly smile on her face, hands clasped in front of her. "We have a very nice refurbished passenger shuttle we can let you have. It's diplomat-rated!"\n\nYou just stare back at her, expression blank.\n\n"... The shields are very good?"\n\n"Okay let's speed this up," you say, leaning forward and putting the rifle back in its case, very pointedly closing it. "Get back on the line with them and tell them that if their next offer isn't dead serious, the next thing I'm gonna ask for is one of those Dreadnoughts, and if they don't agree to that I'll walk out of here and flag this job as 'Heavily Insufficient Fee For Difficulty'. And it'll get flagged too, because the people responsible for whether that flag goes on there? They're watching," you add, pointing at the camera. "After that the only mercs who'll take it are the desperate and the foolhardy, and neither one is gonna fix this problem for you."\n\n"... Understood," she murmurs, hanging her head and going back to the corner. Her voice is quieter this time, and when she comes back her eyes are still downcast. "They refuse to budge on any of the ships currently under construction. But there's a year-old light escort that hasn't seen combat or rough duty that they'll let you have if you agree to all of our weaponry being removed from it first."\n\nHuh. You really must have gotten through to them with that, because that's actually a way better offer than you actually would have settled for. (Honestly you probably would have taken it if they offered you a beaten-up cruiser from last decade.) And not handing over a full complement of military-grade weaponry to a mercenary is actually a really reasonable caveat. Still, you do your best to keep your face composed as you say, "Alright, agreed."\n\nDespite everything, her shoulders visibly sag with relief. "Oh, oh thank you. Here, if you could, please?" She fishes a tablet out of her coat pocket and holds it out. "This is the contract, including the ongoing Secrecy Provision. You'll notice that this does give you full authority to execute this mission as long as it results in the Factory's return to normal function or discovery of the necessity of the changes in its output. ... Just please try not to break anything. Or any more than you have to."\n\nYou skim over the contract, though you know you don't have to be too thorough... it's got a Guild seal, and they wouldn't let you get too screwed over. Finally you nod and thumb the acceptance pad, then hand it back to the contact... and give her a warmer smile. "Hey... sorry to play hardball. Don't take it personally, alright, I know you're just doing your job."\n\n"... I appreciate that. This is not what I became a logistical specialist for," she says with a sigh, nodding in return. "And as desperate as the small group of people that knows about this is getting... well. Government is government," she adds with a wan smile before turning and walking out.\n\nYou kick up your feet as you consider briefly, eyeing the case on the table by your boots. Hm... well, you've got your ship if you succeed, but this is still gonna be a tough one, sounds like. You've just got a feeling that this is gonna involve a lot more than wandering around some hallways following signs saying 'This way to Emergency Control Room'. You kind of feel like maybe you should go in with some backup... backup that would have to be armed with another Veyron-LCR, making them more moral support than anything else, but hey. Since the contract granted you Total Mission Authority, it's your right to add at least one more mercenary to your team as long as they also agree to the same Secrecy Provision you did.\n\n<hr>\n[[You can handle it solo.|LeoFact]]\n\n[[Call in some help.|LeoFact1x1]]

No, no, best to stick with this world you know. You've got to assume some risk if you ever want to be Maou again! You finish up the ritual circle and scooch over into the center of it, before waving your tentacles in a pattern to activate it. The enchanted chalk lines glow, gently lifting you up into the air, turning you about as bits of you start to turn to golden embers of light and drift away.\n\nYou soon find yourself laying on your back. It's very difficult to see... everything is sort of unfocused. It becomes a bit easier to make out a form as it leans in, picking you up, though both your view of things and the sound is rather distorted.\n\n"Hm? He just stopped crying, dear, before I even picked him up."\n\nAh... ah, these must be your human parents! For a moment you feel vaguely put-out at not getting to experience your own birth... you wanted to see how it compared to hatching! But you suppose that it took a little while for your new human form to develop enough to allow your mind to function. Even now thinking is a bit difficult, and your new body's eyes and ears must still be developing properly.\n\n"I guess he knew he was going to get fed! Bring him on over, darling."\n\nOh? Oh! You're going to get fed! You know how mammals do this! Feeling considerably cheered, you relax as you're carried across some room you can't really make out and passed from one blobby peach-colored thing topped with yellow to another blobby peach-colored thing topped with a lot more yellow. Luckily the large, round breast bigger than your head that's brought into view is close enough that you can focus on it. Maybe becoming human was a good idea after all, you think contentedly as you fasten your lips around the nipple and begin to suckle. The milk that flows out isn't as rich and tasty as a cow demon's, but seems warmer somehow.\n\n"E-eep! Well he must have been hungry, because he's very enthusiastic today!"\n\n... Ah. You're going to have to learn to moderate your actions to seem more like a human child, what little you know about them. Can't let your experienced mature mind give you away! You deliberately gentle your suckling, which seems to appease the human holding you... ah, right, your 'Mother'.\n\nMostly through paying attention to your ho-... er, your parents' reactions, you learn to modify your behaviors. While they think you're a bit of an odd baby, they soon seem to stop commenting and apparently assume it was just a phase you were going through soon after being born, once you learn to 'fake it' enough to pass off as a normal human child. You do crawl and walk apparently rather faster than other children your age do, which does surprise them, so you slow it down a little. Luckily after that they introduce you to several other small children, and you simply moderate yourself and don't do things like speaking full sentences or using the toilet on your own until you see one of them do it or your parents remark on being told of one of the other children doing it. This results in you actually being taken as being a bit 'slow to develop' after your early burst, but that's fine... whatever takes the heat off.\n\nThrough the years you are somewhat concerned that people keep eyeing you when you're out in public. Much like the humanlike form you used before, you still have white hair and grey eyes... which glint more silver if the light catches them just right. Luckily your mother is always ready with an explanation that her grandfather had similar platinum blonde hair and pale eyes (which you've several times wondered if he actually did), so it never really gets beyond mildly suspicious looks, mostly on the part of some of the older townsfolk.\n\nOh. Right. You did wind up in a peasant village. Or, well, you suppose it's just large enough that maybe it counts as a 'peasant town', especially if you include all the people on the farms near it in its population. It's big enough that it has its own local holiday at least, which suits you quite well since 'Talent Day' always involves stalls selling grilled meat skewers. Apparently this village always produces at least several notable adventurers each generation, and 'Talent Day' is when the young people are supposed to show off how they're developing and if they're likely to be one of those adventurers. You stand in the crowd paying more attention to the beef skewer you're currently devouring than the show... you don't exactly have a high opinion of adventurers, after all, considering.\n\nStill, when they announce that the local lord's daughter will be next on stage, you do drag your attention to her. She's a very pretty girl of about your own age... ten or so? Humans in this region apparently don't mark exact birthdays. Obviously well-bred, with clear blue eyes... and platinum blonde hair. 'Ah,' you think as something clicks. Perhaps the locals haven't been fearing you're some reincarnation of the demon lord after all, but rather that you're the lord's bastard. This would also explain several muffled arguments you heard your parents having when you were still a baby. Well, you suppose that's better than anyone suspecting the truth, but still you frown a bit as you wonder if there's anything you can do about it. Then you're somewhat distracted as the girl, Amestra, begins putting on her show. She's using a real metal sword (albeit a blunt one) and going through what's obviously a practice drill with it that's almost a dance... the crowd's making a lot of impressed noises, and you can see why. You defeated more than a few "average" adventurers early on in your career, and more than a few of them weren't as good with a sword as this child is.\n\n"Woooow!" squeals the girl standing nearby you, her pale green eyes sparkling. "Reth! Reth, look, she's so good! She's waaay better than I am!" she calls, grabbing your shoulder and shaking you hard enough to make your head bobble and the little braid at the side of her face shake.\n\nYou just let your head shake, knowing better than to complain. (Oh, yes, your parents wound up naming you 'Reth'... which is close enough to 'Ireth' that you've almost wondered if maybe there's some sort of lower power looking out for you.) That would be because this is your 'best friend' Stacia, proclaimed so by herself. Her being delighted that someone else is doing better than her is just kind of very... her. You never met or even heard of another human that had so much enthusiasm for people being strong, and such a lack of jealousy at them being stronger than her, even in the areas she takes pride in (like her swordplay). Actually, speaking of which, "She's faster, but you have more muscle already," you declare as Amestra starts to wrap up her show.\n\nStacia giggles at that. "Leave it to you to say something like that, Reth, you're always sizing everyone up! Oh hey, hey, you're going to go up next, right?! Show off some of your magic!"\n\n"I don't know," you hedge. Standing out is sort of what you've been trying not to do.\n\n"Oh, come on, little darling, I'm so proud of how you've been coming along," your mother coos, resting her hands on your shoulders.\n\nYou hesitate. Your mother... Karina... has been exceptionally kind to you the last decade. Well, you don't know if she's really 'exceptional', per se, for all you know she could be perfectly average as human mothers go. But since Ireths abandon their eggs, you don't exactly have a lot to measure her against. ... Besides, she's a real beauty, and if nothing else you may have gotten attached to her because you got to suckle those beautiful breasts all those years. (You kind of wish you still could. Sigh.) It wouldn't do to disappoint her, you decide, and wind up making no complaints as the master of ceremonies calls your name and beckons you up to the stage.\n\nIt's not unusual on Lytozia for a human child your age to know a few elemental spells, you remind yourself as you climb the steps. An elf child of an equivalent age would probably already be combat capable against standard woodland threats like wolves and bears, but a human child knowing a few things like 'Water Manipulation' and 'Fire Sparking' is more the norm. (Though obviously adults don't particularly like it when young children learn the latter, especially if they're mischievous sorts.) Obviously, even without having accessed your Ability Tree, you have a far greater command of basic magics than that, and could easily wow the entire crowd. But you've generally learned it's better to be strictly average... or even sort of below average. Actually considering the rumors there likely are about you, and that you're following not too many children after your supposed half-sister, it might be best to seem mildly incompetent even for a child-mage. \n\nHowever, a glance at Karina/Mother shows that her face is alight with joy and expectation. Even if you've always had a layer of thinking she's not your "real mother"... she kind of is, and you'd kind of like to live up to that blatant adoration in her eyes. (Your father is out somewhere on a hunting trip. You doubt his gaze would be so inspiring anyway.) Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to show what you can really do... after all, there are plenty of human prodigies out there, right? Securing your place as a Destined Adventurer, at least in the minds of the townsfolk, might not be so bad.\n\n<hr>\n[[Underperform.|Reth2x1]]\n\n[[Keep it pretty average.|Reth3x1]]\n\n[[Show off a little.|Reth4x1]]\n\n[[Go all-out.|Reth1x1]]

You poke at the artifact retrieval job, perusing it. The artifacts are all on one continent, a jungle environment with no tech-using races known to inhabit it, nor any indicators there's an organized civilization to speak of. The ruins in question where the artifacts are located are from a civilization that never got beyond the wheel and some basic roads before falling. There's some light megafauna, sounds like, but nothing above "personal ground vehicle sized", so nothing you'd need to bring out the big guns to deal with. No special restrictions on the artifacts other than "don't touch them with your bare hands". You'd probably have to spend at least two weeks local time even if you can get around how you think you can, but apparently the time differential on this place is such that you'd only be gone about a day of Guildhall time, which you figure is pretty decent. So, go out, rough it for a while, dodge some ruins traps, pop back for a nice payday and not have to worry about missing any other good jobs. Sounds like a good deal to you, so you tap to accept the job. It's an open bounty, looks like, so you theoretically may be competing against other mercs, but each artifact is a separate payday so as long as you manage to retrieve one before anyone else does it should still be worth your time. Getting all three would be a nicely visible step towards your dreams of personal ship ownership. There's a supposedly fairly precise set of location dots for the artifacts, so you pay a reasonable fee to add those to your comm.\n\nYou head to the Vault and have it bring up your personal locker, taking down one of your favorite rifles for versatility... with the limited megafauna on this world, it should be capable of handling even the bigger critters. You're fairly certain this particular weapon started out with some purely standard rifle you're pretty sure was called a Peacekeeper, an extremely sturdy but otherwise unexceptional combo rifle/shotgun, and spent the next decade and a half tweaking it to his needs. Improved rifle barrel and autostabilizers so it's actually a decent sniper rifle, matter materializer reload system so it can shoot for days without running dry, reinforced shotgun barrel and energy direction reticle so that you can hook an energy pack up to it and use it as a blaster rifle, and a dozen other improvements that more than make up for the overengineered and rather uncomfortable grip and the somewhat tasteless paint job combining the words 'Love and Peace!', a peace symbol, and fake blood splatter all over the barrel. It's a bit edgelord-y, but hey, it was a gift, and you kind of have to admit you like the look a bit yourself.\n\n<img src="images/peacekeeper.png">\n\nAs well as the rifle, you take down your camping backpack, a hardshelled thing containing a highly compressed shelter as well as the other items you'll need for camping out for an extended period. ... Presumably. Thankfully you think to actually check and see if you replaced everything the pack should contain after the last time you used it. You did not. Bad Leo, Dad would make you do an hour of sword katas in penance. Still, nothing a quick trip to the shops can't fix, replacing the various dried meal pellets and softpacks, compressed water blocks, and aerosols. The medkit looks to be wholly complete and the healing gels still well within expiry though, so no worries there. After that it's off to the personal vehicle bay.\n\nThis part is... just a tad embarrassing, you admit. Since you've been saving your money so fastidiously, you don't actually own a personal vehicle of any kind yourself. The solo hoverspeeder you will therefore be using to get around will be... your mother's. Yes, a grown man and established mercenary of record is going to bother his mother's vehicle. Laugh it up, whatever cosmic force is watching. Whatever, she told you that you should feel free to use it as long as you pay for any repairs (or a replacement if it gets that damaged), so as long as it goes back into the bay in the same condition you took it out in you're just making use of a resource responsibly, as far as you're concerned. Seriously. ... You're a little embarrassed, fine. But one day, one day you'll have a ship, and it'll have your own hoverspeeder in it, and it will be awesome. \n\nYou open the vehicle-locker and look over the speeder. It's a short, snub-nose and trimmed-back design, bottom heavy and with boosted emitters, perfect for navigating the sort of terrain you'll likely be heading into... it won't be as comfortable or enjoyable of a ride as a model that would give you more room to stretch out and open up, but it will get you between trees, across water, and along any sort of ground that you're likely to run into. ... It's also painted day-glow blue with glowing pink accents and undercarriage. Yeah your mom may have been, as some mercs say, "having a larf" when she told you this is the one you could borrow when you wanted. Oh well. You clamber on and take it through its wakeup and startup routine, then use the in-locker pad to schedule a portal. A red circle appears on the floor in front of you... eventually turning into a green arrow that starts flickering and extending outward, prompting you to drive out and follow it to one of the tunnels leading to the portal you've input the coordinates into. \n\nYou zip through the flickering light, bracing yourself for the 'shift shock', and boy good thing you did because passing from a moderately-lit gently climate controlled tunnel into a mid-morning jungle with thick, moist, hot air could definitely have caused a problem otherwise. Man no wonder they make you sit through a lecture video to use the portals with open vehicles. You bank to the side and hit the button to launch a tracking probe from the back of the bike, the cylindrical device soaring straight up into the air from the spot behind you and then splitting into fins around a thin body, spiraling as it disappears into the blue. A moment later the screen on the front of the bike lights up, showing a slightly murky topographical map and a line leading from where you are to a blinking point in the distance. There's your first artifact. The probe should follow along with you above and generate a slightly more detailed map as you go, but for now you've got enough to plot a course as you turn to follow the general course of a river, staying far enough away that you're not going to bump into anything that happens to be crouched down drinking at its side where you might not notice.\n\nLuckily it looks like the portal put you down pretty close to the first artifact. After a day's riding along mostly open area, down a few valleys and across a few bodies of water (with the only real incident of note being some sort of scaley toothy bird-thing trying to swoop down at you, but getting chased off by a brief burst of bullets in its general direction), you're drawing close to the location. ... Hm. Though it also looks like the sun has well and truly started to set. You don't really want to be driving around after nightfall... even with the headlights and the scanner the chances of running into something go way up, plus the light is more likely to attract unwanted attention from the local wildlife. ... Bugs, mostly. Maybe you should have grabbed a helmet before you left, bleh. But hm... if you push it you could probably get there before it turns full dark. Just that it would mean either investigating the ruins at night, or camping out right on their doorstep. Both have... obvious potential hazards.\n\nOr you could just pull over and find somewhere to camp for the night right now, and arrive there in the morning.\n\n<hr>\n[[Stop for the night.|LeoCat4x1]]\n\n[[Push on.|LeoCat1x1]]

As much as you want this all to be over with and to get that payday and go home, you're not quite willing to sell the last shreds of your dignity and whore yourself out to a synthroach. ... Especially wearing this getup. "No," you say, in a tone that you hope shows you're not up for any further debate.\n\n"Alright, alright, suit yourself," Bizz declares, holding up a pair of forelegs.\n\nThe two of you pass the next few minutes in awkward silence, with you standing there squirming and covering yourself and Bizz just sort of looking around, occasionally whistling a bit with his oscilloscope faceplate wavering. Eventually he hops down (startling you) and scuttles over by your feet; before you can think to step back and try to cover your pussy better, there's that fluttering sensation and you're suddenly standing back on the pad of the intrusion ship.\n\n"Okay, hang on!" Nyna calls without looking over her shoulder. You can see the view of the hull shift as she quickly pulls away and accelerates, the sound of the hop drive powering up already filling the interior. A moment later it goes off, and she quickly banks back the other way, apparently using the trick from before of accelerating into the bubble and only stopping briefly in middlespace. After the second jump she lets out a 'fwhew'. "They definitely won't trace us now. It was a really close-" she says, rising from her chair and turning, and freezing in place with her eyes wide.\n\n"Not. A word," you say, jabbing one mitten-pawed hand at her before placing it back over your chest. "Just get me out of this shit."\n\n"... Right," she says in a slightly strangled tone, walking over and immediately starting to work on unfastening the hood.\n\nIt takes a few minutes of her tugging and yanking and finding various controls and releases... all while trying not to be too obvious about staring at your naked body and its current state... but Nyna eventually gets you out of the puppy play gear and leaves it in a small pile on the floor of the ship. You immediately head to one of the storage containers... neither of you had many credits to spare, but the likely necessity of emergency clothes was obvious. Your own are a (somewhat overly tight) white T-shirt and black short-shorts, and a simple pair of black slipon shoes. Once you've got yourself largely covered up... including that stupid tattoo and the faded welt marks (though annoyingly a few of those are still visible on your thighs)... you turn back to Nyna. "Well obviously I wasn't able to get the box," you say, briefly shooting a glare at Bizz, who's simply taken up a perch on one of the chairs and seems oblivious to your annoyance.\n\n"Yeah, that... uh, yeah, that was obvious," Nyna murmurs, glancing aside and rubbing the back of her head, before clearing her throat and looking back at you. "So what now?"\n\nWell. One obvious thing would be to just ditch it and go back to Makarzia or somewhere else and figure something out there. It kind of looks like Nyna has the same idea, eyes flicking towards the flight controls. ... But. Both of your gazes slide over towards Bizz, who's still just sitting there, waiting.\n\n... Well... you could do away with him... ... but you'd kind of feel shitty about that. He did get you out of captivity, even if he then tried to extort you for sex. But murder... or kidnapping even... seems a poor payback all the same, so after a moment you sigh. "Guess we better head back to Karnol and start figuring out how to make another run at this. Or some other way to make Nick's interest payments."\n\n"Heeey, I'm sure you'll manage!" Bizz speaks up, wagging a spindly forelimb. "In fact, just to compensate you for giving me a really entertaining day, lemme do you a solid!"\n\n"... entertaining...?" you echo, one of your eyebrows twitching, but Nyna hurries to make a 'calm down' gesture. "... What solid?" you ask with a sigh.\n\n"I've got a buddy who's doing reno on his hab, can't open until it's all done but plenty of the spaces are finished. He owes me a favor, why don't I ask him to let you stay there, eh?" Bizz wags a foreleg again. "Besides, it'll give me some wiggle room with the boss if I say I'm making sure you'll have more creds to pay him back with, eh?"\n\nYou and Nyna exchange a slightly dubious look... but then nod at each other, considering that you'd be sleeping in the ship for the considerable future otherwise. "Okay, thanks Bizz, we appreciate it," you say, looking back at him.\n\n"Hey, no prob, happy to help!"\n\nEventually Nyna pops the ship back to Karnol space, and flies it down, finding another docking spot relatively close to the last one. As the back ramp lowers, Bizz goes scuttling down it and away, presumably to report to Nick that you tried and failed and the week countdown begins now. Then he pauses and turns back. "Oh hey, I stole this from Chun-Wa's little playroom before I followed ya! Kinda a souvenir, but you may as well have it!"\n\n"Wha-?" you say as he pulls something out from beneath his wings and tosses it through the air, leading you to catch it reflexively. One of your hands closes around something round and bulging that seems to be part of a... shaft? You look down at the assemblage of leather straps and red rubber, your brain taking a moment to process what you're seeing: a strapon.\n\nSpecifically a dog dick strapon.\n\n"Goddammit Bizz!" you shout after him, hearing a loud roachy snicker echo back from out of sight. You consider just hurling it after him but you don't want to start a fight by hitting someone else, especially when you're unarmed and totally civvy-garbed.\n\nSo you just glare after him for a moment, then look over at Nyna... and go flat-faced that she has her arms full of the puppy play gear. "Seriously?"\n\nShe shrugs. "Well we can't just leave it cluttering up the ship. ... Maybe we can sell it?"\n\nYou sigh, but then just wave her off, tossing the strapon on with the rest... she blushes at it sitting there rather obvious atop her armload, but doesn't say anything. Instead the two of you set off following Bizz's instructions to his buddy's... motel? Hotel? You guess "hab" implies longer-term stay, which at this rate you guess you might need, though you wonder what will happen when Bizz's buddy decides to reopen, if that's any time soon.\n\nThe two of you walk along in silence, soon spotting the likely building, a pale tan many-story affair with basic balconies outside the rooms. As you turn down the street that the entrance fronts, Nyna finally clears her throat and speaks up. "Soooooo... couldn't help but notice when I was... y'know... ... that you seemed sort of turned-on..."\n\n<hr>\n[[... Yeah.|ChiDD]]\n\n[[Hush.|ChiDD]]

"Diore, bear right!" you call, tilting that way yourself.\n\n"What the fuck, kid?!" Niobe snaps back, even as the mouse boy semi-reflexively follows your order, shooting down one of the Street Demons that had actually been making a beeline for the huddled chemlord. \n\n"Just trust me! Make for that corner!" You keep doing your job, putting down more Street Demons and occasionally scooping up a fresh gun and tossing it Diore's way when you hear one of his click empty. Once the three of you have moved into a more defensive position, you tell Niobe, "Okay, set her down, take over guarding and I'mma try to get through to Moore." Once Cammy's been laid on the floor and Niobe's back to being a raging lioness, you go to a knee and lean in, reaching into Moore's hood to put your hands on her cheeks and tilt her head up. "Moore, hey, Moore, listen! Focus!"\n\n"Wha?" She stares at you with dull, almost milky eyes. "Wha? Dead yet?"\n\n"No Moore, you're not dead, you're gonna live, but I need you to focus, okay? Focus up for me, what've you got that'll get you thinking?"\n\nThat last actually seems to get through to her, and with jerky, slightly halting motions she brings her finger to the holopad projected from her wrist and stabs at it. A moment later she sucks in a hard breath, and her eyes clear... moving from dull to glassy, but now actually focusing on you despite her dilated pupils. "Yeah okay yeah I'm thinking what is it Kai how do we live?"\n\n"Can you get her on her feet?" you ask, putting a hand on the unconscious Cammy's shoulder.\n\n"Maybe maybe but she might oh wait gene soldier okay yeah I can do that forty-five seconds I can do that in forty-five seconds yeah," she mutters rapidfire to herself, drawing out a glowing yellow vial from within her coat and plugging it into an aperture on her glove.\n\n"Kid, c'mon!" Niobe calls as more Street Demons start diverting from other fights to attack your huddled group, perhaps having noticed you're close to the exit.\n\n"Just a little longer!" you urge, before Cammy suddenly gasps loudly, her eyes snapping open wide and her upper body lurching upright. Without waiting you grab one of her arms and haul it over your shoulders, pulling her up as you get to your feet. "Okay, let's go!"\n\n"Iiiiii do not feel so good but also fantastic," the pretty purple-haired woman groans, wobbling a bit against you even as she manages to start taking steps with your movement.\n\n"Yeah that's normal that's pretty standard that happens a lot that's me most of the time OH SHIT!"\n\nUnfortunately while your group is able to move better with Cammy actually mobile, having three people that are effectively noncombatants has left an opening, a short but extremely burly Street Demon hurling himself through the air towards you bellowing like some beast from the Dark. His flight is abruptly cancelled, however, as a hand grabs the top of his head and yanks back, then twists sharply to one side with multiple audible snaps. Adam opens his hand to let the dead man drop to the ground, the android's expression still composed despite his dented face and one arm ending abruptly, trailing a few dripping tubes and inert cables. Without a word he turns and marches to the exit, holding it open for the rest of you before stepping through after you and slamming it closed hard enough to twist the edges of the door in the frame.\n\n"I will see Moore home from here, to ease your tasks," he says simply, before beckoning to the glassy-eyed woman who scampers towards him like a puppy.\n\n"Thanks, Adam," Niobe murmurs, hesitating briefly before adding, "I owe you one."\n\n"Thank you. I will keep the level of your debt in mind, considering you assisted Moore." With that he turns and walks off, Moore clinging to the back of his tattered jacket with both gloved hands.\n\n"What's with them?" you ask, shifting Cammy a little to get her a bit more on her feet.\n\n"Long story," the injured woman whispers, voice hitching a little.\n\n"No time for it now, let's get the hell out of here," Niobe adds, gesturing one way down the alley. "No way we're going through the melee, head there and look for a door marked with a curvy X in red or white paint."\n\nThe path back to Niobe's place is long and circuitous, involving a lot of back alleys, access panels, and moving through the back areas of shops and the utility rooms of apartment buildings. But finally Niobe hauls open the heavy door of what looks like an old blast bunker and ushers the rest of you inside. It's a bit more kept-up in here than you might have expected... cleaner, obviously refurbished, more people with various obvious animal traits rushing over and taking Cammy from you to carry her into one of the back rooms.\n\n"What's the lowdown?" Niobe asks one of the ones who remains, a brown-skinned girl maybe a bit younger than you with 'spots' across her face and shoulders and a long ponytail that curves up at the end, wearing a black zip-up bodysuit.\n\n"... It's looking like everyone at the sound lounge is probably dead," the girl answers quietly, averting her eyes. "A couple of Slicers might have gotten away but they're in the wind if they did. Same for the ones who were outside... we know Kieran, Leo, and Hipsa are dead, no word on Jule and Joey. Someone thinks they saw Jule go off with the Freedroids, but... they're not sure."\n\n"... Fuck," Niobe hisses, putting her hands to her face and stalking off in a random direction.\n\nThe girl in the bodysuit looks over at you as you resheath your sword, her cute lips pursing in a scowl. "Why'd you bring a human back?"\n\nNiobe instantly whips around and looms over her, lips pulled back from her teeth. "I told you I don't wanna hear that sort of shit out of you! That human is a chipped slave who I guarantee you's had a rougher life than you, because I know the shit she's been through, same as I know yours!" She stabs a finger towards you as she continues, "That human and another one are the reason Cammy walked in here instead of bleeding out on the fucking floor of a bar! You ever say that shit again and I'll-!"\n\nThe girl had almost instantly huddled in on herself the moment Niobe wheeled on her, and you watch with half shocked, half fascinated eyes as she turns ghost white all over, the color flickering across her skin, her 'specks' turning several other shades as the rant goes on, clearly signaling her distress. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, please don't make me leave, please don't make me leave, I'm sorry!"\n\nNiobe continues to snarl wordlessly for a second before visibly pulling herself back, pulling a hand across her lower face and sliding it behind her neck to rub. "... This's your home. You belong here," she mutters quietly. "Just don't say that shit. She doesn't have it any better than the rest of us. ... Go check on the comms, see if anything else has come in."\n\nSlowly starting to turn caramel-colored again, the girl nods and slinks off towards one of the doors, but not before tossing a look that's a weird mixture of hateful and apologetic your way. You slowly step over to Niobe. "No love lost, huh?" you note, before looking up at her.\n\n"... Lotta cases, no," she murmurs. "Most people here know what it is to be treated like shit by humans... property, or closest thing to, to be used up and tossed out. Me too... just that since it was the old man, I got to see up close that it ain't about race or species, that's just how some are. Shit, plenty of the gene soldiers here know what it is to be abused and used by nonhumans too, often enough their own kind. It's just easier to get pissed at humans and blame them for it all than it is ta see that everything that can think can be a shit." She glances at you and gives you a halfhearted smirk. "But y'know me, kid, when'd I ever do it easy?"\n\n"You made it look easy lots of times," you reply, managing a grin of your own. \n\n"Yeah, well, not tonight." Niobe lets out a huff as she walks over and flumps down on a couch, Diore following after her and flopping with his head in her lap (making you briefly envious and you're not entirely certain it's just of him). "This was a hard one. ... Not sure what we're gonna do," she admits after a glance around that shows the three of you are currently alone in the lobby-like area. "We lost most of our top fighters and street peeps tonight, kid. Not all of 'em and I kept some of the biggest badasses back just in case of some shit like this, but a lot of what we're left with is not exactly war material. Lotta former sex pets, logistics workers, noncombat specialists, menials and laborers... and not exactly a ton of those. Right now it's looking like the most we might be able to do is hunker down and wait it out, and we-" One of her ears twitches slightly and she glances over. "Yeah, Ilia, s'up? Any word?"\n\n"Not on our people," the girl from before murmurs as she emerges from the shadows of the doorway where she'd been hugging the wall. Instead she looks at you, something close to normally. "Um, you're 'Kai', right?" At your curious nod, she glances back to Niobe to add, "That dragon guy who's not actually a dragon is calling for her."\n\n"Oh, fun." Niobe heaves a sigh as she looks at you. "Shit, I forgot in all of this you were even with the Dragons to start on this one. How you wanna handle this, kid?"\n\n<hr>\n[[Just hang up on him.|Kai]]\n\n[[Let Niobe handle it.|KaiGS1x1]]\n\n[[Go talk to him.|Kai1x13]]

"Yeah well it's my mess, you've got enough of your own," you assure Niobe, before looking at Ilia. "Show me?"\n\n"Yeah, this way." She leads you down a fairly short hallway and into a room that's clearly been set up as a comm center... not a particularly fancy or elaborate one, but at least not made entirely of jury-rigged cables and monitors. She gestures to one of the desks, then draws back... apparently that's as much privacy as you're getting inside here. Eh, probably not so much a 'human' thing as an 'outsider' thing, you decide to think as you settle down in the chair and tap the icon to bring up the held call.\n\nSakai's face appears on the monitor, so carefully composed and emotionless that it's clear he's extremely pissed. "Kai."\n\n"Hey, Sakai," you answer tiredly, not bothering to conceal your exhaustion as you slump back in the chair. "You and Mikon okay?"\n\n"We made it out. We would have done so more handily with your assistance, perhaps in time to save more of our people outside. Would you like to explain why you abandoned your oath of honor to us?"\n\n"I didn't abando-" You start, then huff and rub your face. "... Yeah. I wasn't there for you, so I guess... ... look, Sakai, it wasn't that I just ditched you on a whim. Niobe was getting pressed and one of her people was dying, she needed my help more."\n\n"I don't recall you putting Niobe's symbol on your skin as a pledge to fight for her."\n\n"... Yeah." You nod once. "... 'Cause it runs deeper than that." You close your eyes briefly, then open them and meet his on the screen. "She's family, Sakai. That's all there was to it."\n\nHe's silent for long moments, enough that you might wonder if the feed had frozen. Then he sighs, enough slack coming into his features that you can tell they're no longer a forced mask of neutrality. "If she is family then that is the end of the conversation. You chose a higher honor and I will not rebuke you for it."\n\n"Thanks, Sakai. I'm sorry, though."\n\n"I understand. I'll put out the word that you're not a deserter, you can have the dragon removed at any convenient skin shop." He reaches out and closes the line, the abrupt end making the rest of his statement plain despite his forgiveness: don't ever expect to wear it again.\n\nYou take a deep breath, then stand. Burning that bridge doesn't exactly feel good, but it's better than some of the alternatives. You turn and notice Ilia's looking fixedly at you with her own masked expression. "Clever way to get out of him being ticked at you, I guess," she notes in a clipped tone.\n\n"... If Niobe's not my family, I guess I have no fucking idea what a family is," you answer back quietly, which clearly startles her a little as you walk past her and back down the hall.\n\nWhen you emerge back into the lobby, Diore's gesturing to something on the table, Niobe frowning down at it. "See, we installed this regulator and it'll work fine on a human now, promise! Like she might lose feeling in half her face but only for a day, ten max!"\n\n"Uhhh... 'scuse?" you speak up as you stare at them.\n\nNiobe glances over, then picks up the device and gives it a small shake, Diore making a mildly fretful noise as she does. "Chip bricker. We use it a lot on gene modded peeps that haven't had theirs removed yet because they escaped or we bought them out or whatever. Most of us have better shielded spinal cords than humans so the beam's a little stronger than it needs to be to make sure the chip's inert, I had the tech yahoos make sure it'd be safe to use on you."\n\n"... Niobe, that's a pretty big crime you're talking about," you murmur, even as you stare fixedly at the freedom she's holding in her hand.\n\n"So's keeping a private army of gene soldiers, since I lost most of my other big crime may as well replace it with another one, get over here," she adds, beckoning to you.\n\nYou've taken three steps before you even think to hesitate. "Wait... what about Zee? I can't leave her alone with the old man, if I don't come back that asshole'd probably try to send her out to earn."\n\n"Dammit, Kai, I-!" Niobe snaps, almost slamming the device down against the table before halting herself, taking a few shuddery breaths until they smooth out. "... I cannot deal with future problems right now," she says slowly. "Especially not a next week problem like that. As far as the old man knows you're still working with the Dragons for a little while so we'll have some room to maneuver. I... will try to do something about Zee, alright? I'll try, soon's I can I'll try," she assures you, exhaustion starting to seep into her voice too. "But right now, we are pressed on all sides, we are fighting for survival, and I need you. I need you," she adds, emotion raw in her voice. "Okay? Just... please. Come over here and lemme brick that shit, alright?"\n\n<hr>\n[[Alright.|KaiGS2x1]]\n\n[[... You can't.|Kai]]

Sakai nods, even as Horace speaks up again. "Oh? Something your little hired blade has to say, Sakai?"\n\n"Yes, indeed." Sakai keeps his voice calm, his demeanor suddenly surprisingly mature and serious in contrast to his usual rather foppish behavior. "She was just informing me of the exact nature of the insult you have visited upon one of our brethren. A fellow professional who was invited to this table under a flag of truce... a truce built on mutual trust and respect for one another as equals, else we would not be here. Niobe was invited to it the same as you, and you were the one to violate that trust, and thus the truce." His eyes narrow slightly. "Leave, Horace."\n\nThe big man almost literally bristles as he straightens his back in his chair. "What did you just say to me, bo-"\n\n"Under the rules established by the Unofficial Business Owner's First Summit," Adam cuts in smoothly, never moving from his leaned-back, folded-handed position, his voice as steady as ever. "I second the motion to eject Horace Allfather from this summit, on the grounds that he has violated the implicit oath of respect its attendees are due."\n\nHaving his own words that he used to seize the initiative thrown back in his face stuns Horace just long enough that it apparently emboldens others, who start to speak up with "Agreed" and "Aye". Despite the man's fearsome and malevolent reputation, by the end of it there's not a single person at the table who's not staring at him expectantly. After several moments of pregnant silence he rises to his feet, makes a show of delicately adjusting his tie as if to declare how not-bothered he was even as he plotted to kill everyone in the room, and turns to stride out.\n\n"Now, if someone would please go and inform Niobe that the issue she was having has been resolved, we can resume," Sakai says, one of the 'runners' employed by the venue going scurrying out the door.\n\nA few minutes later Niobe, still looking rather cross, stomps back in and flumps back into her seat, though you can see by the look in her eyes that she feels rather vindicated too.\n\n"Welcome back, Niobe-san. Please accept my apologies on behalf of the rest of the summit for Horace's ill behavior. It will not be repeated," Sakai says. Once he's received a terse nod from Niobe in return, he glances up and down the table. "Now, back to the matter at hand. It seems that we cannot confront these Street Demons without risking further collateral damage and a sort of conflict we may not be ready to bring to our streets. I think before we resolve ourselves to such, we should consider other potential options. Moore, do you know if they have any habits, needs, addictions on your end of things?"\n\nYou can't help but grin just a little and nod in satisfaction. Not only has Niobe's insult been avenged, Sakai's used the opening you gave him to seize the leadership role Horace had clearly wanted for himself. Which should hopefully put him in a generous mood, and see some sort of bonus coming your way... hell, he's clever, he might be able to figure out a way for it to be a bonus for you instead of going into the old man's pocket.\n\nHowever, before any more seizing can occur, there's a sudden thud from outside, followed by an explosion with enough inward force that it sends a number of people toppling and stumbling, some even knocked out of chairs. It's followed by the small clinks of small metal spheres, people scrambling away from them desperately mostly on instinct before they go off. They're flashbangs, almost all force and light and no shrapnel, but they're more than enough to send even most of the battle-hardened people in the room reeling and staggering, nicely separating them from each other. It doesn't help that more and more smoke... actually no, it's ice vapor you realize as the chill steels over you... is pouring in from outside, a figure moving to stand in the hole in the wall where it's billowing through. It's not hard to guess who she's with from the elborate metal horns jutting from amidst her short white hair, glowing with red lines, pale eyes gazing from above her vape mask and its oversized filters. Her outfit is some weird blend of schoolgirl, old-era pinafoir, and common street style, mingling a black overcoat with some "sailor" elements, the tie with long straps tipped with elaborate, spiky caps, a frilly underdress, and several obvious belts and straps, as well as high-grade stylish combat boots.\n\n<img src="images/CrimsonTide.jpg">\n\n"S'up, sluts," she announces, the mask amplifying her voice to fill the room. "Heard you were talking shit, so came to see you got hit."\n\nOn that particularly delightful cue, more people come rushing through the breach to either side of her... a chaotically-garbed group, with the only thing in common being vape masks and horns. And they just keep coming, more and more of them pouring in, already starting to clash with many of the still-stunned crime bosses and their attendants.\n\n'Shit!' you think, scrambling to your feet. You wound up pretty far back, but it looks like everyone's starting to recover and fighting back now, at least. You've gotta get moving too or you, and everyone else, are dead meat!\n\n<hr>\n[[Focus on finding Niobe.|Kai1x11]]\n\n[[Focus on finding Sakai.|Kai]]\n\n[[Focus on taking out Street Demons.|KaiCy1x1]]

One thought overwhelms all the others... you have to get to Niobe. You're not even sure if it's to keep her safe or that you think she'll keep you safe, all you know is that you have to make sure she's alive and stays alive. You slice your sword out of its sheath and across the side of a Street Demon, ignoring his shriek of pain as you shout Niobe's name.\n\nFighting your way through several more of the horned and motley crew, you soon spot Niobe's little group clumped together almost in a corner. The woman you saw with her is slumped on the floor on her side, a very slowly-spreading pool of blood under her, while both Niobe and the mouse boy stand over her, fighting back anyone that tries to attack or even gets close. Niobe, as you'd expect, is largely doing this by ripping pieces of any Street Demon that gets close off of their body... the boy on the other hand is doing some amazing acrobatic maneuvers, maximizing the impact of his small body and keeping himself always landing back by the other two after jumping to kick someone in the head or stomp their face.\n\n"Niobe!" you call, cutting through another Street Demon before drawing up with them.\n\n"Kid..." She almost snarls the word, though it's clearly because her blood's up rather than her being unhappy to see you. She has to take a few hard breaths before she can focus enough to respond. "Cammy's hurt bad and we need to get out, now. I can carry her but we need at least two to run interference, grab some guns off these assholes and start clearing a path!"\n\n"I can't, the old man blocked me from using guns on Makarzia," you snap back, while snapping your sword down to slice across the front of a Street Demon who tried to make a charge.\n\n"Fucker! Toss 'em to Diore then, you handle close range!"\n\nNodding, you cut wide to force some of the Demons back, then briefly sheath your sword to drop and roll, snatching up a pair of rather battered hand cannons dropped by fallen attackers. Coming up to your knees, you throw them over to the mouse boy, drawing your sword again before he's even caught them. He gives you a beautiful, angelic smile, which doesn't waver as he swings the guns around and fires both into the throats of two Street Demons, dropping them with their heads flopping on what's left of their necks. "Chu chu, motherfuckers!" he chirps in a sweet voice.\n\nNiobe bends and carefully hefts the unconscious Cammy into her arms, holding her as still as possible as your trio starts making your way forward. Diore uses the guns to indicate a path by taking down the Street Demons littering it, while you take care of any of them that try to attack or simply wander too close amidst their fights with others. Gradually you're making your way towards one of the side exits, and you can see the glow of the exit sign when something catches the corner of your eye. Daring a quick look, you spot Moore huddled in a corner, her hood pulled low but still glowing from within, the slightly twitchy rocking motion of her body as she hugs her legs saying she's not expecting to make it out and has probably dosed herself into gradually being at peace with that.\n\n<hr>\n[[Divert to rescue her.|Kai1x12]]\n\n[[Keep going.|Kai]]